Soulblade: An Epic Fantasy Adventure Romance (A Dance of Fire and Shadow Book 4)
Soulblade: Chapter 15

“ZANDAR!”

I feel the call resonate as it vanishes into the starlit sky. Farhaz stands at my side on the crest of a low hill outside the protective perimeter wall of the safe house.

“Will he hear you? Many leagues of empty desert lie between Khotann and Rahimar.”

“I think so. I can feel the power of the binding, weaving through the sound. He has always responded when it is like that. The only time I failed was when Shadow laid his cloaking power over me.”

“Why would Shadow do that?”

I give an exasperated shrug. “Even though I eventually persuaded him to relent, I still don’t really know. Elemental jealousy, suspicion, maybe just wariness. They are very different from us.”

I sit on the cooling sand to wait. Despite Zandar’s strength and speed, it will be at least two hours before he reaches this spot.

“Farhaz, you said you were having more trouble controlling the crime lords than you were before. How bad is it?”

He settles himself beside me. “Bad enough. War and the disruption of trade have given strength to the criminal elements here. The teams of Nishan are spread thin across the country after so many of our number volunteered to join the military for Annubia’s great strike against Rapathia. And many of those did not return.”

I remember that day of blood and death only too well.

“The Annubian army was sorely outnumbered. I saw for myself the destruction they had suffered before Zandar arrived to turn the fortunes of the battle. But what of the three crime lords in Khotann? When I last saw Shan’domir, he told me they were his next mission.”

“Not good news. Their forces have consolidated. Now there is one large and heavily armed gang under a single leader. Even harder for us to take down than before.”

I feel my brows creasing in an impatient frown. “It seems strange that crime lords replace it easier to cooperate than Kings.”

He gives a wry laugh with little mirth in it.

“Not the kind of cooperation you would want to see among royalty. The head of the Serpent clan murdered his rivals and took over their operations, killing a few more lieutenants to ensure compliance from the rest of the two defeated gangs.”

“How do you know this?”

“We have a spy embedded within the lower orders of the Serpent clan. That is why we have known for some time how impenetrable their defenses are. Shan’domir knew we could have killed the leaders of the other two clans, but he told us to hold back because it would have led to the dangerous consolidation of crime forces that has now happened anyway, from within.”

I consider this for a few moments. “Could your spy pass on some useful information in the other direction? Would the head of the Serpent clan believe him if he did so?”

“Tari is one of our best. I am sure he could do it. Why?”

“Those storerooms you mentioned at the base of the Taskana Tower. Are there many valuables guarded in there?”

“Of course. That is why the palace is designed the way it is, with the prison and garrison being the most heavily fortified and guarded part of the palace complex. The safest place for any valuables not currently in use.”

“As well as spare weapons, no doubt?”

“With the garrison stationed there, yes. Of course.”

“So… If the greedy head of the Serpent clan became convinced that the gate would be opened at a certain time, he would have a chance to carry out a raid? A single raid that would give them weapons and riches far beyond the rewards of their slave trade. Especially now their profits must already be suffering since Rapathia and its slave-markets have become impoverished by this war.”

Farhaz becomes thoughtful for a few moments.

“Tari has been sending reports that there is indeed a drop in profits and it has become a problem for them. As always in the aftermath of war, only the very wealthy increase their riches while everyone else becomes poorer. And it seems that most of the very wealthy are hoarding food instead of hungry slaves. I think Tari should be able to deliver a convincing message. You believe this would provide the distraction you will need to get Shan’domir out of there?”

“It has the advantage that it will not be Nishan who are seen attacking the palace guards. That worried me from the moment you mentioned the idea. If you are hoping to reinstate your allegiance to the Khalim once Shan’domir is free, a direct attack like that would be a huge obstacle to any reconciliation.”

“True. But that advantage is in the future. For our immediate task of freeing Shan’domir, it’s risky. We will have no control over an attack force of ruthless criminals.”

“Apart from assuming they will head directly to the loot?” I try to think through how difficult it might be to fight my way past the thugs of the Serpent gang as well as the palace guards––even if they would be busy fighting each other. If Shan’domir is weak or wounded it will make my task of getting him out of there even more difficult.

I have only had one brief and unpleasant encounter with four thugs from the Serpent gang on my previous visit to Khotann. Farhaz has more experience of this particular criminal syndicate than I do and I can see him working through the possibilities as he speaks.

“Tari has sent us his best guess of the current numbers of the Serpents. If I can summon enough Nishan reserves in time for this raid, we can be waiting outside as backup in case something goes wrong. The operation may also be our best chance to destroy this crime lord and his slavers once and for all, after they have eluded us for so long.”

“If you think of any other potential problems, make sure you let me know in plenty of time. Like, will Shan’domir be in chains and if so, how do I get him out of them?”

“I will talk to Nilan and the other bodyguards. We must also make a plan to ambush the Serpents when they emerge, hopefully slowed down by their loot. If they escape with the stolen wealth and weapons, our task of removing them from the city will become impossible and Shan’domir will not be pleased. We should have more information for you before tomorrow.”

Farhaz walks thoughtfully back to the house, leaving me alone, gazing at the stars.

I feel the dragon’s approach before I see him, a deep thrumming in the cool air from the beat of his wings. Then he swoops low and the great fiery coils surround me in a hissing, roiling circle until he lies quiescent on the sand. Two huge golden eyes survey me for a few silent moments.

Why have you come?

“I need your help to save Shan’domir, Master of the League of Assassins. He has been condemned to death.”

I know. I have seen him from my place in Rahimar.

For the first time, the words echoing in my mind come together with a fleeting image of Shan’domir, chained to the wall of a tiny cell. Dragonsight seems somewhat different to that of humans. It is as if I can see through the sides of the tower holding the cell and although the image is distant, I can tell that the outer surface of the wall is sheer and impossible to climb.

“Can you take me to that cell, so that I can get inside to cut Shan’domir free?”

As you wish.

Better than a refusal I suppose, but I feel the usual wave of disappointment that such an ancient, far-seeing creature does not offer any constructive suggestions. Perhaps it was too much to expect that he would be any more involved or interested in Shan’domir’s fate than he had been regarding the outcome of Annubia’s battle with the Rapathian army.

“Can you wait here for a day or two until we are ready, without burning everything around you as you did in Samaran?”

There are many Annubians here. I am pledged not to harm them. I can wait quietly.

He circles, drawing in his coils, grinding the burning scales into the ground until he is half-covered with sand. I decide that this is the best outcome I could realistically expect from an Elemental and walk back to the house to look for Farhaz and Nilan. I replace them hunched over the table in the courtyard, their faces illuminated by a single oil lamp glowing in the cooling air. The surface of the table has been cleared to make way for a strange array of papers, tools, and weapons.

Farhaz looks up as I approach. “I saw the fiery glow descending beyond the perimeter wall. I trust things went well with the Guardian?”

“He accepted the mission. With his usual lack of either interest, enthusiasm, or dislike. So far in my experience, that counts as going well. It’s the unexpected variables that can cause problems. What is there to report here?”

“I sent hawk-messages to both Falina and Tari in their respective spy-roles, telling them to prepare and to send back details of everything they have been able to achieve so far. You should sleep now. There will be much of your own preparation for you to do tomorrow.”

Nilan takes me to a simple, white-painted guest room with a comfortable bed, but I don’t sleep well. There are too many blank spots in my mind, places where I feel I should be preparing for the unexpected––if only lack of information did not prevent even the beginnings of a plan. First light has me seeking out Farhaz once more.

He hands me a heavy lump of cold iron.

“Today, you must practice opening these shackles with a lock-pick. It will be quicker than cutting through the heavy bands, but it demands skill.”

I peer at the lock in my hand. After a few minutes I manage to identify the pick and extract it from the keyhole.

“I see what you mean. Even extracting the pick is awkward. So, opening doors and shackles… this is another Nishan skill?”

“Essential for our work. We must be able to enter many places, and leave again in silence. It is a technique you would have learned, had you remained longer in Rahimar for your training.”

I let out a resigned sigh. “Except that the war took precedence, as it has done with so many things. Show me how to do this.”

He takes back the offered contraption. “Falina can only send hawk-messages from where she is stationed and the hawk cannot carry such weight. So she sent the Nishan code for the pick, together with the code for where it interacts with the levers in the shackles. We had to rebuild this lock for you to practice on.”

I watch as he delicately turns the pick, listening and feeling for the point at which it connects with the levers. A little extra pressure, and they drop, one by one. Then he covers my hands to guide me through my own attempt to complete the same sequence.

I spend a long slow day learning this new skill, feeling as if I am the only point of stillness in the house as Nilan’s team of assassins moves around me, preparing everything they need for the attack.

It feels almost like being back with the Eldrin on the eve of a mission… Except that the feeling of it all is far quieter, stealthier.

And yes, far more sinister.