Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
Tǎnkaski
Caius draws his sword with one arm, shoving me between his back and the rock wall with the other. I draw my dagger and squint into the gloom.
“I wouldn’t.” The voice grows louder as the outline of a man takes shape.
He walks slowly into the light. The warrior before us is tall and muscled, like Caius, with long black hair half pulled back in a bun atop his head, the rest falls in a sheet of dark rain past his shoulders.
He holds a bow trained on Caius; his eyes narrowed on his target.
His skin is smooth and tanned. Unlike the people of Bǎodela, he has a healthy glow that only comes from time spent in The Above.
“Don’t be an idiot, Caius.” A familiar voice comes from the shadows, then Cressida steps out, leaning an elbow nonchalantly against a rock outcropping.
Dom steps into the light just behind her, appearing composed to those who didn’t know him like I do, but I can see the fine lines pinched between his brows.
“Cress?” Caius lowers his sword, though his knuckles still blanch around the hilt, no doubt ready to strike if this man makes one false move against his sister.
I hear the men before I see them, shifting in the shadows all around us.
“Caius.” I grip his shoulder, willing him to see that we are surrounded.
Caius tenses, then asks, “What’s Mama cooking today?”
Cressida chuckles, “Oh Caius, you know my mother can’t cook.”
Though his muscles remain taut under my palm, Cressida’s response appears to satisfy him, and he slides his sword back into its sheath at his hip.
“Good choice.” The mysterious man lowers his bow, returning the arrow to a quiver on his back before slinging the bow over his shoulder.
He steps forward and inclines his head slightly, though his eyes never leave Caius.
“I’m T.S. Rui Aiyengar, Kā?uwe of the Tǎnkaski guard.
We found your friends in the woods. It’s not safe to be in The Above. There’s a dragon hunting today.”
“I hadn’t noticed.” Caius glowers at the man.
Rui laughs. “Right, well, we brought your friends down through the north entrance. It’s a lot safer than falling down the crag.”
“We didn’t fall. We climbed.” Irritation saturates my words. Who does this man think he is?
He finally turns his onyx gaze to me, and a genuine smile turns up his lips. “You climbed down. It was quite impressive, by the way. If it weren’t for you, I’m not sure there would have been enough of your friend here intact for a proper sky burial.”
My gut twists. Was it from the image of Caius splattered over the cavern floor that flashed through my mind? Or the insinuation that there was any type of relationship between me and the man who I clung to. I drop my grip on Caius, just now remembering that I still gripped his arm.
Rui cocks his head to the side, observing my reaction before he speaks again. “Come on, it’s nearly time for the last meal. You’ll join us in Tǎnkaski.”
“Is that a good idea?” Another man steps up beside Rui. They share the same nose, with a soft sloping bridge, and large dark eyes. But where Rui’s shine with a playful mirth, this man’s gaze cuts like glass.
Rui tips his head toward the man. “It’s not safe to leave The Below. You know it’s our duty to take them in, cousin.”
“We don’t want to cause any trouble.” I offer, rubbing my thumb nervously over the leatherwork of my cuff.
Rui smiles. “It’s no trouble at all. Besides, you don’t want to go back up while she’s there. She’s been stalking the grounds overhead for near a quarter phase. She should tire of our little stretch of land soon. I’ve never seen them stay longer than a phase.”
“A phase?!” I can’t stop the outburst. Bǎodela is dying, and we don’t know how far the hatching grounds are. I can’t imagine wasting a full phase hiding in The Below waiting out the hungry dragon.
“I doubt she will stay that long. Come on, it’s best not to arrive late for a meal.
DaLei here gets ornery when he’s hungry.
” Rui throws an arm around his cousin, who grumbles but relents.
Rui slaps him on the back and half-turns.
It almost appears to be an invitation, but I see the way he watches Caius.
This man is dangerous, and he sees himself reflected in Captain Amarala, I’m sure of it.
Once Caius falls in step beside Rui, the rest of the warriors peel away from the cracks in the canyon walls, shadows pooling on the earth all around us.
Like Rui, they have long dark hair and tanned skin, with strong builds and an armament of weapons.
Many have bows like Rui’s slung over one shoulder, bandoliers filled with daggers cross the chests of others, but they all carry swords at their hips.
Matching navy robes do little to mask their powerful builds, cinched tight by a dark sash at the waist, with silver embroidery around the collar, although Rui’s is more ornate than the rest. These men are warriors, and if the glimpses of scars I catch on their bodies mean anything, they are no strangers to battle.
Dom tucks me under his arm, pulling me to his side as we fall in line behind Caius and Rui. DaLei and the rest of the warriors take up the rear. I can feel their eyes watching us. Even with Rui’s invitation, tension still sits in the air.
“Thank Guārgia you’re alright,” Dom whispers. “When we were separated, and I saw the flames…I thought I had lost you.” Dom crushes me against his side. Cressida narrows her eyes at me, but then she shifts her gaze forward.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” I say. Dom squeezes me tight one last time, then releases me.
We travel the length of the canyon in silence.
I’ve never been this far east, as far as I know no one from Bǎodela has…
except my father, and he never spoke of his time before he came to settle in the west, nothing beyond myths and legends of dragon riders and grand machines that took men out beyond the moons and the star dust road.
Had my father been here before? I smile at the thought, at the idea that this may have once been his home.
“How do you know so much about dragons?” I call out to Rui.
He slows his pace enough to bring us side by side. “Who says I know much about dragons?” he asks with a spark in his eye that makes my stomach flutter.
“You called her she, and you seem to know her patterns; said she wouldn’t hang around more than a phase.”
“Ah, that. Yes, Civra hunts here often. I’ve seen her up close and personal.” Rui hooks the collar of his embroidered robe and pulls it low enough for me to catch a glimpse of a long, thick scar etched over his collarbone and dipping out of sight.
I take in a sharper breath. “She did that to you?”
Rui nods. “She likes her space.”
“What were you doing so close?” My words are laced with an excitement I can’t hide.
My mind races: perhaps these people have a relationship with the dragons.
Perhaps they know where the hatching grounds are.
What if they even have bonded riders here?
It was obvious that Rui and his warriors weren’t confined to the caves.
He called the red dragon by name and knew her patterns and—
“I was careless. But I won’t be again. The next time I let Civra near, it will be to end her reign of terror.”
My heart falls.
Rui must have misread my expression because then he says, “Don’t worry, you’ll have safe passage back to your city before the next phase.
” He offers a soft smile before continuing.
“She must have gotten your party turned around. Your friends were headed east when we found them, but we’re the last settlement in the east.”
I bite my lip. “Must have.” I shrug, then add. “I’ve never been this far east before. What is beyond your province?”
The smile slips from Rui’s lips, his eyes turning dark and dangerous. “Nothing but death. We are the old guard that protects humanity from its path to destruction.”
“Path to destruction?”
“The path that leads to corruption.”
We come to a stop, the cavern before us blocked.
At first I think we have arrived at a dead end, but then Rui knocks a staccato rhythm, and I can’t believe my ears.
Wood. The passage before us opens as a wooden door inlaid with swirling iron slides open, revealing an expansive stone balcony that overlooks a city that stretches high above the cavern floor, hewn from pinnacles of stone and towers of wood, all connected by rope bridges that sway as the bustling crowds weave through the city.
Where Bǎodela was carved straight down into the earth, chiseled from her stones until tall towers clustered at her center, this city was built in the space between earth and sky. Every level of the massive cavern swells with activity.
“Welcome to Tǎnkaski.” Rui spreads his arms out wide, a broad grin on his face.
“Your city…it’s built with wood?” I run my fingers over the rough grains of the door, then let my eyes trail across the structures that stretch high into the cavern. So much wood, it would cost a fortune in Bǎodela.
Rui chuckles, “Well, of course, have you never heard stories of The Sky City?”
I press my fingers into the carved stone railing. I wish I could climb over the parapet and through the cavern. I wonder what it would feel like to scale these massive structures hewn from soft wood instead of solid stone.
The pressure of fingertips digging into my shoulder breaks the spell. “Watch what you say.” Caius drops his voice so low I know his words are only meant for me.
I shrug out of Caius’ grip and turn back to Rui.
Dom and Cressida stand close, still observing the city.
Rui’s warriors form a semicircle around us.
They appear to be observing our reactions as keenly as we are observing the city, all except DaLei who scowls at us like he’s stumbled into a bat roost and dirtied his boots.
“Come, I’m sure you’re hungry and…” Rui steps close and takes a sniff. “Then perhaps you’d like to bathe.”