Chapter 6 Kailin #2
It suddenly occurred to me that Saphir might have misinterpreted the prophecy, and we were not going to save Aurorys by finding the lost shamans and the eggs they had saved, but by uncovering a dragon coup.
Dragons weren't bound by the Precepts of Truth, and being intelligent, they could easily lie and deceive.
I didn't even know what their code of conduct was, or if they had any at all, other than not to eat Elucians because of the pact.
Lifting my jug once again, I took a sip, but the ale tasted bitter on my tongue. The Dragon Force I'd believed in, the unified, incorruptible, defensive shield protecting Elucia, might be rotting from within.
"Perhaps you can help us find out more about the dragons' inner politics." Ravel fixed his piercing dark eyes on mine. "Your abilities make you particularly suitable for that."
Dylon’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.
I had told him the things I was allowed to share with my family, like the tea I had been drinking to boost my ability, but there were still many details he didn’t know and was smart enough not to ask about.
For years, he had kept secrets from me, as well as from the rest of our family, not by choice but because that was the code of conduct he had been following.
"You want me to spy on them?" I frowned. "I don't think I can. Not yet anyway."
"I'm aware of that, and until you get stronger, I just want you to be aware that some of them might not be as friendly as you think and to be very careful about what you allow them to see in your mind.
" He pinned me with his dark stare. "And since you spend your nights occupying the minds of nocturnal animals, you might stumble into the mind of a dragon. "
I shivered. "I hope that doesn't happen. It's mostly small critters that allow me access to their consciousnesses. I doubt I can take over a human or dragon mind."
"You reached out to multiple dragons and entered their minds to deliver a message," Ravel said. "That was the first step."
I wasn't sure he was right. Communicating with dragons and taking over a part of their mind so I could see through their eyes and hear through their ears wasn't the same. Still, I wouldn't know unless I tried. If I planned ahead and remembered to do it while dreaming, I might surprise myself.
"I'll try, but I don't expect success."
I had to start drinking the tea again as soon as I returned to the Citadel, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I was still exhausted physically and depleted mentally from the Podana dream, but I didn't want to admit it to Commander Ravel, so I kept it to myself.
Alar knew, of course, and I expected him to object to me resuming the nightly ritual of tea drinking, but now that I was driven by curiosity in addition to obligation, I had to do it.
As the main door opened, and a man walked in, wearing a long, heavy coat that seemed far too heavy for the mild evening, my senses prickled with alarm.
He had a large backpack strapped to his back, and he stopped just inside the doorway, as if letting his eyes adjust to the dim light, but his gaze swept the room with more intention than the exaggerated look of boredom he was trying to portray suggested.
I glanced at Ravel to see if he had noticed the guy, but even though his expression was still neutral, he gave an almost imperceptible nod as if confirming that he was seeing what I saw and was bothered by it.
Then he shifted his gaze to the group of men sitting by the entry, and something passed between him and the one with the bushy beard.
What happened next was so fast that I almost missed it. The bearded man lunged to his feet, yelling at the other three, and the table erupted into a brawl. Stools flipped, ale jugs crashing to the floor, but instead of grappling with each other, the four men threw themselves at the newcomer.
Two more men from the next table over moved with lightning speed, joining the fray and grabbing the suspect's arms before he could reach into his pockets.
In one fluid motion, they stripped the backpack from him and hurled him bodily through the door.
The bearded man swung the backpack in a wide arc, launching it after the stranger.
Sometime during the action, Ravel had gotten to his feet with his gun drawn, and Alar and Dylon reacted just as quickly, both moving to shield me behind them.
"Stay down," Dylon hissed, pressing me lower on the bench. "Get under the table."
Through the open door, I could see the suspect being handcuffed and searched. One of Ravel's men held up something small that I couldn't identify from that far away.
"A detonator," Ravel hissed. "Everyone out through the kitchen!" He commanded. "Move! Now!"
Since the perpetrator had been apprehended and disarmed, I didn't understand why we had to run off, but I knew better than to question the commander.
We scrambled from the booth, Alar and Dylon keeping me sandwiched between them as we rushed toward the kitchen door. Behind us, people were shouting warnings about a bomb about to explode.
We'd barely made it through to the kitchen door when it did.
The boom was deafening, and even from inside, the flash of light was blinding. The shockwave hit a moment later, and I heard the distinctive sound of shattering glass as every window in the bar blew out and bottles behind the bar exploded in a cascade of alcohol and glass.
"Go, go, go!" Ravel urged, and we burst through the kitchen and then out the back door into the night.
More of Ravel's men appeared from the shadows, forming a protective perimeter around us as we ran. My legs felt like jelly from the shock, but Alar's hand holding mine kept me moving.
"He's dead," one of the men told Ravel. "He had secondary explosives strapped to him."
I tensed. What had happened to the men who had apprehended him? Were they dead?
"Any of ours get hurt?" Ravel echoed my unasked question.
"Superficial injuries," the guy replied.
I released a relieved breath. We hadn't lost any of ours tonight, but given how many men had been stationed at the bar and along the streets, Ravel had suspected that someone might try to kill me tonight.
"Who are these men?" Dylon asked. "I've never seen them before."
"Special Ops from ground forces."
My stomach twisted. How well did Ravel know these men? Was he certain that all of them were trustworthy? Perhaps one of them had betrayed us?
Otherwise, how did the suicide bomber know where to find us?
The explosion had roused the entire town.
People were streaming out of their houses, heading toward the bar to see what had happened, my parents among them.
Mom's sharp eyes found us first. "Oh, thank Elu, you're safe."
Dad took in our escort of armed men with a grim expression. "Let's go home."
"Is it safe?" I asked Ravel.
He nodded. "I have men stationed all around it."
Once we entered our house, Gran enveloped me in a tight embrace, and the adrenaline began to wear off, leaving me shaky and depleted.
"Thank Elu." She hugged Dylon.
"What happened?" Dad asked.
"Someone tried to blow up the bar." Dylon untangled himself from Gran's embrace. "We think that they were after Kailin, but they could have been after Alar."
Mom's face went pale, and Dad's jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle twitching.
"Commander Ravel had it under control," Alar added. "His men stopped the attacker before he could get close."
"They got his detonator," I said. "But he managed to detonate a secondary explosive that was strapped to his body."
Ravel shook his head. "Someone must have detonated the main bomb that was in the backpack remotely, which means the assassin wasn't working alone."
Someone wanted me dead badly enough to send a suicide bomber. And they had a backup plan in case he failed to follow through with his mission.
Ravel's dark eyes found mine. "What we discussed earlier is even more critical now. Your abilities may be the key to uncovering who's behind this."
I nodded, too tired to speak.
I was just a cadet, and what was going on around me and because of me was so beyond my pay grade.
The possibility of traitorous dragons that Ravel wanted me to spy on, the prospect of resuming the tea and suffering the consequences of shifting my consciousness to the minds of nocturnal animals, and possibly also to dragons, it was all daunting.
The assassination attempt was the last straw.
I wanted to get into bed, crawl under my blanket, cover my head with the pillow, and never come out.
"Get some rest," Ravel said. "We'll talk more tomorrow." He turned to my father. "You can rest assured that your house is well protected. No one is getting within a hundred-foot perimeter."
"Thank you." My father offered him his hand. "For this and for earlier. You might have saved the lives of both of my children."
Ravel shook it. "That's what I'm here for."
My mother was next, wringing her hands as she approached him. "As much as I love having my children here, maybe they should return to the Citadel where they can be better protected."
Ravel gifted her with one of his rare smiles and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Dylon is a rider, and Kailin is about to become one.
Danger will follow them wherever they are.
I know it's not easy to accept, but you should remember that your son is nearly immortal and your daughter soon will be as well.
Contrary to the rumors, we don't lose riders often. "
I was glad he hadn't told her about the dangers he suspected in the Citadel.
My mother swallowed hard. "I'll try."
"Be alert," Ravel told me. "If anything seems suspicious, tell Onyx, and he will communicate it to me."
I nodded.
"Well," Dylon said after Ravel left. "Now I know why Gran's cooking was especially tasty today. It might have been our last meal."
"Don't joke about that," I said, but I understood his impulse to make light of the situation.
When the world tilted off its axis, sometimes dark humor was the only way to cope.