Omari Haru
TWENTY-FOUR
As they’d started making all their plans and discussing the importance of disguises once they were in Bellcairn, one enormous problem had immediately reared its head: How the hell were they going to get to Damardor?
Normally, they would have taken a ship, but the seas were currently crawling with Order ships. The odds of being boarded by the Order or simply sunk were far too high. Any attempt to outrun them or fight back would draw unwanted attention. It was critical that they sneak into the country.
Flying in via dragon was also out. Haru could fly all of them a short distance, but taking all three of them over the mountains that covered Zastrad and parts of Uris-Oladul was out of the question. They’d freeze before they arrived.
There had been one option remaining: A train line ran from Sirelis all the way to the southern border with Zastrad and former New Rosanthe, where it ended in the tiny town of Green Hollow.
From there, they could go through the narrow pass in the mountains between Zastrad and New Rosanthe.
Unless the Order had gotten greedy, that pass was still in Zastrad and would allow them to cross into Uris-Oladul without putting a toe into New Rosanthe.
From there, it was a somewhat safe and fast trek across southern Uris-Oladul to Damardor and the capital.
The bonus was that most of the territory was uninhabited forest. Haru could fly them most of the distance without anyone noticing.
“This plan is insane,” Adrian grumbled from the other side of their private room on the train.
It was their second full day on the train, and Haru was now accustomed to the gentle rocking as it steadily clacked its way across Caspagir.
It had been slow progress. Shey had explained that this train line was the main one for the country and connected most of the major cities outside of Sirelis.
The first day had been filled with stops, but today had been faster travel with only a couple of stops.
“You dislike traveling by train, my Adrian?” Haru inquired with a soft smile at his little dark rain cloud.
Adrian scowled. “It isn’t about traveling by train.
I did it some in Erya, but not much. No, the problem is that we don’t know what’s happening in Green Hollow right now.
The town is so damn close to the border with New Rosanthe.
I wouldn’t be surprised if those bastards have sent in soldiers to harass the people. ”
His mate spoke the truth. In the last few hours, Shey had stopped getting messages from Sirelis.
Green Hollow wasn’t just close to New Rosanthe.
The town was also close to the Ordas. As a result, this stretch of the railroad swung close to that danger zone.
The old magic blocked out all signals. Shey had explained that old-fashioned telegraph lines ran from Green Hollow to Wolfpine and Lewes—towns farther north—so they weren’t completely cut off.
But Green Hollow was very much a frontier town.
Haru could see the appeal of living in a tiny town, away from the overwhelming hustle and bustle of cities like Sirelis. The one major town on the Isle of Stone sat on the edge of the chasm with tall buildings and many shops for all people to enjoy—both dragons and those poor outcasts.
Yet, all the clan homes were much quieter and less busy. Sure, hundreds of Omari clan mates constantly surrounded him, but they were all family. Not strangers.
While he had still seen little of Sirelis, it was very similar to his cousin’s home in Stormbreak Point. And Stormbreak had all the same crazy, busy activity of rushing cars, tall buildings, and hundreds of thousands of strangers. Adrian had spent his entire life there. It was his home.
Could he be happy living on the Isle of Stone with all its tranquility?
He knew his mate enjoyed all his visits, but he wasn’t sure if it was a place he could see himself staying for years.
The sound of the door rolling open broke his wandering thoughts. He glanced up as Adrian crossed the tiny room and sat on the bench seat beside Haru. Tyche stood in the doorway with a slight frown on his lips.
“We found food, but don’t expect much,” he announced, holding a large brown paper bag by the handles in front of him. “Apparently by the time they get to the end of the line, the dining car has been cleaned out, and they didn’t bother to restock at the last station.”
He entered the room and dropped into the seat that Adrian had just vacated and slid down so that he was nearly touching the wall of the car, leaving ample room for Shey.
The prince was a couple of steps behind him, his arms full of bottles of water. Adrian reached out and claimed two, freeing Shey up enough that he could reach behind him and slide the door shut.
As soon as Shey sat next to Tyche, Haru set up the narrow table that was attached to the wall and stretched out between the two benches.
Tyche started unloading the treasures he had collected.
There were six sandwiches, all wrapped in white paper, small bags of chips, and little cups filled with chopped bits of fruit.
He was right. There wasn’t much of a meal.
Thankfully, their dinner the previous night had been more substantial.
“We ran into the conductor while getting lunch. He said that we should arrive in Green Hollow in about an hour.”
Haru glanced out the window where he could glimpse overcast skies against a dark forest. It was hard to tell, but it should be about midday. “Are we going to stay the night in Green Hollow and head out in the morning?”
Shey grunted, never lifting his eyes from where he was swapping half of his turkey sandwich for half of Tyche’s roast beef.
“For now, we’re sticking with the story of being backpackers hiking through some of the Zastrad mountains.
Green Hollow is a very small town. They’re going to notice outsiders. ”
“Which means they’re going to notice a group of outsiders who suddenly disappear in the middle of the night,” Tyche said around a mouthful of his sandwich.
Haru grinned and unwrapped his sandwich. “So, you’re saying that we won’t fly out directly from the city.”
Tyche snorted and immediately choked on the food in his mouth. Shey reached over and patted him on the back while Adrian elbowed Haru in the ribs. Haru couldn’t help it. He loved to make Tyche snicker.
“No, we’re not flying out immediately.” Adrian cracked the seal on his water and unscrewed the lid. “I’m sure the mountain pass won’t be too bad to start. We can probably walk it for a few hours, make sure that we’re well away from other people before you shift.”
A low groan rumbled from Tyche, and his slender shoulders slumped. “Ugh. I hate mountains. It’s the main reason I’ve seen so little of Zastrad. The country is like ninety percent mountain, and I don’t fly.”
Adrian set down his water after taking a drink and unwrapped the sandwich he’d selected. “I can’t imagine walking across Thia the way you have. How did you even know where you were going?”
Tyche’s head popped up, and his brow furrowed. “What do you mean? When I was in the mood to move on from where I was, I’d pack up my things and pick a direction. Usually, it was the direction that had the flattest ground and clearest skies. Walking in the rain sucks.”
“Yeah, but how did you know where the towns were so you could buy supplies?”
Tyche’s smile softened as he stared at Adrian, and there was laughter in his eyes.
“What towns? I’m older than what you think of as towns.
There were no roads or beaten paths for me.
In those first few thousand years, humans were scarce and widely scattered.
Every once in a while, I’d catch sight of smoke on the horizon and cautiously head toward it.
Sometimes I’d find a large nomad encampment that had settled in a particular valley for its herds.
If they were friendly, we’d do some trading.
It’s only recently that you’ve got cities and roads.
You can’t go anywhere without tripping over humans. ”
Shey lifted his head and rolled his eyes skyward. “Recently, he says. Caspagir, as a kingdom, is more than five hundred years old. Our earliest towns date back centuries before that.”
Tyche smirked and lifted his chin, looking quite smug. “Yes. Recently.”
Haru always felt quite old anytime he was with humans, but talking to Tyche made him feel as if he were barely out of his shell. As if his scales hadn’t even started to harden.
“My poor old man.” Shey swooped in and pressed a quick kiss to Tyche’s cheek even as the god took another bite of his sandwich. Tyche smirked, humming to himself as he chewed.
Beside Haru, Adrian stiffened, and he shot Haru a look out of the corner of his eye. There had been a general sense that something was developing between Shey and Ty, but this was the first time the prince had shown the minor god public affection quite like this.
As tempted as he was to make a comment, he thought it was more prudent to wait until he could steal a private word with Tyche. Then he would have vital information to share with Adrian, who enjoyed fun gossip like this.
They ate their meal, Shey sharing the few bits of information he had about Green Hollow. As far as he knew, there was no record of any member of the royal family visiting Green Hollow, so all information came second or thirdhand.
“The last time New Rosanthe invaded Caspagir, they went around Green Hollow and traveled a distance through the Ordas, hitting the town of Shallow Edge. That one had a small military base we used to train our soldiers. It was close enough to the Ordas that we occasionally got creature attacks.”
Adrian nodded at Shey’s words as he finished his sandwich.
“That’s where Caelan and the others first reached Caspagir after they were forced to abandon their train and walk the last several miles through the Ordas.
” He grinned. “Sorry again about blowing up your base. Just a shame I didn’t get to help them. ”
Shey snorted. “Yeah, it would have been nice if they hadn’t completely leveled the place, but I’d rather it be blown to bits than house New Rosanthe soldiers.”
“Weren’t there ordinary citizens living in Shallow Edge too?”
Shey grunted and folded up the paper wrapper to throw away.
“There were about thirty people who lived there who weren’t part of the military.
They provided services to the base and the soldiers’ families who followed them there.
We’ve only recently started to rebuild the training base.
We’ve offered the people who wanted to move a payout for their property and a bonus for what they had to go through with New Rosanthe.
There are a few people who are staying even though the base won’t be operational for another year.
They’re receiving a monthly stipend until the base is open. ”
Tyche lifted his elbow, bumping it against Shey’s arm. “Look at you taking care of your people.”
“It was the least we could do after what they went through. Plus, I talked to the commanding officer, and she told us about how those shops and other places offered the soldiers a pleasing respite from work. A taste of home. I don’t want my soldiers to miss that when they are sent to the base again.
Shallow Edge is incredibly remote. It’s a hard life.
I just want to do what I can to make it a little less difficult for them. ”
As they were finishing their meal, the train lurched, and a horrible screeching split the air. Shey and Tyche were thrown forward into the table while Adrian and Haru slammed back in their seats.
As soon as they came to a stop, Shey was on his feet and hurrying to the door. “We’re not at Green Hollow yet.”
“Cow on the tracks?” Tyche suggested.
“Doubtful,” he muttered as he stuck his head out the door and peered along the corridor.
Haru had taken a walk through the train shortly after their last stop late the previous night and found that there were fewer than a dozen people on the entire train. Even so, the sound of panicked questions and thumping footsteps echoed through the quiet.
Shey twisted to peer into their room. “Adrian, come with me to check out the problem. Haru and Tyche, pack up our things to go.”
The prince had barely finished speaking when he zipped out of the room, Adrian right on his heels. Haru exchanged a brief look with Tyche to see the same worry he felt mirrored in the god’s green eyes.
“Did you throw those bones of yours this morning to see how this trip would go?” Haru asked as Tyche helped him to collapse the table.
“Yes.”
“And?”
“You don’t want to know.”
That was about what he’d expected. No one had said the words out loud, but there had been no need. If the Order had gone to the trouble of attacking Sirelis with its ships, it would be no great shock if the country moved ground troops into Caspagir from the south.
As soon as the table was stowed, Tyche zipped out of the room and hurried to the small room next door to this one that he’d shared at night with Shey. There wasn’t much to pack. They had brought along only what they could carry on their backs.
Haru grabbed Adrian’s bag first and tucked away the few things the guard had pulled out during the day.
He tried to ignore the frantic beat of his heart and keep his wandering mind from fearful thoughts of things happening to his mate while he was out of sight.
He pulled his bag from the shelf over his head and stuffed in the last two sandwiches they hadn’t eaten with the chips.
They’d each packed rations for the hike in case they weren’t able to get supplies in Green Hollow.
Worst-case scenario, Haru felt confident that he could hunt for what food they needed.
The most important thing was getting out of Caspagir safely and into Zastrad.