Dragon Dodgers (Wounds in the Sky Prequels Book 1) (4 page)

“
Listen to me.” Serak’s
yell competed with everyone else’s. “The Captain already got us
into this mess. I’m the only one offering a solution.”

Serak received no answer as everyone
seemed to be involved in a discussion of their own.

Suddenly,
a blast of
shattering stoneware broke through the noise and a white cloud of
dust covered the angry crowd. The yelling was replaced by screams
of pain and everyone covered their eyes.

“
Be quiet
, you
vagabonds!” Nasur barked as the dust cleared. “You
will
discuss this matter with civility. Oh stop your whining,
Thaeus. It’s just a blind bomb.” He lifted the squirming Thaeus
from the ground and pushed him into the rest of the crowd. “Useless
earthworms. Next time I’ll drop an incendiary bomb up your
arses.”

The men tried to regain their
composure as their vision returned and the pain
subsided.

“
None of you were forced to join this Company.” Targon said.
“That means you’re a Dragon Dodger for as long as you like, not a
day longer.” He paused for effect. “Truth is, I found the mother of
all jobs. The best paying job any Company ever found. Isn’t that my
job as your Captain? Getting money in your pockets?”

T
he men stared at him
through burning, watery eyes.

“
But this can’t be done, Captain…” Said Nyssa, a towering
black woman.

“
Yes, it can. I found the job, but I also found a way to do
it.”

The room became suddenly
quiet.

“
There is an alchemist in Sandahar that has discovered a
poison. A poison so powerful, it can kill a Dragon.” Targon
continued. “My plan is to find this Alchemist and buy some of this
poison from him. After that… I’m going to hunt and kill a Dragon.
But I need your help. I’m offering you fame, and I’m offering you
more money than you can count. Runners from all over the surface
would give their balls for the privilege of standing in your
shoes.” He waited, silently counting his breaths. No one moved, no
one said anything. “Good. Get some sleep, we leave
tomorrow.”

The group of Runners spread itself around the tavern,
s
mall conversations sparking
up here and there.

Targon
sat down on a
table, hiding a sigh of relief and Nasur sat beside him.

“
There is an alchemist with a poison that kills Dragons?” He
asked, presenting a bottle of burning water and a cup.

“
It’s what I told the king.” Targon replied. He wiped sweat
from his forehead and snatched the burning water from Nasur. “I’m
just rolling with it now.” Ignoring the cup, Targon drank three
long gulps straight from the bottle.

“
I
sure hope you know
what you’re doing, Captain.” Nasur told him.

“
Boss.” Anweh called. She was standing behind his
chair.

“
Yes, Anweh.
” He said.
“What is it?”

“
The boy. You still
haven’t made your decision.”

“
Yes, I have. He’s not joining us.”

“
But…”

“
Did you hear what was just discussed or did you leave the
room at some point?”

“
The kid doesn’t have to fight a Dragon, you can leave him
in the rear or something.
Which reminds me. Have you lost your mind?!”

“
Anweh, please… Not you
too.”

“
Alright, I won’t tell you you’re going to get us all killed
for a stupid reason…
if
you go and talk to
the boy.”

Targon
pressed two
fingers against his temples and exhaled loudly. Why was it always
so hard to say no to her?

“
You’re right. I just cross
ed an entire continent, I don’t need to rest.”

Anweh grabbed his arm, pulled him up and
threw him a smile.

“
Come on boss, it won’t
take long.”

“
Don’t call me
that.”

The sickening scent of burning flesh was barely covered by
the abundant incenses lining the walls.
There was a quiet wailing coming from one corner, but
Targon could barely hear them over the repetitive mumbling of the
priests surrounding the corpses. There were only a few, since most
of the dead had been carried away by the Dragon.

Some of the
attending threw necklaces and rings into the fire, others drew
marks on their faces with mud from three large bowls in front of
the pyre. Enrig, however, did nothing. He simply stared at the
crackling flames as if he was daydreaming.

“
Your cousin
’s
parents, are they here?” Targon asked him.

“
Died two years ago.” Enrig said. “In the orchards to the
north.”

Targon
and Anweh
exchanged a glance.

The priests fell onto the floor and began to scratch it.
Their chants became louder and frantic as
if they had become impatient. Someone’s sob broke
through the hypnotizing mantra and as if on cue, Enrig left without
a word. The two Runners went after him.

They were on
one of
the lowest levels of the city. There, the tunnels were narrower,
darker and damper. Moss covered most of the walls and Targon could
almost taste the moisture in the air.

“
Is the ceremony over?”
Targon asked.

“
It won’t be over until
tomorrow.”

“
Well, that’s priests for
you right there.” Targon said. “Whatever gods they worship, they
never do anything unless they can do it outrageously.” He was
trying to lighten the mood, but failed miserably.

“
People die. Painting mud on your face and burning your
jewelry won’t change the goddess’s mind.” Enrig said. “Cavill is
gone. That’s it.”

Anweh and Targon exchanged a
nother glance.

“
Right.” Targon replied. He felt silly chasing the boy like
that. Especially since he didn’t even want to be there. He signaled
Anweh to leave, but she gave him a stare and pushed him
along.

Enrig just kept walking
, turning into narrower tunnels, going down darker
stairs.

How deep does this city go?
Targon wondered. He almost stepped on a calico cat, and
when he turned to watch it run off, stepped in dog shit. He cursed,
but kept going after the boy. After another corner, they were
forced to jump over a man lying on the ground, cradling a bottle.
From the many houses lining the corridor came a mix of screams, dog
barks and baby cries, and Targon was pretty sure a man was beating
his wife in one of the houses down the corridor. They turned one
more corner and passed through another series of doors. The new
tunnel was filled with just about the same sounds as the previous
one. The only difference was that now some houses had their doors
open. On one of them, a little girl was wiping the floor while
sobbing. On another one, a naked old man was sharpening a
knife.

Enrig
finally stopped
at the entrance of a small hovel. The door was a rotten plank that
squeaked when Enrig pushed it open. He motioned them to follow him
and went inside. From further down the hall, Targon heard the
rocking sounds of a couple having sex. Quite loudly.

“
Where the surface are
we?” Anweh asked.

“
I think we found the world’s asshole. Thank you for
bringing me here.” Targon said, then followed Enrig
inside.

The house was a dark mess, barely lit
by a couple of candles quickly running out of wax. It smelled of
vomit and bad wine.

“
You live here?” Anweh
heard herself say.

Enrig was about to say something, but
instead
, they heard a noise
from one of the rooms.

“
Enri? Is that
you?”

The voice
was female, but had a harshness to it, like the growl of an animal
too small to be fearsome. The woman came stumbling into the
furniture and stopped at the threshold of a door, leaning
precariously into it.

“
It is you…” She stopped
, staring at the strangers in her house. Her hair was a
gray fur ball and her ragged clothes hung to her body like they
belonged to someone else. “Who’s this?” She asked.

“
Mum, this is Anweh and
Targon.”

She fixed her eyes on
Anweh.

“
I’m not paying for your
whores!” The woman said.

Anweh’s mouth dropped and Targon
clenched a fist, but Enrig simply laughed.

“
Oh please… When was the
last time you paid for anything in this house?” Then he turned to
the Runners. “Ignore her.”

Enrig’s
mother spat on the ground. She tried to walk towards her son, but
her legs betrayed her, so she just stood on the same spot, holding
on to the door knob like she was about to fall off a
cliff.

“
I apologize, Captain, but
I did bring you here for a reason.” Enrig said.

He signaled
them to follow him and stepped into his own bedroom. It was like
they had been transported to a different building. The walls were
clean, the candles were new and it smelled of cinnamon. Everything
was neat and tidy. Above his bed, nailed to the wall, Enrig had a
collection of drying leaves and tree branches, all from different
species. Anweh was immediately drawn to them.

“
Wow!” She let
out.

“
You like them?” Enrig asked. He looked tremendously proud.
“Most people never even saw something like that. Well, obviously,
you two have. Being Runners and all, but…”

“
It’s very impressive.”
She said with a smile.

Enrig swell with pride.

“
Is this why you brought
us here?” Targon asked.

Something in his voice made Enrig’s
smile disappear.

“
Yeah… I mean, I wanted to show to you that I am Runner
material.”

Targon sighed.

“
Look, I’m sure most kids don’t collect things from the
surface, and I did notice how you move up there. You can read a
Dragon’s movements and know where to run. You certainly have what
it takes and you’ll be a great Runner one day, but I can’t take
you.” He paused and sighed. “Sorry kid.”

“
But, why?” Enrig’s heart
was broken.

“
Because the Dodgers aren’t going on a regular Run, this
time. We have a special mission. Too dangerous for an
apprentice.”

There was a moment of silence as
Enrig’s eyes fell to the ground.

“
Come on
, boss.” Anweh
pleaded. “You can leave him in the rear. Leave him in Sandahar,
we’ll pick him up on the way back.”

“
Sandahar?!” Enrig yelled.
“You’re going to Sandahar?”

Targon nodded.

“
I’ve been halfway to
Sandahar.”

Targon didn’t look the least bit
convinced.

“
I have, seriously. Prophet’s Peak, the mountain to the
north. I’ve been there. Slept there through the night and then came
back. I swear!”

“
You slept on the surface
for an entire night?”

“
Yeah!” Enrig boasted. “I
found this cave and slept there.”

“
Wait.” Now, Targon’s interest was piqued. “You know about a
shelter halfway between here and Sandahar?!”

“
I do.” Enrig
said.

Anweh
punched Targon in the shoulder and smiled.

“
See, he’s even useful.”
She said.

* * *

It took them about an hour to climb back
. Anweh had found lodgings for the company at a
place called ‘The Leaning Hog’. It was possibly the worst inn on
all of Saggad, but even that dump wasn’t as far down as Enrig’s
district, and compared to that part of the city, these tunnels felt
spacious, clean and luxurious.

“
What I don’t get,” Targon
told Anweh. “is why you like the kid so much.”

“
I don’t know… He reminds me of you a little.”
She shrugged. “Anyway, this is me.
Your room is upstairs”

Anweh gave Targon a
key, then turned around to unlock her own room. Targon
didn’t move.

“
What do you mean, my room?”

“
Not tonight, Targon.” She said.

“
Ok…” Targon’s unfailing
frown seemed to somehow get heavier. “Why?”

Anweh was already midway into her
room.

“
Because I don’t know what is going to happen once you have
all that gold in your pocket.”

“
You know what’s going to
happen. I need to go home, Anweh.”

“
Then take me with
you.”

Targon sighed and squeezed his burn
scar.

“
Anweh, I’m married…”

“
No, you’re not. You told
me yourself, she’s with another man.”