Lost mark 3 The Queen of Death: (27 page)

"It’s been a long life.” She smiled. "For such reasons, my people do not trust strangers. You will not be permitted inside the palisades.”

"We don’t wish to stay long,” Espre said. "We probably wouldn’t have come at all if not for the dragons.”

"Where are you bound?” asked Zanga.

Espre looked back at Kandler. He sheathed his sword

and stepped forward, meeting Zanga’s studious gaze.

"We’re on our way to Argonnessen,” he said.

"Of course,” said Zanga. "My people can take you to Totem Beach. That is where we worship at the feet of the great idols.”

"Who do you worship?” asked Sallah, carefully nonchalant.

Zanga glanced at the silver flame embroidered on Sallah’s tabard. Blood and dirt stained the slashed and torn garment, which now barely covered the lady knight’s breastplate, but Sallah had refused to abandon it.

"The dragons, of course.”

Kandler saw Sallah bite her tongue. Her first instinct when faced with such beliefs would be to spread the faith of the Silver Flame, but she managed to avoid any hint of proselytizing. For that, the justicar gave thanks.

"We’ll want to go a bit farther inland,” Burch said.

Zanga’s brow creased with concern. "How far?” she asked.

"Did you recognize the mark on Espre’s back?” Kandler said.

He didn’t want to talk about any long-range plans with Zanga, not right now. If her people could bring them to Totem Beach, perhaps that would be enough.

"Of course. It is a dragonmark.”

"Could you tell which one?”

Kandler heard Espre’s breath catch in her chest. If the Seren had recognized the Mark of Death, he needed to know what that meant to them—including why they had not killed the girl on the spot.

Zanga shook her head. "We do not see many of the marks of favor on Seren. We have little need for them. We enjoy the direct attention of the dragons instead.”

"Then why did you demand to see it?”

"How’d you know she had one?” Burch asked the islander.

Zanga flashed a serene smile. "I didn’t. We only knew that Greffykor bade us watch for one among the invaders who sometimes find our shores.”

"That’s the silver dragon who founded Gref,” Espre said to Kandler and the others. "He studies the Prophecy."

"Did the Prophecy tell him to look for you?"

Espre shrugged. "It seems so.”

Kandler stared at the islanders all around them, then back at Zanga. "I think I’d like to meet this dragon.”

"Greffykor said you would,” Zanga said. "Once more, his wisdom is proven.”

The shrouded woman turned to say something in Draconic to the other islanders, and a cry of joy went up among them. It pleased Kandler to see them smiling. They seemed far less dangerous.

"So,” Kandler said, "can you tell us how to reach this Greffykor? ”

"No,” Zanga said, beaming with excitement. "It is a dangerous journey through unfamiliar territory. There are no roads. It must be approached by air.”

Burch pointed a finger toward the airship overhead. "I think we got that angle covered.”

"I know,” Zanga said, her eyes wide and her smile growing larger. "That’s what makes this all so wonderful.”

"How’s that?” Kandler asked. The woman’s glee confused him. He wondered if they might not have been better off getting into the fight. At least with swords drawn he knew what to expect.

"Because I will take you there myself.”

Zanga said this not as a request or an order, but as a matter of fact, as if she had chosen to comment on the particular shade of blue in the sky.

"Fantastic!” said Espre. As the words left her mouth, though, she spied the sour look on Kandler’s face and winced. "That’s not a good thing?”

Kandler forced a smile onto his lips. "It’s a very gracious offer,” he said, "especially from someone we just met, but I would guess that Zanga’s people need her here far more than we would.”

The shrouded woman laughed. "You do not know much about Seren life,” she said. "Most days the biggest challenge put before me is to divine the weather. Sometimes I need to prepare a poultice or set a broken bone, but all are well here now. Unlike in Khorvaire, we have few sicknesses here. We live by the sea, and by the grace of the dragons it and the jungle provide all that we need. For what we want, we sometimes go to war against our neighbors, but at the moment we are at peace.”

"Sounds nice,” Burch said, eyeing the long, sandy beach and the tropical trees that lined it. "When this is all over, I might think about shacking up in one of those huts.”

"Still,” Kandler said to Zanga, "Burch here is an excellent navigator. If you just point him in the right direction, I’m sure we’ll be able to find the way.”

Zanga frowned. "Without a Shroud of Scales aboard, the first dragon that sees you will knock your little airship from the sky.”

Kandler grimaced. "Perhaps we could borrow the shroud from you for the trip. I wouldn’t want to—” He could tell from the look on Zanga’s face that this path led nowhere.

"A Shroud of Scales is more than the garment,” she said. "It is the person inside of it. Without me, my shroud is just a set of scales.” She gave Kandler a shrewd look. "You cannot fool the dragons. They see everything.”

That was just what Kandler feared most.

"Very well,” he said, surrendering. "I would be delighted.”

Chapter

43

T
he sun hung low in the western sky, out over the open waters of the Dragonreach as the
Phoenix
scudded along the Seren shoreline. As they rounded the southwestern tip of the island, a breathtaking mountain range hove into the eastern horizon. The rays of the setting sun painted the white-rock mountains a breathtaking panoply of reds, oranges, and purples.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sallah said as she joined Kandler where he’d been standing alone at the airship’s bow. The breeze ruffled her curly, red hair, teasing it out in long spirals behind her as she faced into the wind.

Kandler nodded. "In most cases, I’d be thrilled about the sunset for an entirely different reason.”

"So we could approach this dragon under cover of night?” She looked back at the ring of fire encircling the airship. "This may be a wonderful way to travel, but we won’t be sneaking up on anyone.”

Kandler smiled at her and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. "I’m glad you found me,” he said.

"There aren’t many places to lose someone on a ship this size.”

"I meant in Mardakine.”

Sallah stared out at the mountains. "I know what you meant.”

Kandler let the comment lie for a moment, then said. "I wanted to thank you for coming along with us.”

"I told Espre I would honor her decision. I am true to my word.”

"You didn’t have to do that. You could have gone back to Thrane empty handed, or you could have tried to kidnap her and stolen her away to Flamekeep.”

Sallah gasped. "You know, I hadn’t thought of that.” She saw Kandler’s stunned look and smiled. "I’m only joking—of course I thought of that.”

Despite himself, the thought of Sallah considering going to any means to accomplish her goals impressed Kandler—although not as much as the fact that she’d chosen the high road instead.

"I’m a Knight of the Silver Flame. I’ve been trained since birth to become the best of my Order, and I have never failed in my missions.”

"How many missions have you had?” Kandler couldn’t resist the urge to needle the woman a bit. She rewarded his efforts with a sly smile.

"That’s not the point.”

"Then what is?”

"That this was the first mission given to me by Jaela Daran directly from the Flame itself, and you presented me with two options: kidnap an innocent girl and succeed or travel with her instead and watch her die.”

Sallah grew quiet. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. "I had my orders, and I defied them.”

"Why did you do it? ”

Sallah sighed and stared out at the darkest part of the sky. There in the east, the stars had begun to come out.

and Kandler could see traces of the Ring of Siberys there. He could see seven of the moons already, and the night was still young.

"Being a Knight of the Silver Flame is about far more than just following orders,” Sallah said. "We serve as a shining example of what is right in the world. We inspire others to reach for the heights we have attained and maintain. We follow a higher moral code so that we may become closer to the Flame’s purity with both our actions and our words. Kidnapping an innocent child doesn’t fit with that, no matter what the excuse.”

Kandler gazed at the woman. She seemed more beautiful than ever. "You might want to tell that to Te’oma,” he said.

"She wouldn’t make much of a knight.” Sallah gave Kandler a half smile and moved closer to him. "I’ve learned a great deal on this trip.”

"About what?”

"The world. Myself.”

"Any of it good?”

"I learned what I like in a man.”

Kandler smiled into the darkness. "The Order must not have left you a lot of time for men.”

"Not much,” she said, moving closer to him.

"You think if you had the chance to see even more of the world that you might change your mind?”

"About the world?”

Kandler leaned in and kissed Sallah. Her warm, soft lips bore unspoken promises that he knew would have to go unfulfilled for now.

"No,” she whispered into his ear. "I don’t think I would.”

"I thought you didn’t want to have much to do with me.” "That would have made life easier I’m sure. I’m not here on this airship because of you. Espre is my main concern.

Just because I haven’t convinced her to come with me to Thrane yet doesn’t mean I never will.”

"Hope means a lot to you.”

"I prefer to call it faith. The Speaker of the Flame sent me here for a reason. I may not yet entirely fathom what it is—or which way my path lies—but I have faith that it will work out for the best if I remain strong and pure and dedicated to my beliefs.”

"The best for you, or the best for your Order?” Kandler thought of the other knights they’d lost along the way: Gweir, Levritt, Brendis—even Sallah’s father, Deothen. Had dying been the best thing for them?

"They are one and the same thing. I have dedicated my life to the Silver Flame. It is my cause, and anything that advances it—even my own death, should that be called for—is in my interests.”

Kandler rubbed his chin. "So where do I fit into all of that?”

"Wherever you would like.” Sallah’s smile turned coy. "Are Knights of the Silver Flame allowed to marry outside of the Order?”

"You’re getting a little ahead of yourself, I think.” "Humor me.”

"All right,” she said. "I’m living proof of such marriages. My mother grew up on a farm outside Flamekeep. She served as the innkeeper in her father’s inn until she met my father.”

"Did your mother convert to the faith?”

"What makes you think that she wasn’t an adherent of the Church?”

"Most innkeepers I know are agnostic.”

"Fair enough.” Sallah paused. "No, she never did. It was what drove them apart.”

"They ended their marriage?”

"The Church doesn’t permit such things. A matrimonial vow is until death. They chose to live separate but faithful lives.”

"That must have been hard on you.”

Sallah lowered her eyes. "We all have our burdens to bear.”

"Am I to be your salve?”

Sallah raised her chin and gazed at him. "I’d like that.” Kandler took her in his arms, and they kissed again. When they parted, he said. "Why tell me all this now? Right before we’re about to go meet with a dragon?”

"If we survive this, I want for us to be together. I thought you should know that.”

"You don’t think we'll survive this.” He peered deep into her eyes.

She did not flinch. "No, and I couldn’t stand the idea of dying without telling you how I feel.”

"I’m glad you did,” Kandler said.

"Truly? ”

"I’ve been standing here at the bow for the past few hours, trying to figure out just how I could find a way to tell you the same thing.”

The justicar took the lady knight in his arms.

"Land ho!” Monja called from the bridge.

Sallah and Kandler broke apart. "She must have been a pirate in a previous life,” said Kandler.

"Do you believe in such things? Multiple lives?” Kandler grinned as he walked back down the deck of the airship with her, hand in hand. "No more than I believe in anything else.”

As they approached the bridge, Kandler turned his head to port to see what Monja was pointing at. Off in the distance, he spotted a series of floating lights. In the darkness, he would have thought they were a little more than a tightly clustered constellation of stars. When he looked at them closely, though, he saw that they moved.