Soulblade (15 page)

With sweaty fingers, she dug out the spyglass again. She had to wipe her palms before she could manage to open it and growled in irritation at the delay. Finally, she got it pointed at the airship in the cloudy sky.

As she had suspected, the shaven-headed Cofah soldiers were not preparing for battle. Many of them had tense postures as they watched the dragon circle, but nobody had a weapon raised.

“Correction,” she mumbled, halting her perusal of the deck when she chanced upon two queues of soldiers, pistols and swords in hand. They weren’t aiming at anything, but were ready to defend themselves—and the person standing between them, a bald man with loose flowing purple garments trimmed in gold.

Cas had never seen Emperor Salatak, but those were the colors of royalty in Cofahre.

He leaned his hands against the railing, looking out toward the dragon. Cas couldn’t see his face or the dragon from this point of view. The soldiers and the hull, railing, and deck structures on the airship were in the way. Cas clambered atop a rock, no longer worrying about being seen as she tried to get a better view. Was he talking to the dragon? Communicating with it? Judging by his stance, he did not appear concerned.

“Not good,” Cas mumbled.

The dirigible turned a few degrees, following the coast as it continued south, and she lost sight of the emperor. She lowered her spyglass. It didn’t matter. She had seen enough. She needed to warn Tolemek and the others. Since Tylie and Phelistoth were with them, the group might be in more danger than if Tolemek, Kaika, and Quataldo had gone in alone. It seemed likely that if Phelistoth had sensed this dragon, it would be able to sense him right back.

At only a slightly slower pace than before, Cas ran back up the river. More snakes hissed and animals growled as she passed through, but luck was either with her, or their hunting instincts were subdued in the wake of the dragon’s passing. She made it back to the camp without running into trouble.

Once again panting, she came to a stop as soon as the others spotted her. Pimples had rolled back the camo netting from the front of his flier and sat in the cockpit.

“You need to contact Tolemek,” Cas blurted without preamble.

“I’d ask if General Zirkander let you go haring off on your own,” Blazer said, her cigar lit and tucked in the corner of her mouth, “but I know he didn’t. Next time, ask permission,
Lieutenant
.”

Blazer didn’t usually pull rank, but even in the dark, her irritation was evident. Cas resisted the urge to bristle—they had probably been worried about her and wondered if they had been spotted.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said. “Pimples?” He hadn’t activated the communication crystal yet, and she bounced on her feet, tempted to clamber up into her own cockpit. “The emperor’s airship just went past, along with a gold dragon, a gold dragon that appears to either be allied with him or in the process of forming an alliance. The others need to know.”

Duck spat. “What’s a dragon want with that curmudgeon of an old stick?”

“I don’t know, but—” Cas pointed at the cockpit. Why wasn’t Pimples obeying? “Pimples?”

He glanced at Blazer before meeting her eyes again and sighing. “We already tried to contact the others.”

The dread Cas had felt earlier returned, settling heavily in her stomach. “And?”

“They’re not answering.”

Chapter 6

S
ardelle paced about on the rocky bank of the river, her senses reaching up and down the valley as she hoped to catch a glimpse of Ridge’s aura. Bhrava Saruth flew overhead, searching from the sky. Colonel Therrik was walking along the water’s edge, his gaze toward the ground.

It had been an hour since Bhrava Saruth deposited them in the canyon, and Therrik had finally recovered some of his color. His face had been paler than chalk after riding with Sardelle on the dragon’s back, and he had thrown up behind a boulder as soon as they had landed. Sardelle was relieved he hadn’t done that in the sky. She couldn’t imagine what she would say to Bhrava Saruth as she cleaned his scales; somehow vomiting on a dragon seemed a far greater crime than doing so in the back seat of a flier.

Even I’ll agree with that
, Jaxi said.
Though it would be moderately amusing to see you polishing a god’s scales. He probably likes his high priestesses to attend him so.

Have you seen any sign of Ridge?
Sardelle asked, ignoring the teasing.

No, but I’m not the one with the tracking skills.

I do not sense anyone, high priestess
, Bhrava Saruth announced.

How far can your senses extend?

Many miles. Forty? Fifty? Dragons do not use such measurements, but I can sense humans and settlements in the mountains. I have not found the one you seek.

Forty or fifty miles? It had been more than a week since the crash, so it was possible Ridge could have walked out of that range, but was it likely? If he was injured? Was she deluding herself and wasting everyone’s time in being out here?

“This terrain can lick dragon ass,” Therrik announced, his fists on his hips as he scowled down at the rocks. Kasandral hung diagonally across his back in its scabbard, and it glowed occasionally, the sickly green seeping out around the hilt.

“You haven’t found anything,” Sardelle said, another layer of defeat draping itself over her shoulders.

“Do not question me, woman,” Therrik growled, glaring over his shoulder at her. Kasandral’s glow intensified. Therrik turned, taking a step toward her.

“
Meriyash keeno
,” Sardelle said, directing the ancient words at the sword, the phrase that told it to stand down.

She wished Therrik had kept the blade in its box instead of wearing it openly, but he seemed proud and eager to be carrying it. She rested her hand on Jaxi’s pommel.

The green glow faded, and Therrik stopped before drawing close to her. His glare grew less intense, and an exasperated expression twisted his face.

“How do I tell it to make me pissed at the right targets?” he demanded.

“I’m not sure it’s necessary for you to be...
pissed
at any targets,” Sardelle said. “Wouldn’t you prefer to be calm and in control when you go into battle?”

“I’m always in control.” He glanced at the sword hilt poking above his shoulder. “I
was
always in control.”

“But not calm?” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. She could feel the tension radiating from him, crackling in the air between them.

“I’m not a calm person.”

“No, you seem quite strained. I don’t know if that’s because of me, or if you’re always like that. As a healer, I could recommend some adaptogenic herbs that might help you modulate your stress levels. I could even make a tea that would relax you. You’d wake up feeling well rested and perky.”

Do we really want to see a perky version of Colonel Therrik?
Jaxi asked.

Therrik was looking at Sardelle as if she had three heads. “Tea? Is that what you give Zirkander?”

“No, he never seems that tense or stressed.”

Therrik snorted. “He just makes other people feel that way.”

Sardelle frowned, not wanting Therrik speaking ill of Ridge, especially if he was—

“He came out here,” Therrik said, pointing to the riverbank.

“What?” She gaped.

“I should say
someone
was dragged out of the water here,” Therrik amended. “There’s no way to prove it was him, but who else would be idiotic enough to throw himself into this remote river?”

Sardelle walked toward him, pushing aside her irritation at the insult. If Ridge was alive, what did it matter what Therrik called him?

“What do you see?” she asked, looking at the damp rocks.

Therrik’s eyes narrowed as she came close to him, and she thought she might have to order the sword to stand down again, but he simply crouched to touch a rock, then another. “These have been disturbed. That one’s been flipped over.”

Sardelle couldn’t see the difference between one rock and the next, and it seemed scant proof of someone’s passing, but she wanted to believe so badly that she found herself nodding eagerly.

“Someone was dragged out here.” Therrik pointed.

“Dragged,” she murmured, tamping down some of her hope. That didn’t mean he had been alive when it had happened.

“Impossible to track them or see steps in this.” He waved at the rocks. Unlike dirt or mud, they held no prints. “But I looked around, and there’s no sign of horse or donkey droppings. Whoever pulled him out probably didn’t go far, not if they were carrying his cloud-humping ass.”

Sardelle found the news promising, though Therrik’s delivery could use some work. “Shouldn’t you call him general, since he outranks you and it’s possible he’s alive?”

“General Cloud-humping Ass?”

Was that humor gleaming in the man’s eyes? He needed far more than tea.

“I’ll keep looking.” Therrik gazed at the slopes to either side of the river. “See if I can find a cave or sheltered area where he might have been taken.”

“Thank you.”

Dare I hope, Jaxi?
Sardelle asked.

That Therrik will start calling Ridge something flattering? Probably not.

That’s not what I was asking
.

There’s nothing wrong with hope, Sardelle. This probably happened a week ago though. He must have been pulled out of the river during the storm, before we came looking.

Meaning he could be outside of Bhrava Saruth’s range by now.
Still, a cave would be a starting place. If they found evidence that he had been there, evidence that he was alive, that would be more than she had dared hope twenty minutes ago. And if he was alive, he might already be making his way home. She might be reunited with him soon.

I’ve been thinking about that
, Jaxi said.

Our joyous reunion?

Not exactly. Assuming he is alive, then why didn’t we sense him when we searched that morning? He must have been wounded, and it doesn’t sound like anyone could have carried him far. Was someone hiding him from us?

The sorceress?
Sardelle wondered.

I still don’t know why she would want him, but if it
was
she, maybe it’s possible that she has a skill like Tylie does and that she could hide herself and Ridge from our senses.

Sardelle didn’t know what to say to that. She wanted Ridge to be alive, but she didn’t want him to be in the clutches of their enemy.
If that’s the case, then we’ll need Therrik’s tracking skills more than I realized. We’ll have to hope she left physical signs of their passing.

Better make him some tea then, if we’re going to remain in his company for a while.

You think some calming herbs will make him a better tracker? Or help him keep a leash on Kasandral?

Perhaps. Something to calm his libido too. He has an interesting mix of feelings toward you these days.

Define interesting,
she said, a desolate feeling coming over her as she watched Therrik’s back.

Do you really want me to?

Perhaps not.
She would be careful around Therrik and hope that they could find Ridge soon.
She lifted her gaze, spotting the dragon soaring among the peaks.
Bhrava Saruth? Would you mind also looking for nearby caves?

Certainly, high priestess. Will we return to the outpost tonight? I am disappointed that I did not get time to heal and bless the people there. They seemed rough and lost souls, in need of the guidance of a god.

I don’t doubt that. I don’t know if we’ll go back tonight, but I’ll be happy to return with you later if you want to heal people.
Sardelle remembered the miner who had died trying to rescue her, the one who had possessed dragon blood. When there was time, she wanted to return to the outpost and figure out if there were any other criminals there with dragon blood, people who might have been condemned because of that blood rather than because they had committed true crimes.

I will help you search for them
, Bhrava Saruth said.
You could teach them of their heritage, and they could become my worshippers.

Yes, of course. For now, I need to find Ridge and a Cofah sorceress that may hold him prisoner.

Cofah! Those moose molesters.

Almost my exact thoughts.

Did you know Phelistoth is a Cofah dragon?
Bhrava Saruth shot her the telepathic equivalent of a suspicious squint.
I almost let him touch my crystal.

Yes, but we’re trying to woo him to our side. Perhaps you should let him touch your crystal.

He cannot be trusted.

Since Sardelle could not be certain about Phelistoth’s allegiance, she did not argue the point.

I see a cave
, Bhrava Saruth announced. He had disappeared from sight.
Around that bend. Up here. This way.

His directions leave something to be desired,
Sardelle told Jaxi.

If he’s a god, maybe you’re supposed to follow him by his divine glow.

I don’t know about divinity, but I can sense him by his dragonly aura. I suppose that will do.

“Therrik?” she called. “There’s a cave around that bend. It may be what we’re looking for.”

He had been studying the ground. He lifted his head and frowned over at her. “How do you know?”

“The dragon told me.”

He looked toward the bend, back at the ground, then toward her again. “You’re a strange woman.”

As if it was her fault Bhrava Saruth chatted with her.

You were the one who originally opened up communications with him.
Jaxi sounded amused.

That was a dire situation.

I’m not sure that invalidates Therrik’s statement.

You think I’m strange?

Yes, but so am I. We’re practically sisters.