Dragon-Ridden (11 page)

Her nose led her to a cart with
meat turnovers for sell. She inhaled the first two, not even tasting them and
burning her tongue in the process. The third she savored, letting the spices
burst on her tongue while the dough melted in her mouth. Yum. Finally full, she
licked her fingers clean of any remaining juices and took a look around.

Focused on the food, she’d let the
flow of the people take her where it would. The press of bodies had congregated
on either side of the street leaving a wide clear space between.

“What’s going on?” Tate asked the
woman next to her.

“Some of the nobility are touring the
Lower City,” was the excited response.

Not wanting to be pushed any
further in the crowd, Tate found a lamppost to climb. The raised base made a
good footrest and holding onto the pole anchored her in place. From her vantage
point she could see the sharply dressed soldiers in silver and dark blue
uniforms marching down the road.

The soldiers were followed by row
after row of men on horses. Dark leather reigns controlled the horse’s heads.
All of the horses wore identical silver colored armor protecting their snouts,
cheeks and chest. Each horse’s mane was braided in a unique pattern with dark
blue metal threaded through the hair. It was the only thing about the horses
that differed. Height, coloring and form were all identical. Even the riders
looked like copies of each other.

Open carriages clattered after
them, the tops left off to take advantage of the pleasant weather. The paint on
the carriage sides was a blue so dark that it looked nearly black. A crest with
a serilean serpent coiled into an intricate S was etched into each carriage’s
door. The first few carriages held young men and women, most of whom probably
hadn’t even seen their coming-of-age ceremony. They waved and smiled at the
crowd.

Older men and women occupied the
last few carriages. Unlike the women of the first few carriages whose hair had
been left hanging loose, these women had their sleek hair pulled back in
complicated knots low at the back of their heads. A few of them had brightly
colored pins or hairpieces holding their hair in place. The men, in their
darker clothes and hair pulled back into a tight queue, provided a more somber
contrast to the butterflies at their side.

All of them had the same coloring
as Umi. They must be Kairi as well.

For all the gaiety among the party,
an undercurrent of tension ran through them. Especially among the older men and
women. The guards walking on either side kept their hands close to their
weapons and watched the crowd for signs of danger.

As Tate watched, a guard shoved
away a woman trying to approach one of the carriages, causing waves of anger to
ripple through the people she was pushed into.

The women’s smiles had tightened
until they appeared to be painted in place. There was none of the usual
conversation between the carriage riders. The men seemed entirely focused on
the crowd, rather than the beauties at their side.

Ricky had been right about tensions
riding high. Someone new to the city with no background information would
probably never have noticed.

A feeling of unease sank in, and
she glanced to the rooftops. Perhaps it was time she headed back up there.

As she was preparing to step down
from her perch, her eyes met the eagle sharp glare of a man seated in the last
conveyance. Her breath froze in her lungs as he held her gaze. He did not look
pleased.

He stood, rocking his carriage and
leapt out.

Snapping back into awareness, Tate
jumped off her perch. Of all the bad luck.

Why was Ryu here? And why was he
with the Kairi in a royal procession?

The crowd swallowed her within
steps. She kept her head down as she slid past people, hoping they would
conceal her figure long enough for her to get out of sight. She had to push
past several people, leaving angry shouts in her wake.

Reaching the edge of the crowd
meant fewer people to fight through, but it also meant less camouflage. She
chanced a glance over her shoulder. Ryu was bearing down on her quickly. He
looked furious. The storm clouds gathering in his face and his considerably
larger figure motivated people to get out of his way quickly.

She fled before him. All she needed
was to get back onto the roofs. He wouldn’t be able to follow her there.
Hopefully.

Tate clambered halfway up a fence,
cursing as she went. Why hadn’t she chosen a different direction?

Ryu grabbed one leg before she could
wiggle over it, plucking her off in one smooth motion. The world tilted as she
flew through the air. She was caught in iron arms that contained her frantic
kicking and punching. Her back pressed against his chest as he kept her wrapped
in a bear hug subduing her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”
he asked.

His breath puffed against her ear.
Good to know she hadn’t been an easy capture at least.

“Let go!”

“I don’t think so,” he growled.

He dragged her cursing and wiggling
form out of the alley. People turned toward them as news of the spectacle
spread.

The parade had paused when he’d
leapt out of the carriage and many had turned to see what had caught the
gentry’s notice.

A tall well-dressed man shot him a
questioning look. Ryu shook his head firmly and waved them on.

“Damn you, Ryu,” Tate hissed. “You
have no right to do this.”

Ryu didn’t answer or even pause.
Instead, he carried her effortlessly away from the parade, not stopping until
they were several streets away. Only when he’d found a low budget
carriage-for-hire and thrown her inside did he release her.

“Colton’s Place,” he told the
driver.

She used that moment of distraction
to try to slip out the opposite side. He snatched her back, catching a
well-aimed elbow to the face. He found his seat and clasped her tightly to him,
making sure she had no room to maneuver no matter how she fought. Escape was
impossible.

He waited as she wore herself out.
She gave a last kick to the door before settling against him. He let her sit up
keeping one hand on her arm just in case.

“What are you doing here, Tate?”

She shrugged not bothering to
answer. It didn’t matter now. She was caught.

“You’re supposed to be on the
Marauder,” he said tightly.

“Well obviously I’m not,” she
snapped.

“I can see that,” he said dryly.
“What I want to know is why?”

“What does it matter?”

He frowned darkly at her. She
tightened her lips and met his gaze with her own. His head tilted slightly, and
he gave her a considering look.

He rubbed his thumb along his jaw.
“I suppose I could always send you to the Marauder so you can explain your
reasons to Jost personally.”

Tate sucked in a breath. He
couldn’t be serious. “I doubt you even know where they’ve gone.”

His face was impassive as he stared
her down. Tate shifted in her seat. Jost hadn’t told any of the crew their next
destination. He never did when they got a job. The first they’d learn about it
was when they were out at sea. Sometimes he waited until the very last minute
before telling the crew what was going on.

Ryu’s eyes hadn’t moved from her as
he waited for her answer. He seemed utterly convinced that he could do what he
threatened. Perhaps it was possible that he knew. Ryu had never been treated
like the rest of the crew.

Tate pressed herself against the
other side of the carriage, feeling a little sick to her stomach. “You know
what Jost would do to a deserter.”

He nodded.

Tate folded her arms across her
stomach and hunched her back. Did she really want to test him over this?

“It wasn’t the first time I’d been
attacked,” Tate said looking away from him.

Ryu stiffened beside her until he
resembled a very large statue. His face drained of expression, and his eyes
became very cold. The rest of the short trip passed in silence.

The carriage stopped. It rocked
gently as the horses pranced in place. Ryu swung out and held his hand out to
Tate. There was no choice but to let him help her out.

Tate’s fear had subsided. There was
no way he knew where the Marauder was headed. Even if he did it would take time
to meet up with Jost. She had no doubt she’d have devised some way to escape
before it was too late. Her palm itched to slap that mocking look off Ryu’s
face, but she couldn’t. Civilized people did not go around hitting others just
because they were irritating. Unless of course they were stronger than that
person and could get away with it. Then the rules changed.

A two story plain brown building
awaited them, simple letters spelling out its name, “Colton’s Place,” just over
the door.

Ryu placed his hand on the small of
Tate’s back ushering her inside and into a small apartment that fit a bed, desk
and small latrine. Weapons and neatly folded clothes were laid out on the desk.
Tate knew without being told they were Ryu’s.

He pushed her at the bed. “Sit.”

Left with no choice, she obeyed,
glaring at him the entire time.

There was a lazy grace to Ryu’s
movements as his feet whispered across the floor as silent as one of the
northern snowcats, not a rustle of cloth betraying him. She’d only seen him in
action once, when rival pirates attacked the Marauder. It had left a lasting
impression. He’d lashed out at his attackers with a fierce ruthlessness and
speed that had left Tate breathless. She had never seen anyone move like he
had. A whirlwind of movement, he’d left his enemy dead on the deck. He hadn’t
even been winded.

A small part of her had always
wanted to see how she’d fare against him. She’d cheat of course. When you’re
smaller and weaker than everybody else, you had to even the odds somehow. Only
a slim scrap of sense had kept her from challenging him.

Still, it was hard to remember how
dangerous he was when he made it his mission in life to by turns irritate the
hell out of her or scare her into complicity.

She was plotting the various ways
to get revenge when he bent close and said, “You know, your face is very
expressive. Every thought you have just floats across it.” Straightening he
shot her a wicked smile that said he knew exactly what she was thinking and was
looking forward to the challenge. “It’s actually quite entertaining.”

Tate harrumphed at him, telling
herself she needed to stop rising to his taunts. Only a child would let someone
continually get her goat. The worst part was she knew he saw it as a game. Like
‘let’s see how furious we can make Tate today.’

“Why didn’t you tell Jost about the
problems you were having with the rest of the crew?”

Tate hunched her shoulders refusing
to meet his gaze. She didn’t want to talk about that. It was embarrassing to
admit she hadn’t been able to take care of it on her own and had instead run
away like some coward.

“Do I have to threaten you again?”
he asked.

 “Jost couldn’t have solved my
problems.”

“How would you know?” he asked.
“You didn’t even ask him.”

He didn’t get it. “If I’d told him
he would have punished those responsible.”

“Of course he would have.”

“He would have ordered any other
member of the crew to figure out how to handle it on his own. That’s if he
didn’t have them put on shit duty for bothering him with such insignificant
matters.” Tate didn’t let him answer. “Let’s say he did punish them. What then?
All that would have accomplished is pissing off the rest of the crew who didn’t
already have a problem with me. Not to mention adding wood to the fire for
those reprimanded. Jost can’t be around me all times of the day. Eventually,
I’d have been alone when they cornered me. Only it would have been worse
because there would have been more them.” She knew she was right. She’d spent
weeks considering all the angles. Leaving the ship was the only thing she could
think of that actually solved matters. “Like I said, he couldn’t have solved my
problem.”

“And your friends? Surely they
could have helped. They could have made it clear what would happen if you
weren’t left alone.”

Tate rolled her eyes. “The only
friends I have are among the senior members of the crew. They can’t help for
the same reason Jost can’t. Most of the junior members dislike me and barely
tolerate me as it is. You know as well as I do seniors cannot indulge in
favorites. Not if they want a functioning crew.”

Ryu’s expression was closed off as
he listened. There wasn’t much he could say. She’d been accurate in her
assessment of the situation, surprisingly so.

“You picked the worst time to
desert.”

She snorted. As if she cared if she
inconvenienced him.

Tate folded her arms and watched
him as he prowled around the room. He looked a little more convinced, but not
as much as she’d like. What would she do if he turned her over to Jost?

She didn’t let her uncertainty
show, preferring to bluff her way through the confrontation, but she was
scared. Her palms were sweaty where they rested against her pants.

She watched him closely as he
seemed to come to a decision.

“What’re you even doing here?” she
asked, hoping to stall him.

He paid no attention to her
question. “You’re going to do a job for me.”

“A job?” she repeated blankly. “No,
I’m not. I need to get out of the city.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“For one, you’ll need money if you
plan on living here. Aurelia is not a cheap city to live in.”

Didn’t he hear the part where she
wanted to get out of the city? She wasn’t staying here so she didn’t care about
the cost of living. All she wanted to do was put enough distance between her
and the ocean so she could feel safe.

“I’m not staying in Aurelia,” Tate
said again. Enunciating this time.