Lament (Scars of the Sundering Book 2) (30 page)

Novice Ludek glowered for a
moment as she stumbled but reached out to steady her. “I see you passed your
Initiate Trials, Drak.”

“Weeks ago.” She smoothed out her
robes. Delilah still didn’t like wearing them, but at least the new ones didn’t
irritate her scales.

He pointed toward the shelf
behind where he was seated. “Need something from here?”

“I don’t know. I’m looking for
the
Rose Concordat
.”

“Go back out.” Ludek pointed to
the main hall. “It’s on a pedestal in the center of the room. Don’t remove it
from the pedestal, understand? You’ll probably need to stand on a chair to
reach it. Sorry.”

Delilah thanked Ludek and
followed his directions. The pedestal towered over her.
No wonder I didn’t
see it.
The drak sorceress searched for a chair to drag over. The
screeching the chair made as she dragged it turned heads and made her cringe.
She cursed herself and left it before tiptoeing back to the pedestal.

She pointed her staff at the
chair.
Time to put those classes to work, Deli-girl.
“
Ehpipléon
soe’ma
.” Delilah hissed the incantation through clenched teeth, careful not
to raise her voice in the somber confines of the library. She drew on her
conjuration skills to do the heavy lifting. Levitation was not a skill she
mastered easily. Master Valyrian compared her style to that of a hammer,
admitting that sometimes a hammer was the proper tool for a job but also noted
that often a fine set of watchmaker’s tools was more appropriate. Delilah
gritted her teeth, and though the chair wobbled and nearly slammed into the
pedestal, she set it down in a spot close enough for her to climb up and view
the codex.

As she climbed into the chair,
she heard soft applause behind her. Seneschal Lyov clapped and bowed his head
in deference. Delilah chuckled and turned to the
Rose Concordat
. Its
binding was thick, rough, primitive even. The codex, bound between two
leather-covered planks of wood, predated The Sundering, written in the Age of
Legend.

Delilah marveled at how well the
Rose
Concordat
weathered the last thousand years. Tomes like the Grimoire of
Gil-Li were preserved by the magic contained within them, but the
Rose
Concordat
was not enchanted; it was simply a book of rules.

The binding creaked as she opened
it, and she realized she knew not what she sought.

* * *

“Have you gone mad?” Kali slammed
the door behind Boss Steelhand as the minotaur exited and then spun on her
mate.

At least she waited until he
left.
Kale took Kali’s hands, but she pushed him away.

“I’m making an effort not to
become involved in any capers, crimes, or shady activities, and you practically
invite them right into our home!”

“Look, Kali, it’s the best way to
get in to see Deli and get her—”

“I’m your mate, Kale!” Kali
pushed past him and stormed into the living quarters. “I’m supposed to rate
higher than your sister!”

Kale felt a twinge of guilt at
the accusation he favored one over the other. He followed Kali to their
bedroom. “It’s not about that—”

“Of course it is! It always is!
You bought this place so your sister would have a place to stay and for the
stuff in the cave below. You made a deal with that minotaur so you could see
her again.” Kali clenched her fists but trembled as she yelled. “You should
have mated with her!”

Kale cringed and scuffed his foot
on the floor. She spoke the truth, even if he felt she blew things out of
proportion. “I was trying to make things easier for us. I didn’t want to pay
him anything, and we’re not trying to cause trouble. I need Deli to see that
she’s making our lives harder. Ours, Kali. Not just mine.”

Collapsing onto the edge of the
bed, Kali grasped her head with both hands. “You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?” Kale sat next to her,
spreading his wings and enveloping her within one of them.

“Boss Steelhand warns us not to
become involved in local politics, but don’t you see? Involving ourselves with
him is being involved in local politics. This isn’t like me working shady deals
to free my people from a salt mine. This city has something going on that we
don’t need to be involved in.” Kali took Kale’s hand. “I did my part. I just
want a quiet life now. With you. Draklings. Friends and family.”

“I want that, too.” Kale laid his
head on Kali’s shoulder. “But the draks here, they’re our people, too. If we
can help them, shouldn’t we?”

“Oh!” Kali grunted in frustration
and hung her head. “That’s the damnable misery of it, isn’t it?”

Kale sympathized with Kali’s
worries about them getting in over their heads, but he already felt like his
head was underwater. “I want to help my sister, but I don’t want you mad at me.
I don’t know what I’m doing, really. What should we do?”

“We’ll do it together.”

“What?”

Kali pushed Kale’s head off her
shoulder and faced him as she placed a hand on his cheek. “We’ll do this job
for Boss Steelhand together. After we’ve convinced your sister to stop the drak
messiah nonsense, we’re going to come back here and convince all these draks
that we’re just plain draks, like them. We are going to gain control of this
situation.”

It sounded like a good idea, but
Kale wasn’t just a plain drak, and anyone with eyes could see that. Plain draks
were possessed of neither wings nor stripes, and he had both. It would be
difficult to convince the thousands of draks in Muncifer that generations of
stories were false. It gave him an idea, though.

“Maybe we should talk to that
drak with the broadsheets?” Kale struggled to remember his name. “He can help
us spread the word.”

“Now that is a good idea.” Kali
nuzzled him. “We’ll talk to him after seeing your sister.”

They sat together in silence for
a while before Kale decided it was time to meet with Boss Steelhand’s contact
and fulfill their obligation. “He’s had enough time to get to where he was
going. Let’s do our part.”

They made their way to the Stone
Maiden where Boss Steelhand stated their contact would be waiting with the
package. Characteristic of Muncifer weather, rain clouds from the mountains
moved in since they returned from their morning ride. Half of the time, the
storms passed over without emptying their clouds. Kale hoped this would be one
of those times, though he brought his hat and pulled it down over his head.

Navigating crowds in the upper
part of the city was always a tricky affair for the draks. Humans and minotaurs
often did not notice those smaller than themselves. For Kale and Kali, today
was even worse. They were nervous about their task, and every screech of a
child, every dismayed shout, and every whinny of a horse resisting its master
seemed extra alarming.

As usual, no one paid the two
draks any mind. A man stood before the statue gracing the front of the Stone Maiden,
bouncing from foot to foot and licking his lips. He held no package visible to
Kale.

“Is that our guy?” Kali pointed
at the nervous man.

He glanced over as Kale was about
to answer and then approached them. His eyes darted this way and that. “You’re the
first drak I’ve seen with wings. Must be the one I’m looking for.”

Kale checked the perimeter and
confirmed no one observing them. “Boss Steel—”

“Yeah, yeah. We all know who
we’re working for.” The man reached into the folds of his cloak and produced a
strongbox the size of Kale’s fist. “You’re taking this to the elf master. Don’t
know his name, but he’s the only elf there.”

The box was light, almost
weightless. Kale wondered if there was anything at all within. The man reached
into another pouch and produced a brass seal. “Take this. It’ll identify you as
a proper courier.”

He licked his lips and darted
away, disappearing into the crowd. Kale handed the seal to Kali. “I guess
that’s it.”

She examined the seal and put it
in her pouch. “What do you think is in it?”

“It feels empty.” Kale shook the
box. He didn’t hear anything rattle or move within. “I have no idea. Let’s just
find the recipient and hand it off.”

They passed half-a-dozen street
vendors selling aromatic meats and prepared dishes that made Kale’s belly
grumble. He wanted to stop off for an ale or mead and answer that grumble but
needed to see this task through. A few merchants called out to him,
complimenting his hat, vying for his attention, but Kale ignored them all.

When they arrived at the gates to
the Arcane University, two guards stood watch, leaning on their halberds. Kale
thought they might be the same guards who were posted the last time he tried to
visit.

One held up a hand to stop them.
“No visitors. Keep walking, little drak.”

Kali held up the seal. “We’re
couriers. We have a delivery for the elf master.”

One guard regarded the other and
then he took the seal. He examined it and returned it to Kali. “Fine. Master
Valyrian is…” He looked at his counterpart. The other guard shrugged. “No idea.
He’s the only elf in there. Ask someone in grey or brown robes. Don’t bother
the other masters.”

They opened the gates for Kale
and Kali, and the two draks entered the Arcane University. Kale gazed at the
variety of buildings surrounding the courtyard. They resembled the buildings in
other sections of Muncifer, though perhaps were a bit more colorful. The large
tree shading most of the courtyard with its canopy of brilliant crimson leaves
reminded him of the World Tree at Drak-Anor, albeit much smaller.

“This is it?” Kale looked at his
mate and shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

A group of students rushed past.
Kale and Kali jumped backward to avoid being trampled. Certain that finding the
elf wizard would be impossible unless he was outside, Kale tried to appear
nonchalant. He didn’t want to risk too much scrutiny by asking everyone they
came across.

One of the novices noticed the
two out-of-place draks and approached them. “Are you supposed to be here?”

“We have a delivery for the elf.”
Kale hoped that was specific enough.

“Oh, Master Valyrian.” The novice
bit his lip and looked behind him. “I think he’s… oh, there he is. Over there
by the Initiate Quarters.” The novice pointed at a sprawling, half-timbered
stone building. It was difficult for Kale to see over the heads of all the
students milling about, but he thought he saw a tall, slender person speaking
to one of them.

“Thank you.” Kale and Kali bowed
to the novice and then hurried across the courtyard, keeping the elf in sight.
As they hastened closer, Kale was sure the man was the elf whom they sought.
His mossy-green hair and nut-brown skin was a sure giveaway, even if the tips
of his ears weren’t poking through his hair.

“Master Valaran!” Kale cringed as
he butchered the name, but it was enough to catch the elf’s attention.

“It’s Valyrian, yes? Oh!” The
elf’s eyes widened and his mouth turned up in a smile. “A winged, striped drak!
You must be Novice Delilah’s brother!” He scanned the courtyard a moment and
then knelt to meet Kale’s eyes. “How did you gain entry? There is a strict
no-visitors policy.”

Kali held out the seal. “We have
a delivery for you.”

Kale handed Master Valyrian the
box. “I was hoping to run into Deli, but I won’t stick around if it will get
her in trouble. I have an important message for her, though.”

Master Valyrian took the box.
“Ah! Yes, I have been waiting for this!” He hid the box away in his robes and
pulled out his wand. “
Ageliofedros
.” A glowing, jade-green rabbit
coalesced from magical tendrils.

“Fetch Novice Delilah, please.
Tell her to meet me in front of the Initiates’ Quarters straight away.”

The rabbit clicked its teeth and
hopped away. Master Valyrian sheathed his wand and stood. “She should be along
presently. Now you won’t need to wander around, and if anyone complains, you’re
still making your delivery.”

Kale rocked back on his heels. He
had not expected any of the wizards to be helpful. “Thank you!”

The draks watched the novices and
initiates in the courtyard as they waited for Delilah. Most were divided into
small groups, talking among themselves. A few groups were far separated from
the others, practicing illusory magic, and Kale heard periodic cheers erupt
from a group firing arcane blasts at practice dummies on the far side of the
compound.

They did not have to wait long
for Delilah. She strode through the crowds with purpose, moving students aside
with her staff when they stepped in front of her without looking. When she saw
Kale, she broke into a run and squealed.

“Kale!” She dropped her staff and
wrapped her arms around him. Delilah dropped her brother and picked up her
staff as she cleared her throat. As she smoothed her robes, she nodded to Kali.

“Well, now that you’re reunited,
I’m just going to step over there a moment.” Master Valyrian gestured in the
direction of the Blood Oak. “You can let yourselves out.”