Onyx Eyes: Chapter Five, part one

If you’re new here and would like to read the previous chapters, click here.

I got edits this week! Both my first round edits for Rebels (The Safe Lands, book 3) and my final edits for Ambushed (mini-mission 2.5), the next installment in the Mission League series. That said, I’m a bit overwhelmed. I was only able to write half a chapter this week. And for the next month—or until I turn in my edits—I’ll post half a chapter on Fridays.

This week, Drake goes to the Aerial kingdom wearing FinBorl’s mask. 

 

Chapter Five, part one

 

Just after breakfast, the procession set off. King FosterBrokk, his wife and son, and the rest of his court had filled the tournament stands to see the Aerial king off. It gave the appearance of a great celebration, but Drake knew better.

Relations between the Grounder and Aerial kingdoms were more strained than ever.

Drake had been given a horse and rode behind Prince Suel in the procession. A pack horse walked beside him. It was tethered to his horse and carried the prince’s belongings.

As they passed the largest portion of the crowd, the Aerial prince unfurled his wings in one motion. It sounded like a maid shaking out a bed sheet.

The crowd sucked in a collective breath at the sight. Drake could not object to such a reaction. Prince Suel’s impressive wings were honey gold and orange with deep blue ribs.

Show off.

Just before Drake exited the gate, he caught sight of Kenneth, Roose, and Og, standing beside the gate. Kenneth’s gaze was the same as always: thoughtful. Roose looked like he might jump the wall and break out his sword, rescuing Drake from this risky mission. And Og simply looked terrified.

Drake had gone to Roose last night and told him about the narrows. His lieutenant wanted him to release FinBorl and abandon his mission to spy on the Aerial court. There was really no way of knowing who had taken AyanaRynn through the narrows. Perhaps it was that dead end that convinced Drake to continue with the plan, much to Roose’s frustration. But Drake had to do something. He’d already broken the law to get wings. He may as well see where that plan led.

Drake nodded at his men, hoping that little action would convey his confidence.

Then he passed out the gate.

Instantly a dozen Aerial servants, who’d been on foot, rose into the air, flapping their wings and lifting higher and higher. They quickly vanished over the treetops. Drake searched FinBorl’s mind and learned that these Aerials would warn the staff in Cloudbright to prepare the castle for the royal family’s return. They would also send the dragons.

Aerials had tamed dragons?

Though Drake saw the dragons in FinBorl’s memory, he could not imagine how such a thing would work.

The procession kept a slow pace, and it took most the morning to reach the prairie. Once they did, a yell up ahead slowed the procession to a stop.

“Water,” Prince Suel called out.

Drake paused a moment, then realized the prince was speaking to him. He slid off his horse and removed a fresh water jug from the pack horse beside him. He carried it to the prince, who had climbed off his horse as well.

Drake handed the water jug to Prince Suel. The prince took it and walked away. Drake stared after him, wondering where he was going.

Tag squirmed in his pocket. I smell dragons.

Drake scanned the skyline. Sure enough, a cluster of several dozen dragons approached. Some of them were carrying large items between them. Carriages. Three of them.

They were going to fly the royal family back in carriages? How?

It appears as though we are going to ride them, Drake told Tag.

Preposterous. No dragon would allow itself to be ridden.

These seem to.

“I didn’t take you for a dragon lover.” LanTreb stopped beside Drake, a saddlebag over his shoulder. “Shouldn’t you be gathering the prince’s things?”

Drake scowled at the Aerial. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Oh ho! Touchy.” LanTreb sauntered past.

Drake watched the dragons land up ahead, awed by how easily they touched down in such a tight spot. He quickly searched FinBorl’s memories for what he was supposed to do. Only the bags attached to Prince Suel’s horse, Drake’s horse, and the pack horse that carried Prince Suel’s belongings were FinBorl’s responsibility. He was to transfer the packs to the backs of dragons.

Drake took note of Prince Tremon’s valets, who were leading their horses toward the dragons. Drake gathered the reins on his three horses and did the same.

Tagboth wiggled in Drake’s pocket, but Drake pinched the top closed. Stay hidden until I get this job done.

I want to see.

In a moment.

I will not ride a dragon.

Then you will stay here.

Tag growled. LanTreb glanced over his shoulder at Drake, so Drake patted his stomach as if he were experiencing indigestion.

And maybe he was. He certainly had no desire to ride a dragon, either.

The other servants approached the dragons with ease, so Drake made his way toward one of the beasts. It was yellow and green—about Tagboth’s normal size. He stepped carefully, unsure what the dragon might do.

It merely stared at him, eyes lazy and bored.

Tag snarled in Drake’s pocked. I smell them. We are too close.

Yes, well, if they smell you, they don’t care. They’re like trained mules.

At that comment, Tag roared, which, at his size, made him sound like an angry kitten. Dragon slavers! He thrashed in Drake’s pocket. Let me out! I will tear these slavers limb from limb.

You forget your size, Tag. They will feed you to one of their trained mules for a snack.

I will free my kin!

Patience. If you will calm yourself, I will do what I can to free the dragons before we leave Cloudbright. But we aren’t there yet. And if you reveal us, we might be killed before we can help them.

Tag stopped thrashing. I will be patient. But do not betray me, Malaki. I will not let you forget your promise.

I promised to try, Tag. And try I will.

Tag growled, but made no further complaint.

Drake unhooked the packs from the horses and clipped them to the dragons’ saddles. The task went smoothly, though he wasn’t sure how he would pick out his three dragons from the pack when it came time to unload them. There was the yellow and green one, a little black one with white streaks, and a beige and brown one. Yellow, black, beige. Yellow, black, beige. Yellow, black—

I can smell them, you know. You will find them again with my help.

Oh. Right. Thank you, Tag.

Tag merely growled.

Once Drake finished with the packs, FinBorl’s memories guided him to the carriages. They were similar to any a horse might pull, though these had legs instead of wheels. They were each harnessed to two dragons, one in front, one in back. The first two were white with bright blue trim and golden wings painted on the sides. They had windows covered with golden drapes. The third carriage was much larger, though it was plain, painted white with no embellishments. Servants were climbing inside.

Drake joined the servants in the third carriage and sat next to the window on the opposite end of the seat from LanTreb. He studied the other servant’s faces and searched FinBorl’s memories to learn their names and occupations.

Drake lifted the white curtain and watched the scene outside. Most the pack dragons had left. And he could see the procession of horses continuing on toward Petal Fog. Apparently only the important people and belongings were flying.

The carriage jolted forward. Drake grabbed the arm of the servant sitting next to him. CadRay, King Aelfric’s steward.

The man glared at him. Drake let go and looked at the floor just as the carriage lifted into the air. He slid back on his seat until he was lying against the wall. His stomach lurched. They seemed to be shooting vertically into the sky.

I don’t like this, Tag said.

Me either.

They soon leveled out, though the ride was far from smooth, bobbing up and down with each pump of the dragons’ wings. Drake looked out the window. They were circling Sleevmor Mountain, spiraling higher and higher. He could see the dragon caves in the mountain cliffs.

Two female servants across the carriage were chatting about Grounder fashions.

“It’s so weird to see dresses and suits made of bark and petals and moss,” one said.

“It’s disgusting.”

“They probably think we’re disgusting to wear fabrics from the human realm.”

“I think the human realm does a lot of things right,” the second said. “Did you know Grounder servants follow the royals around to keep up the spellcasts on their fancy clothing?”

“What do you mean?”

“If they don’t, their clothing will fall off. It’s not like you can sew petals together.”

The girls giggled.

Drake tuned them out, searching FinBorl’s mind for memories of what would happen once they landed.

Let me out, Tag said. Make me big so I can fly.

You know I can’t. They would see you—see that you’re not one of their dragon mules and shoot you down.

One cannot own a dragon. They are slavers. Their obedience spells reek of ash and fresh grass. Malaki trickery.

Out the window, Drake could see they were still circling the mountain, though the peak was much smaller so high up. There were almost there.

“… because AyanaRynn is nice.”

Drake perked up. It was the same two female servants as before.

“I agree that she seems nice, but I don’t think the Aerial people will accept her.”

“Why not? If Prince Suel—”

“She doesn’t have wings. Need there be any other reason?”

“If Prince Suel marries her, that’s all that really matters.”

“He can’t marry her if he can’t find her.”

“Silence.” This one word, so firm and commanding, came from CadRay.

The girls lowered their heads and gazes and spoke no more.

Did CadRay know something about AyanaRynn? Drake would have to keep an eye on him.

The carriage tipped forward, and Drake planted his feet to keep from sliding off his seat.

We’re landing, Tag.

That is obvious. And you will help me free my kin.

Drake didn’t answer. He was studying the city. Where Glasderry was a forest kingdom built in the trees, Cloudbright was built of stone.

The city furled out over the mountaintop in pillars and domes of white stone that stretched into the sky like shards of growing crystals. Clouds hung low, like mist, sometimes completely shrouding the tops of towers. The streets were golden stone, colored, no doubt, with stonecasting, but the effect was striking.

Still, Drake felt it was too clean. Too barren. Too dead. He saw no greenery at all. The Aerials seemed to have pruned it all away.

The carriage landed with a jolt, the sound of the wooden legs scraping over the stone ground. Someone opened the carriage door from the outside, and the servants began filing out. Drake followed CadRay. He stepped down onto the gold stone. He was standing in a large courtyard on top of a building. To his right, the land stretched out in a spectacular view. He could see the city of Cloudbright. Beyond that, the lower hills and forests of his home. And even farther the ocean and Kenmare, where the Merrows lived.

Behind him, the castle spiked into the sky and vanished into thick, white clouds. A cluster of servants were standing along the edge of the courtyard, beside the entrance to the palace. From FinBorl’s memories, Drake knew that this was the end of his carrying the packs. As the other valets were doing, Drake lifted his arm and a servant came running.

This was Brian, he gathered from FinBorl’s memories. A human. Drake paused at that, but Brian ran so quickly he had no time to think on it.

“How was the trip, sir?” Brian asked.

“As good as could be expected,” Drake said.

“Which dragons, sir?”

Drake spun around and looked for his three. Tag, help me out?

They are beyond the carriages.

Drake walked around the back of the servant carriage, careful to make a wide berth around the tail of the dragon that was harnessed to the back. “There.” Drake pointed at the three he now recognized easily. “That yellow and green one, the little black, and the beige.”

“Beige? Oh … you mean the Gatorsnout?”

Gatorsnout? Drake found the dragon type in FinBorl’s memories and quickly tried to name the others. “Yes , the Gatorsnout, the, um, Longwing,” he said of the yellow and green dragon, “and the, um …” He had no idea about the black.  

“The Deep Dweller?”

“Yes. Sorry. It’s been a long trip.”

“I’ll take care of them, sir. You see to the prince.”

Drake didn’t want to see to the prince at all. “Thanks, Brian.”

He walked after the other valets, toward the archway that would take him inside. There were still several servants standing along the outer wall, awaiting any summons. As he passed under the arch, he saw that they were human. Strange.

A chill gripped him at the loss of sunlight. The memory cast came only when he needed it, causing him to move slowly through the bare stone corridors and up staircases as he made his way toward the royal chambers. The higher he climbed, the fancier the décor became with carved stone pillars and colorful wall murals depicting flying Aerials or dragons.

It seems strange to see no flowers or trees anywhere, not even on the murals.

He did see more human servants, scrubbing the walls and floors, carrying dishes and linens, or running, likely on some important errand. Humans everywhere. So many more humans than in Glasderry. And none appeared to have important positions like Kenneth’s.

They make slaves of humans as well, Drake told Tag.

Human slaves? Why?

I don’t know. Drake could hardly believe it. A hundred years ago, all Malaki took human slaves. But the act was no longer acceptable. The only humans in Glasderry were old men and women who’d been long ago freed. Drake had never seen a young human in Belfaylinn before.

Yet Cloudbright had many. The Aerials were still enslaving humans. And Drake wanted to know why.

End of first half of chapter

 

I’m feeling like the story is getting a little messy here. Normally I’d just keep on going, then come back later and change things that need fixed. My concern in this chapter is that it might feel like I brushed right over the whole “Princess AyanaRynn went through the narrows” thing that Drake learned at the end of chapter four. I didn’t explain what that meant, mostly because Drake is going to go through the narrows himself at the beginning of chapter six, so the reader will experience it then and learn more about how that works.

Thoughts on that? 

Chapter five, part two, will be posted next Friday on February 14. It should be a little shorter than this section. Drake make a discovery about the human slaves that will lead him to Kaitlyn’s house.

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