Complete In the Service of Dragons Read online

  Seated in his small official chamber, Yi got through the day as best as he could. The surface of his desk was buried under an avalanche of partially written scrolls and discarded proclamations; and he looked down at them, no quill in hand now, with indifference. He couldn’t find the eloquent words that eluded him no matter how hard he sought them. He wasn’t even angered as the door sprang open without a proper knock. He was too tired to find emotion.

  “Chancellor Yi, Keeper Q’yer has returned,” announced the page.

  “Show him in at once,” said the chancellor.

  “Ahh, Keeper Q’yer, do you have word from South Province?”

  The old man’s eyes perked up and a touch of color returned to his cheeks as he spoke.

  “Yes, chancellor, but I am afraid it is not good news. I received a dream message last night. The council convened this morning, and when it was over I came directly here.”

  Chancellor Yi sat, expectantly waiting for Q’yer to explain and when he didn’t he asked, seemingly exasperated, “Well?”

  “They may have already departed. Oh, it is so damned unclear.”

  “Keeper Q’yer?” asked Yi, in a shocked tone. He had never heard the keeper swear. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, yes, of course I am. It is just so frustrating, that is all.”

  The chancellor was relieved to hear that someone other than him was frustrated and confused. A Lore Keeper shouldn’t be so flustered. Yi allowed the notion to pass, thinking that perhaps it was the burden of the other’s newly appointed office.

  “Can you contact Keeper Martin?”

  “We have tried and are unsure if he received the message. We will keep trying. I bring other news as well. The council is troubled. We have lost contact with the keepers in the minor kingdoms, all contact— and, and—

  “The delegates we sent were never heard from again after our earlier council with the nobles. What of Calyin? Has the princess arrived?”

  “Midori has already arrived. Once Princess Calyin arrives I plan to make the proclamation of death. If I can ever get the words in order.”

  “Has the culprit been found yet?”

  “No, and it does not bode well. For now the search has been halted, at least until this evening.”

  “The funeral will still be delayed as we discussed, until all that is at hand is apparent. Correct? That way all those who wish to pay their respects may come and we may have time to deliberate.”

  “Yes, yes,” muttered the chancellor.

  “Do you wish the council to state the declaration tomorrow?”

  “No. Please have them do it today.”

  “What of Calyin?”

  “She should be here prior to nightfall. Proceed today with the setting of the sun. It was always King Andrew’s favorite time. The mourning period is to start immediately afterward.”

  “I will stay and give it personally. Then I will return to the council. Perhaps I can help you with that speech.”

  “You are a good man and a good friend. This desk is a mess, is it not?”

  The keeper grinned and the two set about putting the proper words to paper. Many minutes slowly crept by, turning languidly into many hours. Princess Calyin and Lord Serant arrived late in the afternoon without incidence. Chancellor Yi stood waiting for their entourage at the palace gates. At least, thought Yi, he was well prepared for their arrival, and he was also on time. He hoped everything would keep moving in a positive direction. The princess’ entourage stretched long through the city streets. A crowd was gathering to witness her homecoming. No such crowd had gathered for the other princess’ arrival.

  Although extremely travel weary, Princess Calyin’s escorts held their heads high as they paraded through the capital. Chancellor Yi, who delivered an official welcome, greeted them warmly. It was a grand occasion, to be followed by an announcement of great sorrow. Once the greetings were over, Yi quickly and tactfully set about giving the bad news to the princess and her husband, and then the announcement went out to the people.

  Calyin was very calm during the proclamation. She held her head regally high until she reached the safety of the closed doors of her quarters, where she wept openly. Lord Serant held her tightly and comforted her. He understood her pain; his parents had both been killed when he was a child. He knew what it was like to feel loss; he sincerely hoped she did not feel alone with him next to her.

  A knock on the door caused Calyin to start, even though she had been expecting it. Both Adrina and Midori had come to greet and console her. More or less, they all comforted each other. They each had loved their father very deeply. Since their mother was already gone, they had thought that he was all they had left, but they were wrong; they had each other.

  Lord Serant decided it was best to leave them alone for a time. He went in search of Chancellor Yi. He was angry, and his mind screamed out at the outrage he felt. He would have the man’s head if his negligence were to blame for Andrew’s death. Two of his personal guards followed him as he charged down the hall. The lord didn’t need to look to know that they were there, nor did he need to insure that others still watched Calyin’s door. They were his most trusted servants and wordlessly followed his unspoken orders. He paused, listening at the chamber door. A faint woman’s voice came into the hall.

  “—Chancellor Yi, so you see why Adrina must accompany us—”

  Jasmine’s sentence was cut short as Lord Serant burst into the room unannounced.

  “You vile creature, leave my sight!” shouted Lord Serant as he saw the priestess in the room. He tolerated Midori because she was family, but this one was not. Jasmine taunted him with sweeping motions in the air, but when Serant reached for his sword, she immediately and swiftly left the room. She well knew his scorn for her kind—all those of the territories held hatred for her kind.

  “You would do well to forget what you have learned,” retorted Jasmine, a last thrust at bravery.

  “You would do well to hold your wretched tongue!”

  Serant’s bodyguards quickly closed the door as Jasmine exited. Fear was evident in their eyes as they did so; they were very careful not to get too close to her. Lord Serant’s frown turned to a smile as he greeted Chancellor Yi. He was careful not to say too much, for he wanted to judge the man’s undisturbed reaction. He wanted to know if the chancellor were in any way guilty or an accomplice to the dark deed. His sense of perception was very highly tuned and he relied heavily on it. It had to be; otherwise he would not be a former Lord of the Western Territories. High Province was his home now, but his roots were forever in the territories. He still made the pilgrimage to Zashchita and Krepost’ once a year. It was his ritual of remembrance.

  “You did not have to chase her out,” said Chancellor Yi, “Jasmine is a very warm person once you get to know her.”

  “I am sure you would think so,” replied Lord Serant.

  Serant eyed Chancellor Yi, checking his expression to note whether he should cut the man’s heart out for the insult he had just been given or not.

  The chancellor was quick to add, “Your lordship, of course. I have forgotten my manners”; but in his mind he thought, what a backwards people.

  “Do not tempt me again. I will not hesitate a second time to perform my right.”

  Chancellor Yi swallowed hard. He knew what privilege the lord spoke of.

  “What is it that your lordship seeks?” he replied cordially.

  After his apology, the conversation still continued at a sluggish pace, which extremely agitated Chancellor Yi. He completely understood Serant’s innuendoes; and although he disliked them, he said nothing.

  “We were waiting until this evening to finish our searches. Perhaps you would like to lead it?”

  “Are you saying you have not even completed the search of the palace grounds yet?”

  “You are quick to judge, Lord Serant. Yes, we have searched and searched and searched. We found nothing. I ordered one final search; the western wing is all that
remains. Perhaps you would like to come with me. I need to find Father Francis, and then I will get Captain Brodst.”

  “I know the palace, chancellor. You find Father Francis. I will find the captain.”

  

  “Father Francis, may we come in?” asked Jasmine.

  “Sister Jasmine, I am sorry about before. I should have made formal introductions to Chancellor Yi. Everything is just such a mess right now.”

  “That is to be expected.”

  “Why has the first of the Mother ventured from her temple? The message we received said only Midori would return with her aides.”

  “Sister Midori has returned with her aides,” said Jasmine. “We did not intend to deceive. It was just the delicacy of the situation. Many considerations had to be taken into account. I am here for a very important purpose. We two follow parallel paths do we not?”

  “Similar yes, parallel no,” rebuked the priest.

  “No need to be harsh. I was merely suggesting. The Mother has spoken to me. I must take Princess Adrina away. It is for her own protection.”

  “I see shadings of another reason, a selfish reason.”

  “You accuse me of—” Jasmine was growing angry.

  “Yes, most certainly! I know your ways. What would you do with the child?”

  “Care for it, of course,” spoke the priestess slyly.

  “And raise it according to your ways. I speak for the Great-Father and also, I believe, for the Mother-Earth. The child’s destiny lies not with you. Adrina will remain here! Did you think that since King Andrew is dead you could just come here and take Adrina away?”

  “I did not know the old buffoon was dead. We just chanced on an opportune time.”

  “Buffoon? Get out of my sight! Go, before I have you thrown out!” screamed Francis, “If you were not with Midori, I would have you flogged for heresy!”

  “Publicly or privately?” mocked Jasmine.

  “Get out!” ordered Francis.

  Jasmine nearly knocked Yi down as she vaulted into the corridor.

  “My word!” gasped the chancellor.

  “My word indeed, you old crow! You’ll all get what you deserve!” shouted the priestess as she and Catrin retreated.

  “What was all that for?” asked Yi, as he stepped into the priest’s room.

  “A slight disagreement, nothing more,” replied Francis.

  A guardsmen approached from the hall. “Chancellor Yi, Chancellor Yi!” shouted the guardsman, “Come quickly! Captain Brodst has been looking for you.”

  “Tell the good captain he can wait a moment. I was just on my way to see him… Go along now, boy.”

  “But, Chancellor Yi, you do not understand. You have to come and see. They think they have found the assassin.” The young guard was so excited that he spoke frantically and too quickly to be understood.

  “Don’t use that word, boy. Now slow down and say that again.”

  The words were repeated.

  “Where?” was all Yi said.

  “The eastern wing. Come, I’ll show you.”

  The two old men were not as quick on their feet as the lad, and the other had to pause continually so they could catch up. He led them down several corridors, twisting this way and that, through a small open courtyard into the opposing wing, up two staircases and down a last lengthy hall. A large clump of guards filling the hallway moved so the two could pass. Yi recognized the room they were guarding; it was Father Jacob’s room. The door was ajar and sounds of a commotion could be heard.

  One of the guards, a sergeant, darted inside and retrieved Captain Brodst. The captain did not have a pleased expression on his face.

  “Chancellor, you had better wait out here.”

  “Have you found him?” asked the chancellor.

  “We have found something, that is certain. Please stay here until this is settled.”

  The captain was suitably gruff and terse. He waited in the hall no longer than he had to. Chancellor Yi didn’t have to be told not to follow; as the door swung open and then shut, he saw several dead bodies littering the floor. He knew the danger. Father Francis followed the captain into the room and closed the door behind himself, intent on saying the last rites. He wasn’t prepared for what he found. Three guards lay dead on the floor, another lay wounded near death, and still two others battled with a creature in the corner of the room.

  “It appears trapped!” yelled 2nd Captain Der as he and several others battled the creature.

  Father Francis was a man knowledgeable in the lore. He recognized the trapped creature. A quick scan of the chamber revealed to him why the thing had been drawn to the room and trapped within. He thought to himself that Father Jacob was a smart man. A shadow, whispered the priest to himself, suddenly reminded of the child’s tale concerning such a creature. Speak its name and it shall disappear, he said, again in a whisper, adding power to the words of the tale.

  “Shadow be gone,” he intoned in a light voice that didn’t even rise above the cacophony of shrieks and shouts.

  The child’s tale proved to be only that, a child’s tale.

  “You are lucky that it is so weak now!” yelled Francis, raising his voice above the howling cackle the creature was starting to make.

  “Lucky?” yelled Captain Brodst looking to the dead.

  Captain Der shouted, “Should I finish it?”

  The shadow was beginning to fade with each consecutive blow.

  “Yes!” screamed Francis, whispering, “If you can.” He added, after a moment of thought, “We will get no information from this being!”

  The shadow and Father Francis locked eyes as he spoke. It waited until Francis stopped talking and then as it cackled wildly, it lunged, sweeping past the captain, straight for Francis. It had heard his barely audible whisper and it mocked him with its attack. His soul, the soul of a holy man, would bring greater reward than the souls of the three it had already devoured. Its icy fingers clasped the priest’s throat, ripping at it as the two fell to the floor.

  Another guard jumped into the fray, followed by Captain Brodst, who until now had been watching the creature, studying it. The guard hacked at the shadow. Captain Der blocked the blow with his sword and cuffed the guard with his elbow and then in the face with the back of his free hand. All the guards backed away from his wild grin, fearing his blade and thinking him mad. They waited, vying for the opportunity to tackle him.

  Captain Brodst stood steady, unmoving. He watched the others and the second captain. He threw his hand up in a signal of halt, just as the others were about to pounce. Hold off, he beckoned. Watch, wait and pray, he indicated.

  The shadow howled in glee, squeezing its icy, clawed hands tighter around the priest’s throat. Only the aura of good the All-Father granted the priest saved him and allowed him a few more frantic moments of survival. Father Francis struggled against the weakened will of the creature. Good and evil clashed. He cursed its darkness with the name of the Great-Father, seeking to send it back to where it had come from. The raven-hued shadow shimmered with a silver light, revealing its true form. Father Francis cursed the darkness and again cleansed himself in the name of the Father, bathing in the might of good. A high-pitched squeal emitted from the shadow as the silver light intensified, gathering not only along the outer edge but also bursting up from within the center of the black form, tiny eruptions of good. With a final shriek, the shadow winked out of existence.

  Father Francis chased after the shadow with his own mocking form of prose. “There is truth to be found in children’s tales. You have only to believe,” he whispered.

  Captain Der helped the priest to his feet. The other guardsmen moved to engage the captain, still fearing him mad. Father Francis was quick to calm them. He turned to the perplexed guard and said, “If your blow was not blocked, I would not be here now. They are unlike us. They are a form of energy. They can shift their substance. Your blow would have gone through it into me. Second Captain Der knew this, an
d in his own way, he was protecting me.”

  “I am sorry Father Francis, I thought—”

  “It is a natural mistake, there is no need for an apology. Come; let us be gone from this room! There is a foulness in the air.”

  Chancellor Yi heard the fighting stop and entered the chamber with two guards in front of him.

  “Father Francis, what has happened? Are you all right?”

  “We have found your assassin!”

  “You have?” he said as he looked about the room, seeing only the dead guards.