The Shattered Land

CHAPTER 6

The Dagger River flows through a deep canyon. As it runs south toward the coastline and the Thunder Sea, it meets up with two tributaries running east and west; the humans who first settled the region called this the Hilt. The city of Sharn was built on the top of the canyon wall hundreds of feet above the vast river, but the river trade was far too valuable for the city to pass up, so Cliffside was born: a community carved into the wall of the canyon itself. A web of stairways and bridges crisscrossed the stone face, and the wall was studded with the facades of buildings that stretched deep into the rock beyond.

A steady stream of skycoaches passed between the docks of the Dagger and the city far above, occasionally pausing at one of the Cliffside inns or brothels. These flying boats were an indulgence for those with silver to spare; for Daine, paying for a skycoach was as sensible as throwing a few sovereigns off the edge of a tower. Daine preferred to use the lifts-levitating platforms that slowly made their way from the tops of the towers to the bottom and back again. Travelers might have to wait a little while before one would arrive, but the lifts were free, safe, and reliable.

Usually.

“Oh, this is a good omen,” Daine said. “Eight months in Sharn, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of a lift needing to be repaired. What could go wrong with a lift, anyway?”

Lei said nothing. A light rain was sweeping through the canyon, and Lei had her oilskin cloak wrapped tightly around her body. Her silence was a beacon warning of her foul mood; Lei rarely passed up a chance to talk about anything magical. She had accepted Daine’s apology, but she’d barely spoken to him since then. Pierce was walking ahead of them, carving a safe path through the throngs of people clustered on the Cliffside bridges. Merchants called out to them as they passed, and beggars cajoled and pleaded, flaunting the wounds that they had supposedly suffered during the Last War. Daine knew that Jode would have known the difference between the true cripples and the fakes, but he saw only misery. The thought of Jode’s face brought a wave of loneliness.

“Lei,” he said. “You’re angry. I get it, but what’s the point of coming if we’re not even going to talk?”

He reached and put his hand on her shoulder, and she turned to look at him. Without saying a word, she thrust the tip of her staff directly at his face. Instinct took over; he threw himself to the side, and the staff narrowly missed his neck. Even as he opened his mouth, he heard a loud cry followed by choking gasps. A tall, emaciated changeling was kneeling on the bridge behind him, gagging and clutching his throat; a small knife had fallen from his hand.

“Someone needs to watch out for you,” Lei said. She didn’t smile as she offered him a hand up. “Around here, watch your purse.”

The incident on the bridge helped to cool Lei’s anger, and by the time they had reached the docks on the Dagger’s edge she had dropped the wall of silence.

“Why haven’t we been here before?” Daine said, stepping over a pile of what appeared to be ogre dung. He could see a few of the massive creatures unloading crates from a nearby cargo ship; apparently they weren’t very particular when it came to hygiene. “It’s got all the comforts of High Walls, not to mention a thief in every crowd and fresh shit in the streets.” He studied a pair of merchants who were haggling with their fists. “I wonder how much one of those little caves on the cliffs costs.”

“I came down here a time or two during my guild training,” Lei said absently, studying the ships.

This wasn’t much of a surprise, considering that it was Lei who’d known the directions to Greenman Pier, but all the same Daine wondered what business a young Lei might have in such a dingy neighborhood. “Why was that, exactly?”

“Oh, combat training.”

Daine glanced at her, but her face was a picture of distracted innocence. “You couldn’t do that at the enclave?”

“My instructor said it wasn’t the same if you learned under controlled conditions. Though I don’t know … looking back on it, perhaps he was just trying to get rid of me.”

“Yeah … perhaps.”

Pierce paused, and Daine almost walked into him. Pierce pointed toward the river. “I believe that is our ship.”

Greenman Pier was, surprisingly enough, green. Daine couldn’t make out the names of the vessels docked there, but Pierce’s eyes were far sharper than his. The ship Pierce had chosen was a small boat, its hull stained black and silver. The sails were black, and the kraken’s arms of House Lyrandar were emblazoned on the main sail.

“There’s a wind spirit bound to the sail,” Lei said thoughtfully. “See how it’s rippling slightly, but none of the others are? Should make for a swift voyage, even if it’s not as fast as an airship or a larger elemental galleon.” She pondered the ship for a moment, and just as Daine was about to start walking she spoke again. “Who is she?”

“Lakashtai?” It had to come up sooner or later. “We met her at the King of Fire months ago, during that whole business with Teral and the brainsucker. She bought us drinks. Remember?”

Lei rolled her eyes. “Of course. She bought us drinks, and eight months later, she shows up and threatens to kill you, and on that basis you’re about to jump on a boat with her? She said you sought her out.”

“Oh, that. Well. Yeah.”

“I don’t like this. I don’t like her. How do you know anything she says is true?”

“I don’t, Lei. All I can tell you is that I trust her. I had a problem when we first came to Sharn, and she helped me with it. You don’t have to come.”

“Don’t start that again.” Lei looked back at the boat. “It’s just … did you ask for her help this time?”

“No,” Daine admitted. “She just showed up.”

“How did she even know you were having problems?”

“Because I am the cause of them?” The voice was right behind then.

Daine and Lei spun around. There was Lakashtai, a backpack slung over a shoulder and her cloak draped across one pale arm. She was wearing dark blue breeches tucked into tall boots of black leather and a sleeveless shirt with the same indigo hue. A wide black belt was wrapped around her waist, dark leather laced with an intricate, mazelike pattern of silver lines. Her only other adornment was a silver pendant bearing a large green crystal. The stone was exactly the same shade as her eyes, and it too seemed to glow in the shadows. Seeing their expressions, she laughed musically.

“Will you stop DOING that?” Daine said. His sword was already in his hand-he’d drawn it as he was turning.

She nodded solemnly. “There was no door to knock on.”

“Some people just make noise. It works wonders.” Daine studied the kalashtar woman. “Lei has a point though-how did you know I was in trouble?”

“You told me.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Oh, but you did.” She pointed at his belt, and Lei blanched. “When I helped you before, I left a crystal for you. It’s in your pouch right now.”

Daine reached into the pouch and produced the sliver of emerald crystal. He did have the vaguest memory of picking it up after she’d helped him fight off the changeling that had been attacking his mind, but since then he’d completely forgotten about it. “This?”

“Yes. Think of it as a sort of alarm. I wanted to be certain that your treatment had been successful. If anyone tampers with your thoughts,” she tapped the green stone of her pendant, “I can feel it. I should have found you sooner, but distance is a factor and I’ve been far from Sharn.”

Daine looked down at the shard, a little disturbed that the thing could actually peer into his mind. He tossed it to Lakashtai. “Great. Now we’re all here, you can have it back.”

She shook her head and tossed it back to him, and he instinctively caught it. “Keep it,” she said. “Now more than ever, you are in need of protection. I do not know what lies ahead of us, and I must know if your status changes.”

He didn’t like it, but it made sense, and Daine slipped the stone back into the purse.

“Now,” Lakashtai said, “our ship awaits. Pardon the pressure, but I think it would be best if we were to leave swiftly.”

She walked toward the pier. Her posture was straight, every step precisely measured. Just like her appearance, there was something about her that wasn’t quite right-something just a little too perfect.

Lei and Daine exchanged glances, but Daine couldn’t think of anything to say, so they followed.

“Why are you going to Xen’drik, anyway?” Lei asked as they walked down the green pier.

There were a few other ships moored at the docks, but few signs of people; the sun had set, and Daine imagined that most of the sailors were at Cliffside taverns. Even looking at their ship, he didn’t see any movement in the rigging or people on deck.

“I am afraid that is not my secret to tell,” Lakashtai said.

“Oh?”

“You have finally emerged from your last war, Lei. My people have a struggle of their own, and it is far from over.”

“For you, it ends here.” A figure leapt down from the deck of the Lyrandar vessel-a lithe figure in a long, dark cloak. Her face was hidden by her hood, but Daine could see the glow of green eyes, and he remembered that voice. Catching Lei’s eye, he glanced down at his hands, placing his right index finger on his left thumb. She blinked slowly, her hand dropping down to her belt. Pierce had also seen the motion-prepare to engage, supernatural threat.

“Tashana.” Lakashtai stepped forward, raising her hands before her. There was surprise in her voice-was there even a touch of fear?

“Must we go through these useless motions of battle?” the other woman said.

Though she appeared to be unarmed, she had the menacing aura of a predator, a tiger waiting to unsheathe her claws. She stepped forward and passed into the pool of light from a hanging lantern-and in that moment Daine caught a clear glimpse of her pale features and the white braid wrapped around her throat. There was no question-it was the woman from his dream.

Sword and dagger were in his hand in an instant. Pierce’s arrow flew to his bowstring, and Lei pulled a short wand of polished densewood from her belt, but as Daine took his first step toward the stranger, he met her gaze-and a wave of rippling force spread out toward him. It was just the vaguest distortion in the air, the shimmer of heat in the desert. When it struck him, there was no heat. There was no sensation at all. All feeling, all thought seemed to recede, and he hardly noticed when his hands fell to his sides. Though he couldn’t turn his head to look at Pierce and Lei, the sound of bow, staff, and wand striking the ground told him they were as powerless as he was.

Whatever the force was, Lakashtai had evaded it. The kalashtar woman brought up her hand in a sweeping arc, and Daine saw that it was glittering with light; as it passed across her torso, every sparkle became a jagged shard of green crystal flying toward the foe. Tashana howled with rage and pain as the storm of glass slammed into her, but she was still standing when the burst had passed.

“How many of you do I have to kill?”

Tashana ripped away the shreds of her cloak, and darkness boiled out from beneath. Oily mist surrounded her, forming the ghostly outline of the terrible creature he’d seen in his vision. The few sailors on the docks scattered, a few pausing at a safe distance to watch the spectacle; none showed any interest in getting involved or summoning the watch.

It was more like a dance than a battle. Lakashtai moved with unnatural grace, as if she knew every move her enemy was going to make; she would duck or spin just far enough to avoid Tashana’s shadowy claws. Her expression was one of calm determination. As impressive as her efforts were, Lakashtai had no time to counterattack; her every thought was on defense, and it was clear that her skills would not protect her forever; the next pass left her with a long gash along her forearm, darkness parting flesh as a blade cuts grass.

The sight of blood against the pale skin gave Daine new resolve. He was weak and numb, but it was nothing compared to the horror he’d fought just hours before, and that memory was fresh in his mind. Reaching within, he called on that same energy-anger, sorrow, anything he could feel-and threw that fury against the dull weight that seemed to hang across his muscles. Feeling returned, a slow throbbing as if his entire body was being jabbed with needles. Ignoring the pain, he dropped to one knee and snatched up his weapons.

Even as he broke free from the paralysis, the shadowy creature finally caught up with Lakashtai. A powerful backhanded blow threw her down against the boards of the pier. Her enemy raised a massive claw high in the air to deal the final blow.

Daine flung his dagger, and the blade cut through the monstrous silhouette to pierce the upraised hand within. Tashana howled, pulling the dagger from her and flinging it aside. He was charging forward even as she turned to face him.

There was no time to think, and Daine let his instincts take over. Her claws were long, but his blade was longer. He took full advantage of that reach, pouncing in with a quick thrust and then darting back before she could strike. As Daine fell into the rhythm of the battle, he began to grow more confident; in time, he was sure that he could wear her down.

Presently, Tashana stopped trying to hit Daine. She matched his movements, and they slowly circled one another. “You’re a fool to stand with her,” Tashana said. Her voice was distorted by the shadows, inhumanly deep and slow.

“Just doing what comes naturally,” Daine said.

Something was bothering him-after a moment he realized what it was. Tashana’s dark shroud was shifting, twisting into a new shape. What did it mean? What was she doing?

“Then learn the price of your folly.” The mist faded completely, and Daine froze in horror.

The figure beneath the darkness was not Tashana-it was Lei. Blood was streaming from her maimed hand and a dozen small wounds. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell to the ground. Without thinking, he dropped his sword and ran toward her.

There was a terrible cry of pain, and in that instant Lei was gone. The dark figure was there again, right in front of him, but now two white-feathered arrows were protruding from her chest. A moment later the cry faded away-and so did Tashana.

Turning around, Daine saw Pierce, his great bow in his hands. Behind him, Lei-uninjured-moaned and rubbed her head.

“What happened?” she said, gingerly kneeling to pick up her fallen weapons.

“I don’t know,” Daine replied. He looked over at Lakashtai, who lay crumpled against a wooden pylon. “But I think we’d better find out.”