Trip felt someone’s presence behind him, Zirkander coming over to stand by his shoulder.
“He’s a sorcerer, Colonel,” Zirkander drawled, his voice as casual as typical, but his eyes uncharacteristically hard. “They’ve got different rules than witches. Different genders, too, I understand.”
The colonel, who clearly hadn’t seen Zirkander when he walked in, cursed under his breath and snapped up a salute of his own. Trip sensed that he hadn’t expected to run into anyone who outranked him in his own inquest room.
Sardelle came to stand on Trip’s other side, somehow not looking out of place, though she was one of the few people not in a military uniform. “Technically, there can be male witches, but we have only sorcerers and sorceresses in Iskandia, those trained in the referatu way.”
The colonel’s eyes grew round, and he stepped back, radiating discomfort at this open talk of magic. Then his belt unbuckled, and his trousers dropped to his ankles.
“Is that the referatu way?” Zirkander murmured, his eyes much friendlier as he considered Sardelle.
Sardelle raised an innocent hand.
Jaxi snickered into Trip’s mind.
Extremely immature, Azarwrath remarked.
Tell me you didn’t laugh, Jaxi said.
I did not.
Liar.
Aunt Tadelay, the recipient of a full-on view of pale underwear as Srandark bent to yank up his trousers, gasped and whirled away, raising a hand to shield her eyes.
Trip might have laughed, but something in the distance tickled his senses. He turned toward the north wall, as if he could see through it, and stretched out with his mind.
“I thought Colonel Tlen was presiding over this inquest,” Zirkander said, not commenting on the clothing mishap.
Srandark shot him a dark look as he refastened his buckle. “She was pulled away by a political officer to be consulted on the king’s upcoming nuptials.”
“Hm.” Zirkander looked at Sardelle. “We may have made a miscalculation.”
“There’s trouble coming,” Trip said.
“Not necessarily,” Zirkander said. “Jaxi can keep dropping his drawers all day.”
“Ridge,” Sardelle admonished.
Technically, I can, Jaxi told them. That hardly required a strenuous amount of effort.
Trip shook his head. “I mean dragons. I sense them coming in. A lot of them.”
“The same group as before?” Zirkander’s tone lost all its amusement.
Trip nodded. “There are at least eight, and a powerful gold is leading them.”
“How far out?”
“Forty miles, but it won’t take them long to cover that.”
“Is your platform ready to fly?”
Trip hesitated. “It’ll fly, but we’re still in the middle of mounting the rocket launchers. Nothing’s been tested.”
“Eight dragons sound like a good way to test.”
Trip wanted to protest—no dragons, no wind, and a beautiful sunny day sounded like a good way to test his project—but what was the alternative? Go up in fliers with nothing greater than the chapaharii swords and some acid-filled bullets, and risk losing more people?
“It was six dragons last time,” Zirkander said softly, perhaps thinking the same thing, that it would only be worse if they didn’t have a way to change the odds.
Trip nodded firmly. “I’ll do my best to get it in the air, sir.”
“Good. Take Ravenwood and her dragon. If you can’t get it in the air right away, get a ride up to the hangar, and get your butt in a flier.”
“Yes, sir.”
If Rysha minded being given orders by a different battalion commander from her own, she didn’t show it. She squeezed Trip’s hand, then ran to her aunt for a quick hug and to issue a warning to lie low.
Zirkander turned to his officers, all of whom had rushed to gather around him. “Leftie and Blazer, get up to the hangar and prep the fliers. Pimples, go round up our elite sword wielders. Duck, sound the alarm, warn the city. Sardelle—” As Zirkander turned toward her, Trip wondered if he would presume to give her orders, “—I’d love to have you up there with me if you feel you’re able.” He glanced toward her stomach, though her figure had mostly returned to normal proportions since she had delivered the baby.
“I’m ready.” Sardelle reached between the chairs to pull out the two soulblades. “And Jaxi is chomping at the bit.” She tossed Azarwrath to Trip as Rysha rejoined him.
“Good,” Zirkander said. “You know I pine when you’re not in the air with me.”
“And Jaxi?”
“Yes, I pine without her fireballs incinerating enemies.”
With Azarwrath in hand, Trip was ready to take on the dragons, so he didn’t wait to hear more. He started toward the door, but found the colonel blocking the way.
“I don’t know why you think there are dragons coming when the city alarms aren’t sounding,” he said, “but I have an inquest to start in—”
His trousers descended.
“Cursed badgers’ teats,” the colonel hollered.
Zirkander grabbed the officer and pulled him out of the way, so Trip didn’t have to. “Get in the way again, and she’ll incinerate your pants.”
“Who?”
“My wife’s sword.”
Trip, already racing into the hall, didn’t hear the colonel’s response, but he was starting to understand why someone would pine for Jaxi in her absence.
Rysha ran at his side. “You think your platform is ready?”
“Seven gods, I hope so.”
24
The dragons are very close, Storyteller, Shulina Arya said as they flew over the city toward Bhrava Saruth’s temple.
Rysha and Trip rode on her back, and Rysha could feel the tension in his stiff body. He had to not only be worried about the attack—never before had this many dragons assaulted the capital all at once—but also about the performance of his weapons platform. Would it do everything he wished? And everything he had promised the king? Not getting a chance to test it first was asking for trouble.
They’ll be visible on the horizon at any moment, Trip said. I sense that they’re flying toward the city, but the temple is on that same heading. Shulina Arya, we need to get there first just in case…
You think they’ll attack your platform while it’s still on the ground? Rysha asked.
I don’t know, but I’m sure they know it exists. I had a gold dragon spy on it one day. It’s possible they don’t know exactly what it is, but they’re smart enough to make some guesses. The spy would have sensed the tainted ore.
I am very fast, Shulina Arya said. We will arrive first. And then we will go into valiant battle.
Rysha hoped she wasn’t thinking about confronting all eight at once. She would prefer to let those dragons sail overhead, become focused on the city and the fliers, and then come in from behind to attack one at a time.