16. A True Migdaw'Wed
Astra learns the price of war...
The Lost City continues the journey of Astra, respected Head Librarian of the Tiered Library in the renown monastery Qordashi deep in the Balashilar mountains, after an attack on her home destroyed everything she knew and took the lives of people she loved. Her childhood companion, Traz, has returned after 25 years for mysterious reasons, and along with the Am’Ayat warrior Xavai they are on the run from the attackers: snow dragons and the dreaded tribe of Yosoi warriors.
Previously: Astra is still determined to save Traz...
Once Xavai had them packed up, things moved quickly. It seemed to Astra that life had unraveled like a poorly knitted scarf over the past week, so fast that sometimes she still thought she would be waking up in her private cell, the sounds for fourth bell ringing in her ears, calling her to morning prayer.
Instead, she was clutching the talons that were carefully wrapped around her as the fire dragon gently hopped down the mountainside. It wavered a few times, flapping its hole-riddled wings, and it occurred to Astra that having to hold them in its front claws probably unbalanced it some, but the dragon did not stop or put them down.
Unlike the giant snow dragons, the fire dragon was small and so its talons only gripped their upper bodies, their legs hanging free. Xavai had stuffed a rag into his mouth. He claimed it was to help from crying out in pain, but Astra had to wonder from his terrified expression if there was more to it. In fact, Astra was beginning to wish she had done the same, given the way her teeth clacked together every time the dragon landed. She tried to brace her head against the talon to minimize the impact, but that meant she kept bumping her head against it with every bounce. She understood what the dragon had meant when it called them ‘breakable.’
When they got close to the camp, the dragon’s hops got shorter and shorter until it was mostly skipping, trying to keep quiet.
The camp was more spread out than it looked from afar. The single snow dragon lounged a good distance away, at least by human measures, and the Yosoi traders were strewn about the tents and wagons, sitting and talking or doing small tasks. Far away from the dragon were the small, hardy ponies used to pull the wagons, tied up in scattered groups to reduce the risk of all of them stampeding if one got spooked.
As they approached, the snow dragon stirred, lifting its head and glaring around suspiciously. It did not sit up or move, though, and Astra let out a breath she had not known she was holding. The fire dragon moved much more slowly after that, obviously just as scared of the dragon as Astra. It went past the camp to the river where the boats were tied up. There were three large ones and two smaller ones, and up close they were less boat than uncovered wagon beds set on the water—in fact, Astra belatedly realized, they were the wagons that the ponies had pulled up to that point, with the wheels removed. It was an ingenious wide, oval design with pointed ends that she realized fit the description of keelboats she had read about for years, but she had never read about ones that could be converted to wagons. She put the knowledge to the side to think about later.
“Which tent is Traz kept in?” Astra asked, and Xavai squinted at the sun before pointing to one of the smaller tents, his arm stretched out between the talons wrapped around him. Astra reached out to put a hand on the Grail.
“Put us down behind that stack of baskets. We will cause a distraction after that.”
:YES:
It was as much agreement as she was going to get, so Astra simply withdrew her hand and prepared to be standing on her own two feet again.
Xavai spit the rag out of his mouth and unsheathed his sword as they crouched down low behind the stack of baskets where the dragon had, quite literally, dropped them. Astra suspected she had cracked a tooth on landing, but managed to keep her wits about her as they peered out from their hiding place. The dragon had become invisible the moment it let go, but Astra had become attuned to the noises the beast made and was able to track it in a vague way as it moved slowly toward the tent Traz was inside.
They ducked and held their breath when the snow dragon’s head raised up again to look around. It obviously knew something was amiss, and Astra prayed to Tema’s eyes that it did not get any more suspicious than it already was.
Xavai was glaring at the boats. He pointed at one of the smaller ones, then at himself, then did a prancing thing with his fingers that Astra took to mean that he was going to sneak over to that boat. She held up a finger to get him to hold still for a moment, then peered at the tent where Traz was hopefully held. The front flap was held back and there was nothing to indicate that anything was happening there, but at least enough time had passed for the fire dragon to reach it.
Then all six hells broke loose as a young woman ran screaming out of the tent, yelling in Yosoi about the disappearing man.
The traders scrambled from their relaxed stations and ran for the tent. There was a series of loud thuds that Astra and Xavai recognized as the fire dragon hopping away, which caused the snow dragon to stand up, hissing fog.
“Damnation!” Xavai snarled and leapt up, running for the boat with a yell, his sword held ready for battle. Astra scrambled to catch up, then started working on untying the boat from the stake in the ground it was tethered to while Xavai stood guard. She noticed peripherally that the traders had turned to stare at them, and there was a single moment of silence as everyone took in what was happening. Then there was a guttural yell from one of the Yosoi men and they rushed towards Xavai and Astra, drawing weapons as they ran.
The boat was untied but settled on the mud of the bank, so it did not move much at all as Astra threw herself against it. They had perhaps a five seconds before they were set upon by a murderous group of armed Yosoi, and the snow dragon had started their way as well. Time itself slowed down, everything around them becoming sharply focused and bright as Astra pushed against the boat, even knowing that her effort was of no use. It would not get them far enough away, fast enough, to escape being slaughtered. Yet, she could not change course, could not stop herself from trying, if that was all she had left.
Xavai’s first swing cut down a tall, blond warrior easily, blood spraying out everywhere over all of them, droplets hitting the water. Astra did not have time to get nauseous at the sight or the coppery smell. There were perhaps seven to ten Yosoi actively attacking them, and as skilled and armored as Xavai was, he was simply outnumbered and neatly surrounded.
Astra felt arms grab her and yank her away from the boat and she screamed, flailing, causing both her and her attacker to stumble and fall backwards. She took the opportunity as she crawled back up to pull the knife Xavai had given her and hold it out. The Yosoi in front of her, an old and scarred woman, smiled with nearly black teeth and lunged at her, grabbing her hand with the knife and twisting. Astra dropped the knife with a screech of pain but stomped on the woman’s foot. Cursing, the woman shoved Astra backwards, slamming her into the edge of the boat. It jarred loose under her as pain seared through her back, and she tipped backwards to fall over the side, into it.
The Yosoi had picked up the knife and was climbing over the edge of the boat when a black blur of something slammed into her, shoving her forward. She yelled in anger but dropped the knife as she tried to right herself, so Astra took the chance and grabbed the knife, raising it up with both hands like she had seen the Superiors do when sacrificing animals. It slid easily into the woman’s back and a pulse of bright soul dust spiraled out of her, then back in, and finally flew up into the air. Astra yanked the knife back in shock, knowing the woman was dead, and uncertain of how she had killed her so fast.
She looked up to see the temple dogs on each side of Xavai, snarling like demons. The Yosoi who were not dead or injured had pulled back, weapons still held high but terror written over their faces. At least three bodies lay on the ground, and one looked like it had not died from Xavai’s sword but from being ripped apart. Astra’s stomach roiled, but she threw the knife to the floor of the boat and pushed the dead Yosoi out of it, the body splashing in the water. The boat rocked a little, free of the shore but not moving. Looking around, Astra saw a long paddle and grabbed it, shoving its end into the ground and pushing against it.
“Get in! Get in before they regroup!” She shouted at Xavai and, she hoped, the dogs.
He spun and ran to the boat, feet splashing in the water as he threw himself over the edge and landed with an inglorious thud on the floor. After a moment to sort himself out, he stood up and grabbed another pole paddle and joined Astra in shoving away from the store. Only then did Astra look up and see the snow dragon, and gasped at the sight. Its huge wings were spread wide and its head was bobbing around on its long neck as it hissed freezing fog, its entire being focused on the temple dogs who were standing still but snarling back at it.
The Yosoi were in the midst of retreating from the showdown between the magical creatures, wisely seeing, as Astra did, that it was a contest humans had no place in. The dogs were but a fraction of the size and power of the snow dragon, but it was obviously hesitant to attack them straight on. Instead it held itself in a defensive posture, waiting for a strike.
“Ruby! Emerald! Come here now!” Astra yelled, going back to pushing the boat along with the pole. She felt it meet the current, which tugged them further from the shore. Astra yelled for the dogs one more time. They barked at the dragon, who flinched and hopped backwards, before they spun around and ran in long strides for the shore, taking a giant and impossible leap to land on the edge of the boat, halfway in and halfway out of it. The boat tipped dangerously as they scrabbled for traction to pull themselves in. Xavai used his pole paddle to push up under Emerald and toss him fully into the boat, giving Ruby enough leverage to finishing climbing in on her own. The dragon screeched in fury and took off, its wings nearly booming with sound as it jumped aloft.
The current grabbed them and dragged the boat into the free-flowing part of the river. Astra and Xavai paused to look up at the sky.
“They can follow us easily, this way down the river,” Xavai said, leaning on his pole paddle. He was splattered with blood and was again pressing one hand up under his chest plate, against his ribs. Astra knew they would have to re-wrap his bindings soon.
“One problem at a time. At least the Yosoi can’t follow. They only have a few riding horses, and the rest are wagon ponies. And there are…there are fewer of them now.” She looked down at the long knife, which was still bloody and laying on the bottom of the boat.
Xavai dropped the paddle and limped over to her. “You did well, Grav Astra, a true migdaw’wed.” He put a hand on her shoulder.
“I do not know that word, in Atyim.” She kept her gaze on the knife.
He let go, crouched down painfully, and picked up the knife. He made a show of cleaning it off using his tunic, then put it gently away in the sheath still lashed to Astra’s waist.
“It is the name of the warrior priestesses of the Temple at Migda.” He put his hand on her shoulder again, this time squeezing gently while looking her in the eye. “Every kill they make is blessed in the eyes of God. Praise Olah’ah.”
She did not think the kill she made was blessed by anyone, much less a pagan god or even Bu of the North. She closed her eyes and focused on the current under their feet, carrying her away from her crimes. She only hoped that it was all worth it, and she would meet up with Traz again soon.
NEXT: Sitting Ducks
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