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SERPENT SQUARE

S unbasin, East Gate…

The eastern wall of the city might not have been finished, but it might as well have been. The incomplete ends at either side of the opening were earthen, tall in some places, waist-high in others. A hundred torches lent enough light to work by, and an army of muddy men buzzed around like bees, furiously adding to each side as if there were some great reward for the first to reach the middle, where enormous, black, erected gates waited to be shored up.

Another army of uniformed guards created a different sort of wall fifty feet out. Some stood with hands on hips, others held an array of weapons from long spears to simple tools. And before them waited a long string of people who, like us, had hoped to sneak inside.

Thankfully, it was a fraction of the line waiting back on the road, and they were still allowing people to enter.

“You’ll need something of value,” a woman warned us when we joined the line. Tearloch thanked her, and since he stayed put, I assumed he had something worthy of a bribe for the guards. If I needed to pay my own, it might cost me all the jewels I had, except for the crown, which I didn’t intend to part with.

We inched forward patiently as the people before us were allowed to trickle through an opening between two soldiers. They hurried past the solitary gates and melded in with the bodies shuffling down a city street beyond.

Soon, it was our turn to face the gatekeeper—a sweaty, thin man who smelled like rotten meat and strong spirits, his essence delivered by an unfortunate night breeze. He sneered at Sweetie until Tearloch stepped between them.

"Not allowing his kind through," he said, trying to see around Tearloch.

Minkin pushed her way to the front. "Aye, you are. Six of us. For the good of the city."

The man's nose lost its sneer. The tone of his voice flattened. "Whatever you say, little mother." He nodded at the guards who stepped aside to widen the gap between them, then he gestured for all of us, including Sweetie, to go through. As we hurried away, I looked back to see if the gatekeeper might change his mind, but his attention was on the next petitioners.

We turned left around the first corner we came to, then paused. Minkin struggled to catch her breath, which explained why we’d stopped.

I looked at Sweetie. "I don't understand what happened."

"Some minds are...controllable...for her."

While Minkin caught her breath, I reviewed every moment since the night we’d met, wondering if she'd ever done the same to me. I could think of nothing. But how would I know?

Sweetie rolled his eyes. "The minds of simple men, usually. Come on. We need to get lost in this place before the guard realizes what he’s done."

Minkin took the lead. We chased each other through the crowded streets for so long, however, that I wondered if we were about to emerge out the other side. Then we came around a corner and found ourselves in a large square with a sculpted fountain of a dragon in the center. With its wings unfurled, the beast was the size of two wagons end to end. The shadows from a plethora of smoking torches made the narrow chest appear to be moving, and lights flickered in its polished eyes.

Serpent Square. Damius had warned me of the place. If each city had an underworld, this was Sunbasin's epicenter.

Through the streets, there had been calls from vendors selling all manner of merchandise, their cries following us with an edge of desperation. Ultimately, who needed a new cooking pot when the end was nigh at hand? Who cared to die in new clothes?

But Serpent Square was different. Offers were entertained by patient men and women who were confident their products were in demand. No matter when death would descend upon our heads, there was always time to satisfy a hunger. Attempts at haggling were met with good-natured smiles.

In Serpent Square that night, no vendors called for attention. But in low tones, hawkers offered satisfaction of all sorts.

Tearloch looked back at me. "Stay close. I'll take you to a safer part of town, but first, I must enquire about Huxor.”

I shook my head. "No need. I'll take my leave now. Thank you for?—"

He advanced on me, sending a jolt of fright through my body. "You don't know what you're talking about. You will stay close. I don't have time?—"

"This is Serpent Square. Den of iniquity. Body slaves, hallucinogens, murderers for hire. I know what is here and I know where to find safe shelter." In answer to his disbelief, I added, "Books have more than words, you know. They have maps. I know precisely where I am."

"Books won't tell you who you can trust."

"I trust no one."

He looked me over from the top of my head to my boots and back again. "You have nothing of value."

"We all value different things. I have enough for my needs."

He shook his head, still unwilling to trust me on my own.

"Go," I said. "Be whole...for as long as you can. And I will do the same. Your old friend is getting farther away by the minute, remember?"

Minkin's hand came to rest on Tearloch's arm. "She's right. We have no time to waste." Her gaze found mine. "And I think she is cannier than we know."

His jaw flexed beneath a shadow of beard. “She thinks she can find Huxor before we do. And now, I think it has little to do with revenge.” He’d watched me closely on the road and had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

“You’re mad,” I said. “I don’t want power, anyone’s power.”

“So you say. But you also claimed to be an Uncast, and yet—Minkin, hand her your stone.”

Confused, the small woman did as she was asked. The stone shone brighter than before because of its connection with the heartstone road. But as soon as it touched my outstretched palm, it radiated painful light from the energy I’d stored.

“It’s nothing,” I told them all. “A secret Demius taught me, to find rejuvenation on the Moonless Quarter. That’s all it is. Plenty of people can do it.”

Sweetie’s horns turned back and forth. “No. Plenty of people cannot.”

Dower gloated as if his every suspicion of me had been vindicated. “Dragons can. That’s why they nest in caves and canyons, where the heartstone is plentiful. But only the Everfolk, or the?—”

“I’ve never known of anyone,” his brother injected, “who could connect to power who wasn’t at least a millenarian.”

I laughed. “Well, I’m not a dragon. And I have no power. I know some of my master’s spells, but they won’t work for me…because I am an Uncast ! I swear it.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway, does it?” Bain grimaced. “We’re parting ways. She’ll be free to hunt for Huxor on her own. So, I suppose it will be a race.”

“No, it won’t.”

They waited for me to explain.

“I’ve decided to believe you when you say your friend was turned by the power he took. So, it is the power that is my enemy, not your friend. Besides, I have something on my mind more important than revenge now. Something that has nothing to do with your brother.”

Tearloch’s eyes narrowed further. “Care to elaborate?”

A sigh escaped me when I remembered the way he’d looked at me…just before he called me Yora. It was a pity I wouldn’t have that kiss to remember him by. But then, there wasn’t much chance of me forgetting him anyway.

“Thank you for bringing me this far.” I pressed a small bundle of dragonspice into Sweetie’s hand, then stepped back. In the night, I’d dumped the stash of shattered flowers out of the small, closeable bag and replaced it with the spice.

Sweetie seemed to guess what was inside and inclined his head. “Thank you for saving me from your monsters.”

“Keep that with you.” I winked. “They seemed to like the taste of you.”

He smiled sadly, then scowled at Tearloch, who ignored him.

I faced the brothers. “Good luck. May your brother be whole again.”

Dower hesitated, then nodded in return. “And you.”

Minkin took my hands in hers and squeezed. “May you find what you are looking for.”

I took a deep breath to stave off oncoming emotions and leaned close to whisper in her ear. “You should tell him. He may never catch on unless you do.”

“I’ll think about it. After all, we wouldn’t want to die without him knowing.”

I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to give her false hope. And a lone woman against a millennia-old prophecy didn’t stand much of a chance. But I had to try. I also took comfort in the fact that the Guardian Riders were hunting the blue dragon, so I wasn’t the only one hoping to change our fate…

I gave a final nod to Tearloch…and turned away before he might read the pain on my face. Leaving them made my chest heavy and knotted my stomach. No doubt it was some instinctual response to losing Demius that made me attach myself to them, but I’d learned my lesson. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. When I did carefully choose my “family,” it would only include people who trusted me.

“Come on,” I heard Tearloch say behind me. “She thinks some map in her head will keep her safe…”

He was right. It would.