Novel 2. Royal Justice

— Yes, without an arm, — Donna Minerva confirmed. — He tightened the stump with a belt and continued to supervise the work. Fortunately, the marshal himself could see it all from the walls. For his bravery and for saving the dragon, his lordship granted Gotech a nobility right there on the spot.

— No one cared about the rider, the dragon was more important, — the giant grinned wryly. — Everyone but me. Minerva then came to our barracks and brought with her a whole barrel of wine, the likes of which none of us had ever drunk in our lives. Well... and we've been hanging out ever since. Closer and closer.

— Eleven years... — Armando stretched out, remembering how many romantic interests he'd had in that time.

— I'm patient. — From the look on his face, Gotech understood exactly what his friend was thinking.

— So do I, — Minerva supported him. — And this task of the queen is especially important for us. Her Majesty has already hinted to my parents that she is not against my marriage with Gotech, and if she is confirmed on the throne, the family will definitely have to give in.

— That would be a wonderful outcome to your story, — Armando agreed. — Well, I hope we'll have more time to talk when we meet again. I'm sure I'll have something to tell you about our mutual friend, Donna. — He winked at Gotech, who responded by shaking his fist at his friend.

After a warm farewell, the knight climbed back onto the lizard's back, slid into the saddle at the base of the dragon's neck. She buckled herself into the belt loops on her hips, put on a light steel helmet with a louvered visor, and waved to the bailiffs. The Charcoal scattered along the track, flapping its wings, lifted off the ground and flew westward, gaining altitude. The dust tornado it raised shrouded Armando and Gotech in a gray cloud. Coughing, the black-skinned giant shook the smile off his face and said grimly:

— On the one hand, I am pleased that Queen Octavia has only dragged in our closest people whom we can trust. But...

— On the other hand, I am very worried that the Queen has involved our close people, — de Gorazzo finished for him.

— I understand Her Majesty well, — the big man sighed, climbing into the saddle. — I'm afraid she's having a harder time than we are. I'm not sure she has even a few people she trusts as much as you and I trust Vittoria and Minerva. Still, I'm worried.

— It's too late to retreat. — Armando stroked his horse's forehead — unlike Gotech's battle stallion, it was still nervous, frightened by the dragon's closeness. — Once you become a hero-savior of the crown, you can't stop... Your opinion is no longer important.

The meeting with the dragon and its rider was followed by days of boring travel along the path. Nothing interesting happened, and the path itself remained deserted. This lull bothered Armando more and more. When merchant wagons cease to meet on a major trade route, it is never a good thing. A silent tension hung over the western provinces like a hot haze over the sand. Rare travelers gave the bailiffs wary glances. In the villages along the roadside, sentries with hunting bows stood on watch on slanting towers. Large detachments of sentries guarded the gates of the walled towns. Soldiers' helmets gleamed on the towers of castles. The innkeepers looked as if they did not know whether to rejoice at the sight of new guests or to prepare their axes. The young queen was quite right when she said that the west was ready to burst into flames at any moment.

The bailiffs' final destination was the crown city of Edicium, a craft center where timber was brought for processing. The town was ruled by a crown-appointed official-prevo, and was not formally part of any of the western baronies. It's not hard to guess that Edicium should have been the first target for the rebels. And it was within its walls that three radio stations were now active. And a couple more in the neighborhood. Armando and Gotech were to meet their contact in an inn half a day's ride from the city, and with his help they were to start tracking the outsiders.

But no one was waiting for them at the agreed place.

— Red-haired, mustachioed, forty years old, at a table in the corner, from noon to dusk, right? — de Gorazzo asked in a low voice, looking around the inn's rather spacious common room.

— Yes, -his friend nodded.

— And where is he?

Two suspicious-looking men in ragged traveling clothes were sipping lazily at a round table by the window. There wasn't a soul in the room except the innkeeper.

— Not much of a choice, — Gotech said with a sneer. — Either dead or delayed.

— Either way, it's lousy. — De Gorazzo scratched the back of his head. The queen's plan implied that they would determine their future actions based on the information they received from the spy. — We don't go to the city yet. We'll wait here for two days. Maybe he'll show up again. You never know.

— I agree. — The big black man called the owner of the place with an expressive wave of his hook. — But my advice is to keep your pants on at night and your sword under your arm.

All the rooms on the second floor of the inn were vacant, but the bailiffs took one for two. Sleeping apart seemed like a bad idea.

— If the king's spy has been caught by the conspirators, we'd better not let anything happen to Minerva, — De Ardano said sullenly, as darkness fell and the friends went up from the common room to the bedroom.

— The spy didn't know anything about her, — Armando reassured the giant. — He didn't know anything about us either, except that on a certain day people were supposed to come and give the password. Minerva is probably in the city now, and it's pretty safe there. The city garrison and the prevo are on the queen's side, so there's not much to go on.

And yet de Gorazzo himself was troubled by anxious thoughts all the evening. He did not fall asleep immediately, tormented by a premonition of impending trouble. Years of experience had not deceived the young official's instinct for trouble.

A muffled cry literally threw Armando off the bed. He blinked and looked around, pulling on his boots. The room was in total darkness, the narrow window in the ceiling providing little light. Gotech, also awakened by the shriek, was fumbling in the darkness on the other side of the bed, jingling his iron.

— What's that... — Armando began, groping for the sword scabbard leaning against the wall. There was another scream from downstairs, this time it was a woman's, and it ended on a high note with a nightmarish gurgling sound. De Gorazzo glanced at the only window, realized that not even a child could fit through it, and drew his blade:

— Shall we wait or shall we go and see?

— I'd watch. — The blade of Gotech's axe glinted in the darkness. — It's not a good place to defend ourselves anyway. And there must be visitors.

The bailiffs left the bedroom and went down to the common room. The innkeeper in a gray nightgown was lying down in the middle of the hall. Under the man's right arm was a puddle of burning oil from a broken lamp. It gave off an uneven, shuddering light that made the walls of the hall dance with jagged black shadows, wavering and eerie.

— No one, — Armando almost whispered, looking around. — Who was that woman screaming?

— The owner's wife, probably. Or a servant. — Gotech strode fearlessly to the center of the room, bent over the body.

— How is he?

— Dead. — The dark-skinned bailiff shook his head. — I don't see any wounds, no signs of strangulation either... And how would he have screamed like that if he'd been strangled? And his face is all twisted.

— Gotech! — Armando suddenly exclaimed, raising his sword. The Don saw in the glow of the burning oil that another shadow had appeared beside his friend's shadow, one just as large but irregularly shaped, inky black, fluttering at the edges. As soon as he looked closely, however, the shadow separated from the wall and floated through the air toward the giant. The giant noticed the movement and drew back, his axe in front of him. Armando whirled his head around and saw shadows surrounding them on all sides. The ugly black blotches were literally emerging from the walls, no longer pretending to be shadows, their silhouettes changing into meaningful shapes. De Gorazzo counted five... no, six fake shadows that closed a ring around a pair of bailiffs. The silence of the common room was broken by strange clicking and clacking sounds. It was impossible to understand where they were coming from — the sound seemed to be coming from all directions, even from above and below.

— De... demons! — squeezed out through the spasm in his throat. — Demons, demons, it's bloody demons! Demons!

Armando frantically tugged at the chain around his neck, pulling out a silver Creator Symbol from under his shirt. The sacred sign did not impress the inky creatures. They advanced slowly, knowing their prey had nowhere to go, savoring its terror. The closest of the creatures had already grown long, three-toed paws, which it used to reach for the humans. Gotech lunged forward and swung his axe, the iron passing through the demon's body without causing any noticeable harm. The demon lunged in response, but the big man dodged the black claws with surprising agility for his size.

— I should have asked for some amulets in the armory before I left, — he muttered, stepping back to stand back to back with Armando. There was no fear in the one-armed giant's voice, and de Gorazzo was ashamed of his consternation. Swallowing, he lowered his grandfather's useless sword and tried to feign a grin-though his lips trembled treacherously:

— Who knew then. Everyone is strong in hindsight. What will we...

The creature that had grown its paws first rushed in without any warning.... but not in time to reach its victims. Another figure — this time human — literally wove itself out of the air between the demon and the bailiffs, covering the men with itself. A tall, black-haired girl in a blue uniform and light armor swung a broad knight's sword at the demon's curled fingers, and with a reverse movement from the bottom to the top, slashed his chest. The shimmering silver blade ripped through the black flesh of the otherworldly predator, much to the bewilderment of both the bailiffs and the creature itself. The demon recoiled with a gurgling howl, but the girl followed it up with three swift swings of her sword, severing the creature's limbs and slicing its torso in half. The inky blob, never taking its final form, began to disintegrate, melting right in front of their eyes. The chopped demon's comrades froze, and the savior turned to the bailiffs. Armando recognized her at once, even without seeing her face.

— Lady Jana! — he exclaimed. There was no doubt that she was the same girl he had met in the cellars of the Hall of Executors, the same girl he had seen in the portrait in Vittoria's house. The ghost gave off a familiar bone-chilling chill, but Armando was glad of it now. — Are you... helping?

The ghost nodded and looked sideways. Armando followed her gaze... to see a boarded-up door behind the innkeeper's counter.

— Gotech, that door! — he shoved his friend in the shoulder. — It must be to the kitchen. And from the kitchen...

— Maybe its own exit — the giant realized without further prompting.

The demons had purposely cut people off from the stairs to the second floor and the door leading from the hall to the street, but the death of one creature had broken the ring, and the way to the counter was still free.

— Let's go! — Though Armando's heart was racing, he was the first to move. Gotech was only a fraction of a second behind him. As he sprinted over the counter, the official looked back. The demons realized that their prey was fleeing and angrily snapped and pulled up behind them. Lady Jana tried to hold them off. She swung her sword skillfully, but there were too many for her. Here, one of the creatures threw forward a thin tentacle that sank into the ghost's shoulder. The girl cut the tentacle off, but another of the same kind pierced her thigh. Armando didn't see what happened next — he followed Gotech into the tavern's kitchen. There was indeed an exit for the servants. The one-armed giant didn't check to see if the door was locked, but threw his shoulder against the door, knocking it open with the hinges. The bailiffs almost tumbled out of the doorway, crossed the backyard, and ran at full speed into the fields, not knowing where they were going. Almost immediately they were outrun by Lady Jana. Armando had thought for some reason that the ghost would float through the air, but apparently this tradition of the dead did not apply to dead Elvartian guards. The lady simply ran ahead, quite ordinarily holding the scabbard of her long sword to keep it from hitting her legs. A faint white glow emanating from her armor and blade illuminated the fugitives' path.

— After her! — de Gorazzo blurted out, trying not to lose his breath. Behind them they could hear the gurgling and snapping of demons in pursuit.

The ghost girl led Gotech and Armando away from the path. They stumbled toward the darkening grove beyond the tavern. When they were about twenty paces from the edge of the forest, Lady Jana stopped, spun on her heels, and grasped her sword with both hands. Facing the chase, she spread her legs shoulder-width apart and smiled. A blinding white light flashed behind the trees behind her.

De Gorazzo stumbled over a bump, collapsed face first into the dusty grass. He fumbled, clumsily trying to get up, the strap of his traveling bag tangled in his legs. All around him there was hissing, roaring, rumbling, clicking and clacking. The white light flashed again and again. When Don managed to roll over onto his back and wipe away his tears, instead of demons or ghosts, he saw two blurs against the black sky, one dark, the other light. As the rainbow halos dancing before the bailiff's eyes faded, the spots became clearer. Until finally they became the faces of two strangers leaning over the lying Armando, a swarthy black-bearded man and a pale blonde girl. Noticing that the royal official's gaze had cleared, the bearded man grinned and held out his hand to him:

— Get up, noble don. You won't be able to rest today....

Chapter 7

Armando could have gotten up himself, but pushing away the stranger's palm was rather rude, and so he accepted the help. Once on his feet, de Gorazzo looked around. Contrary to his expectations, there were no signs of battle magic, no smoking craters, no patches of burned grass, no melted cobblestones torn from the ground. The night wind rustled the leaves, swayed the branches of the bushes, and a cricket sang somewhere nearby. It was impossible to tell that only a couple of minutes ago there had been a light show on the moonlit outskirts of the forest. A dozen paces away, the bailiff spotted Gotech. He stood with his axe in his hand, exchanging frowns with Lady Jana, who was blocking his way, preventing him from approaching Armando and the strangers. De Gorazzo didn't know what would happen if the big man risked simply walking through a ghost, and Gotech himself wasn't eager to check it out just yet. Lady Jana seemed shabby, her figure transparent and shaky, her body flickering with white lights. On her shoulder, on her thigh, on her back, like scars left by the touch of demons.