Golden Age (The Shifting Tides Book 1) (27 page)

45

Dion rushed up the stairs to his room high in the House of Algar. He was covered in soot and his throat was burning from exposure to the dense black smoke. A different kind of fire burned within him. He had destroyed many of the sun king’s warships, but the eldran had put out the fires, saving many more. He had to quickly get his bow and quiver and flee.

He was out of breath by the time he reached his room. He pulled aside the entrance curtain and stopped in his tracks.

Chloe, daughter of Aristocles, sat on his bed.

Her long blue-black hair framed a triangular face that was pale as death. The brown eyes above her arched, upturned nose, were filled with fear. She was covered in blood. Anoush sat beside her. Dion saw that she was clutching his arms in a white-knuckled grip as he whimpered.

‘Let him go,’ Dion growled.

Chloe nodded and released the boy. He leaped up and ran to hide behind Dion.

‘I got your message,’ she said as she slumped.

Dion towered over her. ‘I risked my life for you. We could both now be on our way home. Instead you stood by as your guard beat me nearly to death.’

‘He’s dead now,’ Chloe said morosely, looking up at him. ‘He was a friend.’

Through the open window Dion could hear cries in the street. He didn’t know if there was a connection to the harbor fire or to Chloe’s escape, but he knew they were both in terrible danger.

‘I’m grateful to you, I really am. Can explanations wait?’ she asked.

Dion scowled. ‘We need to go. Anoush – can you get some women’s clothing?’

Anoush nodded and ran out of the chamber while Dion went to the basin and began to wash his face and hands. When he finished he glanced at Chloe. ‘I suggest you do the same.’

By the time Chloe had finished cleaning off the blood Anoush had returned, carrying a yellow chiton and veil.

‘Good lad,’ Dion said. He crouched to look into the boy’s eyes. ‘Do you know how we can get out of here, without going into the street?’

Anoush nodded. ‘The roof.’

‘Thank you,’ Dion said. ‘Will you be safe?’

‘You have given me plenty of silver, master. It has been an adventure.’ He grinned, creases forming on his round cheeks. ‘If you ever come back to Lamara, I’ll be here to be your guide.’

Dion gave him a rough embrace, surprising the boy. ‘Now show me the roof.’

Chloe changed her clothing while Dion inspected their exit route, and a moment later they were slipping out of a window, Dion exiting first and then helping Chloe onto a flat roof. He scanned the area and saw the buildings were close enough to jump from one roof to another.

‘Goodbye, Anoush!’ Dion called.

The boy gave him a quick wave and then Dion led Chloe to the edge of the rail. He saw that the next roof was three feet lower and with an effort he clambered down. Chloe slipped off and then the pair ran to the next.

They passed from roof to roof until there was a gap in front of them; they had come as far as they could. Looking for a path down, Dion saw a doorway leading to the building’s interior and pointed. ‘This way.’

A surprised old woman carrying a basket in her arms cried out as they entered a wealthy house with carpeted floors. Ignoring her, Dion and Chloe descended the stairs and ran out onto the street.

‘Where are we going?’ Chloe asked. She was breathless, but had no problem keeping up. He couldn’t see her face through the veil, but he was surprised at her fortitude.

‘I have a boat just outside the city,’ Dion said. He took a moment to get his bearings and then pointed to the left. ‘This way.’

They walked rather than running, striding with skipping steps as they both fought to move quickly without drawing attention. Each set of stairs they descended brought them closer to the lower city and the gates. Each narrow alley kept them hidden from watchers. Each broad avenue made them feel exposed.

Then the gates were just ahead. Compared with the harbor on the other side of the city, the area here was a scene of normality as wagons carried bushels of wheat into the city and herders brought tethered goats in for the slaughter.

‘As soon as we’re through,’ Dion said. ‘Run.’

He kept her close as they passed between the gates. Soldiers glanced down at them from high perches on the towers at both sides.

Suddenly they were through.

‘Run!’

Dion and Chloe moved from a walk into a sprint. He checked over his shoulder to see if she was keeping up and led her away from the road, skirting the walls and towers, keeping a hundred paces between them and the city until they finally left Lamara behind.

‘Keep . . . running . . .’ Dion panted.

The terrain here was treacherous and rocky. They weaved around spiky shrubs and leaped over clefts in the rock. Chloe fell and grazed her palms but she climbed back to her feet without complaint and continued to follow, her jaw clenched as she ran.

Dion was confused for a moment, but then he found the steep-walled stream and breathed a sigh of relief. He took Chloe along the high ground until they reached the place where the stream joined the river.

‘We’re going to have to get down to the bottom. Be careful,’ he said.

He slid down on the seat of his trousers, calloused palms breaking his fall. When he reached the base of the gully he turned back and saw Chloe climbing down much more gracefully than he had, facing the opposite direction.

Dion stood with his feet in shallow water and pulled at the bushes, and there was the
Calypso
.

As he freed the vessel, he realized he had forgotten how beautiful it was. Sleek and rakish, with horizontal blue and gold stripes on the hull, it begged to be out and riding the open seas.

Dion began to breathe freely for the first time as he brought the boat bobbing to the shore of the river.

‘I could use your help mounting the mast,’ he said to Chloe.

‘What do you need me to do?’

‘Firstly, get in.’

She waded through the river and clambered awkwardly into the boat as Dion held it fast. Together they mounted the mast and then raised the sail to halfway so that it snapped and billowed in the steady breeze.

Glancing up at the sky, Dion saw that it was late evening and would soon be night. He nodded to himself. He had sailed through the night to reach Lamara, and he could do it again on the return journey. The lighthouses would guide him out of the inlet and into the open sea.

‘Are you ready?’ he asked Chloe.

‘I’ve never been readier.’

‘Sit up front.’ Dion pushed the boat and hopped in. He raised the sail all the way and heard it crack like a whip as it pocketed the wind. The rakish boat heeled over, and Chloe looked at Dion with alarm.

‘It’s normal,’ he said.

He rubbed his hand over the polished grain of the interior. The
Calypso
skimmed over the little waves, sending a surge of joy into his breast as he headed for the channel and saw the stone statue of the sun god ahead.

Dion glanced back at the city. Plumes of smoke rose in trickling curves from the direction of the harbor. He could no longer see the pyramid, and finally even the rust-colored walls and hexagonal towers were gone from sight.

The first stars came into the sky overhead as Dion and Chloe left Lamara behind.

46

A rising sun glittered from the distant pyramid, sparkling at the edges and traveling like golden flame toward the summit. The glimmer, however, stopped just short of the triangular peak. Standing at the harbor with sand beneath his sandals and the tang of wood smoke in the air, the sight of the unfinished pyramid filled Solon with anger rather than joy.

He tore his gaze away from his incomplete tomb and instead scanned the scene in front of him. There were places where only black ash marked where proud biremes had once lurked, ready to be launched at his command. At other points along the line warship after warship was completely unharmed.

Standing with him were Triton, once more a striking one-eyed eldran with the ridges of his skull uncovered by hair, and Kargan. The barrel-chested overlord of the empire’s fleet was incensed, despite the fact that Triton’s intervention had saved a great number of his vessels.

Solon felt his own rage echo the visible fury on Kargan’s face, but he was the king of kings, and so he kept his expression impassive. Only the narrowing of his eyes would betray his emotions.

‘Only twenty ships are still able to make the voyage without extensive repairs,’ Kargan said.

Solon coughed and touched a white cloth, already smeared with red, to his lips. He nodded for Kargan to continue.

‘However the number of marines and oarsmen we must carry means we won’t have enough men for the land force. We can’t simply carry more men – we’d be too heavy in the water for effective naval power.’

Triton turned his one eye on Solon. ‘Let me worry about the enemy ships. Fill your vessels with soldiers. I will clear the sea.’

‘And all you want is what is inside the ark?’ Solon asked.

‘That is all I want.’

Kargan frowned. ‘What is it that you want so badly?’

‘To you, a trifle – but to me something of great value. It is the symbol of my kingship. Without it, only some of my race will accept my rule.’

An officer approached. ‘King of kings,’ he said, keeping his gaze lowered. ‘We have made inquiries.’

‘And what have you discovered?’

‘We believe that one of the men, a foreigner, started the fires. He fought by our side but now can’t be found.’

Solon scowled. ‘A foreigner? From where?’

‘A Galean. From across the sea. It seems clear that he’s from Xanthos.’

Kargan scratched his beard as he looked at Solon. ‘He will be off to warn his people. The secret route through the Shards won’t give us an advantage if they know we’re coming.’

‘Triton?’

The eldran king nodded. ‘I’ll leave to summon my forces. It will take time, but if you depart now we will join you on the way. We can scour the Maltherean Sea for your spy.’

‘Wait—’ Kargan held up a hand. ‘Sire. This plan—’

‘Kargan,’ Solon interjected. ‘Your orders are clear. Fill your ships full of soldiers. Make comfortable arrangements for me on the
Nexotardis
, for I will be joining you.’

‘Are you sure that is—?’

‘You will do your duty.’ Solon turned the full force of his glare on his commander. ‘And I will be with you to see it done. We leave immediately. Triton, go to your people. If the spy gives warning our plan may fail. Speed is our ally. Kargan, summon your men. Prepare to depart. I will soon return to this very shore with the ark of gold in my possession.’

47

The towering waves of the open sea rolled forward, sending the lean sailing boat up each crest before it plummeted down the far side. The relentless motion rocked the vessel from side to side and up and down, giving the impression that she would fall over at any instant. But Dion knew that the
Calypso
could hold her own. The only thing he didn’t know was if he would have the fortitude to keep going for hour after hour.

Chloe sat on the timber bench in front, clutching onto the underside of the seat for support. Her face was grim and her skin was yellow. She had slept the previous night, but Dion had been given no choice but to keep going. The lids of his eyes felt like heavy weights were dragging them down.

‘Chloe,’ Dion called. ‘I need your help.’

She nodded and slid on the seat until she was sitting close by, across from Dion at the stern with their knees touching. ‘What can I do?’

‘I need to rest, if only for an hour. Have you ever steered a boat?’

‘No.’

He nodded. ‘It’s easier than it looks. The wind is coming across our beam and we’re heading due north, so we won’t need to tack for a long time. I want you to take hold of the tiller.’

She looked at him white-faced. ‘I can’t.’

‘It’s fine,’ he soothed. ‘I’m going to pass it to you, but I want you to keep it at the same angle it’s at now. Can you do that?’

Chloe swallowed, but she nodded.

‘Here goes.’ The two of them were facing each other across the small gap between the two benches at either side of the boat. The tiller was at Dion’s right and Chloe’s left. Dion took her left hand with his and guided it to the polished wood of the handle. He released and she wrapped her hand around the timber. He then folded her hand in his.

‘I’ll guide you like this for a time,’ he said. Her hand felt small and smooth inside his calloused palm. ‘Keeping us on course won’t be difficult, but the important thing is to keep us heading into the waves like we’re climbing a mountain by the shortest path. Understand? Good.’ He kept her hand moving, steering the vessel up the next wave. She gulped as they rode the far side. They climbed the next. ‘I won’t make you do it on your own until you feel ready.’

They continued for a time, and Dion realized it was the first close human contact he’d had since he’d said goodbye to his family at the harbor of Xanthos. He glanced at Chloe, realizing that she was looking at him also. She was pretty, he decided, and stronger than he’d thought, although he found her upturned nose irritating for some reason.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ She scowled.

Dion frowned. He didn’t take his hand away from hers, but now the contact felt ice cold. ‘I was wondering when you were going to tell me why you saved that villain’s life in the abandoned arena. You almost got me killed.’

‘He wasn’t a villain,’ she bit off the words. ‘He was—’

‘Watch out!’ Dion cried. He shoved her hand, held in his; they’d been about to angle over a curling crest. There was silence for a time.

‘He was what?’

‘He was my friend,’ Chloe said. ‘I couldn’t let you kill him.’ She looked away. ‘He taught me how to fight, and that’s how I escaped. I killed four men, perhaps five, to get free of the palace.’

Dion looked at her with renewed respect. ‘I tried to help,’ he murmured. ‘I came for you at the arena.’

‘Why you?’ she asked.

Dion explained about the Assembly’s hesitation and her father’s request. ‘He will be anxious to have you back.’

‘You sailed all the way to Lamara, alone?’

‘No,’ Dion said sadly. He thought about Cob, his old friend, who had taught him everything he knew about sailing. ‘Not alone. We got into trouble. Wildren. The Oracle at Athos gave me this boat.’

When he mentioned the Oracle, a shadow passed over Chloe’s face. She changed the subject. ‘What did you do after you got to Lamara?’

‘I enlisted as a marine. I learned about the sun king’s ships.’ Dion explained about Roxana. ‘I looked for you.’ He turned away. ‘I set fire to the sun king’s fleet.’

Chloe’s eyes widened. ‘That was you?’

Dion nodded. ‘It wasn’t enough, though. An eldran helped them put out the flames.’

‘Triton,’ Chloe said. ‘He says he is their king, although I’ve never heard of him, and Zachary never mentioned him.’ She told him about Triton’s bargain with the sun king. Triton believed there was something inside the ark that was his by right. ‘There’s something else.’ She hesitated. ‘The reason they are sailing for Xanthos . . . Dion, there is a traitor in your father’s court. He told Solon about a safe route through the Shards.’

Now it was Dion’s turn to be shocked. ‘Only the royal family knows about it. And a few old fishermen.’

‘Anyone else?’

Dion felt a cold grip clutch hold of his chest. ‘There is another. My father’s first adviser. But he has always been loyal.’ He didn’t mention the enduring conflict between Peithon and his mother.

‘It’s true then? About the safe passage?’

He nodded grimly. ‘It’s true. If they get there before we do, Xanthos will fall.’

The two worked in silence for a time. Dion kept his hand over hers, but relaxed his pressure, letting her do all the work. He decided she was learning the knack of it.

‘So how did you let yourself get captured?’

She was suddenly furious. ‘Let myself?’ She wriggled her hand until he let her go. ‘I can manage now.’ He removed his hand as if he’d burned it. ‘I didn’t
let
myself get captured, whatever you think,’ she said. ‘I was prepared to die. They questioned me time and again, and I never gave away anything that might endanger my people. I saw my only friend impaled, in front of my eyes. I was thrown into a cell. I—’

Dion held up his hand. ‘Bad choice of words.’ He yawned so wide that his jaw cracked. ‘I’m tired.’ He looked over the
Calypso
, checking that all the lines were secure and seeing that Chloe was managing with the tiller. ‘I need to rest. Are you sure—?’

‘I can manage,’ she said coldly. ‘I rescued myself. Don’t forget that. Look at yourself, second son of a warrior king. You don’t even carry a sword.’

Dion gritted his teeth and shuffled up higher in the boat. He glanced back at her. ‘The waves are getting bigger. There are two blankets. I recommend covering yourself.’

‘I’m fine,’ she said.

At that moment the bow smashed into the peak of an oncoming wave, sending a torrent of water over the entire vessel. Looking back at the tiller, Dion saw that Chloe was completely soaked through.

She was wearing only a thin chiton. The water made the material transparent, and he could see through to the body underneath. The wet yellow fabric clung to her breasts.

Dion swiftly looked away, but not before she saw his glance and gave him a horrified stare. He passed her a blanket, keeping his eyes to the front as he handed it back to her.

‘I’ll rest now,’ he said gruffly. ‘Wake me if you need me.’

‘Dion!’

He woke groggily and his instant impression was of rolling movement, fiercer than before. Black clouds were gathering over the sun, bringing shadow to the world. Glancing at the approaching storm, Dion knew he was looking at terrible danger.

But when he turned back to Chloe, a blanket now wrapped around her, she wasn’t looking at the storm.

She met his eyes with a terrified stare and then once more looked up at the sky.

A dark bird wheeled in the distance. Its immense wings flapped up and down with slow, leisurely movements. It grew closer with every passing second, and Dion realized that no bird was this big.

He reached for his bow and quiver, tucked into the storage compartment at the vessel’s front. As he nocked an arrow he didn’t take his eyes off the creature. The wings stopped moving as it coasted for a time, high in the sky, the triangular head on its sinuous neck craning as it scanned the sea.

Its purposeful movements told Dion that this was no wildran. The reptilian creature with shining silver scales wheeled as it lost height. The veins in its bony wings throbbed. Clawed talons grasped at the air.

‘Take us into the storm,’ Dion said quietly.

‘But the waves—’

‘You’ve got the feel for it by now. Just make sure we don’t roll over. There’s a greater danger in the sky.’

The dragon suddenly plummeted, like a falcon making a strike at a smaller bird. In this case the prey was the small boat and its two occupants. All the eldran had to do was see the
Calypso
sunk and they would never make it out of the open sea alive.

‘Triton’s acting for Solon. The dragon has two eyes, but he must have sent it,’ Chloe said, white-faced.

Dion judged his moment as he watched the dragon grow ever closer in his vision. He could now make out the crests that swept back to form horn-like protuberances behind its head. Eyes glared balefully. Incisors the size of knives were visible in its parted jaw. Its body was entirely muscular, but at the same time it was all bone and sinew, a creature of nightmare.

As day turned swiftly to the darkness of night, though it was still midday, he risked a glance over his shoulder and saw that the storm was on them. He heard the crack of thunder and forked lightning shot down to strike the sea.

Fighting the motion of the ship as Chloe turned into the storm’s heart, Dion stood with both feet far apart and thanked the gods that the motion was as natural as riding to a horseman.

He held the bow high and drew the arrow to his ear, his arms straining with effort. The dragon came on swiftly, shrieking as it descended, closer with every heartbeat. At fifty paces, Dion loosed.

The arrow plunged into a near-transparent black wing and went through the other side, opening a hole with its passage. The dragon’s jaws opened wide as it screamed, but it didn’t halt its swooping trajectory.

Dion drew and sighted, immediately firing a second arrow. With the dragon now twenty paces away he couldn’t miss. The shaft sprouted from the back of its open maw, and this time it roared in agony, wheeling away before he could loose another.

He had to remind himself that it was an eldran as it rolled to the side. This gave him an advantage. If it remained too long in changed form it would risk turning wild. If they could hold out for long enough, it would be forced to leave.

Dion cried out as he pointed at the darkest clouds. ‘Take us right in!’

Chloe nodded, showing him a face full of terror.

He watched and held onto the mast with one hand as the dragon wheeled around. But the storm appeared to be causing it problems: The creature was being tossed around in the unpredictable gusts and flurries.

It turned its back to them and fled.

But the danger was far from over. They now had to survive the storm.

‘Face us into the waves!’ Dion roared.

The waves towered over the small boat, and unless they kept a direct line to the crests they would be rolled in a heartbeat. Dion rushed to the mast and unhitched the rope holding the sail aloft. He hauled hard, yanking the sail down with both hands as his arms groaned with effort. He could no longer worry about their course, or wonder which way was north and which south. He dashed to the tiller and sat across from Chloe. Once more he placed his hand over hers as it shuddered in their combined grip.

Working together, they straightened the
Calypso
’s angle until Dion was satisfied. Then the bow plunged through the top of a wave and emerged out the other side as water poured into the interior.

‘Bail!’ Dion shouted. ‘I’ll take the tiller!’

Chloe threw herself into her task and, working together, they struggled to stay alive.