Rune exhaled and shook his head.
“If by good you mean ruthless, then yes,” Carmine answered me. “He is.” Of all people, I thought she would defend the Prince.
“
Most Northerners are zealots,” Rune explained. “They thirst for our blood. Varion doesn't need to draft his soldiers. They go willingly. Every soldier that kills makes a mark upon his skin for that number, and every soldier that dies is immortalized. Their names are etched into the walls of their home city. I've seen it.”
“
You were in the battle of Terrandig?” Carmine asked.
“
Yes,” Rune admitted solemnly. “Beside the name carved is the number of us they've killed. No count is too small or too large to satisfy their pride.”
I frowned, not wanting to imagine Rune fighting in such a place. Is this why Dragoons were allowed no friends? So they wouldn't mourn the loss of an ally whose life amounted to nothing more than a strike on an enemy's gate? No, it was more than that. Dragoons were isolated, and that made them easier to control. I was beginning to understand Raserion, and the thought of it made me sick to my stomach.
“When we were at Rocktree Camp, during the battle, I saw the other soldiers. Some of them had Abilities too. Are they considered Dragoons?” I asked.
“
No,” Rune shook his head. “Those were Hussars. Heavy cavalry on flesh-and-blood horses, armed with Abilities, swords and mechanical spears that can fire a three-foot extension. If the Hussar has an elemental Ability, the spear is made of conducive material. Wood for wood. Stone for stone. Metal for metal or electricity. I once fought a Hussar with a flame-throwing spear. The fire did no damage, but I can't say the same for the point of the spearhead.” He rubbed his left arm, reliving the memory. “Anyone with a strong Ability becomes a Hussar, but they're not like us. They're loud and rowdy, disorganized by comparison. But they're strong and clever too.”
“
Pillagers, the lot of them,” Dylan said sourly. “If they take a village, they rob every home barren. Food, drink, coin, and cloth, everything goes. They even steal a daughter or two.”
“
Drunkards and thieves,” Rune confirmed with evident disdain. “With a talent for killing.”
“
So let me get this straight,” Kyle said. “You hate these guys because they're obnoxious robbers, murderers, and kidnappers? If I'm not mistaken, Raserion's cold and organized military kills and drains the life force out of their victims. How is it any different?”
“
It isn't,” Rune said quietly. “And it is. It may seem clear to someone who isn't involved, but when you're in it fighting for your life, things change. How do you not learn to hate the soldier that charges in to kill you? There is no pause, no calling it off, no backing away. All that exists is you, them, and a length of steel swinging down to empty your ribcage. When death stares you in the face, you do what you must. I have seen some skill that I'll admit respect for, but little else.”
Carmine looked back at us.
“You haven't told them about the Empty yet.”
Rune grimaced.
“I hoped to avoid that.”
“Draining in the West, the Empty in the North. W
hich Kingdom should be more ashamed of their actions, I wonder,” Dylan mused.
“
Okay, I almost don't want to know. What is the Empty?”
The look I got from Rune nearly warned me away from the subject, but it was too late. I'd already asked.
“Now you have to tell us,” Kyle said.
“
Usually when Prince Raserion has won a battle, his Commanders gather the enemy survivors, and if it's authorized, the prisoners are drained,” Dylan began to explain.
Rune interjected.
“If our troops have carts or wagons, the bodies are taken with us back to the nearest Installment Fortress.”
“
And if what I saw in Cape Hill was any indication, they're dropped into those vats that make the glowing blue water,” Dylan finished.
Victims of draining were still technically alive. Their skin and hair
would go all gray. They wouldn't move or blink, eat or sleep. It was like all of their instinct and individualism was stripped away. They were limp and vacant, devoid of color and the essence of who they were. But they would still breathe, and their heart would continue to beat for a few days, maybe even a week, until the body simply ceased to function. In Cape Hill we'd discovered massive tubes compressing such bodies into liquid. This gruesome process seemed to create the dry water of the aquamarine pool that allowed me to cross the vast mountain range between Haven and Breakwater in minutes. I cringed.
“
Likely. But in the case where bodies cannot be loaded and taken away, they're left where they lie.” His voice grew dark, heavy, and he looked at the floor. “It's known that they can't feel anymore– what matters of them is long gone– but some put them to the knife as a kindness. Most Commanders won't allow us to waste that kind of time.
“
Years ago, before I was taken for Dragoon training, the gray bodies of the drained soldiers would go missing. Prince Varion's army would return to the battle sites, searching specifically for those drained. I've never seen it happen during my time with the military, so they must have ended the practice.”
“
The Empty still exist,” Carmine said in an ominous way.
“
Of course they do,” Rune said.
Our pilot tilted her head.
“You've fought them?”
“
Yes,” was all that Rune would say.
“
How?” I asked, not understanding.
He seemed less than enthusiastic with giving me an answer.
“It is said that when the drained soldiers were brought back to the North, Prince Varion would give them a half-life.”
“
They're reanimated,” Dylan added.
“
He brings them back to life?” Kyle asked, wide-eyed.
Was that the all-powerful Ability he'd stolen from his father
, the King?
“
Life? No. Not the way you'd think. The only difference between the Empty and the drained is that they can move their bodies and follow orders. There is no presence of personality, no instinct for survival. They cannot talk or think for themselves, but they can march, and fight, and kill. They don't feel pain, and they don't age, but they need to be told to eat and when to rest.”
“
You seem familiar with them,” Dylan said.
“
Know your enemy,” Rune recited. “Three of them have been locked up in Cape Hill for three decades.”
“
Oh gravity,” I said, feeling a cold wave slip down my back.
“
Don't pity them,” Carmine told me. “They're Empty. They must be hell to fight.”
Rune nodded slowly.
“They injure the same as anyone, but they don't stop until they're struck down with a mortal blow. They never retreat. If they weren't so predictable, we might be losing this war.”
“
We aren't part of
we
anymore,” Dylan pointed out, and Rune didn't argue with him.
I shuddered and wrapped my arms around my middle. So this is what we were visiting?
“Half-dead soldiers. I don't want to imagine that.”
“
You won't have to imagine for long,” Dylan warned.
“
What if the North Prince is trying to help the drained by giving them another chance?” Kyle mused and even I felt a twinge of sorrow for his innocence.
“
Varion doesn't operate out of charity.” Carmine's lips drew downward to a frown. “The Empty are resources for war. Nothing more than that.”
I'd hoped that the North would be different, but it was only a different flavor of depravity. Was the whole world insane? Couldn't there be one force for good? A people who sought peace instead of blood? I knew the answer the moment I thought about it. Haven. My country was good, and so were Breakwater and the people on this boat. It wasn't much, but the thought was heartening. I remembered Cape Hill and realized that the citizens there were hardly different from those in Breakwater. It wasn't the populace that was the problem. It was the princes.
“What is he like?” I asked them. I should be prepared, like Rune. Know your enemy. “Prince Varion.”
My allies exchanged glances and by their expressions I knew that none of them had ever seen him.
“He's immortal, like Raserion,” Carmine said. “Hideous and tall. Inhuman, twisted from hundreds of years of war and the corruption of power. I did catch a glimpse of him once, years ago, in Caraway. He addresses his people from within the palace. I was quite far away, but I could still see the immensity of his armor. They say he's so scarred and disfigured, he never takes his helm off in the company of his subjects.”
Kyle's face drained of color. He must have been battling away the fears of his premonition. After my dream, I could sympathize. These descriptions of the North didn't make me feel altogether welcome. My promise to Kyle still held, though. I wouldn't let him get hurt.
“You should all get some rest,” Carmine told us. “We'll be in Sheer Town by the morning.”
Dylan settled into his chair and shuffled his cards.
“And place the fate of our lives with a narcoleptic pilot? I'm fine here, thank you. Fresh deal. Who'd like to learn cards?”
“
Sign me up,” I said, dragging a spare chair nearer. “I don't think I'll ever sleep again.”
Maybe helping Raserion triumph over his brother was the right thing to do. Varion certainly didn't have a sympathetic reputation. I felt the weight of the trinket in my pocket, and considered keeping my promise to the Prince of Shadows.
Chapter 19: The Port Between Cliffs
ides
The
pale blue dawn illuminated shelves of slate gray cliffsides. Four hundred feet at their highest points, they dripped with brackish moss and silvery shrubs. Swarms of black and white seabirds crowded the ledges, calling and tattling as they swooped in to land on their lofty nests.
I could see where Sheer Town got its name. Little more than a village, the stone and wood cottages were pinned between cliffs on either side. A zigzag
ging road cut up the sloping green gulch that backed the town, disappearing over the summit. I could see the specks of white goats, picking their way up the hill. The few trees here were gnarled and rough, and short palm plants spiked from the ground at the town's edges.
As Carmine swung the Flying Fish around to the small harbor, I noticed that holes were bored into the ankles of the stone cliffs. I picked up a pair of goggles that hung on hooks beside the helm door and put them on. Running my finger up the dial, I zoomed the goggles in to study the dark shapes that plunged into the rock. There was a dim hint of brass, tucked away.
“Cannons!” I announced, alarmed. I'd seen the damage that such robust weapons could do. “They've carved tunnels in the cliffs beside the town and they have cannons in each one!”
“
Don't fear, dear one,” Carmine said. “They won't fire at us. The Flying Fish is in their registry. They've seen us coming. They know who we are.”
“They know our ship, you mean
,” Kyle said, sounding worried. “They don't really know who
we
are.”
“
Obviously, Pet,” Carmine smiled. She was positively worn down. I was amazed she could keep her eyes open at all. Over the night, she'd nearly fallen from her seat another three times. “Just keep your head down and you're mouth closed. We'll do just fine.”
A metallic wheezing sound came from behind me and I suffered such a jolt I thought my heart might stop.
Rune was holding something small in his hands. He brought it close to his lips and blew. It was such a strange sound, I wondered if it was meant to be musical.
“
What is that?” I asked. It truly sounded terrible.
He blew into it again, moving its position against his lips to make different but equally grating sounds.
“A harmonica.” He held the little metal object up for me to see. Raising it to his lips, he breathed into it and the tone changed as he inhaled and exhaled.
“
If you don't stop that,” Carmine said. “I'll take up arms and send you straight back to Raserion.”
Rune's harmonica whined pitifully into silence. It was so out of character to see him trying to play an instrument, I caught myself staring at him in bewilderment.
“Can I see it?” I asked. He handed it over to me and I flipped it in my hands.
“
What are you doing with that anyway?” Carmine asked. “Do you even know how to play it?”
“
Not even a little,” Rune admitted.
“
My turn,” Kyle said. I handed it to him, and before he could blast into it, Carmine snatched it away.
“
Honestly, your lack of respect for music is shameful. Honing a harmonica's sound takes years, and it's not something you inflict on others during your first attempt to play. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to concentrate on not crashing us into that fish-house.”
“
Do you have a guitar?” Rune asked Carmine.
“
Yes, it's– no! I'm not giving you another instrument to butcher. I'm landing, refueling and sleeping,” Carmine said, flipping several switches to bring us into our descent.
The town was charming. The harbor crosshatched the small bay from end to end, and stone fish houses jutted up from the water, linked by wood
en rope bridges. Moss grew on the posts and shingles of the structures, and the pier legs were crusted with salt and seaweed.
Sheer Town was tiny. At least three quarters smaller than Rivermarch, it seemed like the kind of place that hosted a single inn and one general store. I was sure by the look of it
that the place was a fishing town. But there were no boats on the water. What few remained were tied up and rotting from weather.
We touched down, rocking gently on the water's surface. Carmine powered down the hover turbines and the ship became quieter. I almost felt naked without the ever-present vibrations buzzing through the Flying Fish.
“I'll just be off to speak with the harbormaster and we’ll be on our way by tomorrow,” our pilot told us.
As Carmine eased us into a vacant slip, I noticed something peculiar. No one roamed the town pier. No fishermen cast their lines to the water. No one paced the balconies of the cottages to hang their laundry. In fact, I didn't see anyone at all.
“Is it always this quiet?” I asked, feeling warning signals spike through my blood.
“
Perhaps they're in a town meeting,” Carmine offered. I could tell she was being overly trusting because of her weakened state.
“
I doubt that,” Rune said, striding to the front window. “No one is manning the watchtowers.”
“
Was it like this the last time you were here?” Kyle asked Carmine.
“
I'd say not,” she answered. “The locals are as friendly as they are distrustful. Once they know you, there's no going back. Traders that put in here tend to flee from endless droll chatter as soon as their ships are ready.”
“
Sounds like a nice place,” I mused, worrying about its people.
“
You say that now,” Carmine said dryly.
“
Something happened here,” Rune said.
“
It wasn't you?” Kyle asked. I knew that he meant Prince Raserion's army.
Rune crossed his arms and shook his head. He didn't seem offended.
“Not that I'm aware of.”
“
Come along,” Carmine said, powering down the ship's primary engines. “Let's see just what we're up against.”
The three of us followed her out onto the main deck. Dylan was already out there, standing beside the mast, with a hand up to shield his eyes from the sunlight.
“Notice anything odd?” he asked us over the cries of the black and white sea birds.
Carmine groaned with frustration.
“The harbormaster would be here by now. This mission's been cursed from the start. First a Lurcher, then salvagemen and now a missing town?”
I considered mentioning our shadowy stowaway, but I didn't want to cause a panic. Carmine was struggling enough without my adding a spy from Prince Raserion to the mix.
Rune went into the cargo hold and returned with a sword at his hip and a rifle on his back. “Wait here,” was all he said. Without giving Carmine the time to open the boarding gate, he vaulted over the railing onto the docks and stalked off into the barren town.
“
Hang on a second,” I said, rushing to the closed railing gate. Kyle caught me by the wrist, stopping me from chasing after him.
“
I think he knows what he's doing.”
Dylan rested his palms on the railing and looked off at the towering cliffsides.
“It'll be interesting to find out, won't it?”
We waited and waited for Rune to return. An hour passed us by and the sun slipped behind fluffy cumulus clouds in intervals. With the coastal shelf blocking the wind, the day was turning out to be surprisingly warm. All four of us, even Dylan,
obeyed Rune and remained onboard, but I was restless and couldn't stop myself from pacing. The stillness of the town was nearly unbearable. I knew how he felt about the Lurcher, but I should have sent Sadie with him!
A thin breeze whistled through the rocky pass and a wooden shutter creaked on it
s hinges. I looked from the two-story stone and mortar fish house to the hollow windows of clustered cottages. A bucket clattered and rolled from a narrow alley, and a tawny cat fled the scene. I would have been relieved if I heard a single voice, saw someone– anyone stirring among the narrow buildings and byways. There were no automobiles, no carriages, no horses.
I couldn't keep from thin
king about ghost stories and gray soldiers.
I paced.
“Will you quit that? You're making me nervous,” Dylan complained. He'd gone for a sword himself, and I wondered whether a Commander ever really needed to be armed.
Even Carmine produced a rib-holster with a pair of pistols.
“You're already nervous,” Kyle said. “Don't blame Kat for it.”
“
And you're always defending someone, aren't you, Mechanic?” Dylan said as though he was dreadfully tired of our company.
“
Everyone but you,” Kyle smirked through closed teeth.
“
I feel ever so neglected,” Dylan said with blatant sarcasm.
“
Quiet!” Carmine barked at them. “I see something!”
“
What?” I asked.
That startled Dylan.
“Where?”
“
It's in the water,” Carmine said, pressing up against the rail. “It's a body.”
I spotted it as soon as she'd said the worst. She was right. A body was floating lifelessly in the harbor water. Slick, wet black clothes puffed up where air had caught in them, bunching around a pair of curved shoulders. A head of short black hair bobbed with the gentle dip of the mild water. An arm floated to the surface. The black shirt was rolled to the elbows, exposing a complexion of warm brown skin.
My heart slammed to a stop.
“
Rune!”