Chapter Two hundred twenty-nine (Patreon)

Ten pairs of eyes stared up into the sun, trying to pick out a scruffy orange and yellow rooster from the blazing light. One by one, they fell, instead examining the beautiful lake where an ancient serpent disguised as a small black snake had just disappeared.

At last, Raff shook his head, pulling a shirt and two short cloaks out of his storage pouch. The shirt was some indeterminate color between brown and gray, with yellowish stains on the front and beneath the arms. He handed it to his sister, along with one of the cloaks.

“Good thing I asked about adding people to our team for the tournament, eh?” he said, shaking his head. “I was thinkin’ more along the lines of joinin’ up with some of the others who didn’t have enough to make a group, but I guess this’ll work. Lianhua and Reina are too recognizable, but Jinn, Chi Yincang, and Yingtao should be safe enough with a bit of work. Especially if Chi can crack a smile here and there.”

Lianhua started to say something, then stopped and looked at the sun. “Isn’t it too late?” she asked hopefully. “I read the tournament rules when we were in Cliffcross last time. Aren’t entries supposed to be finalized the morning before the tournament begins?”

Raff scratched his jaw. “You read the rules?” he asked, bemused. “All of ‘em?”

She nodded, eyes bright. “Oh, yes. It was actually quite fascinating. Did you know that nonhumans have only been allowed to enter in the last two hundred and twenty-seven tournaments? Before that, they could be claimed as pets, but not participate in their own right. In fact, in 731 AD-”

Yingtao laid a hand on Lianhua’s shoulder, and Lianhua instantly subsided, though the two exchanged a smile that said this was part of an ongoing joke between the two of them. Turning to Raff, Yingtao said, “I’m afraid I don’t fight, and I must remain with my lady.” Seeing the objection on his lips, she raised a hand, “That is not negotiable.”

Huffing a frustrated breath, Raff turned to his sister, gesturing toward the shirt she still held. “We’ll figure it out as we go, then. Now put that on. We need to leave.”

Reluctantly, Jinn did as she was bid, and the shirt seemed to swallow her up, the hem reaching to her knees, and the sleeves not much shorter. Without the soft lines of her arms, hips, and chest, her gender became more difficult to pin down, at least for Kaz.

“Good,” Raff grunted, then turned to the human princess, Reina. He took the cloak from her hands and swung it up around her shoulders, tugging the hood up over her face.

“Can you hide yourself, pup?” the big male asked, looking at Kaz’s cousin, Kyla.

The pup had been unusually quiet, and the burn on her shoulder was still ugly, but Kaz could see that her core was strong. In fact, he would guess that it was actually producing more red ki than it had before, and he wondered if going through the incinerator or being exposed to Fengji might be responsible for that.

She lifted her chin, though, puffing out her chest as she said, “Of course.”

“Then let’s go,” Raff said, already starting to walk. “I’d just break into Mignon’s house and camp out for a few days, but I’m guessin’ the guards’ll check every building nearby, so we’ll have to figure something else out.”

“I may know a place,” Yingtao offered quietly. “Though I don’t know how to get there from here.”

Raff barely glanced back as he hopped another low wall, landing neatly on the next street over from the one that used to lead to the bridge over the Cliff. “Can’t be anyplace you’ve ever been before,” he said. “Not that healer, for sure. They’ll be watching him, since you lot don’t know many people in town.”

“No,” Yingtao agreed. “Not there. It’s near the spice district.”

Now Raff did glance back, gaze resting appraisingly on Yingtao. “Spice?” he asked, raising a brow.

Lianhua wasn’t the only one who looked between the two of them, completely lost. Yingtao just smiled serenely, though, and Raff finally shrugged.

“I can take us there,” he said. “D’you know the cross streets?”

“Ginger and Anise,” Yingtao replied, and Raff started.

“Bard and Bees?” he asked.

The corner of Yingtao’s mouth twitched. “Indeed.”

Raff stepped quickly to the side as they heard boots clacking loudly on the stones ahead of them. Chi Yincang, Kyla, and Li vanished, while Kaz, Raff, Lianhua, Jinn, and Reina tried to look as unassuming as possible. Fortunately, the small group of armored humans that appeared cast them only brief, incurious glances, not even bothering to try to see into Reina and Lianhua’s hoods.

As the group passed, Kaz watched them closely, trying to determine if there was anything strange about them. So far as he could tell, there wasn’t, from their scent of warm metal and leather to the faint mana that gathered in the chests of two of them. He could see most of their faces, as well, though they were shadowed beneath their overhanging helmets, so they didn’t match the description of the mysterious people who had been stalking Jinn and Reina.

“Go, go, go,” Raff urged softly as soon as the soldiers were gone. “We’re about the only people moving away from that mess, so we’re gonna stick out like a fluffy bunny in an Iron-fang rat nest.”

They had to hide or look busy three more times before they were far enough away from the mage college that other people began to emerge, looking confused and eyeing the fading smoke blanketing the sky.

There was a great deal of chatter about what had happened, especially since many people had seen Fengji rise out of the ground. Some people claimed a volcano had sprung up, while others said something called a phoenix had been born.

The one thing they all agreed upon was that the mages were somehow responsible. Now that people were talking, Kaz could hear the discontent behind their words as they spoke about the mages, and he wondered how long their distrust and doubt had been festering. It reminded him of the way the kobolds of the Deep acted toward the Magmablades.

Raff led them through the streets with easy confidence, keeping to back streets and alleys. Once there were enough people around, Kyla climbed onto a nearby rooftop, while Li concealed her front legs, pretending to be a wyvern again.

Kaz smelled the spice district before he saw it. A thousand new aromas assaulted his nose until he wanted to paw at it, whining. Glancing up, he saw that Kyla was doing exactly that, while Mei had her nose buried in what was left of the pup’s clothes. Even the humans reacted, with Raff and Yingtao drawing in deep breaths, and the others looking more uncertain about the experience.

<What is that?> Li muttered, puffing out a cloud of water vapor. There was a distinct tang of smoke to the fog, which made Kaz blink his eyes rapidly.

“Food, I think,” Kaz answered quietly, rubbing his nose and wishing he hadn’t made his nostrils quite so large. He imagined the taste of jiao, the burning flavor of it on his tongue, and sent that to Li. She had had jiao a few times, but a little went a long way, and she usually picked it off.

Thinking he was speaking to her, Yingtao glanced his way. She had spent a good bit of time watching him from the corner of her eye, and he wondered what Lianhua had told her about him, Li, and Kyla. Did she know Kaz was also a kobold? She’d seen Li’s front legs, but did she know the dragon was more than a pet or a trained beast?

“Yes,” Yingtao said. “This is the part of the city where the greatest number of outsiders mingle. Spices are lightweight, durable, and quite valuable to some. For those without storage devices, or who can only afford or power a small device, it’s a common trade good. There are also many restaurants and inns which serve exotic foods here, which in turn attracts people who long for the flavors of their home.”

“Like you?” Raff asked, glancing back. He had one brow lifted above a lopsided grin, which meant he was teasing Yingtao, but Kaz wasn’t sure how.

Yingtao’s cheeks reddened, but only a little, and she gave Raff a flat look. “Yes, like me.”

Lianhua looked as confused as Kaz, glancing back and forth between the two. “Is this Bard and Bee a restaurant or an inn, then?”

Raff took another turn, drawing ever closer to the heavy scent of spices. Cooking meat and vegetables broke through the stronger odors, and Kaz’s mouth began to water. When had he last eaten?

Yingtao’s gaze slid away, and she said, “People do eat there.”

Raff snorted. “What she’s tryin’ to say is that it’s a place people come together to make deals that the local authorities might not approve of.”

Lianhua’s eyes widened. “Smuggling?”

“Among other things,” Raff said. “The Adamant Reach prefers to stay out of all that, so I don’t know too much about it. I’ve worked for a few traders I’d believe were making deals at the B and B, but they were always real careful to avoid letting us see anything we’d have to report.”

He glanced at Yingtao, and for the first time, he looked a little uncertain. “If you’re hopin’ I can get us any further than the front counter, you’re going to be disappointed. And I doubt there’s enough gold in the city to keep some of the folks there from turnin’ us in.”

A small, secretive smile curved Yingtao’s lips. “It’s all right,” she said, “I know someone. Just get us there, and I’ll get us in.”

Raff’s eyebrows climbed again, but he said nothing more, just kept guiding them through the ever more pungent streets until he turned off into the smallest, darkest alley Kaz had seen yet. Raff’s shoulders almost scraped the sides, and for the first time in hours, Kaz didn’t feel exposed.

A soft yip made him look up, seeing Kyla’s nose poking over the edge of the roof. Raff saw her as well, and raised his arms. “Come on down, pup,” the big male said. “We’re going to stop here for a minute.”

Kyla obeyed, and a moment later Raff deposited her on her paws beside him. Mei was already there, having somehow scampered down the wall beside them as Kyla prepared to jump. Kaz promptly took his cloak out of his pouch and settled it around his little cousin’s shoulders. It was easier for her to move and use her ki to hide herself without its bulk, but as long as they were standing there, it would keep her from standing out too much if someone happened to glance in.

Raff turned to Yingtao. “You know how to get there from here?” he asked.

She nodded and smiled, but there was a tension to her shoulders that said she wasn’t quite as confident as she’d like to appear. “Will you wait?”

“Best that way, I figure,” Raff said, shrugging.

The female nodded, and started to turn away, but Lianhua caught her arm. “Take Kaz,” Lianhua said. Looking at Kaz she said, “Leave Li here. Please. If something goes wrong, she can let us know, and we’ll come get you.”

Kaz hesitated. He didn’t like to be separated from Li, especially when she was still recovering from eating the red crystal. Li shifted on his shoulder, wings lifting.

<It’s a good idea,> the dragon admitted reluctantly. She sounded a little more mature, like the voice she used when she commanded Nucai or the mountain, and less like a puppy. Kaz wasn’t sure if he liked the change or not.

“If something happens-” Kaz started, and Li bit his ear.

<I’ll protect you,> the dragon said, sounding more like herself, and Kaz smiled.

“We’ll protect each other,” he told her, touching her nose with his own. She purred gently, then lifted away from him, flying up to the rooftop Kyla had just vacated, pointedly ignoring the arms both Kyla and Lianhua held up for her.

“All right,” Kaz said, looking at Yingtao. “Let’s go.”