By the time the humans began moving again I was just about ready to ignore their pleas and go look for them. They hadn’t actually been gone long, probably less than two hours, but in that time I had cooked up all kinds of scenarios in my head, all of which ended with them dead or detained in some dank cell. After all, I didn’t actually know if Mak needed to be alive for me to sense her, and they had been practically still for quite a while. Thus, when I felt Mak start to come closer again, and at a pretty relaxed pace, I myself relaxed properly for the first time since they’d left.
It was pretty telling, I thought, that when I thought about the fact that their deaths would mean that I got to keep the whole treasure, I didn’t care. They – or at least Herald, for sure, and probably Mak – were worth more than the contents of that magic box. The reason I had stayed wasn’t because I was hesitant to leave the box unguarded, but because I’d promised that I would, to give them a chance to solve things peacefully. If they’d delayed another hour, though, with no word…
I traced Mak’s path all the way back, and when the door to Rib and Pot’s suite opened I had a ridiculous impulse to throw myself at the door like an overly excited dog. But I maintained my dignity, sitting calm and composed on the floor. Rib and Pot came in, of course, as did Garal and Lalia and Ardek, all of whom immediately started picking over whatever leftovers remained after I’d ravaged the table in my worry and boredom. Of the other four, though, there were plenty of greetings as they passed the door, but only Mak stepped inside. She walked straight up to me, a confused jumble of emotions on her face, and put her hand on my shoulder.
“Thank you,” she said in Tekereteki. “Thank you for your patience. I could feel your anxiety growing. I worried you might do something… brave.”
“Something foolish, you mean?” I said.
She smiled. “Shall we settle on ‘rash’?”
I snorted, and couldn't help but smile. ‘Rash’ would do.
“We will change, and then join you. It will only be a moment,” she finished, and left the room.
I could still feel the touch of her hand lingering on my shoulder. Metaphorically, at least; I was literally covered in armour, and any soft touch was a light pressure at best. It took long for any warmth to seep through. But Mak had been getting more comfortable around me lately, and it was… nice. The novelty of having her terrified of me had worn off quickly, and then the quasi-worship to which she’d swung over had been a little disturbing. Over the last week, though, she had been stabilising somewhere between those extremes. Still deferential, respectful, and possibly a little bit awestruck, but also familiar. Not like Herald, of course. I didn’t know if Mak actually liked me. But I was pretty sure that she loved me, in a way, and I cherished that.
“Can you tell me anything?” I turned to the humans remaining in the room.
“They didn’t say much,” Lalia said, tearing a piece of bread apart with her hands. “Just told us to wait until we got back. Seemed kind of… thoughtful, though. All of them.”
“They’re not in jail, and there weren’t any guards going back with us, so aren’t they in the clear?” Ardek asked.
“They have the personal attention of one of the Justices,” Garal said, frowning. “That can’t be good.”
At that point the door opened and Tam walked in, followed shortly by Val. I tried to get something out of them but they asked me to wait until the sisters joined us, which only took a little longer.
“Great! The whole family’s together! Now, can I get some answers?” I said, looking around and trying to make my impatience clear.
At least Mak picked up on it. “Alright, Draka,” she said. “Sorry that we kept you waiting. Those clothes are as comfortable as they can make them, but that isn’t saying much. Yes, you can all get some answers. Here’s the summary: the Lady Justice, while she does not speak for the entire council, does not intend to do anything. Yet. We have not broken any laws, after all, that she knows of or can prove. But that does not mean that you, Draka, are safe to move around openly in the city. As she put it, and I’m sorry for how awful this is going to sound, the law sees you as a dangerous animal.”
Well fuck you too, Lady Justice. I felt the anger in my toes as my claws dug into the floorboards.
“Easy now,” Tam said. His voice was jovial but his eyes were worried as he looked at me. “We’re thinking about buying that floor, you know?”
“But,” Mak said, continuing quickly. “She made it pretty clear that if a big, dangerous animal were to kill the Night Blossom, no one could really be blamed.”
I swung my head back to Mak. “Really don’t like you using that word,” I growled. Being called an animal bothered me. Their laws didn’t concern me much, unless those laws threatened my humans. But to be disrespected like that by one of the rulers of the city, and then have Mak repeat those insulting words back to me, that stung my pride far more than it should have.
“Sorry,” she said, and she looked honestly apologetic. Not afraid, but upset that she’d hurt me. “I didn’t mean–”
“I know. You wanted me to see the silver lining. But I don’t need any reminders that this society despises me. I’d prefer to be called a monster, however much I’ve whinged about that. At least a monster gets some fear and respect.” I laid down, feeling very tired. “I’m a person, damnit!”
“You are,” Mak agreed as she came and sat on the floor next to me. I could see my own frustration and sadness reflected in her. Herald soon joined her, and then so did Ardek, though he looked a little uncertain and awkward about it. “We all know that,” Mak continued, “but the city at large… There is too much history, too many half-remembered stories. Maybe we can do something about it? It would take time, but…” she looked around the room. I didn’t know what she saw, but she didn’t look reassured.
“At the very least, you will always have us,” Herald said, and scratched the bump where my horn might be growing in.
“I don’t need much if I have you guys,” I muttered, leaning into the scratches. “But some recognition that I’m as smart as any human would be nice.”
“There was a great focus on the letter of the law,” Val said. “The Lady Justice is known for her strict adherence to it. I do not believe that any disrespect was intended, only to emphasise your position. The law makes no mention at all of dragons in this city, so it defaults to the fact that you are not human. A grave oversight, perhaps.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. I was a little annoyed at how reasonable his argument was, but it did make me feel a little better. “But you’re all in the clear?”
“We… are,” Mak said. “The Lady Justice made it very clear that she does not want us connected to anything you might do, so we shouldn’t be seen together again if we can avoid it, and you should go on as you have, staying hidden as much as you can. And while there’s no way to tell how fast word will get around, we have to expect some would-be dragon slayers to show up.”
I thought about that. Anyone who came here to kill me would want to find me, and if people knew that there was a connection between me and my humans, they might go after them for information. No matter how that worked out, it would be bad.
“I want you to deny knowing anything about me,” I said. “If anyone asks you, that is. Consider that an order, if it helps,” I added, looking at Mak, which got us both some questioning looks from Tam and Val.
“Mak?” Tam asked simply.
She waved him off. “Later. I promise.”
I continued, ignoring the interruption. “You don’t know where I might be found, and you don’t know anything about me. You have no idea why I attacked those harbour pirates. It was pure luck on your part, as far as you’re concerned.” I looked at Tam, who gave me a careful smile. He did not look at all satisfied with Mak’s promise of an explanation ‘later’, but neither did he argue. “Now, what are your next steps? I’m dying to get my cut of the treasure back to my hoard, so I’d really like to fulfil that promise I made.”
“Well,” Tam said, still looking at me curiously, “we need to bring the Three-ers their share, and the sooner, the better. Not everybody loves them–” Val and Herald snorted in a weird harmony “–but it’ll help our reputation. And it’s the right thing to do. A bunch of the money’s going to the dead expedition’s families, anyway. And then…” Tam looked to the others, then settled on Mak. “We all agree, right? We’re accepting Reben’s offer?”
“We are,” Mak said, as Herald and Val nodded. “It’s a steal. Crazy not to.”
“So you’re really buying this place?” I asked. I felt a tentative excitement at the idea, and it rid me of the last of my sulking. Them owning the place should make it a lot easier for me to meet people, if I could have a room to myself. Something in the cellar would do nicely.
“Reben’s even offered to stay and run it for us!” Tam said. “We looked at his accounts, and he’s making money, just not enough. Debts and all, you know? The interest is eating all his profit, and he keeps getting in deeper.” He paused. “Ah… do you know how loans work?”
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I rolled my eyes. It was a reasonable question, since he had no idea that I used to be human, but still. “Yes,” I told him. “I know about loans and interest.”
“Right. Well, with what we’re paying he’ll be rid of his debts and have something to retire on if he wants to. Me, I think he’ll put it towards his grandkids. This inn is his life. I doubt he’ll ever retire, if he has his way.”
“How much are you paying?”
“200,” Tam said, and I saw Ardek and Lalia’s eyes go wide.
“Wait, Dragons?” Lalia asked incredulously.
“This place makes about a Dragon in profit on a good month,” Mak said. “He could have asked for 300 and it would still have been reasonable, but with his debt getting bigger and with the fact that we’ve been so merciful, he decided to accept our offer.”
“Still,” Lalia said. “200 Dragons… I doubt I’ll see that much money in my life!”
“Hang around this one long enough and you might,” Herald said, jerking her head in my direction with a grin.
“That’ll still take you, what, 17 years to make your money back?” I pointed out, and they all stopped for a moment to consider my calculations. Well, except Ardek, who didn’t even try and just nodded sagely.
“Without a damned counting frame,” Herald muttered.
“Perhaps,” Mak said. “But that’s only half the point. It’s profitable, meaning it’s steady money. It’s not a bunch of loose coins that need to be kept safe. And, most importantly, it’s valuable enough to establish us. Officially, I mean.”
“We can get a name!” Herald blurted happily. “We can be a real Family! A House!”
I’d heard them talk about that before, when they discussed what to do with their money, but I didn’t understand it. “Care to explain to the dragon?” I asked. “You look like a family to me, already.”
“We’re a family, yes,” Mak said slowly, looking a little confused at my confusion. “But if we own enough property we can be a Family.”
And then I heard it. I was so used to just understanding that I rarely thought about the words, but what I had thought were two different words for the same think were actually quite different. There were families, sure, with parents, children, cousins, and all that. And then there were Families, and the word itself had connotations of nobility and rulership, of simply being a better class of people.
“And only 'real' families – Houses – have names?” I asked, wanting to make things clear for myself.
“Yes!” Herald said, full of excitement. “We would not just be the family of Makanna, any more, we would be… Well, I do not know. We have not really discussed it yet. It seemed like such a dream that I, at least, have not wanted to bring bad luck on it.”
The others just nodded their agreement.
“And if you buy this place, you will own enough property?”
“More than enough,” Tam said. “Even with Val holding a fourth share of the inn we, the family that Mak is the head of, will own enough.” He turned to Val. “And of course, once we get married and you become part of the family officially…”
“Patience,” Val replied, but the smile he gave Tam was so warm that I wondered why they hadn’t just done it already. That was their business, though, and I figured they must have their reasons.
“And what does it actually mean?” I asked. “I mean, what’s the difference? You clearly care about this very much. Why?”
“Why?” Mak said, still seemingly confused, as though this should be self-evident. “There’s the respect, for one. But also, when we have children they could join the high clergy, or become officers in the army or the navy. They could work in the high offices of the city. They could… We could even, and dear Mercies, I swear I’m not trying to tempt fate, but we could get a seat on the Council!”
“And legal charges can be brought, if we find who the Night Blossom is, with a hope of winning,” Val added.
There was a snort from Herald. “Val, if we find her, she is dead. If Draka does not get her first, Mak or I will do it. I do not care if she is the richest woman in Karakan, or the head of the Council. I will see her die, and I will not risk the law getting in the way.”
Her voice was entirely conversational. There was no anger or any other emotion, just a very matter-of-fact tone that left no doubt that she was entirely serious.
“Kitten…” Tam said, his face full of concern. “Surely–”
“She’s right,” Mak said, silencing her brother. “You don’t know what she did. Not in detail. I did not and I will not tell you, because I want to spare you. But believe me when I say that we will not be whole again until that woman has suffered for what she’s done to us.”
No one spoke after Mak’s declaration. I didn’t actually know if they’d told anyone except me the details of what happened, and I certainly wasn’t going to unless they asked me to. But I approved of their resolve. I was never going to forgive the Blossom or her creatures, and I didn’t expect the sisters to do so either. And as much as I wanted to do the deed myself, I was determined to let them do it if at all possible.
“Well,” Tam said, breaking the silence. “In any case our legal position will be stronger. And we will be able to extend that to our friends, as necessary. And since the investment will make us enough money to live off comfortably, it’s an easy decision, really.”
“Makes sense,” I said agreeably. “I’m happy for you. But can you take care of it quickly? I really want to get back to my hoard for a while.”
“I don’t see any reason not to talk to Reben today. Right now, even,” Mak said. “We will need to go with him to draw up the contract and to pay off whoever owns his debt, I suppose, but if you all have time…” She looked around the room.
“Neither of us is on duty until tomorrow,” Lalia said, volunteering herself and Garal. “We’d be happy to escort you.”
“Yeah, no worries, right, Pot?” Rib said.
“Nah, whenever you’re ready,” her cousin agreed.
“Then,” Mak said, rising from her chair, “I’ll go talk to the old man and see if he’s still agreeable.”
Things moved quickly after that. Reben was apparently very agreeable, probably eager to salve his conscience and get out from under whatever crushing debt he had, where he was paying more than a Dragon every month in interest. They grabbed the red lacquered box with the treasure, after counting out my share and leaving it with me in a small sack, then left. I chose not to follow them. They were going to some kind of governmental office, then to a money lender in one of the nicer parts of the city. Finally they were going to the temple of the Three, and then they’d come right back, so I saw no need to worry. Instead I stayed. I felt for Mak’s movement, and napped, and enjoyed the scent of the rather massive amount of gold and silver I was curled up around. I let it soothe and intoxicate me, and I thought about what I would pick when I returned to my nest and inevitably gained an advancement.
Charisma, perhaps? While my existence wasn’t common knowledge, exactly, I had shown myself. The authorities knew about me, and being able to talk someone down instead of tearing them apart might come in handy. I might even be able to turn them to my side, which could be incredibly useful. Cunning was interesting, too, with how we needed to find our enemy and get at her. And, not to forget, whatever I took would affect Mak, too. Both of those seemed like they’d be more important for her than for me, since she’d be dealing with humans outside of our circle a lot more than I would.
There would also be a replacement of some kind for Command, which was impossible to prepare for. I was very curious about what I might be offered next. Knowing me, if it sounded good I might just grab it on impulse.
And, of course, there was a certain draw to Physical Greatness, which I did my best to ignore. Knowing that it would strengthen Instinct, my draconic side, had slowly gone from a downside to something tentatively attractive, and that was why I needed to not take it. The more dragon I became, the more dragon I would want to become, I was sure of it, and I was having enough trouble staying in touch with Conscience, my human side, as it was.
Besides, Herald had made her feelings about her little big sister suddenly getting taller clear. Perhaps not the best way to decide on something this important, but I’d rather not make her upset if there were good alternatives.
It was well after dark when they returned, the lock-box rattling and noticeably lighter than when they’d left. “It’s done,” Mak said, sounding slightly awestruck. “We own Her Grace’s Favour.”
“Mak and Val do, technically,” Herald added. “And the Three-ers have received their share.”
“I know we just came back,” Garal said to me, then grinned, “but we were hoping to have a drink downstairs with our new hosts.”
“Oh, no problem,” I said, turning to Mak. “You have somewhere to stash the rest of the money, right?”
“There’s a strongroom which… it’s ours. So, yes!” She smiled brightly. “We can stash our gold in our strongroom in our cellar!”
I grinned back at her, and at the rest of them. “So I’ve fulfilled my promise, right? I can leave with a clear conscience?”
“You have, and you can,” Val said cheerfully.
“In that case, congratulations! You all do whatever you want, have a great time, and I’ll be back… tomorrow evening, I guess.” I grabbed my bag of money and looked towards the window.
“Wait!” Herald said, getting to her feet. “Would you take me with you?”
“Sure,” I said, pleasantly surprised. “Shouldn’t you celebrate with your family, though? This is a big moment.”
“Yes, but…” She looked apologetically at the others, and switched to Tekereteki. “I was hoping I might be there when you get your advancement. I am sure that you will. If that is acceptable, of course.”
I laughed. That was sweet, it really was. And she was concerned enough about keeping my secrets that she’d openly conceal things in front of the others.
I didn’t deserve her. I really didn’t.
“And here I thought that I had full clearance,” Garal said with mock sadness, shaking his head.
I grinned at him, then told Herald, “I’d love to have you along. Meet me in the yard?”
She smacked her hands together in excitement. “Yes!”
“And…” I turned to the others. “You all can know. I get my advancements by growing my hoard. I think all dragons do. Not a huge secret, I guess. And this,” I hefted the bag, “should get me something.”
“So that’s why you’ve been so anxious!” Mak said slowly. She had a smile on her face, and there was something hungry in her eyes. She knew. Oh, yeah. She knew. “Come on then,” she said to the others. “Let’s not keep them.”
When Mak began to usher people out of the room she seemed almost as eager as I felt, and once everyone had left the room she turned back to me, key in hand. “See you tomorrow,” she told me with a grin, and shut the door.