Page 112 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

‘You do not sully your conscience for the sake of theirs, and you trust the Creator to use His power in the things you cannot control.’

He hadn’t hesitated, but the answer sent a flash of rage through me “Right?! You want me to do right in the face of men who’ve done everything wrong? Do you know what right is, Kgosi? Right is not killing men who haven’t attacked me. Right is honoring vows of loyalty. But in this mess, if I do those two things it will lead directly to the downfall of a kingdom and possibly the furies that serve it—which is what he’s aiming for. Why? Why would he want you dead, Kgosi?”

My dragon raised his head again, extended his wings and took his full height. For a moment, I was taken aback, as Kgosi seemed to swell before my eyes and I was reminded that he humbled himself and rarely asserted the authority available to him. I was humbled, watching my dragon’s deep pride and power as he raised his head and his wings and roared towards those mountains, so loudly he shook the earth under our feet. I clapped my hands over my ears, but my heart sang. Kgosi’s grief sloughed off like a rain-jacket discarded in the sun. Every ounce of authority he’d ever possessed hummed in him. I was awed.

Then he turned his head to look down at me, I felt the surge in the bond, him urging me forward. ‘Because I am a threat to him—as are you.’

‘I’m no threat to a throne.’

Kgosi pinned me to the earth with a look. ‘In the hearts of the men who follow, you are. And you restrict his freedom to pursue the darker sides of his ambition. With me at your side, you threaten the hearts of dragons, as well. It would seem your king seeks a path that he knows you and I would resist—and with us go the furies, and Furyknights. If he removes us… well, you can see what occurred here in Fyrehold when leadership among dragons is lacking.’

I looked around at the disused buildings and pastures. ‘What is going on here?’

Kgosi shook his head. ‘I do not know. Yet, I cannot help but wonder if the Fyrehold king plays a role in the bigger picture. If Alexi wants you and I removed, and he has planned to fill the void, perhaps our barriers here are not borne of fear, but simple strategy. Perhaps…’ But he trailed off. Because we didn’t know.

I cursed. Because every question we could answer, only raised more in its wake.

I’d never felt more certain of my purpose, and less certain of its outcome. I was… helpless.

There was no feeling I abhorred more.

I’d just turned back to Kgosi, about to plead for some insight, some wisdom his greater strength and knowledge and age might offer, when Kgosi’s head snapped around and back up, towards the sky.

‘She comes,’ he breathed in my head. ‘My mate comes—carrying yours… and we will have our answers, it seems.’

I read the missive with shaking hands, eyes darting back and forth from the scrawled words to the hastily folded pages from my pocket that Voski had provided, checking and double-checking the coded scribbles indicating how each paragraph should be read. My heart sinking further and further towards my toes.

With symbols for reversal of intent only, the first paragraph read…

I am pleased to report that the lady in question continues her practice of admirable discretion and has given no sign of stepping beyond her assigned veil. She is impressive. None here suspect her to be other than what she appears. She remains out of reach and unhindered.

Reversing the intent of those sentiments made my blood cold.

She is indiscreet.

She has stepped beyond her given role.

She is a fool who has raised suspicion.

She is under my control.

And yet… the end of the paragraph had also been marked, a hurried slash that looked like nothing more than the slip of an ink-pen, but the codes revealed meant that a paragraph marked in that way should reverse the subject, rather than the intent.

Uncertain I was sure how to read those sentences I moved to the next, hoping for greater clues.

The rest of the missive read as any carefully worded intelligence message might.

Ensure she carries the Creator’s light. Her service will be remembered. Watch for news of my success.

If I’d read that paragraph from a trusted Shadowfang Furyknight on mission, I would have scratched my head. The first two sentences offered opposing sentiments and would have appeared to refer to different people.

Carrying the Creator’s light was code for a Furyknight who’d comported themselves with honor or skill above and beyond what was expected of their rank. It was a way for a superior officer to send word back that, after performance in the field, a squad member should be recognized with promotion or trusted with greater responsibility. So, if an officer was killed in the field, those underneath him who returned safely were recognized appropriately.

And yet, service will be remembered was how we honored the death of a brother in arms.

I almost missed the mark at the end of the paragraph, because on first glance, it looked like the final s in success was a looping letter that had been extended when it was hastily written. I had to look up the little swoop in the codes… which only left me more baffled.

Next to that little looping curve on the key was written, As above, so below.