《The Broken Knife》


 Chapter One

    A cold, dry wind swept around the mountain peak, tugging at the sparse leaves of a small, stunted tree stubbornly clinging to a deep but narrow crevice. The tree almost seemed to shiver in response, curling its limbs protectively around the three golden fruits that hung there. Another gust blew, but the tree hung on, as it had done for all the long years of its life.


    Shadow fell, black and deep, blocking the slight warmth the sun provided the trembling branches. The tree was unused to such shadow, since it stood on the highest peak of the highest mountain in the broad mountain range. Even the clouds lay far below, and the air was too thin to support any but the most tenacious of life.


    Tenacious, or powerful. The shadow shifted as a dark wing dipped, its pointed tip just catching the very top of the little tree. Almost playfully, it passed among the nine leaves that were all the tree had managed to produce in that bitterly cold summer. One of the leaves fell, followed by one of the fruits. The leaf swirled away on the wind, flashing gold and green as it began its journey down from the heights.


    The fruit landed in the crevice with a soft thmp no one was close enough to hear. It hesitated on the edge of the crevice, teetering between the rocky mountainside and the darkness below. It tipped, and fell into the depths.


    =+=+=+=


    Kaz hunkered against the back wall of the cave, his body entirely hidden by the patch of thick moss he had slept in the night before. With rapt fascination, he watched as a dragon coiled its long body around its nest, sheltering the pile of eggs resting there. Chirps could be heard from within the shells, and a few had small holes in them, allowing the babies within to breathe more freely.


    Kaz himself sometimes struggled to breathe at this height, and he didn¡¯t have the excuse of being inside an egg. Still, that very difficulty was why this place was safe from the others of his tribe. Only his sister ever followed him here, since most of them grew weak, and some would even fall unconscious when forced to remain here for very long.


    Which was why Kaz had been so shocked to find a dragon nest in his sanctuary. Of course, the first time he saw it, it was just a pile of eggs, and he had frozen in astonishment at seeing the mound of glittering metal surmounted by gleaming ovoid shapes almost as large as his head. That moment of inaction had undoubtedly saved his life, because as he stood there, the two parent dragons had crawled through the cave opening, one after the other. The larger of the two had curled around the eggs, warming them and the entire cavern with the heat radiating from its body, while the smaller dragon nudged each egg, rolling it over.


    Seeing that the parents were distracted, Kaz had instinctively dived for this very patch of moss. When he stayed here for more than a few hours, he slept in it, since it provided both insulation and comfort. His own fur was usually enough to keep him warm, but when the frigid wind blew in through the cave mouth, the dense moss was very welcome.


    On this occasion, it was doubly so, since it not only concealed him, but the dusty aroma that surrounded him also covered his scent. He must have made some sound, since both parents had looked in his direction, but after a moment the larger one had laid its head carefully back on top of the mound of eggs. The smaller one, more cautious, had approached the moss, sniffed it once, and then returned to turning the remainder of the eggs.


    When the large dragon fell asleep, and the small dragon left, presumably to find food, Kaz had finally dared to emerge from his hiding place. Gently, he brushed the thick fronds of the plant, as he always did, imbuing it with part of the forbidden power that filled his veins. This was how he shed that power, after all, so he could hide the fact that it existed from the others in his tribe.


    The adult dragon slept, but the eggs shivered.


    =+=+=+=


    Since then, Kaz had come again and again. At first, he told himself he had to stay away, and he had, until the power that flooded him nearly overflowed while he and the other males hunted a pack of fuergar.


    The rodents weren¡¯t strong, but they were pernicious and plentiful, not to mention tasty. This particular batch of fuergar had chewed a tunnel through the stone around the tribe¡¯s food storage chamber, destroying much of what had been gathered there, and emotions had run high as the warriors raced to hunt down every last one of them. Technically, Kaz wasn¡¯t a warrior yet, since he hadn¡¯t completed his spirit hunt yet, but given his size and age, he went with the warriors whenever they needed numbers to overcome an enemy.


    Usually, that wasn¡¯t a problem, since he shared small bits of his power with any living thing he came across in the course of his gathering, but recently, the power had grown, and the area around the den had been picked clean. Soon, they would have to move, which almost certainly meant they would have to fight another tribe for territory. This meant that the fire still raged in his veins as he clutched his stone knife, and when one of the rodents lunged at him, he burned it with a surge of uncontrolled power as he knocked it from the air. Then, frantic, he stabbed it again and again until all evidence of his impossible act was hidden by the viciousness of his attack.


    That night, he returned to the dragon nest. Neither of the adult dragons were there, though the almost overwhelming warmth of the chamber told him they hadn¡¯t been gone long. Exhausted, he crept from the narrow fissure in the wall from which he had emerged, crawling to his bed of moss, where he released the power in a flood that made the moss visibly grow, and the dragon eggs clatter gently as they rocked from side to side.


    Since then, he had come a hundred times. Each time the power swelled in his body, threatening to overwhelm him and spill out, he trekked through the mountain to the very top level, making his way to the only sanctuary he had ever found.


    Even when his mother declared luegat, a battle for territory, against a tribe deeper in the mountain, rather than simply attacking one of the weaker tribes on the same level or above, Kaz had come here the night before they went to fight. And yesterday, as his mother lay dying, he came again. Sometime in the night, the larger dragon had come, and now Kaz was trapped here until it slept or left. Given that the babes within the eggs seemed to be ready to burst free, however, Kaz suspected he had a long wait ahead of him. Which, honestly, was fine.


    Then the adult dragon shifted, revealing deep gouges along its ribs. It winced, curling a wing in protectively, covering the wound. Two eggs shifted, and a long crack appeared around the top of the large, blue one nearest the parent. The top of the egg sheared off, falling to the side as a damp, blue head flopped out, flailing at the end of a long, thin neck. Its mouth gaped, and the parent¡¯s head immediately darted to one side, picking up a small lump of meat that blazed with blue fire to Kaz¡¯s sight.


    The adult placed this meat in the hatchling¡¯s mouth, and the newborn somehow gulped it down. A flush of blue swelled through the little one¡¯s body, and it convulsed, tiny wings flexing until the remainder of its egg shattered around it.


    The eggs hatched quickly after that. One after another, the dragonlings emerged, were fed, and grew flush with power. Soon, the nest was littered with broken shells, mingled with three small, limp bodies. It seemed that the initial burst of power from their first meal was too much for a few of the hatchlings, and instead of growing almost instantly stronger, they instead thrashed, trembled, and fell still.


    In the end, nine baby dragons stood beside their wounded parent, who continued feeding them as they demanded more and more of the glowing meat. When all of the meat was gone, the little dragons loudly cried for more, and the adult forced itself to its feet, though Kaz saw that blood soaked the stone where it had lain. The stone itself seemed to glow with the power of the sanguine fluid, while the dragon swayed.


    All ten dragons stilled, though, as a deep, booming roar echoed through the cavern. It sounded like a hundred voices in one, all of them filled with triumph. A moment later, the light streaming in through the cave mouth was blocked, and a great, black head thrust inside. It clearly belonged to a dragon, but the beast was so large that it couldn¡¯t fit its whole body through the opening, though it tried again and again, thrusting itself forward as it snapped at the parent dragon.


    Dust and small stones cascaded down, and Kaz was worried that the monster would somehow manage to do what the centuries had not, and collapse this cave into rubble. The power grew in him, churning wildly as his fear rose.


    The blue and white dragon huddled around its offspring, herding them back, away from the snapping teeth of the black dragon, and then, as the sinuous neck stretched out to its greatest length, the blue¡¯s white teeth latched onto it, angled perfectly so that they dug into the soft flesh beneath black scales that were each the size of Kaz¡¯s torso.


    The black dragon screeched, yanking backwards. The blue dragon was latched on so tightly that it, too, was pulled from the cave, and Kaz could just make out the two of them through the dust hovering in the light. The black was clinging to the side of the mountain with wickedly long claws, while the blue wrapped itself around the dark body, trying to keep the behemoth busy without allowing itself to be attacked in return.


    The dragonlings crept forward, their still-damp bodies trembling and eyes wide. Those eyes seemed to swim with different colors in a way the adult¡¯s hadn¡¯t, as if they were still deciding what color they would be.


    The black dragon managed to scrape the blue off its body, then latched its teeth tightly onto the parent dragon¡¯s right front leg. The blue dragon screamed, its head rolling until it stared into the cave, eyes falling on the young dragons. It whistled weakly, and the hatchlings stilled, then stretched their little wings.


    One by one, the baby dragons made their way to the cave mouth, all but falling into the open sky. Eight little ones jumped, then dropped below Kaz¡¯s line of sight, and he hoped they had managed to survive, and were not now tumbling end over end down the unforgiving stone.


    The last of the hatchlings tried to extend its wings, but failed, one of them catching halfway, as it hissed pitifully. Outside, the battle continued, with the blue dragon somehow having managed to free itself, though its leg was now a mangled mess. It fought on, however, as the last of its offspring tried and failed to lift off.


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    Kaz crept out of his hiding place, drawn by the hatchling¡¯s pathetic cries. As he drew near, he was able to see that a piece of eggshell had dried over one wing, and the membrane inside was wrapped around the delicate appendage. The little creature pulled and tugged at the eggshell with its mouth, but just managed to chip a few pieces from the edge, which fell away, along with a sprinkling of glittering white scales.


    There were few pups in Kaz¡¯s tribe, but Kaz had been made responsible for them starting from a young age, when even the den-mother, his aunt Rega, had been called away to work. Kaz liked the pups, especially the younger ones, who had no guile in them yet. He had licked their wounds, and cuddled them when they skinned a paw, and he couldn¡¯t bear to see this little one¡¯s suffering now, dragon or not.


    Making up his mind, Kaz darted forward, pulling his pack around so he could dig through it. He quickly located the waterbag made from a cured fuergar stomach, and pulled it out. With a flick, he opened the carved stone plug, dropping it to the ground in his haste. It bounced and rolled away as he dumped the water over the eggshell.


    The hatchling whipped its head around at the first drop of water, snapping at Kaz¡¯s fingers as he tried to pull the membrane wrapping its wing free. Now that it was wet, the membrane slipped and stretched, nearly coming loose with just the movements of the little body as it tried to bite its benefactor, but Kaz had long since learned that when the power filled him as it did now, he could not only see when others used power, but he was also a little faster and stronger than usual.


    Now, his fingers darted out, over and over, plucking away the thin film even as he dodged the snapping teeth. He doubted the dragonling could do him any serious damage, but he didn¡¯t want to lose a finger finding out. Still, Kaz had always been far more stubborn than was good for any male kobold, and he refused to give up until the thin sheath gave way with a damp tearing sound, and shards of eggshell clattered to the ground.


    Another cry of pain came from outside, and the hatchling¡¯s head whipped around as Kaz fell back further into the cave. It didn¡¯t take long for the dragonling to realize that its wing was now free, and with a few steps, it launched itself clumsily into the air. Unable to help himself, Kaz hurried to the opening, staring out into the impossibly wide open space beyond.


    The black and blue dragons were still locked in battle, and the blue bled freely from a dozen wounds, both large and small. It almost seemed like the black was playing with the smaller dragon, since Kaz could tell that several of the parent dragon¡¯s wounds could have been far worse.


    The two dragons rolled in the sky, and the blue managed to tear itself free, though it nearly crashed into the mountain in the process, making Kaz duck back inside as claws scrabbled at the stone outside. More dust and stones fell from the ceiling, along with something that shone a brilliant gold, nearly glowing as it dropped down to land among the broken eggshells and piled metal that was all that remained of the dragon nest. Kaz caught its fall from the corner of his eye, but for the moment, his attention was still caught by what was going on outside.


    The baby dragon that he¡¯d freed was still visible, though with every beat of its wings it sank lower and lower, already nearly entering the clouds far below. The blue dragon launched itself from the mountain, wings beating desperately as it followed its young. The black finally seemed to notice that the hatchlings had escaped, and it roared, a petulant sound, and dived after the fleeing family.


    When the embattled beasts dropped into the cloud layer, Kaz lost sight of them, and he stared at the misty gap through which they had passed, his breath caught in his throat. The larger, seemingly undamaged black dragon would almost certainly win the fight, but even if the blue dragon won, would it ever be able to gather up its lost young? Could the hatchlings survive on their own?


    Stepping back, he shook his head. Either way, there was nothing he could do about it. The dragons were as far beyond him as he was beyond the patch of moss in which he slept. The little dragons would live or die without his interference.


    Turning, Kaz made his way back to the nest. He carefully avoided the blood, which was already dimming as whatever power it had contained leached away into the surroundings. Almost enviously, he saw that the stone itself was still dyed faintly blue. Crouching, his fingers hovered above the drying crimson pool. The last thing he needed was to absorb any more power, not when he already had far too much of his own. But how wonderful would it be if he could learn to shed some of his strength into the rock that surrounded him, instead of having to find some living thing each time?


    Closing his eyes, he turned his strange inner sight on the limestone beneath the smeared fluid. The blue light glowed lambent in the darkness behind his lids, and he turned toward the streaks and small pool near the cave mouth. They were fading more quickly, presumably because the dragon hadn¡¯t lingered there, and he watched as tiny motes sank into white pockets within the stone, almost too small to see. His brow wrinkled as he leaned closer, until the tip of his snout dipped into the dragon blood, and he reared back, sneezing and gasping as his nose burned.


    His eyes flew open and he scrambled back on hands and paws, his tail sweeping through the damp, broken eggshells around him. Sparks of power burst around him, mostly blue, but with an occasional burst of yellow. The yellow sank easily through his fur, followed more reluctantly by the blue, until his body seemed to hum with vitality. Every source of energy around him flared into brilliance as that other sight completely overtook his normal vision.


    Kaz blinked rapidly, puppy-like whimpers emerging from his mouth as he pawed at his stinging nose. He had to push the light out, quickly, before the rivers of power inside his body grew any larger, as they were wont to do when he allowed himself to grow too full.


    He looked around, trying to make out the bluish-yellow of the patch of moss, but instead his eye caught on two much closer sources of light. They were faint, both of them, but they seemed to be in the bottom of yawning chasms, and somehow he knew they could take in all of the power saturating his body, like the hollow reservoirs that were left after a tribe emptied one of the underground lakes that took millennia to form, and only a few years to deplete.


    Reaching down, he fumbled as he picked the larger one up, only realizing that it was an unbroken dragon egg as his fingers brushed the smooth surface of the shell. Deep within the egg, a faint yellow light flickered, guttering and ready to go out. Instinctively, Kaz shoved power at it. The light flared, then faded sharply, and Kaz almost panicked, remembering the dead dragonlings that must now be scattered all around him. Had he given the tiny thing too much? Would it die, like the little ones who had been overwhelmed by the power within the meat provided by the parent dragon?


    It flickered, and the egg in his hands seemed to grow cold. Quickly, Kaz cradled it against his belly, letting his blue fur and body heat warm it again. When it touched his skin, a flash leapt from that lump of power hidden within his abdomen, and a tiny, tiny cord of light formed, fluttered, and solidified, leading into the depths of the egg. The light within the egg stabilized, and when Kaz squinted, looking down at it, he realized that while most of the cord was yellow, there were also faint black and white threads wound through it.


    Sighing in relief, Kaz sat back, letting one hand fall to the ground beside him as the power drained out of his body and into the egg. His vision returned to normal, and he looked down as something smooth and faintly squishy rolled beneath his hand. He snatched his hand back, horrified when he thought he might be touching the corpse of one of the hatchlings, but saw that instead he had set his hand on a peculiar golden orb.


    Frowning, he picked it up, rolling it between his fingers as he stared at it. Was this the thing he¡¯d seen fall from above, shaken loose by the violent battle outside? It was oval, like an egg, but it clearly wasn¡¯t one. When he poked at it with a finger, a sweet scent rose up, filling his nostrils and causing saliva to pool in his mouth.


    He had the sudden, desperate urge to eat it, and he licked at his lips, his jaws opening. The egg in his lap shifted, shattering the breathless moment, and Kaz blinked, closing his mouth. What was he doing? Even the tiniest pup knew not to eat strange things found in the mountain. That was why the tribe gathered food and brought it back home. Not only did they need to feed the elderly and the breeding females, sometimes even things that they thought were safe could be deadly poison, and only the chief could tell.


    The chief, and a few females who also had enough power to sense what lay within the plants and creatures that lived within the mountain. Power that no male could or should have, even though Kaz very definitely did.


    A scuffing sound made him spin, his paws slipping in the mixture of blood, nest material, and broken shells. He stared as a clawed hand reached through the crevice that led deeper into the mountain. Quickly, he bundled the egg and the tasty-smelling thing into the pack that still hung loose in his hand, nearly forgotten, and stood.


    A snout covered in deep pink fur followed the hand, and pale silver eyes blinked around at the debris littering the floor of the cavern. Katri¡¯s mouth fell open, and she stammered, ¡°What¡­ happened?¡± Her gaze returned to him, and he felt his ears and tail droop as she shook her head. ¡°Did you do this?¡±


    He waved his hands. ¡°No! I only watched!¡±


    She stepped fully into the cavern, her fists coming to rest on her hips as she glared at him. ¡°You watched? Watched what, exactly? Why didn¡¯t you leave? Did you know this was here when you came up yesterday?¡± Her open hand swept out to indicate the nest and its contents.


    She didn¡¯t wait for an answer, just shook her head again, resignation darkening her voice. ¡°Of course you did. Eggs aren¡¯t laid and hatched overnight, and you¡¯ve been coming here more and more often lately. I thought you were just worried about your spirit hunt, but you¡­ you¡¯ve been watching them, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Striding closer, she cuffed his ear, rough but not nearly as hard as their mother would have done in her place. Reminded, he looked up at her. ¡°Is mother-?¡± he asked, in a voice too close to a whimper for his liking.


    Settling back on her paws, Katri sighed. ¡°She is one with the ancestors now. Aunt Rega is chief.¡±


    In its way, this was good news. Oda, their mother, had been too reckless and prideful for her - and their - own good. The balance of power among the kobold tribes was delicate, and since Oda became their tribe¡¯s leader ten years ago, she had gotten into one losing battle after another, forcing them to leave the deep places within the ancient mountain and flee to the higher tunnels among those who were little more than beasts themselves.


    In a last-ditch effort to reclaim some small part of their rightful place, and gain better hunting grounds, Oda had challenged the chief of the Longtooth Tribe to luegat, a ritual battle for territory. While the two female chiefs battled, their male warriors fought to protect them. There were only a few more adult males in the Longtooth tribe than the Broken Knives could claim, so Oda had been certain they would succeed, but she had vastly underestimated the strength of their chief, while overestimating herself.


    And now she was dead, leaving her younger sister, Rega, as the leader of a tribe with almost no warriors remaining in it. Rega was wily, and she had spoken out against Oda¡¯s arrogance for years, claiming that they needed to stay in one place and build their strength, rather than challenging other tribes for fresh territory. Oda had rejected her pleas, however, and since the word of the chief was absolute, and Rega was too weak to challenge Oda, the tribe had fought, and lost, again and again.


    Now, at last, Rega would take power, and since Oda had denied her a mate, she had no children of her own, so Katri would be her heir. Rega, and then Katri, would be good for the tribe, stabilizing them and allowing them to grow.


    Unless, of course, Mital, the leader of the Longtooth Tribe, exercised her right to absorb the Broken Knife tribe into the Longtooths. If she did, Rega and Katri would both be killed or exiled, since Mital had several heirs of her own, and would never be able to trust that the former Broken Knife females wouldn¡¯t challenge her for leadership.


    Kaz¡¯s fists clenched at his sides. ¡°What will happen now?¡±


    Katri sighed and clapped a hand to his shoulder. ¡°Now, we mourn. At the end of the mourning period, Mital will tell us what her decision is.¡± Her shoulders hunched. ¡°I hear she has an ambitious daughter. Aunt Rega suspects our tribe will be taken in, then split, with the daughter as your new leader.¡±


    ¡®Your¡¯, not ¡®our¡¯. Katri knew it was unlikely she would live to see it happen.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there anything we can do?¡± he asked.


    Katri started to shake her head, when a smooth, strangely accented voice broke in.


    ¡°Perhaps we can help with that.¡±

 Chapter Two

    The siblings spun, and Kaz pulled his stone knife from its sheath, stepping in front of his sister. Behind him, he could sense Katri summoning her power, and a glow of flickering light from that direction told him that she was readying an attack. Unfortunately, the light held in Katri¡¯s hand was dwarfed by the one that hovered over the female standing before them.


    She stood framed by the cave mouth, head and shoulders thrown back, a confident smile on her flat, nearly furless face. The largest single piece of fabric Kaz had seen since his tribe left the deep places clothed her body, revealing her wealth and power, and three more of the strange beings tumbled in after her.


    The largest of the three, a male with orange fur covering only the lower half of his face, glared at the one who had first spoken. ¡°I keep tellin¡¯ you to let me go first, Gaoda!¡± he exclaimed. Sharp golden eyes flickered around the cavern, and he stepped in front of the smaller female. Pulling a sword made of a single piece of sharpened metal from its sheath, he glared at Kaz and Katri.


    A pale, slim hand with soft, round claws patted the warrior¡¯s arm as the female stepped around him. She smiled at Kaz, flicking her fingers so the sparkling orb followed, hovering just above her shoulder.


    ¡°There now, no need for violence. You can see we¡¯re more powerful than you, can you not? So, why not try talking before you throw your lives away?¡± Her lip curled, and she muttered, ¡°Not that that would be much of a loss.¡±


    Kaz wondered if the little round ears mostly hidden in the golden fur on the sides of the female¡¯s head didn¡¯t work, or if she meant for Kaz and Katri to hear the insult. Still, she was right that the four large beings armed with power and metal weapons were undoubtedly more than a match for two kobolds.


    Katri set her hand on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, though she continued using his body as a shield, as she should.


    ¡°Fine then. What do you want?¡± She took a step back, creating more distance between them and the strangers, and the hand on Kaz¡¯s shoulder tugged him after her.


    The female shrugged, her light bobbing cheerfully behind her. ¡°A guide.¡± Her blue eyes flickered to take in the scattering of nest, shells, and corpses, narrowing greedily. ¡°And whatever we wish to take from here.¡± She lifted a hand, and another male slipped out from behind the first. This one wore all black, and the fur on his head and face were black as well.


    ¡°Chi Yincang,¡± the female said, ¡°see if there¡¯s anything left that¡¯s usable.¡±


    Silently, the male nodded and stepped toward the dragon nest, black eyes flicking from the two kobolds to the scattered mess. Kaz and Katri took several more steps backwards, towards the deep crack that was nearly hidden in the shadows of the far wall of the cavern.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Katri said, quickly. ¡°Then we¡¯ll-¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± the female said sharply, and both kobolds froze in place as her ball of light pulsed above her, showing off her power and control. ¡°You were saying something about a little problem you¡¯re having, and I still need a local guide.¡±


    The male with orange fur huffed. ¡°There¡¯s nothin¡¯ up here I can¡¯t handle. We should go deeper before you-¡±


    The female cut him off as easily as she had Katri. ¡°Divine Providence has granted me exactly the thing I was looking for. Why would I spit in her face? No, these two will help me, and I, of course, will help them.¡±


    Again her lips stretched in a smile, revealing no teeth. ¡°You said your tribe is going to be taken over by another, did you not? And you didn¡¯t sound pleased by the prospect. If I stop this from happening, you will provide me with whatever I wish, I am certain. Or, perhaps I should have Raff kill you both, and seek out this Mital instead?¡±


    Katri froze, and the feeble light she had been maintaining vanished with an almost audible pop. Her fingers dug painfully into Kaz¡¯s flesh. ¡°You will kill Mital for us?¡±


    Kaz turned to stare at her. What? She believed this stranger? Was she really going to trust a female not of their tribe?


    Katri didn¡¯t look away from the group, but the subtle shake of her head told Kaz more loudly than words that she wasn¡¯t that much of a fool. Kaz looked back around as Katri went on. ¡°If you kill the leader of the Longtooth tribe, and her heirs, I¡¯ll send someone to lead you wherever you wish to go.¡±


    The other female nodded in satisfaction, her gaze flickering to the dark male as he straightened. All of the dragonling¡¯s bodies had vanished from the nest, as had the largest pieces of shell and most of the nest material. Even the pool of blood had trails scraped through it, as if the male had scooped up the fluid into some kind of container. His hands were free, however, so Kaz had no idea where all the things he had picked up had gone. He didn¡¯t even wear a pack like Kaz¡¯s.


    A second bare-faced female poked her head out from behind the big one¡­ Raff? The fur atop her head was pure white, and so long that it was wound into balls and braids that were pinned up and decorated by sticks with delicate, glittering things perched on the ends. Her amethyst eyes were wide, and she smiled brightly, though Kaz¡¯s fur lifted at the sight of her flat, white teeth.


    She clapped a hand over her mouth, her bare skin turning pink. ¡°Oh! No teeth! I forgot!¡± Her voice was noticeably higher-pitched than that of any of the others, and she was much smaller as well, standing not much taller than Kaz himself, though he was large for a kobold. Still, he wondered if she might be a puppy, and he felt his hackles settle. Puppies often made mistakes, and it was the responsibility of the older members of the tribe to correct them.


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    Sure enough, Raff¡¯s arm stretched out, and he stepped in front of her again, growling, though the sound seemed to be aimed at Kaz, rather than the puppy. The pup stepped out from behind him again, ignoring the chastisement, and ducked beneath the arm blocking her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Raff,¡± she said, smiling with her lips closed. ¡°They¡¯re already talking, and they seem nice enough. And you¡¯ve been scaring me with horror stories about them this whole time.¡± Her lower lip poked out, and her purple eyes lingered on Raff accusingly.


    The first female stepped between the pup and the orange male. Her lip raised, revealing canines on one side, but the snarl seemed to be directed at the male, so Kaz didn¡¯t react. Reaching out, the female set her hand on the pup¡¯s arm, then gestured toward Kaz and Katri, sweeping the long piece of fabric that covered her aside in a grand gesture.


    ¡°You said you wished to speak to the¡­ locals, cousin,¡± the female said. ¡°Here they are. I simply ask that you remain by my side as you do so. I will protect you, if they turn out to be rabid.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t know what ¡®rabid¡¯ meant, but it didn¡¯t sound complimentary. Still, he and Katri were vulnerable until they could escape into the crevice, so he ignored it. He took a step back, but came up against Katri¡¯s body, which refused to budge, no matter how hard he pressed backwards.


    ¡°We¡¯ll lead you to the Longtooth¡¯s den,¡± Katri said, sounding confident, though her body trembled against his. ¡°If you can do as you say, I¡¯ll keep my promise as well.¡±


    The gold-furred female nodded. ¡°Fine, then.¡± She flicked her fingers at Raff. ¡°Follow them, and kill this Mital, and whoever else our new friends wish dead.¡±


    Raff hesitated, his blade wavering, and then shrugged resignedly. Kaz felt for him. He spent far more time around females than most males, and he knew the sting of their tongues. Still, a command was a command, and a male who disobeyed a direct order was a male who would soon suffer unpleasant consequences.


    Katri¡¯s stiff body finally gave way behind Kaz, and he nearly stumbled backwards. When he glanced around, he saw that she had turned her back on the strangers, and was striding toward the exit, her plumed pink tail waving behind her. Kaz scrambled after her, the click of his claws drowned out by the clatter of the hard sheaths covering the lower paws of the strangers. Whatever else these creatures were, they were loud.


    Katri and Kaz slipped easily into the crack, with only a familiar tug of rough stone against fur. The male following them, however, came to a complete halt.


    ¡°I can¡¯t fit through there,¡± he growled, but the adult female scoffed.


    ¡°You can if you take off that ridiculous armor. You claim to be Bronze rank, so nothing here should even be able to scratch you.¡±


    The male growled again. ¡°That¡¯s what everyone says until a great, bloody dragon shows up out of nowhere, and suddenly everyone wants magical armor. What if that black monster comes back?¡±


    The female was becoming impatient. ¡°Then we¡¯ll leave you behind to be slain, while we head deeper into the mountain. Now, hurry up.¡±


    Clattering sounds began to come through the crack, and Kaz turned to Katri in the narrow confines of the tunnel. ¡°We should run,¡± he whispered. ¡°If we hurry, we¡¯ll be long gone before they make it through.¡±


    She stared at him, her eyes glowing silver in the darkness. ¡°You can go,¡± she said. ¡°But this is my only chance. There¡¯s no way Mital will leave me alive when she takes over the tribe. Unless these humans kill her, I have no more than two days before I join Mother among the ancestors.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Humans? That¡¯s what they are?¡± A hundred stories ran through his mind. Humans were the villains of every pup¡¯s nightmares; great, powerful monsters who came in and hunted kobolds as if they were fuergar. Sometimes, rarely, they came seeking something, and those who aided them were as likely to gain great rewards as a pitiful death. Stories that turned out well for the kobolds were few and far between.


    Katri nodded. ¡°There are some pictures in the chief¡¯s book.¡± She shuddered. ¡°I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be quite so ugly, though. The pictures make them look almost like us, just with flatter faces and less fur.¡±


    ¡°Are you certain they¡¯re humans, then?¡± Kaz asked, momentarily distracted. When he was a pup, he had asked if he could read the book like his sister, and Oda had beaten him black and blue.


    ¡°I¡¯m certain,¡± she said. ¡°The description matches, even if the picture isn¡¯t quite right.¡± She hesitated, then offered, ¡°I could¡­ show you? I know Mother said males shouldn¡¯t be encouraged to step out of their place, but you¡¯re not-¡±


    Normal, he thought, but the deep well of longing that lived in his belly made him whisper, ¡°Yes,¡± until he remembered that Rega was their new leader, not Katri. Their aunt had always been far kinder than their mother, but she was still a female.


    ¡°Rega will never let you show it to me,¡± he said, and Katri¡¯s eyes shifted away.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± she said, but there was a tone in her voice he recognized. It was a tone that meant she had decided on something, and nothing he did or said would change her mind.


    Oh, Katri, what are you planning? he thought, but a scraping sound from behind them interrupted before he could voice the question. As one, the siblings turned to look at the orange-furred male as he forced his way into the narrow passage.


    He grunted, sliding through the crevice inch by inch until he caught up with them. ¡°Thought you two¡¯d have run by now,¡± he muttered, looking at them. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to be glad you stayed, or kill you before Gaoda gets here and save us all some effort later.¡±


    ¡°I heard that,¡± the leader¡¯s voice snapped. ¡°Now, get on with it. Even my fuulong silk robes will be stained if they have to drag over stone for too long.¡±


    Katri bowed her head. ¡°The passage widens not far ahead. Many of the upper tunnels are small, since they¡¯re simply natural cracks in the stone, but as we go further into the mountain, more of the shafts will be made by kobolds or other, older races, and those are much larger.¡±


    Muffled sounds of understanding came from behind them, and Kaz and Katri began to head deeper into the familiar passage.

 Chapter Three

    The Longtooth tribe lived two levels deeper in the mountain than the Broken Knife tribe, and the Broken Knives lived what would have been five or six levels below the dragon¡¯s den. Fortunately, at the very top of the mountain, only one or two of the weakest tribes remained, and they didn¡¯t have enough members to guard the ways between levels.


    Kaz and Katri were able to lead the group downwards both quickly and easily, and Kaz listened as Katri explained their tribe¡¯s situation to the female cub, who was the only one of the humans who actually seemed to care why they were being asked to kill the chief of the Longtooths and her daughters.


    Once they reached the level that lay between the Broken Knives and the Longtooths, Kaz and Katri carefully made their way through the furthest, darkest tunnels they could, remaining at the very edge of what was an unspoken no-man¡¯s-land. Kaz briefly considered a more direct route that would take them through what was - for now - still territory regularly used by the gatherers of the Broken Knife tribe. Unfortunately, Rega would quickly hear of their passage, and Katri was adamant that their aunt couldn¡¯t know about the humans.


    The easiest and most convenient ways between levels were usually controlled by the most powerful tribes on those levels. Being able to go up and down to forage or invade was a great advantage, especially when you could retreat and block the entrance behind you after a battle went badly. Since Oda had believed all the upper tribes were trash, and treated them accordingly, none of them would be willing to let a Broken Knife enter their territory, much less use their precious entrances to the deeper levels.


    Of course, at this height, there were always a few passages that were either so inconvenient or so difficult that no one bothered to guard them, and it was to one of these that Katri led the group. This path was one of the difficult ones, and it was considered so because it led directly into a nest of janjio. As they drew near, Kaz touched his sister¡¯s arm and murmured, ¡°Katri, are you-?¡±


    She cut him off with a shake of her head, her eyes flicking to the orange-furred male, who had replaced his bulky armor and now strode beside them in the tunnel. The passage was crude, but it had been roughly cleared by some past tribe, though they had never completed the job, possibly because of the janjio.


    Kaz¡¯s hand touched the hilt of his knife, reassuring himself that it was there, ready to be drawn at a moment¡¯s notice. Though the janjio mostly stayed on the same level as their nest, it wasn¡¯t unheard of to find one in this area. It would be best to let the humans know the danger, so they could ready themselves. The two males were on guard, but the females continued talking, rarely even bothering to look around.


    Katri was female, however, so Kaz settled back into line, though his hand remained on his weapon. He hoped that the two males, at least, would see his increased caution, and realize that there might be danger about, even though Katri didn¡¯t want to tell them.


    The first sign that one or more janjio were wandering these passages came in the form of distant screeching sounds. They weren¡¯t the ones the janjio used to attack, but Kaz¡¯s ears still folded back, and he whined softly. Again, Katri gave him a glance and a shake of her head, but none of the humans seemed to notice anything was wrong.


    It took several more minutes, during which Kaz began to wonder if the humans were all but deaf, before any of them reacted. The orange male, Raff, was the first to stop and hold up his hand, though Kaz thought the black-furred one, Chi Yincang, was already aware that something was wrong. The two females, on the other hand, nearly ran into Raff¡¯s back, and the pup even stumbled.


    ¡°There¡¯s something ahead,¡± Raff said, softly. He tilted his head, and the strips of fur above his eyes lowered as he seemed to concentrate. ¡°Screechers, maybe?¡±


    The lead female huffed and said, ¡°The bat-things you warned us about?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°They live in colonies, so while one isn¡¯t much of a challenge, facing a hundred or more can be difficult.¡±


    Raff looked toward Katri and Kaz. ¡°Are there monsters ahead?¡±


    Katri shrugged, eyes wide and innocent. ¡°Perhaps so? Our people rarely come here. I was trying to take you around all the kobold tribes, so this is unexplored territory.¡±


    Kaz blinked. There was no ¡®unexplored territory¡¯ here. Every bit of the occupied levels were known to the tribes who lived nearby, though there were certainly areas that were best avoided. Why was Katri not only leading them directly into danger, but refusing to warn them about it?


    Something clicked, and Kaz¡¯s chin dipped. Ah, she wants them to be killed, he realized. Humans wandering around so close to Broken Knife territory could be nothing but trouble, so Katri was taking them far away, before dropping them into a nest of some of the most dangerous monsters in the upper levels. That meant Kaz himself should be ready to take Katri and flee as soon as the humans came under attack.


    Now that Kaz understood his sister¡¯s plan, he felt more relaxed. He would keep his eyes open, but if they could run, rather than attempting to fight beside the humans, their odds were much better. His shoulders settled, and the straps of his pack tugged at his fur as it shifted. The weight of it reminded him of the egg and the strange, good-smelling thing he had stashed there, and his eyes fluttered as he mentally ¡®felt¡¯ for the thin link between himself and the egg.


    Which was when the janjio attacked.


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    Loud, terrifying screeches echoed from in front and behind them, and Kaz¡¯s ears flattened as he staggered. How had the things flanked them, and why were there enough of them on this level to surround them in the first place? One or two had been known to wander up here, but his sensitive ears were picking up the sounds of so many different creatures that he lost count.


    Kaz braced his paws, desperately trying to control the urge to simply run away from the horrible sound. He couldn¡¯t try to escape until he was certain that Katri was with him! He looked around, seeing that the human pup was kneeling on the ground, her hands over her ears. The lead female stood beside her, three glowing balls of energy circling in the air. Raff had his weapon out again, and Chi Yincang had produced a long stick with what looked like a knife blade tied to the end of it. Wood was rare in the mountain, and knives in such perfect condition were unusual outside the deep levels, so Kaz once again nudged his mental estimation of just how wealthy this group had to be up a few notches.


    These mental calculations were enough to jog Kaz out of his first moment of panic, and he looked around again, searching for Katri. Where was she? Surely she hadn¡¯t run away? After all, while she wasn¡¯t particularly strong, she had access to the energy of females, which should allow her to resist the initial mental attack of the janjio. Frankly, he was amazed that none of the humans had run, especially the males, but they must have stronger wills than he would have given them credit for.


    Nothing. Nothing. Nothing¡­ Something shifted in the shadows at the edge of the light, not far from where he had last seen Katri, and he realized what she must have done. It was called a shadow shield, and Kaz hadn¡¯t realized that Katri was strong enough to do it. Oda could, but Rega couldn¡¯t, and Kaz had never seen Katri do it before, so he had assumed that she, like their aunt, was too weak.


    Good! She¡¯s safe as long as she keeps that up, he thought. The shadow shield would block much of the disorienting power of the janjio¡¯s screams. The things had no eyes and relied on their auditory attack to stun or terrify their victims into fleeing directly into their waiting maws, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about Katri for now.


    Unfortunately, he also couldn¡¯t sneak away. Katri would be locked to that spot until her shield failed or the monsters went away so she could drop it. So long as she was here, Kaz, too, would have to remain. He would just have to hope that when the humans died, they didn¡¯t take him with them. Perhaps Katri would let him have one of their blades.


    The human female was giving orders now, and Chi Yincang fell back behind them while Raff moved ahead. They stayed within the circle of light cast by the female¡¯s energy orbs, but unlike many of the weaker creatures, janjio weren¡¯t bothered by light.


    Even as he thought this, the first of the janjio flew toward them, heading straight for the female human. Janjio were attracted to those with power, so that made sense, and Kaz ducked as one of the circling balls impacted the monster with a harsh CRACK. A hole appeared in the depths of its wide-open maw, and Kaz realized that several of its vicious fangs had been sheared flat as the orb passed through. The energy emerged on the other side of the janjio, as pure and white as ever, while the flying monster collapsed, black blood gouting from its back.


    After that came slaughter. Janjio flew in from everywhere, but usually one of the males sliced it in half with contemptuous ease. If a monster managed to slip by while the males were occupied, it died a moment later as the female sent one of her orbs through it. Kaz, on the other hand, simply stood there with his knife bared, jaw open in astonishment.


    It was over in minutes. As the last of the janjio threw itself against this impenetrable defense, it fell apart, divided neatly into two pieces that fell to the floor with a terrible squishing sound. Everyone held their places for a moment, waiting to see if any more monsters would appear, and when they didn¡¯t, Raff shook his weapon with a sigh, and the gore flew off, leaving the long knife-like blade as perfectly sharp and clean as when the battle began.


    Chi Yincang stepped back from his ready stance into a loose standing position, At some point during the motion, his stick-knife vanished completely, though Kaz was nearly certain he saw the ring on the male¡¯s right middle finger flash with power as it did.


    The golden-furred female helped the pup to her feet, saying, ¡°Cousin Lianhua, may I help you clean yourself?¡± Her hands hovered just above the pup¡¯s skin as she spoke, and her blue eyes held an expression that was similar to the one they held when she looked at the dragon nest.


    The pup¡¯s cheeks flushed, and she bowed slightly, using the motion to edge away. ¡°No, thank you, Gaoda Xiang. I am well, and my fuulong silks remain undamaged.¡± She looked around at the piles of janjio corpses surrounding them and frowned. ¡°I¡¯m surprised there are so many, and yet I don¡¯t sense a core in a single one of them.¡±


    For an instant, her gaze touched Kaz, but she just smiled. ¡°Are you well, kobold? This must have been frightening for you.¡±


    The gold female frowned, but allowed herself to be distracted. ¡°And where is the pink one? Did it run?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s other sight caught the flicker as the shadow shield dropped, but it was deep in darkness now that the leader¡¯s energy ball had returned to its single form, so he doubted any of the humans noticed. An instant later, Katri stepped into the light, her ears and tail drooping, the very picture of regret.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, ¡°my fear overcame me, and I fled. As soon as I came to my senses, I returned, but I was too late to help.¡±


    The leader looked angry, and opened her mouth, no doubt ready to chastise Katri, but the pup stepped in, holding out her hands. For the first time, Kaz noticed a stain of red in the fur of Katri¡¯s arm, and he started towards her. The pup took a strip of cloth from the pouch at her waist, however, and wrapped it around the small wound as Katri stared in astonishment. Fabric was rare and precious in the mountain, and this puppy had just wasted a piece by putting it on a scratch!


    The pup patted Katri¡¯s shoulder and turned back to the rest of the humans. ¡°Is everyone else well?¡± They all nodded, and she smiled in satisfaction, looking back at the female she had called Gaoda Xiang.


    ¡°Then shall we go?¡± She turned to Katri again.


    Katri looked as puzzled as Kaz felt, but nodded. ¡°Of course. The way down is just ahead.¡±


    Lianhua smiled without showing teeth, and Katri led the way deeper into the mountain.

 Chapter Four

    The Longtooth tribe lived almost directly beneath the Broken Knives, so once they reached the right level - which was strangely devoid of janjio - they then had to return, once again skirting the territory of other kobold tribes. Though the tribes in the depths could span large parts of several levels, their territory as much vertical as horizontal, the smaller, weaker tribes of the high mountain rarely controlled more than small sections of two.


    The Longtooth tribe was neither particularly strong nor particularly weak for their area. They, like the Broken Knives, had fought a losing battle against a deeper clan, and many of their males had died in the process, forcing them to move to higher levels. At that time, however, Mital had been the only adult female, and now several of her daughters were coming of age and looking for mates of their own.


    When Oda had announced luegat against them, Rega had demanded to know why. Oda had defended her choice by saying that if she didn¡¯t, Mital would undoubtedly do it herself, because she would soon need both males and territory. Rega growled and said that Mital, who was nearly as arrogant as Oda, would wish to return to the depths, not absorb a tribe as weak as the remnants of the Broken Knives. There had very nearly been a battle for dominance over the issue, until Rega had finally bared her throat to her more powerful sister.


    Now, looking down on the bustling kobolds below, Kaz wished Rega had won. If Oda was right, and Mital turned her eye toward them, it would have meant fleeing to the desolate levels at the very top of the mountain, where there was little food, and the air was so thin the weakest members of the tribe would probably die. Still, Katri had just come of age, and once she had a mate, she could begin to bear pups. Males would become warriors, and eventually be traded out to other tribes, but females were the true strength of a tribe, and Oda had gutted the Broken Knives by refusing to allow any other females to bear pups before Katri.


    ¡°Is that the tribe we need to get rid of?¡± Gaoda Xiang asked offhandedly, barely glancing down at a tribe that contained easily twice as many members as the Broken Knives. She didn¡¯t even bother to lower her voice, and Katri and Kaz winced as they looked at each other.


    ¡°That is the Longtooth tribe, yes,¡± Katri murmured, flattening her sibilants so her voice wouldn¡¯t carry down to the other kobolds. ¡°You only need to slay some of the adult females, however, not the whole tribe.¡± Her ears were half-lowered as she looked around at the humans, and Kaz wondered if his self-confident sister was finally questioning her decision to accept help from these humans.


    Lianhua peered over the edge of the hole they were using as a vantage point. It was too small for anyone to pass through it, and at a poor angle to allow anyone to attack the den from a distance, so it seemed that the Longtooths had decided it was unimportant. Oda had found it, though, and used it to scout out the weakest females, so she could prioritize targets when the two tribes battled. The Longtooths hadn¡¯t been a true Deep tribe in generations, if ever, and to them, battles were won through overwhelming force, not strategy. This single fact was what had very nearly allowed Oda and the Broken Knives to win in spite of their smaller numbers.


    ¡°Are the little ones children?¡± the pup asked, her disturbingly short nose wrinkling. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill children.¡±


    Gaoda sighed, rolling her eyes. ¡°Fine, then. It would be easier to simply wipe them all out, but if you insist, cousin, we can leave the, ah, children.¡±


    She turned her head, looking at Katri. ¡°Which one is this Mital, then?¡±


    Katri extended a clawed finger. ¡°The one with gray fur, standing beside the male with green fur.¡± Her finger shifted. ¡°Her eldest daughters are Maza, with the pale green fur, Mika, with dark green, and Mella, who is dark gray. She has younger daughters as well, but once the eldest are dead, they will submit.¡± Her lip drew back from her teeth in an expression Kaz had rarely seen. Katri tended to be overly cautious, if anything, perhaps in response to their mother¡¯s recklessness.


    Raff nodded, absently fingering the hilt of his weapon as he thought. ¡°What about Big Green, then? And the other males?¡±


    Katri hesitated. ¡°Mital¡¯s mate will probably die defending her,¡± she admitted reluctantly. ¡°The others I would rather keep alive, if possible. When Mital and her daughters are dead, the others should give up, and I¡¯m certain I can defeat any of the weaker females myself.¡±


    Kaz eyed the remaining females. There weren¡¯t nearly as many as there had been before the luegat, since Oda had managed to kill the strongest of them, other than Mital herself, while Katri and Rega started with the weakest and worked their way up. While Katri was too weak for the depths, she was strong for these levels, and if this worked, the combined tribe that remained would be able to survive comfortably, so long as they simply held onto what they had and didn¡¯t over-forage.


    Still, it seemed¡­ dishonorable, to use outsiders for what should be a matter dealt with between kobolds. Even more dishonorable than fleeing before the mourning period was over, and hoping that the Longtooths wouldn¡¯t bother following such a pitiful tribe all the way to the top of the mountain. In a few years, the Longtooth tribe would undoubtedly manage to work their way back down a few levels, at which point the Broken Knives, too, could quietly return to their place.


    Gaoda stepped back. She glanced at Chi Yincang and languidly motioned to the hole, which was barely large enough for Kaz¡¯s arm, and passed through more than a foot of solid stone. It would be possible to break through here, of course, but not without making so much noise that the Longtooths would have plenty of time to get defenders ready. Katri had only brought them to this place so she could show the humans who their targets were, before they actually entered through another nearby passage, which would undoubtedly be well-guarded.


    So, Kaz was shocked when Chi Yincang waved his hand, producing his stick and blade weapon. Was he going to throw it through the hole? Surely not, since there was no way he could hit any of the Longtooths from this angle.


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    Chi Yincang began whirling his weapon through the air, the blade becoming a blur, while the rest of the humans stepped away from the opening. Taking their cue from them, the two kobolds also moved back, and Chi Yincang shifted, settling his feet in such a way that they seemed to become one with the stone beneath him. He was immovable as his weapon darted out, slashing once, then twice, before a subtle flash of light heralded its return to the ring on his right hand.


    Kaz glanced back and forth between the expressionless human and the hole. It had seemed like Chi Yincang¡¯s blade sank into the stone, but there was no visible sign that he had done anything at all. There weren¡¯t even any scratches on the rock, and Kaz¡¯s keen ears hadn¡¯t picked up a single sound of metal on stone.


    Then Chi Yincang¡¯s foot lashed out, impacting the solid limestone just below the gap through which they had been watching the Longtooth tribe. A rectangular section of stone just slightly smaller than Kaz himself slid away with a grinding sound, tumbling through the air to crash down on the kobolds some fifty feet below.


    With a yell, Raff launched himself through the new opening, followed swiftly but silently by Chi Yincang. The two females stepped forward so they could see easily, but Katri and Kaz fell back, shocked and horrified by how quickly and easily the males had gone from spectators to raiders.


    Kaz shook his head as he watched Gaoda Xiang send her dancing balls of light forward into the fray, keeping only one back to protect herself and the pup. Kaz couldn¡¯t see what was happening below, but his ears told him a story that made him crouch down and tuck his tail between his legs.


    ¡°Katri,¡± he whimpered, ¡°this isn¡¯t right.¡±


    His sister looked like she, too, would prefer to cower before the merciless strength of the humans, but she straightened her shoulders and lifted her ears at his words, looking so much like their mother that he actually flinched away.


    ¡°No,¡± she murmured, ¡°this is life. We will use them, and they will use us, and we can only hope that in the end, we come out ahead. This is what Mother knew, and Aunt Rega doesn¡¯t understand. Mother was just too proud to realize that she didn¡¯t have to restrict herself to what her mother taught her. We are no longer a tribe of the Deeps. Honor is a privilege, not a right, and I will do what I must to save our tribe.¡±


    Kaz blinked. This was a side of his sister he had never seen before. She had always bowed her head before Oda and Rega, and had been Kaz¡¯s main support once their father had been killed. While she wasn¡¯t gentle, she had always been sympathetic, and though she had voiced private dissatisfaction with Oda¡¯s constant cycle of luegats, she had never once revealed the near-hatred that now caused her to bare her teeth.


    He shook his head. ¡°Rega will never accept this, Katri. You know she won¡¯t.¡±


    For just a moment, Katri¡¯s tail drooped, but she gathered herself and snarled, ¡°Then I¡¯ll challenge her, and I¡¯ll win. I¡¯ll win because she¡¯s soft, and she won¡¯t want to kill me, but I won¡¯t hesitate. I may not have been strong enough to defeat Oda, but I¡¯m stronger than Rega, and I¡¯ve been waiting for this chance for a very long time.¡±


    A soft chuckle interrupted them, and both kobolds looked around, seeing Gaoda Xiang watching Katri with a strange expression. ¡°You almost make me like you, kobold,¡± the female said, tilting her head to one side as she smiled. ¡°Your filial piety is so blindingly bright.¡±


    Katri¡¯s hackles raised slightly, and Kaz instinctively stepped between his sister and the human. Gaoda¡¯s eyes flicked, dismissed him, then returned to Katri. ¡°Would you,¡± Gaoda said, lips curving further, ¡°like us to kill your aunt for you, little kobold?¡±


    Kaz took a half-step back. He knew that was what Katri had been implying, but to hear it stated so clearly was¡­ shocking. While challenges for dominance weren¡¯t uncommon here in the high levels, in the Deeps they were all but unknown, since politics as much as power kept the lead females in place. And for Katri to say she would challenge Rega? Or even have the humans murder her outright? Their aunt had been more of a mother to them than Oda had, and Kaz didn¡¯t know how Katri could even consider killing the older female.


    Katri¡¯s silver eyes were cold when they met Gaoda¡¯s amused blue ones. ¡°Only if she won¡¯t step aside on her own.¡±


    The human¡¯s short, flat teeth flashed briefly, and she said, ¡°The deal is struck, then. We will kill your enemies, and your aunt, if needed, and you will send your most experienced blue kobold to guide us.¡±


    Kaz tensed. Blue was the rarest of all fur colors, though this human had no way of knowing that. By making that a condition of the deal, she was effectively claiming Kaz himself.


    A hand fell on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, and Katri squeezed his flesh almost painfully tight. ¡°Kaz would be the best choice anyway. He was young when we left the Deeps, but most of the older males have died in Oda¡¯s pointless luegats. The few who are left were never gatherers on the levels between here and there, and would only know the territory immediately around our dens. Kaz has always been a wanderer, venturing further from home than any of the others, so he¡¯ll know the territory best.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s head whipped around so he could stare at his sister. She was right, of course. Over the last few years, he had had to go further and further from their den in order to find enough living things to shunt his power into as he grew, while the other pups stayed as close to home as possible, and the adult warriors remained to protect the rest of the tribe. Besides that, he had always liked to wander, even after he grew old enough to understand just how dangerous the habit was. Still, how could she offer up his life so casually?


    She lifted a lip at him, and his ears flattened. She was female, and would soon be his chief, one way or the other, so he would do as she said. But in his chest, his heart burned. It had always been them, together, keeping each other safe when Oda went on one of her rampages, supporting each other after their father died, and Katri had even broken tradition in order to teach Kaz to read some of the symbols within the chief¡¯s book, though she had never quite dared to show him the inside of the book itself.


    Which, Kaz realized with a shudder, should have been a warning. Katri had always done whatever she wanted, so long as she wouldn¡¯t be caught. And, if it looked like she would be discovered, she would blame it on Kaz, saying he didn¡¯t know any better, since he was just a male. Once Kaz had been punished, she would seek him out, cajoling and smiling, until he accepted her apologies and her offer to teach him a few more runes.


    As Kaz¡¯s head went down, so did Katri¡¯s lip, and her hand relaxed on his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s time for your spirit hunt anyway, Kaz,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s much you can learn from the human warriors, so when you get back, you¡¯ll be ready to defeat a powerful beast and take your rightful place as an adult. I will find you a strong mate, perhaps one of Mital¡¯s remaining daughters, and your children will bring strength to the Broken Knives.¡±


    Kaz just stood there, unable to respond, until the sound of Raff¡¯s voice echoed up from below. ¡°Oi, Gaoda Xiang! We¡¯re done down here! What does Pink want us to do with the rest of them?¡±


    Katri¡¯s eyes lit up, and she released Kaz, moving around him to look through the hole. She flinched slightly at whatever she saw, but told Gaoda, ¡°I can¡¯t jump down there, and there¡¯s nothing to attach a rope to. We¡¯ll have to go around to the other entrance.¡±


    Gaoda snorted and pushed her off the edge.

 Chapter Five

    Katri¡¯s yip of surprise ended in a grunt, and Kaz ran to the opening in the stone, staring down after her. To his relief, he met his sister¡¯s silver eyes immediately, since she lay, face up, in Raff¡¯s arms. The male quickly dropped her, however, shaking his hands with an expression of distaste. She landed with a yelp, and scrambled to her feet, growling slightly as she reached back to feel her tail.


    Kaz felt something impact his own tail, however, and lost sight of his sibling as he tumbled end over end through the air. Without thinking, he curled up, pulling in around that core of power in his belly, as if it were the most important part of him to protect. As a result, he barely noticed when Raff caught him, almost instantly dropping him again. He landed on his knees and forearms, not even grunting as he hit the unyielding stone.


    Once he realized he was intact, Kaz lifted his nose from where it was tucked against his chest, blinking around at the humans. Gaoda and the pup must have jumped as well, since they, too, stood beside Raff, Chi Yincang, and Katri. And all around them were¡­ kobolds. Or at least what was left of kobolds. He could see Mital, and the three females Katri had pointed out as her daughters. There were several others as well, though, mostly males.


    Beyond the bodies knelt the rest of the Longtooth tribe. The young ones looked confused, and their ears and tails were flattened against their small bodies. Some of the adults had their hackles raised, and they stared from the humans to Katri with burning eyes. There was no doubt they recognized the pink female, since her coloration was unusual, and they had fought her in the luegat just the day before. That was good, though, since they would remember that she had been stronger than any of their tribe except the females who now lay dead on the stone.


    Katri glanced at Gaoda, who gave her an almost mocking smile and stepped back, waving her hand toward the kneeling kobolds. Katri hesitated, but then her hackles raised and her lips curled as she gave a fierce bark, staring out over the defeated tribe.


    ¡°I, Katri, am your leader now! Mital and her daughters are defeated, and I am the strongest!¡± She beat her fist on her chest, puffing up to look larger than she actually was. ¡°If any of you dare challenge me, speak now, or submit!¡±


    One of the largest of the female pups shifted, but the pale gray female beside her set a paw on her head, forcing it down. For a long moment, no one spoke. Males could not challenge a female for dominance, so Katri¡¯s gaze traveled from one female to another.


    Finally, an elderly female with purple fur raised her head, tilting her chin to bare her throat slightly. ¡°We saw you fight,¡± she said, ¡°You are strongest. We yield.¡±


    Katri immediately darted forward, her teeth latching onto the old female¡¯s throat. She bit down, and the female winced at the pain, but didn¡¯t attempt to escape. After several silent heartbeats, Katri released the female, blood now staining the purple fur, though not enough to indicate a serious injury. Raising her own head, Katri began to howl in triumph. Slowly, the rest of the Longtooth tribe joined in, though their voices held more sorrow than elation.


    When the last echo of the howling died, Katri looked around. Now that the Longtooths had submitted, she could, technically, leave, but if she did, it was possible that the whole tribe would abandon the den while she was gone, or one of the females could decide she was willing to risk a challenge after all.


    Her hot gaze turned on Kaz, and she said, ¡°Go back. Tell Rega what has happened, and that she must also submit to me. If she refuses,¡± her eyes turned to Gaoda, who nodded, ¡°bring the rest of the tribe after she¡¯s dead.¡±


    Kaz swallowed hard, feeling his ears flatten, but he ducked down, acknowledging her command.


    Lianhua groaned. ¡°Do we have to go back up already? My feet are sore. Can¡¯t you take Raff and go, Gaoda Xiang? You two can handle anything that lives at this level.¡±


    Gaoda snorted. ¡°I won¡¯t leave you with just Chi Yincang, cousin, but you¡¯re right. Raff alone should be able to take out a female even weaker than this one.¡± Her toe nudged Mitra¡¯s fallen body. ¡°There¡¯s no need for all of us to go back.¡±


    Turning to Kaz, she fixed him with a hard look that made his heart stutter. ¡°Surely there¡¯s a more direct path. Prove that you¡¯re worth the price I¡¯ve paid for you, kobold, and take Raff straight up and back.¡±


    Kaz nodded. He wasn¡¯t used to speaking with females other than his mother, aunt, and sister, but he said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to go through the Palefur¡¯s territory.¡±


    Gaoda snorted and waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Obviously, that¡¯s not a problem. If they try to stop you, Raff can just kill them.¡±


    Kaz shuddered at the complete lack of concern in Gaoda¡¯s voice, but nodded. The Palefurs had remained deliberately neutral during the conflict between the Longtooths and the Broken Knives. Their territory sprawled across the level in between the other two tribes, and even Oda had been careful to go around them during her scouting missions, so she didn¡¯t make them angry and tip the balance of power.


    Lianhua¡¯s face held some expression Kaz couldn¡¯t decipher, but she, too, nodded. ¡°Fine, then,¡± she said. ¡°I hope there¡¯s some water nearby. I¡¯d like to clean up.¡± She lifted one of her flat paws, examining the bottom of the purple fabric that covered it, and her short nose wrinkled.


    ¡°Done,¡± Gaoda replied. She turned to Raff. ¡°Follow the kobold. I want this finished today, and I suppose we¡¯ll camp here tonight.¡±


    Raff grunted unhappily. ¡°Surrounded by kobolds?¡±


    Gaoda shrugged. ¡°Surrounded by kobolds too weak to even scratch us, but who will provide a deterrent for anything else that might lurk nearby.¡±


    Sighing in resignation, Raff turned to Kaz. ¡°Fine. C¡¯mon then, Blue.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Kaz blinked. For the first time, he realized that none of the humans had ever bothered to ask for his or Katri¡¯s names. Well, he wasn¡¯t going to correct the man. He didn¡¯t even like the humans, so he didn¡¯t care what they called him.


    Shrugging, Kaz led the way out of the den of the former Longtooth tribe. Like most dens, it had one obvious entrance, which would normally be guarded by some of the strongest males in the tribe, as well as a female, who would be in charge in case of any problems. Somewhere, there would be another, hidden, exit, which was also guarded, though less obviously.


    It was strange passing between the totems of another tribe, especially since no males stood beside them, snarling and growling as they passed. Kaz saw the skulls of many janjio, as well as a few particularly large fuergar, their metal-coated teeth gleaming threateningly from the base of the totems. At the top were skulls of much larger creatures, including a conical one that Kaz suspected belonged to a lopo, though he had never seen a dead one that size, much less its bones.


    Raff just glanced at the sinister display as they went by, the golden eyes beneath his helmet flat and disinterested. Kaz wondered if the human recognized these monsters of the mountain, and simply didn¡¯t see any of them as a danger to him or his group. If so, then they were as powerful as they were wealthy.


    The passage beyond the totems was unusually broad for this high up in the mountain. Ore veins were more plentiful and richer in the Deep, so it was rare for anyone to put in the effort to widen a tunnel more than needed for two kobolds to pass abreast. The marks left by picks were worn smooth, so whoever had created this hall had done so generations ago, which meant Kaz¡¯s faint curiosity as to why it existed would likely never be appeased.


    The human male remained silent as Kaz led him through the passages. A mountain-dweller either had a sense of where they were within the mountain, or they died young, and Kaz¡¯s sense of direction was better than most. Though Kaz had only come this way once, when he and the adults of the Broken Knife tribe came for the luegat, he moved quickly through the tunnels that led to the stairway that would take them from one level to the next.


    Still, the path was winding, since no tribe wanted a path that led directly to their den, and after the fifth turning, Raff grew impatient. Reaching out, he grabbed Kaz¡¯s shoulder, halting him. ¡°D¡¯you even know where we are, Blue? You¡¯re not going to be much of a guide if you¡¯re already lost.¡±


    Kaz sighed. He might not be as large as the human, but he was used to dealing with males, and he let his lip curl back from his teeth in a snarl as he snapped, ¡°Then go on your own.¡± His teeth were sharp, and the human looked surprised, though not particularly concerned as he released Kaz¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Ha! You do have some spirit! You act like you¡¯ll protect Pink, but otherwise you always look like a whipped dog, so I thought you might be craven.¡± The fur on the human¡¯s face split, revealing his flat teeth as he growled back good-naturedly. ¡°Good t¡¯know you won¡¯t just run or die the first time we find something that gives us a bit of trouble.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s fur lifted as he turned his back on the human, but he did it. Gaoda had given Raff instructions, and males didn¡¯t disobey females, so Kaz knew he was safe. Still, after their little snarl, his instincts told him to beware of a challenge.


    ¡°Her name is Katri,¡± he said, stiffly. He didn¡¯t care what the humans called him, but they should show Katri the proper respect. ¡°She is,¡± will be, he thought, once Rega yields, ¡°the leader of the Broken Knife tribe. She is a powerful female.¡±


    Raff snorted, the hard shells on his paws clattering as he moved to follow Kaz. ¡°For here, maybe. Hell, she¡¯d probably be pretty tough compared to wild kobolds, though I haven¡¯t actually seen her fight. You have to have some mana just to be able to breathe up here, so she might do better than I think. Still just a low-level monster to any proper mage, though.¡±


    Kaz felt his shoulders tighten even further, but he refused to waste his time arguing with the human. A male¡¯s opinion didn¡¯t matter, just his obedience. The human continued talking, however. ¡°What¡¯s your name, then? I can¡¯t just keep calling you Blue.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t even glance back. ¡°What you call me doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    Silence. Then the human muttered, ¡°Whole different critter now, ain¡¯tcha?¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t bother to acknowledge the words, so they continued on, until Raff, who was apparently unable to abide silence, said, ¡°Are you sure you know where we are, though? I¡¯ve counted at least eight turns, and-¡± His voice cut off as they turned the final corner, and the staircase appeared before them.


    There were at least a hundred similar sets of stairs drilled down through the mountain. Many of them had been broken, either by rockfalls or backbreaking labor, but the ones that remained were the easiest and most impressive way to travel between levels.


    Each stair was exactly nine inches high, and elaborately carved, though the carvings were too worn to be able to make out what they had originally represented. In the deeper levels, they were also topped with solid metal veneers that never seemed to wear down, even though every third step was golden, which was one of the softest metals. Up here, those veneers had been long since stripped off, and the unprotected edges of the stairs were chipped and cracked. Still, the tall steps were imposing. This staircase was one of the highest Kaz had ever seen, and the top would have been dark if not for the eternal red flames that flickered from alcoves on each side.


    There were no Longtooth kobolds guarding the bottom of the stairs, though there should have been. When the howl began, any tribe members who were outside the den would have repeated it, so the guards must have heard and hurried back via a shorter route than the one Kaz knew. Kaz couldn¡¯t see the Palefur warriors positioned at the top, but he knew they would be there, and unlike when Oda had arranged safe passage through their territory yesterday - was it only yesterday? - they would not easily let Kaz pass.


    Which was where Raff came in, of course, and the question was, how much was Kaz willing to risk in order to prevent the human from simply slaughtering the lot of them? If Kaz went up first, he would have a chance to negotiate, but if they chose to shoot him first, no negotiations could occur. On the other hand, if Raff went first, the kobolds would almost certainly attack, which would result in all of their deaths.


    Kaz barely knew any of the Palefurs, since usually only females were supposed to speak to members of other tribes, but sometimes when males, or foraging pups, met each other in the unclaimed places, words were exchanged. Plus, they were kobolds, and they had never done him or his tribe any harm. All he had to do was convince them to allow him and Raff to continue onward to the next set of stairs, which led straight to Broken Knife territory.


    Of course, even if he went first, if there was a female above, he would never be allowed to speak anyway. Females spoke to females, and females made decisions, so a Palefur female wouldn¡¯t listen to Kaz. If there were only males, however, there might be a chance, and that small chance was enough to make Kaz¡¯s decision for him. He wouldn¡¯t die to save strange kobolds, but he wouldn¡¯t just let Raff kill them like fuergar, either.


    Cautiously, Kaz began to climb, with Raff following close behind.

 Chapter Six

    Kaz smelled them first, and he had to force himself to continue standing tall, proud and confident. Raff¡¯s random chatter actually helped with this, since it distracted Kaz from the scent of three - no, four - strange kobolds. By the time the red glow of the flames illuminated the Palefur males, Kaz had settled his fur and relaxed his shoulders. The steps were tall enough that he had to touch each one with a hand as he stepped up, but he kept the other one open and visibly empty at all times.


    ¡°Hold!¡± someone barked, and Kaz froze. Looking up, he saw that two male kobolds were staring down at him, holding crossbows aimed at his heart. The light color of their fur was completely eclipsed by the red light, making them look nearly as crimson as Oda had been.


    Lifting his hands, Kaz said, ¡°I am a pup of the Broken Knife tribe. I wish only to pass to the next stair.¡± He shifted his gaze to the second staircase, which began on the other side of the broad hallway.


    As he¡¯d hoped, claiming to be a pup threw the other male off, and he stepped back a pace, the crossbow dipping an inch or two before returning to its position. The male shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re too big to be a pup, and,¡± he squinted and sniffed as Raff came into view behind Kaz, ¡°what is that?¡±


    Kaz ducked his head. ¡°I have not yet had my spirit hunt, though I am nearly of age.¡± And therefore he could not be challenged, adult to adult, which should leave the guards uncertain what to do with him. He turned to look at Raff.


    ¡°This is a human,¡± he said, motioning to the male, who stood nearly twice as tall as any of the kobolds except for Kaz himself. The Palefurs were actually a bit on the small size, perhaps because they bred for the color of their fur, rather than size and strength, like most tribes.


    The Palefur male stepped back again, and now a new male stepped into view. He was taller than the crossbow-wielders, and held a knife made of metal, rather than stone. He was high-ranking then, so the other males should do as he commanded, so long as no females were present.


    Lifting his knife, the new male said, ¡°I am Lorn, heir¡¯s mate. Where is your female?¡± He looked down the stairs behind Kaz as if some female might appear at any moment.


    Raff shook his head. ¡°You kobolds and your females,¡± he muttered. ¡°Look. Blue here is taking me to the, uh, Broken Knife tribe. Some female called Rega, I think. You gonna let us through, or are we going to have a problem?¡± He hadn¡¯t even bothered to draw his long blade, but his hand hovered by its hilt, and just the combination of his own size and that of the weapon¡¯s sheath should encourage the Palefur males to use caution. That, and the horrifying tales of humans that every kobold pup heard by fireside.


    Kaz spoke quickly, hoping to convince Lorn that they were currently no danger to the Palefurs, but it was best if the other male allowed them through. ¡°The humans and my leader, Katri, have slain Mital and her daughters. The Longtooths have yielded. I go to fetch the rest of the Broken Knife tribe.¡±


    Lorn looked shocked. ¡°But Mital won the luegat just yesterday. The Broken Knives should still be in mourning.¡±


    Fighting the urge to bow his head at the shamefulness of his next words, Kaz said, ¡°Katri and the humans attacked before the mourning ended, and won. This human has been sent to protect me as I take the message to Rega.¡± He met Lorn¡¯s eyes, hoping the other male would understand. The human was strong enough to take down Mital, and he will do the same to you if you stand in our way.


    Lorn¡¯s teeth clenched, and he glanced down the hall behind him. ¡°We heard the howling. My mate went to ask our leader what to do. You must wait-¡±


    Metallic scraping cut off his words as Raff withdrew a foot of metal from the sheath at his waist. The sharp edge caught the light of the red flame, gleaming as if it were already stained with blood. ¡°We¡¯re going now,¡± Raff growled. ¡°I can see the Pellis-forgotten stairs right there, and you can get out of my way, or die like those other kobolds. Doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s gaze met Lorn¡¯s, and some of his desperation must have gotten through to the older male, because he stepped aside. The other three males around him did the same, and Raff pounded up the stairs, his armor clattering as he did. Kaz followed behind, crossing the hall and setting foot to the second set of stairs. As he began to climb, he looked back at the Palefurs.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be back soon,¡± he told them. ¡°It would be best if everyone stays out of our way as we pass.¡±


    Lorn¡¯s lip curled, but he nodded. ¡°I will tell my mate,¡± he said, and that was as much as any male could do.


    Kaz nodded and set both hands to the steps, giving himself an extra boost so he could catch up with Raff. The big human marched on, red light flickering over his face as they rose, step by step. As they stepped onto the stone floor at the top of the stairs, the human looked at Kaz.


    ¡°Which way?¡±


    Kaz looked both ways. The Broken Knives commanded a much smaller section of their level than either the Palefurs or the Longtooths, and the stairs were at the very edge of that territory. He knew where they were, of course, but it was possible that a monster or a male from another tribe could be nearby, since the Broken Knives didn¡¯t patrol out this far.


    Lifting his nose, he sniffed. He didn¡¯t smell anything except the lingering traces of his own tribe¡¯s luegat fighters, including Katri, Rega, and Oda. Satisfied, he turned to the right. ¡°This way.¡± He glanced at Raff. ¡°We don¡¯t keep our halls lit, like the Longtooths and Palefurs. We¡¯ll need to stop so I can make a torch, unless you have another way to make a light.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Raff muttered in annoyance, but reached into the pouch at his belt and pulled out a round stone that looked like it might be quartz. He tapped it sharply, saying, ¡°Lux.¡± The stone blazed to life, casting a clear white light fifteen feet in every direction.


    Kaz growled, rubbing at his eyes. He should have guessed what the human was up to and looked away, but instead he¡¯d stared at the stone like an idiot and nearly been blinded. Most mountain-dwellers were very sensitive to light, allowing them to see even in near-darkness, and it took several long, painful moments for his vision to clear. When it did, he saw Raff staring at him with a conflicted expression on his face.


    ¡°Sorry, Blue,¡± the human said. ¡°I should have warned you.¡±


    Kaz blinked again, startled. Why was the male apologizing?


    Raff sighed and started off down the corridor, leaving Kaz to half-jog along to catch up. ¡°Look,¡± the human said abruptly, ¡°it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like you. I mean, you¡¯re a Pellis-cursed kobold, but you seem decent enough. And it sounds like we¡¯re going to be stuck with each other for a while, so we might as well be polite, eh?¡± He slanted a look at Kaz before he went on.


    ¡°I was impressed by what you did for those kobolds back there. They would¡¯ve just taken a swing at me, right? And then I would have killed them all. So you stepped in and found a way to keep that from happening. That¡¯s what a good guide does. It¡¯s not just about takin¡¯ us from one place to another, but making sure we don¡¯t step in anything unnecessary along the way.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°I guess I¡¯m sayin¡¯ you may have more to you than just bein¡¯ blue.¡±


    Kaz frowned, glancing down at the rich color of his fur. ¡°Blue?¡±


    Chuckling, the human nodded. ¡°Gaoda got his fortune told before he set off on this big quest. The priest told him the color blue would be very important for this trip, so he gets anything blue he can. When we stayed in a town with two inns, he picked the one with a blue sign. When we buy clothes, packs, even food, he picks whatever has the most blue on it, and when he saw you immediately after we finally found an entrance to this misbegotten mountain, he decided you were lucky, too. That¡¯s the only reason he didn¡¯t just kill you both.¡±


    Kaz stopped in his tracks. ¡°Gaoda is male?¡± he yelped.


    Raff stopped, too, then started laughing, a great, booming laugh that echoed down the tunnel. ¡°That¡¯s what you got from that? You thought he was a girl?¡±


    Kaz gestured vaguely toward his shoulder, where Gaoda¡¯s light-ball usually hovered. ¡°She wields power only females bear, so-¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a mage, so of course he does. Though he calls himself a cultivator instead. All the same in the end.¡± Raff waggled his fingers. ¡°Casts spells, makes things go poof, thinks he¡¯s special, just like all the rest. Well, except Lianhua. She¡¯s as nice a mage as I¡¯ve ever met, and I¡¯ve met more than my share.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s head was spinning. ¡°Lianhua¡­ is not a pup?¡±


    The human looked surprised. ¡°You thought she was a kid? With-¡± his hands made a strange, curving gesture in front of his chest, and Kaz tilted his head in confusion. Raff waved away the question. ¡°Well, you¡¯re built differently than we are, so of course you can¡¯t tell. Yeah, Lianhua is a grown woman, and Gaoda, Chi, and I are all men.¡±


    Kaz blinked. ¡°Are you her mates, then?¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Raff held up a hand. ¡°No! I barely even know them, really. I guess Lianhua is some kind of scholar, and she¡¯s out hunting something she expects to find at the bottom of this giant hunk of rock. Gaoda¡¯s a distant cousin, or something, and Chi Yincang is Gaoda¡¯s bodyguard.¡±


    The fur over his eyes drew together. ¡°I think. Anyway, they¡¯re supposed to protect Lianhua, and I¡¯m just the schmuck they hired to get them here. I grew up around the Warmane mountains, so I know the area, and the dangers, though I have to admit I¡¯ve never actually talked to a kobold before.¡±


    Raff grimaced, stroking the orange fur on his lower face, ¡°There are some kobolds that live in and around the smaller mountains in the range, but, ah, they aren¡¯t nearly as smart as you lot in here. They mostly just sneak in and try to steal livestock from small villages, until they go too far and kill someone, and the village hires people like me to wipe them out. I¡¯ve never even heard one of them speak, just bark and howl.¡±


    It was Kaz¡¯s turn to make a face. ¡°Fallen ones,¡± he said. ¡°Tribes who weren¡¯t able to hold a place here, so they went down from the mountain.¡±


    He looked away. ¡°My Broken Knife tribe was very nearly one of them. Without you humans, Mital would have killed Rega and Katri when the mourning period ended tomorrow. The rest of us would have been taken into the Longtooths, or chased from the mountain. At best, we would have tried to survive in the very top levels, but nothing lives there for long.¡±


    Raff hooked a thumb down the hall. ¡°This way, right?¡± He started walking again, though he didn¡¯t seem inclined to stop talking, now that Kaz was talking back. ¡°Who¡¯re you all mourning, then? That white kobold mentioned it, too.¡±


    Kaz caught up, then passed the human, though his shorter legs had to move faster in order to keep up. Without thinking, he shunted a little of the power he had regenerated into his legs, giving them more strength. ¡°Our chief, Oda, died in the luegat against the Longtooths. When a chief falls, the tribe has two days to mourn her, before any other actions may be taken.¡±


    Raff clicked his tongue. ¡°Your Katri broke that rule, then, hey? Moved right in as soon as we killed Mital.¡±


    Kaz felt his shoulders tighten. ¡°Katri is doing what she must to keep the Broken Knife tribe from falling.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean any criticism,¡± the human said, cheerfully. ¡°Good for her, taking care of her people. Though, who¡¯s this Rega? Some rival, I assume.¡±


    ¡°Rega is our aunt,¡± Kaz admitted reluctantly. ¡°She was our mother¡¯s heir. Normally, Katri would have to challenge her, face to face, in order to become the new leader, but instead-¡±


    Their steps echoed as they walked, until Raff said, ¡°She¡¯s using us to take over. So, a rebel at home and on the field, huh?¡±


    ¡°Katri is stronger than Rega!¡± Kaz said, loyally, though inside he wasn¡¯t as sure as he tried to sound. ¡°The strongest female should be chief, with or without a challenge!¡±


    Raff waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter to me. I just go where I¡¯m told, and do what I¡¯m paid to do. I learned a long time ago that opinions are for the rich. So long as I¡¯m alive to spend my gold at the end of the day, that¡¯s all I care about.¡±


    Kaz nodded. He wasn¡¯t sure what gold had to do with it, but he understood obeying his leader, and Katri was his leader now.


    Wasn¡¯t she?


    At the next turning, Kaz held up a hand. ¡°Our den is close. By now, we should have met a guard, or at least a band of gatherers. Something is wrong.¡±


    Instantly, the amusement fled Raff¡¯s face. He set his hand to the hilt of his weapon and said, ¡°Monsters?¡±


    Kaz sniffed the air, frowning. All he smelled were familiar kobolds, but the scents weren¡¯t as strong as they should have been. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ think so. Just let me go first.¡±


    Raff shrugged and motioned for Kaz to lead the way. Kaz nodded and stepped around the corner.

 Chapter Seven

    The first thing he saw was his mother¡¯s body, lying on a bed of jejing moss, just inside the entrance to the den. She wore her favorite loincloth, the only one left from the time they lived in the Deep, and her fur was neatly groomed. With her eyes closed, and her hands resting at her sides, she could have been sleeping, except that her body held none of the constant energy that had filled her when she was alive. No, this was an empty shell, laid out for all to gawk at, and the sight made Kaz almost irrationally furious.


    Rushing forward, he began to cover the body with moss, hiding it, since he wasn¡¯t strong enough to move it. Lifting his muzzle, he howled, ¡°Rega!¡± Never mind that she was a female, and he a male - a pup, no less - this was unacceptable!


    Silence.


    Silence, rather than an answering howl, or the other males coming to see who dared call for their leader. A shiver ran down Kaz¡¯s spine, and his hands stilled.


    ¡°Rega!¡± He stood, looking around. ¡°Killik! Lek!¡± These were the two strongest males remaining after the luegat. Even if lesser males had been guarding the entrance, Killik or Lek should have been nearby. ¡°Bik!¡±


    His eye caught on a smear of something dark on the ground, and he swallowed hard. Sniffing again, he caught a hint of copper and sweetness. He frowned, drawing closer to the brownish-red mark, which looked like something had been dragged through a small pool of liquid. Leaning in, he forced life energy into his nose, and drew in the deepest breath he possibly could.


    It was as if a dam broke. All the odors that had seemed like distant echoes pounded into him like a club, and he yelped, scrambling backwards, falling onto his tail. His tribe, yes, he could scent almost all of them in that single whiff, as well as blood, and fear, and other things he didn¡¯t dare let his mind linger over. But through it all was a musky, reptilian scent. It was familiar, and yet not.


    It smelled like the dragon nest. Like, and yet not like. Not one of the adult dragons, certainly. He had smelled them often enough, and they were too large to make it here, anyway. A hatchling? Maybe. But he didn¡¯t think so, not with how strong it was, and he¡¯d seen all of them fly away. Why would they return and come all the way down here?


    A heavy hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he yipped, flinching away.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Blue,¡± Raff murmured. His weapon was in his hand, and he looked around, eyes cold and calculating. ¡°Anyplace your people would run if something went wrong?¡±


    Kaz blinked as if waking from a dream, and the smells withdrew as quickly as they had taken over. He pushed a little power into his nose again, and the odor was back, though it was subtler this time, since he¡¯d used less energy. Closing his eyes, he turned his head, following the scent of kobolds.


    Gathering himself, he climbed to his feet, nodding to the human. ¡°This way.¡± Sniffing, he wound his way between the few rough huts that served as their homes. The Broken Knives had dwindled as a result of Oda¡¯s constant battles, shrinking from the few hundred members in Kaz¡¯s earliest memories to only twenty-three. Of those, few were younger than Kaz himself, since Oda didn¡¯t want any other female to produce a pup who could challenge her or Katri.


    Kaz hesitated by Oda¡¯s hut, then entered Rega¡¯s, which was right beside it. The furnishings were exactly as he remembered them, except for the low table made of bones and tanned hide, which had held the chief¡¯s book. Oda hadn¡¯t spent much time reading, but Rega could often be found poring over the fragile vellum sheets. It had mostly been Rega who taught Katri to read the book, and Rega who had been the main storyteller and teacher for all of the tribe¡¯s pups.


    Now, the table was overturned, and a few more drops of blood speckled the ground nearby. So, Rega had been injured, but not so badly that she couldn¡¯t take the book as she fled. Either that, or she had ordered someone else to get the book, and that kobold had left the trail of blood.


    Kaz drew in another deep breath. He didn¡¯t smell anyone in here but Rega and, more faintly, Katri. Good, then. Hopefully Rega was still all right.


    Turning, he stepped back out of the hut, nearly bumping into Raff, who stood, silent and watchful, by the door. Kaz shook his head at the human, who acknowledged it with a flick of his eyes, and then returned to scanning their surroundings. Kaz turned his eyes to the ground, finding that, for once, vision was more reliable than smelling, unless he wanted to push more power into his nose. Which he did not. Smelling that horrible melange of blood, musk, and other, darker things once had been more than enough. He had no doubt that the aroma would haunt his nightmares, if he was ever able to sleep again.


    The trail of blood led out of the small grouping of huts, toward a narrow stream of water, and the cave where the tribe stored food until the fuergar chewed their way in. They had been in the process of emptying and closing off that cave, but the stones that had been piled across the entrance were now scattered all over, and the cave entrance stood wide open again.


    Raff stepped on a yellow rock, which crunched beneath his foot, releasing a burst of stench that made the human wrinkle his nose, though he never stopped scanning their surroundings for danger.


    ¡°What in Pellis¡¯ pants is that?¡± he muttered, stepping around several more chunks.


    ¡°Sulfur,¡± Kaz answered quietly. ¡°It¡¯s about the only thing fuergar won¡¯t eat. Keeps them out of the rest of the den, at least until they eat around it.¡±


    The human shook his head, stepping into the former storage cave, and Kaz followed him. The hole at the back of the cave was thrown into stark relief by Raff¡¯s glowing rock, and Kaz frowned at it.


    ¡°They went through there,¡± he muttered, ¡°but why?¡±


    Raff looked frustrated as he eyed the hole, which was far too small for him. ¡°Needed a back door?¡± he asked.


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    Kaz shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s a hole in the floor of Rega¡¯s hut. It leads to a tunnel to the level below. That¡¯s where they should have gone, if they were forced to flee, but if they used it, it would still be open, and it wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s this one go, then?¡± Raff gestured toward the dark opening with his long knife.


    Approaching cautiously, Kaz stared into the blackness beyond. ¡°The fuergar¡¯s nest. We went in and put down as many as we could find, but they scattered. One on one, almost any kobold can kill a single fuergar, but a swarm of fuergar?¡± He shuddered, his mind conjuring terrible images. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why they would go this way. And why leave Oda¡¯s body behind? Like-¡±


    ¡°Like an offering. Or a sacrifice,¡± Raff said, grimly. He looked from the fuergar tunnel to Kaz. ¡°Do you know another way to the nest? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll fit down there.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you-?¡± Kaz mimicked the motions Chi Yincang had made as he sliced away the stone around the peephole overlooking the Longtooth camp.


    Raff snorted. ¡°I can do a few little tricks,¡± he said, ¡°but I can¡¯t slice stone like cheese.¡± He waggled his long knife. ¡°My sword is made of good steel, and it¡¯s enchanted to stay clean and sharp, but that¡¯s its limit. My guess is that even Chi Yincang couldn¡¯t do that for long enough to carve a tunnel however far we need to go.¡±


    Kaz set his hand to the edge of the tunnel. ¡°I¡¯ll go. You stay here, and I¡¯ll-¡±


    ¡°Die, like as not,¡± Raff grunted, grabbing Kaz¡¯s arm. ¡°Find another way, or leave them. I¡¯m supposed to help you take the message, sure, but Gaoda¡¯ll turn my guts into guitar strings if I let his pretty blue kobold go down there and get eaten.¡±


    Kaz strained against the human¡¯s grip, even feeding some power into his muscles to help, but his efforts were utterly ineffective. ¡°Fine,¡± he snapped. ¡°There¡¯s another way, but it¡¯s long and twisting. The fuergar follow ore veins, hollowing them out and leaving tunnels behind that seem all but random. We broke through to one when we were clearing the nest, and I know where it comes out.¡±


    Raff swept his ¡®sword¡¯ to the side, stepping out of the way. ¡°After you, Blue.¡±


    ¡°Kaz,¡± Kaz muttered, leading the way. ¡°My name is Kaz.¡±


    The human didn¡¯t answer, but he followed close on Kaz¡¯s heels as they made their way back through the den. This time Kaz did poke his head into Oda¡¯s hut, as well as a few others, and saw nothing except more signs that everyone in the tribe had fled so quickly that they hadn¡¯t taken anything except what they could snatch and carry away in their arms.


    As Kaz passed his mother¡¯s body, he hesitated, looking down at her. The neat bed of moss was now scattered around and over her, her face half-obscured by a particularly large bundle. Reaching down, he gently brushed it away again, marveling at how strange she looked without the force of her personality shining through. She seemed older, somehow, and for the first time, he noticed silver strands of fur hiding among the crimson.


    As he turned to go, he saw Raff staring down at the body, looking perplexed. The human extended his sword toward Oda¡¯s belly, as if he were going to stab her, and Kaz started forward. The tip of the sword just brushed aside another bunch of moss, however, revealing a darker blotch nearly hidden by the deep red of her fur.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Raff asked, leaning in a bit, though he never lowered his guard.


    Kaz knelt beside his mother, his fingers suddenly trembling as they reached toward her stomach. Kobold pups loved to rough-house, and often fell asleep in tumbled piles after wearing themselves out, but most adult kobolds only touched their own mate and pups. Rega had taken on the role of comforter, as well as caretaker, so Kaz hadn¡¯t actually touched his mother in years. Not since his father died, at least.


    Cautiously, Kaz brushed aside the fur, half-expecting to hear Oda snap at him angrily. No admonition came, however, and his fingers traced a cold, damp spot nearly hidden by the strands of fur. He looked closer, and saw that it was a hole.


    Raff¡¯s voice was detached as he said, ¡°Done after she was dead. Not enough blood otherwise. Someone took out her core.¡±


    Kaz stood, wiping his fingers on a handful of moss. ¡°What¡¯s a core?¡±


    Sighing, Raff explained. ¡°Some monsters have ¡®em. It¡¯s what lets them - you - gather mana. Most female kobolds have one, though not all, but they¡¯re usually junk cores. Only worth a few coppers, maybe a silver, so hardly anyone even bothers with ¡®em.¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°You said those screechers we fought usually lived somewhere else, right? And Lianhua said none of ¡®em had a core. Outside Scarabus, that wouldn¡¯t be surprising, but the monsters in here have been exposed to the magic of this place for so long that a lot more of ¡®em have cores. Shoulda been at least one in that lot.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s mind was spinning. ¡°Screechers? You mean the janjio? Yes, they should have been on the same level as the Palefurs, not this one. And what is¡­ Scarabus?¡±


    Raff gestured around them. ¡°This. The mountain. What do you call it?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ the mountain. It is what it is. Why would it need another name?¡± Kaz asked, trying not to think about the hole in his mother¡¯s belly, and the ¡®core¡¯ Raff seemed certain had once rested there. Who could possibly have removed it? Not Rega, surely. Though males weren¡¯t involved in preparing females for burning, so maybe that was just part of the process?


    The human snorted. ¡°To differentiate it from all the other mountains? Though I suppose if you never see another one, you wouldn¡¯t need to call it anything but ¡®home¡¯.¡± He shrugged the topic off. ¡°This gives us a little more information, though. Someone or something may be hunting cores. The ones up here won¡¯t be all that great, but still, they must be a lot stronger than any regular monster outside. The ambient mana here is thick enough to poison anyone who doesn¡¯t know how to handle it. It wouldn¡¯t kill a normal person, but they won¡¯t feel particularly good after a day or two, and the deeper we go, the worse it¡¯ll get. That and the difficulty getting up here are the only reason you lot aren¡¯t constantly overrun with treasure hunters and adventurers.¡±


    Turning, he looked back toward the small, sad cluster of huts. ¡°That¡¯s probably why your kin ran, though. Core-hunters get stronger with every core they absorb, so this one could be pretty powerful just from the screechers, and we don¡¯t know what else it¡¯s eaten. It¡¯s going to want any other cores it can sense, and it sounds like Rega, at least, has one.¡± He looked conflicted. ¡°I should really head back and see what Gaoda wants me to do.¡±


    Rega, Kaz thought, closing his eyes. He thought of his aunt; gentle, kind - far kinder than most kobolds. ¡®Too soft¡¯, according to Oda. Just right, as far as Kaz was concerned. He drew in a deep breath, forcing down the nausea and fear that twisted in his stomach. Right above what he now suspected was his own ¡®core¡¯.


    ¡°We have to save her,¡± Kaz said, looking up at Raff. ¡°Gaoda told you to take me to her, so I can deliver Katri¡¯s message. I won¡¯t guide you all anywhere until Rega and the others are safe with Katri.¡±


    Raff huffed a breath that was almost a chuckle. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m willing to go to the nest of the Ironfang Rats, but only as long as you¡¯re in no danger. My first priority is to keep our guide intact. And we have to hurry. Gaoda won¡¯t like it if we¡¯re not back before they¡¯re ready to leave.¡±


    Jerkily, Kaz nodded. Without another word, he turned and began to run.

 Chapter Eight

    Fuergar feeding tunnels were rough. The rodents didn¡¯t care about even floors and walls, and they would leave thin spots that their small bodies easily scampered over, while heavier creatures, like humans and kobolds, broke right through. There was also no predicting how large the tunnel might be; it just depended on the size of the ore vein that had once been there.


    Fortunately for Raff, this vein must have been quite large indeed. Probably copper, if Kaz were to guess, but there was no way to be sure, since the foul beasts had devoured every speck of metal. It must have taken them generations, but it explained why there were so many of them.


    Kaz had no idea how long they crawled through the empty vein. Long enough for Raff to start complaining, and Kaz suspected that if he wasn¡¯t so far ahead of the large human, the male would have grabbed him and taken him back to Gaoda, whether he liked it or not. Fortunately, Kaz could easily fit through spaces where Raff barely scraped through, so he stayed just out of reach, though he didn¡¯t leave the human behind. He had a feeling he would need all the help he would get when he reached the nest.


    Which was why he was so surprised when he heard Rega¡¯s voice. She sounded tired, but calm, and when Killik answered, the male, too, sounded unafraid. The voices came echoing down from a dozen thin, branching tunnels, rendering them unintelligible, but the familiar sound was unmistakable.


    Kaz darted ahead, his hand pressing against the stone as if he would open a tunnel to his aunt. ¡°Rega?¡± he shouted.


    The voices halted, and he called again. This time, the single word that came back was clearly his own name, though the competing echoes made it difficult to discern the tone. Surprise, yes, but also happiness? Or was that disappointment?


    ¡°Kaz!¡± Loud banging followed his name, and Kaz turned his head, filling his ears and his nose with all the information available in the air around him. He found his head turned toward a particularly large passage, so he took it, then another, and another, ignoring Raff¡¯s grumbling behind him until a sharp crack followed by a yell told him that the heavy human had broken through a thin spot again.


    He turned back, running in a slight crouch until he reached a hole which was illuminated from below by Raff¡¯s glowing stone. Looking down, he saw that the warrior was already back on his feet, sword drawn, staring at the ring of kobolds surrounding him, stone knives out and teeth bared.


    ¡°Lek!¡± Kaz yelped at the young, green-furred male who had been one of Kaz¡¯s playmates until he went on his spirit hunt just a few months before.


    Lek looked up, muzzle opening in surprise and pleasure as he spotted Kaz. He pointed his stone blade at Raff. ¡°Kaz! Do you know this thing? It said your name!¡±


    Kaz nodded. Cautiously, he shifted so his legs dangled from the edge of the hole, then dropped the ten feet or so to the floor. He reinforced his legs and feet with power, easily absorbing the force of the landing, though he wouldn¡¯t have dared use the power so blatantly even a day before. When he looked up, everyone was staring at him, and he quickly shifted their attention back to Raff.


    ¡°This is a human. His name is Raff. He¡¯s¡­ all right.¡± He looked at Raff. ¡°This is my tribe, or,¡± he swallowed hard, seeing how few of the familiar faces surrounded him, ¡°what¡¯s left of them?¡±


    Lek responded to the questioning tone by looking away. His ears and tail drooped. ¡°You should talk to Rega,¡± he said.


    Kaz nodded eagerly. ¡°Where is she? Is she with the females and pups?¡±


    Lek¡¯s hand clenched around the hilt of his knife, and he turned away, motioning for Kaz to follow. ¡°She can tell you herself.¡±


    Kaz and Raff exchanged glances, but Raff slid his weapon into its sheath, after which the males surrounding him did the same, though not without hesitation. Lek was the strongest male there, however, despite his youth, and kobold hierarchy left no room for disobedience.


    The tunnels stank of fuergar, almost entirely masking the smell of kobold, even while Kaz walked right past half a dozen members of his tribe. They all looked tired and worried, and Kaz¡¯s heart grew cold in his chest as he wondered just how bad whatever had happened had been.


    The scent of kobolds and blood grew stronger as they went, though it was still far weaker than it should have been. Whatever was suppressing the odors was still active, and Kaz was beginning to suspect that his aunt might have something to do with it, though she had never done anything like it before.


    At last, Lek stopped in front of an opening to their left. He held up a hand, ducking inside. ¡°Rega,¡± Kaz heard, ¡°Kaz has come. Katri is not with him, but he has a¡­ human?¡±


    A low rumble answered, and Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. Rega almost never growled, but he was certain that was her, and she was definitely not happy. ¡°Send Kaz in,¡± she barked, her voice strangely breathless. ¡°Just Kaz. Killik, go outside.¡±


    An instant later, both Lek and Killik emerged. The male was tall, even taller and broader than Kaz, with rich reddish-brown fur. He was Oda and Rega¡¯s half-brother, and after Kaz¡¯s father died, he took over as the leader of the males. He spent most of his time guarding Oda, so Kaz had rarely spoken to him, though in the past year or so, Killik had begun giving the younger male pointers during training. He was gruff, but so long as Kaz did exactly what he was supposed to do, Killik never felt the need to physically assert dominance. Now, however, he gave Kaz a narrow-eyed look as he passed, before shifting that look to Raff.


    Kaz waited until the two more senior males cleared the doorway, then darted inside, ignoring both Killik¡¯s glare and Raff¡¯s shouted, ¡°Hey!¡± So long as they didn¡¯t attack each other, the two males would be fine.


    Rega lay on a pile of moss, not unlike the one Oda¡¯s body rested on. Her brilliant red fur was dusty, and a deeper red-brown crusted her side. Webs wrapped her torso, holding in more moss, which was thickest just under the left side of her rib cage. She coughed, and when she swiped at her mouth, Kaz saw crimson on her hand.


    Kaz stumbled to her side, falling to his knees on the edge of the moss. Tears filled his eyes as he bowed until his forehead touched her belly. A familiar hand rested on his head, tousled the thick blue fur, then tugged playfully at one of his ears. He looked up.


    ¡°Welcome back, pup,¡± she said. Her smile was weary, but warm, and he wished he was still young enough to curl up against her.


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    ¡°What happened?¡± he asked instead, straightening and shifting back to a more respectful distance.


    Rega shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. After Oda joined the ancestors, I sent Katri to fetch you, while I and the other females began to prepare the body. Suddenly, there was¡­ howling, or screaming. When Killik went to investigate, Gin and Kol were just missing. There was blood, so we knew they had been taken, but we had no idea how or by what.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Killik howled everyone in, but it was already too late. None of the gatherers returned. We had only sent out one group, since we¡¯re supposed to be in mourning, but after the fuergar ate our stores, we couldn¡¯t afford not to forage at all.¡±


    ¡°Lis? Palla? Bik?¡± Kaz whispered the names of his friends, the other young kobolds remaining in the tribe.


    Rega looked regretful. ¡°Lis and Palla are gone. Bik is near enough to an adult that she was helping me with the ritual.¡±


    Kaz whimpered, his whole body sagging, and Rega reached out to take his hand as she continued.


    ¡°I decided we needed to flee, and called for everyone left to come to my hut. They did, but¡­ something followed.¡± She shuddered. ¡°It whispered from the darkness, and wherever it was was always dark. I think there was only one, but it seemed to be everywhere, and it demanded ¡®the dead one¡¯. Oda.


    ¡°I,¡± her hand tightened on Kaz¡¯s, ¡°did what I had to do. The whole tribe brought Oda out, and left her, and then we fled.¡±


    Kaz looked around. ¡°But why here? And how were you hurt?¡±


    Grimacing, Rega set a hand to her injury. The movement triggered another coughing fit, and again, Kaz saw blood in her palm as she lowered her hand. ¡°We tried to go out the other way, but you remember a while ago, Oda decided that patrolling the escape tunnel was a waste of time? There weren¡¯t enough males to guard her, the tunnel, the den, and watch over the gatherers, so she pulled Kol and put him at the entrance instead.¡±


    Kaz nodded. Rega had argued that the ceremonial guard on Oda herself should be the thing to go, but Oda had refused. Having a guard was a symbol of her status, after all.


    ¡°Sometime after that, a lopo moved in. It attacked us as soon as we came close enough. I was in the lead, and it managed to impale me, but Killik and Lek severed the tentacle before it could pull me in. There was no way the few warriors remaining could take it down, so we returned to the den.¡± Her lip curled back. ¡°It was filled with the stench of that thing, and Oda¡¯s body had been desecrated.¡±


    Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the moss. Her strength seemed to be waning, and Kaz was torn by a desire to let her rest, and his need to know the rest of the story. He started to stand, but her hand caught his before he could. He looked down, meeting her orange eyes.


    ¡°I used forbidden magic, Kaz,¡± she whispered. Her hand dropped away, and she gestured to one side of the cave. He turned, looking where she pointed, and saw a rectangular shape. The chief¡¯s book.


    Kaz turned back to his aunt. ¡°Raff - the human - uses this word, too. Magic. He says the power doesn¡¯t just belong to females, either.¡±


    Rega¡¯s eyes shifted to the entrance. ¡°A human,¡± she murmured. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen one in decades.¡± She met Kaz¡¯s eyes, her voice dropping even lower. Too low for even sharp kobold ears to pick up from more than a few feet away. ¡°He¡¯s right. Anyone can have the power, though among kobolds, it¡¯s exclusively female. Except for you.¡± Her gaze was knowing, and he shrank back.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± she whispered. ¡°I¡¯ve known for years. Don¡¯t you remember when I told you the story of the female who could give part of her power to plants and animals, to help them grow stronger, faster? I could see that you were losing control, and if Oda found out,¡± her head rolled to the side, ¡°I was frightened of what she might do.¡±


    Her hand lifted, pointing again. ¡°Get the book. And the bag.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s legs still felt weak, but he did as he was told, driven by a lifetime of training. Crossing to the dark mass of the book, he rested his hands on it for the first time since he was a very small pup. Once, as a curious pup, he had dared to try to open it, and Oda had beaten him soundly for his temerity. As he lifted the surprisingly heavy tome, a cloth bag which had been tucked against it shifted and fell. He picked it up, too, and brought both items to his aunt.


    With obvious effort, Rega struggled to sit up again. ¡°Did Katri find you?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Yes, but-¡±


    Rega coughed, and he stopped speaking until she was done. ¡°Is she safe?¡± Rega asked, before he could try to tell his own story.


    ¡°I¡­ think so. She¡¯s with the other humans, and they¡¯re strong. They-¡±


    A spark of Rega¡¯s usual lively curiosity lit her eyes, but just as quickly faded again. She managed a rough laugh, cutting him off. ¡°I want to know. But there isn¡¯t time. Take the book and the rest of our tribe to Katri, then go to the Longtooths. She must beg them to take her in, along with the rest of the Broken Knives. The book should be enough to exchange for her life, so long as she promises never to challenge Mital.¡±


    Kaz opened his mouth, but closed it again at the look she gave him.


    ¡°The knives¡­ are yours,¡± she said, her breaths becoming more shallow. Fresh red soaked through the moss and the webs that wrapped her torso. ¡°The whole one¡­ was your father¡¯s. It was always¡­ meant for you. When you grew up.¡±


    Collapsing back against the bed of moss, she managed, ¡°The broken one¡­ is the shame¡­ of our tribe. The reason¡­ for everything.¡± Tears filled her eyes and overflowed, soaking her bright fur until it was nearly as dark as her sister¡¯s. Clearly unable to speak, she lifted her hand.


    Falling to his knees, Kaz let the book and the bag tumble to the ground as he clasped it. ¡°Killik!¡± he howled. ¡°Killik!¡±


    The male ran into the room, his face twisted as he, too, knelt on the ground beside Rega. It was over in a moment, and Kaz knew the instant Rega joined the ancestors because all the scents that had been held at bay by whatever ¡®forbidden magic¡¯ Rega used came flooding back in. The stink of fuergar was still strong, but if there was something hunting kobolds by smell, it would certainly be able to find them now.


    Killik¡¯s teeth ground audibly, but he held back the howl that would usually follow the passing of any tribe member, but especially the chief. He looked at Kaz. ¡°She said when this happened,¡± he growled, ¡°I should find you and Katri. If I couldn¡¯t, or if you were dead, we were to go to the Longtooths and give ourselves to them. Let the Broken Knife tribe die, so that we could live.¡±


    Kaz nodded. His voice was choked. ¡°She told me the same. Katri¡­ is already there. I¡¯ll tell you the story on the way.¡± Gently, he laid Rega¡¯s hand at her side. ¡°What do we do with-¡±


    The other male stood as well, his broad shoulders lifting into his usual stiff posture. He didn¡¯t look down at the body. ¡°She said to leave her here. If that thing comes hunting, it may be delayed by¡­ her. She said to go immediately.¡± His gaze was direct. Rega¡¯s wishes would be followed to the letter, regardless of what Kaz wished.


    Reaching out, Kaz put the bag into his pack, then gathered the large book into his arms. He stood and nodded. ¡°Then we go,¡± he said. He looked at the entrance.


    Raff and Lek had poked their heads in, though there was no room for the tall human inside. While Lek¡¯s ears were flat with sorrow, Raff¡¯s eyes were cold as they passed over Rega, though they lingered on the book in Kaz¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Sorry, ¡®bout that, Blue,¡± the human said, ¡°but good timing. We need to go.¡±


    A stab of fury stole Kaz¡¯s breath. How could the human dismiss Rega¡¯s death like that? Though, to Raff, it probably just simplified things, since he was supposed to kill Rega if she refused to come, anyway. Now, Rega was out of the way, and the Broken Knives were going exactly where the human wanted them to go.


    Kaz just nodded, but he reminded himself that the human wasn¡¯t a friend. Wasn¡¯t even an ally, really, and Kaz could never, ever trust him, or any of them.

 Chapter Nine

    There were only fourteen members of the Broken Knife tribe left, including Kaz and Katri. Only three were females, and of those, Katri was clearly the strongest. Bik was next, but since she hadn¡¯t undergone her own spirit hunt yet, she gratefully yielded control of the group to Kam, a female of about the same age as Oda and Rega. Kol, one of the dead pups, had been her son, and her howl was long and sad as she called the remainder of the tribe together.


    ¡°We go to the Longtooths,¡± she said. She glanced at Kaz. He had tried to explain what had happened between Katri and the humans, but he could tell she didn¡¯t truly understand. ¡°Katri is there, and they will¡­ welcome us. But we must hurry.¡±


    The males just nodded, but Bik cautiously asked. ¡°What about the Palefurs?¡±


    Kam looked again at Kaz, then Raff, who was becoming more and more impatient by the moment. ¡°They¡¯ll let us through.¡±


    She was the leader, at least for the moment, so everyone simply gathered the few things they had been able to take from their homes, and left. The Broken Knife tribe was poor, so they didn¡¯t have much to take, anyway.


    A few fuergar turned on them when the rodents found themselves trapped in dead-end tunnels, but most just fled before the band of kobolds. Killik and Lek made short work of the creatures, and everyone simply moved on, shrouded in grim silence.


    When they reached the stairs, Raff moved to the front of the group, sword in hand. The tall stairs were difficult for some of the smaller kobolds, so they moved slowly, and when they reached the bottom, they found a full delegation of a dozen Palefurs waiting for them.


    Three females stood with nine males circled protectively around them. The oldest female, one with pure white fur limned in the eternal red of the flames that burned by the stairs, stepped forward as Raff¡¯s foot touched the floor.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked, allowing a brilliant ball of white power to form above her hand. The ¡®magic¡¯ emanating from her was on par with Oda¡¯s strength, and far greater than anything Kam or Bik could muster. Still, Raff looked fearless as he faced her.


    ¡°Nobody who matters to you,¡± he answered simply, waving for the Broken Knives to continue on past him, toward the second staircase. They hesitated, eyeing the Palefurs with trepidation, and somehow Kaz found himself in the lead as everyone else shifted backwards. Squaring his shoulders, he began to walk, not looking at the Palefur female.


    ¡°Stop!¡± she barked, and there was a clang as Raff¡¯s sword struck something. A clatter sounded, but Kaz set his foot to the top step, beginning his descent.


    ¡°You¡¯ll let us by, or that¡¯ll be every one of you,¡± Raff said. He wasn¡¯t even threatening, simply stating a fact, and Kaz heard more paws on the stairs behind him as the rest of the Broken Knives followed his lead.


    His.


    Lead.


    There had always been a vague possibility that he would someday command the males, when Killik died or grew too weak to hold his position. He also knew that that day was far in the future, if Oda allowed it to happen at all, and that every single female in the tribe would still hold a higher position than him. Yet here he was, in the front, and they were following him, even the females.


    It was strange, and only added to the sense of unreality he¡¯d been fighting since they¡¯d left Rega¡¯s body behind. How was it that in less than a day, he had gone from being a puppy, hiding in a pile of moss, to the ersatz leader of the Broken Knives, even if only for a moment?


    More sounds of battle came from behind them, until a whimper reached his ears, followed by a female¡¯s breathless, ¡°Enough! It¡¯s over.¡± The clatter of Raff¡¯s hard paw coverings began to make their slow way down the stairs. After a few steps, the female shouted, ¡°You are not welcome here, Broken Knife tribe! Next time you come, I¡¯ll tear out your leader¡¯s throat myself!¡±


    Kaz knew it was likely bravado as much as truth, but the anger in the female¡¯s voice was clear. He wanted to look around, but he knew that if he did, he would look weak - his tribe would look weak - and they couldn¡¯t afford that. It was likely that the Palefurs had simply been there to demand some sort of price for passage, but Raff¡¯s actions had forestalled that. It wasn¡¯t like the Broken Knives had anything left to pay with anyway.


    Three Longtooth warriors waited at the bottom of the stairs. Their fur stood up slightly when they saw Kaz and the others, but their subdued anger quickly turned to puzzlement when they saw how few Broken Knives there were, and how tired and frightened they seemed. They certainly didn¡¯t look like a conquering force.


    One of the warriors, a snaggle-toothed male with bright green fur, stepped forward. His eyes searched their group until they settled on Kam and Bik. Hesitantly, he bowed his head, a male greeting a female of the same tribe.


    ¡°I am Latz, leader of the males of the Longtooth tribe. I was sent to bring you back to our den.¡±


    Kam lifted a hand, acknowledging him. She knew the way, of course, as most of the adult females would, since they had come for the luegat only yesterday. It wouldn¡¯t help matters to remind these warriors of that, and the fact that the Broken Knives were the losers of that battle, so she simply said, ¡°Bring us, then.¡±


    Latz bowed slightly deeper, then motioned to the other two males. ¡°Guard,¡± he said, and they lifted their weapons in acknowledgment, settling into place at the foot of the stair. Latz turned and strode off back down the tunnel. Raff sighed audibly, but settled in behind him, trailed by the sad remnants of the Broken Knife tribe.


    The path back to the den seemed even longer, this time. Kaz was exhausted, both physically and mentally, as were the others, and they moved slowly. Latz actually took them on a more direct route than they had used before, surprising Kaz the first time he took an unexpected turn, but it was still a long, slow slog through hallways lit only by the torch Latz held and Raff¡¯s light stone.


    It was strange to walk into the Longtooth den unchallenged. The males guarding the entrance looked at Latz, lifted their weapons in greeting, and returned to sweeping their gazes over the den and hallway. Latz led the Broken Knives between the totems, through the open area where outsiders would usually wait, and the luegat had been fought, and deep into the huts that made up the village itself.


    The huts, like those of the Broken Knives, were made of hide and bone, since only rock was more plentiful inside the mountain. Rock was heavy, and while the kobolds in the Deeps might remain in one place for generations, the tribes at the top of the mountain had to be ready to move when the area surrounding their den ran out of forageable materials, or if they were chased out by other kobolds or a powerful beast. This meant their huts needed to either be easy to break down and carry away or replaceable, preferably both.


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    There were two or three times more huts here than in the now-abandoned Broken Knife den, however. There were far more kobolds, too, and their fur tended toward shades of green and gray, rather than the reds and purples of the Broken Knives. Pups ran and played, mostly oblivious to the heavy pall that hung over the den. Many were so young that they still switched readily from four legs to two, and Kaz caught himself staring at them. How long had it been since he saw kobolds as young as that?


    Katri emerged from one of the larger huts. She held her head high, and wore a richly decorated silver and red loincloth that Kaz didn¡¯t recognize. New earrings dangled from her ears, and a heavy silver chain draped around her neck, glinting among her pink fur. She looked at the small, bedraggled group, and then past them, doubtless wondering where the rest of the tribe was.


    Kam stepped forward. She bent her knee, her fingers touching the stone in front of her. ¡°Chief,¡± she said, ¡°we have come.¡± Bik knelt beside her, though the younger female¡¯s ears were flat and her tail tucked. She and Katri had been playmates not long ago, but now the difference in their status required she yield completely to her former friend.


    Katri nodded, her silver eyes touching each of the thirteen kobolds arrayed before her. The males, too, knelt behind Kam and Bik, with Kaz at the very back. He still held the book, but he knew when she saw it, she would demand its return, and something in him didn¡¯t want to let it go.


    He thought about the bag, tucked away in his pack along with the half-forgotten egg and the slightly squashed oval thing. Just yesterday he would have been eager to tell his sister about it. Today he simply hoped no one would mention it until he and the humans were gone. Rega had said it was for him, and he didn¡¯t trust Katri not to claim it for herself. It seemed she was more inclined to take things that weren¡¯t meant for her than he had realized.


    He shoved that traitorous thought down as her eyes turned toward him. She waved for everyone else to stand, then gestured to him and the females. They drew closer, and Katri demanded, ¡°Where is everyone-?¡± Her eyes touched the book in Kaz¡¯s hands, and she broke off. Her eyes lit with excitement. ¡°Is that the chief¡¯s book?¡±


    He nodded and held it out, trying not to show his reluctance. He hadn¡¯t even had a chance to look inside it, since Kam and Bik had been nearby constantly. A male shouldn¡¯t even be able to read at all, much less dare to open a book that was for the chief¡¯s eyes only.


    Katri snatched it, instantly flipping it open and turning toward the back. She grinned, flashing sharp teeth, and stroked the vellum page. ¡°You said I¡¯d read this over your dead body, Oda,¡± she muttered. ¡°I guess you were right.¡±


    She looked up. ¡°Where is Rega? Did she refuse to yield to me?¡± Her gaze shifted to Raff, who was speaking quietly to Gaoda, lingering on the sword at his waist.


    Kam looked puzzled, and shook her head. ¡°Some beast attacked the den. It killed several of us, and when we fled, Rega was injured by a lopo who had hidden in the escape tunnel. She joined the ancestors not long after Kaz found us.¡±


    Katri glanced at Kaz, and he nodded in acknowledgement. For a moment, regret flickered over his sister¡¯s face, and her ears lowered. Rega had raised her, too, after all, and though it was the way of kobolds for children to challenge and replace their parents, that usually didn¡¯t require the elder¡¯s death.


    ¡°Well,¡± Katri said, ears lifting again, ¡°this is our home, now. Our tribe will be joining with the Longtooths. I will take Latz as my mate, and when Kaz returns from his spirit hunt he will become Moru¡¯s mate.¡± She pointed at one of the older pups playing nearby. The pup¡¯s fur was a pale gray, almost silver, and she would probably be attractive when she was grown. Unfortunately, that wouldn¡¯t be for several years.


    ¡°We will be the Longknife tribe,¡± Katri went on, still stroking the book in her hands. ¡°And we will grow strong. Soon enough, we will retake our rightful place in the Deep!¡±


    Kaz stared at Katri. She sounded like Oda. Why couldn¡¯t she just be satisfied to be the leader of a large, strong tribe? He was certain they could move a few levels deeper with relative ease, especially with so many young, and probably powerful, females. Down there, plants and animals were more plentiful, but not much stronger, and a tribe could remain in place for years before depleting the resources in an area.


    He opened his mouth to ask, but snapped it closed before he could utter a word. It wasn¡¯t his place to question the chief, even if she was his sister, but he felt like he had escaped a trap, only to find himself within an even larger one. He found himself glad that he would be leaving with the humans. He didn¡¯t think he could bear to watch Katri ruin the new Longknife tribe as Oda had the Broken Knives. Though perhaps once Katri got through this initial rush of power, she would use the lessons Rega had taught them to hold her pride in check.


    Turning to Latz, who was still hovering nearby, Katri said, ¡°Take Kam and Bik and find empty huts for the Broken Knives. I need to speak to my brother.¡±


    Latz, who was probably supposed to be guarding the new chief, who would soon become his mate, hesitated, but nodded and walked away. Kam and Bik followed him, while Katri turned to Kaz.


    ¡°I tried to convince Gaoda to take one of the Longtooth females as a guide, instead,¡± she said. ¡°A female would be better for when they run into other kobolds, and if one of the more powerful ones left and didn¡¯t return, it might save me from a challenge later.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s heart sank, then rose again as she continued. ¡°He refused all of them, claiming that I promised you would go, so I suppose you must.¡± She paused, leaning closer. ¡°If something happens to the humans, come back as soon as you can. I need someone I can truly trust by my side, brother. I¡¯ll make you the leader of the males as soon as you finish your spirit hunt, and if you don¡¯t like Moru, I might even be able to find you a different mate, though it would be good to tie our family to Mital¡¯s as thoroughly as we can.¡±


    Her meaningful look left no doubt in Kaz¡¯s mind that she would prefer him to lead the humans into a hive of hoyi, or some similarly deadly beast, and leave them to die so that he could return quickly. Kaz clenched his teeth and bowed his head in acknowledgment of her words, though he made no promises. In his heart, he thought it would be wrong to do such a thing. He didn¡¯t like the humans, but they had done exactly what they said they would, and more, so he owed it to them to do the same.


    The clatter of Raff¡¯s paw coverings announced the human¡¯s approach, and Kaz and Katri turned to face them. Gaoda was in the lead again, and now that Kaz knew he was male, that felt bizarre, as did the ball of light hovering at his shoulder.


    ¡°Now that Raff and our guide are back, we¡¯re going to rest for a few hours before we get going. We¡¯ll take that hut.¡± Gaoda¡¯s pointing finger indicated the largest hut in the village, which had probably belonged to Mital and her mate. Mital¡¯s body, and those of the other dead females, were probably resting in there right now, and should remain until the two-day mourning period was over, but Kaz had no doubt Gaoda didn¡¯t care.


    Katri didn¡¯t bow, too aware of her new position to yield even to someone who was clearly far stronger than she was, but her tail dropped, as did her eyes. ¡°That hut is-¡±


    Gaoda ignored her, walking away toward the hut. Katri scurried after him, and he almost tripped over her when he staggered back after throwing the door open.


    ¡°Gods,¡± he exclaimed, waving his hand in front of his nose, ¡°what is that stench?¡±


    Katri, who was still recovering from jumping out of the human¡¯s path, said, ¡°Jejing moss. I was trying to-¡±


    Gaoda glared. ¡°Forget it. We¡¯ll use that hut instead.¡± He pointed at the one Katri had exited from when Kaz and the others arrived.


    ¡°But I-¡±


    Gaoda crossed to the other hut, which wasn¡¯t much smaller than the first, and swept the door flap aside. He peered in, then looked back at Raff. ¡°There¡¯s not enough room for all of us. You¡¯ll have to find somewhere else.¡±


    The large human shrugged. ¡°None of these¡¯re big enough for me. I¡¯ll spread my bedroll by the door and sleep there.¡±


    Gaoda nodded, and his blue eyes caught on Kaz. ¡°You stay with him, Blue,¡± he said. He narrowed his eyes at Katri before focusing on Kaz again. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be ¡®unavailable¡¯ when we¡¯re ready to leave.¡±


    Kaz was actually relieved. He, too, had been worried his sister might do something to keep him there, and this way she wouldn¡¯t have a chance to interrogate him about Rega¡¯s death, or demand to see what was in his obviously full pack, either. He nodded his understanding, and Gaoda entered the hut, followed by the ever-silent Chi Yincang and an unhappy-looking Lianhua.


    Raff reached behind him and pulled a thin roll of cloth from behind his back. Without another word, he simply laid on the ground, putting the cloth under his head, and closed his eyes. A moment later, his breathing shifted, growing longer and slower.


    Katri looked at Kaz, her expression conflicted. At last, she nodded sharply, turned, and walked away. Kaz pulled his pack off, lay down on the cold, hard stone, curled protectively around the egg and the bag Rega had given him, and instantly fell asleep.

 Chapter Ten

    Most of the torches were out when Kaz groggily opened his eyes. At first, he wasn¡¯t sure what, exactly, had disturbed him. Then he felt something move against his chest, and he was suddenly wide awake.


    A soft, inquisitive chirping sound was followed by a faint crack, exactly like an eggshell breaking. Kaz sat bolt upright, clutching his wriggling pack, and his eyes darted around the area. He was surrounded by huts, and Raff lay nearby. The large human¡¯s eyes were still closed, but there was a crease between his eyes, and he shifted restlessly. He was a warrior, and while his sleeping mind had probably marked Kaz as ¡®not a threat¡¯, that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t wake at least enough to be certain.


    Silently, Kaz scrambled to his feet, slinging the pack around to his back in spite of his wild urge to simply open it and see what was going on inside. He lifted his nose, sniffing deeply, and scented Katri to his left. He didn¡¯t want to see his sister, so he turned and began making his way between the huts in the opposite direction, trying to find the outer edge of the village.


    Soon, he smelled the sweet, clean smell of water, and his sharp ears picked up the sound of quiet dripping. It was steady, which indicated a good source of water, explaining how the Longtooths had managed to stay in one place for so long. Water was rare up here, mostly found in silent, ancient pools which refilled in long years that could easily add up to centuries.


    Kaz pushed a little power into his nose. He had to strain to do it, which surprised him, since usually it built up enough overnight that he needed to find a patch of lichen or a cluster of mushrooms to dump it into when he went out to forage. Turning his strange extra ¡®sight¡¯ within himself, he saw that the thread leading from his core to the egg was much thicker now, throbbing in time with his pulse.


    Strangely, a second, finer ribbon had appeared as well, and he felt a faint chill run down his spine as he realized that two things in his pack seemed to be feeding on him. He had wanted to get rid of some of his excess power, but he wondered what would happen if he simply¡­ ran out.


    For now, however, he had enough to do what he needed, and all the aromas that filled the camp snapped into sharper focus, including the scent of water. He followed it, curling his toes to prevent his claws from clicking on the stone, and soon found himself walking down a narrow passage that had been nearly hidden by huts.


    He hesitated at the next turning. One passage smelled like it probably led to the tribe¡¯s food stores, and he realized he hadn¡¯t eaten anything since sometime yesterday. How he hadn¡¯t noticed before, he wasn¡¯t sure, but now his stomach growled at him fiercely. He resisted, however. Taking more than your share of the tribe¡¯s resources was a good way to get in a lot of trouble, and he had no idea how much an almost-grown male pup should get in the Longtooth tribe.


    Quickly, he moved toward the sound of water. He was close enough that he didn¡¯t need the trickle of power he had been feeding his nose any longer, so he released it with a sigh of relief, and it was immediately shunted back into the vibrating cords disappearing into his pack.


    Soon, he found the source of the water-sound; a large, open pool with a delicate crystalline waterfall dropping into it from a cracked stalactite above. It was lit by the ephemeral glow of one of the largest colonies of glow-worms he had ever seen, and the water actually moved with the tiniest of waves pushed out by the droplets. Kaz just stared, captured by the beauty of it all. Water in the mountain was nearly always still, silent, and dark as the stone over which it laid. His fingers itched for his chalk, but that was hidden away in the bottom of his pack, and there were other things in there he needed to look at first.


    Glancing to the side, he saw a rock that protruded up higher than the ones around it, and swung his pack from behind him. Setting it on the rock, he tugged at the drawstring, opening it wide.


    ¡°Phweep!¡±


    Kaz jumped back, barely managing to restrain a yelp as a tiny, scaly mouth snapped at his nose. A row of teeth as sharp as his own barely missed him, and the bag rocked as the little creature inside thrashed. It wasn¡¯t quite strong enough to knock over the flat-bottomed pack, and the indignant whistles and growls from inside almost made Kaz laugh.


    Except that the creature making those sounds was, without a doubt, a dragon. There was a baby dragon in his pack, and it was clearly unhappy about that fact. Kaz took a tentative step closer, reaching his hand out for the mouth of the bag.


    Snap. The little mouth latched onto the string that tied the pack shut, and a reptilian head the size of his thumb shook as the creature worried at it, shaking it like a pup with its first bone.


    ¡°There,¡± he mumbled, almost smiling. ¡°I can make another cord, but it¡¯s harder to grow a new finger. Impossible, actually.¡± Tentatively, he reached out, and the little dragon hissed at him, dropping the strip of leather and eyeing him with golden eyes that seemed too large for its tiny head. His hand froze in midair as he was caught by that swirling gaze. Hazily, he realized that he hadn¡¯t quite been right about their color. They were mostly gold, but they churned with flecks of black and white that seemed to spin, growing larger and larger as he leaned in until sharp teeth latched onto the end of his nose.


    Now he did yelp, jerking back, an action which pulled the rest of the dragon¡¯s long, slim body from his pack. Reaching up, he did what he would have done if a fuergar managed to get hold of him, and pinched the sides of the dragon¡¯s jaws tightly. Instantly, it released him, dropping into his hands, where it stilled, looking up at him with its head tilted to the side. A forked tongue flicked out, licking a drop of his blood from its lips.


    Another drip of blood fell from his nose, and the hatchling licked that up as well, then opened its mouth, clearly asking for more.


    ¡°You¡¯re not getting any more of that, you little beast,¡± Kaz muttered, cautiously shifting the dragonling to one hand, so he could try to staunch the flow of blood with the other. The dragon¡¯s teeth were sharp, but they were small, and it didn¡¯t feel like the injury was too bad.


    ¡°Here,¡± Kaz said, tucking the dragon against his chest as he gave up on his nose. The dragon instantly began chewing on his fur, making tiny growling sounds as it tugged. Wincing, he grabbed his bag, digging into it. There were crumbled pieces of dragon shell and remnants of whatever goo was inside eggs¡­ and very little else. Well, a few scraps of the thin leather that had been wrapped around the jerky he had taken to eat for breakfast over a day ago. Even his chalk was gone!


    He was happy when his fingers found the inedible shape of his fire-striker, then frowned again when he touched something slimy and covered in dust and tiny shell particles. It was stuck to the pouch Rega had given him, which still contained the lumpy shapes of the objects inside, though it looked like the dragon had chewed on the bag itself more than a little.


    He pulled the bag out and pried off the sticky lump, examining it as the hatchling cheeped peevishly in his embrace, trying to eat through his fur with ever greater enthusiasm. Inside the chunky, viscous coating, the thing was hard, and thin threads of some fibrous material seemed to be attached to it. He tried to think what it could possibly be, and finally remembered the soft, delicious-smelling thing he had picked up at the same time as the dragon egg. He had meant to investigate it further, especially since it, too, seemed like something he could use to get rid of some of his power, but he hadn¡¯t had a chance.


    And the dragonling had eaten it. All except for this part, whatever it was. It must have been too large or too hard for its little teeth to break. He shook his head, eyeing the greedy little dragon. ¡°You already ate everything I had,¡± he told it, and it clicked angrily, snapping its sharp teeth at his nose.


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    Kaz looked around. ¡°I guess I can at least get you some water. You must be thirsty, too.¡± He snuggled up the hatchling again, and it immediately started ineffectively biting at him as he walked the few steps to the water¡¯s edge. The little tugs almost tickled, until it actually managed to pull a clump of fur free. He grimaced, setting the dragon down on the stone beside the pool.


    He yanked his fingers away from the pointy teeth, then turned away to rinse the gooey shell-bits from the sticky lump he¡¯d found in his pack. The stuff was like glue, but he eventually managed to scrape it all off, and glanced over to see if the hatchling was drinking.


    It was gone.


    Frantic, he looked around. He was certain he would have noticed if it had run off. Its little wings were too small to lift it, surely? Though he¡¯d seen its brothers and sisters fly within a few minutes of hatching, so maybe he was wrong.


    He felt a strange tug deep behind his bellybutton, and looked down. He fed a bit of power into his eyes, and the world changed. The light of the glow-worms was magnified; golden flames edged with impossibly black light. The water glimmered with that same obsidian luminescence, and within it, he caught a glimpse of gold, flickering and close to going out. Looking down, he saw that the cord leading from his belly to the dragonling now trailed into the water, and realized the tiny creature must have fallen in. How foolish could he be? Yes, it was a dragon, but it was also a baby, and he had left it beside open water!


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, he jumped into the pool, gasping as the cold shocked his body, soaking through his fur. Bubbles streamed behind him as he dove, chasing that faint thread, even as he tried to force more power down it. Could he keep the dragon alive simply by feeding it more of his own strength? He kicked his legs, distant memories of his father teaching him to swim in some nearly-forgotten lake resurfacing, reminding him how to control his movement.


    His outstretched fingers latched onto a cold, limp shape. Only its scaly surface and a jump in the connection that flowed from his core told him that he had found the hatchling. He rolled, thrashing, lungs aching as he tried to figure out which way was up. His eyes only found blackness, but that other sight locked onto the golden glimmer of the glow-worms, and he kicked, fighting his way toward it.


    When his head breached the surface, Kaz gasped, pulling precious air into his lungs as he lifted the dragonling out of the water. His legs were growing weak, but he forced them to move. He realized he couldn¡¯t see the shore, and through his exhaustion, a sudden fear stabbed at him. He could drown only ten or fifteen feet from safety, never realizing it was there.


    Another tug at his belly made him spin, his arm pushing the water out of his way as he looked toward the thread of golden light vanishing into the distance. Not far, but not near, either. He focused, seeing the miniscule strand that led away from his core, through the water, toward the light. He draped the limp dragonling around his neck, making sure its head was above water, and swam.


    It was the thing he had taken from his pack. Whatever the object was, it was connected to him as surely as the dragon was, and he had left it on the shore after washing it. As he dragged his soaked, trembling body out onto the rock, he picked up the no-longer-sticky thing and placed it beside the little dragon.


    Which wasn¡¯t breathing. The thin, fragile ribs were still, and the hatchling¡¯s mouth was open, its tongue lolling over the sharp teeth.


    ¡°No,¡± Kaz whimpered. He looked at the thread that linked him to the small creature. It was still there, but so, so faint, and all its rich, golden color was fading to white.


    Reaching out, Kaz rolled the dragonling over and pressed gently on the narrow ribcage. He forced more and more of his own strength down the flickering cord that tied them together, feeling his heart stutter in his chest as he did so.


    He needed more. It was a strange thought, since always before he had wished the power gone. But now, he needed more of it, and there was no way to get it. The power simply came, forming in his own core, then pushing out through his body until he was so full that he had to expel it or have it overflow uncontrollably.


    But if he could push it out, perhaps he could also pull it in? He was surrounded by energy, after all, though he could no longer see any but the faintest trace of it, since he had already given the little dragon the power he had been sending to his eyes.


    Still, he knew it was there.


    For the first time in his life, Kaz truly examined his own power. There was only a trickle of it left, and it flowed sluggishly along streams that ran from just below and behind his bellybutton, up along his backbone, and he sensed it gathering again somewhere around his forehead. He reached up, pressing a finger to the spot, which was just above and between his eyes.


    Here, the power turned, pouring back down in a current that traveled right behind his ribcage, along the front of his body, and back into his core. It was a full circuit, a cycle, and each time it passed through his core, it picked up speed and power, used that power along its path, and the remnants ended up back in his core again. If he used less than it put out, he would end up with the too-familiar excess, but at the moment he was using every bit, and still needed more.


    He focused. If he sped it up, pushed the power through him faster, would that pull more power from his core? Refresh it faster? The core itself blazed with light, and he could see that it was nowhere near depleted, it was just that the pathways within his body were too small, and the current too slow to carry as much power as he now needed. He didn¡¯t even need to look outside himself, just make better use of what he already had.


    Except that no matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t force the stream to move more quickly. At least, not enough. The simple act of turning his attention to it had helped a little, but it felt like¡­ It felt like there was a rockfall across a tunnel, preventing him from passing through. That image was enough to give him an idea.


    He had to move the obstruction out of the way. Throwing caution to the wind, he pushed at it, forcing the pathways open, shoving at something that moved like the slow slime-creatures that infested the middle levels of the mountain. He felt a tearing sensation, like something deep within him had come free, and then he coughed and vomited up a stream of black, stinking bile, barely managing to avoid splashing the hatchling or the water.


    Power coursed through raw, open channels within him, sending waves of pain that threatened to make him curl up into a protective ball around his core. He had no time for that, though. He had already wasted enough time, the eternal moments spent staring into himself ticking away precious seconds of the dragonling¡¯s dwindling life.


    He turned his eyes on the little creature, lying limp and sprawled out on the stony ground, and saw that it, too, had a core and a tiny little stream that ran up along its back, paused in the forehead, and then tried to return down the chest and belly, back to the core.


    Except that it couldn¡¯t. The hatchling¡¯s chest was filled with blackness, which absorbed all of its own power. Its little body was only still functioning because Kaz himself was shunting his strength into it, replacing what should have reached and cycled through the miniature core.


    Kaz reached out again, but this time when he pressed on the dragon¡¯s chest, he also pushed on the blackness. Remembering the foul stuff that had come from his own mouth and lungs, he tried to move it up, toward the gaping mouth.


    The blackness shifted, and Kaz threw more power at it. The dragonling spasmed, its little body curling up the way Kaz¡¯s wanted to, and black water poured from its mouth. There was far more than should possibly have fit inside the tiny creature¡¯s lungs, but Kaz kept pushing until every last bit was clear, and the cycle of power flowed smoothly again.


    Except¡­


    Kaz frowned. There was a¡­ blotch, in its head. Right at that spot between the eyes, where the power swirled and gathered before returning to its core, darkness clung, faint but insidious. Kaz prodded it, and the little body squirmed, but he somehow knew that that blockage wasn''t supposed to be there, and, stubbornly, he pushed again.


    His own vision grew dim as he pulled more and more power from his core, forcing his own cycle to speed up in response, until there was a nearly audible pop and the black spot tore, spinning apart into something that almost looked like the trailing lines of one of the runes Katri had taught him. The strands were caught up in the stream of power flowing through the dragon, and it coughed again as they reached its mouth, spewing out another clot of foul goo.


    As he toppled to the side, Kaz pulled the limp but rapidly warming body of the dragon against his chest. He felt the hard lump of the rock-like thing that had been inside the squishy oval he¡¯d found in the dragon nest. It pressed against his back, greedily drawing in more power from his newly increased capacity. The hatchling did the same, though it didn¡¯t look like it was conscious yet, and Kaz was distantly glad that he now seemed to be producing enough power that even the demands of the dragon and the pseudo-rock weren¡¯t draining him dry.


    No, if anything, the dragonling pulling from his chest, and the rock pulling from beneath his spine were making the spin even faster, gathering more and more power from the seemingly inexhaustible well in his belly. The spinning grew, gold and black and white and red and even a gleam of deep blue, until the world vanished as he sank into unconsciousness.

 Chapter Eleven

    When he opened his eyes again, the dragon was staring at him. Its eyes were intent on his face, and there was something different about them. They still spun, but they didn¡¯t draw him in the way they had before, and the expression in them was more thoughtful, somehow.


    Kaz groaned, lifting his hand to rub at his eyes, then his nose, which was starting to hurt. The dragonling shifted aside, and as his fingers gently prodded his nose, a flickering tongue followed behind, as the hatchling looked almost apologetic. He was just glad it didn¡¯t seem to be trying to eat him anymore.


    ¡°Phweep?¡± it asked, tilting its head to the side.


    Kaz blinked. ¡°Hello?¡±


    The little golden head bobbed in excitement. It released a series of clicks and hisses that made no sense at all, but were clearly an attempt at communication. Cautiously, Kaz lifted a hand, cupping the dragon against him as he sat up. His back complained when he tried to straighten, and he reached behind him, picking up the rock-like thing he¡¯d been lying on.


    The hatchling started clicking and chirping again when it saw the object, and Kaz lifted it, finally able to examine it properly. It was hard, but not rock-hard, unless that rock was something like fluorite or malachite, which were relatively soft. He scratched it with a claw, which made a mark that blended in with the little scrapes all over it, left by tiny dragon-teeth. It was a pale brown color, and now that the fibrous strands and the sticky remnants of egg and the squishy part were gone, he could see that it was fairly smooth, oval in shape, but came to a rounded point on both ends.


    None of which told him what it actually was.


    He held it up, showing it to the dragonling, who was now perched on his left arm, which he had folded across his chest to provide a surface for the little beast. ¡°Do you know what this is? Or was, since you ate most of it?¡±


    The reptilian head tilted one way, then the other, its eyes spinning lazily as it considered the thing. He was just starting to think it might actually answer when it said, ¡°Chirp!¡± and tried to bite the not-rock out of his fingers.


    Snatching it back, he said, ¡°No eating! You already ate everything you possibly could, and-¡± I¡¯m not sure what would happen if you ate something that¡¯s linked to my core, he thought, tucking the brown oval into his belt. It pressed tight against his body, and when he glanced down, he could see the delicate cord between it and him had grown slightly thicker.


    Kaz sighed, looking back at the hatchling. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good or bad thing,¡± he said. ¡°I can feel that my power didn¡¯t go back to the way that it was, so I¡¯m worried it¡¯s going to build up even faster, but between you and that thing, you¡¯re almost keeping it in check. But if the link grows any stronger, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll start taking more than I have to give, and then-¡± He shrugged.


    Distant sounds reached his sensitive ears, and he cocked his head. ¡°How long was I out? Is it morning?¡± The sound of voices argued that it was, and he was just glad no one had found him unconscious, with a dragon curled up on his chest.


    He looked down at the hatchling, who looked back, eyes whirling gently and head cocked to one side. ¡°And what am I going to do with you? I should take you back up to your nest, so you can fly away like the others, but I can¡¯t sneak away, even if there wasn¡¯t a core-hunting monster up there. Besides, you¡¯re so small.¡±


    The dragon whistled indignantly, but it was true. Its egg had been the smallest in the clutch, and the hatchling was only about half the size of its next largest sibling. Kaz sighed and held the dragon snugly as he struggled to his feet. He was still tired, and his head felt strangely light, but he had to go before someone came looking for him.


    Crossing to his pack, he pulled the opening wide, and held the dragonling out toward it. ¡°You need to go back in.¡±


    It hissed and clicked, and Kaz shook his head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to, either, but we don¡¯t have a choice. I don¡¯t know what would happen if someone saw you, but I¡¯m certain it wouldn¡¯t be good. I promise I¡¯ll get you some food, if you just wait quietly.¡±


    The little dragon blinked, as if processing his words, and then it glided down his arm and into the darkness of the bag¡¯s interior. He wasn¡¯t sure if the enclosed space just seemed like a safe place to hide, or if it actually understood him, but it really seemed like it did, so he added, ¡°And don¡¯t try to eat my knives, either. You probably can¡¯t, but just leave them alone.¡±


    Several clicks and a soft whistle emerged from the bag. He didn¡¯t know if that meant, ¡°Of course I won¡¯t,¡± or ¡°I¡¯ll do what I want,¡± but the voices were approaching, so he¡¯d have to hope for the best.


    Softly, Kaz whispered, ¡°Quiet now,¡± and slung the pack around to his back. He glanced around, seeing a few gleaming shards of golden eggshell, as well as the stinking mess he and the hatchling had made when they threw up. He didn¡¯t want any of whatever-that-was to get mixed into the pristine water of the Longtooth¡¯s lake, so he splashed a few handfuls of clean water over the stone, guiding the runoff away from the rest of the water and toward the pit created for wastewater.


    Two pups appeared in the cavern entrance, both carrying empty water-bladders in each hand. Upon seeing him, they froze, eyes huge, before the larger one dropped his container, stepping in front of the smaller female. His hackles rose, and he growled, baring fangs and claws. Since he was only about half Kaz¡¯s size, it was foolish, but cute. Both pups should have run as soon as they saw a stranger in their territory.


    Kaz held up his hands. ¡°I¡¯m the new chief¡¯s brother, Kaz. I just woke up early and came to wash and get a drink.¡±


    The male pup¡¯s fur went down a little, but he glared as he said, ¡°There¡¯s water in the village. We take some there every morning and after lunch.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail began to wag slowly, and he tried to project innocent ignorance. ¡°I just didn¡¯t know where it was. I¡¯m sorry if I scared you.¡±


    The small pup popped her head out from behind the male, and Kaz realized she was Moru, the silver-gray female Katri had said might be his mate someday in the future. She eyed him warily, but said, ¡°You are Kaz. I¡¯ve never seen a blue kobold before. There aren¡¯t any others in your tribe, either. Why are you blue?¡±


    He shrugged, lowering his hands. ¡°My father had blue fur as well. He came from another tribe, a long time ago.¡±


    Moru looked away, clearly losing interest in the topic. When her eyes met his again, she stepped out from behind the male, though her hand stayed on his arm. ¡°Our den-mother says you¡¯re supposed to be my mate when I grow up, but I¡¯m going to make Lem be my mate instead.¡±


    Kaz felt a tingle of amusement, though it was mingled with sadness. It didn¡¯t really matter what either of them wanted, if the chief wanted something different. ¡°Is this Lem?¡±


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    Both pups nodded, and Kaz smiled. ¡°I hope you get what you want,¡± he said, dipping his head in something that wasn¡¯t quite the nod of a male to a female who was not-mate. The little silver female puffed out her chest at this sign of respect, and tugged on Lem¡¯s arm, pulling him out of the way.


    Once the pups shifted far enough to the side, Kaz made his way past them, back toward the village. As he passed the tunnel leading to the food-stores, more voices made him look in that direction.


    A mature female was ushering several pups down the tunnel toward him. These were the ones who were still too small to do chores, and the female looked harried, but amused as she picked one particularly rambunctious child up by the scruff of its neck and dropped it back among the others.


    ¡°Today, we¡¯re going to learn the difference between some of the most common liche- Oh!¡± Her eyes caught on Kaz, and she stopped, stepping between him and the children protectively. She stared at him before her eyes widened with recognition.


    ¡°You¡¯re the chief¡¯s brother!¡± she said, relaxing. ¡°Are you here to get breakfast?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m allowed to eat, though.¡±


    Absently, she reached down and grabbed two pups who were attempting to scamper away while she wasn¡¯t looking. ¡°Just go on. Jul and Nik are getting ready to go gather. They¡¯ll help you.¡± She started to go, then hesitated. ¡°Are you really still a pup?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to go on my spirit hunt at any time, but Oda¡­¡± He trailed off, realizing that his mother¡¯s excuses for not allowing him to grow up didn¡¯t matter any more. He glanced down, yielding, pup-to-adult, and she huffed a breath.


    ¡°Well, Jul and Nik are probably about the same age as you, then. They¡¯ll know how much you can take.¡± With a flick of her ear, she began herding the pups away. Kaz¡¯s stomach growled loudly, and he hurried off down the tunnel. Now that he was committed, he found that he was starving. It wasn¡¯t as though this was the first time he¡¯d gone a day or more without eating, since the Broken Knives sometimes found themselves without enough food to go around, but he thought he was hungrier than he¡¯d ever been before in his life.


    When he entered the cavern at the end of the tunnel he was amazed by its size, by the quantity of food packed into it, and by the fact that two guards were actually stationed there. Within his memory, his own tribe never had enough males to guard their stores, as well as the den, the gatherers, and Oda, which was why the fuergar had been able to eat so much before they were discovered. The Longtooth tribe was so much more numerous and organized that he was surprised over and over.


    Once he explained who he was, and what he was doing, two older male pups helped him collect his meal, and he was astonished again. It was rare that he was able to eat until he was full, but the amount they thrust into his arms was more than he usually got in a whole day, even when he ate a bit of what he gathered, which he wasn¡¯t supposed to do.


    He wasn¡¯t about to refuse their largess, however, even though the larger of the two, whose fur was the same shade of green as that of Mital¡¯s mate, glared at him the entire time. Kaz just stuffed the extra into his pack for later and walked back toward the village, eating half of a baked and salted fuergar.


    When he reached the huts, he realized that he had gotten turned around. He was usually good at noting the small marks and signs that helped him orient himself, but he¡¯d been so focused on the hatchling that he¡¯d completely failed to do so. As a result, he had no idea how to get back to the large hut where the humans had been sleeping, and though he could easily speak to other pups and the den-mother, he was hesitant to interrupt any of the adults who bustled around him. He knew they all had their own tasks, and time was always tight at the beginning of the day. If certain things weren¡¯t started in time, they wouldn¡¯t be finished by the evening, and that delay would trickle over into the next day, and the one after that.


    Shoving the last of the meat into his mouth, he lifted his nose and sniffed. The humans each had their own distinct scent, but it was strangely muted, almost like a milder form of whatever Rega had done to cover the Broken Knives retreat from the core-hunter. In the midst of a crowd of strange kobolds, Kaz didn¡¯t have a chance of finding those subdued smells, so instead he focused in on Katri. He was certain that she¡¯d be near the humans, if only to make sure they left promptly.


    He had to push a little more power into his nose to find it, but Katri¡¯s so-familiar scent soon leapt into focus, and he turned this way and that, wending his way deeper into the mass of huts. At last, he came to the largest one, and quickly turned off the flow of power to his nose as Katri¡¯s smell mingled with jejing moss and the aromas the moss was meant to cover.


    Not surprisingly, Raff was no longer lying on the ground in front of the hut where the humans had slept the night before. When Kaz poked his head in their hut, he found it empty, so he crossed to the one Katri¡¯s scent was coming from and looked in there.


    And saw the book.


    It lay open, splayed across a bed made of piled furs. Oda had never left it like that, not only because anyone could come in and see it, but also because the book was ancient and fragile, and each time it was opened, the binding that held it together crackled and flaked a little more. Glancing to each side, Kaz slipped into the hut, pulling the leather-stretched-over-bone door shut behind him. He crossed to the bed, crouching so he could look at the pages of the book for the first time.


    And quickly realized he couldn¡¯t read it. He recognized several of the characters, the rise and fall of the lines something he had sketched out with chalk a thousand times before, then rubbed away before anyone could see them. But there were far more that he didn¡¯t recognize. He saw ¡®he¡¯ and ¡®she¡¯, but what ¡®they¡¯ were doing, or were meant to do, he had no idea. He gently turned the page, catching the symbols for numbers and colors, but he didn¡¯t know what ¡®she¡¯ did with ¡®five red¡¯ somethings. He did recognize the simple cross that stood for ¡®knife¡¯, and he thought the faded ink had once been colorful, but that was all.


    He could have howled in disappointment. The book was useless to him. He had thought that after learning how to read and write a few simple phrases, that would be enough. Though they used far more words to speak than he knew how to read, he somehow hadn¡¯t realized that the few words he knew wouldn¡¯t be enough to allow him to figure out all the other words he didn¡¯t.


    With great care, he turned back to the page Katri had left open, trying to memorize its contents as much as possible. If he ignored the fact that the symbols there were words, and saw them as pictures, instead, surely he would be able to remember and replicate them later. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could work out their meaning.


    As he moved away, the door was flung open, and there was Katri, her pink fur nearly glowing as the light outside limned each strand. Her face was in shadow, but there was a strange desperation in her silver eyes as they traveled between Kaz and the book.


    ¡°Kaz!¡± she exclaimed, circling around him to flip the book closed, ignoring the crunching of the pages. ¡°The humans are looking for you. They¡¯re trying to say I haven¡¯t fulfilled our bargain, and I think the Gaoda-female is angry.¡±


    ¡°Gaoda is male,¡± Kaz said without thinking, and Katri¡¯s jaw dropped open.


    ¡°What? Of course she isn¡¯t. She has power.¡± She pushed against his back with her hands, trying to move him out of the hut, and he let her, shifting so her hands wouldn¡¯t crush his pack and the little dragon still hiding inside.


    As he emerged into the light, he heard a shout, and hard fingers grasped his ear, twisting it. ¡°There you are,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°Your sister said she didn¡¯t know where you were.¡± The male glared at Katri, who had followed Kaz outside.


    Kaz had spent his whole life protecting his sister, so he said, ¡°She didn¡¯t. I went to wash and get some food. I¡¯m sorry. I meant to be back before you woke.¡±


    Gaoda huffed, but the painful pinch released, allowing Kaz to step away. He looked at the four humans, resisting the urge to rub his sore ear. Everyone looked much the same as they had the day before, though their fur, what there was of it, looked tidier, and they smelled even less. In fact, Lianhua didn¡¯t smell like a creature at all. Instead, all Kaz¡¯s nose could pick up were strange, sweet smells that were a little bit like some of the sweet-mosses, and a little bit like the wind that had blown into the dragon¡¯s cave from outside, and a lot of nothing Kaz had ever smelled before.


    Lianhua smiled, showing no teeth. ¡°He¡¯s here now, Gaoda. Let¡¯s just go.¡±


    Gaoda smiled back, a little too wide, and nodded. ¡°As you wish, cousin. I, too, am more than ready.¡±


    Kaz ducked his head. ¡°We go down, then.¡±


    Lianhua cheered, Raff grunted, Gaoda gave another tooth-filled smile, and Chi Yincang simply stood, silent and dark, but they all followed when Kaz led them from the Longtooth den.

 Chapter Twelve

    It took the Broken Knife tribe ten long years to go from the Deep to their final home, near the very top of the mountain. At first, their ascent was slow, and sometimes they spent months in one place, before Oda grew dissatisfied and challenged a deeper tribe. Inevitably, they lost, and were forced to flee to a higher level. Over time, as their tribe lost members to beasts and battles, they were unable to keep any territory where food and water were easy to find. As a result, someone had to explore further and further from the den to find good areas to forage, and that someone was often Kaz. More than any other kobold, Kaz knew the layout and dangers of each level on which they settled.


    The Broken Knives had never lived on the same level as the Longtooth tribe. They settled into a small den on the outskirts of the Ironclaw tribe¡¯s territory, which was one level deeper, and they had managed to stay there until Oda insulted the Ironclaw leader, and the other female threatened them with luegat, or, worse, vara, which would allow them to simply kill or capture the Broken Knives, without the honor of a formalized battle.


    Even though the Broken Knives had crossed through this level only briefly, Kaz knew the way to a relatively easy passage down. It wasn¡¯t far from the territory the Broken Knives had briefly controlled, but it was well outside the usual range of the Ironclaws, and there was another, only slightly more difficult, passage to the next deeper level only a little ways away.


    For once, everything went well. Kaz led the humans through the winding, wild passages created by nature and monsters, sometimes smoothed out by kobolds, sometimes not. He discovered that Raff still liked to talk while they traveled, though not as much as he had when it was just the two of them. Gaoda walked beside Lianhua, often reaching out to help her over loose rocks, or around large obstacles. He tried to talk to her, too, but she usually gave him only one or two-word answers, until the conversation died down again, and Raff filled the silence with his muttering. Chi Yincang, on the other hand, was rarely even visible. Kaz was only certain the human was still around because he would occasionally catch a whiff of his faint, dusty scent.


    None of them tried to talk to Kaz, and he was fine with that. He kept all of his senses wide open, wary of janjio or lanma lurking in the disused passages. It seemed that the Longtooths were doing a good job of keeping their territory clear, though, and they reached the craggy pit well before lunchtime.


    Gaoda looked down into the darkness, a displeased expression on his face. ¡°This is it? Raff said there are staircases.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s shoulders tensed. ¡°Not always. Many of the old stairs are blocked or broken, and if they are intact, they¡¯re always well-guarded, and usually deep inside the territory of a powerful tribe. This is a safe path, and we can use it without anyone taking offense.¡±


    The human snorted. ¡°As if they could injure us. Next time, if there are stairs, take us there.¡±


    Kaz gritted his teeth. ¡°They could injure me,¡± he said. ¡°Which would leave you without a guide.¡± A blue one, at least, he thought. While he and his father hadn¡¯t been the only blue-furred kobolds in the Deeps, he hadn¡¯t seen another even close to his own color in years.


    Gaoda looked stymied, but Lianhua nodded. She reached out and brushed Gaoda¡¯s arm with the bare ends of her fingertips. She pulled them back just as quickly, but she already had Gaoda¡¯s full attention.


    ¡°I think the kobold is right,¡± she said. ¡°Plus, it¡¯s fascinating to see all of these lesser-known passages. None of my charts show the ones we¡¯re using, so mapping these will help anyone who comes after us. And we¡¯re far more likely to find relics that haven¡¯t yet been defiled this way.¡±


    Sighing, Gaoda nodded. ¡°As you wish, cousin. If you wish to return to the stairs at any time, simply tell me, however, and I¡¯ll have this cur change course like that.¡± He snapped his fingers, and a spark flashed away from them, vanishing into the darkness.


    ¡°Yes, thank you, Gaoda,¡± Lianhua said, lowering her eyes. Kaz, who was constantly amazed by the way the female deferred to the male human, could only thank her in his mind.


    Turning back to the hole, Kaz knelt down and reached into it, feeling around for¡­ Something clinked softly, and cold metal warmed under his fingers. ¡°Here,¡± he said, looking up to see the humans staring at him. ¡°There¡¯s a chain bolted into the stone. It¡¯s not hard to climb down, just don¡¯t let the links pinch your fingers.¡±


    Gaoda and Raff moved to the edge of the hole, eyeing the heavy chain Kaz was touching. Each link was the size of Kaz¡¯s palm, making it easy to slip your fingers in, and you could walk up and down the wall by bracing your back paws on it.


    ¡°How deep¡¯s the pit, Blue?¡± Raff asked, thoughtfully. ¡°I can¡¯t even see th¡¯ bottom.¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°This is one of the longer drops. Some levels are only twenty or thirty feet apart, while others are several hundred. There are ledges carved out so you can rest every fifty feet or so, and there are four ledges.¡±


    He remembered how difficult it had been for the smallest and weakest of the tribe to climb the chain when they had fled the Ironclaws. Kaz and a few others had to tie ropes around their waists so if a pup or elder fell, the stronger kobold could catch them. It had been a frightening and exhausting ordeal, even with the ledges to give them a break.


    Raff grunted. ¡°Too far to jump, then. Even for Chi. He¡¯d probably make it, but he¡¯d be pretty banged up.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. They could survive a drop of more than two hundred feet? Some of the warriors of the Deep tribes were incredibly powerful, but he thought even they would die instantly in a fall like that.


    Gaoda¡¯s eyes flicked to Chi Yincang, who stood, a silent shadow, at his shoulder. The other human didn¡¯t react, but Gaoda nodded as if he had. ¡°Fine, then. Chi Yincang, you go first. Then Blue, me, Lianhua, and Raff.¡±


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    Without another word, Chi Yincang leaned down, grasped the chain in one hand, and jumped into the pit. The chain was so long and heavy that it barely moved, the shifting links just sliding together with a metallic scrape, and then he was gone.


    Kaz realized his mouth was open, and closed it with a click. The human hadn¡¯t even bothered to brace his feet against the stone wall, and there was no way he was shifting his grip as he went. No, he was just allowing the links to slide through his hand, using friction to control the speed of his descent.


    Gaoda nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Chi Yincang will make sure the chain is intact, and scout ahead.¡± His gaze turned back to Kaz, and he waited expectantly.


    Uncomfortable beneath the watching eyes, Kaz laid on his belly, swinging his legs out over the abyss. His rear claws scratched at the stone as he tried to find a crevice to brace himself, and then he shifted his grip to the chain. Once he was certain he had a firm grasp and at least a sliver of a foothold, he was ready to go.


    Which was when a large hand grasped him by the back of his neck and heaved him up like he was a pup again. Kaz yelped and thrashed, but Raff just deposited him on his feet in front of Gaoda without even a grunt of effort.


    ¡°No,¡± Gaoda said. The human was frowning. ¡°It¡¯ll take all day to get down if you go like that. Raff, you carry him.¡±


    Raff snorted. ¡°How¡¯m I supposed to do that? Tie him to my back?¡±


    ¡°If you have to,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°Figure it out. I¡¯m going. Lianhua, stay close to me, and I expect Raff to be right behind us. With the kobold.¡±


    The gold-furred human leaned down and grasped the chain. He didn¡¯t vault over the edge with quite the same lack of concern as Chi Yincang, but he also didn¡¯t bother bracing himself anywhere near as carefully as Kaz had. Using his arms alone, he lowered himself hand over hand down the chain. His light illuminated his progress, and they all watched for a few seconds, at which point he was already fifteen or twenty feet down.


    Lianhua sat down, swinging her legs over the edge of the pit. She closed her eyes, and Kaz almost jumped as he felt something shift inside her. Driven by curiosity, he pushed a hint of power into his eyes, and when he looked again, he saw the same kind of cycle in her that he had seen in himself and the hatchling. Her pathways were wider and clearer than either of theirs, but there was no doubt it was essentially the same. Instead of a core, however, she had a spinning mass of power in her belly.


    As he watched, that mass contracted, pulling threads of gray, hazy energy from the air around her. As the energy entered the ball of power that she used as a core, threads of black and gold spun out of it, joining the current that traveled up along her backbone. Hints of murky white and red remained in her center, seemingly unable to be ¡®digested¡¯ through this process.


    Gold light coruscated through the muscles of her arms, settling into the palms of her hands, which began to glow with a soft glimmer. Kaz released the power in his eyes, and with it, the light faded, leaving the human female looking exactly the same as she had when she sat down. She opened her eyes, reached down, and grasped the chain, flipping her body around to face the wall. She did use her feet to brace herself, but she still moved nearly as quickly as Gaoda, the chain sliding easily within her empowered grip.


    Once Lianhua had vanished into the depths, Raff turned to Kaz. ¡°Can you hang on, or do I really need to strap you down?¡± he asked.


    Kaz eyed the large human¡¯s thick neck, which was made even larger by the heavy metal protecting it. ¡°I can hang on,¡± he said, though inside, he wasn¡¯t so certain.


    Raff knelt, dropping one shoulder slightly so Kaz could reach up and grasp it. Kaz set a paw on Raff¡¯s knee, clambering up onto the human¡¯s back, where he looped his arms around Raff¡¯s neck, grasping his own wrists, rather than grabbing onto any part of the metal armor. His legs couldn¡¯t even come close to wrapping around the human¡¯s rib cage, so he carefully braced his back paws on the heavy leather belt wrapping Raff¡¯s middle, and said, ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    Raff shrugged his shoulders once, then again, and Kaz clung tightly, imagining himself as one of the sturdy gray lichens that could often be found clinging to the walls in places with even a little bit of water. ¡°All right then,¡± the human said, and Kaz could feel his voice rumbling in his chest. It was a strange sensation, and distracted him enough that he nearly missed the moment when Raff, too, pulled power from their surroundings. Including Kaz.


    Kaz whimpered, nearly letting go, but he managed to hold on in spite of his suddenly trembling limbs. Raff didn¡¯t seem to notice, just flipping himself out and around, his gloved hands wrapping completely around the large chain. Much like Chi Yincang, he allowed himself to slide down, only exerting enough pressure to prevent himself from free falling.


    For Kaz, the drain on his core was like being stabbed over and over with a very fine needle, except that the needle was coming from inside him, rather than out. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn¡¯t, and as close as he was to the human who was stealing strength from him, the pull was too fierce to resist.


    Just when he thought he would have to cry out or let go, they slowed. Craning his neck, he realized that they had caught up with Lianhua, which reminded him of what the female had done before she started down.


    Closing his eyes, he turned his vision inward, focusing on his core. Three threads led away from it now, two into his pack, and one into a disordered, roiling mass inside Raff. Strangely, instead of being in the human¡¯s belly, this mass was in his chest, and instead of feeding the channels that ran up and down inside his body, it pushed power into his limbs in a diffuse haze. That haze was a solid gray, with only a few flickers of more distinct color flaring up like flashes of burning ash in a cloud of smoke.


    The cord that led from Kaz to Raff was thick, but just as cloudy as the rest of the human¡¯s energy. There were none of the bright, distinct colors that Lianhua, the dragon, and Kaz himself produced. In fact, it looked like Raff was taking Kaz¡¯s colorful threads and shoving it all together to make a dirty, dingy mix, and Kaz wondered if the human had any idea that he was even doing it. And if he didn¡¯t, would he notice if Kaz stopped allowing it? Was that even possible?


    With that, Kaz tightened his focus. He watched the little streams of brilliant color that were being dragged out of his core, and he focused on redirecting them back into his own cycle. For a moment, they shifted, like trickles of water redirected into a larger current, but then Raff¡¯s cloud pulled harder, tugging them back.


    If he couldn¡¯t control them all at once, what about one at a time? He focused on the smallest stream, which was a deep, sapphire blue. Pulling on its thread, he tried to wind it back into the flow going up toward his head, and, almost eagerly, it obeyed. Raff¡¯s cloud didn¡¯t seem to care about it, either, at least not that Kaz could tell.


    The black and red threads were the next smallest, and Kaz pulled at them both. The black released as easily as the blue, but the red stubbornly continued flowing into Raff¡¯s smoky cloud of energy. Giving up on that, Kaz tried the last two. The broad gold stream returned to Kaz as readily as the red seemed to cling to Raff, but the white was reluctant. Still, three out of the five were back where they were meant to be, so, encouraged, Kaz doubled his efforts to take back the red and white.


    Which was when the flow stopped. As abruptly as it had begun, it ended, and the taut cords of red and white power snapped back into Kaz¡¯s core, making him cry out and pull away from  the stab of pain.


    His hands loosened, and he fell.

 Chapter Thirteen

    His tail impacted rock, and Kaz yelped again. His eyes snapped open, and he looked around, his hands already going to his injured appendage. Raff stood over him, a bemused expression on his face.


    ¡°I told you we were down, Blue. You all right?¡±


    Kaz awkwardly climbed to his feet, his fingers brushing through the soft fur of his tail. It seemed to be intact, though bruised, and he managed to nod at the human. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just didn¡¯t expect the climb to take so little time.¡±


    Raff chuckled. ¡°What? So you decided to take a nap?¡± Shaking his head, he stretched, reaching his arms high overhead and extending his fingers, which brushed the ceiling of the tunnel in which they stood. ¡°Nice, clean mana here, though. I swear I could feel it getting better as we went down.¡±


    Lianhua tilted her head. ¡°Is it? I hadn¡¯t noticed a difference.¡± She closed her eyes, and Kaz focused, watching the tidy ball of energy in her abdomen shrink, pulling in gray wisps of power from the air. After a moment, she released it, shaking her head. ¡°You must be quite sensitive, Raff.¡±


    Gaoda, who had ignored Raff¡¯s words until Lianhua responded to him, snorted. ¡°As if a common sellsword would know ki better than the fairy of the Long clan.¡±


    Lianhua and Raff both glared at him for that, though Raff quickly returned his expression to its usual neutral joviality. Lianhua gave a bright smile that rang false to Kaz, though he was still getting used to the way the human¡¯s flat faces differed from those of kobolds.


    ¡°Thank you, Gaoda Xiang, but I¡¯m certain Raff is just as skilled in his own arts as I am in mine.¡± Turning her attention to Kaz, her smile became more genuine as she  said, ¡°Do you know where the next passage down is, ah-¡± Her cheeks turned pink. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t remember your name.¡±


    Kaz debated. His first instinct was to snap, ¡®Blue is fine¡¯, but she was female, and hadn¡¯t earned such rudeness, so he just said, ¡°Kaz.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Kaz, then. Do you know where the next passage down is, or perhaps any strange buildings or relics from a past civilization that may be on this level?¡±


    Gaoda sighed in exasperation. ¡°We¡¯re too high up, cousin. The only evidence that the Diushi ever even ventured this far west are a few trinkets brought back from the lowest levels, and one scroll that¡¯s been sitting in plain sight in the sect library for centuries. If there were really something here, don¡¯t you think someone would have found it before now?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s lips pinched together, and she said, ¡°Anyone who read the scroll probably dismissed it as rumors or fiction, just like you do. The Diushi were here, and I¡¯m going to find proof.¡±


    Raff was looking away from the pair, watching the darkness of the tunnel, but he muttered, ¡°You tell him, sister,¡± so low that the words were barely audible.


    Kaz, who seemed to be the only one able to hear the large human, hid his amusement, simply pointing down the passage to their right. ¡°I know of no ¡®relics¡¯, but there is another way down that direction. It passes through four levels, so we can simply skip those, if your goal is only to reach the depths.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Yes! Let us reach the bottom quickly, so we can get out of this place.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Be cautious, however. We must pass through a large cavern, and it¡¯s likely to be infested with janjio.¡±


    Raff shrugged, already walking in the direction Kaz had indicated. ¡°Screechers? Eh, they¡¯re not a problem. The ones here are a bit stronger than the ones in the foothills, but if they¡¯re like that last batch, I¡¯m not worried.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°That was a small group. The main colony is many times larger. They usually live on the next level down, but¡­¡± He hesitated. Should he remind them about the core-hunter? Hopefully, they had left the thing behind when they began to descend. He felt a niggling worry for Katri and the others, but they should be safe enough among the large, well-organized ¡®Longknife¡¯ tribe, especially since they had been warned that the creature was nearby.


    ¡°But?¡± Raff prompted.


    ¡°Something stronger may have driven them out,¡± Kaz said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know what. We passed through their nesting area, and didn¡¯t see any sign of them.¡±


    ¡°Eh, whatever it was, it¡¯s up there,¡± Raff said, waving it off. ¡°And even if this lot is three or four times larger, we can hold our own. You just warn us before we get there, and it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Kaz nodded. If it looked like the humans were going to be killed, he would just run. It would be easy enough to get back to his tribe from here, and though he wouldn¡¯t do as Katri had hinted and lead them into danger deliberately, he also had no reason to risk his own life for them.


    The group walked in silence for a while. Not even Raff spoke, and the human¡¯s eyes moved constantly, watching for any sign of danger. They were confident, perhaps even overconfident, but not suicidally so. Once or twice, they heard screeches coming from branching corridors, but never anything close enough to cause Gaoda to call a halt to their progress.


    At last, Kaz held up a hand, stopping in the middle of the passage. His ears swiveled, trying to catch any sound, and his hackles rose slightly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Raff murmured, though he didn¡¯t turn back to look at Kaz.


    ¡°We¡¯re close,¡± Kaz replied. ¡°They don''t scream when they''re not hunting, but I can hear rustling and squeaks. There are two more turnings. Right, then left. I only came through here once, when my tribe arrived on this level, but it was¡­ memorable.¡±


    Memorable because it was the first time his mother ordered him into battle. He was still a pup, but there were so few warriors left in their tribe that Oda had to call up anyone who could hold a weapon. The experience was terrifying, and horrible. The kobolds had waited until most of the janjio were out hunting, then simply raced through the cavern as quickly as they could. It had been all they could do to just hold off the attacks of the remaining monsters, and though no one had died, several had been injured.


    Raff shifted his grip on his sword. He hadn¡¯t returned it to its sheath since they first heard screeching, and as he flexed his fingers, they popped. Chi Yincang appeared beside Gaoda, seeming to step directly out of the shadows that surrounded them, and looked at the gold-furred male.


    ¡°Two hundred. Maybe more, if the others return after hearing the battle begin,¡± he said.


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    Gaoda nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll cross as quickly as we can, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. Two hundred? That was easily three times as many as they had battled before. He glanced at Lianhua, remembering how she had cowered during the previous attack. Would she be all right?


    It seemed Gaoda had a similar thought, because he glanced at Lianhua as well. ¡°Your body cultivation isn¡¯t as high as ours, cousin. Do you need someone to carry you?¡± He held out his arms invitingly, and Lianhua drew back.


    Reaching into a pouch at her waist, she pulled out two small objects. ¡°I¡¯m prepared this time,¡± she said, pushing one into each of her ears. That done, she concentrated, and Kaz watched as she pulled power into her center, then pushed it out into the rest of her body. Her skin glowed softly until Kaz blinked away his other sight, and then she looked just as she always did.


    Gaoda nodded, though he looked disappointed. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡±


    As if a trap had been sprung, the humans rushed forward. Chi Yincang leaped ahead, vanishing into the darkness, while Raff charged with his sword held across his body, ready to block any attacks. Even Lianhua ran, her steps light, with Gaoda at her back, his whirling balls of light already spinning.


    Kaz suddenly realized he was being left behind, and chased after them, barely managing to keep from dropping to all fours in his haste. By the time he reached the cavern, the battle had already begun, and it was truly a sight to behold.


    The cavern¡¯s ceiling was high overhead, and Chi Yincang launched himself into the air, impossibly high. The human leaped from wall to wall, only briefly coming to rest on the ground, his knife-on-a-stick slicing janjio to pieces. Raff stood as a bulwark before Gaoda and Lianhua, taking down any enemies who drew close enough, but it didn¡¯t really seem either of those two needed the help. Gaoda¡¯s power-balls darted out, blasting holes straight through the diving monsters, while Lianhua now held a bow, from which brilliant bolts launched, one after another, all without her ever placing a single arrow to the string.


    Kaz scampered along until he was near Lianhua¡¯s feet, then hunkered down, covering his ears with his hands. The Janjio¡¯s screams were their greatest weapon, driving their targets to run away or simply collapse in terror and confusion. None of the humans even seemed fazed by them, however, and bodies soon began to pile up around them.


    Realizing that no one was even paying attention to him, Kaz pushed power to his eyes, watching each of the humans as they fought. Chi Yincang, Lianhua, and Gaoda all had the whirling bundles of power in their abdomens, but the two males also had a similar accumulation in their chests, though they were far more controlled than Raff¡¯s cloud of sparkling fog. Lianhua and Gaoda also had a small sphere of power behind and between their eyes, much like Kaz and the dragonling.


    Each of the main trio were using clean threads of power, while Raff continued to pull in and push out the same gray cloud. Chi Yincang glowed with black and white light that was concentrated in his arms and legs, but Gaoda¡¯s power matched his fur and eyes; gold and blue leaped from his hands to his glowing orbs, while his body retained less of the light than that of Chi Yincang. On the other hand, only Lianhua¡¯s skin glowed gold. The rest of her energy was blue and black, and flowed into her arrows after gathering in the spiral between her brows, which was much larger and more defined than Gaoda¡¯s. It made Kaz wonder what his own power would look like, if he could see it from outside his body.


    Seeing that the humans had the fight well in hand, Kaz focused on observing them. He watched the way their power-centers spun, pulling threads of energy out of the undifferentiated fog, and feeding them into each of their cycles, up along their backbones, turning behind their eyes, and then flowing back down to their centers. It was fascinating, and absently, he began to emulate them.


    Strength flooded his arms and legs, making him want to jump up and move. Staying still was almost painful, and he quickly withdrew the power he had pushed into them. His limbs grew leaden, and, looking, he realized that he had taken too much. There were, in fact, miniscule rivulets of light running through every part of his body, and he had nearly cut off the flow to his arms and legs when he yanked the energy back.


    Awkwardly, he loosened his hold on the energy coursing through him, fed by his core. It took a few tries to consciously control something that his body had been doing on its own for his entire life, and he went from jittery to weak a dozen times in quick succession. Still, by the time he figured out where it was supposed to be, he also saw that he could boost it just a tiny, tiny amount, nowhere near what he had done the first time, and just give himself a little extra strength.


    He had done the same thing a few times before, though now that he was watching, he realized he had been doing something like what Raff did; applying raw power with very little control or understanding. It had worked for him then, at least well enough, and it clearly worked for the human, so he didn¡¯t know if it was better or worse than the other way, but, watching the graceful flow of the brilliant colors within the bodies of Lianhua, Chi Yincang, and Gaoda, he had to admit that their way was certainly more beautiful.


    Impulsively, he pulled off his pack and focused on the two glowing bundles of power inside. The dragonling had gold, white, and black energy cycling lazily through it, and, somehow, he had a feeling that it was asleep, probably full after eating all the food he¡¯d been given by the Longtooths. The not-rock didn¡¯t really have a cycle, just a dark, empty pit that swallowed up the trickle of gold that it stole from Kaz¡¯s with each spin of his cycle.


    Reaching out with his mind, Kaz gave the golden rivulet a sort of mental poke, and it reacted, waves of deeper gold rippling away from the contact. He set a ¡®finger¡¯ on top of it, and gave it a push. And groaned.


    It moved easily, the rivulet becoming a stream, but as it did, it tugged on its link to Kaz¡¯s core, pulling more and more power from him, until the gold in his own cycle, which was usually the predominant color, was nearly all going into the not-rock. Distantly, he was aware that much of the power he had just fed into his arms and legs had been siphoned off, and if he hadn¡¯t already been crouching, he might have fallen.


    A hand on his shoulder caught him, and Lianhua¡¯s concerned voice said, ¡°Kaz? Are you all right? You¡¯re safe now, I promise.¡±


    As he withdrew his attention, blinking to focus his eyes on the real world, instead of his internal one, he sensed the not-rock¡¯s pull slow, then returned to its normal flow rate. His own strength returned, and he managed a nod, though he staggered a little as he stood, clutching his pack to his chest.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he mumbled. It was an effort to speak at all, and now that he knew she was an adult female, everything in him said he shouldn¡¯t interact with her unless absolutely necessary.


    She smiled and patted his shoulder again, her fingers lingering slightly, almost stroking his fur. A flush filled her cheeks as she realized what she was doing, and she snatched her hand back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡­ Your fur is very soft.¡±


    He felt awkward. Only family members groomed each other, and she certainly wasn¡¯t family. Still, it wasn¡¯t unpleasant, so he just looked toward the opening in the far wall of the cavern, deliberately avoiding looking at the bodies of the fallen janjio, which lay all around them, stacked three and four deep. He had hunted the things before, of course, but this effortless massacre was strangely disturbing.


    Raff nudged one of the beasts. ¡°I¡¯ve eaten these before,¡± he mused. ¡°Bit hard to clean, but tasty. You want to grab a few and stop for lunch when we get to the exit?¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s short nose wrinkled, but he nodded. ¡°We should conserve our own stores as much as possible. We don¡¯t know how much we¡¯ll be able to find that we can identify as being safe to eat.¡±


    Raff nodded and scooped up four of the less-damaged janjio, tying them to his belt with a few loops of cord. Kaz hesitated, but found a relatively small one as well, slipping it into his pack on the side opposite the little dragon. He would need to let the creature out soon, for a drink, if nothing else, so he hoped he could slip away for a bit when they stopped. In the meantime, if it got hungry, it could eat the janjio, though that would add to the mess in his pack.


    Lianhua clapped her hands, smiling broadly. She forgot to hide her teeth again, but Kaz found that it didn¡¯t seem as strange or aggressive as it had when she¡¯d first done it. For one thing, those flat teeth certainly weren¡¯t a good enough weapon to make them any kind of threat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Everything I¡¯ve read indicates that there are at least a hundred and fifty levels within the mountain. We have a long way to go.¡±


    Gaoda nodded, and motioned to Chi Yincang. The dark male spun his weapon, faster and faster, and Kaz was fascinated to see that he actually pushed energy into the weapon itself, spinning the power along with the material object.


    With a shouted, ¡°Hi-yah!¡± Chi Yincang thrust both weapon and power forward, and it blew out of the staff, pushing the fallen bodies out of the way.


    Path cleared, they set out once more.

 Chapter Fourteen

    Once they were past the janjio cavern, it was only a short distance to the next passage down. As Kaz had told the humans, it passed through four levels. It was rare for anyone to use it to reach this level, thanks to the monsters and the lack of any nearby resources, but it would allow them to skip the next three, which were all occupied by a single tribe.


    The Graybellys were the most powerful tribe in the upper levels of the mountain. They could undoubtedly have defeated one of the mid-level tribes and begun the slow descent to the depths, but there, they would likely be the weakest among the strong. Here, they ruled with an iron fist. There was no way to avoid them, and if the humans attempted to attack, Kaz thought they would be forced to flee, if they weren¡¯t killed outright, simply because the Graybellys outnumbered them so badly. Hopefully, if things started to go wrong, Kaz could prevent it from escalating to that point.


    When the first totem came into view, Kaz lifted a hand. It was small, and easily missed if you weren¡¯t watching for it, so he pointed it out for the humans. Two fuergar skulls were impaled on a stone spike that was probably the tip of a stalactite. A streak of gray dye made by crushing a particular lichen dripped from each of the empty eye sockets.


    Gaoda seemed unimpressed. ¡°Is that meant to be frightening?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°A warning. The Graybellys don¡¯t live on this level, but they control the passage, and the area around it. I doubt they¡¯ll bother posting guards here, since no one comes this way except fools and the desperate, but this tells even those to be cautious from here on.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Haven¡¯t met a kobold yet that I couldn¡¯t swat like a bug.¡± His eyes cut to Kaz, and he coughed slightly. ¡°Ah, sorry, but it¡¯s the truth.¡±


    The fur on Kaz¡¯s neck and shoulders wanted to rise at this nonchalant admission of how little respect the humans had for his people, but he kept his voice calm.


    ¡°You are strong,¡± he admitted, ¡°but there are those in the Deep who will challenge even you. Here, you¡¯re probably right, but the Graybelly tribe has well over a thousand members, covers at least parts of six levels, and their females are well-trained and powerful. They work together, instead of constantly fighting for dominance, as so many do, and though you would undoubtedly win against a small group of them, if they truly decided to, I¡¯m certain they could prevent you from passing through their territory. That would be the end of your journey, since they have closed or control every path down on at least three of those levels.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Or we could wipe out every single one of them. At least until the ones remaining grew wise enough to fear us properly.¡±


    A chill ran down Kaz¡¯s spine, and he bowed his head. ¡°Their leader is wise, and I¡¯m certain she¡¯ll allow you passage, though there will be a price.¡± He saw the look in Gaoda¡¯s eyes, and hastened to add, ¡°A reasonable one!¡±


    Lianhua huffed a little sigh. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine, and right now,¡± she pressed a hand to her stomach, ¡°I¡¯m starving! You may be able to channel ki to your body all day without needing to eat, but I can¡¯t. Let¡¯s sit down and have lunch.¡±


    Gaoda pulled a round object from a pouch at his waist and eyed it. ¡°It¡¯s a little early, but this seems like a reasonable place to rest.¡± He replaced the object and smiled at Lianhua. ¡°Whatever you wish, of course, cousin.¡±


    Lianhua nodded in return, though her smile seemed stiff. She looked around and sighed again. ¡°I miss Yingtao. She would make tea for me.¡±


    ¡°Chi Yincang will make you tea, cousin,¡± Gaoda said.


    She made a small movement of her shoulders that wasn¡¯t quite a shrug. ¡°I know. Yingtao has been making my tea since I was a girl, though, and she knows exactly how I like it. I think the comfort of that would be pleasant today.¡±


    Gaoda made a gesture, and Chi Yincang was suddenly beside him. ¡°Make tea,¡± Gaoda told him. Glancing at Raff, he added, ¡°Prepare those beasts you picked up.¡± The other two males nodded.


    Walking off to one side, Raff set a flat stone down on the ground. This was a good chance for Kaz to sneak off and let the dragonling out, but he was curious, so he wandered over to see what the human was up to. Raff¡¯s stone had a series of marks carved into it, and Kaz frowned, wondering why the markings seemed familiar. Then Raff shifted, Kaz moved to get out of the way, and his new perspective gave him the answer. It was the symbol for ¡®fire¡¯. Or close enough that he could read it, anyway. It was simpler than the one Katri had taught him, but the angle and curves of the lines seemed right.


    Pointing, Kaz asked, ¡°What is that?¡±


    Raff looked up from where he was dressing the janjio. ¡°A fire stone. Has the rune for fire carved on it. When I feed mana into it, it¡¯ll produce a small fire. Enough to cook lunch, anyway.¡± He looked around. ¡°What do you lot use for fuel down here, anyway? Or do you just eat your food raw?¡±


    Kaz grimaced. ¡°Some do. It¡¯s more common in the top levels. Tribes stay there because they have few females, or their females aren¡¯t very strong. Cooking the meat is one of the first things a female pup learns. Some pups can create fire with power alone, while others can only set a spark to a pile of moss or lichen, and then keep that flame burning while the food cooks. That¡¯s smoky and smells bad, though, so if no pups can make a pure fire, an adult will usually do it.¡±


    ¡°So, they don¡¯t use runes?¡± Lianhua asked, and Kaz started. He hadn¡¯t realized the female had joined them.


    He shook his head. ¡°Very few kobolds can read or write.  Aunt Rega said most females can read in the Deep tribes, but up here it¡¯s rare. If anyone in a tribe can read, it¡¯s usually only the chief and her heir. But no one has anything to read, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°But you were carrying a book when you came back from fetching your tribe. I asked Katri if I could read it, and she said it was fragile, and only for the chief.¡±


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    ¡°I offered to get it for you,¡± Gaoda said, coming up beside her. He was holding two steaming cups made of some material so fine it was nearly transparent.


    Lianhua accepted one and lifted it to her nose, inhaling deeply. She looked pleased. ¡°Longjing. My favorite.¡± She sipped, then exhaled in a long sigh, shoulders relaxing. ¡°Lovely. Thank you, Chi Yincang.¡± She gave the silent human a smile, and Gaoda looked sour.


    ¡°I brought it to you,¡± he said.


    ¡°But you did none of the work,¡± Lianhua chided gently. ¡°I do appreciate it, however.¡±


    Looking slightly mollified, Gaoda nodded, but turned the conversation back to the topic Lianhua had neatly avoided. ¡°Do you want me to take the book when we return?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s lips tightened, and she set the bottom of her cup in the palm of her other hand. ¡°No, Gaoda Xiang, I do not. We are visitors in these people¡¯s land, and we should behave as such.¡± Seeing the look on his face, she added, ¡°Besides, my interest was purely academic. What do you suppose kobolds write about?¡±


    Raff and Gaoda both snorted, and Gaoda glared at the warrior, who shrugged and turned away. ¡°Nothing,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°Where monsters dwell, where to find food, and, perhaps, some kind of ancestry, if they even care about such things. Nothing seems to matter to them except power and territory, from what I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s amethyst eyes slid away from his. ¡°And that¡¯s so different from us?¡± she murmured, hiding the words behind the rim of her cup. She sipped slowly, then looked back at Kaz. ¡°So male kobolds don¡¯t learn to read at all?¡±


    He shook his head. It was true; male kobolds didn¡¯t, just one male kobold in particular. Him. And not much, apparently.


    The female¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened, and she asked, ¡°Would you like to?¡± When he just stared at her, she clarified, ¡°Learn to read? I can teach you.¡±


    ¡°Cousin!¡± Gaoda said, clearly shocked. ¡°He¡¯s little more than a savage! A monster, however well he speaks. I know you can be a bit eccentric, but-¡±


    ¡°I can,¡± Lianhua said, still watching Kaz. ¡°And if I am allowed to become a scholar, I will be sent to learn and teach in far-off lands. Should I not practice now?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t-¡± Gaoda began, but stopped, clearing his throat. ¡°Do as you will, cousin. I deny you nothing.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s lips curved in a humorless smile. ¡°Thank you for your kind permission, Gaoda Xiang.¡±


    He winced.


    Lianhua held out her cup, which was still half full, and Chi Yincang accepted it. At their feet, a woosh announced that Raff had started the fire, and Kaz looked down, jerked from the haze that had fallen over him at Lianhua¡¯s words.


    Would you like to learn to read? As if it were so simple.


    He had nothing to read. There were no books, no scrolls, not even a sheet of vellum anywhere except in the chief¡¯s book. When kobolds needed to communicate, they used rough sketches, drawn on the walls with chalk. There was no pattern to them, no sameness, just a sketch of the beast or plant, the quality and complexity of which changed with the creator. Plus, a male learning to read was like a fuergar with two tails: unnecessary and unnatural.


    Yet somehow, since the day he saw Katri curled up beside their mother, her shoulder pressed against Oda¡¯s side as she traced out the complex symbols in the open book before them, Kaz had wished he, too, could learn. Without a doubt, it had begun as a simple desire to share in the closeness between the pair, but Kaz had always had an urge to know, to explore, to learn as much as he could about absolutely everything, whether he was supposed to or not.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said. Looking up, he said it again. ¡°Yes. I would like to learn to read.¡±


    The female¡¯s smile was the brightest he had seen her make since the very first time he saw her, peering around Raff¡¯s back, excited and eager to see what lay inside the mountain. ¡°Good.¡± She looked at Raff, who had spitted one of the cleaned janjio on his sword and was slowly spinning it over the small fire. ¡°Half an hour?¡±


    He eyed the meat critically. ¡°About that.¡±


    Nodding, Lianhua turned to Kaz. ¡°Let¡¯s go find a quiet spot.¡±


    Gaoda held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. You shouldn¡¯t be alone with a kobold. What if he turns on you?¡±


    She laughed. Holding a hand at shoulder height, she said, ¡°He¡¯s this big, and I¡¯m a cultivator. What do you think he¡¯s going to do to me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not a body cultivator, cousin, and-¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said, firmly. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need you staring at him, judging him. He won¡¯t hurt me.¡± She looked at Kaz. ¡°Will you?¡±


    He shook his head vigorously. She was right. He probably couldn¡¯t injure her if he tried. Plus, she was going to teach him to read. Read! And who knew what else she might be willing to teach, if he asked?


    ¡°Good. Raff, call us when the food is done.¡±


    The warrior grunted an affirmative, and Lianhua took a step, then paused. Glancing back at Gaoda, she said, ¡°And don¡¯t send Chi Yincang after us. I¡¯ll know.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s lip raised in a small snarl, but he nodded.


    Lianhua turned back to Kaz. ¡°Let¡¯s go back down the tunnel a bit, all right? We know it¡¯s safe, since we just came from there. Would that work?¡±


    He nodded.


    Without further discussion, Lianhua strode off back down the tunnel, which curved sharply to the left. After a few yards, she paused, glared at a particularly dense patch of shadow, then nodded. As they walked a little further, she murmured, ¡°I knew Gaoda wouldn¡¯t listen.¡±


    They came to a small formation of short stalagmites. The corresponding stalactites had been broken off at some point, probably so a lopo couldn¡¯t use them as camouflage, so when Lianhua sat on the ground behind them, her face was mostly visible above and in between their pointed tips, but her lower half was completely hidden. Kaz circled around the stalagmites and joined her, though his tail ached a bit from hitting the ground when he¡¯d fallen from Raff¡¯s back earlier.


    The female sent a look down the tunnel, toward the place the males waited. Kaz was just able to see that Gaoda was glaring fiercely in their direction, a scowl twisting his face. Lianhua snorted, just a little, then turned back to Kaz and leaned forward.


    Reaching into the pouch at her waist, she pulled out the cleanest, whitest stick of chalk Kaz had ever seen. It was a smooth stick; cut, rather than made of rough stone, but when she drew the first stroke on the stone between them, Kaz had no doubt what it was.


    ¡°Usually, the first word a student learns is their own name,¡± she said. ¡°But I¡¯m going to start you off with a different one.¡±


    Kaz watched as one line joined another. She formed a symbol with quick, practiced movements. When she was done, she looked up at him, then her eyes drifted over his shoulder, coming to rest on the top of his pack.


    ¡°This,¡± Lianhua told him, ¡°is the rune for ¡®dragon¡¯.¡±

 Chapter Fifteen

    Kaz froze. How could she possibly know? ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± he tried. ¡°Why would you-?¡±


    Lianhua leaned forward, amethyst eyes intense. ¡°In many ways,¡± she said, ¡°I¡¯m nothing special. I come from a respected clan, but we don¡¯t seek power. I¡¯m attractive, but there are many who are far more beautiful. I¡¯m intelligent, but there are many who wish I was less so.¡± She glanced toward their camp.


    Looking back at Kaz, she went on. ¡°However, I have one exceptional skill; I can sense auras, even ones people are trying to conceal. Because of this, no one with power can hide from me,¡± her eyes twinkled, ¡°including Chi Yincang, though his clan is very good at stealth. I can also tell which monsters have cores.¡±


    Sighing, Lianhua shook her head. ¡°This skill makes me very valuable to certain people. If no one can hide their strength from me, I cannot be tricked into believing them weak. No one can stalk me from the shadows. And if I were to go hunting beasts, I could tell my party which monsters to slay, and which are a waste of time and resources. And, presumably, I could also pass on this gift to my children.¡±


    Kaz stared at her, uncertain why she was telling him this, but feeling the first cold spike of fear drain from him as she continued speaking.


    ¡°But,¡± she said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be the first wife of a clan leader. I don¡¯t want to live a life of luxury, never knowing who I can trust, limited in what I can and can¡¯t do. I don¡¯t want my children to be  at risk because of their ability or position, or forced into a life they don¡¯t want. So I¡¯m here. If I can find what I¡¯m looking for, I¡¯ll prove my worth, and be granted a position no one can take away from me.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±


    Reaching up, Lianhua rubbed the spot above and between her eyes where her power swirled. ¡°Because I want you to trust me. Because we both need something the other one can help us with, that we can¡¯t share with-¡±


    Her gaze slanted back to the males, who were now gathered around the fire, staring into it as males seemed compelled to do.


    Leaning forward, Lianhua said, ¡°Gaoda was sent to ¡®help¡¯ me, but he sees it as a chance to woo me away from the sect heirs. If he married me, it would greatly boost his status in his clan. I¡­ don¡¯t want that. I don¡¯t want to marry anyone. But Gaoda is in a perfect position to make sure I fail, in which case I¡¯ll be forced to marry someone, and he would like it to be him.¡±


    Meeting Kaz¡¯s eyes, she said, ¡°I need help. And you have a secret you need to keep. If you swear to do all you can to aid me, I will do the same.¡±


    Carefully, Kaz said, ¡°This secret you think I have-¡±


    He broke off as Lianhua gave him a look. ¡°You have a dragon in your pack,¡± she said flatly. ¡°I don¡¯t know how or why, but you do, and it¡¯s obvious why you wouldn¡¯t want anyone to know. All dragons have cores, even young ones, and dragon cores are very, very valuable. As it is, Gaoda Xiang is going to be a wealthy man once he returns with the cores from the hatchlings he gathered earlier. And that is going to make it even more difficult for me to escape him.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s mouth opened and closed again with a snap. Finally, he managed, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes closed, and for the first time, he realized that she had been as tense as he was, her body taut like a strung bow. ¡°I¡¯m looking for signs of an ancient race. Their civilization covered the area our Sheng empire now controls, plus a great deal more. Where I come from, many of our cities stand atop the remains of theirs, and artifacts from that time are as common as rocks.¡± She picked up a loose stone lying on the ground, tilting it toward him with a wry smile. A chunk of raw quartz glinted at him from its center.


    ¡°But in spite of that, we romanticize them, because they still remain a mystery to us. About two thousand years ago, they simply appeared in the records of other civilizations, already powerful, and rapidly expanding. Then, a little over a thousand years ago, they vanished just as suddenly. During their nine hundred years of existence, they changed everything about this part of the world, from its monetary system, to its laws, to the very language we all speak. Before them, there were a hundred independent principalities, kingdoms, empires, chiefdoms, and states. They swept over them all, absorbed them, took the best of them, and threw away the rest.¡±


    She picked up several more rocks, of varying sizes, and shook them together, rolling them out like the bone dice warriors often played with in the evenings. ¡°When they were done, the continent was united. And then they were gone. Their empire fractured overnight.¡± Calling a little power into her palm, she slapped it down into the center of the scattered rocks, sending them spinning and skittering away.


    ¡°But where did they go?¡± She asked, turning over rock after rock, looking for the piece with the quartz. ¡°No one knows. But, just maybe, they came here.¡± Reaching into her sleeve, she produced the original stone and held it out to him. ¡°If you can help me prove that, help me find any trace of their civilization in a place no one believes they lived, I¡¯ll give you anything within my power. I will protect you from Gaoda¡¯s whims. I will keep you safe if we go into battle. I will even,¡± she looked at his pack again, ¡°keep your secret, and, more importantly, help you keep it. Your dragon will need to eat, drink, and move around. When we go off to have one of these ¡®lessons¡¯, you can care for it, and after a few days, none of them will even question it.¡±


    She tilted her head, and Kaz realized she was done. He needed to reply, and he didn¡¯t know what to do. He obviously couldn¡¯t convince her that she was wrong. It was also true that he needed to care for the hatchling or free it. It couldn¡¯t stay inside his pack forever. Frankly, it was amazing the creature had been willing to stay still for as long as it had. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he needed an ally, and he couldn¡¯t trust any of the others. Raff was friendly enough, but had a callous nature. Kaz doubted the man would hesitate if Gaoda told him to take Kaz¡¯s head. Chi Yincang seemed to be Gaoda¡¯s creature, and Gaoda was¡­ Gaoda.


    Gritting his teeth, he accepted the rock, folding his fingers around it so tightly that it dug into his skin painfully. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll help you in any way I can. I¡¯ve explored far more of the mountain than any other kobold, even those in my tribe. I don¡¯t know the Deep as well, but I may be able to help. There are things, places, that have been here since before memory began. I¡¯ll show them to you.¡±


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    A brilliant smile spread across her face, and he thought her stare might burn a hole in the leather side of his pack. ¡°And?¡± she prompted.


    Reluctantly, he swung the pack around, cradling it in one arm as he worked at the leather strip tying it shut. The moment the knot released, a reptilian snout pushed through the opening, followed by spinning golden eyes. The hatchling stared up at him before letting out a demanding click and whistle.


    ¡°Shhh!¡± Kaz whispered, throwing the trio of males a panicked glance. It looked like the first janjio was done, and they were eating while Raff held the second one over the flame. They seemed thoroughly engrossed in their meal, and none of them even looked in Kaz¡¯s direction, even though the dragon¡¯s vocalization had sounded as loud as a howl to him.


    ¡°Chirp?¡± The dragon tilted its head to one side curiously.


    ¡°If you¡¯re found, you¡¯ll probably be killed,¡± Kaz told it, though there was no way it could understand.


    ¡°No ¡®probably¡¯ about it,¡± Lianhua murmured. He looked at her, and found her gaze locked on the dragon, expression awestruck.


    He reached in and grabbed the hatchling¡¯s long, slim body, gently taking it from the pack. It immediately stretched its little wings, then wound around his arm and up his shoulder before he could react, ending up perched on his shoulder, staring at the human.


    ¡°This is Lianhua,¡± he told it. ¡°She¡¯s a friend. Lianhua, this is-¡± he broke off, realizing that he¡¯d never even considered naming the little creature.


    Lianhua held out her hand, palm up, fingers flat. The dragon stretched out, taking a sniff. Its forked tongue darted out, tasting the offered digits. Just in time, he noticed its mouth opening a little too wide, and leaned back so the sharp teeth closed on air.


    ¡°No!¡± he yipped at it. ¡°No biting friends!¡±


    Lianhua had snatched her fingers back, staring at them, and now began to giggle. ¡°Oh,¡± she gasped. ¡°Oh my goodness!¡±


    He reached up and prodded his nose, which was stinging again now that he was thinking about it. ¡°What¡¯s so funny? It¡¯s small, but its bite is painful.¡±


    Reaching up, Lianhua wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. ¡°You sounded just like me when I was training Gao.¡±


    ¡°Gao?¡± He looked back at the group of males, seeing Gaoda wiping greasy fingers on a piece of cloth that would have been a family heirloom if it belonged to a kobold.


    She shook her head. ¡°Not Gaoda. Gao. He¡¯s my dog.¡±


    Kaz frowned. ¡°What¡¯s a dog?¡±


    Lianhua opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated, her cheeks growing pink. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to insult you, but¡­ Dogs are animals that look quite a lot like kobolds. They run on four paws, rather than walking on two paws, with hands above. Humans often keep them as pets.¡±


    This was another unfamiliar word. ¡°Pet?¡±


    She nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Pets are animals kept for companionship, though sometimes they have jobs, too. Gao isn¡¯t a working dog, though.¡± Her hands made motions like she was stroking something that rested in her lap. ¡°He¡¯s little, and barks a lot, but whenever I¡¯m sad, I can hold him and it makes me feel better.¡±


    Now Kaz nodded. ¡°Sometimes a pup will find a baby fuergar and keep it until the den mother finds it, or it runs away. The pup is often bitten, and quickly learns that beasts are not meant to live among us.¡±


    Lianhua wrinkled her nose. ¡°That.. makes sense. Dogs like being with us. They¡¯re smart, and loyal, and loving, and-¡± She broke off, her face growing pink again.


    Kaz tilted his head, thinking about the way she had stroked his fur earlier. ¡°If kobolds look like dogs, do I remind you of this Gao?¡±


    She groaned and hid her face in her hands. ¡°No! Of course not!¡± Peeking out between her fingers, she grimaced. ¡°But also yes. Maybe. A little.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged in amusement. ¡°It¡¯s all right. This Gao is your friend, and maybe if I look like him, that helped you decide to trust me.¡±


    Lowering her hands, Lianhua smiled. ¡°It did.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing.¡± That decided, Kaz reached up to pat the dragon¡¯s head. The reptile, who had been listening to their conversation intently, allowed the gesture, then opened its mouth wide.


    ¡°You¡¯re hungry?¡± Kaz asked, astonished. ¡°What happened to the janjio I put in there?¡± He pulled the forgotten pack toward him, reaching deep inside. His fingers touched something warm and squishy, and he grimaced, pulling it out. It was a hunk of the short, fine fur that covered the janjio¡¯s body, and seemed to be all that was left of the one he¡¯d shoved into his pack earlier. He shook it from his fingers, and as he did, the not-rock came loose from where it had been hidden inside the mess, and tumbled to the ground.


    Lianhua poked at it with a delicate finger. ¡°A seed?¡± she asked. Her forehead fur pulled down. ¡°It has an aura of its own, though.¡±


    Kaz forced himself to move slowly as he picked it up and dropped it back into the pack, ignoring its fresh coating of sticky dust. He shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was in the dragon nest, and I picked it up with the egg. It was larger then. The dragon ate part of it after it hatched.¡± He cast the hatchling a chastising glance, which it ignored.


    Lianhua looked like she wanted to ask to see it again, but just then, they heard Raff call out, ¡°Oi! Lianhua! Blue! Lunch is ready.¡±


    Both of their heads snapped around to stare down the tunnel. Raff was standing far too close to them, holding a slightly overcooked janjio, still spitted on his sword. The stalagmites should hide most of Kaz from the warrior¡¯s view, but his hands shot up, attempting to hide the dragon anyway.


    Lianhua stood up, brushing herself off even as she offered Raff a bright smile. ¡°Oh, good,¡± she said. ¡°I thought my stomach was going to start cycling ki, it was churning so much.¡±


    She stepped around the stalagmites, not even glancing back at Kaz, and made her way up the tunnel, setting her hand on Raff¡¯s arm to pull him along when she got close enough.


    When only Kaz and the dragon were left, he reached up and pulled it from his shoulder. It didn¡¯t want to come, its claws digging painfully into the skin beneath his fur. When he finally had it in his hands, he held it up and looked in its eyes while it flailed for some kind of footing. The black and white seemed more noticeable than it had when the creature was calm.


    ¡°Li,¡± he said. ¡°The sound a pup makes when it gets nipped. That¡¯s as good a name for you as any. Li, you have to go back in the pack. I¡¯ll put food in, and next time we stop, Lianhua will get us away again, so you can come out. Be patient a little while longer.¡±


    Li¡¯s tongue flicked out, and the dragon hissed, but it was more resigned than angry. When Kaz held it out toward his pack, the hatchling crawled in, though its reluctance was clear in its body language, as well as the series of hisses and clicks it muttered under its breath.


    Kaz climbed to his feet and slung his pack onto his back, feeling the dragon moving around as it tried to find a comfortable spot. When it stilled, he started to move away, but the bright white rune drawn on the ground caught his eyes. He stared at it, emblazoning each graceful stroke in his memory, before reaching out with a paw and scuffing it out into an illegible blur.

 Chapter Sixteen

    Once everyone had eaten - and Kaz stuffed half of his portion into his pack for ¡®later¡¯ - they all walked the short distance further to the passage that would take them down. They saw a few more totems, but they weren¡¯t particularly large or threatening, so Kaz just led the group around the indicated territory.


    When they had almost reached the cavern, Kaz dropped back a bit, allowing Raff and Gaoda to pass him, and waited for their reactions. He wasn¡¯t disappointed.


    Both humans stopped dead in their tracks as the ground fell away at the edge of their light. They edged forward cautiously, and Raff swore under his breath, while Gaoda simply stood, mouth agape. Lianhua moved up beside Kaz and stared out into the blackness that surrounded the colossal pit ahead of them. The only things visible after the cavern entrance were two rusty chains, about six feet out, coming from somewhere above them and vanishing into the depths.


    Raff looked back at Kaz. ¡°How big is that hole?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It narrows as you go down, but even at the bottom it¡¯s more than ten yards across.¡±


    Gaoda finally managed to shut his mouth, snorting with disdain. ¡°It can¡¯t be that large. It seems bigger than it is because of the darkness.¡± He held out his hand, and the ball that hovered by his shoulder split into two, with the slightly smaller one moving out to float above his palm. With a soft grunt, he hurled it out over the chasm. It illuminated exactly nothing but the two thick chains until it finally vanished, presumably moving too far away for Gaoda to continue feeding it power.


    Raff swore again, and Lianhua shook her head in amazement.


    ¡°Do we have to climb the chains?¡± she asked, eying them dubiously.


    Kaz shook his head, fighting a grin. ¡°Not this time.¡± Lifting his chin, he let out a long, low howl followed by four short yips. After a moment, an answering howl echoed up from the darkness, followed by a creaking sound. Ahead of them, the chains began to shift, one moving up while the other moved down an equal amount.


    The humans tensed, but Kaz held up a hand. ¡°Wait.¡±


    The creaking continued for a long time, slowly growing louder. Every now and then, other howls and yips could be heard, and sometimes the chains and the rattle of whatever was coming toward them would pause, causing the humans to look at Kaz questioningly.


    He shrugged. ¡°Must have been at the bottom.¡±


    At last, a faint glow appeared in the depths, and a cranky voice called up, ¡°I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming! You better have the fare, or I¡¯ll take your head as payment instead.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged at the familiar sound, and he called back, ¡°I like my head where it is, Ogden. If you try to take it, I¡¯ll nip you again.¡±


    The sound and the light hesitated, then sped up. ¡°Kaz? Is that you, pup? What¡¯re you doing back here?¡±


    Kaz whined softly in excitement as the top of a strange contraption came into view. It was a square metal platform with one chain attached to the center of it, moving it up and down, while the other passed through a hole beside it. A squat powerhouse of a husede stood beside the chains, hauling on the chain that passed through the platform, causing it to sway and rise a few more feet. As the light illuminated his features, he turned to look up at them, and his craggy face split into a broad smile.


    ¡°It is you, pup! I¡¯d know that fur anywhere. I thought I¡¯d seen the last of you when Idil Ironclaw chased your lot up here.¡± He pulled at the chain again, muscles rippling beneath the deep gray skin of his arms and chest, until the platform jerked to a stop, swaying slowly, still a good three feet below ground level. The man glared at it, gave the chain a ferocious yank, then ducked as a few particularly large pieces of rust broke free of the links above him.


    ¡°Eh, fine,¡± he muttered. He pulled a hooked metal bar as thick as his forearm from his belt and stuck it through the broad links of both chains at a precise angle. The bar fit perfectly, neatly preventing either of them from moving. Turning back toward the small group waiting for him, his black eyes glittered as he eyed them.


    ¡°Who¡¯re your friends, Kaz?¡± he asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen humans in a good twenty or thirty years, and they weren¡¯t exactly common then.¡±


    Kaz nodded to each human in turn. ¡°Gaoda Xiang, Lianhua, Raff, and-¡± he looked around, realizing that Chi Yincang had disappeared again. Sighing, he said, ¡°Chi Yincang is somewhere,¡± before motioning to the husede in turn. ¡°This is Ogden. We met when I still lived a few levels down.¡±


    Ogden looked amused. ¡°¡®Met¡¯, he says. You bit me!¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears drooped with embarrassment. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what you were. You smelled strange, and I thought you were in our territory.¡±


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    ¡°Eh, no harm done.¡± Ogden slapped his hand against his bare chest, the sound more like stone against stone than flesh.


    ¡°Except to my teeth,¡± Kaz muttered.


    Raff shook his head wonderingly. ¡°One of the Gray Dwarves,¡± he said. ¡°I thought you all lived far beneath the mountains, not,¡± he motioned around, ¡°all the way up here.¡±


    Ogden snorted and hooked a thumb at Kaz. ¡°The pup¡¯s mother isn¡¯t the only one who knows how to make herself an enemy or twelve. It was better for my health to go wandering for a few decades.¡± His eyes grew sharp as he focused on Kaz again. ¡°Speaking of which, how is Oda? And Rega?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s chest tightened, but he kept his voice calm as he said, ¡°Joined the ancestors. Both of them.¡±


    The husede huffed out a breath, shaking his head. ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯m not all that surprised about Oda, but I¡¯m sorry to hear Rega¡¯s dead. Sorry to hear about Oda, too, for all that she could be a hard female to like. I suppose your sister is chief now?¡±


    Kaz bowed his head and tapped his closed fist to his chest. ¡°She is, and thank you.¡±


    Ogden nodded, eyeing Kaz appraisingly. ¡°You look good. Almost as tall as me, though a bit too skinny. What¡¯re you doing here? Unless I¡¯ve completely lost track of time, which is possible, you should be about ready to go on your spirit hunt, but I don¡¯t see the mark of a warrior on you.¡±


    Kaz reached up to his throat, where a necklace made from the bones and teeth of the creatures he killed during his spirit hunt should hang. ¡°Oda said it wasn¡¯t time yet.¡±


    Ogden¡¯s black eyes narrowed, and he humphed thoughtfully, but before he could say anything else, Gaoda broke in.


    ¡°Is this contraption how we¡¯re expected to descend?¡± he demanded. ¡°It looks like it¡¯ll crumble into a pile of rust at any moment, condemning its occupants to certain death. I think I¡¯d rather climb.¡±


    Shrugging, Ogden gestured into the darkness surrounding them. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try. You can¡¯t use my chain without paying up, and about twenty feet down, the walls smooth out until they¡¯re slick as polished obsidian. They stay that way until the bottom, which is a good half mile further on.¡±


    Gaoda shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Ogden chuckled. ¡°Clearly not. You do what you like, though, so long as you don¡¯t take Kaz with you when you go.¡± He gestured invitingly to the swaying platform. ¡°You coming, pup?¡±


    Kaz looked at Lianhua, who nodded, though she looked doubtful. They stepped forward together, and Gaoda moved to stand in front of them, arms spread.


    ¡°Chi Yincang!¡± Gaoda called, and the missing human stepped silently from the shadows just beyond the light emitted by Gaoda¡¯s orb. Gaoda pointed to the platform. ¡°Make sure this thing is safe.¡±


    Chi Yincang bowed, and moved to the side of the pit so swiftly he seemed to blur around the edges. He jumped down to the platform, which creaked and swayed, but remained level. He stamped his foot, then walked across the surface, which showed no reaction except for losing a few more flakes of rust. Returning to the front, he nodded to his master, who sighed.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Gaoda said, and jumped down to stand beside Chi Yincang. Raff followed, then Kaz. Finally, Gaoda held his hand up to Lianhua. She ignored it and jumped down, landing lightly and not even making the platform sway. Gaoda glared at her back, but had his smile in place again when she turned to face him.


    ¡°Now what?¡± the gold-haired human demanded.


    ¡°Now,¡± Ogden said, withdrawing the bar from the chains and grabbing one, ¡°you tell me where you want to go, and how much you¡¯re going to pay me to take you there.¡±


    ¡°To the bottom,¡± the human said, ¡°and as for payment¡­ how much gold do you want?¡±


    The platform jerked as Ogden began lowering it, allowing the chain to slip through his grip bit by bit. Going down was faster than going up, and soon enough Gaoda¡¯s light proved the husede¡¯s words true. The walls changed from rough-hewn stone to become so smooth it seemed as if Kaz should be able to see his own reflection in it.


    ¡°What do I want with gold?¡± Ogden asked, not even breathing hard. ¡°There are gold veins twenty feet thick winding through this mountain, and hardly anyone up here bothers to dig it out. It¡¯s too soft to be useful. Better to spend time and energy mining for iron, or even copper.¡±


    Gaoda looked shocked, and Kaz said, ¡°We have cloth.¡±


    Now Ogden looked interested. ¡°Real cloth? Woven, not fur?¡±


    Kaz nodded. He looked at Gaoda. ¡°Show him the cloth you used at lunch.¡± Behind his back, he pretended to wipe his fingers with something, and Gaoda blinked. Snapping his fingers, the human motioned to Chi Yincang, who produced the square of fabric from a pouch at his waist.


    The platform ground to a halt, and Ogden slid the metal bar into the chain before stepping closer to the cloth, eyes narrowing. Looking at it, Kaz was pleased. He had only seen the material from a distance, but it had looked unstained and whole, and it was. Bright yellow, with silver thread picking out some kind of pattern in one corner, the fine weave of the fabric was of a quality rarely seen inside the mountain.


    Ogden snatched it from Chi Yincang¡¯s hand, folding it carefully and tucking it beneath the wide leather belt circling his well-muscled abdomen. ¡°Done.¡±


    Turning back to the chains, he removed the bar and set to work with renewed enthusiasm, which soon brought them to the first of the levels controlled by the Graybelly tribe. Two tall, lean warriors watched them with pale eyes until they passed, but didn¡¯t challenge them. This was repeated again on each level thereafter, until the bottom of the platform settled to the ground with a clang of metal against stone.


    ¡°That¡¯s as far as I go,¡± Ogden said, finally releasing the chain with a sigh and flexing his thick fingers. ¡°Think I¡¯ll take a break and get something to eat.¡± He stepped away from the chains, but hesitated before stepping off the platform. ¡°If you¡¯re heading deeper, you should know the Ironclaws control the stairs on this level. I don¡¯t know if any of them will recognize you, but Idil said she¡¯d kill or take any Broken Knives she saw.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s shoulders tightened. ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± he told his friend. ¡°There are no more Broken Knives. We joined with the Longtooth tribe, so I¡¯m a Longknife now.¡±


    Ogden looked surprised, but shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s interesting news, but you know what I mean. Idil won¡¯t care what you call yourself, only that you¡¯re one of Oda¡¯s pups.¡±


    Lianhua stepped in front of Kaz, lifting her chin. ¡°We won¡¯t let anyone hurt him,¡± she said. ¡°But thank you for the warning.¡±


    The husede¡¯s broad shoulders relaxed. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be off then. Kaz, I hope to see you again when you return.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged gently. ¡°And I, you.¡±

 Chapter Seventeen

    As the party followed Ogden off the platform, two guards stepped up. One was even taller than Kaz, and they each wore a gray leather breastplate. The leather was made from the skin of a yanchong, a long, boneless creature whose slime could melt almost anything. When the skin was shaped and cleaned through a process known only to the Graybellys, it became armor almost as hard as stone. In no small part, it was this armor which had allowed the Graybellys to rise to power.


    Ogden clapped Kaz on the back once more, before vanishing into the darkness of the tunnel beyond the guards. Kaz understood. This final show of friendliness was the best the male could do, short of placing the whole party under his protection. As much as he liked Kaz, the husede could lose his own life if someone he vouched for violated the Graybelly¡¯s rules, and he didn¡¯t know the humans.


    It was enough. The guards, who had raised their granite hammers, visibly relaxed, though they didn¡¯t lower their weapons.


    ¡°Name and tribe,¡± the taller one barked, looking at Kaz.


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered slightly, but he straightened his shoulders and said, ¡°Kaz. Br-¡± He shook his head. Oda had left too many enemies behind. It was probably better to use the name his sister had given their new, combined tribe. ¡°Longknife. These are humans. I¡¯m guiding them to the Deep.¡±


    The guards exchanged glances, clearly uncertain. They knew all the allies and enemies of their tribe, and Longknife wasn¡¯t among them. Plus, humans were little more than a myth to most kobolds, so there was certainly nothing in their orders about what to do with them.


    The broad hammers didn¡¯t waver, however, and at last the shorter male growled, ¡°Stay!¡± while the taller one lifted his muzzle and howled. The sound echoed up the shaft, and answering yips and barks seemed to come from everywhere. A few more calls were exchanged, and the guards lowered their weapons, though they didn¡¯t put them away.


    ¡°Come,¡± the taller guard said, turning to walk down a tunnel opposite the one Ogden had taken. Kaz obediently fell in behind him, and the humans followed Kaz, though he sensed Gaoda¡¯s impatience. The shorter guard followed behind Raff, who was at the back of the party. Chi Yincang was nowhere to be seen.


    They traveled for a good distance, and though Kaz¡¯s sense of direction was too good to allow him to get lost, he also didn¡¯t know where they were. The Broken Knives and the Graybellys had never been allies, so Kaz and the other gatherers never ventured into the tunnels marked by their totems. If necessary, Kaz could get them back to the shaft upwards, and from there he could find his way to the Broken Knives old territory, but he hoped to convince the Graybellys to let them use a path down inside their territory instead, so he didn¡¯t have to get that close to the Ironclaws.


    As they turned another corner, Kaz could hear snippets of a conversation coming from ahead.


    ¡°...bad idea. Lignan wouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°...isn¡¯t here. Ren says¡­¡±


    The speakers came into view; two more male warriors, standing guard at the entrance to a large cave that Kaz suspected was the beginning of the Graybelly den. One of them was very familiar, and Kaz¡¯s tail began to wag.


    The copper-colored male froze as he saw Kaz, and his tail swished once before he took in the humans visible behind him. Deep orange-colored eyes took in the situation, and he shook his head, sighing.


    ¡°Why is it always you, pup? What has that curiosity of yours gotten you into this time?¡± The copper male raised his hand. ¡°Pol, Nat, stand down. This is my sister¡¯s-son, Kaz.¡± He frowned, lip curling. ¡°Though the howl said unknown clan. Did Oda trade you away already?¡±


    Kaz shook his head, his words nearly tumbling over themselves. ¡°Oda and Rega have joined the ancestors. Katri is chief now. She merged our tribe with the Longtooths, and the combined tribe is called Longknife. I didn¡¯t know if you were still here, or if you would even want to claim me, so-¡±


    The male rubbed his muzzle. ¡°Calm down, pup. I¡¯m sorry to hear about Rega, and¡­ we don¡¯t get much news of upper tribes, but I know I heard Ren and Lignan mention the Longtooths. They were nearly ready to descend, weren¡¯t they?¡±


    Kaz hesitated. How much should he say about what the humans had done? Saying too much could easily make them more of a threat than an oddity, and put the kobolds surrounding them on edge again. All Gaoda would have to do was be himself, and there could be a massacre.


    ¡°Oda declared luegat against them, and now-¡± Kaz shrugged, letting the assumptions he knew the males would make fill in the lies he didn¡¯t want to speak. Quickly turning to his companions, he motioned to each in turn, introducing them. Finally, he looked back at the copper-furred male and said, ¡°This is my uncle, Kellin. He was traded to the Graybelly tribe when we lived here.¡± And that, too, left a great deal hiding behind a simple truth.


    Kellin nodded to the humans. ¡°My mate, Ren, will wish to speak to you. She was in council, so it will take a little while.¡± He looked at Gaoda, who, as always, had his ball of light hovering over his shoulder. Kaz chose not to correct his uncle¡¯s clear assumption that the human was the lead female; it was easier than convincing Gaoda to let Lianhua speak instead, if she would even want to do so.


    It took several more minutes, during which Gaoda grew increasingly unhappy, before a harried-looking female, presumably Ren, hurried out of the den. Kaz and the other males lowered their heads, and all of them but Kellin stepped back, yielding to her.


    She stopped, staring at Gaoda and the others, though her gaze lingered on Gaoda¡¯s ball of power. When she managed to look away, she said, ¡°I¡¯m told you claim to be humans. Is this true?¡±


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    Gaoda nodded, lip curled in a sneer. ¡°Yes. And I¡¯m tired of waiting. We could have been halfway to the next level in the time we¡¯ve been standing here.¡±


    The female¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°No one passes through Graybelly territory without our permission.¡± Her eyes flicked from Kellin to Kaz, but she didn¡¯t speak to either male. ¡°You say you wish to go deeper? Then perhaps we can make a deal.¡± Her lip pulled back. ¡°Recently, a rockfall closed the one passage down that lies within our territory. That leaves the stairs as the only path to the next level. Unfortunately, the Ironclaw tribe controls them, and they are demanding¡­ an excessive toll. That has left us cut off from the part of our tribe that lives on the two levels below us, including our chief, Lignan.¡±


    Gaoda snorted and waved his hand. ¡°Then what are we wasting our time here for? It sounds like we should be speaking to the Ironclaws.¡±


    Ren growled softly, making the males around her stiffen and put their hands on their weapons. ¡°You need to get to the stairs first, and that will be difficult when every Graybelly attacks you on sight.¡±


    Kaz suppressed a whimper. This was not going well. If Gaoda made the female any angrier, there would be blood. He edged closer to Lianhua before speaking to Gaoda.


    ¡°She¡¯s right. The path down I was going to have us use is only a short distance from here, but the stairs are hours away, and we¡¯ll spend nearly all that time in Graybelly territory.¡±


    Gaoda glared at him, but glanced at Lianhua before sighing and turning back to the female kobold. ¡°Fine. It seems I¡¯m doomed to do the bidding of beasts. What do you want?¡±


    Hackles lifted all around them, but Ren just said, ¡°Convince them to let you through. Take a message to Lignan. That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°I take it you don¡¯t care if there are any Ironclaws left once we do this ¡®convincing¡¯?¡± Gaoda asked with a smirk.


    She glanced away. ¡°I simply asked you to carry a message. The Graybellys have no responsibility for your actions once you leave our territory.¡±


    Gaoda clapped his hands together sharply, making everyone jump, and Kaz let out a yip of surprise. ¡°Then give me this message, and we¡¯ll be gone.¡±


    The female blinked, looking like she hadn¡¯t expected such easy capitulation. Then she shook her head and pulled a piece of vellum from beneath the broad gray belt wrapped around her middle. It was intricately folded, and a drop of fresh blood was smeared across the surface. She held it out. ¡°This is it. Deliver it, unopened, and you will have free passage through Graybelly territory for one year from the moment you place it in Lignan¡¯s hand.¡±


    Gaoda rolled his eyes. ¡°As if we¡¯ll ever return to this barbaric pile of rocks.¡± Nonetheless, he accepted the sheet and put it into his pouch. ¡°Can we go now?¡±


    Turning to Kellin, Ren gestured for him to come closer. They spoke quietly for a moment before Kellin stepped back. Someone who didn¡¯t know him wouldn¡¯t have noticed, but Kaz could see that he was unhappy. Turning to the humans, Kellin said, ¡°I¡¯ll lead you there.¡±


    =+=+=+=


    By the time the Broken Knives reached this level, they were already too weak to take any territory from another tribe, so they ended up living in the spaces between. In this case, between the Graybelly tribe and the Ironclaws. The Ironclaws were relatively new at that time as well, though they were going down, rather than up, and they hadn¡¯t yet settled in.


    Oda had seized the opportunity to claim a den with easy access to water and other resources, and Idil had been extremely displeased when she realized what she had missed out on, but she didn¡¯t yet feel confident in being able to defeat a tribe who had come up from the Deep. That had been the beginning of the antipathy between the two females.


    Kellin led them through many of the same tunnels the Broken Knife tribe had escaped through when Oda finally pushed Idil too far. While they had stumbled and taken a hundred wrong turns, Kaz¡¯s uncle now moved on swift, sure paws, never straying from the most direct route. He didn¡¯t try to engage them in conversation, either, which Kaz both regretted and was grateful for. He had missed his uncle, but he didn¡¯t really want to have to explain the details of how Katri came to be chief so suddenly.


    Several times, they came on small groups of guards or gatherers. Each time, Kellin waved the kobolds away, saying nothing. Twice, they passed through dens, smaller spaces probably occupied by a single family, and Kaz wondered what it was like to have a tribe so large that they couldn¡¯t all live together. He saw single families larger than his entire tribe.


    Kaz¡¯s paws were beginning to hurt and his belly was rumbling by the time Kellin raised his hand for them to stop. His uncle pointed to a Graybelly totem, then another, different totem slightly further down the passage ahead.


    ¡°This is the end of our territory. Kaz, you should know the way from here. We¡¯re practically in old Broken Knife territory, after all.¡±


    Kaz blinked, bringing himself back from the almost trancelike state he¡¯d allowed himself to lapse into. He¡¯d felt a bit like a young pup again, following an adult through the passages on the way to gather. It was a comforting feeling, and he felt a pang of loss as it faded away.


    He frowned as he looked around, matching the unusual shape of a cracked stalagmite to the map in his head. ¡°They¡¯ve expanded this much?¡± he asked, shaking his head. ¡°And right up to Graybelly territory?¡± Usually, unallied tribes left a good amount of unclaimed space around each tribe¡¯s territory. These spaces often helped prevent ¡®misunderstandings¡¯ if a kobold ventured too far afield.


    Kellin nodded. ¡°And more in every other direction. They said nothing, simply moved their totems further and further out, and few of our tribe ever come this way, so we didn¡¯t notice until it was too late.¡±


    He fixed Kaz with a fierce stare. ¡°Be careful, Kaz. Idil seems amicable enough, but she hides as much ambition as Oda, though without as much arrogance. Ren is¡­ not entirely sure the rockfall was natural. She fears Idil may have a reason for cutting us off from the lower levels. Don¡¯t turn your back on her.¡±


    Kaz nodded, and his uncle hesitated before clapping him on the shoulder, then turning away. He disappeared down the passage behind them, and Gaoda clicked his fingers. Chi Yincang appeared for the first time since the group entered Graybelly territory.


    ¡°You heard?¡± Gaoda asked.


    Chi Yincang nodded.


    Gaoda sighed. ¡°Who knew kobolds were worse than cultivators about stabbing each other in the back? When we get close enough, if they don¡¯t just attack us, go find this Idil and see if she¡¯s as bad as they say.¡± He looked at Kaz. ¡°What happens if we just kill her?¡±


    ¡°It depends,¡± he said, reluctantly. ¡°The Ironclaws are much stronger than the Longtooths. They¡¯re not used to yielding. If Idil has an heir, everyone in the tribe will unite behind the new chief and try to kill us. If she doesn¡¯t have a clear heir, or if there are factions within the tribe, everyone will panic and try to kill us. Plus, the deeper we go, the more the tribes talk to each other, and if word gets out that you¡¯re killing chiefs, every kobold in the mountain will try to kill us.¡±


    The human clicked his tongue. ¡°So annoying. Fine. Chi Yincang, don¡¯t do anything but gather intelligence without a direct order.¡±


    The dark-furred human nodded again and vanished. Gaoda flicked his wrist at Kaz, and the group moved forward again.

 Chapter Eighteen

    Idil had guards roaming the passageways, and this alone told Kaz she was ready for battle. Generally, warriors guarded the den, the chief, the gatherers, and the most direct passages to the center of a tribe¡¯s territory. Only when they believed there was an imminent risk of attack would warriors be sent out to simply wander, looking for any sign of invaders.


    Unfortunately, the humans made far more noise than the defenders, so it didn¡¯t take long for them to walk directly into a group of six kobolds, who were already waiting, claws bared. The Ironclaw males fought using sharp metal sheaths on each finger. Shorter ones capped their toes, and these, combined with their sharp teeth, nearly guaranteed that anyone who got into a hand-to-hand fight with them would come out on the losing side.


    The males had set an ambush just around a sharp corner, and Raff nearly tripped over one of them. The warrior immediately struck out, his claws screeching over the human¡¯s heavy metal armor. Sparks flew, Raff¡¯s fist shot out, and Kaz heard a crunch as the kobold¡¯s head whipped around. His body fell to the floor, limp, and the other five males stepped back, expressions shocked.


    They gathered themselves quickly, however, and one of them yipped sharply at another one standing in the rear. That one turned and tried to run, only for Chi Yincang to appear, driving a blade into his back. He yelped, then fell to join his companion in unconsciousness or death.


    Everything happened in an instant. Raff¡¯s fists shot out to grasp two more males and bash their heads together with a crack. One of Gaoda¡¯s energy balls took a third kobold, and Lianhua nocked a blazing arrow, its tip nearly touching the nose of the last warrior, who promptly dropped to the ground, his toe-sheaths ringing against the stone as he crouched, hands over his head. Looking more closely, Kaz could tell that this one was barely older than himself, and this was probably his first battle with anything other than beasts.


    The young male folded his hands over his head, whimpering, and Lianhua lowered her arrow slightly. As soon as he saw she was no longer ready to shoot, the male launched himself at her, claws outstretched, ready to slice her open. Raff was still distracted by his three victims, checking to be certain they were out of commission, while Gaoda produced a new orb to replace the spent one. Chi Yincang had disappeared again, leaving only Kaz close enough to defend the human female.


    As usual, Kaz had crouched down during the battle, just trying to stay out of the way while the humans fought. This left him in much the same position as the Ironclaw male, and he threw himself at the other kobold with a snarl. Pushing a tiny bit of power into his arms and legs, he hit the male with the force of two kobolds. The male grunted explosively, but swung his claws at Kaz¡¯s exposed side. Kaz clamped his arm down, catching the Ironclaw¡¯s forearm and hand between his own empowered arm and his side.


    The claws dug into his flesh painfully, but the male couldn¡¯t slash him, which prevented the greatest part of the potential damage. Realizing this, the Ironclaw swung at Kaz¡¯s other side. Kaz couldn¡¯t dodge without releasing the first hand, so he used his greater reach to thrust a powerful blow against the male¡¯s shoulder, meanwhile hooking his own paw around the other¡¯s, pulling his leg out from under him. Off balance, the male went down, and Kaz shifted his grip, grasping the arm he held so he could flip the other¡¯s body in mid-air, leaving the Ironclaw face-down on the ground with Kaz¡¯s knee in his back.


    The male struggled mightily, but he had no chance against Kaz¡¯s power-strengthened muscles. Kaz himself was a little shocked, since he¡¯d only been in one real battle before, when Oda had him pretend to be an adult warrior and participate in the luegat against the Longtooths. Then, Kaz had had a stone knife, which had shattered against the hard shield of one of the defenders, leaving him unable to do much except defend himself for the rest of the fight.


    Unsure what to do now that he had subdued the male, Kaz looked up, only to find all three visible humans staring at him. Lianhua looked shocked but pleased, Raff had a broad grin on his face, and Gaoda¡¯s eyes were narrow, his expression calculating.


    Raff walked over and grasped the defeated warrior by the scruff of his neck, pulling him out from under Kaz¡¯s knee and lifting him up to dangle in the air like a pup. The dazed male swung his claws at the human¡¯s face, but his claws just slid off Raff¡¯s armor, leaving no mark. Raff reached out and flicked the kobold in the center of his forehead. Hard. The male yelped again, and his body grew limp. Raff dropped him on the ground, looking unimpressed.


    Gaoda stepped forward, his lip curled in distaste. ¡°Do we need this? Or should we just kill it and continue on?¡±


    Kaz stood shakily, pressing a hand to his wounded side, and said, ¡°As a defeated warrior, you can kill him, take him, or return him. Since we haven¡¯t declared vara on the Ironclaws, we should let him go, but these warriors shouldn¡¯t have attacked us, either. We¡¯re in their territory without permission, but they should have brought us to their chief, or another female, to decide what to do with us. Killing warriors without cause will only make Idil angry, though, and word will spread that we¡¯re not to be trusted.¡±


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    Gaoda hummed thoughtfully, nudging one of the fallen warriors with his foot. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s without cause, but I don¡¯t care. You¡¯re the only one this trash could even injure.¡±


    Startled, Kaz looked over at Lianhua. He knew she wasn¡¯t pushing power into her body like she had when they climbed down the chain, so he had assumed that she was as vulnerable as he was. But maybe that wasn¡¯t true?


    Lianhua nodded, looking awkward. ¡°I¡¯m only at initial Tin rank in body cultivation, but that¡¯s enough that small blades like these wouldn¡¯t do much. A scratch or two maybe, if they got a good strike in on my bare skin, but my fuulong silk would prevent even that.¡±


    Kaz realized he had risked himself for nothing, and dropped his chin, gritting his teeth in shame. A slender hand holding a square of deep amethyst fabric extended itself into his lowered vision, and Lianhua said gently, ¡°Thank you, Kaz. Will you let me treat your wound?¡±


    ¡°Cousin!¡± Gaoda said, shocked.


    Kaz looked up to see Lianhua, hand still extended, glaring at the gold-furred male.


    ¡°He was injured protecting me,¡± she said. ¡°Just because it was unnecessary, that doesn¡¯t make it any less brave. And he¡¯s shown his loyalty, so you should stop treating him like a cheap bauble you picked up in a market.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s lips thinned, but he looked away, shrugging. Lianhua gently pressed the material against Kaz¡¯s side, and splotches of red quickly spread over the purple. Kaz flinched, seeing yet another priceless piece of cloth ruined.


    Lianhua pulled her hand back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Did it hurt? This handkerchief is silk, and it will help prevent infection and scarring.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a waste. You shouldn¡¯t-¡±


    She clicked her tongue. ¡°I have a dozen just like it, and more at home. Would you rather leave it to bleed?¡±


    He whined slightly as she pressed harder on the small wound. ¡°We pack injuries with moss and zhiwu webs, when we have them.¡±


    Lianhua looked intrigued. ¡°Do you have any? One of my interests is in the study of indigenous medical practices, especially those of people who have not been influenced by-¡±


    ¡°Cousin.¡± Gaoda¡¯s tone was long-suffering this time, and pink flooded Lianhua¡¯s cheeks. She pulled her hand back, watching for fresh blood, and nodded when there was none.


    ¡°That¡¯s better, I think,¡± she said. ¡°Though you probably shouldn¡¯t do any more fighting today.¡±


    He nodded, but as she turned away, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll find some for you.¡±


    She turned back, looking startled. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The moss. We¡¯ve walked past a lot of things I would normally have gathered, but you humans are always in such a hurry, so I didn¡¯t try to get any. I can, if you want, though the webs are much harder to come by.¡±


    Lianhua smiled. ¡°Maybe at our next lesson, you can teach me something as well.¡±


    He nodded, tail wagging, and they both jumped as Gaoda cleared his throat loudly. ¡°Come on. Do you know where the stairs are or not?¡±


    Kaz turned in the direction their attackers had come from. ¡°That way. We¡¯re close. But if Kellin is right, and Idil is intentionally preventing them from reaching the lower levels, she¡¯ll probably have even more guards stationed there. There may even be females.¡±


    Gaoda waved this concern away. ¡°Just get on with it. If each level of this mountain takes a full day to traverse, we¡¯ll never reach the bottom.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Kaz said, ¡°The heights will take the longest. Up here, ways through are rare and often poorly maintained. When we get to the mid-levels, there¡¯s one main route everyone takes, so they can pass as quickly as possible. There are multiple sets of stairs on each level once we reach the Deep, so it will go quickly so long as we can convince the tribes that control them to let us pass.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± the human muttered, ¡°then let¡¯s be on our way. I¡¯m tired of trying to avoid angering a bunch of furry savages.¡±


    Kaz looked down at the bodies on the ground. ¡°I doubt if that¡¯s an option any more,¡± he admitted, reluctantly. ¡°As soon as someone finds these warriors, every adult member of the Ironclaw tribe will be looking for us.¡±


    A little smile twisted Gaoda¡¯s mouth, and he glanced sidelong at Lianhua. ¡°So, we can just kill them all, and it¡¯ll make no difference?¡±


    ¡°Gaoda!¡± Lianhua said. ¡°You promised you wouldn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Kill anyone we didn¡¯t need to,¡± he said, waving away her words. ¡°But you heard your pet kobold. They¡¯ll be trying to kill us, and I didn¡¯t hear you objecting when we defended ourselves from this lot. We¡¯d just be defending ourselves first.¡±


    Lianhua turned to look at Kaz, but he shook his head. ¡°Idil won¡¯t let the deaths of five warriors pass without retaliation. If she is really trying to take on the Graybellys, she can¡¯t afford to show any weakness. The females of her own tribe will turn on her if they¡¯re not convinced she can win.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s eyes glittered. ¡°Let them come. Blue, take us to the stairs.¡±


    So, Kaz did.


    They met four more groups of guards. Twenty warriors fell, much as the first ones had, without even a howl to mark their passing. Gaoda, Chi Yincang, and Raff didn¡¯t even give them enough time to swing their silvery claws before they cut them down. By the time they reached the stairs, Kaz wondered how many more warriors could possibly remain.


    Until he saw them arrayed at the top of the stairs, red light gleaming from hundreds of argent talons. They stood in groups of twenty or twenty-five, each led by a female. Kaz quickly counted ten groups, then lost track as the kobolds shifted, tension rising from them in an almost visible cloud.


    At the very front stood an aged female, gray fur and maroon mingling equally. She held a tall staff made of some dully gleaming metal, and as he watched she raised it and her muzzle high, howling wildly. With a roar, the kobolds flowed down the stairs.

 Chapter Nineteen

    ¡°What in the name of Pellis is going on?¡± Raff demanded, staring after them.


    Everyone turned to look at Kaz, and he shook his head, snapping his jaw closed when he realized it was hanging open. ¡°Idil must have declared vara on the Graybelly tribe. She used the rockfall to separate their leader from the majority of her forces, and now she¡¯s going to kill Lignan. If she succeeds, she can take at least the two lower levels from the Graybellys, and use the captured resources to launch an attack on the ones above. If she does it right, Kellin, Ren, and the others won¡¯t even see it coming, but Idil will still be protected by tradition, since she announced her intention to the tribe¡¯s chief.¡±


    Gaoda looked impressed. ¡°This Idil sounds like a semi-competent tactician. I¡¯m almost glad we don¡¯t need to kill her after all. Now!¡± He clapped his hands together as if squashing a cave gnat. ¡°Where¡¯s the next staircase?¡±


    Kaz stared at him. ¡°You promised Ren you¡¯d take her message to Lignan.¡±


    The human shrugged. ¡°Well, that was then. Now that the Ironclaws have so conveniently gotten out of our way, let¡¯s just get on with it, shall we?¡±


    Drawing in a deep breath, Kaz let it out slowly, but his mind was busy churning through options. ¡°There is another set of stairs below this one,¡± he admitted, and Gaoda grinned until Kaz went on. ¡°But it¡¯s blocked. A great stone fell and shattered it long ago, and it¡¯s almost impossible to get through.¡±


    Gaoda snorted. ¡°Almost? If you kobolds can make it, we can as well.¡±


    ¡°Can you turn to mist?¡± Kaz asked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°There is a narrow space through which a small kobold can pass. I crawled through it once, when the Broken Knives and the Ironclaws were still allowed to pass through each other¡¯s territory, so long as we didn¡¯t disturb anything. One of the Ironclaw pups told me there was a cave full of glowing stones on the other end, and I believed him. It was so tight that by the time I realized how far I¡¯d gone, I couldn¡¯t turn around or go back. I simply had to continue, though more than once I thought I would die there.¡±


    He was vastly understating the abject terror he¡¯d suffered for unknown hours on end. Lost in blackness, with no idea if the tight passage through which he slithered would simply end, he had cried and called for his family, but no one could hear his howls.


    ¡°When I did reach the end, there was no cave, just another tunnel, and another staircase. I couldn¡¯t bear to return the way I¡¯d come, so I wandered until I met a Graybelly male. Fortunately, most tribes will return lost pups without claiming them, and he showed me how to get back to our level. I actually met Ogden as I was wandering home, and I was so confused and frightened that I bit him.¡±


    Lianhua looked horrified, but Gaoda just demanded, ¡°And what is the point of that story?¡±


    Kaz looked pointedly at Raff¡¯s bulk, then each of the other humans, all of whom were larger than any adult kobold. ¡°Unless you can shrink to the size of a pup, or Chi Yincang can carve away hundreds of feet of solid stone, we¡¯ll have to use the passage in Graybelly territory. It¡¯s part of the one Idil blocked, so we can only hope it hasn¡¯t also collapsed. As far as I know, those are the only two paths down on the next level.¡±


    Gaoda gritted his teeth. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go to the Graybelly passage, and kill anyone who gets in our way.¡±


    ¡°Which will be everyone,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Right now, anyone who isn¡¯t a member of their own tribe is an enemy. You¡¯ll have to murder dozens or even hundreds of kobolds.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lianhua said, firmly. ¡°Gaoda, you promised.¡±


    Gaoda forced a conciliatory smile. ¡°Of course. Then we¡¯ll just wait. We can negotiate with whoever wins.¡±


    Kaz shook his head again. ¡°You heard Ogden. Idil still hates Oda. If she wins, she¡¯ll deny you passage, or even try to kill us, just because I¡¯m with you.¡±


    The human waved that off. ¡°Just claim you¡¯re someone else.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t work, either,¡± Kaz told him. ¡°My fur marks me as Oda¡¯s son. Blue-furred kobolds are rare even in the Deep, and I haven¡¯t met another since we passed the mid-levels.¡±


    Lianhua was watching Kaz, her gaze thoughtful, and now she said, ¡°We already have the message from Ren. If we aid Lignan, and deliver that, she¡¯ll certainly grant us passage, and maybe a safe place to sleep for the night. I¡¯m tired, and I could use a bath.¡±


    Gaoda managed another smile for the female, and nodded. ¡°Of course, cousin.¡± He looked at Raff. ¡°Kill any Ironclaws you see,¡± he told the warrior, before slanting a smug smile at Lianhua. ¡°You won¡¯t mind that, right, cousin? We¡¯re just making sure this Lignan knows we¡¯re¡­ friends.¡±


    Her shoulders tightened beneath her robe, but she nodded. ¡°Of course not, Gaoda Xiang.¡±


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    =+=+=+=


    The stairs were long, but before they were halfway down, the sounds of battle could be heard. Metal claws clashed with stone hammers, and howls of pain and victory alike echoed up the steps. They found the first dead kobold sprawled across the bottom steps. He was a Graybelly guard, his gray breastplate mostly intact, but the rest of his body was all but torn apart. His partner lay just a little further on, and Kaz hoped he had been able to send up a warning howl before he was taken down.


    After that, there was a short stretch of empty hall, though streaks of blood marked the stone beneath Kaz¡¯s paws, but they followed the sounds of battle to a large, open cavern. Here lay carnage. Bodies were scattered tail-deep in places, and as Kaz watched, a female launched a ferocious missile of pure power toward another female, knocking her back and breaking her concentration. The shimmering shield surrounding her and her guard fell, and the kobolds surrounding them howled in triumph as they flooded forward.


    Raff instantly waded into the fray, his sword taking out one or two Ironclaws with each swing. Chi Yincang appeared just long enough to strike an enemy down, then leaped into a shadow, vanishing again an instant later. Gaoda¡¯s ball of light split into four pieces, and one of them circled him protectively, while the other three shot out, usually passing right through an unsuspecting female after shattering her shield, though occasionally it splashed into nothingness instead, only to be reformed a moment later.


    Now that Kaz knew Lianhua didn¡¯t need his protection, he let his vision shift into that other sight, watching the flow of¡­ What had Gaoda called it? Ki? Was that the same as Raff¡¯s ¡®mana¡¯? Or was the gray stuff mana, and ki only the purified colors some people could pull from it?


    Always before, Kaz had been terrified to be caught using power, so he¡¯d never dared watch any of his tribe¡¯s females work, not that he¡¯d allowed himself to maintain enough power to shift his vision. Now, he watched with fascination as dozens of females used their power.


    The first thing he noticed was that all of them had cores. The solid masses of power in their abdomens were subtly different from Lianhua or Gaoda¡¯s spinning balls of ki, even from the distance at which Kaz stood. However, most of their channels were filled with gray power, like Raff¡¯s, rather than being differentiated into streams of individual color. The narrower their channels were, the less power could flow, and the weaker their attacks were.


    One of Gaoda¡¯s energy balls splashed uselessly against the shield of an Ironclaw female with particularly clear pathways, allowing far more power to course through the cycle between her belly and her head. Kaz pushed a little more ki into his eyes, and saw that she was one of the ones with strong lines of color running through the gray.


    Her shield flared as two more balls impacted it, and each time he saw power drain from her cycle to feed the shield. On the third blow, the demand was greater than the amount of ki still flowing through her, and her shield shattered. As a nearby Graybelly female took advantage of the moment to send an attack at her, taking her down, Kaz wondered why the Ironclaw hadn¡¯t simply pulled more ki from her core, cycling it faster to produce enough power to maintain her shield.


    Slowly, Kaz¡¯s group made their way through the carnage, and the Graybellys, realizing these strangers were helping them, moved out of their way. At first, there were more Graybellys on the ground than Ironclaws, but as they moved further in, Ironclaw bodies began to outnumber Graybellys two to one.


    And then they found Idil battling a Graybelly female Kaz assumed was Lignan. He had never seen the Graybelly chief before, but her ki was the purest he¡¯d seen so far, and her channels the widest. She even had a spiral spinning slowly behind her eyes, as did Idil.


    Idil¡¯s ki was mostly red and yellow, not quite shining bright enough to qualify as gold. Lignan was full of yellow and white ki, which flowed quickly up her backbone before being spun quickly through the node in her head, where whatever she needed was pulled out, and the remainder sent back down to her belly. This seemed to be far more efficient than those females who pulled directly from their channels, and both Idil and Lignan appeared to have a vast amount of energy. Their battle would likely be won through endurance and skill, rather than sheer, overwhelming power.


    Kaz saw one of Gaoda¡¯s ki orbs blast toward Idil, and Kaz grabbed the human¡¯s arm. Gaoda immediately shook him off, throwing Kaz to the floor and knocking the breath out of him with no apparent effort. He did, however, stop what he was doing and look down at Kaz, so Kaz desperately struggled to pull air back into his lungs.


    ¡°What?¡± Gaoda snapped.


    ¡°Lignan¡­ has to win¡­ herself,¡± Kaz gasped. He drew in a few more breaths, and was finally able to speak clearly. ¡°None of you can help her directly, or it will weaken her position within her clan, and among the chiefs of other tribes.¡±


    He saw that Gaoda was unconvinced, and hurried on. ¡°If you help, she¡¯ll be angry, and may refuse to aid you. She certainly won¡¯t let you rest here.¡±


    The human snarled, but said, ¡°Fine.¡± Raising his voice, he called out over the battlefield, ¡°Chi Yincang, Raff, leave the leader!¡±


    Raff yelled back a cheerful acknowledgement, never slowing in his destruction of the few remaining Ironclaw males. Chi Yincang didn¡¯t say anything, but he also didn¡¯t go after Idil. Gaoda turned his attention to the last of the females wielding the signature metal talons. Judging by the power coursing through their channels, these were Idil¡¯s strongest subordinates, and many of them had varying amounts of different colors mixed into the gray fog that filled them. One even had a rough ball of power in the center of her forehead, though its spin was so sluggish as to be nearly useless.


    As the fighting around them slowed, Idil and Lignan both seemed to become aware that something had changed. They glanced around, and Kaz could see Lignan stand straighter, even as Idil¡¯s tail and ears tucked down tight against her body. Still, she didn¡¯t give up. Since she had declared vara, an open battle by the full tribe, rather than luegat, a closed, ritual battle between only a few selected members, she couldn¡¯t retreat. She would either win, or die.


    Lignan, whose cycle had been beginning to slow, seemed to find strength in the knowledge that she was now surrounded by her own tribe members. The ball of power in her forehead spun faster than that of any kobold Kaz had seen yet, pulling threads of white and yellow so pure they almost matched the gold and silver the humans wielded.


    Meanwhile, Idil¡¯s ki turned dark, losing much of its color. The spiral in her head¡­ wobbled.


    Which was the moment Lignan struck. Her core flared to a brilliant ball of light, shedding gray fog as the threads of silver and gold became dense cords. Her shields dropped as she poured every bit of her power into one final blast, which slammed into Idil¡¯s smoky gray shield, shattering it, and then going on to impact with the maroon female¡¯s chest, blowing her off her feet. She yelped pitifully, and then it was done.

 Chapter Twenty

    Cleanup would take days, even with every available member of the tribe working at it, but explanations took far less time. Once Gaoda handed Ren¡¯s note to the exhausted but triumphant Lignan, the chief easily extended them an invitation to rest in the Graybelly den. She also sent runners back up the stairs to let Ren know matters had been resolved, but that she would need to send warriors to take the Ironclaw non-combatants in hand after their tribe¡¯s defeat.


    After that, Lignan, Kaz¡¯s party, and most of the injured kobolds made their way back to the main den, and a great quantity of fast but filling foods were prepared. Kaz received his gladly, but the humans stared at theirs with dismay.


    ¡°Kaz? What is this?¡± Lianhua held up a skewer containing chunks of meat interspersed with hunks of fungus, moss, and jiyun grubs, one of Kaz¡¯s favorites.


    He pointed out each piece. ¡°The fungus is probably Kobold¡¯s Ear, which is common on these levels, but it might also be toufa, which is pretty good if you peel it properly. I think the meat is fuergar, and the moss is jiao. It¡¯s spicy, so it¡¯s fine if you throw it away. The bugs are jiyun, and they¡¯re really good. The outside turns crispy when you cook it, but the inside liquifies, so they pop when you bite into them, and they¡¯re just a little bit poisonous, so they make your mouth tingle.¡±


    The humans all turned varying shades of green, except for Chi Yincang, who bit into one of the roasted insects and chewed expressionlessly. Raff, Gaoda, and Lianhua all declared that Kaz was welcome to their jiyun, which confused but pleased him. Gaoda wasn¡¯t inclined to be generous, so the gesture made Kaz think slightly better of the human.


    Once the party had eaten as much of the food as they wanted, which didn¡¯t seem like nearly enough to Kaz, who was starving after the long day and small lunch, Kaz took the leftovers and stuffed them into his pack. Seeing this, Lianhua stood, patting herself free of crumbs and dust.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for your next lesson, Kaz,¡± she said briskly, and Kaz scrambled to his feet as well.


    Gaoda looked displeased, but acquiesced more easily this time, and soon Lianhua and Kaz were safely inside the hut Lignan had assigned to her. The chief had been generous, and each human had their own hut, though she hadn¡¯t been quite sure what to do with a lone pup of another tribe. He should never have been allowed to stay overnight at all, and he certainly didn¡¯t rate his own hut, even if he was traveling with the humans. Lianhua had attempted to convince Gaoda that Kaz could sleep with her, but Raff had been forced to make room for their kobold guide instead. For now, however, Kaz and Lianhua could use her hut for a private lesson.


    As soon as the stretched leather door fell shut behind them, Lianhua settled to the ground in the center of the hut and pulled her chalk from her pouch. Leaning forward, she sketched out a rune, then tapped it, muttering a word. Kaz blinked into his special vision, and saw a dome of light spring up around them, merging with the taut leather walls of the hut.


    ¡°There,¡± Lianhua said, ¡°now we can talk without being disturbed.¡±


    Kaz sat down across from her, studying the rune. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do that last time?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Someone who¡¯s sensitive to ki will know I used some. Gaoda would have been suspicious if I did it last time, but this time he¡¯ll assume I don¡¯t want the other kobolds to overhear us.¡±


    He nodded, his finger hovering over the soft white lines. ¡°Could I¡­ do this?¡±


    Looking thoughtful, Lianhua tapped her finger on her chin. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You do have a core, which is very strange for a male, but maybe male kobolds from the Deep have cores, if rarely? I don¡¯t know that anyone has ever studied the matter.¡±


    She looked like she might wander off into one of what Gaoda called her ¡®scholarly fugues¡¯, so Kaz prodded her with another question. ¡°Having a core means someone can use runes?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It means they have access to ki, not that they can use it. A lot more goes into cultivation than just being able to touch the essence of the universe.¡± She shook her head sharply. ¡°But, more importantly, you should let out your little friend.¡±


    He knew by the look in her eyes that she really just wanted to study the dragon, but she was right, so he tugged at the strap that tied his pack closed. Once again, the moment there was enough room, the creature¡¯s narrow head poked out through the opening. Seeing Kaz, it hissed angrily, though that anger was somewhat diluted by the crumbs and smears of grease on its snout.


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± he murmured, reaching in to give it a surface on which to climb. It did so promptly, once again returning to its perch on his shoulder, where it nipped his ear with needle-like teeth. He yipped in pain, then growled at it. It looked thoroughly unrepentant.


    Lianhua giggled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t like being stuffed in a bag all day, either. I think I may have figured out a solution, though.¡± She reached into the pouch at her waist, pulling out a pair of gleaming gold rings, which she held up, turning them so he could see the runes glittering along their interior surface.


    ¡°These are disguise rings. My grandfather gave them to me before we left. They swap the appearance of the two beings wearing them. My attendant, Yingtao, and I were both supposed to carry one. The idea was that if someone attacked us with the intention of kidnapping me, we would trade places, so she would be taken instead.¡± Her lips pinched. ¡°I took them both back as soon as we were out of sight of the city. Yingtao is barely at mid-Refining, while I¡¯m early Foundation. She¡¯d never be able to escape, even if the kidnappers didn¡¯t realize what had happened and kill her immediately.¡±


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    Kaz stared at the rings, but couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Where is she now?¡±


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°She became very ill shortly before we started up the mountain. Fortunately, Raff knew a good healer, but no matter what he did, he could only maintain her condition, not cure her completely. The healer said he would continue to study her illness and try to formulate a remedy, but we were forced to pay for her treatment and leave her behind. We¡¯ll pick her up on the way back.¡±


    Kaz nodded. That was better than he¡¯d feared. ¡°So now you have the rings. How does that help Li, though?¡±


    Lianhua looked startled, then pleased. ¡°You named the dragon after me?¡±


    He opened his mouth to deny it, then closed it again. Why did it matter if he had or hadn¡¯t, so long as believing he had made her happy?


    Smiling, Lianhua handed Kaz the rings. ¡°Place one ring on Li, and the other on some less-conspicuous creature. Once its appearance has changed, we¡¯ll claim it¡¯s your pet, and you can keep it out of the pack. Since the dragon likes to sit on your shoulder, you should probably pick something small enough that Gaoda won¡¯t question it.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s mind immediately turned to the baby fuergar that kobold pups occasionally tried to bring home, but he shook his head, trying to give her back the rings. ¡°Won¡¯t Gaoda and the others be able to tell it¡¯s a false appearance? Besides, these will never stay on the dragon. Even if I could get one on its leg, it¡¯d just get too small as the beast grew.¡±


    Moving faster than Kaz could without feeding power into his hands, Lianhua took the rings from Kaz¡¯s outstretched hand, slipping one onto his finger, and one onto her own. Instantly, the human female shrank, growing dense blue fur, a tail, and ears. Kaz stared at ¡®himself¡¯, shocked, then raised his own hand, turning it so he could examine the pale, furless skin. A feeling of deep revulsion came over him, and he tried to yank the ring off, but it was stuck fast.


    Lianhua pulled off her own ring, instantly transforming back into her human shape, and held the innocent-seeming golden circle up. ¡°I have the master ring. After all, we wouldn¡¯t want the sacrificial pawn to be able to save themselves by revealing the truth, would we?¡± She laughed bitterly, and reached out, tugging off Kaz¡¯s ring as well.


    ¡°The rings were made by a Formation-level artisan. No one under that level can see through it, and Gaoda is only early Foundation, like me. They resize themselves according to the wearer¡¯s needs, and they also carry both a minor protection and a minor regeneration function. The runes only work so long as both bearers are alive, so keeping the servant healthy makes sure the master has plenty of time to flee.¡± She set the rings back in Kaz¡¯s hand, closing his fingers around them.


    ¡°Put the servant ring on a small beast next time we stumble across some. The ring will help the beast survive at least long enough for us to reach the Deep, and possibly much longer, especially if you do it soon, while the threats it may face should be easily repelled by the ring. Meanwhile, you¡¯ll become the first kobold to ever have a pet.¡±


    Kaz was still uncertain, but he noticed the dragon edging its way down his arm, its eyes locked on his hand. Its little forked tongue flickered in and out, as if it could taste the rings.


    ¡°Which is the master, and which the servant?¡± he asked, shifting the rings to his other hand as the dragon started pushing its nose against the crease of his fist, trying to get at the rings inside. It hissed at him distractedly, but scurried back up his arm so it could cross his shoulders and try to reach the rings again.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Lianhua¡¯s face pinkened. ¡°Of course you can¡¯t tell.¡± She waited as he shifted the rings back to the original hand, prompting another hiss from the dragon. As Kaz held his hand out, she pointed at one of the rings. ¡°This is the mas-¡±


    The dragon launched itself at the rings, leaping from Kaz¡¯s left forearm to his right hand, where it snatched the master ring up with its mouth and promptly tried to swallow it. This apparently didn¡¯t count as ¡®wearing¡¯ it, because the small creature began to choke, giving Kaz enough time to pry its mouth open and fish the ring from its throat with a claw.


    ¡°No!¡± he barked at the dragon, who glared at him with eyes that were mostly silvery-white, with barely any gold or black visible.


    Holding up the ring, Kaz slid his finger through, then took the ring off again. The dragon tilted its head to one side, gold color flooding its eyes, and held out one of its legs. Carefully, Kaz slipped the ring on, and it shrank until it nestled snugly against the dragonling¡¯s soft, scaly skin.


    The dragon made a sound that was something like a high-pitched rumble, and Lianhua gasped.


    ¡°Dragons can purr!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m certain no one ever knew that before. Oh, I¡¯m going to be able to write the best treatise on dragons ever. I can already tell you ten things everyone from Wen Cuifen to Han Mei got wrong!¡±


    The dragon was holding up its other foreleg, looking from the remaining ring and back to Kaz. He tucked the circle of metal into a pouch tied to his belt.


    ¡°That one is going on a fuergar as soon as I get a chance,¡± he told Li, who hissed at him. He shook his head at the dragonling. ¡°If you ever want to get out of my pack, that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be.¡±


    The pale gold head tilted one way, then the other, as if weighing the options, then the little ribcage heaved in a sigh as the dragonling climbed back up to his shoulder.


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve read old scrolls that claimed dragons were intelligent, but the ones that come to ravage our lands are rarely smart enough to tell a poisoned sheep from a healthy one. Certainly, none of them have shown signs of understanding spoken language.¡± Her lips twitched to one side. ¡°Not that the people who meet them usually say much after the screaming starts.¡±


    Kaz turned his head to look at the dragon, which was now sitting on his shoulder, its foreleg raised so it could admire its new jewelry. It certainly seemed to know what he said, and he thought back to when it first hatched. It had truly been like a wild animal then, and just like a pup who tried to catch a fuergar, he had been bitten. That had all changed, however, after he cleaned out its energy channels, and his eyes narrowed as he remembered the strange black tendrils that had clogged the power node in its forehead.


    Reaching out, Kaz picked up Lianhua¡¯s chalk from where it lay beside the rune she¡¯d drawn. Carefully, he sketched out the symbol he thought he¡¯d seen as his and the dragon¡¯s merged cycle had pushed the blackness from its body. It was wobbly, and he thought some of the trailing parts had probably been attached at one point, but he didn¡¯t know how.


    ¡°Do you know what this says?¡± he asked.


    Lianhua looked at it, tilting her head much like the dragon had. ¡°It looks like a couple of different runes written on top of each other.¡± Her fingers traced a few lines, smearing them away, and she held out her hand for the chalk. Kaz gave it to her, and she redrew the smudged lines next to the original ones.


    Touching the new rune, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what this one says. If it closed here and here,¡± she touched two of the dangling lines, ¡°it might be ¡®fish¡¯. If it was open here,¡± another spot, ¡°it could be ¡®honey¡¯, or maybe ¡®slurp¡¯.¡± She laughed. ¡°Honestly, there are a dozen things I could see in it, if I tried.¡±


    ¡°This one, though.¡± She looked back at the first rune. ¡°It¡¯s an archaic form, but I¡¯m pretty sure it says ¡®silence.¡¯¡±

 Chapter Twenty-one

    Sleep was hard to come by that night. Kaz was tired, but his mind was filled with thoughts of dragons and rings, while his nose was filled with the scent of hundreds of strange kobolds. Every time his eyes would drift closed, a smell or sound would reach him, and he would start awake again. He didn¡¯t know when he finally fell asleep, but it was long after the den had grown silent, and most of the females had allowed their lights to go out.


    He woke to the scent of food being cooked, and the sound of voices. Raff was awake as well, sitting up and stretching in his bedroll. A melodic chime rang out, and he realized that was what had driven him from sleep. It was a sound that reminded him of childhood, when his tribe had had luxuries such as a bell to awaken them from sleep, rather than the howling that came after Oda traded their bell away.


    Raff rolled onto his knees and began packing up his bed. ¡°That the breakfast bell, Kaz?¡±


    Kaz blinked. He hadn¡¯t thought the human remembered his name. ¡°Yes,¡± he said, but sighed. ¡°Probably. It would have been in my tribe, but this¡­ isn¡¯t.¡±


    The big human slung his bedroll across his back and looked at Kaz, his eyes surprisingly sympathetic. ¡°You homesick?¡±


    Kaz frowned. He wasn¡¯t sure what ¡®homesick¡¯ meant, but if he took it apart, he could make an educated guess. He shook his head. ¡°No. Kobolds move a lot, unless they can hold a territory large enough to have renewable resources. Besides, I¡¯ve always known I¡¯ll probably be traded away once I reach adulthood. Katri will need a strong mate, and before you¡­ Before, the best way to get one would have been to conquer another tribe and take their males, or trade one of our own. We were too weak to conquer anyone worthwhile, in spite of Oda¡¯s ambitions, so it was nearly inevitable that I would be used.¡±


    Raff stood as straight as he could, though his neck was still bent awkwardly. ¡°Would you get some say in where you went, or who you ended up with?¡±


    Kaz glanced away, shrugging. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t really matter. I would protect her, father her pups, and help the tribe, until I grew old or fell in battle.¡±


    Moving to the door, Raff pushed it open. He hesitated, glancing back. ¡°Sounds like a poor excuse for a life t¡¯me. ¡®Course, most people back home expect something pretty similar. That¡¯s why I became a merc. I¡¯d rather live my life doing what I want than letting other people tell me what to do. That¡¯s just me, though.¡± With a final shrug, he moved out into the den, letting the door fall shut behind him with a thud.


    Kaz stared after him. That was easy for the human to say. He was strong. Strong enough to make his own way in the world. Plus, Kaz and the other pups were the best resource the Broken Knives had left. Trading males was used to forge connections between tribes, and without him¡­


    Without him, what? Katri already had a mate, or would as soon as the ceremony was complete. She led a whole tribe, full of strong warriors and young pups who would grow up to support her own daughter someday. She didn¡¯t actually need Kaz anymore. Other than the power that he wielded, he was nothing special, and even his own sister might have him killed if he revealed just how different he was from the others.


    But what else could he do? He was a male kobold. No male would ever truly be able to choose his own path so long as he lived inside the mountain. The only reason he was able to roam without being killed or claimed was because he was with the humans. Once they left, he would need a tribe. All he could do was try to find a female and a tribe he actually liked while he was on his journey. If he returned to Katri, she would mate him to Moru, who had made it clear she wasn¡¯t interested in him. A life with a mate who hated him truly sounded like a miserable one.


    Standing, he shook his head. What was he even thinking? Katri was his chief, and males did as their chief instructed. Surely, no decent tribe would even want an utterly unknown male, anyway. He would take the humans as deep as he needed to in order to help Lianhua find evidence of her lost civilization, and then he would return to his tribe. To the Longknives, since the Broken Knives no longer existed.


    A deep pang stabbed through him at that thought, but he shook it off, opened the door, and walked out into the Graybelly den, following his nose toward breakfast.


    =+=+=+=


    After eating, the party was allowed to pass to the next level, where they found that Lignan had passed word ahead to the tribes on the next several floors that they should be allowed through. Thanks to that, and another deep passage that required climbing down another ancient chain, they were ten levels deeper by lunch, and even Gaoda was pleased with their progress.


    For once, Kaz had been looking forward to seeing the ever-present fuergar scurrying out of their way in the darkness ahead, but because they were able to use stairs and passages controlled by the local kobold tribes, the rodent population was so tightly restricted that none appeared. Then, Gaoda wanted to eat quickly and continue on, refusing to allow Kaz and Lianhua a moment of privacy, so Kaz couldn¡¯t even let the dragon out to stretch. He was at least able to slip it some food, though that left his own stomach growling unhappily.


    As soon as their meal was over, they were on their way again. Kaz remembered levels mainly based on which tribes were there and what the passages up and down looked like, so it wasn¡¯t until he found totems marking Bonewater territory that he was able to orient himself, shivering at the close call. The Bonewater tribe was strong and vicious, and even Oda had given them a wide berth. They controlled the only stairs on that level, but there were two other passages down, and once Kaz led the humans away from the Bonewaters, he paused indecisively.


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    Gaoda heaved a long-suffering sigh, staring at Kaz. ¡°Are you lost already, Blue?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I just don¡¯t know which way to take you.¡±


    ¡°The very definition of ¡®lost¡¯,¡± Gaoda muttered, rolling his eyes.


    Kaz glared back. ¡°Do you want to go the easy way, or the hard way?¡±


    The humans exchanged glances.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t ¡®the easy way¡¯ the obvious answer?¡± Lianhua asked.


    Kaz scratched at his ear. ¡°The easy way is exactly that; easy. We¡¯ll go down one level, and then it¡¯s a little ways to the stairs, which are controlled by the Bittergrub tribe. They¡¯re open to trade, so we should be able to go down again easily enough. That puts us on a level almost entirely controlled by the Tailcutters, though, and when my tribe passed through there, their leader was¡­ difficult. If anyone tries to settle on their level, she has them killed. No luegat, no vara, just death in the night. We¡¯ll probably have to fight our way through.¡±


    ¡°And the hard way?¡± Raff prompted.


    ¡°We skip all of that. Drop eight levels in one go. It¡¯s the biggest level jump in the heights. We¡¯ll only have another ten to go before we hit the mid-levels, and things get quite a bit more difficult.¡± Kaz drew in a deep breath. ¡°But there¡¯s a lopo breeding ground at the bottom. We can¡¯t avoid it, since the shaft will literally drop us right into their cavern. And there¡¯s no chain, probably because no one ever uses this passage. The walls aren¡¯t sheer, though, so we should be able to find handholds, and possibly even ledges where we can rest.¡±


    Gaoda was looking at Kaz like he was stupid. ¡°Then let¡¯s go that way. If it¡¯s faster, it¡¯s the obvious choice.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°Lopo are the deadliest hunters at the top of the mountain. They¡¯re camouflage hunters, hiding among the stalactites on the ceiling. They have tentacles that can stab their prey, hook it, and pull it up to be eaten. Their skin is like stone, and because they live up high, it¡¯s next to impossible for anyone without power to take one down. Arrows just bounce off them. The only good thing is that once they reach breeding age, they¡¯re no longer mobile, so kobold tribes learn where they are and just avoid them.¡±


    Raff nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of these. The little ones move around, slowly, so you can think a passage is clear, then go back a few days later, and find yourself stabbed by a dozen stone spears. The big ones, we usually do the same as the kobolds, and just avoid ¡®em. They don¡¯t have any valuable parts, so there¡¯s no point risking your life fighting something you can just go around.¡±


    Nodding, Kaz said, ¡°But if we use the long drop, we¡¯ll have to fight them, at least enough to get out. The big ones will be restricted to their cavern, but the little ones could be anywhere. That¡¯s why most kobolds will break off stalactites in their territory, so if a new one shows up, they know it¡¯s trouble.¡± He looked around at them, still torn. ¡°I¡¯d never suggest it if I hadn¡¯t seen you fight, but you might be able to do it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Gaoda said, lip curling, ¡°we can. Now, stop talking and start walking.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered at the tone of the human¡¯s voice, but he nodded. Turning to the right, he took the first branch toward the lopo nest. They weren¡¯t far away from the shaft down, but then, Kaz had already known which choice Gaoda would make. The human was as arrogant as Oda in his own way, and would take any opportunity to prove his superiority over the denizens of the mountain.


    About five minutes later, Kaz said, ¡°We¡¯re almost there. Two more right turns and a left, and that¡¯s it. If we turn left here, though, it¡¯ll take us to the easy way. This is our best chance to-¡±


    Gaoda clicked his tongue derisively. ¡°We¡¯re going this way,¡± he said. ¡°Chi Yincang! Scout ahead.¡±


    As Chi Yincang melted into the shadows, Gaoda picked up his own pace, and Raff and Lianhua lengthened their strides to keep up.


    Kaz hung back, until he was walking alongside Lianhua. He side-stepped slightly, causing her to almost stumble over him, which left them both a few paces behind the others. As she turned to make sure he was all right, he caught her eyes and tipped his head, slowing even further. She looked confused, but stayed with him as the males forged ahead.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking for ruins, right?¡± Kaz murmured softly, once he was sure the others were out of earshot. ¡°Artifacts of the ancients?¡±


    She glanced at Gaoda¡¯s back, then nodded eagerly. ¡°Are there some where we¡¯re going?¡±


    He hitched his chin slightly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying. There really are lopo down there, and they are dangerous. I¡¯ve seen Chi Yincang jump twenty feet and slice through stone, though, so as long as they don¡¯t catch us on their hooks, we should be fine. But the cavern they live in used to have a staircase in it. It¡¯s one of the shattered ones, so we can¡¯t use it, but kobolds have found strange things in that area, and one old Bittergrub showed me a medallion he claimed he found right before a lopo ate his brother. He also claimed he saw a building standing in the center of the cavern, but whether that¡¯s true or not¡­?¡± He shrugged.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes were bright. ¡°It¡¯s a possibility, though! My first clue!¡±


    Kaz nodded, his tail beginning to wag gently as he saw how happy she was. ¡°We have to survive the lopos first though,¡± he cautioned.


    ¡°Cousin!¡±


    They turned at Gaoda¡¯s exclamation, and Kaz realized they had trailed along behind the humans without really paying attention to where they were. Yawning in the stone floor ahead of Gaoda was a gaping pit, and on his face was suspicion.

 Chapter Twenty-two

    Lianhua smiled brightly, hurrying forward. ¡°Kaz was just telling me a little more about these lopo. It sounds like you and Chi Yincang shouldn¡¯t have any problem with them.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s expression cleared, and his chest puffed out. ¡°Of course not. They¡¯re just low-grade beasts. We¡¯ll go down first, and clear them out before you even get there.¡±


    Lianhua hesitated. ¡°Are you certain, Gaoda? It seems wiser to-¡±


    Gaoda waved away her concern. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll show you that I¡¯m a man you can count on, cousin.¡±


    The female¡¯s smile froze in place, but she nodded. ¡°Of course, Gaoda Xiang.¡±


    Turning, Gaoda pointed down into the depths of the pit. ¡°Chi Yincang already went in. I¡¯ll follow, and you three start down after five minutes or so. That should be plenty of time for us to clear out this infestation.¡± He focused on Kaz. ¡°Do you need Raff to carry you again?¡±


    Kaz flashed back to the horrible experience of Raff pulling power directly from his core, and shuddered. ¡°No, thank you.¡± He held up his taloned fingers. ¡°I can climb down a slope without aid.¡±


    Raff looked relieved. ¡°That¡¯s good. I was worried you¡¯d fall off, there at the end. I¡¯ll go down ahead of you, and if you start to slip, I can grab you.¡±


    Kaz wanted to protest that he¡¯d be fine, but he knew arguing was futile. He just wouldn¡¯t slip, and that fact would speak for itself.


    Gaoda walked to the edge of the black hole, and the light from his ki ball flared, illuminating the long slope inside. It was too steep an angle to walk upright, so they would need to climb down on all fours, though unless some part of it became much smoother than what he could see, finding grips wouldn¡¯t be difficult.


    The human, of course, couldn¡¯t be bothered to go down the normal way. With a ¡®watch this¡¯ glance at Lianhua, Gaoda set his feet on the rocky slope and began to bound down it, quickly disappearing into the depths.


    Raff sighed. ¡°I suppose I have¡¯ta do that now, too,¡± he muttered. ¡°Pellis curse him.¡± Lifting his light stone, he stepped out after Gaoda, though he slid more than jumped, maintaining his balance through a demonstration of impossible dexterity as he stepped over the small bumps and crevices that should have tripped him up.


    As the last of the light faded, Lianhua held out her hand, concentrating. Kaz had begun keeping a bit of ki in his eyes whenever there wasn¡¯t a risk of being seen by a kobold female, not wanting to miss anything about the myriad ways the humans used their power. Now, he watched as a rune formed of golden ki flashed into existence over Lianhua¡¯s palm. Half a heartbeat later, it flooded with a light so brilliant both of them were left blinking.


    Lianhua cleared her throat, glancing sidelong at Kaz as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. ¡°Ah, sorry. That¡¯s why Gaoda usually controls the light. Part of establishing a good foundation is learning ki control, but he¡¯s actually better at it than I am.¡±


    She sounded crestfallen, and Kaz hesitated. When she and Gaoda were together, Kaz could clearly see that while the ball of light in her chest was a fair bit smaller than Gaoda¡¯s, both the pathways through which her ki flowed and her head and belly nodes were larger and clearer. He wasn¡¯t so sure that her control was lacking, just that she had more power to control in the first place. Should he tell her so? But surely she already knew, and if she didn¡¯t, what would he reveal about himself by speaking?


    In the end, the moment passed as Lianhua pushed ki out to her hands and feet until they were enveloped in a golden glow. She pulled her robe up, tucking it into her belt so it wouldn¡¯t get in her way, before sliding her toes into some of the crevices the males had jumped and stepped over. Lowering herself over the edge, she looked up at him, and he quickly followed.


    =+=+=+=


    The climb seemed endless. Kaz sank into a sort of stupor as his body moved automatically, hand over hand, paw after paw. After one of his claws snapped off in a particularly tight crack, he, too, pushed ki into his fingers and toes, though he did it slowly, stopping as soon as he felt the draw begin to exceed what his core was producing. After all, he¡¯d already discovered that he could overtax his ki channels by trying to pull too much power from them at once.


    When he picked up the dragon egg and the not-rock Lianhua had called a ¡®seed¡¯, he had hoped to use them to replace the plants and small animals he used to drain his overflow of power. They were doing an admirable job of that, to the point that the bonds joining them were so strong that he wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if he severed them, or even if he could. They also took up so much of his ki that he had very little left over to boost his strength or senses.


    Since joining the humans, there had been several times when he needed to push power into his eyes or nose, and he could definitely see the use of reinforcing his muscles and skin. If he could speed up his cycle again, as he had done while saving the dragonling, could he produce more power? If he could learn to control it, as Lianhua said, maybe he could make only what he needed, when he needed it? Of course, there was always the danger that he might go too far. What if he did manage to speed up the cycle, and then couldn¡¯t make it go back to the way it was?


    Surrounded by the warm light of Lianhua¡¯s orb, with ki reinforcing his grip, and hundreds of feet yet to descend, Kaz turned his vision to the brilliant flow of power running through him, starting with the bonds between himself, the dragon, and the seed.


    The thin, pulsing link to the seed seemed exactly as it had been last time he looked. His power poured down it like a waterfall coursing over stone, falling into an empty chasm lit only by a miniscule spark of ki. He could tell the thing was alive, in some distant, dormant way, but the small flicker of power inside it still didn¡¯t cycle, or even swirl like Raff¡¯s foggy mana. He had a feeling that what it took from him was barely enough to maintain it in its current state, and he could spend the rest of his life feeding it without ever seeing a change.


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    When he turned his attention to the dragon, however, Kaz was shocked. He didn¡¯t know when it had happened, but the little creature had formed a second link to him. It was only a tiny, fragile thread, leading from the node in its head directly to the one in his, but it was very definitely there. Even more importantly, instead of his power flowing into the dragon, this filament completed a cycle between them. Ki flowed from Kaz¡¯s core to the dragon¡¯s core, up the channel to its head, where a minute trickle returned to him, merging into his own power, streaming down the channel that ran along the front of his body and back into his core.


    Kaz prodded the thread with his mental attention, and it hummed like a plucked cord. The dragon wriggled in his pack, hissing, and Kaz quickly pulled back. The link seemed undamaged, but the dragon was definitely unhappy with his action, and his own head throbbed painfully for a few moments.


    This was¡­ concerning. Kaz couldn¡¯t keep the dragon, but what would happen when it came time for them to part? He had hoped that when the creature finally flew away, simple distance would attenuate their bond until it dissolved. Or perhaps when the creature matured, it wouldn¡¯t need his power anymore, and it would naturally sever the connection. But if their cycles fused, how could they ever be separated?


    He ¡®looked¡¯ at the node in his head, though how he could see something that existed behind his own eyes, he had no idea. Still, there it was, and he found that when he focused, he could see the exact spot where the dragonling¡¯s ki met his own. The small influx actually did cause a tiny ripple, almost an eddy of power, pushing his cycle just a bit faster, until the energy spread out and was absorbed in the rest of the flow.


    What should he do about it? Judging by the way the link between their cores had grown from a thread to something half the width of his smallest finger, it was entirely possible that this connection, too, would continue to develop. No matter how painful it was to them, should he try to tear it apart? Not at that moment, of course, but perhaps once the humans had gone to sleep for the night?


    As Kaz considered his options, he was pulled back to the present when he felt his paw come down on something soft and warm. He nearly yelped as he yanked the limb back, before realizing he had stepped on Lianhua¡¯s hand. Craning his head around, he looked down the slope, barely able to make her out below him. She was staring down into the blackness beneath them, and for once, it seemed she had heard something he hadn¡¯t.


    Fighting.


    Somewhere not too far below them, the other humans were battling, and judging by the sounds, he didn¡¯t think it was going quite as well as Gaoda had assured Lianhua it would.


    Edging to the side, Kaz lowered himself a few more feet, until he was next to Lianhua. ¡°What should we do?¡± he asked.


    She shook her head. ¡°Not you. Me. I¡¯m no warrior, but I was taught to defend myself, and my ki bolts can strike anywhere I can see. I¡¯ll go ahead. You wait until there are no more sounds of fighting, and then come down.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t like it, but he knew he would only be a liability. He could use a knife, and, to some extent, his bare hands, but he had no distance attacks at all. That was why lopo were one of the few monsters that females were needed to fight.


    Lianhua shifted her hands and feet, turning so she was facing mostly away from the wall. ¡°I am not happy about this,¡± she muttered, releasing her death grip and pushing her body up so she was standing on the steep slope the same way Raff had. Instantly, she began to run, nearly tripping over herself as she struggled to avoid simply falling down the steep incline.


    Taking her radiant orb and leaving Kaz in complete darkness.


    Kobolds had excellent low-light vision, and could see quite well given any source of illumination at all, including the faint light cast by glow-worms and bioluminescent plants. The complete void that now surrounded Kaz was something he had rarely experienced, and when he had, it was usually in places that were so well known to him that he might as well have been able to see.


    But this? So soon after Kaz had recounted the tale of crawling through a pitch-black tunnel toward almost-certain death, this darkness took his breath away. His muscles spasmed, fingers clenching in the crevices they gripped, and his belly pressed tight against the stone. A moment before, he had been completely confident in his ability to continue his climb, but now his heartbeat roared in his ears, drowning out the sound of metal on stone still echoing up from below.


    Light.


    He needed light. Even a little. The tiniest flicker would be enough, but he had nothing. Most kobolds carried a bundle containing oil-soaked moss that could be used to create a fire in an emergency, but the little dragon had eaten it along with almost everything else in his pack. Not that he could have gotten it out, much less struck a spark, at the moment.


    In the darkness, the brilliant colors of his ki blazed even brighter, and Kaz realized he might have one way to create light. He cast his mind back, trying to remember the rune that had appeared in the air right before Lianhua¡¯s orb had ignited. It was a curve with an open base, and two strokes sweeping up, crossed by another that widened as it passed from left to right.


    He pictured it, a faint, hazy mark in the darkness, and threw energy at it in the same way he¡¯d once fed power to the moss in the dragon¡¯s cave. Ki surged, but found no purchase in the blurry rune, which faded like smoke in his mind¡¯s eye. The power roiled back into the flow of his cycle, only to be shunted off into the dragon and the seed as it nearly overflowed his channels.


    His body trembled, but he forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. Tightening his focus, he tried to build the rune again. He imagined the pure, white chalk Lianhua used, and drew each line of the rune with great care. Once it was done, he could tell that while the edges of it weren¡¯t nearly as crisp and clear as Lianhua¡¯s had been, it was far better than his first, panicked attempt.


    Though¡­ there was something not quite right about it. He felt his eyes squint as if he were looking at something real, instead of an insubstantial mark hanging in utter darkness. He had only seen the rune for a brief moment, but it had burned so brightly, he was certain he had envisioned it correctly.


    And it was still wrong.


    He felt something pluck at his mind, thrumming along that singular, delicate strand that bound his mind to that of the dragon. Another line formed, branching from the widening crosshatch as if he¡¯d given his wrist one last flick at the very end. As soon as it was complete, the whole thing seemed to shimmer with a sense of finality.


    Kaz thought about what Lianhua had said about control, and instead of flooding it with every bit of power he could pull from his channels, he ¡®touched¡¯ the open curve, gradually filling it like he would a part of his own body.


    And there was light.

 Chapter Twenty-three

    Kaz¡¯s light was a small, flickering thing. It looked like a flame, rather than the pure, clear light of both Gaoda and Lianhua¡¯s ki. Still, it was enough. He could see his hands, and the craggy slope down which he crawled. The sounds coming from below didn¡¯t sound quite so ominous, and he no longer felt like something lurked in the darkness, waiting.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Kaz pushed himself away from the rock, resuming his movement downwards. Without Lianhua¡¯s reassuring presence, he couldn¡¯t slip back into that trance-like state that had allowed him to look within himself, but that was fine. He didn¡¯t know how much farther he had to go, but surely it wasn¡¯t more than a hundred feet or so, given how clear the sounds of battle had become. He could distinctly hear the humans calling to each other, and the occasional grunt or yell.


    ¡°...can¡¯t you do anything?¡± That was Gaoda¡¯s voice.


    ¡°They¡¯re too high up. If I can¡¯t reach ¡®em, I can¡¯t hit ¡®em.¡± Raff said, sounding frustrated.


    ¡°Chi Yincang! There!¡± Lianhua called, and a flash of light illuminated the shaft from below.


    A strange, gravelly screech followed, along with Gaoda and Raff¡¯s shouts of triumph.


    ¡°One left!¡± Gaoda called. ¡°Raff, draw it out.¡±


    Looking down over his shoulder, Kaz saw Lianhua standing on the ground at the bottom of the pit, holding her empty bow, her eyes locked on something above and to her right. It was only another nine or ten yards to the ground, but now that he was close enough, Kaz could tell the shaft ended a good twenty feet above her head, leaving him only another two or three yards to traverse.


    Kaz¡¯s light flickered, guttered, and went out as he stopped feeding it power, but the radiant glow of Lianhua¡¯s orb made up for the loss. The world dimmed, but Kaz¡¯s surroundings didn¡¯t fall back into darkness, so he just continued climbing down, though he wasn¡¯t sure what he would do when he reached the bottom.


    Lianhua dodged to the side as a gray spike the width of her arm flashed through the spot where she¡¯d been standing. Kaz froze in place. That was a lopo tongue, but it was by far the largest he¡¯d ever seen. Still, the barbed shape and the way it moved were distinctive, so he had no doubt what it was.


    As Lianhua jumped, she nocked and aimed a ki arrow, shooting it back in the direction from which the tongue had come. A second arrow followed the first, but Kaz could tell by the frustrated look on her face that she hadn¡¯t dealt the lopo a serious blow.


    Kaz¡¯s lower paw scratched at the slope, then dangled into space before he pulled it up. In that instant, a much smaller gray spike stabbed through the air where his paw had been, scraping against the edge of the shaft and breaking free a few chips of stone. These fell on Lianhua¡¯s head, and she flinched back, turning her bow toward the new threat.


    When she saw Kaz crouched at the end of the tunnel, an expression of near-panic filled her face. ¡°No! Stay there!¡± Her voice was thin, but Kaz¡¯s claws bit into the stone in response.


    A second small lopo tongue quested toward him, curling up around the lip of the tunnel opening. The hooks on the end glistened with the paralytic poison the lopo produced, and Kaz scrambled away from it. He knew from experience that the tongue could stretch to three or four times the length of the lopo¡¯s body, and he had no idea how large or far away this one was.


    A burst of light pulsed from Lianhua¡¯s bow, and an arrow flew toward Kaz, striking just out of sight against the ceiling of the cavern below him. A creature squalled, and the tongue thrashed, its barbs catching on the fragile edge of stone around the lip of the opening through which Kaz stared. To his horror, another, larger chunk of stone tore away, tumbling toward Lianhua, who stepped to the side, out of its way. The rock cracked to the floor, shattering into several larger chunks, and apparently drawing the attention of the large lopo again.


    One of the huge gray tongues appeared again, lashing out at the human female, and this time she didn¡¯t manage to dodge completely. She had been watching Kaz as he scrambled to find new footing, and only turned her head when Raff shouted her name. She immediately rolled, but the tongue clipped her, spinning her around and making her tumble to the ground. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t impaled, but she lay there, trying to catch her breath.


    Raff appeared, his sword slashing through the air as yet another tongue struck out at the fallen female. The weapon sliced through the tongue, severing the tip so it fell, writhing on the floor. Raff kicked it away and turned his back on Lianhua as she shakily pulled herself to her feet. He held his weapon at the ready, fending off two more attempts by the lopo to stab and pull up one or both of the humans.


    Kaz¡¯s heart was pounding in his chest, but he turned his body around so his head hung down toward the open hole. Cautiously, he extended a hand into open air, then yanked it back. Nothing happened, so he tried again, letting the limb remain for a few rapid heartbeats this time. Then, satisfied that the lopo that had been trying to get him was either dead or distracted, Kaz poked his head down, into the cavern below, taking in everything he could during the moment before he retreated once again.


    The cavern ceiling was absolutely blanketed in stalactites. How many of these were lopo, and how many were innocent mineral deposits, Kaz didn¡¯t know, but even in his brief glance, he had been able to see tentacles hanging limply from the splayed-open tips of at least a dozen lopo the humans had already killed. All of the dead ones were three to five feet long, which was about what Kaz had expected. Unfortunately, the same couldn¡¯t be said of the one that was attacking the humans.


    The thing was easily three yards long, by far the largest lopo Kaz had ever seen. He had no idea how many tongues the thing had, but at least a dozen were waving around, though several were shorter than the others, looking like they had already met Raff or Chi Yincang¡¯s blades.


    Chi Yincang was leaping through the air as nimbly as ever, his weapon striking out at the lopo, but it looked like he couldn¡¯t get past the tongues to reach the monster itself. For some reason, Gaoda was hiding behind a stand of stalagmites, rather than shooting his ki balls at the creature, while Raff was just standing, though he was clearly ready to attack anything that came close enough. The situation seemed to be at a standoff, with the humans unable to attack the lopo directly, while the lopo couldn¡¯t get past the human¡¯s impenetrable defense.


    The blood was gathering in Kaz¡¯s head, making it pound painfully, so he turned around again, desperately trying to figure out what to do. He couldn¡¯t get down without help, but even if he survived the fall, there was nothing he could do to help. He¡¯d seen Oda and Rega kill a few small lopo, but they just threw what he now thought of as ki at them until they died. He had ki - at least he was fairly certain that his power was the same as that of the humans - but he didn¡¯t know how to use it the same way they could, even if he was willing to reveal his abilities to them.


    ¡°Kaz!¡±


    Blinking, Kaz focused on Lianhua again. She held her arms out invitingly, indicating that he should jump to her. Raff had caught him from such a height once before, but the female was so much more fragile-looking than the tall male, Kaz thought the impact might crush her, killing them both. She looked confident, but Kaz found that he wasn¡¯t, at least not enough to convince his hands to release the stone wall.


    Lianhua waved her arms in a ¡®come on¡¯ gesture. ¡°Kaz! We¡¯re going to retreat. Jump down so we can run for it.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Blue,¡± Raff called from behind her, fending off another attack before throwing a look up at Kaz. ¡°Gaoda¡¯s out of mana, and I think even Chi Yincang¡¯s slowin¡¯ down.¡±


    ¡°Shoot through the mouth,¡± Kaz yelled back. ¡°That¡¯s its weakness!¡±


    Raff let out a snort that carried all the way to Kaz. ¡°Y¡¯think we haven¡¯t figured that out? There¡¯re too many tentacles in the way, and it¡¯s not like we need to kill the thing anyway. Come on!¡± His sword whipped out, blocking the blow of yet another tongue. He didn¡¯t manage to cut through it this time, though, and sparks flew as his metal blade slid along the rough surface of the appendage.


    Kaz was baffled. The humans had seemed so powerful. How could Gaoda ¡®run out¡¯ of mana? He didn¡¯t have a core, but surely he could just keep pulling in more of the gray energy that seemed to fill the air around them. Why couldn¡¯t Chi Yincang simply slice through the tongues, reducing them to stubs, then strike deep into the lopo¡¯s defenseless gullet? Raff had no long-range attacks, and Lianhua¡¯s arrows didn¡¯t seem to be able to deal any real damage to the lopo¡¯s stone-like tongues, and she couldn¡¯t shoot past them, into the monster¡¯s maw.


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    A tongue slid down Raff¡¯s sword, wrapping itself around his hand, where its barbs tried to bury themselves in his skin. It slipped away as Raff shook it off, but Raff swayed a little as he looked up at Kaz and growled, ¡°Come now, or stay behind!¡±


    Kaz drew in a shaking breath, but released his grip on the wall, allowing his body to slide down over the steeply slanted surface, though he was unable to prevent his hands from grasping at the lip of the shaft at the very last moment. His claws scratched at the stone, breaking off a few more chips that fell beside him.


    As the moment stretched, his eye caught one, and it glinted like the crystal in the stone Lianhua had used to represent the lost civilization for which she searched. The shard of rock tumbled end over end, hanging in the air beside him until his body impacted Lianhua¡¯s arms, and time sped back up. The stone dropped out of his sight, clattering against the limestone floor.


    Lianhua set Kaz¡¯s paws down with a soft grunt, and he looked up to see that her face was pale. She pressed a hand against her side as she gave him a pained smile. ¡°One of those tentacles grabbed my leg when I landed, and then you saw that last one hit me. No serious damage, thanks to my silks, but it hurts.¡±


    Raff raced by, grabbing Lianhua and Kaz and tucking them under his arms as he passed. ¡°No talking,¡± he panted, ¡°just running.¡± His feet seemed to drag, a far cry from his usual dexterity, and Kaz felt the arm wrapped around his waist trembling. Still, the human ran on, though Gaoda soon passed them, with Chi Yincang close behind him, bounding backward as he whirled his weapon, holding off the tongues stabbing at them.


    As soon as they were out of reach of the monstrous lopo, Raff unceremoniously dropped Kaz onto his tail, then lowered Lianhua more gently to the ground before falling to his knees. Kaz scrambled to his feet, staring at the human, whose position brought his face down nearly to Kaz¡¯s level. Now that he was this close, Kaz could see that Raff¡¯s face was covered with tiny scratches, as was every other section of exposed skin. Glancing around, Kaz noted similarly oozing superficial wounds on all the males, though Chi Yincang had noticeably fewer.


    Gaoda sat down abruptly, his blue silk robe so heavy with dust that it drooped, instead of seeming to float in the motionless air as it usually did. A puff rose from him at the impact, leaving the cloth noticeably cleaner, though the dust quickly resettled on Gaoda¡¯s hair and skin, turning him nearly as gray as the lopo.


    He glared at Kaz. ¡°Did you forget to tell us a few things about these lopo, kobold?¡±


    Kaz blinked, but refused to shrink back. ¡°I tried to warn you. You said you could handle it.¡±


    Raff snorted, and Lianhua nodded, though even she looked a little uncertain.


    Seeing the looks the humans directed at him, Kaz edged away from them. ¡°I was right behind you! If you were overwhelmed, and I somehow survived, I¡¯d have had to try to get home on my own. We¡¯re too deep, with too many enemies behind us. There¡¯s no way I could make it without you.¡±


    Lianhua sent Kaz an apologetic glance and nodded with more confidence, while Raff finally put away the sword Kaz had only just noticed he was still holding. Chi Yincang was as silent as ever, but Kaz no longer felt menace emanating from him.


    Gaoda huffed out an angry breath. ¡°Fine. But next time, tell us when the karma-cursed monster has poison, and that its skin is impervious to ki-attacks.¡±


    Kaz had nodded at the first point, but froze at the second. ¡°But it¡¯s not.¡± He looked around at them all, seeing their pallor, and taking in their many small injuries. ¡°There¡¯s a paralytic in their saliva, but you said nothing here could hurt you, and I¡¯ve seen females kill them with power before.¡±


    ¡°How, exactly?¡± Lianhua asked.


    Kaz closed his eyes, thinking back. The first time he¡¯d seen a lopo up close had been during one of the many times the tribe had to retreat after losing a luegat. The monsters were rare to the point of being extinct in the Deep, because none of the powerful tribes would allow a young one to survive until it reached breeding age, and every inch of the lower levels was controlled by one of those tribes. There had been several lopo in the mid-levels, but Oda somehow knew where they were, and guided the Broken Knives around the beasts each time. It wasn¡¯t until they reached the heights that they actually confronted one of the things.


    Vul, Bik¡¯s father, and one of the last strong males in the tribe, had been impaled and pulled up into the darkness at the top of a particularly large cavern. The tribe had to pass through the cavern in order to reach the unclaimed territory where Oda planned to settle, and they couldn¡¯t just let it pick them off one by one, so Rega threw a light up toward the ceiling, and when the lopo sent out a tongue to stab at it, Oda hurled power directly into its open mouth.


    Frowning, Kaz flipped through the pages of his memory, seeing the other three times Oda or Rega had killed a lopo. Each time, they lured it into opening its mouth, then fired power deep inside the creature through the opening.


    ¡°The mouth,¡± Kaz said. ¡°The skin is nearly invulnerable once they reach their full size, so you have to hit the throat.¡± He opened his eyes, looking around at the humans. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you couldn¡¯t use power on the skin either. Neither Oda nor Rega ever even tried it.¡±


    Raff sighed, and his arms went limp, so he fell flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Several stalactites hung above them, but they were all small enough that even if they were lopo, their tongues wouldn¡¯t be long enough to reach the party. Young lopo usually preyed on large insects, then flying creatures like janjio and lanma, not ground-dwelling creatures.


    ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you know a cure for this paralytic, then, Blue?¡± he asked, slurring slightly. ¡°I¡¯m resistant to poison, but I haven¡¯t felt this weak since I was a kid.¡±


    This Kaz had an answer for, and he nodded eagerly. ¡°Firemoss. It¡¯s the same thing we use for torches, if we get lost in the dark. Kobolds carry some with them at all times.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s eyes lit up, and his hand darted out, aiming for Kaz¡¯s pack. Kaz yelped, barely managing to dodge thanks to the effects of the lopo¡¯s paralytic slowing the human. ¡°I don¡¯t have any!¡± He spread his arms, backing away. ¡°I, um, used it on the way down here. You all left, and it was dark, so¡­¡± He shrugged helplessly, and Gaoda¡¯s teeth ground audibly.


    ¡°What good are you, then?¡± the human mumbled, but turned to look around them instead of trying for the pack again. ¡°Where does this firemoss grow?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°Everywhere. It has to be near water, but it doesn¡¯t care how much. If there¡¯s even the tiniest trickle, there¡¯s probably some firemoss nearby.¡± He turned to point back into the deeper area of the cavern, where the huge lopo had fallen quiescent, once again simply looking like a larger-than-normal stalactite.


    ¡°There¡¯s probably some in there somewhere,¡± he told them. ¡°Rega said stalactites form when water seeps through the stone, so each stalactite represents a spot where water has been dripping down for hundreds or thousands of years. The lopo hide among stalactites, so some of them have to be real. Real stalactites mean water, and water means firemoss.¡±


    Lianhua tilted her head, her tone shifting to the almost absent one she used when something had piqued her curiosity. ¡°Why call it firemoss if it grows near water? Just because you use it for torches?¡±


    Grimacing, Kaz admitted, ¡°No. It¡¯s because when the fluid squeezed from the moss catches fire, it burns until it¡¯s completely used up. That¡¯s why we rarely use it for anything other than the torches, which take a very small amount. A few tribes who didn¡¯t have enough adult females to maintain their lights and cooking fire burned down their dens when their stores of oil caught a spark.¡±


    Raff groaned. ¡°An¡¯ you want¡¯ us t¡¯eat that?¡±


    ¡°Oh. No,¡± Kaz said. ¡°You paint the oil on the wound and then set it on fire. It burns out the paralytic.¡±


    Raff made a protesting noise, but Lianhua said, ¡°Which is already in the bloodstream. How would that work?¡±


    Kaz shrugged helplessly. ¡°It just does. My uncle Kellin was struck by a lopo not long before he was traded to the Graybelly tribe.¡± He touched his fingers to his left bicep, in the spot his uncle¡¯s wound had been. ¡°Rega burned out the paralytic so quickly it barely had time to take effect.¡±


    If possible, the humans had become even paler, and Gaoda was now on the ground beside Raff. The light orb that was his constant companion flickered and went out. Lianhua sat down as if her legs had given out beneath her, and pulled up her robe to look at a long red scratch on her calf.


    ¡°What happens if we just let it run its course?¡± she asked, glancing from Kaz to Chi Yincang, who was now the only human left on his feet.


    Kaz¡¯s ears dropped, and he whined softly. ¡°Not many kobolds survive a lopo attack, but when they do, the firemoss is used immediately. I don¡¯t know what would happen if we didn¡¯t burn it out.¡±


    Chi Yincang¡¯s voice was as colorless as his clothes when he said, ¡°Gaoda Xiang, Raff, and I will survive. We may become unconscious, or simply be unable to move for a time, but we will live.¡± His black eyes turned to Lianhua. ¡°The young mistress may not.¡±


    Gaoda Xiang¡¯s voice was choked when he said, ¡°Get.. the.. moss, Chi Yin-¡± His lips froze, and he stared glassily at the ceiling. For a moment, Kaz thought Chi Yincang was wrong, and Gaoda had died, but his chest continued to move up and down, though the movement was shallow.


    Chi Yincang attempted to bow, but instead tilted forward, barely able to catch himself on his hands so he didn¡¯t land face-first on the stone. He rolled over, managing to sit upright, but the cords in his neck stood out like the string of a tripwire. His hands flattened on the ground as he attempted to stand, but it was useless.


    Meanwhile, Lianhua had removed the belt from her robe and shakily wrapped it around her leg, tying it off just above the knee. When she saw Kaz turn to her, she shrugged jerkily. Her words were slightly garbled as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will help, but this¡¯s the only wound I have. Maybe¡­ slow the effects long enough¡­ for you to go find some¡­ moss.¡±


    Kaz stared at her, then the others, realizing that the seemingly invincible humans were all thoroughly incapacitated. He gritted his teeth, then stood. Meeting Lianhua¡¯s gaze, he nodded, fists clenching at his side.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± he promised. ¡°Don¡¯t-¡±


    One side of her mouth twitched up, but she didn¡¯t say anything else, so Kaz turned and ran into the darkness.

 Chapter Twenty-four

    Kaz drew his hand along the right-hand wall, making sure he stayed close to the edge of the cave, and wouldn¡¯t wander into range of the monstrous lopo. As soon as the last vestiges of light cast by Lianhua¡¯s orb and Raff¡¯s rune stone were too far away to help him see, he stopped, once again envisioning the light rune. He made sure to add the little swoop at the end, and then carefully filled it with ki until the dim, flickering radiance surrounded him again.


    Once he was certain he could see at least well enough not to walk into a pit or be taken unawares by a predator, he hurried further from the humans. He was almost certain by now that their vision and hearing weren¡¯t as good as his, but he didn¡¯t want to take a chance that Chi Yincang or even Lianhua might see the light and want to know where it came from.


    As soon as he was sure he was too far away for them to see anything, he stopped and took stock. Dimly, he could see the hanging mass of darkness that was the now-quiescent lopo. He was getting dangerously close to its territory, given what he could remember of how far its tongues could reach, but the wall of the cavern curved away, and he thought he could edge around it so long as he didn¡¯t get too far from the side.


    His pack wriggled, and a questioning whistle emerged from it, making Kaz nearly jump out of his fur. He hesitated, but the dragon in his bag shoved hard against his back, chirping loudly, so he slung the pack around, pulling the string open.


    ¡°Shhh,¡± he hissed, staring into the golden eyes that peered up from the darkness. ¡°I need to find something for Lianhua, and then get back to her as quickly as I can. There¡¯s no time to-¡±


    The dragon put its little paws on the rim of the opening and pulled itself up, then scurried up Kaz¡¯s arm before he could do more than yelp. It butted its head against his cheek, chirping and whistling as its wings stretched out, flapping awkwardly. The invisible thread between their minds hummed, and Kaz felt a sense of alien curiosity flow into him.


    He froze. A thousand questions whirled through his mind, and vaguely, he wondered how many of them were crossing over to the dragonling through their bond. Could it sense his astonishment and, yes, fear, in the same way he had sensed its interest?


    Still, with every second, Lianhua¡¯s life was fading, so he focused on the task at hand. He needed to find firemoss, and he needed to do it quickly.


    As the image of the brownish-red plant formed in his mind, he could almost feel the dragon examine it. The small head tilted, then bobbed up and down. Delicate wings flapped, and the slim reptilian body began to lift from his shoulder.


    Panic flooded him. ¡°No! There¡¯s a lopo!¡± With every fiber of his being, he tried to send an image of the terrible monster that lurked in the darkness at the center of the cavern. He replayed his memory of the barbed, twisting tongues lashing through the air to strike at the humans, and the dragon flinched back, squeaking pitifully.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he murmured, holding out his arm. ¡°Come back. We¡¯ll find the firemoss together, and then you have to go back in the bag so we can take it to Lianhua.¡±


    The hovering creature shook its head, darting up along the wall beside him. Something pressed at his mind, but all he got was a sense of urgency, then frustration.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to tell me.¡±


    Li stared at him, its eyes whirling into silver-white, and it spun in place, once, twice, while the pressure mounted inside Kaz¡¯s mind. He clutched at his head, whimpering, and the dragon seemed to give up, flying forward to the edge of the light cast by his dim orb.


    Kaz huffed out a breath as the strain on his thoughts vanished. ¡°Fine,¡± he muttered. ¡°I may not be able to understand, but I can see you¡¯re not going to give up. Let¡¯s just find the moss, and then I¡¯ll figure out what to do with you.¡±


    The dragon whistled, and Kaz felt a rush of pleasure through the bond. The dragon moved away, vanishing into the darkness, and Kaz followed.


    Li clung to the wall nearly as tightly as Kaz did, so he was certain that at least some of his warning had reached it. Soon enough, he was able to relax and focus on the floor and wall as he looked for any sign of the thick, rusty filaments that made up the common plant. Now that he was looking, he saw a number of other lichen and mosses, and even a rare fern whose delicate young leaves were a tasty seasoning, especially on fuergar meat.


    As he walked, he grabbed a few handfuls of various plants he would have foraged when he was at home. The small patches of life were larger and healthier than the ones he was used to, but they also hadn¡¯t been picked over by generations of kobolds cycling through the area.


    It seemed like it took forever to see the familiar shape and color of a patch of firemoss, but it probably wasn¡¯t more than five minutes. It was high above him, a wide swath of it narrowing as it descended, probably following the trickle of water running down the wall.


    Halting, he looked around, hoping for a convenient pile of rocks he could climb on, or even throw in an attempt to dislodge a few clumps. This was a little dangerous, since a spark could actually set the patch of moss on fire, but the fresh plant only smoked and smoldered for a long time, rather than producing open flames which could blaze for hours like the oil.


    Li had been flying ahead of him, swooping and swirling and doing very little actual searching, so far as Kaz could tell. When he stopped, it continued, but quickly looped back, flying around near the patch of moss as excitement flowed through the bond. He had to chuckle. The little creature was as proud as if it had found the moss, rather than Kaz, and its chirping crows of elation were almost as cute as a pup given a bone for the first time.


    His eyes narrowed as he stared up at the prancing beast, and he tried to picture it grabbing some of the moss as he said, ¡°Can you pull it down? It should come off the wall pretty easily.¡±


    The dragon stilled, its only movement the motion of its wings as it stared from the moss to Kaz. Reaching out with its mouth, it tugged at a few strands of the dense layer of moss, which broke off and fell to land at Kaz¡¯s feet when the dragon spat them out. It squeaked in disgust, but threw itself at the wall, reaching out with all four feet, clinging with stubborn determination even as the mat of vegetation began to separate from the stone beneath it.


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    The whole mass pulled free, dropping moss and dragon alike toward Kaz. The moss seemed to have managed to entangle the dragon¡¯s wings as it fell, and he leaped forward, catching the reptile before it could hit the floor. Carefully, he tugged away the long filaments of rusty red, revealing the thin membranes of the wings, which almost seemed to glow white-gold in Kaz¡¯s light.


    Once he was sure the dragon was unhurt, Kaz settled it back on his shoulder and crouched to gather the fallen clumps of moss. He stuffed it into his pack and turned back the way they¡¯d come. The dragon seemed content to remain with him now, and he thought it seemed tired, which made sense. After all, it had only hatched a few days before, and it had spent nearly all of the time since then in his bag. It was amazing that it could fly at all, much less for any real length of time.


    Kaz was able to move much more quickly now that he didn¡¯t have to watch for moss, and soon he saw the glint of light ahead. Stopping, he reached up and took the dragon from his shoulder, ignoring the tug as it clung to his fur.


    Holding it up so he could stare into the glimmering eyes, he said, ¡°You have to go back in the pack. There will be fuergar nearby, for certain. No kobolds live close enough to keep the population down, so I¡¯ll find one soon. I don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll get the ring on it, but I will. I promise.¡±


    Kaz felt a flood of uncertainty and gloom, but the dragon stopped resisting. He pulled out a few clumps of moss, creating some space inside the pack, and gently tucked the dragon into the soft mass. It wriggled, burrowing down into the stuff, and he tugged at the string, closing the pack again, though he didn¡¯t knot the strip of leather this time. Swinging the bag over his shoulder, he withdrew his power from his flickering light, and blinked as near-darkness descended again.


    Trailing his left hand on the wall this time, he trotted toward the glow of the human¡¯s pale white light, and soon Lianhua and the others came into sight once again. Kaz paused just long enough to pick up a fairly flat rock, then stepped within the circle of light, noticing that Lianhua¡¯s ki orb had gone out, so Raff¡¯s stone was now their only source of light. He barely glanced at the males, though he thought that both Gaoda and Raff were now unconscious, and their eyes were closed. With Raff encased in his shell of armor, Kaz couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s chest to tell if it continued to rise and fall, but he didn¡¯t seem any worse than he had been when Kaz left.


    Chi Yincang opened his eyes when Kaz walked past him, and Kaz yipped in surprise when he saw the human¡¯s eyes, which were black from corner to corner, with no white visible at all. Chi Yincang blinked slowly. The black color flowed away like water, leaving his eyes looking like they usually did. The male focused on Kaz, and his lips moved.


    ¡°Did you get it?¡±


    Kaz nodded, mutely holding up the moss, and Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes fell closed again. Kaz waited to see if he would say anything else, but when nothing happened, Kaz knelt beside Lianhua. He laid the moss in a slight depression on the limestone floor, and began to pound on it with the flat rock he had picked up. It quickly turned into a dense, fibrous paste, which he picked up and twisted, squeezing out a gelatinous goo. Usually, a female would heat this goo with her power until the last of the fibers separated from the liquid, creating the ¡®oil¡¯, a few drops of which would then be combined with fresh moss to create torches for the males of the tribe.


    Kaz couldn¡¯t heat the stuff, but he hoped it would be good enough, so he smeared the sticky goo on Lianhua¡¯s leg with trembling fingers. Her skin felt cold and she didn¡¯t react to his touch, but her chest still moved, so he might yet be in time.


    Once the firemoss sludge was on Lianhua¡¯s wound, Kaz found himself stymied. He needed to set it on fire, but his fire-striker was in his pack. With the dragon. If, that is, the dragon hadn¡¯t somehow managed to eat or otherwise destroy it.


    Casting a furtive glance at Chi Yincang, Kaz pulled his pack around again. Closing his eyes, he reached for the strand that linked his mind to that of the dragonling, and found a sort of sleepy irritability. He pushed a feeling of caution toward it, and got back something that could have been acknowledgement.


    With careful fingers, he tugged at the twisted thong, opening the pack just enough that the dragon could start to stick out its nose, but he could still shove it back down if it tried. It didn¡¯t, and he pushed a hand through the mass of firemoss and other things he had stuffed into the bag during his brief foray into the cavern, prompting a very faint hiss and an increase in the level of annoyance the dragon was sending him.


    He persisted, however - though he had to gently push a loop of warm dragon-body aside - and eventually his fingers found something hard inside a leather pouch at the bottom of the bag. He nearly yanked it out when he realized that it didn¡¯t feel like the squat, round shape of the striker. He frowned, fingers tracing the long, narrow shape, and only when a blade parted both leather and skin did he remember the pouch Rega had given him just before she died.


    Kaz flinched at the pain, and felt hot blood begin to soak the leather he was touching. The bag shifted, and the dragon¡¯s scaly nose pressed to his finger before he felt the flicker of its tongue against his flesh. He shoved it away instinctively, afraid that it would bite at the undoubtedly delicious-smelling wound, but it didn¡¯t.


    Instead, a sense of curiosity and faint concern impinged on his consciousness, and he felt the tongue flick against his skin again. This time, he didn¡¯t pull away, but instead nudged the bag containing the knife away from his hand and the dragon, delving underneath it. He brushed against the now-familiar shape of the seed, moved that aside as well, and finally found another leather-encased lump stuck to the very bottom of the pouch by a hard crust that was probably formed of the remnants of the dragon¡¯s meals and whatever else had gone on in the bag since the creature hatched.


    With his talons, he scratched at the thick layer of dried muck, pulling little chunks off until the lump came free. The easily-recognizable shape of the striker fit into his palm, and he pulled it out, leaving smears of blood on everything in the pack.


    Quickly, he tied the leather string again, his oozing finger staining one end of it a deep rusty red, and tugged open the filthy, crunchy pouch containing the fire-striker. It fell out, the round chunk of flint still tied to the flexible strip of metal that made it work. The little device had belonged to Kaz¡¯s father, and after Ghazt died, Kaz had taken it, though rightfully everything in his father¡¯s pack should have gone to Oda as Ghazt¡¯s mate. It was the only thing Kaz had left from his father, other than his fading memories.


    The stone settled easily into Kaz¡¯s curled fingers, while the curve of metal arched up along his thumb. He squeezed his hand, making the metal click sharply against the stone, and a faint spark leapt into the air. Kaz nodded in satisfaction and turned it, squeezing several more times in rapid succession, until one of the sparks landed in the little puddle of goo left after Kaz crushed the firemoss. Instantly, a flame leaped up, blazing with the intense white-orange color produced by freshly ignited firemoss oil.


    Kaz picked up a sprig of moss that had fallen to the side and extended it out over the flame. It caught and began to flicker with its own fire, sending up thick tendrils of smoke, and he leaned over, carefully touching it to the goo he¡¯d smeared on Lianhua¡¯s wound. A streak of flame expanded away from the point of contact, and he dropped the burning moss back into the rest of the little fire before turning his attention to the unconscious human.


    Lianhua didn¡¯t make a sound, though her face twisted as the flame took hold, so he at least knew she still lived. The smell of burning meat touched Kaz¡¯s sensitive nose, and he had to clench his fists to keep from trying to put out the fire he had worked so hard to create. The firemoss needed to burn itself out, taking the lopo¡¯s paralytic with it, and there was nothing he could do to make that happen any faster.


    He caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye, and turned to look as Chi Yincang leaned forward slowly and scooped a bit of the burning goo from the depression in the floor with the tip of a knife. The human smeared the flaming gunk onto a long scratch on his neck, barely flinching at the resulting sizzle. He just sat, the wound on his neck flaring as it burned, leaving Kaz to watch in silence.

 Chapter Twenty-five

    Cleansing a wound of the lopo¡¯s paralytic was no rapid process, and with the humans lying still and silent, Kaz soon found himself sinking toward sleep. He was exhausted after the long climb and the terror of the battle with the lopo, and his eyes drifted closed.


    Within the darkness of his mind, the light rune flared again, swimming and swirling, until a few of its threads came loose and it turned into the rune Lianhua had told him represented ¡®silence¡¯. Dimly, he wondered what would happen if he fed it ki the way he had the light rune, and before he could think better of it, he did so.


    Silence surrounded him, dampening even the faint sound of breathing, and the distant echoes of water dripping and movement in the darkness. It was so profound that he couldn¡¯t even hear the rush of his own heartbeat in his ears, as he had a few times when he found himself alone in the dark. For an instant, he seemed to be floating somewhere above his own body, a shapeless form without sound or light, and then panic flooded him. His eyes snapped open as he instinctively pulled power from the rune and pushed it instead into his eyes and ears.


    The world snapped into sharp focus. He could count the hairs in the strips of fur above Lianhua¡¯s eyes, and hollow sounds of dripping resonated in his ears. Skittering, scratching sounds came to him, and he twisted in place, staring to his left. A deeper darkness lay just beyond the sphere of light cast by Raff¡¯s stone, leading to a passage or another cave. With a little boost of ki in his nose, he could smell the metallic rodent-scent of fuergar.


    Turning back to the humans, he looked them over. Raff and Gaoda seemed to be resting more easily, their faces clear of the strain that he now realized had drawn their faces tight when he last checked. With power in his eyes, he could see that their ki was cycling easily. The skin around their wounds was red, but no longer seemed puffy and inflamed.


    Glancing at Chi Yincang, he saw that the silent man also looked more relaxed, though he¡¯d never been as visibly distressed as the others. The wound he¡¯d coated with firemoss no longer burned, and the flesh around it looked darker than the rest, but it wasn¡¯t red and even seemed to be starting to close already.


    Lianhua still lay, apparently unconscious. Her expression was smooth but her breathing remained shallow. When he looked at her wound, he saw that it, too, had finished burning, but it was still angry-looking, and small blisters were visible around it. Kaz narrowed his eyes, leaning closer, and saw that a strange darkness lingered in the flesh, trailing tendrils up into the shimmering ki-veins around the injury. With each cycle of her ki, the black shadow was pulled a little further up her leg, toward the whirling energy centered in her belly.


    Kaz¡¯s hand reached out, wavering between the inflamed scratch and his pack, which rested beside the unconscious female. His gaze flicked to Chi Yincang, but the dark male was still, eyes closed, and breathing deep.


    Gently, Kaz prodded Lianhua¡¯s leg, which dimpled beneath the pressure.  When his finger was removed, the skin remained sunken for a long moment before slowly rising back up. That seemed bad, but he wasn¡¯t sure what to do. Had his version of the firemoss oil been too weak? Had he just been too slow in applying it? Should he try again, and hope that a second application would finish burning away the paralytic, if that was what the darkness was?


    Beside him, his pack shifted slightly as the little dragon moved around, and he was reminded of the time the little creature had nearly drowned. He had seen a similar darkness in its lungs, and had managed to clear the blackness away, though he was fairly certain it was that process that had merged their cycles so thoroughly.


    Could he do the same for Lianhua? Should he? If she died, the male humans would have no reason to remain in the mountain. They would undoubtedly leave immediately, and they might not even bother to make sure Kaz made it safely back to the Longknife tribe. In fact, given the way Gaoda had all but accused Kaz of leading them into danger intentionally, the male might just kill Kaz and be done with it.


    Also, he liked Lianhua. She was the first person besides Rega and Katri who had ever seen him as something more than a tool to be used. His mother had only wanted a female to follow her, and to most other female kobolds, males were interchangeable and replaceable.


    Kaz knew he probably shouldn¡¯t trust any of the humans, just use them like they were using him, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling like he would be betraying the female if he didn¡¯t do everything he could. Besides, it was in his best interest to keep her alive, wasn¡¯t it?


    Reaching out again, Kaz kept one eye on Chi Yincang and the other on the dark fog clogging up the channel in Lianhua¡¯s leg. He laid his hand over the wound, and heat pulsed beneath his palm. He pressed gently, but Lianhua didn¡¯t move, and neither did the male kneeling beside Gaoda.


    Not without trepidation, Kaz closed his eyes, pushing out with his senses, though he kept tight control of his own power. He didn¡¯t want to accidentally form a bond with Lianhua, the way he had with the dragon, so instead of feeding his energy into her, he needed to convince her own energy to repel the darkness and expel it from her body.


    Unfortunately, the only opening close enough was the wound itself, and he had a feeling that if he just cleansed it, the bits that were already trailing up her leg would break off, traveling to her core, and that could be very bad. That was, of course, if he could do anything at all.


    So, first, he had to force the parts of the shadow that were already in her ki-veins to return to the wound. That would be difficult with her own ki pulling them toward her center, so he needed to slow or stop the ki from carrying it away. Sliding his hand down, he found the place on her calf where the clean ki entered into the tainted area, and he pressed. Not with his hand, but with his own ki, creating a sort of dam, blocking any further current from cycling through the wounded area.


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    This did cause a reaction. Lianhua whimpered, and the skin beneath his fingers went from too hot to too cold in an instant. Kaz¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked down at the blanched skin, seeing a visible line of healthy flesh leading into pale, sunken skin.


    Clearly, blocking ki flow was a very bad thing, and he nearly released his little dam. Then he remembered how his tribe had once dammed up a thin stream to create a pool. Weeks later, the dam broke under the pressure of the water, and what had been a trickle became a flood. It hadn¡¯t lasted long, but it washed away everything downstream, and he wondered if Lianhua¡¯s ki might do the same, breaking off or carrying the black taint with even greater speed than it would have if he hadn¡¯t interfered.


    No, he had to finish what he had begun, and he had to do it quickly. He turned his attention back to the shadow lingering beneath the injury. It laid quiet now, like oily sludge in a streambed, waiting to spread. And he had no idea what to do about it. He needed to pull it out somehow, but he couldn¡¯t force it all the way up into Lianhua¡¯s lungs to be coughed up. It would have to come out the way it had gone in.


    Leaning closer, he considered licking it, the way a den-mother might lick a pup¡¯s wound, but he didn¡¯t want it in his mouth. Besides, he didn¡¯t know if it was a real, physical thing, even though what he and the dragon had hacked up certainly had been. Could he squeeze it out with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the dam in place?


    He tried it, squeezing around the edges of the wound, and thick, dark blood oozed out. He didn¡¯t really see a difference in the amount of black fog inside Lianhua¡¯s leg, but he was starting to notice that the cold stiffness of the limb seemed to be spreading upwards the longer he held the block.


    Throwing caution to the darkness, he extended his own ki into her flesh. Now that her ki wasn¡¯t flowing there, he hoped that their power wouldn¡¯t become entangled. Kaz filled the channel with his own ki, surrounding the blackness with power, then yanked it back out of the long scratch in the female¡¯s leg.


    There was a wet sound, and the sides of the wound split, allowing a dense, gooey fluid to emerge. It stank, and Kaz¡¯s eyes watered. Quickly, he wiped it away, repeating the process of wrapping his ki around each trace of black, then pulling it out again. After a few tries, the dark fluid was replaced by red, and Kaz released the dam blocking Lianhua¡¯s power from flowing through her own body.


    Blood gushed out through the widened cut, and Kaz pressed his hand over the injury, trying to staunch the flow. A human hand stretched out into his vision, holding one of the squares of cloth that the humans used as if they were disposable. Pushing aside Kaz¡¯s hand, Chi Yincang replaced it with his much larger one, then quickly wrapped the injury in a strip of white cloth almost as long as Kaz was tall.


    Kaz sank back on his haunches, staring at the ever-silent male as he deftly tucked the ends of the wrap into place. Red had partially soaked through it, but not much, and the pressure seemed to be working. Beneath the skin, ki pumped through, carrying life and energy to the damaged flesh at a rate much faster than normal. He could see the power pulsing in Lianhua¡¯s belly as it cycled.


    Eyes huge, Kaz stared at Chi Yincang, who ignored him as he checked the bandage and touched Lianhua¡¯s wrist. Seeing that the female was once again resting quietly, he finally turned his black gaze toward Kaz. He said nothing, but Kaz felt the weight of that regard like a sudden fall of rocks.


    ¡°I¡­ think that¡¯s supposed to happen,¡± Kaz stammered, hoping the human hadn¡¯t seen or sensed anything that would tell him what Kaz had done.


    One side of Chi Yincang¡¯s forehead-fur lifted, and he reached up to touch his neck, where he had applied the firemoss to his own wound. The injury had no black goo seeping from it, and certainly wasn¡¯t bleeding.


    Kaz restrained a whimper as the pressure surrounding him intensified. ¡°I swear,¡± he managed, ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to hurt her. Please!¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes fluttered, and she turned her head, staring from Chi Yincang to Kaz. Her voice was slurred as she said, ¡°Helped me. Leave hi-¡±


    Lids so pale Kaz could see a faint tracery of veins through the skin drooped closed, and Chi Yincang¡¯s hand tensed where it rested on her bandaged leg. The force of his intent faded, though, and Kaz slumped backwards, barely managing to catch himself on his hands. The right one slid away, leaving a trail of black muck on the stone. Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes caught on it, and an indecipherable expression crossed his face.


    Looking back up to meet Kaz¡¯s eyes, the human nodded once.


    It felt like Kaz¡¯s muscles turned to water, and he nodded back. Feeling a bit braver, he glanced at Gaoda. ¡°Could you¡­ Do you have to tell..?¡±


    Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes narrowed again, but he said, ¡°If asked.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s head nodded jerkily. He wasn¡¯t certain what that meant, but Chi Yincang was a rather mysterious being. Until this moment, Kaz had assumed that he was as faithful to Gaoda as a male to his mate, but it seemed that he held some loyalty to Lianhua as well. Though perhaps he simply bowed to her words because Gaoda had told him to do so? That seemed entirely plausible as well.


    Chi Yincang turned away, returning to Gaoda¡¯s side and sinking back into silence, though he didn¡¯t close his eyes again. Kaz could see he¡¯d get nothing else from the human, so he decided he¡¯d have to hope for the best, and assume that unless Gaoda questioned Chi Yincang about the incident, which he had no reason to do, that Chi Yincang would remain as silent as he had been for the rest of their journey.


    Completely ignoring Kaz¡¯s disordered thoughts, his belly growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn¡¯t eaten since their hurried lunch, and he¡¯d fed half of that to the dragon in his pack. His gaze turned toward the spot from which the chittering and scratching had emerged earlier. He knew what those sounds and smells meant, and his stomach gurgled again at the thought. Fuergar certainly wasn¡¯t his favorite meat, but it was likely the easiest to acquire, and he needed to find at least one anyway. Perhaps if he brought back dinner, the humans would be too distracted by that to question anything else?


    Kaz cleared his throat softly, looking at Chi Yincang. He sniffed twice, far more vehemently than necessary, and said, ¡°I smell fuergar. I¡¯ll try to catch a few for our dinner. Um, if that¡¯s¡­ all right?¡±


    Chi Yincang¡¯s chin dipped, and that was all the permission Kaz needed. Grabbing his pack and the fire-striker from beside him, he scurried away from the circle of light once again.

 Chapter Twenty-six

    The deeper darkness turned out to be a tunnel, and Kaz only traveled a short way down it before he found a totem. It was old, but in the dim light of his ki orb, he could tell it was made from the rocky skin of a lopo, dried and stretched over three bones bound together in the shape of a triangle. Two rows of yellowed fangs were sewn on it with thread made of preserved intestines.


    Kaz didn¡¯t recognize the totem, but he doubted it mattered. The tribe that made it was probably long gone by now, and its age was a good indication that this area wasn¡¯t under the control of any tribe at the moment.


    Glancing behind him, Kaz pushed a little more power into his eyes, ears, and nose. He was immediately assailed by the scratch of sharp claws against stone, and the stench of rodents. The scent was as strong as it had been in the nest they¡¯d destroyed beneath the Broken Knife den, so there were probably dozens of fuergar, at least. He would have to be careful, and it would be good if he had a weapon other than his claws and teeth.


    Reminded, he pulled off his pack and knelt, settling it on the ground beside him. Untying the string, he smiled down at the golden eyes looking up at him, surprised at the rush of happiness he felt. Was he really that glad to see the little dragon, or was it sending its own pleasure to him? Did it even matter?


    The dragon climbed up his arm as he reached into the bag, and he was so used to it by now that he didn¡¯t even flinch as it latched its claws into his fur. Groping down through the bundles of moss, fungi, and lichen, he did flinch as he brushed a leather bag. His cut finger twinged, reminding him to be careful, and he gently felt around until he found the long hilt of a knife, and grabbed it through the leather, pulling it out. Moss and other things cascaded out of the pack, falling to the floor around him, but Kaz only had eyes for the pouch in his hand.


    Like everything else that had been in the bag for a while, the leather was caked and crusted with blood, dust, pieces of eggshell, dried goo from inside the egg, and half a dozen other noxious things. It no longer looked anything like the supple, well-made bag his aunt had given him, and he could see the glint of metal through a long slit in the side. The area around the hole was stained a darker reddish-brown,  but the silver gleaming up at him from within was pure and clean.


    Kaz didn¡¯t even bother trying to untie the tangled and grimy leather cord that was knotted around the end. He just inserted his fingers to each side of the blade and ripped the hole wider before shaking the contents out onto the mound of moss in front of him.


    As Rega had told him, there were two knives in the bag, or at least the remains of them. The first, the whole one, had the sharpest edge and the cleanest metal of any he could remember seeing up close. Even in the heights, the mountain held rich veins of metal ore, most of which the kobolds there simply ignored. Iron and copper were good for making short weapons, but most other metals were too soft or too brittle, and it was easier and faster to make disposable stone knives and arrowheads. Only a particularly powerful female could heat metal enough to get out the impurities, and coal seams were rare and jealously guarded, so most blades were just roughly beaten from raw ore, which left them dull and uneven. The few blades that looked like this one were passed down in a tribe, and only changed hands if the owner lost a luegat or vara.


    Kaz turned it over in his hands, staring at the leather-wrapped hilt and the strangely beautiful waves in the metal of the blade. It wasn¡¯t rusty at all, so it either wasn¡¯t iron or had been very well cared for, but it didn¡¯t hold the distinctive color of copper either. The edge, as he¡¯d discovered earlier, was so keen that he could barely focus on it when he looked at it from straight on. The tip was pointed, too, though it was covered in a sort of carved stone cap, which had prevented it from stabbing him or someone else while it was in his pack. The stone was a deep blue, almost exactly the color of Kaz¡¯s fur, and the inside fit perfectly to the tip of the knife, while the outside was carved in long, pointed oval shapes containing what looked like delicate veins branching out from a central seam.


    It was a beautiful, perfect blade, and Kaz immediately understood why he¡¯d never seen it before. It was far too precious to be used. Any kobold who saw it would do anything to have it, and the Broken Knives would have been slaughtered just so some more powerful clan could own this weapon. Perhaps in the Deep weapons like this were common, and someone could wear it openly, but Kaz doubted it.


    Reluctantly, Kaz set the magnificent knife back down on the moss, turning to the other, far less impressive one that still laid there. Like the first, this had a leather-wrapped hilt, but the leather was grimy and worn. It had no crossguard, and though the inch-long stub of gold-hued metal that was attached to the hilt had the same whorls and waves as the first, it was utterly useless. The remainder of the blade was sheared off so smoothly that it was completely flat, and couldn¡¯t be used to stab or cut. He didn¡¯t understand why Rega had even kept it, unless she¡¯d hoped to someday melt down the remaining metal into something else. There might be enough left for an arrowhead, or some earrings.


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    Still, Rega had given it to him, and he¡¯d carried it this far. She had told him the other one was for him, so perhaps he was meant to give this one to Katri, and Rega hadn¡¯t been able to tell him? His sister wouldn¡¯t be happy to learn that he¡¯d been given a perfect weapon, while hers was barely a nub attached to a worn-out hilt. He would have to think hard about what to do with his knife when he returned to his tribe.


    Tucking the broken knife back into the shredded leather bag, Kaz stuffed it down inside his pack, then started tucking the fallen mosses and lichen in as well. He was reaching for the last mushroom when he heard something skitter in the darkness. He pushed a little more ki into his light, which flared in response. The growing light caught the tail end of a small fuergar, scampering away with a deep red mushroom in its mouth.


    Kaz¡¯s hand darted out, picking up a stone from the ground nearby. He threw it after the rodent, hitting it on the hindquarters. It squeaked, dropped the mushroom, and whirled to face him, flashing its long incisors. Its mother must have eaten a lot of copper while she was pregnant, because the teeth were a rich reddish-orange, as was its fur.


    Pushing even more power into his light, Kaz stood, clutching the hilt of his father¡¯s knife. He felt a strange thrill at the idea of using it, since he knew he would have to hide it away again before he returned to the humans. He needed a fuergar alive, though, and this one seemed as good as any other.


    The rodent dashed at him, its injured leg dragging only slightly. Kaz could see other shapes moving in the dimness at the edge of his light. Fuergar hunted in groups, and while they were being wary because of the bright illumination surrounding him and the weapon in his hand, he knew they would swarm him if he showed any sign of weakness. He was confident he could take down two or three, if they were the same size as the first, but if there were more than five, they might manage to bring him down instead.


    Kaz kicked at the copper fuergar, hoping to injure it without killing it. Lianhua had said the rings had a regeneration function, so a minor injury should heal fairly quickly once the ring was on. Unfortunately, the fuergar had other ideas, and instead of lunging for Kaz¡¯s paws or ankles, it launched itself from the ground, heading straight toward his throat. Instinctively, Kaz slashed his weapon toward it in a movement Killik had forced him to practice over and over with his old stone knife. The fuergar squeaked once more, then fell to the ground, cleanly sliced in two.


    Seeing this, the other fuergar who had been circling him decided it wasn¡¯t worth trying to take him on, and scampered away, their tinny cries alerting all the other rodents in the area that a dangerous predator had found them.


    Kaz sighed, looking down at the mess on the ground. He couldn¡¯t take this back to the humans. Surely, someone would wonder how he¡¯d managed to chop through its body in a single stroke, not even hesitating when he hit the copper-coated bones. He raised his blade to his eyes, turning it this way and that. It was as clean as it had been when he took it from the bag, without a single drop of blood clinging to the blade. The blue stone cap still covered the tip, clinging like it was glued there, though it had only taken a small tug to pull it free when he examined the weapon earlier.


    The dragon chirped from his shoulder, and he jumped, having forgotten that it was there. He turned his head, and saw that it was examining the corpse with a greedy eye. He chuckled.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± he told it. ¡°I¡¯m glad it won¡¯t go to waste.¡±


    The hatchling trilled a gleeful sound, and its wings buffeted his head as it launched from his shoulder, gliding down to perch on top of the fuergar. It began to eat, and Kaz turned away, walking in circles as he tried to figure out where the strongest scent of rodent was coming from. He narrowed in on one particular branch of the tunnel that lay ahead and to his right, then waited impatiently as the dragon finished its feast and sat up again, belly as round as a pup after feeding time.


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged as he leaned over to pick up the greedy creature, which actually seemed to be sated for the moment. ¡°Can you even fly now?¡± he asked, settling it back on his shoulder.


    The dragonling hissed sleepily, offended by the question, and Kaz chuckled as he headed for the tunnel.


    ¡°No, no, I know. You can do anything you want.¡±


    Bobbing its head, Li trilled in satisfaction at this response, then wrapped its tail around Kaz¡¯s neck as they rounded the corner. Kaz dimmed his light, hoping to encourage any watching fuergar to take a chance attacking him, and kept his knife up and ready. He¡¯d have to remember to kill a few of them with his bare hands, so he¡¯d have something to take back to the humans.


    But no matter how small he made his light, none of the rodents would come for him. As he moved deeper into their territory, drawing ever closer to their nest - if the tiny squeaks that could only be produced by pups was any indication - he kept expecting to be attacked, even if for no other reason than to keep him away from their young.


    Nothing happened until he turned one final corner, and the corridor, which had been narrowing quickly, suddenly opened out into a clear space. He caught glints of copper from the walls, and realized he must have found the copper vein they had been eating. Dozens of eyes stared at him from just beyond the flickering edge of the halo of light created by his ki. They ranged in color from brown to a gray so dark it was almost black, with a few pairs of blood-red orbs mixed in.


    The ones that attracted Kaz¡¯s attention, however, were brilliant green, luminous, and the size of his fist.

 Chapter Twenty-seven

    Kaz leaped backward just as the owner of the green eyes lunged forward, revealing the largest fuergar Kaz had ever seen. Like the lopo, this beast was larger than Kaz would have thought it could possibly grow. Its body was as long as his, with a tail that doubled that length. Its protruding incisors were copper mixed with the deep gray of iron, as was its fur, and Kaz knew from experience that iron fuergar were among the most difficult to beat. Their iron-sheathed bones were dense and resilient, making them hard to damage with a physical weapon.


    The dragon hissed at something behind Kaz, and he glanced back just in time to see that he was now encircled by smaller fuergar. They, too, had their teeth bared, and he knew that they¡¯d take any opportunity to attack. He couldn¡¯t retreat, and the large fuergar would tear him to shreds if he stayed.


    Kaz glanced around desperately. He had his knife, his dragon, and at least a dozen attackers surrounding him. The light cast by his orb flashed in the large rodent¡¯s eyes as it dashed forward again, and Kaz pushed power into his legs so he could jump out of the way. As he moved, he caught a glimpse of a spot where ore had been eaten away from the area above, leaving a sort of ledge overlooking the open area below.


    Normally, he¡¯d never be able to jump up to the ledge, but he already had ki empowering his muscles, so he bounded forward, having to spin past snapping teeth as he went by the lead fuergar. His claws caught at the edge of the projecting shelf of stone, and he pulled himself up and onto his belly with a grunt. The dragon clung to his fur, its wings flapping as it tried to maintain its balance, and he reached up to steady it as he scrambled to his feet, almost dropping the knife he¡¯d barely managed to hang onto in the process.


    The fuergar paced along at the bottom of the wall, its chest rumbling with a low growl as it swayed back and forth. Smaller fuergar tried to scramble along narrower ridges in the wall, getting close enough to lunge at him, but after he cut one and barely missed another, they became more wary.


    He needed to deal with this, and he needed to do it quickly. If the rodents decided to all rush him at once, there was no way he¡¯d win, and it was only a matter of time before they built up the courage to do so. Briefly, he wondered if he could turn his ki ball into a weapon like Gaoda¡¯s, but he had no idea how it was done, and he¡¯d probably only get one chance to do it wrong. Plus, while he¡¯d had enough ki to get up here, his channels were now drained, and he¡¯d either have to push his core to spin energy out faster, which required focus he couldn¡¯t spare, or drain himself to exhaustion, which would likely make him faint.


    The large fuergar lunged at him, hissing, and its claws scratched at the wall as it tried to scramble up. One paw caught the lip of stone, and Kaz stamped his foot on it as hard as he could, producing a squeak and the sound of the giant rodent falling back to the floor. Kaz dared to peek over the edge again, only to see teeth coming straight for his face as the beast leaped at him again.


    He yelped, pulling back, then felt sharp teeth catch at the fur on his leg, scraping the skin beneath. He swung at the smaller fuergar which had crept up on him while he was distracted, leaping from one of the precarious projections in the wall. His knife sliced through it just as it had the first one, and he shoved the parts off his ledge with a paw.


    If he had hoped to distract the monstrous creature below with an offering of fresh meat or a warning that the same could happen to it, it didn¡¯t work. The thing just growled louder, and he heard its claws scraping at the wall with renewed vigor. Three toes scrabbled at his ledge, and he kicked them off again, but eventually it was going to get both paws up there, and then he¡¯d be done.


    He needed something. A distance weapon, a plan, an escape route¡­ just something. His channels had refilled a bit, so he pushed energy into his light, making it pulse a bit brighter so he could see what was around him.


    He had definitely found the fuergar den. Had, in fact, wandered straight into the heart of it, instead of finding the very edge, as he¡¯d hoped to do. He¡¯d gotten too used to having the humans there to take care of any creature that might be foolish enough to attack them.


    The increased radius of his light revealed six mother fuergar, crouching in their nests, mewling pink and copper babies crowded around them. Most of the babies didn¡¯t even have fur yet, so there was no way they could run. No, he¡¯d just blithely stepped into the one place the usually cowardly rodents would fight to defend.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he muttered to the dragon as he stamped on the iron fuergar¡¯s paw yet again. The thing was horribly persistent, and he could see that his safe haven was now completely surrounded by rodents clinging to the tiniest ridges of stone in the walls to each side of him. He couldn¡¯t even jump over the fuergar below, because the large one would just snap him from the air as he passed.


    The dragon bit his ear. Not hard, but enough to be painful, and he yelped as he slashed at another encroaching fuergar. He tried to glare at the distracting reptile, but he didn¡¯t have the attention to spare.


    ¡°What was that for?¡± he demanded, and over the bond that linked their minds, he saw the light rune. It hovered in his mind¡¯s eye for an instant, then faded again.


    Kaz struck at a particularly fast fuergar, cutting it, but not managing to kill it, and it latched its teeth into his arm. It was a small bite, but as his blood began to flow, he knew it was the beginning of the end. Each bite, each wound, would weaken him, until he grew too slow to keep the large fuergar from his ledge, or simply fell to its waiting jaws.


    Again, the light rune intruded into his mind as he cut away the rodent that was hanging on his arm. He growled as he knocked two more beasts away from him and back down to the floor below.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked the dragon, sending frustration toward their link.


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    He got frustration right back, as the rune brightened, then flashed in his mind. He blinked, then shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough ki left,¡± he told the dragon. ¡°It¡¯s refilling, but not enough.¡±


    The tail wrapped around his neck tightened, and the dragon¡¯s body plastered itself against him. The thread between them shuddered as half a dozen more filaments joined the first, then merged into a cord at least three times as strong as it had been. Power pulsed down it, refilling Kaz¡¯s channels as he felt the dragon¡¯s body go limp. It started to fall from his shoulder, but Kaz caught it, setting it gently on the ledge between his feet even as his body hummed, full and overfull of ki in a way he hadn¡¯t been since he¡¯d accidentally tasted the parent dragon¡¯s blood.


    His eyes shifted into that other sight, and he caught a glimpse of a spinning core in the leader fuergar¡¯s belly as it lunged for him again. A few other fuergar also had cores, but theirs were just faint sparks beside the blaze of the largest fuergar.


    His breath caught as all the power the dragon had given him began to fall away into the greedy emptiness of his link to the seed, and he pulled it back, pushing it into his muscles, then into the glowing ball of light at his shoulder.


    Light.


    He thought he¡¯d never seen such a brilliant flash of illumination. His eyes burned, and his vision went dark in the aftermath, but pained squeaks from all around him indicated that he wasn¡¯t alone in that. His normal vision was eclipsed by other, and all he could see were the guiding lights of the core-sparks all around him.


    His hands moved faster than they ever had before as he yanked the carved blue stone tip from his knife. A flash of blue ki arced from his fingers to the stone, and he blinked, but he didn¡¯t have time to think about it as he dropped the little piece of stone next to the dragon¡¯s limp body. The small plink it made as it struck the stone seemed to echo in his overpowered ears, and then he was launching himself through the air.


    His blade struck true, stabbing deep into the large fuergar¡¯s body. He didn¡¯t strike at its head or heart, knowing its iron-reinforced skull and ribcage would turn any normal blade away. While his knife was far from normal, he couldn¡¯t be certain it would slice through thick iron-coated bones as easily as it had small copper ones, and his instincts told him that there was a better place to attack.


    The tip of his knife thrust into the fuergar¡¯s core, shattering it into a hundred smaller sparks that flickered and went out. The thing screeched, sending a pulse of pain through his head at the terrible sound, but Kaz had already won. He staggered back, his weapon tugging free of the collapsing body of the rodent, as the nest erupted into squeaking chaos.


    Faint core-lights scattered. The fuergar, blinded and without a leader, ran into the multitude of tunnels leading away from the nest. Kaz was left, swaying and blinking, beside the fallen corpse of the enormous rodent.


    Slowly, his normal sight returned, now that it was no longer overwhelmed by ki. He leaned back against the scratched and chipped wall leading up to the ledge, and his head tilted up as he heard a soft hiss come from above. The dragonling looked down at him, its eyes swirling with white and black in equal measure. It seemed as exhausted as he was, but once it saw it had his attention, it ducked backwards, then returned, clutching the carved stone cover of Kaz¡¯s knife in its mouth.


    Thankfully, it didn¡¯t try to eat it, instead opting to drop it on Kaz¡¯s head. He yelped, and a moment later, the dragon itself followed, flapping its wings twice, giving it just enough lift so that it didn¡¯t smack into Kaz¡¯s face. Kaz caught dragon and stone, though the dragon¡¯s wiggling nearly made him drop both.


    Once the little creature was safely ensconced on his shoulder again, Kaz lifted his blade, fitting the cover back onto its tip. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure why, only that it felt right that the blue stone should be in place whenever the knife wasn¡¯t in use. That done, he looked around.


    The mother fuergar had run with all the others, leaving many of their babies behind. The helpless things wriggled and squeaked, and Kaz felt no urge to hurt them. Honestly, they looked strangely similar to newborn kobolds, and Kaz hoped the mothers would come back to nurse them when he left.


    Several adult fuergar lay broken on the stone where he¡¯d kicked them after they tried to sneak up on him. The fall had killed them, and he picked three of them up, tying them to his belt by their tails with shaking fingers. He turned to leave, paws dragging, when the dragon chirped again.


    Kaz stopped, blinking, and the faint image of a golden circle intruded into his mind. He just stood there, not sure what the dragon was trying to say, before it finally clicked. Reaching into the pouch at his waist, he pulled out the second of the two rings Lianhua had given him.


    There were anywhere from five to twelve babies in each nest, but Kaz was worried about using the ring on one of them. Their eyes were still closed, and they were mostly hairless. If the mothers didn¡¯t come back, there was no doubt that they would die on their own. Lianhua had said that both people wearing the rings had to be alive for them to work, so it wouldn¡¯t do any good to put the ring on a pup too young to survive on its own.


    Then his eye caught on a particularly plump and well-developed rodent-pup. Its eyes were open, and it watched him with a gaze that held the first glimmers of understanding. It had to be very nearly ready to leave the nest, but it wasn¡¯t quite old enough to flee with the adults. Kaz pulled a little more ki from his nearly-empty channels, diverting it into his eyes for a moment, and saw that this fuergar, along with a few others, had the tiniest flicker of a core-light.


    Kaz glanced from the rodent to the dragon. He would have only one chance to pick a good creature to place the ring on, but fuergar were survivors. This one was fat and healthy, and clearly the most mature of the lot. If he left it some food, with the ring¡¯s regeneration and protection functions, it was quite likely that it would survive, even if the other fuergar didn¡¯t return. Certainly, the pups were cuter than adult fuergar, so perhaps it might be easier to convince the humans to let him keep his new ¡®pet¡¯.


    ¡°Is this one good?¡± he asked the dragon, and it stared at the fuergar for a long, considering moment. Finally, it bobbed its head, and he got a distinct feeling of approval through their bond.


    Stepping over to the nest, Kaz crouched down. He quickly grabbed the pup¡¯s paw, slipping the ring onto it even as coppery teeth tried to bite his hand. As soon as the ring was on, it tightened down to fit perfectly onto the little copper-pink leg, which transformed from fuzzy rodent-leg to scaly dragon-leg right before his eyes. On his shoulder, the dragon¡¯s weight shifted, and he looked at it as he stood back up.


    A copper-gold fuergar pup looked back at him, its beady eyes filled with excitement. He felt the image of dragon-as-rodent stretch as the dragonling examined it, seeming satisfied with the result. A new image, containing the vague shape of a blue kobold and four humanoid figures, coalesced in his mind. The blue blur held out a blob with a rodent-tail to the ¡®humans¡¯, who nodded their heads in vigorous approval.


    Kaz snorted a laugh. ¡°I doubt it will be that easy. You need to go back in the bag until we can ask Lianhua how to handle introducing you to the others.¡±


    Li bared its teeth at him, clicking angrily, and Kaz sent the picture of the kobold and the humans back to it, only this time when the kobold held out the rodent, one of the humans chopped it in half with a long blade. This made the dragon hesitate, then sigh deeply.


    Kaz nodded in satisfaction. Pulling his pack around, he tugged out several mushrooms, a handful of moss, and two small bunches of lichen, all of which were edible. After piling all of this around the little pseudo-dragon, he held the bag open for Li, who reluctantly climbed back in.


    It was time to get back to the humans, and find out whether he had done enough to save Lianhua or not.

 Chapter Twenty-eight

    The passages were strangely silent as Kaz passed, without the chittering, scratching sounds produced by the things that usually lurked just outside the light. He grabbed a few more handfuls of lichen on the way, refilling his pack a bit, then stopped just around the last bend before the cavern where he¡¯d left the humans.


    Crouching, he wrapped his knife back in the dirty leather bundle with the broken blade, then took out a bit more of the firemoss, placing it on the ground. He repeated the process of producing the thick, stringy goo, then used his fire-striker to light it. He didn¡¯t have any long bones, which were what kobolds usually used for torches, but there was a long, flattish stone nearby, so he scooped the burning goo onto it, making a reasonable light source suitable for a completely powerless male kobold. Then, reluctantly, he put out his light orb, shrinking his ¡®safe¡¯ space to barely beyond reach of his arm.


    When he cautiously rounded the corner, ready to run if it looked like Lianhua hadn¡¯t recovered after all, he saw that the group was once again illuminated by Gaoda¡¯s brilliant white light orb, rather than Raff¡¯s dimmer, yellowish stone. Everyone except Lianhua was sitting up, but the female now had a bundle of cloth beneath her head, and another huge piece of fabric laid out over her body.


    At the sound of Kaz¡¯s claws scraping on stone, the males tensed, Raff half-standing and drawing his blade. Kaz mostly ignored them, his attention on Lianhua, who rolled her head to the side to look at him. A pale smile brightened her face.


    ¡°Kaz! I knew you didn¡¯t abandon us,¡± she said.


    Kaz froze, looking at the males, who still hadn¡¯t relaxed. He reached down and pulled the fuergar from his belt. ¡°I went hunting. I told Chi Yincang.¡±


    Gaoda snorted, and Raff finally sat back down, returning his weapon to its sheath.


    ¡°So he told us,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°At least you brought meat.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lianhua said, struggling up to her elbows. The males immediately urged her to lie back down, and she gave them a long-suffering glance.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she told them, but her hand shook as she threw back the covering. ¡°Or at least I will be, once I eat something.¡±


    Raff stood, holding out his hand for the fuergar. ¡°I¡¯ll get them ready.¡±


    Kaz hesitated. ¡°I can do it. I have some toufa and jiao, too. It will help the flavor.¡±


    Raff glanced at Gaoda, who looked at Lianhua, then gave a single nod. The big man pulled a small knife from a sheath at his belt, handing it to Kaz hilt-first. ¡°You¡¯ll need this, then.¡±


    Kaz accepted it, sensing that something had just shifted among the party, though he wasn¡¯t exactly sure what it was. Turning, he walked to the edge of the light and set down his makeshift torch and the fuergar. Preparing meat was a task for pups among the kobolds, so Kaz had long experience with it, and the metal knife was far superior to the stone blades he usually used. He finished quickly, then stuffed the cavity with the jiao and toufa and brought the prepared fuergar back to Raff, who had already set up his little fire stone.


    Once the first fuergar was spitted on Raff¡¯s sword and roasting over the flames, Kaz turned back to the rest of the group. Lianhua, who was now sitting up and had a little more color in her face, patted the stone beside her. Kaz hurried over and sat, ignoring Gaoda¡¯s sour look.


    ¡°Thank you again, Kaz,¡± Lianhua told him, patting his hand. ¡°Chi Yincang said you found the firemoss and treated my wound, and then you went and found dinner, as well. You¡¯ve certainly proven your worth today.¡±


    ¡°After leading us into a pit full of ki-resistant monsters,¡± Gaoda muttered.


    ¡°After you told him we could handle it, without listening to his warning that the creatures were dangerous,¡± Lianhua corrected.


    Gaoda looked away, shrugging his shoulders.


    Lianhua watched him, sighing. When it seemed he had nothing more to add, she turned back to Kaz. ¡°There¡¯s something you should know about us.¡±


    At this, Gaoda looked back, but she glared at him until he turned to Raff, asking the other male if the food was ready yet, even though it obviously wasn¡¯t.


    Lianhua shook her head, turning her attention back to Kaz. ¡°The truth is,¡± she told him, ¡°we¡¯re not even supposed to be here.¡±


    Seeing his surprise, she smiled ruefully, waving around at the cavern in which they sat, and especially the hanging shadow of the lopo. ¡°By that, I mean we¡¯re not supposed to be in this part of the mountain. Grandfather gave us permission to travel, but the last time anyone from our clan came here, there was a path that led directly to what you call the Deep. We have tokens that were meant to grant us passage, but when we arrived, we were told the tunnel collapsed more than twenty years ago, and we would have to turn back.¡±


    She shook her head, eyeing Gaoda¡¯s back. ¡°Some of us thought that should be it, but I insisted we try to find another way. We hired Raff, who told us a few dragon hunters had come back with wild tales of entering through a cave the dragons used as a nesting ground.¡±


    Raff snorted. ¡°Dragon hunters¡¯re a mad lot, anyway, but the stories were consistent enough I figured there might be some truth to ¡®em.¡±


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    ¡°And there was!¡± Lianhua said, smiling. ¡°But now, instead of an easy path leading directly to a kobold tribe who had a treaty with humans, we find ourselves having to take the long way down.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I guess that explains why we don¡¯t have more humans wandering in the way you did, but I¡¯m not sure what difference it makes.¡±


    She bit her lip. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ We¡¯re not quite as strong as we may have led you to believe.¡±


    Kaz gave her a look, and she chuckled.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re strong enough for most things,¡± she admitted. ¡°Even I can stand against anything we¡¯ve met to this point, given enough time to prepare. It¡¯s just that we were never expected to have to fight anything very powerful, and as we go deeper, we may find things that are beyond us, no matter what we might like to believe. And, as our guide, you need to know that.¡±


    Lianhua tilted her head toward the others. ¡°I know this won¡¯t make much sense to you, but Gaoda is at the Tin body stage, and Early Foundation in ki refinement. That means his skin and muscles are much stronger than those of a normal human, and he can cycle ki and refine it quite well, but he hasn¡¯t finished opening all of his channels and secondary dantians.


    ¡°Chi Yincang is Iron body, and Late Refining. His skin and muscles are even stronger than Gaoda¡¯s, and he¡¯s started reinforcing his organs and bones as well. He hasn¡¯t finished cleansing his dantians and channels yet, though, so while he has more ki than most of your females, he has a lower capacity than Gaoda and me, so his endurance isn¡¯t as good.¡±


    She glanced at Raff, who snorted.


    ¡°I¡¯m none of that fancy stuff,¡± Raff said, pulling the roasted fuergar off his sword without flinching, even though the meat had to be hot enough to blister. He tossed it to Chi Yincang, who caught it with equal ease and began cutting it into slices.


    Sliding the next fuergar onto the weapon, he went on. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about ki, or refining, or whatever it is. I can use some mana, and my guild trained me to use that to make my body stronger than any regular person. This lot calls what I do ¡®Iron body¡¯, like Chi Yincang here, but as far as I¡¯m concerned, I was just lucky to be born able to do this, and then meet the right teachers. I¡¯m no mage, though.¡±


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°The difference between our magic systems is actually quite fascinating. I once read a treatise by Huang Hanying, who theorized that-¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve told a potential traitor all about us, cousin,¡± Gaoda broke in, voice sharper than it usually was when speaking to Lianhua, ¡°so perhaps you should speak about yourself now.¡±


    Color rose in Lianhua¡¯s cheeks, but she nodded. ¡°Fair enough. I¡¯m also Tin body, but that path has never been my focus, so I¡¯m not as far along as Gaoda. I¡¯m a little stronger and sturdier than a regular human all the time, but I have to focus in order to channel more ki to my skin and muscles. I¡¯m also Early Foundation, so our ki capacity and refinement speed are roughly the same, though Gaoda may be a bit stronger than me.¡±


    Kaz could have told her that wasn¡¯t true, since the whirling ball of energy in her belly was much brighter than Gaoda¡¯s, but he certainly wasn¡¯t going to do so in front of the males. For the first time, though, he thought he might ask a few cautious questions.


    He gestured to his eyes. ¡°Do you¡­ see better than other humans?¡± He wished he could ask if they saw what he did, but, given that Lianhua¡¯s ability to simply sense the ki of other creatures was so highly valued, he found it highly doubtful.


    Lianhua shook her head, then glanced at Chi Yincang, who was offering the plate of sliced meat to Gaoda. ¡°Developing the senses comes with Iron body. As the organs are refined, including the eyes and brain, a cultivator¡¯s senses sharpen as well.¡±


    Kaz couldn¡¯t help a small shiver as he glanced at Chi Yincang, who was completely ignoring the conversation as he offered a plate to Lianhua. She accepted gratefully, pulling two smooth sticks from her pouch. Kaz had seen the humans eat with these before, pinching bites of food between the crossed sticks, and now he gratefully turned the topic away from what Chi Yincang might or might not have seen and heard when Kaz thought he was far enough from the humans not to be spied upon.


    He pointed at the sticks. ¡°Where did those come from? None of you carries much, but you always seem to have everything you need.¡±


    She nodded, swallowing the bite she had been chewing. ¡°We have spatial storage pouches. We can store quite a bit in them. Basically, anything that can fit through the opening will go in, though eventually they will fill up.¡±


    Raff shook his head. ¡°You nobles may have fancy ones,¡± he said, ¡°but mine¡¯s just the standard issue given out to all mid-level members of the Band of Blades. Just big enough to carry my gear, a change of clothes, and some food and water.¡±


    He cast Kaz a wry glance. ¡°Don¡¯t let these fancy folks fool you. Most people have just enough to get by. If they have a full belly and a roof over their heads, that¡¯s good enough.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Just like us. Most kobolds just want enough to eat, and a safe place to sleep and raise our pups.¡±


    Raff looked startled at the comparison, then thoughtful. ¡°Guess that¡¯s true. Doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re a human or a¡­ something else. I suppose we all want that.¡±


    Lianhua looked between them and smiled, nodding. ¡°I think that¡¯s true. Luo Tai once wrote that-¡±


    She went on for a while, but eventually even Kaz stopped listening. He got some of the second fuergar, and managed to stuff a good portion of the third into his pack for Li. Between his own full belly and the dragon¡¯s feeling of sleepy contentment hovering around the edges of his awareness, his eyes began to drift closed even as his mind turned over everything he¡¯d learned.


    The humans weren¡¯t as strong as he¡¯d thought. He¡¯d already started to understand that, but he had a feeling that they would be unpleasantly surprised once the group entered the mid-levels of the mountain. The powerful kobolds tribes kept the Deep clear of any significant monster infestations. The political machinations and constant infighting would probably be the greatest danger they would face there.


    Meanwhile, something about the heights usually kept the strong monsters from growing or coming here. He had heard Oda tell Katri that power grew harder to access as they climbed the mountain, and now he suspected she had been talking about the availability of ambient mana, or perhaps ki? Though either the difference wasn¡¯t really noticeable at this level, or he couldn¡¯t tell because he didn¡¯t seem to take in mana the way the humans did.


    Still, they were obviously getting close enough to the middle of the mountain that some of the stronger beasts were able to grow into true monsters, at least in places where there were no kobolds to kill them while they were young. The enormous lopo and the giant fuergar were evidence enough of that, and he wondered what they would find as they traveled even further down.


    Kaz had been too young to fight when the Broken Knives had made their way up to the heights, so he hadn¡¯t seen the creatures along the way firsthand. They had still had powerful males then, including several of his uncles who had died or been traded away during their travels. Kaz had heard stories of the things that lurked in the mostly uninhabited mid-levels, but he hadn¡¯t believed them until today. Rega had been known to embellish her tales in an attempt to keep curious little pups from venturing too far from the den. Not that it had worked very well with Kaz.


    But now, Kaz was heading straight into those dangerous levels, with little knowledge of their layout, and a group who weren¡¯t the unstoppable killing force he had believed them to be. He had hoped to help Lianhua find some sign of her lost civilization there, in areas no one had explored or looted for some unknown but likely significant period of time. Unfortunately, he would probably have to keep them to the stairs, a path which had its own dangers.


    All of which meant that if they survived the passage through the mid-levels, they really would eventually enter the Deep. A place where his tribe, and his mother in particular, had left behind a large number of enemies, many of whom would probably be less than pleased to see her son. As Kaz¡¯s eyelids finally drifted shut, he wondered if he would be in more danger among the titans of the mid-levels, or the scheming kobolds of the Deep.

 Chapter Twenty-nine

    Times for waking and sleeping were no longer defined by the females brightening or dimming the lights around the den, so Kaz had no idea what time it was when sounds of movement woke him. He opened his eyes to see Raff and Chi Yincang preparing a pot of something over Raff¡¯s fire. Groggily, he sat up. Something fell away from his body as he did so, and he glanced down in surprise.


    At some point, someone had covered him with the piece of fabric Lianhua had been using to stay warm. Lying on the ground where his head had been, he also saw a bundle like the one she had been resting her head on, and he glanced over to see her sitting nearby, smiling at him.


    She looked good, though he thought her skin was still a little paler than it had been before. It was hard to tell, since she was always so colorless that if her fur grew properly all over her body, she would fit right in among the Palefur tribe.


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± she asked softly, motioning to the covering and the head-pad.


    He nodded, picking them up and handing them to her. ¡°Thank you. How are you feeling?¡±


    She shrugged, tugging up the bottom of her robe so he could see that her injury was still pink, but no longer inflamed or blistered. ¡°Cultivators heal quickly, though it¡¯ll take me longer than any of them.¡±


    Lianhua tilted her head toward the males, and Kaz looked at Raff and Chi Yincang, who no longer had visible wounds at all. He could see faint, pale marks where the worst of the injuries had been, but only the scratch on Chi Yincang¡¯s neck that he had applied the firemoss to was still red at all. Kaz winced at the sight. It seemed that his ¡®remedy¡¯ had caused more damage than the original attack.


    The female seemed to read his mind, and she gave him a smile as she smoothed her robe back into place. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I could feel that venom invading my body, and then the burning.¡± She flinched a little. ¡°It helped, though, and eventually¡­¡±


    She trailed off, forehead-fur drawing together. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I passed out, and when I woke again, the poison was gone. There¡¯s some lingering damage in my ki channels, which is strange, but I need to meditate anyway, and I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll clear up when I do.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°Meditate?¡±


    Lianhua chuckled. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s not something most people do, but cultivators meditate almost every day.¡± She settled back, crossing her legs and placing her hands palm up on her knees, touching her first finger and thumb together to create a relaxed circle. Closing her eyes, she drew in a breath through her nose, then released it through her mouth slowly.


    On a whim, Kaz pushed ki into his eyes, and watched in amazement as the spinning energy in Lianhua¡¯s belly and head whirled faster, condensing and pulling in the gray mist from the air around her, while the power coursing through her channels slowed to match her breathing. This forced the ki in her belly to stay in place longer before flowing out, though the space it occupied remained the same. The ki seemed to press in on itself, then pulse out with her exhalation, allowing the pressure to release, while also pushing more ki than usual through her channels. He noticed that the blue, gold, and black color of the ki that flowed out was clearer and brighter, as well.


    Lianhua opened her eyes again, letting her hands fall to her sides and, after a moment, her ki flow returned to normal. ¡°The goal is to increase your ki capacity, while also widening your channels. If you do it right, you can flush out the impurities caused by taking in tainted ki, and even open new dantians. Eventually, the improvements remain even when you aren¡¯t meditating, which is what allows people to refine their souls and bodies.¡±


    Raff huffed a laugh as he held out bowls of some thick substance to Lianhua and Kaz. Kaz yipped softly in surprise, having been so focused on what was happening in Lianhua¡¯s body that he hadn¡¯t even noticed the large male approach.


    ¡°Lotta bellybutton gazing, if you ask me,¡± Raff said. ¡°This lot¡¯ll sit around for hours like that, then complain about ¡®ki density¡¯ and ¡®filthy ki¡¯. Our mages get stronger the hard way; by doing. They start out with a bigger mana pool than other people, then learn spells, cast them until they can¡¯t anymore, and keep learnin¡¯ bigger, stronger spells. No ki or naps required.¡±


    Kaz dipped a finger into the goop in the bowl, eyeing Lianhua as she used her sticks to place some into her mouth. She wrinkled her nose, but continued to eat, so Kaz scooped some up as well. It was hot, and tasted faintly burned beneath the bland flavor, but it was edible, so he ate the rest without complaint, while thinking about what the two humans had told him.


    There did indeed seem to be some link between what Raff called ¡®mana¡¯, and the others called ¡®ki¡¯. Kaz thought that the gray stuff that the humans condensed from the air was probably mana, which Raff used just as it was. It was something like using fresh firemoss, which burned for a long time, but more slowly, and produced a great deal of smoke and soot.


    Ki, on the other hand, appeared to be more like refined firemoss oil. It took work to make, which made the whole process slower, but when it burned, it was much brighter, though it didn¡¯t last nearly as long as raw firemoss, which could smolder for days. Firemoss oil also burned cleanly, leaving little to no residue, depending on how well it had been prepared.


    He could definitely see the utility in both, and sometimes a kobold tribe would intentionally set fire to a patch of firemoss, usually if they needed long-lasting light while a female was away, or recovering from an illness or injury. Breathing too much of the smoke it produced could make you dizzy, however, and children or the elderly had even been known to pass out, making it a dangerous thing to use on a regular basis.


    The refined oil had far more uses, and didn¡¯t cause harm to anyone unless it spread somewhere it wasn¡¯t supposed to be. The only way to put it out was to completely smother it, which was next to impossible with anything larger than the tiny dabs kobolds used on their torches.


    Neither of these scenarios applied precisely to his or the dragonling¡¯s situation, though. All of the humans started by taking in mana, but Kaz and Li¡¯s cores seemed to produce ki without needing anything from outside their own bodies. In fact, Kaz wasn¡¯t certain he could pull mana in if he tried.


    Glancing around, he saw that the others were still sitting, chatting or eating. If he was quick about it, maybe he could try this meditation himself. He set the bowl down on the ground beside him, then tried to cross his legs the way Lianhua had. He quickly found that his knees didn¡¯t bend the same way hers did. Still, he did the best he could, then rested his hands on his thighs, circling thumb and forefinger. Closing his eyes, Kaz breathed in through his nose, then out through his mouth, focusing his strange internal vision on his core.


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    Nothing happened. His core spun, happily churning out ki, which flowed out through the channel along his backbone, spun, circled, and mingled with Li¡¯s ki in his head, and then flowed back down to his core through the channel that traced down the front of his body. Now that he was looking, he could see the narrower channels that led to and from his limbs, but they didn¡¯t really seem to do much except accept ki that vanished without trace, presumably being used by his body in some way.


    He turned his focus outside of himself, watching the flow of energy along the cords linking himself, Li, and the seed. The seed seemed to primarily need the golden ki, which poured down the link, falling into the bottomless pit within the peculiar object. Li, on the other hand, took in all the colors of ki, but only gave him back gold, white, and black, leaving him to wonder where the blue and red had gone, so he turned his attention to the dragon.


    Li¡¯s core spun, pulling in Kaz¡¯s ki like it was unraveling strands of Lianhua¡¯s long head-fur. Five colors went in, but only three flowed out through the little dragon¡¯s channels. Somehow, the core was filtering what Li didn¡¯t use, but where did it go?


    Frowning, he pushed more ki into his eyes, even though he wasn¡¯t actually using physical vision at all. It helped, though, and he could finally ¡®see¡¯ a very, very fine mist of blue and red, diffusing into the dragon¡¯s body, then out into the air, where it vanished.


    Was that where mana came from? Was it produced as ki by creatures with cores, who then used what they could, and shunted the rest back out into the world? Would the rejected ki soon lose its brilliant color and merge with the gray fog that the humans then used for their own magic? Didn¡¯t that mean that when humans killed beasts for their cores, they were actually destroying the very thing that gave them their own power? What did they use the cores for, anyway?


    A hand gently touched his shoulder, and his eyes flew open. Only then did he realize that he hadn¡¯t even really tried to pull mana into his own body, and he sighed in frustration as he looked up into Lianhua¡¯s bemused eyes.


    ¡°Were you trying to meditate?¡± she asked.


    His ears lowered slightly, but he nodded, and her expression shifted to one of fascination. ¡°How did it go? Did you sense anything?¡±


    Gaoda stepped out from behind her, clicking his tongue in derision. ¡°Of course he didn¡¯t. He¡¯s just a kobold, and a male at that. Beasts can¡¯t cultivate.¡±


    Lianhua glared at him. ¡°That¡¯s not true. What about divine beasts?¡±


    The male waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Mythology and speculation. Besides, Blue is far from divine.¡±


    ¡°His name is-¡±


    Kaz stood hastily, though his knees complained as they pulled out of the awkward position he¡¯d folded them into. ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± he said. ¡°Is it time to go?¡±


    Gaoda nodded, as did Lianhua, though with more reluctance. Kaz looked around, and realized that he¡¯d somehow failed to notice as the fire was put out and everything put away. He hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d spent that long trying to meditate, but perhaps something about the process of turning his attention inward also affected the way he perceived time? That would explain why Raff said the other humans could spend hours meditating.


    That was something to think about at another time, though, since right now he needed to figure out how to get the humans from here to the stairs down to the next level. He turned in place, staring out at the cavern, from the passage behind them, to the stalactites hanging far above, probably concealing at least a few young lopo, to the menacing shape of the mammoth lopo in the distance, barely illuminated by the edges of Gaoda¡¯s ki orb.


    He glanced at Lianhua, who shook her head subtly. She¡¯d found no sign of the building the Bittergrub had claimed to see, and with the lopo protecting the center of the cavern, there was no way Kaz could claim the stairs were back that way so they could explore the area more. This was likely a dead end for her investigation, which had very nearly become a dead end for the investigator as well.


    Sighing, Kaz motioned to the humans, and Raff took his place in the lead, while Chi Yincang disappeared into the darkness, and Lianhua and Gaoda fell in behind Kaz. They began to walk while Kaz examined his internal map and sense of where he was in relation to the rest of the mountain.


    After several minutes of silent walking, Kaz said, ¡°We¡¯ll need to go this way for quite a while. I only know of one way down from here, and while the lopo cavern is closer to it than the other way we could have come, it¡¯ll still take a while to get there.¡±


    ¡°Like that¡¯s new,¡± Gaoda muttered. ¡°Nothing in this place is convenient to anything else. It¡¯s like you¡¯ve all intentionally made it as complicated as possible.¡±


    Kaz shrugged, following close on Raff¡¯s heels so he could tell the male if they needed to turn or go back. It wasn¡¯t safe for Kaz to stay in the lead, but Raff got grumpy if he had to retrace his steps even a short distance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was on purpose. The finished tunnels mostly connect stairways and large caverns. It¡¯s just that so many of the stairs either can¡¯t be used anymore, or are controlled by tribes that demand payment for passage. The rough ones like this,¡± he trailed a hand over the rugged surface of the stone wall, ¡°seem to be entirely natural, though sometimes they were formed by fuergar or other beasts who eat or burrow through stone and ore. We kobolds use all of them, though we¡¯ll widen the ones we use most often.¡±


    ¡°Raff told us these fuergar use the minerals they ingest to strengthen their bones and teeth, and their fur actually works as well as low-quality armor,¡± Lianhua said from behind him. ¡°Are there other creatures that do something similar?¡±


    Kaz nodded, absently tugging a handful of jejing moss from the wall. ¡°Several. You may have noticed there¡¯s more rock than anything else in the mountain. If a creature can eat it, they¡¯ll never go hungry.¡±


    ¡°It seems like kobolds eat everything other than stone,¡± Lianhua said, though her tone was interested, rather than judgemental. ¡°What is that you picked up?¡±


    Kaz held it up. He didn¡¯t want to open his pack to put it inside while the humans were watching, so he should have left the moss behind, but jejing was both useful and somewhat rare, so he¡¯d grabbed it without thinking.


    ¡°Jejing,¡± he told her. ¡°It keeps wounds from sickening and turning black, and we also burn it when someone dies, to keep spirits from attaching themselves to the body.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Does that¡­ happen?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Never in my memory, but we always used jejing.¡±


    Looking ahead, he caught a glimpse of something at the edge of their advancing sphere of light and held up a hand.


    ¡°Raff,¡± he said softly, and the human froze.


    ¡°What?¡± Raff asked, setting his hand to the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°Just wait a moment,¡± Kaz told him, stepping past to examine the totem that had caught his attention. It was one he didn¡¯t recognize, made of a broad, flat-faced skull perched atop a long bone. Strips of deep red leather had been wound through the mouth, ears, and nasal cavity in a complex pattern. The teeth had been pulled, and dangled from the ends of the leather strips, clicking together as Kaz reached out to turn it.


    He shook his head, stepping back. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize this one. My tribe passed through here a while ago, and we didn¡¯t linger.¡±


    ¡°Let me help you then,¡± a strange voice said as a completely black-furred kobold stepped from the shadows ahead. He held a bow, held ready with an arrow aimed right at Kaz, and behind him stood two more males, also with raised bows.


    ¡°We¡¯re the Blackbow tribe, and this is our territory.¡±

 Chapter Thirty

    Behind Kaz, the humans tensed, and Kaz saw the two kobolds in the back shift their arrows to point toward Raff. Quickly, Kaz held up a hand, hoping that would be enough to keep the humans from doing anything drastic, though he didn¡¯t dare look around.


    Lowering his chin, Kaz lowered his ears slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m Kaz, of the¡­ Longknife tribe. My chief instructed me to guide these humans to the Deep. We just need to get to the stairs.¡±


    The lead Blackbow frowned, but his aim never wavered. ¡°We control the stairs. Passage will be five days of food for each member of your party.¡± His gaze swept over the group, who clearly held no meat or other visible trade goods before returning to Kaz.


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered further. ¡°We can get it, or-¡±


    ¡°This is ridiculous! Just let us pass!¡± Gaoda¡¯s sharp voice interrupted, and all three bows moved to point at the human as he moved forward to stand beside Kaz. With a flick of his wrist, which by now Kaz knew was entirely unnecessary, he split the ki ball hovering at his shoulder into four pieces, which began to spin slowly around his body.


    ¡°Gaoda,¡± Lianhua¡¯s voice nearly hummed with frustration, ¡°didn¡¯t we just talk about this?¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s lips pressed into a thin line, but he nodded once, sharply. Glaring at the Blackbow males, he said, ¡°Let us talk to your chief. We¡¯ll give her something, and be on our way.¡±


    The male kobolds had tensed at Gaoda¡¯s approach, and one of the males in the back had half-raised his head, ready to howl a warning to the rest of the tribe. Now, they hesitated, their eyes flicking between Kaz, Gaoda, and the rest of the group.


    Kaz spoke quickly, ears flat and tail down. ¡°The humans don¡¯t understand our ways. That¡¯s why my chief sent me with them. We really just want to pass through, and we can pay.¡±


    The lead male¡¯s lip was drawn back, baring his teeth. ¡°Vix,¡± he barked, and the smallest of the males whirled and darted off down the passage behind them. As soon as he was engulfed by shadow, he began to howl.


    Glancing at Kaz, the male said, ¡°Pup, tell your female she needs to go back. One of our females will come.¡±


    Kaz nodded and turned to Gaoda. ¡°He¡¯s not supposed to speak to a female of another tribe without permission. I could have negotiated for you, but now you¡¯ll have to wait until their female arrives.¡±


    Gaoda looked puzzled and a little angry. ¡°But I¡¯m not-¡±


    Raff clapped a hand on Gaoda¡¯s shoulder, clearing his throat loudly. ¡°Blue mentioned this to me before. I¡¯ll, uh, explain in a bit.¡±


    This only increased Gaoda¡¯s displeasure, but between Raff and Lianhua, they were able to convince him to step back. Howls echoed in the distance for a minute, and then the adventurers and the kobolds waited in uneasy silence until a young female with dark gray fur and a flickering light clinging to her uplifted hand arrived with the male who had run off and two others. The new males were larger and more muscular than the first, and one of them hovered protectively over the female, his body half-blocking hers. The female cast a wary glance at the humans, and Kaz saw her chin hitch up as she drew in a breath.


    ¡°I am Vida. My mo- Chief Vilti sent me to speak with you.¡± She looked straight at Gaoda, ignoring everyone else.


    Gaoda¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he said, ¡°We want to go down the stairs. Let us through and-¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s hand rested briefly on his arm. ¡°Gaoda Xiang,¡± she said, simply, but the male sighed.


    Reaching into the pouch at his waist, Gaoda pulled out a square of bright yellow cloth much like the one they had traded to Ogden for passage down the shaft in Graybelly territory. He waved it at Vida.


    ¡°We¡¯ll give you this. Now, which way do we need to go?¡± Gaoda strode forward, holding it out, looking quite pleased with himself. Vida instantly stepped back as the largest male shifted so he stood between the human and the female kobold, lip lifting to bare his teeth.


    Kaz slid between them, taking the cloth from Gaoda¡¯s fingers. It glided against his skin like water as he knelt, lowering his head and lifting the cloth, placing himself in an entirely vulnerable position.


    Again, silence fell, and then the smallest male, Vix, cautiously stepped forward and lifted the fabric from Kaz¡¯s loose grasp. He could hear the delicate fibers catch against the rough calluses of his skin as it was removed, and then paws padded away from him, toward Vida.


    ¡°A¡­ Acceptable,¡± the female stuttered, and Kaz dared to glance up at her. She was staring at the deep yellow cloth in fascination, letting it slide from one hand to the other. The gift was a magnificent one, and would probably be made into a loincloth worn by their chief for special occasions, or used to trade for something valuable that they wanted from another tribe.


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    ¡°Good then,¡± Gaoda huffed, and nudged Kaz with his foot. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Kaz remained where he was until Vida and the males shifted far enough away that his movement wouldn¡¯t be seen as a threat. Only when he was convinced that they were no longer paying any attention to him did he climb to his feet and turn to the humans, who were watching him with confusion and some annoyance.


    ¡°These kobolds are strangers,¡± Kaz said, lowering his voice and stepping closer. ¡°They don¡¯t know my tribe, and I don¡¯t know theirs. We¡¯re not enemies, allies, or trade partners. My uncle isn¡¯t mated to their future leader, and we haven¡¯t done any favors for them. As a strange male in their territory, I can speak to their males, but once a female becomes involved, another female is required.¡±


    He locked eyes with Gaoda and tilted his head toward the human¡¯s ki orb. ¡°Only females can use ki, or mana. If you have power, you must be female.¡±


    That was all he felt comfortable saying while the Blackbows could hear him, and he hoped Gaoda would understand. It was probably something he should have discussed with the male before this, but he honestly hadn¡¯t known how. Raff knew, but Kaz suspected the human didn¡¯t understand just how important this distinction was.


    Gaoda still looked unhappy, but when Lianhua touched his arm briefly, his shoulders relaxed a little. ¡°Fine. Explain later.¡±


    Kaz nodded, and turned back as the original three males separated from the group of kobolds and walked back toward them. The leader of the trio nodded to Kaz, not even glancing at Gaoda. ¡°We¡¯ll take you to the stairs, but you will need to negotiate separately with the Stoneborn, who control the territory below. They recently rose from the mid-levels, and they are aggressive.¡±


    Kaz felt his shoulders tense. While he didn¡¯t recognize the tribe name, he did know the type. Tribes of the upper levels knew that resources were scarce, and sometimes they had to work together to kill a powerful monster or get enough food for their members when their territory was picked clean. If they gained a reputation for being difficult, soon no one would trade with them or let them settle nearby. That was exactly what had happened to Oda and the Broken Knives, and it was a bleak place to be.


    On the other hand, no tribe lasted long in the mid-levels without being militant and territorial. Their territories were usually small, and monsters still encroached on them almost daily. Since most beasts could be eaten, this made food fairly plentiful, and water was far more common as well. The tribes that stayed, rather than just passing through, usually had artifacts from the Deep, and their members, males and females alike, were hardened and experienced in battle.


    ¡°I see,¡± he said, sighing. ¡°I don¡¯t know another way down from this level. Do you?¡±


    The male shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of two other staircases, but they¡¯re both broken. There was a tunnel, but it collapsed during my father¡¯s time. This is the only passage left, and the Stoneborn are refusing to let anyone by unless we yield the territory around the stairs to them, or accept a luegat.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed as he fully understood the situation. Controlling the passages between levels was equally lucrative and dangerous. A tribe could make a great number of advantageous trades, yes, but other tribes coveted the territory greatly, which often made the situation precarious at best.


    This explained why the Blackbows had patrols walking the edge of their territory. They were concerned that the Stoneborn would find or create a passage between the levels, which would allow them to sneak up and attack without warning. It was unlikely, but certainly not unheard of.


    Which put the humans in a difficult position; one which would require a different approach from the conciliatory stance Kaz had been using up to now.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°We¡¯re ready.¡±


    The Blackbow gave him a brief tilt of the chin, then turned away. His subordinates stepped to the side, only falling in after Kaz and the humans passed. With Raff close behind the lead kobold, Kaz dropped back to walk beside Lianhua and Gaoda.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to show our strength,¡± Kaz said conversationally. It was best that the Blackbow males know what they were about to do, so they didn¡¯t react badly. ¡°The tribe on the next level won¡¯t be like the ones we¡¯ve met before. In general, females of tribes in the upper levels are of similar power, and there¡¯s a good bit of unclaimed territory, so battles between tribes are actually fairly rare.¡±


    In spite of what my personal experience would lead someone to believe, he thought wryly, before continuing. ¡°Those tribes assumed that we would be willing to trade or retreat, and even vaguely threatening behavior was taken¡­ badly. If these Stoneborn are from the mid-levels, that means they were forced out, either by beasts or another tribe. They¡¯ll be wounded and defensive. While they may not have many members, those members are likely to be quite strong. And, if they¡¯re truly determined not to allow passage in order to force the Blackbows to fight or flee, they won¡¯t be willing to trade.¡±


    Lianhua frowned. ¡°What do we do, then?¡±


    Gaoda snorted. ¡°Wipe them out, obviously. If there aren¡¯t many, it¡¯ll be a simple matter.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s lip wanted to curl back, but he forced himself to speak calmly. ¡°If you convince them you can slaughter them like whimpering fuergar, they may be willing to step aside, and they can do so without forfeiting their honor because you aren¡¯t kobolds. Their prohibition doesn¡¯t technically apply to you.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Lianhua asked.


    He shrugged, though he couldn¡¯t meet her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just a male pup. I¡¯m barely worth noticing.¡±


    Gaoda snorted. ¡°So, we should show we can kill them all, but not actually do it?¡±


    ¡°Is it worth your while to fight them?¡± Kaz asked, bluntly. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee none of them will manage to hit you, and it¡¯s still in our best interest not to go around killing whole tribes. If you get a reputation for going on murderous rampages, we may be attacked as soon as we come close. Some tribes may even begin setting traps for us.¡±


    He could tell that Gaoda wanted to dismiss these concerns, but Lianhua nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to do our best to be just frightening enough.¡±


    Raff turned his head as he walked into an open cavern ahead of them. ¡°Glad you all got that worked out, because it looks like it¡¯s showtime.¡±

 Chapter Thirty-one

    Power flared around all the humans, startling Kaz, and he realized that he had become so used to pushing power into his eyes that he was doing it without thinking. He thought back to their meeting with the Blackbow female, and realized that he¡¯d dimly seen her core and channels, but hadn¡¯t even paused to consider what that meant. He shuddered as he realized that in that simple action, he could have revealed himself as bearing a core and ki, but thankfully it seemed that the female hadn¡¯t noticed anything. Perhaps his caution around females all these years had been entirely unnecessary? Though Rega had said she knew he held power, so how had she known?


    He shook his head as Chi Yincang flashed into being beside him, bounding down the stairs while whirling his long weapon. Raff was already gone, his great sword held high as he emitted a credible howl. Gaoda had his full five ki balls dancing and darting around him, and a ferocious grin on his face. The males forged ahead, leaving Lianhua, who had her eyes closed, pushing golden sheaths out over her limbs as an arrow of pure white light flared into being on her bow.


    Kaz stepped up beside her as her eyes flashed open, flickering with ki for a moment before settling into their usual bright amethyst. ¡°Lianhua,¡± he said, resting a hand on her sleeve for a moment.


    The female looked at him, pausing in her first stride toward the stairs.


    ¡°If anything happens, leave me behind,¡± Kaz said, hurrying to push the words past what felt like a fist around his heart. ¡°The next several flights of stairs are close together. Just ask whoever controls each one how to reach the next. When you get to the middle levels, wait for me. A day, maybe two. No more. If I take longer than that, you¡¯ll need to find a new guide.¡±


    Lianhua frowned, the light of her arrow flickering uncertainly. ¡°No, Kaz, I promised I would protect you-¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°If it comes to a battle, yes, but I hope it won¡¯t. Hopefully everything will be fine. If not¡­ just trust me, and go.¡±


    She drew in a deep breath, but dipped her head in acknowledgement. ¡°All right. But if you don¡¯t meet us, I¡¯m coming back for you.¡± Her gaze was fierce, and the terrible clenching sensation in his chest eased.


    His tail wagged briefly. ¡°Just remember to tell the tribes at the stairs that I¡¯m coming behind you, and they should let me through.¡±


    Her smile was tight. ¡°I will.¡±


    Together, they turned to face the stairs. The males were probably already nearing the bottom, so Kaz would have to hurry if he wanted to prevent a slaughter. Lianhua seemed to sense his concern, and with a murmured, ¡°Sorry,¡± she picked him up, holding him easily beneath one arm as she clasped her bow with the other. In spite of the one-handed grip, a glowing arrow still hovered in it, nocked against an invisible string.


    Lianhua leaped forward, jumping five or six stairs at a time. She wasn¡¯t that much taller than Kaz, but her longer legs and greater experience with the ki flowing through her body seemed to make this simple, and they soon joined the males, who had actually stopped about halfway down, waiting.


    When they arrived, Gaoda huffed an impatient breath, but said nothing before continuing on. Raff leaped ahead again, while Chi Yincang resumed his flickering jumps. Lianhua set Kaz down, then lifted her bow back into place and ran after the others, with Kaz slowly but inexorably falling behind.


    As he ran, jumping over a few steps here and there, but mostly forced to scramble down the nine-inch stairs, he pushed ki into his ears, trying to pick up any sound of battle as soon as it began. Not that he knew what he would do if the humans simply threw themselves into an attack. He could only hope they had listened to him, and would restrain themselves to posturing until he caught up.


    A large group of kobolds waited at the bottom of the stairs. They, too, had weapons bared, and Kaz saw many drawn bows, as well as an unusual number of all-metal knives, and even a few blades that were several inches longer than a standard stone knife. This tribe was incredibly wealthy by upper-level standards, and their members were scarred and powerful-looking, male and female alike. Kaz even saw one elderly female whose light hovered above her hand, rather than being attached to it or an object, as they usually were. Her core burned particularly bright, though one of her legs was withered, and she leaned on a young female with fur like green agate.


    A tall, emerald-colored female stepped forward, and Kaz could see the shimmer of power surrounding her. She was holding a shield, and from the power coursing through her cycle, it didn¡¯t seem to be draining her at all. She looked at Gaoda, though Kaz could see her casting puzzled glances at the other humans, who were clearly using power, but not in a way she was accustomed to.


    ¡°No one may pass this way until the Blackbows yield their claim! Turn around and go back, or die.¡± She lifted a hand, and the archers behind her all pointed their arrows at Gaoda in a smooth, synchronized motion.


    Since the female was already speaking, Kaz couldn¡¯t interfere directly, but he hurried forward until he was standing just behind Gaoda. He saw the female¡¯s sulfur-yellow eyes flick toward him, and her puzzlement seemed to deepen.


    ¡°Tell her her conflict is with the Blackbow kobolds. You¡¯re humans, and it has nothing to do with you. You could slay her, and her tribe, but will refrain out of respect for their great tribe,¡± Kaz murmured.


    Gaoda did so, then lifted his own hand, making his ki orbs swirl faster and glow with an almost blinding light. As if they had planned this, which perhaps they had, the other males also lifted their weapons. Chi Yincang¡¯s weapon whirled so quickly that it was nearly invisible, but it whistled as it sliced the air, and power pulsed out of him, making the closest males tremble. Raff took one hand from the hilt of his sword and tapped the blade with his metal glove, causing the blade to hum with a deep, thrumming note that lingered long after it should have stopped.


    The female took all this in, and stepped back, her shield nearly flaring into visibility as she shunted even more power into it. She opened her mouth to speak again, but the old one cleared her throat. Just once, and gently, but every single Stoneborn kobold instantly fell into absolute stillness.


    ¡°I remember humans. I was already old when you stopped coming, and I remember. Our ways are not yours. You may go.¡± Her eyes, cloudy with age, tried to focus on Kaz. ¡°But no kobolds pass beyond this point. Pup, return to your tribe.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s teeth clenched. Now that the female had spoken to him, he had to respond, so he crouched, ears and tail tucked tightly against his body. ¡°I have no tribe,¡± he told her. ¡°My chief gave me to these humans. If I cannot go with them, I am abandoned.¡±


    A soft murmur swept the crowd, and Kaz offered Katri a silent apology. If he claimed a tribe, he would be turned away or taken as a prize, watched carefully until he earned their trust. An abandoned pup, on the other hand, was a pitiful thing, and they would assume he would be utterly loyal to any tribe that was willing to take him in. He needed to pass these stairs, and this was the only way he could see to do it without starting a fight.


    The old female hummed thoughtfully. Lifting her hand from the agate female¡¯s shoulder, she pointed at Gaoda. ¡°Leave this pup. We will take him. Go on your way.¡±


    She flicked her finger, and a path silently formed between the ranks of kobolds. No one lowered their weapons, but the way through was clear.


    The first female spoke up. Her tone was almost belligerent, and she threw a conflicted look at her elder. ¡°I will guide you out of our territory and tell you how to reach the next stairway. We control it as well, so you will negotiate the price of passage with me.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Gaoda had opened his mouth as soon as the old female pointed at him, but Kaz, greatly daring, kicked the human in the leg, making him close it with a click. Now, Lianhua stepped up beside Kaz, and gazed down at him, her eyes filled with worry. He gave her a nod, and she let out a sigh before taking Gaoda¡¯s arm. She was pale, but she hung on as he turned to look at her in surprise.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­ cousin,¡± she said, and a look of triumph passed through Gaoda¡¯s eyes. He laid a hand over hers, and Kaz wondered if he was the only one who saw the way her fingers trembled.


    ¡°Good,¡± Gaoda said, grinning. He shot a glance at Kaz. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find another blue kobold eventually. It seems unlikely that my fortune referred to this one, after all.¡±


    Kaz almost snorted, but managed to hold his submissive pose as the humans walked past him. Lianhua cast him several glances, and even Raff looked back once, but Kaz remained where he was until the four had disappeared into a tunnel on the right side of the cavern, following the bright green female.


    As soon as the humans were gone, the kobolds surrounding the stairs relaxed, and weapons were returned to sheaths. The archers didn¡¯t unstring their bows, but they replaced their arrows in their quivers. The females released their shields, and the oldest one allowed her light to drop back down to her hand with a faint sigh. Without another word, or a glance at Kaz, she turned away, limping and leaning on the pale green female, and all but one of the other females followed. Several males fell in behind them, though about half remained.


    One of them, an older male with fur the yellowish-green color of peridot, walked up the few steps remaining and stood in front of Kaz. ¡°Stand up, pup,¡± he said, impatiently. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at you.¡±


    Kaz stood slowly, and it wasn¡¯t hard to keep his ears and tail in their lowered position. He was surrounded, and it would only take a single wrong move for these kobolds to fill him full of arrows.


    The male reached out and took Kaz¡¯s chin, turning his head one way, and then the other. His sharp eyes took in Kaz¡¯s bare neck. ¡°Good. You¡¯re old for a pup, though. Did you fail your spirit hunt?¡±


    Kaz shook his head vigorously. Failing the hunt would mean that he would never be considered a warrior or an adult. A male who couldn¡¯t survive a week alone and come back with at least enough kills to make a good necklace of teeth was a male who would always be a drain on his tribe¡¯s resources. If the tribe was large enough, they would be assigned to work with the den-mother, corralling pups and teaching them how to gather and do chores. If the tribe was too small to sustain members who didn¡¯t contribute directly, such a male would usually be abandoned, sent out to try to find a home with a larger tribe, or die on his own. Many never bothered to return if they survived a failed hunt. A tribe like this would certainly never accept such a weakling.


    ¡°Too young,¡± he said. ¡°It was almost my time, but when the humans came through, my chief decided she could spare me, and the humans paid well.¡± In blood, but he decided not to mention that.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± the male said, stepping back. ¡°We¡¯ll give you a bit to get used to our territory, and you can go on your hunt then. We can always use more warriors, especially ones your size. I¡¯m Pilik, and this is Lonti.¡±


    He glanced around, and a tall young male stepped forward. This new male had fur of such a dark green it was almost black, and his startlingly yellow eyes swept over Kaz before dismissing him with a contemptuous flick. He placed his hand over his heart and bowed respectfully to Pilik, however.


    ¡°Lonti, take-¡± Pilik hesitated, and Kaz filled in his name. ¡°Take Kaz to Nadi. She¡¯ll know what to do with him.¡±


    Lonti bowed again, and turned away, striding toward a tunnel opposite the one the humans had gone down. He clearly expected Kaz to follow, so Kaz gave Pilik an awkward salute and did so.


    The Stoneborn den was surprisingly close to the stairs. Generally, a tribe wanted a decent distance between their home and any passages up and down, and Kaz wondered if they¡¯d done this because they were used to keeping their territory small enough to patrol constantly, or if they simply hadn¡¯t found anyplace more suitable. Either way, it made for a short walk, and soon Lonti led Kaz through a den filled with huts that were still only partially set up.


    The squeals and yips of pups rang out over the bustle of kobolds going about their assigned tasks, and the two males veered toward the sound. Kaz was surprised to see just how many pups there were, especially since there should be even more older ones out gathering. He would expect to see at least twice as many adults as he had to account for the two dozen young ones visible around a harassed-looking female with the purest yellow fur Kaz had ever seen.


    Lonti approached this female, bowing his head. Generally, only weak females took on the role of den-mother, but she was still a female, and therefore higher in the tribe¡¯s ranking than any male.


    ¡°Nadi, this is¡­ the new pup. Did you hear about him?¡± Lonti said, clearly having already forgotten Kaz¡¯s name.


    Nadi looked confused, so clearly the gossip hadn¡¯t yet reached her, isolated as she was within the mass of pups. ¡°No,¡± she said, looking at Kaz curiously.


    ¡°Humans came down the stairs, and grandmother let them through,¡± Lonti told her, somehow managing to sound both awed and affronted at the same time. ¡°This pup was guiding them. His chief traded him to them, but Listet has said no kobolds may pass, so she took him in.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Abandoned, was he? Well, he shouldn¡¯t be as much trouble as this lot, anyway.¡± She cast an exasperated glance at a pile of pups that had just come to rest against her leg, growling and nipping at each other as they fought a fierce puppy battle over a scrap of meat.


    Lonti made no reply, simply bowing more deeply, and she waved him off. Without hesitation, he turned and ran off, probably returning to his post guarding the stairs.


    The female looked at Kaz, her eyes assessing him much as Pilik¡¯s had. Instead of his neck, however, they came to rest on his pack, and Kaz had to force himself not to flinch.


    ¡°I assume you can gather, pup?¡± she asked.


    He nodded eagerly. ¡°I can hunt, too. A little.¡±


    Her tail wagged gently. ¡°That¡¯s good. What have you brought us?¡±


    This. This was, without a doubt, the riskiest part of his plan. He had to play it just right, or things would go very, very badly.


    He hesitated, but pulled his pack from his back with clear reluctance. He could see the female¡¯s eyes light up as she anticipated that he had something good enough inside that he didn¡¯t want to share. Unfortunately, what belonged to one kobold belonged to the whole tribe, if the chief wished it, and pups had essentially no rights whatsoever.


    Kneeling, he tugged the pack open, allowing a few clumps of moss and some mushrooms to spill out as he shifted his body to block the female¡¯s view.


    Reaching out, she twisted his ear, not hard, but enough to remind him she was the one in charge. Her other hand stretched toward the pack. ¡°Let me see.¡±


    Li¡¯s head popped out of the opening. Through their link, Kaz could see the dragon as it saw itself; golden scales gleamed, and delicate wings rose, stretching gracefully. His eyes, however, told a different story. A grayish-gold fuergar pup bared silvery teeth at the kobold female, though Kaz quickly sent a warning through their bond that the dragon shouldn¡¯t try to bite the extended hand.


    With a yelp, Nadi yanked her hand back, shooting Kaz a reprimanding glance. ¡°A fuergar? You¡¯re too old to be trying to tame a beast. Give it here.¡±


    Kaz quickly pulled Li from the bag, allowing some of the filth-encrusted contents to scatter over the stone floor. The knives and the fire-striker, which he had shoved down into the very bottom, remained within, but it was obvious that everything else was grimy, bruised, and gnawed-on.


    Crouching, he hugged the little dragon to his chest protectively, and after a moment, the den-mother stepped back, sighing in exasperation. ¡°Fine,¡± she snapped. ¡°You may keep it until it hurts you, but if it bites someone else, you¡¯ll be held responsible.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes closed briefly in relief, but he nodded, standing and placing the dragonling on his shoulder. It perched there, glaring at the female kobold with eyes that were half whirling pools of black, and half a fuergar¡¯s bulging orbs.


    He tapped a hand to his chest in an awkward imitation of a warrior¡¯s salute. He could, of course, perform a much better one, though only the chief should get such a salute, while a bow or nod without the fist to his chest was the proper greeting for a female.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he whimpered. ¡°It¡¯s my friend. My only friend. Chief said I couldn¡¯t keep it. Sent me away. Thank you.¡±


    Nadi¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Ah. A numb-mind. That explains it. All right, pup. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Kaz,¡± he offered, perking up his ears and letting his tail wag much more enthusiastically than was appropriate for his age.


    She nodded. ¡°Kaz. Pick up this mess, and play with those pups over there. Keep them in this area, do you understand?¡± She swept a hand around. ¡°Keep them here.¡±


    He agreed happily, already scooping handfuls of moss back into the bag. He tried to get Li to go back in as well, but now that the dragon was out, it seemed determined to remain so, ducking and sliding around to avoid his grasp.


    Nadi actually chuckled at the sight, and patted his head. ¡°It¡¯s all right. If anyone asks, tell them Nadi said it was fine. Just remember that you can¡¯t keep it once it injures someone.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears flattened again, and he whined, but said, ¡°Chief said, too. No biting. No nipping. No scratching.¡±


    ¡°Exactly so,¡± Nadi said, and patted him again. ¡°Now, go play, and we¡¯ll see what you can do later.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail went wild, and he scampered over to join the largest group of pups, using all four limbs to run part of the way. Behind him, he heard Nadi sigh and murmur, ¡°Such a pity.¡±

 Chapter Thirty-two

    Playing with the pups was surprisingly enjoyable. A group of them would tumble over one another, growling and snapping, right up until they all fell asleep in a pile of puppy fuzz and tiny snores. Only a few were old enough to speak more than a word or two, but they seemed to understand when he told them to stay nearby, and though they were wary of him at first, they soon included him in their games.


    He was actually drowsing with a pile of pups surrounding him and Li draped in a warm, sleepy loop around his neck when the bell rang for dinner. The pups immediately resumed their play battle, exactly as if they had never been asleep, and he chuckled as he picked a particularly exuberant male up by the scruff of the neck.


    ¡°No running off,¡± he told the pup gently. ¡°You¡¯re getting too far away.¡±


    The pup wriggled wildly, then huffed a sigh and nodded. Kaz set him back down, smiling. When he looked up, he saw Nadi looking at him, her head tilted to one side as if trying to figure out the answer to a riddle. Kaz¡¯s ears instantly drooped, and he reached up to cover Li with his hand.


    Nadi shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re good with them. And you don¡¯t seem too bad when you¡¯re not worried about your fuergar.¡±


    He let his tail wag, though he didn¡¯t lift his ears. ¡°Pups are fun. No pups in my tribe.¡±


    She stared at him for a moment longer, then said, ¡°This is your tribe now, and we have lots of pups. Too many.¡±


    Shaking her head, she looked around at the puppies. ¡°Many of these are orphans. I¡¯ve been taking care of them, along with some of the older ones. They¡¯ll be back in from gathering soon, and then we¡¯ll all go to eat.¡±


    Pups ate after the adults, which meant the den-mother also ate last. It was natural, since the adults couldn¡¯t protect the young ones when they were starving, but Kaz had spent many, many nights curled up around a grumbling belly. He looked longingly in the direction everyone else was moving. Delicious smells drifted from that direction, and his stomach growled.


    Nadi huffed a laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s plenty. We have to go further to find food on this level, but it¡¯s so safe.¡± She shook her head. ¡°We barely even need to send males to guard the gatherers now. The older pups can kill most things on their own, and the fuergar-¡±


    Her eyes drifted to Li, and she snorted. ¡°Even the strongest ones are like babies. And they run from the first sign of resistance.¡±


    Kaz nodded, letting his ears perk up a bit. ¡°Fuergar babies,¡± he agreed. ¡°Cute.¡±


    The female closed her eyes and rubbed her muzzle. ¡°Listen to me, talking to a numb-mind. Nadi, you¡¯ve been spending too much time alone with the puppies.¡±


    Looking at Kaz again, she told him, ¡°Stay near me tonight. I¡¯ll have to send you out with the gatherers tomorrow, but if you don¡¯t do well, maybe they¡¯ll let me make you my assistant. You¡¯re big, and we lost so many warriors in the vara¡­ They¡¯ll want to take you, but if you¡¯re no good, it¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed on him, and she said slowly, ¡°Do you understand, Kaz? Tomorrow, you gather, but don¡¯t be too good at it, all right? It¡¯s okay to just hang back and watch.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged. ¡°I can just watch.¡±


    She patted him. ¡°That¡¯s right. Just watch.¡±


    =+=+=+=


    Dinner was good. They were served a rich stew of meat, mushrooms, and well-seasoned lichen. Some kind of thickener, possibly weiba powder, was used to create a dense consistency that sat warm and heavy in his empty belly, making him want to fall asleep.


    The older pups were hungry too, and cautious of the newcomer, so they all sat in near-silence as they ate, until the smallest of the gatherers, a female of perhaps eight years, finally asked, ¡°Why do you have a fuergar?¡±


    Kaz half-turned away from her, shifting so his body blocked her view of Li. ¡°Friend,¡± he said, letting a bit of his stew dribble from his mouth.


    The little female stared at him, blinking, until Nadi said, ¡°Kaz is a numb-mind, Yumi. Do you remember what I told you?¡±


    Yumi¡¯s lip curled slightly. ¡°Yes. But why does he have a fuergar?¡±


    Nadi sighed. ¡°Jek brought one back a few years ago, too. So did Pim.¡±


    Yumi held up a finger. ¡°Pim¡¯s bit me!¡±


    ¡°And you ate it,¡± Nadi reminded her.


    The female pup turned a contemplative gaze on Li, and Kaz hunched away from her, covering the little dragon protectively.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t taste good raw,¡± Yumi finally pronounced, and that seemed to be that. Conversation turned instead to what they had gathered that day, and what might happen with the Blackbows. Not many of the pups really seemed to understand the situation, but Kaz was able to glean a bit more information about what had driven the Stoneborn from the mid-levels.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Apparently, a powerful tribe called the Bronzearms had recently come up from the Deep. Like most Deep tribes, they believed themselves better than those who lived higher in the mountain, but this tribe seemed to have the strength and numbers to enforce that belief. What could possibly have forced such a strong tribe to flee the Deep was something the Bronzearms refused to speak about, but there were whispers that they had made one of the most powerful tribes angry by refusing to give them something they wanted.


    Unfortunately, the Bronzearm tribe had decided that if they could no longer live in the Deep, they would dominate  the mid-levels. The best way to control any territory was by taking over the stairs and passages between, which they began to do, spreading like a particularly virulent patch of fulan, a rot that could infect many types of moss and lichen.


    The Bronzearms called luegat on several tribes at the same time, a thing the pups talked about with hushed amazement. They won every battle, too, causing the losers to flee ever higher. Eventually, when no one would accept their luegat any longer, they simply declared vara, which was what had happened to the Stoneborn. Many of their adults, male and female alike, had died protecting the retreating tribe, and though they were still powerful for the upper levels, they hadn¡¯t been able to maintain a pawhold in the mid-levels.


    Nadi called a halt to this talk when several of the little pups began to whimper, emitting the little howls that they used when calling for their parents. Gathering these up, she cuddled them close, petting them until they calmed, while the older ones returned to a discussion of the difference in taste between various mushrooms. Somehow, even this devolved into an argument, which Nadi stopped after a large green male pinned a smaller peridot one to the ground.


    Finally, the evening bell rang, and Nadi sent all the pups with families home with a relieved sigh. There were still almost a dozen pups left after the others had gone, however, of which the eldest was Yumi. The female pup still seemed fascinated by Li, and she crept closer to Kaz every time he looked away. He was fairly certain that only his height was keeping her from grabbing for the dragonling, so he made sure to stand as stiff and tall as he could while he followed Nadi to where they would sleep for the night.


    Their hut was among the ones that hadn¡¯t been finished yet, and as they drew closer, he could see why. It seemed that the Stoneborn had been taken at least partially unaware by the attack of the Bronzearms, and had to leave many of the larger bones and pieces of leather behind. The low walls were made of a pieced-together patchwork of smaller scraps of leather, but it kept the pups corralled well enough that Nadi could sleep without worrying that her young charges would escape. The top was left completely open, however, so none of them would have any privacy that night.


    Pilik, the male who had sent Kaz to Nadi, stopped by, and the two adults stepped far enough away that Kaz, greatly daring, had to push power into his ears so he could eavesdrop on their conversation. They were obviously discussing him, since they kept casting glances in his direction, and he needed to know if they suspected he might be something other than what he appeared.


    ¡°Are you certain?¡± Pilik asked.


    Nadi tilted her head. ¡°He¡¯s definitely odd. I¡¯ve never met a numb-mind who can seem so normal one minute, and so much like a puppy the next. He does well until someone asks about his fuergar, and then-¡± She shrugged.


    Pilik looked toward Kaz, lip lifting from his teeth. ¡°You¡¯re too soft. You should just kill it. If he¡¯s really a numb-mind, he¡¯ll forget all about it in a week. We need more warriors, not more pups to care for.¡±


    Nadi glanced around, then laid a hand on Pilik¡¯s arm. Kaz blinked. It was clear the two weren¡¯t mated, or they would be wearing matching necklaces. Nadi shouldn¡¯t even be standing as close as she was, much less touching the male.


    ¡°Trust me, Pilik. You remember Kir. I was too young to protect him, and he died on his spirit hunt. I don¡¯t want that to happen again. This pup could still benefit the tribe, if we just accept what he is and isn¡¯t able to do.¡±


    Pilik stared down at the hand on his arm, then shifted a half step away, sliding out of her grasp, though he didn¡¯t say anything. Finally, he sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can. He¡¯s just an abandoned pup. He¡¯ll be forgotten in a day or two, if he doesn¡¯t attract attention to himself.¡±


    Nadi¡¯s tail wagged gently. ¡°Thank you, Pilik.¡±


    The tall male bowed, a little deeper than he should to such a low-ranking female. ¡°Bright howls, Nadi.¡±


    ¡°Bright howls,¡± Nadi said, and watched as Pilik walked back toward the densest gathering of huts.


    Kaz, who was already lying on the ground surrounded by heaps of snoring pups, blinked up at her as she returned, opening and closing the half-finished door with a soft thump. Nadi crouched down beside him, reaching out and running gentle fingers over the thick lock of fur between his ears.


    ¡°Remember,¡± she murmured, ¡°just watch tomorrow.¡±


    He nodded, and she slipped away, extinguishing the dim light that rode the leather bracelet wrapped around her wrist. He heard her lie down nearby, and a few of the pups rolled in her direction, tossing out tiny hands as if they wanted to be sure she was there, even in their sleep. Tentatively, Kaz reached out and stroked one just like Nadi had petted him, and the young male whimpered and reached up to touch his hand.


    It was strange. Kaz¡¯s tribe had been so small for so long, with few pups and a constantly dwindling number of adults. It seemed like everyone he had ever cared about had died or been traded, except for Katri and Rega. Thanks to Oda¡¯s near-complete lack of interest in him, he couldn¡¯t remember the last time she¡¯d touched him. Once Katri got old enough to understand the difference between his status and hers, she had stopped sleeping beside him, and rarely touched him except to nip or pull at his ears when he didn¡¯t follow her instructions quickly enough.


    Rega was the one who had held him when he whined, told him stories, and played with him. She had been den-mother, in spite of her strength, because she liked the pups, and no one else had time for any of the young kobolds except their own offspring. Looking back, Kaz could see that she had spent more time and attention on him than any of the others, including the females, including Katri, and he wondered why. Had she simply liked him, felt sorry for him perhaps? Or had she truly sensed something different about him, something she wanted to protect?


    His fingers twitched toward his pack. He desperately wanted to dig out the knives again, examine them more closely. An image of the page of the chief¡¯s book Katri had been looking at back in the Longtooth den flashed through his mind, and he closed his eyes, trying to hold onto the memory of the runes scrawled on the vellum. He would have to ask Lianhua about them. If he ever saw the human female again.


    He felt Li shift on his neck, sensing the worry that flooded through him. He hoped Lianhua was well, and that she would be able to convince the others to wait for him. He could stay with the Stoneborns, who seemed willing enough to take him in, but he didn¡¯t want to.


    Kaz wanted to know. He wanted to understand why he was different. What he could do. Why Rega had given him the knives, and what they meant. He didn¡¯t know if his link with the dragon was changing him, or if it was simply part of leaving his tribe and traveling with the humans, but something in him was shifting, and he was no longer content to live the life of a simple kobold male, trapped in the web of expectations that surrounded him.


    Li trilled softly, and a tired sense of pleasure flowed through their bond. It seemed the dragon, at least, appreciated the paths his thoughts had taken. Dimly, he sensed a pulse of energy, and a picture surrounded him.


    Blue. Blue as far as he could see. Wind rushed over his scales, and his muscles flexed as powerful wings beat a lazy rhythm. High above, a pure golden light gleamed down, warming his flesh. He flew through a sky the dragonling had never seen, and Kaz had only glimpsed out of the mouth of the dragon¡¯s cave. He was light, like he¡¯d borne the weight of the entire mountain, never aware, but always present, and had finally shed it like an outgrown skin.


    It was perfect, and as he tumbled into sleep, he thought he could fly forever.

 Chapter Thirty-three

    The loud ringing of a bell woke him, and he, Nadi, and even Yumi scurried to gather up the littlest pups and lead them to the eating area. Their meal was a simple bowl of cooked meat with fungus, but it was well-seasoned and filling, Kaz was even able to openly feed Li, which the dragon clearly appreciated.


    Yumi was amazed by how much food such a small creature could eat, and begged to feed the ¡®fuergar¡¯ a few scraps. Kaz was a little worried that she might decide she, too, needed a pet, so he silently encouraged Li to snap at the pup¡¯s fingers when she reached toward it.


    Yumi yanked her hand back, looking at the dragon in shocked accusation. ¡°It tried to bite me!¡±


    Kaz nodded, reaching up to pet the dragon. ¡°Not safe. Bite. Scratch. May hurt you.¡±


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it bite you, then?¡± She glared at him as if Li¡¯s behavior was his fault, which of course it was.


    ¡°Li likes me,¡± he told her, wagging his tail gently.


    ¡°I want it to like me,¡± Yumi started, but Nadi finally looked up from where she was trying to keep the bigger pups from wandering off while the younger ones finished eating.


    ¡°Yumi, beasts aren¡¯t meant to live with kobolds. They¡¯re wild creatures. Soon, Kaz¡¯s fuergar will hurt someone or run away. It¡¯s probably just afraid to attack right now because it¡¯s surrounded by so many of us.¡± She avoided looking at Kaz as he spoke, but his tail drooped at her words anyway.


    Looking around at the older pups, she went on. ¡°Kaz is new to our territory. Watch over him today.¡±


    Yumi narrowed her eyes at Li, cradling her uninjured hand against her chest. ¡°If the fuergar bites someone, I can eat it?¡±


    Nadi sighed, but nodded, and this time she glanced at Kaz apologetically. He reached up to cover Li¡¯s ears as if to protect the little creature from the words.


    ¡°No biting. No nipping. No scratches,¡± he told them.


    Nadi smiled sadly, but reached out to pat Kaz. ¡°Good.¡±


    Her head lifted as another bell rang out through the den. She looked around, her gaze landing on each of the older pups. ¡°Time to go gather. Be careful, and listen to your guards.¡±


    A chorus of resigned agreement answered her, and she chuckled as the pups filed out, following a duo of warriors with similarly muddy green fur. The guards were barely older than Kaz, and several of the eldest pups greeted them by name, so they had probably grown up together, and still treated each other as friends, rather than adults and puppies.


    The slightly-darker of the two males dropped back to walk beside Kaz. His voice was friendly enough, but his yellow eyes lingered on Li in a way that made the fur on Kaz¡¯s nape lift. ¡°I¡¯m Lan. That¡¯s my brother Lok, up there. Lonti told us about you.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head, widening his eyes and wagging his tail. ¡°Lonti!¡±


    Lan waited for Kaz to say more, and when he didn¡¯t, his expression edged toward a puzzled frown. Kaz was just happy that the male¡¯s attention seemed to be focused on him now, rather than Li. Finally, the young warrior shrugged, and lagged back to fall in behind the group as they entered a dark passage.


    All of the female pups had dim, flickering lights attached to stones woven into leather bracelets, and they raised their hands, falling in beside the males so the entire group had at least enough light to see by. It was a little strange for Kaz to return to the dimness that had been his everyday life until he met the humans. Gaoda¡¯s ki orbs flooded their surroundings with far more light than any kobold needed, but the humans seemed to require that level of illumination in order to be comfortable, and only turned it down while they were sleeping.


    It was also strange to be among so many other kobolds as they gathered. There weren¡¯t enough males to protect all the gatherers of the Broken Knife tribe, as well as the den and Oda, so the larger male pups, like Kaz, had slowly taken over that job as they grew up. Now, however, Lan and Lok kept sharp watch all around them, barking at any pup who moved too far from the group. They moved in an organized row, and the lead pup would pause to gather anything they saw, then fall in at the end of the line when they were done.


    When it was Kaz¡¯s turn at the front, he deliberately walked past a patch of mogu, a black mushroom with bright red gills that could be used as a stimulant. The pup behind him missed it too, but the one after that yipped and plucked several of the spindly mushrooms from the crack in the wall where they were growing.


    The oldest gatherer, a male named Jin, chastised Kaz and the other pup, but didn¡¯t stop the group to show them the mushroom properly. It was clear that they weren¡¯t going to pause until they reached their destination.


    It took nearly half an hour for the group to enter a large, echoing cavern. To Kaz, this was only a short walk, since he was used to traveling an hour or more each day to reach an area his tribe hadn¡¯t already picked clean, but several of the smaller pups were already whining about being so far from the den. He saw their nervous glances around, and wondered just how bad the mid-levels were going to be, if he ever managed to get there.


    Jin assigned each pup a partner, and they separated into pairs to roam around the cavern. Water dripped in the distance, and several walls had dark streams running down over the limestone formations. Mosses were particularly abundant here, and mushrooms grew in clusters larger than anything he could remember seeing for years.


    Yumi had volunteered to be Kaz¡¯s partner, and the two wandered in the direction Jin had pointed them. Lan and Lok circled the center of the cavern, keeping their eyes on the gatherers, as well as the darker patches that likely concealed passages or the entrance to smaller caves.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Yumi said abruptly, as she stuffed a handful of firemoss into her pack. ¡°Let me hold your fuergar.¡±


    ¡°Li,¡± he said, lifting his hand to the little dragon, who was staring around in wide-eyed amazement. This was the first time the dragonling had really been able to just stand in the open and look around, and Kaz felt a sharp pang of pity grip him at the realization.


    ¡°Li,¡± Yumi said, holding her hand out imperiously. ¡°Let me hold it.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, stepping away. ¡°No. No biting. No nipping. No scratching.¡±


    Yumi¡¯s lip curled back. ¡°I¡¯m a female, and you¡¯re a male. Do what I say.¡±


    ¡°No biting. No nipping. No scratching,¡± Kaz insisted, his voice growing louder.


    A sharp bark cut between them, and they both looked around to see Lan glaring at them. ¡°Yumi! Be quiet, or you¡¯ll draw the attention of some beast.¡± He looked at Kaz. ¡°And you. If this happens again, I¡¯ll kill that thing myself.¡±


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    He pointed his knife at Li, who curled its tail tightly around Kaz¡¯s neck. Flickers of images entered Kaz¡¯s mind; his pack, and a golden shape slipping inside. Kaz¡¯s shoulders twitched with the urge to do exactly as the images showed, but putting the dragon in the pack would place Li within Yumi¡¯s reach, and he didn¡¯t want the female to try to steal the pack right off his back.


    Yumi fell into a sulky silence, and only spoke up to make fun of Kaz each time he walked past another item that he should have gathered. He did pick up a few of the most obvious plants, but half the time he fumbled them, or pulled them out completely, rather than leaving the clinging tendrils that would allow them to grow back in short order.


    At last, the pup simply handed Kaz her own pack and started doing all the gathering herself. She was surprisingly deft, her little fingers making tidy bundles that Kaz placed gently into the pack. He didn¡¯t like her, but he also didn¡¯t want her to get into trouble, or waste the food and materials that she was supposed to bring back to the tribe.


    When the female¡¯s pack grew full to overflowing, she had Kaz take off his so they could start filling it, as well. A rank smell wafted out when he tugged the strings open, and he realized that Li hadn¡¯t finished eating the meat he¡¯d put in there before they encountered the Stoneborn tribe. It was beginning to rot, and his already grungy pack smelled like death.


    Yumi stared up at him, eyes wide and nose wrinkled with disgust. ¡°Close it, close it!¡± She waved her hand in front of her snout, looking around wildly.


    Lok noticed, and gave Kaz a disinterested glance before focusing on the young female. He stepped away from his patrol pattern and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°This male¡¯s pack is rotten!¡± She glanced from Li to Kaz, her interest visibly declining. ¡°Is that what fuergar make things smell like? Ugh!¡±


    Pointing at a lanky, rust-furred female, she demanded, ¡°I want to trade with Pia.¡±


    The other female looked up, startled to hear her name. Lok called her and her partner over, and Yumi repeated her demand. The male with the rust-colored female brightened, and Kaz could see that he was happy enough with the trade, especially once he saw that Yumi¡¯s pack was already full.


    ¡°I¡­ all right,¡± Pia said, her voice faint.


    Soon, Yumi and Pia¡¯s former partner scampered back to the side of the small pool where the other kobolds were gathering, and Lok returned to his patrol. Pia gave Kaz such a forlorn look that he actually felt a bit bad, though he was very glad to be away from the annoying pup.


    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ very good,¡± Pia murmured. She had shifted her pack around to her belly so she could access it easily, and Kaz saw that it was barely half full. ¡°I¡¯m never sure if I have the right thing.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head, and Pia shrugged, her gaze flicking around until it came to rest on a bunch of dark moss clinging to the wall a few yards past Kaz. She circled wide around him, and tugged a few thin fronds of moss from the clump, holding them up.


    She pointed to the slender filaments and said, ¡°See? If this bit here is brown, then this is yumao, right? But if it¡¯s red, it¡¯s duyu, and it¡¯ll make everyone sick if it gets mixed into our food.¡±


    Kaz nodded. Telling the difference between yumao, which made a delicious soup, and duyu, which caused vomiting, was one of the first things a gatherer learned.


    Pia lowered her voice even further, squinting at the plant, and Kaz pricked his ears forward so he could hear her. ¡°I can¡¯t tell the difference. They all look brown to me.¡±


    Kaz felt a rush of sympathy. One of his uncles had had a similar problem. He just couldn¡¯t tell the difference between some colors, and he had been surprised to learn that Kaz had blue fur, not gray. Fortunately, once he became a warrior, it hadn¡¯t really mattered, since a janjio was a janjio, no matter what color it was.


    That uncle had been traded away shortly after the Broken Knives entered the mid-levels, and Kaz wondered if he might see him again on the way through, or if he had been one of the casualties of the Bronzearm¡¯s advance. Kaz¡¯s throat tightened at the thought, and it took him a moment to focus again on what Pia was saying.


    ¡°-color it is?¡±She was holding out the moss.


    Kaz blinked and took the moss from her, examining the little nodes at the base of the fronds. ¡°Brown,¡± he told her, wagging his tail happily.


    She brightened. ¡°Good! That¡¯s good! Ah¡­ can you look at the colors? Just tell me what they are, and then I¡¯ll know if we should gather it. It looked like you were¡­ having a hard time picking things yourself.¡±


    He was surprised she¡¯d noticed, and his tail wagged even more as he nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Help!¡± he said.


    Pia¡¯s shoulders relaxed, and she wound the bundle of moss in one of its own trailing fronds before tucking it into her pack.


    Soon enough, their gathering fell into a quick, easy rhythm. Pia would spot something, pluck it, and hand it to him if it needed a color check. Then she either wrapped it up or discarded it, depending on what his answer was. A few of the plants were new to him, and Pia cheerfully explained what they were when he expressed an interest. The female was actually quite kind and knowledgeable once she relaxed, and reminded him of Rega. Her core was bright, too, and her cycle fast, so he thought that once she became an adult, she could rise quickly within the tribe, if she wanted to.


    At last, they reached the far side of the cavern, and stopped as Pia pushed one more clump of mushrooms into her bag. Looking satisfied, she said, ¡°There. That should be plenty. It¡¯ll be the first time I brought back a full pack in¡­ a long time.¡±


    Her ears tilted shyly as she looked up at him. ¡°Thank you, Kaz.¡±


    Kaz nodded happily. ¡°I helped.¡±


    ¡°You did! I never-¡±


    Kaz froze, blocking out her words as a faint slithering sound reached him. Pushing more ki into his ears, he turned to look down a corridor nearby, the beginning of which was faintly lit by Pia¡¯s light. Without thinking, he reached out and pushed Pia behind him, just as he would have done if Katri was standing beside him.


    Pia yelped, stumbling to her hands and knees, but Kaz ignored her, his claws already swiping at the broad, flat face of a woshi as it lunged from the tunnel. Red scratches appeared on the woshi¡¯s snout, but he knew that wouldn¡¯t be enough to deter it. It was the largest salamander he¡¯d ever seen, and its jagged teeth were as long as his fingers, gleaming at him from within a maw wide enough to engulf his head.


    Howls echoed from behind him as Lan and Lok reacted, calling the other pups to fall back into a group. Woshi tended to be solitary creatures, but if this one had a mate, it could be anywhere.


    Behind him, Pia scrambled to her paws, whimpering uncertainly. Kaz risked a glimpse back, barely dancing out of the way of a whipping tail strike.


    ¡°Go!¡± he barked.


    She shook her head, though he heard her claws scratch the stone as she backed up. Not far enough.


    Kaz felt the fur on his nape lift, and his lips pulled back, revealing his own fangs as he dodged another snap of the beast¡¯s teeth. He wished he dared try to take his knife from his pack, but not only would it take too long, if he did manage it, the Stoneborns would only take it from him after the battle. He couldn¡¯t use anything other than his own claws and teeth while the kobolds watched.


    Whirling, he snapped at Pia, barking like he¡¯d gone mad. She stared at him in horror, but finally began to run, staggering and tripping over every stone between her and the relative safety of the group. As she reached them, he was able to catch enough glimpses of their expressions to see both fear and determination, but when a few of the males started in his direction, Lan and Lok held them back.


    No one would come to save Kaz.


    Sharp teeth latched onto Kaz¡¯s calf, and with a shake of its head, the woshi tried to pull his leg out from under him. Kaz yelped in pain, feeling the searing bite of fang in flesh, but the ki he¡¯d forced into his limbs helped him maintain his balance. He grasped the delicate fronds that swung around the creature¡¯s flat, slimy head, wrapping them around his hands so he could rip them out in a fierce pull.


    The woshi¡¯s mouth opened, though it made no noise, and Kaz flung the disgusting, slippery bits away as he jumped back. His paws slipped, and he fell to one knee. The woshi attacked again, its teeth closing inexorably around his entire lower arm, engulfing it in hot, wet mucus and a hundred sharp pricks of pain.


    Kaz let out a last pitiful howl as the woshi began to back up, dragging him after it into the darkness of the tunnel beyond.

 Chapter Thirty-four

    The monster dragged Kaz down the passage before it turned sharply, readjusted its grip on his arm, and began to slither down a slimy, narrow crevice. Jagged rocks tried to catch and pull at Kaz¡¯s flesh, but they did no more damage than the sharp teeth that clung tenaciously to his arm.


    Kaz pushed more power into the flickering golden sheath covering his arm and, more thinly, his body, struggling to maintain focus as he pulled hard on his core. Ki flowed out like thick strands of firemoss oil, twisting and winding together with the dragon¡¯s ki as it spun through his cycle. If he allowed the energy he was feeding to the fragile armor to waver, the woshi¡¯s powerful bite would crack it like an eggshell, and he could well lose the arm he was trying so desperately to protect.


    A sharp pain stabbed through him. Not his own pain, but the dragon¡¯s. The twists of the tunnel kept trying to scrape the small creature from his neck, and only its tightly-wrapped tail and the fierce grip of its claws in his fur were holding them together. If the passage grew narrower, or Kaz ran out of strength before the end, he had no doubt they would be separated, and the little dragon wasn¡¯t ready to face the darkness alone.


    Closing his eyes, Kaz struggled to expand his image of ¡®self¡¯ to include the dragonling. As if it could understand what he was trying to do, Li clutched at the image, outlining the mental picture of a blue kobold in gold, and placing an equally golden dragon on his shoulder. If the situation hadn¡¯t been so desperate, the picture they formed might have made Kaz laugh. The kobold¡¯s fur grew to ridiculous lengths, as did its nose, while the dragonling¡¯s teeth and wings stretched to an impossible size.


    The next time the woshi turned, a particularly pointed protuberance grated along Li¡¯s side, but while the dragon could feel the sharp pressure against its flesh, it was only that - pressure. Encouraged, the two reached toward each other in a simultaneous mental embrace, twining their ki and their images into a momentary whole.


    The world fell away. Scrapes, bumps, bruises, and even the pinpoint pricks of dozens of teeth pressing into Kaz¡¯s arm¡­ they all disappeared. For a single, timeless pause, hovering in the space between the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next, Kaz and the dragon simply existed.


    Then, with a fierce shake, the woshi threw Kaz into water. His body tumbled, limp and empty, until, with a thrumming rush of fury, the water subsumed him. His eyes flew open, catching glimpses of silvery bubbles lit by the dim light of glow-worms. Small, darting, slithering things danced through the bubbles, toothy maws gaping wide as they swam toward him.


    It was a breeding pool. They were surrounded by hundreds of little monsters - most of them no larger than Kaz¡¯s hand - which could reduce their prey to nothing but bones and a spreading cloud of blood in seconds.


    Kaz had hoped that he would be able to reach his knife and damage the adult woshi enough to convince it to let him flee. That vague plan was gone now, though. He could feel his power draining far faster under dozens of small impacts than it had while he was being dragged to this place. His core burned in his belly as he pulled at his cycle, but his channels were simply too narrow to allow enough power to flow.


    Kaz thrashed his way to the surface, following the rising path of vanishing silver bubbles. His arms and legs shoved at the toothy monstrosities that surrounded him, sliding against him through the strangely thick water. It was Li who held their image of self-with-shield, while Kaz struck out toward the stony shore.


    Jaws the size of his head snapped at his hand as it reached out of the water, and a slimy tail whipped him back toward the depths. Clearly, the parent woshi had no interest in seeking out a new meal for its voracious young.


    Kaz fell back, treading water as teeth tugged and pulled at his fur and skin. Pain grew, letting him know that his shield was growing thin. He could feel Li tremble against his neck.


    Fly, he thought.


    Negation.


    Fly!


    An image of the blue kobold-shape and the ferocious golden dragon separating, and then the blue became red and sank.


    He shook his head, pushing a picture of his foolish, half-born plan through their bond, and the dragon quivered. Shook. But tiny talons loosened, the tail uncurled, and damp wings worked, just enough to lift Li away from Kaz and up, toward the glittering luminescence of the glow-worm colony that spread across the ceiling high overhead.


    Kaz exploded.


    Every speck of power, every ounce of mana, every thread of ki; he pushed it all out of his body at once. There was no finesse to it, no direction. It felt like he was tearing off his own skin from the inside out, like he was too large to be contained inside the fragile vessel of his body.


    Water thundered away from him. Black ki churned in wild, utterly irrational patterns, and baby woshi were torn to shreds by the concussion. Water flooded the rocky outcropping Kaz had tried to catch a moment before, and when it touched the cold, slick skin of the adult monster, the creature danced back, pale tail swirling and thrashing through too-dark water. As waves continued to lap at its webbed feet, it finally turned and fled.


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    Kaz felt himself begin to sink. He was empty. Far, far too empty. A rhythmic pulsing throbbed between his eyes, and it took four or five beats to realize that it was his own heartbeat.


    Slow.


    Too slow.


    Sharp pinpricks dug into his scalp, right between his ears, and little teeth bit at his forehead. The image of golden dragon and blue kobold merged again, and Kaz realized that Li was trying to drag him back to shore.


    Sluggishly, he moved one arm, then the other. His feet kicked, but the weight of his wet fur was too much, and he had to close his eyes as water flooded into them. Only his nose still protruded above the surface of the water, and that only because the little dragon still clung to it, dragging him up with fierce, desperate beats of her wings.


    The surprise of that sudden, simple understanding forced a final surge of energy through Kaz¡¯s feeble body. His hand lifted. Grasped. And found a lip of stone to cling to. Li pushed her ki harder, and Kaz only now realized that she had been supporting him with her strength ever since she returned to him. She, too, was nearly drained, and when they both slipped from the water like pups freshly pushed from their mother¡¯s womb, they collapsed together in a puddle of slime and the rising mist of mana.


    =+=+=+=


    When Kaz opened his eyes again, his first emotion was surprise. It was mainly surprise that he was alive, but there was also a more subdued surprise that he was warm. His fur was dry, though it crackled with old slime when he shifted, groaning. A disgruntled hiss rose from his chest, and he tilted his head to look down.


    Li lay curled on top of him, her delicate golden head raised so she could glare at him with deep, accusing eyes. She lifted one wing, then the other, stretching them as she clung, clearly not yet ready to move.


    Beneath her, inside Kaz¡¯s chest, lay the source of the warmth. A pool of power spun lazily, its edges hazy and incohesive. Ki flowed sluggishly through his channels, which also seemed strangely translucent. The walls of the channels were too thin, allowing his power to seep out into his tissues instead of containing the ki properly.


    Ever so slowly, Kaz lifted a shaking hand and laid it flat against the inflamed skin of his chest. Li grumbled, allowing him the motion, but quickly laid her head back down again, glimmering gaze watching him through half-lidded eyes.


    Kaz¡¯s skin felt like he had been dropped in a patch of burning firemoss. Flakes of dried blood, crusted slime, and broken strands of fur ground between his trembling fingers as he rubbed them together. The resultant dust drifted down onto Li¡¯s soft scales, and she shifted again, glaring.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± he mumbled, trying to sit up. He felt his muscles contract, but they had no strength, and all he succeeded in doing was sending spasms of pain through his entire body.


    Blinking against the pain, he looked down, meeting Li¡¯s gaze again. ¡°Wha¡¯ happened?¡±


    Not surprisingly, the dragon didn¡¯t answer, simply closing her eyes and curling back into herself. Helpless, he watched the gentle rise and fall of her ribcage, his own grip on consciousness already starting to fade again.


    No!


    Sleeping unprotected in the lair of a woshi would be a short tunnel to death. The adult might have run off when he killed its young, but it was only one of the pair required to produce those young, and the other woshi could return at any time. Its reaction to discovering its den defiled and its offspring floating chunks of meat in the breeding pool was unlikely to be good.


    Turning his focus inward, Kaz examined the wreck of his body. Besides his thin and oozing channels, the flow of ki in his head was rough and disordered. The swirl of power in his chest drew in too much, and let out too little. Only a thin trickle of ki reached his head, where it met a nearly-equal amount of Li¡¯s ki.


    The dragon seemed to be in better shape than Kaz, since she hadn¡¯t attempted to blow herself up like a pocket of explosive gas. If anything, her channels were a little stronger, and her cycle spun a little faster, further destroying the fragile balance of power that had formed between them.


    Tentatively, Kaz tried to block part of the flow of ki into the new node of power whirling in his chest, hoping to keep it from pulling in more than its share. He had a feeling that if he could repair the wobbly cycle between his eyes, he would also regain some control over his body.


    His heart stuttered. Stopped.


    The dragon¡¯s eyes flashed open, and she lifted her wings, beating at Kaz¡¯s body as her power surged desperately through their bond, forcing his heart to start beating again. He felt the wings impact bruises, and thought that this was far from the first time the small creature had done this.


    How many times had he died? How many times had she pummeled him with her body and her power until he woke again? No wonder she was tired.


    Kaz rolled his hand to the side, cradling the dragon¡¯s narrow head in his palm as it dropped limply to his chest. Silently, he sent gratitude over the link, and got back a sense of reluctant forbearance. His lips twitched.


    So, he had to feed this new power node, but it was greedy. His channels were raw and sagging, their walls pierced in a thousand places by fresh capillaries that further drained away the insufficient ki flowing from his core. Which meant that he needed to either figure out how to use the fog of mana that the humans seemed to be able to condense from thin air, or force his core to give him more ki.


    Kaz thought about the gray cloud of power Raff used, and the more differentiated strands of ki the others spun out of their cycle. How did they do it? It was in the air, so was it like breathing? Could he suck it in like his lungs pulled in air?


    Closing his eyes again, he let his body go limp. Shoulders flat against the ground, he breathed. He drew in a breath through his nose, then slowly pushed it out through his mouth, just as Lianhua had taught him. A flood of smells hit him; the acrid scent of the pool, coppery notes of blood, the first tinge of rot.


    Li laughed at him. Her body wiggled against his chest, rolling with her amusement, and when he peeked down at her, gold-tinged white light glowed in the depths of her swirling eyes. Sheer merriment boiled down their link, and Kaz snorted with the infectious sense of it, even though it was clearly directed at him.


    ¡°Not¡­ human,¡± he said, and she let out one final snort of amused agreement before returning to her interrupted nap.


    So instead, Kaz focused on his core.

 Chapter Thirty-five

    At first, it was difficult to block out everything else demanding Kaz¡¯s attention. Each time he tried, his heart would pound, his head would throb, or his abused muscles would cramp. Surprisingly, it was when he focused again on his breathing that he was able to push the intrusive sensations away.


    This time, however, instead of looking outside his body, trying to sense the elusive mana, he turned in. As his lungs swelled, his core grew larger in his mental vision, and each time he released a slow breath, he saw power pulse out, producing an amount of ki that should have been a flood, but was now barely more than the bare minimum needed to keep his body alive.


    At last, Kaz found himself alone in the space within his mind and body. Even his sense of the dragon and the seed grew distant and tenuous, and a gleaming stone hovered in his mind¡¯s eye. It was something like an ammolite, with deep, lambent rivers of blue mingling with golden streaks, ribbons of onyx, opalescent white, and delicate threads of red. With each cycle, these colors lit from within, fire behind clear diamond, and ki flowed out into Kaz¡¯s limp and sagging channels.


    It was beautiful, and mesmerizing, and so it took several such cycles for Kaz to notice the cracks. They were subtle - little more than traces superimposed on the crystalline surface -  but once he saw them, he couldn¡¯t look away. No ki passed through them, and where they intersected, minute fragments of the core were dark and silent.


    Cautiously, Kaz reached out, stroking one of the fissures as if it was a pup who had fallen and needed comfort. An ache stabbed through him, and he thought he gasped, but otherwise there was no effect. The core remained, and the cycle continued.


    Which left Kaz with a conundrum. Each time he had needed power, he had pushed his core to produce it. He thought that if he could do the same now, his channels would fill, the nodes in his chest and head would stabilize, and he would at least be able to control his body enough to leave the woshi¡¯s lair.


    But this cracked stone was clearly unstable. How fragile was it? Could he pull a little bit more from it without fracturing it, or would it crumble into a thousand splinters? If so, would he die? Thinking about the way the iron fuergar had succumbed after Kaz destroyed its core, he had to guess that a broken core was not something he could recover from.


    But if one or both woshi returned and ate him? Well, he wouldn¡¯t recover from that, either.


    But, but, but¡­ What would happen to Li if Kaz died? She was a dragon, but she was also a hatchling just a few days old, trapped in the depths of a mountain, far from the skies she yearned for. And what about Kaz himself?


    He didn¡¯t want to die.


    He didn¡¯t want to die, and this was a new notion for him. Not that he had ever desired death, but every kobold, especially the males, especially the Broken Knives, knew that death would be their inevitable end. Not only inevitable, but likely abrupt and painful, and far, far too soon.


    This knowledge lay at the heart of everything. Death would come. A kobold¡¯s life was brief and inexorable. Birth, obedience, and, ultimately, merciless, relentless, inescapable oblivion. What was the point of striving for anything else, when the attempt was doomed to fail, and would likely only hasten the end?


    But Kaz¡¯s predictable, inevitable life had now taken a very, very sharp turn, and he found that he didn¡¯t want it to end.


    Which brought him back to his cracked core. He could lie there, and hope. He could hope that his body would recover enough on its own that he would soon be able to rise and steal away. He could hope that his channels would refill enough to produce the same effect.


    He could try to cut off his connection to Li or the seed, and see if that would give him enough leftover ki in each cycle to hasten any such recovery. Except that he couldn¡¯t, wouldn¡¯t, do that to the tiny dragon sleeping limply on his chest, and the seed only took the golden ki. While the amount it drained had seemed like a great deal the last time he looked, now he found that it was only a tiny trickle out of the whole, so he wouldn¡¯t gain much by severing the link, even if he could.


    Or, he could push anyway.


    Push, and accept whatever happened. Pull, and see if any of the shards came loose. Tug, and see if the fractures grew. So long as the core didn¡¯t simply shatter, surely he would be able to stop in time?


    So he tried. In the loudly echoing silence, he urged his core to release more of its power.


    Each time he had done this before, it had been in the heat of the moment. He needed power, and it came. There was always a price, as his body accustomed itself to its new state, achieved fresh balance, but perhaps this time he had already paid that price?


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    He drew in a breath.


    His core shuddered. Schisms of darkness formed between shards of light. The perfect, polished surface of the sphere expanded along these lines of demarcation.


    He breathed out.


    The gleaming surface of the core split. Ki spilled out, filling Kaz¡¯s abdomen like blood. He spasmed, the howl that tried to rip out of him emerging as the barest whimper. His eyes flashed open, and he met Li¡¯s horrified gaze.


    And fell into it.


    Fell and fell and fell, following the well-worn path of their mingled ki, until he reached her core. Her perfect, gleaming core. It shone in his mind¡¯s eye, blazing with barely-restrained power, much as his own had once done. Gold, white, and effulgent black mingled in perfect harmony, thrumming with her heartbeat.


    That heartbeat hastened, even as Kaz¡¯s staggered and threatened to stall. He wondered dimly if she was beating him with her wings again. He saw brilliant flashes of ki flood by, draining her, leaving channels that had begun to replenish once again parched and barren.


    It was beautiful.


    Beautiful and perfect.


    Kaz reached out and closed his hand around the core. Mental fingers flexed, and it stilled within his grip. It tickled, like the delicate wings of an adult jiyun against his skin.


    He tugged, and it drew closer, shuddering. It was flawless, its surface smooth as polished obsidian, and he ran his thumb over it, raising it so he could examine it more closely.


    His mouth opened. His tongue lolled. It smelled¡­ so good.


    Could he eat it? If he did, would it heal him? Save him? This thing, this unblemished sphere, was it the answer he sought?


    Terror battered at his mind.


    Li¡¯s terror.


    It was Li¡¯s core he held, quivering in his grasp. Li¡¯s core that he longed to eat, to devour with ultimate abandon. If he did this, he might save himself, but at the absolute greatest cost.


    And he would not.


    He was not a monster, no matter what the humans believed. He was no mindless beast, to feed on the life source of his friend.


    Kaz¡¯s fingers convulsed, clenching and then releasing Li¡¯s core. It seemed to dim for a moment, hanging in the shadows between them, and then Kaz was swept away, drawn back into the cycle of ki that flowed between their bodies.


    Back to his own core. It was a broken and battered thing compared to the ideal he had just seen. Its surface was rough with a thousand tiny divots. Diminutive splinters slipped from it with each turning of his cycle, constantly driving it toward its final dissolution.


    But now he had nothing left to lose. Reaching out, he grasped his own core just as he had Li¡¯s. He felt sharp edges dig into whatever he was using as his hand, slicing into it until it grew slippery with something that was far more essential than simple blood. And still he held on.


    And the cracks filled. Like some nacreous fluid, power gelled around the shards and splinters that threatened to eject into his eidolic flesh. It was the gray of mingled mana, not the bright colors of ki, and it seemed to swallow light, rather than release it, but it stopped the horrific splintering of Kaz¡¯s core.


    What was left was a mockery of what it once had been. Crystalline shards protruded through matte gray seams, releasing ki into his channels in a sloppy swirl of color. But the amount that was released was as a torrent compared to a trickle. Each shard had its own surface, and each surface produced its own stream of ki, draining off into Kaz¡¯s channels and filling them like fuergar bladders growing plump with water.


    The tumescent flood surged through the thin, stretched channels, and Kaz¡¯s body twisted in a paroxysm of agony. Ki oozed and wept into his tissues, burning and filling him far beyond his capacity to accept such a sudden influx.


    It was the new pool in his chest that saved him. That and Li, and, to a lesser extent, the seed. The pool filled like an overflow pond, swirling and sloshing as it accepted every hint of ki that was shunted its way. And Li shunted every bit that she could.


    Kaz felt her focus, and a shaky, fragile image formed; a blue kobold with torn and flimsy channels. Delicate golden sheaths appeared around those channels, reinforcing and redirecting each surge of his cycle. Kaz latched onto it, smoothing the uneven figure, and creating openings when part of the gilt coating threatened to block one of the newly-widened channels that led into his limbs and organs. He felt his left arm go numb, then wake as he corrected a mistake, and then an absolute silence more profound than any he¡¯d ever experienced surrounded him before he figured out how to repair the flow to his ears.


    Meanwhile, Li and the seed both took in more of Kaz¡¯s energy than ever before. The thread that tied Kaz¡¯s flawed core to the seed swelled and grew to double, then triple its size. Golden ki poured down it, vanishing into the depths, though for the first time Kaz thought he could see some faint accumulation forming in the bottom of the once-infinite pit.


    To Kaz¡¯s suddenly-sensitive ears, Li¡¯s hiss of pain was a piercing blow. The dragon curled and writhed in place on his chest. Her channels, too, stretched, but not to the translucent fragility of his own. Still, she trembled and hissed, pushing out the overflow almost as quickly as it streamed in. Her cycle remained orderly, however, and it was this stabilizing factor that allowed them both to find some peace at last.


    The two stilled, Kaz lying on the hard, wet stone, with Li, limp and shaking, draped across his chest, far from her usual graceful coil. Their breath and hearts synchronized, Kaz¡¯s damaged and overwhelmed body pouring ki into Li¡¯s perfect, rhythmic cycle.


    Breathe in. Breathe out. Ki flows up, splitting from the wide channel flowing up along Kaz¡¯s spine, half pouring into the still-foggy well of power in his chest, while the other half splits into three. One gilt portion travels to the seed. One part to Li. One last part to Kaz¡¯s head, where at last it becomes a steady, spinning swirl when Li¡¯s ki rejoins it there.


    Down again. Down to the core, which shudders, silvery chimes ringing out as splinters tremble against one another, held together by something that was never meant to exist.


    Finally, Kaz opened his eyes.

 Chapter Thirty-six

    Li was staring at him. Her wings were pinned tight against her sides, and her ribs protruded beneath dull scales. She had always been slender, but now she seemed emaciated. Her eyes were deep pools of pure black, watching him as if he was a deadly predator, but also the only chance she had of survival.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes burned as he choked out, ¡°Sorry. So sorry. I won¡¯t¡­¡± He trailed off, still not sure exactly what he¡¯d nearly done. He hadn¡¯t physically attacked the dragon. But somehow, he knew that if he had eaten that mental representation of the little creature¡¯s core, he would have killed her as certainly as he would have died without her.


    Li continued to watch him, silent and wary, until Kaz finally dared to lift his hand from where it lay on his chest. It moved, not easily, but predictably, though some internal shift made him wince. Tenderly, he cupped the dragon against his body, then used his other arm to lever himself up from the ground.


    Once he was sitting, he gently stroked Li¡¯s long body, ignoring the twinges as his bruises complained about the motion. The dragonling remained tense beneath his touch, so he met her eyes again and said, ¡°I¡¯ll never hurt you. I swear.¡±


    His voice was low, and he pushed the sense of his appreciation and sincerity through their bond with everything he had. The link between them was now as much a part of him as his own channels, and he could feel the moment when she decided to believe him. Her head bobbed, then sank to rest against her feet, eyes closing, and he could tell she was immediately lost to sleep.


    Carefully, Kaz lifted the too-thin body, draping her around his neck until he thought she was secure enough that he could move without her sliding off. As he did, he realized that he¡¯d lost his pack at some point, but his clear sense of the seed nestled within it told him it was close by.


    It took far too long, but he finally managed to struggle to his paws, though they tried to slip out from under him a half a dozen times. A strange, glowing trail hung in the air behind him, and he reached out to prod at it before realizing it was the intangible thread leading back to the seed in his pack. He hadn¡¯t even been aware that he was pushing power into his eyes, and when he blinked, he realized why that was.


    His eyes - in fact every part of him - were now filled with more ki than they ever had been before. In his own vision, he all but glowed, and when he looked around, he realized that he could see as clearly as if Gaoda stood beside him with his overly bright ball of ki, even though the only illumination was the faint luminescence of the glow-worms overhead.


    Kaz rubbed his eyes, hoping that the effect might subside, but it was still as clear as ever when he blinked them open again. Which would have to be a problem for another time, because right now he needed to go, and quickly. It was amazing that one or more of the adult woshi hadn¡¯t already returned.


    His bag lay on the ground near the slimy crevice through which the beast had dragged him. Its straps were ragged and broken, and there was a hole in one side, but when he opened it, he saw that the seed, knives, and fire striker had formed a crusted mass in the bottom and still clung tenaciously to the grubby leather. Kaz pulled out the good knife before rolling the rest of the pack into an awkward bundle that he tied around his waist like a belt, using what remained of the straps.


    It felt good to hold a proper weapon, though without a sheath, it left Kaz with only one usable hand. Still, if the woshi returned, it would find him a much sharper sort of prey. He would have to find a way to keep the blade from slicing him when he needed to put it back into the pathetic remains of his pack, though.


    First, he had to escape. A single attempt told him there was no way he could crawl back out the way he¡¯d come in. A dense layer of mucus coated the walls of the narrow passage, and he quickly slipped and slithered back down when he tried, leaving him sitting in a fresh pool of goo. He would have to walk.


    The breeding pool lay along the back wall of the cave, and Kaz circled around it warily. His desperate attack had killed all of the woshi spawn near him, but that didn¡¯t mean there couldn¡¯t be more in the further reaches. He didn¡¯t know at what point young woshi became capable of leaving their pools, either, so if there were adolescents, they might be able to come out after him.


    It wasn¡¯t worth the risk to try to see if there might be an opening on the far side of the pool, so Kaz clung to the wall as he walked. The cave grew narrower and deeper the further he traveled, though, so soon he was much closer to the placid water¡¯s edge than he was comfortable with.


    It was with great relief that he finally saw not one, but two tunnels branching off from the area containing the pool. Still, he knew better than to move too quickly in an unexplored area, so he only went a short distance down each one before pausing to decide which way he should go.


    The first tunnel was fairly wide, and though he smelled fuergar, the scent wasn¡¯t fresh. He suspected the woshi and its offspring kept the population down nearly as well as a resident tribe of kobolds. He threw a handful of small stones ahead of him, and they rolled back, so his sense that the passage sloped upwards was probably correct. If he was lucky, it might even lead back up to the level he¡¯d been on before.


    The second tunnel was nearly as wide as the first, but the ceiling was lower, and the floor more uneven. When he threw stones ahead of him, most of them became lodged in cracks and between stony protrusions, but a few skittered around the obstacles, rolling further along the passage. It went down, and at a good angle, but in his experience, this sort of tunnel was very likely to narrow to impassibility, which would mean turning around and coming back to take the first path or search for a third.


    But he didn¡¯t want to go up. For one thing, he already knew the Stoneborns controlled the stairs, and because the stairs were so close together, the Broken Knives had only passed through quickly, so he didn¡¯t know where another way between levels might be. That meant he would have to find a tribe and ask, since simply wandering was a nearly guaranteed way to die. Technically, they should help him as a lost pup, but they would know he hadn¡¯t come from a nearby tribe, so it was also possible that they, like the Stoneborns, would claim him, correctly assuming that no one would come after him.


    If he went down, however, he might reach the level where his tribe had stopped for nearly a year after leaving the mid-levels. He certainly didn¡¯t know all of it, but if he wasn¡¯t too far from the area with the stairs, there was a good chance he would find something to help him orient himself. Plus, the further he got from anyone who might have heard about the new blue pup the Stoneborn tribe had acquired, the better.


    Nodding to himself, Kaz clutched his knife and took the second tunnel.


    =+=+=+=


    Time was a thing created by variations in light, and the natural cycles of the body. When you grew hungry, you ate. When you grew tired, you slept. When you lived in a community, you did these things together with others of your kind, in unspoken agreement that this was ¡®time.¡¯


    Kaz pulled handfuls of moss or fungus from the walls with the hand that didn¡¯t hold his knife, and ate them raw. He found that he didn¡¯t even need the ki orb of which he¡¯d been so proud any longer. His own strange luminescence and the life-glow of the plants themselves was enough to define his path. He could even see the fuergar skittering around nearby, and after he spitted a few with laughable ease, they no longer approached close enough for him to reach them. One of these joined the moss in his belly, though he disliked the taste and sensation of its raw flesh, so he dressed the other one quickly and tied it to his belt for later.


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    The tunnel continued to narrow, though Kaz was able to walk mostly upright. He knew that if it became so tight he had to crawl, he would have to go back, since he wouldn¡¯t be able to wield his blade or turn quickly enough to defend against an attack. It also grew steeper, forcing him to slow and be more cautious about where he placed his paws, but he continued ever downward.


    He thought that he must have gone far enough to have passed through at least one level, if not two. He found no openings or side passages wide enough to take, however, so he simply went on, passing through darkness filled with distant echoes and the ever-present fuergar.


    He gathered some firemoss, which he could use to create a slow-burning barrier that would keep most beasts away while he closed his eyes, but he knew he was already too tired to do so safely. When pups were taught how to survive alone during their spirit hunt, they learned to take many brief, shallow naps, rather than allowing themselves to sink into a deep enough sleep that a nearby sound or motion wouldn¡¯t wake them.


    Li stirred against his throat as exhaustion once again warred against sense, and Kaz froze, his hand on the stalagmite he was maneuvering around. The dragon moved again, emitting a hissing yawn, and Kaz¡¯s knees nearly gave out in relief. He had sensed the calm and steady flow of her ki, had known she was worn down but physically well, but he had still been worried, his free hand creeping up to feel her fragile ribs rise and fall each time the ground smoothed enough that his footing was briefly stable.


    Wings lifted and stretched in his peripheral vision, and then one of them buffeted his ear hard enough to make him yip. He clapped his hand to the injured appendage, nearly cutting it off before realizing he¡¯d used the hand holding his knife. Li lifted from his shoulder, hovering momentarily, then fell back against him with a frustrated hiss. She trembled, and Kaz decided that whether or not he could afford to rest, it was time to stop.


    Looking around, he saw that there was a flowstone formation protruding from the wall not far ahead. He would have to scrape past it, so anything coming from the other direction should have to do the same. Turning, he nestled his tail into the crevice between the rippled formation and the rough wall, then put his blade down on the ground within easy reach before stretching his arms flat out in front of him.


    It took Li a moment to recognize the invitation, but then she climbed over his shoulder and down his arm, wrapping her long tail around his forearm as she came to sit in his cupped hands. Her body nearly hummed with tension, like a cord pulled her muscles taut, and her eyes were still more dark than golden as she turned her head one way and then the other, examining him.


    Kaz smiled at her, keeping his teeth hidden as he sent warm feelings of safety and reassurance through their bond.


    She bit him.


    It was a good, hard chomp, drawing blood that oozed from four small indentations in the pad of his thumb. Kaz flinched, but managed not to pull away from her as her tiny forked tongue flicked out, taking in each drop of his ki-drenched blood. He sensed her satisfaction, and didn¡¯t think it was just because she was getting some form of nourishment from this small retribution. If that was, in fact, what she was doing.


    He stopped bleeding quickly, more quickly than he would expect, actually, and it was Kaz who finally broke the silence as he met her slowly-whirling gaze. Specks of gold drifted in the field of black, and he thought she almost felt amused.


    ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± he asked.


    The scaled head bobbed, and he snorted a laugh before saying, ¡°I really am sorry. I don¡¯t even know¡­¡±


    What? What happened? What could have compelled him to even think about ingesting her core? Why he foolishly took a chance that nearly killed him, and possibly her as well?


    A wing flicked, smacking him in the nose, and the last of the black finally drained from her eyes. She whistled a sharp note, then twisted lithely, scampering back down his arm before dropping to the ground, tongue flickering. She locked in on the fuergar that had been dangling from his belt and now half-hung, half-lay on the ground beside him.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± he asked, and immediately received a fierce wave of famished greed through their bond.


    He smiled again, pulling a grubby bundle of firemoss from the remains of his pack. ¡°Should I cook it?¡±


    The dragon hesitated, and he sensed the churning hunger again. Quickly, he laid out the moss, using his fire-striker to start it. A wave of acrid smoke rose up from the unprocessed moss, but it only stung his nose, without bringing the usual wave of mild dizziness.


    Laying out the fuergar, he made short work of it, stripping the skin and slicing the meat into long, thin pieces that he laid on the hot stone beside the burning moss. By the time he wrapped one final strip around his knife and held the blade over the low flames, Li was already dragging the first one away, mumbling and hissing in disgruntlement even as she tore it into chunks and swallowed them whole.


    They ate every scrap of meat from the carcass, and Kaz laid the copper-coated bones in the moss until they cracked and he could pick them up and snap them in half. Hot marrow oozed out, and he passed the small bones to Li while he cleaned the larger ones.


    When they were done, he leaned back against the wall, realizing that between the food and the company, he felt much better. Wandering in the timeless passage, he had had far too much time to think about just how unlikely it really was that they were going to make it back to Lianhua and the others in time. It wasn¡¯t impossible - or even unlikely - that he was stuck in one of the levels between levels, where natural caverns and passages existed, but there were no safe or easily accessible tunnels leading in and out, so they remained lost and uninhabited. Worse, he could keep wandering until he reached the mid-levels, and without the warnings on the stairs, he would never know until it was too late.


    Looking down at Li, whose belly was once again plump and round, though the luster hadn¡¯t yet returned to her scales, he sighed. ¡°We¡¯re well and truly lost, my friend.¡±


    Li¡¯s wings flicked, and she hissed, but he didn¡¯t sense any real concern coming from her.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°You may not care, but I do. If we manage to find someone, they may or may not help us. If we don¡¯t find anyone, I may or may not be able to figure out where we are.¡± He snorted. ¡°More likely not, if I¡¯m honest.¡±


    Li lifted her head on her serpentine neck and trilled softly. A shaky image formed in his mind. Fierce golden dragon, fuzzy blue kobold, climbing up and up until they emerged into blue. Dragon and kobold launched themselves into the sky, though the little Kaz-figure couldn¡¯t seem to decide whether to sprout wings or flap his arms in order to achieve flight.


    Kaz laughed so hard the bruises on his ribs woke into burning aches again. ¡°I wish!¡± he told her. ¡°If we could just fly away, wouldn¡¯t that be easy?¡±


    Reaching out, he gently pinched the tips of her wings, stretching them out briefly before she snatched them away with a hiss. At their greatest reach, they were barely the length of his forearm, and though her body was longer, it was also thin, and her head was the size of his thumb.


    ¡°Though you have the heart of a dragon,¡± he told her, ¡°you¡¯re no stronger than the fuergar you¡¯re supposed to be.¡±


    She glared at him, and he shrugged, sighing again.


    ¡°And I¡¯m less than that. A kobold. Barely better than a beast, the moment I step foot out of the mountain. Even if we could somehow make it, I have no idea how to survive, and,¡± he pressed his hand against his belly, almost feeling the jagged remains of his core concealed inside, ¡°I doubt I¡¯d have the strength, anyway.¡±


    Li stared at him, black and white swirls spinning in the depths of her eyes, until he looked away, scratching his ear in embarrassment. Finally, he reached down and picked her up, settling her on his shoulder again. That done, he bent over and picked up the knife, feeling the way it settled perfectly into his palm. The light cast by the flickering flames played along the layered metal of its blade, and glimmered against the blue stone tip.


    Huffing out a breath, Kaz stepped over the firemoss. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t feel sorry for myself though,¡± he said as he edged his way down the tunnel. ¡°After all, at least I have you.¡±


    The little dragon bit him again.

 Chapter Thirty-seven

    They ate what they could find, and drank when they followed the sound of water to tiny pools or glittering droplets slowly falling from the ceiling. Twice, they ran into lopo, but in Kaz¡¯s new vision, their cores burned with shades of yellow and black ki, and neither of them were large enough that their hooked tongues could reach him as he circled around.


    He slept, briefly but deeply, while Li remained awake, and the dragon slept as he carried her ever onward into the mountain. Though the path was long and winding, he was certain they must have wandered through at least six or seven levels, even given how far apart the levels were in the heights. Time passed, for others, if not for them, and Kaz grew steadily more certain that the humans must have long since left him behind.


    Kaz found himself talking to the little dragon, though he knew silence was far safer. She responded with whistles and clicks, and the flow of feelings and images between them grew stronger and clearer with each small conversation.


    Li¡¯s favorite story was the one of her birth, or rather, his acquisition of her egg. She prodded at his mind, flashing images of larger dragons surrounded by smaller dragons, all copies of Li, until Kaz gave in and told the tale again. She shivered and huddled against him each time he mentioned the terrible black dragon who had chased her family away, but at the same time he felt a kind of fierce determination building up inside her to someday find or avenge her parent.


    Kaz huffed a little breath as he turned yet another corner in yet another winding passage. He knew he was still going down, and the way had opened out into broader, more finished passages some time ago, but he was still just as lost as he had been when he left the woshi¡¯s den.


    ¡°You can¡¯t beat that black dragon,¡± he told her again. ¡°It was twice as large as your parent, and you¡¯re¡­¡± Less than half the size of any of the other baby dragons, he thought, and though he tried to keep it from her, he knew she¡¯d understood.


    A wing lifted and beat against his ear, a sharp smack that he¡¯d become far too accustomed to recently. Still, it didn¡¯t really hurt, and he was used to Katri nipping his ears, so the sensation was oddly nostalgic.


    He growled softly at her, but he knew she knew he didn¡¯t mean it. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you the story next time you ask, if you¡¯re going to get too angry about it.¡±


    Kaz felt her dismay, but she just hissed at him before settling down in sulky silence. And into that silence, a kobold¡¯s howl resonated, faint but unmistakable.


    He froze, his ears perking up. Another howl came, querying, and he turned his head, looking into a deep, narrow fissure in the stone beside him. Too narrow to pass through, but it was a beginning. He had a direction at last.


    Kaz had always been good at finding his way. He had a sense of the mountain, an ever-present feeling of knowing exactly where he was in relation to it. Given a single familiar formation, a once-glimpsed cavern, or a certain turn within a tunnel, he could find his way home. He had always been the first to memorize a new territory, and his early habit of exploration had probably developed because he was very rarely truly lost.


    Now, he knew the sound had come from this way, and as he hurried forward along what had been just another trackless tunnel only moments before, he knew he needed to turn, then turn, then slip down into a crevice just wide enough to allow him passage. This way would take him toward that sound, and that sound would bring him to more kobolds.


    He had noticed that his ears were now as sensitive as his eyes, and his nose even more so. He could tell how long it had been since a fuergar passed before him, and had avoided a large cavern that nearly knocked him over with the sound and stench of janjio.


    He caught the first whiff of kobold long before he saw any sign of them, and knew that he was getting close. Too close, perhaps, if the tribe was one of the more aggressive ones. He slowed from what he belatedly realized was a near-run, and then stopped to think about what he was doing.


    Li lifted from his shoulder, her scales whispering against one another as she rose. Fragile wings disturbed the air, and for the first time in a while, he flinched, worried that she might be heard.


    Turning, he looked up at her, her golden body glowing in his vision, trailed by the string of ki that linked them together. The ring Lianhua had given them seemed to glitter with its own light, snug against the dragon¡¯s small leg.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to pretend to be a fuergar,¡± he told her. ¡°And fuergar don¡¯t fly.¡±


    Li hissed unhappily, but settled back against his shoulder, wrapping her tail delicately around his throat. She sent a picture of a plump little rodent crawling into a pack, along with a sense of uncertainty.


    He shook his head, fingers touching the remains of his bag, which still clung to his waist. This reminded him that he also held his knife, something that had become such a habit during their wanderings that he had nearly forgotten he could put it down.


    Should put it down.


    In fact, now that Kaz thought about it, finding kobolds again was probably at least as risky as being lost. To them, he would be a strange male pup with a potentially dangerous beast clinging to his shoulder. He had been far more fortunate than he had any right to expect when Nadi had simply accepted him and Li. This time, however, he wouldn¡¯t have the humans to buffer his meeting with the tribe, rendering him a weak and easily dismissed detail in comparison.


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    Plus, he had nearly forgotten about the bizarre changes within himself. He no longer dared to use any but the barest edge of the ki flowing through his still-strained channels, fearing that any shift could upset the fragile balance allowing his core to continue to function. Sometimes the mental image of golden sheaths reinforcing those channels slipped when he became distracted, and once it had taken both him and Li what seemed like ten minutes or more to restore the function of his legs.


    In his own vision, he glowed, in a way he was certain he never had before, even when he had thought he was full to overflowing with power. He was almost sure, now, that even Oda had never sensed anything strange about him, which probably meant few, if any, other females would have noticed, other than Rega, who knew him far better than anyone else, including his own sister.


    But now? Would he now burn as brightly to them as they did to him? Would they sense the ki that threatened to boil from him, saturating his flesh and his expanded, fractured core? Would any female who saw him strike him down as if he was as much a monster as any janjio or lopo?


    Kaz stood, fingers nervously clutching the hilt of a weapon he would never be allowed to keep. A creature most kobolds saw as particularly annoying food clung to his neck, while he seared the air with power too strong to be contained.


    He could go no further. Whether a male killed Li or took away the knife, or a female struck Kaz himself down, walking into the territory of these kobolds would be like climbing into the maw of a lopo without waiting for it to stab him with its tongue. Even if he left Li and the knife behind, tucked away in some convenient shelter, his own flesh could easily betray him.


    No. He had to hide. Had to treat these kobolds as if they were as much a threat as any other monster lurking within the mountain. If he could figure out where he was, and how to reach the stairs, perhaps he could yet catch up with the humans. Their ignorance and their strength were his only protection now.


    Kaz drew in a slow, shuddering breath, the lingering scent of kobolds tracing through his nostrils; fur and musk and something like¡­ metal? Yes, metal, but with the sharp, distinctive tang of copper. So, a tribe who used copper. What form did it take? Weapons? Armor?


    He cast his mind back, letting the bloody aroma pull him into memory. The Coppertalons were higher than this, he was certain, and the Coppermane tribe was all but destroyed by the Silverfists in a particularly vicious luegat, so he doubted they still had enough kobolds to cling to a territory this close to the middle of the mountain. There was a tribe whose lead male wielded two copper knives at once, and another whose females wore the copper-coated skulls of fuergar mounted on their shoulders. Knowing which one this was would help Kaz place himself on his mental map.


    But how to find out without risking detection? He was already close enough that his own scent might give his presence away. He could try finding something to cover his smell, but every kobold knew the odor of the plants that were commonly used for that purpose, so that in itself could be suspicious.


    Then he remembered Rega, and the ¡®forbidden magic¡¯ she used to cover the smell of the Broken Knives as they retreated into the fuergar nest. Whatever she had done, it had kept the core hunter from finding them, at least long enough for Kaz to find them first. How had she done it? Were there convenient instructions in the chief¡¯s book, or was it something that was taught, mother to daughter, whispered in secret caves and hidden away by silence?


    But Kaz had a core, too, and so did Li. More importantly, the little dragon¡¯s core was still fully functional. Could they figure out what trick Rega had used? And, as long as they were at it, perhaps they could also discover how Oda and Katri hid in shadow. If he could trick the kobold¡¯s senses, he could approach close enough to gather the information he needed.


    Closing his eyes, Kaz tried to remember the feeling of muffled, distant scent lingering in his nose. The smells had been familiar, but old, all but lost within the overwhelming musk of the fuergar nest. One faint, unfamiliar smell could easily be made to vanish beneath a flood of more urgent information, if Kaz could only figure out how to do it.


    A twinge stabbed through his belly as he unconsciously shifted the ki in his nose. Smells grew stronger, then weaker, but he could tell he was only affecting his own senses, and each time, something fragile and infinitely deadly shifted inside him.


    Li¡¯s sharp teeth latched onto his ear, and Kaz snapped out of the near-stupor he had been sinking toward. His belly churned, and he crouched, arms wrapping around his body as he whimpered softly.


    A picture formed. The little golden dragon¡¯s mouth swelled, teeth growing larger and larger, until they finally snapped, open and closed, biting off the snout of a miniature blue kobold. There was no blood, and the kobold, who had been simply standing there as the dragon grew, just continued staring into the distance, apparently unconcerned about its abrupt disfigurement.


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°You think you can do it?¡± he asked Li.


    She lifted a wing, preening the edges of a scale with teeth far smaller than those of her mental counterpart. Calm self-satisfaction came through their link.


    Kaz blinked. How could she possibly know? She had still been in her egg when Rega died, so Li couldn¡¯t even have figured it out by observing Kaz¡¯s aunt.


    Sensing his doubt and confusion, Li hissed softly, and he felt her core pulse with power. Abruptly, the scent of kobolds and copper faded, then vanished, and Kaz clapped a hand to his snout in sudden concern that the little dragonling might somehow have managed to eat his nose without him noticing.


    All seemed to be in order, however, and Kaz quickly discovered that the effect wasn¡¯t nearly as complete as it had seemed at first. It was simply that his sense of smell had returned to something much closer to where he had started, without the recent enhancement granted by his seeping ki.


    ¡°Can you do that to other kobolds?¡± he asked the dragon. ¡°Or just me? Is it because our ki is linked?¡±


    Li shook her head, then shifted from foot to foot. She wasn¡¯t as certain as she¡¯d like him to believe, but he could tell she believed she could do it. When he asked her how, a deep feeling of ambivalence reached him. The image of the clear blue sky grew within his mind; he felt wind sweep over wing membranes, and warmth radiate from the blazing orb above. Li had never seen the sky, never flown in it, but she knew.


    Was it instinct? What kind of instinct told her how to conceal her smell? Was it something dragons did? Perhaps a skill they used to sneak up on their prey?


    Kaz shared a picture of Katri, covered by the shadow shield, hiding from swooping janjio as the humans killed the attacking beasts. ¡°Can you do this as well?¡±


    The golden head tilted. Left. Right. Black and white swirls spun in golden eyes. Agreement but contradiction. Yes but no. Something similar, perhaps, but not the same.


    It was enough. It would have to be enough. Enough, at least, to move forward. He should see totems before there was any real risk of notice, and that by itself might tell him what tribe this was and at least what general area they were in. As long as the tribe wasn¡¯t on alert, the only guards should be with groups of gatherers, and so long as Kaz himself was as silent as he could be, he should hear them before they heard him.


    Crouching, Kaz trimmed the long claws on his toes. Usually, they were kept long, and many adults even sharpened them. They were another weapon in the too-small arsenal of an individual kobold. Right now, however, even a single extra click or scrape might be enough to put a warrior on alert. He had to be stealthy. No sound, no sight, no smell. Today, he would be the stalking beast among the kobolds.

 Chapter Thirty-eight

    Kaz crouched by a totem made from a pale gray skull whose eyesockets were filled with dozens of small copper teeth. It was familiar, but he thought he¡¯d heard of it, rather than seen it with his own eyes. He didn¡¯t know how many tribes of kobolds there were, but they likely numbered in the hundreds, and many of them used skulls and bones to make their totems.


    Glancing toward Li, he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure. I think¡­ maybe this is another tribe like the Stoneborn. Pups have to stay close to the den on the mid-levels, so I didn¡¯t meet any of the other tribes except in passing. If this tribe is also fleeing the tribe from the Deep, that would explain why I don¡¯t know them.¡±


    Standing, he sighed and brushed off his hands. ¡°This doesn¡¯t tell us where we are in relation to the stairs, though. We¡¯ll have to keep going. Are you still okay?¡±


    Li whistled confirmation, looking a little insulted that he felt the need to ask. Kaz chuckled. ¡°I know, I know. Dragons are great and powerful, and you are the greatest of all dragons.¡±


    She smacked him with a wing, but he could tell she was pleased. He had discovered that she liked such compliments, and made sure to offer them regularly. After all, she might be a very small dragon at the moment, but she wouldn¡¯t stay that way. Plus, he liked the feeling of her happiness.


    Cautiously, Kaz walked off down the passage, with Li clinging to his shoulder. She wanted to fly, but no kobold would ignore the sound of wingbeats in the darkness, so she had to stay with him. They could come across a group of gatherers or guards at any time, especially if this really was a mid-level tribe. If they were like the Stoneborns, their territory was likely small, and there could even be patrols.


    The scent of kobold grew ever stronger, and Kaz lingered in crevices and cracks, ears pricked high as he listened for any sign of activity. He circled, finding clear signs of gatherers, with half-picked patches of yumao and toufa.


    A deep breath and the click of a claw gave the presence of guards away just before he turned yet another corner, following the directions of his nose, and Kaz froze, then sank back, taking advantage of the darkness of the tunnel. He waited, barely breathing, to see if they had noticed him. When nothing happened, he slipped away, following the tunnel back to the last branching.


    Guards meant something to guard. Kobolds guarded three things; den, chief, and gatherers. Gathering groups tended to move around and talk, at least a little, but these guards were still and silent. Therefore, Kaz had likely found the den itself.


    That silence also argued that it was probably nighttime, and all the kobolds were asleep except the guards themselves. This presented Kaz with something of a dilemma.


    First, he could withdraw. If this was the den, then in the morning, gathering groups would depart, and he could follow one, listening in on all the little conversations between pups. The downside to this was, of course, that they were pups. No one told puppies anything important, and at least in his recent experience, their discussions mainly focused on what they were going to eat, and when they were going to eat it.


    Second, he could try to sneak inside the den itself. If Li really could keep the guards from seeing or smelling him, this would be a perfect time to go in and find a place to hide and gather information for the day. Yes, he would be trapped there until the following evening, but he would probably be far safer in the den than wandering the passages. No one would ever expect a strange kobold to be inside the den itself, so even if someone detected something, they would probably dismiss it.


    He was so tired. If he could find a quiet place to hide, surely he could finally sleep, as well? With an entire den of kobolds around him, he would be safe. Safe, for the first time in¡­ how long? Days? Had it been a week? More? He could close his eyes and truly relax, knowing there was more than his own reaction speed and a single, very small dragonling standing between him and the teeth of a woshi or something worse.


    Yes, he had to go in. Somehow, he had to find a way past the guards. A distraction. But what? What would attract their attention just enough to make them look away, but not enough to make them call for help?


    A lost pup. A pup just like Kaz himself, alone and frightened, whimpering in the darkness. Surely any guard would look, at least for a moment.


    Silently, Kaz explored the tunnels near the guards, trusting Li to keep his scent from alerting them to his presence. He found a second entrance, also guarded, and this time he was able to see the warriors who stood there. He crept forward, inch by inch, until he could hunker down in the darkness of a small stand of stalagmites.


    The guards were short, but broad, with thickly muscled arms and chests, and a great ruff of fur framed their ears. He couldn¡¯t see what color that fur was, except that it was dark, but at their waists long, heavy-looking weapons hung. Copper glittered in the dim light coming from the cavern behind them, but he thought it reflected from chunks embedded in the gray surface of the weapons, rather than from the weapons themselves.


    Copper and cudgels, with the scavenged teeth of copper fuergar serving to make their bone weapons cut and chop, rather than simply bludgeon. These were the Copperstrikers, and they most definitely didn¡¯t belong in the upper levels of the mountain. What kind of fierce tribe had risen from the Deep to push such a strong clan out?


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    Kaz huffed a small breath, trying to decide if he should continue with his plan. That was all it took for one of the muscular males to whip his head around, eyes staring straight at Kaz¡¯s hiding place. Kaz¡¯s body froze in place, nearly trembling with the flood of terror he felt at the cold pressure of that yellow gaze.


    This tribe was too strong. He had been a fool to think he could simply slip past them while they looked for a whimpering pup. He needed to retreat, go back to wandering again. If he stayed just outside of their territory, surely it would eventually meet up with that of another, weaker tribe - a tribe who hadn¡¯t ruled half the mid-levels for generations.


    The warrior on the left looked over to his partner. With a flick of a finger, he indicated that the other guard should investigate the sound. The second male nodded, tugging his cudgel from his belt with practiced ease. His muscles rippled as he clutched the weapon, slowly advancing on the cluster of stalagmites beyond which Kaz crouched.


    Kaz reminded himself that while he could see the other kobold thanks to his enhanced vision, the Copperstriker had no such advantage. Kaz had to hold still. Still and silent, and hope Li was correct that she could conceal his scent as well.


    The male advanced, pale eyes peering into what must be near-darkness as he came. He stepped up to the stalagmites, hesitated, then sniffed, frowning. Time stretched. At last, with a shrug, the male turned back, returning his weapon to a hook on his belt. This close, Kaz could see that it was made of the same gray bone as the totem, and there were indeed dozens of jagged copper teeth thrusting seemingly at random from the weapon¡¯s surface.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± the one who had come to check said as he returned to his position.


    The first male shrugged, obviously unconcerned, but the second sighed, tapping his claws against the bone shaft of his weapon.


    Silence stretched. ¡°I don¡¯t know why we even bother,¡± the second male mumbled at last.


    Slowly, the first male turned his head. His eyes were nearly white, and his voice was cold as he said, ¡°This is our place. We watch.¡±


    The second male stiffened. ¡°Yes. I- Yes.¡±


    Kaz, who still huddled in place, watched them. He hoped they would say more, but there was nothing. If he hadn¡¯t been able to see the light gleam from their dark fur as their ribs rose and fell, he wouldn¡¯t have been certain they still breathed.


    Li shifted on his shoulder, and an image trickled into his mind. Blue kobold, shrinking, raising its little nose to whine and whimper, until two larger males appeared. The little kobold then disappeared into smoke, leaving the larger ones looking baffled.


    Kaz sent denial. Too dangerous. He recreated the blue pup, made it whimper, but this time only one of the two larger kobolds moved toward it, while the other one stood back and watched. The pup vanished, reappearing behind the moving kobold, only to have the second warrior snatch it up as it tried to pass him by.


    Kaz would retreat. He would find a tribe that hadn¡¯t just risen to this level. They would be less cautious, and more talkative. He just needed to know where the stairs were. If he was lucky, he might even stumble over the stairs without help. Powerful tribes liked to control the passages between levels, so it was possible, even likely, that one was nearby, and the Copperstrikers had already taken it over from whoever was here before.


    Slowly, he stood and began to back up. He kept his eyes locked on the guards until he turned a corner, then spun and placed his back against the wall, trembling. Yes. He would hide, skulk, creep through the edges until he found another tribe. Any tribe who was not from the mid-levels.


    Only when he reached this decision and felt the tension drain from his body did he realize just how frightened he had been. He had allowed his exhaustion and his loneliness to convince him to make a poor choice. No, it would truly be for the best to continue on. He had found kobolds. That was enough for now.


    Quickly, he retraced his steps, soon reaching the corner where the first pair of warriors stood, still guarding the den. He hurried past, his paws lighter and lighter as he moved further away. Down one tunnel, then another, back to a cavern that reminded him uncomfortably of the one the woshi had snatched him from. Tiny pools had formed beneath a hundred tiny stalactites, too small to bother breaking off, and clumps of lichen mingled with fronds of moss and a few stout, fleshy mushrooms. All of the plants were plundered, clear evidence of the recent activity of gatherers, and the scents of a dozen kobolds and copper were nearly overwhelming.


    As he passed through, his nose twitched, and he paused. Copper and kobolds. Copper and strangers. Blood and¡­ not stranger. Not familiar. Not quite. But not stranger, either. It was a faint smell. Too faint to be produced by any living creature, but perhaps¡­ the aroma that lingered on an object after someone handled it? Had something come through here that smelled familiar? But he didn¡¯t know any-


    His eyes widened. He did know someone who would have passed through this level recently. Four someones, actually. Lifting his nose, he sniffed again, filling himself with the aromas surrounding him. The overwhelming scent was the tang of copper, and beneath that lay kobolds. Pups, mostly, their scents immature and dusty, trailing around the cave, back and forth in overlapping waves. Some females, he thought, but mostly males, and definitely a few adult males, musk inextricably mingled with the metallic odor of their weapons.


    Kaz circled around to the far side of a pool, toward a dark tunnel he hadn¡¯t yet explored. There was less moisture here, and so there were fewer plants, and the habits of hundreds of hours of gathering had sent him along the path with the greatest growth. Now he followed his nose instead, and it was definitely telling him that something familiar had passed this way. Not recently, no. Not within the last few days, even. The gatherers had come at least twice since then, and only the ki pulsing through his body let him detect¡­ Lianhua.


    He stopped.


    Lianhua hadn¡¯t been here. No, the scent wasn¡¯t strong enough for that. But something belonging to her had come this way. Trade goods perhaps? Had the humans traded another of their ¡®handkerchiefs¡¯ to use a passage controlled by the Copperstriker tribe?


    It didn¡¯t matter, not really. What mattered was that he had the scent. Kaz finally knew which way to go.

 Chapter Thirty-nine

    Kaz ran as fast as he dared, nose twitching as he tracked the warm, sweet scent of things that didn¡¯t belong in the cool, dank caverns and tunnels of the mountain. Someday, he would have to ask Lianhua what made those smells, and why their scent hung so heavily around her. Someday, someday¡­ when he found her again.


    The smell didn¡¯t grow any stronger, but it wasn¡¯t noticeably weaker, either, and he could only hope he was running the right direction. Eventually, there would be a beginning or an end, and then he would know, but for now, he simply tracked, allowing a greater amount of ki to leak from his channels and into his nose, even as his nasal passages began to burn with the sensation of every odor that had ever passed through these still, quiet tunnels.


    Fuergar. A nest. Down the tunnel to his right, but not where he needed to go.


    Kobolds. New ones. Not the same as the guards or the gatherers he had scented before.


    The reek of jiao, burning, burning. The soothing scent of jejing, and cleansing water.


    Copper. Copper. Iron. Copper.


    And Lianhua. A miasma of Lianhua. This way. That. Li bit him once when he nearly ran out across a cavern with a lopo hanging high overhead. The trail circled, and so did he, only vaguely wondering why the tribe hadn¡¯t brought the beast down if they knew it was there. A trap for strange kobolds encroaching on their territory, perhaps?


    The nearly forgotten image of golden sheaths reinforcing his channels slipped, and he stumbled as his legs grew at once too weak and too strong, thrusting him forward uncontrollably until Li caught the vision and stabilized it, sending him worried frustration as she did so.


    Kaz stopped, one hand against the wall as he panted, and felt something wet touch his lip. He reached up, wiping it away, and saw that it gleamed red, but was filled with mingled ki that made it burn in his vision. Blood. His nose was bleeding, and he¡¯d pushed so much ki into it that the blood was saturated.


    Li scampered down his arm, sniffing at the blood, then began to lick it with flashes of her delicate tongue. When the smear of crimson was all but gone, she shifted to licking his face, and he huffed a single, short laugh.


    ¡°Soon, you¡¯ll simply give in to temptation and try to eat me, thus fulfilling the prophecies of every den-mother in every tribe ever,¡± he chided her, wiping away a fresh flow as it threatened to drip into his own mouth.


    Amusement, and satisfaction. The picture of the golden dragon in his mind grew and grew, then snapped its mouth shut over the little blue kobold, swallowing it whole. Not a threat or a promise. Teasing.


    He shook his head, and Li hissed in dissatisfaction as her tongue missed his face. ¡°You¡¯re a greedy thing,¡± he said, but held still until the blood and his breathing slowed.


    At last, Kaz gave an experimental sniff, and found that while his nostrils felt oddly clogged, they worked, and he could still smell Lianhua. He rubbed his snout tiredly.


    ¡°I need to rest,¡± he muttered. ¡°What am I doing, running through unknown territory? I knew better than this by the time I was five. It doesn¡¯t matter that I can see and smell better than before. All it takes is one thing I didn¡¯t see, and-¡± He shivered.


    Li lifted from his arm, circled around him twice, then dropped back down to settle around his neck again. She sent him an image of a sleeping kobold, with a fierce dragon standing over him, watching.


    He rubbed her head gently, stroking the scaled cheek until she leaned into the pressure, just enough to let him know she didn¡¯t dislike it. ¡°I know, you¡¯ll protect me. But the humans are getting further ahead all the time. I just want to find them!¡±


    He knew she felt his frustration, and she whistled softly, showing him a dragon, darting through tunnels, searching, searching.


    ¡°No,¡± he told her. ¡°We need to stay together.¡± That was his answer every time she had suggested something similar. Yes, they could explore twice as much territory if they split up, but if one of them was hurt or killed, the other would probably never even know it had happened until their link was abruptly severed. They belonged together.


    More worry, and he sighed, giving her long neck a final stroke. ¡°I¡¯m all right. I just need to keep going. I can rest when we find them.¡±


    He meant it, but at the same time his paws felt like they¡¯d been dipped in molten lead as he began to move again. He was more cautious with the amount of ki he allowed into his nose, but that also made it harder to pick up the faint scent he followed, especially when it passed through the trails of beasts and kobolds. Twice, he had to turn around and go back, and each time it was harder to convince himself he wasn¡¯t just imagining the lingering trace.


    Until he found the stairs.


    It was just another corner, saturated with the ever-present musk of kobolds and the reek of copper, and he turned, drawing in his next deep breath. He didn¡¯t even notice the shift in light until Li squeaked and half-lifted from him, grasping his fur in her mouth as she desperately tried to drag him backwards. He blinked, nearly yelping from the sudden sharp pain, and his paw went back, leg giving out, so he landed on the ground with a soft thump, Li pulled from the air after him.


    Sharp barks rang out from the open space he¡¯d been about to enter, and the click of claws on stone grew louder as at least two kobolds ran toward him. Kaz looked around wildly, then rolled into a gap between two imperfectly-broken stalactites and a short section of flowstone. It was dark, and whoever was coming would have to go around.


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    Li crouched against his chest, clinging tightly to his fur, and he could tell she was concentrating. She had long since stopped whatever she had done to keep the Copperstriker guard from noticing them, and he could almost feel it snap back into place around them.


    Two males turned the corner, claws scratching against the stone. Both held bone clubs with copper teeth embedded in the surface, but one was taller and slim, while the other had the same kind of squat, powerful build as the others Kaz had seen.


    The squat one stopped, lips pulled back to show the longest fangs Kaz had ever seen on a kobold. They overlapped his lower lip, gleaming in the dim light coming from behind him. The ruff around his neck was so dense his jaw vanished into it.


    The slim male went on a few feet, then stopped, looking back uncertainly. ¡°Bek?¡±


    Bek growled softly, silver-blue eyes sweeping the tunnel opening. They lingered on the shadows in which Kaz crouched, and his broad nostrils quivered as he drew in a deep breath. ¡°Stranger,¡± the male grunted, and the taller one sniffed, too, frowning.


    ¡°Maybe?¡± he said at last. ¡°But the Muckdiggers came through two days ago. It smells old.¡±


    The older male growled again, then shook his head, a drop of saliva dangling from one fang. ¡°Watch your tongue.¡±


    Shrugging, the slim male put his club back on his belt. ¡°Irondiggers then.¡± His lip lifted as well, revealing fangs nearly as long as his partners. ¡°Pilla isn¡¯t here. I don¡¯t see why-¡±


    Bek¡¯s hand lashed out, slapping the other male across the face with a loud, meaty thwack. His pale eyes were merciless as they stared at the kobold, who clutched at his bloody lip. ¡°Don¡¯t disrespect the chief.¡±


    A low rumble came from the taller male¡¯s chest, and the two stared at each other before the younger one¡¯s ears lowered, just slightly. He looked away, muttering, ¡°I don¡¯t see anything. It was probably just a fuergar.¡±


    Bek stared for another moment, ruff bristling, before nodding. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    The two turned and went back into the cavern, the younger male two full steps behind Bek.


    Kaz remained where he was, heart pounding at the close call. He sent deep gratitude and admiration to Li, who tilted her head, eyes whirling white with pride.


    Kaz didn¡¯t move until his sharp ears told him the two kobolds were far enough away that they would have difficulty hearing him or getting back before he could hide. Then he crawled out of his little nook, urging Li to climb onto his back so he could slide forward on his belly until his nose just protruded into the cavern.


    Freezing again, he waited. Waited for any sound, any sign that he¡¯d been noticed. Bit by bit, he wriggled forward, until at last, he could see.


    The stairs.


    And not just any stairs, but the last ones before the mid-levels. He hadn¡¯t gone down just six or seven levels, but the full ten remaining before the most obviously deadly section of the entire mountain. A chill went through him at the realization of just how easy it would have been to take a wrong turning, another passage angled down, and end up one level too far. One level he would probably not have survived long enough to climb again.


    The gaping maw of some ancient monster framed the stairs, carved from one massive piece of obsidian. Black teeth as tall as any kobold arched like unnatural stalactites, nearly meeting the ones below, even though the ceiling was well over ten feet high. A lolling tongue rolled out over the lower teeth, and in order to reach the steps, you had to climb over that glossy surface, between those teeth, and vanish into the darkness of the gruesome gullet. Every detail was perfectly crafted, gums and teeth and flesh like a real thing, eternally frozen in the act of engulfing its prey.


    Kaz¡¯s nose, looking like a far smaller and more innocuous version of this threatening display, twitched. Something deep within his nostril itched, and he scrambled backward as quickly as he dared, desperately rubbing at his snout. At this moment, a sneeze could bring death, but he longed to sneeze oh, so very, very much.


    When the urge finally quieted, he scrubbed at his damp eyes and gave a tentative sniff. The scent of fulan tickled his nose, and he grimaced.


    Li sent an interrogative thought, and Kaz shook his head. Fulan was a menace, and kobold tribes burned it the moment it was found. It looked like a rust-red powder that appeared on any lichen or moss nearby, quickly causing it to shrivel and die. Once a plant was infected, there was no saving it, and it was best to use firemoss or send females to burn every bit of it in order to prevent the stuff from spreading. Sometimes it appeared in uninhabited areas, and by the time someone found it, it had killed everything except the fungi, disrupting the cycle of life so badly that it could take years for the area to produce enough to support a tribe again.


    If there was a large enough patch of the stuff close enough to reek like that, there was no way the Copperstrikers didn¡¯t know about it. Why hadn¡¯t they burned it out yet? Didn¡¯t they know it could spread in a matter of days?


    After sending a series of images to Li, explaining what fulan was, Kaz crawled forward again. This time, he kept tight control over his nose, breathing in slowly so he could stop the moment it began to itch. Now that he¡¯d identified the rot, it was hard to smell anything else, and it took far longer than he liked to tease out Lianhua¡¯s scent.


    Yes, it definitely continued into the cavern, and presumably down the stairs as well. Kaz vaguely wondered if Gaoda had managed to find another blue kobold to guide them after all, or if the human male had had to settle for a different color. A green, perhaps?


    He drew back. None of these thoughts were helping him, though, honestly, he didn¡¯t know what could. The stairs were guarded, which was no surprise, but he had no idea what to do. If it had been a tribe he knew, or even a normal tribe from the heights, he would have taken his chances and trusted that Lianhua had told them he was coming and paid his way along with the rest of the group. Mid-level kobolds, however, were very nearly a whole different creature.


    While upper-level tribes were all too aware that their hold on territory and life alike were tenuous, and could easily depend on their neighbor¡¯s goodwill, in the middle levels, each tribe stood or fell on their own. Even if the human female told them he was coming, who knew if they would honor any deals they made?


    It was promising, though, that they had let the Irondiggers through. The tribe was one that filled an unusual role within kobold society, never settling anywhere for more than a few days. They wandered the edges of other tribe¡¯s territories, trading things that couldn¡¯t be found on one level with tribes living on the next.


    They never engaged in luegat or vara, and many of their members had been expelled from their birth tribes for being too weak or useless. Most tribes looked down on them, though their arrival was also a cause for excitement, since they always seemed to have something interesting or unique. Kaz himself had thought of running away to join them when he had first discovered the power within himself, but they only accepted those who were sent away, not those who fled.


    If the Copperstrikers were engaging in trade and negotiating with such a low-ranking tribe for passage, perhaps that meant that their current chief was a reasonable one? It was time for Kaz the skulker, Kaz the lurker, to once again skulk and lurk. If the humans had passed through here, the kobolds would be talking about it, and Kaz would be listening.

 Chapter Forty

    Kaz backtracked toward the den, looking for an area with evidence of recent gathering. Gatherers usually went a little further from the den each day, until the earliest patches of plants had had time to recover. Then, they started over again, working in a pattern. If Kaz could figure out where they¡¯d been the day before, he could simply wait nearby, and they would come to him.


    This was a much, much safer plan than either entering the den or following the gatherers when they left, and he blamed the fact that he hadn¡¯t thought of it before on his desperation and loneliness. Kobolds were pack creatures, and while Li¡¯s presence was keeping him sane, he still longed to be with others of his own kind.


    He had to veer away from Lianhua¡¯s lingering scent in order to follow the smell of pups, but he finally ended up in a wide, low cavern that he had to crouch to enter. All of the stalactites had been broken off, undoubtedly to make sure none of them was a lopo, and to make sure any lopo that tried to move in would be noticed immediately.


    The cave was a good one, with several shallow pools and mounds of moss and mushrooms. Several patches were already picked over, but it was clear that there was still plenty more to do. It wouldn¡¯t take a group of experienced gatherers a whole day to finish, but they would start here when they arrived.


    Kaz had no idea how long it would be until the Copperstriker¡¯s day began, but this was a perfect opportunity to get some rest. He sniffed out a narrow crack in the wall farthest from the scent of kobolds and crawled in, though not without some difficulty. Once he arranged himself as comfortably as he could, he felt a deep lethargy begin to steal over him, and blinked sleepily at Li, who was curled up on his lap.


    ¡°Will you watch?¡± he asked her.


    Agreement. Blue kobold with closed eyes, sleeping while a great golden serpent coiled around him, protective.


    He smiled and gently stroked the tiny back, so much smaller than the mental image. Beneath his fingers, he felt stiff fur and soft scales, illusion and reality, and fell asleep.


    The sky was limitless. His wings stretched, muscles groaning with relief at their release. He twisted, long tail trailing behind him as he dove into a cloud, which parted before him, far more insubstantial than he would have imagined, having only seen them from a distance. Cool moisture gathered on his nose and trailed into his eyes, and he blinked, flapping awkwardly as he shook his head.


    He dropped out of the cloud, and looked toward a sense of deep amusement, seeing the golden dragon flying lazily beside him. He felt a distant sense of concern - should she be here? - and then she dove at him, snapping playfully. He jerked his tail away from the sharp teeth, and the chase began. Two dragons spun and twirled in the sky, diving through the clouds in bursts of puffy white mist, while warm light burnished their scales to gilt and sapphire.


    Kaz jerked awake when he heard voices, and opened his eyes to see Li watching him, head tilted to one side. Seeing that his eyes were open, she turned to peer out of the crevice in which they hid, and ki cycled through her body at an increased rate.


    Kaz tried to shift, just enough to move the arm that was cramping uncomfortably, pinched between his body and the rock wall, but found that he couldn¡¯t, at least not without some part of him protruding into the cavern beyond. Where kobolds now stood.


    Pups chattered, voices quiet but cheerful. There was much discussion of breakfast, and several grew very excited when one pup found a good patch of rougu, a rare and particularly tasty mushroom. A few pups wandered closer to him, but they said nothing of interest, and Kaz was beginning to think that his effort was going to be wasted when the guards came close enough for their voices to rise over those of the pups.


    The two males, one with a gruff voice, while the other sounded younger, talked for a while about monsters they¡¯d seen near the den recently, and then turned to the younger one¡¯s attempts to convince a female to make him her mate. The older male laughed, and told the younger not to be in such a hurry, then barked at a pup who was getting too far from its partner. There was a pause, and when they began speaking again, the subject had shifted.


    ¡°Do you think those things are really humans?¡± the younger voice asked.


    The gruff one responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know. The females say so, and they look like the stories. Does it really matter?¡±


    A sigh. ¡°No. I just wish they¡¯d go away and leave us alone.¡±


    That was all. Such a brief exchange to make so much difference to Kaz. Was it possible that the humans were still here? Were they in the Copperstriker¡¯s den right now? Had they told the kobolds to watch for Kaz? If Kaz just climbed out of this crevice and told the guards who he was, would they take him to Lianhua and the others?


    He had very nearly made up his mind to try it when the young male¡¯s voice reached him again. It was very quiet, even frightened.


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    ¡°Do you think Litz will grow tired of waiting? If she challenges while the humans are here-¡±


    A guttural growl cut him off. ¡°Not here. Even pups can yip.¡±


    Kaz froze in place. The warriors earlier had mentioned Pilla, and these were talking about Litz. Of the three males, only Bek, the older male from the stairs, had seemed supportive of Pilla. That was¡­ concerning.


    There were many things that could destroy a tribe. A monster attack could decimate them to the point that they were forced to join another tribe. They could fail a luegat with the lives of their chief and other females on the line, which was what had happened to the Broken Knives. They could become victims of vara. Worst of all, they could turn on each other during a challenge for the right to be chief.


    Most of the time, when a chief died or grew too old to keep her position, she passed on the role to her most powerful daughter. This was rarely challenged, and when it was, the majority of the tribe members supported whoever the previous chief had selected. Technically, what males thought of their leader didn¡¯t matter, but the opinion of these males was an indicator that their female family members might also support this Litz, rather than Pilla.


    Kaz was beginning to suspect that the reason the Copperstrikers had risen from the mid-levels was because their former chief had died. If Pilla was new, especially if the previous chief hadn¡¯t had a chance to officially select her as successor, then the tribe might still be in turmoil beneath the surface.


    Sometimes two females were so close in power that even the other females couldn¡¯t make a clear choice between them, and if those two also had very different ideas about how to run the tribe, it became much more complicated than a simple battle between the two. It was unusual, but if females felt strongly enough about one chief-candidate over the other, then during the challenge for position, the whole tribe could begin to fight.


    Was it possible that this tribe was at the boiling point, but the human¡¯s presence was just enough to keep them from doing anything about it? Why would it matter, and were the humans aware of it? Kaz doubted Gaoda would care, other than possibly being entertained by the idea, but Lianhua might.


    More importantly, if Kaz did reveal himself to the wrong group, they might decide that he was more useful to them dead than alive. If the humans were supporting Pilla, intentionally or otherwise, her supporters might kill Kaz, hoping the humans would stay longer while they waited for him. On the other hand, Litz¡¯s supporters might do the same, hoping that if they delivered his body to the interlopers, they would immediately go away. Of course, bringing him to them alive could achieve the same thing, but did they dislike the humans enough to hurt Kaz just to thwart them?


    The risk was too great. He needed to go back to the den, but instead of trying to sneak in, he needed to make enough noise that everyone would see him, including the humans. He couldn¡¯t give anyone a chance to hide his presence, or make him disappear.


    And if he was wrong? If he¡¯d misunderstood, and the humans either weren¡¯t there, or weren¡¯t guests? If he drew so much attention, and the Copperstrikers either killed him or made him join them? What would happen to Li?


    Kaz sat in his cramped little crevice until the gatherers finally finished and moved on. He overheard a few more snippets of conversation about ¡®strangers¡¯, and once, a pup mentioned Litz, and then yelped immediately afterwards. His mind spun as he tried to decide what to do.


    When the cave had been silent for several minutes, Kaz finally moved. He stretched one leg out, extending a paw into the open, then the other followed. When he started to roll over onto his belly, Li flew away, and by the time he managed to back into the open space, she was already flying circles around it, clearly as happy as he was to be free.


    As Kaz watched her, he realized that he couldn¡¯t risk her life along with his own. He would have to find someplace to leave her and his pack, so at least if he wasn¡¯t killed outright, he¡¯d have a chance to come back and get them. And if he did die, and their bond breaking didn¡¯t kill Li as well, at least she¡¯d have a chance.


    As soon as he came to this decision, Li bit him.


    Kaz yipped and clapped a hand to his ear before turning his head to glare at the dragon settling onto his shoulder.


    ¡°Why did you bite me?¡±


    Image. Dragon and kobold, distance growing between them. A sense of angry denial.


    ¡°It¡¯s for your own good,¡± Kaz insisted. ¡°If you-¡±


    A flood of images Kaz had seen before. The dragon flying off to check one tunnel while the kobold went the other way. Dragon flying across a pit to see if it was worth the risk of climbing down or around it, while the kobold waited in safety. Each time, the kobold reached an impossibly long arm out, pulling the dragon back.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°I know I said we needed to stay together, but that was-¡±


    The same images, repeated, but each time the dragon snapped at the kobold¡¯s hand.


    Kaz rubbed his snout. She was right. He had refused to let her go when she wanted to explore, and though he knew this was different, he didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her no.


    ¡°All right,¡± he told the dragon, ¡°but you have to stay on my shoulder. You have to be a fuergar!¡±


    Li¡¯s head bobbed, and Kaz sighed again, then untied the pack from around his waist for the first time since leaving the woshi¡¯s den. No matter what happened, it would be safest to leave the knife and the hilt here. The gatherers were done in this cavern, and would only pass through for the next several weeks. This little crack should be as safe as anywhere else, and it wasn¡¯t too far from either the den or the stairs.


    That done, he turned back toward the den and began to walk, though he was even more cautious this time. There could be other groups gathering around here, and now certainly wasn¡¯t the time to get caught. At least his pathfinder ability was working, and he was sure he could now find the shortest path between this cave and the den, rather than having to circle around as he¡¯d done before.


    It was time to make some noise and escape the limbo he¡¯d been stuck in for far too long.

 Chapter Forty-one

    Kaz went in howling. He returned to the den, found the main entrance, and waited until a large group of gatherers was entering, then ran after them, baying and barking as loudly as he could. On his shoulder, Li let out tiny, hissing roars that translated to squeaks somewhere between his brain and his ears.


    The two guards at the den entrance, and the two watching over the returning pups, all turned toward him, drawing their weapons, and Kaz thinned the ki keeping his channels intact, letting more leak out into his muscles as he ducked and rolled, calling out, ¡°Lianhua! Raff! Gaoda! Chi Yincang!¡±


    Around him, the males looked at each other and three of them hesitated, while a deep growl began to roll out of the broad chest of the fourth, a deep brown kobold with the longest fur Kaz had ever seen. Most of the pups scampered away, yipping and whining, and Kaz was sorry he¡¯d frightened them so badly. A few of the older pups fell in behind the guards, and though they didn¡¯t have weapons, the female¡¯s hands began to glow. He could see their ki gathering, and knew that if any of them were able to cast a ki bolt, he would need to be even more careful of those than the brutal clubs the warriors carried. If one hit him, it could unbalance his ki and reduce him to a limp puddle of fur on the floor.


    For good or ill, everyone else backed off as the hairy male surged toward Kaz, and his yells were interrupted by a yelp as some of the copper teeth scraped along his arm. Strangely, they did little damage other than cutting off a few clumps of blue fur, but he could feel the sharp edges trying to gouge deep into his flesh.


    ¡°Lianhua!¡± Kaz howled again, the human female¡¯s name becoming a drawn-out lament as the brown male¡¯s club impacted his side, throwing him deeper into the den, tumbling head over tail. Again, though the blow definitely hurt, no blood soaked his fur when he rolled and staggered to his feet, and his guts remained inside his skin.


    This was not going as well as he¡¯d hoped, and though many kobolds had gathered now, none of them looked like they were planning to run for help anytime soon. There were even a few females, who mostly looked amused to see the powerful warrior chasing an unknown kobold around like a pup harassing a lone baby fuergar.


    Still, Kaz continued to call out, again and again, as the male chased him. It was only after Kaz took another blow to the chest, bowling him over, that he realized Li was no longer on his shoulder. When he had lost her, he wasn¡¯t sure, but he suspected it was after the first or second strike. Frantically, he looked around, finding the glowing tendril of ki that led to the dragon.


    ¡°Li!¡± Kaz yelled, diving toward the trail as the club whistled over his head again. This brought him closer to the huts, away from the open area near the entrance, and a few of the females lost their looks of amusement. They raised their hands, and Kaz felt despair as he watched their ki gather. Unlike the young female pups, these adults knew exactly what they were doing, and it was only a matter of moments until he was bombarded with ki.


    Then something hard grasped him around the middle, lifting him high up over the heads of the watching crowd, who yipped in surprise. The brown-furred warrior stumbled and nearly fell as his target was snatched away, and Kaz echoed his surprise as he began to thrash desperately.


    The thing holding him might as well have been an iron bar for all that it gave way, and Kaz craned his head, trying to see what it was. All he could see was black, and it took a moment to realize that the rippling surface was fabric, not shadow, and therefore what gripped him must be an arm. Specifically, Chi Yincang¡¯s arm.


    In one of his impossibly long, high leaps, the human bounded toward a particularly large hut, and, without a word, dropped Kaz in front of it before jumping straight up into the air and vanishing. To Kaz¡¯s surprise, though his eyes told him the human had disappeared, his other sight was now able to track a dim, vaguely humanoid patch of ki, black and white in equal parts, as it came to rest atop the tall hut.


    The bone and leather door of the hut swung open, and there, framed in the dimness beyond, stood Lianhua, with a half-fuergar, half-dragon perched on her shoulder. She stared at Kaz, eyes slowly widening, until liquid welled up in them and she began to cry. The next thing Kaz knew, she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, and his body froze, having no idea how to respond.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± Lianhua sobbed, her cheek pressed against his ears, ¡°Pilla sent a messenger to the Stoneborn, trying to trade for you, and they said some kind of monster dragged you off over a week ago. A washi or something.¡±


    ¡°Woshi,¡± Kaz corrected without thinking, and Lianhua chuckled damply.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she agreed. ¡°Gaoda¡¯s been trying to get me to go on without you, but none of the Copperstrikers have ever actually been in the Deep, so they can¡¯t guide us beyond the first few mid-levels. They don¡¯t really seem to explore much, except right around their dens, so-¡±


    She broke off, laughing again as she swiped tears and damp strands of fur from her cheek. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I ramble when I¡¯m happy. And I¡¯m really, really happy to see you.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged gently as he reached up to scratch Li, who had transferred to his shoulder at some point during the embrace. ¡°Most kobolds only know the areas near their den. I¡¯ve always been a little¡­ odd.¡± He glanced toward the dragon, and pressed one hand against his belly, feeling a deep ache from where the brown male¡¯s club had struck him. He winced as he fingered the area, trying to figure out how bad the injury was.


    Lianhua saw this, and stepped to the side, revealing the smallest adult female kobold Kaz had ever seen. The Copperstrikers in general were short, but muscular, but this female seemed to have gotten their lack of height combined with an unusually slim frame. She stood a full head and shoulders shorter than Kaz, and Lianhua dwarfed her. Her fur, like that of the warrior who had been attacking Kaz, was unusually long, and the deep orange-brown of pure copper ore. Her brown eyes were bright and curious.


    ¡°Pilla,¡± Lianhua said, ¡°this is Kaz, the kobold we were looking for. I think he may be hurt, though.¡±


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    Pilla¡¯s long ears twitched, and she tilted her head to the side. ¡°I¡¯ll have my healer look at him.¡±


    Kaz blinked and stepped back, holding up his hands. ¡°No need. It¡¯s just some bruising. I-¡±


    There was a commotion behind him, and Kaz turned to see the brown-furred warrior come barreling out from between two huts. His red eyes blazed with fury, and he still held his weapon. When he saw Kaz, his paws scrabbled on the stone floor as he skidded to a halt and lifted his club again, clearly ready and willing to renew his attack.


    ¡°Golik!¡± Pilla barked, her voice surprisingly commanding for such a tiny female. The male halted in response, though his eyes never left Kaz. Seeing this, Pilla continued, ¡°Kaz is our guest. Even I heard him calling for the humans. Why didn¡¯t you bring him here?¡±


    Golik¡¯s lip drew back, but it was another female voice that answered. ¡°How could he have known, sister? Surely it¡¯s the job of any warrior to slay a strange kobold who enters our den?¡±


    Kaz turned toward the voice, seeing a female as broad as Pilla was slender. Muscles slid beneath long brown fur only a shade or two lighter than Golik¡¯s. If Kaz were to guess, he¡¯d say the two were related, perhaps even brother and sister from the same litter.


    Pilla¡¯s ears lowered slightly, but her voice didn¡¯t shift. ¡°It¡¯s not a male¡¯s place to decide. Besides, how many strange blue-furred pups do you think are likely to wander into our den calling for four humans who also happen to be looking for a blue pup?¡±


    ¡°I just saw a stranger, as Litz said,¡± Golik finally growled, deep voice rumbling angrily. ¡°No one else seemed willing to handle it, so I did.¡±


    ¡°Did it occur to you,¡± Pilla asked, ¡°that the others might know something you didn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the male grunted simply, and Kaz saw Pilla¡¯s ears twitch as Litz smirked.


    Pilla looked at Kaz. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    Kaz lowered his tail and ears, now aware that he was speaking to not just a female, but the chief of one of the strongest tribes in the mid-levels. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he told her, raising his hand to show that no blood stained it or his fur. There were a few carmine drops beginning to crust in shallow cuts on his arm, so he quickly tucked it behind him.


    He thought Pilla looked relieved, but she just nodded and gestured dismissively at Golik. ¡°You have done your job, then. Go back to your position.¡±


    Golik hesitated, glancing at Litz, who dropped her chin minutely. With a half-hearted bow, the male turned and stalked away, his club still gripped in his hand.


    Pilla¡¯s brown eyes watched him until he vanished between the huts before turning to Litz. ¡°Our brother is as dutiful as ever, sister.¡± She emphasized their shared possession of the male, and Litz¡¯s lip curled slightly.


    ¡°My birth-brother is, indeed, an excellent male,¡± she agreed smoothly.


    Pilla¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I have been thinking about a trade between us and the Stoneborn, or perhaps another tribe more accustomed to the ways of the upper levels. I need a mate, and I¡¯m certain I could get a powerful one in exchange for such a strong, obedient warrior.¡±


    A long canine appeared as Litz¡¯s lip peeled back. ¡°Our chief should, indeed, have a vigorous mate, but Golik will someday lead our warriors. I would suggest Bek as a trade, instead. He¡¯s older, but no male survives to his age without gaining great wisdom.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you agree that Bek is wise, sister,¡± Pilla said, sounding as if she¡¯d won their battle of words. ¡°Since he, too, thinks Golik would be the best candidate for such a trade.¡±


    Litz¡¯s ears flattened slightly, but she said, ¡°Perhaps we should make the decision when the time comes. The chief of the other tribe will have her own opinions.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Pilla nodded, glancing past Litz. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be helping with our next meal?¡±


    A soft growl rumbled from Litz¡¯s chest. ¡°I¡¯m certain there are other females who can-¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re all busy with other things,¡± Pilla said. ¡°The fires need to be maintained, and who better than such a powerful female? Could there be any task more important than making sure the tribe is fed? Return to your place, sister.¡±


    With that, the chief turned her back on Litz, though a subtle tension indicated that she was still very aware of the other female. Litz¡¯s orange gaze threatened to burn a hole between Pilla¡¯s shoulder blades, but she finally turned away and stalked off, much as her brother had.


    Pilla¡¯s ears twitched at the sound of Litz¡¯s claws clicking against the stone, and she smiled at Lianhua. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that Golik apparently forgot what he was told only a week ago. He is strong, but he¡¯s never been the most intelligent of kobolds.¡±


    Lianhua nodded solemnly, her gaze flickering to the right, though Kaz couldn¡¯t tell what she was looking at. ¡°I understand. I have family members like that as well.¡±


    The Copperstriker chief huffed a little laugh. ¡°I see. This is something our two species have in common then.¡±


    Nodding toward Kaz, she went on, ¡°Does this mean your time with our tribe is over?¡±


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°We only have a limited amount of time to complete our task, and you¡¯ve already told me everything you know of the ruins to be found in the mid-levels.¡±


    ¡°Which isn¡¯t much, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Pilla nodded. ¡°I and the other females have told you all the stories we know, but that¡¯s all they are: stories. The mid-levels are too dangerous to go wandering about unnecessarily.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯m just grateful I had this opportunity to learn more about your people, and hear your stories.¡± Lianhua folded her hands together and bowed slightly from the waist. ¡°Only Song Yue has written much about you, and it was in passing, mixed into a treatise about the ores and gems that can be found in the mountain. I hope that someday I can return here, and do a much more thorough investigation into your culture.¡±


    Pilla gave her own small bow, and Kaz wondered if Lianhua had any idea of the honor the chief was giving her. Chiefs deferred to no one, for fear of undermining their own position. Though Kaz could already see that Pilla was an unusual sort of chief.


    ¡°I hope that if you do return, you will visit us again. Speaking to you has been very¡­ enlightening,¡± Pilla told the human female, and the two exchanged a smile that Kaz could only see as conspiratorial.

 Chapter Forty-two

    Apparently, Gaoda and Raff were bored enough that they decided to go hunting, leaving Chi Yincang to protect Lianhua in the den. They were supposed to return sometime before dinner, but in the meantime, Kaz and Lianhua had some relatively private time during which to speak.


    ¡°You were right. The stairs were all so close together that it was a simple matter to hire a local kobold to show us the way.¡± Lianhua told him, settling back on a fluffy thing she called a ¡®pillow¡¯ as she sipped tea from a small, fragile cup. ¡°The Stoneborn controlled the first six, and then the rest belonged to the Copperstrikers.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°By tradition, the stairs don¡¯t belong to anyone. The tribes control the levels at the top and bottom, but the stairs themselves are a sort of neutral zone. So long as someone remains on the steps, they¡¯re not supposed to be attacked or prevented from going up or down.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes brightened, and she pulled a little book from the pouch at her waist. A tubular thing dangled from it by a strip of cloth, and she tapped this to her tongue before touching it to the page. A dark line trailed the tip, creating runes, and Kaz leaned forward in fascination.


    When she was done writing, the human looked up, noticing Kaz¡¯s interest. She held up the tube with a smile. ¡°This is a ¡®pen¡¯. It holds ink inside, and lets it out slowly. It¡¯s less messy than chalk, and easier than using a burned stick. It lasts a lot longer, too.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°We make something similar using boiled beetle shells, though Oda never taught me the recipe. She taught Katri to write using a hollow reed dipped into it, but I¡¯ve only ever used chalk.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Of course. I saw Katri¡¯s book.¡± Lianhua tilted her head. ¡°I asked Pilla if I could read hers, actually, but she said she didn¡¯t have a book. She doesn¡¯t even know how to read or write!¡±


    ¡°No one outside of the Deep knows how to read,¡± Kaz told her. ¡°At least not that I know of. I think we only have the book because we rose recently. Once it breaks or is damaged, I doubt it will be replaced.¡±


    Lianhua looked sad, her fingers lingering on her little book as she tucked it back into her pouch. ¡°That¡¯s too bad. A scholar¡¯s job is to educate, so maybe someday I¡¯ll come back here, and bring lots of books. I could open a school for kobolds!¡±


    Kaz nearly laughed at her innocent enthusiasm. ¡°You could try. I doubt anyone would attend.¡±


    She looked crestfallen. ¡°Why not? Reading is a delightful pastime, and you can learn so much without ever leaving your home.¡±


    ¡°Up here, every hand is needed,¡± Kaz said, trying to find a gentle way to dissuade her. ¡°Males hunt, guard, and train. Females protect the den, and power the lights, cookfire, and a dozen other things that make everyone¡¯s lives easier. Everyone is busy from the beginning of the day to the end, including the puppies, who do everything from fetching water to gathering plants. No one has time to read, and there¡¯s nothing we need to learn that we aren¡¯t taught from the time we¡¯re born.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll want to learn,¡± Lianhua insisted. ¡°Like you!¡±


    Kaz glanced away, sighing. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t matter if they did. The only reason I can even talk to you is because Katri allowed it. If Oda had sent me on my spirit hunt, I would have been a full-fledged warrior, and too useful to be spared. Katri would have sent another pup with you, and I don¡¯t know any who are as foolish as I have always been.¡± He left unsaid that he now doubted his sister expected him to return, though he wasn¡¯t sure why she had chosen to send him away.


    Lianhua reached out and tapped his forehead, then glanced meaningfully at his belly, where his cracked core sat. ¡°But you¡¯re so smart. And¡­¡±


    Kaz held up a hand, which caused the little dragon curled in his lap to hiss softly. ¡°I¡¯m a very strange kobold, then,¡± he said, and Lianhua huffed a frustrated little laugh.


    ¡°All right, all right. It¡¯s not worth arguing about. I think Pilla might surprise you, though. I¡¯m sure kobold tribes can be as different as human towns, depending on their leaders.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s true. Oda was a strict and ambitious chief. Everything we did was an attempt to return to our ¡®rightful place¡¯, or a desperate scramble to recover after one of those attempts failed. When I was young, I spoke to other gatherers, and even a few warriors from other tribes, and their chiefs were more lenient. The larger a tribe is, the more there is to do, but there are also more hands to do it. It always seemed that those kobolds were happier than the ones in my tribe. Perhaps their chiefs would be more willing to spare a few of their people in hopes that they would learn something useful.¡±


    Lianhua leaned back on her pillow, smiling as she listened to him, and Kaz¡¯s ears lowered slightly as the silence stretched after he finished speaking. At last, he asked, ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It just seems like you¡¯re more confident now. Before, you carefully weighed every word, as if deciding whether it was worth the risk of speaking. I don¡¯t know what happened to you, but you¡¯re safe now, and I like the result.¡±


    Kaz ducked in embarrassment, but he looked back at their conversation and realized she was right. He had spoken more since they entered this hut than he had in the several days they traveled together before. Part of it was that there was no one else around, but part of it¡­


    He looked down at the dragon in his lap. He could tell she was awake and listening, though her eyes were closed. Gently, he stroked her back. ¡°It was quiet, in the tunnels,¡± he said, without looking up. ¡°We were lost, and I wasn¡¯t sure we¡¯d ever find our way back. I started talking to Li, just to hear someone¡¯s voice, even if it was my own. I think I talked more than I ever have to anyone, and it became a habit.¡±


    Lianhua was solemn now, and she nodded. ¡°I know I said it before, but I¡¯m very glad you¡¯re back, and I¡¯m also happy to listen to whatever you have to say. Though¡­ I doubt Gaoda would say the same.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°I only spent a week in silence. It can¡¯t wipe away the lessons taught by a lifetime.¡±


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    The human smiled, then looked around. Reaching into her pouch, she withdrew the cylinder of chalk and quickly sketched a rune on the ground between them. She murmured a word, and Kaz saw a dome of onyx light spring up, growing until it surrounded them completely. In his lap, Li perked up, opening her eyes and staring around.


    Surprised, Kaz sent a picture of the dome as he saw it to the dragon, who responded with a similar image. In her vision, the ki was a pale gray, and seemed more like a diaphanous bubble than a solid shell, but she could see it.


    When he looked at Lianhua again, she was examining them both with a bright, curious gaze. ¡°I thought so,¡± she said with satisfaction. ¡°You feel different to me. Your core is different, I think. Kaz, what happened to you?¡±


    So Kaz told her as much as he dared. He left out the shattering of his core, but told her about his poor, weak channels, and the constant effort he had to maintain in order to keep them intact and his cycle flowing, though it had become second nature after several days. He also told her about the new node of power in his chest, though he didn¡¯t tell her he could now constantly see the ki in and around him. She seemed to believe he could only sense it, like she could, and if that ability was as rare and precious as she claimed, he thought it best not to tell her he could do even more. He certainly didn¡¯t tell her about his urge to eat Li¡¯s core.


    When he was done, Lianhua sat back, and her expression was a mixture of astonishment and pity. She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re alive. Your ki exploding like that¡­ A student kills themselves at my school that way, almost every year. It¡¯s usually a first year, who gets so frustrated by their failure to advance that they try to force it, and destroy their channels in the process.


    ¡°Usually, advancement is a series of long, slow steps. It sounds like you¡¯ve managed to open your middle dantian, and begin the body tempering process, but your channels couldn¡¯t handle the increased flow. The only thing I can think of to do is continue forward. If you completely temper your body, your channels should be strengthened as well, allowing you to use the power you¡¯ve accessed prematurely.¡±


    Kaz leaned forward eagerly. ¡°How do I do that?¡±


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°Honestly? I don¡¯t know. I can show you what I¡¯ve learned, but I¡¯ve never been all that interested in body tempering. I would far rather spend my time solidifying my spiritual foundation, though I know I¡¯ll need to temper more eventually. My family mostly uses spiritual pills to aid the process, so I¡¯ve never worried about it too much. Gaoda and Chi Yincang would be far better teachers than me in this respect.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s gut churned at the very thought of asking either of the males for help. Gaoda would probably laugh in his face, and though Chi Yincang was more of an enigma, Kaz doubted the male would go out of his way to help.


    Clearly, Lianhua understood this, because she smiled apologetically. ¡°Still, you can start by meditating. Think about your dantians, and the cycle of ki flowing through your body. Imagine compressing them even further-¡±


    He tilted his head. ¡°Compressing?¡±


    She looked startled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that? No, I guess I didn¡¯t. We barely even got to talk about meditation before we were interrupted. Yes, the goal of every cultivator is to increase the amount of ki they can hold in their dantians.¡±


    She broke off a piece of her chalk stick, rubbing it until it crumbled into pure white powder, heaped in the palm of her hand. Lifting it, she gave a little puff, and the powder blew into the air. ¡°Ki is like this chalk. It¡¯s everywhere, all the time, though some places have more, while others have less. A cultivator is simply someone who has the ability to pull it into their body and use it. No more, and no less.¡±


    She drew a rune on her palm, murmured a word, and the powder swirled toward her like iron shavings to a lodestone. When all the chalk dust sat in a pile again, she curled her fingers around it, squeezing so tightly her knuckles grew white.


    ¡°Each cultivator is born with one or more dantians already open.¡± She tapped her fist to her forehead, then her chest, and finally her abdomen. ¡°The ki they take in is stored there, and the amount they can hold determines their strength. The size of the dantian is unchanging, and though the others can be opened, they¡¯ll never be as large as the ones we¡¯re born with.¡±


    She opened her hand, revealing the chalk, which was now a roughly triangular clump with creases and grooves where her fingers had pressed it together. ¡°Through meditation, training, and the assistance of divine herbs and pills, we¡¯re able to compress the ki so more can fit inside our dantians. There are some great sages who were born with mediocre capacity, but who have managed to master compression techniques until they far surpass those born with more.


    ¡°The more ki we can compress, the more powerful we become, until our bodies are so saturated with it that we are more ki than flesh. At this point, we are all but immortal, and eventually, we can choose to become divine, which is the goal of every cultivator.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°Why?¡±


    Lianhua, who had fallen into the strange way of speaking she had when she was teaching, almost jumped. ¡°What do you mean, why?¡±


    ¡°Why would you want to be divine?¡± he asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean you just became ki, and not yourself anymore?¡±


    She blinked. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. But everyone wants to be a god.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered. The only god kobolds believed in was the mountain itself, but Ogden often swore by the husede god, and he had explained the concept to Kaz. ¡°Aren¡¯t gods beings who are too powerful to care about this world any more? I don¡¯t think I¡¯d want to live like that.¡±


    Lianhua opened and closed her mouth a few times before saying, ¡°I¡¯m not sure that we¡¯re talking about the same thing, but I can see your point.¡± She looked very thoughtful, and her fingers twitched toward her pouch like she wanted to take something out of it, but she didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Still, the point is that meditation may help you,¡± she said finally. ¡°Compressing your ki is at the heart of every refinement technique, including body refinement. If nothing else, meditating will help you strengthen your image of reinforcing your channels, which is already-¡± She shook her head. ¡°Frankly astonishing, in and of itself. I¡¯ve never heard of anything like it.¡±


    Kaz nodded thoughtfully. He hadn¡¯t really tried meditating since that time, lying in the sticky water by the woshi¡¯s pool. He¡¯d been too busy just surviving, for one thing, but he also wasn¡¯t convinced that it would help him much, since he couldn¡¯t pull power from his surroundings, the way the humans did. Still, he certainly hadn¡¯t tried ¡®compression¡¯ before, so it was worth the effort.


    A knock sounded at the door, and Lianhua quickly swiped her dusty hand through the chalk rune on the stone between them. A wide streak of white obliterated it, and the black dome snapped out of existence, the ki that made it up swirling and vanishing into soft gray mist.


    Chi Yincang opened the door a crack and said, ¡°The young master has returned.¡±


    Lianhua thanked him, and the male let the door close again.


    Sighing, Lianhua stood. ¡°I suppose we should find out what the mighty hunters brought back this time. Yesterday it was one of those lopo, though a much smaller one than the one that nearly killed me.¡±


    She paused, her cheeks growing pink. ¡°When we see them, don¡¯t worry if I act a little¡­ strange. It was hard to convince Gaoda to wait for you, so I told him I was still suffering from the aftereffects of the lopo¡¯s poison, and I needed to rest before we entered the mid-levels.¡±


    Kaz nodded, his tail wagging slightly. He had wondered how she convinced the others to wait, and he was happy that she thought enough of him to lie for his sake.


    Lianhua smiled at him, then opened the door.

 Chapter Forty-three

    When Kaz ducked out of the hut, he had to blink against the blaze of light. Unlike the gentle radiance of Lianhua¡¯s orb, and the orange glow that kobolds used to light their dens, Gaoda¡¯s ki light was a brilliant, burning fire. Either it was brighter than it had been before, or Kaz now saw it differently, because he was utterly unable to look directly at it or Gaoda for several seconds.


    Which explained why it took him so long to realize what the human male had just pulled from the pouch at his waist. It was only a little larger than the hand that held it, dangling by one of its many legs.


    ¡°There were dozens of the things, cousin,¡± Gaoda boasted. ¡°Like spiders, but with too many legs. Raff and I might have been in trouble if they¡¯d been able to pierce our skin.¡±


    He pointed to the sharp fangs hanging limply open beneath a multitude of shiny black eyes. ¡°These are probably poisonous, though even Raff hasn¡¯t seen one before.¡±


    Kaz stared at it, horror filling him. ¡°Zhiwu.¡± He looked around, and, seeing that none of the other kobolds were paying attention to them, lifted his muzzle and howled. Instantly, all eyes turned toward him, and Kaz pointed at the creature hanging from the human¡¯s hand. Every one of the kobolds fell back, the apprehension Kaz felt clearly filling them as well. A few turned and ran off, deeper into the den.


    Gaoda was staring at him as well, clearly surprised, and not entirely pleased. ¡°Blue! You¡¯re back! But why¡¯d you start howling?¡±


    Kaz motioned toward the broken body of the insect. ¡°That¡¯s a zhiwu. They¡¯re docile creatures, unless attacked. We harvest webs from them that help wounds heal more quickly.¡±


    The human lifted his prize, examining it with a critical eye. ¡°That explains why we were surrounded by them before we even realized they were there. It¡¯s all right though. There were plenty left when we decided we¡¯d done enough. Your lot can still get your webs.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not the problem. They¡¯re one of the few creatures in the mountain that can safely be approached, but once attacked, they¡¯re also incredibly persistent. Especially if you kill their young.¡±


    Dawning realization came over Gaoda¡¯s face. ¡°This isn¡¯t an adult? Well, we made it out safely, so it doesn¡¯t matter, does it?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll track you down,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Whole tribes have had to flee after someone killed one. The only way to stop them is to get far enough away, or kill every last one in the nest.¡±


    At this, Gaoda finally stopped to look around at the kobolds surrounding him. They were staring at him, teeth bared, anger and fear clear in their eyes. Gaoda cleared his throat and glanced at Lianhua.


    ¡°Cousin, are you feeling well enough to move on? Now that your pet kobold is back, surely we can continue on our way.¡±


    Kaz looked at Lianhua as well. ¡°They¡¯ll kill every kobold in this den,¡± he told her. ¡°We can flee, but it¡¯s too late for them. The zhiwu are already on the way.¡±


    Howls began to sound, and the kobolds around them scattered. Kaz knew they would be sending the pups and any kobold not able to fight into a cave where they could be protected until the battle was over. Males and females alike would be gathering by the entrances to the den, waiting for the zhiwu to come.


    Pilla ran toward them, her long fur flying with the speed of her movement. She skidded to a halt, eyes locked on Gaoda¡¯s prize. Close behind her came Litz, whose orange eyes blazed with fury and triumph as she rounded on Pilla.


    ¡°This is your fault,¡± the brawny female barked. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t allowed these humans to stay, the zhiwu wouldn¡¯t have been angered. Any deaths that come today are on your head!¡±


    Pilla¡¯s ears flattened, but she had no answer for her rival. Litz was right.


    Lianhua stepped up behind Pilla. ¡°No one will die.¡±


    Litz glared at her, then motioned to the dead zhiwu. ¡°You know nothing, human! We may well all die! And when we do, we will curse this weak leader with-¡±


    ¡°No one will die,¡± Lianhua insisted. ¡°This is our doing, and we¡¯ll take care of it. Just keep your people safe.¡±


    She spun on Gaoda. ¡°We¡¯re not going anywhere. We¡¯re going to stop the zhiwu. If we have to kill them all, then that¡¯s exactly what we¡¯ll do.¡±


    Gaoda frowned. ¡°But, cousin, you haven¡¯t been feeling well, and they¡¯re just ko-¡±


    ¡°They have hosted us, Gaoda Xiang! By our own tradition, we dishonor ourselves if we bring danger to their home. Should I tell Grandfather you failed to do the honorable thing?¡± Lianhua asked, glaring.


    Gaoda stared at her, clearly conflicted, then, oddly, glanced toward Chi Yincang, who was standing impassively nearby. He laughed nervously. ¡°I¡­ Of course not. I was just worried about you, dear cousin. Perhaps you should stay here while Chi Yincang, Raff, and I go and take care of this little problem. I¡¯m certain these things can¡¯t be that dangerous.¡±


    Lianhua drew in a deep breath, then shook her head. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Neither will I,¡± Pilla said. They all turned to look at her, but she was staring at Litz with fierce determination in her eyes. ¡°I was not wrong to allow the humans to stay, but it was my mistake that I didn¡¯t send a warrior to guide them. This is my responsibility as much as the humans, and I will help correct it.¡±


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    Litz¡¯s lip curled, but this time it was in satisfaction, not anger. ¡°So be it. I will watch over our den while you¡¯re gone, sister.¡±


    Pilla looked beyond the broad body of her challenger, at a squat, powerful male with green-brown fur tinged gray with age. It took a moment, but Kaz recognized the silver-blue eyes and ruff of long, dense fur ringing his neck. It was Bek, the guard who had defended Pilla as Kaz crouched in the shadows.


    ¡°Bek, I entrust the males and pups to you. Lead the one well, and keep the other safe,¡± she told him, and he bowed deeply.


    ¡°You will find them as you leave them, my chief,¡± he growled.


    Pilla nodded, and turned back to the humans. ¡°We must hurry. The zhiwu will have found their dead by now, and be on the way here.¡±


    Gaoda and the others nodded, but Lianhua turned to Kaz. ¡°You should stay here,¡± she told him. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fight, and you¡¯re not¡­¡± She trailed off, biting her lip.


    He smiled bitterly. ¡°A warrior? No, but I can still fight, if someone will lend me a knife.¡±


    Pilla looked at him sharply, but it was Raff who pulled a short blade from a sheath at his waist and handed it to Kaz.


    ¡°A bit sharper than the ones you¡¯re used to, so be careful, eh, Blue?¡± The big man smiled at Kaz. ¡°Glad t¡¯have you back.¡±


    Kaz tried the edge of the blade gingerly, and found that while it was sharp, it didn¡¯t draw blood, and he was certain that his father¡¯s knife was keener. He nodded his thanks to Raff, and they both turned back to look at Pilla as she stepped away from the group.


    Seeing that she had everyone¡¯s attention, the kobold chief took off, and the rest of them followed. They wound through the den, between huts with wary-looking kobolds standing outside, and every eye tracked the copper-furred chief as she passed.


    When they reached another entrance, which Kaz recognized as the one he¡¯d first found, Pilla didn¡¯t even pause to speak to the guards standing there, weapons bared. She simply ran on, with the rest of them trailing after her like pups following their den-mother.


    After only a few turns, Kaz found himself in tunnels he¡¯d never seen before. They led straight away from the den and the stairs, and Pilla ran for a few minutes, then ducked through a side passage and stopped in a small cavern with only two entrances. She pointed at the one opposite them and said, ¡°The zhiwu nest is that way. They¡¯ll be tracking your scent. Did you come this way?¡±


    Gaoda looked at Raff, who frowned as he examined the cave. ¡°We went through a few caves. I marked ¡®em as we passed, so we could find our way back.¡±


    He turned and looked at the wall near the entrance, shook his head, then started for the opposite side. Kaz¡¯s ears perked up as he caught the click and slither of a distant but familiar sound. A moment later, Pilla¡¯s ears lifted as well.


    ¡°They come,¡± she said, and Raff turned back to look at her. Behind him, a dark shape shifted in the darkness. Long and segmented, a hundred legs scrabbled against the stone as it thrust itself forward into the light.


    Zhiwu grew a new segment each time they molted. The one Gaoda had brought back to the den had only two segments, making it look like a spider with a dozen legs, instead of the usual eight. Ten round black eyes glistened on the front segment of these, and more and more emerged from the tunnel as the insects ran forward on a countless multitude of skittering legs. Behind the first came a red and black chitinous wave of bugs, each of them four to twelve feet long.


    Raff spun, giving a shout as he realized that the insects were nearly upon him. Pulling his sword from its sheath, Kaz saw a gray mist form around his body, but this time he could tell that it was being sucked into the dantian in his chest, where it did, indeed, seem to become thicker, until it poured out through his channels, filling them with power as he swung at the lead zhiwu. The weapon easily sliced through the frontmost monster, severing most of its segments, which began to writhe wildly on the floor, sharp legs thrashing as it whipped around, nearly knocking Raff over.


    ¡°The head!¡± Kaz called. ¡°They don¡¯t die until you crush or cut off the head!¡±


    Raff grunted as he swung again, but his blade slid off the hard chitin that covered the larger segment just behind the zhiwu¡¯s head. ¡°Th¡¯ little ones didn¡¯t do that!¡±


    Kaz just shook his head. Since when were babies the same as adults?


    Gaoda, Lianhua, and Chi Yincang were dashing forward now, their surprise wearing off. Pilla was a little behind them, a bright shell of orange ki around her body, and white fire forming around her hands. To Kaz¡¯s shock, three ki bolts lifted into the air, and she flung them much as Lianhua launched hers using her bow. The ki in her channels visibly dimmed as she did so, however, and she staggered slightly before catching herself.


    Kaz, seeing a female kobold in danger, ran forward, instinctively placing himself between her and the oncoming zhiwu. More severed segments flailed on the ground, striking at the legs of the humans, and with a shout, Gaoda slammed a glowing hand down on a monster that had been reduced to only the head and two segments. Ki traveled through it, and the head burst in a gory display. The zhiwu collapsed, and behind it, so did a coil of body that had still been moving up until that moment.


    Chi Yincang whirled his weapon, but for once, he wasn¡¯t the most effective of the group. His blade was meant for slicing and stabbing, and though he severed zhiwu in a methodical fashion, segment by segment, it was still difficult for him to get the head, thanks to the thicker chitin shielding it. Only when ki traveled through his weapon did it send heads flying, one after another, and Kaz could see that this used more ki than he was able to cycle, and would eventually leave him unable to continue.


    Lianhua, too, was struggling. Her arrows of light punched holes into the long bodies of the insects, but unless she struck the head itself, did little to actually slow the things, rarely even detaching a piece of the body.


    Pilla was suffering from the same problem, and soon realized that she needed to focus on her shield, rather than the impressive array of ki bolts. Finally, she stopped trying, and simply pulled the small club from her belt and began laying about her, striking at any part of a zhiwu that came near enough to hit. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t strong enough to crack the chitin of the largest ones, so this was only partially effective.


    It was Raff who was killing the greatest number of the bugs. He had reversed his weapon, and used the hilt like a club, then flipped it around again to push back the horde with a great sweep of the flat side of the blade. His height and strength allowed him to crush the zhiwu¡¯s heads like eggs, and they began to pile up around him until they were actually getting in his way as he struggled to get around them to attack the ones that swarmed past.


    Kaz himself stood between Lianhua and Pilla and the oncoming multitude. Li clung to his fur as he fought desperately, trying to keep any of the things from getting past him. She whistled and hissed, sending him images of herself snapping up the bugs as if they were as small as the one Gaoda had slain, which would have made him laugh if the situation hadn¡¯t seemed so desperate.

 Chapter Forty-four

    Kaz wasn¡¯t really worried about the humans, not even Lianhua. Bites and blows from barbed legs alike slid from the male¡¯s skin, leaving only red marks or shallow scratches. Lianhua was reinforcing her own skin, and her shell was actually more effective in protecting her, for at least as long as her ki lasted.


    Pilla¡¯s shield, on the other hand, had already been reduced to an arc in front of her, rather than a complete dome protecting her on all sides. Only someone who could see the power, like Kaz, would have known, since she was adept at moving the shield around as needed, but if enough zhiwu got past the humans, they could surround and take her down.


    For this reason, Kaz found himself remaining by the young chief¡¯s side. He followed Raff¡¯s example and spun his blade around. The long hilt, made for a human¡¯s larger hand, made it easy to grasp it just beneath the crossguard and use the end to bludgeon the oncoming insects. He sent a thought to Li, and she carefully thinned the image protecting the channels in his arms, allowing more ki into his muscles, while preventing the leak from becoming so significant that it destabilized the rest of his cycle.


    Each blow of the knife¡¯s hilt shattered chitin, though not all of the strikes were on the heads of the skittering monsters. He and Pilla fell into a rhythm, with her following his attacks with a sharp crack from her club, pulping the flesh inside the broken carapace. They didn¡¯t have as many targets as the others, being further from the front of the fray, and the zhiwu that reached them were mostly the smaller ones that managed to skitter past as the humans dealt with the larger creatures.


    Three zhiwu, with only five or six segments each, surrounded Pilla as her club cracked loudly against the shell of another. Kaz hit one, and another bounced off Pilla¡¯s shield, but the third clamped its pincers just below her knee. She yipped as the leg folded beneath her, and Kaz whirled, his weapon coming down on the thing with enough force to crush most of its head. The body went limp, and Kaz quickly reversed his knife, severing the body from what remained of the head. The jaw, however, remained clenched tight on Pilla¡¯s limb.


    Pilla tried to struggle to her paws as Kaz stood over her, forcing back the bugs, but her leg wouldn¡¯t support her, and Kaz knew that the zhiwu¡¯s poison would already be invading her body. It wasn¡¯t a bad poison, as such things went, and she should survive a single bite. The problem was that once one zhiwu bit someone, a hundred other such bites were close behind.


    ¡°Lianhua!¡± he barked, and she glanced up from her work. Her eyes widened, and she took a step toward the two kobolds. She had stopped trying to use her ki bolts, and instead infused power into her fists, just as Gaoda was doing. Her efficiency at this was much lower, however, and Kaz could tell that though she had started with more ki than the male, she now had less, and it was draining fast. Still, she crushed one head after another, though she grimaced as bug brains covered her.


    She looked over at Chi Yincang, who had also reversed his weapon, and used the long haft to strike at the insects with precise blows. ¡°I¡¯m going to cover Kaz and Pilla,¡± she told him, and received a silent nod, though Chi Yincang didn¡¯t even glance at her as a zhiwu with at least twenty segments, each the width of his thigh, lunged at him.


    Lianhua retreated, and Chi Yincang took a single smooth step to the side, filling in the gap left by her absence. The human female whirled, taking out an eight-segment zhiwu while Kaz killed a smaller one.


    Leaning down, Kaz quickly scooped the fallen kobold into his arms, lifting her small body easily. She gasped at his boldness, but he ignored it, carrying her to the side, where a depression in the cave wall created a natural shelter on two sides. After depositing Pilla in this shallow cavity, Kaz turned back, seeing that Lianhua was struggling to control all of the small zhiwu that slipped past the males.


    Kaz hurried to her side, and she glanced at him, smiling gratefully as he crushed another insect¡¯s head with the hilt of his knife. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much longer I can do this,¡± she admitted quietly in a short lull between attacks.


    Kaz glanced at her, seeing that though she was still pulling in a good amount of mana, the node in her belly wasn¡¯t producing ki nearly fast enough. In fact, what it was putting out had become somewhat murky; the black a charcoal gray, the blue was dull, and the usual gleaming gold was only faintly yellow. Her channels were still full, but the ki they contained was weak. Even the shell of power surrounding her body was pale and dull.


    Kaz, meanwhile, still felt as strong as ever, with his core churning out ki at its heightened rate, and Li making sure that it stayed where it needed to be. The little dragon clung tight to his neck, no longer whistling or emitting her tiny roars, her entire focus on maintaining the flow of ki within Kaz¡¯s body.


    Kaz spun and struck down another zhiwu that was skittering between them, dozens of barbed legs clicking against the stone. It was larger than any of the ones that had reached them before, and he dared a look at the male humans. He was horrified to see that they were confronting the largest zhiwu he had ever seen. The insect had to have at least fifty segments, with pincers as long as Kaz¡¯s arm. It swung in sinuous patterns, dodging every attempt to cut or crush its enormous head, and Kaz could see the telltale glow of a core inside it. He would get no help from them until they managed to bring it down.


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    On the other hand, that also meant they were well and truly distracted. Kaz had only a moment to consider whether he was about to make a colossal mistake, before turning and stepping to the side so his body was pressed against Lianhua¡¯s. On the outside, it probably looked like he was just protecting her back as she flagged, but Kaz clearly remembered what had happened when Raff had carried him during that first long descent, though it seemed so long ago now.


    The moment Kaz touched Lianhua, he felt weaker. She was still trying to pull in mana from the air around them, but her cycle quickly latched onto the pure, clean ki Kaz produced. Li clicked angrily as she nearly lost control of their mingled power, but Kaz was already opening a path from his core to the node of power in Lianhua¡¯s belly.


    This time, Kaz¡¯s ki wasn¡¯t being drained from him against his will, and he was better able to control it. Lianhua only needed gold, black, and blue ki, while the dragon took gold, black, and white, and the distant seed still drew a faint thread of golden power that Kaz could see trailing into the distance.


    Fortunately, Kaz¡¯s core produced mostly gold ki, followed by white, and then smaller trickles of black, blue, and red. He could send all of the blue to Lianhua without truly disturbing anything else, keep all the red for himself, and then split the gold, white, and black between all the others drawing on him.


    Kaz staggered, his legs growing weak even as Lianhua gasped. Color returned to her cheeks, and the blue ki in her cycle blazed into sapphire brilliance. The yellow brightened to something nearer gold, and black deepened.


    With a whimper, Kaz pulled away, feeling an almost physical tearing sensation as he did so. Lianhua¡¯s nodes wavered within her body, greedily reaching for what was left of his strength. Kaz¡¯s arm trembled as he struck at another zhiwu, and the carapace cracked beneath the blow, but didn¡¯t break.


    A burst of blue light surrounded Lianhua¡¯s fist as it punched through the bug¡¯s head, and she whirled, arms and legs flickering out in short, crisp strikes that crushed insect after insect. Even though these were all relatively small ones, it was still an impressive sight.


    Kaz¡¯s core strained to refill his channels, and he felt one of the shards shift painfully. Li instantly clamped down on it, holding the core together while also cutting off the flow of ki almost completely. Kaz¡¯s body continued to function, pulling ki from what was stored in the dantian in his chest, but without the flow from his core, it soon began to wobble unsteadily.


    Cautiously, Li relaxed her grip on Kaz¡¯s core as he stumbled to one knee.  The ache in his belly had lessened already, and his core seemed to have stabilized, though he was fairly certain that one shard now protruded a little further than it had before. Ki flowed out into his body again, and he drew in a deep, shaky breath as he managed to climb back to his paws.


    Lianhua whirled around him, bringing graceful death to the insects that drew near her. He could see, however, that she had already burned through a great deal of what she had taken from him, and soon she would be back in the same condition she had been before. Unfortunately, there was no way he could risk feeding her cycle again, so he could only hope that this was enough.


    He focused on the smallest of the zhiwu, making sure not a single one managed to get past him, heading for the Copperstriker¡¯s den. Beside him, Lianhua took down the larger ones, until the whole area around them was littered with crushed chitin and slippery insect entrails.


    And then it was over.


    Kaz stepped on a four-segment bug, and the crunch was loud in the strange silence. No more clicking, skittering legs scraped against stone. No more squelching crunches echoed from beyond them. Slowly, he lifted his head, blinking as he looked toward the males.


    They were as filthy as he and Lianhua, and insect corpses were piled around them to their hips. Raff and Gaoda looked tired, and Kaz could see that even Chi Yincang¡¯s ki was nearly exhausted, though the male¡¯s expression revealed nothing.


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Gaoda asked, plucking at his once-blue robe with disgust. ¡°I never want to see another centipede again.¡±


    They all waited, listening for any sign that there were still stragglers coming behind the main swarm. None came, and slowly, they all relaxed.


    Lianhua¡¯s shoulders slumped, but she glared at Gaoda. ¡°This was your fault. If you hadn¡¯t insisted on-¡±


    He glared back. ¡°If you weren¡¯t so insistent that we couldn¡¯t go on until you were ready, I wouldn¡¯t have-¡±


    Raff cleared his throat loudly, and Lianhua¡¯s cheeks turned pink beneath their coating of slime. Gaoda turned his glare on the larger male, who gave a conciliatory smile.


    ¡°Ah, any cores in these things, Lianhua?¡± he asked, prodding the largest zhiwu with his foot.


    Lianhua closed her eyes, and her hand lifted. She pointed at the big insect, which had a neat, round hole punched through its carapace, right in the middle of its ring of eyes. ¡°That one. And¡­¡± her finger tracked to another large zhiwu, one of the first to fall, nearly buried beneath a pile of its brethren. ¡°There.¡±


    Raff nodded. ¡°One to Chi Yincang, then, and-¡± He pulled the pile of bodies apart, Lianhua¡¯s pointing finger tracking the particular insect with a bright core gleaming inside its head. Grunting with satisfaction, he finished, ¡°this one¡¯s mine.¡±


    Gaoda frowned, looking at the crushed head. ¡°It could be mine.¡±


    Raff tapped the round mark at the center of the radiating web of cracks in the chitin. ¡°That¡¯s from my sword hilt. You just smashed ¡®em like eggs. The messy ones¡¯re yours. And I get all the cores from anything I kill. That was the deal.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s eye twitched, but he shrugged and turned away.

 Chapter Forty-five

    The first order of business was getting Pilla back to the den. She had managed to pull the zhiwu jaws from her leg, but her long fur was matted with blood, and her body shook with tremors every few minutes. Still, she insisted on walking, and Lianhua refused to leave her behind, which meant they all had to make their way through the tunnels at Pilla¡¯s limping speed.


    The first sign of trouble came a short distance from the den, when Kaz¡¯s sensitive ears picked up the distinct sound of raised voices. A deep male voice was actually arguing with a female, and that was a very, very bad sign. Females gave orders, and males obeyed. The only time that fundamental rule was broken was when the male in question believed that the disagreement was worth losing his life over.


    Soon, Pilla¡¯s ears pricked up, though their length made it more difficult to tell than with the more common pointed ears. She stopped and turned to Lianhua. Lifting her arms, she said, ¡°Will you carry me? Just to the entrance of the den. Speed is more important than my pride.¡±


    Lianhua looked startled but complied, scooping the little chief into her arms. In silent agreement, the whole group began to hurry, though Kaz soon took the lead, since the humans almost immediately took a wrong turn.


    The tunnels were empty, and when they turned the last corner, they saw that even the entrance to the den stood unguarded. By now, the voices were clear enough that they could all hear and understand.


    ¡°As the new chief, I order you to come with us! Pilla and the humans must be dead or fled by now, but they clearly managed to delay the zhiwu enough to give us time to run. We¡¯re strong, and we can easily-¡±


    ¡°My orders are to protect the den and the pups. The males will stay.¡± The growling voice was distinctive. Bek¡¯s tone was flat and absolute.


    A sharp bark of laughter answered him. ¡°Not all of them. You males! Golik is your new leader! Move out of the way so we can take the pups, and I won¡¯t have to kill you all.¡±


    Pilla pulled at Lianhua¡¯s arm. ¡°Put me down.¡±


    Lianhua complied, and as soon as Pilla¡¯s paws touched the ground, she was off, barely limping in her urgency. Everyone else followed her as she wound between empty huts. Not a single kobold was visible until they passed through a narrow, easily defensible tunnel, emerging into an open cave.


    The cave was large, with a high ceiling, but it seemed small with what looked like most of the tribe crowded into it. Two more tunnels branched away from the open space, and ten or eleven males stood blocking the entrance to one. They were mostly older, though a few were young, probably the pups of the older ones, and all held their clubs in upraised fists. Some looked uncertain, but not Bek.


    The rugged male stood before Litz, glaring at her with cold, pale blue eyes. The dense ruff around his throat stood up, the only sign of his agitation, framing his broad muzzle and head. As soon as Pilla entered, a slight, triumphant smile touched his mouth, only to vanish a moment later.


    Raising his club to point at his chief, he said, ¡°Here is my chief. Why don¡¯t you ask her what she thinks?¡±


    Litz whirled, the ki bolt she¡¯d been gathering vanishing into nothingness. Her jaw dropped, and she stared at Pilla for a long moment before visibly pulling herself together.


    ¡°Sister! I thought you were dead!¡± she exclaimed. Several of the kobolds arrayed behind her shifted, leaning subtly further away.


    Pilla¡¯s lip lifted. ¡°Clearly, I¡¯m not. I defeated the zhiwu, and return to find a rebellion in progress?¡±


    Litz attempted a conciliatory tone. ¡°So much time has passed. I thought you dead, and simply hoped to save what I could of our tribe. I¡¯m glad to see that my caution was unnecessary.¡±


    Pilla ignored her, crossing to Bek. She tried not to limp, but the slowness of her step and the blood in her fur gave her injury away.


    Litz¡¯s eyes locked on the wound, and Kaz could tell she hadn¡¯t missed the tremors caused by the remnants of the poison, either. Her lip lifted in a sneer.


    ¡°Sister,¡± The squat brown female said, ¡°you¡¯re hurt.¡±


    Pilla halted, now standing between Bek and Litz. The male shifted, clearly ready to defend his chief, though he didn¡¯t try to step in front of her.


    ¡°Not too hurt to defend my tribe,¡± Pilla said, and her shield snapped into place around her. She had been injured, but she¡¯d also been able to recover her ki while the others fought, and the long, slow trek back to the den had given her still more time.


    Litz bared her teeth, and she looked around at the gathered tribe. ¡°I declare challenge. Pilla is too weak to protect us, and unwilling to take the hard road to restore our honor.¡±


    Heads nodded, and a few females fell in behind her, along with their mates. Golik stepped up so he was right beside her. Many more kobolds looked uncertain, however, and a few females even crossed over to Pilla¡¯s side. Kaz saw one grayish-purple female briefly brush Bek¡¯s hand as she went by, and Bek¡¯s expression softened slightly as his eyes followed her.


    ¡°I¡¯m more than strong enough,¡± Pilla said, raising her voice so it was clear she was speaking to everyone. ¡°The ways of the upper levels are not those of the mid, and we must change so we can grow. You know we can¡¯t go back, so we must go forward. If I must prove my strength so we can go down the tunnel ahead together, so be it.¡±


    A few more heads nodded, and one more female stepped over to Pilla¡¯s side, to the clear dismay of a purple-red male, who reluctantly joined her. Other kobolds stepped away from both groups, unwilling to take a side.


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    Lianhua shifted, and Kaz reached out, laying his hand on her arm, though Gaoda glared at him for his temerity.


    ¡°She has to do this on her own,¡± Kaz said softly. ¡°If you help, someone else will just challenge her after we leave.¡±


    Pilla drew in a deep breath, meeting Litz¡¯s eyes as she saw that no one else would be joining her. ¡°I accept your challenge.¡±


    And that was it. Shields shimmered into place around the females, while the males charged at each other, clubs swinging and teeth bared. Bek remained by Pilla¡¯s side, defending instead of attacking, and his mate extended her shield, covering them both. This was unusual, since males were generally considered expendable, and Kaz wondered what had caused a female who clearly cared about her mate to take the opposite side in a challenge, even for a short time.


    Ki bolts flew, splashing against shields. Kaz watched, fascinated, as cores flickered and flashed, and the females with the weakest cores were quickly reduced to using claws, teeth, and the small clubs at their waists. A few retreated, joining the rest of the watchers, who pulled away from them as if they were diseased.


    Pilla¡¯s core blazed bright, but so did her opponent¡¯s. Litz threw one powerful bolt after another toward Pilla, and with each strike, Pilla¡¯s shield weakened. Pilla returned the strikes one for one, though she trembled as she did so, and to Kaz¡¯s eyes, her core was dimming more quickly than Litz¡¯s.


    Soon, Pilla was forced to shift her shield from a full dome to the directional one, and Kaz¡¯s heart nearly stopped as Golik forced his way through the defenders and swung his club viciously at the chief¡¯s unprotected side. Bek was there, though, and his club caught Golik¡¯s, pushing it back and down. The two males focused on each other, and Bek¡¯s mate was forced to drop the shield she¡¯d built around the two of them as the males moved too far away from her.


    Now, Kaz¡¯s attention was torn between the two smaller battles within the larger one. Bek was clearly the more skilled fighter, but Golik was young and strong, and his greater height and reach allowed him to push the older male back. Meanwhile, Pilla, too, was struggling, her weak leg nearly giving way as she staggered back.


    Growing frustrated at Bek¡¯s continual parries, Golik let out a ferocious howl, lunging forward, intending to simply beat his way through the older kobold¡¯s defenses. For an instant, this left him wide open, his arms lifted and his body moving inexorably forward.


    Bek¡¯s lip pulled back from his teeth in triumph, and he crouched, using his shorter height and his powerful arms to thrust his club up, into Golik¡¯s abdomen. As it withdrew, Kaz could see that he had embedded several long fangs on the end of his club, so he could stab with it, instead of only placing sharp teeth on the sides, as most of the males had. Red poured from Golik¡¯s belly, and the male toppled forward, a baffled look on his face.


    A sudden commotion pulled Kaz¡¯s attention from the scene, and he looked back toward Pilla, who had fallen to one knee, clutching her hands to her abdomen. She looked no bigger than a half-grown pup as Litz thrust a glowing hand toward her, but Kaz could see that Pilla¡¯s shield was once again a complete dome, protecting her on all sides, thanks to the smaller space she now occupied.


    Litz¡¯s ki bolt headed straight forward, veering off at the last second to strike at Pilla¡¯s side. It splashed harmlessly against the protective dome, which fell completely under the blow, though only Kaz could see that.


    Before Litz could muster another strike, Pilla looked up, her brown eyes seeming to glow with red as she raised her hands. Kaz realized she had dropped her shield intentionally, mustering all of her strength for this final attack. A ki bolt hovered over her palms, and it stabbed forward, glowing brilliantly.


    The blow hit Litz¡¯s shield dead on, and Litz¡¯s core flickered as she pulled her power to the front of her own shield, leaving her sides and back unprotected. Normally, this would have been a completely reasonable action, and one that the females were clearly trained to take as they felt themselves weakening.


    But Pilla had spent a great deal of time with Lianhua over the last week, and three more ki bolts formed over her hands while Litz¡¯s attention was focused on adjusting her shield. It was only a fraction of a second, but it was enough.


    All three bolts flashed out simultaneously, and Litz scrambled to move her shield. She managed to block one, and Kaz heard Lianhua make a triumphant sound as the other two altered course, one slamming into Litz¡¯s unprotected body, while the other struck her head. Litz let out a short yip of pain, then toppled, her fur burned away in two circles, revealing raw red flesh beneath.


    The fighting ceased as everyone seemed to draw in a collective breath, all eyes on the fallen female. She groaned, then whimpered, trying to get back up, but soon it was clear that something inside her was damaged. She coughed forcefully, and blood stained the fur of her muzzle.


    Everyone turned to look at Pilla, who stood tall - or as tall as she could - and stared back at them, meeting the eyes of each member of her tribe.


    ¡°I am chief!¡± she declared, and raised her muzzle, howling in triumph. Her supporters quickly joined in, with Bek¡¯s raspy howl rising above the rest. It took only moments for those who had been undecided to join in, and slowly, even Litz¡¯s adherents let out tired, defeated howls.


    As the sound died down, Pilla looked around again. She pointed to those who had fought on Litz¡¯s side, including the ones who had tried to rejoin the watching crowd. They fell in silently behind the quivering body of their leader, kneeling on the stone floor.


    Pilla indicated the rest of the tribe. ¡°The zhiwu are dead, and my challenger defeated. I declare a day of celebration! Retrieve your pups, and prepare a feast!¡±


    Several kobolds came forward, and Bek and the others allowed them to pass down the tunnel beyond. They returned with whimpering pups clinging to them, or older pups trailing behind them, ears low and tails tucked between their legs. Bek¡¯s mate led two identical pups by the hands, and Kaz realized why she and Bek had started out on opposite sides in the recent clash. If Pilla hadn¡¯t returned, Bek would probably have been killed, but his mate would have lived to take care of their pups.


    As the pups and the majority of the tribe left down the other two tunnels, Pilla, Bek, and a few others of Pilla¡¯s supporters remained, watching the defeated kobolds warily. Kaz wondered what they would do.


    Pilla walked among the kneeling kobolds, touching some on their shoulders. Each one she touched hesitated, then stood, glancing at each other. Most of these were male, and they bowed their heads in submission. Everyone ignored Litz, where she lay gasping on the stone floor.


    When she was done, Pilla returned to the front and said, ¡°I have won.¡±


    Her tone was unconditional, and everyone standing nodded.


    She continued. ¡°You fought on the wrong side, and lost.¡±


    More nods.


    ¡°Your lives are mine.¡±


    Again, agreement.


    Pilla sighed, and her voice was gentler as she said. ¡°What my sister cannot admit is that our lives have changed. We can choose to be bitter, to yearn for what we lost, or we can embrace this change, and find a way to be strong within it. I choose to change, and if you can change with me, you may remain a part of the Copperstriker tribe. If not, you will return with my sister to the place she longs for¡­ the mid-levels.¡±


    Several kobolds swallowed hard, and some of those still kneeling began to whimper softly. All of the kobolds who¡¯d been allowed to stand bowed even deeper, and each called out their new allegiance loudly. Pilla nodded in satisfaction, waving them away.


    ¡°Go, and tell the others that before we feast, we have one more duty. We must send those who wish to join our ancestors back to their cold embrace.¡±

 Chapter Forty-six

    Only six of the rebels remained, surrounded by Pilla¡¯s most loyal kobolds. Five were females, including Litz, and the sixth was Golik, who sat, slumped against a wall, unable even to kneel. All six were injured, and Kaz could tell that three of the females probably wouldn¡¯t recover on their own, while two others had cores that blazed almost bright enough to rival Litz and Pilla¡¯s. The badly wounded ones would serve as an example without costing the tribe anything, while the others were too powerful and too rebellious to allow them to remain.


    In grim silence, Pilla¡¯s people moved in, lifting the wounded none too gently, while the powerful ones were bracketed by a female on one side, and a male on the other. It took three males to lift Golik, who struggled weakly, then went limp. He had no core and no cycle, so Kaz couldn¡¯t tell if he fell unconscious, died, or simply gave up.


    Litz herself managed to stand on her own, though she continued to wheeze and cough up bloody foam. A male made as if to support her, and she shoved him away violently, almost sending herself back to her knees in the process. Somehow, she stayed upright, glaring defiantly at the male, then at the two females who fell in beside her.


    Pilla took the lead, barely limping, though as she passed, Kaz could see that she gritted her teeth each time she put weight on her injured leg. The humans followed the group as they wound their way through the den, silence falling as kobold after kobold stopped what they were doing and stared after the doomed rebels.


    Pilla and the other females produced lights as they entered the tunnels outside the den, and the walk to the stairs was as well-lit as any Kaz had ever experienced while traveling with the humans. It was far brighter than kobolds needed, and Kaz wondered if it was for the human¡¯s sake, or if they were trying to use the light to stave off the reality of what they were about to do.


    When they arrived at the stairs, four guards still stood there, though their eyes grew large as they saw the battered prisoners. They had to have heard at least a bit of the howling, but they had held their positions, and it seemed that no one had yet arrived to tell them what had happened.


    All four tensed, but Bek exchanged glances with the oldest of the warriors, who bowed deeply to Pilla as she approached. It took only a moment for the other three to follow suit, though one male¡¯s fist shook as he placed it on his chest. Pilla nodded to the males, and the six prisoners were led or carried to the top of the stairs. The gaping jaws of the carved beast seemed to wait impatiently as it hovered over their heads.


    Slowly, other tribe members trickled in behind them. The pups remained behind in the den, not because they were too young, but so they didn¡¯t ruin the solemnity of the occasion. Some adults stayed behind to tend them, and to continue preparing the upcoming feast, but Kaz guessed at least half of the tribe arrived over the next ten or fifteen minutes. No one spoke to those condemned, and they didn¡¯t speak either. Once or twice it seemed Litz would try, but each time she broke down coughing, and each time it took longer for the fit to subside.


    When the last of the watchers had arrived, Pilla turned back to the prisoners. Her voice was clear and cold when she spoke.


    ¡°It is our way to challenge those who show weakness,¡± she said, and Kaz thought she glanced at the humans before returning her attention to her tribe. ¡°In this way, we cull those who would diminish us, and keep them from breaking when we need them most. But.¡±


    She drew in a deep breath. ¡°Wisdom and a willingness to compromise are not weakness. I proved that today, and I will prove it again, as many times as I must.¡±


    Pilla swept her eyes over those assembled, and her usually warm brown eyes held nothing but passionate conviction. Before that gaze, some kobolds shifted and looked down, while others nodded proudly.


    ¡°My mother led this tribe for many years,¡± she went on, ¡°and it was her wish that I follow her. It was my sister¡¯s right to challenge that wish, and me, and it is my right to give her her due after she failed.¡±


    Turning, she pointed at the gaping mouth filled with monstrous teeth, and the stairs that led down into the depths beyond. ¡°I exile these kobolds; Litz, Golik, Namid, Poil, Dezre, and Keil. They will descend to the mid-levels, never to return. Let the mountain make final judgment upon them.¡±


    With that, she motioned to her helpers, and stepped up beside her sister. She didn¡¯t try to touch the brown female, simply stared at her until the other began to move on her own.


    Golik was too weak to make it to the stairs himself, so the males carrying him simply swung him twice, then heaved him as far down the stairs as they could. Kaz saw Lianhua and Raff wince at the sight, but the kobolds, including Kaz, remained stoic.


    The five females all made it to the first step with minimal help, though the one worst-injured needed assistance climbing over the curve of the stone tongue that sprawled over the vicious teeth. Once their paws touched the steps, they were released, to fall or walk on their own. One did, indeed, fall, and the others ignored her, each focused on their own descent. The two with the lightest wounds exchanged bleak looks, then went ahead of the rest.


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    As one, the tribe turned their backs on them. Only the four males on guard continued to watch, and Kaz saw Bek and the older guard confer briefly before the male who had seemed upset to see Litz defeated was quietly exchanged for one who had fought on Pilla¡¯s side. Silently, the tribe walked back, all together, and Kaz saw Pilla watching them, noting who walked with whom, and who looked unhappy with the result of the attempted rebellion.


    When all of the kobolds except the guards, Pilla, Bek, and Kaz himself had gone, Pilla walked over to the humans, finally allowing herself to limp noticeably. She smiled at Lianhua, tail wagging gently. ¡°Thank you, my friend. I put your teaching into practice sooner than I expected, but I suspect things might have gone very differently today without it.¡±


    Lianhua smiled back, though she seemed a little sad as well. ¡°I just wish it hadn¡¯t been needed at all. Litz seemed strong, and could have done a lot to help you, if she¡¯d decided to.¡±


    Pilla sighed and began walking toward the den, followed by the others. Gaoda produced his radiant ki orb when he realized she was only going to make the dim light most females used, and Pilla let her own vanish. She said nothing for a while, but finally spoke when they were about halfway back.


    ¡°When you enter the mid-levels, you will need to harden your gentle heart, Lianhua. No one there will show you mercy, and they will see your own as weakness. You saw today what happens when a kobold senses weakness. And there are many, many worse things than kobolds before you reach the Deep.¡±


    Kaz nodded silent agreement, but Lianhua made a face. ¡°Surely it¡¯s not that bad. Your tribe and the Stoneborn were both reasonable.¡±


    Pilla chuckled darkly. ¡°From what you told me, and the story I heard from the messenger I sent to fetch your lost male, you showed the Stoneborn that they would lose more kobolds than they could spare if they tried to force you to return. You gave their chief a way to compromise without going back on her word, and that was wise. My mother often said that wisdom is nothing without power, and power is nothing without wisdom. It¡¯s the one lesson my sister could never understand.¡±


    They continued walking, with Pilla slowly falling behind as her body finally reached its limits. Her ears were drooping even more than usual as they reached the final turn, and Gaoda and Raff went ahead as they realized where they were. Kaz could see the blur of black and white ki that was Chi Yincang hesitate, then follow them, leaving Lianhua, Bek, Pilla, and Kaz behind.


    Pilla stopped and looked at Bek. ¡°Uncle,¡± she said, giving the older male a title of respect that females rarely used once they reached adulthood, ¡°would you take Lianhua to the den and make sure she gets whatever food she wishes? I want to speak to this pup for a moment.¡±


    Lianhua frowned, glancing at Kaz. He nodded, giving her a little wag of his tail to show that he was all right, and the human female allowed herself to be led away.


    Once they were alone, Pilla looked at Kaz, having to look up to meet his eyes, though she was at least a few years older than he.


    ¡°You¡¯re the strangest ¡®pup¡¯ I¡¯ve ever met,¡± she said softly, frowning a little as she stared at him.


    Kaz remained silent, but the niggling sense of nervousness that had started in his stomach when she said she wanted to speak to him grew into a full-fledged swarm of jiyun.


    Pilla paused, as if waiting for a response, and shook her head when none was forthcoming. At last, she asked, ¡°Are you really a pup? Or did you leave your warrior¡¯s necklace behind when you joined the humans?¡±


    Kaz stared at her, faintly horrified. No warrior would ever be without the necklace he made from the trophies he earned during his spirit hunt for long. If it broke, he would repair it, and if it was somehow lost, he would replace it as soon as possible. Certainly, he would never, ever, pretend to be a pup when he wasn¡¯t. The only status any male had was as a warrior, and both pride and tradition required him to cling to it as fiercely as his own life.


    ¡°My mother said I was too young for my spirit hunt,¡± he finally said, seeing that she wasn¡¯t going to go on until he answered.


    She snorted, looking him up and down. The look in her eyes made him uncomfortable, because it was appraising in a way no female had ever looked at him before.


    On his shoulder, Li shifted, hissing softly, and Pilla turned her attention on the little dragon, acknowledging her presence for the first time.


    ¡°The Stoneborn insisted you were a numb-mind, but I¡¯ve seen no evidence of that except for the fuergar on your shoulder.¡± Pilla¡¯s eyes narrowed, and Kaz saw a faint hint of ki glowing in them. It lasted for only a breath, then faded, leaving the female blinking as if her eyes pained her.


    ¡°There¡¯s something very, very strange about you and your¡­ pet, Lianhua called it.¡± Pilla drew in a deep breath, squaring her shoulders as if she¡¯d come to some decision. ¡°When you are done leading the humans to the Deep, you are welcome among the Copperstrikers. We have much to offer a strong warrior, and we will even send a fair price to your birth tribe for you.¡±


    She hesitated again, then dipped her snout and glanced at him sidelong. ¡°I will need a mate soon, and it would be best if he came from a tribe which has lived in the heights for a while, and understands their ways. Lianhua says you are the son and brother of chiefs, and I think I could do worse than a strong young male like you, even if you are a little¡­ unusual.¡±


    Kaz felt his ears warm strangely, and Li reared up on his shoulder, hissing more loudly as she sent an image of a golden dragon snapping off the nose of an impertinent copper kobold.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­,¡± Kaz stammered, his tongue suddenly twice its normal size. ¡°The very suggestion¡­ honors me and the Br- the Longknife tribe. I don¡¯t know-¡±


    Pilla sniffed, spinning away from him. ¡°Of course you can¡¯t make a decision on your own. When you return, I¡¯ll send messengers to your tribe, and your sister and I will bargain. I just wanted you to¡­ think about it.¡±


    She limped off, shoulders stiff, and if Kaz wasn¡¯t imagining it, the edges of her long ears were a deep pink beneath her fur.

 Chapter Forty-seven

    Despite the ¡®feast¡¯, the mood in the Copperstriker den was far from festive. The bodies of two males lay in caves nearby, already wrapped in jejing as they awaited burning. A single female who had fought on Litz¡¯s side had also succumbed, and she would lie in her hut for the required two days so mourners could come to say their goodbyes, a pile of jejing and firemoss smoking nearby. The smell of the moss already seeped into the cavern, but Kaz doubted anyone but her mate and pups would visit for fear that Pilla would judge them for it.


    Still, the food was good, and plentiful, and Kaz hadn¡¯t been able to relax and enjoy a properly cooked and seasoned meal in over a week. It was even funny to watch the reaction of those around him as they saw the ¡®fuergar¡¯ on his shoulder delicately take tidbits from his fingers and hold it in her small paws as she ate. He could tell that some were disgusted, others concerned, and a few intrigued.


    Gaoda and Raff were already eating by the time Kaz caught up to them. Lianhua held one of the fragile plates the humans stored in their pouches, but she had clearly been waiting for him, because she relaxed and smiled when he appeared. Kaz wagged his tail at her before going to get his own meal, then returned and sat beside her.


    They ate in companionable silence for a while, with nearby kobolds casting curious looks in his direction, though none dared to speak to him while Lianhua was there. It wasn¡¯t until Raff got up and came back with a second plate of food that he noticed the creature on Kaz¡¯s shoulder and recoiled.


    ¡°What is that?¡± the big male asked, pointing at Li.


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°My¡­ pet. I was dragged off by a great woshi, and when it threw me into its breeding pool for its young to eat, she was also there. We escaped together, and I fed and cared for her while I was lost.¡±


    All true, technically, except possibly the ¡®pet¡¯ part. Kaz was fairly certain that if Li could speak, she would claim him as her pet, rather than the other way around. Or perhaps they were simply friends, which was better anyway.


    Gaoda looked up, and his lip curled as he saw Li. ¡°That¡¯s a rat.¡±


    Kaz blinked. ¡°She is not.¡± Also true.


    ¡°It is! A disease-carrying rodent! I won¡¯t allow it,¡± the male said, leaning away from Kaz.


    Lianhua smiled and reached up to pet the dragon, to Gaoda¡¯s obvious dismay. Fortunately, Li was full, happy, and liked Lianhua as much as she liked anyone, so she allowed it. Kaz wondered if the human felt fur or scales beneath her fingers.


    ¡°I think she¡¯s cute. And Kaz even named her after me!¡± Lianhua said.


    Gaoda gave Lianhua an appalled look, and Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if that had been a wise thing to say, but Lianhua wasn¡¯t done.


    ¡°No one has ever been able to do a proper study of the fuergar. They die in captivity, and no one has been able to observe them for long in the wild.¡± Lianhua put a sliver of meat in her mouth, chewing on it with a smile. Kaz decided now wasn¡¯t the time to tell her she was eating fuergar.


    When she finished her bite, Lianhua said, ¡°This is the perfect opportunity to watch one of the creatures, and see how it¡¯s different from a normal rat. I can write at least two papers on it, perhaps three!¡±


    Gaoda opened and closed his mouth, but Lianhua was already going on about how one scholar or another had written treatises on the creatures of the Shensheng mountain, but there was barely anything about the fuergar, and lopo had been left out entirely. She went on for so long that Raff left to get a third serving of food, and Gaoda followed him, though he hadn¡¯t eaten half of his first yet.


    Once they were gone, Lianhua fell silent, rubbing her throat as she grimaced slightly. ¡°I thought they¡¯d never leave,¡± she muttered. ¡°I was running out of wandering sages who might possibly have been to this area and written about it.¡±


    Kaz passed Li another chunk of meat, trying not to think about the fact that it must look like he was feeding fuergar to a fuergar, not that the voracious creatures would care. ¡°You made all that up?¡±


    Lianhua waggled a hand. ¡°Only some. Several of those sages have written about Shensheng mountain, but they focused mainly on the Deep, and the plants and creatures that could be found there, as well as the indigenous kobold tribes. I read them while I was researching the Diushi, but the scrolls are all quite old, and the language archaic. Honestly, they weren¡¯t very helpful, and I don¡¯t remember a single mention of your fuergar.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°That makes sense. There are very few wild beasts in the Deep. Every inch is controlled by one tribe or another, and they have enough members that they can patrol them regularly. Some creatures are kept for food, but fuergar aren¡¯t among them. I never saw one until we entered the mid-levels, so if there are any in the Deep, they¡¯ve learned to hide very well.¡±


    The two fell silent as Raff and Gaoda returned. Gaoda sat quite a bit further from them than he had initially, but he didn¡¯t say anything else, now that Lianhua had made her approval of the new addition plain. Kaz wasn¡¯t entirely comfortable with the looks the male was sending Li, but he was distracted when Lianhua held something out toward him.


    The nearly-translucent cup was one Kaz had seen Lianhua use before, but she had never offered it to him. Carefully, he accepted it, wincing as his long claws clicked against the side. He could feel the heat of the softly steaming contents through it, and a sweet, smoky scent filled his nose.


    ¡°It¡¯s tea,¡± Lianhua said, accepting a second cup from an impassive Chi Yincang. The male was by far the cleanest of them, having somehow remained clear of most of the bug guts and bits of legs and chitin that was splattered over the others, and his fingers left no trace of gore on the fragile vessel as he handed it over.


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    Lianhua¡¯s hands, too, looked clean, and Kaz wished he had thought to cleanse his own before taking the cup. He had been too hungry to even think about how filthy he was, but as smears appeared where he held the cup, he tried to hand it back to Lianhua.


    She shook her head, sipping her tea with a satisfied smile. ¡°Cups can be washed,¡± she told him. ¡°Try it. It¡¯s made with the first fresh spring leaves of the Longjing tea plant, which only grows in my home province.¡±


    Kaz lapped cautiously at the brown liquid, and found that while it was warm, it wasn¡¯t unpleasantly so. It was sweet, and tasted a bit like tanuo, a rare lichen that only grew by water under the greenish light of glow-worms.


    ¡°It¡¯s good,¡± he told Lianhua, and she smiled. ¡°But what are spring leaves?¡±


    The female stared at him before shaking her head slowly. ¡°There are no seasons here, are there? And no plants with proper leaves or flowers.¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know what seasons or leaves are, but a few mosses do produce flowers. The jiyun feed from them, though, so it¡¯s best to avoid them.¡±


    This began a lively conversation wherein Kaz learned that unlike the constant, steady temperature of the caves and tunnels within the mountain, the outside world had ¡®weather¡¯ and ¡®seasons¡¯. Once, he had seen frozen water fall from clouds above the dragon¡¯s den, but Lianhua said that sometimes liquid water also fell, and a day could go from cold, to warm, and back to cold. He also learned that the strips of hair above the human¡¯s eyes were called ¡®eyebrows¡¯, and wondered why Lianhua laughed so hard when he asked if Gaoda was still immature, since he didn¡¯t have face-fur like the other two males.


    The rest of the meal passed by so pleasantly that Kaz completely forgot he had set his teacup down by his side when he was trying to explain what a woshi looked like. She finally declared it to be a ¡®salamander¡¯, and they went on from there, so when he stood up and knocked the cup over, it came as a surprise to them both.


    Kaz quickly scooped the cup into his hands, seeing that while most of it had remained intact, a large crack ran down one side, and a triangular piece had broken off completely. His ears flattened and he let out a soft whine as he held it out toward Lianhua.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said, trying to set the triangle back into the gap it had left behind.


    Lianhua shook her head, gently taking the pieces from him and placing them into the pouch at her waist. ¡°It¡¯s all right. When I get home, Grandfather will fix it, and I¡¯ll remember this conversation every time I use it.¡±


    Kaz still felt terrible, and Lianhua could obviously tell,  because she took a second cup from her pouch. This one was even lovelier than the first, with a tracery of pink flowers on delicate green stems. Elongated green ovals framed the pretty blossoms, and Lianhua pointed to one with a smile.


    ¡°This is a leaf, and these are the flowers of a plum tree. This cup has been mine since I was a little girl, and Grandfather has had to repair it more than once.¡± She turned the cup in her palm, and Kaz saw several seams of gold running through it, holding together pieces that had obviously been broken.


    ¡°The technique is called ¡®kintsugi¡¯. My Grandfather is a master of the art, and says that our flaws and imperfections only highlight the beauty in all of us.¡± Lianhua gently stroked one of the gilt junctions. ¡°Each of these holds a memory for me. Some of them are lessons, and some are simply reminders of moments spent with my grandfather, watching him work.¡±


    Kaz pressed his hand over his abdomen. ¡°How is it done?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Grandfather will tell you that you must begin by embracing the whole life of the object. Think about when it was new, and how it became worn over time as it was used and cherished. Then, accept that it has broken, but remember that simply because something is no longer as it once was, that makes it no less precious. The things that remain of its youth and purpose are still beautiful, and the changes you make will be, too.¡±


    Tucking the cup away, she chuckled. ¡°That and some gold dust and resin will repair the piece, but Grandfather will also tell you that it is in taking the time to cherish the object and recognize its resilience that practicality becomes art.¡±


    Kaz nodded, fist clenching over the shattered core hidden within his body. ¡°Is it as strong as it was before?¡±


    She shrugged, her eyes distant. ¡°After something is broken, it¡¯s never the same. It might be weaker, or it might be stronger. That all depends on the object and the artist who repairs it.¡±


    Lianhua seemed to shake herself from a dream, gaze sharpening as she smiled down at him. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see if we can get a bath. Even fuulong silk needs to be washed sometimes, and you, my friend, have enough bug parts in your fur to make another nest of zhiwu.¡±


    She hesitated. ¡°Speaking of which¡­ Is it all right that we killed them all? Didn¡¯t you say that their webbing is useful? Are they common enough that the Copperstrikers will be able to find another nest easily?¡±


    Kaz wagged his tail. This human really was kind. ¡°The ones we killed were the males. Zhiwu only have one female at a time, and she can¡¯t move once she begins laying eggs. There will be eggs in the nest, and the female will tend them. When those hatch, the Copperstrikers will harvest the webs and discarded egg sacs. There won¡¯t be any more until some of the newly hatched males reach maturity, but they grow quickly. By this time next year, the nest will be back to normal.¡±


    ¡°We just settled in this territory a little over a month ago,¡± Pilla said, stepping up beside them. She must have been waiting for them to finish with their conversation, an unexpectedly considerate action from a female.


    ¡°We hadn¡¯t even started harvesting the webs yet,¡± she went on, ¡°and there are quite a few old egg sacs. They¡¯ll need to be cleansed more thoroughly than fresh ones, and webbing made with them breaks down more quickly, but there should be plenty, so long as we don¡¯t declare vara on any of the neighboring tribes, which I don¡¯t intend to do.¡±


    Lianhua turned to the chief with a smile, and Kaz stepped back behind the human female, lowering his head in a gesture of respect.


    Pilla had taken the time to bathe, and her long fur gleamed a rich copper in the light of Gaoda¡¯s ki ball. Kaz sniffed, startled to realize that she had applied weiba powder, something that females only did when they were courting a mate or readying themselves to meet with a female of another tribe in order to acquire a mate. The female kobold didn¡¯t look at him, but he saw her ears turn pink again as she spoke to Lianhua, and he knew she hadn¡¯t missed the twitch of his nose.


    ¡°I remembered that you enjoy warm water, Lianhua, so I had the pups bring buckets of water, and assigned some females to warm it.¡± A wicked glint in her eyes made Kaz guess that the females assigned to this menial task were probably former members of Litz¡¯s group.


    Pilla turned away, and Lianhua and Kaz followed her. Raff hopped up as they passed, burped loudly, and pounded on his chest, looking relieved.


    ¡°You goin¡¯ to wash up, Lianhua?¡± he asked.


    Lianhua nodded, and Raff grinned. ¡°Reckon I¡¯ll keep watch while you do that, and then take a turn. Gaoda, you in?¡±


    Gaoda stood, shaking his robe so bug bits clattered to the ground around him. ¡°I¡¯ll go after my cousin. You may wait.¡±


    Raff sighed deeply, but shrugged. ¡°Clean is clean. I¡¯m just looking forward to a good night¡¯s rest, and then we can finally head out tomorrow.¡±


    All eyes turned to Lianhua, who nodded. ¡°Tomorrow we leave.¡±

 Chapter Forty-eight

    Washing with warm water was a novelty to Kaz, and he surreptitiously watched the females as they pushed ki into the water to heat it. Some of them were better at it than others, and he noticed that the ones with more orange ki didn¡¯t look as tired afterwards. Was the orange related to heat or fire, then? There was usually a great deal of black ki in and around water. Did that mean black was related to the water itself somehow? What did blue, white, and yellow represent, then?


    As Lianhua dumped bowl after bowl of water over his head, Kaz pondered what, exactly, ki was. Why did Lianhua use runes to cast spells, while the males didn¡¯t seem to need them? Did it have something to do with their higher levels of body refinement, or did different people simply find certain ways of doing things easier than others? He would have to find a way to ask Lianhua sometime when they weren¡¯t surrounded by strange female kobolds with big ears.


    Once Kaz was thoroughly soaked, Lianhua pulled a wide-toothed comb and a little pot from her pouch. She opened the pot, scooping out a small amount of some pale unguent, and Kaz recognized the sweet scent that usually surrounded the human female. She rubbed the cream into his fur, and began to work the comb through after it, picking out knots and chunks of bug. At first, Kaz tensed beneath her touch, but Lianhua looked so happy that he finally relaxed under her ministrations.


    ¡°I always wash my puppy, Gao, myself, though Yingtao chides me for it. I love the feeling of his fur. It¡¯s so soft, and smells so good when I¡¯m done.¡± Lianhua said. She hummed softly as she picked at another tangle.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Kaz asked, eyeing the white goo she was applying to his tail.


    ¡°Oh!¡± She paused, lifting the little round pot. ¡°It¡¯s a cream I use in my own hair. It helps it stay shiny and healthy. I always use it on Gao, and I didn¡¯t even think¡­ Do you hate it? I won¡¯t use it any more if you do.¡±


    He thought it was far too late to avoid smelling like whatever it was, and she looked so crestfallen that he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I just wondered what was in it.¡±


    Lianhua scooped some out and stared at it. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure. Yingtao makes it. There¡¯s beeswax and grapeseed oil, as well as a lot of other things, and somehow she makes it smell like my favorite lotus blossoms.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t know what any of those things were, but he was beginning to become very curious about the place Lianhua came from. It sounded very different from the mountain.


    ¡°What does a lotus blossom look like?¡± he asked.


    She put down the pot and picked up the hem of the robe she¡¯d tucked into her belt before she started washing him. She pointed to the fine thread that picked out many-petaled flowers. The petals were a pure, unstained white, with amethyst edges and tips.


    ¡°This is a lotus. I¡¯m named after them, too. My mother named me for the color of my hair and eyes.¡±


    Kaz held back a whimper as she returned to her task, pulling at a particularly recalcitrant knot. ¡°Lianhua means lotus in your language?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°In the old language. When the Diushi came to power, they made their own language the official one spoken in the empire. They didn¡¯t care if people spoke their old ones among themselves, but everyone had to learn Diushan, and all official documents and ceremonies used it. Now, only the oldest families still speak Shengan, so it¡¯s considered a sign of high status to know it.¡±


    Kaz was thoughtful. ¡°Is that why we kobolds have some words you don¡¯t know? Most of what we speak is Diushan, but there are a few that come from whatever language we spoke before?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s hand stilled, and she nodded eagerly. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s part of why I believe the Diushi came here! Records from before the Diushi Empire indicate that only monsters, dragons, and other unintelligent beasts lived in this mountain range. Then, some time after the Diushi vanished, a traveling sage visited, and he met you kobolds, and you already spoke Diushan!


    ¡°I think sometime between the old records and Tan Fong¡¯s visit, your people developed from one of those beasts, and when the Diushi came here, they taught you their language. Otherwise, how could you learn it? There are no records of contact with kobolds before that time, so even if one or two tribes learned it from traders, that wouldn¡¯t explain why all of you speak it.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°But the husede speak it, too. Maybe we learned from them?¡±


    The female¡¯s shoulders slumped, and she sighed as she got back to work. ¡°That¡¯s a possibility. The Gray Dwarves were certainly around before the Diushi, since they¡¯re mentioned in a few rather obscure records. None of the censuses taken during the height of the empire¡¯s power mention them, but given the Diushi¡¯s tendency to absorb any people they found, it¡¯s quite feasible that they were at least a vassal state. Still, it¡¯s also possible that they, too, learned Diushan after the Diushi came here, and without access to their records, there¡¯s no way to be sure.¡±


    She leaned back, putting down the comb. The stone around Kaz was covered in a carpet of blue fur and bits of broken legs and chitin.


    ¡°There,¡± she said with satisfaction, pulling a round circle of silver from her pouch. She held it up, and Kaz nearly jerked back as he saw his father staring back at him. But no, this kobold¡¯s fur was a lighter blue than Ghazt¡¯s deep cobalt, and Ghazt had had silver eyes, like Katri, rather than pale blue.


    With an unsteady finger, Kaz reached out, and the other kobold matched his gesture. He had seen himself in polished metal and still water, of course, but the reflection had never been so clear and perfect.


    ¡°It¡¯s a mirror,¡± Lianhua told him, handing it over. ¡°Glass, with a thin silver backing.¡±


    Kaz turned it over and over in his hands, watching the image change. Li, who had run off as soon as Lianhua poured the first bucket of water over them, returned and scampered up his leg to stare at her own reflection. She whistled happily, sending Kaz an image of herself that was slightly more accurate than the toothy one she usually used. Her scales were a little too shiny, and her teeth still a bit too long, but otherwise it was clearly her.


    Kaz realized that he needed to adjust his self-image as well. His nose wasn¡¯t quite as big as it always seemed when he leaned down to stare at himself in a still pool, and his eyes weren¡¯t nearly as squinty as he¡¯d thought.


    Lianhua let the two of them stare at themselves for a few minutes before holding out her hand with a small laugh. Li hissed at her halfheartedly, but allowed the human to take the mirror back.


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    ¡°All right. I suppose I should wash myself now, so you¡¯ll have to go,¡± Lianhua said, beginning to tug at her belt.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I help you? I can brush your hair, too.¡±


    A pink flush rose up in Lianhua¡¯s cheeks. ¡°No! No, but thank you. Perhaps you can take my outer robe to be cleaned, though?¡±


    She pulled off her belt, then her robe, which used to be white, and somehow still mostly was, though there were distinct blotches of darker substances on it now. Underneath, she wore another robe, this one deep purple, that ended just above her knees. Another belt held it closed.


    Kaz hadn¡¯t thought he could be surprised any more by the riches the humans constantly waved around, but he was. As if the large, beautiful piece of cloth that made up her outer robe wasn¡¯t enough, she actually wore two?


    The fine, heavy cloth caught on his calloused fingers as Lianhua handed it to him, and he was briefly horrified that he might have snagged it. Then he remembered everything she had put the fabric through, and realized that it couldn¡¯t be anywhere near as delicate as it seemed.


    Kaz caught the robe to his chest and bowed deeply, making Li click angrily and wrap her tail tightly around his neck as she clung to him. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for the trust you show in me.¡±


    Lianhua looked a little puzzled, but smiled as he left the cave, exiting down a short tunnel to another open area where Gaoda, Raff, and Chi Yincang waited. Raff looked bored, Chi Yincang stared expressionlessly into space, and Gaoda was plucking fitfully at his own blue robe as Kaz entered.


    All three turned to look at him, and Gaoda¡¯s eyes immediately locked onto the robe in Kaz¡¯s arms. His face darkened, and he dropped the hem of his own robe.


    ¡°What are you doing with that?¡± he snapped. ¡°Did she-? Did you-?¡±


    Kaz blinked, but Raff set a hand on the angry male¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Needs cleaning, doesn¡¯t it? Bet she sent Blue to take care of it.¡±


    At Kaz¡¯s nod, he went on, ¡°Women always take too long when they get a chance to wash up. And look at our little guide here. Primped and perfumed like a noblewoman¡¯s lapdog.¡±


    Gaoda snorted as Raff chuckled, and while there was something slightly insulting in their laughter, Gaoda no longer looked upset, so Kaz just circled around them. Holding up the robe, he said, ¡°I need to find the water source. I¡¯ll return when I¡¯m done.¡±


    The males nodded, then Gaoda shrugged out of his own robe and tossed it to Kaz. ¡°You might as well make yourself useful. It¡¯ll be an easy task. Fuulong practically cleans itself.¡±


    Kaz folded the second robe under his arm and ducked his head before going out into the main den area, where he managed to get a passing male to stop and speak with him. The male was only a little older than Kaz, but his warrior¡¯s necklace was thickly decorated with several sharp teeth that Kaz couldn¡¯t identify. The young warrior was wary, but not openly suspicious as he pointed Kaz toward the tunnel leading to the cavern where Pilla and Litz had fought.


    Once there, Kaz found that he could smell the water well enough to tell that it was down the same tunnel where the cubs had been hiding. It made sense. Lack of water would kill a kobold even if they were otherwise safe, so making sure the little ones were able to drink all they needed was a good idea.


    The cavern beyond was a good size, and though the pool looked like it had once contained a great deal more water, it wasn¡¯t anywhere near empty yet. More water dripped from the ceiling above, falling from the broken-off stumps of stalactites, and there were even a few glow-worms hanging there, though as a pool became depleted, it could disrupt the natural cycle of life enough that the fragile creatures didn¡¯t survive.


    Kaz looked around and found a shallow depression next to a stone bowl and a crack in the ground. He put down the robe, then went and got a bowl full of water and poured it into the depression. Once there was enough water, he knelt and began scrubbing the fabric.


    As Gaoda had said, the filth barely clung to the surface of the fabric, and all but melted from the material once it was wet, leaving it as clean and perfect as if it had just been woven. Kaz only had to push dirty water through the nearby drainage crevice twice before he lifted Lianhua¡¯s robe and shook it free of the last few bits of debris. Gaoda¡¯s took a bit more effort, since the male had been in the thick of the battle against the zhiwu, but soon his, too, was clean.


    When Kaz reentered the central den, he found that many of the lights had been dimmed or put out, but he was able to follow his nose to the group of humans, who were sitting outside two large huts. Pilla was there, too, and both Lianhua and Gaoda were wearing fresh robes, making Kaz wonder why he¡¯d had to clean their old ones so urgently. He didn¡¯t mind helping Lianhua, but he found a small sense of rebellion rising up in him when he realized Gaoda could easily have washed his own clothes without having to walk around in his underrobe in order to do so.


    Kaz handed Lianhua her damp robe, and she smiled and thanked him. Gaoda, on the other hand, just grunted and complained that the material wasn¡¯t completely dry yet. Kaz gritted his teeth against the urge to tell him to wash his own garment next time, and just bowed slightly, but Lianhua frowned at the male before speaking to Kaz.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t always value the same things we do,¡± she told him, ¡°but I have a gift I think you¡¯ll like.¡±


    Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a long piece of fabric. It was brown, rather than the bright colors the humans seemed to favor. The weave was a little looser, and the thread thicker than what had been used to make Gaoda, Lianhua, and Chi Yincang¡¯s robes, but it was still far better than anything a normal kobold would own.


    ¡°This is fuulong silk, like our robes, though of a lower quality. I had intended to give it to Yingtao, but I can get her another piece when we get home.¡±


    Gaoda stared at her. ¡°Cousin! You meant to gift fuulong to a servant? And now you¡¯re handing it over to a kobold?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°No one needs a fabric that stays clean and whole more than a servant. Yingtao¡¯s clothes are constantly being stained, and she has to replace them far more often than she can afford. And Kaz has certainly earned some kind of payment. We¡­ did a favor for his chief, but he himself has received nothing.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t exactly true, since Kaz had learned a great deal since joining the humans on their journey, and he considered that knowledge to be more valuable than anything he could have asked for, but he still gratefully accepted the material. It would make an excellent replacement for the tattered and stained leather loincloth he¡¯d been wearing for more than a year.


    Pilla had been standing nearby, and now she spoke up. She looked at Lianhua, rather than Kaz, since it was far beneath a chief to speak to a male pup from another tribe, at least where others could see.


    ¡°I have a leatherworker who would love to try her hand at something different for once. Perhaps she can craft a garment from this in return for any small scraps that may be left over?¡±


    Lianhua looked at Kaz, who nodded. He could sew, but he was used to using leather for both material and thread. A skilled hand would produce something far finer than he could make, and it would be worth the price.


    Kaz held out the cloth to Lianhua, who shook her head, but accepted and then passed it to Pilla. Pilla bowed her head just slightly, then bid them all farewell and went to find her crafter.


    Lianhua sighed and set her hand to the door of the hut behind her. ¡°I¡¯m tired. I¡¯ll see you all in the morning.¡±


    The males bid her goodnight, and she went inside, closing the door firmly behind her. This left Kaz alone with the rest of the humans, and he hesitated, looking at the other nearby huts.


    Raff scratched his head. ¡°Guess it¡¯s you and me again, Blue. Gaoda and Chi Yincang are in there, and this one¡¯s mine, at least for one more night.¡± He pointed toward two of the huts.


    Kaz nodded gratitude. ¡°I¡¯m tired as well. I¡¯ll rest now.¡±


    Raff waved, and Kaz retreated to the hut.

 Chapter Forty-nine

    As soon as Kaz entered the dim interior of the hut, his shoulders slumped. The last time he slept was before he entered the Copperstriker den, and since then he¡¯d battled a horde of monsters, watched what amounted to an execution, and had a chief declare her intention to take him as mate. It was far too much for a single day to hold comfortably, and it wasn¡¯t over yet.


    Kaz saw that Raff¡¯s bedding was laid out in the center of the hut, but that was fine. The human was much larger than any kobold, and the space to either side of him was more than large enough for Kaz and Li. Plus, if anyone tried to enter uninvited, it was Raff they would trip over, not Kaz, which could only be a good thing for Kaz.


    He curled up in a ball as far from the human¡¯s bed as he could get, though he didn¡¯t let any part of his body touch the leather walls of the hut. The outline of his body would be far too clear through the stretched hide, and though as far as he knew, no one disliked him enough to stab him in the back, there was no reason to ask for trouble.


    Li crawled down his body until she rested in the crook of his arm, using him as insulation from the cold stone floor. Kaz was used to the chill, and his fur was thick enough to protect him from the worst of it anyway, so once the little dragon stopped circling and settled into one spot, he closed his eyes.


    Turning his vision inward, he began to examine his core, wincing at what he found. He had been right; at least one of the shards had begun to come loose, and the shell of what he believed to be condensed, undifferentiated mana had fine cracks running through it.


    Reaching out with his mind, Kaz prodded at a section of the gray material that surrounded the base of one of the pieces of his core. A particularly wide crack ran around it, almost completely separating it from the rest of the opaque shell. It shifted beneath his touch, and a stab of pain went through him as the fragment it supported moved as well.


    Right. Maybe it was better to start with an area that wasn¡¯t as badly damaged, figure out what he was doing, and then come back to this section.


    With a thought, he sent his perspective spinning around the floating core until he came to a part that only had a few splinters protruding from the pearlescent gray surface. Focusing on the largest one, he could see how most of his ki was still trapped inside the mana shell, and only what could flow out through the core splinters was actually entering his cycle. That meant that the more damaged sections were actually releasing more ki, especially since the greater surface area of the bits that jutted out further allowed for a much faster flow.


    Which meant Kaz needed to make a decision before he went any further. Did he want to make the mana shell thicker, if he even could? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that the greater part of his ki would forever be locked away behind a wall, and he would never be able to become stronger?


    This way of thinking still felt foreign to Kaz, but he was becoming more comfortable with it. He had spent most of his life wishing he could find a way to remove his strange, troublesome power. Yet now he found that not only didn¡¯t he want to get rid of it, he actually wanted to know what would happen if he pushed it to its limits. Could he grow to be as strong as Lianhua or Gaoda? Could he learn to disappear into the shadows and slice through stone like Chi Yincang? Could he even surpass them?


    And of course there was the most important question of all. If he did become as powerful as the humans, what would that mean for his life? He wouldn¡¯t have to answer to any female unless he wanted to, and though that probably meant he would be shunned by his own people, he found that that didn¡¯t matter to him nearly as much as he thought it would. He had just spent a week lost and alone except for Li, and though he was glad when he found kobolds again, that was as much because numbers equaled safety as anything else.


    Something occurred to him when he thought this, and his eyes flashed open as he began to laugh. The laughter became louder, then shifted, transforming into soft sobs.


    He had spent a week alone in the tunnels, killing anything that threatened him, and living only on what he could forage. With or without the permission and recognition of a chief, he had completed his spirit hunt. He had no trophies to show his tribe, no necklace to display his new status, but he knew in his heart that he was now an adult. A warrior, at last.


    And it didn¡¯t matter. Nothing inside him had changed, except for his shattered core. He wasn¡¯t suddenly more mature, didn¡¯t abruptly feel ready to take a mate and begin his life as an adult. He was the same Kaz he had been eight days ago.


    No, the differences inside him had come as a result of his travels with the humans, not because he had passed some arbitrary initiation ritual. Not because some female said he was now grown up. He was more self-confident because he knew he could survive alone, yes, but the curiosity and independence that had always been inside him were finally beginning to flourish because they were no longer being crushed down by fear and obedience.


    And he did want to continue growing. He wanted to be more of who he already was, far more than he had ever wanted to be a warrior of the Broken Knives. He wanted to learn everything he could, travel and meet new people, and, most importantly, make his own choices on how and when he did that.


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    Which meant he needed to be strong. Strong enough to defeat anyone who tried to tell him what to do. Strong enough to protect himself, and Li.


    A warm feeling came over him at this last thought, and Kaz glanced down, seeing the golden dragonling gazing up at him, her eyes filled with equal parts white and gold. She sent him an image of the two of them, flying through the open sky, blue and gold. Sometimes he was a little kobold, mounted atop a great dragon, and sometimes his back sprouted suspiciously furry wings, and they flew side by side. But always, they were together, linked by a dense rope of multi-colored ki.


    ¡°Do you want that?¡± he asked her. ¡°No matter what I said to the others, I don¡¯t think of you as a pet. You¡¯re free to leave me whenever you want. It¡¯s just that I took you into the mountain, so I feel like it¡¯s my responsibility to get you out again.¡±


    She whistled softly, and the vision of the two of them, flying through white clouds limned with golden light, strengthened until he could barely see her whirling eyes.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°I¡¯d like that, too. I want to know what the world outside is like. But if you change your mind, I won¡¯t try to keep you.¡±


    Her sinuous neck stretched out, and she bit him on the nose, in the same place she had bitten him shortly after she hatched. He yipped and clapped his hand to the spot, but this time there was no blood. It was just a warning nip, not a real attempt to hurt him.


    Li hissed to herself, shifting and circling until she settled in place again. With a final glance at Kaz, she closed her eyes and huffed a deep sigh.


    Kaz chuckled, closing his own eyes again. He had almost forgotten that he wasn¡¯t actually alone. Li had been with him while he wandered in the dark. She hadn¡¯t abandoned him when he nearly killed himself, had, in fact, almost died while keeping him alive. And he hadn¡¯t been lying when he told her he felt responsible for her. A dragon didn¡¯t belong inside the mountain, and he would do everything in his power to make sure she saw the sky she dreamed of.


    Power. Again, it was all about power. With power, he could be independent. With power, he could travel without fear. With power, he could protect Li until she was able to protect herself.


    That was that, then. He needed to find a way to repair his core without sacrificing his ability to grow stronger. Like Lianhua¡¯s cup, he had to embrace everything that had brought him this far, accept the changes, and still make sure he was able to hold tea without leaking.


    He chuckled at this thought, and dove into his own inner world once again, staring at his core with a new determination. What had worked so far couldn¡¯t continue. It was a weak patch at best, like sewing closed a hole in a piece of leather. Inevitably, the repair would catch on something, or the cord would give way, and when it did, the hole would open up, probably worse than ever.


    No, he had to figure out how to hold his core together without blocking the ki inside, and he had to do it in such a way that, even if it wasn¡¯t returned to its original state, it was at least as strong as it had been before. He couldn¡¯t grow if he was afraid his core would destroy itself if he tried.


    He spun around his core, examining it from every angle. The shell was thin, and in some places he could faintly see the constantly spinning colors within. It wouldn¡¯t take much to break it completely, and now that he was aware of what was going on, he and Li might be able to encase the core in a sheath like the one reinforcing his poor, damaged channels, which would allow him to hold it together without constricting it.


    The key word there was ¡®might¡¯. He wasn¡¯t really using ki to contain ki when it came to his channels. Instead, he was bolstering whatever the channels themselves were made of, and the channels were controlling the movement of the ki. If he broke the shell holding his core together, would he be able to hold it together and direct his ki with nothing but more ki? And even if he could, if both his and Li¡¯s focus slipped, he wouldn¡¯t have time to gather himself and try again. No, a moment of distraction would likely result in his core splintering into a thousand pieces.


    He needed the shell, but he needed it to allow more ki through it. That, or he needed the current shards to be able to extend further, creating more routes for the ki to exit as he learned to handle it better. But at what point would one of those shards slip free, and what would the result of that be?


    Drawing in a deep breath, he looked at one of the core-pieces sticking out through the shell. Rega used to use a small piece of sharpened bone, split down the middle, to pinch and pull splinters from the pup¡¯s paws, and now he imagined forming one out of ki. Very, very gently, he clamped down on the end of the splinter and pulled.


    His world went momentarily white with pain, and he froze, terrified that he¡¯d already managed to go too far. His breath came in harsh pants, and he trembled until his vision finally returned.


    When it did, he was surprised by what he saw. He had indeed managed to pull the sliver out through the shell a little further, and ki now flowed out of the newly exposed portion of it, slightly increasing the amount of power available to him. More importantly, however, Li hovered in the space within his mind, her little teeth gripping the end of the piece of his core, even as hers blazed within her, making her glow as if she¡¯d swallowed one of Gaoda¡¯s light orbs.


    At first, he thought she was going to eat the piece of core, as he¡¯d once nearly done to hers, but then he realized that she was holding it steady, making sure it didn¡¯t slip out any further while he was recovering from the pain. A thin layer of her ki spread out over the mana shell as well, keeping it from cracking any more.


    Once she saw that he was aware again, she carefully let go, and the splinter shifted, but didn¡¯t fall. He flinched against the ache, but that was all it was. Now, if they could just do that with all of the other pieces, and then figure out how to stabilize the shell surrounding the main part of the core, he would at least be on the path to achieving his goals.


    It was going to be a long night.

 Chapter Fifty

    Kaz needed to find a way to allow more power to leave his core, without breaking it completely in the process. He decided to focus on the smaller, shorter shards first. They should be the safest ones to pull out, and with Li¡¯s help, he could take his time to recover after each sliver. Once he was ready to try again, he first had Li slowly release her grip on the shell, making sure that the damage wasn¡¯t getting any worse. So long as he didn¡¯t try to force his core to produce more ki, but only used the natural flow, everything seemed to stabilize again, so he proceeded.


    It only took a dozen small tugs to reduce him to a quivering, sniffling mess, and he decided that was enough for now. He knew what he needed to do, and there was no hurry to do it. Besides, he was already producing noticeably more ki, which put more pressure on his channels, and the sheaths around them. It was almost second-nature by now to maintain those sheaths, but he knew that he could still become distracted and let them slip. More ki meant more power, but it also meant more damage more quickly, and if he did get distracted, it would probably be at the worst possible moment.


    Satisfied, he let his body slowly recover from the pain while he examined his core more carefully. The pieces he¡¯d moved had been the ones that only stuck out above the surface of the core a little bit. They were more even with the others now, and ki flowed from them in a brilliant, colorful stream, merging with the rest of his cycle.


    Kaz was turning away, ready to disengage his inner sight and finally get some sleep, when something glittered, catching his gaze. He turned toward it, focusing, and instinctively pushed more ki into his vision.


    The ki exiting his core looked the same as it had a moment before, but there was something strange happening where the channel fed unused ki back into his cycle. It took him a moment, but he finally figured out what it was.


    Kaz had struggled for years with too much ki, which led to it overflowing his core and causing strange things to happen if he didn¡¯t shunt it off into living things around him. Since meeting Li and acquiring the seed, he¡¯d been able to feed the excess into them, eventually achieving a balance between what he was producing and what he needed, so he didn¡¯t have so much extra. What there was, he usually used himself, pushing it into his eyes, ears, and muscles during fights, or when he needed to see or hear something his base senses weren¡¯t strong enough to pick up.


    Now, however, the link between his ki and Li¡¯s was stable. She didn¡¯t need any more, and he was afraid if he forced the bond between them to widen, he might even hurt her. The thread between himself and the seed was tenuous, since it was hidden in the crevice outside the den. He tried, but it was too narrow, and couldn¡¯t accept any more ki.


    Which left him with far too much. The newly expanded flow was returning to his core, seeping in through the crevices in the shell of mana, and he could tell that soon the space inside would fill up and start pushing on the shell, just like the ki in his channels constantly attempted to leak out.


    He had three obvious options. First, he could try to use up the extra power, pushing it into nearby plants and animals just as he¡¯d always done, reducing the amount of ki within him to as little as possible, so it took a while to refill. The problem was, that would reduce him to nothing more than a normal kobold the majority of the time. He¡¯d be too weak to protect himself and Li, leaving them at the mercy of others.


    The second option was to try to push the slivers of his core back in, at least until he achieved balance again. That was possible, but he wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if he tried it while his core was already too full. This was the option that appealed to him the least, not only because it would probably hurt, but because it seemed riskiest.


    Third, of course, was his original idea of creating and maintaining a coating of ki like the one Li had used to hold everything together while he worked, keeping the ki inside the shell just as he did with his channels. The problem was, while letting ki seep out of his channels just resulted in him collapsing, forgetting to hold his core together would likely result in instant, painful death.


    Kaz stared at his core, mind racing. If he left right now, he should have enough time to find a patch of moss or lichen, or, better yet, head straight to the Copperstriker¡¯s water cave and push the extra power into the glow-worm colony. There would be hundreds of the little creatures, allowing him to spread out the power among them enough that it shouldn¡¯t be noticeable. That would give him enough time to decide on a more permanent solution.


    He was just gathering himself to rise when a fourth possibility occurred to him. Lianhua had mentioned that cultivators grew stronger by learning to compress their ki so it fit inside the space they had, rather than increasing the size of that space. Could he compress his ki so it would fit inside the mana shell?


    Could he treat ki like a fungus, made of a spongy material that he could squeeze in his fist? But ki wasn¡¯t solid, either soft or hard, and the image of it as something he could crush with physical strength wouldn¡¯t form. Ki was more like a liquid, except that it seemed to actually be purified mana, which came from the air. Was ki a gas, then, like the air they breathed, and the odoriferous fumes that could sometimes be found in tunnels and caves when they were first opened after being unused for a long time? But while it was easy to imagine something solid being squashed so it could take up less space, neither liquid nor gas could do the same.


    Or could they? In the mid-levels and the Deep, there were sometimes warm pools, flowing from cracks within the rock itself rather than seeping down from above. These pools could be pleasantly warm or hot enough to cook any kobold foolish enough to fall into one, but one thing was universally true; the water smelled bad and wasn¡¯t safe to drink.


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    Once, shortly after entering the mid-levels, when Kaz¡¯s father was still alive, Ghazt had been training his son while Oda taught Katri back in the den. Ghazt had shown Kaz several plants that didn¡¯t grow in the Deep, then stopped, sniffing the air.


    Kaz remembered the warm silver eyes watching him as Ghazt crouched down beside him. ¡°Do you smell that?¡±


    Kaz had sniffed, wrinkling his nose against the faint stench. It smelled like sulfur, which was a pretty color, but smelled really bad. He nodded.


    Ghazt reached out and ruffled Kaz¡¯s fur, flopping his ears playfully. ¡°That¡¯s a gas. You can¡¯t see it, but you can smell it, and it tells you there may be something dangerous nearby.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes had widened, and he whispered, ¡°What is it?¡±


    The big blue kobold stood, chuckling. ¡°Nothing that will come to get you. You remember that hot pool near our old den? The one I used to boil jiyun?¡±


    Kaz nodded again, and his father went on.


    ¡°My old tribe found that pool. My father told me the story. A long, long time ago, before the Deep was the Deep, they were digging out a vein of iron when they smelled sulfur. They wanted sulfur for something.¡±


    He grinned down at Kaz. ¡°I see the question on your face, and I asked my father the same thing. What did they want sulfur for? The stuff is mostly useless except to stink up a den. He didn¡¯t know either, so I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears drooped, and his father¡¯s big, warm hand stroked them gently before tugging on one.


    ¡°Anyway, they went after that smell, hoping to find a good source of sulfur, but it seemed like the scent was coming from a tiny crack. Of course, they set to work, digging it out, but when the leader¡¯s pick finally broke through, he was instantly blown back as the cavern beyond exploded.¡±


    Kaz yipped in disbelief, but Ghazt nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true. Those hot water pools release gasses that can build up in enclosed spaces. The pressure inside gets higher and higher, and then if some fool of a kobold opens it up, all the gas inside comes rushing out. That gas plus a spark thrown from an iron pick striking iron ore equals an explosion that killed almost everyone in the area. A few survived to tell the tale, and now when we smell sulfur, we make sure not to bring fire anywhere close until we¡¯re sure where the smell is coming from.¡±


    Kaz looked at their firemoss torches, and Ghazt patted him again. ¡°That¡¯s right, pup. We need to turn back until a female can come this way and check it out. That is, if your mother thinks it¡¯s even worthwhile to bother. She¡¯s going to declare luegat on the Gorebellies in a few days, and once we win, we¡¯ll be back in the Deep, even if only by a level.¡±


    Even then, Kaz had already seen his mother¡¯s overambitious plans come crumbling down more than once, and he¡¯d leaned closer to his father. ¡°Will we really win this time? I want to go home.¡±


    Ghazt¡¯s face had stilled, and his voice grew harsh. ¡°Never say that. Never question a female¡¯s decisions, especially your mother.¡± He grasped Kaz¡¯s chin and turned his face up so his silver eyes could stare into his son¡¯s blue ones. ¡°No matter what you think, keep your mouth shut. Never question. Do you understand?¡±


    Kaz shook his head, shaking off the memory. He hadn¡¯t thought of those days in years. Honestly, he¡¯d nearly forgotten his father¡¯s face, much less his voice. Had seeing his own reflection in Lianhua¡¯s mirror been enough to bring Ghazt¡¯s face back so clearly, or was it something about having more ki flowing through him?


    Either way, the memory was more of a warning than a help. Right now, Kaz pulling ki from his core was like the miner using his pick to break the wall. The ki contained inside was under too much pressure, and it would blow out, exploding in the process. Which meant Kaz needed to reduce the pressure, right?


    But what if he didn¡¯t? What if he increased it instead? What if he did allow it to build up, creating more pressure inside the core, rather than less? Wasn¡¯t that how the smelly gas in his father¡¯s story had been compressed? It made no sense, and yet everything in him said that this was the right answer. He needed more ki in his core, and he just needed to make sure the ¡®cavern¡¯ didn¡¯t explode while he did it.


    Kaz looked at Li. ¡°Can you force my ki to stay inside my core? Not for long. But I think I need the pressure to build up. More than it ever has before.¡±


    Li hesitated, her eyes spinning from golden to pure white. Then she nodded her head.


    Kaz felt the shell begin to crack.


    ¡°Do it.¡±


    The full force of Li¡¯s stubborn, fierce will clamped down on Kaz¡¯s core, and his body spasmed as he gasped for air. Li¡¯s claws caught in his fur, pulling her up onto his chest as his back arched, joints popping.


    Blackness began to choke the edges of Kaz¡¯s vision, but his core continued to churn, producing ki from whatever source it drew from. Kaz could see it, there, just inside the mana shell, and as it thickened, the colors darkening toward a hyper-pigmented black, he could finally see that the shards had disrupted its spin.


    Whether it was a core or one of the human¡¯s dantians, they were always spinning. Even the one in Raff¡¯s chest that held wild mana spun, at least a little. Kaz was sure that his core had once done so as well, but now the flow was split as it traveled through and around the splintered interior of the core.


    But right in the middle, where no shards remained, there was an open space. Here, and here alone, he could sense a small amount of ki still spinning.


    He lost his vision first, then his hearing, and finally his sense of smell. He sank inward, focus tightening on that one, small space. The one place where everything still functioned exactly as it was supposed to, even though it was also the one place which completely lacked any semblance of a core.


    And he spun. Like a pup with a round stone, he spun in place, both the spun and the spinner, feeling everything close in around him. The pressure built, the last thing he could sense, other than the eternal revolution. Faster and faster as more ki came from everywhere and nowhere, and the pressure mounted, and he could barely breathe, but then he wasn¡¯t breathing at all, and everything¡­


    Compressed.

 Chapter Fifty-one

    A figure was leaning over a table. He wore a plain black robe with worn sleeves, and his pure white hair and beard were so long that they trailed down over the chair and table. A scroll lay stretched out in front of him, rolling off both sides of the table, a thickly piled section coming to rest against one stone wall, while the other end vanished beneath the table. He held something like Lianhua¡¯s ¡®pen¡¯, and ink stained his fingers and the side of his hand as he wrote. There were blotches on the page, but he didn¡¯t seem to care, continuing on as if no mistake had been made.


    Kaz didn¡¯t know how long it took the person to realize that he was no longer alone, but when he finally looked up, his large amethyst eyes blinked twice in the midst of deep wrinkles before he very slowly laid down his pen.


    ¡°Now, how did you get here?¡± He stood, slowly, his shoulders and back remaining hunched. His hand didn¡¯t seem to want to release the pen, but it finally dropped to the scroll, staining it with yet another spot of ink, which grew as the pen continued to put out ink even though it was no longer moving.


    Kaz glanced around as if searching for an answer to the question. He was in a room that seemed small because of the shelves and shelves of thick scrolls that surrounded him on all sides. He thought it might actually be quite large, but it was hard to tell since the only light was a white stick in a stand, resting beside the scroll sprawled across the table. A small flame flickered at the end of a thin cord that emerged from the center of the stick, and while this flame produced more light than seemed reasonable for its size, it didn¡¯t illuminate the walls behind the shelves. The shelves and table were made of wood, which was itself strange, because who would waste something so valuable on simple furniture?


    The silence hung as the old human stared at Kaz, showing no sign of impatience. It seemed like he would willingly wait for as long as it took.


    Kaz finally found his voice, though it was strangely breathy, and he had to gasp after every few words. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I was¡­ trying to¡­.¡±


    Reminded, he pressed his hands against his belly, and was shocked when they sank into a warm, wet hole, rather than soft fur. Slowly, he lifted his hands, and saw thick crimson fluid covering them up to his wrists.


    The human clicked his tongue and stepped forward. Before Kaz could try to convince his legs to carry him away, a long, thin hand with strangely sharp nails reached out, digging deep into Kaz¡¯s abdomen. There was no pain, and a moment later the human held up Kaz¡¯s sad, broken core. A golden shell covered the silver-gray one, but Kaz could see that it was almost as thin as the remaining mana.


    ¡°I see, I see,¡± the old man said, clucking in consternation. ¡°This one was quite promising. One of the best I¡¯ve seen, actually. But in such condition.¡±


    Somehow, none of the blood that Kaz could now feel flowing down his legs to the floor stained the other''s hand or clothing. Kaz opened his mouth to speak, perhaps to ask how that was possible, or perhaps to say something very different, but found that he was no longer able to get enough breath to do so.


    White eyebrows drew together, and the wrinkles on the human¡¯s face deepened as he stared at the golden shell. He flicked it with a finger, and a high, sweet chime rang out through the room, making the scrolls tremble on their shelves.


    ¡°This is interesting, though.¡± The purple eyes looked at Kaz more closely, and then the hand holding Kaz¡¯s core tightened, closing around the shimmering object.


    Kaz collapsed to the floor, suddenly filled with an even greater agony than he¡¯d suffered when he originally shattered his core. He tried to howl, but only a hoarse whimper emerged from his throat.


    The man knelt beside him, and his hand vanished as he thrust it back into Kaz¡¯s body. Withdrawing his now-empty hand once again, he leaned forward and pressed one finger against Kaz¡¯s forehead, just above the swirling center of power there.


    ¡°Wake. I¡¯ve given you one more chance, kobold. Use it well.¡±


    =+=+=+=


    Kaz woke with a gasp, sitting up so Li¡¯s limp body rolled down his chest and into his lap. Instinctively, one hand pressed to his abdomen while the other clutched at the dragonling, bringing her close to his chest. His fingers found the firm, smooth skin of his stomach, covered by the expected fur, with no trace of gore or injury.


    Dismissing the image of his own blood soaking his hands as some kind of terrible nightmare, Kaz rolled Li over, watching as she took a single, shuddering breath, then another. She was alive, but unconscious, and when he looked at her channels, he could see that they were nearly as empty as his had been when he woke after nearly blowing himself up. Thankfully, her core was intact, so she had managed to avoid damaging herself the way he had.


    There was something different about her though, and Kaz gently lifted her so he could stare at her chest again. Her breathing was evening out, which was good, but there, within her ribcage, lay a tiny spark of ki. She, too, had opened her middle dantian, and while it was small, it was already better defined and spinning more smoothly than his own.


    Kaz smiled ruefully. Somehow, his small friend always managed to surpass him, no matter how he grew, and he was glad of it. The stronger she got, the more likely she was to survive if he died, and their link was severed.


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    Speaking of which, the luminescent cord that hung in the air between them had grown even thicker, and a good part of Kaz¡¯s ki now cycled through the dragon¡¯s body before returning to him. He cradled Li to his chest again as he examined the bond carefully.


    Kaz was certain that when he last looked, only gold, white, and black ki had traveled between them, but now there was a tiny thread of blue winding among the denser streams of color. So far as he could tell, she didn¡¯t actually use any of it, unlike the original three, and it came back to him untouched, but it was definitely there.


    He shook his head, lying down and curling up around Li, holding her as tenderly as he would a newborn pup. He had no doubt that she had saved his life.


    At last, he dared to turn his focus to his own core, though he was afraid of what he might see. Clearly, he had had some success, since he wasn¡¯t dead, but he didn¡¯t think it had gone as well as he¡¯d hoped.


    When he looked, though, everything had changed, and for the better. His core actually seemed to be intact! The surface was smooth, though there were clear signs of the shards that had protruded through before. Instead of a single, opalescent whole, the core now had distinct regions of color, with narrow ribbons of silver-gray joining them. It looked very like Lianhua¡¯s cup, except that the joints were argent instead of gilt. Ki flowed easily in and out of the entire sphere, and though Kaz¡¯s channels were still damaged, it was obvious that this smooth stream was better for them than the previous turgid current.


    It took a moment for Kaz to figure out at least part of what had happened, and it left him in no doubt that what he had thought was a dream had in fact been reality. The shards of his core looked like they had been melted down, the parts outside the protective shell of mana becoming the new, glossy surface. Though now that he looked at it, it wasn¡¯t quite as smooth and perfect as he had thought at first. No, there were slight depressions marring it, and from a distance, he could tell they formed the shape of a handprint.


    Kaz shuddered at the ease with which that being had been able to alter his core. He had no doubt that if he had wished, the old being could have completed what Kaz had begun, and reduced it to splinters and dust just as easily. Instead, he had fixed it, at least well enough that Kaz didn¡¯t need to fear using the power it gave him.


    Instead of sending his mental body circling the gleaming orb, Kaz gently touched it, and it began to spin in place, though the ki twisted and turned to follow both the shape of the hand that had gripped it, and the seams of silver.


    Curious if the center was still hollow, he sent his senses into it, and once again everything faded away, leaving Kaz with nothing but the core, closing around him. The pressure on his ¡®body¡¯ was greater than it had been before, and while the core itself had been solid, the ki within had been more like an effervescent gas. Now, it seemed more like a thin liquid. He thought he could actually touch it, where before it would have slipped through his fingers.


    Beneath the seamed surface of ki, there was a ragged layer of mana, all that remained of the shell, now enclosed within the core like a band of hematite running through an iron formation. It was darker than it had been before, compressed like the ki, and nearly black.


    Beyond that was more of the core material, but this was pure and unsullied by mana. It looked like Li¡¯s, and he thought it must be very similar to the way his core had looked before it was damaged. Past that, however¡­ there was a space. Here, ki spun, impossibly fast, and Kaz felt himself being pulled toward it, as if he was standing at the edge of a pit, and a wind pushed him toward the depths. He didn¡¯t know what would happen if he fell in, so he pulled away, nearly frantic, until he could watch from the solid layer encasing it.


    His core, originally a single, homogeneous sphere, now held four clear layers. The first was mostly ki, but mana mingled with it in the form of the silver lines that connected once-broken pieces. Beneath that lay the remnants of the mana shell, and beyond that was pure, apparently undamaged core. And, of course, there was the strange, revolving emptiness that seemed to be trying to pull everything else in. Was it the result of Kaz¡¯s efforts to compress his ki, or was it something the mysterious human did? It seemed to be keeping the ki in the rest of the core spinning smoothly, in spite of the obstructions, so he was grateful for that, but otherwise it seemed at least slightly ominous.


    The important thing for now, however, was that it was stable, and Kaz pulled back from his core, glad to regain his body¡¯s senses. He opened his physical eyes, and looked down at the dragon he held so carefully.


    Li stared up at him, her eyes a kaleidoscope of gold, white, black, and the faintest hint of blue. Kaz drew in a relieved breath, realizing that he had been truly worried that she might have overtaxed herself to the point of injury.


    The dragon hissed tiredly, sending him an image of herself hovering over a golden sphere as a blue kobold lay sleeping on the ground. The image remained, lingering until Kaz realized what she was trying to tell him.


    ¡°I took longer than I said I would?¡± he asked quietly, reaching up to stroke her long neck.


    She snapped at him, the gesture half-hearted at best, then deigned to allow him to touch her soft scales. Her eyes half-closed, and she sent agreement, then a picture of herself biting the sleeping kobold several times.


    Kaz wrinkled his nose, trying to tell if she¡¯d actually bitten him anywhere, but he felt better than he had in days. He hadn¡¯t realized how taxing it was to worry that he might accidentally break his core and die without ever knowing exactly what had happened, or how tired he was of constantly monitoring the ebb and flow of his ki. Now, a subtle tension had left him, and he thought he could finally sleep deeply and well.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he told the dragon, and she sighed; a deep, forbearing sigh.


    A new image flashed into his mind, along with a deep sense of satisfaction. Gold dragon, rearing up on powerful hind legs, chest thrust out. Within that chest, a great orb of light spun, nearly as large as the rib cage itself, and certainly larger than the actual dragonling.


    Kaz chuckled. ¡°Yes, you opened your middle dantian, too. And you didn¡¯t almost die doing it. You must have worked very hard. Thank you.¡±


    Li lifted a wing, preening it happily, accepting his praise as her due. Then she yawned, showing rows of gleaming white teeth. Curling up again, she laid her head on her paws and closed her eyes with great deliberation. It was time for tired dragons to rest, and no kobold should disturb her.


    Kaz smiled again, shifting just enough to find a more comfortable position, without moving his sleepy burden too much. He still got a soft hiss for his trouble, but that was all. He closed his own eyes, only to open them again a moment later, as the door creaked open.


    Raff entered, bent over nearly double. He stumbled to his bed, hiccupped loudly, and then deep snoring came from his direction.


    Kaz sighed, blocking some of the ki from his ears. Once the grating sound had dimmed enough that he could sleep, he closed his eyes again, and dreamed of flying.

 Chapter Fifty-two (END Book One)

    Kaz woke to the sound of a loud chime, echoing through the den. He sat up and stretched, feeling surprisingly well-rested. Li, who had moved to his side at some point during the night, nearly tumbled off, but managed to catch herself by tooth and claw before clambering up to his shoulder and hissing into his ear.


    Raff groaned, then reached up to pull his sleeping pad around his ears, muttering, ¡°To Pellis¡¯ pits with Gaoda and his ¡®baijiu¡¯. Next time, I¡¯m pouring it out, an¡¯ it¡¯ll probably eat a hole in the floor we can use t¡¯ get to the next level.¡±


    It was obvious the human wasn¡¯t actually talking to him, so Kaz just stepped over his legs on the way out. When the door swung open, letting in more light, Raff cried out as if he¡¯d been stabbed, and Kaz quickly slipped out and closed the door behind him.


    The first person he saw was a female kobold with bright green fur. She was nearly as small as Pilla, but her fur was short and stuck up in strange swirls and tufts, instead of hanging long and sleek. She glanced at Kaz, then away, then back, and finally held out a folded bundle of brown cloth toward him.


    This then, must be the person Pilla had assigned to make his new loincloth. Kaz accepted the cloth, and the little green kobold turned and nearly ran away from him without a word. He understood that it wasn¡¯t really appropriate for a female to speak to a strange male, but she didn¡¯t have the attitude he usually associated with females, instead seeming almost shy.


    Kaz shrugged it off, turning to go back into the hut. He ignored Raff¡¯s renewed complaints, and quickly stripped out of his old loincloth, dropping the stained and ragged fur to the ground before beginning to wrap the new cloth around his body.


    As he did, several things fell out of the folds, clattering to the ground and making Raff flinch with each item. Tucking the ends of the new loincloth in, his fingers lingered on the delicate stitching around the edges that would keep the cloth from fraying. It was a much better job than he could have done, and he wasn¡¯t even sure what thread had been used. Some kind of gut, probably, but it was much finer than anything he¡¯d seen before.


    Once he was sure the garment would stay in place, Kaz knelt, examining the objects now scattered by his feet. The first thing was a thick brown leather belt, wide enough to help protect his belly, and with an actual iron buckle. While metal was abundant in the mountain, the ability to produce a fire hot enough to melt it was rare outside the Deep, so most metal objects were beaten roughly into shape while they were cold. This made copper more useful than iron, since copper was much softer and less brittle. This buckle, however, was iron, and looked like it had been poured, rather than beaten. It was simple, but even so, it was more valuable than anything a pup should have been given.


    Kaz pushed away an urge to take it to Pilla and tell her the green-furred female had given him the wrong belt. He was fairly certain it was on Pilla¡¯s orders that it had been included with his loincloth, and he felt uncomfortable at the thought of talking to her about it.


    As he unfolded the belt, a sheath appeared beneath it, along with a stone knife that must have fallen out of it. Unfortunately, the handle had cracked when it hit the floor, but the blade was still good, so Kaz slid the sheath onto the belt, put the knife into it, and tightened the belt around his waist.


    The last thing was a limp bundle of surprisingly fine leather that turned out to be a warrior¡¯s pack. Gatherer packs were designed to be versatile and easy to move around. They were also larger, which meant they could sometimes get in the way, but pups weren¡¯t meant to have to fight, so it didn¡¯t matter. Warrior¡¯s packs, on the other hand, had several straps across the chest that not only kept the pack in place, but also provided some protection from attacks, and were quite a bit smaller.


    Again, Kaz hesitated. While he thought his week lost in the tunnels should count, he knew no tribe would consider it a spirit hunt without a female¡¯s agreement. Pilla would probably accept it, since that would bring him one step closer to being a viable option as a mate, but while she seemed like an intelligent and reasonable female, that wasn¡¯t what he wanted. Still, clothing him as a warrior was probably Pilla¡¯s way of making her tribe see him as an adult.


    In the end, Kaz used the knife to cut away all but one of the chest straps, making it look more like a gatherer¡¯s pack. He also put the sheath away in the pack and tucked the knife between his belt and his loincloth instead. Gatherers had small knives they used to cut the stalks of mushrooms and remove chunks of particularly tenacious lichen, but those were small and didn¡¯t require sheaths. This one was full-size, but Kaz was confident that the fuulong silk would keep it from cutting him.


    Once he was ready, Kaz went outside again. By this time, Raff was up too, having packed up in silence, wincing at the sound of claws clicking against rock each time someone walked by outside. The human followed Kaz out, sheltering his eyes with his hand, and looked around. There was no sign of Lianhua, but Gaoda was there, looking as ill as Raff, and Kaz began to worry that the humans might have caught some sickness.


    Chi Yincang looked fine, and silently supported Gaoda as their small group made its way through the den. The humans had been there long enough to know the way to the dining cave, so Kaz followed them, though he could have found the way by smell alone. It turned out to be one of the other passages near the water cave, and Lianhua was already there, speaking quietly to Pilla as they ate.


    Gaoda sent Raff and Chi Yincang to get food, and sat on a rock near Lianhua with an ingratiating smile. Lianhua smiled back, but when she spoke, her voice was a little louder than usual, making Gaoda flinch away and finally retreat when Chi Yincang brought his meal.


    Kaz got a bowl of what looked like a meat and mushroom stew, then approached and took a seat near the two females. He pushed a little power into his ears to make it easier to pick out what they were saying from among the general babble, and enjoyed how easy it was to do. He didn¡¯t even feel his channels strain or his power wobble, and even his middle dantian seemed to be spinning more easily today.


    At first, the conversation between the females focused on things like how they were feeling and the food, but as the other kobolds finished eating and began to head to work, it shifted, making Kaz¡¯s wandering attention return to them.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had my tribe prepare as much food as we can spare. I don¡¯t know how far the fulan extends now, but it was already difficult to get past it all in one day even before we left,¡± Pilla said.


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    Kaz¡¯s mind raced. He¡¯d caught a whiff of fulan near the stairs, but he¡¯d assumed that the Copperstrikers and the tribes below had it under control. If it had spread that far, however, the only thing left was quarantine, which was probably why the Copperstrikers fled. He was sure the Stoneborn had mentioned a powerful tribe rising from the Deep, however, so how did that play into things?


    ¡°You really think it¡¯ll be that bad?¡± Lianhua asked, sounding worried.


    Pilla nodded. ¡°Absolutely. I can¡¯t prove it, but I believe the Bronzearms intentionally spread the fulan to drive everyone else out. It showed up in too many places at once, and by the time we found some of them, it was too late. When I tried to send a female to speak to the Bronzearms, they threatened to kill her if she got close, claiming that she would infect their territory as well. The tribes in the mid-levels are more insular than the ones in the heights, but we still work together when it comes to things like fulan and muju.¡±


    ¡°Muju are the monsters you told me about, right? The big, squishy ones that can take a lot of damage and kill by smothering their prey?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They¡¯re easy enough to run away from, as long as they don¡¯t trap you in a dead-end tunnel.¡± Pilla paused. ¡°Speaking of traps, you¡¯ll need to watch out for those as well. Most of them aren¡¯t meant to be deadly, since they¡¯re supposed to trap food or warn the den something is approaching, but some tribes, especially ones near the mosui, have traps that can kill anything foolish enough to set them off.¡±


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°And the mosui are the mole-men? Raff mentioned them as well.¡±


    Pilla¡¯s claws tapped against the rock she was sitting on. ¡°I don¡¯t know about moles, but mosui are mostly blind, with no fur, and wide, flat paws they use for tunneling. They¡¯re more intelligent than beasts, and some of them can speak our language, though most don¡¯t. They¡¯re also incredibly territorial. They¡¯ll kill anything that encroaches on their space without permission, and they almost never give permission.¡±


    ¡°But they control a good part of several levels?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Nine, to be exact. When we and the Stoneborn were driven out, we controlled the majority of the staircases above the mosui levels. They don¡¯t eat plants, so the fulan won¡¯t affect them until their prey starts to starve. They tend to stay in their own territory, and don¡¯t usually seem interested in expansion, but I don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do when they see our dens and passages are abandoned.¡±


    Kaz turned his head slightly, trying to watch them more closely without being obvious about it. He fished a few more chunks of meat out of his stew and fed them to Li as Pilla went on.


    ¡°The first few levels should be fairly easy, so long as you don¡¯t run out of food. After that, you¡¯ll either find the Stoneborn¡¯s empty dens, the Bronzearms, or perhaps another tribe that¡¯s managed to hang onto their territory, at least for now. Below that is my tribe¡¯s old territory. We controlled three sets of stairs on two levels when we left. We used to have more, but the Bronzearms took three through luegat over the last year, and they were threatening vara when we started to refuse their challenges. After that you¡¯ll find the Nine, the levels where the mosui live. Last I heard, the Bronzearms controlled all of the stairs on those levels, which is the first time they¡¯ve all been ruled by a single tribe.¡±


    There was a long silence as both ate a little more of their food, then Lianhua said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your mother.¡±


    Pilla¡¯s ears flattened, but she said, ¡°It¡¯s a chief¡¯s duty to be the last to leave. She just¡­ never left. I hope you¡¯ll be able to find out what happened to her, and let me know when you come back.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s hand moved, as if she wanted to reach out and touch the young chief, but she restrained herself. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. You told me what to look for, and-¡±


    Kaz¡¯s attention was drawn away from this fascinating snippet when Gaoda came over, placing himself between the two females. He held two cups, and looked much more alert as he held one of them out to Lianhua, completely ignoring Pilla.


    ¡°Cousin, it¡¯s time to go. We¡¯re all packed, and Chi Yincang and Raff have finished putting the food away.¡± Reluctantly, he turned to Pilla and nodded his head.


    ¡°Thank you for giving us so much food. Raff didn¡¯t tell us we might have to go for several days without being able to find anything locally, so we only packed enough for a day or so.¡±


    Lianhua took a sip from the cup, then said wryly, ¡°And tea. We have enough tea for a year.¡±


    Gaoda huffed. ¡°The ¡®coffee¡¯ they drink in this country is disgusting. We needed something actually palatable.¡±


    The human female shrugged and stood, taking one more long drink from her cup before handing it to Chi Yincang, who appeared from nowhere, as usual. ¡°I enjoy the tea, I just think the space it occupies could have been used for something more important.¡±


    ¡°Like books?¡± Gaoda asked archly. ¡°I swear, cousin, you wanted to bring every scroll that so much as mentioned the Diushi and Shensheng mountain, even though you¡¯ve already read them a dozen times each.¡±


    ¡°And would have read them a dozen more, if we¡¯d brought them,¡± Lianhua told him, then turned to Pilla.


    ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, Pilla. I hope our gifts were to your liking.¡±


    Pilla stood too, and Kaz saw that she also had a new loincloth. Hers was made of a turquoise cloth with some kind of animal embroidered around the edge, and went beautifully with her copper fur. A new knife hung at her belt, and the length and style was more like the sword Raff wielded than anything made by kobolds.


    She bowed her head, just a little. ¡°They¡¯re wonderful, and will be used by my descendents for generations. Thank you again.¡±


    Pilla glanced to the side, and two male kobolds stepped forward, bowing deeply to their chief.


    ¡°Baji and Mik will guide you back to the stairs. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t go as well, but we¡¯re still working out a few things after the¡­ events of yesterday.¡±


    Again, Lianhua twitched like she wanted to reach for the little chief, but she didn¡¯t, just bowing her head a little lower than she should have to a female who wasn¡¯t her chief. Kaz would have to talk to her about that later. It wasn¡¯t wise to expose your neck that much to anyone not in your tribe.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll do an excellent job, and Kaz can ask them about anything he can¡¯t remember clearly. When we return, I¡¯ll tell you about what we find.¡±


    The two females exchanged a look, and then Pilla gestured for Baji and Mik to lead the humans away. As Kaz started to follow, Pilla stepped in his way. She didn¡¯t speak, just looked at his belt, where the bare knife hung, and glanced toward the missing straps of the pack. Her lips twitched, and then she turned and walked away.


    Kaz hesitated, looking after her, before hurrying after the humans and their new guides. It was time to find out what the mid-levels had in store for them.

 Chapter Fifty-three

    Kaz reached deep into a crevice partially hidden by a spindly group of dark brown mushrooms with bright green gills, trying not to break any as he did so. The Copperstriker gatherers had done a good job cutting out the largest ones and leaving just enough so the fungus could recover quickly, and he would feel bad if he wasted their hard work.


    When he felt his fingers brush against leather, he smiled before tugging it out, lifting the battered remains of his old pack up over the rougu. Li flapped her wings, buffeting his ear until he absently tilted his head away from her as she rose into the air. He was used to it by now, and had given up chastising her for not moving further down his arm before taking off.


    Kaz settled the old pack onto the floor, wrinkling his nose against the stench of mold and rot that rose up from it. Li landed a safe distance away, mantling and hissing at the offensive object.


    He gave her a look. ¡°It¡¯s at least partially your fault it¡¯s like this. You¡¯re not particularly tidy when you eat.¡±


    The little dragon huffed, a hint of white swirling into her golden eyes. A picture of himself stuffing some unidentifiable object into the pack appeared in his head. Inside, a beautiful golden dragon took dainty bites, but was unable to avoid smearing the remains everywhere because of the tight space she was in.


    Kaz gingerly opened the pack, though he had to use his new stone knife to cut the tangled cord. As he did, two stone slivers broke away from the damaged hilt, leaving a piece too thin to grip easily, and Kaz sighed in disappointment as he set it aside. The good thing about stone was that it chipped easily, making it relatively simple to craft a sharp blade from it once you got the hang of it. The bad thing about stone was that it chipped easily, making it vulnerable to breakage when its user did something like drop it on the rocky ground, as Kaz had.


    Reaching into the pack, he pulled out his firestriker, turning it in front of Li¡¯s nose so she could see the tiny scratches left by sharp little teeth. After that came the once-fine leather bag that had contained the knife and hilt his aunt Rega had given him right before she died. Kaz poked a finger through a gaping hole that looked torn as much as cut.


    ¡°You also ate everything I had in here, including my chalk, firemoss, and rations.¡±


    Li clicked at him before reaching out a small talon and poking at a rusty stain on the bag.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°Yes, all right, I bled all over everything, too. Still, you have to admit you were at least partially responsible.¡±


    The dragon glanced away, sending him a last image of a blue kobold sliding down a long tunnel, his pack snagging on a hundred sharp stones and finally ripping free, before landing in a pool of slime.


    Giving up, Kaz just shook his head and laid down the bag and firestriker, ignoring the glint of metal from inside the pouch for the moment. There was only one more thing in the bedraggled pack that he cared about.


    The seed.


    His fingers closed around a hard object about a fifth of the size of his palm, and he pulled it out, examining its wrinkled brown surface. It was ovoid, but both ends were far more pointed than any egg had a right to be. It was marked with narrow grooves left by Li¡¯s teeth and a slightly larger one left by Kaz¡¯s claw, but it was hard enough that it remained otherwise intact, in spite of the harsh treatment the pack had undergone. Kaz actually thought it was some kind of particularly soft stone until Lianhua had told him it was something called a ¡®seed¡¯, though she hadn¡¯t actually given him any more explanation than that.


    Besides its strange appearance, there was one more thing that made the seed special; Kaz could use it as a repository for his excess power. When he was close to it, he could send a great deal of his golden ki through the link between his core and the seed, reducing the strain on his channels and preventing his ki from overflowing into his body. If he had had it in his possession the day before, he might not have needed to compress his ki, since he could instead have just poured the power that threatened to break his already cracked core into it.


    Reminded, he ¡®looked¡¯ at the whole, albeit layered, core that rested deep in his abdomen. He felt much better than he had since his core almost shattered after he forced far too much power out of it at once, but he was still very uncomfortable when he thought about the strange being he had spoken to after he managed to compress his ki.


    Li had been holding his core together at the time, and Kaz felt a deep unease at having drawn the attention of something so powerful to not only himself, but his friend. He was almost certain that when Li ran out of power, Kaz would have died without the stranger¡¯s intervention. Unfortunately, the old male hadn¡¯t seemed particularly interested in Kaz until he noticed Li¡¯s shell of ki, at which point he repaired Kaz¡¯s core as if doing something that should have been impossible took less effort than breathing.


    Something tugged at Kaz¡¯s fingers, and he looked down to see the very dragon about whom he had just been worrying. She was gnawing at the seed, her sharp teeth trying to get enough of a grip to pull it from his hand.


    Kaz yanked it back, closing his fingers around it tightly. ¡°No! I still need it, and besides, I don¡¯t know what would happen to either of us if you ate it.¡±


    Li sent him an image of herself swallowing the seed whole, then filling with power until she swelled into a much larger, and very self-satisfied, version of herself.


    He rolled his eyes, returning a vision of the seed becoming lodged in her long, thin throat so he had to try to fish it out with a claw. Again.


    The dragon puffed a little breath, eyes narrowing as she stared at his closed fist. Finally, she turned away, focusing on the ragged and filthy bag containing the knife and hilt.


    Kaz set the seed down, far enough away that she couldn¡¯t snatch it, absently noting that as he pulled his hand away, the link between him and it grew again, stretching out and then firming into a glimmering line of light half again as large as it had been before. A good part of the gold portion of his ki flowed down this tributary happily enough, vanishing into the capacious depths of the seed, where a minute spark of light hung. Still, that wasn¡¯t entirely unexpected, since every time he grew stronger, it seemed like his links to Li and the seed did as well, so he just ignored it for the moment, turning to the knives instead.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Picking up the strangely layered blade Rega said had belonged to his father, Ghazt, Kaz turned it so it caught the light of the glowing orb hovering above his shoulder. He had only recently learned how to make one of the flickering spheres, and though he could see well enough to get around using only his ki-strengthened vision, he enjoyed being able to do it again, after having lost the ability while his core was damaged.


    The weapon gleamed, as beautiful as it was when he first saw it, though he¡¯d used it many times during the week he spent lost in the between-areas. It was sharp enough to cut through bone, though its tip was covered in a carved blue stone. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what kept the stone in place, or why a spark of ki arced between it and the blade whenever it was removed, but he never felt quite right until he replaced it, so most of the time he only used it for slashing and slicing, rather than stabbing.


    The shabby hilt, on the other hand, held only a sheared-off stump of a blade, the unknown metal bearing waves and whorls like the whole one, while still being all but useless. The edges were still sharp, but the piece remaining was so short it could barely cut anything.


    Picking it up in his free hand, Kaz looked between it and the stone knife Pilla, the chief of the Copperstrikers, had given him. Kaz had made several small stone gathering blades in his life, and the hilts were usually wrapped with leather like that of the broken knife. He wondered what was beneath the worn strips, and if he could use whatever was left to add a proper hilt to the stone weapon, replacing the broken parts of two weapons in order to make one functional one.


    Otherwise, he would need to make a whole new knife, since the stone one wasn¡¯t really usable without a way to hold it, and he couldn¡¯t reveal his father¡¯s blade. It was far too fine for him to own, and there would be questions, even if none of the humans with whom he was traveling decided to take it from him. Gaoda certainly wasn¡¯t above doing exactly that, for no other reason than because he could.


    Shaking his head, Kaz unbuckled his new pack and pulled it around, taking out his old fur loincloth. It wasn¡¯t in good shape, but it didn¡¯t stink, and it wasn¡¯t moldy, so it was a significant improvement over the crusty and torn bag. He cut a small piece of it off before rolling the good knife and the broken one up in the larger chunk. The remnant was used to carefully wrap his fire-striker, and then Kaz tucked both bundles into the pack, followed by the seed.


    That done, he climbed to his paws and shoved the noisome remains of his old pack back into the crevice without an ounce of regret. It had served its purpose well, but there was nothing special about it, and now it was almost revolting.


    Finally, he stooped and picked up the stone knife, handling it carefully as he put it back in his belt. The hilt might be broken, but it was still better than nothing. He would find a time to unwrap the hilt Rega had given him and see if it was possible to combine the two parts or not.


    Li stared after him as he began to move away through the cavern, and finally gave a sharp, demanding whistle, accompanied by an image of a blue kobold turning around right now to go back and fetch the lovely dragon on the floor.


    He looked back at her. ¡°You need to practice flying more. Now that we¡¯re back with the humans, you¡¯ll have to pretend to be a fuergar all the time, which means no wings. You don¡¯t want to forget how, do you?¡±


    A deep sense of horror flooded him through their bond, and Kaz barely managed to keep a straight face as Li flapped her wings, lifting easily from the ground and swooping gracefully after him. She circled his head several times, clicking and whistling, and he silently reassured her that he didn¡¯t really think she could forget something as instinctive as flight.


    Kaz thinned his mental image of bright sheaths formed of ki around his channels, and power filled his body. He had to make sure that he didn¡¯t let it go completely, because the ki would then pool in some areas, while leaving others all but empty, reducing him to a twitching puddle of fur on the ground. Still, so long as he adjusted it correctly, which was becoming easier and easier, he could make his muscles and senses far more powerful than they had ever been before, without losing anything that mattered.


    Strong legs carried him through the winding tunnels of the Copperstriker¡¯s territory, while his empowered nose and ears were ready to catch even the slightest smell or sound of anyone nearby. He avoided a group of young gatherers and their guards, then caught the scent of Baji and Mik, the two male kobolds Pilla had assigned to guide the humans to the stairs that led down into the mid-levels of the mountain.


    Kaz had slipped away from the group almost as soon as they were out of the den, after giving Lianhua a subtle little wave. He was sure Chi Yincang had noticed when he left as well, and it was always hard to tell exactly what Raff did and didn¡¯t see. Gaoda almost certainly hadn¡¯t, though, and Kaz amused himself by imagining the look of offended surprise on the human¡¯s face when he realized that his kobold guide was gone again.


    Still, if Baji and Mik were coming back, that meant they had completed their task, and Kaz needed to hurry. He banished his light orb before allowing a bit more ki into his legs, though he felt his arms weaken a little as he did so. This allowed him to move so quickly that he could hear the air whistle past his ears, and soon he stopped just outside the entrance to the cavern that held the stairs.


    Tried to stop, anyway. The claws he¡¯d clipped to reduce noise scrabbled uselessly at the rock beneath his paws as he attempted to halt his forward momentum. He slipped, slid, and his drained arms failed to catch him when he put them out ahead of him, causing him to enter the cave tumbling painfully head over tail.


    When he finally came to a complete stop, he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling high overhead. All of the stalactites there had been broken off, of course, but the stumps spun dizzily in his vision.


    Something small but heavy thumped onto his belly, and he grunted. Li scampered up to peer into his eyes, clicking worriedly. He sent her reassurance as he tried to recover enough to get up. Before he could, however, a pale, furless hand extended into his vision, and an equally bald, flat face looked down at him.


    Lianhua¡¯s amethyst eyes were concerned, but Raff¡¯s face held open amusement as he came to stand beside her.


    ¡°That was quite an entrance, Blue,¡± the tall male said, also holding out a hand. ¡°We were startin¡¯ to wonder where you got off to, but you didn¡¯t need to hurry quite that much. Good t¡¯know you can run when you need to, though.¡±


    Kaz glanced from hand to hand, tempted to ignore both of them and get up by himself. He thought that would hurt Lianhua¡¯s feelings, and though he was still wary of counting any of the humans as a friend, she had shown time and time again that she was on his side, at least for now.


    Reaching up, he grasped the slender fingers, and Lianhua pulled him up without any real effort. He wasn¡¯t that much shorter than she was, and far more muscular, thanks to long hours of gathering every day, and it reminded him again that though she looked fragile, she was probably at least as strong as most kobold warriors.


    Raff let his hand drop, stepping back with a shrug. Lianhua smiled, turning toward the stairs which loomed behind them, carved into an enormous replica of the head of some kind of vaguely reptilian beast, complete with kobold-high fangs and a sprawling tongue that created the only safe path over the sharp teeth.


    Gaoda was glaring at them from just beyond the first bulge of tongue, looking impatient as usual.


    ¡°Where did you go?¡± he snapped, then waved a hand dismissively. ¡°I don¡¯t even care. You¡¯re here, and you¡¯d better stay with us from now on. You¡¯re supposed to be our guide, not off running errands for your little kobold girlfriend.¡±


    Kaz was surprised that the insensitive male had actually noticed the tension between Kaz and Pilla, and suspected that Lianhua, or, less likely, Chi Yincang or Raff, had suggested this as an explanation. He was happy enough not to have to use the story he¡¯d prepared, though, and just nodded before crossing over and setting his paw on the tongue. It was so realistic that he half expected it to be spongy and moist, but it felt like any other piece of cold, unforgiving stone, so he drew in a deep breath and passed between the teeth of the beast.

 Chapter Fifty-four

    The exiled Copperstrikers had been sent this way less than a day before, and Kaz had half feared they might come across one or more of their bodies, fallen on the stairs. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time, or the last. The stairs were a place of relative safety, since anyone using them was considered to be in neutral territory. If they attacked from the steps, they could be attacked in turn, but otherwise they were protected by centuries of unspoken agreement. That meant that kobolds who were denied permission to pass by the tribes both above and below sometimes suffered a slow and lonely death, leaving behind their remains as a silent warning to others.


    The steps were clear, however, and to Kaz¡¯s surprise, it seemed that the female Copperstrikers had even bothered to carry away Golik, though the last time Kaz had seen the other male, he had been too injured to walk on his own. Did they hope he would be able to recover, or were they exhibiting an almost unheard-of respect for a male, and planned to provide him with a proper pyre?


    The question was answered when they reached the bottom of the stairs. There was Golik, his body sprawled deep into a broad patch of fulan. It looked like the females had used him as a path to cross the powdery rot, keeping it from getting on their paws. They would have been able to jump from his shoulders, avoiding most, if not all, of the fine particles.


    Staring down into the hazy cavern, Kaz wondered if their horrifying but practical solution had actually helped. Fulan spores hung in the still air, and even if someone passing through managed not to step in it, causing an explosive burst of fresh powder to enter the air, it would still cover them within minutes.


    Kaz held up a hand as the humans came up beside him. He heard Lianhua gasp softly, but the males didn¡¯t react, other than Gaoda¡¯s visible irritation.


    Turning to look back at them, Kaz shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen fulan this bad. Once, we found a territory that had been abandoned because of an infestation, but everything inside had already died by then, so only small patches still remained.¡±


    ¡°What happens if we breathe¡­ that?¡± Lianhua asked, waving at the hanging cloud.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Females usually deal with fulan, because the heat produced by firemoss oil isn¡¯t great enough to destroy it completely, at least not without using far more than would be reasonable.¡± He rubbed his ear before adding hesitantly, ¡°Aunt Rega once went to take care of an unusually large stretch of it, and she had a bad cough for a very long time afterwards.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, pulling her pen and the little book from her pouch and writing in it. ¡°Potentially dangerous to both plants and animals, then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think so,¡± Kaz agreed, ¡°but it might only be the ashes that are unsafe. We¡¯ve eaten beasts that came from blighted areas before, and they seemed fine and caused no harm.¡±


    She nodded again, her pen moving more quickly, and Gaoda rolled his eyes. ¡°Cousin, I don¡¯t know why you bother. No one cares about a fungus, or rot, or whatever-it-is that can only be found inside the part of Shensheng that nobody passes through if they can avoid it.¡±


    Lianhua stiffened, but her pen didn¡¯t stop. ¡°They will once I prove that the Diushi lived here. Scholars, sages, archaeologists, and treasure hunters alike will flood this place, and they¡¯ll need to know all the dangers.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t like the sound of that. He might need to ask the human female what she meant when he had an opportunity. For now, however, they just needed to get safely through the area ahead.


    ¡°We can hold our breath,¡± he offered dubiously. ¡°If this cavern is the worst, then once we¡¯re past, things will get better.¡±


    ¡°And if the whole area is like this?¡± Gaoda demanded. ¡°That kobold said it had spread a day¡¯s walk in any direction. What if the air is unbreathable that entire time? Can you hold your breath for a day?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears flattened, but he shook his head. He wasn¡¯t actually sure what would happen if he focused his ki in his lungs. Would he be able to hold his breath for longer, or would he actually need to breathe more often in order to keep up with increased demand? It was something worth testing, but not at the moment.


    Lianhua returned her book and pen to her pouch and stared down into the silent mist. ¡°If females burn out fulan, then presumably Litz would know if it was dangerous. She and her group went through.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Not like they had much choice, eh? Go back up and be poked fulla holes by her sister, or go on and hope for th¡¯ best.¡±


    Sighing in resigned agreement, Lianhua nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll have to be masks and a shield, then.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head, watching curiously as she dipped back into her bag, pulling out pieces of pure white cloth, one after another. They gleamed oddly, not like fuulong silk, but more like the reflective surface of her mirror.


    Handing one to each of the males, Lianhua hesitated when she came to Kaz. ¡°Can you, um, breathe only through your nose?¡± She clamped her mouth shut and her nostrils flared, as if Kaz might not understand what she meant.


    Carefully keeping his amusement from his expression, Kaz nodded, and Lianhua tied the cloth around his muzzle, wrapping completely around his nose. He could talk as long as he kept the movements of his jaw small, and he was fairly certain he could open his jaw if he needed to bite something, but that would definitely make the cloth ¡®mask¡¯ fall off.


    Kaz drew in a deep breath through his nose, and immediately noticed that the powerful scent of fulan had all but vanished. If he used some ki, he could just catch a whiff of the dusty, rotten smell, but the mask was impressively effective.


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    Lianhua smiled tightly as she tied her own mask over the lower half of her face. ¡°Sometimes assassins or kidnappers use a gas to poison or put their victim to sleep. Grandfather tends to worry, so he made sure I had these with me. They¡¯re quite effective.¡±


    Raff was turning his over in his hands, an expression on his face that Kaz hadn¡¯t seen before. At Lianhua¡¯s words, he looked up and snorted. ¡°Effective, she says. This¡¯s made from Spiritual Bamboo, if I¡¯m not wrong, an¡¯ I¡¯m not. Can¡¯t miss that luster.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s eyebrows lifted. ¡°You¡¯re more knowledgeable than I expected, for a mercenary. Spiritual Bamboo is rarely exported from our Sheng Empire. The cloth is never sold, but only given as a gift by someone of high rank.¡±


    Raff looked away, shrugging. ¡°A merc meets a lot of different kinds o¡¯ people. High an¡¯ low, they all need protectin¡¯ sometime.¡±


    That explanation was obviously enough for Gaoda, but Kaz thought there was more to it than Raff wanted to tell them. Which was fine. Kaz didn¡¯t care what secrets the human had, so long as they didn¡¯t endanger him or Li.


    Speaking of whom¡­ Everyone had their masks on now except Li. Lianhua was holding the last piece of cloth and looking very awkward. Each time she extended it toward the little dragon, Li lifted her wings and hissed, making the human female draw back again.


    ¡°Just leave it, cousin,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°We can use the thing to test how dangerous the spores actually are.¡±


    Hot fury flushed through Kaz, but he forced it down, admitting to himself that if he¡¯d had a real fuergar at that moment, it would be reasonable to use it exactly as Gaoda suggested. Not that he would ever risk Li like that.


    Kaz took the heavy white cloth from Lianhua and reached up to grab Li. The dragon snapped half-heartedly at his fingers, but allowed the oversized cloth to be tied around her head and snout, where it promptly slid off again. It was too large, and the dragon¡¯s nose too small.


    He tried a few different ways of doing it, and even considered trying to cut a smaller piece from it, but finally just told Li to hush and made the cloth into a bag that he tied over her whole head and neck, using some of the developing spikes to anchor it in place. Understandably, she was very unhappy about this, but after a few exchanges of flashing images, Kaz managed to convince her that he would keep her safe, and remove the cloth as soon as possible. She finally settled against his neck with a sulky whistle, but he could feel her body trembling and knew that she was frightened of being so helpless.


    Once they were all masked, Kaz started down the stairs again, but Lianhua caught his shoulder, staying him.


    Gaoda sighed. ¡°Do you really think a shield is necessary, cousin? It¡¯s so draining.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not for you,¡± Lianhua answered, voice slightly muffled. ¡°You¡¯re late Tin Body, and Raff and Chi Yincang are both Iron. I just broke through to Tin, though, and Kaz has never refined at all. If the spores are dangerous, and the masks can¡¯t filter them out, you¡¯ll be explaining to Grandfather that you let me die because you didn¡¯t want to have to meditate for a day to recover your ki.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s brows drew together, but he spoke agreeably enough. ¡°Well, of course that won¡¯t happen, cousin. I simply thought individual shields might be enough.¡±


    ¡°Which would still leave Kaz and Raff out,¡± Lianhua said, and Gaoda shrugged, glancing away.


    Decision apparently made, Gaoda, Lianhua, and Chi Yincang stepped closer to each other. Gaoda grasped Lianhua¡¯s hand with an enthusiasm that made her start to flinch away, before Chi Yincang took both of their free hands with his usual stoic demeanor.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened as all three of them closed their eyes, the nodes of power in their abdomens spinning much more quickly. What had Lianhua called them? Dantians? Kaz stepped back as streams of mana condensed from the air around them, pulled into their dantians, which began to shine with the brilliant colors of ki.


    Lianhua¡¯s channels were flooded with gold, black, and hints of blue. Gaoda¡¯s colors were gold and blue, while Chi Yincang held glowing white and impossibly luminescent black. Through their hands, their ki mingled, with Lianhua in the middle. She shared at least one color with each of the males, and once all the threads of ki were thoroughly entangled, she drew in a long, slow breath through her nose before releasing it, and their hands.


    The power linking them snapped, and Gaoda staggered, his skin growing clammy and nearly as white as his mask. Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes remained closed, and he continued breathing the same slow, deep breaths. Kaz could see the pale light in his dantians already beginning to recover. It probably helped that Lianhua had only taken his white ki, while she had both of Gaoda¡¯s colors, leaving the other male completely drained.


    Lianhua, on the other hand, looked brighter than Kaz had ever seen her. With her pale skin and white hair, she would have fit in among the Palefurs, if she grew more fur and a proper snout and ears. Now, though, her hair glistened with the power inside her, and her amethyst eyes seemed to blaze.


    Reaching out, the female traced a rune in the air, trailing scintillating lines in the air that seemed to pull out the small sparks of ki that sometimes flickered among the undifferentiated mana in the air. As Lianhua¡¯s finger dropped away, Kaz heard a soft whisper from behind her mask, and the rune flared even brighter, spreading and expanding until Lianhua and the area around her was completely surrounded by it, creating a dome that began a foot or so over her head, and ended at her ankles, with Lianhua standing in the center.


    Done, she nodded. Gaoda immediately stepped closer to her, and Chi Yincang took a single step down, bringing him within the sphere as well. Lianhua sighed, looking over at Kaz and Raff.


    ¡°Come on,¡± she said, voice ringing, rich and full of power. ¡°It covers five feet around me, and one foot above, so you may have to bend down a little, Raff.¡±


    Raff had that expression again, the one he¡¯d worn when he looked at the masks made from Spiritual Bamboo. He didn¡¯t say anything, though, just stepped closer, ducking down awkwardly until his chin was nearly resting on Lianhua¡¯s shining silver hair.


    Kaz was the last to enter, more because of how close he¡¯d have to come to the humans than because he was concerned about the strange bubble that now surrounded them. He could see the amount of ki Lianhua was pouring into the shield, however, and realized that even with the power Chi Yincang and Gaoda had given her, she would run out sooner, rather than later, so he needed to either join them, or tell Lianhua he¡¯d take his chances with just the mask. If his decision would only have affected him, he might have chosen to stay out, but with Li on his shoulder, there was only one choice he could realistically make.


    Pushing aside his reluctance, he stepped inside the bubble, feeling a strange shiver run through his core as he did so. He put out a hand as his legs grew weak, and, looking down, he realized that there was now a softly glowing cord leading from him to Lianhua. It wasn¡¯t as solid as the one that connected him and the dragon, but it was definitely there. He wasn¡¯t touching Lianhua, but the pull of her dantian was so strong that she was still drawing a little of each of her three colors from his body.


    It seemed that if he wanted to remain within the safety of the shield, he would have to feed it as well. As long as he didn¡¯t touch Lianhua, however, the drain wasn¡¯t uncomfortable, and presumably having his help would allow her to maintain their sphere of protection for longer.


    Giving in to the inevitable, Kaz turned and stepped down, with the rest of the group right behind him.

 Chapter Fifty-five

    They found the first of the fallen females after only a few minutes of walking. If Kaz remembered correctly, she had had a broken arm and a deep gash on her leg. She must not have had a male to defend her once her shield failed, or else her male wasn¡¯t very strong.


    She was face down in a patch of fulan, and it looked like Litz and the others had used her as a bridge, just like they had Golik. If Kaz had been one of the females still remaining, he would have become very nervous at about this point, because he didn¡¯t remember this female¡¯s wounds being bad enough to kill her. The blackened fur on her back indicated that she had been struck by a powerful bolt of power, and it must have happened after she and the others arrived on this level.


    Kaz looked down at her, debating. They had walked over Golik, mainly because they had to, but there was a tunnel they had passed recently that could take them around this female. A lifetime of training told him that setting his paws on a female¡¯s corpse would bring nothing but trouble.


    ¡°Well? Get on with it,¡± Gaoda demanded from behind him. ¡°Even the fairy of the Long-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked you not to call me that, Gaoda Xiang,¡± Lianhua interrupted. ¡°Let Kaz think.¡±


    Kaz sighed. ¡°This is the way I remember, and the path Baji recommended. It¡¯s also obviously the same direction Litz and the other females are going. She knew you would be coming here soon. We could be walking into an ambush.¡±


    Actually, he was more worried about finding more bodies, but he hoped Gaoda and the others would more easily accept a possible ambush as an excuse to change direction. The longer they followed in Litz¡¯s footsteps, the more uncomfortable Kaz became, and he wasn¡¯t entirely sure why.


    Raff grunted. ¡°That¡¯s possible. We saw ¡®em fight, though. They wouldn¡¯t have a chance, even if they did manage to surprise us.¡±


    Gaoda nodded agreement, and four sets of eyes turned to Kaz. He couldn¡¯t find the words to explain his sense of deep unease, so he just shrugged and set a paw on the female kobold¡¯s leg, aware of everyone else shifting forward as he did so. There was no going back, so he balanced carefully as he walked over her, trying to ignore the feeling of flesh beneath his paws.


    When he reached her shoulders, Kaz hesitated. He would have to jump, and in order to remain within the shield, everyone else needed to go at the same time. Raff had actually jumped too far when they all leaped from Golik, popping out of the bubble until everyone else came to a halt. He seemed none the worse for the experience, but his clothes were lightly dusted with spores, so Kaz was glad the male was on Lianhua¡¯s other side.


    Kaz leaned forward. The humans had told him how this worked in their culture, and since they couldn¡¯t bark properly, he was using their technique. ¡°Three¡­ Two¡­ Go!¡± They all jumped, everyone easily clearing the six feet of solid fulan in front of them, though it was obvious from the furrows in it that at least one of the females they followed hadn¡¯t made it.


    Once they were all together and ready to continue on, Kaz shot a glance at Lianhua¡¯s slowly draining channels. If they continued at this pace, she might well run out of ki before they reached the stairs. Gritting his teeth, Kaz hurried on, ignoring the instincts that said he was moving too quickly to stop in time to avoid trouble when it found them.


    Nearly an hour later, they almost stumbled over the second female. Her cause of death was more obvious than the first, since she had no visible injuries except the hole in her forehead. Someone had killed her, and this time there was no apparent need. She lay to one side of the tunnel, and there was a clear path through the fulan ahead, though the walls were all but coated in the stuff.


    Kaz halted several feet away. He felt no urge to look at the body any longer than the brief glance that had already taken it in. This area was particularly thick with the spores hanging in the air, making it difficult to see any details, but the scene was clear enough.


    ¡°They¡¯re turning on each other,¡± Lianhua murmured. ¡°But why?¡±


    Kaz glanced back at her. The air inside the shield was the only clear space, making it obvious where the limits of the bubble were, even without his boosted vision.


    ¡°This is the way of kobold females. The dead ones are either a weakness to be eliminated, or they¡¯ve challenged Litz for leadership. That doesn¡¯t always lead to death, but Litz can¡¯t turn her back on them once they rebel, so she¡¯s killing them.¡±


    Lianhua still looked puzzled. ¡°I don¡¯t like it, but I understand that¡¯s how kobold society works. But why now? They¡¯re already alone, trapped in an area with unknown dangers. You told me kobolds find strength in numbers. Why wouldn¡¯t they wait until they get wherever they¡¯re going?¡±


    Kaz frowned. She was right. He had just seen it as a natural part of life, but Litz wasn¡¯t a fool, and it was unlikely that this female had been either. Why wouldn¡¯t they wait until they were safer?


    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re arguing about which way to go? This is the shortest path to the next set of stairs, but there should be other dens on this level. Maybe this female had relatives in another tribe, and she wanted to go to them instead of continuing down.¡±


    By now, Raff was looking thoughtful as well. ¡°I know your lot are violent, but why not just let the ones who want to leave go? Split up, like. Plus, you said these levels are full of monsters, but we haven¡¯t seen any sign of beasts.¡±


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    The more they spoke the more Kaz realized that he, too, had had these thoughts slowly growing in the back of his mind. He had been trying to ignore them and push forward, but now that they¡¯d been spoken aloud, his own concerns wouldn¡¯t be silent any longer.


    He growled a little, and felt Li burrow closer to him. He had been sending her a constant flow of images, letting her see what he saw, and she didn¡¯t seem to like this situation any more than he did.


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± he asked, frustrated. ¡°Determining why this female was killed won¡¯t help us. I don¡¯t know how to reach the nearest tribe, and the odds are good that they¡¯ve already fled as well. Our only real option is to keep going.¡±


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°And that¡¯s exactly what we should do. I¡¯d say I have enough power left to keep going for several more hours, so long as nothing hits the shield harder than these spores. The ki here is particularly pure, so I¡¯m almost able to take in enough to replace what I¡¯m using.¡±


    Kaz barely held back a tired laugh. Yes, she was taking in mana, but her dantians were working as slowly as ever to purify it. The ki she took directly from him, however, was already cleansed and could be fed directly into the shield. He was glad that his core was having no difficulty keeping up, but he wasn¡¯t used to having so little ki to work with anymore. Even his broken core had produced more than Lianhua left him, though of course then he¡¯d had to worry about it building up and killing him, so there was that.


    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± he warned them, and as he stepped forward, they did as well. As they passed, the slumped corpse briefly entered the bubble of their shield, and someone must have brushed against it on the way by, because when he glanced back, it had fallen over, one arm outstretched as if reaching for them.


    =+=+=+=


    It took another two hours to reach the next set of stairs, at least according to Gaoda¡¯s time-keeping device, which he checked constantly. During that time, they passed through two different areas where they could see signs that the fulan had been burned back, and the air was noticeably clearer for a little while. It never quite cleared completely, and always came back, however, so Lianhua held her shield, though the prismatic gleam of her hair and the brightness of her eyes had faded significantly.


    It was strange to see a set of stairs with no guards waiting at the top, and Kaz shivered slightly as he passed between two tall totems made from the largest skulls he¡¯d ever seen. Their eyes were empty pits, and their fanged mouths hung open in silent threat, but no warriors appeared to demand price of passage.


    The flight of steps was one of the longest Kaz had ever found, and he remembered the Broken Knives having to rest in the middle. The humans didn¡¯t have any problem, but Kaz lost count when his ankle turned, and he stumbled down several stairs at once, completely leaving the bubble of clean air around Lianhua.


    Fortunately, for some reason, nothing grew on or near the staircase, so the fulan had nothing to infect, and the air was almost completely clear. When he tripped, Lianhua hurried to catch up with him, leaving all the other humans behind in the process, and the ensuing squabble meant Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d taken three or four hundred steps by the time they could see the bottom.


    They all stopped, staring at the devastation below. There were bodies scattered everywhere, kobold and beast alike, and the spores lay in a thick blanket over everything. Two sets of paw prints wound between the silent mounds, and Kaz vaguely wondered what had happened to the fourth Copperstriker rebel. He was certain Litz¡¯s group of exiles had numbered six, but they had only found Golik and two others.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Lianhua asked, staring out over the silent battlefield. The spores obscured any details, but kobold knives could be seen protruding from many of the fallen bodies. If it weren¡¯t for that, it would have looked like the beasts had attacked the kobolds for some reason, but it was obvious that the kobolds had killed each other as well as the monsters.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kaz admitted. ¡°Maybe there was a battle, and when beasts came to eat the fallen, another group of kobolds killed them as well? But they would have taken away the bodies to be burned.¡±


    Surprisingly, it was Chi Yincang who answered. ¡°This all happened at once. Look at the spores.¡±


    Shocked silence fell over the group, and then they all turned to examine the scene again. Sure enough, Chi Yincang was right. If two separate events had occurred, the layer of spores coating some of the bodies would have been thicker than on others, and there might even have been paw prints visible as depressions in the spores on the floor. There was only a thin dusting of spores in the prints Kaz assumed had been left by Litz¡¯s group, and given what he could tell of the condition of the bodies, this hadn¡¯t happened more than a day or two ago.


    Kaz drew in a deep breath, then coughed, even though he was safely masked and shielded. Just looking at the floating spores made him feel like every breath was tainted.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to go on. The next set of stairs isn¡¯t nearly as far as this one was.¡± He gestured toward the prints on the floor. ¡°We even have guides, at least as long as the spores remain thick enough to show us which way they went.¡±


    Lianhua closed her eyes, a thin line forming between her brows. ¡°I know we¡¯re trying to be careful, but I think we should hurry. I¡¯m still all right, but by the time we get to the next level, that may not be true, and if it¡¯s as bad as this one¡­¡±


    Even Gaoda looked grim as he nodded, but a spark still gleamed in his eyes as he looked at Lianhua and held out his arms. ¡°We can go faster if I carry you, cousin. Raff can get the kobold.¡±


    Raff shook his head even before Lianhua could. ¡°I want my hands free. There¡¯s somethin¡¯ wrong with this stuff, and it¡¯s much worse than just some overexcited pollen. We should hurry, but I think it¡¯d be a bad idea t¡¯ let our guards down.¡±


    Gaoda scowled, but glanced at Chi Yincang, who tilted his head in bare agreement. Gaoda turned to glare at Kaz as he spoke with clear reluctance. ¡°You¡¯re the slowest one, and, as you say, we can just follow the footprints, for a while at least. If Lianhua carries you, we can go faster.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s heart pounded at the thought. If the female touched him while she was pulling in so much power, she might take all the ki he had without even knowing she¡¯d done it. He¡¯d been trying very hard not to even brush up against her, and now Gaoda wanted her to carry him?


    He shook his head, probably too vigorously, judging from the look Lianhua gave him. ¡°I can go faster, if you¡¯re not worried about running into a pitfall or monsters.¡±


    Raff looked out over the cavern full of bodies. ¡°I don¡¯t think those are our biggest concerns right now. Even with the mask, I don¡¯t want to breathe that. We just need t¡¯ get out before the shield fails.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Then we run.¡±

 Chapter Fifty-six

    Walking through the fog of spores, picking his way among the softly-covered mounds of corpses, was one of the eeriest experiences Kaz had ever had. Even Raff was silent, and there were no distant scratches of fuergar claws on stone, or faint, echoing sounds of a screech or squeal from some far-flung tunnel. In fact, the only thing Kaz could hear other than their own muffled footsteps and breathing was an occasional drip of water from somewhere out of sight.


    Kaz stayed as far from the bodies as he could, but now and then some part of one would enter their bubble, and he flinched away from it as best he could. He could see that Lianhua was doing the same, and even Gaoda had his robe tucked into his belt so the hem wouldn¡¯t touch anything.


    The fuulong silk seemed to resist the spores as well as it did dirt, so Lianhua, Chi Yincang, and Gaoda were all relatively free of them, but there was a thick coating on Raff¡¯s lower legs, and the fur on Kaz¡¯s legs was tangled with the stuff. He had to resist the urge to try and wipe it off every time he noticed it. His skin crawled at the knowledge that it was touching him, but he knew it would be worse to brush at it and get it on his hands and arms, which were inside the shield.


    The whole group breathed a sigh of relief when they were through the hushed charnel ground, and Kaz glanced back behind them. There was no chance that anyone foolish enough to come here could miss the wide path of disturbed spores they¡¯d left behind, and Kaz was torn between a hope that no one remained to see it, and a darker expectation that if someone did, they would be too incapacitated to pose much of a danger.


    The small group followed the pawprints through dusty tunnels, each one as clouded and silent as the last. More mounds marked the bodies of kobold and beast alike, but they were almost always buried beneath such a thick blanket of spores that no details were visible. Kaz was grateful for this at first, but over time he began to notice clues that indicated he might need to investigate further.


    At last, when they found yet another group of fallen kobolds, this one larger than most of the ones before, Kaz held up a hand to halt them. He refused to whisper, but he spoke softly when he said, ¡°There¡¯s something I need to see. Can we move closer?¡±


    The humans looked from Kaz to the six mounds ahead, obviously confused.


    Gaoda scowled. ¡°They¡¯re dead. What more do you need to know? Normally, I¡¯d be all for checking to see if they¡¯re carrying anything valuable, but they¡¯re just kobolds, so what could they possibly have?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I think I may have figured out a little bit of what¡¯s going on. If I¡¯m right, it may be dangerous to approach any of the tribes until we¡¯re completely out of the fulan.¡±


    Everyone agreed, and Kaz moved closer, then found himself at an impasse when he realized that he would have to touch them in order to see if he was correct. Something nudged at his shoulder, and when he looked over, Raff grinned at him before pulling his sword from his sheath and extending it beyond the bubble.


    ¡°Guess I can help out a little, Blue. What d¡¯you want to see?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail waved gently in appreciation. It was still barely within the bubble, so it didn¡¯t disturb the spores, but when he realized what he was doing, he stopped and tugged at his ear in embarrassment.


    ¡°Can you¡­ roll them over? I need to see them without all the fulan in the way.¡±


    Raff shrugged and nodded, then leaned forward until his face was just within the clear space inside the shield, and carefully rolled over one, then another of the bodies, until they were all face up and relatively clear of spores.


    Kaz swallowed hard, and Lianhua looked at him sharply. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Kaz pointed at three of the bodies, then glanced at the humans to see if they understood. Their expressions said they didn¡¯t, so he explained.


    ¡°These three are females. They have no packs, and their necklaces are different. They¡¯re also-¡± he hesitated, not sure whether he should mention what were, to him, obvious anatomical differences, and decided to let it rest at that, simply finishing with, ¡°They¡¯re definitely females.¡±


    Gaoda and Raff exchanged glances, and the big man shrugged while Gaoda¡¯s usual expression of impatience simply deepened.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°Females don¡¯t die like this. Males do. I would have expected a group like this to be all males, or possibly one female. At most, if two tribes declared vara and had patrols wandering around in this mess, it would be one female from each group, so two females and four males. I would really expect more males in that case, though, because that female would be expected to survive even if every male had to die to protect her. Males are replaceable, but the females are the strength of a tribe. Plus, a female¡¯s body would never be left like this.¡±


    He gestured to one of the females, who had a particularly large silver fuergar tooth at the center of her necklace, and then the male beside her, who had a matching tooth on his warrior necklace. ¡°When kobolds mate, they exchange part of the necklaces they made after their spirit hunts. Sometimes the items aren¡¯t particularly unique, but it¡¯s unusual to find silver fuergar. I¡¯m sure these two are mates. That doesn¡¯t necessarily mean anything, since a female is more likely to travel protected by her mate, but I suspect these other four are also mated pairs.¡±


    Gaoda made a ¡®hurry up¡¯ motion¡¯ with his hand, and the others didn¡¯t look enlightened yet.


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    Kaz shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no way three mated pairs would be out here alone, in a dangerous area. They should have other males with them, at the very least. The only reason these six would be here is if the females were exiled from their tribes, and their mates went with them.¡±


    Lianhua looked puzzled. ¡°Maybe they were fleeing their den when they died?¡±


    Kaz crouched slightly, pointing to the wounds on the bodies. Two of the females and two of the males had burn marks on their fur, while the female with the silver tooth had the tip of a rough iron knife protruding from beneath her ribs. It had gone in her back, and been left there. The third male, also the one with a silver tooth, had wounds from a weapon, and still clutched a stone knife in one hand.


    ¡°It looks like the females did battle, with this one defeating the other two and two of the males.¡± He shook his head again, not sure how to explain. ¡°But that¡¯s not how any of this works. The males should have wounds left by knives or clubs, but they don¡¯t. One or more females killed them, and the males weren¡¯t attacking each other to defend their females. Females focus on each other while their mates protect them from the unattached males, who fight each other and try to get to the opposing females. And-¡±


    He pointed to the knife in the female¡¯s back, and the one in her mate¡¯s hand. ¡°This male is the only one unmarked by power burns. She didn¡¯t attack him. But I think he killed her, then killed himself. And the only time a male would kill his mate is if she was injured beyond saving, and he was releasing her to the ancestors before she suffered further. But this female looks uninjured except for the fatal blow, which was delivered from behind.¡±


    Raff looked dubious. ¡°How can y¡¯ be sure that¡¯s what happened?¡±


    Kaz straightened and rubbed at his nose tiredly. ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m guessing based on what I see and what I know of my own people. What I can be sure of is that if females are attacking each other in the tunnels, and their bodies are being abandoned, something is very, very wrong not just here, but in the dens they came from. Something is making females leave with only their mates to protect them, and then they¡¯re fighting each other when they meet. This isn¡¯t tribe against tribe, especially since I think these are all from the same tribe. This is personal.¡±


    ¡°An attempted coup, like in the Copperstrikers? Maybe some of these support one female for chief, and the others want someone else?¡± Lianhua suggested.


    ¡°You saw how that worked,¡± Kaz reminded her. ¡°Sides were decided, and then everyone fought at once. When one of the leaders was defeated, everyone else immediately stopped fighting. Sometimes, when the tribe isn¡¯t divided like that, the only ones who fight are the females competing for chief, and their mates, if they have one.¡±


    ¡°So they wouldn¡¯t be out here fighting each other in small groups, unless maybe one of these was the chief, and one or more of the others was a challenger,¡± she said.


    He nodded. ¡°But the battle wouldn¡¯t happen here. It has to be witnessed. Plus, none of these is a chief. Only the one with the silver fuergar fang was even particularly powerful.¡±


    Gaoda ran a hand through his fur irritably. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to ask how you know that, since it¡¯s probably more kobold nonsense I don¡¯t care about. In fact, I¡¯m not sure why it matters at all. It¡¯s not like we intended to stop at any of the tribes up here anyway. We know how to get down from here, and in fact, it¡¯s very convenient for us that we don¡¯t have to stop and play nice every time we reach a staircase.¡±


    Kaz gritted his teeth before saying, ¡°It matters because the beasts we¡¯ve seen have been larger than usual, and though I didn¡¯t look closely when we passed through the cavern at the bottom of the stairs, I think if I had, I would have found that at least half of them were females as well. Plus, Litz has been killing her female companions, in spite of the fact that they should be sticking together at least until they can find another tribe to take them in.¡±


    The humans still looked puzzled.


    He sighed, looking around at them. ¡°What do unusually large beasts and female kobolds have in common?¡±


    It was Lianhua who got it. ¡°Cores!¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t prove it, but I think the fulan is affecting creatures with cores somehow. It would explain-¡±


    Kaz hesitated, then reluctantly said, ¡°When Aunt Rega destroyed that big patch of fulan, a cough wasn¡¯t the only thing wrong with her afterwards. She would just stop talking sometimes, and when she started again, she was always¡­ different. Angry. Rega didn¡¯t get angry easily, and we pups were worried about what would happen if we reported it to Oda. Besides, Rega didn¡¯t even remember it afterwards, even if she hurt someone. We just learned to leave her alone when she grew quiet, and come back once she started behaving normally again. Eventually, she got better.¡±


    ¡°Well, that would have been good to know sooner,¡± Gaoda muttered.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes slid away. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have changed anything. We still have to pass through here to reach the Deep. I told you enough so you would know the spores might not be safe to breathe, and the rest¡­ Rega hurt a pup. Badly. She didn¡¯t remember doing it, but she was ashamed. She even thought about leaving the tribe over it. We convinced her not to, and promised not to tell anyone. Once she got better, it didn¡¯t matter, and I still don¡¯t know that what happened to her was tied to the fulan. I¡¯m just saying that from what I¡¯ve seen, it¡¯s possible.¡±


    Lianhua reached out as if to set her hand on his shoulder, and Kaz dodged. Lianhua¡¯s face fell along with her hand, but she said, ¡°The only thing that¡¯s changed is that now we know we need to be extra careful of any female kobolds we see. We can¡¯t assume that they¡¯ll be rational, right?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Especially a female alone or only with a single male.¡±


    ¡°All right then,¡± Raff said thoughtfully. ¡°But does that mean that we¡¯re all safe from the spores? If it only affects creatures with cores, and we don¡¯t have any, then we should be fine.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s gaze flicked to Kaz and then Li, who was still clinging unhappily to his neck.


    ¡°Maybe. But all of us have power, even though none of us have reached Core Formation yet. That¡¯s the next stage of cultivation after Foundation. If this isn¡¯t about cores, but about the ability to manipulate ki or,¡± she smiled at Raff, ¡°mana, then we¡¯re all in more danger than regular creatures or male kobolds.¡±


    Raff grunted. ¡°Makes sense. Blue here should be safe enough, though. Next time we run into somethin¡¯ strange, he can go ahead and scout it out for us, since Chi Yincang is stuck in here with us.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s heart fell, but Lianhua shook her head firmly.


    ¡°No,¡± she told the male. ¡°This is all hypothetical. What we¡¯re doing now is working. I say we just keep on as we have been, but if we meet other kobolds, we don¡¯t approach them.¡±


    Gaoda rolled his eyes. ¡°Then nothing has changed, and this whole discussion was pointless. Wonderful. Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter Fifty-seven

    The rest of their journey through that level held little other than more of the same. Fulan was everywhere; hanging in the air, covering the floor, thickly layered over what used to be the plant-life native to the mountain. They didn¡¯t find any more groups of dead kobolds, but there were a few single females, and a couple of male-female pairs. One of these pairs had been slain by something that looked like an enormous janjio, except that it had two pairs of wings, and four small eyes hidden in its dark gray fur, rather than no eyes in short brown fur.


    At Kaz¡¯s suggestion, Raff used his sword to cut open the beast, which had died with the male kobold¡¯s knife driven through one eye. Inside its gut, they found a small amount of something gritty, but no sign of a core. Gaoda peevishly suggested that as long as they were slicing animals open, they should look in the kobolds as well, but everyone else ignored him.


    Lianhua looked at the red-soaked granules balanced on the tip of Raff¡¯s sword and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before.¡±


    Raff flicked the stuff away, leaving his sword as clean and gleaming as ever. He slid it back into its sheath and shrugged. ¡°No offense, Lianhua, but no one¡¯s seen everythin¡¯. That stuff looks kinda like the sand in a bird¡¯s gizzard. A lotta critters in here eat rock, too. That could just be what¡¯s left of its last meal.¡±


    Lianhua looked less than convinced, but they soon became engrossed in making their way toward the stairs again, and the matter was forgotten. That was about half an hour before they reached their destination, and they all relaxed a little as they went down the relatively clear steps. Kaz, for one, drew in deeper breaths than he¡¯d allowed himself in hours.


    This staircase was as long as the last, and when they had gone a good distance down, Lianhua stumbled, making everyone stop to look at her. The humans were behind Kaz, and when he turned, he realized that he¡¯d been so focused on leading them quickly and safely through the tunnels that he hadn¡¯t looked back since they¡¯d examined the dead beast.


    Lianhua¡¯s face was nearly as pale as her hair, and her eyes were more gray than purple. Kaz could see that her channels were drained, and it was only because she was taking power from him that she was still able to maintain the shield.


    ¡°Gaoda, Chi Yincang? Can you help me boost the shield again? Otherwise, I think I have less than an hour left,¡± she said, voice as wan as her face.


    Gaoda instantly refused. ¡°We haven¡¯t exactly had time to recover, cousin. I doubt I could make more than three orbs right now, which is already a dangerously low number.¡±


    Chi Yincang actually looked a bit regretful as he shook his head, and Kaz could see that while the males had both recovered a bit, their dantians were indeed slower and dimmer than usual. Chi Yincang¡¯s white ki was still visibly denser than the black, instead of the two being in perfect balance, as they usually were.


    Lianhua let out a resigned breath. ¡°So, when the shield falls, we need to be out of the fulan, or depend on the masks to protect us as best they can.¡±


    Gaoda looked toward Kaz, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°Of those two, I know which I prefer. Kobold, it was your job to guide us out of this before-¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go,¡± Lianhua interrupted, taking a step, which forced the others to follow or be left outside the bubble of clear air. In the process, her hand brushed against Kaz¡¯s arm, and a flush of color rose in her cheeks as the trickle of ki passing between them briefly became a steady stream. She froze and turned to look at him, eyes wide, but he shook his head at her, ears half-folded, and she snapped her mouth closed again.


    Kaz drew in a shaky breath, knowing that he would have some explaining to do eventually. There was no way Lianhua wouldn¡¯t put together that she was drawing power from him, not after this and the time he helped her during the battle with the zhiwu. Now that the puppy was out of the den, perhaps he should try feeding her power again, as he had done then, and see if he could prevent her from draining him too far. He was still wary, but with his core repaired, he supposed it was possible.


    After that, he tried to touch her a little as they went down every other step. When her leg came forward, he let his own linger, or he turned slightly so his arm touched hers again. Each time, ki flashed between them, and Kaz felt her power pull fiercely at his own, but since he was ready for it, it wasn¡¯t too bad, and she couldn¡¯t take two of his colors, so that part of his cycle remained intact.


    Like Chi Yincang, the balance of his ki was quickly thrown off, but he didn¡¯t become too weak to continue, especially with Li helping. In fact, the dragon seemed grateful to have something to do, though she hissed softly each time she had to push a little more of her own ki to even out Kaz¡¯s flow.


    After a little while, Lianhua began to look better, and Kaz reduced his support to only every five or six stairs. When her eyes no longer looked faded and his own legs were becoming a little shaky, he stopped entirely. She was still taking a bit of his ki, even from a distance, but he could recover while she held the shield, then he could help again after a while.


    That is, he could help if things didn¡¯t go horribly awry before then. The sound of howling reached Kaz¡¯s ears not long before even the humans would probably have noticed it, thanks to the fact that he¡¯d pulled in all his power to keep the flow of his ki from becoming any more unbalanced.


    Kaz held up a hand, and Lianhua nearly tripped over him as he froze halfway through a step. The contact sucked ki from his core, this time unexpectedly, and he swayed until the dragonling quickly pushed the colors Lianhua had taken through their bond, then all but melted against his neck, exhausted.


    He shook his head, trying to clear the ringing from his ears. ¡°Do you hear that?¡±


    Lianhua shook her head, but the males all frowned, and Kaz could see the dantians in their chests spin slightly faster as they all simultaneously reached for the mana in the air. Kaz instinctively pulled away as his ki started trying to flow out toward all of them at once, and he went down two steps, nearly leaving the shield entirely.


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    ¡°Howling,¡± Chi Yincang murmured, and Raff nodded.


    Kaz started to nod as well, but stopped when the world began to spin around him. ¡°Yes,¡± he agreed. ¡°Kobolds. But it¡¯s not a howl I recognize. Most tribes have a few howls that are specific to them, so these could be some of those, but¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Gaoda gave him a look. ¡°A lot you don¡¯t know, for a guide,¡± he said, but it seemed habitual, without his usual acrimony.


    ¡°May be someone waitin¡¯ for us, you think?¡± Raff asked.


    Kaz gave a very small shrug. ¡°Or another battle, and this time we got here before the end.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t wait. The shield will fall, and soon.¡± Lianhua said, and Kaz saw that though she looked better, she was already flagging again.


    Everyone nodded, and Kaz had to hurry forward as the humans closed in behind him. Each time he sped up in order to keep them and their ki-draining dantians away from him, they took it as an opportunity to move faster as well, and soon the whole group was all but running down the stairs. Kaz was just glad he could see the shield, because otherwise he would have gone in and out of it a dozen times during the impromptu five minute race. Fortunately, when the cavern at the bottom of the stairs came into view, everyone stopped, allowing Kaz to catch his breath, physically at least.


    It looked like every tribe on the level had declared vara at once. Like the first level, there were still spores in the air, but they didn¡¯t really impair visibility, and the floor was mostly clear except for patches where the fulan actually had something to feed on directly. Like the second level, bodies lay everywhere. This time, however, the fighting was still going on.


    Kobolds mingled with monsters, all fighting tooth and claw. Not a single one of them seemed to care for their own life, only killing everyone else around them. Some of the female kobolds hurled powered attacks from a distance, but most of them were in the thick of it, clawing and slashing at anything that moved.


    There were massive gold and silver fuergar fighting screaming janjio, and the first muju Kaz had seen up close slowly consumed the bodies of the fallen. A female kobold stumbled into it, instantly becoming trapped by its sticky surface, and she howled madly, biting not at the muju but at the zhiwu she had been fighting before she became stuck. At the moment her face was absorbed by the enormous blob, she still snarled and snapped, showing no sign of fear or pain.


    ¡°What in Pellis¡¯ pits is going on?¡± Raff muttered, staring out over the chaos below.


    Lianhua looked horrified. ¡°I can¡¯t even tell how many there are. A hundred? Two?¡±


    She was right. The cavern was packed full of screaming, howling, battling creatures, and they climbed and waded through the dead and dying. As Kaz watched, a female kobold fell, and the male who had so desperately fought at her side turned and ran for the stairs. He was nearly there when a yanchong wrapped itself around him, and he howled in agony, showing the first reasonable response to pain Kaz had seen in any of the combatants. He was pulled back into the thrashing mob, and Kaz quickly lost sight of him as he was engulfed by a dozen attackers, beast and kobold alike.


    Even Gaoda looked grim by now. ¡°I don¡¯t care why they¡¯re here. How do we get through? We can clear a path, but the way they¡¯re fighting, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve got the sense to be afraid of us, so they¡¯ll just close in again, and probably chase us as well.¡±


    ¡°The shield won¡¯t hold,¡± Lianhua said. She had her arms wrapped around herself, and she was even paler than she had been before. ¡°I¡¯ve barely been putting in enough ki to keep the spores out, but if one of those hits us, I¡¯ll have to put all my ki into it, and I won¡¯t last long.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re attackin¡¯ anything that moves,¡± Raff said, his voice strangely dispassionate. ¡°If I do somethin¡¯ to attract ¡®em all, the rest of you can get out while they¡¯re busy. I haven¡¯t gotten enough exercise in days. I could use a good brawl.¡±


    Gaoda didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°An excellent plan. I¡¯ll let your guild know you were quite useful.¡±


    Raff snorted and moved past them, stepping out of the shield as if they hadn¡¯t all been desperately trying to stay inside it for half a day. The only indication that he wasn¡¯t as calm as he acted was the nervous tug he gave his mask, making sure it was firmly in place.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Lianhua said, reaching for him. ¡°If we all work together, we-¡±


    He rolled his shoulders, pulling his sword from its sheath. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s no way a bunch of monsters and some pissant kobolds¡¯re gonna kill me.¡±


    Glancing at Kaz, he said, ¡°Which way do I go from here, Blue?¡±


    Kaz closed his eyes, picturing the level. The Broken Knives had actually stayed here for a whole week after Oda had been injured fighting a binyi, and his mental map was fairly clear. He pointed to a dark opening in the wall to their left.


    ¡°Through there, go straight past four turns and a cave. Left. Right. Straight twice more. There¡¯s a huge flowstone formation in a cave there. The shortest way is under it, then through the tunnel beyond. You won¡¯t notice it until you¡¯re almost in it. If you see any crystals, you¡¯ve gone the wrong way.¡±


    Raff¡¯s eyes went distant as he repeated the directions under his breath, then he nodded and raised his sword. Mana coalesced from the air around him, and his sword lit as he pushed power into it. Kaz was far enough away that he wasn¡¯t affected this time, and he could properly appreciate the display as Raff roared out a challenge that echoed through the cavern, overriding even the howls of embattled kobolds.


    Heads turned, teeth were bared, and Raff launched himself from about ten steps above the ground, hurtling directly toward a spot where there was a momentary lull in the fighting. He landed in a crouch and swung his sword in a circle, slicing through everything around him. Heads rolled, others turned, and the mass of creatures surged.


    For a second, the party stood frozen, watching as four kobolds and a zhiwu threw themselves on the tall human. He shook them off, cutting down two kobolds and the insect in a single swing, but he stood head and shoulders above most of the crowd, which made him a very tempting target.


    Chi Yincang picked Lianhua and Gaoda up, somehow managing to hold them tucked under his arms as he bounded down the stairs. For the first time all day, he triggered his ability to disappear into the shadows, leaving Kaz behind, now completely unshielded. The smell of fulan hit Kaz all at once, thick and rotten, and he, too, reached up to check his mask. Once he was sure it was tight, he pulled Li into his own arms and pinched the white cloth around her as well as he could, bending forward as if he could block the spores with his own body, then ran after the flicker of black and white ki that had already vanished into the tunnels.

 Chapter Fifty-eight

    Chi Yincang didn¡¯t wait for Kaz, but that was all right, because the tunnel was clear of anything living except for the fulan. Corpses littered the passage, in varying stages of decay, and it was all Kaz could do to avoid stepping on them as he ran through.


    He followed his own directions, only once having to stop to avoid a battle between a female kobold and an iron fuergar. Kaz could see that the female kobold¡¯s core and channels still blazed with power, but she used teeth and claws instead, ignoring both her innate ki and the knife that hung at her waist.


    Kaz spun to the side, scurrying into a crevice between two flowstone formations as soon as he saw the two combatants, but they had no interest in anything except each other. The kobold¡¯s eyes were dark green, matching her fur, and the fuergar¡¯s were gray, but both pairs were equally glazed, and only guttural grunts emerged from the female.


    Even though the kobold wasn¡¯t a member of his tribe, Kaz still felt a compulsion to aid her, but that compulsion died as she used her claws to rip open the fuergar and immediately began to eat it, ignoring its increasing feeble squeaks and thrashing. She dug her claws into its belly, not pausing until she pulled out what looked like a small, gleaming sphere that glowed with white ki. With a triumphant growl, she thrust it into her mouth, swallowing it whole.


    Instantly, the light in her abdomen flared, burning brighter than any Kaz had seen in a kobold before. She doubled over, whimpering in pain as she clawed at her own belly, leaving trails of fresh blood in the gore already drying in her fur. Spasms shook her, and then she straightened, a demented grin stretching her mouth so it seemed as if her face would split open. She leaned back and let out a terrible howl, raw and crazed, then her head snapped around, eyes glaring madly.


    Kaz¡¯s breath froze in his chest as she seemed to stare straight at him, but a moment later she dropped to all fours and bounded away, all dignity lost to whatever madness had taken her. Only once her continuing howls had faded a bit did Kaz dare take a breath, and realized that he had unintentionally answered one of his own questions. He had instinctively pushed ki into his lungs just before his last gasp, and at least four minutes had passed before he felt the need to breathe again.


    He saw nothing but death and fulan until he reached the fall of flowstone he¡¯d told Raff to look for. There, he found Chi Yincang standing guard over Lianhua and Gaoda as they argued in low voices. Kaz had been able to hear them for a while, but between the dripping of water over the flowstone and the constant background noise of howls and screams, the words remained unclear until he was almost upon them.


    As he entered the long cave in which they stood, Chi Yincang nodded to him, neither surprise nor pleasure on his impassive face , but Lianhua and Gaoda spun around, revealing a kobold collapsed on the stone floor beyond them. It was a male with near-black fur and a visibly broken arm. He, too, rolled his head so he could see Kaz, so he wasn¡¯t too far gone to respond to the approach of a possible threat, but he made no attempt to rise.


    Lianhua looked relieved to see Kaz, and started toward him.


    Gaoda¡¯s hand shot out, catching her arm. ¡°Cousin,¡± he snapped, ¡°the shield!¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s expression instantly turned to frustration, but she didn¡¯t pull away as she usually would have. Kaz could see the shimmering globe circling her, and both Chi Yincang and Gaoda were inside it with her, though the strange kobold wasn¡¯t. The bubble was almost completely translucent in some areas, and Lianhua¡¯s skin and eyes were all but colorless again.


    Kaz hurried forward, intending to give the female a bit of his own power, but Chi Yincang lowered his weapon to block Kaz¡¯s path and said, ¡°Speak.¡±


    Kaz frowned. ¡°What should I say?¡±


    That seemed to be enough, because the weapon lifted out of the way again, and Chi Yincang turned his attention back to scanning their surroundings.


    Lianhua shook her hand free of Gaoda¡¯s and extended it to Kaz. Not without trepidation, he accepted it, though only for a moment. It was long enough, and he could see her back straighten as his strength flowed into her.


    The dragon clinging to his shoulder gave a soft whistle of complaint as she had to balance their cycles again, and Kaz withdrew his hand so he could reach up to stroke her back. He was starting to become concerned at her placidity. He was used to hearing her clicks and whistles, and seeing her look around at everything as she sent him images or pulses of feelings, usually covetousness or curiosity, whenever she saw something interesting. She¡¯d been too quiet ever since the bag went over her head, other than her small protests about helping him manage his ki.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to convince Gaoda that we should help this kobold,¡± she said, gesturing toward the male, ¡°but he won¡¯t speak, and Gaoda is convinced that means he¡¯s been afflicted by whatever is causing the others to act rabid.¡±


    Gaoda snorted. ¡°That, and we have nothing to gain by helping him.¡±


    Kaz reminded himself to ask what ¡®rabid¡¯ meant later, and turned toward the injured kobold. Stepping between Lianhua and Gaoda, he crouched, careful to remain just outside of easy clawing distance. Just because the male was hurt didn¡¯t mean he was helpless.


    He took in the wide leather belt with a thick studded section meant to protect the other kobold¡¯s middle, as well as the hardened leather bracers on each arm, and not one but two finely crafted sheaths at his waist. Both were empty now, but Kaz suspected they had once held metal knives, not stone. The straps across the other kobold¡¯s chest were equally sturdy, with wide metal buckles that would turn away claws or blades alike.


    ¡°I¡¯m Kaz,¡± he told the male. ¡°Of the Longknife tribe. I¡¯m guiding these humans to the Deep. If you can help, we¡¯ll bandage your arm and help you at least as long as our paths are the same. Are there any tribes left on this level or the next down? Do you know where we can find untainted food or water?¡±


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    The male¡¯s brown eyes met his with complete indifference, and then his head turned, facing into the darkness beneath the flowstone overhang. He remained silent, but Kaz had seen understanding in that gaze, so he stood back up.


    ¡°I think he just doesn¡¯t want help,¡± he told her. ¡°His necklace indicates he¡¯s mated. Did you see a female nearby?¡±


    She let out a sigh. ¡°Several. All dead except one fighting an Ironfang Rat. Chi Yincang carried us past before I could tell if she was infected as well.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered. ¡°I saw her as well. She was¡­ damaged. Whatever is going on had most certainly affected her.¡±


    Gaoda clicked his tongue in vindication. ¡°I told you so, cousin. We should go on before your shield falls, or we could be contaminated or infected as well.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s lips pinched. ¡°Not without Raff.¡± She turned a glare on Chi Yincang, who ignored her completely, continuing his scans of the cave.


    Kaz shook his head, looking down at the kobold on the floor. Lianhua¡¯s gentle heart was something he could appreciate, though not all kobolds would, but this time Gaoda was right. Whether this madness was caused by the fulan or not, he would feel much better once they were out of the drifting fog of spores.


    He was already worried about the twenty or thirty minutes he¡¯d spent outside of the shield, and the fact that they had left Raff in the thick of not only the fighting, but a horde of possibly diseased kobolds and creatures. Diseases were rare in the mountain, but not unknown, and kobolds took them very seriously. If a deadly illness struck a tribe, that tribe was usually put to death and their den burned, down to every last pup and hut.


    The fallen kobold was still staring into the darkness, and Kaz finally realized that he wasn¡¯t just looking away from the group of interlopers, but toward something else. Kaz crouched again, narrowing his eyes as he pushed more ki into his vision. The darkness seemed to melt away, revealing a single outstretched hand protruding from the narrow tunnel beyond.


    Kaz let out a low whine and started forward, only stopping at the last moment, when he realized he¡¯d been about to leave the shield again. Looking back at Lianhua, he said, ¡°There¡¯s someone in there.¡±


    At this, the wounded kobold finally reacted. Snarling, he lashed out at Kaz, catching the younger male by the leg and trying to pull him down, within reach of his snapping teeth.


    Kaz yelped, pulling away, and the other¡¯s weakened grip released him fairly easily.


    ¡°Stay away,¡± the male growled, trying to roll over onto his good arm. ¡°Leave her!¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears and tail were tucked by now, but he softly asked, ¡°Your mate?¡±


    The male¡¯s head jerked in an affirmative, and he whined softly as he managed to sit up. ¡°She was the last. I was supposed to take her back, keep her safe, but-¡± He choked off, eyes returning to the darkness as he edged closer to the flowstone, leaving a carmine smear on the stone behind him. His injuries were more severe than Kaz had realized. The dark fur was probably concealing other wounds.


    ¡°She went mad,¡± Kaz finished for him, nodding to the arm that bent in four different directions. ¡°Did she do that?¡±


    ¡°No! Yes, but¡­ she never would. She valued me. Traded for me. Never would have hurt me.¡± The dark head rolled back, leaning against the stone as his good hand reached into the shadows, pulling out a limp arm. He grasped the clawed hand, closing his eyes.


    Kaz crouched again. ¡°What tribe? We can¡¯t carry you back, but I¡¯ll tell them your names so they can howl you to the ancestors.¡±


    The other¡¯s eyes opened, but only halfway. ¡°Davik. She was Davik, and I¡¯m Scov. Tell the Sharpjaws I¡­ defended my¡­ mate.¡±


    Silence fell until Scov¡¯s body finally slumped, and his grip on the hand relaxed, allowing it to fall back into the darkness. Kaz waited until he was certain the male hadn¡¯t just lapsed into unconsciousness, then moved out of the bubble in spite of Lianhua¡¯s inarticulate sound of protest.


    Reaching out, he found Davik¡¯s hand and pulled, tugging the female¡¯s body out into view. She didn¡¯t seem to be injured as badly as Scov had been, but there was a deep wound beneath her ribs, and Kaz could tell it had been a fatal blow.


    Lianhua stepped up beside Kaz, bringing the shield to him in spite of Gaoda¡¯s grumbling. She didn¡¯t speak as he laid the bodies out. Davik¡¯s eyes were open, so Kaz closed them and then laid her arms down by her sides. Scov¡¯s arms went across his chest, and Kaz pulled his own half-broken knife from his belt and put it into the other male¡¯s hands. Kaz couldn¡¯t use it in battle anyway, since it could break at any time, and he had no idea how to combine the blade with the hilt in his pack, even if it was reasonable to do so.


    Once the two kobolds were as prepared as Kaz could make them, he unbuckled his pack and pulled it off. Reaching inside, he took out a thick bundle of firemoss that he¡¯d gathered when he retrieved his old pack, more out of habit than necessity, and spread it out across them as best he could. He didn¡¯t have any jejing, nor did he have two days to wait, so this was the best he could do.


    Just as he finished, they all turned at the sound of metallic footsteps moving toward them at a rapid pace. Raff ran in through the entrance of the cave a moment later, his face flushed and armor soaked with red.


    ¡°Gotta go,¡± the big man gasped. ¡°Quick as a flea on Pellis¡¯ holy arse. I don¡¯t know what that thing is, but it¡¯s fast, and it¡¯s coming this way.¡±


    They all looked at him, then each other, and then Gaoda was pushing Lianhua past the two dead kobolds, into the dark crevice beneath the frozen waterfall of stone. Chi Yincang followed silently, leaving only Kaz and Raff, who crossed the space with remarkable speed.


    ¡°Get on in, then, Blue,¡± the big male grunted, eyeing the gap that was very nearly too small for him. He stopped as he saw Davik and Scov, but his sharp eyes lingered on the moss around them instead of the bodies themselves.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that your fancy firemoss?¡± he asked.


    Kaz nodded, opening his mouth to explain, but a bizarre roar sounded from the tunnel Raff had come from before he could speak. It was obviously produced by one creature, since it started and ended at one time, but it sounded like it came from a dozen different throats, high and low alike combining into uncanny harmony.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Raff said, ¡°not the time.¡± Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out his stone with the fire rune on it, thrusting it into the moss on each body as he muttered a word. The firemoss caught, blazing up into a bright flare and then settling back to a slow burn that immediately began giving off roiling clouds of thick smoke.


    The corners of Raff¡¯s eyes crinkled as he grinned, then grabbed Kaz and shoved him through the crevice. A high-pitched screech came a moment later when his armor scraped against the stone walls as he pushed his way through.


    Kaz scurried after the other three humans, glad to see that his memory hadn¡¯t chosen this moment to play tricks on him. Once he got beyond the stone formation, the tunnel widened back out to something broad enough that Raff would be able to get through easily.


    Another roar shook the air behind him, and something crashed into the stone, making small rocks and thin, tubular stalactites fall to the ground all around him. A strong arm scooped him up, and Raff took off, carrying Kaz away.

 Chapter Fifty-nine

    Fortunately, the others hadn¡¯t gone far this time, with Lianhua standing pale but steadfast against Gaoda¡¯s urging. She was ignoring him, glaring instead at Chi Yincang, who seemed not to notice. When Raff dropped Kaz at her feet, that glare shifted to the tall warrior, but she quickly knelt beside Kaz, who was weak from Raff¡¯s dantian draining his ki, however unintentionally.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± she asked softly, starting to reach for him. When he flinched away, she hesitated and withdrew, allowing him to stand on his own.


    Kaz¡¯s legs were shaky, but he clenched his jaw and nodded, glancing sidelong at Gaoda, who was crowding far too close for comfort, trying to stay within Lianhua¡¯s shield. That shield was steadily growing thinner, and Lianhua weaker, so Kaz had no choice but to remain strong.


    ¡°The next set of stairs is close. Davik and Scov must have been heading for it. If we hurry, we may be able to make it within a quarter hour. Hopefully, the next level will be clearer.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s head bowed, and damp tendrils of hair that had escaped her head adornments fell down in untidy wisps. Her skin gleamed with sweat, and to Kaz¡¯s sight, the shield she had fought so hard to maintain looked like it might fail at any moment.


    ¡°All right,¡± she said.


    Kaz nodded, wishing he had enough strength to help her. Unfortunately, his own channels were dangerously low, and Li wasn¡¯t in much better shape. In fact, of the five of them, Chi Yincang now looked the best, and that was only because one half of his ki was relatively intact. The single dantian in Raff¡¯s chest was roiling as it tangled the clean ki it had taken from Kaz back into mingled gray mana, except for sparks of red that popped and fizzed as they traveled into his limbs and organs. Gaoda was in better shape than Lianhua, but his ki wasn¡¯t anywhere near its usual sapphire and gold luster, especially since he was still maintaining his light orb at its full, unnecessary brilliance.


    They moved noticeably more slowly as they passed through the winding passages that led to the next staircase. Kaz deliberately led them away from the larger tunnels, fearing that those were more likely to be used by the rampaging creatures that occupied the level. Either he was right, or they got lucky, because while they were attacked once by a small pack of bizarrely aggressive fuergar, Raff and Chi Yincang were able to defeat the creatures without using ki. Lianhua quietly noted that all of the creatures had cores, a fact which Kaz already knew, but couldn¡¯t tell the others.


    The party had nearly reached the final cavern when Lianhua¡¯s shield finally flickered and vanished, and the human female crumpled. Chi Yincang caught her, then silently handed her limp body to Raff after checking to make sure that her mask was firmly in place.


    Once the shield was gone, there was no need for them to stay together, so their group separated with something akin to relief. Kaz moved further ahead, leaving Gaoda and Raff in the middle, while Chi Yincang sank back to the end, though he didn¡¯t vanish as he usually would have.


    ¡°Here,¡± Kaz whispered, as the tunnel ended in a wall with a long crack that started a few feet above the floor. He tapped it. ¡°The stairs are just on the other side. It¡¯ll be tight, but the wall is only about four feet thick, so if we can squeeze through, we¡¯ll just have to cross the cavern.¡±


    Raff was staring at the narrow crevice, expression dubious. ¡°I¡¯ll have to take off my cuirass at least. I don¡¯t like th¡¯ idea of going in there defenseless as a softshell crab.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± Kaz offered. ¡°I can make sure there¡¯s not another battle going on, though I can¡¯t hear anything. I know another way, but it¡¯s more likely to already be¡­ occupied.¡±


    Gaoda waggled a hand at him. ¡°Go on then.¡± Usually, this was the point at which Lianhua would speak up for Kaz, but she was still lying, silent and pale, in Raff¡¯s arms, so Kaz just ducked his head and clambered up and into the crevice.


    It was tighter than he remembered, but he made it through without any great difficulty. To his surprise, dim light filtered in through the other end, and it wasn¡¯t all the red of the ever-burning torches that lined the stairs. The flickering yellow-orange of normal torchlight mingled with the red, creating a flickering dance of yellow deepening into the deep, red-orange of spessartite.


    Cautiously, Kaz peered out of the crack, which was higher in this wall than the one he¡¯d entered. He was now about six feet above the floor, bringing him closer to the ceiling than the ground, so he had a good view of the cavern, without being easily visible himself.


    To his surprise, six male kobolds stood guard at the stairs. Their weapons were unsheathed, their fur and loincloths matted and filthy, and the ground around their paws was littered with fallen foes, including female kobolds.


    A soft howl echoed up the stairs, and one of the males, a tall one with fur the grayish-brown color of smoky quartz, howled in return. This was the ¡®all-clear¡¯ howl of one warrior to another, and Kaz wondered how bad things were that all of them bearing visible wounds and surrounded by evidence of at least one recent fight counted as ¡®all clear¡¯.


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    Kaz pulled back and returned to the party, happy to see Lianhua now sitting on the floor with her eyes mostly open as she sipped from one of the human¡¯s delicate little cups. He gave her a little yip of greeting, then remembered she wasn¡¯t a kobold, and said, ¡°Lianhua!¡±


    She tilted her head back and gave him a shadow of her usual bright smile. ¡°Kaz. They said¡­ you went ahead.¡±


    He nodded, though he didn¡¯t climb down beside her. ¡°There are kobolds guarding the stairs, and I heard others call from below. I think they¡¯re keeping the creatures affected by the fulan, or whatever it is, up here.¡±


    She just nodded, but Raff asked, ¡°All male?¡±


    Kaz nodded again. ¡°The only females I saw were dead. I think¡­ they¡¯re killing them, too.¡± And he wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about that.


    Gaoda snorted. ¡°That¡¯s something, at least. Did you speak to them? Do you think they¡¯ll attack us, too?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± Kaz admitted. ¡°I thought I should tell you what I saw first.¡±


    ¡°You should-¡±


    Lianhua pressed a hand against the wall, struggling to rise. ¡°Cousin Gaoda. I want to get out of here.¡±


    Gaoda froze with his mouth open, then closed it with a click as a strange and unpleasant smile crossed his face. ¡°Of course, cousin. Raff, are you ready?¡±


    The warrior grunted, hands rising reluctantly to the buckles that held his armor on. It took some doing, but he managed to pry them open, debris flaking away as he did so, until he finally pulled the piece that covered his chest and shoulders free. Blood stained the padded clothing beneath it, but none looked fresh, so Kaz thought it was all left over from his fight when they arrived on the level.


    Raff put the armor into his bag, which was usually strapped around his lower back. There was no way the armor should have fit, but somehow it did, as all the human¡¯s items somehow did. Kaz hadn¡¯t recovered enough to put much ki into his eyes beyond what they simply needed to function, but he thought he saw a spark jump from the bag to the armor right before the metal shell vanished. Perhaps when the human took it out again, Kaz would be able to watch more closely, and see if he could tell what was happening.


    The whole process took no more than five minutes, but it felt like forever to Kaz. It was possible they were less than a hundred feet from relative safety, and the urge to head towards it was almost overwhelming.


    Kaz went first, partially because he was already in the crevice, but he was closely followed by Chi Yincang, then Gaoda, Lianhua, and finally Raff. There was a short delay as Raff discovered that his padded clothes hung up on the rock, and had to back out and remove that as well, but Kaz barely noticed, since he was already peering out into the cavern again.


    There were two large tunnels leading in, as well as two smaller ones and the crevice Kaz was currently perching in. To his recollection, one of the large tunnels led to the den of the tribe that had controlled this staircase when the Broken Knives came through, and the second led as straight as any tunnel ever ran within the mountain, directly to the staircase they had descended a few hours ago.


    It was from this second passage that the thing emerged. The monster was huge. It had seven heads, each looking like it should belong to a separate creature, and they all snapped, howled, hissed, and screeched at once. Two thick tentacles protruded from the front of the body, while a dozen different legs marched in pairs beneath the torso. One set wouldn¡¯t have looked out of place on a kobold¡¯s body, though it would have to be the largest kobold Kaz had ever heard of, and another pair looked rodent-like, while a third had the damp, slimy skin of a woshi.


    Similarly, the heads were all different, but one of them, a reptilian thing on a particularly long neck, nearly reached the ceiling, and it could easily have snapped Kaz right out of his hiding spot if it had noticed him. Fortunately for him, however, it was focused on the six kobolds guarding the stairs.


    The warriors fell back, forming a single group in a show of unity that was unusual among kobolds in the higher levels.  They raised their weapons, but Kaz could tell they didn¡¯t believe they had a chance against the creature. As one, they raised their muzzles and howled; the low, ululating howl of a kobold who had met a foe he might not defeat, and was warning the tribe to be ready to flee.


    An answering howl came from below as a tentacle snapped out, wrapping around the waist of the foremost kobold. The others hacked at it, but their blades bounced off the thick skin, and the tentacle pulled the male forward, raising him from the floor and toward a head with the gaping, tooth-filled maw of a janjio.


    Kaz could see the male¡¯s life and his own chance at safety about to end. If these guards died now, there was no way the kobolds below would believe that the party had nothing to do with it. They would have to fight the warriors at the bottom of the stairs - and possibly a full tribe, complete with females - or they could fight this monster here and now, thus proving themselves to the kobolds below.


    He had seconds to decide. Should he attack the thing while it wasn¡¯t ready, knowing full well that the rest of his party was already weakened, and Gaoda might well choose to just let Kaz die, rather than helping? Or should he sit and watch helplessly as six kobolds who had stood against a hundred horrors before were literally torn apart before his very eyes?


    The answer was sheer idiocy.


    Kaz was so, so tired of being helpless. He had been kept a pup far longer than he should have, forced to stand by instead of joining his tribe as a proper warrior. He was physically a strong kobold, but he was still far weaker than even Lianhua. By training and tradition, he had always been the lowest of the low, with no power, no voice, and no choice. He hadn¡¯t even been allowed an opinion by anyone except Rega.


    But with the ever-growing power of his core, he didn¡¯t have to be weak any more. He didn¡¯t have to step over yet another fallen kobold on his way to find another place to hide. He had finally, finally completed his spirit hunt, though no one but him would ever recognize it, and a warrior wouldn¡¯t just stand by and watch.


    Baring his teeth in a snarl, Kaz flung himself forward as the monster passed the crevice in which he crouched.

 Chapter Sixty

    Kaz landed on the back of the abomination, his claws already gouging into flesh which felt more like that of a mushroom than a beast. All seven heads whipped around, jaws snapping, but Kaz was already moving, claws ripping as his paws dug deep into the quivering mass. Only the reptilian head on the long neck could turn enough to reach him, and he twisted and dodged as he attempted to avoid it.


    A shout came from behind him, and he managed to glance away long enough to see that the rest of the party was dropping out of the crevice behind him, while the group of kobolds just stared in shocked surprise. Kaz had, at least, managed to distract the monster enough that the kobold it had grabbed was just hanging in the air at the end of the tentacle, rather than already on the way down the janjio-head¡¯s gullet.


    Lianhua jumped down, stumbling a bit as she stared at Kaz atop the hulking monstrosity, which continued to howl and screech its fury at the little thing that tormented it. Kaz had to turn his attention back to what he was doing as his claws finally reached beneath the thick layers of skin and oddly squishy tissue. The reptile-head bit at him with renewed fury, and he was forced to roll and slide down its side.


    ¡°Kaz!¡± A shout reached his ears above the cacophony of the beast, and he glanced over in time to see Lianhua launch an arrow from her bow. It was a normal arrow, rather than one made of ki, but it flew straight and true, burying itself in one of the blazing eyes that glared at Kaz with insane ire.


    The remaining eye instantly locked on Lianhua instead, and it dropped the kobold in favor of launching its tentacles toward her instead. Chi Yincang¡¯s weapon sliced through the air, severing the writhing limbs and leaving their tips flailing on the floor.


    The monster roared its anger again, but no blood came from the wounds. Kaz suddenly realized that while he was covered in the fluid that had leaked from the injuries he had dealt, it was as thin as water, and nearly as clear. Even Lianhua¡¯s arrow hadn¡¯t caused blood to flow, but instead more of the same strange liquid.


    The beast shook, and Kaz¡¯s claws slipped free. He found himself on the ground beside the monster, staring at scrabbling feet larger than his chest. He rolled, then twisted and rolled again, avoiding a great, flat foot covered in gray, wrinkled skin. When his back slammed up against a wall, he thought his brave assault might end with him being inadvertently squashed beneath one of the mismatched feet as the monster tried to reach Lianhua through Chi Yincang¡¯s swirling defense.


    Then Li bit Kaz¡¯s ear, and he jerked out of his dazed confusion as the feet pounded the ground all around him. He looked around, seeing the dragonling hovering in the air beside him, glaring with eyes that were almost entirely black. The cloth bag that was supposed to be protecting her lay on the floor, and Kaz snatched it up, lunging for her as she darted back out of his reach. A clawed foot scraped the wall where he¡¯d sat a moment before, but he was too busy chasing down the little dragon to notice.


    She needed the cloth. Needed to be protected. Safe. He knew she didn¡¯t like it, but-


    A blunted tentacle wrapped around his left paw, yanking him up to dangle in the air. He had just enough time to see the looming maw of one of the heads opening to take him in before Raff¡¯s sword cut through the tentacle, and part of the head¡¯s lower jaw as well. Kaz tumbled to the floor again, dropping the bag and losing sight of Li in the process.


    ¡°Kaz!¡± Lianhua¡¯s shriek once again pulled him from a moment of disorientation, and he rolled out of the way of a whipping blow from the remaining tentacle before shaking his head, which thudded painfully. At some point, he¡¯d struck his head, and now his mind refused to focus on the battle that raged all around him.


    Another arrow struck the monster¡¯s body, quivering beside four others, none of which seemed to do much besides annoy the beast when it tried to move the legs attached just below. Two dim balls of ki darted around the heads, and though they seemed unable to inflict any real damage to the thing, they did at least distract it.


    Raff was in the thick of it, along with two of the kobolds. Three of the others darted in and out of the battle, trying unsuccessfully to do more than cut through the surface layer of the monstrosity. While Raff¡¯s blade sliced into the creature with relative ease, carving away chunks that fell to the ground and sluggishly oozed viscous fluid, the kobold¡¯s weapons did little to nothing in comparison. Still, they fought on, and Kaz was certain they would die before they would give up, knowing that their tribe could be the next victims of the thing.


    A flash of black ki caught Kaz¡¯s attention, and he saw Chi Yincang land on the monster¡¯s back, in the same place Kaz himself had been digging into it. Dark ki glowed around his long weapon as he spun it, then slammed it deep inside the beast.


    It was this attack that finally seemed to tip the creature over into utter madness. At some point, either Raff or Chi Yincang had managed to cut off the lizard head, and one of the tentacles was only a stump. It still had all its other limbs, however, and now it began to spin, snapping wildly at everything and nothing. Its remaining tentacle stretched out, whipping down at anything that moved, then pulling back before any of them could strike at it.


    Lianhua was knocked off her feet, and Raff instantly retreated to stand in front of her and Gaoda, who had barely managed to dodge the blow that had felled the female. The monster stepped on one of the kobolds before knocking another flying. He thudded against the wall, sliding bonelessly down again, and Kaz realized that unless someone did something, the kobolds he had been so desperate to save were all going to die, even if the humans managed to escape.


    Unless he did something. This thing barely seemed to feel pain, and it didn¡¯t seem to matter how much fluid or flesh it lost. He supposed that Chi Yincang might eventually manage to carve it down to harmless pieces, but even he was at far from his best, and would eventually wear down.


    But Kaz knew the weakness of every creature with a core, and he knew exactly where the core was. He could see it, burning with murky ki, deep in the body of the beast.


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    Turning, Kaz pushed ki into his legs, running straight toward the crack in the wall right behind Gaoda, Lianhua, and Raff. Gaoda¡¯s face twisted into anger as Kaz ran past, no doubt thinking that Kaz was trying to run away. The male put his hand out, grasping at Kaz, but Kaz¡¯s empowered legs bore him onward with a speed no mortal had ever possessed, and he ran straight up the wall, placing his paw in the crack just long enough to get enough leverage to leap up and back toward the monster, twisting in midair so he could land claws first.


    Chi Yincang hadn¡¯t been idle while Kaz decided what to do, and cloudy ichor flowed out of the hole he had dug in the creature¡¯s body. Things pulsed within the monstrosity¡¯s flesh, but none of them were recognizable as organs or muscle.


    Kaz landed beside Chi Yincang, nearly slipping in the slimy fluid and ending his assault by sliding off and winding up as goo beneath those trampling feet, but he managed to dig his claws in at the last moment, hanging on for dear life. For once, an honest expression crossed the human¡¯s face as he saw Kaz pull himself back up beside him: astonishment. Then a hint of a smile turned up one corner of his mouth before he turned his attention back to his task.


    Kaz laid a hand on Chi Yincang¡¯s arm as the male spun his weapon in preparation for yet another blow, and the dark eyes jerked back to him. Kaz shook his head, motioning to indicate that he wanted to finish what he¡¯d begun. Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he gave a short nod and shifted his attack from the body to the heads that were still howling, hissing, barking, screeching, and snapping at the two nuisances that clung to its back.


    Kaz dug his claws deep into the dense tissue, and swung his legs into the hole Chi Yincang had made. It nearly reached his waist by now, and should have severed any number of nerves and arteries, as well as damaging several very important organs. Instead, the monster continued to move, fighting with ever-increasing fury as the remaining kobolds and humans continued their ineffectual assault.


    Twice before, Kaz had unintentionally managed to create a ki bolt. Months ago, he had killed a janjio, which had led to his discovery of the cave where he found the dragon nest. He hadn¡¯t had much power then, though it had seemed like a great deal at the time, and it had caused him no damage except for a few small blisters on his palm that faded within days.


    The second time, he had nearly managed to blow himself up, pushing all of his ki out toward the horde of woshi larvae that had been trying to eat him. He had shattered his core, crippling himself until a strange, aged being aided him when he once again nearly killed himself while trying to repair the damage.


    Now, he needed to do it right. Given the difficulty even Chi Yincang had been having in carving his way through, it would take minutes to dig down through the quivering flesh that now surrounded him. Kaz needed to reach the monster¡¯s core and destroy it before anyone else died.


    Pushing ki into his lungs, Kaz took in a deep breath and bent, thrusting his hand down into the monster as far as he could. Hot fluid surrounded his chest, then his eyes, and finally covered his upraised muzzle as he strained to reach the bottom of the hole. When he could reach no further, Kaz began to pull every hint of ki that he could spare, shifting it into his hand.


    When kobold females learned to use their power to create light, they pushed it into their own hand, making it glow like they held a miniature fire. Eventually, they could transfer that power to an object, so long as that object wasn¡¯t far away from them. The last step was pushing energy out of their bodies as a bolt of power that could injure or even kill an opponent.


    Kaz was fairly certain that his mistake with the woshi had been picturing his energy blowing out from inside him. He could see the ki cycling in his own core, and he had simply imagined it expanding until it escaped his own flesh, which had resulted not only in the core breaking, but his channels becoming so stretched and flaccid that they couldn¡¯t contain his ki without leaking.


    But when Lianhua made her arrows, and Gaoda made his ki orbs, the energy formed outside of their bodies. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure how, since it seemed as if the power within should have to travel through the flesh in order to escape, but he could see that that was what had happened. Even Chi Yincang and, to a lesser extent, Raff, pushed power into an external object - their weapons - before using it.


    So Kaz imagined his core spinning, faster and faster, as he pulled ki from it. Power flowed through him, utterly destabilizing his own cycle, but he¡¯d known that would happen, and if he acted quickly enough, he hoped it wouldn¡¯t cause too much of a problem. His arms and legs lost feeling, as they did when the channels feeding them became too empty, but it didn¡¯t matter, because he was already in position. Should it make a difference if the bolt formed in front of his hand, or could he have used any part of his body as a conduit for the ki? He didn¡¯t know, but this fit the picture in his mind, and somehow, that picture was very, very important.


    When he felt his heart stutter, he imagined the power he had gathered forming into an arrow just beyond his fingertips. He could see the glimmering light it would give off, the elongated shape of it, feel the heat of the energy that all but burned his skin.


    In his mind, it burst forth, and the flesh beneath his fingers roiled, pushing back and expanding until chunks of flesh and a fountain of ichor nearly blew him back out of the hole. He had retained just enough strength that he was able to dig his claws in and hang on, at least until the slippery fluid seemed to suck his whole body in and down. He felt his paws break through into the cold air of the cave, dropping out of the hole he¡¯d blown completely through the monstrous beast.


    And in front of his face was the core. His eyes were closed, covered in fluid that burned his skin, but he could see it, hanging there, and he found himself nearly overwhelmed by the urge to take it into his mouth, bite down, and devour it, just as he had once longed to do to Li¡¯s core. His jaws were already opening when an image broke into his mind, one he had shown Li as she was trapped in the bag meant to protect her, unable to see anything with her own eyes.


    He saw the female kobold they had nearly stumbled over in the tunnel on the way here, her eyes crazed as she ripped the core from the flesh of a fuergar and swallowed it whole. Li held the image in front of him, playing it over and over as he fought for control of himself.


    At last, at last he pulled up an arm, sliding it through the squishy, slimy flesh-but-not-flesh that surrounded him, and he clasped the core in his hand instead of his salivating mouth. It stung as if he¡¯d put his hand in a clump of xunma, but he squeezed, using the first flush of ki starting to re-enter his channels to increase the strength of his grip. The core crumbled to grit, and the body around Kaz shuddered, tensed, and then fell, crushing his dangling paws beneath its weight, and leaving him trapped in darkness.

 Chapter Sixty-one

    Kaz didn¡¯t know how long he lay, trapped in the slimy, dark hole he and Chi Yincang had dug through the monster, but he was just trying to decide whether his lungs or the pain in his paws would make him pass out first when something grasped his ear. The thing yanked, slipped, then tried again, this time managing to latch onto the fur at the back of his head, choking him. The fingers - because he was fairly sure that¡¯s what they were - shifted again, closed around the looser skin at the back of his neck, and pulled.


    Kaz slid out into the ochre-tinged light of the cavern and immediately began to gasp for air. He blinked blearily, his eyes burning as whatever fluid the creature used instead of blood seeped into them, and he rolled over, whimpering and trying to rub the pain away. His arms barely responded to his commands, and his hands felt like meaty lumps, but he managed well enough to be able to see a little.


    Chi Yincang stood over him, expressionless as he waited for Kaz to recover. When he saw that Kaz¡¯s eyes were open, he extended a hand down, and Kaz tried to lift his own up to meet it. He failed miserably, the arm and hand falling back to land against his chest with a soft squelch. Chi Yincang very nearly looked disgusted as he leaned over and slid his arms under Kaz¡¯s body, lifting him up before the human¡¯s body tensed, and they were in the air.


    When they landed, Lianhua was there, and she immediately began to look Kaz over, though her worried voice faded in and out of Kaz¡¯s hearing as the pain in his paws began to recede, and the pain in his head came to the forefront.


    Something nudged his cheek, and Kaz managed to blink back the darkness that was trying to take him as his head rolled and he looked into Li¡¯s swirling gaze. The hint of blue he¡¯d seen there before was more prominent now, chasing flurries of black and white from the golden depths, and he sank into them.


    <Idiot.> The single word was as clear as any he had ever heard, but the feminine voice was unfamiliar. And inside his head.


    Kaz blinked, licking his lips. He cringed at the acid bite and rancid flavor of the fluid that covered him, but managed to say, ¡°Li?¡±


    It was Lianhua who answered, however, her face popping up behind Li¡¯s, smiling broadly. ¡°Kaz? Are you all right? You have a nasty wound on your head, and I think one of your toes is broken, but otherwise you seem to be okay.¡±


    She held up four fingers. ¡°How many fingers am I holding up?¡±


    He squinted, and for just a second, the four fingers became two, but then they split again, this time taking her head with them. Both Lianhuas frowned at his lack of response.


    ¡°Kaz?¡± Her hand moved, and something touched a spot just behind his right ear. A flash of pain stabbed through him, and he yelped.


    ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry,¡± Lianhua said, though he couldn¡¯t get his eyes to focus well enough to see if she had returned to being her singular self. ¡°It doesn¡¯t want to stop bleeding, so I had to change out the bandage. It¡¯s not too bad, I think. The bone seems intact, and you¡¯ll have a very rakish scar when it heals.¡±


    The pain faded to a background hum again, and her face formed out of the colorful blur that was all he could see. She still had four eyes, but that was better than two complete heads, and he wasn¡¯t absolutely certain that she hadn¡¯t always had four eyes, and he was just imagining that she might once have had only two.


    She bit her lip. ¡°The kobolds have agreed to let us go down to their den with them. They have to take the bodies home and let their tribe know what happened, so they¡¯re going soon.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s chest tightened, but he managed to ask, ¡°How many¡­ dead?¡±


    ¡°I- Don¡¯t worry about that yet.¡± She tried to smile, then leaned forward, lowering her voice. ¡°I¡¯m not cultivating ki right now. May I carry you?¡±


    His eyes widened, bringing on a fresh round of pain, but he did manage to turn his attention inward just well enough to tell two things. First, that only Li and the seed were currently draining his ki, and second, that the sheaths Li was holding around his channels were all that was preventing his ki from leaking out and trying to kill him. Again.


    He rolled his head to the side and met Li¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Thank you,¡± he whispered.


    Gold flooded her eyes, chasing out the other colors, and she edged forward, pressing against his shoulder as a deep feeling of concern came through their bond. It was quickly followed by an image of an enormous dragon glowering down at a tiny, very apologetic kobold. Kaz sent agreement, and felt the dragon¡¯s weight settle against him more firmly as she returned satisfaction at his recognition of his failings.


    Gentle hands slid beneath him, setting off a dozen small wounds that hadn¡¯t even been noticeable until he was moved. He whimpered, closing his eyes, and distantly heard Lianhua¡¯s soft apology. He was jostled as she shifted him in her arms, then everything was stillness until she began to move.


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    With each step, Kaz wished that he could simply sink into unconsciousness, but his mind clung stubbornly to awareness as the light around him deepened from pale orange-red to the crimson of the eternal flames that lined the stairway. Lianhua stepped down, and a jolt of pain ran through him again when her foot landed on the first stair.


    Step after step, they traveled down, and Kaz thought he might drown in the troughs between the waves of pain. He began to count the spikes of agony as they burned through him, and he had just reached three hundred and eight when they finally stopped.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Lianhua¡¯s tired voice murmured, though he couldn¡¯t force his eyes open any longer. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can hear me, but they¡¯re taking us to someplace we can rest now.¡±


    Voices came from around him, the smoothly accented tones of the humans mixing with the rough, familiar sound of kobolds. He couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying, but they began to move again, though it wasn¡¯t as bad this time. Kaz had never before appreciated how gracefully Lianhua moved, but now he did, and he thought that if he didn¡¯t die, he would have to let her know how nice it was to be carried by someone who didn¡¯t slap the ground with their paws like Raff. The metallic sound of the large male¡¯s steps mingled with the murmur of voices and the shifting light against his eyelids and the weight of Li¡¯s warm body against his chest, and he finally¡­


    =+=+=+=


    Kaz woke with a start, arms and legs jumping as his breath caught in his throat. A protesting hiss sounded as Li lifted her head from where she was sleeping on his chest and stared down at him. She sent him an image of a golden dragon resting peacefully when a great, rude blue kobold bumped into her, selfishly waking her.


    He drew in a long, slow breath, honestly surprised to find that he was still breathing at all, and reached up to gently stroke the little dragon. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Li. I¡¯ll try not to disturb you the next time I come back from the brink of death.¡±


    A soft chuckle sounded, and Kaz jumped again, eliciting another hiss from Li as Kaz looked for the source of the sound. He managed to roll onto one side, allowing him to see the figure of an old, stooped kobold sitting beside him.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t that badly off, pup,¡± the kobold said, leaning forward so his broad nose and warm brown eyes came more fully into the light cast by the firemoss torch set into the wall nearby. ¡°I was a little worried about that wound on your head, but you responded to voices and other stimuli. You just took your time about waking up.¡±


    Kaz blinked. ¡°Stimuli?¡±


    The old male raised a hand, showing Kaz a long, pointed bone needle. He grinned, and Kaz could see that he was missing more teeth than he had left. ¡°Old trick. Poke a sleeper with a needle, and if he jumps, he¡¯ll wake, sooner or later.¡±


    Kaz suddenly felt prickles running up his arms and legs, and wondered just how many times this ancient warrior had poked him. He struggled to a sitting position, then shook out his arms, trying to chase off the feeling. When he tried to do the same to his legs, however, he stopped immediately, whimpering at the pain in his paw.


    The strange kobold nodded sagely, setting his needle on the stone beside him. Kaz could see zhiwu webs and jejing moss there as well, so it seemed that this was the tribe¡¯s healer, for males at least. ¡°You twisted your left paw badly,¡± he said, pointing to the offending limb. ¡°It swelled up to the size of a rougu ready for picking. You¡¯re probably better off having slept through that. We ran out of mamu a few days ago.¡±


    Mamu was a fairly rare lichen that numbed any part of the body it touched. Kobolds harvested it whenever they found it, and once it was boiled, it could be stored in a clean container for quite a while, though it grew less effective over time. In Kaz¡¯s experience, life in the mountain was never so peaceful that mamu had to be discarded because it was no longer useful.


    Kaz shook his head, and the hut walls surrounding them only swayed a little. He started to press his hand to his head, then flinched away from the pressure. ¡°What happened?¡±


    The kobold shrugged, laboriously climbing to his paws. This process took more than a minute, and required several stages, and by the time he was done, Kaz felt like he should have gotten up and helped, even though he was the one who was injured.


    ¡°That¡¯s a very good question, pup. From what Pils says, one of the abominations appeared, and you saved him, Regz, and Civ.¡±


    That was three. There had been six males guarding the stairs. Kaz¡¯s ears drooped, and a dull thump of pain came from the right side of his head. It wasn¡¯t bad, though, so he only winced a little as he said, ¡°Three?¡±


    The other sighed. ¡°Three more than would have come back without you and your friends, pup. It might not seem like much to you, but to us¡­¡±


    He trailed off, then pressed his fist to his chest and very, very slowly bowed. To Kaz.


    ¡°Pils is my son¡¯s pup. The last. When the howl came, I thought that was the end of my line. Thank you for saving him,¡± he said.


    Kaz choked, unable to speak, so he just nodded. Feeling the depth of his emotion, Li pressed close against his chest, whistling softly.


    Brown eyes flicked to her as the old male straightened again, at least as much as he was able. He shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re a strange one, but let no one speak against you, or old Zyle will break their teeth.¡± He laughed, the sound more of a cackle than a chuckle, and turned to make his way toward the door, which was outlined by dim light that seared Kaz¡¯s eyes as he tried to focus on it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell your friends you¡¯re awake. They¡¯ll be glad to see you. That Lianhua has been trying to get to you since you arrived, but we don¡¯t allow females in the den right now.¡±


    Kaz opened his mouth to ask why, then closed it again as the old kobold exited, letting the door fall shut behind him. It didn¡¯t matter; he knew why. Females, for the first time in the history of the kobold people, were the enemy.

 Chapter Sixty-two

    The next time the door opened, Raff peered in. The tall human had to bend nearly double, and there was no way he could fit through the door, which was small even for a kobold. If the door and Zyle were any indication, the members of this tribe must tend toward the petite, though neither the old kobold nor the warriors at the stairs were nearly as stocky as the Copperstrikers.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake,¡± Raff said, interrupting Kaz¡¯s completely irrelevant thoughts. ¡°Can you walk? Lianhua¡¯s been pesterin¡¯ me nonstop about checking on you.¡±


    Kaz tried to focus, and found that while it was easier than it had been before he passed out, it was still more difficult than it should be. At least, he was fairly certain that it was. The light hurt his eyes, too, even though it was only filtering in through the door, and seemed to be just the low light provided by firemoss torches.


    Still, he owed Lianhua a great deal for carrying him all the way here. She was stronger than a kobold, yes, but he probably weighed almost as much as she did, even though he was shorter. It couldn¡¯t have been easy, carrying him down several hundred steps, but she had never complained or tried to put him down.


    Looking around, Kaz saw his pack, as well as a long bone on the ground beside the moss and webbing. When kobolds injured a leg or paw, this was what they usually used to help them get around while it healed, so Kaz assumed it was for him, though it was also possible that it belonged to the old kobold, and he¡¯d just forgotten it on his way out.


    Either way, it would work for now, so Kaz pulled on his pack, noting with relief that the special knot he used to tie it shut seemed to be unchanged. The pack itself was crusted with dried goo and bleached from the fluid of the monster. Settling it into place, Kaz sighed as he realized that the straps were damaged as well. He¡¯d just gotten this bag, but he would have to see about getting or making another one soon.


    Once that was done, he picked up the long bone and managed to lever himself to his paws, though Li complained as she was forced to relocate from his lap to his shoulder. Kaz found that the bone was just the right length so he could rest his hand on the rounded joint and hobble toward the door, supporting his injured paw as he took each step. It still hurt, but it was wrapped in wide strips of soft leather so it couldn¡¯t flex too much, so it wasn¡¯t nearly as painful as he expected.


    The light, however, was. As soon as he stepped through the door Raff helpfully held open for him, Kaz had to close his eyes against what seemed like two knives made of pure radiance that stabbed directly into his brain. He sheltered his eyes with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the bone and squinted, but still couldn¡¯t make out any details through what seemed like a haze of light.


    Something touched his hand and ears, and darkness fell across his vision, then went away again as an object slipped down to dangle from the side of his nose. Raff made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a laugh, and plucked the thing from Kaz¡¯s face. Kaz squinted, trying to see what the human was up to, but he couldn¡¯t make anything out in the blinding light. His head began to pound with a renewed ache, and he debated turning around and going back into the hut behind him.


    With a satisfied sniff, Raff pushed Kaz¡¯s hand out of the way and slipped the thing over his ears again. Comforting darkness fell, though the light still seeped in around the edges, and Kaz was finally able to see well enough to look up at the human.


    ¡°They call ¡®em darklenses. Made of wire and smoked glass. Bit expensive, but I had a mission in Valile Desert where¡­ Eh. Doesn¡¯t matter. Got these things there, and they¡¯re nice t¡¯ have when it gets bright outside. Never thought I¡¯d need ¡®em inside a mountain, though.¡± Raff grinned and nudged the darklenses, shifting them so they blocked a bit more of the light. The fur behind Kaz¡¯s ear pulled sharply, and he flinched.


    Seeing the movement, Raff leaned around, out of Kaz¡¯s sight, apparently checking the back of Kaz¡¯s head. He reached up and tugged at something Kaz couldn¡¯t see, and the pain got better.


    ¡°Sorry, Blue,¡± Raff said, stepping back. ¡°I had to tie a strap to them to keep ¡®em in place. I was trying to avoid that bump, but I think it¡¯s half the size of your head, so it¡¯s a bit hard to miss.¡±


    Kaz reached up and felt the object on his face. There were two metal circles, which held the smoked glass that now blocked the majority of the painful light. Two long pieces were attached at the sides, which Kaz guessed were meant to sit over a human¡¯s ears and hold the glass in place. A kobold¡¯s ears were both higher and larger, so Raff had tied a narrow strip of cloth to these long pieces, and the cloth went just under a lump that felt almost as large as the ear it sat behind.


    Prodding the bump was painful, but when he reached the top he felt the sharp prickles of gut thread holding a wound together. These weren¡¯t the first stitches Kaz had ever had, and he was just as glad he¡¯d been unconscious when they were put in, especially since there seemed to be a great number of them.


    Raff watched all this, and nodded as Kaz gingerly fingered his injury. ¡°That old kobold laid a pretty neat row. I¡¯ve gotten my own share of stitches, and while the thread was finer, I don¡¯t think any of the chirurgeons did a better job.¡±


    Kaz dropped his hand, almost immediately feeling an urge to put it back up, as if to be sure the wound was still there. He was certain it was, though, so he just clenched his fist and looked around. Now that most of the light was filtered through the lenses, he could tell that they were in a wide cavern with a low ceiling. Raff¡¯s head was barely lower than the stumps of some of the larger stalactites, and Kaz found his focus drifting as he wondered if it hurt when the human bumped his head, or if his body was sturdy enough that it just broke the stone on impact.


    Raff¡¯s fingers snapped in front of Kaz¡¯s eyes, and Kaz pulled his attention back again. ¡°Sorry,¡± he mumbled. ¡°It¡¯s like I can¡¯t-¡± He waved his hand, having no words for what was happening in his head at the moment.


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    Raff nodded sagely. ¡°Concussion. Used to happen to me all the time before I ranked up. Give it a day or two, and you¡¯ll be good as new. That is, if Lianhua doesn¡¯t kill us both because we took too long gettin¡¯ back to her.¡±


    Reminded, Kaz looked around again. More huts surrounded them, and Kaz realized that some of them were made from stout walls that went from ground to ceiling, with no roof, while others, like the one he¡¯d been in, looked lightweight and easy to move around or tear down as needed. Because of the low ceiling and the full-length walls, it would be easy for a stranger to get turned around, and Kaz couldn¡¯t tell where the exit might lie.


    Raff hooked a thumb over his shoulder. ¡°Way out¡¯s this way. The rest of us¡¯ve been sleeping in some of these fold-up huts out there. The tribe wouldn¡¯t let Gaoda and Lianhua in, and Chi Yincang and I decided to stay with them, since that¡¯s our job, an¡¯ all.¡±


    He reached up and tapped a knuckle against the ceiling meaningfully. ¡°Plus, the roof¡¯s a lot higher out there. Come on, then.¡±


    Turning, the human led the way through the den, ducking once or twice to go under particularly low sections. There were a lot of huts, mostly of the tall, sturdy type, but the den didn¡¯t smell like it held nearly enough kobolds to fill them all, and the only scents of females were old, faint traces near a few of the higher-quality buildings.


    There was actually a gate across the den opening, which was something no one bothered with in the upper levels. It was rare for any of the beasts in the heights to be strong enough to get past the guards who were supposed to be stationed at the entrance, and having a gate just meant that gate had to be opened and closed each time someone left or returned. Here, of course, things were very different, and the brief delay while an attacker killed the guards and beat down the gate might be enough to allow the kobolds within to rally or flee.


    Raff waved to the two warriors at the gate, and one of them nodded back, sharp black eyes taking in Kaz, complete with bone walking aid and darklenses. Kaz thought he must be quite a sight, but the males only peered through a peephole in the gate, then opened it, stepping aside to allow Kaz and Raff to pass.


    Three more guards stood outside, their dark fur blending into the pleasant dimness of the tunnel. They, too, stepped aside as the gate clacked shut again, and Raff led Kaz through a passage that was even lower than the ceiling in the den. The small size would make it difficult or impossible for large creatures to reach the den, but it also meant Raff had to crouch as he walked, which led to a fair amount of grumbling, and meant Kaz couldn¡¯t ask any questions about what had been happening since the monster attacked.


    When the tunnel opened out, it was in a very large, open cavern that tribes in the upper levels would have been happy to use as their primary den. A small trickle of water formed a shallow pool on one side, and Kaz could see several clumps of moss and mushrooms, though he was too far away and his eyes weren¡¯t working well enough to tell exactly what they were.


    In the middle of this space stood a ring of the low, movable huts. A fire had been built in the center of that ring, and Lianhua and Gaoda sat on rocks nearby. Gaoda¡¯s ki orb floated overhead, brilliantly illuminating the scene, so Kaz couldn¡¯t miss the kobold who sat across from them. It was Litz, the female who had challenged Pilla for leadership of the Copperstrikers, and lost.


    When Raff¡¯s metallic footsteps rang out through the cavern, they all turned. Lianhua¡¯s face lit up, and she jumped to her feet, hurrying toward them. ¡°Kaz!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Raff left to check on you ages ago. I was starting to think you weren¡¯t well enough to come.¡±


    Kaz grimaced, lifting the long bone he had been leaning on. ¡°I¡¯m not very fast at the moment. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She shook her head, reaching out as if to touch his head, then pulling her hand back. ¡°I¡¯m just glad you made it. How¡¯s your head? And where did you get darklenses?¡±


    He turned to show her the side of his head that was throbbing in time with his heartbeat. ¡°It hurts, but I can think, at least a little. The light was bothering me, so Raff loaned these to me.¡±


    This time, Lianhua¡¯s smile was all for Raff. ¡°That was very kind, Raff.¡±


    Raff¡¯s brown cheeks darkened even further, and he scratched his unruly beard, looking toward the fire. ¡°Sure. Is that more of those stonebeetles I smell? Never thought I¡¯d like eating bugs, but those things are pretty good, once you get past all the legs.¡±


    Lianhua watched him wander off, shaking her head in amusement. ¡°He wants everyone to believe he never does anything he¡¯s not paid to do, but I think he¡¯s a better person than he¡¯d like to admit.¡± Turning back to Kaz, she went on, ¡°But how are you, really? That¡¯s a lot of stitches, and your foot is still swollen.¡±


    Kaz shrugged uncomfortably. ¡°Just what I said. My head hurts, and so does my paw, but I think I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    She leaned in. ¡°And Li?¡±


    Kaz reached up and stroked the dragon on his shoulder, who whistled in soft annoyance, but leaned into the touch. ¡°Fine as well, I think.¡±


    ¡°Your,¡± her voice dropped to something that was barely audible, even for him, ¡°cores? Did the exposure to fulan affect them?¡±


    Kaz was shocked that he¡¯d forgotten, and instantly tried to look to tell if there was anything different about his core or Li¡¯s. A spike of pain in his head made him gasp, and he was forced to give up before he could see anything more than the most superficial details.


    Li clicked softly, tightening her tail around his throat, though not enough to choke him, and sent him silent feelings of reassurance and comfort. She felt healthy, and didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with either of them, other than the obvious.


    He shook his head, instantly regretting the action. ¡°All right, I think. I don¡¯t see any fulan here.¡± His eyes went to the plants growing near the small pool, but couldn¡¯t tell if they were infected. He assumed not, since the kobolds would have burned them as soon as it was discovered.


    Lianhua¡¯s brows drew together. ¡°There isn¡¯t any. It was strange, actually. As soon as we started down the stairs, the spores just vanished. Zyle says it¡¯s part of the magic of the stairs, that no contagion can pass.¡±


    ¡°But we saw spores on both of the other staircases,¡± Kaz said.


    She nodded. ¡°I told him that, and he looked really worried. Said if the power of the stairs is starting to fade, perhaps his tribe should have left the mid-levels, after all.¡±


    ¡°Which tribe?¡± Kaz asked, finally releasing some of the questions he¡¯d been keeping in. ¡°What happened? How long was I unconscious? Zyle acted like it had been a while, but I don¡¯t feel particularly hungry or-¡±


    Lianhua smiled and held up a hand, then turned back toward the fire. ¡°Come on. You may not feel hungry, but I bet you are. You were out for almost two days. Eat, and I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡±


    Kaz limped after her, and as the aroma of roasting jiachin reached him, his belly began to growl, letting him know that it was indeed very empty.

 Chapter Sixty-three

    Their hosts were the Sharpjaws, the tribe the dying kobold, Scov, had been trying to reach. When Lianhua told Zyle about Scov and Davik¡¯s deaths, the old male had seemed saddened, but unsurprised.


    ¡°The Sharpjaws used to have two dens, one on the level above, and this one,¡± Lianhua said, handing Kaz another roasted beetle, which he passed to Li. The dragon cracked it open gleefully and began to devour its steaming innards as the human continued.


    ¡°This den was for warriors, so there was only one female in charge here. The kobolds who live here were just supposed to guard this end of the stairs and the territory nearby, to make sure no monsters moved in. When the fulan appeared, it was on the level two above us, where we saw the worst infestation. The Sharpjaws assumed that the tribes above would burn it out. Then a few large patches showed up in an area they hadn¡¯t foraged for a while. Their females burned it, but they breathed a lot of smoke and spores in the process, and a few days later, they began acting strangely. They were erratic, and easily angered. They attacked anyone nearby, including other females, and then forgot they had done it. More fulan appeared, and each time they burned it out, the females got worse. Finally, they started killing each other for their cores. Zyle said they were more like beasts than thinking creatures, and the few remaining unmated males fled here.


    ¡°When she heard what had happened, the female in charge of this den went up, taking half of the warriors back with her, but she was killed as well, and the surviving males ran. Which brings us to what we saw when we arrived at the stairs. A few infected females, other creatures, and one abomination like the one we fought came down before they set a guard, so now they take turns at the top, killing anything that isn¡¯t intelligent.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°So all of the Sharpjaw females are dead?¡±


    ¡°As far as they know,¡± Lianhua confirmed. She glanced toward Litz, who was studiously ignoring them as she devoured her own meal. ¡°A few females from other tribes have made it through, and so long as they can still speak, the Sharpjaws allow them to come down, but they refuse to let them into their den.¡±


    Litz¡¯s hands stilled, and her lips curled away from sharp teeth as a low rumble came from her throat. ¡°Males denying a female. They¡¯ll regret it when my power recovers.¡±


    Lianhua looked unhappy, but she didn¡¯t argue, and neither did Kaz. The kobold female was right. As far as Kaz knew, no tribe had ever had all their females die before, but the obvious result was that the males would have to join another tribe. There were a dozen things Kaz could think of that required a female¡¯s power, and a male simply couldn¡¯t do, or it would take so much effort that it wasn¡¯t worthwhile. Males needed females to survive, and that was fact.


    Wasn¡¯t it?


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Kaz asked, shifting away from the long-furred female, who was now eyeing him with open loathing.


    Gaoda snorted, flicking a glance at Kaz. He had seemed even angrier than usual ever since Kaz joined them. ¡°What do you think? We spent the last two days recovering our cultivation while you were lazing about. Another day or so, and we¡¯ll be ready to go, with or without you.¡±


    Lianhua looked shocked. ¡°Gaoda Xiang! I, for one, need at least two more days, and Kaz may need even longer, depending on how his foot is doing. Surely you¡¯re not suggesting we leave him behind?¡±


    The golden male¡¯s jaw flexed, and he pointed an accusing finger at Kaz. ¡°He¡¯s not even blue anymore!¡±


    Kaz froze, then lifted a hand. The darklenses turned everything gray and dim, and Kaz had been flinching away from the light since he woke, so he certainly hadn¡¯t spent any time examining himself. How could his fur possibly be anything other than blue, though?


    Moving the lenses off his eyes was exactly as painful as he thought it would be, and Kaz quickly spun away from the fire and Gaoda¡¯s light orb, squinting at his own legs. At first, Kaz thought his eyes were still playing tricks on him, but the purple embroidery on Lianhua¡¯s white robe was just as vibrant as ever, so what he was seeing was the truth.


    He was gray. It was a slightly bluish gray, but there was no doubt he was gray, not any shade of blue. He tugged at the drab fur, and it hurt, so this was definitely his fur.


    Lianhua¡¯s hand came to rest on his, stilling the fretful plucking as she spoke gently. ¡°It¡¯s all right. Whatever that atrocity used for blood bleached almost everything it touched, and your whole body was doused in it for several minutes. Zyle had one of the males clean you up as well as he could, but you were hurt, so they couldn¡¯t just dump water over you. I¡¯m sure in a few months, when new fur grows in, you¡¯ll have your beautiful blue color back again.¡±


    Kaz could actually hear Gaoda¡¯s teeth grit as he muttered, ¡°But he¡¯s not blue now.¡±


    Taking in a slow, deep breath, Kaz settled the darklenses back on his snout with trembling fingers. He felt like a stranger in his own skin, seeing the ashen fur on arms and legs that moved when he told his body to move. He hadn¡¯t realized just how much being the ¡®only¡¯ blue kobold had been a part of him until it was gone.


    He turned back to the others, looking straight at Gaoda. ¡°My fur may not be blue, but I still know how to reach the Deep.¡±


    Beside him, Lianhua nodded, watching Gaoda with narrowed eyes. She didn¡¯t relax until the male finally looked away and shrugged, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not like there¡¯s really an alternative, anyway.¡±


    Kaz snorted a little laugh. That was true enough. One of the Sharpjaws might be able to take on the task of guiding the humans, but without a female to order him, no male would volunteer. Kobolds stayed with their tribe unless they were expelled or traded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll rest here for at least two more days,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°Then we¡¯ll head onward. That way, if we do encounter more fulan, we¡¯ll be strong enough to cast the shield again.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t see why we should bother,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°If this just affects creatures with cores, none of us are susceptible. We were all exposed at the end of that battle, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with us.¡±


    ¡°But both Zyle and Kaz¡¯s story about his aunt indicate that greater exposure leads to stronger symptoms. This time, we were exposed for less than an hour after the shield failed. We all use ki, and we don¡¯t know what will happen if we depend only on the masks,¡± Lianhua argued.


    ¡°If we hadn¡¯t had to stay within the shield, we could have moved much more quickly, reducing our exposure,¡± Gaoda countered. ¡°Plus, we would have been able to make short work of that aberration if we hadn¡¯t all been drained from feeding the shield, so we wouldn¡¯t have had to depend on a kobold to dig his way through the thing.¡±


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    Dig his way through? Was that what the humans thought had happened? Or was it just Gaoda who was so blind? Kaz didn¡¯t dare look around at the rest of them, instead focusing on picking up another jiachin whose shell had just popped open. It was hot, and he juggled it from hand to hand as Lianhua and Gaoda bickered, before finally splitting it in half and handing part to Li, who actually hesitated before accepting.


    ¡°Are you full?¡± he murmured, glancing at the dragon as she crunched through the crisp shell. She clicked muffled denial through the first mouthful, but he noticed that this insect definitely wasn¡¯t going down as quickly as the first few had.


    ¡°¡­that, Kaz?¡±


    When Lianhua said his name, he realized that his mind had wandered again, and looked at the female, feeling a little embarrassed. ¡°Yes?¡± he offered, hoping that was the answer she was hoping for.


    Apparently it was, because her face lit up. ¡°Good! Then as soon as you¡¯re done eating, we¡¯ll go get you cleaned up. There isn¡¯t enough water for a good bath, but we can at least get the crust and tangles out of your fur.¡±


    That actually did sound very good to Kaz. Like most kobolds, he kept himself clean, but he rarely did what Lianhua seemed to prefer and actually poured water over his whole body. Water was a precious resource in the mountain, but Kaz was certain the Sharpjaws had a larger source somewhere in the den itself, so if they used some of the little pool here, it shouldn¡¯t matter too much, as long as they kept it clean.


    He popped the rest of the jiachin in his mouth, chomping it down, shell and all. He had been trying to eat just the insides, like the humans, but he didn¡¯t need to, and he wanted to get away from Gaoda and Litz as quickly as possible.


    Grabbing the long bone from beside him, Kaz managed to climb to his paws, gingerly tapping the toes of the bad one on the ground. They hurt, but sitting and getting something to eat had helped, so it felt better than it had when he and Raff arrived.


    Lianhua, too, got to her feet, meticulously wiping her fingers clean with a square of emerald cloth. She started to reach for Kaz, as if she would pick him up and carry him the thirty feet to the water¡¯s edge, but he leaned away from her, and she stopped, sighing softly.


    They moved at Kaz¡¯s limping pace, but it only took a minute to reach the pool, where Lianhua knelt down and began to pull things from the pouch at her waist. First was a series of jars, which Kaz recognized as containing both the bubbly substance she called soap, and the sweet-smelling unguent she had used on him while brushing out his fur. Then there was a large, thick piece of cloth, and finally a comb carved from precious wood and something that looked like two short, conjoined knives with loops on the end.


    Picking these up, she motioned for him to sit beside her. ¡°I¡¯ll trim and even up the burned and missing clumps first, and then we¡¯ll get you clean.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s hand went to his head, not to his wound this time, but to the longer fur on top and behind his ears. He ran his fingers through it, and found that it was, indeed, of many varying lengths. Part of it felt crunchy, and when he looked at his fingers, he could see that not only had there been a dried glop of something in it, the fur itself was brittle and had broken off when he pulled the glob free.


    Lianhua grimaced sympathetically. ¡°It¡¯s all bleached, I¡¯m afraid, plus we had to cut away some parts so we could see your injury, and the fur has been pulled out or is breaking off in other areas. Don¡¯t worry, though. I cut my dog¡¯s fur every summer, so I¡¯m very good at it. I promise it¡¯ll be much better when I¡¯m done.¡±


    Whimpering slightly, Kaz gave in to the inevitable, bending his head beneath her ministrations. Li scampered down as soon as he sat, crossing to the pool, where she fully submerged her head, then lifted it up, guzzling down mouthful after mouthful of the clear liquid.


    Quiet snicks began to sound around Kaz¡¯s head as Lianhua got to work, and Kaz sent Li an image of herself, falling away through dark water just after she had hatched. They had both nearly died when Kaz dove in to get her, and though there wasn¡¯t enough water here for even a small dragon to drown in, he was still nervous.


    Li ignored his concern, drinking greedily until she released a belch that seemed far larger than should have been possible for such a small creature. Even Lianhua hesitated at the sound, then giggled.


    ¡°Something else to add to my treatise on dragons,¡± the human murmured softly. ¡°No one has ever suggested that they burp.¡±


    Kaz watched Li from the corner of his eyes as she put first one foot into the water, then another, then simply dove in, sliding along her belly in the shallow pool, whistling happily. Her wings extended up, flicking away glistening droplets that glittered as they flew through the air, settling in Kaz¡¯s fur and creating dark spots on the stone.


    ¡°Have they mentioned that they have a very annoying sense of humor?¡± Kaz muttered, noticing that the dragon was intentionally aiming the majority of the droplets at him. Li sent him a smug sense of satisfaction as she rolled over, spitting out a stream of water that soaked Kaz¡¯s knee.


    Lianhua laughed again. ¡°No. I think the question of whether or not dragons even have a sense of humor is something that¡®s usually secondary to wondering if they¡¯re more likely to eat people whole or chew them up first.¡±


    Li sat up, head tilting to one side as she pictured a large gold dragon dropping a human into its gaping maw. First the dragon chewed, then swallowed, and Kaz grimaced.


    ¡°No eating people, whole or otherwise,¡± he said firmly, sending Li an image of herself as a very small dragon eating insects and fuergar while entirely inedible humans and kobolds watched.


    The dragonling flicked a wingful of water at him, and Lianhua¡¯s blades stilled for a moment. When she spoke again, she sounded very thoughtful. ¡°I knew it was smarter than the dragons I¡¯ve heard of, but it really seems to understand you.¡±


    Kaz snorted. ¡°She does.¡± He started to say more, but hesitated. Litz, at least, could probably hear them if she tried, and Kaz didn¡¯t trust the female not to do or say something that might make the other humans question whether Li was a normal fuergar or not.


    He sighed and said, ¡°She¡¯s very smart for a fuergar.¡±


    Lianhua hesitated again, then put her sharp tool down and picked up the jar of sweet-smelling cream. She turned the lid, opening it, then scooped out a fingerful. Leaning over, she traced out a rune on the stone beside them, and Kaz flinched as he felt a very small amount of ki flood it.


    No dome sprang up around them, but Lianhua murmured, ¡°This will make everything we say sound like mumbling. If we¡¯re loud, they¡¯ll be able to pick out words, but so long as we keep our voices low, no one will understand. We¡¯ve already had a few arguments with Litz, so if Gaoda senses anything, he¡¯ll assume I don¡¯t want her to hear. He may not notice at all, though, since he¡¯s trying not to use any ki until he recovers.¡±


    Kaz felt a chill and turned to look at her. ¡°Arguments? About what?¡±


    She sighed and shook her head, scooping some water up into a small bowl. ¡°She wanted the largest hut, and keeps trying to tell Raff and Chi Yincang to do things for her. She spent most of the first day barking at the guards outside the den, demanding that they let her in.¡±


    Lianhua poured cool water over his head, and it took Kaz a moment to get enough breath back to say, ¡°She got here at the same time we did?¡±


    ¡°Mm hmm. She must have been hiding somewhere nearby, because as soon as the monster died, she popped up, demanding to be allowed to go down the stairs. The guards couldn¡¯t stop her, so she shoved right past them. When we got here, she was already at the gate.¡±


    Several more scoops of water followed the first, and once Kaz¡¯s fur was thoroughly wet, Lianhua began applying foaming gel, which she then rinsed off so the bubbles ran into a crevice in the floor, leaving a trail of broken fur and unidentifiable chunks. She didn¡¯t speak again until she began to work the comb and oil through the tangles in Kaz¡¯s tail.


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with her aura, Kaz,¡± she whispered softly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but it¡¯s different, and I don¡¯t like it. Don¡¯t listen to her, and don¡¯t let yourself be alone with her.¡±


    Kaz hadn¡¯t intended to, but his skin crawled as he glanced back toward the female kobold, who was hunched over the fire, her mouth moving as she muttered something to herself. He still couldn¡¯t focus well enough to see her core clearly, but he thought there was a darkness in her belly that hadn¡¯t been there before.

 Chapter Sixty-four

    Under Lianhua¡¯s gentle hands, Kaz found his eyes drooping closed, and his attention wandering ever further from the topic at hand. By the time he was as clean as he could get, and Lianhua draped the thick, warm ¡®towel¡¯ around his shoulders, he gave in and simply curled up on the ground by the little pool. He didn¡¯t even notice when Li crawled under the towel with him, and Lianhua lifted his head to lay it in her lap, lightly stroking his fur.


    He had no idea how much time had gone by when he woke, but as he blinked blearily at the circle of huts, he realized that no one was sitting outside them anymore. The fire was out, and the only light was emitted by bioluminescent moss that grew on the walls and ceiling of the cavern. It was plenty for him, but when he stirred, so did the soft, warm thing beneath his head.


    Lianhua groaned softly, looking around in the dimness, then traced a rune on her hand. It flared into life, and Kaz flinched away instinctively before realizing that it didn¡¯t bother him as much as it had. The female grimaced at his movement, closing her fingers around her light and pulling her power back. It dimmed, not flickering, but simply fading to a more tolerable level.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± she murmured, reaching behind her and retrieving the darklenses. ¡°I took them off because they kept snagging on your stitches when you moved.¡±


    Kaz accepted the lenses, but didn¡¯t instantly put them on again. Instead, he looked around at the quiet cavern. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave me? I would have been fine. Kobolds usually sleep on the ground.¡±


    Lianhua shrugged, then sighed, looking slightly guilty. ¡°I sleep with my puppy every night when I¡¯m home, and when I travel, I usually share a bed with Yingtao. I had to leave them both behind, and I¡¯m¡­ lonely. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    He rubbed his eyes, yawning. ¡°It¡¯s all right. I¡¯m just surprised Gaoda allowed it.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed. ¡°Oh, he didn¡¯t. I¡¯m amazed our argument didn¡¯t wake you. Still, he may technically be the leader of our expedition, but I¡¯m getting very tired of him trying to control everything I do.¡±


    As Kaz stretched, the towel fell from around his shoulders, partially exposing the dragon sleeping next to him. She hissed softly and rolled over, burrowing her nose under the edge of the cloth, all without waking.


    He and Lianhua shared an amused glance, and then the human female sobered, glancing around. ¡°I also need to talk to you about something. Privately.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. He had many things to ask her, but he wasn¡¯t sure what she could possibly need from him.


    ¡°I have things I need to ask you, too,¡± he admitted.


    She smiled. ¡°Then let¡¯s exchange questions. I suspect that some of yours may answer some of mine.¡±


    The sound of water dripping into the pool filled the space between them, and then Lianhua shook her head, laughing softly. ¡°You first,¡± she said.


    Questions swirled in Kaz¡¯s head, but the pain in his paw and head pushed a particular one to the forefront. ¡°You said that opening my middle dantian was the first step in tempering my body. What¡¯s the second step?¡±


    Lianhua blinked. ¡°That¡¯s not what I expected you to ask. But yes, in order to refine your body, you have to saturate it with ki, and the middle dantian is the anchor for that.¡±


    Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out her stick of chalk and drew a rough sketch of a human body on the stone between them. Then, she drew three stars inside the body; one in the head, one in the chest, and one in the abdomen. She tapped the bottom one, her tone shifting into her ¡®scholar voice¡¯.


    ¡°The lower dantian is where we collect and process our power. All true cultivators have one, and, as I said before, the amount of ki we can store in it determines our strength. The upper dantian is where we control what Raff would call spells. By thinking, or imagining something, we can make it happen, and the more precise our imagery and control, the better. Those with a closed or weak upper dantian and a powerful lower dantian can often brute force their way through obstacles, but find their cultivation stalls out sooner than others.¡±


    She shifted, circling the top star several times, so the head of the figure was obscured by the expanding circles. ¡°On the other hand, someone with a very small lower dantian and a complex upper dantian can become quite powerful through compression and wise use of their limited resources.¡±


    Now, she lifted her hand to press it against her chest. A small puff of chalk lifted from her fingers as her fuulong silk rejected the white powder. ¡°The middle dantian, on the other hand, is optional. A cultivator cannot reach immortality without it, but there are those who are either unable or uninterested in opening this dantian.¡±


    Her voice was deliberately neutral as she said this, and Kaz wondered what lay behind it, but he was quickly distracted as she drew lines leading from the middle dantian into the rest of the chalk figure. ¡°Without a middle dantian, our ki cycles along the Conception Vessel going up along the spine, and the Governing Vessel going down the front of our bodies. Once we acquire a middle dantian, a sort of secondary pool forms in the center of our bodies, in between the two vessels. It¡¯s fed by the cycle, and feeds the cycle, and as it develops, it links and balances the ki that travels to our muscles, bones, and organs.¡±


    Kaz frowned, staring at the messy white figure. ¡°But how do we develop it?¡±


    Lianhua grimaced. ¡°If I understood that, I would be further along in my body cultivation. The best advice I can give you is to listen to your own body. My grandm- My master told me I¡¯m stuck because I think too much. The body is beyond the control of our intellect, so techniques that develop our upper and lower dantians can actually slow the growth of the middle.¡±


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    She put the chalk down and took something that glinted sharply from her pouch. When she held it up, Kaz could tell that it was the finest metal needle he had ever seen, with an eye so small he could barely make it out. Turning it, Lianhua stabbed it into her palm, wincing as it barely penetrated the skin, allowing a single red drop to collect in her palm.


    ¡°I was able to temper my skin,¡± she said, ¡°because I can see it. My eyes, ears, and lungs, too. I can see and feel how the things I do affect my senses, and what happens when I hold my breath, or a sharp object pierces my skin. I can tell when I¡¯m stronger, and I understand how to develop my muscles, so I¡¯ve managed to temper many of those as well.¡±


    Lianhua tucked the needle back in her bag, then blotted the crimson droplet with the corner of the towel. ¡°I have a much more difficult time with my bones and organs. I¡¯m not going to stop my heart to check whether I¡¯ve managed to pour enough ki into it, and I won¡¯t break my bones, either. A body cultivator, however, must flood each and every organ and bone with so much ki that-¡±


    She broke off, fingers flicking as she tried to find the right words, before saying, ¡°Eventually, the entire body must be replaced with ki. Or ki must fill every single part of it so completely that it might as well be ki. Ki cannot be damaged, so a Rhodium-class body cultivator is essentially invulnerable. In order to ascend, a person must move beyond even that, however, and learn to meld the ki that forms them back into that of the universe. At that point, all ki is one ki, and they become eternal - a divine being. This is the goal of most cultivators.¡±


    ¡°But not you,¡± Kaz said.


    She smiled, just a little. ¡°No. Not me. Perhaps that¡¯s really why I struggle with body refinement.¡±


    ¡°So, these are vessels?¡± Kaz asked, tracing his finger along the chalk oval traveling between the upper to lower dantians. ¡°What happens if they start to leak?¡±


    Lianhua grew serious again. ¡°A ki healer might repair them, but the only one I know of works directly for the Emperor. You¡¯re on the right track to do it yourself, though. A properly tempered body becomes all one ki. The cycle still exists, but the ki within and without the vessels is the same, so the leak is the cycle and the cycle is the leak. Of course, most people with leaking vessels die fairly quickly, so I¡¯m only repeating what I¡¯ve read in scholarly texts, and at least half of that is theory.¡±


    Kaz wished he could look at his own cycle, but even thinking about it made the constant pressure behind his eyes grow. Once his head was better, perhaps he could ¡®listen to his body¡¯ and refine it, at least enough that he and Li didn¡¯t have to constantly support his channels. It had to help that he now knew what the end goal of refining was, though he still had one more question before he was done with the subject for now.


    ¡°You said you make things happen just by imagining them,¡± he said, ¡°But I¡¯ve seen you draw¡­¡± He traced the general shape of a rune in the air, looking at her expectantly.


    Her cheeks turned pink. ¡°That is my image. Everyone has their own, and mine is words.¡± She touched a finger to her forehead. ¡°I have a library here, and when I need something, I take out a book, and find the rune and draw it. The rune looks real to me, though of course no one else can see it.¡±


    Except me, Kaz thought, but he just nodded.


    ¡°My servant, Yingtao, has a garden as her image. Each plant she grows there has its own meaning, and the more she learns, the more of that meaning she can imbue into them. For some people, their ¡®image¡¯ is actually sound, and for others, it¡¯s color. A simple image is faster, but lacks depth, while a complex image, like mine and Yingtao¡¯s, can take a while to activate, but we can do almost anything with them, given enough time.¡±


    ¡°Color?¡± Kaz asked, excited. ¡°Can some people see ki, then?¡±


    Lianhua shook her head, looking amused. ¡°Just their own. Only I can see the runes I use, and only Yingtao can see her garden. They say Color-weavers can see their own ki, but no one can see all ki. If there was someone who could do that, their power would be even more coveted than my own. I¡¯ve been kidnapped half a dozen times, and several dozen more attempts have been made. That¡¯s why I went to live with my grandfather until I could learn to protect myself. Even now, one of the servants is pretending to be me so no one will know I¡¯m outside the sphere of Grandfather¡¯s protection.¡±


    Kaz swallowed hard, looking down. He¡¯d had a feeling that his peculiar vision was unusual, even among the humans, but this was not good news. He would have to be even more cautious about revealing his own abilities, at least beyond those that a kobold might reasonably have. It was strange enough for a male to have power, but he thought these humans wouldn¡¯t understand just how strange, so the nebulous plan that was just beginning to form in the back of his mind might be feasible. If they found out just how different he was, though, his situation could go from bad to worse.


    He stroked a finger down Li¡¯s spine, taking comfort in the soft scales beneath his fingertip. Small, sharp bumps were beginning to rise along her neck, and he wondered if someday she would have spikes there like her parents.


    ¡°One more question,¡± he said, ¡°and then I¡¯ll answer yours.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, and Kaz very, very carefully said, ¡°You said all ki is one ki, but it seems like¡­ your ki is different from Gaoda¡¯s, which is different from Chi Yincang¡¯s and Raff¡¯s. Is that because you have different images?¡± He knew it wasn¡¯t, at least not entirely, but for someone who couldn¡¯t see the colors of ki it would be a natural assumption.


    The human shook her head. ¡°In the end, all ki is one ki, at least that¡¯s what Grandfather says. But for us, at the beginning of our cultivation, we each have a natural ability to use certain forms of ki. In the Sheng Empire, we have tools which can test what kind of ki a person will find easiest to use. These tools are rare and expensive, so they¡¯re mostly owned by wealthy clans or sects, but they can make the process of training a student much simpler. Eventually, of course, the goal is to unlock all five types of ki, or elements, but I¡¯ve never met anyone with more than four, and the vast majority of people have only one.¡±


    She pointed to herself. ¡°I was actually born with three, which is another reason my family wants to marry me off. Not only might my children inherit my ability to sense auras, or ki, but if I marry someone with the types I¡¯m missing, our children might be born with four or even all five elements.¡±


    Kaz swallowed hard, his throat dry. ¡°What types do you have?¡±


    Lianhua smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a triple Life cultivator. I have wood, water, and earth, which are the things needed for growth. Chi Yincang is Duality; he has metal and water. Gaoda Xiang has double Life; wood and earth. Yingtao only has wood. People with some or all of the same elements can share ki, as you saw when we made the shield, which is part of why Grandfather selected Gaoda and Chi Yincang to go with me. We¡¯re stronger together than any of us would be alone.¡±


    She leaned forward. ¡°Which brings me to the first of my questions. Kaz, why did it seem like I was taking ki from you when I was trying to cultivate on the way here?¡±

 Chapter Sixty-five

    Kaz thought fast, trying to figure out how to answer without revealing too much. Of course, the truth was that he didn¡¯t really know why the humans were able to take ki directly from him, but Lianhua was as curious as he was, in her own way. If he told her he didn¡¯t know, she would continue trying to figure it out, bending her not-insignificant intellect to the task, and possibly insisting on experimenting as well. It was clear that she didn¡¯t just accept what others believed was obvious, so she might figure out more of the truth than even he knew, and he had no idea what that truth might reveal. He liked her, far more than he would have guessed when they first met, but he only trusted her so long as their goals aligned.


    Finally, he said, ¡°I think I may be one of these¡­ What did you call them? Color-weavers? I see my ki as colors, which is how I know that my channels are leaking. I think that when you humans are, ah, cultivating? Yes. When you try to refill your power, you pull the leaking ki from me.¡±


    He stopped, watching her carefully. So far, he hadn¡¯t lied, and he didn¡¯t want to. From a distance, the ki that had leaked from his channels was certainly the first and easiest for them to steal, but when they touched him, they pulled directly from his cycle, and he couldn¡¯t seem to prevent it, at least not entirely. Kaz didn¡¯t want anyone to know that they could take his power just by touching him. He could only imagine what someone like Gaoda would do with that information.


    Lianhua leaned forward, looking thrilled. ¡°Do you know how rare that is? There¡¯s a clan that exclusively trains Weavers, but their techniques are never shared. Any clan-member who can¡¯t see their ki is relegated to an outer family, and never learns the true secrets. Every now and then, someone will figure out how to do it spontaneously, but the Yanse clan always adopts or marries them. I¡¯ve always wanted to talk to a Color-weaver, but-¡±


    Her words cut off, and she bit her lip. ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone else about this. The Yanse are jealous of their power. They¡¯re one of the strongest clans, trusted by the Emperor himself. I think his grandmother was a Yanse, though they don¡¯t usually marry anyone but another Weaver. If they found out there¡¯s a kobold who can Weave, they would¡­¡±


    Lianhua sat back, shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what they would do. They can¡¯t marry you, and I don¡¯t know if they would see you as, um, someone they could hire.¡±


    ¡°A person, you mean,¡± Kaz said, glancing toward the huts. The other humans had known him for long enough now that he thought Raff, at least, was beginning to see him as something other than a beast, but Gaoda never would.


    Lianhua¡¯s cheeks grew pink, and she looked down at the small light she held in her palm. ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted. ¡°There are a few nonhuman races that we treat with respect, but they all look¡­ more like us.¡±


    Kaz felt his heart sink. ¡°Are most humans like Gaoda, then? Would they just see me as an animal?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°I think more of them are like Raff, actually. They¡¯ve been taught that kobolds are monsters, if they¡¯ve heard of them at all. They¡¯re not bad people, though, so if they got to know you, they¡¯d treat you with respect, if not friendship.¡±


    He snorted a little, tail wagging in amusement. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Gaoda is a bad person?¡±


    Lianhua rolled her eyes. ¡°Gaoda is¡­ Gaoda. He¡¯s the son of his clan¡¯s leader, so he¡¯s been given the best of everything. Unfortunately for him, he¡¯s the second son of a third wife, so now that he¡¯s an adult, he¡¯s realizing that he¡¯s expected to serve his eldest brother for the rest of his life.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°A wife is a mate, right? His mother has three mates? And his brother will be allowed to lead this clan? Does his mother have no daughters?¡±


    She laughed, a deep belly laugh that she had to cover with both hands, looking like she was trying to swallow her light. When she was finally able to speak again, she said, ¡°Never repeat that to Gaoda. No, a ¡®wife¡¯ is the female half of a mated pair. In our culture, females are the lesser. ¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°So your females are like our males?¡±


    Lianhua let out a slow breath, expression shifting to something closer to sorrow. ¡°Not quite, though that comparison would have been close in the past. Then, a woman would never have been allowed to go on a journey like this. She usually wasn¡¯t allowed to choose her own husband, or what she wanted to do with her life. Things have been getting better over the last few centuries, and now women are often treated almost the same as men, though once they get married, they lose some of that freedom.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you don¡¯t want to marry Gaoda?¡± Kaz asked, though it was meant more as a joke than a serious question. After all, who would want to take Gaoda as a mate?


    Lianhua¡¯s face fell, though, and she looked away. ¡°No. I¡­ don¡¯t want to marry anyone. Ever. I would have liked to have children, but not at the cost of marriage.¡±


    She flicked her little ki ball up into the air and gave Kaz a brittle smile. ¡°Now, I believe you promised to answer a few questions for me, and so far, I¡¯ve only answered more of yours. Not that I mind, but-¡± She looked toward the huts, and Kaz remembered that they had a limited amount of time before someone woke up and came to check on Lianhua.


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    Lianhua leaned to the side and scooped a little water from the pool, pouring it over the little chalk figure she¡¯d drawn. On the wet stone, she drew a new picture. This one started out much the same as the first, but the back was hunched, and the nose had a star drawn around the end.


    ¡°What do you know about the mole-men?¡± she asked, laying down the chalk.


    Kaz frowned. He wasn¡¯t sure what a mole was, but the word reminded him of a conversation he¡¯d overheard between Lianhua and Pilla, the chief of the Copperstrikers. ¡°Do you mean the mosui?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what Pilla called them. Raff said they look like upright moles, with huge, clawed hands and tendrils protruding from a short nose.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Oda had us stay close to the den while we were in the mid-levels. She was always trying to get back to the Deep, so we were told not to bother exploring, because we¡¯d be going home soon, plus it¡¯s much more dangerous than either the heights or the Deep. I do know the mosui control most of the nine central levels.¡±


    Picking up the chalk, he drew a circle around the figure. It was so large that they both had to move back, which prompted Li to crack open one eye, grumble, and then yawn widely. Kaz ignored her as she began to stir, too busy drawing little squares around the edges of the circle. When there were eighteen, he drew a smaller circle between the figure and the squares and laid the chalk down again.


    ¡°There are only eighteen levels between the top and bottom of the mountain. These are called the mid-levels, for obvious reasons.¡± He tilted an amused look at her, and she smiled back before they both turned their attention to the drawing again.


    ¡°Kobolds control the four deepest, and the five highest. The nine in between are almost entirely given over to the mosui. The exception is the area around the stairs, which mostly circle the outside, though there are a few others scattered around.¡± He touched each square in turn, pausing on the fourth.


    ¡°We¡¯re heading for this one next, and it¡¯s not too far away. I¡¯ll ask Zyle who controls it now, and see if he has any idea about the fifth as well. After that,¡± he shook his head, ¡°it¡¯s like constant vara. The tribes who hold these nine stairs control the mid-levels. No one can go up or down without their permission, and there are no other stairs or passages that we know of. Various tribes have tried mining or blasting their way through, but the stone on these levels is strange, and we can barely crack it, much less dig out a tunnel.¡±


    ¡°And this is where the mosui live?¡± Lianhua asked, and Kaz nodded.


    ¡°Kobolds hold the stairs only because the mosui don¡¯t seem to care, though Oda would have torn out my throat if she heard me admit it. Mosui territory is basically anything outside the area marked by our totems, and while those totems change when the tribe changes, the new ones go up in the same place. Any totem that moves vanishes, any kobold that steps outside does the same. If a tribe tries to expand their territory more than once, the whole tribe simply disappears, and the next kobold to come through finds an empty den ready to claim, and the totems back where they belong.¡±


    Lianhua was looking grimmer with every word. She laid her hand flat over her sketch of the mosui. ¡°So you have no idea what¡¯s in this area? How do you know it¡¯s the middle of the mountain?¡±


    The dragon scampered over to Lianhua¡¯s hand, sniffing at the chalk lines as if they might be edible. Her tongue flicked out, tasting the white powder, and then she noticed the abandoned chalk stick lying on the ground between them. Kaz snatched it up when he saw the greedy look in her eye. Lianhua laughed as Li glared at Kaz before sticking her nose deep into his hand, trying to reach the chalk.


    Kaz shook his head, picking up the little dragon and cradling her to his chest with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the chalk. She wriggled in protest, sending images of herself swallowing the stick whole, and he sent her back a picture of herself, holding her belly and clearly feeling sick. She returned firm denial, and he sighed, handing the chalk to Lianhua.


    ¡°There¡¯s a map,¡± he said, holding onto an angry Li as the human female put her chalk back into her pouch. ¡°At the top of the fifth set of stairs, there¡¯s an ancient map carved into the stone. It¡¯s the same style as the stairs themselves, and one of the red lights is set in the center, so I think whoever made the stairs made the map as well. You can see the stairs set around the outside of the circle, just like this.¡±


    ¡°A map?¡± Lianhua exclaimed, leaning forward again. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me? What else does it show?¡±


    Kaz rubbed his snout, ears lowering slightly. ¡°Because I¡¯m the only one who believes it is a map. I told Katri, and she believed me until Oda told her it wasn¡¯t, and even Rega said it was just another one of the decorations that can sometimes be found near the staircases. But I can-¡±


    He hesitated, but decided there was nothing too dangerous in admitting a little more. ¡°I can sense where I am in the mountain. I¡¯ve always been able to do it, so I never got too lost. As long as I have at least one point of reference, I can always find my way. That¡¯s how I knew my tribe was going around in a circle as we climbed the stairs on the way up. Even Oda wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to believe that our small tribe could hold a place on one of the nine levels, so we didn¡¯t linger. But when I saw the carving, I knew it was showing the path we¡¯d just traveled.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him, but she just said, ¡°There¡¯s only one way down, so we¡¯ll pass by this map.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s also part of why I didn¡¯t mention it. You¡¯ll see it anyway, and there was no reason to tell you in case you just think it¡¯s another carving as well.¡±


    Her expression softened, and she reached out to touch his hand briefly. ¡°Kaz, I believe you, and I definitely won¡¯t make fun of you. If you even think something might be a sign of an older civilization, please tell me.¡±


    He nodded and drew in a deep breath. ¡°In that case¡­ I think the mosui are living in a city.¡±

 Chapter Sixty-six

    ¡°What!¡± Lianhua¡¯s voice rose sharply, and Kaz flinched, ears folding down. The human grimaced apologetically, but her voice was still louder than the low tones they had been using when she said, ¡°How do you know? No, it¡¯s on the map, right? But a city? I know there¡¯s something like a kobold city in the Deep, but how can you-?¡±


    ¡°Lianhua?¡±


    The voice was groggy, but it clearly belonged to Gaoda, and both Lianhua and Kaz turned to look toward the huts. The male was emerging from the largest one, his hair rumpled.


    ¡°What are you still doing out here?¡± he asked. ¡°You said you¡¯d go to bed as soon as you finished meditating.¡±


    The muscles in Lianhua¡¯s jaw flexed, but her voice was sweet. ¡°Of course, cousin. I just finished, but I was going to get a drink before bed.¡±


    Gaoda walked closer, looking from Kaz to Lianhua with narrowed eyes. ¡°I thought I heard you yell.¡±


    Casually, Lianhua scooped some water into her hand and took a sip, then poured the rest over their chalk drawing. When she stood, her feet and robe dragged through the dark stain on the rocks, reducing the chalk sketch to nothing more than a smear.


    ¡°I was startled. I had just finished meditating when I saw Kaz¡¯s pet. It¡¯s so adorable, I forgot myself for a moment.¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s lip lifted when he glanced toward Li, but he held out a hand and said, ¡°As you say, cousin. Let me escort you to your bed.¡±


    Lianhua trilled a little laugh, walking past the outstretched hand. ¡°Oh, Gaoda Xiang, you jest. I can see my hut right there. Good night.¡± With a quick patter of light footsteps, she vanished into the smallest hut, closing the door without a sound.


    Gaoda watched her, his hand closing into a fist as it fell to his side. He turned cold blue eyes on Kaz. ¡°I know you were talking. What did she say? Did she speak of me?¡±


    Kaz drew back as if he were anxious, shifting so his body covered the majority of the white blur on the ground. ¡°She wanted to know where we were going next, and what we might face.¡±


    The human grunted dismissively, but said, ¡°What did you tell her?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°We keep going down stairs. I need to ask Zyle which tribes control them, but-¡±


    With a flick of his wrist, Gaoda dismissed the rest of Kaz¡¯s words, turning away with an over-large yawn. ¡°Go back to the den, then. We leave in two days.¡± He crossed back to his hut, and the door thudded shut a moment later, leaving Kaz in darkness lit only by the luminescent moss that grew on the walls.


    Kaz sighed, looking down at Li, who was staring after Gaoda, her forked tongue flickering. Feeling the weight of his regard, she sent an image of herself eating the annoying human, though Kaz couldn¡¯t tell if she was supposed to have grown a great deal, or if Gaoda had shrunk to an unreasonably small size.


    Li hissed a little, repeating the image, and then her head snapped around. She stared into the darkness to their right, where a broad tunnel branched away from the main cavern. Kaz tensed, his hand going to the missing knife at his belt. He hadn¡¯t heard any of the telltale signs of a beast approaching; no slithering, chittering, clicking, or screeching sounds. He drew in a deep breath, and caught only the smell of water, wet chalk, growing things, humans, and¡­ Litz.


    The female kobold stepped from the darkness, her glittering orange eyes locked on Kaz. The long fur around her mouth was darker than the rest, and as she came closer, Kaz could see that she was drooling slightly.


    ¡°I heard,¡± she hissed. ¡°I thought I must be sensing one of the humans, but it was you. No male has power. But you do. You can see it!¡±


    She pressed a hand to her belly, and Kaz thought her fingers were a little longer and her claws far sharper than they were when he first saw her. ¡°Do you see the fire that burns inside me, pup? No, you can only see your own pathetic light. Well, rest assured, when your flicker joins my flame, you will finally be part of something far greater.¡±


    She crouched, her clawed fingers curled as she lunged at him, and Kaz rolled to the side with a grunt of effort. His head spun, but he kept moving, scrambling away as she came after him.


    Li had been thrown from his body when he rolled, and now she lifted from the ground with a few beats of her delicate wings, flying toward Litz with a hiss. She dove fearlessly at the female, her own talons extended, but the kobold¡¯s long fur prevented her attack from reaching flesh.


    Kaz watched in horror as Litz backhanded the dragon, flinging her body toward the pool, where she landed with a splash. Kaz couldn¡¯t tell if Li was injured, but he did know that while the water wasn¡¯t deep, it was enough to drown a creature as small as the dragonling if she lost consciousness. He spun, no longer intent on running away. He had to get to Li, had to make sure she was safe!


    Litz grabbed him as he tried to pass her, her claws easily digging through his fur and stabbing into his skin, though they didn¡¯t tear at his flesh the way they would have before his central dantian opened. She growled in frustration, her eyes glowing nearly red now, and her too-long teeth snapped toward his throat.


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    With a soft yelp, Kaz pulled away, falling to his knees in the process. He lunged for the pool, but felt a hand close around his ankle, hauling him back again. Warmth touched his leg, and he realized it was Litz¡¯s hot breath as she readied herself to bite.


    Inside Kaz, something snapped. He had been taught never to fight against a female. Whatever she said, she was always right, even when she was wrong. Unless and until he had a mate who allowed him to express his opinion, he wasn¡¯t allowed one. A pup was weak, voiceless, and Kaz was the eternal pup.


    But this female had struck his friend. She was trying to kill him, and he didn¡¯t have to - didn¡¯t want to - allow it. Years of training broke, and Kaz twisted, his own hand closing around Litz¡¯s arm.


    Her head whipped around, long fur falling to partially cover the insane eyes that glared at him. ¡°You dare?¡± she growled, her voice lower than that of any female he had ever heard. ¡°Just hold still and let¡­ me¡­ eat you!¡± Her teeth snapped at his hand, but his other hand was already on her throat.


    He began to squeeze. Litz¡¯s claws slashed at him, lacking any coordination or planning. She ripped and tore at his body as if she were the beast Gaoda thought all kobolds to be. Her back curved, and her paws swung up, digging at his belly as drool began to soak the wrist of the hand with which he gripped her throat.


    In near silence, the two kobolds fought, the only sound their heavy breathing and the gurgling breaths Litz occasionally managed to get in whenever Kaz¡¯s fingers loosened. Kaz reached for his power, wishing he could harness enough ki to create even a small blast. This close, there was no way he could miss, and if he could just get her off him, he could reach Li and¡­


    Litz¡¯s body buckled, thrashing furiously, wildly, and something punched out through the skin of her side, just beneath her arm. The thing twitched, and Kaz pulled back in horror, allowing Litz another long inhalation. It was a long, jointed limb, covered in chitin like that of an insect, and the fur on Litz¡¯s other side split, allowing a glimpse of a matching extremity, ready to emerge. Her mouth stretched impossibly wide, and two bug-like pincers poked out from behind her teeth, clicking hungrily as they reached for Kaz¡¯s face.


    In his horror, he nearly released her, but he caught a glimpse of the still pool behind Litz, and saw a slim golden tail protruding from the water, unmoving. Fresh determination flooded him, and he contorted, managing to pin her two kobold-arms beneath his knees while the new insect legs twitched spasmodically.


    Even while she tried so hard to kill him, Kaz had still hoped to spare her, perhaps rendering her unconscious until he could get to Li and then call for help. But this thing was no longer any kind of kobold, mad or not, and Kaz knew one certain way to stop a monstrosity like this.


    He tightened his grip on her throat, holding the teeth and pincers away from his face as his other hand drew back. He hesitated only a moment, then thrust his free hand forward, claws digging deep into her belly. He might not be able to see her core at the moment, but he knew it was there.


    He had dressed a hundred fuergar brought back to the den by the warriors of his tribe. He had killed and skinned at least a dozen more on his own. He knew what flesh felt like as it yielded beneath his claws, but it was somehow nauseatingly different to do it to a living body that looked like one of his own kind.


    When his finger caught on something hard amid the softness, he pulled back, then grasped at it, tearing it free from its hiding place. When he pulled it loose, the body beneath him let out a last gasp, the crazed red eyes blinking in shocked understanding. Litz was beyond speech, but her teeth closed one last time, releasing a sound that could have been a whimper or a plea.


    Kaz fell back when her body went limp, and his tail hit the hard ground as he lifted his bloody hand to look at the core. It was strange, its surface mottled and bumpy, rather than smooth and clear as his had been before it broke. Something seemed to be growing on it, a rusty reddish film that was oddly reminiscent of fallen fulan spores.


    He knew that he should put it down. He knew that if something about the fulan was damaging the cores of any creature that breathed it in, this core was certainly contaminated. And yet.


    And yet it looked so very, very delicious. He felt the corners of his own mouth grow damp and realized that he was the one who was drooling now. Which made sense, because he was holding something that some part of him knew would make him stronger.


    He wanted to be stronger. Didn¡¯t he? Didn¡¯t everyone want to be stronger? Strong enough to control, to kill, to make others acknowledge him at last, and to protect¡­ to protect¡­.


    Li!


    Kaz dropped the core, and it rolled away, already forgotten as he scrambled toward the silent pool. With trembling hands, he scooped the little dragon up, the blood that soaked his fur staining the clear water in an expanding red cloud. He had contaminated drinking water, but he didn¡¯t care.


    Li¡¯s slim chest rose and fell, and one golden eye opened, looking at him blearily. Her head rolled to one side, and he saw a little bump already rising there, pushing the scales out of shape. He sat back on his haunches, gently but hastily feeling it, remembering how Lianhua had checked his injury, making sure the bone beneath wasn¡¯t broken.


    Li hissed in protest, and Kaz stopped as he felt her small skull, round and solid beneath the tiny scales. His head bowed, and he touched his nose to hers as his eyes grew hot and moist. She was alive, and surely she would be all right. He laid her slender body out along his leg, tenderly stretching out each limb and both wings to make sure they were intact and didn¡¯t seem painful. By the time he was done, she was trying to wriggle away, her small feet clutching at his fur as she pulled herself toward his shoulder.


    He sent her an image of herself, brave dragon, flying at the kobold who was trying to attack him, along with warm gratitude, and she winced slightly, but wound around his neck, purring softly. He got a vague, flickering picture of himself, red on gray fur, and a sense of concern, but the connection was weaker than it had been since the woshi attack.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he murmured, though he could tell from the twinges of pain he was starting to feel all over his body that that wasn¡¯t entirely true. ¡°I will be fine. And so will you.¡±


    Agreement, the message fragile but clear, and a small head came to rest in the curve of his collarbone. A deep sigh reached his ears, and they both sat, silent in the darkness, together.

 Chapter Sixty-seven

    The night was long, and Kaz was tired and injured. Again. Lianhua¡¯s towel still laid on the stone by the pool, one corner slowly pulling pink water into its fibers. Kaz used it to clean the worst of the mess out of his fur, ruefully noting that Lianhua¡¯s efforts had been wasted, since his fur was dirty and tangled again.


    When he was as clean as he could get, he got up and crossed to Litz¡¯s body. The smell of it would draw predators, and the humans hadn¡¯t even bothered to set a watch. If the mountain managed to kill them, he was certain it would be because of their arrogance.


    Fortunately, Litz was short, though her solid build made her heavier than he expected. Still, even with his injuries, he was able to drag her out of the cavern, leaving her a good distance down the passage she¡¯d been hiding in while he spoke to Lianhua. Hopefully, if something came to eat her, it would be satisfied with that, and leave the rest of the group alone.


    That done, Kaz hobbled back to the human¡¯s temporary den, and sat down on the driest part of the towel. His tail was aching, and the soft surface was welcome, though he wondered at how he had so quickly become used to the wealth the humans just left lying around.


    Gaoda had told him to return to the Sharpjaw den, but though he wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to travel the same distance through familiar tunnels in the heights, he found himself reluctant to do so alone here. Besides, his paw hurt, the rest of his body ached, and if he stayed he could, at least, give warning if some beast came to eat them all.


    He found himself drifting into sleep, then waking with a start when he began to slump over. After the third time, Li crawled down from his shoulder, curling up in his lap, partially covered by the towel, where she wouldn¡¯t be disturbed the next time.


    Kaz stroked her scales gently, feeling the smooth surfaces slide beneath his fingers until he thought he could count each one. His eyes closed, and the world around him vanished, leaving him in a space filled with the sound of dripping water, the scent of humans and blood, and the feeling of one scale after another slipping by.


    His thoughts drifted to the talk he¡¯d had with Lianhua. She said body cultivation - the thing that allowed the humans to ignore damage that would have killed a kobold twice over - was simply a result of saturating the body with ki. When Kaz¡¯s channels leaked, his body was filled with ki, but all that happened was that he became weak, and Li had to give him enough power to keep his heart beating. Was this another example of the differences between the humans and someone who had a core, or was he just doing it wrong? How could he ¡®saturate his body¡¯ any way other than doing exactly that? Was it just that he didn¡¯t have enough ki to fill his body and his channels at the same time?


    With that thought, something clicked. He remembered Lianhua deliberately pushing ki into just the part of her body she needed to reinforce. Didn¡¯t he do the same thing when he needed to be stronger or hear more clearly? When his channels leaked, he wasn¡¯t putting more power into any one body part, instead he was reducing the power each one had. His heart hadn¡¯t had enough ki to go on beating because the rest of his flesh had absorbed more than its share.


    He needed to either produce more ki, or direct the extra ki he already had continually into one specific part, and keep that one part filled until it became natural. Wasn¡¯t that what he had done with his eyes, entirely accidentally? It used to be that he only saw ki when he specifically focused on doing so, but once he met the humans, he found himself doing it constantly.


    He wasn¡¯t sure exactly when maintaining that vision became second nature, but it had, and until he¡¯d hurt his head, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d seen the world entirely without ki in days. Even now, he suspected that he was suppressing it instinctively, in order to reduce the strain on his mind, and as soon as he felt better, it would return naturally.


    How had Lianhua put it? He had to become more ki than flesh, but she hadn¡¯t said he had to do it all at once. So the real question was, where did he start? If he had, in fact, already tempered his eyes to some extent, did it make sense to do his ears or nose next? Honestly, if he could hear and smell everything all the time, he wasn¡¯t sure he would ever sleep again, so perhaps that should wait. Did his channels count as organs? Could he temper them so they didn¡¯t leak any more? But no, if he could, he thought it would have happened already. He actually had a feeling it might be the opposite; that he had already achieved something that would eventually help him, but he had done it too soon.


    His skin was already tougher than it had ever been before, as he had been reminded when Litz¡¯s long claws were unable to do more than scratch him. He wondered if his bones were equally solid, but he wasn¡¯t going to attempt to break a finger in order to test it. Though perhaps the testing had already occurred, and that was why his skull and paw were still intact, rather than having been broken or crushed in the battle with the monster.


    Kaz tilted his head back, sighing, and caught a glimpse of something gleaming on the ceiling high overhead. He squinted, trying to tell if there was a small colony of glow-worms developing there, but a stab of pain reminded him that his head was still healing, and he shouldn¡¯t try too hard.


    He reached up and rubbed his head, wishing that he could reinforce his brain so it would be better able to handle being battered about. Then he froze. Why couldn¡¯t he do exactly that? He shouldn¡¯t start with his brain, heart, or any of the organs that would lead to a quick death if he failed to temper them properly, but the brain was an organ. Eventually, he would have to infuse it with ki as part of the process of body tempering. What would that do to him? Did people change after altering their very minds in pursuit of eternity?


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    He snorted a little laugh. These questions were all too big for one exhausted kobold to answer. He would have to ask Lianhua if she knew the answers to some of them, but in the meantime, he needed to choose one part of his body to experiment on. He had seen enough of the insides of the animals he¡¯d butchered to have a fairly good idea what was inside a living creature, though he wasn¡¯t as certain what all of the parts did. But he knew exactly what the lungs did, and he¡¯d already pushed ki into them a few times, so if he just kept on the same way, it shouldn¡¯t cause any problems.


    Decision made, Kaz allowed his mind to wander again. Over and over, he found his gaze drawn back to that spark above him. It almost seemed to be moving, or perhaps the cavern was moving around it. He had noticed as a pup that sometimes, if he laid flat on his back and stared straight up, it seemed like he could feel the mountain circling around him, like he was the center of it all. He hadn¡¯t had that feeling in a long time, maybe since he had first realized that he had power of his own, but here it was again. It was a strangely comforting feeling, and he relaxed into it until he realized that at some point he had closed his eyes again.


    Reaching up, he touched his eyelids, confirming that they were, indeed, shut. Which meant that the light he was seeing wasn¡¯t physical, but rather a product of his recovering ki-sight. Which in turn meant that the thing he was seeing was, in fact, ki. Ki contained within a core.


    There was a lopo hanging above them, and where there was one, there were usually more. Had it been there the whole time? Had Lianhua noticed, or was it too far away for her to sense? If it had just arrived, then it was young enough to be mobile, which should mean it was also too small for its tongues to reach anyone standing on the ground. The ceiling of the cavern was at least fifteen feet high, but a baby lopo shouldn¡¯t be more than two feet long, which meant its tongues shouldn¡¯t be more than six feet, which left nine feet, and even Raff wasn¡¯t nine feet tall, so everyone should be safe so long as Chi Yincang didn¡¯t go leaping about the cavern, or¡­


    Kaz rubbed his forehead, groaning. The good news was that he was no longer in danger of falling asleep. The bad news was, there was at least one lopo encroaching on the Sharpjaw¡¯s territory, and they had no females to kill it. It was probably still small enough that they could knock it down with rocks or arrows, or Kaz could try to convince the humans to take care of it before they left, which shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, since they had managed to kill several small ones before.


    Li stirred as Kaz¡¯s mind turned back to what the Sharpjaw males were going to do without females, and he realized that there was one member of their group who could get close enough to the lopo to be in danger. He looked down at the half-lidded eyes of the little reptile, and murmured, ¡°There¡¯s a lopo above. Don¡¯t fly, even when no one is around.¡±


    The dragon yawned, pink tongue curling into a sleepy hiss. He felt something pressing at his mind, and they both winced as a distant sense of agreement reached him. Kaz chuckled softly as his finger stroked her neck, gently scratching beneath her chin. Her throat vibrated as a soft purr reached his ears.


    He continued to watch her until her eyes closed again, and her chin drooped to rest on his finger. Very distantly, he caught glimpses of blue sky and yellow light streaming from above, felt the barest hint of wind as it flowed over his wings¡­


    And his head snapped up again, staring out toward the small cluster of huts. Low voices sounded as the bone and leather doors opened and closed, allowing drowsy humans to emerge. When he stepped out, Gaoda greeted Lianhua in a voice that was too loud for comfort, and she gave him an awkward smile as she edged around him toward where Raff had set up his fire stone. When she reached the large male, she knelt, taking dishes and wrapped items out of her pouch. Holding the metal teapot, she turned toward the pool, doubtless planning to gather some water.


    Kaz¡¯s kobold hearing picked up a small intake of breath as the human froze in place, and he finally looked around himself, taking in the scene now revealed by Gaoda¡¯s ki orb.


    For all that last night¡¯s battle had been nearly silent, it certainly hadn¡¯t been bloodless. Streaks and smears of reddish-brown fluid covered the stones, and there was a half-dried pool of it where Litz had died. Long parallel marks showed where Kaz had dragged the body away, and his own paw prints tracked toward the tunnel and then back to where he sat, making it very clear that he had been involved.


    All eyes turned toward Kaz, and Lianhua¡¯s mouth made a horrified ¡®o¡¯ as she rushed toward him, with Raff not far behind. Kaz scooped Li up, struggling to his paws, and only then saw that the towel on which he had been sitting was stained a deep red as well.


    ¡°Kaz? What happened?¡± Lianhua asked, none-too-gently turning him so she could check him over for wounds. She prodded something on his flank, and he winced. Perhaps Litz had managed to do more damage to him than he¡¯d thought.


    ¡°The female kobold attacked him.¡± The quiet voice came from behind Kaz, and he and Lianhua both turned to stare at Chi Yincang as he stepped out of the shadows by the pool.


    Lianhua waved a hand around, taking in the gory scene. ¡°You saw this happen? And what did you do?¡±


    The male¡¯s dark eyes touched Kaz, and Kaz thought he saw a hint of approval touch their depths before they flicked away again. ¡°Watched. He didn¡¯t need help. He defended himself, and then took the body away. The important thing is this.¡±


    Chi Yincang held up a small, roundish object. It glinted in the light, muddy green with blotches of yellow and black, all coated with a thin film of rust-red.


    Lianhua stared at it, her hand creeping up to press against her chest. ¡°Is that a beast core? Where did it come from? What¡¯s wrong with it?¡±


    ¡°It was inside the female, Litz, and whatever has happened to it, it nearly caused her to change into an abomination.¡±

 Chapter Sixty-eight

    Kaz explained what had happened, though he left out any mention of Li flying at Litz or the female kobold¡¯s reason for attacking him. He kept a wary eye on Chi Yincang each time he came to a part of the story where the human could have corrected or added to it, but the male never spoke, simply keeping his usual silence. He had apparently used up his allotment of words for the day, and Kaz was glad of it.


    ¡°So you just ripped out her core,¡± Gaoda said flatly when Kaz finished.


    Kaz nodded. That was what had happened, after all. There was no need to mention his own urge to eat the core once it had been removed, or the fact that only his concern for Li had prevented him from doing so.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t use her ki at all?¡± Lianhua asked.


    ¡°No,¡± he confirmed. ¡°As the fight went on, she seemed to lose the ability to speak or even think clearly. It was like fighting a fuergar or a janjio, rather than a kobold.¡±


    ¡°Not much difference-¡± Gaoda began, but stopped when Lianhua glared at him.


    The female drew in a breath and let it out slowly before taking the little book and pen out of her pouch. She flipped through a few pages and nodded. ¡°That lines up with what I¡¯d begun to suspect. Seeing that core, I think I know at least a little of what¡¯s going on.¡±


    All eyes turned toward her as she shifted to her scholar role. ¡°We believe that the core is what not only grants some beasts near-human levels of intelligence, but also allows them to ascend to Spirit or even Divine beasts. A normal core contains one or possibly two colors. In the case of a Spirit Beast, it might even have three. No matter how many colors there are, the core will be homogeneous; all seeming to be of the same material, and always in a spherical shape. Some cores have minor flaws, such as pitting or cracks, but they are never amorphous, nor do they have any surface discoloration.¡±


    She pointed to Litz¡¯s core, which lay on the ground on top of yet another handkerchief, this one pure white, which made the core¡¯s strange shape and colors stand out even more. It was obviously lumpy, and instead of the colors blending seamlessly together, they had clear lines between them, something like what Kaz¡¯s core had looked like after he broke it. This core¡¯s colors were murky, but there were several yellowish lumps, along with two silver-gray sections, and one that was a deep, charcoal gray.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been part of a kobold-eradication team,¡± Lianhua said, breaking from her role long enough to give Kaz an apologetic glance, ¡°but during my training, I was given the opportunity to examine many different kinds of cores. Kobold cores are among the smallest, weakest ones, and usually have one or more imperfections. The best one I¡¯ve ever heard of was taken from a kobold Queen when the den near Dogwharf was finally cleared nearly a hundred years ago. It was yellow and white, the two most common colors found in kobolds, with no flaws. At approximately three-quarters of an inch, it was also the largest-¡±


    Raff cleared his throat. ¡°Ah, Lianhua, I don¡¯t mean t¡¯ hurry you, but could you hurry up?¡±


    Pink rose in Lianhua¡¯s cheeks, and she crouched to touch her pen to the largest bulge on the core. ¡°This core is nearly two inches at its largest point, and looks like an amalgamation of several smaller cores. If you look closely, you can see where each one has begun to merge into the greater whole. I believe this may have occurred when Litz, ah, ingested one or more other cores. Furthermore, I believe that either this or the fulan corrupted her core in turn, and when a core becomes corrupted, its owner loses their capacity for both intelligence and the purposeful use of ki, leading it to give in to its basest instincts.¡±


    She turned the pen over and scraped the end against the rusty film covering the bulbous object. A bit of dust fell away, dropping onto the crisp fabric. ¡°And this substance isn¡¯t blood. In fact, it¡¯s remarkably like the coating of fulan spores that was on all of our shoes when we arrived here.¡±


    Raff pointed toward the ceiling. ¡°Are you sayin¡¯ that you think the beasty we fought up there was some kinda mashed-up monster created when one critter with a core ate a bunch of others? And that it all happened because they breathed in too much Pellis-cursed dust?¡±


    Lianhua stood, shaking her pen with a grimace of disgust. ¡°Not quite how I would have put it, but yes, I believe that¡¯s a reasonable hypothesis.¡±


    Gaoda had his arms folded across his chest and had become progressively more restive as the conversation continued. Now he flung his hands up and said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know why we¡¯re talking about this, cousin. Again, we¡¯re through with all of that, and it doesn¡¯t matter! We¡¯ll be continuing on into the Deep, and these miserable kobolds can go ahead and eat each other for all I care.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about this, Gaoda Xiang,¡± Lianhua said, ¡°because we have no idea if this is the only infestation of fulan we¡¯re going to find. What if we¡¯re currently in the only safe area? What if the next level is even worse, and we meet a dozen monsters like the one that nearly killed us?¡±


    For once, Gaoda didn¡¯t back down. ¡°We¡¯ll be at full strength, and Chi Yincang will just slice them apart, or I¡¯ll blow them up. We don¡¯t have cores, so we should be able to walk through the stuff without becoming crazed, cannibalistic monstrosities.¡±


    ¡°And you only ¡®know¡¯ that because I¡¯ve examined the evidence and told you so,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°But what if I¡¯m wrong? Or, again, what if simply having ki is enough to render us vulnerable as well?¡±


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    A quiet cough came from behind them, and the two bickering humans spun, though neither Chi Yincang nor Raff seemed particularly surprised. Kaz had been listening to the approach of several sets of paws coming from the low tunnel that led to the Sharpjaw den for a while now, but seeing the two male¡¯s lack of reaction, he wondered again just how good their senses really were.


    ¡°I believe the young female is correct,¡± Zyle said, expression neutral, ¡°and I would like to propose a deal.¡±


    Silence greeted the statement, and the elderly male¡¯s eyes seemed to twinkle beneath the long tufts of fur that hung over them. ¡°Some of our males would like to join another tribe. Our chief was recently approached by a female from the Redmanes. She wished to take Civ as mate, and he would have gone to join her as soon as negotiations were complete. The Redmanes are a descending tribe, and they control part of the level two below this one.¡±


    He lifted a hand, and one of the four males behind him stepped forward. His fur was as black as Zyle¡¯s had probably been in his youth, and his eyes a particularly striking green color. He was a tall, powerful kobold, with sharply pointed ears and glossy fur, and Kaz could understand why a female would find him intriguing enough to travel two sets of stairs to speak to his chief. Katri certainly would have been willing to do the same.


    This male bowed slightly, saying, ¡°I believe Etle will still accept me as mate, and the Redmane tribe is a good one. If you allow me and these others to travel with you, we will serve as guards and guides until we reach the Redmane den. As thanks, they should be willing to let you use the stairs they control, which leads to the first of the Nine.¡±


    Gaoda looked at Kaz. ¡°Do you need help guiding us, kobold?¡±


    Kaz noted he wasn¡¯t even ¡®Blue¡¯ any more, but said, ¡°I don¡¯t know where the dens are, just the stairs. Having a safe place to stop and rest would be good, especially if we do run into any more surprises. We¡¯ll want to go through all nine mosui levels in one day, if possible.¡±


    Plus, if Civ and the others tried to travel without a female to arrange passage, they might well be claimed by a tribe in between here and the Redmanes, if any were left. Since this Etle wasn¡¯t expecting Civ yet, she wouldn¡¯t even know to look for him until he was already mated to someone else. Traveling with the humans gave the male kobolds legitimacy and protected them as much or more than they could protect the humans.


    Gaoda looked from Kaz to the new kobolds, then back at Lianhua. Finally, he crossed over and very deliberately stepped on Litz¡¯s core, crushing it into powder. When he walked away, he left a sparkling trail of what looked like rust on the stone behind him.


    ¡°Do as you wish, cousin. So long as we leave here the day after tomorrow, it doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± With that, he slammed back into his hut.


    Chi Yincang looked at Lianhua, bowed his head slightly, and stepped back into the shadows, vanishing utterly.


    Raff shrugged, turning back toward the spot where he¡¯d left his fire stone. ¡°His high an¡¯ mightiness has spoken. I reckon one kobold or five¡¯s all the same.¡±


    Lianhua rubbed her forehead, then looked at Zyle. ¡°I thought you said you couldn¡¯t trust anyone with power. Now you¡¯re sending four of your kobolds with us?¡±


    Zyle sighed, scratching his chin. ¡°I think if you were going to go mad, you¡¯d have shown signs by now, like that Copperstriker. I¡¯d send the rest of my tribe with you, if they would go. Some lost their mates above, and others are too old to go to a new tribe, like me. We¡¯ll stay until the monsters take us, or one of our females returns from the ancestors to tell us to do something different.¡±


    He pointed to Civ, then each of the others. ¡°You met Civ, and these are Regz, Pils, and Ilto. Please, keep them safe.¡±


    All five bowed deeply, and Lianhua nodded reluctantly. ¡°All right. You heard Gaoda, though. We leave as soon as possible the day after tomorrow.¡±


    They straightened, nodding, and Lianhua cast one more glance toward Kaz before turning away. Kaz watched her until she returned to her abandoned breakfast, then looked at Zyle and said, ¡°What aren¡¯t you telling them?¡±


    The old kobold chuckled, then coughed; a deep, wracking cough that shook his aged body. ¡°Not so much what I¡¯m not telling you as what she told us. Your female says the fulan is spreading down the stairs, which shouldn¡¯t be possible. In the rest of the mountain, there are enough kobolds to prevent an outbreak, but this isn¡¯t the first time fulan has taken over one of the mid-levels. The last time was when I was just a pup, but I remember my tribe leaving in the middle of the night, abandoning everything too large to carry. This time, I told Tekdu, our chief, to retreat when I saw we wouldn¡¯t be able to burn it out, but she refused to listen to a male, even if he was her father.¡±


    With a deep sigh that threatened to bring on another round of coughing, Zyle went on. ¡°The stairs have always held back the fulan, and after a few months, when it destroyed everything in its path, the males of the tribe would burn out the remnants with firemoss. A few weeks after that, the whole tribe could return, though food remained scarce for another year or more.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°If the stairs are no longer keeping the spread at bay, the entire mountain is in danger. Someone must tell the other tribes, and a young female may take the word of her new mate when no one else would listen to a male. There must be no travel between levels until the fulan is destroyed.¡±


    Kaz glanced up. ¡°What will you do if another female tries to come down?¡±


    Zyle¡¯s lip lifted, showing his few remaining teeth. ¡°We will kill anything that sets a paw on the stairs, or we will destroy the stairs themselves.¡±


    ¡°Can you even do that?¡± Kaz asked. The eighteen staircases were the best way through the mid-levels, and in some cases, the only way. They were carefully maintained by whichever tribe controlled them, and the idea of blocking or damaging one intentionally was even more shocking than suggesting they would kill someone while they stood on the neutral territory of the steps. Such an act could prevent travel between the top and bottom of the mountain for years, given how difficult it was to chip away at the stone here.


    The old kobold chuckled, a deep raspy sound. ¡°Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t have to find out. Now, I best be on my way back. Are you coming with us, pup, or will you stay here until it¡¯s time to go?¡±


    Kaz glanced back at the camp, meeting Lianhua¡¯s eyes as she looked up from her steaming cup of tea. He couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking, or if she had heard the question, and she turned her gaze back down after a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ go with you,¡± Kaz said. ¡°There¡¯s no need for me here.¡±

 Chapter Sixty-nine

    Kaz spent the rest of that day and all of the next recovering from his injuries. The atmosphere in the Sharpjaw den was strangely relaxed, given the fact that they had to know staying was likely a death sentence. Either because of this, or because there were no females to enforce constant rigid conformity to the rules, the male kobolds were nearly jovial. More than once, a loud laugh broke the quiet of the den.


    The males did, however, continue their training and the rotation of the warriors guarding the stairs. Twice, a howl was relayed to them, indicating that something was attacking above, and then, shortly thereafter, another howl let them know it had been dealt with.


    Kaz spent most of his time sitting on a rock, with another rock placed in front of him so he could prop up his crushed paw as he watched the other males work and train. Zyle was impressed with how quickly it, and Kaz¡¯s other injuries, healed, but Kaz brushed off his comments by insisting they must have looked worse than they were.


    Li took the opportunity to be as lazy as possible, which seemed to be her preferred state. The youngest male, Ilto, was assigned to help Kaz, since he was going with the party when they left. He fetched food and water for Kaz and Li, and seemed particularly fascinated by the way Li held her food in her little hands as she ate.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t bite you?¡± Ilto asked, staring avidly at Li as she daintily accepted the scrap of meat he had offered her. When other people were watching, she seemed to make an effort to show off how graceful and tidy she could be, rather than devouring her food in great gulps like she did when Kaz fed her.


    Kaz chuckled. This wasn¡¯t the first time the other male had asked something like that, so he already knew the answer, but Kaz replied anyway.


    ¡°She bites me all the time,¡± and hits me with her wings, and nearly chokes me with her tail, ¡°but not hard. It¡¯s not really painful.¡±


    Li whistled around her mouthful of food, letting Kaz know she didn¡¯t appreciate the comment or the mental imagery that went along with it. If she bit, hit, or choked him, it was because he was doing something stupid, like trying to get one or both of them killed.


    ¡°But how do you make her stay with you?¡± Ilto persisted, crouching down so his nose was perilously close to Li¡¯s teeth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Kaz told him, turning so the young warrior was less likely to find out just how much those sharp little teeth hurt. ¡°She can go anytime she wants to. As long as she¡¯s with me, I keep her safe and fed, and so far, that¡¯s been reason enough to stay. She¡¯s a very strange fuergar, though, so I wouldn¡¯t expect any other to act like she does.¡±


    Ilto sighed in disappointment, but the look in his eyes said he hadn¡¯t really given up, so Kaz changed the subject.


    ¡°Tell me about this Etle,¡± he said, feigning nonchalance. He had tried asking directly about the Redmanes, and Ilto always found somewhere else to be soon after that. It seemed as though Zyle still had something he was trying to hide, and it had to do with the other tribe. Kaz hoped that Ilto might slip if he came at the topic from a different angle.


    Sure enough, Ilto stood back up, looking uncomfortable, and Kaz hurried on, explaining, ¡°My sister is the chief of the Longknife tribe, and when I get back, I¡¯m to go on my spirit hunt. Once I¡¯m an adult, she wants to mate me with a female named Moru, and I¡¯m¡­ not sure if she likes me or not. How did Civ and Etle meet, and how did he get her to like him?¡±


    Ilto¡¯s ears perked up. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s quite a story.¡± He crouched down again and leaned in closer. ¡°Civ doesn¡¯t like it when we talk about it, but I¡¯ll tell you, so long as you don¡¯t tell him.¡±


    Kaz nodded eagerly, shifting closer. He pretended to wince as he moved his leg, though his paw didn¡¯t really hurt any more, and Ilto drew even closer, supporting Kaz¡¯s arm until he settled again. At the contact, which would usually only happen between close friends and family, the last of the tension drained from Ilto¡¯s body.


    ¡°A few months ago,¡± Ilto began, ¡°a new tribe entered the mid-levels. Tribes coming up from the Deep always look down on us, thinking they¡¯re stronger just because they come from below, but most of them are soft. Zyle says they just stay in power because that¡¯s the way it¡¯s always been, and living in the Deep is so easy that they train but never fight, you know?¡±


    Kaz nodded.


    ¡°Right, so the Bron- Um, this tribe was different. They have a lot of members, enough for three or four dens, and they know how to fight. They started calling luegat on all the tribes that control the staircases, and after they won the first few through overwhelming force and trickery, no one else would accept, so they declared vara instead. It was bad, and tribes from the bottom four mid-levels began rising up all at once. The Redmanes aren¡¯t one of those, but they got displaced by one when they-¡±


    Ilto stopped again, glancing away, and Kaz was barely able to keep a straight face. If the tribes controlling the stairs were the ones being defeated and forced to move, and the Redmanes were displaced, then the Redmanes had lost the stairs they controlled. But Civ had said that they would let the humans use their stairs. Somewhere in there was the thing Zyle didn¡¯t want them to know, but Ilto was already moving on.


    ¡°For a little while, they were on the level below this one, and during that time, their chief reached out to ours. She wanted an alliance, allowing members of our two tribes to use each other¡¯s stairs without paying for passage, and Etle was part of the group that came to discuss terms.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Ilto rolled his eyes. ¡°You saw Civ. Tekdu had been approached about him more than once, but she always turned the offers down, because she wanted to mate him to her own daughter when she came of age, even though he¡¯s quite a bit older. But while the Redmanes were here, a huge yanchong entered our territory, and they helped defeat it when it looked like it would dig right through our main den.


    ¡°During the battle, Civ ended up guarding Etle after her own males were injured. Then Civ himself was hurt, but he just kept fighting, while Etle shot off more power strikes than I¡¯ve ever seen before.¡± He waved his hands, pretending to swing a blade, then fall back, before flashing his fingers in a broad mimicry of an explosion.


    ¡°After it was all over, Etle went back to her tribe and asked her chief to make an offer for Civ, and it turns out Etle is their chief¡¯s oldest daughter! Their chief agreed, and the offer was made, and once Tekdu saw how strong Etle and the other Redmane females were, she decided it was better to be friends than make enemies of them, so she-¡±


    The male¡¯s nose dipped, and his ears lowered. ¡°She was going to agree. I¡¯m sure of it. She just didn¡¯t have time before¡­¡±


    This time, Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed. So, it was possible that their group would arrive and this Etle would change her mind, either because she was no longer interested in the male, or because he didn¡¯t come as part of a deal between two strong tribes. Zyle and Civ had said the negotiations weren¡¯t complete, but Civ had sounded very certain he would still be welcomed. This didn¡¯t sound quite as absolute as they had implied, which meant the group of humans could be turned away, but Ilto didn¡¯t look like he realized he¡¯d just admitted something he shouldn¡¯t have. That meant Kaz still hadn¡¯t found the secret.


    ¡°Well,¡± Kaz said, ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine. Civ will make strong pups, which is what every female wants above all else. We¡¯ll leave you all with the Redmanes, and take their stairs down. Do you know how to get to the set of stairs after that?¡±


    Of course, Kaz himself remembered, since it wasn¡¯t far, and the tunnels between stairs on the central nine levels were the wide, straight ones created by whatever lost race had carved out the stairs themselves. Still, he couldn¡¯t help pushing, hoping the young warrior would slip up.


    ¡°Ah, haha, no,¡± Ilto said, straightening and backing up a few paces. ¡°No, I¡­ I¡¯ve never been lower than this level. Civ and Regz will be your guides. I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯m the youngest, and I¡¯ve never had a mate, so they thought that I should go, so¡­ I should, um, go. Now.¡±


    He waved a hand in the general direction of the gate leading out of the den. ¡°I have watch now.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head, letting his ears twist curiously. ¡°Oh? I thought all of you who¡¯re going with us were supposed to be resting because Zyle didn¡¯t want to risk you getting injured right before we leave.¡±


    Ilto¡¯s fluffy ears swiveled, and he backed up another step. ¡°Oh. Yes. But I should¡­ get some more food for Li! She looks hungry. Again.¡±


    He turned and loped away, leaving Kaz and Li staring out over the empty training area, where the warriors warmed up each morning, and most teams prepared for their shifts by engaging in mock battles. It was just after dinner now, though, and everyone but those standing watch at the gates and stairs were either eating or preparing to sleep.


    ¡°That was very suspicious,¡± Kaz murmured to the little dragon, who had just finished wiping her greasy hands and mouth on his fur. She clicked in agreement, then inquiry.


    Kaz chuckled and sent her a picture of one of the broad passages leading between the staircases on the nine mid-levels. His memories were much clearer than they had been before he accidentally began to temper his body, so the image was as sharp as if he had just passed through a few days before.


    ¡°All nine mosui levels look like this,¡± he told the dragon. ¡°There¡¯s no way he hasn¡¯t heard it described, even if he hasn¡¯t been there himself. The reasonable thing to do would be to say that it¡¯s easy, or that we just have to go straight.¡±


    Li¡¯s head bobbed, and she sent an image of the wide, square hallway broken and littered with fallen stones, then another of the same hall covered in fulan spores.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°The second one is possible, I suppose. If Zyle needs us to get his kobolds safely to the Redmanes, he wouldn¡¯t want us to give up and leave now because the fulan has already taken over down there. He seemed genuinely surprised to hear that it¡¯s on more than one level though, so I doubt that. The tunnel being blocked or damaged is even less likely, given how hard it is to break the ancient walls.¡±


    He sent her a picture of a whole group of kobolds, each swinging a pick at one of the passage walls. The picks bounced off or shattered, leaving no mark.


    ¡°The stairs above aren¡¯t as resilient. More of them are broken than remain usable, but the ones in the mid-levels and the Deep, as well as the ancient hallways, seem to be all but invulnerable to damage. I have no idea how Zyle plans to block the stairs if one of those monsters tries to come down, but I doubt he¡¯ll even try to destroy them.¡±


    An image appeared in his mind, a gold dragon, slashing with mighty claws at an immense set of stairs, causing them to crumble to dust. He held back a laugh, though he knew she could feel his amusement. Reaching up, he stroked her head, and she only tried to nip him once before allowing the caress.


    ¡°You are the strongest of all dragons, and I¡¯m sure you could take care of it, but Zyle doubtless has something in mind, and no one would believe you were just a fuergar if you started going around breaking unbreakable things.¡±


    She clicked unhappy agreement, and they sank into silence until Kaz closed his eyes, drawing in a deep, slow breath as he began to press in on the ki in his core while also suffusing his lungs with every bit he didn¡¯t need to keep the rest of his body functional. With each breath out, he released the pressure on his core, flooding his channels, slowly growing both the amount of ki his core produced, and the amount stored in his middle dantian, which in turn saturated his lungs with even more ki. He had been practicing ever since his head stopped hurting sometime last night, and he could already tell that the link between the pool of ki in his chest and his lungs was a little stronger than it was when he started, and the lungs themselves could hold more ki without allowing the excess to leach into the rest of his system or, worse, into the air he breathed out.


    With a bored whistle-sigh, Li settled down into her favorite position wrapped around his neck. She already knew that once he started this, he wouldn¡¯t stop until something or someone managed to break through his concentration, so she might as well sleep. After all, dragons didn¡¯t need to cultivate.

 Chapter Seventy

    Kaz was startled out of his cultivation - or at least what he was choosing to call cultivation - when Ilto returned. The young warrior had obviously forgotten that he had claimed he was going to bring Li more food, because he shook Kaz¡¯s shoulder with an empty hand, causing the dragon to hiss.


    Yawning, Ilto said, ¡°Did you stay up all this time, Kaz? I was going to get some water and I saw you were still here.¡± He leaned over and picked up Kaz¡¯s bone support and held it out. His rounded, fuzzy ears seemed to fold in on themselves. ¡°I should have come to see if you needed help getting back to your hut. There¡¯s only a few hours left before breakfast bell.¡±


    Kaz blinked away the last of the disorientation that always seemed to come with the return to reality. He felt like he had made some solid improvements in his lung¡¯s ki capacity, and strangely, he wasn¡¯t tired at all. Was this why Chi Yincang never seemed to sleep?


    He used the bone to support himself as he stood, but found that his paw didn¡¯t hurt even when he put his full weight on it.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Ilto. I just sat here all day, so I¡¯m not tired.¡± And that had been disorienting in itself. He had never before had a day to do absolutely nothing. Sometimes he finished his tasks early and slipped away for a few hours or a night, but if his absence was missed, he always got in trouble. Even when he was with the humans, they usually had some task for him to complete, or Lianhua wanted to talk to him. Sitting in the center of a kobold den, surrounded by activity he had no part in, was a surreal experience.


    Ilto hovered next to Kaz as they made their way toward Kaz¡¯s hut. Kaz barely used the long bone, and his head didn¡¯t hurt any more either, so when he reached the door he turned to look at the other male instead of going inside immediately. Ilto¡¯s fur was dark brown, with an unusual pattern of lighter brown ovals over each eye and a pale muzzle. The fur itself seemed thicker than usual, as well, and his ears were definitely more round than pointed.


    ¡°You know,¡± Kaz told the other male, ¡°you don¡¯t have to help me so much. I think by the time we leave I¡¯ll be fully recovered.¡±


    Ilto shook his head. ¡°No! Zyle told me to get you anything you need, and I will. I¡¯m his helper, usually, so I¡¯m very good at it. Plus,¡± he tugged at one of his ears nervously, ¡°I just became a warrior a little while before all this started, and I heard how you fought that monster.¡±


    He slashed his claws through the air, making little growling sounds. ¡°You sliced it up with your bare hands when even Civ could hardly scratch it! I know Lianhua said you¡¯re still a puppy, but I think you¡¯re a better warrior than I am.¡± His brown eyes shone with admiration as he gazed up at Kaz.


    This was an emotion Kaz had never had directed at him before, and he wasn¡¯t at all sure what to do with it. Li had no such problem, and sat up on his shoulder, preening at the praise, though Ilto couldn¡¯t know how she had helped in the battle.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Kaz said, ¡°it was mostly the humans, you know. I just happened to be the right size to reach the thing¡¯s core, and it nearly killed me in the process.¡±


    Ilto shook his head even more vigorously, his curly tail wagging fiercely. He really was more like a puppy than a full-fledged warrior. Kaz could see why Zyle had decided to send him someplace that would hopefully be safer.


    ¡°Everyone has heard about humans,¡± the young male said. ¡°They¡¯re selfish but powerful, and they don¡¯t care about kobolds. Even in the stories where they¡¯re helpful, it¡¯s only because there¡¯s something in it for them. But you¡¯re a kobold, and a male, and you still did as much or more than they did.¡±


    Kaz coughed uncomfortably. ¡°Oh,¡± he said again. ¡°Well. I¡¯m¡­ going to get some sleep now. I¡¯ll see you in the morning, Ilto.¡±


    The other nodded, apparently unaware of Kaz¡¯s conflicting emotions, and waved as he turned away. ¡°Bright howls, Kaz.¡±


    ¡°Bright howls,¡± Kaz managed, barely choking out the words as Ilto bounded away. This farewell was used only between friends. Did Ilto consider himself Kaz¡¯s friend?


    Head spinning, Kaz turned and bent over, entering the dark confines of his borrowed hut. There was a fresh pile of moss waiting for him, and he caught Ilto¡¯s scent on it as he laid down. It was strange to think of someone other than Rega doing something for him purely because they cared, and he stroked Li until she settled down against his belly, ready to sleep again.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be disappointed when he sees what I¡¯m really like,¡± he murmured to the little dragon, who responded with a faint hiss, irritated that he was talking when she wanted to rest. Kaz chuckled and let his hand come to a halt, resting just beneath her wings where he could feel the flutter of her heartbeat under his fingertips. It was far faster than his own, and he found himself taking shallower breaths in an attempt to match the rhythm of her breathing.


    When he could tell she was asleep, Kaz gently pulled his hand away, curling more tightly around her as he thought about the last day. It was flattering that the young Sharpjaw thought Kaz was someone to admire, but he reminded himself that the only opinions that actually mattered were Li¡¯s and his own. Li had her own quirks, but he knew she cared for him, and Kaz himself was starting to believe that he might be someone worthy of respect.


    With that slightly awkward thought, Kaz turned his attention back to his inner self. The image of his core appeared before him, and now he knew that it was just that: an image. If Lianhua used books and words to help understand and control her power, Kaz used this, which made far more sense than his original belief that he was somehow seeing the physical core that rested in his abdomen.


    Lianhua had said, or at least implied, that she could continually add to or alter the ¡®books¡¯ in her vision, but Kaz didn¡¯t know how to change the image of his core now that it had solidified back into a sphere. Did he even need to? Compressing the ki within and gradually allowing his organs to become more saturated with ki as the amount he could generate increased seemed to be working.


    It would take a while, especially once they were moving again and he couldn¡¯t just spend all day working on it, but eventually he should fully temper his body. He had no idea what would happen at that point, but if Chi Yincang was a good example, he should be faster, stronger, tougher, and need less sleep and food. These were all good things, and would allow him to protect himself and Li better.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    When he carefully thinned the protective sheath around the parts of his channels closest to his middle dantian and his lungs, he found that while they still oozed ki, the tissues around them were already so filled with power that it actually pushed back, preventing the escaping ki from traveling deeper into his body. He felt a little weak as he altered the balance of his cycle, but it wasn¡¯t bad, and he thought that he could have remained upright if he was standing.


    In only another year or two, I should be able to stop reinforcing my channels altogether, he thought wryly, laughing a little at himself. He had no idea how long a human usually spent doing this, or if this was actually what a human would do at all, but it was certainly a slow process. Still, he could already see the difference, so he would persist.


    Turning his attention back to his core, he spun it gently, feeling his cycle speed up slightly as he did so. Briefly, he wondered what would happen if he just flicked it like a pup with a rounded stone, sending it revolving wildly. Would the image translate directly into unbalancing his cycle, or would it maintain its tidy rotations as it threw more and more ki into his channels?


    Someday, he might need to find out, but right now, he just wanted to see if his efforts had yielded any effect on the core. His gaze flickered over the seamed surface, tracing over what he was beginning to believe was some hardened form of pure mana. The silver joints between what had been the broken sections were certainly the same color as the mana that the humans drew in from the air. Had he somehow managed to compress not just ki but mana itself when he had been trying to hold the core together immediately after it broke? Lianhua didn¡¯t seem to understand the connection between the two, so it wouldn¡¯t do any good to ask her how mana had come to surround and permeate the core he wasn¡¯t supposed to be able to see, so it wouldn¡¯t do any good to ask. Kaz would just have to try to figure it out for himself.


    Kaz shook his noncorporeal head and dived beneath the surface of his core. It seemed the same as it had been last time he looked, unless some of the silver ribbons binding it together had shifted, but there were too many to memorize, so he didn¡¯t bother to try.


    The second layer still held the remnants of whatever he¡¯d made to keep his core together until the strange human repaired it. Kaz frowned at the tangential thought. Had the being been a human? The memory was strangely fuzzy, and when he tried to focus on it, his mind always wandered to-


    Perhaps the chunks of whatever gray substance had formed during that episode were a bit smaller, and the color of the surrounding ki was a bit brighter? It was truly hard to say. It could also be that his image had simply become clearer once Kaz understood that it was an image, and the edges of the dark areas were no longer slightly soft. Whatever had happened, or not happened, it didn¡¯t seem to be anything significant, so Kaz dove deeper still.


    The third layer of core was beautiful. There was no other way to say it, and Kaz floated inside it, surrounded by gleaming shades of rich gold, silvery white, radiant black, brilliant ruby, and deep sapphire. He could feel the pressure of the condensed ki pushing against whatever he used as a body when he was in this impossible place, and it was like floating in a warm pool. The ki was ever-so-slightly thick, and lifted his immaterial fur away from his body as it flowed all around him in brilliant streams.


    This layer was the first that was definably different, though it was more in the depth of color and the strength of the pressure against his skin than in anything obvious. Kaz thought he had never before seen such saturated shades of ki, and he actually had to close his eyes against the brilliance after a little while. Even through whatever was currently serving as his eyelids, a subtle glow and play of color continued, and he breathed in deeply, enjoying the way his surroundings spun when he did so.


    It was only when he felt a tug on his paws that he remembered there was one more layer left to check. He opened his eyes and looked ¡®down¡¯, feeling fur that he couldn¡¯t see being pulled toward the very center of his core. Cautiously, he allowed himself to be tugged along by the spin, watching as the interplay of color around him paled and thinned until it was nearly gone, leaving an emptiness in the center of him that wasn¡¯t actually empty any more.


    Something hung in the very middle of the clear area, simultaneously swallowing part of the ki being generated and guiding its spin at the same time. A particularly bright stream of blue flowed past him, traveling toward the outer layers, and Kaz watched it split and swirl as it went around one of the dark obstructions in the second layer. Those blockages slowed and caught at the ki, causing it to drift too far to one side, but the inexorable force of the central space quickly reoriented it.


    Kaz couldn¡¯t get close enough to see what the thing in the very middle of his core was, no matter how much he squinted and pushed more ki into his eyes. It was a strangely familiar sight, however, and he shuffled through one memory after another until he stumbled across one that clicked.


    The seed. The hard, wrinkled, pointed oblong that had been in the middle of a soft, delicious-smelling thing Kaz had found in the dragon nest at the same time he acquired Li¡¯s egg. When he looked at it with his ki-vision, it had something like this inside; a nearly bottomless pit that swallowed up every speck of ki he poured into it and produced only one single distant spark of power.


    Now that he thought about it, the near-compulsion to eat the thing immediately after he picked it up was almost identical to what he felt when he held another creature¡¯s core. Had Lianhua been wrong? Was the thing not a seed, but rather some kind of core? Had the sweet-scented outer part that Li ate just after hatching been the flesh of a living creature? Lianhua had said that it had its own ¡®aura¡¯, and if it was some kind of core, perhaps that would make sense?


    Besides all that, how and why was this thing in the center of Kaz¡¯s core? Honestly, he¡¯d nearly forgotten about it, and when he was reminded, he had debated trying to sever his connection with it, especially once his core was repaired. He wanted to get stronger, and the seed drained away a not-insignificant portion of the ki he produced, preventing him from using it for his own growth. Yet here it was, at the core of his own mental image of his power, and it seemed to be helping him in some way, though at what cost?


    Blinking, Kaz shook himself out of his vision, his merely physical eyes struggling to focus in the darkness inside his hut. Careful not to disturb the sleeping dragon, he stretched out his arm, feeling for the bleached and ragged pack that he hadn¡¯t even thought about for the last day.


    He snagged one of the straps with an outstretched claw and tugged it closer, wincing at the sound of leather dragging over stone. Once he was able to lift it, he did so, and found that his muscles didn¡¯t even quiver in spite of the awkward position he found himself in. As soon as it was close enough, he set it down again, plucking at the leather cord that held it shut.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed. He used a particular knot to close his bag. He had ever since he realized that Katri was getting into it and taking some of what he¡¯d gathered for herself, leaving him short of the amount he needed. Not that the knot kept her out, or he could do anything about it when she took his materials, but at least he knew at a glance that he would need to work even harder that day in order to replace what she stole.


    It had become such a habit that he used the knot without thinking, and a few times since he started traveling with the humans, he had been glad that he had. Not that any of them had ever gotten into his bag, but because of the knot, he knew they hadn¡¯t, which was comforting.


    But though the knot that now held his pack shut looked like his knot, it wasn¡¯t. This was a standard knot used by most warriors, releasing easily when the correct loop was pulled, but otherwise remaining tightly closed. It was the knot Kaz had used as a foundation for his own, but his had two strands where this had only one.


    Someone had opened his bag.

 Chapter Seventy-one

    It wasn¡¯t easy opening and going through his pack without disturbing Li, but Kaz managed, at least well enough to be certain that nothing was missing. Even the beautiful knife was still there, though Kaz nearly sliced himself when he reached in and found that it wasn¡¯t wrapped as well as it had been before. The scent of blood wafted up from the depths of the bag, and Kaz smiled humorlessly. It seemed that whoever had gone through it hadn¡¯t been so lucky.


    Pushing power into his nose, Kaz brought the opening of the pack up and gave a deep sniff. He almost gagged at the scent of the monster¡¯s fluids that still saturated the leather, but he forced himself to continue. Beyond the fetid, acidic scent was¡­ Kaz himself, of course, and Ilto, but that scent came from a spot on the top where the other kobold had probably picked it up to move it out of the way. Inside, the only unexpected smell was Zyle.


    Kaz pulled back, letting his sense of smell return to its already-heightened baseline. He didn¡¯t understand. If Zyle wanted to check Kaz¡¯s pack, he had had the perfect opportunity to do so before Kaz woke after the battle. But Kaz was certain that he had looked at the pack when he woke, and the knot had been intact. Hadn¡¯t it? Everything from that time was a little fuzzy, but he was almost sure.


    He closed his eyes, trying to picture the scene. Yes. he had picked up his pack and the bone, and he distinctly remembered checking the knot at that time. He had been woozy from his injury, but the habit was so ingrained that he did it without thinking.


    So what had changed? Zyle had been content to leave Kaz¡¯s things alone then, but not today? And he hadn¡¯t taken anything, just looked at it, cut his hand, and put it all back. The only thing Kaz could think of that might even possibly have triggered the change was his fight with Litz. Unless the old male had decided that if he was entrusting his kobolds to Kaz and the humans, it would be a good idea to look for¡­ what? What could he possibly have thought he might find in the bag of a pup from the upper levels?


    Kaz¡¯s fingers touched each of the items in the bag, once again confirming that they were all there. Knife, hilt, fire-striker, and seed moved beneath his touch, each present and accounted for.


    Sighing softly, Kaz pulled the rough, scratched little seed out into the dim light filtering in around the door. This was what he had been after in the first place, and there was no point in fretting over the rest. Everything was there, and Kaz was leaving in the morning, so whatever Zyle¡¯s motivations had been, it seemed that the other male didn¡¯t intend to do anything else about it.


    Kaz absently rolled the seed in his hand as he thought, and it was only when the fur around his wrist got caught in the grooves on its surface that he finally pulled his attention back enough to look at it properly.


    There was nothing remarkable about it, and it looked just as it had the last time he took the time to examine it. The seed was brown, with a slightly wrinkled surface that still had the faintest traces of the fibrous material that had clung to it the first time he saw it. They were thoroughly dry by now, rather than sticky and gummy, but they remained stubbornly attached unless he picked at them with a claw.


    The marks where Li¡¯s teeth had scraped at it were visible; slightly lighter than the rest of the surface. One mark was thicker, and Kaz remembered scratching it just to see if he could. All in all, it was thoroughly underwhelming until Kaz used his ki vision to look at it. Then, its dull and unassuming appearance fell away, leaving the remarkable thing that had attracted him to it in the first place.


    Kaz couldn¡¯t help but laugh a bit as he remembered scooping up Li¡¯s egg and the squishy golden orb out of sheer desperation. He had been filled with the ki from the dragon¡¯s blood at the time, and all he knew was that he had to get rid of it, and quickly. He had seen both the light and the emptiness in them, and known that he could dump far more of his unwanted power into them than he could into the mosses and lichens that he usually used.


    Though he hadn¡¯t understood at the time, he now suspected that Li had been about to die in her shell, and the infusion of dragon-ki he had given her was the only reason she had survived. Their first fragile bond had formed at that time, and the constant trickle of ki she had taken from him thereafter had allowed her to hatch.


    The sweet-smelling thing, on the other hand, had been shoved into his pack along with Li¡¯s egg when his sister Katri had arrived. He hadn¡¯t even looked at it properly, and Li had eaten the best part of it when she hatched, along with almost everything else in the pack. Since then, the seed had come with him primarily because it, too, had formed a link to his core, allowing it to take some part of his ki. At first, he had thought this was a good thing, but now he wasn¡¯t so sure.


    Kaz pinched the brown nugget between his fingers, feeling the rough points on each end digging into his skin. He held it up, though he was sure by now that there were no surprises waiting for him in its rough, scratched veneer.


    Beneath and beyond that innocuous appearance, he could see the spark of power that lay deep inside it, along with the golden stream that still linked it to his own core. He was so used to the sight by now that he barely even noticed it any more, but as he squinted at it, he thought that it might have grown again, widening along with his increased capacity for ki. He could still only see gold ki flowing away down it, vanishing into the eternal depths of the seed¡¯s intangible volume.


    Kaz released all but the last vestiges of his physical sight, not quite dropping back into the image of his core. He could see the core, hanging in the distance, but he could also see the dazzling spark in the very center of the seed. His vision crossed, the seed shifting to overlap his core, and Kaz became even more certain that he was right. Somehow, the seed was both inside and outside his core, draining his ki even as its inescapable spin kept his cycle moving in spite of the obstructions left over from when he¡¯d nearly shattered his core.


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    Which meant what, exactly? He knew that the seed took more ki as he grew stronger and the light in its depths slowly grew larger. But how were those things linked? Would the bond between them keep growing, even if Kaz¡¯s growth stopped? Or would the seed eventually take more than he had to give? Was his growth the cause of the seed¡¯s growth, and they would remain in perfect balance? Could he, should he, try to restrict the amount of ki the seed took in? It lay at the very heart of his core, but was it a parasite, or was it like jiyun and bloodmoss, each benefiting themselves as well as the other?


    Kaz shook his head, sighing softly as he pushed the seed back into his pack. He couldn¡¯t make a decision with so little information. He would have to keep a close eye on the balance of ki between himself and the seed, and also watch to be sure the empty area within his core wasn¡¯t expanding. If it did, or if the seed began to take more than he could afford to give, then he would have to try to sever the link between them. He wondered what would happen if he just left it somewhere, like he had when he entered the Copperstriker den. Could he simply move far enough away that the cord that bound them together would fade or break entirely? That might be worth a try, and was far less drastic than anything else he could think of.


    As he pulled back his hand, the bright sound of the morning bell rang out over the den. Li twitched, hissed, and reluctantly uncurled, staring around the hut with a sleepy, unfocused gaze. Kaz realized that he had spent the entire night either in cultivation or examining his image, but he still didn¡¯t feel particularly tired.


    Cradling the little dragon in his arms, Kaz sat up. He stroked Li¡¯s neck and back until she stopped muttering cranky dragon sounds, then settled her on his shoulder.


    ¡°Are you ready for breakfast?¡± he asked. The mention of food was usually enough to brighten her mood, and it worked this time, too. Li¡¯s eyes brightened from sleepy yellow to lambent gold, and she whistled commandingly.


    Kaz chuckled and went to pick up his pack. The top was still open, so he gave it a shake, settling the contents before he tied it closed. The reminder of Zyle¡¯s invasion of his privacy wiped the amusement from his face, but he just slung the pack around his back and buckled it in place. Getting angry or confronting the old kobold would do nothing but rile everyone up, so it was best if he just ignored it and left the Sharpjaw den far behind him.


    A knock sounded at the door at the same time Kaz¡¯s belly gave a loud grumble. He rubbed it, glancing at Li out of the corner of his eye. ¡°I thought cultivation would reduce the amount I need to eat, but I¡¯m starving.¡± And indeed he was, his stomach rumbling again as he opened the door, revealing Ilto¡¯s puppyish face. The young male¡¯s tail was wagging, and he smiled when he saw that Kaz had left the bone support behind.


    ¡°You really are feeling better,¡± he said cheerfully. ¡°Come on. Your humans are already up and insisting it¡¯s time to go, so Zyle had us pack up already. Breakfast is ready, so we just have to grab it and we can go.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, the other male¡¯s enthusiasm lightening his own heart. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about leaving?¡±


    Ilto shrugged, and for the first time, he looked solemn. ¡°You know how it is. We don¡¯t have females, but Zyle was our old chief¡¯s mate, and Tekdu¡¯s father. He¡¯s been the leader of our males for longer than I¡¯ve been alive. He says to go, so I¡¯ll go.¡±


    The round ears drooped slightly. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know what I did wrong that he ordered me to leave. The others all volunteered, but I told him I wanted to stay and help.¡±


    Kaz was fairly certain he knew exactly why Ilto was being sent away, but he couldn¡¯t say that Zyle expected that everyone who stayed would die. If Ilto hadn¡¯t already figured that out, it wasn¡¯t Kaz¡¯s place to tell him.


    He shrugged. ¡°No female ever bothers to explain their reasons to us, and I guess Zyle¡¯s the same.¡± This wasn¡¯t entirely true, and he sent a silent apology to his aunt Rega, who had often spoken to Kaz as she would another female, though not when his mother, Oda, could hear.


    Ilto sighed, but his ears soon perked back up as they headed toward the delicious scent of food. Beasts might be more dangerous on the mid-levels, but they were also more plentiful, as were the plants, at least when there wasn¡¯t an outbreak of fulan. That meant that everyone always had enough to eat, and both Kaz and Li had been enjoying being able to stuff themselves until their stomachs hurt. Kaz was fairly certain that Li had even grown a bit, for the first time since she had hatched.


    Pils, Regz, and Civ were all waiting when Kaz and Ilto arrived at the long, low cavern where the Sharpjaws stored and prepared their food. There was an actual stream running through the far end of it, and Kaz suspected that if necessary, all the kobolds stationed at this den could hide in here for at least two weeks before they had to venture forth in search of fresh food.


    Civ¡¯s green eyes flickered over Kaz and Ilto before he gave them a small nod of acknowledgement. He was almost as talkative as Chi Yincang, and Kaz would have suspected that their shared fur color was a sign of a speech impediment if most of the rest of the Sharpjaws weren¡¯t just as dark.


    Pils offered Kaz a handful of skewers holding perfectly cooked meat and several kinds of fungus. When Kaz immediately passed one up to Li, Pils cocked his head to the side and handed him a replacement.


    ¡°Ilto said that fuergar was friendly, but I¡¯m still surprised every time I see it. The pup,¡± he stopped, shaking his head, and corrected himself, ¡°Ilto tried to tame a janjio once. Found an injured one while he was out gathering, shoved it in his pack, and it started screaming as soon as it recovered enough. He was deaf for a week.¡±


    Ilto¡¯s ears flattened. ¡°I was a lot younger then.¡±


    Pils chuckled and covered his mouth with his hand as he pretended to whisper. ¡°It was last year.¡±


    ¡°Which was a long time ago!¡± Ilto yipped, and even Civ smiled a little at the interplay.


    Kaz caught Zyle¡¯s scent before he heard the distinctive limping clicks of the old male¡¯s claws on stone, and he had already turned away from the rest of the group by the time Zyle emerged from the short tunnel between the den and the food cavern. Without meaning to, he looked straight into the rheumy brown eyes, and the fur on the back of his neck raised.

 Chapter Seventy-two

    Kaz looked away as soon as he realized what he¡¯d done, but found his eyes dropping to Zyle¡¯s gnarled hands instead, looking for the injury he knew had to be there. He didn¡¯t see anything, but he was distracted enough that it took Ilto nudging him to remind him that he should greet the elder male. Pressing his hand against his chest, Kaz tilted his chin down. It was far less than he should have done, but he just couldn¡¯t force himself to pretend respect when he felt so betrayed.


    The other males spoke briefly, Zyle asking each about what supplies they had packed, and reminding them to listen to the humans, but watch over each other. Brief formalities exchanged, the old kobold unbuckled his warrior¡¯s pack and opened it.


    Reaching inside, he pulled out a long metal knife. It looked like bronze, which was an alloy, meaning it had to be made in and brought up from the Deep. To an upper-mountain tribe it was a treasure in itself, but Zyle handed it to Ilto without hesitation, telling him, ¡°That should get you a good mate, young one, so when several females offer for you, make sure you ask for the one who¡¯ll treat you well.¡±


    Ilto, who currently had a copper blade not much longer than those used by gatherers, accepted the new weapon with trembling hands. The top third of the blade was dull, so when he slid it between his belt and his heavy leather loincloth, it didn¡¯t cut through the belt.


    ¡°Thank you, den-father,¡± the young warrior said, sniffling. Zyle¡¯s gray tail wagged once, and he patted Ilto between his fuzzy ears.


    Kaz watched as Regz was given a matching weapon and similar advice, but he was pondering the meaning of that word, ¡®den-father¡¯. The primary caretaker for pups was always a female, because even the most rambunctious pup knew to obey a female¡¯s command, but also because a female could use her shield to protect the pups in case of an emergency. When male pups neared adulthood, they began training with the warriors, and there was always one male assigned to teach them, but he wasn¡¯t a ¡®den-father¡¯.


    Turning to Civ, Zyle removed a bright red piece of cloth from the pack. It was woven from some kind of thick fur, possibly niu, and was rough compared to the supple smoothness of the fuulong silk the humans wore, or even the beautiful handkerchiefs that were their primary trade items. Still, though Kaz had become used to something far finer, the other kobolds drew in shocked breaths.


    Zyle held up the cloth, revealing a loincloth decorated with pure white stones and bleached teeth. ¡°This has been passed down among my mate¡¯s family for generations. Some of the decorations were coming loose, so I took it so I could repair it for little Nuji to wear-¡± He coughed, and Kaz remembered that Ilto had said Zyle¡¯s daughter, the chief, had wanted Civ to be her own daughter¡¯s mate.


    ¡°Things may not have gone as Tekdu wished,¡± Zyle said roughly, ¡°but your mate was meant to wear this. I hope it will please her.¡±


    Civ accepted it, pressing it to his heart and bowing deeply.


    Removing another knife from the bag, Zyle handed it to his grandson. This one had a fine leather sheath, and when Pils pulled it out slightly, they could see that the blade was also bronze, but the edge was deathly keen all the way to the hilt. To Kaz¡¯s shock, it also held a faint hint of the wavy lines that marked his own blade.


    Zyle pointed to it. ¡°The greatest tribes of the Deep have weapons made like this, though the material is something far more precious than bronze. It¡¯s folded over and over as it¡¯s forged, which burns away the impurities and creates these marks. Weapons made like this will hold their edge better and rarely break.¡±


    Pils was nodding, and Kaz thought that the information wasn¡¯t new to him. Perhaps Zyle had said it for Kaz¡¯s benefit, not that of his grandson? But why? What did the elderly male have to gain from sharing his knowledge?


    Pils carefully unbuckled one end of his belt, sliding it through the loop on the back side of the sheath. After settling his new weapon into place, he buckled the belt again and, apparently without shame, threw his arms around Zyle. Zyle, in turn, hugged the younger male tightly, stroking his thick ruff of dark brown fur. With obvious reluctance, Pils withdrew from the embrace when his grandfather patted his back firmly, and Zyle turned to Kaz.


    ¡°I¡¯m out of treasures, pup, but I saw that you don¡¯t wear a blade at your side, and something is generally better than nothing.¡± He took one last knife out of his pack and then slung the bag back out of his way before handing the weapon to Kaz.


    Kaz took it, noting the battered sheath and the loose leather strips wrapping the hilt, as Zyle said, ¡°Metal blades will rust unless you care for them, but if you rub it with jiao each time it¡¯s used, it¡¯ll serve you better. The hilt needs to be rewrapped, and the sheath has seen better days, but remember that while a simple appearance may make people believe a thing is worthless, its value lies in the use to which it¡¯s put.¡±


    Kaz frowned, sensing a strange weight behind these last words, but nodded and repeated Pils¡¯ actions, attaching the sheath to his own belt without even looking at the blade. He suspected there might be more to the old kobold¡¯s gift than readily met the eye, and he didn¡¯t want to reveal more than necessary to the others.


    With a deep sigh, Zyle settled his pack more firmly, though he didn¡¯t reattach the three buckles that usually held it in place. Instead he looked at all of them, meeting each of their eyes. When Kaz¡¯s turn came, he couldn¡¯t interpret the complex mixture of emotions in the brown depths. Then Zyle pressed his fist to his heart and bowed as deeply as a pup would to the leader of his tribe¡¯s warriors.


    ¡°Keep them safe,¡± he said. His voice shook slightly, but when he straightened the twinkle was back in his eyes. ¡°And get out of here. Gaoda is going to knock down our gate if you don¡¯t leave soon.¡±


    =+=+=+=


    Things weren¡¯t quite that bad, but only because Lianhua had been dragging her feet while getting ready. When she saw the five kobolds enter the temporary den, the look of relief on her face was almost enough to make Kaz laugh. She immediately set down the plate of food she had been eating before pressing a hand to her stomach and turning to Chi Yincang.


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    ¡°I won¡¯t need that third serving after all,¡± she told him firmly. ¡°I suddenly feel quite sated.¡±


    Chi Yincang bowed without comment, and a moment later all of the food and dishes had vanished back into his pouch. Kaz looked around, seeing that everyone else seemed to be ready. Gaoda was doing a poor job of masking his impatience, while Raff slid the sword he had been idly and unnecessarily cleaning back into its sheath.


    Since Gaoda couldn¡¯t growl at Lianhua, he turned his irritation on Kaz. ¡°It¡¯s about time. I said I wanted to leave first thing. Most of us were ready nearly an hour ago.¡±


    Kaz gritted his teeth but said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Zyle needed to speak to us.¡± It was always better to blame someone who wasn¡¯t there, especially if no consequences would come to them as a result.


    Lianhua stood hastily, though she looked a little green as she did so. Looking at Pils, she said, ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s your grandfather, isn¡¯t he? I¡¯m sure this must be difficult for him. I¡¯m my grandfather¡¯s favorite, and he was very reluctant to allow me to leave. It was only Gaoda Xiang¡¯s promise that he would keep me safe that finally convinced him.¡±


    Gaoda suddenly looked as if he¡¯d gotten a mouth full of poisonous duyu when he¡¯d been expecting the sweetness of yumao. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± he muttered, ¡°and I also promised I¡¯d bring you home as quickly as possible. We¡¯re already several weeks later than we expected to start back.¡±


    Lianhua pressed her hands together, bowing slightly. ¡°Yes, thank you, Gaoda Xiang. When Grandfather receives my message, I¡¯m sure he will be reassured by your continued presence. As am I.¡±


    The gold-furred male looked like he wasn¡¯t sure whether to be pleased at this or not, since Lianhua¡¯s tone didn¡¯t match the pleasantness of her words, so he did what he usually did in such situations and began shouting orders. ¡°Raff, you and Gray here in front, like usual. Cousin, you and I will take the center position, with the new kobolds in the rear. Chi Yincang, scout and protect.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t like that. Many of the creatures in the mountain were ambush predators, and preferred to take the rearmost member of a group, sometimes so silently that no one noticed until they looked behind them. The four warriors would be together, at least, and Kaz was sure they would watch out for each other, just as Zyle had instructed.


    The four kobolds bowed slightly in acknowledgment, the movement so perfectly synchronized that it looked like they had practiced it. Even Ilto somehow managed to look serious and grown up for once.


    The group moved out as Gaoda had instructed, though Civ had to come up to help Kaz get back to the main tunnel, something that made Gaoda glower unhappily. Kaz hadn¡¯t been conscious when they arrived, though, and while he knew which direction he needed to go, he didn¡¯t know the fastest way to get there.


    Raff didn¡¯t relax enough to start up his muttered monologue until they had been walking for nearly a mile. It took another mile for Gaoda to demand to know how much longer it would be until they reached the stairs. The tunnel widened out at about the same time Kaz recognized a flowstone formation with a section that looked a bit like a kobold chasing a fuergar, and he was finally able to answer Gaoda¡¯s next demand with, ¡°Not much farther now.¡±


    Civ, seeing that Kaz had finally figured out where they were, gave him a small nod and dropped back to join the other kobolds. That left Raff and Kaz in front, and Kaz knew how the large warrior worked.


    Glancing to the side, Kaz said, ¡°This tunnel will take us straight to the stairs. There are a few branches, but we just keep going straight. When we see totems, we¡¯ll know we¡¯re close, but it¡¯s only a mile or so ahead.¡±


    Raff grinned and flicked his fingers near his forehead, which Kaz had seen him do several times. It seemed to indicate understanding or acceptance, and as Kaz had expected, the human soon pulled ahead, his longer legs able to carry him far more quickly than any of the others. He wouldn¡¯t go too far, but he seemed to prefer being further ahead of the group than he could when he had to wait for Kaz to tell him which way to go.


    When Raff began moving faster, Gaoda did too. It was almost like the other male couldn¡¯t bear to fall behind, and the action was as predictable as it seemed to be unconscious. Meanwhile, Kaz fell back slightly, and Gaoda soon passed him, smirking slightly as he did so.


    Before long, Kaz found himself walking alongside Lianhua, and he held up his hand in front of them, tracing the shape of a rune on his palm. Lianhua¡¯s eyebrows rose, and she traced the same rune on her own hand, pushing ki into it as soon as it was complete. The rune was the one that made sound fuzzy, rather than the one that blocked it entirely, but Kaz just didn¡¯t want the kobolds behind them to overhear what he was about to say. Chi Yincang would probably notice what they were up to soon, if he hadn¡¯t already, but Kaz wasn¡¯t as worried about the male spilling his secrets as he had been.


    ¡°What did you find out?¡± Lianhua demanded eagerly, as soon as the power fell around them.


    ¡°Not much,¡± Kaz admitted. ¡°They definitely know more about what¡¯s going on in the rest of the mid-levels than they¡¯re admitting, and it¡¯s something they think might make us decide not to go, or at least not take those four with us. There¡¯s also something about the stairs the Redmanes control, or maybe where their den is, but I can¡¯t figure out what it is.¡±


    Actually, he had an idea, but it was so horrifying that he didn¡¯t even want to voice it. He liked the Sharpjaws, and if he was right, they were wasting his group¡¯s time at the very least, and endangering their lives at the worst.


    Lianhua looked disappointed. ¡°Nothing about any ruins? Or a city?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°Ilto was the only one who would really talk to me, and he¡¯s too young to know anything. Whenever I asked anyone else questions, they found somewhere else to be.¡±


    ¡°What about Zyle? Surely he¡¯s heard some rumors at least?¡±


    Kaz snorted. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Somehow, he was never around when I was, at least not until it was time to leave.¡±


    The female sighed, but flicked her eyes back toward the four males who trailed behind them. ¡°Well, we have a little while longer, at least, and once we reach the Redmane den, we can ask Etle and the kobolds there as well.¡±


    ¡°Just be careful,¡± Kaz said. ¡°In the upper levels, the tribes are relatively easy-going. Here, everything has a price, and it may not be one you want to pay. Be sure you know exactly how much your information will cost before you accept the trade.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I still have more than a dozen handkerchiefs, and-¡±


    A muffled sound reached them, and Kaz looked up, realizing that for some reason, Gaoda had fallen back as well. His mouth moved, though the words were strangely blurry, and Lianhua rubbed her hands together briskly, flicking away the ki she had been using.


    ¡°Oh, cousin!¡± she said brightly. ¡°I was just asking Kaz how the tribes on these levels are different from those above. The great sage Song Jun studied the kobolds of the Deep, you know, but no one has really spent any time on how their societal norms shift when-¡±


    Gaoda rolled his eyes, saying, ¡°All well and good, cousin, but Raff says he found a totem. He needs your little pet kobold to identify it.¡±


    ¡°Is it a bloody stone knife stuck in the skull of a woshi?¡± Surprisingly, it was Civ who spoke up, his rough growl making the three of them pause to look back at him.


    Gaoda shrugged. ¡°Perhaps? It¡¯s certainly a knife in a skull.¡±


    Civ hesitated, his fingers absently curling around the hilt of his knife. ¡°The Bronzearms have taken the stairs,¡± he said.

 Chapter Seventy-three

    Gaoda scowled. ¡°There are too many of your cursed tribes. Which one is this?¡±


    Civ bowed his head at the tone, though Kaz could see the fur on his neck lift slightly. ¡°The Bronzearms have recently risen from the Deep. They¡¯re extremely aggressive.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Gaoda said, his ki orb brightening until all the kobolds flinched away from it. ¡°I¡¯m tired of tiptoeing around you furry savages. If we¡¯re attacked in the mid-levels, we¡¯re allowed to just kill them all, right? No posturing, no placating, no-¡±


    ¡°Gaoda Xiang!¡± Lianhua said, but the male turned on her, finger raised.


    ¡°You heard it yourself, cousin! Your kobold said-¡±


    Chi Yincang stepped from the shadows, spear already in hand, and both of the other humans fell instantly silent, looking like pups who had been caught fighting by their den-mother. The dark-furred male¡¯s face was impassive as he said, ¡°There is fulan ahead.¡±


    Gaoda threw up his hands. ¡°Of course there is! But this time, we use the masks alone. I won¡¯t be left helpless again, especially when it¡¯s obvious only creatures with cores are affected.¡±


    Lianhua looked rebellious. ¡°That is not obvious. We should-¡±


    ¡°Then create a personal shield, cousin,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°That would be for the best, anyway. Grandfather entrusted your safety to me, and I will not be weak in front of these mewling dogs again.¡±


    Lianhua looked at Chi Yincang, but he stood, silent and impassive now that his message had been delivered. She heaved a sigh and looked at Kaz.


    ¡°If we hold hands, I think I can keep you inside my shield as well,¡± she told him.


    ¡®If you let me use your ki¡¯ was what she meant, and it was amazing how quickly even she had jumped to that option. This was why he didn¡¯t dare let any of the others know he had power, much less that they could steal it with a simple touch.


    Kaz took an involuntary step back, and on his shoulder, Li gave a little hiss, waking from her most recent nap when she sensed his agitation. ¡°If you have another mask, I¡¯ll use that.¡± He had a bad feeling the first one might have been lost or destroyed during his battle with the monster on the previous level, because he hadn¡¯t seen it since.


    Hearing the conversation, Raff had come back to join them, and he nodded agreement. ¡°A mask is enough for me, too. I¡¯m not a proper mage, so that¡¯s probably more than necessary, but I never turn down an extra layer of protection.¡±


    Lianhua looked around at them all, then shook her head. ¡°I still think a group shield would be best.¡±


    Gaoda finally managed a stiff but conciliatory bow. ¡°Of course. But we¡¯re here to keep you safe, cousin. As you saw, even when we had the shield in place, we had to leave it when we were attacked. Worse, we had no strength left to fight.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s mouth opened, then closed again, and she finally nodded. ¡°Fine. But Kaz-¡±


    Kaz shook his head, then hesitated and said, ¡°Could you carry Li? She hated being wrapped up, but if she sits on your shoulder, she¡¯ll be safe in your shield.¡±


    Li whistled a loud protest at this idea, but Kaz reached up and stroked her head, sending her an image of herself, helplessly trapped in white fabric. She hunkered down unhappily at the thought, and Kaz picked her up. She released his fur reluctantly, her tail wrapping around his wrist as he held her out toward Lianhua.


    The human female nodded, accepting the golden dragon with hands that shook. Her fingers stroked Li¡¯s slender neck reverently, and Kaz wondered if she felt stiff fuergar fur or smooth dragon scales. After all, she had given Kaz the rings that allowed Li to seem like nothing more than a rodent, so perhaps she had some resistance to its power because she knew it was an illusion? Kaz himself could barely see the false appearance any more, with his sight reinforced by ki and Li¡¯s own self-image.


    Gaoda looked less than pleased by the exchange, but didn¡¯t attempt to talk Lianhua out of settling the dragon on her own shoulder. He did, however, turn his back on them all to stare down the hallway ahead.


    Lianhua closed her eyes, drawing in a single slow breath. The ki in her lower dantian shrank down smaller than Kaz had ever seen it before as gray, formless mana condensed from the air around her. Kaz felt a tug on his core, even though he had taken several steps back after handing over the dragon.


    Lianhua¡¯s hand snapped out, and she drew a rune with four quick, sweeping strokes of her finger. This rune was definitely less complex than the one she had used when she created the shield that protected the whole group, and when she flooded it with ki, a sheer bubble of power formed only around her head and shoulders.


    The whole process took barely more than a second, and Lianhua opened her eyes with a satisfied smile. Her gaze went to Chi Yincang, and the corner of the warrior¡¯s mouth moved up in a barely perceptible indication of his approval.


    ¡°That it?¡± Raff asked, voice full of doubt. ¡°Then what was the hubbub about before?¡±


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    Lianhua¡¯s smile widened as she reached into her pouch and started pulling out the spiritual bamboo masks. ¡°The ritual last time was to allow Gaoda and Chi Yincang to give me part of their ki. This, I can do by myself. Grandfather taught me how to do it after the first time someone attempted to kidnap me using a soporific powder. If I can¡¯t get the shield up fast enough to block an attack, then there¡¯s no point in doing it at all.¡±


    Kaz watched her ki as it cycled. He could see how much was flowing into the rune that was slowly dissolving into the crystalline bubble. It was far less than she¡¯d needed for the larger version, and he thought she could maintain this shield for far longer, even without his help, so long as she didn¡¯t need to use her power for anything else. He wondered if she could keep it up even when she slept, the way he could now hold the sheaths that reinforced his channels.


    The female passed out a mask to each of the other humans, then hesitated and gave the last one to Kaz. She had to help Kaz put his on again, but this time she used a long pink ribbon to tie the ends together, making the pouch over his snout large enough that he could speak without having to hold the cloth in place. He felt her drawing ki from him each time she brushed his skin, but she seemed to be making an effort to do so as little as possible, so he didn¡¯t pull away.


    ¡°There,¡± she said as she stood back up, amethyst eyes bright with power. ¡°This time it shouldn¡¯t come off so easily. The first one was lost somewhere inside the monster you killed.¡±


    Kaz pressed his core to spin a little faster, replenishing the ki she¡¯d taken, and looked at the dragon on her shoulder, rather than meeting those too-bright eyes. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said.


    =+=+=+=


    It didn¡¯t seem to bother the male kobolds that they didn¡¯t get masks, and as they started forward again, Pils explained why Civ had been so unhappy to discover that the Bronzearms now controlled the stairs.


    ¡°They seem determined to make the mid-levels into a smaller version of the Deep,¡± he said. ¡°There, a few tribes rule the others like females control males. In the rest of the mountain, each tribe is independent, though we sometimes form alliances that change as the tribes move around. The Bronzearms have been forcing out those who won¡¯t submit, and take every kobold they can when they win in luegat or vara. Worse, instead of creating several small dens, they are expanding their territory.¡±


    Lianhua glanced at him, frowning. ¡°Isn¡¯t that normal, though? It seems like small tribes have small territories, but larger tribes need more space. The only time we¡¯ve seen tribes with multiple dens was when they were on more than one level.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Pils agreed, ¡°that¡¯s how it works on the upper levels. I¡¯ve never been there, but Grandfather says the tribes move around when they use up the resources in an area, or another tribe pushes them out. The more territory they control, the more resources they have. Also, there are many passages between the levels, so most tribes control one or more, and they¡¯re relatively easy to defend, because the beasts there are weak.¡±


    He reached out toward a broad swath of yumao before catching sight of the telltale reddish-brown color of fulan hiding among the deep green fronds. His ears lowered unhappily before he continued.


    ¡°Here, food and water are far more plentiful, but the deeper you go, the fewer ways there are to pass between levels. Once you enter the Nine, there¡¯s only one set of stairs on each level, and the only safe areas are immediately around the stairs.¡±


    Lianhua tilted her head. ¡°The Nine are the nine levels in the very center of the mountain, correct? The ones the mosui control?¡±


    Civ growled softly at the words, but Pils said, ¡°Yes,¡± after only a small hesitation. ¡°The mosui are like zhiwu. They remain in their own territory, and are harmless unless provoked.¡±


    Kaz caught a glimpse of Ilto from the corner of his eye. The young kobold¡¯s ears were flat, and he looked away when he saw Kaz glance at him. So, something in that was misleading, if not an outright lie. It matched what Kaz knew of the mosui, however, except that it left out one key point.


    ¡°And the best way to provoke them is to encroach on their territory,¡± he said. ¡°Which is exactly what the Bronzearms have been doing, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Pils¡¯ step hitched, and then his chin jerked up and down. ¡°It is.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, looking at Lianhua. ¡°When the mosui are angered, whole tribes vanish in the night.¡±


    She looked thoughtful, her hand waving as she tried to blow away a denser cloud of spores that rose up around them as Regz misjudged a jump and landed in a patch of fulan-covered moss. ¡°Does the fulan only propagate through these spores?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s how similar plants spread. A beast or insect walks through or eats part of an infested plant, carrying the spores wherever they go after that.¡±


    Lianhua hummed thoughtfully, but didn¡¯t say anything else. Kaz knew her well enough by now to be certain she was developing some theory, though she wouldn¡¯t talk about it until she was ready.


    Ahead of them, Raff halted so suddenly that Gaoda nearly ran into him. The tall man was staying closer to the group now that the hovering spores were beginning to reduce visibility. The muffled quiet of the tunnels and the obstructed view added to their rising sense of unease, making everyone draw a little nearer to each other.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Gaoda snapped, but even his voice was quieter than usual, as if he were loath to break the silence.


    Raff stepped aside, allowing everyone to see what had made him stop. Six bodies lay on the ground in front of him. Four were male kobolds, and two were females. Both females had gaping wounds in their abdomens, and Kaz was certain that if they checked, they would find both cores missing.


    By now everyone had a fairly good idea how this worked, so they all drew in together as they stared into the dim and foggy passage ahead. If some creature, kobold or otherwise, was eating cores, then there was at least one monstrosity growing more powerful even as they stood there.


    Raff looked at the others, his eyes unwontedly serious above his white mask. ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s ki-ball doubled, then tripled in size before splitting into three equal parts. The trio of orbs began to spin around his body, making Kaz and the other kobolds fall back. His mask twisted as the mouth beneath it stretched into some semblance of a grin.


    ¡°We go on,¡± he said. ¡°And if anything gets in our way, we kill it.¡±

 Chapter Seventy-four

    This infestation of fulan seemed fresher, or had perhaps simply been contained for longer, because there were still small stretches where the plants seemed untainted, and creatures like the fuergar chittered and squeaked in the distant shadows.


    Spores hadn¡¯t yet collected in drifts over everything, so as they walked, the bodies were clearly visible. There were a lot of them, and the type and placement of the wounds told a story of females attacking one another with power, then tooth and claw. Kaz found himself compelled to count the number of missing cores, and by the time they reached the tunnel that Civ said would take them to the Bronzearm den, the total had reached fourteen.


    Fourteen wasn¡¯t a large number when considered against the total population of a large tribe, but given that they were all found within a short distance, it was a powerful indicator that there were probably many more the group hadn¡¯t seen. If Litz had begun to change after eating only a few cores, what would this thing look like by now?


    For a long moment, they all stood and stared down the branching tunnel Civ had pointed out. They could see huddled mounds in the distance, but Kaz, at least, felt no urge to go investigate them, and he could tell from Li¡¯s emotions that she felt the same. The dragon was still less than pleased with her transfer to Lianhua, but she was too worried to sulk properly.


    The group set into motion again, glad enough to be able to leave the grim sight behind as they headed for the stairs. Everyone followed after Raff, whose sword was out and glowing brightly, and Kaz tried to send his little friend a sense of reassurance. This was difficult, since he himself wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled about what was going on, but he did his best anyway. At least until he passed the tunnel mouth, finally forcing himself to look away from the shadowy lumps littering the ground. The moment he turned his back on it, something clicked.


    He froze, knowing he should turn and look back, while at the same time he longed for nothing more than to push ki into his legs and run away as quickly as they could carry him. Ahead, he saw that Ilto, too, had noticed the tiny sound, and the warrior¡¯s head slowly began to turn.


    No. Don¡¯t look, he thought, knowing that not looking wouldn¡¯t change what was there, but still unable to stop the desperate thought. Sensing his apprehension, Li¡¯s head lifted, and her long, slender neck began to twist.


    As if time had slowed, Ilto¡¯s eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. He already held his knife, but now his hand tightened on it even as he stumbled back, bumping into Regz, who yipped in surprise. This made everyone else look back, and one after another, faces paled and eyes grew large. At last, Kaz couldn¡¯t bear it, and he, too, turned.


    Whatever creature it had been in the beginning, the thing that was advancing down the tunnel was now little more than an amorphous mass. Unlike the first one they¡¯d fought, it didn¡¯t have distinct heads or necks, but rather a dozen mismatched faces that stared vacantly out from its body. There were pincers and fingers and several things that looked like lopo tongues, but no definable limbs. It was as large as the tunnel through which it moved, filling it from top to bottom and side to side, and the sounds it made as it rolled over the bodies of its victims was the only warning it gave.


    The one good thing about it was that it was slow. It flowed toward them with a movement that was as inexorable as time, but seemed either unwilling or unable to do so with any great haste. As one, they turned to look at Gaoda.


    ¡°Run,¡± he said.


    Run they did, though Chi Yincang fell in at the rear, fully visible for once as he watched the atrocity advance. Their order broke down, and while Raff maintained his lead, thanks to his long legs, the others shifted as each slowed, then put on a fresh burst of speed as they got their second wind, or perhaps simply thought about what lay behind them and found fresh urgency in terror.


    Fortunately, they were nearly to the stairs, and soon they stumbled into the echoing cavern, more like a pack of frightened puppies than a group of seasoned warriors. Raff and Chi Yincang, at least, managed to maintain their composure, quickly falling in to bracket Gaoda and Lianhua as soon as everyone came to a stop.


    Kaz looked around, noting that the large space seemed much the same as it was in his memories, in spite of the distance of years. There were clear signs of kobold occupation, from the broken stalactites hanging overhead to the tall totems bracketing the wide staircase. The ever-present red lights lined the steps, illuminating the toothy grins of the skulls on the totems, and causing a crimson glow to glare out through the otherwise empty eye sockets.


    Lianhua shuddered. ¡°Why do all of the totems have to be so gruesome?¡±


    Kaz actually managed a small laugh. ¡°The mountain is made of stones and bones, with a little ore to hold them together. What else should we make them out of?¡±


    The other kobolds nodded, chests heaving as they tried to get enough air after their mad dash. Kaz noticed that he, like the humans, was still breathing easily, which gave him a flush of satisfaction entirely at odds with the cold dread that otherwise filled him.


    ¡°Down the stairs, then,¡± Gaoda said, already starting in that direction.


    ¡°There are no guards,¡± Raff muttered, eyes darting between the dark entrances to three other tunnels leading to this chamber.


    ¡°Probably dead or ran away-¡± Gaoda started, then looked down the steps ahead of him. He stopped, and the others hurried forward to see why.


    It was like they were staring into one of the clouds that now inhabited Kaz¡¯s dreams, but dyed red as garnet. Those vaporous depths had frightened him at first, but Li¡¯s fearless dives in and out of the fluffy white had quickly driven his unease away. This red haze brought back his initial sense of trepidation and deepened it a hundredfold.


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    ¡°Is that fulan?¡± Ilto asked, sounding very like a puppy again.


    ¡°I think so,¡± Lianhua murmured, leaning forward to extend a hand, not quite touching the first heavy swirl of fog, which lurked on the first step like sanguine smoke.


    A long scraaaape of sound came from the tunnel behind them, and they whirled, staring back at the approaching atrocity. They couldn¡¯t see it yet, but each indication of its progress made the entire group shudder.


    ¡°We gonna stay and fight, or go into that?¡± Raff asked, expression grim and fingers tight around the hilt of his sword.


    Lianhua stood again, closing her eyes. Kaz saw the bubble around her head brighten as she pushed more ki into it. It wouldn¡¯t last as long now, but she and Li should be safe from the fulan at least.


    Someone whimpered, and Kaz looked toward Ilto. The other kobold¡¯s ears were flat, and his curly tail was tucked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go,¡± he said, eyes huge as he looked from Civ to Pils.


    Civ turned away, refusing to meet the younger kobold¡¯s gaze. Instead, he stepped forward and down, paws all but vanishing, sending eddies swirling through the hanging dust. Pils reached out and patted the thick tuft of fur between Ilto¡¯s ears, then did the same.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Lianhua said, reaching into her pouch. She drew out the beginning of a length of rope, continuing to pull until she had nearly a hundred feet of it before slicing it off with the small knife that hung at her belt. Her hands moved quickly along it, tying a simple loop every ten feet or so. When she was done, she turned to Raff and tucked the end beneath his belt.


    ¡°There. Everyone hang onto the rope, and at least we won¡¯t be separated accidentally.¡± She started to hand the next loop to Kaz, then hesitated and looked at Civ.


    The black-furred kobold held out his hand. ¡°I know the way to the Redmane den.¡±


    She nodded and gave him the rope. The next three loops were taken by Pils, Regz, and Ilto, who seemed embarrassed by his outburst. Kaz accepted the one after that, with Lianhua falling in right behind him, ignoring the loop she¡¯d tied further down. Gaoda picked that one up with a scowl, and Chi Yincang simply shook his head, though his eyes never left the tunnel opening behind them.


    Once everyone besides Chi Yincang had hold of the rope, Civ took another step, and the group shuffled forward awkwardly. Step by step, the warrior vanished into the indelible fog, though even he took one last desperate gulp of clearer air before his head sank below the surface. The others followed, each hesitating before the irreversible step. Kaz glanced back once more, just in time to see the first part of the grotesque mass of the thing chasing them extend itself into the cavern. A dozen lifeless eyes stared back at him, gaping mouths making mocking circles of darkness beneath.


    Kaz shuddered and checked his mask before allowing the spores to surround him, blocking out the sight. The rope in his hand tugged, and he took the next step, and then the next. His paw tried to twist as it found the broken edge of a step, and he gasped out a warning to Lianhua, who was so close to him that he could feel the subtle draw of her power.


    Adjusting his grip on the rope, Kaz took two steps in rapid succession, leaving behind the loop he¡¯d been holding, but gaining enough distance from the female following him that she could only take the thinnest trickle of ki from him. He could afford to spare it, though, and she was keeping Li safe, so it was a price he was willing to pay.


    He wished he could speak to Li as he had done when the two of them were lost in the between-levels. He wished he could feel her weight on his shoulder, and tease her until she nipped at his ear. His physical eyes were all but blind in the haze, and even the light of Raff¡¯s meridian ahead was dim.


    Then he took another step, and Gaoda must have entered the fog, because it lit up around them. A reddish glare developed, ki-light reflecting from one spore to the next, expanding and constricting the area illuminated by the orb all at once.


    ¡°Gaoda, tone that down,¡± Raff said, an unaccustomed note of command in his voice. ¡°You¡¯re makin¡¯ us a target, if there¡¯s anything left out there to see.¡±


    Gaoda gave a grunt, but the hazy illumination dimmed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste my strength,¡± he muttered, as if reducing the light had been his own idea.


    ¡°We ready?¡± Raff asked, and Kaz felt a little tug on the rope as the human took another step.


    ¡°Go,¡± Chi Yincang said. ¡°With haste.¡±


    Raff chuckled, and Kaz could imagine the grin on his face. ¡°I¡¯m gonna count. Each count is one step. If you fall behind, you¡¯ll have to make it on your own. Here we go. One.¡±


    Step by step, number by number, they advanced. At first, the pace was a bit too fast for the shorter kobolds, and once Kaz had to quickly help Ilto back to his paws. Once they all settled into the rhythm of it, though, the steps vanished behind them, dropping them ever further into the depths.


    As usual, nothing grew on or beside the stairs, and there were recessed alcoves holding the red lights every five or six steps. Under normal circumstances, these lights would have been more than enough to allow them to see, at least as far as Kaz was concerned, but now they just added to the eerie shadows that grew and vanished as they moved along.


    Raff had just counted to one hundred sixty-seven when he said, ¡°Wait,¡± and they heard him tap his toe several times. The rope tugged as everyone shifted restlessly, and then Raff said, ¡°That¡¯s it, unless this set of stairs has a landing in the middle.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Civ¡¯s gruff growl said, and then he coughed, sounding like he was trying to expel every spore he¡¯d breathed in, which perhaps he was. This triggered the other kobolds to begin coughing as well, and then Lianhua made a sound and moved from behind Kaz. She felt her way past him, barely touching him on the way by, and from the sounds of it soon reached Ilto.


    ¡°Here,¡± she murmured gently, and he could see her dantians shift as she bent over or knelt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t think of it sooner. This isn¡¯t made from spiritual bamboo, but it should be better than nothing.¡±


    More muted sounds broke through the quiet darkness as Lianhua finished whatever she was doing, and Civ finally said, ¡°Thank you.¡± His voice was even rougher than usual, but he was able to continue.


    ¡°The cavern here is large, but if we keep to the left, we¡¯ll take the second passage we find. From there, I¡¯ll have to lead in order to guide us to the Redmane den.¡±


    Raff sighed. ¡°Be my guest. I¡¯ll surely let someone else be the front man in this soup. Real quick, though, everybody sound off. I¡¯d hate to start out already missing somebody.¡±


    One by one, each of them called out, confirming their continued existence in the darkness. Chi Yincang was last, and then they began to move again, dragging their feet through a morass of fulan that swallowed their steps. The rope pulled, they walked, and the dense fog of floating spores obscured everything.

 Chapter Seventy-five

    They were going the wrong way. Kaz¡¯s sense of ¡®mountain¡¯ told him that, as clearly as if he could see with his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it, at least not without explaining how he knew, and he didn¡¯t think he could without revealing to everyone that there was something strange about him.


    What he could, and did, do was memorize each and every turn. He hung to the right as they traveled through the murky darkness, his eyes on Raff¡¯s, Li¡¯s, and Lianhua¡¯s barely-visible dantians ahead, and his fingers trailed against the stony wall. He felt the damp smoothness of flowstone, and the small gaps of cracks and crevices, as well as the gritty crust of fulan coating everything.


    If Civ led them into a trap, or simply got them lost, Kaz was confident he could get them back to the original staircase so they could start again. That wouldn¡¯t get the four males to the Redmanes, but Kaz¡¯s trust in them waned each time Civ led them down another narrow passage, further and further away from the broad, finished stone hallways that led from one stairway to the next.


    Even Raff was silenced by the oppressive fog, other than passing back instructions when they turned. The only real conversation happened in Kaz¡¯s head, where he and Li held a lively exchange of images, each more ridiculous than the last, interrupted only when Kaz added another section to his mental map of their travels.


    When even this internal entertainment failed to sufficiently distract her from their surroundings, Li sent an image of herself crawling down from Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, flying back to Kaz, and then shoving her head into the mask covering his face.


    Kaz sent back an image of her getting lost in the dense spores, and him walking right past her, unknowing.


    She plucked the cord between their cycles, making it thrum, and Kaz winced, taking his hand off the wall long enough to rub his head. The injury behind his ear was the only one that still hurt every now and then, and that had caused a painful twinge.


    Li gave him a sense of apology, which he accepted, and acknowledged her point. There was no way he could lose her, even if he was completely blind, which he wasn¡¯t. In fact, while he couldn¡¯t see the exact details of their surroundings, between his ki-sight and his hand on the wall, he actually felt as comfortable as he had become while they were lost together.


    Well, other than the fact that there might be another one of the grotesque horrors just out of sight. After seeing the warped core he¡¯d taken from Litz, and the sickly glow of the one in the blob-monster above, he was fairly certain there was no way another one could sneak up on him. With several examples to compare now, though he hadn¡¯t been able to see Litz¡¯s while it was still inside her, he should be able to identify the next one, even if it lurked inside someone who looked normal from the outside.


    Li prodded him with another image, this time including her taking a deep breath before launching directly from Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, and Kaz could feel her gathering her determination to actually try it.


    Quickly, he formed his own picture of her putting her head into his mask, allowing a flurry of spores inside to infect them both. Then, to hopefully deliver a final blow to the whole idea, he showed the mask falling to the floor, where it was trampled underfoot, leaving blue-kobold and gold-dragon to gasp out their last breaths in exaggerated torment.


    A sense of amusement reached him, and he felt her relax, finally sending grudging acceptance, along with an image of herself biting the nose of the blue kobold, leading to dramatic and impossible gouts of blood.


    Ahead, Civ said, ¡°We need to go down. Be careful, it¡¯s slippery.¡±


    Kaz frowned. Down? There were no stairs here, and the only ¡®down¡¯ was the next level. His eyes widened. Surely the male didn¡¯t intend to-


    Then there was a sharp tug on the wrist he had put through the loop Lianhua had tied in the rope, and it pulled him forward, paws skidding over the spores covering the ground in a layer that sometimes seemed like it reached his knees, though he was fairly certain that was in his mind, rather than reality. He heard a yelp from ahead, then a small cry in Lianhua¡¯s voice, and the light of her dantians vanished, straight down. A moment later, the floor fell out from beneath him, and he followed.


    For an instant, he felt like he was back in the woshi¡¯s mouth, being pulled along by his arm down a steep and slippery slope. But this moisture was water, not slime, he could tell by the smell, and there were no teeth trying to tear through his flesh, so he was able to control his panic well enough to flail around until his hand caught something metallic that clinked and rattled, pinching his fingers painfully.


    He gasped, and Lianhua¡¯s breathless voice came from below. ¡°Kaz? Are you all right?¡±


    He opened his mouth to answer, but Gaoda spoke first. ¡°What about me? I nearly fell down this pox-ridden hole.¡±


    ¡°We all fell down this hole, Gaoda Xiang,¡±Lianhua replied crisply. ¡°There¡¯s a chain to hold onto, but it¡¯s slippery. Kaz?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Kaz managed, looking down to follow the glittering thread leading toward Li. Even it disappeared into the fog a little past his paws, but at least he knew she - and therefore Lianhua - was down there somewhere, and safe, though the dragon felt distinctly cranky now.


    "Good,¡± Lianhua said, sounding genuinely relieved. ¡°Civ says the drop is less than a hundred feet, so as long as you can hang onto the chain, you¡¯ll be down in no time.¡±


    The damp chain vibrated in Kaz¡¯s hands, making him slither down a few more inches. Above him, Gaoda cursed, and a foot pressed against Kaz¡¯s fingers, nearly causing him to let go. He yelped, and the foot pulled back up, then started sliding back down again immediately. Kaz growled softly and let a little more ki into his arms and fingers, especially the skin. Now, even if Gaoda stomped on them, they should be fine, not that the human cared one way or the other.


    Bit by bit, they went down, and each time the chain shook, everyone slipped a little further. By the time Kaz¡¯s paws scrabbled at nothing, dropping him into the shockingly cold pool at the bottom, Gaoda was practically standing on him, and he¡¯d caught his fingers between the links more times than he could count. Fortunately, his body refinement was far enough along to prevent injury, but when he looked around at the other kobolds, the light of Raff¡¯s rune stone allowed him to see they hadn¡¯t all been as lucky.


    The air here held only a faint dusting of spores, especially compared to the area right above. In fact, in the light of Raff¡¯s rune stone, Kaz could tell that most of the spores were concentrated beneath the hole through which they¡¯d just dropped. Everyone stood around, waiting for their last member as they gathered their wits, and Kaz quickly got out of the way before Gaoda landed on top of him.


    The water was past his waist as he sloshed his way out of the pool, and Gaoda must have decided to just let go when he reached the bottom of the passage, because a wave came from that direction, soaking Kaz¡¯s entire back. Still, the startled yelp Gaoda gave when he suddenly found himself immersed in water was almost worth it, and Kaz met Pils and Civ¡¯s little grins with one of his own as he joined them. All three kobolds quickly smoothed their expressions as Gaoda surfaced, spouting water like an angry woshi, but it was good to know that they shared Kaz¡¯s opinion of the human.


    Ilto was cradling his hand to his chest, and there was a darker brown patch growing against the soft tan of his fur. Beside him, Regz was holding his hand away from his body, fingers curled up in a way that told Kaz it was painful to move. It was hard to tell if Civ had made the descent intact, thanks to his pitch-black fur, but if he¡¯d been hurt, his expression and stance revealed nothing. Pils did look fine, so that was one, at least.


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    Moving away from the group, Kaz gave a great, shuddering shake, spraying water all over the walls nearby. He could see from the bits of fur and small pool of water beneath his paws that he wasn¡¯t the first to do so, and the fur of the other kobolds had the clumped, spiky look that meant they had recently been immersed. All of them were at least a bit shorter than Kaz, so they had probably been almost as wet as he¡¯d gotten when Gaoda splashed him.


    By the time he was as dry as shaking could get him, Lianhua had crossed over to Ilto and was examining his hand, so Kaz went to Regz. One of the warrior¡¯s fingers was already swelling, and the skin along the side was split and oozing blood.


    Kaz grimaced. ¡°Did it get caught in one of the links?¡±


    Regz¡¯ gray muzzle dipped. His voice was hoarser than usual when he spoke, but other than that and the injury to his hand, he seemed well enough. ¡°Ilto lost his grip when he got hurt, and his paw shoved my finger between the links.¡± He slid a glance toward the younger male, who was looking astonished as Lianhua wrapped a chief¡¯s ransom worth of cloth around his wound.


    Regz looked more amused than angry, and Kaz wondered if the other kobolds were used to Ilto getting into trouble. That would explain why he was usually assigned to help Zyle, and only helped guard the den or stairs when everyone else was too tired or injured.


    Kaz bent down, eyeing the top and bottom of the finger, seeing that it bent too sharply at the second knuckle. He shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s broken or if the joint is out of place. Either way, we should straighten it so it can heal properly.¡±


    Regz hissed in a breath, but nodded. ¡°I know. Can you do it?¡±


    Kaz hesitated, but nodded back. Broken or out of joint fingers and toes were fairly commonplace injuries, and Rega had been the best healer his tribe had left. As the oldest pup, Kaz had often assisted her, though his job was usually holding the wounded kobold still, rather than straightening the limb or digit.


    This time there was no one to hold Regz, but Kaz hoped the warrior could control himself better than a whiny pup or a female who was unused to pain. Kaz turned, tucking Regz¡¯s forearm between his own upper arm and body, then quickly bent the finger back and snapped it into place again before the other kobold could tense against the coming pain.


    A soft growl came from behind Kaz, then Regz let out a sigh and the tension in his arm relaxed. He bowed slightly as Kaz turned around, releasing the hand. ¡°Thank you. That feels better already.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged. ¡°Good. I didn¡¯t feel any bones grinding, so I think it was only dislocated. Keep it raised and don¡¯t use it unless you have to, at least for a few days. Then be gentle with it until it stops hurting.¡± He was only repeating what Rega used to tell someone after a similar injury, but Regz looked impressed.


    The other kobold bowed again, even more deeply, then smiled crookedly and held up the hand, showing off the swelling. ¡°No fear I¡¯ll be using it today. Fortunately, I fight with my left.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. He¡¯d once met a warrior who¡¯d lost his right hand, then learned to fight with his left, but he¡¯d only heard of kobolds who preferred the left hand to the right. He frowned as he tried to remember who¡¯d mentioned it to him, and a faint memory rose out of a long-unused portion of his memory.


    He saw his father¡¯s face, partially overlapped by his own, as he¡¯d seen it in Lianhua¡¯s mirror, smiling as he told a much-younger Kaz to watch out for left-handed warriors. They could strike from unexpected angles, and their openings would be opposite those of a right-handed fighter.


    Where had they been when Ghazt said that? His father looked younger and happier than Kaz remembered, not yet worn down by worry and hardship. Had Ghazt really started training Kaz already, or had it been a form of play? And where¡­ Where was that? Did he hear water rippling nearby? And why was the light that peculiar shade of bluish-white?


    Lianhua pressed a hand to Kaz¡¯s shoulder, and he jumped, startled out of his thoughts. Sharp claws dug into Kaz¡¯s skin as Li climbed from the human¡¯s arm back to Kaz, and Kaz belatedly realized that Lianhua wasn¡¯t pulling ki out of him through the contact.


    ¡°She strongly indicated she was ready to go back to you,¡± Lianhua murmured, releasing Kaz so she could brush her hair back away from the curl of her tiny, furless ear, showing two indentations that each held a single neat drop of blood. One of them slid down, meeting the other, which also spilled over, and Lianhua wiped both away with an amused lift of her eyebrow.


    Kaz turned his head, trying to glare at the unrepentant dragon, who just wound her long body through the fur around his neck and shoulders. Now that they were out of the worst of the fulan, and Kaz¡¯s dunking in the pool had cleaned most of the spores off his fur, Li was clearly done allowing herself to be carried by anyone other than him.


    ¡°There¡¯s still some fulan here,¡± Kaz told her, trying to catch her slippery body. She was still slightly damp, which made her scales slide out from under his fingers, while somehow also catching and pulling at his fur even more than usual.


    Lianhua touched his arm again, then gestured to her own head. She was wearing a mask, but the bubble of ki no longer surrounded her. Kaz almost said something before he realized that he still wasn¡¯t sure how much of the shield other people could see, and tilted his head as if confused.


    She chuckled a little. ¡°Sorry, of course you wouldn¡¯t- I dropped my shield to save ki, now that the air is mostly clear. I offered her a mask like the ones I gave the kobolds, but she refused to let me put it on her, and since I¡¯m out of bamboo ones, I don¡¯t really know how much it would help anyway.¡±


    Pils overheard and bowed toward Lianhua, soon followed by the others. ¡°It helped a great deal,¡± he said, speaking for them all. His voice, like Regz¡¯, was raspy and raw-sounding. ¡°The spores were getting in our lungs. It was like breathing raw firemoss smoke, but even worse.¡±


    He reached down and picked up a sodden piece of cloth from the ground and held it out to her. It was one of Lianhua¡¯s handkerchiefs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry they got wet, but we cleaned the spores out of them as best we could.¡±


    Gently, Lianhua pushed it back toward him, even as the other males picked up similar wet fabric squares. She looked around at them, smiling. ¡°Keep them. I have enough, and if we encounter any more areas where the spores are too thick to breathe, you can use them again. If we don¡¯t, consider them a gift.¡±


    The males all protested, though Kaz could see the longing in Ilto¡¯s face. The handkerchief and the weapons Zyle had given them should be enough to get them each a high-ranking mate, so long as the chief of the Redmanes didn¡¯t simply demand they hand them over as the price of joining the tribe.


    Kaz could definitely see Oda doing such a thing, but the other chiefs he¡¯d met since then seemed more reasonable, as traitorous as he felt at the thought. Though, to be honest, the more of the mountain he saw, and the more he was exposed to those other tribes, the less guilt he felt. He had known Oda was arrogant since he was old enough to understand what the word meant, but he hadn¡¯t realized just how much better things could be in a tribe with a good chief.


    That tunnel of thought turned as Gaoda spoke. He was still wringing water from the long sleeves of his robe as he glared at Civ, but Chi Yincang was using one of the fluffy ¡®towels¡¯ to dry him off, even as the hem of the dark warrior¡¯s clothing still dripped onto the stones.


    ¡°Where in the infernal pits are we?¡± Gaoda demanded. ¡°I thought the halls on these levels were supposed to be as close to civilized as you lot get.¡±


    Civ ducked his head, bowing. His ears flattened as if in fear, but Kaz could see the muscles in his back and shoulders held the wrong kind of tension for that. ¡°This is the shortest way to reach the den,¡± he said, glancing toward the dark gap of a nearby tunnel mouth.


    Kaz sighed. It was time to find out what was really going on, before they got any further away from the normal route between stairs.


    ¡°This is one of the between levels,¡± he told Gaoda, ignoring the way Civ turned to glare at him. ¡°There aren¡¯t many of them that are usable, and I¡¯ve never heard of one in the mid-levels, but every now and then someone will stumble into a part of the mountain that has no stairs leading to it at all. We call these ¡®between¡¯, since they lie between two normal levels, and usually contain no more than half of the territory we would expect on one of those levels. They¡¯re also difficult to enter and leave, which results in them lying forgotten or unused by any of the tribes.¡±


    Gaoda scowled, glaring at Civ. ¡°So, there are no stairs here? Does that mean we¡¯ll have to go back up, or find another of these cracks to pass through on the way down? You swore there would be stairs, kobold!¡±


    Civ¡¯s knees bent, and he knelt, bowing his head until his nose touched the wet stone. ¡°I misled you,¡± he growled. ¡°If anyone is punished, it should be me. But I swear there are stairs here. They were simply lost long ago.¡±


    He turned his head so he could look up at Kaz. ¡°Which means this is not a between level, simply a forgotten one.¡±


    Kaz sighed, feeling his own lungs burn as he did so, forcing him to cough before he could speak. If there really were stairs, then Civ was technically correct, but he had failed to address the real problem. ¡°Even if that¡¯s true, this isn¡¯t anywhere near the next set of stairs. If we go down from here, we¡¯ll be squarely in mosui territory, and the mosui do not tolerate trespassers.¡±

 Chapter Seventy-six

    Predictably, Gaoda dismissed this concern instantly. With a wave of his hand, he said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll kill them. The question is, if we¡¯re dropped in an unknown area, can you get us back to the regular stairs?¡±


    Civ spared Kaz from answering this when he said, ¡°The Redmanes have mapped out a path to the next set of stairs. Etle says no one has seen any mosui yet, so they think there are no dens nearby.¡±


    Gaoda held out his arms so Chi Yincang could finish drying them, then looked upward as the other male began patting his hair and face with the towel. His voice was slightly muffled as he said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, then. I don¡¯t care about your ridiculous superstitions. So long as we can keep traveling in the right direction, that¡¯s good enough.¡±


    He looked back down at Civ, who was still kneeling at his feet, then crouched, lowering his voice slightly so he could speak into the kobold¡¯s ear. By pushing just a little power into his ears, Kaz could still hear him, but he wasn¡¯t sure if anyone else could.


    ¡°If you ever lie to me again, kobold,¡± Gaoda murmured, summoning a single ball of ki that he placed on the floor between them. ¡°I¡¯ll shove this down your throat and feed it power until you turn inside out.¡±


    Civ shuddered, his eyes locked on the innocent-seeming orb, and he gave one jerky nod as Gaoda stood back up, a smile on his face. The human male looked at Lianhua and held out his arm invitingly. ¡°Well, cousin? Shall we go? The floor here is a little slippery, so let me help you.¡±


    Lianhua looked between Gaoda and the kneeling kobold, and slowly reached out to set the very tips of her fingers on Gaoda¡¯s sleeve. She was still wet, and a drop of water slid down her finger to darken the blue of the fabric from topaz to citrine.


    Gaoda¡¯s smile stretched, and he glanced at Civ again, one eyebrow raised expectantly. Civ visibly gathered himself, climbing to his paws without once looking at Gaoda. He began to walk, and as he passed each of the other kobolds, they silently fell in behind him.


    The journey through the rough and narrow passages past that point was, oddly, far more stressful than the one spent in fulan-smothered darkness. Gaoda kept three orbs spinning around him at all times, and each time Kaz glanced his way, the human¡¯s cold blue eyes were fixed on a point directly in the center of Civ¡¯s back. Even Raff didn¡¯t dare to speak, so the only voice was Civ¡¯s when he told the group which way to turn, and the occasional sound of one of the kobolds coughing.


    They saw a few patches of burned-out moss, and once the light of the orbs caught the first hint of fresh fulan darkening the bright green of a swath of yumao. Kaz made a mental note of where it was, since it looked like the Redmanes were still trying to keep the infestation under control. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure how they expected to do that, since it seemed to surround them on all sides, but he had to respect the effort.


    Twice, they caught glimpses of fuergar at the edges of the light, but the creatures acted exactly as Kaz would expect, and ran away when they realized how large the group was. The smallest of these was bigger than the one Kaz fought after the battle with the lopo, and Kaz didn¡¯t even see a core flickering inside of it. That meant its size wasn¡¯t boosted by the production of ki, and Kaz realized why the four Sharpjaws had gone to such lengths to get the humans to escort them. Four male kobolds, even trained warriors, would be just another meal to a pack of fuergar that size, much less anything else that might be lurking in the darkness, waiting for easy prey.


    ¡°Almost there,¡± Civ said, his voice sounding more like a growl than words. He hadn¡¯t looked back once as they traversed the mile or so between here and the drop into the level. Gaoda¡¯s focus had slowly drifted, but the black-furred kobold¡¯s shoulder blades were still tensed as if ready to receive a blow.


    Raff sighed in relief, his hand lifting as if to pat the kobold on the shoulder, then dropped without making contact. ¡°Glad to hear it,¡± he said. ¡°Never seen such a wet tunnel before.¡±


    He was right. While some parts of the tunnel were dry, each time the ground dipped, it seemed that water pooled there, rising from cracks in the ground, or seeping from the walls. The plants and animals that thrived in such an environment were plentiful here, and there were so many glow-worms that Gaoda¡¯s light was redundant, even for the humans.


    Ilto looked around with shining eyes, his round ears perked high with interest. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen so much tanuo. When we gathered some, our den-mother used to boil a little and give it to us, even though it¡¯s usually reserved for females.¡±


    Kaz nodded. Rega used to do the same for the Broken Knife pups, at least when tanuo could still be found at all. The combination of high moisture and a large wild glow-worm colony that the lichen preferred was all but unheard of in the very top of the mountain. The last time Kaz remembered eating the thick, sweet treat was two, if not three dens ago.


    The young warrior¡¯s visible anticipation was enough to convince Kaz to do something he hadn¡¯t since they entered the mid-levels: gather. There always seemed to be fulan here, and he didn¡¯t want to accidentally transfer the spores to a plant that might otherwise have survived, however unlikely that seemed. There was so much tanuo here, though, that he thought he could safely pull up a whole patch and still leave more than enough for the plants to recover.


    Hurrying forward, Kaz knelt by the next section of lichen, pulling out the blade Zyle gave him. It was an old, well-worn weapon, not made of particularly good metal, and the blade didn¡¯t hold an edge well. That meant it wasn¡¯t as sharp as he¡¯d like, tugging and breaking the plant as much as cutting it away, but he managed, and he was just reaching up to unbuckle his pack when something moved in the dimness at the edge of the soft light given off by the glow-worms.


    At first, he thought the greenish glow was reflecting from the fuergar¡¯s iron-gray fur, but then he realized that it was deeper than that. Past the rodent¡¯s fur and flesh, the sickly color of yellowish ki struggled with red, the two in conflict rather than cycling together through the animal¡¯s channels, or vessels, as Lianhua called them.


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    Raff and Civ muttered to each other as they, too, caught sight of the fuergar, but they didn¡¯t slow. They had already become used to the rodents scuttling out of the way at their approach, but this one¡¯s glittering eyes were locked on Kaz and Li, and he didn¡¯t think it was going to yield so easily.


    ¡°Raff,¡± Kaz tried, but the human just flashed him a grin over his shoulder as he walked on.


    ¡°No worries, Blue, it¡¯ll-¡±


    The yip of surprise he gave when the fuergar darted between his legs would have been funny if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the rodent¡¯s silvery teeth were aimed straight for the dragon perched on Kaz¡¯s shoulder.


    Kaz dropped the tanuo, which scattered across the damp floor, as he fell back, instinctively raising the knife he still held. It wasn¡¯t particularly large or sharp, but it was still better than tooth and claw, if only because the idea of tasting the blood of the afflicted rodent made him want to vomit.


    Behind him, Kaz heard Lianhua¡¯s raised voice, but her power, her image was too slow. She didn¡¯t already have an attack ready, and by the time she traced and infused a rune, this moment would be over, for good or ill.


    Raff had already spun around, moving impossibly fast, and he was raising his sword to strike at the rodent, but he, too, would be too late.


    He felt Li tighten her tail around his throat, her claws pulling at his fur as she made sure her grip was strong enough to keep them together. Kaz put his free hand down, bracing his paws so he could thrust forward with the other hand, knife sinking deep into the throat of the fuergar. It gurgled, teeth snapping as it ignored the wound, pushing fiercely against his blade as it desperately tried to reach either Li or Kaz¡¯s neck, he couldn¡¯t tell which.


    Then Raff¡¯s blade swung, severing its body so half fell to the floor, twitching, while the other half slid from Kaz¡¯s impaling blade. As the two pieces sloshed down, staining the water red, they could see two tiny buds of something that looked like a janjio¡¯s wings protruding from its back, as well as an extra fuergar tail extending from its rear, this one copper beside the larger iron.


    Gaoda stepped forward, his fingers dipping into the mess, emerging stained red but holding a core. It was mostly red, but there were two smaller nodules partially absorbed into it; one blue, and one yellow. Gaoda muttered a curse and closed his fingers around it, reducing the core to nothing but a smear of blood and sparkling dust.


    ¡°Where did it come from?¡± Lianhua asked, looking around with worried eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t think there was enough fulan here to cause the mania. The air is clear, at least so far.¡±


    Kaz swished his blade in a clear pool, then wiped it on the edge of his fuulong silk loincloth. Vaguely, he was amused at his own disregard for the precious fabric, but he knew the cloth would be none the worse for the use, while the blade would rust quickly.


    Standing, he pointed to the ceiling, where a wide crack vanished into the darkness. ¡°This is a between level-¡± Civ made a protesting noise, and Kaz corrected himself. ¡°A forgotten level, then. We have no idea how many ways there are between here and the levels above and below, only that those ways are both relatively short and too small or difficult for kobolds to pass easily. Fuergar and other beasts, however, have never been so restricted in their movements. They probably become infected elsewhere, and then come here.¡±


    Lianhua had her book and pen out, and glanced at the smear on the wall where Gaoda had wiped the remains of the core. She sighed, and said, ¡°If the passages are small, then at least the things that come through should be as well.¡±


    ¡°¡®Cept the cursed things seem to grow faster the more they eat. They might fit through there on the way down, but soon enough they¡¯re the size of a house and chasing us through the halls while waving tentacles and a half dozen heads,¡± Raff said.


    ¡°True,¡± Lianhua said, scribbling one more note in her book before tucking it away. ¡°Civ, you said we¡¯d be there soon?¡±


    Civ nodded, though he was still staring at the fuergar. ¡°The way will widen out in a few more turns. After that, we just go straight.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Onward, then. Hopefully that¡¯s the last one we¡¯ll see.¡±


    It was not. As Civ said, the winding tunnels soon dropped them into a broad, squared-off tunnel that reminded Kaz of one of the ancient halls, just without the decorative carvings. It almost looked like it was supposed to become one of those, and then someone changed their mind, and it was never actually finished.


    From the moment they stepped into the wider passage, they found themselves under attack. Fuergar and janjio were the most common, appearing seemingly from nowhere every few minutes. There was one lopo Kaz would have sworn was too large to still be mobile, but perhaps it had regained the ability to move around when it grew two kobold paws and a dengyu lantern.


    Worse, as the group advanced, they began to hear sounds coming from in front of them. The sounds were all too familiar by now; a mixture of growling, screeching, howling, and pained screams resulting from injuries taken during whatever battle they were walking directly into.


    They moved more and more slowly, leaving a trail of dead monstrosities behind them, until finally Chi Yincang stepped out of a shadow that Kaz would have sworn wasn¡¯t there a moment before. The male had appeared a few times before, when a particularly large or fearsome atrocity attacked, but for the most part, he seemed content to let Raff and the kobolds bear the brunt of the fighting.


    ¡°The den is under siege.¡± Chi Yincang said simply, bowing to Gaoda.


    Civ jerked as if he¡¯d been stabbed, and he took a half-step forward before controlling himself. No one but Kaz and the other kobolds seemed to notice, but Pils set a staying hand on the warrior¡¯s shoulder.


    Gaoda folded his arms, staring down at a warped woshi they had just killed. He tapped his fingers of one hand against the opposite forearm, and Kaz couldn¡¯t quite tell if he was agitated or simply frustrated.


    ¡°Could you see if there¡¯s anyone left alive inside?¡± he asked.


    Chi Yincang nodded. ¡°Warriors at least. Still fighting, but losing.¡±


    Lianhua made a small sound. ¡°Gaoda Xiang, we need their stairs. If we save them and bring Civ and the others, they¡¯ll definitely let us by.¡±


    Gaoda snorted. ¡°If they¡¯re struggling with these little things, then they¡¯ll let us pass, one way or the other. Fine, though. We¡¯ve come this far, and I¡¯m not retreating now.¡±


    Chi Yincang bowed, stepped back, and disappeared.

 Chapter Seventy-seven

    The only reason the gate hadn¡¯t yet fallen was because the monsters assaulting the den were at least as busy attacking each other as they were the Redmanes. The bodies of warped beasts were mounded everywhere, some of them even resting up against the gate itself, providing some protection from incidental damage.


    There were about fifteen tainted creatures left alive, at least as far as Kaz could tell. Some of those on the ground might still technically count, but given the gaping wounds in the abdomens of all he could see, Kaz somehow doubted it.


    As the party watched, something that had probably started life as a fuergar was knocked down and disemboweled by another thing that might once have been a jiachin, but could equally have been a kobold. It was vaguely kobold-shaped, at least, but covered in the hard chitin of a jiachin, with two extra limbs. The point became moot a moment later when that thing, in its turn, was killed by a binyi-woshi hybrid, whose long jaws simply snapped up the middle portion of its body and swallowed it without even pausing.


    The party had stopped as soon as the battle came into sight, and, as usual, none of the combatants seemed to have enough intelligence left to pay attention to anything except what was right in front of them. Raff, who was back in the lead, didn¡¯t take his eyes off the gory battle as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    Gaoda frowned, eyes flicking from one abomination to the next. ¡°We¡¯ll have to kill them all. The kobolds won¡¯t open the door while they¡¯re still out there. I only see four that¡¯re even worth worrying about.¡±


    He lifted a hand, pointing to the binyi-woshi. ¡°Raff, you take the slimy crocodile. Lianhua and I will hit the flying kobold, and Chi Yincang, you kill the blob with all the mouths. When we finish with those, we¡¯ll team up against the big one. You kobolds keep the smaller ones out of our way.¡±


    Kaz spoke up. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen binyi yet. The¡­ crocodile? They¡¯re very cold, and even a scratch can cause a kobold to freeze to death in a day or so.¡±


    Raff shrugged, rolling his shoulders beneath his armor. ¡°Not a problem for me, but thanks for the warnin¡¯.¡±


    Gaoda stared at Kaz with eyes as cold as a binyi¡¯s den. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears flattened, and he shook his head.


    ¡°Good,¡± Gaoda said. ¡°Go.¡±


    The humans rushed away without even a glance at the kobolds, who stood staring out at the carnage, each clutching their weapons in white-knuckled grips. Civ waited until the human¡¯s targets were engaged, then gestured to the right side of the broad tunnel.


    ¡°Stay right,¡± he growled, ¡°Keep your backs against the wall. Regz, guard the left of the group. Don¡¯t attack anything unless it attacks us, or I call it.¡±


    The other males nodded, and Kaz followed suit. They all shifted to the right, and Regz moved to the end of the line, looking as competent with his knife in his left hand as any right-handed warrior Kaz had ever seen.


    Slowly, they advanced, staying as far away from the humans and their targets as possible. It wasn¡¯t an enormous space to work in, but the passage was ten feet wide and at least as high, and there was still a long stretch of it between their group and the den.


    Kaz was in the center of the group, with Ilto and Regz to his left, and Pils and Civ to his right. As they approached the first pair of embattled monsters, the two creatures didn¡¯t even seem to realize the kobolds were drawing close. Kaz¡¯s nerves jangled as they came within ten, then five feet, until Civ could have reached out and plunged his weapon into the back of the six-eyed fuergar digging its long teeth into the neck of a segmented woshi. The seasoned warrior waited until the woshi stopped thrashing and the fuergar was about to dig out its core, and only then did he attack, taking advantage of the winner¡¯s injuries and inattention. The other kobolds followed suit, with Kaz the last to react, and soon the fuergar had joined its opponent in death.


    The five kobolds advanced down the hallway like this, methodically taking out one afflicted creature after another, allowing their enemies to whittle down their own numbers when possible. Kaz quickly became so focused that he completely lost track of what the humans were doing, and only looked up when he heard Raff¡¯s triumphant shout.


    The red-furred male human had just managed to separate the powerful binyi head from the pale body of the woshi. His sword was rimed with frost, as was his armor, but that quickly began to fade as the relative warmth of the hall caused the ice to melt.


    ¡°Kaz!¡± Ilto¡¯s voice snapped Kaz back to his own situation, and he looked over in time to see the other kobold¡¯s knife yanked from his injured hand by a yanchong with five lopo tentacles protruding from its round mouth. One of the tentacles punched forward toward the now-defenseless male, who held up his empty hands as if they would keep the thing from impaling him.


    Kaz had been pushing ki into his own skin since the kobolds started their advance, and without thinking, he stepped between Ilto and the hooked tongue, stabbing at the tentacle as it drove toward his chest. His knife vibrated angrily as it slid along the side of the muscular gray tube, but it didn¡¯t shatter like a stone knife would have. It didn¡¯t cut through the rocky skin, but it and Kaz¡¯s empowered muscles did manage to mostly turn it aside, so instead of hitting Kaz straight on, it slid along his ribs instead. The strength of the blow was enough to bruise, but he didn¡¯t think it actually broke the skin.


    A gasp came from behind him, then a whimpered howl of pain as something pushed against his back. Ilto was pulled forward, his impaled arm sticking out in front of him. The tongue hadn¡¯t managed to hurt Kaz, but the young warrior he¡¯d been trying to save hadn¡¯t been as lucky.


    A knife flashed, then another and another, and the tongue fell, the hacked-off end writhing as Ilto staggered back. The skin of the thing that was a cross between a lopo and a yanchong wasn¡¯t nearly as hard as that of an actual lopo, and there were cracks and crevices between the stones it used as armor, just like a real yanchong. Civ and the others stabbed those weak points with methodical rapidity that reminded Kaz that Civ had met the Redmane female they were going to meet when they fought off a yanchong that had been advancing on the Sharpjaw den.


    The thing fell without a sound, its remaining tongues trailing limply against the ground, and the other three kobolds formed a protective half-circle around Ilto as Kaz examined his injury. Carefully prodding the tissue beneath the bloody fur, Kaz grimaced. It wasn¡¯t good, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as it could be. The hooked end of the tongue had gone all the way through the outer part of the arm, avoiding the large artery that ran along the underside. It had done a fair amount of damage, but at least since it went through, Kaz wouldn¡¯t have to cut it out.


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    Reaching up, Kaz took hold of the sharp end of the tongue sticking out of the back of Ilto¡¯s arm and gave it a tug. The severed end slid through as Ilto howled, and then Kaz had his hand clamped over the injury, preventing the blood from flowing.


    Civ glanced back at him. ¡°I have firemoss in my pack.¡±


    Regz and Pils made noises of agreement, all three males turning to proffer their packs to Kaz. This was what the small warrior packs were meant for. Even in the heat of battle, they could be used by other warriors to easily access needed materials such as firemoss and zhiwu web.


    Kaz reached up with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding Ilto¡¯s wound closed, fumbling at the pack. The knot slipped easily beneath his fingers, and a bundle of webbing fell out. He remembered that Zyle had said they were out or almost out of bandages, and wondered if the Sharpjaws had sent the best of their dwindling resources with these males, who would probably be the last of their tribe to survive.


    Turning back to Ilto, he pressed a wad into the wound, where it immediately began to stick and swell, blocking or absorbing all but a small trickle of blood. He glanced over at Ilto as he did, and saw that the male was already starting to look glassy-eyed. He needed to get the firemoss oil burning, and quickly.


    A thought occurred to him as he turned back to Civ¡¯s open pack. Kaz had managed to pull lopo poison from Lianhua¡¯s wound when his unrefined version of the oil hadn¡¯t been enough. If he burned Ilto¡¯s arm, there was a good chance the male would lose some or all of the muscle, and he could be a cripple for life. There was no way a female would choose him as a mate with only one good arm, and Kaz knew that would be devastating to the other kobold. It was even possible that the Redmanes would refuse to take him.


    Kaz¡¯s hands trembled on the little stone jar containing the oil, and he scooped some out, putting a thin layer on the wound. He really should use more, and force some of it deep into the wound, but instead he allowed his vision to shift entirely into that other sight, looking for the blackness that he¡¯d seen in Lianhua¡¯s wound.


    It was there. Instead of traveling along ki channels, which the male kobold didn¡¯t have, the dark fog was sinking into the muscles and blood. With each beat of Ilto¡¯s heart, it traveled deeper, and Kaz could see that it had already nearly reached the large artery in the armpit.


    Before he could think better of the idea, Kaz imagined small blobs of ki, blocking the largest of the blood vessels. A moment later, Li took those from him without him even asking, allowing Kaz to focus on the darkness itself.


    Now that he wasn¡¯t afraid of the poison advancing further, Kaz was able to envision a sort of capsule surrounding the black fog. Unlike with Lianhua¡¯s scratch, the torn flesh provided the venom far more access, so it wasn¡¯t isolated to the blood. If he ripped all of it out, he wouldn¡¯t just get a gout of blood, he would tear away the very tissue he was trying to save. He could feel his focus wavering though, and suspected that something about what he was doing was draining him far faster than he had realized last time.


    Carefully, Kaz began to back the poison out of the veins, abandoning the idea of cleansing the muscles themselves. He could only hope that the small amount of firemoss oil would be enough to purge the last of it. He had to move carefully, or he would tear the walls of the blood vessels, creating oozing that was far too reminiscent of the way his own ki channels leaked. Still, the poison dripped out slowly, darkening the zhiwu webs Kaz had used to pack the wounds.


    The moment he had all of it out that he could, he tugged out the filthy bandages, dropping them to the floor with a splat that was all but lost in the sounds of battle. Civ and the others were focused on two monsters who had decided to attack at once, so Kaz quickly unstrapped his own pack and dug out his father¡¯s fire-striker, clicking it together until a spark arced out, setting the firemoss oil ablaze. It soon died down to the familiar blue flame, and for the first time, Kaz could actually watch it work. There was red ki deep in the flames, and as the oil burned, it released glowing motes of blue ki. The black fog seemed drawn toward the blue, and when it met the red, it dissolved into the soft, formless gray fog of undifferentiated mana and dispersed into the air, leaving behind an inert black sludge.


    Kaz had no idea what was going on, but he thought that next time someone was struck by a lopo, he might be able to replicate the process, using ki alone to destroy the poison, without needing brute force to extract it. Cautiously, he pushed blue ki toward the last haze lingering deep in Ilto¡¯s muscles, and the shadow moved toward it immediately. A hint of red ki, and the poison was gone.


    Sitting back, Kaz allowed the level of ki in his eyes to drop back to normal, then nearly fell as he realized that his own channels had been drained far beyond what he had been trying to keep in them during the tempering process. He was actually leaning against Ilto, who was, in turn, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.


    On his shoulder, Li gave an interrogative whistle, and Kaz returned affirmation. The dragon released the blocks on Ilto¡¯s blood, and it coursed through his veins again, sluggish at first, but soon resuming normal flow. Which, of course, caused his injury to begin bleeding again, so Kaz grabbed more of the bundle of web and forced it in through both sides of the wound again.


    The firemoss oil was still burning, blistering the flesh and producing the pungent scent of burned fur, but Kaz could tell that all of the poison was gone. As carefully as he could, he scraped away the last of it with the dull blade of his knife, well aware that it would continue burning for another hour at least. He was no healer, but he thought that Ilto would regain most, if not all, of the use of his arm.


    A grunt sounded from above him, and Civ staggered back, his paws bumping into Kaz and nearly stepping on his tail. Kaz yelped, trying to move out of the way, but only managed to roll to the side and fall onto his rear. His legs wouldn¡¯t support him yet, and there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it. His core was already churning out ki as quickly as he could cycle it.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± someone asked, and Kaz looked up to see Pils, extending his hand with a somewhat bemused look on his face. ¡°Were you injured, too?¡±


    Belatedly, Kaz remembered the lopo tongue scraping over his ribs, and ran his hand over them. Flesh and fur seemed to be intact, however, so he shook his head.


    ¡°Just¡­ not used to fighting,¡± he said, and Pils nodded understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget you¡¯re a pup. It¡¯s almost over now, though, so just stay there.¡± The other male hesitated. ¡°How is Ilto?¡±


    Kaz managed a genuine smile. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine, I think.¡±


    Pils looked at the wound, frowning. ¡°I thought the oil would still be burning.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered. He couldn¡¯t explain how he knew the poison was gone, and Pils was right; normally, they would let the firemoss oil burn until it went out on its own. The damage it caused would be extensive, but it was better than death, at least in most cases.


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think that thing had lopo poison,¡± he offered finally, using a thumb to lift Ilto¡¯s lip to show pink gums. ¡°His breathing and color are good. My aunt used to say that if the gums were pink, the patient would recover.¡±


    ¡°She was your healer?¡± Pils asked, but he still sounded uncertain.


    Regz looked over at them, displaying his still-swollen right hand. ¡°Kaz did a good job on me. Knew just what to do. If the puppy - ah, Ilto - is still breathing normally, he should be fine. If he¡¯d been poisoned, he¡¯d be panting by now, if he was breathing at all.¡±


    Pils relaxed at this misguided confirmation of Kaz¡¯s expertise, and the two males turned away, focusing on whatever was happening beyond the barrier of their bodies. Kaz could hear shouts and the clash of metal, but otherwise he couldn¡¯t catch much more than the occasional glimpse around the other kobold¡¯s legs. Whatever the humans were fighting, it was one of the gelatinous things that seemed to stretch to take up all of whatever space they were in. They were slowly whittling parts of it away, and it was so slow that it couldn¡¯t seem to deal any damage to them in return.


    ¡°Was it a muju?¡± Kaz murmured, peering out from his position behind Pils¡¯ brown-furred calf just in time to catch a glimpse of another blob of flesh falling.


    To his surprise, the other male actually heard and answered him. ¡°That¡¯s what Grandfather thought. Until your group explained it, we didn¡¯t know how it was happening, but we could see that the monsters seemed to be corrupted forms of some basic beast. Muju are really only dangerous when you walk right into one that¡¯s blocking a passage. They move so slowly that if you just avoid that, you can go back later with a female who can kill it. Some of these are clear like muju, and stretch across the tunnel like they do, but they¡¯re much faster and sometimes have tentacles or other limbs to grab you.¡±


    He paused, then let out a satisfied little bark. ¡°That¡¯s it. It lost its grip on the ceiling, so it¡¯s really just a puddle now. Once it stops moving, we can-¡±


    He stopped speaking, and Kaz set his hand on the wall, struggling unsuccessfully to rise so he could see what the warrior was looking at. Civ and Pils parted silently, allowing Kaz to look beyond them.


    The gate to the Redmane den was opening.

 Chapter Seventy-eight

    A group of four males emerged, shoved the fallen beasts out of the way, and then looked around before sending up a short howl. Another set of four followed them, and the two groups moved to each side of the open gate, guarding it as a particularly large and powerful-looking male stepped out into the hallway. His fur was a pale gray, and the longer fur around his neck was dyed a vivid red, as was that of the other eight.


    He stared around at the carnage before turning to the humans. Raff was still chopping at the fallen monster, looking almost bored, but the other three humans gazed at the male kobolds. Kaz saw Gaoda opening his mouth, and thought fiercely toward the human, let him speak first, let him speak first, let-


    The gray kobold bowed slightly, and said, ¡°The Redmane tribe thanks you for your assistance. We were prepared to wait until more of them were dead before killing the last, but you have saved us the effort.¡±


    Kaz nodded. If they had enough warriors left, then they could undoubtedly have killed the last abomination standing. Of course, more of the things might have arrived before then, and some of the warriors would have been injured, if not killed, reducing the number of defenders available when the next wave did arrive. He tried again to stand, knowing Gaoda would be less than pleased by the implication that their aid was unnecessary, if not unwelcome.


    Fortunately, Gaoda, being Gaoda, took the statement at face value. He sniffed, flicking a gobbet of something sticky off his sleeve. ¡°It was annoying,¡± he said, ¡°but at least you show the proper deference. We have kobolds for you, and then we will use your stairs.¡±


    The Redmane blinked, clearly thrown off by Gaoda¡¯s assumptions, and Civ stepped forward. Since there were no female kobolds present, and the human ¡®female¡¯ had mentioned them, however obliquely, it was now permissible for Civ to speak.


    Civ pressed his fist over his heart, bowing, and Pils and Regz copied him, though they bowed so low that their ears almost swept the ground. Ilto hadn¡¯t recovered enough to be aware of what was going on, and Kaz was aligned with the humans, rather than the Sharpjaws, so neither of them bowed, and the Redmane¡¯s sharp green eyes flickered to them, even half-hidden as they were behind the others.


    ¡°I am Civ, of the Sharpjaws,¡± Civ said, straightening while still maintaining a submissive pose, with his nose down and his eyes on the other male¡¯s paws. ¡°My leader sent me here with these other males. We are the last of the Sharpjaws. The fulan and the monsters have taken all but a few others, who remain to hold the stairs, as our chief commanded.¡±


    The stranger twitched when Civ gave his name, but neither male brought up the female who had asked to take Civ as her mate. Kaz hoped that this was because of the complex rules surrounding mention of a female who was neither chief nor mate, rather than because Etle was dead or missing. Most tribes in the upper levels weren¡¯t quite as strict with the formalities, but perhaps things were different here, closer to the Deep.


    ¡°What do you wish from us, Civ of the Sharpjaw tribe?¡± the gray male asked.


    Slowly, Civ bent and laid his knife on the stone in front of him. The others followed suit. Civ tilted his neck to the side, exposing his jugular, before saying, ¡°We wish to join the Redmanes, if your chief will take us. Our tribe can no longer sustain us.¡±


    This last sentence meant, roughly, that there was nothing wrong with the Sharpjaw warriors, and they hadn¡¯t been expelled or run away from their own tribe. Instead, the tribe had too many males and either not enough females, or not enough resources to support them all, so they had been allowed to leave.


    The Redmane¡¯s eyes narrowed. At this point, he should have sent for a female to make the decision, but he didn¡¯t. Instead, he said, ¡°You have no reason to come to our tribe in particular?¡± His tone was surprisingly gentle, without the slightest hint of suspicion.


    Civ¡¯s hand closed into a fist where it rested on the ground by his knife. ¡°I¡­ hope to find a mate. There is one here who offered for me, before my circumstances changed. I dare to hope she will renew her interest.¡±


    The Redmane chuffed in amusement before lifting his own fist to press it against his chest. His chin barely dipped, but it was enough, and tension drained from the three stiff backs in front of Kaz.


    ¡°I am Hod, chief¡¯s mate. Our chief is¡­ unable to greet you, but her daughter, Etle, will decide if you may join us.¡± The green eyes flickered to Gaoda and the other humans, and his bow grew deeper. ¡°You are welcome to our den, humans, as are these warriors.¡±


    =+=+=+=


    Once the formalities were out of the way, the eight Redmane warriors fanned out, gathering and dragging the bodies of the fallen abominations into a pile as far from the gate as they could manage. At a glance from Gaoda, Raff stayed to help them, while everyone else moved through the gate, entering a den that was very like that of the Sharpjaws. The ceiling was low, and while the area just past the gate was broad and open, the huts beyond were the type with sturdy walls that stretched from floor to ceiling, creating a sort of defensible maze.


    There were only a few kobolds visible, all of them with the deep red dye staining the ruff around their necks. It seemed that having particularly dense fur around the throat was desirable in this tribe, because nearly all of the males had a thick mane that stood up, framing their jaws and ears.


    Upon seeing Hod, these males relaxed, their hands falling away from their weapons. Many of them had bows made of layered bone and horn, but others had long bone clubs like those wielded by the Copperstrikers, except that these were lined with chips of obsidian, and the bones were dyed the same red as their fur.


    There were no females in sight, until the door of the closest hut burst open and a young female rushed out. Her fur was pure gold, and it was dyed in complex patterns that covered her body, rather than the single ring around her neck. Her eyes were the same bright green as Hod¡¯s, and they were locked on Civ.


    Civ was supporting Ilto on one side, while Pils took the other. Kaz had recovered enough that he barely needed to lean on Regz, who walked beside him, but Lianhua kept casting him worried glances anyway.


    When Civ saw the female kobold, he started to take a step forward, clearly forgetting Ilto. At Hod¡¯s sharp glance, and Pils¡¯ soft whine, he stopped, as did the young female.


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    Drawing in a deep breath, the female lifted her chin, staring imperiously at Hod. ¡°As your next chief, I decided a female was needed for negotiations with these strangers.¡± In spite of her attitude, she sounded like she was offering an excuse rather than condescending to give an explanation.


    Hod sighed. ¡°Ehlan has not yet joined the ancestors, and her last command was that all females should stay within their section of the den until the monsters and the fulan have been destroyed,¡± he said with unexpected gentleness.


    ¡°Fa- I mean, Hod, you know I couldn¡¯t- I didn¡¯t- Mother wanted-¡± The female was fidgeting now, her gaze locked on Civ, who stared back at her with equal intensity, though he maintained his composure.


    Hod rubbed his muzzle tiredly before looking at Civ and asking, ¡°Is this the female who offered for you?¡±


    Civ nodded.


    Turning to the female, who had to be Etle, not that Kaz had needed Civ¡¯s confirmation to figure that out, Hod said, ¡°Do you still wish to take this male as your mate?¡±


    Etle¡¯s chin jerked eagerly, and her tail began to swish with almost embarrassing enthusiasm. Hod shook his head, but in bemused resignation, not denial.


    ¡°Ehlan gave her permission, and though this male¡¯s ¡®circumstances have changed,¡¯¡± Hod echoed Civ¡¯s earlier words with more than a hint of amusement. ¡°That stands until Ehlan refutes it, or the next chief overturns the decision.¡±


    The amusement was gone, replaced by deep sadness and resignation. ¡°No ceremonies can take place until Ehlan recovers or a new chief is raised. But, as chief¡¯s-mate and leader of the males, I recognize the bond.¡±


    With a happy little yelp, Etle rushed forward, though she didn¡¯t forget herself so much that she actually touched Civ. They looked good together, with Civ¡¯s black fur only serving to highlight the glossy gold of Etle¡¯s, and the way they looked into each other¡¯s eyes made Kaz feel uncomfortable.


    Gaoda cleared his throat, and everyone turned to him in time to see Lianhua thrust an elbow into his side as she wiped a damp eye. She stepped away from him the next moment, looking mortified, but Gaoda already looked like he wasn¡¯t sure whether to be pleased or angered by the gesture.


    ¡°The stairs,¡± Gaoda said flatly. ¡°We¡¯ve slain your attackers and returned your males. Now, we want to go on.¡±


    ¡°No, we don¡¯t,¡± Lianhua said, glancing at Kaz. ¡°We need to rest. I need to recover the ki I used on my shield, and I¡¯m hungry, even if you aren¡¯t. I want some tea, and I want to sit down.¡±


    Hod hesitated, looking between the two of them, clearly not sure which one was in charge. At last, turning to Gaoda, he said, ¡°We will gladly offer you use of our stairs, though I warn you that the territory below is little explored. We can tell you the way to the next stair, and that¡¯s all.¡±


    Looking at Lianhua, he added, ¡°You may also rest here, but food has become scarce with the spread of the fulan. We¡¯ve had to burn many of the plants our gatherers have found. We have some meat, but the creatures infected by the fulan must be burned as well.¡±


    Behind them, Raff and seven of the eight warriors hurried in through the gate. The last one stopped just outside, nocking an arrow whose stone tip gleamed with the persistent orange flicker of firemoss oil. He loosed it, and after staring after it for a moment, turned back and bowed to Hod.


    Hod gestured, and the males fell in, pulling the gate closed. It seemed heavy, and when they latched it into place, Kaz could see why. Rather than being made of a few strategically placed long bones, covered by thick leather, this gate was almost solid bone beneath a pebbled, rocky leather that Kaz suspected was yanchong skin.


    As soon as the gate was locked, the males began stuffing wads of fur around the edges, blocking the flow of air from the outside as best they could. It seemed they had done this before, because they finished quickly, leaving one last male to remove a bone plug from a single small hole, which he promptly pressed his eye against, watching the hall outside.


    Raff leaned in toward Gaoda, murmuring, ¡°They set the bodies on fire. All of ¡®em, in a big pile.¡±


    One of Gaoda¡¯s brows lifted, but he just shrugged. Turning to Lianhua, he said, ¡°This place will reek of smoke soon, cousin. Are you certain you wish to stay?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s nose wrinkled, but she nodded, looking at Hod. ¡°One night, if that¡¯s all right?¡±


    The male bowed, but hesitated, glancing from Lianhua to Raff, who stood off to the side with Chi Yincang. ¡°Our chief has declared that males and females must live separately for now. This applies to you for so long as you remain within our den.¡±


    Gaoda scowled, then seemed to remember he counted as a female, as far as kobolds were concerned, and a pleased smile spread across his face. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± he said magnanimously. ¡°Just show us to our hut.¡±


    Hod turned to Etle, giving her an expectant bow, and the female sighed audibly as she stepped away from Civ. Walking over to Gaoda and Lianhua, she gave a shallow bow, female to female of another tribe that was neither friend nor enemy of her own.


    ¡°Come with me, and I¡¯ll show you where the females sleep,¡± she told them. Gaoda obeyed easily for once, though Lianhua¡¯s steps were reluctant, and she looked back until Kaz gave her an encouraging smile.


    Once the ¡®females¡¯ were gone, Hod turned to the males. He looked up at Raff and said, ¡°Our den is not designed for people of your stature, but we can put two huts together to make one long enough for you to lie down. We¡¯ll make you such a hut, and then you may rejoin your females for your meal, if you wish.¡±


    Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes had tracked Gaoda and Lianhua until they vanished between the huts, but now he nodded, though his face remained as still as a cave pool.


    Hod dipped his chin, then looked at one of the other Redmane males who had gone outside with him. This male had gray fur slightly lighter than his own, though his eyes were a silver that was nearly blue, rather than green. Still, the similarities were strong enough that Kaz would guess they were related, likely father and puppy.


    ¡°Huss, assign huts to the male kobolds. Treat them as members of our tribe, though we can¡¯t make that official just yet.¡±


    Huss bowed in return, and motioned for the males to follow, which left Kaz with a conundrum. He was a kobold, but he didn¡¯t want to join the tribe, so he should stay with the human males instead, except that he wasn¡¯t certain his legs would carry him far once Regz stopped supporting him.


    Raff reached out a big hand, which was covered in a disturbing amount of filth. Kaz had to force himself not to flinch away as the fingers closed around his arm, taking his weight from Regz, who stepped away. Kaz swayed, but didn¡¯t fall, and, better yet, Li didn¡¯t snap at Raff¡¯s hand, breaking her teeth on the hard metal glove that protected it.


    ¡°This one¡¯s ours,¡± Raff said, looking at Hod. ¡°He¡¯s our guide, not one of th¡¯ Sharpjaws.¡±


    Hod looked surprised, his bright eyes focusing on Kaz, resting briefly on his throat, which was bare except for Li¡¯s tail wound around it. ¡°I see,¡± the Redmane said. ¡°Then you and he should follow me. Unless he¡¯s injured?¡±


    Raff looked down at Kaz. ¡°You hurt?¡± he asked. ¡°You do look a little wobbly on your feet.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, fighting not to shrink beneath all the eyes on him. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just bruised.¡± He pressed his hand against his side in explanation, wincing as if in more pain than he actually was.


    Raff shrugged, scooping Kaz up as if he were a pup. Kaz wanted to demand the human put him down, but that really would make him seem like a puppy, and the fact was, he still felt weak, so instead, he just held himself as stiffly as he could and allowed it.


    Hod snorted, looking bemused. ¡°Follow me, then.¡±

 Chapter Seventy-nine

    It didn¡¯t take long for Hod to arrange for new huts to be fabricated for the humans. It seemed that some of the floor to ceiling walls were mobile, while others were fixed in place with some powerful sealant, possibly yanchong slime. A few of the mobile walls were shifted, and four huts became two, giving each male his own place to sleep, though Kaz wasn¡¯t sure Chi Yincang would actually use one.


    Kaz got his own hut as well, in spite of his low status as a male pup. If the kobolds of the mid-levels were strict and formal about some things, they seemed to be more relaxed about others, including their response to the oddity that was Kaz. Kaz was glad to know he would have privacy, but he didn¡¯t leave his pack there while Hod showed them the way to the female¡¯s part of the den. He wouldn¡¯t risk someone else going through his things while he wasn¡¯t there.


    Raff didn¡¯t complain about carrying Kaz as Hod briefly showed them the tunnel that led to the cavern containing the den¡¯s water source, as well as an open area that held a single female surrounded by five males, all of whom were watching the female as warily as if she was a beast who had somehow managed to sneak into their den. The female was doing her best to ignore them as she maintained the fire over which a large pot simmered.


    Kaz squinted as they walked past, but as far as he could tell, her core was clean, though dim. It held only red ki, which pulsed and flowed exactly as it should. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d be able to see the rusty taint of fulan from that distance, but he was certain that this female hadn¡¯t eaten anyone else¡¯s core.


    The line between the male and female areas of the den was stark. There was a line of the shorter, moveable walls splitting one section of huts from the rest, with a second line a few feet beyond that one. Males paced in the gap between the two, their eyes turned inward, like the threat they feared was the kobolds within, rather than the monsters assaulting the den from the outside.


    A single piece of low wall served as a gate in each line, but the gate was reinforced with a bone bar that could easily be lifted and replaced. The bar was on the outside, indicating, again, that it was there to keep the females contained, rather than preventing anything else from entering.


    Raff and Chi Yincang could easily have climbed or jumped over the wall, which would probably have reached Kaz¡¯s chin, if he was standing on his own two feet. They waited patiently, however, as male kobolds unlatched and opened the gates on Hod¡¯s orders, allowing the humans inside.


    The first thing Kaz noticed was the quiet. The male¡¯s section of the den had the usual low murmur of voices, the clicking of claws, the sound of heavy breathing and clash of weapons as a few warriors trained, along with a constant thread of coughing coming from those exposed to the spores. Here, there was little of that. The few females he saw spoke to each other rarely and from a distance, their eyes filled with exhaustion and fear. He didn¡¯t even hear any puppies at play, which reminded him unpleasantly of his own tribe, while making him draw even more unpleasant conclusions about where the puppies might be.


    When they reached the huts Gaoda and Lianhua had been assigned, Kaz saw that they were inside yet another of the rings of low walls. Outside this circle within a circle, a few of the males paced, watching warily, hands resting on their weapons. It wasn¡¯t just the humans who were being observed, either, though the others were a little less obvious. Everywhere Kaz looked, males were wandering the paths between huts, lingering anywhere a female was visible, gazes wary and alert.


    Hod nodded to the male who opened the gate. ¡°These males may visit the females.¡± He turned to Raff, Kaz, and Chi Yincang. ¡°The females must remain within until you leave the den tomorrow. The sickness can take up to a week to show itself, so new females must stay here for seven days before being allowed into the larger area.¡±


    Kaz frowned. So the Redmanes thought this was a plague? Why, then, had they allowed Kaz and the others in at all? Shouldn¡¯t they be afraid of either allowing in someone contagious, or infecting healthy people? They did seem to have made the connection between the madness and the fulan, as well as the fact that only females got ¡®sick¡¯, so obviously they had figured out enough to believe isolation was sufficient.


    Raff scratched his face fur with a gloved finger, causing things Kaz didn¡¯t want to think about to fall out in a shower of flakes. ¡°Y¡¯know it¡¯s not a disease, right?¡± he asked, looking uncomfortable. ¡°That fulan stuff contaminates cores, which makes anyone who¡¯s got one go nuts. Then they start killin¡¯ other people to get their cores, and things get nasty. One person can¡¯t contaminate another one, though.¡±


    Hod heaved a sigh, his face settling into a mask of grief. ¡°We know. It¡­ took a while for us to figure that out though, and by the time we did, our chief was infected. Most of the time, she can¡¯t speak any longer, but she¡¯s still alive, so we can¡¯t change what she ordered put in place.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s fists clenched on Raff¡¯s arm, and Li rubbed her head against his jaw soothingly, emitting a sense of concern and reassurance. Kaz couldn¡¯t help the sharp pang of sympathetic sorrow he felt, though. He himself had never seen mates who clearly cared about each other the way this tribe, or at least this kobold, seemed to favor, but he had loved his father like that, and, to a lesser extent, his sister and aunt. It was hard to see someone else suffer the pain of that loss.


    Raff¡¯s face showed a hint of sympathy, too, but his eyes were calculating as he asked, ¡°You¡¯ve got an infected female around here? Where? You know you should-¡±


    The fur on Hod¡¯s neck lifted, turning the dyed red circle into a flared collar that framed his burning glare and sharp fangs. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he growled, the word barely intelligible. ¡°She can¡¯t hurt anyone, and I won¡¯t hurt her. The sickness will take its course, and Etla will be chief soon enough.¡±


    Raff¡¯s suddenly stiff expression didn¡¯t relax, and when Kaz glanced to the side, he could see that Chi Yincang was gone. By pushing more power into his eyes than he could really spare at the moment, he could see the faint blur of black and white ki that was the human slipping from shadow to shadow inside the little huddle of huts.


    More than that, Kaz could now see the familiar lights of both Gaoda and Lianhua¡¯s dantians, glowing within two of the huts. Gaoda seemed to be lying down, but Lianhua was sitting up, and beside her was a muddy, roiling mass of yellow and black ki.


    Kaz barely managed to choke back a gasp, and Li hissed, her wings rising to buffet Kaz¡¯s ears as she half-lifted from his shoulder. He had to reach up and grasp her quickly, but at least the movement drew the attention of Raff and Hod, allowing some of the pressure between them to ease.


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    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your rat, Kaz?¡± Raff asked, his arm shifting beneath Kaz, as if he wasn¡¯t sure if he should put the kobold and potentially volatile ¡®fuergar¡¯ down.


    Kaz shook his head, stroking Li¡¯s head. ¡°I think¡­ she sensed something that worried her.¡± Truth. ¡°She¡¯ll calm down in a minute.¡± Probably also true, but Li whistled angrily at the presumption of it. She knew there was something dangerous near Lianhua, and while she assured Kaz that she didn¡¯t care about the human female, Kaz did, and so Li didn¡¯t like it. At all.


    Kaz looked at Hod and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to go inside now, if possible. Lianhua said she was going to make tea. I like tea.¡± He knew he sounded a little bit like a numb-mind, but he didn¡¯t care. It was the most innocuous thing he could think of to say, and caused both Hod and Raff to blink.


    Hod¡¯s red ruff began to subside as he turned to the nervous-looking warrior who was holding the gate open for them. ¡°I¡¯m going to go check on the others. Howl for me when the male humans are ready to leave.¡±


    Turning to Raff, he added, ¡°I¡¯ll guide you back to your huts when you¡¯re ready.¡± This was said with such finality that Kaz didn¡¯t even mention that he could do that and spare the older male the trouble. With a final tilt of his chin, Hod left them to it, though his gait was still stiff and his hackles half-raised as he walked away.


    Kaz and Raff walked in through the open gate, and the guard closed it behind them with a blatant look of relief. He resumed his patrol, vanishing around the perimeter of the isolation zone on paws that moved a little more quickly than absolutely necessary.


    Raff leaned forward, peering between the two closest huts. One of them was the one where Gaoda rested, while the other was empty, at least as far as Kaz could tell.


    ¡°Well, should we just start knocking?¡± Raff asked.


    Kaz shook his head and tapped his nose, giving a deep sniff. ¡°That one is Gaoda¡¯s,¡± he told the male, ¡°and Lianhua is in there.¡± He pointed to the next hut, which was half-hidden by Gaoda¡¯s. The blur that was Chi Yincang stood in the shadows by the door, though Raff wouldn¡¯t know that. Chi Yincang hadn¡¯t emerged from hiding or gone inside, though, and Kaz hoped that meant Lianhua really was safe. The blob of yellow and black ki certainly hadn¡¯t moved since Kaz first saw it.


    Raff shrugged, entirely unaware of any of this, as far as Kaz could tell, and knocked on the door of the hut where Lianhua sat. Her ki shifted, then rose, coming closer. It was cycling slowly but powerfully, and Kaz thought she might have been meditating.


    The door creaked open, and Lianhua peered out, amethyst eyes wary. The wariness melted into a smile the moment she saw Raff and Kaz, and she stepped outside, closing the door gently behind her. She had a small, dim ki-orb floating over her shoulder, and as Kaz¡¯s eyes adjusted to the sudden illumination, he realized for the first time that the den was entirely lit by firemoss torches, without a single light generated by a female kobold.


    ¡°She¡¯s sleeping finally, I think,¡± Lianhua murmured, casting a glance at the door behind her. ¡°I found a female kobold in there when I started looking around. She¡¯s tied up, and I think her core may have been contaminated by the fulan. She can¡¯t speak well, and her-¡±


    She stopped, glancing at Raff, and said, ¡°Something seems strange about her,¡± which Kaz was fairly certain wasn¡¯t what she had started to say.


    Raff¡¯s eyes were narrowed in thought, and he said, ¡°Hod told us their chief was ¡®infected¡¯, an¡¯ she¡¯s around here somewhere. Unless they¡¯re keeping another monster-in-the-making, you probably found her.¡±


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°I wondered. Her bed is made of a lot of moss for a tribe that isn¡¯t able to find much that isn¡¯t contaminated. She¡¯s wearing a really nice loincloth, too, for a-¡± She stopped, biting her lip, and this time her sidelong glance was at Kaz.


    He sighed and tapped Raff¡¯s arm. The male couldn¡¯t feel it through his metal shell, of course, but it made a soft metallic sound that worked just as well as a touch.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready to get down,¡± Kaz said, and was placed on his paws so quickly that it almost counted as being dropped. Still, Raff had dropped him more than once, so this was actually an improvement.


    ¡°Good,¡± the warrior said. ¡°You need a bath. Again. You¡¯re heavy for a little guy, too.¡±


    Kaz was absolutely certain that his weight was nothing to someone who had refined his body as much as Raff, but he didn¡¯t argue.


    ¡°Thank you. I think I¡¯ve recovered enough to walk on my own now.¡±


    Raff snorted. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be out here. No way I¡¯m going into a little hut with one of those things, even if it still looks like a kobold. I suggest you two find a different hut to hang out in, but if you do go back in there, scream if you need help.¡±


    Kaz and Lianhua exchanged glances, then Lianhua smiled at Raff and said, ¡°I think my presence soothes her, so I¡¯ll go back in. It¡¯s up to Kaz if he wants to join me, though.¡±


    Kaz glanced at the door. He¡¯d left the heightened flow of ki to his eyes, and now that he was closer, he could clearly see the rusty stain of fulan, stark against the yellow and black of the chief¡¯s core. He wasn¡¯t at all comfortable with the idea of being in an enclosed space with it, but he was curious.


    Litz had seemed quietly furious, but otherwise normal, and he knew she¡¯d eaten at least three cores. He could only see two in this female, but she was already so far gone, and he wondered what the difference was. Was it simply that she had been infected for longer, or was something else keeping the changes wrought by the fulan at bay? And why hadn¡¯t she tried to attack Lianhua? Or had she, but she¡¯d been unsuccessful because she was bound, and Lianhua was choosing not to mention it?


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in,¡± he decided, and Li hissed in his ear. The dragon flapped her wings again, this time lifting away from him except for the claws she had tangled in his fur. She was not happy at the idea of going anywhere near the being inside the hut.


    Lianhua reached out as if to pet the dragon, or perhaps take her, and Li¡¯s long neck twisted as she snapped at the human female¡¯s fingers. Kaz jerked back, reaching up to pull Li down into his arms. She bit at him, too, but much less enthusiastically.


    Raff watched this interchange with a look of puzzlement that shifted to something too close to contemplation for Kaz¡¯s comfort. He gave an awkward laugh and spoke as if to Li. ¡°You can¡¯t jump off of me. It¡¯s dangerous. No one would just let a fuergar run around in the den.¡±


    He tilted his head so he could watch Raff¡¯s expression, but it didn¡¯t change as much as Kaz had hoped. The big man didn¡¯t say anything, though, just watched Li like he was trying to decide something.


    Lianhua trilled a little laugh, lifting her hand to cover her mouth so her teeth didn¡¯t show. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Li,¡± she said. ¡°Did I startle you? I won¡¯t do it again.¡± She tucked her hands into her sleeves as if to prove her sincerity.


    Raff opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking between the two of them. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll check out th¡¯ rest of the huts, then. See if there are any other flesh-eating atrocities hiding anywhere. Remember, just scream if you need me.¡±


    Lianhua gave him a chastising look, then stepped to the side, opening the door to the hut behind her. Kaz ducked beneath her arm, keeping his hand on Li¡¯s wings so she couldn¡¯t try to take off again. His legs were still a little weak, so he was focused on the dragon and shifting his ki so he could stay upright, so when he did finally look up, he was entirely unprepared for what he saw.

 Chapter Eighty

    The female kobold¡¯s once-golden fur was brittle and matted. She lay on a bed of jejing, as if she was already dead and her body was being prepared for burning. Perhaps the kobolds hoped that the cleansing moss would clear out the contagion or contamination within her, or perhaps it was simply that this was the only moss they could find that wasn¡¯t infected by fulan. Besides its soothing scent and ability to reduce inflammation in infected wounds, jejing was resistant to most things that damaged plants, which was part of why it was considered to have purifying powers.


    The condition of the Redmane¡¯s chief wasn¡¯t what Kaz found so shocking, though. No, it was the fact that she really was bound. Not just bound, but tied up so thoroughly that Kaz doubted she could do more than roll over by herself. Her torso was lost in so many layers of leather that Kaz couldn¡¯t even tell if her arms were in front or behind her.


    Ropes made from multiple long strips of leather woven together held everything in place, and the whole thing was repeated on her legs, covering them from thigh to ankle. Most disquieting of all was the metal rod placed behind her back teeth, keeping her mouth open just enough so she couldn¡¯t bite, but it wouldn¡¯t block breathing, drinking, or eating soft foods. This was held in place by still more leather strips.


    Kaz swallowed hard as he stared at her, his legs feeling weak for an entirely new reason. He had never seen anything so horrible, and somehow the knowledge that this was being done to her out of love made it even worse.


    ¡°I know,¡± Lianhua said softly from behind him.


    Kaz turned, seeing the glowing rune resting in her palm, and recognizing it as the one that blurred voices. He knew he shouldn¡¯t be able to tell she was doing anything, much less know exactly what it was, but in that moment it was very hard to force himself not to react.


    ¡°Why,¡± he finally managed, then had to clear his throat and try again. ¡°Why don¡¯t they just kill her? It would be¡­ better. Than this.¡±


    Lianhua shook her head, circling around him to kneel down beside the sleeping kobold. Kaz could see one of her teacups on the stone beside her, cold and empty, and he wondered how long she had been there before he and the other males arrived.


    ¡°Someone hopes she¡¯ll get better,¡± Lianhua said, her empty hand moving restlessly in her lap. ¡°They can¡¯t bear to let her go, and they can¡¯t allow her to be free, and so here she lies, until death releases her.¡± Her voice held more sorrow than seemed appropriate for a human talking about a strange kobold, and her eyes seemed to be looking past the female actually lying there.


    Kaz took a cautious step forward, then another, watching the sleeping kobold as he did. The ceiling was low enough that the fur on top of his head brushed it, and he shuddered at the sensation of something touching him when he wasn¡¯t expecting it. He bent his head, then took one more cautious step and sat beside and slightly behind Lianhua.


    The two of them sat in silence, eyes on the female. Her nostrils flared with each breath, but without that and the roil of contaminated ki in her belly, Kaz wouldn¡¯t have been certain she was still alive. Her chest was hidden within so many layers of binding that he couldn¡¯t even see it rise and fall.


    ¡°Should we-¡± Kaz finally said, and Lianhua jerked as if he¡¯d woken her from sleep or meditation. She hadn¡¯t been meditating, though, since she wasn¡¯t pulling on his ki.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked, with unaccustomed ferocity. ¡°Take it on ourselves to do what no one else has the strength or conviction to do? Smother her in her sleep? Cut her throat?¡±


    ¡°Let her rest,¡± Kaz said, staring at her, and she stared back as Kaz¡¯s heart pounded in his chest and one single tear trickled from her eye, passing unnoticed over her pale cheek.


    ¡°Let her rest,¡± Lianhua laughed bitterly. Her fingers nearly closed around the rune she held, but she forced them flat again. ¡°And how do you mean that? Let her sleep? Let her die? Let her pass, all but forgotten, from a world where no one cares about her except for one person who happens to hold enough power to keep her here, whether she would wish it or not?¡±


    Kaz drew in a breath, and Li trembled against his neck, sensing the emotions that were pouring out of the usually gentle female, and utterly unable to understand them.


    ¡°What are you talking about, Lianhua?¡± Kaz asked.


    Lianhua¡¯s face twisted, and then she was crying, truly crying, though it was different from the way kobolds usually cried. Instead of whimpers and howls, her body shook with deep, racking sobs, and more tears poured down her face, flowing into her mouth and down her neck, vanishing beneath the collar of her white robe.


    She cried for a long time, and Kaz sat and watched, with no idea what he should do. Any kobold other than a pup would be embarrassed to allow anyone else to see them break down like this, so he thought he should leave, but somehow, he also thought that she didn¡¯t want to be alone, and even if he couldn¡¯t help her, he should stay.


    After a while, he edged forward, once, and then again. He didn¡¯t touch her, quite, but he also wasn¡¯t far away. He could feel the warmth of her leg on his knee, and he set his hand on the stone between them. Still, he was taken completely by surprise when she wrapped her arms around him and began to sob into his fur, ignoring the dirt and debris that was probably already there. Li clicked grumpily when the human¡¯s arms touched her, but she didn¡¯t pull away, and she didn¡¯t bite.


    It wasn¡¯t too long after that when Lianhua managed to slow, and finally stop, the worst of her tears. She still hiccupped and took an occasional deep, shuddering breath, but she managed. When she pulled back, her face was puffy, red, and covered in Kaz¡¯s newly gray fur, and when she scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve, she only made it worse.


    Kaz reached out and touched the pouch at her belt. ¡°I would get you a handkerchief, but I don¡¯t know how.¡±


    Lianhua managed a little laugh, though she couldn¡¯t quite meet his eyes. The fingers of the hand not holding the rune dipped into her pouch, and Kaz was silently impressed that she had somehow managed to not only remember she held the word, but that she had also maintained the flow of ki to it. In her position, he doubted he could have done as well, and Li probably would have had to take over for him.


    Dabbing at her eyes with a dark green handkerchief, Lianhua sniffed, and Kaz almost laughed. She was trying to recover her dignity, but the mixture of tears, fur, and other things on her face wouldn¡¯t allow it.


    Reaching out, Kaz almost took the handkerchief from her, but stopped at the last moment. With a bemused hiccup, she handed it to him. If she was a puppy, he probably would have just licked her clean, but that wasn¡¯t what adults did, and he¡¯d never seen one of the humans lick themselves or anyone else, so he was almost certain that wouldn¡¯t be right, anyway.


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    When Lianhua¡¯s face was as clean as he could get it, he handed the handkerchief back. Her skin was still unpleasantly blotchy and shiny, which reminded him of the feeling of mild repulsion he¡¯d gotten at first each time he looked into one of the human¡¯s flat, hairless faces. He was used to them by now, but seeing the bare skin still made him think they were just wrong somehow.


    Kaz didn¡¯t ask what had caused Lianhua¡¯s eruption, but after a little while, she began to speak anyway.


    ¡°When I was ten, my power began to show. I had always been able to sense when someone was particularly powerful, but people assumed I reacted because I was a child, and they were frightening adults. But then someone gifted my father a pair of hunting wolves, and one of them had a core. I could sense that it was different, and I mentioned it to my older brother, who told some of his friends, who told their parents. Somehow, someone put it together with the fact that the ability to sense ki sometimes appears in the Long clan, and within a month, someone attempted to abduct me. The kidnapper was stopped, but they killed themselves before they could be forced to say who hired them, and after that it happened over and over again.¡±


    She sighed, rubbing at her eyes like a tired puppy. ¡°Finally, my mother wrote to my grandfather, and he stepped in. He just¡­ showed up, one day. I had never even met him before, but he said I was going to come live with him, and he would adopt me back into the Long clan. My father was already working to turn the abilities I would someday have to his advantage, but I think even he was realizing that he couldn¡¯t keep me safe, so even though he protested, it wasn¡¯t as much as he could have. My mother was just so tired by then, I think she was glad to turn her attention back to her other children and return to her peaceful life.¡±


    Lianhua turned her hand over, so the soft glow of the rune in her palm highlighted the purple lotuses sewn onto her robe, though only to Kaz¡¯s eyes. She traced another rune on the back, though she didn¡¯t put ki into it, so Kaz couldn¡¯t tell what it was.


    ¡°My grandmother became my mother. Like my grandfather, she rarely left the Long family estate, but unlike him, she embraced the role of parent. She was old, by then, probably older than a human without ki could live, though I¡¯m not exactly sure how far she had advanced in her cultivation. Like me, she was more interested in soul cultivation than body, so she looked old, while my grandfather only showed hints of his age.¡±


    She rubbed the back of her hand, cleaning off something that had never really been there to begin with.


    ¡°When I was sixteen, I told them I wanted to join a sect and become a traveling scholar. My grandfather told me I could marry and study all I wanted at home with my husband, but my grandmother told me I should do whatever I wanted, and Grandfather would learn to live with it.¡± A sad smile touched her lips, and she met Kaz¡¯s eyes briefly.


    ¡°She was the only one who could tell him what to do. He would ignore anyone else except the Emperor himself, and even the Emperor doesn¡¯t dare order the leader of the Long clan lightly. So, when I reached my majority, I joined the Zhe sect, and I was happy there. I was able to study for hours every day, and Yingtao came with me, so I had a¡­ friend. I sent letters home, but I only visited once in two years, because that one time my caravan was nearly wiped out when someone tried to kidnap me again. I was safe inside the Zhe compound, you see, but on the road-¡±


    Lianhua sighed and shook her head. ¡°My grandmother and I had a pair of enchanted books. I could write in it, and my words appeared in her book, and vice versa. I couldn¡¯t see her, but I spoke to her nearly every day, telling her what I learned, and what I did that day. Over time, I wrote less, and she responded more slowly, but I didn¡¯t think much of it until she just didn¡¯t answer at all.¡±


    She bowed her head, damp wisps falling from the complex style into which she arranged her long hair. ¡°To my shame, it took more than a month before I started to worry. It took until the end of that quarter before I arranged to visit. I was already Tin body by then, and was nearing Foundation, so I wasn¡¯t nearly as vulnerable as I had once been.¡±


    Her eyes shifted to the female kobold. ¡°When I arrived, I found her like this. Not exactly, but not far off, either. She had become more and more frail, and she was afraid that she would die and leave my grandfather alone, so she pushed herself. I didn¡¯t even know she was still trying to improve her refinement, but she was, and she broke something inside.¡±


    Kaz felt his heart rate pick up. Hadn¡¯t Lianhua said once that humans could form a core of their own? So, he asked, ¡°Her core?¡±


    Lianhua shook her head again. ¡°I think she was in mid-Core Formation, so her core wasn¡¯t solid enough to break, though that¡¯s certainly a risk for those trying to transition from Golden Core to Nascent Soul. I believe Grandfather may be nearing Nascent Soul, but the old cultivators are reluctant to speak about their progress. No, she was trying to complete her transition from Tin to Rhodium Body, which grants at least another thousand years of life. She was too old, though, and past the time when her body could absorb that amount of ki, and some part of her mind failed to change. She ended up like this.¡±


    Quiet returned, somehow heavier than it had been before, as both of them watched the bound kobold on her bed of moss.


    ¡°She would wake, sometimes,¡± Lianhua finally whispered, ¡°but she didn¡¯t know us. She was like a child. She wanted her mother and father, and when they didn¡¯t come, she would be angry, but she was filled with ki, and she would break things and injure people. Each time, Grandfather had to come and force her to sleep again, and it tore him up inside.¡±


    She reached out, but didn¡¯t touch the sleeping female. ¡°It would have been kinder to stop feeding and caring for her body, but he couldn¡¯t. So long as she was alive, he couldn¡¯t bear to let even that last, damaged part of her go.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Kaz murmured, hardly daring to speak, but desperately wanting to know.


    ¡°She¡¯s still there,¡± Lianhua said, ¡°At least as far as I know. Grandfather spends part of every day with her, just holding her hand. He still does the things he has to do as the elder of our family, but he doesn¡¯t care about them the way he used to. He was never ambitious, but Grandmother loved to have parties, and now the house is silent. Many of the servants have quit or been let go, and almost no one comes to ask his advice anymore.¡±


    Kaz reached up and stroked Li¡¯s neck, taking comfort from the feeling of the smooth, warm scales beneath his fingers. She allowed it, even leaning into his touch slightly, though he could tell that she didn¡¯t really understand why he would be so upset over someone else¡¯s story.


    He sent her a picture of himself, bound and silent on the bed of moss, and she returned instant, angry denial. He changed the image so it was her, lying limp and damaged, irrecoverable, with a blue kobold howling his sorrow beside her. This, too, she refuted, making the fallen dragon rise up and fly circles around the mournful Kaz-figure, but he could feel her thinking very hard about what he was trying to explain.


    Softly, he spoke. ¡°You know this kobold isn¡¯t-¡±


    Lianhua turned on him, anger making her dull eyes blaze again. ¡°Of course I do! It¡¯s just¡­¡±


    Her body, which had momentarily regained its usual energy, sank inward again. ¡°I miss her. I miss Grandfather, and our house, and quiet days spent studying whatever had captured my interest. I miss Yingtao, and playing with Gao, and planning my future without ever worrying about what I was leaving behind.¡±


    After waiting a moment to see if she would add anything more, Kaz nodded. ¡°I miss my father. And Rega. And¡­ Katri. When we lived in the Deep, we had a house, and even though I can barely remember it now, I know I missed it a lot when I was younger. I had aunts and uncles and cousins, too, and I played with them just like the pups of any other tribe. I had barely started learning to fight and gather when we left, and some of them stayed, while others went with us, though I still don¡¯t know why. All of them except Aunt Rega died or were traded away, and I don¡¯t even remember some of their faces or scents any more.¡±


    He had managed to shake Lianhua out of her own feelings, and she watched him now, rather than the kobold on the bed of moss. Her eyes were regaining a bit of their spark, and he could see her usual curiosity rising as she probably thought of a dozen questions she¡¯d like to ask.


    ¡°I think,¡± he went on, but slowly, ¡°that we all have things we mourn, whether they¡¯re people or places or something else entirely. I¡¯m sorry yours are so painful, and that this moment is hard for you.¡±


    That was it. He didn¡¯t have anything to comfort her, or help her move on. All he could do was let her know he understood, at least a little, and that he was there.


    She smiled. ¡°Thank you, Kaz. That is,¡± her voice choked, ¡°probably the kindest thing anyone has said to me in a very long time.¡±

 Chapter Eighty-one

    They sat together in silence for a while, each watching the sleeping kobold, until Lianhua looked over at Kaz and said simply, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    He tilted his head, genuinely confused. ¡°For what?¡±


    Her skin was just settling back into its usual pale perfection, but a flush rose to her cheeks again. ¡°For¡­ everything. For getting upset over nothing.¡±


    Kaz frowned. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t nothing. You were sad.¡±


    She laughed awkwardly. ¡°I was, but- I¡¯m still sorry. And I¡¯m sorry your family was separated. I¡¯ll make sure you get back to Katri when this is all over.¡±


    He froze, then drew in a long, slow breath. He certainly hadn¡¯t planned to have this conversation now, but to be honest, he hadn¡¯t really had any kind of plan in mind at all. Vague ideas, hopes, and dreams of open skies and flying with a dragon, but no plans.


    ¡°Can I go with you?¡± he blurted.


    It was her turn to still, staring at him. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to. Go. Leave the mountain. I don¡¯t¡­ belong here. I don¡¯t belong anywhere, but I need to, to try to find Li¡¯s family. Or at least other dragons. I can¡¯t do that here, and I¡¯m not strong enough to go alone, and I don¡¯t really want to go alone, but once you find proof that these Diushi lived here, you¡¯re going to leave your home, too, and I think¡­ I think I¡¯d like to go with you. If you¡¯re willing.¡±


    That was an absolutely terrible way to ask, and Kaz instantly wished he could take it all back and start over again, or perhaps wait until an entirely different time. But Lianhua was already answering.


    ¡°Do you want to leave,¡± she asked, ¡°or do you want to go with me?¡±


    He clenched his fists, feeling his ears flatten and his shoulders draw up, squishing Li slightly so she shifted away from her preferred position. As if that was all the goading she needed, she sent an image of herself and Kaz, alone together, flying away from a blurry rock that he somehow knew was meant to be the mountain, though neither of them knew what it looked like from the outside. A sharp sense of indignation was layered over the picture.


    Kaz sent her the warmest flush of affection he could, while answering Lianhua at the same time. ¡°Both,¡± he said firmly, finally certain of at least one thing. ¡°I want to - am going to - leave the mountain. I don¡¯t want to be just another male, obeying the females, my mate, and my chief for the rest of my life. But I also don¡¯t want to live my life constantly trying to overcome other kobolds¡¯ assumptions about me. Even if I become strong, I won¡¯t fit in here. I¡¯ll just not fit in a different way than I always have before.¡±


    He met her eyes, trying to convey his conviction without begging for her understanding or agreement. ¡°I¡¯d like to go with you. I¡¯ve never met anyone who was willing to just let me be me before. Even my father and Aunt Rega wanted me to hide part of what makes me who I am, and Katri¡­ I don¡¯t know what Katri really thinks of me. I thought I did, but now, looking back, I think I may have misunderstood something very important.¡±


    Reaching up, he gently stroked Li¡¯s neck, while keeping his voice as steady as he could. ¡°You understand the outside world. You know what humans are like, and they¡¯ll listen to you, while they¡¯d probably just try to kill me.¡±


    He smiled, and if there was a little bitterness in it, there was nothing he could do about that. ¡°You know where the dragons are, and the best way to get there, and, when the time comes, and we go our separate ways, I think you¡¯ll let me leave. In return, I¡¯ll help you in any way I can, and if you want to learn more about kobolds, or the mountain, I¡¯ll teach you, and I hope,¡± his breath caught, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll really teach me to read.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I forgot! I can¡¯t believe I forgot. Oh, Kaz, I¡¯m so sorry. I know our lessons were only an excuse so Li could eat and stretch, but I could tell you really wanted to learn, and I forgot.¡±


    He shrugged, as if it didn¡¯t matter, but his ears twitched unhappily, and he could feel his tail trying to hide. ¡°It¡¯s all right. Things kept trying to kill us, and we had to keep going. There was never time, and anyway, my job is to guide you. Plus, you already gave me the rings so Li could stay outside my pack.¡±


    On his shoulder, Li lifted her leg, turning her head so she could eye the golden ring encircling it. She looked from it to Lianhua, her feelings about the other female suddenly muddled.


    Kaz sent her his memory of Lianhua giving them the rings, tiny Li trying to eat or steal them, and him putting the master ring on her leg. Li sent back vague pictures of a great blue hand sliding the ring over her foot, but Lianhua was just a blurry white blotch in the background.


    Kaz blinked. Did she really not remember? It had all happened very soon after she hatched, not that she was so much older or larger now. He sent the memory again, adding a few more details, including as much of the conversation between himself and Lianhua as he could, and then added more memories: Lianhua protecting them in battles before she realized that Kaz wasn¡¯t completely helpless. Lianhua distracting Gaoda when the male was angry or frustrated. Lianhua¡¯s face lighting up as she watched a tiny golden dragon scamper around, in spite of the fact that that same dragonling had tried to bite her more than once.


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    A swirl of confusion touched him, but Li was staring at Lianhua now, so he thought he was just sensing the edges of her emotions, the way she always seemed to sense his.


    Lianhua knew none of this, of course, so she just shook her head. ¡°No, it was wrong of me. I promised I would teach you, and I haven¡¯t, and¡­ Kaz, can I answer you later?¡±


    A lump formed in his throat. He had been prepared for a flat refusal, had hoped for a ¡®yes¡¯, but he didn¡¯t know what to do with ¡®maybe¡¯. He swallowed and nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±


    She leaned forward, lifting her hand. Usually, she would stop herself before touching him, but this time she didn¡¯t. She let her fingers rest lightly on the back of his hand.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t find my proof,¡± she said, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to help you. Grandmother would have kept Grandfather from forcing me to marry, but she,¡± her eyes shifted briefly to the silent female kobold, ¡°isn¡¯t there. Grandfather is old, older than almost anyone who hasn¡¯t yet ascended, and he still thinks the best thing for women is being protected by their husbands. But if the sect grants me Scholar status, Grandfather will let me leave, because that¡¯s what Grandmother wanted.¡±


    She leaned forward, eyes intent on his. ¡°And then, yes, Kaz, I would very much like it if you and Li left this mountain with me, for however long you choose.¡±


    Behind him, Kaz¡¯s tail swept across the stone, and his shoulders relaxed, allowing Li to settle back into her usual place, though he could tell the dragon¡¯s eyes and thoughts were still on Lianhua.


    ¡°Then would you,¡± he almost choked again on his next words, ¡°keep a secret for me? I haven¡¯t told you everything.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never told anyone everything, except Li. But I think I need help, and there¡¯s no one else I can ask. Not now, and maybe not ever. Even¡­ even after I leave the mountain.¡±


    Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°I can only promise to try. Here in the mountain, I can keep all the secrets, but once we leave, I have other commitments. I can¡¯t imagine any secret you could have that would require me to break my promise to you in order to keep one I already made to someone else, but you should know it¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    Kaz half-wished he¡¯d let the moment that started all of this pass, but he hadn¡¯t, so now he said, ¡°If you do decide you have to tell someone, can you warn me first?¡±


    Her expression relaxed, and she smiled. ¡°That I can do.¡±


    Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out the chalk, and drew a series of runes on the ground between them before placing the chalk down with a decisive click. Pushing ki into it, she said, ¡°I swear to keep secret anything Kaz Broken Knife tells me in confidence, unless doing so will harm someone I care about, or violate a previous oath. If I do need to tell someone else, I will do so privately, and first give Kaz as much warning as I possibly can.¡±


    Kaz stared down at the glowing runes, which were filled with all three of Lianhua¡¯s colors. On his shoulder, Li, too, looked at it, and then an image came into his mind. He picked up the chalk.


    Carefully, comparing what he was doing to the picture in his mind, he extended the curve of one rune, then licked his finger and smudged away the corner of another, leaving two disconnected lines, rather than one whole one. When he was done, he set the chalk down again and laid his hand across the drawing. Pushing at his ki, he shoved threads of all five colors into his palm, and the chalk drank it down like it was a patch of moss whose water-source had dried up. The gold, blue, and black latched onto Lianhua¡¯s matching colors, while his white and red wound through them, tying everything together in an intricate knot.


    ¡°I swear to keep secret anything Lianhua of the Long tribe tells me in confidence, unless doing so will harm someone I care about. In addition, I swear to help her find out what happened to the Diushi, at least until one or both of us decide to part.¡±


    The runes flared, and Kaz could see from the way Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened, and the colors reflected in her dark pupils, that she could see them too, at least in that brief moment. The white chalk grew dark, lifting from the stone until it wrapped around Kaz and Lianhua¡¯s hands, where it sank into their flesh, binding and then vanishing. A new link formed between the human and Kaz, hanging in the air like a filament of light between their hands. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t attach to Kaz¡¯s core, and didn¡¯t drain any of his ki.


    Lianhua gasped, and so did Kaz, though for an entirely different reason. There, dangling from the thread that now bound human and kobold, was something that resembled a miniscule chain. It was formed of tiny links made of nothing but ki, each one a different color. Blue linked to gold linked to black linked to red linked to white, and then the pattern repeated again, three times in total, leading directly downward, into the heart of the mountain, as if pulled by something even he couldn¡¯t see. Thread and chain hung in the air, then both faded into memory.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± Lianhua whispered, ¡°what was that?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but that¡¯s part of my secret. Lianhua, I have five colors of ki, and I can see it. All of it, not just my own.¡±


    Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. A smile appeared on her face, but there was an edge of pity to it. ¡°Kaz, that¡¯s not possible. If you had all five forms of ki, and a core, you would already be in the late Golden Core stage. But you can¡¯t reach Golden Core without also having at least Rhodium body, and you¡¯re not even Tin yet, so-¡±


    Kaz reached out and touched the ¡®quiet¡¯ rune she still held in her palm, tracing his finger over its shape. Then, following an urge that he was fairly certain came from Li, he pushed his own ki into it, displacing Lianhua¡¯s, before lifting it away from her skin. Maintaining it was draining, especially when he was already tired and had just infused the rune of their oath as well, so he quickly dropped it again, sliding it back into the pool of her ki that was gathering in her palm now that it had nothing to power.


    Lianhua¡¯s mouth fell open, and this time it took far longer to close. Her hand cupped around the rune, her ki seeping back into it as Kaz withdrew his own.


    ¡°What are you?¡± she asked, and Kaz shrank back, the momentary confidence that had filled him when he felt their mutual promises take hold draining away like water vanishing into a crevice.


    ¡°I¡¯m just me,¡± he said, voice shaking and ears flat.


    She shook her head, voice awed. ¡°Yes, that, but Kaz, I think you may be a Divine Beast.¡±

 Chapter Eighty-two

    Kaz said, ¡°I am not a-¡± at the same moment Lianhua shook her head, denying her own words as a crease formed between her brows.


    ¡°But you can¡¯t be. No matter what Gaoda says, kobolds are demihumans, not beasts. The fact that you have cores muddies the classification a bit, but even when Tan Fong first described your people in his ¡®Scrolls of the Far Mountains¡¯, he called you demihumans because you meet all the other criteria: opposable thumbs, intelligent from birth, and upright posture. Admittedly, when kobolds are born outside Shensheng, they seem to revert to more animalistic behaviors, which makes it difficult to study-¡±


    ¡°Lianhua,¡± Kaz said.


    Lianhua blinked, and her face grew red as she rubbed her hand over her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. When I get flustered or excited, I tend to fall back on- You know what? It doesn¡¯t matter. But Kaz, only Divine Beasts and true cultivation masters like my grandfather are able to manipulate other people¡¯s ki. Even if we leave that aside, Spiritual Beasts have three or four types of ki, while only Divine Beasts have all five, and a human has to somehow gain all five in order to ascend, but no one will actually explain how that¡¯s done. I¡¯m fairly certain Grandfather only has four, but he told me once that he was only born with two, so that¡¯s already- And I¡¯m doing it again.¡±


    She groaned, closing her eyes, before opening them and giving Kaz an apologetic smile. ¡°Kaz, that¡¯s amazing. Can you tell me more?¡±


    So he did. He told her everything, starting with the first time he realized that the strange energy inside him was something like what the females had. He hadn¡¯t understood why he had begun feeling strange until Rega told him and the other pups a story about a young female who had accidentally used her own power as it grew, and he realized that the same kinds of things were happening to him.


    He explained about seeing his core, both before and after it shattered, though somehow when he opened his mouth to tell her about the old male who crushed it back into shape, he found that the words wouldn¡¯t come. He was fairly, almost, practically certain that it didn¡¯t matter anyway, so he told her about the link between himself and Li, but she stopped him when he mentioned the seed.


    ¡°Would you show it to me?¡± she asked, leaning forward eagerly.


    Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what she thought she¡¯d see this time that she hadn¡¯t before, but he unbuckled his pack and swung it around. His fingers brushed the bag containing his father¡¯s knife and the broken hilt, but he was strangely reluctant to share that particular story. He wanted to figure out a little more about it himself first, and he was sure it was a kobold secret, anyway, not one related to ki. At least not directly, in spite of the spark that jumped between the blade and the carved stone covering the tip each time it was removed.


    Removing the seed, he held it out toward her. Physical contact didn¡¯t seem to make the connection between it and his core grow any stronger, though he knew distance would cause it to weaken. Lianhua took it from him, and Kaz had to fight not to clench it in his fist protectively.


    Her frown deepened as she turned it over, humming thoughtfully. Finally, she shook her head. ¡°I think I get a very faint sense of something from it. It certainly doesn¡¯t feel like a core, much less like it¡¯s part of your core in some way. It doesn¡¯t¡­ feel like you, I suppose. You say I told you it was a seed, though honestly, I barely remember glancing at it before. I¡¯d say it¡¯s probably a plum or apricot pit. It¡¯s too small for a mango, peach, or nectarine, and too large for cherry or olive. The surface isn¡¯t smooth enough for lychee, and, well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve actually seen any other stone fruit, not even in botany books.¡±


    Just like Kaz had, she scratched at the seed¡¯s surface and sniffed, though she stopped short of licking it. He wondered if that was because humans really didn¡¯t lick, or if she was just worried about putting something that had been in his bag in her mouth. To be fair, he probably would have hesitated as well, knowing what he did about what else had been in there.


    ¡°What are these marks?¡± she asked, pointing at the tiny grooves left by Li¡¯s teeth, and when he explained, Lianhua laughed before her eyes widened.


    ¡°Wait,¡± she said, leaning forward again. ¡°This was inside the fruit when you found it? And Li ate it?¡±


    Kaz nodded, then shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know what a ¡®fruit¡¯ is, but the seed was inside a squishy yellow-gold thing about this big when I found it.¡± He held his thumb and forefinger a little more than two inches apart. ¡°It smelled really good, but I didn¡¯t know if it was safe to eat, so I put it in my pack, which is where it was when Li hatched.¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°You said the adult dragon had meat filled with ki ready for the other hatchlings, right? But nothing else in your pack had any ki in it at all. If newborn dragons need an infusion of ki, I wonder if eating this saved her life, or if the ki she took from you would have been enough. But then, why wouldn¡¯t the adult give the babies some of its own ki, rather than feeding it to them through the meat? Especially if giving them too much, too soon, caused them to die? Would the adult have risked that if it hadn¡¯t been trying to help them grow strong enough to fly away? Maybe that¡¯s the reason Li has been growing so slowly. If she needs more ki, or ki-infused food, in order to develop, then she may not get much larger until we can find some for her. Babies who don¡¯t get enough food are sometimes stunted for life, though, so hopefully-¡±


    Li, who had focused on their conversation the moment she heard her name, hissed angrily. An image popped into Kaz¡¯s mind, showing the little dragon on his shoulder growing until it was so large he was left flailing helplessly beneath its bulk.


    Kaz reached up and patted her gently. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll grow very, very large. You¡¯ll probably be the biggest dragon ever, once we can find some more of this special food. In the meantime, though, it¡¯s probably good that you aren¡¯t growing much.¡±


    Lianhua turned the seed over once more before handing it back, her gaze going from Li to Kaz. ¡°Can you actually understand her?¡± she asked, ¡°Through your, um, ki bond?¡±


    He could tell from her tone that she still didn¡¯t quite believe he could see what he claimed to see, but he did the nod-shrug again. ¡°I don¡¯t get words from her.¡± Though he had, once, maybe, but that one word wasn¡¯t one he had any particular interest in sharing. ¡°She sends me pictures, though. At first, it was just feelings, and then images, but they were fuzzy. Now, it¡¯s like I¡¯m seeing through her eyes, sometimes, and I can send her pictures, too.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Amazing,¡± Lianhua murmured. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of cultivators who bond with an animal like that, and there have even been a few who managed to raise those creatures up to be Spirit Beasts, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone managing to link to a dragon. They¡¯re too powerful, and too vicious. I read one story about a man who tamed a phoenix, but I thought it was a myth. I may have to reconsider, however.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, stroking the edge of Li¡¯s wing. ¡°She¡¯s not tame, and she¡¯s not a pet. She¡¯s my friend, and when she¡¯s ready to live with her own kind, I¡¯ll wave goodbye as she flies away.¡± The thought sent a fierce pain through his heart, and he could barely keep himself from clutching at his chest. Li bumped her head into his jaw, sending him image after image of the two of them flying away together, rather than the blue kobold being left alone on the ground.


    He smiled, leaning into the reassurances, but knew that she would probably change her mind when the time came. No matter what, he just wanted her to be happy, so he would accept her choice.


    Lianhua shook her head, watching them. ¡°And this bond was there from the moment you touched her egg?¡±


    He thought back. ¡°No. I think it started when I put her egg against my-¡± He laid his hand flat over his belly, and the core inside.


    Nodding thoughtfully, Lianhua said, ¡°So she needed to be close to your core, but not any more? Did you put the seed against your core, too?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°No to both. I don¡¯t know how far away Li could be before the bond broke, but I feel like as long as we both try to maintain it, it could stretch a very long distance. I think the seed didn¡¯t link to me until later. The bond was so small that I only saw it when I used it to find my way out of the pool where Li almost drowned.¡±


    Lianhua gaped. ¡°Wait, what? When did this happen?¡±


    It took a moment to pull together his memories of the incident. Some parts were as sharp as if they¡¯d happened the day before, while others were dim and foggy, lost to anxiety and haste. He stumbled through the story, seeing Lianhua¡¯s expression grow more fascinated with every word. She managed to restrain herself until he stumbled to a halt before asking any questions, but then a half dozen overflowed.


    ¡°Did she actually die? You¡¯re certain the ki in the water was dark? And you both coughed up something black? Was it water with ki in it, or something else? And there was a rune blocking her upper dantian? Are you sure?¡±


    Kaz couldn¡¯t answer all of the questions at once, so he picked up the chalk again, tracing out the rune he had drawn for her once before, followed by the incomplete symbol, and the one Lianhua had said meant ¡®silence¡¯.


    ¡°When it finally broke free, I could see it clearly for a moment before it joined the rest of the black stuff that came loose. Most kobolds have excellent memories, and mine is better than most.¡± He was a little embarrassed to say this aloud, since he was more inclined to minimize his abilities, rather than brag about them, but it was true, especially lately.


    He tapped his finger against the first rune. ¡°I¡¯m certain this is what I saw, except that this part,¡± he touched three lines in the upper right, ¡°was the last to come loose, so it may have stretched or twisted in the process.¡±


    Lianhua shifted, coming around to sit beside him so she could see the runes from the same angle. Kaz edged away from her, uncomfortable at her sudden nearness, but she was too engrossed in studying the picture to notice. She traced a few lines, and then some others, brows pinched in concentration.


    After more than a minute, she sat back, sighing. ¡°I¡¯m sure ¡®silence¡¯ is part of it.¡± She traced a point where four lines came together in the lower left. ¡°Unless it¡¯s a rune I¡¯ve never even seen before, which is entirely possible, especially given that they¡¯re the archaic forms, this particular combination of lines only happens in runes related to sound. Just this bit means ¡®ear¡¯ or ¡®hear¡¯, and the rest of the rune changes what about the ear or sound it¡¯s describing.  You¡¯re missing part of the runes for ¡®loud¡¯ or ¡®quiet¡¯, so it¡¯s not those. It¡¯s not a verb, because it doesn¡¯t have- Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, but if I¡¯m right, then you have this left over, and I don¡¯t recognize it.¡±


    She traced the parts that remained once silence was removed, frown growing ever deeper. Picking up the chalk, she drew several more runes, all containing elements of the original, then huffed a frustrated breath and pulled out her little book, redrawing all the variations in it, instead.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to keep thinking about it. I definitely see ¡®honey¡¯, but it could also be something related to bees, or maybe sweet things, like sugar or molasses. And once we get into sweets, the transition to eating isn¡¯t hard, so ¡®slurp¡¯ or ¡®sip¡¯ are possibilities, too.¡±


    She tapped the pen against the page a few more times, then tucked both book and pen back into her pouch before looking at Kaz again. ¡°The black stuff you both brought up could be ki-dense water, but that¡¯s unlikely. I think I would have noticed if the water we drank in the Longtooth den was filled with ki. More likely, you managed to fill both of your bodies with so much ki that you accidentally began the process of body cultivation.¡±


    She drew in a breath, slipping into her teaching role. ¡°In Initial Tin, the first thing you do is clear out the residue left by years of taking in unrefined ki. We don¡¯t really understand why, but over time, this black gunk fills our dantians and vessels, and we can¡¯t progress until it¡¯s at least partially removed. This is one of the reasons it¡¯s difficult to start cultivating later in life. The older you are, the more of this filth builds up inside you, and the more dangerous it is to try to remove it. Even after cleaning out enough to reach Tin, each time you cross a new threshold, you¡¯ll have to get rid of even more.¡±


    She hesitated, then went on, voice subdued. ¡°That¡¯s probably what happened to my grandmother. She should never have tried to reach Rhodium. At her age, the amount of impurities in her body were too great, even though she had cleared some out at earlier levels. Some part of it probably couldn¡¯t escape, and blocked or damaged her cycle.¡±


    Suddenly, Lianhua gasped, then spun toward Kaz, reaching out to take his hands in a grasp that was almost painful. ¡°You! You can really see ki. See the flow of it, right? So if there was something wrong with it, could you tell?¡±


    Kaz hadn¡¯t gotten to the part of his tale where he used his ki to clean the lopo poison out of her wound, much less Ilto¡¯s. She knew he had helped Li, but their ki was bound, so there was some argument that the dragon¡¯s ki was already his, and vice versa, which would explain why it was so easy for them to manipulate it.


    Lianhua had seen him take and return her sound-muffling rune, but she didn¡¯t know he could block or move ki while it was still inside someone else¡¯s body. That seemed like a dangerous thing to admit, even though he¡¯d already told her almost everything else, so he had been working up to it. Now, sensing where she was heading with this line of questions, he answered with great caution.


    ¡°I could probably see it, yes,¡± he told her.


    Her grip tightened further, and he winced, making Li hiss and Lianhua realize what she was doing. She released him instantly, almost falling over backwards in her haste to pull away. She didn¡¯t stop watching him with that same desperate gaze, however.


    ¡°Could you¡­ Would you be willing to look at my grandmother? If you can see ki, maybe you can tell what went wrong. Grandfather has made or bought so many pills and potions for her, but none of them have worked. If you can tell us exactly where the problem is, we can find just the right remedy, and-¡±


    Kaz held up a hand, and she stopped, though her eyes still burned like a female had used a chip of amethyst as a foundation for her ki-light.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look,¡± he told her. ¡°I promise.¡±


    Tears overflowed once again, but this time Lianhua was smiling as she wiped them away. ¡°Thank you. Thank you, Kaz! You¡¯ll never know-¡±


    That was when the howling began.

 Chapter Eighty-three

    They both whipped around to look at the bound female. Kaz¡¯s ears flattened, and he pulled ki from them instinctively, dulling the sound to something bearable. Lianhua apparently couldn¡¯t do the same, because she flinched back, but the flow of her ki didn¡¯t change.


    The Redmane chief¡¯s eyes were open, and locked on Kaz. Her throat vibrated with the howl that filled the small hut, and drool darkened her matted fur. Red burned deep in her eyes, turning them a bloody brown, and the mass of black and yellow ki in her belly churned so Kaz could almost sense its hunger.


    Kaz stumbled backwards even as Li mantled, spreading her wings wide as she let out a tiny roar. Lianhua crushed the rune in her palm and shifted so she was in between Kaz and the mad female. The howl instantly died back to a low whine. Kaz couldn¡¯t see past Lianhua¡¯s body, but he could see through it, at least a little, and he could tell that the other kobold¡¯s core was settling down as well.


    The door was flung open, and Hod burst in. His red-dyed mane stood straight up, and his teeth were bared in a ferocious snarl. Green eyes flicked between the three other occupants of the hut, and the fury in his gaze was tinged with puzzlement.


    ¡°Get away from Ehlan,¡± he growled, hand resting on the handle of his club. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be in here.¡±


    Lianhua stood, having to bend slightly so she didn¡¯t hit her head on the ceiling, and Kaz followed her lead. The moment Ehlan caught a glimpse of Kaz past Lianhua, her voice shifted toward a howl again.


    The confusion in Hod¡¯s eyes deepened, but he didn¡¯t move until Kaz took a single short step toward him, head bowed and tail tucked submissively. This made the Redmane realize he was blocking the door, and he moved to the side just enough for Kaz to squeeze out. Kaz promptly did so, though his own fur wanted to lift at being so close to an adult male who was clearly angry. Kaz had years of practice at hiding his feelings so well that even he wasn¡¯t certain what they actually were, so he just bowed even lower, tilting his chin to bare his throat as he went by.


    This left Hod and Lianhua alone inside the small building with a corrupted female, but given the way Ehlan had reacted to Lianhua, and Hod¡¯s general air of equanimity about everything except his mate, Kaz thought it would be all right. Besides, he suspected that his and Li¡¯s cores were what had made the Redmane chief react the way she had, so she should calm down once they were out of her sight.


    As soon as he stepped outside, however, he found himself the cynosure of a trio of upset males, any of whom could probably kill Hod with barely more effort than it would take a warrior to put down a single fuergar. Gaoda¡¯s teeth were bared in much the same way Hod¡¯s had been, and Kaz pushed away the thought that the human looked as much or more like an animal than the kobold had, with his face twisted in anger.


    Raff, on the other hand, just looked grim, all cheer drained from his face, and his hand on the hilt of his sword. Oddly, Kaz could tell that Chi Yincang was the calmest of them, even beyond his usual emotionless mask. No tension tightened his body, and his weapon was still hidden away in the ring on his right hand. His eyes were locked on the door to the hut, but that was the only sign that he was concerned about what was happening inside.


    Kaz¡¯s ears couldn¡¯t flatten any further, but they wanted to, and he had to force himself to raise his hands in a staying gesture. ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± he assured the three, already knowing that only two of them might pay any attention at all. ¡°Ehlan woke up, but she and Lianhua are both safe, and I¡¯m sure Hod will-¡±


    The door opened behind him, and Lianhua poked her head out. She looked around at the ring of males, all of whom were staring at her, and rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she told them, her words edged in exasperation. ¡°Hod was worried about his mate, which is completely reasonable. I have some things I¡¯d like to talk to him about, however, so you can all¡­ stop worrying.¡±


    Go away, Kaz thought, barely able to suppress a smile. Lianhua was clearly getting tired of pretending to be something she wasn¡¯t, as well. On his shoulder, Li hissed softly, but no one noticed except Kaz. Apparently, now that she¡¯d been reminded how much Lianhua had helped them, the dragon had decided that the human female was to be protected, at least a little. Kaz suspected it helped that Li very definitely didn¡¯t like Gaoda, so anyone else who shared that feeling was automatically more appealing to the dragon.


    No one moved until Gaoda lowered his lip and then his head, bowing ever so slightly as he gave an ingratiating smile. ¡°Of course, cousin. We were simply concerned about you.¡±


    Lianhua showed the smallest hint of her own white teeth as she said, ¡°Well, you don¡¯t need to be. I¡¯m fine, and shall remain so.¡± With that, she retreated back into the hut, closing the door with a dismissive clunk.


    Gaoda¡¯s lip lifted once more as he stared at the door, then he turned on his heel, giving a flip of his hand as he walked stiffly back toward his own hut. ¡°I¡¯ll be meditating. Don¡¯t disturb me unless that female goes mad again.¡± He all but slammed his own door behind him, leaving them to draw their own conclusions about which female he meant.


    Chi Yincang took a step back, vanishing into invisibility broken only by the soft blur that Kaz now knew indicated his location. Raff, who couldn¡¯t see it, just shook his head, dropping his hand from his sword as he muttered, ¡°I hate it when he does that.¡±


    Sighing, he looked over at Kaz. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s just you an¡¯ me, since that kobold obviously doesn¡¯t like you, an¡¯ Lianhua wants to stay in there for some reason. I was about to make some food, if you want to join me. It¡¯s not much, compared to what those three can whip up, but it¡¯ll fill your belly.¡±


    Kaz laid his hand over his stomach, which, reminded, chose that moment to growl loudly. Kaz¡¯s ears twitched in embarrassment, and Raff laughed. The tall male turned away, gesturing for Kaz to follow.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, then. I¡¯d just set some water to boil when we heard the howling. With that fulan stuff everywhere, I¡¯m not eating or drinking anything that hasn¡¯t been cooked until it¡¯s overdone.¡±


    Kaz followed along behind the male until they came to an open area in the center of the huts. There was a large black mark on the ground, showing that more than one non-ki-powered fire had been built here before, and Kaz wondered if he should mention that this was probably where the Redmanes burned their dead. He decided not, since Raff had already dragged a large stone over to sit on, and looked quite cheerful as he peered into a pot that sat on his fire stone.


    ¡°Looks good to me. It¡¯s simmering nicely, anyway. I¡¯ll make us some coffee that¡¯ll put hair on your chest.¡± He snorted a laugh as he looked back at Kaz. ¡°More hair, anyway.¡±


    Kaz sniffed deeply as Raff pulled something from the pouch at his waist. The orange-furred male didn¡¯t use his pouch nearly as much as the other three humans did, and he had once said that this was because his held far less than theirs. Apparently, ¡®coffee¡¯ was important enough to earn itself some of that limited space, because the bag he pulled out was small but very full.


    When Raff opened the pouch and scooped out a little of the dark sand inside, the scent that rose up from it was rich and pleasant. It didn¡¯t smell like anything Kaz had had before, including the ¡®tea¡¯ Lianhua liked so much.


    Raff dropped the deep brown stuff into the water, and almost instantly the scent of it grew far stronger. Kaz¡¯s eyes grew wide, and his tail wagged once in anticipation.


    ¡°Is it like tea?¡± he asked.


    Raff laughed, a rolling belly laugh that Kaz had never heard from him before. ¡°Nah. Tea is just boiled leaves. Like some kind of sickbed broth made for people who¡¯re too weak to eat solids. Coffee is made from roasted, ground-up seeds. I mean, the seeds come from some kinda fruit, but nobody eats that, as far as I know. The seeds are the good part.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears perked up at the mention of ¡®seeds¡¯ and ¡®fruit¡¯, and he looked more closely at the bag as Raff tied it shut and pushed it back into his pouch. A faint flicker of power caught Kaz¡¯s attention as the bag vanished, but it was gone before Kaz could tell what it was.


    No ki showed within the coffee itself, either in the bag or in the steaming, aromatic pot, making him sigh with disappointment. For a moment, he had hoped that this coffee might have ki in it, and if he gave it to Li, it would help her grow. In spite of what he¡¯d said about it being good if she stayed small, he¡¯d actually prefer it if she grew at least a little. Her ki was strong, but her body was still fragile, and he worried about her, especially since she seemed to have no sense of self-preservation.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The two males and the dragon fell into a companionable silence as they all watched the pot, and the rich smell of coffee filled the air around them, driving back the scent of a hundred strange kobolds. Kaz realized that out of all the humans, he actually felt the most relaxed with Raff. Even Lianhua wanted something from him, and she was always asking him questions. When she was grooming him, which she did with such regularity that he was actually becoming accustomed to it, she talked almost constantly. He liked her, but she could be tiring to be around.


    Raff, on the other hand, wanted nothing at all from Kaz. He didn¡¯t dislike him, like Gaoda, and he wasn¡¯t as mysterious as Chi Yincang. The dark male¡¯s habit of appearing and disappearing from empty air was disconcerting to say the least, and even now that Kaz could tell where the other male was, he was still surprised at least half the time when Chi Yincang stepped into visibility. Add to that the fact that Chi Yincang not only obviously had secrets of his own, but also knew at least some of Kaz¡¯s secrets, and Kaz doubted he would ever be able to let his guard down around the other male.


    No, Raff was definitely the most calming of the lot, so Kaz allowed himself to sink into something like a shallow sort of meditation as the coffee cooked. He did as Lianhua had shown him, and pressed down on his core each time he drew in a breath, held it, and then let it all out in a small flood that filled his vessels to overflowing. He deliberately thinned some of the sheaths that still prevented his ki from leaking into parts of his body he wasn¡¯t yet ready to infuse, and allowed more ki than usual into his lungs.


    He felt like he could hold his breath forever, but he knew that wasn¡¯t true. He focused on counting to ten each time he took in a breath, soon finding a balance between how weak he could allow the ki in his body to become as he dammed it up inside his core, and how much he could allow to leak out when he released it. Li mimicked him, her pure core compressing and releasing far more easily than his own stratified one, with the ossified chunks of what he assumed was hardened mana still encased within it.


    When a metal spoon rattled against the pot, Kaz nearly jumped out of his fur, his eyes snapping open as he lost focus, sending ki surging through his channels with nearly painful intensity. His breathing hitched, then smoothed as he breathed out, sparks of ki flashing in the exhale. A few red flickers landed on Raff, and while the other colors seemed reluctant to linger there, these clung to him, though they didn¡¯t sink in through his metal shell.


    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Raff said, grinning as he dipped a metal cup directly into the pot of brown liquid. Kaz could see some of the dark, sandy remnants of the seeds swirl to the top as he did so, settling into the cup as it was lifted away.


    ¡°There ya go,¡± Raff said proudly, taking a second cup from his pouch as Kaz accepted the first one. The metal was probably hot enough to burn a normal kobold¡¯s fingers, but now that he had begun body cultivation, it was only slightly overwarm to Kaz. Still, he made a show of grimacing and turning it until he could grasp the handle, which was still metal, but quite a bit cooler.


    Raff chuckled, obviously amused by Kaz¡¯s response. ¡°Sorry, Bl- Uh, Kaz. I forget you¡¯re not as tough as I am. Better sip that to start, or you¡¯ll burn your mouth, too.¡±


    The humans tended to forget that Kaz¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t work like theirs, but he leaned forward and lapped at the coffee eagerly, ready for the mouth-watering scent to become an equally delicious taste. What filled his mouth, however, was a strong, intensely bitter flavor that made him want to instantly spit it back out. He managed to swallow, and the heat of it was pleasant enough, but didn¡¯t counterbalance the disgusting flavor of the stuff.


    Raff, who had already downed half of his own cup, gave another of those deep laughs, this one lasting for several seconds. When he managed to stop, he had to wipe away a bit of moisture that had gathered at the corner of his eye.


    He drew in a long breath, and after letting out one final chuckling sigh, said, ¡°The look on your face reminded me of my little sister the first time she tried coffee. Still hadn¡¯t learned to like it without more sugar and milk than coffee in her cup, last time I saw her.¡±


    A hint of melancholy crossed his face, and he tipped his cup back, emptying it. His deep brown throat bobbed as he swallowed, and when he put the cup down, he wiped his mouth with a smile. He clearly wasn¡¯t interested in continuing that topic of conversation, but Kaz suddenly found himself intensely curious. What were human families like, and how were they different from kobolds? From what Lianhua had said, it sounded like human relationships were even more complex than those of his own kind, but he also had a feeling that her circumstances were unusual.


    ¡°Do you miss her?¡± Kaz blurted out, handing his own cup back to Raff. He should probably have at least tried it again, but he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to do so. He felt almost betrayed that the rich, delicious scent had come from something that tasted so vile.


    Raff accepted the cup, his eyebrows lifting as he tilted it back and forth, obviously thinking. At last, with a shrug, he lifted it to his lips and drank it in one long gulp, before setting it on the ground and dipping his own cup into the pot again.


    Sighing, Raff looked down into his fresh cup, and said, ¡°I do. Didn¡¯t think I would, when I left. Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d miss any of ¡®em, honestly. But I did. Do.¡±


    ¡°Why did you leave?¡± Kaz persisted, leaning forward.


    Raff glanced from side to side, as if looking for anyone who might overhear them, then shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t like t¡¯ talk about my private life with my employers, but you¡¯re not one of ¡®em, are you? So, maybe just remember that I¡¯m speaking in confidence, between¡­ friends, eh?¡±


    Kaz nodded, and Raff leaned back, sipping at his coffee and staring up at the low ceiling as if he could see through it to the sky.


    ¡°I have a big family, which is pretty normal where I¡¯m from. We only allow people to marry one person, unlike in the hedonistic Sheng Empire. Life is hard in Holiander, or at least it used to be, so we have lots of babies, because half of ¡®em won¡¯t live to grow up. I only had one brother who died, though, an¡¯ it was when I was too young to remember, so as far as I¡¯m concerned, I have five older brothers, and one younger sister.¡±


    His mouth quirked, and his golden-brown eyes flickered over to Kaz. ¡°Lianhua actually reminds me of my sister. They¡¯re about the same age, too. I think Jinn is twenty-four now.¡± He frowned, fingers twitching so his gloves clicked against the metal cup. ¡°Unless I¡¯m not quite thirty yet. That¡¯d make her twenty-three. My birthday was in a month, but I lost track pretty much as soon as we walked inside this Pellis-cursed mountain. Have no idea if it¡¯s night or day anymore, much less what the date is.¡±


    Raff coughed, taking another deep draught of his coffee. ¡°Not that I¡¯m insultin¡¯ your mountain. I¡¯m sure you like it, and all. It¡¯s just not a great place for humans.¡±


    Kaz resisted the urge to agree, and just shrugged away the half-apology. ¡°My mother only had Katri and I, so I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to have brothers.¡±


    ¡°Ha! You had it lucky, my lad,¡± Raff said, lifting his cup. ¡°Two of the five were fine, but the other three more than made up for the good ones. Plus, I think my da didn¡¯t know what to do when we all survived. He needed two, maybe three sons, not six, and by the time Ma got through with all of us, they thought they¡¯d never have a girl, so Jinn was spoiled rotten from the moment she was born.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°Why did he need just three? Couldn¡¯t the extras be traded or trained as warriors?¡±


    Raff picked up the pot and poured the last of the coffee into his cup. The sludge in the bottom splashed into the liquid, bringing it right to the top, where it quivered, reflected light from the fire stone flickering in the black depths. Without speaking, Raff took a leather bag from his pouch and splashed some water into the pot, swishing it around before dumping it and the last dregs of coffee out onto the soot-stained rock. A thin trickle of brownish water curled lazily away, cleaning the remnants of dead kobolds from a narrow swath of stone.


    The human refilled the pot and set it back over the fire stone before filling Kaz¡¯s cup from the water bag. He handed the cup to Kaz, who lapped it up as greedily as Raff had guzzled his coffee. Raff chuckled and filled the cup again before putting away the much-emptier bag.


    ¡°One to the king, one to the gods, and one to the war,¡± Raff said abruptly, reaching out to stir the water in the pot, though it hadn¡¯t even begun to steam yet.


    ¡°What?¡± Kaz asked, confused by what seemed a change in subject.


    Raff looked at him. ¡°One son to the king, one son to the priesthood, and one son to the military. That¡¯s three. Any sons after that are only needed if one of the first three dies. Each of them brings power and honor to the family in their own way, and while extras can follow along behind, they¡¯ll always be exactly that: extra. No younger son is allowed to outshine an older brother, so they¡¯re doomed to a life of mediocrity. So when I was sixteen, I decided I was done with the lot, and left.¡±


    For the first time since Kaz had met him, Raff didn¡¯t drop the ends of any of his words. Kaz thought the male was caught up in his own memories, and perhaps this was how he had spoken when he was young.


    ¡°The first three brothers were set, of course, and Da couldn¡¯t afford to sponsor another to be a priest or an officer, so I was supposed to stay home and help Ricard with¡­ our farm. Lots o¡¯ paperwork to be done on a farm, y¡¯know.¡±


    Raff tapped the side of the pot as he sank back into his usual speech patterns. Bubbles rose up from the sides, and he nodded to himself, pulling two brown lumps from his pouch. He dropped these into the pot, where they instantly sank.


    ¡°A band o¡¯ mercs had passed through the previous summer, and I was impressed with how tough they all seemed to be. One of ¡®em told me that when I grew up, I should come find him. He was jokin¡¯, as much as anything, but I took him seriously, and tried to do exactly that. Turned out he left that group and joined another before I found ¡®em, but that was all for the best, because none of the rest of ¡®em remembered another hero-worshippin¡¯ kid from the countryside, so they couldn¡¯t just send me home. I used the last of my money to get some armor and joined up, an¡¯ here I am.¡±


    He stirred the pot again, and this time unappetizing and unrecognizable chunks floated to the top of the cloudy water. Raff and Kaz both sniffed at the steam rising from it, and Raff grinned at the face Kaz made.


    Lifting the spoon from the pot, he held out a puddle of water and a gray-brown lump for Kaz¡¯s inspection. ¡°Now, let me introduce you and your little rat t¡¯ the joy of hardtack.¡±

 Chapter Eighty-four

    There was no joy to be found in hardtack, but Raff was right about one thing: it was filling. Kaz managed to eat most of his portion, but Li absolutely refused after trying one bite. Raff thought it was hilarious that the ¡®rat¡¯ was picky, but he didn¡¯t offer any other options, so soon enough Kaz bid him farewell and left to find something for the dragon to eat.


    His nose told him that food was available somewhere outside the circle of quarantined huts, but when he got close to the gate, the kobold guarding it glared so fiercely that he veered off. Hod had said that food was limited in the den, and Kaz obviously wasn¡¯t a Redmane, so he wouldn¡¯t be allowed to take food anyway.


    Logic didn¡¯t prevent Li from filling his mind with constant complaints, however, and a few minutes after giving up the first time, Kaz found himself staring at the low wall again. He was nowhere near the gate this time, and while two males were walking in circles around the outside of the wall, what he could see of them looked bored. Their eyes were half-focused, and their ears drooped slightly, rather than swiveling to follow each sound.


    ¡°Can you hide us?¡± Kaz asked the dragon, sending her a picture of the two of them, hiding behind the stalagmite only feet from the Copperstriker den.


    She agreed eagerly, and this time when she did¡­ whatever she did, he sensed something rising up around them. It was almost like a cloud, smothering the sight and scent of them. He frowned, turning to look at the inside of it, then set her down and stepped away. She started to follow, but he asked her to stay and hide herself.


    Glancing around, Kaz didn¡¯t see anyone nearby, so he took a few more steps away, and the vaguely fuergar-shaped dragon on the ground began to blur. He narrowed his eyes, pushing more ki into them, and the blur resolved itself into a dragon again.


    Li whistled angrily, and he felt a kind of push against his ki, shoving it back at him. He closed his eyes, blocking out what they were trying to tell him, and realized that some part of him was actually reaching out toward her, or at least where he knew she was. As far as he could tell, most people with ki did keep it inside their bodies most of the time, so he pulled his in as well, locking it inside his own skin, even as he opened his eyes again.


    Instantly, everything around him lost a little of its depth, and he understood just how much he had come to depend on what his ki was telling him. Was that what Lianhua meant by ¡®aura¡¯? She had said she could sense it, and that his had changed, so was this extension of his self what she sensed? When had he started doing it? Was it when he was lost in the paths between, and suddenly even the darkest of tunnels was lit by the ki of every tiny plant and animal?


    He struggled to hold himself to the level of anyone else, but each time he looked toward Li, within a few moments, she shoved some creeping tendril of his power back at him, and finally he gave up. He thought it would be worthwhile to experiment again in the future, in case they ran into someone or something like Lianhua, but for now it was enough to know that Li really was all but invisible to anyone who couldn¡¯t sense ki. Unlike whatever Chi Yincang did, when she moved, the illusion of absence was broken, but so long as she held still, the sight and smell of her faded into the background, becoming something his mind dismissed as familiar or unimportant.


    Breathing a sigh of relief, Kaz relaxed, allowing his ki to flow freely again as he stepped forward and picked up what his eyes had been trying to convince him was just a rock. Li clicked happily as she wound her way up his arm and settled back into place again. He stroked her head gently, then turned to eye the wall behind them. Now that he had a better idea how the illusion worked, he thought that they could climb over undetected so long as they didn¡¯t try it while one of the guards was close by.


    Unfortunately, he was on the flat, leather side of the wall, so he couldn¡¯t place his paws on the bone structure to help him get over. He glanced around again before sidling over to lean his back up against it. A crossbar pressed across his shoulders, another just above his tail, and there was just enough give in the leather that if he moved quickly-


    He heard the scrape of claws on stone, and froze. Li did the same, and he could feel her pull on their combined ki as she concealed them. This would be a good test, to let them know if their trick would hold up under the scrutiny of a guard.


    Gray-furred ears appeared around the curve of the wall, bobbing up and down as a warrior walked along. He was shorter than Kaz, so his eyes only appeared over the wall on each rising step. His pace was measured, but slow, and, like the others Kaz had seen, he seemed more interested in his own thoughts than whatever was going on inside the wall. As he approached, he seemed to stare straight into Kaz¡¯s eyes for a heart-stopping moment, and then he was gone, completely failing to acknowledge Kaz or Li¡¯s presence.


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged, which might well have broken the semblance of wall or stone, or whatever the guard saw, but the male had already walked by. Kaz waited until the warrior vanished around the curve of the wall, knowing that he now had anywhere from three to five minutes before another guard came along. The enclosure wasn¡¯t large, but the guards were in no hurry, either.


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    Before he could change his mind, Kaz pushed power into his arms and set his hands on the top of the wall. He expected to feel his muscles strain and his paws scrabble for purchase on the bone structure hidden on the other side of the leather as he lifted himself from the ground, but instead he nearly flew over the wall, scraping his still-painful ear on the rough stone of the low ceiling.


    He bit back a yelp, elbows buckling in surprise, and tumbled down to the ground with a soft thump. He was at least on the other side, but this certainly wasn¡¯t how he¡¯d intended to land, and he rubbed his tail gingerly as he climbed to his feet again.


    Li hovered in the air in front of him, having taken off at some point during his ignominious fall, and she was clearly amused. He glared at her, and she sent him a hopefully-exaggerated image of himself falling tail over ears after practically bouncing off the ceiling. If it had happened to someone else, he might have admitted that it looked ridiculous, but as it was, he muttered, ¡°You could at least wait until you¡¯re sure I¡¯m not hurt.¡±


    With a few flaps of her wings, the dragon circled his head, then settled down on his shoulder. He felt a twinge of pain as she did something just out of his sight, and when her head reappeared, there was a small smear of blood on her nose.


    Kaz clapped his hand to his ear and felt warm liquid beneath his fingers as he gingerly probed the spot where he¡¯d struck his head. It was, of course, the same place he¡¯d hit it during the battle before they met the Copperstrikers. He didn¡¯t feel the nauseating headache that had accompanied the original injury, however, so he thought he¡¯d just managed to tear the wound open again a bit.


    ¡°I am not food,¡± he hissed, crouching down to move away from the wall.


    Li sent back a noncommittal response, but he was almost certain it was her version of a joke. He didn¡¯t think she was still licking the wound, which was something at least.


    Lifting his nose, Kaz sniffed, following the scent of food as well as his own memory of the path they¡¯d taken to get here. He doubted he could get over both of the walls that separated the females from the rest of the den as easily as he had the one surrounding the quarantine area, but surely there was food somewhere nearby. The pot the single female had been stirring wasn¡¯t nearly large enough to feed the whole tribe.


    He dodged to the side, pressing up against the wall of a hut as a female turned a corner ahead. Li¡¯s camouflage was in full effect, or perhaps the female was simply so focused on her own thoughts that she didn¡¯t pay any attention to a young male as she passed by. Her brown eyes were dull, her tail drooped, and he could count her ribs beneath her dull fur, so Kaz thought it was entirely possible that she just didn¡¯t care enough to look up. Even the light of her core was so subdued that it was barely visible, though he didn¡¯t see any hint of contamination in it.


    She turned another corner while Kaz was still wondering just how bad things were in this den that an adult female looked so underfed. Females usually ate first, even when food was scarce, but while Kaz thought the Redmane males were perhaps a little thin, this female was nearly emaciated.


    That made him feel guilty for trying to find and steal some of whatever food they did have, but only Lianhua and Raff would be willing to feed Li from their own stores, and Li had already turned up her nose at Raff¡¯s offering. Still, the dragon didn¡¯t eat that much, and Kaz himself wasn¡¯t starving any more, thanks to the hardtack and water. They wouldn¡¯t take enough to feed a pup, and surely that wouldn¡¯t matter.


    With that settled, at least in his own mind, Kaz set out again, wary of both wandering females and the guards he¡¯d seen before. He quickly realized that he could see the females coming, just by looking for ki moving around him, and soon he was so busy watching cores that he barely noticed a male until he almost tripped over him. Li had to nip his sore ear in order to bring his attention back to his immediate surroundings, but fortunately the guard turned the other way, and they didn¡¯t have to test whether Kaz managed to freeze in time for the dragon to conceal them.


    It was too close a call, however, and after that Kaz worked his way over to a wall, stopping with his back pressed up against it each time he caught sight of a new core. He was shocked and dismayed at how few there were. Most of the huts were empty, and where there were cores, they were usually close to the ground, as if the female was lying down. Only a few females seemed to be up and moving, but Kaz had no idea if that was because they were too weak, or if something else was going on. None of them showed the tell-tale signs of being corrupted by fulan or an ingested core, but they were all so weak that they looked like fires on the verge of going out.


    Kaz heard a soft whine as he passed yet another hut with yet another single core-light inside, and it took him a moment to realize that he had made the sound. Everything about this felt wrong, though, and if it weren¡¯t for Li¡¯s insistent feeling of hunger, he would have turned around and gone back several minutes ago.


    Then he turned another corner and saw something that made him stop in his tracks.


    A map. Or rather, the map. The one he remembered from the time the Broken Knives had passed through the mid-levels. Though as he drew closer, he realized that it wasn¡¯t quite the same after all.


    He closed his eyes, dredging his memory for details, and finally realized what had changed. Before, he was certain there had been eighteen stylized sets of stairs carved at equidistant points around the outside of the design, but this one had only nine. More than that, those nine were set far closer to what had made him tell Lianhua that he believed the mosui lived in a city.


    A multitude of rectangles stood, pressed close against one another in nine stacked layers, with tiny figures carved around their bases. At the very center, piercing through them all, stood a single vertical rectangle, and in the middle of that - on the fifth layer, whether you counted from the top or the bottom - was a single square lit by the same eternal light that burned in alcoves along every set of ancient stairs.


    Kaz had only one interpretation for this image: nine occupied levels, filled with buildings, and a single building, or perhaps a single tunnel, that passed through the center of every one.

 Chapter Eighty-five

    When Kaz last saw one of these carvings, he had truly been a puppy, still too young to realize that no one cared about his opinions or ideas. He had told Katri that he thought the rectangles and little figures looked like the city in the Deep they had been forced to leave so recently. She had been young enough to listen, and the two of them had had a brief moment where they let their imaginations run wild together, before Oda overheard and grasped both of them by the scruff of their necks. She had lifted Kaz into the air, ignoring his flailing, but allowed Katri to keep her paws on the ground.


    ¡°What did I tell you to do?¡± she had barked, and it took them a moment to remember.


    ¡°Gather anything the Goldfangs won¡¯t notice is missing,¡± Katri answered for both of them, since Kaz was unable to speak.


    Oda gave Kaz a little shake and set him down, releasing Katri as well. Kaz immediately sank down into a crouch, staring up at his mother with his ears flat and tail lowered as submissively as possible.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Oda hissed, glancing around, ¡°and now you¡¯ve told anyone close enough to overhear. Go join the rest of the puppies, and I don¡¯t want to see or hear you again until the task is complete.¡±


    Katri scampered away, but Oda¡¯s paw came down on Kaz¡¯s tail as he scrambled to follow. Oda crouched down, silver-blue eyes glaring into his darker ones. ¡°The carvings are a lie,¡± she had growled. ¡°Everything the ancients ever said, everything they left, it¡¯s all a lie.¡±


    She stabbed a taloned finger toward the carving. ¡°That is just a bunch of scratches on the wall, created by fools like your father, who thought that truth could be found in history and art. Ignore it, and you¡¯ll live a happier life.¡± Reaching out, she roughly tousled the fur on top of his head, the gesture as close to affection as she had ever come. Then, standing, she strode away without another word, leaving him with a bruised tail and a broken heart.


    Kaz drew in a sharp breath as the memory burst like a bubble, leaving him staring at a dark stone wall. Something tugged at the fur on his cheek, and it took a moment for him to realize that it was Li, awkwardly petting him, much as he stroked her scales when she was upset.


    Turning his head, he looked at her and attempted a smile. ¡°It was a long time ago, and she joined the ancestors-¡± How long ago? Two weeks? Three? Each tribe kept their own time, since there was no definitive cycle within the mountain. Gaoda, with his ever-present time-keeping device, might be the only one who could truly say how long Oda Broken Knife had been dead, and Kaz would never ask him.


    Instead, Kaz focused on the thing in front of him. This carving was sharp, in much better condition than the one that stood by the stairs that had been used by generation upon generation of kobolds. Even if no one had intentionally damaged it, who knew how many paws had stumbled as they walked up or down the too-tall steps, how many hands reached out to catch themselves on the closest surface? The tops of the buildings had been rounded, figures chipped, and the central hollow filthy with the debris of years that could well add up to centuries.


    Now, Kaz leaned forward, squinting as he tried to see the details that age and use had destroyed in the other carving. He reached out as if to touch a single small, hunched figure, wondering if its posture was intentional, or the result of some long-forgotten slip of the artist¡¯s chisel. But no, many of the others looked the same. In fact, all of the ones on that central level looked as if they were bent over, their hands too large, and their heads too round.


    His finger hovered, loathe to touch, to damage something so perfectly preserved, but lingering over three distinctly different sorts of figures. The ones with the rounded posture were the easiest to pick out. They had neither ears nor tails, and their legs were angled the wrong way. He might almost have thought they were humans, except that their noses were far too long and pointed.


    There were clearly kobolds, mingling freely among the crouching creatures on every level except the central one. The large ears, tails, long but blunt noses, and knees that bent correctly were clear indicators of their identity.


    The third group was as strange as the first, though entirely different, and far rarer. There were only three or four hidden amongst dozens of the others, but they were instantly recognizable because of the strip of triangles that ran from the top of their heads to the tip of those tails. Other than that, they looked much like kobolds, though their tails were a bit too thick, and the ears too small and pointed. Kaz thought they might actually be kobolds, wearing some kind of ancient armor. Perhaps these were the kobold leaders of the time? Females usually didn¡¯t wear armor, since they had their ki-shields, which would make these male warriors instead.


    Li made a strange sort of trilling sound, and Kaz looked toward her, realizing that he had drawn close to the central building or tunnel that passed through the middle of all the layers. The spiky kobolds were all close to it, though there weren¡¯t any on that middle layer. No, only the crouched, rounded creatures walked there, and Kaz wondered why, though he doubted he would ever know.


    The dragon on his shoulder had been staring at the map, clearly just as fascinated as Kaz was, and now her head darted out, mouth wide as she lunged for the glowing square in the center of the image. It was faint, noticeable only because of its red color and the eerie luminescence that it cast on its surroundings, but clearly Li had decided that it was edible. Her teeth scraped on stone, and she jerked back, a red spark gripped between her teeth. Before Kaz could react, she tilted her head and swallowed.


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    Kaz pulled Li from his shoulder, a sudden panicked memory of the greedy little creature nearly choking on Lianhua¡¯s gold ring filling his mind. Her tongue flickered out, however, and she made a contented little sound. Whatever had been emitting the light, it was now on its way to her belly, and she was clearly pleased about it.


    Worried, Kaz watched her long throat for any sign that the object was stuck. He was often amazed at the size of the bites she could choke down, but this was a hard piece of rock or gem, not a soft, at least partially chewed, piece of meat or fungus. There was no sign of the thing¡¯s passage, though, and Li clearly wasn¡¯t in distress, so Kaz settled for glaring at her and pushing his own feelings of concern through their bond.


    ¡°At least let me look it over, first. Maybe I could have broken it so it would be a little smaller or something. I don¡¯t know what dragons are supposed to eat, and so far you¡¯ve eaten plenty of things I wouldn¡¯t have called food, but at least wait until I¡¯m ready,¡± he told her, gently prodding her belly.


    Li gave him a dismissive glance from half-lidded eyes. She knew what dragons could eat, and she knew what would make her sick, which in this case was the disgusting brownish-gray lumps Raff had tried to serve her, and not the tasty glowing rock she¡¯d just ingested.


    Kaz sighed, looking back at the wall. To him, the square that had previously held the red thing was now a gaping black hole, and the strangely compelling effect of the carving was entirely lost without its uncanny glow.


    He pointed to the dark square with an accusing finger. ¡°They¡¯re going to notice this, you know. There¡¯s no way to hide it.¡±


    Li returned an image of the carving, lost in darkness behind empty huts.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°That¡¯s true, I suppose,¡± he admitted reluctantly. ¡°It¡¯s not like this is in the center of the den. No one even lives nearby, and no one has come to see who¡¯s making all the noise, even though I completely forgot we were supposed to be hiding.¡±


    Li¡¯s head bobbed, and she withdrew one small clawed hand from his fur, pressing it against her abdomen instead. Opening her mouth, she gave a tiny, squeaky burp, then yawned widely.


    He chuckled, completely unable to remain angry when she seemed so pleased. ¡°Fine then,¡± he muttered, lowering his gaze. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a rock around here that¡¯s about the right size. If I put something else in there, maybe they¡¯ll just think it finally ran out of power. It¡¯s not like there haven¡¯t been plenty of other strange things happening around here lately.¡±


    Spying a chunk of limestone that looked to be about the right size to fit into the hole, he bent over and picked it up. He rolled it between his fingers, then held it up beside the gap, which now seemed much smaller than it had when he hadn¡¯t had something to compare it to. In fact, his rock was much too large, so he dropped it, distantly hearing it roll away as he peered into the little square.


    It was deep. Much deeper than Li could possibly have stuck her head into in such a short amount of time. The red light must have been coming from something that just capped the finger-sized hollow space beyond.


    At that thought, Kaz found that he was lifting his hand, one finger extended toward the opening. There was no way that it was a good idea to poke his finger into the dark and unknown space that had been concealed behind the flickering rock, but he did it anyway.


    At the fullest extension of his digit, he touched something. The something clicked, and then gave way beneath the pressure. Kaz yelped and jumped back, yanking his hand away from the wall as Li whistled, sending him a very distinct sense of ¡®and you got after me for touching things?¡¯


    Kaz stumbled, and something rolled out from beneath his paw, sending him falling backward to land on his rear for the second time that day. It was a good thing that he had begun the process of tempering his body, or he¡¯d spend all of his time nursing a bruised tail.


    With a surprisingly quiet grinding sound, the wall pivoted on its central axis, one edge nearly running into Kaz¡¯s paws as he jerked them out of the way, scrambling backwards until he bumped into one of the huts that sheltered this forgotten section of the den.


    When it became clear that the section of stone - which was at least six feet high, almost as wide, and a good foot thick, except for its beveled edges - was done moving, Kaz cautiously climbed back to his paws. Looking down, he saw that what he had dismissed as natural grooves in the floor were actually arcs where the casual movement of tons of stone had scraped away rock.


    This passage had obviously been opened many times, and he didn¡¯t think the last time had been centuries before. For one thing, the huts that had seemed to be placed awkwardly close to the wall now provided perfectly defensible passages for retreating kobolds who might need to escape down this hole.


    Which begged the question: what was beyond the opening?


    Kaz glanced around, half expecting to see a dozen Redmanes charging toward him, or perhaps only Hod, demanding to know what Kaz thought he was doing, literally poking around where he wasn¡¯t supposed to be. There was no one there, however, and Kaz stepped forward, peering down into what should have been pure, utter darkness. Instead, he saw the telltale glow of red, flickering lights, and tall steps that vanished into the descending distance.


    He had found the Redmane¡¯s stairs, and there was no way they led anywhere except deep into mosui territory.


    Kaz jerked backwards, feeling as if some furious monster might come charging up those stairs at him, aware of his intrusion as the kobolds apparently were not. His elbow bumped painfully into the pivoting door, and it spun slowly away from him, quietly crunching back into place as if it had never opened.


    Swallowing hard, Kaz looked around one more time, but the den was still nearly silent, seeming all but abandoned. He needed to talk to Lianhua, and he needed to do it now.

 Chapter Eighty-six

    Sneaking back through the den was as easy as sneaking out had been. The few females were still distracted, and the guards mostly trailed the females, so as long as Kaz avoided the first, the second quite literally followed. Kaz, on the other hand, felt like his guilt must be painted on him as brightly as the Redmanes¡¯ dyed red manes. Surely, if anyone did see him, they would know exactly what he¡¯d been up to, and he and the humans would be attacked or expelled from the den.


    No one saw him, however, whether because of Li¡¯s camouflage skill, or because the resident kobolds had better things to do than worry about wandering pups, and soon he flung himself back over the short wall dividing the quarantine zone from the rest of the females. This time he had a better idea how much strength he needed, and managed not to trip over himself in the process. In fact, he landed in an easy crouch that probably would have impressed Raff, and possibly even Chi Yincang. Fortunately or unfortunately, no one saw it, and even Kaz himself was too focused on his goal to do more than be glad that he hadn¡¯t fallen on his face this time.


    Lianhua was still in the hut with Ehlan, and the blur of black and white ki that was Chi Yincang stood in the shadows nearby. Kaz ignored the male, and scratched gently at the thick leather of the door.


    It took long enough that he was starting to think Lianhua hadn¡¯t heard him, but eventually the light of her dantians shifted, rose, and came closer. He stepped back as she pushed the door open and peered out, her pale form seeming to hover in the darkness inside the hut.


    ¡°I need to speak to you,¡± Kaz told her, forcing himself not to glance toward Chi Yincang¡¯s hiding place. Instead, he turned his palm up and drew the rune she used to muffle sound on it with his finger.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened, and she nodded. Turning to look back into the hut, she said softly, ¡°I¡¯ll be back,¡± then stepped out and closed the door behind her.


    Kaz¡¯s ears perked as he tried to catch any sound from within the hut, and his nose twitched. He didn¡¯t hear or smell Hod, at least not strongly enough to indicate that the other male was still here, so who was Lianhua talking to?


    The human smiled sadly, glancing behind her. ¡°It¡¯s a habit. I don¡¯t know if she can hear me, but I always say it anyway.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s heart ached for her, and he nodded. ¡°Can we talk in your hut?¡±


    Instead of answering, Lianhua turned and walked away. Kaz and Chi Yincang followed as she led the way back to a hut nearby. There were only about a dozen in this small area, and the one she¡¯d chosen was as far away from Gaoda¡¯s as it was possible to get, but fairly close to Ehlan¡¯s. Kaz thought it was rather telling that she was more willing to be close to a potentially crazed core-eating kobold than the other human.


    When Lianhua opened the door to her hut, she paused, looking right at the spot where Chi Yincang stood. ¡°Go,¡± she said. ¡°Get something to eat, or stare at Gaoda for a while. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Kaz finally allowed himself to look toward Chi Yincang as well, and saw when the blotch of ki finally moved away. Lianhua didn¡¯t seem to sense it quite as clearly, because it took her another few seconds before she finally whispered, ¡°Can you see him?¡±


    He almost jumped. Had she decided to trust him? He supposed she must have, since she¡¯d asked him to help her grandmother, but it still felt strange to see the look of expectation on her face.


    ¡°He went toward Gaoda¡¯s hut,¡± Kaz admitted, and Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened, as if she hadn¡¯t actually expected him to answer. Kaz was confused. Did she believe him, or not?


    Lianhua must have been able to see his internal conflict, because she sighed softly and motioned to the interior of her hut. Kaz entered, and she followed him, allowing the door to fall closed behind them.


    When they were both seated in the center of the hut, Lianhua lifted her hand. Hesitantly, she held it up and lightly traced the rune on her palm. ¡°Can you-?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can make the ball of light, but I haven¡¯t tried the voice changing one.¡±


    ¡°Sound obscuration,¡± Lianhua corrected absently, shaking her head in amazement. ¡°I¡¯ve only used the light rune in front of you a few times, but you¡¯ve already learned it?¡±


    Kaz nodded, then shook his head. ¡°Yes, but the rune I use isn¡¯t quite the same as yours. I tried yours, and it wouldn¡¯t work, but Li suggested a change, and when I tried that, it did work. The light it makes is different, though.¡±


    Lianhua looked puzzled. ¡°Li suggested a change?¡±


    He scratched his ear awkwardly. ¡°It was when we couldn¡¯t understand each other as well, and I still don¡¯t have any idea how she knew what to do. There seem to be some things she just knows, instinctively. Like kobolds know how to howl, or what different tail wags mean.¡±


    Lianhua started to reach for her pouch, then stopped. ¡°Is it okay if I write this down? No one has ever suggested that dragons are anywhere near as intelligent as Li seems to be, much less that they can understand things like runes.¡±


    Kaz shrugged, then reached up and took Li off his shoulder. The dragon still seemed to be a little sleepy after her recent meal, but she allowed it, though she immediately curled up in his lap instead.


    ¡°Can I tell Lianhua about the things you can do?¡± he asked. ¡°She wants to be able to tell other people, I think, but she can¡¯t tell them how she knows, so I don¡¯t know how useful it will be.¡±


    He glanced at Lianhua surreptitiously, seeing how she took that last statement. To him, it was obvious that no one else could know about Li, but Lianhua seemed very eager to share everything she could.


    Lianhua huffed a little laugh and nodded to him, acknowledging the warning, but kept her eyes on Li as the dragon stretched out her forelimbs and wings, yawning widely. Sharp white teeth gleamed in her little mouth, and her tongue curled out over them, reminding Kaz of the gaping maw of the carved lizard-beast that guarded the stairs leading to the mid-levels. Was it possible that it was meant to represent a dragon? But why would someone carve a dragon so deep inside the mountain, and how would they know what one looked like in the first place?


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    Li gave an inquisitive whistle, drawing Kaz¡¯s wandering thoughts back to her, and he laughed at the image she projected into his mind.


    ¡°No, she can¡¯t make sure everyone knows who you are. Why would you want her to? If other people knew about you, they would just want to come find you, and they might try to take your core, or just¡­ keep you as a pet. A real pet, not a friend.¡± Kaz still wasn¡¯t entirely sure what a ¡®pet¡¯ was, but while Lianhua spoke of her pet dog with affection, there was also a definite sense of ownership or control.


    Li hissed, but seemed to accept this, as did Lianhua, who gave another nod. The little dragon folded her wings and laid her head on Kaz¡¯s leg, clearly uninterested in whatever they were talking about, so long as it didn¡¯t directly involve her.


    Kaz smiled at Lianhua. ¡°She says that¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll probably need your book soon anyway.¡±


    Bright curiosity lit Lianhua¡¯s eyes, but she didn¡¯t allow herself to become distracted. She drew the book and pen from her pouch. ¡°Can you show me the runes?¡± she asked. ¡°All of them. The ones you, um, see me using, as well as any that Li has shown you. Told you about?¡±


    ¡°Shown,¡± he confirmed, carefully accepting the pen and book. The pages felt strangely smooth beneath his fingers, not like the scraped vellum in the chief¡¯s book. He lightly ran a fingertip over it, marveling at the perfectly flat surface, then tried to grip the pen the way Lianhua did. His fingers weren¡¯t shaped exactly like hers, and he had to try a few different positions, but finally he found one that worked, and allowed the ink to flow over the paper.


    With only slightly unsteady strokes of the pen, he sketched out the runes he¡¯d seen Lianhua use: light, silence, sound obscuration, and then the significantly more complex shield spell. When he was done, Lianhua stared, eyes wide.


    Finally, she let out a long, slow breath, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Looking up, she met his eyes. ¡°I believed you could sense power, even that you could see your own ki, and maybe some outside yourself. I even felt you take my rune away from me, and then give it back, so I knew you could manipulate it, at least to some extent. But I honestly didn¡¯t believe that you could see my runes. They¡¯re my image, and seeing them is-¡± She broke off, shaking her head again.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible,¡± she said frankly. ¡°And I have more questions than I can even begin to ask right now.¡±


    Kaz was a little overwhelmed by the way she was looking at him, which was disturbingly similar to the way Gaoda looked at her. She didn¡¯t move to take the book back, though, so he just continued on as if he hadn¡¯t noticed, drawing the light rune the way Li had shown him.


    As soon as he was done, Lianhua shifted so she could see it more clearly, then sucked in a breath. She tapped the branching line he¡¯d created with a last flick of the pen. ¡°This changes the rune from the light of the sun to the light given off by a flame. Would you be willing to cast this?¡±


    Kaz frowned. He¡¯d heard them use this word before, and he thought he knew what it meant, but he¡¯d never been able to ask before. ¡°Cast?¡±


    She smiled, shifting back away from him, for which he was grateful. ¡°When we fill an image with ki, it¡¯s called casting. Raff would say ¡®casting a spell¡¯, but that¡¯s not quite how we think of it. We¡¯re casting off ki, infusing it into the image we¡¯ve created. The clearer that image is, the more likely it is to work. That¡¯s why I use runes. I¡¯ve studied them extensively, so I understand them on a very deep level. Most people wouldn¡¯t be able to tell you why this and this,¡± she tapped the two light runes again, ¡°are actually different.¡±


    Kaz thought back to the times he¡¯d seen the humans ¡®cast¡¯ something. ¡°Is what Raff does a ¡®spell¡¯, then? Because he uses mana directly, instead of refining it into ki?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s mouth opened, then closed, and she muttered, ¡°Focus, Lianhua. Ask later.¡± Shaking her head, she said, ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I thought I did, but your question just threw a number of things I¡¯ve believed my entire life into question, so- Maybe?¡±


    She gestured to the page, and Kaz shrugged. Tracing his finger over the second light rune, he pushed ki into it, and the page lit with orange, flickering light.


    Lianhua reached out, passing her hand through the orb, which didn¡¯t even waver, and also didn¡¯t seem to hurt her, which Kaz had been half afraid it would. In spite of the fact that Gaoda used light orbs and power orbs interchangeably, it seemed that they weren¡¯t the same.


    ¡°It¡¯s warm,¡± she murmured, ¡°and you¡¯d probably better put it out before it sets my book on fire.¡±


    Kaz blinked down at the page, seeing that it was, indeed, starting to turn a faint golden brown around the lines of the rune. Quickly, he pulled his power back, patting the book with his hand as if trying to put out flames.


    The interior of the hut fell into darkness lit by the glow of the ki inside his, Lianhua¡¯s, and Li¡¯s bodies. Lianhua traced a new rune into the air, and he watched as she allowed her own power to fill it. Once again, the rune vanished into a blaze of light, entirely obscuring its lines, but he knew it was still there.


    Lianhua reached out and took the book, staring at the soft brown color that extended over nearly a quarter of the page. The lines of Kaz¡¯s rune were black, and when she gave the book a little shake, a few flakes of ash fell away, leaving a neatly burned shape behind.


    ¡°Why did that happen?¡± Kaz asked, staring at it. ¡°I wanted a white light like yours.¡±


    She closed the book, but didn¡¯t put it away. ¡°What a cultivator can create is shaped by their image. Their understanding of what they¡¯re trying to do. I can¡¯t be certain, but I suspect that your image of light is linked to fire, and that¡¯s probably true of female kobolds, as well, since their lights also tend to flicker. I¡¯ve seen a surprising number of bioluminescent plants since we entered the mountain, but the light they give off is relatively faint. So, when you imagined light, even though you were copying me, your understanding of how light is created came from your own experience. My rune didn¡¯t work for you because you don¡¯t have a deep understanding of the light of the sun. How or why Li was able to provide you with the right rune, and why it did work? I have no idea.¡± She stopped, shaking her head.


    Kaz gently stroked Li¡¯s neck, and the dragon purred softly, turning so Kaz could scratch an itchy spot just behind her wing. He complied, and the rumbling purr intensified.


    Lianhua sat and watched the two of them, expression pensive, until she finally sat back and said, ¡°Kaz, you didn¡¯t just want to talk about ki and runes, did you? Not that I mind, but once I start asking questions, you probably won¡¯t get me to stop for a day or more. But was there something specific you needed to ask?¡±


    Kaz could have smacked himself. Somehow, the sense of urgency that had compelled him to seek Lianhua out had faded. Yes, he needed to tell her about the strange map and the stairs, but he had relaxed enough to become thoroughly distracted.


    ¡°I found another map,¡± he told her. ¡°Like the one I told you about before. It definitely shows a city, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the city in the Deep. There are strange people in it, not just kobolds, and Li ate a stone that was blocking a switch, and when I pressed it, the whole wall moved. Lianhua, there¡¯s a staircase in this den, and I think it goes down into the mosui city.¡±

 Chapter Eighty-seven

    Lianhua froze, and a tiny squeak emerged from between her lips before she clamped them shut. She shifted as if she would stand, then settled back into place. ¡°I¡­ You¡­ Can you¡­ explain?¡±


    He could tell she was desperately trying to remain calm, but her gaze was avid as she stared at him. Among kobolds, such prolonged eye contact could be seen as a challenge, but he knew she didn¡¯t mean it that way, so he raised the book and, barely able to force out the words, asked, ¡°May I draw it for you?¡± Her eyes widened, but she nodded, so he began to sketch.


    Kobolds didn¡¯t read. They didn¡¯t need to. There was nothing that couldn¡¯t be communicated through words or howls, with one glaring exception. When a tribe settled in a new den, warriors and gatherers were sent out to investigate the surrounding territory. Each of them carried a piece of chalk or other soft stone, allowing them to mark which tunnels they had explored, and what they found there, so no one else would waste their time going over the same ground.


    There were common symbols the puppies of each tribe learned: an arch for a cavern, an inverted triangle with three lines protruding from the bottom for a lopo, a pointed oval for a drop of water, or a circle for a pool. Most of the things a kobold would expect to find could be easily communicated with a few strokes of chalk. Sometimes, however, a group of gatherers would stumble over something more complicated, and when they did, someone had to draw an image to represent it.


    This was the one and only thing that Kaz was better at than anyone else in his tribe, but Oda had hated it. As soon as everyone memorized the territory, she had all the chalk markings washed away, claiming it was because she didn¡¯t want to make things easier for any tribe who tried to take their resources or attack their den. There was some validity to this viewpoint, but there was enough space between tribes in the upper levels that most incursions were accidental, and no one attacked without any warning at all, since that would only earn them the contempt of nearby tribes.


    Privately, Kaz suspected that Oda hated the pictures for no other reason than that Ghazt loved them. Kaz remembered his father drawing on the walls simply because it made him happy. He created sketches of Kaz, Katri, Rega, and a dozen other members of the tribe, along with images of serene pools and menacing beasts. He had taught Kaz about creatures and plants that no longer existed in the Deep, but were beautifully captured in strokes of pigment that he promised to teach Kaz to make when he was old enough. He died before he was able to keep that promise, and Oda had made sure Kaz never had an opportunity to draw anything other than what was absolutely necessary until he got old enough to sneak away on his own.


    Now, Kaz¡¯s hand shook as ink flowed smoothly over the clear white surface of the page. He had been longing to write, to draw in this book since the first time he saw it. He was sadly disappointed by what he created, though he was able to recognize the nine levels, and the tall, rectangular buildings. The little figures were barely dots, however, and since he only had the black ink produced by the pen, he couldn¡¯t properly convey the depth of the carvings, much less the red glow of the now-missing stone in the central square of the tunnel-building.


    Lianhua leaned forward, clearly enthralled, and when Kaz¡¯s hand finally stilled, she gasped, ¡°You¡¯re an artist! Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± She turned amethyst eyes on him, and for the first time, they held something that could be interpreted as admiration.


    Kaz¡¯s ears folded back, but Li whistled happily in his lap. She was glad that someone was finally appreciating him properly. She sent an image of Lianhua bowing to Kaz, and his ears lowered even further as he pictured himself taking a deep breath and blowing the ridiculous picture away.


    He shoved the book back at Lianhua, looking away. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he told her. ¡°Kobolds aren¡¯t artists. There¡¯s no time for art when you have to spend every moment finding food so your tribe can eat, or defending your den from beasts.¡±


    The words spilled out, and he almost shuddered to hear his mother¡¯s voice in his own, but how many times had she told him that since Ghazt died? How many times had she taken his chalk or made him scrub away his sketches? How long had it been since he simply stopped trying?


    Lianhua bit her lip, clearly aware that she had stumbled over something that bothered him a great deal. Finally, she cleared her throat and held up the book, still open to his drawing. He looked away. It was so terrible, if she had given him a chance, he would have torn it out and used a rune to burn it.


    ¡°I want to see it,¡± she said. ¡°Your drawing is beautiful, Kaz, and it¡¯s far better than my attempts to sketch some of the animals and plants we¡¯ve seen. I need to see this mural myself, though.¡±


    Relieved that things were returning to the expected path, Kaz lifted Li into his arms. She grumbled, but he had asked her about this on their way to find Lianhua, and she had agreed, albeit with great reluctance.


    With a thought, he urged Li to use her camouflage ability, and felt the power extend around them as she did so. Lianhua gasped, though she didn¡¯t look away, and Kaz had Li drop the power again.


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    ¡°Li will keep you hidden and show you the way. It¡¯s not hard. After you¡¯re over the short wall, you just go left until you reach the cavern wall, then follow it to the right until you get to the carving. If Li pulls your hair, stop, and stay completely still until she does it again.¡±


    The dragon had wanted to bite Lianhua¡¯s ear, as she did Kaz¡¯s. He had only managed to talk her out of it by showing her some grisly pictures of what might happen to them if Gaoda or Chi Yincang found teeth marks on Lianhua¡¯s skin. He hoped Li wouldn''t bite hard enough to draw blood, but still, he knew from experience that the dragon underestimated how much a solid chomp would hurt.


    Lianhua looked from Kaz to Li. ¡°But what will you do? Are you going to stay here until we get back? Can¡¯t she hide us both?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail drooped. This was the part he wasn¡¯t happy about, but he could see how far Li''s power extended, and it barely covered him. When he''d asked her to make it larger, she had tried, but it had only expanded a few inches. In fact, the only way it would even cover Lianhua was if Li kept it at the maximum extension for their entire journey, which would exhaust the little dragon. There was no way to keep both Lianhua and Kaz concealed with any certainty, and Kaz had learned long ago never to depend on luck.


    Lianhua grinned, reaching out toward Li. The dragon unwound from Kaz¡¯s arm, transferring to the human¡¯s arm, then her shoulder. While Li made her reluctance very clear, she didn¡¯t actually seem nearly as unhappy as she had when Lianhua was carrying her through the fulan. It seemed that reminding her of everything Lianhua had done to help them had been beneficial after all.


    They both stood, and with a mischievous glint in her eye, Lianhua drew out several pillows and laid them on the ground, then tucked a length of fabric over them. With a few deft pokes, she made the pillows into something that was about the right shape for a small human, lying on her side.


    ¡°I used to do this all the time at school,¡± she said, seeing Kaz¡¯s surprise. ¡°As the granddaughter of a clan leader, I had my own room, but the dorm-mistress checked on us in the evenings, to make sure we were asleep like good little lords and ladies. She didn¡¯t enter the room, though, so if I could make a convincing enough substitute, I was able to sneak out at night, as long as I stayed within the town inside the sect compound.¡±


    She saw Kaz¡¯s look and misinterpreted it, adding, ¡°I could do this with a rune, now, but at the time I didn¡¯t have enough ki or control. Besides, we¡¯ll probably be leaving tomorrow, and I¡¯ll need all the ki I can cultivate between now and then, especially if we encounter more fulan.¡±


    Reminded, he sighed deeply. ¡°We¡¯ll have to go back through the fulan, at least to reach the proper set of stairs. Zyle must have been desperate to convince us to bring Civ and the others here, because he has to know there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll take you down from here. There are too many tales of whole tribes vanishing when the mosui are angered, and too much mystery about them. I have no idea how to reach the stairs on the next level from here, or how dangerous the mosui would be to you. There are just too many unknowns to risk actually going down those stairs.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s face fell. ¡°But we need to see the city!¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°We need to live. If you want to venture into mosui territory, we should do it from the bottom level of the nine, and make sure we know the fastest path of retreat. That way, if we¡¯re discovered, and they can¡¯t be reasoned with or overwhelmed, we can continue toward the Deep and leave the mosui behind. There are more ruins and artifacts of the ancients in the Deep than anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°That you know of,¡± Lianhua corrected, and he saw the same stubborn look in her eyes that Katri sometimes got right before she did something that would get him in trouble.


    ¡°I promised to help you discover what happened to the Diushi,¡± he reminded her. ¡°And I will, at least if there¡¯s anything inside the mountain that will tell us. But knowingly walking into danger on the chance that there might actually be the remnants of a city beneath us, and that that city might have something to do with your lost civilization, would be foolish.¡±


    She nodded stiffly, eyes downcast, then turned and pushed open the door. Kaz felt the shroud of Li¡¯s power fall around her as she did so, and quickly reached out to catch the door before it could fall closed behind them. The last thing they needed was for someone to hear it and look this way.


    When Kaz stepped outside, Lianhua and the dragon were nowhere in sight, but the cord that bound Kaz and Li hung in midair, ending next to the wall of a nearby hut. Kaz lifted his nose and sniffed, still able to catch Lianhua¡¯s scent, but it was far fainter than it should be. They were well hidden, and he didn¡¯t think anyone else would even be able to find them, so long as they didn¡¯t move.


    Turning his attention toward the small open area where he had last seen Raff, Kaz pitched his voice so it would reach just far enough and said, ¡°Go on in that direction until you reach the low wall. Watch out for guards. They¡¯ll come by every three to five minutes, so as soon as one is out of sight, you¡¯ll have to go over the fence. Quietly. Then left, right, and straight on. Stop as soon as Li tells you to, and wait until whatever she saw is past.¡±


    From the corner of his eye, he saw part of the wall shift, then move, turning into a pale female with a golden dragon clinging to her shoulder. Without a glance back at him, Lianhua slid around the corner of the hut, vanishing into the shadows almost as thoroughly as Chi Yincang.


    Left alone, Kaz settled in front of the door to the vacant hut, trying to look as bored as he could while also completely blocking the way. He thought it had taken less than an hour for him to find the map and return, and Lianhua had a guide and a goal, so surely she would be back very soon.

 Chapter Eighty-eight

    Time stretched. Had it been ten minutes, or twenty? Turning his eyes toward the shimmering cord that linked his ki cycle to Li¡¯s, he watched, trying to determine how far away she was, and if she was moving further from him, or returning. He was relieved to see that while he could tell which direction she had gone, the link really didn¡¯t seem to grow any weaker as she moved away. He could even still feel her emotions, though not as clearly as usual. She was focused on her task, so it could simply be that she wasn¡¯t feeling anything particularly strongly at the moment.


    After a while, even this activity failed to hold his attention, and he found himself leaning back against the hut, dozing lightly. He even jerked upright once or twice when he realized that he was about to fall into a deeper sleep. Thus, it came as a complete surprise to him when Chi Yincang stepped out of the shadows.


    The dark male stood there, studying Kaz for a long moment, then looked at the door behind him before speaking. ¡°I have prepared a meal. I must inform the lady.¡±


    Kaz swallowed hard. If Raff or Gaoda had come, Kaz was fairly confident he could talk them out of going inside. Gaoda¡¯s weakness was his desire for Lianhua¡¯s affection, while Raff would probably be willing to accept a simple, ¡°She¡¯s resting.¡± Chi Yincang, however, had no weaknesses, so far as Kaz could determine, and adhered to his own internal code without deviation.


    Still, he had to try, so he said, ¡°She asked me to keep watch so she could sleep.¡± Chi Yincang obeyed any orders given to him without question, so perhaps he would go away if Kaz also claimed to be following orders.


    ¡°She needs to eat,¡± Chi Yincang said, stepping forward implacably.


    Kaz set his paws, determined to at least try, but the human moved so fast that Kaz had no chance to respond. Before he knew it, Kaz had been picked up and moved to the side, and Chi Yincang was peering into the dark space inside the hut.


    Just as quickly, the other male stepped back, nodding to Kaz as he gently closed the door.


    ¡°I will wait,¡± he said, and settled into position on the other side of the door, hands clasped behind him as he began to scan the surrounding area for threats.


    An awkward silence fell, at least on Kaz¡¯s side. Chi Yincang didn¡¯t seem to have emotions, but Kaz probably felt uncomfortable enough for both of them. If Lianhua came back while the human was standing there, Kaz¡¯s lie would be exposed. Chi Yincang already knew too much about Kaz. What if he decided that Kaz wasn¡¯t trustworthy, and told Gaoda everything? Could the male even speak that much? Did he have a daily limit? He had already used at least fifteen words. If his maximum was twenty, did that mean Kaz would be safe until tomorrow?


    Kaz shook away these fanciful musings, then cleared his throat, glancing sidelong at Chi Yincang. He needed an excuse to leave, so he could at least try to find and stop Lianhua before she got back.


    ¡°Lianhua asked me to check on the kobold female in half an hour, and make sure she¡¯s still resting easily. I should¡­ do that.¡±


    For the barest moment, one corner of Chi Yincang¡¯s mouth seemed to twitch, and then he nodded. Kaz took this as understanding and turned toward the hut where the female kobold was resting. Quickly, he checked in on Li, finding that she was noticeably more tired than she had been before. She had hidden Kaz on the way to and from the carving, and now Lianhua once, and Lianhua was larger as well as unable to share her ki, so the dragon was close to reaching her limit.


    Kaz hesitated outside the hut with the muddy yellow and black core lying inside. He should just glance inside, then make his way back to the wall. But he could feel Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes on him. He was sure the human would expect Kaz to return to his position when he came back outside, not go wandering off, which meant Kaz would need to do something considerably riskier. He needed to go through the hut.


    Opening the door, Kaz resisted the urge to look back at Chi Yincang before he ducked inside. Fortunately, it seemed that Ehlan really was asleep, so he wasn¡¯t instantly driven back out by her howling. He crept across the space as quietly as he could, wrinkling his nose against the smell of unwashed kobold and sickness, barely concealed by the powerful, musky scent of jejing moss.


    It was pitch black in the hut, so even Kaz¡¯s enhanced vision couldn¡¯t see anything except the ki that flowed through Ehlan¡¯s channels like sludge. He should create a light rune, make sure that there was nothing on the floor for him to trip over, then cross to the other side of the hut and cut an opening in the stretched hide just large enough to wriggle out of.


    Instead, he found himself fascinated by the battle between the yellow and black ki within the kobold lying on the ground. Without the distraction of Lianhua or the visual horror of Ehlan¡¯s situation, he could see that the two colors were vying for supremacy in Ehlan¡¯s core. Relatively clean yellow ki still cycled through the female¡¯s channels, up to her head, spun slowly in her upper dantian, then flowed back down, where it met a black dam.


    Slowly, Kaz crept forward, sliding his paws over cold stone, until he was leaning forward, staring at the swirl of color only he could see. He sank into it, seeing yellows and golds mingling with black, darkly contaminated power, until it seemed that Ehlan¡¯s core snapped into focus before his eyes, much as Li¡¯s had once done, when he nearly ate her core after she saved his life, though he felt no such hunger at the sight of this one.


    Ehlan¡¯s core wasn¡¯t cracked, like his had been. Instead, it looked like something dark was trying to absorb it. Now, he could see that the black ki was saturated with rusty red, and it bulged out of the side of what he thought was Ehlan¡¯s original core. Darkness was slowly wrapping around the core¡¯s center, which held only the faintest trace of the gold color that the yellow ki could obtain when it grew strong enough.


    Intuitively, he understood that Ehlan must have eaten a black core contaminated by the fulan. Had she already been infected herself at that point? Surely she had been. If not, why would she eat it? But he remembered the compulsive desire he¡¯d felt when he¡¯d seen Li¡¯s core, and wondered. Was the desire to ingest cores something all kobolds felt?


    He had never been told of such a thing, though warriors were supposed to give any cores they found to their chief. He¡¯d never really wondered what they did with them, but was it possible that they ate them? Was this how the infestation had begun; with females doing what they always did, and unknowingly becoming infected? There were so few creatures with cores in the upper levels, and the ones that did have cores were the largest and most powerful, so they were rarely killed. Did his sister Katri even know that this was what she would need to do in order to grow stronger?


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    He stilled, bile rising in his throat. There was one easy source of cores, though, wasn¡¯t there? Females prepared other females for burning, and no male was allowed to see what those preparations entailed, even the dead female¡¯s mate. By the time a female was brought out, she was already ready for the pyre, including being thoroughly wrapped in jejing, which would cover both the sight and scent of blood on the body.


    Did kobold chiefs eat the cores of their fallen female tribe-members? Was it possible that Rega had planned to do that to Oda, but the appearance of the core-eating monster had prevented it? Was it even possible that the core-eating monster who had slain half of Kaz¡¯s tribe and driven them from their den was a female kobold? A kobold gone rogue, hunting other females in order to grow stronger, and completely indifferent to how many males she had to butcher in order to get what she wanted? Had Katri eaten the cores of Mital and her daughters?


    No. No, that was a dark tunnel to follow, and it led to a whole nest of lopo. Even if he escaped, he would be poisoned by these thoughts, and though he intended to leave the mountain with Lianhua once he helped her find the evidence she needed, he didn¡¯t want to hate or fear his people. He didn¡¯t belong with them, but they weren¡¯t bad, and he knew all too well just how hard it was to survive in a world built of stone and bone.


    Blinking, he focused again on the core hanging in the darkness before him. No matter how or why Ehlan had eaten the black core, the simple fact was that she had. Her body was unable to handle the black ki, which itself threw into question everything he had just been thinking.


    If a female couldn¡¯t process ki that wasn¡¯t of her own type, then wouldn¡¯t she risk making herself sick any time she ate one? Unless female kobolds had some way to determine whether a core was compatible with them or not, and Kaz was almost certain that they didn¡¯t understand enough about their own power to have figured something like that out.


    He shook his head. The important thing was, Kaz might be able to help the female lying before him. If he failed, he would likely break her core, which would kill her, but from what he could see, it would be a kinder death than the one she was currently heading for.


    He started to stretch out his own ki, then hesitated. If he touched contaminated ki, would his become corrupt as well? Simply being in the same hut, breathing the same air, hadn¡¯t been enough, but what if this was the first step? Could he isolate and excise any fulan that made it into his own body? And what if the contaminated ki crossed the connection between him and Li? Would it kill or damage the dragon as well? Was trying to save a strange kobold worth the risk?


    Ehlan¡¯s core pulsed, pushing out another slow trickle of yellow ki, trying to take in the returning ki from the other end of the cycle. That ki was thoroughly drenched with the black, however, rendering it a murky yellowish-gray, and Kaz could almost feel the core¡¯s pain as it tried to resist the very power that was meant to keep it alive.


    Yes, this kobold was a stranger, and a female at that. If she knew she was alone in a hut with a nearly-adult male from another tribe, she would be furious. But Kaz couldn¡¯t just leave her there, suffering. She deserved a peaceful death, if he couldn¡¯t provide a return to health.


    Carefully, he separated the colors of his ki. Li only shared his gold, white, and black, or had until she recently gained a hint of blue. He was only able to send golden ki to the seed, and when the humans stole his ki, they took only their own colors, except for Raff, who took them all and turned them back into the gray fog of mana. Each time, it was like to like, but this time, he brought opposing colors to bear instead.


    When he was certain not a single hint of yellow or black remained in the ki he stretched forward, Kaz encircled the embattled core with a shell of his own. He denied entry to the contaminated returning ki, and he heard Ehlan¡¯s labored breathing hitch. Somehow, he felt certain that blue was the best color to oppose the black, and with a sharp extension of his will, he mercilessly sliced away the lump of black, entirely removing it from the flickering yellow core.


    Ehlan spasmed, her body curling in around itself as her breath rattled in her chest, then stopped completely. Her heartbeat stuttered but continued, for the moment at least, so Kaz went on, encasing the black chunk of core in blue ki, then compressing it, much as the mysterious old male had crushed his own core. Instead of stopping, however, Kaz turned this core to dust. Dust and less than dust, which was swept away with a sputtering cycle of Ehlan¡¯s original core, which was now distinctly flat on one side.


    Blue had always been the smallest part of Kaz¡¯s ki, and he had to use the gold and white portions to hold it together, but he managed to push the filthy ki that was currently in Ehlan¡¯s channels up, toward her lungs, then out. The most difficult part to gather was what was already in her upper dantian, which clung there stubbornly, much like the rune he had once found inside Li¡¯s dantian, though he hadn¡¯t understood what it was at the time.


    This was no rune, however, and when Ehlan¡¯s core gave one final, feeble pulse, Kaz used the clean ki it produced to shove out the last of the corrupted ki that had been produced by the invading core. Reaching out in the darkness, he grasped Ehlan, rolling her to her side as she began to hack and cough, something liquid audibly flooding out of her mouth and nose. Kaz very nearly released her and scrambled back as the horrible smell of the stuff filled the hut, but he had one last thing to do.


    Throwing aside the last of his hesitation, he released his golden ki, pouring it into Ehlan¡¯s pale core. It flushed instantly brighter, seeming to shudder under the power of his own, and he yanked backwards just before her cycle could pull any of his ki into her core. He had a feeling that might be part of why he and Li were linked, and though he had been willing to try to save Ehlan, he most definitely did not want to be connected to her for life.


    Panting and gagging at the stench, Kaz clamped his fingers over his muzzle, trying to pull enough ki out of his nose to dampen the smell. Blinking watering eyes, he focused on Ehlan¡¯s core again.


    There was no trace of the black that had been trying to take over her core. There was also no getting around the fact that her core was no more than three-quarters complete. Her cycle spun within her, but the flow was out of balance, and though she was alive, Kaz doubted she would have the power to retain her position as chief. Would she be able to recognize that fact and step down on her own, or would she attempt to keep control of the tribe, leading to a challenge and a humiliating or perhaps deadly defeat?


    Kaz didn¡¯t know, and, frankly, couldn¡¯t do anything about it. It was strange to think that while he could probably destroy any female¡¯s core if he could get close enough, he would be punished or ostracized for attempting to change her thoughts and opinions.


    Still, he had managed to achieve his goal, and now he knew he could do it. It had probably been like cutting off an arm to stop lopo poison, rather than burning it out, but it had worked. It was up to Ehlan to decide if she appreciated being alive more than she regretted being weak. Right now, he had a human and a dragon to find, and they were¡­ that way.


    Kaz stared at the stream of ki that trailed away into the darkness, leading to Li. He was certain it had been level every time he looked at it before, but now it had a distinctly downward tilt. He reached for Li¡¯s feelings, wondering what had happened, and found a familiar hazy blankness. The dragon was unconscious or asleep and descending, and Kaz had a terrible feeling he knew what had happened.


    Lianhua was going to the mosui city, and she was taking Li with her.

 Chapter Eighty-nine

    Ehlan was still gasping softly, but Kaz was fairly certain that she was stable now. Her core probably wasn¡¯t producing as much ki as it used to, but what ki it made was clean, and it seemed to be settling into a spin that was only slightly off balance. He didn¡¯t think he needed to do anything to attract attention to her, since Hod was checking in on her regularly. In fact, it might be best if she had a little while to recover on her own before anyone else saw her.


    That meant Kaz was free to follow through on his original plan, so he pulled his new knife from his belt. The tip was slightly blunt, making it difficult to stab through the hardened leather, and then the dull edge made cutting a slit equally challenging, but fortunately he wanted the smallest hole he could possibly fit through, so soon enough he was sliding on his belly beneath the edge of a loose flap. It was strange not to have Li sitting on his shoulder, or complaining about being forced to get off while he maneuvered his way out, and he found his eyes locked on the thread of ki that bound them as he climbed to his paws on the other side.


    It was dark, since the torches were set up by the doors of the huts, which faced each other in clusters in order to minimize the number of torches needed. Last time, Kaz had been able to take the well-lit path that led through the centers of these clusters, but now he stayed in the shadows, trying to avoid being seen by anyone.


    The den was even quieter now. He could see that some torches had been allowed to burn out, and while there was some soft chatter, no one was training or walking around. The guards were still pacing along their routes, but it was easy enough to throw himself over the low wall after one passed by, yawning.


    On silent paws, Kaz made his way between huts until he reached the stone wall. There were even fewer core-lights in the huts now, and from the odors drifting to him, he guessed it was time for the evening meal. He identified the scent of roasting fuergar meat, but it smelled like it was on the edge of spoiling, so he guessed Hod really hadn¡¯t lied when he said they were down to the last of their provisions, and had nothing to spare. He was glad Li had seemed satisfied with the rock she ate, and he hadn¡¯t had to steal anything else for her.


    When he reached the carving, Kaz found exactly what he feared. The passage was open, just slightly, but enough so he could see the red light gleaming from the stairwell beyond. Lianhua must have been worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to open it from the other side. She had even propped a rock in between the wall and the door to prevent it from closing accidentally, though he doubted the multi-ton swiveling door would be stopped by anything so small.


    Kaz slid his fingers into the opening and tried to pull it wide, half-expecting to hear the loud scrape of stone against stone, or to be forced to use ki to strengthen his arms enough to move the massive slab, but it moved as readily as last time. He slipped through, then tugged it until it bumped against the rock Lianhua had left, which thankfully didn¡¯t crumble to dust beneath the impact.


    Turning, he began to run down the stairs, jumping two or even three at a time in his haste. He had no idea how far he was behind the human female, but he hoped she was going slowly and using caution. If so, he might even be able to catch up with her before she reached the bottom of the stairs, if they were particularly long.


    Of course, he had no such luck. He soon saw a faint fog of fulan spores rising up to meet him, and had to pause to pull on the mask he had stored in his pack. Hopefully, Lianhua was using her shield, and as long as the spores were the worst thing she faced, and she was only protecting herself and Li, it should last for several hours. Unfortunately, the mask blocked Lianhua¡¯s scent as effectively as it did the fulan, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to track her by smell as long as he was wearing it.


    Kaz counted ninety-nine steps by the time his paws reached the flat stone at the bottom. There were no visible guards, either kobold or the mysterious mosui, so Kaz would have to follow the shimmering trail of ki that led to the dragon, which had flattened, and now led down the passage to his left.


    He wanted to race forward, continuing his mad dash toward his friend, but Kaz¡¯s innate sense of caution told him to think before he went on. Since Li and Lianhua weren¡¯t conveniently waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, he would have to venture forth into mosui territory, and he wasn¡¯t ready for that at all.


    First, he knelt and pulled his father¡¯s knife from his pack, exchanging it for the one Zyle had given him. Once he removed the triangular blue stone from its tip, once again sending a spark of blue ki arcing between the blade and stone, it fit perfectly into the sheath.


    In fact, the two weapons were nearly identical in shape, and the blades were almost exactly the same length and width. If you didn¡¯t look too closely at the blade, and if the hilt wasn¡¯t in such excellent condition, the weapon might even be dismissed as a common knife, nothing special at all. Kaz wondered if that had been the meaning behind Zyle¡¯s cryptic remarks when he gave the battered old weapon to Kaz in the first place. That was a question for another time, though it reduced the pain of the old male¡¯s betrayal by a fair amount.


    The blue stone refused to attach to the battered knife, even though it was the same size as his father¡¯s, so Kaz slipped both items back into the pack, along with the broken knife, the seed, and the firestarter. He didn¡¯t have any firemoss left, having used it all to start the pyre for Scov and Davik, so he drew his light rune in the air and fed power into it. It didn¡¯t take much, now, to keep the light burning, but he kept the amount he gave it to a minimum, creating just enough light to keep him from walking into a wall, since there were no plants at all to light the way with either ki or their own innate luminescence.


    Once he had both light and a weapon, he started forward, following the slender chain that linked him to his dragon.


    =+=+=+=


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    Though Kaz didn¡¯t know how it was possible, there was no ki on this level. The few plants Kaz saw were stunted or infested with fulan, and none of them gave off even the faintest hint of power. A few fuergar flitted at the edge of his vision, but they were as undersized as the plants, and their fur was uniformly white, rather than the many shades of brown or the metallic gleam that Kaz was used to. Their eyes seemed smaller than usual, too, and he was fairly certain they were red, though it was difficult to tell in the brief glimpses he caught.


    Once, the tongue of a lopo flashed through the air above him, and he barely managed to dodge out of the way, but it was puny - barely the size of his head - and had no core either, which explained why he hadn¡¯t noticed it before it attacked. It was still dangerous, of course, and after that he kept his knife out, ready to parry any further attacks.


    There was no sign of the mosui, or any creatures larger than the fuergar. Kaz did catch a few whiffs of a deep, rank scent that made him wrinkle his nose against it, and as he followed Li¡¯s trail, these traces became more and more common.


    He did notice an unusual number of pits in the floor, some of which had scratch marks indicating that someone might have used tools to dig or enlarge them, but how that had been done, Kaz didn¡¯t know. Even iron picks had little effect on the stone of the mid-levels. In the end, all that mattered was that there was always enough room on one side or the other to go around, if he couldn¡¯t jump over, so he continued on.


    Until the trail ended. The ephemeral connection led down a wide passage, vanishing into the solid stone wall at the end. Kaz stood, staring at it, anger and frustration filling him. Why had Lianhua come down here? More importantly, why had she taken Li with her? The dragon still hadn¡¯t woken, and Kaz was becoming concerned that Lianhua had actually done something to her, or that something had happened to one or both of them. The only good thing was that while the mask made it difficult to smell anything but the strongest of scents, he was almost certain he would have noticed the distinctive aroma of blood, so hopefully both females were intact.


    He would have to backtrack and try to find another way around the blockage, but Kaz hated the thought of it. So far, these all looked like natural tunnels that had simply been widened at some point, which meant they didn¡¯t necessarily lead anywhere at all. They could just as easily end up turning back on themselves, causing him to waste still more time going back to find yet another path that might take him in the right direction.


    Why had Lianhua gone down the stairs? Hadn¡¯t he explained that they could try later, when they were closer to the Deep and had an escape route? If she had told him she was going to go whether he liked it or not, he would have been unhappy, but he would have tried to go with them even without Li¡¯s camouflaging skill. It hadn¡¯t turned out to be that difficult to remain undetected as he passed through the den, though he suspected that that was due in part to the fact that the Redmanes were eating at the time.


    No, he never should have told Lianhua about the map. That was his mistake from the very beginning. He knew how desperate she was to find proof that her theory was correct, and an opportunity to investigate without Gaoda watching over her had probably seemed like the greatest of good fortune. But beyond all that, why, why had she taken Li?


    He had gone a good way back down the passage leading to the dead end when he stopped, wrinkling his muzzle against a particularly powerful whiff of the foul scent that seemed to cut right through the protection of his mask. He was certain it hadn¡¯t been that strong when he came through before, and his eyes narrowed as he pushed a bit more ki into his light. The sphere of illumination spread, revealing a turn not far ahead and to the left. He had walked by it last time, since this tunnel led more directly toward Li, but now that he had to try again, it was as good a place to start as any.


    Except for that smell. It was definitely coming from that passage, and Kaz didn¡¯t like it at all. It might be a better idea to go a little further, and take the next path left, which was both wider and had a higher ceiling than this one. As an added benefit, it didn¡¯t stink.


    When he started to walk by, his ears perked up, and he hesitated, staring into the darkness. Was that a sound? Something beyond the usual skittering and scratching. More of a¡­ whimper? A whine? It was high-pitched, like a puppy, and Kaz found himself taking a step toward it. He hadn¡¯t noticed any pups in the Redmane den, but what if they had just been out gathering, and when they returned for dinner, one of them found the open stairs and went down? He certainly would have done so when he was little, in spite of knowing he shouldn¡¯t.


    Kaz shook his head. The odds that a kobold puppy had wandered in the exact same direction he had were vanishingly small, but he had to go somewhere, and Li¡¯s trail led slightly left of straight. He could at least check, and if the tunnel turned the wrong way, or he didn¡¯t find anything within reasonable hearing distance of such a quiet sound, he would come back and take the wider path.


    He had to duck his head to enter, which made it even less likely that Lianhua would have gone this way, since she would have had to bend over even more, but he continued on, trying to watch his link to Li as well as keep an eye out for anything that could have made the whimpering cry. His nostrils flared beneath his mask as another trace of the foul odor filled them, and he hesitated. He didn¡¯t want to find out what produced that stench, and he¡¯d already come quite a ways.


    He turned, ready to abandon this side passage, when another high-pitched squeal reached him. It was clearer now, and it didn¡¯t quite sound like a puppy, but it also didn¡¯t entirely sound unlike a pup. A particularly young or frightened kobold might make that sound, so he turned back and took a few more steps down the passage.


    And the ground fell out from under him. His paw ripped through something that felt like zhiwu webs, and he dropped through a cloud of gray dust that had been scattered over the filaments to conceal them. His limbs flailed, one hand catching at the lip of the pit on the way down, but it slipped away. He tumbled through space, for once landing on his stomach, rather than his tail, but as he desperately gasped for breath, he decided that all in all, he preferred impacts to his rear over having the breath knocked out of him.


    The dust settled around him, and he was glad that his mask seemed to be filtering it out as well as it did the fulan spores. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but something about its color and consistency set off alarm bells in the back of his mind.


    Eventually, he realized he¡¯d lost control of his light and it had gone out at some point during his fall, but he was still able to see. His chest finally loosened up enough that he could catch his breath, and he managed to roll over, his freed arm flopping limply to the side.


    Two dark blotches were visible above him, which slowly resolved into kobold heads backlit by a dim red glow. One of them turned to the other and muttered, ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s unconscious.¡±


    The second one shook his head, and something metal clinked. ¡°I think he has something over his nose. Doesn¡¯t matter. Pup is already doomed. This way, he¡¯s just going to see it coming.¡±

 Chapter Ninety

    A squeaky, high-pitched voice spoke impatiently from somewhere above, saying, ¡°Get it. Collar it. Go!¡±


    With a deep sigh, the male who had spoken first tossed a rope down into the pit. It was made of some material Kaz had never seen before, far smoother than the braided leather kobolds usually used. The second kobold swung a leg over the side and slid down, dropping to his paws to crouch beside Kaz.


    Kaz laid there, watching everything. He only had two realistic options: fight, or go along with whatever was happening. Now that he¡¯d learned to control his ki, he might well win against the two males, but he had no idea what else was up there. Either his vision was still blurry from the fall, or there was a blob of gray power at the top of the pit that looked like nothing he had ever seen before.


    On the other hand, he was beginning to suspect he knew what had happened to Li and Lianhua. If he was correct, allowing these two to do whatever they were going to do - short of killing him, of course - would probably bring him to his missing companions more quickly than anything else.


    Gray dust rose around the newcomer¡¯s paws, coating his equally gray fur up to the knees. He grimaced, shaking a leg, and muttered, ¡°I hate this part.¡±


    Reaching down, the stranger closed a firm but not cruel grip around Kaz¡¯s arm, pulling him up into a sitting position. The male¡¯s face finally resolved out of the darkness, showing a long, narrow muzzle and a very faded ring of red dye around his neck. Half-hidden within the long, red-dyed fur, a metallic circle glinted.


    ¡°Your eyes are open, pup. Come on, onto your paws. I¡¯m not hauling you out of here unless I have to.¡±


    Kaz blinked, deciding to play up the fact that he was just a puppy, and allowed a soft whine to escape him. He trembled in the other male¡¯s grasp, and the gray-furred kobold sighed, lowering his voice as he leaned in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± he murmured bitterly, for Kaz¡¯s ears only. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them take pups far younger than you, and they treat them no differently than adults. Climb up and accept the collar, and he¡¯ll only show you how it works once.¡± He shuddered. ¡°Believe me, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    Kaz dipped his chin in a nod, straightening until the other male let him go, then clapped him on the shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m Surta of the Redmane tribe,¡± he said, watching Kaz as he moved over to grab hold of the rope. His brown eyes lingered on the knife at Kaz¡¯s waist, but he made no attempt to take it. ¡°Up there¡¯s Dax of the Bronzearms. Lots of Bronzearms here.¡±


    His lip rose at the name of the other tribe, showing teeth, but there was no real animosity in it, only a subdued resentment. He grasped the rope, holding it still, and nodded toward Kaz. ¡°Climb up. Don¡¯t try to run, or the mosui will stop you, and you don¡¯t want that.¡±


    Kaz nodded again, then clambered up the rope. He could have done it using only his arms, but he made a show of how difficult it was, bracing his paws against the stone wall and grunting each time he switched hands. When he got close to the top, he paused, expecting the kobold named Dax to offer him a hand, but the male just stared at Kaz with dead eyes, holding onto the rope that was anchored around his waist. He was almost as thin as the Redmane females, and his brown fur was dusty and unkempt.


    With a great groan, Kaz flung a hand over the lip of the hole, clasping the rope as it rose toward Dax, then pulled himself out, flipping over so he was lying on his back, breathing hard and staring up at the red-lit ceiling.


    The high-pitched voice squeaked again, this time making sounds that seemed to be speech, but in no language Kaz understood. Now that it was so close, he realized that what he had thought could be a kobold pup had been this creature, making sounds to lure him into a trap.


    The rope quivered against his leg as Surta climbed up out of the hole. He jumped out easily and nudged Kaz with a paw, saying, ¡°Get up, pup. Time for your first lesson. If you learn it well, it might be the only one you need.¡±


    Still acting as if he was battered, bruised, and weak, Kaz rolled over and climbed to his paws again. A small, dark figure stepped close as he did, snapping something around his neck. It was tight, and for a moment he was afraid it was going to choke him, but then red-hot fire flowed out of it, and he forgot everything else.


    With a howl of pain, Kaz fell to his knees, lifting his hands to claw at the thing Surta had called a ¡®collar¡¯. The agony stopped as quickly as it had come, however, and Surta was there to help him to his paws yet again.


    ¡°Stand up, but not too straight,¡± the other male murmured. ¡°They hate that we¡¯re taller than them. Do what you¡¯re told, and that won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    Kaz blinked moisture from his eyes and nodded. This time his trembling was real as he half-bowed toward the squat, shadowy figure. It chittered, lifting a huge, flat hand with wide claws as long as Kaz¡¯s forearm. It had broad, stubby arms covered in dark fur so short and dense it looked like it simply had very dark skin. Its nose was longer than a human¡¯s but shorter than a kobold¡¯s, and flat on the end. Several finger-length tentacles waved gently around its damp, pink nostrils, and tiny eyes stared at him from within heavy folds of skin. Just beneath that skin lay a roiling mass of gray mana, far denser than anything Raff had ever taken in.


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    ¡°Good,¡± it squeaked, though it seemed to have difficulty forming the sound of the ¡®d¡¯, so it sounded more like a particularly strident ¡®goo¡¯. ¡°Back now.¡± Seemingly satisfied, it turned its back on the three kobolds and waddled away, its short legs and broad, flat lower paws making it sway comically from side to side. Kaz would have laughed, but there was nothing funny about a creature who could and would inflict such pain on others without showing a shred of remorse.


    At some point, Dax had silently wrapped up the rope, and now had it slung across his chest, from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Both of the males had knives hanging from their belt, and their packs looked full, so it didn¡¯t seem that the mosui felt the need to take their captive¡¯s weapons and items. Probably because they could instantly incapacitate anyone wearing a collar. It showed an arrogance that made Kaz even warier than he had been before.


    Dax fell into step behind the mosui, and Surta prodded Kaz into following after the brown-furred male. Not bothering to lower his voice this time, Surta said, ¡°You belong to the mosui now, pup, just like us. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been since Dax was taken. He doesn¡¯t talk much. Only a few months for me, though, just since the Bronzearms chased us out of our old den, and we found the stairs you came down. I was one of the first taken, so I¡¯ve been trying to help the others as they came in.¡±


    Kaz glanced at the mosui¡¯s  back, then whispered, ¡°Have you tried to¡­¡±


    Surta laughed, and the sound of it was deeply sardonic. He still didn¡¯t lower his volume as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother, pup. With whispering or trying to escape. They can¡¯t see worth a puppy¡¯s first bark, but they smell and hear everything. Any of them can activate that collar from anywhere, too, and even if you managed to get it off, there¡¯s nowhere to go. Once you¡¯re in the mines, unless they pull you to bring in new workers, like us, you¡¯ll never leave again.¡±


    Kaz laid his hand on the hilt of his knife, tilting his head meaningfully toward the mosui¡¯s broad, defenseless back, and Surta¡¯s hand whipped out faster than Kaz would have guessed the middle-aged male could move. He slapped Kaz¡¯s hand away, and shook his head, lips curling in something that looked more like fear than anger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even try,¡± he barked. ¡°Unless you manage to do it in one stroke, which you won¡¯t, he¡¯ll make you wish your head had been burned off your neck. I¡¯ve seen it attempted, and the knife barely broke the mosui¡¯s skin.¡±


    A shrill chittering emerged from the mosui, but it didn¡¯t turn its head on its short neck. Kaz wondered if it could.


    ¡°No kill,¡± it shrieked. ¡°Strong, strong. You try, I burn.¡± It chittered again, and Kaz realized this was its version of a laugh.


    Kaz shuddered, dropping his hand back to his side. ¡°They don¡¯t take our weapons, then?¡±


    This time, Surta laughed. ¡°Why bother? You¡¯ll need it to defend yourself from the beasts in the mines, and some of the other kobolds as well, if they think you¡¯re weak.¡±


    He looked meaningfully at Dax¡¯s back, where the ribs showed clearly beneath the other male¡¯s fur. ¡°You get food based on how many crystals you bring in. More crystals means more food, but there are a few of us who don¡¯t care to work that hard. They just take the crystals other miners bring in, and let them starve.¡±


    ¡°The mosui allow that?¡± Kaz asked, shocked.


    The gray male shrugged. ¡°What do they care? They get crystals, and end up with fewer mouths to feed. Speaking of which,¡± he eyed Kaz¡¯s pack hungrily, ¡°you have any food in there? Anything but bugs and fungus.¡±


    Kaz resisted the urge to clutch at his pack protectively. Instead, he hunched his shoulders, turning slightly as if to offer the pack to the other male.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± he said. ¡°The fulan has infested everything. We don¡¯t dare eat any of the beasts that are left, and the plants are all gone. We¡¯ll run out of stored food soon, and then we¡¯ll have to try to make it to the upper levels.¡±


    The mosui gave its squeaky laugh again, and Surta sighed, looking away from Kaz¡¯s pack dismissively.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± he said. ¡°Ehlan had already ordered us to stop gathering from that level when I was taken. That¡¯s why I was here. I was the warrior in charge of a group of gatherers, sent to try to find clean food. The mosui let four full groups come down, then took us all. Got almost every older pup in the tribe, and several of the young warriors, too.¡±


    He scratched his ear, then added, ¡°That said, you¡¯ll want to keep your pack with you. Some of the others, they¡¯ll take your things and either keep them, or refuse to give them back unless you can bring them enough crystals to trade for whatever¡¯s inside. Most of us respect each other¡¯s privacy, at least as much as we can, but the ones who¡¯ve been here a long time seem to have forgotten what it¡¯s like to be part of a proper tribe.¡±


    Kaz hesitated before asking, ¡°You said the mosui treat adults and puppies the same. Are the pups¡­ all right?¡±


    With a sigh, Surta nodded. ¡°Most of them. The mosui don¡¯t care how old you are, but we do. The stronger males share some of their crystals with the little ones, and we let them have the easiest areas to mine. It¡¯s hard on them, but they¡¯re surviving. I¡¯d hoped that Ehlan learned her lesson, and we wouldn¡¯t see any more puppies, but here you are. At least you¡¯re practically grown.¡±


    Kaz glanced between the two male kobolds, trying to feign nonchalance. ¡°And the females? Are they all back in this mine?¡±


    Surta¡¯s step hitched, and his voice was rough when he answered after a long pause. ¡°We don¡¯t talk about the females.¡±


    And that was it. He didn¡¯t speak another word until they reached the city.

 Chapter Ninety-one

    Kaz had been both right and wrong about what the map represented. There really was a city, but it wasn¡¯t ruined. The buildings were sturdy and well-maintained, looking much like the ones in the Deep, except that they were taller. Kobolds preferred low buildings, including ones that they themselves had to duck to enter. It seemed that the mosui, or whoever had created these, liked buildings that went from floor to ceiling, especially if that ceiling was thirty feet above their heads. There were even round holes cut in the walls all the way up, presumably to allow fresh air and light into the upper portion.


    Because it was light. There were red, glowing crystals everywhere, and Kaz thought that all the ki that had been missing from the rest of the level had somehow found its way here. Tiny, crushed crystals coated the walls in a smooth, lacquered finish, while larger ones had been set into recesses along every street and most especially the ceiling. Complex patterns of small crystals flowing into large ones decorated the ceiling in the same style as the carvings that could be found on and near the ancient stairways.


    Every crystal was filled with ki, burning so brightly that Kaz nearly went blind until he thought to pull as much of his own ki from his eyes as possible. It was strange to return to something so close to the vision he¡¯d been born with, but once the crystals were little more than gently luminescent stones, he could at least walk down the street without running into a cart or tripping over his own paws.


    And there were streets. Real streets, not just paths winding between huts. They ran straight and true, in a clearly intentional pattern that met at square intersections, where leather and bone carts - pulled by horned, hump-shouldered niu that Kaz only recognized from distant memories of the Deep -  waited for each other in a system that clearly made sense to the drivers, but none at all to Kaz.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Kaz murmured, not really expecting an answer. To his surprise, Surta glanced at him and sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t been to the Deep,¡± the older male said, ¡°so I¡¯ll explain it. Look. Those beasts are niu. Avoid their horns and make sure they¡¯re fed on time, and you¡¯ll be fine. They eat yumi reeds, and if you¡¯re really lucky, you¡¯ll be sent to harvest those instead of to the mines. I haven¡¯t been to the yumi pools myself, but I¡¯ve met a few warriors who started out there and then were transferred to the mines later, and they say it¡¯s not bad work.¡±


    He looked Kaz up and down, then shook his head. ¡°The big ones usually go to the mines, though, so I wouldn¡¯t get your hopes up. Anyway, those buildings are actually several rooms stacked on top of each other. There are stairs inside that go between the levels, just like in the mountain, except that the stairs are a lot shorter, because the mosui are-¡±


    Surta walked his fingers over the back of his arm, rocking his hand from side to side while keeping the top part of his fingers together, mocking the waddling gait created by the mosui¡¯s short legs. Kaz shot a worried glance at their mosui¡¯s back, but the creature was walking along as if he hadn¡¯t noticed anything. Kaz remembered that Surta had said their eyesight was bad. Was that why he¡¯d used a hand gesture to finish his sentence?


    With a distinctly malicious look at the mosui, Surta waggled his hands in the air meaningfully. ¡°They use their captives for everything. Mining, building, gathering, taking care of the niu, all of it.¡± He pretended to try to pick something up, acting as if his fingers were five times their usual size, and made a comically surprised face when he ¡®fumbled¡¯ whatever it was. It made sense that the mosui¡¯s wide, flat hands and oversized claws would make delicate tasks difficult for them.


    Kaz looked around again, seeing the city with fresh eyes. Surta was right. Most of the figures surrounding them were the short, round mosui, but mixed among them were a few kobolds, as well as-


    ¡°Are those husede?¡± he demanded.


    Surta gave a sly grin. ¡°They are. We don¡¯t get them in the mines very often. The mosui prefer them as personal servants and drivers. More ¡®civilized¡¯ or something.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. Husede, which Raff had once called Gray Dwarves, looked like someone had taken a human and crushed them down to half their original height before dying them an iron-gray color. The only one Kaz had ever met was his old friend Ogden, who ran the platform that traveled between several of the upper levels. Ogden didn¡¯t like to talk about his past, but Kaz had guessed from the few hints he dropped that part of the reason he¡¯d come to the mountain was because there were no other husede here.


    ¡°Where did they come from?¡± he asked.


    Surta shrugged. ¡°Born here, I think. Mostly. Sometimes one comes looking for crystals, following old stories, and gets captured. There was one of those in the mines for a while, but a hoyi got him. He didn¡¯t speak much of our language, but he said most of the others have been here for generations.¡±


    That was fascinating, mainly because that meant that the male and female husede weren¡¯t separated like the male and female kobolds, but it was another word that caught Kaz¡¯s attention and made the fur along his spine lift.


    ¡°Hoyi?¡±


    The gray male grinned even wider, showing all his teeth. ¡°Sure. I said the mine was dangerous, right? It¡¯s inside a hoyi nest. The bugs are everywhere.¡±


    The mosui they were following stopped in front of a building, and Kaz nearly ran into Surta when he and Dax followed suit. Turning, the mosui pointed at Kaz with a long claw. ¡°Come,¡± it screeched, then indicated the other two males. ¡°You. You. Stay.¡±


    Surta shrugged, while Dax just stared into space, expression vacant. The mosui went through the open archway leading into the building, and after a moment of hesitation, Kaz followed.


    The space inside was just as bright as outside; the walls, floor, and ceiling painted in the red glow of still more crystals. A collared husede almost as short as the mosui stood there, looking bored, in front of a wall covered in what looked like horizontal metal rods with burnished bone beads bunched up at each end.


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    Most of the beads were on the left, but there were at least a few on the right end of each rod, except for the topmost one, which had far more beads on the right than the left. A single rune was drawn on the wall above each rod, but the only one that Kaz thought looked vaguely familiar was similar to the one Katri had said meant ¡®water¡¯.


    The mosui who had captured Kaz squealed and chattered at the husede in its high-pitched voice, and the husede listened as if he could understand. When he answered, his voice was also higher than Kaz had expected, given the rumbling depth of Ogden¡¯s voice, and Kaz blinked, reassessing the squat person.


    This husede¡¯s long black hair was done in twisted braids, piled on its head in a fashion that was oddly similar to the way Lianhua wore hers. It even had carved bone rods holding the mass together, the way Lianhua did sometimes. It had no facial hair, but then neither did Ogden. It did, however, have soft bumps on its chest, like Lianhua, and Kaz had a sudden suspicion that it might be a female. He allowed a little ki back into his eyes, first checking to see if Li had woken from her slumber yet - she hadn¡¯t - and then looked at the husede and the mosui.


    The red crystals tried to overwhelm him with their brightness again, but Kaz quickly found that if he pulled only the red ki back out of his eyes, it reduced the brilliance significantly. He could still see it, but he didn¡¯t feel like the glare might blind him.


    The other two beings in the room were too busy exchanging squeaky chatter to pay any attention to Kaz, so he was able to look at them for as long as he wanted. They were both filled with the gray, undifferentiated fog that he was almost certain was mana, but the cloud inside the mosui was much thicker. The husede had a swirling dantian in her chest, just like Raff, but no core, and no upper or lower dantian to balance the one in the middle. Kaz wondered if he would see a dantian inside the mosui as well, if the thick mana blocking his vision would move out of the way.


    Speaking of blocking his vision¡­ The red crystals that coated the walls did exactly that. The thread that linked him to Li vanished through the wall covered in rods and beads, and he couldn¡¯t see anything beyond. If all the mosui were like his captor, he should be able to see their smoky mana moving around outside, but the red ki was so pervasive that he couldn¡¯t see anything past it. He could sense that Li was still alive and unconscious, but other than the five or six feet of gleaming filament that hung in the air before the wall cut it off, that was all the information he had. She, and presumably Lianhua, were ¡®that way¡¯, but they could be in the next building, and he wouldn¡¯t know.


    The husede clapped her hands sharply, and Kaz blinked, looking at her. She and the mosui were both staring at him, and the mosui was twitching impatiently. The gray-skinned female lifted a hand to the mosui, which clicked its long front teeth together, but settled down.


    ¡°You¡¯re a puppy, and a male, correct?¡± the husede asked, and Kaz was even more certain she was a female. Her voice sounded far more like Lianhua¡¯s than that of any of the males.


    Kaz nodded, lifting his hand to finger the fur at his throat for the first time in a long time. He used to be very conscious of the emptiness there, but ever since Li started sitting on his shoulder, her tail snugged around his throat, he hadn¡¯t really thought about the absence of a warrior¡¯s necklace. Now, the only thing there was the cold metal of the collar.


    The husede clicked her tongue, turning to look at the rods arrayed on the wall behind her. She hummed thoughtfully, the sound oddly pleasant. ¡°We always need people in the mine,¡± she murmured, staring at the bottommost rod. Kaz wondered if the rune above it meant ¡®mine¡¯, and tried to set the image in his mind to ask Lianhua about later. If he was still speaking to her later. If she was even alive.


    The female reached out and tapped the first bead on the left side of the rod beneath the word ¡®water¡¯, muttering, ¡°Pups are good gatherers. He¡¯d do well at the pools.¡±


    The mosui squealed something that sounded unhappy, and the husede flinched, her finger jerking away from the bead. She glanced back at the mosui and tried to smile.


    ¡°Yes, of course I noticed he¡¯s large. He¡¯s also young. If he went to the pools, he might have time to grow even larger, and-¡±


    More screeching, and the husede looked like she would have tucked her tail if she¡¯d had one. It was strange to see someone who looked at all like Ogden with such an expression on their face. Ogden was proud, and proud of his independence. No one else could make the platform work, and Ogden had once told Kaz that he¡¯d been there before the Graybelly tribe took over those levels, and he expected to be there when they were gone. Kaz doubted there was anything anyone could do to break his spirit the way this female seemed to have been broken.


    He was surprised when she sent him a look of apology as she slid a bead from left to right on the ¡®mine¡¯ rod. It was strange to realize she had probably been trying to help him by giving him an easier job. He gave her a small nod of understanding, and she looked startled, then pleased.


    Turning back to the mosui, she bowed slightly and said, ¡°Did you bring some other kobolds? They can escort him. He won¡¯t dare try anything while he¡¯s in the city.¡± She reached up and fingered the shiny metal ringing her own throat, and the mosui shrieked something, then turned and waddled out.


    The husede heaved a relieved breath before turning to look at Kaz. ¡°You¡¯ll have to go to the mines with the kobolds who brought you in. That¡¯s where they send most of the grays, but I¡¯d hoped I might be able to get you a short stint at the pools. It¡¯s easier and safer, though your fur might never dry out again.¡±


    Kaz had a dozen questions, about what the other rods were for, where he might have been sent if his fur was still blue, and why the color of his fur even made a difference, but this female seemed friendly enough and there was really only one question that mattered.


    ¡°Where do females go?¡± he blurted. ¡°I was¡­ There was a female, earlier. I was following her, and-¡±


    Sighing, the husede turned to point at the topmost rod, where only three beads hung on the left side, while dozens more waited silently to the right. ¡°No female kobolds have come in lately, which is good for your friend. Maybe she¡¯ll be smart enough to go back up the stairs before they find her. Females all go to the same place, and they don¡¯t last long.¡±


    He wanted to ask about female humans so badly that a small whine escaped his throat, and the husede misunderstood. She reached out and patted Kaz, who managed not to jerk away from the uninvited touch.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give up hope. There¡¯s only one mosui watching the stairs you used, and he¡¯s been busy all day. A human came down earlier, can you imagine? A female, too¡­¡± Her words trailed off, eyes narrowing as she stared at him. His ears flattened, but his traitorous tail gave a few wags, revealing his pleasure at finally finding a clue.


    Dark eyes bored into him, but finally the husede female leaned forward and said, so softly that even he could barely understand her words, ¡°She was taken to the tower. They all go to the tower. The kobolds don¡¯t survive long, but I don¡¯t know-¡±


    A head poked in through the archway behind them, and Surta¡¯s gratingly cheerful voice said, ¡°Hey, new pup, let¡¯s go. You¡¯re for the mines, and if we don¡¯t go soon, we¡¯ll miss dinner.  Not that grub and mushroom stew is much of a meal, but it¡¯s better than nothing, which is what we¡¯ll get if we don¡¯t leave now.¡±


    Jerking away from him, the husede gave Kaz a short nod before turning away, staring at the beads that represented the lives of hundreds of kobolds, trapped in this horrifying city.

 Chapter Ninety-two

    Now that Kaz had figured out the trick of not being blinded by the crystal ki, he was able to look properly at the mosui and husede that populated the city. All of them held differing amounts of mana in their bodies, and eventually, he was even able to make out a slowly spinning central dantian inside the chest of a particularly weak mosui.


    More than once, he saw a strange contraption that looked like a chair balanced on top of two long, slender bones. These chairs were carried on the shoulders of two or more husede, in spite of the fact that riding in a niu-drawn cart would probably have been both more comfortable and more efficient. The mosui riding in these chairs were draped in red crystals so saturated with ki that they were more akin to ruby than carnelian.


    Cloth was everywhere, and Kaz recognized it as the textured fabric woven from the long, coarse fur of the niu. He hadn¡¯t seen much of it since he¡¯d lived in the Deep, and he thought that even there it was less common than this. The husede all wore robes the natural brown or gray of the fur, but some of the mosui were wrapped in cloth almost as colorful as that worn by Gaoda and Lianhua. Their arms and legs were so short that they nearly vanished into the folds of fabric, revealing only the long claws poking from their sleeves and their short, tentacled noses sticking out of the neck of the robes.


    All of the kobolds and husede bore collars, though some of the ones worn by husede were carved and decorated with gemstones. Not a single mosui was similarly bound, and no matter how confident or independent a kobold or husede seemed, Kaz could see them cringe away when a mosui came near. They particularly avoided the mosui in the chairs, practically pressing themselves against the walls in order to stay out of their way.


    Surta kept up a near-constant stream of chatter as he led them through the busy streets. It was both informative and familiar, since Raff had a tendency to do something very similar. The gray-furred kobold was very cautious whenever he directly mentioned the mosui, however. If he said something in any way negative, he used hand gestures to get the point across, rather than words.


    When they turned a corner and nearly ran into two husede bearing a mosui in a chair, Surta stuck out an arm, halting Kaz in his tracks, then bowed his head. Kaz quickly did the same, and noticed out of the corner of his eye that even the stony Dax tilted his chin downwards, though not as much as Surta or Kaz.


    The mosui was speaking to another of its race in their high-pitched, chittering language. The two seemed to be in disagreement over which of them should go down the street ahead of the other one. Their voices rose higher and higher, until they became a barely-audible screech, and Kaz had to pull ki from his ears in order to avoid having his hearing damaged.


    At last, the mosui sitting in the more distant chair lifted its flat hand. It held an object that shimmered red and gold, and the gray mist of mana gathered in the air. Both of the husede bearing the other mosui¡¯s chair gave terrible, deep cries of agony and collapsed to their knees. One of them, unable to take the pain, dropped the bones that had been resting on his shoulders, and his mosui had to grab at its chair as it nearly tumbled from its seat.


    Surta pressed Kaz back, almost dancing out of the way as the husede trembled and cried out, and the second mosui came up holding a particularly large and clear red crystal. Mana swirled around the crystal and the creature¡¯s hand, and Kaz, realizing what was about to happen, allowed a hint of red ki back into his eyes so he could see more clearly.


    All of the crystals around him flared into blinding brilliance, and so did the collars of the other husede. They, too, fell to their knees, though neither of them dropped their burden even as their jaws clenched and their heads bowed against the torment.


    After a moment, both mosui dropped their hands, and the husede slumped as their collars returned to lifeless gray metal. Kaz released the red ki in his eyes, allowing the glare of ki around him to return to a comfortable level, but his mind was spinning.


    The fallen chair was picked up, and both mosui soon continued on their way. The mosui who had managed to make the other husede drop the chair went first, with the other one trailing silently behind. All four husede were noticeably paler than they had been, their lead-gray skin drained to a silver tone.


    Once Surta decided it was safe to proceed, they went on, and when he thought they were far enough away, Kaz asked, ¡°What happened back there?¡±


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    Surta glanced around, then shrugged. ¡°All of the,¡± he made the gesture for ¡®mosui¡¯, ¡°can activate the collars, but some are better at it than others. They never attack each other, so when there¡¯s a conflict, they do something like that to determine which one¡¯s stronger. Whoever can make the other one¡¯s servants break, wins. You have to watch out for it, because sometimes they¡¯ll accidentally get anyone else nearby, too.¡±


    He paused, muzzle wrinkling in distaste. ¡°I¡¯d rather work in the mines every day than be up here with them. I might live longer, but what kind of life would it be?¡±


    After that, he shifted back to more neutral topics, explaining that the chairs were called ¡®palanquins¡¯, and that the bearers were specially selected for their strength and resilience. He also pointed out that the rare kobolds they saw - other than themselves - all had fur of colors other than brown or gray. Red fur seemed to be especially prized, and Kaz even saw one male with crimson fur woven with gleaming red crystals following after a palanquin bearing a particularly richly robed mosui.


    Once this fact was drawn to his attention, Kaz found himself fingering his own bleached gray fur, deeply grateful that he was no longer blue. Having watched what happened when a collar was activated, he thought he might be able to remove the collar, or at least keep the mosui from activating it,  but if he was trapped in the city, constantly being watched, he doubted he would get far if he tried to escape. Plus, he still had no idea where Li was, and he wouldn¡¯t leave without the dragon.


    The streets grew more and more crowded until they reached one packed with so many beings that they could barely move. Kaz had never been so surrounded by other people before, even when he was a pup, because Oda had rarely allowed him out of their den. Most of what he remembered about the city in the Deep had been seen from a distance.


    They were constantly jostled as still more people pressed in behind them, and slowly they shifted forward, one step at a time. Surta reached out and pulled Kaz back a few times, as the crowd threatened to separate them, and Kaz wasn¡¯t sure whether to be grateful or not.


    Eventually, Kaz became so overwhelmed by the sounds and smells and touches of a hundred strangers that he retreated into himself, allowing Surta to continue guiding him forward as needed. Instead of thinking about his body, Kaz focused on the link between himself and Li, discovering, to his joy, that the dragon was finally waking up.


    Instantly, he bombarded her with images, asking where she was and what had happened. The pictures and emotions he got in return were unusually weak, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that was because of distance, or if Li was still recovering from whatever had happened to her. He was grateful, at least, that no pain trickled through the connection, so it seemed that the dragon was uninjured.


    Closing his eyes, Kaz concentrated on the fuzzy pictures he was receiving. Not too surprisingly, Li¡¯s primary understanding of where she was now was that it was red. That and the fact that the thread between them was still level indicated that she was probably in the city somewhere, but he could only get images, not sound, and ¡®red¡¯ didn¡¯t help narrow it down for him at all.


    Giving up on that, Kaz instead sent picture after picture of Lianhua, then the swiveling stone map and the stairs that led down to this level. He tried to get across the idea that he wanted to know what had happened, and where Lianhua was, but it took the dragon quite a while to respond.


    Lianhua wasn¡¯t with Li any more. Wherever Li was, it was tight and red, and she couldn¡¯t see anyone or anything else. It was hard to understand the emotions behind the images, but she showed herself being carried down the stairs, still clinging to Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, and the two of them almost immediately tumbling down into a pit much like the one Kaz had fallen into. Dust rose around her, she breathed it in, and everything went dark at that point. When she woke just a moment before Kaz reached out to her, she was alone.


    Then her thread began to drop. The angle at which it connected them sank so precipitously that at first Kaz was terrified she might have been dropped down one of the long passages that passed through five or six levels at once. Trapped and unable to fly, there was no way she would survive, but he felt no fear coming from her. In fact, she didn¡¯t seem to notice that she was descending at all, and when the link stabilized again and she was still safe, Kaz felt a deep shudder of relief pass through him.


    He felt a hard elbow in his ribs, and when he opened his eyes, Surta was staring at him, frowning. ¡°You all right, pup?¡± the older male demanded. ¡°We¡¯re here, and you¡¯re almost as quiet as Dax back there.¡±


    Kaz nodded and tried to smile. They were still surrounded by a crowd, though it did seem to have thinned a bit. It looked like they were still in the city, however, so Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what Surta meant by saying they were ¡®here¡¯. Kobolds didn¡¯t mine much in the upper levels, since the ore available there wasn¡¯t particularly useful, but he remembered what mines looked like, and this certainly wasn¡¯t it.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he managed, waving to indicate the press of people around them. ¡°Just not used to this.¡±


    Surta yipped a sharp little laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll have plenty of time to recover soon enough. Once we reach the mine, you¡¯ll probably never see anyone other than your shift again.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°Shift?¡±


    The other nodded. ¡°They don¡¯t bother giving us day and night cycles. There are bells that tell you when to eat, when to sleep, when to go to work. Each of us is part of a shift. When you¡¯re doing one thing, the other shift is doing something different, so you¡¯ll barely even see them, much less anyone else. If you¡¯re lucky, they may choose you to go pull in a new captive, but otherwise you¡¯ll be in the mine for the rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°You seem like you¡¯ve done this a lot, though,¡± Kaz said, and Surta grinned, tongue lolling briefly over sharp white teeth.


    ¡°Like I said. Lucky. Come on, it¡¯s our turn.¡±


    Kaz turned, seeing that Dax was stepping almost eagerly onto a large square absolutely covered in the brightest red crystals Kaz had seen yet. The air nearly hummed with power, and Kaz thought the skin of his paws would be burned by their heat, but they were the same temperature as the stone floor he stepped off of.


    All around them, other beings were standing on similar squares. Some held primarily mosui, while others carried husede and a few bright-furred male kobolds. As Kaz watched, one of the husede reached out to touch the top of a pedestal in the center of his crystal-encrusted square. A faint trail of mana formed around his finger, and then the whole group shimmered and vanished. No one cried out or seemed surprised, and when another square appeared in the empty spot a moment later, another group immediately piled onto the platform as the two husede who had been on it pushed outward through the crowd.


    Kaz spun, staring at the single husede standing beside the pedestal in the middle of their own square. She and Surta finished speaking, and she stretched out a finger with a tiny cloud of mana already gathering around the tip. Kaz didn¡¯t even have time to yelp before red ki swallowed him whole.

 Chapter Ninety-three

    Time seemed to still. At his side, Surta stood frozen, his mouth twisted in what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile. Dax was hunched near the other side of the square, as far from the other kobolds as he could get while remaining on the same platform. His expression was bitter, and he was looking at something from the corner of his eyes. It took Kaz a moment to track his gaze and realize he was looking at Surta. This confused Kaz, because the gray male had been nothing but helpful and friendly, at least as far as he could be given that they were both captives.


    Only the husede next to the pedestal moved at all. Her finger dropped as if through the thick glue made by boiling leather and sinew. Mana built up around it, thicker and darker by the moment, until it was almost black, though it was a truly dark black, not the luminescent black of ki.


    Once again, Kaz allowed a greater trickle of red ki into his eyes, and flinched at the flare of crimson light. Squinting through it, however, he could see that the dark mana was traveling down into the pedestal, which separated the red ki from it, linking the thin thread to the overwhelming power of the crystals beneath their feet. This thread wound through the static ki of the stones, moving it just so.


    Around them, the crowd of beings flickered and blurred, and Kaz¡¯s stomach seemed to rise into his throat. He swallowed hard as the world outside their column of red ki shifted nauseatingly. The crowd outside vanished, replaced by different ones, the people in them of ever-changing heights and shapes. One. Two. Three, the crowd here the thinnest of all, and entirely made up of mosui, if their squat, round silhouettes were enough to judge by.


    Then they were gone, and for a bare instant, red was joined by all the colors of ki, twining together in a cascade of ruby, gold, moonstone, obsidian, and the faintest hint of sapphire. Only two beings stood outside the effervescent hues; one small and round, and one twice its height, slim, with a collar around its neck so dense with mana that it seemed to eat the light around it. At their feet sat a small square object that burned with red ki.


    Gone again. Kaz could see the connection with Li, momentarily perfectly straight and leading to the red box, angle away, pointing almost directly overhead. More levels, these much less crowded, with only a few dim figures visible through the red light. There were some round mosui, but most of these were the slightly taller, blocky figures of husede.


    Kobolds only dominated the last two levels. Their slender shapes and pointed ears clearly differentiated them from the broad figures of either of the other two races. A few husede mingled among them, but they were rare, and no kobolds stood close to them.


    The finger of the husede female who was controlling their platform finally connected with the surface of the pedestal, and everything around them leaped into motion, exactly as if the pause had never happened. Surta¡¯s smile finally formed properly, and he clapped Kaz on the back.


    ¡°Look around you now, pup,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s what the crystals can do. Just pop you out of one place and into a completely different one between one breath and the next.¡±


    Kaz stared at him. Had the other male really not experienced any of the time they had spent dropping down through nine levels? Had he not seen the shifting crowds and the two motionless figures beside that all-important box?


    On the other side of the platform, Dax stepped off, heading for one of the tunnels exiting the wide cavern in which they all stood. Around them, hollow squares stood silent testament to other platforms that were all currently elsewhere, and Kaz vaguely wondered how the husede knew when someone on a less-commonly used level needed to be picked up.


    Their husede didn¡¯t speak, but her cold gaze was enough to urge the two kobolds to follow their fellow, and Surta ushered Kaz off the red crystal platform. When Kaz¡¯s paws touched one particular spot on the edge of the platform, he nearly stumbled as he felt something sharp jab into the pad of his toe. As he took his next step, he looked back and down, seeing that one of the crystals had cracked and broken, leaving it the cloudy color of common quartz.


    Behind him, the husede clicked her tongue, muttering something as she looked at the fractured crystal. Crossing over to it, she crouched down, casually pulled it from its place, and tossed it out to shatter against the stone floor of the cavern. Reaching into a pouch at her waist, she took out a new crystal, perfectly cut to match the others, and slotted it into the gap.


    As it snicked into place, she touched it with a mana-filled finger, tracing its edges until she gave a satisfied nod. Kaz couldn¡¯t tell exactly what she¡¯d done, but when she returned to her place by the pedestal, ki lit up the platform as evenly as ever, and she and the square on which she stood vanished.


    Kaz stared at the scattered spray of broken crystal that was the only evidence the platform had ever been there. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Surta shrugged, walking around the shards so he wouldn¡¯t cut his paws. ¡°They do that sometimes. That¡¯s why we¡¯re all still here.¡±


    He flicked his fingers at the multitude of tunnel openings leading away from the cavern. ¡°Each of those leads to a different mine, or maybe just a different part of the same one. None of us has ever met someone from another mine in our own, so maybe they really are completely separate. Doesn¡¯t really matter.¡±


    Turning, he headed for the same tunnel Dax had vanished into, motioning for Kaz to follow him. ¡°We mine the crystals, the mosui take them, and give us food and other things. That way, when a crystal breaks, there are always more.¡± His voice grew venomous. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want any of them to be inconvenienced, after all.¡±


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    Kaz stared at the other male¡¯s back. His voice had just shifted completely, and Kaz wished he could have seen Surta¡¯s face at that moment. The older warrior didn¡¯t even glance back, however, and they vanished into the dimly-lit tunnel without another word.


    Now that they had nearly reached their destination, Surta spoke less, though he did pause when they reached a few small pinkish-red crystals embedded in the wall. These were tiny and raw, entirely different from the ones in the city, and Surta pointed to the largest of them.


    ¡°If you look inside this one, you¡¯ll see it looks cloudy. They don¡¯t want that. The larger and clearer they are, the better. This is the only one of these large enough to even bother with, but the mosui would throw it back in your face if you brought it to them. That¡¯s only for the red ones, though.¡± He watched as Kaz obediently leaned closer to the crystal, seeing that it did, indeed, seem to have bubbles or bits of rock inside it.


    Kaz looked up, surprised. ¡°There are other colors? I¡¯ve only seen red.¡±


    The other kobold looked momentarily contemptuous, then wiped the expression away before Kaz could be certain he¡¯d seen it. ¡°Sure there are. They¡¯re rare, though. Like finding mithril in an iron vein. The further in you go, the more likely you are to find one, but you¡¯re also more likely to find a warrior hoyi, so not many of us risk it, and even fewer of those who do come back.¡±


    Kaz shuddered. The two-segmented insects were one of the greatest dangers of the mid-levels. They were a bit like the zhiwu in that it wasn¡¯t particularly dangerous to get close to the workers, but unlike the zhiwu, there were designated warriors that patrolled their hive, and meeting one of those was a death sentence for a single kobold. A group of six kobold warriors stood a chance against one warrior hoyi, and if the kobolds had a female with them, it was even likely that most of them would survive. The giant bugs had no soft parts to target, and their pincers were infused with metal and could cut a kobold in half, so a female¡¯s power was the best weapon against them.


    ¡°Why would you even try, then?¡± Kaz asked, as they started forward again.


    Surta shrugged. ¡°The mosui will take any crystal that isn¡¯t red and give you a full week¡¯s worth of meals for it, even if it¡¯s tiny or cloudy. When you¡¯ve run out of luck, and you¡¯re about to starve, you¡¯ll try anything to survive.¡±


    Kaz was confused. ¡°In a tribe, the gatherers bring back food, the warriors guard everyone, while the females use their power to make firemoss oil, glue, leather, and everything else the tribe needs. Only gatherers and occasionally warriors supply the food, but everyone shares.¡± He didn¡¯t mention the fact that females ate first, and puppies ate last, because he knew the other male must be well aware that pups starved first when a tribe went hungry.


    Surta paused and gave Kaz a disturbingly wide grin, showing far too many sharp teeth. ¡°Now, see, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been telling people,¡± he said. ¡°We should each do what we¡¯re best at, just like a tribe. Some of us are better at mining, and others are better at fighting, while still others,¡± he tapped his head, ¡°are best at thinking. There are no females here, so unless someone is in charge, the strongest males just take what they want from the weaker ones.¡±


    Cold brown eyes passed over Kaz¡¯s body, pausing only briefly on his knife and pack. ¡°In fact,¡± he went on, ¡°I¡¯ve been taking on the job of chief. It¡¯s hard, but I can keep the stronger warriors in line, with a little help. I stay back in the den, watching over each shift as they pass through, and all I ask is that each miner gives me a few of their crystals. That way, I can keep protecting them, and they can keep working. Everyone is safe as can be, and everyone eats. I even make sure that those who don¡¯t bring in enough, like poor Dax, don¡¯t starve.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes dropped, and he had to force down a low growl. Did Surta think Kaz was an idiot? Obviously, the male was doing exactly what he¡¯d warned Kaz about, and forcing the other kobolds to give him some of the crystals they risked their lives for, while he stayed safe in the den. Just because he claimed to be ¡®protecting¡¯ the weaker ones from predators didn¡¯t make him any less of one himself.


    Still, it wouldn¡¯t do Kaz any good to argue, and if other males really believed any of this, or if Surta had built himself a group of warriors to help him, then even if Kaz managed to convince Surta he wasn¡¯t interested in being part of his scheme, there would be others waiting in the den to punish Kaz. Kobolds liked order, and what Surta proposed was similar to the system under which a den ran, but there were distinct undertones of something dark.


    Kaz managed to shift his growl to a raspy whimper, though the fur on his neck still lifted involuntarily. He folded his ears and tucked his tail even as he lowered his chin. ¡°That sounds¡­ fair,¡± he managed to say, but he couldn¡¯t meet the eyes of the kobold who had turned out to be something very different than he had seemed.


    Surta huffed a laugh, and Kaz flinched as the other male squeezed his shoulder tight enough that it would have been painful if Kaz hadn¡¯t started refining his body. ¡°Good, then,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re big, but you¡¯re not a warrior, so we¡¯ll start you as a miner. I¡¯ll have one of the others show you how it works.¡±


    Kaz nodded, then looked back down the tunnel behind them.


    ¡°All the tunnels lead to other mines? There¡¯s no chance to¡­ escape? Stairs, maybe?¡± he asked, forced by desperation to break out of the role of obedient puppy for a moment. He very definitely didn¡¯t want to head straight into a hoyi nest, but he also had no idea how to get back to the level where he was almost certain Li had been taken. All the platforms were gone, and even if he could summon one and incapacitate the husede that ran it, he couldn¡¯t use mana, or even see it until someone else started gathering it.


    Surta turned away, once again leading the way down the rough, winding passage. His voice was cool as he said, ¡°Far as I know, this is it. One of the oldest miners, Dett, claims he found some stairs deep in the hoyi hive, but they only went up. He was too afraid to try taking them, because anyone found out of their mine is punished severely, and he¡¯s never been able to get back.¡±


    Dett. Kaz memorized the name. If there were stairs that would take him toward Li, Kaz would seek them out, even if he had to go to the heart of the hoyi nest. His link to the dragon told him that she was still safe and a little groggy, but whatever she was in was moving as if it was being carried. The angle of the filament hanging between them had stayed very nearly the same, so Kaz had exactly one goal.


    Find a way up, and take it.

 Chapter Ninety-four

    The miner¡¯s ¡®den¡¯ had no huts, just areas where males piled together like exhausted puppies. There was nowhere for food to be stored or cooked, and no sign of fire or pots. Dim red crystals lit the area, but it was the darkest place Kaz had seen since his abduction, other than some of the tunnels they had passed through to get here. No one was training, no one was crafting, and no voices broke the quiet except soft murmurs. Even in the Sharpjaw den, the doomed males had at least attempted to continue living normally, but here, no one smiled or laughed, and their ears didn¡¯t even turn to track the sound of the newcomers.


    Surta waved his hand, smiling as proudly as if they were looking over a thriving tribe. ¡°There are two shifts. This is the first,¡± he told Kaz, waving a hand to indicate the pile of sleeping kobolds and the smaller group who were awake but huddled close together, in defiance of the usual tendency of adult kobolds to avoid physical contact with others not in their family.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to sleep, but probably not for much longer, since some of them are awake. Second shift is out mining, but they¡¯ll be back when-¡± He broke off as a deep, rolling chime echoed through the den, and nodded in satisfaction as the sleepers began to wake.


    ¡°There it is. Each shift mines for fourteen hours, then has two hours to get back here and trade in their crystals for food. Anyone not back within the two hours is either dead or hungry. The last eight hours are for sleeping. The bell you just heard is the loud one, that you can hear all the way out in the mine. There¡¯s a quieter one to let those in the den know when it¡¯s time to sleep.¡±


    Kaz saw the familiar figure of Dax, sitting alone with his head hanging as if he were staring at the floor. He didn¡¯t move, just stared, and Kaz wondered what he was thinking about.


    ¡°Which shift is Dax on?¡± Kaz asked, and Surta shrugged.


    ¡°He was first, but he¡¯s off schedule now. He¡¯ll get a meal for going out to fetch you, and then he¡¯ll sleep and join second shift when they go.¡±


    ¡°Would that make me second shift, too?¡± Kaz asked.


    Surta¡¯s eyes once again ran over Kaz. ¡°You look well-rested and healthy. You should go out with first. You don¡¯t get fed until you work, so if you wait, you won¡¯t get anything until tomorrow.¡±


    Kaz hesitated. ¡°Who decides? Can I just pick a shift? I¡¯m actually tired, and I ate not that long ago.¡± Admittedly, it was Raff¡¯s disgusting hardtack, but it was surprisingly filling. He could definitely eat, but he was used to going hungry, so the idea of waiting until tomorrow didn¡¯t bother him.


    Surta¡¯s gaze turned to Kaz¡¯s pack again. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t have food in there? If you do, you should share. We always get the same thing here, so giving someone a taste of real food could earn you a lot of good will.¡±


    Kaz sighed internally, then began to unbuckle his pack. Pulling it around to his chest, he loosened the knot and pulled the opening wide, showing that there were no bundles of meat or lichen inside. The seed was buried beneath the tattered and smelly leather of his old loincloth, and the only vaguely desirable thing visible in the sadly-empty bag was the hilt of the old knife Zyle had given him. Kaz reached in and pulled it out, showing the dull and lustreless blade to the other male.


    ¡°My grandfather gave me this. It was his when he was a pup. If it would help someone else-¡±


    Surta snorted derisively, dismissing the knife and the pack. ¡°No. Everyone here has a better weapon than that. If you don¡¯t, you won¡¯t live long.¡±


    He forced a smile, but his eyes lingered on the hunched and worn figures of other kobolds, just beginning to trickle in through the wide opening in the opposite wall of the den. Each of them carried a large bag, some plump and heavy, others almost as empty as Kaz¡¯s pack. Two of the males who had been sitting pulled most of them aside as they entered. They began going through the packs as the miners stood by, silent and unprotesting.


    Turning away from Kaz, Surta began trotting toward the incoming miners. Over his shoulder, he called, ¡°Do what you want, pup, just remember you don¡¯t eat if you don¡¯t work.¡±


    Unless you¡¯re a thief, Kaz thought, watching as Surta joined the males who were taking a few of the largest crystals from each bag. Some of the emptiest bags remained untouched, so at least they really weren¡¯t making anyone starve. Of course, dead kobolds didn¡¯t mine, so that, too, might be simple self-interest.


    A flash of red caught his attention, and a mosui appeared not far from the miner¡¯s entrance. Kaz stared at the strange little being as it stood there, and the miners whose bags had already been raided lined up in front of it. The first miner passed over his bag, and the mosui poured it out onto the floor in front of its feet, then handed the empty sack back to the kobold.


    Glancing around, Kaz realized no one was paying attention to him, so he edged closer, and by the time the third miner approached, he was able to see what was going on. Not surprisingly, the mosui was standing on another of the red-crystal platforms, but there was a bowl-shaped hollow taking up most of the front half of it. The bowl was filling slowly as the miners continued to offer up their findings. Each time the contents of another bag were added, the mosui glanced at an object it held in its hand, then took something from a pouch at its waist and handed the object to the miner, who stepped to the side.


    It took a little longer for Kaz to figure out what the mosui was handing out, but eventually he saw one of the miners hold up a little round stone that held a faint cloud of mana. The male stared at it with desperate hunger, and Kaz could see saliva start to darken the gray fur at the corners of his mouth, but he didn¡¯t eat it.


    A few times, the mosui plucked a crystal from the pile. Twice, it did exactly as Surta had described and threw the offending crystal back at the miner, who flinched, but otherwise didn¡¯t respond. Once, a particularly gaunt miner slid his fingers into the top of his loincloth, producing a small crystal that glittered with faint yellow ki, then dropped this into his bag before handing it to the mosui. Kaz was fairly certain that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to make out the motion if he hadn¡¯t had ki empowering his eyes, and it seemed that Surta and his group of warriors hadn¡¯t noticed either.


    They did, however, notice when the mosui chittered sharply and snatched the yellow crystal from the pile. It lifted the glittering stone, holding it in front of its mouth as it released the highest-pitched sound Kaz had yet heard from one of the round little beings. Kaz blinked as mana flowed out of the mosui¡¯s mouth along with the sound, and when the mana hit the crystal, it bounced back, returning echoed mana and a bit of yellow ki. The tentacles surrounding the mosui¡¯s nostrils waved eagerly as the ki passed through them.


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    Carefully, the mosui placed the crystal in a pouch that hung from its neck, then handed several of the little mana-stones to the miner, who clutched them to his chest, glaring around at the crowd, all of whom were suddenly eyeing him as if he had become food himself.


    The process of exchanging ki-crystals for mana-stones continued until all twenty of the miners had delivered their crystals, and then the mosui vanished again without a word. Kaz half-expected the thin miner with the handful of stones to be assaulted, but no one moved, all eyes remaining on the empty square hollow in the floor where the platform had rested.


    Another flash of red ki that made Kaz blink painfully, and a husede stood there. There was an enormous pot behind him, along with a stack of stone bowls. Each miner came forward again, forming a surprisingly orderly line, and traded in the stones they had just acquired for a bowl of some kind of stew. Dax and Surta were among them, though Kaz hadn¡¯t seen them receive stones. They must have gotten them from the mosui when they were chosen to help capture Kaz.


    Each male received one bowl of stew for each mana-stone they traded in. When it came to Dax¡¯s turn, he handed over two stones, accepting two bowls of stew. He stepped to the side and began to eat the first without waiting for everyone else to get theirs.


    The male who had turned in the yellow crystal was one of the first to get his food, and to Kaz¡¯s surprise, he didn¡¯t try to keep any of his stones. Instead, he turned in all of them, getting a stack of five bowls in return. Some of the stew slopped onto the ground as he tried to juggle the bowls, but he ignored it, simply thrusting his muzzle into the top-most bowl and gobbling down the contents. When it was empty, he dropped the bowl to the ground and continued on to the next.


    When all the kobolds with stones had received their meals, the husede vanished again. For an instant, no one reacted, and then Surta and his minions descended on the male who had hidden the yellow crystal from them. They took his remaining two bowls of food, tearing them from his hands, and proceeded to beat him until he lay on the floor, curled up among the dribbled remains of his stew, and still Kaz saw him trying to lick the stone, getting every last drop of food.


    No one attempted to help him, and no one tried to take Dax¡¯s two bowls from him. Surta and his friends had two bowls each as well, and they sat down, eating with a leisurely enjoyment that no one else showed.


    Silently, Dax approached Kaz, thrusting his second bowl into Kaz¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Eat,¡± he growled, then turned and walked away. When he reached the wall, he leaned his back against it and slid down slowly, as if every part of him hurt, and stared into his bowl as steam rose up, curling around his muzzle and ears. He didn¡¯t eat the rest until his food was cold.


    Kaz looked around at the den. ¡®First shift¡¯ had departed at some point during the trade-off, leaving only the twenty kobolds of second shift and the five large, powerful males Surta had recruited to help him. Twenty-five, plus Kaz and Surta himself. The den was large enough for a tribe of a hundred or more, and without huts it echoed hollowly. Even when both shifts were there, however briefly, it had seemed far too empty.


    Eventually, Kaz made his way over to the wall not far from Dax, and waited. He ate his stew, which was bland but filling. There was very little meat and a great deal of fungus in it, with none of the flavorful mosses and lichens that Kaz was used to. He supposed that made some sense, since the mosui levels were probably also infested with fulan. Some kinds of mushrooms were the only plants fulan wouldn¡¯t kill, which meant they were probably the main source of food for those who lived here.


    The other kobolds settled into sleep, forming a pile much like the one first shift had been in when Kaz arrived. None of them seemed self-conscious about the arrangement, curling into the comforting warmth of another kobold¡¯s body, even if that kobold was neither mate nor pup. Even Surta, his friends, and the kobold who had been beaten for daring to hide his treasure from the others joined in, though they slept at opposite ends of the heap.


    When only Dax and Kaz were left, and Dax had finally licked his bowl clean, Kaz turned toward the brown-furred male, a question in his eyes and his ears perked forward.


    Dax, who seemed far more aware than he had been since Kaz met him, sighed and set his bowl down. ¡°What, pup?¡± he asked, his voice a raspy rumble.


    Kaz scooted closer, halting when Dax started to lean away from him. This put him about four feet from the other male, which was close enough to talk without being easily overheard by anyone in the pile of snoring kobolds.


    ¡°How do we get out of here?¡± he asked simply, sensing that Dax would have very little patience with questions.


    Dax stared at him, then a rusty, creaking sound emerged from his chest. It took Kaz a moment to realize that it was laughter. When the older male was done, he leaned his head back, staring up at the distant ceiling.


    ¡°For that, I¡¯ll answer. We don¡¯t.¡± He rolled his head to the side, his black eyes meeting Kaz¡¯s for the first time.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here a long time. Too long. I was one of the first to be taken, though there were some others here already when my group arrived. The lost, and the daring.¡± He chuckled again, the sound echoing in the hollow den. ¡°They only had one shift, then. Split us up when there got to be too many.¡±


    He sighed again, lowering his voice as he glanced toward the sleeping kobolds. ¡°Don¡¯t trust Surta. Not a word that comes from his mouth is truth. He¡¯s no Redmane. He took the dye off a male who died a few weeks ago. Colored his fur, and suddenly, instead of a Bronzearm, he¡¯s one of the brave Redmanes, forced from their home by the hated Bronzearms.¡±


    Kaz frowned, curious what the other meant by ¡®hated Bronzearms¡¯, but unwilling to be sent down a different tunnel by this intriguing tidbit. ¡°If you¡¯ve been here that long, surely you have an idea. Surt- I heard there¡¯s a male named Dett who found a staircase. Do you know anything about that?¡±


    Dax snorted. ¡°Dett. He¡¯s the last of the ones who were here even before me. Came up here from the Deep on his spirit hunt, and lost his way. He has a warrior¡¯s necklace, but he¡¯s no warrior.¡± He lifted his fingers to touch his own necklace, which had been broken and repaired with the same piece of leather cord so many times it was nearly as tight as the collar that glinted above it.


    ¡°He survives by following behind other males, waiting until they¡¯ve attracted the attention of any hoyi, then goes deeper in the mine while the bug is distracted. I¡¯ve even heard that he¡¯s killed a few miners for their crystals, but there¡¯s no proof. Not that it would matter anyway. What happens in the mine, stays in the mine.¡±


    Kaz felt his heart sink. ¡°So, you think he¡¯s lying?¡±


    A quiet bell chimed, vibrating softly through the den, and Dax rose to his paws, shrugging. ¡°No telling. He¡¯s a strange one. Brags about how important his tribe is, and how someday they¡¯ll come to save him, and kill all the mosui for daring to capture him. Otherwise, he can be trusted as much as anyone else down here, which is to say, not at all.¡±


    He pushed away from the wall, lifting the stone bowl he held in his hand. ¡°Put your bowl back by the platform. If they run out, they refuse to feed us until they¡¯re returned.¡±


    Kaz nodded, watching the warrior return his own bowl, then lie down at the outskirts of the sleeping pile. Turning his attention to the filament of ki that hung in the air before him, leading up until it vanished into the ceiling, Kaz closed his eyes.


    Li was still safe, but in the box. She was very unhappy about being in the box, and had begun scratching at the inside, though so far as she could tell, she hadn¡¯t damaged it at all, which was also very frustrating.


    Kaz smiled, sending her warm thoughts and images of the two of them, curled up together. She would be sleeping in the crook of his arm, or on his chest, depending on how cold she was, and he would stroke the soft scales along her neck.


    Slowly, Li calmed, and together and yet much too far apart, they slept.

 Chapter Ninety-five

    Whether because he didn¡¯t want to leave his peaceful dreams of flying, or because of the silence of the den, Kaz didn¡¯t wake until the deep, rolling chime rang out again. He opened his eyes, finding that at some point he had curled up on his side, clutching his tail for comfort like he had when he was a young puppy.


    He was the only kobold who had slept alone, and the others were all getting up as well, though they had to untangle themselves in order to do so. Again, there was no awkwardness in it, in spite of how strange it seemed to Kaz. They also didn¡¯t speak to each other, not even to give first greetings, just went to the mine entrance and waited as the first of the miners began to return.


    Kaz hadn¡¯t thought about it before, but it was odd that they waited for the bell, instead of going in or out whenever they were ready. It was obvious that the miners outside had been waiting for a little while at least. Was there some rule about only coming or going when you were supposed to? If so, how was it enforced?


    He glanced at Dax, who was once again staring at the ground, clearly uninterested in talking to anyone, then Surta, who was one of the only kobolds taking the time to stand and stretch as he prepared for the day. Kaz very definitely didn¡¯t like Surta, but the male had given him a lot of information Kaz thought would be very useful, in spite of Dax¡¯s warning that the other male spoke only lies.


    Kaz stepped over beside Surta, keeping his chin down and ears half-lowered in a submissive posture as he asked, ¡°Are we not allowed to go in or out except when the bell rings?¡±


    Surta looked startled, as if he¡¯d completely forgotten Kaz existed and might need help, then reached up and tapped his own collar, a claw chiming dully against the metal. ¡°You can only go through the entrance during the two-hour trading period. Before or after that, the collar will burn you if you try. You also have to leave the picks out there. I don¡¯t know why, but that¡¯s the way it is. Just do what everyone else does, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Kaz nodded, then got in line behind Dax, passing through the entrance of the mine for what was hopefully both the first and the last time. As he crossed the threshold, the air shimmered, growing noticeably colder. That temperature change was the first warning sign of a hoyi nest, and normally Kaz would have immediately returned to his den to report it. Hoyi were a good reason for a kobold tribe to relocate. No one above the Deep even tried to clear them out, no matter how large their tribe was.


    The line ahead stopped and started apparently at random, and Kaz nearly bumped into Dax¡¯s back. As they proceeded through the short tunnel and into a small cavern, he was able to see that each miner was picking up a fresh sack made of woven niu fur and a gleaming pickaxe much like those Kaz¡¯s tribe had had when they still lived in the Deep. That is to say, the lustrous gleam of the metal indicated that it was either pure mithril, or at least an alloy.


    Kaz¡¯s hand shook as he picked up his own pickaxe, marveling at the light weight and excellent balance. He had been too small to mine when they¡¯d left, but his father had let him try his pickaxe, laughing when young Kaz had tumbled over his own tail at the weight of it. Now, it fit perfectly in his hand, and he thought that he could swing it all day, which was good, because that was exactly what he was expected to do. Not that he had any intention of fulfilling that expectation.


    A small smirk twitched the corner of Dax¡¯s mouth as he watched Kaz marvel at the tool, and when he saw that he¡¯d been noticed, he tilted his head ever so slightly, indicating a short and scrawny male with unusually light brown fur and blue eyes almost the color of Kaz¡¯s. ¡°Dett,¡± he mouthed, then turned and vanished through one of the four tunnels leading away from the rough cave in which they stood.


    Remembering what he¡¯d been told about the other male, Kaz waited, pretending to heft his pickaxe as he checked in with Li and kept one eye on Dett. The dragon was still sleeping. He didn¡¯t know how she could sleep so long after having spent so much of the previous day unconscious, but she was in no distress, so he set some small part of his consciousness to watch the link and focused properly on the other kobolds.


    Dett was doing much the same as Kaz, lifting his pickaxe, shifting it from hand to hand, and stretching out his legs as if he were readying himself for a run. Around them, the other males trickled away down the tunnels, sometimes alone, and sometimes in pairs. When Kaz saw Dett take off down a tunnel not far behind an unusually burly miner, he set off after them as well.


    The tunnel was flat, but cold, and grew progressively colder the further they went. Soon, frost rimed the stone walls, and Kaz¡¯s breath began to curl in front of his nose, but on they went. He let the others get a good distance ahead, using his ki-infused nose to track them as the tunnels grew smaller and rougher, turning sharply several times. The cold definitely impacted his ability to smell, but each time he almost lost the trail, he just put more ki into his nose, only stopping when it began to ache, and he was reminded of the time he¡¯d caused it to bleed by filling it with too much power.


    He began to see reddish crystals in the walls almost immediately, but they were small and dim, and the marks of pickaxes were nearby, so these must be too poor a quality for the mosui to accept. He also saw some quartz and pyrite, and even a few gemstones, which might have been gathered to make jewelry or decorations in the Deep, though kobolds in the upper reaches rarely bothered with such things.


    Eventually, larger crystals became visible, protruding through the icy stone, though for whatever reason, these, too, were passed by. They were interspersed with broken, cloudy stones, so perhaps more experienced miners knew that meant they would be cloudy or prone to breakage as well, even though Kaz couldn¡¯t see anything wrong with them as he hurried by.


    His fingers were starting to burn where they gripped the cold metal of the mithril handle of the pick when he heard the familiar skitter of chitin against stone. He associated that sound with zhiwu, or adult jiachin, but given the frost that now caused the stone walls to sparkle all around him, he suspected this was made by something entirely different.


    Still following his nose, but moving more cautiously now, Kaz turned another corner, and almost ran into his first hoyi. The thing came up to his waist, and the head and two large body segments were covered in blue chitin coated with a layer of white frost. Its antennae waved gently in the air, and it had no eyes that Kaz could see. It held a piece of raw metal in its pincers, and ignored Kaz completely, continuing on its way as Kaz screeched to a halt, nearly slipping on the streak of ice it left on the stone behind it.


    This must be a worker, then. It was smaller than Kaz had been told, or perhaps this was a young one. Either way, seeing it made Kaz¡¯s heart start pounding, and apparently that was enough to wake up Li, because the dragon immediately began sending images of a blue kobold in peril, chased by monsters or falling down a hole.


    Kaz pressed a hand to his chest, drawing in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. He sent Li a picture of where he was, assuring her that he was completely safe, then yelped as a startlingly warm finger poked him in the chest.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± a voice demanded querulously. ¡°I don¡¯t have any crystals for you to steal, so you should follow someone else.¡±


    Kaz stared down at the short, wiry kobold glaring at him. The other male¡¯s finger still dug into Kaz¡¯s ribs, and his expression was belligerent, but his tail was half-tucked. Dett wasn¡¯t as confident as he¡¯d like Kaz to believe.


    Kaz hunched, making himself slightly shorter, though there was no way he could reduce himself to Dett¡¯s height. ¡°I¡¯m new,¡± he said, reaching up to finger the fur at his throat, where a warrior¡¯s necklace should hang. ¡°I just¡­ followed someone so I could find out what I¡¯m supposed to do. No one wanted to help me.¡±


    Dett¡¯s blue eyes followed the movement, then narrowed as he realized that Kaz was a pup. His own hand withdrew, lifting to finger the roughly-made warrior¡¯s necklace he wore. It only held a few teeth and two small skulls, and the holes drilled in the teeth had cracked the enamel, leaving them looking as if they would fall apart at any moment. The leather cord looked poorly tanned, and was of an uneven width, making Kaz wonder if Dax was actually right, and this male had never finished his spirit hunt, in spite of looking like he was old enough to be Kaz¡¯s father.


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    Dett¡¯s gaze flickered behind Kaz, then looked down the crevice the hoyi had vanished into. A small smile twisted his mouth, and he said, ¡°Yes, pup, yes. I¡¯d be happy to show you how to mine. Of course, you have to share your crystals with me, since I¡¯ll be teaching you.¡±


    Kaz nodded eagerly, then looked around, thoughts spinning. He hadn¡¯t expected to confront the other male so soon, and wasn¡¯t actually ready. If he asked directly about the stairs, would Dett tell him? No, that would just let him know that Kaz had already talked to someone else about him, and had followed him specifically. It was better to play along with Dett for a while, get him to relax, and then bring it up as naturally as he could.


    ¡°That¡¯d be perfect,¡± he said, holding up his pick as if offering it to the other male. He had tucked the bag into his belt a long time ago, so he would have at least one hand free, though the pickaxe certainly counted as a weapon by itself. Honestly, it might be a better weapon against the hoyi, with their thick chitin carapaces, than a knife. Though Kaz was almost certain that his own knife would cut chitin as easily as it had cut bone when he¡¯d killed fuergar with it.


    Dett snorted, waving away Kaz¡¯s pick. ¡°I have my own, remember? Come on.¡± His eyes lingered on the tunnel behind Kaz before flicking back to the narrower passage ahead.


    Lifting his pick again, Dett indicated the crystals in the wall. These were the largest Kaz had seen yet, but Dett was clearly unimpressed. ¡°The crystals are worthless until you get to where the hoyi are. There are just workers on the outskirts, and some miners spend all day here, trying to gather enough of these small, cloudy ones to earn a meal. Those¡¯re the kobolds you¡¯ll see with the big bags.¡± He held his hands apart, indicating a space about a foot wide.


    Hurrying forward, the short male peered around the next corner. After a moment, he made a ¡®follow¡¯ motion, and Kaz joined him, though they didn¡¯t step around. Leaning forward, Kaz flinched as he caught the distinctive scent of blood, and Dett huffed softly in disappointment.


    ¡°I was afraid of that,¡± Dett said softly. ¡°He walked into a warrior like a puppy who hadn¡¯t even opened his eyes yet.¡± Glancing back at Kaz, he added quickly, ¡°Nothing I could do, of course. Once a warrior finds you, you¡¯re dead. No reason for me to die, too.¡±


    Tilting his head, Kaz saw exactly what he¡¯d been afraid he would. The large kobold Dett had been following was lying on the ground in two pieces, his blood already frozen in a crimson pool. A much larger hoyi stood over him, jaws clicking loudly as its antennae waved. Kaz thought that this one would reach his chest, and its pincers were nearly twice as long as those of the worker.


    As the two kobolds watched, worker hoyi emerged from nearby tunnels, scurrying forward until they could touch the fallen male with their antennae. Once they located the body, they scooped the pieces up in their jaws, vanishing down the tunnel one of them had appeared from.


    ¡°How did they know to come?¡± Kaz murmured, unable to take his eyes from the scene.


    He felt Dett shrug, and realized that his chest was touching the other male¡¯s shoulder. The small area of shared body heat was incredibly warming after the constant chill that surrounded them, and Kaz suspected he knew how and why the other males had overcome their unwillingness to be touched, and why Dax had spent so long holding the remains of his warm bowl of stew.


    ¡°Vibrations, we think. Some of the warriors from the mid-levels have run into the bugs before, though we¡¯ve wiped them out in the Deep.¡± Dett¡¯s narrow chest puffed up in momentary pride before he went on.


    ¡°They can track heat, too, but when one of them wants to call the others, they start clicking like that, and soon more show up. If several of us try to take on a warrior, it always calls more warriors, and when they kill one of us, they call workers. That¡¯s why you never take on a hoyi, even a worker. They¡¯ll try to run, but as soon as they start clicking, you know there¡¯re a dozen warriors headed your way.¡±


    The hoyi finished cleaning up the unnamed kobold¡¯s remains, and the warrior bug clicked its jaws twice more before following after them. Kaz and Dett let out a simultaneous sigh as the frosty blue insects vanished, and both kobolds stood straight again.


    ¡°If you see a warrior, freeze,¡± Dett said, snickering at his own poor joke as he indicated their frozen surroundings. ¡°So long as they don¡¯t get close enough to sense your heat, and you don¡¯t make a single sound, they¡¯ll go on their way. Of course, mining down here is a sure way to draw them in, so you have to wait until you find a single, perfect crystal, dig it out, and run before they get there.¡±


    He glared up at Kaz. ¡°Even if there are a dozen other crystals nearby, don¡¯t try to get them. One crystal at a time. All it takes is three this size,¡± Dett held up a small fist, ¡°and you¡¯ll eat. Just make sure they¡¯re clear.¡±


    ¡°What about the other crystals? Like the yellow one?¡± Kaz asked. Surta said those were only found deeper in the mine, and so were the stairs, so perhaps this would be a good chance to turn the conversation toward escape.


    Creeping around the corner, Dett motioned for Kaz to follow. They walked over blood that had already frozen so solid that they didn¡¯t even leave paw-prints in it as they crossed to the next tunnel.


    ¡°They¡¯re much further in than this, but don¡¯t bother,¡± Dett whispered, leading the way. ¡°You saw what happened to Zargo. Even if you found one of those, Surta would just take it. If you hide it, you¡¯ll take a beating, and unless you¡¯re starving, it¡¯s not worth it.¡±


    ¡°Surta said he doesn¡¯t let anyone starve,¡± Kaz offered, remembering the gray male leaving some of the miners with smaller bags alone. Now he knew that those probably held fewer but higher quality crystals, so why hadn¡¯t Surta stolen from them as well?


    Crouching down, Dett wriggled through a low-ceilinged passage with the ease of long practice. Kaz had a much more difficult time, leaving more of his brittle gray fur behind on the jagged and icy points protruding from the walls.


    ¡°Surta doesn¡¯t care if you live or die,¡± Dett said, then shot a nervous glance at Kaz. ¡°Though I didn¡¯t say that. In fact, ignore that. Surta¡­ Of course, Surta takes from those with more so his warriors are strong enough to guard the den.¡±


    Kaz frowned. ¡°Do the hoyi or other beasts often attack the den?¡±


    Dett laughed, a slightly wild sound. ¡°Never. Never in all the time I¡¯ve been here, which is longer than anyone else. But, ah, you never know. The day might come, and then Surta will be ready.¡±


    The smaller kobold wouldn¡¯t meet Kaz¡¯s eyes, but that was all right. Kaz understood.


    ¡°You said you came from the Deep?¡± Kaz asked, trying to keep his tone as casual as if he wasn¡¯t edging toward the questions he really wanted to ask.


    For just a moment, Dett paused, throwing his shoulders back and lifting his muzzle proudly. ¡°I am Dett, son of the chief of the Goldblade tribe, masters of the Deep! Someday, I¡¯ll be mated to Avli, next chief of the Mithrilblade tribe. Then, I¡¯ll send my warriors here to wipe out these mosui, and all who have mocked me!¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t know how to respond. In his world, males were disposable. A male who went missing was a male who would be replaced. Was it so different in the Deep? He didn¡¯t remember Oda treating him any differently then than she had as they rose through the mountain. Or was this male simply delusional after being trapped in this place for so long? That certainly seemed the most likely answer, but Kaz didn¡¯t want to alienate him by questioning his declaration, so he simply nodded acceptance.


    Dett hesitated, blinking, then relaxed again, staring at Kaz. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ it?¡± he asked. ¡°You¡¯re not going to call me a liar, or tell me I¡¯m a fool?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know your tribe. I hope they¡¯ll come for you, and free us all.¡±


    Slowly, Dett grinned, looking genuinely pleased. His tail wagged, and he reached up to clap Kaz on the arm. ¡°Well then, so it shall be. When the Goldblades and Mithrilblades descend on this place, I¡¯ll make certain they know you¡¯re to be kept alive and brought to me. Use that broad back and powerful arm to keep me fed until then, and I¡¯ll make certain you live the rest of your life in luxury.¡±


    It was time, and Kaz had to clasp his free hand in a fist behind his back in order to keep its trembling from showing as he said, ¡°But isn¡¯t there another way? Perhaps we can all attack the husede when he comes to feed us, or maybe there¡¯s a set of stairs, hidden somewhere-¡±


    Dett stiffened. ¡°It¡¯s been tried. Any kobold who touches a mosui or husede dies. As for the stairs-¡± He twitched, staring around, though given the small space in which they¡¯d paused, there wasn¡¯t much to see.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he murmured finally. ¡°Maybe. If there were stairs, you would take them, wouldn¡¯t you? You¡¯re just a pup.¡± A foolish youngling, he left unspoken but implied.


    Kaz nodded eagerly, pretending not to have noticed. ¡°I want to go home,¡± he whimpered, letting his ears fold back and his tail tuck down. ¡°I don¡¯t like it here.¡±


    Dett¡¯s gaze was calculating, and nearly as cold as the ice that surrounded them. ¡°Then I have something to show you. But first, you need to dig up some crystals for me.¡±

 Chapter Ninety-six

    They were deep in the hoyi nest before they saw another of the warrior bugs. This one was walking, apparently aimlessly, its long antennae tapping the floor and walls as it passed. It was in no hurry, unlike the workers, who continued to ignore the kobold intruders, though the kobolds still retreated a short distance each time they saw one.


    Kaz was in the lead, which would have seemed strange if he wasn¡¯t aware that Dett was perfectly willing to use Kaz as a distraction in order to assure his own survival. Even though Dett had to whisper directions up to Kaz, the smaller kobold remained five to ten feet behind the larger one, and his body fairly hummed with tension each time Kaz glanced back at him.


    When Kaz turned a corner and saw the large insect there, casually tapping a frozen rock with one forelimb, he immediately stopped, not even putting down the paw he had raised to take his next step. Behind him, the soft click of Dett¡¯s claws ceased, and they both waited to see what would happen.


    Seemingly satisfied that the rock was exactly that, the hoyi twisted its triangular head, jaws stretching as it seemed to stare directly at Kaz. It was strangely unnerving that the thing had nothing he could identify as eyes, and therefore he logically knew it couldn¡¯t see him, and yet he would have sworn that it was aware that something was wrong. Was it close enough to detect the warmth of his body? Honestly, he was so cold that he barely even felt it by now, his patchy fur not insulating him nearly as well as it had before it was damaged. Did his skin even have any heat left to detect, or was he only still upright by virtue of the ki he was pushing through his flesh?


    If he could have felt a chill, he would have as another warrior hoyi appeared from a wide tunnel ahead. This tunnel was strangely round, and beneath the frost, Kaz thought he could see scratches in the stone that didn¡¯t look like the marks made by pickaxes. Had the hoyi created some of these tunnels, instead of just using natural ones? Were their metallic pincers strong enough to break stone that even mithril pickaxes struggled to chip away?


    The two hoyi touched antennae, their heads so close together that they were nearly touching. After several minutes, during which even Kaz¡¯s ki-strengthened leg threatened to start trembling, the bugs each took a step back, clicked their mandibles once in perfect unison, then turned to go back down the tunnel from which the second warrior had emerged.


    Kaz still didn¡¯t dare move until he felt the sharp prod of a finger in his ribs. ¡°Go on,¡± Dett whispered, ¡°we¡¯re almost there. Turn left just after the round tunnel, then the crystal I want is in the ceiling.¡±


    The ceiling? Kaz looked up, seeing that while the passage they were in was fairly narrow, the ceiling was high enough that he would have a hard time reaching it even with his pick. For once, he hoped the tunnel would grow smaller, or he would never be able to get this crystal Dett wanted so badly.


    He got his wish, and promptly regretted it. The ceiling was lower in the new tunnel, but it was also so narrow that Kaz wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to swing the pickaxe well enough to chip out the huge crystal nestled  in the center of a shimmering mass of others that were only small in comparison to the first. Kaz stared at it, then back at Dett, though his shoulders were too wide to allow him to turn properly, so he had to crane his neck to do it.


    ¡°How is this still here?¡± he asked softly. He eyed Dett¡¯s diminutive stature and said, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have gotten someone else to-?¡±


    Dett looked sour. ¡°Anyone else would just take it.¡± He seemed to realize what he¡¯d just admitted, and quickly added, ¡°I trust you, though, of course. I can tell you¡¯re a good pup, and you understand how much I can do for you if you just help me with this little thing.¡±


    You¡¯re an idiot who doesn¡¯t understand what this is worth yet, Kaz translated internally, and felt Li hiss angrily at the thought. Now that she was awake and was shaking off whatever soporific she had been dosed with, their bond seemed to be recovering, though for some reason he still couldn¡¯t hear anything through it.


    Li was acutely bored, however, often sending him annoyed little images of the extended period she spent in the darkness and squalor of his pack after hatching. Kaz had resorted to sending her a steady stream of his own vision so that she would stop grumbling at him.


    Kaz sighed, twisting to look around as well as possible, before flexing his toes to dig his claws into the ice on which he stood. It was a struggle to get the pick into position, but once he did, he looked back at Dett one more time.


    ¡°We have to run as soon as the crystal is free, right? Which way do we go?¡±


    Dett rolled his pale eyes. ¡°Ahead, of course. You can¡¯t turn around here even if you wanted to, and do you remember that round tunnel?¡±


    Kaz nodded.


    ¡°Tunnels like that lead straight to the center of the hive. I¡¯ve seen a few miners go down one, and they don¡¯t come back. When a warrior calls for reinforcements, that¡¯s where they always come from, if you¡¯re in the right place to watch.¡± Which was anywhere other than directly in their path, most likely.


    ¡°Always run away from the round tunnels?¡± Kaz asked, and Dett nodded.


    Turning back to his target, which glittered serenely from its crystalline nest, Kaz drew in a deep breath, holding it as he compressed his core, something that he did almost as a matter of course now, then released both pressure and breath at once.


    Ki flooded from his core, and he could feel Li trying to aid him in controlling it, as she usually did. Either distance or whatever other factor was inhibiting their link prevented it, however, and Kaz had to hastily shunt the wave of extra ki into the channels leading to his arms, where it promptly leaked out and into his muscles.


    The pick swung almost involuntarily, but instead of the controlled stroke Kaz had intended to use, the mithril pick gouged deep into the stone beneath the crystals, breaking a few, and dislodging the rest, which fell to the ground with an explosive shattering sound.


    Behind him, Dett gave a whimpering cry, and Kaz almost dropped the pick as he leaned forward to pick up the largest chunk remaining, and the other male attempted to shove him out of the way. Given how tight the passage was, and how firmly Kaz had dug his claws into the ice, Dett didn¡¯t succeed, but he did manage to make Kaz take a small step forward, stepping on another large piece of crystal, which broke apart, promptly turning cloudy and gray.


    Kaz scooped up the big crystal, cradling it to his chest rather than trying to stuff it into his bag. He was already several feet down the tunnel when he realized Dett wasn¡¯t behind him, and turned far enough that he could see what had happened. The other male was on hands and knees, scrambling to shove every piece of crystal he could into his own sack. As if feeling Kaz¡¯s gaze, he looked up, eyes wild and teeth bared.


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    ¡°Help me, you fool,¡± he barked, hands never slowing. ¡°This will feed me for weeks. Maybe a month or more!¡±


    Kaz noted the use of the word ¡®me¡¯, not ¡®us¡¯, and grimly hoped that it was because the other male expected Kaz to take the stairs and escape, not because he planned to do something to make sure Kaz didn¡¯t receive his fair share of the crystals. Kaz still needed Dett, however, so he held up the huge chunk he already had.


    ¡°You said to leave everything behind except the crystal you were after, no matter how many there were,¡± he said. ¡°If you don¡¯t come now, I¡¯m taking this and leaving you here for the hoyi.¡± It was an empty threat, but Dett didn¡¯t know that.


    The small male looked up, eyes wild, and locked onto the chunk of red stone Kaz held. He glanced from it to the scattered pieces on the ground, and visibly forced himself to climb to his paws. Holding open his bag, he said, ¡°Give it to me. That way you¡¯ll have a free hand.¡±


    Without a word, Kaz contorted so he could drop the crystal into the depths of the sack, and Dett grunted as he felt the weight of it hit the bottom. For a moment, it seemed like he might start spinning in circles like an overeager puppy, but then they both looked behind them as hard feet began to scratch and scrape at the ice not nearly far enough away.


    ¡°Go!¡± Dett yipped, as if he hadn¡¯t been the one holding them up, and shoved at Kaz, who stood between the older male and their proposed escape route. Now, he looked like he regretted not entering this particular tunnel first, since there was no way he could squeeze past the younger kobold. That was all right, though, because Kaz could run.


    Using more of the excess ki he had cycled from his core, Kaz took off, his partially-refined lungs breathing easily even in the frigid air even as reinforced claws dug into the ice below them, giving him far better traction than the other male. The exertion actually felt pleasant, chasing away some small part of the persistent chill that he was afraid might never entirely leave him.


    He took one turn at a skidding run, then another, raced down a long tunnel, then spun sharply to the right as he saw one of the round tunnels looming ahead of him, lit with the ubiquitous red glow of the crystals. When he could no longer hear the sound of chitin on ice, he stopped, not even breathing hard.


    Somehow, Dett had managed to keep up with him, though the older male¡¯s narrow ribcage was heaving as he gasped for air. Kaz wouldn¡¯t have guessed that the small kobold could run so quickly on such short legs, but perhaps that explained how Dett had managed to survive so long in the mine.


    ¡°Just¡­ wait a¡­ minute,¡± Dett choked out, lifting a trembling hand. The other one was pressed tightly to his chest, clutching the bulging bag of crystals as if it was his mate or pup.


    Kaz nodded, settling into a crouch, though he was ready to run again at the first sign of pursuers. The run had burned off most of the remaining excess ki, though to his eyes, the muscles in his arms were still bright with it, particularly the left one, which hadn¡¯t been able to use as much, but had received an equal amount.


    Whimsically, he wondered what would happen if he didn¡¯t balance the ki he gave two equal body parts. Would one leg become dense and powerful, while the other dwindled away? Would one arm develop massive muscles, like Raff¡¯s, while the other remained lean and relatively smooth? For a moment, he played with various images of a lop-sided blue kobold, sending them to Li, who thought they were very funny and returned versions that were ever more ridiculous.


    By the time Dett¡¯s breathing evened out, Kaz had begun relaying images of Li with one large wing and one small one, forced to fly in circles, and the dragon¡¯s indignation amused him so much that his tail began to wag without him noticing.


    Dett huffed, then coughed, finally managing to say, ¡°Pleased with yourself, are you, puppy?¡±


    Kaz blinked, having allowed himself to become far too distracted, given where they currently stood. His ears lowered, and he wasn¡¯t sure what response the older male wanted, so he stayed silent.


    The small, pale-brown male barked a laugh, and Kaz relaxed as Dett said, ¡°Because you should be. I can hide these and take out just what I need for weeks, without even having to go into the dangerous part of the mine at all. Now, I just need to-¡± He broke off, gaze calculating as he eyed Kaz.


    ¡°Did you see that tunnel back there?¡± Dett demanded finally. ¡°The round one?¡±


    Kaz nodded.


    ¡°The stairs are down there. Follow a round tunnel, then when it meets a wider one, take that. Keep going until you find the stairs.¡±


    Kaz stared at him. ¡°You said no one comes back from there.¡±


    The short male shrugged, looking away as his hand tightened on the neck of the bag until his knuckles turned white beneath the thin fur. ¡°One person did. Me. I followed a fool once, when I was still an even greater fool than him. We made it a long way, just by staying quiet and out of the way of the hoyi. We found the stairs, but they-¡±


    Go up, not down, Kaz thought, remembering what Surta told him, but Dett didn¡¯t say that. Instead, he shrugged and finished with, ¡°The hoyi noticed us. That fool died, and I got away. I¡¯ve never gone back since.¡±


    This was the first time Dett had used ¡®we¡¯ as if he really meant he had been working together with someone else. His eyes were distant with memories, and Kaz wondered if that lost ¡®fool¡¯ had been Dett¡¯s friend. Maybe even another member of his tribe?


    Dett focused on Kaz again, and some of his usual peculiar mixture of furtive pomposity returned, causing his shoulders to straighten, and his eyes to dart around as if looking for hidden threats.


    ¡°If you find the stairs, and you do manage to get out, go to the Deep and tell my tribe where I am. I¡¯m certain they just haven¡¯t been able to find me in this lost pit. I¡¯m certain my mother will reward you well for it. She might even be willing to trade for you, though the color of your fur is unfortunate.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed. Why did the color of his fur seem to matter so much? In the heights, some tribes, like the Palefurs, bred for a certain color, but a puppy born with fur of another shade would be considered less attractive, not less important. It was a mystery for another time, though, so he simply nodded.


    ¡°I plan to go to the Deep, and I¡¯ll carry your message,¡± he told the other male, whose muzzle lifted pridefully again.


    The two kobolds turned away from each other, Kaz heading back the way they had just come, while Dett aimed for another, more natural-looking crevice that Kaz doubted he could even fit through. The other kobold¡¯s small size probably came in handy in places like this. Dett could duck into spaces the hoyi couldn¡¯t reach, at least not without widening the opening, which would probably take time, even for their powerful pincers.


    As Dett squeezed into the dark crack, barely able to pull his full sack after him, Kaz called out, ¡°Wait!¡±


    Trotting over, he handed Dett his own empty bag, which had been hanging uselessly from his belt this entire time. ¡°Split it into two bags, so it¡¯s easier,¡± he told the Goldblade male. ¡°And thank you.¡±


    Dett accepted the bag, though he didn¡¯t immediately take Kaz¡¯s advice. His gaze flickered from Kaz to the passage behind him.


    ¡°If you-¡± he said, voice rougher than the usual kobold growl. ¡°If you do make it to the stairs¡­ It should be obvious, but avoid both husede and mosui.¡± He touched the hand holding Kaz¡¯s bag to the collar at his throat. ¡°Any of the mosui can burn you, and they will. You might think the husede will help you, but they won¡¯t. They don¡¯t care about us kobolds, only their own people. If they see you, they¡¯ll tell the first mosui they see, hoping for a reward. And-¡±


    His jaw clenched before he forced out one last piece of advice. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. No matter what you see.¡±


    With that, he disappeared into the crevice, leaving Kaz with the dwindling sound of his bag dragging against the stone walls, and yet another question.


    What, exactly, did Dett think Kaz was going to find? Perhaps more importantly, what did he think was going to find Kaz?

 Chapter Ninety-seven

    The round tunnel was as straight as Dett had told him it would be. It intersected with several other passages, but never deviated from its path. More than once, workers scurried out of a tunnel in front of or behind Kaz, nearly frightening him out of his fur, but they always ignored him, moving past as if he didn¡¯t exist.


    Kaz hugged the wall, occasionally running across the wide passage to avoid a new opening when one loomed on whichever side he was currently on. The further he went, the more intersections there were, and the wider the main tunnel got, until it was almost more of a very long cavern than anything else.


    At one point, he paused to take a few deep breaths, pushing his core to produce more ki, so he would be ready to run or defend himself if a warrior appeared, and found himself staring up at the ceiling. In all but the oldest of passages, the ones carved out by whoever lived in the mountain before the kobolds, the ceiling was left unfinished. Even if some subsequent resident decided to widen the tunnel itself, they usually only knocked off the stalactites, and didn¡¯t worry about any other irregularities. Not here, however. The top of the tunnel was as round as the rest of it, with marks more reminiscent of scraping than digging. Had the hoyi climbed atop each other in order to complete the circle?


    The mental image this idea conjured up was amusing enough to distract him from his tension, and he drew in one more breath as he readied himself to move forward again. He stilled, however, as several loud clicks echoed down the passage. So far as he could tell, there was no pattern to them, but they were picked up by other hoyi down other passages, in much the same way a kobold tribe would relay a howl.


    Kaz glanced around. If this was a call to arms, now would be a good time for any kobolds intruding in the hive to hide or get out, but the only place to hide was a nearby side passage, which was significantly smaller than this one. If no insects used that particular path, ducking into it would be a good idea, but if even one did, there was no way it would fail to notice him.


    Deciding to hide in plain sight, since sight was the one thing the hoyi didn¡¯t have, Kaz pressed his back against the wall, holding his knife tightly, as he had ever since he separated from Dett. Sure enough, the clicking of approaching insects grew louder and louder, until hoyi warriors swept by Kaz in a tidy, single-file row. Each insect remained precisely in the center of the tunnel, though a few split off down the nearby side tunnel apparently at random. Not a single one of the bugs paid any attention to the kobold who was finding out just how long he could actually hold his breath.


    The answer was still ¡®a very long time¡¯, and Kaz was astonished as he counted hundreds of insects, in what seemed like a never-ending line. There were workers mixed in with the warriors, their smaller bodies like puppies among adults, and these were more likely to divert into the little tunnel he had decided not to use as a refuge. Most importantly, however, they were all heading in the same direction as Kaz.


    When the last glittering blue abdomen vanished into the dimly lit tunnel ahead, Kaz finally released his breath and tried to step away from the wall. Tried, because apparently he still had enough heat in him that he had melted a thin layer of the ice coating everything. The resultant water had refrozen, sticking him to the wall via his trapped and frozen fur.


    With a resigned sigh, Kaz used a bit more ki and pulled harder, whimpering at the pain of some significant portion of his fur being forcibly pulled from his skin. He didn¡¯t really want to look, but he found himself compelled to do so, and winced at the amount of fur now embedded in the wall in a vaguely Kaz-shaped blob. Reaching back, he ran his hand over his back, and was relieved to feel some soft fuzz, though he was fairly certain there was a bald patch on his tail.


    Li thought all of this was very funny. He sent her an image of a grumpy kobold face. She smugly returned a picture of smooth, perfect dragon scales, entirely unable to become stuck to anything. He replied with a picture of a helpless, flailing dragon, pinned to a wall of ice and incapable of freeing herself because she couldn¡¯t rip her scales away without significant injury.


    As Kaz continued down the tunnel, he found the teasing had banished the worst of his fear and tension, and he could tell Li felt better as well. She had been in the box for a long time, and hunger was gnawing at her. Neither of them had any idea if or when someone would give her food or water, and Kaz knew her small body didn¡¯t have any reserves, which added yet another layer of urgency to his search.


    Soon, the branching tunnels began to acquire their own generally rounded shape, and as Kaz continued on, he found that all of the passages became curved on top and sides, no matter how small they were. The intersections also became more regular, occurring every twenty to thirty feet. More workers began to appear, still hurrying past him as if he didn¡¯t exist.


    Then more clicking came. This was louder, insistent in a way the first hadn¡¯t been. It echoed through the tunnels, instantly picked up and repeated by insects out of sight but not hearing. Reluctantly, Kaz pressed against the wall again, shivering as he felt ice and stone on skin that was never meant to be exposed.


    The hoyi came in pairs this time, taking up far more of the tunnel¡¯s width. Two by two, one protective warrior, and one worker, carrying an opalescent orb carefully in its jaws. Inside each orb, Kaz saw a swirl of black and white ki, reminiscent of Chi Yincang¡¯s Duality cycle. The things weren¡¯t cores, but Kaz¡¯s mouth began to water at the sight nonetheless. Whatever they were, his body believed he could eat them and grow stronger.


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    When the two dozen or so hoyi had passed by, Kaz still stood, staring after them. He wanted those orbs. Wanted them with a ferocity that nearly made him forget why he was there, and that they were guarded by creatures who could slice a kobold in half with a single snap of their jaws. But he wasn¡¯t just another kobold, was he? He had his knife, and he had ki to reinforce his flesh and bones. If he followed them, found out where they were going, surely he could-


    His stomach growled, and he clutched it, feeling the painful twist of his guts. He felt like this, and he had eaten since Li had. How much longer could the little dragon ignore the overwhelming hunger? No, he needed to go on. After all, he was still heading in the direction the hoyi had come from, and far more than a dozen of them had gone that way earlier. There might still be more of the tasty white spheres ahead.


    Three more times the demanding clicking rang out, and each time, Kaz clung to the wall until one or two dozen sets of hoyi passed by. Each worker held a ki-filled ball the size of Kaz¡¯s two fists put together, and each time Kaz¡¯s longing to follow them or try to take one grew. It was only by thinking of Li that he was able to distract himself from this urge and continue on his way.


    The one good thing that came of these intervals was Kaz¡¯s discovery that he could use a bit of the red ki he was separating from his cycle to warm his skin and melt the ice that continued trying to stick him to the wall. The blindingly ki-filled red crystals were larger and more common here, and Kaz had started simply splitting the red ki from his entire cycle and leaving it in his central meridian, rather than focusing on blocking it from his eyes alone.


    The greater presence of red ki seemed to warm his chest, heart, and lungs, so he pushed a bit out to his skin, and the ice there melted as well. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t just infuse his skin with red ki, in case the hoyi really could sense heat. Raising his body temperature at the moment seemed like a very poor idea.


    As the clicking rang out through the hive for the fifth time, Kaz realized that it sounded different. Rather than coming from ahead and behind him at once, in that strange way echoes did, it clearly originated from a particularly large passage ahead of him.


    Again, Kaz stepped to the side, but this time, to his surprise, the warriors and workers didn¡¯t appear together. Instead, the workers came from the side passage, while the warriors came from further down the tunnel Kaz was in. They joined up in perfect formation, each pair briefly tapping their antennae together before moving off down the tunnel. When the last warrior arrived, however, there was no worker there for it to escort, so it simply stood, waving its antennae, as if confused.


    Kaz continued to hold his breath, watching the giant bug. It turned as if to go down the side tunnel, stopped, quietly clicked its mandibles together, then finally spun and returned the way it had come. It was the first time Kaz had ever seen one of the insects seem uncertain what it should do.


    Once all the hoyi were gone, Kaz again detached himself from the wall, moving closer to the now-empty tunnel entrance ahead. He stared at it. It was just as round as the one he was currently in, and the workers had come from here, whereas the deadly warriors waited for him on his current path. Dett had just said to follow any round tunnel, and this one qualified as well as any other. In fact, it led slightly closer to Li, since the trail of ki linking them vanished through the ceiling above and to his right.


    With a nervous twitch of his ears, listening for any indication that one of the monstrous insects might be approaching from either direction, Kaz deviated from his course. The new tunnel was smaller, with the ceiling only just out of reach, and he wasn¡¯t sure that even a worker could pass by him without actually touching him, which was something he had thus far avoided. Even if the smaller hoyi were either less wary or less sensitive, they might well send up some kind of alarm if they came into contact with him.


    Far too conscious of this possibility, Kaz picked up his pace, though he didn¡¯t stop watching and listening for the bugs, and he found himself growing more and more on edge as he went. It took him a while to figure out the cause of his unease, which was that this tunnel had no passages connecting to it whatsoever. A tunnel without turns was a tunnel that could easily become a trap, leaving him with the possibility of being caught between two hoyi approaching from opposite directions, without any way to escape.


    When he finally saw a broader opening ahead, Kaz¡¯s heart thumped in relief, right up until the faint, chittering, scratching sounds that pervaded the hive resolved into something far more distinct. Chitin on ice and stone, the soft clicking of mandibles, and a strange, hollow scraping sound, it all came from straight ahead of him.


    Silently, he crept forward, desperately wishing for Li¡¯s help to conceal his presence from whatever lay beyond. Of course, if the dragon was with him, he never would have come to this place, at least not alone. If only Lianhua had been missing, he thought he would have felt brave enough to tell the other humans, and risk their wrath when they realized he had lied to Chi Yincang. If they refused to allow him to remain with the party, or even attacked him, he could have fought back or fled, if he¡¯d only had Li with him.


    In his mind, the dragon sent him warm assurance before trying once again to explain how she did what she did. It was some combination of spreading a layer of ki around herself, as well as manipulating the perception of what others were sensing, and Kaz could no more do it than he could turn into a dragon.


    Bracing himself, Kaz remembered Dett¡¯s last words. Don¡¯t panic, no matter what you see. More information would have been helpful, and if he ever did see the other kobold again, he would tell him so. Pressing his back against the chill stone wall, Kaz peered out into the cavern beyond, and barely managed to push a whimper back down his throat.


    The cavern was enormous, larger than any Kaz had seen since leaving the Deep, other than the mosui city itself. That one was broken up by the floor to ceiling buildings, making it difficult to grasp just how large it was, but this one held only a few wide pillars, formed by the meeting of stalactite and stalagmite. Pillars, a thousand and one hoyi, plus one set of stairs.

 Chapter Ninety-eight

    Most of the hoyi were warriors and workers, but there were two other types Kaz hadn¡¯t seen anywhere else in the nest. The first were even smaller than the workers, and had wings, flying from place to place inside the vast cavern. Kaz didn¡¯t know what their purpose was, but they mostly circled the last hoyi and brought her food, so perhaps they were minions of some kind.


    This last hoyi was clearly the queen. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should be surprised or not when he realized she had a core, and black and white ki cycled through her massive body. This was the first creature with a core he¡¯d seen since entering the mosui-controlled levels, and it was deep in their territory. Did they know she was there, and allowed her to remain for some reason? Or was she simply not exposed to the fulan, so she had managed to avoid being contaminated?


    Whatever the case might be, she, like the servants, had wings, but they were far too small to lift her bulk. In fact, her abdomen was so large that it seemed difficult for her to raise it from the floor, though she did, and each time, one of the gleaming white orbs dropped from the bulbous tip.


    Kaz probably should have realized that they were eggs. There were many kinds of insects in the mountain, and so far as he knew, they all laid eggs. Most of the eggs were elongated, rather than round, and all the others he¡¯d seen had been significantly smaller, but the glossy gleam of their surfaces were similar.


    As the queen laid each egg, it dropped into the waiting jaws of a worker, who stepped to the side, waiting with others who also held a white orb. There were eleven in the current group, and when a twelfth joined them, the queen lifted her head, clicking together mandibles as long as one of Kaz¡¯s legs. The now-familiar call rang out, and the twelve egg-bearing workers moved, forming a line and scurrying directly toward Kaz.


    Realizing that he had no choice, Kaz took one final look around, his eyes lingering on the cracked and frosty set of stairs to the left of the queen. He had never seen functional steps in such poor condition, not even in the very top levels of the mountain. Their golden veneers were missing or buried beneath layers of ice and dirt, and some of the steps had crumbled into rubble. Still, they led up into a gap in the ceiling, and ¡®up¡¯ was the direction Kaz needed to go.


    Stepping out and to the left, Kaz kept his back against the wall as the workers proceeded inexorably toward him. There was a stone column not too far away, and Kaz crouched down as he scurried toward it, not even turning his head to check if any of the hoyi had noticed him. Only when the column stood between him and most of the cavern did he dare look around again, seeing the last few workers vanishing into the tunnel he¡¯d just vacated.


    His stomach grumbled at the sight of the delicious-looking eggs, and his fist tightened around the hilt of his knife as he wondered if it was too late to go after them. Perhaps he could pick off the one in the back, stealing the egg for himself. Last time, the final warrior had clearly expected one more worker than had arrived, but had simply gone back alone, so surely it wouldn¡¯t be a problem if the same happened again?


    His paws twitched, taking a half-step back the way he¡¯d come, before he shook his head. Dett had said that the workers would call for help if they were attacked, so unless Kaz managed to kill the insect silently and instantly, he would soon find himself caught between warriors flooding out of this cavern, and coming from the main tunnel as well. He wasn¡¯t here to steal an egg, he was here to save Li, and anything else came in a distant second.


    Cautiously, he moved forward, firmly putting both eggs and worker hoyi from his mind. When he reached the column, which stood fifteen feet or so from the stone wall, he pressed up against it, trying to think rock-like thoughts as he peered around the left side.


    The workers stood in a small group, not even shifting their feet as they waited for their opportunity to carry an egg. The servants flew from the queen to a pile of something that glittered with a coating of frost over something red. At first, Kaz thought it was more of the red crystals, but that didn¡¯t make sense, since the bugs seemed utterly uninterested in the large crystals that nearly coated the walls and ceiling of the chamber. Then, when one of the small servants carried a piece to the queen, Kaz could see that it was a chunk of frozen meat, and he shuddered.


    Nausea swirled in his gut, finally chasing away the hunger left by hours without food followed by the mesmerizing sight of the eggs. He turned his eyes away as the queen began to eat, and as he did, something out of order caught his attention. Kaz frowned, watching. Warriors walked their precise paths, back and forth, while servants fetched food, and workers stood, silent and still as frozen carvings.


    Except one. One single worker, smaller than the rest, scurried around. In fact, it was so small that Kaz had dismissed it as one of the servants, but it had no wings. It circled the area in between the other workers and the queen, tapping its antennae gingerly against the ground. Each time it touched one of the other hoyi, it froze, tapped again, then moved on. If Kaz could assign emotion to a large insect, he would say it looked worried, perhaps even frantic.


    It seemed to be searching for something, but without eyes, it had to use its antennae, which was a slow process, requiring it to touch every inch of the smooth stone floor. Kaz, on the other hand, pushed a bit of ki into his eyes, quickly locating the missing object.


    An egg.


    The gleaming opalescent orb had rolled away and become lodged beneath a small ledge of rounded stone at the bottom of the pillar closest to the queen. Her bulbous abdomen even brushed the column as she shifted, clearly preparing to produce another round of eggs. The worker scurried back out of the way as the queen brought her jaws together, producing the first round of loud clicks that echoed throughout the cavern and the den.


    Kaz watched as the process of egg-laying repeated, his mind whirling as he tried to think of how he could possibly get that egg. It was practically underneath the queen as she laid her eggs, and there was no way she or one of the workers wouldn¡¯t touch him if he tried then. No, his best chance was while she was eating, and the workers were in their tidy group.


    The greatest danger would be if one of the servants, who had no pattern of movement, unlike all the other hoyi, wandered in his direction. That, and the very real possibility that the queen had some ability that could detect him, either because of his core or his heat. He would have to come far closer to her than he¡¯d like during the process, but he¡¯d have to move almost as close to reach the stairs, so it didn¡¯t add that much more risk to an already dangerous plan.


    Quietly, he settled down, tracking each warrior who crossed between his hiding place and the egg. Once he was certain he¡¯d memorized the creature¡¯s patterns, he concentrated on the winged servants instead. The other hoyi, perhaps because of their lack of eyes, repeated their previous actions without the slightest variation. These insects, on the other hand, flew on and off the queen, crawling on and around her apparently at random.


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    It took Kaz another full cycle to realize what they were doing. They actually seemed to be grooming the queen, as well as feeding her. Their antennae flickered over her body from top to bottom, and every now and then one would pick something up in their jaws, immediately lifting away and flying off to a distant part of the cavern, where still more workers waited. One of these workers would touch antennae and jaws to those of the servant before scurrying away down a nearby tunnel.


    Kaz had no idea what the servants were finding on the body of a queen who must surely be as perfectly clean as Lianhua after one of her baths, but that didn¡¯t matter. What did matter was that he had found the pattern, such as it was. So long as none of the servant bugs found the thing they were looking for, they would remain with the queen, their focus utterly on her, and not at all on any creeping kobolds nearby.


    The next time the queen finished laying her eggs, Kaz put his plan into motion. The warriors around the outside of the cavern had the furthest to walk, and so their routes were longer, and easier to work around. He was able to keep a good distance between them and himself, though it was strangely eerie to walk directly in front of an insect that would slice him in half if it had any idea he was there.


    He stopped at the first column on his path, barely managing not to sigh in relief. He was now surrounded by hoyi, but the columns seemed to be a sort of safe space. The paths the insects walked went around them, so if Kaz could reach one, he could take a moment to ready himself for the next section.


    By the time he reached the third column, enough time had passed that the queen was ready to lay more eggs. This didn¡¯t really matter before, because only the workers and servants changed their behavior when she did, but by now Kaz had crossed half of the cavern, and he was close enough that the servant insects would pass over him on their way to the pile of meat. That meant that this was actually the best time for him to move, since they didn¡¯t feed her while she was laying, but Kaz found it difficult to force his paws to move.


    From here on, there were more warriors, and they had shorter paths, which meant they turned around and came back more quickly. The gaps between them were small and brief, and Kaz couldn¡¯t afford to hesitate even once.


    Closing his eyes, Kaz pulled the red ki that had been keeping him warm down into a small ball in the center of his chest. Instead, he pushed the same black and white ki the queen used into his skin, feeling it instantly grow colder. He didn¡¯t think the ki itself was causing that effect, or Chi Yincang would produce frost just like the hoyi, but the air around Kaz suddenly had a chill that hadn¡¯t been there before.


    Kaz shivered. He had hoped that this combination of ki would help him avoid detection if one of the warriors drew too close, but he hadn¡¯t counted on it actually making him colder. Without the warm flow of red ki, his fingers began to feel like frozen lumps, rather than the nimble digits he was used to, and he was afraid he might trip over his own paws if he tried to walk. The hoyi might be able to function at this temperature, but kobolds couldn¡¯t.


    Exhaling, he saw that his breath was so cold that it wasn¡¯t even visible in the chill air of the cavern any more, and he released some of the tight grip he was holding on the red ki in his central meridian. Being less noticeable was good, but not if he froze to death in the process.


    Sliding around the column, Kaz found himself less than fifty feet from the queen. She was about halfway done with this round of eggs, and if he didn¡¯t want to wait for the next, he needed to go. Glancing to his left, he saw a warrior approaching, as another one only a few feet further away crossed, going in the opposite direction.


    He tensed, watching each chitinous leg impact the ground. Not yet. Not yet. Now!


    Launching himself forward, Kaz nearly brushed the abdomen of the closest warrior, his eagerness causing him to move slightly too soon. He twisted to the side, sliding between two more warriors, then froze as one crossed two feet behind him as another walked in front of him, momentarily boxing him in between four of the enormous insects. He trembled, clamping down on red ki and surrounding himself with black and white as all four warriors paused, antennae twitching in his direction.


    His heart pounded so hard in his chest that he thought they must sense the vibrations, but somehow they didn¡¯t. With synchronized movements, the quartet continued on their rounds, but that momentary delay had been enough to throw every bit of Kaz¡¯s careful plan into disarray.


    He was too late to cross between the next pair of passing warriors, but if he waited, another would walk right through the spot where he stood. Instead of trying to run for it anyway, he frantically shoved his knife into its sheath, pushed all the extra ki he had into his legs, and jumped.


    Flying over the warriors, Kaz flailed his frozen arms, switching the flow of his red ki back on as he tried to get some feeling back into his frozen fingers. The last column, the one by which the queen stood, was just ahead of him, and beyond that was the stairs. The trajectory of Kaz¡¯s improbable, if not previously impossible, leap would land him on the bottom steps of his ultimate goal. If he simply continued as he was, he could be out of the hoyi nest in less than a minute.


    Instead, he reached out, digging ki-strengthened claws into the stone of the frozen column as he passed. A loud crack rang out through the cavern, and every single hoyi burst into frantic motion. Warriors raced along their paths, somehow not quite running into each other, even as workers scattered, vanishing down the tunnels ringing the chamber.


    Kaz clung desperately to icy rock as the servants rose from the queen¡¯s body in a cloud. Black and white ki pulsed from her core, sinking into the small bodies of her attendants, and a shimmering shield formed between them, linking each of them together into a protective dome. Kaz was astonished at the perfect formation as they hovered, only their wings moving as the warriors made sure the cavern was empty of everything except insects.


    For the first time, the queen began to move more than necessary to simply produce more eggs. She took two ponderous steps, her insectile shield moving with her. Unfortunately, she moved toward Kaz, and he had to pull up his paws quickly in order to avoid touching the uppermost shield bug. This left him dangling by the claws of his hands alone, and even with his ki concentrated in them, he wasn¡¯t sure how long they could bear his weight without snapping.


    The queen moved past, taking her cloud with her, and many of the warriors followed. That left one small insect still scurrying around: the little worker who had dropped its egg. It hadn¡¯t gone with the rest of the workers, instead choosing to redouble its efforts to find the egg it had lost. Anxiously, Kaz watched as it moved closer and closer even as the queen and her warriors moved further away, and finally he wrapped his legs around the column as best he could and slid down.


    Somehow, even in the midst of whirring wings, clicking chitin, and chittering jaws, every bug in the cavern heard Kaz¡¯s paws hit the ground. Heads swiveled toward him, mandibles stretching wide, as Kaz¡¯s hand darted into the overhang and snatched out the little round egg. He had thought it would be cold, but somehow it wasn¡¯t, the roiling ki inside reaching up to meet his almost eagerly.


    Whirling, Kaz ran for the stairs, hearing warriors rushing at him from every direction as he did so. His paws hit the bottommost stair, and if he had been facing other kobolds, he would have been free and clear in that instant. Somehow, he didn¡¯t think the hoyi cared that the steps were supposed to be neutral ground, so he continued bounding upwards, taking two and three stairs at a time, though his ki was rapidly draining away.


    Just before he passed through the gap in the ceiling, he dared to glance back, seeing that the stairs behind him were solid blue with bugs. Still, he implemented the very last part of his plan, reaching out and grasping a long red crystal protruding from the ceiling right next to him. It snapped off in his hand, and he clutched it to his chest as he continued running for his life.

 Chapter Ninety-nine

    Hoyi were stubborn creatures, but not irrationally so, like the zhiwu. Once Kaz was far enough up the stairs that there was no way he presented a threat to their queen any longer, one after another of the warriors began to give up. Which was good, because Kaz¡¯s strength was flagging as well, but he didn¡¯t dare slow for fear of encouraging the insects to continue their chase.


    Only when Kaz could no longer hear the click of the enraged creatures¡¯ legs against the stairs did he finally reduce his speed. A good minute after that, he stopped, chest heaving as even his lungs struggled to take in enough air to feed muscles that had passed the endurance of a normal kobold at least two hundred steps ago. His ears swiveled as he strained to hear any hint that his pursuers might still be behind him. When only the sound of his own breathing reached them, he staggered up one last step, then turned and sat down with a thump.


    How far had he come? He had thought some of the other staircases in the mid-levels were long, but this one seemed to cover a mountain in itself. He was fairly certain that he had gone up at least six hundred steps, which at nine inches each was¡­ a lot. Worse, there was no end in sight, just the carved stone walls and familiar red light gleaming from deep alcoves every ten or fifteen steps.


    Kaz sat until his racing heart settled back into its usual rhythm, but though his body was still, his mind was anything but. Li was very unhappy that he had risked himself for the egg, and now that he was safe, she was letting him know in no uncertain terms. She sent him image after image of a blue kobold being splattered by bugs, while a golden dragon scratched and bit at the box that held her.


    Kaz clutched his prizes and let the dragon rail at him until she finally slowed on her own. Only then did he respond.


    ¡°I know,¡± he murmured, staring up at the thread of ki that bound them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I needed to do it, and I believed I could.¡± He felt a slow grin stretch his mouth. ¡°And I was right.¡±


    A mental equivalent of muttering reached him, followed by reluctant curiosity. An image of blue kobold eating white egg followed by red crystal came to him, but he could almost see the way she cocked her head, and white swirled into her golden eyes when she was confused.


    Kaz chuckled, unbuckling his little warrior¡¯s pack and bringing it around to his lap. At some point, he must have caught it on something, maybe when he slid down the column, because the single remaining strap was partially cut through. He sighed, pushing the edges together, but they just fell limply apart again.


    ¡°The egg goes in here,¡± he said aloud, carefully rolling the egg in his old fur loincloth. It was ratty and matted, but would still cushion the orb from anything but a direct impact. His fingers lingered on it as he tucked it away, but he did so anyway.


    Another picture of a kobold eating the egg, repeated insistently.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I will, but not now. We don¡¯t know what will happen, and neither of us is safe yet. What if it¡¯s as difficult for my core to take in the power of the egg as it is when a female eats another core? Even without the fulan complicating things, that¡¯s not a risk I can take. Not until we¡¯re together again.¡±


    He sent her a picture of a kobold, curled up on the ground, as a great golden dragon stood over him, guarding.


    Flustered agreement. Waiting was the best choice. An image of the red crystal, which was too large to fit easily into his pack, along with renewed interest.


    Kaz lifted it, then very, very carefully touched it to the metal collar that still bound his neck. Nothing happened. He sent a filament of ki into it, and fire lanced through him in return. He gasped, hand falling away, nearly dropping the crystal.


    Li was unhappy again, but before she could proceed too far with her complaining, Kaz tried something else: black and white ki. Not through the crystal this time, but directly into the collar. It grew instantly frigid, at least as cold as it had been hot a moment before. Golden ki made it heavy, while his small trickle of blue actually sent a pleasant flush through him, making his abused neck feel slightly better.


    ¡°So it amplifies the effects of the various types of ki,¡± Kaz muttered, setting the crystal down and fingering the collar. The air was much warmer here than in the hoyi nest, and his fingers had finally returned to their normal sensitivity, apparently undamaged by their long exposure to the cold.


    He wished he could have examined a collar on one of the other kobolds, but there hadn¡¯t been anyone he trusted enough to ask. He had a feeling that the answer would have been an instantaneous ¡®No¡¯ anyway, since the kobolds only associated the things with pain, and were clearly afraid to mess with them. For all Kaz knew, the other kobolds had tried, and the collars had some kind of trap built into them to make them hurt or kill their wearer if someone attempted to remove them by force.


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    Kaz cycled through each color of ki, then each combination, all while trying to feel any changes in the collar as he did so. He found that several of the combinations were the same as one of their components, while white alone did nothing at all, so far as he could tell. Black was cool, but not cold, and oddly pleasant, though not as much as the blue. Lianhua¡¯s combination of blue, black, and gold was the best of all, though, and when Kaz brushed against the raw skin of his neck after that one, he found that it was less painful than it had been before.


    Unfortunately, no combination of ki, with or without using the red crystal as a conduit, convinced the collar to release him. Which, honestly, wasn¡¯t particularly surprising. The mosui were filled with mana after all, not ki. Without a core or lower dantian, they had to use the crystals to refine that mana into ki, which meant that a collar that could be opened only with ki was useless to them, though why they hadn¡¯t created the horrible devices to work only with mana made no particular sense, either. Perhaps the qualities of the different colors of ki were so useful that they made the effort of using a power that didn¡¯t come naturally to the mosui worthwhile?


    In the end, it didn¡¯t really matter how or why the mosui had made the collars the way they were, only that Kaz couldn¡¯t get his off alone. He was fairly certain by now that mana was simply the result of mixing all the colors of ki together until they became something like a gas, and, in fact, that ¡®gas¡¯ was in the air around him all the time.


    He was, however, realizing that the different kinds of ki interacted with each other to create all kinds of effects. For example, the freezing effect of the combination of black and white ki only occurred when red ki was nearby. Once Kaz put down the red crystal, black and white ki only created what would have been an almost refreshing coolness if Kaz hadn¡¯t just spent so much time almost frozen, much like black ki alone. Red and white ki, on the other hand, produced a similarly comforting warmth, not as focused as the fierce heat created by red ki alone.


    Kaz huffed a frustrated breath, and for once, even Li was out of ideas. He could almost feel her sifting through their memories, trying to find anything that might help him, but all she found was image after image of Raff using mana, the other humans refining mana into ki, and even a few of the weaker kobold females who, like Raff, seemed to have some mana inside them, though they only used the sparks of ki that lit up the gray fog.


    Kaz pulled up the image of his core, looking at the iron-gray lumps of hardened mana that had become part of the second layer of his core. At some point during his desperate frenzy to repair his core immediately after it was broken, he had forced his ki to merge together into mana, which then mingled again with the ki from which it had come, forming the shell that had held his core together and kept him alive until he did¡­ whatever he did.


    He still wasn¡¯t sure if he had managed to break that shell, or if the splinter he¡¯d been trying to pull out had come loose, causing a cascade of failures. Either way, his core had been forever changed by everything he had put it through, and there, encased inside of it, lay all the proof he needed that he could form mana, even if he didn¡¯t yet know how to manipulate it.


    Kaz groaned, rubbing his snout as he returned to the matter at hand. He had, of course, tried pushing all five types of ki into his collar at once, but that had had even less apparent effect than using white alone. It almost seemed like his ki was canceling itself out, which was¡­


    Enough. Maybe. If he couldn¡¯t take the collar off, could he at least render it useless? If he filled it with the opposite of red ki, would that be enough to prevent a mosui or husede from using it against him? Quickly, he ran though each color of ki, sending it to the collar directly as he pushed a thread of red into it via the crystal. Red plus white actually made the burning worse, but red plus black was better. Because the crystal strengthened the red ki, it took more black ki to balance it, which quickly drained that portion of Kaz¡¯s reserves.


    Still, if he pulled the black ki from his cycle and stored it in his central dantian, much as he had been storing red, maybe he would have enough to allow him to ignore the pain, for a while at least. Kaz¡¯s knife was certainly sharp enough to end the life of one of the mosui, so long as the little being wasn¡¯t able to use the collar against him.


    Baring his teeth in satisfaction, Kaz stood, already beginning to cycle his core more quickly in order to build up a greater cache of black ki. He wasn¡¯t going to seek out a conflict with one of the mosui, but he wasn¡¯t going to let the possibility keep him from finding his friend, either. If Li was on the fifth level of the nine mosui-controlled levels, and Kaz was on the bottom, then Kaz had four levels to climb. Even if that meant he had to climb a thousand steps between each of them, he didn¡¯t care.


    Kaz took a step, promptly wincing at the pain that ran through his muscles as he did so. Perhaps he cared a little, but that wasn¡¯t going to stop him. He drew in a deep breath and began to climb again.


    Fifty steps.


    One hundred.


    Two hundred, with no sign that the end was near, or that there was an end at all. How far had he come since the hoyi nest? Seven hundred steps, surely. Eight? Nine? Was it possible that this single staircase would bring him to the same level as Li, or perhaps even past? He thought the angle at which their ki-bond rose had flattened a little at least.


    In his mind, Li grew sleepy again, and closed her eyes. He could feel hunger tearing at her, and her throat was even drier than his own, but she ignored it, curling up in a ball, with her wings wrapped around her slender body as she tried to rest.


    Kaz tried to entertain her, sending her images of her favorite story: the time he had found and stolen her egg. Usually, she lingered over each picture of her parent and siblings, but today even that wasn¡¯t enough, and soon enough his mind returned to counting.


    Three hundred steps. Three hundred and one-


    Someone opened Li¡¯s box.

 Chapter One hundred

    Instantly, sound and clarity returned to their bond, and Kaz saw and heard as a slim, furless hand reached in between the rim and the lid of the gleaming red box, bizarrely huge and yet familiar. A similarly familiar sound and smell reached them as Lianhua cradled the little dragon against her, whispering, ¡°Oh, thank the Enlightened Ones, you¡¯re all right.¡±


    A shuffling sound came from behind them, and the human female spun, the sudden movement making Li dizzy after her time in confinement, and when their vision stilled, Kaz and Li could see that Lianhua wasn¡¯t alone. A mosui stood there, wrapped in so much fabric that only its nose and the tips of its claws poked out, and it looked as if it might collapse beneath the weight of the folds and folds of material.


    Lianhua¡¯s lips twitched, but Li could feel the human¡¯s heart pounding in her chest, revealing that she was terrified of the round little being which stood barely half her height.


    ¡°Oh, great Yanshu,¡± Lianhua said, bowing deeply, though her fingers trembled on Li¡¯s body. ¡°I know you said I should wait a little longer, but I was worried-¡±


    The tendrils surrounding the mosui¡¯s nose twitched, and it raised one large, flat hand to touch the red crystal that hung around its neck. As it did, its sleeve fell back, revealing a short, round arm covered in a fine coat of fur as perfectly white as Lianhua¡¯s hair. Lianhua flinched back, but the mosui¡¯s hand fell away without using the crystal.


    Yanshu, if that was a name, and not a title, instead gestured with one deadly-looking claw, and when it spoke, its voice was high-pitched even for a mosui, making both Li and Kaz wince at the sound.


    ¡°Understand,¡± it said. ¡°Take care of pet. I take care you. You take care rodent. Return to box after.¡±


    A single husede female stepped out of the nearby doorway, carrying a tray with two bowls resting on it. From the smell and appearance of it, it was the same stew the imprisoned kobolds had been given.  Was Lianhua also being forced to work in exchange for food? She certainly didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d been mining, so what did the mosui have her doing?


    Kaz silently urged Li to look up, and when she did, Kaz could see that Lianhua, too, wore a collar. He could see designs or runes carved into its surface, but felt nothing similar when he reached up to touch the ring around his own neck. They were different, then, but in what way, and why?


    The husede stepped forward, head bowed as she offered Lianhua the bowls, and Lianhua accepted them, but didn¡¯t begin eating or offer one to Li, though the dragon¡¯s belly was churning at the smell of food.


    Eventually, the mosui sighed in something Kaz would have called petulant resignation in a human or kobold, and waved to the husede again. The muscular, gray-skinned female bowed briefly to Lianhua, then more deeply to the mosui, backing away until she disappeared through a nearby door.  The mosui reluctantly followed, leaving the door open behind her, and Lianhua relaxed slightly, finally releasing her grip on Li enough that the dragon could twist and look around.


    The room in which they stood was round and, unsurprisingly, red. Crystals coated every surface nearly as thoroughly as the inside of the box Li had been held in, but these crystals were arranged in beautiful designs, and cut into a hundred exquisite shapes. Two cloth bags woven of what Kaz thought was niu fur lay on the floor, each one plump and soft-looking, making Kaz wonder if they were meant for sitting or sleeping on, rather than holding things.


    Lianhua turned her back on the empty doorway, allowing Li and Kaz to see the box in which Li had been held. The lid was now open, revealing the smooth interior, and both of them could tell that in spite of the dragon¡¯s enthusiastic attempts at escape, not a single scratch marred the gleaming interior.


    In contrast to the inside, the outside was covered in yet more designs, all picked out in different colors of crystals and gemstones. Li couldn¡¯t see ki as well as Kaz could, but she could tell that only the red crystals contained ki, and the rest seemed to be perfectly normal gems; pretty, but otherwise useless.


    The box sat on a low table, the top only reaching just above Lianhua¡¯s knees. The table was clearly made of some gold-rich alloy. At least, Kaz assumed it must be an alloy, because gold, while plentiful in some parts of the mountain, was both heavy and soft, making it impractical for furniture. Metal in general was too heavy or difficult to work with for anything larger than a knife, which was why kobolds used leather and bone for almost everything.


    Lianhua set both bowls down on the table, then gently placed Li next to one of them. As soon as she was released, the dragon dove into the bowl, gulping thick broth and chunks of stew, chasing down each greasy lump of meat as it swirled away from her. Beside her, Lianhua knelt and picked up her own bowl, tilting it back until some of the contents slid into her mouth. It wasn¡¯t nearly as graceful as her usual method, using the slim sticks she kept in her pouch to pinch up each bite, but when Kaz convinced Li to glance back toward the human female, he saw that the pouch no longer rested at Lianhua¡¯s waist.


    A few moments filled with the sounds of voracious eating followed, and then Lianhua began to speak. She didn¡¯t even try to use one of her runes to cover her words, and Kaz wondered if she knew that the mosui had hearing even keener than a kobold, and if Yanshu was nearby, the creature could likely hear every word she said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why no one has come yet,¡± Lianhua murmured, looking down at Li. ¡°I¡¯m assuming they can¡¯t find me, but I¡¯ve been watching you and Kaz, and I believe you can talk to each other, even at a distance. You were knocked out when you fell out of my shield and breathed some kind of powder, but I¡¯ll tell you what I can, and then you just have to pass it on.¡±


    She drew in a breath, then started. ¡°After we fell into a pit, the mosui captured us, collared me and brought me to their city.¡± For a brief moment, her amethyst eyes brightened, seeming to meet Kaz¡¯s gaze through Li¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s marvelous! No one will believe how vast-¡±


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    She stopped, shaking her head as she took a moment to compose herself, then began again. ¡°There are these teleportation pads in the center of the city. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. I think the mosui use ki to make them work, but I¡¯m not sure how, so the others may have to force one of the husede to help. Don¡¯t even bother trying to talk to the mosui, they-¡±


    She stopped, her eyes flickering back toward the door, and ate a bit more of her food. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m on the fifth level down. There are runes by the platforms, counting down. It¡¯s an archaic form, but-¡±


    Once again, she stopped, frowned, and seemed to force herself to return to her story.


    ¡°They were going to take me somewhere else, I think, but Yanshu saw me, and liked my hair.¡± Releasing the bowl with one hand, she reached up and tugged on a strand of her pale hair.


    ¡°She asked for me, and they let her have me, just like that,¡± Lianhua went on, barely audible. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be here long, though, so I need help, and quickly. Li, please, tell them¡­ Tell them it¡¯s all right to let Grandfather know, if they must, but come.¡±


    Hesitating, her fingers clenched on the nearly-empty bowl before she finished in a rush, ¡°And Kaz, if you really can hear me, or if Li really can pass on this message, and I¡¯m not just deluding myself, I¡¯m so, so sorry. I truly meant to wait, but Li was nearly unconscious by the time we reached the map. I thought it would be all right if I went through and looked around at the top of the stairs until she recovered, but then I heard this whimpering sound, like a puppy, and I went to look, and-¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Yanshu¡¯s squeaky voice was sharply unpleasant, and long claws hooked over Lianhua¡¯s shoulder as the mosui squeaked, ¡°No talk! Back in box.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s hands darted out, scooping up Li, who barely managed to hiss past the fullness of her belly. She had eaten far too much, far too quickly, but she felt much better, other than the pressure in her gut.


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t even gotten a drink yet,¡± Lianhua said, turning as she leaned away from the mosui¡¯s long claws and moist tentacles.


    One of those claws pointed at Li¡¯s mostly-empty bowl. ¡°Ate!¡± the mosui insisted.


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°I tried to tell you. We need water, too. There¡¯s not enough moisture in the stew to-¡±


    ¡°Box!¡± Yanshu demanded again, and the husede reappeared in the doorway behind Lianhua, hidden from the human, but clearly visible to the little dragon in her arms.


    Go, Kaz urged the dragon, and Li wriggled until Lianhua released her, dropping back to the table. As much as she and Kaz hated the idea, the safest place for her seemed to be inside the box, at least as long as Lianhua was on the outside, making sure the dragon was fed. Li longed for the drink Lianhua had asked for, but the moisture in the stew was enough for now, as it had been for Kaz.


    Reaching out, Yanshu snapped the box closed, and the connection between kobold and dragon grew immediately weaker. Scent and sound vanished again, and even the red of the box¡¯s interior dulled in comparison to the vivid colors of the room beyond.


    Li hissed, then yawned, finally both warm and full. Her general situation hadn¡¯t improved, but at least she wasn¡¯t starving anymore.


    Kaz smiled, wishing he could stroke her scales as she sank into reluctant sleep, and he resumed his climb. He couldn¡¯t do as Lianhua hoped, and tell the human males where they were, but he was here, and he was on the way.


    Seventy-nine steps later, the stairs ended in a flat, featureless wall. Kaz stood, staring at it, feeling helpless fury threaten to overwhelm him. Was he angry at the stairs, for leading nowhere? At himself, for risking everything on this? At the hoyi for existing, and blocking his way back? Not that he wanted to go back, but what else could he do?


    Walking up the last few steps, Kaz found that the last one was a short landing, like a few of the longer staircases had, allowing climbers to take a break or even sleep for a little while before continuing on their journey. This had been helpful more than once during the Broken Knives¡¯ ascent, especially when some of their elderly members had still been alive and the pups were young.


    Had this staircase once been even longer? Was this a resting place that someone had blocked off at some point? If so, did that mean there were more stairs just on the other side of the wall?


    Kaz lifted his hand and pounded on the wall, caught between fading anger and a rising feeling of despair. Lianhua had said she didn¡¯t think she¡¯d remain where she was for long. That, combined with the dark words of the husede who had assigned Kaz to the mine, made him believe that Lianhua might only be alive now because this Yanshu had taken a liking to her. And what would happen to Li when Lianhua died or was taken away?


    No, there had to be a way through. While blocking stairs was an unusual but valid method of attack in the heights, it was usually done with a rockslide, and never with any intention of permanency. As soon as whatever vara inspired the assault was over, whoever won removed the rocks and cleared the stairs again.


    This wasn¡¯t a rockslide, however, and while the mosui had their crystal platforms to carry them between levels, as well as legs so short that even climbing the stairs would be next to impossible, only a fool would throw away a perfectly good passage between levels.


    Buoyed by this thought, Kaz began to feel around on the wall. Contrary to his first impression, it wasn¡¯t perfectly smooth after all, and there were nine holes in a row about three feet from the ground. That placed the holes at a comfortable level for a mosui, but Kaz had to lean down to examine them.


    No light came from the holes, so they weren¡¯t intended to allow anyone to look through them, even if the mosui¡¯s eyesight was good enough for that. When Kaz carefully stuck his finger in one, he found that it was far deeper than he would have expected; too long, in fact, for him to touch the bottom, and just wide enough that he could wiggle his finger a bit.


    All of the holes were identical, so far as Kaz could tell, except that when he poked his finger into the eighth - with far less caution, since nothing had happened the first seven times - he flinched as a minute spark of ki jumped to his finger from inside the hole. With a soft yip, he yanked his finger back, shaking it.


    In spite of the shock, which was more surprising than painful, his finger was fine, so Kaz knelt down, examining this hole more carefully. By pushing a bit more ki into his eyes, he saw that there was a tiny glimmer of ki lurking deep in the wall at the end of this hole, while the other eight holes were dark and empty.


    Surprisingly, the ki wasn¡¯t red, but rather blue, which so far as Kaz could tell was by far the rarest of the colors. The point of power neither moved nor cycled, so he thought it wasn¡¯t alive, but it did look and feel like the ki inside the red crystals, so perhaps it was a tiny chip of blue? If so, would it enhance blue ki like the red crystals enhanced red ki?


    That seemed logical, so Kaz poked his finger in again, and sent a tiny trickle of pure blue ki into the little glimmer that lurked there. There was a click, and the wall swung open.

 Chapter One hundred one

    The space beyond was small and dark, and though Kaz froze, finger extended and ears perked, he couldn¡¯t hear anything to indicate that anyone or anything had heard the soft rasping of stone against stone. Like the map in the Redmane¡¯s den, this one swiveled in the middle, so perfectly balanced that it barely made a sound until it thumped against some object that had been left in the way.


    Slowly, Kaz straightened from his crouch, pulling his knife from its sheath as he took a single step into the little room. The ceiling was high, but he doubted if he could take more than five steps before running into the wall, and half that space was taken up by a pile of something that smelled strange and sweet. There was a familiarity to it, but he thought it had been a long time since he sniffed anything quite like it, and he couldn¡¯t put a name to the scent.


    He stiffened as a deep, bestial, rolling sound came from somewhere beyond the room, causing the fur along his spine to lift. Whatever that was, it was large, and he didn¡¯t think it was happy.


    Moving forward until he was out of the way of the swinging wall, Kaz gently nudged it, pushing it almost completely shut. Glancing around, he saw a small, cylindrical thing on the ground and picked it up, intending to use it to prop the door open. When he felt the strangely smooth, light weight of the object, he stopped, lifting it to his eyes so he could examine it.


    It was slender, brown, and, when he peered down its length, he could tell it was hollow. He hadn¡¯t seen the plant this came from often, since it was highly prized, and strong tribes were perfectly willing to fight over any territory where it grew, but he was almost certain it was a yumi reed. In the Deep, the yumi plant was, if not common, at least not rare, but it needed certain conditions to grow, and those conditions weren¡¯t often met in the upper levels.


    It was valued because the reeds were the only source of arrow shafts besides the long, hollow bones of janjio wings, which almost always broke after a single use. Besides that, the roots could be eaten, the reeds could also be cut into strips and woven into something like stiff cloth, the powder it produced was a sweet and savory thickener for soups and stews, and the fluffy material that developed after the powder was gone was excellent for creating a soft, warm place to sleep.


    Surta had said that young kobolds were usually sent to work in the yumi pools, so was that where Kaz had ended up? Was this a storeroom for yumi reeds?


    Bending, Kaz tucked the reed into the small gap between the wall and the pivoting door, lightly brushing against the door as he straightened. It promptly crushed the slender reed to splinters and clicked back into place, leaving the wall looking entirely ordinary, so long as you considered ¡®elaborately carved¡¯ to be ordinary. Which, in this place, it might well be.


    Nothing in the room gave off ki except Kaz himself, so he took a moment to create a ki-orb, giving it only what it needed so he could look at the carved section of wall. Much like the one in the Redmane den, this one showed something like a map of the nine mosui levels, and when he pressed the red stone in the center and gave it a tiny bit of ki, the door easily swung open again, much to Kaz¡¯s relief.


    Once he was certain he could retreat into the stairwell if he needed a place to hide, Kaz examined the map more closely, trying to see if it had any clues about his location or where he needed to go next. This time, Kaz was on the levels pictured, and quickly realized that one of the figures on the eighth level was noticeably larger than the others and stood next to a set of the stacked horizontal lines he believed represented stairs. There was even a symbol that could be a rune above the lines, and he wondered if that would tell him something about the level, if he could only read it.


    If Kaz was interpreting the image correctly, that meant that in spite of all the stairs he¡¯d climbed, he really had ascended only one level. He nearly groaned at the thought, but at least that confirmed he had managed to go up, and was no longer trapped in the mines with the rest of the kobold warriors.


    He also saw that there was another set of stacked lines not far away, at least as far as the map was concerned. Of course, it also represented a thousand steps as ten stacked lines, so perhaps he shouldn¡¯t trust its accuracy when it came to relative distance.


    The next set of stairs, if that was what they were, were closer to the center of the map than the one beside the outsized figure. According to the very first map he¡¯d seen, which showed the mosui city in the middle of the entire mountain, that meant Kaz needed to go¡­.


    Spinning, Kaz let his sense of the mountain tell him in which direction the center lay, and found himself looking at a dark rectangle set into a stone wall on the opposite side of the room from the map. At least the door led in the right direction.


    With a sigh, Kaz looked at the map once more. He was uncomfortable with the number of assumptions he was making, to say the least, but it was still better than nothing. He would do his best, and if he learned something or found another way up, all the better.


    Leaving the false security of the stairs behind, Kaz moved to the door, listening for any further signs of something large and potentially dangerous on the other side. When none came, he gingerly pushed on the door, which didn¡¯t budge. He pushed harder, and the door groaned beneath the pressure, bowing away from him. At last, Kaz identified the problem. This door only opened one way, unlike the leather and bone ones he was used to, which could swing either way with equal ease.


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    Reaching out, he grasped the rough, braided strap that served as a handle, and pulled, blinking against the clear, bright light outside. It took several seconds and a by-now automatic adjustment of the ki flowing to his eyes before he could see, and when he did, he still found himself doubting his eyes.


    Overhead, the ceiling of the cavern was speckled with azure and golden crystals, flooding the area with soft blue-white light in the same way the red crystals lit the city and the mine. There were far more yellow crystals than blue, but somehow the two shades existed in perfect balance, neither one overwhelming the other.


    Beneath this startlingly clear light, the cavern stretched out before Kaz, as large or larger than the one the hoyi queen occupied, and it was entirely filled with water. Pure water, so crystal clear that Kaz could only tell it was there because of the way it rippled around the endless yumi reeds. He could see the roots of the plants beneath the surface, spreading and mingling in a mat that covered the stony ground so completely that the gray surface was barely visible.


    Wading among these reeds were kobolds, each one wielding a knife and carrying a woven niu-fur sling that hung at their sides. Around their throats, plain metal collars were nearly hidden by heavy, damp fur. As they walked, they methodically cut the stalks of the tallest yumi and laid them crosswise in the sling, each movement so practiced that the reeds seemed to stack up almost by themselves. Many of the kobolds were puppies, but the adults also tended to be on the smaller side, and every single one had fur that was some shade of brown or gray.


    Kaz realized he had been standing in plain sight for far too long, and was about to duck back into the building behind him when one of the nearby pups, a tan male with soft white spots, looked up and saw him. The pup¡¯s golden-brown eyes widened, and his ears perked up as his tail began to wag. He yipped a greeting, which caught the attention of the other young gatherers nearby, all of whom looked up as well.


    Kaz froze, but it was far too late, and the gazes now being directed at him held curiosity, not fear or suspicion, so he lifted a hand in tentative greeting. It was only after he did so that he realized he had spent too much time with the humans, and dropped it, instead giving the soft bark of one pup to another. Instantly, all eyes fell to his throat, where no warrior¡¯s necklace hung, and while the few adults promptly dismissed him, the puppies only looked more interested.


    The puppy who had seen him first waded through the water toward Kaz. He was small enough that even as shallow as it was, the water reached to his thighs, but he paid it no attention. The pool became shallower and shallower as he approached, until it faded away entirely about ten feet in front of Kaz, at which point the young kobold stopped, giving a firm shake which sent water droplets flying from his fur.


    Kaz stepped back, and the pup yipped a laugh, his tongue lolling playfully. ¡°I¡¯m Nogz,¡± he said, when he¡¯d regained his composure. ¡°You must be new.¡±


    His eyes took Kaz in, and he looked pleased. ¡°You¡¯re big! You¡¯ll be able to cut lots of reeds. Or maybe take care of the niu. But didn¡¯t you talk to Eld?¡±


    Hesitantly, Kaz shook his head, and Nogz grinned, turning back to the rest of the gatherers.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take the new pup- Ah, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    Kaz gave it, and Nogz nodded, calling, ¡°I¡¯m going to take Kaz to see Eld!¡±


    The other males nodded, and a few of the pups gave little barks of acknowledgement as Nogz trotted off to Kaz¡¯s right, waving for Kaz to follow. He did, still looking around.


    There was a whole row of buildings like the one from which Kaz had emerged, and Kaz wished he could check inside them. What if the staircase going up was right next door? There was no way he could, though, not now that he¡¯d been spotted, at least not without either attacking Nogz or slipping away, either of which would doubtless cause the younger male to call for help. Better to wait, and hope this Eld was a kobold, and not a mosui or husede with a kobold name.


    They passed ten of the small structures, each one identical to the last, and then Kaz stopped short as they rounded a corner and saw a beast standing there, its great, humped shoulders nearly as tall as the top of the buildings. It had several yumi reeds dangling from its mouth, chewing them so slowly that Kaz could see each flat yellow tooth as it ground away at the foamy green mass. The four curving horns protruding from its forehead and the three smaller ones on its nose looked vicious, but its brown eyes were calm and placid as Nogz bounded up to it.


    The puppy clapped his hand on the beast¡¯s leg, which was as high as he could reach, and then stroked its thick, ropy fur affectionately. ¡°Hey, Jute. You ready to haul that load?¡± He turned, eyeing the flat, woven mat tied to the niu by ropes woven of what Kaz suspected were strips of yumi. More yumi was piled high on the mat, and Nogz added his own, then knelt beside it, picking up more ropes that had been laid out flat on the ground.


    Tossing a rope to Kaz, he said, ¡°Tie that off, would you? Nice and tight. We don¡¯t want to lose any yumi.¡±


    Bemused, Kaz did as he was told, passing the rope through a loop on the far side of the mat. Soon, the two of them had secured the load, with the mat wrapping around the yumi until it formed a tight roll. Once that was done, Nogz gave a sharp bark, hitting the niu hard on its hind leg.


    The niu gave the same low, rolling complaint that Kaz had heard earlier, the remains of its meal dripping from its mouth. It began to move, however, pulling the heavy load without apparent effort. Nogz gave Kaz another grin, ears twitching in amusement as he saw Kaz¡¯s amazement at how roughly he handled the enormous beast.


    ¡°You have to hit pretty hard, or they don¡¯t even notice. Their hide is tough under all that fur,¡± he said. ¡°Come on!¡±

 Chapter One hundred two

    The trip was surprisingly long, and Kaz and Nogz passed through three more caverns just like the first, right down to the blue and yellow crystals in the ceiling, and the broad pools filled with yumi. A group of collared kobolds worked in each, while a niu stood by, strapped to a mat containing heaping mounds of reeds. Each time, Nogz gave a yip or short howl of greeting, and some of the gatherers called back, while others ignored the pup completely. Most of these bore the distinctive red dye of a Redmane.


    Nogz saw Kaz¡¯s look, and sighed. ¡°What tribe are you from, Kaz?¡±


    ¡°Longknife,¡± Kaz said, opting for what he hoped was the truth. ¡°We¡¯re descending.¡±


    Nogz grimaced. ¡°Bad timing. I hope the rest of your tribe is all right.¡± Absently, he reached out, plucking a small reed from the tangled mass of their niu¡¯s fur.


    ¡°Look,¡± Nogz said abruptly, though his gaze was wary when he glanced back at Kaz. ¡°I¡¯m a Bronzearm. A lot of us are. If you¡¯re one of the ones that blames us for all this, just forget it. No one is allowed to challenge anyone else here. We don¡¯t even practice fighting anymore.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head curiously. ¡°Why would I blame you?¡±


    The younger pup looked surprised, then happy, then uncertain, all the emotions passing quickly across his easily-read face. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± he demanded. ¡°How long has your tribe been in the mid-levels?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ wasn¡¯t with the rest of my tribe,¡± Kaz admitted, and to his surprise, Nogz looked pleased.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. The mosui took my whole tribe, I think, and,¡± for the first time, the pup looked sad, his ears and tail drooping mournfully, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen anyone except the other pups since we got here. Well, them and Eld, but he became a warrior right before we were taken. There are some warriors from other tribes, and the Redmanes in particular hate us.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Kaz asked again.


    Nogz pulled at his ear. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure. We left the Deep after Rolpa lost a luegat with the Goldblades, and she said that if we weren¡¯t in the Deep anymore, we would rule the mid-levels instead.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°That worked for the first four levels, and if we¡¯d just stayed there, Eld says we would have been fine. But then we moved up to the mid-Nine, and for some reason, the mosui attacked us. They took my group of gatherers pretty early, but some of the other pups said they were taken from the den itself. I don¡¯t know what happened after that, but everyone else who comes in is angry at us. One of the warriors even challenged Eld. Eld won, of course, but it was bad.¡±


    Glancing at Kaz, he lifted his lip in a puppy snarl. ¡°Don¡¯t you try that, though. I don¡¯t care what Eld says. If anyone else tries to hurt him, we¡¯re all going to defend him, just like we would our chief.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, lowering his own ears. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight anyone. I¡¯m not very good at it.¡±


    Nogz¡¯ face lit up, and he nodded eagerly. ¡°That explains why someone so big is still a puppy. That¡¯s too bad. Don¡¯t worry, though, because here all you have to do is whatever Eld tells you to do, and you¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    That wasn¡¯t quite as reassuring as Nogz undoubtedly meant for it to be, but Kaz wagged his tail anyway, which made the pup¡¯s tail wag enthusiastically in return. They went on, with Nogz telling Kaz how to cut a reed so it would grow back, and explaining the difference between a root that was ready to be harvested, and an immature one that would taste starchy and bitter.


    Eventually, they exited one of the short tunnels that connected the yumi pools, which Nogz called ¡®fields¡¯, and instead of finding yet another field, Kaz¡¯s nose was assaulted by the musky smell of many niu. He had been hearing strange sounds for a while, but Nogz had seemed unphased, and now Kaz knew why. This was where the niu were kept, and the sound was the creatures communicating with deep, burbling calls.


    As soon as they entered the cavern, their niu, Jute, split away from the pair of kobolds and headed for something that Kaz recognized: one of the crystal-coated platforms. The beast had been completely docile, remaining near Nogz for their entire journey, but the young kobold seemed unconcerned when Jute went off on its own.


    Seeing Kaz hesitate, Nogz stopped as well, grinning at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jute¡¯s done this a hundred times. Just watch.¡±


    Sure enough, the niu plodded over to the platform, walking completely across it, then stopped when the rolled-up mat it had been dragging behind it rested on the platform instead. There was a flash of red ki, and a small, hollow square Kaz hadn¡¯t even noticed before was filled with a platform holding a single male husede. This male stepped over and detached the ropes from the niu, who promptly walked away, heading for an area where more yumi reeds were piled up, with a half dozen more niu already eating.


    The husede returned to his small platform, touching the pedestal there. Red ki flowed from his platform to the larger one, and the big one vanished, replaced almost instantly by an empty one. Kaz¡¯s eyes widened, then narrowed. There was no way anyone had had time to do anything with the reeds, which meant this was a second platform, and the first had gone somewhere to await unloading. There was a possibility in that, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind as the husede dropped something on the ground before vanishing again.


    Nogz turned to Kaz. ¡°See? Now we pick up the stones he left, and when it¡¯s dinner time, Eld will trade them in for food.¡± He saw Kaz¡¯s look and misinterpreted it, hastily adding, ¡°You¡¯ll get some, too! Eld makes sure everyone has food, as long as you¡¯re doing your best. Some of the pups that come here are really little, and they can¡¯t do much yet, or sometimes someone gets hurt and can¡¯t work, but everybody gets to eat.¡±


    He leaned forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to use all the yumi we gather for the niu or send it to the mosui, but every now and then, Eld lets us keep a little. It¡¯s really good, especially if you cook it long enough for the roots to get all squishy.¡±


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    Kaz was startled. ¡°Cook it? Does firemoss grow here?¡± The only way to heat things was by power or fire, and without females, that only left fire, which meant firemoss.


    But Nogz was shaking his head. ¡°We burn dried yumi reeds. There are some that get broken, or grow crooked, and the mosui don¡¯t like those. Mostly, we feed them to the niu, but there are always some that get trampled or that the beasts just won¡¯t eat. We gather those, and when they dry enough, they¡¯ll burn fast but hot.¡±


    That was a use for the versatile plants that Kaz had never heard of before, probably because it would be considered a waste anywhere else. Those reeds could still be stripped and woven, or if they were intact enough, they could become arrow shafts. Simply burning them was madness, and Kaz wondered who had come up with it.


    ¡°Who is this, Nogz?¡±


    The voice was gruff, but not unkind, and when Kaz turned, he saw a small male, only a little larger than the miner, Dett. He was no sneaking skulker, though, as the muscles bulging beneath his light brown fur showed. His fur had the same spotted pattern as Nogz¡¯, so Kaz thought they must be related.


    Sure enough, Nogz bounded over, gazing up at the new arrival with the kind of devotion a male usually reserved for his chief or his mate. ¡°Eld! This is Kaz. He arrived while you were out, and wandered over to my field. We had a load ready, so I brought him back!¡±


    Eld ruffled the fluffy fur on top of Nogz¡¯ head, then asked, ¡°So where are the mealstones?¡±


    Nogz gave a yip, ducking away and running over to where the husede had been standing. Bending over, he scooped up three stones that looked identical to the ones the mosui had traded for crystals in the mines. Just three crystals for all that yumi? How did the kobolds here manage to bring in enough to feed everyone?


    The pup brought the stones over to Eld, who accepted them and slid them into a pouch tied to his belt without comment. ¡°Head back, now, pup,¡± the warrior said. ¡°Take Brun this time. She hasn¡¯t gotten any exercise yet today.¡±


    Nogz made a face. ¡°Do I have to?¡± he whined. ¡°She never wants to leave.¡±


    Eld gave him a flat look, and Nogz sighed, trudging off toward the group of niu with his tail nearly dragging behind him. Eld watched until the pup had tied a fresh mat to a particularly hefty niu and set off back toward the fields before he turned to Kaz, body suddenly tense and suspicious.


    ¡°Now, who are you, and how did you get here? I know every time the husede bring someone new, and you didn¡¯t come with them.¡±


    Kaz stood stock-still as his mind raced, and Eld finally sighed, seeing that no answer was immediately forthcoming. Silently, the brown-furred male motioned for Kaz to follow, then walked off toward a dark tunnel opening in the wall not far from the large, empty platform.


    Reluctantly, Kaz followed, and the two kobolds walked down a short, dark tunnel, unlit even by the red crystals that were ubiquitous in the city and mine. He could still see a hint of the strange bluish-white light behind them, and a faint red glow was forming ahead when Eld stopped abruptly.


    Turning, Eld looked straight into Kaz¡¯s eyes, clearly unworried, in spite of the fact that Kaz was more than a head taller than he was. He pointed toward the crimson luminescence further down the tunnel, though he didn¡¯t look away from Kaz as he did so.


    ¡°Down there is where the husede leave newcomers. They have to walk through here to reach the caverns. I stay in the niu den most of the time. Sometimes, if there¡¯s a problem or an accident, one of the gatherers will call me for help, and I leave for a little while. The first thing I do when I get back is check this tunnel.¡± He gave a deep, demonstrative sniff, damp black nostrils flaring wide as he smelled the air. ¡°This is the first time you¡¯ve ever been here, and I know it. So, tell me, who are you, and how did you get here?¡±


    A strange light gleamed in the brown eyes fixed so steadily on Kaz, and it took him far too long to recognize it for what it was: hope.


    So, he told Eld a heavily edited version of the truth. He was part of a group of kobolds who had been caught by the mosui. He had been sent to the mine, but found a staircase in the deepest part of the hoyi mine, and had taken it in hopes of finding the rest of his companions, especially the females.


    Eld didn¡¯t interrupt, but his expression brightened when Kaz mentioned the stairs, then darkened again when Kaz admitted he was searching for females. Only when Kaz was clearly finished did he reply, though he was already shaking his head.


    ¡°Give up on the females,¡± he said, tone somber. ¡°I¡¯ve been here for years now, and no one has ever seen a female again after she was captured. Some say they¡¯re killed outright, while others say the mosui put them to work like they do us, just doing something only those with a female¡¯s power can do. Whatever the truth is, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. So long as we wear these collars, all we can do is try to get far enough away that they can¡¯t be used against us.¡±


    He leaned forward, gaze intense. ¡°Where are these stairs? Did you see any others? What are the mines like?¡±


    Kaz motioned back the way they¡¯d come. ¡°It¡¯s behind a wall in a little building by the field where Nogz found me. There¡¯s a map carved on it, and it swings open-¡± He broke off, realizing that it took ki to open the wall, and this male had none.


    Backtracking, he said, ¡°It swung open when I pressed a button hidden in a hole on the back. It closed behind me, and I couldn¡¯t get it open again.¡±


    Eld frowned, tapping his fingers against the bag on his belt in what looked like a habitual gesture. ¡°So long as we know the stairs are there, we can break through the wall,¡± he said.


    Kaz stared. ¡°But the stone here is practically unbreakable, and I didn¡¯t even bring my pick with me. They have to use mithril picks to even chip out the crystals in the mine.¡± He wasn¡¯t even entirely sure when he¡¯d dropped his pickaxe, honestly. It had been tucked in his belt, and he suspected it had fallen out during his flight up the stairs.


    Eld bared his teeth. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll find a way. You know how the stairs are. Where there¡¯s one, there¡¯s usually another. Now that I know there are stairs at all, I¡¯ll find the ones that go down, if I have to break every wall in this place.¡±


    Kaz sighed, looking back toward the blue-lit opening. ¡°Why? This place isn¡¯t bad. It¡¯s far better than the mines, certainly, and it seems safer than living in a den.¡±


    The shorter male straightened his shoulders, glaring at Kaz as if he¡¯d just insulted his chief. ¡°And the mosui control everything we do. Sometimes they come and take some of us away for no reason they care to share. They could come tomorrow and take Nogz, or me, or any of the others, and no one would ever know what happened to them. Mosui control what we eat, and when, where we can go, when we sleep, who comes and who goes, and what we do, all day, every day. This is no way for a kobold to live.¡±


    Kaz stared at him. ¡°But that¡¯s exactly what the females do,¡± he blurted. ¡°We males have nothing, do nothing, unless they tell us we can. We live and die, take a mate and breed, all by their command, and they care nothing about what we want.¡±


    It was Eld¡¯s turn to stare, then his eyes softened and he clapped a hand to Kaz¡¯s arm. ¡°If that¡¯s what your tribe was like, then I¡¯m sorry, pup. Maybe it would be better for you to stay here. But me? I want to go home. Whatever home is left for me.¡±


    Turning, he walked back down the tunnel, leaving Kaz in darkness.

 Chapter One hundred three

    Kaz closed his eyes, a thousand memories flashing through his mind. The looks of pitying disdain on the faces of other kobolds whenever they met his tribe. The respect and even affection with which the males of the Copperstrikers, Sharpjaws, and Redmanes regarded their females, particularly their chiefs. His father, saying, ¡°Never question a female¡¯s decisions, especially your mother.¡±


    And his mother, Oda, over and over and over again. Things he had overlooked because she was his mother, and his chief, but there was no denying the foam at the corner of her mouth when she spoke of returning to their ¡®rightful place¡¯, or the wild look in her eyes when she ranted about the next luegat, and how it would be the one that would allow them to begin their descent.


    His mother hadn¡¯t just been arrogant. She hadn¡¯t just been foolish, or deluded. She had been mad, and in her madness, she had nearly led his entire tribe to disgrace and death. She had systematically crushed Kaz himself beneath her paw, destroying any sense of self-worth or independence except what he found when he was forced to sneak away in order to hide his rising power. What part of what he thought he knew about his own people was true, and what part had been his mother manipulating the tribe for her own ends?


    Perhaps even more importantly, why had his Aunt Rega allowed it to happen? He had always believed that she must be weaker than Oda, but not by much. Once his own power began to show itself, he never allowed himself to use it to view either her or Oda, but given what Rega had done when she covered the scent of the entire tribe as they fled from the core-hunter, Kaz wondered what he might have seen if he had dared to look.


    If she had been able to challenge and defeat Oda, or if she had done what Litz did, and incited the rest of the tribe against their chief, especially soon after they left the Deep, when there were still females to incite, surely together they could have brought Oda down. And how would things have been different, for the Broken Knives in general, and him in particular, if Rega was chief? She was firm but kind, fair to everyone, and she had loved Kaz as if he was her own pup.


    There were things he didn¡¯t understand. Things about his own tribe, his history, and his family that were hidden from him. He thought he had left them all behind when he asked Lianhua if he could follow her from the mountain; thought that whatever secrets Oda and Rega had had, they could lie forgotten with them and the ancestors.


    But with one sentence, one compassionate look, Eld had destroyed the fragile peace Kaz had found in running away. ¡°If that¡¯s what your tribe was like.¡±


    Which meant that other tribes weren¡¯t like that. Even the notoriously aggressive Bronzearms weren¡¯t like that, though Nogz had admitted that it was their chief who had led them to their destruction. Kaz had assumed that meant she was like Oda, but Eld¡¯s response had clearly shown him that was an error.


    A mental nudge pulled him from his whirling thoughts as a worried dragon tried to get his attention. Li had been woken by Kaz¡¯s inner turmoil, had watched the scenes from his memory play out, and now she was concerned for him. She sent an image of herself, small for once, wrapping her long body into place around his throat, which was bare of either collar or necklace. The dragon herself was all the adornment, all the symbol of status, that he needed.


    He smiled at that imperious little feeling, and reached up, as if he could stroke her cool, smooth scales. Instead, his fingers touched the collar that lay around his neck, and sudden fury filled him. The necklace Oda had never allowed him to earn was a shackle as certainly as the collar, and he wanted this symbol of control off. Distantly, he felt Li¡¯s worry spike, but he was already closing his fingers around the metal loop that bound him.


    Drawing in a breath, he pushed on his core, pressing in on it more than he had dared since he woke and found that it had been returned to some semblance of its original shape. Every time he thought about truly pushing it, he remembered the agony of his core breaking, not once, but twice, after he foolishly took one chance too many. What if he tried too hard, and broke it yet again, this time without either luck or a mysterious being to save him?


    But he was done holding back. He had chosen freedom when he told Lianhua he wanted to go with her, and yet the mosui had dared to bind him again? And this time with something far more physical than the chains of love and tradition Oda had used.


    Physical bonds, he could break.


    Ki rose through his body as he released the breath he had taken in. The only thing he could compare it to was the moment he had forced his power out through his flesh to destroy the attacking woshi spawn, but this time he would control it. It was his power, not just an unwanted thing that lurked inside his skin. No, his ki was what would allow him to do and be whatever he wanted, and nothing would take that away again.


    He closed his eyes, thinking about everything he¡¯d seen and learned since the humans entered the mountain. Kobolds and other creatures had cores, and those cores produced ki, which the kobolds then used to produce results that would otherwise be impossible. Raff and the other humans did the same by drawing foggy clouds of ¡®mana¡¯ from the very air around them, but Kaz could only see mana when it was already being gathered or refined.


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    Yet the mosui, husede, and even Raff worked with mana instead of ki. The process seemed to be less efficient than using ki, but much faster, since they didn¡¯t have to refine it first. It seemed clear to Kaz that mana was ki, and ki was mana. He could see sparks of red ki inside Raff when the male sent power to his weapon, and there were even faint clouds of mana inside some of the weakest kobold females.


    What if mana was like niu fur? It was rough and unrefined, but once it was combed, twisted, and dyed, it could be woven into cloth. That cloth might not be as fine as the human¡¯s fuulong silk, but it served its purpose well.


    So, if ki was like the threads that made up power, and mana was the finished cloth, couldn¡¯t he weave it together? Perhaps ki was the original, generated in ¡®beast¡¯ cores, and it became mana only when the creature who had produced it died or released unused ki back into the air, to merge with a thousand other broken ends of thread that already waited there. Kaz had thought about this a few times before, and yet again, he reminded himself to ask Lianhua, or perhaps Raff, exactly what humans did with the cores they removed from the creatures they killed.


    Turning his vision in, Kaz focused on his ki. He couldn¡¯t see the mana around him, but he knew it had to be there. He couldn¡¯t gather the invisible mana and refine it, but he had managed to produce some fragile semblance of mana at least twice, each time under duress, and each time when he was doing what Lianhua called ¡®compressing¡¯ his core, though the first time he hadn¡¯t even had a word to describe it. He had just been trying to hold his shattering core together, pressing on it like he would a wound spouting blood.


    Instead of letting his ki run wild, or just shunting it into whichever part of his body he needed to enhance, Kaz forced the ki to flow through his channels, building up and spinning through his central dantian. As it left, it took much of the ki he had been storing there, filling his channels full and beyond full, with swirling colors of ki so intense he could barely look at it.


    It rose, reached his upper dantian, and began to rotate ever faster as he examined it, twisted it together, binding golden strands with glimmering sapphire thread, turning obsidian and moonstone and fiery ruby into the brilliant dyes and pigments his father had used to create works of art on the walls of caverns so distant Kaz¡¯s mother would never, ever see them.


    Yellow and blue flowed into green, a color of ki he had never seen before. He poured in the red, making a muddy brown, then pressed black and white into it, soaking up all of the other colors until they became one whole piece of deep gray cloth consisting entirely of lambent power. Because mana was ki, and ki was mana, and while the humans used their dantians to refine certain colors of ki from the undifferentiated mana that surrounded them, Kaz needed to bind all the colors of ki that already existed in his core into one¡­ singular¡­ whole.


    Kaz barely felt his knees hit the stone floor as he released the mana he had woven and dyed in the image controlled within his upper meridian. It flowed out through his palms, flooding the metal of the collar with more power than any of the mosui or husede in the city had hidden inside them. With a quiet, anticlimactic click, the collar opened, falling into his hands, then crumbled to glittering dust that trickled through his fingers as he held them out in front of him.


    Silently, Kaz crouched, staring as the fragments of the collar that had bound him leaked between his fingers and formed a pile on the ground. So little remained of something that controlled so many, and he turned to look back at the light illuminating the end of the tunnel. He had used so much ki, but he felt invigorated, not exhausted. He almost thought that if he stretched out his arms, he could fly, exactly like he did in the dreams he shared with Li. He could free Eld and Nogz, at least, and they could either go with him or flee this place, seeking the den they had lost.


    Then sharp agony lanced through his head, and he clapped his hands to it as images pounded into his mind. Red, all around. Red and stillness, alone and lonely, and then¡­ movement. He was picked up, shaken roughly, bouncing against the tight confines of the space in which he rested. For a moment, weightlessness, almost flight, then a hard impact, twisting his forelimb backwards and bending his wing painfully.


    No. Not him, but Li. Li¡¯s box was being moved again, and this time it hadn¡¯t been someone carefully transporting it, but rather dropping or even throwing it. Another impact, and Li rolled, tucking her throbbing paw and wing tightly against her body so they couldn¡¯t twist. Her shoulder hurt where it banged against the side of the box, and the lid burst open, spilling her out onto the cold ground in a curled ball that rolled over twice, then came to rest against something much larger than herself.


    There was a sound, a high-pitched shriek entirely unlike either a kobold¡¯s howl or a mosui¡¯s shrill screech. Li uncurled, shaking slightly as she looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. A spill of white hair and cloth shuddered on the ground beside her, and a slim, pale hand pushed her hard, shoving her away. Lianhua¡¯s back arched, and she screamed again.


    Li took in the room, filled with scattered furniture and a fallen mosui, clutching a large red crystal in its broad hand as it stared at Lianhua with fiery red eyes. A husede stood beside it, crouched to help it rise, and Li herself had rolled partially underneath the small table on which her box had been placed. Looking in the direction Lianhua had pushed her, the dragon saw that the door to the room was open, and as Lianhua¡¯s voice rose for a third time, Li ran from the room.

 Chapter One hundred four

    On a level high above Kaz, Li raced into a hallway, as perfectly rectangular as the ones that led from staircase to staircase in the mid-levels, though only a quarter the size. Her wings flapped, and she rose unsteadily into the air, but nearly ran into the ceiling as her left wing cramped painfully. She tucked her left forefoot up against her chest protectively, rather than relaxing it as she usually did, letting out a small hiss of pain.


    ¡°No,¡± Kaz whispered, as if anyone but the dragon could hear him. ¡°You can¡¯t fly, Li. If they see you, they¡¯ll know you¡¯re not a fuergar.¡±


    Frustration. She knew what she was doing. Li caught hold of the lip of a small alcove where a red stone gleamed softly. Pulling herself up, she wriggled her long, narrow body into the opening, coiling around the gleaming crystal. The tip of her tail and one wing protruded, so she used her small clawed paws to pull them in.


    Just in time, as the mosui waddled out into the hall, the pallid tendrils encircling its nose waving in agitation. It glanced around, then emitted a piercing squeal, which echoed painfully from the walls in the narrow hall. Li crouched in her hiding place, holding as still as she possibly could until the round little creature said something in its chittering language, sounding more than a little unhappy.


    Behind it, the collared husede emerged from the room, with Lianhua trailing him, head down and long hair coming loose from its usual tidy twists. The human was walking on her own, which was a good sign, but Kaz had never seen her so despondent, even when she told him about her grandmother.


    The mosui turned on her, its layered robe swirling in a mockery of Lianhua¡¯s elegant apparel. ¡°Where?¡± it squeaked. ¡°Tell it come back. Great Zhangwo want it!¡±


    Lianhua reached up and pushed the heavy masses of her silver hair out of her face with a hand that shook almost imperceptibly. Glaring down at the mosui, she said, ¡°I told you, it¡¯s just an Ironfang rat. I fed it, so it stayed with me for a little while, but I can¡¯t control it. It¡¯s nothing but an animal!¡±


    The mosui¡¯s arm lifted, the sleeve falling back to reveal an arm covered in white fuzz. Kaz was almost certain this must be the same white mosui who had been with Li and Lianhua last time, but he couldn¡¯t be certain. Other than the pale color of its fur, it looked like every other mosui, but he thought that in itself was a giveaway, since every mosui he¡¯d seen had black or dark brown fur.


    Lianhua flinched slightly at the sight of the crimson crystal lying in the mosui¡¯s broad palm, but the creature didn¡¯t trigger it. Instead, it waved at the husede, clicking and chattering until the gray-skinned male bowed deeply and walked quickly down the hall, away from the room where Lianhua had been held.


    This left the mosui alone with Lianhua, who was nearly twice its height, the top of her head just brushing the low ceiling. The small being seemed entirely oblivious to its own potential danger, however, and indeed, Lianhua didn¡¯t even try to move toward it. Her eyes were on the crystal, and her fists were clenched in her robes, but she stayed still as the mosui clicked and muttered to itself.


    Li twitched, her nose poking from her hiding place as she pictured herself leaping down and biting the mosui¡¯s hand, making it drop the crystal. Kaz gritted his teeth as he returned an image of the mosui shaking her off, possibly injuring her further in the process. Her bites were painful, but not dangerous, and with all the mana inside the mosui, Kaz suspected that most, if not all of them, had some level of natural body refinement.


    Instead, he showed her waiting where she was until she was either certain that she could get away, or Kaz came to get her. Once they were together again, Kaz and Li would free Lianhua, and all three of them would escape together.


    This was met with reluctant agreement, at least until the husede who had left returned with not one, but two others of its kind. More unintelligible words were exchanged, before one of the new husede, a female wearing more elaborate robes than the others of its race, turned to Lianhua. She held up a red crystal and spoke to Lianhua.


    ¡°Our lord Zhangwo has tired of allowing this Yanshu to play with you. This Yanshu has lost the rodent, and allowed you too much freedom. You will come with me now.¡±


    The aforementioned Yanshu squealed furiously, but at a look from the husede, she shrank back, then straightened again, her sloping shoulders nearly managing to form a straight line. With a glance at Lianhua, she said, ¡°I speak to old-old-father. I tell him trust.¡±


    With a tilt of her head, the husede agreed, her expression nearly as impassive as one of Chi Yincang¡¯s. ¡°Your grandfather will be pleased to see you, lady.¡±


    Turning, she motioned to the other gray-skinned servants, one male, and one female. ¡°Find the rat,¡± she told them. ¡°You will not eat until you do. So speaks Lord Zhangwo.¡±


    The faces of the two husede went nearly as flat as her own, and the male reached up to touch the collar resting around his throat before jerking his hand back down. They gave stiff nods, and split up, the male going back into the room, while the female walked off down the hall, her dark eyes scanning the floor and walls.


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    Quickly, Li pulled her nose back in, so she could only hear what happened next. Footsteps trailed off down the hall, and only when it was completely silent did the little dragon chance another look. The hallway was empty, though Li could still hear sounds coming from inside the room, indicating that the male husede was either searching or tidying up.


    Wait, Kaz thought at her, as fiercely as he could. Reaching up, he touched the strand of ki that hung in the air between them. Somehow, it now looked more like a rope than a cord, with all the colors of ki woven through it except for red. He wondered if this was because the change in his image of ki was affecting the way he saw it, or if he was simply able to see it more clearly now that he had further embraced his own power. Either way, he almost thought he could feel it beneath his hand, and he stroked it like he would have petted Li¡¯s soft scales if she were present.


    The little dragon jumped, looking around, and through her eyes, he saw her paw stretch out, and she plucked at the glowing rope. It thrummed with nearly audible vibrations, and Kaz heard a young, feminine voice say, <I will wait.>


    Kaz gasped, and he felt amusement trickle through the bond as the dragon¡¯s vision went dark. She must have closed her eyes, because nothing else about the connection changed.


    Shaking his head, Kaz gave a small chuckle. This was the second time Li had spoken to him, and he still wasn¡¯t sure if it was because they both needed to be focusing on their link, or if it was a deliberate choice on the dragon¡¯s part. He was beginning to believe it might be the latter. He had no time to ponder the question, however. He needed to move.


    With a push of ki into his legs, Kaz lunged to his feet and ran off down the tunnel, his claws scratching the stone floor with each long step. When he emerged into the clear light of the cavern, he saw Eld standing near the broad platform, unhooking a niu from its burden as a kobold pup stood by.


    The puppy was tiny, barely old enough to be out gathering, his collar huge atop his narrow shoulders. Kaz wondered how he even managed to cut the tough stalks of the yumi, and had no doubt that if this little one had been sent to the mines instead, he wouldn¡¯t be alive, much less gazing at Surta with the kind of worshipful gaze he turned on Eld.


    Kaz slowed, suddenly conflicted. He had planned to offer to remove Eld¡¯s collar if the warrior would help Kaz find the next stairway up. But what would happen to all the other kobolds here if Eld left? Even if Kaz could break the collars of all the kobolds here, such a thing would draw far too much attention. Even the inattentive husede and mosui would notice if all of their captives suddenly disappeared or, worse, tried to attack them.


    He hung back until the puppy was done, watching as the husede appeared on the smaller platform, dropped some meal-stones, then vanished again, all without a single word to the kobolds standing not ten feet away. To his surprise, Eld didn¡¯t send this pup back to work, but rather pointed him toward the last tunnel leading away from the niu cavern. The pup scampered off, disappearing through the opening as Eld turned to Kaz.


    The spotted male opened his mouth, but his gaze snagged on Kaz¡¯s bare throat, and whatever he was about to say choked in his throat. Lifting a finger, he pointed, finally managing to ask, ¡°How?¡±


    Kaz stepped closer, glancing around even though all of his senses were telling him they were alone except for the placid, if enormous, niu. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°I can¡¯t explain, but I can do the same for you. You and Nogz, if you like. But in exchange, I need you to have the kobolds help me search for the next set of stairs leading up.¡±


    Eld¡¯s hand turned, grasping the collar around his neck as if he would yank it off without waiting for help. His brown eyes narrowed, and he asked, ¡°Do you need stairs, or just a way up?¡±


    Kaz stilled. He had been so focused on the stairs that he hadn¡¯t even considered finding another way. No platforms had been left behind in the mines, so figuring out how to use one wasn¡¯t even an option there. His eyes turned to the broad, crystal-encrusted platform waiting for the next load of yumi. There was no controlling pedestal, but Kaz didn¡¯t need a crystal to make mana into ki for him. If he fed enough ki into it, would it take him wherever the yumi was stored or processed?


    As if he could read Kaz¡¯s thoughts, Eld nodded, but didn¡¯t release the metal ring around his throat. ¡°Of course we¡¯ve tried it. One of our older warriors hid in a load when it was sent away. He was gone for nearly a day, and when he came back, he was¡­ changed. Broken. He rarely spoke after that, but he had nightmares, and from what I could understand of his cries, the platform goes to a cavern where the loads are stored until the husede are ready for them. He was able to sneak out, but he was quickly discovered. They brought him back to serve as an example of what happened to those who disobey.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t ask where the warrior was now. If he was available to be asked, Eld would have offered to call for him. Instead, he said, ¡°Will you help me, then?¡±


    The other male nodded jerkily, then lifted his chin. ¡°Do it,¡± he said, in the tone of someone who thought they might be asking to have their throat torn out.


    Kaz drew in a breath, holding it as he squeezed his core, feeling the power push against his mental grip as he tightened it down further and further. Only when Eld opened one eye to look questioningly at him did he release it, sending an even more powerful flood through his channels than last time. His central meridian was still relatively empty, however, so by the time the surge reached the meridian in Kaz¡¯s head, it was about the same as the first.


    The weaving was faster this time, but Kaz was almost overconfident, and when he touched the collar, there were still flickers of color in the structure of the mana fabric that Kaz wrapped around it. A flash of red coursed through the metal ring before it crumbled to dust, and Eld whimpered, swaying.


    Kaz¡¯s ears half lowered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t have-¡±


    Eld shook his head, fingers running through the fur of his throat, assuring himself that the collar was truly gone. There was a ring of bare, scarred skin where the metal had rubbed the flesh raw, over and over again, but Eld didn¡¯t seem to care as he traced the raised welt. He stared at Kaz, murmuring, ¡°Thank you,¡± and for the first time, Kaz realized that Eld was probably only a year or two older than himself.


    Uncomfortable with the look Eld was giving him, his eyes nearly as reverent as those of the puppy who had left earlier, Kaz took a step back as a loud bell rang through the cavern. It sounded just like the one that called in the miners on the level below, and Eld shook himself as if waking from a dream and looked toward the tunnel leading back to the yumi fields.


    ¡°We should go meet Nogz,¡± Eld said, his usual assurance falling around him like a robe. ¡°You can remove his collar, and then we¡¯ll hide you in his load. We should probably sneak you in somewhere around the middle of the pack, in case the husede start working on the first or last load right away.¡±


    Kaz nodded agreement, and the two kobolds began to jog toward the fields.

 Chapter One hundred five

    There were already a good number of kobolds heading for the niu cavern, and as more continued to pour in, Kaz realized that there must be far more of the interconnected fields than he had passed through earlier. All of the kobolds were wet and tired, and apparently they were used to seeing Eld outside of the central cavern, because while many of them gave him a respectful nod, they didn¡¯t look closely or linger to find out what was going on.


    When Nogz appeared, Eld yipped at him, causing the puppy and a few other kobolds to look over. At first, Nogz tried to leave his niu with a gray-furred pup nearby, but Eld gestured for him to bring the beast, who seemed happy enough to have a chance to eat a few more fresh yumi reeds before she had to rejoin the others.


    When Nogz drew close enough to see the two older males properly, in spite of the fact that they were deliberately standing in shadow, his eyes widened as he saw the empty space around their necks. Eld¡¯s warrior necklace made the missing collar less noticeable, but against Kaz¡¯s broken, patchy fur the absence was glaringly obvious.


    Quickly, Eld¡¯s hand darted out, clamping around the puppy¡¯s muzzle before he could make a sound, and Nogz blinked in confusion, eyes darting between the other two males. Eld glanced at Kaz, not releasing his grip on the pup, and Kaz pulled in a breath, cycling his core again. It was a little harder this time, the core seeming more reluctant to release the ki it produced, but soon enough Kaz reached out and took hold of Nogz¡¯ collar, and a minute later, it dissolved into a now-familiar shower of metallic particles.


    A low whine emerged from Nogz¡¯ throat as his hands went to his throat, combing through the fur much as Eld had done. The fur there was worn away, revealing the skin beneath, but it wasn¡¯t scarred, causing Kaz to wonder how hard and how often Eld must have tried to remove his own in order to damage himself so much.


    Eld released the pup, and Nogz instantly threw himself at the young warrior, burying his face in Eld¡¯s fur and whimpering like a much younger puppy. Eld stroked his head briefly, then pushed him back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak,¡± the warrior admonished, glancing meaningfully toward Kaz. ¡°We just need to adjust your load.¡±


    Nogz nodded vigorously, and Eld drew Kaz around to the far side of the roll of reeds tied behind the niu. The huge creature ignored them completely as they untied the ropes, and Kaz crawled in. Eld shifted the reeds so they covered Kaz almost completely, with only a small gap above one eye, and then he and Nogz tied the bundle up again, leaving one of Kaz¡¯s hands free and tucking the end of the rope into it. As Eld began to stand, Kaz let out a soft yip, and the warrior knelt down again, ears cocked toward Kaz¡¯s hiding place.


    ¡°What will you do now?¡± Kaz said. Several stalks of yumi were pressed against his jaw, and his voice was garbled, but he had to ask.


    Eld looked conflicted. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯ll take some time to get through the wall to the stairs, if we can¡¯t figure out how to open the door. After that¡­ we¡¯ll see. If everyone wants to go, we may try fleeing through the mine, hoping to find the next set of stairs. Otherwise, maybe it¡¯ll just be me and Nogz, but-¡± He looked around, and his ears flattened.


    Finally, he just said, ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± again.


    Kaz tried to nod, but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Bright howls,¡± he said, giving the farewell between friends.


    The other male looked surprised, then pleased, and patted Kaz¡¯s tube of reeds, whispering, ¡°Bright howls, and thank you.¡± With that, he stood, and he and Nogz vanished from Kaz¡¯s limited range of vision. A moment later, the niu jerked into motion with a protesting groan, hauling Kaz and the yumi together over the rough ground.


    Several long minutes passed as Kaz stared at the changing ceiling overhead. There were a surprising number of good-sized stalactites there, though there were also some broken stubs left from previous kobolds making sure none of the projections were lurking lopo. Kaz listened to the voices around him, trying to catch any suggestion that anyone had noticed anything amiss, but if they did, they kept it to themselves.


    Eventually, the intermittent bumping shifted to scraping over a smooth surface as Kaz¡¯s bundle was dragged onto the platform, and he tensed, waiting for the husede to speak, demanding that they check the yumi reeds for hidden kobolds. Nothing happened, though, and a moment later, Kaz was surrounded by the red flash that he recognized from his trip down to the mines.


    He thought they only traveled one level, since the stone ceiling didn¡¯t change much, though he couldn¡¯t be certain without looking around. But when the red surge faded, the bright, clear light of the yumi fields had been replaced by the dim red glow of the rest of the city. He held still, listening, but silence hung heavy around him, and finally he pulled on the rope Eld had pressed into his hand.


    The bundle shifted, but didn¡¯t open, and for a moment, Kaz thought he would be forced to lie there, trapped, until the husede or mosui found him. He managed to shift his grip on the rope by a few inches before trying again, and this time there was a definite loosening of the reeds wrapped around his body. He could bend his arm more, so he adjusted his hold again, and this time when he yanked, the knot unraveled, and he found himself rolling across the floor in a clattering avalanche of reeds.


    Without taking even a moment to look around, Kaz was up, though a reed rolled beneath his paw and nearly sent him tumbling again. Without thinking, he sent the other leg a bit more ki, stabilizing himself on one paw, and then he was off, darting away from the bundle in which he¡¯d arrived. If some guard or worker was summoned by the sound of Kaz¡¯s escape, Kaz didn¡¯t want to be there when they arrived.


    Bundles of reeds just like his flashed by on either side of him, but soon gave way to baskets woven from stripped yumi reeds, holding something that Kaz thought might be mushrooms, though it was hard to tell at the speed he was moving. More and more baskets flew by, holding everything from food to gemstones entirely lacking in ki, until at last he saw a small, dark tunnel to his right and veered sharply toward it. The baskets were too small to hide behind, and he needed someplace to stop and think.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Once he was far enough down the tunnel that the faint glow of crystals had nearly vanished behind him, and hadn¡¯t yet appeared ahead, Kaz stopped, feeling a little tired, but not much. He didn¡¯t know how far he had run, but it was at least half a mile, flat out, and he wasn¡¯t even breathing hard. Removing Eld and Nogz¡¯ collars had been far more difficult than maintaining the reckless pace he had set.


    Closing his eyes, he turned his focus toward Li, finding that she was still safe in her nook, though she was becoming more and more restless as husede scoured the hall looking for her. Neither she nor Kaz could understand why the mysterious ¡®Zhangwo¡¯ was so determined to find a lost fuergar, but the search was still going strong.


    Satisfied that the dragon was still secure, Kaz began walking further down the tunnel. It, like most of the others in the city, was finished, with square corners and smooth walls. There were no crystals on or in the walls, and Kaz had noted that the storage space behind him was also not particularly well lit. This was a good thing when it came to skulking in the shadows, but made it difficult to see more than fifteen or twenty feet away, even for him.


    By the time Kaz reached the end of the passage, he had to summon a small ki-light, which floated in the air before him as he walked. It was the first to touch the door ahead, which turned out to be a good thing, because it instantly went out and Kaz felt a sharp pang of discomfort as some part of its power snapped back to him.


    In his mind, he felt Li¡¯s attention focus on him, attracted by the brief stab of pain. She watched through his eyes as he summoned another light, then stared at the flat, unassuming door ahead of him. It was unusual to him in that it wasn¡¯t made of leather stretched over bone, but nothing here was what he was used to. The doors here were mostly made with what he now realized were long yumi reeds, glued or bound together into tight, flat planes. This one, however, was metal, probably iron, judging by the patches of red rust.


    He wondered briefly if iron somehow disrupted ki, but quickly dismissed the thought. Not only was Raff¡¯s weapon at least an iron alloy, but iron was common in the mountain, and he had never known it to interfere with a female kobold¡¯s power.


    If the problem wasn¡¯t the door itself, then it must be something on, behind, or inside the door, so Kaz leaned forward until the tip of his nose nearly touched the metal. Taking a deep whiff, he wrinkled his nose against the tang of rust and metal, but those were to be expected. This close, he could see that while some scratches marred the surface, they didn¡¯t look intentional. There were no runes carved into it, and while the gouges were filled with rust, nothing strange showed beneath the surface.


    Cautiously, Kaz surrounded his claw with ki, then tried to scratch the door, just to see if he could, and if the layer beneath was also iron. Again, as soon as his ki touched the metal, it dispersed, this time creating a spark not unlike those created by Kaz¡¯s fire-striker.


    In his mind, he could feel Li thinking, her curiosity piqued. She stuck her nose out of her hiding place, staring down at the hall, which was thankfully empty at the moment, then turning her attention toward the room she and Lianhua had been held in. Sure enough, it, too, had a metal door, though this one was polished, without a speck of rust visible on its glossy surface. Did it also break up ki? Was that how the mosui kept Lianhua from escaping?


    Kaz clenched his teeth. If one of these doors had stymied Lianhua, what chance did he have of figuring it out? He would have to go back, and hope that he could find another hall that didn¡¯t end in a door. And yet¡­ surely the mosui wouldn¡¯t bother locking something away if it wasn¡¯t valuable to them. Were there other prisoners on the other side of this door? Or was he already on the ¡®inside¡¯, and this was the way out? The stairs might even be through here!


    Slowly, Kaz laid the palm of his hand against the door. It was cold, far colder than the air around him. There was no frost visible on its surface, but he wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if there was. Shuddering, he remembered the hoyi, and nearly gave up at the thought that this might lead back to some part of their nest. He couldn¡¯t be sure, though, and after all, the last staircase had been in that very nest, so maybe the next one was as well.


    Stepping back, Kaz stared at the door again, pushing more and more ki into his light until it was nearly as bright as one of Gaoda¡¯s. Only then did he see the tiny, thin groove nearly invisible around the outer edge of the door. It caught the light differently from the rest of the door, seeming to absorb it, rather than reflecting, however dully. Reaching out, he tapped it with a claw, and when nothing happened, he pressed a fingertip to it instead, then nearly jerked it away.


    Cold! This stripe was even colder than the rest, and as he drew his finger across the door from one side to the other, he found that the temperature of the metal depended on how far it was from that dark, narrow stripe.


    Closing his eyes again, Kaz tried to think. Memories began to surface, and he could feel Li sifting through them, plucking out one after another and bringing them to the forefront of his thoughts.


    Mosui and husede, filled with mana. Too obvious, and Lianhua could use mana, however peripherally. Red crystals everywhere. Too easy, and red created heat, not cold. Water, gleaming with luminescent black ki. Chi Yincang, filled with black and white ki. Neither unnaturally cold, though Kaz didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever touched the dark human¡¯s skin. The hoyi queen, also filled with black and white ki, but produced by a core and surrounded by ice and raw red crystals.


    Black and white ki, in the presence of red, perhaps specifically surrounded by red, created cold. Red was fire, black was water. Lianhua said Chi Yincang was Duality, water and metal, so if black was water, then white was metal. The door was metal, the door was cold, therefore some part of it also contained red and white ki, creating the chill, and also, somehow, negating Kaz¡¯s ki, or at least turning it into sparks.


    Li sent an image of five balls of ki, one of each color, circling each other. Red, white, and black collided, becoming one, leaving gold and blue behind. Kaz nodded. He had come to the same conclusion.


    Focusing, Kaz separated the strands of his ki, drawing out threads of gold and blue. He had far more gold than any other color, and far less blue, so the golden strand was easily three times the width of the blue, but he twisted them together, creating a cord, which he then touched to the black stripe around the door.


    Sparks flew, jumping and bouncing from the door as a small section of the metal melted into slag. Droplets of iron popped and hissed, and Kaz yelped as a few struck him and sizzled, burning away still more of his poor, abused fur. The whole door creaked in response, and a narrow crack split the metal, trailing away from the spot he had touched.


    Tail wagging, Kaz patted out the little fire that was trying to start in the fur on his chest. When a dark patch and the smell of burned fur were all that remained, he took several long steps back, then formed another ball of light, this time powering it only with blue and gold ki. With a thought, he flung it toward the door.

 Chapter One hundred six

    Kaz rolled wildly, trying to cover his face as he was blown away from the exploding door. Heat and small door-pieces stung his skin, but the ki he had been using to reinforce his body seemed to be doing its job, and nothing hurt except his shoulder, where it had struck the wall. His ears were ringing, and woozily, he reminded himself to plug his ears before the next time he blew something up.


    There was no way the sound hadn¡¯t alerted anyone nearby that something strange was going on, so he forced himself to his paws, noting that though his fur was still smoking in places, his roll seemed to have put out any actual flames. Several small chunks of metal dropped away from his body, though the violent whooshing of his heartbeat covered the small sounds they must have made when they impacted the stone.


    He shook his head, which was probably a mistake, but did allow him to focus on the blackened stone and gaping hole where the door had stood a minute before. The stone itself was barely damaged, but the door was more of a puddle than solid chunks. It was cooling rapidly, the red surface turning dark and dull, but Kaz could feel the heat of it from where he stood.


    Still, he had no time to waste, so he edged closer, then pushed ki into his legs. His core seemed more and more unwilling to produce excess ki at his urging, even when he compressed it, but he was able to leap easily over the molten pool, landing on the warm stone in the room beyond.


    Looking around, he was disappointed to see another of the enormous storage caverns, with no stairs in sight. There were no illuminating crystals here at all, so the only light was his orb, which had returned to its usual dim, flamelike appearance when Kaz stopped giving it extra ki. That meant that he could only see the area nearest to him, and left a great deal to his imagination.


    He was about to expand his ki-light when one of the nearby containers caught his attention. To his left, he saw more of the yumi reed baskets, though these had lids, concealing their contents. To his right, however, were countless cubes that he would have guessed were made of solid metal if one of them hadn¡¯t been broken by the blast. Several others were shifted and dented, but this one had cracked completely through, the two halves falling in toward each other, but separating at the bottom so they lay mostly on top of their former contents, which looked strangely familiar.


    Kaz frowned, stepping closer. His paw came down on a smear of red dust, and the grit and feel of it between his toes made him jerk back with a yelp. He had felt that exact sensation far too often lately. It was fulan, but just the spores, not growing on anything.


    Putting a hand over his nose, as if that would help, Kaz crouched, staring at the box and its dusty reddish contents. The fulan lay quiescent, not floating in the air or infesting a core, but it still sent shudders of horror down his spine, lifting what was left of his fur. The box was oddly smooth, lacking even seams at the edges, except for a single rune etched into the top. The rune was broken in half now, but glancing to the side, Kaz saw another of the boxes, with a pristine copy of the rune on top.


    With new eyes and mounting dread, Kaz looked around. Box after box greeted him, silent and gray, the same rune catching the light of his orb. There were dozens just in his circle of illumination, and if this storage space was even half as large as the one the yumi was kept in? There had to be hundreds, even thousands of these containers, each holding enough fulan spores to irrevocably infect an entire level of the mountain.


    Which led to the inevitable conclusion that the mosui were responsible for what was happening to his people. But why now? He remembered the hints and comments dropped by various kobolds, and thought he could put the story together at last.


    A powerful tribe of kobolds, the Bronzearms, had been forced up from the Deep by some conflict. Their chief, who must be almost as proud as Oda, though more considerate of the members of her tribe, had ignored the warnings of the other tribes already occupying the mid-levels. She had expanded her territory too far, too fast, and when she reached the Nine, she had attempted to do the same in mosui territory.


    The mosui, who seemed to be more about sabotage and stealth than direct confrontation, then took some members of her tribe, which usually served to stop such advances. When the Bronzearms ignored the loss, or perhaps only advanced more aggressively,  the mosui instead deployed the fulan, spreading it everywhere the Bronzearms could be found, including levels above and possibly below their own.


    How far had the Bronzearm¡¯s chief attempted to invade in order to anger the mosui so thoroughly? Or had she done something else, something that no other kobold had done within the memory of the tribes? For their part, how and why did the mosui have the fulan spores, and how had they spread it so widely?


    Kaz had no idea, and, honestly, didn¡¯t much care, though he had to admit to a niggling curiosity worming its way into his brain. Still, it wasn¡¯t worth investigating, not with Li waiting for him and who knew how many husede on their way.


    He stepped away from the fulan, careful not to disturb it any further, then vigorously shook the remainder from his paw. A small amount puffed into the air, but by now it was clear that it took more than that to infect his core, so he wasn¡¯t too worried.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    As he did, however, he bumped into one of the closed baskets. They were short and wide, and the blast, which had been focused on the other side of the door, hadn¡¯t managed to tip one over. He discovered why when his toe began to ache after the impact. Whatever was inside, it was so heavy that it rendered the unassuming baskets nearly immovable.


    Kaz pushed a little more ki into his ears, and they swiveled as he leaned over the basket he¡¯d bumped into. He was listening for any indication of movement, but when his deft fingers released the simple knot and threw back the lid, he was so shocked that both ears and fingers froze.


    Adamantium. Not just adamantium, but pure, smelted ingots of adamantium. Individually, they were about half the length of his forearm, but when he picked one up, almost without realizing he was doing so, it was heavier than an equivalent amount of iron, but not as bad as gold. Hefting it in his palm, he thought it might be similar to silver, though he had only held the raw metal, nothing as pure as this.


    Quickly, he unbuckled his pack and tucked one of the ingots away. He had no idea what he was going to do with it, but adamantium was the rarest metal in the mountain, and in spite of its weight, a weapon or tool made from it would last essentially forever.


    Suddenly reminded, he pulled his knife from its sheath, staring at the strange, folded metal blade. He hadn¡¯t been able to figure out what it was made of, but as he held it next to the container of adamantium, he could see the distinctive red-gold hue of it, mingled in the flow and curve of the wavy lines.


    How had his father come to have a weapon made in some large part of adamantium, and how had Rega come to have it in turn? When a male died, his mate and his chief had first rights to his possessions, or at least so Oda had told him when she took Ghazt¡¯s pack after Kaz watched his father die. By then, Kaz had already removed the fire-striker, so he knew this blade hadn¡¯t been in the pack or on Ghazt¡¯s belt, which meant Rega had either already had it, or had taken it from Ghazt¡¯s hut, which he did not share with Oda.


    With a shake of his head, Kaz pushed away these thoughts, along with the ones about the fulan. He had so many questions, and no way to find answers to a single one of them, at least not without returning to a tribe he¡¯d decided to leave behind forever. Would Katri even know, if he asked her about it?


    A matching curiosity pulsed through his bond with Li, along with some sense of reassurance. They planned to seek out her family, or at least others of her kind. Certainly they could take some time to go back and talk to Katri as well.


    Kaz smiled as he closed the crate, tying it shut again with a tidy warrior¡¯s knot. ¡°Thank you,¡± he murmured softly. He didn¡¯t know if he would ever actually go back, though presumably he and the humans would have to return along the same path they had taken to descend, but he appreciated the fact that his small friend was willing to go with him if he did.


    A high-pitched squeal echoed through the space, coming from the gaping passage behind him. It didn¡¯t sound close, but it was the first indication he¡¯d had that there was anything alive on this level besides himself. He needed to move, and hope whoever it was couldn¡¯t track him by smell.


    Glancing down, he memorized the symbol painted on top of the basket of adamantium, and the one carved into the metal boxes of fulan. He wanted to get some idea of how many spores the mosui had, and if he could, he would stop and investigate any baskets with different runes marked on them. Who knew what else the mosui were hiding here?


    Drawing in a deep breath, Kaz began to run, heading away from the strident sound at a steady lope. He didn¡¯t want to miss anything by moving too quickly, and unless whoever was coming had a way to light up the entire cavern, Kaz would be lost in the darkness by the time they arrived. He dimmed his light even further, leaving it just bright enough to see the markings on the containers a few feet on either side of him.


    Box after box of fulan flickered by, but the baskets of adamantium ended after only a few rows. A quick check told him the next rune must mean ¡®mithril¡¯, and he tucked a single ingot of this metal into his pack as well. He was half tempted to take a whole basket, given how little it weighed, but not only did he need his hands free, but that would ruin any chance that whoever came to inspect the damage might believe the door had burst by itself.


    At this thought, Li snickered in his mind, sending Kaz an image of a spontaneously exploding door, along with a group of baffled mosui waddling in circles as they attempted to figure out what had caused it. Door after door blew up, tossing the round little mosui around like the balls of moss puppies liked to play with.


    He sent her back a picture of the door beside her exploding in a shower of colorful sparks, sending the little dragon tumbling end over end, startled but unhurt, and Li agreed with far more enthusiasm than he expected. Such a blast might force the husede to stop looking for her so she could try to find Kaz. Li couldn¡¯t really use the blue ki she took from Kaz, but it still coursed through her channels, along with plenty of yellow. Perhaps she could achieve the same effect without the blue?


    Kaz was about to answer when the path he had been following ended. It was less a path and more a four-foot wide empty area between the fulan on his right, and the baskets of metal on his left, and it stopped abruptly as he came to stone urns ahead of him. They looked much like the ones kobolds used to store the larger quantities of firemoss oil that were then split into the little pots carried by each of the warriors and many gatherers.


    There was a new rune carved into the stone plug, and when Kaz cautiously opened one of them, he got a nose full of some strange smell that burned his nostrils and made him sneeze. He dipped the tip of a claw into the contents, finding that it was dense and black. When he rubbed a bit of it on his fingertips, it was slick, and difficult to clean off, refusing to dry on its own.


    After a moment, he pushed the stopper back in. He had no idea what this was, or why the mosui kept it hidden with their other treasures, but he needed to decide which way he was going to go. The path split left and right, or he could continue going straight ahead, winding his way between the jars. Nothing in his surroundings gave him a clue which way might lead to stairs or another way up, but the glowing cord that disappeared into the darkness above finally decided him.


    Li was up and left, so Kaz was going left.

 Chapter One hundred seven

    The symbols on the baskets to his left changed twice more, and a quick glance inside them revealed first raw diamonds, and then small pieces of some black metal. It was only when he attempted to pick up a few chunks and they clung together in a clump that he realized they must be lodestones, which Kaz had heard mentioned before, but never seen. The urns on his other side continued on, row after row of them, extending into the shadows.


    He was beginning to believe that in spite of the glittering trail he followed and his own sense of the mountain, he was somehow running in circles, when the path ended again. This time, there were only two possibilities: wend his way through the tidy rows of pots, or turn back. Kaz, of course, continued on, though he was forced to expand his light slightly so he could be sure he didn¡¯t trip over any of the hundreds of jars in his way.


    Just as he thought that perhaps he had imagined the earlier sound, it came again, much closer this time. Instinctively, he crouched, reducing his light to a flicker no brighter than a glow-worm. He pushed more ki into his eyes, but there was neither mana nor ki anywhere nearby, which was something of a relief at least.


    He needed to find a wall, if nothing else, and he was beginning to regret not following one when he first entered. He had assumed that a path had to lead somewhere, but apparently it only served to allow easy access to the items stored here.


    Another squeal echoed through the vast space, but it came from his right, while the others had come from his left. Were there now two creatures making that noise, or had the first one passed behind him and reached the other side? If so, it was moving faster than he was, which was worrisome in itself.


    Kaz found that his pace had slowed significantly, since he was afraid to even brush against one of the stone urns, for fear of knocking it over. He also had far less light by which to navigate, and not even his special sight was helping, given the lack of anything alive nearby.


    Two more squeals, one practically overlapping the other, revealed that there were, indeed, at least two beings pursuing him. They were both closer, as well, so it seemed increasingly likely they were sniffing him out.


    Kaz came to a halt as the cord binding him to Li became perfectly straight up and down. He was directly beneath the dragon. If there were only a way to simply travel straight up, they would be reunited in minutes. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t possible, and now he didn¡¯t know which way to go, other than ¡®not toward the sounds¡¯.


    Taking in a breath, he leaned over and silently plucked the lid from one of the jars. Balancing it in his hand, he poured ki into his muscles, then threw the lid as hard as he could. It flew away into the darkness, and it seemed a very long time before it clattered to the floor again.


    Immediately, three screeches rang out of the darkness. The third one was far too close behind him, and Kaz knew his time was up. Something clicked and hissed in the darkness, followed by more squealing, as Kaz began to run.


    Giving his light orb a little more power, Kaz wound through the stone jugs, glad that they were arranged so neatly. There was a pattern to them, and thus a pattern to his steps, and he wound through the dimness at a speed that would have been impossible if even a single container had been out of place.


    The wall was stone, and it hurt when he kicked it with his leading paw. He didn¡¯t care, though, because he¡¯d caught a glimpse of something glowing to his right. There was a red crystal there, its ki nearly gone, and if there had been any other source of power nearby, he never would have noticed it. He did, though, and turned that way, fingers trailing against the stone.


    It was further away than he¡¯d initially thought, his eyes tricked by the darkness and the dim glow of its power. Squeals still sounded around him, and though at first they had been drawn away by the lid he threw, they were now closing in on him again. He reached the crystal before his hunters reached him, however, and felt his heart rise in his throat as he saw that it was nestled in the center of yet another map.


    Without even bothering to look at the carving properly, Kaz pushed against the stone, feeding it a tiny spark of ki. The wall swiveled, but there were more stone pots in the way. The opening door bumped into them, pushing two aside, but the third tumbled over, spilling its contents on the ground. Kaz danced back from the spreading black pool, the sharp scent of the liquid making him sneeze uncontrollably.


    Behind him, squeals sounded, and there was a definite note of triumph this time. They advanced toward him at a horrifying rate, but Kaz was already through the door and setting paw to the steps. Which went down. Down, not up, and the thought of returning to the yumi fields, or, worse, having to confront whatever was following while he was still on the stairs made him want to howl. Even if he closed the door behind him, and his pursuers couldn¡¯t open it, which was a thin hope at best, Kaz would have to find another way up.


    He was cornered at last. He couldn¡¯t go down, and he couldn¡¯t go back. Turning, Kaz drew out his knife, pushing more power into his light and crouching as he waited to see what was approaching.


    He heard them coming before he saw them. Their wingbeats were quiet, more quiet even than the janjio they resembled, but his enhanced ears picked them out of the near-constant screeching. Still, he wasn¡¯t ready when the first of them emerged into his light.


    It had three sets of wings, and its tooth-filled maw seemed to occupy the entire front of its body. A single long claw tipped each wing, as well as each of the four toes on its two feet. Its fur and skin were black, the nostrils of the flat nose its only feature other than the mouth. So far as Kaz could tell, it had neither eyes nor ears, though they could be hidden beneath the fine coating of fur.


    It screamed, something moist throbbing deep in its gaping mouth, behind double rows of fangs, and Kaz almost staggered as the wave of sound hit him. Like janjio, this thing used sound as a weapon, but Kaz was no longer the puppy who had cowered at the feet of the humans as they fought oncoming swarms of the creatures.


    Tightening his fingers on the hilt of his knife, Kaz ducked beneath a swipe of clawed feet and struck out, slicing easily through one toe. It dropped to the ground, spinning through the slick pool of black liquid that had spilled from the jar.


    The not-janjio screamed, a wholly different sound from the ones it had been making, and spun in midair, its wings twisting unnaturally. Kaz danced backwards, realizing too late that he should have moved before the thing reached him. Now, he was caught between the yawning staircase, the still-spreading pool, and the beast itself.


    As Kaz dodged one blow after another, trying to maneuver so he could jump over the fluid and reach a safer place to fight, the second creature appeared. This one was similar to the first, but it only had two pairs of wings, and its dense fur was brown instead of black. It attacked in the same way, though, using flexible wings to twist and come at him from entirely unexpected directions.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Kaz stabbed at the first creature, which seemed the most dangerous, if only because its third set of wings made it more agile. It screeched as he sliced through the skin of one wing, causing it to drop momentarily before it managed to catch itself and lift high overhead.


    The first winged monster wobbled unsteadily as the second launched itself directly at Kaz. His knife was ready, and stabbed deep into the thing¡¯s side, sending a gout of blood onto the floor. It fell into the pool at Kaz¡¯s feet and swirled, crimson and black circling, but never mingling.


    Desperately, Kaz slashed with his blade, slicing down and through the beast¡¯s flesh, releasing a further flood of sanguine fluid, and the monster fell with a strangely disconsolate cry, flopping to the ground.


    As it fell, the first creature dove down at Kaz¡¯s head, its claws brushing and catching at his pointed ears until he ducked and spun. His paw slipped in the slimy puddle as he tried to come back up behind the swooping creature, and he fell, skidding across the floor and bumping into one jar after another.


    Some tottered but remained upright, but several more fell, expanding the spill until it seemed like the entire floor was covered in the stuff. Kaz himself certainly was, and it felt greasy and unpleasant as it soaked him to the skin. When he glanced down, only his brown fuulong silk loincloth seemed to be clean, and his paws slipped and slid, dropping him back to the floor each time he tried to stand. The only good thing about his situation was that the screaming monster flapping overhead was as unable to predict his movements as he was.


    And then the mosui arrived. It waddled out of the darkness, and its short legs and round body should have rendered it entirely non-threatening. This one, however, wasn¡¯t wearing the all-concealing robes affected by all the other mosui. No, this one wore only a loincloth, not unlike Kaz¡¯s own, and the long claws on hands and feet were on full display. One of the wide, flat hands held a red crystal, but the other was empty of anything save its own natural weapons. Small, sharp teeth were bared at Kaz, and the tendrils writhing around its nose made it seem like something out of a nightmare.


    It paused just outside Kaz¡¯s sphere of light, its small eyes gleaming eerily. Holding up the crystal, it pointed it at Kaz, and he saw the dense mana in its body funnel into the stone, changing to pure red ki, which spread out in a cone ahead of it.


    Kaz felt nothing but the faintest wave of warmth as it washed over him. He had finally managed to slither to the edge of the puddle, and used the wall to climb back to his paws. They tried to slide out from under him again and again, but he dug his ki-infused claws into the stone floor and remained upright.


    The mosui looked from its crystal to Kaz, then shook the crystal. It would have been amusing if it weren¡¯t for the flying thing which continued to dive toward Kaz, forcing him to stab at it wildly in order to fend it off.


    The mosui let out a frustrated screech, tossing the crystal aside. It pointed at Kaz, squeaking furiously. The winged beast spun, clearly wary of Kaz¡¯s knife, but also driven to attack by the mosui¡¯s command. Kaz slashed, again and again, sometimes managing to cut the creature, but never badly enough to bring it down.


    Mosui and monster screeched at Kaz, making his head spin, and momentarily bringing him out of the focus he¡¯d had on the battle. Something tickled at his mind, and he realized it had been there for almost the entire time. The tip of his blade dipped as he blinked, and a flood of images poured into his brain, coming from a very frustrated dragon.


    The ki bolts used by female kobolds, Lianhua¡¯s arrows, Gaoda¡¯s ki-orbs, the ball of ki Kaz had so casually thrown at the door. Why was Kaz using a knife when he could attack his enemies with ki?


    He didn¡¯t have time to feel embarrassed, or make excuses. Kaz simply gathered his ki, creating a second ball of power in front of him. It flared, and the mosui fell back, moist tentacles rippling as it raised an arm to protect its sensitive eyes.


    Kaz swept his knife-wielding hand out, pointing at the flying monster, and the ball of ki flew toward it, vanishing into the gaping mouth with a wet, popping sound. All six wings came forward, too late, and the creature dropped, spasming, to splash down beside its fallen companion. Black slime rippled out, away from the body, and the mosui looked down, seeming to notice the fluid for the first time, though Kaz didn¡¯t know how it could have missed the terrible, biting smell.


    The mosui squalled, a sound so high-pitched that it scratched at Kaz¡¯s ears, making him flatten them and wish he could cover them with his hands. The mosui staggered backwards, stumbling over its own wide feet, desperate to get further away from the pool, which Kaz could now see surrounded the still-open stairwell for a good twenty feet. He had knocked over more jars than he thought, and the thrashing of the six-winged monster had sent several more spinning to the ground.


    Kaz looked down at his own body, which was already covered in the slimy goo, wondering what about it had frightened the mosui so badly. It didn¡¯t hurt, and he didn¡¯t think it was poisoning him, or if it was, it was such a slow poison that he hadn¡¯t yet started feeling ill.


    The mosui spun, obviously no longer paying any attention to Kaz. Instead, it was peering around as it frantically emitted short, high barks that echoed strangely through the cavern. It stopped, looking to its right, toward an area of floor that was still clear of muck, and then it started moving in that direction, its small stature allowing it to move between the upright containers without bumping into them. After a few feet, it stopped, bent down, and picked up the red crystal it had thrown away, nose tendrils going nearly limp with relief.


    One thing Kaz knew was that anything good for the mosui was bad for him. Lifting his knife, he summoned another ball of ki, and this time he had enough attention to spare to note that his blue ki, which was usually little more than a single thread among many, was now a broad ribbon. More than that, to his eyes, the knife in his hand also gleamed a deep, sapphire blue.


    Then he swept the blade through the air, trailing blue ki like a cloud, and the ball of power flew through the air. It struck the mosui¡¯s arm, causing the creature to scream and drop the crystal. This time, the red stone landed in the pool of black, and a spark jumped. With a strange, hollow foomp, the black liquid ignited, and the mosui screamed again as its fur caught fire. It slapped at its body with its wide hands, spinning as it tried to put itself out, but in the process, it stepped into the slippery liquid, sliding and falling, spreading the flames to a new section of the fluid.


    The fire spread. It seemed to hover over the dark surface of the liquid, not quite touching, yet somehow still feeding on it. Urns popped, tipping over as their contents heated and began to rock. Kaz stared in horrified fascination until Li¡¯s terror managed to break through the mesmerizing advance of the flames.


    Turning, he looked around. There were baskets to his left, and he remembered Nogz telling him that they burned the dried yumi reeds, which meant the expanding conflagration would follow him if he went that way. Of course, hundreds of urns full of the flammable liquid were in every other direction.


    Which left the stairs, which went down, but he would take that over death, except that the fire was between him and the door, and even with ki, he couldn¡¯t jump over twenty feet of flames. Plus, he was covered in the goo, which meant the slightest flicker would send him after the unfortunate mosui, who had finally stopped screaming.


    Hand on the wall, Kaz headed left, hoping against hope that he could outrun the flames.

 Chapter One hundred eight

    Behind him, jar after jar popped as their contents overheated, sending stone lids flying through the air. The cavern was filling with roiling black smoke and the roaring of flames mingled with the clatter of stone striking stone. Kaz¡¯s paws, still soaked in whatever the fluid was, continued to slip and slide from under him, dropping him to the ground with bruising force. He ran without care for the baskets around him, dodging around them, but sometimes knocking them over as he struggled to keep his balance.


    Kaz¡¯s fingers clung to the wall, using it both to keep him up and to be sure he didn¡¯t miss some opening that his eyes couldn¡¯t make out in the smoke. He was glad that the ceiling was high, because while it was quickly disappearing behind the billowing clouds, the air around his head was only hazy, and grew clearer the further he got from the center of the conflagration. His paws also became surer as the slime finally wore off, and gradually he grew certain that he was getting ahead.


    Still, the fire was an unstoppable force by now, and he was heading back to a cavern which, as far as he knew, had no other exits. While the flames themselves wouldn¡¯t be able to follow him through the long tunnel, the smoke most certainly would, and he knew from experience with the thick smoke created by burning firemoss that inhaling too much could cause injury and even death.


    In spite of his desperate hope, his eyes and fingers agreed that there were no openings in the walls. There were no convenient passages, no hidden stairs, not even a carving telling him he needed to go one way or another to reach safety. Far more quickly than he had followed the path out, he found himself at the blasted-out door leading back to the first cavern.


    As he paused there, he saw the metal boxes, row upon row of them, each containing the deadly spores of fulan, and he realized that he had something to fear besides the fire itself. When the flames reached those boxes, what would happen? Surely he wouldn¡¯t be lucky enough that the heat would kill the quiescent spores inside, destroying the mosui¡¯s favorite weapon.


    No, the boxes would probably burst or melt, releasing some of the spores into the smoke even as the rest of them burned. Destroying fulan was done with fire and heat, so that was good, but what would the amount of spores in the smoke do to anyone who breathed it during the process?


    This thought lent a further urgency to Kaz¡¯s desperate need to escape. As much as he didn¡¯t want to die by fire, he didn¡¯t want to become a corrupted atrocity even more. He had considered simply returning to the first cavern, then waiting out the flames, and hoping that his partially-refined lungs could handle breathing smoke. That wouldn¡¯t work if the smoke contained fulan, however.


    A sudden thought struck him, and he unbuckled his pack even as he began to jog down the tunnel ahead. Opening his pouch, he dug out the mask made of spiritual bamboo, which he had put away soon after he¡¯d been captured. There had obviously been no need for it then, and he had been afraid someone would take it from him if he didn¡¯t hide it.


    Now, he wrapped it around his muzzle again, though it was difficult to tie a knot in the strings behind his head. The mask had done a remarkably good job of filtering out the spores on the way to the Redmane den, and he could only hope it would work as well here. It might even help with the smoke itself, though he could feel the sting of what he had already breathed in his throat and lungs. He was certain it would be worse without the ki inundating his body, but it was still unpleasant.


    At the end of the tunnel, he turned away from the direction he had originally come from. He already knew there was nothing there but yumi, and if there were any remaining pursuers, they were probably there. Better to head into the unknown and hope for the best.


    The rolls of yumi were larger, and thus took up far more space, but like the boxes and jars in the locked cavern, they went on for row after unchanging row. It was only when he caught a flicker from the corner of his eye and turned his head just in time to see a bundle disappear, along with the platform beneath it, that he realized he was missing the obvious.


    There were no niu here. He didn¡¯t smell or see any sign of them, other than the faint traces that lingered on the yumi itself, and there were no carts or any other way to transport the heavy bundles elsewhere. That meant that the platforms on which they sat could go not one, but at least two other places: the fields, and wherever they were sent to be used.


    Kaz slowed, then stopped, staring at the red crystals covering the platforms beneath the reeds surrounding him. There were no smaller platforms here, no control columns, which meant Kaz would have to figure out how to make the platform work without a helpful switch. He had seen enough husede use these by now to know that the controls not only converted their mana to ki, but directed that ki based on which button the husede pressed.


    Moving closer to the nearest platform, Kaz leaned hard against the bundle of reeds occupying it, managing to roll it far enough so he could see some of the crystals. In his ki-sight, they blazed, but some burned a bit brighter than others. He squinted, trying to see if there was some pattern to it. An arc here, a swoop here, almost like a rune, but there were simply too many parts. Runes were made up of anywhere from one to nine strokes, and there were at least twelve here.


    He crouched, setting his fingers to the brighter section, sending it a small burst of ki. It burst into even greater radiance, but nothing else happened. On a hunch, he shifted his touch to the duller area, remembering the gray, broken crystal the husede had removed from the platform he, Surta, and Dax had taken to the mines. Perhaps these crystals were dimmer because they had been used so much, not because they were less important.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The faint red glow within the stones was harder to spark to life than the others, which had seemed almost eager to take in his power. He pushed harder, compressing his core to get a small burst of additional energy, and for a moment, as ki swept through the platform, he thought it was going to work.


    Then, with a sharp crack, several red crystals split simultaneously. He stumbled back, eyes wide, and coughed as he realized that the smoke had grown thicker while he was concentrating. Looking up and behind, it seemed like the wall and ceiling were closing in on him.


    Turning, he began to run again, fleeing the advancing smog, and only stopped when he realized that the wall ahead was stone and not smoke. He had left the worst of it behind again, for now, but it was coming, and he still had no escape.


    This time when he pushed at the roll of yumi on a nearby platform, he put ki into his muscles, managing to force it to shift several feet to the side. Another push, and another, stopping only once he could see a good part of the crystals with his physical eyes, as well as his internal ones. He was sure the dimmer crystals were the key, and something tugged at his memory. Runes, seen after he came to the mosui city. Runes on the map, runes on the wall¡­ Wait, what wall?


    He thought, frowning, and felt Li grab hold of the memory. The dragon had remained quiet until now, though he could feel her mounting fear through their bond. Now, given something to do, she held and sharpened the moment he needed, holding it before his eyes.


    A collared husede, in front of a wall covered in what looked like horizontal metal rods with burnished bone beads bunched up at each end. A single rune was drawn on the wall above each rod, but the only one that Kaz thought looked vaguely familiar was similar to the one Katri had said meant ¡®water¡¯.


    Those runes labeled each of the nine levels the mosui occupied, and the beads represented each kobold assigned to work on those levels. If the rune for water represented the yumi fields, and these platforms traveled between here, the fields, and wherever they went after this, then- Then, what? He was close, he could tell, but there was some last link he was missing.


    More memories flashed through his mind. Every time Katri had shown him a rune, each one he had seen Lianhua draw. The memories were impossibly sharp, brought to the forefront of his mind by Li¡¯s focus on them.


    There! That one! He felt Li concentrate on this one, which he had shown her before, but never with such clarity.


    Kaz frowned. There was a¡­ blotch, in its head. Right at that spot between the eyes, where the power swirled and gathered before returning to its core, darkness clung, faint but insidious. Kaz prodded it, and the little body squirmed, but he somehow knew that that blockage wasn''t supposed to be there, and, stubbornly, he pushed again.


    His own vision grew dim as he pulled more and more power from his core, forcing his own cycle to speed up in response, until there was a nearly audible pop and the black spot tore, spinning apart into something that almost looked like the trailing lines of one of the runes Katri had taught him. The strands were caught up in the stream of power flowing through the dragon, and it coughed again as they reached its mouth, spewing out another clot of foul goo.


    Runes layered on runes. If this platform traveled to three levels, and the levels were represented by runes, wouldn¡¯t the runes cross in some places, just like the ones that had been blocking Li¡¯s upper dantian? He even knew one of the runes: water.


    Closing his eyes, Kaz pulled the image of the runes on the wall behind the husede into perfect clarity. This one, he didn¡¯t need. He layered it over the red blaze of light produced by the crystals on the platform. For a moment, he thought he was completely wrong, because it didn¡¯t match at all, but then he realized he was simply looking at it from the wrong perspective. With a tilt of his head, it shifted, laying perfectly into two swoops and a curve.


    Now, which of the other lines did he need? Some would stand for this level, while others would take him elsewhere. He couldn¡¯t just fill them all. He was fairly certain that was what had gone wrong last time; he must have triggered more than one rune at a time, and the platform couldn¡¯t be in three places at once, so it had simply overloaded.


    Li placed the image of the wall in front of him again. The husede female, sliding a bone bead along a rod. Above it, other runes on the wall. He knew which one meant ¡®mine¡¯, because she had moved the bead representing him along that rod. Take away that one and the one for the yumi fields, or pools, as she had called them, and that left seven.


    One after another, Kaz applied them to the remaining lines glowing behind his eyelids, eliminating one, then finding a match, then eliminating three others before the sixth slid into place. Now which was the right one, and what would happen if he tried to send the platform to where it already was?


    Opening his eyes, Kaz gave an involuntary cough at the sight of the smoke hanging around his head. He thought he caught a faint whiff of fulan, but that could have been his imagination. In any case, a worried glance at his core revealed no contamination, at least not yet.


    He looked around. There were dozens of platforms, so if he accidentally broke a few more, it wouldn¡¯t matter. All that mattered was escaping this place, and not injuring himself in the process. Leaning down, he set his fingers to the platform ahead of him, pulling just the red ki from his cycle, in case the previous failure had been due in part to using the wrong kind.


    With a thought, he sent the ki down, into the platform, using too much in his urgency. It flashed through the platform, and he struggled to hold it into the shape of the first of the runes he needed to try. With a crack and a series of loud pops, more crystals broke, rendering this platform as useless as the last.


    There was no time to waste, so Kaz simply ran to the next bundle of yumi, shoving it from its platform with an ease driven by desperation. His muscles twinged at the amount of ki he sent them, making him feel jittery and even more anxious, if that was possible.


    Drawing in a deep, calming breath, Kaz compressed his core, holding his cycle until he could gather up a fresh thread of pure red ki. The rest he shoved into his central dantian, which finally filled enough that its separate internal spin gained a little speed.


    Cautiously, Kaz moved along, fingers trailing as he drew the rune he needed, letting only a trickle of ki escape his grasp like a single thread left behind to mark his trail. When he reached the end, he grasped it, sending ruby fibers back along the path until he brought it all back together in a silken knot.


    The platform blazed, and the smoke-filled cavern vanished.

 Chapter One hundred nine

    Once again, the world was filled with red, and as it reformed, Kaz saw that wherever the platform was taking him, there were a few blurry figures already present. In fact, one seemed to walk right through him, and he felt a sudden spike in the amount of power the platform was drawing as he and his conveyance seemed to shimmer back into a more ethereal insubstantiality. This gave Kaz enough time to gather his wits and realize that appearing unexpectedly in the middle of a group of people - husede by their square, shadowy shapes and the oddly well-defined collars around their necks - was probably not a good idea.


    Though he had already used much of his red ki, Kaz spun the last of it into a bright crimson thread and laid it into the rune beneath his fingertips, keeping the platform in that between place that no one else seemed to see. To his immense relief, the three figures soon walked away, seeming heavily burdened by bags or boxes that brought their height to something closer to that of a short human, rather than a tall kobold.


    Kaz¡¯s thread fizzled and burned up, and he and the platform jerked back into reality with an abruptness that made his stomach drop. The dark shape to his right solidified into another platform, with its burden of yumi waiting to be taken away by the husede. Quickly, he dodged that direction, hiding behind the long, wide bundle.


    There he waited, hardly daring to breathe as he ¡®looked¡¯ through the yumi and took in the sight of hazy mana of the right shape and conformation to be inside someone¡¯s middle dantian, hovering not far from his hiding place. Pricking up his ears, he tried to listen for some clue about the person, but they just stood there, and all he could tell from that disembodied dantian was that they were shifting in place, but not actually going anywhere.


    Both Kaz and the misty dantian jumped as the loudest sound Kaz had ever heard blared through the space. It was like a bell had somehow gotten stuck at the moment the clapper touched metal, and it went on and on. Raised voices were nearly lost amidst the din, and Kaz heard several muffled clatters as husede dropped their burdens. The dantian he had been watching turned and moved away at a rate that indicated its owner was running.


    Kaz clapped his hands over his ears, not quite daring to pull the ki from them, in case he missed something that might explain what was going on. The sound didn¡¯t quiet as much as he¡¯d hoped, and it took him a moment to realize that Li was hearing the same thing, so he was hearing it twice over. He turned his attention to the dragon, and saw that the husede who had been scouring the halls for the missing ¡®fuergar¡¯ were also abandoning their tasks and running away.


    Kaz and Li poked their noses out of their respective hiding places at the same time, and for a moment, the two images overlapped in Kaz¡¯s vision. An empty hall lay superimposed over a broad, open room filled with all kinds of things, many of which now lay scattered over the floor. Raw metal glinted among yumi reeds that had been partially stripped down to long, thin pieces, but between them lay an empty stone floor that was darker and shinier than the one that was actually in front of Kaz.


    At the same moment, both realized that this was their chance to move, and Kaz was already running by the time he realized the little dragon was as well. He urged her to return to her hiding place, but it was half-hearted at best, since they both knew that eventually one of the husede would think to look up, even though a fuergar shouldn¡¯t be able to climb the polished stone walls of the hall.


    Li returned stark refusal, and Kaz had to turn his attention away as he came to the first exit from the room. Two bags of raw ore spilled out onto the floor in front of it, and Kaz could feel waves of heat coming from the short tunnel. He guessed that this was where the husede smelted their ore, and while he was intensely curious how they made a fire hot enough to melt mithril and adamantium, now was most definitely not the time to investigate.


    He hurried on, trying to ignore the blaring sound that continued to echo through both his and Li¡¯s ears, and glanced down the next tunnel. A bundle of yumi reeds lay on the floor, partially blocking the path, and while Kaz could jump over it, he decided to investigate the next few tunnels before deciding which way to go.


    The next tunnel was empty of fallen items, but the one after that had three jugs set neatly to one side. A closer inspection showed that they contained the same thick black fluid as the ones causing so much havoc on the storage floor, which made Kaz realize what was happening.


    It was his fault. Well, his and his attackers. The bell must serve to let all the husede know that an emergency was taking place somewhere, and they had gone to help deal with it. If the fire wasn¡¯t raging, Kaz would probably still be huddled behind that first roll of reeds, waiting to be discovered, so while his recent experience had been terrifying, he was now glad that it had happened. Given the size of the conflagration, any husede involved in stopping or cleaning up after it would be gone for quite a while.


    Li plucked this thought from his mind and sent back smug satisfaction as she hastened her own escape. Kaz urged her to be cautious, since they didn¡¯t know if the mosui were equally occupied. Grudgingly, she admitted he was correct and slowed her pace again, even as Kaz ignored his own advice and sped up.


    Two more tunnels, one with gems on the floor, and one that seemed empty at first glance. Kaz¡¯s ki-sight told him something entirely different, however, and he crouched down, picking up a small pouch that had been set at the side of the tunnel as carefully as the liquid-filled urns had been. Pulling open the top, he spilled a single crystal into his palm.


    It blazed with golden light, and Kaz clenched his fist around it. It was a yellow ki-crystal, and after his time in the mine, Kaz had an idea just how rare and precious these were. Just holding it in his hand, he felt the yellow ki in his cycle surge toward it in a way his red ki didn¡¯t respond to the ubiquitous red crystals. Was that because there was only the one, or because this crystal was different? Quickly tucking it into his pack, Kaz determined to investigate it later, after saving Li, and, possibly, Lianhua.


    Colored light flickered at the end of this tunnel, and Kaz took a step toward it, drawn as he hadn¡¯t been even by the forge. If there were more crystals like this down there, how much more powerful could he become if he figured out how to use them properly? But he had decided to check all the passages before making his decision, so he would wait. This was certainly the way he would go if nothing else seemed more promising, however.


    The next tunnel held no clues as to its destination, and neither did the one after that. This left only one, and he glanced down it almost indifferently, having already decided to head back to the one where he¡¯d found the crystal. Something on the wall caught his attention, however, and he stopped. Advancing down the passage a few steps, he stared at the picture carved into the otherwise smooth wall.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Nine flat lines, with a single tall rectangle passing through the center of all of them, and in the very middle of that, a red crystal glowed invitingly. He reached toward the slightly oversized figure next to the stacked set of lines indicating a staircase, and grinned as he touched the red crystal, causing the door to swivel open and reveal a set of stairs leading up.


    =+=+=+=


    As Kaz discovered the set of stairs for which he had been searching, Li was seeking a similar path to him. She flew through hall after empty hall, looking at closed doors and wishing that she had Kaz¡¯s dexterous hands rather than her own small, clawed paws. Though she doubted if she could turn a handle that was the size of her chest, even if she had a set of so-convenient thumbs. Her small size was a constant source of annoyance and mild embarrassment for her, not that she would admit that to the kobold.


    The blaring tone of the alarm ceased so abruptly she wobbled in the air, and a sharp stab of pain went through her injured shoulder. The wing seemed to be fine, but the muscles that controlled it were very definitely bruised, and her wounded paw ached as well. Li had only been hurt a few times before, and she always found it quite bothersome, though she seemed to heal more quickly than her kobold companion.


    Her ears continued to echo with the absent sound, and she eventually realized that it was still going on wherever Kaz was. Perhaps that meant that the husede on her level were supposed to return to their duties, which also meant that her time of freedom was limited. She needed to find a new place to wait, one which didn¡¯t cause such a crick in her long, elegant neck.


    Looking around, she realized that she had found her way to a wide, open space. She felt safer the higher she was above the ground, so each time she came to an intersection, she had taken the tunnel with the higher ceiling. This led her at last to this place, where the ceiling was at least twice as high as the male human called Raff.


    She had no idea what the mosui wanted with such a space, since compared to the ridiculously oversized humans, they seemed barely larger than herself - a fact which she viewed with some satisfaction - and it seemed to make more sense for their tunnels to get smaller, rather than larger. One thing she had discovered during her short life, however, was that the creatures occupying this strange, closed world in which she wandered seemed to feel little to no compulsion to act with any kind of intelligence.


    With a few flaps of her wings, which should have been effortless, but were instead quite uncomfortable, she peered into one of the small alcoves from which red light emitted, discovering that it was nearly identical to the one in which she had been hiding. No, resting. Somehow she felt sure that dragons didn¡¯t hide, and she would do well to remember it.


    Circling the room, she saw that all of the recesses were the same, and finally stopped for a moment so she could climb far enough into the last one to gulp down the crystal resting there. Darkness fell, which was actually quite pleasant after the constant glare of the space in which she had been trapped for what had to have been days, judging by the gnawing in her belly.


    She had wanted to eat the crystal there so very, very much, but knew she couldn¡¯t, since the simple lack of light would likely attract the very attention she was attempting to avoid. Not that she was hiding, no, simply making a prudent choice to avoid notice until she recovered.


    Now, the chip of red she had gulped down made its way to her belly, where she felt the warm flush of ki join her cycle. She couldn¡¯t see ki, at least not as well as her kobold companion, though his skill did seem to function through their bond, at least a little. Nonetheless, she perceived it with some other sense than mere sight, and to her great delight, she could manipulate it more easily than Kaz. So he could see power? Well, she could touch it. Most of the time.


    At least she could do it often enough and well enough that she was able to help him with whatever bothersome thing he was doing at the time. Such as trying to avoid dying, which he seemed to do with tiresome regularity. If he would simply stop allowing his curiosity and unnecessarily sympathetic personality to guide his choices, life would be far easier and more convenient for her, which was really what mattered.


    Letting the weight of her slender, graceful tail pull her back out of the small hole, she enjoyed the feeling of warmth spreading from her stomach and the push of cool air against her wings. Turning in an exquisitely executed twist, she dove down to investigate the three tunnels that exited this spacious chamber, in addition to the one through which she had entered.


    Before she even reached the first, she veered away from it. The distinct and too-familiar scent of fulan was coming from that direction, along with a whiff of acrid smoke. It might well lead down - in fact, it almost certainly did - but she had no interest in risking unnecessary exposure to the spores. Kaz could come to her, as was only right and fit.


    The second tunnel had nothing in particular to either recommend or condemn it, but the third¡­ Oh, the third held something very interesting indeed. There, beneath the earthy scent of mosui, and the musky-metallic aroma of husede, lay one that she recognized. Light and gently sweet, it was the aroma of the human female.


    Li hesitated, circling lazily in midair as she tried to decide what to do. She was quite conflicted in her feelings toward this human. On one claw, Kaz liked her, and Li was somewhat inclined to forbearance toward things her kobold liked. On the other claw, Kaz liked her, and Li wasn¡¯t entirely sure she approved of him liking any being other than herself. Still, he obviously prioritized Li over Lianhua, so it was probably all right.


    On a third claw, it was Lianhua¡¯s fault that they had gotten into this mess in the first place. Yes, well, perhaps it was slightly Li¡¯s fault, since she was the one who had been trying to impress the human - entirely unnecessarily, of course, since the female was clearly properly dazzled by Li¡¯s mere existence - until she had overextended herself and fallen briefly unconscious.


    That is, she took a short nap, and when she woke, she and Lianhua were already on the other side of the spinning stone door, and descending the stairs. Li had heard the same squeals as Lianhua, but entirely lacked the urge to investigate and ¡®help¡¯, and thus had tried to lift herself away from the human, but found that she was still too tired to fly.


    When they saw the first fulan spores, Li had redoubled her efforts, but Lianhua had been determined to find out what was causing the noise. She even started speaking to Li in much the same way Kaz did, moving her disturbingly flexible lips and tongue to make the strange noises that served as speech for those who couldn¡¯t communicate in better ways.


    Lianhua offered to put Li into a ¡®mask¡¯, which Li made quite clear was unacceptable by biting the female¡¯s ear. It wasn¡¯t as soft as the dragon thought it should be, but she could still draw blood if she bit down hard enough. After that, she saw the faint, hazy shimmer of a shield form around them, and the spores were pushed out of the way. Li had no idea why the human hadn¡¯t simply done this in the first place, since it allowed Li to ride in comfort, but at least it had been done at last.


    Then, of course, they fell in the hole. That, at least, was entirely Lianhua¡¯s fault, since watching her own enormous feet should be the very least of her responsibilities. Li also wasn¡¯t to blame for the fact that she herself had tried to fly off Lianhua¡¯s shoulder as they plummeted to the ground, because what else was a dragon to do when her mount tumbled so abruptly?


    As a result, however, Li had breathed in quite a bit of the dust that fell around them, and the world had gone black. When she woke, Li was in the box. She had no idea what had happened between the time she fell into unconsciousness, and when Lianhua opened the box to feed her, but she did know that the human female had very nearly managed to make up for the whole mess by doing something to unlock and open Li¡¯s prison and facilitate her escape.


    As she made one last turn, still torn between possible safety and the high probability that following Lianhua¡¯s scent would lead to becoming further embroiled in whatever the malicious mosui were up to, she caught a glint of light reflecting from her forelimb. Turning her gaze on it, Li looked at the lovely golden bauble Kaz claimed Lianhua had given her. Li had been very young at the time, so she didn¡¯t remember it clearly herself, but she had seen it in the kobold¡¯s memories, and she reluctantly had to admit that there was little room for doubt.


    Heaving a great sigh, the dragon flapped her wings, vanishing down the tunnel that smelled of Lianhua.

 Chapter One hundred ten

    As Li progressed down the ever-shrinking passage, she realized that it was the first with no exits at all. This made the dragon wonder if she had made the right choice in coming this way. Perhaps she should have taken a short nap in the alcove where she¡¯d eaten the ki-stone, and waited for Kaz.


    Still, L


    It was that thought that compelled the dragon to continue flying as the passage narrowed and her muscles began to stiffen, causing her wingbeats to slow. While her instincts told her that it was only right for lesser beings to sacrifice themselves for her, she had spent too much time with Kaz, felt his emotions, and thought that, just possibly, she owed the human something. What that something was, she didn¡¯t know, but she would figure it out when she got there.


    It was the loud, strident voice of the white-furred mosui that warned her someone was approaching. Li darted toward the nearest niche holding a crystal, only realizing that it might not be far enough above the ground to conceal her completely after she had already crawled into it and pulled in her tail. She found herself looking down at the top of a fuzzy round head, the damp tendrils surrounding the agitated mosui¡¯s quivering nose almost close enough to bite. Not that she wanted to, because they looked disgusting. But also tasty.


    Fortunately, both the mosui and her husede escort were too busy to notice a tiny dragon tucked into an alcove just above their eye level. The mosui was screeching angrily, glancing back down the passage even as she continued walking. The husede¡¯s broad, gray face had very little expression, but her lips were compressed into a flat line, and her gaze was fixed straight ahead, giving away her own anger or frustration.


    Li had no idea what the mosui was saying, since she used her own language of chitters and squeals, but the two passed by quickly enough, and soon the dragon was alone in the corridor again. She poked her head out, watching and listening for any sign that someone else approached. Nothing came, and the tiny shred of concern in the corner of Li¡¯s heart grew into full-blown worry. Those two had taken Lianhua somewhere, and left her there, and Li doubted that was a good sign.


    She moved on down the hall more cautiously, because she was a wise dragon, and not at all because her shoulder hurt too much to move quickly. Eventually, she heard more noises coming from ahead and retreated to yet another alcove, curling up around the crystal resting there with no small amount of relief. Her shoulder was really quite uncomfortable, and she could barely move the claws on her injured paw anymore.


    Nothing happened. No one approached, and the noises she heard didn¡¯t rise above the level of quiet conversation. There was certainly no screaming in anguish, which was good, but made Li feel a tiny bit peevish, as if she had gone to a great deal of trouble for no particular purpose.


    When Li cautiously crawled to the front of her resting place, extending her gleaming golden wings so they caught the light of the nearby crystals just so - because she had eaten the one in the alcove, which was disappointingly weak - she nearly changed her mind and turned around.


    She had a clear memory of the human female writhing in pain as the collar around her neck burned with carmine ki, and discovering that Lianhua might well be engaged in a pleasant chat instead of suffering additional torment had rather reduced the amount of urgency the dragon felt. Still, she had come this far, so she might as well go on, if only to sate the curiosity that she would have chastised Kaz for feeling.


    The voices grew louder as she neared, and to her surprise, the dragon realized that it sounded like two humans speaking, rather than one human and one mosui. Admittedly, the second voice was higher-pitched than even Lianhua¡¯s, but it was nowhere near as shrill as the other mosui Li or Kaz had heard.


    Once the voices were loud enough for the words to be intelligible, Li found another nook in which to exercise her wisdom and gather more information before advancing. She didn¡¯t feel as secure here as she had in the ones before, since even a mosui could look straight at her if they happened by, but it was better than nothing. Sadly, she didn¡¯t quite dare eat the chip of red crystal lying there, taunting her, since a dark alcove would certainly attract the eye, and she had already left several of them behind her.


    ¡°-how many of you there are,¡± the treble voice said.


    ¡°I¡¯m the only one left,¡± Lianhua replied, sounding tired. ¡°I was here with a bodyguard, trying to make my way down to the kobold city, but the strange monsters on the levels above this killed them, one by one.¡±


    A quiet hum reached Li¡¯s ears before the first speaker went on. ¡°I see, I see. And how did you find them? These¡­ monsters.¡±


    ¡°They found me,¡± Lianhua replied wryly. ¡°And they¡¯re terrible. We spoke to some kobolds- Ah, I mean, before my companions were killed, we spoke to them. The kobolds said that the stairs usually blocked the fulan from traveling between levels, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be happening any longer.¡±


    A little chuckle reached Li, and the dragon found herself edging forward, her head protruding from her nook as she tried to see what the being looked like. There was more corridor ahead, but it ended in a door which wasn¡¯t quite closed all the way. It was from behind this door that the muffled voices emerged.


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± the person said conversationally. ¡°I turned off that function of the staircases shortly after we released the fulan. Here, let me show you. It isn¡¯t often that the kobolds irritate me enough to go this far, but I felt it was appropriate, given the offense.¡±


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    The word ¡®kobolds¡¯ dripped with such contempt that Li shivered slightly. Even Gaoda didn¡¯t speak with such absolute hatred. The being obviously felt kobolds were as far beneath him as humans were beneath dragons, and this mosui absolutely loathed the other race with whom his people shared the mountain.


    Sounds came from beyond the door: quiet clicking and soft, shuffling footsteps. Lianhua gasped, and Li slithered from her hiding spot and spread her wings, gliding down until she landed on the ground just before the door. It was open just a crack, but a crack was enough for a lithe, graceful, agile dragon like Li, and she inserted her nose through it until she could see.


    The room beyond was lit by ki. Not just red, but all the colors, gleaming from crystals embedded in the walls and floor. Lianhua stood, her robes still perfectly clean, but her hair in disarray and face streaked with sweat and tears. The female¡¯s amethyst eyes were wide, and she stared at an image floating in the air in front of her. It was the mountain, made up entirely of crystalline ki, solid and light all at once, and sliced neatly in half so its interior was fully visible.


    More shuffling, and the being who had been hidden behind this creation of ki emerged into sight. He was taller than any other mosui, maybe as tall as Kaz, and the silver fur covering his skin was shorter and finer. His snout was shorter as well, and the tendrils around the tip were mere stubs compared to Yanshu¡¯s four-inch tentacles. He had external ears, not unlike those of the humans, and his eyes showed white around the iris, rather than being solid black or brown from edge to edge. In fact, he looked very much like a mosui and a human had somehow managed to produce a child who was a rather unfortunate combination of both.


    Stretching out a human finger tipped with a long mosui claw, he tapped the image of the mountain, and as he did so, one of the gem-encrusted rings adorning his fingers glinted with ki. A section of the mountain swelled as everything above and below it faded away, leaving only eighteen levels visible.


    ¡°This controls everything within my territory,¡± the strange being said. He reached out and touched a miniature staircase, which glowed as red as the real thing until his finger brushed against it, at which point it went dark. Another tap, a spark jumping from one of his rings, and the stairs lit up again.


    ¡°The interlopers, the oversteppers, the murderers, hadn¡¯t reached this area, so I left this one active, but for that moment, the fulan could have drifted down it. Perhaps a few spores will settle on a plant nearby, and the fulan will spread anyway.¡± He giggled, brown eyes gleaming with malevolent pleasure. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to play with the shiyan in so long. Though until you came, it wasn¡¯t nearly as entertaining as it used to be.¡±


    With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the ki-image and turned to Lianhua, baring teeth that were nearly as sharp as a dragon¡¯s. ¡°If you had a core, it would be better, but I suppose it¡¯s too much to ask that the first human to offer herself up to me in eight hundred years should be absolutely perfect. Still, one makes do with what one has, as the master used to say. Not that he ever settled for that, oh no. Ever tinkering, was the master.¡±


    Lianhua looked between the mosui-man and the place the mountain used to stand. She was pale, but her voice was firm as she asked, ¡°Who was the master?¡±


    Turning his back on her, the being shrugged. ¡°Ask him yourself, if you see him. He¡¯s gone, risen and fallen and lost to us, centuries ago. Left us to rot here, lingering past our time, stuck in a cycle he set for us when his eyes still saw. Kobolds, yes,¡± he murmured, voice rising to something nearly as shrill as that of a normal mosui. ¡°Kobolds took him, kobolds left him, kobolds live on while he lies forgotten.¡±


    He continued speaking as he stared down at something on the floor, perhaps the many-hued crystals, or perhaps something that existed only in his own mind. His fingers twitched, and he turned a ring on his left middle finger, spinning it around and around.


    Behind him, Lianhua tensed, her own fingers lifting as if to pull an invisible bowstring. She sighted down it, and Li saw the ki in her lower dantian brighten, spinning up along her channels until it reached the ring around her neck, which flashed ruby red, cutting off the flow of ki before it could reach the dantian in her forehead. The female¡¯s face twisted in pain, but she stubbornly continued, more and more ki cycling through her, stopped each time by the red circle. Finally, she collapsed to her knees, trembling and panting as sweat or tears dripped from the end of her nose.


    The mosui-man turned, lips stretched wide in a caricature of a smile. ¡°You can¡¯t burn through it, human child. Master made it to keep us safe, protect us from the shiyan, at least once we were no longer shiyan ourselves. You¡¯re like a bug, flitting around my face, in comparison to the things that collar was designed to hold. You hurt no one but yourself with your efforts, and-¡±


    Lianhua lunged at him. He might be tall for a mosui, but she was taller, and her body refinement gave her a strength no one looking at her would have expected. She knocked him down, and the two of them tumbled across the floor, bumping into a table. A shower of small bottles fell down around them, spilling colorful liquids that soaked the male¡¯s robes and slid off Lianhua¡¯s silks.


    With a fierce cry, Lianhua dealt a series of punishing blows to the mosui¡¯s throat and head, hands moving with practiced speed and precision to strike at her opponent¡¯s weakest points. He lay there, body shaking beneath the blows, but didn¡¯t cry out. At first, Li thought the attack had already succeeded, and he was unconscious, but then she saw the look on Lianhua¡¯s face as she continued to assault the fallen male. There was fury there, but also a desperation that she wouldn¡¯t be feeling if she thought she would win.


    A hand rose, almost as quickly as a dragon could strike, and grabbed Lianhua¡¯s wrist before her next attack could connect with the fallen mosui¡¯s neck. With an ease belied by his small size, the male sat up, holding onto Lianhua as she attempted to twist away, turning her wrist and bending her arm to use leverage to force the fingers apart.


    With another giggle, the mosui¡¯s face split, revealing far more teeth than a human could boast. Without blinking, he leaned forward, the stunted tentacles on his nose stretching forward as if to stroke Lianhua¡¯s face. The human female froze, staring into his eyes, and he lifted his free hand, revealing a strange object that Li instantly coveted. It was made of rich, lustrous yellow gold, thickly encrusted with ki gems.


    Mana surged from him, so thick even Li could see it, traveling into the device, and from there into the collar around Lianhua¡¯s neck. Without a word, she slumped to the ground.

 Chapter One hundred eleven

    Kaz watched through Li¡¯s eyes the entire time he climbed the stairs. He thought this staircase was a little shorter than the one between the mines and the yumi pools, but it could just be that he was so driven by fear that he bounded up them far more quickly. He tried telling Li to wait, but she acted as if she hadn¡¯t even heard him, continuing forward long after she should have stopped.


    By the time he reached the door, his fur was damp with sweat, and he was actually out of breath, in spite of the tempering of his body. He paused, hands on his thighs, panting as he stood on the landing, entirely focused on the battle between Lianhua and the tall mosui. When Lianhua collapsed, he let out a sound that was something between a growl and a low whine, and thrust his finger into the hole concealing a chip of blue crystal. A spark of ki jumped, barely visible, and the door swiveled in place, revealing the wide hallway beyond.


    Stay there, he thought to Li as his eyes darted around, looking for telltale clouds of mana as much as the physical bodies of anyone who might be nearby. He saw nothing, however, so he bumped the door closed with his shoulder, then turned his attention to the gleaming cord hanging in the air. For the first time since he¡¯d entered the city, it was nearly level, sloping only slightly upward, and Kaz turned to the left and began to run.


    He held his knife in his hand, ready to do battle if anyone attempted to stop him, but no one appeared. Once or twice, he heard sounds and saw mana beyond a closed door, but there was no one in the passages themselves. Those passages were nearly identical, but he had three things to guide him: First, his tie to Li, which told him which path to follow to head in her general direction. Second, the dark alcoves Li had left behind. If the situation weren¡¯t so dire, he would have laughed when he saw one of these, a few turns before the tall central chamber where she had paused and debated whether to stay or continue on.


    Third was Lianhua¡¯s scent, which he picked up at the same place Li had, though it had had a little longer to fade since the dragon passed through. It was also layered with the smell of a husede and a mosui, and he noted those particular aromas down, vowing to remember them, in case he met the beings to whom they belonged. Yanshu had saved Li and Lianhua, at least temporarily, and he owed her a debt for that, but the pale mosui had also tormented Lianhua via the collar and held Li in the box until Lianhua convinced her the dragon needed food, and that was unforgivable.


    Kaz barely spared a glance for the passage that now stank of smoke and fulan far more strongly than it had when Li passed by. He had removed his mask before starting up the stairs, but he didn¡¯t think such a brief exposure would cause a problem. Li needed him, so he simply ran.


    He quickly realized why the link between him and the dragon still led upward. Rather than the ceiling sloping down as the passage grew smaller, the floor angled up to meet it. There was also a subtle curvature to the walls, leading him up and around in a spiral. He soon found himself crouching as he ran, and smiled grimly as he saw the next empty alcove, a good ways down the hall. This must be where Li had watched Yanshu and the husede pass by, so he had to be close.


    He watched through Li¡¯s eyes as the mosui picked Lianhua up as if she weighed nothing, carrying her to a long, low table to one side of the room. Next to the table were rows of cubbyholes, each one containing a small basket, stone pots, or, rarely, a scroll. After dumping Lianhua onto the table, her limbs spilling awkwardly over its surface, the mosui turned to the cubbyholes and began to open one container after another, peering down at the contents as a high-pitched whistling emerged from his throat. By the time Kaz realized the being was humming, he could hear it with his own ears, as well as through Li¡¯s.


    When the slight curve of the walls and floor finally delivered him to Li, he found the dragon standing, eyes whirling with all the colors of her ki as she stared back at him. Not daring to make a sound, Kaz knelt, opening his arms, and the dragon ran to him, limping as she held one swollen paw off the ground. He knew she didn¡¯t like to be picked up, so he waited until she climbed onto his arm, then drew that arm in and curled his body around her protectively.


    Silently, the two of them sat, Li tucked close to Kaz¡¯s chest not only by the pressure of his arms, but because her tiny form was leaning into him as if she would never move again. Through her, he heard and felt his own heartbeat, pounding against his chest, and through him she sensed the warmth of her body, the smoothness of her scales, the way she trembled as if she had been slowly freezing. Gently, he stroked her long neck, and she sighed, slim ribs heaving, until, as one, they both turned to look at the partially-open door.


    Soft clattering still came from beyond, and Kaz saw, as Li couldn¡¯t, the density of the mana roiling next to Lianhua¡¯s faded ki. He¡¯s strong, Kaz thought, and Li nodded, now able to see it through his eyes. While she could see some ki, mana still eluded her, and she¡¯d had no idea just how much of a monster this creature was.


    Kaz¡¯s mind raced. How was he to get Lianhua out before the mosui completed whatever he was doing? He honestly had no idea, unless he got lucky and the thing left the room. There were two other doors, besides the one leading into the hall, so it was possible. Lianhua wasn¡¯t that much larger than Kaz, and he was certain he could carry her away if only he were given a chance.


    Creeping forward, Kaz lowered Li to the floor again, reaching out to stroke her back as he did so. He didn¡¯t need to touch her in order to look through her eyes, but they each took comfort from the warmth emanating from that single point of contact. He turned his own gaze back to the hall, watching and listening for the approach of others, while Li¡¯s much less obtrusive nose protruded back through the crack in the door.


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    The mosui seemed to have decided on a particular box, which now lay open on the table beside Lianhua. He had moved her legs out of the way, so her pose didn¡¯t look so disturbingly unnatural, but it was still obvious that she was unconscious. At least, she was until he pulled out the bejeweled device Kaz had seen through Li and tapped it, none too gently, against her forehead.


    Instantly, Lianhua¡¯s eyes snapped open, and tension filled her body as her arm swung out, swinging toward the mosui¡¯s human-like ear. The mosui laughed almost admiringly as he grasped the limb, stopping it without the slightest hint of effort.


    Lifting the golden object, he waggled it in front of her eyes, then tapped it to her collar with a soft chiming sound. This was entirely different from the dull click Kaz had heard when anyone tapped the collars the kobolds wore, and he pulled up the memory of Lianhua¡¯s collar, as seen through Li¡¯s eyes when Lianhua fed the dragon earlier.


    He had noted at the time that it was carved, rather than being smooth and featureless, like the one he wore. Now, he focused on those designs, and decided that it was at least possible that some of them were runes. More importantly, it had the almost glittering look of mithril, rather than the blackish-gray sheen of old silver. Returning his thoughts to the present, his ears lowered unhappily. He had managed to break his own collar, yes, but this one was obviously different, and he suspected it would be a much greater challenge. That meant he not only had to get Lianhua away, but do it quickly enough that no one had a chance to use the collar against her.


    As the white-furred mosui began to speak, Kaz¡¯s ears lifted and swiveled, though he didn¡¯t look away from the empty passage behind them. Li, however, watched Lianhua and the bizarre being intently.


    The mosui sighed as he released Lianhua¡¯s arm, apparently satisfied that she understood that attacking him was futile. ¡°I do wish you had a core, little human. My line has grown weak, regressing to their baser forms. The master would be displeased.¡±


    His lip curled, and he shook his head. ¡°Not that it matters what the master would think. Bones are allowed no opinion. Still, it would have been good to make some new mosui, and when I was a man, I would have thought you fair enough.¡±


    His eyes traveled over her, something flashing through them that was vaguely reminiscent of the way Gaoda sometimes watched Lianhua when she wasn¡¯t looking. It was gone again in a moment, however, and he turned his attention to the box, though he looked up when Lianhua spoke.


    ¡°You were a man?¡± she asked softly, edging subtly away from him.


    He snorted and nodded. ¡°Not much of one, some would say, but yes. When the master walked among the humans, I was one of his greatest servants. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if my name lives yet, in fact.¡±


    His nose tilted up, and he smirked. ¡°Though now I lie here, buried beneath earth and stone as surely as if I had died with him. My name has more life than me!¡± He cackled, far too amused by his poor joke, failing to notice the mingled fear and fascination that lit Lianhua¡¯s eyes as she stared at him.


    ¡°What¡­ What was your name?¡± she asked, even as her hand slid down to grasp the edge of the table in a white-knuckled grip.


    He smiled almost reverently as he reached into the box. ¡°Before it was Zhangwo? My father named me Pantu. It means ¡®traitor¡¯. He meant to name me ¡®rebel¡¯, since he hoped I would grow up to lead the people in overthrowing my master. He wasn¡¯t as well-educated as he thought, however, and he used the wrong runes. Still, it was quite appropriate in the end, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lianhua stared at him, brow furrowed. ¡°Pantu? That¡¯s an unusual name. There was a Pantu Yanjiu a hundred years or so ago. He was named after Pantu Lianren, who was one of the Diushi Emperor¡¯s wisest advisors, but other than that-¡±


    Zhangwo¡¯s hand froze in the act of lifting something from the box. Turning astonished eyes on Lianhua, he said, ¡°They really do remember me? I, who in a single day yielded everything I had ever loved in exchange for one more moment of life? And they call me a ¡®wise advisor¡¯?¡±


    Dropping whatever he held, he staggered back, Lianhua¡¯s words succeeding where her blows had failed.  He ran his hand down his face, pausing on the protruding snout, and fingered the nubs of tentacles. He began to laugh, a high, shrill sound that held more than a hint of madness.


    ¡°A wise advisor,¡± he cackled, throwing back his head. ¡°And look at me now. A monster, father of a race of monsters, little better than a kobold!¡± Curling forward, he continued to howl, chanting the last words over and over again. ¡°A kobold! A kobold! A kobold!¡±


    Lianhua slithered backwards on the table, not quite daring to try to stand. Her face was pale, and her amethyst eyes blazed within it as she looked around, searching for any way out. She saw the two closed doors, and Li watched as her gaze turned to the only one that was open.


    Greatly daring, Kaz turned, extending his hand through the narrow gap about halfway up. He waved once, and Li saw Lianhua¡¯s eyes lock onto the movement. Kaz didn¡¯t know what the human female would make of it. Would she recognize him just from his hand? The thin fur on the back wasn¡¯t even blue at the moment, so it was doubtful.


    Then the purple eyes dropped and widened, obviously noticing the glossy tip of Li¡¯s tiny gold-scaled nose. Kaz still didn¡¯t know if Lianhua saw the dragon or a fuergar, but either way, the combination of that nose plus a kobold¡¯s hand, whether blue-furred or gray, had to tell her who was at the door.


    With a decisive movement, Lianhua swung her legs from the table, preparing to stand, but stopped when Zhangwo¡¯s head snapped up. His teeth were bared again, and his eyes were wild. He pointed the gold object at Lianhua, who froze, though she didn¡¯t fall down this time. Her eyes darted around wildly, but otherwise she was still except for the shallow rise and fall of her chest.


    ¡°You will stay. I admit, my enjoyment of this has diminished, but the thing has been decided. I must provide results, or Nucai will be displeased. The bones have no opinions, but Nucai does, yes!¡±


    He advanced toward Lianhua again, his momentary break entirely forgotten, but became nearly as immobile as she when the alarm began to blare again. In the cacophonous stillness, Kaz felt the floor beneath his paws tremble.

 Chapter One hundred twelve

    Zhangwo turned away from Lianhua, taking two long strides back to the place the image of the mountain had hovered. He fiddled with the rings on his fingers, and the mountain reappeared, just as clear and lifelike as before. Reaching out, he pulled and twisted it, and Kaz, watching through Li, saw the tiniest sparks of ki jump from his jewelry to the insubstantial picture with each gesture.


    After a moment, during which Lianhua¡¯s face grew red with effort as she strained against whatever held her, the mosui pulled on a certain section of the image, which snapped into focus. In it, tiny mosui scurried, and though at first Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what was happening, when one of the buildings exploded and showered debris on their heads, he understood. This was the mosui city, and it was under attack.


    The ancient male - and ancient he must be, unless he was mad to the point of delusion - screeched in shrill anger, tugging and pulling until he could see a particular street. There, three familiar figures walked and leaped, ki-bolts and weapons taking the lives of anyone - mosui or husede - who stood in their way. Gaoda¡¯s golden hair looked bloody in the crimson light, and the red color of Raff¡¯s hair deepened to garnet. Chi Yincang¡¯s spinning weapon cut through walls and bodies with equal ease, leaving gory carnage in his wake.


    Behind them came something even more unexpected. Male kobolds advanced, the red fur around their throats brilliant in the light of ki. Their clubs were soaked in crimson, as were their teeth and claws. Among them, Kaz could see Hod¡¯s tall shape, with Ilto¡¯s pale brown fur and distinctive curly tail not far behind him. The young warrior looked more ferocious than Kaz would have thought possible, until he remembered that Ilto was one of the few survivors from the Sharpjaw den. Perhaps that hadn¡¯t only been because the others had watched out for him after all.


    Turning on Lianhua, Zhangwo pointed the digit at her accusingly. ¡°You said you came alone!¡±


    He must have released her, because Lianhua slumped, then smiled, a long, slow stretch of her lips. ¡°I lied,¡± she said.


    The mosui moved so quickly that Li barely saw the movement. Striking out with his glittering device, he connected with the arm she barely raised in time, and a loud crack sounded through the room. Lianhua screamed, falling back, but the table behind her prevented her from dodging either of the next two blows. Another crack, and either Lianhua¡¯s knees gave out, or she deliberately fell in an attempt to drop beneath the table.


    Zhangwo spun, kicking out, the long claws on wide feet that had been hidden by his robes rising through the air to slash toward her face. Lianhua rolled away, but her back arched as red lines sprang out against the pale skin of her neck. Then she was far enough away that it would be difficult for the mosui¡¯s short limbs to reach her, though she didn¡¯t seem to be able to move any further.


    The warped male stared under the table, fury written large on his face. At last, he pointed the device toward her and shrieked, ¡°I don¡¯t have time for you now, anyway. Die, and I¡¯ll take your friends in your stead.¡±


    Mana flooded the golden object, and Lianhua began to scream. Zhangwo dropped the device on the table and walked away. Kaz and Li scrambled back in case he moved toward them, but he exited through one of the other doors, slamming it shut behind him.


    As soon as the door closed, the two watchers tumbled through the door. Li went directly to Lianhua, whose howls were already growing hoarse. Kaz picked up the bejeweled tool, nearly fumbling it in his haste. Two of the gems were brilliantly lit with ki, and a waiting reservoir of mana lurked inside an opalescent crystal the size of a jiyun grub.


    His first impulse was to do as he had with his collar, and flood it with mana in an attempt to overwhelm it, but he was afraid that would actually make matters worse. This thing could obviously handle much greater amounts of mana than his collar had, since the insane mosui had just poured enough power into it to crumble two collars.


    Something tugged at his foot, and he looked down to see Li holding up her good forelimb, clearly telling him to give the thing to her. He wasn¡¯t sure what good it would do, since she couldn¡¯t use mana at all, as far as he knew, but there was no harm in letting her try. He knelt down, which brought him far too close to Lianhua¡¯s twitching body. She had fallen unconscious, but the collar around her throat was starting to smoke, and he was afraid he would have to take some drastic steps very soon.


    Li accepted the object, though she staggered forward under its weight, allowing one end to thump against the ground. Using teeth and claws, she began prying at one of the brightly lit stones. Kaz quickly realized what she was doing and pulled out his knife, using its sharp tip to dig the crystal from its setting.


    With a snap of her jaws, Li sprang on the freed crystal, swallowing it whole before Kaz could do more than yip in protest. It was large enough that he could see it working its way down her slender throat, but she only looked momentarily uncomfortable before she set to work on the next one. One after another, Kaz extracted the gems and Li ate them, her belly swelling until it bulged gently. Beside them, the collar ceased to smoke, and Lianhua¡¯s body grew still.


    When the glittering tool had been reduced to a sad remnant of itself, simply a hollowed-out golden rod, Kaz let it fall and reached out to the dragon. Looking sated and entirely too pleased with herself, she burped softly before allowing him to pick her up and place her on his shoulder. Her long tail wrapped around his neck, and once he was certain she was securely attached, he crawled forward and tugged Lianhua¡¯s limp form from beneath the wide table.


    Touching the collar, he was glad to find that it was no longer even slightly warm to the touch. The skin beneath it, however, was blistered and hot, with clear fluid oozing from broken skin. Gently, Kaz rolled the human female over, seeing that, ironically, the collar had probably saved her life. Four deep gouges began at her hairline, tracing down and toward the artery at the side of her neck, but stopped at the collar, where a matched set of tiny scratches showed just how much power the mosui had put into the attack. It was next to impossible to damage mithril, but the former human had managed it with only his claws.


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    As Lianhua rolled over, her sleeve fell back, and Kaz winced at the sight of her arm. It was clearly broken, though the bone hadn¡¯t gone through the skin. Her robes must have protected her from at least some of the damage, then.


    Twisting, Kaz looked around. If he left the arm like that, it would only get worse, and if it did break the skin or, worse, sever a large vein or artery, she could bleed out, wasting the time and effort he spent trying to save her. His eyes fell on the scrolls resting in the cubby holes nearby, and he lunged toward them, pulling out and unrolling two in particular.


    Sure enough, they were made of strips of yumi reeds, flattened and woven together. The runes painted on them were illegible to him, but the important thing was that they were the right size and stiffness to support Lianhua¡¯s arm. He looked around again, seeing two pieces of glossy red cord binding two more scrolls, and then his eye was caught by something else, half-hidden behind one of the boxes Zhangwo had been looking through.


    It was Lianhua¡¯s pouch, or at least one that looked exactly like it. Picking it up, Kaz sniffed it. Yes, it was definitely Lianhua¡¯s, since her scent still permeated it, in spite of the lingering smell of Zhangwo and a few different beings who must have handled it before it was brought here. It made sense, though, that anything strange or filled with ki would be brought to the mosui¡¯s ultimate sire.


    Quickly, he pulled off his pack, sweeping the pouch and most of the other contents of the cubby into it. That left the pack full to overflowing, and when he tried to tie it, he found that he couldn¡¯t quite do his regular knot, which required doubling over the cord before beginning. Still, he managed, and swung the pack back on before grabbing the reed scrolls and untying the ribbons.


    Squatting down again, he brought the sleeve of Lianhua¡¯s robe back down around her arm, cushioning it, then wrapped the scrolls around it.  After tying the scrolls on with the ribbons, he found himself at a loss for what to do next. He needed a large piece of fabric to strap the arm to her body, but the only one he had was¡­ his loincloth.


    Among kobolds, wearing the loincloth was part of growing up. Puppies too young to leave the den were allowed to run around naked, but they were given their first loincloth before they went on their first gathering expedition. When they completed their spirit hunt, they received another one, usually sewn with teeth and bones they brought back. Another loincloth was given to males by their mate, usually one that had been passed down through the female¡¯s family, and which they would only wear for important occasions. Their fur covered their bodies well enough, but clothing separated kobolds from beasts, and pups from adults.


    Deeply embarrassed but determined to do everything he could, Kaz removed the item, then folded it into a large triangle, which he tucked under the arm before tying it behind her neck, beneath the collar and open wounds. That would support the injured limb as well as possible, and he was glad to see that the fuulong silk was still clean, which Rega had taught him was important when dealing with injured kobolds. He assumed the same was true of humans, and since Lianhua seemed obsessed with cleanliness, it was a fairly safe guess.


    Once he had prepared Lianhua as well as possible, he slid his arms beneath her, finding that she was even lighter than he had imagined. Her bones must be as thin as a janjio¡¯s. Carefully, he cradled her against his chest, having to set his chin atop her bound arm in order to see over her body. Li hissed softly, then crawled atop his head so she, too, could see.


    He sighed. Now he was naked and, as far as anyone else could tell, had a small fuergar perched between his ears. If he managed to survive this day, he would definitely remember it as one of his most frightening, as well as the most embarrassing.


    Three doors meant three possible tunnels to escape. Kaz mentally removed the door Zhangwo had taken from the options, which left two. There was the one he¡¯d come through, and its familiarity made it the safest choice. If they made it that far, they could hide in the stairwell until the ground stopped shaking and the alarm stopped blaring, and then emerge long enough to find out who won.


    Unfortunately, that passage was small, and there was no way he could carry Lianhua and crouch-walk until it opened out enough to stand. He would have to drag the human behind him, which wouldn¡¯t be good for her injuries.


    Looking at the last door, he nodded. He needed to move, and while he could pull Lianhua after him, that was a last resort. First, he needed to see what was behind that door. He might even peek through the door Zhangwo had taken, though it almost certainly led to wherever the mosui was currently battling the humans, which was exactly where he didn¡¯t want to go.


    Decision made, he crossed the room and tucked Lianhua up against him more firmly so he could get a hand free to grasp the handle. With a soft click, it opened, and Kaz switched his hand back to Lianhua, then pushed the door with his paw and took a step inside.


    The hall beyond was small and dark. Kaz pushed some ki into his eyes, and saw that while crystals of all colors lined the walls, they were quiet now. Power lingered in their depths, but something suppressed it, preventing any from escaping before it was needed. The light from the room he just left only illuminated the floor a few feet inside. He could just make out a dark passage ahead, and what he thought was another door to his right.


    Taking a tentative step inside, Kaz felt something like heat flash up his leg, jumping from a crystal in the floor to his paw. For a horrified instant, he thought it might be a trap, but as red ki surrounded him, he realized that it was simply a switch, turning on the lights.


    The tunnel ahead grew brighter as red crystals lit up along the walls, and to his right, the shadowy oblong he¡¯d thought was a door resolved into something very different. It reached from floor to ceiling, but stood on two dark legs that might be ancient wood, if they weren¡¯t stone carved to look like it. Staring back at him from its depths was a naked kobold with ragged gray fur, carrying a bleeding human female, while a fuergar perched atop his head.


    If Lianhua hadn¡¯t once shown him a much smaller version of the thing, Kaz wouldn¡¯t have known what it was, though he would have understood that he was looking at his own reflection. After all, it wasn¡¯t likely that there were any other kobold pups around here who looked quite as pathetic as that one.


    But he had seen one before, so Kaz knew it was a mirror, and when he took a step toward it, its surface shimmered like water. Kaz¡¯s counterpart vanished, leaving a room that was familiar in the way of something once seen in a dream. Long shelves lined the walls and disappeared into the distant shadows, while an old, gray-bearded human sat at a table, his pen scratching away at a parchment that was even longer than the last time Kaz had seen it. A second later, the pen wobbled, creating a splotch of dark ink, and the male muttered to himself, looking up toward Kaz.


    ¡°What is it now, Zhangwo? I¡¯ve told you-¡±


    He broke off, expression shifting from annoyance to curiosity, before his eyes - a shade of purple that was strikingly similar to Lianhua¡¯s, though somehow Kaz hadn¡¯t noticed it when they met the first time - traveled to Kaz¡¯s burden, then to the fuergar-shaped dragon on his head.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, tone mild as he released his pen, which continued scribbling just as it had the previous time. ¡°Well, this is unexpected. How¡­ interesting.¡±

 Chapter One hundred thirteen

    Kaz instantly backed up a step, his gaze darting between the being in the mirror and the formerly dark hallway ahead. Should he try to run away? If so, which way should he go? This person had helped Kaz the last time they met, but he also seemed to know and at least tolerate Zhangwo, which was no recommendation at all.


    A tiny smile curved the thin lips as the male¡¯s eyes lingered on Lianhua. He set his hand to the pen again, and while it wobbled slightly, it soon settled back into the smooth flow of runes. Kaz wondered what he was writing, and if it had anything to do with the bizarre trio who had just appeared before him.


    The fingernails of the old man¡¯s free hand tapped lightly at the table beside the scroll, and Kaz found his own gaze lingering not on the thin, knobby fingers, but on the fingernails themselves. They were long, more like Lianhua¡¯s than those of the human males. They were also thick and yellow, and came to something more like a point than the human¡¯s neat ovals or squares. Was that what happened to human nails as they grew older, like a kobold¡¯s claws became thick and brittle as they aged? Or was there really something to Kaz¡¯s innate reluctance to think of him as a human?


    A silence fell between them, broken by the alarm, which seemed oddly muffled now that the crystals had activated. Kaz wished he could either retreat or run ahead, but his paws seemed stuck to the ground as if by yanchong slime.


    At last, the male gave a deep sigh and released his pen again. This time it spun almost petulantly before spitting out another blob of ink, and the writer tapped sharply on the scroll beside it. The pen gave something like a little shiver, then scurried on, leaving a long trail of ink between it and its owner.


    The old male pushed his chair back slowly, brushing his long beard out of the way as he circled around the table, the deep hunch of his back seeming not to bother him at all. He was watching Kaz now, and his eyes were calculating. ¡°You are the same young kobold I assisted a short time ago, are you not?¡± he asked. A deep crease formed between his shaggy eyebrows, and he added, ¡°Or has it been several years instead? You do look rather the worse for wear, even given that you were dying when last we met, and it¡¯s so easy to lose track of time.¡±


    Kaz found that he was finally able to move, and he took one more step back, placing himself in the doorway leading back into Zhangwo¡¯s room. Purple eyes watched him, faint amusement in their depths, and perhaps it was the fact that the other seemed entirely unconcerned that convinced Kaz not to attempt escape.


    ¡°Who¡­ are you?¡± Kaz asked, having to clear his throat twice to get the words out.


    ¡°Hmm? Zhangwo didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Brows lifting, the male looked back at the pen, the faintest hint of an accusatory light entering his eyes. ¡°Where is Zhangwo? He hasn¡¯t brought me a guest in a century or more, and he always joins them, at least at first.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s paw slid back another inch as he mumbled, ¡°I- He-¡±


    A wrinkled hand lifted in a staying motion, and Kaz found that no more words would emerge from his throat, however hard he tried. Turning back to the scroll, the old male traced a finger down it, pausing when he reached something only a few lines above where the pen was still busily writing.


    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± the ancient being said, a definite look of displeasure on his face. ¡°His petty little domain is under attack, is it? I told him if he continued to behave this way, his actions would have consequences. He¡¯s meant to work with kobolds, not enslave them. I understand the husede - they always were almost more effort than they¡¯re worth - but your lot, at least, are hard workers, and quite obedient. It¡¯s why the master favored you so much.¡±


    He looked back at Kaz, who found that he could speak again. He had a hundred questions, but the one that emerged was, ¡±You¡¯re not the master?¡±


    Amethyst eyes widened, and then the old male tipped back his head and laughed, an oddly discordant sound with a grating echo. When his amusement faded, he looked back at Kaz and said, ¡°Oh, no. No, I¡¯m not the master. I¡¯m simply Nucai, no more, and no less. I watch over things while the master is away.¡±


    Away? When Zhangwo was speaking earlier, it had very definitely sounded like ¡®the master¡¯ was dead. There wasn¡¯t much room for doubt when he said bones were allowed no opinion. ¡°Are there¡­ two masters?¡± Kaz asked. ¡°Yours and Zhangwo¡¯s?¡±


    Nucai snorted, and Kaz didn¡¯t think he imagined the twin swirls of smoke that arose from his nostrils. ¡°There has only ever been one master. That fool simply believes that a body is entirely necessary for survival.¡±


    The floor shook, by far the strongest such shift, and distantly, Kaz heard the scraping, thudding sound of stones falling. Wherever the battle was occurring, it was far too close, and far too destructive for Kaz¡¯s liking. He staggered slightly, his balance thrown off by Lianhua¡¯s weight, and hoped that it wasn¡¯t actually possible for an entire level to collapse.


    Behind Nucai, the pen scratched across the scroll particularly loudly, and the male glanced back at it. His eyes widened infinitesimally, and he turned to Kaz again.


    ¡°For the favor I once did you, I shall have one in return.¡± Nucai said, tone oddly formal.


    Now that it seemed the being didn¡¯t plan to attack him, Kaz felt sure enough to begin edging toward the hall. Seeing no other choice, he nodded as best he could with a human female tucked beneath his chin, and Nucai began to speak again, this time with a bit more urgency.


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    ¡°Come to me,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re quite a bit deeper than you were before, so I assume you¡¯re either traveling to the Deep, or belong to one of the mining tribes. Find the Irondiggers, and tell them Nucai has summoned you. They¡¯ll lead you to me.¡±


    Kaz blinked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you here?¡±


    Nucai¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°If I were, the situation would be very different.¡± He reached out toward Kaz, and the image rippled as he seemed to touch it, but his finger didn¡¯t emerge from the smooth surface. ¡°No, while I may contact the other beings who inhabit this mountain, my place is set. In stone, as it were. Here I shall remain until my master returns.¡±


    Another muffled crashing sound reached Kaz, and he tensed as one of the crystals embedded in the ceiling fell, shattering as it struck the ground. Nucai obviously saw it as well, because he nodded decisively. His eyes fell on Lianhua, still limp in Kaz¡¯s grasp, and he said, ¡°Humans attack the city, and you hold a human in your arms. Dare I assume the two facts are related?¡±


    Kaz tried again to nod, but gave in and made a noise of agreement instead. Nucai seemed to understand, and nodded in return before continuing. ¡°Escape down the tunnel ahead. Take the second set of stairs, not the first. If Zhangwo wins, I¡¯ll tell him to release you and your¡­ friends?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Kaz said, though it was certainly at least as much question as statement.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Nucai echoed, stroking his long beard as he eyed Kaz keenly. ¡°If your friends succeed, which is possible, given Zhangwo¡¯s many deficiencies, tell them, or whoever takes this place, that they must come here and speak to me. I would hate to call in the shiyan and wipe the city clean. Starting over is always so much effort.¡±


    Kaz swallowed hard, but managed to mumble an affirmative as several more crystals came loose, falling around his ears in a tinkling cascade. The lights flickered, then returned, dimmer than before.


    ¡°Good. Tell them, and then come to me. And feel free to bring your friends.¡± Nucai smiled, a slight curve of almost nonexistent lips, and for a brief moment, the pointed tip of a tooth caught the light. Reaching out, he waved his hand, and once again Kaz found himself staring at a very bedraggled and heavily burdened kobold.


    He felt a sharp tug on the fur crowning his head, and glanced at Li¡¯s reflection in the mirror. If it were possible for her scales to grow pale, they would have, and he realized that his indomitable friend hadn¡¯t twitched or made a sound since Nucai appeared, in spite of the fact that she usually let him know exactly how she felt about pretty much everything.


    Kaz wished he could reach up and offer her reassurance, but the crashes and flickers were coming ever faster, and they needed to decide what they were going to do. Hoping to shake Li from her stupor, he asked, ¡°Should we do as he said, at least for now? Go forward and hope he was telling the truth about the stairs?¡±


    Li¡¯s eyes jerked to his, and he was startled to see that they were almost completely devoid of color. The slit pupils were thin black lines in the center, and around them lay only the faintest hint of gold. She made a soft sound that was a shadow of her usual demanding whistle before shaking her head and extending her neck forward so she could stare into his eyes from her upside-down perspective. She clicked interrogatively, tilting her head to the side, and Kaz repeated his question.


    An image of Zhangwo appeared in his mind, along with a feeling of confusion, and Kaz frowned at her. Returning a picture of Nucai, he said, ¡°No, the male we were just speaking to.¡±


    With a few flashes of images exchanged between them, Kaz realized that Li had no memory of Nucai or their conversation. He wondered if the old male had somehow blocked Li out, or if he had wiped her memory, and wasn¡¯t sure which one was actually more frightening. Then, when Kaz tried to show the dragon his own memory of the events, Kaz realized that for the first time since their bond strengthened, Li wasn¡¯t seeing exactly what he sent her.


    As more crystals showered down around his ears, he knew he had to make a decision. Go back through the halls, knowing that they might collapse, or go forward and trust Nucai, at least for now? For the first time in a while, Kaz felt the invisible pressure of the mountain over his head, and at the thought of scraping back through the small passage behind them, he felt dread choke him. The passage ahead was dark, and growing darker, but at least it was wide and sturdy.


    With a silent apology to Li, who still seemed somewhat dazed, Kaz started for the tunnel ahead. To his surprise, Li flapped her wings, lifting from her perch with a wobbly stroke. It was clear that her wing was still bothering her, but she quickly moved ahead, flying down the hall. Kaz followed along more slowly, not because he didn¡¯t want to break into a run, but because he was afraid that he might hurt Lianhua even more if he did.


    Li sent back images of what she saw, and when he urged her to caution, she let him know that she was perfectly capable of avoiding anything that might be waiting for them, while he was limited by his need to keep Lianhua safe. It was true that the dragon was currently the more agile of the two of them, even with her injured wing, so he simply focused on what she showed him, rather than allowing his concern to interfere with what needed to be done.


    Two doors came first, placed directly across from each other, but they were closed, so Li couldn¡¯t tell what lay beyond them. She didn¡¯t hear or smell anything in the hall except the lingering, unpleasant scent of Zhangwo, and when Kaz reached them, he found the same. Opening the doors would be difficult, burdened as he was, and Nucai had only mentioned stairs, so Kaz decided to go on, a decision that was reinforced when Li showed him an image of the first stairwell.


    Wide, golden stairs went down, vanishing into the distant, faintly red-lit gloom. Neither door nor wall blocked them, and they were open and familiar. Kaz had at least some idea of what lay on the levels below, if these stairs went so far, and he thought that waiting among the yumi reeds could actually be pleasant. Unfortunately, both the husede level and the burned and smoke-filled storage level lay between them and relative safety.


    As distant cracks and booms continued, along with the eternal howling of the alarm, Kaz turned away. Li had waited for him, resting briefly on his head as they contemplated descent, but now she took off again, winging her way down the curving passage.


    The next, though possibly not last, stairway led up. Up, into the unknown. If the maps of the city were accurate, and he had no reason to believe they weren¡¯t, there were three more levels between him and the city where Zhangwo¡¯s map had shown the human and kobold invaders. That thought made him frown and look around at the trembling walls.


    How was it that a battle four levels overhead was both audible and affecting the building in which he stood? Closing his eyes, he pictured the map, and realized there was only one possible answer. He was standing in the tall rectangle that connected all nine mosui levels. That was why the passage he¡¯d taken to find Li and Lianhua had curved up. This one building linked everything, and the humans seemed determined to bring it down around his ears.

 Chapter One hundred fourteen

    The stairs curved as Kaz ascended, vanishing only twenty steps ahead of him. The slope was steep, and though Lianhua hadn¡¯t seemed heavy when Kaz picked her up, by the time he had passed four short landings, each with an arched opening leading to a hall filled with crimson light, his legs ached. The only good thing was that these steps were noticeably shorter than the nine-inch rise he was used to, so while there were more of them, he could take two or three at a time without much effort.


    When he reached the fifth landing, Kaz paused, leaning back against the wall to shift Lianhua¡¯s weight. Li whistled worriedly, and he glanced up at her, which was surprisingly difficult while she sat between his ears. She had taken to gripping his ears with her little paws, rather than his fur, and the prickle of her claws against his skin made it nearly impossible not to twitch them in an effort to shake away whatever was tickling him.


    Kaz looked up as the sound of another cascade of stones reached him. Over the last few minutes, the vibrations had nearly stopped, and even the noise of falling rocks had grown quieter and further apart. Kaz had hoped that the battle had either moved away or was nearing its end, but if so, whoever was losing still had some fight left in them.


    Honestly, Kaz wasn¡¯t sure who he expected to see still standing after all was said and done. The density of Zhangwo¡¯s mana was greater than anything he had seen before. On the other hand, the humans outnumbered him, and while Gaoda and Chi Yincang would run out of their refined ki more easily than Zhangwo would run out of raw mana, ki was both more versatile and more efficient. Zhangwo had his rings, though, and while Kaz didn¡¯t know exactly what they did, they were more than decorative.


    Li seemed equally uncertain. Whenever Kaz imagined the humans surrounding Zhangwo and striking him down through their combined strength, she returned an image of Gaoda, pale and weak as he struggled to refill his reservoir of ki. Kaz wasn¡¯t so sure, however. Gaoda was certainly unlikable, but that didn¡¯t make him a poor warrior, and Kaz had seen him in action. He had had nearly a full day to meditate, and hadn¡¯t used much ki for several days before that. All the humans should be in good shape for a sustained fight, as evidenced by the ongoing destruction above.


    Abruptly, the alarm fell silent, and into that silence fell a loud boom, which echoed down the stairs, and Kaz was glad he was leaning against the wall. This was both the loudest explosion and the strongest quake, and it was immediately followed by several more. Something had just shifted, and Kaz had no idea if that was good news or bad.


    Li clicked at him urgently, and Kaz pried his back from the wall with a muffled whine. He was desperately trying to preserve his ki, and he was also well aware of what happened whenever he filled his flesh with more ki than it could handle. He needed to be prepared for whatever he was walking into, but that meant he wasn¡¯t using nearly as much power to reinforce his muscles as he could have, and every movement was becoming painful.


    More steps, and two more landings, passed before the first stone fell on him. It wasn¡¯t large, as stones went, but it came from overhead, and overhead was, presumably, more stairs. But if the steps were starting to crumble, Kaz needed to leave them, and soon. Nucai hadn¡¯t said when to stop climbing, so Kaz assumed they would end eventually, but he couldn¡¯t have gone up more than one level so far. Perhaps one and a half, if they were shorter levels. He certainly hadn¡¯t climbed four levels yet, which meant he was going to have to find another way up.


    Kaz looked at the opening beside him, then winced as a falling rock glanced off his shoulder, barely missing Lianhua. She was still unconscious, and Kaz was beginning to worry that being under the influence of the collar for so long might affect her in some more permanent way. He could see that her ki was still being restricted by the ring around her throat, and he wondered if not enough was reaching her upper dantian to allow her to recover. He wished he had enough time to figure it out, but he didn¡¯t.


    As a chunk of stone the size of his head cracked loose from the ceiling overhead, Kaz took the step that shifted him out of the stairwell and into the hall. Now that the siren had stopped, he could hear shouting and the sound of people running, but the words overlapped too much to understand. The voices were deeper than those of the humans, but no howls or barks could be heard, so Kaz guessed he was hearing husede. There weren¡¯t even any of the high-pitched screeches that would indicate the presence of mosui, so perhaps this level was only for the gray dwarves.


    The noise was noticeably louder to Kaz¡¯s right, so he turned to the left. Glancing up at Li, he murmured, ¡°Can you hide all of us if someone comes?¡±


    The little dragon puffed up her chest, firmly assuring him that she could. A moment later, an image entered his mind, showing a kobold - still blue, in spite of Kaz¡¯s current condition - together with a golden dragon at least three times Li¡¯s actual size, and Lianhua, who looked just a bit dirtier and more injured than she actually was. A husede appeared, and the dragon shimmered beautifully as the trio disappeared. However, this lasted for only a brief while before they snapped back into focus again.


    Kaz looked up again as his paws took him left at a turn, then left again. ¡°So you¡¯re not sure how long it¡¯ll last?¡±


    Grudging affirmation.


    Kaz smiled, wishing again that he could stroke her soft scales. ¡°It¡¯s more than I can do, and everyone is in such a hurry, it¡¯ll probably be more than enough. Thank you.¡± Li clutched his ear, rubbing the side of her jaw against the fur, and Kaz chuckled.


    More turns, and each time, Kaz felt as if his paws knew a path his mind didn¡¯t. It took far too long to understand what his ¡®sense of the mountain¡¯ was telling him. For the first time in his life, at least the first that he could remember, he had nearly reached the very center of the mountain. Not top to bottom, because by now he was closer to the Deep than the heights, but whatever his instincts considered the ¡®heart¡¯ of the mountain now lay almost directly below him. He could practically see a thread like the one connecting him to Li, leading down to the depths.


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    This reminded him of the strange ki-chain that had briefly appeared when he and Lianhua exchanged promises, and he wondered if it was possible for a mountain to witness their oath. If so, he thought perhaps it had.


    One more turn, then a long, curving hall, something like the one that led to Zhangwo¡¯s den, except that it didn¡¯t grow smaller as it rose. The voices were growing louder now, and Kaz¡¯s rational mind battled with the instinct that told him he needed to continue on. The approaching shuffle of feet on stone made him duck to the side, trying to hide against the wall as he had done in the zhiwu nest. Then he realized that Lianhua¡¯s body made them protrude into the hall much too far, and even if Li could conceal them, all it would take was for a husede to brush against him to shatter the illusion.


    Turning, he dashed back to the last hall, gently laying Lianhua¡¯s body on the floor, tucked up against the wall. Then he pressed himself up close beside her, and held still as the footsteps neared. Voices rose, two husede arguing loudly as they nearly ran through the halls.


    ¡°We should just wait! If Zhangwo loses, the kobolds won¡¯t know how to use the collars. We can take the city from them if they try to keep it. Or we could go home!¡±


    ¡°Home?¡± A slightly higher-pitched voice responded. ¡°I was born here, and so were you, Erith! All we have are stories passed down about the great homeland from which we were stolen. Our grandparents were told those same stories, and their grandparents before them. This is our home. I¡¯d just prefer it without any mosui in it.¡±


    The deeper voice sounded desperate as it said, ¡°Then just walk a little slower. I don¡¯t know where the humans came from, but the dark one is actually holding Zhangwo at bay. Give him a few more minutes, and we may be free for the first time in centuries!¡±


    ¡°Free to do what?¡± the other snapped. ¡°The mosui ignore most of us, so long as we do our jobs. But what would these kobolds want from us, and what do you expect from the race who must have written us off as lost a millenia ago? Let¡¯s just do as Zhangwo ordered us and fire the ki cannon.¡±


    Li had moved to his shoulder, stretching out her wings so one extended behind Kaz¡¯s head, and the other hovered over Lianhua. He could sense her concentration, and she was pulling harder on his ki than she had done in a long while.


    Two thick masses of mana resolved into husede as they rounded the corner, the male slightly shorter and wider than the female, both wearing a version of the robes all husede in the city wore. Gleaming collars, nearly identical to Lianhua¡¯s, circled their throats, and the male tugged at his without seeming to realize what he was doing.


    As they passed directly in front of him, Kaz¡¯s mind whirled. He didn¡¯t know what a ¡®cannon¡¯ was, but if Zhangwo thought it would turn the tide of battle, then Kaz was certain it would be bad for the humans. If these two were the only husede dispatched to fire it, then if he could stop them, that would, in turn, be good for him.


    Before he could think better of his decision, Kaz launched himself toward the female husede. He didn¡¯t have his knife out, since he hadn¡¯t thought to take it from its sheath before Li began hiding them, but no kobold was ever entirely without weapons.


    Kaz landed on the female¡¯s back, the claws on his toes digging deep into her hips and sides. He wrapped his elbow around her throat, just above the collar, caught the bicep of his other arm in his hand, and pressed his free hand against the back of her head, pressing forward. Tightening his arm, he squeezed against the sides of her neck, and the female let out a strangled cry.


    She didn¡¯t fall to her knees, however, as a kobold might have done in a similar situation. Instead, she grabbed at Kaz, trying to pull his arms down. He was forced to push more ki than he liked into his muscles in order to maintain his hold, and he could sense her mana raging through her body as she struggled against him.


    Kaz glared over at the male husede, who was gawking at them, looking entirely unsure what to do. He looked younger than the female, but had nearly as much mana in his body, and Kaz thought these two had some of the densest mana he¡¯d seen other than Zhangwo. Perhaps they were chosen for that, because they certainly hadn¡¯t been selected for their fighting skills.


    ¡°You want to wait?¡± Kaz barked, and the male - Erith? - jumped. ¡°Let Zhangwo fall. I know the humans, and I will-¡±


    He stopped as the female jerked her head back, trying to strike Kaz¡¯s face with her skull. Putting more ki into the hand gripping the back of her head, Kaz growled, digging in the claws that gouged deep into her hips. She whimpered, and Kaz felt the tiniest hint of give in her as he tightened his hold on the sides of her neck.


    ¡°Let Thabil go!¡± Erith shouted. He was trying to look fierce, holding out the only weapon he had, which was one of the devices the mosui used to control the collars.


    Kaz stretched his neck to the side, showing the male that he wore no collar, and the threat was entirely useless. Erith¡¯s arm dropped, and he looked desperately from the blood now soaking Thabil¡¯s robes to her face, which was rapidly turning an unhealthy red beneath the natural gray of her skin.


    ¡°Promise to show me how to disable this ¡®ki cannon¡¯, and I¡¯ll let her live,¡± Kaz said. He didn¡¯t really want to kill the husede anyway, but if Erith did anything except agree, he would have to snap her neck in order to have his hands free to fight or chase down the other male.


    ¡°I-¡±


    Kaz tightened his arm again, and Thabil¡¯s knees finally gave out. She dropped to the ground, but Kaz managed to keep his grip as she went limp. He thought she was faking, rather than truly unconscious, but it wouldn¡¯t be long before pretense became reality.


    Erith swallowed hard, then his hand opened, dropping the control device to the ground. It bounced, then rolled, and Li sprang toward it, grasping it in her greedy little paws. It was only when Erith gasped that Kaz realized Li had been holding her concealment over Lianhua this whole time. Now, Lianhua¡¯s bloody form was revealed at the same time the last of the resistance left Thabil¡¯s body.

 Chapter One hundred fifteen

    Immediately, Kaz released his hold, internally relieved as the alarming red shade of the female¡¯s skin began to fade back to iron-gray. He maintained a fierce snarl as he looked at Erith, however, and slid to the side so he stood between the male and Lianhua. Li was busy dragging her prize back to Lianhua as well, but Kaz didn¡¯t think the husede had actually processed her existence yet anyway.


    Showing unexpected bravery, Erith stepped toward Thabil, his dark eyes frightened but defiant as they met Kaz¡¯s. He knelt beside her, pressing fingers to her throat, then looked relieved at whatever he found there.


    Glancing between Kaz and Lianhua, the husede started to speak, then froze as he seemed to notice Li for the first time. The dragon had given up on prying the red crystals apart, and was now trying to eat the device whole, her little jaws stretched wide as she turned the object within it, trying to find an angle that would allow her to get it down her throat. With a yelp, Kaz reached out and grabbed her, holding her upside down as she clung stubbornly to the crystalline object, and he finally had to extract the device with his claws as she clicked and squawked at him furiously.


    Erith watched this interplay, tension slowly draining from his broad shoulders until he finally relaxed enough to look away. With unsteady fingers, he began to untie the sash holding his robe closed, revealing a loincloth not dissimilar to Kaz¡¯s underneath. Using Thabil¡¯s sash as well as his own, he created pads which he bound against the unconscious husede¡¯s wounds, and Kaz took the opportunity to examine the object he had taken from Li.


    From a distance, it seemed to be a single solid crystal, but now that he held it, Kaz could see that it was actually many smaller crystals, bound together by what looked like ¡®kintsugi¡¯, a technique Lianhua had told Kaz about, which used enamel or melted metal to repair broken objects. The gaps between the stones had been filled with something that gleamed like gold, but was far harder when Kaz scratched a claw against it. He took out his knife and started to pry one of the crystals loose, curious what lay beneath it, when a thought occurred to him, and he looked up.


    ¡°Can you take off her collar with this?¡± he asked, pointing at Lianhua with the object.


    Almost regretfully, Erith shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m a very junior jingli. That only controls the simple collars kobolds wear.¡± His eyes lingered on Kaz¡¯s throat, where a sulking Li now lay.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he looked at the other husede. She was clearly older than Erith, and female, though by now he had learned not to assume that meant she was higher in rank than the male. ¡°What about her?¡± he asked. ¡°Does she have one of these? One that could open Lianhua¡¯s collar?¡±


    Erith¡¯s eyes darted to a pouch tucked into the now-open front of Thabil¡¯s robe. The female wore a second robe, one made of lighter-weight fabric, beneath the first, and the red bag stood out starkly against the white cloth. It would have been immediately noticeable if not for the crimson blood soaking upwards from the husede¡¯s injuries.


    Kaz waved his knife threateningly, holding his free hand out, palm up. ¡°Toss it to me. Carefully.¡±


    Erith did so, and Kaz crouched to allow the object inside to roll out onto the floor so he didn¡¯t have to fumble with his knife. Picking up the glittering item, he looked at it. The crystals making this one up were larger, and mingled among the red were a few chips of yellow and white. Experimentally, Kaz sent matching ki into the object, and Erith jerked as a small amount flowed out again, causing his collar to spark.


    Kaz instantly stopped what he was doing, but Erith was already clutching his collar, staring at him. ¡°How did you do that?¡± he asked wonderingly. ¡°You¡¯re a male, aren¡¯t you?¡± He glanced at Kaz¡¯s unclothed nether regions, and the kobold had to resist the urge to cover himself.


    Reminded, Kaz said, ¡°Take off your robe!¡±


    The husede looked confused, fingers clutching protectively at his clothes, but when Kaz gestured with his very sharp knife, Erith reluctantly did as he was told. Kaz caught it, then quickly slashed a strip about eighteen inches wide from the bottom. Tossing the rest back to Erith, he turned to Lianhua.


    Slowly, he unwrapped his loincloth from her arm, glad to see that it didn¡¯t seem to have suffered any further injury. He strapped it back down with the piece of robe and wrapped his loincloth around his waist again, though he had to set his knife down in order to do so. As he did, he saw Erith glance at it, then at his still-unconscious superior, and visibly decide he wasn¡¯t going to try anything.


    Once Kaz was dressed, he picked up his weapon again and began to pry crystals from Erith¡¯s control device, feeding them one after another to the dragon on his shoulder. She immediately ceased sulking, snapping them up eagerly.


    ¡°Have you ever seen one of these collars removed?¡± Kaz asked, staring at Erith as his sharp blade made easy work of what he suspected was an extremely hard gold-mithril alloy.


    Erith¡¯s dark skin paled, and he swallowed hard, nodding once. ¡°When a husede dies, a mosui comes and takes their collar off, so they can be free in death as they weren¡¯t in life.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears twitched. He suspected the mosui just wanted to be able to reuse the collars, but the young male¡¯s words held the sound of oft-repeated and rarely questioned wisdom, so he didn¡¯t argue. Instead, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s different about the device they use? From this one?¡± He waggled Thabil¡¯s control device, and Li, who had just finished the last chip of Erith¡¯s, eyed it hungrily. By now her belly was actually a bit distended, however, so Kaz didn¡¯t plan to take it apart right away.


    Erith shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a bit larger.¡±


    ¡°Does it have these?¡± With a claw, Kaz indicated the small pieces of yellow and white crystals. It was a little awkward, since he had to use the thumb of the same hand holding the object, but he wasn¡¯t ready to put his knife away yet.


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    The husede¡¯s expression dissolved into something that might have been awe. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°It had all five colors. I remember, because when my grandmother died, all I could think was that that was the first time I had ever seen a blue crystal.¡±


    Kaz nearly closed his eyes in exasperation. Was that it? Was the secret so simple? How had he not guessed? He tucked the control item under his belt, ignoring Li¡¯s disappointed whistle, and reached out to touch Lianhua¡¯s collar. Carefully, he sent a tiny, balanced bit of all five colors of ki into it, and with a click, it opened, the two halves falling to the ground on each side of her neck.


    Erith and Lianhua gasped at the same time, and Kaz watched with satisfaction as the ki flowed freely through the human female¡¯s channels for the first time since he¡¯d found her. A faint flush of healthy pink rose up beneath her pale skin, and only a moment or two later, her long lashes fluttered open. The amethyst eyes were hazy and confused, but when they focused on Kaz¡¯s face, hovering over her own, she smiled.


    ¡°Hello, Kaz,¡± she said, voice scratchy and raw. ¡°I¡¯m so, so glad to see you.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail began to wag wildly behind him, and he grinned at her. ¡°Fair howls, Lianhua. I¡¯m pleased to see you as well.¡±


    On his shoulder, Li clicked grumpily, and Lianhua¡¯s focus shifted as she said, ¡°Hello, Li. Thank you. You saved me.¡±


    Li settled back, fairly oozing gratification, and Kaz almost chuckled at how well the human female already understood his little friend. He looked up, however, when he heard a throat cleared nearby.


    Realizing that he had completely lost track of his surroundings, Kaz shifted, lifting his knife from where he had unconsciously placed it on the ground beside him. When he saw Erith, however, he realized that the husede had lost all interest in attempting to flee or fight. His fingers were wrapped around his own collar, and his expression was that of a puppy who had just realized that the den-mother was holding a big, juicy bone.


    ¡°Can you take mine off, too?¡± he asked, and Kaz could almost see a tail wagging furiously behind him.


    Kaz hated the collars, so he stretched out his fingers to do exactly that, then hesitated. Trying to still his own tail and recover his threatening demeanor, he said, ¡°You have to take us to these ki-cannons. Immediately,¡± he added as the walls shuddered around them.


    ¡°And show me how to disable them. Or-¡± His eyes lit up as another idea occurred to him. ¡°Show me how to fire them at Zhangwo.¡±


    Erith¡¯s face paled again, and he fell back half a step. They both jumped as a voice almost as weak as Lianhua¡¯s rose from the floor.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Thabil said, dark eyes locked on Kaz¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯ll show you. Just take off our collars, and promise you¡¯ll speak to the humans on our behalf. Ours and all the husede. We don¡¯t serve the mosui because we want to. If you can free us, we¡¯ll tear them apart.¡±


    She rolled to her side, pale but making no sound as she managed to sit up. Fresh blood soaked her robe, but only a little, and Kaz thought she would be fine as long as she had a chance to rest. It seemed she wasn¡¯t going to take that chance, however, as she reached out to Erith and allowed him to help her to her feet.


    ¡°Remove our collars, kobold,¡± she said, ¡°and you will have the everlasting gratitude of Thabil Lothitsdottir.¡±


    Her gaze was direct and held no hint of equivocation, so Kaz simply reached out. Taking a step forward, she bowed, though bending at the waist had to be agonizing, and rested her throat in his hand. Dark grayish-purple bruises were already forming there, and Kaz winced slightly at the sight, even as he wondered at the absolute power she was giving him. He could rip out her throat with a single bite, and she wouldn¡¯t even have time to cry out.


    Instead, with a pulse of power, the ring fell to the floor, the two halves spinning and chiming. All eyes followed them until they settled to the ground with a final trill of bell-like tones. Thabil straightened, expression full of indecipherable emotions, and tugged Erith forward for a repeat performance.


    Once all three collars lay in pieces on the ground, Kaz helped Lianhua to her feet. She turned even whiter than usual when she tried to move her arm, but only gave a single soft whimper. Kaz wished he had some mamu lichen to numb the limb, and then remembered the little pouch he had tucked into his pack. Perhaps there was something in there she could use to help with the pain.


    Sheathing his knife, he unbuckled and pulled off his pack, which was straining at the seams. He wasn¡¯t quite ready to turn his back on the husede, or upend the contents of his pack all over the floor, but fortunately Lianhua¡¯s pouch was one of the last things that had gone in, so it was very nearly the top.


    He took out a small metal container covered in delicate filigree, then a rolled scroll no longer than his hand, which fairly hummed with suppressed power. Ignoring what would otherwise be fascinating items, Kaz triumphantly removed Lianhua¡¯s bag and handed it to her. The female¡¯s face lit up as she accepted it.


    ¡°Kaz, I have no idea how you do it, but you always seem to save me.¡± She looked up as she finished tying it to her belt, and smiled wryly. ¡°I promised to protect you, but I¡¯m fairly sure you no longer need my help.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I need you to teach me, and stand between me and others of your kind. Kobolds listen to kobolds, and humans to humans. When we leave the mountain, your words will keep me safer than any action you could take.¡±


    Looking thoughtful, Lianhua dipped her fingers into her pouch, pulling out a small vial made of deep blue glass. She broke the soft red seal and poured out a single white object, something that looked like a tiny, flattened egg. With a grimace, she popped it into her mouth, and a moment later, her ki flared, burning through her body like a batch of firemoss oil had been set ablaze within her.


    Tipping her head back, she groaned loudly, and Kaz watched in amazement as the ki shrank back down, smaller and smaller, until it was less than half the size of his own core. It sat in the center of her lower dantian, right where her core would be, if she had one, and when she released a shuddering breath, the power swelled, spinning up into a brighter, faster version of her usual cycle.


    Leaning forward, Lianhua hacked and coughed, finally spitting out a single glob of stinking black goo onto the stone. Twin obsidian tears trickled from beneath her lids, and she wiped them away with a moue of distaste.


    All four of the others were staring at her by now, but only Kaz was willing or able to ask, ¡°What did you just do?¡±


    Reaching up, she pulled off the sling Kaz had made from the strip of Erith¡¯s robe. With a bit of a smirk, she handed it back to the stunned husede, who accepted it, looking down at his damaged robe and knobby, bare knees with chagrined dismay.


    ¡°That was a cultivation pill,¡± Lianhua told Kaz. ¡°Grandfather gave me one to use if I was badly injured. They speed up cultivation, but taking them can also weaken your foundation, because if you haven¡¯t learned to properly control the ki you already have, gaining more only makes it harder to learn. It¡¯s better to take your time and master each stage before moving to the next. Reaching the next level of cultivation heals the body, however, and we have no time for me to recover from serious injuries right now.¡±


    Lifting her arm, she looked at the scrolls wrapping it, eyes lighting up with excitement as she realized what they were. She unwrapped them, and at first Kaz thought she might start reading them then and there, but instead, she tied them up with the cords and slid them into her pouch.


    As another crash and boom caused a crack to shoot down the wall from overhead, she looked at Thabil. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go save whoever¡¯s left to be saved.¡± She slid a glance at Kaz, and he had a feeling she was thinking the same thing he was.


    If they were lucky, maybe it was already too late for Gaoda.

 Chapter One hundred sixteen

    A kobold, two husede, one human, and a dragon raced through trembling halls. Once, they had to clear the remains of a doorway out of their path, and twice they met other husede, who simply yielded to them when they saw Thabil. Kaz glanced back at the first pair, seeing that they were staring after the group with gaping mouths.


    Their destination turned out to be one of the platforms covered in ki crystals. Like Thabil¡¯s device, there were yellow and white stones mingled among the red in a distinct pattern that Kaz would probably think was beautiful at any other time. Unlike the other platforms Kaz had seen, this one stood alone, and again, his sense of where he was told him that he was directly above the heart of the mountain.


    Turning to Kaz, Thabil held out her hand. ¡°I need my control wand. Only a fifth level jingli or higher can use this platform.¡±


    Kaz hesitated, then stepped onto the platform. Lianhua followed his lead, and only when all of them were clustered uncomfortably close together inside the three-and-a-half-foot circle did Kaz hand the control device to Thabil. He wasn¡¯t worried that she could hurt him or Lianhua with it, but he didn¡¯t want her to jump onto the platform and escape. She had yielded to him, which would be absolute among kobolds, but who knew if husede understood honor in the same way? It wasn¡¯t a topic Kaz had ever discussed with Ogden, the only gray dwarf he knew well enough to ask.


    Accepting the tool, Thabil bowed her head, which was the most she could do in the cramped space. She tapped the object to the slender column in the center of the platform, and once again, red light surrounded Kaz.


    This time, there were no other people or objects in the two rooms through which they flashed before the veil of light fell. Finding this room empty as well, Kaz held out his hand for the control ¡®wand¡¯, which Thabil returned to him without a hint of reluctance. Feeling reassured, Kaz tucked it back beneath his belt and looked around the bare space.


    Two passages exited the small room, one an open archway, and the other a closed door. Upon closer inspection, this door was all but identical to the one Kaz had blown up on the storage level, except that there was no rust, and the narrow stripe around the outside edge was white instead of black.


    Stepping forward, Thabil laid the palm of her hand flat on this door, then summoned her mana, which swirled and rose into her hand. Beneath it, red, yellow, and white ki rose from hidden crystals, their presence concealed by whatever alloy the door was made of. When mana and ki met, there was a soft click, and the door swung open.


    Kaz sighed softly as he followed the husede through the door. Of course the answer was mana. Kaz was just so used to working with ki that the idea had never even occurred to him. But what did every mosui and husede have? Mana, not ki. They used tools to refine that mana into ki, but the mana itself was their most essential source of power.


    Hearing the sound, Thabil glanced back at Kaz, looking slightly perplexed. Apparently deciding that Kaz was upset because he had wanted to open the door, she said, ¡°It was locked. Each of us has our own particular power, our ¡®mana signature¡¯, Zhangwo calls it. When a jingli is promoted to fifth, we go to Zhangwo¡¯s lab, and he records our signature, which is then communicated to each of these doors in the city. Only someone with the correct signature can open a door.¡±


    Unless you just blow it up, he thought wryly, thinking of all the trouble that could have been avoided if he hadn¡¯t made so much noise getting through that door. Though if he¡¯d been quieter, the mosui might not have come after him, and if the storage room hadn¡¯t burned, who knew how long he would have kept searching for a set of stairs leading up. Plus, the manufacturing level would still have been filled with husede when he snuck through it, so it would have been much harder to get to the stairs there.


    With a soft whistle, Li bumped her head against his jaw, rubbing against his fur affectionately. She wasn¡¯t prone to such gestures, but he supposed she had missed him while they were separated, and he appreciated the thought right up until she rubbed so hard the sharp little bumps that were beginning to form on her skull scraped against his skin painfully. Reaching up, he started to push her away, but to his horror, he felt her scales slip and stick to his fingers.


    With a yelp, Kaz reached up and pulled Li from his shoulder, struggling to hang onto the wriggling, annoyed dragon. He stared at her, seeing that he hadn¡¯t simply been imagining things when he looked at her after talking to Nucai. She really was paler than usual, her golden scales nearly white, and even her eyes seemed cloudy, like those of a very old kobold. The scales on her head were the worst, peeling and cracking around her mouth and eyes.


    Lianhua was behind him, and when he stopped, she did too. Tilting her head, she examined Li critically, but to his surprise, she didn¡¯t look at all concerned. In fact, a broad smile was spreading across her face.


    ¡°She¡¯s molting!¡± Lianhua exclaimed, reaching out to tug at the end of Li¡¯s tail. The entire top layer of scales pulled away, revealing a gleaming, golden surface with just the faintest hint of silver at the tip.


    Kaz looked from Lianhua to Li, who was now rubbing her head against his hand vigorously, letting him know that she itched. With some hesitation, he shifted her to the crook of his arm and copied Lianhua, gently rubbing at the scales on top of her head.


    Lianhua looked at the limp, pale scrap of skin in her hand with something like glee, then tucked it into her pouch. Looking back up at Kaz, a soft pink flush rose in her cheeks. ¡°Drag- That is, this can be used to craft certain elixirs and pills. I¡¯ll keep it for you, and you can have it back if you need it later.¡±


    Kaz whined softly as a large piece of skin came free and pulled away, revealing newly sharp protrusions on Li¡¯s head, as well as several more around the back of her skull. He handed the discarded stuff to Lianhua, who accepted it gladly.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening to her?¡± Kaz asked, as another piece lifted away, revealing a bright gold eye with sparks of black, blue, and white swirling in it.


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    ¡°She¡¯s growing,¡± Lianhua said, grinning. ¡°You have reptiles in the mountain. Don¡¯t they shed their skin when it gets too small?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°If so, I¡¯ve never seen it. This is-¡±


    A crash, the loudest one Kaz had heard yet, shook the room, and they both realized that this was very much not the time to be discussing the care and maintenance of dragons. Turning, Kaz saw that Thabil and Erith had reached another of the locked doors, this one with a black stripe around it, like the one Kaz had destroyed. It already stood open, and the two husede had had plenty of time to go through and lock it, trapping Kaz, Li, and Lianhua outside. They hadn¡¯t, and Kaz felt most of his lingering distrust drain away.


    Setting Li back on his shoulder, Kaz hurried forward again, and the group soon stepped into a large, round room with two chairs in the center. Two pedestals stood in front of each one, at a good distance for someone the size of a husede or a particularly tall mosui to grasp them while seated.


    Thabil gestured to the first chair. ¡°This is the governing chair, where I sit. The other chair is for Erith, who has far too much power for his own good. He¡¯ll provide the energy for the cannon.¡±


    Erith swallowed hard, then gave a wobbly smile. ¡°Zhangwo said Thabil should be able to get three shots out of me before I die, and then five with her own strength. He told us to make sure the humans were dead in seven.¡±


    Thabil scowled. ¡°I¡¯ll get it done in two, though it won¡¯t be the humans I aim for.¡±


    Kaz looked at the chairs, then at Erith. ¡°Can I control it instead? And you can sit in the second chair?¡±


    She hesitated, then shrugged. ¡°I have no idea. I don¡¯t know what you are, or what you can do. Male kobolds aren¡¯t supposed to have any power at all, so¡­ maybe?¡±


    Kaz tugged at his ear thoughtfully, then nodded, meeting her dark eyes with his own. ¡°Do it the way you¡¯re supposed to. Shoot at Zhangwo. If it takes more than two attempts, I¡¯ll sit there.¡± He pointed at the second chair.


    Thabil stared at him, then bowed slightly and gestured to Erith. Both husede hurried to their chairs and set their hands on the pedestals ahead of them. Their mana rose, pulled as much as pushed down through the slim columns, which passed it down through the floor below. A soft hum surrounded them, and Kaz stared around as the walls turned red, then vanished.


    At Lianhua¡¯s startled exclamation, Kaz followed her line of sight, seeing Zhangwo and Chi Yincang through or on the now-hidden wall. Their figures were about the size of Kaz¡¯s hand, but he could see enough detail to tell that they were both in poor condition.


    Zhangwo was battered and bloody, his fine robes in shreds. The body beneath was surprisingly muscular, and as he thrust out a hand, his shoulders rippled. An unseen wave poured out of his palm, and a few more of the massive blocks of fallen stone all around him shattered into dust and shards. His teeth were bared, and there was nothing sane in the expression of hatred he directed at his opponent.


    Chi Yincang looked slightly better, if only because his clothing was intact. His long hair had come loose at some point, and the scalp over one eye was torn, creating a mask of blood covering the right side of his face. His weapon spun, almost too fast to be seen, and when another cone of force blasted toward him, he somehow cut it in two with a swing of the long blade even as he lunged toward Zhangwo with killing intent. Rocks and other debris exploded on either side of him, but only a breeze ruffled his robes.


    The hum surrounding Kaz deepened, and he turned away from the scene long enough to see a white circle form on the ¡®wall¡¯, followed by another, smaller one. Thabil¡¯s face twisted in concentration, and the circles split, then came together again, now encircling Zhangwo¡¯s battered form, with the central circle focused on his head.


    Erith let out a cry, stiffening in his seat as mana was sucked out through his hand, and a deep red blade of light stabbed down toward the mosui leader from above. He was already moving to avoid Chi Yincang¡¯s return blow, and somehow managed to stumble out of the way as the stone beneath him transformed into a smoking, melted pit.


    Looking up, Zhangwo seemed to meet Kaz¡¯s eyes as he stared directly into whatever device was transmitting his image. He lifted his hand, making a gesture Kaz didn¡¯t recognize, but a small, satisfied smile crossed Thabil¡¯s face when she saw it.


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± she said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a mistake, great one.¡±


    The circles spun out, then focused again, this time on Zhangwo¡¯s chest instead of his head. It was a larger target, and a strike there would kill him just as thoroughly. This time, Erith¡¯s body jerked, and when Kaz looked at him, he saw that blood was leaking from the male¡¯s nose and the corner of his mouth.


    The red light flashed out for the second time, slightly weaker, but it seemed Zhangwo hadn¡¯t entirely believed the previous attack was an error, because even though his attention seemed to be focused on Chi Yincang, who was harrying him with rapid-fire blows, he still managed to dodge out of the way. In fact, it was Chi Yincang who was most hurt by the cannon¡¯s blast, which threw him back against a huge chunk of what had probably once been the ceiling.


    Reaching out, Kaz pulled Erith from the chair. The young husede¡¯s body was unresisting, and though he was conscious, he stared sightlessly forward until his knees gave out, dropping him to the floor. Lianhua glanced from him to Kaz, clearly torn about what she should do.


    ¡°Help him,¡± Kaz growled, reaching up to tug at Li. The dragon dug in her claws, unwilling to be removed, and more bits of skin slipped through Kaz¡¯s fingers.


    Go, Kaz thought, but got back only stubborn refusal. Kaz sent an image of himself, as empty as Erith, and Li little more than a husk on his shoulder. The dragon returned herself, wings spread, with a brilliant stream of ki passing between her body and the small blue kobold on which she sat.


    On the wall, Zhangwo was taking advantage of Chi Yincang¡¯s momentary immobility. The human¡¯s fighting style depended on constant movement, jumping, swaying, and spinning as he dealt blow after blow. The failed attack from the cannon had actually thrown Chi Yincang hard enough to create a human-shaped depression in the stone against which he landed, and Zhangwo was able to get hold of him as he tried to free himself.


    Zhangwo caught Chi Yincang¡¯s weapon on one hand, gripping the human¡¯s hand and squeezing in an attempt to make him drop it. This failed, but he did manage to keep the weapon from being used against him, at least for the moment. His opposite hand was around Chi Yincang¡¯s throat, and though he had to be almost a foot shorter than the human, there was nothing humorous about the picture they made.


    Chi Yincang¡¯s free hand struck out, again and again, striking at Zhangwo¡¯s eyes, throat, and nose. The mosui ignored it all, his teeth bared in a bloody grin as he squeezed, the muscles of his back and shoulders bulging beneath the strain. Kaz was certain that if he could see the flow of mana in the ancient male¡¯s body, his upper body would be absolutely filled with it.


    Lianhua had knelt beside Erith, her fingers pressed to the side of his neck, but now her eyes were glued to the image. ¡°Oh,¡± she whispered, horror-struck. ¡°No.¡±


    Thabil still had her hands on the pedestals, and now she looked at Kaz. ¡°Hurry up, or I¡¯ll finish him without your help,¡± she snapped.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°You have to wait. If you shoot now, you¡¯ll kill Chi Yincang as well.¡±


    The husede¡¯s face closed down into a cold, expressionless mask. ¡°Then we¡¯ll sing him to the gods tonight.¡±


    Her fingers tightened, and Kaz lunged at her.

 Chapter One hundred seventeen

    Kaz and Lianhua reached the husede at the same time. Lianhua¡¯s hands grasped those of the other female, pulling them away from the pedestals even as the hum began to rise. Kaz, who had used his chair as a launching point, was able to grasp her around the ribs, clawed fingers unerringly digging into the wounds hidden beneath her robe.


    Thabil howled, her voice a deep roar of anguished fury, even as she was simultaneously pulled and thrown from her seat. Kaz didn¡¯t think Lianhua would be able to pin the much more powerfully built female if Thabil wasn¡¯t injured, but she was, and Lianhua was almost as furious and desperate as the husede. The three of them tumbled to the ground, Li leaping from Kaz¡¯s shoulder to hiss at the husede angrily.


    As soon as Thabil was on the ground, Lianhua looked up, meeting Kaz¡¯s eyes. She was laying across Thabil¡¯s back, her arm around the husede¡¯s throat in a grip not unlike the one Kaz had used before. As Thabil thrashed, Lianhua twisted and rolled, managing to maintain her hold by shifting the grip of her arm and the placement of her hips and legs.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± Lianhua gasped, ¡°can you control the cannon?¡±


    Kaz settled back on his haunches, ears perked as he glanced quickly around. Chi Yincang was still trying to get free, but his blows were noticeably weaker and more awkward now. Zhangwo¡¯s lips were moving, but Kaz didn¡¯t know what the mosui leader was saying. Whatever it was, he was so intent on it that he didn¡¯t notice someone else creeping up behind him.


    That someone was Raff, and if Zhangwo and Chi Yincang looked rough, Raff looked as if he was on his last legs. His hair and beard were matted with blood, and his armor was dented. Several pieces looked as if they were still in place only through force of long habit, and he was completely missing one of his foot coverings. The sword in his hands was still rock steady, however, and beneath the streaks of blood, his expression was hard and focused.


    With a final look at Lianhua and Thabil, who finally seemed to have given up, Kaz scrambled into the chair Thabil had been occupying. Li clambered up his body and onto his shoulder as he placed his hands on the pedestals.


    He immediately noticed a difference between these and the ones in front of the other chair. He had only had his hands on those for a moment, but it felt much like being too close to one of the humans when they were cultivating. He had no control over what was happening, it just started pulling his ki out of him. This time, however, while he definitely felt the drain, it was less powerful, and when he pulled back, it released him easily. He was also relieved to find that he didn¡¯t have to go through the effort of weaving his ki into mana. This had been called a ki cannon, and that was exactly what it seemed to be.


    Once he thought he had some understanding of what was happening, he looked back at the wall again. Now, as his eyes shifted from one combatant to the next, the white circles moved as well. They hung over Raff as the tall human raised his sword, slashing down and across, directly at Zhangwo¡¯s exposed throat.


    Which wasn¡¯t there any more. Somehow, the mosui spun out of the way, nearly throwing Chi Yincang¡¯s body directly into the path of Raff¡¯s attack. The image faithfully relayed the expression of alarm on Raff¡¯s face as he desperately tried to twist an inexorable blow into a complete miss. And failed.


    The blade, half as long as Raff was tall, slashed Chi Yincang¡¯s chest, sending him backwards to collapse into a heap of black hair and robes. Raff took one step forward, as if to check on the other male¡¯s condition, then gathered himself and turned to face Zhangwo instead.


    The mosui leader was laughing. His sharp, bloody teeth were exposed, his too-wide mouth gaping beneath his short snout. Holding out his arms, he raised them in a universal gesture of triumph.


    So Kaz shot him. The white circles focused in on that horrible smile, and Kaz drew in a deep breath, compressing his core as he did so. On his shoulder, Li gathered her own power, though she simply spun her cycle more quickly, rather than mimicking his attempt at cultivation. As Kaz and Li breathed out, their ki surged.


    Each time Kaz did this, compressing and releasing his ki, allowing it to saturate his channels and his body, even if it was piece by piece, he could feel himself changing. Lianhua had told him that a cultivator¡¯s end goal was to become one with ki, but Kaz had no interest in that. He didn¡¯t want to ¡®ascend¡¯ or become one of the gods Ogden had occasionally mentioned. He just wanted to be Kaz, with his friend Li, free to be exactly who and what they wanted to be.


    And so he had resisted. He had felt the result of allowing the ki to flow without constraint, and never wanted to suffer the pain and weakness of a cracked and broken core again. He also didn¡¯t want to become other, and so when he worked to grow, he held tightly, perhaps unconsciously, to the image of himself as Kaz, kobold, son of Oda and Ghazt, friend of a dragon, striving to become more of who he was, rather than what anyone else believed he should be.


    But now, seeing his friends - yes, friends, because that was how he thought of them, no matter what they might think of him in turn - endangered, Kaz let it all go. Unlike when he had nearly blown up his own body, he maintained control of the ki that flowed out of him, directing it through the pedestals, where it met and mingled with something that felt like it was much, much larger than a few chairs and whatever generated the burst of ki in the cavern beyond.


    Kaz reached down, and the mountain reached up, and when they met, something happened that was entirely different from what Thabil had done. The room was subsumed in all the colors of ki, and every shade in between. Ruby and sapphire mixed into amethyst, obsidian and moonstone made brilliant, smoky diamond. The hum rose, transcending a single resonant note, to become a triumphant chord, as if a multitude of voices were raised at once in a single howl.


    On the wall, Raff and Zhangwo froze, their eyes turning up. Zhangwo¡¯s expression had time to shift from gloating to confusion before a single beam of light flashed down to vaporize him. In his seat, Kaz watched, strangely detached, wondering why it had seemed so important to strike down such a petty little being. He was the mountain, timeless and great, infested by crawling, biting insects who were rarely even worth swatting. Yet he had invested no small amount of his power in crushing this one, and-


    Li bit him. Sharp teeth, stronger than they had been before, chomped hard on the thin, tender rim of his ear, and Kaz yelped, clapping his hand to the small wound. In the process, he broke contact with the control pedestal, and the overwhelming feeling of being one with the mountain snapped like a leather cord trying to lift too large a load.


    Kaz pulled his fingers from his ear, seeing a droplet of crimson blood smeared across fine blue fur. He blinked. Holding his arms out in front of him, he was shocked to see that the melted, bleached, broken gray fur that had barely been clinging to his body was falling away. It drifted through the air as he moved, and beneath it lay a thin, soft fuzz of distinctly blue fur.


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    ¡°Kaz?¡± Lianhua¡¯s shaky voice brought him to himself as he began to brush at the loose fur, sending clouds of short hairs falling onto the chair and ground.


    Looking over at Lianhua, he realized that at some point, she had released Thabil. Erith, too, had recovered somewhat, and now sat, holding his head and staring at Kaz. In fact, they were all staring at Kaz, and he felt his ears fold back at being the absolute focus of their astonished attention.


    Behind them, the image of the destroyed city and the two humans, along with whatever remained of Zhangwo, vanished, returning to the smooth gray stone of the mosui buildings. With Zhangwo dead, Kaz hoped that Raff and Gaoda - wherever he was, because in spite of his earlier thoughts, Kaz was certain that he had managed to avoid serious injury - as well as the Redmane kobolds, could take care of any remaining mosui.


    ¡°Kaz?¡± Lianhua said again, voice steadier this time. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, watching Kaz as if he might do something completely unexpected, like wake an ancient device and use it to deal instant, implacable death.


    Kaz tilted his head, feeling slightly dizzy as he did so. Turning his focus inward, he realized why. His channels were healed, or perhaps he no longer needed to heal them. His flesh was saturated with ki, central dantian spinning in a gleeful swirl, and while his channels were distinctly still there, ki moved in and out of them as easily as water moved through a pool. For the first time in weeks, Kaz didn¡¯t have to maintain a constant, habitual grip on the flow of his ki, because it moved naturally through his entire body in a balanced and steady cycle.


    A hand hesitantly touched his shoulder, and Kaz snapped back to the present, meeting Lianhua¡¯s eyes as she stared down at him, worry clear in her eyes. ¡°Are you all right?¡± she asked.


    He nodded, then shook his head, then nodded again. ¡°I¡­ think so?¡± he said.


    She looked instantly relieved. He wondered why, but then she said, ¡°You were speaking, but not in any language I know. And your face-¡± She bit her lip so hard he was afraid she might injure herself, but finally said, ¡°You didn¡¯t look like yourself.¡±


    On his shoulder, Li whistled, a sound that went up and down in an agreeing but interrogative way. She sent him an image of himself, the last remnants of his broken and ragged gray fur standing straight out from his body, his muzzle looking both longer and more pointed than usual, while his eyes shifted colors in very much the same way Li¡¯s did.


    He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t remember saying anything. I just wanted to fire the cannon, but when I sent my ki into it, it was like¡­ it was waiting for me.¡±


    ¡°What was?¡± Lianhua asked softly.


    ¡°The mountain,¡± Kaz said simply, and they stared at each other for a long, long moment.


    Then the wall in front of them, where they had been watching the battle, began to crack and bulge. The tip of something sharp protruded through it, slicing up and around in a broad circle. Everyone scrambled back as the metal cut once, then twice more, creating an X in the middle of the circle. A muffled exclamation came from the other side, and then the top quadrant of the circle fell in, crashing to the ground in an explosive burst.


    ¡°Be careful, Chi Yincang!¡± Raff shouted, his voice much clearer now. ¡°It¡¯s not gonna do any good if you kill yourself or Lianhua in gettin¡¯ to her!¡±


    Not unexpectedly, there was no response, but the next section of wall was pushed in more gently, toppling to the side without breaking. On the other side stood Raff, smiling apologetically through the blood crusting his face, and Chi Yincang, whose emotionless mask cracked as his eyes landed on Lianhua.


    ¡°Granddaughter,¡± he said, voice rougher than Kaz had ever heard it before, and Lianhua lurched, taking one step toward him.


    ¡°Grandfather?¡± she asked, peering at the dark warrior closely. Kaz did the same, and saw that behind the mask of blood, Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes, which usually had black but otherwise normal irises, were now entirely obsidian, top to bottom and corner to corner. A memory flashed through Kaz¡¯s mind, of Chi Yincang kneeling in the darkness of the cavern where they had recovered from fighting the enormous lopo. When Kaz brought back the firemoss for Lianhua, he had seen Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes look exactly like this, though it had lasted for such a short time that he had nearly convinced himself he was seeing things.


    A warm, relieved smile stretched Chi Yincang¡¯s lips, and he nodded. ¡°Chi Yincang has been keeping me apprised of your progress, and when he told me you had vanished-¡±


    His voice broke, and he climbed through the gap, stretching out his arms. With an inarticulate cry, Lianhua fell into them, tears streaming from her eyes as she hugged him tightly. The two held each other for a moment, before Lianhua¡¯s grandfather gently pushed her back, hands trembling. Fresh crimson had joined the sticky blood already streaking his face, flowing steadily from both nostrils and into his mouth.


    ¡°I have to let Chi Yincang go,¡± he said regretfully. ¡°I¡¯ve already held him for far too long. That thing, whatever it was, was strong. I¡¯ve been fighting it for nearly an hour, and Chi Yincang¡¯s body can¡¯t take my power much longer.¡±


    Looking around, he tracked over the two husede, who were huddled together in a corner of the room. Next, his gaze touched on Raff, who was leaning against the wall not far away, eyes on the gray dwarves, rather than the small family reunion.


    Finally, he turned to Kaz, and his jet-black eyes seemed to stab into the kobold¡¯s heart, turning it over and over as he examined everything that made Kaz who he was. Nodding, he said, ¡°I¡¯d like to meet you, kobold. In person. Chi Yincang tells me your presence has been a great comfort to Lianhua, so I¡¯ll leave it as a request.¡±


    His tone reminded Kaz that while he might be a doting grandparent, Lianhua had said no one short of the emperor, who seemed to be a chief of chiefs, dared to oppose him. Kaz was also sure that if this person told Chi Yincang to bring Kaz to him, Chi Yincang would do everything within his own not-inconsiderable power to make sure that happened. Kaz wasn¡¯t quite as certain as he once was that Chi Yincang would be successful, but he didn¡¯t really want to find out the hard way.


    Instead, he bowed his head. ¡°Lianhua invited me to visit, and I agreed,¡± he said, hoping that humans had the same ideas of the rights of guests as kobolds did.


    Chi Yincang¡¯s lips turned up into an unfamiliar smile, and he nodded. ¡°Fair enough,¡± he said, and the blackness drained from his eyes like water from a bowl. Chi Yincang¡¯s face immediately settled into its usual blankness. Looking at Lianhua, he pressed his fist to his chest.


    ¡°On your command, lady,¡± he said, and the only sign of the fierce battle he¡¯d just fought was the fact that he leaned on his weapon slightly, rather than returning it immediately to his ring.


    Lianhua nodded back, wiping away the remains of her tears with the back of one hand. ¡°Is anyone still fighting?¡±


    Raff spoke up. ¡°Nah. When that weird guy showed up, Gaoda took one look at ¡®im and hared off after the mosui, saying he¡¯d make sure they couldn¡¯t sneak up behind us. I expect by now he¡¯s killed the lot of ¡®em, if only to prove that he was doing something useful while the two of us were kept busy by just one enemy.¡±


    A complex expression crossed Lianhua¡¯s face, and Kaz couldn¡¯t tell if she was relieved or disappointed that Gaoda was probably both alive and uninjured. ¡°I see,¡± she said, tone neutral.


    Turning to Thabil, Lianhua asked, ¡°Will the husede listen to you if you tell them to stop fighting?¡±


    The other female finally managed to struggle to her feet, though her usual confidence was significantly diminished. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°Once they know Zhangwo is dead, it¡¯ll end anyway. He had a way to activate all the collars at once, in case of a rebellion. With him gone, we can defeat the mosui, and they know it.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Lianhua said, exhausted but determined. ¡°Then let¡¯s find Gaoda Xiang and put an end to this.¡±

 Chapter One hundred eighteen

    Thabil shifted, looking almost nervous as everyone turned to look at her. ¡°There is a way to speak to all of the collared at once,¡± she said. ¡°If you let me, I can tell my people what has happened.¡±


    Lianhua hesitated, then nodded. ¡°What do you need to do?¡±


    The husede gestured toward the door. ¡°There¡¯s a room nearby with a device that allows far speaking. We use- used it when Zhangwo needed a larger group of us for some task. My people have been waiting for this day for a very long time, however, and now it will serve us instead.¡±


    Lianhua nodded again, gesturing for Thabil to lead on, and all of them followed after the husede as she wound her way back down the hall, opening a different door and entering a small room. There, Kaz saw several metal rings, not unlike massively oversized collars, set into the ground. They ranged from simple ones, like the ones the kobolds wore, to ones with elaborate designs carved into them, like the one Lianhua had worn.


    Crossing to one that looked exactly like the one Kaz had removed from her own throat, Thabil stepped into the middle of it and looked at Kaz. ¡°I need my control wand,¡± she told him. ¡°I can¡¯t activate the ring without it.¡±


    Kaz had forgotten the glittering rod, but now he pulled it out from where he had tucked it beneath his belt and handed it to her. As he stepped back, her mana rose within her, and she pointed the wand toward the metal circle in which she stood. A wave of ki flowed out, and a column of red light surrounded her.


    ¡°Ziyou,¡± she said, and the word flowed out of her, rippling on waves of mana that were absorbed into crimson ki. After a moment, the ki seemed to burst, washing through the floor, the ceiling, and the walls, and Kaz almost thought he caught an eerie echo of the word chiming in his own ears as the wave passed through him. On his shoulder, Li clicked unhappily, huddling against him, and Kaz silently agreed that it was a thoroughly unpleasant sensation.


    When Thabil stepped out of the circle, her teeth were bared in triumph. ¡°It is done,¡± she said simply, as the shrill scream of a mosui reached Kaz¡¯s ki-empowered ears.


    =+=+=+=


    Once the husede began to turn on their former masters, the end came quickly. Thabil and Erith led Kaz, Li, and the humans out to the city, where they found that chaos had fallen. The mosui had been using the husede to kill the attacking kobolds, and when the husede turned on them instead, the line of defense broke almost immediately. Husede and kobold alike tore into the mosui, who were quickly overwhelmed by sheer numbers, in spite of their attempts to use the collars to stop the assault.


    Bodies lay everywhere, some crushed beneath rubble, and others sliced or ripped apart by teeth and claws. Kaz winced each time he saw a fallen kobold, and Thabil and Erith did the same when they stumbled over another still, gray-skinned form. At least Kaz didn¡¯t know any of the Redmanes well, and he didn¡¯t see any of the Sharpjaws among the dead, but he could tell that the two husede recognized some of those they passed.


    There were only scattered pockets of fighting still going on, and they hurried toward the loudest sound of clashing metal and howls. In the shadows of broken walls, the injured huddled, husede and kobold alike, eyeing each other warily but making no move to attack. No mosui remained alive.


    Not surprisingly, they found Gaoda in the center of the battle. The human¡¯s robes were still clean and brilliant blue, glaringly bright amidst a palette of crimson and gray. His golden hair was mussed, and he had been reduced to using a sword, rather than firing off balls of ki, but otherwise he looked uninjured. He spun and stabbed a husede, expression almost bored as he let the body slide off his blade a moment later.


    Opening their mouths, Lianhua and Thabil spoke at once, the husede¡¯s deeper voice overwhelming the human¡¯s.


    ¡°Ziyou!¡± Thabil called, repeating the word she had spoken earlier. ¡°The humans are not our enemies!¡±


    One of the husede turned to look at her, nearly receiving Gaoda¡¯s sword in his back as he did so. Another husede turned the blow aside at the last moment, and Thabil stepped forward, renewed fear and anger lighting her eyes.


    Glancing at Thabil, Lianhua spoke again, this time shouting Gaoda¡¯s name in the loudest voice Kaz had ever heard her use. ¡°Gaoda Xiang, STOP!¡±


    Gaoda¡¯s blade froze in the act of impaling the husede who had saved the first, leaving the tip hovering just above the shorter male¡¯s heart. Thabil took a step forward, and Lianhua spoke again, using Thabil¡¯s words.


    ¡°Gaoda Xiang, these people are not our enemies. Stand down.¡± Her face was hard, and her fists were clenched. Kaz didn¡¯t think she realized when she settled into a battle stance, but Gaoda certainly did, and for an instant, he looked shocked, then furious, before his face relaxed into a broad smile.


    ¡°Cousin!¡± he exclaimed, bending his knees, ki pulsing as he leaped straight up, out of the circle of his erstwhile attackers. He landed lightly just a few feet in front of Lianhua, clearly showing that he could have escaped at any time, but had chosen to stay and slaughter the husede instead.


    Lifting her fist, Lianhua punched him. It was a clean strike, short, sharp, and directly to his nose, which crunched loudly beneath the impact. Blood spurted, and Gaoda gave a credible howl, staggering back as he clapped his hand to his face, shocked blue eyes locked on Lianhua¡¯s face.


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    Stepping forward, Lianhua stabbed her finger into Gaoda¡¯s chest, and Kaz could tell that she didn¡¯t bother holding back any of her formidable strength. ¡°You,¡± she said, ¡°are not my cousin. I am Long clan, and you are Xiang. Only tradition binds us. Never, ever, call me that again.¡±


    Gaoda wiped his nose, staring at the bloody streak on his hand in shock. ¡°But cou- Lianhua, you-¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. I¡¯m tired of you telling me what to do. I just spent a day wearing a collar, and do you know what I learned, Gaoda Xiang?¡±


    The human stepped back, shaking his head, and she went on, voice lowering to a fierce, determined tone Kaz had never heard before. ¡°I learned that I am not a slave,¡± she said. ¡°And I will never allow anyone to treat me like one again. I don¡¯t care if Grandfather put you in charge of our party, this is my expedition, and you have been putting it, and us, at risk since the day we left. It¡¯s your fault Yingtao got sick, and your fault Lord Hartton wouldn¡¯t send anyone with us after we arrived in Holiander, and nothing in this world could force me to remain with you for a moment longer than it takes to get home!¡±


    For a moment, Gaoda¡¯s mouth hung open, and then an ugly sneer twisted his lips. ¡°Elder Long put me in charge, and-¡±


    Chi Yincang stepped in between Lianhua and Gaoda, his wrist flicking out toward the young male¡¯s face. He pressed what looked like a single page of Lianhua¡¯s book to Gaoda¡¯s forehead, and Gaoda¡¯s voice choked off as he grew unnaturally still. Two more pages followed the first, and to Kaz¡¯s astonishment, Gaoda began to shrink. Within a few seconds, he had transformed into a statue, no larger than Kaz¡¯s thumb, which Chi Yincang picked up and tucked into the pouch at his waist.


    Turning back to Lianhua, Chi Yincang bowed deeply. ¡°Command is yours, lady.¡±


    Lianhua gaped at him, and Chi Yincang stared back, dark eyes inscrutable. In spite of the fact that not a shred of emotion showed in his face or stance, Kaz was somehow certain that he was extremely satisfied by this turn of events.


    Finally, Lianhua drew in a long, deliberate breath, and it was as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders. She straightened, glancing around at the circle of shocked gazes turned toward her. Only Raff was grinning, looking as if someone had just told the funniest joke he¡¯d heard in a long time.


    ¡°All right,¡± Lianhua muttered. ¡°All right.¡± She closed her eyes, and when they opened again, Kaz could see that something in them had shifted. She met his gaze and nodded.


    ¡°The kobolds are next. Kaz, can you convince them to stop fighting?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t understand why they¡¯re here at all. Kobolds don¡¯t just go charging into unknown danger. We defend the den and the tribe, or we challenge for territory or leadership. There¡¯s nothing for them to gain by coming here.¡±


    ¡°I can answer that,¡± Raff said, scratching at the dried crust of blood in his facial fur. ¡°Their chief woke up. Started howling like a wild thing, and when Hod turned up, ready to tear into us for disturbing her, she told him you two managed to find their super-secret stairway. Then we realized you were missing, and Chi Yincang did his creepy black-eye thing, and told us Lianhua was in trouble. Next thing we knew, the whole Pellis-cursed tribe was charging down here, and their chief told them to bring Kaz back or die tryin¡¯.¡±


    Kaz felt his tail droop as everyone turned to stare at him, and he scratched at his own jaw, sending a puff of gray fur into the air. It was beginning to itch terribly, and he felt like he was outgrowing his skin, just like Li.


    Lianhua eyed him, brows lifted, and Kaz saw the question in her eyes. He glanced around at all the other interested gazes, and his chin dipped for a moment before he yanked it back up. ¡°I figured out how to clear the fulan from Ehlan¡¯s core,¡± he said, looking only at Lianhua. ¡°She may have been more aware than we thought when we were talking earlier, or she may have just figured out that I had something to do with her recovery. Either way, if they¡¯re here to bring me back, then they should stop fighting when they see me.¡±


    He glanced down at his arm, seeing the lingering clumps of gray fur mingling with the fine blue fuzz beneath, gave a short bark of laughter. ¡°If they recognize me, anyway.¡±


    Lianhua smiled, and Raff gave a deep laugh of his own, clapping Kaz on the back, which sent up yet another cloud of fur. ¡°Nah, you¡¯re looking more like yourself than ever, Blue.¡± The nickname sounded almost affectionate, rather than the derisive term Gaoda had originally intended it to be, and Kaz found that he didn¡¯t mind when the tall human used it. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go find some kobolds.¡±


    Kaz grinned up at him, tail beginning to wag. ¡°I have a better idea,¡± he said. Lifting his muzzle, he drew in a deep breath, and began to howl.


    The sound rang out over the broken city, a kobold¡¯s call of, ¡°I am here¡±, and after a long moment, another voice picked it up. One after another, they called back. ¡°I am here.¡± ¡°I am here.¡±


    Kaz felt a thrill run down his back at the sound, and he shivered. He had never led a howl in his life, and once he left the mountain, he would probably never do so again. This was a sound of unity, of support, and as he continued to release the long, ululating call, he knew every kobold who had answered was on their way.


    The first to appear were two warriors Kaz didn¡¯t recognize. The dye around their necks was streaked with fresh blood, but they lowered their red-stained bone clubs when they saw Kaz. The confused expressions on their faces when they saw the humans and husede surrounding him made Kaz¡¯s tail sway gently with amusement.


    Ilto came not long after that, limping and leaning on Pils¡¯ shoulder. Civ was close behind, but after that were more and more of the Redmane warriors. It seemed that no females had ventured down to the fulan-tainted level, but Kaz hadn¡¯t thought there even were this many males left in the tribe. Then he realized that some of these kobolds had collars around their necks, and their fur ranged from bright green to a deep purple that was the closest Kaz had seen to blue since his father died. They were also glaring balefully at Thabil and the other husede.


    Kaz glanced around, seeing that they were now surrounded, and he was extremely grateful that Gaoda wasn¡¯t there to set flames to what looked like a seething pot of boiling firemoss. Edging over to Thabil, he murmured, ¡°Can you remove their collars?¡±


    It seemed that she had also realized the danger, because she nodded stiffly. ¡°I can, but if they see my control wand, they may attack me before I have a chance to explain.¡±


    Lianhua heard their quiet conversation, and glanced over at them, then around at the mob Kaz had accidentally gathered. As the only female who was not husede, she was in a unique position, so she looked around, meeting the eyes of a few of the angrier-looking newcomers.


    Pointing to the largest one, a red-furred male about Civ¡¯s age, she asked, ¡°Do you want to be free?¡±


    He bared his teeth and pulled at the collar around his neck as if he would tear it off. ¡°Yes,¡± he growled, deep voice rumbling in his chest.


    Lianhua held out her hand, indicating Thabil. ¡°The husede have been slaves as long as you, though the mosui set them above you. If this female removes your collar, do you swear to leave her and her people alone, so long as they do no harm to you?¡±


    A long, low snarl rolled out of the male¡¯s throat as he looked at the husede, but he nodded. ¡°Free me,¡± he said.


    Slowly, Thabil slid the control wand from its pouch, and every collared kobold tensed at the sight of it. Reaching out, the husede tapped the red kobold¡¯s collar, and a burst of ki ran through it as it fell to the ground, chiming dully.

 Chapter One hundred nineteen (END Book Two)

    Once Kaz, Lianhua, and Thabil convinced small groups of kobolds and husede to work together, they were able to quickly fan out through the city and then the lower levels, freeing everyone still wearing a collar. Kaz himself was needed to free the husede leaders, whose collars required all five types of ki to unlock. It was strange to find himself at the center of so many confused and astonished gazes, especially from those he would once have considered far more important and powerful than himself, but he was slowly becoming used to it.


    When a group was sent down to the mines and the yumi pools, Kaz went with them. He found that the mines were actually the simpler of the two, because the husede with him used their control devices to free everyone, and most of them instantly turned on Surta and his allies. Two who did not were Dett and Dax, though Dax stepped to the side, watching the ensuing carnage with grim satisfaction, while Dett approached Kaz.


    Dett stared from Kaz¡¯s blue fur to the husede arrayed behind him, and asked in the voice of a frightened puppy, ¡°Did my mother send you after all?¡±


    Kaz felt a deep pity sweep through him. He had dismissed this male as cowardly and delusional, but his actions and beliefs had kept him alive for years in a place where life was valued less than the crystals in the walls. How old had the male been when he was captured? Kaz¡¯s age? Younger?


    He shook his head. ¡°No,¡± he said gently, ¡°but I can take you home, if you want to go.¡±


    Dett¡¯s chin tucked before he managed to jerk it back up. His voice had returned to normal when he said, ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be greatly rewarded for your aid in-¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want anything. I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re safe, and everyone is free to go home now.¡±


    Now, Dett looked nervous, glancing back at the others. Kaz remembered that he wasn¡¯t well-liked, and Dax had even suggested Dett might have killed other kobolds, or at least left them to die while he took the crystals they had gathered.


    Kaz tilted his head toward the husede and the former Sharpjaw, Civ, who was standing near them. He was watching Kaz and Dett, green gaze hard and serious. Hod, who was alive but too injured to come at Kaz¡¯s first howl, hadn¡¯t been pleased when Kaz refused to immediately obey Ehlan¡¯s order to go back to their den. Fortunately, Lianhua and Thabil had made it very plain that they wouldn¡¯t allow the senior warrior to attempt to force Kaz to go, so Kaz hadn¡¯t had to defend himself from the very kobolds he had just saved. Hod had, however, insisted on sending a guard with Kaz everywhere he went, and assigned Civ to the task.


    ¡°You can come with us, if you prefer not to travel with the others,¡± Kaz offered again. ¡°We¡¯ll be going to the Deep when my friend is ready. I don¡¯t know how long it will take, but I can guarantee you¡¯ll be safe until then.¡±


    Dett¡¯s tail wagged slightly, and then he looked down at himself, one hand reaching up to finger the bare skin where his collar had rubbed off the fur. Most of the newly freed kobolds bore this distinctive mark, and Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if the fur would grow back after being worn away for so long.


    ¡°I need a proper loincloth,¡± he said. ¡°And food?¡± He was trying to be demanding, but the last word was spoken in an almost desperate querying tone.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of niu-fur cloth. Everyone can have new loincloths, belts, knives, whatever they need. Many of the husede are going to stay here, and they promised to help all the former prisoners. They¡¯ll also be willing to trade, and allow kobolds to visit and live here, so I think in a few years, this will be a good place.¡±


    ¡°Can I stay, then?¡± a voice asked from behind him, and Kaz twitched as he turned to face Dax, who had come up behind him while he was focused on Dett.


    ¡°Stay?¡± Kaz asked, looking around at the bare, cold cavern.


    The corner of Dax¡¯s lips twitched, and for the first time, there was a spark of some emotion in his dull eyes. ¡°Not here,¡± the other kobold said. ¡°In the city. The Bronzearms are dead or captured. Our females were killed for their cores. I have no tribe, and no interest in joining another one. If the husede want to work with kobolds, they¡¯ll need someone to help them understand us. If they plan to betray us,¡± his eyes went dark, ¡°then someone needs to stop them.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears twitched. That¡­ was a very interesting statement. Usually, kobold males were interested in their tribe, their mate, and their pups. He could already hear the others talking about returning to their tribes or finding new ones. Dax was thinking about the race of kobolds as a whole, and protecting them from a new threat like the mosui. Who had Dax been, before his tribe was taken?


    Looking from Dett to Dax, Kaz nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll talk to my friend, Lianhua, and Thabil, one of the leaders of the husede, and see what will work the best for everyone.¡± The husede were forming something called a ¡®council¡¯, made up of several of their leaders. It was a strange concept to Kaz, who was used to a singular chief controlling everything in a tribe, but he liked the idea that no one person could destroy a tribe - or a city - through their poor choices.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Kaz hesitated, then looked at Dax and added, ¡°I¡¯d like you to come to the next level with me. I think there are some people there you should meet.¡±


    Dax looked uncertain, but nodded, and soon the freed kobolds were led out of the echoing, empty cavern where they had lived for so long, leaving nothing behind but blood and stone.


    Dett decided not to leave for the city level with the rest of the kobolds, so he, Kaz, Dax, and Civ soon found themselves on the level filled with yumi fields, surrounded by still more collared kobolds. Kaz howled in the gatherers, and once again explained that the mosui had been overthrown, and the kobolds and husede were now free. Many of the kobolds here were puppies, and thanks to Eld, their lives hadn¡¯t been nearly as harsh as those on the mining level. They were very happy to be free, but also worried about where they would go, and what would happen to them now. This was where Kaz turned to Dax.


    The male was staring around, and his eyes were lingering on the pups, especially a group who were huddled together near the back. They didn¡¯t have the Redmane dye, if Redmane puppies even dyed their fur, and Kaz suspected that they were members of the Bronzearms, like Dax.


    Sure enough, once Kaz was finished speaking, Dax approached this group. He was still filthy, ragged, and thin, so it took them a while to recognize him, even by scent, but eventually the pups'' tails began to wag. One after another, small kobolds reached out, clinging to Dax¡¯s hands and fur as they began to whimper in excitement. He was an adult of their tribe, and probably a high-ranking one, someone who represented safety and familiarity to a group of puppies who had been isolated and protected only by Eld¡¯s refusal to allow anyone to torment them because of their tribe.


    As Kaz watched this, Eld and Nogz finally appeared. Kaz had begun to wonder if they had managed to break through the wall far more quickly than he¡¯d expected, but to his relief they were still here. He had dreaded the idea of tracking them down to the hoyi nest, only to discover that they had died there.


    The brothers must have been working on the wall, because their fur was soaked in sweat. They also wore woven bands of yumi around their necks that they had somehow managed to color gray. They didn¡¯t look like collars to anyone paying attention, but from a distance, if a husede glanced at them, it was probably good enough.


    The two young kobolds stopped in the entrance to the niu cavern, where Kaz and the others had appeared on one of the large platforms. They stared from Kaz to the husede, who were already nearly done removing all the collars, and their muzzles gaped. Kaz was about to make his way over to explain to them when they saw Dax and froze.


    Kaz could tell that they, unlike the others, recognized the older kobold instantly. Their ears went up, their eyes went wide, and both tails began to wag so violently that Kaz was amazed their paws stayed on the floor. A moment later, they were racing across the cavern, and Nogz even forgot himself so far that he allowed himself to run four-legged rather than upright.


    Dax had his back to the two, and he spun into a defensive crouch when Nogz threw his arms around the warrior¡¯s waist, burying his muzzle in the dirty, matted fur. Dax¡¯s hands, which had been raised to defend himself from an attack, froze, then hung in the air as he stared at the two younger males. At last, one hand lowered to rest between Nogz¡¯ ears, and his knees gave out. Falling to the ground, he gathered the pup and the young warrior into his arms as he lifted his voice in a howl of terrible sorrow and relief. All around him, other voices joined in, mourning and rejoicing all at once.


    Kaz felt his chest clench at the sound, and his throat grew tight, instinctively wanting to join in. This wasn¡¯t his tribe, however, and never would be, so he held himself back, instead gently caressing Li¡¯s head. The dragon had finally finished shedding, and her scales were softer and more supple than ever, gleaming with subtle gradations of color, rather than a single smooth golden shade. She was, however, exhausted by her ordeal and the effort of growing, and spent most of her time sleeping with her tail wrapped tightly around his neck. She was now large and strong enough that the grip might have cut off his breath if his own recent experiences hadn¡¯t carried him much further along his journey to tempering his body.


    Now, she woke, and whistled questioningly. He let his tongue loll in amusement, amazed that all the howling hadn¡¯t woken her, but a simple touch had. She huffed at him, wings lifting to batter at his ear until he tilted his head away.


    He showed her his memory of the reunion, and for a moment, he felt her longing for something similar. She wanted to find her family, and he felt a deep pang of guilt at the knowledge that they were still as far from finding them as ever.


    As soon as he had this thought, however, he felt her teeth on his ear. She didn¡¯t bite hard, just nipped, and he smiled. It was a nostalgic feeling, reminding him of the way Rega would nip him or the other pups when they started wandering off. Of course, Rega usually followed it up with a quick lick, and Li was too-


    He felt a tiny tug at the fur by his ear, and rolled his eyes to peer up at the dragon. She was still perched on his shoulder, though she took up a bit more space than she used to, and it was more difficult for her to avoid his gaze. Her forked tongue was just retreating back into her mouth, and she looked distinctly embarrassed to be caught doing anything so affectionate. Still, she sent him an image of a small blue kobold, astride an enormous golden dragon, flying away together into the broad blue sky, along with a deep sense of satisfaction.


    Kaz couldn¡¯t lick her back. For one thing, parts of her were quite a bit spikier than any kobold, but he also thought she wouldn¡¯t actually appreciate such a gesture. When her siblings hatched, the parent dragon hadn¡¯t tended to them at all, other than to feed them. It hadn¡¯t licked or cleaned any of the dragonlings, and Kaz didn¡¯t know if that was because of the situation and its wounds, or if dragons simply didn¡¯t show their fondness in the same way as kobolds.


    Li bumped her head against his jaw, her new little horns scraping against his skin. <Together,> she thought, and Kaz thought her voice was a little more mature than it had been last time she spoke.


    ¡°Together,¡± he agreed softly, turning away from the sight of Dax, now gathering up all the orphaned pups, not just the Bronzearms. They would be fine, and so would he.

 Fanart/fic contest! (not a story chapter)

    Hopefully future me is enjoying her vacation, because present me is going crazy trying to organize everything. (For some loose definition of organize, which is mainly make sure everyone packs their medications and clean underwear, and we have enough snacks to keep anyone from going feral during the drive.)


    Okay, I want to keep this simple. You can send original art or a short story ?? I''m going to be excited if I get ten submissions, so I''m not going to have any categories, unless something just goes nuts. I''ll send everybody who enters five early chapters, so they can actually get a little binge on!


    A good majority of people seemed to like the plushies (YAY!), but I''m going to go with the Chapters or Plushies model of prizes. First place winner gets to pick either a plushie OR twenty extra chapters. Second place winner gets to choose from either the plushie (if the first place winner doesn''t pick it) or ten extra chapters. As mentioned, everyone else gets five chapters, unless they don''t want them ???¡â? If you win the plushie, you will have to send me an address so I can ship it, but I promise not to send anything weird(er than a plushie).


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Contest will run from today (Monday, April 1) to Friday, April 12. Winners will be announced Monday, April 15. Send entries or a link to your entry to my inbox here.


    I do want to put up at least the winners on my social media (with credit to whatever name you prefer I use, and/or links to your Patreon/Insta/whatevs, because I support artists of all stripes!) but if you don''t want me to post it if it doesn''t win, just let me know.


    If you make me an ad that I can use (and credit you for) here on RR, bonus chapters for you!


    Please, no explicit images or stories.


    Now, here are Kaz and Kyla to inspire you. Kaz will have his own backpack, as well as a simple 3d-printed dragon. Kyla will have a backpack or possibly a satchel embroidered with beads. They''re about 12" tall, 9" wide, and very snuggly soft ??

 Chapter One hundred twenty

    Kaz gently knocked on the door of Lianhua¡¯s room, then pushed it open so he could peer inside. He knew she was there because he could see her dantians through the wall, but she had a tendency to become so engrossed in her work that she didn¡¯t even hear him knock. She also forgot to eat, which was at least partially why he was there.


    As usual, she was seated behind the low table, pillows mounded around her as she pored over books and scrolls. He was glad to see a cup nearby, so she had at least had something to drink, but the only plate in sight was the one he had brought to her yesterday.


    The human female had spent the last five days following the same routine. She sat here, reading the oldest records she could beg, borrow, or steal from the husede, until she fell asleep in her pillows. When Kaz, Raff, or Chi Yincang brought her food or drink, she would take a few bites or a sip, and then return to work.


    Her hair was far from its usual sleek style, with tangled strands dangling in her face and down her back, and there were shadows beneath her eyes. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure why the dark circles were there, but she hadn¡¯t been injured, and they seemed to get worse when she hadn¡¯t slept, so he thought it was a sign of exhaustion rather than illness.


    ¡°Lianhua,¡± he said, setting the bowl he held on the table, ignoring the piles of parchment already there. Risking damage to her precious papers was the best way to get Lianhua¡¯s attention.


    Sure enough, even though she hadn¡¯t seemed to notice Kaz¡¯s presence, Lianhua¡¯s hands darted out, and she picked up the bowl. Without even looking at it or him, she tried to shove it back at him.


    Kaz folded his arms across his chest, refusing to accept it. On his shoulder, the little dragon, Li, hissed at the sudden movement, and then tried to dive into the bowl, as she¡¯d been doing ever since Kaz picked it up from the husede cooking cavern.


    Kaz took a step back and shook his head. ¡°Lianhua, you need to eat,¡± he told her. ¡°You lied when you told me Iron body cultivators only needed food once a day. Raff says you need more food right after a rank advancement, not less.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s blurry amethyst eyes turned up to him, and she blinked, giving a soft click of her tongue. ¡°Missing a meal or two won¡¯t hurt me,¡± she told him, voice hoarse with disuse.


    His eyes narrowed, and the fur on the back of his neck lifted slightly as Kaz glared back. ¡°You¡¯re only eating once a day, if that, and when you do, it¡¯s not a full meal.¡± He pointed accusingly to the old plate, which still held a mound of now-dry mushrooms.


    Lianhua glanced at it, pink spots rising in her pale cheeks. ¡°It¡¯s disgusting,¡± she muttered. ¡°The mosui only ever ate bugs and fungus, and I never want to see another grub or mushroom again.¡±


    The mosui were the small but powerful creatures who had inhabited this city when Kaz, Li, and Lianhua had been captured and brought here against their wills. The mole-like beings had used ki-powered collars left behind by an ancient race to control their captives, and their leader, Zhangwo, performed experiments on any being with a core that his minions brought in. He was going to do the same to Li and Lianhua, though the human hadn¡¯t yet cultivated a core of her own, but Kaz had managed to kill him first, through use of a powerful weapon created by the same race who had made the collars.


    Lianhua called that race the ¡®Diushi¡¯. She and the other humans had come to Kaz¡¯s mountain specifically in order to find proof of Lianhua¡¯s wild theory that the last members of that lost empire had come here after vanishing from their vast domain practically overnight. After the husede, the descendants of enslaved members of a reclusive race, turned on their mosui masters, Lianhua had believed that such proof was nearly in her hands, and arranged to be able to read the documents left behind by Zhangwo.


    Unfortunately, that was where things had fallen apart. While Zhangwo claimed he had once been ¡®Pantu Lianren¡¯, a wise and famous advisor to the Diushi Emperor, he had also been at least a little insane. Nothing in his documents could serve as evidence that this city had been built by the Diushi, and even if it had - which Lianhua said was likely, given the style of the architecture - there was no way to know how old it was. Once something was several hundred years old, it was difficult to pinpoint its age precisely, and this place could just as easily have been built before the Diushi vanished from Lianhua¡¯s country as after.


    There was one person who might have been able to provide solid evidence one way or the other: Nucai, the self-proclaimed servant of the ¡®Master¡¯. He was at least as old as Zhangwo, who had to have been alive for a millenia or more, and each time Kaz had spoken to him, it was clear that he was extremely powerful. Much to Lianhua¡¯s disappointment, this mysterious being refused to speak to her or anyone other than the new leaders of the city.


    Apparently, the city had been created to mine the ki-crystals that naturally developed here, and Nucai¡¯s only concern was that that effort continued. Thabil, Dax, and the other members of the new ¡®council¡¯ left their meeting with him looking very grim, and had immediately set about making sure that mining resumed in the abandoned level below. The miners weren¡¯t slaves any longer, of course, and they received plenty of food and comfortable housing in exchange for their service, but the council let it be known that if the mining ceased, the city would end, so they had no lack of volunteers, husede and kobold alike.


    Kaz pointed to the bowl in Lianhua¡¯s hands. ¡°Now that the mosui aren¡¯t spreading fresh fulan to keep everyone out, the kobolds have been able to burn most of it, at least on the city levels. Thabil even suggested we send gatherers above the mid-levels and gather fresh plants and live animals like fuergar in order to grow them here.¡±


    And that was very strange indeed. Food and water were limited resources almost everywhere in the mountain, and when an area ran out of those resources, kobolds simply moved. Over time, the plants, animals, and pools of water that formed naturally replenished, and in a generation or two, another kobold tribe could settle into the space again. The idea of bringing food in or intentionally trying to grow new patches of lichen and mushrooms was entirely outside of any kobold¡¯s experience.


    Here, however, the Diushi had created a system which drew fresh water up from the rivers that ran far beneath the Deep. That, along with the many caverns of extremely versatile yumi reeds and the all-important mines, meant that this city had and could continue to exist for centuries. They never needed to worry about running out of clean water, and in the tower, the building where Zhangwo and many of the mosui had lived, water could actually be drawn from a tube protruding through the wall in many rooms, so the residents didn¡¯t have to go fetch it when they needed some, which was a task that had occupied the days of many kobold pups throughout the years.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Lianhua eyed the bowl suspiciously, then lifted it to her nose and sniffed. Pleasure swept over her face, and Kaz heard her stomach rumble loudly. It was echoed by Li¡¯s, though he doubted the human female could hear it.


    In Kaz¡¯s mind, an image formed of the dragon eating Lianhua¡¯s meal. When the golden reptile finished swallowing the contents, she simply opened her mouth a bit wider, and ate the bowl as well. Kaz shook his head in response. Like most of the mosui¡¯s possessions, the metal bowl was encrusted with gems and a few chips of ki-crystal. Li actually seemed to get more nourishment from the little crystals than she did the food itself, though she enjoyed them both equally.


    Lianhua sighed again, then pushed aside a stack of scrolls with none of the reverence she usually showed for anything with runes carved, written, or painted on it. She noted his look of shock as she settled the bowl back in front of her and laughed.


    ¡°Those are records of the crystals taken from the mine several hundred years ago. Weights, impurities, and quantities of each type. Other than the fact that red crystals are by far the most common, while blue is the least, it¡¯s not interesting, even to me.¡±


    Lifting a bite of stew to her mouth with a utensil carved from a large yumi reed, she blew on it gently and said, ¡°I should still feel guilty for abusing them, since some scholar after me might find value in them, but I just can¡¯t. There are so many of them, and they¡¯re enough to send the most intractable of insomniacs to sleep.¡±


    She ate two large bites, chewing each one thoroughly before swallowing, then burst out, ¡°Kaz, it¡¯s ridiculous! I know the Diushi came here after leaving Sheng, but there isn¡¯t a single shred of definitive evidence to prove it! The Diushi could just as easily have developed this city before the fall, and abandoned it like everything else. The mosui might have been here at the time, or they might have moved in soon after, and all I can tell is that the earliest records are from around a thousand years ago. The Diushi are never directly mentioned, and there¡¯s certainly not anything that says, ¡®We left our homeland because of a plague, or famine, or religious epiphany, and came to Shengsheng mountain in order to-¡¯ do whatever it is that an all-powerful civilization does when they vanish into the mists of time.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just go home with what you¡¯ve already learned?¡± Kaz asked. It seemed to him and Li that discovering this new city should be enough for Lianhua, and they were both eager to be away.


    Lianhua¡¯s gaze slid away, and she puffed a strand of hair away from her lips. ¡°Not good enough,¡± she muttered. ¡°I said I would prove the Diushi came here after the Fall. That¡¯s what my final project is based on, and it¡¯s what I promised my grandfather I would do.¡±


    Kaz sighed and scratched his muzzle. Absently, he reached out and picked up one of the wrinkled mushrooms left over from her previous meal and gave it to the dragon on his shoulder. After seeing his friend eat rocks, even ki-filled ones, he was no longer worried that something like a day-old mushroom would hurt her.


    ¡°What about Yingtao? Raff says she should have recovered by now.¡±


    This was a low blow. Lianhua was almost as worried about the last member of her party - a servant who had fallen sick and had to be left behind in Raff¡¯s homeland - as she was about finding the proof she needed. Lianhua and Yingtao were friends, rather than simply two people bound by tribe and history, and it was obvious that Lianhua wanted to get back to check on the other female.


    Lianhua¡¯s lips flattened, and her gaze slid away. ¡°Yingtao understands how important this is to me. If I don¡¯t¡­ We can¡¯t¡­ No, I need to do this, for both of us. Did Song Zexian let Guo Lin turn him from his task? No! Did Fan Qing give up when-¡±


    Kaz cut her off. Once Lianhua started referring to historical members of her race, she wouldn¡¯t stop until the subject was changed.


    ¡°You originally came here because you believed you might find your proof in the Deep,¡± he reminded her. ¡°You only came down through the mountain because the portal from Raff¡¯s land was closed.¡±


    That, too, was strange. Kaz was born in the Deep, the center of the kobold civilization, but his mother, Oda, never allowed him to go to the city. Instead, she kept him in their tribe¡¯s den, and Kaz had only seen the wonders of the Deep from a distance. He was still a puppy, not quite old enough to begin gathering plants with the older pups, when something had happened, and the tribe was split, part remaining behind, and part traveling upward through the mountain with Oda as their chief.


    But even as a puppy, Kaz had heard stories of humans. In fact, his den mother at the time - who was someone other than his aunt Rega, who took over after they fled the Deep - had often told the pups stories about the hairless, flat-faced beings who entered the Deep and traded with the kobolds. Occasionally, these strangers would explore deeper into the mountain, and those stories were invariably the most fascinating as well as the most violent of them all. Kobolds who became entangled with humans usually died a horrible death, but if they didn¡¯t, the humans would sometimes leave them with great riches when they departed.


    Of course, these were just stories to Kaz, because that den mother and his father, Ghazt, both told him that humans didn¡¯t come to the mountain any more. There was never any explanation of why this was true, just that it was, and Kaz had gotten the impression that whatever caused the change had happened so long ago that it was only a distant memory of a whispered story.


    Instead, according to the humans, the mountain had been closed not much more than fifteen years ago. Not many humans, even among Raff¡¯s people, had been interested in visiting what they considered a grim and primitive place inhabited by lesser beings, so it had taken some time for the change to be noticed, and even longer for the knowledge to become widespread.


    The news hadn¡¯t yet reached the distant land Lianhua, Chi Yincang, and their former companion, Gaoda, had come from. They had no idea that they wouldn¡¯t be able to simply enter the mountain and leave again within a few days or weeks. By the time they found out, they had already traveled for nearly a month, and Lianhua¡¯s friend Yingtao was very ill. They couldn¡¯t leave Yingtao behind and return home, as Gaoda suggested, but once they found someone who could help her, the healer said it would take weeks before she was ready to travel. Since they had to wait anyway, Lianhua had insisted upon hiring someone - who turned out to be Raff - to guide them to a rumored entrance near the peak of the mountain.


    There, they met Kaz, who had recently acquired Li¡¯s egg, and after the humans negotiated with Kaz¡¯s sister, Katri, Kaz led the humans down through the mountain toward the Deep. During their journey, Li hatched, and Kaz learned more about the peculiar power that dwelt in his core, accidentally opening his middle dantian and nearly killing himself in the process. Kaz met Nucai for the first time when that ancient being somehow reached out to him while he was trying to repair his damaged core. Nucai fixed the core for Kaz, saving his life and allowing him to begin the process of refining his body like the humans.


    A good bit of time had passed as Kaz thought and Lianhua ate slowly in order to avoid answering him. At last, however, she set down her utensil and sighed. ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted, ¡°I meant to go to the Deep, but now I have a whole city to go through. Surely the proof I need is somewhere here. I just need to keep looking until I find it.¡±


    Kaz shrugged, but his ears twitched, and it was his turn to have difficulty meeting her eyes. The truth was, he longed to be out of this place. The mosui were almost all gone, with only a few of the young ones remaining, and that only because Lianhua had begged the husede to spare them, but there were grim reminders of their existence everywhere, and it made him uncomfortable. Plus, so long as he stayed here-


    ¡°Kaz!¡± A sweet little yip of excitement came from behind him, and he flinched as he turned, already knowing what he would see.


    Sure enough, there in the doorway was a pretty kobold female, pure white fur dyed with the red patterns of the Redmanes, and her bright eyes fixed on him. On his shoulder, Li mantled, stretching out her neck and hissing at the female. He might have imagined it, but he almost thought a tiny wisp of smoke swirled up from one nostril as she did so.


    Kaz bowed slightly, ears flat and tail tucked, as he said, ¡°Oh. Fair howls, Elvi.¡±

 Chapter One hundred twenty-one

    Elvi smiled, plumed tail wagging gracefully. From the curve of her ears to the length of her snout, she was lovely, and the core in her abdomen spun with mingled gold and white power. She wasn¡¯t as strong as her sister, Etle, but she wasn¡¯t far off, either, and she had two colors of ki to Etle¡¯s one. She was also determined to make Kaz her mate, and he was equally determined to escape such a fate.


    Lianhua looked up, and the confusion in her eyes took a moment to clear. She had been so engrossed in her work that she barely noticed when the Redmane chief, Ehlan, arrived, along with her daughter. She was, however, very excited to hear that Kaz had been able to ¡®cure¡¯ Ehlan of fulan contamination, though that excitement faded significantly when he explained that he had had to mutilate the chief¡¯s core in order to do it.


    Finally, Lianhua tilted her head to the side and said, ¡°Ehlan¡¯s younger daughter, right?¡±


    Elvi nodded, though her eyes narrowed slightly. She wasn¡¯t used to being forgotten or dismissed. ¡°My mother sends greetings, Lianhua of the Long tribe,¡± she said, giving a small bow. ¡°She wondered if you would be free to speak with her today.¡±


    In kobold society, females held all the positions of power except for lead warrior. Because males, other than Kaz, didn¡¯t have cores, the females were more powerful, as well as necessary for many of the basic tasks required to live in a place as unforgiving as the mountain. A female selected her mate based on his physical strength, prowess in battle, and appearance, and apparently Elvi and her mother had decided that Kaz would make an appropriate mate for the young female.


    After Kaz healed Ehlan by cutting away the contaminated core she had eaten, leaving her own core damaged but functional, Ehlan had decided that the benefits of his abilities outweighed his oddity, and sent her warriors to bring him back from the mosui city. Of course, it helped that Gaoda had threatened to kill her and everyone in the den if they didn¡¯t show him how to get to the city, but she had chosen to send all of her remaining warriors at least in part because she wanted Kaz.


    When Kaz refused to return, and Ehlan realized that he was able to enforce that decision, she ventured down herself, leaving her older daughter, Etle, in charge of the tribe. Ehlan did, however, bring Elvi, and promptly announced to Kaz that Elvi would be his mate. Kaz refused this as well, which confused both females, and he had spent the two days since then avoiding Elvi, who still somehow managed to turn up anywhere he went.


    Lianhua smiled warmly at the young female, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she stood. ¡°I¡¯d love to see her,¡± she said graciously. ¡°I only got to spend a few moments with her when she arrived, since she was so tired from the journey. I hope she¡¯s feeling better now.¡±


    Elvi¡¯s fluffy ears flattened slightly, and she let out a soft whine. ¡°She is¡­ better. Not well yet, but her strength grows daily.¡±


    Kaz sighed internally. Physically, there was no reason Ehlan shouldn¡¯t recover fully, but he didn¡¯t know if it was possible for cores to heal on their own. Certainly his hadn¡¯t shown any sign of doing so after it broke, and it had only been six or seven days since he had sheared off a chunk of Ehlan¡¯s. Kaz doubted if Ehlan was still powerful enough to remain as chief, and he had no idea if she could recognize and admit her own weakness before it was discovered by someone who would take advantage of it.


    Li lifted a wing, preening the scales beneath it with great deliberation, but he could feel her satisfaction through the ki that linked their cycles. She didn¡¯t like anyone but him, not really, but she particularly disliked the two female kobolds, because they refused to listen when Kaz told them no. There were things she and Kaz wanted to do but couldn¡¯t because of the female constantly trailing him.


    Lianhua took a step toward the door, then hesitated, looking back at the stacks of scrolls, books, and loose pages on the left side of the room. These were piled haphazardly, mostly by size and shape, contrasting sharply with the neatly organized stacks that Lianhua had already gone through.


    ¡°I should-¡±


    ¡°Get cleaned up and go talk to Ehlan,¡± Kaz said firmly, stepping between Lianhua and the papers. Chi Yincang had made the effort of repeating this phrase to him, twice, in order to make sure Kaz would get it right. Given that Chi Yincang generally spoke fewer than a dozen words a day, unless he was being controlled by Lianhua¡¯s extremely powerful and protective grandfather, ¡®get cleaned up¡¯ must be very important.


    Lianhua flushed, and her hand rose to her hair again. For the first time, Kaz realized that the bottom side of her hand was stained black with ink, and more ink trailed up her arm until the streak ended at the edge of her robe.


    Lianhua, Gaoda, and Chi Yincang wore robes made of something called fuulong silk, which was practically impervious to damage and stains. The robes had saved Chi Yincang¡¯s life when Raff accidentally attacked him during their battle with Zhangwo, and they protected Lianhua when Zhangwo had struck her as well, reducing fatal damage to broken bones instead. Now, the lustrous white and purple colors of Lianhua¡¯s sleeve remained pure and unblemished by ink.


    With an awkward chuckle, Lianhua nodded. ¡°I should take a bath as well.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail began to sway. The fight with Zhangwo and the events leading up to it left him filthy as well. He was covered in black, stinking fluid from the storage level, as well as Thabil and Lianhua¡¯s blood and his own cast-off fur. While Chi Yincang tended to Lianhua after the battle, Thabil¡¯s son, Qiyi, took Kaz to bathe. To Kaz¡¯s pleasure, he found that the husede had deep pools filled with warm water that they cleansed themselves in. Chi Yincang hadn¡¯t yet learned this, so he had warmed water for Lianhua to wipe herself down with, and the human female hadn¡¯t taken time to wash herself properly since.


    Turning away, Kaz motioned to Lianhua. When Elvi started to follow, he stopped in mid step, gave her a small, respectful bow, and said, ¡°Lianhua wishes to present herself to your chief with honor. She needs some time to prepare.¡±


    On his shoulder, Li opened her mouth, yawning ostentatiously as her forked tongue curled out, protruding toward the female kobold. Elvi¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, but she took a step back, moving out of the doorway.


    ¡°Well enough,¡± she said, none of the irritation in her eyes seeping into her voice. ¡°Any Redmane can lead you to Ehlan. Or I can wait?¡±


    Lianhua looked from Elvi to Kaz and frowned slightly, then shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll be a while, I think.¡± She plucked delicately at her hair. ¡°We¡¯ll find a member of your tribe when we¡¯re ready.¡±


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    Elvi nodded, turned, and stalked off, her ears twitching in frustration.


    Kaz waited until she had gone around the corner, then stepped to the door, looking directly at the blur of black and white ki that was Chi Yincang. After a moment, the human stepped from a shadow that hadn¡¯t been there a moment before, and stood, watching Kaz. If he was upset that Kaz had revealed his presence, he didn¡¯t show it.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take Lianhua to wash, and we need to talk. I¡¯ll make sure she¡¯s safe,¡± Kaz said.


    One corner of Chi Yincang¡¯s lips turned up slightly, but he only nodded and vanished again. Turning back to Lianhua, Kaz tapped the rune he¡¯d drawn, which hung in the air between them like chalk scratches on stone. As he poured ki into it, it lit up from within, pale luminescence changing to brilliant coruscation. He used more ki than he needed, but his dantians were full, and he wanted to be sure they weren¡¯t overheard.


    Lianhua stared at the spot Kaz was touching, then rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Muttering something under her breath, she blinked twice, then smiled awkwardly. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to talk, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Kaz nodded, but let his tail wag gently. He had been angry and frightened when he realized that Lianhua had taken Li down the hidden stairs in the Redmane den, especially because they had just talked about what a bad idea that was. Enough had happened since then that he no longer felt so betrayed, but he still wanted to hear her side of the story, and while he knew she was genuinely hunting for the evidence she sought, he also felt like she was avoiding him.


    He led the human down the hall, which was quite familiar to him by now. Each of them had been assigned what Thabil called ¡®suites¡¯ on the husede level, which was one Kaz had managed to skip while searching for Li and Lianhua. These suites seemed to be a group of three rooms with only one occupant. Compared to everything else that had happened recently, this idea of multiple rooms inside a home was odd, but didn¡¯t even make Kaz blink. He wasn¡¯t sure how the city hadn¡¯t run out of room if everyone had so much space, but among the many strangers surrounding him, Kaz was glad to have privacy.


    Each suite, including Lianhua¡¯s, had a small, capped opening in the wall of one room. When the cap was removed, cool, fresh water would pour forth, which could be drunk or used for cleaning, but there wasn¡¯t a container large enough for the kind of bath Lianhua enjoyed. Every time they stopped in a kobold den, it seemed that the human was compelled to cleanse herself far more thoroughly than a kobold would.


    After one more turn, Kaz saw the symbol he was looking for. This rune was very similar to the one for ¡®water¡¯, which his sister Katri had taught him. In the mosui city, he had learned another one, which represented the wide, shallow pools of water where yumi reeds grew. Now he knew this third one, distinctly similar to the first two, but with a swoop the first lacked, and a dot he would have thought was simply misplaced if he didn¡¯t know that every part of the mark held meaning.


    Lianhua stopped, looking at the door, which was made of pressed layers of woven yumi reeds. Her face lit up in recognition.


    ¡°Baths!¡± she exclaimed.


    Kaz¡¯s ear twitched in amusement. Of course Lianhua would know what the rune meant without him telling her. ¡°Yes,¡± he agreed. ¡°Raff says they¡¯re ¡®communal¡¯, which means everyone uses them. There are even husede here who will help you wash, and take care of your clothes.¡±


    The human female looked absolutely thrilled, and pushed through the door, releasing a cloud of warm steam scented with sweet fluid pressed from the ubiquitous yumi plants. Kaz followed behind, seeing that two gray-skinned husede females were already helping Lianhua with her robe. When they saw Kaz, they paused, then bowed deeply, something he still wasn¡¯t accustomed to.


    Hesitantly, he dipped his chin in acknowledgement, and a male husede stepped out of the hanging mists. Kaz had seen him there, his presence revealed by the smoky mass of gray mana inside his body, but it was still slightly disturbing. He spent a few frightening days passing through levels filled with fulan spores, and though the red dust that hung heavy there was nothing like this sweet-smelling steam, the dark, foggy room still made him slightly uncomfortable.


    The male husede held out his hand, indicating Kaz¡¯s loincloth. In his other hand, he held a wide piece of the cloth woven from niu fur that nearly all the husede wore, and most of the kobolds had adopted as well. Kaz hesitated, not because he was worried about removing his clothing, which was made of fuulong silk that Lianhua had given him, but because he didn¡¯t want to give up his belt and pack.


    Quickly, Kaz unwound his loincloth, and replaced it with the niu-fur cloth, which wasn¡¯t quite long enough to wrap around him properly. He held onto the rest of his items, however, in spite of the look the husede gave him. He had come here with Raff once, and the male had explained that people were supposed to leave their items with the attendants, not only so they could be cleaned and repaired, but also so they wouldn¡¯t contaminate the water.


    Kaz¡¯s status as the kobold who freed their race was enough to keep the husede from protesting, however, and they were all soon distracted by Lianhua, who handed over her own pouch with the ease of someone who had done this many times before. The towel she was given was larger, and she went behind a yumi-reed screen in order to change, but soon enough the two of them were ushered into another room, containing a pool at least ten feet in diameter.


    There, two more husede waited, and Kaz and Lianhua sat on low stools as basins of water were poured over their heads, rinsing off the surface dirt and a great deal more of Kaz¡¯s old, bleached gray fur. Each time he bathed, more came off, and if he hadn¡¯t seen the short blue fuzz coming in beneath it, he would have worried that he would soon be as furless as the humans.


    As Kaz and Lianhua had their fur and skin brushed and scrubbed, Li jumped off of Kaz¡¯s shoulder. She barely bothered with the fiction that she was a rodent-like fuergar anymore, though he supposed that the short glide to the pool could have been interpreted as a particularly long jump. She fell in with a plunk, and dived to the bottom before coming back up, gleefully splashing water into the air. She was quite adept at swimming by now, so Kaz didn¡¯t bother watching her as the husede finished with him. He still wasn¡¯t comfortable being touched, especially by strangers, but it was somehow better that the person touching him wasn¡¯t a kobold, so he didn¡¯t struggle.


    When Kaz and Lianhua had both been washed, brushed, and oiled, the two husede bowed deeply and exited the room. Lianhua¡¯s eyes had begun to droop about halfway through the process, but now she stood and walked over to the pool, where Li was still paddling around, using her wings to flick glittering sprays of water into the air.


    Lianhua sat down, lifting her hair away from her neck, and Kaz saw the wide, raised stripes of scars running from her hairline almost down to her shoulder. She was only alive because the collar she¡¯d been wearing when Zhangwo struck her kept the blow from tearing out her jugular, and Kaz reminded himself that whatever mistakes she had made, all was well now, and she had already more than paid for them.

 Chapter One hundred twenty-two

    Kaz slipped into the water not far from where Li was splashing, and soon the dragon made her way over to him, using him like a stone in a pool. Climbing up onto his shoulder, she slithered back into the water as if she¡¯d fallen by accident, thrashing until he scooped her up and put her back onto his shoulder. Next, she clambered up to the top of his head and jumped off, gliding a few feet before plummeting into the water with a splash that made him sneeze when droplets got in his nose.


    Lianhua laughed, finally lowering herself into the water, where she sank up to her neck, steam nearly obscuring her face as she finally said, ¡°Kaz, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Li, who had just made her way back to Kaz¡¯s shoulder, hissed softly, and another soft laugh came from the mist.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to you, too, Li,¡± Lianhua said, and sighed. Tilting her head back to rest against the side of the pool, she went on. ¡°I promised I would wait until it was safer to investigate the mosui, and I meant it. I swear I did. I admit I was considering telling the others about the stairs and trying to prod Gaoda into going down in spite of the danger, but at least we would all have been together, and-¡±


    Water rippled as she shifted uncomfortably, then slipped down another few inches, until her chin touched the surface. ¡°We just promised to help each other, and I should have told you what I was thinking. I should have trusted that you would do your best to help me. And then, when Li became so tired after we reached the map, I should have been patient until she recovered, or tried to sneak back alone. I really thought it would be safer to hide on the other side, and since you opened it, too, I knew that wouldn¡¯t trigger any traps or alarms.¡±


    She sat up a little straighter, steam curling away from her as she did. ¡°But there wasn¡¯t anything there. No carvings of a city, nothing that looked like humans, no Diushi runes, just¡­ stairs. And I was so frustrated. So I went down a few steps.¡±


    Li hissed softly from across the pool, and Lianhua shook her head.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I went down a lot of steps. Li tried to get me to go back. She tried to fly, but she was still too weak. I definitely should have turned back when I saw the fulan, but by then I wanted to know what was down there. What if the stairs ended in the ruins? What if I was only fifty or a hundred steps from the proof I needed?¡±


    Another sigh, and Lianhua admitted, ¡°I used the shield rune and went on. Li and I were safe, and I was going to stop at the bottom, so I wasn¡¯t really being foolish, was I? And then I heard something. I wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but it sounded a little like a kobold, and a little like a child, and I thought, what if someone came down here and got hurt? I can just go find them, and bring them back to the den. So when I got to the bottom of the stairs, I didn¡¯t stop after all.¡±


    Stretching out her arms, she waved them slowly through the water, creating gentle waves that sent ripples through the entire pool. ¡°And then I fell in that stupid pit. Like an idiot. Li almost got free, but they put some kind of soporific dust in it, and when she flew out of my shield, she breathed it in. The kobold who came down to look at me was going to-¡±


    She shuddered, and Kaz could feel the movement in the water from where he sat.


    ¡°Kaz, he was going to kill and eat her. By the time I realized what was going on, and that they weren¡¯t there to help me, there was already a collar around my neck and he was standing there with a knife pointed at her heart, and I couldn¡¯t do anything. I tried, and the collar burned me.¡±


    Her voice dropped to a whisper.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so much pain, but I pushed him away, grabbed Li, and I held onto her until it stopped. Then I told the mosui that I would do anything they wanted, as long as they left her alone. That was when they put her in the box.¡±


    Kaz thought back to his own encounter with the mosui, and didn¡¯t remember seeing anything as conspicuous as a ki-crystal encrusted box large enough to hold even a very small dragon. Perhaps there was only one, and since Li was in it, it hadn¡¯t been available when the mosui went back out? It also seemed that different kobolds were used each time, since he was certain Dax would have told him if he¡¯d picked Lianhua up as well.


    ¡°We were brought to the city,¡± Lianhua went on, sounding awed. ¡°Oh, Kaz, I¡¯ve never seen anything so magnificent. It was everything I could possibly have hoped for. A real Diushi city, down to the vertical emphasis, circular windows, and perfect bilateral symmetry. On our journey here, I visited a few ruins, as well as two extant cities that were built on Diushi foundations, but this one¡­ It was like I might see a Diushi citizen wander out of one of the arched doorways at any moment.¡±


    She groaned, sinking back down. ¡°But of course I didn¡¯t. Instead, they brought us to the tower, and we were supposed to be taken directly to Zhangwo, but Yanshu saw me first. She liked that my hair matched her fur. Did you know the mosui would select kobolds to serve them based on their fur color?¡±


    Lianhua sounded horrified and indignant, and Kaz smiled to himself, because this was the Lianhua he knew: a female who was angry on behalf of kobolds she would probably never even meet. He gently stroked Li, who was coiled around his neck again. The dragon had finally managed to get warm enough, and now only her tail dipped languidly in the water.


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    ¡°Yanshu told them I was hers now,¡± Lianhua went on, ¡°and the mosui who brought me in couldn¡¯t contradict her, because she outranked him. Someone must have gone to tell Zhangwo, though, because soon a husede came and told her that her grandfather would allow her to play with me for a little while, while he was trying to find a cored beast who had entered the level.¡±


    Kaz and Lianhua looked at Li, who clicked a sleepy inquiry in response. They both knew exactly who that ¡®beast¡¯ was, and it was horrifying to realize that Zhangwo had had some way to tell she was there. If Lianhua had managed to tweak Gaoda¡¯s pride enough to get him to go down the stairs, which would have been easy enough to do, would they have found themselves confronted by Zhangwo himself? Had the mosui leader known when Kaz himself arrived?


    A long silence lay between them, and then Lianhua splashed her face with water before climbing back out of the pool. Her usually pale skin was deep red above and below the cloth she wore, and Kaz quickly followed suit. His refinement kept him from feeling heat and cold as much as he used to, but it was still uncomfortable to be too hot for too long.


    Lianhua reached up and removed the carved yumi reed that held her hair up, and it cascaded down, wet strands sticking to her arms and back. The hair was so long it reached to her thighs, and for a moment, Kaz wanted to reach out and touch it. It looked soft and inviting, and he wondered if this feeling was why Lianhua seemed comforted when she petted his fur.


    ¡°After that-'''' Lianhua wrapped her arms around herself, staring into the swirling steam. ¡°I was Yanshu¡¯s pet for a day. Every time I asked if I could let Li out, she would give me something else to do, and if I hesitated for even a moment, she would use the collar. Eventually, I heard scratching from the box, and knew Li was awake, and trying to get out, and I¡­ convinced Yanshu to feed both of us.¡±


    Her eyes slid away, then back to meet Kaz¡¯s gaze. ¡°It was the same thing they keep bringing me now: mushrooms and some kind of steamed larvae. Food has never been particularly important to me, and I always thought it wouldn¡¯t matter that wandering scholars have to eat whatever the indigenous people prepare, but I don¡¯t think I can ever eat bugs again.¡±


    She shuddered, then asked, ¡°Did you get my message? When I fed Li, I tried to tell you to get Chi Yincang and the others, but I didn¡¯t know if you could hear. You said you could see what Li did, but maybe it was too far, or the image isn¡¯t that clear, or-¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± he told her, breaking his silence for the first time. He saw her shoulders relax at the calm tone of his voice.


    ¡°I was already here by then, though,¡± he admitted. ¡°I was only a few hours behind you, but it took a very long time to find you.¡±


    She knew he¡¯d been taken to the mines because he¡¯d introduced Dax, and his pups, Eld and Nogz, who¡¯d been working in the yumi pools. Dax was part of the ¡®council¡¯ that now controlled the city, a fact which also confused Ehlan, who had tried giving him commands much as she had Kaz. Ehlan didn¡¯t seem like a bad leader, not given how much her mate and tribe respected her, but she was very much like Oda in the way she treated anyone who wasn¡¯t one of her people.


    Lianhua nodded, looking relieved. ¡°Then you know what happened after that. Zhangwo must have realized that the creature he was looking for was the one who came in with his granddaughter¡¯s new toy, and he sent for Li. By then, Yanshu thought she¡¯d broken me, so I managed to knock the box over and smash the lock before she got her control device out again. Li escaped, and more husede came to take me away. Eventually, you rescued me.¡±


    It had been a bit more complicated than that, and Lianhua had suffered quite a bit at the hands of the mosui, but it was clear that the human didn¡¯t want to talk about it any longer, so Kaz simply asked, ¡°Do you trust me?¡±


    Lianhua had fixed the smile she used when she was trying to placate someone onto her face, but now it froze. Her amethyst eyes jerked back to Kaz, and she said, ¡°Of course! Kaz, you saved my life!¡±


    He nodded, but his tail was tucked. This was the hard part. ¡°Lianhua, do you trust me to help you find the Diushi? To keep you safe in the mountain, at least as well as I can?¡±


    She opened her mouth, then closed it and nodded.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°Then you can¡¯t ever do that again. If you don¡¯t like what I tell you, you have to talk to me about it, not go off on your own. Not even just ¡®through the door¡¯ or ¡®down the stairs¡¯. When we leave the mountain, if you still want me to go with you-¡±


    She nodded so vigorously the steam cleared away from her face for a moment.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to depend on you the same way you need to depend on me here. We have to trust each other enough to say the bad things, not just the good.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s fists clenched at her sides, and she nodded sharply. Her eyes stared into his as she said, ¡°I promise. Not a ki-vow, but just words, from me to you. I promise that I¡¯ll tell you if I don¡¯t agree with something you said.¡±


    ¡°Or if I make you angry, or insult you without realizing I did,¡± he insisted. ¡°And I¡¯ll do the same. I won¡¯t just swallow my feelings any more, or try not to offend anyone, ever.¡± Feeling his deep uneasiness at this declaration, Li wound down into his arms, which came up to support her without thinking about it. He began to stroke her long neck, and it vibrated beneath his fingers as she started to purr.


    Lianhua nodded, hands relaxing at her sides. ¡°There¡¯s only ever been one person I could talk to like that,¡± she said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even tell my grandmother some things, because she might tell Grandfather, who always tried to fix everything, whether I wanted him to or not.¡±


    That was very different from the reason Kaz had learned to hide who he was, and what he thought and felt. It was strangely amusing to find that being loved too much and too little led to the same result.


    Kaz nodded, shifting Li to the crook of his left arm. She was almost too large to hold with only one arm now, but she wrapped her tail around his bicep and clung there stubbornly.


    ¡°Good,¡± he said, bending down to pick up his extremely full pack. ¡°Then I have a few things to show you.¡±

 Chapter One hundred twenty-three

    During his journey through the levels controlled by the mosui, Kaz had picked up a few things, and now he laid them out in front of Lianhua. One after another, he pulled out one mithril ingot, one ingot of adamantium, a small container covered in delicate metal filigree, a short, squat scroll that glowed deep blue and gold in his ki-sight, a single red crystal half the size of his head, a gleaming white hoyi egg, a simple pouch made of some unfamiliar fabric, three rings, another pouch, this one leather and bulging, and, at last, six halves making up three slave collars.


    Lianhua, who had watched, fascinated, right up until the end, drew away from the collars. She tucked her hands behind her, as if that would keep the innocent-seeming things from leaping into her grasp.


    ¡°What are you doing with those?¡± she demanded, voice a little too high. ¡°I thought they decided to destroy them all.¡±


    He huffed a little laugh and peered at the set before picking a particular one up. ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± he told her. ¡°But they tried to offer me all kinds of things as a reward for killing Zhangwo, and I exchanged them for a promise that they would destroy every last collar, and all of the control wands. They wanted to collar the last of the mosui, and then a few of their own people who had helped the mosui more than others, and then some kobolds who had taken advantage of the fact that the mosui didn¡¯t care what their captives did so long as the work got done.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s lips formed an ¡®o¡¯ of realization, but she didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t need anything from them.¡± He grinned, indicating the neat row in front of him. ¡°Nothing I didn¡¯t already take. I¡¯d rather they don¡¯t know what I have, anyway.¡±


    ¡°So you told them you only wanted the collars gone?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°The husede are too used to the collars, even though they were made by someone else originally. I thought if they still had them, they¡¯d just keep finding more reasons to use them on more different people, and pretty soon, they might become just as bad as the mosui. They kept offering me crystals and more ingots, but I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m going to do with the ones I already have, so I asked for the collars instead.¡±


    ¡°Are these the last ones, then?¡± Lianhua asked, finally pulling her hands from behind her back, though she didn¡¯t accept the collar piece Kaz held out toward her.


    ¡°I guess a lot of them were destroyed before, when the place they were stored caught on fire.¡± Which was also at least partially his fault, but he didn¡¯t feel the need to mention that. ¡°I didn¡¯t keep a control device, but these work with ki, so I thought they might be useful to study. Plus, this one saved your life.¡±


    Turning the half-circle, he showed her the small gouges where Zhangwo¡¯s claws had been stopped by the extremely hard metal. There were still flakes of dried blood in the little divots, and Lianhua stared at them before unconsciously reaching up to touch the faint scars on the back of her neck.


    ¡°There are records indicating that the Diushi used slaves, or perhaps indentured servants,¡± Lianhua admitted. ¡°It was rare, but when someone committed a crime, they sometimes had to serve the state or the people they wronged for some period of time. We don¡¯t - didn¡¯t - know how that was enforced, since the perpetrators were often cultivators, and keeping cultivators confined is nearly impossible, much less convincing them to humble themselves day after day.¡±


    Looking down at the collar, Kaz said, ¡°This takes all five kinds of ki to unlock, and Thabil said that mana, at least, has a ¡®signature¡¯, something that identifies who it belongs to. I was able to unlock these, so I don¡¯t think they need any particular person, but I was curious-¡±


    He picked up the other half of Lianhua¡¯s collar and clicked it together. Seeing her wince at the soft sound, he twitched his ears apologetically, but held out the circle toward her.


    ¡°Would you put your ki in here? Just a little. You don¡¯t have red, so I think it should be safe.¡±


    Slowly, looking equally fascinated and repelled, Lianhua stretched out a finger. With a tap, she passed a tiny amount of her gold, blue, and black ki into the collar. It glowed softly, but didn¡¯t heat up, so Kaz gently nudged Li, who was staring at the huge red crystal he¡¯d laid on the ground with an avaricious gleam in her eye.


    Li gave Kaz a calculating glance, then gave up on the crystal, at least for now. She sent white ki into the collar, and Kaz followed it with a minute burst of red power. Beneath his fingers, the metal began to heat, but it didn¡¯t click open. Kaz drew the collar back, and the two females ceased infusing it with ki. When it stopped glowing completely, the ki inside diffusing into a harmless gray mist of mana that vanished into the air, Kaz pushed all five colors into it by himself. The collar quietly snicked apart, one half falling to the ground with a sweet chime.


    Now Lianhua¡¯s scholarly interest began to overcome her distaste, and she reached out for the fallen piece, but snatched her hand back just before she touched it. Then, with a deep breath and a glance at Kaz, she picked it up, gripping it firmly as she turned it over, examining every side.


    Stroking her finger over the perfectly smooth ends, she murmured, ¡°There¡¯s no lock. No mechanism of any kind. And it only opened when one person provided all the ki.¡± Her brow furrowed. ¡°What does that mean, though?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. That¡¯s why I wanted to keep one. You said it was very rare for anyone to have all five colors of ki, and as far as I could tell, Zhangwo didn¡¯t have any at all. He used mana, and his rings converted it to ki when he needed it.¡±


    He set the half-collar down, and Lianhua did the same with the piece she held, her fingers moving away with the relief of someone who had accidentally gathered duyu when they meant to pick yumao, and were just glad it hadn¡¯t poisoned them before they realized their mistake.


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    There was far more interest in Lianhua¡¯s gaze as she turned to look at the rings. ¡°Were these his?¡±


    Kaz twitched guiltily, then scratched his muzzle, glancing away. ¡°They all belonged to him, yes, but this one,¡± he indicated a silvery one with a simple blue stone inset in the band, ¡°was in the alcove when I grabbed your pouch. It was probably too small for him.¡±


    Next, he pointed to a golden one encircled by moonstones, obsidian, sapphires, rubies, and topaz, the pattern repeated three times in order to reach all the way around. ¡°There wasn¡¯t actually much left of him, but I was able to sniff out a few pieces. This was on one of his thumbs, I think.¡±


    The third ring was far less ostentatious than the second, but not as simple as the first. It, too, was golden, which seemed to be Zhangwo¡¯s preferred metal, but it only had three gems; one smoothly rounded obsidian, an equally smooth chrysoberyl, and a large, faceted sapphire set neatly in between. The band itself was delicately carved, though the edges of the carvings were worn down by use and time.


    ¡°This was on the pinky of the same hand. The other rings were all melted and broken, but these two survived,¡± he told her.


    He had half expected Lianhua to look as disgusted by the rings as she had by the collars, since she seemed to find death in all its forms distasteful. To his surprise, she showed no hesitation when she reached out to pick up the three rings.


    First, she examined each one carefully, then she slipped the gaudy one over her thumb, where it hung loosely. With a small smile, she placed it back on the ground, then nudged it a little further away when she saw Li¡¯s fascinated eyes track the motion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that one is, though I can sense its power,¡± she told Kaz. ¡°I took a course in studying artifacts, but I was far more interested in preserving and translating written works. When we get to a human city, you can ask a crafter, and they might be able to help you figure out what it does.¡±


    Kaz just nodded again, but he had already played with the ring a bit. The stones lit up when he pushed ki into them, but the power quickly dissipated back into the gray fog of mana. It was still an effort to compress and weave ki into mana, but he had managed a little, and when he fed it into the rings, the stones drank it down greedily, quickly refining it back into the ki he had originally used to create the mana.


    There was noticeably less pure ki in the end than he had started with, so the process was inefficient, but so long as all five kinds of ki were mingled into the mana offered to the ring, it refined that mana back to ki, which could be useful for almost anyone who wasn¡¯t Kaz. Kaz had a suspicion that this ring, or something like it, would allow a mana-bearer to use ki, and would probably serve quite well to do things like opening ki-locked collars, though he hadn¡¯t actually tested that yet. He didn¡¯t want to lie to Lianhua about not having a control device for the collars, and so long as he didn¡¯t know for sure that this ring could be used for that, he wasn¡¯t.


    Lianhua had already turned her attention to the three-stone ring, and she was peering closely at the faded carvings. After a moment, she summoned a bright, clear orb of light, which flared with painful brilliance as she used it to examine the markings.


    Absently, she reached for her waist, then stopped when she remembered she¡¯d left her pouch with the rest of her clothes. This also served to remind her that she was wearing only a very large towel, and she¡¯d just created a light that chased away the concealing darkness and steam. Flushing, she banished her light and set the ring down with a click.


    ¡°The runes are definitely Diushi,¡± she said, ignoring the deep red color that was threatening to overtake her face. ¡°And I¡¯d say early first century, at that. Over time, as more and more countries were absorbed into the empire, there was a good deal of natural language transfer. The Diushi insisted that all official events and documents be in their language, but people retained their original oral and written language as well, leading to a dilution of-¡±


    Li yawned, her tongue flickering out to taste the perfumed mists, and Lianhua stopped, then tugged at the top edge of her towel uncomfortably.


    ¡°Yes,¡± the human female said, ¡°well, you can tell the age of the runes by the change in graphemes, subtle as they are. This is quite worn, but the height of the ascenders and the width of the vertical stems tells me it¡¯s very early Diushi. I see the runes for water, wood, and earth, which isn¡¯t surprising given the color of the gems, but here,¡± she turned the ring to show the inside of the band, directly across from the stones, ¡°you see the rune ¡®shu¡¯, which usually refers to books, or something written. I¡¯ve certainly seen these in conjunction before, but only in larger works, with a greater variety of-¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail swept gently across the floor behind him. ¡°You can have it,¡± he told her.


    Startled, she looked up, but her fingers were already closing around the band. ¡°But Kaz-¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°It has your colors on it, and I don¡¯t need it. Among kobolds, if a member of a tribe finds something unusual, it goes to the tribe member who can use it for the good of the group.¡± Or the chief, he thought but didn¡¯t say, as Lianhua smiled and slipped the ring on her forefinger. It was a little loose, so she shifted it to her thumb, where it sat as snugly as if it was made for her.


    Li hissed her displeasure at Kaz giving away something that could just as easily have been fed to the dragon if he really didn¡¯t want it. Kaz shook his head and reached out, upending the larger of the two pouches, which was full to bulging. Crystals spilled across the ground, a glittering cascade of black, white, yellow, and blue.


    The dragon¡¯s head spun as she stared up at him incredulously, and Kaz took great satisfaction at managing to surprise her. She had been so distracted by tracking Lianhua and making sure no one noticed her that she hadn¡¯t paid any attention when he darted back into the level where the yumi reeds were processed.


    He had found a yellow crystal in a passage on that level, and once he found the stairs, he realized that he might never have another chance to get more crystals. Li had already eaten several red crystals by then, and he could feel how they filled an empty space in her belly that all the meat he¡¯d given her hadn¡¯t touched. He just couldn¡¯t miss the chance to get more of the stones, especially since the husede were off fighting the fire he had inadvertently started on the previous level.


    Down the passage, he had found literal piles of red crystals, neatly sorted by size and some ineffable quality that he didn¡¯t quite understand, but next to those, in small bowls, were these stones. There weren¡¯t many of each color, but he threw them all into his pack before racing back to the stairs.


    Picking up a medium-sized yellow one, he handed it to the dragon, who snatched it greedily with her clawed feet, shoving it into her mouth. It was nearly too large for her to swallow, but somehow she managed, and both Kaz and Lianhua winced as they watched the solid object travel down the long, slim throat.


    Once the last trace of the crystal worked its way into Li¡¯s stomach, she opened her mouth for another, but Kaz shook his head. ¡°These are for you, so you can take your time. I think it¡¯s better to only eat one at a time, and let your body process it.¡±


    Sure enough, a flush of golden ki was expanding from the dragon¡¯s core, and Kaz felt the warmth of it trickle through their bond. He knew the single stone had sated her hunger, but she still held out her paws, waggling the fingers impatiently.


    Sighing in fond exasperation, Kaz gave her the smallest yellow, then began putting the rest of the crystals back in the pouch. There were at least three dozen, and while yellow was the most common, there were some of every color, including blue. He could keep her happy and healthy for a while if he waited until she was actually hungry, though he suspected she¡¯d have at least one more growth spurt as a result.

 Chapter One hundred twenty-four

    The last of the rings was the only one Kaz was really interested in, and now he picked it up. It was a simple, wide silver band, thick enough that the top of the inset stone was flush with the metal surface. The gem itself was a rich blue, a few shades darker than Kaz¡¯s fur, and the bottom tip of the cut end just protruded through the inner surface of the ring, so when he held it up to a light, the stone shone deep azure, but when it was on his finger, it only caught stray glimmers of light, appearing almost black.


    He slipped it onto the middle finger of his left hand, where it fit perfectly, then took it off again and handed it to Lianhua. The human turned it over a few times, smiling as she realized that the half-hidden stone was meant to be held up to the light. As he¡¯d hoped, she created a small ki orb, this time far smaller than the first, and held the gem up to it, admiring the cerulean gleam.


    Kaz motioned for her to look more closely, and her brows lifted, but she did so, leaning forward to peer through the stone. Kaz waited, tail twitching, until she turned it just right and gasped, before letting out a yip of laughter.


    ¡°Is that¡­ a rune? My rune?¡± Lianhua asked, staring from the ring to her ki orb in fascination. The rune inside the stone was miniscule, and Kaz doubted anyone who hadn¡¯t at least started refining their eyes would be able to see it as anything except a blotch in the otherwise perfect stone.


    Kaz nodded, and now his tail began to wag in earnest. ¡°It shows runes for almost anything you look at that has ki in it. I was using the light of a red crystal to examine it, and when I looked through the gem, I saw a strange rune directly over the crystal itself. At first, I thought the rune had been carved inside the gem somehow, but no matter how I moved it, the rune was directly over the ki-crystal. Then I thought to look at one of these others,¡± he gestured to the bulging bag, ¡°and realized that each color of crystal caused a different rune to appear. So, of course, I made my own light.¡±


    He drew a quick rune in the air and filled it with ki, the warm, flickering glow of fire pushing the steam aside. Lianhua turned the ring toward it and gasped softly. Shifting, she pointed the gem toward Li, then Kaz, and even through the hovering fog, he could see that she grew a shade paler.


    Silently, she dismissed her ki orb and handed the ring back to him with fingers that shook slightly. All his amusement fled as she said softly, ¡°Kaz, what do you think this ring is for?¡±


    He gave a half-hearted shrug, now slightly worried. ¡°Training? You said once that your sects have tools to identify what kind of ki a student can use, so they know the best way to teach them. I thought this might be one of those. Or maybe it¡¯s to help people learn the runes? I know all the ones for the various colors of ki now, though they change a little depending on what I look at, and if the person or object has more than one kind of ki, it shows something completely different, depending on the combination.¡±


    Linahua shook her head. Picking up one of the reeds she had removed from her wet hair, she began winding the long, damp strands back up, as if she needed something to do with her hands.


    ¡°When I looked at my ki-light, that¡¯s exactly what I saw,¡± she told him, pinning one coil of hair with a practiced stab. ¡°The rune was the original Diushi symbol for ¡®Life¡¯, with the bars indicating ¡®Triple¡¯. The modern version is simpler, but if a scholar looked at it, they would immediately know what my ki elements are.¡±


    Twisting the other half of her hair, she pinned it on top of the first, creating an elegant style spoiled only by the fact that it was slightly lopsided and had small loops and tendrils protruding from it, which was far from her usual tidy appearance.


    ¡°What do you think I saw when I looked at Li?¡± she asked, turning awed eyes on the little dragon, who preened beneath the look.


    Kaz tilted his head, ears perked with interest. ¡°Not ¡®dragon¡¯, then? I wondered, because you showed me that rune once, and it looks very similar.¡±


    Lianhua gave a small snort of laughter, but shook her head. ¡°The two runes are very close, and for a long time, scholars thought that ¡®dragon¡¯ meant something very different, which is why they were confused when some of our oldest scrolls said they were eating people and destroying villages. No, Li¡¯s rune is ¡®Divine.¡¯ She¡¯s exactly what I once suggested you might be; a divine beast.¡±


    Li gave a hissing click, unsure if she was being complimented or insulted, and Lianhua laughed again, color returning to her cheeks. ¡°The term just means that the creature started out as a beast, not that they still are one,¡± Lianhua reassured the dragon. ¡°In fact, divine beasts are more feared and respected than any common cultivator, and are very powerful. Many of them are also quite old and wise, so a cultivator will sometimes go on a quest to find one and ask their advice about what to do to restart their cultivation when it stalls.¡±


    Her lips twitched. ¡°It is something of a last resort, because most divine beasts are at least as likely to eat you as to aid you, so taking them an exquisite or rare gift is highly recommended.¡±


    Li settled back, looking pleased, then turned an accusatory gaze on Kaz.


    He held up his hands in a placatory gesture. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything like that to give you.¡±


    Her golden gaze turned to the gem-encrusted ring lying on the stone between Kaz and Lianhua, and Kaz shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll get the ki-crystals, I promise, but leave the other things alone. We don¡¯t know everything they do yet, and while feeding them to you wouldn¡¯t be a waste, exactly-¡±


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    She hissed, and he stroked her head, gently scratching the itchy place right behind her budding horns that she always had trouble reaching. ¡°I¡¯ll find you a hundred treasures to eat, I promise. Or you can eat me, if you decide they¡¯re not good enough.¡±


    She sent him an image of a golden dragon chomping on a blue kobold, then spitting him out again, followed by a dramatic performance of cleaning her mouth out as if she¡¯d bitten into something foul.


    Kaz laughed. ¡°Then I guess I¡¯m safe, at least as long as I make sure you don¡¯t get too hungry.¡±


    Li hissed softly, but seemed satisfied enough with this.


    Across from them, Lianhua shook her head, quietly mumbling, ¡°I will never get used to that.¡± Then, growing serious again, she asked, ¡°What do you think I saw when I looked at you, Kaz?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. He held up his hand, looking down at the ring. ¡°I know it¡¯s different from Li¡¯s rune. Simple.¡± He sketched it in the air. A single stroke up, followed by a widening stroke back down, at a slight angle from the first. Sitting on top of the two was a horizontal bar that was narrow at the left, and wider on the right, with a slight flick upwards.


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°It is simple, but there¡¯s a reason for that.¡± She drew the rune in the air, gently pushing ki into it as she did so, so Kaz could see it.


    ¡°It¡¯s very similar to the runes for all kinds of basic things like table, or chair. For a while we thought it was a generic term, but the context was strange, and it looks too much like the one for the foundation stage of cultivation.¡± Lianhua wiped away the first rune, then drew several more, ending with one that did, indeed, look very similar to the first, except that the top line was the same width all the way across.


    Wiping this one away as well, the human redrew the first symbol, saying, ¡°Then the emperor donated some documents from his family to a museum in the capital. Once more scholars were able to examine and discuss them, we realized that they were extremely old, probably from the founding of the Diushi empire. They used this symbol over and over, and we finally realized what it really meant. It¡¯s the foundation, the basis of everything, the first emperor himself.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°The first emperor was a kobold?¡±


    Lianhua gave a startled bark of laughter, and her hand flew up to cover it when she saw his ears droop. ¡°Oh! Kaz, no. I didn¡¯t mean it like that. It¡¯s just that there are a hundred extant paintings and statues of First Emperor Long, and he may have been many things, but he wasn¡¯t a kobold. Actually,¡± she looked embarrassed, ¡°he looked a bit like me. He had white hair and purple eyes, with very fair skin. He was much taller, though. He¡¯s described as being well over six feet tall, possibly as much as seven feet.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears went back up, and he looked at her curiously. ¡°Long? And he looked like you?¡±


    Ducking her head, Lianhua admitted, ¡°My family claims direct descent, as does the current imperial family. Emperor Long had many wives, and ruled for one hundred years before passing the throne to his first-born son, who also had many wives, and even more children. By now, a good number of the citizens of the Sheng empire are probably related to him, especially those of the ruling class. But yes, while my coloring is unusual, it¡¯s highly prized among certain people, who believe it¡¯s proof we bear a more direct line to the emperor.¡±


    Leadership of kobold tribes changed on a regular basis, and while a daughter of the chief was more likely to be strong enough to lead the next generation, that wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Kaz was realizing that humans had a very different system of determining who would lead than his people did, but he wasn¡¯t sure what that system was. He knew ¡®king¡¯ and ¡®emperor¡¯ meant a chief of chiefs, and the kobolds in the Deep had chiefs who controlled not only their own tribes, but many others, so the concept wasn¡¯t too strange to him. Still, there was something he was missing, and he didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ¡°So this emperor had all five colors of ki as well?¡± he asked.


    Lianhua blinked, then her expression grew excited as she said, ¡°That¡¯s probably exactly what it means. The runes show ki type, so obviously there¡¯s another layer of meaning to the rune we¡¯ve been interpreting as ¡®First Emperor¡¯. There¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s used to represent Emperor Long, but when the second emperor was crowned, he used a slightly different rune.¡±


    She drew another rune, this one with the crossbar passing through the upward and downward strokes, rather than resting on top of them. Indicating the crossbar, Lianhua said, ¡°This bar moves downward with each emperor, so we assumed it simply represented how many generations they were from the First. All of the emperors were cultivators, so they each stepped down voluntarily, rather than dying. Each ruled for a century before passing on the throne to one of their sons, usually the eldest. That means there were eleven emperors, though the last ruled for only a decade or so before the Diushi vanished.¡±


    Kaz was struck by a thought, and said, ¡°Does that mean some of them are still alive? If Zhangwo was from the Diushi empire, and these emperors were also powerful cultivators, doesn¡¯t that mean more of them could still be around?¡±


    He was thinking of Nucai, who actually looked a great deal older than Zhangwo, and had the same white hair and amethyst eyes as Lianhua. Was it possible that he, or his dead master, was one of these long-ago emperors?


    Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°This is actually a matter of some debate among scholars. Once each emperor steps down, he¡¯s never mentioned again. There are no records of expenses related to caring for retired emperors, like there are for their wives as they grew old, and no personal letters have been found, either. It¡¯s incredibly rare for someone to achieve a high enough cultivation level to live that long, though.


    ¡°A regular human might live a hundred years, while someone with a Tin rank body could easily live to be a hundred and fifty, and they would be in good health for nearly their entire lives. Iron rank brings you to three hundred years of health, while peak Rhodium could make you theoretically immortal. But along with body cultivation comes spiritual cultivation, and so far as we know, it¡¯s impossible to achieve Rhodium without also developing a core, and most people fail to do so. My grandfather is one of only three that I know of in the entire Sheng empire. After Golden Core is Nascent Soul, and once the spirit is transformed, the person is no longer human, but divine. They usually ascend to the next stage of existence, and are never seen on this plane again. Most people assume that the Diushi emperors ascended, and that¡¯s why they seem to vanish after they leave the throne.¡±


    Kaz rubbed the little horns forming on the back of Li¡¯s skull thoughtfully. ¡°What if they didn¡¯t?¡± he asked. ¡°Or not all of them, anyway. What if one or more of them came here? Rather than where all the Diushi went when their empire vanished, maybe their emperors came here when they were done ruling, and they simply created a whole new empire, inside the mountain.¡±

 Chapter One hundred twenty-five

    To Kaz¡¯s disappointment, instead of looking excited or surprised, Lianhua just shook her head. ¡°Highly unlikely. The Diushi were expansionists; aggressive, but in very specific ways. They sent scholars, explorers, diplomats, and finally soldiers to every part of the continent. They never attacked wantonly, but waited until the time was right, when they knew they could win with minimal loss of effort and money. By the end, most countries yielded without a fight, and their former rulers were allowed to remain in some capacity, so long as they didn¡¯t attempt to incite an uprising.¡±


    Kaz nodded. She had mentioned some of this before, and he thought it must be like a smaller tribe yielding to a larger one, without first requiring luegat. Sometimes the old chief was even allowed to stay, so long as she submitted publicly and earnestly enough.


    Lianhua went on. ¡°The Diushi reached the western side of this mountain range, and they were even technically claimed by the empire. There were other areas that were easier to reach than the countries on the far side of the mountain range, so Raff¡¯s country, Holiander, hadn¡¯t been absorbed yet, but we have maps and assessments about them, written by scholars and explorers who might better have been called spies.¡±


    Kaz wasn¡¯t certain what a spy was, but Lianhua sounded like she was finally getting to the point, and he knew better than to ask any questions. She would shift to another topic, speaking about it at length, but still insist on returning to the original point as if she¡¯d never left it behind.


    ¡°As part of those reports,¡± Lianhua said, fingers again twitching toward her waist, where her pouch should have been, ¡°we have thorough records of these mountains, including this mountain, which is called Shengsheng. There were a few small human settlements scattered along the main pass, but no mention of kobolds either anecdotally or personally.


    ¡°In fact, the only large creatures other than a few elk and goats were dragons, who nested in the top of the mountains here. The husede were mentioned, and there was some discussion of whether it would be feasible to absorb them into the empire, but I believe it was determined that it would be too difficult, so diplomats were sent to establish trade instead.¡±


    She tapped her fingers on the ground, looking oddly nervous as she said, ¡°If there had been any sign of civilization within the mountain, any place the emperors might have been interested in, however rudimentary, there would be records of it. The Diushi kept consistent, detailed records of everything they did, which is the only way to keep track of such a large and diverse empire.¡±


    Now Kaz frowned. ¡°So where did my people come from? We can¡¯t have just appeared in a few generations. Even if these Diushi are our ancients, there are images of us in their carvings. Kobolds have lived in the mountain for centuries.¡±


    Reluctantly, Lianhua said, ¡°I believe they have, yes, but-¡±


    Kaz and Li stared at her expectantly, and the human finally sighed.


    ¡°Zhangwo¡¯s records are sparse except in a few notable aspects. First, as I mentioned, he had extremely detailed reports on everything he sent to his master, and then the mysterious Nucai. There was a brief lapse about eight hundred years ago, which may be when the master died, but soon after that, Zhangwo made an extremely large shipment before returning to his normal pattern.¡±


    She drew a circle on the stone between them, then a series of smaller circles inside it. She gave the image no power, so it simply seemed to be a means of distracting herself from whatever she was about to say.


    ¡°The second thing Zhangwo kept meticulous track of are his experiments,¡± Lianhua said softly. ¡°He claimed he fathered the mosui, and to some extent I believe he was telling the truth. He records experimental subjects by number, not name, and there were more of them than I care to think of.


    ¡°Whenever an intelligent being with a core, usually a human, but not always, came into his grasp, he would feed them a core corrupted by fulan, creating what he called a shiyan. He then waited to see what the result of that combination was, and if it was useful, he had some way of neutralizing the fulan, allowing the shiyan to return to rationality. It seems that his favorite was a cross between a human and a divine beast that started its existence as a mole. Once he was able to produce several of what eventually became the mosui, he harvested the core of the strongest one, and ingested it himself.¡±


    She stopped, sliding her palm over the invisible circles on the ground, wiping away something only she could see. ¡°This master and Nucai were both aiding him, but I think there were others, doing the same thing to other creatures.¡± She finally looked up, meeting Kaz¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I believe the kobolds are a created race, not a natural one.¡±


    Kaz stared at her. He wanted to deny it, but somehow, it felt right, as if it was something he had always known, but only now had it been brought to his attention. Slowly, he held out his own hand, looking at it as though for the first time. Lianhua¡¯s hand was still on the ground between them, and he stared from one to the other for a long time.


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    They were the same. The shape, the conformation, the way the fingers bent and the nails curved. His claws were thicker and sharper, and the back of his fingers and hand were covered in fine blue fur, but if you looked at the palms, you¡¯d never know which belonged to a human, and which to a kobold, other than the color of the skin. In fact, his entire upper body except for the neck and head looked very much like a particularly hairy human. Kaz had seen Raff without his clothes, and knew that he had far more fur than Kaz would have guessed, though Raff had only laughed when Kaz pointed it out, saying that not all male humans were as hairless as Gaoda.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ part human?¡± he asked, turning his hand this way and that, remembering how the mosui were so sensitive about their lack of dexterity. If they were created, surely there must have been a reason for their wide hands and long claws, though Zhangwo¡¯s hands had been almost as human as Kaz¡¯s, so perhaps he simply hadn¡¯t gotten the combination quite right before he died. He had said something about the mosui ¡®regressing to their baser forms¡¯, so perhaps they were becoming more animal-like over time?


    Lianhua smiled, just a tremble at the corner of her mouth, but her eyes still looked worried. ¡°One of your ancestors was, probably. I think someone, maybe this Master, was going out into the world and capturing people and Divine Beasts to bring back here for these experiments. He must have been very powerful to do that, maybe even at peak Golden Core or, possibly, early Nascent Soul, though that¡¯s far less likely.¡±


    She reached out and gently grasped Kaz¡¯s hand. ¡°They brought back all kinds of people and creatures. Humans, demi-humans, dwarves, even some whose runes I don¡¯t recognize. Any of them could have been used in creating the kobolds, though I suspect that the Divine Beast was some kind of canine, possibly a wolf. If the others were like Zhangwo, then it was probably a combination of many-¡±


    ¡°Lianhua,¡± Kaz said, quietly, and she stopped, fingers tightening briefly around his own and then releasing him when he didn¡¯t respond.


    The steam seemed to crowd in around him as his entire world view shifted. What had been a peaceful, warm room became a dark, hot one, pressing against his skin in moist, sticky heat until he stood, pacing back and forth, mouth hanging open as he panted, trying to catch his breath.


    He, and all of his people, were things made by madmen. Beasts, or half-beasts, created to¡­ what? Fulfill some role? Or simply because they could? What had Zhangwo said about kobolds, in between his laughter?


    The scene played through his mind, aided by Li, who had returned to his shoulder and was pressing her head against his, her tail snuggled around his shoulders like an embrace.


    ¡°Kobolds took him, kobolds left him, kobolds live on while he lies forgotten,¡± he murmured. Looking up, Kaz peered through the mists, which seemed much denser and darker than they had been only a few minutes before. No longer playful, now they clung greedily to his face, sliding thick and heavy into his lungs.


    ¡°Did we kill this Master?¡± he asked, hopefully. ¡°Or did we just fail to die with him?¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Other than the pause in shipments, there¡¯s no indication that anything happened at all. Well, other than Zhangwo¡¯s ranting.¡±


    Kaz stopped his pacing, staring upward. ¡°I need to talk to Nucai,¡± he said. ¡°I need to get back into the room with the mirror.¡±


    Lianhua stood, too, then paused, looking down at Kaz¡¯s row of forgotten treasures. Leaning down, she picked up the empty bag, then held it out to him. ¡°I know what some of these things are,¡± she told him, ¡°but this one in particular will be useful. It¡¯s a spatial storage pouch, much like mine.¡±


    When Kaz accepted it, she started picking up the other items, passing them to him one by one. Without even being aware of what he was doing, Kaz untied the string and tried to put the mithril ingot inside. It fit through the splayed opening, but just hit the bottom of the bag, which was otherwise as empty as it had been when he examined it before.


    Lianhua smiled a little awkwardly. ¡°You have to feed it some of your ki, the first time. Each person¡¯s ki is unique, though I didn¡¯t know before Thabil told us that mana was the same. So long as you give your pouch a bit of your ki on a regular basis, it will be able to maintain its storage, and it won¡¯t open for anyone else. If it¡¯s left unused for some period of time, it will revert to its original state, and can bind to the next person who gives it power.¡±


    Kaz looked down at the unassuming little bag in surprise. That explained why he saw that spark going from user to pouch each time one of the humans used their storage devices. They were giving it ki in order to make sure it recognized them and continued working.


    ¡°What happens to the things inside if it runs out of power? And how long can it last without feeding it any ki?¡± he asked.


    Lianhua grimaced and tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her round little ear. ¡°It depends. Usually, everything inside is ejected, so if someone steals a storage item, they can just hide it somewhere until it fails. When it does, not only do they get the contents, but they can sell the pouch itself as well. How long that takes depends entirely on how much ki the bag held, and the quality of the item. A cheap one, like Raff¡¯s, would probably only last a few weeks, though I don¡¯t have experience with ones that use mana, rather than ki.¡±


    Kaz actually had some thoughts about that, but now wasn¡¯t the time, so he remained quiet as she went on.


    ¡°Better ones, like mine, can store more power and more items. In fact, there¡¯s a direct relationship between how much power the item requires and its capacity. Unfortunately, there¡¯s really no way to know how good that one is without trying it.¡± She made a face. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not entirely true. An artisan could probably just examine it and tell you, but I can¡¯t.¡±


    Kaz took the mithril back out and stared down into the depths of the pouch. ¡°So, I just give it ki, and then I can use it?¡±


    She nodded, clearly glad to be able to give him some good news.


    Tentatively, Kaz touched his fingers to the bag in the same way he¡¯d seen the humans do, and sent a spark of ki into it.


    It was as if he gave a single drop of water to a dying woshi. Something opened up, pulling at Kaz¡¯s ki, which drained away far faster than he would have believed possible. If Li¡¯s egg and the seed had once seemed like empty pits into which he could drain his excess ki, this thing was alive, and very, very thirsty.

 Chapter One hundred twenty-six

    Kaz staggered as the pouch continued sucking a constant stream of ki from him. He tried to close the connection, but once formed, it seemed impossible to disengage, much like when he got too close to one of the humans while they were cultivating. The difference was, of course, that there was no real intelligence behind this, just a mindless draw that he could neither reason with nor stop.


    Beside him, Lianhua seemed to realize that something had gone wrong, and she reached out, trying to take the bag from him. It clung to his fingers as if it had melded with his skin, and he yelped in pain, making her release the pouch and pull away.


    ¡°Kaz?¡± the human asked, ¡°What¡¯s-?¡±


    Li hissed at her, and Lianhua stopped, eyes wide. Kaz just shook his head, gritting his teeth as he struggled to at least control the flow, limiting it to what he could maintain without completely draining his cycle. He had already lost a great deal of what had built up in his central dantian, and he felt cold and hollow without it.


    The outflow of golden ki, which was his strongest color, slowed to a trickle and then stopped, followed by red and white. Black and blue continued to flow into the bag, but Kaz could see that the material, which had previously seemed inert to his special vision, now glowed brilliantly. Instead of a plain brown and tan, threads of every hue wound through it, creating a distinct pattern.


    Finally able to catch his breath as his ki leveled out, though it was admittedly lacking in both wood and water at the moment, Kaz looked at Lianhua. ¡°Do you see a rune in this?¡± he asked, holding up the offending item.


    She shook her head, and Kaz pulled off his ring, handing it to her. He was curious if it would show her the same rune he saw, or Kaz¡¯s rune, since it was filled with his ki.


    Cautiously, she lifted it to her eye, peering through the blue gem. A crease appeared between her brows, and she said, ¡°There are at least two here, but I would need to write them down to figure out what they are. I think one of them is the ¡®emperor¡¯ rune, but it¡¯s a little different. The crossbar is lower, more like the symbol for the third emperor than the first.¡±


    Kaz still couldn¡¯t drop the pouch, but the stream of black ki was manageable now, taking only half of what he produced with each cycle of his core. All of his blue ki was still draining away, however, and he thought it wouldn¡¯t finish for a while.


    Folding the bag into his right palm, Kaz knelt, picking up the rest of his treasures and stuffing them back into his pack. If the pouch he held really was a storage item, he didn¡¯t want to put any of these things into it until he was sure it was working properly. He would find something he didn¡¯t care about to test it, once it finished powering up. That was, if he even decided to keep it. Hopefully, it would never take this much ki again, but he was lucky he had stored so much in his central dantian, or he might have been drained to unconsciousness before it finished.


    Shrugging the pack onto his back, he held out his empty left hand for his ring, which Lianhua promptly deposited in his palm. His far too human palm. For a moment, he gripped it tightly, feeling it dig into his flesh as his chest clenched again. Then he forced himself to slip the ring back on his finger and look at Lianhua, feigning normalcy.


    ¡°Are you ready to go?¡± he asked, half-surprised to find that his voice cooperated.


    She nodded, and there was a hint of excitement in her eyes that wasn¡¯t entirely appropriate. She had been trying to get in to see Nucai for five days, and this might finally be her chance.


    Returning to the entry room, the two of them put their clothes back on, though Kaz was a little awkward, since the bag took up most of his right hand. By the time he finally managed to tuck in his loincloth properly and put on his belt, Lianhua was ready, too. They went out into the hall, and after the heavy heat of the baths, the cooler air struck them, making them both gasp softly. On Kaz¡¯s shoulder, Li attempted to burrow into his fur, but it was still too short for burrowing, which displeased the little dragon.


    The shared moment was enough to bring them together again, however, and Kaz and Lianhua exchanged smiles as Kaz gently tugged Li down, snuggling her against his chest as he pushed a bit of the red ki he had managed to recover out to his skin, warming them both. The trio set off down the hall, past Lianhua¡¯s room, and to the closest platform in what Kaz now knew was called a ¡®transfer station¡¯.


    A husede now waited at the transfer station on each level, ready to help anyone who couldn¡¯t operate the devices themselves. Ironically, Raff was the only one among the humans who could use mana in the way the platforms were designed to accept, and neither Lianhua nor Chi Yincang had red ki, so they couldn¡¯t activate them the same way Kaz did, either.


    Each platform could only travel to a location with a rune matching the ones in the ki-crystals that were embedded in the surface of the device. This kept platforms from trying to be in the same place at the same time, but it meant that if a particular platform was already in use, everyone else had to wait until it was available.


    It used to be that only a very few husede or mosui were assigned to run the platforms at each transfer station, but now anyone with mana could and did use the platforms, which had caused confusion and irritation for the first day or so. Now, new rules had been created, not to limit access, but to make sure that people were served in the order they arrived.


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    When he saw Kaz and Lianhua, the husede bowed deeply, his hands crossing his chest. ¡°Where may I take you?¡± he asked respectfully.


    ¡°Council level,¡± Kaz answered, stepping onto the small square. The central level of the ¡®tower¡¯, which had once been Zhangwo¡¯s living quarters and lab, had been taken over by the new council. No one lived there any longer, but each council member had their own space, and the lab had been made into a meeting area.


    The husede bowed again, and joined Kaz and Lianhua on the platform. His hand descended to the column in the middle, pressing one of the buttons there as mana filled the column, and the world froze around Kaz in the way he had come to expect. It was strange that he was the only one who seemed unaffected by the red field that surrounded the devices as they moved between levels, but he was, and he saw the dim mana-fog of other people waiting at each of the two levels through which they passed on the way to the center.


    When they reached their destination, the red ki fell away, and everyone else seemed to jerk back into motion, resuming whatever they had been doing when the husede began feeding mana into the pedestal. Li rested her head on Kaz¡¯s arm, and Lianhua smiled and thanked the husede, who nodded back.


    Kaz led the way through the halls, following both the path laid out in his memory, and the feeling that told him he was growing closer to the heart of the mountain. Soon, they came to the large open area where tunnels branched away, and Li had once hovered, indecisive, before following Lianhua¡¯s trail toward Zhangwo¡¯s rooms.


    Lianhua had to bend over quite far as they followed the shrinking passage to Zhangwo¡¯s quarters. She went ahead of Kaz, so she could set the pace, and he saw her touch her neck a few times, as if checking to make sure the collar was really gone.


    When they reached the entrance, Lianhua passed through it with an audible sigh of relief, and then straightened, looking around. As far as Kaz knew, this was the first time she¡¯d been back here since the day of the battle, and things had changed.


    There hadn¡¯t been enough time to get rid of all of Zhangwo¡¯s personal items, but they had been shifted aside or moved to another area so that the table on which Lianhua had been placed could be shoved into the center of the room. Five chairs sat around this table, one for each council member, and Thabil was currently seated there, speaking to her son, Qiyi. The two looked up as Kaz and Lianhua entered, and Qiyi pushed back his chair and stood.


    Thabil laid down the pen she had been holding and nodded to Kaz and Lianhua before leaning back with a small grimace of pain. Kaz was fairly certain the husede, whose body was rich with mana, should already be mostly recovered from the injuries she¡¯d taken when he knocked her out in order to convince her companion to take Kaz to the ki-cannon. She played up the extent of the damage every time she saw him, though he wasn¡¯t sure what she hoped to gain by doing so.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes narrowed as she looked at the husede, but she stepped forward with a polite smile, offering the two gray dwarves a small bow. ¡°We¡¯ve come to speak with Nucai,¡± she said, already starting past them on her way to the door on the other side of the room.


    Now Thabil did stand, with an alacrity that belied her earlier pretense of discomfort. She and Qiyi both moved to intercept Kaz and Lianhua, though they didn¡¯t actually go so far as to try to grab them.


    ¡°Nucai has said he doesn¡¯t want to be disturbed,¡± Thabil said quickly. Beside her, her son held out his arms to block their way, and his skin was noticeably paler than it had been when they entered.


    Lianhua¡¯s smile grew tight. ¡°Well, we¡¯re about to disturb him,¡± she said. ¡°If you let us by, we¡¯ll be polite about it.¡±


    Thabil looked toward Kaz, who usually served as an intermediary between Lianhua and the council. Not that Lianhua had asked for much except access to Zhangwo¡¯s records, but the human had been quite insistent about getting into the mirror room as well. Kaz, who understood just how powerful and frightening Nucai was, had managed to convince her that such an attempt was unwise unless Nucai agreed beforehand, and she hadn¡¯t tried again once Nucai himself refused.


    Kaz shook his head, his own eyes narrowed as he looked between the husede. ¡°I need to ask him some questions,¡± he told Thabil, more than a hint of a growl in his voice. ¡°Move aside, or be moved.¡±


    Most husede would have taken this as an empty threat, since every one of the dwarves had mana, and at least some level of body refinement as a result. Male kobolds, on the other hand, had nothing but the strength of their muscles and their innate cunning, so in a contest of strength alone, a strong husede child could beat a grown kobold warrior. Thabil had been defeated by Kaz twice before, however, and between him and Lianhua, there was no doubt that the two husede, who had no real martial training, would lose.


    Thabil¡¯s lips tightened into a pale silver line, but she took hold of her son¡¯s arm and pulled him with her when she stepped aside. Kaz and Lianhua moved past her, and Lianhua pulled open the door leading into the small, dark room containing the floor to ceiling mirror that served as a communication device between this city and wherever Nucai actually resided.


    Glittering crystals lit up as they stepped inside, and Kaz firmly closed the door in the faces of Thabil and Qiyi, whose expressions held equal parts anxiety and curiosity. Lianhua turned to look at the mirror, already pulling her little book and a pen from her pouch. Quickly, she began to sketch, and Kaz peered over her arm at the image appearing on the page.


    First, she captured each of the runes carved into the dark wood of the frame, then she drew the general shape and proportions of the mirror, and Kaz¡¯s fingers twitched as she did. The corners weren¡¯t quite square, as she¡¯d drawn them, and the feet on which the frame perched had shadows indicating that something else was carved there, which Lianhua completely failed to capture. In fact, while she drew the outline, and filled it in enough to evoke a sense that it was a dark color, there was no depth to it at all, and Kaz was certain he could have done better if he had a chance.


    The surface of the mirror was already shifting, however, and as Kaz watched, Lianhua¡¯s fingers slowed, then stilled completely, her eyes staring blankly down at the page. Looking up, Kaz met Nucai¡¯s irritated gaze, and a chill lifted the fur along his spine.

 Chapter One hundred twenty-seven

    Some of the annoyance faded from Nucai¡¯s gaze as it came to rest on Kaz, but then his eyes flickered to Lianhua and it returned.


    ¡°What are you still doing there?¡± Nucai demanded, sounding less than pleased.


    Kaz indicated Lianhua. He was about to take a risk, but it was a small one, since he was certain the human would have said the same, if she¡¯d been given a chance. ¡°My friend is attempting to find information about an ancient civilization called the Diushi,¡± he said. ¡°She hopes to find such information here, so we haven¡¯t left yet.¡±


    Nucai¡¯s eyes narrowed, and the pen in his hand bobbled, smearing ink across the page. It looked like Nucai had started a new scroll since Kaz saw him last, because the top edge hadn¡¯t yet spilled off of the table.


    For a moment, Kaz thought the old male was angry, but then the corners of his mouth twitched, and he began to laugh. Vaporous gray wisps trailed from his nostrils as he tilted his head back, and for an instant, his pen actually stopped, seeming as shocked as Kaz himself. Nucai¡¯s laughter ceased as abruptly as it had begun, and then he pointed one long, gnarled finger at Lianhua.


    Beside Kaz, Lianhua¡¯s hand started moving, her pen inking sure strokes across the page until she looked up, and then her hand stopped again, and her mouth fell open. She seemed to be trying to speak, but no sound emerged, and Kaz wasn¡¯t certain if that was because the sight of Nucai had rendered her speechless, or if Nucai was causing the effect somehow.


    In the mirror, Nucai¡¯s hand began to move again, but he didn¡¯t look away from Lianhua. ¡°You wish to know about the Diushi?¡± he asked.


    Lianhua nodded vigorously, apparently still unable to say a word.


    The image of the white-haired male tapped the table briskly before pointing at Kaz. ¡°Then come, and bring the kobold.¡± With that, the mirror returned to its original reflective surface, showing Kaz a powerfully built young kobold with very short blue fur, holding a copper fuergar with glittering eyes and an offended look on its fuzzy face.


    Lianhua stared, then reached up and tried to tuck some loose strands back into the top coil of her hair. Her hand was shaking, but when she looked over at Kaz, there was no fear in her expression, even though Kaz was absolutely certain there should be.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± she whispered,¡±I think you may be right after all. That man looked almost exactly like one of the paintings we have of the Diushi emperors. They all had the same coloring,¡± she gestured to herself, ¡°and were very tall and thin. Of course, none of them looked old when they stepped down, but it has been a very long time since then.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head, absently stroking Li¡¯s scales. She was bombarding him with demands that he relay the brief conversation, which she had once again missed, and he tried to answer Lianhua and fulfill the dragon¡¯s request at the same time.


    ¡°I thought you said there was nothing interesting here? And that it would take a very powerful cultivator to live this long.¡±


    Lianhua pointed to him. ¡°Nothing interesting here then. But what if they found something? What if whatever it was is the reason why the last emperor vanished? Or what if it wasn¡¯t what was here, but what they planned to create?¡±


    She seemed to realize that her last question might be one he didn¡¯t want to hear, because she stopped and bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she told him. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to imply that you¡¯re a thing- I mean, that you¡¯re some kind of craft project, or-¡±


    She buried her face in her hands and groaned, and Kaz took pity on her. Sighing, he said, ¡°Whatever happened then, wherever my people came from, we exist now. I exist. What matters is what I do with my life, not where I came from in the first place.¡±


    It was a thought he¡¯d had many times recently, though he hadn¡¯t had to apply it to his entire species before. While he was working his way back up through the mosui levels, he had realized that his own personal history might be much more complicated than he had ever known. He¡¯d also begun to truly understand just how much difference a leader made in a tribe.


    On the mining level, Surta had been in command, and he was a selfish, weak-minded leader. When Kaz reached the yumi pools, however, he met Eld, who worked hard to make sure that every kobold on his level was fed, safe, and as happy as it was possible to be without the freedom to choose their own paths.


    Kaz had grown up believing that kobold tribes cared only about their own members, and that power and position were their top priorities. His mother, Oda, had been the chief of the Broken Knives, and she ruled with a mithril fist. To her, emotion and kindness were weaknesses, and Kaz had always been weak.


    But what Oda thought, what she had taught him, whatever she had gone through to make her so cold, even to her own pups, none of that was his problem any more. Kaz was going to leave the mountain, and when he did, it was possible he would never meet another kobold in his life. So why should their history matter to him? He was Kaz, friend of the dragon, Li, and his future had nothing to do with the past.


    He looked up, meeting Lianhua¡¯s eyes as she lowered her hands, and he was surprised to see a hint of sadness there. Then she smiled, and it was gone, but he wondered what part of his declaration had made her pity him.


    ¡°Do you not want to meet this Nucai, then?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious he has no intention of talking to me, at least not without you. That¡¯s¡­ suspicious, to say the least. I think I need to find him, but we can leave you in the Deep city, at least for however long it takes to convince him to tell me what he knows.¡±


    Kaz hesitated. For a while, he had thought that he wanted to find out what caused his tribe to leave the Deep, but eventually he had come to the conclusion he had just shared with her. The story of the Broken Knives didn¡¯t matter, which meant there was nothing for him in the kobold city. He didn¡¯t really want to seek out Nucai, but he also didn¡¯t get the feeling that the ancient male wanted to hurt him, and Kaz had promised Lianhua that he would help her find out what happened to the Diushi. If Nucai would only speak to her if she brought Kaz with her, then Kaz would go.


    ¡°No,¡± he said finally. Somehow, he was certain that Nucai could tell Lianhua everything she needed to know, and Kaz might as well find out for sure where the kobolds had come from, as long as they were at it. Perhaps Lianhua was mistaken, and the kobolds were like the husede, stolen from wherever their original home had been in order to serve the ancients.


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    Meeting her eyes, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll go. We¡¯ll find your answers, and then we¡¯ll leave the mountain. Together.¡±


    Li whistled querulously, and Kaz chuckled. ¡°Yes, and we¡¯ll find your family, too.¡±


    Privately, Kaz doubted that the blue parent dragon could have survived its battle with the much larger and healthier black dragon. Still, Li had had nine siblings and another parent, and surely the black dragon hadn¡¯t gotten all of them. That meant some of them should still be out there, and from what Lianhua said, there weren¡¯t many dragons, so it was possible that they might be able to track down the little brood. If not, Kaz would at least make sure Li was able to return to her own kind if she wanted to.


    Lianhua smiled, her hand lifting as if she would touch him. ¡°You truly are amazing, Kaz,¡± she said. ¡°And a far better friend than I deserve.¡±


    Kaz turned away, pretending not to notice the look on her face as he avoided her hand. He had gotten more comfortable with being touched over the last few weeks, but he was still feeling unsettled after their earlier conversation, and talking to Nucai hadn¡¯t helped. He hadn¡¯t even been able to bring himself to ask if Nucai, Zhangwo, or someone else had created kobolds by feeding fulan-contaminated cores to humans.


    Opening the door, Kaz found himself face to face with Qiyi, who stumbled back awkwardly. Thabil was back at the table, and at some point, Dax had joined her. It looked as if Kaz had interrupted some kind of argument, because Dax¡¯s fur was standing up, and Thabil was scowling. Both members of the Council settled back as Kaz stepped into the room, however, leaving no hint of whatever had upset them.


    Behind him, Lianhua followed, quietly closing the door behind her. As it snicked shut, she stepped up beside Kaz, looking at the two husede and the kobold.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± she said without any preamble. ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like to take copies of some of Zhangwo¡¯s records. Could the husede help with that?¡±


    Thabil was almost beaming as she said, ¡°Of course! We have several younglings who would do well to practice their runes. If you let us know what you need, we¡¯ll put them to work immediately. I¡¯m sure we can get you on your way in a day or two.¡±


    Dax looked at Thabil angrily, then his expression turned thoughtful, and he looked at Kaz, bowing deeply over the fist pressed to his chest. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you a favor, if I may, Kaz.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail twitched. The older kobold was independent to a fault, which was what made him such a perfect choice to be the kobold representative on the Council. He had spent too long as a slave to easily yield any part of his newfound freedom to anyone else, including Ehlan Redmane and her daughters, but that also meant he was having difficulty forming relationships that might benefit him and the other kobolds. His pup, Eld, was in the unenviable position of running interference between Dax and everyone else, and Kaz had barely seen either of them since he freed them from captivity.


    Resisting the urge to glance at Lianhua for permission, Kaz perked up his ears, indicating willingness to listen, without actually agreeing to anything.


    Dax very deliberately didn¡¯t look at Thabil as he said, ¡°Several males have gone to the Deep, but so far, none have returned, and no one has sent messengers back. We have a number of pups whose tribes fled these levels when the fulan appeared, as well as some warriors who are¡­ not able to fight well anymore. I¡¯d also like to open trade between here and the Deep. Without females, there are many things the kobolds here can¡¯t make, and though there are similar items available, those who have chosen to stay miss the familiarity of their own huts, weapons, clothing, and food.¡±


    Thabil¡¯s lips compressed. ¡°I¡¯ve told you that opening ourselves for trade will simply invite female kobolds, perhaps even entire tribes, to move here. We¡¯re still establishing-¡±


    ¡°You just don¡¯t want to share power with us!¡± Dax growled. ¡°Every time I try to speak for my people, you tell me there are too few of us, and we need to think of the majority. The majority are husede! But kobolds suffered and died here just as much as you, perhaps more! We have just as much right to this place. If females or new kobolds come, then they come, and some of my warriors will be glad of it! That doesn¡¯t mean those females or tribes will take control. You didn¡¯t ask my permission before you sent some of your people off to contact the rest of the husede, and if they succeed, I¡¯m sure at least some of them will come here as well, and I-¡±


    Kaz shifted, claws quietly scratching the stone beneath his paws. Dax and Thabil broke off, though Thabil couldn¡¯t quite meet Kaz¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°What do you want from me, Dax?¡± Kaz asked.


    The warrior sighed. ¡°There are ten levels between here and the city in the Deep. We¡¯ve cleared most of the fulan from the levels the city occupies, since there wasn''t much here to start with. But we know there¡¯s still at least some fulan on the last four mid-levels, and no one has figured out how to make the stairs work properly again, so it may have spread even further. Because of that, it wouldn¡¯t be safe to ask females to travel with the males, even if we had some who weren¡¯t Redmanes. I¡¯m also afraid some of the creatures the recently captured kobolds have told me about may be wandering the levels below. If so, the kobolds who left may not have made it through, or messengers may think it¡¯s too dangerous to try getting back to us.¡±


    ¡°Then just wait,¡± Thabil said, but Dax shot her another angry glare, his lip lifting to reveal sharp teeth.


    Looking back at Kaz, the warrior said, ¡°If you¡¯re going anyway, I¡¯d like you to take some of those who haven¡¯t been willing to go alone or in small groups.¡±


    Kaz immediately shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t guard pups.¡±


    Dax gave one of his rare, rough chuckles. ¡°No. Nogz has all of the little ones in the yumi fields now, and it¡¯s all he can do to keep them from drowning themselves in the pools or running between the niu¡¯s hooves as they¡¯re walking. Pups have no sense of self-preservation. There¡¯s a group of ten males who either came from the Deep, or don¡¯t want to stay here, but have no tribe to return to. One of them is Dett, who, ah, helped you escape the mines.¡±


    ¡®Help¡¯ was a generous word for what Dett had done, but Kaz did owe the other male for telling him how to reach the stairs up. Kaz had assumed that the little male had left as soon as he could, but now he realized that he shouldn¡¯t have. Dett had learned a long time ago to let others take the risks instead of him, so it wasn¡¯t surprising at all that he wouldn¡¯t have been one of the first to leave, in spite of his oft-stated desire to return to his powerful tribe.


    Reluctantly, Kaz nodded, and now he did look to Lianhua. This didn¡¯t just involve him, after all, and with Gaoda gone, Lianhua was in command of the humans.


    Lianhua looked thoughtfully from Kaz to Dax, but strangely, her gaze lingered longest on Thabil. At last, she said, ¡°They all need to be able to run, and they have to do whatever they¡¯re told, without question. If someone doesn¡¯t listen, and they¡¯re injured or killed, it¡¯s not our responsibility.¡±


    Kaz was surprised, since Lianhua wasn¡¯t usually so practical. Was this change in her caused by the time she spent as a slave, or was it because she now felt the weight of being solely responsible for the lives of everyone in her party?


    Unaware of Kaz¡¯s concern, Dax¡¯s tail began to wave gently behind him. He nodded eagerly even as Thabil scowled. ¡°I¡¯ll have them ready whenever you are,¡± Dax said, and bowed again, this time to both Kaz and Lianhua.

 Chapter One hundred twenty-eight

    Two days later, Kaz sat, staring from his newly sated pouch to the pile of objects he had removed from his torn and battered pack. It took a day and half for the pouch to release him, falling away from his hand while he slept, and when he woke to find it there he had been hesitant to even pick it up again. Still, it hadn¡¯t actually hurt him, and it hadn¡¯t even drawn out his ki until he offered it some, so eventually he managed, mainly because he was reluctant to leave it behind in his room.


    Lianhua had locked herself back up in her room, emerging only to give the husede another text to copy. She asked for anything related to the history of the husede, the mosui, or the city itself, but sometimes she found something in one of the documents she was reading that she specifically wanted. It had been all Kaz, Raff, and Chi Yincang could do to make sure she ate regularly, so Kaz hadn¡¯t been able to ask for any more help with the storage pouch.


    That was all right, though, because she had told him enough that he could figure out the rest on his own. He thought it was a little odd that the item so specifically took the same amount of each color of ki, even though Lianhua had implied that anyone with ki could use one of these pouches, and no one else had all five colors. Still, perhaps that was how it keyed itself to its particular owner, and now no one but Kaz could use it, just as Lianhua had said. Or perhaps the thing was simply old, and it hadn¡¯t been crafted in the same way as modern storage items. The important thing was that it worked at all.


    If it did. Which he hadn¡¯t actually checked yet.


    Kaz tugged at his ear while Li looked hungrily at the piles of ki crystals arrayed before him. The crystals used to light the halls near their room seemed to go missing with surprising regularity, and Kaz had noticed that Li was looking a little sleeker and larger than she had even a few days before. He hadn¡¯t said anything, but he also hadn¡¯t given the dragon any of the crystals he had taken during his climb. He had no idea when he would be able to get more ki-rich food for his friend, and he never wanted her to be as malnourished and undersized as he now realized she had been.


    Reaching out, Kaz picked up a small rock. It wasn¡¯t anything special, and in fact he had chosen it at random from one of the piles of debris created by the teams of husede and kobolds who were slowly clearing the parts of the city damaged in the fight against Zhangwo.


    Slightly nervous, Kaz picked up the innocent-looking pouch and gave it a tiny bit of ki. This time, he used his left hand, so when it clung to his skin, it wasn¡¯t nearly as bothersome as when it had occupied his right. To his relief, it dropped off almost immediately, and he thought that if it hadn¡¯t needed to draw enough blue ki to balance the other colors, it wouldn¡¯t have taken long enough to be noticeable at all.


    Once the soft, rich cloth relaxed into his palm, he gingerly drew apart the strings tying it shut. It fell open into an almost full circle as he let out the strings to their greatest length, and unlike the narrow-mouthed pouches the humans used, he thought a small kobold could fit in it, though he was a little too large. He certainly could have put a mosui into it, or at least on it, and he wondered with a hint of dark humor if this bag would keep its contents as perfectly preserved as Lianhua¡¯s pouch, and if so, what the kobolds in the Deep would make of the corpse of one of the mole-people.


    Li¡¯s mind was obviously still on her belly, because as Kaz idly pictured himself dropping half a dozen mosui into the bag, Li substituted her open maw for the pouch, and seemed quite pleased with the idea.


    Kaz shook his head. Most of the meat they had eaten lately was niu, with some fuergar and janjio brought in from the higher levels. Still, there wasn¡¯t much, and niu tasted strange to him, sweet in a not-unpleasant way, but definitely not familiar. Even though Li seemed able to get nutrition from almost anything, he thought she needed more meat in order to be able to properly use the energy she was getting from her illicit ki-crystal snacks.


    ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this,¡± he chided gently, reaching up for Li to climb onto his arm. She was definitely heavier now, and her body stretched slightly more than the full length of his arm, though much of that was tail.


    ¡°You can¡¯t eat intelligent creatures,¡± he told her. ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t kill them yourself. No one will want to be your friend if they think you might eat them after they die.¡±


    Li clicked sulkily, looking away. She sent an image of a large dragon, humanoid shape clutched in powerful claws, flying away to eat in privacy.


    He sighed. ¡°No, not even if you do it in secret. Someone will find out, and knowing you¡¯ve eaten people would make the other people very nervous.¡±


    She glanced to the side, a sly picture of herself gobbling down all of Kaz¡¯s ki crystals dropping into his mind.


    He suppressed a chuckle, trying to sound stern. ¡°No. I don¡¯t care if you eat all the red crystals nearby, so long as you don¡¯t get caught, but these are for later. Now shush. I need to focus.¡±


    The dragon whistled, half-offended, but she was curious what Kaz¡¯s new pouch could do as well, so she curled up on the stone beside him, laying her head on her front feet as she watched.


    Kaz placed the pouch on the floor, opened to its greatest circumference, then dropped his pebble in the middle of it. Nothing happened. He pulled on the string, closing the bag, then peered inside. As he¡¯d suspected, the rock was still there, sitting in the bottom of the pouch.


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    ¡°All right,¡± he muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll feed you, but you¡¯d better stop taking so much.¡± Kaz supposed he would have to start storing more blue ki in his central dantian, if only to be sure he had enough for the greedy bag. He already had the seed stealing more than half of the gold ki he produced, he didn¡¯t need this object taking his small thread of blue on a regular basis.


    With a sigh, Kaz fed the bag another spark of ki, and to his pleasure it took very little this time. He assumed that was because he had just fed it, so perhaps if he simply made a habit of touching it and giving it a bit of energy every now and then, it wouldn¡¯t need so much at once.


    This time, when he peered inside, the pebble was gone, and the clean, supple fabric of the bag shone up at him with a subtle sheen. Kaz grinned, then scratched his muzzle. Looking down at Li, he muttered, ¡°Now, how do I get it back?¡±


    The dragon yawned, pink tongue curling into a lazy curve with what he knew was entirely feigned disinterest.


    Kaz shook his head, then thought back to all the times he¡¯d seen one of the humans remove something from one of their storage items. It certainly didn¡¯t seem difficult, so perhaps it was as easy as-


    He touched the bag, feeding it ki even as he pictured the rock he¡¯d just put inside. Something shifted inside the cloth, and this time when he looked inside, the pebble was back.


    Kaz repeated this process several times, and found that a tiny spark of ki was all it took to make the transfer each time. Once, he licked the stone, then put it inside, and found that when he took it out several minutes later, it was exactly as wet as it had been when it went in. Another time, he used red ki to warm it, and it was still noticeably hot when it came out, no matter how long he waited. He was fairly certain that the pouch was, in fact, keeping objects exactly as they had been when they went in, and he absently wondered what would happen if he put something living into it.


    His eye fell on Li, who hissed at him half-heartedly, and his tail wagged as he sent her an image of dropping a little golden dragon into the bag. She hissed again, a little more seriously this time, and returned a picture of herself, dangling a thrashing blue kobold over the splayed-open pouch.


    He yipped laughter. ¡°No one else can use it, though,¡± he reminded her.


    Clicking disdainfully, Li pulled harder on her link with Kaz¡¯s core, then fed some of his own ki into the pouch, which promptly spat out the stone he had cooled with black ki some five minutes earlier. She couldn¡¯t produce her own red ki, but she could manipulate Kaz¡¯s, at least enough for this. The tip of her tail twitched, knocking the bag over, and the pouch disgorged the rock, which rolled over to bump gently against Kaz¡¯s knee.


    Kaz stared down at the little pebble, feeling first surprised, then pleased. It was actually a good thing that Li could access the contents of his new item. Her little hand-paws were far more dexterous than the mosui¡¯s flat, clawed hands, but she still had a hard time undoing the knot on his pack. Most of the time, he was glad the greedy little thief couldn¡¯t get into his things, but soon she would be large enough to carry this pouch on her own, and if they were separated, or something happened to Kaz, it would be good if she could use it.


    While he knew she could tell what he was really feeling, he also knew she was expecting a certain reaction, so he snorted, gently flicking the pebble back at her. It was still noticeably cooler than the surrounding air, so when Li swallowed his test pebble whole, he decided it was time to move on to the next step.


    Picking up one of the collar pieces, Kaz checked to make sure it wasn¡¯t the one with the scratches on it. For some reason, he was reluctant to risk the one that had saved Lianhua¡¯s life. Finding that this one was unblemished, Kaz pushed it through the opening of the pouch, even as he fed the bag a bit of ki. Always before, Kaz had released the pebble into the bag, so he was a bit surprised when there was a tug, and the collar half was pulled from his fingers, vanishing into the depths of the pouch.


    He shook his fingers slightly, feeling as if he¡¯d been shocked by one of the sparks of light that sometimes jumped between two kobolds. Puppies thought it was particularly fun to roll around on the ground until their fur stood up, then touch their parents or the den-mother. Kaz had never particularly liked the feeling, and he didn¡¯t care for this one, either.


    More cautiously, he reached into the pouch, giving it ki as he imagined the collar returning to his hand. Immediately, cool metal pressed into his fingers, pushing its way back out of the pouch with as much vigor as it had gone in. Once the whole collar piece had extruded itself again, he weighed the curve of metal in his palm, eyeing the bag thoughtfully.


    Was this why Lianhua and the others had smaller pouches? He could imagine putting something larger inside, then fumbling it when it came shooting back out. He didn¡¯t remember any of the humans having a problem like that, though, including Chi Yincang, who stored his long weapon in a ring on his right middle finger.


    Again, this pouch was old, so maybe the method had simply been refined since its creation. Whatever the reason for its enthusiastic acceptance and expulsion of the objects he put inside, he would just have to be ready to catch the things it spat out.


    One after another, Kaz fed in most of the objects he had been stuffing into his pack. It had been growing more and more difficult to get them all in without bursting a seam, and when he had only four items left in front of him, he looked at his deflated pack with some bemusement. It was definitely time for a new one, and though leather was as difficult to come by as meat in the city, there was a good amount of niu-fur cloth, and he was certain Eld or Dax would help him get enough to make a new pack.


    That left these four things: a wrinkled brown object Lianhua called a ¡®seed¡¯, a knife hilt with a sheared-off stub of blade, a complete knife with a rippled blade gleaming the lustrous color of adamantium, and a white orb glowing with lambent black and white ki. Kaz wasn¡¯t quite willing to trust the first three precious items, which he had carried with him since the very top of the mountain, to the bag. If anything happened to any of them, or if he couldn¡¯t get them out again, he would be extremely unhappy.


    The fourth, the white, spherical egg Kaz had stolen from the hoyi queen, was there for quite another reason. Kaz had fully intended to eat it since the moment he first held it, but he had been wary of doing so when he was in the middle of attempting to find and free Li, then Lianhua. He had seen what happened to the female kobolds who ate cores taken from other creatures, and though this wasn¡¯t a core, he sensed that it wasn¡¯t far from one, either.


    He had intended to ask Lianhua to watch over them when he and Li ate it, but the human was so engrossed in her research that she barely spoke beyond a grunt. She had, however, managed to pull herself out of her thoughts for long enough to tell him that they would be leaving first thing in the morning, and that meant Kaz¡¯s time had run out. If, as he suspected, it took some time and effort for them to absorb the ki inside the egg, they needed to begin now in order to be sure they had enough time to recover before they left the city.


    It was time to eat the egg.

 Chapter One hundred twenty-nine

    Kaz picked up the knife given to him by his Aunt Rega as she lay dying. She told him it had belonged to Kaz¡¯s father, Ghazt, though Kaz didn¡¯t remember ever seeing it before. Still, Kaz treasured it, not only because it reminded him of Rega and Ghazt, but because it was impossibly sharp and sturdy.


    Recently, when he found the storage cavern full of the mosui¡¯s most precious items, he had realized that his knife was made of adamantium, or at least an adamantium alloy, and he had learned from an elderly kobold warrior that folding metal repeatedly as it was forged removed impurities and made the metal much stronger than it would otherwise be.


    The wavy pattern in the blade of his knife showed that it had been forged this way, which made it valuable not only to him, but to anyone else who saw it. That made him wary of showing it to anyone, especially his fellow kobolds, who would do almost anything to gain such an item for their own tribe.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Kaz set the almost invisibly fine edge of the blade to the gleaming surface of the egg, ready to cut it in half, but stopped when Li whistled sharply. A picture came into his mind, of himself placing the orb into his own mouth, uncut.


    Kaz lifted the knife away, staring at Li. ¡°This could make you stronger,¡± he told her, but she turned her head away, deliberately closing her eyes.


    Another image formed, of a sneaky little dragon squeezing into alcoves all over the city while a blue kobold lazily slept the night away. One after another, crystals vanished from their places, and the dragon grew larger and larger until she couldn¡¯t fit into the small spaces any more.


    Kaz huffed a laugh, laying down the knife and rubbing his eyes. ¡°I knew you were eating the ones nearby, but you¡¯ve been sneaking out while I slept?¡±


    Self-satisfied affirmation. Li yawned again, curling around her own tail as she turned her back to him. Another image of blue kobold eating white egg, as a golden dragon¡¯s belly swelled with crystals. Li was so, so full, she couldn¡¯t eat this egg as well.


    He shook his head. Just a moment ago, she had been eyeing his crystals as if she hadn¡¯t eaten in weeks, and now she was too full to have even a small part of the ki-rich egg? He didn¡¯t believe it for a moment, but he was grateful nonetheless. He couldn¡¯t eat the things she could, but his body had been telling him since he first saw one of these eggs that it would help him grow.


    Gently, he reached out and stroked her back, scratching the itchy spot beneath her wing, where he could see the pale gleam of scales getting ready to be shed. His little friend was growing rapidly, and if he didn¡¯t want her to leave him behind, he should do the same.


    Picking up the egg, he dropped it into his mouth, where he crunched it between sharp teeth. Fluid gushed out, along with something small and crunchy that wriggled for a moment before he bit down again. He closed his eyes as he swallowed, and ki overwhelmed him.


    For the first time since he truly understood that what he saw as his core was actually only a picture conjured by his mind, he was drawn into that image unintentionally. There, he saw the four layers that made up his core, swirling wildly with ki. Usually, gold was the dominant color, with white, black, and red in lesser amounts, while threads of blue wound through it like sapphire veins.


    Now both black and white fought with gold for dominance, but to his relief it wasn¡¯t the aggressive and damaging sort of battle that took place in the cores of female kobolds who ingested cores contaminated by fulan. In fact, he had a feeling that if he simply gave it time, the ki would settle out into some new normal, which might allow him to produce more ki each time his core cycled, or might simply give him more ki to work with for some limited time.


    Either way, he had hoped for more, and he remembered Lianhua eating the thing she called a cultivation pill. It had filled her with ki, which she compressed and used to force herself into the next level of body cultivation, healing her wounds in the process. He thought she must have already been close to advancing, and it certainly hadn¡¯t seemed to be a comfortable process, but it was clearly worthwhile.


    Reaching out with his mind, Kaz caught his core in a mental grip, much as he had done with the corrupted core that he excised from Ehlan. He pressed down, forcing the image of his core into a smaller space. At first, he was careful, afraid that he would press too hard and crack it again, but as soon as he took hold of it he could tell that it was far stronger than it had been before. His constant, habitual compression, and occasional need to force it to produce more ki as needed, had worked together to make the material it was made of into something much denser than the brittle substance it had been when he left his tribe.


    Slowly, he squeezed harder and harder, soon finding it difficult to continue. The fresh black and white ki from the egg seemed to fight back, churning within his hold, like a wild creature trapped in a cage. For a moment, Kaz almost felt sorry for it, he and his friends having so recently been in a similar position, but then he reminded himself that this ki would soon be part of him, one way or another, and there was no way to free it now, even if he wanted to.


    With renewed determination, he pressed down again, seeing the colors inside his core deepen into saturated shades so dark they were nearly indistinguishable from each other. Then something gave, and he almost jerked back, releasing it, but there was no pain, like when he broke his core last time. No, if anything, this was a relief, like he had had a muscle cramp for so long that he had almost forgotten about it, and now it had finally relaxed.


    The relief of that yielding was so great that he almost let go again, feeling like he had achieved as much as he could, but he hesitated as he felt something else watching him. Turning his head, he saw Li hovering there, in her full draconic glory, without even the fuzzy outline of a fuergar that was all the illusion ring she wore could convince him to see. In a moment, the dragon¡¯s self-image took over, and she swelled: doubling, tripling, then growing to a size where she could reach out and cover his own hand with her taloned paw.


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    Very, very carefully, she squeezed, and Kaz spasmed as another of those knots released, and then another. The barest hint of what his physical body felt reached him, though, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Too hard, and too fast, too much at once. If he went on, even that partially refined muscle might burst, and everything he had done would be lost as he slipped into death.


    And Kaz was in no way ready to join his ancestors.


    Li seemed to come to the same conclusion, because she shrank back to only slightly larger than her actual size, though she didn¡¯t disappear from his consciousness again. Instead, she hovered there, wings beating lazily, as Kaz cautiously released his core.


    Ki flooded out, inundating his body with more power in general than it was used to, and far more black and white ki in particular. His body shivered in a way the frigid hoyi nest hadn¡¯t been able to cause, but his heart gradually settled down into a new rhythm, slower but at the same time more robust than before, as if each beat could contain and then push out the entirety of the blood in his body. That was impossible, of course, and yet he was certain that the organ was beating no more than once when it would have had time for two before, but he didn¡¯t feel weak or breathless at all. In fact, he felt better than he ever had in his life.


    This time, when he shifted to look at the image of his core, it was entirely intentional, and when he arrived, he found the dragon already there. She was circling his core, peering at it with golden eyes that sparkled with blue, black, and white, and she gave him a very smug look before fading from view.


    Kaz sent her amusement, which was met with a very firm feeling of ¡®tired dragon, do not disturb¡¯, so he moved on to see the results of his efforts. The first change was very obvious, and made Kaz happier than he would have thought possible. The handprint that Nucai had left when he compressed Kaz¡¯s shattered core back into a whole was now far less noticeable. The fingertips were still visible as long oval depressions, but the rest of the fingers were almost entirely smoothed out, and the shape of the palm was less defined.


    Beyond that, the silvery rivers of mana that had remained to mark the surface were narrower. Before, some of them had been almost as wide as Nucai¡¯s fingermarks, but now Kaz doubted any were wider than his own fingers, which were much smaller. The colors the compressed mana separated were more saturated as well, especially the black and white, which gleamed with a light of their own, rather than the lambent luminescence of the entirety.


    Delving beneath the surface, Kaz realized what had caused the sensations of release. Several of the larger remnants of the mana shell had dissolved, allowing the ki within to separate into the surrounding core. There were sparkles of silver in isolated areas where he remembered the leaden gray masses, and even as he watched, the swirling flow of ki carried some of them away, out into his channels.


    The next layer, that of pure, unadulterated core, he found closer to the surface than before. There, the colors mingled as they were meant to, flowing almost playfully around each other, though again, the black and white seemed both more common and more saturated than they used to be.


    He had learned by now to be very careful when passing beyond this relatively safe zone, and when he looked deeper, into the empty area surrounding the seed, he was glad he had. The force pulling him toward the gleaming golden seed hanging there was stronger than it had been last time he looked, and even more gold earth ki was draining away from the rest of his core. Fortunately, he was also producing more ki with each cycle, but if half of his earth ki had been vanishing into the seed before, now he thought it might be closer to three parts out of five, perhaps even a bit more.


    Not for the first time, Kaz worried what would happen if the seed took all of his gold ki. He was fairly certain that the other four colors were enough to keep him alive, but he would be significantly weaker, since nearly half of his total ki was earth. Perhaps it was time to find a way to cut away or destroy the seed? Or maybe he should just leave it here in the city when he and the humans left for the Deep.


    Something in him rebelled at the thought, though, and he decided to wait a little longer. He thought that the seed itself was changing as it took in his ki, and he still wanted to know what would happen if he somehow managed to fill it. If it started absorbing his other colors of ki, or disrupting rather than enhancing the flow inside his core, he would do something about it, but for now?


    For now, this was good enough.


    Opening his eyes, Kaz tried to sit up, but his body trembled as the muscles in his abdomen tightened. A spasm shook him, then another, and he curled on his side as an inexorable pressure rose in the back of his throat. His jaws stretched wide as a flood of black gunk spewed from his muzzle, spreading over the stone floor. Hacking and choking, Kaz curled around his belly, expunging more of the impurities his body had taken in since his birth.


    Beside him, Li, who had been curled up nearby, scurried out of the path of the foulness, which trickled slowly toward her. A rancid stench rose up, and Kaz, too, attempted to shift out of the way, though he suddenly felt as if he had only imagined the power filling his body moments before. This was far worse than the last time he went through this, and his body was wracked with convulsions as it struggled to expel more filth.


    When there was finally nothing left to vomit out, Kaz found himself lying splayed on his back, arms and legs spread wide. A narrowing black streak led to his current position, which was several feet from the pool lurking on the floor where he had originally laid. There was far less of the putrid sediment than he would have guessed, and he could have held it all in his cupped palms if he was so foolish as to attempt to do so.


    The room stank, but Kaz was entirely unable to do anything about it. Weakly, he thought it would be nice if he had one of the yumi-fluff stuffed pillows the husede had given him, but they were all the way across the room. He sighed, closing his eyes, and had very nearly drifted into exhausted sleep when something soft pressed against his ear.


    Blinking, Kaz rolled his head to the side, and his muzzle came to rest on the soft thing, which he could now see was one of the pillows he had just been wishing for. A small, but not tiny, dragon was pulling it, her teeth ripping little holes in the fabric, allowing bits of beige fluff to poke out. She tugged again, and a few pieces of the soft stuff escaped, poofing into the air and then coming down to rest on golden scales. The dragon sneezed sharply, once, twice, then returned to her efforts. A small trail of debris showed just how far she had dragged the thing, which was easily four times her own size.


    Smiling, Kaz managed to roll over, lifting his head enough to lay it on the pillow. This left quite a bit of the poofy surface unoccupied, and Li climbed onto it, her weight barely denting it as she curled up beside his head. Then she sniffed, wrinkled her snout, and moved further away, though she didn¡¯t quite vacate the pillow entirely.


    They slept.

 Chapter One hundred thirty

    No one had found any more of the hidden stairs yet, not that they seemed to be looking, but now that the mosui were gone, getting to the stairs kobolds usually used shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. This exit was on the husede¡¯s residential level, so they would have to go down four more sets of stairs before they left the Nine, but that shouldn¡¯t pose too much of a challenge either, now that the fulan was being burned out.


    Kaz looked at the ten males who would be going with them, and his ears flattened slightly in worry. They were a sad sight, some missing a hand or paw, and one had a ring of raised and puckered scars around his torso where he¡¯d been bitten by something very large. All of them had matching looks of grim determination, except for the smallest one, who just looked nervous, eyes darting around as he hung behind the largest and least damaged of the others.


    This one was Dett, of course. Kaz wondered how it was that the small male was even there, and hadn¡¯t decided to remain in the city until he was certain the path to the Deep was as safe as it could get. A few fresh bruises argued that someone had decided they didn¡¯t like the former miner, hastening Dett¡¯s decision to leave sooner, rather than later. The cobbled-together warrior¡¯s necklace he had been wearing was notably absent.


    Kaz turned to Dax, who looked nearly as grim as the departing males. ¡°Are you certain they can all make it?¡± he asked, tilting his head toward the kobold who was missing a paw. He had strapped a carved piece of bone to the stump, but it looked uncomfortable, if not outright painful, and he moved slowly.


    Dax was as gruff as ever when he said, ¡°They understand the risks. If you have to leave one or more of them behind, no one will blame you.¡± His voice softened slightly as he met Kaz¡¯s eyes. ¡°I trust you not to abandon them if there¡¯s any other option.¡±


    Kaz wanted to hunch his shoulders beneath the weight of that statement, but instead he straightened them and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    ¡°All right!¡± Lianhua¡¯s voice squeaked slightly, but she cleared her throat, straightened her own shoulders, and looked around at the motley group. ¡°All right! We¡¯re going to follow Geru to the stairs. Everyone listen to him, and if we¡¯re attacked, just gather up and let us do the fighting.¡±


    Her cheeks were pink, and she seemed relieved when all the kobolds looked away from her and toward the brown-furred warrior standing beside Dax. He had the bare ring of skin around his neck that indicated he had been a captive for a long time, and a good amount of the skin and fur on his right arm and side were burned and patchy.


    Geru¡¯s voice was hoarse, though Kaz didn¡¯t know if that was because of whatever had caused the burns or if it was just his natural tone. He looked around, meeting each kobold¡¯s eyes, then said, ¡°I¡¯ve been helping burn the fulan on this level, so I know where the traps are, and how to reach the stairs. The mosui left behind a mess, so even if something I tell you to do seems ridiculous, you need to do it.¡±


    Wincing, he held up his right arm a bit. ¡°This happened when I got too confident, and fell into a pit while I was holding a pot of oil and a lit torch. I don¡¯t want to see any of you go through that.¡±


    Ears flattened and tails tucked at the mere thought, and Kaz was frankly amazed that the other kobold was in good enough condition to lead them out. On the other hand, there probably weren¡¯t many kobolds who knew the right path, so Dax¡¯s choices for a guide must have been limited.


    Fortunately, Geru¡¯s legs were undamaged, so once the group got started, they were able to move fairly quickly. The warrior missing a paw, Ratre, was the slowest of the group, but he somehow managed to keep moving quickly enough that he didn¡¯t hold them back too much, especially since Geru was being extremely cautious.


    Kaz could see how much work the kobolds and husede had already put into clearing the level. The pit traps were open and clearly visible, though sometimes difficult to maneuver around. There were some rockfall traps that Geru guided them through. They hadn¡¯t yet been disabled because no one wanted to have to clear away a pile of rocks from the tunnel if they were accidentally triggered.


    Burned-out patches of moss and mushrooms were everywhere. The fulan had been allowed to run its course on this level for so long that plant life was small and stunted, so the burned areas were modest but constant. There were almost no spores in the air, which was a great relief to Kaz and Li.


    By now, even Lianhua was convinced that no one without a core was at risk, so while Lianhua made a small shield around her head to keep out even the lingering remnants, Raff and Chi Yincang didn¡¯t even wear masks. Kaz had practiced with Lianhua¡¯s shield rune until he could make something that was nearly identical to the small one she used, so he and Li breathed easily within a sphere of perfectly clean air that no one else could see. Kaz didn¡¯t know how to adjust the rune to make the shield larger or thicker, but for now, it worked, and he would ask Lianhua to teach him how to manipulate it later.


    They reached the stairs without trouble, and Geru barked a short farewell as Lianhua hurried forward to examine the map carved into the stone beside the entrance to the stairs. A few of the warriors looked as if they wanted to follow the brown-furred male back to the city, but they just shuffled awkwardly in place as they waited.


    Lianhua, of course, pulled out her book and sketched the map before leaning in to examine it closely. Her fingers traced the stacked lines around the outside, which were entirely absent from the maps inside the city itself, and she clicked her tongue thoughtfully as she eyed the different figures.


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    Tapping one of the ones with a long, thick tail and what looked like spikes protruding from its head, she said, ¡°Kaz? Do your people have anything that looks like this? Ceremonial garb, maybe?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. He had assumed the difference was because of some form of ancient armor, but now that he knew the mosui, at least, had been created, he had an entirely different guess.


    Lianhua glanced around at the others, who were all listening in, if only because they had nothing else to do while waiting on her. ¡°Do you think they¡¯re¡­ like the mosui, then?¡±


    The mosui and the kobolds, if her interpretation of Zhangwo¡¯s records was correct. Kaz shrugged. ¡°Possibly. If so, they must have either left the mountain or died out. There aren¡¯t many of them in any of the carvings I¡¯ve seen, so maybe they were rare to begin with. The mountain is a hard place, and many tribes have simply vanished over the years. Even the mosui can¡¯t be to blame for all of them.¡±


    She nodded thoughtfully, then leaned in, squinting. ¡°I should have looked at more of these before we left the city. The ones here are too worn down to show any detail. Do these look like horns to you, though?¡±


    Kaz had actually spent some time examining the carvings in the city, trying to figure out how to find the secret stairs, and he had seen details that were no longer visible on this one. Somewhat reluctantly, he nodded. ¡°I thought they might be some kind of skin or armor the kobolds are wearing. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it, but I¡¯m beginning to realize there¡¯s a lot I don¡¯t know about my own people.¡±


    He meant it as a poor excuse for a joke, but it failed miserably, because Lianhua only looked remorseful as she stepped away from the wall. She put a smile on her face, but it was a far cry from the cheerful or enthusiastic one she usually wore when she was learning something new. Clearly, there was still something standing between them, but Kaz had no idea what it was, or how to address it.


    Turning away, Lianhua looked at the group, then back at Kaz. ¡°Kaz, do you know how to reach the Deep from here?¡±


    They had already discussed this, so she knew he did, but this gave him a chance to answer in front of everyone. ¡°I do,¡± he said, trying to sound as confident as he could.


    She nodded and gave him a stiff smile before stepping to the side. Kaz moved past her, and set his paw on the first step.


    =+=+=+=


    Four levels went by in a blur of silent stairs and long pauses to wait as Ratre and the other kobolds recovered from the effort of going down hundreds of tall steps. Each stairway ended in a small cavern leading to a straight hallway with high ceilings and squared-off walls. They ran into patches of fulan and clouds of spores in these halls, but none on the stairs, and it was never so bad that the kobolds needed masks.


    There were no guards or recent totems at the top or bottom of the stairs, even when they finally reached the first of the last four mid-levels. The fulan was thicker here, and all of the kobolds pricked up their ears when they heard distant howls. There was no meaning to the sound, however, just furious noise, so even the ones who had looked hopeful soon tucked their tails and hurried on.


    A few times, they heard movement down a branching tunnel, and once, Kaz saw a broken and bloodstained totem lying abandoned in the darkness of a cavern as they passed by. He doubted if anyone else could see it in the dimness, so he said nothing, just hurried the group onward.


    The first sign that things might be getting better was on the next level. There were burned patches not far down the large hall, and the remnants of blackened bones lay in what had probably started as a neat pile. There was enough left to tell that whatever the creature had been, it wasn¡¯t something Kaz recognized, and it had far more limbs than anything except an insect, which it clearly wasn¡¯t. So not only had someone killed this monster, they had also had the wisdom and the ability to burn it, which indicated that they still had females or firemoss, either one of which was a good sign.


    Kaz led the group around the patch of soot-stained stone, then looked at Lianhua. ¡°Do you want to talk to the kobolds on this level, if they¡¯re still alive and able to hold a conversation?¡±


    She bit her lip, glancing at Chi Yincang, who offered nothing but his usual dispassionate fa?ade. Raff, who generally had something to say about almost anything, also glanced at the dark human and held his tongue.


    With a sigh, Lianhua shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. We¡¯re going to the Deep, not trying to find clues in the mid-levels. I doubt they know anything about the Diushi that I didn¡¯t learn from Zhangwo¡¯s scrolls and the husede.¡±


    Kaz nodded. He doubted that anyone still alive here would be particularly interested in trading information anyway. People who were just desperately trying to survive weren¡¯t generally very friendly, in his experience.


    They passed through this level as well, though the kobolds with them stopped more than once as they heard a distant howl. These were the usual sorts of howls, checking in with each other, and, once, calling for help, a call which was quickly answered. Whoever still remained here, they were maintaining at least some pretense of normalcy.


    When the group reached the next set of stairs, one of the males stopped. He was in fairly good shape, other than being far too thin. ¡°My tribe used to live here,¡± he said. ¡°I want to see¡­ if there are any of them left.¡±


    Kaz and Lianhua exchanged glances, but there was no point in trying to make him stay with them. So far, they hadn¡¯t even seen anything dangerous, and if he¡¯d come from here, he undoubtedly knew the tunnels well enough to reach his den.


    Lianhua nodded, then reached into her pouch and pulled out a small square of cloth. All of the males had packs full of food and water-bladders, as well as some kind of weapon, but otherwise they had nothing to recommend them to a new tribe. If the tribe they were hearing wasn¡¯t this warrior¡¯s old one, they had no reason to take him in other than replacing some of the warriors they¡¯d lost recently, and if food was as scarce as Kaz feared, that might not be enough.


    Lianhua handed the cloth to the kobold, who turned the cheerful yellow piece of cloth over in his hands. Lianhua had been using these handkerchiefs to trade with the tribes in the upper levels, and she once told Kaz she had dozens of them. He had no idea why she needed so many, since as far as he could tell she only wiped her fingers and face with them, but it was a kind gesture to give one to this warrior.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± she said. ¡°I hope you find your tribe.¡±


    The kobold bowed deeply, pressing the hand holding the handkerchief against his heart. ¡°Fair howls,¡± he said, then turned and loped off back down the hall.


    They lost another of the warriors on the next level, when he insisted he recognized a particular howl. His handkerchief was green.


    Finally, they reached the last of the mid-levels, and there, everything changed.

 Chapter One hundred thirty-one

    Six warriors waited at the bottom of the stairs, gold-bladed knives and teeth bared as they glared up at the descending group. They made no move to attack until Raff, who moved into the lead as soon as he saw them, went to set foot on the tunnel floor.


    The largest warrior, a black-furred male with eyes almost as dark as Chi Yincang¡¯s, growled fiercely, stepping into Raff¡¯s path. ¡°Go back up, intruders,¡± he said. ¡°Our chief wants no fulan, and no refugees.¡±


    Lianhua laid her hand on Raff¡¯s shoulder, looked straight at the kobold, and firmly said, ¡°We¡¯re going to the Deep. We don¡¯t want to fight, but we won¡¯t let you stop us.¡± She gestured at the group, and though the remaining males were less than imposing, it was still clear that the warriors were outnumbered, even without considering Kaz and the humans.


    The black-furred warrior¡¯s gaze flickered to the ball of light hanging over Lianhua¡¯s shoulder. It was larger than Gaoda¡¯s, though she had finally managed to control the amount of ki she put into it so it didn¡¯t blind everyone nearby. It marked her as a female, which meant someone more important needed to deal with her.


    Without looking around, he yipped at the warriors behind him, and one of them stepped back, lifting his muzzle. A long, ululating howl rang out, and was repeated a moment later. Two more echoes reached Kaz¡¯s ears, and then a reply came after a short delay. This, too, was taken up, and the ears of all six warriors twitched when the repeated response grew close enough that they could hear it as well.


    ¡°Wait,¡± the leader growled, and they all did so.


    A minute passed, then two, and then Ratre sat down with a deep sigh. He didn¡¯t pull off the carved bone strapped to his leg, as he had done a few times before, but he did rub the stump with fingers that shook slightly. Another male sat down beside him, this one missing his left arm up to the elbow, and rubbed his muzzle wearily with his remaining hand. They knew they were safe on the stairs, and this was their best chance to rest, whether they had to go back up, or were allowed to continue on.


    Dett, who had stayed small and quiet, lingering in the center of the group the entire journey downward, now slipped down to stand beside Kaz. He glanced at the warriors, then the totems standing on each side of the bottom step. These were made of leather, draped over a kobold skull and painted a deep yellow. From the smell of it, a good bit of sulfur had gone into the paint or dye they had used.


    Kaz glanced back at the little male, taking in the uncharacteristic uncertainty on Dett¡¯s face, and his fingers twitched in the small motions needed to draw the sound obscuration rune he¡¯d learned from Lianhua. It wouldn¡¯t keep the strange kobolds from hearing, but it would make it difficult for them to understand what was said.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kaz murmured, and Lianhua cast him a frown. They had decided that it would be best if any new kobolds they met weren¡¯t shown Kaz¡¯s abilities, but Kaz was well aware that they would dismiss anything strange that happened as Lianhua¡¯s doing. Unless Kaz did something they absolutely couldn¡¯t convince themselves hadn¡¯t happened, he should be safe from suspicion. And, really, it no longer mattered if they knew, it was just easier if they didn¡¯t.


    Dett looked nervously at the waiting warriors, then whispered, ¡°I think I know this tribe. My tribe, the Goldblades, had several subsidiary tribes, and this was one of them. They¡¯re the Goldcoat tribe, or they were. I don¡¯t know why they¡¯d be here, though. The Goldblades take care of their lessers. They wouldn¡¯t allow them to be exiled from the Deep without a fight, unless they were no longer allies.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°Would they recognize you? Or if something happened between your tribe and theirs, would it be a problem if they found out who you are?¡±


    Dett looked down at his ragged fur, one hand reaching up to touch the bare ring of skin around his throat. ¡°I don¡¯t want them to know who I am,¡± he said finally. ¡°Not without knowing what happened. But if they have the same chief, she¡¯s very proud, but knows her place. If your female can prove that she¡¯s stronger, Tezne will try to find a way to prevent conflict. She won¡¯t start a fight she can¡¯t win.¡±


    Kaz nodded, and Dett slunk back up a few steps, settling in so he was partially hidden behind Chi Yincang. Since Gaoda had been transformed into a statue and tucked away, Chi Yincang had spent a great deal more time visible and with the party, and Kaz suspected he had disliked the gold-furred male far more than he had let on. Though perhaps he simply wanted to be there in case Lianhua needed him. Honestly, it was hard to tell.


    Sidling over to Lianhua, Kaz relayed the information Dett had given him, and he could almost see the calculations going on behind her eyes. They had used intimidation to get past other tribes before, and though Lianhua was more inclined toward diplomacy, she could easily overpower any female kobold Kaz knew of.


    Silently, Kaz swiped his hand against his loincloth, wiping away the rune that had been invisible to anyone but him. Meanwhile, four more light orbs rose from Lianhua¡¯s shoulders and began circling her head lazily. Their light was reflected in the eyes of the six warriors, and one of them took a half-step back before returning to his position.


    The click of claws on stone warned of the approach of several more kobolds, though they stopped just out of sight. A short yip came from the hallways behind the warriors, and with a glance at Lianhua, the leader of the six barked a response.


    Eight more males edged their way out of the shadows, weapons ready. In their center stood a single female, not much taller than Dett, with gleaming golden fur and yellow eyes. Her core was one of the strongest Kaz had seen, and spun with gold and white ki.


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    She looked from Lianhua to the hovering orbs, eyes wide, but still managed to snarl as she approached. The group stopped out of reach of hand-held weapons, though well within ki-bolt range, and the six warriors who had been stationed by the stairs fell back, adding another layer of protection for the female.


    ¡°You were told to go back,¡± the gold-furred female barked. ¡°No one is allowed through until the fulan is gone. The Deep is closed.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s orbs sparked, and Raff¡¯s long sword slid from its sheath with a slow, menacing scrape. Chi Yincang¡¯s weapon appeared from nothing, the butt of it striking the stair with a sharp crack.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the Deep,¡± Lianhua said, raising a hand that suddenly glowed with deep yellow flames. ¡°We¡¯ve traveled down from the heights, through the mid-levels, and destroyed an entire civilization on the way.¡±


    A bit of an exaggeration, since the husede and kobolds were the ones who destroyed the mosui. In fact, Lianhua was the only reason even a single one of the mole-people was still alive.


    The female kobold didn¡¯t seem impressed, however. She glared, a low growl rumbling from her chest. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you single-handedly wiped out the mosui. The Deep is closed, and so is this level.¡±


    Lianhua let out a bark of sharp, surprised laughter. ¡°We did,¡± she agreed. ¡°Though not single-handedly. And I¡¯m getting damned tired of every damn person in this damned mountain thinking that they can stop me!¡±


    With that, she raised her hand, and let a flurry of ki-bolts fly. Kaz could see that though they glowed brightly, there wasn¡¯t really much ki in each one, but the other kobolds didn¡¯t know that. To them, it would look like they were being assaulted by a single person who was somehow able to summon as many bolts as a whole tribe¡¯s worth of females.


    Yipping loudly, all the males leaped in front of the female, even as a shield snapped into place around her, a glittering dome to Kaz¡¯s vision. Lianhua wasn¡¯t done yet, though, and her bolts curved, rather than continuing on their original trajectories. Several struck the males who surrounded the gold-furred female, but more hit her shield, causing a sudden dimming of the light in her core as she pulled on it to keep the shield intact. The scent of burned fur rose, and the males who had been hit had snarls of pain on their muzzles, but none of them were down, and there were obviously no serious injuries.


    Unfortunately, Lianhua¡¯s assault broke the rule of neutrality for the stairs, which meant the defending kobolds now had every right to retaliate. Ratre and the other males who had chosen to sit while they were in what they perceived as safety now scrambled to their feet, but Ratre¡¯s false paw had come loose while he was rubbing the stump, and he tumbled forward, yelping loudly.


    Moving faster than any normal kobold could, Kaz grabbed the toppling male, lifting his not-insubstantial weight with ease. Without thinking, he sent a trickle of blue and black ki down to soothe the damaged male¡¯s obvious pain, and Ratre stilled in his arms, staring at him in astonishment.


    Li clicked in exasperation as every kobold there stopped to stare at Kaz, a puppy holding an adult male almost as large as he was himself, while standing on only one paw, the other one out behind him for balance. Kaz felt his ears warm beneath the scrutiny, and he gently set Ratre back on the step beside him, though he continued supporting the one-pawed kobold.


    Six more globes of light formed above Lianhua¡¯s shoulders, and she set her hands on her hips dramatically. Kaz might have imagined the sudden glee on her face, but he didn¡¯t think so.


    ¡°Let us through,¡± she said pompously, and Kaz definitely wasn¡¯t imagining a shadow of Gaoda¡¯s voice behind her words. ¡°Or face the consequences!¡±


    As one, all of the kobold¡¯s eyes turned to the female, whose shield faltered and then fell. She sighed. ¡°All right,¡± she said, ¡°you can go ahead. But you still can¡¯t reach the Deep.¡±


    Lianhua glared haughtily and opened her mouth to argue. Then she stopped, her eyes narrowed, and she just asked, ¡°Why not?¡±


    The other female waved irritably to her guards, and they parted reluctantly. All except one, a particularly well-muscled male with fur the same color as the female¡¯s, who had arrived with her. He was probably related to her, since they didn¡¯t have matching mate charms on their necklaces.


    ¡°They collapsed the stairs,¡± she said. ¡°A few days ago, one of the monsters tore through my warriors and managed to get down to the Deep. The next day, we had a cave-in. The stairs are well and truly blocked, so no one will be getting by until they¡¯re cleared.¡±


    Lianhua stared at her. ¡°They just trapped you up here with the fulan-spawn? Don¡¯t they know you could easily become infected, too?¡±


    Looking bitter, the female snapped, ¡°Of course they know. That¡¯s why they sent me instead of my sister. I¡¯m disposable.¡± Her teeth clicked together as she realized what she¡¯d said, and all of the warriors surrounding her carefully avoided eye contact.


    Stepping down from the stairs, Lianhua held her hand out, then realized what she was doing and instead tilted her head slightly, one female acknowledging another, just as Kaz had taught her. He almost nodded in approval.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lianhua,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°My party had to come all the way down through the mountain because the entrance to the Deep was closed. On the way, we ran into the mosui, and, well, their city isn¡¯t any more. Theirs, I mean. The husede and kobolds who live there now have been clearing out the fulan, which is why it¡¯s been getting better. I really need to reach the Deep, and I and my people can do a lot to help clear some rocks.¡±


    The other female blinked, then yipped a short laugh. She tipped her head, exactly matching the courtesy Lianhua had offered. ¡°I¡¯m Senge, of the Goldcoat tribe. I was sent here to guard the entrance to the Deep after a few of the abominations found their way down to us. I failed, and being abandoned here,¡± she waved around at the rocky walls, ¡°is my punishment.¡±


    A slow, sly grin split Senge¡¯s muzzle, and she said, ¡°I would very much welcome an opportunity to return to the Deep. Especially if I can get there before my sister and my mother expect me, if they expect me at all.¡±

 Chapter One hundred thirty-two

    Senge and her brother, Brez, led the group back to their den. Senge repeatedly called it ¡®temporary¡¯, and after the third time, Kaz caught Brez giving his sister an amused glance. Apparently, the males, or at least Brez, didn¡¯t think it would be as short-term as Senge did.


    As they walked, the warriors around them relaxed slowly, though Kaz clearly saw two of them try to settle in at Lianhua¡¯s back, where they could easily attack her if she went for Senge. Raff and Chi Yincang noticed as well, however, and moved into place behind the human female, preventing anyone else from getting close, much as kobold warriors would have done for their chief.


    Once again, Kaz found himself in an odd, in-between place. The former captives remained silent, following Lianhua¡¯s lead, and Senge¡¯s warriors did the same for her. Kaz, however, no longer felt the need to follow the strict rules governing his people, and was less certain than he had once been that he completely understood them. It was strange to realize that he found himself more comfortable in the presence of the humans than the kobolds.


    At last, Senge halted in the center of the hall, indicating a wide tunnel that led off to their right. ¡°Our makeshift den is that way, but if you want, we can go on to the stairs. It might help if you see the extent of the damage.¡±


    Lianhua immediately nodded, but Kaz saw the looks of exhaustion on the faces of most of the males they had brought with them. Stepping up beside her, he spoke softly. ¡°Lianhua, the others,¡± he said, tilting his head to show which ¡®others¡¯ he meant.


    Lianhua looked around, then bit her lip, obviously torn, so Kaz drew in a deep breath and did something he never would have imagined when he lived as his mother¡¯s son. He spoke to a female without invitation.


    ¡°Could these males stay here or in the den while we go look at the stairs?¡± he asked, looking directly into Senge¡¯s eyes. ¡°They¡¯re tired, and they need to rest.¡±


    Around him, warriors stiffened, and the fur on Brez¡¯s neck lifted. A low growl emanated from deep in his chest, but Kaz ignored it, keeping his eyes on Senge. On his shoulder, a disinterested-seeming Li watched the other kobolds through half-lidded eyes, ready to warn Kaz if any of them made a move.


    For her part, Senge seemed too shocked to speak, at least until Lianhua nodded with relief. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, Kaz,¡± she said before looking at Senge with a bright, close-lipped smile. ¡°Would that be all right? If you¡¯re not comfortable with them, or us, being in your den, we can camp out here somewhere instead.¡±


    Senge shook her head, then nodded. ¡°I was going to take you to the den. If you promise your males won¡¯t cause any trouble, they can go ahead.¡±


    Lianhua blinked, though Kaz had warned her that if they ran into kobolds, she would be expected to make decisions and take responsibility for their whole group. Looking back at the eight kobolds remaining with her, she asked, ¡°Do you want to go with us, stay here, or go to the den?¡±


    The males shifted uncomfortably at being given so many options, but surprisingly, Ratre answered. Either he¡¯d come from a more permissive tribe, or he, like Kaz, had decided he wasn¡¯t going to be silent and obedient any more. ¡°The den,¡± he said, voice raspy. ¡°We haven¡¯t been in a proper den in¡­ a long time.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, then turned to Raff. ¡°Would you- I mean, Raff, you stay with them. Make sure no misunderstandings happen, all right?¡±


    Raff looked surprised, glanced at Chi Yincang, who didn¡¯t react, and shrugged, grinning. ¡°Whatever you say, m¡¯lady.¡±


    Senge sent one of her guards with them, and Raff followed the group of kobolds as they marched, slunk, and limped down the tunnel. Kaz was surprised to see Dett cast him a pleading look, but it was too late to call him back without attracting undue attention to the small kobold. Dett would just have to do what he did best, and sneak around the edges.


    Their much-smaller group, made up of Senge, her remaining guards, Kaz, Lianhua, and Chi Yincang, continued on, and soon enough they reached the telltale arch that always came before the stairs. Whether it led to another short section of hallway or, more commonly, an open cavern containing the steps, these arches were ubiquitous and instantly recognizable by the worn carvings that covered them.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, Lianhua stopped as she passed through this one, her hand reaching out to not quite touch the stone. She was taller than any kobold, so the section she was looking at so intently hadn¡¯t been eroded by generations of shoulders and fingers trailing over the stone.


    After a moment, she took out her book and began sketching rapidly, then gave a click of her tongue and turned to Kaz, holding out the pen. ¡°You¡¯re a better artist than me,¡± she said casually. ¡°Would you sketch this? This section here.¡±


    She pointed, but Kaz was too busy trying to catch his breath to look properly. An artist? Him? Artists were something only those in the Deep could spare, where tribes were large enough, and resources abundant enough that there were ¡®extra¡¯ kobolds, and the tribe could provide for them in exchange for something so intangible as art.


    With shaking fingers, Kaz reached out and took the pen. He looked up, and instantly recognized something he never would have been able to before. Runes. They were subtle, and almost artistic themselves. There were no extra flourishes, because that would have changed their meaning, but there were other carvings surrounding them, and these were so intricate that they almost completely obscured the graceful, sweeping lines of the words.


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    As Kaz drew, Lianhua stood on her toes, leaning in to see better, while her light orb drifted closer. As the shadows shifted, Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Stop,¡± he said, voice vibrating with suppressed excitement. ¡°Move the orb back. A little more. There!¡±


    Stretching to his full height, he pointed with the end of the pen, wishing he was as tall as Lianhua. With a huff, Lianhua reached out, setting her hands on his waist and lifting, as everyone around them stared in astonishment.


    Kaz ignored them all, though he wasn¡¯t exactly comfortable with his position or the attention, and Li was even less pleased with the situation. If anyone else had dared to pick Kaz up, Li would have bitten them, but while she wasn¡¯t yet willing to trust Lianhua again, she did recognize that the human wasn¡¯t a threat to her kobold friend.


    Kaz tucked the book and pen beneath his belt, then gingerly scratched at the blackened surface with a claw, revealing a crystal embedded in the curve of a rune. The ki in it was faint; barely there, in fact. In the next rune, a similar crystal lay hidden. There were five crystals in all, five colors, buried beneath centuries of smoke, and only visible to Kaz¡¯s eyes because the first, the yellow, had caught a bit of the ki drifting from Lianhua¡¯s orb and flashed for a brief moment.


    ¡°Are those ki-crystals?¡± Lianhua asked, sounding fascinated. She still held Kaz, but no longer lifted him quite as high, though her grip remained firm.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°They¡¯re almost entirely drained. And I think this is only the top of them. They¡¯re like-¡± He stopped, aware of the many pairs of perked ears turned toward him. Instead of finishing the sentence, he turned his hand so the crystal in his ring caught the light. Since his finger prevented light from passing through it, it just looked like a dull, dark stone at the moment, but Lianhua understood.


    ¡°More than they seem, hmm?¡± Lianhua mused. Looking back at Kaz, she asked, ¡°Can you, ah, make them work?¡±


    Give them ki, she meant, and Kaz hesitated. If he did that, would he be able to convince the watching kobolds that they¡¯d imagined it, or that Lianhua had done it instead? His ear twitched as an idea occurred to him, and he briefly wished he could exchange images with Lianhua the same way he did with Li.


    ¡°Can you make five orbs?¡± he asked, then pointed to the small, visible pieces of the crystals. ¡°And put them here?¡±


    Lianhua stared for a moment, and then the corner of her mouth lifted as she shook her head slightly. ¡°I can, yes,¡± she said, and suited action to words. Five light orbs touched the five crystals, and the blue, black, and gold ones lit, very slightly, though Kaz was probably the only one who could tell past the glare.


    Reaching out, Kaz laid his hands over the runes, finding that he could just touch all of them if he extended his fingers as far as possible. Cautiously, he pushed ki through his hands, and the crystals lit up, the gold one shining so brightly that he could see his bones through the flesh and fur of his hand.


    As soon as he could see that it was working, Kaz tried to pull his hand back, but it was as if he¡¯d tried to pull against the mountain itself. His increasingly visible bones seemed fused to the stone, and his ki drained away even faster than it had when the pouch attached itself to him.


    Around him, yelps rang out as the light became visible even to the kobolds, and he was vaguely aware of them ducking or stumbling back. Lianhua tried to lower him down, but that just left Kaz dangling from the carved surface of the arch, so she quickly grasped his waist again, supporting him.


    Li gave the loudest whistle he¡¯d ever heard from her. An image started to form in his mind before it vanished, and instead he heard her say, <Idiot!> again, as she had once before.


    He couldn¡¯t laugh, not with his core and dantians draining so quickly that he thought he would be a hollowed out husk in less than a minute if it persisted. As his ki flowed out, he felt it fall away into a bottomless hole that made the emptiness in his seed seem like a puddle in comparison. He had connected with something in the mountain before, something that thought of itself as the mountain, but it was wrong. This, this was the mountain, filled with secrets and stone, crystals and bone, and it was hungry.


    Then Li scrambled up his outstretched arm, spread her wings wide, and roared back at the mountain that was feasting on her kobold. It was a very, very small roar, but the mountain listened.


    Kaz fell back into Lianhua¡¯s arms, and the human staggered, pulling Kaz against her chest. A moment later, she dropped to her knees, laying him gently on the ground as she took hold of his hands, turning them palm up so she could stare at the five marks now visible there. Each rune was present, clear and sharp, each with a point of color resting within their curves. As Kaz watched, the black lines paled, then faded, leaving only slightly darker blue lines on his skin.


    Li had fallen with Kaz, and she, too, watched the runes appear and then all but vanish. She was panting, her mouth open and tongue slightly extended, but she managed to hiss at the marks anyway. She lay stretched out on his chest, only her head raised enough to watch what was happening, and he could tell that she was nearly as empty of ki as he felt.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Lianhua started, then stopped as she and everyone else turned in the direction of the stairs.


    A loud scraping sound came first, then the rumbling of stone against stone. The ground trembled as something enormous and heavy shifted, and the kobolds closed in around their leader protectively. Brez stood, facing the empty passage, pulling his golden knife from the sheath at his waist.


    The sounds went on, and howls began to echo from behind them. Questioning howls, worried howls, which Brez responded to with a short, sharp sound. Kaz recognized it: ¡®Be wary, but stay away.¡¯


    Something fell to land on Kaz¡¯s nose, followed by several more, similar things. Chunks of black, cascading away from suddenly clean stone, the carvings as stark and sharp as the day they were made. Everyone except Kaz, Li, and the humans scampered back, staring in amazement as the arch refreshed itself, five crystals glittering from their places.


    Lianhua was covered in grime, but she seemed not to notice as she stood, then reached down to help Kaz to his feet. He was shaky, but his legs held him up, and with each cycle of his core, he felt better. It would take some time and rest to recover, but as sad as he was to admit it, this was far from the first time this had happened, and he was practically used to it by now.


    Li was right. He was an idiot.


    With a sigh, he accepted Lianhua¡¯s proffered arm, and the two of them made their way toward the stairs.

 Chapter One hundred thirty-three

    Upon entering the cavern beyond the arch, Kaz immediately realized where the grinding sounds were coming from. Like the arch, the stairs were in the process of repairing themselves. In the parts of the mountains where the staircases were maintained by kobolds, every third or fifth step was usually still covered in a layer of gold, and some effort had been made to repair the crumbling edges. Never before had Kaz seen stairs in such perfect condition.


    The carvings to each side of the stairs were clear and clean, while the red lights leading into the depths burned brightly. The steps themselves, the few that he could see, were in equally pristine condition, with corners so sharp they were almost threatening.


    With a gasp, Lianhua hurried forward, and Kaz was drawn with her, since he couldn¡¯t yet stand on his own. They quickly moved to the top step, and stared as several large pieces of rubble lifted from cracked stairs, replacing themselves seamlessly into the ceiling overhead even as fresh gold rose to laminate the stone below.


    This impossible repair continued for another long minute, as Kaz and Lianhua were joined by Senge, with Berz close behind her. Chi Yincang had vanished into the shadows at some point, but Kaz could just make out the shimmer of his presence to Lianhua¡¯s left, doubtless ready to pull her away from danger, should any present itself.


    At the edge of Kaz¡¯s awareness, he knew that the arch behind them was still blazing with his stolen ki, and so he was the first to notice when its power began to fade. He turned to look back, seeing the brilliant light flicker, then dim, even as the ongoing reconstruction of the stairs slowed. As silence fell, so did the darkness, and soon the group found themselves in a cavern that would have looked no different from any other if not for the crisp gleam of the carvings, which, to Kaz¡¯s astonishment, were actually painted, not just bare or blackened stone.


    Seeing Lianhua¡¯s hand twitch toward her pouch, Kaz took the book and pen from beneath his belt and proffered them. She started to accept, then smiled and said, ¡°Would you draw them for me, Kaz? I¡¯d like to try translating these runes.¡±


    She supported Kaz as they stepped to the nearest carving, and waited until he leaned against the wall before stepping away, her eyes already scanning the image in front of them. It was more obvious than ever that these were maps, and with paint applied, anyone could tell that there were at least two more sets of stairs on this level than the kobolds knew of.


    Kaz began to sketch as rapidly as he could, desperately wishing that he had different colored paints, or at least chalk. The ink was dark and clear, but it was difficult to capture shading with it, much less color. Still, Kaz knew the runes for the different colors of ki, thanks to his ring, so he made small notes next to the things that seemed to be the most important, marking out at least five of the many hues.


    His hand slowed as he came to a section depicting the mosui city. The depiction was relatively small, since it was further away now, but the nine levels were there, and a miniature version of the tower protruded through it. But what he found most fascinating were the colors. White for the mines, marking frost or metal, while the yumi fields were painted in jewel tones of blue, black, and yellow. No particular color marked out the storage level, but fiery red dominated the one where the products of the lower levels were taken to be processed.


    The central level contained mosui, but these wore no robes, just simple loincloths that revealed their brown, black, or occasionally white fur. Mixed among them were the first of the strange, horned kobolds, and now he could clearly see that they weren¡¯t kobolds at all.


    While the other, well-worn images had made them seem very similar to his people, fresh detail and paint revealed that they were, instead, reptilian. Scales were clearly marked on their bodies, and the horns were their own, not attached to some kind of armor or clothing. Most telling of all were the small wings folded against their backs, creating the hunched outline that had confused Kaz the first time he examined them.


    In fact, they looked more like Li than Kaz, and Kaz looked around to find the little dragon examining them with more interest than she usually showed in anything that wasn¡¯t edible. Of course, Kaz had seen her eat a great number of stones, but in this case, he could tell by the mingled surprise and curiosity in her mind that she was more interested in what the images meant than how they might taste.


    Li¡¯s parents had been a large blue and white dragon and a smaller, golden-yellow one. Most of the hatchlings had borne some combination of these colors, as did Li herself. Each time she shed, more hints of colors other than gold revealed themselves in her scales, but, like Kaz himself, her strongest form of ki was gold.


    Kaz was beginning to wonder if scale and fur color might indicate something about a creature¡¯s ki, but he hadn¡¯t yet been able to see cores when the dragon family had fled, so he didn¡¯t know if the blue and white dragon also had blue and white ki. If there was some link, then the dominant form of ki in these strange new beings must have been red, because nearly all of the ones pictured were some shade of red or orange.


    Passing his eye over the whole image, Kaz saw that almost all of the figures pictured outside of the city were kobolds, though there were a few mosui as well. None of the reptilian creatures were outside the mosui city, at least not until he cast a glance down at the bottom. Realizing that he was leaning against the wall in such a way that he was blocking a good bit of the lower portion, Kaz moved aside, revealing the city in the Deep.


    Which was almost entirely inhabited by the dragon-people.


    Kaz gave a soft, surprised bark, attracting Lianhua¡¯s attention. She came over and crouched beside him, a crease forming between her brows. Reaching out, her fingers hovered just above one of the red-scaled reptilians, and she gave a soft huff of consternation before glancing up at him.


    ¡°Is this the kobold city?¡± she asked.


    He nodded, speechless, and sank down beside her, his hand still moving almost unconsciously across the page as he drew what he saw. ¡°It has to be, but those aren¡¯t kobolds,¡± he finally managed.


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    The corner of her mouth quirked up. ¡°I see that. Hmm.¡± She tilted her head, much as Kaz did when he was confused or curious, and then said, ¡°I wish I had my scrolls. If Gaoda hadn¡¯t forced-¡±


    She clamped her lips into a pale, angry line, then shook her head. ¡°I knew it was a mistake to leave my resource materials behind. I should have insisted. It¡¯s my fault I don¡¯t have them.¡±


    With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes, and her hands began to move as if she was turning the pages of a book much larger than the one Kaz held. ¡°Where was it?¡± she murmured, and her finger traced down through thin air, before pausing and dragging sharply to the right.


    ¡°In The Way of the Mountain,¡± Lianhua said, ¡°Jin Bohai mentioned seeing a strange, bipedal reptile. It was only once, and from a distance, but he described it as a horned, upright beast with blood-red scales. It had a long, broad tail and two wings, too small to allow it to fly. When it saw him, it ducked away into a cave. He tried to follow, but it was as if it had vanished into nothing, even though there were no other exits from the cave.¡±


    Kaz met Li¡¯s eyes, and an image flashed between them. Lianhua must have had the same thought, because her eyes popped open and she stared at the dragon, mouth open in surprise.


    ¡°I wonder if it could do the same thing you do, Li! When you, ah-¡± she glanced toward Chi Yincang, who had reappeared now that it was obvious there was no immediate danger, and flashed her fingers in a sort of ¡®poof¡¯ gesture.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what we thought as well. It seems to be instinctive, so perhaps these things are related to-¡± It was his turn to break off, though he was more concerned about kobold ears than human ones. He was certain nothing they were saying would be a surprise to Chi Yincang.


    Lianhua tapped the ground sharply with one finger. ¡°If the mosui were made by feeding fulan-infected divine mole cores to humans, then perhaps these things-¡±


    ¡°-were created by feeding humans contaminated dragon cores,¡± Kaz finished, and Li and Lianhua both nodded. All of them avoided mention of kobolds in their suppositions, and Kaz was glad of it.


    Lianhua¡¯s brows drew together again, and her eyes rose, tracing the shape of the mountain carved into the wall. Kaz¡¯s gaze followed hers, and he saw his own people, kobolds, scattered everywhere, from bottom to top, on every level and in every place except the two cities, where they were the rare ones.


    It was a strange segregation, and Kaz wondered what was behind it, and what had happened to the reptilians, that they had vanished so thoroughly, leaving their city behind. Kaz¡¯s people were territorial, but not wantonly aggressive, so he didn¡¯t think they would have committed genocide, at least not without provocation such as that given by the mosui.


    ¡°Where did this Jin see the being he described? You said a cave, but where was it?¡± he asked.


    Lianhua closed her eyes, fingers flipping invisible pages before she released a frustrated breath. Opening her eyes again, she shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I really concentrated on the parts involving any buildings or runes he found, not beasts. If I had my copy of the text, it might be there, but it¡¯s not in my image. Jin Bohai spent most of his time wandering between the small human settlements in this area about eight hundred years ago, so it was probably at the base of the mountains, but where exactly-?¡± She shrugged helplessly.


    After that, Kaz and Lianhua spent a quiet hour sketching and discussing the runes scattered throughout the map. According to Lianhua, most of them were numbers, but other than the ones right next to the stairs, they didn¡¯t seem to refer to anything that made sense. In fact, even the stair numbers often skipped a dozen or more, as if there were levels not pictured, and Kaz wondered if the ¡®between¡¯ or sub-levels might have been included in the count.


    At last, Lianhua sat back, looking defeated. ¡°There must be a map key we¡¯re missing, or the numbers don¡¯t mean what we think they do. I wonder if everyone who used these stairs when they were created had memorized the key, or if the runes were there for the builders, and no one else bothered with them.¡±


    On the other side of the cavern, claws scraped on stone, and Senge stood up. She had spent a good bit of the last hour pacing back and forth impatiently, but she also clearly wasn¡¯t willing to disturb anyone who had just managed to do something that should have been impossible.


    Crossing the space between them, she reached out, the sharp tip of her claw scraping the paint marking out a rune Lianhua had told Kaz meant ¡®six.¡¯ ¡°One is safety,¡± she said, ¡°Two is clear. Three is home, four is bone, five is forbidden, six is work, eight is mine, and nine is forever.¡±


    Lianhua tilted her head back, staring up and exposing her throat in a way no kobold would have done unless they were submitting to the dominance of another. Kaz nudged her, and she blinked, then dropped her chin and stood quickly, brushing off her robes, though they were as perfectly clean and unwrinkled as ever.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± she asked eagerly, staring at the kobold female. ¡°And where did you learn it?¡±


    Senge shrugged, clearly uncomfortable, though she didn¡¯t drop her eyes or ears. ¡°It¡¯s a chant. Females learn it when they become adults.¡±


    Lianhua looked over at Kaz, and he shook his head, then sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if Katri knew that or not. Rega never taught it to us pups, though she knew many chants and stories.¡±


    Senge sniffed. ¡°It¡¯s only taught to those in the Deep. We¡¯re the only ones who need to know it, after all.¡± Her eyes touched on his blue fur, and then glanced back toward the restored stairs. ¡°Though¡­ I had assumed you were just a lucky throwback, but you may have more pure blood in you than I thought. What tribe are you?¡±


    Kaz opened his mouth to answer, wondering if she could tell him anything about why his tribe had left the Deep, but Li bumped her head against his jaw. Warning touched him through their bond, and Kaz realized that revealing who his mother was might not be the wisest choice. After all, Oda had left behind a mountain filled with enemies, so why should he assume the place she had begun her life would be any different?


    ¡°Longtooth,¡± he said, giving the original name of the tribe the humans had helped his sister take over.


    Dismissal instantly flooded Senge¡¯s expression, and she looked away. ¡°Oh,¡± she said, though there was no interest left in her voice. ¡°Not a subsidiary of one of the Great Tribes, then. I see.¡±


    Turning back to Lianhua, Senge said, ¡°Are you ready to go down to the Deep yet? We can wait longer if you need to.¡± Her tone made it very clear that that was not an option she liked.


    Glancing between Kaz and the other kobolds, Lianhua held out her hands for the book and pen. He passed them over, and she smiled gratefully as she glanced down to see his meticulous sketches. She turned the page, which was nearly the last blank one, and wrote something down. Kaz saw the number runes, and assumed she must be recording the chant Senge had spoken.


    When she was done, she looked up, frowning slightly. ¡°Is there no seven? I have one through six, then eight and nine. Did I miss one?¡±


    Senge was already edging toward the top step, and spoke without looking around. ¡°No. I asked about that when I learned it, and my den mother told me seven wasn¡¯t mentioned because it wasn¡¯t for us to talk about. That¡¯s all she would ever say.¡±


    Both Kaz and Lianhua turned back to the map, their eyes scanning it for the missing symbol. Though Kaz hadn¡¯t really thought about it before, it was immediately obvious that there were only two sevens on the map. One was on the mine level in the mosui city, and the other was in the center of the city in the Deep.

 Chapter One hundred thirty-four

    Senge wanted to go down the stairs herself to see how much damage remained, if any, but Brez managed to talk her out of it, and instead sent one of the warriors. Meanwhile, another warrior was tasked with going back to the den to retrieve the males who had come from the mosui city, since they were apparently going to be able to reach the Deep much sooner than they had anticipated.


    As soon as Raff appeared, leading a tired and morose group of kobolds, Chi Yincang vanished. Kaz saw his black and white blur of ki head for the stairs, and assumed the human was going to make sure there was nothing dangerous ahead. He was certainly faster than an average kobold, and the Goldcoat warrior hadn¡¯t returned yet, so it was possible the human would reach the bottom before the kobold could, even though he¡¯d left much later.


    As the minutes stretched without any indication that either of the explorers were returning soon, Lianhua and Li became restive. Li was getting hungry, but Lianhua was simply anxious to leave, as was Senge. The two females began to talk in low voices, each trying to convince the other to do what they both wished to do anyway, and Kaz chuckled softly to himself as he stepped to the side.


    Crouching, he took off his pack and opened it, reaching deep inside until he could feel the soft material of the pouch. Sliding his fingers through the opening, he pictured a particularly large yellow crystal, which he palmed. Then he pictured a small strip of the dried mushrooms that the mosui had kept great quantities of in their storerooms, and pulled that out as well. He gave the crystal to Li, who gobbled it whole as Kaz chewed the leather-like fungus.


    A long howl echoed up the stairs, calling an all clear to all of the kobolds waiting above. A moment later, Chi Yincang stepped out of the shadows at the top of the stairs and crossed to Lianhua. Kaz grinned a little at the realization that a simple kobold had managed to communicate his news to his leader before the mighty and powerful Chi Yincang. It seemed that the humans weren¡¯t better at everything, after all. Cocking his ears, he listened as Chi Yincang spoke to Lianhua.


    ¡°The further down you go, the more damage there is,¡± he said, ¡°but there¡¯s very little rubble, and we should be able to get through without difficulty.¡±


    Lianhua grinned, then seemed to realize what she was doing and cleared her throat, toning her expression down into a gentle smile as she asked, ¡°Is it a long stairwell?¡±


    Chi Yincang shook his head. ¡°One of the shorter ones we¡¯ve seen. A few hundred steps. I think even the injured kobolds should be able to make it.¡±


    Kaz was surprised. He thought that was more words than the human had put together in the entire time they¡¯d traveled together. Chi Yincang had even volunteered an opinion, such as it was. Was he relaxing now that Gaoda was gone, or had he just not shown this side of himself in front of Kaz before?


    Lianhua clapped her hands softly, looking around at the group. ¡°We¡¯re going, then,¡± she said, as if daring anyone to deny her. When no one did, she flushed slightly, and turned toward the stairwell.


    Quickly, Kaz tied up his pack and returned it to its place against his back, glad for the solid reassurance of its weight. He could store everything in his new pouch, but not only did he not want to let everyone know he had such a thing, he appreciated the familiarity as well as the slight protection provided by the thick leather of the pack.


    In a mere moment, he was ready to go, and he fell in behind Chi Yincang, who was close behind Lianhua. Raff bounded down several steps, moving into the front, and the remaining eight former prisoners stepped up behind Kaz. Meanwhile, Senge was barking orders at her warriors, and her group came close on the heels of the other males.


    They all marched down the steps in silence, except for the harsh breathing of some of the kobolds from the city. Even Raff seemed uninterested in keeping up his usual endless stream of chatter, though Kaz thought he caught a few mutters from that direction once or twice. Each time, it cut off as suddenly as it had begun, and once, Raff cast a long-suffering glance at Chi Yincang. There was definitely something going on there, but Kaz assured himself it was neither his business nor his problem, and he almost believed it.


    He and Li had begun a game where Li tugged his fur, and Kaz had to jump over the next step, when he felt another tug, this one at the fur of his forearm. Glancing back, he saw Dett, who was panting heavily as he climbed down the stairs. The nine-inch steps had been difficult for Kaz, not that long ago, and Dett was head and shoulders shorter than he. The little kobold was definitely struggling, and Kaz realized that he wasn¡¯t the only one.


    ¡°Lianhua,¡± Kaz said, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a break. I¡¯ll catch up when I¡¯ve rested a bit.¡±


    Lianhua, who had been moving down the stairs almost as quickly as Raff, paused and looked back, obviously surprised. Her sharp eyes moved over Kaz, who was clearly fine, and then Dett and the others, who weren¡¯t, and she nodded.


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    Looking at Chi Yincang, she said, ¡°The stairs are safe,¡± in the way of someone who wanted reassurance more than confirmation, and the dark male nodded. She bit her lip, but nodded to Kaz in turn.


    ¡°We¡¯ll wait at the bottom. Is there another map?¡±


    He slowed to a stop and pressed against the wall as Senge and her group passed by without a glance. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± Kaz had been young, frightened, and confused when the Broken Knives first fled the Deep. He remembered their den, distantly at least, and some of the places his father took him in their wanderings, but the passages between were foggy in a way that no others were. He certainly hadn¡¯t paid attention to what he would have seen as decorations.


    Lianhua looked surprised, opening her mouth to ask something else, then watched the Goldcoats as they walked past her with almost as much disinterest as they had shown Kaz. When she looked at Kaz again, her amethyst eyes were thoughtful, and she only said, ¡°We¡¯ll see you soon, then.¡±


    As soon as the rest of the group were far enough ahead that they were lost in the shadows, Kaz turned to Dett and the others. ¡°Did you not get to rest in the den?¡± he asked, trying not to sound accusatory.


    Ratre, who was already seated, sighed deeply. ¡°We forgot how it is to be in another tribe¡¯s den. They watched us every moment, as if we might turn on them, and we sat, but couldn¡¯t relax.¡± His lip curled in a humorless smile. ¡°I did find out what happened to the other males who came ahead of us, though.¡±


    Kaz waited expectantly, and Ratre rubbed his scarred muzzle in a way that suddenly made Kaz wonder just how old he was. It was hard to tell if a kobold¡¯s fur had been gray from birth, or turned gray with age, but Kaz wondered if perhaps Ratre was old enough for the latter. He was thin and beaten down, as they all were, but there was a deeper weariness there that went beyond physical exhaustion, or even the lingering trauma of having been a prisoner.


    ¡°A few of them were in the den. They were among the first to leave, and one of them recognized Vik.¡± He tilted his head toward a brown-furred male with only one hand. ¡°He was able to come speak to us briefly, and said that the Goldblades took in the ones who were in good enough shape, but sent the rest away. They¡¯re either trying to find another way down, or heading back up to the city.¡±


    A grim silence fell, because they hadn¡¯t met any kobolds going in the other direction. That meant the missing males were probably either dead, or lost, and there was something particularly horrible about the idea that they had been so close to home, but hadn¡¯t quite made it.


    ¡°Maybe we can get someone to come back up and look for them,¡± he offered, without any real hope. ¡°Or they¡¯ll turn around and come back, and find the stairs open.¡±


    Ratre gave Kaz the look all elders eventually gave to puppies, but didn¡¯t deny the possibility. To both of their surprise, it was Dett who spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure someone comes to find them,¡± he said. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that long. A good tracker can still sniff them out.¡±


    Kaz blinked. He hadn¡¯t thought that Dett was the type to make such a generous offer, and he doubted very much that the small male would be able to follow through on it. Still, it was kind, and-


    ¡°In fact, you can all join my tribe,¡± Dett said, throwing his shoulders back. ¡°I¡¯ll need some warriors I can trust at my back when I become the mate of the Mithrilblade chief. I¡¯m sure I can find places for you all.¡±


    Ah, there it was. When a male was traded to another tribe, especially if he was to be the chief or her daughter¡¯s mate, he was sometimes accompanied by his own honor guard. Since Dett had been gone so long, he had no such guard, and who better than warriors he had saved from being tribeless and abandoned? If he could gather some of the less-damaged ones as well, that would be even better.


    Ratre gave a small huff of laughter, but managed to get back to his paw, balancing gingerly on the carved substitute. ¡°If I can¡¯t find my own tribe, or they won¡¯t take me back as I am now, maybe I¡¯ll take you up on that, Dett Goldblade.¡± He didn¡¯t sound very enthusiastic, but almost anything was better than being without a tribe, and Ratre would be a poor choice even for the Irondiggers, the tribe that would usually take in such an abandoned kobold. The Irondiggers were the only tribe that had no settled den, after all, and Ratre struggled to walk with his ill-fitting bone paw.


    Abruptly turning, Kaz offered his back to the older male. ¡°Get on,¡± he said. Warriors often carried wounded kobolds this way, but only within the same tribe. It would be a simple matter to slit the throat of someone who foolishly allowed you into such a position, and as far as he could tell, all of these kobolds were originally from different tribes.


    There was silence behind him, but Kaz didn¡¯t look around. A tentative hand came to rest on the shoulder opposite Li, who hissed and scampered up to perch on top of Kaz¡¯s head. She didn¡¯t quite fit between his ears any more, but she was less than happy at the idea of sharing her space with a stranger.


    The first hand was joined by another, and Kaz caught Ratre¡¯s injured leg when it came within reach. Then the other male was clinging awkwardly on his back, and if Kaz hadn¡¯t been both strong and large, it never would have worked. His pack was in the way, but it was no longer very full, and its bulk created a buffer between him and the other male, which he could only see as a good thing.


    When he turned, he saw that another of the larger males had offered to do the same for one of the smaller ones, who had several long wounds down his thigh. He had been limping terribly almost since they left the city, and when the larger warrior grasped his leg, one of the lacerations opened, and thick, white pus oozed out.


    Kaz twitched, nearly dropping Ratre in his desire to see if there was anything he could do, but there wasn¡¯t, at least not without making it blatantly obvious that he had a power he wasn¡¯t supposed to possess. This group hadn¡¯t seen him activate the archway, while Senge¡¯s group hadn¡¯t heard the rumors about him killing Zhangwo, and until someone put the two things together, he thought there was at least a possibility that he might pass as normal for a while yet.


    A deep sense of amusement came from the dragon on his head, and Kaz sighed, well aware that it was probably already too late. Carefully, he shifted Ratre, and glanced back at the seven kobolds behind him. With Ratre and the male with the injured leg taken care of, he thought they should be able to move much more quickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said, and took the lead.

 Chapter One hundred thirty-five

    When they joined everyone else at the bottom of the stairs, it was to find that Senge had doubled, and was now glaring at the version of herself waiting in the cavern below. The new ¡®Senge¡¯ was, of course, just another kobold who looked like her, and if Kaz were to guess, probably a birth-sister, rather than one from a separate litter.


    ¡°Berin,¡± Senge growled, the fur along her spine lifting slightly. ¡°Where is Mother?¡±


    Berin didn¡¯t look concerned at all, in fact, her ears were perked in interest as she looked around at the humans. Her sulfur-yellow eyes brightened as they took in Kaz, though she ignored the rest of the males behind him. She spoke offhandedly, without looking at her sister, though the hulking male beside her did enough staring for both of them, never taking his eyes from Senge and Brez.


    ¡°She¡¯s cleaning up your mess, Senge. Where did you think she would be? But what have you found? Are these some new kind of monstrosity, come to destroy and devour their way through our tribe?¡± Her voice was light, almost teasing, but there was a venom behind it that told Kaz there was no love lost between these two siblings.


    Senge snorted. ¡°You remember what humans look like as well as I do,¡± she said. ¡°We were young when they last came, but not that young.¡±


    Berin waved a hand, dismissing the comment. ¡°Not the humans. Though I¡¯m curious about them, the elders predicted that eventually humans would find their way down through the mountain. No, I mean these things.¡± She pointed to Kaz and the others, taking in their damaged, bedraggled state, missing limbs, and old scars.


    Senge blinked. Other than Kaz, she had barely acknowledged the existence of the males, and obviously hadn¡¯t expected her sister¡¯s first question to be about them. Clearing her throat, she admitted, ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. They came with the humans. We¡¯ve had a few like them turn up over the past few days, claiming they had escaped a great city controlled by mosui, when everyone knows the mosui are little better than animals.¡±


    Berin shook her head and glanced over at her warrior. He wore a large claw that matched one on her necklace, marking him as her mate, and his dark yellow fur was a pleasing complement to her brighter shade. ¡°Dat, take charge of the males,¡± she told him. ¡°I, my sister, and these humans have some things to discuss.¡±


    Before Lianhua could speak, Kaz lifted his chin, looked into Berin''s eyes, and said, ¡°No. We stay together.¡±


    Every kobold there froze in shock, though Senge recovered first. She had been exposed to Kaz¡¯s bizarre defiance before, after all. Fortunately, Lianhua spoke before she could, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. Kaz is our guide, and we¡¯ve promised to take these males to the Deep.¡±


    Berin cocked her head to the side, eyes twinkling. Once again, she waved her hand. ¡°Well, and so you have. Here is the Deep, as promised.¡±


    ¡°The city in the Deep,¡± Lianhua corrected, eyes narrowing dangerously. ¡°They need to find their lost tribes.¡±


    ¡°Ahh,¡± the Goldcoat murmured, ¡°now that is different. And what tribes were they so careless as to lose?¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t like the way this female turned everything into a joke, so he said stiffly, ¡°Right now, they need care more than comedy.¡±


    The humor fell away from Berin¡¯s expression, leaving cold calculation behind, and Kaz found that he liked this even less. Still, she was serious as she asked, ¡°What ¡®care¡¯ do they need, then?¡±


    ¡°The care and respect due a warrior who has fought hard and returned to his den after a long battle. Warm food, jejing, and zhiwu webs, to start,¡± he said, refusing to look away. He felt Ratre¡¯s hands tighten on his shoulders, but the male didn¡¯t try to get Kaz to back down.


    Berin stared at Kaz as his heart pounded in his ears, then her grin returned, and she said, ¡°Dat, you heard him. Food - with lots of meat, I think - jejing, and webs.¡± Her gaze flicked away, lingering on the torn leg of the male who was being carried, then stopped on something that made them widen almost comically. Her mouth opened again, then snapped shut, and Kaz glanced behind him, seeing Dett desperately shaking his head from where he had been trying to hide at the back of the group.


    Kaz felt a little stunned himself at this interplay. He had honestly believed that Dett was either lying or delusional when he said he was from an important tribe in the Deep, and that even if he was correct, his tribe would long since have forgotten him. Berin¡¯s reaction strongly implied she¡¯d recognized him, and the fact that she¡¯d obeyed when he motioned her to silence was a powerful argument that Dett was exactly what he¡¯d claimed.


    Broad, toothy muzzle set in an expressionless mask that rivaled Chi Yincang¡¯s, Berin¡¯s mate stepped to the side, motioning to another of the Goldcoat warriors. ¡°Run ahead,¡± he told the smaller male. ¡°Get Jul, and tell him we have injured. We¡¯ll need guest huts, too.¡±


    The male pressed a fist to his chest, bowing, then ran off through an archway that gave Kaz a small shiver when he saw it. It looked much like the one above had before Kaz accidentally gave it enough power to repair itself, and he dreaded having to pass through it, even though he had probably gone through a hundred like it without any trouble.


    Lianhua glanced between the two sisters, then sighed, looking at Berin. ¡°May we step down?¡± she asked, gesturing at the floor beyond the bottom step, on which Raff stood.


    Berin¡¯s tongue lolled in amusement. ¡°You may, but my sister has been forbidden from re-entering the Deep so long as monsters still roam the mid-levels.¡±


    Senge growled. ¡°We¡¯re burning out the fulan, and we haven¡¯t seen anything worse than a janjio with a single lopo tentacle in three days. Besides,¡± her muzzle lifted pridefully, ¡°I brought these humans here, and they say the threat has ended.¡±


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    ¡°And of course you believe them,¡± Berin¡¯s voice was flat. ¡°Go back to your den, sister, and wait for Mother to send for you. As always, you think too much of yourself, and too little of others.¡±


    Senge began to howl in fury, and would have lunged from her step if Brez hadn¡¯t caught her around the waist in a breach of every rule Kaz had ever been taught. Males, even warrior protectors, didn¡¯t touch the females they guarded without permission. Kaz distinctly remembered his father standing behind Oda as she got them into conflict after conflict, and never once had Ghazt stretched out a hand to stop her. He had simply fought, as ordered, until the battle where he fell, his death as pointless as all the others.


    Bending to Senge¡¯s ear, Brez murmured something too low for even Kaz to understand, and the female stilled, though anger hummed in every muscle and tendon. She glared at Berin. ¡°You¡¯ll regret taunting me when our mother chooses me as her successor. She only pushes me harder because she knows I can take it, unlike you,¡± she spat.


    This was in direct contradiction to her earlier comment about being disposable, and something in both sister¡¯s gazes acknowledged the disparity as Berin said neutrally, ¡°As you say, sister.¡± Her glance slid to Brez, and there was something sad in it as she said, ¡°Fair howls, brother.¡±


    He bowed his head but didn¡¯t reply as Senge turned and pushed her way back through the kobolds behind her, nearly stepping on one of Kaz¡¯s males in the process. She stomped up the steps with as much dignity as she could muster, and by the time she was out of sight, they could all hear newcomers approaching from the darkness of the hall beyond the arch.


    When a short, harried, orange-furred male appeared through the opening, he was greeted by more than a dozen pairs of eyes, all focused on him. He paused, sharp gaze passing over each of them impatiently, before stopping on the two males who were being carried.


    ¡°Come on then,¡± he said, voice a deep, authoritative growl that was entirely unexpected, given his small stature. ¡°No one is bleeding on the floor, so I don¡¯t know why I had to come all the way here.¡± When he rolled his eyes at Berin, she grinned back, seeming not to notice that he was treating her more like another male than a female, and a powerful one at that.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one bleeding anywhere else, either,¡± Berin said cheerfully, motioning for the group still standing on the stairs to follow as she crossed the cavern. ¡°You¡¯re getting old, and you need to get out of the den sometimes, uncle.¡±


    His ears twitched in amusement, but the male didn¡¯t bother answering, just looked over the kobolds more closely as they limped and shuffled closer. He sniffed deeply, and his nose wrinkled. ¡°I smell infection,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯ll be first. Who is it?¡±


    Everyone turned to look at the male with the injured leg. He seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness, now that he didn¡¯t have to walk on his own, so he didn¡¯t even react when the new male walked up and prodded the red, inflamed wound, causing more pus to come out. This was yellowish, rather than the clearer white of the earlier stuff, but at least it wasn¡¯t green yet, so there was hope.


    ¡°All right,¡± sighed the healer, because that was who Kaz assumed the strange male was, ¡°bring him. Not you,¡± he added, pointing to the warrior carrying the injured male. ¡°You¡¯re about to fall over yourself. Guni, you take him. Loge, you take the one the puppy is carrying.¡±


    Hesitating, he took in Kaz¡¯s size, lack of injuries, and the ¡®fuergar¡¯ on his head, and said, ¡°Unless you think you can carry him another half mile or so.¡±


    Kaz adjusted his grip on Ratre, who softly muttered, ¡°I can walk.¡±


    Overriding him, Kaz firmly said, ¡°I¡¯ve got him.¡± His ki was finally starting to refill, so he really was fine, though all the kobolds nearby gave him dubious looks.


    The wounded male was transferred to the back of one of the Goldcoats, and then Berin started off down the hall, with her mate quickly hurrying to catch up. He passed her just as they went through the arch, and Kaz was surprised to catch the hint of a deep growl as he told the female to slow down so everyone could stay close and protect her. Her answer was lost in the sound of claws and paws scraping on stone, but he could tell from her tone that she wasn¡¯t annoyed at her mate¡¯s presumption.


    Kaz carefully threaded his way through the arch, making sure not even the tip of his tail brushed against the worn stone. Lianhua fell in beside him as they stepped into a typical ancient hallway, broad and high-ceilinged, with neat corners, though there were scratches and grooves worn into the stone beneath his paws.


    Lianhua held up her palm, where Kaz could see the glowing sound obscuration rune, and he nodded to show he understood. He flicked his eyes back at Ratre, whose ears were definitely within the field cast by the rune, and Lianhua nodded back.


    ¡°Berin is about as different from her sister as it¡¯s possible to be,¡± Lianhua said, without looking at the kobold of whom she spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not sure Senge is capable of lying, and she certainly wouldn¡¯t be good at it, if even I can read her ears and tail to get an idea of what she¡¯s thinking. But Berin-¡±


    Shaking her head, Lianhua sighed. ¡°You said the kobolds in the Deep were different, but I didn¡¯t expect it to happen so soon. This is like being home, but not in a good way.¡± She gave him a little grin, so he¡¯d know she was joking, but her eyes were dark.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°In the rest of the mountain, the strong lead, and the weak die. Here, strength is important, but those who are smart enough can get others to fight for them, so it¡¯s not as clear cut.¡±


    Ratre gave a weak laugh, making them both jump. ¡°The weak still die, though,¡± he said. ¡°So it¡¯s not that different after all.¡± He turned his muzzle so he could peer around toward Kaz¡¯s face. ¡°But how do you know so much about it, pup? There weren¡¯t many with fur as blue as yours even when my tribe left, and everyone knew them all by sight.¡±


    Kaz almost missed a step. ¡°You¡¯re from the Deep, too?¡± He knew it was a ridiculous question as soon as it came out. Ratre was going to the Deep for a reason, after all.


    Ratre didn¡¯t seem to mind though, and gave a soft, growling laugh. ¡°I was. My tribe served the Woodblades, but it was one of the ones that lost their place when that fool, Oda, murdered them all.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s throat ached with the questions he wanted to ask, but he managed to hold back all but one. ¡°This Oda¡­ killed a whole tribe?¡±


    The older male¡¯s chin came to rest on Kaz¡¯s shoulder as if his head had suddenly grown too heavy to lift. ¡°One of the great tribes. The best of them. Burned them all in their own den by setting their store of firemoss oil ablaze. Only a few pups escaped, and no females. My tribe was supposed to be guarding them, but somehow she or her people slipped past us. That¡¯s why we left. We were too ashamed to stay and look those puppies in the eye.¡±


    That explained so much and yet also spawned even more questions. Kaz cursed himself for never even trying to speak to the males he was supposed to be protecting. If he had, he would have known that the answers he tried to convince himself he didn¡¯t care about might be right there for the taking.


    On his head, Li whistled softly, her feet grasping the rim of his ear far more gently than usual. Her tail wrapped around his head as if she wanted to embrace him, but couldn¡¯t, and an image of a great dragon curled protectively around a little kobold filled his mind.


    Kaz¡¯s ear twitched, a little bit because the prickle of her claws made it itch, but more in acknowledgement of her support. He wished he could reach up and touch her, but he had to hold onto Ratre, so instead he just sent her warm gratitude. It would have to be enough for now.


    He glanced over at Lianhua, who was looking at him with the most open expression he¡¯d seen from her since they left the mosui city. She was nearly vibrating with blatant curiosity, but to her credit, she didn¡¯t speak.


    Kaz cleared his throat. ¡°When we get a chance,¡± he told Ratre, as calmly as possible, ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you about that.¡±

 Chapter One hundred thirty-six

    The Goldcoat den sprawled through several connected caverns. Instead of all the huts being in one defensible location, while others were used for storage, cooking, and other necessities, huts were scattered everywhere. Even in the first level of the Deep, kobolds didn¡¯t feel the need to huddle together, hiding from the things in the dark, but were instead free to move closer to the huts of friends and family, or be nearer to the things they needed for work, which created small neighborhoods where puppies ran free. There would be a den mother, or perhaps two, but instead of being constantly wary, she could let the pups play unless they started to leave the protection of the den.


    It was all oddly nostalgic, and Kaz could feel himself relaxing into it as they walked. It wasn¡¯t the den he grew up in, but it was very similar, and that den had been the first and last place where he felt truly safe. Li hadn¡¯t spent much time examining the fuzzy memories of his early life, but now he felt her turning them over, pulling up images of Ghazt, Rega, Katri, and playmates whose names he no longer remembered.


    When the healer, Jul, came to an abrupt stop in front of one of the larger huts, Kaz nearly tripped over the kobold in front of him. He blinked, coming back to the present as the orange kobold spoke.


    ¡°Anyone who¡¯s injured goes inside. I want everyone else to eat and rest, and I¡¯ll check you over as I have time.¡± The growled words were brusque but not unkind, and the warrior carrying the injured male pushed into the hut, then reappeared a moment later without his burden.


    Kaz hesitated, and the healer looked at him, then Ratre. ¡°Bring him in, too,¡± he commanded, pushing the door open. ¡°He¡¯s got some blisters and scabs on that stump, and they may fester if left untreated.¡±


    Kaz glanced at Lianhua, who stared back expectantly. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Kaz said, sounding uncertain even to himself. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Lianhua paused, then said, ¡°I¡¯ll send Raff back to get you once we know where we¡¯ll be. You¡¯re sure you¡¯ll be all right alone?¡±


    Li hissed at this question, and Kaz chuckled, relaxing again. ¡°I¡¯m never alone,¡± he assured Lianhua, and ducked inside the hut.


    To his surprise, there was a small brazier of firemoss oil burning inside, and over it hung a well-crafted iron cauldron, its contents gently steaming. There were three beds made of a mixture of jejing and other mosses nearby, and the injured kobold, a youngish male with dark brown fur, lay on the nearest one. The air was filled with the smell of jejing and¡­ Kaz sniffed deeply, trying to tease out the subtler scents beneath the powerful odor of the purifying moss.


    The door clacked behind him, and the healer bustled past, heading directly for his patient. Crouching beside the bed, he peeled up the panting male¡¯s lip, eyeing the color of his gums and tongue critically.


    ¡°Lay that one down on one of the other beds, then you can go join the rest of your group,¡± he said absently, turning to a large, flat stone that was serving as a table. Several small pouches and bowls sat on it, each meticulously marked with a rune painted on it somewhere.


    Kaz did as he was told, crouching to let Ratre down. The gray male nearly fell into the bed, completely unable to put any weight on the bone peg that was strapped to his stump. Seeing that Jul was occupied with the sicker male, Kaz turned to help Ratre remove the peg. He winced as he realized that the straps were digging into angry, swollen flesh, which was the only reason the ill-fitting thing hadn¡¯t fallen off while Kaz was carrying him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it, pup,¡± Ratre protested, trying to pull his leg away from Kaz, but Kaz held on and gently tugged at the knots holding the thing together until it fell away, pulling a few scabs with it, which caused the stump to begin to bleed.


    Ratre didn¡¯t let out a whimper, as Kaz would have in the same situation, but his body was tense against the pain, and his ears were flat as he stared at where his right paw should be. Kaz let a bit of black ki flow out into the injured limb, knowing that the cool feeling of it would soothe the swelling and hopefully ease the pain. He would have given the other male some blue ki as well, but his cycle still hadn¡¯t evened out after the arch above had stolen so much. Blue was the most difficult for him to replace, and until he did, he would feel out of balance.


    Gently, Kaz probed the flesh of the leg, wincing as he felt the bone just beneath the scarred skin at the bottom. Whatever had caused Ratre to lose the paw, the cut had been smooth, leaving behind a flat section that at least lent itself well to the replacement the older male had made for himself. Still, there was no cushion there, and the skin was blistered and oozing in places where it had been rubbed raw.


    Shaking his head, Kaz sat back, then glanced at the steaming pot, then the table covered in what he hoped were medicines. Pointing at the pot, he asked, ¡°Is this only for breathing, or can it be used directly on wounds?¡±


    Jul looked up, expression going from irritated to thoughtful when he saw the way Kaz was holding Ratre¡¯s stump. ¡°It¡¯s for cleaning wounds,¡± he admitted, then tilted his head toward the stone table. ¡°Fill two of the copper bowls, and bring one to me, along with some zhiwu web.¡±


    He watched Kaz closely as the younger male used the ladle in the pot to remove two scoops of the green liquid, careful not to overfill the bowls he found half-hidden among the pouches. Kaz placed one of these next to the healer, and the other beside Ratre, so the liquid could cool while he tried to find the webs.


    It only took three pouches before Kaz found the right one, and then he took a moment to memorize the rune on it before taking it to the Goldcoat healer. Jul accepted it, then said abruptly, ¡°Why those three?¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°Which three?¡±


    The healer huffed impatiently, tugging a handful of webs from the pouch and putting them in the bowl of liquid beside him. The webs immediately soaked up the fluid, swelling and turning a deep, emerald green. He passed the pouch back to Kaz and said, ¡°The three pouches you looked inside. Why did you choose those particular ones to check? Now do the same for the other one.¡±


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    Kaz did so, Li scampering down to sit on the stone floor, watching closely as she tried to decide if the contents of the bowl looked tasty or not. Kaz tugged a small tuft from the damp bundle and gave it to her, and she held it in her paws as she took a dainty nibble, then immediately spat it out again, looking disgusted.


    Ratre and Kaz exchanged a little grin at the dragon¡¯s obvious distaste, and then Kaz watched the healer as the orange-furred male poured the last of the liquid into the wounds he¡¯d now cleaned of pus and packed with jejing. That done, the healer began wrapping webs around the injury, and Kaz mimicked his actions, pouring the liquid onto Ratre¡¯s stump, then rubbing away the old skin and dirt with a clump of jejing, followed by wrapping the limb with wet webs. As he did, Ratre at first tensed, then relaxed, looking greatly relieved.


    ¡°There¡¯s mamu in that, among other things,¡± Jul said, sitting back. ¡°Numbs the pain much more than just applying the lichen directly to a wound. Now, answer my question.¡±


    Kaz scratched his muzzle, feeling awkward. ¡°My aunt was our tribe¡¯s healer. She let me help her sometimes. She taught me that if you pack the webs too tightly during storage, they get stuck together, and won¡¯t work as well when you need them. Only a few pouches were large and light enough to hold very much web without crushing it.¡±


    The healer¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°One healer for the whole tribe? Not one for the males, and one for the females?¡±


    Kaz nodded, ears lowering. It was strange enough that Rega had treated everyone, not just the females, but to have had no assistant better than a male pup was shameful. Though¡­ He looked around. This healer seemed to have no assistant either, so perhaps it wasn¡¯t as strange as he¡¯d thought.


    As if he¡¯d read Kaz¡¯s mind, the other male said, ¡°Loor is with Tezne¡¯s group. I¡¯m too old to go wandering after monsters, and he¡¯s almost fully trained. Soon, he¡¯ll be on his own, and I¡¯ll have to start training a new puppy.¡±


    The look of thoughtful interest in his brown eyes made it clear what he was thinking, and for a moment, Kaz was torn. If this healer offered to take him in, train him, he would become one of the most respected males in the tribe, plus he would be able to help other injured kobolds on a daily basis.


    Kaz looked down as Li placed a paw on his knee, staring up at him with sparkling golden eyes, and he smiled. If he stayed, he wouldn¡¯t be able to go with Li to find her family. He also wouldn¡¯t be free to make his own decisions, instead allowing himself to become trapped by the iron-clad grip of tradition in exchange for the comfort of being surrounded by his own kind. Besides, he was letting his imagination run far too wild, based only on a short conversation and the look in the healer¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°My old knees don¡¯t like getting up and down so often. Get me the pouch with the blue-green symbol shaped with a square with a slash through it,¡± the healer said, and Kaz scooped Li up, then crossed to the small table.


    There were two pouches that partially matched the given description, but when Kaz sniffed one, it smelled distinctly sharp and acidic. The other was musty, but not unpleasant, and Kaz thought it smelled familiar, so he held it up.


    ¡°This one?¡± he asked, and the healer nodded, looking pleased as he held out his hand.


    ¡°Give it here, then,¡± Jul said, the commanding tone at odds with the keen look he gave Kaz, and Kaz did so. Pouring a small pile of bright blue-green powder out into his palm, the healer said, ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±


    Kaz nodded. He hadn¡¯t noticed when it was in the bag, but the stuff gave off a very faint glow of diffuse blue ki, which drifted into mana and dispersed almost as quickly as it appeared. He recognized the powder, though of course he had never known that the stuff held ki.


    ¡°Re- My aunt called it qingmai. It sometimes grows on old meat, especially zhiwu.¡± It was difficult to get zhiwu meat, since killing one enraged the entire hive, but sometimes one would die from some other cause, and the Broken Knives, warriors and gatherers alike, knew that any such dead zhiwu were to be brought directly to Rega, in hopes of growing some of this mold. Unfortunately, after the mid-levels, it had become harder and harder to find zhiwu, and even rarer that the qingmai would grow, so Rega had cherished every bit she had.


    ¡°What is it used for?¡± Jul prodded.


    Kaz closed his eyes, remembering his aunt¡¯s quiet voice as she fed an injured puppy - Kaz¡¯s friend, Lis - the last of her precious qingmai. ¡°If ingested every day for at least a week, it can prevent infections, or even kill ones that have already started. Even if the patient seems to be fully recovered, they must take it for the full period, or the sickness may return.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s right. Your aunt must have been well trained. Qingmai grows best in the Deep, so not many even in the mid-levels know how to use it correctly. Especially the bit about using it even if the patient seems well. Many healers ignore that, trying to use as little as possible on each kobold, and then claim it doesn¡¯t work at all when they sicken again.¡±


    Kaz nodded. Rega had mentioned that as well, cautioning him not to fall into the trap of trying to be too conservative, and losing a patient as a result. Looking back, he could see that she had been trying to train him as her replacement, at least as well as she could before he was an adult. Puppies were gatherers, though males received some training in fighting, while females were taught rudimentary skills using their power. Otherwise, any further education was supposed to wait until they had returned from their spirit hunt, so the time and effort wasn¡¯t wasted if they died or proved themselves unworthy.


    A soft knock came at the door, and they all turned to look as Raff called, ¡°Oi! Blue! Lianhua¡¯s startin¡¯ to get antsy. You good in there?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged slightly. He wasn¡¯t sure what ¡®antsy¡¯ meant, though he could guess, but it was good to hear Raff sounding like himself after the last day of uncharacteristic silence and deference.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he said, not bothering to raise his voice. He stood, then bowed deeply to the healer. Looking at Ratre, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll check on you in a bit. Um, may I borrow this?¡±


    Kaz held up the dirty, blood-streaked piece of bone that Ratre had been using as a replacement paw, and the gray-furred male opened his mouth, clearly ready to object. Kaz hurried on before he could. ¡°I have an idea how to improve it, but I need to look at this one first. I won¡¯t hurt it, and I¡¯ll bring it back in a while. You can¡¯t walk on that anyway.¡±


    The healer snorted. ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have been trying to in the first place. There¡¯s a reason kobolds who lose a paw stay in the den and use a long bone for support. Things like that are unreliable, and cause more damage than they¡¯re worth.¡±


    Ratre gritted his teeth, looking away from the orange-furred male. ¡°The only bones I had access to came from kobolds, and I couldn¡¯t fight a hoyi with one hand holding a bone, even if I could find one long and strong enough to support me. This kept me alive, while others died.¡±


    Rolling his head so he could look at Kaz, he said, ¡°Take it, but bring it back. It¡¯s all I have left of my friend.¡±


    The chunk of filthy, chipped bone suddenly felt much heavier in Kaz¡¯s hand, and he bowed again, a little deeper. ¡°I will.¡±

 Chapter One hundred thirty-seven

    Kaz stepped out into the den, letting the door close gently behind him, then gave Raff a welcoming little yip. Raff chuckled and barked back, though the sound was nothing like the friendly greeting Kaz used.


    Shaking his head, Kaz said, ¡°You¡¯re still not doing it right.¡±


    For some reason, Raff had started this after spending a few days with the kobolds in the city. After the first day or two, during which the big man had done little but eat and sleep in the rooms that were assigned to him, he¡¯d gotten bored and gone wandering. He¡¯d pitched in here and there, helping with the repairs in the city, then gone exploring in a way even Kaz hadn¡¯t.


    He had ended up in the yumi fields, where Kaz once found him with two puppies on his shoulders, each howling out their glee at being so high up. Raff had howled right along with them, his grin wider than Kaz had ever seen it, and since then, the human had been trying to figure out what the different howls meant, and if his throat could reproduce them. So far, the answer was a resounding, ¡®No¡¯.


    Raff sighed, running his fingers through the thick, curly red fur on top of his head. It stood up like the ruff of an angry kobold, but Kaz knew by now that the humans couldn¡¯t control their fur the way kobolds did.


    Reaching up, Kaz smoothed down the much-shorter fur on his own head, while looking at the human meaningfully. Now that Raff¡¯s armor had been damaged and he couldn¡¯t wear his helmet, his habit of ruffling his own hair had caused confusion among the kobold warriors more than once.


    Giving an even deeper sigh, Raff copied Kaz, brushing down his hair. It just popped back up again, but not in quite the aggressive way it had before, so it would have to be good enough. ¡°Is it a little higher, then?¡± Raff asked, trying the little yip again. This time he sounded like a puppy, and Kaz¡¯s ears twitched in amusement.


    ¡°Most kobolds have deeper voices,¡± Kaz said, trying to explain without giving offense. ¡°It¡¯s more about the end of the yip. You go down, but it needs to go up a bit before that.¡±


    They started walking, Kaz slightly behind Raff out of politeness. He could smell which way the humans had gone, but Raff had come to get him, so he would let the tall male lead.


    Raff coughed, then tried again, but his yip broke off in the middle, turning into a squeak that sounded very funny coming from someone so large. On Kaz¡¯s shoulder, Li convulsed, quivering as her laughter threatened to make her fall off.


    Hearing the choked little whistles she was making, Raff looked back, brows lifting. ¡°Is your rat laughing at me?¡±


    Kaz looked away. ¡°I think she has an itch.¡± He scratched gently behind one of the half-lifted wings, and Li¡¯s spasms relaxed as she leaned into the caress, her draconic giggles shifting to a purr.


    Raff stopped abruptly, nearly causing a passing kobold to run into him. The poor male had been so busy staring at the huge human wandering through his den that he wasn¡¯t watching where he was going. This made Raff realize what he¡¯d done, and he muttered an unnecessary apology before he started walking again.


    Glancing around, Raff lowered his voice, then murmured, ¡°That rat has a,¡± he pressed his hand against his abdomen where a core would be, ¡°doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    It was Kaz¡¯s turn to pause. Once or twice, it had seemed like Raff was about to say something like this, and Kaz had always managed to change the subject before he could. Now, he wished he¡¯d let it happen sometime when they weren¡¯t surrounded by a den full of curious kobolds with very sharp ears.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± he asked neutrally as they began to walk again. He gave a pointed glance at a few of the kobolds as they passed by, but it seemed that once Raff started, the human was not to be deterred.


    Raff snorted softly. ¡°Not hard to tell there¡¯s something strange about it. I¡¯ve killed a few of the normal ones, and they¡¯re sly, but not smart. They certainly don¡¯t laugh like they understand what people around them are saying. Add that to the way Lianhua seems fascinated by it, and I figure her whatever-it-is is telling her there¡¯s more to the beastie than is obvious. Plus, you were both all but desperate to keep it from breathing the fulan.¡±


    Kaz felt like the idiot Li so enjoyed calling him. Of course anyone who knew about Lianhua¡¯s ability to sense ki and cores would have put one claw together with another and come to some part of the correct conclusion. Fortunately, knowing that Li had a core hadn¡¯t led Raff to start thinking about dragons, because that would be ridiculous, wouldn¡¯t it?


    Reluctantly, he nodded. ¡°She does. It doesn¡¯t really matter, though, does it? Fuergar are small, weak creatures, so they probably have small, weak-¡± He didn¡¯t want to say the word any more than Raff had, so he mimicked Raff¡¯s gesture, internally amused by the fact that his hand was pressed just above his own secret core.


    Raff waved a hand as he led Kaz around a low, round hut with two doors. It was huge, large enough to hold ten or more kobolds, and Kaz hadn¡¯t seen one like it in years. It would serve as a meeting place for the most important females, so they could speak in relative privacy about troubles and what was happening in the tribe. It was also usually at the very center of the den, which in this case was actually at one end of the largest cavern, where a broad natural arch led into the next cavern.


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    ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill your little friend for somethin¡¯ like that,¡± the human said, sounding somewhat offended. ¡°She¡¯s cute enough, in a ratty kinda way. My little sister would have made a pet out of her, too. She was forever bringing home wild critters who weren¡¯t particularly grateful for being ¡®rescued¡¯.¡±


    They reached a wide circle of low stones, placed around an open area containing four firepits, two of which were currently heating pots like the one in the healer¡¯s hut, except far larger. An orange-furred female kobold with unusually muscular arms stood over one of the pots, stirring it. Her core churned as busily as her ladle, producing red ki that split and trailed away toward each of the two fires. If she was able to control both at once, without either letting one go out or burning the food, she was skilled as well as powerful.


    The humans and the other kobolds were sitting on some of the rocks, already eating from steaming plates of food. The plates were metal, not stone, which was yet another indicator of the wealth of this tribe.


    Everyone looked up as Raff and Kaz approached, and Kaz was relieved to see that the kobolds looked more relaxed and happier than they had since they started their journey. They had eaten once, while they walked, but it had mostly consisted of dried mushrooms, which was neither particularly tasty nor filling. They hadn¡¯t dared stop to eat or rest properly, no matter how tired they got, except during the questionable safety of the stairs.


    Lianhua smiled brightly, but even as she tried to catch Raff¡¯s eyes, the male looked down, expression going flat and unreadable. It was as if he became someone else in the time it took to breathe once, and he just gave Lianhua a small nod before crossing to another one of the rocks and sitting down. He immediately pulled out one of the pieces of his chest armor, and set to work replacing yet another of the leather straps that were meant to hold it together.


    Kaz and Lianhua both watched this strange behavior with confused looks, and Lianhua frowned before turning a heated gaze on Chi Yincang. The dark male, for his part, was standing between Lianhua and the busiest part of the den, and acted as if he didn¡¯t see the look at all. Kaz was getting better at reading the tiny changes in his expression, however, and thought that the minute creases at the corners of his eyes indicated that he was, once again, amused.


    Turning back to Kaz, Lianhua smiled, though there was still a thoughtful crease between her eyes. ¡°Are they settled in, Kaz? Do you think they¡¯ll be all right?¡±


    Kaz sat on the empty rock beside her. ¡°Ratre will be. I¡¯m not sure about the other, but the healer seems competent, and his hut is well stocked.¡±


    The orange female crossed over to him, holding out a plate filled with a stew that looked to be more meat than vegetables. It was a far cry from the thin, fungus-filled gruel the mosui fed their prisoners, and Kaz¡¯s belly growled at the sight, as did Li¡¯s.


    As Kaz accepted the plate, the orange female gave him a sly smile. ¡°That healer is my brother, and he¡¯s more than competent.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s stomach dropped. Had he already managed to anger one of this tribe¡¯s females?


    The smile widened to a little grin as the female continued, ¡°He¡¯s almost more trouble than he¡¯s worth, and Tezne keeps threatening to trade him away so she doesn¡¯t have to listen to him bark, but she never will. For one thing, her mate wouldn¡¯t forgive her for trading his birth-brother.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°But he¡¯s-¡± Old, he didn¡¯t say, but he could tell the orange-furred female could read it on his face. Old males didn¡¯t get traded. They either trained the younger males, or they died in battle.


    Letting out a sharp bark of laughter, the female turned away. ¡°The Goldblade tribe has offered for him a dozen times or more, and not all when he was young. They wish they had a healer half as good. Every time he gets an assistant trained up, they trade for him, which leaves Jul to start all over again. Keeps him busy, though.¡±


    Lianhua looked interested, her eating tools falling still as she looked at the kobold. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that tribe several times now. The Goldblades. My texts say the Deep is run by five tribes, all with ¡®blade¡¯ in their names, but no one knows why those particular tribes are the leaders.¡±


    She made a face. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think anyone bothered to ask. Even Xie Wen, who wrote a whole treatise on kobolds in the Deep, only mentions that those five are the largest and most powerful, as if that¡¯s all the explanation necessary.¡±


    To Kaz, it was, but the orange female shrugged without surprise. ¡°I remember when you humans used to come trade with us, and you never cared much about anything except getting whatever you wanted and leaving.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Lianhua asked, leaning forward intently. ¡°Why did you close the entrance to the mountain?¡±


    Behind the female kobold, the fires flared briefly, as the power cycling through her body surged. She opened her mouth to reply, but a voice came from behind Kaz, cutting her off.


    ¡°I¡¯ll answer that, Aunt Jia. From the look of that smoke, I think the pots need stirring,¡± Berin said flippantly. She stepped around Chi Yincang, her sudden appearance startling everyone except that unflappable male.


    Berin walked over to another nearby stone, and the male on the one beside it promptly got up and moved to a different one. That was partially due to the way Dat, Berin¡¯s mate, had been glaring at him, but in general, males and females didn¡¯t sit together unless they were mates or siblings.


    Berin motioned to Jia, who got another plate of stew and handed it to her niece with a muttered, ¡°Smoke indeed.¡± She was right, of course, because the flames made by female kobolds were entirely smokeless, so any such would have to be produced by food that had been burned far past edibility.


    Berin just grinned at the older female before taking hold of her own tail and moving it out of the way as she sat. Kaz looked more closely, and realized for the first time that it was far shorter than it should be, and hung almost limp behind her. A wide scar was visible through the fur of her lower back, as well, vanishing beneath her niu-fur loincloth, and Kaz wondered what could possibly have happened to her to cause such an injury. Being unable to use one¡¯s tail would be a terrible thing, but Berin barely seemed to notice, so it must have happened a long time ago.


    ¡°Now,¡± Berin said when she finished swallowing her first bite of stew. ¡°Let me tell you how the Deep came to be closed, and the story of a tribe who sought to rise too far.¡±

 Chapter One hundred thirty-eight

    ¡°When the kobolds were young, the mountain spoke to them,¡± Berin began, her voice shifting to the rhythmic cadence of a born storyteller. All around them, eyes and ears turned toward the female, and a grim smile settled on her face as she continued.


    The mountain told the kobolds that there was work to be done, and so long as the kobolds listened to the mountain, there would always be enough food and territory, and more puppies would grow to adulthood than those who died. The kobolds, who had fought among themselves more like beasts than people, heard the mountain and obeyed.


    Five females were selected from among them all, and tribes created to support them. They were Zren of the Mithrilblades, Idje of the Goldblades, Shibi of the Waveblades, Tegra of the Magmablades, and Cyeba of the Woodblades, forever may their names be howled. Each tribe was given a task and a blade, and only when all five tribes and all five blades came together could the heart of the mountain be opened.


    For generations, the tribes worked together, growing and thriving, creating the City in the Deep. All was well until the mountain fell silent.


    Berin¡¯s nose dipped, and when Kaz glanced around, he saw that the other Goldcoats had also bent their heads. They all looked as solemn as if some tragedy had only happened the day before, and they were still mourning the loss. The silence of the circle was broken only by sounds drifting in from far away, and even Jia had stopped stirring her pots. Eventually, however, Berin drew in a deep breath and started speaking again.


    Left alone, the kobolds fell to bickering among themselves. Each tribe had their own ideas of what they should do, now that the mountain no longer commanded or protected them. The Goldblades and the Woodblades remained true to their promises, believing that the mountain would someday speak again, and be pleased with their loyalty.


    The Magmablades, ever the most quarrelsome, declared that as the mountain had abandoned them, so they would abandon the mountain. They did as they wished, declaring luegat and even vara on the other tribes, with the quiet support of their sister tribe, the Mithrilblades.


    The Waveblades tried to remain neutral, unwilling to either continue their work without reward or yield entirely to the primitive part of our nature. Eventually, however, they were drawn into battle when the arrogant Magmablades declared vara on both the Woodblades and the Goldblades, threatening to create one tribe to control all.


    Waveblades, Woodblades, and Goldblades joined together to fight back the Magmablades and the Mithrilblades. Still, all seemed lost until, at the last moment, the Mithrilblades withdrew, abandoning the Magmablades. Then were the Magmablades defeated, and it was only because the Woodblades and the Goldblades still followed the way of the mountain that the offending tribe was not destroyed.


    And so the kobolds continued. Generation after generation were howled to the ancestors, each following the ancient commands, though some with more reluctance than others. But each generation forgot a little more of the lessons taught by the past, until one was born who ignored all but her own hunger for power.


    Oda Magmablade.


    Kaz almost jumped at the name, though he had half expected it by now. His shoulders drew in and his ears flattened, as if everyone around him must know by looking that his mother¡¯s name was Oda. It was possible, of course, that the Oda Berin had mentioned wasn¡¯t Kaz¡¯s mother at all, but Kaz had a sinking feeling that his hopes were about to be dashed.


    Over time, the Magmablades had returned to their old ways, though they never again threatened the other four great tribes. They did, however, absorb many of the smaller tribes, until eventually all the tribes in the Deep were either part of a great tribe, or protected by one. Like the mountain itself, the great tribes protect the lesser, and, in turn, the lesser care for the greater.


    The Goldcoats nodded, several reaching up to touch the golden armlets that were partially concealed by the fur of their upper arms.  Kaz had assumed that these were just part of what this particular tribe wore to mark their members, but now he wondered if they held a deeper meaning.


    Oda Magmablade was a powerful female, but not powerful enough. She wanted to lead the Magmablades, but her mother chose another. This sister went forth on her spirit hunt, and never returned. Of course, this happens sometimes, but the pup was strong and canny, so it was entirely unexpected.


    The chief of the Magmablades mourned her lost puppy, and Oda once again tried to prove herself to her mother. The chief chose a different daughter, this one already past her hunt, but this daughter was lost to a rockfall while helping destroy fulan. Another daughter and another were lost, until only Oda and two others remained. The chief could neither decide between them, nor accept that one of her pups was a monster. Then, the chief died, and for her inability to do what needed to be done, her name is now forgotten, never to be howled.


    So vara came again to the Deep. The two remaining sisters yielded to Oda, and she became the chief of the Magmablades. She was subtler than her ancestors and, to our shame, by the time we realized what was loose among us, it was already too late.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Five great tribes became four over the course of a single night. The Woodblades were the most peaceful of us, the tribe which adhered most closely to the ways of the mountain. Their people were artists and crafters, protected by the lesser tribes sworn to them. They made the richest pigments, the most beautiful clothes, and the most potent medicines. They also made the most effective firemoss oil.


    Oda Magmablade traded with them for a great amount of this firemoss oil, sending out her gatherers to bring all the firemoss they could find to the Woodblade den. Then she sent in her stealthiest warriors, who set fire to it all. The Woodblades died, mother and daughter, except a few puppies who escaped. No females lived, and so that was the end of the Woodblades.


    Berin¡¯s voice dropped to a low, throbbing tone, nearly a growl, but holding more sorrow than anger. Other kobolds had slowly been gathering, drawing near as they listened to the female speak. Each and every one echoed the last, growling words, which rose up into a howl of loss, calling for a tribe that no longer existed.


    When that haunting sound finally faded, the last distant echo disappearing into the eternal stone that surrounded them, Berin went on.


    Once the Woodblades were gone, Oda called a meeting of the great tribes. There had long been a balance among them, but without the Woodblades, that balance was lost. While the Goldblades still mourned their dead cousins, Oda demanded that the most powerful tribe, hers, be given the territory and tribes the Woodblades had controlled. The Mithrilblades supported her, and so she began to move in.


    It was only because the Goldblades refused to accept that the fire was an accident that Oda¡¯s treachery was revealed. The puppies who fled spoke of strangers, and the Goldblades listened. One of Oda¡¯s remaining sisters betrayed her, in exchange for command of whatever was left of the Magmablade tribe. Evidence of Oda¡¯s duplicity was brought before the chiefs of the Mithrilblades and the Waveblades. Even the Mithrilblades listened, and once again, they turned their backs on the Magmablades.


    Upon hearing that Oda was to be exiled from the Deep, her tribe rose up, revealing that they had been quietly encroaching on the territories of the other three tribes. In only a little while longer, they would have been able to declare vara, and take over the Deep as their ancestors had wished to do so long ago. Instead, they were put down, though many kobolds died, until only Oda and a few of her fiercest supporters remained.


    The Magmablade knife was taken from where it hung at Oda¡¯s side, and the Mithrilblades broke it upon their anvil. The hilt was returned to Oda, symbol of her shame, and she and her Broken Knives were driven from the Deep, never to return.


    Berin¡¯s voice trailed into silence, and then she looked back at Lianhua, one ear canted to the side as she spoke in an almost mocking tone. ¡°But you, of course, want to know how all of this relates to you humans, and the answer is simple: It takes five knives to open the mountain, and now there are only three. The Woodblade was lost when the tribe burned, destroyed so completely that not a trace of it could be found. The Magmablade was broken, and while a Magmablade tribe remains in the Deep, and they retain the blade of their knife, it doesn¡¯t matter. Five knives and five tribes are required, and even the most generous kobold would admit we have only three and a half.¡±


    It was all Kaz could do not to clutch at the strap of his pack, which he was certain held the hilt his mother had been given when she was exiled from the Deep. How was it possible that he had never heard this story before? How had Oda managed to keep it so quiet? Was that why they had been forced to move through the mid-levels so quickly?


    But even the tribes in the heights must have heard the tale eventually, and even if they didn¡¯t care as much as those in the Deep, it must have come up each time the Broken Knives settled on a new level. Was that why Oda had been so paranoid about other tribes, and why the puppies Kaz had tried to play with were always so cruel to him?


    Kaz¡¯s ears were flat by now, and he was so caught up in his own bitter thoughts that the deep rumble of Raff¡¯s voice caught him entirely off guard.


    ¡°What do these magic knives look like?¡± the warrior asked. Everyone, including Kaz, turned to stare at him, and Raff scratched his jaw awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯ve known a few smiths, y¡¯see, and one of ¡®em even makes magic blades. If we find out what makes these particular ones so special, maybe we can find or make some replacements. It¡¯d sure be a lot easier than goin¡¯ all the way through this mountain every time someone wants to trade for some mithril or suchlike.¡±


    Berin shook her head, then looked thoughtful, then slightly amused. ¡°The Goldblades would tell you they¡¯re irreplaceable, given by the mountain itself. And I, of course, wouldn¡¯t argue with them, since we Goldcoats are faithful to a fault. Still, I saw the Goldblade once, and no one ever said I couldn¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡±


    She held her hands about twelve inches apart, and said, ¡°The blade is the most unique part. I¡¯ve heard the hilts have even been replaced once or twice, but I don¡¯t know for sure. They¡¯re pretty enough, but a hilt is a hilt, and as long as it sits comfortably in the hand, that¡¯s the important thing. The metal of the blade, though, looks like ripples on water.¡±


    Waving her hand through the air in an up and down motion, she said, ¡°Dark then light, then dark and light again, and each part of it catches the light differently. The metal is impossibly hard, and never needs to be sharpened. It took the greatest of the Mithrilblade smiths to damage the Magmablade, and even then they were only able to snap it, not shatter it. But the most important part is the carved stone that covers the tip. Only a powerful female of the right tribe can remove it, and the mountain can¡¯t be opened with a covered blade.¡±


    She was describing Ghazt¡¯s knife; the one Kaz¡¯s aunt Rega had given him, the one that currently hung in the sheath on Kaz¡¯s belt. He had removed the worn leather from the old knife Zyle Sharpjaw gave him, and wrapped it around the hilt of his father¡¯s knife instead, thus disguising it as something far less interesting. The weapon felt right at his side, and the blue stone that usually covered its point currently rested in a small leather pouch in Kaz¡¯s pack.


    Was it possible that Ghazt¡¯s knife was one of these special blades? Were there more of them than the kobold chiefs wanted to admit, or had Ghazt somehow acquired one of the five, then hidden it until he died? Had the Magmablade not actually been broken, and some substitute was given to whatever part of the Magmablade tribe remained in the Deep? But then why did Ghazt have it, instead of Oda? Why wouldn¡¯t ever-faithful Rega have given it back to her sister?


    But Kaz knew. There was only one real possibility. Somehow, Ghazt, and then Rega, had possessed the Woodblade, the impossibly strong weapon that was supposedly destroyed in a blaze of firemoss oil. Firemoss burned hot and fast, but not hot enough to melt iron, much less adamantium, or even an adamantium alloy. Kaz himself held the key to opening the mountain.

 Chapter One hundred thirty-nine

    Somehow, Kaz managed to sit there, silently eating the stew that his tongue could no longer taste, as those around him discussed everyday topics. Lianhua was fascinated by the story Berin had just told her, and scribbled away in a book. For the first time, Kaz realized that she must have many such books, because she had to have filled several by now, but there always seemed to be more blank pages to write on.


    Li trilled softly in his ear, and a memory rose up in his mind, one they had watched together before. In it, Oda snapped at a young Kaz, telling him, ¡°Everything the ancients ever said, everything they left, it¡¯s all a lie.¡±


    Was she right? Was Berin¡¯s tale just that, a myth told to credulous puppies to explain the way their world worked, and convince them to obey rules that otherwise had no logic behind them? Or was every word fact, carried faithfully down through the centuries, taught to young kobolds by their den mothers so they wouldn¡¯t repeat the mistakes of their ancestors?


    He had a feeling that, like so many things, the truth was some combination of the two, but in this case that truth wasn¡¯t something distant and irrelevant, but rather very personal. If his mother was Oda Magmablade, and also Oda Broken Knife, then who was his father? How had Ghazt come to have the Woodblade¡¯s knife, and how and why had he hidden it from his mate, instead passing it to an unmated female of the tribe?


    Appetite gone, Kaz lifted his plate to his shoulder, where Li was pleased enough to finish off the contents. He had been passing her a good bit of the meat, but she was just as willing to eat the lichen and mushrooms, though Kaz¡¯s instincts still told him that growing creatures needed meat in order to be healthy.


    When he looked away from the gluttonous dragon, he found Berin¡¯s gaze on him, calculation in her yellow eyes. When she realized he¡¯d seen her, she smiled, tongue lolling and one ear cocked to the side, but Kaz didn¡¯t let her slightly ridiculous appearance fool him. This female was dangerous, but at the same time, she might be able to give him at least some of the answers he sought.


    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen a fuergar choose to stay with someone,¡± she said conversationally, setting her own plate down beside her, the contents barely touched. ¡°More than one puppy has brought one home, and we let them keep them until they run away, at least so long as they can¡¯t hurt the pup badly. One of my cousins keeps a niu, and another is trying to tame a woshi that¡¯s still in its water-form, but it only spits water at her when she gets close.¡± She yipped a laugh. ¡°Maybe I should tell her to stick to fuergar instead.¡±


    Kaz shifted, turning his head so Li was mostly hidden behind his muzzle. ¡°I saved Li when she was a baby,¡± he said. ¡°And I don¡¯t try to make her stay. She can leave whenever she wants.¡±


    Berin smirked. ¡°So the illusion of freedom is all it takes to make it choose captivity? I¡¯ll have to keep that in mind.¡±


    Kaz had a feeling they were holding two entirely different conversations, so he stood up, placing the cleaned plate back on his stone seat. Turning to Lianhua, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go check on Ratre, unless you need me for something.¡±


    Lianhua looked up, blinking, then stood as well, tucking her book and pen back into her pouch. ¡°Let¡¯s go together. I need to know how long it¡¯ll be before we can continue on.¡±


    Berin stood, and her expression of surprise looked genuine. ¡°I thought you would stay with us for a while. At least until Tezne gets back. She¡¯ll want to meet you.¡±


    ¡°When do you think that¡¯ll be?¡± Lianhua asked, face almost as unreadable as Chi Yincang¡¯s.


    ¡°A day, two at the most. Our tribe has been tasked with keeping the Goldblade section of this level clear of monsters and beasts that could endanger the Deep. Thanks to Senge, a particularly dangerous aberration made it down the stairs, and Mother has gone to deal with it.¡± Berin¡¯s lip curled when she said her sister¡¯s name.


    Lianhua glanced around, then shook her head firmly. ¡°I want to reach the city as quickly as possible. Now that we¡¯re so close, there¡¯s no reason to delay.¡±


    Berin glanced back at Jia, who was obviously listening as she stirred the stew. ¡°Even if that injured male might die if you force him to leave too soon?¡±


    Sighing, Lianhua shook her head. ¡°We told these kobolds we¡¯d leave them behind if they couldn¡¯t keep up, and they agreed.¡± She looked only mildly regretful, and Kaz wondered what she was hoping to gain. He knew her too well to believe that she was as callous as she appeared.


    Berin¡¯s mate had risen to his paws when she had, and to Kaz¡¯s shock, he stepped forward, saying, ¡°That male won¡¯t be able to walk for at least a few days. Jul wants to keep him until he¡¯s sure the qingmai has killed the infection. We can take him to his tribe once he¡¯s able to tell us who they are.¡±


    The Goldcoat female turned to glare at her mate, who bowed slightly before saying, ¡°My mother, too, will wish to speak to the humans. Best that we don¡¯t delay them too much.¡±


    Berin twitched, then nodded stiffly. ¡°I think Tezne would prefer to be the one making the introductions, but perhaps you¡¯re right.¡±


    Dat bowed again, more deeply, then turned to Lianhua. ¡°I am Dat, mate to Berin. My mother is Idla, chief of the Goldblades. She often dealt with humans when the mountain was open, so I¡¯m certain she can help you find what you seek. My mate and I can bring you directly to her, if you¡¯ll wait until tomorrow.¡±


    A soft whimper came from somewhere behind Kaz, and Dat¡¯s ear twitched, but he didn¡¯t look away from Lianhua. Kaz did, however, and caught a glimpse of Dett, who was peering out from beyond Raff¡¯s bulk. The little male¡¯s blue eyes were wide and shocked, fixed on Dat¡¯s broad, yellow-furred muzzle. Dett claimed to be the son of the Goldblade chief as well, which would make Dat his brother, though it seemed Dat had gotten all of the size Dett lacked.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Lianhua made a soft, thoughtful sound, drawing Kaz¡¯s attention back to her. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s acceptable,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll need someplace to rest tonight, and water to cleanse ourselves.¡±


    Berin nodded, seeming more comfortable now that Lianhua had agreed to wait, even if only a little. Her grin returned, and she waved to a few of the Goldcoats nearby. ¡°Bring the humans to their huts, then show Lianhua to the water-¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°I still want to check on the injured kobolds. Kaz knows the way, so he¡¯ll take me.¡± Her tone was absolute, leaving no room for Berin to use this as an excuse to separate them.


    ¡°But then you won¡¯t know the way to the huts. Kibbiz will guide you there first.¡± Berin waved her hand, and a female with light brown fur stepped forward, bowing.


    Lianhua smiled. ¡°Then Kibbiz can show us all to the healer, then the sleeping huts and water. After that, Kaz can take me everywhere.¡±


    It was obvious to Kaz by now that Lianhua didn¡¯t want him to go off on his own, and though he wasn¡¯t sure why, he was glad of it when he saw a flicker of frustration in Berin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Well enough,¡± the female said through gritted teeth, then gestured again to Kibbiz.


    Lianhua didn¡¯t sigh in relief, but her shoulders relaxed, and she hurried away from the eating area more quickly than was strictly necessary. Raff and Chi Yincang went with them as well, Raff in between Kibbiz and Lianhua, and Chi Yincang bringing up the rear.


    As soon as they passed into the vast main cavern, Lianhua sketched the sound suppression rune on her palm and flashed it at Kaz, though he could see that she put more ki than usual into it, because power settled around them in a pale, gleaming shell.


    ¡°She started asking about you as soon as the formalities were over,¡± Lianhua murmured. ¡°What is that blue kobold¡¯s name, where did he come from, was he in this mosui city, what tribe is he from? At first I just thought it was normal curiosity, because you spoke to her, and perhaps also because she was interested in Li. She didn¡¯t ask about anyone else, though, just you, and sprinkled her questions in among other conversation, as if the questions had just occurred to her.¡±


    Kaz felt his shoulders growing tight again. ¡°What did you tell her?¡±


    ¡°Your name, of course,¡± Lianhua admitted. ¡°But when I said you came from a tribe from the top of the mountain, she became much more interested.¡± She put her hands up, fingers extended beside her head. ¡°She did that thing you do, where you turn your ears straight toward me, and I can tell you¡¯re really focused on what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    A red flush suffused her cheeks, and she hurried on. ¡°Not that you don¡¯t listen, but your ears are usually-¡± She turned her fingers this way and that, as if tracking the sounds around them, and Kaz huffed a laugh.


    ¡°Because that keeps me alive,¡± he said, but he was beginning to relax again. ¡°What else did you say?¡±


    ¡°You never claim the,¡± her voice lowered to a whisper, even though no one should be able to understand what they said, ¡°Broken Knives as your tribe. Usually you say you¡¯re from the Longknife tribe, but I heard you tell Senge you¡¯re a Longtooth instead. You don¡¯t usually lie, so I thought there must be some reason you did that time, so I told Berin the same thing. After that I changed the subject whenever she tried to ask about you.¡±


    Kaz thought back to the moment Li had urged discretion when he was about to answer Senge¡¯s question. He had nearly told Senge the truth, hoping that she might have more information about the tribe his mother had left behind, but when the dragon reminded him of Oda¡¯s tendency to leave only enemies behind her, he had claimed neither his own tribe, nor the one his sister, Katri, had created when she merged the Broken Knives with the Longtooths.


    How did you know? He silently asked the dragon perched on his shoulder, but she just yawned, tongue curling as she pointedly looked away from him. He suspected she didn¡¯t know any more than he did, and her caution had been driven by another of the mysterious instincts that had yet to lead them astray.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful,¡± Kaz said, trying to sound unconcerned, as the healer¡¯s hut came into sight.


    Lianhua reached out and caught his arm, stopping as she stared down into his eyes. ¡°Do more than that, Kaz,¡± she said, her tone more pleading than commanding. ¡°I want you to stay with one of us at all times. It¡¯s not just that Berin is interested in you. I¡¯ve seen others watching you, whenever you¡¯re not looking. It¡¯s mostly the females, but Dat does it, too. And you told me yourself that kobolds will sometimes steal puppies or males from other tribes. What am I supposed to do if you just vanish, and they claim they don¡¯t know where you went?¡±


    Her lips twitched. ¡°Or if they try to take you, and you kill or injure half the tribe fighting them off?¡±


    Kaz blinked. That simply¡­ hadn¡¯t occurred to him. The idea that he might be taken and have to run away, that was always a possibility, if a distant one. But could he really kill or drive off grown warriors long enough for Lianhua and the others to come to his rescue?


    Yes. Yes, he could. He was at least as capable of protecting himself as any female, especially now that he could create a shield. It was currently only large enough to protect his head and keep out fulan, but he suspected that he could make it larger if he was forced to try. Besides, his skin could no longer be pierced by anything short of what should be a killing blow, and if they were trying to take him, they wouldn¡¯t be willing to chance such an attack.


    He hadn¡¯t received full training as a warrior, since Oda never allowed him to go on his spirit hunt, but he had had more than most pups, and he had been used as a warrior in all but name. He had fought woshi, and janjio, and a fuergar nearly as large as he was. He easily took down a husede, and used his ki to kill an ancient, insane being who was at least as much a monster as the things created by the fulan.


    Kaz had no interest in hurting anyone, but he was no longer a helpless puppy. He had learned this lesson over and over, but somehow it never seemed quite real until the moment when he was forced to fight back. But this time he wouldn¡¯t let it get that far. He would stand up for himself, and if anyone came for him, he would do what he had to do to protect himself. Better yet, he would use wisdom to prevent the need for strength.


    He nodded as he began to walk again. ¡°I¡¯ll try to stay with you or Raff, but if anyone tries to do anything to me, they¡¯ll find that they¡¯ve taken on a lopo, where they expected a stalactite.¡±


    Lianhua smiled, then hesitantly asked, ¡°Kaz¡­ was your mother Oda Magmablade?¡±


    Kaz sighed. ¡°She never used that name, but she certainly was Oda Broken Knife.¡±


    They stopped outside the hut, and Kaz sniffed deeply, drawing in the calming scent of jejing moss, which had always filled his nose when his aunt Rega hugged him, in those brief moments when she allowed such contact. Beside him, Lianhua wrinkled her nose, clearly not finding the smell as pleasant as Kaz did.


    ¡°Are you coming in?¡± he asked her, and she shook her head. She had braved the jejing and the stench of sickness when she sat with Ehlan Redmane, so he wasn¡¯t sure why this was different, but females weren¡¯t supposed to go into a hut with an unrelated male, so it was just as well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, then,¡± he said, and pushed open the door, ducking inside.

 Chapter One hundred forty

    Ratre and the other warrior were fast asleep on their moss beds, and Kaz froze, then crept forward as quietly as he could. The healer watched this with irritation tinged by amusement, but didn¡¯t attempt to convince Kaz to leave.


    Settling down next to Ratre, Kaz watched the slow rise and fall of the other kobold¡¯s chest, counting silently. When he was sure Ratre was breathing normally, he nodded and rose. He would have liked to check the male¡¯s heart rate as well, but didn¡¯t want to risk waking him.


    He looked at the male with the infected scratches on his leg, and tried to count his breaths as well. It was difficult, since his breathing was still fast and shallow, and the number he reached concerned him. Looking up, he saw that Jul was watching him in turn, and the healer motioned impatiently for Kaz to come closer.


    Kaz obeyed, sitting across from the healer, then leaning down so he could listen to the breathing of the sleeping male. On his shoulder, Li shifted as her perch did, but she didn¡¯t complain audibly. Kaz pushed extra ki into his ears, and found that he could hear not only the sound of air moving in the kobold¡¯s chest, but also the rapid flutter of his heartbeat. To his relief, the breaths were fast but clear, though he thought the heart didn¡¯t sound quite right.


    ¡°He¡¯ll recover, I think,¡± Jul murmured, ¡°but he needs complete rest for several days. The poison almost reached the artery in his leg, and he hasn¡¯t been eating enough, so his body will struggle to heal, even now that it has help.¡±


    Kaz nodded, straightening. He was nearly certain that all of the males who came from the mosui city were miners. He¡¯d only spent a brief amount of time there, but it was a harsh place, and from the little he¡¯d heard about the other mines, or other sections of the same mine, they hadn¡¯t been much better. None of the miners had had enough food, except those who used their strength to steal from the others.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay that long,¡± he admitted reluctantly. ¡°What will happen to him if we have to leave him here?¡±


    Jul hesitated, then shrugged. ¡°He¡¯ll become part of the Goldcoats, or if he¡¯s not strong enough, we may give him to one of the lesser tribes. We serve the Goldblades directly, but there are others who choose to bind themselves more loosely.¡±


    Kaz gritted his teeth. ¡°He wants to find his old tribe.¡±


    The healer sighed. ¡°Then it will depend on what our chief, Tezne, says, and what tribe he came from.¡±


    ¡°His name is Minc, of the Darkbow tribe,¡± Ratre¡¯s raspy voice said. Kaz and Jul turned, to see the gray-furred male struggling up to lean on one elbow as he continued speaking. ¡°They serve the Wavefangs, who serve the Waveblades. They used to have a den on this level, and the one below, but Minc was captured almost a year ago, so that may have changed.¡±


    Jul¡¯s tense expression eased. ¡°I know them. They¡¯re further from the stairs, but the Waveblades and the Goldblades have a mutual passage pact. The Darkbows have been helpful in clearing the fulan, as well as killing the monsters that sneak in through the crevices above. It¡¯s best to catch the things before they grow, so all the tribes on this level have warriors scouring the halls and tunnels to find them as soon as they appear. We¡¯ve all lost warriors, so gaining a new one would be good, but I think Tezne will be inclined to give him back, if they want him.¡±


    Ratre¡¯s eyes closed, and for a moment Kaz thought he had fallen asleep in his awkward position, but then they opened again, and he nodded to Jul gratefully. ¡°We have another from one of tribes claimed by the Waveblades, two from a Mithrilblade tribe, and two who used to serve the Magmablades. Those lost their whole tribes to the fulan and the mosui, but they have cousins in a Mithrilblade tribe, and hope they¡¯ll be accepted there.¡±


    Jul shrugged, but his hand reached out to adjust a bit of the moss beneath Minc¡¯s unconscious body. ¡°The chiefs will decide, but since the Magmablades lost their place, there has been a great deal of adjustment. It has started to settle these last few years, but if they left the Deep more than a few years ago, they may find that their tribes are very different.¡±


    Kaz cleared his throat softly. ¡°My tribe is in the heights,¡± he said, ¡°and I don¡¯t understand how the Deep works. My den mother said there were great tribes and lesser, but she never named them. I know the Deep is safer than the mid-levels and the top of the mountain, but¡­¡± He trailed off, letting the two older males fill in the empty space. He didn¡¯t want to lie more than he needed to, and so far, he was mostly just going around the truth.


    Jul and Ratre exchanged glances, and then Ratre rolled onto his back, closing his eyes. Clearly, he couldn¡¯t or didn¡¯t want to answer this question, but the rhythm of his breathing didn¡¯t change, so Kaz thought he wasn¡¯t actually trying to sleep.


    After a moment, Jul shook his head. ¡°Your den mother did you a disservice, not teaching you the proper howls, but I suppose she thought it unlikely you¡¯d ever see the Deep. Normally, I¡¯d tell you to go back to her and ask her for the old howls, but that¡¯s not an option, is it?¡±


    Kaz met the sharp brown eyes and felt his ears fold back. ¡°She joined the ancestors just before I left,¡± he admitted, and his eyes grew hot and prickled at the words. Too much had happened when the humans appeared, and he hadn¡¯t been able to take in his aunt¡¯s death. Dozens of his tribe members had died since they left the Deep, many of them in front of his eyes, but Rega was special, and he hadn¡¯t even been able to howl her to the ancestors.


    Jul shifted a little closer to the table, hands moving among the small bags and jars there, but when he looked up again, his gaze was noticeably gentler. He set out five polished bone containers in a row, turning them so Kaz could see the runes carved into them. Each rune was a different color, and Jul tapped each one as he spoke.


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    ¡°Goldblade.¡± A rich, metallic gold paint was thickly layered into this rune. ¡°Woodblade.¡± A deep blue rune. ¡°Waveblade, Mithrilblade, and Magmablade.¡± These were black, white, and red in turn.


    ¡°Long ago, the mountain gifted the first female of each tribe with certain powers. Their daughters carry these powers forward, and the ancients left devices that only females with these powers can use.


    ¡°The Goldblades are the only kobolds who can mine the mid-levels and the Deep metals. Their females can shift immovable stone, and our most ancient howls say they could once pass through that stone, finding hidden veins of mithril and adamantium.


    ¡°The Waveblades control the water, drawing it up from the rivers that run beneath the Deep. Without them, we would only have what trickles down from above, and we would use that up within a hundred years. Waveblades can create a water source in any den, so tribes can settle wherever they wish, without having to hunt for a pool or spring, and move when that runs dry.


    ¡°Mithrilblades are the greatest smiths among us. They use forges heated by molten stone, and are the only kobolds who can craft using mithril and adamantium. All the weapons used by the great tribes are created by them, and each one will last for centuries unless they¡¯re raised in battle against another just as strong.


    ¡°Magmablades command the fires of the earth. They work with the Mithrilblades to run the ancient forges. They could heat a den without fire, or take control of an existing flame, turning it against those who started it. If they were still as strong as they once were, they could wipe out the fulan on this level in hours, and destroy the monsters born within it in seconds. Now, it¡¯s all they can do to make the forges hotter or colder as the Mithrilblades require, and the only reason they still exist at all is because the mountain created them.¡±


    Firmly, Jul tucked the container with the red rune behind the one bearing the white rune, then picked up the blue. Ears drooping sadly, he lifted and turned it, hiding the rune. ¡°The Woodblades cared for the Tree, and controlled the yumi fields and gathering caverns. At their command, reeds grew overnight, and mosses covered the walls. No one went hungry, and if anyone needed a gift for a new mate, or a painting of their pups, one of the Woodblade artists could craft it for them. When I was young, I trained with the Woodblade healer, and he¡¯s the reason I¡¯m the best healer among the Goldblade tribes.¡±


    Kaz and Li watched as Jul shifted the containers around again, placing the blue-marked one out of sight with clear reluctance. The healer shoved the bone jar with the red rune roughly to the side, then set an apparently random array of pouches around the remaining three jars.


    ¡°Each of the great tribes has a number of lesser tribes who owe allegiance to them. The Waveblades have the most, and are currently the strongest tribe as a result. When a female of a greater tribe is adopted into one of these lesser tribes, the tribe is allowed to use the greater tribe¡¯s title as part of their tribe name.


    ¡°Our tribe, for instance, had a chief three generations ago who was a weaker Goldblade female. She would have been one among many there, so she chose to take the Stonecoat chief¡¯s son as mate, and the Stonecoats became the Goldcoats.¡±


    With a distinctly amused twinkle in his eye, he sat the gold-runed jar atop a particularly plump pouch, where it balanced precariously. More pouches were added to the collection, each one shoring up the pot at the top, until it stood firm and proud in its place.


    ¡°Each of the lesser tribes works for the greater ones, as needed, and according to their own strengths. As a subsidiary of the Goldblades, we sometimes help mine, but more often we guard their miners when they travel into the Deep or the mid-levels. We keep the areas with the richest ore veins clear of lopo and other beasts, as well.¡±


    Kaz frowned, tilting his head. ¡°But what do you get out of it?¡±


    Jul chuffed a laugh. ¡°We don¡¯t have to fight for everything,¡± he said, simply. ¡°The Goldblades have pacts with the other great tribes, and in turn, we work together with the other lesser tribes, to the benefit of us all. If a neighboring tribe wants to declare luegat, they have to get approval from the tribe they owe allegiance to, and the greater tribes rarely grant such requests. No one but the Magmablades themselves have declared vara in generations, and they were nearly destroyed for it.


    ¡°It¡¯s more difficult to find food than it used to be, but the Waveblades and the Goldblades work together to run the yumi fields and gathering caves, so while they yield less than they did, there¡¯s still enough for everyone to have a share. The Waveblades make sure no one runs out of water, so we don¡¯t have to find new territories every few years. Males are almost never traded without their consent, and our lives aren¡¯t wasted in pointless battles.¡±


    To Kaz, it still sounded too good to be true. There was something Jul either wasn¡¯t saying or didn¡¯t know. Oda had been too bitter, her relationship with Kaz, Katri, Rega, and the rest of the tribe too twisted. He didn¡¯t think she was only angry because her plan to take over the Deep had failed. There had been something more than frustrated ambition behind it all. The way she talked about art, and history, that had been personal, and smelled of betrayal, not just abstract animosity.


    ¡°Then why did the Magmablades wipe out the Woodblades?¡± he asked, unable to hold back the question, now that he had gone this far. ¡°Why not just do what they were planning to do to the other four tribes, and sneak into their territory so they could declare vara? Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to take them over, keep the young females and raise them as Magmablades, rather than losing whatever power allowed the Woodblades to grow enough food for everyone? Especially if the Woodblades weren¡¯t even good fighters. Surely Oda didn¡¯t fear them striking back at her. If she was going to wipe out a tribe, it sounds like it should have been the Goldblades, since she¡¯d need the Waveblades to raise the water, and the Mithrilblades were already the Magmablades¡¯ allies.¡±


    Kaz knew Oda better than anyone who hadn¡¯t lived with her every day of their lives. She was arrogant, ambitious, and easily offended, but she wasn¡¯t stupid. She carefully selected the tribes she called luegat on, studying them and preparing a battle plan based on what she learned. If she wasn¡¯t so obsessed with trying to return to the Deep, and hadn¡¯t refused to allow the females in the tribe to take mates and bear pups, he thought her plans would have succeeded at least half the time. Her impatience and eternally bad luck had been her downfall.


    But Jul shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, pup. I¡¯ve heard a hundred theories, but only the Magmablades know the truth, and they don¡¯t speak to anyone outside their own tribe anymore.¡±


    ¡°I can tell you,¡± Ratre growled, and Kaz, Li, and Jul spun to face him. Kaz had completely forgotten about the other pair of ears listening to the conversation, but now he remembered that the other kobold had said his tribe was supposed to be guarding the Woodblades the night the tribe was wiped out. If anyone except the Magmablades had known what caused Oda to single them out, it would be the Woodblades themselves, or, apparently, at least one of the tribes they controlled.

 Chapter One hundred forty-one

    ¡°I saw Oda many times,¡± Ratre said. He didn¡¯t open his eyes, and if he hadn¡¯t been speaking, Kaz might have believed he was asleep. ¡°When she was little more than a pup, fresh from her spirit hunt, she came to see Enght, the chief of the Woodblades. I wasn¡¯t much older than her, and I remember thinking that the color of her fur was beautiful.¡±


    His mouth twisted, and he turned his head away a bit, as if shamed by the admission. Kaz remembered Oda as a tall, thin female, her silver-blue eyes gleaming with the fire of ambition as she ranted about her latest plan. Her red fur had been streaked with silver around the muzzle and down her chest, but his oldest memories showed her in glossy crimson, her eyes bright, though even then she always seemed at least a little angry. Still, Ratre was right. She had been beautiful.


    ¡°She came to ask for one of Enght¡¯s sons as mate. Enght refused. Oda was likely to become chief of the Magmablades, but the Woodblades treated their males well. None were given unless they wished to go. Enght told Oda that if she wanted Ghazt, she would have to convince him first.¡±


    The name bit into Kaz¡¯s heart like the knife that hung at his waist. Cold and sharp, it twisted until he thought he would never breathe again. He must have made some sound, because Ratre¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked straight at Kaz, smiling slightly.


    ¡°When I first saw you, I thought he had returned from the ancestors. His fur was almost the same shade of blue, and you have something of him in the shape of your nose and the tilt of your ears. His eyes were pure silver, though, and he was broader in the chest and shoulders. Still, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if one of your ancestors was a Woodblade, and not too far back, either.¡±


    Jul snorted, looking at Kaz. ¡°I thought the same, though I didn¡¯t know this Ghazt. A few of the male puppies who escaped the fire have blue fur, but none as true as this. They¡¯re adults now, and all have been mated to females with recent Woodblade ancestors, in hopes of getting a female pup with Woodblade powers. You¡¯ll be able to pick your mate from a dozen willing females once you arrive in the Deep proper.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened as he realized what had been going on. This must be why Berin and the other Goldcoats were so interested in him. Berin herself already had a mate, but in a tribe this size, there must be dozens of available females, and surely one of them had some Woodblade blood. Or perhaps they wanted to offer Kaz to the Goldblades, who had been the Woodblades¡¯ closest allies. Berin had called the Woodblades and Goldblades ¡®cousins¡¯, so they probably had the best chance of bearing a Woodblade pup.


    His heart thumped as he thought of another female, one who had risen from the Deep not that long ago. Pilla, chief of the Copperstrikers, had made an oblique offer to take him as mate, even though he was still a puppy. Had she wanted him for the color of his fur, and hoped that he would be flattered enough to accept? If she had blue-furred pups, she could trade them for a chance to return to the Deep, or a blue chief might even be able to become a direct subsidiary of one of the great tribes by taking one of their sons as mate.


    Then there was Zyle. Kaz¡¯s fur had been gray when they met, but the old male had certainly recognized the Woodblade knife in Kaz¡¯s pack, and perhaps the Broken Knife hilt as well. He had even given Kaz the old knife and sheath as a way to hide it in plain sight, but that in itself must have been some kind of test. The knife wouldn¡¯t fit in the sheath unless Kaz removed the blue stone on its tip, but only a female Woodblade should be able to do so. What did Zyle know, and how?


    On his shoulder, Li shifted, her wings raising as if to shelter Kaz from the too-sharp gazes of the males inside the hut. He could feel her flipping through his memories, examining his interactions with other kobolds as they descended through the mountain. How many of them had known Kaz¡¯s blue fur likely came from a Woodblade ancestor?


    He stilled, eyes widening as Li settled on images of Kaz, asking Oda over and over if he could go on his spirit hunt. He had pleaded until he could sense that she would strike him if he didn¡¯t stop, and still she had refused. Katri had been allowed to go, and months had passed since then without any sign that Kaz would be given permission as well.


    But warriors could be traded, while puppies couldn¡¯t. Each time Oda declared luegat on a tribe, that tribe had the right to demand something when they won. That might be food stores, which was why the Broken Knives were so often hungry, or goods, like their silver bell or the knives they had brought from the Deep. But most often, it was males.


    When the Broken Knives left the Deep, several of Kaz¡¯s uncles, Oda and Rega¡¯s brothers, had come with them. By the time they left the mid-levels, only a few of those uncles remained, because Oda lost them all to failed luegats, or traded them for safe passage. The moment Kaz became an adult, Oda could - likely would - lose him.


    Oda had manipulated him to the very last, keeping Kaz as a final piece in whatever twisted plan she¡¯d concocted. She would have kept him under her thumb until the moment she needed him to play his role.


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    ¡°So she convinced Ghazt to be her mate,¡± Kaz finally managed, voice hoarse. ¡°But how did that lead to her wiping out his tribe? Did she want her puppies to be the only Woodblades left?¡±


    Ratre frowned, ears cocking in confusion. ¡°She didn¡¯t mate with Ghazt. She gave him gifts, visited him almost daily, but he refused her every time. He was wiser than the rest of us, who saw only a strong, attractive female who seemed utterly devoted to him. But then he died.¡±


    Again, Kaz lost his breath, and woozily, he wondered how many more times it would take before he simply fell unconscious. His ki-infused lungs might not allow that, but at the moment, he thought it might be restful to simply close his eyes and shut out the rest of Ratre¡¯s words.


    ¡°The Woodblades and the Goldblades often worked together, and Enght¡¯s brother was mate to Leyla, the old Goldblade chief. Their son, Vrau, was the same age as Ghazt, and they often went mining or gathering together. But one day, a badly injured male returned to the Woodblade den, saying that they had hit a pocket of explosive gas while mining, and everyone else in the group was dead. That male himself died soon after, but they were eventually able to find the site of the disaster. I was among the group that did, and it was-¡±


    Ratre¡¯s voice cracked, and he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve seen terrible things since then, but I was young, and it hit me hard. We weren¡¯t even able to retrieve enough of them to howl them to the ancestors properly.¡±


    Another memory rose, of Ghazt warning a very young Kaz about this exact possibility. Obviously, he had survived, but how? Or¡­ A possibility rose in Kaz¡¯s mind, one that was almost as horrible as the scene Ratre must have witnessed.


    If Oda had indeed killed her own sisters, as Berin had implied, what was to stop her from doing something similar to steal Ghazt? In the Deep, where every part of the caverns and winding passages was mapped and safe, there was no way a powerful tribe would just accept that the chief¡¯s son had vanished. No, Oda would have to make it look as if he¡¯d died, then hide him somewhere until he was bound to her as her mate, which would happen after she became pregnant with his pups. Was that how Katri and Kaz had come to be born?


    ¡°For a while after that, Oda vanished. We all thought she was in mourning, but when she reappeared, she was changed. Furious. She demanded to speak to Enght, and though Enght was the kindest female I¡¯ve ever met, they came to blows. Both were injured, and Enght could have declared luegat for it, but for the sake of peace and Oda¡¯s mother, she chose not to. Then, only a few months later, the chief of the Magmablades died after eating spoiled meat, and Oda came to power. You know the rest.¡±


    Jul sat back, shaking his head. ¡°Of all the ideas I¡¯ve ever heard about why Oda hated the Woodblades so much, thwarted love wasn¡¯t one of them. I suppose she believed that if she¡¯d been allowed to take Ghazt as her mate, he wouldn¡¯t have been out mining, and so wouldn¡¯t have died.¡±


    He huffed a melancholy laugh. ¡°So much lost for one female¡¯s selfishness. But what tribe were you with, that you saw so much of this?¡±


    Ratre turned away from Jul¡¯s sharp eyes, then sighed and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter any more. My entire tribe is gone, wiped out by monsters in the mid-levels, or taken by the mosui. I tried to find any other survivors, but there were none. I suppose I¡¯m as rare now as young Kaz, in my own way.¡±


    He sat up, the stump of his leg sliding off its bed of moss and thumping softly to the stone floor. It was cushioned by the mamu-soaked webs, but he yipped slightly, reaching down to rub the leg. Staring at the remnant of his limb, he muttered, ¡°My tribe were the Woodclaws, only raised up from the Rockclaws two generations earlier. Ghazt was my cousin, too, since his great-aunt was my grandmother.¡±


    His hands fell down beside him, fists clenching in the moss on which he sat. ¡°We were the most trusted of the Woodblade¡¯s tribes. We were chosen to protect them because of how fierce our warriors were, and yet we grew lax, assuming that the Deep was safe. I remember standing guard outside the Woodblade den, laughing and throwing the bones with my brothers. We missed every sign that something was wrong, and when the Woodblades died, we were too late.¡±


    Jul gave a small bark of surprise. ¡°I remember your tribe. When your grandmother chose to leave the Woodblades and take a Rockclaw mate, it was all anyone could howl about for weeks. All the males from the lesser tribes kept an eye on the females from the greater, hoping that one of them might be inspired to do the same. I heard your chief chose to leave the Deep after the Woodblades were killed, but I didn¡¯t realize you all went with her.¡±


    Ratre nodded. ¡°It was shame enough when we believed their deaths were an accident, but after the Goldblades proved that Oda had them killed, we couldn¡¯t stay. Our chief, Nika, told us we could, but no one did.¡±


    ¡°So why have you returned, Woodclaw?¡± Jul asked. It could have sounded accusatory, but instead it held nothing but genuine curiosity and compassion.


    Ratre hesitated, then pointed at Kaz. ¡°I saw him. It reminded me that we Woodclaws were meant to protect the Woodblades, and he¡¯s as much a Woodblade as any I ever saw. When Eld said he was heading to the Deep, I knew I had to come, to defend him, even if it meant my life.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Though in the end I was nothing but a literal burden to him, so now I suppose it would be best if I just let him go.¡±


    Impulsively, Kaz reached out, touching the back of Ratre¡¯s hand in much the way Lianhua touched his when she was trying to make him feel better. ¡°Come with me,¡± he urged. ¡°I don¡¯t need a guard, but I do need wisdom. I don¡¯t know anything about the Deep other than what you¡¯ve just told me. I don¡¯t want to be taken, or mated to anyone. Help me stay free, and you¡¯ll have saved at least one,¡± he nearly said ¡®Woodblade¡¯, but managed to adjust it at the last moment, saying, ¡°who bears the blood of the Woodblades.¡±


    Ratre looked at him, eyes gleaming with moisture, and for the first time Kaz realized that their gray held a distinct shade of blue. ¡°All right,¡± the older male said. ¡°I¡¯m yours until you tell me you no longer need me.¡±

 Chapter One hundred forty-two

    Ratre was clearly exhausted by the conversation, so Kaz stood to leave as soon as the older male¡¯s eyes drifted closed. With a nod to Jul, he headed for the door, but paused just before he pushed it open. Pointing to the table containing the pouches and containers of medicine, he spoke softly.


    ¡°Those five containers, with the colored runes, what do those hold?¡±


    Jul¡¯s ears twitched, but he reached out and plucked the jar with the gold rune from the top of its small tower of bags. ¡°Certain powders can be used to strengthen the females of each greater tribe when they perform the tasks given by the mountain. My teacher trained me in the art of making them, and though I have no need for them myself, I teach each of the males I train how to do it, since they¡¯re always traded up to a greater tribe as soon as they learn everything they can.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes hungrily traced over the runes. ¡°So those symbols represent each of the tribes?¡±


    Jul nodded. ¡°At least that¡¯s what my teacher told me. I only know the runes for each type of medicine, since reading them is the fastest way to know which is which.¡±


    Kaz started to push the door, but paused again when it was only open a few inches. ¡°Why do you keep the one for the Woodblades?¡±


    The healer picked up the jar, the smallest of the five, and turned it in his hand. ¡°Someday we¡¯ll have a Woodblade again. The mountain will make it so. When that happens, there will be healers who know how to make medicine for them, and those healers will be trained by my hand.¡± His chin lifted, and Kaz saw a confident pride gleam in his eyes. This kobold was the best healer in the Deep, or at least he believed he was.


    Kaz gave a respectful nod and pushed back out into the light of the den. It was unusually clear and bright for a kobold den, with so many strong females available to create it, and he blinked a few times. When the shapes around him settled into Lianhua, Raff, and Chi Yincang, Kaz was startled to find all of them looking at him with varying levels of pity. Well, except for Chi Yincang, but Kaz thought even that male looked slightly less inscrutable than usual.


    Tugging at his ear, Kaz asked, ¡°You heard everything we said, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Lianhua and Raff nodded instantly, and Chi Yincang¡¯s right eyebrow lifted an eighth of an inch, which was practically a scream from him.


    Lianhua reached out as if to touch Kaz¡¯s shoulder, but drew back when Li mantled protectively, curling herself around Kaz¡¯s shoulders and throat as she lifted her wings. Kaz had no idea what the others saw when she did this, but Chi Yincang shifted his weight slightly, settling into readiness, while Raff¡¯s brows nearly met his hairline.


    Lianhua, on the other hand, just gave a small, sad smile and tucked her hands into her sleeves, taking a step back. In the process, she nearly bumped into the female kobold Berin had assigned to guide them. That female had crept closer than absolutely necessary, and looked slightly frustrated when they didn¡¯t say anything further.


    Kaz was certain that Jul would relay their words to Berin or Tezne, so it didn¡¯t matter if Kibbiz had overheard what went on inside the hut, but he didn¡¯t particularly want her to hear anything else, so he gave an exaggerated yawn, stretching with puppy-like enthusiasm.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± he said, just in case anyone had missed his broad hint. ¡°Should we rest for a bit?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s expression lightened, and she nodded, while both Raff and Chi Yincang looked amused, in their own ways. They all turned to look at Kibbiz, who actually stumbled back a step before catching herself and lifting her chin.


    ¡°This way,¡± she said, and turned toward a particularly large cluster of huts not far away. As they drew closer, Kaz realized that one of them stood higher than the rest, which looked like puppies gathered around their den mother in comparison.


    Kibbiz stopped outside of this hut, tail wagging proudly. ¡°This hut was made for humans. The Goldblades told us that when humans returned to the mountain, they would come from above, and we should be ready.¡±


    Lianhua looked at the single hut, then glanced at her companions. She didn¡¯t say anything, but Kaz could tell she was wishing there was more than one. Still, she smiled and said, ¡°Good. Is there perhaps someplace Kaz can rest as well?¡±


    Kibbiz blinked, as if the idea that they wouldn¡¯t all cram themselves into the single, albeit large, hut simply hadn¡¯t occurred to her. Then a sly look crept over her face, and she pointed to a hut set a good distance from the first one. ¡°He can sleep there. That one is for visiting Goldblades, so it¡¯s perfectly suited for kobolds.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s smile grew a little fixed, and she said, ¡°Good. I¡¯ll sleep there with him, then. I prefer smaller spaces, anyway.¡±


    Kaz knew very well that she did not, in fact, prefer the low ceilings and tight quarters that made kobolds feel safe, but she was the only one of the three humans who would fit in it, and she didn¡¯t want him to be alone. Without Gaoda there to assert his irrational requirement that Lianhua sleep alone, she could now do as she wished. Kaz simply hoped that she didn¡¯t snore as loudly as Raff.


    The brown-furred female¡¯s tail stopped wagging, and she looked distinctly annoyed, but she nodded agreement. ¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°But perhaps¡­ Kaz? Would like to rest while I guide the rest of you to the pools. Our water cavern was created by a Waveblade, and it¡¯s far better than anything you¡¯ll have seen above.¡±


    Lianhua looked intrigued, but sighed and shook her head. ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to wash up, I find myself quite tired as well. I think I¡¯ll take a nap, and perhaps we can bathe after dinner.¡±


    Again, Kibbiz¡¯s ears lowered in a flicker of irritation, but she nodded. ¡°As you wish. Guests and females eat at the circle where we met. You¡¯ll hear the bell when the meal is ready.¡±


    Now, Kaz glanced around before asking, ¡°Where are the rest of the males who arrived with us? We agreed to bring them to the city in the Deep.¡±


    Genuine confusion crossed the female¡¯s face, and she looked around as if six strange male kobolds might suddenly appear from thin air. ¡°I assume they¡¯re in the huts used by unmated males, but I¡¯ll find out. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re being cared for. Perhaps I could take you to them later?¡±


    That didn¡¯t particularly reassure Kaz, but he couldn¡¯t do much about it. If necessary, he would track them by scent, though it would be difficult to pick out scents he wasn¡¯t very familiar with in such a large and busy den.


    ¡°Thank you, Kibbiz,¡± Lianhua said, tone dismissive. ¡°We¡¯re fine now.¡±


    Kibbiz glanced from Lianhua to Kaz once again, then gave an awkward little nod and scampered off, back the direction from which they had come. No doubt she would report to Berin, who would in turn interrogate Jul, at least if she was as interested in their group as she seemed to be. Actually, Kaz wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the six males were being questioned at that very moment, and hoped they either knew nothing about the fall of the mosui and Zhangwo¡¯s death, or were smart enough not to say too much.


    Lianhua glanced between the hut beside them, which was large enough that even Raff should be able to stand up straight in it, and the much shorter one she would share with Kaz. Sighing, she said, ¡°I suppose we might as well see where we¡¯ll be sleeping.¡±


    Chi Yincang bowed wordlessly, though they all knew he would spend his time lurking outside Lianhua¡¯s hut, rather than inside his own. Kaz had still never caught the human doing anything that might be considered relaxing, and wondered if he had given up speech in exchange for no longer needing to sleep. Or perhaps he shunted his tiredness off to Lianhua¡¯s grandfather, who spent his days snoozing in any convenient location, like the elderly kobolds in Rega¡¯s earliest stories, when they were still told for amusement as much as education.


    Raff, on the other hand, flicked his hand at his temple in a brief farewell and turned to enter the hut with visible relief. He was still trying to hold back his natural vigor and tendency to ramble whenever he was walking, and it was obviously a strain. Eventually, Lianhua would need to talk to him about it, but it seemed obvious from the way the two males were acting that this was another test set by Lianhua¡¯s grandfather, and Kaz had no interest in interfering.


    Lianhua looked after Raff, then gave Chi Yincang a brief glare, which he ignored entirely. When she turned and headed for her hut, both Kaz and Chi Yincang followed, though Chi Yincang vanished between one step and the next, disappearing into a shadow and a smudge of black and white ki.


    Lianhua ducked through the low door, the top of her head brushing against the bone that formed the top. As Kaz followed, he glanced up, then paused halfway through. The bone wasn¡¯t a bone, but rather a dried yumi reed, and as Kaz entered the dim interior, he saw that all of the supports holding up the leather walls were yumi. Straight and long, they looked sturdy, with none of the bulky joints created by binding two shorter bones together to form one of the needed length.


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    On the floor were two kobold-sized cushions woven of niu fur, and when Kaz pressed his hand against one, the softness and the way it bounced back told him that it was filled with the fluff taken from the tops of ripe yumi, rather than moss. A low, flat stone served as a table, but it was made of carved stone, rather than simply being a conveniently shaped slab of rock. On it sat actual metal bowls, probably silver, from the color and the dark hints of tarnish.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Lianhua said, sounding pleased. ¡°This is actually quite nice. My feet will barely hang off the bed, and I can almost stand up straight.¡±


    Kaz chuffed a laugh, reaching up to unbuckle his pack. He got a new one from Dax before they left, and for once he didn¡¯t have to worry that it would split a seam or develop a hole, dropping all of its contents over the ground.


    ¡°I wonder what the great tribes¡¯ dens are like,¡± he mused, setting the bag on the table. It was larger than a warrior¡¯s pack, but smaller than a gatherer¡¯s. Dax had offered to get him one made of niu fur, but not only would that attract too much attention, Kaz liked the feeling of the thick, hardened leather against his back. He felt protected with it there, and soft cloth wouldn¡¯t be the same at all.


    Lianhua¡¯s face brightened. ¡°Senior Scholar Xen Wei wrote that it was almost like being in a human settlement. They use tables and chairs just like ours, all made from reeds. They wear more clothing, too, not just loincloths, and they have real streets, with four-horned ox - or niu, I suppose - drawing simple carts.¡±


    Her expression clouded again. ¡°But didn¡¯t you-?¡±


    He held up his hand, then quickly drew the rune for ¡®silence¡¯ between them. Lianhua had only used this one the first time they spoke privately, since she said it was possible that other ki-users could sense it, and she didn¡¯t want to make Gaoda any more paranoid than he already was. Now, however, both Raff and Chi Yincang were aware that Kaz could use ki as well, though Kaz thought that Raff, at least, didn¡¯t really understand just how bizarre that was. In any case, Kaz didn¡¯t want any nearby kobolds to hear them speaking, even if it was only muffled murmurs. Better that they believed he and Lianhua had simply gone straight to sleep.


    He pushed more power into the rune than it probably needed, and the dome that sprang up around them was almost opaque to his eyes. Lianhua looked around, startled, no doubt able to feel the strength of the rune with her own unusual ability to sense ki.


    Sighing, Kaz sat down on the nearest cushion, enjoying the way it gave beneath him without being itchy or poking him with any particularly thick fronds. He had seriously considered taking the cushion he slept on in the mosui city, but in the end decided against it only because he wasn¡¯t sure how much space was left inside his storage item, and the cushion was quite large.


    Across from him, Lianhua also sat, eyes glued to him, though she smiled as Li slid down from her increasingly precarious perch atop his shoulders and settled into his lap instead. The dragon could stretch from one shoulder to the other now, wrapping around the back of his neck so she rested against the top of his pack, and whenever he removed that pack, she had to hang onto his fur in a way that was almost uncomfortable. Now that she was growing, she was quickly making up for lost time, and soon she would have to walk beside him, rather than being carried.


    ¡°I was barely old enough to gather properly when we left the Deep,¡± Kaz said, allowing himself to sink into memories that he usually kept tucked away. He avoided them not because they were painful, but because they were the happiest time of his life, and in comparison, the rest was almost too grim to bear.


    ¡°Mother and Father never slept in the same hut, not the way other mated couples do, and Katri and I stayed with Rega, rather than either of them. We always had enough to eat, and, yes, I do remember wearing more.¡±


    He smiled, one hand lifting from Li¡¯s back to trace across his chest. ¡°Here, and here, too.¡± He tapped his legs, remembering the tubes of soft niu-fur fabric that had encased them, covering him down to his knees. Raff wore something like what he remembered, though the human version went from waist to his ankles, and seemed to exist mainly to keep Raff¡¯s skin from being pinched by or chafing against his armor.


    ¡°Pants,¡± Lianhua supplied the word. ¡°And a shirt?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. They had just been what he wore, at least once he was old enough that he wore anything at all. Aunt Rega had dressed him, mostly, though Katri had already begun asserting her independence by insisting on dressing herself. More than once, this had resulted in the hole for her tail being in the front of her pants, but she just took them off and put them on the right way, stubbornly refusing aid every time.


    ¡°My tribe had several dens, that I know, though I was never allowed to visit any of the others. Oda sometimes took Katri with her when she went to the city, but the only person I was allowed to leave with was Ghazt, my father.¡±


    Lianhua gasped softly. ¡°Ghazt? Isn¡¯t that the name of the male Ratre said Oda was courting? I thought he was dead!¡±


    Kaz¡¯s shoulders hunched, so he was leaning in toward Li, his arms wrapping around the warmth of the dragon¡¯s body as she stretched up her long neck to lay her chin on his shoulder. A picture of the large golden dragon that was her self-image came into his mind, her body coiled around that of a small, shivering blue kobold, concealing him from sight.


    Half-amused and half-comforted, Kaz imagined himself pushing back her scaly tail, then climbing out of her protective embrace. He appreciated the support, but he wasn¡¯t so weak that he needed her to hide him entirely.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible, I suppose, that Oda simply found another male with the same name, but given the color of his fur, I doubt it,¡± Kaz said dryly. ¡°Either Oda took him and then caused the explosion to hide what she¡¯d done, or the accident was real, but Ghazt was injured, and she took him afterwards.¡±


    He tapped his own shoulder, tracing down and across his chest. ¡°My father had a wide scar here, though it was mostly concealed by fur. I knew about it because he used to carry me on his shoulders, and I could feel it. He told me a different story about it every time I asked, so I never knew the truth.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s expression was compassionate, but she said, ¡°So you really are a Woodblade? And a Magmablade?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°I¡¯m almost certain. Maybe that explains why I can-¡± he gestured around them, indicating the dome that she could sense, but not see.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Lianhua said, but she looked doubtful. ¡°If males with cores were common, or even uncommon but possible, among the greater tribes, surely someone would have guessed by now. Even Thabil seemed to think that she must have imagined at least half of what you could do, and even though you charged the arch and repaired the stairs to this level, Senge seemed to dismiss it as something I did.¡±


    Leaning back, Kaz looked up at the dark leather ceiling above him. ¡°I used to worry that someone would guess what I could do - what I am - if I wielded the slightest bit of power in front of them. Now, though, I think I could use ki-bolts to kill half a tribe and the survivors would somehow convince themselves that you were standing behind me as I did it.¡±


    Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°Do you mind?¡± she asked softly. ¡°Do you¡­ want to stay here after all? It sounds like you could have a wonderful life, with a mate you chose, probably part of a great tribe. Your children might even be the first of a new Woodblade tribe.¡±


    Kaz shook his head stubbornly. ¡°Never. I want to take Li back to her family, and I want to see the world outside the mountain.¡± An image filled his mind, of a broad blue sky filled with puffy white clouds, clear light streaming down to play over the gleaming scales of a golden dragon who twisted and spun among those clouds. He wanted to see that with his own eyes, and no matter what came after, he was determined that he would.


    Relaxing, Lianhua smiled. ¡°Then do we even need to meet the Goldblade chief or go into the city? I admit I¡¯d like to see it, but the more we learn, the more it seems like it would be a dangerous place for you. Unlike the traders who used to come here, we¡¯re not interested in gold, precious metals, or gems. We just need to find Nucai, ask him our questions, and then leave.¡±


    Kaz blinked. He hadn¡¯t really thought of it like that. Lianhua¡¯s stated goal had always been to reach the Deep, but her real desire was to find out about the Diushi, and find proof that they had come here after abandoning their empire. He still thought she had found enough in the mosui city that she should be satisfied, but she obviously wasn¡¯t, which was why they had continued downward.


    ¡°Nucai told me to find the Irondiggers, and they would bring me to him,¡± he said slowly, realizing that between his own exhaustion and Lianhua¡¯s obsession with reading everything Zhangwo left behind, he had somehow never told her this.


    ¡°They¡¯re a tribe of kobolds with no den. They take in those no other tribe wants, and wander from level to level, trading for goods and food that can¡¯t be found everywhere. They also carry news from the bottom of the mountain to the heights, though I think even they don¡¯t go as far as we Broken Knives did. The only thing left for tribes who reach the very top is death or becoming Fallen Ones, and tribes like that have nothing left to trade.¡±


    Lianhua frowned. ¡°Fallen Ones? That¡¯s what you called kobolds outside the mountain, right? Why are they called that?¡±


    Awkwardly, Kaz shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know, they just are. You and Raff both said that the kobolds you¡¯ve met or heard of are little more than beasts, except those here. Maybe there¡¯s something about the mountain itself that affects us, or maybe it¡¯s just that tribes who leave are forced to do things we normally wouldn¡¯t, in order to survive.¡±


    Now Lianhua looked worried. ¡°If your intelligence is the result of living in the mountain, what if you start to lose it when you leave?¡±


    That hadn¡¯t really occurred to Kaz, but somehow he wasn¡¯t worried. He was already a very unusual kobold, so why expect that to change?


    ¡°If I start to behave like an animal, capture me and bring me back,¡± he suggested. ¡°But if all kobolds immediately descended into beasts the moment they stepped out of the mountain, there wouldn¡¯t still be kobold tribes outside. Raff said he¡¯s fought them before, so whatever happens must take time, even if it does affect all of us.¡±


    The human still seemed concerned, but she nodded. ¡°All right. Then we just need to find these Irondiggers and go to Nucai, skipping the city in the Deep entirely. But if they wander around, how do we locate them?¡±


    Kaz thought about the eight males they had brought with them, all battered, worn, and scarred by their experiences, and all likely to be spurned by any tribe to whom they weren¡¯t related. ¡°I have an idea,¡± he said, and smiled.

 Chapter One hundred forty-three

    They actually did manage to rest for an hour or so. Kaz used the time to compress and release his core, building back up the ki the mountain had pulled from him to restore the stairs. Li ate a few chips of crystal Kaz pulled from his storage pouch, then spent the rest of the time sleeping. Some of her scales were starting to show the milky, opaque gleam that meant she would shed again soon, which seemed to make her even sleepier than her usual rather lazy self.


    When Kaz felt that his central dantian had refilled enough that he wouldn¡¯t need to pull directly on his core if anything happened, he looked over at Lianhua. She was sitting on her cushion, legs crossed and hands resting palm up on her knees. He envied how easy the pose seemed to be for her, but his legs simply didn¡¯t bend the same way hers did, and he had given up on trying. The focus and posture seemed to be more important than the exact position anyway.


    As if feeling his gaze on her, Lianhua opened her eyes and smiled. She looked calmer than she had before, and some of the sadness had gone out of her expression. ¡°Are you ready?¡± she murmured, glancing at the snoozing dragon in his lap.


    Kaz chuckled, then slid an image into Li¡¯s dream. It was of an enormously overweight gold dragon, rolled onto its back and flailing all four stubby legs in the air as it ineffectually tried to roll over. Li¡¯s real limbs thrashed, and she twisted her long body as she mimicked the motions of the dream-dragon, then woke with a little whistle and a loud click. Glaring up at Kaz, who she knew was the source of the image, because he greatly enjoyed teasing her about how many crystals she ate, she snapped her sharp teeth together.


    ¡°I know,¡± he murmured. ¡°You would be just as beautiful if you did look like that, but fortunately you don¡¯t, because you would never fit through the door.¡±


    Li sent a sulky picture of herself simply bursting out of the hut, which blew a tiny Kaz through the air, head over tail until he landed against a wall, rump uppermost. In return, Kaz showed the pudgy dragon getting stuck in the entrance to a tunnel, her claws scratching futilely at the ground as she tried to pass through. Li gave him an image of herself, grown larger than the mountain, exploding out of encasing stone as hundreds of tiny kobolds flew into the vast sky beyond.


    Giving in, Kaz laughed and stroked her head, scratching the itchy spot behind one of the horns now sprouting from the top of her head. She huffed, but leaned into it, and they both looked up as Lianhua giggled. It was a surprisingly light-hearted sound from someone who had seemed so solemn lately, and Kaz smiled.


    Lianhua froze, as if caught doing something she wasn¡¯t supposed to, and her expression closed down again. Kaz¡¯s ears folded back slightly, and he asked, ¡°Why do you do that?¡±


    She blinked. ¡°Do what?¡±


    Kaz tilted his head, confused. Surely she had to be doing it on purpose. ¡°You¡¯ve been too serious lately. You don¡¯t talk about ancient sages or books you read, and you almost never laugh.¡±


    Pink rose in her cheeks, and she glanced away. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±


    He sighed, and Li copied the sound, startling Lianhua into looking back at them. ¡°You haven¡¯t been acting like yourself since Zhangwo. I know you went through a lot while you were a captive, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it.¡± He paused, shook his head, and corrected himself. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s all of it, anyway.¡±


    Abruptly, a shimmer of tears rose in Lianhua¡¯s eyes, and she sniffed deeply. A single tear trembled on her lashes, but she struck it away impatiently. ¡°I just want to be a good leader. It took me so long to realize that Grandfather never meant for me to marry Gaoda, and that he was just a- a test, I suppose. Now, I have the chance to prove I can take care of myself and my party, and I want to show him that I can do it.¡±


    Kaz shifted uncomfortably. It had never been a possibility that he might be a leader someday, or even really need to make his own decisions. He still wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable being responsible for more than himself and Li, so he didn¡¯t really understand what Lianhua was going through.


    Slowly, he said, ¡°O- My mother was a terrible chief. She ruled through fear and power. It never made her happy, and didn¡¯t serve our tribe well. Still, that was the only way I knew, and I thought it was right, because it worked, at least as far as I could tell. But since then, I¡¯ve seen a lot of different leaders, and one thing I do know is that there¡¯s no one right way, but there are many wrong ones. Technically, as long as the tribe is safe and together, a chief is doing her job, but if no one is happy, what¡¯s the point?¡±


    He met her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re a member of the tribe, too. And I think you can be yourself while also being a leader. You don¡¯t have to be like your grandfather or anyone else. It may take some time, and you¡¯ll probably make mistakes, but if you have it in you to be a good leader, you¡¯ll find your own way.¡±


    Lianhua sniffed again, but a smile was playing around her lips. ¡°If?¡± she asked.


    He let his ears twitch, showing his amusement. ¡°Not everybody should lead,¡± he said. ¡°Gaoda, for instance, should probably never have been in command of anything more than making dinner.¡±


    A burst of laughter escaped her. ¡°Gaoda? Preparing a meal? Now that I would like to see. Though not at the price of having him become part of the group again.¡±


    Seeing that she was feeling better, Kaz pulled on his pack, settling it into place as Li climbed his arm and slid between his head and the top of the bag. ¡°What did Chi Yincang do to Gaoda? Is he dead?¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened, and she shook her head vigorously. ¡°No! That was an artifact used to save people who are too grievously injured to survive until they can reach a healer. It simply places them in a kind of stasis, then shrinks them so the remainder of the group can get them out safely.¡±


    She wrinkled her nose as she stood. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not ¡®simple¡¯,¡± she admitted, straightening her robes. ¡°We don¡¯t actually know how they work. The artifacts are actually from the Diushi empire, and each one has a limited number of uses, since we also don¡¯t know how to recharge them. There are only a few left, and as far as I know, they¡¯re all in the hands of the Emperor or one of the powerful clans. I didn¡¯t even realize Grandfather had one, much less that he sent it with Chi Yincang.¡±


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    Kaz stood as well, grimacing as he realized what she was saying. ¡°So, Chi Yincang could just let Gaoda out at any time?¡±


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°My guess is that he won¡¯t, unless Grandfather tells him to, or we need Gaoda¡¯s strength, but it¡¯s easy enough to reverse the process.¡±


    The dragon on his shoulder sighed again, and Kaz nodded agreement. They had hoped they¡¯d seen the last of the obnoxious human, but Kaz supposed it was good that he could be called on in an emergency.


    Lianhua lifted her chin, looking at the door. ¡°I am a good leader,¡± she said, then shot Kaz a sidelong glance. ¡°Or at least I will be. And there¡¯s something I need to take care of.¡±


    Stepping outside, she looked around, eyes unfocusing slightly until she locked onto the patch of shadow where Chi Yincang lurked. Kaz followed her in time to see her turn sharply, striding purposefully back toward the large hut that had been assigned to the two males. There, she knocked sharply on the door, then stepped back.


    After a moment, Raff opened the door. He was wearing neither belt nor armor, but his sword was in his hand, ready to do battle with whoever was outside. He looked startled to see Lianhua, but then his eyes flicked around, looking for Chi Yincang, and he lowered his sword, settling into a stiff stance.


    ¡°Yes, m¡¯lady?¡± he asked cautiously.


    Lianhua pointed at him, then at the blob of ki that was Chi Yincang. ¡°Both of you, stop this,¡± she said sharply.


    Chi Yincang stepped out of the shadow, and even though Kaz had expected it, he still couldn¡¯t see how it was done. One moment, there was simply a particularly deep patch of darkness, and the next the black-clad human was standing there.


    ¡°My lady?¡± he asked, as if confused, but his dark eyes were sharp and the corners creased ever so slightly.


    ¡°You have been letting me play leader, as if I were a child you were indulging in a game of pretend.¡± Lianhua set her fists on her hips, switching her glare to Raff. ¡°And you have followed along. You treat me like I¡¯m a pumped up popinjay or a fragile flower of femininity! Just be yourself! I want to hear your suggestions, and even your ridiculous jokes, and I do not want you checking with Chi Yincang before you do anything.¡±


    Raff looked a little embarrassed, running his hand through his curls as he gave a lopsided smile. ¡°Sounds good to me, m¡¯la-¡± He broke off as Lianhua¡¯s brows furrowed dangerously. ¡°Lianhua. It¡¯s just that I get paid for followin¡¯ orders, and so far, Chi Yincang is the one with the gold.¡±


    Kaz blinked, not entirely sure what gold had to do with it. The humans talked about it as if it were as valuable as adamantium, and all the old stories said that gold was the main thing they wanted when they came to the mountain. Did they make it into furniture, like the mosui? It was impractical even as jewelry, except as part of an alloy, so this was one of the things that still confused him about his companions.


    It obviously made sense to Lianhua, whose face went slack with surprise, then comprehension. She rubbed her temple. ¡°Of course you do, and of course he is. What a silly thing for me to forget.¡±


    Heaving a deep sigh, she plunged her hand into the pouch at her waist, pulling out a cascade of flat, round pieces of gold, which fell to the floor and spun, making high-pitched, resonant chimes as they finally settled to the ground. Another handful followed the first, then a third, though Lianhua stuffed this one back into the bag after holding it up so Raff could see it. Then she stood, looking slightly awkward as everyone stared at her.


    As the last disc finally stopped, Lianhua cleared her throat, then said softly, ¡°Raff, as the leader, your wages are my responsibility. I promise you¡¯ll be paid well and properly. In fact, you can, um, consider this a down payment.¡±


    Raff stared at her, then let out a deep chuckle that became a roaring laugh. He crouched, picking up the scattered gold, and after a moment, Kaz leaned down to help. Li immediately leaped down and grabbed one, stuffing it into her mouth, and she was large enough now that Kaz couldn¡¯t get it back from her before she could choke it down.


    Grabbing the unrepentant dragon, Kaz stood back up, returning her to his shoulders. He sent her an image of an angry kobold in the same position Lianhua had assumed while chastising the males, and made it shake its head exaggeratedly. The gold had no ki in it, so as far as he could tell, that meant it wouldn¡¯t actually help her grow. That in turn meant she¡¯d eaten it purely because she wanted to, like a puppy stealing a raw jiyun grub because she liked the way it popped in her mouth.


    Looking at Raff, Kaz sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sure I can find you some more gold before we leave the mountain.¡± He was certain that if he could locate his old den, he could also find some of the ore veins Ghazt had shown him. At least one had had a good amount of gold in it, and kobolds didn¡¯t use the metal for much other than trade with humans, so it should be relatively untouched, even if another tribe had taken over the territory.


    Raff picked up the last of the coins and stood, tucking it into his own belt. He eyed Kaz consideringly, then grinned his old, carefree grin. ¡°Sounds good, Blue. I¡¯ll take you up on that. Don¡¯t worry about it too much, though. Adamantium or mithril would work fine, too.¡±


    Kaz nodded seriously. ¡°Those are rarer, so do you need the same amount? And does it have to be in the little discs?¡±


    Raff¡¯s mouth opened, then closed again, and he shook his head. ¡°No, it was- I was just-¡± He coughed slightly, looking at Lianhua for help.


    The female smiled. ¡°Even a tiny amount of either of those would be worth your weight in gold. Raff was just joking. I¡¯ve got it.¡± She took another round of yellow metal from her pouch and handed it to Raff.


    Raff winked at Kaz as he put the gold in his own pouch, and Kaz¡¯s shoulders slumped in relief, making Li scramble for a more secure grip. Both adamantium and mithril were actually used by his people, so while his father had taught him the path to a hidden vein, if anyone else had found it, they were unlikely to share willingly. He did have what he took from the mosui, but he had no idea how to cut a small piece off of an ingot.


    ¡°All right,¡± Kaz said. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely get some gold for you, th-¡±


    It was his turn to stumble over his words as he caught a flash of bright pink from the corner of his eye and spun, staring straight at a young female kobold. She had been creeping between two tunnel mouths, her ears flat and tail tucked as she glanced around, looking guiltier than any puppy he¡¯d seen since Gin caught Palla eating the tanuo patch clean.


    What truly captured his attention, however, was the color of her fur. If blue was almost unheard of, pink was also incredibly uncommon, and this puppy¡¯s coat was the same shade as his sister Katri¡¯s, though instead of lying flat, it sprang up in wild tufts all over her body.


    As everyone else turned to see what had caught his eye, the female paused as well. Slowly, as if dreading what she was going to see, she peered back over her shoulder, clear golden eyes looking straight into Kaz¡¯s blue ones. With a yelp, she spun, racing as quickly as she could for the tunnel that led out of the den.

 Chapter One hundred forty-four

    Someone else also saw the pink pup when she started running, because a moment later several yelps sounded, and warriors appeared from all around. They must have been lurking nearby, watching the ¡®visitors¡¯ unobtrusively, probably thoroughly bored by the human¡¯s lack of activity. Given something to do, they sprang into action, and six males nearly tripped over each other diving through the tunnel opening after the pup.


    Kaz, too, was drawn to the chase, and found his paws moving before he had actually decided what he was going to do. He heard Lianhua¡¯s gasp of surprise as he darted away, moving faster than any normal kobold could have, and then the sound of Raff¡¯s hard boots thudded after him.


    When he emerged into the tunnel, Kaz immediately recognized this as the way he and the others had entered the den. It was relatively wide and well-lit, with a few firemoss torches fixed to the walls, and another of the yellow leather-over-kobold-skull totems. Some twenty feet or so along, directly in the center of the tunnel, lay a thrashing pile of fur. A series of muffled but angry barks came from the bottom, and then a bright pink tail emerged from between a green-furred leg and a yellow-furred arm.


    The tail wiggled, swayed, then somehow managed to slip out as the warriors on top each tried to grab hold of the much-smaller puppy. Two paws were followed by a narrow waist and chest, but there she seemed to stick. Loud whining and the ¡®li li li¡¯ of a puppy crying sounded, and the mound of warriors froze, then slowly separated.


    What they revealed were two triumphant males, each with one hand gripping the upper arm of the pink-furred puppy. Her paws dangled above the ground, toes scrabbling for purchase, and her already-wild fur was even more thoroughly mussed. She looked furious, sharp white teeth snapping at the hands holding her, but somehow the teeth never quite connected, and in spite of the bright core burning at her center, she didn¡¯t try to use power to escape.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on out here?¡± a voice demanded, and Kaz turned to see Berin and Dat making their way out of the den. A bemused-looking Lianhua stepped out of the pair¡¯s path, and Raff, who looked like he wanted to laugh but wasn¡¯t sure if it would get him in trouble, took one long stride forward to create more space.


    ¡°I just wanted to explore, that¡¯s all!¡± The little female wriggled again, and this time the gray warrior to her right let go, allowing her claws to touch the ground. The yellow-furred male on her left hung on, however, and as his jaw set, Kaz thought he saw a resemblance between him, Berin, and Senge.


    Berin sighed, gesturing to the yellow male, who let go with clear reluctance. The puppy immediately began brushing at her fur with both hands, trying to get it to settle into place, without notable success.


    ¡°Kyla, you can¡¯t go to the mid-levels right now,¡± Berin said patiently. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±


    Kyla glared, golden eyes showing frustration and some embarrassment. ¡°It¡¯s time for my spirit hunt. You just don¡¯t want to let me through because I¡¯m a Magmablade. No one likes us, so you all make things as hard for us as you can.¡±


    Berin rubbed her muzzle tiredly. Much of the humor that Kaz had seen in her earlier had drained away, leaving her looking even more like her sister than before. ¡°You¡¯re my uncle¡¯s pup, Kyla, and as much a Goldcoat as you are a Magmablade. We wouldn¡¯t stop you if it wasn¡¯t important. But there are monsters and fulan in the mid-levels, so no one is allowed to go up without permission from the great chiefs.¡±


    ¡°My mother-¡± Kyla started, then snapped her jaw together, gritting her teeth. After a moment, her shoulders slumped, and she stared at the ground.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll go home.¡± She started to shove past Berin, but the Goldcoat female grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Berin wasn¡¯t a particularly large female, but she wasn¡¯t small either, and the puppy hadn¡¯t reached her full growth yet, so Berin was easily able to stop the younger kobold.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you said last time,¡± Berin said, and now a spark of humor lit her eyes, which were nearly the exact same shade of yellow-gold as Kyla¡¯s. ¡°But Uncle Rudu told Mother you were missing for almost a day. And how long did you spend skulking around our den today? We¡¯re all really on edge with everything that¡¯s going on, so it¡¯s a good thing everyone recognizes you by now, or you could have been hurt.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s claws scratched at the ground, and her ears folded back. ¡°I left with the gatherers this morning,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Mother says that as long as I¡¯m still a puppy, I should act like one.¡± She looked up, eyes blazing. ¡°She let Ija start learning to use power properly when she was still a puppy, but not me. She only taught me the basic shield and bolt, and that¡¯s not-¡±


    ¡°Fair?¡± Berin asked. Her tone was mild, but her expression was cold. ¡°The world isn¡¯t fair, puppy. Your sister will be chief, and you will support her. You two are different, and the sooner you recognize it, the better. Be glad you won¡¯t be responsible for the lives and happiness of your entire tribe.¡±


    Pink fists balled at Kyla¡¯s sides, and her lips pulled back from her teeth, but she didn¡¯t speak or challenge the older female. When it became clear that she wasn¡¯t going to say anything else, Berin sighed, looking back at Dat. In the process, her gaze fell on Kaz and the others. She stilled, tilting her head as her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.


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    ¡°We already sent a message to Idla, letting her know that humans have finally come. Perhaps we should just contact Vega as well,¡± Berin said.


    Behind her, Dat looked startled, then slightly worried. ¡°Mate,¡± he said, ¡°do you think that¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°Entertaining?¡± Berin interrupted. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± She grinned broadly, then gestured for the yellow male who had been holding Kyla to come toward her. Lowering her voice, she began speaking to him, but Kaz¡¯s attention was on the pink female puppy who stood, all but forgotten, in the midst of the Goldcoat warriors.


    Truthfully, now that Kaz was near enough to see her properly, she looked little like Katri, other than the color of their fur. Katri¡¯s silvery eyes were the same as Ghazt¡¯s, and her fur was smooth and a little long, just like Oda¡¯s. She had Ghazt¡¯s broad, sturdy build, as well, while this puppy had a slim, rangy look about her, and her paws were too large for her body, showing that she still had some growing to do.


    Still, there was something about her, and as Kaz looked more closely, his eyes widened. The ki spinning in her belly was mostly red and yellow, but mingled through the two brighter colors was a faint thread of blue. This was the first time Kaz had seen blue ki in anyone besides Li and himself, and it shocked him, especially after hearing the story about how the Woodblades had been wiped out. How could they be gone when this female stood right in front of him, bearing their power?


    Unless Kaz¡¯s understanding of ki and kobold power was wrong, or it took more than a tiny trickle of ki to allow a kobold to use the ancient tools provided by the mountain? Kaz had enough blue ki to use the Wood knife, but Kyla didn¡¯t have as much as he did. Her red and yellow ki were in near-perfect balance, all but drowning out the blue in their brilliance.


    Someone stepped up beside him, and he glanced over to see Lianhua, who held up her hand, the rune there and the bright curiosity in her eyes indicating that she had something she wanted to say. Quietly, she asked, ¡°If this puppy is a Magmablade, and her sister is going to be the next chief, does that mean she¡¯s related to you?¡±


    Kaz and Li both turned to stare at the gloomy puppy, who was tugging fitfully at a fluffy tuft of fur near her ear. Memory splashed through their minds, of Berin saying that ¡®One of Oda¡¯s remaining sisters betrayed her, in exchange for command of whatever was left of the Magmablade tribe¡¯. If this puppy was the daughter of the Magmablade chief, who was also Kaz¡¯s mother¡¯s sister, that meant Kyla was Kaz¡¯s cousin.


    Was that treacherous sister still chief, or had she, like Oda, returned to the ancestors, leaving her daughter to lead the tribe? Would that make Kyla Kaz¡¯s niece instead? Neither Rega nor any of his uncles had had puppies while they were part of the tribe, so he wasn¡¯t sure how it worked, but he thought ¡®cousin¡¯ would still be correct, even if they were a generation apart.


    Looking back at Lianhua, Kaz felt as if his world had just been tilted slightly on its axis. It was still the same as it had always been, but he was looking at it from a new perspective, which made it seem strange and mysterious.


    He rubbed his own hands together meaningfully, and Lianhua¡¯s brows rose, but she wiped away her rune. When the muffled pressure of her power fell away, Kaz stepped toward Berin.


    ¡°We¡¯d like to meet the Magmablade chief while we¡¯re here,¡± he said boldly. ¡°We¡¯re interested in gold, but also mithril and adamantium tools. If only the Magmablades can heat the forges enough to melt the rare metals, then we must deal with them as well.¡±


    Berin looked startled. ¡°They¡¯re not a great tribe any more, so the other tribes will speak for them. I don¡¯t-¡±


    Lianhua stepped up beside Kaz, placing her hand on his shoulder. Li shifted away, but didn¡¯t audibly protest the gesture.


    ¡°Kaz is right,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°My clan is willing to trade with the kobolds, bringing many items that you couldn¡¯t otherwise get here. But we need to be certain that what we¡¯ll receive is worth the effort and expense, especially now that we must risk traveling from the top of the mountain.¡±


    Her hand fell away, and she reached into her pouch. When she pulled it out, she held a glorious piece of fabric. Its rich, heavy purple folds fell away from the pouch with an audible slither, gleaming like the surface of water where it caught the light. Embroidered around the edges were some kind of animal, with delicate black and white wings, and a long yellow nose and legs.


    Berin gasped, her hand reaching out as if to touch the fabric, before pulling back sharply without making contact. Her gaze lingered on the material with clear avarice, but Lianhua simply began folding it back up, tucking it back into her bag, fold by fold.


    ¡°The Goldblades can trade for everything you need, I¡¯m sure,¡± Berin said hoarsely, gaze locked on the last few inches of glistening fabric.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes flickered to Kaz, and she shook her head firmly. ¡°I need to speak to everyone involved. If any part of the process fails, nothing can be made. You yourself told us that without the Magmablades, the forges don¡¯t work.¡±


    Now it was Kyla¡¯s turn to speak, but when they all turned to look at her, they found that she wasn¡¯t watching Lianhua, but Kaz, or, more precisely, Li. ¡°My tribe will be pleased to welcome humans back to the Deep,¡± the puppy said, throwing her shoulders back proudly. ¡°You¡¯re right. They do need us to run the forges. My sister can even bring the adamantium forge up to heat, which only the most powerful among us can do.¡±


    As she spoke, the tilt of her head and the way she set her shoulders reminded Kaz so strongly of his sister that for a moment, his throat closed. He had thought he was done with his family, his history, and even his people, but it seemed that wasn¡¯t true. He wanted to meet this aunt who had dealt the final blow that brought down Oda Magmablade, and someday, he needed to talk to Katri again, as well.


    This time, he was going to find out the truth, no matter who tried to stop him.

 Chapter One hundred forty-five

    It took a little while for Berin to get everyone sorted out, but Kaz noticed the male she¡¯d been speaking to vanished almost immediately. The rest of them were left standing until Kibbiz arrived from the den to lead their small group to the water cavern.


    It was, indeed, astonishing. Kaz had seen many small trickles of water, and droplets often fell from the ends of growing stalactites, but here, clear water shot from a hole in the wall. Kaz was actually able to walk under the water, stop, and stare up at what looked like a stream flowing through air. Carefully, he raised his hand and poked a finger into it, and the water split, coursing around the digit and pushing against it hard enough that it required some effort to keep it in place.


    ¡°Oh! A spout waterfall!¡± Lianhua exclaimed, face lighting up. She reached out to touch the arching stream, making a little face at the chill of it. Shaking off her hand, she sighed. ¡°It is pretty, but too cold for a proper shower. I¡¯ll just wash my face and hands.¡±


    When she pulled one of the small, sweet-smelling bars of soap from her pouch and reached for the falling stream, Kaz laid his hand on her arm. ¡°Wait a moment,¡± he told her, and grinned before looking around for the bowls he knew had to be there somewhere.


    Sure enough, several stone bowls were stacked neatly nearby. These would be used to wash dishes, loincloths, and puppies who got into something the parents didn¡¯t want to lick clean. The dirty water would then be dumped down a nearby pit or crevice, where it would vanish into the depths of the mountain.


    Crossing to the stack, Kaz picked up the top one, then caught some of the glittering waterfall in it. He carried it off to the side, then touched the surface and pulled on the red ki in his central dantian. There was probably enough for this in his cycle, without using the stored power, but he thought it was better to form a habit of using the excess, so someday he didn¡¯t accidentally drain his core when he could have simply used what he already had.


    After a moment, steam began to rise from the surface of the water, and Kaz pulled back his power and his hand. Li clicked excitedly and leaped from his shoulder, splashing into the low, shallow bowl, where she promptly began to tug at the loose bits of skin that were starting to work free.


    Kaz yelped, giving the dragon a mock glare. ¡°That wasn¡¯t for you!¡±


    Li rolled an unimpressed eye at him and spouted a little water toward his snout. Kaz shook his head, sending her a picture of herself, stuck in the wall, with water streaming eternally from her mouth in place of the waterfall. Li gave a bubbly sort of whistle, then scooped water into the curve of her wing and splashed it at Kaz.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kaz turned at the sound of the curious little voice, finding that at some point the pink puppy, Kyla, had snuck up beside him. Now, she stared at Li in clear fascination, her eyes bright with wonder.


    Kaz stuttered for a moment, wondering if this female could somehow tell that neither he nor Li were what they seemed to be. But no, while she was certainly interested, she didn¡¯t look frightened or even wary, so she must be just another puppy who found the idea of a tame fuergar appealing.


    ¡°Li likes baths almost as much as Lianhua does,¡± he told her. ¡°I was trying to get some water for Lianhua, but Li stole it.¡±


    Lianhua came up beside them, her own eyes twinkling as she looked between Kaz and the female who might be his cousin. She held up another bowl, already full of water. ¡°I got my own,¡± she said cheerfully. ¡°What do I need to do now, Kaz?¡±


    Kyla looked between the human and Kaz, looking almost as interested in them as she was in the dragon. ¡°You¡¯re not as ugly as Mother said you would be,¡± she told Lianhua with the bluntness of youth. ¡°Are you really a human?¡±


    Lianhua blinked, then laughed and set the bowl down beside Kaz. ¡°I really am a human,¡± she affirmed. ¡°What did your mother say we looked like?¡±


    The puppy squashed her palm against her damp black nose. ¡°Flat face,¡± she said, voice nasal. ¡°No fur anywhere. Eyes that stick out. Flat feet the size of mature rougu mushrooms.¡±


    Lianhua almost choked, then laughed again, shaking her head. Raff settled down beside her, crouching so he was ready to rise if needed, but clearly amused by the conversation as well. He tugged at the fur on his face, which had grown out quite a bit since Kaz met him. Where it had once neatly laid against his chin and jaw, now it curled, wild and long, down his neck.


    ¡°What about this?¡± he asked, grinning. ¡°Some humans are almost as furry as kobolds, eh?¡±


    Kyla gave him a dismissive look. ¡°Mother says I shouldn¡¯t speak to males from other tribes.¡± She glanced down at Li, then back up at Kaz, before her ears flattened slightly and she said, ¡°Though humans don¡¯t count, do they? And I just wanted to ask this male about the fuergar. I¡¯ve never seen one that didn¡¯t try to fight or run away.¡±


    ¡°This male is named Kaz,¡± Kaz said, ¡°and I don¡¯t count either. I¡¯m traveling with the humans, and I¡¯m not part of a tribe any more.¡±


    This was the first time he had ever seriously claimed to be tribeless, and Kaz felt his chest tighten at how easy it was, but Kyla didn¡¯t seem to notice. She nodded sagely, as if she met kobolds just like Kaz every day.


    ¡°Are you going to join the Irondiggers then? And can I hold your fuergar?¡± she asked, still watching Li, who had managed to remove most of the shedding skin from her tail and paws.


    A little thrill ran through him, and he asked, ¡°Do you know where the Irondiggers are?¡± as if he didn¡¯t really care about the answer.


    Kyla shrugged impatiently, reaching toward Li, who immediately backed toward Kaz and snapped her teeth at the approaching fingers. ¡°Everyone knows that. They¡¯re stuck in the Deep, too. They keep asking the great chiefs to let them go to the mid-levels, but the chiefs aren¡¯t allowing anyone through. Mother says those chiefs are all old relics who should have been replaced years ago.¡±


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    As if suddenly realizing what she¡¯d said, Kyla snapped her mouth closed with a click, her eyes darting around the cavern. Apparently, she didn¡¯t consider Kibbiz or the puppies washing dishes a threat, so she huffed a sigh.


    Kaz felt a wave of relief when he heard that the Irondiggers were close, and stuck. As long as the mid-levels were closed, he didn¡¯t need to hurry to contact them, which should give him at least a few days to find the Magmablades and dig into their history.


    Reaching out, he scooped Li out of the bowl, leaving behind soft, discarded strips of skin. He set her up on his shoulder, where she looped her tail around his throat and continued grooming herself. Once the dragon was slightly less likely to bite the overly-enthusiastic pup, Kaz turned to Lianhua.


    Under the pretense of helping her adjust the bowl¡¯s position on the uneven stone floor, he dipped his fingers in and summoned more red ki. This time he stopped before steam began to rise, but Lianhua clearly sensed that he was doing something, and touched the water as well. With a pleased smile, she started to wash her face and hands.


    Kaz took his original bowl and stood, and Kyla scrambled to stand as well. She looked unhappy when she realized how much taller he was, but she walked beside him as he moved toward the drain crevice.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you have a warrior necklace?¡± she asked abruptly, staring at his neck, which was only adorned by Li¡¯s tail. ¡°Did you lose it?¡±


    Startled by the direct question, Kaz dumped the dirty water more quickly than he meant to, splashing some back onto his paws. ¡°My chief said I wasn¡¯t ready for my spirit hunt yet.¡±


    Kyla frowned as she looked him up and down. ¡°You look ready to me,¡± she declared confidently. ¡°You¡¯re as large as my father, and you¡¯re not a numb-mind. But you have a fuergar like my friend Arkic. He caught it in a trap, and it already bit him three times, but he won¡¯t let it go or eat it.¡±


    Kaz smiled a little as he went to get more water to rinse his bowl. ¡°Is that so? What does your den mother think about that?¡±


    Kyla¡¯s previously unwavering gaze slid away from Kaz¡¯s. ¡°I don¡¯t think she knows.¡±


    This surprised Kaz. Rega always knew what the Broken Knife puppies were up to. Sometimes she chose not to do anything about it, if she thought it would be safe for them to learn their lessons naturally, but she was always there to help if things went wrong, clean their small wounds, or cuddle a whimpering pup. How had a puppy been injured three times without the den mother doing something about it?


    The pup glanced around, then leaned forward, whispering so loudly that she might as well have been speaking in her normal voice. ¡°We don¡¯t actually have a den mother. My moth- The chief says it¡¯s a waste, and we don¡¯t have any females to spare. Some of the males keep an eye on us, and of course there are warriors nearby when we go gathering, but mostly the older pups watch over the younger ones when the adults are working.¡±


    ¡°But who teaches you the stories and the howling?¡± Kaz asked. Aside from protecting the pups and making sure they didn¡¯t get into anything they couldn¡¯t get out of, a den mother¡¯s greatest task was to make sure all the puppies learned the rules and history of the tribe and the kobold people in general. He supposed that parents could do it, but in his tribe, it had always been Rega¡¯s task, and even though he now realized his tribe wasn¡¯t normal, he thought this part had been.


    One of Kyla¡¯s shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug. ¡°We watch, and we listen. The older puppies do what they can.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t frown, because he thought the young female would stop confiding in him if she sensed disapproval, but internally he was certain that this was wrong. It sounded like the part of the Magmablades who stayed in the Deep were just as broken as the part that left, if in a different way.


    Silently, he urged Li to climb down his arm, and reluctantly, she did so. He began brushing the old scales away from her back and wings, and she settled down, eyes half closed and throat vibrating softly in contentment. As he¡¯d hoped, Kyla¡¯s golden gaze was caught by the interaction, so Kaz ventured a question.


    ¡°How long¡­ has your mother been chief?¡± he asked, using a claw to scratch under Li¡¯s chin.


    ¡°Years and years,¡± Kyla replied absently, fingers twitching at her sides as she fought not to reach out and touch the happy dragon. ¡°She became chief before the Breaking.¡±


    ¡°The Breaking?¡± Kaz repeated, gently stroking the curve of a wing.


    ¡°Mmm,¡± Kyla agreed. ¡°When my mother¡¯s evil sisters destroyed everything we Magmablades had built. Mother says the only reason we still have a tribe is because she had the courage to do the right thing, and tell the great chiefs what Oda was doing. If it weren¡¯t for her, we all would have been killed or exiled.¡±


    Kaz lowered his voice even further, tickling Li under one arm so she lifted the limb to expose the itchy skin beneath. ¡°But they can¡¯t get rid of you all, or the forges won¡¯t work.¡±


    Kyla grimaced. ¡°There are plenty of part-Magmablade pups from males traded to other tribes. They could just do what we¡¯ve been doing with the Woodblades, and try to make a new tribe from whatever was left.¡±


    Her eyes went wide, and she stepped back, holding her hands out defensively. ¡°That¡¯s what everyone has been doing. The Waveblades had a new blue puppy born just last year, and the Mithrilblades are hoping the Woodblade males their tribe took in will produce new Woodblades soon as well. There¡¯s nothing strange about us!¡±


    Except that the Waveblades and Mithrilblades were still great tribes, while the Magmablades weren¡¯t. Still, that didn¡¯t seem like something worth panicking over, so why did Kyla look like she¡¯d just spilled a big secret?


    The sweet smell of soap came up from behind him, and as Lianhua dumped her own bowl, she said, ¡°Kibbiz says it¡¯s mealtime. I reminded her we ate not long ago, but she seems pretty insistent.¡±


    Beside Kaz, Kyla spoke up, her usual confidence returning. ¡°The Goldcoats eat together once a day. Even the males and puppies. It¡¯s something the Goldblades do, so of course the Goldcoats have to as well. Tezne or Berin will tell everybody what happened today, and if there were any battles, the leader of the warriors will talk about that. The den mother will let everyone know what the gatherers found, and if anyone needs anything, they¡¯ll speak up so someone else can offer to help.¡±


    That sounded very pleasant to Kaz. Even when Oda bothered to listen to the other members of the tribe, she rarely bothered to actually do anything about their concerns. Everyone just solved their own problems, and if they couldn¡¯t, the problem remained until it resolved on its own or became so large that Oda couldn¡¯t ignore it.


    ¡°So she probably wants t¡¯ show us off?¡± Raff asked, scratching at his fur. It was damp, so Lianhua must have convinced him to wash as well, at least a little. That was good, because his smell of rusty iron and human was becoming quite strong.


    Kyla smirked. ¡°More like use you to show that the Goldblades have been right all along. Everyone else said that with the mountain closed, we wouldn¡¯t see humans here any more. But Idla has insisted you would make your way down through the mountain eventually, and even sent her most loyal tribe to watch over the stairs.¡±


    The humans exchanged glances that Kaz didn¡¯t know how to interpret. Lianhua hadn¡¯t really come looking for ore and weapons, after all, and as far as Kaz knew, no other humans had bothered to try making their way here, so the Goldblades were probably wrong after all.


    ¡°All right then,¡± Lianhua said, settling her clean bowl back in the stack. ¡°I suppose we should go and see what Berin has to say.¡±

 Chapter One hundred forty-six

    But when Kibbiz led them away, Kaz quickly realized that she was taking them somewhere other than where Berin had told them they would be eating. Still, the den was filled with the smell of food, and the kobolds around them looked excited, rather than tense, so Kaz didn¡¯t worry too much.


    They left the main sleeping cavern through a large, arching tunnel that they hadn¡¯t been down before. It was short, no more than twenty feet, and Kaz saw evidence that chisels and pickaxes had been used to widen it at some point. When they arrived at the end, they found a cavern full of kobolds, only some of whom were holding food.


    Berin was the first to acknowledge them, though her eyes narrowed when she saw the pink puppy trailing after them, trying to hide behind Kaz. She spoke to Lianhua first, however, giving a shallow bow and saying, ¡°We¡¯re greatly honored tonight. When Chief Idla of the Goldblades heard you were here, she chose to come herself, rather than waiting for you to descend.¡±


    Flicking her gaze toward Kyla, she murmured, ¡°Your mother is here as well, pup, so you should hurry to her.¡±


    Kyla froze, eyes widening, then she looked around almost fearfully before darting toward a group that Kaz suddenly realized consisted mostly of kobolds with fur of varying shades of red. There were several with fur almost as deep a garnet as Rega¡¯s, and one tall, slim female with crimson fur graying around the muzzle. For a moment, Kaz thought he was looking at his mother, but then she glanced his way, and he saw that she had very dark blue eyes, rather than Oda¡¯s pale silver-blue.


    A male, short and wide with tufted greenish-yellow fur and gold eyes like Kyla, wagged his tail as the puppy ran up beside him. The crimson female, who Kaz assumed was Vega, given her resemblance to Oda, barely glanced at her puppy, but Kyla watched her mother with an expression Kaz knew all too well: apprehension, and a sort of desperate longing.


    Feeling the sudden pang of loss that stabbed Kaz¡¯s heart at the sight of the trio, Li leaned in close to him. <Family,> she said, and the surprise of it drove out the darker emotions that had been trying to settle inside him. He turned his head slightly, looking away from the kobolds and toward the dragon, and found her looking back, her neck now long enough that she could stretch it out to meet his gaze. Her eyes held more blue than usual, driving out the gold, and she trilled a little whistle.


    Family, he thought, and realized that it was true. She was easily as important to him as anyone had ever been, other than possibly Ghazt, Rega, or Katri, and though they shared neither blood nor race, he would rather die than allow her to suffer. He gave the dragon a little nod, and she purred softly, rubbing her head against his cheek, careful for once to keep her sharp little horns away from his skin.


    While Kaz and Li had been holding their own silent conversation, Berin finished talking to Lianhua. Now, she turned to an approaching female, bowing so low that her ears nearly brushed the floor.


    ¡°Idla,¡± Berin said, sounding like a pup speaking to her chief. ¡°This human is called Lianhua, of the Long tribe.¡± She didn¡¯t bother to introduce any of the three males, but Idla¡¯s yellow eyes paused on Kaz.


    Idla was a sturdy female, her shoulders wide and her body well-muscled. Her tribe were supposed to be miners, and surprisingly, she looked like one, rather than a female who used power instead of muscle to do her work. In fact, the male standing just behind her looked more like what Kaz had expected the Goldblade chief to look like. He was small and thin, and his muscles were lean, rather than bulky. His blue eyes were cold and deadly, though, and Kaz didn¡¯t think he¡¯d like to come against him in a battle.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve come,¡± Idla said in a surprisingly friendly tone. ¡°We¡¯ve gathered quite a bit of the things you humans like to trade for, waiting for the day you returned.¡±


    A little color rose in Lianhua¡¯s cheeks, and Kaz could tell that she felt guilty for misleading this female. But she only bowed slightly, as Kaz had taught her, and said, ¡°We¡¯re just an exploratory mission, I¡¯m afraid. We haven¡¯t brought much in the way of trade goods, and we can¡¯t carry much with us when we go. We¡¯re simply trying to learn if traveling down through the mountain is even feasible.¡±


    Idla nodded, as if completely unsurprised, but Kaz could see the disappointment and calculation in her eyes. ¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this as well. Always before, we¡¯ve left those in the upper reaches to themselves, though the path through the mid-levels was kept clear by stronger tribes. Several mid-level tribes have recently been driven up by the fulan, however, and I think they should be able to easily take over the stairs above, or come to an agreement with the tribes already there. Within a few months, I¡¯m sure we can have safe and easy passage arranged for any humans who wish to make the journey.¡±


    She raised her hand, gesturing to someone behind her, and several males came forward, along with a single yellow-furred female, short and slim like Idla¡¯s mate. The males strained to carry a large box, built from yumi reeds, which the female opened to reveal gold which had been smelted down into bars, as well as a few beautifully crafted knives, and several pouches with unknown contents.


    ¡°Berin says you have some fabric that caught her eye. As a favor to her tribe, I¡¯m willing to trade this entire chest for that fabric.¡± Idla¡¯s sweet voice was offhand, but Kaz could see how her tail stiffened behind her, as if she¡¯d just caught sight of prey. Glancing sidelong at Lianhua, he gave the tiniest shake of his head.


    It didn¡¯t seem as if Lianhua caught the gesture, but she smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I must decline your generous offer. As I said, we can¡¯t carry much with us, so a few small items would be better than so many large and heavy ones.¡±


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    Meanwhile, Raff, who was standing behind Lianhua, had his eyes locked on the stack of gold ingots as if he¡¯d never seen anything so wonderful in his life. Kaz thought that if he was a kobold, he might even have started drooling. Chi Yincang, of course, was expressionless, and watched the kobolds around them, rather than looking at the treasures in the box.


    The fur on the back of Idla¡¯s neck rose ever so slightly, but she waved nonchalantly, and the small female immediately closed the box and led the males away again. ¡°I understand,¡± Idla said. ¡°But may I see this cloth that Berin speaks of so highly? Perhaps I can get a better idea of what sort of trade might be appropriate.¡±


    Lianhua sighed, ever so slightly, but pulled out the purple cloth again. If anything, it was even more beautiful than Kaz remembered, with each of the many ki orbs illuminating the area casting a separate sheen over its glossy surface.


    ¡°I had planned to take this home with me,¡± Lianhua admitted. ¡°It complements my eyes so well that I thought to have it made into a new robe.¡± She lifted it to her cheek, and the rich color was, indeed, a near match for the amethyst of her irises.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, Idla seemed impressed by the color and quality of the material, but not shocked, as Berin had been. The kobold chief tilted her head, made a thoughtful sound, then turned and called behind her. ¡°Mila, bring the sword.¡±


    The yellow-furred female came forward again, already holding something almost as long as she was tall. It was wrapped in a piece of cloth, not so fine or beautifully colored as Lianhua¡¯s, but definitely not made from anything that could be found in the mountain.


    Reverently, Mila folded back the cloth, revealing a weapon long enough even for Raff. It was far too large for any kobold, so it could only have been crafted for a human. The blade held the ripples that meant it had been folded as it was shaped, and when Mila tilted it, Kaz could see the silvery glitter that told him it contained at least some mithril.


    ¡°We would be willing to trade this sword for your cloth. It¡¯s made from a mithril alloy, so it¡¯s quite light, and will hold its edge forever.¡± She looked up at Lianhua, pride showing in every line of her body.


    Kaz eyed the weapon. He was fairly certain that the material around it was actually someone¡¯s best loincloth, probably requisitioned when Berin told Idla about Lianhua¡¯s fabric. This showed that not only did they already have cloth at least similar to what Lianhua brought, but they cared about it so little that they wrapped a sharp object in it.


    On the other hand, the sword was all but useless to kobolds. Even though it was light, the balance was wrong for a wielder the size of a kobold, and it couldn¡¯t even be swung anywhere except in an open cavern. Short blades that could be used in tight quarters were better in almost every circumstance.


    This weapon had probably been made specifically to be traded, and when that trade abruptly ceased, the Goldblades were stuck with it. They could melt it down and make multiple knives out of the metal, but that would undoubtedly be difficult, which explained why it hadn¡¯t been done sometime in the last several years.


    Again, Kaz gave a tiny shake of his head, but Lianhua looked intrigued. She reached out, hovering a finger over the sharp edge. ¡°I¡¯ve seen weapons like this before, but I didn¡¯t know they were made here.¡±


    Raff cleared his throat gently. ¡°We can make ¡®em, too,¡± he told her. ¡°It takes a mage and a smith working together, but most nobles have one or more like this tucked away in their treasure room.¡±


    Idla huffed a little laugh, then reached out and flicked a claw against the blade. A clear note rang out through the den, causing all of the kobolds to look their way. ¡°I¡¯ve seen what your smiths produce,¡± she said dismissively, ¡°and they¡¯re worthless junk compared to what the Mithrilblades create. This sword took our greatest smith, Shom, nearly two years to craft.¡±


    That explained it. Some human must have ordered this, and it either wasn¡¯t done yet or the buyer hadn¡¯t come to pick it up before the mountain closed. That left the Mithrilblades with something no one could use, but made by their finest smith, who probably wasn¡¯t too happy with the idea of melting it down and starting over. But why did Idla have it? Was she just representing the Mithrilblades, or had she traded for it because she was so certain that humans would come again? If so, and if she had done this more than once, she might have a great deal of trade goods that she acquired for relatively little, and both her pride and her honor were now riding on her ability to get rid of them.


    Lianhua gave a sharp nod. ¡°This, and two smaller weapons. Knives, preferably about this long, sharp and fine.¡± She held her hands a little less than a foot apart, and Idla¡¯s eyes lit up. That was a good size for a kobold, so she could probably get some fairly quickly, if someone there didn¡¯t already have some she could use.


    ¡°Of course, the knives must also be made with mithril,¡± Lianhua finished offhandedly, and Idla¡¯s tail drooped.


    The Goldblade chief nodded, though her smile was a little fixed, then turned back to the female she¡¯d called Mila. The two exchanged only a few words, which were clear, but not enough to let anyone listening understand their meaning. Then Mila bowed, but not as deeply as a young female usually would to her chief, which reinforced Kaz¡¯s suspicion that she was Idla¡¯s daughter. Mila left, not quite running, to rejoin a smaller group of yellow-furred kobolds standing to the side of the larger mass.


    Idla and Lianhua began exchanging pleasantries, asking about each other¡¯s family and tribes, which left Kaz to look around again. He found his gaze drawn back to the group of bright red kobolds burning like embers in the midst of the lighter yellow flames of the Goldcoats and Goldblades. Kyla was standing, head bowed, as her mother spoke to her.


    The puppy was the picture of dejection, tail tucked and ears flat, and Kaz felt bad for her. He knew what it was like to be told you had to wait indefinitely for your chance to grow up, and though Kyla¡¯s time had likely only been delayed by a few weeks, rather than months or years, it was still disheartening. Of course, females took their spirit hunt at a much younger age, since they were only expected to learn to depend on their power to survive, not use physical strength and skill to kill beasts as trophies. But Kyla seemed to be quite a bit younger than Kaz, so he hoped things would be back to normal for her soon.


    Li¡¯s tail tightened slightly around Kaz¡¯s throat, reminding him that he bore something far greater than a warrior¡¯s necklace, and he reached up to stroke her smooth scales. ¡°You¡¯re right, I know,¡± he murmured to her. ¡°I am me, you are you, and we¡¯re together. The rest of it is meaningless.¡± She whistled soft agreement, Kaz smiled, and when he looked back again, he found Vega¡¯s attention had left her daughter. Instead, she was staring straight at Kaz.


    Her eyes were dark. So dark that at first he thought he had been mistaken when he thought they held any blue at all. Then another female nearby shifted, and her light moved with her, illuminating Vega¡¯s eyes from the side. They were indeed blue, but it was the blue of the darkest, deepest dumortierite, rather than the much brighter shade of Kaz¡¯s own, which was slightly lighter than his fur.


    When Vega realized that Kaz had noticed her staring, she didn¡¯t look away, as he¡¯d half expected. Instead, she smiled, a long, slow smile that showed far too many teeth.

 Chapter One hundred forty-seven

    Seeing that smile, Kaz felt a chill run down his spine, lifting his fur slightly. In that moment, he was absolutely, undeniably certain that his aunt knew exactly who he was, and she was delighted to see him, but not for any reason he would like.


    Driven by impulse, Kaz turned to Lianhua. She was still chatting with Idla, but the Goldblade chief was distracted, looking around as if searching for someone or something. Her daughter was probably taking longer than she was comfortable with, but she couldn¡¯t go to find out what was going on.


    Kaz¡¯s fist clenched at his side, and he could almost see and feel the shape of the rune he longed to draw. Ki seeped from him, driven by his agitation, and he felt a shaky but very real shroud fall over him, muffling Lianhua¡¯s voice, since he was standing so close to her.


    Surprised, she glanced over toward Kaz, then her brows drew in when she saw his half-folded ears and Li¡¯s alert stance. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked softly, leaning toward him so Idla might find it slightly less odd that she suddenly couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying.


    Kaz gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to look back toward Vega. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± he asked in a rush, repeating the words he had used when they spoke in the mosui city. He was about to break a promise, and he needed her to understand.


    Lianhua¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°What-?¡±


    ¡°Do. You. Trust. Me?¡± he asked again, staring into the confused amethyst eyes.


    She swallowed hard, but her chin jerked, once, and Kaz felt his shoulders relax. ¡°Then trust me,¡± he said, a demand, not a question, and she nodded again as he stepped back, relaxing his hand as he took hold of his ki, pulling it in.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go get something to eat,¡± Kaz said, stepping back before Idla could say anything about his rudeness, if she was inclined to do so. As Lianhua nodded for the last time, her face now a mask of affable agreement, Idla glanced to the side. He saw her gaze meet Berin¡¯s, and Berin in turn motioned to a small group of her tribe members. They sank back into the crowd, and Kaz sighed as he did the same. This would have been easier if the Goldcoats hadn¡¯t decided to join in, but he would make it work.


    Kaz intentionally avoided looking at the Magmablades as he made his way over to where a group of males stood, either already eating or waiting for their own food. Kaz got in line behind the last one, who gave him a startled glance, but didn¡¯t say anything. When it was Kaz¡¯s turn, he accepted two skewers of cooked meat and mushrooms, and felt no shame in asking for another for Li. He had never seen so much food at one meal that wasn¡¯t for a celebration of some kind. No one would go hungry because a hungry little dragon got to eat.


    The female who was handing out food gave him another of those long, thoughtful looks he was quickly becoming accustomed to, and then gave him not one, but two more skewers. ¡°You¡¯re a growing pup, so eat well. When you come back, my daughter can get you another serving,¡± she said, glancing toward a young, yellow-furred female who was passing food out to a group of very young puppies.


    Kaz felt his ears grow warm, but nodded and walked off, juggling the four steaming skewers. Fortunately, the skewers themselves weren¡¯t made of metal, which would be difficult to hold onto when they were hot, so he tucked one between his belt and his loincloth, ignoring the grease, since he knew it wouldn¡¯t soil the fuulong silk. He started to pull the first chunk of meat off another for Li, then just passed the whole skewer up to her. She was large enough now that she could handle it, if only barely, and she would enjoy tearing hunks away with her sharp teeth.


    By the time he reached the edge of the crowd, deliberately heading away from Lianhua and the other humans, he had finished one skewer and was working on another. He hadn¡¯t felt particularly hungry until the first droplets of savory grease coated his tongue, and then he found that he was ravenous, at least for these particular textures and flavors. Lianhua was right that the mosui, and as a result the husede, ate mostly bugs, mushrooms, and yumi, with little in the way of seasoning. Tasting the flavors of his childhood made him feel like he was starving for something more than simple sustenance.


    He was distracted enough by his meal that he barely had to pretend not to notice the two groups of kobolds trailing him through the crowd. Honestly, the Goldcoats did a good job of mingling, thanks to the uniformity of the tribe¡¯s fur colors, but no matter how the Magmablades skulked, they couldn¡¯t really vanish completely.


    When Kaz had nearly reached the wall, he paused, then glanced around, and as if driven by a whim, veered sharply to the right. This took him closer to the Goldcoats, who he was almost certain he could get rid of without the need for violence. Hopefully if he was firm enough, he could get past whatever they were planning, at least for now, but if he met the Magmablades first, the Goldcoats might ¡®save¡¯ him before he was ready.


    There was a tunnel entrance ahead, and he ducked into it, pulling his pack off as he did so. After glancing around to be sure no one else could see him, he quickly shifted around his belongings, even going so far as to take his knife from his belt and tuck it away. Once he was satisfied, he slung his pack back on, and Li settled herself back atop of it.


    That done, he removed the last skewer from where it was tucked into his belt and lifted it to his mouth. As he pulled away the top chunk of meat, which had the gamy, slightly sour flavor of janjio, he realized that the thing it had been spitted on wasn¡¯t a carved and fire-treated sliver of bone, as he¡¯d expected, but rather a thin, pointed yumi reed. That explained the hint of sweetness in the center of each bite, the flavor of the yumi leaching into the food, but he wasn¡¯t sure how they kept the reed itself from burning.


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    He was still examining the skewer when he ran into a female kobold, who yipped softly, falling back a step. Kaz looked up, blinking as if in surprise, even though he had sensed her coming several steps earlier. When he met her eyes, however, the pretense became reality.


    Her eyes were blue. Not just blue, but nearly the same shade as his own. Even more shocking was the fact that her fur color was reminiscent of sugilite. Pink and purple mingled in an attractive medley, and long plumes of slightly lighter shades hung from her ears and luxurious tail. Kaz wasn¡¯t certain if he had ever seen such a beautiful kobold before, and for a moment, he found himself utterly unable to speak.


    Li nipped his ear sharply at the same moment that this vision said, ¡°Oh! Excuse me!¡± Her eyes sparkled, and she didn¡¯t look upset at all that a strange male had just bumped into her in a tunnel that was supposedly empty of anyone but the two of them. Again, the dragon bit Kaz, harder this time, and he quickly adjusted his thinking. There were supposedly only three of them in this tunnel, and Li very definitely did not like this purple-pink kobold and her shining eyes.


    With a soft laugh, the new female pointed to Kaz¡¯s half-eaten skewer, as well as the two empty reeds tucked under his belt. ¡°I see you were hungry. I was just on my way to get some food myself. Would you care to join me?¡±


    Her voice was a pleasantly husky growl, and for half a second, Kaz completely forgot that not only had he already eaten more than he probably should, but it was utterly inappropriate for a young female to invite a young male to eat with her. That was something that only happened when a female was¡­


    His eyes widened, and he all but jumped backwards, almost missing Li¡¯s sniff of vindication when Kaz finally put it together. He had honestly expected some kind of physical assault, attempting to carry him away as Oda had Ghazt so long ago. Clearly, the Goldcoats, or more likely the Goldblades, were more subtle. Though as Li pulled up the memory of Berin saying, So the illusion of freedom is all it takes to make it choose captivity? Kaz wasn¡¯t so sure Idla was behind this ¡®attack¡¯.


    Kaz cleared his throat, trying - and undoubtedly failing - to look dismissive. He bowed, male puppy to female of another tribe, and attempted to edge around the female. ¡°As you see, I already ate,¡± he said, avoiding her eyes. Then he froze as she sidled closer and he got a nose full of a scent he had only smelled from a distance before.


    Adult female kobolds went into heat once each year, and they knew when their time was drawing near. For one week, plus a few days before and after, they would retreat to a private hut, either alone or with their mate. There was no way a female so close to her time should be wandering around the den at all, much less be entirely unattended. The scent of her was something Kaz had honestly never expected to confront, and it was only when Li took command of his cycle and ruthlessly shut down every bit of ki going to his nose that he realized he had drifted far too close to her.


    Thankfully, the moment the smell vanished, Kaz returned to what was left of his senses, and stepped to the side again. Ignoring the look of shock on the female kobold¡¯s pretty face, Kaz pressed his back against the cold, rough stone of the wall and slid past her. Without another word, Kaz ran away.


    Li filled his mind with images of an angry dragon wrapping her body around him protectively, hissing and snapping at anyone who drew near, including Lianhua and the rest of their group. Kaz tried to reassure her that he had no interest in taking a mate, not now, and possibly not ever, but somehow this didn¡¯t seem to help at all, and invisible coils tightened as a very real tail threatened to choke him.


    As a result, Kaz almost missed the three primarily red cores approaching him from right, left, and in front as he came to an intersection of tunnels. Fortunately, he saw them just as he was about to turn left, and instead continued on straight. He recognized the core coming from his left, which was moving noticeably more slowly than the other two, and he didn¡¯t want to confront that one first.


    Instead, he found himself face to face with his aunt Vega and three tall, red-furred warriors beside and in front of her. Another female, one he didn¡¯t recognize, came from the right, and his young cousin Kyla appeared from the left-hand tunnel, reluctance visible in every step she took, though her face was carefully neutral.


    As Kaz was surrounded by ten male and three female Magmablades, he did what he thought any puppy would do in his situation: he spun around, acting as if he intended to run back the way he had come. Pain burst through him as a low-powered ki bolt struck him in the back, and though he had been ready for it, he yelped at the shock. Staggering, he fell to one knee, his hand going to the wall as if he needed its support.


    Li, who understood the plan, though she had made it very clear that she didn¡¯t like it, scampered down his extended arm, dropping to the floor. She pressed herself against the wall, using her camouflage ability to hide in the shadows. There she froze, mostly covered by the arch of Kaz¡¯s body as he allowed himself to topple over, wrapping his arms around his head and whimpering loudly.


    ¡°Ija!¡± A sharp voice barked, and through his arms, Kaz could see the unknown female hesitate as she started to approach. This female¡¯s core held a strong, bright combination of red and yellow ki, rivaling even Vega¡¯s, though Vega¡¯s core was almost entirely red, with only faint glimmers of white, and, shockingly, blue ki.


    ¡°I just did as you commanded, Mother,¡± Ija replied, and though her voice was calm, Kaz could see the agitated churning of her cycle.


    Vega gave another sharp little bark, and hands grasped Kaz¡¯s wrists, pulling his arms down. They were surprisingly gentle, and though Kaz resisted enough to be convincing, he hoped, he soon found himself kneeling in front of the Magmablade chief.


    Leaning forward, Vega stared into his eyes, her own cold and shrewd. For a moment, Kaz thought she might be able to tell that he was only pretending to be frightened, but then her hand came out, and she stroked his cheek as she spoke in a soft tone that sounded completely unnatural.


    ¡°There, little nephew. I never expected to see you again, but here you are. Just in time.¡±

 Chapter One hundred forty-eight

    Straightening, Vega glanced from the males holding Kaz to her elder daughter. ¡°Do it,¡± she barked, and Ija nodded. Kyla looked from her sister to Kaz, and her small fists clenched at her sides before she turned and hurried over to her father¡¯s side. That male set his hand gently on the puppy¡¯s head, and she leaned into him as they both turned and walked away.


    Ija stepped in front of Kaz, and her core spun, throwing out ki in waves. It almost seemed to breathe, expanding and contracting, and to his astonishment, Kaz realized that she was compressing her core to force it to produce more power. She wasn¡¯t as good at compressing ki as Lianhua, or even Kaz, and she didn¡¯t have a central dantian that would allow her to store ki for later use, but it was by far the closest Kaz had seen another kobold come to cultivation.


    She held out her arms, eyes closing, and Kaz both felt and saw her power saturate the air around her. A good deal of it simply floated off, quickly becoming undifferentiated mana, but more touched Kaz and everything around him. He suddenly felt as if he had donned one of Lianhua¡¯s spiritual bamboo masks, smells fading as if they were hours or even days old.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. Li¡¯s camouflage had a similar effect, at least to some extent, muffling or dulling the smell and sounds she produced, even as a sort of illusion hid her from view. It stayed with the dragon, though, and only lasted as long as she had enough ki to maintain it.


    But Kaz had seen, or rather smelled, something exactly like this once before. His aunt, Rega, had used it to cover the retreat of the Broken Knives from their den when the core-eater began killing them. Kaz had only been able to track them by forcing so much ki into his nose that he caused it to bleed. Before she died, Rega said she used ¡®forbidden magic¡¯ to save them, but usually, kobolds referred to ki as ¡®power¡¯. Only the humans, particularly Raff, used the word magic, and Kaz had never heard it from anyone else.


    If this was, in fact, the same thing Rega had used to hide their tribe, then no one would be able to track Kaz and his abductors by scent. He assumed he wouldn¡¯t be taken to the main Magmablade den, either, so the odds that anyone would find him before they did whatever they planned to do were slim to none. Of course, they were reckoning without Li, and had no idea that Kaz himself was far more than he seemed.


    As Ija¡¯s arms fell to her sides, her shoulders slumped, and she sighed, clearly exhausted. She looked back at Vega and said, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    Vega gave a deep sniff, her graying muzzle opening slightly so she could take in the smell of the air surrounding them. Finally, she gave a satisfied nod and looked after her mate and Kyla, who had disappeared down the tunnel behind Kaz.


    ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°I have to be very visible when they discover their little Woodblade puppy has vanished, but no one will miss you, if they even noticed you were here. Take him back to the hidden den, and I¡¯ll rejoin you when Idla is done fawning over the humans.¡±


    Half of the males shifted toward Vega, while the ones holding Kaz remained with Ija, but they all paused as Ija said, ¡°Won¡¯t the humans go looking for him as well?¡±


    Vega gave a growling laugh. ¡°You weren¡¯t old enough to meet any humans before the Breaking, but I met more than my share. They can barely tell one kobold from another, and they certainly won¡¯t care if a particular one goes missing. I¡¯ll simply offer to send a Magmablade back up through the mountain with them if they complain.¡±


    Ija nodded, and the two females turned away from each other, Vega heading back toward the Goldcoat den, while Ija continued on down the tunnel. The males split, half following each female, leaving one walking between Kaz and Ija, two holding onto him, and two more following behind.


    The group was nearly silent as they walked, the click of claws on stone seeming as muffled as the faint, dusty scent they left behind. Kaz could still smell it, but judging by the amount of ki it required for him to do so, no normal kobold would be able to tell they passed this way.


    Still, Ija led them through the winding tunnels as if she believed they were being followed. They moved quickly and with purpose, but Kaz could tell they¡¯d also doubled back on their path several times. He would have been thoroughly lost if not for his innate sense of direction. None of them spoke, and other than a few token efforts to pull away, Kaz didn¡¯t even bother pretending to fight. After all, they were doing exactly what he wanted them to do.


    No new totems announced that the last turn was any different from the dozen before, but almost as soon as they took it, two strong, red-furred males appeared from beside them, blocking their way. Their long knives were bared, but when their torchlight merged with Ija¡¯s ki light, they immediately lowered their weapons and stepped back, bowing deeply.


    Ija nodded to them, but still none of them spoke, or even exchanged a quiet yip of greeting. Instead, Ija led her group past the two guards, and then the pair after that. The next challenger was a female, who looked distinctly relieved to see Ija. She and the male with her stepped aside, and for the first time Kaz saw a real reaction to his presence among the others. As this female¡¯s eyes met his, blue to blue, hers widened in surprise and something else. It didn¡¯t look positive, but it was gone too quickly to be identified, and then they were past, and Ija was pressing her hand against an all too familiar image carved into the wall ahead.


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    It was, of course, a map, though it looked unfinished. The image was rough, and Kaz could see the scrapes of chisel marks that had never been smoothed out. The little figures scattered throughout the mountain were just slightly rounded rectangles, and the mosui city was tiny and dominated by the blocky rectangle of the tower that passed from top to bottom.


    The only part that looked complete at all was the second city, placed within the wide base of the mountain, filled with squares that were recognizable buildings. At the center of this city was another rectangle, but it was much more slender than the tower above, and its top disappeared into a round mass of rough lines.


    A single blue ki stone glinted at the center of this singular column, and it was this that Ija touched. Her expression tightened in concentration, and then a tiny, brief spark of blue ki jumped from her finger to the stone, and the wall swiveled in place, revealing a staircase. Unlike every set of ancient stairs Kaz had seen before, no red glow illuminated these, and they were rough and uneven. They didn¡¯t look broken, just incomplete, like the map.


    Still in silence, the group passed through the opening in the wall, and the last male pushed it closed behind them with the ease of long practice. Only then did they all relax, and Ija actually shook out her hands and arms, as if she had been grasping something tightly for a long time, and her muscles were tense and sore.


    Turning to the two males holding Kaz, she nodded to them, and they obediently released him, stepping away slightly, though they continued watching him as if he might lunge for the female who moved to stand on the step beside him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Ija murmured, and Kaz nearly showed his very real reaction to the words. In his experience, females didn¡¯t apologize to males, and though he now knew his experience was insufficient to judge his entire race, he still thought this was strange behavior.


    Ija clearly knew it, too, because weary amusement showed in her eyes and the tilt of her head. ¡°My father is half Woodblade and half Goldcoat,¡± she said. ¡°And we have no den mother. That means Father raised me and my siblings, and he taught us to respect both males and females.¡±


    ¡°Then let me go!¡± Kaz burst out. He wasn¡¯t actually ready to go back, not yet, but he wanted to see how this new cousin would respond.


    Ija¡¯s shoulders hunched. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she admitted reluctantly. ¡°Mother is still chief, and most of the tribe supports her. All I can do is offer you an apology, which is as worthless to you as to me. Still, for the sake of your mother, I give it.¡±


    Kaz felt his legs tremble beneath him. If Ija truly knew who his mother was, then she had to be the first person he¡¯d ever met who actually liked Oda.


    ¡°My mother?¡± he asked hoarsely.


    Ija laughed bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend. Anyone who ever met your father can see him in you, and while those who never knew you were born might be fooled into believing you¡¯re the lucky product of two parents with some Woodblade ancestry, Ghazt was a favorite among his cousins, one of whom is my father. They grew up playing together, and I met Ghazt several times after he joined our tribe. Plus, though Oda hid you from Vega until the Breaking, she couldn¡¯t help but flaunt your existence as she left the Deep. We¡¯ve known about you for years.¡±


    ¡°Oda¡­ hid me?¡± he asked, mind whirling. That would explain why he was never allowed to leave their small den unless he was going out with his father. He now realized that while Katri¡¯s pink fur revealed that she had some Woodblade heritage, Kaz¡¯s bright blue color proved that he was a Woodblade, at least as far as the Deep was concerned. That meant that while Katri could go to the city and be introduced as Oda¡¯s pup, Kaz couldn¡¯t, at least not without revealing that Oda had abducted Ghazt.


    Ija hesitated, looking uncertain for the first time. She had seemed angry, not only at the situation, but at Kaz himself, but now that anger drained away into confusion. ¡°Of course,¡± she told him. ¡°If Mother had known about you sooner, she would have taken you away. She certainly wouldn¡¯t have allowed Oda to take you when she left.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, as confused as Ija. ¡°But Oda was the chief. How could your mother take me?¡±


    Ija¡¯s topaz eyes opened wide, and she began to laugh. ¡°You don¡¯t know anything, do you? That¡¯s why you came here, acting as though you were just some random male who happened to be guiding your little group of humans. You have no idea what chaos you brought with you.¡±


    She continued laughing until the males around them began to shuffle awkwardly, and then wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. ¡°I wonder if you¡¯ll be Oda¡¯s revenge, or her greatest failure, among so many others,¡± she murmured, staring at him. He almost thought there was a hint of fond bemusement in her tone and her eyes.


    Kaz, too, would very much like to know the answer to her question, but he didn¡¯t dare respond. So far, his cousin seemed inclined to react well to his ignorance, but there was no reason to make her believe he was the idiot Li sometimes called him, even though he felt like one at the moment.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Ija let it out in a long, slow sigh. ¡°Well, little cousin,¡± she said at last. ¡°Let¡¯s get you home, and introduce you to the rest of the family. There are a lot more of them than there were when you left.¡±


    Turning, she headed off down the stairs, her small orange ki light bobbing in time with her steps. One of the males near Kaz reached out as if to take his arm and pull him after her, but Kaz hurried to follow on his own. He had had enough of being restrained, even if that restraint was far less effective than anyone else believed. He was also very, very tired of being lied to, and he hoped that wherever Ija was leading him, he would finally find a little truth.

 Chapter One hundred forty-nine

    The stairs weren¡¯t long, especially compared to those he had climbed in the mid-levels, and Kaz began hearing the sounds of a thriving den about halfway down. A quick glance showed that none of the other kobolds had perked up their ears yet, so he forced his to remain still as well, though they very much wanted to twist and track the noise.


    It wasn¡¯t much longer before a particularly loud yelp echoed up to them, and Ija twitched at the sound. She looked back at one of the males and murmured, ¡°Gram¡¯s in trouble again.¡±


    The male, who had seemed no different from any of the others, chuckled, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sure he deserves it. I¡¯ve never seen such a curious puppy.¡±


    The two exchanged a surprisingly warm look, both of their tails wagging gently. None of the other males seemed surprised by this exchange, so Kaz didn¡¯t react either. Ija and the male both wore the necklaces of unmated adults, but perhaps they were courting.


    The bottom of the stairs came fast and bright. Balls of ki floated everywhere, to the extent that Kaz couldn¡¯t tell which female they belonged to. In the heights, most females had to attach their ki to an object, producing a stable light that they couldn¡¯t move too far away from, but here every female seemed able to cast their ki into the air, and do it from a very young age. There were several pups of near-gathering age running around with lights following behind them, and a few younger puppies even had dim balls of ki clinging to their hands or, for some reason, the tips of their tails.


    Shouts of ¡°Ija!¡± arose from these young kobolds the moment they realized that they were no longer alone, and a small horde of excited puppies tumbled over themselves to reach her. This gave Kaz time to come to terms with the other strange thing about them.


    They were blue. Not all of them, but many, though their fur tended toward the purplish-blue shades, with an occasional blue-green. Some had blue spots or stripes hidden among fur of a more common color, and a dozen pairs of eyes that were all shades of blue stared back at Kaz curiously as they realized he was there.


    A particularly bright blue male puppy was clinging to Ija¡¯s hand, glaring almost defiantly toward Kaz. He was adorable, with a short snout, and one ear that pointed up, while the other drooped. In his belly blazed a tiny, brilliantly blue core.


    When he noticed this, Kaz actually froze in place, one paw on the step behind him, and then he took another look around. Another of the little males had a dim blue and red core, while a third had one that seemed almost hazy, more the grayish color of mana than properly blue. This one was a little too thin, and though he was smiling as happily as any of the others, his arms were spindly, and his tail drooped as if it was too heavy for him to lift.


    Ija leaned down and picked up the first blue pup, tossing him into the air as he howled gleefully. Several other puppies lifted their arms for similar treatment, and two of the males picked them up, nuzzling their fur before tossing them high. Only when all of the puppies had had a turn did the adults start walking again, though they looked noticeably more relaxed.


    A female with red fur came through the tunnel on the other side of the cavern in which they stood, and huffed in exasperation. Her fur was deeply streaked with gray, and her jowls drooped, but she still seemed vigorous as she came up and grasped the puppy Ija had just put down by his upstanding ear.


    ¡°Gram!¡± she barked sharply, ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be back in the den, training, not playing with the other puppies.¡±


    Gram glared up at her without a shred of remorse, but wilted when Ija set her hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°What did he do now?¡± Ija asked, and the old female sniffed.


    ¡°He was supposed to be out gathering,¡± she said, ¡°but he wandered away from his group. He fell into a patch of chouchou. I only just got him clean, and it took half our supply of yumi oil to get the smell out.¡±


    Kaz grimaced. Chouchou was a large mushroom with a spherical white cap that looked pillowy and soft. It was almost irresistibly attractive to young puppies, who were always shocked by the foul-smelling cloud of spores it emitted when it burst, in spite of the fact that every adult warned them not to touch it if they found one.


    ¡°I thought I could gather it without popping it,¡± Gram said, ¡°and then sneak it into Shoc¡¯s bed.¡±


    Ija crouched down, looking into the defiant blue eyes. ¡°And why would you want to make Shoc smell bad?¡±


    Gram turned his gaze down, scratching at the floor with one paw. ¡°He was picking on Chix,¡± he muttered. ¡°So it was only fair.¡±


    Ija sighed, standing up, then turned to look at a purplish puppy who was edging away from the crowd, looking guilty. ¡°Shoc?¡± she said.


    Shoc stopped, then glared toward the weak-looking puppy. ¡°He got an extra serving of tanuo, just because he¡¯s sick! But I scraped my knee, and I didn¡¯t get anything! Everybody just told me to be tough, like a real warrior.¡± Triumphantly, he pointed to his leg, where a small red scratch was barely visible beneath the fur.


    Ija, too, looked toward the little puppy, who wilted beneath the attention. ¡°Shoc, even if you¡¯re upset, you can¡¯t be mean to Chix. He¡¯s¡­ You could really hurt him, so be gentle, all right?¡±


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    Shoc looked down, mumbling, ¡°I know. I was just mad.¡±


    Ija smiled sadly and looked back at the older female. ¡°Let it go this time, Sika. But Gram, if I hear that you got into chouchou again, you¡¯re going to have to smell bad until it goes away on its own.¡±


    Gram looked horrified. ¡°But that¡¯d take weeks,¡± he howled pitifully. ¡°And no one would want to play with me!¡±


    Ija¡¯s ears twitched with suppressed amusement, but she just patted the puppy on the head with firm dismissal and turned to Kaz. ¡°Kaz, these are your cousins.¡±


    Kaz blinked, looking around. There were fourteen puppies here, all less than five years old. A cousin was the child of an aunt or uncle, but how were there so many? And these were just the ones too young to gather, or young enough that they only gathered for a few hours a day, so how many others might there be?


    Seeing that Kaz had no response, Ija turned back to the puppies. ¡°Everyone, this is Kaz. He¡¯s your Aunt Rega¡¯s pup. You remember I told you about her, right?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s legs gave out, and he sat on the step with a thump. Everyone turned to look at him, but he barely noticed. He was too busy putting together the pieces of his own story that had just shattered. Oda¡¯s disinterest, and sometimes outright dislike of him and Rega. The fact that Oda and Ghazt had never, not once, spent private time together. The way Oda seemed almost relieved when Ghazt died.


    Older images rose. Chalk and paint on the wall, images of Ghazt, Katri, Kaz¡­ and Rega. Never Oda. The way Ghazt and Rega watched each other, but never touched or spoke. Ghazt warning Kaz, again and again, to always listen to his mother and never contradict Oda. But Oda wasn¡¯t his mother at all, was she? She had never acted like one, but Rega most certainly had.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± he finally muttered, desperately wishing that Li was with him, rather than fulfilling her part of the plan. He could feel her warm presence in his mind, her worry and love, but it wasn¡¯t the same as feeling the weight of her body, the pressure of her tail around his neck.


    Ija tilted her head, eyes narrowing. With a wave of her hand, she urged the puppies to move out of the way, then reached out, offering to help Kaz stand. ¡°The one thing Oda was good at was lying,¡± she said. ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll explain.¡±


    Kaz set his hand in hers, though he had gathered himself enough by then that he could have risen on his own. The heat of her skin against his was enough to make him want to pull away again, but he managed to restrain the urge until he was upright and she let go on her own.


    Ija gave the puppies one more brief yip of farewell, which they echoed back enthusiastically, and then she headed for the tunnel the old female had come through. Kaz moved to catch up, walking beside her so he could listen as she began to speak softly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you¡¯ve been told, so I¡¯ll just start at the beginning, all right?¡± she asked. At his nod, she grinned slightly, and said, ¡°The voice of the mountain selected Tegra as the first of the Magmablades, or at least so we¡¯ve been told.¡±


    Oh. She really meant she was going to start at the beginning. But Kaz just nodded, and Ija went on.


    ¡°But the book of the chief tells us a different story. Tegra wasn¡¯t chosen, she was made, and when she came to us, she was angry. She couldn¡¯t speak of her past, but she wrote it down in the book, because the voice forgot to deny her the ability to write. Of course, we didn¡¯t have anything to write on, not then, because we also had no written language, but Tegra worked until she fashioned something from yumi reed pulp, and taught her daughters to read.


    ¡°In her book, she wrote that she had once been a human, and a powerful one, but she was taken and infected with some kind of disease. She didn¡¯t remember much of that time, but when she did come to herself again, she was a kobold, and she was commanded to go join the other kobolds in the mountain, and serve the voice.¡±


    The tunnel opened into a wide cavern, the far end of which was filled with huts. Adult kobolds moved around, performing the familiar actions of a tribe, their expressions calm and untroubled. Ija stepped to the side, watching them, and Kaz followed.


    ¡°Tegra couldn¡¯t disobey the voice, and each of her descendants found that they, too, had to do as it commanded. It would reach into their very minds, and when it did, they lost their free will. Still, it came less and less often, until a generation went by without the chief of the time hearing it even once. It has been silent ever since.¡±


    Ija began to walk again, circling along the outside of the cavern, toward the huts. ¡°The tribes, who had been restrained by the voice¡¯s commands, began to fight among themselves. So far as we can tell, Tegra was the only one who found a way to pass on her knowledge to her descendants, so we knew that no matter what anyone said, the ¡®voice of the mountain¡¯ was no benign thing. As a result, the Magmablades were the first to defy the command to continue peacefully performing the tasks assigned to us. No matter what the others say, however, we weren¡¯t the only ones.


    ¡°Of course, our first effort failed, and though the books don¡¯t tell us exactly why, since the chief of that time died before she could write it down, we do know that it was at least in part because the Woodblades and the Goldblades refused to listen when we told them the voice of the mountain was just using us. Whatever it was, it finished with us, and left us behind like a broken or forgotten tool, and we owe it nothing.¡±


    For the first time, Ija sounded truly angry. Before, she seemed to be reciting a story she¡¯d heard often, but had no particular feelings about. It wasn¡¯t personal, but this last bit most definitely was.


    They passed the first few huts, then stopped in front of one that was completely different from any Kaz had seen before. It had only three sides, which seemed intended to separate it from the surrounding area more than keep it private. Nothing covered the top, either, but the walls were higher than most kobold homes.


    Ija led him around to the open side, and Kaz stopped, staring. It was filled with books. Row after tidy row, sitting on shelves made of yumi reeds, they waited. Some were thick, while others were thin. There were tall ones and short ones, some with lovingly crafted covers, and others with covers of thick, simple leather much like what was used to make packs for warriors.


    ¡°Each and every chief leaves behind a book,¡± Ija said. ¡°They start writing when they¡¯re young, and the first pages are identical; a copy of Tegra¡¯s story. After that, they change. Some chiefs wrote almost nothing, just a note when someone chose a mate, or a battle was fought. Others wrote every day, speaking about their lives, their joys, and their problems.¡±


    Moving to the end of the line, she traced her fingers over the last few books, which looked newer than any of the others. ¡°Any female who could become chief has a book, though usually only the one who is selected ends up here.¡± She motioned to the huts around them. ¡°The other books stay with the family, and most of the kobolds here have one or more.¡±


    Pulling one particular book out, she handed it to Kaz. ¡°This is Rega¡¯s.¡±

 Chapter One hundred fifty

    Li didn¡¯t like the Plan. She understood it, understood that her kobold needed to do it this way, but she Did Not Like It. Things that she didn¡¯t like made Li itch, and the spot between her shoulder blades that she could never quite reach was practically burning with the need to find something that could scratch it.


    But it wasn¡¯t time. She needed to stay still and silent until Kaz gave the word, or something else happened that would set the next step in motion. It was hard to ignore the itching, but she would.


    Her claws twitched on the bag that hung from a strip of leather around her neck, fighting the urge to turn and wriggle against the bit of stone that had been pressing into her shoulder for the last half hour. She wouldn¡¯t, though. She was a dragon, and dragons were strong. Even against itches as powerful as this one.


    Not long after the Magmablades took Kaz away, Li had started moving. She made her way back toward the cavern filled with delicious smells, passing the spot where the stinking female kobold had spoken to Kaz. It had been hard not to bite that female, so Li had settled for biting Kaz instead, and that had been almost as satisfying.


    Kaz stopped smelling like food when Li started eating the ki crystals, and his blood was no longer the only source of ingestible ki she could find. She was glad for that, since the temptation to bite him had almost been overwhelming at times, especially when her belly was so empty. But he was her kobold, and so she only nipped. Nipped, and ate a little of the blood that he seemed determined to spread though the entire mountain. It had kept her alive, along with the ki that flowed through their linked cycles, but she was very glad to have an alternate food source now.


    Her belly growled, and her claws tightened on the pouch again. She wanted one of the crystals inside - they were hers, after all - but they needed to last until they left the mountain or found another source of ki. The only thing she missed about the mosui city was the ability to eat as many red crystals as she wanted, especially since she could feel something shifting in her core. Red was the only color of ki she couldn¡¯t yet produce, but she had a feeling that if she only had a little more time and a lot more crystals, she could have unlocked the ability to use it, much as she had blue ki.


    A flurry of motion drew her attention back to the cavern she was perched just inside of, and she saw that a mass of yellow-furred kobolds had approached the female who was their leader. That one had recently traded Lianhua some weapons for cloth, and while Li thought it was a poor trade, even though the metal of the weapons was pleasantly shiny, Lianhua seemed happy enough. At least she had once her wandering eyes caught a glimpse of Li, who dropped the illusion that protected her just long enough for the human female to register her presence. Kaz had been Very Clear that Lianhua needed to know that he was all right, and if she saw Li, she would figure that out. Li wasn¡¯t quite so convinced of the human¡¯s intelligence, but it was part of the Plan, so she did it.


    Now, Li focused on Lianhua and the kobolds around her, seeing when Lianhua¡¯s gaze flicked back to the spot where Li was waiting. Again, Li dropped her concealment, though restoring it was a bit more difficult to do each time. She was stronger than she had been before they entered the city, but she was also larger, and it was ever harder to hide herself from so many eyes and noses. Fortunately, it looked like she wouldn¡¯t have to do so for much longer. No, there would be no more hiding for Li.


    The yellow kobold leader howled something, and when Li conveyed it to Kaz, he absently told her it was a call for her tribe to gather. He was listening to something the red female he thought of as his cousin was saying, and he seemed in no danger, so Li let her link to him drop to the back of her mind while she watched the activity below.


    To her amusement, many of the kobolds were scattering. At first, she thought the movement was driven by panic, but then she realized that they were gathering in groups that headed out of the cavern with clear purpose in their movements. That wasn¡¯t nearly as fun, but when the group of yellow kobolds gathered around their leader and angry shouts began to arise, Li readied herself. It was almost time for her to move. For the only part of the Plan she did like.


    ¡°Vega! You did this!¡± the yellow chief barked, pointing at the red chief. A shield shimmered around her, as well as several other females, clearer and brighter than any Li had seen before, even through Kaz¡¯s eyes. Their males were spread out in front of them, hands on their weapons, though no one had drawn a blade yet.


    The red chief looked almost comically shocked, her eyes growing large, and her empty hands rising. Li could see her own shield form around her, though, so she wasn¡¯t nearly as caught off guard as she pretended. Beside her, the little female named Kyla tried to form a shield as well, though hers was faint and flickered in a way that was uncomfortable to look at.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, Idla,¡± the red chief said, reaching out to gather the young female to her side. Their shields interacted for an instant, before Kyla¡¯s was snuffed out, leaving her right half exposed. ¡°I came to retrieve my pup, and you invited me to stay, no doubt so I could witness your triumph.¡± Vega¡¯s lip lifted, but there was vindictive glee in her eyes, not anger.


    ¡°The Woodblade puppy is missing,¡± Idla growled. ¡°And we all know you¡¯ve been trying to gather every kobold with a drop of Woodblade blood in them for yourself.¡±


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    ¡°Just as you, Tisdi, and Avli have been doing,¡± Vega replied calmly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I stole this pup.¡±


    ¡°The Magmablades are no longer a Great Tribe, Vega!¡± Idla nearly howled. ¡°Even if you produce a Woodblade, you won¡¯t keep them for long. Stop this idiocy and give him back!¡±


    Vega opened her mouth to reply, but Li decided it was time for her to intervene. It was fun watching the kobolds argue, but Kaz didn¡¯t want them to actually fight, and Li supposed that was reasonable. After all, they were supposed to ¡®save¡¯ him, and they couldn¡¯t do that if they were bleeding on the ground.


    Spreading her wings, Li dropped her concealment for the last time and launched herself from the ledge above the tunnel entrance through which Kaz had left over an hour earlier. It had been a long wait, and she enjoyed the feeling of her muscles flexing as she climbed up sharply, then swooped down to land on Lianhua¡¯s shoulder.


    The human had gone still the moment she caught sight of Li, no doubt shocked by the dragon¡¯s glory and her own good fortune. This was one of the parts of the Plan that Li didn¡¯t like, since she had decided not to grace the human female with her presence after the mosui debacle, but again, Kaz had insisted, and Li had to admit that it was for the best.


    Once Li was in place, head raised and neck regally arched, wings half-lifted to showcase their delicate beauty, she leaned back on her haunches and took the ring off her foreleg for the first time in weeks. She could tell the moment everyone actually realized what she was because jaws dropped in unison so perfect that it looked practiced. A few of the kobolds yelped or staggered back, but the red human, Raff, just let out a startled guffaw of laughter that broke the pall of shocked and admiring silence.


    When Li looked around, she realized that surprise had turned to confusion on the faces of many of the kobolds, and only the dark human male didn¡¯t have the grace to seem startled at least. To her disappointment, only Lianhua and the little pink kobold, Kyla, had the proper expressions of admiration and reverence on their faces, which made Li like them both a tiny bit more.


    Lianhua¡¯s voice shook as she asked, ¡°Do you know where Kaz is, Li?¡±


    The obvious answer was ¡®yes¡¯, especially given that Lianhua knew Kaz and Li could communicate through their ki-bond, but Li supposed the question was for the sake of their audience. At least she hoped so, because otherwise it proved that Kaz was wrong, and Li was right. Of course, Li preferred being right whenever possible, but it would be better for the Plan if Lianhua wasn¡¯t actually an idiot.


    Li nodded her head with calm grace, feeling that it was more important to reinforce her own gravitas than hasten things along, especially since Kaz was still talking to his cousin, who had no idea that things were about to go awry.


    A short, growling bark was the only warning anyone got before Vega threw a bolt of ki toward Li. ¡°Kill the abomination!¡± shouted the female, pointing toward Li as her tribe members fell into attack stances around her. ¡°It¡¯s one of the fulan monsters!¡±


    Now this was not exactly part of the Plan, but the possibility of a reaction like this was the reason Li had actually landed on Lianhua, rather than circling or landing on something nearby. The ki bolt burst uselessly against the flat blade of the dark human¡¯s weapon, which seemed to drink in the power. Chi Yincang stepped between Lianhua and the kobolds, his weapon spinning so quickly that it was nothing more than a blur. Vega¡¯s next attack vanished into its dark spin, even as Lianhua¡¯s shield snapped up around herself and Li.


    Grudgingly, Li had to admit that this shield was the one thing that made perching on Lianhua worthwhile. It had saved Li from being trapped inside the dark bag while they traveled through the fulan, and in the privacy of her own mind, Li was also willing to admit that if she had remained inside the clear space when they fell into the mosui¡¯s trap, thus avoiding the sleep dust, Lianhua would have been free to use her power to prevent them from being captured in the first place.


    Now, Li hunkered down, allowing the humans to perform violence as needed, until Chi Yincang finally stepped aside, revealing Vega on the floor, her muzzle bloody and Raff¡¯s knee in the small of her back.


    The puppy, Kyla, and her father were among the other Magmablades who had been similarly suppressed, though the two yellow kobold males holding them in place looked very uncomfortable. Vega¡¯s mate was balanced on one paw as he held the other one off the ground. Blood streamed from a long cut that was mostly hidden by fur and gore, and the pink puppy was whimpering as she tried to get to him.


    ¡°Are you going to listen to a beast and three strange humans before a member of your own kind?¡± Vega growled, thrashing ineffectually against Raff¡¯s hold. Ki surged through her body wildly, but she didn¡¯t try to attack while she was so tightly restrained, probably aware that any damage she might do would only be returned to her.


    Whatever had happened while Li¡¯s vision was blocked must have been as brutal as it was hurried, because several of the yellow-furs were injured as well, and one of them was unconscious or dead. Another red female and four more males lay beside that one, and none of them moved either.


    Idla swiped her arm across her nose, wiping away a streak of blood as she glared down at Vega. ¡°I¡¯d trust a janjio before you, Magmablade. We should have sent you all from the Deep, not just Oda and her allies. The only reason we didn¡¯t is because the voice commanded there be five tribes in the Deep, and you seemed too cowardly to continue your sister¡¯s work. But instead, it turns out that you¡¯re simply more devious.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, she turned her back on the humiliated female, though Li noticed that she didn¡¯t let her shield fall. Gesturing to the other members of her tribe, Idla spoke to Lianhua, carefully avoiding looking directly at Li. ¡°If you know where the puppy is, please take us there.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, shoulders stiff beneath the heavy fabric that draped them. ¡°Of course,¡± she said, then glanced at Raff. ¡°But someone else needs to take care of Vega. My¡­ I won¡¯t leave Raff here.¡±


    Idla barked a laugh, gesturing to another yellow-furred female, who was standing nearby, gingerly rubbing a burned-looking patch of fur on her shoulder as she glowered at one of the fallen kobolds. ¡°Bring her, Berin. I have a feeling that when we find the puppy, she¡¯ll have a great number of questions to answer. She might as well be there to answer them.¡±

 Chapter One hundred fifty-one

    ¡°Kaz?¡± Ija asked, and Kaz blinked open his eyes. He had asked for a little time to think about the new information she¡¯d given him, and she allowed it. He¡¯d been sitting with his back against the wall, eyes closed, for the last ten minutes, and his cousin looked both concerned and mildly irritated as she called to him.


    Motioning behind her, she said, ¡°Qhurg needs to fill me on what happened in the den while I was gone.¡±


    Kaz shifted his focus, though it was difficult with Li taking up a large portion of his mind at the moment, and saw that Qhurg was the red-furred male Ija had spoken to so casually on the way down the stairs. The male stood at patient attention, his deep brown eyes calm and intelligent as they flicked between Kaz and Ija. He wasn¡¯t particularly tall or muscular, but the confidence with which he held himself, even in the presence of a powerful female, was unusual.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Kaz managed, and Ija blinked in startlement, reminding Kaz that as far as she was concerned, he was her prisoner, albeit one she had chosen to treat kindly. Kaz cleared his throat, grateful that he was still seated, so he was lower than her, which made his words sound slightly less like he was granting her permission.


    Reluctantly, he pulled his attention back as Li began to guide Lianhua toward the hidden den. In spite of the winding path Ija had led them down, they weren¡¯t actually that far from the Goldcoat caverns. Taking shortcuts down unknown tunnels was risky, but Kaz was certain they had crossed their own path more than once, so if Li could use his memories to take the correct turns the first time, his rescuers should be here soon. The sensation of someone else flipping through his memories was distracting, but not as much as worrying about Li had been.


    He stood, bowing his head so it remained lower than both Qhurg¡¯s and Ija¡¯s. ¡°What should I do?¡± He chafed at resuming his subservient pose, even for a cousin who had treated him well, but he knew this would be necessary when he chose this path. He was certain he never would have found this den without guidance, and any Magmablades he questioned would never have revealed its existence. That meant guile was better than force, at least for now. Plus, he had far more experience at pretending to be something he wasn¡¯t than in using violence to get his way.


    Ija actually looked conflicted, so Kaz let his tail wag gently as he suggested, ¡°I¡¯m good with puppies. I could help Sika with them.¡± That would also allow him to protect the little ones when Lianhua and the others got here.


    To his surprise, Qhurg looked unhappy at this suggestion, his ears folding back even as Ija looked intrigued. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous,¡± the male growled softly. ¡°We don¡¯t know him, and Chix-¡±


    Ija hesitated, eyeing Kaz. ¡°He can¡¯t get out without help, and Sika is strong. If he tries anything, she can stop him.¡± Her words held an overtone of warning, and Kaz tucked his tail in response.


    ¡°I would never hurt a puppy,¡± he said, meeting her eyes, and whether she heard the sincerity in his voice, or saw it in his gaze, Ija nodded.


    ¡°All right,¡± she said, and held up a hand to stay Qhurg¡¯s objection. There was sad fondness in the look she gave him before turning back to Kaz. ¡°Chix is Qhurg¡¯s little brother, and he¡¯s very fragile. We don¡¯t know why, but sometimes puppies are born weak. Most of them die quickly, but Chix¡­¡± She trailed off, eyes shifting away, and Kaz thought there was a great deal there that she wasn¡¯t willing to say.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful,¡± Kaz promised. He wanted to look at the puppy¡¯s core more closely, too, and he could well lose his opportunity to do so if they talked much longer.


    Ija nodded and turned her back on the hut full of fascinating books that Kaz couldn¡¯t read, and he cast one last, lingering glance behind him before he followed, feeling frustration boil up inside him again. There always seemed to be something preventing him from learning to read, and the next time he had a chance to speak to Lianhua, he was going to put all of them aside and ask her to start teaching him. Surely one or two runes a day wouldn¡¯t take too much time?


    Qhurg brought up the rear of the little group, and soon they were passing back through the short tunnel to the base of the stairs. The sound of playful yelps and giggles reached their ears, echoing down the passage, and they were only in the dim tunnel for a moment before emerging into the cavern lit by bobbing little ki orbs. The puppies looked back at them in surprise, and then repeated the performance of last time, bounding and tumbling over each other to be the first to reach Ija.


    Ija laughed and reached down to pick up a different puppy, this one a very young female with greenish-blue fur. The puppy¡¯s core was mostly rich gold, but there was a strong ribbon of blue winding its way through as well. She clamped little hands around Ija¡¯s muzzle as the older female pretended she was going to eat the little one¡¯s belly. Giggles interspersed with yelps as they played, before Ija reluctantly placed the pup on the ground again. The little female wobbled on two legs, then shifted back to four, instantly looking more comfortable.


    Ija looked over at Sika, who watched this interaction with resigned amusement. The amusement shifted to something like alarm, however, when Ija said, ¡°Kaz is going to stay here with you and the puppies. There are no other adult females who can watch him, and I¡¯ll be busy for an hour or so.¡±


    Sika¡¯s gaze darted toward Chix, then the stairs, as if she wasn¡¯t sure which she was more worried about. Ija gave a small shake of her head, and the two females exchanged a glance before Sika shook her head with a sigh. ¡°As you say,¡± she murmured.


    Ija looked at Kaz. ¡°You¡¯d never be able to get all the way up the stairs before someone caught you, and even if you did, only females can open the door.¡± Not quite true, and from the shadow in her eyes as she said it, Kaz wondered if she knew, but hoped Kaz didn¡¯t. ¡°Sika was the sister of our grandmother, and was nearly strong enough to become chief herself, so if you do anything she doesn¡¯t like, she¡¯ll stop you and howl for me. And I will not be pleased.¡±


    Her lip lifted from her teeth, and Kaz let himself shrink back again. ¡°I would never hurt a puppy,¡± he said again, ¡°and the only way out is up the stairs or through the den. Either would be foolish.¡± He repeated what she wanted to hear, and Ija nodded in satisfaction before motioning for Qhurg to follow her back through the tunnel. Kaz¡¯s eyes lifted to the rough, empty stone above that tunnel, where no arch had yet been carved when the ancients, Diushi or otherwise, stopped work on this staircase.


    ¡°You¡¯re here now, so you might as well be useful and help me watch these scamps,¡± Sika said, and if her voice was slightly shaky with age, it was still commanding.


    Kaz turned to look at her, then at the puppies gathered around her. Some of them tried to hide behind her legs, while others, like Gram, stood between her and Kaz, fur raised, looking protective. A few, too small to understand what was happening, were already wandering off, however, chasing after bones or pieces of fur that had been sewn into the rough shapes of fuergar or other small, weak beasts.


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    Kaz crouched, bringing himself down as close to the puppies¡¯ level as he could, and nodded to Gram. Offering a small yip of greeting, one pup to another, he said, ¡°My name is Kaz. You¡¯re Gram?¡±


    Gram¡¯s eyes instantly went to Kaz¡¯s bare throat, and his blue eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re a puppy?¡± he squeaked.


    Kaz grinned, letting his tongue loll out, and nodded. ¡°I am. My chief never sent me on a spirit hunt, so I¡¯m still a gatherer.¡±


    Gram drew himself up, puffing out his chest as a few of the other pups began to creep forward. ¡°I¡¯m a gatherer, too,¡± Gram said proudly. ¡°I just started, but Ija says I¡¯m just as good as the older pups.¡± He glanced at another puppy and said, ¡°Shoc picked duyu the other day, and it was only because I saw the red nodes that it didn¡¯t go into the soup.¡±


    Shoc glared at Gram. ¡°That was yumao! You just told everyone it was duyu because you wanted to get me in trouble!¡±


    ¡°Did not!¡± Gram yelped, lunging at the bigger puppy. The two rolled away in a flurry of teeth and fur, but Sika just shook her head.


    Looking down at Kaz, the old female spoke wistfully. ¡°You remind me of your mother.¡±


    Slowly, Kaz stood, and the puppies who had been warily watching him scattered, most returning to whatever they had been doing before he came in. Only Chix remained, little fingers clinging to the fur of Sika¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Rega?¡± Kaz asked, and Sika nodded as easily as if that confirmation didn¡¯t shake Kaz¡¯s world once again. Kaz cleared his throat, but his voice was rough when he said, ¡°I thought Oda was my mother.¡±


    Sika sighed, leaning down to pat Chix. Her back popped several times as she did so, and she grimaced in pain. Straightening back up, she reached into the pouch at her waist and extracted a small ball of moss, which she popped into her mouth. The shape of the fronds and the distinctive purple color allowed Kaz to identify it as zhitong, which worked as a pain-killer when used correctly, but could easily kill if a patient was given too much. This seemed like a large dose for a female Sika¡¯s age and size, and Kaz frowned.


    The old kobold chuckled. ¡°You look a great deal like Ghazt, but I know that look. Rega gave Mother the same one when she came back from her training and found Lizha taking zhitong. I¡¯ll tell you what my mother told yours.¡±


    She set her expression in a scowl and said, ¡°Let an old kobold have what relief she can find. If I take too much, that¡¯s my business, and at least I¡¯ll finally get some rest.¡±


    Kaz blinked, then managed to laugh and ask, ¡°So you knew Rega and Ghazt? Oda, too?¡±


    Sika obviously saw through Kaz¡¯s attempt at nonchalance, because she looked down at Chix, then called, ¡°Gram! Chix needs to rest. Take him to his bed.¡±


    Gram broke off from his scuffle with Shoc, both of them sending puppy growls at each other as Gram backed away. Finally, Gram spun and ran back to Sika, tail and ears high and triumphant, even as Shoc looked just as proud while approaching a pair of young females who were playing together.


    Gram took Chix¡¯s hand, letting the frail gray pup lean on him as they walked off toward a side of the cavern where Kaz could see a few small piles of moss. That must be where the puppies rested when they got too tired to play any longer, and Kaz couldn¡¯t help but wish he¡¯d had something similar when he was little. He had often fallen asleep directly on the stone floor, and he was always cold and a little stiff when he woke.


    Turning so she could lean against the wall and watch the puppies at the same time, Sika said, ¡°Of course I knew them. I¡¯m the healer for females, and Rega was under my paws more often than not, excited as a fuergar in a patch of tanuo. My mate was a Woodblade by way of the Woodclaws, so when she was old enough, I got the Woodblade healer to train her. In a way, I suppose it was my fault that she ever met Ghazt at all.¡±


    She barked softly at two embattled males whose bites were becoming a little too serious, and they broke off, walking stiff-legged around each other as they glared. Sika shook her head, but her voice was fond when she continued speaking. ¡°When she got back, Ghazt was all she could talk about. He was a great artist, but also a strong warrior, and he was so kind and smart. It took a bit to work up the courage to ask if she could take him as mate, but her mother agreed, so Oda was sent to make the offer.¡±


    ¡°Ghazt was supposed to be Rega¡¯s mate?¡± Kaz asked, shocked.


    ¡°That was the plan,¡± Sika said, voice turning melancholy, ¡°but Oda¡­ She was always a difficult pup. By the time she was born, her oldest sister, Guil, had already been chosen as the next chief. Vega, Oda, and Rega were only meant to support Guil, and their mother both ignored them and allowed them too much freedom.


    ¡°Vega was enough older that she didn¡¯t spend much time with the other two, but Oda and Rega were close, at least when they were young. Rega was always gentle and quiet, while Oda was a Magmablade through and through. As they got older, Rega made friends as easily as breathing, but even then, Oda was headstrong and selfish. She grew more and more jealous of Rega, so after Guil died on her spirit hunt, Rega announced that she would be a healer, and had no interest in being chief. As soon as she became an adult, she went to live with the Woodblades, where she was finally able to be herself without fear of Oda¡¯s spite.


    ¡°But when Rega¡¯s training was complete and she returned, it was like the two sisters had returned to their youth. During Rega¡¯s absence, Oda had finally found her own place in the tribe, and without Rega there to compare herself to, it seemed to be enough. They were all but inseparable again, until Rega told her mother that she wanted to take Ghazt as her mate and join the Woodblades.¡±


    Sika sighed and shook her head. ¡°Oda wanted Rega to stay, and she was furious when she found out their mother had approved the match. By then, it was obvious that either she or Vega would be chief, and Oda demanded that she take the offer to the Woodblades as a sign of respect. She was always scheming, but I truly believe that she simply meant to sabotage the trade, rather than taking Ghazt for herself.


    ¡°Unfortunately, as soon as she saw Ghazt, she decided she wanted him for herself, so she pretended the offer was from her, not Rega. She thought that if the Woodblades wanted the prestige of having a great chief¡¯s daughter take Ghazt as mate, it wouldn¡¯t really matter which daughter it was. But Oda didn¡¯t know that among the Woodblades, the opinions of males were as important as those of females. Ghazt had been waiting for an offer from Rega, so he turned Oda down flat.¡±


    Kaz could imagine the scene all too well. A young Ghazt, excited and ready to accept an offer from the female he cared for, only to be surprised by an entirely different one. Many males might have accepted the change, would even have been glad to have a stronger, higher-ranked mate who might someday be chief, but Ghazt wasn¡¯t that type. How disappointed and angry must he have been, and what might he have said when he denied Oda to her face?


    ¡°I think that was the moment it all went wrong,¡± Sika said, eyes fixed on Gram and Chix, who were now curled up together on a messy pile of moss. ¡°Oda began to find reasons to be anywhere Ghazt was. And then, of course, Vega found out that her chief rival was courting the son of the Woodblade chief, someone who would outrank her own mate, and she decided to do something about it.¡±


    A dark premonition filled Kaz as Sika¡¯s voice fell abruptly silent. He looked over to see that her lips were clamped tightly shut, and she pushed away from the wall, refusing to look at him. Clearly, she had said something she didn¡¯t mean to, and decided it was time to find something else to do.


    ¡°Sika!¡± Kaz called after her, sensing that his time to speak to her while she thought of him as a future member of her tribe was growing short. Li and the others were approaching, and when they arrived, anything could happen.


    Reluctantly, Sika glanced back at him, and Kaz asked the one question he truly needed an answer to. ¡°Are you certain Rega was my mother? Not Oda?¡±


    Sika chuffed a laugh as she patted one of the little females on the head. ¡°Of course. I was the one who delivered you, after all.¡±

 Chapter One hundred fifty-two

    Through Li¡¯s eyes, Kaz watched as Lianhua ran past the two Magmablade warriors who had been guarding the tunnel above. One was slumped against the wall, while the other sprawled in the middle of the passage. Neither moved as the group passed, but Kaz couldn¡¯t see what had brought them down, either. He suspected Chi Yincang might have had something to do with their silent collapse.


    Not long after, they reached the male and female pair who waited just before the entrance to the stairs. The male was sprawled like the first, face up, arms splayed, but the female laid on her belly a few feet down the tunnel. It looked like she tried to run for the map, but her assailant was barely slowed by the male who was probably supposed to buy her time.


    When the entire group reached the small cave with the map roughed out on the far wall, they all stopped, staring around in consternation. Kaz had wondered if the ¡®secret¡¯ of the maps was perhaps not so secret here in the Deep, but Idla looked just as confused as the rest of her tribe members.


    Vega was held between two males, with a strong Goldcoat female stationed in front of and behind her, ready to prevent her escape, but she really hadn¡¯t made much effort to get away or even protest her treatment. Li had caught glimpses of concern on her face once or twice as they got closer, but for the most part, her confidence seemed unshaken.


    Now, she shook her arms, and when the males holding her didn¡¯t let go, she glared viciously at them before turning a triumphant smirk on Idla. ¡°Now do you believe me? This monster has taken us on a wild dengyu chase.¡±


    Idla scowled back. ¡°There¡¯s something here. How else do you explain the Magmablade guards left behind in my territory?¡±


    Vega tried to wave a hand, but failed and lifted her lip in frustration. ¡°It was ours before it was yours, Goldblade, but of course I have guards watching for more of the warped beasts your pathetic sub-tribe allowed through from the contaminated mid-levels. If these humans had simply given them time to speak, instead of slaughtering them, they would have told you the same.¡± She turned her hate-filled look on Lianhua, ignoring Raff. Chi Yincang, of course, was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Pretty sure they¡¯re not dead, just out,¡± Raff interjected cheerfully. ¡°Well, except maybe that last one.¡±


    This revelation made Vega flinch. Apparently, the guards didn¡¯t know the story they were supposed to give, so Vega was worried about what they might have to say when they woke. Even if they only refused to speak, that would confirm they had no good reason to be where they were.


    Idla didn¡¯t miss the motion, and gestured to two of the males standing beside her. ¡°Go and check. Make sure they won¡¯t die or get away, and then come back.¡± They nodded, and one of them opened the other¡¯s pack to take out a torch and firestriker. As soon as the torch was lit and the pack returned to rights, they took off down the passage.


    Vega snarled, ¡°This is still a dead end. No scent of your vanished Woodblade, and certainly no little blue puppy.¡± She looked around pointedly, eyes wide in false sincerity. ¡°Unless he¡¯s curled up in a dark corner, crying for his den mother?¡±


    Lianhua had waited patiently as the two chiefs argued. Now, she spoke up. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve seen this before,¡± she said, walking over to the map. She crouched down, examining the rough approximation of a city, and the skinny tower in the center. Tracing her fingers over it, she paused at the blue stone.


    ¡°Is this a tree?¡± she murmured, stroking the pad of her thumb across the wide, irregular circle that spread above the narrow rectangle Kaz had guessed might be a smaller version of Zhangwo¡¯s tower.


    Li finally left Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, jumping to the human¡¯s forearm. The dragon took some pleasure in the fact that her weight was enough to make Lianhua pull the arm back slightly, and Kaz decided not to tell her that it was probably only because of the surprise, not because Lianhua couldn¡¯t bear up under the pressure.


    With a touch of her snout to the stone, Li passed a bit of Kaz¡¯s blue ki from her cycle to the crystal embedded in the wall. She very much wanted to bite the ki-crystal right out of the rock, but she knew they¡¯d never get the door open without it, so reluctantly she allowed it to continue to exist.


    Lianhua straightened and stepped back as the door swiveled quietly open, but the kobolds surrounding her bridled and growled, all except for Vega. She lifted her muzzle and began to howl.


    Kaz froze as the howl echoed in both his own ears and Li¡¯s, and his head snapped around to stare at Sika. The puppies were still playing happily, but the old female was as still as Kaz, her eyes locked on the rugged stone steps that vanished up into the distance. Slowly, she turned to look at him, and her mouth began to open.


    Kaz reached for her, clamping his hand around her muzzle before she could make a sound. Looking her straight in the eyes, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep the pups safe. I promise. But if you howl and summon defenders, there will be blood.¡±


    Sika¡¯s core began to spin as she scratched at him with her long claws, but they just broke against his skin, and her eyes widened. Greatly daring, Kaz summoned a small ball of light and set it to hover just before her eyes. ¡°Please,¡± he whispered, ¡°stay silent, for everyone¡¯s sake. It¡¯s already too late to stop what¡¯s coming.¡±


    Even as he spoke, he winced internally. His words sounded terribly ominous, but he didn¡¯t know what else to say, and they were already attracting the attention of a few of the older puppies. Two males, including Shoc, were glowering at Kaz suspiciously, while standing protectively between him and the females. Gram and Chix, who had been snoozing peacefully on their moss bed, sat up and rubbed their eyes.


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    ¡°Please,¡± Kaz begged, Li showing him Raff striking the back of Vega¡¯s head with the hilt of his sword, sending her to her knees and cutting off her howl.


    Reluctantly, Sika nodded, and when Kaz carefully loosened his grasp, she murmured, ¡°For Rega.¡±


    Kaz nodded back, and as the puppies saw the two larger kobolds step apart, most of them seemed to decide it had been some kind of game, because they returned to what they¡¯d been doing. Kaz still didn¡¯t dare move any further from Sika, even though he knew the Goldblades and Goldcoats were pouring down the stairs, because she could yet startle the Magmablades and send them running. Kaz very much wanted Lianhua to read those books, and he was certain Ija wouldn¡¯t leave them for her enemies. Also, he liked the Magmablades he¡¯d met here, and if they fought, at least some of them would die.


    One by one, the puppies turned to stare up the steps as the sound of the advancing horde reached them. Raff¡¯s hard foot coverings were first and loudest, and Kaz wished the male would take them off or at least switch to something a little quieter. There was no way at least some of the adults down the tunnel wouldn¡¯t pick up the noise.


    When Raff appeared, he was like something out of the oldest howls. He held his sword high, its glow bathing his face and surroundings, layering an eerie light over his deep brown skin and casting shadows in his orange-red hair. His hair and beard had grown out so much he was almost as furry as a kobold, but his flatter face and huge size made him seem like a monster, and two of the little females managed to send wobbly ki bolts to splash uselessly against his armor.


    Raff turned toward the attack, but froze mid-swing as he took in his assailants. The largest of the puppies barely reached his knees, but they all looked at him with determination, baring their little teeth in threat.


    ¡°Leave them,¡± Kaz called. ¡°Try not to hurt anyone, but especially the pups. Just keep them from running.¡±


    Raff¡¯s gaze jumped to Kaz, and a broad grin spread over his face. He waved his sword, attempting a yip of greeting, which caused several of the puppies to shift from frightened anger to uncertainty. ¡°Hey, Blue!¡± the human called. ¡°There¡¯s a whole crowd comin¡¯ behind me, but I¡¯ll get started. Not killin¡¯ is harder than killin¡¯, but I always liked a challenge. That way?¡± He tilted his head to the tunnel mouth.


    Kaz nodded, and Raff pushed mana into his legs, bounding easily over the puppies, who stared after him, muzzles agape. Kaz glanced toward Sika. ¡°Stand with me, and I¡¯ll protect you,¡± he told her, and she nodded, her hand dipping into her pouch. She pulled out two more balls of zhitong, and they were nearly to her mouth when Kaz realized what she was doing.


    With a yelp, Kaz knocked them from her hand just as Chi Yincang¡¯s blur flashed by him, following Raff. Lianhua and the crowd of kobolds came pouring out of the darkness after him, Lianhua and Idla¡¯s light orbs announcing their presence only moments before their feet appeared.


    Kaz gripped Sika¡¯s wrist, then had to grab the other when she scrabbled for more zhitong with her left hand. She wasn¡¯t even pretending this time, just trying to shove what had to be her entire supply of the potent painkiller into her mouth at once, and Kaz spun around behind her, already regretting the amount of force he had to use to pull both arms back, passing his own left arm through her elbows and holding them in place.


    Something buffeted his ear, and then he felt a comforting weight settle onto his shoulder, and glanced over to see Li sitting there. She wrapped her tail around his neck snugly, and hissed at the old kobold he had captured. She didn¡¯t appreciate the way Sika had made Kaz feel, and she wasn¡¯t above letting the female know about it.


    Lianhua hurried to Kaz¡¯s side as well, but Kaz focused on Idla. She was the one who would decide how much blood would be shed today, and he wanted it to be as little as possible.


    Idla was already waving forward the combined force of Goldblades and Goldcoats who had followed her. Several males had corralled the puppies, and Kaz barked furiously as one of them kicked out toward Gram, pushing him back as he snapped at the male¡¯s paw.


    ¡°Leave them! The puppies are innocent, and so are most of the kobolds in this den. They have a great deal to tell us. Don¡¯t kill them!¡± Kaz glanced toward Idla. ¡°And don¡¯t let them kill themselves. They may have poison.¡±


    Vega twitched where she hung between two males, and Kaz saw her eyes come up to stare at him, utter hatred burning in their dark blue depths. Her core compressed within her, then expanded and compressed again, each cycle of her ki building up higher and higher. She was getting ready to do something, and if Kaz didn¡¯t want this to turn into a massacre, he had to stop her.


    Kaz thrust Sika into Lianhua¡¯s arms, where the elderly kobold began to thrash. He ignored her, however, all of his attention on the fire building inside Vega. It was fire, too, red ki flaring into a brilliant coruscation, and the males holding her both yelped as their skin and fur began to burn. Instinctively, they released her, shying away from the pain, as the females nearby realized that something was wrong and shields shimmered into place around them.


    Kaz pushed ki into his legs and dove for Vega, tackling her to the ground just as she released her power. Intuitively, Kaz pulled on his own ki, yanking it from his central dantian so quickly that his channels ached as it passed through. Li helped him pull it apart, taking out just the colors they needed.


    Black and white ki froze in the presence of red, and Vega was producing more than enough red at the moment. Kaz imagined a monochrome bubble forming around Vega, then clamping down tightly, snug against her skin. This shell met the expanding wave of heat, and when the two came together a loud crack resounded through the cavern.


    Kaz felt a fierce wave of frigid air burst away from Vega¡¯s body, pushing against him, but he hung on. His fingers went numb with cold, and his panting breaths painted plumes of fog in the air. In his hands, Vega was utterly still, and when Kaz blinked the ice crystals from his lashes, he found that he was staring into her face, muzzle half open in a last howl of fury or defiance.


    Around him, everyone was silent, staring until Kaz slowly sank back on his haunches. The skin of his hands was frozen to Vega, trying to tear away from his flesh as he struggled to release her. With a final yank, he pulled away, only his refined body keeping skin whole, but when he did, pieces of Vega came with him.


    Horrified, he watched as frozen red fur split away from frozen red flesh, and then an expanding web of cracks shot away from the small divots left by his touch. Shards tinkled to the ground, at first a few small pieces, and then a single larger chunk fell and shattered. The remainder of her body split in half, each piece falling to the side, only to explode into splinters as it impacted the ground.


    When everything that was left of Vega Magmablade lay scattered over the stone, only a flickering red core remained in front of Kaz, rocking gently back and forth.

 Chapter One hundred fifty-three

    Before anyone else could react, Kaz scooped up the core. It felt hot in his too-cold hand, and for a moment, the urge to eat it was nearly overwhelming. At the thought, however, a wave of bile rose up, pushing against the roof of his mouth and forestalling any attempt to give in to the desire.


    Kaz tossed the core, and dozens of pairs of eyes watched it as it soared through the air, landing neatly in Lianhua¡¯s cupped palm. She blinked down at it, bemused, until Kaz said roughly, ¡°Put it in your pouch. Please.¡±


    Looking up, then around at all the hungry eyes locked on the gleaming red sphere, Lianhua quickly tucked the core into her pouch before returning both hands to Sika¡¯s shoulders. Kaz walked slowly back to her, his legs shaking beneath him, and the last bits of Vega dripping from his fingers as they melted. He had used every bit of black and white ki he had, and he felt intensely off balance even as his core struggled to replace what he had lost.


    Swallowing hard against the taste of vomit and the smell of blood that was beginning to fill the cavern, Kaz looked at Idla. ¡°I know you hate the Magmablades,¡± he told her, ¡°but spare these, at least as many as you can, and I¡¯ll give you Vega¡¯s core.¡± He had seen the avaricious look she, along with every other adult female, had given it, but to his astonishment, she shook her head.


    ¡°That core won¡¯t do me any good.¡± She looked frustrated but resigned as she spoke. ¡°The best thing we can do is destroy it, along with the rest of the Magmablades, but¡­¡± She stared at Kaz for so long that everyone else fell silent, and the only sound was the soft whimpering of puppies and howls drifting from the tunnel behind Sika.


    Idla nodded, just once, and motioned to her people. ¡°Do it. Spare everyone you can, but not at the risk of your own lives. Let no one escape to warn the rest of the Magmablades if you can help it.¡±


    There had to be at least fifty yellow-furred kobolds standing on the stairs and crowded into the small cavern, and they all nodded at once. The warriors threw their heads back and howled, holding their weapons high as they charged down the tunnel, followed by shielded females, each with a ball of power already forming near an outthrust hand.


    Idla looked back at Kaz, then, slowly, bowed her head, chief to chief. Kaz¡¯s eyes widened as she said, ¡°There have been no Woodblades in the Deep for far too long. Welcome home.¡±


    Kaz took an involuntary step back, his hand going to his throat, where it found Li¡¯s soft, scaled tail resting comfortably. ¡°I¡¯m no Woodblade,¡± he told her. ¡°I¡¯m just-¡±


    She snorted, her eyes flickering to the expanding crimson pool of what used to be Vega. ¡°You have their blue fur, and their strength. That¡¯s all you need, at least for now. The Deep is broken without all five tribes. We desperately need a Woodblade, and soon.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m a male. And a puppy.¡±


    Another snort. ¡°At least a quarter of the Woodblade chiefs have been male,¡± she told him, as if it was common knowledge, ¡°and you¡¯re no more a puppy than Berin is.¡±


    A howl rang down the tunnel, long and exultant, and everyone turned to peer down into the darkness. Idla¡¯s lip lifted, and she looked back at Kaz. ¡°Let me give you your first gift, Woodblade. May it bring peace between our tribes.¡±


    She turned as if to leave, but Kaz hesitated, making her pause as well. Kaz looked at the puppies, most of whom were cowering, terrified, while a few others held their ground between the invaders and their friends, tiny teeth bared, and hackles raised.


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave these puppies here,¡± Kaz murmured, taking in the increasingly gory scene.


    Idla frowned. It was clear that the idea didn¡¯t bother her as much as it did Kaz, but she did seem uncomfortable as one of the pups backed away from the spreading pool.


    ¡°We can put them in a hut in the main den,¡± Kaz suggested, but she still looked unconvinced. It only took a moment of thought to realize why: if things were going badly, the den might be no better than here, and it was possible there weren¡¯t any huts left fit to serve the purpose.


    Just then, approaching claws announced another kobold¡¯s presence, and a soft yip of greeting caused Idla¡¯s guards to relax. A young female appeared, her yellow fur as clean as if she hadn¡¯t just come from a battle. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± she said, bowing to Idla. ¡°The humans are¡­¡± Her voice trailed off, and her eyes were wide with awe.


    ¡°The black-clothed male has a dust that put most of the Magmablades to sleep. They never even knew he was there before they began to fall.¡± She waved a hand, mimicking someone collapsing, then repeated the gesture several times. ¡°We barely had to do anything, and the other human is complaining that he hardly got to hit anybody.¡±


    Kaz felt his shoulders slump in relief, and beside him, Sika, still in Lianhua¡¯s firm grasp, let out a low whine. Straightening again, Kaz looked at Idla. ¡°The puppies can go in a hut,¡± he said firmly. ¡°They¡¯ll be safe there, and if they see their families are unharmed, they won¡¯t be so frightened.¡±


    Idla nodded, looking at one of her guards. ¡°Bring them,¡± she told him, but Sika spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get them,¡± the old female said, and for the first time she sounded her age. ¡°They know me, and they¡¯ll listen.¡± Turning to the terrified puppies, she gave a sharp, commanding bark, and all of them looked at her as if they¡¯d only just realized she was there.


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    The fragile little male, Chix, was actually the first to respond, taking a few steps toward Sika. Gram tried to hold him back, but seemed wary of hurting his friend, and in the end chose to accompany him instead. The other puppies followed, a few at first, and then all the rest, in a group, keeping wary eyes on the strange adults surrounding them. The bigger pups helped the little ones, who only wanted to curl up on the ground and whimper, and soon the puppies were crowded around Sika¡¯s paws.


    Cautiously, Lianhua released the old female, but not before Kaz removed the pouch from her belt. There wasn¡¯t much zhitong left in it, but he wasn¡¯t taking any chances. If Sika would still talk to him, he had a great many questions yet to ask her, and he didn¡¯t want her joining the ancestors before he got a chance.


    Sika started to pick Chix up, but she was shaking so badly that she nearly dropped him, light as he was. Kaz caught the little puppy, who first resisted, and then clung to Kaz fiercely. Kaz was shocked to feel a tiny tug on his ki from where the pup was tucked up against his chest, as if Chix was trying to take some of his ki, but didn¡¯t quite know how.


    Kaz knew it was probably foolish, especially since he was still trying to recover from his recent exertion, but the puppy was so weak and pitiful that he couldn¡¯t help it. He fed a tiny thread of ki into Chix¡¯s cycle, cutting it off before it reached the puppy¡¯s core. He didn¡¯t want to accidentally bind the young kobold to him, just see if he could help.


    Instantly, the ki filled Chix¡¯s empty channels, and the puppy sighed in relief as his core drank it in. The small gray ball in his belly brightened slightly, turning a little more blue. Kaz frowned, looking down at Chix as the puppy leaned against him, fists balled in Kaz¡¯s fur. Chix¡¯s core was barely spinning, even with the infusion of ki, and the miniscule trickle it produced was just enough to keep the little body going. Kaz could see that some of the smaller channels that should be feeding his organs, especially his heart, seemed to be atrophying. If this continued, there was no way the puppy would live much longer.


    Kaz felt something, and looked down to see Gram gnawing fiercely at his calf. The little teeth weren¡¯t doing anything more than pulling out some of Kaz¡¯s new-grown fur, but Kaz reached down and picked up the puppy by the scruff of his neck, holding him out as the little arms and legs flailed.


    ¡°Put Chix down!¡± Gram squeaked, barely able to speak while he dangled in Kaz¡¯s grasp.


    Kaz shifted Chix in his other arm, turning the pup¡¯s head so Gram could see that his friend was merely asleep, relaxed and warm in his spot burrowed against Kaz¡¯s chest. Kaz gave the pup another small burst of ki, and the narrow ribs swelled as Chix drew in a deep breath, a faint trace of pink color coming to his lips and the edges of his ears.


    ¡°He¡¯s all right,¡± Kaz said softly. ¡°I think I know why he¡¯s sick, and I¡¯d like to help him, if I can.¡±


    Gram hung loosely, muzzle wide as he stared at his friend. Big blue eyes turned to Kaz. ¡°Are you a healer?¡±


    Leaning down, Kaz set the puppy¡¯s paws back on the ground, then crouched in front of him. ¡°I know a little healing,¡± Kaz admitted. ¡°My¡­ mother taught me.¡±


    A few more of the puppies crowded in, curious eyes staring at the sleeping Chix, cradled in Kaz¡¯s arms. Li mantled slightly, hissing at them, but there was no fear in their eyes as they stared back.


    ¡°Then you should help Chix feel better,¡± Gram said firmly. ¡°I like playing with him. He always has the best ideas for new games.¡±


    Kaz chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± He patted Gram on the head and stood back up, to find all of the others staring at him. Lianhua was smiling warmly, but the kobolds¡¯ faces held such a complex mixture of expressions that Kaz couldn¡¯t even identify all of them. Idla¡¯s was one of the most difficult. Some part of it was definitely calculation, but there was also something resembling hope that Kaz found strangely disturbing.


    Sika, on the other hand, was simple. She bowed deeply, nearly toppling over when she tried to stand back up. Kaz set his free hand under her arm, supporting her, and she stared up with a look that was almost reverent. Then the expression vanished, and she looked down the dark tunnel.


    ¡°Pups, follow,¡± she said, giving the soft yip of an adult calling for her pup. All of the little ones fell into line, and she, Kaz, and Lianhua led the way down the short tunnel.


    As soon as they started moving, Li twisted her head around to stare at Kaz accusingly. She sent him an image of herself, glorious and gleaming, flying through the air with long strokes of her graceful wings.


    Kaz smiled. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re beautiful,¡± he told her. It had been a long time since he saw her without at least the haze of the fuergar illusion surrounding her. Her scales were even shinier than he remembered, and the first flush of sapphire, moonstone, and obsidian edged the tips of her wings and tail. When she insisted on removing the ring as her reward for participating in what she saw as an unnecessarily dangerous plan, Kaz had been reluctant, but in the end, it was her choice.


    A picture of one of the fulan-spawned monsters, which Zhangwo called shiyan, formed beside the image of the magnificent dragon, along with a sense of deep affront. The monster had six legs, each from a different creature, along with four slavering maws, all of which held a wild array of teeth that gnashed as drool flowed like water.


    Kaz shook his head slightly. ¡°No, no one really thinks you¡¯re a shiyan. Vega just said that because she wanted them to attack you.¡±


    Li sniffed and lifted one wing to preen her glittering scales. She knew that no one could possibly mistake her perfection for one of those twisted beasts, but she just wanted to make sure he knew as well.


    As the tunnel gave way to the main cavern, which was now much darker, thanks to the fact that the females who had been controlling the lights now lay slumped on the ground, Kaz sent Li all of his gratitude and admiration. Without her, his plan never would have succeeded, and if he ever found this place, it would have been at the cost of far more violence.


    Li accepted his thanks as her due, and the two turned their attention forward as Raff came up to greet them, his sword already back in its sheath, and his grin a little more lop-sided than usual.


    ¡°Oi, Lianhua,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ll never guess what we found.¡±

 Chapter One hundred fifty-four

    Lianhua wanted all the books. She lamented that she couldn¡¯t fit them all in her pouch, and then she struggled with her conscience, which told her that these were the treasures of another people, and she couldn¡¯t take them even if they would fit. Still, she fidgeted from foot to foot in front of the open-sided hut, her gaze flickering between the shelves and the male standing in front of her.


    ¡°Two hours?¡± she asked, glancing around at the rows of bodies the Goldblades and Goldcoats had spent the last several minutes gathering.


    Chi Yincang nodded, but his dark eyes seemed to twinkle as they watched her. ¡°Great Lord Long gave me the best supplies in order to protect you,¡± he said solemnly. ¡°The soporific I used will last two to three hours, at least.¡±


    Kaz had expected a simple ¡®yes¡¯, so he was startled when full sentences and an explanation came from the male¡¯s mouth. It seemed that Lianhua had managed to unlock at least part of his ability to speak when she rejected Gaoda and then refused to allow Chi Yincang to quietly take over.


    Lianhua seemed almost as surprised as Kaz, blinking several times as she took in the words. After a moment, she simply said, ¡°All right,¡± and Chi Yincang stepped back into a shadow, ¡®vanishing¡¯ instantly. Both Lianhua and Kaz knew he was still there, Lianhua because she could sense his ki, and Kaz because he could see it, but Lianhua muttered, ¡°Yingtao was right. Yingtao is always right,¡± and shook her head.


    Kaz tilted his head curiously, but didn¡¯t ask. He was becoming more and more convinced that Chi Yincang used his bland facade to tease others without them realizing he was doing it, and if so, asking what Lianhua meant while he was still within hearing distance would only encourage him.


    Instead, Kaz stepped past Lianhua and took out the book Ija claimed had belonged to Rega. Ija told him that once he took a mate and joined the Magmablades, she would teach him to read it, but there was no way that was going to happen. He was going to learn to read, but in the meantime, he knew someone who would do it for him.


    ¡°I was told this book belonged to my mother,¡± he said. ¡°Can you tell me what it says?¡±


    Lianhua accepted it, looking intrigued. ¡°This was Oda¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Rega¡¯s. She was my real mother.¡± Warmth filled him as he was finally able to repudiate the female who had insulted and rejected him his entire life, and instead claim the one who had helped him when he was hurt, and taught him almost everything good he knew.


    Amethyst eyes opening wide, Lianhua turned to the first page of the book. It was filled with neat, careful runes, each one precisely drawn, as if the writer was afraid of making a single error. Lianhua¡¯s fingers hovered over the page as she sat on the ground with a thump, her robes twisted around her. Usually, she would straighten them so they fell in graceful folds, but this time she ignored it, her eyes tracing over the words.


    When she didn¡¯t say anything, Kaz realized he had lost her to the runes and sighed, pressing down his impatience. He should have known this would happen. Lianhua entirely lacked self-awareness when she found something that fascinated her, and the things that fascinated her most were written words.


    Kaz looked up at the distinctive sound of Raff¡¯s approaching footsteps, and stared at the large human. He had volunteered to help gather the fallen Magmablade kobolds, so the Goldblades could go search the nearby area for gatherers, guards, and anyone who might be trying to flee or hide. At first, Raff had carefully carried the unconscious kobolds one by one, but now he just tucked them under his arms like so many yumi reeds, and this time he had four under each arm.


    ¡°Can ya help me out here, Blue?¡± he asked plaintively. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna drop ¡®em on their heads.¡±


    Kaz chuffed a laugh and reached out to take the first kobold, laying the purple-furred male on the ground next to another one with fur of a similar color. He was helping Raff separate the males and females, since the human still couldn¡¯t tell them apart. They were hoping that if they weren¡¯t together when they woke, each group would be willing to listen before attacking, if only to protect the other group. A male guarding a female couldn¡¯t be convinced to stop until he was dead or too injured to continue, so keeping them apart was the best chance they had to keep things peaceful, at least until they found Ija.


    Kaz looked at each kobold as he laid them out, finding none familiar. He had hoped to see Ija and Qhurg among the fallen, but so far there was no sign of them. All of the huts had been checked, and most, if not all, of the sleeping kobolds retrieved. It looked more and more like Ija had run as soon as she realized they were under attack, and when Kaz saw the gap on the bookshelves where the oldest books once stood, he realized why.


    Once the last kobold was laid out, resting as comfortably as Kaz could arrange, he looked up at Raff, shaking his head. ¡°Still not them.¡±


    Raff sighed, running his hand through his hair so it stood up wildly. At Kaz¡¯s look, he sighed again, even more deeply, and smoothed it back down. ¡°I thought for sure that one was her,¡± he said, pointing to a male with bright red fur.


    When Kaz looked more closely, he thought this one might have been one of the guards who brought him here, but since their scents had been suppressed, it was hard to be certain. ¡°That¡¯s a male,¡± he told Raff. ¡°Look.¡± Crouching beside the warrior, he touched the necklace half-hidden by the long fur around his throat.


    ¡°When males go on their spirit hunts, they gather trophies of teeth and bones. When they return to the tribe, those trophies are made into beads for their necklace, and they wear the same ones for the rest of their lives. If a necklace is broken in battle, they can replace it in part or whole, but only with the exact same kind of bones and teeth.¡±


    Standing, he walked over to a female, pointing at the necklace around her throat. ¡°A female goes on her spirit hunt when she¡¯s younger, and she¡¯s not expected to kill anything but what she needs to eat or defend herself. Her hunt is more about accessing the power within her, growing comfortable with depending on it, than it is about proving her strength and skill. When she returns, she may have some trophies, but mostly she gathers things that have meaning to her. These may be stones or gems, or even certain kinds of plants. She gets the tribe totem, but otherwise, her necklace is usually made up of shiny, polished stone beads, or gems.¡±


    Raff¡¯s eyes sparked with interest. ¡°Gems, huh?¡± He looked around at the females, who were separated from the males by several feet. ¡°I don¡¯t see any gems, though.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears twitched. These were females from the Deep, where gems could be found without much effort, though most of the ones in areas commonly used by kobolds had been taken for this exact purpose by now. Almost all of these females wore several gems made into beads and strung onto their necklaces.


    Crouching, he pointed to a particularly large bead made of gray stone mingled with bluish and red veins. ¡°This is turquoise,¡± he told Raff. ¡°These pink ones are spinel, and the greenish-gray ones are emeralds.¡±


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Raff¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°But they¡¯re all just dusty an¡¯ gray. Gems are supposed to be,¡± he waggled his fingers before finishing lamely, ¡°sparkly.¡±


    Kaz grinned, tail wagging slightly as he stood. ¡°That¡¯s only when they¡¯re cut and polished. Some gems look a bit like that, even when they¡¯ve just been mined, but most of them just look like slightly more colorful rocks if you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing.¡±


    Suddenly, Raff¡¯s expression darkened, and he smacked one armored fist into the other palm, making a loud clanking sound. ¡°Those Pellis-cursed miners tricked us!¡±


    ¡°Miners?¡± Kaz asked, confused at the sudden shift in Raff¡¯s attitude.


    Raff ground his teeth, then let out a deep sigh. ¡°An¡¯ we fell for it, fair and square,¡± he muttered, shaking his head. Looking back at Kaz, he explained. ¡°Had a crew of miners hire us for protection two, three years ago. They said we could have ten percent of whatever they found, or twenty gold, whichever we wanted. It was one day¡¯s work, and the wages were a little low, but my buddy and I figured, why not? Maybe they¡¯d get lucky, and so would we.


    ¡°Turns out, the spot they wanted to mine was way down in a cave system, with a whole nest o¡¯ screechers guarding it. Ah, that¡¯s janjio to you. I wasn¡¯t as strong then as I am now, and we had a heck of a time getting through. The miners didn¡¯t care though, just dug in with their pickaxes like they¡¯d never be back, and when we left, they showed us their haul. Mostly copper and iron ore, but there were a bunch of these dull-lookin¡¯ colored rocks in there. They said we could take any ten percent we wanted, or they¡¯d straight up give us our gold. Of course, we took the gold, since everyone knows it¡¯s worth more than copper or iron.¡±


    Not as far as Kaz was concerned, but he let Raff finish.


    ¡°A few days later, we heard they hit it rich. Found a bunch o¡¯ gems, and they were set for life. We figured they must have gone out again after our little trip, while we were too busy recovering from getting beat up by the screechers. But now, I think those rocks must¡¯ve been gems, and Miles and I just didn¡¯t know enough to tell.¡±


    Kaz winced. That sounded entirely too possible. It was hard to cut gems so they glittered, so most females didn¡¯t bother. They were pretty enough once they were smoothed out, and if they were cut the wrong way, they could shatter or crack, so it generally wasn¡¯t worth it. Still, all gatherers learned how to recognize minerals and gems as part of their training, because they were pretty, and many females used them as adornments or sewed them onto packs, loincloths, or belts.


    Clearing his throat, Kaz looked around pointedly. ¡°Are all of the Magmablades here now?¡± he asked.


    Raff snorted a laugh at this change in topic, but nodded. ¡°That batch was the last of ¡®em. Good thing, too. I was getting tired of hauling ¡®em out of your tiny little huts. Much more, and I just would have started taking off the roofs to get inside.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened as he stared up at Raff. The human was at least two feet taller than Kaz himself, which put him more than a foot above the highest roof in the den, and Kaz was certain that Raff could do exactly that if he wanted to.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t,¡± Kaz said. ¡°This seems like a good den, and I hope these kobolds will be able to stay, once a new chief is selected.¡± He doubted it, especially since Idla claimed this was Goldblade territory now, but it would be terrifying to wake from unconsciousness to find half of your den had been dismantled while you slept.


    Both males looked up as a tiny but ferocious roar echoed through the den, seeing Li swooping and flying high overhead. The ceiling was a good twenty feet up, unusually high for kobolds, since it would be difficult to reach any lopo who tried to move in, but not only did this tribe have many strong females, as far as Kaz knew, no lopo remained in the Deep. This meant that the dragon had plenty of room to explore her new freedom, and she was taking advantage of it.


    Raff shook his head in amazement. ¡°Was I the only one who didn¡¯t know?¡± he asked, looking up at the dragon swooping and diving above them.


    Kaz shrugged, not even pretending to misunderstand. ¡°Gaoda didn¡¯t, and I honestly don¡¯t know about Chi Yincang. Lianhua guessed, and gave me the ring that made her look like a fuergar.¡±


    ¡°Her?¡± Raff asked, lifting a brow.


    Kaz nodded firmly. ¡°Her name is Li. She¡¯s¡­ we¡¯re bound, somehow. I saved her life when she was still in the egg. She was too weak to hatch on her own, I think. Then I fed her, took care of her, and we saved each other, more than once. She¡¯s my friend.¡±


    ¡°And you can use magic,¡± Raff said, the second brow joining the first.


    Sighing, Kaz nodded again. ¡°I can. I thought it was strange, since male kobolds don¡¯t usually have power, but Idla said some of the Woodblade chiefs were even male, and I know now that my father was a Woodblade.¡± He gave a rough laugh. ¡°I hid my power because I thought I¡¯d be killed as a monster if anyone found out, but it turns out I was more likely to be stolen and forced to take a mate.¡±


    Raff clapped a hand on Kaz¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I understand that more than ya might guess, my friend,¡± he said, smiling wryly. ¡°Was Lianhua the only one to guess that, too? With her little-¡± He waggled his fingers by his ear for some reason, but Kaz knew he meant Lianhua¡¯s ability to sense ki, even when it was hidden.


    ¡°She did, but I¡¯m certain Chi Yincang knew as well. I used ki to help Lianhua when she was poisoned by the lopo, and I think he figured it out then. Gaoda definitely didn¡¯t know, though,¡± Kaz told him.


    ¡°Ki, huh?¡± Raff said, rubbing his chin. ¡°Guess it makes sense you¡¯d use their words, since you¡¯ve been talking to Lianhua about it. I still think magic and mana make a lot more sense than all this ki, and cultivation, and refinement business. This lot make everything more complicated than it has to be, though. You either got magic, or you don¡¯t, and if you use it, you get better until you can¡¯t anymore.¡±


    That was interesting, since Kaz didn¡¯t really know much about how pure mana worked. Raff might well be right, but the human had no way of knowing that what he used and what Kaz used were the same but also very, very different.


    Kaz looked down from his happy dragon friend, meeting Raff¡¯s gaze. He had one question he needed answered, and this was as good a time as any to ask it.


    ¡°You¡¯re not angry?¡±


    Raff immediately shook his head, then hesitated, but shook it again, more slowly this time. ¡°Maybe a little, at first. Mostly because I felt like a fool for not figuring it out. But really, who would guess that the kobold they were traveling with managed to make friends with a dragon, of all things? Plus, you said it yourself: male kobolds don¡¯t have magic. I¡¯ve only run into a few tribes outside Mount Scarabus, and if you don¡¯t mind me saying so, the warriors are little better than animals. They can barely hold a stick, much less use tactics. The females are much smarter, but their cores are almost always these little gray pebbles, not like that monster ruby inside the Magmablade.¡±


    Pursing his lips, Raff let out a long, low whistle. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what that thing would be worth. Haven¡¯t seen a core that large and clear since I participated in a wyvern eradication a year or so ago.¡±


    That surprised Kaz. Vega had certainly been strong, but Idla was just as powerful, and even Sika wasn¡¯t that much weaker. In fact, two of the females lying on the ground in front of them were strong enough to be chiefs in any other tribe, and most of the rest could lead a tribe in the heights. None of the adult males had a core, but even little Gram was as strong or stronger than the females Kaz was used to.


    ¡°Only very weak tribes leave the mountain,¡± Kaz told Raff, but he was beginning to believe there was something more at play here. The only ¡®gray¡¯ core he had ever noticed was inside Chix, and he was certain by now that it looked like that because it wasn¡¯t producing enough ki to support itself. Was it possible that every female who left the mountain had such a poorly-functioning core, or did something happen to make their cores, or perhaps the cores of their descendants, break down over time?


    Li trilled a high sweet tone that sounded like the chime of a bell just as Lianhua looked up from her book. The human female¡¯s expression was alight in a way Kaz had never seen it before, and she grinned as she said, ¡°Kaz, this is it! There¡¯s no doubt now. The Diushi were here, and after they left Sheng!¡±

 Chapter One hundred fifty-five

    Kaz and Raff both stared at her, and even Li swooped down a little closer, though she didn¡¯t land on Kaz¡¯s shoulder. Lianhua continued grinning with a kind of wild glee as she stood, clutching the book tightly. Instead of explaining, however, she handed the book to Kaz with clear reluctance, then took out the next book on the shelf, opening it to the first page. Book after book she removed, then slid back into place with reverent hands, becoming more careful as the books grew older. Finally, she put one crumbling tome back on the shelf and looked up at the same gap Kaz had noticed.


    ¡°They took it,¡± she murmured, her expression going from elation to despair in the space of a single heartbeat. ¡°Why did they take it? Them? Definitely them. That gap is too large for one book. That means two, perhaps three volumes filled with-¡± Her muttering continued as she reached up and began to pull fitfully at her hair, causing the smooth surface to fray and split.


    ¡°What?¡± Kaz finally asked, unable to hold back the questions any longer.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes flickered to him, blinked, then focused. ¡°Oh. Oh! Kaz!¡± Pink rose beneath her pale skin in a way that Kaz now knew meant that she was embarrassed. Holding out her hand, Lianhua gestured for the book Kaz was holding and, with as much reluctance as she had handed it to him, he gave it back.


    She flipped open the first page, showing him the clear, careful writing there, then turned the book and gave it back to him, still open. Pulling out another book, apparently at random, she opened it as well, then stepped up beside him, holding the two books side by side.


    Kaz heard Li coming before she landed on his pack with a soft thump. She immediately moved to the shoulder on the same side Lianhua was standing, glaring at the human, who just looked bemused and leaned away slightly. This pleased the dragon, who settled down with a soft series of hissing clicks, eyes darker than usual as she stared at Lianhua.


    Lianhua cleared her throat, amusement lifting some of the disappointment from her face. ¡°Look at the runes,¡± she said, her finger touching the symbols in her book. These weren¡¯t nearly as neat as Rega¡¯s, with visible smudges and even a fingerprint or two recorded for posterity. Lianhua wrinkled her nose, eyeing the page, but said, ¡°The first several pages in every book are the same, just with different handwriting. This is a fairly common thing in certain parts of the world, where children are taught to read and write by copying a source text. In this case, the Magmablades seem to have copied the story passed down by their first chief.¡±


    Her voice shifted, growing slightly deeper, enunciating each word precisely. ¡°My true name is Tiyang Long, now called Tegra Magmablade. I was a princess, then a captive, and now a monster, and this is the true story of how those called ¡®kobolds¡¯ came to be.¡±


    Lianhua looked up. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m guessing that this rune means kobold. I don¡¯t know if she made it up, or if she learned it from someone, but it¡¯s based on the rune for, um, ¡®servant¡¯, but with an extra ascending radical-¡± She saw the looks on their faces, and the pink flush returned to her cheeks. ¡°And you don¡¯t care. Let¡¯s just say that I¡¯m fairly certain this means kobold, based on later context.¡±


    Both Kaz and Raff were looking more and more impatient, so almost tentatively, Lianhua asked, ¡°Should I just¡­ summarize?¡±


    Even Li nodded vigorously, and Lianhua giggled, then looked even more embarrassed at having produced such a sound. ¡°Yes, well,¡± she said, ¡°basically, Tiyang Long was one of the last princesses of the Diushi Empire. We have extensive records of all the direct lines of descent from every emperor except the first and the fifth, and Tiyang was actually the sister of the last emperor. She was among those who were listed as lost when the Diushi vanished.¡±


    Raff held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning t¡¯ ask you about this, Lianhua. You keep sayin¡¯ these Diushi ¡®vanished¡¯, but what does that mean? Obviously, your nation is still there, along with a buncha others who say they used to be part of the Diushi Empire, too. So what happened that made a whole Empire fall apart?¡±


    Lianhua gave a pained smile. ¡°If I could tell you that, there would be no mystery. According to the records that remain, everyone who lived outside the emperor¡¯s palace simply woke up one day to find it empty. The emperor, his family, all of his brothers, sisters, even unmarried aunts and uncles, along with hundreds or thousands of servants, soldiers, and courtiers just disappeared. The treasury was empty, and a number of invaluable works of art were gone as well, which made them think it was an elaborate theft and hostage plot at first, but the Emperor and his guards were all at least mid-Iron and in the Core Formation stage of cultivation, and there was no sign that anyone even tried to fight back or run away.¡±


    Raff¡¯s eyebrows lifted. ¡°Just, ¡®poof¡¯, gone?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Just like that. And of course without a direct line of leadership or money, those remaining instantly turned on each other. At first it was subtle; otherwise healthy people dying of ¡®heart attacks¡¯ or ¡®severe indigestion¡¯. Then the nobles sent out their private military forces to ¡®keep the peace¡¯, and those who were wise fled to the countryside. The capital city burned to the ground within a month of the emperor¡¯s disappearance.¡±


    ¡°Wise? Like your family?¡± Kaz asked. Lianhua tried to brush off her connection to the ancient emperors, but she had the same tribe name as they did.


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°In a way. The leader of the Long clan at the time was the grandson of the ninth emperor. His wife was expecting their first child, so he decided to take her away from the fighting. He stayed until the birth, by which time the worst was over, and there was nothing to go back to.¡±


    She lifted the book, pointedly turning the topic back to the story written there. ¡°Tiyang Long was among those who vanished that night, and she says that when she woke, it was to find a bracelet locked onto her wrist.¡±


    Absently, Lianhua reached up to touch her own neck, tracing the scars that marred the once-perfect column of her throat, then firmed her expression as she returned her hand to the book. ¡°Over time, the air in the room where Tiyang was held was gradually filled with more and more of a red powder. She tried not to breathe it, but the bracelet prevented her ki from cycling properly, so she couldn¡¯t form a shield. She was left there, completely alone, without food, the only water a stream that trickled from the rock. Then, after what she believed to be three or four days, an animal fell from the ceiling.¡±


    Now, Lianhua turned to give Kaz a look filled with deep compassion. ¡°That beast was a sort of canine, one she¡¯d never seen before. It was too large for a dog, or even a wolf, and its eyes were filled with madness. Tiyang had a knife, and all of the emperor¡¯s family were taught martial skills, so when it attacked her, she fought back, and won. Then she was overcome by a hunger such as she had never felt before, and ate the beast, sickened by her own actions even as she tore it to pieces. When she found its core, she ate that, too, and was overtaken by pain.¡±


    Lianhua sounded almost reluctant as she went on. ¡°When she woke, she was, in her own words, a ¡®monster¡¯. She had humanoid hands and torso, but her legs were those of the creature she killed and ate. She was covered in fur, had a tail, and, though she couldn¡¯t see herself, she could feel that she had a muzzle, and the fur covered her face and neck as well.¡±


    Carefully, Lianhua closed the book. ¡°I think she went a little mad herself, then. She didn¡¯t remember much for a while after that, except that she tried to kill herself, but a human came and stopped her. They used the bracelet, forcing her to obey their commands, and she was given some kind of potion. After that, everything played out as if it was a terrible dream, and when she woke again, it was to find herself surrounded by other creatures much like herself. They called her ¡®Tegra Magmablade¡¯, and when she tried to tell them her true name, she found that her throat closed on the words. The bracelet was gone, but it had been replaced by a necklace that she couldn¡¯t bring herself to remove.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Together, all of their eyes turned to look at the necklaces around the throats of the kobolds lined up on the floor behind them. Each was different, but bore many similarities as well, and Kaz wondered if the tradition of creating and wearing them was based on something that had been forced on their ancestors unknown generations before.


    ¡°Tegra spent the rest of her life here,¡± Lianhua said, voice rough. ¡°She took a mate, and bore puppies, but she couldn¡¯t speak of her story. Everyone else, including the other chiefs, seemed to believe that they had all been born in the mountain, descended from many kobolds who came before, but everything seemed too new for that. It wasn¡¯t until she was old that she figured out how to get around the restrictions built into the necklace, and the continuing commands she received from a voice that entered her head and told her what to do. The story written here, and copied by every Magmablade chief since, is her final defiance. The last lines are-¡±


    Lianhua opened the book again, turning several pages filled with script that grew progressively less legible, then grimaced and put that book back, taking Rega¡¯s book from Kaz instead. Unlike the other, Rega¡¯s handwriting remained clear and perfect, and Lianhua cleared her throat and read, ¡°Destroy those who think they can command the blood of the Diushi Emperor. Tear out their throats, and leave this cursed place.¡±


    Silence fell, and when Lianhua closed the book again, the soft thump of the cover falling shut seemed far louder than it had any right to be.


    Raff was the first to speak. ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like any princess I ever heard of.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Princesses in Holiander are supposed to learn to dance, embroider, speak a dozen languages, handle all the backroom politics, an¡¯ look pretty while they do it. They definitely don¡¯t go around rippin¡¯ anyone¡¯s throat out or eatin¡¯ monster dogs raw. Uh, no offense, Blue.¡±


    Kaz looked up and realized they were looking at him, and waved it off. ¡°We¡¯d already guessed part of this,¡± he said, resigned to the fact that everything he thought he knew about his own people was a lie. The dragon on his shoulder rubbed her head against his cheek, and he managed a crooked smile as he reached up and stroked her neck.


    He looked up at Lianhua, taking a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m glad you found your proof, Lianhua, but what else does the book say?¡±


    Lianhua flinched. ¡°What¡­ else?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Ija told me each chief copied Tegra¡¯s book, or at least the first part of it, then filled the rest of the book with their own words.¡± He ignored the look of rekindled excitement when she heard that this might not be all of the story, and went on. ¡°So what does it say about Rega, Oda, and Ghazt?¡±


    Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°Kaz, I think it might be better to wait until you can-¡±


    ¡°Summarize it,¡± he said. ¡°Please.¡±


    The human female looked down, loose tendrils of hair falling around her face. ¡°There were some runes I¡¯m not sure of. That¡¯s not unexpected. A closed culture like this would be expected to drift linguistically, especially-¡±


    ¡°Lianhua,¡± Kaz said.


    She sighed. ¡°I think, but can¡¯t be certain, that the Magmablades have been hiding their real chief for years. After they failed to take over the Deep, and the chief at the time was killed, they started making it look like one female was chief, while another actually gave the orders. That way, if they were caught again, they wouldn¡¯t lose¡­ something. I didn¡¯t understand the glyph at all, and I think someone made it up entirely, and then the others just kept using it. It was almost more of a pictograph than a-¡±


    ¡°Lianhua,¡± he said again.


    ¡°Oda wasn¡¯t really chief,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°She never was, until the Broken Knives were forced to leave. It was one of her aunts, and then Vega. It was also Vega who set off an explosion that killed Ghazt¡¯s group, hoping that if he was dead, her sisters would stop fighting over him and fall into line again. But Oda had been following Ghazt around, and she found him, unconscious but alive. She tried to nurse him back to health herself, but she didn¡¯t know how, so she went to Rega for advice. Oda wasn¡¯t exactly subtle, so Rega got suspicious and followed Oda back to where she had hidden Ghazt.


    ¡°Rega waited until Oda left, then snuck in and stole Ghazt again, making it look like a beast found and killed him before dragging his body away. She planned to take him back to his tribe when he recovered, but by then, she was-¡± Lianhua cleared her throat, her whole face turning redder than Kaz had seen it since she nearly overheated in the bath.


    ¡°They-¡± She tucked the book beneath her arm and tapped her forefingers together, utterly unable to meet Kaz¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s her diary, you know, so she says some- Well, you¡¯ll read it someday, but the gist is that Rega got pregnant, and Ghazt refused to leave her. They believed that after everything that had happened, the Woodblades wouldn¡¯t want to acknowledge Rega and her pups, and they didn¡¯t want to go to the Magmablades, so they dyed Ghazt¡¯s fur, and he and Rega moved to a smaller sub-tribe, giving the excuse that Rega was taking their chief¡¯s son as mate. That made the Magmablade chief angry, but she was sick by then, and died soon after, letting Rega and Ghazt slip through the cracks.¡±


    Her expression brightened, and she smiled, looking at Kaz again. ¡°They were happy for a few years. The chief who took them in was old, and when she died, Rega became chief, which she¡¯d never wanted, but it was a small, close-knit tribe, so she didn¡¯t mind much. But then the Woodblades died.¡±


    Lianhua bit her lip again, harder this time. ¡°The Magmablades began preparing for war, and Vega called in all of the subsidiary tribes, including Ghazt and Rega¡¯s. They couldn¡¯t refuse, and eventually Oda found out Ghazt was alive. She didn¡¯t go so far as to try to break the mate bond, but she told everyone Ghazt was her mate, not Rega¡¯s, and she even officially adopted their puppies. I guess that¡¯s something the chief can do when they don¡¯t have pups of their own, and they need an heir?¡±


    Kaz nodded reluctantly. ¡°It¡¯s rare, but if the chief has no pups of her own, she can take in one or more puppies to raise. The original parents are usually honored, and they can see the pups often, so it¡¯s more of a formality than anything else.¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s what Oda did, then, and Rega couldn¡¯t really do anything about it. You can tell she was heartbroken, and not everything she says makes sense. She calls Vega the ¡®hidden chief¡¯, or maybe ¡®secret chief¡¯ or ¡®chief in hiding¡¯. The rune is a little different than anything I¡¯ve seen before, probably as a result of the natural drift-¡±


    Kaz cleared his throat, and color rose in Lianhua¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Anyway, Vega did something that made her really, really strong, and your mother knew that even if she was willing to fight, there was no way she would win, so she couldn¡¯t challenge for the tribe. Telling everyone the truth might have helped in the short term, but it would only attract attention to them, and all of the tribes were already scrambling to gather anyone who had Woodblade heritage in the last few generations. Oda convinced her that at least this way, she could see Ghazt and her puppies, but that if the great chiefs found out Ghazt, a pure Woodblade male, was alive, they would take him and the pups away.¡±


    ¡°So she just let it happen,¡± Kaz said bitterly, remembering his gentle aunt. She had never liked killing, even for food, and her greatest defiance was when she continued teaching Kaz how to heal, rather than one of the female pups.


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°There¡¯s not a lot written after that. I think it took a few more years for the other chiefs to figure out the death of the Woodblades wasn¡¯t just a terrible accident. Then Vega ordered some of the weaker tribes to attack, while telling the other three great chiefs that Oda was behind everything. Vega probably didn¡¯t count on the Magmablades losing their knife or their position as a great tribe, but at least she was able to stay in the Deep along with most of her strongest supporters.


    ¡°Rega was still afraid of what would happen if she tried to go to the other chiefs with the truth, so she and Ghazt went along with Oda. She left her book behind, though, so at least future Magmablades would know the truth. I¡¯m sure Vega had no idea the book was here, right under her nose, or she would have had it destroyed.¡±


    Kaz wanted to go off with Li somewhere private, somewhere he could process what he¡¯d just been told. At least he knew the truth, but he desperately wished he could go back in time and blow up Vega again. If not for her, would he have lived a full, happy life with two parents who loved and supported him, here in the Deep? Would he have gone on his spirit hunt, taken a mate, perhaps even have a pup of his own on the way by now?


    A soft scrape followed by a groan told him that he would have to think about the ¡®what ifs¡¯ another time. He turned, and saw that the Magmablades were beginning to wake.

 Chapter One hundred fifty-six

    The first to become aware of his surroundings was a large bluish-green male a few rows down from Kaz. He rolled to his side, struggling to stand, as a low growl rumbled from his throat. Not far away, another male groaned, and across the gap between the groups, a female curled up, clutching her belly. Kaz kept an eye on her, noting the way her core was spinning. He wasn¡¯t sure if she was really sick, or if she was readying herself for an attack.


    Kaz let out a loud bark, alerting the other kobolds who were wandering the den, looking for anyone who might still be hiding, and heard several yips of acknowledgement. Until Idla and the others arrived, however, he was the only kobold there, so he stepped forward. Behind him, the humans spread out, and even Chi Yincang became visible, his weapon already in his hand.


    The kobolds stilled as they came to their knees, eyes flitting between the humans and Kaz. He could almost see them decide that he was the easiest target, until Li lifted from his shoulder, glaring imperiously at them as Kaz created a ki-light and set it to hover over his other shoulder, glowing brightly.


    ¡°Vega is dead,¡± he said bluntly, and several of the kobolds flinched as if his words were a physical blow. ¡°Ija is alive, and so are the puppies. They, and you, will stay that way as long as you yield.¡±


    ¡°Yield to who?¡± a female with brownish-red fur demanded. ¡°You and-?¡± Her eyes traveled over the humans, clearly confused.


    ¡°Me,¡± Idla said, emerging from behind a hut. ¡°The Magmablades have violated their vow to peacefully continue performing their function, and now I and the other great chiefs will have to determine your punishment. If you cooperate, those of you who have family in other tribes may be allowed to stay.¡±


    Another female, this one a little older, was still looking around as most of the others focused on Idla. ¡°Where are the puppies?¡± she demanded, struggling to get her paws to obey.


    ¡°They really are safe, Acha,¡± Sika said soothingly, stepping out of another hut. Gram¡¯s little blue snout poked out of the door behind her, but she closed it on him firmly. ¡°Kaz Woodblade protected them.¡±


    ¡°Woodblade?¡± Acha asked, turning to stare at Kaz, seeming to finally take in both his blue fur and the ki-light. Her gaze snagged on Li, but she didn¡¯t seem to know what to do with a dragon any more than humans, so she just looked at Sika again, asking, ¡°Chix?¡±


    Sika stepped through the small crowd of kobolds still climbing to their paws, and tried to help Acha up. Sika herself wasn¡¯t that steady, but Acha clung to her anyway. Gently, Sika held Acha¡¯s hand, and Kaz realized that the two looked quite similar, other than the color of their fur.


    ¡°Chix is well,¡± Sika said. ¡°Better than well. Kaz found a way to help him, and he¡¯s sleeping comfortably.¡±


    The female who spoke first was watching this with her ears flat and teeth bared. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if your puny weanling is alive, Acha,¡± she growled, hunching her shoulders as she glowered at Idla, ignoring Kaz completely. ¡°If these Goldblades take this den, everything we¡¯ve gone through will be-¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t even see Chi Yincang move. One moment, the male was standing near Lianhua, expression impassive, and the next he was beside the female, blowing a puff of bright green smoke into her face. She drew in a deep, startled breath, and then her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped to the ground again. The very corner of Chi Yincang¡¯s mouth twitched in a satisfied smile, and then he jumped straight up, twisting and vanishing as soon as he reached the shadowed area above the flickering orb light.


    ¡°Show-off,¡± Raff muttered, but only Kaz was close enough to hear.


    Idla cleared her throat, looking around at the captured Magmablades. ¡°I will guarantee the life of anyone who yields, and the first one to explain what Vega Magmablade was planning will be allowed to join one of the Goldblade tribes, along with their family.¡±


    Silence fell, and then Acha stepped away from the others. Her eyes flickered to the hut where the pups waited, then resolutely turned away, looking straight at Idla. ¡°Not all of the Woodblades died,¡± she said.


    One of the red-furred males lunged toward her, teeth and claws bared, but Idla knocked him back with a ki-bolt, barely bothering to look his way. ¡°Continue,¡± the Goldblade chief said.


    ¡°Vega can - could,¡± she corrected, with a glance at Sika, ¡°use her power to cover up the sound and scent of her own passage, as well as anyone close to her. She told you Oda sent in a male to start the fire in the Woodblade den, but the truth is, she did it herself. She also killed the den-mother watching the youngest puppies and stole them away.¡±


    Several of the kobolds around her, all young and with unusually blue fur, were beginning to look wide-eyed and nervous. One female, probably around Kaz¡¯s age, started to whimper softly.


    ¡°Vega brought the puppies back here,¡± Acha went on, after another look toward Sika, ¡°and gave them to families with Woodblade ancestry. She even adopted a few herself. In a year or two, by the time Oda was exiled, and our knife was broken, the puppies didn¡¯t even remember they¡¯d ever lived anywhere but here. Vega¡¯s been waiting for them to become adults, and start producing puppies. Once she had them firmly bound to the Magmablades, she was going to bring one of them forward to become the new Woodblade chief.¡±


    ¡°Bringing another great tribe under her control,¡± Idla growled, her hackles raised.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Acha nodded. ¡°She planned to use them to force the other tribes to reinstate the Magmablades, and then have her daughters take Mithrilblade or Waveblade mates. Within a few generations, she hoped to bring all the tribes under Magmablade control.¡±


    Idla shook her head. ¡°Never. Not while the Goldblades exist.¡±


    Acha¡¯s hand tightened on Sika¡¯s, and she looked away.


    Now concern pushed past some of Idla¡¯s anger. ¡°What do you know? Speak!¡± she barked.


    It was Sika who answered. ¡°Seeing what happens when a female is exposed to fulan gave Vega an idea. She¡¯s had males going into the mid-levels, gathering the spores. She intended to release it into the Goldblade den once her new Woodblades were firmly established.¡±


    Kaz felt a chill. He opened his mouth to speak, but Idla beat him to it. ¡°Where did she keep the spores? Here?¡± The Goldblade chief looked around as if the walls might sprout lopo tongues and impale her.


    Sika, Acha, and a few of the younger males all shook their heads. Some of the others, mostly the ones with redder fur, glared at them, and the two groups of captured kobolds shifted, separating into four.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± one of the males said, a young one with purplish fur. He lifted his chin, his eyes on a green-furred female. Neither of them wore a mate-bead, but Kaz caught affection and hope in the look.


    Idla turned to one of the six males behind her. She had only kept half a dozen of the fifty or so who followed her, sending the rest out to look for Ija or other Magmablades, but they were six of the strongest, fiercest-looking males Kaz had ever seen.


    ¡°Kric, take Uzid and Gren and follow this male. If he¡¯s telling the truth, burn every bit of the fulan. If he¡¯s lying, or tries to turn on you, kill him.¡±


    The male bowed, as did two others, then turned to follow the purple-furred male as he stepped from the group. One of the red males tried to grab for him as he passed, but Kric stepped in the way, catching and twisting the arm until bone snapped with a crunch. The Magmablade howled in pain, falling to his knees, and the three Goldblades walked by without more than a cursory glance.


    Idla didn¡¯t even bother watching, but the three males remaining with her readied themselves for battle, and a shield snapped up around the sole other female standing behind them. No one moved to attack, however, and after a long moment of heavy silence, Idla prompted Acha and Sika to continue, but Acha shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s all,¡± she said softly. ¡°All, and enough. But,¡± her head came up, dark brown eyes flashing, ¡°those of us who¡¯ve lived here all these years had no control over Vega and her machinations. When Ija became an adult, Vega assigned her to lead this den, and since then, we¡¯ve done the best we can to simply raise our pups in peace. We didn¡¯t choose our role, we were just the ones who had the most Woodblade blood. We didn¡¯t choose to deceive the pups, we just raised them as best we could. Many of us didn¡¯t even get to choose our own mates, including Ija herself. She may be Vega¡¯s pup, but she¡¯s nothing like her mother.¡±


    Idla growled. ¡°I wanted to break up the Magmablades, kill Oda, and send Vega and Rega into exile. I was overridden by the Mithrilblades and the Waveblades then, but this time they¡¯ll see that this tribe is rotten, stalk and frond. I promised I would allow those of you with family in other tribes to stay, but Ija wasn¡¯t part of that promise. She knew what Vega was doing, and she didn¡¯t tell us or do anything about it.¡±


    ¡°And what would have changed if she had?¡± Sika demanded. The old female¡¯s strength was clearly ebbing now, and Kaz could see that her ki had become dimmer. She must have been drawing on it for strength, but she was nearly out. She needed to rest.


    He stepped forward, placing himself between the group of young blue males and a smaller group of bluish females. Now that Kaz was looking, he could see that the females all had a good amount of blue ki cycling through them, though none had as much as little Gram.


    ¡°The Woodblades are innocent,¡± Kaz said firmly, staring at Idla. ¡°They and their pups, if they have any, should be allowed their freedom.¡±


    Idla looked conflicted. ¡°Yes, but they were raised as Magmablades. Their loyalty is-¡±


    ¡°Vega is dead,¡± Kaz said.


    ¡°Not until her core has been crushed!¡± Idla barked, then snapped her teeth shut with a click.


    Kaz, Li, and the humans stared at the Goldblade chief, who looked very much like she regretted what she¡¯d just said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kaz asked, but Idla shook her head stubbornly.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Lianhua said softly, and all eyes turned to her. She opened the book she held and flipped through it, urgently turning pages until her eyes tracked down to a certain passage and she said, ¡°Oh,¡± again.


    ¡°For Pellis¡¯ sake, Lianhua,¡± Raff finally exclaimed, ¡°out with it!¡±


    Lianhua looked up, her eyes wide. ¡°That¡¯s what that strange pictogram means. It has some elements related to things that are edible, but there are extra strokes in the verb quadrant, and it definitely looks like¡­ a core. Vega ate her mother¡¯s core, and that¡¯s why she became so powerful.¡±


    She turned her gaze on Idla. ¡°That¡¯s not all it does, though, is it? It imparts at least some of the personality or memories of the original owner along with their ki, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Idla¡¯s jaw flexed, but she nodded. ¡°It depends on how strong the person who eats it is. That¡¯s why chiefs have to be strong. Eating a core can make you significantly more powerful, but if the core is stronger than your own-¡±


    ¡°It overwrites, or at least pushes back the original personality,¡± Lianhua said, wonderingly. ¡°And Tiyang Long absolutely loathed whoever brought her here and made her into a kobold. If her core was strong enough, she would have lived, over and over again, leading the Magmablades down a centuries-long path of hatred and destruction.¡±


    Idla tilted her head forward, almost unwillingly, and her hand rose to the necklace that rested against her chest. For the first time, Kaz realized that it was made of chain, not leather, and some of the gems and beads that hung from it seemed to be carved with something that looked suspiciously like runes.


    ¡°All of the original chiefs passed down their cores,¡± Idla said. ¡°But every line has been broken at some point, when the chief was lost and their core irrecoverable. The Magmablades were the last. When they rebelled the first time, we threw Tegra¡¯s core into the furnace, and we thought that would be the end of it. But either we were fooled into destroying the wrong core, or the chief who replaced her hated us and the mountain just as much.¡±


    She looked around at the watching kobolds with eyes that suddenly seemed far older than her years. ¡°We won¡¯t make that mistake this time. Every Magmablade core will be destroyed, until no one remembers who they were, other than monsters from a howl used to frighten puppies.¡±

 Chapter One hundred fifty-seven

    Silence fell as the kobolds gathered there took in what Idla had said, and the rift in the Magmablades began to heal as the stolen Woodblades shifted back toward the Magmablades they had grown up with. No matter how angry and confused they might be about the revelations, these were the kobolds they had considered their friends and family until a few short minutes ago. As Idla suggested, they wouldn¡¯t stand idly by while the Magmablades were slaughtered.


    ¡°And how long have the Goldblade chiefs hated the Magmablades?¡± Lianhua asked softly, meeting Idla¡¯s eyes. ¡°A hundred years? More? How clearly do you remember those past lives? Or were you, Idla, strong enough that all you have are feelings, an almost irrational urge to destroy what those before you wished to see ruined?¡±


    Idla glared and responded, but Kaz was busy staring at her core. Now that he knew she had to have eaten at least one core in her life, could he tell? There was none of the contamination, the reddish crust, that he saw with cores tainted by fulan, just a brilliantly churning ball of golden fire, nestled deep within Idla¡¯s abdomen. It didn¡¯t look misshapen, either, but perhaps that was because whichever core won the battle had had plenty of time to completely subsume the other?


    Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed as he took an almost involuntary step closer to the Goldblade chief. There! Just as she moved, turning toward Kaz as he approached, there was definitely something, but it wasn¡¯t in her core. His eyes traveled up, tracking the channel that ran along her spine, looking at the ki that flowed to each of her organs. It was difficult to see within the fierce light of her power, but there was something there, something like a series of threads that linked to her primary organs. These threads traveled up, merging and tying into¡­ her necklace. More specifically, each thread disappeared into one of the rune-etched beads that hung from the chain, hidden among the more standard gems and carved bones.


    ¡°Can you even take that off?¡± he murmured, stretching out his hand to touch the bead linked to Idla¡¯s heart.


    A sharp whistle pulled him from his almost mesmerized examination of the connection between Idla and the beads. Kaz yanked his hand back as a knife flashed through the space where it had been, and a snarling Goldblade male slid into the gap.


    Idla barked, ¡°No!¡± even as Lianhua reached out and grabbed Kaz, pulling him behind her. Li whistled again, then roared, the deepest, fiercest roar Kaz had ever heard coming from her small body. Everyone froze, staring at the hovering dragon, and then Idla raised her hand and threw a powerful ki-bolt at Kaz¡¯s friend.


    Kaz didn¡¯t even have time to think. As he had done once before, he reached out and took hold of someone else¡¯s ki, though Idla¡¯s burned and fought in a way Lianhua¡¯s hadn¡¯t. It felt like his hands might blister from the power, as he tried to figure out what to do with it now that it was under his control. The golden light of the foreign ki blazed as he held it, bucking and writhing like a woshi in water, and he didn¡¯t dare let it go, but he couldn¡¯t return it to Idla either.


    A thought struck him, and he shifted his view, allowing his own core to fill his vision. One layer, seamed with silver. A second layer, glittering with partially dissolved mana. Then a layer of pure, unsullied core, and, at last, the empty space surrounding the seed. Kaz thrust the power he held toward it, funneling the gold down the cord that had been quietly siphoning off his own gold ki since the day it formed.


    The cord, then the seed, flared, and Idla¡¯s ki vanished into it, falling to the pool far at the bottom. For the first time, the level of that pool rose visibly, lifted by the sudden deluge in a way that the steady flow of Kaz¡¯s ki hadn¡¯t managed. Kaz imagined that he could even see ripples forming there, ripples which continued to expand as Kaz grabbed what felt like two or three more bursts of ki thrown by the Goldblade chief.


    Dimly, he realized that the Magmablades were taking advantage of the confusion, some trying to escape as others lunged for the few remaining Goldblades. His own attention was entirely taken up by the assault on Li, and directing Idla¡¯s raging ki away from the dragon.


    And then there were no more bolts, no more ki flung toward Li with the intent to harm, and Kaz shook his head, then his hands, feeling as if he¡¯d just dipped them into scalding water. Li¡¯s weight settled onto his shoulder, her tail wrapping snug around his throat, and she huddled as close to him as possible, making a sound that sounded more like furiously boiling water than any sound she¡¯d made before. A dark cloud roiled from her mouth, and when it touched Kaz¡¯s fur and gathered in glittering droplets, he realized it was actually mist, water vapor so dense it looked like smoke.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Lianhua¡¯s worried voice broke through Kaz¡¯s distraction, and he looked toward her, managing to nod. He pushed a little more blue ki into his hands, and they cooled instantly, though the skin still felt tender when he flexed his fingers. On his shoulder, Li¡¯s angry noises began to die down, and they both looked around at the results of a single minute¡¯s madness.


    Fully half of the kobolds who had been standing there were now down on the ground, and Kaz could see some kind of white powder settling around them. Chi Yincang held something that looked like a narrow reed, and more drifting plumes of powder fell from the tip. Idla¡¯s guards were on the ground, one of them bleeding from a wound above his ear, and Raff stood behind Idla, holding her arms, though she no longer seemed capable of fighting back. The Goldblade chief¡¯s body was nearly empty of ki, and her core swirled dimly, its golden light reduced to a bland yellow glow.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Lianhua was beside Kaz, and when she realized that she had his attention, she said, ¡°Kaz, what did you do?¡± Her eyes were wide, and she almost looked afraid. Of him.


    He shook his head. ¡°I just- She was trying to hurt Li, so I stopped her.¡±


    ¡°How did you stop her?¡± Lianhua asked, leaning down to take his hands in her own. She examined the tender, swollen flesh, wincing in sympathy. Her fear dropped away as she took a small container from her pouch and began to smear thick cream onto his skin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kaz admitted. ¡°I took her ki, I think, but then I didn¡¯t know what to do with it, so I dropped it into¡­ something that could hold it.¡±


    Lianhua glanced toward Idla¡¯s drooping body, then whispered, ¡°Kaz, you nearly drained her dry.¡±


    His hands twitched, and he stared at her. ¡°I just took what she threw at Li.¡±


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t,¡± Lianhua murmured. ¡°Before, she felt like a cultivator in the late Foundation stage. Most female kobolds feel like they¡¯re in early or mid Refining, while the chiefs tend to be early Foundation, but Idla was strong. Almost certainly stronger than me, though my training would probably allow me to defeat her in a direct battle. Now, though, she¡¯s late Refining at best.¡±


    Kaz pulled his hands away, though they already looked and felt better as Lianhua¡¯s medicine began to work. Stepping over to Idla, Kaz looked at her core again.


    Lianhua was right. It wasn¡¯t just that Idla had used almost all of her ki, her core itself seemed to be damaged. It wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as when Kaz nearly shattered his own core, but there were faint fractures in the surface of it, which were preventing the ki from flowing correctly. Fortunately for Idla, the cracks didn¡¯t seem to go very deep, but as long as they were there, she would never be as strong as she had been before.


    But that didn¡¯t bother Kaz nearly as much as what the absence of ki revealed in the rest of her body. Before, the power within her had obscured the links between her necklace and her organs, but now the connection was stark. Five beads, each bearing the gleam of adamantium, had been carved with runes that even Kaz could recognize, thanks to his new ring. The runes for wood, fire, earth, metal, and water ki were linked to Idla¡¯s liver, heart, pancreas, lungs, and kidneys by shimmering chains visible only to Kaz.


    Cautiously, Kaz plucked the chain that stretched from the ¡®metal¡¯ rune to Idla¡¯s lungs, and the chief¡¯s breath hitched painfully. She gasped, and Kaz immediately drew back, afraid that he might hurt her further if he continued.


    ¡°I think this necklace is just another form of the bindings the mosui used,¡± he told Lianhua as she came up beside him. ¡°I just don¡¯t know who¡¯s controlling it, or why she¡¯s wearing it.¡±


    Idla¡¯s eyes flicked up to him, and her mouth opened as if she would offer a reply. A spark of silvery ki jumped down the chain Kaz had touched, and the Goldblade chief gasped again. This time, her knees gave out, and she would have fallen if Raff hadn¡¯t caught her and gently lowered her to the ground instead.


    ¡°What¡¯s goin¡¯ on with her?¡± the big man asked, sounding genuinely worried. ¡°I had to smack a couple of her guards, but once you started doing whatever you did, Blue, this one just froze up. Didn¡¯t even fight back when I grabbed her, so I¡¯ve just been holding on in case she started to get any ideas.¡±


    Kaz crouched beside Idla, who was twitching on the ground, foam gathering at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes stared into his, horrified and frightened, but she didn¡¯t lift her hands to pull off the necklace.


    So Kaz did. He wasn¡¯t sure what would happen when it was removed, but he was sure that if he left it on, Idla was going to die. So he wrapped his fingers around it and tried to lift it off, but it clung to Idla as if it was part of her, rather than a simple piece of jewelry. More ki pulsed from the stones, each of them lighting up with the color of their type. Kaz surrounded them with his own ki, blocking whatever they were trying to do, and ripped the necklace away.


    Idla¡¯s body arched, her eyes wide as the chains stretched, then snapped, the broken ends dissolving into mana and drifting away. Her heart stuttered as her lungs froze in her chest, but Kaz pushed his own gold ki into her channels, pulling back just before his ki entered her core. Idla took a deep, rattling breath, her eyelids flickering closed, and Kaz sat back, still unsure if he had done enough.


    Cautiously, Li edged around on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, extending her long neck so she could look at her erstwhile attacker. She tilted her head, examining the chief, then gave a defiant whistle.


    Kaz chuckled, reaching up to stroke the edge of one delicate wing, and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll try to hurt any of us again. I don¡¯t understand what happened, though.¡±


    The dragon gave several sharp clicks, twisting her head to look at Kaz, then sending him an image. In it, a larger-than-life Kaz stood between Li and a glowing golden kobold who shot streams of equally golden fire at the dragon. The Kaz-figure grabbed hold of the brilliant flames, twisted them, and pulled on them, feeding the resultant rope into his own core, where it vanished. This continued for a bit, as the gold kobold faded to yellow and then burst into pieces.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t happen,¡± Kaz told her absently, but he was trying to put what she was telling him together with what he had experienced. Was it possible that Idla hadn¡¯t continued to attack, but rather that Kaz had stolen her ki, much as the humans, his pouch, and the mountain itself had done to him multiple times? If so, what did that mean?


    Li hissed in response, but it was half-hearted at best, and when Lianhua rested her hand on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, the dragon didn¡¯t even bother trying to bite her.


    ¡°The others are coming back,¡± Lianhua said, and Kaz¡¯s ears twisted, picking up the sound of questioning howls and approaching paws.


    He stood, readying himself. When the Goldblades arrived and saw their chief unconscious on the ground, things were not going to go well.

 Chapter One hundred fifty-eight

    Instead of forty angry yellow-furred kobolds, Kaz saw four, one of whom had fur as red as Vega¡¯s. Ija looked fearful but determined as she jogged between two huts, trailed by a very unhappy-looking Qhurg. Qhurg¡¯s hackles were raised, but his weapon was in its sheath at his belt, and he held three very old, tattered-looking books.


    Behind Qhurg was Rudu, Vega¡¯s mate, and Kyla. Rudu¡¯s ears were down, but his tail was up, the very picture of conflicted emotions. Kyla, on the other hand, looked miserable. Everything about her, from her wild pink fur to her usually bright eyes, was subdued and drooping.


    As soon as Ija entered the open area by the book hut, she halted, staring around at the kobolds arrayed before her. They stared back for a long moment before they tumbled forward, excited as puppies, calling her name and demanding to know why she¡¯d returned. The erstwhile ¡®Magmablades¡¯ with the bluest fur were the loudest, even the males asking if what Acha and Sika told them was true.


    Ija raised her hands, looking from where the Goldblade chief and her guards lay collapsed on the ground, then toward Lianhua and the other humans. ¡°What happened here?¡± she asked, sounding utterly baffled.


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°We¡¯re not sure either. Kaz?¡±


    At the sound of his name, all eyes turned to Kaz. He folded his ears down, very uncomfortable with the attention, and held up the necklace. ¡°This was linked to Idla¡¯s organs. When she tried to answer a question, it hurt her, so I took it off.¡±


    Ija stared at the dangling chain. ¡°That¡¯s a great chief¡¯s necklace,¡± she said, wonderingly. ¡°Those can only be removed when the chief dies.¡± Her gaze shifted to Idla, who was still and silent, and her voice lowered to a whisper when she asked, ¡°Is she dead?¡±


    Kaz glanced at the chief, whose damaged core was still doing its best to replace the ki he¡¯d inadvertently drained from her. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°I think she¡¯ll recover, given time. She just needs to rest.¡± Not entirely true, since he was almost certain that even time wouldn¡¯t heal a damaged core, but she would at least wake up, and probably soon. He thought she was only unconscious because of shock, not because there was anything physically wrong with her.


    Now Ija looked around, one hand reaching back to brush against Qhurg¡¯s side, as if to reassure herself that he was still there. ¡°And Vega?¡±


    Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s gone.¡±


    Ija stared at the human female. ¡°Gone? Dead? Where is her body?¡± Her tone was urgent, but her eyes were growing brighter, almost hopeful, even as her ears and tail flattened.


    Kaz exchanged a glance with Lianhua, and said, ¡°She¡¯s near the stairs. What¡¯s left of her, anyway.¡±


    The Magmablade turned as if to go in that direction, but Raff stepped in her way. ¡°Now, I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s goin¡¯ on,¡± he said, pleasantly enough, ¡°but I am pretty sure that those Goldblades aren¡¯t gonna be real happy when they find their boss laid out like a fish on a hot dock. I also know they don¡¯t like you folks much, an¡¯ if we let you go, that¡¯ll tick ¡®em off even more. Plus,¡± he turned to look at Qhurg, towering over the young warrior, ¡°Lianhua likes old books, and I see you¡¯ve got three of ¡®em right there.¡±


    Qhurg¡¯s grip on the books tightened, and a few flakes of dried leather crumbled to the ground, making Lianhua wince. She held out her hands in a placating gesture. ¡°I would very much like to read those,¡± she admitted, unable to tear her eyes from the tomes in question, ¡°but I understand this may not be the best moment. Nonetheless, Raff is right. We really can¡¯t let you go. We¡¯re already on shaky ground with the Goldblades-¡±


    Raff snorted, and Lianhua shot him a scathing glance, then cleared her throat and continued. ¡°And while I don¡¯t want to interfere in local politics-¡± Another snort. ¡°I really can¡¯t let anyone leave until we figure out how to, um, convince everyone of our neutral stance in this conflict. Now that you¡¯re here, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to ask you to stay.¡±


    Kaz shifted over next to Lianhua, and murmured, ¡°This is Ija, Vega¡¯s daughter.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°Oh! Oh, of course you are.¡± Her brows drew down. ¡°But why are you back here? Didn¡¯t you run away?¡±


    Ija¡¯s lip lifted. ¡°I didn¡¯t run,¡± she snapped, ¡°I obeyed orders. If the den was ever discovered, my duty was to take Tegra¡¯s books and return to our main den, while whoever was left burned the rest. We were supposed to deny having anything to do with this place, but I suppose it¡¯s too late for that, now.¡±


    Rudu stepped forward, laying a broad hand on his daughter¡¯s shoulder, and some of her anger faded. The male stepped forward, his yellow eyes calmer than they had any right to be, given that he¡¯d just learned that his mate was dead. For that matter, he should have been with Vega, even if no one else was. What had he been doing while Vega attacked them?


    ¡°Ija obeyed her mother¡¯s final order,¡± he said, ¡°and now she is chief.¡± His voice held only certainty, and everyone turned to look at him, drawn in by the serene tone of his deep voice. ¡°She is here to plead for our tribe, and the lives of our people. Even before we knew Vega had gone to join the ancestors, she intended to tell Idla the truth. I hope my cousin will be able to see our sincerity, and allow at least some of the Magmablades to remain here in the Deep.¡±


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    ¡°Cousin,¡± a weak but derisive voice came from behind them, and everyone turned, staring at Idla, who was struggling to sit up. ¡°You ceased to be my cousin the moment that female became your mate.¡±


    She held out her hand imperiously, and after a moment, Raff went over and helped her up. He was a little more enthusiastic about it than strictly necessary, and Idla staggered as she took her full weight back on her own paws.


    ¡°Your mother was my father¡¯s sister,¡± Rudu said, voice unyielding. ¡°If they weren¡¯t Magmablades, my pups would have played together with yours when they were young.¡±


    Raff let out a low whistle. ¡°These kobolds¡¯re worse than royalty with all the intermarryin¡¯,¡± he muttered. ¡°How do they keep track of everybody?¡±


    Rudu¡¯s ear twitched, and Kaz was certain he¡¯d heard Raff¡¯s not very subtle comment, but he was focused on Idla. ¡°Dissolve the Magmablades,¡± he said bluntly, not looking around as the gathered kobolds gasped. ¡°You may not yet understand, but there are Woodblades here, pure blood Woodblades, including females, and if you-¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know that,¡± Idla snapped. ¡°They told me all about it as soon as they heard Vega was dead. We need Woodblades, it¡¯s true, but this pup-¡± She turned to look at Kaz, though much of her confidence faded when she met his eyes.


    ¡°This pup nothing,¡± Kaz said, feeling his hackles rise. ¡°When Lianhua and the others leave, so will I. I want nothing to do with whatever is going on here. My life, and the lives of my parents, have been manipulated and warped since before I was born, all because of what?¡±


    He was shocked at the bitterness in his own voice, but he couldn¡¯t stop the words now that they¡¯d begun. ¡°Because people born hundreds of years ago clung to their own misery until the day they died? Because they passed on generation after generation of irrational hatred, which was reinforced as they were allowed to live, over and over, stealing the lives of their own descendants? Maybe if you could all find it in yourselves to forgive, to move on, maybe this mountain wouldn¡¯t be such a terrible place to live!¡±


    He thought back to the tribes he¡¯d come into contact with since leaving the Broken Knives. Some were bad, others were better, but none were truly good. The leaders mattered more than he thought they should, since it seemed like everyone else was powerless to change anything, but it all came back to this tradition. This feeling that some of them were better than others, not because of who they were, but because of how much power they held.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay,¡± he went on, ¡°and I don¡¯t have to. If I can, I¡¯ll help while I¡¯m here, but that¡¯s all I¡¯ll do, and none of you, none of the kobolds, none of the leaders, none of the people who stood by while I and my family suffered, none of you will make me change my mind.¡±


    By the time he finished, he was breathing hard, and Li had lifted herself up, paws clutching the fur near his ears, her wings spread wide behind his head. She hissed ferociously, and more steam cascaded from her mouth, creating a rising cloud that encircled both of them.


    Idla stared at him, and he could see that she wanted to argue, but didn¡¯t quite dare. After all, hadn¡¯t he already proven that he could defeat her? She didn¡¯t need to know that he¡¯d only managed it out of sheer desperation, and doubted it would work against anyone who didn¡¯t use primarily earth ki.


    Ija, however, had no idea he¡¯d killed Vega, and very nearly killed the Goldblade chief as well. She stared at him. ¡°But what about the Tree?¡± she demanded. ¡°You¡¯re a Woodblade. It¡¯s your duty to-¡±


    ¡°I am a Broken Knife,¡± he told her, rather enjoying the way her jaw dropped before he went on, ¡°Or perhaps I¡¯m just Kaz. Kaz, Li¡¯s friend, and nothing more.¡±


    At this declaration, Li let out a loud whistle of agreement, ending in a blurp of steam. She lowered her head, burrowing it into the longer fur between his ears, and Kaz allowed himself a small grin before he pulled the pouch free of his belt, feeding it a little power before he opened it.


    Walking over to Lianhua, he felt all eyes on him as he dipped his fingers inside, and for once he didn¡¯t mind. Unfortunately, the moment he tried to retrieve the contents of the bag, his mind went blank. What had he been trying to do? Mentally, he cataloged the contents.


    Mithril, adamantium, ki-crystals of all colors, yes. A single scroll, a metal container he hadn¡¯t yet figured out how to open, his old loincloth, which was soiled and foul, but he held onto it because Rega made it for him. One of Zhangwo¡¯s rings, three unlocked slave collars, and¡­


    He took out his father¡¯s firestriker, staring down at it as it dropped into his hand, the round stone resting perfectly in his palm so the metal strip curled up and along the natural curve of his fingers. He clicked it together, and a spark jumped.


    Was this really what he¡¯d been trying to find? He was talking about his parents, so perhaps, but it didn¡¯t feel quite right-


    With a worried click, Li twined her way down his body, her claws pulling at his fur almost painfully. When she reached his waist, he felt her take hold of their combined cycle, feeding a bit of his ki into the pouch before plunging her own paw inside. Something thrust its way back out, almost dislodging the dragon from her precarious perch, half clinging to Kaz¡¯s belt, and half holding onto his upraised arm.


    With a clatter, the hilt of the Broken Knife fell to the ground, spinning until it came to rest against Kaz¡¯s paw. The dragon wasn¡¯t done yet, however, and she reached into the pouch again just as a spike of pain tore through Kaz¡¯s head. Li whistled and pulled back, but it was too late, and with its usual forceful expulsion, the pouch disgorged the Woodblade, the carved blue stone tip gleaming as it tumbled through the air.


    The light of someone¡¯s ki-orb reflected from the blade, then refracted, orange light shifting to white, which split into the five colors of ki. All around Kaz, the ki flowing through a dozen females seemed to swell, surrounding him, and then swallowing him up. He went from being able to see too much, to seeing nothing, and when the Woodblade struck the ground, so did Kaz.

 Chapter One hundred fifty-nine

    Kaz jogged along behind his father, watching the broad back and the high, confident sweep of his tail. They were hunting fuergar today, but Kaz wasn¡¯t frightened. He was with Ghazt, and nothing in the world could defeat his father.


    Ahead, Ghazt froze, and Kaz did the same, letting his hands touch the ground as he prepared to move. Only little puppies, much younger than Kaz, still walked on all fours, but Ghazt had assured him that that didn¡¯t matter. Whatever kept him alive was what he should do, and Kaz could still move most quickly when he started from all four limbs.


    Something darted through the shadows ahead of them, the flicker of their torch illuminating a long golden tail. Kaz¡¯s ears perked, and he took a deep, silent sniff, pulling in the scent of the rodent. Even without the color of its tail, he would have known it was a gold. Beneath the rank odor of its musk hung the sweet, clean smell of the bright yellow metal.


    ¡°Gold,¡± he whispered, and Ghazt nodded. Kaz¡¯s heart filled with pride. Not every kobold could identify metals by scent. Ghazt said the ability came from his own father, and had been passed down to Kaz. Even Kaz¡¯s sister, Katri, couldn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°And only just mature,¡± his father murmured, reaching back to gently push Kaz forward. ¡°Golds are smart, but soft. You can take it.¡±


    Kaz felt his lip tremble with a whimper, though he managed to hold it back. He had only killed very young fuergar, ¡®hoppers¡¯, they were called, because they tended to jump everywhere, rather than running. Even if this gold fuergar was young, it was no hopper, and Kaz was afraid.


    He reached for the little knife at his belt, but Ghazt laid his big hand over Kaz¡¯s. ¡°Here,¡± his father said, passing over his own knife, which was half Kaz¡¯s height. He had never let Kaz touch it before, not even in practice, saying that it was too sharp and heavy for a puppy. It wasn¡¯t though. It was awkward, but Kaz lifted it, holding it out in front of him. He could barely see it, thanks to the iron-heavy black paint his father used to cover the blade, but he almost thought it glowed a soft blue beneath that dark coating.


    Ghazt caught his breath, then sighed, an oddly regretful sound, before he spoke. ¡°That knife will be yours someday, Kaz. You might as well try it once.¡±


    Once? Kaz tightened his grip on the hilt. It was so large that he had to use both hands, but he could do it. He would show his father that the knife was safe in Kaz¡¯s hands, so Ghazt would let him use it again.


    Creeping forward, Kaz moved silently toward the spot where the fuergar had vanished in shadow. This tunnel was a dead end, and Kaz and Ghazt had left a hunk of spoiled niu meat at the end more than an hour ago. Since then, they had stalked the dark, their torch almost completely covered, waiting for their prey. There weren¡¯t many wild beasts left in the Deep, but fuergar managed to find their way down from the mid-levels fairly regularly, and once they built a nest, their population exploded quickly.


    Ghazt remained behind, along with the torch, leaving Kaz in complete darkness, guided by his sharp senses. His ears twitched as he caught the scritch-scratch of little claws on stone, the brush of a long tail against the wall, and his nose told him he was approaching both the rotten meat and the fuergar. The sound of teeth tearing through flesh replaced the scratch of claws, and Kaz judged that he was both close enough, and the creature was distracted enough, to make it safe to attack.


    He lunged forward, long blade held out before him, and felt the tip impact flesh. It slid in with a squelching sound, but the sound and resultant smell made him realize he had struck the meat, not the fuergar. Loud squeaks echoed down the tunnel as the creature turned on him, and long teeth sank into his arm. He howled, a pitifully small sound, and heard Ghazt start down the tunnel behind him.


    Kaz refused to give up, though, refused to be rescued, and dropped the too-large knife, instinctively depending on his own teeth and claws. With the fuergar¡¯s fangs in his arm, he knew where its head was, and more importantly, exactly where he needed to strike to claw at its eyes. He slashed out with his uninjured arm, and the fuergar released a shrill cry, pulling back. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t let go of Kaz first, and it felt like it pulled a chunk of his arm along with it.


    Kaz howled again, much louder, but jumped after the creature, wrapping his arms around it and hanging on for dear life. Later, his father would tell him he was very fortunate that he didn¡¯t place himself in a perfect position to have his throat or guts ripped out, but in that moment, he felt only triumph.


    Going for the eyes again, Kaz bit down as hard as he could, feeling his teeth sink through the skin and fur of the beast. This was why gold fuergar were considered easy prey: the metal reinforcing their flesh and bones was relatively soft, and though they weren¡¯t as easy to kill as fuergar who hadn¡¯t received a steady diet of metal as pups, they weren¡¯t nearly as difficult as the others. Fortunately, gold was far more common than copper or iron in the Deep, so most of the fuergar born here were golden.


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    He felt something give beneath his teeth, and a vile fluid filled his mouth. He hung on, though, his back paws digging at the beast¡¯s ribs. His claws caught against bone just as his teeth hit something hard, and he shook his head fiercely, whipping the fuergar back and forth. It squealed again, and then Ghazt was there, reaching out to snap its neck with an easy, practiced movement.


    Kaz fell back, panting, and started to swipe his paw across his mouth to get rid of the foul taste, but yipped when he was reminded of his wound. Ghazt was there in an instant, wiping away the blood concealing the injury, and growled softly when he saw it. In the light of the torch, Kaz, too, was shocked at how much blood there was, and how much more was already pouring out. He felt his knees go weak, and slumped to the ground.


    Ghazt whined, and woozily, Kaz wondered what could possibly have made his brave, powerful father sound so distraught. He hadn¡¯t even sounded like that when Mother broke her leg, had only chided her for not watching where she was going and then falling in a hole like a puppy. Mother only laughed, and said that this was obviously the only way she could get her mate to take proper care of her, and the two had growled at each other playfully before Ghazt fed her stew as if her arm was broken, and not her leg.


    Something clamped down hard on Kaz¡¯s arm, and he whimpered again, a very young puppy¡¯s cry of, ¡°Li, li, li!¡± The sound was strangely familiar, not just because he heard it from the little puppies in the tribe every day, but because it reminded him of¡­ something. Something he was supposed to remember, but couldn¡¯t.


    Then the cold ground fell away as Ghazt lifted him, cradling Kaz¡¯s small, trembling body against his own broad, warm chest, as if Kaz was a blind newborn again. Kaz whined, long and pained, the sound echoing inside his suddenly aching head.


    The torchlight fell away behind them, but then the bright, clear light of a female¡¯s orb appeared, chasing the darkness away. Kaz tried to look around. Had Mother found them? Katri could only barely make a light, and it always clung to her hand. A few of the other females in the tribe could make lights that didn¡¯t have to stay on them or a nearby surface, but only Mother¡¯s was this beautiful.


    ¡°Hold on, pup,¡± Ghazt growled, and Kaz felt the ground passing beneath his father¡¯s paws. Ghazt could run more quickly than anyone else in the tribe, and he was stronger and more agile as well. Mother had definitely chosen well when she took him as her mate, though she often claimed that Ghazt chose her instead, which was obviously impossible.


    Time passed in a blur of stone tunnels and pain. Blackness took him, now and then, but each time, he woke again to Ghazt¡¯s urgent voice and a rush of comforting warmth flooding him from where his side was pressed against Ghazt¡¯s chest.


    They burst out of yet another tunnel, into light like none Kaz had ever seen before. Yellow and blue combined into a white that seared his eyes after the long period he had spent in the near-darkness. Cradled as he was in his father¡¯s arms, he was forced to stare up at the ceiling, where countless lights gleamed back at him. Yellow and blue, flaring out into a pattern of swirling shapes, they spun into blotches that hung behind his eyelids even when he tried to blink them away.


    Something surrounded them; tall, green and brown columns that looked a bit like the stalks that held spore capsules on some mosses. These were far too large, however, some extending high above Ghazt¡¯s head, thick as an adult kobold¡¯s arm, with huge, fluffy, elongated brown and beige balls on top. Sometimes they blocked the too-bright lights, and Kaz would start to drift into painless darkness again, before a bark from Ghazt and the merciless lights brought him back.


    Until the lights faded to nothing more than filtered beams, drifting through green, high, high overhead. Many smooth stalks yielded to a single one, thickly coated in some brown, ridged substance that looked like it would yield easily beneath a kobold¡¯s sharp teeth and claws. This one was too large for even Ghazt to bite, though, extending so far to either side of them that it seemed to go on forever, though Kaz could see that it faded into the shadowed space beneath the lofty green canopy.


    ¡°Voice!¡± Ghazt called, his howl rising through the silence of the cavern. The echo was strangely muffled, soft and distant, and he called again and again, tone increasingly desperate.


    Kaz was just falling into that cool gloom for the last time when a voice answered.


    ¡°Woodblade,¡± it said, creaking as if it was very old. Even Kaz¡¯s grandmother hadn¡¯t sounded that old before she died, and his father often claimed she was older than the mountain itself.


    Ghazt gasped in relief. ¡°Voice,¡± he said, and Kaz whimpered as he felt himself shifted away from Ghazt¡¯s chest. He suddenly felt very cold, and the terrible pain in his arm returned tenfold.


    ¡°My pup. He¡¯s dying. He fought a fuergar, and it tore through his arm. Please, save him!¡± Kaz was lifted high over Ghazt¡¯s head, surrounded by shadow and dwarfed by the terrible thing that towered over them.


    The answer was slow, sounding as if it was dragged out of a throat that barely remembered how to make such a sound. ¡°If¡­ I do¡­ he belongs to me.¡±


    Ghazt let out a low, pained whine. ¡°I know the howls,¡± he said. ¡°But you send them back to us, and only one in ten is called, and then only when they become adults. I would rather have nine-tenths of my son than nothing.¡±


    A sigh, long and low, and overhead, the green moved, as if blown by a single enormous breath. ¡°Then give him¡­ to me.¡±


    With a deep, hollow crack, the rough brown surface in front of them split, revealing a paler brown interior, glistening with moisture. Without hesitation, Ghazt thrust Kaz into it, laying him down on a damp surface that felt like a particularly dense mushroom. Then Ghazt¡¯s hands let go, and the gaping hole closed around Kaz. For a moment, there was terrible pain that subsumed his entire body, dwarfing the pain of his original injury. Then it was gone, and a figure loomed over him.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± the figure said, picking Kaz up and rolling him between his fingers as if he were as small as a pebble. ¡°Not bad, though it only has three colors.¡± Purple eyes squinted, and a finger poked at Kaz¡¯s side. ¡°Ah, no. A smidgen of earth, here. I suppose it¡¯s enough to start with.¡±


    Long fingers that seemed to bend in more places than they should dropped Kaz into a little stone bowl. He rolled around, spinning until he settled into place at the bottom. Somehow, he wasn¡¯t frightened when he realized that he couldn¡¯t feel his arms and legs. He didn¡¯t feel much of anything, really, until a lid was snapped in place over the top of the bowl and heat began to rise around him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what we can make out of you,¡± a muffled voice said, and Kaz began to burn.

 Chapter One hundred sixty

    The heat was terrible, but not painful. In fact, Kaz felt no pain at all, which was a great relief. But Ghazt had asked this strange being to heal Kaz, so if Kaz was all better, then why wasn¡¯t he being sent back to his father?


    He spent some interminable time in the covered bowl, feeling the temperature rise to something far beyond what he should be able to stand. He had stepped into the fire once, when he was very little, and it hurt more than he had thought possible. It was only thanks to his mother¡¯s treatment that the scars on his left paw finally faded, allowing the fur to grow back normally.


    That thought made him think of his mother, and he idly wondered why his father hadn¡¯t taken him home, instead of to this bizarre place. Ghazt had taken them much further than usual that day, saying that he had something to show Kaz, so perhaps he hadn¡¯t thought he could get Kaz back to their den in time? But Mother was the best healer in the tribe, though she rarely had time for it since Grandmother died. She would have made time for Kaz, though, just as she had when he burned his paw.


    The heat grew again, and Kaz felt himself begin to spin, slowly rolling around in the bottom of the bowl. Then the lid lifted, and a powder poured down on him from above, followed by a little round thing that struck Kaz, bounced off, and then began to spin, chasing him around the bowl. It didn¡¯t hurt when the thing hit him, but it was hard, and its nearness made him feel very uncomfortable.


    Kaz and the little ball revolved around the bowl, rising up the sides as the temperature and the spin increased. They were both thoroughly coated in the powder by now, and their passing left trails through the dust. Strangely, there were no pawprints visible, just smooth divots, like those left behind by yanchong.


    The lid lifted again, and one amethyst-colored eye peered inside as someone clicked their tongue. ¡°A stubborn one, are you?¡± A voice muttered, and then another sphere was dropped on Kaz, this one almost twice as large as the first and a clear, brilliant gold. The lid closed again, and now there were two orbs chasing him.


    An odd sense of pressure was building in Kaz. It still didn¡¯t hurt, and at first it had been so minor that he hadn¡¯t really noticed it. Now he did, and he thought it was coming from the second ball. It didn¡¯t touch him, maintaining the same speed and position as it traveled around and around, but he felt like it was pushing on him nonetheless.


    The heat grew even higher, and now Kaz thought he would melt, turning into a smear that the other two balls would travel through, mixing with the dust. The smaller of the other two spheres was the first to go, however, and when it did, it was beautiful. If he had thought about it, which he didn¡¯t, because he really didn¡¯t care about the things going on outside of himself, he would have said the little ball was black. It was, but more than that, it was dark as obsidian, and when it burst, glittering pitch dust exploded into the air, falling down to join the fine powder on the ground.


    That left two, chasing each other eternally around the confined space within the bowl. Black grit dug into Kaz¡¯s surface, and he felt it sink in, melding with him in a way nothing ever had before. The same thing was happening to the other ball, and he could see that it was noticeably larger, with the accumulation of powder and fine sand building up on it.


    Pressure and heat, and now Kaz did feel pain. It was distant, almost not worth noticing, but it was there, and in the absence of anything else, it began to pound on him. The pressure pushed, and the heat softened, and the pain almost made him wish he, too, could explode, pouring his substance out to become part of the inexorable ball that pursued him.


    But he didn¡¯t. Instead, he clung to the things that remained, the things that made him Kaz. Kaz, who would be returned to his father when this was all over. He thought about his sister, Katri, giggling and nipping at his ears as they played. Father¡¯s deep, growling laugh and broad shoulders. Mother¡¯s sweet-smelling fur. Warm snuggles in their hut at night. He just had to last. Had to hold these things inside himself until the end, use them to push back against the weight that wanted to crush him.


    The other sphere burst. Scintillating golden sand suffused the air, heavier than anything so small had a right to be. It struck him, and he felt as if it left gouges everywhere it scraped along his body. Those open wounds took in the black, and the gold, and the floating dust, and they became part of him, thrusting aside the memories of his family, his home, and who he was.


    Kaz fell to the bottom of the bowl. Without the others to chase or flee from, he spun in place, every bit of the remaining debris joining with him, scouring him clean. He lost track of Katri, then Ghazt, and then¡­


    ¡°Ghazt, what have you done?¡± The voice was familiar, and Kaz felt warm arms gather him close, cradling his body tightly.


    ¡°I had no choice, Rega,¡± the second speaker sounded defeated, and Kaz tried to turn his head to look and see who it was that spoke in such a tone.


    ¡°There is always a choice!¡± The first barked back, but the fingers probing at Kaz¡¯s arm were so gentle he barely felt their touch. The world shifted around him - them - as the person holding him settled back on her haunches with a sigh. ¡°Why are you even here?¡±


    Silence, long and fraught, before the deeper voice - Ghazt? - replied roughly. ¡°I had to see for myself. How can they all be dead? Every single one? Even your sister can¡¯t be that cruel.¡±


    The vibrations of a bitter laugh shook Kaz. ¡°Oh, yes, she can. Though I have no doubt this is just a small part of some twisted plan. We¡¯ll find out when we go to the main den.¡±


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    The other growled, long and furious. ¡°We can run. Take Kaz and Katri and-¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t, and you know it. If we managed to find another tribe to take us in, as soon as the dye wore off your fur, they¡¯d trade you back in a heartbeat,¡± the one called Rega said. ¡°And there¡¯s no way we can survive the mid-levels alone. The pups wouldn¡¯t last a week.¡±


    ¡°We can take the whole tribe. You know they¡¯d go in a heartbeat if you asked. And just because I need tree bark to make the dye I¡¯ve been using, that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t use a different one. It just won¡¯t be as effective.¡±


    Kaz and Rega tilted forward together, and Kaz blinked open his eyes in time to see red fur meet dark bluish-green. Rega leaned against Ghazt, Kaz held tightly between them. A soft, low whine came from her throat, and she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. I thought we were safe, at least until the pups grew up and were ready to take mates, but with the Woodblades gone-¡±


    Ghazt¡¯s arms went around Rega, crushing Kaz until he whimpered, and both adults sprang apart, looking down at him, worry and relief mingling in their expressions.


    ¡°Kaz?¡± Rega asked, gently stroking Kaz¡¯s fur. ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    He stared up at her. He understood what she was saying, knew she spoke his name, but he didn¡¯t know why they were looking at him like that. When he opened his mouth and tried to reply, nothing came out but more whimpering.


    Rega¡¯s fingers roved over him, combing through his fur, opening the soft leather vest he wore so she could examine his chest. She hesitated over a spot on his abdomen, and he flinched as a stab of pain went through him at the touch. Rega whined again, turning to glare toward the tall brown thing that towered behind them.


    Something scraped across stone, and Ghazt held up a slender chain with five beads dangling from it. They were each a different color - black, white, yellow, red, and blue - and they caught Kaz¡¯s attention as he felt emotion for the first time since he woke. Fear. Something about those round balls was terrible in a way that broke through the detachment that had been protecting him, and suddenly he was thrashing, whining, and scratching at Rega as he struggled to escape.


    ¡°No!¡± he howled. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back!¡±


    Ghazt¡¯s fist clenched, but he began to reach toward Kaz with the necklace, until Rega pulled away protectively. ¡°No!¡± she told her mate firmly. ¡°He¡¯s only a puppy.¡±


    ¡°But this is the way,¡± Ghazt said, helplessly. ¡°It should have waited until he was older, but-¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Rega said, even more firmly. She shifted Kaz to one arm, and her hand darted out, taking the chain from Ghazt¡¯s unresisting fingers. Without hesitation, she snapped the leather cord that hung around her own neck, allowing the beads and bones hanging there to clatter to the ground. A rough blue sapphire that matched one on Ghazt¡¯s necklace rolled across the stone, coming to a rest against a rough brown thing that broke through the rocky floor.


    Lifting the necklace, Rega slid it around her own neck before Ghazt could stop her. She stiffened, her eyes rolling back in her head, and a guttural whine escaped her. Ghazt reached out, catching both her and Kaz as Rega fell to the side.


    ¡°Rega! That was supposed to go to Kaz! What will happen if the Tree calls him?¡±


    Rega blinked open her eyes, a fierce smile emerging from behind the pain. ¡°It¡¯ll have to find him first.¡±


    The scene froze, locked in place as if time had ended. Kaz stared back and forth between his parents, seeing the deep garnet red of Rega¡¯s fur, bright and rich, without a single strand of silver. Ghazt, too, looked hale and healthy. His fur was darker than Kaz remembered, blue-green with a hint of brown at the ends that he hadn¡¯t been able to see earlier, and Kaz wondered how he had forgotten that Ghazt used to color his fur when Kaz was little.


    He had forgotten so much, though. Everything before the events of this day was just¡­ gone. Where was this place, and why had Ghazt brought him here? What was going to happen now?


    A loud, hissing roar reached his ears, and Kaz turned his head, looking up. Up, through the broad green ceiling far above him, toward the glimmer of yellow-blue light that trickled between the ovoid shapes that merged into one verdant mass. The cry came again, and then the green separated, a shimmering strand of ki dividing it, followed by a slim, winged shape that dove toward Kaz.


    Without thinking, he lifted his hands, and as Li flew toward him, he saw the shape of a necklace, tangled in his fingers. It wasn¡¯t the one Rega now wore, its five beads stark against her red fur, but another, similar but different, the colored spheres mingling with other gems and teeth. It was wrapped firmly around his hand, the beads pressed against his flesh, and glowing inside his arm were five distinct threads that drove toward his chest with terrifying speed.


    Li¡¯s claws closed around the chain, yanking on it so it pulled painfully against Kaz¡¯s hand. He yelped, but Li just twisted in midair, using her weight and momentum to continue pulling the necklace toward the ground. Kaz reached for her, intending to raise her up, but she hissed and snapped at him like a mad fuergar caught in a trap.


    One of the beads lifted from Kaz¡¯s skin, the thread breaking with an almost audible snap, and Kaz gasped, feeling an answering twinge in his chest. It was enough to bring him out of his numb fugue, however, and he sucked in a gasping breath, tearing at the chain with his free hand. Another bead came free, and then another, leaving only gold and black. Kaz¡¯s fingers hesitated, and he stared at them.


    Li¡¯s mouth closed on the black bead, biting down, and it crunched into dust, small fragments trickling from the sides of her mouth, ground to nothing between her teeth. Kaz gasped again, this time in pain, but the little dragon wasn¡¯t done. The chain dangled now, tangling around her legs and binding her wings to her body, but she didn¡¯t stop, didn¡¯t even look at the hard ground so far below. If she fell, she would fall hard, and she could be hurt.


    Ignoring both the spike of agony that drove into him and Li¡¯s angry roars, Kaz grasped both bead and dragon, pulling them apart. The bead tore from his skin, something like a wire drawing through and out of his flesh before it vanished, along with the bead, and then the necklace itself. The rest of the world dissolved around Kaz, even his parents disappearing into motes of shimmering light.


    Only two things remained: Kaz and Li. Kaz cradled the dragon to his chest, feeling her shiver beneath his touch. His head pounded, but the pain was beginning to recede, letting him think clearly enough to speak.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he murmured, and the dragon sighed, grumbling as she settled down against him and closed her eyes.

 Chapter One hundred sixty-one

    ¡°-az!¡± Lianhua¡¯s insistent voice pulled Kaz from his stupor. He blinked open his eyes, frowning against the bright light of the orb hanging just beyond his nose.


    ¡°What happened?¡± he muttered, batting at the ball of light. As if it was a solid thing, rather than made of intangible power, it moved, and he heard Lianhua¡¯s breath hiss in between her teeth just before the light went out.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯d like to know,¡± she told him. Her pale face came into view, eyes wide and concerned. ¡°You took off Idla¡¯s necklace, then Li pulled a knife out of your bag, and then both of you just fell over.¡±


    ¡°An¡¯ these kobolds sure do want your knife,¡± Raff put in from somewhere nearby. ¡°So you¡¯d better hop on up and let us all know what¡¯s going on before someone gets hurt. More hurt. Hurt more?¡±


    Kaz sat up, Lianhua quickly retreating so he didn¡¯t bump into her. Something slid down his chest and into his lap, and Li gave an irritated hiss. Looking down, Kaz saw that the dragon was glowering back up at him, and he scooped her up in one arm before accepting Lianhua¡¯s help in standing.


    The knife and hilt lay on the ground where they¡¯d fallen, and Raff stood over them, sword out. Kaz could see condensed mana being pulled into the big human¡¯s body, so he knew Raff was getting ready for a real fight, not just posturing. Chi Yincang stood nearby as well, but he was watching Lianhua, rather than the kobolds surrounding them.


    At some point, the rest of Idla¡¯s kobolds had returned, and now they were arrayed around their chief, glaring toward the Magmablades. Hackles were raised and teeth were bared, but neither group moved, and their leader¡¯s attention was firmly fixed on Kaz and the two objects resting on the ground.


    ¡°How do you have those, pup?¡± Idla asked, but her voice was soft, not the challenging tone he would have expected.


    Kaz stepped forward, picking up both objects. He felt a brief impulse to thrust them back into his pouch, concealing them from view, but it wasn¡¯t strong, and he dismissed it easily. Holding up the knife, he said, ¡°This belonged to my father, Ghazt. After he died, my mother, Rega, passed it on to me.¡± Several years later, true, but Kaz wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect it from Oda if he¡¯d gotten it any sooner, so he understood why Rega had chosen to wait.


    His parentage was no surprise to Ija, of course, but she gasped, ¡°Why did Ghazt have it? We thought Vega-¡± She clamped her mouth shut, but it was too late.


    Idla growled softly. ¡°You thought Vega had it? We thought Oda hid it. We¡¯ve been scouring the Deep looking for it ever since the fire.¡±


    Kaz looked between them. ¡°I thought you believed the Woodblade was destroyed. Wasn¡¯t that why you broke the Magmablade?¡±


    The two females stared at each other for a long moment, and then Idla sighed, waving for the yellow-furred kobolds protecting her to back down. ¡°The blade is intact, and should be usable,¡± she admitted. ¡°We knew the fire that killed the Woodblades didn¡¯t get hot enough to destroy an adamantium weapon, so it had to be here somewhere. But the Mithrilblades¡¯ best ore hunters swore they smelled no adamantium on Oda or in any den controlled by the Magmablades. How did Oda manage to sneak it out?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. He remembered being able to smell the gold in the fuergar, but it was a strange and distant sort of memory, and he didn¡¯t think that was an ability he retained after Nucai - and he was certain it had been Nucai - had changed the balance of his ki. Was that a Mithrilblade skill, and did that mean his father¡¯s father had been a member of that tribe?


    Ija had relaxed slightly when the Goldblades did, and now she offered, ¡°Some few members of my tribe are able to use our power to hide odors. We aren¡¯t supposed to tell anyone, because the ability has allowed us to conceal our activities for generations. It¡¯s forbidden to even use the skill without permission from the true chief.¡± Her tone was conciliatory, though her stance was belligerent, and Kaz saw Idla¡¯s eyes narrow in thought.


    ¡°There is a great deal going on here that needs explanation,¡± the Goldblade chief finally said. Her hand went to her throat, where her necklace should have hung, and she said, ¡°But thanks to this young Woodblade, we now have all the time we need to hear each other out. For now, however, I think we should return to the Goldcoat den. By now, the other Great Tribes will have heard that a potential Woodblade was found and lost again within a single day. I¡¯d be surprised if Tisdi and Avli aren¡¯t already looking for us.¡±


    Ija stepped forward, ignoring the growls of Idla¡¯s warriors, and her voice shook only slightly when she said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you anything you wish to know, but in exchange, those who lived in this den must be allowed to remain together, and unharmed. I offer my life as guarantee that they won¡¯t fight or try to escape.¡±


    Murmurs rose from behind her, but Idla just lifted her lip, showing the barest hint of sharp teeth. ¡°Your life is already forfeit, little Magmablade,¡± she growled softly. ¡°You have nothing left to bargain with.¡±


    Now Kaz stepped between the two groups. He was vaguely aware that Lianhua, Raff, and Chi Yincang had gathered behind him, but his attention was wholly on Idla. He held up the Woodblade. ¡°Then I¡¯ll bargain with this. One den full of pups and innocent kobolds in exchange for the key to opening the mountain.¡±


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    Idla¡¯s topaz eyes sparked. ¡°There is no such thing as an innocent Magmablade, little Woodblade, which you will understand soon enough, especially if you truly are Ghazt¡¯s pup, which I doubt.¡± She cast one more look around, then sighed, fingers stroking the empty fur at the base of her throat. ¡°But I accept your bargain. The knife, and a Woodblade to wield it, in exchange for sparing their lives, at least until you change your mind.¡±


    Kaz shivered at the look of triumph in her eyes, but nodded. After all, ¡®a Woodblade¡¯ didn¡¯t mean him, and Kaz could see eight other kobolds with blue ki from where he stood.


    After that, the group was gathered and quickly evacuated from the den, which felt strangely empty even before they actually left. Lianhua refused to leave Tegra¡¯s books behind, though she reluctantly admitted that she didn¡¯t have enough room in her storage pouch for all of the others.


    Kaz took Rega¡¯s book, tucking it away into his pouch along with the hilt of the Magmablade. He had had to trust almost all of the contents of his backpack to the pouch so that Li could keep it safe, and now that the knife had emerged unscathed, he was finally ready to believe that the things he put inside wouldn¡¯t be lost or damaged. The only item he hadn¡¯t put in was the seed, since he wasn¡¯t sure what would happen to the bond between them if he did.


    He hesitated over the Woodblade, staring at the beautiful weapon for a long minute before sliding it into the sheath hanging from his belt. He felt no regret as he tucked away the shabby knife Zyle had given him. It had served its purpose, but only a kobold from the heights would think it was a weapon worthy of wielding.


    It turned out that there were several more Magmablades than there were Goldblades, but in spite of the imbalance, the Magmablades were silent and obedient as they trooped past the spot where Vega died. Everyone circled around the drying pool of gore, only the youngest puppies whimpering softly at the sight.


    As they made their way up the stairs, Lianhua fell in beside Kaz, with Raff close behind her. The blurry patch of ki that was Chi Yincang was slightly ahead of them, between Lianhua and Idla. Surprisingly, the Goldblade leader seemed to be able to tell that he was there, because her ears swiveled to follow him, though she never looked his way.


    Lianhua traced the rune for silence on her palm and held it up for Kaz to see. A muffling dome of ki fell over them, and Kaz readied himself for an interrogation as she looked over at him.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± she asked, and the question surprised him so much he actually gave a short bark of laughter.


    ¡°I think so,¡± he told her. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on. Idla obviously hates the Magmablades, but now she¡¯s ready to talk? What changed?¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°When you took that necklace off, she was almost giddy. Her tail was actually wagging!¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. He would have given a great deal to see the cunning chief of the Goldblades wagging her tail like an overenthusiastic puppy. It was too bad he¡¯d been facing whatever the necklace was trying to do to him at the time.


    ¡°Seriously though, Kaz¡­¡± Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to think I¡¯m trying to make you feel guilty, but I thought we¡¯d decided to trust each other. Why didn¡¯t you ever tell me any of this?¡± Quickly, she held up her hands. ¡°I know, you just found out about Ghazt and Rega, but you had to know that knife was something special. Maybe even something made by the Diushi. But you didn¡¯t show it to me.¡±


    He pushed down the urge to snap and tell her it was none of her business, instead lowering his ears as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t really understand it myself, but whenever I thought about showing the knife or the hilt to anyone, I always found an excuse not to do it. At first, I just didn¡¯t trust any of you, but later, each time I had an opportunity, I would think, ¡®it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with her¡¯. Then it was like I would forget all about it until the next time.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I still feel it, but something about breaking the necklace also broke whatever was causing those thoughts. Now, though I¡¯m still not sure what¡¯s going to happen, I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m betraying my tribe or my father by revealing that I have it. More importantly, I think that I met Nucai before, when I was very young.¡±


    Quickly, he outlined the memories he¡¯d recovered when he held the necklace, and Lianhua looked more and more concerned as the story went on, until he finished with, ¡°Then Li and I destroyed the necklace, and woke up.¡±


    Lianhua was frowning deeply, her hands shoved deep in the sleeves of her robe. They had left the stairs behind some time ago, and would soon arrive back in the Goldcoat den. They had already passed a few totems and some guards, who took one look at their mixed group and ran off back toward the den.


    ¡°Kaz, I don¡¯t think you should go when I meet Nucai,¡± Lianhua finally said, her expression much more serious than he was used to. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that his interest in you isn¡¯t purely benign. Given the way Zhangwo talked about his ¡®experiments¡¯ and mentioned that others were doing something similar, it seems possible that Nucai himself created your race. If so, he may be able to control you in some way. He¡¯s certainly linked to these necklaces somehow, and given the way Idla reacted when hers was removed, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re meant to help anyone except Nucai himself.¡±


    Kaz had had the same thought, but he shook his head. ¡°I think the necklace was trying to bind me the same way it bound Idla, but when I broke it, I also broke some part of the hold Nucai had on me. I can¡¯t explain it, but I believe that I¡¯m actually safer now than I was before, and if you go without me, Nucai will be angry. At best, he¡¯ll refuse to answer your questions, and at worst¡­¡±


    He let the sentence trail off, knowing Lianhua understood. It was clear that Zhangwo had been weaker - possibly much weaker - than Nucai, and Lianhua¡¯s grandfather had had to step in just to keep the ancient mosui at bay. If Nucai decided to take out his displeasure on Lianhua and the others, there was probably nothing they could do to defend themselves. It was possible that Lianhua¡¯s grandfather might come to take revenge, but that wouldn¡¯t bring Lianhua back, and it could well result in the deaths of many of those living in the mountain when the two behemoths came face to face.


    Lianhua looked away, and Kaz could see by the tension in her shoulders that she was still upset. As the end of the tunnel loomed ahead of them, she burst out, ¡°Then we¡¯ll leave. I¡¯ll make copies of Princess Tiyang¡¯s books, and once the mountain can be opened again, we¡¯ll go. I have enough evidence to convince even Elder Jianyu. Someone else can come back and try to speak with Nucai.¡±


    Kaz felt a great rush of relief at these words, and Li even woke up long enough to let out a series of happy whistles before settling back into sleep. He felt his own tail begin to wag. ¡°That sounds like a good idea,¡± he told her, and she gave him a shaky but determined smile as they entered the Goldcoat den.

 Chapter One hundred sixty-two

    The large meeting hut in the center of the Goldcoat den was packed. Raff was so large that he had to be sent out, though Chi Yincang refused to leave so long as Lianhua remained inside. Lianhua, for her part, was absolutely determined to stay as long as Kaz did, and Kaz couldn¡¯t leave, no matter how much he wanted to.


    Besides Kaz and the two humans, there were fourteen other kobolds, all shifting uneasily and casting suspicious or angry glances at each other. Idla stood on one side, along with Berin, Senge, and their mother, Tezne, who had finally returned from battling the fulan-created monster who managed to reach the Deep. Across from them, Ija and Sika seemed to be erect only through sheer force of will. Ija¡¯s father, Rudu, was the only male kobold present other than Kaz, and the pink-furred puppy, Kyla, huddled against his side.


    Not far from Idla was Tisdi, the chief of the Waveblades. She was about the same age as Idla and Vega, but everything about her was black. Her dark fur didn¡¯t reveal a hint of white or silver, to the point that Kaz had caught himself wondering if she dyed it. She almost certainly did dye or paint her claws, because Kaz had never seen any that weren¡¯t white or yellow before. Her ebony eyes had to be entirely natural, however, and only her teeth and the whites of her eyes revealed that she wasn¡¯t a kobold-shaped patch of darkness.


    Given the way she looked, Kaz had expected her to be silent to the point of being taciturn, but instead she was currently serving as peacemaker. Her light, soft voice somehow overrode the angry growls that had risen more than once during the explanation of the past day¡¯s events, and her dark eyes were always mild, even when she glanced toward the Magmablades.


    Tisdi was accompanied by two other females, one about Kaz¡¯s age, who was probably her successor, and another whose age Kaz couldn¡¯t pin down, but whose dark core burned fiercely. Both of these had the black-painted claws, but the daughter¡¯s fur was a natural deep gray, while the third female had black fur with a wide white stripe that traveled from her nose, down her back, all the way to the tip of her tail.


    The final contingent was made up of three Mithrilblades, but their chief seemed unsettled in a way none of the other females were. Her name was Avli, and she was young enough to be Idla or Tisdi¡¯s daughter. The other two great chiefs treated her like a child who was there to learn, rather than an equal partner, and she hadn¡¯t spoken a word since she was introduced.


    More interesting to Kaz was what was going on inside this female¡¯s belly. Her core was a wild mass of ki, and while it seemed to be entirely white, it was like watching a battle between moonstone and white dolomite. The dolomite was soft, almost fuzzy around the edges, while the moonstone shone with crystal clear brilliance. Again and again, Kaz found his attention being drawn back to Avli, who looked more than a little sick.


    ¡°Kaz is Ghazt¡¯s pup, which means he¡¯s not only a true Woodblade, but the rightful chief of the tribe!¡± Ija insisted, drawing Kaz¡¯s attention back to the current argument raging between the chiefs. He winced, hating that he was involved at all, much less that Ija seemed determined to make him a chief. Unfortunately, this was the one thing she and Idla agreed on, though the Goldblade refused to believe Rega was Kaz¡¯s mother, no matter what Ija and Sika said.


    ¡°I remember young Ghazt, but he died without taking a mate,¡± Idla said stubbornly. ¡°Kaz must be one of the pups who escaped the Woodblade den the night it burned, and Oda somehow stole him away. He is certainly a Woodblade, but there is no way he has Magmablade blood in him!¡±


    Apparently, when a new tribe was created - or an old one resurrected, as in this case - the chief could select the new tribe¡¯s members from among their old one. Old chief and new worked together to choose, making sure to leave both tribes with enough members to continue and grow. In this case, Ija was arguing that because Kaz had been born to a Magmablade female, that meant he should select his new tribe members from among the Magmablades. Or, more accurately, he should claim all of the Magmablades.


    Idla, on the other hand, said that Kaz must be a pureblooded Woodblade, and they had many cousins among the Waveblades and Goldblades who would be happy to be part of the formation of a new tribe of Woodblades.


    Kaz had repeatedly informed the Goldblade chief that he was certain Ghazt was his father, and Ghazt had been very much alive when he left the Deep with the Broken Knives, but she brushed his claims aside by focusing on the fact that he had believed Oda was his mother until a few hours ago. After all, if Oda was willing to lie about giving birth to him, wasn¡¯t she also entirely capable of finding a male who looked like Ghazt, and calling him by her lost love¡¯s name? Kaz had to admit that that did indeed sound like something Oda might have done, and his moment of hesitation was all Idla had needed to make up her mind.


    At this point, Kaz¡¯s opinion was as worthless as his presence, and he was about done with it all. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that only his existence seemed to be holding Idla back from demanding the death of every Magmablade, down to the youngest pup, he would have walked out an hour ago.


    Li shifted on his shoulder, reminding him of the other reason he hadn¡¯t left yet. He needed these females to let them out of the mountain, and if he made enemies of them all, that wasn¡¯t likely to happen. Though at the moment, it seemed equally possible that they wouldn¡¯t allow him escape no matter what he did, which made simply turning and exiting the hut more and more appealing. Facing the long trek back up through the mountain had to be better than listening to these supposedly great chiefs argue.


    The dragon hissed softly in agreement, sending him an image of herself, spraying a blast of water from her mouth that was so powerful it drilled a hole through the side of the mountain, neatly removing the need for anyone to help them. She was extremely pleased with her new ability, even though it was currently limited to a light mist and a few drops of water. She spent so much time practicing that Kaz was becoming used to having a wet ear.


    Kaz smiled a bit and returned a picture of the little dragon chomping at the wall, eating a hole in the stone large enough for the two of them to escape. That seemed more likely than Li developing a strong enough burst to wear away stone, and the picture of the dragon¡¯s belly swollen with rocks was very amusing.


    A burble of condensation dripped from Li¡¯s snout as she made a little sound of annoyance. This sound was entirely new, rather like bubbling or boiling water, and Kaz couldn¡¯t bring himself to tell her that it was adorable, rather than intimidating.


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    ¡°Idla, we still need Magmablades,¡± Tisdi said sweetly. ¡°The furnaces will go out without them. Plus, the Voice of the Mountain created five tribes, not four, and while losing the Woodblades was a tragedy, one terrible choice does not call for another.¡±


    Idla glared at her sister chief and pointed her finger at the Magmablades. ¡°They¡¯re rotten, Deep to heights! Even if we don¡¯t kill them, they should be exiled, and we should find those within our own tribes with the same power.¡±


    Avli spoke for the first time, her voice wavering oddly between a deep, authoritative tone, and the near-whisper of a nervous pup. ¡°The Magmablades have proven themselves unworthy, but we could give them another chance, and they should be punished! Ija isn¡¯t anything like her mother.¡±


    Everyone turned to look at the Mithrilblade, whose pure white fur was so soft that it seemed to float as she swayed from side to side. Idla opened her mouth to bark a reply, but something in the young chief¡¯s aspect must have made Tisdi uneasy, because she gestured to the female with the white stripe, who leaped forward just as Avli slumped, her eyes closing and her hand clutching at her belly.


    The two Mithrilblades accompanying their chief reacted more slowly, and it was the striped Waveblade who caught Avli. The young chief was about the same size as her rescuer, but the dark female showed no sign of effort as she swung Avli into her arms.


    Idla and Tisdi exchanged glances, while Ija stepped back, holding up her hands as if to assure everyone that she had nothing to do with Avli¡¯s collapse. Her eyes were worried, however, and Kaz remembered Avli¡¯s last statement. It certainly sounded like Avli knew Ija personally, and they were friendly, if not friends.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Lianhua asked. She had been scribbling in her book since the meeting started, apparently writing down everything that was happening, but now she looked almost as worried as Ija.


    Neither of the two older chiefs seemed inclined to answer as they cleared a space for the Waveblade to lay Avli down. Ija, however, said, ¡°Her mother died three days ago,¡± as if that was all the answer anyone needed.


    Lianhua still seemed confused, but Kaz looked at the roiling core in Avli¡¯s abdomen and felt his stomach sink. When a kobold died, the rest of the tribe had three days to visit them to say their farewells before the body was burned. Females prepared the bodies, and while a male¡¯s corpse was simply laid in jejing, a female was thoroughly wrapped, and only other females were allowed into the hut where she laid.


    Kaz used to believe that this was simply another way that males and females were treated differently in a tribe, but now he knew that it was at least partially to conceal the fact that the female¡¯s cores were removed before they were burned. He still wasn¡¯t sure if all cores were taken out, or what happened to those cores, but he did know that new chiefs, at least here in the Deep, ate their predecessor¡¯s core. Which meant that Avli had probably eaten her mother¡¯s core, and what was happening right now was a result of that.


    Kaz found himself pushing through the small crowd gathering around the unconscious chief, ignoring Idla as she tried to protest. He knelt down on the cold stone, pressing his hand over Avli¡¯s stomach, feeling the heat rising from her flesh as she breathed in panting gasps. She was far too hot, and he gently pushed a little black ki into her body, not deep enough to interfere with the battle that was raging inside her, but hoping the cooling energy would help.


    ¡°What happens if the two cores are equal?¡± he demanded, looking up at Tisdi, who seemed the more reasonable of the two elder chiefs.


    She sighed heavily and reached out to grip the youngest Waveblade¡¯s hand. ¡°If neither core will yield, she¡¯ll die. Then her core will be passed on to the next chief.¡±


    Kaz stared down at the glowing white core beneath his hand. His own flesh suddenly seemed as transparent as Avli¡¯s, and the core appeared to grow larger, floating just out of reach. A weight lifted from his shoulder, and Li flew down to land on Avli¡¯s other side, her long neck stretching out as she stared at the young female¡¯s embattled core.


    Again, Kaz noted the two shades of white held therein. One was impossibly clear and brilliant, its light almost painful, while the other was softer, gentler, but no more yielding. They swirled around each other, but to Kaz¡¯s eyes, the softer light was clearly fighting a losing battle. While the bright white swirled around, shifting and stabbing at will, the soft white remained in one place, simply placing one bulwark after another before its opponent. Each time that shield cracked, it was replaced, but it was weakening with each attempt.


    Kaz narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out why the soft white didn¡¯t retaliate or evade, and caught a glimpse of something else, almost completely hidden within the enveloping glow of the gentle ki. The barest flicker of blue lay there, little more than the last spark in a bundle of firemoss before the fire went out. The soft ki was protecting it, but in doing so, it rendered itself vulnerable, and the sharp white power was more than willing to take advantage of that fact.


    There was something about that fierce protectiveness that made Kaz like the softer, gentler ki, but the two were so intermingled that he had no idea which one was actually Avli¡¯s, and which belonged to the core she had ingested.


    Carefully, Kaz reached out, trying to separate the two, hoping to at least give the softer ki a chance to recover, but both instantly turned on him, and he withdrew. He was strong enough that the two weakened ki-sources couldn¡¯t injure him, but they might well hurt themselves if they tried, which would make Avli¡¯s death at least partially his fault.


    Helpless, he watched as the two twined around each other, soft ki shifting around the blue, while the harder ki continued its assault. Vaguely, he was aware that someone was trying to pull him away, but his ki-strengthened body was all but immovable, and when Li began to hiss and emit her vaporous cloud, the insistent hands pulled away.


    At last, Kaz saw his chance, but this time he didn¡¯t target either of the furious coils of metal ki. Instead, he stretched out his own wood ki, holding tight to the fact that it was his, and not Avli¡¯s, and created a shield around the little flicker of blue. At first, neither of the two whites seemed to notice, but when the harder light turned a feint into an assault, its blow bounced back from Kaz¡¯s protective shell.


    Again, he found himself the target of both forms of power, but when the soft ki struck at him, he yielded before it, allowing it to touch the blue flicker within, and after a few rounds of this it seemed to realize he was there to help. It turned away from Kaz, applying its full strength to attacking its opponent, and before that unyielding fury, the harder white ki began to shatter. Pieces of it chipped away, and the soft ki quickly absorbed them, becoming stronger itself in the process.


    Once the balance shifted, the end came quickly, and the soft glow of ki suffused the core, all but the small part Kaz held safe. As soon as he was certain that it was over, and Avli - or at least Avli¡¯s body - would live, Kaz pulled his ki back with a great sigh of relief. It was very difficult to keep his blue ki from merging with that other scrap of power, which seemed all too willing to yield itself to him. He thought he could have absorbed it in an instant, eating up the very thing he had started out to protect.


    His audible sigh was joined by another, emitted from the muzzle of the female lying on the ground in front of him. She opened eyes which he would have sworn used to be gray, but which were now very definitely blue, and smiled at him.

 Chapter One hundred sixty-three

    For one terrible moment, Kaz stared down into those soft blue eyes, and then Avli murmured, ¡°Dett?¡± and reached up as if she would touch his cheek. Instantly, Li¡¯s head shot forward, and sharp teeth latched onto Avli¡¯s finger, drawing blood. Avli yelped, then sat up sharply, which brought her forehead into sudden contact with Kaz¡¯s muzzle.


    With a yip, Kaz pulled away, clutching at his tender nose. The impact was hard, but certainly not enough to do real damage to him, so he was more surprised than hurt. Li scampered straight across Avli, completely ignoring the way her sharp claws scratched at the young chief, and interposed herself between the two kobolds, steam roiling from between her blood-stained teeth.


    Kaz reached out and scooped up the dragon just as one of the Avli¡¯s attendants pulled a small but very sharp knife from its sheath. Lianhua stepped in front of Kaz as he struggled to his paws, and the hut was suddenly filled with the menacing flicker of many ki orbs.


    ¡°No!¡± The voice was Avli¡¯s, but held more confidence than anything she had said before. The undercurrent of uncertainty was gone, and she stood straight, pulling away from the pale-furred female who tried to take her arm, though the edges of her ears were bright pink.


    ¡°No,¡± she said again, and waved them apart. ¡°I¡¯m fine now. I just-¡± She broke off, turning to look straight at Idla, her chin held high. ¡°I see what you¡¯re doing, Idla, and I vote no. No killing the Magmablades, or finding an excuse to take their pups into our own tribes. No using their lives to force Kaz into becoming chief and taking one of yours,¡± her gaze shifted meaningfully to Senge, ¡°as mate. You found their weakness, as you always do, but I have enough authority now to deny you.¡±


    Kaz looked back and forth between Idla and Tisdi, finally realizing what they had been doing. The more Idla threatened the Magmablades, the more Tisdi offered what seemed like reasonable compromises, and between the two of them, they had come close to achieving their goal. Kaz had no interest in remaining in the mountain or being chief of a tribe, but they might well have trapped him into it by balancing his freedom against the lives of the entire Magmablade tribe.


    Idla rocked back on her paws, looking almost embarrassed at having been caught in her scheming. Tisdi was harder to read, no shadows revealing her changes of expression, but she ducked her head and her tail drooped a bit behind her.


    ¡°We need him,¡± Idla barked, pulling herself together to glare at Avli. Her fingers lifted to stroke the fur of her throat. ¡°Only a Woodblade can heal the Tree, and he can remove the necklaces!¡±


    Instantly, Avli, Tisdi, and the younger Waveblade all lifted their own hands, not quite touching the necklaces hanging from their own throats. Now that he knew what to look for, Kaz had seen the runestones and threads of ki, but they were quiescent, so he hadn¡¯t thought much about them beyond noting their existence.


    No one spoke until Idla turned to look at Kaz, eyes burning. ¡°When our daughters go on their spirit hunts, some of them receive one of these necklaces. They see it as an honor, a confirmation of their ability to become chief. And it is, but only because we have no choice.¡±


    Her jaw set. ¡°The necklaces do little besides keep us silent and within the mountain, but when any female with one of these necklaces dies, other than the chief, her core must be offered to the Voice. A Voice that no longer speaks, no longer protects, no longer exists. But still we feed her, and our strongest females are never allowed to join the ancestors.¡±


    Kaz looked at the three females wearing the necklaces. Tisdi nodded, her expression holding a terrible sadness, but both Avli and Tisdi¡¯s daughter looked horrified. Obviously, they hadn¡¯t yet learned about this. He sighed, turning back to Idla. ¡°I would have removed the necklaces if you just asked,¡± he told her.


    She looked startled, as if that thought had never occurred to her. ¡°But we must have Woodblades to tend the Tree, and you¡¯re the only one with the power. If we have nothing to offer you, why would you help?¡±


    Kaz looked at her sadly. ¡°Not everything is about what you have to gain. If there¡¯s one thing I learned from my mother - both of my mothers - it¡¯s that.¡±


    Turning to Tisdi, he held out the hand that wasn¡¯t cradling Li against his chest. ¡°Do you want the necklace off?¡±


    She opened her mouth to respond, but just like with Idla, ki began to pour down the threads inside her body before she could utter the words. Her back arched, and the striped female barely caught her before she fell. Kaz strode forward, binding the invading ki in place as Li jumped and bit down hard on one of the beads. It crumbled between her teeth, and Kaz snapped the chain, carefully avoiding touching any of the rune beads this time.


    As the chains connecting the necklace and Tisdi¡¯s organs dissolved into mana, both the unknown Waveblade and Avli swayed. They didn¡¯t fall, and when Kaz glanced at them, their chains looked finer and more fragile than those restricting the older chiefs. Li leaped to the Waveblade, biting and tugging at her necklace, while Kaz faced Avli again.


    He caught the damaging ki in his own even as he pulled the necklace apart, and the beads tumbled to the ground. Behind him, he heard more beads crunch, and glanced back in time to see the last necklace fall. Li hadn¡¯t been as gentle as he was, and ki had managed to reach the Waveblade¡¯s organs, reducing her to sobbing whimpers, but he thought she would be fine in a day or two.


    Kaz held out his arm for Li, but the dragon shook her head, gliding to the ground as she began to chase the rune-carved beads. Everyone else in the hut moved out of the way as if the dragon or the beads were poison, and Li seemed pleased that they were finally giving her the respect that she deserved.


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    Seeing that Tisdi was still recovering from having her necklace removed, even though it shouldn¡¯t have hurt, Kaz spoke to Idla. ¡°Tell me about this ¡®tree¡¯.¡±


    The Goldblade chief¡¯s eyes were so wide that she almost looked frightened, but she said, ¡°The Tree lies at the heart of the Deep. Taking care of it was the primary task given to the Woodblades by the Voice. They also took care of the yumi fields, along with the Waveblades, but their truest role was as the Tree¡¯s caretakers. Each day, they gave it power, so it could continue to thrive in a place so far from its home. The rest of us have been offering it power, just as the Woodblades once did, but we believe it will soon die. Nothing we¡¯ve tried has helped.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°But if the Voice is gone, why does this tree matter?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± Tisdi said, her usually gentle voice grim, ¡°the Tree holds up the mountain.¡±


    Kaz and Lianhua turned to stare at her, but the other kobolds were all nodding.


    ¡°A tree can¡¯t hold up a mountain,¡± Lianhua said, but she didn¡¯t sound certain.


    Idla barked up a laugh. ¡°Come, then. Once you see it, you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    Now it was Tisdi¡¯s turn to look shocked. ¡°Idla, no human has ever-¡±


    Idla made a slashing gesture, cutting her off. ¡°Because the necklaces wouldn¡¯t allow us to tell humans about kobold secrets. The Tree is already dying. What more can a few humans do to it?¡±


    Kaz was silently glad that Gaoda was safely tucked away in Chi Yincang¡¯s pouch, and when he caught Lianhua¡¯s eyes, he had a feeling she was thinking along the same lines. He looked around, finding Li among the Magmablades, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. Ija¡¯s fingers were wrapped around the necklace that still clung to her neck, and the dragon was staring up at it greedily.


    Quickly, before Li could decide to tear off Ija¡¯s necklace like she had the one on Tisdi¡¯s daughter, Kaz stepped over to the Magmablade. To his eyes, the chains linking her necklace to her body were stronger than those inside Avli and the Waveblade, but not yet as strong as the ones in the older chiefs. This time, he caught the beads in his own ki, binding each color with its opposite, before he asked, ¡°Ija, do you want me to remove your necklace as well?¡±


    Her chin jerked, and before the beads could do more than spark ineffectually, Kaz snapped the chain, allowing the gems, bones, and beads to fall down on Li¡¯s head. A particularly large ruby clonked off her skull, and she gave Kaz an irritated hiss before running off after the offending gemstone. It had no power in it, so it wouldn¡¯t do her any good, but Kaz was certain that it would be joining the runestones in the dragon¡¯s belly.


    Turning back to Idla, Kaz looked the chief straight in the eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re so certain that everything must have a price, then here is mine. I¡¯ll find you a true Woodblade, and do everything I can to save your Tree. In exchange, open the mountain and let my group leave.¡±


    Idla¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°And if the only Woodblade is you?¡±


    Kaz smiled, just a little. ¡°I¡¯m not so special as you seem to think. Do we have a deal?¡±


    Ija coughed softly, and Kaz glanced at her, seeing pleading eyes locked on him. He sighed, looking at the Goldblade chief again. ¡°And let the new Woodblade chief select their own tribe members, whoever they may be.¡±


    Silence hung, and then Idla pointed to the knife hanging at Kaz¡¯s waist. ¡°If I give this Woodblade a tribe, then you have to give her the Woodblade itself. It must remain in the mountain.¡±


    Somewhere deep inside, Kaz had already realized this. If the Woodblade truly was required to open the mountain, there was no way he could take it with him. And, honestly, while the thought of giving up the knife was painful, he thought losing the firestriker would be worse. He had many memories of his father using the firestriker to start a torch, of Ghazt¡¯s big hands cupping his own small ones as the older male taught Kaz how to use the device. The only memories Kaz had of the knife were painful ones, and he had no need to cling to them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to the new Woodblade chief, and no one else,¡± Kaz agreed. ¡°But you have to provide another weapon in exchange, and it also has to be made of adamantium or mithril.¡±


    One of Idla¡¯s ears twitched, and she nearly smiled. ¡°Done, then. Now, let us go.¡±


    Kaz felt a tug at his leg and crouched to allow Li to climb up his arm to his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he could see little Kyla¡¯s golden eyes follow the dragon¡¯s movements with awe and longing. It seemed that the pup could feel that their lives were no longer in immediate danger, so her fascination with Li had returned full force.


    ¡°I have one more thing to do before we go,¡± Kaz said. ¡°We brought eight male kobolds from the mosui city, and I can¡¯t leave until I know they¡¯ll be returned to their tribes or find a place with new ones.¡±


    Idla blinked, and she flashed a look toward Tezne, who looked in turn at Berin, whose ears instantly tucked flat against her head. Beside her, Senge looked quite pleased, at least until her mother turned the look on her as well.


    ¡°I was told some males came down from the mid-levels,¡± Tezne murmured, ¡°but heard nothing about mosui. Berin said she had a surprise for me after we were done speaking. You know how she is.¡±


    Berin¡¯s shoulders slumped, and for once the cocky Goldcoat showed none of her usual mocking humor. She glanced from her mother to Idla, then straightened her shoulders with a visible effort of will.


    ¡°The surprise was for both of you,¡± she said, trying to sound confident. ¡°But I wanted to clean it up a bit before I presented it to you. Dat has been taking care of that for me.¡±


    Idla frowned. ¡°When I allowed you to take my son as mate, you promised you would cease these puppyish escapades.¡±


    Behind Berin, Senge mouthed ¡®escapades¡¯ as if it was the most delicious word she¡¯d ever tasted. The younger Goldcoat looked positively gleeful.


    Berin coughed slightly, then waved a graceful hand. ¡°I think you¡¯ll forgive me, just this once, mate¡¯s mother.¡± Lifting her muzzle, she gave a soft, ululating howl, and a moment later a soft yip answered from beyond the door.


    Idla gave Berin a sharp glance, then barked, ¡°Enter.¡±


    There was a small commotion outside, and Dat pushed open the door, his broad back filling it so no one could see what he was trying to pull in after him. Whatever it was was clearly reluctant to join them, but finally Dat unplugged the doorway with an almost audible pop, then stepped aside to reveal¡­ Dett.

 Chapter One hundred sixty-four

    Dat had indeed ¡®cleaned up¡¯ his brother, whose fur had been ragged and dull after his long imprisonment. Someone had washed and trimmed Dett¡¯s fur and claws, leaving the fur short but smooth, while all of his claws were a uniform length, and slightly glossy. Fur which had seemed light brown in the mines was now revealed to be a deep gold instead, a darker shade of his mother¡¯s bright color.


    Everyone except for Kaz and Berin stared for one long, uncomprehending moment, and then Idla and Avli let out simultaneous gasps of recognition. Avli started forward, but Idla was closer, and took the two steps necessary to pull the small male into her embrace. She stood half a head taller than him, and for a moment, they were the very image of a mother tenderly holding her pup.


    It lasted only a heartbeat, and then Idla pushed herself back, releasing Dett with clear reluctance. She looked at Berin, eyes bright, and said, ¡°How? How did you do this?¡±


    It was Dett who answered, pulling away to glare from Berin to his brother. ¡°They didn¡¯t do anything except chop off my fur and make me smell like weiba. Kaz is the one who saved us. Mother, you should reward him immediately!¡± His chin lifted imperiously, but then he glanced at Avli from the corner of his eyes, and it dropped again as he tucked his tail bashfully.


    Idla turned to Kaz. ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    Kaz and Lianhua had tried to tell the chiefs about the mosui and the fulan, but they were so fixated on the Magmablades that they barely noticed. Now, however, Idla and the others listened as Kaz gave a carefully adjusted version of the events in the mid-levels, leaving out his own involvement as much as possible. He didn¡¯t want to encourage them to think he was even more valuable than they already did.


    When he was done, Idla shook her head, and her gaze went back to Dett. ¡°I told you you weren¡¯t ready to go to the mid-levels for your spirit hunt! If you had listened to me, you would have spent the last two years at home, where you belong, and-¡±


    ¡°And been mated to Berin,¡± Dett finished, glaring at the young Goldcoat female.


    Idla blinked, then nodded. ¡°Of course. Without you, she had to take Dat-¡±


    Again, Dett cut her off. ¡°Who is perfect for her, since they¡¯re both power-hungry and sly. I told you I wanted-¡±


    ¡°Avli was the Mithrilblades¡¯ heir!¡± Idla broke in. ¡°There was no way Zava would allow her to take a lesser son as mate.¡±


    Avli herself stepped up now, sliding between Dat and Dett, blue eyes shining as she reached out and took Dett¡¯s hand in her own larger one. ¡°But now my mother has no voice in the decision, and I, Avli, chief of the Mithrilblades, ask Idla, chief of the Goldblades, for her son, Dett, as my mate.¡±


    All of the other females turned to stare at her. ¡°You said you weren¡¯t ready to take a mate,¡± one of the unnamed Mithrilblades yelped.


    Avli grinned, stepping even closer to Dett so her long white coat mingled with his short gold fur. ¡°And now I am,¡± she said, fluffy tail swaying gently behind her.


    Kaz was close enough to see Dett¡¯s fingers tighten on hers spasmodically, and then he looked straight at his mother and said, ¡°I, Dett, youngest son of chief Idla Goldblade, accept chief Avli Mithrilblade¡¯s offer for me.¡±


    A choked little sound emerged from Idla¡¯s throat, and she said, ¡°But- We haven¡¯t even discussed-¡±


    Dett glanced toward Kaz, and his voice shook only slightly when he answered, ¡°You once said that a male who survived a week in the mid-levels deserved to choose his own mate. I survived more than two years, and Avli is my choice.¡±


    ¡°I meant your father,¡± Idla spluttered, then shook her head in defeat. ¡°And you¡¯re far more like him than I knew. Fine then, but Avli, rest assured I¡¯ll be asking a good deal for him.¡±


    Both Avli and Dett relaxed slightly, their hands shifting so their fingers could intertwine. ¡°And I will bargain well, so you can be proud of your son¡¯s mate,¡± Avli said, eyes sparkling.


    Kaz looked between them, glad that things were working out well for Dett. He couldn¡¯t say that Dett was a friend, or even that he particularly liked the other male, but all those who had been trapped in the mosui city had suffered enough for one lifetime. Still, Kaz had other things to do, and the confines of the hut were even tighter now that Dett and his over-large brother were crammed into it.


    An image popped into his head, and he looked down, meeting Li¡¯s golden eyes. She tilted her head slightly, and he crouched, allowing her to climb up onto his arm, and from there to his shoulder. He sent a query back to her, and she gave him an incredulous stare, as if shocked that he could possibly doubt her.


    Backing up, Kaz felt his tail brush against Lianhua¡¯s robe, and glanced over to see the blur of Chi Yincang¡¯s ki in a section of the hut that was suspiciously dark, given how many light orbs were currently illuminating it. Kaz lifted his hand, tracing the silence rune before whispering, ¡°Stay close.¡±


    Li clicked in satisfaction, and her power rose around them, encompassing both Kaz and Lianhua. Kaz could feel her pulling hard on his ki, as well as her own, and moved as quickly as he could. Always before, Li¡¯s ability to conceal herself and her companion had required that they hold completely still, barely even breathing until whatever they were hiding from had moved away.


    Recently, however, Li had become strong enough to maintain the effect while she was moving slowly, using her skill to sneak around the mosui city and eat the ki crystals used everywhere. Now, she assured Kaz that she could hide both him and - if he really found it absolutely necessary - Lianhua as well.


    As soon as Kaz was certain no one was looking his way - the dragon¡¯s ability urging them to focus on something else, like the happy couple standing by the door - Kaz slid around Lianhua and pressed up against the wall. Pulling the Woodblade from his belt, he made a slit in the leather, which parted easily and in complete silence. Then he simply took hold of Lianhua¡¯s hand and pulled her after him, slipping out of the crowded confines of the hut.


    Almost instantly, Chi Yincang came through after them, and Li dropped her skill, ribs heaving with the effort. Her middle dantian was nearly drained after only a few seconds of covering all three of them, but she had done it, and if she was a kobold, Kaz thought she would have howled in pride. As it was, she lifted her wings, spreading them wide behind Kaz¡¯s head as she arched her neck haughtily.


    Lianhua chuckled at the dragon¡¯s antics, then murmured, ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°One moment,¡± Kaz said, glancing toward Chi Yincang¡¯s blur. Kaz peered around the side of the hut to meet Raff¡¯s astonished eyes. The big male started to say something, but Kaz shook his head vehemently, clamping his hands around his own muzzle to indicate that the human should likewise keep his mouth closed. Raff frowned in puzzlement, then, when he saw Lianhua peeking out from behind Kaz, the human just shook his head in bemusement and circled around to join them.


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    Wiping the rune from his hand, Kaz murmured, ¡°I need to check on Ratre and,¡± he racked his brain for the other male¡¯s name, finally coming up with, ¡°Minc. And I want to know where the other Magmablades are.¡±


    Lianhua nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Someone needs to stay here to prevent them from panicking when they realize we¡¯re missing,¡± Lianhua said, looking at Raff.


    Raff sighed, starting to run his hand through his curly hair before glancing at Kaz and stopping himself. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s my job, eh? I gotta warn you, Lianhua, diplomacy isn¡¯t one of my strengths.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, ears cocked to catch any sound that might indicate their absence had already been discovered. ¡°Be blunt. They were taking too long, so we went to check on our companions. They won¡¯t like it, but you¡¯re just a male, doing as you¡¯ve been told.¡±


    ¡°Just a male, huh?¡± Raff muttered, and this time he did run his hand through his hair, making it stand up wildly. ¡°Then I guess I better give ¡®em what they expect. Get goin¡¯ before they stop nattering and start lookin¡¯ around.¡±


    Kaz and Lianhua exchanged a glance as Li gave a quiet whistle of agreement. The group split, Raff returning to the door of the large meeting hut, while Kaz followed his nose, Lianhua followed Kaz, and Chi Yincang followed Lianhua.


    Out of all the Magmablades, Kaz had had the closest contact with Kyla, Ija, and Sika. Unfortunately, they were all in the hut behind them, so instead he pulled up the memory of the scent of puppy, mingled with the lingering smell of stinking chouchou fungus and sickness.


    The Magmablades, adults and puppies alike, had been taken away as soon as they all entered the Goldcoat den, so Kaz tracked back toward the main entrance, ignoring the surprised looks passing kobolds gave him. So long as none of them took it upon themselves to send up a howl or try to stop him, it didn¡¯t matter if they stared. He wasn¡¯t really trying to hide, after all, just make sure everyone was well before he left.


    As Sika had noted, chouchou was very difficult to completely remove from fur, and when someone accidentally set one off, they usually just washed until it became tolerable, then waited for time to finish the job. That was exactly what had happened with little Gram, and the distinct smell lingered along the path the Magmablades had followed.


    Kaz led the way through a narrow passage leading to a much smaller cavern which was being used for storage. Leather bags and stone pots held various things that his nose told him were mostly food, but also other things that were harder to identify. He felt an urge to check one of each, much as he had when wandering through the mosui storehouse, but he restrained himself. These kobolds were, if not his allies, then not his enemies either. Stealing from them would be both risky and inappropriate.


    A single tunnel led away from this open area, and Kaz veered sharply toward it, then stopped only a few feet in. The ceiling was low, and the passage was just wide enough for two kobolds to pass each other, which meant that Lianhua and Chi Yincang would have a hard time squeezing past the guards posted there. Two males and a female, all wearing a large golden bead at front and center of their necklaces, stared back at Kaz¡¯s party.


    ¡°No one may pass,¡± the female said, looking from Kaz to Lianhua, clearly uncertain who she should be addressing. Her shield shimmered around her, fed by the bright gold core in her belly, so her uncertainty only extended to the formalities, not to whether or not she was prepared to do her job.


    Kaz held up his hands. ¡°I¡¯m Kaz,¡± he told her. ¡°I was with the Magmablades when they were captured. One of the puppies is sick, and I know how to help him.¡±


    The female softened slightly, and the two males behind her exchanged a glance. The mountain was no gentle place, and puppies died far too often. Even though the adults of a tribe didn¡¯t coddle their young, they all tended to be very aware not only of their presence, but of any sign that one wasn¡¯t doing well. Kaz was certain that these three had noticed Chix, and knew Kaz was telling the truth about that much at least.


    Finally, the Goldblade female gave a soft yip, and one of the males ducked into the dark opening behind him. A moment later, fierce puppy barks emerged from the hole, and then the male returned. Chix was tucked beneath one arm, and Gram dangled by the scruff of his neck from the other hand. Gram was still trying to bark and snap, but stilled when he saw Kaz, bright blue eyes going wide.


    Kaz crouched, and the warrior put down both puppies, giving Gram a soft warning growl when it seemed like the little blue puppy might try for one last nip. Chix was already heading for Kaz, though, so Gram darted after his friend without any further hesitation.


    When Chix reached him, Kaz set a hand on the pup¡¯s head, though he didn¡¯t pick him up this time. Chix still looked better than he had when Kaz first saw him, but his core was already noticeably dimmer, so Kaz sent him more ki. The frail puppy instantly perked up, his large gray eyes gazing up at Kaz worshipfully.


    ¡°Is everyone all right?¡± Kaz murmured to the pups, as they crowded close to him.


    Chix nodded, but Gram bared sharp little teeth. ¡°They took Acha and the other females away,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t know where they are. They said they¡¯d hurt them if we tried to escape.¡±


    Kaz frowned, but he wasn¡¯t really surprised. The best way to control males was by threatening the females, and the best way to control females was by threatening the young of the tribe. Still, he had hoped to find them all together so he could be sure Idla hadn¡¯t done anything without waiting for the other chiefs to agree.


    ¡°I just saw Ija and Sika,¡± he told the little ones. ¡°So I think everyone else must be safe somewhere, too.¡±


    Chix¡¯s eyes were beginning to flutter closed as blue ki cycled through his body, healing some of the damage created by the weakness of his core. Kaz caught him just as he started to slump, and the female Goldblade took a step forward, her shield shining as she put more power into it.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± she demanded.


    Gram had crowded up against his little friend, trying to lift him as he fell, and he stared up at Kaz with eyes full of questions.


    Kaz smiled at the female, whispering, ¡°He was in pain. He feels better now, so he can rest.¡± Then he looked at Gram and took the pup¡¯s little hand, pressing it against Chix¡¯s abdomen, just above the brittle gray core. Pulling on his own ki, he passed it through Gram¡¯s hand and into Chix, seeing Gram¡¯s eyes widen at the sensation.


    Kaz formed the ¡®obscure sound¡¯ rune in his mind, holding it as he said, ¡°Did you feel that?¡±


    Gram nodded eagerly.


    ¡°Chix doesn¡¯t have enough energy,¡± Kaz told him. ¡°Each time he grows, he gets weaker, because his body gets bigger, but he only has the same amount of power to feed it. Soon, he¡¯ll grow too large, and I think he¡¯ll die when that happens.¡±


    Gram¡¯s ears flattened, but he glared at Kaz. ¡°Then you have to keep him healthy,¡± he demanded, and Kaz smiled sadly.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be here to help him,¡± he said gently, watching the way Gram¡¯s face fell. ¡°But you will.¡± He allowed another pulse of ki to travel through Gram¡¯s hand and into Chix.


    ¡°If you can learn to push your power out, you can save him yourself,¡± he said.


    Gram¡¯s face crumpled in confusion. ¡°I don¡¯t have any power.¡±


    Kaz leaned in, as if imparting a great secret, which, in fact, he was. ¡°You do,¡± he told the blue-furred puppy. ¡°And Chix does, too, but not as much. Not enough. But you can learn to do what I do, and share your power with him. I think you have enough to keep both of you alive.¡± And then some, he thought wryly, looking at the sapphire burning in the puppy¡¯s belly.


    The hand that Kaz wasn¡¯t holding clenched into a fist, and Gram stared up at Kaz, eyes blazing with determination. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything to help him,¡± Gram said, and Kaz lifted his hand, giving the small one a last pat.


    Before he could say anything else, the female Goldblade interrupted again. Her yellow eyes were suspicious, and she looked over the puppies as if they might be hiding a weapon in their fur. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± she said. ¡°You say the puppy is better, so he should go back with the others.¡±


    Kaz stood, taking a few steps back, almost bumping into Lianhua. He wiped his hand out of habit, though this time the rune had only been an image in his mind. He felt almost as tired as Chix, but he had one more thing to do before the chiefs caught up to him.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Kaz urged Gram, and the puppy gritted his teeth, straining to lift Chix. The Goldblade warrior stepped forward, but Gram growled at him, staggering off down the tunnel with Chix¡¯s paws dragging behind him.


    When the puppies were gone, Kaz bowed politely to the female, as well as the two warriors, then turned to Lianhua.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go visit the healer,¡± he said.

 Chapter One hundred sixty-five

    When Kaz arrived at the healer¡¯s hut, he found Raff, the chiefs, and their guards waiting for him. Raff gave him a helpless shrug, and Kaz offered a little yip in return. He knew it was unlikely that he would be able to escape for long, which was why he¡¯d gone to find the Magmablades first.


    As he approached, Idla glared at him, but it was less angry than he would have expected. Perhaps that was explained by the presence of Dett, who almost seemed to glow as he stood just behind Avli, in the guard position. In contrast, Berin was scowling, while Senge wasn¡¯t even trying to conceal her grin. If Dat and Brez weren¡¯t next to them, Kaz might well have gotten them mixed up, given how thoroughly their aspects had switched.


    ¡°Your concern for your companion speaks well of you, young Woodblade,¡± Tisdi said in her gentle voice, throwing a quelling glance at Idla. ¡°We were, however, somewhat concerned when we realized you left.¡±


    Avli¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Tezne was somewhat concerned about the hole in her hut, as well.¡±


    Kaz grimaced. Hut walls were usually created by sewing together many small sections of leather, but the Goldcoats had somehow managed to find and cure two pieces large enough to wrap around the entire meeting hut by sewing them end to end. While a talented enough kobold might be able to repair the cut he made, it would never be the same.


    The Goldcoat chief looked pained, but didn¡¯t respond, and Kaz said, ¡°I am sorry about that. After everything that was said earlier, I wasn¡¯t certain I would be allowed to do what I needed to do.¡±


    Idla¡¯s jaw flexed, and her eyes flicked behind him. Kaz didn¡¯t turn, but he smelled the female Goldblade who had been guarding the Magmablades. He had noticed her following them, of course, and it must be obvious to everyone that he hadn¡¯t come directly here. He was checking on Idla¡¯s honesty, and she knew it.


    ¡°Well,¡± the Goldblade chief gritted out, ¡°your companion is waiting for you. Make it brief.¡± She hesitated, then managed to add, ¡°Please.¡±


    Instead of answering, Kaz ducked into the hut, practically shutting the door in the chiefs¡¯ faces. The last thing he wanted was for all of them to crowd in after him. Not only was the healer¡¯s hut much smaller than the meeting hut, it wouldn¡¯t help Ratre and Minc to have a bunch of strange females so close.


    Three pairs of eyes watched Kaz make his way across the small space. The healer, Jul, looked less than pleased, while Ratre seemed worried and uncertain. Minc¡¯s brown eyes were open as well, though they were still glazed with fever, and he looked even more confused than Ratre.


    ¡°You riled up the hoyi nest, pup,¡± Jul grumbled, shifting a few of the little pots on the table in front of him. ¡°These two are recovering well, but all the excitement isn¡¯t good for them. Idla just barged in here and woke them both up, you know.¡±


    Grimacing, Kaz sat down beside Ratre, unbuckling and pulling off his pack. His pouch was still hidden in its depths, so he reached into it and then into the pouch. First, he took out Ratre¡¯s bone support, which he hadn¡¯t found a private moment to work on. Next, he laid two blue ki-stones beside it. Finally, he pulled out the Woodblade, and set it on the ground with a click.


    ¡°Pup¡­ No, Kaz, is that what I think it is?¡± Jul asked, half-standing.


    Kaz chuffed a small laugh, gently pushing Li away from the two ki-stones. He hadn¡¯t given her any of the blue ones yet, since they were so rare, and her eyes spun hungrily as she stared at them.


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s the missing Woodblade, then you¡¯re right,¡± he said absently, amazed at how easy it was to admit it. ¡°No, Li, you can¡¯t eat these. Here, how about a red one?¡±


    He offered the dragon a bright red ki stone, larger than most of the others. At first, she turned up her nose, still eyeing the blue crystals, but when Kaz sent her silent encouragement, she let out a sigh and accepted, holding the stone in her small paws as she attempted to shove it into her mouth.


    When Kaz looked up again, he found that even Minc¡¯s eyes had sharpened to comprehension, and all of the males had been shocked into silence as they stared at Li. Apparently, news of the dragon¡¯s transformation hadn¡¯t yet reached the private little world inside the healer¡¯s hut.


    Taking advantage of their surprise, Kaz picked up the larger of the two blue crystals, holding it beside the piece of worn bone. It looked to be about the right size, so he set it down again, picking up the knife and bone instead.


    Leveling a look at Li as she began to edge toward the blue crystals again, he said firmly, ¡°No. We only have a few of those, but I promise I¡¯ll give you the largest one we have left as soon as you¡¯re hungry again.¡±


    Li immediately rested her paws on her belly, which was much more rounded than it was before she began eating crystals in the mosui city, and made a low rumbling sound like an empty stomach. She sent him an image of herself, so hungry that she simply fell over, and he promptly replied with what he saw in her core. It was churning happily, working at absorbing the red ki from the crystal she just ate, and not at all the empty pit she claimed. With a sigh, she settled back on her haunches, scratching absently at an itchy spot on her side, and Kaz got to work.


    Quickly, Kaz hollowed out a space at the top of the bone, where it touched Ratre¡¯s stump. Kaz, like everyone else in his tribe, had turned his hand to almost everything at one point, so he knew that the trickiest thing about working with bone was how easily it could chip or crack. With the adamantium blade, however, it was almost too easy to cut away the excess, and he was actually more worried that he would slip and take too much.


    Once he had the hole big enough, he looked up at Jul. ¡°Do you have any yanchong slime?¡±


    Wordlessly, the healer nodded, and passed a small pot to Kaz. Kaz used a clump of moss to remove a small amount, careful not to get any on his skin or fur, and tucked the clump into the bottom of the hole. That done, he carefully pressed the larger ki-crystal into the remaining gap, then pinched the bone, passing red ki through it from his thumb to forefinger.


    As he¡¯d hoped, a small amount of smoke trickled out around the crystal, showing that the moss had at least started to burn away, which should leave a bit of ash and the slime, which would be rendered rock hard by heat. Yanchong slime was incredibly useful, but the creatures themselves could destroy an entire den simply by passing through it, and not even notice they¡¯d done so. For good or ill, they were rare, in part because they reproduced only when something managed to cut the end off of one, leaving two giant worms when both pieces healed.


    Kaz prodded the ki-stone, making sure that it was now set firmly in place, then picked up the second stone and eyed it. He¡¯d seen broken crystals in the mid-levels, but they¡¯d all either been burned out by overuse, or had so many flaws that they cracked as soon as someone tried to remove them from the walls.


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    But he knew for sure that these crystals could be cut, just like gemstones, without losing their power. If anything, being cut seemed to make them stronger. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if what he was about to do would work, but even if it didn¡¯t, the first ki-stone was in place, and he was confident that just having blue ki near an injury would help it heal better and stay healthier.


    This stone was flatter than the first, and when he drew in a deep breath and sliced a thin layer off the top with the Woodblade, it continued to radiate blue ki. Kaz smiled in relief and leaned down to touch it against Ratre¡¯s stump. Carefully, piece by piece, he whittled it away, and Li gleefully ate the little bits that fell down around her.


    Only when he had a surface that matched the stump as well as he thought he could get it did he stop, running his thumb over the smooth surface. Flipping it over, he cut away one more slice, leaving it flat on the bottom. Then he did the same to the top of the first stone, so when they were pressed against each other, they formed a perfect whole.


    At last, he took the Woodblade in his hand, pinching its blade with exquisite care so he held just the tip. Stroke by careful stroke, he cut the symbol for ¡®Wood¡¯ into the top of the larger crystal. When he was done, he gratefully set the knife down, just glad that he still had all of his fingers. He had no idea if that would help, but he¡¯d seen such symbols carved into the stones the mosui used, and he didn¡¯t think it would hurt.


    A bit more yanchong slime around the edges, and the second stone was glued in place atop the first. This time Kaz was able to see the moss embedded in the slime burn away to ash, leaving the hardened slime with just a few black specks visible inside it.


    Closing his eyes, Kaz concentrated on the rune in between the two crystals now firmly embedded in the carved bone. Slowly, he filled it with blue ki, adding to it until he felt that the stones couldn¡¯t hold any more without bursting.


    That done, Kaz turned the adamantium blade on his fuulong silk loincloth. For the first time, he had to exert more effort to get the knife to cut than to keep it from going too far. With great reluctance, two long strips separated from the larger whole, and he tucked the unfinished edge beneath his belt, hiding it.


    As he did so, he wondered how the Copperstriker leatherworker had managed to cut and embroider the loincloth in the first place. It must have taken a great deal of skill, power, and effort. No wonder she¡¯d looked so odd when she brought it to him.


    The worst was done, so Kaz simply cut away the old, poorly tanned leather that had been serving as straps to hold the bone onto Ratre¡¯s stump, and replaced them with the strips of silk. Ratre would have to adjust them himself, but Kaz settled the bone in place, urging a little of the blue ki to move into the still-irritated flesh, making Ratre give a relieved sigh, in spite of the mixture of bafflement, awe, and mild horror that suffused his face.


    ¡°There,¡± Kaz said, watching as blue ki continued to trickle out of the stones. Most of it turned into mana fairly quickly, but at least some of it vanished into Ratre¡¯s flesh, and would hopefully help the stump heal fully. The smooth, rounded shape of it should reduce a lot of the irritation, at the very least.


    ¡°If you can find a Woodblade to give it power every now and then, that would be good,¡± he told Ratre. ¡°Just tell them to be careful, because too much power will make it crack. It won¡¯t last forever, even then, but by the time it breaks, hopefully you¡¯ll have a better solution.¡±


    Ratre was sitting up, staring at Kaz. ¡°You-¡± His voice broke, and he whimpered like a pup. ¡°You are a Woodblade. How-?¡±


    Kaz sighed. ¡°Idla says some of the Woodblade chiefs were males. Is that true?¡± He was well aware that Idla was right outside, and could undoubtedly hear the question, but he didn¡¯t care.


    Ratre swallowed hard. ¡°It was supposed to be a secret, but when a Woodblade male had the strongest power, sometimes he became the chief, not one of his sisters. His mate would pretend to be the chief when they interacted with other tribes, but he made the final decisions. I only know because Ghazt was supposed to be chief after his mother, and I was going to be one of his guards.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s why he could never have accepted Oda, even if he wanted to. Rega was willing to join the Woodblades after they became mates, but Oda was supposed to be the next Magmablade chief. Neither of them could abandon their tribes.¡±


    Kaz looked from Ratre to Jul. The old healer didn¡¯t look particularly surprised by this ¡®secret¡¯, so Kaz included him in his next questions.


    ¡°Why are the Woodblades different? Or are they? Can any tribe produce a male with power, and they just don¡¯t tell us, so-¡± He choked on the rest of it. So what? So the females could continue controlling the males by making them believe that only females could keep the tribe safe in their deadly home?


    But both Jul and Ratre were shaking their heads vigorously. ¡°Only Woodblade males have cores,¡± Jul said. ¡°And most of them die when they¡¯re young, growing weaker and weaker until their bodies simply give up.¡±


    ¡°Ghazt had two brothers,¡± Ratre confirmed. ¡°One younger, and one older. Both died from the withering. As if to balance the loss, he had as much power as any two of his sisters.¡±


    Kaz blinked, trying to reconcile this information with his memories of his father. Never once, not even in the battle where he died, had Ghazt used power. Kaz was sure now that Ghazt must have produced the ki orb in the memory of his first meeting with Nucai, so why wouldn¡¯t he have used ki-bolts and a shield, at the very least?


    Unless he was still protecting his mate and pups. Given what he now knew, Kaz suspected that any tribe that realized who and what Ghazt was would have declared luegat in an attempt to claim him. Worse, they might well have gone straight to vara, and as powerful females related to the defeated chief, both Rega and Katri could well have been killed to prevent dissension, even if they didn¡¯t die in the initial assault. A mate bond couldn¡¯t be dissolved except under extraordinary circumstances, but once one of the pair died, the remaining kobold could take a new mate, though it was rarely done.


    That was probably the same reason Rega had never taught Kaz how to use his power, even though she clearly knew he had it. She must not have realized how hard it was to keep it from spilling over, and assumed that if he didn¡¯t know how to use it, he wouldn¡¯t be tempted to do so.


    Kaz closed his eyes, feeling Li crawl into his lap, any remaining chips of crystal now forgotten. Once again, Kaz mourned what could have been, if Oda and Vega hadn¡¯t been twisted by the cores passed down from ancient Magmablades. If Rega had simply been allowed to offer for Ghazt herself, so Oda never met Ghazt until the agreement was made. If Vega hadn¡¯t destroyed the Woodblades, and Ghazt and Rega had been allowed to live in peace.


    A soft purr rose up from his chest, and Kaz looked down to see Li¡¯s whirling golden eyes staring up at him. She sent him an image of a too-small egg, abandoned and forgotten, the hatchling inside left to die when the rest of its family flew away. Without Kaz, there would be no Li.


    ¡°And without Li, there would be no Kaz,¡± he murmured, leaning forward to touch his nose to hers, a deeply intimate gesture used only between family or mates. He sent back his memory of himself, core shattered, lying helpless in the nest of a woshi. He certainly would have died there if Li hadn¡¯t used her own ki to keep him alive, and he could think of a half dozen times since that could have ended him without her.


    A soft knock sounded from the door, then it swung partway open as Lianhua peered in. She grimaced apologetically, but said, ¡°Idla is getting very restless, and Tisdi isn¡¯t much better. If you¡¯re sure you want to go with them, then we should get moving.¡±


    Kaz nodded and stood, lifting Li to his shoulder. The dragon settled into place, her weight as reassuring as Lianhua¡¯s simple words. ¡®If you¡¯re sure you want to go¡¯ implied many things, not least of which being that it was his choice, and if he changed his mind, she would help him leave.


    With a last look at Ratre, Kaz asked the male, ¡°You said you¡¯d be willing to help me. If that meant helping the Woodblade chief, would you do that, too?¡±


    Silently, Ratre pressed his fist to his chest, bowing as deeply as he could. ¡°I swear it on my life,¡± he choked out, and Kaz returned the salute before ducking out of the hut.

 Chapter One hundred sixty-six

    Idla was pacing back and forth, tail twitching angrily, as Kaz emerged from the hut. Everyone else stood in small groups, separated by tribe, except for the four miserable-looking Magmablades, who were surrounded by Goldblade guards.


    Trailed by Lianhua and Raff, Kaz walked directly over and stopped in front of Idla, forcing her to stop midstride. The warrior next to her bridled at the insult, but Kaz ignored him. Idla was tall for a kobold, but Kaz was slightly taller, and he drew himself up to his full height as he spoke.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to force the Magmablades to be part of this, then they should be there when the decisions are made,¡± he told her, then glanced toward Ija. ¡°Not just a few, but all of them.¡±


    Idla scowled. ¡°I just got word that many of them have already gone into hiding. They¡¯re like fuergar, scurrying into their holes at the first sign of danger.¡±


    ¡°Those were Vega¡¯s orders,¡± Ija said, sounding as if she was repeating something she¡¯d already said. ¡°Once they get word that she¡¯s dead, most will come back, so long as they won¡¯t be killed on sight.¡±


    ¡°Which they won¡¯t be,¡± Avli put in, folding her arms across her chest. ¡°Tisdi and I have agreed that so long as none of the Magmablades attacks anyone else, they¡¯ll be allowed to leave the Deep or join another tribe, if someone in it will speak for them.¡±


    ¡°But only as long as the Tree lives,¡± Idla put in, glaring toward the small group of Magmablades.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°Bring the Magmablades, then, and show me to the Tree.¡±


    As it turned out, the Tree was several levels down, but once they got started, they were the fastest levels Kaz had ever traversed. The tunnels were lit by slow-burning torches topped with firemoss, just as he remembered from his most distant memories, and the stairs were perfectly maintained, complete with layers of gold on every third step.


    At the top of the first set of stairs, which was only a quarter mile or so from the Goldcoat den, Lianhua stopped to stare, and Kaz allowed himself a moment of pride. In the Deep, the caverns containing the steps weren¡¯t simply places to pass through, as they were in the heights and the mid-levels. Here, the walls were carved, top to bottom and all around, even extending up to the ceiling in some places. The ancient map was there, but it was almost lost among all the other designs and images above and beside it.


    ¡°This is astonishing,¡± Lianhua murmured, not quite touching the delicate rendering of a kobold cradling a puppy. ¡°Why is none of this in the books I¡¯ve read? I had no idea you were such artists.¡±


    Idla¡¯s group had already vanished down the steps, but the Waveblades and Mithrillblades were still passing. Avli paused, looking around as if seeing the beautifully intricate images for the first time. ¡°The Woodblades were responsible for this,¡± she said wistfully. ¡°I don¡¯t remember them well, but there are paintings, statues, and carvings everywhere in the Deep. They especially liked to capture the images of other kobolds, but anything natural brought them joy, which they then shared with others.¡±


    Kaz crouched down to look at a fuergar, its bright eyes and little nose so realistic that it was hard to believe it was stone, and wouldn¡¯t start quivering as it sniffed the air. Someone came up behind him, and when he looked around, he realized that it was the pink-furred Magmablade puppy, Kyla. Somehow, she had slipped away from her Goldblade watchers, and now she grinned at him.


    ¡°I like fuergars,¡± she told him. ¡°Their round ears and soft little whiskers are very cute.¡± Lifting her hands, she folded her own ears down to show him what she meant, and with her tufted fur, she managed a credible version of one of the rodents.


    ¡°Did you eat too much copper when you were little, then?¡± he asked her gently. Copper fuergar were more orange by far, but none of the other metals were anywhere close, and some alloys with copper in them were quite pink.


    She made a face at him, but before she could respond, a pale-furred hand came to rest on her shoulder. Avli looked down at them, shaking her head. ¡°Kyla,¡± she murmured, ¡°I know you¡¯re used to running around the Deep, but you must stay with your father and sister right now. Idla would be angry if she knew you were here.¡±


    The young female looked rebellious, but glanced at the stairs and sighed in defeat. ¡°Father told me to stay with him, but Kaz is here. He won¡¯t let anything happen to me.¡±


    She turned large eyes on Kaz, and even though he knew he was being manipulated, he chuckled. She reminded him so much of a young Katri, wild and used to getting her own way.


    ¡°I¡¯ll watch her,¡± he told Avli, and though she looked doubtful, she nodded and stepped back.


    ¡°We should continue, then,¡± the chief said, and followed Dett down the stairs.


    Kaz looked at Lianhua, whose pen was moving wildly over one page after another in her book. She was biting her lip as she concentrated, and kobolds passed her by, one after another. Raff stood beside her, looking more and more awkward as the Goldblades at the end of the column approached. At last, he laid a hand on Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, and she jumped, clearly having completely lost track of what they were doing.


    ¡°We¡¯ve gotta go,¡± Raff told her. ¡°Those Goldblades are lookin¡¯ less happy by the second, and they weren¡¯t particularly friendly to start with.¡± He grinned briefly. ¡°At least not since they got their cloth and realized we aren¡¯t really traders.¡±


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    Hurriedly, Lianhua tucked her book away, and opened her mouth. She stopped before apologizing, however, and just said, ¡°I¡¯m ready to go.¡±


    Kaz nodded approval. No one made a chief do anything they didn¡¯t want to, and acting more like a chief would help establish Lianhua¡¯s place among the other females. It would only undermine her position to allow warriors from another tribe to hurry her along, even though they were supposed to be traveling as a group.


    Avli, Dett, and the other two Mithrilblade females walked along with the humans as they went down the stairs. Dett had clearly managed to rest at some point, or else his new role as Avli¡¯s future mate was giving him strength, because he was able to keep up when Raff began taking two steps at a time and Lianhua matched his pace.


    Kyla, however, found it much more difficult, and after the second time she stumbled over her own paws and nearly went tumbling down the stairs, Kaz picked her up and carried her. Neither she nor Li appreciated this, but Kaz told them both that it was this or leave Kyla behind. Li was fine with that, but Kyla settled down quickly enough, even though she kept trying to touch Li¡¯s golden tail.


    The stairs weren¡¯t long - only a few hundred steps - and the next flight began in the same cavern where the first ended. In the heights, this arrangement was rare, with most staircases separated by a mile or more, though there was often a crevice or hole that could be used to pass between levels if needed.


    Here in the Deep, however, stairs were never far apart, and Kaz could sense that they were simply circling around the outside of the mountain as they descended. Kaz understood why, and he was very much looking forward to when Lianhua and the other humans first saw the real Deep.


    Predictably, Lianhua wanted to stop and sketch in each of the landing caverns, but soon enough Idla figured out what was going on and stayed, staring, for as long as Lianhua lingered. By the fourth one, the human simply gave a melancholy sigh and went on, leaving the echoing chamber full of carvings behind.


    As they went, they drew quite a bit of attention, since there were warriors at each level, as well as other kobolds passing freely as they went about their day. More than once, a small group of kobolds, their fur almost always one bright color or another, would stop and stare as the large group passed by. No one challenged them, and a few even cowered once they saw the three chiefs scattered throughout the line.


    After five flights of stairs, Kaz knew they were getting close, and he hurried his pace, jumping down several stairs at once. He still held Kyla, and though she looked nervous the first time he did this, soon enough she gave little yips of excitement each time he bounded into the air. Raff and Lianhua stared as he passed them, and started to hurry up as well, but Kaz paused to grin at them.


    ¡°Let me go ahead just a bit,¡± he told them, and Kyla giggled. She, too, knew what was coming, and clearly she had caught his excitement.


    Li could see it all in Kaz¡¯s mind, and when he took the last leap, jumping down six steps at once, the dragon lifted from his shoulder, flying alongside him. They passed through into the cavern below at the same moment, and Kaz stopped, stunned as much by his feeling of homecoming as by the actual sight of the city in the Deep.


    Where the other caverns were simply large open spaces, with a set of stairs on one side, a few tunnels leading away, and another set of stairs on the other side, this cavern had only three sides, with the fourth gaping wide. The unnaturally smooth stone of the floor had been burnished by hundreds of years of passing kobold paws, gleaming darkly in the light of hovering ki orbs.


    Kaz crossed to the far side, staring down at the dizzying drop. This was the real reason they called it the Deep. Not because it was made up of the lowest levels, but because it was a single, enormous pit, carved out of the center of the mountain. The wall was all but sheer, with only a few small protrusions marring its surface. Hundreds of feet simply fell away, though the stairs continued to circle around the vast open area ahead, in some places completely exposed where the inside wall had been removed.


    In the center of that space, so large that the far side was lost in shadow, lay the city. When he was a pup, staring out from one of these caves, he had marveled at the bright colors and flickering lights that populated it. He could see the small, distant shapes of thousands of kobolds, moving through the streets. He remembered seeing blue and red mingling freely among the others, but now, almost all of the tiny figures had gold, black, or white fur.


    This was the only place where kobolds lived in tall buildings made of stone. Having spent time in the mosui city, he could see the similarities, though the buildings here had been altered over the years, and were painted in a riot of colors. Not only the colors of ki and the five tribes, but every shade in between; oranges and purples vied with brilliant pinks and deep greens. And above them all were the mushrooms and glow worms.


    Eerie green fungus covered the walls, from the city level, hundreds of feet down, to the ceiling high overhead. Where there were no mushrooms, the glow worms thrived, hanging from the damp roof in a sheet of twinkling lights. Massive stalactites hung, dwarfed by the space around them, built up by millennia of water trickling slowly through the mountain above.


    As he leaned out, Kaz could see the glowing openings of a hundred caves just like this one, places where tunnels or dens met the sheer wall and opened into space. He once lived in one of those, though he thought it was probably halfway down the wall from where he was now, and while he no longer remembered their name, it was quite likely that his parents¡¯ adoptive tribe was somewhere down there as well.


    The sound of Raff¡¯s footsteps on the ground reminded him why he was here, and he turned just in time to catch Lianhua and Raff¡¯s expressions as they entered the cave. For the first time, Lianhua didn¡¯t turn immediately to the walls beside her, her attention captured instead by the glowing mushrooms visible through the opening on the far side. The humans couldn¡¯t yet see the city, which was below their sightline, but as they crossed toward him, he knew the moment they did.


    Lianhua drew in a sharp breath, and Raff actually staggered back, away from the steep drop. Kaz hadn¡¯t noticed that the human had a fear of heights before, but there had always been a slope or something to hang onto as they descended through the mountain. This was simply a chasm, and the floor just ended at the edge.


    ¡°Is that the city?¡± Lianhua breathed, and Kaz didn¡¯t answer. There was only one answer possible, so she was just asking to say something, which the humans seemed compelled to do.


    They all stood silently for quite some time, listening to the click of claws crossing the stone floor behind them, the drip of water falling from countless stalactites, and the distant echo of howls rising from the Deep. At last Kyla had had enough, and wiggled with enough vigor to let Kaz know that she was really serious this time.


    Kaz turned to put her down, and found himself face to face with Idla. She had a small smile on her face, and seemed more relaxed than he¡¯d seen her since she first appeared, pretending to be nothing more than an affable trader.


    Beside him, Lianhua turned as well, as did Raff, though the male was several feet further from the edge. Idla tilted her head, her tail wagging gently as she said, ¡°Welcome back to the Deep, Kaz Woodblade.¡±

 Chapter One hundred sixty-seven

    Kaz saw Lianhua¡¯s eyes widen, and he offered her a small smile, hoping to reassure her. He didn¡¯t want to directly contradict Idla when she seemed to be softening slightly, so he just turned toward the descending set of stairs.


    ¡°How much farther is it?¡± he asked noncommittally.


    Idla huffed softly, almost a sigh, and said, ¡°Three more levels, then we switch to the final staircase. There are other ways to get there, but that¡¯s the most direct.¡±


    Kaz nodded, and looked for Li. The last time he¡¯d seen her, she was flying around nearby, enjoying having a large enough space to stretch her wings properly. He¡¯d warned her against flying into the center area, if only because someone on one of the other levels might mistake her for a beast and attack her.


    He followed the glittering bond between them to find her circling over a little group of gatherers, the puppies gaping upwards in admiration as they let out little yips of delight. One pale gray pup kept jumping up, trying to touch the dragon¡¯s tail or the edge of a wing, and Li would twist out of the way at the last moment. She was clearly quite pleased by the attention, and entertained by the puppy¡¯s attempts to catch her, but she quickly returned to Kaz when he called.


    The pups stared after her with eyes full of longing, but the female with them hurried the group toward the stairs when she saw where the dragon went. Her eyes lingered on Kaz and the humans, but at least some news about their arrival must have already reached the tribes here, because she only looked interested, not truly worried or frightened.


    Three more levels passed, each landing cavern offering a slightly closer view of the city. Details appeared, and Lianhua began to mutter about the shifting of vertical to horizontal focus, and modifications warping bilateral symmetry as she scribbled in her book. Raff had to take hold of her elbow in order to guide her when she seemed to be unable to look up long enough to watch where she was going.


    Instead of taking the next descending set of stairs, which lay immediately across the cavern from the ascending, Idla guided them to the right, where a wide arch led to a red-lit hallway. No stairs were visible at first, but red crystals glowed from hidden alcoves, and intricate carvings curled up, around, and over the arch.


    Three sets of three kobolds stood guard outside the entrance, two males and a female in each, representing each of the three remaining great tribes. Only when Idla, Tisdi, and Avli were all present did they step aside, bowing deeply, and they didn¡¯t straighten until the chiefs had passed.


    The stairs at the end of the short hall were long, almost as long as the ones Kaz had taken when leaving the mine in the mid-levels, and there was nowhere to rest along the way. Still, it was easier going down than up, and eventually Kaz saw a strangely familiar bluish-yellow light coming from somewhere ahead, overwhelming the soft red glow that illuminated the stairs.


    Once again, Kaz was aware of a feeling he had last experienced in Zhangwo¡¯s tower. The stairs curved gently, and as they did, he found himself drawing closer and closer to the thing that his sense of direction insisted was the ¡®center¡¯. The center of what, Kaz couldn¡¯t be sure, but for years, this feeling had been his reference, allowing him to figure out where he was based on whether this was to his left, right, ahead, or behind.


    When he finally passed through the archway at the bottom, it was almost anticlimactic to find that what he sensed as the middle of the mountain was actually the Tree. It was an enormous thing, growing from a gnarled brown column so large that he thought it would take a dozen kobolds to encircle it, if they stood hand to hand around its base.


    This rough brown stalk soared up at least three hundred feet, as best Kaz could judge. There, it split, sending out random offshoots which split again in turn, becoming smaller and smaller until they merged into what looked like a brown cobweb. Here and there, a few greenish-brown things drooped from the mass, and as Kaz watched, one came free and drifted toward the ground, spinning slowly.


    Li launched herself from his shoulder, swooping up into the open air, whistling happily. She flew around the falling thing once, twice, then caught it in her claws and flew back toward Kaz, dropping it on his head with a click of laughter.


    Lianhua plucked it off, turning it over in her hands. It was a huge pointed oval with serrated edges, and now that it was next to him, Kaz could see that it wasn¡¯t simply one color, but many. Golden veins traced through it, merging into a single piece at one end, and the areas close to these veins were green. The closer to the edges it got, the browner it became, and a piece cracked softly, flaking away as Lianhua looked at it.


    She shook her head. ¡°Everyone kept saying tree, but I thought it had to be something else. A lichen with tree-like branches, or maybe a giant mushroom? But the one thing I didn¡¯t expect was¡­ a tree. A tree under a mountain, surrounded by ki-crystals to simulate sunlight.¡±


    Raff, too, seemed shocked. ¡°I saw the bamboo- Cattails- Or, whatsit, yumi, right? But that was back in the mole-man city. They had all kinds of crazy things there. I never expected to see something like it here, much less a tree you could build a whole village out of.¡±


    Idla looked proud. ¡°No human has ever seen this before. There were certain secrets that the necklaces forced us to keep, and this was one of them.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s head whipped around to stare at the Goldblade chief. ¡°One?¡± she asked. ¡°There are others? What are they?¡±


    Idla chuffed a laugh, but didn¡¯t answer, and Lianhua finally let out a sigh. Knowing her, Kaz very much doubted that she would just forget about it, but apparently she was willing to accept Idla¡¯s silence for now.


    Kaz turned his attention back to the Tree. He was sure this was where his father had brought him when he was injured, but he definitely remembered a canopy of green overhead. Now, he could see that the - what had Lianhua called them? - ¡®branches¡¯ grew up until they pressed against the stone ceiling, where concentric rings of yellow and blue ki-crystals expanded out from each point of contact.


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    ¡°How can you tell it¡¯s dying?¡± he asked, but he already knew, at least in part. Two colors of ki flowed through the central column; gold traveling up, and blue running down, but the blue was little more than a trickle.


    Tisdi pointed upwards. ¡°When the Woodblades were alive, there were more green leaves on the branches than you could count. Not the few brown ones there are now, but tens of thousands, each a brilliant emerald. Slowly, they began to turn brown and fall off, and now, these are all that¡¯s left.¡±


    Li was still flying around above them, and when another leaf fell, she dove for it, catching it in her mouth this time. Immediately, she spat it out, and Kaz got the distinct impression of something that looked good, but tasted foul.


    Kaz took the leaf from Lianhua, and when he touched it, he frowned. Li was right. There was something wrong with the leaf, something that wasn¡¯t supposed to be there, though he didn¡¯t know how he could tell.


    He held it up. ¡°Did anything change right before the leaves began to fall?¡±


    ¡°The Woodblades were murdered!¡± Idla growled.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°No, something else. Something more recent?¡±


    Idla just glared at him, but Tisdi spoke in her gentle voice. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can think of. My tribe has been working together with the Goldblades to do what the Woodblades always did. Nothing has changed other than who makes the offering.¡±


    His hand closed around the leaf, and the brown parts crumbled away, leaving a pale golden skeleton with scraps of faded green clinging to it. ¡°Show me,¡± he said.


    Tisdi nodded, then lifted her voice in a howl. A short while later, a group of twenty or so gold or black-furred female kobolds emerged from a tunnel opening to their right. Nervously, they walked over and Tsidi spoke to them briefly before they made their way to the Tree.


    All awkwardness dropped away as they pressed their hands to the Tree, palms flat against the rough surface. Lifting their muzzles in unison, they began to howl, but this was like no howl Kaz had ever heard. Instead of each voice standing out individually, they melded together, high and low merging in a sort of eerie harmony. As they howled, they closed their eyes, leaning in until they were all but embracing the Tree.


    Their ki and that of the Tree rose together. The gold mingled easily with that of the kobolds, growing ever brighter, but the blue touched the black ki being offered to it and pulled away as if wounded. It guttered, a fire nearly ready to go out, and Kaz shouted, ¡°Stop!¡±


    They were so caught up in their howl that he doubted they could even hear him, but Tisdi and Idla certainly did. Both moved forward, barking and gesturing to their tribe members, who pulled the howlers away from the Tree. The females staggered back, looking shocked, but Kaz just looked at the Tree.


    If the flow of blue within it had been weak before, now it almost seemed to be under attack. Black ki hung within it, already dispersing into formless mana, but as it did, it smothered the blue, overwhelming it and preventing it from moving through the Tree¡¯s cycle properly.


    Kaz wanted nothing more than to do whatever he could to help, but he knew that this was his only chance to bargain for the lives of the Magmablades. Turning to the three chiefs, he said, ¡°I know what¡¯s wrong, and I¡¯ll do whatever I can to save the Tree, but in exchange, you must allow whichever Magmablades the new Woodblade chief chooses to join the new Woodblade tribe. Any of them, not just the ones you would wish to see remain.¡±


    Idla¡¯s ears turned down at the ultimatum, but Tisdi hesitated. Avli¡¯s eyes flickered toward Ija, and she said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Idla growled softly, but otherwise remained silent until Tisdi quietly said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Idla snapped, ¡°But there will be no more chances. They must allow us to watch them, even in their dens, and if a single one of them betrays us, they doom them all.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t exactly what Kaz had been hoping for, but Ija spoke before he could. ¡°Fine,¡± she echoed. ¡°Every Magmablade, from youngest pup to oldest matriarch, will serve the Woodblades from this day forward. But only the Woodblades, not Goldblades, Waveblades, or even,¡± her eyes softened as they turned toward Avli, ¡°Mithrilblades.¡±


    ¡°Done,¡± Avli said instantly.


    ¡°Done,¡± repeated Tisdi, and, finally, Idla as well.


    Kaz allowed himself to take a deep breath. If they were all satisfied with this, then he wouldn¡¯t argue. At least the Magmablades would live, and many of them would get to stay in the Deep. ¡°Where are the rest of the Magmablades?¡± he asked. ¡°Especially the ones from the hidden den.¡±


    ¡°Coming,¡± Idla said. ¡°I left orders for them to be brought to us, but they have pups and elders among them. It will take time. Perhaps time enough for you to heal the Tree?¡±


    She gave a challenging glare, and Kaz shook his head. ¡°Woodblades cared for this Tree in the past, and they will again. I¡¯ll wait.¡±


    Far above them, Li let out a small roar, the sound dropping into the lull after his words. Together, they all turned to look at the dragon, and Kaz smiled, feeling how happy she was to simply be able to fly as far in any direction as she wanted. She was getting tired, though, her wings unused to carrying her so far for so long.


    Stretching out her claws, Li reached for the nearest branch, causing it to sway beneath her as she scrambled to hold on. A few more leaves detached and fell slowly through the air, and Li looked back up the branch toward a large one that still clung stubbornly. As she did, something else caught her eye, and though Kaz was too far away to see the interrogative tilt of her head, he could feel her curiosity through their bond.


    What is it? he sent, and Li made her way along the branch toward something pale that gleamed through the thick mesh of branches. Whatever it was lay at the very heart of the tree, where the thickest branches formed a sort of hollow as they splayed outward from the central column.


    The dragon grew more confident as the branch on which she stood grew thicker, eventually ceasing to sway and becoming as firm beneath her claws as the stone on which Kaz¡¯s paws rested. The white thing grew larger, more and more of it visible as she left the smaller branches behind, and Kaz watched through her eyes as she finally climbed around a single branch as wide as Kaz himself.


    It was a bone. Not just any bone, but the single largest bone Kaz had ever seen, and it wasn¡¯t alone. As Li climbed up another branch so she could get a better view, more and more of the skeleton came into view. Two arms, two legs, a long coiled tail, and a skull Kaz could walk inside of.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Kyla¡¯s muffled voice came from beside Kaz, and he looked down to see that she had once again escaped her guards. The puppy was eating a chunk of rougu, and she took another bite of the large brown mushroom, chewing it slowly. Kaz stared at her and watched through Li¡¯s eyes as the small dragon circled the enormous skeleton.


    Finally, Kyla managed to swallow, and then pointed up toward the top of the Tree, saying, ¡°I think she found the other dragon.¡±

 Chapter One hundred sixty-eight

    The only people paying any attention to the puppy were Kaz and Lianhua, and they stared at her. ¡°What dragon?¡± Kaz asked.


    She shrugged and took another bite of the thick mushroom. As she swallowed it, she glanced toward her sister, Ija, who was talking to Avli and looked much more relaxed now that the fate of her tribe had been decided. The warriors who had been hovering near the Magmablades in case they made any attempt to escape had joined the rest of their cohort, and both Sika and Rudu were standing out of the way, near the wall, looking exhausted.


    Kyla leaned in, lowering her voice. ¡°The dragon at the top of the Tree. No one¡¯s really supposed to go near it, you know,¡± she confided, ¡°but doesn¡¯t it just look like it wants to be climbed?¡±


    She turned to gaze fondly at the enormous plant. ¡°So I did. Just once or twice. Maybe three times. But when you get up to where the top meets the ceiling, there¡¯s a kind of cave, and in the cave is the dragon.¡±


    She reached up to tug her ear. ¡°I was a little scared the first time I saw it, and I climbed down so fast I almost fell. But it didn¡¯t chase me or anything, and it was so much fun getting up there that I did it again. It¡¯s just an old skeleton, but it¡¯s all curled up around a couple of big, giant rocks, and I don¡¯t know how those got up there at all.¡±


    Li heard this through Kaz, and grew bold enough to venture slightly closer to the skeleton. When nothing happened, she drew nearer and nearer, until she could almost touch one of the claws that were as long as her whole body. There she stopped, staring at what lay inside the curve of the bones.


    A ki crystal. Not just any ki crystal, but one almost as large as the skull itself. Li moved so she could see more clearly, and they realized that the crystal stretched from the ceiling down, vanishing into the brown stalk of the Tree. A matching crystal was clutched in the other skeletal paw, but this one practically hummed with gold ki.


    Kaz shook his head and looked down at Kyla. ¡°How do you climb it?¡±


    She shrugged, but her golden eyes were sparkling. ¡°Want me to show you? If we hurry, I bet we can be too far up for them to stop us before they even notice.¡±


    Kaz glanced at Lianhua, who looked almost as excited as the puppy. ¡°Do you want to go?¡± he asked her.


    Lianhua grinned, then covered her exposed teeth with her hand. ¡°Oh, yes. I was a champion tree climber when I was little.¡±


    They looked toward Raff, who was standing with his hand on the hilt of his sword, clearly doing his best not to look bored out of his mind as they waited. He was focused on the kobolds surrounding them, especially Idla, and Kaz didn¡¯t think he was even paying attention to them until he picked up one foot and tapped the toe against the ground with a soft metallic clink.


    ¡°Can¡¯t do it,¡± he murmured from the side of his mouth, not even glancing at them. ¡°Too big an¡¯ too heavy. Not sneaky. Chi Yincang¡¯s got this.¡±


    Neither Kaz nor Lianhua even bothered checking to be sure Chi Yincang had heard this. Somehow, he always did, and Raff was right, it would be much easier for the agile Chi Yincang to climb than for the tall, armor-clad Raff to do so.


    Looking back at Kyla, Kaz gave a nod, and the puppy¡¯s tail began to wag enthusiastically. She glanced around, and then muttered something under her breath. When the last syllable rolled off her tongue, she seemed to shimmer with heat, and Kaz found his eyes sliding away from her. He knew when she headed for the Tree, not even bothering to sidle around to the far side first, but he couldn¡¯t actually bring himself to focus on her.


    Lianhua blinked several times, then looked in the direction Kyla was walking before glancing away again. ¡°I lost her,¡± she murmured. ¡°I mean, I can still sense her, but I can¡¯t see her any more.¡±


    The way the puppy was hiding was entirely different from what Chi Yincang did, burning through her red ki at a startling rate, but it was just as effective, and Kaz wondered if she would teach it to him. It didn¡¯t last long, but by the time the haze covering her went away, she was above eye level, and ascending rapidly.


    Kaz shook his head, chuffing softly. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said to Lianhua, and the human managed to tear her eyes away from the bright pink puppy.


    Lacking any form of concealment, since Li was still cautiously investigating the skeleton, the two of them circled around to one side, acting as if they just wanted to examine the Tree from another angle. As they did, Raff took a single step to his right, his massive body blocking the kobolds¡¯ view of them. Immediately, Kaz and Lianhua sprang toward the Tree, and Lianhua¡¯s delicate foot coverings fell away from her feet as she grabbed hold of the rough surface.


    ¡°Bark is softer than it looks,¡± she said quickly, ¡°so it can break away when you put weight on it. Just find really thick parts, and you should be fine.¡±


    Kaz dug in his claws, feeling the unexpected give as he did so. Of course, since his claws could now stab into stone, albeit with difficulty, that shouldn¡¯t be so surprising. Still, he tried to find handholds that looked particularly sturdy, rather than just depending on the grip of his claws.


    Lianhua¡¯s foot slipped when they were about twenty feet up, and the resultant shower of bark drew the attention of the kobolds still standing around at the bottom of the Tree. Idla howled after them, sounding furious, but no one tried to follow, so Kaz just ignored it.


    He was getting better and better at judging his handholds, long experience of climbing stone walls helping him figure out what would hold his weight. When he passed Lianhua, he was actually rather proud of himself, until a blur of black and white bounded past, jumping lightly from one bulge of bark to another.


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    Kaz did manage to beat Lianhua to the first branch, but the female promptly pulled herself up and jumped to the next branch almost as easily as Chi Yincang. Kaz stared after her, but wasn¡¯t quite ready yet to attempt to emulate her, so he continued up the slow way. In his mind, Li laughed at his dejected sigh.


    The first bone he saw was the very tip of a claw, extending over the edge of the topmost branch, and the point was still so sharp that he carefully avoided it as he pulled himself over the edge. The claw itself was as long as his arm, and the thick bone of the arm came up to his waist. The rest of the skeleton was curled up in the nearly flat, open area where the gigantic branches curved away from them, and now that Kaz was here, he could see that there was a gap of almost fifty feet from the top of the main stalk of the tree to the ceiling.


    Lianhua was circling the skeleton, one of her little books out as she furiously sketched. ¡°Tendons and ligaments have entirely decomposed, which should have caused the skeleton to break apart into its component pieces, and yet it remains entirely intact. There¡¯s so much ambient ki here that it¡¯s difficult to pinpoint the primary source, but it would probably make an excellent location for cultivation,¡± she muttered, and Kaz shook his head, tuning her out.


    Li had taken off again, flying slowly around the skeleton, and though it was difficult to imagine the true enormity of the thing, her perspective allowed him to see that it almost completely filled the existing space. The creature must have barely fit here when it was alive, and only the complete lack of any remaining flesh left room for Kaz and the others to walk around.


    ¡°What happened to it?¡± he mused, reaching out as if to touch the closest bone. At the last moment, he remembered that he¡¯d promised himself not to touch strange, ki-filled objects any more, and this most definitely counted. Every bone was infused with ki, the power contained within them like water in a bladder. He could see all five colors in nearly equal measure, but they lay still and silent, no cycle remaining in the dead thing before them.


    ¡°It has a lot of broken bones,¡± Kyla said cheerfully, pointing to a shadowy line further up the nearest leg bone. ¡°The ribs are all cracked, too.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, a sudden image of Li with similarly catastrophic injuries filling his mind. It was almost instantly wiped away by a picture of Li, larger than even she had ever imagined herself before, swatting away the fulan-twisted creature they¡¯d fought just before meeting the Sharpjaws. She would be far too strong for anything to hurt her, so Kaz didn¡¯t need to worry.


    He looked up as the dragon herself dropped down and landed on his shoulder. The feeling of her warm weight did more to drive away the terrible image than all her reassurances, and he tilted his head toward her. She was still so small and fragile. He needed to figure out what would really allow her to grow properly, and give her as much of it as she could eat.


    Li was firmly in favor of this, and purred softly as she leaned against him in turn. She looked toward the stone clutched in the dead dragon¡¯s right paw. It fairly hummed with golden ki, so full that Kaz thought it might actually break if it received much more. Obviously, the kobolds had been filling it more frequently than necessary in an attempt to revive the Tree. Unfortunately, they hadn¡¯t had the right kind of ki to succeed, and their efforts had done more harm than good.


    A tentative image formed in Kaz¡¯s head, showing himself chipping away a chunk of the crystal and feeding it to the dragon on his shoulder. After all, the other dragon didn¡¯t need it anymore.


    Kaz laughed softly, walking carefully around so he could see the crystal encircled by the huge, skeletal left paw. It was eerie to see the perfectly preserved bones, looking as if the flesh could simply reappear around it at any moment, allowing the dragon to fly away again. Or eat them. Honestly, that seemed like the more feasible option, given how large it was. How much had this creature had to eat every day just in order to survive?


    Trying to ignore the dark turn of his thoughts, Kaz eyed the crystal. It looked more like dull gray stone than bright blue ki crystal. Only the faceted shape of it revealed its crystalline nature. Like the other, it vanished into the arched ceiling overhead, and into the material of the Tree below. That was where the similarities ended, however. The golden stone seemed to merge into the cycle of ki inside the Tree, but the blue was barely visible, even from so close.


    ¡°Kaz!¡±


    He looked up at the yip, and to his horror, he realized that Kyla had made her way inside the ribcage, and was leaning halfway out between the curve of two ribs. She grinned at him, the tip of her tail waving behind her, and Kaz barely stopped himself from snapping at her.


    ¡°Get down,¡± he barked, trying to keep the harsh edge of fear from his voice. ¡°You¡¯ll fall.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s a big rock in here. I jump on it and then up between the ribs. Sometimes when Mother is angry, I sit up here for hours until she has time to forget why she¡¯s mad.¡± A shadow crossed her face as she remembered that her mother was very definitely dead, but there was as much relief as sorrow behind it. Kaz recognized the look, having felt much the same when Oda died.


    His voice was much gentler when he said, ¡°Please. I¡¯d feel better if you got down.¡±


    Kyla sighed, but a moment later she slipped from view. After a few seconds, she emerged from the ribcage, her fingers trailing over the pale bone with great familiarity. Clearly, she had come here far more than two or three times.


    They had attracted Lianhua¡¯s attention, however, and now the human came over to join them. She had tucked the ends of her robe up into her belt, baring her straight, almost hairless legs, and Kaz and Kyla exchanged a look of mild disgust before politely ignoring what Kaz couldn¡¯t help but think of as a deformity, even though all the humans¡¯ legs looked similar.


    ¡°There¡¯s a stone inside the skeleton?¡± she asked Kyla, pen poised over her page. ¡°Is it like the two in the claws?¡±


    Kyla shook her head, holding her hands about two feet apart. ¡°It''s round, about this big, but there¡¯s a big crack all the way through it. When I was younger, I used to push it as high up one of the ribs as I could, and then let it go, and it would roll all over the place inside there. Then a piece broke off, and now it won¡¯t really roll anymore.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes opened wide, and even her pen stilled on the page. ¡°A core?¡±


    The puppy blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s too big to eat, but I never even wanted to try. Usually if we find a core in a beast, it looks really tasty, even though Father says they¡¯re bad for me.¡±


    Kaz nodded, but Lianhua veered off toward the long ribcage, making her way beneath the long bones of the wings that arched over the skeleton. She squeezed between two ribs, then called, ¡°Kaz! Come and help me with this!¡±


    Driven by curiosity and against his better judgment, Kaz followed Lianhua¡¯s path, careful not to even brush against any of the bones. The dragon had far more ribs than seemed necessary, but Kaz was able to fit between the bottom ones and the curve of the pelvic bone that rose well above his head. He didn¡¯t climb up onto the ribs, but he cautiously made his way up to where they came together before calling Lianhua¡¯s name.


    Something scraped against one of the bones above him, and then Lianhua let out an exclamation of surprise as the something fell toward him. Without thinking, Kaz reached up and caught the dragon¡¯s core.

 Chapter One hundred sixty-nine

    Qiangde delicately nibbled the Sacred Plum held in his claw. He wished the fruit weren¡¯t so rare, or so small, but he savored the rich, complex taste of the sweet juice as it coated his tongue. Nothing mortal ever tasted so good, and the flush of golden ki that filled him as he ate it far outstripped its actual size.


    Overhead, a member of his court flew lazily, dipping a pale wing into one of the sparse clouds and trailing a stream of water vapor behind the tip as it emerged. The wind was always fierce on top of his mountain, but Qiangde barely even noticed it since he entered what the humans called the Rhodium stage of cultivation.


    Reminded, he mentally called out to the red dragon currently assigned to watch over the humans and the kobolds. <Huoyan, did Nucai ever tell you what he wants?>


    The red sounded harried as he replied, <No, he still insists he can only tell you. A matter of honor. But Qiangde->


    <Emperor,> Qiangde said, savoring the taste of it almost as much as the flesh of the Sacred Plum. Dragons didn¡¯t feel the need to apply titles to everyone the same way humans did, but Qiangde had spent a century among them. He still held a fondness for the title they had given him, even if they had simply passed it to his son when he left. Humans were fickle, short-lived things, though, so he didn¡¯t truly hold it against them.


    Huoyan sighed. <Emperor Qiangde, then. I told you that Zhangwo¡¯s kobolds are weakening far more rapidly than anticipated. We need more Divine Moles, or soon they¡¯ll be practically useless.>


    Qiangde sighed and licked the last drop of juice from his snout. <Can¡¯t Dongwu¡¯s kobolds do the mining? Zhangwo¡¯s have been more effort than they¡¯re worth from the beginning. Do you know how hard it was to find moles at that cultivation level? He¡¯ll just have to use some of the humans instead.>


    <You already use those kobolds for almost everything else,> Huoyan said, an edge of impatience breaking through the deference in his tone. <They¡¯re practically humans! They need tools for everything. If they weren¡¯t the only ones who breed true for cores, I¡¯d call them as great a failure as Zhangwo¡¯s. Only Nucai->


    <Nucai¡¯s kobolds are presumptuous! I never should have allowed him to use the cores of defeated dragons in his experiments. They think that just because they look a bit like us, they¡¯re just as->


    Something Qiangde hadn¡¯t felt in a thousand years broke through his concentration, and his claws spasmed, making him drop the pit of his plum. It landed in a narrow crack filled with dust and debris, protected from the wind by the sun-warmed crag on which he lay.


    Pain. Pain so terrible that Qiangde wanted to writhe, twist away from it, except that it seemed to be coming from everywhere. His scales rippled on the surface of his skin, their brilliant polychromatic gleam distorted as they lifted and fell away in drifts. Golden blood welled up where they had been, and in his mind, Qiangde heard a chorus of screams just like the one that tore from his own throat. His court was under attack.


    Somehow, he lifted his head, staring around until he spotted a tall, reptilian creature staring at him from beside the very overhang on which he rested. In one hand, it held what looked like a perfectly carved jade statue of a dragon, while in the other hand¡­ In the other hand, a ki-flame burned, licking darkly at the jade dragon, turning its surface to black char.


    More of Qiangde¡¯s scales dropped away from his bubbling flesh, blisters rising along his side, mimicking the path of the flame the kobold held. Qiangde felt the tether binding him to Huoyan snap as the red dragon died, and overhead, the white tumbled from the sky.


    ¡°How¡­ dare¡­¡± Qiangde managed, forcing out the words between his thin lips. Human words were difficult to shape in this form at the best of times, but none of the kobolds had ever developed the knack of speaking mind to mind, not even these mockeries of dragonkind.


    The kobold sneered, his own lips more flexible than those of a true dragon, but still stiffer than those of the humans that had been used to create his race. ¡°No more will you use us, false emperor,¡± he hissed, lifting the statue and flame high. ¡°Today, you and your brethren will fall, and the xiyi will rise!¡±


    Qiangde¡¯s head darted forward, and his teeth snapped shut around the foolish kobold. They might have injured him, even killed some few of his court, but there was no way-


    His teeth crunched on something much harder than the bones and scales of the kobold, and even as his own bones shattered in response, he realized he¡¯d been tricked. The kobold had never expected to kill him. No, he was only there to infuriate Qiangde enough to eat him without considering what else he held.


    There was only one thing in the world as powerful as Qiangde, and that was Qiangde himself. Nothing less could kill him, but somehow the kobolds had bound the statue to him so tightly that when he bit down on it, it was as if he bit himself.


    He felt his bones crack, shattering in a hundred places. When he took another breath, white-hot agony shuddered through his body as his ribs ground against each other. His organs, too, were damaged, but not nearly to the same extent as his skin and bones. He could still heal himself, still survive to take vengeance on these presumptuous kobolds. Their transgressions against him would not be forgiven!


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    His core had not yet fully integrated the golden ki from the Divine Plum, so he grabbed the power in his belly and used it to fuse his bones back together. The breaks were too extensive to heal fully, even for him, but if he went slowly, he could make it to the bottom of the mountain.


    Carefully, he extended his wings, seeing that there were holes - holes! - in the delicate membranes stretched between the digits. That, too, could be repaired, but as he threw himself from the crag, he could feel the wind pulling at the openings, trying to tear them wider. His skin, which was usually impervious to injury, gave way beneath the pressure, and he spiraled down, barely maintaining control as he plunged toward the base of the mountain.


    An updraft caught his tattered wings as he flew over one of the long, clear lakes halfway down the mountain, and Qiangde curved into it, letting it lift him up, further from the steep cliffs above and below the water. The wind was trying to hurl him against the stone in a way it hadn¡¯t threatened to do since he was little more than a hatchling, and even though he had to go back up to gain it, the extra distance was very helpful.


    Somehow, he managed to reach the broad meadow that he used when he rested at the base of the mountain. He stretched out his claws, trying to come in to a landing, but his legs gave out, one particularly broken bone shattering anew from the impact. He tumbled to his side, vision blurring to a jumble of brown and green as his nose created a furrow in the ground.


    When he came to a halt, he lay there, drawing in shallow, shuddering breaths, and only the darkening of the shadows that fell across his face warned him in time to roll. Great black claws gouged the earth where his head had lain, and teeth as tall as a man snapped at him as the other dragon whirled.


    <Hold still and let yourself be eaten, brother,> a too-familiar voice crooned into his mind.


    <Jianying?> Qiangde muttered, almost pulling his wing out of the way of a ki-powered claw. Alas, ¡®almost¡¯ was not ¡®completely¡¯, and with a horrible tearing sound, a large chunk of his wing separated from the rest of his body.


    Lifting the gobbet to his mouth, Jianying tore into it, then grinned, showing teeth gleaming with golden blood. <You taste just as good as I imagined, brother,> the other dragon mocked, and Qiangde shuddered in revulsion. He had killed many of his own kind during his rise to power, but never had he eaten dragon flesh.


    <What have you done?> he demanded weakly, forcing the remainder of the Divine Plum¡¯s ki to reinforce the repairs still holding his bones together. He managed to force himself to three paws, though the fourth dragged behind him, as did his long, sinuous tail.


    Jianying stalked toward him, the black tendrils surrounding his face floating in a nonexistent breeze. The black dragon was smaller than his brother by a good bit, but in Qiangde¡¯s current condition, that was actually an advantage. Qiangde was too large to dodge easily, at least without the boost to his dexterity usually granted by his cultivation level. All of his ki was currently going to keep him alive, however, and he had none to spare to strengthen his muscles and hasten his limbs.


    The black dragon darted forward, and this time his teeth closed on Qiangde¡¯s tail. He tore a lump of flesh free as Qiangde roared weakly, utterly unprepared for the new flood of anguish. <Stop!> he cried. <Why would you do this? I raised you up from a single-ki weakling!>


    Jianying laughed, and there was something entirely without reason in the sound. <Isn¡¯t this exactly what you taught us, brother? Do anything, sacrifice anything, for power, for the chance to ascend? What greater power could there be than to slay the strongest creature in the world?>


    <I was going to take you with me!> Qiangde howled, spinning on his one good leg as Jianying tried to take another bite of his tail. This time Qiangde was able to pull his tail out of the way just ahead of the snapping jaws. <That¡¯s why I did all of this! For you, for all the dragons. We can all ascend to->


    Another jolt of pain as Jianying feinted toward his tail and instead bit into the forelimb Qiangde had extended to counterbalance his evasion. This time the black dragon failed to pull any flesh away, but Qiangde could feel bone scrape beneath Jianying¡¯s teeth.


    As he staggered, his eye caught the small, human-sized opening he had built to bring in supplies. The mountain provided everything he and his court needed, but there were certain luxuries he had become accustomed to during the time he pretended to be a human, and even after he learned all he could from the manlings, Qiangde still had those things shipped here for his use. One of those shipments must be due soon, because the entrance stood open and waiting.


    Qiangde was aware of his body in a way he hadn¡¯t been in a very long time. The higher his cultivation level reached, the more he found that things like heat and cold, hunger and pleasure, no longer affected him the way they had before. He was beyond them, except for rare instances like the exquisite sensation of eating the Divine Plum, whose power was great enough that it would kill a lesser creature to take a single bite.


    Now, he pushed away the agonizing sensations and the nearly-forgotten emotion of fear. His nearly two millennia of practice took over, lifting his mind away from his body, and, for one perfect moment, into that state which was as close to ascension as he had been able to achieve, in spite of all his effort. The body was nothing. Ki was all, and ki was anything. The only thing that could limit a true ki master was his own mind, and Qiangde¡¯s mind had ceased to limit him long ago.


    He shifted. His spine straightened, his wings drew in and vanished. Forelegs became arms, and hindlimbs became legs. He was already taking his first staggering steps as Jianying¡¯s teeth snapped closed where his throat had been when he was a dragon.


    But Qiangde wasn¡¯t a dragon any more. He had been something more for quite some time, something that really shouldn¡¯t even have existed on this plane any longer. Now, he could be anything, and while he spent most of his time in the shape he was born with, it was far from the only one he could assume. Human legs carried a tall human shape toward the opening in the mountain, and he hurled himself through it, rolling across the hard stone ground beyond the portal disguised as a cave.


    ¡°Close it,¡± he panted out as the black dragon gave a terrible roar of frustrated fury.


    Five kobolds stared at him, and then the blue-furred one yanked her knife from the ki-crystal beside her. The others followed a heartbeat later, and the portal shimmered and vanished, leaving behind a wall carved with a statue of a magnificent dragon which almost seemed like a mockery to him at the moment.


    Holding out his arms to the kobolds, Qiangde commanded, ¡°Take me to the Tree,¡± and they obeyed.

 Chapter One hundred seventy

    ¡°Nucai!¡± Qiangde roared as he entered the cavern where the Tree grew. The kobolds bearing him lowered the palanquin reverently, but Qiangde still hissed in pain as all of his broken bones were jarred again. He had managed to begin the mending process, but there was too much damage, and it was far too extensive to heal immediately. Besides, his body was less important than his core, and he could feel that straining beneath the demands he¡¯d made of it.


    The side of the Tree shuddered and split, the bark separating to reveal a tall, narrow opening, through which a tall, narrow being stepped. Like his creations, Nucai seemed to have been stretched out of proportion, all of him a little too long to be truly human any more. As always, he wore the robe of a scholar, which concealed the stunted wings sprouting from his back, but there was no hiding the length of his fingers and the talons that tipped them.


    As soon as he reached Qiangde, Nucai kowtowed, his forehead impacting the stone with a sharp crack. Showing no sign of pain, the man said, ¡°I have failed you, Master. My kobolds have rebelled. I will aid you in destroying them, and then I will offer my core to you to cleanse my disgrace.¡±


    Qiangde waved his servant¡¯s mewling away. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you warn me? You must have known this was coming!¡±


    Without looking up, Nucai said, ¡°I asked for an audience with you, Master, but I was too ashamed to tell anyone else. I didn¡¯t know Lord Jianying was involved, so I thought it was only a momentary aberration that could be repaired by the removal of the leaders.¡±


    Qiangde snorted, and a curl of smoke drifted from his nostrils. ¡°A little more than that, given that at least-,¡± he did a mental check of his remaining court, and frowned at the results. ¡°At least half of my dragons are dead, and most of the other half embattled or injured. Still, once I am recovered, I will crush Jianying.¡± And perhaps find out for myself what dragon tastes like, he thought vindictively, then gave a shudder at the thought. No, even he had his limits.


    Nucai lifted his head just enough to strike it against the ground again. ¡°I will do whatever I can to help ensure your victory, Master.¡±


    Sighing, Qiangde limped past the former human. He had told the man to stop acting in such a subservient fashion, but the other refused to listen, and after two hundred years together, he supposed it wasn¡¯t going to change. In any case, now wasn¡¯t the time to speak of it.


    ¡°Help me to my roost,¡± Qiangde ordered, and Nucai finally looked up. Not even a red mark darkened his forehead in spite of the enthusiasm with which it had impacted the stone. The stone, however, showed a spiderweb of cracks fanning out from where the blows had fallen.


    ¡°But Master, will you even¡­ fit?¡± the servant asked hesitantly.


    Qiangde started to scoff again, but paused. It had been quite some time since he perched atop the Tree. Dragons never truly stopped growing, though the speed at which they grew slowed once they passed their first century or so. Certainly he couldn¡¯t fly up the way he once had. His wingspan was simply too wide, even for the enormous cavern. Honestly, he had been finding his resting place in the kobold city a bit snug recently.


    ¡°I will fit because I must,¡± he said firmly. ¡°There is no better place for cultivation in this part of the mountain.¡±


    Nucai stood straight at last, though his wings created the illusion of a hunch on his back. He looked over at the kobolds who were still standing by, terrified but obedient. These were some of Dongwu¡¯s kobolds, who had been created using a unique kind of Divine Wolf and some of Qiangde¡¯s part-human offspring.


    Dongwu had taken the longest to decide what form her kobolds would take, but the combination of human, wolf, and a small portion of dragon was truly promising, in spite of their relative physical weakness. These kobolds were intelligent, loyal, and adaptable in a way the others weren¡¯t, and though Qiangde had been reluctant to allow his servant to use his own descendants, no matter how corrupted by humanity, it had been worthwhile. It was simply too bad that the ones without cores degenerated to their animalistic nature so quickly when they were removed from the high ki density within the mountain.


    ¡°Get some rope,¡± Nucai snapped at the kobolds. ¡°And fetch your best climber.¡±


    Instantly, they bowed, and all of them turned and fled at once. They were gone only thirty minutes or so, but during that time three more of Qiangde¡¯s court died, and his connection to several more faded into a strange gray fog through which he couldn¡¯t communicate.


    When the kobolds returned, Nucai sent one up the Tree to loop the rope over the topmost branch. Once the end of the rope dropped to the ground, the servant had them rig a sort of seat at the bottom, and Qiangde sat on it. Allowing himself to be lifted up into the high branches was one of the most humiliating experiences of Qiangde¡¯s life, and he silently added it to the list of things for which he would make Jianying pay in blood.


    As soon as Qiangde reached the familiar confluence of branches which created a relatively open, flat area at the top of the Tree, he sent the kobold away. He could feel Nucai below him, back in his den beneath the roots of the Tree, no doubt watching over everything that was happening within the mountain, as was right.


    It was Nucai¡¯s task to watch and record everything, reporting only those things that Qiangde would actually care about, and he had eyes everywhere. In spite of his uncomfortable servility, Nucai was by far Qiangde¡¯s most loyal servant, driven by neither Zhangwo¡¯s self-interest, nor Dongwu¡¯s disenchantment with a system that had failed to recognize and utilize her brilliance.


    Qiangde looked around. It was difficult to tell how much space there truly was, since it was so filled with relatively small branches and the deep emerald of leaves. If only another Divine Plum had been ripe, Qiangde wouldn¡¯t have had to resort to what he was about to do, but the Tree only produced one each century, and Qiangde had already eaten it.


    Drawing in a breath, he felt the ki generated by the Tree and the ki crystals set into the ceiling and walls of the cavern. All five colors were there, but the two strongest were the ones he had hatched with: wood and earth. Dragons were usually fire, though a secondary element was fairly common, and as a result, neither of Qiangde¡¯s parents had known how to teach him. It had taken him nearly fifty years to learn to fly properly, weighed down as he was by his attachment to the earth. Every time he tried to use his ki the way his parents said he should, he plummeted toward the ground, crashing more times than he could count.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Still, he had learned, and each time he struggled to overcome the impediments of his birth, he grew stronger. By the time he was four hundred years old, he had acquired all five forms of ki. After that, his determination and willingness to do whatever it took had carried him onward, until he reached an entirely unexpected stumbling block.


    Beasts could not ascend. Specifically, no creature born with a core could ascend to the next plane. There was something innately different between those who created their own cores through effort and training, and those who had them from birth. Whatever it was, it tied Qiangde to this world as surely as his earth ki had once brought him tumbling to the ground.


    But Qiangde still longed to grow stronger, to escape the mortal plane on which he found himself trapped, and so he had begun to research those beings who could learn to form cores. The problem was that he needed a great number of them to study, and those who were appropriate subjects were almost universally arrogant and ambitious, requiring him to kill them or find a way to keep them contained while he tried to figure out what made them different from himself.


    When that proved unsuccessful, he styled himself an emperor, and created an empire to support his claim. Then he simply ordered his subjects to submit to his experiments, and they obeyed! A century of research was enough to form a hypothesis, and then he left the empire in the hands of one of his descendents who had been born with a core.


    In the end, he returned to the very mountain where he had hatched, and for the first time turned to studying his own kind. But it was only when he discovered the ki crystals within the mountain, and eventually learned why they were here that he truly began to gain a flicker of hope. There was a way, if he was only patient and ruthless enough to do what he must.


    So, Qiangde planted the Divine Plum Tree. Using the ki crystals and his own native ki, he grew it until it became exactly what he needed. Only a few more short centuries, and Qiangde would finally be able to ascend.


    But now Jianying threatened to ruin it all, stealing Qiangde¡¯s chance at true immortality from within his very claws. And Qiangde would not allow it.


    Embracing the feeling of scales covering his smooth, human skin, wings bursting from his back, and a long, undulating tail, Qiangde allowed himself to become Dragon again. He swelled until he filled all of the available space and then some, his neck curving awkwardly so it didn¡¯t drape over the edge of the branch ahead. His back pressed against the ceiling, and chips of stone flaked away as rock cracked. Several of his barely-together bones cried out in protest at the sudden pressure, but he ignored the pain. Only one thing mattered.


    He reached out with both foreclaws and grasped the columns of ki crystal that controlled the mountain. Instantly, his mind was filled with the millions of puny things that lived there, each vying for his attention. Some stalked and killed, while others hid and died, and Qiangde brushed them all aside with the ease of long practice.


    Turning his attention to the runes he had burned into the stones long ago, he used a single talon to scratch one out and alter another. It was difficult to make such fine changes now that he was so large, but the columns were too far apart for his human form to touch both at the same time, and he didn¡¯t have time to use that small shape to do what he must.


    It only took a moment to determine that he was the only true dragon left alive within the mountain. Some of Nucai¡¯s kobolds were still here, but they were difficult to ¡®see¡¯ this way. That had always been annoying, but he had never really seen it as a problem until this moment. Unfortunately, it meant that he couldn¡¯t be sure how many of them there were, or exactly where they were hiding.


    Qiangde¡¯s changes took effect, a shudder passing through the ki filling the mountain. He had excluded the Tree itself, including his resting place and Nucai¡¯s hidden den, but otherwise no creature with any significant amount of dragon blood would be allowed to remain within his mountain. The single cave at the very top where Qiangde himself had hatched over two thousand years earlier was the only other exception, but it was too far away for anyone to be able to use it to attack him.


    The power stored within the crystals drained precipitously as Nucai¡¯s kobolds fought back, using their own ki to stave off their sudden, instinctive urge to flee. The weaker ones, which were also the ones that were easier for him to track, were already running. The stronger ones only needed more time and more power to follow.


    He tightened his claws on the columns, draining almost all of the ki from the Tree and the enormous ki crystals themselves. The Tree would need many years to recover, if it ever did, but in the worst case, Qiangde could retrieve the seed he had dropped and grow a new Tree. It would set back his plans by as much as a millennium, but time was the one thing he had in plenty.


    ¡°Ah, there you are,¡± a hissing voice spoke, and Qiangde tried to turn, only to find himself pinned in place by the press of the mountain against his back, and the Tree against his belly.


    ¡°We knew you had to have a way to control the core of the mountain,¡± the voice went on, ¡°but we couldn¡¯t find it. We were so certain it was at the top of the mountain, where you love to roost and pretend you own everything you see. But no, it was here, under our very noses, protected by your most loyal minion. If we had had any idea that this space was up here, it would have been obvious.¡±


    A black-scaled kobold stepped in front of Qiangde¡¯s nose, holding up another of the jade dragon statues. A fierce flame of white ki burned in the palm of his other hand, and Qinagde could almost feel the heat on his paws as statue and flame drew closer together.


    ¡°How¡­?¡± Qiangde demanded, and the kobold bared his jagged teeth.


    ¡°You continue to underestimate us, Qiangde,¡± he hissed. ¡°By the time my ki grows too weak to protect me from your expulsion, you¡¯ll be dead, and I¡¯ll have changed these runes to allow my people back in.¡± The kobold gestured toward the blue column, where Qiangde¡¯s talon had scratched fresh lines into the surface only a few minutes earlier.


    Qiangde let out a low, hissing sigh of his own. He had used the Tree¡¯s ki in an attempt to keep Jianying and his scaly minions at bay long enough to recover, and the Divine Plum and his own stored ki to repair his body. All he had left was what he had been born with: his core, teeth, and claws. His body might be broken and trapped, but he could still make sure that these kobolds, these amalgamations of human and dragon who wouldn¡¯t even exist if it weren¡¯t for him, failed at their ultimate task. Without what rested in the heart of the mountain, Qiangde couldn¡¯t ascend, and neither could Jianying. Besides, though Qiangde was reluctant to release the flesh, he was nearly certain that he no longer needed it in order to exist.


    Nearly.


    Faster than the kobold could possibly react, Qiangde¡¯s head darted out, teeth closing around the traitorous creature. Crunching down, Qiangde attempted to crush him, only to meet resistance. Hands pushed against Qiangde¡¯s teeth, forcing them apart in a way Qiangde would have sworn was impossible. Reluctantly, he pulled on his core, reinforcing his own jaws until the pressure holding them open started to give way.


    Then something changed, the reptilian pulling ki from somewhere, maybe someone, else. Again, Qiangde¡¯s teeth moved inexorably apart, and a slow, terrible heat began to build in his mouth. In moments, it felt like he had swallowed the sun itself, and his eyeballs began to steam in their sockets, rendering him blind.


    In the pain-filled darkness, Qiangde made a decision. If he was going to die, he would take this impertinent, inconceivable creature with him, along with all of Jianying¡¯s dreams. He reached down deep within himself, pressing and cycling his core harder than he had ever dared before. Over time, he had learned to take in some of the ambient ki of the world in the same way mortals could, but when it came down to it, he was a beast. Centuries of research had revealed that beasts and their cores were the very source of ki itself, and each beast was limited in their own capacity.


    And Qiangde¡¯s capacity was not infinite.


    He felt something within him give even as his jaws finally closed, crushing the kobold with a final hissing shriek. The kobold died, but so did Qiangde¡¯s body, leaving behind a broken core that fought to remember.


    Remember that he had almost been a god.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-one

    <-ke up!> The voice echoed through Kaz¡¯s mind as something was pushed from his hands. It fell, landing hard on his toe before rolling away. It didn¡¯t get far, since one side of the dull orb was nearly flat, so it settled quickly in place, looking entirely innocuous.


    Kaz shook his head, staring down at the dragon clinging to his arm. Her back feet were planted against his chest so she could shove away the enormous broken core he had been holding, and now she was clinging to his arm as her wings flapped, desperately trying to get her balance - and her dignity - back.


    <Next time I tell you not to do something, you should listen,> Li muttered, finally managing to pull herself into a more stable position. She wrapped her tail firmly around Kaz¡¯s wrist and looked up at him, releasing a vaporous little hiss.


    ¡°What¡­ did you say?¡± Kaz asked numbly.


    Li froze, golden eyes staring up into Kaz¡¯s. They rarely swirled in the way they had when she first hatched, but now a distinct thread of black spun around her pupil. <Kaz?>


    He nodded, then drew her close, gently stroking the back of her neck. ¡°Are you really talking to me?¡± As he spoke, a hint of pain flashed through his head, and he reached up to prod his skull, feeling for a lump. ¡°Or did I finally hit my head one too many times?¡±


    Something shifted in the dimness of the ribcage, and Lianhua¡¯s pale face formed from shadows. She looked puzzled and slightly worried. ¡°Are you talking to me, Kaz?¡± Without even waiting for a response, she leaned over still further, until she saw the core resting on the ground in front of Kaz. Relief flooded her face, and he realized that she had been worried about her discovery, not him.


    Leaning forward, Lianhua vaulted down easily, crossing to the core and lifting it so she could cradle it almost as gently as Kaz was cradling Li. ¡°I think this is the dragon¡¯s core,¡± she said, eyes shining. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about dropping it on you. I thought I had it, and then it just slipped out of my hands. But look at the size of it! It¡¯s easily twice as large as the core belonging to the Divine Tortoise found in Kifaland, and sightings of the Tortoise were recorded in the scrolls of Kif for at least a thousand years before-¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s voice faded into the background as Kaz looked down at the dragon in his arms.


    How can you speak? he asked her.


    Li huffed. <How can you hear me? I¡¯ve been trying to speak to you for ages, but it took so much effort to get even a word through your-> She broke off, glancing away as she seemed to realize that whatever she was about to say might not be polite. <Well. You¡¯re the one who couldn¡¯t hear me.>


    Kaz looked at the broken orb in Lianhua¡¯s arms, wondering why it wasn¡¯t affecting her the same way it had him. He felt like he had truly been Qiangde, ancient dragon emperor, but Lianhua looked as unconcerned as if she was holding a normal rock.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Lianhua suddenly said, noticing the intensity with which Kaz was looking at the broken core. She turned away, clutching the thing protectively. ¡°I forgot kobolds have the urge to eat cores. Kaz, you can¡¯t! It¡¯s a priceless relic, and besides, it¡¯s much too large.¡±


    Kaz thought about telling her that the core she was holding had quite possibly belonged to the Diushi emperor, and that that same emperor was actually a dragon, but decided that now was probably not the time. She would insist that he tell her every detail, probably repeatedly, and it would take much, much too long.


    He shook his head. ¡°I definitely don¡¯t want to eat that.¡± Given what it had done to him when he only held onto it, eating it was absolutely not an option, even if he wanted to do so. Though it was interesting that he really felt no urge to even try.


    Lianhua¡¯s shoulders relaxed. ¡°Good. In that case, will this fit in your pack?¡± She held out the core, and Kaz barely managed not to take a step back. The dragon in his arms had no such inhibitions, however, and hissed angrily at Lianhua, releasing a roiling cloud of steam.


    <Oh, that¡¯s much better,> Li murmured happily, before glaring at Lianhua and giving a series of clicking hisses that left puffs of fog in the air. <Keep that away from us! It hurt Kaz!>


    Kaz realized that Li didn¡¯t know what had just happened to him either. She must have been able to tell that the core was doing something to him, at least enough to push it out of his grasp, but she hadn¡¯t seen Qiangde¡¯s memories.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t hurt me,¡± he told both of them, ¡°but it did something when I touched it.¡±


    Li tilted her head curiously, and Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°Oh, Kaz, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t even think about how ki-infused objects sometimes affect you. What happened?¡±


    Again, Kaz hesitated, and decided that sending Lianhua into a paroxysm of scholarly curiosity was probably not a good choice at this moment. Li must have thought his pause meant he didn¡¯t know, because she sent him an image of himself, standing stock still, with the orb held out in front of him. He was staring into it with a vacant expression, his muzzle hanging open in a distinctly embarrassing way. Kaz had a suspicion that that last part might have been an exaggeration on Li¡¯s part, but he had no way to know for certain.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    He shook his head again, lifting Li to his shoulder so she could settle into her usual place. ¡°I can¡¯t explain,¡± he admitted. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I should touch it, or anything else up here.¡±


    Lianhua blinked, then looked around, seeming to remember for the first time that she was standing inside the remains of a creature so saturated with ki that she herself couldn¡¯t tell exactly where it was strongest.


    ¡°Chi Yincang!¡± she called, then let out a little squeak when he appeared from the darkness right next to her. She swatted at him, apparently without thinking, and the corners of his eyes crinkled ever so slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t do that up here,¡± she told him. ¡°I can¡¯t tell where you are.¡±


    Even Kaz hadn¡¯t noticed the blur of the male¡¯s ki against the constant background glow of the bones, so he understood how Lianhua felt. Li, however, tilted her nose up and murmured, <I knew he was there.> Kaz nearly laughed, finally realizing that the dragon must have grown so used to no one being able to hear her that she had started talking to herself. Eventually, he would have to let her know that he could hear even when she wasn¡¯t speaking directly to him, but this wasn¡¯t the time for that, either.


    Chi Yincang bowed slightly. ¡°Yes, my lady.¡±


    Lianhua shoved the core at him. ¡°Here. Find a way to store this. I want to examine it some more, and I¡¯m sure the elders will wish to see it.¡±


    Anxiety stabbed through Kaz, and he yelped, ¡°No!¡± before he could stop himself.


    Lianhua looked over at him, and even Chi Yincang froze in the act of accepting the core.


    ¡°It has to stay here,¡± Kaz said. He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt this very strongly. If Qiangde¡¯s core was removed from the top of the Tree, something bad would happen. Something that would affect Kaz himself, and quite possibly the mountain as a whole. He was still scrambling to find a reason that might convince the humans when Kyla poked her head in through the gap between two of the lower ribs.


    ¡°They¡¯re sending someone up after us,¡± she began, then stopped as she took in the scene in front of her. Her ears flattened, and the fur on top of her head and down her spine lifted. ¡°No!¡± she barked. ¡°Put it back!¡±


    Lianhua looked between the two kobolds, and then her eyes narrowed. She shook her head as if chasing away a troublesome insect, and frowned at the core. ¡°What was I doing?¡± she murmured. ¡°I can¡¯t just take an irreplaceable artifact.¡±


    She looked at Chi Yincang and held out her hands. ¡°Give it back.¡±


    For the briefest moment, it seemed like the dark warrior would refuse, and then he handed the core back to Lianhua, his face suddenly returning to its usual flat affect.


    Acting quickly, as if worried she would change her mind, Lianhua pushed the core back up onto the shelf of ribs, where they all listened to it roll briefly and then clunk into place between two of the bones. Looking around, Lianhua gave herself another shake, and said, ¡°If they¡¯re coming up, then it¡¯s time for us to go down. I¡¯ve seen enough, and something about this place is¡­ unsettling.¡±


    Now this was something Kaz could agree with, and he quickly made his way back out of the arching ribcage, once again avoiding any contact with the bones. He didn¡¯t feel safe until he was far enough away from the gigantic skeleton that there was no chance he would even brush against it.


    Kyla was standing at the edge of the open area, tail half-tucked as she stared down toward the ground. Kaz came up beside her, and saw that there were indeed two kobolds climbing rapidly toward them. As he stepped back, something caught his eye, and he walked over to find a heavy niu-fur rope coiled beside one the branches. It was clearly old, but hadn¡¯t completely fallen apart yet. One end was trapped beneath a bony claw, while the other was tied around one massive branch, which had actually grown around a good part of it.


    Kaz swallowed hard at this evidence that what he had seen was real, though he hadn¡¯t truly doubted it. Still, he found his eyes pulled toward the grinning skull. One slow step at a time, he moved toward it, seeing dark shreds caught between the pointed teeth on one side. The shattered remains of a few bones lay on the ground, looking small and frail next to the dragon skull, and when Kaz peered closely, he could see that the black things were delicate scales.


    <Kaz!> Li said sharply in his mind, pulling him back as he was reaching toward those scales, driven by an urge to brush them away from the tooth. Kaz pulled his hand back, then turned sharply and walked back to Kyla, where he immediately laid down on his belly and lowered his legs over the edge. His paws scrabbled for purchase, and then Li lifted from his shoulder as he began to climb down.


    ¡°Kaz?¡± Lianhua¡¯s voice called after him.


    He looked back up at her, pausing only long enough to say, ¡°There¡¯s nothing good up there, Lianhua. You should come, too.¡± Then he returned to his descent.


    After a few seconds, brown flakes tumbled onto his head, lodging in his fur and making him sneeze. Soon, Kyla caught up to him, her smaller size and lighter weight allowing her to move quickly. More debris indicated when the humans started down, but when a dark blur dropped past him, Kaz glanced down to see Chi Yincang bounding from branch to branch, Lianhua held in his arms. The humans quickly vanished beyond one of the wide branches, and Kaz and Kyla exchanged glances.


    The puppy grinned slightly, ears perked and tail sweeping gently behind her. ¡°I bet I can beat you,¡± she said. ¡°Winner gets to give Li her next bath.¡± With that, she began to scramble downwards much faster than Kaz felt comfortable moving.


    Li flew back and forth near Kaz, sometimes resting on a branch as he passed, and sometimes flying all the way around the Tree before reappearing on his other side. <If you give me more crystals, I¡¯ll grow big enough that I can carry you,> she told him, sending an image of herself, large enough to fill the cavern, with a tiny blue kobold barely a speck perched on her back.


    Kaz snorted and glanced down. He was finally clear of the branches and could see the ground clearly. The number of kobolds down there had at least doubled, and many of them bore the bright red fur of the Magmablades. ¡°Someday you will be that big,¡± he told Li as she flew by him again. ¡°But right now you¡¯re just distracting. I really do need to concentrate on what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    She huffed, but stopped circling him, instead flying out into the cavern, mostly gliding in circles as she slowly descended. Kaz could feel that she was tired, but she was also worried about him, and wasn¡¯t willing to rest until his paws were on the ground again.


    Kaz hastened his movement; paw, hand, paw, hand, focusing entirely on the feeling of the bark. Was it strong enough to bear his weight? Was this hollow deep enough for his toes? He didn¡¯t even look down to see how much further he had to go, so he was entirely surprised when he stepped onto cold, hard stone.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-two

    Kaz turned to see everyone staring at him, some of the kobolds looking cautiously hopeful, while others seemed quietly hostile. Strangely, these emotions were equally mixed among all the kobolds, not any one particular tribe, and two groups seemed to have formed, red and gold-furred kobolds mingling on both sides.


    Li settled on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, her wings buffeting his ears until she settled down. The dragon didn¡¯t lower her head or her wings the way she usually did, however, giving the angry group of kobolds back glare for glare.


    Idla, Tisdi, Avli, and Ija stepped up beside Kaz, though they, too, seemed divided. Idla was definitely part of the angry group, while Avli yipped an almost cheerful greeting. Tisdi and Ija both seemed torn, though Kaz doubted they were unhappy with him for the same reasons.


    ¡°How dare you climb the Tree!¡± Idla snapped, sharp teeth visible as she lifted a lip at Kaz. He was certain she wouldn¡¯t actually hurt him, at least not until he fixed the Tree, but she was definitely displeased. Fortunately, once he was out of the mountain, it wouldn¡¯t matter whether or not this chief liked him.


    Avli sighed. ¡°Didn¡¯t Raff already explain?¡± she said. ¡°Kaz needed to see if there was anything up there which might be causing the Tree¡¯s illness.¡±


    Behind her, Raff was nodding rapidly, and gave Kaz an apologetic shrug. Kaz was glad that the human had come up with an excuse for their impulsive behavior. He just wished he¡¯d had enough presence of mind to realize it would be necessary before he started climbing. It was a good thing that Avli had conveniently told him what Raff said, though from the sparkle in the Mithrilblade chief¡¯s eyes, Kaz suspected she was well aware that he¡¯d needed the help.


    ¡°Still, the prohibition against climbing the Tree has been in place for as long as there have been howls to carry it,¡± Tisdi said in her gentle voice. ¡°It would have been best to ask for permission. We certainly would not have permitted the humans to ascend.¡±


    Ija cleared her throat, though she seemed reluctant to step in. She was in a strange place, as unconfirmed leader of a tribe that had essentially ceased to exist, and she had her own reasons to be both angry at and grateful to Kaz.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, however, she set all of that aside, and bowed her head to him, tribe member to chief. Her fists clenched at her sides, and her core was spinning more quickly than usual, but her voice was almost neutral when she spoke. Obviously, she had a great deal of practice at hiding her own emotions and doing what she must.


    ¡°You said you wanted the Magmablades here, and they have come,¡± she told him. ¡°Please, teach us how to care for the Tree.¡±


    Kaz bowed back, equal to equal, which caused his cousin¡¯s eyes to open wide in surprise. Then he turned toward the less hostile portion of the Magmablades. He recognized several of them, including Acha, Sika, Rudu, and all of the puppies. Kyla grinned at him from beside her father, and Kaz almost shook his head. It seemed that the pup had managed to avoid being seen again, because it didn¡¯t look like she was in trouble.


    Kaz shifted his vision deeper into that place where ki overwhelmed flesh, and pointed to each of the Magmablades who had a visible spark of blue ki. Almost all of them were from the hidden den where he¡¯d been taken, and several of them were puppies. He was glad to see that many of those puppies were older, and had probably been out gathering when the den was discovered, but these were definitely among the warier portion of the group he finally separated from the rest.


    Once he had seventeen kobolds arrayed around him, fifteen of whom were female, including both Ija and Kyla, Kaz said, ¡°All of you are true Woodblades. You bear the power of that tribe, and through you, the Tree will be renewed.¡±


    He felt a little uncomfortable as everyone focused on him. What he said was true, but he still felt like a fraud. He was only mostly sure that what he was about to do would work, and his words seemed more than a little pretentious. Still, the selected kobolds were all looking at each other with varying levels of surprise and pleasure, so Kaz hurried on.


    ¡°Come up and circle the Tree,¡± he told them, and they did so. There was a bit of shuffling, as some females didn¡¯t seem to want to stand next to each other, and in the end, there was still a good-sized gap between little Gram and the female on the other end of the line. Given that so many of the participants were young - though Gram was the youngest Kaz had called forward - they had to leave more space between them than the Goldblade and Waveblade females who had tried this before.


    Reluctantly, Kaz stepped into that gap himself. He really wanted them to see that it was possible to do this without him, and a few of them actually had more blue ki than he did, though not more ki overall, so he thought they could. Still, he was almost certain that it would be important for there to be no significant gaps in the circle, at least this time.


    ¡°Now, think about the power inside you, the same way you do when you create a light,¡± he called, wishing now that he¡¯d given them instructions before half of them vanished to the other side of the massive trunk.


    With a whistle, Li flew off of Kaz¡¯s shoulder, sending him what she saw as she circled around the Tree. A few of the females on the other side were too busy glaring at each other to listen to Kaz, and another one looked like she was getting ready to attack the Tree, not heal it. All of their cores were cycling more quickly than usual, but there was at least as much red ki rising up from them as blue, and Kaz didn¡¯t think that was a good thing.


    Turning to Gram, Kaz crouched beside the little male. Gram¡¯s core was as saturated with blue as ever, but the pup¡¯s ears were flat, and his tail tucked. He was usually so fierce that Kaz was sad to see him worried, but more importantly, Kaz needed the puppy¡¯s pure blue ki, and Gram was currently suppressing it, whether he knew it or not.


    ¡°Do you know why you¡¯re here?¡± Kaz murmured softly.


    Gram gave a half shrug. ¡°Because I¡¯m blue?¡± he asked, lifting his arm to show the bright sapphire color of his fur.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°Do you remember what I told you about how you can help Chix?¡± he asked. This time, Gram nodded eagerly, so Kaz went on. ¡°This is part of that. If you can do this, you can definitely help Chix. But you have to push your ki - your power - out.¡±


    Gram¡¯s ears were practically glued to his head. ¡°But males don¡¯t have power.¡±


    Kaz grinned, then held out a hand. Summoning only his blue ki, he created a small, gentle orb of light in the palm of his hand. Taking Gram¡¯s small hand in his own, he poured the light from his hand to Gram¡¯s, then closed the puppy¡¯s fingers around it, allowing the light to go out so the ki dispersed into the little hand as he did so.


    ¡°I have power,¡± Kaz told him. ¡°And so do you. I told you before, and what did you tell me? About what you would do for Chix?¡±


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    Gram was still staring at his closed hand, eyes huge. ¡°I said I would do anything to help him,¡± he murmured.


    ¡°Then do it,¡± Kaz told him. ¡°Just like I did. Feel the power in your core, call it up into your hand, and-¡±


    A shaky light bloomed in Gram¡¯s hand as his small fingers opened, and his bright blue eyes grew impossibly large. He looked up at Kaz. ¡°I did it,¡± he whispered, and Kaz nodded. Behind them, murmurs swelled as some of the watching kobolds realized that Gram had made the light this time, not Kaz.


    Kaz set his hand on Gram¡¯s head, gently stroking the wiry fur, then stood back up. Turning to Idla and Tisdi, he said, ¡°Do you know the howl the Woodblades used? The one the kobolds tried before?¡± He had thought it was just part of the tradition when he saw it earlier, but now he suspected he knew why the Woodblades had done it that way.


    Idla and Tisdi exchanged glances, but nodded. ¡°Both of us tended to the Tree when we were young,¡± Tisdi said.


    Kaz winced, thinking about how much damage their much-stronger cores must have done when they tried to give ki to the Tree, but gestured for them to step forward. They did, but he stopped them before they actually reached the Tree.


    ¡°Tisdi, stay here. Idla, go around to the other side. Make sure everyone there is listening.¡± Li showed him that the two females on the other side of the Tree had nearly come to blows by now, and though Kaz didn¡¯t know what was wrong between them, he did know that Idla¡¯s presence would make them stop.


    The two great chiefs exchanged glances, and then obeyed. When they were both in place, Kaz called out, ¡°Everyone send your energy to the Tree, and howl!¡±


    At first, it was a cacophony of sound. Some of the females seemed reluctant to raise their voices at all, while others tried to drown each other out. But slowly, Tisdi and Idla¡¯s howls began to guide the others. Tisdi¡¯s sweet, high-pitched tones perfectly accented Idla¡¯s deeper voice, and they howled together, each pitched to work together with the other, not overcome it.


    As ki rose from the gathered kobolds, the others instinctively altered their howls until a beautiful harmony rose. Once the howl was established, Kaz waved Tisdi to silence, and when the Waveblade¡¯s voice stopped, Idla¡¯s ceased as well. The howl faltered for a moment, lacking leadership, and then from beside Kaz, Gram¡¯s small voice soared, higher than any of the others, guiding them all.


    Kaz looked over, lowering his own voice so he could hear Gram¡¯s better. The puppy had his eyes closed, and his hands were pressed against the bark of the Tree. Blue ki flowed from him in a stream, and the faltering thread of blue still within the Tree reached out toward him. That reaching seemed almost reluctant, like it had been hurt too many times to trust, but still sought something it no longer believed it could find.


    The moment the two came together, the Tree lit from within. More threads stretched out of the central channel of flowing blue, gingerly touching each of the other kobolds ringing the trunk. It pulled away from a few, not always the ones with the least blue ki, but rather the ones who had more red. Kaz noted which ones they were. It would be best to find replacements who might have less ki overall, but whose blue wasn¡¯t so overwhelmed by the other colors.


    Moment by moment, the blue ki within the Tree grew stronger, while the kobolds surrounding it grew weaker. At first, Kaz wasn¡¯t worried, but when Gram stopped his howl and whimpered, Kaz realized that the Tree wasn¡¯t letting go. Like the archway above that had tried to drain Kaz, the dying Tree seemed determined to take every bit of ki possible, no matter what happened to the donor.


    Kaz felt his howl shift, tearing at his already raw throat. He wasn¡¯t used to talking, much less howling for extended periods of time. The sweet, lingering notes of the offering howl had been relatively gentle, but this was not. Closing his eyes, he reached out.


    Something deep within the mountain resonated. It knew Kaz, and Kaz knew it, in a way far beyond simple familiarity of form. The ki of the mountain was made up of all five types, just like Kaz¡¯s, and more, some part of Kaz¡¯s ki was bound to the mountain, one piece of a much, much greater whole.


    For a moment, that feeling of wholeness, of finally being complete in a way he couldn¡¯t remember ever feeling before, nearly swept Kaz away like a clump of dry moss thrown into an underground waterway. Only his link to Li, her certainty of who she was, of who Kaz was, kept him from being lost. The small dragon bound to his core was not going to allow anything to separate her from her kobold, and that included the mountain in which Kaz had been born.


    Instead, the mountain reached for, and found, something else within Kaz. The seed. Golden ki, excess and nearly bursting from the ki-crystal within the Tree, flooded into that seed as if the mountain¡¯s power was a stream breaking through into a new cavern. The tiny pool in the deepest part of the seed began to fill with precipitous haste. Kaz suddenly found himself serving as a channel, linked as he was to both seed and mountain, and he felt like he would be crushed between them.


    Then, as if something was finally coming awake after a long sleep, Kaz felt whatever the blue Wood ki was linked to notice him as well. It touched him, felt how he was struggling, a tiny speck in a monstrous flood, and buoyed him up. In doing so, it used up far too much of the energy it had just taken from the new Woodblades, and as if in response, the golden ki pulled back as well. The two touched, no longer mindless, monstrous power, but two entities who cared for one another.


    Both forces pulled back, and there was far more awareness behind both than there had been when Kaz first touched them. The gold had been overwhelmed and lost, while the blue had nearly flickered and gone out. Now, the gold, which Kaz thought of as the mountain, seemed almost apologetic, while the blue shed gentle gratitude.


    With a whimper, Kaz opened his eyes, finding that Li was once again on his shoulder, her tail looped tightly around his throat - a throat which felt raw and shot hot agony through him each time he swallowed.


    To his left and right, kobolds lay sprawled on the stone. He could see their cores throbbing as much as spinning, however, and knew they were alive. In fact, while their channels were utterly empty of blue ki, he thought that as their cores spun, sending fresh ki through their exhausted bodies, there was a little more blue in each cycle than there had been before.


    Gram let out a long, pained whine, and Kaz turned to the puppy, seeing that Ija was already holding him. She turned a terrible glare on Kaz, and he tried to speak, but only managed to cough, a rough, wet sound that left the taste of blood in his mouth.


    Li hissed, and though she, too, sounded tired, she still managed to produce a credible amount of steam, as well as a few droplets of water. <Oh! I¡¯m really getting good at this,> the dragon murmured gleefully before shouting, <You leave Kaz alone! He just saved your whole tribe, and that puppy will be fine!>


    Kaz lifted a hand to keep the dragon from jumping down, presumably to defend Kaz if Ija came for him, but just then Gram whimpered again, and Ija instantly forgot Kaz. ¡°Are you all right?¡± the former Magmablade asked, lifting Gram¡¯s head.


    The puppy coughed, then turned his head, looking toward the Tree. Something shifted in his core, and to Kaz¡¯s amazement, he realized that there was a minute thread of blue ki now binding the puppy to the massive plant. Kaz wasn¡¯t at all sure that was a good thing, but thinking of the gentleness of the intelligence behind the blue ki within the Tree, he didn¡¯t think the pup was in any immediate danger from it.


    ¡°I¡¯m the Woodblade chief,¡± Gram said hoarsely, and Ija blinked. Gram¡¯s head rolled to the side so he could look at Kaz, now uncertain. ¡°Aren¡¯t I?¡± he asked.


    Kaz had intended to make one of the strongest of the former Magmablades chief of the new Woodblade tribe, since it was a position he most definitely didn¡¯t want. He hadn¡¯t yet worked out exactly who or how to do that, but he suspected Avli, at least, would support him. This was entirely unexpected, however.


    ¡°Are you?¡± he asked, then immediately felt stupid. He was too busy coughing up a glob of bright red blood to take it back, however, so he just nodded.


    Gram sat up, staring at Ija. ¡°A voice just told me I¡¯m the chief now,¡± he declared, more certain this time, and both Idla and Tisdi, who stood nearby, stared at him in astonishment. Both of them lifted their hands to the hollow of their throats, where their necklaces had once hung, and not even Idla seemed to be able to refute Gram¡¯s statement.


    Ija let out a small, choked laugh, her eyes bright as she bowed her head to the blue puppy. ¡°Then you are,¡± she said.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-three

    Kaz sat on a low stone, watching as Gram selected the members of his new tribe, with a great deal of input from Ija. It turned out that Gram¡¯s father had been another of Vega¡¯s pups, but he and his mate had died when the hidden den was attacked by one of the first abominations to break through from the mid-levels. Since then, Gram had lived with Chix and his mother, Acha, but Ija and Acha¡¯s older son, Qhurg, had been taking care of him as well.


    Since Gram had no parents, Idla immediately suggested that she would take him into her family and teach him to be a chief. Avli refuted this just as quickly, while Tisdi pretended to be paying attention to something the black and white female Waveblade was saying.


    Ija said that since she was Gram¡¯s closest living relative, she would continue raising him, and Idla reminded her that not only were the Magmablades no longer a great tribe, they were barely a tribe at all, and were sworn to serve the Woodblades. How could Ija raise someone who outranked her?


    Watching Gram where he sat leaning against his friend Chix, the soft glow of blue ki filtering from the larger puppy into the smaller one, Kaz was certain of one thing. Gram would never abandon Chix, or anyone he cared about, so no matter where he lived, he would watch out for the remaining Magmablades.


    Li clicked demandingly from Kaz¡¯s lap, and he looked down. He was feeding the dragon some of the smallest chips of ki crystal, mainly in an attempt to keep her from prying the blue and yellow stones from the ceiling and walls. Kaz was fairly certain that their pattern had meaning, and if too many were removed, they wouldn¡¯t do¡­ whatever they were supposed to do. Keep the Tree healthy in an environment where it wouldn¡¯t usually survive, probably.


    Sorry, he thought at the dragon, pulling another small stone from his pouch and handing it to her. With a smile, he sent an image of Li, so large that she couldn¡¯t fit out of the entrance he¡¯d seen in his vision of Qiangde¡¯s memories.


    The dragon¡¯s little chest puffed up. Kaz had shared his memories of the dragon emperor¡¯s last day, and Li was now determined that she would become far more powerful than Qiangde, and, more importantly, even larger.


    They both looked up as someone crouched down in front of them. It was Kyla, her golden eyes unusually serious.


    ¡°Aunt Sika says that you killed Mother,¡± she said, and Kaz flinched back. He had been dreading the moment the puppy found out. He liked her. Liked the way she was relaxed around him in a way none of the other kobolds were. She didn¡¯t seem to want anything from him except permission to pet Li, and it made him remember how much he had enjoyed being with Katri when they were younger.


    His throat still hurt, though he could tell it was already healing, so he just nodded. It was true, after all, and even if speaking wasn¡¯t painful, nothing he could say would change it. He just wished it hadn¡¯t been necessary.


    Kyla looked down, a tuft of longer fur on her forehead falling down into one eye. She clenched her fingers on the bottom of her loincloth, and the silence stretched, becoming ever more awkward until she managed to say, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Kaz and Li both stared at her. Kaz had expected anything from mournful howls to a physical attack, but not this.


    The puppy¡¯s fingers twisted her loincloth even tighter, threatening to tear off the beads sewn on the niu-fur cloth. ¡°I thought¡­ Ija would have to do it,¡± she managed to choke out. ¡°Or else Mother would do something that would get us all killed. I didn¡¯t-¡±


    Her voice broke, and she whimpered miserably before she finally whispered, ¡°I didn¡¯t like her very much.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t know what to do. If this truly had been Katri, he would have embraced her, possibly even licked her fur comfortingly. But she wasn¡¯t, and even though she was thanking him, he didn¡¯t think she would want to hug her mother¡¯s killer.


    Sensing his distress, Li looked back and forth between them before sliding down from Kaz¡¯s lap and placing a tentative paw on Kyla¡¯s leg. The puppy¡¯s breath caught, and she looked down at the dragon, conflicted emotions momentarily forgotten. One of her hands released the abused fabric of her loincloth, and Kyla reached out to delicately stroke the curve of Li¡¯s long neck. Her hand was very gentle, and Kaz could see the look of awe on her face.


    ¡°She¡¯s soft,¡± she whispered, and Kaz nodded. Li¡¯s scales were smooth and strangely comforting, even though they felt nothing like the fur he was used to.


    They sat in silence for a minute, Kyla gently petting Li as the dragon slowly relaxed. Li didn¡¯t close her eyes and purr as she would have for Kaz, but she stopped looking like she was ready to bite or run if Kyla moved the wrong way.


    At last, Kyla let out a deep sigh, her shoulders relaxing slightly. When she spoke again, she almost sounded like she was talking to herself, or maybe Li. ¡°Mother didn¡¯t like den mothers,¡± she said. ¡°She thought the old howls were wrong, so she didn¡¯t want us to learn them. She said parents should be the ones to teach their puppies right from wrong.¡±


    Her second hand joined the first, carefully smoothing over the small, pointed horns stretching from the back of Li¡¯s head. ¡°Ija taught me to walk on two legs, and talk, and create a light. Once Mother entrusted the hidden den to her, she took me with her whenever she could. Mother barely even spoke to me except when I did something wrong.¡±


    Kaz wondered if that was why she got into trouble so often, but didn¡¯t ask.


    ¡°I knew that one day, Mother would give an order Ija couldn¡¯t follow, and when that happened, one of them would die,¡± Kyla said simply. ¡°That¡¯s why I needed to become an adult as soon as I could. I wanted to be able to fight beside Ija. Or maybe make it so she didn¡¯t have to kill Mother to protect us at all. But Ija¡­¡±


    Kyla¡¯s hands dropped down to press flat on the stone in front of her, and her head bowed even further. This left the nape of her neck exposed, which was a very vulnerable position, and a gesture of trust.


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    ¡°Ija loved Mother. I don¡¯t know if she could have done what she needed to do. I do know she would have hated herself for it. So I¡¯m glad you did it instead.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s breath caught in his throat. Was this what Rega had felt? Torn between what she knew was right, and the sister she once loved, and perhaps still did? She had never been able to challenge Oda herself, but if Katri had, would Rega have stood beside her daughter to kill Oda?


    As carefully as if he was a puppy petting a dragon for the first time, Kaz reached out and patted Kyla¡¯s head. ¡°Sorry,¡± he rasped, and her head bowed as if his hand weighed a hundred pounds. Then she sniffed wetly, and lifted her hand to rub moisture from her nose before looking up at him again.


    ¡°I just wanted you to know,¡± she said. ¡°That even if Ija is mad at you, a lot of us aren¡¯t. We were just waiting for Ija to be ready.¡±


    Kaz nodded, and Kyla smacked her palms against the stone decisively before standing again. Her tail wagged, just once, and she gave him a weak grin. ¡°And thanks for letting me pet Li.¡±


    Kaz huffed a rough little laugh, pointing at Li. ¡°She let,¡± he managed, and Kyla looked at Li instead.


    ¡°Thank you, then, Li,¡± she said, and turned, scampering back to her father¡¯s side. As she reached him, the male wrapped his arm around her shoulders, then looked over at Kaz, bowing his head in acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the argument between his older daughter and Idla.


    It seemed that Gram had had enough, however, because he stood, pulling his little friend to his feet as well. Chix looked better than Kaz had seen him, his eyes bright and his nose damp. In his belly, his core actually gave off a soft blue light, rather than the somber gray color it had before.


    Gram threw back his little shoulders and glared up at Idla. ¡°I¡¯m going to live with Chix and Acha,¡± he said firmly. ¡°Ija can teach me, and if she doesn¡¯t know something, then you can. But right now, I don¡¯t like you very much, and I don¡¯t want to go live with you.¡±


    Idla seemed struck dumb by this statement, her muzzle opening and closing ineffectually. Ija, however, looked very pleased, her shoulders straightening much as Gram¡¯s had. For a moment, the family resemblance was striking, and then Avli and Tisdi glanced at each other before chorusing, ¡°Done.¡±


    Tisdi turned to Gram. ¡°Have you selected your tribe?¡±


    Gram glanced at Ija, then yanked his gaze back to meet Tisdi¡¯s dark eyes and said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Avli looked at Ija. ¡°And you? Do you know which Magmablades will stay, and which, if any, must leave the Deep?¡±


    Ija nodded, jaw tense. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Idla finally managed to find her voice, saying, ¡°Then so long as the new Woodblades fulfill their duty, and no Magmablades betray their tribe and their people, this is done.¡±


    She paused to look up at the Tree, which was already looking better. It had a great deal less golden ki running through it, but that allowed it to balance the fragile flow of blue ki without overwhelming it. The few leaves still clinging to the distant branches were visibly greener, and though Kaz couldn¡¯t see any new growth from here, he suspected that so long as Gram and the other Woodblades continued offering their blue ki, the Tree would soon produce more leaves.


    Avli looked toward Kaz, then the humans. Lianhua had spent most of the time exploring the cavern, sketching the patterns of blue and yellow crystals embedded in the ceiling and upper portion of the walls. Now, she was busy reading through her notes, several of her little books lying open on the ground around her as she compared what the pages showed.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to invite you to join me in the city,¡± Avli said. ¡°Each of the Great Tribes has their own area, and I think Lianhua and the others will find it more comfortable than a normal den.¡±


    At this, Lianhua looked up, eyes going from hazy to sharply focused in an instant. ¡°Do you have beds? And baths? And actual tables and chairs? The trader He Xinyi wrote that in addition to guest rooms, she was also allowed to witness a coming-of-age ceremony when a young kobold returned from her spirit hunt.¡±


    Avli chuffed a soft laugh, ears twitching in amusement. ¡°Some pups have gone into the disused portions of the Deep for their spirit hunts recently, but most of the ones from the greater tribes will wait until the mid-levels are open again. It¡¯s much more dangerous there, so those who survive are more likely to be given positions of power within their tribe.¡± She gave Kyla a meaningful glance.


    Turning to Gram, Avli bowed her head slightly, chief to chief. ¡°When you reach adulthood, you, too, will have your own home within the city. We¡¯ve taken good care of the Woodblades¡¯ area, in hopes that the tribe could be rebuilt.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I go there now?¡± Gram demanded, gripping Chix¡¯s hand tightly.


    Tisdi smiled at him. ¡°You may be chief, little Woodblade,¡± she said gently, ¡°but you¡¯re also a puppy. Your place is in your den, with your family.¡± Her ears lowered slightly. ¡°The old Woodblade den is no longer habitable, thanks to the fire, but the Waveblades will gladly build you a new water source wherever you decide to settle.¡±


    Idla nodded. ¡°And the Goldblades will show you how to care for the yumi fields. We hope you can revive them, as well. They¡¯ve survived under our management, but they do not thrive as they once did.¡±


    Gram was looking a little overwhelmed now, and Ija stepped forward, standing partially in between him and the other chiefs. ¡°We¡¯ll take our chief back home now,¡± she said. ¡°Our tribe needs to rest and consider how to move forward.¡±


    Idla and Tisdi exchanged glances, and then Idla motioned to some of her tribe members. ¡°Escort the Woodblades and the Magmablades to their temporary den,¡± she said. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want one of the aberrations to find its way down and hurt our young chief.¡±


    Ija looked like she would very much like to object, but she just started walking toward one of the arched entryways to the cavern. This wasn¡¯t the one that led back to the stairs, so Kaz wondered if they were going to the real Magmablade den, rather than the small hidden one. With a twinge, he also wondered if he would recognize that den, since it was probably the one where he had lived after Oda claimed him and Katri.


    By his paws, Li gave a soft whistle, and when he looked down, she rubbed gently against the hand he rested on the ground beside him. He sighed, then reached down, lifting the dragon up so he could cradle her against his chest. It seemed like she was heavier every time he did this, and he wondered how much longer it would be before she didn¡¯t fit atop his shoulders at all.


    At this melancholy thought, Li gave a series of cheerful clicks, and sent him an image of himself draped around the shoulders of a mighty golden dragon, in a ridiculous reversal of their usual pose. Kaz gave a silent laugh, trying not to strain his throat, and nodded. He was willing to let her carry him around for a while, though he would have to figure out how to sprout wings in order to get down if she got as large as she pictured herself.


    <Good,> Li said. <We¡¯ll fly together.>


    An image of their old dream flashed through his mind; Kaz and Li flying high through a brilliant blue sky, dipping in and out of puffy white clouds. Now, large blue wings sprouted from Kaz¡¯s back, shimmering with dragon scales, and Li let out a puff of pleased water vapor at the image.


    ¡°Kaz?¡±


    Kaz looked up at the question, seeing that Lianhua and the others were looking at him. Lianhua raised her eyebrows. ¡°Are you ready to go?¡±


    Kaz nodded, getting his paws beneath him. It was time to finally enter the city in the Deep.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-four

    The city was huge, but sprawled in a way the mosui city hadn¡¯t. All of the buildings there were tall, to the point that all you could see while standing in the street were the walls to each side, a straight corridor ahead and behind, and the ever-present ki-stones above. Here, it looked like the tops of several buildings had been removed, then the square stones were used to create more of the low buildings that kobolds preferred, extending the outer edge of the city far beyond where it originally ended.


    As the group stared out from one of the lowest of the open-sided caverns in the sheer cliff walls, Raff let out a low whistle. Nearby, Avli laughed softly. She was holding hands with Dett again, and looked as though she had no intention of ever letting go. The little male looked happier and more relaxed than Kaz had ever seen him, and seemed disinclined to argue with his soon-to-be mate¡¯s display of affection.


    ¡°I was young when the Woodblade was lost, closing the mountain, so I only saw humans from a distance. But as my mother¡¯s heir, I was taught how to interact with them,¡± Avli said. ¡°She told me that most humans stayed just long enough to conduct their business, then left. They rarely asked about our people, other than a few who would compliment everything in hopes that this would help them make a better bargain. As a result, few humans ever left the area we prepared for them, and fewer still saw this.¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. She had out her pen and book, but hadn¡¯t yet begun to draw. ¡°How can they not be curious? Not want to know?¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Lotta rock around us right now. Most folks aren¡¯t real fond of feeling like a mountain is going to fall on them. That, or their hosts might decide to eat them.¡± He flashed a glance around at Kaz and the other kobolds. ¡°No offense meant.¡±


    Kaz, for one, had never seriously considered eating the humans, even if one of them had died. For one thing, it seemed wrong to eat someone he had conversed with, and for another, he had plenty of other food. Li, on the other hand¡­


    The dragon tilted her head to the side. <Only babies want to eat people,> she said, and Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if she was talking to him or herself. <Besides, Lianhua tasted bad. I bet Raff tastes even worse, and Chi Yincang would probably be hard to catch. It might be fun to try, though.> She turned to look at Chi Yincang, who was currently standing just a few steps behind Lianhua.


    Kaz grimaced, deciding to act as if he hadn¡¯t heard her, and held out his hands for Lianhua¡¯s book. ¡°May I?¡± he asked.


    Gratefully, she passed it over, along with the pen, and Kaz began to draw the city, starting with the large, round, open space in the center, and the five distinct roads leading away from it. Each road ended in a wide archway, with bright-furred kobold guards flanking it.


    Three of the five wedge-shaped sections of the city, each one clearly delineated by wide roads on their two longest sides, was primarily occupied by kobolds of a single fur color. Yellow, brown, and green fur dominated the lower right, while white, gray, and pale shades of the other colors occupied the lower left. The upper left area was dark compared to the other two, but the black-furred kobolds seemed more likely to have spots or stripes of bright color somewhere on their bodies, though whether this was natural or an effect created by paint or dye, Kaz had no idea.


    The segment at the very top was neat and well-maintained, and almost all of the roofs there were painted in shades of blue or green. Few kobolds wandered the streets, however, and there was no particular pattern to the fur-colors of those who did. It seemed to be open to anyone.


    The last section, located at the top right, looked broken down and was, as far as he could tell, completely empty. Not a single kobold walked the winding streets, and the red paint on the gray stone buildings was faded and dull.


    Carefully, Kaz drew lines indicating the colors of the different areas, wishing once again for different colored inks or paint. He marked each line with the rune for the color that dominated it, and then blew gently on the page to dry the ink.


    Lianhua leaned over his shoulder, watching as he drew in a few last details. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to find you some proper paints and brushes, though. I¡¯d love to see what you can do with color.¡±


    At this, Avli, too, looked at the small drawing and shook her head. ¡°You really are a Woodblade. I¡¯ll have to take you through their section of the city. It¡¯s by far the most beautiful, though I do like what the Waveblades have done with water.¡±


    Everyone else turned to look back at the city, and Kaz pushed a bit more ki into his eyes. The dark section of the city was just that: dark. Except¡­ that darkness caught and reflected the light of the luminescent plants in some places. With that, something in Kaz¡¯s mind clicked, and he realized that some of the ¡®streets¡¯ themselves looked like they were made of water. More water gathered at corners, flowing up as if pushed into the air.


    ¡°Are those canals and fountains?¡± Lianhua asked wonderingly. ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    Avli shugged, her soft white fur seeming to float around her, almost making her glow as she was backlit by the cavern¡¯s light. ¡°We each have our own powers, and the city is where we show them off. Come on.¡±


    She turned away, and they followed.


    =+=+=+=


    They entered the city through the Mithrilblades¡¯ gate, and to Kaz¡¯s amazement, it looked exactly like the entrances to the ¡®secret¡¯ passages he had found in the mid-levels, except much, much larger. The swiveling stone block was in the open position, dividing the entrance into two equally large halves, each well over ten feet tall and nearly as wide. The path to each side of the door was littered with stones, as well as the occasional mushroom or patch of fungus, and Kaz doubted if the opening in the wall had been closed in years. Possibly many, many years. Did the current occupants even realize that it was a door?


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    The map carved onto one side of it showed only the city in the Deep, and the image was so large that Kaz could clearly make out the shapes of the occupants. Their group paused halfway through, staring up at the intricately carved slab, which was wider than Kaz was tall. The reptilian creatures who had once lived in the city were a full six to eight inches tall in this version, and on the right side, the Tree towered over it all, arching branches forming the ceiling overhead. Looking at it this way, Kaz could understand how his people could believe that the Tree actually held up the mountain.


    ¡°What are these?¡± Lianhua asked, not quite touching one of the reptiles striding through the carved stone street. It looked as if someone had tried to chip away its head at some point, but stopped before they did more than break off part of the snout.


    Avli¡¯s lip lifted, revealing fangs. ¡°Traitors,¡± she growled. ¡°They were supposed to guard the mountain, but they attacked us instead. We fought back and sent them running, never to be seen again.¡±


    Kaz knew Lianhua well enough by now to see the questions flicker behind her eyes, but, as someone who valued words above almost anything else, she pressed, ¡°But what are they?¡±


    ¡°Kobolds,¡± Avli answered. ¡°Our sisters, and our enemies.¡± Turning away, she made it clear that she was done with the subject, and Kaz gave the image one last look as he passed by. The long neck, horns, small wings, and serpentine tail were very familiar to him from the vision he¡¯d seen when he touched Emperor Qiangde¡¯s core. These were clearly Nucai¡¯s ¡®kobolds¡¯, who called themselves the xiyi, and as they walked down the broad street, that image was far from the last.


    Statues and carvings were everywhere. All of the statues had been broken down into little more than clawed feet and a bit of reptilian tail on a pedestal, but some of the carvings, especially the ones high on the walls, were almost intact. Kaz could tell that he¡¯d been right, and the taller buildings had simply been disassembled and rebuilt on the ground nearby, narrowing and sometimes even closing off what had once been more of the straight, wide streets. When the buildings were intact, the carvings would have encircled the top of the buildings, but now they were only visible on one in five or six of the truncated structures. Why had the carvings been allowed to remain, while the statues were destroyed?


    The kobolds - Dongwu¡¯s kobolds, Kaz supposed - had truly made the city their own. Besides the defaced statues, the shortened buildings, and the narrow, winding paths, many walls were covered in paint, or even stretched leather, making them look like normal huts that might be found in any kobold den, other than the fact that they were tall enough for even Raff to walk upright inside.


    Metal was everywhere here. Long metal spikes pinned the leather to the walls, and drawn metal wires held niu-fur cloth draped across doorways. There were even delicate metal ornaments on the edges and tops of roofs, though these were distinctly pointy and mildly threatening. Otherwise, the changes definitely seemed to lean more toward the practical than the ornate, making Kaz wonder if there was some airborne threat the residents were trying to keep away from their homes.


    Kobolds filled the street, entering and exiting the narrowed paths to the right and left. There were even carts pulled by placid niu, just like in the mosui city, though there were no palanquins, carrying more important members above the rest. All of the kobolds walked on their own paws unless they were driving a cart, though a few puppies sat on the back of the carts, legs dangling as they yipped happily at each other. Males and females even mingled easily, though Kaz did notice that males still stepped aside for females, unless they were with a female as well.


    ¡°This seems like a good place,¡± Lianhua said, watching a trio of puppies run across the road in front of a niu, who halted without prompting, waiting until the pups were out from under its hooves before it ambled on.


    Avli nodded. ¡°My mother, Zava, was a good chief, though she could be harsh at times. She made sure everyone was fed and safe, and no one was forgotten. She checked on all of our subsidiary tribes personally, which is how she ended up dying.¡± Her ears flattened, and Kaz saw her fingers tighten around Dett¡¯s. ¡°She was checking to find out why some of their gathering groups had disappeared, and one of the creatures you called shiyan attacked, wiping out almost her entire party.¡±


    Lianhua lowered her eyes, giving Avli a small bow, barely a dip of her head. Her sorrow sounded genuine when she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡±


    Avli sighed. ¡°Thank you, but¡­. We weren¡¯t close. She taught me what I needed to know, but we both knew that someday,¡± she hesitated, glancing at the other kobolds surrounding them before pressing her free hand to her belly, ¡°I would replace her. Few puppies of chiefs are encouraged to be fond of their mothers. Most of us believe that will make it easier for them to do what they must when the time comes.¡±


    Kaz gritted his teeth at this, but finally burst out, ¡°Why? Why does¡­ that have to happen? Isn¡¯t your own strength enough?¡± His throat ached, but he didn¡¯t regret asking.


    The Mithrilblade looked sad. ¡°If we didn¡¯t have to fulfill our duties, perhaps. But a weak Mithrilblade cannot work mithril or adamantium, a weak Waveblade cannot raise water from the depths, and a weak Goldblade cannot pull pure metal from an ore vein. No one but the strongest Magmablades can heat the forge to melt mithril and adamantium, and only the greatest Woodblades could help the yumi fields and the Tree thrive. Most kobolds don¡¯t do as we do, and most aren¡¯t strong enough to do as we must.¡±


    Kaz felt his chest tighten. He was certain that if they could see as he did, they would be able to tell which of them was strong enough to do these things. Surely they didn¡¯t really have to eat their mother¡¯s cores, knowing that they would either destroy the last remnant of their parent, or they themselves would be lost.


    ¡°Here,¡± Avli said, stopping outside the first intact multi-level building Kaz had seen since they entered the city. It even had the same openings on the upper levels as the ones in the mosui city. Around the top, some forty feet above them, xiyi stood, captured in stone as they fought a battle where the reptiles were most definitely winning.


    ¡°Humans usually stayed with the Goldblades, since what they most often wanted was gold, gems, and other minerals. But we all had buildings prepared, just in case, and this one is ours. Go inside and see what you think.¡± She flicked an ear, smiling at Lianhua.


    Lianhua started to move, but Chi Yincang stepped forward, holding out a hand as he looked toward Raff. The red-furred human looked startled at first, then his expression went flat, and he opened the yumi-reed door and went inside. The door had barely clattered shut behind him when they heard a soft scuffle, then several pained yelps.


    A moment later, the door opened again, and Raff lifted two gray-furred male kobolds by the scruff of their necks. One was clearly unconscious, a large lump already forming on his forehead, but the other flailed weakly, blood dripping from a long cut down his right leg.


    Chi Yincang shifted, stepping in between Lianhua and the Mithrilblades. Kaz, too, stepped back, one hand going to the knife at his waist, while the other checked to be certain that Li was safe on his shoulder.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-five

    ¡°Oi,¡± Raff said. ¡°These belong to you?¡± He shook the dangling kobolds, his voice as genial as ever, but his eyes were calculating as they watched Avli.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, Dett started to step between his future mate and the tall human, but Avli pressed her hand to his chest, holding him back. The Mithrilblade chief had looked as shocked as everyone else when Raff emerged with his captives, and now her eyes narrowed as she leaned in toward the males, taking a deep whiff of their scents.


    ¡°These aren¡¯t Mithrilblades,¡± she said, reaching out to take hold of the necklace hanging around the neck of the unconscious male. Raff¡¯s grip had pulled it taut, so it was partially hidden in the longish gray fur, but Avli simply pulled sharply, snapping the leather strip. Pulling off a metal bead shaped like a small knife, she held it up. ¡°This is one of our tribe beads, but I don¡¯t recognize either of these males, and they don¡¯t smell like our dens.¡±


    Kaz wondered what a Mithrilblade smelled like. He had never really thought of a tribe having a particular smell, but now he drew in a deep breath, and the scent of hot metal and fire instantly filled his nose. He didn¡¯t know how he had missed it, but now that he¡¯d noticed, he wondered if each section of the city, or perhaps each of the great tribes, really had their own distinct aroma.


    Leaning closer, his nose nearly touched the fur of the closest male, and he sniffed. Every kobold did have their own unique scent, and this one was no different, but what he didn¡¯t smell was more important. The ambient aroma of metal and heat was there, but only as much as it was probably on all of them now that they had spent some time in the Mithrilblades¡¯ section of the city.


    He shook his head, looking at Lianhua. ¡°I think she¡¯s right. He doesn¡¯t smell like-¡± At a loss for how to explain it to a human, he simply waved his hand, indicating the metal decorations everywhere around them.


    On his shoulder, Li sniffed, then sniffed again, disdainfully this time. <Humans need better noses,> she muttered. <I don¡¯t understand how they can smell anything with those tiny, fleshy bumps.>


    Kaz was certain that the dragon had only just noticed the scent as well, but he didn¡¯t reply, instead gesturing to the second gray kobold, whose thrashing had gone from desperate to weak. ¡°We need to find out why they were here,¡± he said, and Raff glanced at Lianhua, who nodded.


    Almost reluctantly, Raff let the males¡¯ paws touch the ground, and the conscious one immediately let out a gasp, while the other continued to slump until Raff was finally forced to release him. Dett was on this one instantly, pinning him with a knee in his back before looking up at Avli with bright eyes and pricked ears. She wagged her tail gently, and Dett puffed up with pride.


    Lianhua took one of the mithril blades she¡¯d traded her cloth for out of her pouch, and almost gently pressed it against the underside of the remaining male¡¯s jaw. His muzzle lifted, white showing around his eyes as he whimpered quietly.


    ¡°Who sent you?¡± Lianhua asked, using her greater height to loom over the kobold, though it wasn¡¯t as effective as it might have been with Raff right beside her, doing a much better impression of a wall.


    The male¡¯s eyes flicked from side to side, desperately searching for some escape, then jerked his head forward. If Lianhua¡¯s reflexes hadn¡¯t been enhanced by ki, he would have managed to spit himself on her sharp, narrow weapon, leaving them with only one significantly damaged potential informant. Fortunately, she managed to pull back her weapon in time, resulting in nothing more than a thin trickle of blood trailing down her blade.


    Lianhua¡¯s lips pressed together, and Kaz knew her well enough by now to recognize the unhappiness in her eyes, but her hand didn¡¯t waver as she lowered her knife. ¡°Clearly, he doesn¡¯t want to talk,¡± she said. ¡°Ideas?¡±


    Avli shook her head, but Kaz frowned, looking more closely at the male¡¯s throat. Specifically, through his throat, to where Raff was gripping his scruff.


    ¡°Raff, can you let go, or at least,¡± Kaz waved at the gloved hand, ¡°shift your grip?¡±


    Raff¡¯s brows lifted, but he complied, and Kaz¡¯s hands darted out, grabbing the male¡¯s heavy ruff with one hand, and his muzzle with the other. Holding the jaws shut was easy enough now, in spite of the other male¡¯s growling efforts to bite him, and Kaz¡¯s fingers closed around something beneath the skin of his neck. Pinching it, he looked over at Lianhua.


    ¡°Could you cut the skin? Just here.¡±


    Lianhua looked fascinated as she saw that the fur was stretched across a round object hidden beneath the kobold¡¯s skin, and she made a fast, shallow slice which allowed a bloody bead to emerge from the flesh. Unfortunately, the moment it did, a loud crack filled the air, and a pulse of power pushed everyone back as light flared.


    Kaz was sent back a few paces, his hand stinging, and Li whistled, clinging to him tightly, but Lianhua nearly fell down. Only Chi Yincang¡¯s sudden appearance prevented her posterior from impacting the ground, as the male stepped between Lianhua and the small explosion, blocking the worst of it and the resulting debris even as he lifted the female into his arms. Kaz and Raff took the worst of it, since their hands were only a few inches away, and when Kaz managed to focus again, he saw Raff shaking his hand and grimacing. His glove was in shreds, and his fingers were covered in blood.


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    ¡°Pellis¡¯ frigid nuggets, that hurt!¡± he yelped, wiping his hand on his clothes. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Kaz looked down at the remains of the gray kobold, then over at Dett, who was sprawled out on top of the second captive, eyes wide and covered in gore. ¡°I didn¡¯t have much time,¡± Kaz admitted. ¡°But it looked like a ki crystal with something carved on it. Not a particularly strong stone, but,¡± he lifted a lip at the smells now overriding the previous odor of hot metal, ¡°strong enough, obviously.¡±


    Avli ignored the red spatters on her soft white fur, and helped Dett to his paws, checking him over for injury. The second gray male remained in place, utterly unaware of his former partner¡¯s fate.


    Kaz knelt beside him, gingerly rolling his head to the side and feeling beneath the skin of his neck until he found another small bead. Through the skin, this one glowed a soft gold, slightly brighter than the one that Kaz and Lianhua had removed. Did that mean it was newer? Or had it just started out with a little more power?


    Leaning forward, he stared at it, trying to see if he could tell anything else about it through the layer of skin and fur. Finally, he sat back, shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, or why it¡¯s there.¡±


    Raff was massaging his injured hand, but Kaz was relieved to see that the blood hadn¡¯t been his. His thumb looked like it was changing color, the brown skin turning a darker shade, but otherwise it didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d taken any real injury. His armor had a fresh dent in it, however, and it would definitely need to be cleaned.


    ¡°Kept ¡®im from being able to talk,¡± Raff said thoughtfully. ¡°Wonder if it woulda done that even if we hadn¡¯t cut it out. I¡¯ve heard of some spies havin¡¯ something like that. Gotta knock ¡®em out and get ¡®em in a room where magic is blocked before you try interrogating them, or they just¡­ boof.¡± He made an expressive gesture, and everyone grimaced.


    Kaz started to say that he hadn¡¯t felt anything in particular from the crystal before it exploded - no energy entering it from the outside as if controlling it - but held his tongue. He didn¡¯t want to explain to everyone how he knew, so instead he just met Lianhua¡¯s eyes and shook his head.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sense anything before it went off,¡± Lianhua said promptly. ¡°So I think it just happened because I cut it out. Should we wait until this one wakes up and try again?¡±


    Everyone looked at her, shocked, and her eyes widened as she held up her hands. ¡°Asking questions, not cutting out the crystal.¡± She slanted a glance at Kaz. ¡°Though maybe we can figure out a way to prevent the explosion if we think hard enough.¡±


    Avli still had her arm wrapped around her shorter mate¡¯s shoulders, and she looked between Dett and Lianhua, clearly indecisive. Dett was shivering slightly, and desperately needed a bath. Finally, Avli said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave some guards here with you, but I think I should take Dett to my - our - hut. Would you like me to take this one away?¡± Beneath her pale fur, the skin of her ears turned bright pink, but she ignored it, nudging the fallen kobold with her paw.


    Lianhua shook her head, then looked around at the gory scene. The explosion hadn¡¯t been enough to do much damage, really, but there was still a good deal of blood and other things sprayed everywhere.


    ¡°Someone obviously knew exactly where we were going, and this place is¡­ not as pleasant as it was before. Do you have somewhere else we can rest and clean up?¡± she asked.


    Nodding, Avli gestured to one of the females who had been discreetly trailing them since they entered the city. ¡°Tiga, guide them to the building for human helpers.¡±


    Avli looked back at Lianhua and the others. ¡°When humans come to trade for gold and gems, they often have other humans of lower rank with them. Some of them don¡¯t like to sleep in the same hut as their lessers, so we have another building for them. It¡¯s actually closer to the center of the city, where all of the tribes come together at the chaoxue.¡±


    Lianhua tilted her head. ¡°Is that what you call the plaza?¡± She drew a circle in the air. ¡°The open area in the middle of the city?¡±


    Avli nodded again, then looked down again as Dett shivered again. She drew him closer protectively, and looked at Tiga. ¡°Show them the way, then stay until I send someone to relieve you. Don¡¯t let anyone enter the hut without the humans¡¯ permission.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Avli,¡± Tiga murmured, bowing slightly. She glanced at the two males behind her and nodded to the one with a large uncut diamond that matched the one on her own necklace. ¡°Narg, bring the intruder.¡±


    Narg, a short but solidly built male with silvery gray fur, stepped up and reached for the surviving male still sprawled on the floor. Raff swooped in and picked up the intruder instead, swinging him easily across one broad shoulder.


    ¡°Nah, I got this,¡± Raff said. ¡°You show us the way. Even I have to admit I need a bath, an¡¯ we¡¯ll get where we¡¯re goin¡¯ sooner if you¡¯re not haulin¡¯ someone almost as big as you.¡± He gave the Mithrilblades one of his carefree grins, but Kaz suspected that Raff actually didn¡¯t want to chance the intruder waking up and escaping. While Raff had him, they could all be certain that the male was completely under control. Of course, if he did explode, he was right next to Raff¡¯s head, but Kaz didn¡¯t think an explosion so small would manage to kill the large human, even at such close proximity.


    Avli gave a short gesture of agreement, then led Dett back the way they¡¯d come, already beginning to lick the little male¡¯s fur clean. It was a terribly embarrassing thing to do in public, especially since they weren¡¯t even officially mates yet, but Avli was chief of a great tribe, so Kaz very much doubted anyone would say anything.


    <Are kobolds supposed to lick each other?> Li muttered softly. <Do humans do that? With their little tongues? Doesn¡¯t it taste disgusting?> She continued in this vein for a moment, pondering what kinds of things humans and kobolds might lick off of each other, and the merits of doing so, while Kaz tried not to laugh.


    ¡°This way,¡± Tiga said, nodding to Lianhua respectfully. She even included Kaz and the other males in the gesture, and Kaz was once again surprised by how different the Deep, or at least the Mithrilblades, were from his own tribe.


    Everyone fell in behind her, and Kaz sighed, preparing himself for one more short trip before he could rest.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-six

    Their new destination was indeed quite a bit closer to the center of the city, and the wedge of the city belonging to the Mithrilblades narrowed as they walked. While the road leading from the Mithrilblades entrance was to their right, a gleaming stream of clear black water marked the Waveblades¡¯ road, visible between the buildings to their left. Kaz could also hear the sound of water trickling and splashing nearby, and the scent of cold, pure water cleansed the smell of blood from his nose.


    Stopping in front of another building that was taller than average, though not as intact as the first one, Tiga gave a small bow before waving the other Mithrilblades through the long piece of niu-fur cloth draped across the doorway.


    ¡°We will make certain there are no unpleasant surprises here,¡± Tiga said firmly, ¡°and then you may rest. You will be called in time for the evening meal.¡±


    The Mithrilblades came back out of the building, giving soft yips to let Tiga know they had found nothing unexpected. Tiga swept the door cloth aside with one arm and gestured for the humans, Kaz, and Li to enter. Li did exactly that, leaping from Kaz¡¯s shoulder to fly ahead into the building.


    <Oh!> The dragon exclaimed in excitement. <They have crystal lights! Red, red, gold. I like the gold, but the red is spicy, and ooo is that white?>


    Kaz ran in after her, racing through the first room and into a second just in time to grab the end of the dragon¡¯s tail and pull her back out of the little alcove that glowed with a gentle white light. Li grabbed onto the edge of the alcove, wings flapping as she tried to bite at the crystal that lay just out of reach.


    ¡°You can¡¯t eat any crystals here,¡± he told her, quickly resting his hand under her belly so he could pull her back without hurting her. ¡°They¡¯ll definitely notice, and I don¡¯t think they can replace them.¡±


    Li gave up, settling onto Kaz¡¯s arm with a sulky hiss. <Then where do these come from? Did they trade with the mosui? Or is there another mine down here?> Her eyes brightened, and she looked back toward the door as if contemplating searching for the hypothetical mine.


    Lianhua entered the room, looking around with a gasp of pleasure that echoed the dragon¡¯s when she saw the ki crystals. ¡°A real bathroom!¡± Her gaze snagged on a long, deep bowl carved into the ground. A small trickle of gently steaming water poured into it from a hole in the wall, only to vanish down another hole at the far end of the bowl.


    Instantly, Lianhua turned and began to urge Kaz from the room, her hands not quite pushing him out the door. Li rose from his shoulder and flew past Lianhua, back into the room, settling into the bowl so she could tap a clawed foot delicately in the small stream.


    Lianhua looked between Kaz and the dragon, and shrugged. Pointing to Kaz, she said, ¡°Out. Tell Raff he¡¯s next, and then it¡¯ll be your turn. Li can bathe with me if she wants.¡±


    <I want to play in the water,> Li said firmly, guzzling a bit of water and then spitting it out again with a small burst of black ki. It arched much higher into the air than it should have, splashing down into the depression and trickling over her clawed toes.


    Kaz allowed himself to be shifted back through the doorway, then settled his pack on the ground and took two small crystals from the pouch hidden in its depths. Handing them to Lianhua, he said, ¡°For Li.¡± She nodded and reached up, pulling another length of coarse brown cloth from where it had been looped up on a hook above the door. It tumbled forward, blocking the entrance to the bathroom and almost hitting Kaz in the nose on its way down.


    Behind him, Raff snorted. ¡°Never seen someone so desperate for a bath. And she wants to be a scholar, out on the road most of the time.¡±


    Kaz turned around to see the big human shaking his head as he slung his unconscious captive off his shoulder. Though¡­ Kaz narrowed his eyes, watching the way the kobold was breathing. Before, it had been shallow but steady, while now every few breaths was much longer and deeper, as if the male was trying to make up for the too-short breaths before.


    Raff met Kaz¡¯s eyes, and the corner of his mouth hitched up. He hooked a thumb toward himself, then the door, and Kaz frowned. Raff shuffled in place a bit, then started moving toward the door, away from the kobold, making sure his steps went from loud to soft much more quickly than they actually should have.


    One of the prone kobold¡¯s eyes opened just a slit, flicking back and forth as he tried to locate Raff. Meanwhile, Raff lifted the cloth of the door and dropped it again before making a few more quiet footsteps. Frankly, it wasn¡¯t very convincing, but the captive had a large bump on his head, and probably wasn¡¯t thinking as clearly as he usually did.


    Seeing Kaz, the kobold rolled over and lurched up, heading straight for him. Kaz pulled out his knife, and the strange kobold stopped, touching his own waist, where no weapon hung. Behind him, Raff twirled a metal dagger in his hand, winking at Kaz.


    ¡°You have to come with me, Woodblade,¡± the kobold said almost desperately, holding out one hand as the other lifted to gingerly prod at his forehead. ¡°The Voice commands your presence.¡±


    Kaz very deliberately didn¡¯t look at Raff or the shadow where Chi Yincang lurked as he said, ¡°What Voice?¡±


    ¡°The Voice of the mountain!¡± the kobold barked, as if it should be obvious.


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    Kaz shook his head, feigning disdain. ¡°The Voice is an old howl, and if it ever was real, it stopped talking generations ago.¡±


    The gray-furred male shook his head, then winced and touched his wound again. He swayed slightly as he said, ¡°The great tribes are unworthy. They broke the promise that bound the mountain to them when they stopped offering their daughters to the Tree. But your father offered you, as is right, and now the Voice calls in your debt.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I owe no debt,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Whatever my father did was his choice, not mine.¡± He thought back to that memory of when he was injured and the Tree - or rather Nucai - healed him. ¡°And my mother chose to carry the debt for me. With her death, whatever agreement there was has ended.¡±


    The male shifted, looking as if he would lunge for Kaz, but stopped when Kaz lifted his weapon threateningly. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. If you don¡¯t come, the Voice will send others for you. Others who will destroy this city.¡±


    Kaz decided to take a chance, and said, ¡°Why does Nucai suddenly want me so desperately?¡±


    The other only looked confused, dashing Kaz¡¯s hopes that he might be more than he appeared. ¡°I don¡¯t know a Nucai, but you must come, and quickly. The Voice says it will help you, but only if you come of your own free will.¡±


    Realizing that that was all this kobold knew on this topic, Kaz tried another question. ¡°What are the crystals in your necks?¡± He touched the back of his own neck with his free hand.


    Flinching back, the male said, ¡°It allows the Voice to speak with us, and serves as a sign of our loyalty. Once placed, it can never be removed. It¡¯s a great privilege, and someday, you may have one as well.¡±


    <Never,> came Li¡¯s furious voice in his mind, and Kaz realized that she and Lianhua were standing just on the other side of the cloth behind him.


    ¡°Does it control you?¡± Kaz asked, but the other kobold shook his head, looking confused.


    ¡°Our tribe is the last one to remain truly loyal to the mountain,¡± he said. ¡°We obey because it is right, not because we must. We are the last refuge of those forsaken by all others.¡±


    That sounded terribly familiar, and Kaz had a feeling he finally knew who these males were, or at least what tribe they were really from. ¡°You¡¯re Irondiggers, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The male¡¯s shoulders straightened before he winced again. Reaching out as if to grasp Kaz¡¯s wrist, he said, ¡°You must come. Before-¡± He lifted his head, uninjured ear perking as a familiar multi-throated cry echoed out over the city. ¡°No,¡± he whispered. ¡°I¡¯m too late.¡±


    Raff ducked out through the door even as Lianhua pushed aside the cloth separating her from Kaz. Li was on her shoulder, steam roiling angrily from her gaping jaws. Lianhua¡¯s sash was untied, the elaborate top robe hanging open to reveal the simple white garment beneath.


    The gray kobold half turned at the sound of Raff leaving, and then spun back when Lianhua entered. He swayed dizzily at the sudden motion, but still lunged for Kaz. ¡°Can¡¯t be too late. Everyone will die. My brothers are here!¡±


    Kaz winced slightly, wondering if the kobold who had been with him was one of these ¡®brothers¡¯. If not, were they Irondiggers as well, or members of whatever tribe this kobold had actually been born into?


    The door to the street rustled, and Raff looked in, expression tense. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to see this to believe it,¡± he said grimly, and they all rushed toward him, ignoring the desperate grab of the Irondigger, who fell down when he tried to follow.


    Kaz was the first one out, but Lianhua and Li were right behind him. They all looked down the street, seeing nothing except a few pale-furred kobolds, all of whom were staring up with gaping, horrified expressions.


    Almost reluctantly, Kaz turned his own gaze upwards, at first unable to figure out what they were staring at. Then a great, black blotch that had been blocking the light of the bioluminescent plants shifted with a slow, majestic flap of its impossibly large wings. One set, then another and another, until six pairs of wings had thrust through the air with a sound something like flapping, and something like roaring water, and also like nothing that Kaz had ever heard before.


    Six long necks stretched away from the massive body that seemed to fill the huge empty space above the city. They tilted downward, and a strange, discordant shriek followed the movement of the wings, echoing in Kaz¡¯s ears until he wanted to crouch down and clap his hands over them like a puppy hearing a janjio for the first time.


    Howls rose up from all over the city, a futile call to arms. There was nothing at all that a single kobold could possibly do against this monstrosity, and a whole tribe might only be able to wound it. If all five tribes were still as powerful as they were supposed to be, and worked together to bring it down, they might have a chance, but with only three great tribes? The city was doomed if that thing simply landed on it.


    The gaping maws of four of the heads opened, each one forcing out a single word through throats never meant to make such sounds. ¡°Give.¡± ¡°Me.¡± ¡°The.¡± ¡°Woodblade!¡±


    Kaz¡¯s heart sank at the words. Whatever this thing was, whatever it had been, it was here for him, and the only way to save everyone was to give it what it wanted. He took a step forward, ready to run for the broad open area visible at the end of the street, but a heavy hand landed on his shoulder before he could move.


    He looked around to see Raff, enormous sword lifted and glowing white with the power surging forth from the human¡¯s central meridian. He had a grin on his face, and if it looked a little strained, who could possibly blame him?


    ¡°Where ya goin¡¯, Blue?¡± Raff asked. ¡°I thought we were a team now.¡±


    Chi Yincang appeared from nowhere, his weapon leaping from the ring on his finger. The end of the wooden shaft cracked against the stone beneath his feet, the pointed oval blade gleaming in the light of ki bolts rising up and arching through the air from all around them. He nodded to Kaz, a hint of excitement lighting his black eyes.


    Li settled onto Kaz¡¯s shoulder, her wings lifted in challenge as she hissed furiously at the thing hanging in space above them. Her voice should have been lost in the barrage of wind from the terrible beast¡¯s wings, or the cacophony of shrieks and howls emerging from its throats, but instead it was bright and clear as she cried out, <You can¡¯t have him! Kaz is mine!>


    Lianhua stepped up beside Chi Yincang, tying her belt in its usual perfect knot. She smiled at Kaz, then pulled her bow from her pouch, the glittering string appearing between the tips. Lifting it, she formed an arrow made of pure ki and said, ¡°One of these days, I¡¯m actually going to get a bath without any interruptions.¡±


    Kaz just stared around at them all. ¡°There¡¯s no way we can defeat that,¡± he said. ¡°I should just-¡±


    ¡°Fight,¡± Lianhua said, aiming her arrow at the darkness. ¡°You should fight. And we¡¯ll be right beside you.¡±


    Li shrieked agreement, and together, they charged ahead.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-seven

    ¡°If that thing comes down on the city, it¡¯ll crush us all,¡± Lianhua called. ¡°We need to either get it to land in the plaza, or chop it into small enough pieces that it can¡¯t do as much damage.¡±


    Kaz actually felt a hint of amusement break through the absolute terror he had been feeling ever since he realized what they were facing. He slid the Woodblade back into its sheath. ¡°It wants me,¡± he told her. ¡°Let it come and get me.¡±


    She turned and looked at him, eyes dark and conflicted, before giving a single nod. ¡°Don¡¯t go far into the open area. We want it to take the path of least resistance, which is landing somewhere that¡¯s already clear. If you run out into the middle, it¡¯ll have to come down on at least a few buildings in order to avoid squashing you.¡±


    Kaz felt his ears heat. He had envisioned doing exactly that, racing out into the very center of the large circle they¡¯d seen when looking down on the city from above. She was right, though. If this thing wanted him alive, it would be very careful to avoid him, but wouldn¡¯t care about anything else.


    ¡°Chi Yincang, as soon as it¡¯s settled, I want you on it. Cut off those wings so it has to stay down. Raff, keep the heads occupied, and if you can get rid of a few, that would be even better.¡± Lianhua looked over at Chi Yincang. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll shoot whatever I can from a distance. Just focus on killing it.¡±


    The two males nodded, and Lianhua looked over at Kaz. ¡°What can you do?¡± she asked. It was clear from her tone that she meant no insult, she was just genuinely unsure.


    So was Kaz. He stared up at the hovering monstrosity, which was still calling for him even as the heads that weren¡¯t busy speaking snapped at kobolds firing ki bolts at it from openings in the sheer walls surrounding them. Even as he watched, a pair of kobolds were knocked from a precarious perch, howling as they fell.


    Something roiling and terrible came into view as the thing ponderously turned in midair, and Kaz pointed. ¡°I can destroy its core,¡± he said simply.


    Lianhua halted at the end of the wide road, where gray stone met white bricks which flowed toward the center to mingle in a complex pattern with bricks of the other four colors. She released her bow just long enough to sketch the rune for ¡®shield¡¯, and ki shimmered into place around her. She immediately began to cultivate, pulling mana in from all around her, and Kaz backed away from the humans as he felt all three of them begin to pull on his own ki.


    Looking at Kaz, Lianhua nodded and shifted her bow into readiness. ¡°Good,¡± she told him. ¡°But whatever you do, don¡¯t let it get hold of you, at least not until it¡¯s grounded. I don¡¯t even know where something that big could have come from, but let¡¯s not give it a chance to grab you and go back there.¡±


    Kaz nodded, then stepped out onto the first pure white stone. The humans split up, each circling away around the edge of the plaza as Kaz pumped golden ki into the largest light orb he had ever created.


    ¡°Get back,¡± he told Li, who still clung stubbornly to his neck in spite of him silently urging her to fly away.


    <You¡¯ll stay safe to keep me safe,> she said, fiercely gripping his fur with her claws. <You never take care of yourself, so I will.>


    ¡°By risking yourself?¡± he asked, showing her an image of his worst fear: him being engulfed in those huge jaws, and Li along with him.


    <If I have to,> she said, glaring up at the sky above.


    Kaz looked up just in time to see his vision about to come true, or close enough. A pair of enormous, slavering jaws in what might once have been a yanchong¡¯s face was descending toward him on a grotesquely long neck. The mouth was large enough to easily engulf his whole body, and he suspected that was what was about to happen, since the angle was perfect to simply scoop him up into that horrific cavity.


    Pushing ki into his legs, Kaz leaped backward, nearly slamming himself into the wall of a building behind him, but also managing to avoid the gaping jaws. The body of the thing came behind the head, six wings beating in a frantic effort to lift its ungainly bulk back up and prevent it from smashing face first into the city.


    Somehow, three pairs of legs managed to settle into the open circle ahead of Kaz. The sheer weight of it should have shattered the bricks, while the ridiculously long talons on four of the feet should have torn furrows in the stone, but they didn¡¯t. Instead, what had seemed like a huge, empty space became suddenly filled with thrashing horror, and Kaz dodged left, then right, then leaped straight up as another head was followed by two clawed feet.


    The thing howled in frustration, all six throats vibrating with clashing calls, and a tail swept toward Kaz, knocking over several large buildings with contemptuous ease. The wings flapped, taking the roofs off of most of the buildings nearby, and then Chi Yincang was there, dropping from midair and slicing into the base of one wing with a single stroke of his long weapon.


    The monster howled again, this time in pain, and a head wove around on a long, sinuous neck, teeth as long as Kaz was tall bared as it aimed straight for the dark human. But Raff stepped out from between the remains of two buildings, sword blazing as it swung, and the head rolled away, eyes still staring wildly as the stump spouted a thick, clear fluid. An acidic stench followed it, driving away the clean scent of water and metal.


    As Chi Yincang turned to slice at another wing, somehow managing to stay firmly atop the monster¡¯s back as it thrashed, Raff dodged in and out, carving off one piece after another. Soon, the stones of the plaza gleamed, wet with the translucent white goo the abomination used instead of blood.


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    And then the kobolds came. Emboldened by the damage the humans were doing, ki bolts flew from the buildings nearby. This wasn¡¯t the disorganized melee that Kaz was used to, either. Unified barrages of power flew through the air, striking together. Often, the bolts seemed to splash harmlessly from the furred, scaled, and slimy hide of the thing, but every now and then, a volley would land in an eye or an open wound, and the thing screamed in fury.


    Another wing flew off, almost flattening a nearby building. Kobolds with rich golden fur scurried away, many of them still surrounded by shields, though a few were half-carried by other females or their males.


    Lianhua stepped in to cover them, launching arrow after arrow at the ice-crusted binyi head that lunged toward them. One of her arrows hit its eye, and it blinked, rearing back as fluid streamed from beneath the eyelid that snapped shut over the injured orb. Raff took advantage of the moment to leap from a rooftop, whirling his sword as if it weighed no more than a hollow janjio bone, and the head flew off, following the wing.


    All three wings were missing from the left side of the terrible amalgamation of beasts, and there was no way the bulky body could lift off the ground. Two heads were gone as well, and while it had only started with three tails, that number was now reduced to one. It was time for Kaz to do his job.


    He didn¡¯t want to waste any ki, but his body was already far more powerful than it had been only a few weeks before, thanks to his body cultivation. He used his own powerful muscles as he raced across the plaza, moving so quickly that the world seemed to slow around him.


    There wasn¡¯t far to go, since almost the entire space was filled with the monster, or at least severed pieces of it. As soon as he was back inside the circle, one of the remaining heads caught sight of him, a gooey yellow eye rolling as a woshi head twisted on its relatively short neck to face him. Its mouth opened wide, and for a moment it seemed as if Kaz would throw himself into its yawning maw. Then he pushed ki into one leg, arms wheeling as he bounded up through the air, completely out of control.


    Li finally lifted from his shoulders, but her rear claws remained hooked in Kaz¡¯s fur, wings beating wildly as she hauled him back on course to come down between a patch of lank green fur and an equally scabrous section of scales. Only when Kaz landed safely on all fours did the dragon let go, rising up to blow a wild cloud of water vapor around him, concealing her kobold from sight.


    <I did it! I did it!> the dragon howled, and droplets of water fell down around Kaz. He felt his water ki draining away into their bond at a precipitous rate, but he didn¡¯t begrudge it, even though using up all of one color of ki always made him feel a little unbalanced.


    It took Kaz a moment to ready himself for the next step, but then he darted out of the cloud, using the claws on both hands and paws to help him stay on top of the monster. At this range, if he fell off, it wouldn¡¯t matter if the thing was supposed to bring him back alive or not. A twitch of its enormous body and he would join the rest of the slime smeared across the plaza stones.


    He had landed closer to the front of the body than he¡¯d hoped, so he had a long way to go to reach the lower abdomen. The half-blind binyi head swung toward him, and he could feel the frigid air rolling off of it. The bite of a normal binyi could cause a kobold¡¯s body temperature to drop sharply, often resulting in death, and it felt like this one could do the same with sheer proximity.


    But Chi Yincang was there, his whirling weapon slicing away a frosty chunk of meat from the tip of the nose, and when it jerked back, Raff sliced at its neck with his glowing sword. Then Chi Yincang began to circle Kaz, striking away the tail, then two clawed paws that tried to sweep Kaz from the monster¡¯s back. Each time, Raff followed Chi Yincang¡¯s blow with one of his own, the two working together to unbalance and then chop away at the monster.


    Kaz barely noticed, other than to be glad that Chi Yincang was there. He doubted very much that he could have reached his goal without the human running interference. More importantly, Li decided Kaz was safe enough that she didn¡¯t have to continue producing her vapor, which was a very good thing, because neither of them had much black ki left in their central dantians.


    Kaz finally stopped in between where the first and second set of limbs attached to the long torso. The first set was the only one without claws, looking more like an insectile limb than a fleshy one. The second set had resembled the scaled greenish limbs of a binyi, but they were slower and softer than the others, so Raff and the repeated barrages of ki bolts had whittled them down to little more than slowly oozing nubs.


    There was an open wound where these limbs met the body, and Kaz pulled out the Woodblade, then stabbed it down into the mushroom-like flesh inside. Fresh ichor spurted, and one of the heads spun around to snap at him, but Chi Yincang and Raff were there, forcing it away and hacking off another chunk. Even injured as it was, however, the atrocity continued to fight, and Kaz took a moment to look around before he set to work in earnest.


    Chi Yincang was only a few feet away, his face and hair covered in clear or milky gore. He was still pulling in mana and refining it as quickly as he could, but it had been at least ten minutes since the battle started, and his middle dantian was noticeably depleted, though he hadn¡¯t slowed down at all.


    Raff was in a similar situation. The fact that he used mana directly allowed him to continue fighting, but his blows were noticeably weaker, sometimes sticking inside the creature¡¯s flesh instead of lopping off large chunks. He was also moving more slowly, and Kaz flinched as the tail smacked hard against Raff¡¯s chest armor. The big man simply wrapped one arm around it, however, and hacked away with his sword. Having it so close to him wasn¡¯t optimal for his large weapon, but Raff managed it through sheer strength and stubborn determination, grinning as he did.


    Lianhua and the kobolds, meanwhile, were continuing their assault from a distance. Many females were arrayed along the rooftops and on broken walls, shooting ki bolts into any weak spot they could see. There were a number of males there as well, ready to pull their females back if they were injured or used too much ki, and those who could use a bow and arrow or even slingshots and stones did so, though the small projectiles were little more than a nuisance. Still, they howled in triumph each time a blow was struck, and showed no sign of breaking.


    Satisfied that there was nothing else he could do to help them, Kaz brought his arm down, carving out a chunk of quivering flesh and throwing it down onto the stone of the plaza.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-eight

    Once he started, Kaz didn¡¯t stop until he reached one of the massive rib bones buried within the beast¡¯s torso. His knife slid through bone almost as easily as the spongy flesh, but he shifted his angle away from the ribs, knowing that the core was in the other direction.


    Meanwhile, the monster continued to flail around, the bizarre, amorphous body surging around him as the hole he created became a tunnel, glistening with acidic slime and quivering globs of discarded meat. The remaining heads howled outside, and once or twice a talon reached into the hole after Kaz, trying to dig out the intruder causing the abomination so much pain.


    Li¡¯s small body was still too fragile to bear under the occasional compression as the monster thrashed, so she stayed outside, watching what Kaz was doing through his eyes just as anxiously as he watched through hers. Thus, Kaz knew when Chi Yincang was thrown off of the thing during a particularly powerful convulsion that also closed Kaz¡¯s tunnel around him.


    Immediately, Li flew to the other side of the beast, darting in and out near one of the remaining heads, causing its body to curve away from Kaz and open up the space around him again. His refined lungs would allow him to continue holding his breath for some time, but Kaz forced himself to breathe in the fetid, stinking air that filtered in through the hole anyway. He remembered the first time he had done this, and that abomination was less than a tenth the size of the one he was currently carving his way through. Once he reached the core, he had no idea how long it would take to get out again, so he needed to be able to survive for as long as possible until help could arrive.


    Raff and Li were both growing slower as they tired, and Kaz focused on the pulsating flesh that still lay between him and the huge core he could just make out through the ki-dense body. Lifting his knife in a hand that shook only slightly, Kaz made two long strokes, releasing another flood of milky fluid. With the familiarity of repetition, he cut a square around the crossing slices, then plunged his arm in to cut away the back side of the four large triangles. They squelched out as the monster writhed and howled again, and Kaz used his paws to push them back behind him as he started the process over again.


    Again and again, Kaz repeated his actions, his attention more on Li than his own situation. The only times he slowed were when the monster turned so that the passage closed up around Kaz, leaving him in hot, rank darkness, not even his ki-light able to shine through the solid mass. Each time, however, Li quickly taunted the monster into bending the other way, releasing Kaz to return to his gruesome task.


    He wasn¡¯t even aware he¡¯d finally reached the core until his knife ground to a halt against something that resisted much more than mere flesh. The monster¡¯s shrieks and howls filtered through its body in an all-encompassing cacophony, but now they rose to a new pitch as Kaz closed both hands on the Woodblade¡¯s hilt and struggled to cut the glowing stone with it.


    Like all the fulan-infested cores Kaz had seen, this one had an eerie glow, the rusty color of fulan spores, rather than the clear ruby of a healthy core suffused with red ki. From a distance, he had been able to see the knobby, misshapen mass, but not differentiate colors. Now, however, he could tell that a good part of it had probably started out as red, but there were several masses attached to it like parasitic growths.


    In fact, as he struggled to cut away one of these, Kaz could see that all five colors were represented in this warped core. He thought the red was the base of it, but there were clearly demarcated portions of black, white, yellow, and even blue.


    Tugging his knife out of the central red section, Kaz instead focused on the smallest piece, the blue. It was little more than a rounded hump coated in contamination, and when Kaz sliced it away, his link with Li showed that one long, narrow neck which had continued to writhe even after the head was removed had finally gone limp.


    Gritting his teeth, Kaz switched to the next bulbous protrusion, a sickly orange-yellow swelling, and shaved off piece after piece until another head and a pair of limbs ceased to fight. Now, Raff and Chi Yincang, who had finally made his way back after being tossed deep into the city, were able to easily excise the dead portions of the beast. Li, who was panting in exhaustion, even flew up and out of the way, content to allow the two males and the emboldened kobolds to attack the dying monster.


    When the white section of core was cut away, the woshi head fell silent, its fall crushing one last building. Then the black chunk split, creating a crack that went deep into the center of the main part of the core, and the body surrounding Kaz finally went limp and quiet. With the last of the resistance went whatever muscular tension still held the tunnel open, and in spite of Kaz¡¯s light orb, he found himself once again locked in slimy, smothering darkness.


    This time, however, he hadn¡¯t used up all of his ki to crush the core - primarily because it was simply too large to do so - so he had enough strength to turn, watching through Li¡¯s eyes as the dragon flew around to perch near the opening through which Kaz had entered. The shimmering ribbon hanging in the air between them became his lifeline, and he followed it, slithering through blackness until his questing hand touched something hard that grasped at him, then closed around his wrist.


    Raff hauled Kaz out into the light with a grunt and a series of sounds that Kaz tried not to think about too hard. Kaz slid down the side of the fallen monster until he landed in a puddle of goo that was already turning an opaque white as it dried. His eyes burned, and he gasped for air, not because he was truly breathless, but because compared to the stench he had just escaped, the noisome air of the cavern smelled pure and sweet.


    Li tried to settle beside him, but shied away from the thick fluid at the last moment, whistling and clicking at everyone around to, <Help Kaz! Help him!>


    It was Lianhua who did so, however, trusting her fuulong silk robes to protect her as she scooped Kaz up into her arms and carried him away. She called for water, and Kaz heard paws scratch at the ground as several someones scurried away. He tried to open his eyes, but found that though Lianhua¡¯s ki was as clear and crisp as ever, there was something wrong with his physical eyes, and he could only see the faintest blur of light and dark.


    Gentle fingers touched him, stroking a soft, clean cloth across his eyes, nose, and mouth. Li landed on Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, staring down at him worriedly, and Kaz winced at what he saw through her eyes.


    If Kaz¡¯s fur had been bleached and brittle after his short time in the mid-level shiyan, now it was almost white. It fell off in clumps, leaving bare skin behind, and Kaz was just glad to see that that skin was intact and almost its normal blue shade. It didn¡¯t feel painful and hot like it had last time, either, so it was just his fur that had been damaged by the slime, not his body itself.


    Except for his eyes. When he managed to blink them open, Li showed him pale, milky orbs, lacking any of their usual blue shade. Even the pupils were nearly lost behind the damage. Kaz realized that the reason he had only been able to see ki inside the monster wasn¡¯t simply because his ki-light was blocked, but because he had become all but blind. At the sight, Lianhua drew back, gasping in horror, her hand lifting to her mouth.


    ¡°Oh, Kaz,¡± she whispered, and he tried to stretch his lips into a human smile for her. His ears and tail didn¡¯t want to obey him, and when he tried to speak, to reassure her, he found that his throat, which had nearly recovered from the earlier howl, was now utterly unable to produce sound. He must have swallowed some of the acidic fluid as well, and he could only be grateful that his organs were refined enough to resist even internal damage.


    At Lianhua¡¯s words, Raff came over to see what was going on, and let out a string of curses, most of which made no sense to Kaz. Even Chi Yincang looked grim, rather than inscrutable, but Kaz was too busy silently sending images to a panicking Li to worry about the humans¡¯ reaction.


    His current situation was bad, there was no doubt, but not as insurmountable as the humans seemed to believe. Kaz had been pondering Qiangde¡¯s memories, and he was almost certain that they were why he was now able to speak to Li. There was one other ability Qiangde had used, twice in fact, that Kaz believed he could use to solve his current problems. Meanwhile, though, he had an idea how to turn the situation to his own advantage.


    First, he guided blue ki into his throat, pushing out the dark shadow of damage that hung there. Soon enough, he curled up on his side, hacking and coughing up black specks of contamination. When he thought he had done just enough, he turned his sightless eyes to Lianhua.


    ¡°I want¡­ to leave,¡± he gasped out, tugging the Woodblade from the sheath at his waist. All of his leather items - belt, sheath, and backpack - were once again bleached and battered, and the sheath split along one side when his hand shook as he drew the blade. He allowed his fingers to tremble even more, almost dropping the knife.


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    Lianhua looked confused. ¡°Leave?¡± she asked, stroking one of the last bits of fur clinging to his head tenderly, then looking even more horrified when the fur crumbled into a sticky, crunchy mess on her fingers.


    ¡°The¡­ mountain,¡± Kaz said, pointing toward what he now saw as a blazing tower of ki in a dark world. It stood across the plaza from where he currently lay, and all five colors of ki shone there, quiescent but shining with power. Before, he had barely been able to see it, thanks to distance and the many other sources of ki in the city, but now, using his ki sense and Li¡¯s eyes, Qiangde¡¯s memories told him exactly what it was.


    Lianhua turned her head, staring blankly for a moment. For the first time, Kaz actually saw her ki gather in her upper dantian, spreading down to her eyes. Was that how she sensed ki? She blinked, then said, ¡°What is that?¡±


    Kaz struggled to sit upright. ¡°The way¡­ out,¡± he said. His throat already felt quite a bit better, and he longed to repeat the process with his eyes, but he didn¡¯t want to give away the game too soon. Instead, he growled the words, trying to make them sound hoarse and painful.


    On Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, Li ducked her head, hiding it beneath one wing. She was giggling softly at his acting, and didn¡¯t want anyone to notice, but fortunately, Lianhua misinterpreted the action and reached up as if to embrace the dragon.


    ¡°Poor Li,¡± she murmured. ¡°We¡¯ll take Kaz to the healer who¡¯s been treating Yingtao. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be fine in no time.¡±


    Li dodged the motion, leaping from Lianhua to Kaz, in spite of Lianhua¡¯s abortive motion to catch her. Kaz almost ruined everything by lifting his arms to catch the dragon himself, but managed to hold still as Li slammed into his chest with far more force than necessary, her little claws pinching painfully as she scrambled up his bare skin to his shoulder. Unfortunately, when she tried to settle into her spot on top of his pack, one of the straps snapped, nearly dropping her to the floor. She barely managed to hang on, and Kaz almost fumbled his knife while trying to catch her and the pack.


    Someone tugged at the weapon gently, and Kaz turned his blind eyes toward the pull, ¡®seeing¡¯ Raff¡¯s thick cloud of mana filled with tiny sparks of red ki. ¡°I¡¯ll get that before ya hurt someone, Blue.¡± Raff said with unusual gentleness, and Kaz reluctantly allowed the human to take the Woodblade.


    His father¡¯s knife. Kaz had known for a while now that he would have to give it up, but it was still hard. His first real memory of it was inextricably bound to Rega¡¯s death, and it only reminded him of all that she and Ghazt must have suffered, and the tribe his father had lost. How much sorrow must Ghazt have felt every time he held it, believing that all of his kin were dead?


    With a soft sigh, Kaz let his hand fall to his belt, tugging at the sheath until the old leather gave way. He dropped the pieces to the ground, saying, ¡°Please. Leave.¡±


    Li¡¯s eyes and Kaz¡¯s ki sense told him when the three chiefs approached. All of their cores were dim and exhausted, showing that they had been fighting right alongside the rest of their tribe. At their sides hung three bright flames of ki: black on Tisdi¡¯s hip, white strapped across Avli¡¯s lower back, and a golden line traced Idla¡¯s upper leg.


    When Idla shifted, Kaz readied himself for an argument, but the Goldblade chief only sounded tired and sad when she said, ¡°We¡¯ll need both pieces of the Magmablade, and young Gram as well. Teck, go get Ija and the pup. Make sure Ija brings the rest of the Magmablade.¡±


    Claws on stone told Kaz which way to look, and he said, ¡°Ratre. Need.¡±


    The male who had been standing just behind Idla hesitated, and Li saw him look at the Goldblade chief, checking to see what he should do. Lianhua looked at Idla, saying, ¡°Ratre is one of the males who traveled with us from the mid-levels. He and Kaz are friends.¡±


    Idla¡¯s fingers tapped at the hilt of the sheathed knife strapped to her leg, but she nodded decisively, and the male turned and ran. He was small, like his son, Dett, but very fast, and he lifted his voice in a howl even as he went.


    Kaz fumbled at his pack, feeling like someone would call him out on his pretense at any time. Honestly, he already felt much better, and only his fur and his eyes revealed the damage he¡¯d taken. Still, he let himself shiver and huddle, bowing his shoulders as if bearing up under a terrible weight.


    <You look ridiculous,> Li said cheerfully, though she herself was mimicking his actions, raising her wings to cover her head as if unable to bear looking at him.


    <I can¡¯t bear it,> she said in response to this thought. <You¡¯re like a little bald fuergar.>


    Kaz responded with an image of herself as she had looked when she very first put on the illusion ring. The fuergar baby she resembled had been covered only by a light down, its belly plump, and tail barely a hands-width long. It was very cute, but a far cry from the mighty dragon she liked to imagine herself.


    <That wasn¡¯t real, though,> she said. <You¡¯re actually furless and squishy.>


    A memory formed in Kaz¡¯s mind: Li as she had appeared when she first hatched, tiny and damp, with bits of shell and the contents of his pack stuck to her, hissing wildly until she managed to snap at his nose, drawing blood.


    Li clicked at him. <I could do that again,> she said smugly, imagining her much larger self biting off the nose of a patchy, bleached kobold.


    Kaz shook his head, amused, but looked up as he sensed the approach of two more powerful cores. Without his eyes to distract him, it seemed that his special vision was growing stronger, perhaps even becoming something more like what Lianhua had. He didn¡¯t need to look to know that the kobolds running toward him included Ija, and the Magmablade was holding the new Woodblade chief in her arms.


    Kaz started struggling to his paws, and Lianhua grabbed his left arm, while Raff grasped his right. Between the two of them, Kaz¡¯s paws actually left the ground for a moment, as if they couldn¡¯t decide whether they should allow him to walk, but he yipped at them sharply, and they lowered him to stand on his own.


    At the sight of him, Ija halted, clutching Gram to her almost convulsively. Li showed Kaz the expression on Ija¡¯s face, which had started out hard and angry, passed through horror, and had now settled on pity.


    Kaz held out a hand, turning toward her as if following the sound of her claws on stone. He allowed his eyes to open wide, showing off the blank white orbs, which actually hurt for a moment as they started to dry, causing him to blink rapidly.


    ¡°Cousin?¡± Ija asked, almost whispering, and Kaz nodded. He actually felt a bit bad about manipulating her this way, but it was necessary that they all believe he was all but ready to join the ancestors. Certainly, a male who couldn¡¯t see was one who would be useless to most tribes.


    He held out the hilt he¡¯d taken from the pouch inside his pack. Fortunately, even though there was a good amount of slime inside the pack, the pouch had responded easily to Kaz¡¯s ki, granting him the severed hilt of the Magmablade.


    Stepping forward, Ija held out the matching blade, bringing together the two pieces of the broken knife for the first time in more than a dozen years. The blade was wrapped in many layers of cloth, some of them clearly originating outside the mountain, and when Ija reverently unwrapped it, it shone a soft red in Kaz¡¯s vision.


    He let out a soft whine of relief. The only thing Kaz had worried about was that the broken Magmablade would be unable to fulfill its function. Still, he had very much doubted that Idla and the others would actually allow the blade to be rendered useless, at least as long as they still hoped to produce a new Woodblade tribe and find the missing Woodblade itself.


    Raff rested a careful hand on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, then pressed the hilt of the Woodblade back into his hand. ¡°Do what you¡¯ve gotta do, my friend,¡± the big human murmured. ¡°We¡¯re with you.¡±


    Kaz stepped forward, croaking out, ¡°Gram?¡±


    The puppy let out a long, high-pitched whine, and Ija lowered him to the ground. Kaz crouched down, staring out straight ahead as if he couldn¡¯t see the puppy¡¯s brilliant blue core right in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m here, Kaz,¡± Gram finally managed to whisper, staring up at Kaz¡¯s eyes as if entranced. There was more than a bit of whimper in his voice, and Kaz wished he didn¡¯t have to frighten the puppy.


    Leaning forward, Kaz laid the knife on the ground, then slid it toward Gram hilt first, his fingers barely lingering on the blade as the puppy accepted it. ¡°Do you remember what I taught you?¡± Kaz asked, no longer bothering to draw his words out, though he still growled them slightly.


    Gram nodded, then seemed to realize Kaz couldn¡¯t see him, and said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°If you share your ki - your power - with Chix, he won¡¯t be sick any more,¡± Kaz told him. ¡°But that will make you weaker. It would be better to find someone else with a lot of Wood ki to help him, so you can focus on the Tree.¡±


    Gram nodded jerkily, then whispered, ¡°Yes,¡± again.


    ¡°Pay attention to the voice in your head, too,¡± Kaz said. He was almost certain that the Voice the Irondiggers listened to was actually Nucai, and the voice of the blue power within the Tree was something else entirely. Something far more benign than the ancient servant of the dragon emperor.


    ¡°It will tell you who can help the Tree, and who can¡¯t,¡± he went on. ¡°And don¡¯t let any other tribes join in the howl. The Goldblades and Waveblades didn¡¯t mean to, but they were hurting the Tree.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Gram said impatiently. He reached up and touched his head. ¡°The voice told me already.¡±


    Kaz snorted a little laugh. The pup was going to be a handful, that was certain, and Kaz was glad of it. He hoped Ija and the others would remember the old Woodblades, and allow the puppy to be himself, not what they wanted him to be. In fact-


    Kaz leaned forward until his snout almost touched Gram¡¯s fluffy ear, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t let the other chiefs control your tribe. There¡¯s a male named Ratre who knew the old Woodblades. He¡¯ll help you rebuild the tribe the way it should be. Let the Woodblades be Woodblades again. I think the mountain needs them more than we know.¡± Gram nodded vigorously, fur tickling Kaz¡¯s nose until he had to pull back and force down a sneeze.


    That done, Kaz held out his arms, inviting Raff and Lianhua to help him up again. He pointed a shaky finger. ¡°Time¡­ to go,¡± he rasped, and the kobolds stepped aside respectfully as Kaz and his friends walked through the gore-soaked plaza toward the great archway that was meant to contain the passage out of the mountain.

 Chapter One hundred seventy-nine (END Book Three)

    Kaz wished he could have seen the plaza properly before it was filled with the remains of the shiyan. In Li¡¯s eyes, the patterns formed by the bricks were complex and beautiful, though the body and fluids smeared across them made it difficult to tell if they created an overall image. His own vision, however, showed ki crystals glowing beneath the stones, and there were more of the rare colors there than Kaz had seen anywhere else before, even in the yumi pools and the cavern containing the Tree.


    Li was practically drooling as she stared at the glow lighting the bricks from below. <I would grow even larger than that monster if I could eat all of those,> she muttered. <I could eat the whole mountain, and then-> Here even her imagination gave out. Neither of them had ever seen more of the outside world than the barren slopes of the upper mountain and the broad sky, so she had no real idea what else there was to eat.


    Kaz lifted his blind eyes to stare at the spot where the cores and knives of the chiefs had gathered near an empty stone archway. Again, his vision and Li¡¯s disagreed on what was there. The dragon mostly saw carved stone curving high overhead, but Kaz could tell there were more ki crystals embedded there. They were inactive at the moment, unlike the ones beneath the plaza bricks, but there were five distinct trails, one of each ki type, leading from the arch to the spot where the chiefs were standing.


    As they approached, Lianhua twitched, clearly longing to let go of Kaz and take out her book. Then she looked at Kaz, lingering on his sightless eyes, and bit her lip, her grip firming on his arm. Li didn¡¯t see any identifiable runes carved into the stone, but there were a great number of fairly detailed images of all three kinds of ¡®kobolds¡¯. The reptilian type were definitely represented most often, and Kaz was about to tell Lianhua she could let him go and sketch them when howling rose again.


    The sound was weak, a breathless variant of the ¡®I¡¯m on my way¡¯ howl that warriors used when tribe members called for them. Kaz already knew who it would be before he turned to look toward the noise. His chest clenched, because he had genuinely intended to invite Ratre to leave with him, before he learned that kobolds who lacked a core would become little more than beasts if they left the mountain. He had no idea how long that transformation might take, but the male had suffered enough without that indignity.


    Three warriors appeared, two of them carrying the third between them. Ratre¡¯s howl was pitiful, and when he entered the open area, he barely flinched at the presence of the gigantic corpse, instead staring around, looking for something. Or someone.


    Kaz lifted his arms from Raff and Lianhua¡¯s gentle grasp, and took a single shaky step toward the newcomers, giving a hoarse yip of greeting. At the sight of him, Ratre¡¯s howl shifted to a low, pained whine, and the Woodclaw male began to struggle to get down. The bone support Kaz had fixed for him was strapped to his stump, and it made a soft thud as it impacted the bricks, giving Kaz something to focus on.


    ¡°Ratre?¡± he asked, trying to sound uncertain, and the older male walked toward him, barely hobbling, though his speed clearly hadn¡¯t been fast enough for the others with him.


    Ratre¡¯s voice was strangled as he said, ¡°What happened? How did this-¡± His voice cracked, and he reached out, fingers hovering just over Kaz¡¯s bare skin, though he didn¡¯t quite make contact.


    Kaz shook his head, then fell forward as if his paws couldn¡¯t hold him any longer. He wrapped his arms around Ratre, and the male froze, then reached up and hugged Kaz in return. The feeling of strong arms around him reminded Kaz so much of being held by his father that he hesitated, nearly losing himself in the moment rather than finishing the rune he had begun drawing in his mind. Li gave a soft click, however, and his fingers twitched as he completed the ¡®silence¡¯ rune.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be all right,¡± he murmured softly, hiding his muzzle against Ratre¡¯s chest. It was difficult, since Ratre was actually slightly shorter than Kaz, but Kaz didn¡¯t think anyone should be able to see his mouth move. ¡°You need to stay here, though. The pup with the other chiefs is Gram, a true Woodblade, and he needs you even more than I do.¡±


    Ratre started to speak, and Kaz cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I have to break my promise to keep you with me, but you can¡¯t leave the mountain, and I must. Protect Gram. Teach him what made the Woodblades better than the other tribes, and don¡¯t let anyone else lead him astray. Can you do that?¡±


    Ratre nodded once, sharp and short, and his eyes now rested on the little blue puppy barely visible at the paws of the other chiefs. ¡°Bright howls,¡± he growled softly, and Kaz drew back, letting the rune fade from his mind.


    ¡°Bright howls,¡± he said, and stepped back, holding out his arms to each side so Raff and Lianhua could grasp them again.


    The familiar scent of jejing touched Kaz¡¯s nose as a cranky voice reached his ears. He turned his head, allowing his eyes to go over the head of the old healer, Jul, even though Li told him the other male was only a few steps away. Jul must have been a bit behind the others, but managed to catch up while Kaz and Ratre spoke.


    This was not good. Kaz had been pretending that superficial damage was far worse than it was, and his obvious blindness had convinced the chiefs and everyone else that he was entering death¡¯s final cavern. The healer, however, was unlikely to be fooled by missing fur and shaky legs. If he decided to argue against the chiefs allowing Kaz to leave, he might well cause them to question their own decision.


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    Jul circled Kaz, looking him up and down as Kaz pretended to be trying to identify the old male by sound and smell, turning his head with painful slowness as Jul moved around. Once he¡¯d completed a full circuit, the healer let out a considering sound, then sighed regretfully. ¡°Teck said the pup wants to leave. It¡¯s a shame, but I see no point in forcing him to stay,¡± he said, ignoring the fact that no one had actually asked for his opinion.


    Reaching out, Jul clasped Kaz¡¯s hand in his own, and Kaz felt something hard press into his palm as the other male leaned close. ¡°Come back when you realize where you belong, young kobold,¡± he murmured very, very quietly before stepping away.


    ¡°Fair howls,¡± Jul said more loudly, and crossed over to Ratre¡¯s side to begin fussing with the bone strapped to the Woodclaw¡¯s stump.


    The five chiefs moved together, three on one side of the arch, and two on the other. Gram stood between Ija and Tisde, holding a knife as long as he was, while Idla and Avli stood side by side across from them. Avli and Idla¡¯s blades slid easily into the stone of the archway, and Kaz could see how their cores began to drain at a terrible rate, the ki entering and starting to fill the ki stones hidden within the curved structure. Avli gasped softly, clearly not ready for it, but Idla just gritted her teeth and held onto the hilt of her knife.


    Idla looked over at Tisdi. ¡°It¡¯s worse than it used to be,¡± she told her fellow chief, and Tisdi nodded in acknowledgement, though she seemed puzzled. Kaz could have told them that it probably wasn¡¯t actually worse, but Idla¡¯s core no longer held as much power as it had before. There was nothing he could do about it, however, and Idla was actually very good at controlling the amount of power that was being drawn out through her blade, so he said nothing.


    Turning to Gram and Ija, Tisdi helped them find the right spots to place their knives, and then they slid all three blades in at once. Instantly, power surged out of Gram and Tisdi, and if the Waveblade hadn¡¯t grasped Gram¡¯s little paw, holding it to the hilt of his blade, the puppy would have let go. Fortunately, three of the four chiefs contained large quantities of their respective ki, and Idla looked grimly determined. But now everyone was looking at Ija, who was, in turn, looking at the stub end of the Magmablade, which barely protruded from the stone in front of her.


    Ija tried holding the hilt up so the nub in the hilt pressed against the rest of the blade, and Kaz could see her power shift inside her, but it only turned back on itself when it touched the break in the knife, causing Ija to yank her hand back with a yelp. The hilt fell to the ground, skittering and spinning away with a clatter.


    On the other side, Idla looked up with eyes that were already tired, and said, ¡°Just touch the blade, foolish female. When Shom broke it, she swore that it would still work even without the part that was sent away with Oda.¡±


    Kaz was suddenly, fiercely curious about this Shom, who he was sure Idla had mentioned before. Li helped him dredge up the memory of the Goldblade chief showing off the ridiculously large sword she¡¯d traded to Lianhua. At that time, she¡¯d called Shom their ¡®greatest smith¡¯. Now, Kaz wondered how this smith could possibly know the exact place to break the blade without also destroying its functionality.


    Even that thought was driven from his mind, however, as the air inside the great archway shimmered like the surface of a mirror, or a particularly clear pool of water. He saw himself, exactly the way Li had pictured him, except even more pathetic, if that was possible. His belt and pack hung off him, his bulk abruptly reduced by the lack of fur. Only the fuulong silk loincloth Lianhua had given him looked intact, but it was also coming loose, hanging in folds that barely covered him.


    Li lay draped across his bare shoulders, her scales supple and gleaming, colors brilliant in her swirling eyes. Next to them stood Lianhua, Raff, and a clearly visible Chi Yincang, though they all looked slightly soft, as if he¡¯d just woken from sleep and rubbed his eyes, and his vision hadn¡¯t quite recovered yet.


    He blinked, realizing that somehow he was able to see all of this himself, not through Li, and then the whole thing shimmered again, and Kaz found himself staring into the furious face of Nucai.


    ¡°Kobold,¡± the ancient being hissed, his sharp white teeth all too visible as he dropped his pretense at humanity. Behind him, the pen scratched away on the table, the parchment it was meant to write on having fallen into a crumpled heap on the floor.


    Kaz¡¯s gaze met Nucai¡¯s, and he could tell that the other didn¡¯t care at all about Kaz¡¯s injuries. Instead, his eyes flicked down to Kaz¡¯s abdomen, his clawed hand reaching out toward Kaz¡¯s core. Kaz took an involuntary step back, saying, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Nucai¡¯s thin lips peeled back. ¡°What you owe me! I saved your pathetic life when your father offered you to me, and again when you broke the core I made for you. Now, just when you might have something useful to offer me, you dare try to leave this mountain? Worse, you helped the Tree!¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°But Qiangde grew the Tree. He wanted it to be strong. Why are you angry?¡±


    For the first time, the other looked something less than absolutely certain. ¡°How do you know that name? The Master never-¡± He shook his head, then lifted his arms, motioning to the rows of shelves that vanished into the distance behind him. ¡°The Tree is my prison, foolish kobold. Once, it was a sanctuary, but now I huddle inside, trapped by my final task. Do you know how long I waited, how many tiny kobold lives I had to manipulate, to finally-¡± He broke off, pale face almost incandescent with fury and frustration.


    Fists clenching, Nucai forced something that might have been a smile on someone else¡¯s face. ¡°Now, come to me. All will be forgiven, and,¡± his eyes flickered to Li, a long, narrow tongue darting out to moisten his lips, ¡°I will help you achieve greatness.¡±


    <NO,> Li said, but it wasn¡¯t, quite, Li. For the first time, the dragon was aware during one of Nucai¡¯s appearances, and she stared straight back at him, a kind of magnificent surety all but radiating from her slender body. <We will leave, and you will let us go, kobold.>


    Nucai jerked back. ¡°I¡¯m no-¡±


    <KOBOLD,> Li said, and Nucai flinched. As he did, his image shivered, then shattered, and Kaz looked up again as Lianhua and Raff picked him up and carried him through the portal, into the world outside the mountain.


    At last.

 Chapter One hundred eighty

    She remembered the time from before she knew she was different. Curled up beside her mother, warm and full of milk, she lived in safety and darkness, filled with the squeaks and gentle breathing of a dozen siblings. Then the Light came, and the Monster killed the large one, the father and protector of them all. Her mother and the other adults ran, leaving her and the rest of the squalling pups in their nests, cold and abandoned.


    She had no understanding of death, not then, though she knew the father was too still, too silent. She huddled down in her nest, trying her tiny legs, where soft copper fuzz almost completely concealed her pink skin, and wondered if she could leap away if the Monster came for her.


    The answer was no. She was grabbed before she even had a chance to leap, and squealed in protest at this abrupt and terrifying change in her small, safe life. Something cold was pushed onto her front limb, where it grew tight, and then she was placed back into her nest by gentle paws. How could a creature who had just murdered the large one be so gentle?


    The Monster filled her nest with food, and though she still ate her mother¡¯s milk, she had also, tentatively, begun to try the bits of ore and plants the large one brought back, and many of these things smelled very tasty. She ignored them all, however, pressing back against the quivering bodies of her siblings, staring up with huge eyes until the Monster turned and left, taking its painfully bright light with it.


    Never before had the darkness been frightening. It seemed to have weight, filled as it was with the scent of blood. It pressed down on her, and she could barely breathe beneath it. Her siblings, those smaller, less mature creatures, with their tender pink skin and half-open eyes, only called for their missing mother, seemingly unaware of the larger change that had come upon them.


    She didn¡¯t know how long it took for her mother to return. Time was a thing she only discovered later. Then, things happened, or they didn¡¯t, and her mind seemed to drift away during the periods of inactivity, filled with nothing but the urge to eat or sleep.


    So she ate. The others still needed milk, but she was beyond them already, somehow, though she was still unaware of her peculiarity. Her siblings grew weaker, their calls coming less often as they faded away, but she survived on what the Monster left, and when their mother did come back, she was no longer dependent on her in the same way as the others.


    Which was fortunate, because her mother wanted nothing to do with her. Where before her difference had been a matter of growing more quickly, becoming aware sooner than the others, now there was something more, a visible change that she couldn¡¯t understand, but the other fuergar could. Her mother pushed her from the nest, but her legs were strong now, and she landed on her paws.


    None of the others knew what to do with her. Some seemed frightened of her, while others bared their teeth and snapped if she got close. They knew she was one of them, could smell it on her, her history, her sameness, but that difference was now something they were all very aware of.


    She stayed with them. That was something her instincts told her, and though she was slowly becoming aware enough to question those urges that had no reason behind them, she knew this one was important. Safety lay in numbers. Many teeth, many claws, could bring down a foe much larger than any one of them.


    She grew. She learned where the ore veins were, and again, her instincts told her which ones were best to eat. Which ones would make her strong. Her mind began to comprehend, understand things even the older fuergar couldn¡¯t. There were a few others, a bit like her, but not like her. Different.


    And then she began to wonder. What else might be out there? Were there other fuergar like her? Other metals to eat? Where had the Monster gone, and why had it chosen her to change? She questioned, and not only did she have no way to communicate these questions to the others, they would have had no answers for her, because they didn¡¯t care. They lived, and that was enough.


    So she left at last. She didn¡¯t bother to try to tell the others, explain why or where she went. Once she was gone, they would forget her, just as they had the large one, and the Monster.


    She had no direction, no plan, but she found that her paws led her up. The few times she found a passage that went down, something larger and fiercer than herself was there, and she had to scurry away, hiding in crevices or using her strong teeth to defend herself.


    Up and up, until she found a place where more Monsters lived. There were dozens of them, living together in a cave much like fuergar, though they built their nests around them, rather than simply piling up moss to sleep on. She spent days watching them, until the little ones, the ones not much larger than she was, caught sight of her.


    At first they were frightened, but then, like the first Monster, they approached. Two of them trapped her in a tunnel near an ore vein, and she huddled down, teeth bared and tail lashing in warning. The two Monsters were small, though they still seemed large to her, and they barked and yipped at one another excitedly as they held out their hands. One held metal, and the other held meat, and she remembered the first Monster giving her food. That one hadn¡¯t hurt her, though it could have, so perhaps it was safe to trust these as well?


    A mistake! As soon as she allowed the metal-bearing Monster close enough, he grabbed the back of her neck in a painful grip. Letting out an exultant yelp, he held her up, examining her, then tugged at the thing the first Monster had put around her forelimb.


    It hurt. She had tried removing the round thing herself, then tried eating it once she realized that it was metal. She only succeeded in cutting her leg with her own teeth, and this Monster had no better luck now. The second Monster came to help, holding her in place as they pulled at her leg, and she summoned strength she hadn¡¯t been aware she had. It seemed to flow up from her belly, thrusting the Monsters away, and she squealed angrily at them as she ran away.


    Her strength faded as she ran, leaving her empty and weak, and she crawled into a crevice that smelled thickly of fuergar. Not her fuergar, because she had left them far behind, but still a familiar scent. Something like safety, for a moment at least.


    She slept, and when she woke, she found that she was starving in a way she hadn¡¯t before. She needed metal, rich and pure and dense, and her nose told her which way to go to find it. She nibbled at plants as she went, even found a few small grubs to eat, but the ore she craved called to her, leading her ever onward.


    The ore was tasty. Even her metal-coated teeth struggled to bite chunks of it off, but when they did, she swallowed it greedily. It filled the hollowness in her stomach, and she ate and ate until she created a hollow herself. A hollow that filled a hollow, and a hollow that let her rest. She curled up, surrounded by the metal that had called to her, and slept.


    Her mind and body changed. Time began to make sense as something more than just a space between the fulfillment of vital urges and curiosity. The vague questions that drove her away from her birthplace became more specific, especially one: Where had the Monster come from?


    She ate, and she slept. She wondered, and she dreamed. Dreamed of things she could never have imagined, if she could have understood what an imagination was. Small creatures, smaller than her, yet larger, with tiny eyes and fur even softer and finer than her own. They wrapped themselves in something that was not-fur, and she hated them.


    Hate was new. Fear she certainly understood. Affection even, though that was based more in familiarity and safety than any true warmth. The momentary flush of anger when the little Monsters grabbed her, or another fuergar took something she wanted. But hate? It lingered in a way the others didn¡¯t. It took time.


    And then she ran out of metal. She had eaten it all, every bit that she could reach or smell. She would have to leave again, and the only direction she had this time was away from hate. Hate was down, so she went up.


    Life grew easier. It was like the other creatures became weaker and weaker as she ascended. She no longer had to fear even the flying beasts, who came out of nowhere and screamed at her. The first time she met one, only the fact that she had just emerged from a crack too small for it to follow had saved her. Now, no matter how they screamed, she pressed her ears closed with her paws and bit at them until they flew away.


    She learned to access the power that lurked in her belly. It seemed to grow stronger when she ate better, purer metals. Fortunately, there was plenty here, and though she found no more of the metal that had called to her after the Monsters assaulted her, she never went hungry, and she continued to grow. When she needed it, she could use the power in her belly to become even stronger, though she always paid for it with exhaustion and hunger.


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    In her wanderings, she found more Monsters. Whole nests of them, living their lives just as her kind did. She watched them, fascinated, though she never again allowed one to approach her. They seemed excited when they caught sight of her, and while some of the small ones attempted to entice her with various kinds of food, none of them tried to attack her. Indeed, the larger ones seemed more frightened than anything else, and often ran away, howling.


    She smelled something. Different. Fresh. Lifting her nose, she turned toward the scent, seeing a narrow crack in the wall. She touched it with a forelimb, the soft light of a nearby clump of moss allowing her to see the soft golden scales that her sense of touch assured her weren¡¯t actually there. She didn¡¯t know why her eyes and her nose and her tongue told her such different things about herself, but the thinking she had done, the wondering, led her to conclude that it had something to do with the original Monster, and the metal band it put on her leg.


    A cold, strange-smelling gust of air blew over her leg, ruffling fur hidden beneath the appearance of scales. She shivered, but it was a pleasant sensation, and a new one. In her experience, air didn¡¯t move unless some creature moved it, but her dreams told her that things could be different. Could be like this.


    She took a bite of the wall. It was stone, with no hint of the ore she found so delicious, but it wasn¡¯t the first rock she had chewed through to get to something she wanted, so she simply continued on. Instead of eating it, she let the dust fall around her paws, feeling it scrape against her belly as she widened the crack to a crevice, then a narrow, her-sized tunnel.


    She slipped through, and found that the crack widened, just a bit. She had to continue chewing, but she was curious now, more curious than she had been about anything in her life. What was she smelling? What made the air move?


    A distant howling sound reached her, and she wondered if she was heading for another nest of the Monsters. They sounded a bit like this, but also not, and she bit and chewed until her nose popped out into open air.


    Instantly, she drew it back, and a soft light streamed in through the opening. It wasn¡¯t as bright as one of the Monsters¡¯ lights, but it was far brighter than the plants or glow worms. She took a step back, and then the howling came, and air blew.


    It was fierce and cold, trying to bite at her through her fur, but there was something about it¡­ An openness, a freedom that she suddenly craved with a terrible hunger. With fresh determination, she chomped at the small hole with her hard teeth, tearing away chunks of stone that clattered down into empty space on the other side.


    She thrust out her head, her soft ears pushed flat against her head by the sharp edges of the hole. She ignored the uncomfortable sensation, staring out at the world beyond.


    Everything about it was strange. She had seen a hundred steep drop-offs in the tunnels and crevices hidden within her home, but this one was entirely different. The ground simply fell away, ending in something that looked soft and gray. More air blew against her, and she filled her lungs with a cold, clean, damp scent. Nothing lived here, but there was more space than she had imagined might exist.


    If it hadn¡¯t been dark, it might have been frightening. A soft, round light hung in the air above her. It seemed close enough that she might jump up and take a bite out of it, but also terribly far away, in that way that everything out here was far away. All around the big light, hanging in the darkness like glow worms, were uncountable smaller lights. Some of them flickered like the Monsters¡¯ lights, while others held steady. Some were barely bright enough to be seen, while others shone with a clear, bright gleam.


    Awed, she stared up, creeping one little paw into the open, always aware that she could duck back into her tunnel, scurry away from this terrifying, breathtaking expanding of her horizons.


    And then something dropped around her neck, drawing taut when she tried to retreat. Choking, she began to thrash, but strong hands grasped her, holding tight as she squeaked and fought, jaws gaping as they tried to find something to bite.


    Sounds came from behind her. They were sharp and hissing at first, then, after the hands took hold of her, lifting her up, they became softer, questioning. Sharp-taloned fingers prodded at her, pulling at the fur beneath the illusion of scales, and one intrusive hand gripped her tail and tugged. Then she was hanging from her tail, swinging wildly as she curled back up on herself, straining to bite the one who held her.


    That one gave her a sharp shake, hissing angrily, and she was thrust into the face of a second one of the creatures, finally allowing her to see one clearly. It was scaly, as she seemed to be, though the scales were larger, lifting from the skin in small bumps, rather than lying in small, smooth curves. It had a long snout, and a forked tongue flicked out, seeming to taste the air. It was tall, taller even than the Monsters, but had a similar shape and walked on its hind legs, as they did. Its tail was thick and meaty, striking the ground powerfully as it drew back, hissing at her scent.


    The two creatures, one with dark green scales, and the other mottled brown, hissed and barked back and forth in harsh but sibilant voices. The green one holding her repeatedly dangled her over the precipice beside them, but each time the brown one reached out and pulled the green one¡¯s arm back. The green seemed to think it was a game, but she and the brown creature disagreed.


    At last, the brown-scaled lizard-Monster hauled the green back from the edge bodily, and in the tussle, she nearly managed to escape. She had all four paws beneath her, but her head was spinning from being held upside-down for so long, and her limbs refused to obey her, taking her in a circle rather than a straight line.


    A hand took hold of the back of her neck, loosening something she hadn¡¯t even realized was there. It was whatever the green one had used to catch her in the first place: a loop drawn through a long, hollow tube. Brown-scales thrust it back at green, then dropped her into a small cage. She spun, snapping at the bars, but they were hard, harder than any metal she had tried to eat before. Still, she gnawed at them, glaring up at the two creatures who stared back down, one serious, and one emitting hissing laughter.


    The brown-scaled creature lifted something to its mouth, then blew sharply. A high whistle soared into the clear air, and a moment later a shriek responded from somewhere below. She couldn¡¯t see whatever made that shriek, but she drew back from the bars, ceasing her furious gnawing for the first time since she¡¯d been caged. She turned, casting terrified glances around until something huge and dark dropped from above, momentarily blocking out the distant lights.


    An enormous head thrust into the brown-scaled creature¡¯s chest, almost knocking the lizard-Monster down. The reptilian staggered back, saying something in its harsh, sibilant tongue, but patted the head with no sign of fear or hesitation.


    The cage containing her was lifted up, then a piece of some long, flexible material was fed through a loop on the top and tied to the flying lizard. The brown and green creatures climbed aboard, settling themselves between the huge lizard¡¯s wings, and they all began to rise as those wings unfurled and began to sweep through the air.


    The ground fell away, leaving her legs dangling in the cold air as they flew. Her belly pressed against the bars beneath her, and she scrambled to get to her paws. The metal was strangely slick, her delicate paws slipping again and again, no matter how agile she usually was. Feeling as if she would simply fall into the depths below, she grabbed onto the bar with her mouth. Her power rose up, driven by desperation.


    The bar cracked. Only a little, but even in the powerful wind that pressed her against the bars as they flew, she heard it. With renewed determination, she chomped down again and again, and as she did, the puffy whitish-gray things that had hung in the air when she looked down suddenly rose up to surround her, plunging her into shadow.


    She gasped, drawing in cold, wet air that tried to freeze in her lungs. Coughing, she bit at the bars, summoning that power from her belly, and one snapped, allowing a small piece to tumble away. Then they were through, back into open air, but another one of the deceptively puffy things hung almost immediately below, and they entered this one as well. Her ears hurt, but then they popped as she worked her jaws, chewing at the bars. She could do nothing else.


    Down and down and down they went, until the air was all open and clear below, but above the round ball and the twinkling lights were obscured by dark, floating masses. Not that she could see much, because of the bulk of the flying animal¡¯s body, but as it shifted, her cage would swing out to the side, giving her momentary views of the horizon stretching out to an inconceivably vast distance.


    And the circle around her leg, the one that the Monster had put on her a lifetime ago, fell off. It dropped through the air; a tiny, brilliant spark tumbling away from her. She froze, staring at the softly furred paw that gripped the bar on which she was chewing. The fur was no longer the soft, pure copper that she vaguely remembered from the time before the Monster, but rather a pinkish gold shade with a few strands of brilliant silver woven through.


    Reaching back, she caught her own tail in her paws, rolling over to stare at the smooth, pink length of it. It was her own. There were no scales, no small, developing spikes, just soft skin, exactly as there was meant to be. She twisted in the small space allowed to her, examining every part of herself with eyes and paws, finding that what she saw finally matched what she touched.


    She didn¡¯t see the ground rising up to fill the world until it was too late. There was a loud thud, and then clods of moist earth flew as the flying creature¡¯s clawed feet touched down. Her cage swayed, the small opening she had created allowing her an unobstructed view of the legs of the green-scaled creature as it slid down.


    Their eyes met, and they both stilled, staring. The green creature¡¯s mouth gaped, split tongue curling out, and she lunged for the gap in the bars. The sharp ends of the bars gouged deep into her sides, catching and tearing skin. Hot blood poured out, staining her pinkish fur a deep crimson, and when the green-scaled thing reached for her, its hands slipped off, allowing her to fall to the ground.


    It hurt. She had rarely been injured, and never before so badly. It stung, too, that these wounds were all but self-inflicted. If she had only continued breaking down the bars rather than becoming caught up in her transformation, the hole would have been large enough for her to escape without being hurt at all.


    Something stamped down on her tail, and she squeaked loudly, whipping around to sink her teeth into the thing. Teeth that could break metal met bone, and bone lost, leaving the reptilian on the ground, clutching at his leg while she ran.


    It was a pathetic, limping sort of run, but no sound came from behind to indicate that she was being chased. She dashed into something that smelled of dampness and vegetation, a different sort of plant than she was used to, but it still represented freedom and food. Her paws carried her through and forward, on and on, until they gave out, and she stumbled, falling to her side. Something dark, cave-like, loomed ahead, and she dragged herself into it before falling into exhausted unconsciousness.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-one

    Kaz knew they had been followed before Raff and Lianhua could even set his paws on the ground. He took a moment to be astonished by the way it squished up between his toes, soft and warm, and not at all like the ground he had walked on for his entire life. In that moment, his opportunity to send their stalker home was lost.


    ¡°Kyla,¡± he croaked, looking toward the core that seemed to be floating in ki-painted nothingness. It was mostly red, but had a strong swirl of gold and blue mingling among the ruby, and he didn¡¯t need to see the pup¡¯s pink fur to recognize it.


    The young kobold chuffed impatiently as she stepped closer, and Li showed Kaz as the pup shimmered back into existence, dropping the illusory haze she seemed to summon at will. At his side, Raff let out a sound of surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be glad when this is over, just so you lot will stop surprisin¡¯ me,¡± the large human complained, though he didn¡¯t sound too serious about it. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d be stuck with so many magic users when I agreed to take a bunch of tourists into old Mount Scarabus. Honestly, I figured it¡¯d be the easiest gold I ever made, since you¡¯d come screamin¡¯ back out as soon as the going got tough.¡±


    Chi Yincang appeared behind Kyla, making the puppy jump and squeal in her own turn. He seemed to hover menacingly, the shadows cast by the stone arch making his black boots disappear into the murky green ground.


    Lianhua rubbed her hand across her eyes wearily, leaving a streak of something dark across her cheekbone. ¡°Kyla, you have to go back,¡± she said.


    The puppy shrugged her shoulders, which were heavily weighed down by a bulging niu-fur pack. ¡°How?¡± she asked cheerfully. ¡°The portal is closed.¡±


    They all turned to look, as though they weren¡¯t already well aware that the dark membrane hanging in the center of the stone archway had burst. Even Kaz turned his blind eyes in that direction. He was pushing blue ki into them now that they were out of the mountain, and he could already make out faint shadows in the darkness.


    ¡°How does it open?¡± Lianhua asked, staring up at it. She released Kaz¡¯s arm, not even seeming to notice that he was now standing with only Raff¡¯s support.


    Raff shook his head. ¡°I told you when we came here to look at it the first time. It used to open for three days, at the summer and winter solstices. I don¡¯t know what day it is, but I¡¯d guess we have another month or so before summer solstice, if the kobolds even decide to open the mountain like they used to. Seems to me they¡¯d be more likely to wait until things are settled again, if they bother at all.¡±


    Lianhua waved her hand. ¡°I remember. I meant how do we let the kobolds know they need to open it early? There has to be a way, right, Kyla?¡± She set her hands on her hips and looked at the pink kobold.


    Kyla glared back, jaw set and silent, until at last she sighed and looked away. ¡°There is a way. But I¡¯m sure Gram can¡¯t open the portal again right now, so I¡¯ll have to wait.¡± She lifted her eyes, staring up into the black expanse of sky above them. Lianhua had told Kaz about the sun and the moon when she explained how seasons changed, so Kaz knew it must be nighttime now, but the moon was so bright by itself that he wondered how he would be able to bear the sun when it rose.


    Raff sighed, ruffling his hair with his free hand. He, too, stared up at the sky, and said, ¡°I reckon we¡¯re about a week off the full moon. If it¡¯s waning, bein¡¯ in the wilds will only become harder and more dangerous as the nights get darker. The closest town is a two day hike from here, but if we¡¯re lucky we might be able to get horses there. If we stay with this scamp until the little blue puppy recovers, we¡¯ll probably be out during the dark of the moon, and that¡¯s no good time to be away from civilization.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears perked up. ¡°I could go with you.¡±


    Raff blinked, then looked toward Lianhua. She folded her arms, obviously conflicted, then glanced toward Kaz. ¡°Let¡¯s rest tonight,¡± she said. ¡°We can discuss it more in the morning. Maybe someone will realize Kyla is missing and open the portal to find her.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, resisting the urge to rub his itching eyes. ¡°You told them you¡¯re going on your spirit hunt, didn¡¯t you?¡± he asked the puppy, his voice clearer as his throat healed.


    The pup¡¯s claws scratched at the soft ground, making an unfamiliar sound and causing her to lift her paw, shaking away clumps of dirt from between her toes. She reached down and plucked something from one of the tufts of fur by her ankle, muttering, ¡°Yes.¡±


    He gave in and scrubbed his hand across his nose, ignoring the stubs of fur that crisped away beneath his touch. Looking back at the humans, he said, ¡°No one will look for her. Even if she doesn¡¯t come back in a week, they¡¯ll only keep waiting. It¡¯s possible that someone might try to find out what happened to her if she isn¡¯t back in ten days.¡±


    Kyla looked up, shocked. ¡°Of course they¡¯ll go looking! What if I was hurt or lost, and couldn¡¯t make it back? Who would just let a puppy die because they failed their first spirit hunt?¡±


    The silence stretched, then Kaz said, ¡°First?¡± in a voice he barely recognized as his own.


    Nodding, Kyla said, ¡°Of course. It¡¯s embarrassing to fail the first time, but it happens. My cousin Loor had to try three times. That¡¯s why he became Jul¡¯s assistant; he¡¯s a terrible warrior, but he¡¯s not stupid.¡±


    Kaz closed his eyes, and Li pressed her head against his cheek, whistling comfortingly. Kyla watched, realizing that something she said had hurt him, but unsure how or why.


    Finally, Kaz drew in a shuddering breath and said, ¡°Do you want to go with us?¡±


    Kyla nodded enthusiastically, though behind her Raff was crossing his forearms and shaking his head vigorously. As one, they all turned to look at Lianhua again. Lianhua sighed, saying again, ¡°We all need rest. We¡¯ll talk about it in the morning.¡±


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    Dismissing the puppy, she turned to Kaz, leaning forward to peer into his eyes. ¡°You seem a lot better already. Given the way Li was acting, I thought you might be playing up your injuries a bit in order to convince Idla and the others to let you go, but even your eyes look a little clearer.¡±


    Raff let out a snort of laughter. ¡°I caught that, too. You¡¯re not a half-bad actor, Blue, but your flyin¡¯ rat is about as convincin¡¯ as a kid in a school play. Good thing those kobolds didn¡¯t know how she gets when you¡¯re actually hurt, or the game woulda been up.¡±


    Li hissed angrily when Raff called her a flying rat, then let out a roiling cloud of vapor when he went on to deride her acting skills, but internally, Kaz had to agree. It seemed that feeling passed through his bond to the dragon, because she turned her annoyance on Kaz next, nipping at his ear, though her teeth didn¡¯t break the skin.


    Chi Yincang turned around, staring out over the open area that surrounded them. There were plants that looked like small versions of the Tree all around the edges, and some broken bricks scattered among the vegetation that covered the ground, but the dark male wasn¡¯t looking at any of those things. In fact, he had his head tilted in a way that told Kaz he was probably listening instead.


    There was a momentary lull in the conversation, and Kaz heard it, too. There was something moving out there, somewhere. His sense of which direction a sound was coming from was thrown off by the complete lack of solid stone walls, but he turned in place, watching through Li¡¯s eyes as he listened with his own ears.


    It was Kyla, though, who poked her nose almost straight up into the air and yelped, ¡°Fuergar!¡± before bounding off toward a particularly dense patch of trees. Kaz lifted his own nose, but all he could smell was a faint, sweet scent, and the overwhelming reek of the shiyan he had just helped kill. It seemed that his sense of smell would also need a little time to recover.


    Raff was close behind the puppy, his sword already out, though he didn¡¯t start pushing mana into it. The pool of mana in his chest was still very low, and he hadn¡¯t started refilling it yet, though the gray cloud of undifferentiated power gathered around him as he ran.


    Kaz started to follow, but nearly tripped over his own paws. He was looking through Li¡¯s eyes, which were below and off to the side of his own, and so his sense of where his own body was and how he needed to move through the world was skewed. Add the fact that something damp seemed to be wrapping itself around his ankles, and he didn¡¯t need Lianhua¡¯s hand on his arm, holding him in place.


    ¡°Let them,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything out there that Raff can¡¯t handle, at least this close to the full moon.¡± She tugged at his arm, turning him gently toward her. ¡°Kaz, are you really going to be all right?¡±


    Kaz glanced toward Chi Yincang, seeing the opposing black and white ki that mingled in the human¡¯s dantians. Somehow, Chi Yincang always seemed to know everything anyway, so would it really make a difference if Kaz spoke in front of him or - at least theoretically - behind his back?


    ¡°Yes,¡± he told Lianhua firmly, ignoring the niggling doubt in the back of his mind. He was sure that everything except his eyes would be fine, and he hoped for the best there as well. If not, Li would simply have to see for him, at least for now. He felt the dragon¡¯s warm assurance that she would do so, and his poor, naked tail wagged as he went on.


    ¡°When we were in the Tree, and I touched that old core, I saw something. Something that you need to know about.¡± At the light in her eyes, he shook his head. ¡°Not now, but soon. Suffice it to say that I learned a few new skills, or at least of a few skills, though it remains to be seen if I can do them myself. I think one of them will allow me to travel with you without attracting too much attention.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s pale brows shot up, and she glanced toward Li. ¡°That was a dragon¡¯s core, so I assume you saw something dragon-related. Did you figure out how to do Li¡¯s disappearing trick?¡±


    He forgot how quick she was, able to put together two claws with two paws and come up with a whole kobold. ¡°Ah, something like that. In a way.¡±


    On his shoulder, Li let out an amused puff of vapor, sending him an image of himself, half dragon and half kobold, flailing furry wings as he attempted to blend into a rocky wall. Kaz was about to respond when he heard Kyla¡¯s voice lifted in an exultant howl.


    ¡°She found something,¡± he told Lianhua, and they both looked toward the sound. The plants were thrashing, but even Li couldn¡¯t see anything more than a few glimpses of brightly colored fur in between shadowy leaves and branches.


    Raff emerged from the mayhem, calling back to them even as he continued to watch the small trees shake. ¡°It¡¯s a fuergar all right,¡± he said. ¡°In rough shape, too. Pretty fur, though. Might make a bit sellin¡¯ it if Kyla doesn¡¯t tear it up catchin¡¯ it.¡±


    As if responding to her name, which perhaps she was, Kyla let out a sharp yelp, then stood up, clutching a mid-sized fuergar by the scruff of its neck as if it was a puppy. The light of the moon showed that its fur was indeed a pleasant silvery shade of copper-gold, but more importantly, Kaz saw the distinct gleam of a core in its belly.


    ¡°Kyla,¡± he called, about to warn her that this wasn¡¯t a normal rodent, but at the sound of his voice, the fuergar¡¯s head whipped around. Large, beady eyes stared at him with a disturbing gleam of intelligence, even at this distance, and then the fuergar curled up on itself, uncoiling with a burst of energy that forced a flush of power out of its core. It was uncomfortably close to what Kaz had once done to shatter his own core, but thankfully the creature was nowhere near as powerful as he was, so it just made Kyla yelp and pull her hand back.


    The fuergar hit the ground running, little legs churning the damp ground as it ran, not away from Kaz and the others, but directly toward them. It was a good distance away when it began, and by the time it crossed half the clearing, Kaz could see the long streaks that he had taken for shadows or natural variations in its fur coloring were actually dried blood. It was mostly clean on the bottom, but its shoulders and head, where it couldn¡¯t reach to clean itself properly, were crusted and dark.


    It began to slow as it drew close to him, taking a few last staggering steps, then falling with an exhausted squeak. Kaz knelt, instinctively reaching out toward it, then drew back his hand quickly. It was never safe to approach a cornered fuergar.


    This one, however, didn¡¯t draw away or even bare its teeth. Instead, it lifted its pointed pink nose, nostrils quivering, and drew in a deep breath, taking in his scent. It drew back a bit, probably repelled by the lingering odor of ichor, but then its eyes went to Li, who was perched on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, staring back.


    With a shuddering sigh, the fuergar let its head fall forward until it nearly brushed Kaz¡¯s paw, then closed its eyes. Its sides heaved once, then again, before falling quiet.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-two

    Tentatively, Kaz reached out and touched the fuergar¡¯s side, noting the faint thud of its heart still racing inside its chest. Ribs rose and fell beneath his hand in a single shallow breath, so it wasn¡¯t dead, merely unconscious.


    He frowned as Raff and Kyla rejoined them. Kyla immediately crouched down beside Kaz, reaching out to touch the fuergar as well, and Kaz had to fight not to push her hand away. The puppy had caught the rodent, therefore it was hers, but Kaz didn¡¯t want to watch her kill it.


    To his surprise, however, Kyla gently scooped the fuergar into her arms, whimpering softly as she saw the injuries on its head and back. The wounds were long, and when Kyla brushed the stiff fur aside, the skin was torn, not cut. It must have hurt terribly, and Kaz was honestly surprised the fuergar hadn¡¯t died from simple blood loss.


    Raff and Lianhua crouched down beside the kobolds, and Raff clicked his tongue as he looked at the little creature. ¡°It¡¯s started healin¡¯. Must¡¯ve happened a few days ago. No more than a week.¡± He gently prodded a section of one wound, where the skin was pink and puffy. ¡°Infected, though. Poor critter probably won¡¯t make it. Best to put it out of its misery. It won¡¯t appreciate us touchin¡¯ it when it wakes up anyway.¡±


    Kyla curled up around the unconscious rodent, baring her teeth protectively. She looked from Raff to Kaz. ¡°I want to keep it. If I feed it and help it recover, won¡¯t it like me?¡± Her eyes slid to Li, who was watching the goings-on with great interest. ¡°Besides, it looks just like Li did when she was pretending to be a fuergar.¡±


    Li tilted her head curiously, but she and Kaz had never really seen her illusory shape, thanks to her powerful self image and Kaz¡¯s strange vision. Lianhua and Raff were both nodding their heads, though.


    ¡°It does. Not quite as gold, I think, but that could be an effect of the moonlight,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen many fuergar, really, since they always run away when a large group approaches, but I¡¯ve never seen another with fur that color.¡±


    Raff nodded sagely. ¡°I¡¯ve killed a good number of ¡®em. They live all through this mountain range, and they can chew through almost anything. Lots of farmers hired us to clear out nests of ¡®em back when I was just starting. They¡¯re usually just like big rats, but you gotta watch out for the ones that look like they have metal in their fur.¡±


    Kaz leaned forward, bringing Li with him as he moved to examine the fuergar. Kyla had relaxed a bit now that it was clear no one was going to kill the rodent right away, so Kaz was able to trace his fingers gently over the inflamed wound. The skin was far too hot, but no pus emerged when he pressed on it, which was a good sign. The fuergar didn¡¯t seem to be struggling to breathe, either. It was simply exhausted and ill, not dying. At least not yet.


    ¡°Here,¡± Lianhua said, offering him a small jar. ¡°This should help draw out the infection.¡± She looked at Kyla as Kaz began smearing a sticky green unguent on the wounds. ¡°Kyla, we have no way of keeping it with us. It¡¯s a wild thing. Once it wakes, it¡¯s going to want to go free again.¡±


    Kyla shook her head vigorously, then her shoulders slumped as all three adults gave her matching looks. ¡°Fine,¡± she mumbled. ¡°But maybe it really will want to stay with me. I helped it.¡±


    ¡°Her,¡± Kaz corrected absently as he checked the fuergar for other injuries. It seemed to be in good shape, except for an odd furless ring around its right front foreleg. His ears folded down and he frowned, pulling the limb closer.


    Li, do you remember what the core of that fuergar we put the ring on looked like?


    His dragon friend helpfully showed him the memory, but even with her assistance, it was hard to remember. He had been shaken up by his battle with the large fuergar, and he had really only wanted to be certain that the pup was large and strong enough that it wouldn¡¯t die and leave Li without her protective illusion.


    He was sure that it had been a copper fuergar, however, and though this one¡¯s fur had shaded toward pink, probably after eating a good amount of gold, it had clearly started life with a lot of copper in its mother¡¯s milk. Was it possible that this fuergar was the same one he had put the ring on weeks ago? It looked to be about the right age and color, and there was the circle around its leg, as if the fur had been rubbed away by something over a long period of time.


    He snorted and shook his head. There was simply no realistic way that this fuergar could be the same one. That didn¡¯t quiet the feeling that he owed it the best care he could provide, however, so he pushed a little blue ki into the most infected-looking spot on the creature¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t really have any Wood ki to spare, since he was currently using all of it to heal himself, but that sense of debt required that he do at least that much.


    The fuergar began to stir, coppery eyes opening and blinking sleepily. Then they snapped wide, and the little body tensed, metallic teeth gleaming as it huddled back away from them. This caused it to press up against Kyla, whose arms tightened, making it turn to stare up at her, whiskers quivering.


    ¡°Hold still,¡± Kaz cautioned quietly. ¡°If you move, it may attack.¡± Kyla was strong, but her shield wasn¡¯t up, and those teeth were far too close to the puppy¡¯s throat for Kaz¡¯s liking.


    At the sound of Kaz¡¯s voice, the fuergar turned back to him, and he could have sworn he saw the thoughts racing behind that shrewd gaze. The rodent¡¯s mouth closed over its sharp teeth, and it gave a little wriggle, clearly ready to be put down.


    Reluctantly, the puppy did so, though the look of disappointment on her face was heart-rending. Kyla¡¯s tail practically dragged on the ground as the rodent scampered off, already moving more easily than before. It vanished into the little trees where Kyla and Raff had chased it down.


    Kaz gently patted Kyla between her lowered ears. ¡°It¡¯s all right. Lianhua says that many humans have pets. Perhaps we can find you one when-¡±


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    The trees rustled again, and the fuergar reemerged. Hesitantly, it walked back toward them, stopping just out of reach. Opening its mouth, it dropped something round and metallic on the ground, then backed up several more feet, though it didn¡¯t quite leave the open space.


    Everyone started to move at once, which startled the fuergar so it took another step back, and they all froze again. Then Kyla crawled forward on all fours, her ears once again perked up and turned toward the rodent. When she reached the thing the fuergar had dropped, the puppy picked it up, turning it over in her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty!¡± she exclaimed, completely forgetting that she might frighten the fuergar. To Kaz¡¯s surprise, the creature just tilted its head, wary but interested.


    Kaz held out his hand, then remembered that not only could he not see well at the moment, but Li seemed particularly enamored of gold, and the thing glinting in Kyla¡¯s palm definitely held the distinctive color of that metal.


    ¡°Lianhua?¡± he asked, turning toward her, and she nodded, moving slowly toward Kyla.


    The pup dropped the object into Lianhua¡¯s palm, and Lianhua gasped softly. ¡°This is my ring! But how-?¡± She lifted shocked eyes from the golden circle to the watching rodent.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But here it is, and here is a fuergar who looks very much like the one Li was pretending to be.¡± He doubted if he would ever know what strange coincidence had led to them being reunited, but so it seemed to be. The question was, what now?


    Kyla turned back to the crouching fuergar and pulled open the pack on her back. It had far more in it than a male would have taken on his spirit hunt, since he was expected to survive on his skills and strength alone, but Kyla was female, and she had been planning something like this for a while.


    Shuffling through the contents of the pack, she pulled out something wrapped in oiled cloth and carefully opened it. Leaning forward, she offered the long, greenish thing inside to the fuergar. ¡°I was saving this yumi sprout to eat later, but you can have it. Ija says fuergar love them.¡±


    Kaz was sure this last had been meant as a warning, not a method of enticement, but the fuergar edged closer, eyes locked on the thing Kyla held out. Its nose twitched, whiskers dancing, and then it dashed forward, snatching the yumi from Kyla and leaping backwards, though it squeaked painfully when it landed. The action must have pulled at some part of its wound, because it simply stood, trembling, as humans, kobolds, and dragon watched with bated breath.


    Then it began to eat. It held the piece of yumi in little pink paws that looked almost as much like human hands as Kaz¡¯s, and for a moment he entertained the thought that perhaps fuergar were another product of Qiangde and his minions¡¯ terrible experiments. He quickly shook the thought away, however, aware that it would lead to questioning the origin of every creature inside the mountain. Still, this fuergar was far too aware, and he had the feeling that it recognized him.


    <Me,> Li said, preening a wing. <You¡¯re bald and puffy and smell bad.>


    Kaz snorted. Well, that was true enough.


    The tableau held as the fuergar greedily devoured the yumi sprout, reminding Kaz of nothing so much as the ever-hungry dragon on his shoulder. If this really was the same creature Li had been pretending to be for weeks, was it possible that some link had formed between them? After all, the rings had been made for humans, and neither Li nor the fuergar were that. Who knew what peculiarities such an extended connection might create between two creatures so filled with ki?


    He narrowed his eyes, even though he could only barely make out the moon hanging in the sky like part of an enormous luminescent mushroom, and looked for any sign of a bond between Li and the fuergar. There was nothing. Nothing hung in the air between them, but as he watched their cycles spin, he thought they looked like they pulsed in time with each other, a subtle synchrony in the flow of ki that coursed through the two small bodies.


    Li nipped his ear, emitting a loud, displeased whistle that made everyone flinch. <I¡¯m not a fuergar!> She sent an image of herself, the size of Kaz, snapping up the fluffy rodent and swallowing it down in a single bite.


    Kaz reached up and tapped her on the nose, pulling his finger back as she playfully bit at it. ¡°Don¡¯t eat the fuergar.¡±


    Li sniffed, turning away and closing her eyes to deny Kaz the sight of Kyla, creeping forward through the grass. Kaz could still see the pup¡¯s core advance toward the fuergar¡¯s, however, and the moment when the little animal¡¯s core shifted uncertainly.


    Holding his breath, Kaz sent out a feeling of reassurance toward the fuergar, hoping that if there really had been some connection between Li and the beast, or if it did recognize him in some way, perhaps it would understand.


    You are safe. If you wish it, I believe you will be loved. Stay.


    Li looked back in time to watch as Kyla gently stroked the top of the little copper-gold-pink head, and the puppy¡¯s tail began to wag so enthusiastically that Kaz thought it might frighten the fuergar away. But no, the little creature only moved closer, pressing its quivering nose into Kyla¡¯s palm as if checking to see if she had any more food. Kyla promptly looked back at her abandoned pack, and clearly couldn¡¯t decide whether to risk going back for something else to feed the fuergar.


    Raff chuckled softly, reaching into the pouch at his waist and pulling out a round object with a red skin. A thin brown stalk poked out of one side, and it rolled over and over through the green plants coating the ground as the tall male tossed it to Kyla.


    ¡°Give ¡®er an apple. Saw a swarm of fuergar just about eat a whole apple orchard to the ground once, so I know they like ¡®em,¡± he said softly.


    Kyla nodded and picked up the apple, offering it to the fuergar, who didn¡¯t even hesitate before accepting it and taking a large bite. Kyla edged closer, stroking her hand down the animal¡¯s back, carefully avoiding the injuries around its head and shoulders.


    When the apple was gone, the fuergar turned its gaze back on the group of watchers, focusing on Li. It shifted closer to Kyla, and then, before anyone could react, jumped up to the pup¡¯s shoulder, settling there just as Li perched on Kaz. It was almost as large as Kyla¡¯s head, but the puppy obviously didn¡¯t care.


    Kyla turned to them, one hand on the fuergar¡¯s solid little body, and her face nearly transcendent with joy. ¡°I¡¯m going to call her Mei,¡± she said, and Kaz heard Lianhua breathe a small, defeated sigh.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-three

    Kaz slept well that night, curled up on the soft ground with Kyla pressed against his back and Li snuggled against his belly. The three humans each watched for a while, though nothing approached them, at least as far as Kaz knew.


    It was the rising heat that woke Kaz, and he opened his eyes, only to flinch away from the glaring white that seemed to surround him. He had thought his sight was recovering, but now all detail was lost in brilliance. Beside him, Kyla curled up, her hands covering her eyes, whimpering. ¡°What is that?¡±


    Something was dropped over them, blocking the worst of it, though the stifling darkness wasn¡¯t much of an improvement. The thing smelled of Raff, and when Kaz felt it, he recognized the fabric that the man slept on.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Raff said, sounding amused and not at all concerned. ¡°Your eyes have to get used to the sun. It always takes a bit, but I know kobolds and dragons can handle it. Don¡¯t take too long, though, or your rat will eat all the porridge.¡±


    Porridge? That was new. Other than tea and Raff¡¯s disgusting hardtack, the humans had mostly eaten what Kaz gathered or one of the tribes served them. Kaz found himself somewhat dubious about the edibility of this new human food, but he was hungry, and he would need to eat their food sooner or later.


    The cloth covering them shifted as Kyla poked her nose out, sniffing the air. A moment later, she was out, leaving Kaz and Li alone beneath the cloth. Li squirmed, and Kaz realized that her wings were caught in the fabric. He plucked it up and away, and she shook out her wings gratefully.


    <I¡¯m hungry,> the dragon thought, sending an image of herself eating a ki crystal almost as large as she was.


    Kaz hesitated. He wanted to save the crystals, but she needed them, and he was almost certain that ¡®porridge¡¯ would contain no ki. Sitting up, he held a fold of the material so it continued to shade his eyes, and opened the pack that he laid next to them before falling asleep. As his fingers dipped into the pouch hidden inside the larger bag, he had a thought and turned toward the hazy ball of mana that represented Raff.


    ¡°Are these spatial storage pouches common among humans?¡± Kaz asked, handing Li a chip of yellow crystal. ¡°If someone sees I have one, will they try to steal it from me?¡±


    Raff snorted. ¡°Somebody somewhere will try to steal the fur off your back, Blue. At least, they would if you had any left. But no, the storage items aren¡¯t so rare that most people would attack you just for that. It takes a while for the item to run out of power and cough up what¡¯s inside, too, and most thieves don¡¯t have that much patience. Plus, not everyone can use one, so as long as you only take little things out of it in public, most people won¡¯t even realize that¡¯s what it is.¡±


    Kaz nodded, the fabric covering him pulling uncomfortably at his ears, then took out the pouch, tying it to what was left of his belt. He would need to make a new belt soon, but for now the wide, thick leather was faring better than the softer straps of his pack.


    Li had already swallowed her crystal, and Kaz watched the soft golden ki merge with her cycle, wishing he could simply eat a crystal as well. He had tried swallowing a tiny chip of red crystal once, but it just passed through his body without yielding up its power. He felt it as an uncomfortable spot of heat deep inside him the entire time, however, and he had no particular urge to try with the other colors.


    Giving a small burp, the dragon emerged from beneath their covering, heading for the fire burning nearby. Carefully watching through a narrow crack, Kaz was finally able to identify the strange, smoky scent that hung over the camp. The humans were burning wood.


    The very idea was bizarre to Kaz, though he was well aware that wood burned. Until he saw the Tree, he hadn¡¯t even realized that wood could be produced inside the mountain, and it had taken him a while even then to figure out that that was what the Tree was made of. To him, wood was even rarer than cloth, since it had to be brought in from the outside, but as he thought back to the previous night, he realized that they were surrounded by it. All of the small trees must be made of it, and the humans had simply walked around and picked it up.


    The blanket was pulled away from his unresisting grasp, and something settled around his head, metal digging awkwardly into his skin. Everything felt so strange without the constant protective layer of fur, and even though he had lost the length of it before, there had always been a thin layer of fuzz remaining as a buffer between his skin and anything that touched him.


    ¡°There ya go,¡± Raff said in satisfaction, leaning away from Kaz. ¡°I found my darklenses on the ground after you fought that crazy female. They were a bit banged up, but I¡¯ve gotten pretty good at fixin¡¯ things, since I usually can¡¯t afford to replace ¡®em.¡±


    Kaz lifted his hands, feeling the pieces of round smoked glass that had protected his sensitive eyes when he had had a head injury. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, trying to focus on Raff¡¯s face, which was hovering a foot or so past the end of his snout. It was still hazy, with dark pits for eyes, but it was recognizably a face, which was a definite improvement.


    Raff scratched at the rusty shadow of his beard, probably giving his lopsided grin, and started to stand up. Kaz caught his arm, rising to his paws as well. ¡°I have something for you,¡± he told the large man. He had debated about this, since he knew the human was only with Lianhua and the others because they were paying him. It was obvious that Raff, like many of the humans in the old howls, was driven by a desire for gold, and it was possible that what Kaz was about to do would cause his greed to outweigh his honor, but Kaz thought he had a fair measure of the male, and he believed that Raff truly considered him a friend, even if not a close one.


    Opening his pouch, Kaz pictured a bar of metal, and one slid out into his hand. Kaz quickly pressed it into Raff¡¯s open palm, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s not in the little circles you like, but I can try using ki to melt it and make some. Gold is one of the softer metals, so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to get it hot enough to shape. A good number of females are capable of it, even if it¡¯s difficult, so I think I could do it as well.¡±


    Raff stared down at the small ingot, his mouth a dark circle of shock within his beard. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not gonna argue if you want to give it to me, Blue, but why? And where did this come from?¡± He pushed the bar into his storage bag, giving it a little pat as if to make sure the ingot was safely inside, even though the contents couldn¡¯t actually be felt after they were put away.


    Kaz shrugged, ears turning sideways in embarrassment. ¡°I had a bit of time in the mosui city those last few days. I just¡­ picked up a few things.¡±


    Raff let out a deep chuckle, leaning down to whisper, ¡°You¡¯re not the only one, Blue. But I didn¡¯t find anything like that.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s voice cut across their conversation. ¡°Kaz! Come and get something to eat before it¡¯s all gone. I thought Chi Yincang made enough for a dozen people, but between Li, Kyla, and Mei, the pot is almost empty.¡±


    Kaz reached down and picked up the discarded cloth from the ground, handing it to Raff, who began feeding it into his bag. Mana gleamed softly as he did so, the extended period of time needed to push the whole bundle in allowing Kaz to watch the process. Raff definitely had a good number of red sparks mingled into the mana he used, and the bag didn¡¯t open until one of those sparks actually touched it, though the unrefined mana was enough to keep it open.


    Lianhua cleared her throat, pulling Kaz¡¯s attention back to her. Ki and mana were so much clearer than his normal vision at the moment that it was easy to lose himself in them, and he struggled to see Lianhua¡¯s pale blur near the dying fire. She was white on white, with a hint of purple here and there, and while Raff¡¯s darker coloring allowed Kaz to make out some details, Kaz couldn¡¯t make out what expression she might have on her face.


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    Feeling his discomfort, Li offered him her own sight, and the world snapped into focus, albeit from the wrong angle, since the dragon was sitting on the ground to Lianhua¡¯s right, instead of standing directly opposite her. An empty bowl on the ground and a sensation of fullness spoke to Li¡¯s enjoyment of the meal, and the cool touch of the long, slender plants that grew so thick on the ground was already lulling her into sleepy contentment.


    Carefully balancing his own vision and that of the dragon, Kaz managed to cross over to the fire without tripping or burning his paws by stepping into the fire. Lianhua smiled at him as she handed him a bowl of some thick, white food.


    ¡°Rice porridge with honey,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°It takes a while to make, but Chi Yincang is patient, and surprisingly good at cooking. Whenever I try, I burn it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too eager,¡± Chi Yincang murmured as he leaned over to stir the pot. Kaz blinked, never having heard the dark male offer either voluntary conversation or anything that could be considered even mild criticism of Lianhua.


    Lianhua grinned, looking far more relaxed than Kaz had seen her before. She tilted her face toward Chi Yincang, and the sunlight gilded her pale features with gold. ¡°I know, I know. But it just doesn¡¯t make sense. Higher heat should make things cook more quickly!¡±


    Chi Yincang emitted something that might actually have been a very, very quiet laugh before his expression once again settled into neutrality. ¡°We should leave as soon as possible now that the kobold is awake.¡±


    Lianhua nodded reluctantly. ¡°I know. We need to be at least halfway to the inn before night falls again.¡± She turned her head. ¡°Raff, is it the same one you took us to before? The Old Crow?¡±


    Raff nodded, scooping out his own bowl of porridge before settling down between Lianhua and Kaz. Kyla was lying sprawled on the ground opposite them, her bulging belly turned toward the blue sky, and her eyes closed. Mei rested not far away, her eyes still wary but her head resting on her front paws. The green goop on her wounds looked fresh, and made her fur stick up in spiky clumps almost like Kyla¡¯s pink tufts.


    ¡°You remember Helmund, the innkeeper? We were in the Adamant Reach together before he lost his hand. He makes sure members of our guild always have a safe place to sleep, and in return, we only stay there when we¡¯re in Wheldrake. At least, we do as long as our employers don¡¯t throw a fit about it,¡± Raff said dryly.


    Lianhua grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. It wasn¡¯t fancy, but seemed fine to me. I don¡¯t know why Gaoda insisted we stay at that other place.¡±


    Raff gave her a look that said she knew perfectly well why Gaoda had done that, but didn¡¯t say anything, instead tucking his eating utensil into the mound of food in his bowl. He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve had plenty of porridge in my time, but it was always made with oats or wheat. This rice is nice an¡¯ soft.¡±


    Smiling, Lianhua admitted, ¡°It¡¯s often given to children and invalids for that reason, though we put different spices and flavorings in it, depending on who¡¯s eating it. It¡¯s one of my favorites, even though it¡¯s very simple.¡±


    Kaz took a deep sniff of the contents of his bowl, finding that it smelled sweet. Now that it had stopped steaming, he ventured a bite, and immediately understood why Lianhua liked it. It was too soft for him, bland beneath the sweetness, but it was still oddly satisfying, and his stomach was quite pleased with it. Puppies would love it, and if he¡¯d grown up eating it, it would probably be comforting to eat it in times of stress.


    Before he knew it, he, too, had finished his food, and Chi Yincang gathered the bowls, returning them to his pouch. Kaz wondered just how many dishes the male had in there, since as far as Kaz knew, he had never washed a single one, in spite of giving them to Lianhua and Gaoda at nearly every meal.


    The few items they had used were quickly returned to the storage pouches from which they had been taken, and soon enough everyone was ready to go. Kyla remained close to Kaz as they started to walk, but that was the only indication that she was nervous at all. Indeed, she and Raff kept up quite a conversation, and Kaz learned a good bit simply by listening to them.


    The long, thin plants on which they walked were called ¡®grass¡¯, but some that were taller, or had broader leaves, had other names entirely. Flowers were everywhere, and each of them also had their own names. Raff knew a great deal about how different ones could be used, and which were poisonous, at least to humans. It seemed he often gathered for himself when he traveled, in order to save his precious gold, so though what he could tell them was simple, it was extensive. Kaz even saw Lianhua writing down some of what the tall male told them as they walked.


    There were a thousand new words to learn, many of them for plants, but Kyla also wanted to know about the human¡¯s clothes and belongings, and so Kaz finally found out that Raff¡¯s foot coverings were called boots, which were different from Lianhua¡¯s ¡®slippers¡¯ and the general word for all of these things, which was ¡®shoes¡¯.


    Li was particularly fascinated by the insects, chasing after a fat black and yellow striped one Raff called a bumblebee until Lianhua mentioned that the bug could sting. After that, the dragon was a little more cautious, but soon enough, one of the bugs did indeed attempt to pierce Li¡¯s scales with the point at the end of its abdomen. That attempt failed, and soon Li was flying around, snatching all kinds of insects from the air before spitting them out again.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she eat them?¡± Kyla asked, watching a butterfly flap away dizzily after one of these encounters.


    Kaz chuckled. He was more comfortable now that he knew the names for things, though why that mattered, he wasn¡¯t sure. Still, the way his paws sank into the damp dirt and the grass pulled at his ankles wasn¡¯t as worrisome as it had been before Raff and Lianhua explained what they were.


    ¡°She says they taste bad,¡± he told the pup quietly. ¡°But I think she actually just doesn¡¯t want to kill them. She¡¯s not hungry right now, and they¡¯re pretty.¡±


    In fact, the near-constant monologue of Li¡¯s mutterings in his mind let him know exactly what she was thinking, but he had decided he didn¡¯t want her to know he could hear her. It was very amusing to hear the difference between the powerful and elegant exterior Li tried to show, and the mumbles of, <Oh! That one is blue! It looks like Kaz, so I like this one the very best. Now, what is this soft thing? It¡¯s so fluffy!>


    Li could hear them speaking, of course, and puffed out a particularly thick cloud of vapor around the next bug she found, which was a green one with an elongated abdomen, a triangular head, and two barbed front limbs that it held folded to its chest. Those limbs emerged from the mist almost as soon as it formed, latching onto the dragon¡¯s nose as Li reared back, wings flapping wildly. Kaz knew she was more startled than injured, but the insect¡¯s attack was surprisingly strong.


    Raff laughed as Li flew back to Kaz so he could gently tug the bug from the dragon¡¯s snout. ¡°That¡¯s a mantis,¡± the human told them. ¡°They eat meat, an¡¯ I¡¯ve seen some the size of a small dog. Those had cores, o¡¯ course, and I wouldn¡¯t want to face one of those without my armor. They just won¡¯t give up until you¡¯ve chopped ¡®em to pieces.¡±


    Indeed, the one Kaz held was trying to latch onto him instead, and he had to shake it onto a bush as they passed. Bushes were like trees, but somehow different, apparently simply because they were shorter. It was very confusing to Kaz, who was used to identifying plants by the shape of their stalk or the color of their fronds, not just how large they were, but Raff and Lianhua were insistent that this was correct, so he would accept it until he learned differently.


    They had been walking for quite some time by now, and the sun was high overhead, instead of resting on the too-distant horizon. All of the mountain-dwellers found this vast expanse of space unnerving, and Lianhua seemed to realize this, eventually asking Raff if they could walk under the trees rather than on the clearer remains of the ¡®road¡¯. She claimed to be concerned about the sun burning her skin, as if she had reached into a fire or picked up something hot, but Kaz was almost entirely certain this was something she just made up to convince Raff to let them walk where the bushes and trees broke up the sky.


    The sound of running water reached Kaz¡¯s ears, and they swiveled toward it. Water in the mountain usually dripped or trickled, but he had heard this sound a few times before. There was a good amount of rapidly moving water somewhere ahead, and all of them perked up as they heard it, especially Li and Kyla. They were all using bladders or leather bags to drink from, and the water tasted stale. Kyla had had fresh, cold mountain water for most of her life, never being reduced to lapping up a few drops of fluid seeping from a crack in the wall, and Li simply didn¡¯t care for the taste the containers infused into the water.


    Raff grinned. ¡°There it is. The great Eastern Tributary. Lots of runoff from the snow in the mountains this time of year, so it¡¯ll be cold, but we can at least wash our faces and get a drink.¡±


    Lianhua looked excited, and her speed increased, causing the males to hurry as well. Chi Yincang had actually remained visible all day, and whenever Kaz looked at him with his own eyes, he could tell that the male was busy cultivating as they walked. Kaz in turn had made sure not to get too close, and Kyla moved so she could stay close to Kaz, preventing the human from draining her, if he could.


    The bushes ahead were becoming less dense, and the light reflecting on their leaves was brighter. Kaz had learned by now that this meant there was an area without trees coming up, and he closed his eyes behind the darklenses as he stepped out into the sun. Li¡¯s healthy eyes, however, had adjusted well enough to remain open by now, and Kaz¡¯s jaw dropped as he took in the sight before him.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-four

    There were only a few bushes and trees breaking up the grass for several yards ahead of them. Beyond that, water roared and tumbled, more of it than Kaz had ever seen in one place except a few of the great, dark lakes. Those were incredibly dangerous, thanks to the immense creatures that could live in their depths, so most kobolds allowed them to remain undisturbed unless they were truly desperate.


    This water moved, however, making Kaz question whether the word ¡®flow¡¯ was even the proper one. It ran, leapt, streamed, gushed, and surged. The Waveblades could draw out small streams of water, and Kaz had seen brief floods caused when his tribe found and released a blocked water source, but this torrent seemed as if it would never end. Was it, in fact, eternal? If he could find its source, could he live without fear of thirst for the rest of his life?


    Li had a hard time flying among the trees, so she had been perched on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, but now she jumped up, wings carrying her toward the cascade, where she dipped and dove, glittering gold darting down to play with leaping silver. Kaz¡¯s eyes ached as he stared, unable to see details, but still mesmerized by the interplay of color and the joy he felt coming through his bond with the dragon.


    A soft sigh came from nearby, and Kaz looked over to see Lianhua¡¯s pale shape. ¡°That¡¯s beautiful,¡± she said softly. ¡°I wish I were an artist so I could capture that image.¡± She turned toward Kaz, and he could see the shadow of her mouth stretch. ¡°Can you see it?¡±


    Kaz closed his eyes, more eager than ever to have his eyes fully recovered. He pushed blue ki into them, ignoring his own concerns about overdoing it and causing more damage. When he blinked them open again, they burned, but he could tell the difference between Li¡¯s tail and her neck, which was a definite improvement.


    On his other side, Kyla gave a soft squeak, and Kaz looked over at her. Her ears were partially down, and her golden eyes were wide. ¡°Your eyes are bleeding, Kaz,¡± she told him.


    Kaz reached up and brushed at something rolling down his muzzle. Lifting it, he saw a crimson smear on his skin and grimaced. So the ki had worked, but at what cost?


    With a cry, Li wheeled, leaving her mock battle with the waves to fly back to Kaz. Settling heavily on his shoulder, she pushed her head against his cheek, her tongue tickling his skin. <What did you do? Why did you do that? I can watch for you!>


    Kaz wiped away another droplet of blood, but this one only left a pink streak on his finger. ¡°I wanted to see you,¡± he told the dragon, and she hissed at him as she sent an image of herself, splashing in water at the pool by the Sharpjaw den, and again in the mosui baths.


    <You¡¯ve seen it before. Wait and heal when your body is ready,> she told him angrily.


    Kaz shrugged, but he didn¡¯t regret his impulsive decision. If a few drops of blood were all he had to pay to see his friends more clearly, he would do it a hundred times. Li licked his cheek once more, then nipped at his ear, though she didn¡¯t fly off his shoulder again.


    Raff had missed - or at least pretended to miss - what had happened, but he stopped now and looked back at them. He was almost to the water¡¯s edge, and he gestured broadly. ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± he called. ¡°Let¡¯s wash up. Especially you, Blue. You reek.¡±


    Kaz chuckled. If even Raff was commenting on it, he must smell very bad indeed. He started jogging forward, with Kyla, Mei, Lianhua, and Chi Yincang close behind him.


    The distance was shorter than it looked, and the water deep but narrow. It didn¡¯t take long for Kaz to realize he could probably jump across it, though he might have to wade through the last few feet. He didn¡¯t want to, however, because the ground was saturated, and the dirt turned to mud, which squished up between his toes, trying to trap his paws.


    Kyla seemed to love the feeling, because she squealed each time she took a step, giggling as her paw came back up with a squelch. The humans, on the other hand, split to the side, and Kaz quickly realized they had found a path of large, rough stones. Lianhua had to hop from one to another, but Raff and Chi Yincang simply strode across them. Kaz veered to the side, stepping up onto the closest one, then followed behind Lianhua. Kyla, however, plowed onward, and Kaz thought she might have just laid down and rolled in the muck if it weren¡¯t for her pretty, beaded loincloth and pack.


    ¡°Looks like it was a dry winter,¡± Raff said, stopping on the edge of a particularly large, flat rock that extended into the water. ¡°It should be a good three feet higher, though I guess we might just have been in the mountain longer than I thought. Almost makes me wish we could bring Gaoda out just long enough to use his fancy clock.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Lianhua and Chi Yincang in unison, and Raff laughed loudly.


    Kaz sat down, carefully inserting his filthy paws into the water. He shivered. It was cold, but the air was warm, and the contrast was almost pleasant, though he didn¡¯t think he would want to submerge himself in it. Li jumped down from his shoulder, and he could tell from her muttering that she was considering splashing him with her wings, but the chill of the water convinced her to give up on that idea.


    Kaz smiled to himself, shifting so he could lie down on his belly. The stone was warm beneath him, and he splashed water onto his body, feeling crunchy bits wash away beneath his hands. The nearby rock was soon covered in sloughed-off things that he didn¡¯t much want to think about, and then a hand stretched out in front of him.


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    Lianhua offered a small, rough ball of some fibrous material. It was already soaked with her sweet-smelling soap, and Kaz accepted it hesitantly. ¡°You scrub your skin with it,¡± Lianhua said, as if he hadn¡¯t seen her do it several times now. ¡°It would have tangled in your fur before, but now-¡± She broke off, as if realizing he might not be comfortable talking about his current lack of fur.


    Kaz gingerly scrubbed the thing against his arm, watching how it rubbed away the last brittle pieces of blue fur along with the remains of the monster he¡¯d killed. It was very effective, and also soothed the itch of his healing skin, so he quickly washed the rest of him, only hesitating when he started to take off his loincloth and Lianhua scrambled backwards.


    Raff snorted a laugh, and said, ¡°Most humans aren¡¯t comfortable with too much skin, Blue, and at the moment, you¡¯re more skin than fur. Lianhua¡¯ll have to cover her eyes if you¡¯re gonna strip to the buff.¡±


    Kaz thought back to when he and Lianhua had taken baths together, and realized that the female had always been very careful to avoid being completely naked in front of anyone, and looked away whenever he removed his loincloth. Wearing clothes was as much symbolic as necessary among kobolds, so he hadn¡¯t realized how uncomfortable she was until Raff pointed it out.


    He looked from the female to the rushing water, and noticed Kyla¡¯s pack and loincloth neatly folded and placed on the rock. The puppy was entirely naked and happily rolling in mud, rinsing it off, and then rolling in mud again. There was no way Lianhua hadn¡¯t seen Kyla, so why did it matter if Kaz removed his clothes?


    Confused, he looked toward Raff, who just shrugged. Lianhua had moved away, and she very pointedly had her back turned, so Kaz went ahead and took off his loincloth. As he did, his belt gave way, and he nearly fumbled his pouch as it slid off. Fortunately, he managed to catch the bag, but lost the belt entirely in the process, and it swirled away along with the rest of the debris he had scrubbed from his skin.


    Sighing, he went ahead and washed himself, wishing he could just get into the water. Kyla was using the shelter provided by the rock on which they sat to keep from being swept away, but there was no more room there. Besides, the puppy¡¯s paws were sinking in muck even in the water, and Kaz had no interest in that, even though it was obvious Kyla was enjoying herself immensely.


    Once he was as clean as possible, he rinsed his loincloth as well, though it was only superficially dirty at most. He wrapped the damp fabric around his waist, planning to tuck it in and hope for the best, but Raff handed him a length of leather.


    ¡°I use it t¡¯ fix my gear,¡± the human said. ¡°It should work well enough for a belt until we can buy you a proper one.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Kaz said, accepting it, and when he looked up from knotting it around him, he saw that Lianhua was looking in his direction again.


    ¡°Chi Yincang is making something to eat,¡± she told them. ¡°I¡¯m going to read, and I think Kyla has worn herself out.¡±


    She tilted her head toward another of the large, flat stones, and Kaz could see a puddle of pink splashed across it. It looked like the pup had finally tired of her game, and she was curled up with Mei, drowsing or asleep in the warmth of the sun.


    Raff stood, his armor creaking. He had washed the least of all of them, obviously unwilling to remove any of his protective garments. His hair and beard were wet, however, their bright red color darkened to a deep carmine. ¡°I¡¯ll keep watch,¡± he said. ¡°This area is fairly safe, bein¡¯ so close to a town, but fairly isn¡¯t the same as completely.¡±


    Kaz looked up, seeing that Li was still swooping and circling above them, as he had known she would be. She had seen a few creatures flying through the sky, which Raff and Lianhua identified as ¡®birds¡¯, but so far nothing that was even as large as she was. Kaz sent her silent encouragement to be cautious, which she completely ignored, and Kaz turned away from the beautiful, astonishing tumble of wild water.


    Raff, Kaz, and Lianhua made their way back across the path of stones, leaving Kyla resting peacefully by the water. Lianhua went to sit near where Chi Yincang had built another fire of burning wood, and Raff began to pace slowly around, his watchful gaze on their surroundings.


    Kaz followed along behind the tall male, though his eyes wouldn¡¯t be much help in spotting monsters or beasts, unless those monsters or beasts had cores. He waited until he thought they were far enough from the others, then asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s it like being a human?¡±


    Raff halted, red brows lifting as he looked at Kaz. ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± he finally admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve never been anything else. There some particular reason you¡¯re askin¡¯?¡±


    Kaz glanced back toward Lianhua and Chi Yincang, then shrugged. ¡°I think I may be able to¡­ disguise myself. As a human. But I¡¯m not sure if I want to.¡±


    Raff had started to walk again, but now stopped, scratching at his beard. ¡°Huh. Now that¡¯d be a sight, wouldn¡¯t it? If you¡¯re just talkin¡¯ about looking human, you¡¯re already a good bit of the way there. Not many humans as hairy as a kobold. A pair of long pants, some shoes, and a nice deep hood, and I reckon most people wouldn¡¯t notice unless they had some reason to look close.¡±


    ¡°What would happen if I just walked into town with you and Lianhua and Chi Yincang?¡± Kaz asked softly, holding out his arms. ¡°Just like this.¡±


    The human made a thoughtful sound. ¡°Probably better to attempt some kinda disguise, even if it¡¯s just new clothes. We¡¯d keep you safe, but questions would be asked, and things might get a wee bit tense before we could explain. Most folks around here have fought wild kobolds, or heard stories from someone who has. Further from Scarabus, you might have better luck.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. All right. Thank you, Raff.¡±


    Raff lifted a hand, giving a soft, garbled yip of farewell, and Kaz responded politely before turning away. He started to make his way back toward the fire, then thought better of it and walked back along the stones to the water¡¯s edge. Here, he could watch over Kyla and Li, who had discovered that there were some warmer currents of air that would lift her high into the sky. She was having almost as much fun as Kyla rolling in mud as she rode the warm air up, then glided back down in slow, easy circles. It was almost effortless on her part, and she was simply enjoying the feeling of warm sun on her scales, and the eternal sky all around her.


    Kaz sat down, settling into the comfortable crouch that he used instead of Lianhua¡¯s favorite crossed-leg pose. Setting the backs of his hands on his thighs, he circled his thumb and fingers. Closing his poor, damaged eyes, he turned his vision inward so he could truly examine his core and ki for the first time in far too long.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-five

    The last time Kaz looked at his core, he¡¯d seen marked improvement even over how it looked when Nucai first repaired it. Now, it was even better, and he could see that both his blue and his gold ki were stronger than before he interacted with the Tree, or rather whatever beings were connected to or lived inside it.


    His Wood ki, especially, blazed with a brilliant sapphire light, and spun easily out of his core, flowing into his channels. While the red, white, and black ki hadn¡¯t really increased, they, too, simply seemed more saturated than before. That explained why he was recovering so quickly, and why he just felt stronger than he ¡®should¡¯ in general.


    When he looked closely, he could see that there were still lingering traces of black - a different, dirtier kind of black than the pure dark glow of Water ki - in his skin, ears, nose, and lungs. Basically, anywhere that had been directly exposed to the fluids within the shiyan still had some healing to do, but his eyes were by far the worst.


    Dismissing the rest of his body for the moment, Kaz ¡®looked¡¯ at his eyes - and it was a very strange experience to see something he literally looked out of every moment of the rest of his life. Perhaps that was why they were noticeably less saturated with ki than most of the rest of his body. He didn¡¯t see them, and therefore they had been forgotten.


    It seemed like most of his body glowed with power to some extent, with those areas he had consciously focused on being the brightest of all. His lungs were filled with the lambent white of metal ki, while his heart pounded with ruby fire. His eyes, on the other hand, had only the faintest sheen of blue, and he thought much of that was from his recent efforts at healing them. More important, however, was the thick haze of blackness that hung inside them, the darkest part of it concentrated at the back.


    Kaz hung in the emptiness of that place between reality and power, and stared at that grimy gray fog. It felt almost sticky, as if it wanted to cling there, and he thought that if he allowed it to remain for too long, it might settle in and become permanent.


    But where could he send that invading darkness? The rest of it could be expelled out of the orifices through which it had entered, or simply ooze out of his skin, which would be unpleasant and disgusting, but leave him cleansed.


    The eyes had no such openings, however, and he didn¡¯t want them to burst with escaping dark humors, if that was even a thing that could happen. Could he open just a very small hole, one which would allow the filth out, and heal the self-inflicted wound immediately after? He cringed at the thought, but he had to consider it as a possible solution.


    <Idiot!> Li¡¯s familiar chastisement broke through his concentration, nearly jolting him back to normal awareness. <Just imagine,> she told him, and distantly, he felt her tuck her head into the palm of his hand. That head had real weight now, occupying most of his palm and nearly disrupting the connection between his thumb and fingers.


    A memory of Lianhua¡¯s face appeared in his mind, saying, ¡°What a cultivator can create is shaped by their image. Their understanding of what they¡¯re trying to do.¡±


    <Know that it will work, and it will,> Li said. <That¡¯s why dragons are so powerful. We always know we¡¯ll succeed.>


    Was it really as simple as having more confidence? Somehow, Kaz doubted it, or Gaoda would have been the most powerful being in the mountain. There was some essential truth there, however, something that his practical mind struggled with, so instead he turned to something he had only recently rediscovered; his artistic side.


    Slowly, he pushed away his understanding of the structure of an actual eyeball. He had certainly dealt with enough of them during his time as a gatherer, especially after he grew large enough to join the few remaining males when they hunted. That visceral knowledge wouldn¡¯t help him right now, though, so instead he thought about the experience of seeing.


    Light - vision - entered the eye somehow. How that worked, he had no idea, but whimsically, he drew a tiny picture of Li onto the interior surface of a great, round white globe. He tilted his head, and the dragon turned sideways, nearly tumbling down the curved surface on which she was painted, until she dug her claws in and turned to glare at him.


    A tiny pang went through his left eye, and he resisted the urge to rub it, instead dismissing the image of Li and creating one of a rougu mushroom, one of his favorites, whose bright green gills were stark and clear in his memory. He moved around it, allowing his shadow to cover it at some points, and not at others.


    Yes, he definitely understood that light had to travel into the eye. When that light was blocked, the image faded and grew dark. Where something could enter, something else could exit. This was truth.


    Turning back to his core, he saw that it was already spinning faster, as if anticipating that it would soon be needed. His central dantian was far from full, but it contained a good amount of ki, and there was nearly as much blue as any of the other colors, though gold was definitely still the dominant shade.


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    He compressed his core, holding the ki tight as it tried to escape. Forcing it into a smaller and smaller space, he saw that the coruscation of power that had surrounded the core was now confined to its surface. He pressed harder, tighter, feeling something build inside him until it was almost painful. When he released it, he would need to control it very carefully in order to prevent it from being wasted or damaging his channels again.


    A small clawed paw stretched out, hovering over the image of his core, and he felt Li¡¯s assistance. She used her own ki to push against his, which was a very peculiar sensation, since usually her ki and his were all but the same thing.


    The pressure built, and he felt his mouth open as he began to pant. His heart stuttered in his chest, in spite of the amount of ki it held. That ki didn¡¯t drain away, and it didn¡¯t fade, but instead of being part of a fully integrated system, it seemed as if each of his organs was trying to function on its own, and failing.


    Kaz and Li released their hold at the same moment, in the breathless space between one beat and the next, and ki flooded Kaz¡¯s tissues and channels, filling him until he thought he would explode with it. It was incredibly difficult to prevent the colors from splitting, traveling to the parts of his body that cried out for each one. Instead, he gave his organs only what they needed to return to being a functional whole, then guided the remainder into the places where that miasma still lingered.


    He pushed, and again, he felt Li there with him, using her greater ability at ki manipulation to help him. He thought he was still a little stronger than the dragon, probably thanks to her delayed growth, but there was no doubt that she was better at the fine detail of what they needed to do.


    He felt her delight in his admiration, and she focused even closer, delicately picking at the places where the contamination clung, and when the strands snapped like zhiwu web, fresh, pure ki flowed into the gap left behind.


    Something shifted inside him. Some balance had been overturned, altered, and a new equilibrium formed. His heart settled into a steady beat, slower and yet stronger than it had ever been before. Every part of him seemed lit from within, and bright sparks shone at each place where the blackness had been severed.


    Kaz coughed. Something vile was rising in his throat, and he spasmed, coughing and vomiting with equal fervor. He heard the scrape of claws on stone as Li scrambled out of the way, and he hacked up a glob of stinking black bile, sticky and repulsive.


    Sadly, that was far from the end of it, and soon he was even more disgusting and foul than he had been when they arrived. At least the ichor of the shiyan had had time to dry and flake off, but this was wet and clung to him, as reluctant to leave as he was desperate to have it gone.


    ¡°Pellis¡¯ cursed feces, Blue,¡± Raff said, sounding like he was standing right beside Kaz, shouting into his sensitive ears. ¡°Are you all right? Is this what you meant? ¡®Cause you don¡¯t look or smell human right now, unless that human has been dead for a week.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s refining his body,¡± Lianhua¡¯s voice said, louder than Kaz had ever heard it before. She sounded awed, and he could sense her stepping closer, the force of her ki pushing against Kaz¡¯s. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t cultivating at the moment, because he wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if she did while his own ki was fighting so hard to burst out of him. She might break his grip on it, and find herself flooded with more ki than she was ready for, which could injure both of them, possibly badly. He would have to warn her to stay away from him if he ever did this again in the future. Frankly, he doubted he would, because he was not enjoying the process at all.


    Kaz thrashed like a larval woshi pulled from its pool, even more revolting goo making its way from his body. Thankfully, his understanding of his eyes as having openings in and out seemed to be working, and though he couldn¡¯t see through the sticky film over them, he also didn¡¯t feel like they were going to burst. The process was uncomfortable, but it seemed like everything about having ki was uncomfortable at some point, so that was nothing new.


    He tried to speak as Lianhua moved even closer, probably in an attempt to help him. It felt like her ki was a physical thing, a moving wall that shoved at him. He wriggled in an attempt to get away, and with a yelp, fell into the water.


    Kaz sank. There was none of his usual awkward competence, and he couldn¡¯t even thrash properly as his snout sank beneath the surface. The water was deep, and it pushed and pulled at him even harder than Lianhua¡¯s ki. Fortunately, his lungs had become so efficient that he felt no particular need to breathe, but he did feel distant concern as something in the depths seemed to grab him and pull him along after it.


    It wasn¡¯t a beast, at least not so far as he could tell. No tentacles dragged on his ankle, no pincers tightened on his waist. Instead it was like the water itself was alive. It played with him, tossing him from one side to the other, spinning and swirling until he had no idea which way was up except that his link to Li led ¡®that way¡¯, and he knew she wasn¡¯t in the water with him.


    He struck something, hard, and the first real pang of concern broke through the hazy sense of relief that the worst of his expulsion of the corruption seemed to be done. At least the need to cough and gag seemed to have vanished along with the urge to take a breath.


    An image pressed into his mind, driven by Li¡¯s fear. A pale blue body sloshed and churned through a widening body of water, becoming something that he could no longer deny was a river. Not a river like the slow, placid flows that sometimes formed in areas where no kobolds had lived for several generations, but a wide, wild abundance that sang with black ki. That ki reached out, lifting and turning him, and he began to feel a sense of something more than random power behind it. A sense of intelligence, of self that no water should have.


    It touched him, swept him away, and his connection to Li stretched into tenuous eternity. The power couldn¡¯t quite separate them, take Kaz for its own, but it did steal away his body, which vanished into the shadows beneath the waves.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-six

    When Kaz opened his eyes to a scaly face and flickering tongue, he thought at first that Li had found him. Then his eyes focused, vision much clearer than it had been since they were damaged, and he realized that not only was this creature black, rather than gold with hints of other colors, but it was huge. Larger than huge.


    In fact, as he struggled to scramble away from it, he discovered that it was so massive that gleaming scaled coils were wrapped around him, holding him upright and almost completely still. Those coils tightened around him, and the head turned, an obsidian eye the size of his two fists considering him as if trying to decide if he was friend or meal.


    A soft thrum went through the long body as it released him, scales sliding against each other with a sibilant susurration of sound. It took a moment to realize that it was a laugh, and he heard a voice in his mind as he was finally able to back away from the gargantuan serpent.


    <ohhh, no, i won¡¯t eat you, little one,> a voice said, seeming to whisper-shout at him from a great distance. <in fact, i find you quite captivating, and i only wish to speak to you for a very short while. your friends search for you, and the dragon is especially concerned. it¡¯s difficult to block her completely, even for me, so tightly are you bound.>


    Kaz stared around, seeing that they were in a huge, arching cavern. Unlike the caves he was used to, the walls here looked to be only partially stone. Some kind of long, fibrous filaments dangled overhead, and the ground beneath his paws was made of packed dirt. It smelled of dampness and the world outside the mountain, which was a mixture of a hundred kinds of vegetation, earth, and the small creatures who lurked in the shadows and rested beneath the trees.


    He took a step back, and the long tail gave an impossibly fast flick, bumping him forward again. <careful, little one,> the snake hissed, and Kaz realized that the rasping voice was only in his mind. His ears heard only scales, breathing, and a sound of water that was so familiar he¡¯d barely noticed it.


    Glancing behind him, he saw that there was a dark, deep lake. Unlike the lakes in the mountain, however, its surface wasn¡¯t as smooth as Lianhua¡¯s mirror. Small, gentle waves lapped at stones washed bare by the ceaseless motion, and far in the distance he could see a glimmer of the bright, clear light of the sun.


    Kaz glanced back and forth between the great serpent and what he hoped was a way out, and the snake hissed another laugh. <go if you wish. it amused me to bring you here, but i have no interest in incurring your enmity, nor forcing you to stay. if you choose to stop and speak for a moment, however, i will help you leave, and i assure you it will be far easier with my assistance. in fact, you will undoubtedly reach your friends more quickly by waiting.>


    He drew in a long breath, his fingers just brushing the pouch still firmly tied to the sturdy belt Raff had loaned him. That was intact, at least, which was a very good thing, but¡­ He touched his muzzle, where the darklenses had rested, and found that they were missing. That was one more thing he owed the large human, then.


    Li? he thought, though he already knew it was useless. He could barely feel the dragon as anything other than a faint wisp of fear and desperation hovering in the back of his mind. The bond of ki that constantly hung between them, connecting their core and cycles, was reduced to little more than the width of a single hair.


    ¡°All right,¡± he said cautiously, his hand still resting on his pouch. He hadn¡¯t managed to get a new knife from Idla before they left the mountain, so all he had was the worn blade an old male kobold had given him during his journey with the humans. Still, he had spent most of his life with a knife easily to hand, and it comforted him to know that one was within reach.


    His own power was probably more useful, but the snake burned with so much black ki that he couldn¡¯t even tell if it had a core, or how many of its dantians were open. He had to assume the answers were ¡®yes¡¯, and ¡®all of them¡¯, and he was certain that in spite of the fact that he had been confident in his new strength just a short while earlier, this creature was tens, if not hundreds of times stronger than he was.


    <good,> the snake murmured, settling her head - and he was suddenly as certain that she was female as he had once been of Li¡¯s gender - on a coiled loop of her own body. That still left it well above him, and he thought his head would fit in the shadowy pits between her dark eyes and her nostrils. <who are you, and where did you come from?>


    ¡°I¡¯m Kaz,¡± he told her, debating only briefly before leaving off the name of his former tribe. ¡°I come from the mountain.¡±


    Her tongue flickered in and out, the split tips nearly brushing against his skin as if she was tasting him, but he could tell she was laughing again instead. <there are ssso many mountains, little kaz. which one?>


    He scratched his ear thoughtfully, feeling a bit lost without Li to help him find the right memories. ¡°Raff calls it Scarabus, I think, but Lianhua says it¡¯s Shensheng.¡±


    <raff and lianhua are the humans with the dragonling?>


    Kaz nodded, opting not to mention Chi Yincang. The male had ways of not being noticed, and if this creature didn¡¯t know he was there, that could only be good for Kaz and the others.


    <i know the mountain of which you speak,> the snake said thoughtfully.


    Feeling a bit bolder, Kaz said, ¡°Who are you? Are you a¡­ Divine Beast?¡± The serpent certainly seemed to match the description Lianhua had given him. She was powerful and intelligent, far more so than any such reptile should be.


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    The tongue flickered again. <ssss-omething like that. so far as i know, i am the only one of my kind remaining, though i sense something in you that gives me hope that i may not be as alone as i believed.>


    ¡°Me?¡± Kaz asked, hearing his voice veer sharply upward in disbelief. What could there possibly be about him that would make this great and terrible being take notice?


    This time, the snake¡¯s tongue tickled Kaz¡¯s ear, maw opening wide enough that he could see glistening fangs folded flat against the roof of her mouth. Each one was the size of his arm, and he swallowed hard, quivering beneath the touch of that deceptively delicate-seeming appendage.


    <you, but also your dragon, and the bond between the two of you. i think you have it in you to become¡­ sss-omething truly amusing. for one like me, amusement is a rare and precious thing.> The black eyes turned, slit pupils only visible against the equally dark irises as they narrowed. <but you should go. I believe, however, that i will see you again.>


    The huge, scaled head rose from her muscular coils, and the snake lunged forward, heading straight for Kaz. At the last moment, she slipped ever so slightly to the side, just bumping into him, so that when she began to slide into the water, he tumbled in along with her. Kaz flailed, then settled into his usual simple paddle, hands and paws moving to keep him from sinking.


    Something immense rose from beneath him, lifting him out of the water, and Kaz thrashed, his fingers slipping along the snake¡¯s wide scales until his claws caught in a crevice. The serpent flowed through the water, her sides brushing the walls of the tunnel through which they passed. Kaz clung on as water attempted to drag him off the great beast¡¯s back, and the tunnel walls tried just as hard to scrape him away.


    In spite of the long distance between where they had been standing and the tiny speck of light that marked the way out, it took less than a minute to reach their goal. The snake slid through a great cave mouth, and Kaz flinched back from the light of the sun, but it didn¡¯t try to burn out his eyes as it had done before. The glare was painful, but not unbearable, and when Li flew toward him, she was only a little blurry.


    The dragon looked pitifully small compared to the enormous serpent, but when she saw Kaz, she let out a roar that was far from her usual squawk. Water vapor poured from her mouth, but the black serpent didn¡¯t even seem to notice as it settled around her head.


    <be still, dragonling. your companion is well enough,> Kaz heard, though he was somehow aware that the great snake was only being polite by including him.


    Kaz waved a shaky arm at the relatively tiny golden dragon, who whistled sharply and folded her wings, dropping toward him in a steep dive. He had to let go of his death grip on the black scale in order to catch her, and the impact knocked him and Li off the serpent¡¯s back. They tumbled into the river, and the flow of the water would have carried them away if the snake hadn¡¯t wrapped a coil around them, lifting them into the air again.


    The great body shuddered, a ripple traveling through it, carrying Kaz and Li - who was clutched in his arms - to the riverbank. They were deposited there with a soft squelch, and the snake turned away. Coil after coil of slick scales slid by as the terrible serpent headed for her home.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Kaz called after her, feeling much braver now that he was reunited with his friend.


    A distant flicker of humor reached him. <you may call me heishe,> she said, then slid beneath the surface, somehow vanishing into the depths of the river.


    Something snapped taut within Kaz as Heishe disappeared. His bond to Li came into focus just as his eyesight did. Li obviously felt it too, because she began to speak.


    <Who was that?> the dragon demanded, leaning back so she could eye Kaz up and down. <Did she hurt you? Why did she take you?>


    Kaz shrugged, gently stroking the agitated dragon¡¯s head until she relaxed slightly. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he told her. ¡°She just wanted to know who I am, and where I came from.¡± Li eyed him dubiously, and he shrugged. ¡°Truly.¡±


    Silently, he offered her his memories, and she examined them, turning them over and playing them back, fast and slow, until at last she seemed satisfied.


    <You don¡¯t think she made you forget anything, do you?> Li asked suspiciously. <Like Nucai did?>


    Kaz frowned. That was a good question. Far too many beings seemed to be able to alter his mind and memories, with or without his knowledge. ¡°How long was I gone?¡±


    <I don¡¯t know. A long time,> Li hissed, but Kaz realized that neither of them had any way to know, other than their own subjective impressions. He had seen both ¡®day¡¯ and ¡®night¡¯ now, and knew they really were more than words applied to the time when a tribe was awake, as compared to the time when most of them rested. Would he only know time had passed when the sun vanished and the sky grew dark again?


    Kaz shook his head, then looked around. ¡°Where are Lianhua and the others?¡±


    Li ducked her head. <They were slow, so I left them behind,> she admitted.


    Concerned, Kaz stood, finding that he was already almost dry, thanks to his lack of fur and the heat of the sun. ¡°How will we find them?¡±


    The dragon turned to look down the length of the river. <They were following the water. If we go back that way, we should meet them. If you insist.>


    Surprised at this last, Kaz looked down at where she rested in his embrace, her long neck stretched out against his bicep, and her tail wrapped three times around his opposite wrist. ¡°You don¡¯t want to?¡± he asked slowly, realizing that he hadn¡¯t actually checked to see what she wanted before they joined the humans.


    Li¡¯s ribs heaved in a deep sigh. <You promised Lianhua you would help her.>


    ¡°I also promised I would help you,¡± he said softly. ¡°Can I not do both? If I have to choose, I will explain to Lianhua why I can¡¯t go with her.¡±


    There was a long silence. <No,> Li said, and he didn¡¯t think it was as grudging as she made it sound. She, too, was curious about the human lands, and she liked Lianhua and the others, even though she didn¡¯t want to admit it.


    Kaz scratched at the base of one of the little horns on the back of her head. They had just shown up after the last time she shed her skin, and she still had a hard time scratching inside the little arch they formed. ¡°We¡¯ll find your family, Li. I haven¡¯t forgotten. As soon as we get to the human city, we¡¯ll start asking where to find other dragons.¡±


    Li nodded, then rubbed her cheek against his arm, and the two of them stood, basking in warm sunlight and mutual affection, at least until Raff¡¯s deep voice called Kaz¡¯s name. They turned to see the human striding toward them, waving his hand, with Kyla perched atop his shoulders, and a gleaming pinkish fuergar on hers.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-seven

    ¡°We came a good bit further west than we should¡¯ve,¡± Raff said, drawing an X next to the long, winding line he claimed was meant to represent the river. ¡°We¡¯re close to the Grimgar Wilds now, and we won¡¯t want to be here when night falls.¡±


    He kept casting glances toward the huge, dark cave into which the river vanished and urging them to start back the way they¡¯d come. Lianhua, of course, was fascinated by Kaz¡¯s explanation of what had happened, and he could tell she was barely managing to restrain her curiosity. Chi Yincang had nothing to offer, as usual, though his right eyebrow rose ever so slightly when Lianhua ¡®jokingly¡¯ suggested they go introduce themselves to Heishe.


    Kyla had plopped herself down on the rock where the great serpent left Kaz and Li, and was busy tying the long green stalks of one of the common flowers into a rope. It looked like it would fall apart if she put even the slightest weight on it, so Kaz wasn¡¯t sure why she was doing it, but it kept her and her fuergar busy, since Mei was scampering about, bringing more flowers each time Kyla started to run out.


    ¡°I suppose we could run back to the bridge,¡± Raff muttered, staring at his sketch. ¡°But then we¡¯d all be too tired to keep watch tonight.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Chi Yincang uttered, not even bothering to look at Raff. Oddly, he seemed fixated on the broad stretch of trees beyond the cave mouth. ¡°And we should run.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t keep watch alone-¡± Lianhua started to protest, but Chi Yincang held up a hand, tilting his head toward the shadowy trees.


    Something stepped out. At first, Kaz thought it might be another kobold, since it was covered in fur and standing on two legs, but then he realized that the top of its head was almost level with the trees. Glancing around, he thought most of the trees nearby were fifteen or twenty feet tall, which didn¡¯t seem to be particularly large as trees went. If the trees the creature was standing near were even fifteen feet high, however, Kaz didn¡¯t want to meet a thing that could match them.


    The creature just stood there, and though it was too far away to make out any features, Kaz could feel the weight of its gaze. The fur on the back of his neck rose, and he realized that the soft growling he heard was coming from his own chest.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Raff said, two long steps carrying him over to Kyla and Mei. He scooped the pup up in one hand and the rodent in the other, making both of them squeak. Kyla dropped her flowers and started to chastise the human male, who just pointed toward the looming figure. Kyla was instantly silenced, wiggling in his arms so she could climb him much as Li liked to climb Kaz.


    Lianhua turned to Kaz. ¡°Can you make it? I can carry you, I think.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, and Li lifted from his shoulder, flying in a slow circle that carefully didn¡¯t take her any closer to the trees. ¡°I can make it,¡± he told Lianhua, and it was true. His body felt lighter and stronger than it ever had before, and he didn¡¯t even feel any particular need to push extra ki into his legs as they all began to move.


    They quickly settled into a fast, easy lope, slowed only a little by the tall grass and patches of soft, muddy earth. Raff took the lead, with Lianhua behind him, and Chi Yincang bringing up the rear. They cast glances behind them as the line of trees began to fade into indistinct shadow, and though the figure remained stark for longer than Kaz thought it should, it didn¡¯t seem to make any effort to actually follow them.


    Li ranged ahead, sometimes shrinking to little more than a glimmering golden dot in the distance, and Kaz moved from beside Lianhua to slightly ahead of Raff, depending on how far away the dragon was. It made him uncomfortable when Li got so far from him, but he refused to call her back. She had spent too much time confined, and she deserved to be able to fly as she wished.


    When the cave, trees, and shadowy creature all finally disappeared behind them, Kaz found himself once again beside Raff. ¡°What was that?¡± he asked, taking pleasure in the simple fact that he was able to speak clearly, and not panting for breath in spite of the high speed at which they were traveling.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t want to know,¡± Raff said grimly, then sighed. ¡°Might have been a Tree Giant, mighta been a Dog-Man. A few other things I can think of offhand, none of ¡®em anything we want to mess with if we don¡¯t have to. We¡¯d win, but it¡¯d hurt.¡±


    ¡®Tree Giant¡¯ seemed self-explanatory, but ¡®Dog-Man¡¯ caught Kaz¡¯s interest. ¡°Is a Dog-Man like a kobold? Lianhua says we look like dogs.¡±


    The tall man snorted, adjusting his grip on Kyla¡¯s legs so the pup could shift her spot on his shoulder. ¡°You look like dogs the way a fuergar looks like a mouse. Kinda cute, if you ignore the fact that it probably wants to rip your throat out. Which I don¡¯t recommend.¡±


    ¡°So what is a Dog-Man?¡± Kyla asked, snuggling her own fuergar close.


    Raff chuckled. ¡°A myth, likely. I do think it might¡¯ve come from someone seeing a particularly large kobold, though. Kids, especially, tend to exaggerate the size of scary things.¡±


    There was no sign that they were anywhere close to their goal yet, so Kaz said, ¡°Is a myth like a howl? Can you tell us?¡±


    ¡°Guess so,¡± Raff said. ¡°It¡¯s not much of a tale, though, just somethin¡¯ to convince kids not to go runnin¡¯ around in the woods after dark. The story goes that a monster lurks in the forests of Holiander, especially those near the eastern mountains. Its top half looks like a wolf, but with human hands, and the bottom like a man, but with wolf feet. Lot like a kobold, really, except this thing is supposed to be huge. Tall as the trees, just like we saw, but thin as a shadow, and absolutely silent, right up until it eats you alive.¡±


    Kaz felt his gut churn, not at the story itself, but at the implications. The simplest was that such a thing might really exist, but there was a hidden message as well. Things that looked like kobolds were frightening, and even small children knew the howls. What chance did he have, then, of being accepted as a person, and not a monster, looking as he did?


    Kyla gave a derisive yip. ¡°That¡¯s not a proper story,¡± she complained. ¡°Nothing happens in it.¡±


    Raff glanced up at her, grinning. ¡°True enough. I could tell you some ¡®proper¡¯ stories about the Dog-Man that¡¯d scare your fur off, but I think that¡¯s enough for now.¡±


    The pup leaned over, resting her muzzle on top of Raff¡¯s curly hair with a look of abject boredom. Since she was being carried, she didn¡¯t even have to watch where they were going, and she couldn¡¯t play with Mei, who was snoozing, tucked between Kyla¡¯s side and Raff¡¯s neck.


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    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t have to be a scary story, I can tell you one,¡± Lianhua said. She sounded slightly out of breath, and Kaz had to keep away from her in order to stay out of range of her cultivation. Raff seemed to be fine so far, but Kaz was keeping an eye on him. If he started cultivating as well, and it affected Kaz¡¯s little cousin, he would have to find a reason that he needed to carry Kyla instead, and he had no idea what that reason would be.


    Pink ears perked with interest, and Kyla looked toward Lianhua. ¡°I suppose a boring story is better than no story at all,¡± she said, but her tail was wagging gently.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes were on that tail, too, and she exchanged an amused glance with Kaz. ¡°All right, then,¡± she said. ¡°This is a story my grandmother told me when I was a little girl. It was my favorite bedtime story, and she would change it a little every time, so I never knew exactly how it would go.¡±


    She cleared her throat. ¡°Long, long ago, when the world was young, and none of the mortal races had yet been created, the Celestial Lord declared a race. He had created a beautiful palace in the next realm, and the twelve creatures who could reach it first would be allowed to live with him there. Now, at this time, passing between the realms was a simple thing, and who would turn down the opportunity to live in an elegant and luxurious palace with the Lord of All?¡±


    She looked at them expectantly, and Kaz realized this wasn¡¯t a rhetorical question. ¡°A niu?¡± he ventured. ¡°They seem happy as long as they have something to eat.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°That¡¯s true. Perhaps the niu were among those who didn¡¯t compete, though a similar creature, the ox, did. Sometimes, Grandmother would tell me that Cat was sleeping in a beam of sunlight, and told her friend, Rat, that she would be along when she woke. Other times, Rat simply didn¡¯t tell Cat, and that¡¯s why Cat wasn¡¯t in the race. Worst of all, though, were the times that Cat and Rat, who used to be friends, raced against each other, and Rat tricked Cat into losing, which is why cats and rats hate one another today.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Kyla said, obviously interested. ¡°If kobolds are like dogs, and fuergar are like rats, do dogs and rats like each other?¡±


    Lianhua hesitated, looking toward Raff, who shrugged, as if to say, ¡°You started it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really covered in this story,¡± Lianhua said carefully, ¡°but I suppose they must. In any case, many animals didn¡¯t hear about the race in time, while others were simply too slow to join in, so they didn¡¯t even try. More still ran out of ki and were forced to stop and cultivate, and were ultimately left behind.¡±


    ¡°So who won?¡± Kyla demanded.


    Lianhua smiled. ¡°Eventually, all of the animals came to a great river, so wide that they could barely see the other side. Many of them were terrible swimmers, but they refused to give up, and so the remaining creatures leaped in, swimming for all they were worth. The ox was the best swimmer still in the race, and the rat was small enough that he could ride on the ox¡¯s back. The ox was a kind, generous beast, and he knew the little rat would never make it in time, so the two crossed together.


    ¡°But as soon as the shore drew near, the rat leaped from the ox¡¯s head, using all the ki he had cultivated as the ox worked hard to bring them across, and he was the first to reach the Emperor¡¯s palace. The ox was close behind, not even truly angry, because he understood the rat¡¯s nature, and it didn¡¯t matter to him what order they arrived in.¡±


    Kyla patted Mei¡¯s head, then looked down at Raff consideringly. Kaz could practically see her making the comparison between the human carrying her and the ox, which was supposed to be something like the niu. Raff was no niu, but given his size, easy-going personality, and tendency to go along with whatever the other humans wanted, he could see how the puppy might get that idea.


    ¡°The tiger came behind the ox, and after that came the rabbit, who had ridden a log across the river, since she, like the rat, was too small to swim on her own. Behind the rabbit was the dragon, which surprised everyone, because of course dragons have more ki than any other creature, and they can fly, so Dragon should simply have flown ahead while the others swam.¡±


    At this, Kaz felt a sense of approval, and looked up to see that Li was flying overhead. She had been listening through his ears since Raff started his short story, but apparently Lianhua¡¯s story had caught her interest enough that she wanted to hear for herself.


    Either Lianhua didn¡¯t notice Li¡¯s nearness, or she chose not to comment, because she said, ¡°The dragon said that it had stopped a few times to help some other creatures who had run dangerously low on ki while they were crossing, and then used its water ki to create a current to move Rabbit¡¯s log straight across, so she didn¡¯t simply float away down the river.¡±


    For a moment, Li seemed to dismiss the very idea that the dragon in the story might have helped others, even though that resulted in the dragon not winning the race. Then he saw her head tilt, looking down at him, and she remained silent, though he could feel it as she grew sober and thoughtful.


    ¡°Soon after, the horse climbed from the water, but the snake had hidden in his mane, and now she slithered forward, startling him. No one knows if the snake scared the horse on purpose, but she came in sixth, while Horse was seventh.


    ¡°The monkey, the rooster, and the sheep arrived together. They knew that they were too weak individually to get across the wide river, so they worked together. They found a raft, and each one took a turn rowing while the other two cultivated, and when the first grew tired, they would switch. Sheep was the fastest, so once they reached shore, she was a bit ahead, then monkey, and finally rooster.¡±


    Lianhua cast Kaz a teasing look as she said, ¡°The dog was eleventh. It needed a bath after reaching the muddy shore, so it actually went back into the river and washed off, only emerging again when it found a spot that wasn¡¯t muddy.¡±


    Kyla barked a laugh. ¡°Ha! I would have beat them, then. I like the mud.¡±


    The human female smiled. ¡°So you would. It seemed that no more animals were going to make it, so the Celestial Lord began to close the gates to his palace when he heard a great ¡®oink¡¯!¡± She made a bizarre snorting sound that made Kyla laugh so hard she nearly fell from Raff¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°It was the pig. He had actually stopped to eat on the far side of the river, then sat and cultivated in the sunshine.¡± Lianhua lowered her voice. ¡°Or so he said. Many people believe he simply fell asleep, and when he woke, he began to swim, having no idea that eleven other animals had already made it.¡±


    Kyla tried to make the snorting noise, but only managed a choking growl, which sent her into another fit of giggles and woke Mei, who stared up accusingly.


    ¡°The pig was the twelfth and last to arrive, and so the Divine Lord kept his promise. He made each of the animals Divine creatures, and allowed them to live with him in his palace. At least, he did until mortals appeared and began trying to reach the second realm, but that is another story,¡± Lianhua finished.


    ¡°What?¡± Kyla cried. ¡°Tell it!¡±


    Raff slowed and came to a halt, pointing toward a bridge made of wood. It was old and poorly maintained, if it had been maintained at all in recent years. Several pieces had broken away, including one whole side, which left only a narrow, precarious ledge.


    ¡°Sorry, pup,¡± Raff said, ¡°We need to cross here, and we¡¯re far enough behind after Blue went and played with his new friend that we¡¯ll have to set up camp soon. There¡¯s not another good place to stop for several hours, and we don¡¯t want to be in the trees when dark falls. There are worse things than the Dog-Man out, and the moon is waning.¡±


    He lifted Kyla from his shoulder, dislodging Mei in the process, and set the puppy¡¯s paws gently on the ground. Mei jumped down as he bent over, and soon the two were running toward the battered bridge, having already forgotten Lianhua¡¯s story.


    Kaz, too, was interested in finding out why the animals weren¡¯t allowed to remain in the palace. He also had several questions about the story itself, such as, ¡°What is a monkey?¡± and ¡°What is a sheep?¡± The others were all moving on, however, and Lianhua was breathing hard as she slowed to a walk, so Kaz fell in behind her, feeling his own heart beating more quickly than usual.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-eight

    It took another three hours of walking to reach the spot where Raff wanted to camp. Kaz knew because Raff explained that both the sun and moon actually moved across the sky during their designated time periods. When they were at their peak, it was the center of the day or night, and as they dropped toward the horizon, their time was ending. Kaz was left with far more questions than answers at the end of this conversation, not the least of which was, ¡°Where do they go?¡± but Raff didn¡¯t seem to have any more answers once he¡¯d dealt with the most practical part of the explanation.


    Lianhua recovered well during the walk, other than the fact that she had very little ki left in reserve. She would definitely need to rest, and rest well, tonight. Kyla, on the other hand, was clearly exhausted, even though Raff had carried her for the first part of the trip. She didn¡¯t complain, though, just kept trudging forward, but her excited questions and occasional forays into the bushes slowly tapered off until she was all but silent.


    They were all pleased when Raff told them they were nearing the campsite, and the whole party found another small burst of energy, allowing them to reach a wide open area with a stream running through it, where Raff called a halt. Kyla immediately went to sit by the water, thrusting her paws into the cold liquid, then yanking them back with a yelp.


    ¡°A fish!¡± she yipped, and Kaz understood the look of fear on her face. While many of the creatures that lived in the still water within the mountain were edible, few were defenseless. Renyu, for instance, were small individually, but where there was one, there were hundreds. They swarmed anything that entered their domain, tearing it apart with their oversized teeth. Tunyu, meanwhile, were tiny, hiding in even the smallest crevices, but they were covered with poisonous spikes that could paralyze an unwary kobold in seconds.


    Raff had already started pulling out his bedding, but now he paused and walked over next to the pup. Staring into the water, he nodded. ¡°Just some minnows. Make good bait, but not good dinner.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s expression shifted instantly. ¡°They¡¯re safe to eat?¡±


    Raff scratched his beard. ¡°Yep. Too small to bother with unless you¡¯re desperate, though.¡±


    The pup¡¯s tongue lolled out, and she turned back to the stream, hands already outstretched. When the splashing began, Kaz just shook his head, laughing softly.


    ¡°She seems like a good¡­ puppy,¡± Lianhua said softly, watching the young kobold pouncing on something they couldn¡¯t see. A moment later, Kyla dropped a wriggling silver fish into her mouth and chomped down with obvious pleasure, and Lianhua turned away, nose wrinkling.


    Kaz nodded. He was honestly surprised at how little trouble the pup had been so far. He had expected her to be demanding, like his mother and sister, but she seemed to be used to taking care of herself, at least for the most part.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone really paid much attention to her,¡± he said softly. ¡°Except maybe her father. Ija was too busy with the hidden den, and I doubt Vega cared, so long as Kyla stayed out of the way. Vega didn¡¯t even allow den mothers, so once Kyla was old enough to go off on her own, she could probably be gone for days without anyone even noticing.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s face softened, and she shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s no way to grow up.¡±


    Kaz thought back to his own youth, what he could remember of it. After Ghazt died, Kaz was left almost entirely on his own, since Rega was too busy caring for the rest of the tribe members and being den mother to spend much time with him alone. Once Oda started training Katri, Kaz didn¡¯t even have his sister to play with, so if he wasn¡¯t gathering or sleeping, he just wandered. Honestly, it wasn¡¯t a bad life, and most of the time, he wasn¡¯t even lonely.


    ¡°It¡¯s better than being hated,¡± he said.


    ¡°Or feared,¡± Lianhua agreed with a sigh.


    They watched Kyla catch a few more squirming fish, and Mei soon joined in as well. The young fuergar moved carefully, as though some of her injuries still hurt, but she caught a few fish of her own, taking them aside to eat. Kaz started forward, intending to check the fuergar if she¡¯d allow it, but was distracted by a surge of interest coming from Li.


    He looked up, seeing the dragon circling over the puppy and the rodent. Her eyes were intent on the water below, and before he could tell her to be careful, she dropped into a steep dive. To her credit, she nearly made it, but she misjudged the depth of the clear water, and splashed into it instead of skimming over the surface. Li tumbled over the small rocks that formed the bed of the stream, then came back up, spouting water and furiously embarrassed.


    <I meant to do that!> she shouted, spinning to splash both Mei and Kyla with her wings. <The water didn¡¯t trick me, because I knew exactly what I was doing. And look!> She lifted one rear claw, showing the two-inch fish impaled on one talon, <I got one!>


    Leaning over, she took a large bite from the still-moving creature, and Kaz could instantly tell that she didn¡¯t like it. She didn¡¯t spit it out, however, but instead choked it down and went on to eat the rest of the fish in two gulps that seemed determined to bypass her tastebuds entirely.


    Kaz waded into the stream, enjoying the wash of water over his own paws. He had been worried, but it was neither as cold nor as fast as the river, and a few of the terrified little fish brushed against his skin as they attempted to flee Kyla and Mei.


    Scooping up the dragon, Kaz lifted her to his shoulder. ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    <I¡¯m fine,> Li muttered, then said again, <I meant to do that.>


    Kaz felt cool water running off her scales and down his bare, furless back, shuddering at the unfamiliar sensation. He needed to do something about that, and soon.


    Looking around, he saw that everyone else was busy. Chi Yincang had already set up one of the structures the humans called a ¡®tent¡¯, and which they had all taken turns sleeping in last night. Lianhua was disappearing inside it, no doubt to prepare for sleep, which seemed to require her to change both her clothes and her hair. Raff was gathering wood for the fire, and Kyla was still playing with the fish. This was as good a time as any.


    Crossing to a space in between the tent and an old burned spot on the ground, Kaz sat down. He set Li in his lap, then turned his hands palm up and placed them on his knees. Closing his eyes, he tried to dismiss the sounds of splashing and footsteps, and focus on the space behind his eyes.


    First, he thought back to the brief time he had spent as the former Diushi Emperor, Qiangde. He hadn¡¯t yet told Lianhua about the vision he¡¯d had when he touched the broken core that had once belonged to the dragon, mainly because he knew she would pester him with questions for the next day or more, and he thought it best to reach a place they could stop first.


    The vision contained everything Qiangde did during the last few hours of his life. He had been a powerful creature, probably a Divine Beast, or even whatever was stronger than that, if there was such a thing. As a result, the ancient dragon had been able to do things that Kaz had never even dreamed were possible, including changing his own shape.


    Kaz had had a faint idea of waiting until they reached the human city, then finding more rings like the ones Lianhua had given him, and exchanging appearances with one of his companions, possibly Raff. Raff seemed willing to do almost anything in exchange for gold, and Kaz had found quite a stash of gold when he decided to go and explore the lower levels of the mosui city after they had decided to leave.


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    If there was one thing he had learned from Oda, it was not to steal from someone when you planned to stay around. Certainly, the husede had offered to give him gold and gems as thanks for his help in defeating Zhangwo, but he didn¡¯t need them at the time, and he still thought trading for all of the devices the mosui used to control the captured kobolds and husede was a better deal. If even one of the husede was like Oda or Vega, those devices wouldn¡¯t have remained unused for long.


    By the time they left, however, Kaz had had plenty of time to think about things, and he knew he wanted to leave the mountain. From the old howls and what little Raff and the others had told him about their people, he knew they valued gold, mithril, adamantium, and gems.


    Unfortunately, the mosui city¡¯s main storage level was completely saturated with fulan, making it unsafe for any creature with a core. On the other hand, the levels above were clear enough that he was able to go and take as much as he thought he might need from there, and the husede were too busy elsewhere to notice a single kobold sneaking around. Kaz was only worried his pouch might run out of space, so even though he might have been able to take more without the loss being noticed too soon, he¡¯d stopped at only a few dozen ingots. Hopefully, it would be enough.


    He still thought it might be a good idea to trade his ore for some illusion rings, and then ¡®hire¡¯ Raff to allow Kaz to use his appearance, but Qiangde¡¯s ability to transform physically would be even better. If Kaz could figure out how to do it.


    Drawing in a deep, slow breath, Kaz thought back to the moments when he had been Qiangde, shifting from his dragon form to human, and then back again. It had seemed so easy when the ancient emperor did it, but Kaz had actually tried a bit the night before, and completely failed. Hopefully, that was only because he was so exhausted, and not because it was something only a dragon or a Divine Beast could do.


    <I¡¯m a dragon and a Divine Beast,> Li boasted, her chest puffing out.


    Kaz stroked her neck. ¡°So you are. Perhaps you can teach me how to do it.¡±


    Li preened, and Qiangde¡¯s memories filled both of their minds again as Kaz and the little dragon focused on them.


    He pushed away the agonizing sensations and the nearly-forgotten emotion of fear. His nearly two millennia of practice took over, lifting his mind away from his body, and, for one perfect moment, into that state which was as close to ascension as he had been able to achieve, in spite of all his effort. The body was nothing. Ki was all, and ki was anything. The only thing that could limit a true ki master was his own mind, and Qiangde¡¯s mind had ceased to limit him long ago.


    He shifted. His spine straightened, his wings drew in and vanished. Forelegs became arms, and hindlimbs became legs¡­


    Kaz grunted. Something in him had changed, just for a moment. He was so filled with ki now that he didn¡¯t think any part of him remained untouched by it. He had once told Lianhua that becoming ki must be the same as losing himself, but he felt just as much like Kaz as ever. More importantly, he was certain that Li would let him know if he was different.


    Lifting his hand, Kaz examined it. It looked human, other than the thick, sharp claws and the pale blue color of his skin, but then, it always had. It wasn¡¯t furry any more, but he didn¡¯t think that was because his attempt at transforming himself was even partially successful.


    <Be a dragon,> Li told him. <Dragons are better than humans.>


    Kaz chuffed a laugh. She was probably right, and not only had Qiangde turned back into a dragon during the memories Kaz had watched, but Kaz and Li regularly shared dreams where Kaz flew through the sky just like a dragon. The problem was that Qiangde didn¡¯t think about being a dragon the same way he¡¯d thought about being a human, and Kaz dreamed of himself as a kobold with wings as often as he dreamed he was a dragon. In both memory and dream, he simply was a dragon, and there was nothing more to help him understand how to make the change.


    He thought about something else Li had reminded him of. Lianhua, telling him that what a cultivator could create was shaped by their image. What was Kaz¡¯s image of a human?


    Opening his eyes, Kaz looked at Raff and Chi Yincang, the only two humans currently visible. Raff had built his fire, and was now laying out his blankets. It seemed that he planned to rest outside with Kaz and Kyla tonight, rather than taking a turn in the tent. Meanwhile, Chi Yincang was cooking something on a spit, while a pot steamed on the rocks near the fire.


    Looking between the two, Kaz kept finding his eye returning to Raff. He didn¡¯t know what humans found attractive, though Gaoda had certainly told Lianhua that she was beautiful often enough. Of the two males, he decided that he liked Raff¡¯s build the best. Besides the larger man¡¯s abundance of body fur, he was broader and more obviously muscular than Chi Yincang, and Kaz thought that would be more intimidating at first glance. Of course, anyone who knew the two would quickly discover that Chi Yincang was far more dangerous, but Kaz still thought he would rather look like Raff.


    Trailing his eyes over the human, Kaz thought back to the time he¡¯d entered the mosui baths with the tall male. It was the only time he¡¯d ever seen Raff entirely without armor or clothes, and he had been very surprised to see the thick coating of fur on his forearms, chest, and legs. Kaz remembered the way his back sloped, with no tail at the base of his spine, and the straight line of his lower legs, lacking the backward bend of a kobold¡¯s limbs. And of course his ears were on the sides of his head, not the top, and they were so small and round¡­


    ¡°Oi, Blue,¡± Raff called, turning to look at him. He¡¯d seemed completely focused on what he was doing, so Kaz was surprised to see that the human actually seemed to be uncomfortable. ¡°If you keep starin¡¯ like that, you¡¯ll drill a hole right through me. Do you need somethin¡¯?¡±


    Kaz ducked his head, offering an apologetic yip. ¡°I was just thinking.¡±


    ¡°Mmhmm. Maybe think while you¡¯re watching the trees, then? It¡¯s starting to get dark, and things¡¯ll be wakin¡¯ up hungry.¡±


    Startled, Kaz looked up at the sky, seeing that it had indeed darkened noticeably. He hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d spent that much time trying to shift, but where the sun had been resting on top of the trees, now only a bare sliver of it was visible, while the moon was beginning to rise on the other side of the camp.


    He stood, brushing grass from his legs and tail as he did so. One of the most annoying things about the world outside the mountain was how much of it clung to him. Rocks didn¡¯t stick, and though dust did, it was so small that it didn¡¯t create irritating lumps that dangled from his fur and clothing. Not that anything stuck to the fuulong silk of his loincloth for long, nor did he have much fur left, but somehow every bit of grass, spiderwebs, flower ¡®pollen¡¯, and a hundred other things seemed determined to make themselves at home on his body.


    As he began to pace slowly around the edge of the camp, he found himself thinking about how he moved. His tail swayed behind him, and his hips moved like this, while his knees and ankles bent like that. When some creature called softly from the gathering darkness, his ears swiveled toward it before his eyes, and his nostrils flared, drawing in a deep breath, sniffing for the smell of predators.


    This was what it was to be a kobold. But his hands, his chest, the way his lungs swelled with breath, those were the same as a human. Now, without his fur, he could even feel the way the plants and small pieces of fallen wood dragged against his bare skin, just like a human would. And ki was ki, and ki was everything. Everything was ki, and Kaz was already very¡­ nearly¡­ human¡­


    His core contracted, even though Kaz hadn¡¯t consciously willed it to do so. A burst of ki flooded his channels, seeping out almost like it had after those channels were stretched and nearly shredded by the explosive force he emitted to kill the woshi spawn. Every part of him was ki, was filled with fresh ki, moving the old, adjusting, sending it back to his core to be passed through his cycle once again.


    Kaz stumbled as his foot came down on a small rock, which pressed painfully into his skin. His ankle bent in a way that it shouldn¡¯t, and his knee came down, his hands falling forward to catch him as he sprawled out, face down. Li, who had been unusually silent since before he got up, let out a small, exhausted whistle and tumbled from his shoulder.

 Chapter One hundred eighty-nine

    Kaz rolled to his side, reaching for the little dragon, but she was already climbing to her feet, her eyes blinking sleepily. She had worn herself out doing¡­ something. But what?


    <You weren¡¯t doing it right,> she told him, eyes gleaming with their own light in the soft shadows.


    Kaz finished rolling over, then maneuvered to a sitting position. Something felt terribly wrong, and it didn¡¯t take long for him to realize what it was. He had no tail.


    He reached around, feeling his lower back through his loincloth, which suddenly felt a little too loose. There was something there, but it was just a bump beneath the skin, and he couldn¡¯t make it move at all. He felt a sudden horror. How was he supposed to communicate without his tail? He would be like Berin, whose tail hung limp as a result of an injury, except at least her tail was there, so she didn¡¯t look like a¡­


    Li huffed. <You wanted to be a human!> she told him, but he could feel the concern in her as she muttered, <I was trying to help. He said he wanted to change. Isn¡¯t this what he wanted? Should I have tried to make him a dragon after all? Dragons are better, so surely he wouldn¡¯t be angry¡­>


    Kaz stroked her head, noticing that his claws had become rounder and thinner, looking like they would snap if he tried to pry open a jiachin¡¯s carapace with them. His skin color was different, too. It almost looked smooth and grayish in the fading light, more like a husede¡¯s skin than either a kobold or a human.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± Kaz told the dragon. ¡°I just wasn¡¯t ready.¡± He reached up and touched his head carefully, feeling fur on top of his head, but no ears. ¡°What do I look like?¡±


    Helpfully, Li offered her own eyes, and Kaz looked at himself. He traced his fingers over the large, pointed nose that thrust from the center of his face, then the thin lips that now framed white teeth. If those teeth were a little sharper than the humans he knew, well, hopefully no one else would notice.


    He had hair much like Raff¡¯s, though it was blue and didn¡¯t curl like the large male¡¯s. It was coarser and far more unruly than Lianhua or Chi Yincang¡¯s, and it draped down to cover the tops of the ears stuck to the sides of his head as if they¡¯d slipped down from where they were supposed to be. The tips of his ears were sharper than he thought they should be as well, but not nearly as pointed as his kobold ears.


    He blinked his eyes, which were large and blue and framed by thick, dark lashes under heavy brows. They were too close together, changing the way he saw the world, but while it was disorienting, he thought he would become accustomed to it soon enough.


    His proportions looked similar to those he¡¯d had before, with broad shoulders and strong-looking arms. The fur that should have covered all of his skin was now far too sparse, though it was actually thicker than it had been since he left the mountain. Kaz drew a hand over the soft blue fur on his forearm and then touched his leg. His straight leg, which led to large, flat feet instead of long paws with tough pads on the bottom.


    All in all, it was a step in the right direction, but he didn¡¯t look human, unless human had a much broader definition than he thought it did.


    ¡°Kaz?¡±


    It was Lianhua, and Kaz felt a moment of panic. He wasn¡¯t a kobold, and he wasn¡¯t a human, and he didn¡¯t look anything like the image he¡¯d had in his mind when he started. Was that because Li had interfered? Was this what she thought he should look like? None of that mattered, however, in light of the fact that Lianhua would see him sitting there in the grass if she came looking, and she would have no idea who he was.


    ¡°Wait!¡± he called, then clapped his hands over his mouth. Was that his voice? It was too high, and there was no growl in it at all.


    The soft sounds that had heralded the human female¡¯s approach paused, and when she spoke again, there was something both worried and wary in her voice. ¡°Kaz? Are you all right?¡±


    He tried to force his voice to sound the way he thought it should, and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He coughed. That made his throat itch.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± she answered, and he heard her start moving toward him again. His current ears were definitely not as sensitive as his kobold ones, and he was having a hard time telling which direction she was coming from, but the camp was to his left, so he turned that way.


    A burst of light nearly blinded him when Lianhua summoned a ki orb, but his eyes quickly adjusted as she approached. These eyes definitely couldn¡¯t see as well in the dark, but they did seem better at handling bright lights. At least, recovering from bright lights. Kaz lifted a hand in front of his face, but he clearly heard Lianhua¡¯s sharp gasp of indrawn breath when she caught sight of him.


    The moment stretched, and he lowered his hand slightly, finding Lianhua staring at him, eyes first sharp, and then searching. ¡°Kaz?¡± she finally asked, and Chi Yincang stepped into visibility beside her, his weapon vanishing into the ring on his hand with a pale spark of ki.


    Kaz nodded. He wasn¡¯t quite ready to try that unfamiliar voice again yet, but he didn¡¯t have to, because Raff came next, moving with surprising stealth as he slid out of the trees behind Kaz. Kaz tried to back up so he could see all of them at once, but his strange body, especially the legs and feet, scrabbled uselessly in the grass.


    Seeing this, Raff moved around so Kaz could see him more easily. He still had his sword out, but after a glance at Lianhua and Chi Yincang, he slid it into its sheath and offered Kaz his hand. Kaz reached up, grateful that his hands were very nearly his own, and pulled himself up to his huge, flat feet.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Kyla yipped, and Lianhua bit her lip.


    ¡°Stay there, Kyla,¡± she called over her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡±


    Raff shook his head, looking Kaz up and down. He was still head and shoulders taller than Kaz, even though Kaz had clearly imagined himself to be closer to his height. Now that he was up, however, Kaz could tell that he was several inches taller than he had been, since his eyes were at the same level as Lianhua¡¯s.


    ¡°Did ya do that on purpose, Blue?¡± Raff asked, attempting to take his arm back. Kaz immediately started to topple, his balance completely wrong, and the large human caught him again.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°Not exactly,¡± he admitted, cringing at the sound of his voice. At least he¡¯d gotten one thing right, because he definitely sounded like a human, with a smooth tone that lay somewhere in between Raff¡¯s almost kobold-like timbre and Lianhua¡¯s light, relatively breathy inflection.


    Raff chuckled, and Kaz could feel the muscles of his hand relax a little more, letting Kaz know that the other male hadn¡¯t quite believed that this stranger was Kaz. Apparently, his voice was familiar enough for the humans to recognize, no matter how strange it sounded to him.


    Raff scratched his jaw. ¡°Well, you¡¯re still blue.¡±


    Kaz sighed again. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°An¡¯ your nose is, ah,¡± Raff was clearly searching for an inoffensive word, ¡°imposing.¡±


    Lianhua reached out and gently brushed Kaz¡¯s fur - no, hair - away from one ear. Her eyes still looked slightly dazed, but her voice sounded almost like the one she used when she was looking at old books or carvings.


    ¡°Your ears are too big, and they¡¯re pointed, though not quite as much as an elf¡¯s. I¡¯ve never seen nor heard of a race with blue skin, but it¡¯s slightly grayish as well. You¡¯re short for a human, but too tall and hirsute for a dwarf,¡± she said critically. ¡°Don¡¯t do it, but do you think you could change back or try again?¡±


    Kaz looked at Li¡¯s core, then his own. They were both drained, and he doubted if he could do more than create a ki-light at the moment. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± he admitted. ¡°Li helped, and I¡¯m not entirely sure what we did, but I do know I can¡¯t do it again right now. Is it¡­?¡± He trailed off, wanting to ask if he looked as ugly to her as he did to himself, but too embarrassed to do so.


    ¡°Well,¡± Raff said cheerfully, ¡°then we might as well eat dinner, eh? Nobody here but us, and we¡¯re all tired an¡¯ hungry. I reckon we can get a better look at our friend here tomorrow.¡±


    Lianhua looked like she might object, but with another sidelong glance at Kaz, she nodded. His changed appearance was clearly disturbing to her, but he didn¡¯t understand why it should bother her more than the others.


    Before Kaz could decide whether or not to ask, Raff turned them in place, causing one of Kaz¡¯s long feet to hook behind his other ankle, which very nearly resulted in him falling down again. Li gave a short, sharp whistle, leaping up into the air to circle around them, clicking and hissing at the human as she told him to be more careful with her kobold. Fortunately, Raff couldn¡¯t understand her, so he just ignored the little dragon as he helped Kaz get himself untangled and walk back to the fire.


    Of course, when they arrived, Kyla was waiting, practically quivering with curiosity. Kaz was amazed that she had listened when Lianhua told her to stay, but perhaps that was because she had acknowledged that the other female was in charge of their group. It was one thing to wander off, and quite another to disobey a direct order during a time of tension. A pup who disobeyed was often a pup who didn¡¯t live to grow up.


    The puppy stared at Kaz, taking in his straight, fuzzy legs, his sagging loincloth, and the bizarre configuration of his face. Then she scrunched up her nose and drew in a deep breath, leaning toward him as she sniffed the air close to his body. ¡°Kaz?¡± she asked wonderingly, and then she began to laugh, the short, sharp yips of a truly amused kobold.


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    Kaz held in yet another deep sigh and allowed Raff to guide him to a spot by the merrily burning fire. Heat swept over him, driving away a chill he hadn¡¯t even realized he felt. He actually had more fur now, so it wasn¡¯t that he was feeling the slight coolness of the oncoming night, but something that resulted from his drained core and the bone-deep weariness that was settling into him.


    Li flew in and landed in the grass beside him, one wing brushing against his side as she closed them. The dragon rested a paw on his leg, which had bent in a way that now felt very natural, even though it made him feel like he was looking at someone else¡¯s body when he looked down. <Did I make a mistake?> she asked, in a small, uncertain voice that was entirely unlike her.


    Kaz shook his head, lifting her into his arms. Even if nothing else felt right, her weight and the pressure of her scaly body against his chest was the most natural thing in the world. ¡°Thank you,¡± he murmured as she pressed the side of her head to his jaw. She purred, small puffs of cool water caressing Kaz¡¯s cheek as her body vibrated gently.


    Raff cleared his throat, and Kaz looked up as a bowl appeared in front of his face. It was one of Chi Yincang¡¯s bowls, made of some fine white material and painted with beautiful blue patterns. Kaz freed one of his hands, which made Li click unhappily, but she took a bite of the contents quickly enough when Kaz offered it to her.


    The group ate with unusual focus. Kaz wasn¡¯t even sure when he last ate, and though refining the body meant it needed less food, air, and sleep in general, he was fairly certain he had crossed what Lianhua called a ¡®threshold¡¯ earlier, and now that he allowed his body to make its demands heard, he was hungrier than he had been in a very long time. Not the hungriest he had been in his life - as one of the lowest ranked members of a small, weak tribe, he often ate last or went hungry - but close.


    At last, long after the night truly fell, blanketing them in a darkness that would have been comfortingly familiar if not for the stars hanging so far above them, Raff and Lianhua set their utensils aside. Kyla had eaten the least of all, since she had already attempted to clear the stream of fish, and the pup was curled up nearby, her leg twitching as she dreamed. Unlike the previous night, she wasn¡¯t pressed up as close to Kaz as she could get, but she was clutching Mei in a way that made the fuergar look very uncomfortable.


    Lianhua glanced at the pink ball of fur and murmured, ¡°I should go to bed as well.¡±


    Raff nodded, stretching and yawning hugely. ¡°You sure it¡¯s okay if I sleep in the tent with you?¡±


    Lianhua gave a little snort. ¡°Yes. It was Gaoda who didn¡¯t trust you. Well, anyone, really.¡±


    The male shook his head. ¡°That one was a piece o¡¯ work. Still is, I guess. I do kinda miss his liquor, though. That stuff¡¯d burn a hole straight through ya.¡±


    Shaking her head, Lianhua smiled and waved as Raff stood and made his way to the tent. Chi Yincang was long gone, having eaten a single bowl of stew and then vanished into the night. Kaz was sure he was out there somewhere, but wherever he was, even his blur of ki was out of sight.


    That left Li, Kaz, and Lianhua as the last three awake, and the crackle of the dying flames almost managed to cover the sounds of the strange insects and animals that roamed the shadows beyond the firelight. Kaz expected Lianhua to follow Raff, but the female didn¡¯t, and her hands began to twist the edge of her light-weight sleeping robe, which Kaz had come to recognize as a sign that she had something to say, but wasn¡¯t sure how to say it.


    ¡°You-¡±


    ¡°I-¡±


    They both spoke at once, and Lianhua stopped, biting her lip. Kaz found himself copying her without intending to, and yelped softly as his sharper teeth pinched his flesh painfully. His skin was strong enough that he didn¡¯t draw blood, but the experience definitely wasn¡¯t pleasant.


    Lianhua shifted as if she would reach out toward him, then settled back. Her brows pinched, and then the corners of her mouth lifted, almost unwillingly.


    ¡°You still ¡®feel¡¯ the same,¡± she murmured, raising one hand and tucking an escaped strand of her loosely bound hair behind her ear. ¡°But you look like a stranger. A very strange stranger.¡±


    Kaz thought about it. Lianhua could sense ki, could even tell which creatures had cores, and which couldn¡¯t. This allowed her to tell where Chi Yincang was when no one else could, and she had been able to tell when Kaz broke his core, then again when it was fixed. It was an imprecise thing, to say the least, but how would Kaz feel if a kobold suddenly appeared with Lianhua¡¯s ki pattern? Or a human with Li¡¯s?


    ¡°I should have warned you,¡± he said, and Lianhua lifted a pale eyebrow.


    ¡°You should,¡± she agreed. ¡°There are many ways of changing one¡¯s appearance, and though most of them require either artifacts or great power, I might even have been able to help.¡±


    Kaz shifted, partially extending a grayish-blue leg dusted with cobalt fur. He could now sit in the same way Lianhua did, but found that he had to keep moving or his legs started to tingle and grow numb. ¡°I could have used your help,¡± he admitted.


    <I helped!> Li chimed in, opening one offended eye. She was snoozing with her head atop her curled tail, in a pose eerily reminiscent of the one Heishe had adopted while questioning him.


    Kaz smiled, feeling his lips stretch in a way that was completely different than they had when he was a kobold. He wished he could wag his tail to communicate his affection, but his tail was entirely absent, and wiggling his rear end was not at all the same.


    Lianhua tilted her head and spoke slowly. ¡°I think this will work, even if you can¡¯t change it to look more human. You don¡¯t look quite like any of the races I know of. You don¡¯t look like a kobold either, though, and in the cities, people are used to seeing members of other races. I just hope¡­ can you change back?¡±


    He blinked, then nodded. ¡°I¡¯m certain I can do that. I¡¯m not sure if I can look exactly like this again, though. It may be a little different each time, at least until I get a clearer image of what it is to be a human.¡±


    Her eyes lit up. ¡°So you are using an image! And without a rune?¡±


    Kaz frowned. ¡°Would a rune have helped?¡±


    Lianhua smiled. ¡°It would have helped me, but not Raff, Chi Yincang, or Gaoda.¡±


    Absently, Kaz began to stroke Li, who settled down, closing her eyes again, though he could tell she was still listening. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember when I told you about images?¡± Lianhua asked.


    Helpfully, Li brought up the memory, and Kaz nodded as he heard Lianhua say, ¡°Everyone has their own image, and mine is words.¡± She touched a finger to her forehead. ¡°I have a library here, and when I need something, I take out a book, and find the rune and draw it. The rune looks real to me, though of course no one else can see it.


    ¡°My servant, Yingtao, has a garden as her image. Each plant she grows there has its own meaning, and the more she learns, the more of that meaning she can imbue into them. For some people, their ¡®image¡¯ is actually sound, and for others, it¡¯s color. A simple image is faster, but lacks depth, while a complex image, like mine and Yingtao¡¯s, can take a while to activate, but we can do almost anything with them, given enough time.¡±


    Kaz hadn¡¯t understood then, but he thought he was beginning to. For quite a while, he had been using Lianhua¡¯s image, learning the runes she knew, and drawing them himself when he needed to produce their effect. But that was very limited, not only because of how few runes he knew, but because he didn¡¯t know how to change them when he needed to, which meant he had to ¡®understand¡¯ them differently in order to change their effects.


    When he was in the mosui city, he had had to create mana, which required him to try something completely new. He understood that mana was unrefined ki, but in some way, it was also a combination of all the different kinds of ki.


    That understanding, combined with his own memories of weaving scraps of leather, cloth, or plants together to create a larger whole had allowed him to force his ki into something that looked and acted as mana, even though it wasn¡¯t as amorphous and wild.


    Since then, he had found that he could sometimes imagine runes and get the same effect as drawing them, though it took more ki to do so. He hadn¡¯t needed mana since he¡¯d finished freeing the captive kobolds, so he hadn¡¯t practiced that ability, mainly because it felt like he was doing something he was never meant to do.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you actually have your own image,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°You can see ki, which allows you to manipulate it in a way that no one without immense power and decades of training should be able to do, because the image in that case is just your sight, telling you what¡¯s in front of you. But when it comes to doing things you can¡¯t see, you falter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t become a human?¡± Kaz asked.


    She nodded. ¡°The fact that you got this far means that it¡¯s possible for you, but you don¡¯t have a deep enough image of what you need to allow you to succeed. If I was trying the same thing, I would write out a very precise description of what I wanted, using the most definitive runes I could. If Yingtao did the same, she might pluck a mandrake root from her image garden, then carve it into the shape she needed.¡±


    Her lips twitched. ¡°I¡¯d like to see that, actually, but Yingtao is nowhere near strong enough to do it. I¡¯m not sure I am, for that matter, unless I managed to refine my image down to the point where it was incredibly efficient. Of course, if I miscalculated my own strength and ran out of ki while trying something like that, I would probably kill myself. At best, I would leave my body in some halfway state, which might or might not allow me to try again.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s voice held warning, and Kaz flinched. He hadn¡¯t even thought about the consequences of failure. What would have happened if he started the transformation, but Li hadn¡¯t been there to help him finish it? Would he have ended up a twisted version of something in between a kobold and a human?


    ¡°Fortunately, you made it this far, and you seemed confident when you said you could change back,¡± Lianhua went on. ¡°That¡¯s a good sign. We usually have an instinctive understanding of our own limitations, which keeps us from trying anything beyond our strength, if not our skill level.¡±


    He nodded slowly. That made sense, though honestly he hadn¡¯t found many situations where he felt like he simply couldn¡¯t do something. Didn¡¯t know how, absolutely, but wouldn¡¯t be able to? No. Did that mean he didn¡¯t have the feeling Lianhua was describing, or did it mean that he really could do so much more than her?


    ¡°You need to develop your own image, Kaz,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°And you need to do it before you try this again.¡±


    Kaz looked down at Li, who had relaxed beneath his gentle fingers, her body lying limp and defenseless in his lap. Had he really risked his own life in trying to change into a human shape? Worse, had he risked hers?


    ¡°Should I try to change back, then?¡± he asked softly.


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°I¡­ wouldn¡¯t. I think you¡¯re beaut- Ador- Pleasant to look at, in your own shape, while this one is, um, disconcerting. But it¡¯s closer to human, and far from kobold, so you should be safer among humans, at least until people get to know you as a person, rather than a¡­¡±


    ¡°Monster,¡± he finished for her, when it seemed she couldn¡¯t force out the word, and it was her turn to flinch, though she didn¡¯t deny it. He nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything else, at least not until I have a better image of what I want to look like.¡±


    ¡°Look like, feel like, breathe, see, and walk like,¡± Lianhua said, rising gracefully to her feet. ¡°I¡¯ve never attempted a transformation, of course, but I¡¯ve read texts by sages who could shift into the shapes of other creatures.¡±


    Her eyes sharpened. ¡°Thinking creatures, Kaz. If you become an object, or something that¡¯s unable to think in the way we can, that¡¯s it. More than one cultivator has been lost when they forgot who or what they had once been. Cao Zhenya¡¯s personal records told of a very promising apprentice, Hao Rong, who managed to transform himself into a cherry tree and couldn¡¯t change back. She had several estates, but her descendants swore that the cherries from one particular tree were always bitter, and if anyone tried to cut a branch to use in ikebana, the tree would pull away, or weep a dark red sap.¡±


    Kaz swallowed hard. ¡°I understand.¡±


    Lianhua gave him an unusually critical look, then leaned over and picked up a stick with a burnt and blackened end. Scratching the tip against a patch of bare dirt, she drew a rune.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your next lesson,¡± she said. ¡°This is the rune for cherry tree.¡±


    Kaz stared at it, and when he looked up again, she was already vanishing into the tent.

 Chapter One hundred ninety

    Kaz woke after a long, dreamless sleep, finding that at some point during the night Kyla had curled up next to him, and Mei and Li were tangled together between Kaz and Kyla. It was the smell of meat cooking that woke them all, and the sight of Kyla¡¯s perked ears and twitching nose made Kaz bitterly regret his own transformation. He could still smell the meat, but the scent was subtly wrong, flat and shallow, and not feeling the muscles that turned his ears was like missing his ears entirely, in spite of the fact that he could hear reasonably well.


    As he sat up, the flap of the tent was brushed aside, and Lianhua stepped out into the sunshine. She held a small bundle of cloth, and headed straight for him.


    ¡°These are Yingtao¡¯s,¡± Lianhua said, handing Kaz part of the bundle, and passing the rest to Kyla. ¡°She¡¯s a bit taller than me, so we¡¯ll have to pull them up quite a bit, but it¡¯ll be better than what you¡¯re wearing now.¡±


    Kaz and Kyla both reached protectively for their loincloths. Kaz wore the fuulong silk cloth that Lianhua had given him, and it had defended his body, as well as preventing his clothes from disintegrating along with his fur and multiple backpacks. It was much more comfortable than fur or simple leather, too, and the Copperstriker female who crafted it for him had done an excellent job of sewing the edges with a few extra stitches and stones.


    Kyla, of course, wore a more traditional loincloth, but as the daughter of a chief, it was beautifully decorated. Like her backpack, it was made of niu-fur cloth, rather than leather, and small polished bones, stones, and gems were sewn on it in a simple but pretty pattern. It was plain compared to the elaborate loincloths some chiefs affected, but far nicer than anything else Kaz had seen outside the Deep.


    Lianhua smiled. ¡°Kaz, I have a bit more of that fuulong silk, or we can cut off a piece of it to make something less bulky to wear beneath your robe.¡± Her amethyst eyes twinkled. ¡°Many men who can¡¯t afford to wear fuulong find that they can scrape together enough for protective undergarments.¡±


    Meanwhile, Kyla had shaken out the bundle Lianhua had handed to her, and her loincloth was already in a puddle around her paws. She stroked the pale green material, which had a pattern of small squares embroidered around the hem in a mixture of emerald and jade green. She looked at Lianhua, then started to push her arm into one opening.


    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± Lianhua said, laughing softly. ¡°You put on the linen one first. That¡¯s the plain one.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears lowered. ¡°Is that why there are two? You change your clothes at least twice a day, so I thought one of them was for sleeping.¡±


    Pink rose in Lianhua¡¯s cheeks, but she took a simple robe the color of white agate from Kyla¡¯s hands. Holding it out, she helped Kyla slip into it, then tied a cloth belt around the pup¡¯s waist, tugging the excess material up so it hung down over the belt and the hem was a few inches above the ground.


    The green robe went on over that, but this one had two belts. The first was a simple strip of bright green fabric, which was used to once again pull up the hem to the right position. The second belt went over the folded robe, and was both thicker and wider than the first. When Lianhua was done, Kyla¡¯s inner robe only peeked out at neck and wrists, and much of the young kobold¡¯s fur was concealed beneath layers of fabric.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Kyla whined, plucking at her rear. ¡°My tail is trapped.¡±


    Lianhua looked like she wanted to hug the little kobold, but after a glance at Kaz, who always drew away from such physical contact, she lowered her arms. ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡°But while we¡¯re in town, it¡¯s for the best. Maybe we can get some altered once people get used to the idea that you¡¯re a friendly kobold. Honestly, just wearing human clothes should help with that.¡±


    She turned toward Kaz, ready to help him as well, but he held up a hand and pulled his own bone-white under robe around him. Reaching beneath it, he reluctantly allowed his loincloth to drop, then tied the first belt.


    ¡°Yours should be shorter than Kyla¡¯s, since you¡¯re male,¡± Lianhua instructed, and Kaz pulled up his robe until it hung several inches above the ground, baring his lower legs and feet. ¡°Now the outer robe. You only have one belt, so technically the robe shouldn¡¯t be pulled up, but we don¡¯t have time to hem it.¡±


    The outer robe was a blue so dark that it was almost black. It was similar to the color of Vega¡¯s eyes, which made Kaz shudder, but it complemented his new fur and skin color. No embroidery decorated the edges, and the belt was a simple strip of green cloth the same color as Kyla¡¯s robe. It might even have been crafted from the same piece of cloth.


    Once the two kobolds were dressed in their human finery, Lianhua stepped back, eyeing them approvingly. ¡°Now we just need a cloak for Kyla, but Kaz, I think we¡¯ll just leave you as is. People will be so busy looking at you that they won¡¯t even notice they can¡¯t see Kyla¡¯s face.¡±


    Raff looked up with a soft snort. ¡°Well, that¡¯s true enough. But what should we do about our little dragon friend?¡±


    Lianhua grimaced. ¡°She can hide under Kyla¡¯s cloak, or she can wait outside town. There are still several days before the moon is dark, so she should be safe if she hides in a tree at night.¡± She looked at Li, who was already expressing her displeasure with both of these options. ¡°We¡¯ll check the shops in town and see if we can come up with something better before we reach Cliffcross. We can only afford to stay in Wheldrake for one night, though, so we¡¯ll have to make it quick.¡±


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    Kaz stroked Li, who was hissing and bubbling in such a way that mist was beginning to soak his new robe. ¡°You keep mentioning the dark of the moon. What is that, and why is it so dangerous?¡±


    Raff and Lianhua exchanged glances, and Raff shrugged before returning to stirring the small pot next to the fire, which smelled like it held something similar to yesterday¡¯s porridge. A few skewers of meat hung over the flames, steaming softly.


    Lianhua sighed and took out a book. It wasn¡¯t one of her usual notebooks. This one had a piece of bright red cloth stretched across the cover, and it was painted with a series of partial and complete circles.


    ¡°You may not have noticed, but the moon is currently waning. That means that each night, the visible moon is a little smaller,¡± Lianhua said, opening the book. She flipped to an image of the same circles Kaz had seen on the front. There were eight of them, painted in silver, with a full circle on the left, and a bare tracery of ink on the right, representing emptiness. The circles above and below, set along the outside of a larger circle, showed anything from a sliver to a three-quarter-full area of gilded ink.


    ¡°When we arrived, the moon was a little over a quarter full. That gives us about a week to get to Cliffcross before the night of no moon. The nights immediately before and after no moon are dangerous as well, but the night of the Gate is the worst,¡± she said, pointing to the almost nonexistent circle.


    Seeing their looks of confusion, Lianhua asked, ¡°Do you remember the story I told you? About the twelve animals who live in the Emperor¡¯s palace?¡±


    Dragon and kobolds all nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s a myth,¡± Lianhua said, ¡°but there are some elements of truth to it. We have records that speak of the night of no moon as nothing but a dark night. In fact, it was considered the best night to gather certain plants, or map the stars. But at least a millennium ago, things began to change. Something appeared once a month, when even the faintest sliver of the moon vanished. It was a darkness, nothing more. A blot in the sky where there should have been stars.¡±


    She turned the page, and Kaz drew in his breath at the delicately lovely illustration spread across the pages. It was a map of the sky; dark, but filled with specks of paint, each one precisely placed. Most were white, but some few held a red or yellowish hue. And there, on the upper right, was a blotch of thick black ink, revealing no stars through it.


    ¡°Over years, that blemish in the sky expanded, and then it opened, and monsters began to appear.¡± Lianhua turned another page, revealing a monster that stood above the beautifully painted trees. It looked something like a yanchong, but its maw unfolded like that of a lopo, revealing a multitude of teeth in concentric rows.


    ¡°But so did the Divine Beasts. They descended from the sky, attacking the monsters. Their battles could lay waste to a forest, but no monsters survived to assault nearby cities and towns.¡± Another page, then another and another. Paintings of majestic beasts flashed by, until Kaz placed his finger on one that looked familiar, and Lianhua laughed.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Xu. He was the Divine Beast who started as a dog, or possibly a wolf. He was one of the friendliest of the great beasts, often going out of his way to avoid damaging human homes and farms.¡±


    Xu was as large as the house he was pictured protecting, while a tiny human family huddled inside, and a monster with tentacles and too many eyes attempted to reach them. Xu walked on four legs, not two, but his head and hindquarters could have belonged to a kobold.


    Lianhua touched each of twelve images, naming the Divine Beasts shown there, and explaining which of the animals in her myth they had come from. As she touched the twelfth, her face darkened. ¡°And this is Tu, the Rabbit. She was the first to disappear, but not the last. She was probably the weakest of the Divine Beasts, and it¡¯s assumed that she died fighting one of the monsters who came through the gate, but we¡¯ll probably never know for sure.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°One by one, the others vanished. The Rat, the Goat, the Rooster, the Pig, even Xu, the Dog. Only She, the Snake, Loong, the Dragon, and Hu, the Tiger, remained.¡± Lianhua turned another page, then a second, and a third. They were each filled with dense lines of runes, and it wasn¡¯t until half the book had passed by that another picture appeared. This one showed the creature Lianhua had identified as a tiger, as well as the familiar shapes of a dragon and a snake, all fighting against something high in the starry sky.


    ¡°Then one night, there was a huge battle. There are conflicting stories about where this battle took place, but many agree that it was over a great mountain.¡±


    Together, they all turned to look toward the shape of Kaz¡¯s mountain. Often, the trees under which they walked were so dense that it was barely visible as a shadow, but here in this open area, it loomed, stark and tall, rising into the clouds behind them.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lianhua murmured, ¡°Shensheng is often mentioned as a possible location. Wherever it was, the remaining Divine Beasts pushed back the invaders, but in the process they were all injured and fell to earth. None of them has been seen since.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s eyes were huge. ¡°So now the monsters just come from that big spot every time the moon goes out?¡±


    Lianhua opened her mouth as if to correct some part of that, but then just nodded. ¡°Yes. The greatest of the human cultivators spend their time fighting a constant battle against the creatures that come through the Gate. Fortunately, those monsters are usually small, and sometimes the darkest night passes as peacefully as any other. Still, it¡¯s best to be among other people when the time comes.¡±


    Kaz stared at her. ¡°I thought cultivators were trying to¡­ ascend?¡±


    She looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. ¡°They are. Some of them hope that they can pass through the Gate and destroy the place the monsters come from, or perhaps close the Gate itself. Others use the cores of the monsters to create powerful pills and elixirs which help them become stronger, in order to seize more authority in the mortal world. These two groups mostly balance each other, and there are never many of the highest-ranked cultivators at a time. When someone becomes too strong, whether intentionally or accidentally, they vanish, and we believe they have ascended to another plane. Perhaps the very one where the Heavenly Emperor built his palace.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got mages doin¡¯ the same thing,¡± Raff said. ¡°There¡¯s a whole school of ¡®em in Cliffcross, studying the Gate. Not many of ¡®em actually do much fighting, though. At least not unless there¡¯s an incursion near the city itself. Even then, unless there¡¯s a particularly powerful monster, they leave it up to soldiers and mercenaries like me. They¡¯re too important to risk, y¡¯know.¡±


    The male unfolded his length from where he had been crouched near the fire. ¡°Oatmeal¡¯s ready,¡± he said. ¡°Eat it while it¡¯s hot, before it sets up like a brick. It¡¯s not as tasty as Chi Yincang¡¯s rice porridge, but that and a bit of meat will keep you goin¡¯, and we need to move. If Lianhua wants t¡¯go shopping in Wheldrake, we need to get there as soon as possible. The shops close up as soon as it starts to get dark, so those who live outside of town can get home.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, and they all turned toward the fire.

 Chapter One hundred ninety-one (Raff)

    Raff kept a close eye on the people around them as his ragtag little group entered Wheldrake. The little pink puppy - Kyla - was holding the dragon beneath her cloak. And how was that for a kick in the arse? That Pellis cursed Iron-fang rat Blue had been hauling around for weeks turned out to be a blasted dragon. A tame, tiny dragon that any number of people he could think of would do almost anything to own. Fortunately, the puppy was doing that ¡®don¡¯t look at me¡¯ thing, and she was in the center of the group, so as long as they didn¡¯t attract too much attention, it should be fine.


    Of course, since that group was made up of a couple of Imperials, one of whom was entirely too pretty for anyone to ignore, a blue-skinned demihuman, and said cloak-covered kobold, Raff didn¡¯t have high hopes that they¡¯d remain unnoticed for long. For once, Raff himself practically blended into the background, a thought which made his lips turn up in a wry grin.


    His gaze slid over several people towing empty or nearly empty handcarts back out of town. It was mid-afternoon, and it must have been a market day today. The gate was busier than usual, but almost everyone was leaving to head back to their homes in the surrounding smaller settlements, which only made Raff and the others stand out even more.


    He caught sight of a tall man with hair almost as red as his own, and felt his grin widen. Glancing toward Lianhua, who actually looked tired for once, he tilted his head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head this way. I see someone I know.¡±


    The small woman glanced up at him and nodded. At her side, Blue turned as they did, stumbling over his outsized feet. Raff had heard Lianhua talking to the kobold last night, and if this was really what the kobold thought humans looked like, how did the little guy keep from busting up laughing every time he saw one of them?


    ¡°Oi, Foss!¡± Raff lifted a hand, giving his most cheerful ¡®everybody¡¯s best buddy¡¯ smile.


    The guard looked up from the merchant he was talking to, and the anxious-looking man immediately took the opportunity to scurry off, no doubt without paying whatever tax or fee Foss was trying to talk him into. Scowling, the red-haired soldier shifted, setting one mailed fist onto his hip, near his sheathed sword.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t Raff,¡± he said, ¡°the merc who ran off without paying his gambling debts last time he was in town.¡±


    Raff¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? I reckon I must¡¯ve clean forgotten.¡± He let his accent stretch. The more he sounded like an uneducated sharecropper, the more people like Foss tended to underestimate him. Besides, the only reason he ¡®owed¡¯ Foss anything was because the other man had tucked a duo of dragons into his sleeve when he was dealing. Ironic, because Raff was now sneaking a duo of kobolds and an ace of dragons into the guard¡¯s town.


    Making a show of it, Raff dipped his fingers into his storage bag, fishing out two of the gold coins Lianhua had given him before they left the mountain. She¡¯d forgotten to pay him again since, but that was all right. Raff had done just fine for himself during their little foray through that pointy rock, and though he had no interest in ever doing it again, he didn¡¯t regret it. Much.


    Flipping one of the coins to Foss, Raff let his grin widen enough to show teeth. ¡°That oughta cover it. Interest, too.¡± He wiggled his hand, and the other gold coin walked across the back of his fingers. It was an Imperial coin, without the red tinge of a Holiander groat, and therefore worth its literal weight in gold. Foss¡¯ brown eyes locked onto the coin, and he only blinked when the coin vanished with a flick of Raff¡¯s fingers.


    ¡°D¡¯you know if th¡¯ Jeweled Chalice has any openings?¡± he asked nonchalantly, flipping the coin high into the air. ¡°Got a lady here who needs a good bed.¡± Raff let his grin take on a wicked edge. He didn¡¯t like the implication, but he knew men like Foss, and sure enough, the guard responded with a guffaw, his hand darting out to snatch the coin before it could land again.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Foss said. ¡°You should hurry in, though. Some poncy lord¡¯s son is in town, and he¡¯s taken the best rooms. If you want a room with a nice, big bed,¡± his eyes flickered over Lianhua, who flushed, ¡°you¡¯d best get on.¡±


    Raff clapped the guard on the back, using perhaps a bit more force than absolutely necessary. It was that or let Chi Yincang deal out retribution for the implication that his lady would indulge in such activities with a common mercenary like Raff. The Imperial didn¡¯t often show emotion, but there was a tiny twitch at the corner of his eye right now that did not bode well for Foss. Not that the corrupt guard deserved any better, but letting Chi Yincang cut the man in half would definitely attract attention.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do that, then,¡± Raff said cheerfully, and ushered his companions through the gate like a gaggle of ducklings. Well, ducklings with one awkward and ugly gosling mixed in. Poor Blue had not come out on the winning end of his attempt at transforming into a human. Half a dozen birds could perch on that nose, and his broad shoulders and muscular chest were currently hidden beneath the baggy robe Lianhua had loaned him. Only his boat-sized feet poked out, kicking up clouds of dust every time he took a step on the packed dirt road.


    ¡°What was that all about?¡± Lianhua murmured once they were well past Foss.


    Raff snorted. ¡°You didn¡¯t think they were just gonna let Blue and a hooded kid in here, did ya? We would¡¯ve spent a good hour an¡¯ a much larger bribe dealing with the commander of the watch, but fortunately Foss there is chronically short of funds, thanks to his terrible luck with cards.¡±


    ¡°He beat you,¡± Lianhua said, raising her brows, and Raff just chuckled. She could think that if she wanted, but Raff liked to make sure he maintained a friendly relationship with at least one slightly shady guard in every town he visited on a regular basis. Losing a few coins here and there was a good way to do that.


    Raff hurried them through the streets, taking the first turn off the main thoroughfare. Everyone and their horse was passing through, and any one of them might take an interest in their group. The fewer eyes that touched them, the better. Frankly, Raff wouldn¡¯t have brought them into Wheldrake at all if they didn¡¯t need horses. Even then, if Lianhua wasn¡¯t determined to go shopping, he would have left them in the care of Chi Yincang while he came in alone to pick up some mounts.


    The Old Crow wasn¡¯t the fanciest establishment in Wheldrake, but the food was inexpensive and filling, and Helmund knew how to keep his mouth shut. As an added bonus, it was in a more residential area, and was mostly frequented by locals in search of beer or lunch, and less often by travelers or members of Raff¡¯s merc group, the Adamant Reach.


    Lianhua hesitated when Raff held the swinging door open for her, staring up at the faded black bird painted on the sign overhead. She actually looked relieved, which Raff hadn¡¯t expected. She was a strange one, though, with her scholarly ways and apparent disinterest in the kinds of things most young ladies of her age tended to prattle on about.


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    ¡°Oh, good. I thought you told that guard we were going to the Jeweled Chalice. Isn¡¯t that where we stayed with¡­ before?¡± she asked.


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Slip of the tongue, I s¡¯pose.¡± No such thing. Foss would sell information as easily as he accepted bribes to let people through without checking their bags and papers. Now, if anyone wanted to know where the fancy lady and her bizarre entourage were staying, they would head to the Chalice first. It wasn¡¯t much of a deception, since a moment¡¯s thought would suggest an Adamant warrior would go to the inn owned by a retired Adamant, but it was habit by now, this chumming of the waters, and a few minute¡¯s head start could make all the difference.


    They entered the inn¡¯s common room, which was lit by several lanterns hanging from the walls. It was nice not to have to duck to avoid hitting his head, and Raff actually found himself standing a little straighter as he walked under the lintel.


    A girl was behind the desk, polishing glasses with a little white cloth. One of Helmund¡¯s passel of daughters, likely, though it was possible she was a local girl instead. This was a safe place for a girl to get a job, since Helmund didn¡¯t let anyone hassle the women who worked here. Of course, he¡¯d also taught his daughters to take care of themselves, and any man who tried to get too close to one of them risked losing a hand, just like old Helmund himself.


    The girl, a tallish blonde with a generous figure, looked up as they entered, offering a practiced smile. Raff kept his answering smile friendly and easy, with no flirtatious overtones.


    ¡°Helmund in?¡± Raff asked. ¡°We need meals, baths, and rooms for the night.¡±


    Blue eyes flickered to his shoulder, where the gauntlet and sword of the Adamant Reach was emblazoned onto the dented pauldron. ¡°He¡¯s in the kitchen,¡± she said, and tapped a bell that sat on the counter beside the stack of clean glasses. A single clear note chimed out, lingering in the formerly quiet air, and Raff could see Kyla¡¯s hood twitch as her ears moved. Blue¡¯s head turned, tilted, and a small smile crossed the - kobold? boy? - his usually serious face. Blue liked the sound.


    After a moment, the door behind and to the right of the blonde girl opened, and Helmund peered out. His face held a genial smile, which shifted to a disgruntled scowl when he saw Raff. Raff wasn¡¯t worried. That false smile was far more frightening to those who knew the man.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Helmund said, ¡°it¡¯s you.¡± His sharp eyes, the same shade as the girl¡¯s, passed over their group, lingering only slightly longer on the two kobolds than the Imperials. The smile returned, though it wasn¡¯t quite as broad.


    ¡°How can I help you folks?¡± the innkeeper asked, taking a few more steps into the room and nodding to the girl at the counter. Without a word, she picked up a tray full of glasses and went back out the door Helmund had come through.


    Raff shook his head, gesturing to Lianhua and the others. ¡°None o¡¯ that. These folks are all right, even though they look fancy. We just need two rooms, meals, and baths.¡±


    Smile slipping again, Helmund grunted. ¡°Dinner¡¯s at sundown, and baths are after dinner. Will you be wanting fresh water for each of you?¡±


    Lianhua nodded vigorously, her sweet smile filling her aristocratic features with real warmth. Raff wished she¡¯d stop that. It made her seem far too approachable, and she was less memorable as just another aloof noble. ¡°Yes, please,¡± she said, her slight accent making the words sound exotic. ¡°Do you have two attached rooms with single beds?¡±


    The innkeeper¡¯s brows lifted, but he nodded. ¡°So happens my double room is available. Only two beds in each room, though, so someone will have to be friendly or sleep on the floor.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Not the first time. We¡¯ll work it out.¡±


    Helmund grunted, turning away to lift two keys from a nail with the hook that occupied his left wrist. He¡¯d lost the hand in a battle more than a decade before, and could do anything he needed to with that hook. Well, everything except scratch his own back, which was why he kept his wife around, or at least that was what he said when he¡¯d had a few too many beers.


    The truth was, his wife was a treasure, and if she wasn¡¯t as pretty as she¡¯d been when she was a young barmaid who¡¯d married a wandering mercenary all those years ago, Helmund didn¡¯t care a bit. Raff could only hope to someday find someone to care about the way the crusty old ex-soldier loved his Elena.


    Helmund stretched out his hook, with the keys dangling from it, and Raff started to reach out to take them. The point on that hook was viciously sharp, so most people didn¡¯t exactly feel comfortable getting too close to it. To Raff¡¯s surprise, however, a blue hand beat him to it, gently lifting the keys off without even scraping their metal against the metal of the hook.


    Raff looked over, seeing that Blue¡¯s eyes were fixed on the prosthetic, and the sort-of-kobold looked fascinated. Blue opened his mouth as if to ask about it, and Raff grabbed the pup¡¯s shoulder, turning him toward the narrow stairs to their left.


    ¡°Second floor?¡± he asked, hustling the group forward. A soft hissing had come from beneath Kyla¡¯s cloak when Raff touched Blue, and Raff turned to offer Helmund a sick grin.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Helmund said, and now his eyes were narrowed as they rested on the peculiar blue-skinned boy and the cloaked child. He looked back at Raff, tapping his hook on the counter. The wooden surface was scarred with holes from previous impacts. ¡°Five gold. Up front.¡±


    Raff blinked. As a member of Adamant Reach, Raff shouldn¡¯t have had to pay until he left. And a gold apiece was an exorbitant price for bed, bath, and meal. It would have almost covered a similar stay at the Jeweled Chalice.


    He turned to Chi Yincang. ¡°Numbers¡¯re on the keys,¡± Raff told the silent figure, and Chi Yincang nodded, vanishing after his mistress. Raff still wasn¡¯t sure how he had ever believed that Chi was Gaoda¡¯s man, now that his devotion to Lianhua was so clear. It just went to show that sometimes the best lies were spoken without words.


    Raff crossed back to Helmund, counting out five gold as he did. He laid them on the counter, ignoring the small splinters of wood already there. One by one, the gold chimed softly with disapproval as they settled atop each other.


    Helmund watched quietly, then looked up at Raff. ¡°A man has come by a few times,¡± he said. ¡°Said he was looking for a lordling by the name of Grafton Fedorick Hillcroft. Tall, red-headed, might be working as a mercenary. I told him I didn¡¯t know anyone by that name and sent him on his way.¡±


    Raff¡¯s stomach dropped. ¡°Oh?¡± he asked, the studied nonchalance in his voice fooling neither of them. ¡°Is he still in town?¡±


    The innkeeper nodded, carefully picking up the coins with his good hand and slipping them into the pouch at his waist. ¡°Staying at the Jeweled Chalice, of course. Apparently this Grafton¡¯s sister is missing, and they think he might have some idea where the girl is.¡±


    Jinn was gone? Last time Raff had heard, his sister was engaged to one of Lord Batton¡¯s sons. Geoff? Jeffrey? That was a year or so ago. He¡¯d assumed that by the next time he bothered to visit home, he might have a new niece or nephew to play with. After spending time with the kobold pups, he¡¯d actually been considering facing his brothers in order to see their kids again. How such stodgy dullards had managed to produce so many joyful, vibrant offspring, Raff wasn¡¯t sure.


    Raff rapped his knuckles on the wood twice, an old habit that he rarely gave in to any longer. ¡°All right,¡± he said, stepping back and heading for the stairs. He tried for his usual carefree grin, but was fairly certain he didn¡¯t pull it off. ¡°If I see this Grafton fella, I¡¯ll pass it on. Or mayhap I¡¯ll go check and see if that toff wants to hire me to look for the girl. I¡¯ll be done with this job soon, anyway.¡±


    He had intended to see if Lianhua wanted to hire him on for a while longer, even after he returned her to Cliffcross, which would be the end of his current contract. He was genuinely curious what was going to happen with Blue and his pet dragon, and he actually liked the kobolds. Not something he¡¯d ever have thought he¡¯d say, but there it was. That mountain was full of enough intrigue and behind-the-scenes machinations to make him feel right at home, though not in a good way, and he really did enjoy playing with the puppies.


    Heading up the stairs, Raff reached out and tapped the wooden wall. Once, twice. Two times for good luck. It looked like he wouldn¡¯t be resting or going shopping with Lianhua after all. He needed to go visit the Jeweled Chalice instead.

 Chapter One hundred ninety-two

    Once Raff saw his charges settled into their rooms, he let Lianhua know that he was going to buy some horses. There were a few stables in town, and though there weren¡¯t a lot of extra horses around, he could probably find someone who knew someone with an old nag or a retired carthorse. But first, he had a stop to make.


    The Jeweled Chalice was exactly the kind of place Raff preferred to avoid. Large and ostentatious, the gilt-lettered sign hanging above the door had actual jewels - or possibly cut glass - inset into the painting of an elaborate cup. No doubt someone would have pried those out to see if they were glass or gem long ago if it weren¡¯t for the very large guards who constantly flanked the door.


    Raff stepped up to the men without hesitation, however, and the two of them took in his battered and mismatched armor, along with the symbol of the Adamant Reach on his shoulder. Adamant wasn¡¯t the bottom of the barrel when it came to mercenaries, not by any means, but it also wasn¡¯t where young nobles went to play at being warriors until they were needed by their houses.


    ¡°The Old Crow is on the other side of town,¡± the taller of the two said with surprising kindness. ¡°You¡¯ll find better rates there, friend.¡± He leaned in slightly. ¡°Better food, too.¡±


    Raff grinned. He had been planning to bluster his way through, make a fuss if necessary, but he liked this guy, even if the other guard looked like he¡¯d rather swallow those glass gems than make nice with someone who looked as common as dirt.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to see someone, actually,¡± Raff told the friendly man, who was nearly as tall as he was, though he was carrying a bit of extra weight. Any extra Raff had even thought about carrying had melted away over the last month, leaving him lean and wild-looking.


    The other man looked disbelieving, as if no one who stayed at their fine establishment could possibly have any business with anyone who seemed as rough and ready as Raff, but he was too well trained to say anything. The first man looked surprised, but lifted a hand and pulled the rope hanging from a bell nearby.


    A deep, rich note rang out, causing everyone nearby to look around. Raff cursed internally, but lifted a hand and flashed a grin at them, which caused more than one person wearing fine clothing to roll their eyes and turn away.


    The door swung open on soundless hinges, and a tall man, as thin as the guard was heavy, stepped out. Rather than holding the door open for Raff to enter, he stepped out and closed it behind him, his face set in a mask of polite dismissal.


    ¡°Yes, sir?¡± he asked, the ¡®sir¡¯ clearly only there for formality¡¯s sake.


    Raff scratched his beard, dislodging something which tapped against his armor with a soft clicking sound as it fell. ¡°I¡¯m here t¡¯see, um-¡± He hadn¡¯t thought this through. Which of his brothers was here? Or was it one of the lesser nobles who constantly hung around them, like fleas on a dog? ¡°Lord Hillcroft?¡±


    A slightly skeptical look crossed the man¡¯s long, narrow face, but he nodded. ¡°And who may I tell him is calling, sir?¡±


    Raff sighed. In for a copper, in for a groat. ¡°Grafton.¡±


    Eyebrows went up. No doubt ¡®Lord Hillcroft¡¯ had let everyone know why he was in town, so this officious man should now have a pretty good idea of who Raff was. Immediately, the thin man¡¯s attitude shifted, and an obsequious smile flickered, then faded again. That was fair. Most people didn¡¯t know how to handle Raff when they figured out who he was.


    Stepping aside, the man pulled open the door, motioning for Raff to enter. ¡°Of course, si- Ah, my lord?¡± That questioning tone indicated that the pretentious arse still wasn¡¯t convinced Raff was who he claimed to be, but he wasn¡¯t going to take any chances. Smarter than he looked, then.


    Both guards seemed shocked as the door closed in their faces. The servant ushered Raff toward a chair covered in rich red velvet, then hesitated and instead touched the back of a tall wooden chair, with no fabric to be ruined by Raff¡¯s rusty and filthy armor. ¡°Have a seat, m¡¯lord,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll let Lord Hillcroft know you¡¯re here. He has been looking for you quite urgently, so I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t take long. In the meantime, if you need anything, please let any member of staff know how they can help.¡±


    He bowed slightly, turned, and vanished up a set of wide stairs to their right. Raff didn¡¯t sit, instead choosing to stand as he looked around, pretending to ignore the few other people in the large, open room. Two of them wore fine clothing with a provincial cut, expensive but practical, indicating that they were probably local nobility, or possibly wealthy traders.


    The other three had on some variety of uniform, including one middle-aged lady in a dress that complemented the guard¡¯s uniforms, the man-servant¡¯s suit, and even the red and gold velvet and brocades that the room was decorated in. He thought he recognized her from when Gaoda made them all stay here. That was only a single night, but sometimes that was all it took. Of course, Raff¡¯s armor was still intact and gleaming then. Would she recognize him?


    He gave her a broad grin, and she nodded back, but her brow wrinkled slightly. Was that a spark of memory, or disgust at the smell wafting from him? She came over and gave him a slight curtsy.


    ¡°Can I help you with anything, sir?¡± She asked, clearly unsure what the correct form of address should be. A merc didn¡¯t even rate a ¡®sir¡¯, at least not usually, but here he was in the lobby of her high-class inn without any sign of a lord or lady to protect.


    He shrugged. ¡°I stayed here a while back, guarding a trio of Imperials.¡±


    Her expression brightened. ¡°Oh! The lovely young lady with the white hair, and her¡­ companions?¡±


    His grin went a little lopsided. ¡°Those¡¯re the ones. The lady was expecting a letter from a friend in the capital, an¡¯ I wondered if anything arrived for her? Name¡¯s Lianhua.¡±


    As far as he knew, very few people in Cliffcross knew or cared that they¡¯d headed for Mount Scarabus, and it was very unlikely that if one of them wrote a letter, that letter would find them. Asking gave him a reason for speaking to this woman, though, and established his legitimacy as a former guest.


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    ¡°I¡¯ll check,¡± the woman said, her smile relaxing. She crossed to a series of alcoves built into the far wall, each one with a room number engraved on a golden plaque beneath it. Ignoring these, she pulled out a wooden box from beneath the desk and dug through its contents. A moment later, she looked back up, shaking her head.


    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m afraid,¡± she told Raff as she returned to his side. He gave a beleaguered sigh, and she smiled back before glancing over her shoulder. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else then¡­?¡±


    Raff started to shake his head, then snapped his fingers as if he¡¯d just remembered something. ¡°Oh! I have a friend who was hired by Lord Hillcroft. Could I leave a message for him?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Of course. Tell me his name, and I¡¯ll let him know.¡±


    He started to scratch his chin, remembered that it might cause a shower of debris, and instead tapped his knuckles twice on the hard leather of his belt. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a bit personal. Maybe I could write it down?¡±


    Her friendly expression closed down a bit, so Raff leaned closer and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s about some money I owe him.¡±


    He had no idea what scenario she came up with to explain why that needed to be a secret, but her face cleared instantly, and she went to the desk, returning with a pen, a sheet of paper, and a string to tie it up with. Raff jotted down some gibberish, rolled up the ¡®letter¡¯, and handed it to her, along with a silver he¡¯d slipped out of his pouch while her back was turned.


    The silver vanished into her palm, and the letter went into the cubby with ¡®3B¡¯ embossed on the plaque beneath it. Raff cast a nervous glance at the stairs. This was taking far too long.


    ¡°Could you get me a beer, by any chance? It¡¯s awfully dry out today,¡± he asked, passing a copper to the woman, then another when she hesitated. She smiled and nodded, hurrying off through an open archway with red velvet swags hanging across the top.


    Raff immediately turned and headed up the stairs after the male servant. He had spent sixteen years as the youngest of six brothers, and one thing he¡¯d learned was that it was never good when one of them got the upper hand. Even the ones that weren¡¯t so bad were just that - not so bad. If this was one of the bad ones, Raff wasn¡¯t going to wait to meet him on the older man¡¯s terms.


    Two flights of stairs vanished beneath his long strides, two and three steps at a time. Gaoda had insisted on the finest rooms while they were there, and apparently so had ¡®Lord Hillcroft¡¯, because the three rooms that took up the entire third floor were the same ones Raff and the others had stayed in.


    Raff kept an eye out for servants, but in that strange way of upper-class attendants, there were none in sight, even though the man Raff had spoken to before had yet to come back down. There was undoubtedly a back stairway, so the fine folks who stayed here never had to encounter a servant when they didn¡¯t want one.


    When Raff reached the door marked with a wide golden plaque bearing the room number ¡®3B¡¯, he didn¡¯t hesitate. Gripping the doorknob, he gave it a tiny jiggle. It¡¯d look ridiculous if he attempted to throw it open and it turned out to be locked, but as he¡¯d expected, the occupants were so used to their privacy being respected that they hadn¡¯t even bothered to secure the door.


    Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob, pushing open the door, then had to immediately jump back to avoid the sweep of a sword through the space he would have occupied if he¡¯d kept walking. His brows lifted. They¡¯d posted a guard? That could only mean he was dealing with-


    ¡°Timon!¡± Raff called, and a familiar voice responded.


    ¡°Stand down!¡± The voice said, still holding the sharp note of authority, in spite of having retired from military service five years earlier. ¡°Grafton? Is that you?¡±


    Raff warily stepped back to the doorway, cursing internally as he saw the one-eyed warrior standing just inside the room. Timon brought Agrian? The old man hardly ever left their parents¡¯ estate anymore. Why was he here now? Just because Jinn had run off?


    ¡°Oi, Timon,¡± Raff said, staying as relaxed and casual as possible. Not because it irked Timon, who was born with a stick up his behind, but because it would help keep some of the power on Raff¡¯s side.


    Agrian peered out into the hallway, his single blue eye scanning the brightly lit red and gold passage with great suspicion. He was just as deeply tanned as Raff remembered, but his skin was even more wrinkled, if that was possible. The hand in which he held his sword was as steady as ever, though.


    ¡°Come in, m¡¯lord,¡± the old man said, stepping aside. He was one of the few who had never treated Raff like an afterthought, an extra and entirely unnecessary addition to the family. If he hadn¡¯t trained Raff as thoroughly as he had any of his older brothers, Raff never would have been able to join such a well-respected mercenary group as the Adamant Reach.


    Raff didn¡¯t try to take Agrian¡¯s hand or clap him on the back, though he would have liked to. The man was working. That meant he was all business, and he wouldn¡¯t appreciate a distraction.


    Timon, too, looked older than Raff remembered. He¡¯d always seemed older than his years, thanks to his rigid adherence to anything that could be construed as a rule, but now his auburn hair was thinning, and crow¡¯s feet dug deep into the skin at the corners of his eyes. He maintained his stiff posture, but there was something about him that spoke of exhaustion. Something besides the deep shadows beneath his brown eyes.


    ¡°Where¡¯ve you been, Grafton?¡± he snapped as the door clicked shut behind Raff¡¯s back. ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to find you for two weeks. Even the Adamant Reach didn¡¯t know where you were, other than, ¡®near Mount Scarabus¡¯.¡±


    Raff thought back to the grueling trip up and then down through the mountain, culminating in reopening the lost kobold city, at least for a few moments. No, no one would have guessed where he was, even though his superiors knew he¡¯d accepted a job to take a trio of foreigners to the mountain.


    ¡°Busy,¡± he said, deliberately scratching at his itching beard until more unidentifiable things pinged off his breastplate. No officer in the Holiander cavalry would have been caught dead in Raff¡¯s current condition, and he saw his brother¡¯s lip curl.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Timon huffed, running his hand through what was left of his hair. It was a shockingly uncharacteristic gesture, leaving the thin strands in disarray, and Raff blinked. ¡°Have you heard from Jeanne?¡±


    It was Raff¡¯s turn to grimace. Jinn hated her real name. Their paternal grandmother had died while their mother was pregnant with her, and their parents named the new baby after the deceased duchess. Jinn had spent her entire life hearing about ¡®Duchess Jeanne¡¯, usually when Jinn had failed to live up to that lady¡¯s name.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Raff said, offering a grin and a shrug. ¡°Just got back myself. What¡¯s the kid done this time?¡±


    Jinn was six years younger than Raff, who was six years younger than their next oldest brother, Oliver. That gap between the youngest and the oldest had seemed insurmountable when they were younger. Jinn had at least had the benefit of having a task in life - make a good match with another aristocratic family - while Raff was just¡­ extra.


    Timon¡¯s face turned a little gray beneath his tan, and he darted a look around, as if someone might be hiding in plain sight, waiting to overhear whatever he said next. To be fair, this was a hotel for people of high rank, which meant that spying on what happened here could be a lucrative proposition for a certain type of person.


    Lowering his voice, Timon said, ¡°She¡¯s run off with the princess.¡±

 Chapter One hundred ninety-three (Li)

    Kaz was ¡®shopping¡¯ with Lianhua, Kyla was sleeping, and Li was bored. Li had never actually met another dragon, but her instincts told her that dragons didn¡¯t like being bored. Li definitely didn¡¯t like being bored, especially since she couldn¡¯t pass the time by sleeping, as she usually did. Li was hungry, and the edge of that hunger wouldn¡¯t quite let her rest.


    Kaz sent her an image of a stick with some kind of meat skewered on it. He and Lianhua had gotten them at one of the ¡®stalls¡¯ they¡¯d visited, and Li could almost taste the dense, chewy meat, and feel the warm grease filling her mouth. She knew he was just trying to reassure her that delicious food was on its way, but all he succeeded in doing was making her even hungrier.


    She looked up as the flat pieces of wood across the openings in the walls shuddered in the wind. Raff had said something about a ¡®storm approaching¡¯ when Kaz asked why the wind was so strong today. Even after the humans tried to explain what that meant, Li only understood that the air itself seemed to be attacking her. She¡¯d even been forced to remain on Kaz¡¯s shoulder for most of their journey today, so she was not only bored but restless.


    Glancing over at Kyla, curled up in the center of the large bed, cuddling her fuergar to her chest, Li had to suppress a feeling of envy. No, not envy. Why would Li, a dragon, be envious of an overly enthusiastic puppy and her rodent? Li was just glad that Kyla was distracted enough by the creature that she had given up trying to touch Li.


    The wood rattled again, and Li glanced over as something scraped and clattered. A latch held the pieces of wood together, and as the wind pushed on them, flashes of light showed through the cracks.


    Li glanced again at Kyla, then the door. Kaz had made them promise that they wouldn¡¯t open the door under any circumstances, but the door and the - what had Lianhua called it? Window? - were two separate things.


    With a leap and a short glide, Li found herself sitting on the edge of the window, her paw resting on the metal latch. She focused on Kaz, who was distracted by a very nervous-seeming human who was holding various clothing items up against his chest as Lianhua watched.


    Li leaned a little - just a little! - and the latch slipped from its place, allowing the wood to part. Warm sunlight flowed in, gilding Li¡¯s scales, and she shivered in delight. Dragons were meant for sunlight, not darkness, and she could feel the difference between the parts of her body that were bathed in its glow, versus the ones still lingering in shadow.


    She fell out of the window. It was entirely unintentional. The wind blew, and Li just¡­ fell. Her wings spread, catching the breeze, which lifted her high over the buildings that made up the human habitation. No one looked up. They were all focused on their little lives, walking or talking or whatever it was that humans did.


    Unfortunately, the higher she rose, the more the wind pushed and pulled at her. This was entirely unlike the smooth, gentle breezes she had so quickly become accustomed to. Hard gusts blew in from one direction, then another, spinning her around until she wouldn¡¯t have known where she was if not for the ribbon of ki that hung in the air, linking her to her kobold.


    Li dropped, dipping down among the buildings, which at least protected her from the worst of the wild blasts of air. She settled into an easy glide, which required very little movement to maintain, and pulled ki around herself. The ki she held and the ki in the world were one, hiding her physical shape from those without sense to see.


    Kaz was close, and she would go to him. They would be together, as they should have been all along. Would have been if Lianhua hadn¡¯t insisted that Kaz would need to take off his cloak in order to be measured for clothing. That female was becoming more and more annoying, even though she was the only one of the humans who recognized Li¡¯s majesty.


    A flash of bright red caught her eye as she paused on a rooftop to orient herself. That exact shade was one she was very familiar with, and she focused just in time to see Raff enter a particularly large building. The door closed behind him, but Li¡¯s curiosity was piqued.


    She perched there for a while, splitting her attention between the door and Kaz, who was now looking at devices that the human in the shop claimed would conceal small objects. Kaz was barely listening, fascinated by the light of ki inside some of the devices, while others held only dense clouds of mana. Lianhua was asking questions, but Li watched the flicker of ki with her kobold, at least until she heard Raff¡¯s voice exclaim, ¡°What?¡±


    Turning back toward the large building, Li cocked her head, trying to track down the source of the sound. Fortunately, Raff was still speaking very loudly, so she was able to narrow it down to a particular window, high above the ground and conveniently straight across from her current perch.


    Leaning forward, she released her grip on the roof, gliding down, then back up to land on the ledge protruding from the wall just beneath the window. It was an unusually deep ledge, big enough for a human to step out on, with metal bars all around the outside edge. A large pot containing a flowering plant sat in one corner, and Li edged closer until she was between the pot and the wall, listening intently.


    ¡°How could this happen?¡± That was Raff. The male talked constantly, so Li would recognize his voice anywhere, whether she liked it or not.


    ¡°Princess Reina chose her as one of her attendants last year,¡± another voice answered. ¡°They became friends.¡±


    There was a silence, as if Raff was waiting for more information. None came.


    ¡°And?¡±


    A long sigh. ¡°That¡¯s all we know. Jeanne delayed her own wedding, moved to court, and none of us have spoken to her since, other than Oliver, who sometimes saw her at official events. She wrote to Mother at first, but even that slowed to a trickle after a few months.¡±


    ¡°And you all just, what, forgot about her?¡± Raff sounded incredulous. ¡°Sent her to a pit of vipers and assumed she¡¯d be fine?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t send her!¡± the other exclaimed. ¡°Father even asked King Maleim to have the princess choose someone else, since Jeanne was already engaged. The king just laughed and said that all of the high-born ladies were engaged, and it was only a year.¡±


    When Raff spoke again, there was an undercurrent of angry frustration in his usually cheerful voice. ¡°So how did our sister go from being an attendant to being a¡­ kidnapper? Is that what they think?¡±


    The first part of the reply was mumbled, lost in the rising wind. Then the second voice said, ¡°-an adventure.¡±


    ¡°An¡­ adventure?¡± Raff asked, voice now dangerously flat.


    ¡°Like you. Jeanne read every letter you sent until it barely held together. Exciting tales of slaying monsters and rescuing fair maidens, all while making ridiculous amounts of gold. She sent a letter to Mother saying she wished she could have an adventure like that, just once, before being married. Less than a week later, soldiers knocked on our door and demanded to search the manor for their missing princess. They¡¯ve turned Cliffcross upside down, and with the tournament happening soon, the city is filled with ne''er-do-wells, vagabonds, and scoundrels.¡±


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    Raff growled a word Li had never heard him use before. ¡°You checked with the Adamant Reach?¡±


    ¡°Of course we did,¡± the second voice snapped. Then there was a sigh, and when it spoke again, it was calmer. ¡°The King has put out a warrant for your arrest, Grafton. You disappeared at almost exactly the same time as Jeanne and Princess Reina, and a lot of people think that¡¯s a very unfortunate coincidence.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve been missing for a month?¡± Raff¡¯s voice rose to a shout again, and Li flinched back. She¡¯d been leaning in to hear the quieter voice, pushing ki into her ears, and Raff¡¯s sudden bellow was almost painful.


    She rubbed the side of her head with a paw as the two humans continued speaking, but now the dragon¡¯s attention was drawn away by a clatter in the street below. A great number of humans were gathering there, led by a warrior wearing a metal shell much like Raff¡¯s, but shiny. He was speaking to a tall, thin male with a long face.


    Li stretched her neck out, trying to hear what the humans below were saying over the wind and Raff¡¯s conversation. Something about¡­ a reward? An arrest? Whatever it was, Li had a sudden feeling that she didn¡¯t want to stay there much longer, and Raff probably shouldn¡¯t, either. The question was, what should she do about it, if anything?


    Kaz felt her growing concern through their bond, and she opened the link so he could see and hear what was going on. He grabbed Lianhua¡¯s sleeve and brought the female to a stop, then stepped to the side of the street.


    You have to help, he told her, and she snorted a puff of water vapor. She was a dragon. She didn¡¯t have to do anything.


    Kaz played back scenes of the large human warrior protecting them, battling monsters, chatting over meals, playing with kobold puppies. Kaz liked Raff, and Raff was about to be in trouble. Kaz was too far away to help, but Li wasn¡¯t. Kaz was also not happy that Li wasn¡¯t waiting for him in the room where he¡¯d left her, but for the moment at least, his concern for Raff overshadowed that.


    Li sent back some of the same images. Raff swinging his huge sword, cutting up beasts and monsters and even kobolds as if it was nothing. <He can take care of himself.>


    Negation. Lianhua says he won¡¯t want to kill them.


    Why? What was the difference between the humans below and the kobolds in the mountain? Did Raff know them? How could Lianhua be certain of that?


    Kaz began to move toward Li, Lianhua trailing behind him, and Li made her decision. Even if she didn¡¯t care about Raff - and she did, a little - Kaz would be in danger if he had to fight so many humans. If they were as strong as Raff, and the ki sparking inside several of them indicated that they might be, then even her kobold might be injured while fighting them. And Kaz would fight them, though he would prefer not to.


    Li scurried toward the window, which was unusually tall. There were no wooden coverings over this one, but instead a clear material that was like Lianhua¡¯s mirror, but less reflective. Li scratched at it. It was hard, but her talon made a piercing screech, leaving a deep mark behind it. She pulled on her ki, inside and outside, remaining silent and invisible as she waited.


    The voices inside stopped, and a moment later, the material covering the opening was lifted out of the way, and a human looked out. He had one eye and white facial fur, so Li thought he must be a male. She could see Raff standing behind him, sword out and ready.


    Li held as tightly to her power as she could, folding it around her. The ki within and the ki without were the same. She darted past the white-haired male, feeling her control slip as she did. It was hard to convince the ki to continue including her as she moved. When she shifted slowly and carefully, it could be done, but rapid movement like this?


    She knew the moment her concealment dropped. The eyes of the humans widened, locking onto her, but she was already leaping for Raff. The other two males raised their weapons, but Raff lowered his, a look of confusion chasing away the hard determination of a moment before. He lifted his arms to cover Li, protecting her as she ran up to his shoulder.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    But the male who had opened the window was turning away, attention drawn by the sounds from below. ¡°King¡¯s guard,¡± the one at the window muttered, looking back toward the third male, who had less hair than any human Li had seen before. Was he part husede? The sudden gray color of his skin argued that it might be possible.


    ¡°Raff, you have to go,¡± the thin-haired male said, eyes flickering between Li and the open window. ¡°We¡¯ll tell them we haven¡¯t seen you.¡±


    Raff shook his head. ¡°At least two servants will remember me. Probably more. I don¡¯t exactly fit in here.¡±


    The shorter male pressed his lips together as Lianhua did when she was fighting a strong emotion. Then he turned his sword and drew the edge along his upper arm in a single, determined motion. He hissed in pain as blood poured from the wound.


    ¡°Timon? What in Pellis¡¯-?¡± Raff said, reaching out to staunch the flow.


    ¡°We tried to arrest you,¡± Timon said hurriedly, looking at the one-eyed male. That male nodded and reversed his own weapon, cutting a slice along his ribs, then another on his leg. He barely winced, just turned his back on Raff.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to knock us out,¡± Timon whispered, dropping his sword as he moved a chair to block the door.


    ¡°I can¡¯t-¡± Raff tried, but Timon gave a small grin that looked eerily like one of Raff¡¯s own.


    ¡°You¡¯ve wanted to punch me since we were boys,¡± the man murmured. ¡°Do it.¡±


    So Raff did. One hard punch, straight at Timon¡¯s chin. The other male¡¯s head snapped back, and he went down in a crumpled heap. Li hissed in approval. Kaz needed to learn to do things like that.


    Raff turned toward the white-haired male, who gestured for Raff to continue, but didn¡¯t look around. Raff huffed a laugh. ¡°You think I couldn¡¯t take you without striking from behind?¡±


    Li couldn¡¯t see the other male¡¯s response, but he fell as easily as the first when Raff struck a hard blow at the base of his skull. His head cracked against the wall, and Raff winced.


    ¡°Good thing the old man has bones of iron,¡± he muttered, and lunged for the window as someone began to bang on the door behind him. Li clung onto him, gripping his shoulder and beard with her claws, wondering if it was possible that the white-haired male was part fuergar, to have bones made of metal.


    Then they were out of the window, and Li concentrated on hiding herself and the huge human on which she sat as people below stared upward. Some were armor-clad warriors, but more seemed to be perfectly average people, the faceless masses who wandered the streets.


    It was hard to cover someone as large as Raff, much less hold that concealment while the human clambered up the wall like Kyla had once climbed the Tree. His lips were pinched and his eyes resolutely on the sky, however, so Li didn¡¯t think he was enjoying himself nearly as much as the puppy had, which made her own struggle slightly less irritating.


    Then water began to fall from the sky. The winds had brought thick, gray clouds, and Lianhua had tried to explain that those clouds were made of water. Li knew that, understood it deep in her bones. In her core. But why was the water dropping on her? Had she somehow summoned it with her use of so much ki? She hadn¡¯t even been focusing on her black ki, just using it all in a desperate attempt to hide them.


    Raff grunted something about Pellis as he leaped from one building to another. The water made the surfaces slick, but at least people weren¡¯t looking up any more. No, now they were hurrying into the buildings, as if the water would make them melt, which Li was quite certain it wouldn¡¯t. Lianhua and Raff didn¡¯t melt when they got wet, anyway. But if a human could be part husede or fuergar, perhaps they could also disintegrate when touched by water? If so, that would make her water breath much more powerful, which was an exciting thought.


    ¡°Pellis cursed rain,¡± Raff muttered, swiping water from his eyes. He turned to look at Li, who finally felt safe to let their camouflage drop. She practically melted after that, her core and channels drained by the intense burst of power use. ¡°Do you know which way to go, dragon?¡±


    Of course she did. Li turned her nose toward Kaz, lifting a paw which was absolutely not shaking to point the way. Raff nodded and ran across the roof, racing in the direction she had indicated.

 Chapter One hundred ninety-four

    Kaz hurried down a narrow street, the buildings that seemed to lean in toward him blocking much of the rain. Lianhua was right behind him, but of course Chi Yincang was nowhere to be seen. Not by his eyes, anyway, though there was a suspiciously blurry patch on a roof nearby, where the raindrops suddenly parted ways with each other.


    Lianhua was holding a bizarre object over her head; a piece of oiled paper or cloth attached to splayed sticks that she called an umbrella. It prevented water from reaching her, though Kaz really wasn¡¯t certain why she didn¡¯t want to get wet now, when she was usually so excited to submerge herself. He himself was enjoying the warm droplets, especially since he didn¡¯t have to worry about how long it would take his fur to dry.


    ¡°Are you certain this is the right way?¡± Lianhua murmured. Her voice was almost lost in the sound of the raindrops striking the steaming stones of the street, and Kaz longed to cock an ear in her direction, but had to settle for turning his head.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered, glancing both ways as they came to an intersection. He had learned very quickly that carts and wagons could come from anywhere, at any time, and their drivers were either unable or unwilling to stop when people needed to pass in front of them. Now, however, all but a few covered wagons had vanished, and the streets were finally empty enough that he almost felt comfortable.


    He could still feel the mountain, or rather the Tree, as strongly as he ever had. Even if he truly was blind, he could have made it back, so long as nothing killed him on the way. The shared den called the Old Crow was in the direction of the mountain, though they had come a good way ¡®down¡¯ as Lianhua dragged him into every shop along the way.


    And that had been a terrifying and astonishing experience. Every human watched him, either overtly or from the corners of their eyes, and several even crossed the street to get further away from him, in spite of the ever-present danger of the carts drawn by the huge and alarming creatures called horses. The beasts looked nothing like the drawing in Lianhua¡¯s book, other than having four legs and hooves, like a niu, and if he wasn¡¯t so anxious he would have asked if there were examples of any of the other eleven creatures from her story in this town.


    He was anxious, however, and though he was extremely unhappy that they were once again fleeing ahead of a danger of unknown proportions, he was also glad to be leaving this town. There were far, far too many strangers here, and he hadn¡¯t realized just how little he understood about humans until Lianhua and one of the shopkeepers began ¡®haggling¡¯ in exchange for ¡®coins¡¯. Apparently, there were many kinds of coins, not just gold, each with their own well-established value that seemed to have little to do with the actual metal involved in crafting them.


    ¡°This way,¡± he said, pointing toward the inn, which hung in the rain and fog like an immense lopo lurking in the back of a vast cavern. Li and Raff were approaching quickly, and he wanted to reach the inn before they did.


    Chi Yincang flickered into being beside Lianhua. Water sluiced away to each side of him as his black ki shunted it aside. For a moment, Kaz stared, fascinated by the process. He didn¡¯t mind being wet, but wouldn¡¯t it be nice if being soaked was optional? But Lianhua had black ki as well, and she was using her umbrella. Was it simply that she was trying to conserve her ki, or could she not do as Chi Yincang had done?


    ¡°They¡¯re waiting for us at the inn,¡± Chi Yincang said. ¡°We can handle them, but there¡¯s a good chance some of them will be killed.¡±


    Chi Yincang had just volunteered information and an opinion, or at least further information that he knew would influence Lianhua¡¯s decision. He really had relaxed since leaving the mountain.


    ¡°Can you get in and warn Kyla?¡± Lianhua asked, clearly worried.


    ¡°They have a mage,¡± Chi Yincang told her. ¡°He¡¯s wearing robes.¡±


    His voice was faintly disapproving as he said this last, which told Kaz that something about these robes deeply annoyed the dark male. ¡°I can warn her,¡± Kaz said, and lifted his face to the rain.


    His voice was still wrong. Too high, too breathy, too human, but he still managed a more credible howl than Raff. It was a standard howl, and he had heard it used by several tribes during his rise and descent through the mountain, so Kyla would know what it meant. Enemies are coming. Run.


    Lianhua gaped at him, and Chi Yincang¡¯s brows lifted ever so slightly, but nothing indicated that whoever lurked, waiting for them, considered the howl a thing they needed to investigate. No voices were lifted, no boots stomped on wet stone, and no one emerged from the surrounding buildings or from beneath their overhanging roofs.


    A yip answered him. Just one. A sound of acknowledgement, not information. Kaz nodded and turned at the others. ¡°She¡¯s coming.¡±


    Lianhua looked around. ¡°How will she know where to come?¡±


    He smiled and swept his hand over the wet fur on top of his head. ¡°She¡¯ll smell us.¡± There was no way the pup would miss them, especially once Raff joined them. The large male¡¯s aroma of rust and sweat would be even stronger after getting wet. In fact¡­


    He lifted his face and sniffed, then spluttered as rain sluiced into his nose. These nostrils were too large and round, and if he ever tried to become a human again, he was going to make them smaller, even if it meant he couldn¡¯t smell as well. He already struggled to distinguish between scents that were more than fifteen feet away, which was ridiculously limiting, and he didn¡¯t think smaller nostrils could possibly make the situation worse.


    Still, he knew without looking that Raff was coming. The man had even taken off his heavy metal-covered boots, and was jumping from rooftop to rooftop in bare feet. That only made it easier to smell his approach, even without Li¡¯s muttered commentary.


    <If you weren¡¯t so big, we¡¯d already be there,> the dragon said. <What did you eat to make you so large? Did you eat humans? Because even though Kaz says I shouldn¡¯t eat humans, some of you still look very tasty. If you didn¡¯t eat humans, what was it?>


    Her voice shifted, becoming both fascinated and vaguely disgusted. <Did you eat kobolds? Because if you eat Kaz, I¡¯ll bite you so hard->


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    Kaz looked up and yipped. Scraping sounds came from overhead, followed by a wet thump and two feet protruding over the edge of the roof. A groan reached his ears, then a garbled yip.


    ¡°That you, Blue?¡± Raff called softly as the feet vanished and a dripping face appeared instead. A moment later, Raff grasped the edge of the roof and flipped over it, landing on his feet in a small puddle that splashed everyone around him.


    Kaz chuffed a laugh, and Li dropped down through the falling rain to perch on his shoulder with an audible sigh of relief. ¡°Unless there are any other kobolds here, then yes.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± came Kyla¡¯s noticeably grumpy voice. Kaz looked over in time to see her shimmer into sight. Her golden eyes were huge in her small face, and her usually disheveled fur was plastered to her body, along with the robes she¡¯d borrowed from Lianhua. The pup had tucked the hem up into her belt, as Lianhua sometimes did, but it was so sodden that it hung from her like a sack. The fabric was so heavy with rain that it actually made her shoulders slump beneath the weight. The young kobold looked thoroughly miserable. Her fuergar sat on her shoulder, looking no more pleased about the situation.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Kyla whimpered, picking up the bottom of her robe and wringing it out. It promptly filled with water again, and she sniffled pathetically.


    ¡°Rain,¡± Lianhua told her. She reached into her pouch and pulled out another of the umbrellas. Holding it over Kyla¡¯s head, she said, ¡°Take off the robe. We need to leave town, and it¡¯ll slow you down.¡±


    Kyla moved to obey, looking grateful to be rid of the pretty cloth she¡¯d been so pleased with only that morning. Meanwhile, Lianhua turned a glare on Raff.


    ¡°What happened?¡± she demanded. ¡°Kaz said something about your sister kidnapping a princess?¡±


    Raff shook his head, looking almost as miserable as Kyla. ¡°No time. I¡¯ll explain later. Right now, we need to go.¡±


    ¡°We need horses,¡± Lianhua reminded him.


    A pale grin split Raff¡¯s face. ¡°Oh, the little dragon and I got that figured out. C¡¯mon.¡± He gestured, and they all followed, leaving the inn and the ambush behind them.


    Two turns, then three, each a bit further away, until they saw a soaked human in armor much like Raff¡¯s had been when they first met. The male stood beneath an overhang, water pouring down in a sheet just inches from his face, the sight and sound drowning out any warning he might have had before Raff¡¯s fist crunched down on top of his head. His helmet buckled, and he collapsed into the puddle at his feet.


    Raff hurried toward the restless group of horses the man had been guarding, and the others trailed behind. Kaz stopped by the downed warrior, rolling him over so the water wouldn¡¯t fall into his helmet, possibly drowning him. Kaz wasn¡¯t entirely clear if these humans were their enemies or not, but leaving someone to die in such an unnecessary way made his nonexistent fur itch.


    ¡°That guy¡¯s a King¡¯s Guard, but probably just made knight.¡± Raff grimaced as he looked toward the unconscious male. ¡°I bet he¡¯s some third son whose father got him what they thought would be an easy job.¡± He sighed, plucking the wet leather strips tying one of the horses to a wooden post.


    Lianhua hesitated, even though her hand was already caressing the nose of another horse, this one smaller than the one Raff had selected. ¡°Won¡¯t we be in even more trouble if we take their horses?¡± she asked uncertainly. ¡°Right now, we can still claim we just left earlier than planned, but if we do this¡­¡±


    Chi Yincang hadn¡¯t moved to pick a horse yet. ¡°Such beasts are trained not to allow anyone but their riders atop them.¡±


    Raff chuckled, grasping the leather pad strapped to his horse¡¯s back. He set his toe into the loop hanging from that pad, and swung his leg over the beast, settling firmly into his seat. ¡°Not these. Officers have assigned mounts, but the rest of the stable is available for the use of whoever needs them. No point paying to house and feed hundreds of horses when a few dozen will do. The King¡¯s Guard mostly patrol the palace and grounds nearby. Most of ¡®em only ride when they have to perform in a parade.¡±


    Kaz was more than a bit confused, and he could tell Kyla was as well. Plus, this was the first time the pup had seen a horse up close, since there hadn¡¯t been any in the few short streets she¡¯d traversed to reach the inn. She had backed up until she was pressed against his side, her bedraggled tail tucked low and tight. Such large animals were never safe to be around in the mountains, with the exception of the niu, but the niu didn¡¯t look nearly as fierce as these lean, muscular beasts.


    Lianhua hesitated only a moment longer, then swung up onto the leather pad on her horse even more easily than Raff had. That left Kaz, Kyla, Mei, and Li. And Chi Yincang.


    ¡°Chi Yincang.¡± Lianhua said the male¡¯s name with an uncharacteristic authority. He looked up at her, and it was hard to tell, but Kaz thought he might be slightly paler than usual.


    ¡°I can run,¡± he said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll use all of your ki,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°The horses won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    Chi Yincang eyed the beasts with almost as much wariness as the kobolds. His jaw flexed as he gritted his teeth. ¡°As you wish.¡± He reached out toward a large black animal, and square yellowish teeth snapped at his fingers. He only just managed to snatch them back before the creature broke its teeth on his skin.


    ¡°Stop playin¡¯ with it and get on,¡± Raff snapped, also sounding far less cheerful and far more serious than usual. ¡°We¡¯ve got to get outta here before this rain lets up.¡±


    Kaz stared up into the thick gray clouds overhead. Light flashed inside them, and low rumbles were beginning to reach his ears, as if a huge kobold was growling in the distance. He didn¡¯t think the rain would be stopping anytime soon. Still, Raff¡¯s point was valid.


    Turning to the smallest of the horses, Kaz reached out and untied the straps keeping it in place. It eyed him curiously, baring its teeth for a brief moment. Kaz summoned a spark of blue ki to his hand, then tentatively stroked its nose in the same way Lianhua had stroked her beast. He passed the ki into the horse, which made a strange sound and looked very confused.


    Taking advantage of the creature¡¯s uncertainty, Kaz tossed Kyla and Mei up onto its back, then followed quickly after. This beast didn¡¯t have the same small pad with foot-loops as the others, but rather wore what looked like several packs strapped to it.


    ¡°That¡¯s the pack mule, Blue,¡± Raff said, some of his normal humor returning to his voice.


    Kaz shrugged, reaching down to pat the beast¡¯s warm neck, giving it a little more ki in the process. It shuddered, but not as if it found the sensation unpleasant, and danced in place, its hooves clicking against the stones.


    ¡°Can it carry us?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It can,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°It may be a bit slower than ours, but it should also be calmer. Battle mounts are infamous for being high strung.¡±


    Chi Yincang glared at the black horse, then reached out again. When it tried to bite him, he slapped its nose, making it jerk back. It tried again, with the same result, then tried to shift so its rear was toward the human. Chi Yincang slapped its leg, and this time a pop of white ki traveling between them. The horse let out an angry sound, but Chi Yincang was already on its back, the leather strips in his hand.


    ¡°You gonna be all right there, Chi?¡± Raff asked.


    Chi Yincang just turned his horse so its nose was pointed down the street. Kaz tried to do the same, but his mount just rolled an eye back at him and then ambled along behind the others, blatantly ignoring his tugs at the ridge of fur down its long neck.


    Raff looked back down the wet, empty street behind them, though they could barely see past the end of the horse¡¯s noses. Giving a soft click, he touched his heels to the beast¡¯s sides, and it set out at a good pace. Lianhua and Chi Yincang guided their horses after Raff¡¯s, and to Kaz¡¯s great relief, his ¡®pack mule¡¯ followed.

 Chapter One hundred ninety-five

    The rain still hadn¡¯t stopped by the time the humans decided to camp for the night. He couldn¡¯t see the moon and stars, but Kaz could feel the sun set, as damp shadows deepened into darkness, and brilliant flashes of lightning backlit the roiling clouds. Shortly after each flash came the terrible growling of a monstrous beast. Kaz and Kyla growled and barked back until Lianhua explained that the lightning caused the sound, which was called thunder.


    ¡°But what is the thunder?¡± Kyla asked for the tenth time as Raff started setting up the tent. The fur on the back of her neck stood up so straight that even its sodden weight couldn¡¯t force it flat.


    Lianhua¡¯s face held a long-suffering expression. ¡°No one really knows. Pan Li claims it¡¯s caused by the sudden explosion of ki in the lightning, but Zhen Yazhu thinks it has nothing to do with ki at all, and is a result of the air displaced by the lightning collapsing back in on itself. Qian Min caused quite an uproar among the scholarly-¡±


    ¡°Pellis is bowlin¡¯ with skulls up in the clouds,¡± Raff said, wiping ineffectually at the water streaming over his brow. ¡°If he wins, we¡¯ll have more storms, but if Pholeus wins, the storm will end soon.¡±


    Kyla blinked as she took in this statement, then asked, ¡°What¡¯s bowling?¡±


    Lianhua snickered, Raff sighed, and Kaz turned to look for Chi Yincang. The man was barely visible in the rain, but he wasn¡¯t using his ki to hide at the moment. He also wasn¡¯t using it to keep the rain away, at least not any more.


    Like everyone else, he was utterly drenched, but the only real sign of it was the way his short beard hung down from his jaw ever so slightly. He had bound up his long hair into a tight ball on top of his head, rather than the long tail he usually wore it in. Not a single tendril escaped, and he seemed utterly oblivious to the rain streaming down his face.


    Crossing to him, Kaz asked, ¡°Should I help watch tonight?¡± He had to raise his voice to be heard above the pounding of the raindrops on the earth.


    Chi Yincang shook his head. ¡°I will watch.¡±


    Kaz felt his own lips compress the way he¡¯d seen the humans do so many times. There were shadows beneath the male¡¯s eyes. Kaz remembered Lianhua had developed such shadows when she refused to sleep while she was poring over Zhangwo¡¯s records. Chi Yincang¡¯s central dantian was low, as well, and Kaz could see that he was cultivating constantly, but it wasn¡¯t doing much to refill his channels.


    ¡°You¡¯re tired,¡± Kaz said, and Chi Yincang stiffened ever so slightly.


    A moment passed, filled with another rolling boom of thunder, and Kaz felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He didn¡¯t care what caused it. He just wanted it to stop.


    ¡°Raff can take a watch,¡± Chi Yincang unbent enough to say. His lip curled ever so slightly as he said Raff¡¯s name. Chi Yincang was not pleased at the trouble Raff had brought to them, even if none of it was his fault.


    ¡°But not me?¡± Kaz asked. He didn¡¯t actually think the humans distrusted him, at least not any more, but Chi Yincang always seemed to be around when Kaz was.


    There was no direct reply, but silence could be an answer in itself, and Kaz turned away. In his mind, Li began to mutter about ungrateful humans. Finally, she sniffed, then sneezed as water got into her nose. <At least that means we can sleep tonight,> she grumbled.


    He looked down at her head, which protruded from the front of his robe. When he¡¯d tried to copy Kyla and take off his clothing, Lianhua insisted he keep the garments on, and Li had long since taken cover beneath the heavy fabric. She had enjoyed the constant flow of water over her scales for the first hour or so, but then she grew tired of wiping it from her eyes and nose, and simply burrowed her way into this hiding spot. She was getting a bit too big for it to be comfortable, however, so she kept shifting, and finally Kaz just pulled the whole front of the robe out into a sort of soggy pouch.


    Kaz smiled. ¡°Are you excited to sleep in the tent?¡± Lianhua had insisted that anyone not on watch should stay inside the shelter, and Kaz himself was both pleased and nervous about the idea. It would be a bit like sleeping in a hut, but this world was so filled with things he knew nothing about that he jumped at every sound, and liked to be able to see if whatever had made it was about to eat him.


    Li swiped at her nose. <I just want to be dry,> she said plaintively, and Kaz tugged the opening in the robe a little tighter.


    ¡°Ready!¡± Raff called, and Kaz turned to see that Lianhua had already vanished, and Kyla was disappearing through the flap that served as the tent¡¯s door. The large man held the flap aside a bit, looking at Kaz. ¡°You goin¡¯ in, Blue?¡±


    Kaz took a few steps, then stopped. ¡°What about you?¡±


    Raff glanced sidelong at Chi Yincang, who was a dark blotch without visible details against the backdrop of trees and bushes. ¡°Nah. I can heat somethin¡¯ up on my fire stone. Nice thing about not needin¡¯ a real fire, I don¡¯t have to worry about the rain puttin¡¯ it out. I¡¯ll have to get a mage to recharge the stone when we get to Cliffcross, though. Doesn¡¯t put out as much heat as it should anymore.¡±


    He pulled the stone from his pouch, and Kaz looked at it. It was mostly filled with mana, and Kaz wasn¡¯t much good with mana. There were a few sparks of red ki in it, though, so Kaz asked, ¡°Do you¡­ want me to try?¡±


    Raff started to laugh the offer off, then hesitated, narrowing his eyes at Kaz. ¡°Can you? That¡¯s a good skill to have, if you can. Mages who can enchant items are mighty rare, and expensive. Just takes an apprentice to recharge ¡®em, but even they get paid a good bit for it, so you¡¯d be savin¡¯ me some gold.¡±


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    ¡°Close the door!¡± Lianhua called from inside the tent as a particularly strong gust of wind made the raindrops fly almost parallel to the ground. Raff let the flap fall, then offered the stone to Kaz.


    Kaz accepted it, turning it over in his hands. Raff used the flat stone to heat food and water, as well as provide light in what must have seemed like the eternal darkness of the mountain. It had the rune for ¡®fire¡¯ carved into one side, and that rune seemed to be where both the heat and most of the red ki gathered.


    By now, Kaz was well aware that ki was far more efficient than its more diffuse sibling, mana. Ki was harder to create in the first place, at least for humans, but once refined, a small amount of ki could replace a large amount of mana. That seemed to be at least part of why Raff was so much weaker than Chi Yincang, Lianhua, and even Gaoda.


    Ever so cautiously, Kaz traced his finger over the rune, allowing just a bit of red ki to flow out of him and into it. He was glad he¡¯d been careful when the thing grew so warm that he nearly dropped it, and the raindrops that struck it almost instantly turned to hissing vapor.


    Raff¡¯s eyes grew large, and he pointed to a spot beneath a nearby tree, where thick leaves caused the water to sluice off, creating a dripping canopy. It certainly wasn¡¯t dry, but it was better than just standing directly in the downpour.


    Kaz leaped toward the spot, dropping the stone as he gave it one last tiny bit of fire ki. It didn¡¯t seem like it was able to hold more, and he was afraid of breaking it, much as he had once done with a platform in the mosui storage cavern. The ground around the flat stone sizzled, and the grass curled away from it, but the stone didn¡¯t crack.


    Raff shook his head. ¡°I take it back. Don¡¯t let anyone know you can do that, eh? Might could be it¡¯d give the wrong sorta fella some bad ideas.¡±


    Kaz blinked, but nodded, then glanced at the tent. ¡°Will you be in soon?¡± Lianhua had been trying to question Raff about why the warriors were after him, but the large male just pretended not to be able to hear her over the sound of the storm and the horses.


    Reminded of the beasts, Kaz turned to look at them. They looked miserable, tied beneath another nearby tree. Raff insisted they should be close to each other, but they barely fit, and the animals didn¡¯t seem to enjoy being wet any more than Kaz and the others. Raff hadn¡¯t even removed the straps and pads attached to their backs, claiming that they needed to be ready to go if their pursuers caught up.


    Raff saw the direction of his gaze, and said, ¡°They¡¯ll be all right. The rain is warm, an¡¯ they¡¯ll be safe so long as lightning doesn¡¯t strike the tree.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Lightning strike?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s when-¡± Raff stopped and shook his head. ¡°Never mind. I¡¯ll explain it another time. You better get inside before Lianhua comes lookin¡¯ for you. Now that my fire stone is hot again, I can make somethin¡¯ good, especially since we¡¯ll be able to replenish our stores in the city.¡±


    Kaz nodded and headed for the tent. As he lifted the flap, Raff called, ¡°Hey, Blue?¡± Kaz glanced back.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Raff said. ¡°To you an¡¯ your little friend. I probably woulda been caught back there if it wasn¡¯t for you.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you fight them?¡± Kaz asked, genuinely curious.


    Raff swept his hand through his hair, sending a sheet of water onto the hot stone at his feet. It popped and sizzled angrily. ¡°Coulda. Glad I didn¡¯t have to.¡±


    Kaz nodded, lifting his free hand to stroke Li¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    Lianhua and Kyla were still standing near the entrance to the tent, and they both stared at Kaz as he entered, water dripping heavily from his clothes. Lianhua was already wearing a fresh, dry under robe with a single simple belt holding it closed. Kyla was stripped down to her loincloth, and Lianhua was rubbing a thick, rough cloth over her fur. The puppy¡¯s already wild, tufted fur stood up in complete disarray, making her look absolutely adorable. Not that she would appreciate that even if Kaz was foolish enough to tell her.


    Li instantly clambered out of Kaz¡¯s robe, then jumped and glided over to one of the cushions that sat on the oiled cloth that covered the ground. Very little water clung to her smooth scales, and she gave Kaz a superior look as she shook herself slightly, then curled up on the cushion, resting her head on her crossed front paws.


    ¡°Take everything off,¡± Lianhua said, then held up a hand. ¡°Put your loincloth on under the inner robe before you drop it.¡±


    Kaz did as instructed, allowing each water-logged piece of clothing to fall to the ground as he did so. Meanwhile, Lianhua continued to dry Kyla until the puppy looked more like a ball of fluff than a kobold.


    They finished their tasks at about the same time, and Lianhua made the wet cloth vanish into her pouch, then took out another one. This one she wrapped around her own hair, which was down and already beginning to dry, but the ends, which nearly reached her knees, were still dripping onto the floor.


    ¡°All right, Kyla,¡± Lianhua said, and the young kobold gave a relieved sigh. Crossing over to a large pile of cloth, she moved it aside, revealing a sleepy Mei. The fuergar looked just as fluffy as Kyla, though some thicker strands of copper fur stood out among the silver-pink poof.


    ¡°Now you,¡± Lianhua turned to Kaz. He held up his hands.


    ¡°I can dry myself,¡± he told her. ¡°If you have another cloth?¡±


    Looking as relieved as Kyla, Lianhua handed him the length of damp cloth. ¡°Go ahead. And then we need to talk.¡±


    Talk? Kaz could think of a half dozen things he should talk to her about, including the vision he¡¯d had when he touched Qiangde¡¯s core, but she didn¡¯t know to ask about any of them. Yet. Because he was definitely going to tell her, just as soon as they had enough time for her to react in the way he knew she would. Time and energy, because even though his ki and body refinement kept him from tiring as he once had, he was mentally overwhelmed by the events of the last day. Since the moment he met the humans, it seemed like anything more than momentary peace was only a thing of the forgotten past.


    Lianhua saw his expression and misinterpreted it. Or maybe kobold expressions didn¡¯t translate into human ones as well as he thought?


    ¡°Li showed you what happened with Raff, right?¡± she asked, and Kaz understood. Raff hadn¡¯t been particularly forthcoming with information, but Li could explain at least a bit, through Kaz. During the excitement of their rapid exit from town, all Kaz had been able to tell Lianhua was that Raff had argued with someone, and now warriors were after him, and presumably the rest of them as well.


    Kaz sighed and glanced over at Li, who had her eyes firmly closed as she pretended to sleep. It was up to him to tell Lianhua what was going on, so as he dried off his almost furless skin, he began to talk.

 Chapter One hundred ninety-six

    The story didn¡¯t take long once he started, but soon Lianhua had her face buried in her hands. ¡°Which princess?¡± she muttered. ¡°If it was the youngest, she¡¯s what, barely eighteen?¡± Her shoulders heaved as she sighed, and she looked up at Kaz. ¡°We met her, I think. My grandfather sent a message to King Maleim, but Gaoda¡­¡±


    She trailed off, closing her eyes as if remembering something painful. ¡°He was terrible. He flirted with all the ladies, like his charm was irresistible. He insulted anyone he thought held a lower position than him, but he didn¡¯t understand all the titles, so he angered some very powerful people with one thing or another, including Lord Hartton, who should have been the one to take us to Shensheng.¡±


    Kaz had no idea what ¡®flirting¡¯ was, but he well understood the dangers of insulting those of higher rank. It was always better to be polite to everyone than to risk angering those who could make your life miserable if they decided they didn¡¯t like you. Honestly, even those of lower rank could take petty vengeance if they wished, so not angering them was wise as well.


    Opening her eyes, she went on, ¡°I think Reina was the quiet princess. There were three, maybe four of them, but the oldest was definitely married. The others seemed happy enough to spend their time dancing and chatting with their friends, but the youngest¡­ No, she wasn¡¯t so rude as to ignore us, but she spoke only as much as politeness called for, and left as soon as possible.¡±


    Lianhua paused thoughtfully, then shook her head. ¡°If Raff¡¯s sister is as high ranking as she must be to attend a princess,¡± her eyes cut to the flap of the tent, and her voice went dry, ¡°then Raff must be at least a lord as well. Even as a younger son, that makes him Gaoda¡¯s equal, at least.¡±


    But not yours? Kaz thought, watching the play of emotions crossing her face. Amusement, irritation, then back to amusement.


    <She¡¯s like the princess,> Li said, as if Kaz had spoken to her. Was he thinking as loudly as she did? If so, did she find his internal conversation as amusing as he found hers?


    He glanced at the dragon, who watched them through half-open eyes. Her eyes were settling into a shade of deep gold with specks of black and blue, but now they swirled as they had when she was newly hatched. If Lianhua was conflicted, Li was not. The little dragon thought the situation was very funny.


    You think so? he thought, this time trying to send the words to her. She rubbed the side of her head with one clawed paw.


    <Don¡¯t think so loud,> she told him crossly. <Yes. Lianhua is descended from a dragon. How could humans fail to recognize and worship that?>


    Kaz blinked. He hadn¡¯t really put together the fact that Lianhua¡¯s family was descended from the Diushi emperors, and the Diushi emperors were dragons, or at least part dragon. That made Lianhua part dragon as well.


    Li sniffed softly. <You¡¯re just as much dragon as she is,> she thought, clearly pleased by the idea. <Maybe someday you really will be able to fly with me, and not just on my back.> A hint of true happiness reached him, and Kaz smiled.


    I hope so, he told her. He would certainly do everything in his power to make their dream come true, and he was learning that his power was not inconsiderable.


    But what about this other idea, that Kaz himself was part dragon? It did make sense. If the first Magmablade chief was also descended from Qiangde, and Kaz was descended from her. That made him a descendant of the dragon emperor as well. True, it had been a thousand years or more since then, but unlike the humans, kobolds only had a limited population to choose their mates from.


    Pups from mates who were too closely related could be born as numb minds or worse, so kobolds didn¡¯t take mates who were related within a few generations of their own family. But still, it was clear that the chiefs of the great tribes preferred to take mates from among the other chiefs¡¯ families. That meant that Kaz¡¯s connection to Qiangde had probably been bred back a dozen times or more since Princess Tiyang became Tegra of the Magmablades.


    And what about the other first chiefs? Had they also been of the emperor¡¯s bloodline? It seemed likely, since Lianhua said humans were never born with cores, but had to refine and cultivate their ki to create one. That meant most cored humans would be extremely powerful. Too powerful to take and change?


    But Qiangde himself had remembered leaving his position to one of his offspring who was born with a core, like a beast. Had that trait bred true? If so, that would make his own family the best source of ¡®humans¡¯ with cores to experiment on. Had the mosui and the reptilian xiyi also descended from Qiangde¡¯s children? It didn¡¯t seem like it, the way the dragon emperor had thought about Dongwu¡¯s creations. But who was this Dongwu? Lianhua had recognized Zhangwo¡¯s human name. Would she recognize Dongwu as well? Or had Dongwu, like Zhangwo, taken a new name when she became Qiangde¡¯s servant? And did that mean Nucai had also once been someone else?


    ¡°Kaz?¡± Lianhua¡¯s voice snapped him out of the dizzying spiral of questions. She and Li were both staring at him, and he wondered how much he had missed. He was so tired, but there was no way his thoughts were going to let him rest yet.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked, trying to focus on the human female¡¯s concerned face.


    ¡°You need to sleep,¡± she told him, as if he weren¡¯t already aware. ¡°Go lie down with Li. We¡¯ll keep watch.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I have something I need to do.¡± Always. There was always something. Some conversation, some exploration, some effort to grow as he continually discovered that his strength was still insufficient to do everything he wanted to do. How could he keep Li safe if creatures like Nucai and Heishe were out there? Heishe at least seemed to be neutral toward him, but Nucai was definitely unhappy, and Kaz was far from certain that the ancient being couldn¡¯t reach outside the mountain somehow.


    Lianhua¡¯s silvery brows drew together. ¡°What?¡±


    Kaz picked up the pouch that had been tied to his belt and opened it, picturing a small blue pot with the rune for Wood carved into it. The pot fell into his palm as he traded a spark of ki for it, and he opened it, opening his mouth as he did so. He tipped it, and the medicine that the old healer, Jul, had passed to him just before they left the mountain poured out.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened, and she reached for him, but she was too late. Kaz tasted something terribly bitter that transformed into sweetness. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, as tanuo had become when he grew older, in spite of the fact that he loved it when he was little. Powder melted on his tongue, offering hints of bitterness, then a sour bite that made his cheeks suck in. He grimaced as that shifted to salt, as though he¡¯d licked one of the salt crystals that formed around some pools of water. Finally, sweetness again, and Kaz managed to swallow, his throat working convulsively.


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    Heat burned through his chest, and for a moment, he wondered if the old healer had given him the wrong medicine after all, and this was for Magmablades. Not that Kaz couldn¡¯t use red ki, but he wanted blue. Everything he had learned about Wood ki, and the Woodblades, told him that he belonged with them, not the Magmablades. He loved Rega, but if he could choose one of his parents to emulate, it would be Ghazt.


    The heat turned to a cool, rich flood, unlike anything he¡¯d ever felt before. In his abdomen, his core spun, taking in the rush of ki as if it had been starving, and here, at last, was food. For the first time, he truly realized that there was almost no blue ki in the mountain. Some, yes. Plants, fungus, even animals refined it, but they also used every bit that they created. Everything around him had run on the bare minimum of Wood ki needed, and as he fell back among the cushions beside Li, the life of the new world around him reached out and swallowed him up.


    Trees. Full of life, unlike the dying Tree kobolds believed held up the mountain. But more than that, every bush, blade of grass, and flower held Wood ki. He¡¯d known, had seen it in the same way he ¡®saw¡¯ sunlight, in that some things were brighter than others, which lingered in shadow. He was aware of it, without it affecting much.


    But now it all streamed toward and into him, as if he was the one cultivating, and they were him. He took it all in, and his core spun. It spun, filled, and, with a sharp stab of agony, threatened to crack as the power inside pushed out.


    Kaz gasped, curling on his side. He clamped down on his own core, compressing it and holding it together. His middle dantian was already full, so he compressed that too, forcing more power into the same amount of space. Not that it truly took up space, because the seemingly bottomless lake of power would have drowned everyone in the tent, much less Kaz himself.


    Distantly, he felt Li press herself against him. Far from the palm-sized hatchling she had once been, her chin rested on his shoulder while her long body draped over his side, tail wrapping around his leg. She took in as much of the ki threatening to overwhelm him as she could, her channels filled to overflowing with brilliant azure power. Ignoring her own discomfort, she wrapped her ki around his, supporting and reinforcing the pressure he used to hold himself in one piece.


    <That¡¯s enough,> he heard her say, in that strangely mature voice she sometimes used. <Give the extra back, or you¡¯ll kill everything you¡¯re taking power from. Including your human and the puppy.>


    Kaz¡¯s eyes opened, and he stared in horror at Lianhua and Kyla. Mei stood beside Kyla, coppery teeth bared, staring around as if she would attack whatever was hurting her kobold. Lianhua was down, too, kneeling on the floor as she desperately tried to cultivate. Both of them had other colors of ki to draw on, but Lianhua¡¯s skin was utterly white, and Kyla¡¯s tongue was barely pink within her gaping mouth.


    Kaz clamped down on his ki. This was his, and it was all he needed. The portion that had already passed through his core as it cycled had become irrevocably his as well, but the rest he pushed back out. Theirs, not his.


    <Don¡¯t push me away, too!> Li¡¯s voice was sharp, but he could feel the fear coursing through her as the link between their cycles narrowed to a bare thread. They belonged together.


    Somehow, Kaz included the dragon in his definition of himself. His ki was hers, and her ki was his. The bond between them expanded to its original size, then thickened, grew stronger than it had ever been before, and he gasped as he felt cool fabric beneath his scales, and she burned with the power running rampant in her belly.


    Together, they compressed their cores, their dantians, even their channels. Stronger together than either was alone, they fell into a rhythm of their own form of cultivation, refining and compressing what their cores were producing, what Kaz had inadvertently stolen from everything around him, and what the medicine in Kaz¡¯s belly was still generating. That last, at least, had slowed to a steady flow after the initial burst, so it was manageable. Barely.


    Lianhua gasped in relief as Kyla closed her mouth with a snap, eyes blinking open. She looked around, dazed, while Mei nosed at her, using small pink hand-paws to pat at the young kobold¡¯s fluffy fur. Assured that they would recover - though the thought that it would be best if Chi Yincang never knew about this did manage to break through Kaz¡¯s focus - Kaz and Li closed their eyes, blocking out everything outside themselves.


    Ki became everything. The brilliant orbs that gave them power pulsed in time with their compressions. Breathe in, hold. Breathe out, release. Just a little. Just enough. Another breath, another compression, each time holding tighter until they simply couldn¡¯t any more.


    Pulse. Hold. Breathe. Hold. The beat of their hearts, the swell of their lungs, the pressure of blood and power forcing its way through every part of their bodies. Kaz and Li were one, separate but whole, alone and together, a world of contradictions that defined truth.


    Their cores shifted. Compression became actuality. The ki they gripped so tightly gained a new level of saturation. Sapphire, ruby, gold, moonstone, and obsidian became colors Kaz had no words for.


    They let go. Slowly, then more quickly, as the ki remained within their cores instead of threatening to explode forth into their bodies or, worse, their surroundings. They convulsed, and blackness oozed from every part of them, as if their skin itself had been unclean.


    I forgot about this part, Kaz thought woozily as he spat out a mouthful of rancid goo. Something felt different about his mouth as he did so. Not bad, just not the same as it had only¡­ how long had the whole ordeal taken?


    <How could you forget?> Li asked, sending him pictures, memories of each and every time this had happened to them before.


    ¡°Just¡­ wanted to be stronger,¡± Kaz gasped, rolling away from the pillow that was now soaked in filth. Li clung to him, and he turned her, too. As he did, he saw that his hand was covered in blue hair again, and realized what was different. He was himself again. Somewhere, in the middle of clinging to who he was, he had managed to shift back to his true form. That was good, except that he knew from experience that the disgusting substance would tangle his fur into dense, stinking mats.


    The pillow shifted, pulling away, leaving the two of them lying on the cold, oiled cloth Raff had laid over the muddy ground. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t raining cats and dogs, I¡¯d kick you out, but as it is¡­¡± Lianhua sighed, then gagged, and Kaz cracked his eyes open long enough to see her throw the filthy pillow out into the rain. It was followed by several others, until the area around Kaz and Li was utterly bare.


    Unfortunately, kobold and dragon were themselves covered in more of the black goo, and after a few moments, Lianhua walked around, picking up the few cushions that were still clean. She shoved them into her pouch, then took out two umbrellas.


    Turning to Kyla, who was now sitting up and snuggling her fuergar, Lianhua offered the pup one of the umbrellas. ¡°I have another tent,¡± she told Kyla. ¡°It¡¯s small, but it doesn¡¯t stink.¡±


    Instantly, Kyla stood, and the two females headed for the tent flap. Opening it, they lifted their umbrellas, and stepped out into the storm, preferring to face a second drenching to remaining trapped inside the tent with Kaz and Li.


    ¡°We¡¯re in trouble,¡± Kaz said hoarsely, rolling his head so he could look at Li.


    The dragon bit his nose.

 Chapter One hundred ninety-seven

    Kaz was only half right. He was in trouble, but Li was not.


    He woke in a pool of unclean water, spluttering and befuddled. Someone had taken the tent down without waking him, and the water that was held outside the oilcloth lining sluiced in as it flattened, swirling around the sleeping dragon and kobold. The camp was packed up within a matter of minutes, every part of it vanishing into storage pouches, and then they were mounted and riding away.


    The rain was slowing, and apparently that meant that soon it would no longer cover the signs of their passage. But Raff knew of a cave where members of his mercenary group kept supplies and sometimes rested if they were in the area overnight. Apparently, it was hidden well enough that if they stayed there, they should be safe.


    ¡°It¡¯s south and west,¡± Raff told Lianhua, who looked unhappy, though Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what part of that statement displeased her. It wasn¡¯t until they¡¯d finished eating a cold meal while the sun rose behind them that Lianhua started talking to him. A fact that he almost instantly regretted.


    ¡°You gave me that speech about trusting one another,¡± Lianhua finally burst out, though she kept her eyes fixed on the tail of Raff¡¯s beast, switching as it brushed away the flying insects that were appropriately called ¡®flies¡¯.


    ¡°You said, and I quote, ¡®I¡¯ll have to depend on you the same way you need to depend on me here. We have to trust each other enough to say the bad things, not just the good.¡¯¡± Narrowed amethyst eyes flicked toward him.


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t even ask before you pulled that bottle out and ate whatever was in it. You didn¡¯t trust me to keep you and Li safe, so you decided you needed to get stronger. And this is after I warned you that doing things on your own was dangerous. And I was right! You almost-¡± She bit off whatever she was going to say, her gaze flitting toward Chi Yincang, who was grimly clinging to the back of his horse with the look of a kobold who had caught a beast much larger than he expected.


    ¡°No more,¡± Lianhua said firmly. ¡°Promise me. If you¡¯re going to do anything involving ki, talk to me about it first.¡±


    ¡°Can I make a light?¡± he asked, having done so many times by now, and genuinely unsure if she meant for him to stop using ki entirely.


    Apparently she thought he was mocking her, because she glared at him. ¡°You know what I mean! Anything new. Definitely any attempt to increase your cultivation level. You raised both your physical and spiritual cultivation levels within far too short a period. You could have crippled yourself, or even shattered your core!¡±


    Li, who had been suspiciously silent since they left the campsite behind, hissed in agreement from where she sat, perched in front of him. <You almost died! What if you had died? You promised to help me find my family. You¡­ I¡­ I need you!>


    She let out a series of sputtering breaths, causing cool water to drip into the newly regrown fur that covered Kaz¡¯s chest. He could feel her fear and misery through the ki that bound them, and Kaz dared remove one hand from where it gripped the mule¡¯s neck fur so he could stroke the dragon¡¯s head. She hissed at him, but allowed it.


    Lianhua watched this, and nodded sharply. ¡°She agrees with me, doesn¡¯t she.¡± It wasn¡¯t actually a question.


    Kaz sighed and nodded, which caused water to drip into his eyes. The rain had almost stopped by now, but a few drops still struck him every now and then, and when the wind blew, even more water flew from the leaves of the dense trees that surrounded them. Lianhua¡¯s umbrellas weren¡¯t sturdy enough to use while rapidly riding enormous beasts, so they were all wet again, but the two kobolds were taking the worst of it thanks to their fur.


    Lianhua was right. His core was a mess. Rather than smooth, thick streams of ki, there were swirls of color, not unlike the way Li¡¯s eyes had roiled with streaks and sparks when she was newly hatched. It was far more difficult than it had been before to separate out one particular type of ki, and it was almost too strong for him to control. Even when he tried to focus on it, it seemed to slip away from him, requiring more concentration than it had before.


    On the other hand, the chunks of hardened mana that he¡¯d accidentally formed while trying to compress his core after it broke were almost entirely gone now. Only a few specks remained, like silvery sand floating in a churning river. And, to Kaz¡¯s silent satisfaction, the mark left by Nucai¡¯s hand was now completely gone.


    ¡°I won¡¯t do anything else until I talk to you,¡± he agreed. That didn¡¯t mean he would do whatever she recommended, but he would certainly listen. He respected Lianhua, but humans and kobolds weren¡¯t the same, and she herself had told him that she was more interested in scholarly pursuits than cultivation.


    <Me, too,> Li insisted, nipping his fingers when they stopped petting her. <I know more than she does, anyway. I¡¯m a dragon.>


    Kaz scratched a spot behind her horns, and sent silent agreement. How many times had Li saved him after he made an impulsive decision? He had long thought of himself as someone who was patient and planned ahead, but he was coming to realize that when left to his own devices, he was more inclined to trust his own instincts and leap forward than wait to see what happened. When his decisions affected only himself, that was fine, but he had friends and companions now, and he couldn¡¯t allow them to be hurt by his poor choices.


    Lianhua looked up as another gust of wind blew a fresh flurry of rain onto their heads. ¡°I want to be dry, but I also don¡¯t want to be found,¡± she said to no one in particular. It seemed that she was done chiding Kaz, and he was grateful for her inclination to avoid arguments. As it was, she must have been very angry or very worried in order to yell at him at all.


    <I¡¯m not done,> Li told him, then butted her head against his fingers. <Keep scratching, and don¡¯t stop until I tell you you can.>


    Raff shrugged. Lianhua had finally gotten the full story of his day out of him, and he¡¯d been riding in gloomy, thoughtful silence ever since. Now he released one of the strips of leather that guided his horse and rubbed at his eyes.


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    ¡°I think we¡¯re clear,¡± he told her. ¡°If they had a way to track us, they¡¯d have caught up while we slept, storm or no. It¡¯s a good thing it¡¯s the Royal Guard after us, and not the Adamant Reach, though. Eugene wouldn¡¯t have stopped until we were in his custody.¡±


    Lianhua lifted a brow. ¡°Eugene?¡±


    Raff chuckled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you meet him? Old, gray hair, about twenty feet tall an¡¯ just as wide? He¡¯s the leader of Adamant.¡±


    She gave a twisted little smile. ¡°Gaoda arranged everything. I was too busy taking care of Yingtao and looking in local bookstores to see if I could find anything interesting.¡±


    Kyla looked up from where she was hunched miserably in front of Lianhua. Kaz had invited the puppy to ride with him again, but she¡¯d declined after telling him he still smelled bad, and she hadn¡¯t spoken since.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Yingtao?¡± she asked.


    ¡°My¡­ friend,¡± Lianhua said, and not for the first time, Kaz wondered at the little pause between the words. ¡°Technically, she¡¯s a cousin, in much the same way Gaoda was, which isn¡¯t really much at all.¡±


    Kyla nodded. She¡¯d gotten a very broad description of the annoying male, Gaoda, when he was mentioned before they reached Wheldrake. The explanation had actually filled in a bit of information Kaz hadn¡¯t known, including Gaoda¡¯s exact relationship to Lianhua.


    Apparently, Gaoda was the third son of the second wife of the second son of the leader of the clan into which Lianhua had been born. Lianhua¡¯s father was the first son, and her mother was his only wife and a granddaughter of the Long clan. That meant that while they were cousins, their rank was very different. They¡¯d barely seen each other, and certainly hadn¡¯t known each other well, especially after Lianhua was adopted by her grandfather, who was actually her great-grandfather, which technically made her her own mother¡¯s aunt.


    It was all very confusing, but meant that Gaoda and Lianhua could be mates, even though they wouldn¡¯t have been able to if Lianhua hadn¡¯t been adopted. Gaoda apparently thought it was good enough. Of course, Lianhua had no interest in any such thing, but that had never stopped her former cousin from attempting to convince or coerce her into agreeing.


    ¡°My Xiang grandfather had five wives, and more than two dozen children,¡± Lianhua said, her voice carefully neutral. ¡°His fifth wife had only daughters, and Yingtao is the daughter of one of those daughters. They have some rank thanks to the fact that their grandfather is clan leader, but Yingtao¡¯s father is only a merchant, and a third son himself. Yingtao was sent into service at about the same time my grandmother decided I needed a friend and servant of my own, so Yingtao came to live with us.¡±


    A soft smile curved her lips. ¡°We hated each other at first. Yingtao saw me as a spoiled girl, without a care in the world, while she had to start helping her family almost as soon as she could walk. I was annoyed by the way she insisted I stop reading long enough to get dressed, eat, and spend some time outside. Then someone tried to kidnap me, and-¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°We were friends after that. She protected me more fiercely than anyone other than my grandparents. When I went to study with the Zhe sect, she went as my servant, and of course when I decided to go on this journey to prove my hypothesis, she came with me. Unfortunately, she got sick soon after we reached Holiander, and Gaoda refused to send for a healer. He believed that all of the healers here had to be frauds, since they don¡¯t have ki. He said it would just be a waste of money.¡±


    At Li¡¯s prompting, Kaz said, ¡°You told him it was his fault Yingtao got sick. Is that why?¡±


    She nodded, her shoulders drawing up defensively. ¡°I should have insisted we get help. No, I should have just gone to find help myself. But Yingtao is a fair healer herself, and she swore she would be fine.¡± Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears, though exactly which of the many emotions visible on her face had caused them, Kaz wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°She hid it well,¡± Chi Yincang said, the unexpected words causing everyone else to turn and stare at him. He was like a silent stone most of the time, so this unasked-for interjection was utterly shocking.


    When he said nothing else, Lianhua gave a sharp nod, eyelashes fluttering as she blinked away the tears. She tilted her head toward Chi Yincang, one brow lifting as she said, ¡°Chi Yincang is Yingtao¡¯s half-brother.¡±


    Once again, everyone stared at Chi Yincang, who had suddenly shifted from an unknowable, almost omnipotent being to a person with a family, including a sister.


    Raff let out a startled laugh. ¡°I thought y¡¯were in love with the girl,¡± he exclaimed, and Chi Yincang¡¯s dark eyes locked onto his, making him flinch. The bigger male looked away, clearing his throat, as he explained, ¡°He hovered ¡®round her almost as bad as Lianhua. You¡¯d think Yingtao was dyin¡¯, the way they acted. Like hens with only one chick between ¡®em.¡±


    ¡°She could have been dying!¡± Lianhua exclaimed, cheeks as red as Kaz had ever seen them. Chi Yincang nodded agreement, though he didn¡¯t speak again.


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Could¡¯ve,¡± he agreed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What was wrong with her?¡± Kyla asked. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she come with you?¡±


    ¡°It was something she ate,¡± Lianhua said, frowning. ¡°The food in Holiander is very different from what we eat in the Empire. At first, we barely noticed. We just assumed her stomach was upset because of the different spices, and she would get used to it. Then she started vomiting blood, and even when Chi Yincang cooked for her, using food from our stores, she couldn¡¯t keep anything down. She lost so much weight, and she was terribly weak. She actually passed out a few times.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s eyes were huge, and she had a hand pressed to her own belly. She and Kaz were certainly eating a great number of things they¡¯d never had before, and the puppy was obviously concerned. ¡°But she got better?¡±


    Lianhua looked at Chi Yincang, and something passed between them. ¡°After Yingtao went to stay with the healer, so he could monitor her and control what she ate and drank, she started to get better. Just not fast enough. Grandfather gave me six months to find my proof, and we¡¯d already used half of it. There was no way we could get to Shensheng, explore it, and return home in time. And I agreed that I would marry and stay home if I¡¯m even a day late, or if I couldn¡¯t find proof that the Diushi went to Shensheng after they vanished.¡±


    Kaz did some simple math, based on what Li overheard Raff say to his brother. ¡°So you¡¯ve already used four months or more of your time?¡± Were months the same for humans as they were for kobolds? To him, a month was twenty-eight days, which left no more than fifty-six to reach Cliffcross, retrieve Yingtao, and return to Lianhua¡¯s home.


    Lianhua rubbed her temple. ¡°Four and a half. At least. I asked one of the shopkeepers what the date was yesterday, but Holiander uses a different calendar than we do, so I¡¯m not sure exactly how long I have left. It should be plenty of time, though, especially if we hire someone to send us through a portal. It would be incredibly expensive, but much faster than riding back through the mountains.¡±


    Chi Yincang made a soft sound. ¡°Once we pay Raff for guiding us, we won¡¯t have much money left, my lady.¡±


    Lianhua pressed her lips together. ¡°Stop ¡®ladying¡¯ me. Gaoda isn¡¯t here, and you¡¯ve known me almost as long as Yingtao has.¡±


    The corner of Chi Yincang¡¯s lips twitched. Barely. ¡°Elder Long would not approve.¡±


    Lianhua huffed. ¡°Fine. But when we get home, I¡¯d better be Lianhua again.¡±


    Unperturbed, Chi Yincang said, ¡°As you wish, my lady. Regardless, the funds Elder Long gave you have nearly been depleted. I have more, but if you use it-¡±


    ¡°I concede that I¡¯m unable to handle being in a party in unknown territory for an extended period of time,¡± Lianhua said, sounding defeated. ¡°What in the world did Gaoda spend it all on?¡±


    Chi Yincang¡¯s horse jerked to the side as a small animal darted out in front of its hooves. The male¡¯s hands tightened on the leather straps almost convulsively, and his skin paled.


    Raff held up a hand. ¡°Shh,¡± he whispered. ¡°Somethin¡¯ spooked that bunny.¡±


    As if his words had been a signal, a pack of four-legged beasts appeared from the bushes ahead, tongues lolling from their long muzzles as they chased after the fleeing bit of fluff. The horses came to a halt, dancing in place and making high, worried sounds as the animals turned, yellow eyes bright over long, gleaming fangs.

 Chapter One hundred ninety-eight

    Around him, the humans relaxed, though the horses¡¯ eyes rolled, showing the whites around their dark irises.


    ¡°Wolves,¡± Raff said, shrugging his shoulders to loosen them. His hand was on the hilt of his sword, but he hadn¡¯t drawn it yet. ¡°If they¡¯re not starving, they won¡¯t attack, and there should be plenty to eat this time of year.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, but her eyes were fixed on the largest wolf. It was a male, and he stood shoulder and head above the next largest, which was a female. The other four were significantly smaller, with the outsized paws of pups who were still growing.


    A softly glowing core hung in the abdomen of the male wolf, pale yellow and grayish-blue ki slowly cycling through the heavily muscled body. When the wolf¡¯s eyes met Kaz¡¯s, he felt an unexpected sense of connection, though no visible exchange of ki took place between them.


    The female looked at her mate, then at Kaz. She had no core, and neither did any of the puppies, but there was calm intelligence in her gaze, and she briefly dipped her nose before nudging the large male. He chuffed, looking at each of the humans, before meeting Kaz¡¯s eyes again. A moment of silent communion passed, and then the six gray-furred beasts vanished back into the bushes, chasing the fleeing rabbit.


    Raff¡¯s hand fell from his weapon, and he glanced at his companions before clicking his tongue and tapping his heels to his horse¡¯s sides. The animal began moving again, though its tail twitched nervously and it continued casting glances at the nearby foliage. The other horses and Kaz¡¯s mule followed after with very little encouragement.


    The encounter had taken less than a minute, but Kaz couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of connection he¡¯d had with the male wolf. It was nothing like the deep bond he felt with Li, but it was much more personal than the mental communication he¡¯d experienced with Heishe. What had just happened?


    ¡°Kaz?¡± Lianhua said, and he looked over, finding that her horse had dropped back beside his mule. Kyla and Mei drowsed in front of her much the same way Li was fighting sleep in front of Kaz, and the human female¡¯s hand gently stroked the puppy¡¯s ears just as Kaz drew his fingers along Li¡¯s sleek scales.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked warily, wondering if she was going to take him to task again.


    ¡°Did you¡­ Was there anything¡­ odd about that wolf?¡± She tilted her head in the direction the wolves had run.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°The large male had a core. Earth and wood.¡±


    She made a sound of relieved comprehension. ¡°There was so much power in the mountain that it affected the way I sense ki. I wasn¡¯t certain if what I was sensing was real. It was a fairly weak core, but the fact that it had two elements would explain-¡±


    He tilted his head as she stopped, his ears turning toward her. ¡°Explain?¡±


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°It was weak enough that I wasn¡¯t certain it was there, but what I did sense was very¡­ familiar. That would make sense if we shared two elements.¡± Her expression was almost wistful as she looked after the wolf.


    Kaz blinked. Since he had all five kinds of ki, he ¡®shared elements¡¯ with every creature who used power. This was the first time he¡¯d ever felt such an instant connection with any of them, however, including Li.


    ¡°Does sharing elements matter?¡± he asked.


    She nodded. ¡°I told you once that part of the reason why my grandfather selected Gaoda and Chi Yincang to go on this journey with me was because we shared some of the same kinds of ki. That allows us to combine our power, becoming stronger than any of us individually.¡±


    Kaz remembered. He also remembered that when they formed a shield to protect the group from the floating fulan spores, the balance of power had been very uneven. As the person in control of their combined ki, Lianhua had fairly glowed with power, while Gaoda and Chi Yincang grew more and more exhausted.


    Lianhua had only been able to take Chi Yincang¡¯s white ki, leaving his black untouched, but she had both of Gaoda¡¯s elements, which meant he was utterly drained by the time the shield they¡¯d created to keep out the fulan spores had come down. It was the only time Kaz had felt even a shred of sympathy for the annoying male.


    Which reminded Kaz of something else. Lianhua had to use a rune to take Chi Yincang and Gaoda¡¯s ki, and even then they had to work together to create their temporary link. On the other hand, everyone and everything seemed to be able to take Kaz¡¯s power, with or without his permission.


    So far, only Lianhua had figured it out, but once he was surrounded by humans, at least some of whom would probably know how to cultivate, what were the odds that he could prevent them from draining him dry, possibly without even realizing what they were doing?


    Li looked up at him, distracted from her enjoyment of the warm sun now peeking through the clouds and Kaz¡¯s gentle stroking. <I¡¯ll bite them,> she told him firmly. <If anyone tries to take your power, I¡¯ll bite them really hard.> She sent him an image of herself, grown to massive proportions, chomping on an offending human, after which she tossed her head back and swallowed him down.


    ¡°No eating people,¡± Kaz reminded her absently, but she just sniffed, turning away as she stretched her long neck out along the mule¡¯s shoulders. They had had this conversation many times before, and by now Kaz was almost entirely certain that she was only teasing him by continuing to suggest it.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes grew large, however, and she nodded vigorously. Then her eyes flicked toward the pouch hanging at Chi Yincang¡¯s waist, where the tiny figurine of Gaoda waited to be returned to life. Her lips twitched, and instead of telling the dragon that eating people was definitely not a good idea, she said, ¡°Some cultivators actually keep beasts from whom they can take ki. It¡¯s possible that if I captured that wolf, I could use his power if we developed such a bond.¡±


    Kaz opened his mouth, and Lianhua held up her free hand. ¡°Not that I would! Such bonds are usually formed when the beast is very young, not after they¡¯ve reached maturity. It¡¯s very difficult for most people to find an animal with that close of a match, though. Even then, the bond often fails to form, and there are sometimes unforeseen consequences when it does.¡±


    Kaz looked down at the dragon with whom he shared an undeniable link, and wondered if he had somehow accidentally formed such a connection with her. If so, what ¡®consequences¡¯ could there be, other than being able to share thoughts and memories?


    Before he could ask, Lianhua said, ¡°The beast¡¯s life is almost always extended. Sometimes indefinitely. But when it¡¯s not, the human has to suffer through the loss of their companion, and depending on the bond, that can be devastating. For this reason, some people try not to become emotionally attached to their animals, but it rarely works. Either they can¡¯t create a bond at all, or when the animal dies, the human suffers anyway. For this reason, and others, the practice has become less common in recent years.¡±


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    Kaz drew his finger down Li¡¯s neck. ¡°What happens to the animals if the person they¡¯re bonded to dies?¡±


    He could tell from the look on Lianhua¡¯s face that he shouldn¡¯t have asked, but she quickly held up her hand again. ¡°I¡¯m almost certain that what you and Li have isn¡¯t the same thing,¡± she said hastily. ¡°Otherwise, I would have told you about it.¡±


    She paused, grimacing. ¡°Well, I would have planned to tell you about it. We¡¯ve been so busy I¡¯ve barely even been able to teach you any runes. I keep hoping for a quiet moment to get started, but there just aren¡¯t any. At least not any where one or both of us aren¡¯t already exhausted or overwhelmed.¡±


    That was fair, but Kaz and Li both continued to look at her expectantly. Things weren¡¯t likely to get much calmer with a large group of armed humans chasing after them.


    She drew in a breath. ¡°All right. So, a bond is formed when a human or demihuman cultivates regularly around an animal who shares their ki affinity. When I-¡± She shot a sidelong look at Chi Yincang, who seemed entirely occupied with watching the trees around them and clinging uncomfortably to the back of his horse.


    With a flick of her fingers, Lianhua traced the ¡®obscure sound¡¯ rune in the palm of her other hand, and ki pooled in it. A push of power flowed out of her, and Kaz could see and feel it more clearly than ever before. It didn¡¯t block his sight at all, but he was aware of it as if the human had dropped a blanket over them.


    ¡°When I took your power while I was cultivating, I thought at first that I had formed such a bond with you,¡± she said bluntly. She saw the protest rising in him, and shook her head. ¡°Yes, I know you¡¯re not a beast, but that was the only thing that made sense. Since then, however, I¡¯ve seen everything from a ki cannon to a staircase take your power, and I¡¯ve formed a hypothesis.¡±


    Kaz waited, but now she looked distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, she burst out, ¡°The kobolds have to have been created for some reason. Some purpose. I suppose it¡¯s possible that whoever Nucai¡¯s Master was, he simply wanted to experiment for his own sick reasons, but everything I¡¯ve seen, everything written in Zhangwo¡¯s records and Princess Tiyang¡¯s book, everything indicates a plan. I don¡¯t know what the end goal was. Perhaps we never will. But I do think that kobolds, or at least some kobolds, were meant to power the mountain, or perhaps just the Master, like some kind of living ki crystal.¡±


    This was Kaz¡¯s opening to tell her about Qiangde. Because of the ancient dragon¡¯s memories, Kaz knew that the kobolds were simply a way for Qiangde to learn more about cores in an attempt to leave the mortal plane. Yes, he¡¯d certainly had some secondary use for them, as evidenced by his brief conversation with the other dragon at the very beginning of the memory sequence, but whatever that use was had been a distant second to the burning desire Qiangde felt to escape the limitations of their world and become even stronger.


    He hesitated too long, however, because another voice interrupted them. They both looked at Kyla, who was well within the space covered by Lianhua¡¯s rune, and must have heard everything they said.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± the puppy said, looking over her shoulder at Lianhua. ¡°Before the Voice stopped speaking, many of us were called to give ourselves to the Tree. The cores of the chiefs were passed down to their daughters, so that their power wouldn¡¯t be lost, but the Voice commanded others of the chief¡¯s line to offer their cores, claiming that they were a necessary sacrifice to keep the mountain safe.¡±


    Her hand lifted to her throat, as if she could touch a necklace that didn¡¯t yet exist. ¡°It was in Chief Tegra¡¯s books. No one but the chief and her heir is supposed to read them, but I did. Special stones were added to the necklace of every female who was being considered as a possible chief. The stones came from the Tree, and once they were around someone¡¯s throat, that kobold could be called.¡±


    Her fingers fell, and she lifted Mei, cuddling the fuergar, who snuggled into the embrace, pink and white whiskers quivering in clear concern. ¡°It was rare,¡± Kyla went on quietly. ¡°Even in the time of the Voice. Only one in ten were called, if that, and usually only when they began to grow old, and their puppies had pups of their own.¡±


    One in ten. That number was familiar. Kaz and Li examined a memory together. Ghazt, offering an injured Kaz up to the Tree, where Kaz was remade into something else by Nucai. Kaz had lost his memories of his earliest years, that brief time when he, Katri, and their parents had lived away from Oda, Vega, and the machinations of the Great Tribes. In exchange, he¡¯d gained two more colors of ki, forever altering the balance of his power.


    When Kaz was returned to his parents, physically if not mentally intact, a necklace had come with him. Ghazt had started to put it on Kaz, but Rega had snatched it and put it on her own neck instead.


    Kaz frowned, examining the memories more closely, as if they were a series of paintings in his mind. Not this one or this one, but here¡­ Yes! Clutched in his father¡¯s arms, staring up at the blue and yellow crystals in the ceiling of the cavern where the Tree grew. Ghazt was running, and as he did, his necklace bounced off his chest, each bone and claw sharply defined. Including five round beads carved with runes.


    Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. They were small, nearly lost among the large teeth of a dengyu, an incredibly rare and deadly stealth hunter only found in the mid-levels. Still, there was no doubt in Kaz¡¯s mind that he¡¯d seen them.


    Forward through the images, flipping from one to the next like pages in a book, Kaz found another picture. Rega, cradling Kaz close after he¡¯d been returned. Her own necklace was smaller, almost delicate, with only polished stones and brightly colored gems strung on it. But no rune-carved stones. At least not until she put on the necklace meant for Kaz.


    Why? She was the daughter of the Magmablade chief, but she had managed to avoid getting those beads herself. Because she insisted that she didn¡¯t want to be chief? Did she know what they did? Or did she simply know that if it was placed around Kaz¡¯s neck, it could never be removed, and someday it might force him to return and offer himself to the Tree?


    No. Not the Tree. Nucai. Having felt the presence of the beings in the Tree, and spoken to Nucai, Kaz was certain of that. The gold might not be kind, but it wasn¡¯t calculating and cruel either, and the blue had a gentleness to it that reminded Kaz of Rega herself.


    What did it all mean? Why hadn¡¯t Rega simply crushed the stones, instead of slipping the necklace around her own throat? If Nucai was the Voice now, had he always been? That didn¡¯t seem right, somehow. Nucai wanted out of the Tree, perhaps out of the mountain, and he had been using Kaz¡¯s family and his people to achieve that end. But it would have been easy enough for the original Voice to simply tell the long-ago kobolds to destroy the Tree.


    Nucai also seemed to be limited in ways that the original Voice hadn¡¯t been. He could communicate with those who came to him directly, or perhaps he was able to hear Ghazt because Ghazt wore the beads? In any case, it was clear that he couldn¡¯t speak to all of the kobolds. From the stories Kaz had heard, the original Voice could talk to any kobold at any time.


    Then there was the fact that the Woodblades and the Goldblades were devoted to the Tree, the Voice, and the mountain itself. His whirling mind stilled. Was that why the Woodblades had had to die? Nucai said he¡¯d been manipulating the kobolds. For how long? Were the Woodblades too strong, too beloved, too devoted to the ancient ways to allow the Tree to wither away? Had Nucai convinced Vega to kill them, removing the last impediment to his escape? It had taken more than a decade before it even came close to working, but what was time to a being who was already a thousand years old?


    Li nudged him from his useless introspection as Kyla continued.


    ¡°There¡¯s a special building in the city, where only the chiefs are allowed to go,¡± the puppy told them. ¡°There¡¯s something they have to do there, though even Tegra wasn¡¯t willing to say exactly what it was. Toward the end of her life, she went a little mad, I think. In the beginning, she wanted to destroy whatever was in that building, but by the end, the very idea terrified her. She said we should flee the mountain, but it must stand.¡±


    ¡°Did she say why?¡± Lianhua asked, almost whispering.


    Kyla shook her head, sitting up a bit straighter and rubbing her eyes with her fists, like a puppy half her age. ¡°That¡¯s why I said she had to be a little mad. She claimed that if the mountain fell, so would the world, but even I know that can¡¯t be right.¡±

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    My vacation starts today, and I have chapter 199 queued up for July 30, which also happens to be my birthday. Yay, me! ??


    I thought I would remind you that I put my very first book, Clearing, up for free on the Amazon Kindle store for the next few days. If you like my books, check out the link below!


    Clearing is the first of five books in the ''Legendary Farmer'' series. Much like Broken Knife, it starts off slow and ramps up. It''s LitRPG, in that there are tables and stats, but not a lot of them. It follows Zoey (a fourteen-year-old gamer girl) and Aspen (a retired Necromancer NPC) as they work together to complete an in-game quest that becomes much more complex than it seems at first. They''re joined by Zoey''s dad and a few of her friends, as well as Aspen''s animal companions, and if you like Li, you''ll recognize a lot in Silus the bat ??


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Note that I do release under my real name, though at this point I''m actually more comfortable as SilverSidhe than Elizabeth Oswald for author-related stuff ??


    See you in a week, and if you check out Clearing, let me know! ????

 Chapter One hundred ninety-nine

    Disjointed thoughts filled Kaz¡¯s mind for the rest of the ride. He ate food when it was pressed into his hands, drank water when Lianhua handed him a cup, but he barely spoke, even to Li, who was clearly worried about him. The dragon kept trying to help him put his memories in some kind of order that made sense, but moments that seemed to have nothing to do with each other kept combining to create wilder and wilder theories that Kaz was forced to discard when yet another seemingly unrelated memory intruded.


    He kept circling back to two questions. They seemed to have nothing to do with each other, and yet Kaz knew that somehow they were linked. First, why did the Woodblades have to die? Was it truly just Vega and the Magmablades¡¯ compulsion to tear apart the Deep, destroy whatever Qiangde had been trying to do, and escape? Or did Nucai have something to do with it? If so, were the new Woodblades really safe now that the Magmablades had decided to protect them instead of attempting to take over? Had Kaz left too soon? But what more could he have done, other than confront Nucai and die?


    Kaz stared down at Li, barely seeing his small friend where she perched in front of him on the mule. Somehow, the first question always led to the second. Who had attacked the Broken Knives at the top of the mountain? Why? Obviously, they were after cores, and Rega and Oda must have had far more powerful ones than they let on. Hadn¡¯t they? If Oda was strong enough to be chief of a Great Tribe, or even pretend to be one, surely she had to have been much stronger than any of the chiefs of the small, weak tribes in the heights. Oda, Rega, and Ghazt had all been powerful, but none of them had shown that power. But all three wore the necklaces Nucai ¡®gave¡¯ to the strongest members of the Great Tribes. Did that explain why they were so weak? Or did they just act weak for some reason?


    Which, again, led back to the question of who attacked the tribe. Who knew Oda and Rega¡¯s cores would be worth hunting? Had the core-hunter even gotten Oda¡¯s core? When he left, Katri had been acting very strangely, suddenly insisting that they had to fight their way back to the Deep, just as Oda always had. Had she eaten Oda¡¯s core, and his sister¡¯s core had already been under attack by their insane adoptive mother¡¯s core? Were Katri and his tribe really safe with the former Longtooths? Kaz had been so eager to leave that he hadn¡¯t even tried to argue.


    A deep sense of self-loathing was threatening to overtake him. Selfishly, he had abandoned his sister, his tribe, and his people to unknown assailants. Was Katri even still alive? Or had the core-hunter already stalked her down a few paltry levels and taken her core?


    <You couldn¡¯t do anything,> Li broke in, rubbing her head against his hand as she watched him in concern. <You were too weak when you left the heights, Katri wouldn¡¯t have listened, and Nucai is still stronger than you.>


    Which was why he¡¯d been feeling a compulsion to grow stronger. Grow, and grow, and grow, strong enough to protect everyone he loved. But who was that, really?


    <Me,> Li said confidently, and he smiled down at her, his drooping ears finally lifting away from his head.


    ¡°Yes, you,¡± he murmured. But who else? With Ghazt and Rega dead, and his last illusions about Oda destroyed, Katri was his only remaining family. Except that she wasn¡¯t. Ija was his cousin, as were Kyla and Gram. He even had a great-aunt in Sika, and there were undoubtedly other relatives scattered through all of the tribes. But did he love them? He certainly liked most of the ones he¡¯d met, but that was as far as it went. Though Kyla was growing on him. But even if he did care for them, did that mean he had a responsibility to take care of them?


    Again, Li rubbed her head on his hand, silent for once in the face of Kaz¡¯s internal struggles. He had been weak for so long, and yet every male knew his duty was to protect. Protect his mate, his pups, and his tribe. How could Kaz leave everything behind for something so selfish as a simple desire to escape and see the world outside the mountain?


    ¡°Here we are,¡± Raff said with great satisfaction as he brought his horse to a stop in front of a particularly dense patch of trees and bushes. The sun was beginning to set again, coating the world in orange and red. Green leaves turned brown, and shadows lay thick on the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s just more trees,¡± Kyla whimpered.


    Kyla had become less and less enamored of the horses as they continued to ride. Kobold legs didn¡¯t lay against the animals¡¯ sides as easily as human limbs, and the pup had switched briefly to rejoin Kaz on the smaller mule for a while after lunch. Between Kaz¡¯s morose silence and Li¡¯s continuing refusal to allow Kyla to pet her, the young kobold soon begged Lianhua to take her back, and now she sat with both legs on one side of the horse, rather than facing front as the humans did.


    Raff grinned, hopping down from his own horse, which gave him a reproachful look and shook its head, huffing loudly. Walking over to a thick section of bushes, Raff leaned in, pressing the symbol on his shoulder into them. With a soft rustle, they slid out of the way, revealing the side of the grassy hill rising behind them. The hill split, a soft fog of mana hovering over a cavity that reminded Kaz a little too much of the damp, glistening crevice in the Tree into which his father had once placed him.


    ¡°C¡¯mon in,¡± the big human told them, tugging at the horse as he stepped inside the dim and earthy entrance. The horse balked, but Raff pulled the leather strips attached to the harness taut, and the animal reluctantly followed. After that, the other horses and Kaz¡¯s mule went through as well, though the rest of the humans had to get down or risk hitting their heads on the top of the opening.


    Inside, the hill almost seemed larger than it had looked on the outside. The gentle slope opened out into a cavern that a good-sized tribe could have made into a den, making Kaz feel momentarily at home, until he realized that the floor was packed dirt, and the walls were made of brick, not stone. No stalactites hung from the ceiling, and the ground was smooth, sloping down to where a small stream emerged from one side and exited into the earth on the other.


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    Lianhua instantly created a light orb, which hung in the center of the space, and, seeing it, Kyla proudly summoned her own light. Oddly, rather than the usual flickering, flame-like glow of a kobold¡¯s ki-light, Kyla¡¯s flashed, then stabilized into something more like Lianhua¡¯s pure, clear orb. Like the steady illumination of the sun. The puppy¡¯s image of light was already shifting to something new after only having been exposed to humans and the outer world for a few days.


    Seeing it, Lianhua smiled, then reached up to touch the light, which was both smaller and closer to the ground than her own. Quickly, she pulled back her fingers. ¡°It¡¯s a little hot,¡± she told the young kobold. ¡°That¡¯s all right, but make sure you¡¯re being very intentional about it. Creating heat as well as light takes more ki, and if it gets too warm, you could start a fire or burn someone.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears lowered, and her tail stilled behind her as she concentrated. The color of her light shifted a little further from red toward white, and Kaz could see the flow of ki linking her to it thin slightly. It still looked like it could be more efficient, but it was better, and Kyla could probably maintain it indefinitely without pressing her core to produce more ki.


    Li was watching the two females, head tilted to the side. Absently, she blew a small ring of vapor, and created a tiny spark in the very center of it, causing the round cloud to glow as the light reflected from the miniscule droplets of water. With a little sniff, she glided down from the mule¡¯s back, flapping her wings just once, as she dove through the ring, scattering fog and light that trailed behind her as she landed on the edge of the little stream. With no further ado, she leaped in, splashing the ground nearby.


    Everyone except for Chi Yincang laughed, and for the first time that day, Kaz felt his gloom lift. He had made mistakes, he was sure, and those mistakes would have consequences, but in this moment, he was here, with his friends and his dragon, and he was glad for that.


    Lianhua turned on them all, hands on her hips. ¡°We need baths,¡± she told them. ¡°Get drinks and refill your drinking water before we start, because the water will be disgusting for a while after.¡± She pointed at Kaz, narrowing her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re last, because no one else will be able to get clean after you.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s eyes were bright as she watched Li dive and splash in the merry little stream. Mei had followed the dragon more cautiously, and was now drinking thirstily, her front paws in the water a little ways upstream. ¡°Me first?¡± Kyla asked, and Lianhua frowned slightly.


    ¡°Perhaps we can go at the same time,¡± the human female said diplomatically. She obviously wanted to be first, but she was willing to share. The stream wasn¡¯t that large or deep, and wouldn¡¯t even reach Lianhua¡¯s knees, but they could sit in the water and get clean enough.


    Raff chuckled. ¡°Turn down th¡¯ lights, then, an¡¯ we¡¯ll go make some supper.¡± Raff had killed a few rabbits that day, simply by flicking mana-powered pebbles at them as they ran in front of the group. He¡¯d hung them from the leather pad on which he sat, and to Kaz¡¯s surprise, the horse hadn¡¯t shied at the scent of blood. Clearly, the animals were used to it.


    Now, Lianhua and Kyla retreated to one end of the cave as Raff began to dress his kills. The males stood or crouched with their backs toward the stream, so Kaz mimicked them, though his ears swiveled as he heard Kyla¡¯s giggles. Li offered to show him what was happening, but Kaz resisted the urge to find out what was making the pup laugh, and instead focused on preparing food.


    Thanks to Raff, Kaz knew at least some plants that were safe to eat. The sweet, fresh green curls of ferns, and clusters of round blue berries, but not the red or white. He had gathered mushrooms as well, surprised to find toufa lurking in the crevices of a rotting log. They were smaller than he was used to, but a tentative nibble told him they tasted just as good, and didn¡¯t cause his stomach to hurt. Each time they stopped, a few found their way into his storage pouch, the action of gathering feeling comfortingly familiar.


    Raff prepared the rabbits, and Kaz filled the chest cavity with green plants and fungus, along with a few berries to add sweetness. Chi Yincang watched the entrance, which was once again closed. Laughter and splashing echoed from the stream, and Kaz felt himself slowly relax, letting go of the things he couldn¡¯t change.


    By the time the females were done washing, Raff was turning the rabbits on a spit over his fire stone. Kaz took over while Raff washed up. The large male then shocked them all by returning with almost all of his face-fur removed, and the hair on top of his head cut short and ragged.


    Raff ran a hand over the mess, the familiar grin looking strange in the new expanse of bare skin. ¡°I was hopin¡¯ someone could trim this up,¡± he said. ¡°I found some blue-bark near our camp last night, so I can color my hair, too.¡±


    Running a hand over his smooth jaw, he grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ve had that beard for nearly ten years. If I switch to short, dark hair, no fuzz, I bet even the tavern maids at the Long Lyre wouldn¡¯t recognize me.¡±


    Kaz and Kyla exchanged a glance. Raff still smelled like Raff, albeit somewhat cleaner, so such a simple change certainly wouldn¡¯t fool them. Which actually spawned another question into Kaz¡¯s already overwrought mind. How had simply dying his fur allowed Ghazt to hide in the Deep for years? Kobolds knew each other as much by scent as sight. Surely someone must have caught his scent and recognized it. Or had he only been ¡®hiding¡¯ from Vega and Oda, and others knew exactly where he was?


    Kaz looked toward the scent of burning meat, seeing that at some point he had stopped turning the rabbits. One side was looking distinctly blackened, and Raff stepped forward, firmly taking the spit from him.


    ¡°Go wash up,¡± the tall man said with unusual gentleness.


    Lianhua nodded, her eyes sparkling. ¡°I left something by the stream. It¡¯s for you.¡±


    Kaz glanced around, only then realizing that Li hadn¡¯t returned with the others. Was she still playing?


    <Come see,> Li said, her voice full of suppressed excitement. She must have been working very hard not to let any of that seep through their connection.


    Kaz cast a wistful glance at the rabbits, which smelled delicious, in spite of the burned part. He would have liked to eat before he washed. The cave was warmer than the depths of the mountain, but it would still take quite a while for wet fur to dry, and he didn¡¯t want to be uncomfortable while he ate.


    Now that he was paying attention to Li, however, the ki between them fairly vibrated with emotion, so Kaz gave a soft sigh and walked out of the light of Lianhua¡¯s orb and toward the sound of running water.

 Chapter Two hundred

    A hovering light orb illuminated a neatly folded stack of cloth beside the stream, with a glistening golden dragon perched on top of it. Li was fairly bubbling with excitement, and little puffs of mist emerged from her nostrils with every breath. Moisture drifted downward, darkening the green fabric, and Kaz reached toward the pile, intending to move the fabric out from under the dripping dragon.


    Li hissed, lifting her wings defensively. <After you wash! Lianhua said you¡¯re too dirty for clean clothes.>


    Kaz lifted his arm, staring at the blue fur. He didn¡¯t think he was that bad, especially not after hours spent riding in the rain. The black goo was very sticky, though, and he could see a few stubborn clumps still clinging to him.


    <It¡¯s the smell,> Li told him, shuddering perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.


    He gave an experimental sniff, wrinkling his nose at the distinct aroma of something long dead and rotting. If even the humans could smell it, then Kaz must have simply become used to it. Poor Kyla. No wonder she hadn¡¯t stayed with him for long.


    Li bumped something else toward him with her tail, and Kaz saw it was one of Lianhua¡¯s jars of sweet-smelling unguent. Next to it was a bar of soap. Kaz sighed, stepped into the water, and set to scrubbing.


    It took a surprising amount of time before the dragon finally agreed that he had done a good enough job that he could stop. Honestly, he wasn¡¯t that enthusiastic about putting on the layers of clothing that humans wore again, but Li was so excited that his tail began to wag as she did a little dance on the stone beside the stack.


    He lifted the top item, which unfolded into a green robe that looked like it would reach about halfway down his legs. It was made of a rougher fabric than the first one Lianhua had given him, but it also felt thicker and heavier, and the weight was actually quite pleasant as he swung it around his shoulders.


    Beneath that lay a piece of bluish fabric which seemed to split into two pieces as he raised it up. It took him a while to realize that it was something like what Chi Yincang wore on his legs, which was much looser than the version Raff wore beneath his armor.


    Kaz pulled it on, but the bottoms puddled on the floor beneath his paws. His proportions weren¡¯t the same as a human¡¯s, and these simply didn¡¯t work. The robe covered most of his body anyway, so surely that would be enough? Removing it, he carefully folded it and laid it back on the ground.


    At last, he revealed a pair of what Lianhua called ¡®sandals¡¯. Kaz had seen one of the shopkeepers wearing them and asked what they were. They were the only footwear he¡¯d seen that looked even vaguely comfortable. Simple straps held a flat piece of hardened leather or wood against the bottom of the foot, allowing humans to walk on hot or sharp surfaces. Kaz thought he might even try to create something similar for kobolds someday. The thick pads on his paws were quite durable, but that didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t hurt to step on a pointy rock.


    He set those aside with the leg coverings, then moved on to the long, rolled-up object that had been carefully hidden beneath the clothes. By this time Li was almost spinning in place, chanting, <Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!>


    Kaz¡¯s ear twitched as he tried to hide his amusement, but his fingers were nearly trembling as they gently tugged at the sturdy rope holding the bundle closed. He had only seen one thing like this while he was out with Lianhua, but it was in the shop they¡¯d left rather abruptly when Li let them know Raff was in trouble. When did Lianhua even have a chance to buy this? She took several minutes to buy anything, thanks to the extended haggling she seemed to revel in. Had she actually paid full price for it?


    As the soft leather unrolled, Kaz caught his breath. Tubes of pigment, brushes, and slender sticks of charcoal were revealed. Each item was held in place by a small strap, so the whole could be rolled up quickly and easily, without the contents becoming jumbled.


    The shopkeeper had seen Kaz¡¯s interest, which Lianhua had already taught Kaz was a mistake, because the price of an item could double instantly if the owner was unscrupulous. They¡¯d been told this would cost almost five gold, and Kaz heard Lianhua gasp in indignation at the price. But she had paid it? For him?


    Pulling out the largest of the brushes, Kaz marveled at the stiffness of the bristles. Every one of them remained firmly in place as they ruffled against his thumb. The second brush was smaller, rounder, and softer, while a third was flat and cut at an angle. There were ten brushes in all, with the smallest having bristles that were barely a quarter inch long, made up of only a few fine hairs that came to a delicate point.


    Ten tubes of colored pigment came next, each marked with a sample of the color inside. Brilliant colors lay next to larger tubes of black and white, each tube made from some flexible pieces of what looked like tin. Kaz pressed a finger gently against the bulging middle of the tube of black paint, and it bent easily beneath the pressure. How had they gotten the metal so thin?


    Last came charcoal, which seemed to be something like chalk, in that it was soft and crumbly, leaving a rich streak of color behind when used. That streak could then be brushed and manipulated to create the illusion of depth and shadow, much like chalk, but these had powdered pigment mixed in when they were made, so they could be almost any color. There were ten in total, which was a number the humans seemed to prefer over the nine Kaz was so used to.


    <Draw something!> Li cried, then corrected herself to, <Draw me!> She posed, curving her neck just so, as her wings spread to show off the subtle gradation of gold into blue, silver, and soft, shadowy black. There were a few pieces of heavy paper, much thicker than the sheets in Lianhua¡¯s books, rolled up in the bundle. Kaz took one out, and lost himself as he began to set paint to paper.


    It was a disaster. There were lumps and smears everywhere, and the colors mixed into ugly shades of brownish green and yellow. Each brush clearly had its own purpose, but other than the small one being for detail, Kaz didn¡¯t know what they were. When he finally gave up trying to fix the mess, Kaz washed the brushes in the stream - which was already running clear again, in spite of Lianhua¡¯s prediction that it would be unusable after he bathed - and reluctantly showed it to Li.


    The dragon had barely managed to resist the urge to look, especially once she sensed Kaz¡¯s mounting frustration, and she was suspiciously silent for a long moment before asking, <This is what I look like?>


    Kaz shook his head and crumpled the page in his hand. ¡°No,¡± he told her, showing her the way she looked through his eyes. Lustrous, delicate scales covered her body, and her long neck and tail were absolute grace. Her eyes nearly glowed with lambent gold light, and every movement she made was adorable, though that wasn¡¯t a word he would have used in speaking to her.


    Li stilled, head tilted as she focused on the picture Kaz was showing her. She sounded very thoughtful when she said, <Is that really how you see me?>


    Kaz blinked. ¡°Of course.¡±


    <I¡¯m going to keep you,> Li returned, suddenly completely serious. <You say that if I want to go, you¡¯ll let me, but I won¡¯t let you go. You¡¯re mine, and I¡¯m yours.> There was no room for Kaz to disagree, but he found that he didn¡¯t want to.


    Leaning forward, Kaz gently touched his nose to his dragon¡¯s. ¡°All right,¡± he murmured, and the two of them sat, nose to nose as the stream burbled behind them and the ball of the failed painting slipped into the current, unfurling as it spun and vanished into the current.


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    ¡°Kaz?¡±


    He blinked, sitting up abruptly, unsure how long he¡¯d just spent, floating in that space that was both between them and within him. Lianhua stood to one side, her eyes wide as she took them in, kobold and dragon, with wet brushes and tubes of paint scattered around them.


    ¡°Did you paint something?¡± Lianhua asked with a slightly awkward smile, as if sensing she¡¯d interrupted something, but wasn¡¯t sure what.


    Kaz sighed, starting to gather his supplies and put them back into their places. ¡°I tried. It didn¡¯t go well. I don¡¯t know how to paint.¡± Long ago, his father had promised to teach him, but once they left the Deep, Ghazt had never painted again, so far as Kaz knew.


    Lianhua nodded, then grimaced. ¡°Neither do I. My grandmother insisted I learn to draw and embroider, but I¡¯m just not an artistic person, so I stick to pen and ink, and buy my clothes.¡± Her expression lightened, smile glowing like Li¡¯s eyes as she went on, ¡°Yingtao is the artist. Once I become a scholar, she¡¯s going to go with me, and draw all of the wonderful things we discover. Much like you¡¯ve been doing recently. She can paint, too, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be happy to teach you.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail began to wag, and almost without thinking, he lifted Li to his shoulder, where she curled around his neck, her tail winding around his arm possessively. ¡°That would be wonderful,¡± he said honestly. For a while, he¡¯d truly believed that he would have to try and figure out how to paint by himself, but so far, that hadn¡¯t been working, and he didn¡¯t think he had enough paper or paint to get far.


    The paints and brushes had all been returned to their places, so Kaz pulled out one of the two black charcoal sticks. Tucking the heavy paper away, he stood, staring at the broad expanse of bricks behind Lianhua. They were a uniform gray, made of oddly flat stone, and though they had crevices between them, those crevices were filled with some kind of gray sealant that was almost indistinguishable from the stone itself.


    ¡°May I draw-?¡± Kaz gestured meaningfully to the wall, and Lianhua¡¯s brows rose.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said, then raised her voice slightly as she called, ¡°Raff?¡±


    The big man appeared from the shadows behind them a short while later. His hair was dark, and his bald face was greasy. He held a half-eaten rabbit in one large hand, and wore no armor. For a moment, even Kaz thought that a stranger had found his way into their camp. Then he smelled Raff¡¯s distinctive aroma beneath that of the roasted meat, and the feeling of unfamiliarity faded.


    Handing a second rabbit to Kaz, Raff mumbled something, sounding interrogative. Apparently Lianhua understood, because she repeated Kaz¡¯s question, which was good, because Kaz and Li both already had mouthfuls of warm, gamey meat.


    Raff shrugged, swallowing hard before he said, ¡°I guess. Don¡¯t reckon anyone would care. I don¡¯t think anyone comes here very often anyway. We don¡¯t generally take quests near the Grimgar Wilds anymore.¡±


    Lianhua shivered slightly. ¡°I thought we must be getting close again. I can feel some kind of power coming from the south. It¡¯s a bit like being back in the Deep, actually, where there¡¯s so much ki that it all just kind of blends together.¡±


    ¡°Like mana,¡± Kaz offered, between bites, and both humans turned to look at him. Kaz had never known how to explain this, but now he had charcoal and a large, blank wall. He took four more of the charcoal sticks from the bundle of supplies and crossed to the wall.


    Taking another large bite of rabbit, he passed the rest of it to Li, well aware that there probably wouldn¡¯t be much left by the time he was done. Still, he didn¡¯t want to wait, and his tail wagged like a puppy with a fresh bone as he began to sketch.


    Broad sweeps of color took form, flowing through the faint outline of a body that was something between that of a kobold and a human. Actually, it looked quite a bit like the mixed-up form Kaz had taken when he tried to change his shape.


    Kaz filled in a patch of color in the abdomen, a bit like a human¡¯s lower dantian, but with a more rounded, solid shape. Channels led to the central dantian, a spinning mass of stored power. Up again to the bright, sharp color of the upper dantian, lying in the center of the forehead. Another large channel led back down, and then Kaz drew a few lines leading to the different parts of the body.


    ¡°Inside the body, each form of ki is purely one color,¡± Kaz told the watchers. ¡°It works together, unless it¡¯s being introduced by a pill or something else that came from outside the body, but it never mixes. Creatures with cores produce it exactly like this, though sometimes it¡¯s light,¡± he mixed a bit of white into a section of yellow, rubbing it together with his thumb until there was barely any color left at all, ¡°and sometimes it¡¯s very bright. Saturated. As the ki is used or escapes the flesh, it fades and merges, becoming mana.¡±


    Raff¡¯s mouth dropped open, and he seemed about to say something, but Lianhua elbowed him sharply in the side. She put a bit of ki into the movement, and Raff grunted as the pointy joint dug into his unprotected ribs.


    ¡°Humans, and everything else living, so far as I can tell, take in mana from around them,¡± Kaz went on, blending black and white to make a gray cloud that seemed to be sucked into the figure¡¯s skin. ¡°It¡¯s all one thing. Raff uses it just like that, though I think he actually does pull a bit of red ki out of it, even if it¡¯s not intentional.¡±


    Kaz drew another, more distinctly human-shaped, figure. This time he filled the middle dantian with the thick gray fog of mana. Faint sparks of red danced through it, like lightning sparking through clouds. Going back to the first, he said, ¡°Lianhua, Chi Yincang, and Gaoda all refine the mana into different colors of ki, but the ones they can¡¯t use just drift away again as more mana.¡± More gray, this time made up of smudged-together black and red, drifted away from the first figure, which he filled with white, yellow, and blue.


    ¡°Since Raff uses mana exactly as it is, his cultivation is faster and he doesn¡¯t have to keep as much stored in his central dantian. But it also seems,¡± Kaz hesitated, remembering the black gunk that flowed from his body when he increased his cultivation level, ¡°dirtier than using refined ki. A lot is wasted, and just kind of vanishes into his body, or back out into the air.¡±


    Raff grimaced, looking down at his freshly cleansed skin. ¡°Is it hurtin¡¯ me?¡± he asked.


    Kaz stared into the human¡¯s chest as if he might see more than he had every other time he looked, then shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t see mana very well until it¡¯s very dense. I suppose that¡¯s a good thing, or it would be in the way when I was trying to look at everything else, but it means that once it thins out enough, it might as well not be there at all. I don¡¯t¡­ think so, though. Not directly.¡±


    Lianhua nodded thoughtfully, staring at the wall. ¡°And us?¡±


    Kaz turned back to his drawing. ¡°Since you refine mana into ki, it takes longer, so you have to cultivate and store more in your central dantian. Yours is a bit larger than Gaoda¡¯s, but Chi Yincang¡¯s is larger than either of yours. The ki he stores is denser, too.¡± He colored in some black and white parts of the central dantian so that they stood out starkly against the softer yellow, red, and blues. The image was starting to become muddy, but he thought they understood.


    Lianhua stepped forward, eyes bright. Her fingers hovered over the colorful figure. ¡°His cultivation level is higher, so that makes sense. But Kaz, what was that you said about creatures with cores?¡± Her voice was slightly higher pitched than usual, and nearly humming with excitement.


    ¡°We make the ki,¡± Kaz said simply. He drew a circle around the colored patch in the first figure¡¯s abdomen. ¡°As our cores cycle, they produce more ki, which we can use, store, or lose. The stronger we are, the more ki we create, and the more we lose when we¡¯re unable to use or store it all. It drifts away, mingling and mixing, turning into mana once it leaves our bodies.¡±


    Raff and Lianhua exchanged a long glance, and Raff swallowed hard as Lianhua carefully asked, ¡°Do you think that all ki comes from creatures with cores?¡±


    Kaz thought about it, then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it form anywhere else. That doesn¡¯t mean it can¡¯t, but it feels right to say that cores make ki. Then everything else around us, from plants to ki crystals to animals to humans, takes that in and uses it.¡±


    Raff let out a low growl, and Lianhua paled slightly. Kaz looked between them and said, ¡°Why does it matter?¡±


    Lianhua let out a long, slow breath. ¡°Because, Kaz, there are fewer and fewer creatures born with cores in every generation, and we - humans and demihumans alike - hunt and kill those we find to produce pills and potions to allow us to grow stronger. But if you¡¯re right-¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re destroying the source of ki,¡± Kaz said numbly. ¡°What would happen if you managed to kill them - us - all?¡±


    Raff and Lianhua shook their heads, but Lianhua said softly, ¡°I suspect there would be no more magic in the world. Back home in the Empire, a few scholars have begun to speak of just such a thing, citing small areas where it¡¯s difficult or no longer possible to cultivate. They have no idea why it¡¯s happening, and it¡¯s subtle, at least so far. There are still plenty of other places where people can cultivate as well as ever, so no one has really listened. In fact, some cultivators are excited by the idea. The wealthy control all of the places with the highest ki density, and if other areas lose their ki, that would make them stronger, and their land more valuable.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a recipe for disaster,¡± Raff said, and a quiet voice came from behind them.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Lianhua¡¯s grandfather, in the form of Chi Yincang. His solid black eyes were staring at the two figures Kaz had sketched on the wall. ¡°I will speak to the Emperor about this, young kobold,¡± he said, turning to look at Kaz. ¡°And I believe that he will want to meet you almost as much as I do.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred one

    As the darkness drained from Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes, Kaz turned to Lianhua. She gave him a smile that would have been more reassuring if it hadn¡¯t been so shaky.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he only wants to ask you more questions. He just can¡¯t take the time to speak properly through Chi Yincang,¡± Lianhua said, and Kaz nodded before glancing at the two human males. Chi Yincang was as impassive as ever, but Raff actually looked worried for a moment before his usual grin took over his face.


    ¡°Well,¡± Raff said cheerfully, ¡°nothin¡¯ we can do about that now. There¡¯s another rabbit waitin¡¯ for you and your lizard though, Blue, and I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ your stomach might wanna do something about it.¡±


    Kaz nodded again, reaching up to stroke Li¡¯s head as they all returned to the far end of the cavern. His previous good mood was entirely gone, and he felt as if the weight of the mountain on his shoulders had been replaced by the weight of the world.


    <It¡¯s not your problem,> Li told him, though he could tell she wasn¡¯t quite as confident as she tried to sound. <You don¡¯t have to take care of Katri, or the other kobolds, or figure out how to stop the humans from killing cored beasts. We just need to find my family, so I->


    She broke off, and Kaz could feel her confusion. Li had had just one goal since she first heard about the great black dragon chasing off her parent and siblings: find them. But what came after that? Did Li fly off with them, leaving Kaz alone? She claimed she wouldn¡¯t, but to other dragons, Kaz was nothing more than a tasty snack.


    Following his tunnel of thought, Li said, <I just want to know they¡¯re safe. Then you and I can go and explore the world. Find somewhere without humans or dragons or kobolds, and be happy. Together.>


    Kaz accepted the rabbit Raff handed to him. Tearing off a leg, he handed it up to Li. The first rabbit was already gone, bones and all, and Li¡¯s belly bulged slightly, though that didn¡¯t stop her from taking more.


    The rest of the meal passed in near silence, each of them thinking their own thoughts, none of which seemed to be happy. Only Kyla, who had no idea what the earlier conversation meant, though she had to have heard at least part of it, seemed cheerful as she fed her fuergar tiny scraps of meat. Mei could probably have eaten a whole rabbit by herself, but she seemed pleased to be doted upon by the puppy, and Kyla in turn was almost giddy each time the little pink paws delicately accepted an offering.


    Eventually, there was no more food, and they sat in silence broken only by the sound of the stream, until Lianhua finally slapped her palm against the dirt floor and looked at Raff.


    ¡°What are we walking into?¡± she asked, her tone firm.


    Raff sighed and shrugged, running his hand over his close-cropped hair. ¡°You? Not too much, I hope. They obviously know we headed for Scarabus together, and unfortunately, they¡¯ll also know we were staying together at the Old Crow, along with these two.¡±


    He tilted his head toward Kaz and Kyla before continuing. ¡°Your gramps is a pretty big muckety muck though, Lianhua, an¡¯ I doubt they¡¯ll confront you directly. They¡¯ll probably want you to tell ¡®em where we¡¯ve been, but they¡¯ll ask nicely. Worst case, they kick you an¡¯ Chi out of Holiander, and send an ¡®escort¡¯ with you to make sure you don¡¯t contact anyone or sneak any princesses out with you. Normally, I¡¯d recommend you hightail it out without going to Cliffcross at all , but you gotta go get Yingtao, and there¡¯s no way she¡¯s not under surveillance.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s expression shifted from concerned to surprised by the time he finished, and she immediately said, ¡°But what about you?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°What about me? The less you know, the less you can tell anyone, and they¡¯ll have ways to recognize the truth.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s lips flattened. ¡°We can¡¯t just-¡±


    Chi Yincang laid a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off, then offered Raff a shallow bow. ¡°We appreciate your understanding,¡± he said.


    ¡°What understanding?¡± Lianhua asked, outraged. ¡°There are two girls missing, and our friend is in trouble. We need to help!¡±


    The males exchanged glances, and Raff shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m just a merc,¡± he reminded Lianhua gently. ¡°You paid me to guide you an¡¯ keep you safe, and I did that. Once I have my gold, we¡¯re nothin¡¯ to each other.¡±


    Kaz watched this, understanding that they were both right. Raff was like a male assigned to guide a tribe through territory that didn¡¯t belong to them. Like Kaz himself, in fact. But everything they had gone through together had created a relationship far beyond their original one. Kaz didn¡¯t want to say goodbye to Raff and walk away, never knowing what became of the good-natured human.


    Looking from one to the other, Kaz asked, ¡°What¡¯s the city like? Cliffcross? Is it similar to the ones in the mountain?¡±


    Lianhua looked mutinous, but Raff smiled, appreciating the change in topic. ¡°Lots of buildings and roads,¡± Raff said, ¡°but otherwise, not much. Some parts of it are fancy, and you can¡¯t walk there without a pack of private guards starin¡¯ at you sideways. Other parts, someone¡¯ll steal the clothes off your back as soon as look at you. Right now, they¡¯re gettin¡¯ ready for the Solstice Tournament, so things¡¯ll be even crazier than usual. People will be there from everywhere. Elves, dwarves, people of all types. One good thing, there¡¯ll be lots of traders, so I won¡¯t stand out as much as I usually do.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears twitched curiously, and Raff gave a short laugh. ¡°My mother¡¯s from the south, past Cape Locke. Her family are traders, and while they have enough money to buy half the city, they can¡¯t claim a single title, not even in her birth land. Shocked the whole country when she married my father.¡±


    He held up his arm, turning it so Kaz could see the brown of his skin. ¡°Most folks in Holiander are almost as pasty as Lianhua here, though those who work outside can turn almost as brown as me. Let¡¯s just say me an¡¯ my siblings stand out at parties.¡±


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    Kaz blinked. ¡°Humans change color?¡± he asked. Nothing in the howls had ever mentioned such a thing!


    This time, Raff¡¯s laughter sounded genuine, and his teeth flashed in a grin. ¡°Only if they spend a lot of time in the sun. During Tournament time, you¡¯ll see a lotta pretty ladies with umbrellas like Lianhua¡¯s, tryin¡¯ to keep from turnin¡¯ red.¡±


    Kaz very much wanted to see a red human, so he hoped that one of them would forget their umbrella. Were they red like garnets, or red like blood? It didn¡¯t sound like it was intentional, so what caused the shift? Was it possible that the sun actually made them change? Would it make him change colors?


    He covered the fur on his arms protectively. He hadn¡¯t enjoyed being without it, but there was one more thing he wanted to try before they used the sleeping pads Raff and Chi Yincang had laid out nearby.


    Turning to Lianhua, Kaz asked, ¡°Would you help me with something?¡± His ears flattened. He wasn¡¯t comfortable depending on anyone other than Li, but he had promised.


    Her eyebrows lifted, and she glanced at Raff, who seemed thoroughly absorbed in picking the last bits of meat from his rabbit. Sighing, she gave in and nodded, offering Kaz a smile.


    Kaz stood, and Li flew off of his shoulder, already well aware of where they were going. Lianhua followed after them, until the light hovering by her shoulder illuminated Kaz¡¯s new bundle of paints and brushes, already abandoned by the side of the stream.


    Leaning down, Kaz pulled the rest of his charcoals from their places, crossing to the fresh, blank wall beyond the stream. Quickly, he began to sketch, long lines forming arms, legs, chest, and head of a new figure. Once the outline was done, he started on the details, adding facial features and a wild mop of long blue fur on top of the head.


    When he was done, he turned to Lianhua, waiting for her reaction. The female¡¯s eyes were wide, and there was a sort of suppressed amusement behind them that made the fur on the back of Kaz¡¯s neck rise. Seeing this, she lifted her hands placatingly.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Kaz,¡± she said, ¡°but I may see where you went wrong the first time.¡± She hopped over the stream and held out her hand for the black charcoal stick. With easy, confident motions, she drew smaller feet inside the long ones Kaz had sketched, then reduced the nose and ears by half.


    ¡°An adult human¡¯s shoulders should be two to two and a third times the width of his head, and he should be seven and a half to eight heads tall.¡± She measured the head between her hands, then moved that down to show that either the head of Kaz¡¯s figure was too large, or the body was too short.


    Quickly, she moved to the side and drew a new figure, using the size of the head to determine the proportions of the rest of the body. The details were rough, but she seemed very confident about the actual sizes.


    When she finished, she turned and gave him a rueful smile. ¡°I told you I had lessons. I read all the books, and I know how it¡¯s supposed to work. It¡¯s just that when I actually go to do it, it doesn¡¯t. I truly admire artists like you and Yingtao.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head, and Li came to land on his shoulder, feeling the sadness Lianhua¡¯s words had caused. ¡°Oda thought that art was nothing more than pretty lies,¡± he said, not looking at Lianhua. ¡°She hated it, but it was the only thing I was ever good at. I would have given anything to be able to do what you do. Read, and write, and learn things.¡±


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°I will teach you, Kaz. In fact, we can have a lesson now.¡± Turning to the wall, she drew a line from her figure¡¯s nose, then sketched in three short vertical lines joined by a horizontal curve.


    ¡°This is the rune for ¡®nose¡¯. Each rune has four quadrants, and we can apply modifiers that tell us who the nose belongs to, what size it is, when we saw it, and whether it is acting or being acted upon. The other runes nearby clarify the meaning of the modifiers, so this,¡± she drew two apparently random dots and a long swoosh that went from upper left to lower left without touching the main rune, ¡°tells me this is someone else¡¯s nose, in the past, and it¡¯s doing something.¡±


    The next rune was familiar, and Lianhua¡¯s eyes twinkled as she drew it. ¡°I¡¯m sure you remember this rune. Its placement tells me we¡¯re talking about his nose, not yours, mine, or Raff¡¯s. Speaking of which-¡±


    Lianhua glanced back at the campsite, from which Raff¡¯s usual soft muttering could be heard. Lowering her voice, she said, ¡°Raff has an unusually large nose, so you don¡¯t have to make yours like his.¡±


    Kaz scratched his muzzle and was about to answer when Kyla did it for him. ¡°Big noses are better,¡± the puppy said, jumping across the stream to join them. She didn¡¯t quite make it, and the tufted pink fur on her paws turned dark and flat as she splashed into the water.


    Nodding in agreement, Kaz turned to look at Lianhua. The human female looked between the two kobolds, then at Li, who was rubbing her own snout with her front paws, her eyes crossed as she tried to see it.


    ¡°All right,¡± Lianhua agreed with a sigh, touching her own nose, which was so small that it nearly vanished in her pale face. A smudge of charcoal trailed her fingertips, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice.


    ¡°What¡¯s the dragon¡¯s nose doing?¡± Kyla asked, pointing at the symbols on the wall.


    Lianhua started to shake her head, then froze. Slowly, she reached out and touched the rune for the first Diushi emperor. ¡°What is this rune?¡± she asked carefully.


    Mei splashed across the stream to join Kyla, seeming not to care that she was now thoroughly drenched. Standing on her hind legs, she reached up toward Kyla like a pup asking its den-mother to pick it up. Kyla did so, snuggling her wet fuergar close.


    ¡°Kyla?¡± Lianhua prompted.


    The puppy rubbed one of Mei¡¯s round ears as she said, ¡°That¡¯s the rune for dragon.¡± She looked over at Li, and a hint of something like awe appeared in her golden eyes. ¡°The last of the dragons died when the other kobolds rebelled, but the Woodblades had paintings and carvings of them everywhere. That¡¯s why we all knew what Li was, even though she¡¯s a lot smaller than the pictures showed.¡±


    Li hissed softly. <I¡¯ll be bigger than any dragon before! Bigger than Qiangde even! I¡¯ll be so big that when I fly overhead, no one will be able to tell if the sun is still shining. So big that when I shed, one of my scales will be able to crush a mountain. So big¡­>


    She continued, but Kaz was watching Lianhua absorb what Kyla was saying. If the kobold¡¯s rune for dragon was the same as the human rune for the Diushi emperor, what did that mean?


    Turning back to the wall, Lianhua drew another rune. Four lines, left to right, the second from the top thickening on each end. One line, top to bottom, dividing them all, then another line below, not touching any of the others. ¡°What does this mean, Kyla?¡±


    Kyla took a step back, her paws dipping into the water again. ¡°Master,¡± she said. ¡°Forbidden. The number seven.¡±


    Slowly, Lianhua shook her head. ¡°No,¡± she told the puppy. ¡°That means dragon.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred two

    Kaz had a very good idea exactly how those runes got mixed up, if that was the right term for it. He had two conflicting desires, however. He truly did long to tell Lianhua about the vision he got when he touched Qiangde¡¯s core, but he also wanted to perfect his image of himself as a human, and he needed a human¡¯s perspective on it.


    He also needed sleep. Even if his body was only tired, his mind was exhausted from the lake of self-doubt he¡¯d spent the day drowning in. If he started telling Lianhua about the connection between dragons and her beloved Diushi Empire, he¡¯d get neither help nor rest.


    Clearing his throat softly, he turned to yet another expanse of clear wall and held out his hand. Lianhua handed him the charcoal stick without even looking at him. Her fingers were already diving into the pouch at her waist, pulling out one of her little books as she began asking Kyla questions. What did the number seven mean? Why was it forbidden? What was the connection between dragons and ¡®the Master¡¯?


    Kaz mostly ignored them, focusing instead on sketching the long oval of a human face. Once that was done, he did as Lianhua had instructed, and drew the outline of the rest of the body. The chest and arms were relatively easy, but the hands were hard, and he sketched them over and over, rubbing out and replacing the fingers, trying to avoid the elongated claws and final digit of the kobold hand in favor of the shorter, more rounded human versions.


    He heard someone come up beside him as Kyla and Lianhua continued to speak. It sounded like Kyla was telling Lianhua one of the earliest howls Rega had taught to the Broken Knife puppies, except that instead of a lopo and a fuergar, her version was about a dragon and a fuergar.


    ¡°That¡¯s gettin¡¯ a mite hairy, Blue,¡± Raff said, pointing to one of the figure¡¯s forearms.


    Kaz sighed and brushed away the offending charcoal. The whole wall was starting to become streaked and dusty, and his clean blue fur was already covered in fine residue. He started on that section again, trying to keep the strokes of the blue stick light and easy.


    ¡°You have a lot of fur there,¡± he muttered, and Raff chuckled.


    ¡°True enough, an¡¯ I don¡¯t mind it, but some do. Best to tone it down if you don¡¯t want people to notice. Look.¡± Raff reached down and tugged off his upper clothing, causing Lianhua¡¯s cheeks to redden slightly before she turned away.


    Kaz stared, seeing the ebb and flow of fur on the human¡¯s arms and chest. He was right. With Li¡¯s help, Kaz could conjure a perfect memory of the few times he¡¯d seen Raff without his armor, but the only time he¡¯d been both clean and naked was in the mosui bath, where steam and darkness made deeper shadows.


    Now that he had a model in front of him, Kaz¡¯s hand moved with more surety. When he finished with the chest and arms, he looked over at Raff. ¡°Could you take off your,¡± he hesitated, but thought he had the right word, ¡°pants?¡±


    For a moment, Raff looked startled, then he grinned broadly, shrugged, and untied the simple knot that held up his pants. Kaz circled him, examining the way the muscles came together, the bend of the joints, the way the skin pulled taut in some places, but lay relaxed in others.


    By the time Kaz was done, even Raff was starting to look a bit uncomfortable, tugging at the top of the tighter, shorter pair of pants he wore beneath the outer layer. Kaz considered asking him to remove those as well, but he didn¡¯t think it was really necessary. No one would see that part of his false image anyway.


    Sketch after sketch went up on the wall. A fist, a hand with fingers extended, a large foot with toes relaxed, then tensed. Kaz made Raff stand on his toes for so long that the big male finally grunted and dropped back down to the ground without waiting for Kaz to tell him he was done.


    By now, Kyla had managed to convince Lianhua that she didn¡¯t know anything else that might help, and the human was seated on the other side of the stream, writing furiously in her book. The young kobold had joined Kaz and Raff, however, and now she said, ¡°When you draw them that way, a human¡¯s legs don¡¯t look so strange.¡±


    Kaz nodded absently. ¡°I think humans and kobolds actually have all the same bones in their legs, or close enough. It¡¯s just the proportions and the way we walk that¡¯s different. That causes changes in the muscles, which-¡± He adjusted a line, brushing rather ineffectually at the old one, since his hands were covered in charcoal.


    ¡°Can I get dressed, Blue?¡± Raff¡¯s question was plaintive, and Kaz¡¯s ears folded at the sound of it.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Kaz said, bending to pick up the discarded clothes so he could hand them to Raff. Something fell from them, and Li and Kyla both lunged for it. Fortunately, the dragon was lounging, half in and half out of the water as she waited for Kaz to finish, so Kyla got there first. Rather than handing the object back to Raff, however, Kyla stared at it.


    ¡°Is this a tiny drawing?¡± she asked, turning it over. It caught the light, glinting with a sheen of silver over copper, not unlike the color of Mei¡¯s fur, though it lacked the pink. Li edged closer, extending her long neck, eyeing it thoughtfully.


    Raff pulled his clothing on quickly, then plucked the metallic rectangle from Kyla¡¯s hand. He actually looked a bit angry, but then his expression relaxed again and he sighed as he ruffled the fur between the pup¡¯s ears. ¡°Somethin¡¯ like. That¡¯s my sister, Jinn. They had her portrait made when she came of age, and she sent me a copy. They¡¯re expensive, so I¡¯m sure Da wouldn¡¯t have appreciated the gesture, but I did.¡±


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    Kaz and Kyla stared down into the smiling face of a young human. There was no color, only dark on silver, with that telltale hint of copper. Still, Kaz could see the resemblance, though all of Jinn¡¯s features were finer than Raff¡¯s except for her hair. She had tried to scrape her curls down into something like Lianhua¡¯s smooth style, but they were already springing free, and they were noticeably longer than Raff¡¯s had been even before he cut them. She also wasn¡¯t nearly as muscular as her brother, though there was a solidity to her that made Lianhua look even more delicate in comparison.


    Raff only let them look for a few heartbeats before pulling open his pouch and tucking the image inside. He patted it, then gave them all a lopsided smile. ¡°I was looking at it earlier. Forgot I tucked it in my pocket.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re worried about her,¡± Kaz said.


    ¡°Of course I am!¡± Raff snapped. His jaw muscles flexed as he clenched his teeth, then blew a slow breath out of his nose. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be worried if your sister disappeared?¡±


    Kaz hesitated. Would he? Knowing everything he did now, would he worry about Katri? If she had eaten Oda¡¯s core, she must be far too powerful for the heights. If, as Kaz suspected, Nucai¡¯s beads were able to control or limit ki use by those who wore them, Katri would be free of those constraints. Technically, she should be safe from almost anything, except possibly whatever had attacked the Broken Knives while she and Kaz were gone. The realization gave him some relief from one of his worries, at least, but before he could even try to answer, Raff continued.


    ¡°I just want to get to Cliffcross and start looking for her,¡± Raff said, running his hand over his shorn hair. ¡°But those damned Royal Guards have made that impossible. Now that they know I¡¯m in the area, they¡¯ll be watching everything more carefully.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just tell them where you¡¯ve been?¡± Kyla asked, tugging a piece of longer pink fur into her mouth so she could chew on it.


    Raff snorted. ¡°Right or wrong, they¡¯ve got it into their heads that I¡¯m involved. Enough so they¡¯re even hasslin¡¯ my family about it. They won¡¯t let me go with just some questions. If I want to find Jinn, I need to sneak in, but just changing my hair and clothes won¡¯t be enough if I attract attention.¡± He looked around. ¡°You lot would definitely attract attention.¡±


    ¡°We can still help,¡± Lianhua said, looking up from her book. ¡°I know you don¡¯t think we can, but if, as you believe, I¡¯m allowed to remain free and in the country, I can go places you can¡¯t. A number of noble families here in Holiander extended invitations to me before Gaoda managed to anger them all. With him gone, I should be able to find out who last saw Jinn and the princess, and where. It¡¯s only natural that I should be curious, after all, even though I had nothing to do with their disappearance. I might even be able to convince some people that you have an impeccable alibi.¡±


    Raff looked intrigued, but Chi Yincang appeared behind Lianhua, his expression forbidding. ¡°You have limited time, my lady,¡± he reminded her. ¡°We should collect Yingying and go home. Your grandfather is eager for your arrival.¡±


    ¡°What if Yingtao still isn¡¯t quite ready to travel?¡± Lianhua asked, looking up at the figure looming above her. Then she glanced at Kaz from the corner of her eye. ¡°Or what if Kaz insists on staying? After all, Grandfather wishes to speak to him, so we can¡¯t leave him behind, nor would it be appropriate to attempt to force him to go.¡±


    Kaz took the hint and nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t leave until we¡¯re certain Jinn is safe or we¡¯ve howled her to the ancestors.¡± He saw Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes narrow ever so slightly and said, ¡°You may have agreed to trade Raff gold in exchange for his guidance and protection, but I did not. And yet Raff has helped protect me many times, and even given me his darklenses, which I¡¯ve lost. I can¡¯t leave until our debts are even.¡±


    Raff offered Kaz a smile, but shrugged. ¡°The darklenses were expensive, but I doubt I¡¯ll ever need them again. Once was enough, so I swore never to go back to the Lonely Waste. Besides, someone would definitely notice if a kobold started wandering around in the big city.¡±


    Kaz let his tongue loll in a kobold version of Raff¡¯s grin. He pointed to the wall behind him. ¡°They might notice me, but not him. And no one has any idea he¡¯s connected to you or Lianhua.¡±


    Everyone turned to look at the final version of Kaz¡¯s drawing. It showed a human male, a shock of longer fur atop his head, but otherwise unremarkable when compared to the other humans Kaz had seen. His nose and ears were still big, but not ridiculously so, and if anything, his feet were now a bit small, especially compared to Raff¡¯s huge ones. He was furry, but not as much as Raff, and his eyes and hair were the same color as Kaz¡¯s.


    ¡°Can you actually make yourself look like that?¡± Kyla demanded, golden eyes gleaming. ¡°Can you teach me?¡±


    Kaz paused, then said, ¡°Yes? And no.¡±


    Thanks to Raff, he now understood where he¡¯d gone wrong when he¡¯d tried to turn into a human the first time. Combining his much deeper understanding of human anatomy together with the memory of Qiangde¡¯s transformation, Kaz was ready to try again. And if image and belief truly mattered, then he needed to believe he could do it.


    <You can,> Li put in, her voice holding all the confidence Kaz lacked. <We can. You were an idiot to take that medicine, but you needed to be stronger to do this.> The admission was grudging, and she lifted a wing to preen the scales beneath it with a blatant lack of concern.


    Kaz turned to Lianhua, who climbed to her feet and stepped a bit away from Chi Yincang. ¡°Do you have any more advice?¡± he asked her.


    She examined the drawing closely, then said, ¡°If you start to feel like things are going wrong, shift your image back to your own body. Don¡¯t try to force it, and definitely don¡¯t mix the two images. Remember that who you are won¡¯t change, just your appearance. So as long as you¡¯re careful, you should be able to stop and try again another time.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s mind flashed to a time when he rolled around in a bowl, Nucai¡¯s face staring down at him as black and gold balls chased him and were chased in turn. He had clung to his self then, refusing to become nothing more than an object for Nucai to play with. If he could survive that, simply changing his physical appearance should be nothing.


    Li extended a paw and laid it on Kaz¡¯s leg. <And I¡¯ll help.>


    Kaz nodded. It was time. Ignoring the curious gazes resting on him, he sat, laying his hands palm up on his knees as Li pressed against him. He stared at the image of the human male on the wall, compressing his core as he sank into the picture, until its eyes turned to look at him, its hand peeled away from the brick, and Kaz lifted his arm as well. They touched, and became one.

 Chapter Two hundred three

    It was strange being human-shaped. The ground was too far away, and when he washed the charcoal dust from his body, the touch of the cool water against skin that was not only bare but meant to be bare made him shudder. Kaz much preferred his own shape, his own fur, and very definitely his own tail and ears.


    There were only two good points to the change. First, his new pants fit. Second, his broader shoulders meant that Li no longer needed the shredded remnant of his pack to rest on. Kaz was able to take everything out of it, tucking it all away into his pouch. As he did so, he found his fingers lingering on a small, triangular piece of carved stone.


    Raff and Lianhua were asleep, leaving Kaz, Li, Kyla, and, presumably, Chi Yincang still awake. Kyla was fascinated by Kaz¡¯s transformation, constantly finding slightly different ways to ask him if he could show her how to do the same. She had described her ideal ¡®human female¡¯ several times, as well, and to Kaz¡¯s amusement, it was never the same twice.


    Li, on the other hand, was only awake because Kyla was, a fact that she loudly lamented to herself, and - slightly less often - to Kaz. The dragon was still wary of the puppy, and she didn¡¯t want to be asleep while Kyla was awake, especially since Kaz also planned to sleep soon.


    Peering over Kaz¡¯s shoulder, Kyla let out a gasp that broke through her latest explanation of exactly how and why she should also look like a human. Of course, Kaz wasn¡¯t arguing that fact, simply stating that he didn¡¯t believe she could currently achieve the same change, and it was potentially dangerous to try.


    ¡°Is that the cover for the Woodblade?¡± Kyla asked, sounding like she was choking on the words.


    Kaz folded his furless fingers around it and pushed it into his pouch. He hadn¡¯t thought she could see it from where she sat, but perhaps his new eyes weren¡¯t quite as good as kobold eyes after all. During the shift, he had clung to the idea that he could see well even in low light, and it seemed to have worked, but maybe he just couldn¡¯t tell the difference in the soft light cast by Kyla¡¯s ki-orb.


    <So what?> Li demanded, snapping her teeth at Kyla. The little dragon had become grumpier and grumpier as the young kobold continued talking, and it seemed that she had reached the end of her rope. <It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you. Kaz¡¯s mother gave it to him, and he already had to give back the knife, even though the knife was actually much more useful. The knife opened the portal anyway, so what is this even for? Kaz might as well keep it.>


    Kaz gently touched a finger to Li¡¯s nose, stopping a small burst of water droplets. Looking at Kyla, he sighed and said, ¡°Yes. Do you know what it¡¯s for? Does it have a purpose, other than keeping the knife from accidentally poking anyone?¡±


    He kept his voice low, though he knew by now that even if he convinced Kyla to whisper for a while, it wouldn¡¯t last. He should probably use a sound obscuration rune so the others could sleep, but judging by the snoring, it wasn¡¯t really necessary, plus he was far too tired. So tired, in fact, that he had had difficulty sleeping, which was why he had decided to reorganize his belongings.


    Kyla stared at him. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you have asked that before you took it out of the mountain?¡± she demanded. Then, as if she couldn¡¯t control it any longer, she let out a soft yip of laughter, ears twitching with mirth.


    ¡°Oh, I would have liked to see moth- Idla¡¯s face when she realized it was missing,¡± she said. Much of her humor drained away as she corrected herself mid-sentence, but Kaz was glad to see that she still looked bemused.


    Shaking her head, Kyla admitted, ¡°I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s for, exactly. I do know that one time, and one time only, the other chiefs called for¡­ for Vega, and when she went, she took the cover, but not the rest of the Magmablade. So it has to do something.¡± She shrugged.


    Kaz frowned, tugging the little piece of stone back out of his pouch now that he was fairly confident that Kyla wasn¡¯t going to try to grab it. They both looked at it, and Li actually came close enough to Kyla that the puppy could have touched her. Even Mei deigned to open one eye long enough to be sure that her kobold wasn¡¯t doing anything that needed her attention.


    ¡°Those are leaves,¡± Kyla said, pointing to the delicate shapes carved into the smooth surface. Kaz pulled the triangular stone away, causing the puppy to give him an aggrieved look. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to touch it,¡± she said reproachfully. ¡°Even if I was, I don¡¯t have any Woodblade power.¡±


    Kaz looked at her sharply. She did have Wood ki, just not much, and he was certain she was aware of it. How else had she gotten out of the hidden den, bypassing the chip of blue ki-crystal that served as a lock? He supposed there were probably other ways that didn¡¯t require a spark of blue ki, but he was still somehow certain that Kyla knew what forms her power took.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t take much to remove it from the knife,¡± he told Kyla, watching her reaction.


    Her ears twitched, but she looked away. ¡°It has nothing to do with me. I was just curious.¡±


    Kaz looked down at the lovely piece of carved stone, and sighed softly. He liked Kyla. He even trusted her, at least as long as they were in the world outside the mountain. But this was related to kobolds, and he still hadn¡¯t figured out exactly why she was really there. It was certainly possible that she had snuck out, just as she claimed, but it was also possible that she was sent to keep an eye on him, and report back to the others, or perhaps just Ija.


    ¡°My mother - Rega - gave me the knife and the hilt right before she died.¡± He deliberately didn¡¯t mention the book she¡¯d also given him, and which he¡¯d subsequently given to Katri. He now believed that that book had been written by Oda, and Rega might have meant it for him, not his sister. He¡¯d never know for certain, though.


    Kaz turned the little triangle, seeing the way the elongated ovals seemed to shift, moving over solid stone. ¡°This is the last thing I have from her,¡± Kaz went on, putting the stone back in his pouch before he could change his mind. ¡°I returned the knife and hilt, but the cover is mine.¡±


    He looked up, meeting Kyla¡¯s gaze, which promptly slid away. Regretfully, Kaz reminded himself not to take the stone out again until Kyla returned to the mountain. He would have to think long and hard to decide if he was willing to give it up just because Vega once took hers somewhere without the blade.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± he told the puppy, and she nodded, eyes fixed on her hands as she gently stroked Mei¡¯s soft belly. The fuergar was already noticeably plumper than she had been when they found her, but she wasn¡¯t nearly as greedy as a certain dragon. When the rodent was full, she stopped eating, instead of continuing to force down bite after bite as if she¡¯d never see food again.


    <I¡¯m still growing,> Li grumbled. <Mei is just a fuergar. She probably won¡¯t get much bigger.> There was a definite sense of satisfaction at that thought.


    Kaz curled up on the piece of bedding Raff had laid out for him, and waited for Li to press herself against his belly. Someday, Li would be large enough that she could curl up around him, but for now, he enjoyed the soft vibration of her purrs against his stomach.


    A moment passed, and then fabric shushed softly as it was dragged in his direction. The corner of it flopped against his lower back, which only made Kaz uncomfortably aware of his current lack of a tail. Then Kyla¡¯s back pressed against his own, and Mei settled into the spot between their shoulders. Unlike Li, she didn¡¯t seem to trust them quite enough to allow herself to be held while she slept, but she didn¡¯t want to be far away, either.


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    Neither kobold spoke, and all four soon drifted to sleep.


    =+=+=+=


    ¡°You what?¡± Lianhua¡¯s shriek seemed to echo off the surrounding trees, which had become larger and further apart as they traveled. The whole group came to a halt as Raff pulled his horse to a stop so he could turn and look at Kaz and Lianhua.


    Kaz sighed. This was exactly why he had put off telling Lianhua about the vision he¡¯d had when he touched Qiangde¡¯s core. Still, Raff said it would take three more days of steady riding to reach Cliffcross, and at least Lianhua¡¯s inevitable questions would be better than constantly thinking about how foreign his own body felt.


    ¡°When you dropped that dragon¡¯s core on me, I saw the dragon - Qiangde¡¯s - memories of his last day,¡± Kaz repeated.


    Lianhua¡¯s mouth opened, then closed. Without looking down, she touched the pouch at her waist, removing a pen and another of her small books. Opening this to the first page, she looped her ¡®reins¡¯ around a protruding lump on her ¡®saddle¡¯ and stared at Kaz expectantly.


    Raff rubbed his hand over his face, mumbling something about kobolds and madness, then shrugged and clicked his tongue at his horse. The large animal started off again, ears turned to the side and tail swishing lazily, a clear sign that the beast wasn¡¯t worried about whatever its rider was doing. Lianhua¡¯s smaller animal fell in behind, as did Kaz¡¯s mule, followed by Chi Yincang¡¯s black steed.


    Kyla had rejoined Kaz, bringing her fuergar with her, and since Kaz himself was a fair bit larger in his new shape, the sturdy mule seemed less than pleased with the situation. Fortunately, Li was quite happy flying loops around the wide trees, because Kaz thought his beast might simply refuse to carry any more weight.


    ¡°Well?¡± Lianhua urged, and Kaz returned his attention to her. She looked impatient, and he hid a smile. He had already learned that the humans could now tell what he was feeling much more easily than they had been able to before, and Lianhua wouldn¡¯t like it if she knew he was teasing her.


    Giving in, Kaz began to recount his memories of Qiangde¡¯s final hours. At first, Lianhua wrote steadily, but soon enough her pen scratched to a stop, and she simply stared at Kaz, mouth agape. Thanks at least in part to her utter shock at the secrets Kaz revealed - starting with the fact that the entire Diushi Empire had been created by an ancient dragon who was trying to learn why humans could ascend, while beasts couldn¡¯t - she managed to hold her tongue through the entire recitation.


    At last, however, when the only sound that hung between them was the muffled clip clop of the horses¡¯ hooves against the soft soil, she pointed a shaking finger at Kaz and said, ¡°You¡¯ve known this for how long, and never said a word?¡±


    He winced.


    <Should I bite her?> Li asked, swooping between two branches overhead, sending leaves drifting toward the ground. <Sometimes people get smarter when I bite them. Especially you. I think it¡¯s something dragons can do.> She paused, then went on thoughtfully, <Though you shouldn¡¯t let any other dragons bite you. Just in case it only works for me.>


    Kaz glanced up, sending negation and adding a head shake just to let the dragon know he really meant it. Li could undoubtedly hurt Lianhua by now, and he didn¡¯t think it would help anyway. Though he had to admit that it was possible Li was right.


    ¡°I was too tired, and then we were too busy,¡± Kaz defended. ¡°You tend to lose track of everything else when you learn something new about the Diushi.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s got a point, Lianhua,¡± Raff said. Cold amethyst eyes stopped any further words in his throat, and Raff coughed, staring at the neverending expanse of trees that stretched out as far as they could see.


    ¡°That¡¯s because,¡± Lianhua said softly, turning her glare on Kaz, ¡°the world of academia believed that we knew all we would ever learn about the Diushi! We¡¯ve been dredging out hints and possibilities from nothing for centuries. And now not only have we discovered where they went, but also where they came from, which shouldn¡¯t be possible. Not after two thousand years!¡±


    She looked down at her book, then very deliberately drew two crossed lines on the page, the scraping sound far too loud to Kaz¡¯s ears. Kyla looked up at him, her expression far too cheerful as she murmured, ¡°You¡¯re in so much trouble.¡±


    Kaz glared down at the puppy, half tempted to send her tumbling off the mule. She could sit with Lianhua. The human female had a larger mount, and Kyla actually seemed to enjoy it when the human stroked her tufted pink fur. Maybe Lianhua would calm down if she could pet the puppy for a while? He could feel Li¡¯s enthusiastic encouragement, and images of Kyla falling down in a series of ever more amusing and unlikely ways filled his mind.


    ¡°So,¡± Lianhua said finally, ¡°the first Diushi emperor wasn¡¯t even human?¡± Her voice was tightly controlled, but there was something behind it that was almost frightening.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°He was a dragon. At least, if you believe that what I saw was real.¡± He, for one, absolutely did believe it, but now that he had told Lianhua, it wasn¡¯t his responsibility to convince her. If she chose to disregard his story, that was her right.


    Slowly, Lianhua tucked her book back into her pouch, and her empty hands lifted. At first, Kaz was afraid that she was going to yell at him some more, but then she began waving her fingers through the air as if she was turning the pages of an invisible book. She had told Kaz that she had a mental ¡®library¡¯, where she kept images of many books. He had seen her do this once before, when she was looking through that invisible collection to find a particular fact.


    Now, he almost thought he could see the book in her hands. It was a large, heavy thing with more pages than any book he had seen before. It was covered in cloth the color of ruby¡­ No, darker. Garnet, perhaps? With golden runes on the side where it was bound. But then her hands moved as she put that one away, pulling out another, and Kaz shook his head, looking down into Kyla¡¯s eyes, which were rapidly fading back to boredom now that it was clear Lianhua wasn¡¯t going to yell any more.


    He had to be imagining it anyway. There was no way he could see someone else¡¯s image.


    Lianhua¡¯s finger tapped sharply on an invisible page, and she looked up, saying, ¡°In 112 AD - After Diushi - Kong Yahui wrote the poem, Dragon of the Emperor, based on paintings he had seen of the first Emperor with a blue and gold dragon rampant in the background. He described it as a great and noble beast, using it as a metaphor for the Emperor himself. Since dragons are mindless, murderous animals, this was roundly reviled. Everyone knows the Diushi primarily expanded through use of guile and diplomacy, rather than force, so the comparison was far from apt.


    ¡°But Shi Kong was a scion of the remaining imperial line. After a period spent as a social pariah, he insisted that when he was a child, he read a book containing stories about the first emperor and a wise and powerful dragon. Shi Kong vanished soon after. His family claimed that he had been overcome by the stress of his court duties, which were too much for his artistic temperament, so he retired to the countryside so he could write. Yet he never released another poem, in spite of being quite prolific before this incident.¡±


    The unseen book was returned to the shelf, and another was taken out. Lianhua¡¯s hand actually sank beneath the weight of it, intangible as it was.


    ¡°In 370 AD, the last of the cultivators who were born in the Old Diushi Empire died. He had spent his life attempting to ascend, but ultimately failed. In his last days, he often sang a song wherein a great dragon became Emperor of the world. His great-great-granddaughter, Xiang Dao, who sat with him every day, recorded more than a thousand verses. Many of them were nonsense, but a hundred or so told tales of the dragon Emperor, who gathered humans to him, then left his court behind when he grew bored with it.¡±


    Another book.


    ¡°In 871 AD, a repository of Diushi records was found in a defunct official building. It contained the most complete list of items from the Diushi treasury ever. Among those items were a number of dragon cores, as well as dragon scales and claws. All were listed as belonging to previous emperors. Specifically, the sixth through the tenth. But the rune used for ¡®belong to¡¯ was modified by an ascender most closely translated as ¡®made by¡¯. We assumed those emperors made a practice of hunting dragons, but what if-?¡±


    With each book, Lianhua¡¯s voice became more and more excited. It all sounded less than convincing to Kaz, but Lianhua had managed to figure out where the Diushi went based on records that hundreds of other humans had access to. She was like a kobold tracker, sniffing out a trail anyone else would have abandoned long ago.


    Kaz settled back on the fabric pad protecting the mule¡¯s hide from rubbing against the straps of the packs laid across his back. Perhaps this wouldn¡¯t be so bad after all.


    As if she¡¯d heard the thought, Lianhua turned blazing eyes on him. ¡°Tell me again,¡± she demanded. ¡°Slowly.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred four (Raff)

    ¡°But what was he wearing when he transformed into a human? Was he able to create clothing using only ki?¡± Lianhua demanded, her pen scritch-scratching at the paper in her book. Raff was certain that she¡¯d already asked that question, along with every other conceivable one, and from the look on Blue¡¯s face, he was mighty tired of answering.  The kobold barely sighed before admitting that he still didn¡¯t know, which just went to show that Blue had a hell of a lot more patience than Raff had ever claimed.


    Rolling his eyes, Raff reached down and patted the neck of his big bay stallion. It was a good horse, even if it had a bit of a hard mouth, and Raff would regret leaving it behind. All of the animals bore the brand of the King¡¯s Guard, and it was also quite possible that once those bumbling idiots made their way back to Cliffcross, a mage would be able to track the beasts. Even without that, they were too well-trained and too obviously soldier¡¯s steeds. Better to get rid of them as soon as possible.


    He slanted a look at Chi Yincang, who clung to his saddle with the exact same look of suppressed dismay he¡¯d been wearing for the last three days. The only time the other man looked like his usual self was when they stopped to eat or sleep. Raff would give a fair bit to know why someone like Lianhua¡¯s bodyguard was afraid of horses, but he suspected it¡¯d be more than his life was worth to ask.


    A fallen tree caught his eye, and Raff grinned. The tree laid against a rock that pointed up at the sky, very much like a rude gesture Raff had had to train himself not to use in front of his noble clients. His usual sort were rather rougher around the edges than these three. Two, now, he supposed.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be at the Barrow soon,¡± he told them. ¡°Just remember, let me do the talkin¡¯, and don¡¯t say anything.¡± He slanted a look toward Lianhua, who already had her mouth open to ask another question, and she clamped it shut again, lips going white.


    Half a mile past the rock and tree, their little trail met up with a deeply rutted dirt road. It was obvious that this had once been a well-used path, but now they were the only ones in sight. Raff pulled the hood of his cloak up around his head, gesturing for the others to do the same. Lianhua hadn¡¯t been happy when he insisted on dragging her pretty cloak through the mud and pulled out a few of the hems, but he was trying to create a very particular image. It was all part of the plan.


    Not long after that, the sound of the horses¡¯ hooves was met with a rather awkward owl hoot. The sun hadn¡¯t even started to dip below the horizon yet, so Raff thought rather whimsically that a pigeon or crow call would have made more sense, but to each their own. He hooted back loudly, copying the no-particular-type of owl call the other had given. It sounded like something a city-dweller might think a bird would sound like, which was probably exactly what it was.


    A figure stepped out in front of them, crossbow leveled and aimed straight at Raff¡¯s chest. The broad, flat face, which looked like it had met the ground as often as not, was unfamiliar to Raff, and he breathed a soft sigh of relief. Then the first was joined by a second, and there was no way he could mistake the platinum curls that cascaded from her ponytail. The sides of her head were shaved, which was new, but he¡¯d never met anyone else - besides Lianhua - with such naturally pale hair.


    Ellie was holding another crossbow, though hers was smaller, almost delicate. She gestured with the tip of the bolt. ¡°Hoods off,¡± she said.


    Raff shook his head. He knew how this worked. It would be a little harder because Ellie knew his voice, but they hadn¡¯t spoken in years, so if he just made a few alterations, maybe he could still get away with it. Would she respond better to someone she believed could pay well, or someone with whom she felt a sense of camaraderie? He snorted softly. It didn¡¯t really matter, since he already knew what he had to do.


    Holding up his hands, Raff swung one leg over the back of the horse, sliding down to land easily on his feet. ¡°My dear lady,¡± he said, shifting the pitch of his voice into a higher register and allowing the accent of his youth to infuse his voice. ¡°We¡¯re simply here to do a little¡­ business. If you¡¯re not interested, do say so, and we shall be on our way.¡±


    Ellie tilted her head, brown eyes narrowing as she tried to peer into the darkness within his hood. It was those eyes that had gotten him into trouble, once upon a time. Dark chocolate eyes beneath fair brows, and a dusting of golden freckles across the bridge of that rather imposing nose. She wasn¡¯t beautiful, but she was more than striking.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± she demanded, gesturing again. This time, it wasn¡¯t a ¡®show your face¡¯ motion, but a ¡®come closer¡¯ one.


    He waved a hand, which was covered in one of his few pairs of plain leather gloves, lacking even metal bands across the fingers or small spikes on the back. ¡°This is quite tedious, madam. I was assured that those who, ah, work here could be, shall we say, discreet. For a price.¡±


    Almost regretfully, he pulled the golden ingot he¡¯d gotten from Blue out of his storage pouch and waved it at her before making it disappear again. All suspicion vanished in a blaze of pure greed, and Ellie took a step closer to him. Raff took an equal step back, keeping his chin tilted down, so his face remained in shadow.


    ¡°Whattaya want?¡± The first man¡¯s coarse voice made the stallion shift uncomfortably, and Ellie returned to her place, flushed cheeks making her freckles stand out even more.


    ¡°We need to get rid of these beasts, for obvious reasons,¡± Raff said, waving at the horses, with their clear brands and bearing the trappings of the Royal Guards. ¡°Then we need a small wagon, such as might be appropriate for, hmm,¡± he waggled his fingers as if thinking, ¡°a lady of a certain standing.¡±


    Sneering, the ugly man asked, ¡°What standin¡¯? You wanna look like toffs, do ye? Even I can see y¡¯ain¡¯t one.¡±


    Raff barely maintained his composure. It was funny that he had spent so many years pretending to be something he wasn¡¯t, and then when he tried to be what he was, no one believed him. Instead of laughing, he managed a disdainful sniff, saying, ¡°Then you should have your eyes checked, dear sir. But the cart is obviously not for me, as I am indeed no lady.¡±


    Behind him, Lianhua choked, and Raff allowed himself a tiny grin. ¡°The only point of contention, then, is whether or not you can do as I¡¯ve asked,¡± Raff said. ¡°I was assured that you could, but perhaps a mistake has been made, and I should take my business elsewhere after all.¡±


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    The man and Ellie exchanged glances, and Ellie stepped up again. ¡°The only mistake you¡¯ve made is thinkin¡¯ that you¡¯re walkin¡¯ away with that gold. Lay it down on the ground, then take your friends and walk away. This is the only chance I¡¯m givin¡¯ you, an¡¯ that¡¯s only because you remind me of someone.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Though how, I don¡¯t know, ¡®cause he was never such a ponce.¡±


    Raff lifted a finger, and he could see from their reactions the moment when Chi Yincang pulled out his spear from his snazzy little storage ring. Now Raff could only hope that if the other man had to start swinging it around, he didn¡¯t manage to accidentally behead his gelding. Honestly, Raff knew that was unlikely, but the way Chi Yincang acted around the beast made him nervous.


    ¡°I think not. You get these lovely beasts, and all of their tack, and we get a cart. If it takes more than thirty minutes, we¡¯re riding away,¡± Raff said, then took out the gold bar again and tucked it into the leather saddlebag hanging from his horse¡¯s saddle. He closed the flap, gave it a pat, then stepped away from the animal.


    Ellie hesitated, clearly torn, but her eyes were locked onto the saddlebag as if everything else had just faded away to nothing. ¡°All right,¡± she finally said, lowering the crossbow and gesturing to her man. ¡°Go on, Bear. Tell Lep we¡¯re sellin¡¯ his cart. Get it fancied up, best you can, and hustle it back here.¡±


    Bear looked uncertain. ¡°He won¡¯t like it.¡±


    Ellie spared him a brief glare. ¡°Go.¡±


    Bear went.


    An awkward silence fell, but whoever broke it first would lose some contest of wills that Raff could sense would be dangerous to fail. Ellie¡¯s weapon remained down, but he¡¯d seen her use it, and he knew she could bring it up and fire a bolt in less than two seconds. The odds were good that whoever she hit would survive, especially if she went for Chi, but Raff didn¡¯t really feel like hauling a foot of wood out of Lianhua or one of the kobolds today.


    Time passed, and the sun crept inexorably toward the horizon. Raff watched it with grim resolve. The moon was barely more than a sliver now, and the night of no moon would be tomorrow, or, at the latest, the day after. He wanted to ask, but that would only make them stand out even more. Everyone knew exactly when no moon would occur, if only because they needed to know when to lock themselves inside their homes and pray to whatever gods claimed them.


    Not a single word had passed between them when Bear returned with a cart and another man. The third man was a weaselly sort, small and twitchy, with bulbous blue eyes and lips that were far too thick for his pinched face. This, then, would be Lep.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just take my cart, Ellie,¡± the little man said in a surprisingly deep voice. ¡°I need it to take our, ah, goods to market.¡±


    Ellie waved at the horses. ¡°We¡¯ll have fine new steeds t¡¯ carry our loot, Lep. Y¡¯ just have t¡¯ magic off those marks first.¡±


    That made Raff feel a bit better. He¡¯d heard there was an unlicensed mage working out of the Barrow, and hoped whoever it was would be strong enough to lift the magic out of the horses¡¯ brands. Otherwise, the animals would be butchered for meat, which was a terrible fate for such excellent beasts.


    Lep turned to look at the strangers for the first time, almost as if he was surprised to see them there. He reached into a bag hanging from his neck and took out something like Raff¡¯s lost darklenses, except that the circles of glass in these were clear, instead of smoked. He slid them over his eyes, which instantly grew to impossible proportions. Inch-long lashes blinked, and he said, ¡°Oh.¡±


    Everyone waited, and then Lep removed his lenses and tucked them away again. ¡°All right then,¡± he said. ¡°But it¡¯s set up as a merchant¡¯s cart, not a noble¡¯s, ah, carriage.¡±


    That was being generous. This cart was only good enough for a merchant if that merchant had fallen on some very hard times. The wood of the lower half was weathered and gray, while the canvas stretched over the top was a patched and faded yellow. The wheels looked solid though, and the two horses pulling it might not be matched bays, but they looked sturdy and not too old.


    Ellie stared into Raff¡¯s hood challengingly, her lips curled. ¡°Good ¡®nuff, I think, for someone desperate enough to come here.¡±


    Raff acknowledged her point with a dip of his head, then motioned for the rest of his party to get down from their mounts. They¡¯d remained astride, ready to run, for the entire encounter. There was no doubt that if it came to a fight, Raff¡¯s side would win, but while he was willing to kill if he had to, he had no problem with both sides surviving to fight another day. At least as long as they wouldn¡¯t be fighting him on that other day.


    ¡°A trade, then, madam?¡± he asked, bowing smoothly.


    Ellie¡¯s lip lifted a bit more, a barely concealed sneer, and Raff felt a little sad at the sight. The woman he¡¯d known had been hard, it was true, but she had her own honor. He¡¯d also heard her new name, ¡®Two-faced Ellie¡¯, and suspected he was about to find out how she¡¯d earned it.


    Reaching out, he smacked his horse on the rear, and the animal pranced forward a step, his eyes rolling to look back at Raff uncertainly. ¡°Go on,¡± he said, and it walked forward. The other two horses and the pack mule followed, until the stallion reached Ellie, where he paused again. She reached up and scratched gently at the animal¡¯s cheek, and Raff felt his shoulders relax. She always had a weak spot for animals, though she¡¯d kill a man as soon as look at him.


    Quick as a wink, Ellie had the satchel open, pulling out the gleaming gold bar. It shone buttery yellow in the fading light, and her smile widened until all of her teeth were on display. ¡°There y¡¯ go, Lep,¡± she said offhandedly. ¡°Now you get t¡¯ keep your cart, an¡¯ these folks get t¡¯ find what a crossbow bolt feels like when it slides through their guts.¡±


    Lep¡¯s grin matched hers, and even Bear smiled, though it twisted his flat, broken face in ways that were very uncomfortable to look at. Lep raised his hand, light already gathering in front of him, as Raff said, ¡°Blue. Your turn.¡±


    The light went out, leaving Lep gaping at his hand. Two energy bolts flashed through the air, and the hairs on the back of Raff¡¯s neck lifted as they split and shot to each side of him. One struck each crossbow, and the two weapons burst into splinters, leaving Bear and Ellie with expressions matching Lep¡¯s, with the added spice of more than a little pain.


    Raff circled the three bandits, watching for any of them to draw a backup weapon, or for the mage to do anything at all, but they were all too busy staring at the short, inconspicuous figure standing in the worn road. Blue¡¯s hands were up, but when he saw that none of the three attackers seemed capable of retaliation, he dropped them rather uncertainly.


    No one had liked Raff¡¯s plan when he explained it over lunch, but the kobold needed to get used to such things. Raff, Chi Yincang, and even Lianhua were well used to facing human opponents, either in real battles or on the training grounds. Blue still saw humans as something other, something strange and dangerous, and he needed to get over that right quick.


    With an easy leap, Raff settled into the seat of the small carriage. Picking up the driving reins that Bear had looped over the seat, he kept his face turned away from the trio on the ground as he drove the horses forward. He was close enough and high enough that one of them could easily see his face if they looked up. They didn¡¯t even try, though Bear and Ellie¡¯s hands were beginning to drip blood into the dirt. For the sake of their past friendship, Raff hoped Ellie¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t too bad, but there was no denying she had brought it on herself.


    As he passed, each of the others hopped up into the cart. Even young Kyla managed on her own, in spite of the fact that she was small even for a human child. Chi Yincang kept his black eyes fixed on the bandits as they faded into the distance, but none of them spoke until night fell.

 Chapter Two hundred five

    Kaz handed Li another piece of the meat pulled from the skewer Raff had just handed him. It was still sizzling, but the dragon ignored the heat, swallowing the chunk whole and then burping out a little cloud of steam.


    Kaz¡¯s nose wrinkled, and he waved his hand. That was something he hadn¡¯t expected about taking on a human form. Scents in general weren¡¯t as sharp and clear as they should be, but more importantly, smells that had never bothered him before - some of which he actually even enjoyed - were suddenly disgusting.


    Beside him, Raff gave a little chuckle, and Kaz looked back at him. The large male had been unusually quiet since the encounter earlier in the day, and rather than telling jokes or even just muttering to himself, he now watched the fire and the others without speaking.


    ¡°Why did you give that female the gold?¡± Kaz asked, then felt his face heat. He hadn¡¯t really meant to speak aloud, but the question had been bothering him ever since it happened. There was no doubt in his mind that the strange female would have accepted less, and Lianhua had given Raff a number of the little discs the humans used as trade items.


    For a moment, it seemed that Raff wouldn¡¯t answer, or would turn the question away with a vague reply, but then he rubbed his hand over the stubble of fur on his chin and said, ¡°She was a friend, once.¡±


    He smiled, just a bit, and shook his head. ¡°More than a friend, actually, though probably not the way you¡¯re thinkin¡¯.¡±


    Kaz blinked. Had she been a member of his tribe, then?


    Raff saw Kaz¡¯s confusion, and his booming laugh echoed out over the campsite, making Kyla and Lianhua look back at him. Lianhua had already eaten, and now she had half a dozen of her little books scattered around her, and was flipping through them as she made notes in a seventh. Kyla and Mei, on the other hand, were playing in the small stream they¡¯d camped beside, catching the tiny fish that lived there and eating them.


    Seeing their looks, Raff waved at them apologetically, and grinned at Kaz. ¡°Y¡¯look so human now, I have a hard time rememberin¡¯ that you still don¡¯t think like we do.¡± He sobered, turning a skewer over the fire stone slowly.


    ¡°My Da is an important man. ¡®Bout as important as you get, short of the King and his immediate family. He sorta¡­ Look, if just one kobold controlled all of the other kobolds in your mountain, that¡¯d be the King. Or Queen, I guess, eh? Then there¡¯d be chiefs like Idla, Avli, and little Gram. Beneath them¡¯s the lower chiefs, like Ija¡¯s supposed to be, and those Goldcoats. Da is sorta like Idla.¡±


    Raff snorted. ¡°Not a bad comparison, actually. Anyway, Da and Mom had three sons, one after another, and in Holiander, that¡¯s all most nobles put in the effort to produce. Lot of ¡®em don¡¯t actually like each other enough to try for more. Not my parents, though.¡±


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°They had six sons, twice the necessary, which already included two backups, and then added on a daughter as well. Da was a busy man, and Mom spent half the year at sea, any year she wasn¡¯t pregnant. I still think all the babies were Da¡¯s way of keepin¡¯ her home a little more.¡±


    The skewer was nicely brown now, so Raff pulled it back and blew on the end before biting into it with as little disregard for the heat as Li had shown. He chewed, swallowed, then said, ¡°Th¡¯ first three boys got all the trainin¡¯ they¡¯d need to be right little lords, an¡¯ the next two worked even harder than the first, tryin¡¯ to prove their worth in a family that didn¡¯t need ¡®em. The sixth, though-¡±


    He paused before closing one eye at Kaz, lowering his voice for the next two words, as if imparting a secret. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±


    Returning to his normal tone, Raff went on, ¡°The sixth was the spittin¡¯ image of his wanderin¡¯ mother. He ditched lessons to fight imaginary beasts, and climbed trees to avoid his etiquette and dancing masters. His Da thought gettin¡¯ married might settle him down, so as soon as he turned sixteen, he started pushing the lad to take a wife. In spite of the boy¡¯s wild ways, many girls would have been happy to create a connection between their families and his, so¡­¡±


    Raff shrugged, dropping the pretense that he was speaking of someone else. ¡°I ran away. I tried to join one of the mercenary groups where other noble sons went to waste their youth, but Da let it be known that if they took me on, they¡¯d get no more jobs from him or anyone associated with him. That mighta discouraged some, sent ¡®em runnin¡¯ home, but I just dug in my heels and went deeper.¡±


    He took another bite, then another, momentarily lost in memories, but Kaz could sense that he wasn¡¯t done, so he didn¡¯t intrude on the human¡¯s thoughts. Indeed, for all that Raff talked almost constantly, he never spoke about himself, at least not outside of a few humorous stories about his adventures in the Adamant Reach, whatever that actually was.


    ¡°I finally joined the Adamant Reach,¡± Raff said, a smile still playing around his mouth, ¡°by pretendin¡¯ to be a farm brat who had picked up some training from a retired soldier father. I was th¡¯ lowest of the low, not trusted to take on even the simplest jobs by myself, and I had to ¡®learn¡¯ to read an¡¯ write, since I was foolish enough to claim that I didn¡¯t know how.¡±


    He shook his head, threading more rabbit meat and some of Kaz¡¯s gathered mushrooms onto his now empty skewer. ¡°Ellie was in the party I joined when I was finally raised to copper rank. She was a few years older, an¡¯ she came from exactly th¡¯ sort of background I was pretendin¡¯ to have. So I followed her around, copyin¡¯ the way she walked, talked, drank, an¡¯ gambled. She noticed pretty quick, an¡¯ thought I had a crush on her.¡±


    Seeing Kaz¡¯s confused expression, Raff explained, ¡°She thought I wanted to, uh, mate with her. An¡¯ she was fascinatin¡¯, in that way some women can be, but she turned me down flat. Walked on the other side of th¡¯ street, y¡¯know?¡±


    Kaz shook his head, indicating that he didn¡¯t know, and Raff rubbed his face again, muttering, ¡°It¡¯s gonna take longer to explain than it did to live it.¡± Sighing, he said bluntly, ¡°She was attracted to women, not men. Do kobolds have folks like that?¡±


    Relieved to have it explained, Kaz nodded almost eagerly. ¡°Some kobolds, male and female alike, find companionship with members of their own sex. Some to the point where it becomes like a mate bond, and they choose not to take a mate, or, if they do, they only produce pups with that mate, and otherwise spend little time together. Those who choose not to mate at all often take in orphaned puppies, or pups from families who have too many to care for properly.¡±


    Raff actually looked a little surprised. ¡°Well, I guess you do know what I mean, then. Anyway, we became friends, an¡¯ when I found out she was in trouble from gamblin¡¯ too much, she gave me that look-¡± He fluttered his eyelashes at Kaz, who just nodded, choosing not to question yet another strange human custom.


    ¡°She talked me into stealin¡¯ from the next merchant who hired us to guard their caravan. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be much. Just enough t¡¯ pay off her debt, eh? I kept watch while she snuck into the wagon carryin¡¯ the gold, but that wily old bugger had a bedamned wyvern in there. Pellis-cursed lizard woke up the whole camp.¡±


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    Kaz¡¯s eyes were wide now, and he noticed that Kyla had crept up beside him. She, Mei, and Li were all watching the human with rapt attention. Raff looked around at his little audience and gave a twisted smile.


    ¡°D¡¯you know what that woman did?¡± he asked, and they all shook their heads. Raff sighed. ¡°She took all the blame. Said she acted alone, with never a mention of me, even when a few members of the Reach asked her directly. She covered for me. Gave me another chance, even though I knew full well what I was doing.¡±


    He tilted his head back, staring up at the starry sky, with a sliver of a moon visible just above the treetops. ¡°So, yesterday, I returned the favor. Finally. With that much gold, she could buy herself a home in the city. Not a nice one, mind you, but not in the slums, either. She can pay off whatever debts she has, an¡¯ live quietly for a year or two, while she finds somethin¡¯ else to do, and everyone forgets about ¡®Two-face Ellie¡¯.¡±


    ¡°But you had me injure her,¡± Kaz said, curiously. Raff had been very specific that if he called for Kaz to help him, he didn¡¯t want that help to be lethal, but it should hurt.


    ¡°Mmm,¡± Raff agreed, eyeing his new skewer thoughtfully as it spun slowly. ¡°Ellie was always stubborn as an ox. Give her money and health, an¡¯ she¡¯ll drink it away in a month. But with an injured hand? She can¡¯t hold a weapon, so she can¡¯t fight. Just might make her take a break, think for a bit, before she goes back to doin¡¯ what she¡¯s doin¡¯.¡±


    Kaz grimaced, wondering if he should mention that he was fairly certain the female had lost a good bit of her right thumb. She hadn¡¯t made a sound when it happened, just clamped down on the injury with her other hand, but she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold her weapon in the same way again. It probably didn¡¯t need saying, though. Raff was experienced enough to have seen the same thing.


    With a grin, Raff pulled his skewer back and offered it to Kyla, who was the only one who hadn¡¯t had one yet. ¡°Y¡¯want one, puppy?¡± he asked. ¡°Or did you manage to catch enough minnows to fill up after all?¡±


    It looked a little underdone to Kaz, but Kyla accepted it, trying to look as if she was doing Raff a favor, rather than the other way around. ¡°There were a lot of fish,¡± she said, ¡°but I suppose it¡¯s good to eat more than one thing. Ija always said we needed plants as well as meat.¡±


    Kaz gave Li the last piece from his own skewer, which had been his third. He¡¯d created a sort of sweet sauce by mashing up some berries and other plants Raff said were safe to eat, and the flavor complemented the meat and mushrooms. It was gone now, but there was still one rabbit remaining to be eaten.


    Raff looked around at them. ¡°If you¡¯re all done, we should get some sleep. It¡¯ll take a bit of work to break down that wagon in the morning.¡±


    Kaz turned to look at the covered cart. It was made of wood and cloth, rather than bone and leather, but otherwise it was very similar to the carts in the mosui city and the Deep. The wooden wheels were flimsy compared to the carved stone ones he¡¯d seen before, but they were also lighter, and probably easier to make.


    ¡°Why are we destroying the cart you traded for?¡± he asked. Raff had tried to explain it before, but he¡¯d stopped halfway through and just said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± Well, it was later, and Kaz still hadn¡¯t figured it out.


    Raff groaned. ¡°I¡¯m tryin¡¯ to be sneaky,¡± he admitted. ¡°It¡¯s not somethin¡¯ I¡¯m really good at, but hopefully it¡¯ll work this time. Y¡¯see, Ellie and her buddies are gonna be mad as wet hens about losin¡¯ their wagon. They¡¯ll tell everybody they know, an¡¯ I guarantee, the King¡¯s Guard has spies among the kind of folks Ellie calls friend now. There¡¯s no way they won¡¯t put together the description of our group and their lost horses, and figure out we¡¯re the ones who bought the cart.¡±


    Everyone nodded, and Raff went on.


    ¡°So the last thing we want to do is show up together, riding a wagon. What they won¡¯t be expecting is a group on foot, with a couple of pack horses. Better yet, two or three small groups, if I can talk Lianhua into it. I want her an¡¯ Chi Yincang to head in alone, lookin¡¯ as fancy as fancy could be. You, me, an¡¯ Kyla will go in with one or both horses, pretendin¡¯ to be a family moving after our farm was lost in an incursion.¡±


    He rubbed his chin. ¡°Or maybe I¡¯ll be a Mariner, fresh from the sea, only to find that my wife died while I was away, leavin¡¯ my kids alone. Or-¡± He was clearly growing excited, but fortunately Lianhua broke in. At some point, she, too, had begun to listen to Raff¡¯s story, and now she shook her head at the male.


    ¡°So your idea is to convince them to focus on groups of five or more, in a wagon. Then you¡¯ll use me and Chi Yincang to cover your own entrance as a small, poor family. It¡¯s not bad, as far as it goes, but how does that allow us to keep in touch?¡± she asked.


    Raff pointed at Kyla, then Li. ¡°We have two members who can go invisible, and Blue here can see through the eyes of one of ¡®em. If the pretty little flower of the Empire makes a habit of going for walks in parks or somesuch, I reckon we can communicate well enough. You tell Li or Kyla whatever you find out, and we¡¯ll use that to track down Jinn.¡±


    ¡°And the princess,¡± Lianhua said, brows rising.


    Raff waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Sure, the princess, too. Jinn¡¯s been takin¡¯ in wounded animals and lost souls since she was knee high to Blue here. I bet she decided to give her sweet, quiet little friend an adventure, and now they can¡¯t figure out how to get back without everybody makin¡¯ a big fuss.¡±


    Kaz had a bad feeling things weren¡¯t going to be that easy, but he didn¡¯t have any better ideas, and from the looks of it, neither did Lianhua. She sighed and nodded, beginning to close her books and return them to her pouch.


    ¡°Well enough,¡± she said. ¡°All I want at this point is a long, hot bath, and to see Yingtao.¡± Some indescribable emotion crossed her face, leaving her looking both excited and terribly worried. She stood up, shaking out her robe.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± she said. ¡°Raff, how much longer until we reach Cliffcross?¡±


    Raff had answered this already, but he said, ¡°Tomorrow. Late.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Lianhua said, then, ¡°I hope.¡±


    Turning, she entered her tent, which was almost completely clear of the lingering scent of Kaz¡¯s cultivation. He was still not, however, welcome inside.


    Kyla gulped down the last bite of her meal, tossed away the stick, and scampered after her. Now that Kaz no longer looked or smelled like a kobold, the pup had taken to sleeping in the comfort of the tent, among piles of pillows and blankets.


    Raff gave a snort, reaching out to pick up his fire stone, which was rapidly cooling now that it was no longer needed. ¡°Guess it¡¯s just you an¡¯ me, then, Blue.¡±


    Kaz glanced at Li, who looked back at him. ¡°We¡¯ll be there,¡± Kaz finally said, pointing at a nearby tree with broad, spreading branches.


    The big male stood, tossing his stone from hand to hand. ¡°You really like sleepin¡¯ in trees?¡±


    Not really, but Li did. She had convinced him to try it after Lianhua said Kaz was no longer welcome in the tent. He did feel safer above the ground, but he had nightmares of falling off, even though logically he knew it wasn¡¯t far enough to seriously injure him any more.


    Kaz shrugged, reaching up to stroke Li¡¯s head, and Raff chuckled. ¡°Hang on, then,¡± he said, and pulled out a length of fabric with ropes attached to each end. Holding it out, he said, ¡°This is a hammock. You tie each end to a branch, then sleep in the middle. Kinda stretch it out, like this.¡±


    Raff held his arms as far apart as he could, holding the ropes in his hands, until the fabric in between swayed gently in front of his chest. His grin was equal parts triumphant and sad. ¡°I went on one trading run with my mother. Got sick as a dog, but I loved the hammocks the crew members slept in. She never let me go again, but I rigged one of these up in my room and slept in it for years.¡±


    Kaz accepted the hammock, which was much heavier than he¡¯d expected. The material was very sturdy, and the ropes looked like they could hold up under the weight of a dozen kobolds. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said.


    Raff waved him off. ¡°It takes up a lot of space in my pouch, an¡¯ I never use it any more. Might as well give it to someone who will. Now, I have to figure out where Chi Yincang is, so I can take a watch.¡±


    Kaz pointed off to their right, where a blur of ki gave away the other male¡¯s location. Raff waved a hand at his forehead in his odd farewell, and walked off, yipping quietly, then laughing at his own poor attempt at mimicking a kobold.

 Chapter Two hundred six

    How could there be so many humans? The howls said that humans bred like fuergar, but this¡­ how could Kaz possibly have prepared himself for this?


    After they finished breaking down the carriage into unidentifiable pieces, the small group had set out. They didn¡¯t really need the horses to carry anything, but Raff insisted that they would make their pretense more believable.


    While many people in Raff¡¯s ¡®country¡¯ could use at least a little mana, few were trained in it, and fewer still had access to portable storage devices. That meant heavy packs, wagons, and beasts like horses and mules were far more common than seeing people like Raff, Lianhua, and Chi Yincang, who seemed to carry nothing at all.


    It did indeed take all day to reach Cliffcross, but they¡¯d found their speed reduced to a slow walk when their path merged with a well-maintained cobblestone road. Humans flowed like water along this road, which was wide enough for huge, heavily-laden wagons to pass each other going in both directions. Kaz had imagined that Wheldrake must be a large town, since it held several hundred humans, but he thought thousands of them must have streamed by already today, and the walls of the city had only just come into sight.


    It was enormous. The gate was high enough that not even Chi Yincang could have jumped over it easily, and the walls stretched into the distance until they vanished into a dark blur on either side. The road had gradually grown larger, until it nearly doubled its original width.


    Sometimes three carts passed together in the same direction Kaz¡¯s group was walking, and other times the flow shifted so even their small group, with only two horses, could barely cling to the edge. He had no idea how the humans knew who was allowed to go and when, but it was rare to hear more than a mutter of annoyance from riders, walkers, or cart drivers alike as they shifted out of the way.


    The later it got in the day, the more the travelers found that they were carried along by the flow. The number of people moving away from the city decreased, but the number heading inside more than balanced it out. Raff explained that a good number of people worked on the ¡®farms¡¯ outside, or took carts to pick up loads of food or other goods from those farms, since there was no room inside the city walls to grow or make enough for everyone. City dwellers were afraid of finding themselves outside of their walls at night, however, so they all hurried back as soon as the sun began to lower toward the horizon.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Raff mumbled as he stared up at the bare sliver of moon just beginning to pierce the sky. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to be out here tomorrow night, either.¡±


    Kaz had spent a good amount of time staring at the farms that rolled away to either side of the road, along with small collections of houses with heavy doors and thick shutters that could be closed over the windows. It was astonishing to him that humans intentionally grew all of their own food, including raising animals for the sole purpose of eating them.


    Kobolds did the same with yumi, it was true, but that was only possible because of the array of yellow and blue ki-stones in the yumi caverns. How much easier would life be if you could simply insert part of a plant into the ground, and more food would grow? Could kobolds raise fuergar for their meat and pelts?


    He glanced at Mei, who was watching the flood of humanity warily through the gap in Kyla¡¯s cloak. The fuergar¡¯s eyes gleamed with intelligence, and she was taking in everything that was going on around them with a sort of calculation, as if creating one plan after another that would allow her to flee if necessary.


    After getting to know the small creature, Kaz wasn¡¯t certain he would ever be able to eat fuergar again. No, he absolutely would if he had to, but he certainly wouldn¡¯t take pleasure in it the way he once had.


    Raff turned to look at Lianhua, who had a cloak pulled tight to hide the richest robe Kaz had ever seen her wear. It was fuulong silk, of course, but pure white, with gold and purple lotuses embroidered around the bottom, on the sleeves, and up the sides. Her hair was up, but currently covered by a dull brown cloth that went well with the dirt-stained cloak. Chi Yincang was similarly clothed, in a simple cloak over a short robe and loose pants of a black so deep it seemed to eat the light.


    ¡°You about ready, Lianhua?¡± Raff asked. ¡°As soon as the guards can see you, make like the grandest lady you¡¯ve ever met.¡± His lips twitched. ¡°Better yet, act like Gaoda.¡±


    Lianhua snorted a little laugh, then covered her mouth with her hand. ¡°Are you certain about this?¡± she asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just go in with us and tell everyone the truth? It still seems like you¡¯re making this unnecessarily complicated. I can simply let King Maleim know-¡±


    Raff shook his head. ¡°This whole thing makes me feel like a rabbit walked over my grave. A rabbit with great big teeth and a bad attitude. I¡¯m not smart like you, but listenin¡¯ to my instincts has kept me alive up to now, and they¡¯re screamin¡¯ that I don¡¯t want to go walkin¡¯ in there like nothin¡¯s wrong. The only thing I¡¯m worried about is takin¡¯ these two with me.¡± He hitched a thumb toward Kaz and Kyla, who were walking along behind the taller humans.


    <Three!> Li promptly corrected, from her place on Kaz¡¯s back.


    Once Raff told them that guards watched for flying creatures trying to enter the city, they¡¯d managed to rig up a sort of sling for the dragon using the remnants of Kaz¡¯s backpack and the idea of the hammock they¡¯d slept in the night before. It was working, and didn¡¯t make Kaz look like he had too much of a hump on his back, but that didn¡¯t mean she liked it. She had been distinctly unhappy ever since she climbed in.


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    Kaz couldn¡¯t reach around and pat her the way he usually would, but he sent a flow of understanding through their bond. Raff went back and forth between acknowledging Li as a member of their group in her own right, and treating her like a strange animal. It was very frustrating for the dragon.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± Kaz told them all, including Li. ¡°If things start to go wrong, Li will hide us, and Kyla can conceal herself. Raff¡¯s the only one who¡¯ll get caught.¡±


    Raff grinned, reaching up to rub the jaw he¡¯d taken great care to shave completely smooth again. ¡°True enough. And you remember where we¡¯re to meet if we do get split up?¡±


    ¡°Get inside, go four blocks north, then two west, and wait by the fountain,¡± Kaz and Kyla chorused. Blocks were the distance between one street and the next, but could apparently vary significantly in length. Still, Raff insisted on using them when he gave directions, and he¡¯d already reminded them more times than Kaz cared to remember.


    ¡°And you know how to get to the castle to meet me if things go very wrong, correct?¡± Lianhua asked as the line edged inexorably closer to the looming gate.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the center of the city,¡± Kyla said.


    ¡°And there¡¯s a park all around it. You¡¯ll look for us at the western promenade every night an hour or two before sunset,¡± Kaz finished.


    There were so many new words. A ¡®park¡¯ was a broad, open area inside a city, where humans went to walk or eat ¡®picnics¡¯. In this particular park, which was called the Royal Gardens, broad walkways called ¡®promenades¡¯ traveled north, south, east, and west away from the castle. The castle itself was a single enormous building on top of a hill in the center of the city, and apparently it could be seen from anywhere within the city walls.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lianhua said, and then Raff clasped Kaz and Kyla¡¯s shoulders, slowing them as the crowd surged, releasing Lianhua and Chi Yincang into the small open space where two tall humans wearing armor waited.


    As soon as Lianhua saw that one of them was looking at her, her shoulders rose and fell as she drew in a bracing breath. She unclasped her cloak, letting it fall in graceful folds over her bent arm, while the brown cloth that had been covering her pure white hair fell to the ground behind her. Kaz saw it land, and had to force himself not to try to grab it. The human female was wasting precious cloth again!


    ¡°I am Lady Lianhua Long, of the Sheng Empire,¡± she announced, shoulders back and chin up. Her voice carried over the waiting crowd, and everyone turned to look at her, including both guards. A door in the wall beyond the gate opened, and a head poked out, only to be quickly pulled back inside.


    Raff didn¡¯t say anything, just nudged both kobolds into the small trickle of people passing by on their left. He was holding their horses loosely, and his hood was back just enough to show the end of his nose.


    The door opened again, sending a grim-faced group of humans into the street. They circled around Lianhua and Chi Yincang, hands on the hilts of the swords that hung at every belt, though no one had actually drawn a weapon yet.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been gone for over a month, making my way down through a filthy, vermin-infested mountain, all because no one here could possibly be spared until after your ridiculous tournament is over,¡± Lianhua went on, removing a long, thin object from her pouch.


    The warriors tensed, a few inches of metal gliding from their sheaths, until Lianhua snapped the object open with her hand and began waving the thing toward her face. It was made of some fine cloth, no thicker than spiderwebs, but densely embroidered with a glorious burst of colorful flowers surrounding a single tall black and white bird. Lianhua¡¯s hair moved delicately as she waved it, and then she snapped it shut again, gently touching it to her lower lip as she looked up at the warrior with the most elaborate armor.


    ¡°I insist upon seeing King Maliem at once. You wouldn¡¯t believe what I was put through in that hole of a town you call Whelbake,¡± she said, flipping open the object again with a graceful deftness that drew every eye. Open. Closed. Open. Closed. All without anything more than the minutest twitch of her delicate wrist.


    ¡°Wheldrake, lady,¡± the warrior corrected, sounding somewhat overwhelmed.


    Liamhua tipped the object toward him. It was closed at the moment, and seemed like an accusatory finger. ¡°You do know what I¡¯m talking about,¡± she said triumphantly. ¡°You can¡¯t tell me this disrespect was intentional?¡±


    ¡°Go go go,¡± Raff said, pushing at Kaz, who was as enthralled by Lianhua¡¯s performance as everyone else. Obediently, Kaz took a step forward, only to find a hand in the center of his chest, halting him.


    ¡°Name and address,¡± a guard said, though the eyes visible through the opening in his helmet were actually watching Lianhua, whose hand was making her little toy move as if dancing.


    ¡°I¡¯m Breth,¡± Raff said, in a voice that was rougher but also clearer than his own. ¡°I just returned from a voyage-¡±


    The eyes snapped back to take in Raff¡¯s face, then narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re a Mariner,¡± he said.


    Raff sighed impatiently. ¡°Captain Breth Whitmore, of the Barfleur. As I said, I just returned from a voyage of nearly a year, only to find that my wife passed away while I was gone. I¡¯m taking-¡±


    A hand darted out, pulling Kaz¡¯s hood back to reveal his face. The eyes swept over him, taking in the resemblance to Raff, which was fairly pronounced, since Kaz had used Raff¡¯s general bone structure when creating his image. They definitely looked like they were related in some way.


    ¡°Taking the boy to live with family, are you?¡± the guard demanded. ¡°So you can return to the sea and your other eight wives?¡±


    Raff¡¯s eyes darted toward Kaz, then away again. ¡°Of course not,¡± he blustered. ¡°I mean, yes, he¡¯s going to live with his aunt, but-¡±


    ¡°Whatever,¡± the human said. ¡°Go on.¡±


    By now, several more guards had joined the first batch, and they were all looking distinctly flustered as Lianhua demanded everything from a hot bath to ¡®the largest carriage you can requisition, drawn by four matched white horses¡¯. The guard talking to Raff and Kaz seemed to find his comrades¡¯ discomfort amusing, and he waved Raff and Kaz through, along with several other travelers, until someone approached with a cart, and he called for them to halt and be searched.


    Only when they were several blocks down the street, leaving Lianhua and Chi Yincang behind, did Raff, Kaz, and Li realize that they had lost someone else as well. There was no sign of Kyla or Mei anywhere.

 Chapter Two hundred seven (Kyla)

    Kyla crouched beneath a heavy cloth spread over several boxes. She¡¯d been there for a good while now, and she was beginning to regret her choices.


    When she decided that spending her spirit hunt in the world outside the mountain would be even better than spending it on the mid-levels, she¡¯d thought it was a brilliant idea. Of course, a spirit hunt was meant to be spent alone, and she fully intended to stay by the gate when Kaz and the humans left.


    But then Kaz saw her. Felt her? And he wasn¡¯t nearly so injured as he¡¯d been pretending, which she already knew because she heard the Goldcoat healer, old Jul, tell her father so. It was supposed to be a secret, because everyone else was watching the chiefs get ready to open the mountain for the first time in years, but Kyla was there. Kyla was always there. Somewhere.


    As always, she got a little thrill at the realization that she could do something that neither her mother nor her sister could do. One of the old books written by past chiefs had described the technique, pulling power around her like a shield, but creating heat rather than a wall. And it was hot inside the hidden space she created, often leaving her exhausted and parched, but it was worth it, because she was free.


    Not always. Not in the most important ways. But she could leave when the barking and growling started. She could flee her den, her mother, the secrets they kept and the lies that they fed to the rest of the puppies. She read the books, she climbed the Tree, and she listened. Kyla knew things she was never meant to know.


    And all of her knowledge, her ability, her habit of doing what she wanted because no one would know¡­ All those things had led to this moment, and in retrospect, she could definitely see a few times when things could, perhaps, have been improved by not. Just not.


    Not, for instance, leaving Kaz and the humans as soon as they entered the city. It would probably have been better to wait a day. Maybe two. Wait until they had settled somewhere, and she knew more about this place. Because humans were strange.


    Kyla had assumed that a city was a city. This one was inhabited by humans rather than kobolds, but the humans she¡¯d met - Raff, Lianhua, and even Chi Yincang - were odd, but not unkind. And they weren¡¯t even odd in any particularly worrisome way. She could go to this human city, spend a week on her spirit hunt, and then meet Lianhua at the ¡®park¡¯ some evening.


    How many fascinating things would she find? No one else, not even the great chiefs, would have better beads and charms for their necklace. Kyla might not be a great chief, but even Ija wasn¡¯t, at least not now, and the Woodblades would be needing subsidiary tribes. Surely Ija and Gram would see that Kyla was perfect to lead one of them. Kyla could still help her sister, still be more than just another member of the tribe to the person who had done far more to raise her than Vega ever had.


    A loud noise rose from outside Kyla¡¯s hidey hole, and she flinched back. What was that? What was any of it? She understood carts and farms and money and knew how to tell the difference between males and females thanks to her books and the training she received as the daughter of a chief. But the actual sounds and smells were like an assault. How could humans live like this? More importantly, didn¡¯t it ever stop?


    A soft squeak told her that Mei had returned, and Kyla looked down to see a little pink nose and inquisitive eyes appear beneath the edge of the cloth. The first time the fuergar ran off - while Kyla still believed she was about to have a grand adventure - Kyla¡¯s heart had almost broken. But the rodent had come back, always came back, usually with some treasure caught between her teeth, which she dropped at Kyla¡¯s feet like a puppy bringing its den mother a pretty rock.


    This time, the thing she brought was a small copper coin. Kyla accepted it, adding it to the stack of similar coins beside her. There were three other coppers, a silver, and one thing that was round like a coin, with a metal half-circle attached to the back, and no image stamped into it. Kyla wasn¡¯t certain what that one was, but Mei brought it to her, so she kept it anyway.


    Digging into her pack, Kyla offered the fuergar another small piece of yumi root. The roots kept for a long time, unlike the sprouts, so Kyla still had quite a few. Honestly, she could live off of them for the rest of the seven days, but she didn¡¯t really want to.


    What she wanted was to find Kaz and stay with him. After a few days, maybe she¡¯d try again. No one would ever even need to know that she failed her first attempt. Or maybe she¡¯d return to her original plan and go back to the gate, spending her time exploring the forest nearby until the chiefs opened the mountain again.


    But Kyla was lost. This was a strange feeling for her. She¡¯d been lost before, of course, but so long as she stayed in the Deep, she was safe enough, and eventually she found her way home. No one liked the Magmablades, but no one would risk angering Vega, either. Plus, Kyla¡¯s father, Rudu, was well-liked and known to most of the chiefs. Kyla had never really understood why he¡¯d chosen to accept Vega as his mate. That was one secret not even she had been able to discover.


    Kyla lifted the edge of the fabric, watching and listening. Darkness had fallen a while ago, and from what Kyla knew, that meant it was time for humans to sleep. But they didn¡¯t. If anything, they¡¯d only grown louder and more boisterous than before. More of the voices she heard were in the deeper registers, which Kyla knew meant they probably belonged to males, but otherwise nothing had changed.


    Humans were noisy. And smelly. And loud. And they stank. They yelled, and their shoes clattered against the roads like niu hooves on stone. One male had even urinated on the building next to Kyla¡¯s hiding place. Like a puppy. Could he not wait until he reached a waste crevice? Given the general overall stench of the place, did humans not use waste crevices?


    A door clattered open, and a male stumbled from the building. A wave of fermented air flowed up from the space between the fabric and the road, making Kyla drop the cloth and clap her hands over her muzzle. That particular smell had become stronger and stronger ever since it grew dark, and it made her want to sneeze.


    Mei looked up at her, large eyes bright with worry, or so Kyla imagined, and the fuergar¡¯s whiskers quivered as she placed one paw on Kyla¡¯s knee. For the thousandth time, Kyla¡¯s heart clenched in her chest. How could any creature be so adorable? Especially a creature whose kin Kyla had eaten a thousand times before. Now, just the thought made her stomach roil, adding nausea to the tickle in her nose. Which was very bad, because if she sneezed now, vomit would come after, and even if she used the last of her power to conceal herself again, the sounds and scents would give her presence away.


    The human male had staggered away down the street, knees and ankles turning away from each other as if they would go in opposite directions. He was howling loudly, garbled words carrying above the sound of other humans yelling for him to stop.


    She had to leave. Had to find Kaz in this miasma of smells. But Kaz didn¡¯t really smell like Kaz right now, even if she could isolate his scent among all the others. She definitely hadn¡¯t thought this through. Had only seen an opportunity and taken it. Foolish, selfish, immature Kyla. Causing trouble again.


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    Mei squeaked softly, and Kyla looked down. The fuergar was poised at the edge of the thick cloth, her nose already out, no doubt ready to go looking for her next prize. But Kyla didn¡¯t want her to go. Didn¡¯t want to be alone. Didn¡¯t want to be forced to leave while Mei was gone, taking the chance that she would never see her pet again.


    This time, when Mei ran, so did Kyla. She didn¡¯t even bother using her ki to hide herself, just grabbed the stack of coins and depended on the darkness and the too-large cloak to hide her. It was full dark, and the smoke rising from almost every home blanketed the sky, blocking even the light of the clouds and the narrow slice of moon. Scattered poles topped with clear lights lined the wider streets, creating pools of illumination. In between those pools were shadows that faded into blackness, and it was here that Kyla and Mei scurried, flattening themselves against the walls whenever they heard voices or footsteps.


    Mei seemed to know exactly where she was going, skirting the lights and the occasional cracked shutter as she moved, quick, but not with the look of a frightened creature. Her eyes gleamed a soft brown, lighter than copper but darker than gold, and her long whiskers traced gently against the wall. Seeing her confidence, Kyla began to gather her own, feeling the tension of the past hours fade slightly.


    ¡°Where are we going? Did you find Kaz?¡± Kyla whispered as they paused to let a pair of human males go by. They had their arms over each other¡¯s shoulders, and were weaving from side to side so much that Kyla thought for a moment one of them would actually trip over her. Then they were gone, and Mei looked at Kyla again, squeaking with soft insistence.


    Kyla gave a quiet yip of laughter, feeling a little more of her worry drain away. She was moving again, and moving was always good. Bad things happened when you stayed in one place for too long.


    Deep tunnels of blackness began to appear as they crept deeper into the city. Her kobold vision allowed her to see lumps in the darkness, and as she continued following her fuergar, more and more of them looked like figures. Humans, sleeping not in a hut but on the hard ground, huddled beside buildings, out of the way. Who were they? Were they not of this tribe, this city, and so they had no place to rest? But even in the mountain, a kobold of an allied tribe would be given a safe place to sleep. If they weren¡¯t allied, they should be home by the time exhaustion took them.


    A realization took her. She would have to sleep on the street tonight. Close her eyes and rest surrounded by humans, none of whom would react well if they came upon her unknowingly. That much Raff had said, over and over. Unless he or one of the other humans were with her, she was absolutely not to allow anyone else to realize what she was. Foolishly, she had thought that would be easy enough, but there were no unused tunnels, no forgotten dens, no between places here. Every inch was used, belonged to someone, just as it was in the Deep.


    Mei turned sharply, her little claws scratching against the stones as she vanished down one of the side streets. Kyla realized she had fallen behind and hurried to catch up, following the sound more than the smell of the fuergar. Smells here were blurred, lost, muddy as the side of a river, and Kyla was no tracker.


    Kyla caught sight of her friend¡¯s tail vanishing through a hole in the wall ahead. A hint of moonlight turned the flash of skin from silver to pink for one precious moment, and Kyla lunged after her, hand thrust through the opening. And caught nothing.


    It was small. Too small? Kyla snorted. She might not be a tracker, she definitely wasn¡¯t a fighter, but she was an expert at sneaking and hiding. First, she looked through to make sure no danger lurked on the other side of the wall, but saw nothing but a small, dim space. The tiniest trickle of moonlight filtered through a few tiles that had fallen from the ceiling above. A trickle was enough for kobold eyes.


    What she did not see worried her far more than what she did. There was no sign of Mei. Kyla took off her pack, then her cloak. Extending her arms ahead of her, she made her narrow chest even narrower, and began to wriggle through the crumbling bricks. Her new robe caught on a jagged edge, making an ominous tearing sound, and she froze. Backing up, she managed to get it unstuck, then dragged herself the rest of the way through, leaving a furrow in the dust and filth on her clothes.


    With a soft, worried whine, Kyla reached back through and tugged her cloak to her. The pack was harder, since it was stuffed to its limit, holding everything she¡¯d thought she might need on her spirit hunt. Of course, when she packed it, she hadn¡¯t expected to go into the human world, so half the things she¡¯d packed were all but useless. Still, she couldn¡¯t bear to leave those reminders of home behind before she absolutely had to.


    Briefly, she thought that time was now, but the pack finally pulled through, the sturdy niu-fur fabric not even snagged, though a few of the beads Kyla had sewn onto it fell loose, clattering across the ground. They rolled beneath what looked like a pile of fallen tiles and dead leaves, and then the soft, familiar plink plink sound of something falling down into a hole with stone at the bottom reached her ears.


    Kyla¡¯s eyes widened, and she hurried over, brushing the debris aside until she revealed a rough hole in the floor. A tunnel led downwards, several feet of dirt giving way to the stone she¡¯d heard. She stuck her nose into it and drew in a long, deep breath. There was the distinct smell of moist dirt, something moldy, urine, and¡­ fuergar. Mei had gone this way.


    The bottom of the hole was eight to ten feet below her, but the walls were rough enough that getting up and down shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. She peered down, trying to see if there was anywhere else to go. There had to be, though, didn¡¯t there? Even a fuergar couldn¡¯t vanish into nothing. They could, however, gnaw their way through stone. Was it possible that Mei was creating a burrow for them?


    Kyla dropped her pack and cloak into the hole, then flipped over and lowered her legs over the edge. Her paws scrambled for purchase, and the far side of the tunnel was close enough that her tail dragged against it awkwardly. She was a good climber, though, thanks to all her practice climbing up and down the Tree, and when the substance beneath her hands shifted from rocky dirt to stone, she released her grip, landing easily atop her belongings.


    Mei¡¯s scent was stronger here, without other smells to override it. Kyla glanced around, soon seeing the small, dark tunnel near her knees. There was barely enough room to crouch and examine it, but she managed. To her surprise, it didn¡¯t look like it had been made by fuergar teeth at all. Instead, it was smooth, almost like the stones had been shaped before they were put in place, creating a perfect arch, which was now cracked and partially broken.


    She scratched at the stone, finding it oddly textured and slightly soft. It wasn¡¯t brick, and it wasn¡¯t like Lianhua¡¯s beautiful cups and plates, but it was crafted, made of something that wasn¡¯t solid stone, for some particular purpose. Why were the humans burying tunnels beneath their houses? This was too small for most humans to squeeze through, and would be a tight fit even for Kyla. Did human children play down here?


    She shook her head, and her nose scraped painfully against the side of the tunnel. She rubbed at her muzzle, whimpering. A questioning squeak came in answer, and then the sound of scratching claws announced Mei¡¯s return. The fuergar popped out of the tunnel as if she¡¯d done it many times before, looking up at Kyla. Her round, delicate ears framed her quivering nose, and Kyla quickly scooped her up, feeling the reassuring thud of the creature¡¯s heart beating against her palms.


    ¡°Thank you for coming back,¡± Kyla murmured. ¡°Can¡¯t you stay with me?¡±


    The fuergar opened her mouth, allowing yet another coin to fall out. This one had the shine of silver beneath the dirt. It also had a very distinct bite taken out of one edge.


    Kyla¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯ve been bringing me food,¡± she said. ¡°I give you some of my food, and you give me some of yours. Did I interrupt you in the middle of eating this time?¡±


    Mei squeaked again, but the meaning of the sound was lost on Kyla. Then the rodent began to make her ¡®let me down¡¯ wriggle, and Kyla obediently released her. It was hard. Harder than it ever had been before, but she always remembered that Kaz said Li stayed with him because she wanted to. Knowing that she could go allowed her to stay. Kyla had to let Mei go so the fuergar would want to return.


    The rodent immediately disappeared down the tunnel again, and this time Kyla didn¡¯t hesitate. She tied the backpack and cloak into a single bundle that she then tied to her belt so it dragged along behind her. Crawling forward, she followed the scent of Mei.

 Chapter Two hundred eight

    Kaz, Li, and Raff spent a good bit of time waiting near the fountain where they¡¯d agreed to meet if they were separated. None of them really believed that Kyla had simply lost her way, but they also didn¡¯t want to leave her behind if they were wrong. When enough time came and went that the young kobold could have made it to their position four or five times over, they agreed that it was time to continue on their way.


    Raff led the way through the streets, with Kaz close on his heels. Humans parted around the large male like a river around a stone, but Kaz was tossed back and forth like a clump of dry moss. Only by staying very close to Raff could he be certain they wouldn¡¯t be separated as well. That meant that most of his vision and attention was taken up by Raff¡¯s broad back, but not quite all.


    The last bit of his attention was taken up by the pictures. The walls were covered in them. Some were actually painted directly onto the false stone, while others were printed on some kind of paper or parchment, then attached to the wall with metal spikes or glue. Most of these pages were small, filled with runes Kaz couldn¡¯t read, but a few? A few were huge, and colorful, and absolutely fascinating. It was almost enough to distract Kaz from his worry for Kyla.


    Since Li was hidden beneath Kaz¡¯s cloak, she was watching through his eyes for once, and together they wondered at the pictures of humans and creatures they had never imagined could exist. Graceful golden beasts with vast, furry manes and snakes for tails faced off against humans wielding swords even larger than Raff¡¯s. Other humans battled enormous lizards or swarms of giant insects with stingers the size of their heads. Short, squat people who could have been husede, other than the pale color of their skin and their long beards, teamed up against groups of armored human males and, if Kaz wasn¡¯t mistaken, females as well.


    <Is that a flying wolf?> Li asked excitedly as they hurried past one of the largest pictures they¡¯d seen yet. The further they went, the bigger the images seemed to grow, and Kaz was beginning to feel as if they¡¯d turn one more corner only to find that the things had come to life in front of their eyes.


    Kaz turned back, trying to get a better look at the picture Li had asked about. It did indeed seem to be a wolf with wings like a bird, but there was something strange about the creature¡¯s feet, and the muzzle was more like a beak.


    He sent a feeling of uncertainty to the dragon, who still clung to his back beneath his cloak. She¡¯d nearly fallen free a few times, after they were jostled particularly hard, but so far she always managed to catch herself. It would definitely be a relief when they got to wherever they were going, though.


    Speaking of which... Kaz ran forward a little faster, finding that he had to use a bit of ki in order to do so. Raff was almost jogging by now, and with his long legs and physical cultivation, that meant he was moving very quickly. Kaz was as tall as Lianhua now, but that still left him a foot shorter than Raff, and he had to take two steps for every one of the larger male¡¯s.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± he asked, trying to project his voice over the ever-increasing noise of the crowd. This was worse than the time he spent in the mosui city. At least there he had been one of the tallest people, but here he felt as small as Li. Some people were his height or smaller, but they were of the short, wide race depicted on the papers stuck to the walls, and the crowd parted around them almost as readily as it did around Raff.


    Raff glanced back, but didn¡¯t slow. ¡°I heard someone talkin¡¯ while we were at the fountain. Signups for the tournament are still open through today. Gave me an idea. Just keep up.¡±


    Kaz and Li gave simultaneous huffs of frustration. What did Raff think they were doing? Wandering through a gathering cavern?


    They continued onward as the crowd grew thicker and thicker. Then, abruptly, the flow of it changed, with more people moving ¡®away¡¯ than ¡®toward¡¯. Much of the pressure on them eased up, and instead shifted to the other side of the street. Apparently, the humans had some kind of rule or tradition that if they were going in one direction, they had to remain to the right, but if they turned around, they should move left. It was yet another peculiarity, but a welcome one for once.


    Raff made a pleased sound, turned, then came to a sudden and complete stop at the end of a column of other people. Almost instantly, more people came to stand behind them, and Kaz found himself trapped between Raff and a set of human males who looked impatient and unhappy.


    Kaz edged up until he was standing close beside Raff, then asked, ¡°Now can you tell me what we¡¯re doing? I thought we were going to an inn.¡± Not that he was terribly excited by the idea of entering a den filled with humans, but at least there they would have their own small hut separated from the rest by solid walls.


    Raff looked around, then held up his hand, tracing something on his palm with his opposite forefinger. ¡°Can you do the, uh, hush hush thing?¡± he asked.


    It took Kaz a moment to realize that Raff meant the sound obscuration rune, but then he nodded, and drew it on his own palm. He still didn¡¯t know how to use what Lianhua called modifiers to alter its shape and size, but now he understood that those modifiers were tied to her image, not his own.


    It was still easier to use the rune than to just picture a dome of ki falling around them to muffle their words, but he could bring it closer, so it excluded those pressing in around them. Once the muffling dome of ki was in place, Kaz held up his hand to show his empty palm and waited. Raff began to speak, though the male¡¯s dark golden eyes continued to flick over the crowd rather than focusing on Kaz.


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    ¡°This tournament happens every year, but alternates between allowing locals only and including anyone who¡¯s willing to come. This is one of the all-comers years, which is why this place looks like a madhouse. Everybody¡¯s come from everywhere to see who wins. In the final round, the local champions from last year will compete against whoever wins this year, and that¡¯s a very big deal.¡±


    Kaz waited, not sure how all of this mattered to them, other than the fact that it meant the current state of the city probably wasn¡¯t normal, which was a relief.


    Raff took a step forward as the line shifted, then said, ¡°I was plannin¡¯ to find an inn, like I said, but I forgot what it¡¯s like in an open tournament year. There won¡¯t be anywhere safe to stay, and I don¡¯t want to spend every night waitin¡¯ for a knife in th¡¯ guts. Plus, this is a great cover.¡± He grinned, clearly proud of himself.


    ¡°What is?¡± Kaz asked as they moved forward again.


    Raff¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Enterin¡¯ the tournament, of course,¡± he said, as if it was obvious. ¡°We can stay in one of the barracks, and no one¡¯ll question who we are or why we¡¯re here. Plus, we can win at the low levels, easy, an¡¯ make a few gold.¡±


    Kaz had gold. Not a lot, since he¡¯d been worried about over-filling his pouch or taking enough that the husede would notice. Still, he was fairly certain that twenty-four bars should be enough for a little while, at least. Well, twenty-three, now.


    ¡°But-¡± he tried to say, when the males behind them shoved forward, pushing Kaz into the small gap that had opened in front of him.


    Raff turned to glare at them, but they didn¡¯t back down, just staring back angrily. The taller one was almost as large as Raff, while the shorter was still a bit taller and a good bit bulkier than Kaz. Kaz was beginning to think he should have gone for more height, no matter how strange it felt for his perspective to be so far above the ground.


    Kaz tugged on Raff¡¯s arm, pulling the big male¡¯s attention back to him. ¡°But we don¡¯t need gold. Do we?¡±


    Raff hitched a shoulder. ¡°Y¡¯always need gold, Blue. But nah, this¡¯s more about hiding in plain sight.¡± He gestured to himself, indicating his deep brown skin, then waved at those around them, who were almost all of some shade ranging from Chi Yincang¡¯s light brown to Gaoda¡¯s pinkish-white. Lianhua¡¯s skin, so pale as to rival the pure white of baimo lichen, would have stood out as much as Raff¡¯s dark tones.


    ¡°Mariners aren¡¯t so common here, even now that one is a duchess. Bit too far from the sea for that,¡± Raff said. ¡°One comin¡¯ for the Tournament, though? Believable enough. Plus, people entered in the tournament get some special privileges, besides a place to stay if they don¡¯t have one.¡±


    They shuffled forward again. ¡°First off, even if we ask a lot of questions, no one will think it¡¯s suspicious. We¡¯re strangers, eh? Second, we get a bit of a discount on armor and weapons, an¡¯ I need to replace darn near everything I own.¡±


    Raff grimaced, holding up an arm which was only covered in fabric, with no leather or armor in sight. ¡°I feel naked walkin¡¯ around like this, but even if my gear wasn¡¯t all beat up, it¡¯d be too recognizable. Those are some nice benefits, but the third one is best of all.¡± He leaned down, though Kaz¡¯s dome guaranteed that no one could have understood him anyway.


    ¡°I can use this as a way to let Jinn know I¡¯m here,¡± he almost whispered. ¡°There¡¯s no way we¡¯re gonna find her in a city th¡¯ size o¡¯ Cliffcross, but she sure can find us. If she¡¯s here and paying attention, she¡¯ll know I¡¯m back, and exactly where to find me.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head as the person in front of them strode away, revealing a row of tables with exhausted-looking humans sitting behind them. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°At the end of th¡¯ day, criers¡¯ll go around the streets, calling out the names of the winners for anyone who can¡¯t read. When she hears mine, she¡¯ll know,¡± Raff said, though he looked oddly unhappy about it.


    The people behind them bumped into Kaz again, and he looked back at them. The shorter of the males was waving his arm, shouting something, though Kaz couldn¡¯t understand through the muffling effect of his rune. Quickly, he rubbed his palm against his robe, allowing the image of the rune to vanish from his mind, and immediately winced as sound became something almost as physical as the hands that pushed at him.


    ¡°-turn, moron! Get moving!¡± A pointing finger indicated a person who was waving at Kaz and Raff impatiently. When he saw them looking, he pointed very firmly at an empty table where another human waited.


    Raff threw one more glower at the pair behind them, then hurried toward the table. When they arrived, the person didn¡¯t even look up, just sat with their pen poised over a page which was already partially covered in runes.


    ¡°Name and category or categories?¡± the person asked in a bored, high-pitched voice, and Kaz realized this was probably a female. She was dressed exactly the same as all of the other people behind tables, but her hair was long and bound up, much as Chi Yincang often wore his, and her form seemed a bit more rounded than most of the others.


    ¡°This¡¯s Kaz,¡± Raff said, nudging Kaz forward. ¡°We¡¯re a Mage and Fighter team.¡±


    The female sighed, rubbing her temple. This apparently wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d done so, because the skin there was smudged dark with ink. ¡°Are you fighting as a pair or individually?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go solo mace,¡± Raff said, ¡°and then Kaz an¡¯ I¡¯ll join the team battles.¡±


    She looked up for the first time, eyes glancing around as if looking for another member of their party. ¡°You know a team can be up to five, correct? Are you certain you don¡¯t want to join as a pair instead? Five against two seems like poor odds.¡±


    Raff grinned. ¡°Bigger prize for the team category, right?¡±


    The female sighed. ¡°Yes, since it¡¯s expected to be shared among all the members. But that doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re defeated in the first round.¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± Raff said, ¡°we¡¯ll win.¡±


    She rolled her eyes, but didn¡¯t protest. Looking down at her paper again, she drew a short series of runes. Thanks to Lianhua, who had taught him a few more runes in between her eternal questions, Kaz now recognized these as the simplest version of his name. It was made up of runes that sounded correct, but had no underlying meaning. He felt his mouth stretch happily at the sight, but missed the motion of his absent tail.


    ¡°And your name?¡± she asked, pen poised.


    Raff mumbled something, making Kaz and the female both look up at him.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    Raff sighed heavily, and said, ¡°Big Bro Gravy.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred nine (Lianhua)

    Lianhua was exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally. How long had she been waiting, so close and yet so terribly far from her goal? Lifting her teacup to her lips, she gave the queen of Holiander a small, sympathetic smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m so terribly sorry to hear that your daughter is missing,¡± she told the woman. ¡°And of course I understand why you and His Majesty have gone so far as to send soldiers out to arrest someone you welcomed as a guest of your kingdom.¡±


    Queen Natalia flinched ever so slightly, and Lianhua felt a bit sorry for her. The woman was clearly suffering, with dark purple circles beneath her eyes that hadn¡¯t been there when Lianhua first visited. Then, the queen had been a gay, joyful butterfly, flitting from party to party.


    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Natalia said with a pained smile. ¡°That was a terrible misunderstanding. Our Guard was only supposed to arrest young Grafton, not your entire party. They were only meant to provide you with an escort, so you could reach Cliffcross with the greatest speed and in the greatest comfort possible. We were terribly disappointed to learn that you felt it necessary to hire a guide and depart for Scarabus without waiting for Lord Hartton. Especially since you left so¡­ abruptly.¡±


    It was Lianhua¡¯s turn to flinch, though she kept hers inside, as her grandmother had taught her. Her hand never wavered as she set her teacup on its saucer. ¡°We did try to convey the urgency of the matter we were pursuing,¡± she said carefully, ¡°but Lord Hartton felt that the Tournament required all of his time and resources. As such, we were forced to take matters into our own hands. It¡¯s quite unfortunate that our departure coincided so closely with Reina¡¯s disappearance.¡±


    Their departure had been in what could be considered the middle of the night for most of the nobility in Holiander. The nobles partied until well after midnight, then returned home and slept until noon before going shopping or receiving guests. Lianhua had no idea how they managed to get anything useful done.


    When Gaoda insisted they depart at dawn, no one but the servants had even been awake. He had been angry at their indolence, and insulted by their continued polite refusal to treat him with as much respect as they gave Lianhua. As a result, he¡¯d simply had them gather everything they owned into their storage devices and act as if they were going shopping in the city. There, they met Raff, who had mounts for them, and they all left without further ado.


    Natalia¡¯s lips pinched. ¡°Are you quite certain that Grafton was with you the entire time? He never left while you were resting, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Quite,¡± Lianhua put as much finality into that word as she could. ¡°As I said,¡± a hundred times, ¡°my bodyguard, Chi Yincang, requires very little sleep, and he watches over us at all times. When he did sleep, Lord Gaoda or I were awake. There¡¯s no way Raff - Lord Grafton - could have gone anywhere without one or more of us being aware of it. Indeed, he¡¯s quite trustworthy and dependable, and never even attempted to leave. He certainly never had the opportunity to abduct - or help his sister abduct - a princess.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± a smooth voice interjected, causing both women to turn and look at the young man who had just entered. He was the husband of Holiander¡¯s eldest princess, and Lianhua remembered having met him at a party when she first arrived. She hadn¡¯t cared for him then, and he hadn¡¯t improved upon greater acquaintance.


    Baron Ruben¡¯s wife was Queen Natalia and King Maleim¡¯s oldest daughter, Isabel. The girl herself was pleasant enough, and also not, technically, a girl, being at least a few years older than Lianhua herself. Still, she acted as if there was nothing in her head but feathers, which Lianhua might have considered a very effective method of causing people to underestimate her, except that her fluff-headedness seemed entirely genuine.


    ¡°Ah, Ruben,¡± Natalia said, setting down her cup and gathering her skirts, which occupied an entire couch by themselves. ¡°I¡¯m so glad to see you. Did you¡­ find anything?¡± She didn¡¯t look at Lianhua, but that made her meaning no less obvious.


    The baron¡¯s thick brows lowered over his long nose as he attempted to make an expression that was more sympathetic than disdainful. ¡°Indeed not, your Majesty,¡± he said, bowing over Queen Natalia¡¯s proffered hand. ¡°Things are much as they have been. But I did arrange for Lady Lianhua to be reunited with her maid.¡±


    He pronounced Lianhua¡¯s name as if it had only two syllables, not three, and didn¡¯t bother to glance at her as he spoke. Still, his words were the most welcome ones she¡¯d heard since arriving in this prison masquerading as a visiting room.


    She forced her voice to remain calm as she said, ¡°Ah, Yingtao is well, then? And she still has all of my possessions?¡±


    A wave of black anger rolled over the room at the words, coming from the corner where Chi Yingcang stood, arms crossed over his chest and his black eyes fixed on Lianhua. He had remained silent but visible since their arrival, simply exuding menace any time anyone came too close to Lianhua or attempted to separate them.


    She was actually surprised when Baron Ruben didn¡¯t seem to respond to the pressure of that anger, though Queen Natalia certainly did. The nobleman simply stood, holding the queen¡¯s hand for a blatantly inappropriate length of time, while the queen herself paled and her fingers trembled in his.


    ¡°O- of course,¡± Natalia said, a bead of sweat trickling from under her golden wig. ¡°When we started looking for Reina, and our attention turned to Jeanne and her brother, we found that you had been forced to leave your servant behind with a common healer. We immediately had her and all of your things brought here, so we could be certain she received the best of care, and was, ah, available when you returned.¡±


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    The room actually seemed to darken this time, and Lianhua thought she could hear Chi Yincang¡¯s teeth grinding from her place on the delicate brocade chaise. The man was disciplined to the point of seeming inhuman, except when it came to one thing. That thing was his younger half-sister, Yingtao. As unhappy as Lianhua had been to leave her friend behind, Chi Yincang never would have done so if not for his unshakeable loyalty to Lianhua¡¯s grandfather.


    Lianhua took another tiny sip of her tea, still cautious in spite of the fact that she¡¯d insisted upon using one of her own cups, claiming that she preferred the thin, lightweight style of Imperial porcelain to the heavier Holiander vessels. This was incredibly rude, but they¡¯d been rude first, and all of Lianhua¡¯s dishes had cleansing runes embossed on them, making sure the contents were free of poisons, sedatives, or other impurities.


    With slow deliberation, she turned and held out her cup to Chi Yincang. He glided forward, all dark threat and deadly competence, and accepted it, returning it to its place in his inventory. Lianhua continued holding out her hand, and he took it, pretending to help her to her feet, though she needed no such assistance, since her robes were made for comfort, not pretension. Or at least not just pretension.


    Sliding her fingers gracefully from Chi Yincang¡¯s cool grasp, Lianhua turned to Baron Ruben. ¡°You may show me to my rooms,¡± she said. ¡°I expect Yingtao and my items will be waiting for me there.¡±


    Almost reluctantly, Ruben dropped his mother-in-law¡¯s hand at last, and smiled at Lianhua instead. Thanks to the time she¡¯d spent among kobolds, and especially Kaz¡¯s tutoring, she noticed that while his lips stretched, not a hint of tooth gleamed between them.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I must attend to other matters, but Lord Demetri will escort you, and arrange for an honor guard outside your rooms. I trust you remember Lord Demetri?¡± he asked, waving her toward the ornate oak door through which he¡¯d entered.


    Lianhua barely managed not to roll her eyes. How could she forget the officious officer who¡¯d shown up to ¡®escort¡¯ her from the gate to the palace? He¡¯d made it abundantly clear that he suspected she was an accomplice to the dastardly Lord Grafton, and if he could have locked her up in irons, he would have done so.


    She barely managed not to lift her hand to touch her throat, where the scars from Zhangwo¡¯s claws still lingered. No one would ever lock her up again, especially not in a country where they depended on physical force and rote spells for everything. So long as they couldn¡¯t block her ki, she had confidence that she could defeat even their greatest mage, and Chi Yincang could beat their greatest warrior. She was not helpless, not trapped, no matter how much they might like her to feel that way.


    With a nod that barely skirted incivility, Lianhua turned away from both Ruben and Queen Natalia. She almost regretted her action when she remembered that the queen was acting this way out of concern for her daughter, but only almost.


    Chi Yincang ignored the expressionless servant by the door, opening it himself, then stepping out into the hall. After a moment, he gestured for Lianhua to exit as well, which she did. The middle-aged guard who¡¯d been waiting in the hall, Lord Demetri, was forced to hurry in order to keep up as Lianhua strode off down the hall. She was walking at a pace a Holiander lady couldn¡¯t have managed in their many layers of skirts, but she didn¡¯t care if these people saw her as uncouth. She wanted to see Yingtao!


    After a moment, Lord Demetri cleared his throat and said, ¡°Your, ah, rooms are the other way, Lady Lianhua.¡± He almost sounded respectful, and Lianhua felt a hot blush rise in her cheeks.


    Cursing her fair skin, Lianhua lifted her chin and said, ¡°This is the direction to the rooms I occupied last time.¡±


    They came to a halt in the middle of the hall, and with Lianhua, Chi Yincang, Demetri, and four helmeted and thus all but faceless Royal Guards, they were a large enough group that everyone else around had to circle wide to avoid them. Lianhua¡¯s blush deepened, but she ignored it as she stared into the man¡¯s brown eyes.


    ¡°His Majesty felt that you deserved better accommodations, Lady. You¡¯ve been given one of the private wings for the duration of your visit.¡±


    Last time, Lianhua had been given luxurious rooms only a short distance from the royal family¡¯s private quarters. While they had no unmarried sons to parade before her, several nephews, cousins, and ¡®dear friends¡¯ sons¡¯ had been at every tea or dinner party she¡¯d attended. Obviously, this time the emphasis was to be on keeping her separate from the rest of the household, not encouraging her to become part of it.


    ¡°Show me,¡± she said, voice nearly cold enough to freeze ice.


    He did, and she was right, it was much further than her previous rooms, down a winding hallway that felt almost disused. It was as meticulously clean as the rest of the palace, but the paint and decor were more tasteful and far less garish than Lianhua had come to expect. She even saw a few vases she was fairly certain were relics of the Diushi empire, still in use and holding arrangements of fresh flowers. Those vases almost made her wish she could linger to admire them, but not quite.


    When they arrived, the four guards settled into place, two on each side of the door. They said nothing, and the eyes within the shadowy depths of their helmets were fixed straight ahead, so Lianhua ignored them as she turned to Lord Demetri.


    ¡°I shall take my meals in my rooms today,¡± she said, forestalling his attempt to speak. A look of relief crossed his face, and she was nearly certain he¡¯d been about to offer some excuse why she should remain where he¡¯d put her.


    ¡°But,¡± she continued without pause, ¡°A number of people offered me invitations to visit, and now that my business is complete, I feel that it would be quite rude not to accept.¡± She had a sudden burst of brilliance and added, ¡°And since we¡¯ve returned before your grand tournament, we must remain at least long enough to witness the final battles. Your champion will fight whoever wins this year, isn¡¯t that right? It should be quite exciting.¡±


    Demetri¡¯s voice was choked as he said, ¡°I- Yes, of course, I¡¯m sure arrangements can be made, but-¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± she said, lifting her chin so high she feared she might get a crick in her neck, ¡°then you may go. Yingtao will bring letters for those I wish to visit. Tomorrow.¡±


    Chi Yincang opened the door, stepped inside, waited for Lianhua to do the same, then ever so gently closed it directly in Demetri¡¯s face. Inside, a woman waited for them. She was three years older than Lianhua, with long, dark brown hair bound back in a simple tail, much like Chi Yincang¡¯s. Her eyes were a brilliant green, instead of dark like his, and her sage green robe seemed to swallow her too-thin frame.


    Lianhua and Chi Yincang moved toward her simultaneously, but Yingtao only had eyes for one of them. She crossed to Lianhua, taking her hands in her own. Her face, which was usually serene, held the remains of a desperate worry and the beginnings of equally desperate relief.


    ¡°Lianhua,¡± she said, and Lianhua fell into her arms. Laying her head on Yingtao¡¯s shoulder, she began to cry.

 Chapter Two hundred ten

    Kaz didn¡¯t even notice when Raff let the horses go. They were there when they entered Cliffcross, and gone by the time they signed up for the tournament. Raff said someone would find them, ¡®steal¡¯ them, and sell them again. Kaz felt a little guilty, wishing he could be so certain. In his experience, such large animals would feed a tribe for several days, and if no one was there to say they weren¡¯t food, they would soon become so.


    Still, there was nothing he could do about it, and when they reached the ¡®barracks¡¯ where visiting combatants could sleep, he realized it was just as well. Some people ahead of them had horses, and they were loudly arguing with a female about where those horses would sleep. Apparently, it cost money to have the horses stay in a hut designed for them, but the beasts could be stolen or become ill if left outside.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Blue,¡± Raff said, walking past the angry males and pinch-faced female. Kaz was beginning to believe that humans spent most of their time angry. At least, that seemed to be the way of things within this city.


    The building they entered could have been used as a kobold den. The ceiling was low, barely high enough for Raff to stand up straight, and it went on until the shadows obscured the far walls. There were only a few windows, and they were narrow and high on the walls. Their purpose seemed to be to let in light, not to allow the humans to look in or out.


    As they walked in, a male looked at them with a flat, bored gaze. He held out a hand almost as large as Raff¡¯s. ¡°Registration,¡± he said.


    Raff handed over the papers the female had given them earlier, and the bored male glanced at them, then gave them back to Raff, along with two wooden circles with holes driven through them. On each circle was a rune, and Kaz recognized them as numbers, though he wasn¡¯t sure what number they were. Something greater than one hundred, certainly. He was fairly certain there was a three in Raff¡¯s.


    Pointing to a metal spike pounded into the end of a nearby bed, the male said, ¡°Hang your tag on any bed that doesn¡¯t already have one. No switching tags, and no moving once you¡¯ve picked a spot. If there¡¯s any argument about who gets what bed, everyone involved gets kicked out, and they won¡¯t be allowed back in. Once you¡¯ve been eliminated from the tournament, you can¡¯t stay here any more, so make sure your paperwork gets stamped after every fight.¡±


    Raff shrugged and nodded, then said, ¡°Food?¡±


    The other male grunted. ¡°One meal a day, after the matches are done. Only for people staying the night. Don¡¯t be late. It¡¯s over when the food¡¯s gone.¡±


    Grinning, Raff said, ¡°Sounds good. Pellis¡¯ blessing.¡±


    The male¡¯s brows lifted, and the first spark of interest showed in them as he looked at Raff more closely. ¡°You a true Mariner? There¡¯s a few of your sort down at the end, near the far door. I like ¡®em. Keep their space tidy.¡±


    Raff¡¯s grin widened and a spark of interest lit his eyes. ¡°Not much space on a ship, eh? Anything not tied down tends to find its way overboard, anyway. Thanks again.¡±


    Kaz trailed along as they made their way through the long, dim room. There were four rows of beds, with barely enough space between them for Kaz and Raff to walk. Most of them already had a tag on their spike, and a good number of those were occupied either by sleeping people or piles of goods.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, he saw several of the short, wide people who looked like pale, hairy husede. Almost all of these had beds together, and watched the humans around them with suspicious gazes. There were also a few tall, thin people with ears almost as pointed as a kobold, and one or two who looked a bit like beasts, but mostly like very hairy humans with tails. None of them resembled kobolds other than the large amount of fur.


    By the time they reached the far end of the room, Kaz had a million questions, and Li had exactly one. <When can we leave? I hate it here. There are too many people. It¡¯s too dark and too tight.>


    Kaz refrained from reminding her that she literally spent the first part of her life inside a dark mountain with small, tight passages, and simply stroked her back beneath his cloak. The dragon had only been able to fly freely for a few days, but she was extremely loath to return to being trapped, or even forced to remain on Kaz¡¯s shoulder. Kaz understood completely, but he could already tell that Raff was right, and the human city was no safe place for her.


    <I can hide,> she said, sensing the thought. <I¡¯m very sneaky. And I¡¯m stronger than I used to be. I can remain invisible for a long time now. I think.>


    And what if you run into someone like Lianhua? Someone who can tell you¡¯re there? he thought loudly. Or you run out of ki just when you need it most?


    She hissed softly, and Kaz resisted tightening his arms around her. She said she would stay with him forever, but how long was forever if she already wanted to leave?


    A tiny tongue tickled his hand. <I¡¯m yours, and you¡¯re mine,> she reminded him. A picture entered his mind, of a not-much-larger Li carrying away a blue-furred kobold, winging through a broad blue sky.


    Kaz chuffed a laugh, peering down as if he could see the dragon peering right back up at him. Raff had to nudge him to get his attention.


    ¡°Hey, Blue. This looks like a good spot,¡± Raff said, and Kaz had a feeling it wasn¡¯t the first time the male had spoken.


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    Kaz looked over to see that their tags had been hung on two empty beds next to a short series of tagged beds with identical blankets. The blankets were heavy, but not thick, and were tucked very tightly across and under the large, flat cushion Lianhua had called a ¡®mattress¡¯ during their brief stay at the inn in Wheldrake.


    Raff was also looking over these beds, and nodded as if he¡¯d confirmed something. Glancing over at Kaz, he said, ¡°I¡¯d bet Imperial gold that those belong to merchant guards, here to show that anyone who ships cargo with their vessel can rest assured it¡¯s safe. Most Mariners are born and raised at sea, usually on a family ship, and they all learn to be neat and keep only the things they find most precious. This lot has been trained and issued the same supplies, though.¡±


    ¡°And who are you?¡± a deep voice asked, causing Kaz and Raff to turn.


    There, standing immediately behind them, were five males who looked like they could have been Raff¡¯s brothers. Their skin was a few shades darker, and their hair ranged from black to brown, but they all had a similar shape to their jaw and nose. They were a good bit shorter than Raff, however, with the tallest of them reaching only to the large male¡¯s chin.


    Raff gave a version of his easy grin that might have been convincing to someone who hadn¡¯t just spent several weeks with him. His mouth opened, and words spilled out, but Kaz didn¡¯t understand any of them. After a sentence or two, the other male¡¯s eyes widened, and one of them started to duck his head, only to halt and jerk it back up so he could stare at Raff.


    When Raff stopped, the other five just stood, mouths slightly agape. Several beats passed, and a few of the people in the beds around them were beginning to take notice when the male who had spoken before managed to do so again. His words were shaped oddly, as if he was speaking them too far back in his throat, but Raff obviously understood them because he immediately waved his hands, cutting the other off. Raff spoke again, shortly, and then they all stared at each other.


    Finally, the speaker turned to Kaz and thrust out a hand. ¡°Tollus,¡± he said. ¡°Master Defender for the ship Pellis Blessed.¡±


    Kaz looked at Raff, who quickly reached past him and clasped the male¡¯s wrist. Tollus looked startled, then awkwardly squeezed Raff¡¯s forearm before letting go very quickly. Understanding that this was a ritual greeting, Kaz put out his own hand, having to slide it awkwardly out of the opening in his cloak so no one would see Li. She could, of course, make herself invisible if necessary, but it would be better if she could simply stay hidden.


    One by one, the other males introduced themselves as well. Cynric had a small scar by his mouth. Milton was the shortest. Keane was almost entirely one color; brown skin, brown eyes, brown hair, brown clothes, all the same shade. Wakeman had only one and a half ears, and the half remaining looked more like it had melted rather than been cut off. All had at least a little mana churning in their central dantians, though Milton had the most.


    ¡°We¡¯re here for the team tournament,¡± Tollus said when the introductions were over.


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll see you there, then, unless one of us is eliminated first.¡±


    People kept saying ¡®eliminated¡¯, and it was starting to make Kaz nervous. So far as he could tell, this tournament was something like the mock battles warriors engaged in for training, but when someone lost one of those, they simply tried again or moved on to a different partner. Surely these fights weren¡¯t to the death? If they were, why did everyone seem to find the idea entertaining?


    <I don¡¯t understand why we¡¯re wasting our time here at all,> Li complained. She had been mumbling about this for some time, but now Kaz was fairly certain she actually meant for him to hear. <We should have gone with Lianhua. She probably has very good food. And baths.>


    Kaz, too, was starting to regret his decision. He had thought the large male planned to skulk and hide while trying to discover where the missing females had gone. So far, Raff hadn¡¯t asked a single question, and instead of remaining as anonymous as possible, he was signing them up for some kind of battle and introducing them to strangers.


    Just as Kaz thought this, though, all six males shifted back to that other language, voices lowering as their faces went blank and their eyes shifty. They spoke for several long minutes, during which the beds around them were slowly claimed by more and more newcomers.


    As the light streaming in through the narrow window slits began to fade, Raff finally nodded. He smiled as easily as ever, but his eyes were thoughtful. Reaching out, he clapped a hand to Kaz¡¯s shoulder, startling Li, who had begun to drowse in her dark, warm hiding spot.


    ¡°Turns out Tollus here is a distant cousin on my mother¡¯s side,¡± Raff said. ¡°Small world, eh? He has some ideas on where to look for what we need, too.¡±


    Kaz looked from Raff to the grim-faced males, and said tentatively, ¡°Good?¡±


    Raff reached up to run his hand through his curls, then let his arm fall as he remembered he¡¯d cut them short. ¡°Good indeed,¡± Raff said, then reached out and gripped Tolllus¡¯ arm once more. ¡°Pellis grant you luck, cousin.¡±


    ¡°The same to you,¡± Tollus replied, and five sets of brown eyes watched as Raff led Kaz away, leaving behind nothing but the two wooden discs marking their beds.


    As soon as they stepped out into the waning sun, Raff held up his hand toward Kaz, scribbling a rune onto his palm again. Kaz quickly complied, and a dome of ki fell around them, muffling their words. Raff stepped to the side of the road, into a small gap between two houses, and began to speak.


    ¡°Tollus and the others work for the Khoros fleet, which was Mother¡¯s before she married Da. I¡¯d hoped they might, when I heard there were Mariners here. Mother¡¯s family began to strengthen their ties to Holiander in general and Cliffcross specifically after she married Da, so most of the Mariners who come here are related to or work for us somehow.¡±


    He drew in a deep breath. ¡°That said, Tollus hasn¡¯t been able to get in to speak to Mother since Jinn and Princess Reina went missing. Mother and Da are basically under house arrest, and not even my brothers have been able to see them other than for official business.¡±


    Raff shook his head. ¡°Da is King Maleim¡¯s first cousin. They grew up together, for Pellis¡¯ sake! I don¡¯t know what could have happened to make Maleim believe Da betrayed him, but he obviously does. The way he¡¯s acting, it¡¯s like he¡¯s just waiting for enough proof to allow him to arrest a noble of such high rank. There¡¯s no way this is just about Jinn and Reina running off together for an adventure.¡±


    Sighing, Raff scrubbed his hands over his face. ¡°Most of the Mariners who were in Cliffcross at the time were questioned, then encouraged to leave town. These five claimed they were here for the tournament, so they were allowed to stay. Since they¡¯re ¡®just¡¯ guards, they¡¯ve mostly fallen through the cracks at this point. Tollus said he¡¯s been doing a bit of his own poking around, trying to find out where the girls went, or at least figure out a way to get a message to Mom, see if she needs help. Maybe even a rescue.¡±


    His breath hissed out between his teeth. ¡°My mother, in need of rescue? I never thought I¡¯d see the day.¡± Worried eyes met Kaz¡¯s. ¡°Blue, we need to find my sister and get that princess back on her throne where she belongs. There¡¯s something very, very wrong in Cliffcross.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred eleven

    It was almost dark by the time Raff led Kaz and Li back out into the city streets. Some shops were closed already, shutters or bars drawn over the doors and windows, while others were open and thriving. Kaz noticed these mostly sold food, but there were a few with armor or weapons on display. Lianhua had explained that they did this so people could see what they sold, but wouldn¡¯t a simple picture have the same effect? And why were there so many selling the same things?


    Raff paused outside of one particularly busy store, his expression conflicted, then sighed and walked on to an open door leading into a nearly empty shop. Kaz followed reluctantly, since the smells coming from the first place were enough to make him drool, while the second one smelled slightly off, as if whatever food it produced was made from ingredients that were almost spoiled.


    ¡°Wait here, Blue,¡± Raff said, ducking inside. He was gone long enough that three people emerged from the first store, which Kaz could still see further down the street. The only reason Kaz didn¡¯t go inside to check on him was that he could still just make out Raff¡¯s mana, which was steady in both position and speed.


    When the human walked back out, he held a very large number of skewers containing roughly cut chunks of unknown meat. There were a few small, sad pieces of fungus and vegetables hidden among the greasy nuggets, but they didn¡¯t look or smell any more appetizing than the meat.


    Grimacing, Raff handed five skewers to Kaz, who struggled to hold them while also keeping his cloak closed. He managed to slide one in to Li, who bit his finger hard enough to make him drop it onto the dirty stones of the street. <Those will make you sick! Don¡¯t eat them!>


    Kaz eyed the four remaining skewers. They certainly didn¡¯t look or smell good, but they were food, and he¡¯d eaten worse. Well, he¡¯d eaten less. In the heights, food was sometimes in very short supply, and went first to those who had the best chance of catching or finding more. And if they somehow managed to have food left over long enough for it to go bad, cooking it very thoroughly could make it safe enough that no one became seriously ill as a result of eating it anyway.


    Right now, however, Kaz had food stored in his pouch, including a couple of rabbits he¡¯d managed to stash after everyone else was done eating. There was no reason to eat this if Li thought it was dangerous. So, although it was very difficult to abandon what seemed like reasonably edible food, he dropped the skewers in the shadows beside a tall stack of boxes.


    As he did so, Raff made a sharp right turn, causing Kaz to have to hurry to catch up. When he did, his ears¡­ did not prick up, because they were useless and small, but oh, how he wished they could. Rising above the constant chatter and clatter of the humans around him, Kaz heard the cries of animals. Screeches, barks, howls, and roars reached him, and he stared in the direction from which they came, eyes wide.


    Raff paused half a block away, looking back at him. ¡°C¡¯mon, Blue!¡± he called. ¡°We have a bit more shoppin¡¯ to do.¡± Kaz hastened forward, noting as he did that Raff was also empty-handed, all of his skewers having vanished somewhere in the short time he¡¯d been out of Kaz¡¯s sight. So he knew the food was bad, but hadn¡¯t warned Kaz? Had he put them in his storage pouch to eat later? Or had he simply assumed that Kaz would throw them away if he couldn¡¯t eat them?


    As Kaz fell into step just behind Raff, the large male glanced at him and made a face. ¡°Glad y¡¯got rid of those,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s the only reason Albert stays in business. He won¡¯t talk unless you buy somethin¡¯. An¡¯ the more information you need, the more you have to buy.¡±


    Kaz missed a step, then had to catch up again. ¡°So you bought information?¡±


    Raff glanced around them, lowering his voice. ¡°No, I bought rancid meat. The information was free.¡±


    Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what the difference was, but he nodded. ¡°What did you learn?¡± This time, he drew the sound obscuration rune before Raff could finish his own version, prompting the male to give him an approving grin.


    ¡°Albert says absolutely everybody has been lookin¡¯ for those girls. Not surprising, given that the King offered a reward of a thousand gold to anyone who returns the princess safely,¡± Raff said.


    ¡°Not your sister?¡± Kaz asked, confused.


    The tall male looked grim. ¡°No. No mention of Jinn at all, which is strange. If nothing else, our parents should have put up their own reward, just to make sure that no one interested in collecting the princess would hurt Jinn to get at her. But no, not a peep. They¡¯re looking for Jinn, but Albert didn¡¯t have the feeling they cared if she was dead or alive.¡±


    That didn¡¯t sound good to Kaz, but he was more concerned about something else. ¡°If everyone is looking for them, what chance do we have?¡±


    Raff¡¯s shrug was almost convincing. ¡°I didn¡¯t go by Big Bro Gravy for nothing. If she¡¯s still in Cliffcross, Jinn will find us, and if I know my sister, we¡¯ll get a bonus princess as well.¡±


    Kaz looked around. The sounds were becoming clearer and clearer. Li¡¯s little gold-scaled nose was poking out of his cloak as well, drawing in deep sniffs of air heavy with the odors of strange animals. He tried to shove it back in, and got nipped for his trouble.


    <I want to see for myself,> the dragon snapped, a soft cloud of vapor emerging from her hiding place.


    He shifted the folds of his cloak so the glittering scales fell in deeper shadow, and looked back at Raff. ¡°Why did you go to the old-meat seller, then? Where are we going now?¡±


    Raff sighed. ¡°Albert thrives in the nastiest parts of Cliffcross, so if Jinn and Reina ran afoul of something¡­ bad, he would know. Maleim is pretty good at keeping that sort of thing from settling in here, but it does pop up now and then.¡±


    Kaz had no idea what Raff meant, but the human male was hurrying on as if he didn¡¯t want to give Kaz time to ask.


    ¡°We¡¯re heading to the only spot Albert knew where a couple of girls might have gotten ¡®lost¡¯.  He said it¡¯s been checked before, and no one found any sign of them, but he gave me the name of a guy in exchange for buying out his stock for the day,¡± Raff said, taking one final corner at a speed that was far too fast to seem anything except urgent.


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    A broad, open area lay sprawled in front of them. Its edges were ragged, as if it had been expanded little by little, knocking down walls as needed in order to be able to accommodate everyone and everything there. It was still filled with people, but many of them seemed to be gathering their things, piling crates, boxes, and cages into carts.


    Raff growled a little as he took them all in, eyes sweeping over the bizarre sight. Heads, tails, wings, and tentacles protruded from many of the containers being moved by the humans, and the sound of beasts rose each time a cart shifted.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Kaz asked, fascinated and horrified at once.


    ¡°Beast market,¡± Raff said absently, starting to move forward as he stared from face to face. ¡°Everything from exotic critters to dogs and cats¡¯re sold here. Most of ¡®em will be used for parts by mages, alchemists, and a few taxidermists who specialize in makin¡¯ things even nature couldn¡¯t dream up.¡±


    What that meant, Kaz didn¡¯t know, but as they passed, and he met the desperate eyes of captive animals, he felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. These beasts weren¡¯t being kept as beloved pets, or used for food. They were being treated as objects, and Kaz most definitely didn¡¯t like it.


    Raff gave a soft sound of satisfaction, and flicked his fingers toward Kaz. Kaz let the sound rune vanish as Raff approached a very tall, very thin man with a ring of long, thin brown hair clinging to the sides of his otherwise bald head. Did he have some disease or parasite that made his fur fall out? Kaz hung back, just in case, and found his eye caught by a cage already on a nearby cart.


    A wing stuck out through the particularly thick metal bars of the cage. It looked astonishingly like one of Li¡¯s, though the scales were primarily green, rather than gold. Upon seeing it, Li immediately began to squirm, nearly falling from his arms.


    <A dragon!> she cried. <It¡¯s the same size as me. Maybe it¡¯s one of my siblings!>


    Kaz was able to hang onto her only because she wasn¡¯t quite willing to truly hurt him in order to escape. His cloak writhed wildly as they struggled, though, catching the attention of the human loading the cart. He turned toward Kaz, sharp eyes taking in the flashes of gold scales as the cloak opened and closed.


    ¡°Eh? You have a wyvern already?¡± He smiled, but it didn¡¯t reach his cold eyes. ¡°And here I thought I had the only ones in Cliffcross this tournament cycle.¡±


    Kaz clamped down on Li, who had stilled at the male¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s a wyvern?¡± he asked, carefully not answering the question.


    A spark of something lit the blue eyes nonetheless, and he pushed a few cages out of the way, revealing the one Kaz and Li had seen. The wing had been withdrawn, but now a green-scaled head poked out, staring at Kaz with furious red eyes.


    It was like a dragon, but not like. The nose was a little too sharp, and the neck a little too short. Its skull was narrow and almost came to a point at the top. The brain inside that space couldn¡¯t be very large. Most importantly, however, it had neither mana nor ki anywhere in its body.


    Li settled back against him, disappointment surging through their bond. For a moment, she had truly believed she found one of her missing kin, and Kaz¡¯s heart broke as hers did.


    The human pulled a single heavy leather glove onto his right hand, then cracked open the cage. Quickly, he grabbed at the animal inside, which squalled its fury as it attempted to bite at him. With practiced ease, he pried open its mouth, showing a toothless orifice.


    ¡°Looks like a dragon, don¡¯t it?¡± he asked, showing his own missing teeth in a broad smile. ¡°No teeth, though, just these plates they use to mash up their food. These little ones¡¯ll eat almost anything, so they¡¯re easy to care for. You just gotta keep their claws clipped.¡±


    He flipped the wyvern over, and it flapped its wings wildly, revealing a surprisingly wide chest and no forelimbs at all. It had wings and two rear legs, and that was all. Those rear legs were adorned with ferocious talons, however. Not just the ones on the foot, but a few that stabbed out higher up on the back of the leg as well.


    ¡°These¡¯re still nice ¡®n long, though, if you¡¯re a potion-maker. Won¡¯t have to wait for ¡®em to grow back before you can harvest it.¡± He sneered. ¡°Most folks¡¯re too scared to leave ¡®em, but they won¡¯t get you, so long as you¡¯re smart.¡±


    Kaz took a step back from the fury in the wyvern¡¯s red eyes. It looked like it would gladly kill everyone in the square if it could just reach them with those vicious claws.


    The human gave it a little shake, and it shrieked again. ¡°See? Good an¡¯ healthy. Good fighter, too.¡± He laid a finger beside his nose and closed one eye at Kaz in a slow, deliberate manner. It clearly meant something, but Kaz didn¡¯t know what. He only knew that anger was slowly building in his own gut. Anger at this man for the lack of respect he showed a living creature, and at all of the humans who would pay or be paid for its life. Kaz understood killing to eat or protect, but this was sickening.


    A bell began to ring. Deep and slow, it rose above the surrounding chatter and the racket of packing and departing carts. Everyone stopped, eyes going wide as they turned toward the source of the sound.


    It came from the castle. As Lianhua had said, the building rose high on a hill, and its tallest tower could be seen from every part of the city where Kaz had gone so far. The ringing tone was coming from that tower, and by pushing ki into his eyes, Kaz could just make out the glint of silver as a bell swung, inconceivably massive and heavy.


    ¡°Incursion!¡± someone yelled, and suddenly everyone was moving much more quickly. With an angry grunt, the male holding the wyvern shoved it back into its cage and locked the door again. Without even bothering to set the rest of the cages back into their neat stacks or tie them down, he picked up the  handles of the cart and began to jog away, hauling it after him.


    Kaz looked around, seeing that everyone else was focused on their own tasks, then took a deep breath and summoned a ki bolt. It flashed forward, its light almost lost in the glow of the ki-lights standing on top of poles all around the area. When it struck the wheel of the cart, however, there was a loud crack, and the wooden wheel burst into splinters.


    Some of those splinters struck the people scurrying around, causing them to yelp or howl. The male pulling the cart fell backwards as his load tipped over, spilling across the stones. The wyvern¡¯s cage was far too sturdy to break, but some of the others weren¡¯t, and animals - furred, scaled, and feathered alike - pulled themselves from the wreckage, shrieking in triumph rather than fear and anger. Kaz hurried forward, surreptitiously flicking ki bolts at a few of the other cages and carts nearby. More animals burst free. Most of them ran, but a few struck out at the humans, sinking teeth and claws into flesh.


    The whole area was engulfed in pandemonium. People who had already been upset by the ringing of the bell now broke down entirely. Like the animals, they fled, leaving everything behind. Kaz waded through the chaos, ignoring the animals that attempted to bite him. None of them were strong enough to hurt him, or they wouldn¡¯t have been held by such flimsy cages.


    ¡°Blue!¡± Raff¡¯s deep bellow rose above the shrill screams, and Kaz turned to look as his hand hovered over the solid metal lock hanging from the wyvern cage. The creature hissed, almost like Li, its neck stretching as it attempted to bite at him.


    Raff shoved a human female aside, and she stumbled, then righted herself. At first it seemed she might stop to berate the big male, but then more bells picked up the sound of the first, and the color drained from her face.


    Everything stopped. Even the animals seemed aware that something had changed, and they all stared up as a light split the sky. To Kaz¡¯s eyes, it held all the colors of ki, sharper and brighter than any he had seen before. The golden ki in the Tree almost looked like this, as did the rich, deep ki of the giant serpent, Heishe.


    Something dark formed in the middle of the light. It seemed to swell, and then the ki-light burst like a popped bubble, leaving a darkness far more profound after the brilliance of the light. The dark thing dropped through the sky, falling straight down toward the earth, which shook at its impact.

 Chapter Two hundred twelve

    The whole city seemed to have devolved into a bizarre combination of stillness and chaos. As Kaz and Raff watched, every human who could dropped everything and fled, leaving the streets emptier than they had been in the several hours since Kaz arrived. Meanwhile, escaping animals fluttered, slid, and flew away.


    Kaz finished his motion, using a spark of ki to burst open the lock on the wyvern¡¯s cage before backing up quickly as the animal used the single digits on its wings to pull itself up and out. Its red eyes seemed slightly less mad and quite a bit more puzzled as it looked briefly at Kaz. Li poked her head out, and golden eyes met crimson. Something passed between them, something even Kaz couldn¡¯t sense more than the edge of, and then the wyvern flapped its wings and lifted into the air.


    As the reptile flew into the eerily dark sky, bells began to ring again. This time, there was a very definite pattern to it, and Raff lifted his head, eyes going distant. ¡°That¡¯s the call to the eastern quarter,¡± he said. At Kaz¡¯s look, he added, ¡°Citizens with any fighting skills are expected to participate in defending the city, especially those of us who work as guards, soldiers, or mercenaries. We do drills once a month, and the crown buys beverages afterwards.¡±


    White teeth flashed. ¡°It¡¯s usually as much a party as practice, but we all know it¡¯s serious, too, especially those who¡¯ve been around for a while. We only had an incursion drop inside the city once before. I was too young to fight then, but everyone remembers what it was like.¡± Raff shuddered.


    Kaz pointed up to where the light had faded to nothing more than a narrow slit in the sky, distinguishable from the absent moon only because it lacked the moon¡¯s graceful curve. ¡°That¡¯s an incursion?¡±


    Raff shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s the Gate. The incursion is the thing that fell from it.¡± His expression grew bleak. ¡°A thing that¡¯s currently butchering people in another part of the city. But the guilds and the soldiers will take care of that. The worst part is-¡±


    A thing came skittering into the open area, climbing easily over the fallen cages. Some small creatures that were still stuck inside shrieked, then fell very still as it passed over, either hoping to remain unnoticed, or already dead. The monster looked a bit like a binyi, a very rare lizard from the mountain, but it was only half the size, and red ki burned through its body even as flames licked over its surface, reaching out to engulf everything it touched.


    Raff grunted, pulling his sword from its sheath. ¡°A salamander. Not terribly hard to kill, so long as it doesn¡¯t touch you.¡± He spared a glance for Kaz, grimacing. ¡°You don¡¯t have a weapon, do you? Just use your magic to hit it from a distance, eh? And keep an eye out. When there¡¯s an incursion this big, there are usually lots of the little beasts.¡±


    Sure enough, even as he finished speaking, two more of the lizards scurried out of the shadows, and a fourth ran across the roof of a nearby building. Fortunately, while the building itself had a good bit of wood in its construction, the roof consisted of something else, and whatever that something was, it resisted the salamander¡¯s flames.


    Now Kaz could hear the crackle of flames and the shouts of humans rising all around them. Somewhere, metal clashed, and a beast gave a terrible, roaring cry. Raff charged forward, taking off the first salamander¡¯s head with a single sweep of his blade. The others drew back, and while the two on the ground headed for Raff, the one on the roof turned away.


    Raff grunted as he skewered the next lizard, then yelled, ¡°Get the one that¡¯s running, Blue! The Pellis cursed things¡¯ll burn down the city if they get a chance.¡±


    More salamanders were making their way into the square, their low-slung bodies swaying and tails lashing as they scurried forward. Raff killed two more with a single swing of his sword, and then Kaz had to look away, focusing on the escaping creature.


    Li wiggled out from under his cloak, leaping into the air and winging up high, showing Kaz the lizard¡¯s path. Kaz crouched, resting the fingers of one hand on the ground as he poured ki into the muscles of his legs. Releasing it all at once, he sprang into the air, his arms reaching out for the edge of the roof.


    He missed. Either it took far less power than it once had to propel him upwards, or he had so much more that it seemed relatively easy. Whatever the reason, he leaped all the way up onto the slanted roof of the house in one jump, then almost slid right back down again as he instinctively tried to dig in claws that he no longer had.


    Kaz twisted in place, sitting down with a thump before springing back up, chasing after Li and the salamander. It left a charred, black line behind it, so it wasn¡¯t difficult to follow, but he was still glad for Li¡¯s guidance, which allowed him to run at full speed without having to worry there might be an unexpected gap or dip ahead of him.


    The salamander was surprisingly fast, in spite of its ungainly appearance, but so was Kaz. He caught up sooner than he expected, almost tripping over the fiery lizard in his haste, and only Li¡¯s, <Watch out!> made him turn away in time to avoid stepping on it.


    The thing must have heard him coming, because it had turned, raising a frill that stood up all around its neck. Red and yellow skin stretched over the bony protrusion, making the head look like it was surrounded by much larger flames than the small flickers that traveled over the rest of its flesh.


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    Kaz quickly shot a ki-bolt at it, causing it to flinch back, emitting a hiss that sounded like steam emerging from beneath the lid of a cook pot. It shook its head, ignoring the gash along its shoulder, and then Li dove at it, spitting a thin stream of water. The water soaked its head, popping and steaming, and the beast snapped at the annoying little dragon.


    Surging forward, Kaz flung another ki-bolt at it, aiming for the dull black line where Li¡¯s water had put the fire out. His attack knocked its head to the side, away from Li, who dove in to spit another arch of black ki-filled water onto the lizard. This time there was pain in the angry hiss that answered the blow, and the salamander turned its dark gaze toward Kaz.


    It lunged, and Kaz danced back. He had a shield up, but that was meant to keep out attacks, not flames. Would it even work against fire? It certainly wouldn¡¯t block the heat, and while he thought it would take a fair bit to make his flesh blister now, the salamander was filled with deep red ki. That ki likely meant that its bite and its flame would cause more damage than they should.


    Kaz desperately wished he had a proper blade. The only one in his storage pouch was made of such poor metal that it would probably snap if he struck a blow on a monster holding so much ki. If he still had the Woodblade, he had no doubt the salamander would already be dead. As it was, he only had his ki-bolts, and he had no idea what he was doing with them. Unlike a kobold female, he hadn¡¯t been trained to use his power.


    Li flew in and out, little more than a glittering blur as she attempted to put out the salamander¡¯s flames with her fountains and droplets of water. She was distracting it so Kaz could do something, and he was just standing there, regretting his lack of training.


    Kaz gritted his teeth and called up his own water ki. Li had taken a good bit of it as it passed through her, but Kaz still had some in his central dantian. Now, he imagined holding a stick of chalk, sketching out a dark blade, then grasped its hilt in his hand, offering it all of the water ki he had gathered.


    The imaginary blade - no, the image of a blade - fit perfectly in his palm. It was cool and damp, but not slippery, and when he thrust it toward the salamander, it seemed to slice through the lizard¡¯s flames. As if realizing it finally faced a true threat, the monster tried to turn, lashing out with a tail dripping in fire as it ran.


    Kaz cut off the tail. It dropped onto the rooftop, writhing as it rolled down to the edge and dropped off to the street below, casting a rising cloud of sparks into the air. The salamander shrieked, the sound of hot air bursting forth, and tried to run. Kaz had its measure now, though, and he thrust out with his nebulous blade, stabbing down through its skull and directly into its brain.


    With a final hiss, it collapsed, the life vanishing from its dark gaze. Kaz stood, panting, staring down at it as he felt the knife dissolve, the last of its power drifting away as a lingering gray mist of mana. Li landed on his shoulder, and he reached up to stroke her, not even thinking about what he was doing until he felt her flinch away.


    Instantly, he turned his focus on the dragon, only then realizing that she¡¯d been hurt. In order to get close enough for her water to damage the salamander, she¡¯d also had to get close enough for its flames to lick at her flesh. The first time had only been warm, but each successive touch of fire had added to the damage until the edges of her wings felt scalded and hot.


    Kaz stroked them gently, pushing blue ki into the spots where heat radiated from her flesh. He didn¡¯t stop until they¡¯d all been soothed, and the dragon was purring gently, leaning into his touch, rather than away.


    <What will you do with that?> she asked finally, turning half-lidded eyes on the corpse at their feet.


    Uncertain what she meant, Kaz looked down, only to see that the red ki saturating the salamander¡¯s body had already dispersed, leaving a single ember burning in its abdomen. A core. Kaz swallowed hard, the vague feeling of hunger that had been stalking him for the past few hours suddenly becoming a ravening beast. Before he could even make a conscious decision, he¡¯d generated another knife, this one using metal ki, and was down on his knees, slicing into the too-warm body of the beast.


    The white blade drifted into mana as Kaz dug out the core with trembling fingers. Beneath his touch, it seemed to pulse, a low thrumming entering his mind and his blood. It was small, not even as large as the pad of his thumb, and it slipped between his teeth as easily as the sweet cap of a tanuo mushroom. He bit down, and it crunched.


    It should have been difficult to chew. It looked like a stone, and he knew it was hard, but somehow instead it seemed to burst, becoming a juicy mass that tasted of nothing more than fire. It slid down his throat, reached his belly, surged through blood that pounded in anticipation, and heat rose up, consuming him and being consumed in return.


    He was made of flames. Fire that raged, fire that warmed, a gentle fire that protected and nurtured, and a bitter, roaring conflagration that desired nothing more than destruction. Li reached out to his mind, trying to turn aside the destructive inferno, but red ki was the only one she didn¡¯t have. The only one she couldn¡¯t touch, even through him.


    Kaz was alone. And then he wasn¡¯t.


    hissed a voice, familiar and yet not, already half-forgotten. <the flames are yours, to do with as you will. take them in. don¡¯t fight them, or one of you will lose. there is no battle, only ki.>


    Black touched him, water soothing the flames. No steam rose, no burst of crackling opposition, just smooth, even flows of cycling ki.


    <you begin to understand,> Heishe whispered in his mind. <what you think you see, you do not. all is one, in an eternal cycle of becoming and ending.>


    Kaz breathed, and as he did the feeling of his body began to return to him. He was sitting, Li in his lap, and their hearts beat together as their cycles flowed. Red surged through Kaz, pushing at that bond, and finally the faintest spark of red flickered to life in Li¡¯s core.


    <ahhhhhhh,> Heishe said, satisfaction pouring out of her. Kaz and Li felt the ancient serpent pull back, leaving them with a final susurration of thought. <grow, children. become sssss-trong together.>

 Chapter Two hundred thirteen

    Kaz and Li returned to Raff, following the trail of char left by the salamander¡¯s passage. Along the way, they encountered another of the beasts, a little larger than the first, and dispatched it as well. Kaz dug out its core, but strangely, he felt no urge to eat it. His body was still cycling the ki from the first core, gradually turning it from ¡®other¡¯ to ¡®ours¡¯, and something in him knew it was too soon for more. He tucked it into his pouch and went on.


    Raff was surrounded by a pile of corpses so high that he had to leap over them when he saw Kaz and Li. He wasn¡¯t wearing his armor, and his cloth pants were in tatters, revealing reddened patches on his skin. There were no living salamanders visible nearby, so Kaz jumped down from the roof and ran over to crouch down in front of the human. Reaching out, he passed ki into the angry spots, and they faded almost instantly, blue power quickly turning to gray mana that sank into Raff¡¯s flesh.


    Raff sighed in relief, flicking blood from his blade. As always, it almost seemed to clean itself, leaving a gleaming edge that looked as if it was freshly sharpened. ¡°You sure are handy t¡¯have around, Blue,¡± Raff said, though his eyes didn¡¯t stop scanning the shadows. ¡°Sure y¡¯ don¡¯t wanna stay and join the Adamant Reach instead of haring off after Lianhua?¡±


    Kaz stood, frowning. ¡°I promised Lianhua I would help her.¡± Technically, he¡¯d completed that part of his promise when Lianhua found proof that the missing Diushi court did indeed travel to his mountain after they disappeared from their empire. But he¡¯d also promised to try to help Lianhua¡¯s grandmother, and though that agreement hadn¡¯t been witnessed by the mountain, he still wanted to make the attempt.


    Raff chuckled, rolling his shoulders as they heard the telltale skitter of claws on stone. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean y¡¯have to spend the rest of your life helpin¡¯ her. Or your little friend there.¡± He glanced up at Li as three more salamanders surged into sight.


    <Mine,> Li said stubbornly as she dove toward a flaming lizard, distracting it long enough for Kaz to fling a bolt of pure black ki that stabbed through its eye.


    Yours, he agreed silently, then, tentatively, Mine.


    They fought silently for a few moments, as Kaz felt her struggle with this. She had said it herself, but it was very un-dragonlike to agree that she belonged to him as much as he belonged to her. Still, her voice was filled with determination and truth when she finally said, <Yours.>


    More salamanders fell, and then came a surge of smaller reptiles filled with mana instead of ki. They were strong and tough, but they didn¡¯t create fire, so Raff loaned Kaz a long knife to kill them with. That was easy enough, though a few of them did manage to sneak up on Kaz, thanks to the fact that they didn¡¯t glow with power the same way the salamanders did.


    These were followed by the hunters. Most of them were humans, but there were also a few members of those other races Kaz had seen in the tournament den. Some of them ran through, saw Raff and Kaz - Li hid herself - and then left again without a word. A few others lingered for a while, but soon saw that there was no need for them and left again.


    After the third one of these, there was a lull, and Raff sighed, flicking his blade clean again. Kaz took the opportunity to heal the fresh burn marks on Raff¡¯s arms and legs, then said, ¡°Who are these people? Are they members of the Cliffcross tribe, even though not all are human?¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°There are a few dwarves and elves in the mercenary groups, but nah, my guess is these folks¡¯re mostly here for the tournament. They¡¯re out helpin¡¯ because they get to keep the cores from their kills, and a lot of the little critters from incursions have cores. Way more than any other kind of beast, anyway. Some people even go out hunting incursions on nights of no moon. Good money in it. If you don¡¯t die.¡±


    These last words were dry as dust, and Kaz looked around at the piles of bodies lying around them. Cores still glowed in many of them, since Kaz hadn¡¯t had time to gather them, and he wondered what these would be worth to humans. He would far rather eat them, but since humans couldn¡¯t do that, he supposed it was reasonable to trade them instead. Even if he was trading for gold, which would then be traded in turn for something he could actually use. It was a ridiculous system, though.


    They all looked up as they heard the distinctive sound of armored feet running toward them. Li dove toward the nearest roof, flattening herself against it, as a pair of particularly short humans emerged from between two buildings to their left. The one in front had a wild look on their face, and as they ran by, that one shrieked, ¡°Run! There are too many!¡±


    Then they were gone again, and a massive horde of mixed salamanders and tough lizards appeared, surging like a wave through the same gap the humans had come from. Raff growled, lifting his sword and settling into a ready stance, looking truly worried for the first time since the battle began.


    ¡°Pellis cursed kids,¡± he muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew and then dump it on someone else.¡± He looked over at Kaz and smiled grimly. ¡°If I say run, run. But if we don¡¯t at least thin this out, everyone who lives nearby is dead.¡±


    Kaz nodded, hefting his knife. Both he and Li were short on water ki, but otherwise they were fine. He was definitely producing a lot more wood ki than he had before interacting with the Tree, so in spite of healing a few minor burns caused by the salamanders¡¯ dense fire ki, he still had more stored in his central dantian.


    They had fallen into a pattern over the last - how long had it been? - where Kaz took the smaller mana-lizards, while Raff sliced into the salamanders, since his height and the length of his weapon let him stay away from the worst of the fire. This time, however, there were too many, and both males quickly found themselves surrounded.


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    The only good news, if it could be called that, was that most of the beasts stayed to attack them, rather than continuing after the fleeing pair. That meant those two should be safe, at least for now, as should the people huddling inside their wood and stone huts, hoping their homes weren¡¯t about to be destroyed.


    Reluctantly, Kaz raised a shield around himself. It required a great deal of ki, and absently he thought that if he survived, he needed to draw a better shield, instead of using Lianhua¡¯s runes. Perhaps he should imagine something like a jiachin shell? That wouldn¡¯t keep out gasses and spores, though, so-


    <Kaz!>


    He looked up as something dove toward him, and barely managed to open his shield in time to allow Li through. The dragon almost missed his shoulder, just managing to catch and hold the heavy cloth of his outer robe. One of her wings was burned, the delicate skin between the slender bones seared and stretched. How had he not felt that happen?


    Kaz fell back, lifting his hand to push a desperate flood of blue ki into the damaged flesh. ¡°What happened?¡± he asked. ¡°You were fine just a moment ago.¡±


    Li¡¯s head swayed on her long neck, and she looked dazed. <I went to see how many of them there were. There¡¯s a big one coming!> She sent him a picture of something like a salamander, but also like one of the little mana-lizards. Except that this one was at least fifteen feet tall. It walked upright, and fire vomited from its mouth in an unending stream. Smaller maws gaped from its shoulders and palms, snapping at anything that came near, including its smaller brethren. A deep red core blazed in its abdomen.


    Most importantly, however, were the humans fighting it. These weren¡¯t the individuals or even small groups Kaz had seen before. These wore matching armor much like Raff had when Kaz met him, and they worked in unison, some attacking while others protected.


    Kaz struck down another mana-lizard just before it impacted his shield. ¡°Is it coming this way?¡±


    Li wrapped her tail around his throat and shoulders, stretching her wing gingerly. <They¡¯ll be here soon.>


    Kaz shoved two more lizards back into a salamander, causing them to shriek as they impacted burning flesh. He¡¯d discovered that this was a good way to weaken both them and the salamanders, who always snapped at the mana-lizards, leading to at least a brief battle between the reptiles. The things definitely weren¡¯t smart, nor did they work together, which made them unpredictable, but also easier to pick off.


    ¡°Raff!¡± he called, and though the big male didn¡¯t look away from the salamander he¡¯d just spitted on his blade, Kaz could tell he was paying attention. ¡°Li says something big is coming.¡±


    Raff skewered one more salamander, then shook both bodies off his blade before looking toward the distant castle. The bells were still going off, but their pattern had shifted. ¡°Pellis¡¯ festerin¡¯ fundament, Blue. No wonder there are suddenly so many of the things. Time to go. The center of the attack has moved south, which is where we are. Not a good spot to be, unless you got another fifty kobold buddies you forgot to tell me about.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, taking a few steps in the same direction the two humans had run earlier. Now that he was out of the mountain, his sense of direction was no longer as helpful as it had been. He knew exactly where the mountain was, and thought he always would, but he was still working out how to tell precisely how to get back to where he had been, other than by using landmarks. It was a disorienting feeling.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where the tournament hut is,¡± he admitted as he kicked a lizard, desperately wishing he still had his long claws. Instead of disemboweling it, he only managed to flip it over onto its back. Admittedly, that did allow him to stab it, but it would have been better to kill it with one movement, rather than two.


    Raff spun, slicing through a salamander who had just leaped from a nearby roof. Kaz looked up, seeing that there were several more ready to jump.


    ¡°Follow me, then, an¡¯ don¡¯t fall behind,¡± Raff said.


    Something else blurred through the sky above the roofline. Chunks of salamander and mana-lizard alike sprayed out as Chi Yincang¡¯s weapon swirled through the air. The male came to rest, black hair and robes nearly merging with the blank emptiness of the sky. One hand rested lightly on the edge of the roof, while his blade dripped gore to the street below.


    ¡°Stay,¡± he said, and jumped down, landing gracefully on a single foot. His long weapon swept away several more creatures as they attacked, adding to the carnage surrounding them. Raff absently dispatched a few more as well, leaving Kaz feeling entirely unnecessary, which he honestly didn¡¯t mind at all.


    ¡°Lady Lianhua is settled in the palace with Yingying. Yingtao,¡± Chi Yincang quickly corrected as his cheeks darkened. A small smile curved his lips as he went on, however. ¡°Yingtao is much better, and glad to see that the lady is intact as well. I was sent to fight, in hopes of building trust with our¡­ hosts.¡±


    Raff snorted. ¡°Not quite prisoners, then? It¡¯ll do. Good to know you¡¯re all safe, but Blue and I need to be goin¡¯. Not only is a large incursion too much for us, the folks who are fightin¡¯ it are likely to know me.¡±


    Chi Yincang inclined his head even as he sliced through a row of salamanders who were attempting to advance on the small group. ¡°Well enough,¡± he said. ¡°The lady will await you in two nights, at the appointed place.¡±


    Raff nodded, kicking a writhing mana-lizard into a group of salamanders, which caused a small flurry of retaliatory bites and scratches. ¡°Ah, y¡¯might wanna let her know we¡¯ve joined the tournament.¡±


    One of Chi Yincang¡¯s straight brows rose ever so slightly. It was as good as a shouted request for more information.


    Raff shrugged and gave an insouciant grin. ¡°Finding Jinn would be a trick. Havin¡¯ her find us is better.¡±


    They all whipped around as a nearby building exploded into burning rubble. Rising above the smoke and screams was the head of an enormous reptile, more fire shooting into the sky as an armored figure dove at it.


    ¡°That¡¯s our cue,¡± Raff said, motioning to Kaz, who rested one hand on Li¡¯s back, though her clinging tail should be more than enough to keep them together.


    Chi Yincang nodded, saying nothing more before launching himself into the air in one of his impossible leaps, weapon blazing with ki as it spun. Kaz would have sworn there was actually a fierce smile on his face as he reached the top of his arc and began to descend.


    Raff ran, not urgently, but at a swift, steady pace, and Kaz stayed close behind.

 Chapter Two hundred fourteen (Kyla)

    Something was going on in the city above, and Kyla didn¡¯t even want to know what it was. Mei had stopped foraging for metal and other edibles, and was now hunkered against Kyla¡¯s leg, whiskers quivering every time the tunnel shook around them.


    Frankly, it was terrifying. Every kobold knew that tunnels only shook right before they collapsed. If you were fortunate enough to get any warning at all, the best thing to do was run. But Kyla couldn¡¯t. The round passage had finally widened enough for her to stand up. Going back would not only take her closer to whatever was making the terrible booming sounds, but require that she return to the awkward belly-crawl that had seemed to last an eternity.


    Reaching down, she carefully caressed Mei¡¯s delicate ears, taking comfort from the touch of her fur and the warmth of her body. That fur might not be as soft as a kobold¡¯s, feeling as much like fine wire as hair, but it was familiar by now, while everything else was so, so strange.


    ¡°Why did I come here?¡± Kyla whimpered softly as Mei¡¯s whiskers tickled her palm. But she knew the answer. She¡¯d thought she was ready. Thought the adults were being overprotective. Thought it would be an adventure. Thought she knew better.


    ¡°I should have stayed home,¡± she whispered, daring to lean down and lift Mei into her arms. Usually the fuergar asked to be picked up by standing on her back legs and setting her front paws on Kyla¡¯s knees. The rodent had made it quite clear that she wanted to be the one to decide how close she got to Kyla and when, but Kyla needed the reassurance of physical contact. Perhaps Mei did too, because she didn¡¯t protest or attempt to wiggle free.


    The tunnel shook again, causing dust and pebbles to fall through Kyla¡¯s flame-light. It flickered, but didn¡¯t go out, and she felt a small surge of pride. She was strong, or so Ija said, but she¡¯d never been particularly good at controlling her power. Her flame burned too bright, too hot, or went out when she forgot to think about it.


    After spending so much time listening to Lianhua and Kaz talk about ¡®ki¡¯ and ¡®mana¡¯, however, she thought she was finally getting better. She was fairly certain that the problem was actually that she was too strong, and that made it difficult to learn the fine control that seemed to come naturally to other females. It was, perhaps, also why she was able to use her ancestor¡¯s technique of surrounding herself with heated air in order to disappear, and she would willingly trade that for everything else.


    Now Mei did wiggle, and Kyla reluctantly released her. The fuergar darted to the shadowy tunnel ahead before looking back at Kyla and squeaking insistently.


    Kyla wrinkled her nose. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she told the rodent. The smell hadn¡¯t been that much worse than the upper city until they reached a junction a little ways ahead. At that point, several tunnels dropped from above, and the aroma of waste had become overwhelming.


    It was at that point that Kyla finally realized where she was. This was the waste crevice, or at least part of it. Rather than using natural openings, the humans had created their own, which was honestly quite ingenious. Unfortunately, rather than filtering through the softer stone, it seemed that the tunnels were guiding it all somewhere, and as it collected, it grew more and more noxious.


    Mei squeaked again, even louder this time, as another echoing THUD made the small space shake. The fuergar was trembling, her whiskers little more than a blur. She was terrified, and only the fact that Kyla refused to follow her was keeping her there. How much longer would it be before a fuergar¡¯s natural instinct to flee took over, and Kyla lost her forever?


    Kyla gritted her teeth. She was a Magmablade. Her mother¡¯s actions might have cost her tribe their place, but no one could take away the honor of that name. Magmablades didn¡¯t run. In fact, for generations, they had been the first to fight when some beast or monster made its way into the Deep. Magmablades were never cowards, and they did what they had to do, no matter how distasteful.


    Pulling up the robe Lianhua had given her, Kyla used her sharp claws to tear off a strip, tying it tightly around her nose. She wished she had a storage device, like the humans and her cousin, but she still had her pack, so she dug through it until she found a clump of jejing. Tugging a small piece free, she stuffed it between her nose and the cloth, drawing in a deep breath. It required an uncomfortable amount of effort, but the strong, clean smell of the moss covered most of the stench that lingering in her nostrils.


    ¡°All right,¡± she said, voice oddly muffled by the cloth. She actually gave a little yip of laughter which turned into a squeak of her own when the tunnel shook around her. An artificial stone cracked above her, and the whole tunnel seemed to lean in toward that weakness, as if waiting for the next tremor before it failed.


    That was all the impetus she needed to follow Mei.


    They passed the noisome tunnels, even Mei clinging to the far side of the larger passage as they passed the stinking openings, and went on for what seemed like hours. The passages grew larger, then narrower again, sometimes going up, and other times going down. It was sometimes impossible to avoid the disgusting results of so many humans living above them, but then there would be a wider tunnel with relatively clean water in it, where she could rinse her paws.


    The bricks surrounding them changed. They grew noticeably wider, the tunnels larger, and while the accumulated filth that crusted them was thicker, it also seemed older. Even through the scent of jejing, Kyla could tell that the smell was mustier, less fresh, and sometimes it was clear enough that she wondered if they were even still in the city.


    They left the worst of the noises and the shaking behind, though whatever was happening certainly hadn¡¯t stopped. Muffled explosions or hard impacts of some kind still reached her sensitive ears, but the vibrations in the earth were no longer enough to cause more than the occasional shower of something falling from overhead.


    Mei paused, as if uncertain. The fuergar had been such a confident guide up to now that Kyla would have believed she¡¯d been here before, if that wasn¡¯t impossible. But now Mei stopped in a juncture of three tunnels, looking left and right. Kyla joined her.


    The passage through which they¡¯d been walking was one of the largest yet, but also the emptiest. Only a thin trickle of fluid coated the ground, easy enough to avoid. The tunnel to the left, on the other hand, went down and held a wider stream, while the one to the right sloped gently upward and was relatively clear.


    Something dripped from overhead, narrowly missing Kyla¡¯s ear, and she jerked back. Looking up, she realized that there was another opening overhead. The sides of it were coated in slime, which was creating the flow downwards.


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    ¡°Right it is,¡± Kyla said, edging around the opening. She most definitely didn¡¯t want whatever that was on her head. It was bad enough that she already had some on her paws. Mei still hesitated, but when Kyla started up the rightmost passage, the fuergar followed.


    =+=+=+=


    If it weren¡¯t for the noises and the smells, Kyla definitely would have noticed the humans before she stumbled over them. As it was, she literally stepped on an outstretched leg before stumbling back with a loud yelp.


    Two voices answered hers, one exclaiming while the other groaned. Kyla¡¯s light flared as her heart thudded in her chest, revealing two bedraggled human females crouching in an alcove ahead and to the left. One of them had long, tangled hair that was almost as pink as Kyla¡¯s fur, while the other had curly hair almost as red as Raff¡¯s. She also held a knife in a grip that said she knew how to use it.


    Kyla¡¯s shield snapped up instantly, her training taking over. She¡¯d been holding her light for a long time though, and she was tired, so it only protected her from the front, rather than surrounding her completely.


    Mei drew back as well, clinging to the edges of shadow as she set her paws and bared her coppery teeth. The fuergar was ready to fight, at least for a while, and Kyla felt a warm flush as she realized that it would have been far easier for the rodent to turn tail and run.


    The red-furred - haired - female¡¯s eyes were wide and wild, taking in everything about Kyla, but lingering especially long on her once-pretty robes. The hand holding the knife was steady, though, and Kyla doubted she would hesitate if she needed to use it.


    ¡°What are you?¡± she demanded. Her voice held as much wonder as fear when she added, ¡°Did you come from the incursion?¡±


    Kyla wasn¡¯t sure what an incursion was, or whether it would be better to lie and say that she had come from one. Instead of answering, she offered her name.


    ¡°I¡¯m Kyla,¡± she told them, and they both started, eyes growing impossibly wider.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± The darker one asked, gesturing toward Mei with the tip of her knife.


    Kyla felt her lips peel away from her teeth at the threatening gesture. She edged over until her paw was between the fuergar and the strangers, and felt their eyes fix on the shape of it. No, she was no human, as if there could have been any doubt.


    ¡°That¡¯s Mei,¡± Kyla said, voice holding a challenging growl. ¡°She¡¯s my-¡± What? Pet? Kyla still didn¡¯t truly understand what that meant. ¡°Friend.¡±


    The paler female whimpered softly, her hand going to her side. There was a knife at her waist, but she made no attempt to pull it from its sheath. Instead, she pressed her palm against her ribs. There was a dark, spreading stain on the fabric there, and Kyla felt her lips lower, covering her teeth, as she realized that the female was injured. Of course, that didn¡¯t make her or her companion any less dangerous, but somehow Kyla didn¡¯t think they wanted to hurt her.


    The red-haired female glanced back at the pink one, biting her lower lip. In that moment, she was all but defenseless, and she never would have dodged in time if Kyla had blasted her with a bolt of power. Had she even been trained to fight? Kyla thought yes, but not nearly enough.


    ¡°I have jejing,¡± Kyla offered cautiously, dipping one shoulder to show the strap of her pack. ¡°It would keep the wound from making her sick.¡±


    The first female¡¯s eyes brightened before narrowing again. ¡°I don¡¯t know that medicine. And I don¡¯t know you. Just¡­ go away, and leave us alone, and I won¡¯t,¡± she swallowed hard, ¡°have to kill you.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s eyes narrowed in turn, and she flicked her wrist, sending a bolt of power - more light than force - scattering against the wall behind the females. Pointing up at her light, she said, ¡°I¡¯m a,¡± what was the word Raff used? ¡°mage, and I can kill you anytime I want to.¡±


    An exaggeration, especially given how little power she had left after that mostly symbolic warning blow. Kyla knew perfectly well that she should do exactly as the female had told her, and leave without looking back. But she was alone, and for some reason these humans were here, and they hadn¡¯t tried to kill her yet, were instead talking to her, and they had to have some idea how to get out of this place, and-


    The pink-haired female held up her red-stained hand, and a steady ball of light formed above it. ¡°I¡¯m a mage, too,¡± she said, her voice breathy as she tried not to move her ribs, ¡°and I can make a much bigger mana-bolt than that.¡±


    Can, but didn¡¯t. Wouldn¡¯t or couldn¡¯t? Slowly, Kyla slid her paw back, nudging against Mei, who skittered away, though she didn¡¯t quite run. Kyla lowered her shoulder again, allowing her pack to slide down one arm. Both humans stiffened, but neither moved to attack.


    Dropping the bag to the ground with a soft thump, Kyla crouched and opened it. She looked away from the two deliberately, showing vulnerability, though she strengthened her shield as she did so. If they were going to go for her, it would be now.


    They didn¡¯t. Instead, they watched as Kyla pulled out the packet containing the jejing. Opening it, she pulled another clump out, removed the one she¡¯d tied across her nostrils, and exchanged it for the fresh one. Giving an exaggerated sniff, she then placed a tiny amount in her mouth, grimacing at the flavor. As clean and sharp as the moss smelled, it tasted bitter. It was technically edible, but no one ate it.


    Kyla chewed, then swallowed, trying not to gag. She followed the jejing by pouring a stream of stale water from one of the niu bladders from her pack. For once, the flavor of the water was better than what she already had in her mouth. Both females watched with envious eyes.


    Holding up the bladder and the moss, Kyla said, ¡°We can clean and care for the wound, or I can go. Which will it be?¡±


    Silence hung between them before the red-haired female lowered her knife with a sigh. She didn¡¯t return it to its sheath, but they all knew that the pink-haired female was at least as dangerous, even without a weapon in her hand. A blade was a worthy weapon, and could be wielded when power was gone, but in the first flush of battle, a female with power was the greater threat. The question was, how much power did the injured human have?


    Holding out her empty hand, the first female said, ¡°Give them here. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    Kyla held onto the jejing, but passed over the water. Both females drank, water trickling from the corners of their mouths, creating furrows in the dirt that darkened their skin. Beneath it, the pink-haired female was nearly as pale as Lianhua, though some of that might have been a result of blood loss. The other female only changed shades of brown, and Kyla tilted her head, remembering what Raff had said about how rare that color was here.


    In Kyla¡¯s experience, fur color ran in families. Parents with black fur had puppies with black fur. If a female with black fur took a white-furred mate, their pups could be black, white, or gray. If this female had skin the same color as Raff¡¯s, and that color was rare, what were the odds that they were completely unrelated to each other?


    She remembered the tiny picture of Raff¡¯s sister that she¡¯d seen in the cave where Kaz traded his kobold shape for a human one. That had been a poor trade overall, in Kyla¡¯s opinion. The small image of a female who looked like the large, intimidating human male was actually more interesting. Kyla had spent some time using her claws to try sketching pictures of Ija and their father, Rudu. Both pictures looked exactly the same, and nothing at all like their intended subjects.


    But this female? She looked exactly like the picture of Raff¡¯s sister. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the picture looked exactly like her.


    ¡°Jinn?¡± Kyla asked, eyes wide. She looked at the other female. ¡°Reina?¡±


    In an instant, Jinn¡¯s blade was pointed at Kyla¡¯s throat.

 Chapter Two hundred fifteen (Kyla)

    ¡°Who. Are. You?¡± Jinn asked again, and this time, her voice was low and angry. The growl was almost worthy of a kobold. Then confusion tainted the fury, and she asked, ¡°Who sent you?¡±


    Kyla poured more of her dwindling power into her shield, trying to figure out how long she had left before she had to run. If she did run, where could she go? She¡¯d long ago learned to use her small size to get rid of larger pursuers, and there was a narrow, stinking tunnel down not too many turns back¡­


    ¡°Raff,¡± she said, and Jinn¡¯s eyes flew open. The knife drooped.


    ¡°Raff?¡± Jinn repeated, and now moisture stood in her eyes, making them glitter in the light of Kyla¡¯s power. ¡°Grafton? My brother?¡± Then she shook her head, lips pressing together, and her blade rose again. ¡°Impossible. Grafton is a great warrior with the Adamant Reach. He kills things like you. He doesn¡¯t send them after his family.¡±


    Kyla didn¡¯t particularly appreciate being called a thing, but she¡¯d heard worse, and what this female thought of her didn¡¯t change who she actually was. She¡¯d learned that long ago. Shrugging, she took a step back. ¡°All right,¡± she said. ¡°Then would you give me back my water so I can go?¡±


    Reina still held the niu bladder, and her hand tightened around it possessively. ¡°Maybe Lord Grafton really did send her, Jinn. What if he did? What if there¡¯s finally someone we can ask for help? Someone we can trust?¡±


    Jinn¡¯s eyes flicked back toward the injured princess. She bit her lower lip. ¡°How do we know? What if it¡¯s another trap?¡±


    Kyla took two more steps back, out of the way of a lunge, sensing as much as seeing Mei scurry along with her. She dropped her shield to the lowest level possible, which should still be enough to turn any but a killing blow. She¡¯d practiced this in preparation for her spirit hunt, since it was recommended that a female keep up a shield as much as possible while in the mid-levels. It would be better if she wasn¡¯t already drained, but she could maintain it almost indefinitely, so long as nothing actually hit it.


    She shrugged, feeling her ears flatten. She didn¡¯t like this, but she was also terribly curious, and she¡¯d never been good at resisting that feeling of wanting to know. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you do,¡± she lied, ¡°but I¡¯m telling the truth. I met Raff in the mountain where I live, and came here to-¡± What? Would they understand if she explained about her spirit hunt? ¡°Meet more humans.¡±


    ¡°In the sewers?¡± Jinn sounded dubious, and Kyla couldn¡¯t blame her. Other than the fact that these tunnels felt safer than the teeming streets above, she couldn¡¯t imagine why anyone would want to come here either. Which prompted another question.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Kyla asked, forcing her ears back into a relaxed state, rather than pointing attentively toward the two or pressed tight to her head. She was glad for once that her tail was hidden beneath the robe, because it couldn¡¯t decide whether to wag or tuck itself between her legs.


    The two females exchanged glances, and Jinn took a step back as well, apparently realizing that her knife was now useless. Unless, of course, she knew how to throw it so it wouldn¡¯t just bounce relatively harmlessly off her target. It didn¡¯t look like it was balanced well for that, though, so Kyla felt fairly safe, especially since Reina didn¡¯t look like she was in any condition to be using her power.


    Reminded, Kyla held up the jejing. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want this? I¡¯ll trade it for the water. Just pack it into the wound, and it¡¯ll prevent the dark power from making her sick.¡±


    Jinn blinked. ¡°Dark power? Do you mean it¡¯ll prevent infection?¡±


    Kyla shrugged again. She was no healer. ¡°It won¡¯t get hot as the power invades, and rot won¡¯t settle in.¡±


    Reina looked green beneath the filth now, which was fascinating. Kyla hadn¡¯t known humans could be that color. Jinn looked back at her friend and held out her hand. ¡°Throw it here.¡±


    One of Kyla¡¯s ears twitched. Jejing couldn¡¯t be reused, but a bladder could. ¡°Give me my water, and I¡¯ll give you the jejing.¡±


    Reina clutched convulsively at the water, but she held it up so Jinn could take it. Jinn hesitated. Looking at Kyla, she said, ¡°Tell me about my brother.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s tail tried to wag. ¡°He¡¯s annoying,¡± she said promptly. ¡°He talks too much, and he¡¯s not respectful at all. But he¡¯s very tall, and he lets me ride him like a niu, so my paws aren¡¯t sore. He keeps sneaking food to Mei, trying to make friends with her, but she only likes me. And Kaz,¡± she added reluctantly.


    Jinn¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°That sounds about right. Is Mei your, um, rat?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a fuergar,¡± Kyla corrected. ¡°Raff calls her an Ironfang rat.¡±


    The other female¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°One of the ones who eat metal?¡±


    Kyla¡¯s tongue lolled in amusement. ¡°She found lots of coins down here. That¡¯s why we came down at all.¡± Not entirely true, but close enough.


    ¡°So you didn¡¯t come for us?¡± Reina asked, and Kyla sighed.


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°When the noises and the shaking started, we ran away, and now,¡± the words were bitter in her mouth, ¡°we¡¯re lost.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an incursion,¡± Reina said, her head falling back as she lowered the water bag again. ¡°In the city itself. I should be up there helping, and instead, I was nearly killed by an assassin before I could even try.¡±


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    Jinn¡¯s hand dropped too, frustration filling her face as she looked at the other female. ¡°The mage college and the soldiers can handle it,¡± she said. ¡°You don¡¯t owe them anything.¡±


    Reina shook her head, her pink hair clinging to the stone wall behind her. ¡°It¡¯s the responsibility of the royal family to help when the city is under attack,¡± she said stubbornly. ¡°How can we ask the citizens to do what we aren¡¯t willing to do ourselves?¡±


    ¡°When was the last time you heard your brother say that?¡± Jinn said sourly. ¡°I bet he¡¯s hiding in his tiny castle right now.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the heir!¡± Reina returned. ¡°If something happens to Father, Lucas must survive to take over. Once he has an heir of his own, he can take on more risk.¡±


    ¡°Which may explain why he hasn¡¯t gotten married yet,¡± Jinn muttered. She looked back at Kyla. ¡°So, you met my brother in¡­ What mountain? Scarabus? Which means you don¡¯t just look like a kobold, you actually are one?¡±


    Kyla nodded cheerfully. Her home might not be perfect, but the more she learned about humans, the happier she was that she wasn¡¯t one. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°He brought a female named Lianhua to look for something called the Diushi. I guess she found what she was looking for,¡± after three days of Lianhua interrogating Kaz, Kyla was certain of it, ¡°so Raff, Lianhua, Chi Yincang, Kaz, Li, Mei, and I all came here.¡±


    Jinn looked around as if expecting several more people to suddenly emerge from the walls. ¡°But you followed Mei down here? So where are the rest?¡± She leaned forward, her knife finally falling to point at the floor. ¡°Where is Raff?¡±


    Kyla twirled a tuft of fur around her finger, tugging it toward her mouth. Ija had mostly broken her of the habit - by shocking her with sparks of power whenever she caught Kyla chewing on her fur - but every now and then she did it without thinking.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she admitted. She absolutely wasn¡¯t going to tell these two that she¡¯d intentionally separated from them. That would just make her look stupid. Which she wasn¡¯t. At all. ¡°We split up at the gate so we wouldn¡¯t attract attention. Lianhua was supposed to go to the palace and see if she could figure out what happened to you, while Raff tried to actually find you.¡±


    Moisture shone in Jinn¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Then he knows we¡¯re - I¡¯m - missing? Where is he staying?¡±


    Reina opened her eyes again, but she looked terribly pale beneath the layer of dirt. Kyla edged forward, and Jinn didn¡¯t raise her knife this time.


    ¡°Are you certain we can trust him?¡± Reina asked Jinn. ¡°I know¡­ he¡¯s your brother¡­ but he¡¯s also a¡­ mercenary¡­¡± She slumped forward, and Jinn shoved her blade into its sheath, turning to catch her friend before she fell onto the filthy stones.


    ¡°Oh, Pellis,¡± Jinn moaned, touching Reina¡¯s forehead. ¡°She¡¯s burning up.¡± She turned to look at Kyla, holding out one hand while the other hugged Reina¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Give me that kaching stuff.¡±


    ¡°Jejing,¡± Kyla corrected, but came forward willingly enough. Reina wasn¡¯t going to be using her power now, and Kyla was certain she could get away before Jinn drew her knife again.


    She pushed away Jinn¡¯s extended arm. The female¡¯s hand was as grimy as everything else, and wouldn¡¯t help the situation. Kyla might not be a healer, but she knew that keeping a wound clean was imperative.


    ¡°Open her clothing and wash the wound first,¡± Kyla told Jinn, and somewhat to her surprise, the other female obeyed. Kyla wasn¡¯t really used to that, and she took a moment to enjoy the feeling as Jinn poured water from the bladder onto the injury, washing away the worst of the dirt and crusted blood.


    The wound was a long slash across Reina¡¯s ribs, possibly deep enough to have gouged the bone. The flesh around it was puffy, and Jinn had to pull it apart to get water into it. The cut began to ooze slowly, which might or might not be a good sign. Kyla wished she had some firemoss oil to burn the poisons out, but the jejing would still help.


    Gingerly, Kyla used the relatively clean leather the moss had been wrapped in to press the jejing into the wound while Jinn held it open. Reina¡¯s eyes flickered, and she whimpered like a puppy. Kyla felt her heart clench at the sound, and her ears lowered as she whined softly in return.


    ¡°She needs a healer,¡± she murmured, and jumped back at Jinn¡¯s barked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think I know that?¡±


    Kyla¡¯s lip lifted as she stared at Jinn, until the other female sighed and hugged Reina closer. ¡°I do know,¡± she said softly, almost apologetically. ¡°But even if we could reach any of the healers we know, they¡¯d immediately turn us in, and,¡± Jinn tilted her head toward the cut on Reina¡¯s ribs, ¡°someone doesn¡¯t want us to get home alive.¡±


    Jinn drew in a deep breath, and her eyes fixed on Mei, who was still lingering in the first edge of the shadows. ¡°Plus, we¡¯re out of money. I had no idea how expensive it would be to live in the city, especially during tournament season, when everything costs more.¡±


    Kyla followed her look, then stepped away and lowered her backpack again. Taking out the coins Mei had brought her, she held them up. ¡°Are these enough to get help?¡±


    Jinn squinted at them. ¡°A few coppers, a silver, and a button?¡± She laughed bitterly, beginning to rock Reina gently in her arms as if the other female was a newborn pup. ¡°Not a chance. Can your, uh, fuergar find gold, by any chance?¡±


    Kyla shrugged. ¡°Probably. She hasn¡¯t found anything since we came this deep, though.¡±


    Humming thoughtfully, Jinn nodded. ¡°That makes sense. Coins are relatively heavy. They probably sink and collect in cracks and crevices.¡± She gave a hard, tight smile, sliding one arm beneath Reina¡¯s and hefting her friend to her feet. ¡°Then let¡¯s go back up.¡±


    Reina¡¯s eyes flickered open, and she managed to straighten. ¡°But what about the incursion?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Jinn said firmly, and, indeed, the shaking and distant, muffled explosions had stopped.


    The princess blinked, and she murmured, ¡°Over. Something¡­¡± She shook her head, brows drawing together. In that moment of silence, they all heard a new sound. It wasn¡¯t abrupt, like the booms had been. This was a whooshing, a rushing, a little like the river Kaz had been swept away in, and a little like the powerful streams the Waveblades could pull from stone walls.


    ¡°Fire,¡± Reina said, shaking her head to clear it. ¡°There were salamanders. Once the incursion is defeated¡­ the mages will call the rain. A lot of rain. To put the fires out. It¡¯s¡­ protocol.¡±


    Kyla had experienced rain. A little of it wasn¡¯t too bad, but a lot soaked her fur and was generally miserable to be out in. But what did it have to do with the sound, and why did both females suddenly look so worried?


    Jinn must have seen Kyla¡¯s confusion, because she said, ¡°These aren¡¯t just the sewers. The storm drains connect to them, too, and the rainwater flushes the whole system, carrying everything to-¡±


    ¡°The incinerator,¡± Reina finished, as a slow trickle of water flowed down the tunnel behind them, making two pairs of feet and three sets of paws move out of the way of the debris it pushed before it.


    ¡°What is an incinerator?¡± Kyla asked.


    But Jinn and Reina were already moving, the taller female practically dragging her injured friend. They staggered up the tunnel, away from the water, as quickly as they could. ¡°The mage tower runs it,¡± Reina called back as Kyla and Mei hesitated. ¡°Apprentices use it as a way to dump their mana when they¡¯re trying to increase their strength. The incinerator can produce magic fire hot enough to melt steel.¡±


    Oh. And the water that was currently falling from the sky would push everything in the tunnels toward these great furnaces. If they were anything like the forges the Magmablades maintained, nothing would survive entering them.


    Reina glanced back. ¡°Come with us if you want to live.¡±


    Kyla and Mei ran.

 Chapter Two hundred sixteen (Lianhua)

    Lianhua watched Yingtao. Yingtao pretended not to notice. Lianhua was supposed to be writing an outline of the paper she would need to submit to the elders, but with the explosions and fires springing up all over, she was finding it remarkably difficult to focus.


    Meanwhile, Yingtao was sitting beside the lamp, her needle smoothly drawing silk thread through one of Lianhua¡¯s many damaged robes. When Lianhua pulled a heaping pile of stinking, stained, and torn clothes and other items out of her storage pouch, Yingtao¡¯s only response had been to click her tongue and take a mending kit from her own pouch. Since then, she had been hard at work, except for a brief moment when she looked up at a particularly loud concussion and quietly told Chi Yincang to go help.


    Without a word of argument, Chi Yincang departed through the window, leaving the two women alone together. At last. Not that Yingtao even seemed to have noticed.


    ¡°Should I go help, too?¡± Lianhua asked, laying down her pen. She managed to pull her gaze away from Yingtao, face gilded in red and gold as she stared out at the flame-kissed night sky.


    ¡°No,¡± Yingtao said mildly, biting off her thread. She draped a sleeve across her lap as she threaded her needle again, and Lianhua looked at it enviously. How fortunate was the garment, to rest so peacefully against those soft thighs?


    As if Yingtao had sensed the direction of Lianhua¡¯s thoughts, she looked up, brows lifting as green eyes caught violet. Lianhua¡¯s cheeks immediately began to burn, and she looked away, clearing her throat.


    ¡°But what if they need-?¡± Lianhua said.


    ¡°No,¡± Yingtao said firmly. ¡°You are safest in the palace, at least for now, and if you leave, it¡¯ll only make them more suspicious. Right now, you represent the Empire, but more importantly, you represent the Long clan. If anything happens to you while you¡¯re in Cliffcross, it could start a war.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s elbow thunked against the wood of the desk, and she leaned her cheek on her fist. ¡°I know,¡± she said, letting the whine come through as she stretched the ¡®o¡¯ out to at least three syllables. There was no one else in the world she could have behaved like this in front of, but Yingtao had known her since she was twelve and Lianhua was ten. In that time, Yingtao had changed from Lianhua''s attendant to her best friend, then¡­ something more, though neither of them had ever dared to define it.


    Yingtao knotted off her thread, then looked at Lianhua again. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. ¡°You know?¡± she said, making the second word even more absurdly long. ¡°Then why did you ask?¡±


    Lianhua let her arms fall to her sides, long sleeves dragging on the floor. Her adventuring robes were much less extravagant, but Yingtao had laid court robes out for her after helping her with her bath. Lianhua shivered in remembered happiness. Yingtao had even allowed a single forbidden kiss during that very long bath, briefly allowing herself to give in to the relief and joy they both felt at being reunited.


    That was the first time their lips had met since Lianhua and her grandfather agreed that Lianhua would wed a man of his choosing if she failed to become a senior scholar in her own right. Yingtao had too much strength and honor to break beneath the knowledge that they would probably never be able to be together, but she had built a wall between them that Lianhua had no idea how to bring down again. Even now that she had assured the other woman that she had the proof she needed, Yingtao continued to play the role of servant, rather than friend and lover.


    A particularly violent crash sounded outside right before the building shuddered. Yingtao and Lianhua turned to look toward the door as loud cursing echoed through the halls. Lianhua made note of a few of the more interesting words. In the Empire, such things were buried in layers of euphemism and subtle insult, but in Holiander, even the nobles sometimes spoke with such blatant vulgarity.


    The door was flung open abruptly, and Yingtao shifted in her seat. Lianhua had no doubt that a knife was now clutched in the hand beneath the silk sleeve, no matter how relaxed the other one looked. Lianhua herself sketched her shield rune in the air, feeling her ki begin to flow outward as the air grew still around her, pressing on her skin.


    ¡°My apologies, Lady Lianhua,¡± the man standing in the doorway said. He caught his breath, sweat running from his hairline, down across his flushed cheeks. ¡°There are salamanders and stone lizards in the palace. The guard is tracking them down, so there, ah, shouldn¡¯t be any danger, but I- We- Thought that you might prefer to go elsewhere for a while.¡±


    His fingers fluttered as he said, ¡®elsewhere¡¯, and Lianhua almost jumped to her feet. The ambiguity was an opening she hadn¡¯t been offered before, and while she might sometimes be oblivious, she never failed to take advantage of an opportunity to learn something new.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the mage¡¯s college must be quite the safest place in the city,¡± she said briskly, all but snapping her fingers at Yingtao, who stood gracefully, her right hand remaining hidden in the sleeve of her robe. ¡°We shall go there.¡±


    The man¡¯s mouth dropped open, and he shifted from one foot to the other as he attempted to form words. Then a series of crashes and yells echoed from behind him, and his skin faded to a pallor even Lianhua didn¡¯t think she could match. ¡°Ah. Yes. Well, perhaps-¡±


    But Lianhua was already sweeping past him, into the hallway. The too-familiar sound of metal chopping into flesh came from around the corner, uncomfortably near, so she hurried in the opposite direction. Yingtao came close behind, as unflappable as ever, with the strange man scurrying behind. He wore the ridiculously high-heeled shoes that were so popular in Holiander at the moment, and stumbled every other step as a result.


    ¡°Magus Praxar invited me to visit the next time I was in Cliffcross,¡± Lianhua said, continuing onward as if she had the vaguest idea where she was going. ¡°And I¡¯m certain whatever they¡¯re doing to defend the city against the incursion must be fascinating.¡±


    The noble, who was wearing a heavy satin coat over a fine white linen shirt and short satin pants with hose, sweated and puffed as he caught up to her. Lianhua¡¯s shield was still up, which made it difficult to sense ki outside it, but if the man had any power at all, it wasn¡¯t enough to make him a danger to her or Yingtao.


    Not that Lianhua would normally worry about Yingtao, who was more than capable of taking care of herself, but the other woman was still too thin and pale after her long illness. If it had been an illness, which Lianhua doubted. She pushed that thought away, however. There would be a time and place for it, but this wasn¡¯t it.


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    ¡°Is there a portal to the college grounds?¡± Lianhua asked, turning another corner. She didn¡¯t want to give the man time to gather himself, just in case he really was supposed to lead them into some kind of trap. The best thing would be to find someone else, almost anyone else, to act as a witness.


    And there she was.


    Lianhua hastened forward, placing herself in the path of a woman wearing a dress that was so large it could have acted as a palanquin. The skirt belled out beneath a cinched waist, and not for the first time, Lianhua thought the style could conceal an entire team of assassins or spies beneath the many yards of cloth. Who would even know?


    Lianhua offered her the very precise bow of an equal. It was a compliment, since the woman hadn¡¯t been introduced as a member of the royal family, and therefore Lianhua undoubtedly outranked her, but the lady just returned a very perfunctory curtsy.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± the woman asked, lifting brows that had been dyed a pale blue to match her hair. Wigs were in fashion at the moment, thanks to the queen¡¯s recent attempts to cover the thinning of her hair caused by age. This woman was older than Lianhua and Yingtao, but still young enough that the overblown clothes and hair seemed to be wearing her, rather than the other way around.


    ¡°Lady Lianhua Long,¡± Lianhua said, smiling gently as the other woman¡¯s widening eyes. Usually, Lianhua¡¯s coloring was enough to give away her identity, but she could easily have been wearing a wig, rather than the beautiful and unnecessarily elaborate style Yingtao had piled her hair into after her bath.


    The noblewoman hastily dropped another curtsy, this one deeper, and looked from Lianhua to the man with confusion. ¡°Lord Palmer?¡± she said. ¡°Are you taking Lady Lianhua to shelter in the main palace?¡±


    Lord Palmer - it was good to finally have a name for the red-faced man - shook his head, then nodded. ¡°I was¡­ going to, Countess Greer,¡± he said. ¡°But the lady would like to see the college.¡±


    The blue brows went up again. ¡°Well,¡± the countess said, ¡°then you¡¯re going in the wrong direction. Come.¡± She took off down the hall, completely ignoring the loud crashes and occasional screams that came from somewhere just out of sight.


    ¡°There¡¯s a portal in the courtyard,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s usually closed, of course, but they¡¯re supposed to open it during emergencies. I suppose this qualifies.¡± She sounded as if the incursion had occurred purely to inconvenience her.


    Lianhua followed after, much more comfortable with the situation now that they had another member of the Holiander nobility to act as a buffer. As a countess, the woman should be a high enough rank that she would be missed should she suddenly disappear, which made it less likely that Lianhua and Yingtao were about to wander into an ambush.


    The ¡®courtyard¡¯ was a large open space with walls on only three sides. A narrow pond bisected the space, but the water was currently filled with ash and the remains of several large lizards. Countess Greer tutted unhappily when she saw it, but pointed Lianhua toward an archway on the open side of the area. A cobblestone path meandered in that direction, crossing an entirely unnecessary and highly decorative bridge.


    ¡°There you are, my dear,¡± the noblewoman said, reaching out motion genteelly with a satin-gloved hand. ¡°I do hope to see you at some event soon. I was in the country for my health last time you passed through, and should be still, but I couldn¡¯t possibly miss the tournament.¡±


    She looked completely healthy to Lianhua, but that didn¡¯t mean much. Yingtao was the one who took care of people. Lianhua learned things that would probably never be useful to anyone. To each their own.


    ¡°Thank you, my lady,¡± Lianhua said, bowing again before starting off for the archway, ignoring Lord Palmer entirely. A sudden burst of fire rising up from the building nearby had them all stepping backwards, however.


    For the first time, Lianhua felt genuinely concerned. This wasn¡¯t her first incursion, though her job was usually telling the combatants where the greatest amount of ki was gathered. This allowed them to kill the strongest monsters first, leaving the little ones to the common people, at least until the real threats had been defeated. Now, she sensed a good amount of power emanating from that building, pushing on her shield.


    Impulsively, she stretched out a hand toward the countess. ¡°Come with us,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe to go back inside.¡±


    Countess Greer lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed. ¡°Oh, dear, how kind of you. Have no fear, however. The royal guard is hard at work, and I simply must fetch my morning clothes before retiring to the shelter. It wouldn¡¯t do to be seen in the same gown twice, you know.¡± She plucked at her huge skirts.


    Lianhua blinked. This woman¡­ was braving an incursion to retrieve a dress? She looked around, realizing for the first time that something was missing.


    ¡°Where are your servants, my lady? Surely they should be the ones gathering your things?¡± For that matter, why was the countess in this wing to start with? Lianhua had had the distinct impression that no one else was staying here, especially not someone as important as a countess.


    Again the gloved hand lifted to cover the mouth. Were those lips a little too narrow, no matter how well concealed by cosmetics? Were the teeth perhaps ever so slightly pointed? But no, surely not. The darkness and the flickering light of the fires reflecting from the smoke blanketing the city must be playing tricks on Lianhua¡¯s eyes. Especially since she couldn¡¯t feel even a speck of power coming from this woman.


    Yingtao stepped between Lianhua and the countess, bowing deeply, her hands tucked into her sleeves. ¡°Excuse us,¡± she said with great formality. ¡°I must see my lady to safety. It was our honor to have met you.¡± She took a step back, and Lianhua stepped away as well, suddenly torn by a desperate desire to lower her shield and open her senses. There was something¡­


    Something bounced off of Lianhua¡¯s shield, and she turned to look at Lord Palmer. He was staring blankly at his hand, as if it had betrayed him in some way, but he managed to muster a smile.


    ¡°We should leave, Lady Lianhua. I still encourage you to go to the shelter in the main palace, but if you¡¯d rather go to the mage college, now is the time.¡± The man motioned toward the stone archway, then flicked sweat from his brow. He, too, was wearing gloves, as was the fashion, and the white fabric was stained with oil and sweat from previous attempts to clear the moisture from his face. Oddly, the stain almost looked peach-colored, rather than simply dirty or damp. Was the man wearing makeup?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lianhua said slowly, stepping away from both of them. Yingtao came too, steps silent and her eyes dark and watchful.


    They should run. Lianhua felt that as strongly as she had ever felt anything. Something was terribly wrong with these people. Wrong with this whole court. What was going on here, and where would she be safe? Where would Yingtao be safe?


    Her eyes tracked to the archway, where she could just make out the bubble-like shimmer of a portal. That was true, then, but where did the portal lead? If this was the mountain, she might think that terrible being, Nucai, was lurking beyond it. But Shensheng was too far away now. No one could create a portal that would reach that far. No one except the Diushi.


    A shiver went down her back, and she lifted her hand, bare fingers flicking in the silent language she and Yingtao had created as girls. To the two nobles, it might look like Lianhua was shooing away an insect, but Yingtao knew better. Her eyes flicked to the sides, left, then right, and she nodded.


    Yingtao turned, and Lianhua dropped her shield for just a moment as her friend pressed her back against Lianhua¡¯s. Then the shield was up again, now covering them both, and they moved as one. Toward the portal.

 Chapter Two hundred seventeen

    As the hisses and shrieks of dying lizards dwindled to nothing, the rain swelled, wiping away ash and blood. Kaz and Raff slept in their beds, surrounded by other warriors, and though Kaz slept lightly, it was restful. It was almost like being in a den full of other kobolds, secure in the knowledge that you would have someone to battle beside you should the worst happen. Death would not take them unawares.


    Li was busy. Images flickered through their bond, focusing primarily on the wyvern vanishing into the dark sky, but with flashes of salamanders and mana lizards as well. Each time Kaz rose to the surface of sleep, he found the dragon awake beside him, underneath their shared blanket, mind and ki working furiously, though she only hissed absently at him when his sleepy curiosity reached her.


    In the morning, it became clear that some of the people who claimed beds had failed to return. Perhaps one in eight or ten beds was empty, tags dangling unattended in the weak light. The male who watched the door came through and grimly gathered them, taking away any abandoned possessions as well.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, no one showed any particular remorse at this evidence that people had died or at least been too badly injured to return. Perhaps it was because they were strangers, not only among themselves, but also to the city, but no one even offered to howl them to the ancestors. It seemed they were to be forgotten, other than some excited murmurs from those who remained. Apparently, fewer participants meant fewer battles, and a better chance of winning.


    Once the sun was well above the horizon, everyone began to gather their things in a kind of unspoken accord. Those who didn¡¯t have storage items piled their bulkier items neatly on their beds, while those who did left no sign that they had ever entered the large hut.


    When Raff and Kaz were ready, Kaz reached down, pretending to straighten his blankets like the humans had. As he did, his cloak fell over the bed, and he urged Li to come out so he could slip her into her makeshift perch. She emerged, but as she did, he felt a draw on his ki, and instead of climbing back into her hiding place, she ducked beneath the heavy fabric and out into the open.


    Raff saw her immediately, his jaw dropping and his eyes growing wide. ¡°Pellis¡¯ triple knickers, Blue, did you steal that wyvern from the market last night? I thought it flew away!¡±


    Kaz blinked, frowning down at the dragon. It took him far too long to realize that the ki she was pulling from him was wrapped around her front legs, concealing only them from everyone else¡¯s eyes. The draw was small, barely even noticeable, but when she moved, stretching her wings wide for the first time in hours, it ticked up noticeably.


    ¡°That¡¯s Li,¡± he told Raff, not sure whether to be amused, proud, or upset that Li hadn¡¯t told him what she was doing. Perhaps he could have helped her figure it out, so it wouldn¡¯t have taken all night.


    Li hissed out a small cloud, heavy in the humid air, and said, <I did it! I didn¡¯t need any help.> Quietly, however, she murmured, <And if I couldn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t want you to know.> That last probably wasn¡¯t meant for him to hear, though, so he just turned to Raff.


    ¡°She¡¯s covering just her legs with ki,¡± he explained quietly, and as he did, pride overtook amusement and pique, causing him to stand up straighter and puff out his chest.


    A chest which rapidly deflated when a voice barked, ¡°No pets!¡± from behind him. Kaz spun to see the male who had given them their bed tags pointing to a piece of paper on the wall. It had several lines of runes on it, and next to them were simple images. One thick finger was pointing at a picture of a creature that looked like a wolf, though it had a blunter muzzle and rounded eyes. The beast had a red line drawn through it.


    Raff turned, too, eyes scanning the page. Kaz hadn¡¯t even realized that Raff could read, but he quickly pointed out that small, trained animals who would be fighting alongside their owners were allowed.


    The guard snorted. ¡°I didn¡¯t see nothin¡¯ on your papers about a wyvern.¡±


    Raff smacked his forehead. ¡°Curse me,¡± he said, ¡°I musta forgotten to tell ¡®em. I¡¯ll go do it now.¡±


    The other male¡¯s lips pinched, and his pointing finger shifted to the door. ¡°Changes and additions can be made until th¡¯ opening ceremony this afternoon. Get that beast added to your papers, or pay the fee for it to sleep in the stables tonight. Participants only.¡±


    Kaz quickly scooped up the dragon, settling her onto his shoulder so the draped cloth of his hood covered her front limbs. She dropped her grip on the ki with a small sigh of relief that Kaz had a feeling he also wasn¡¯t supposed to hear, so he pretended not to as he turned to Raff.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for her,¡± he said quickly, and Raff tilted an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°Yes, you will,¡± Raff said, but there was no rancor in his voice. ¡°That¡¯s a neat trick, though, drag- Uh, Li. Wish I¡¯d known you could do that.¡±


    Kaz shook his head, feeling the way the long fur on top of his head brushed against his small ears. It was still a bizarre feeling, and he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever get used to it. ¡°She just figured it out last night.¡±


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    ¡°Huh,¡± the other male said, and there was something calculating in his eyes as he looked at the little dragon. ¡°Can she hide her wings, instead? Without ¡®em, she¡¯d look a bit like a basilisk.¡±


    <Of course I can!> Li responded instantly.


    ¡°She says yes,¡± Kaz said, ¡°but her wings are much larger. It¡¯d take a lot more ki to hide them. Plus, she wouldn¡¯t be able to fly without giving it away. Why?¡±


    Huffing a sigh, Raff said, ¡°Wyverns are expensive to license. They get too big, and if they go wild, they can cause real problems. Usually, only nobles and rich merchants have ¡®em, and they¡¯re used to guard their treasure. She¡¯s already pretty big for a basilisk, but they¡¯re the laziest lizards ever. Used for pest control, mostly, since they can stun small rodents an¡¯ suchlike, then eat them whenever they bother gettin¡¯ up and wanderin¡¯ over.¡±


    They walked a bit further, then Kaz asked, ¡°Would one of those bars of gold be enough?¡±


    Raff stopped, staring at Kaz. His eyes narrowed. ¡°How many of those¡¯ve you got, Blue?¡±


    Kaz decided the full truth was unnecessary at this point, so he said, ¡°I have five.¡± Which he did.


    A broad grin spread across Raff¡¯s face, and he laid his arm over Kaz¡¯s shoulders, only to yank it back again immediately when Li¡¯s teeth clamped down on his wrist. She didn¡¯t break the skin, but there was a crescent-shaped row of indentations in Raff¡¯s flesh when he shook his arm. His grin never wavered, however.


    ¡°Well then,¡± Raff said, ¡°Let¡¯s get the lizard registered, an¡¯ go shoppin¡¯. We should get some-¡±


    Kaz froze, lifting his nose, and gave a great, deep sniff. He inhaled again, filling his chest with the scent of wet ash and freshly-cleansed city. Without a word, he crouched, pressing his face into the heavy mist that hung over the sun-warmed stones.


    Raff started to reach down to pull Kaz up, then stopped when Li hissed at him again. This time the dragon was serious about it, lifting her wings to cover Kaz¡¯s shoulders and upper back. Instead, the big male crouched down, eyeing the street dubiously. The funk of humanity that had hung over it was almost gone, but ash dyed the cracks black, staining Kaz¡¯s hands as he moved his nose along the ground.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Raff asked quietly, shifting to conceal Kaz¡¯s odd behavior as a group of humans walked by.


    Kaz looked up. ¡°Mei,¡± he said. ¡°At least I think so. Are there other fuergar in the city?¡±


    Raff shook his head, waving cheerfully as another pair of males stared. ¡°Ironfang rats prefer the mountains and the foothills. Every now and then we¡¯ll get a few, but they eat metal, so there¡¯s a standing bounty on ¡®em. If the rat¡¯s runnin¡¯ around without Kyla, she¡¯s gonna make somebody a few silvers pretty soon.¡±


    Kaz used his pathetically thin claw to scratch at the ash, then moved closer to a nearby wall. There was a rectangular hole in the ground there, with three long bars blocking it so nothing person-sized could fit through. As he watched, a lazy swirl of water and ash streamed into it, vanishing in a silent fall of sludge.


    Ignoring the mess soaking into his clothes, Kaz shuffled closer to the opening, pushing ki into his nose until he could feel the pressure building to a painful level. Ash, smoke, water, spoiling meat, and¡­ fuergar! Better yet, the very faint scent of a particular young female kobold.


    Kaz stabbed his finger into the hole. ¡°Where does this go? How do we get down there?¡±


    Raff grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s the sewer and the storm drains, Blue. They¡¯re too small for anyone to climb around in, or there¡¯d be kids and vagabonds campin¡¯ out in them. Trust me, there¡¯s nothin¡¯ down there but nastiness. Though after a storm like the one last night, it¡¯s probably about as clean as it ever gets.¡± He ran his hand over his short curls. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Blue, but if Kyla or Mei were down there, they¡¯re dead. Even if they didn¡¯t drown, the water¡¯ll have pushed ¡®em all the way to the incinerator.¡±


    Seeing Kaz¡¯s confusion, Raff quickly explained what an ¡®incinerator¡¯ was. Kaz¡¯s heart sank. On his shoulder, Li clicked softly.


    <I can go look,> she said, sending him an image of a brave dragon, small for once, investigating tunnels much like the ones they¡¯d left behind in the mountain.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°We go together or not at all,¡± he told her. Nothing had felt right since the group split up. Kaz wished he could talk to Lianhua, discuss options and find out if she had any other ideas. It seemed like she always had more information than anyone could possibly need, but in this case, he needed to know-


    ¡°Where is this incinerator?¡± Kaz asked, reluctantly rising to his feet.


    Raff frowned at him. ¡°It¡¯s too late, Blue,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m tellin¡¯ you, that thing burns like a thousand suns. I saw it once, when I was¡­ younger. When it¡¯s fully charged, it can melt metal.¡±


    ¡°What metal?¡± Kaz asked. ¡°Kyla is a Magmablade. She¡¯ll have been trained to heat the forges, and, more importantly, how not to get burned if things go wrong. Ija said their forges can melt adamantium. Do you really think some ¡®incinerator¡¯ would be enough to kill her?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just a puppy,¡± Raff said, his voice as gentle as Kaz had ever heard it. ¡°Kids can¡¯t do everything grown-ups can.¡±


    ¡°Where is the incinerator?¡± Kaz asked again, lowering his voice until it finally sounded right in his ears.


    Raff opened his mouth, but Kaz cut him off. Gripping one of the bars, he growled, ¡°Tell me how to get there, or I¡¯ll pull out these bars and go looking myself.¡± Together, Kaz and Li glared defiantly at the larger male.


    Heaving a sigh, Raff said, ¡°All right, but they won¡¯t let a couple of random people here to fight in the tournament onto the grounds of the mage college. I tell you what, though. Let¡¯s go sign up your lizard so she¡¯s all legal, and then I¡¯ll get you as close as I can. Deal?¡±


    Kaz looked down into the damp darkness beyond the bars. The scent was so faint, but he was almost certain that it must have been laid either sometime during the rain or shortly after. If it was after, then Mei, at least, was still alive. If he could find the fuergar, maybe she could lead him to Kyla. If his little cousin really was dead, he¡¯d howl her to the ancestors so she didn¡¯t have to find her way alone, but he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d need to. She was alive, and he was going to find her.

 Chapter Two hundred eighteen

    Getting Li ¡®registered¡¯ was surprisingly easy. They had to go back to where Raff signed them up in the first place, and give more coins to the harried people controlling the tables there. The greatest length of time was spent waiting for an animal handler to come look Li over. Fortunately, there was no handling involved, though Kaz did have to give Li several instructions, and the human male watched carefully as Li obeyed. When he was satisfied, he hurried away, and a new piece of paper was issued to them.


    ¡°If you happen to know anyone else who¡¯d like to participate in the tournament, let them know they¡¯ve extended sign-ups,¡± the female said as she pressed a piece of carved metal first against a piece of cloth soaked in ink and then onto the paper. Kaz accepted the page, staring at the perfectly replicated image of a knife or sword crossing a burst of something that looked like stylized flames.


    Raff shrugged, then hesitated. ¡°If we wanted to add somebody to our group entry, could we do that?¡±


    Holding out her hand, the female said, ¡°Let me see your papers again.¡±


    Her pale eyes scanned the page Raff handed her, and she nodded. ¡°Normally, you could only make changes this morning, but given the events of last night-¡± She grimaced, fingering the white bandage that wrapped around her head. Deep bruises had already formed beneath her skin, and Kaz had had to restrain himself from offering to heal it. He needed his ki, though, and the injury wasn¡¯t life-threatening. She would heal on her own, given time.


    Picking up a different piece of carved metal, she touched it to the ink cloth and pressed it to the page. ¡°Yes, you may add members until your first bout. The first round is drawn by lot, so how many members you have won¡¯t change the order you fight in. There¡¯s no reason not to allow it, and a battle with more people in it will make a better show. If anyone questions it, tell them to call for me.¡±


    She tapped the page meaningfully, and Raff reached out to pick it up. There was a glint of silver as the paper changed hands. Then Raff gave his strange salute, fingers flicking from his forehead, and led Kaz away.


    Li was very grumpy as they wound their way through the streets of the city. She was unhappy that she¡¯d had to do what some human told her, even though Kaz was the one who had actually spoken the words.


    ¡°We just had to show them that you¡¯re a trained beast,¡± Kaz murmured. ¡°I think.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that, Blue?¡± Raff asked, glancing over his shoulder. He was leading them toward the palace in the center of the city, at least in a very general way. As they walked, the streets had become wider, and fewer people walked as the covered carts grew more numerous, so by now they were no longer surrounded by people. There was also remarkably little damage left from last night¡¯s attack, and no bodies had been shoved into the shadows next to the low walls that lined the street.


    ¡°Li is a little angry that she had to listen to the human called an animal handler,¡± Kaz told him, and Li hissed her agreement, flicking her wings irritably.


    Raff glanced at her. ¡°Standard. They have to know you¡¯re not going to go wild and start eating people when you get bigger.¡±


    ¡°How big do wyverns get?¡± Kaz asked, ducking around a tree that had grown up from a gap in the stones. It was a very odd place to find a tree, and there were others, evenly spaced along the road ahead. Had there once been statues or some other special kind of object in those holes, and the trees grew up when they were removed?


    Raff held a hand at his eye level, palm down. ¡°¡®Bout that high,¡± he said. ¡°Lot of it¡¯s neck, of course, but their scales are hard, and their teeth and claws are sharp. One on one, a full-grown wyvern can take down most normal men, and hurt a lot more on their way out. Most important, though, is their scream.¡±


    Li immediately began sending pictures of herself, much larger than Raff, lifting and throwing the animal handler. She did not, however, eat him, and Kaz felt that that was a tunnel in the right direction.


    ¡°Scream?¡± he asked almost absently, watching Li¡¯s images and the ever-expanding castle at once. The building was very impressive, but it also looked a bit like someone had built a wall around several very different buildings and decided that that made them one. There was nothing graceful or integrated about it, unlike the buildings in the two cities within the mountain.


    Raff stuck his finger in his ear and twisted, grimacing. ¡°Like a knife through the skull. Their owners teach ¡®em to shriek if anyone else gets close, and you can hear ¡®em two counties away. Better than any magical alarm.¡±


    Li let out an experimental whistle, and Raff quickly waved his hands to get her to stop. He looked furtively around as he said, ¡°We¡¯re in a nice neighborhood now. The folks here aren¡¯t used to loud noises. Unless you wanna lose that license again, and get kicked outta Cliffcross, I recommend you stay nice and polite.¡±


    Kaz looked around with fresh eyes. The buildings here were large, but no larger than the shops in the area around the tournament hut. The thing that really made them different was the broad expanse of grass between them and the street. This grass was usually enclosed by a stone wall that was rarely higher than three feet. The walls wouldn¡¯t keep anything out as they were, but they also didn¡¯t look unfinished, and Kaz hadn¡¯t been able to figure out why they were even there.


    Before he could ask, however, Raff came to a halt at the end of a new street. Pointing down it, he said, ¡°There you are, Blue. The mage college.¡±


    Kaz stepped up beside him and stared down the street. It was long, straight, and wide, but after a few blocks, no more buildings stood in neat rows parallel to it. In fact, nothing stood beside it at all, because the ground dropped away, leaving an empty pit over which the road passed as if nothing at all had changed.


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    ¡°That¡¯s the Cliff,¡± Raff said. ¡°It goes all the way around the college. No one knows if someone created it, or if it happened naturally, but there¡¯s a kind of island in the middle, and they built the college on it. Hardly anyone actually lives there, even the senior mages, so they cross the Cliff multiple times every day to go home or eat anywhere other than the dining hall.¡±


    He paused thoughtfully, watching a series of covered carts passing each other, some going forward over the yawning chasm, while others were heading back toward Raff, Kaz, and Li. ¡°Well, some of the mages use a portal, or so I¡¯m told, but they have to power it themselves, and there aren¡¯t many who can.¡±


    Raff started forward again, and Kaz followed. Li shifted from claw to claw as she eyed the approaching darkness warily. She wanted to fly and see how far the pit extended, but it would take a great deal of ki to keep her front feet concealed, at least until she practiced more, and there was something¡­ unsettling about the huge gap that made her unwilling to actually fly over it. It felt as if something lurked in the depths; something that might simply swallow a wandering dragon whole if given the opportunity.


    ¡°What¡¯s a portal?¡± Kaz asked, trying to distract himself from the way his fur was rising from his skin with each step.


    Raff¡¯s brows lifted and he glanced back at Kaz. ¡°We went through one,¡± he said. ¡°The longest, strongest one I¡¯ve ever heard of, at that. That¡¯s what connects your city in Mount Scarabus to the outside world, without all the bother of actually digging a tunnel. Nobody¡¯s exactly sure just how far inside the mountain the city is. Probably the only reason nobody¡¯s tried to take it over, honestly. Too much trouble getting troops and supplies in when the enemy controls the only easy entrance.¡±


    Kaz remembered the power swirling in the five kobold chiefs who had powered the portal. He definitely wouldn¡¯t call it ¡®easy¡¯. Idla, especially, would need a long time to recover, given the damage to her core. It couldn¡¯t have been good for her to participate, and he hoped she had the sense to realize it.


    ¡°There are more portals here?¡± he asked as they walked closer to the Cliff.


    Raff nodded. ¡°I have no idea how many. There are at least five, though. One to the Mage Tower in the palace, one to each of the main gates, north and south, one to the Mage¡¯s Quarter, where most of the magic folks live, and one leading to the incinerator.¡±


    Kaz halted, then lifted a finger to point toward the buildings that were beginning to rise at the end of the street. There was, of course, a wall, because humans seemed to love walls, especially those which were too small to be anything but symbolic. Through a gate and above those walls, he could make out sloping roofs.


    ¡°The incinerator isn¡¯t there?¡± he said.


    ¡°Nah,¡± Raff said, ¡°but the only way to get to the incinerator is. When I was, uh, young, they tested me to see if I had enough magic to be a mage. Fortunately, I failed, but only by a little, and while they were testin¡¯ me, they showed me around. Student mages are supposed to drain their mana every day, as much as possible. That helps ¡®em grow their mana pool. But the more they get, the harder it is to get rid of it all safely. The incinerator can drain anyone short of a full mage in a matter of minutes, so they use it as a training tool.¡±


    ¡°So where is the incinerator?¡± Kaz asked the question very slowly, since it seemed that Raff didn¡¯t understand the problem.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Raff said as they reached the edge of the pit. Leaning over yet another lot wall, he pointed down into the depths. ¡°It¡¯s down there somewhere.¡±


    Kaz looked down, and was nearly blinded by the most brilliant expanse of red ki he had ever seen. With a soft yelp, he staggered back, rubbing his eyes. But this time, his physical eyes were fine, and it was his internal ones that had been injured. He whimpered as Raff turned toward him, and the male¡¯s mana faded in and out, all but invisible.


    Raff frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Blue?¡±


    Kaz pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes until colorful spots stood out against the blackness behind his eyes. Those spots finally resolved into Raff¡¯s mana and Li¡¯s core, which whirled as she crooned softly, stroking her head against his cheek.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Kaz finally managed.


    Raff twisted to look down into the hole again. ¡°It¡¯s the Cliff. Like I said, nobody knows where it came from or how deep it goes. A few idiots have tried rappelling down into it, but they never come back, even though the mages insist it¡¯s safe, so we just kinda figure that¡¯s enough information.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t see that light?¡± Kaz asked. ¡°Nothing?¡±


    The big male frowned. ¡°Blue, that hole¡¯s as dark as Pellis¡¯ black heart. Nothin¡¯ goes down, and nothin¡¯ comes up.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you know the incinerator is down there?¡± Kaz asked, edging closer to the wall again as he pulled as much red ki out of his eyes as he could. When he¡¯d been in the mosui city, the amount of red ki from the crystals there had made it hard for him to see anything else. By suppressing the flow of red ki to his eyes, he found that he could make it so the red was barely visible, and didn¡¯t overwhelm the other four colors. His vision was better and his eyes more saturated with ki now, however, so it would be difficult to achieve the same effect.


    ¡°Cause they told me so,¡± Raff said as Kaz cautiously peered into what looked like a miasma of red fog. ¡°Well, they tell everybody. People don¡¯t much like to think about what goes into the sewers. Outta sight, out of mind, eh? But every now and then somebody asks where it all goes, and the answer is, the incinerator. Down there.¡± He gestured toward the depths.


    ¡°Then how do we get there?¡± Kaz asked, and Li whistled. Would the human answer the question already?


    Raff sighed. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been tryin¡¯ to tell you, Blue. The only way there is through the portal, and the portal is inside the mage college. The college they absolutely won¡¯t let us random strangers into.¡±


    Kaz lifted his gaze to stare at the buildings down the broad street. Now that he was close, he realized that the road itself had a sort of flat plane of rich gray mana beneath it, but otherwise there was nothing. Was the mana the only thing keeping the broad stone path from tumbling into that noxious red fog?


    ¡°We need to go down there,¡± Kaz finally said, pointing toward a spot where the red shifted from contaminated gloom to a truer, deeper red color.


    ¡°I agree,¡± a grim voice responded, and Raff almost fell backward into the pit as he tried to turn and pull out his sword at the same time. A lean hand and an arm covered in a black sleeve emerged from a shadow that hadn¡¯t been there a moment before, easily catching the big man and pulling him back up.


    Chi Yincang stepped into the sunlight, his mouth set and grim, far from his usual impassive self. He looked angry, and, worse, worried.


    ¡°Lady Lianhua and Yingtao are down there,¡± he said, holding up an amulet that hung on a long chain around his neck. Kaz had never seen it before, but it burned with a bright flame of power. A slim thread of gold, blue, and black ki began in its heart and trailed down into the abyss.

 Chapter Two hundred nineteen

    Raff sighed deeply. ¡°Never known a woman who could get into so much trouble in such a short amount of time,¡± he muttered. Staring from Kaz to Chi Yincang, he ran his hand over the short bristles on his chin.


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t,¡± he finally said. ¡°It¡¯s bad enough that I¡¯m here now, rather than buying new gear so I don¡¯t get my rear handed to me if I face someone strong in the tournament. My best chance to find my sister is to win my bout and have the criers callin¡¯ my name all over town. Jinn needs me, but Lianhua has th¡¯ two of you-¡±


    Li hissed angrily.


    ¡°Three of you lookin¡¯ for her,¡± Raff corrected. He took a step back, then hesitated and held out a hand, looking at Chi Yincang. ¡°You lot still owe me for the rest of our contract. If you head down there, the odds are good we¡¯ll never see each other again, one way or the other, so I¡¯ll be needin¡¯ that now.¡±


    Chi Yincang¡¯s face was set, but he still hadn¡¯t regained his composure enough to return to his usual impassive expression. His brows lowered, but he nodded, just once. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out two more pouches that were only slightly smaller than the first.


    Raff accepted these, bouncing them in his palm exactly twice before dropping them into his own pouch and backing up again. He drew in a deep breath. ¡°I hope y¡¯ find her. Them. I really do.¡±


    Chi Yincang didn¡¯t respond, so Kaz did. ¡°I hope you find your sister, as well. It¡¯s a brother¡¯s duty to guard his sisters until he takes his own mate.¡±


    Raff huffed a little laugh, a hint of his usual grin coming through as he tilted his head. ¡°I hope I¡¯m wrong, and the puppy is safe, Blue. I hope you find her.¡±


    ¡°Me, too,¡± Kaz said, and then Raff was gone, jogging away back down the street toward the busy intersection. A breeze blew up, carrying his scent back to them, and Kaz drew in a deep breath, memorizing the smell, certain that he would be able to find the other male if they were ever close enough again.


    A soft sound made Kaz turn toward Chi Yincang, seeing that the other male was still watching Raff walk away. He looked¡­ disappointed? The dark male was difficult to read at the best of times, and Kaz didn¡¯t know what to do with this whole new side of him.


    ¡°We go alone, then,¡± Chi Yincang finally said, and Kaz could see him struggle to get his expression under control. The creases between his brows and bracketing his mouth smoothed out, and he ran his black eyes over Kaz and Li.


    ¡°Can your dragon scout for us?¡± Chi Yincang asked.


    Kaz hesitated. ¡°She can,¡± he said carefully, ¡°but that pit is dangerous. Maybe even for her. It would be best to go together.¡±


    A hint of the furrow between the straight brows returned. Chi Yincang looked down into the pit. ¡°Dangerous in what way? Other than the obvious.¡±


    Kaz stepped up beside him, looking down into the red fog, which swirled with sluggish reluctance, like a pool of slime into which a stone had been dropped. ¡°It¡¯s filled with ki,¡± he said, ¡°but there¡¯s something wrong with it. It¡¯s not like fulan contamination, or not exactly, but if I were you, I wouldn¡¯t cultivate down there.¡±


    ¡°Will it hurt Lianhua or Yingtao?¡± Chi Yincang asked quickly.


    Kaz glanced toward Li, who was huddling unhappily on his shoulder. ¡°So long as they don¡¯t cultivate within it, it should be fine. I think.¡±


    ¡°But it won¡¯t hurt you or the dragon?¡± Chi Yincang asked. ¡°Since you produce your own ki.¡±


    So the other male had been listening to Kaz and Lianhua. Not that Kaz had really doubted it, but Chi Yincang had never commented on it before. Not that he commented on much.


    ¡°I¡­ think so,¡± Kaz repeated.


    Li whistled softly, pulling away from Kaz and shaking out her wings. <I¡¯ll go,> she said.


    Kaz reached up to touch her, though he didn¡¯t quite hold on. ¡°Please,¡± he murmured. ¡°Stay with us. Me.¡±


    Li¡¯s head drooped, then turned so she could look directly into Kaz¡¯s eyes. <I¡¯ll be all right,> she said. <But you need to know. If you go, you may be hurt. I can hide, and I can fly back if something really seems wrong.>


    He didn¡¯t like it. No, Kaz hated it. But she was right. Moreover, it was her choice. If she wanted to take the risk, all he could do was try to dissuade her, and then wish her the best if she chose to go anyway.


    ¡°Here,¡± he said, digging into his pouch. Pulling out the largest chip of black ki crystal he had left, he offered it to her. ¡°Water to defeat fire,¡± he said, and she ate it gladly, the lump of it sliding down her long throat until he could see black ki rise up, filling her body.


    Li lifted to her back paws, not even bothering to conceal the front pair, since it seemed that no one walked in this part of the city, and so there was no one to see. <I¡¯m going,> she said, lifting into the air with a powerful flap of her wings. She glided forward, down, and into the unstable cloud below. To Kaz¡¯s sight, she vanished almost instantly, leaving only a ribbon of pure ki connecting them.


    <I¡¯m fine,> she reassured him, but her voice was distant, echoing and fading oddly, as if she were howling to him from a far away cave.


    Chi Yincang leaned over the low wall, gaze intent. ¡°Where did she go?¡±


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    Kaz looked at him sharply. ¡°You can¡¯t see her either?¡±


    The other male shook his head. ¡°She disappeared, almost like someone using the Art of Shadow. That darkness is unnatural.¡±


    Kaz had tried to tell him that, but it was interesting that the effects of the murky ki were visible to normal sight as well. It was also interesting that Kaz was no longer able to completely turn off his special sight. Was that a result of the ki he¡¯d used to heal his eyes, or simply refining his body and ki?


    <There¡¯s something here,> Li¡¯s hazy voice said. <A bridge¡­ door? It¡­ into the¡­ I¡¯m going to->


    Silence. Too much silence. The bond remained, steady and strong, but Li¡¯s voice was gone. Kaz reached for her sight, already knowing that he would fail, and found only darkness.


    Li? He called in his mind as loudly as he could. There was no response, so he leaned over the wall and howled. ¡°Li! Li! Come back!¡± Was he speaking words or barking like a kobold? Did he care? He needed her to return.


    A hand closed on his shoulder, keeping Kaz from tipping over into the darkness. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Chi Yincang, and Kaz shook his head, throat tight.


    ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± he finally managed to whisper.


    Chi Yincang said a word in a language Kaz didn¡¯t know, and grasped the wall, pushing on it. The top of it was smooth, the stones carved or cut to precise planes, leaving nowhere to tie a rope. The short distance of sheer cliff they could see below looked completely natural, with rocky protrusions that should make it easy to climb.


    ¡°Raff said no one has ever come back,¡± Kaz whispered.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± a voice said behind them, and both males turned, seeing Raff standing there. His cheeks were dark, and he wouldn¡¯t meet their eyes as he said, ¡°I thought I could at least help you get started. Come on.¡±


    Turning away, he moved along the edge of the crevice. Kaz and Chi Yincang followed, though Kaz sent many glances back toward the trailing line of ki.


    They crossed the road, then Raff hopped one of the low walls, stepping into the thick green grass beyond. One of the large human homes nestled among bizarrely cubic bushes at the end of a short road made of packed dirt.


    Glancing back at them, Raff said, ¡°Bit of cachet among a certain sort, livin¡¯ here. Within sight of the college, and clingin¡¯ to Pellis¡¯ backside, down by the Cliff. But this one belongs to someone I used to know. He¡¯s a bit of an idiot, and at one point he¡¯d just about worked up the courage to toss himself down that ginormous pit. A few of us convinced him that if he wanted to throw his life away, he should just get married and have an heir first. So he did, and his wife promptly convinced him to buy a place closer to the palace.¡±


    He¡¯d continued along the low wall surrounding the Cliff, but now he paused, glanced around, and jumped over it. Kaz fully expected him to fall, but he didn¡¯t. Instead, he balanced on a single step that clung to the wall about a foot below ground level.


    ¡°Mignon liked to hold little parties down here,¡± he said, taking another step. He sank down even further, and when Kaz looked, he saw that there were a whole series of steps, each about a foot further down and leading into the pit.


    Kaz followed Raff, glad to see that the steps led back toward where he had last seen Li. The link of ki between them was still moving, at least a bit, so he knew she was alive and exploring, but he desperately missed the sound of her voice and the sense of her that hung constantly in the background of his mind.


    After twenty-five steps, Raff stood on a platform. It stuck straight out from the steep cliff, somehow holding tight in spite of having no visible means of support. It was made of wood, perhaps ten feet long and six feet deep, painted a bright yellow color that had begun to fade but still retained a cheerful feeling that was entirely countered by the dreary fog that hung just below its lower edge.


    ¡°Can¡¯t see a thing in this,¡± Raff muttered, then jumped slightly as Chi Yincang landed lightly beside them. The other male hadn¡¯t bothered with the stairs, simply vaulted down once he saw where the platform was.


    ¡°Pellis curse it, Chi!¡± Raff yelped. ¡°One of these days, you¡¯re gonna give someone a heart attack.¡±


    The corner of Chi Yincang¡¯s mouth twitched upward ever so slightly before he turned to look down into the red smog. Crouching, he thrust his left hand into it, turning his arm this way and that as he examined the effects.


    ¡°Eerie, ain¡¯t it?¡± Raff asked. ¡°Like puttin¡¯ your hand into a jar of pitch. Never hurt us any, but when we were young idiots, we¡¯d come down here to drink and play with the darkness.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Amazin¡¯ none of us ever fell in, honestly. That¡¯s not why I brought you down here, though.¡±


    Crossing to the other side of the wooden platform, he leaned down and pulled on something draping over the edge. Foot by foot, he hauled up part of a rope that gleamed a dull gray to Kaz¡¯s eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how long this thing is, but as far as we could tell, it didn¡¯t reach the bottom. Mignon bought it from a dealer in magic items who swore that it¡¯d never break, and couldn¡¯t be cut.¡± He picked it up and pulled on it, grunting with effort. The mana inside it darkened, but the rope didn¡¯t snap or even fray.


    A blade whistled through the air, the only warning Raff got before Chi Yincang¡¯s vicious weapon impacted the rope. A few strands thrummed, then popped, but the majority of the rope remained intact. Chi Yincang spun the long handle, and his ring sparked with ki as the weapon returned to its storage device.


    ¡°It will do,¡± Chi Yincang said, and his mask of composure was firmly in place. He reached beneath his robe and pulled out the amulet again. Kaz saw more ki flow as he gave it power. The cord of blue, white, and black ki reappeared, and somehow Kaz was entirely unsurprised to see that it nearly overlapped the one binding him to Li. Wherever the dragon and the human females were, Kaz had a feeling they would find each other soon, if they hadn¡¯t already.


    ¡°How will we get from here to there?¡± Kaz asked, pointing. The connection didn¡¯t lead straight ahead, but back the way they¡¯d come, intersecting with that bright blur of relatively clean ki in the midst of the tainted gloom.


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure that out when we get there,¡± Chi Yincang said grimly, taking the rope in one hand. Black and white ki flowed into that hand, seeming to merge with the mana in the rope, until the two blurred together. It was intriguing, and reminded Kaz of how Li described her ability to hide. Was what Chi Yincang did akin to Li¡¯s trick? Did he, too, merge his ki with the power inherent in the world around him?


    Without another word, Chi Yincang stepped back into darkness and fell, only the swirling of the mists showing that he had passed through. Kaz swallowed hard, but really, there was no choice. Li was there, and so was Lianhua. Kaz was going.


    He gripped the rope. Instead of stiff leather, niu fur, or the slightly spiky strips of yumi, it was made of something smooth and soft. Cautiously, he passed a bit of his ki into it, ready to let go if it tried to steal power from him. To his great relief, it accepted the ki, but there was no awareness to it, and it made no attempt to take more than he offered. It did, however, feel like he was gripping it just a little more tightly, while still being able to slide his hand easily over the surface.


    ¡°Go on then,¡± Raff said, his voice rough. He met Kaz¡¯s eyes. ¡°And good luck.¡±


    Kaz nodded and stepped over the edge.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty (Kyla)

    Jinn peered around the corner, then motioned for Kyla and Reina to follow. They sloshed through water that reached Kyla¡¯s thighs, which made it very difficult to move quietly. Still, they tried, and Kyla supported Reina the ten steps it took to rejoin Raff¡¯s sister.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Reina murmured, for what must be the fiftieth time. At this point, Kyla wasn¡¯t sure the female was properly conscious, so she might not even realize how many times she¡¯d repeated herself. She seemed to be running on sheer stubborn determination at this point.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Kyla said. Ija and Sika had taught her to be polite to those of high rank, no matter the circumstances, and she thought she and Reina held a similar status among their differing peoples.


    On her head, Mei gave a soft squeak. The fuergar had taken refuge there many hours before, since her kind were more inclined to sink than swim, thanks to the metal infusing their bodies. Her fur was wet and matted, which the rodent didn¡¯t seem to mind, but after nearly drowning half a dozen times, she¡¯d chosen to remain out of the water.


    Reina¡¯s lips quirked, and she managed to open her red-rimmed eyes just enough to look at Mei. ¡°You, too,¡± she said softly. Mei bobbed her head, and Kyla wondered if the princess might not be more aware of what was going on than she¡¯d thought.


    ¡°There¡¯s a junction ahead. It¡¯s the largest one yet. Maybe it¡¯ll lead to some kind of maintenance shaft?¡± Jinn whispered, swiping at her forehead with what remained of her sleeve.


    All of them had removed as much clothing as possible, including Kyla. She was sad to leave behind the pretty robes, but they were stained and torn, and the closer they got to the incinerator, the hotter the air - and the water - became. The air was so saturated with steam that it was hard to see, though at least that made it far less likely they¡¯d be seen in turn.


    ¡°We should go back,¡± Reina said, a little strength in her voice this time. She was as pale as Lianhua, but her lips were a very unhealthy color of gray. She had suffered far more than the others in their mad tumble through the tunnels before Jinn managed to catch hold of a metal bar in the ceiling and pull the rest of them up after her. They had hung there until the water finally began to recede, but by then they were thoroughly lost, and far too close to where the trash and debris were being burned.


    Jinn¡¯s jaw flexed, and she glanced at the grubby bandage over her friend¡¯s wound. Somehow, Kyla had managed to hang onto her pack, and she still had more jejing and some niu-fur cloth that had been protected by the leather and other objects surrounding it. They had cleaned the wound again, repacking it with fresher moss and a cleanish wrapping, but it was clear that Reina wouldn¡¯t get much farther without help.


    ¡°There are healers in the college,¡± Jinn said. ¡°Apprentices, who won¡¯t be involved in this¡­ Whatever is going on. We can convince one of them to heal you.¡±


    ¡°We have money now,¡± Reina mumbled. ¡°We can pay someone in Cliffcross.¡±


    It was true. Like Mei, coins were heavy enough to sink, but also light enough to be carried by the initial flood. Wherever the ground rose, whether due to changes in diameter or damage, heavy objects gathered. Mei would jump down whenever they reached one of these places, finding so many coins it was becoming difficult to carry them.


    Most of them were copper, but there were a few silvers, and even one bright golden disc. Kyla let the fuergar eat a few, but the rodent seemed to understand that they needed them, so she mostly nibbled on buttons, nails, and buckles. Which meant she was the only one of them who wasn¡¯t starving, since the humans had run out of food, and most of Kyla¡¯s things were soaked with contaminated water.


    Jinn¡¯s voice was sharp. ¡°We have no idea how to get back to the city.¡±


    Silence fell, and moisture gathered on Reina¡¯s eyelashes, though she refused to let it fall. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± the princess said. ¡°This is all my-¡±


    ¡°It is not your fault,¡± Jinn said, reaching out to gather her friend into her arms. This was far from the first time that Reina had claimed responsibility for their situation, though why she thought the rain was her fault, Kyla had no idea.


    Kyla¡¯s ears perked as a sound fell into the quiet, rising above the running water. She gave a low, warning yip, pulling on her dwindling power. Sniffing deeply, she growled, ¡°Another.¡±


    Both humans tensed, and Reina flinched, laying one hand over her ribs. She took the other hand off of Kyla¡¯s shoulder and transferred her weight to the damp wall as Jinn stepped away and drew her knife. The female had had the presence of mind to strap it into its sheath before the water swept them away, which was a very good thing, because the three of them weren¡¯t alone in the sewers.


    ¡°Stone lizard?¡± Reina asked, looking around the corner, then back at the tunnel behind them. The passages were so interconnected that the beasts could appear from almost anywhere, even somewhere they had just cleared.


    Kyla nodded. There had been a few salamanders, but being submerged in water was very bad for them. By this time, their skin only flickered feebly, and they moved so slowly that even Reina probably could have killed one, though so far she hadn¡¯t needed to fight. The stone lizards, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t care less if they were wet, though there were a few drowned ones lodged in crevices along the way.


    The kobold closed her eyes, concentrating on the scents surrounding them. The majority of the more disgusting debris had been washed away at the beginning of the deluge, leaving cleaner water behind. Everything still stank, however, and figuring out what was close by and what was lingering stench was difficult.


    Kyla wrinkled her muzzle. ¡°Two? Maybe?¡±


    Jinn nodded, settling into a crouch. She and Kyla both turned their backs on Reina, keeping the injured female in the middle, where they could protect her. Mei leaped from Kyla¡¯s head, clinging to the stone wall with iron-strong claws.


    The first lizard came from behind them, emerging from the darkness as it swam forward, then dove beneath the surface. That was the worst of it. The water was deep enough that they could easily lose track of the things, and Kyla would have lost a paw at least twice-over if she hadn¡¯t had her shield.


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    Plunging her hands into the water, Kyla grabbed at the creature as Mei threw herself into the water. The fuergar¡¯s brightly furred back rose up, then down again, and Kyla could see that she¡¯d sunk her long teeth into the base of the monster¡¯s back, near where body connected to tail.


    Kyla¡¯s claws caught at something as the lizard turned to bite at Mei. Instantly, she dug them in, pushing power ahead of them and releasing it directly into the beast¡¯s tough flesh. Normal power bolts weren¡¯t enough, but from this distance, it worked. The creature raised its head from the water, and she saw that she¡¯d created a long gouge in its shoulder, which bled black into the water.


    Now that her target was exposed, Kyla released her grip and grabbed at the lizard¡¯s throat, forcing out another burst of power. This one wasn¡¯t as strong, but it didn¡¯t have to be. The throat tore away, and the lizard sank again, this time for good. Mei scrambled along its body, returning to Kyla, who reached out to embrace her.


    Turning, she saw that Jinn was dispatching the other creature. This one was a little bigger than the one Kyla had fought, but Jinn¡¯s blade was far better for the purpose than Kyla¡¯s claws. This body, too, sank, then bobbled beneath the surface, rotating to float belly up.


    ¡°We should eat them,¡± Kyla said, not for the first time.


    Eating raw meat was a sign of weakness, since any female with power could cook her meal. It could lead to illness. But she was starving, unable to recover her power as quickly as she should, and she needed to conserve every bit. Surely the humans, too, needed to eat, no matter the source?


    As always, Reina and Jinn shook their heads. Jinn scrubbed her hands and weapon free of blood, then said, ¡°We¡¯ll be out soon. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    Out, perhaps, but who was to say if that would actually be an improvement? Better to eat now, while they could. Kyla gave the bobbing corpses a thoughtful look. Next time, she would eat.


    They moved forward and downward, following the flow of the water. Before she fell into this barely-responsive state, Reina told them that there was a way to shut down the incinerator in an emergency. The mana routed through a huge gemstone, and if that was removed, the system would shut down. As far as she knew, no one had ever actually had to do it, but the royal family knew it could be done, just in case.


    The question was, how did they turn that to their advantage? After all, they were most definitely on the wrong side of the incinerator to be able to access it. That meant one of them would have to try passing through the flames.


    The obvious person to do that was Kyla, who had read all of her ancestors¡¯ books and studied to handle the Deep forges since she proved she had enough power. Of course, she wasn¡¯t actually very good at it yet, and she¡¯d already used up a great deal of her power, but she was sure she could do it if she just ate and rested for a while first. After all, how hot could this incinerator be, compared to forges fueled by magma and able to melt adamantium?


    Not that she¡¯d mentioned any of this to Jinn and Reina. It had taken several small skirmishes for Jinn to stop trying to protect her as if she was as weak as a puppy. Even the princess had attempted to summon enough power to attack a salamander who was behind Kyla, not realizing that Kyla had already dismissed the weak, injured reptile as an immediate threat. It was cute, really, that the clawless, practically toothless humans thought they needed to protect a kobold.


    Kyla grimaced as she stepped forward again. The water was almost uncomfortably warm now, and she was beginning to feel like a chunk of fuergar meat tossed into a stew. If it got too much hotter, the humans would have to stop while Kyla went ahead. It would take even more power to protect her legs from the heat, but there was no way the other two females could handle it if she couldn¡¯t.


    A high-pitched whistle reached her ears, like steam escaping from a tight pot lid. It sounded closer than she liked. She¡¯d thought they had more time before the water reached the boiling stage. Unless the incinerator was just ahead, and not nearly as hot as she¡¯d been told?


    The whistle stopped, then started again, almost sounding like-


    Kyla lifted her muzzle and howled. Not loud, but loud enough. Another whistle, this one strident and even more shrill, reached her ears. Beside her, Jinn jerked, her head turning, eyes searching.


    ¡°What is that?¡± the female muttered, just as a small creature flew into sight, a tiny light orb hovering ahead of it.


    Jinn pulled her knife in a swift, well-practiced movement, but Kyla was already hurrying forward. The heat of the water was forgotten as she reached out her arms, and a small gold dragon settled into them. Mei hurried down to Kyla¡¯s shoulder, stretching out her quivering pink nose to sniff at Li.


    The dragon was the worse for wear, but none of her injuries looked serious. There were patches of darkened scales lifting away from small blisters on her belly, and a tear in the membrane stretched across one wing, but the dragon looked more angry than frightened. She puffed cool water vapor as she clicked and whistled, and the moisture felt quite pleasant on Kyla¡¯s body.


    Kyla shook her head, yipping sharply at the dragon. ¡°Stop!¡±


    Li stopped, eyes wide and shocked.


    Kyla¡¯s tail wagged, fur dragging heavily through the water. ¡°Where did you come from? Is Kaz here, too?¡±


    Li let out an aggrieved hiss, and Kyla again enjoyed the refreshing fog. At the end of her complaint, the dragon shook her head.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Kyla said sadly, ears drooping, then perking back up. ¡°Is he on the way? Is Lianhua with him? Or, um, Raff?¡±


    ¡°Raff?¡± A voice came from behind her, and Kyla turned, seeing that Jinn was still standing there with her blade bared. It wasn¡¯t quite pointing at Kyla and Li, but it wasn¡¯t not either.


    Kyla nodded. ¡°Li is my cousin Kaz¡¯s dragon. She and Kaz can talk to each other, even when they¡¯re not together.¡± She was actually very proud of her succinct explanation. She¡¯d been told more than once that her stories tended to ramble, but this was the kind of situation that called for clarity. Then she realized she¡¯d left out something important, and added, ¡°The last time I saw Kaz, he was with Raff.¡±


    Jinn¡¯s mouth was hanging open, and even Reina looked like she was actually paying attention. The princess¡¯s eyes were on Li, and she couldn¡¯t seem to decide if she should be frightened or awed.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually a dragon,¡± Jinn said flatly. ¡°Not a wyvern?¡±


    Kyla tilted her head. ¡°What¡¯s a wyvern?¡±


    Jinn pointed a finger. ¡°Not. That.¡±


    That was a very unhelpful response, so Kyla just shrugged and looked back at Li. ¡°Is Raff here?¡±


    The dragon shook her head. No.


    ¡°Lianhua?¡±


    Another no.


    ¡°Chi Yincang?¡±


    A slow shake.


    Kyla was beginning to get a very bad feeling. ¡°Are you¡­ alone?¡± she asked.


    Li turned her gaze pointedly from Kyla to Mei. Kyla¡¯s stomach fell into her paws. ¡°Just us?¡± she asked.


    Li nodded.


    Well, that was quite a bit less helpful than she¡¯d hoped. But Jinn and Reina had come up beside her as she interrogated the dragon, and now Jinn said, ¡°Can that thing really understand you?¡±


    Li hissed, and Kyla felt the fur on the back of her neck rise slightly. The dragon wasn¡¯t very strong yet, but she was intelligent, and, just maybe, she was also Kyla¡¯s friend.


    ¡°Of course she can,¡± Kyla said staunchly.


    Jinn hesitated, then drew in a deep breath. Looking at the dragon, she said, ¡°Do you know the way out?¡±


    Li nodded, whistling happily.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-one (Li)

    There were too many turns, and too many smells, but eventually Li managed to lead the little group back the way she¡¯d come. She¡¯d caught the faintest whiff of kobold in the room with the great fire, and even though it wasn¡¯t enough to identify Kyla specifically, how many kobolds could there be in the tunnels beneath the human city?


    Getting through the inferno had been¡­ painful. Not difficult, exactly, other than when she realized that the wall of fire was deeper than she¡¯d realized, and she¡¯d nearly given up and gone back. But the feeling of slowly cooking wasn¡¯t one she would soon forget, and only made her even happier that using water ki was easier for her.


    Li wished that Kyla knew how to heal though, or at least that she, herself, had figured it out. She could push blue ki into her damaged flesh, but somehow that didn¡¯t result in anything but a mild reduction in the pain. The blisters certainly weren¡¯t actually better, and as soon as the wood ki returned to her cycle or joined the surrounding mana, the pain returned.


    Now, she stared at the roaring torrent of flame at the end of the massive tunnel in which they stood. The tunnel was straight and wide, with dozens of smaller tubes opening onto it. Li had used every speck of red ki she possessed - which she reluctantly admitted wasn¡¯t much yet - and there was simply no way she could make it back through on her own, especially with the damage to her wing.


    Looking over at the fuergar on Kyla¡¯s other shoulder, Li gave an apprehensive whistle. Mei¡¯s core produced primarily white ki, but there were flashes and sparks of gold and red as well. Not enough red to make it through the fire, even if the fuergar knew how to use it.


    The two humans were even worse off, filled as they were with mana, and no ki at all. Li could barely even see it in the healthy female, but the injured one had a dense cloud in her chest and belly. That mana was probably the only reason she wasn¡¯t dead yet, because it was very clear that her wound was bad.


    Kyla¡¯s shoulder shifted, ribs rising and falling as she drew in a deep breath. She and the healthier of the two females were clinging to the curved sides of the tunnel, staying out of the hot water as much as possible. The damaged female clung to the healthy one in turn, but her lower legs were a deep shade of red.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Kyla said, and they all turned to look at her.


    The healthy female immediately shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll go. I¡¯m fast, and my brother taught me some tricks to make myself harder to hurt.¡± Her brows drew down, and mana formed from the air around her, gathering around her skin. It only lasted for a moment, however, and then she gasped and it flew away again.


    The other human opened her eyes, which were a shade of blue Li had never seen on a human before. They actually weren¡¯t that much darker than Kaz¡¯s, which sent a spike of yearning through Li. She hadn¡¯t been able to speak to her kobold in far too long.


    When she found the narrow bridge across the chasm, she¡¯d known Kaz and Chi Yincang would find it, too. That meant she didn¡¯t actually need to go back up and tell them about it, so she could continue exploring.


    The miasma outside was so uncomfortable, and it had seemed like such a good idea to go through the door made from criss-crossing metal bars. When she entered, the ominous cloud of power and the sensation of being watched all but vanished, which encouraged her to continue on just a bit further. Then she found the fire, and just when she was going to head back, there was the smell of kobold, and¡­ It was possible that she should forgive Lianhua for going down the stairs to the mosui level. Just possible.


    Li wished with every fiber of her being that she was sitting on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, and not that of his cousin. Who was talking again, her chest puffed with pride.


    ¡°-to fire,¡± Kyla said, and Li wondered what she¡¯d missed. Honestly, she didn¡¯t pay that much attention to anyone other than Kaz, but perhaps this once she should have made an exception.


    ¡°Immune?¡± The brown-furred female said dubiously. ¡°How is that possible? I mean, look at you.¡± She gestured toward Kyla¡¯s thoroughly drenched, filthy, disheveled appearance, then seemed to realize what she¡¯d done and reddened, though she didn¡¯t take back the words.


    A low rumble rose from Kyla¡¯s chest, and she flexed her claws. Her ears folded back, and one side of her lips peeled away from her teeth. ¡°What. Does. The. Crystal. Look. Like?¡± she asked slowly.


    Li blinked. What crystal? What had she missed? Maybe she really should put a little more effort into listening when other people spoke.


    The pink-furred female¡¯s voice rasped painfully as she said, ¡°Red. Large. Just¡­ pull.¡± Then her legs gave way, and the uninjured female barely managed to catch her before she slumped down into the gently steaming water.


    Kyla nodded, then lifted her hands and pulled Mei away from her shoulder. The fuergar squeaked as she jumped to a loose brick that stuck out of the wall ever so slightly. Somehow, the rodent¡¯s sharp little claws dug in, and she clung there, chittering unhappily at her kobold.


    Meanwhile, the little pink kobold grabbed for Li. Li was ready, though. She lashed her tail around Kyla¡¯s throat and dug in her claws. She was going back to Kaz, and Kaz was on the other side of the fire. No matter what Kyla did, Li was going, but it would be easier if she didn¡¯t have to use her injured wing. She didn¡¯t want to admit it, but just this once, two legs would probably be better than four. And if Kyla went down, Li would make it the rest of the way on her own. How hard could it be to find and pull out a red crystal?


    Kyla was almost as smart as Kaz, quickly realizing that she was no match for a dragon. Giving up on prying Li off, she gave a soft whine, and her core began to churn. She crouched, and it spun. She dug in her paws, and power streamed out of it. Her powerful legs propelled her forward, and a shield snapped up around her.


    It was red, and it glowed with heat, entirely different from the ones Li had seen other female kobolds use. Those were more like Lianhua¡¯s; mingled ki that formed a protective shell around the user. The larger they were, and the longer they lasted, the more power they required. This was pure red ki, fire given form, but somehow its ferocity rejected the heat that had surrounded them only a moment before, enclosing them in a thin layer of cooler air.


    Cooler, but not cool. They plunged into the inferno, and heat sucked the air from her lungs. She couldn¡¯t hear over the roar of the flames, but she was plastered against Kyla¡¯s body, and she didn¡¯t think the young kobold was breathing any more, either.


    There was nothing but fire. No sight, no sound. If she opened her mouth, she might taste flames in the moment before her tongue crisped away. Last time, she had been alone, and her wings only continued beating because they had to. She had promised Kaz. They would be together. If she died, how would she ever explain it to him?


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    Kyla staggered. Li thought they went sideways, and then their shield flickered as it touched something hard. Something that burned the small part of her tail that draped over Kyla¡¯s arm. Li shrieked her pain, and she thought Kyla must have, too, but she couldn¡¯t hear over the deafening tumult around them.


    Li grabbed her own ki. Red, red ki. Something she¡¯d only just gained, and didn¡¯t know how to use. Except that she did, because she was a dragon, and dragons had fire. So why hadn¡¯t she had fire? Was that why she almost hadn¡¯t hatched? Had she needed Kaz¡¯s fire to survive?


    Her mind threw thoughts and ideas at her. Anything to distract herself from the searing pain in her tail. Kyla was up again, but the shield was failing, and Li realized that she had to make a choice. Did she pull her ki around herself and leave the puppy behind? Or did she use every hint, speck, drop of ki to try to save them both, knowing that if she failed¡­


    But she wouldn¡¯t fail. She was dragon.


    Li thrust her ki out, focusing on surrounding them with it, imagining a shield that she couldn¡¯t see. Kyla¡¯s shield fell. For a heartbeat, breathless and timeless, a thud in her chest without another to follow, they moved through the inferno.


    And then they were out. The air was hot, but it didn¡¯t burn. She hurt, but she wasn¡¯t burning. Kyla was down, crawling away from the flames that leapt behind them, mesmerizing and deadly. Steam filled the air, and she could see nothing beyond the end of Kyla¡¯s muzzle, but that muzzle was covered in blisters, the fur burned to stubble. She was still pink, but the distinctive tufts of her fur were gone, reduced to a bare fuzz. The edges of her ears were crisped and blackened, but the golden eyes were fierce.


    They moved forward, and Li finally managed to unwrap her tail. She didn¡¯t look at it. Look at what was left of it. There had to be something, since it still held her in place. Lifting wings that shrieked at her, she tried to fly, but quickly found that she couldn¡¯t. They were there, but they hurt so much that even she simply couldn¡¯t bear to use them.


    Kyla¡¯s nose bumped into something. She whimpered, stopped, and they both looked up. A wall. The wall was oddly cool, and Kyla curled into it, whining low and deep in her throat as she pressed herself against it. Li did the same.


    She remembered this. The passages outside were actually chilly, and when she very first entered the room with the fire, the heat had seemed almost pleasant. She wondered if being warm would ever feel good again.


    Li got down. She was close to the ground now, and, like Kyla, she crawled. She was very glad she had four feet, not two like a wyvern. She wasn¡¯t sure she could have done it, if she had to hold herself upright.


    The wall extended away into the fog, and Li followed it. Eventually, there would be a gap. She had come through there, following the hovering cloud of mist that grew thicker where it spilled out of the opening and into the cold passage.


    She should have waited for Kaz. She just wanted to help, but she should have waited. Better yet, she should have gone back.


    The wall vanished. Li tumbled out into the wide, rectangular tunnel. It hurt, and yet it felt good, because she wasn¡¯t hot. She whistled. Called.


    At first, she wasn¡¯t sure Kyla was coming. But then the fog rippled, and the little kobold flopped out into the cool, heavy fog. She gasped, muzzle wide and tongue lolling, but not in the way kobolds did when they were amused. Her skin was angry and red beneath the remains of her fur.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Kyla finally managed. Her head rolled to the side, and she looked at Li. Li nodded. Kyla wasn¡¯t Kaz, but there was something between them, now. Dragons didn¡¯t forget.


    It took too long for them to recover. An eternity of soaking in the cold air and the chilly moisture that laid on them, skin and scales, like a balm. But they had to get up. Had to get the crystal.


    Li hissed softly to herself. Kyla had to get the crystal. Li had to get to Kaz. And Kaz was coming. She could see the way the angle of the ki-bond had shifted. If he wasn¡¯t in this strange, seemingly abandoned warren, then he was close. He would find the barred door, and if he couldn¡¯t get it open, Li was certain that Chi Yincang could.


    She blinked. In her excitement at finding Kyla¡¯s scent, she had forgotten Lianhua. No, not forgotten. She had momentarily put thoughts of the other human aside while she searched for Kyla. Kaz was worried about Kyla. He believed that Lianhua could take care of herself. Li wasn¡¯t quite as certain.


    Li lifted her head and looked around, as if the female might simply appear out of the mist. Not surprisingly, she didn¡¯t. No crystal, no Lianhua. But Li had saved Kyla. The puppy might, possibly, have also saved her, but in the end, Li never would have been in danger if Kyla had simply stayed with Kaz and Raff. Probably.


    Kyla rolled over. She whimpered as she got her paws under her, splashing softly in the cool water that coated the floor. Reaching down, she lifted Li, though the heat of her flesh against the dragon¡¯s scales made Li want to bite her.


    ¡°Which way?¡± Kyla murmured, and Li looked around. Behind them, fire. In front, mist and darkness. There was only one choice.


    They walked. Kyla carefully avoided touching anything she didn¡¯t have to. Li watched the ki-bond level out. Kaz was coming.


    Kyla turned. The wrong way. Away from Kaz, and away from Li¡¯s scent, lingering from when she had passed through here the first time. Li was tempted to bite the puppy¡¯s ear, but it was already so damaged, and she saw¡­


    She saw food. Ki blazed at her, a spark of brilliant red light. Kyla shuffled toward it, then turned again, and this time Li did bite her. Just a nip, on a bit of her ear close to her head, where it only looked a little tender. When Kyla yelped and turned to look at her, Li pointed.


    ¡°That way?¡± Kyla asked, and then she went. She didn¡¯t ask how Li knew, didn¡¯t try to argue that the other path seemed better, she simply obeyed. Li decided she might understand a bit of what Kaz saw in the pup after all.


    The spark grew larger and brighter. They had to turn when the passage ended, then again in order to head towards it again, and each time Kyla simply looked to Li and went in the direction the dragon pointed. Li¡¯s stomach growled, and Kyla¡¯s did too.


    ¡°Reina didn¡¯t say it was so far away,¡± Kyla whimpered softly, panting in pain after she caught one of her toes on a small ridge in the floor. The surface on which they walked was almost entirely smooth, but every now and then there were ridges that went all the way around the hall. These had no obvious purpose, but they were too deliberate to be a mistake.


    Then the passage ended. Red ki filled Li¡¯s vision, nearly drowning out the ribbon that connected her to Kaz. Somehow, that, too, lay directly in front of her. Was Kaz there? Was there only a wall between her, Kaz, and the delicious-looking ki?


    Kyla turned, shoulders slumped in exhaustion and defeat. Before Li could hiss at her, tell her not to go back, because Kaz and food were right there, the kobold leaned against the wall. Which opened, sending Kyla tumbling backwards. The kobold¡¯s hands flailed, her paws twisted, and she ran into a human male who stood with a stick pointed at Kaz and Chi Yincang.


    A dense wall of mana hung between them, but when the male staggered, shouting angrily, the wall wavered. Kaz lifted a hand and swiped at it. A gap appeared in the mana, and Chi Yincang ran for the strange male, while Kaz ran for Li and Kyla.


    Familiar hands touched her. Blue ki flooded her body. It was the most glorious thing she¡¯d ever felt. Li shuddered, pain falling away like she¡¯d shed an itchy skin, and her eyes locked on the source of the red ki.


    It was a crystal. The crystal? Li didn¡¯t know, and she didn¡¯t really care. She lifted wings that weren¡¯t entirely healed, but were very nearly free of pain. She flew, claws clinging to the edge of the small pedestal where the crystal sat. It was big. She had no doubt Kaz would tell her it was too big. But Li didn¡¯t care. She ate it.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-two

    Everything shook when Li swallowed the crystal that had been resting at the heart of a wall full of complex runes. Not literally, but in Kaz¡¯s vision, the whole world blurred, then seemed to jump sideways while simultaneously remaining in exactly the same place. The mana that surrounded them, dense enough that he could see it even though no one was cultivating, began to disperse. As it did, the terrible feeling of being surrounded by something sick and unhealthy faded with it.


    Kaz watched Li as her throat bobbed. She seemed to choke, straining to force down a stone that looked like it was larger than her head. He had seen bigger ki crystals in the mine, but only in the hoyi nest, where no miners dared venture. Red ki descended from the stone, rose from her core, cycled through her body, and finally subsumed all other colors.


    Everything tilted, including the dragon. Kaz was still holding his poor little cousin, and he barely managed to lay the pup down in time to catch Li as she tumbled from the alcove. A metal tray that once held the crystal slid out as she did so, revealing another rune etched into its lower surface. Ki began to drain from the runes like water down a crevice.


    Behind him, something crashed loudly, and a body flew past him to impact against the wall. The mage who had been defending the crystal slid down to slump against the base of the wall, then slowly tipped over.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Chi Yincang asked, looking unperturbed as he came to stand next to Kaz.


    Kaz shook his head. Kyla seemed to be unconscious, and Li was¡­ focused. The dragon was utterly absorbed in her own core and ki cycle. It was so, so red, flowing between him and her in a ribbon of flame. Only the other colors she took from him offered any balance to the process, keeping the red from burning away everything else.


    Both males looked up as they heard screams. They were muffled, but the words were understandable. Someone was calling for help, over and over again.


    Kaz looked around. They had entered through the door that now stood open behind them, following the trail leading to Li. Lianhua was somewhere above them, but not too far, according to Chi Yincang. They had yet to find any stairs, up or down.


    Here, they found the first sign of life in the cool, dark halls, other than Li¡¯s scent. A single mage stood there, looking bored, though that quickly changed when he saw them. His response had been admirable, really, given that he¡¯d had no warning. He threw up a mana shield, which Kaz had great difficulty manipulating, since the mana just seemed to slip through his fingers.


    This led to a stand-off, which Li and Kyla neatly ended by falling on the mage. The wall behind the male opened, the young kobold stumbled in, and once the mage was distracted, Kaz was finally able to make a hole through the shield.


    Now, two doors stood open in opposite walls, and the third wall was taken up by the extraordinarily elaborate system of runes, which had once fed off the ki crystal. Which his dragon had eaten. The screams were coming from the only remaining empty wall.


    Chi Yincang crossed the room in three long strides, pressing his hand to the unnaturally cold metal of the wall. Kaz hadn¡¯t yet figured out which walls would open, or how, since there was neither ki nor mana in them, but Chi Yincang had no such difficulty. The wall parted, a rectangle sliding away to vanish inside a hollow space within the wall.


    Cold steam roiled in, engulfing the dark male as the screams became abruptly clear.


    ¡°Help!¡± someone yelled. A female? ¡°He-!¡± This time it cut off with a gurgle.


    The mists swirled again, revealing Chi Yincang, who held a knife to the throat of another human. This human held another in her arms, clutched tightly against her chest, and at her feet sat a fuergar. Mei.


    Kaz looked from his unconscious cousin, to Li, to the two females, to the rodent, who seemed more curious about what was happening than anything else. She scampered across the room to sniff at Kyla, her whiskers tickling the puppy¡¯s muzzle until Kyla finally sneezed and opened her eyes.


    The first thing she saw was Kaz, and he could tell the moment when she realized who he was, in spite of his strange appearance. She whimpered and tried to roll to her side. As she did, she saw the two females, and Chi Yincang¡¯s blade at the conscious one¡¯s throat.


    ¡°No!¡± she croaked, then grimaced at the discomfort in her throat. Kaz reached out and laid a hand on her arm, giving her as much blue ki as he dared, without allowing his power to be pulled into her core.


    Kyla¡¯s shoulders, which had been braced against the pain, relaxed slightly, and she closed her eyes. The skin around them already looked less angry, and the blisters on her face weren¡¯t as large and angry.


    Lifting a hand, Kyla pointed to the upright female. ¡°That¡¯s Raff¡¯s sister, Jinn,¡± she said, and Chi Yincang¡¯s mask of neutrality slipped enough to reveal a twitch at the corner of his mouth. Pointing to the female whose wet pink hair was plastered against Jinn¡¯s arm and shoulder, Kyla said, ¡°That¡¯s Princess Reina.¡±


    For the first time in Kaz¡¯s experience, Chi Yincang looked utterly taken aback. His blade lowered, and he stepped away from the two females so quickly that he almost stumbled.


    For her part, Jinn looked just as lost, but also absolutely desperate. She clutched at the princess, eyes locked on Kaz. ¡°Are you a healer?¡± she asked, nodding to Kyla, who looked noticeably better.


    Kaz started to say no, then hesitated, looking at the unconscious female. She had mana, more than he had seen in any other human, and he was almost certain her middle and lower dantians were both open. The mana inside her was sluggish though, tainted and putrid. Had she been cultivating in this mess?


    Without responding, Kaz stood and crossed to her. The darkness was all through her body, but it centered on her lower left ribs, where a dirty cloth covered something that smelled like¡­ Jejing? He leaned in, sniffing deeply, then chuffed at the smell. It was jejing, but there was a foulness to it that told him it was too late to prevent infection.


    ¡°Put her down,¡± he told the female Kyla claimed was Raff¡¯s sister.


    Briefly, it seemed she might not obey, but she glanced over Kaz¡¯s shoulder at Kyla, who nodded. That was interesting, but he couldn¡¯t think about it too much at the moment. Kaz stripped away the dirty cloth, removing the lump of sodden moss that had been shoved into the wound.


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    Hesitating, he looked over at Li. ¡°Kyla, would you bring Li?¡± he asked. No matter how badly injured this female was, Li was his priority. If there was anything he could do to help her, he would do that first.


    Kyla managed to sit up, then picked up both Li and Mei. The fuergar seemed uninjured, especially compared to the rest of the females, and Li actually managed to open one eye and hiss softly. Kyla brought the dragon to Kaz, laying her in his lap and then backing away. Worried golden eyes flicked from the dragon to the wounded female.


    ¡°Li?¡± Kaz murmured, and his friend¡¯s eyes caught his. She squirmed, but she didn¡¯t seem to be in pain. Rather, he thought that was the motion she used when she had an itchy spot that she couldn¡¯t reach. And was her skin beginning to split along her sides?


    The dragon belched flame. It was only a very small flame, and she seemed noticeably relieved after letting it out, but Kaz absently patted out a burning spot on his new clothing. The important thing was that Li seemed well enough, certainly not in any immediate danger, while the human female was slipping away with every beat of her failing heart.


    Kaz laid his hand over the wound and closed his eyes, focusing on the mana. It was difficult, because the gray fog tended to vanish if he looked at it directly, or fade away when he tried to touch it. But he could handle ki, and ki was mana, so why was it also different?


    First, he tried simply filling the wound with blue ki. Blue could heal, and this female desperately needed healing. He pictured perfect, unblemished skin stretching over an unbroken ribcage, and gently pushed image and ki into the injury.


    Almost instantly, the color faded as blue became gray, then dissipated. Kaz clenched his teeth in frustration. The contaminated mana had overwhelmed the small amount of ki he¡¯d offered. He would have to give more, no matter how much he wanted to keep it for Li and Kyla.


    He prodded the wound, and it gaped open beneath the pressure of his fingers, but only oozed a little. The vileness was inside, and he needed to get it out. Gritting his teeth, Kaz did as he had once before. Fortunately, he had more ki to work with now, and though his control could still be shaky, he thought that in this case, speed and power were as important as precision.


    Forming a kind of pocket of ki inside the wound, Kaz surrounded the worst part of the unclean mana. Before the ki could be overwhelmed, he pulled. A gush of blood, black with filth, poured out of the wound. He used his sleeve to wipe it away, then grimaced and shrugged the dirty robe off his shoulders, so it hung from the belt around his waist.


    The injury was still bleeding slowly, and Kaz continued to wipe it clean, examining it. Fortunately for the female, the flesh was angry but not rotten, in spite of what it had contained. He suspected that was a result of the moss, and he looked back over at Kyla.


    ¡°Do you have more jejing?¡± he asked.


    Kyla reached around and pulled what remained of her pack off her back. It was made of beautifully woven and beaded niu fur cloth, not plain leather, but it hadn¡¯t fared well since he¡¯d last seen her. The edges of the straps crumbled beneath her fingers, but there was still a hint of her usual tufted pink fur left in strips over her shoulders and down her back, protected by the pack and its contents.


    The first few items she removed drifted into ash and debris, but as she dug her way down, Kaz could see neatly wrapped packages that had somehow survived whatever she had been through. Most of them were soaked with a stinking fluid, which had probably helped keep them from burning up. She plucked out a particular one of these, wrapped in an oiled cloth, and opened it.


    The scent of jejing rose up, and Raff¡¯s sister wrinkled her nose as both kobolds drew in deep breaths. The outer fronds of the moss were damp, and Kaz reluctantly discarded them. He sniffed at the rest, then packed it into the wound, pressing until the bleeding stopped. That done, he leaned back and assessed the situation.


    Li was still beside him, and though he still couldn¡¯t hear her thoughts, there was a sense of satisfaction coming through their bond. Now that the crystal was gone and the runes were no longer working, the mana around them was drifting away, allowing their connection to deepen again.


    The human female - Princess Reina, if Kyla was correct - already seemed a bit better. The mana remaining inside her body wasn¡¯t clean, but it no longer looked like it was getting worse, either. Carefully, Kaz pushed more of his blue ki into the female¡¯s body, and this time it worked. Her color deepened, and the dirty mana was pushed out by the pressure of his blue ki, rising above her skin in a murky cloud that slowly faded away.


    Eventually, Kaz pulled back. He was worried that she would wake soon, and if she did, she would probably start cultivating. That seemed to be the automatic response of any human who was trained in the use of mana or ki, and he doubted a female with so much power, even mana, was untrained.


    Kaz didn¡¯t want to be too close to her when that happened, so he slid her limp body over to her friend, who clutched at her gratefully, eyes leaking. Standing, he picked up Li and returned to his cousin. He was low on blue ki, but not so low that he couldn¡¯t continue giving them both a small amount of power as it cycled out of his core.


    When he looked up from them, he saw that Chi Yincang was doing something unexpected. Rather than holding up the talisman that was meant to guide him toward Lianhua, he was prodding something on the ground with the tip of a knife. The thing gleamed dully in the light of Kaz¡¯s ki orb, and Chi Yincang grunted softly as it finally rolled free of whatever it was stuck in.


    Kaz squinted at it, noting the dark liquid coating it. Chi Yincang produced a water bladder from his pouch and poured clear fluid over it. The dark stuff was reluctant to come off, but eventually, it did. The object was a small sphere, no larger than the tip of Kaz¡¯s thumb.


    Chi Yincang crouched, pulling on a fabric glove that gleamed like fuulong silk, then picked up the little ball. He turned it, and the light caught something etched into the surface. ¡°A rune,¡± he said softly, holding it up so everyone could see. Turning to the two human females, he said, ¡°This was in the girl¡¯s wound. Where did it come from?¡±


    Jinn stared. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± She grimaced, shaking her head. ¡°I mean, I do. We¡¯ve been trying to get home for a month now. Every time we do, these strange people appear and try to take Reina. This last time, one of them stabbed her, rather than just trying to carry her away. I didn¡¯t think it was that bad at first, but then-¡±


    Her eyes filled and overflowed. She sobbed, just once, and struck the tears away with the back of her hand, leaving streaks in the filth across her face. ¡°She just kept getting worse. And we tried everybody. Friends, family, we even tried just turning ourselves in to the guard! These masked people appeared from nowhere, no matter what. If we tried to tell someone who we were, have them go get help, they just vanished. We had no money for a healer, but I stole some clean clothes off a washline. We kept it clean, I swear. Raff taught me about some plants that could be used for medicine, and I even tried to sneak out of the city to find some. But they were there, and Reina just¡­ got weaker and weaker.¡±


    The flood of words cut off as she pressed her lips together, hugging Reina against her. The princess groaned softly, eyes flickering open, then closed again. Jinn looked at Kaz, worried, but he gave her a reassuring smile, wishing he still had a tail to wag. The jejing would keep the wound clean, and the female had enough mana to recover on her own, now that her body wasn¡¯t under assault. He needed to use his own ki wisely, and his priorities were his cousin and his dragon.


    Chi Yincang rolled the little ball between his fingers, then offered it to Kaz. Kaz stared at him like he was crazy. It was bad enough that he¡¯d had to use his ki to remove the thing. He wasn¡¯t touching it with his skin. It may have taken a few times, but he did learn.


    ¡°Lianhua said I¡¯m not allowed to use ki in new ways,¡± he said. It was a poor excuse, especially given what he¡¯d just done, but Chi Yincang nodded, closing his fingers around the sphere. Turning his glove inside out, he turned it into a bag, tucking the ball into one finger, then wrapped the rest of the glove around it. Tucking this into his pouch, he said, ¡°Then let¡¯s find the lady. And Yingtao.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-three

    The connection to Lianhua led up and away to their left, back behind the rune-covered wall. After a brief discussion, they all went out the door Kyla and Li had come through, since it seemed more likely that any stairs would be on the side the fallen mage had been trying to protect. For better or worse, the mage himself was beyond questioning.


    Kaz carried Li, who seemed to be sleeping. Her skin was pale and beginning to split around her joints, but he knew what that meant by now. His little friend was growing again.


    The dragon¡¯s core had settled out, and where there had only been a tiny spark of red ki before, now it burned like a small inferno. He didn¡¯t think it would stay that way, but he did believe her balance of power had shifted for good.


    Jinn was in fairly good shape, at least once she emptied two water bladders. Reina, on the other hand, was still struggling. She was awake, at least enough to walk with Jinn¡¯s help, but she didn¡¯t speak. She did manage to drink some water, but not nearly enough. If Kaz hadn¡¯t been able to see the mana she was drawing in, he would have tried giving her some more blue ki. As it was, he wasn¡¯t willing to risk her draining him, but he thought that she would eventually recover on her own so long as nothing else happened to her.


    Chi Yincang led the way through the dark, cool halls. Each time one of the tell-tale rectangles appeared on a wall, he would touch it, opening another room. Kaz continued to watch, trying to figure out what powered these odd portals, but the only thing he could figure out was that they must use such a small amount of mana that it was invisible to him.


    Door after door opened and were left behind. While a few rooms held empty boxes or old tables or chairs, the vast majority of the rooms were completely empty and apparently unused. Kaz wondered why they had ever been created at all. In fact, the whole place was a mystery. The metal of the walls was so smooth and perfect that he had no idea how it had been made. There were no tool marks, and every corner was a precise square angle.


    After an interminable journey through these perfect yet abandoned passages, they found themselves directly beneath Lianhua¡¯s position. Chi Yincang stood there, staring at the ceiling for long seconds before lifting his weapon. Before anyone had a chance to speak, the human marked out a circle on the ceiling with the tip of the blade. Metal squealed in discordant protest, and sparks flew, falling down on the group so they had to quickly move out of the way.


    Chi Yincang ignored all of this, and Kaz saw his ki rise, black and white surrounding and infusing his weapon. It was an unusual sight, usually unnecessary because the blade itself was far stronger than it should be, since Kaz didn¡¯t think it was adamantium or mithril.


    The next stroke saw the blade sink deep into the metal of the ceiling, gliding along the circle the male had already marked out. Chi Yincang stepped out of the way, and the excised disk fell to the ground with a furious clang. Above was only darkness.


    Once the clamor died down, Chi Yincang glanced around at them all and hesitated. Kaz was almost certain he knew what the other male was thinking. They were burdens. If - when - they met resistance, Chi Yincang would be forced to protect most, if not all of them. If he left them behind, he could at least claim that he believed they were safe, and he could come back for them.


    But they both knew what Lianhua would say to that. So once Chi Yincang made sure the space above was clear, he returned and silently knelt, offering his cupped hands to each of them so he could toss them up through the hole. When he came to Reina, he simply tucked the human princess under his arm like an over-filled gathering bag and leaped up himself.


    Lianhua obviously wasn¡¯t there, so they took a quick look around to see if they could find a way to move between levels that wouldn¡¯t call quite so much attention to them. So far as they could tell, this level was as empty as the first. The only thing that changed was the ever-present hovering fog. The air here was clear but stale, as if no one ever even walked through it, disturbing the last breath taken by some resident in years long passed.


    They found themselves back in the same place they¡¯d started, staring down into the empty hole of their starting point. Did they go up in the same way, in the same place, and hope to find Lianhua simply waiting for them to arrive? Or did they move further away, so as to avoid drawing attention to Lianhua¡¯s location, and hope that if someone came to investigate, they were either weak or friendly? Was she safe, wherever she was, or was she injured and in need of immediate aid?


    ¡°There has to be a way,¡± Jinn said, frustration and exhaustion vying for supremacy in her voice.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Maybe we should have stayed below. Surely whoever controls this place has to be aware that the fire isn¡¯t burning any more. They¡¯ll send someone, and then we could track them back to the stairs. Or whatever they use to travel.¡±


    He looked around. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone even walks through here any more. There are no scents, not even lingering ones.¡±


    Kyla nodded, her muzzle wrinkled and ears flat. ¡°This place is abandoned. No, more than abandoned. Nothing lives here. Maybe nothing ever has.¡± She gave a shiver, and the fuergar by her paws leaned against her leg.


    Kaz turned his attention to something he had been trying very hard not to look at. Below their paws lay a conflagration that put the ki used by the incinerator to shame. When he and Chi Yincang entered, Kaz had believed it to be a secondary incinerator, perhaps one that was no longer used, due to its faltering flame.


    Ever since Li ate the crystal, stopping whatever the runes surrounding it were designed to do, that secondary source of ki had been growing brighter and somehow closer. If it was a true fire, and not just a mass of brilliantly-burning red ki, Kaz would expect his paws to be growing hot. Even if they were feet at the moment.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have any more time to waste,¡± he said, unconsciously shifting in place. Something in his voice made everyone turn to look at him, and he pointed straight down with the hand that wasn¡¯t cradling his dragon.


    ¡°Something is down there,¡± he told them, ¡°and it¡¯s coming up.¡± As if angered by his words, the ground trembled. Just a little, but enough.


    They moved back into the hall, then to a room far enough away that they wouldn¡¯t come up directly beneath Lianhua. She still wasn¡¯t moving, which meant she was likely hiding or a captive. Either way, drawing attention to her location seemed unwise. If they were lucky, there would be another empty room above them.


    They weren¡¯t lucky.


    As soon as the disc of metal dropped into their room, ki-bolts shot down after it. Chi Yincang vanished even as he leaped upwards, and a moment later a body fell through the hole. It was a young human, probably male, wearing a dark robe. His eyes were open, but dazed.


    Kaz, Jinn, and Kyla all moved toward him at the same time. Kaz and Jinn were both restricted by their semi-conscious companions, so Kyla got there first. The pup held a knife in her hand, and Kaz barely managed to bark, ¡°No!¡±, stopping her before she slipped it between the fallen human¡¯s ribs.


    Without hesitation, the young kobold instead kicked the male over, then jumped on top of him, grasping his hair in one hand as she laid her blade across his throat. The male gasped as he felt the edge part his skin, and to Kaz¡¯s astonishment two great tears rolled down his cheeks as he began to sob.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me!¡± he wheezed, white showing all the way around his deep brown irises. In his chest, mana roiled, black ki occasionally sparking, then returning to gray uniformity.


    Chi Yincang appeared in mid-air, dropping to land silently beside Kyla and the human. His dark eyes assessed the situation, and a glimmer of approval brightened their depths. Reaching down, he pushed aside Kyla¡¯s blade with a bare finger, then hooked that finger into the other human¡¯s clothes and lifted him straight up until his feet dangled above the ground. Kyla jumped out of the way, wincing only slightly as she pulled the scar tissue forming across her right shoulder.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Chi Yincang asked. ¡°Where are Lady Lianhua and Yingtao?¡±


    A thread of blood trickled down the male¡¯s throat, mingling with tears to stain the fabric of his robe. ¡°I¡¯m just an apprentice,¡± the human sobbed. ¡°They said there were intruders in the college, and sent us all down to look.¡±


    He glanced up, tears pouring out so thickly that Kaz doubted he could actually see anything. ¡°What did you do to Eleus?¡±


    Chi Yincang shook him, and various fluids flew through the air, making everyone grimace and step back. ¡°Who are ¡®they¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The¡­ the teachers,¡± the apprentice stammered. ¡°The headmaster. A¡­ a few guards.¡±


    ¡°Are they nearby?¡±


    Simple cunning took hold of the human¡¯s face, and he tried to nod. ¡°They¡¯re very close. They¡¯ll be here any-¡±


    Another shake. ¡°Try again,¡± Chi Yincang said, his voice frigid.


    A motion caught Kaz¡¯s eye, and he turned to see the pink-haired female stand up for the first time. She thrust her hair back with a shaking hand, and her brilliant blue eyes caught the strange male¡¯s.


    ¡°I am Princess Reina,¡± she said. ¡°You know me.¡± There was no doubt in her voice, and the male actually stopped struggling as Chi Yincang lowered him enough that he could look at Reina properly.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°Tell this man what he wants to know,¡± she said.


    Instead of obeying, the apprentice only grew more frantic. His arms flew up as he struck out at Chi Yincang, who utterly ignored the futile blows. Mana began to gather around him, but before Kaz could warn Chi Yincang, the dark male threw the apprentice against the wall, where he slid down, limp and silent.


    Reina gasped and hurried over. She tried to crouch, but Jinn caught her arm, pulling her back. Reina shook her head, eyes wide and horrified. ¡°This happened because of me. Again. If only I hadn¡¯t-¡±


    Jinn slapped her. Not hard, but hard enough to make the princess stop speaking, pull back, and lick her lip where a single drop of blood swelled. Jinn bit her own lip at the sight, but she didn¡¯t apologize.


    ¡°We have to figure out what¡¯s going on,¡± Jinn said, voice vibrating with tension. ¡°We finally have help, and blaming ourselves won¡¯t do any good. Right now, we just have to reach your father and let him know there are traitors in the government, perhaps even in the royal family.¡±


    Reina nodded, once, though a tear slipped down her filthy cheek, and the two females turned to look at Chi Yincang.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find your lady,¡± Reina said, chin lifting even as her hand grasped Jinn¡¯s.


    Chi Yincang nodded, picked her up, and jumped through the hole in the ceiling. He was back a moment later for Jinn, then threw Kyla and Kaz up after the females.


    They found themselves in a room completely unlike the ones below. For one thing, there was a very dead human wearing robes that matched those of the male they¡¯d left behind. For another, furniture filled the space. A table that came up to Kyla¡¯s chin sat to one side, with four chairs arranged around it. One of them lay on its back, the fabric covering the seat stained red. There was a shelf that held small, unfamiliar objects, and what looked like a container of some kind next to it.


    A ki-stone rested in an alcove, shedding soft yellow light, and Kaz stared at it. Where had it come from? Did these humans have a way to trade with the mountain, or perhaps the mosui, after all? Or had this crystal come from somewhere else?


    Kaz climbed on one of the upright chairs, reaching up to pluck the crystal from its resting place. There was a rune carved into the wall directly beneath it, and the stone went dark as soon as he picked it up. The light from his own light orb revealed that it was indeed a yellow ki-crystal, very familiar from his time in the mosui city.


    The crystal still held a good amount of ki, though it was completely quiescent now that Kaz had removed it from its place. That was different from the ones in the mountain, which continued radiating light and ki even when they were moved. This one had a rune carved into it, and was shaped into an almost perfect sphere.


    On his shoulder, Li shifted, one eye opening lazily. There was a white film over it, and he could feel her looking through his eyes because hers were currently cloudy. <Did you notice everyone else left?> she asked.


    Kaz yipped, turned, and jumped off the chair, landing in the open doorway as wood clattered to the ground behind him. In the hall, Kyla waited, though she looked distinctly impatient. Another door was open beyond the kobold, and Reina was leaning in the doorway, face pale but determined.


    He hurried toward them, shoving the crystal into his pouch. He could hear murmurs in the room, but was somehow unable to understand what was being said. Was this what it was like being on the wrong side of Lianhua¡¯s sound-obscuration rune? It made his ears hurt.


    At the doorway, he hesitated, then took the final step.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-four

    Lianhua stood next to a human female with long brown hair and a serene pool of deep blue and faint black ki in her abdomen. Lianhua, the other female, and Chi Yincang were surrounded by a shimmering dome of ki. Jinn and Reina stood outside that bubble, expressions tight.


    As Kaz and Kyla entered, everyone looked in their direction. Something about the shape of the stranger¡¯s jaw and the way her level brows lifted when she saw him was familiar, and when Chi Yincang shifted beside her, Kaz realized why. This had to be Chi Yincang¡¯s sister, Yingtao. Calculating green eyes assessed Kaz, then warmed as the strange female smiled. Her lips moved, but Kaz only heard a soft murmur.


    Kaz looked at Lianhua, who seemed none the worse for whatever she¡¯d experienced since they parted. Holding up his hand, he swept his fingers across his palm, and Lianhua flushed slightly. The dome fell, and Lianhua smiled, moving forward.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± she said, reaching back for Yingtao. The other female slid her hands into her sleeves and bowed deeply, rather than accepting Lianhua¡¯s hand. Lianhua¡¯s expression stiffened, but she said, ¡°This is my friend, Yingtao. We were just telling Chi Yincang what happened in the palace.¡±


    Kaz looked at her expectantly, but Lianhua bit her lip, glancing sidelong at Jinn and Reina. Kaz frowned. It was true that they didn¡¯t really know the two yet, but was there something overtly suspicious about them? What had he missed?


    For a moment, the two small groups stared at each other with caution writ large on their faces, and then Kyla stepped in between them. The pup¡¯s ears were laid back defensively, and her hackles were raised slightly as she stared straight into Lianhua¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I trust them,¡± she said stoutly. ¡°They saved me and Mei when the tunnels flooded. It would have been easier to let us be swept away. We also fought against the lizards together, back to back, and they never even tried to run. When I return home, I will tell Ija that they are good humans.¡±


    Deliberately turning her back on Lianhua, Kyla crossed to Jinn and handed the knife she¡¯d been holding to her. Looking startled, the human female accepted it and slid it into the empty sheath at her waist. Kaz¡¯s lips twitched. Had the puppy taken the human¡¯s knife, only to use returning it as a gesture of trust? Kyla turned to Lianhua again, leaving her undefended back toward a female she had just armed.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes narrowed, but she sighed acceptance. ¡°Then we¡¯ll trust them too, at least until we get out of here.¡± She gave Kaz a meaningful look, tilting her head toward the ki surging beneath them. ¡°There¡¯s something coming, and I don¡¯t think we want to be here when it arrives.¡±


    Looking around, she said, ¡°Yingtao and I believe that the government of Holiander has been infiltrated. We¡¯re not sure why or how, but at least some of the courtiers are¡­ wrong.¡± Her lips pinched, and she shook her head. ¡°For now, the details don¡¯t matter. But we can¡¯t trust anyone, even people we think we know. Anyone who has been here since before we left for Shensheng is suspect.¡±


    Jinn and Reina were holding hands, and Reina¡¯s face was almost white beneath the dirt. ¡°Then it¡¯s not just an isolated thing?¡± Reina burst out. ¡°We thought¡­ someone just wanted me gone. But that didn¡¯t make sense. Hardly anyone even notices I exist!¡±


    Lianhua blinked, reassessing the filthy, wretched females before her. Her eyes lingered on the warm brown of Jinn¡¯s skin and the pink shade of Reina¡¯s hair. Comprehension filled her expression, and she turned to look at Kaz. ¡°Trust you to do in a few hours what an army failed to do in a month,¡± she muttered.


    Kaz stepped back, pointing at Kyla. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Raff had a plan, but-¡±


    As if abruptly realizing they were one male short, Lianhua looked around. ¡°Where is Raff? Is he all right?¡±


    Jinn seemed suddenly worried as well, so Kaz quickly reassured them. ¡°He stayed in the city to look for Jinn. He should be fine. Safer than us.¡±


    Relief softened the tension in the group, and Lianhua grew noticeably less suspicious as she saw Jinn relax. Then the floor shook beneath them in a way no one could dismiss as their imagination. Immediately afterwards, a deep squealing began, as if a massive amount of metal was being forced to bend in an entirely unnatural way.


    Everyone clapped their hands over their ears, and Kyla actually crouched down as if something was assaulting her. Kaz and Li pushed a little of the ki out of their ears, but they were so saturated by now that it didn¡¯t make nearly enough of a difference.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Lianhua shouted, raising her voice to be heard over the cacophony. ¡°Time to go. There aren¡¯t many people on this level, which is why we settled here, but they¡¯re everywhere as we go up. There are platforms to go between levels, but the one we used to come down was called back up, and we can¡¯t figure out how to summon it again. Can we leave the way you came in?¡±


    Kaz pointed down. His feet were dark blotches against the glaring red ki, and he was almost certain the floor was growing warmer. ¡°We came from there,¡± he barked back as loudly as he could, ¡°so no.¡±


    Chi Yincang lifted his weapon, drawing a circle toward the ceiling with the tip. ¡°Then we go up.¡±


    For the barest instant, Lianhua looked uncertain, and then Yingtao shifted, her arm barely brushing Lianhua¡¯s sleeve. Lianhua¡¯s pale lips firmed, and she nodded sharply. ¡°Do it.¡±


    A moment later, the screech of Chi Yincang¡¯s blade cutting through metal joined the unceasing clamor. The ground shook as an almost perfect circle landed by his feet, but the shaking didn¡¯t stop as the disc shivered to a halt. Red ki rose up around them, no longer held back by the walls that had separated the fire ki from the mana that formed from it, and the air grew noticeably warmer.


    Chi Yincang was first through the opening, but Lianhua and Yingtao were close behind him. Jinn picked up Reina even as Kaz lifted Kyla and Mei, but Reina allowed it while Kyla growled her disapproval. She yipped something that was inaudible over the rising screaming of metal, but Kaz didn¡¯t waste time asking for clarification, just threw her upwards. If the pup was too proud to allow him to carry her, then she would have to get up another way.


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    He jumped, and Li lifted from his arms, shreds of loose skin flying from her wings as she flapped them. Her core glowed hotly, as if the ki inside her was answering that which approached from below. As Kaz landed in a crouch on the level above, he glanced down at his own core, and realized that it, too, was producing more fire ki than usual, though not as much as Li¡¯s. Whatever was down there, it was calling to their own power, and Kaz didn¡¯t know what would happen if they were still here when it passed. Not that he wanted to risk burning from the outside in, either, so they needed to keep moving.


    It seemed that if anyone had still been searching for Lianhua and Yingtao, they, too, had taken the tunnel of wisdom and retreated. There were a few pieces of furniture scattered around, but no people. Li darted up to a small alcove, plucking a clear white ki crystal from its resting place. To Kaz¡¯s surprise, she dropped it into his hands rather than eating it.


    <Not hungry,> she said. <Save it for later.>


    Obediently, he tucked it into the pouch tied to his belt, then looked around. Chi Yincang was already cutting his way through the ceiling, but this time when he finished, no chunk of metal came crashing down. Instead, a clear line of separation marked the circle, but even when he struck it hard with the butt of his weapon, it didn¡¯t budge.


    Lianhua tapped Chi Yincang on the shoulder and pointed toward the open door beside her. Then she pulled open her pouch and removed several small lumps. She pressed two into her ears, passing two more to each of the others. Chi Yincang was the only one to refuse them, and when Kaz pushed the soft things into his ears, he realized why. He could still hear the incessant screaming of metal, but nothing else. With these in, there was no chance he would hear anything or anyone else approaching. Chi Yincang would rather hear too much than too little.


    In a world eerily empty of all sound except distant shrieking, they moved through the halls and rooms of the hastily abandoned structure. Overturned furniture and even a dropped plate of food spoke to the abrupt departure of whoever had occupied this space. Kyla snatched up the food and ate it, while the humans cast her looks of surprise and mild disgust. Kaz supposed that must be another difference between humans and kobolds. When a kobold was truly hungry, they would eat almost anything.


    Chi Yincang tried again to open a passage upward, with the same results. A third time, however, caused a disc of metal to drop silently to the floor, making everyone except Chi Yincang jump backwards. Kaz felt like the heat and ki propelled him upwards, and this time Kyla didn¡¯t protest when he picked her up and carried her with him, Li flying just ahead.


    <There¡¯s someone here,> Li said, her voice dropping into the quiet within his mind. Kaz wrapped himself around his little cousin and her fuergar, rolling as they hit the ground. When he scrambled to his feet, pushing Kyla behind him, the humans looked at him as if he¡¯d gone insane.


    <In the next room,> Li said, voice filled with amusement as she settled onto a table. Another crystal was clutched in her paws, and she tossed it across the table toward him. He caught the gleaming black crystal and tucked it away. It was interesting that the ki-crystals on each level were different colors, and he wondered if they had some purpose beyond illumination.


    There was no time to think, though, and Kaz was barely able to point toward the cloud of mana gathering behind the door leading out of the small room before that same door opened, and a tall human loomed in the gap. He had a long beard which hung down past his waist, and a wooden stick in one hand. As he lifted the stick, mana surged into it, turning it such a solid gray that it was almost black, though without the luminescence of water ki.


    Chi Yincang thrust his weapon into the male¡¯s belly, and the human¡¯s mouth opened in a silent scream. Chi Yincang stepped forward, pushing his victim backward, and then tossed him away with contemptuous ease. To Kaz¡¯s surprise, the next person through the door was not Lianhua, but Yingtao, who stepped in front of her friend protectively.


    Yingtao¡¯s hands vanished into her sleeves as she peered up and down the hallway, and Kaz suddenly realized that she was much more than just a servant or companion. The sharp, bright ki cycling through her hands within her sleeves argued that while she might not be as deadly as her brother, she was also far from helpless.


    Chi Yincang and Yingtao moved out together, using nothing more than glances and an occasional flick of their fingers to coordinate their movements. Only when they were certain the passage was clear did they allow Lianhua and the rest to emerge.


    The two strange females, who Kaz was beginning to realize were probably almost as young as Kyla, looked queasy as they passed the corpse of the male who had tried to attack them. Kaz was sorry that another life had been lost to whatever was going on, but Kyla stiffened, her muzzle pointing up, then down.


    Crouching, the kobold sniffed deeply, pointed to the dead male, then down the right-hand passage. Chi Yincang, Yingtao, and Lianhua exchanged glances. Lianhua nodded. Chi Yincang jumped straight upward, vanishing into a blur of ki that moved away down the hall.


    Lianhua held up a hand, fingers splayed. One by one, she folded her fingers down. When she¡¯d formed a fist, she gestured for them all to follow, and began walking in the same direction as Chi Yincang. Yingtao settled in two paces ahead of her, both females moving with easy, unhurried deliberation.


    The passage was straight and dark, with doors opening into shadowy spaces on each side. The two females ignored these, clearly confident that Chi Yincang had taken care of any threats, and indeed, no more enemies appeared, alive or dead.


    Li found another black crystal orb, which she brought to Kaz for storage. As she did, the shaking of the ground escalated for the first time since they¡¯d reached this level, making Reina stagger and brace herself against a wall steadily filling with red ki. The wall warped beneath the pressure, creating a shallow but perfect imprint when she lifted her hand away.


    They all stared at the depression, and then Jinn lifted her hand to touch the wall as well. Nothing happened. She pressed harder, but there was no change. With a silent exchange of glances, they all tried. Kaz, Kyla, Lianhua, and Li could all shape the material of the wall at least a little, but Jinn, Mei, and Yingtao could not. Li¡¯s little paws were the most effective by far, with Kaz not far behind.


    Staring at the handprints marring the formerly perfect wall, Kaz realized that other than Reina, all of those who could distort the walls were dragons or the descendants of dragons. At that thought, Kaz turned a considering gaze on the pink-haired human. Was it possible that this really was the connection? No, there had to be something else. Lianhua herself had told him the Diushi Empire never extended its reach past the mountains.


    Chi Yincang reappeared beside them, managing to startle everyone, judging by the looks on their faces. He gestured, and Yingtao pointed toward the wall. A crease flickered between Chi Yincang¡¯s brows for a bare instant, and then his fingers flickered again, and Yingtao¡¯s expression flattened, as if her own emotions had been wiped clean.


    Turning to Lianhua, Yingtao grasped the other female¡¯s sleeve. She tugged, and Lianhua nodded. This time when they followed Chi Yincang, they ran, and everyone else followed, the shrieking of a dying building reaching a crescendo in their heads.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-five

    Chi Yincang led them to an open doorway. Across the threshold lay a single limp hand, palm up, fingers gently curled and defenseless. The hand belonged to a robed human, and another of the odd mana-sticks lay on the ground beside him. His face held an expression of startlement, the glazed eyes wide.


    Yingtao and Lianhua stepped over him. Kyla and Mei leaped. Li flew. Kaz enjoyed the benefit of his longer legs and went across. Jinn edged around the body, but Reina stopped, horrified and staring. Kaz could tell from the expression on her face that she recognized him.


    Inside the room was a platform, one which was a bizarre combination of those found in the mosui city and the one a husede named Ogden used to carry passengers between several of the upper levels of the mountain. A heavy chain passed through the center of it, mimicking the one Ogden pulled, hand over hand, to raise or lower his platform. Beneath the flat metal floor, however, Kaz could see a complex design built of glowing ki, looking almost exactly like the ki that powered and controlled the mosui platforms, just with different runes.


    Everyone except Jinn and Reina piled onto the platform. Jinn pulled at her friend, screaming something, but Reina stood as if frozen, unresisting but unmoving as she stared at the body. The walls rippled around them, the air growing slightly warmer with each indrawn breath.


    Feeling as if he was moving through fresh yanchong slime, Kaz stepped back off the platform, walked across the room, and picked the female up. She trembled in his grasp, but still didn¡¯t struggle, though Jinn looked like she might attack him for touching her princess. Kaz ignored her and Li¡¯s unhappy squawking inside his head, depositing the pink-haired female on the platform, where she immediately slumped to the floor.


    Jinn followed, wrapping her arms protectively around her friend and glaring from Kaz to Chi Yincang, who had undoubtedly been the cause of the robed male¡¯s death. Lianhua watched them all, face pale, lips tight, and grasped the chain, pulling hard. Ki flowed from her, the platform lit, and they rose, body and warped room vanishing in a surge of red ki that swallowed up the smear of crimson painting the overheated floor.


    Rather than entering that strange between space, like a moment in time no one but Kaz could see, the platform continued upward, placidly following the chain piercing its center. The ki beneath Kaz¡¯s feet shifted, then settled as the floor stilled again, leaving them gazing out at a room not much different from the one they¡¯d just left, other than the absence of the corpse.


    Lianhua tugged, and the platform began to rise again, leaving that room behind as well. The ki in the floor changed for the second time, and Kaz noticed that while it had started with a large amount of black ki, it swirled through yellow and now settled into blue.


    As it did so, the platform halted with a very final sort of thump, then listed to the side, causing all of them to sway in an attempt not to lose their balance. Some of them were better at this than others, and Reina ended up falling against Kaz, who instinctively caught her and placed her upright again. He released her quickly, as the dragon on his shoulder mantled and glared. The expression was particularly fearsome from behind the pale white caps of her outgrown skin.


    Reina jerked away from him, her cheeks glowing almost as pink as her hair, and snapped something he couldn¡¯t hear. Kaz ignored her, turning to look around as Li settled back down, twining her tail firmly around his arm.


    The room in which they stood this time was different. Rather than perfectly smooth, gray metal walls, they were covered in a complex repeating pattern that must have taken many artists many hours to create. As far as Kaz could tell, there were no runes involved, and the images of flowers and insects were purely decorative. He would have liked to take some time to examine it, but since the nearest wall had a broad crack running through it and was beginning to crumble, he very much doubted there was time.


    Lianhua reached up and pulled the blobs from her ears, wincing as she did so. Everyone else copied her, though Kyla immediately stuffed hers back in, flattening her ears as she did so.


    ¡°This is the way we came in!¡± Lianhua shouted, her usually gentle voice straining to be heard over the cracking, screeching rumble that surrounded them. ¡°There¡¯s a portal in the garden outside. If it¡¯s still working, we may be able to get back to the palace that way!¡±


    For a moment, Yingtao looked like she would argue against this idea, but then she glanced at Chi Yincang and held her tongue. Kaz sighed internally. By now, he was well aware that Lianhua¡¯s grandfather had prepared a series of traps, tests, and rules for his granddaughter, to be enforced by Chi Yincang and possibly Yingtao as well, but it seemed to him that this wasn¡¯t the best time for them, if that was what was going on.


    He looked at Yingtao. ¡°Is the palace safe?¡± It was almost a howl, and almost a growl, and sounded little like a human voice, at least to his own ears. Her hands went into her sleeves, but she shook her head, just once, without looking at Lianhua or her brother.


    Kaz thought about the view from Cliffcross and carefully felt the curious sense of ¡®home¡¯ that had guided him through every moment of his life. The mountain was that way, and when he¡¯d stood at Raff¡¯s side, looking over the Cliff, it had been there, which meant¡­


    He crossed the room, took hold of the round handle of the door, and turned it in the way Lianhua had taught him when they went shopping in Wheldrake. It opened onto a plant-filled space, but rather than the brilliant blue sky he¡¯d left behind, the area overhead was filled with a dark vapor that seemed to be rising from the earth itself. As he watched, the ground split, red ki pouring out in a roiling cloud that shifted to gray as it merged with the mana already in the air.


    Everyone else poured out behind him, and even over the continuing noise, which had been joined by the sound of people screaming, he heard their exclamations. What did they see? Was there real smoke? Was the mana so thick that even they could finally see it? Or did it seem to them that the earth gaped into emptiness, released no stultifying power, threatened to crumble beneath them for no reason at all? Surely at least Lianhua could sense the presence rising from beneath them?


    ¡°There!¡± she cried, pointing at an arch of stone with a finger that was admirably steady. Kaz looked, but even from here he could tell that no power infused the dead gray rocks.


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    Turning, he used ¡®home¡¯ to orient himself. He couldn¡¯t see the way, but he knew. ¡°The bridge is that direction,¡± he howled, lifting his own finger. To his internal astonishment, it was as unwavering as hers.


    The words hung in the moment between one shattering rumble and the next, and Lianhua turned to look at him. Her gaze flicked to the inviting curve of stones, then toward the narrow path winding away between two bushes, their roots already exposed by crumbling dirt. She nodded.


    ¡°Lead the way,¡± she told him, and he did.


    They weren¡¯t the only people left on the failing pillar which had held the mage college. Most of those who remained wore simple black robes, and many sported wounds. They supported each other, limping or running with terrified or determined expressions. Almost all of them were moving in the same direction as Kaz.


    <I¡¯ll see what¡¯s ahead,> Li said, spreading her wings. Kaz sent agreement through their bond, along with an image of the wyvern they¡¯d seen in the city, a reminder to hide her forelimbs. Even now, it was best that no one see her true shape, beautiful as it was. It was bad enough that the two new human females had seen her.


    Li sent back amusement, pulling gently on their combined ki like a puppy tugging another pup¡¯s ear. Her forelegs shimmered slightly as she lifted into the air, the long curve of her body visibly more graceful than it had been just a few hours earlier. Her neck was definitely longer, and her legs seemed slimmer, the joints less rounded.


    Kaz felt a strange pang go through his chest as he watched the dragon rise through the clouds of mana and, possibly, smoke. He couldn¡¯t smell smoke, but the heat blazing upward from beneath them wasn¡¯t burning like firemoss, but more like the searing conflagration that was the sun. Did the sun produce smoke?


    The path they had started out following wanted to wander. It curved to the side, then returned to meander in the opposite direction, leading nowhere quickly. Kaz ignored it, bounding over anything short enough to jump, and circling the small trees and large bushes. Occasionally they passed statues, but most of these were already toppled or broken, scattered stones and smiling faces with empty eyes threatening to trip him as he ran.


    More and more humans surrounded them, and though at first he was worried that one of them would recognize Reina or Lianhua and attack them, they had their own problems at the moment. Even Kyla drew little more than odd looks, and a few times someone veered sharply away when they saw her. Kaz¡¯s group merged seamlessly with the mass of stumbling, shrieking humans, and soon his biggest problem was making sure he didn¡¯t leave anyone behind.


    <The bridge is broken,> Li told him. She sent him an image of rocks tumbling into open space, their invisible support finally, truly absent. A broad chasm yawned black between the low wall surrounding the mage college and the matching one around Cliffcross itself. A mass of humans stood on each side of the gap, staring in helpless horror at the opposite group.


    Kaz felt his jaw clench, and wished again for proper ears and a tail. He didn¡¯t know how to communicate his frustration and worry with this human body. Stepping to the side, he put out an arm, catching Yingtao as she ran. A flicker of amusement wormed its way through his fear when both Lianhua and Chi Yincang immediately halted as well. Kyla was only a bit behind them, with Mei perched on her shoulder, but Jinn and Reina took a little longer, their eyes following the flow of other humans running toward what they must assume was safety.


    Raising his voice, Kaz repeated what Li had told him. It was hard to make them understand when they could only hear a few of the words, and after a moment he stopped trying, just shaking his head as his mind raced. The only possible safety lay in the human city surrounding them, but how did they reach it?


    <Here!> Li called, excitement filling the link between them. A picture formed. A human, staring out over the distance, no different from the others except that he was separated from the rest of the horrified throng, rather than merging into it as the others seemed compelled to do. He was on the Cliffcross side, the safe side, and he held¡­


    A rope.


    It was Raff, and he had coils of rope looped around his body, draping from arms, torso, even his neck. It led up from the depths of the pit, and as Li flew closer, she could see the look of determination on Raff¡¯s face as he continued hauling it out, hand over hand. That rope was certainly strong enough to allow someone to cross the gap, but was it long enough? If it was, how could he possibly get it to them, even if he knew they were there? He was strong, but even he couldn¡¯t throw hundreds of pounds of rope more than five hundred feet.


    Turning, Kaz traced the glistening ribbon of ki that bound him to his dragon, motioning to the others as he did so. Li was flying toward Raff. Raff had a plan. There was a chance, but the first step was making sure they were in the right spot at the right time for everything to come together.


    The closer they got to the edge, the more cracks and crevices there were. These weren¡¯t as deep as the ones closer to the center, where ki rose up in reddish-gray clouds, but they opened unexpectedly, shooting through surfaces that seemed completely safe only a moment earlier. No doubt it was due to these unexpected fissures that so many of the humans around them were limping. More and more were simply sitting on the ground, weeping hopelessly.


    Kaz led his group around them, heading toward Li, watching through her eyes as Raff finally pulled up the end of the rope. The grass around him was covered in loops and coils, and Kaz felt a stirring of hope. Raff pulled his massive sword from where it was hidden in his storage pouch. With a few quick tugs, he tied the rope around the hilt, then let a few feet of rope slip between his fingers, swinging the dangling sword as if judging its weight and balance.


    Kaz could see the moment when the large male realized Li was there. His eyes widened, and a huge grin split his face, white teeth flashing. He lifted his free hand in greeting, and Li dipped down, curving around him once in an easy loop that took her back out over the chasm, heading directly for Kaz and his friends.


    Raff followed the line of her flight, then waved again, this time a broad swing of his arm, meant to be seen from a distance. Kaz, who had just stepped up beside the final wall encircling the crumbling college, waved back. Soon, all of them were waving and shouting, though there was no way Raff could possibly hear or understand them over the cacophony of breaking which now seemed to be coming from immediately beneath their feet.


    With a final wave, Raff stepped back, bracing his feet. Letting out a bit more rope, he began to swing the sword. At first it was slow, but soon enough it whirled so quickly that it might make even Chi Yincang proud. At last, with a staggering lurch, Raff released the rope, sending the sword flying toward them, straight and true.


    It fell short. Not by much. A hundred feet? Eighty? The gleaming bolt slowed, then began to fall, arching down into the boiling depths. Raff could pull it back in and try again, but it would take time, and Kaz¡¯s feet were burning, as was his core.


    Li plunged after the tumbling rope. Unthinking, Kaz lunged after her, very nearly vaulting over the wall and into the red darkness. Only Chi Yincang¡¯s hand wrapped around his upper arm stopped him, and Kaz snapped useless human teeth at the black-haired male as he felt Li¡¯s claws close around the rope. She was too small, too young, too weak! A dragon, yes, but just a hatchling, a pup at best, and she would be pulled down, down to whatever was coming for them all.


    Kaz¡¯s knees grew weak as he felt a terrible pull on their bond. Ki drained out of him like water from a shattered bowl. But Li rose up, the rope clutched in claws that were barely large enough to close all the way around it. The sword was now an impediment, rather than a guide, but she carried that, too, ki burning through her, through them, as their cores strained to keep up.


    The sword fell, and the dragon with it, but Kaz stretched out his hand and caught Li as Chi Yincang caught the hilt of the weapon. Kaz fell back, clutching his dragon to his chest, and Chi Yincang began to pull in the rope.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-six

    By the time Kaz looked up from his exhausted dragon, Chi Yincang had already leaped to the highest point nearby. This was a decorative pillar that had so far resisted breaking, no doubt due to the sturdiness of the wall it was a part of. Chi Yincang pulled the rope taut, tied it off, then tied it to the next pillar as well, just in case the first gave way. This used another twenty or thirty feet of the dwindling length of the rope, but made it less likely the rope would be lost in the pit if it did come free.


    As soon as this was done, the dark male lifted his sister beneath one arm, his lady beneath the other, and bounded away, toes barely touching the rope, which vibrated beneath their combined weight, but didn¡¯t fail. Kaz had never seen Chi Yincang use so much ki at once, but it was clear that he had no intention of leaving either of the females behind, whether they liked it or not. Indeed, Lianhua was obviously incensed, since she screamed the entire way across.


    This left Li, Kaz, Kyla, Mei, Jinn, and Reina to fend for themselves. Kaz wasn¡¯t too worried, however, until he noticed that some of the humans around them had seen Chi Yincang¡¯s escape. One by one, gazes were turning toward the rope, then their little group, and Kaz had a feeling that desperation might soon lead some of them to make choices that he would regret.


    It was hard to summon even the bare hint of ki necessary to open his storage pouch. It had been so long since he had to think about it that he fumbled in the empty bag for a moment he couldn¡¯t afford to waste. Then Li lifted her head and pushed the small amount of ki she¡¯d managed to recover into him, and a spark leaped from his fingers to the pouch.


    Kaz pulled his fuulong silk loincloth from the bag. It was too bulky to wear beneath his pants, so he¡¯d stored it away, but there was nothing else that he could be sure would survive what he was about to do.


    Reluctantly, he took one more cycle worth of ki from Li, who hissed softly in his arms. He had no choice, though. Not if he wanted to save all of their lives. Clambering up on the wall, he tossed one end of the long piece of cloth over the rope, then tied that end to the other, forming a circle with the unbreakable rope in the middle.


    Reaching down, he held out his hand. Kyla ignored it, using her claws to climb up beside him, then grasp the loincloth herself. Jinn lifted Reina, and Kaz grasped the female¡¯s too-fragile hand. There was no space left on the wall, so he settled her into the sling he¡¯d created, then helped Jinn up as well.


    By now, several of the nearby humans were running toward them, yelling something Kaz couldn¡¯t understand, but Kaz just made sure that his females were settled as firmly as he could get them. This wouldn¡¯t be comfortable for any of them, but no one would be left behind. He truly wished he could help some of the other humans, but before he could even think about that, he had to get the ones he was already responsible for to safety.


    Kaz couldn¡¯t hold Li while getting them across, so he placed her on his shoulder, winding her tail around his throat and arm. Its grip wasn¡¯t as tight as usual, and he sent her concern, along with an image of a brilliant little dragon falling into a black abyss. She opened one eye, though he felt her focus more than saw it, since her head and neck were draped across his shoulders.


    <I¡¯ll make it,> she told him, and closed her eye again. He could feel her determination, as well as hear her muttering, <Just hold on,> over and over to herself.


    She would. She had to. And if she didn¡¯t, Kaz would plunge into those depths after her, and they would face whatever was there together.


    Two humans were attempting to climb the wall now. They both seemed to have injured their legs, probably tripping over the uneven ground, which was hindering their efforts. One of them was fumbling for a mana-stick, however, and though it was puny in comparison to the ones used by the mages below, Kaz had no energy left for even a simple shield.


    ¡°Go!¡± Kyla barked, grabbing at the two human females. A shield flickered into place around them. It was worryingly weak and patchy, but it was there, and Kaz swung their loop of cloth away from the pillar to which they had clung. A few pebbles fell away beneath the sudden shift, but Kaz pushed off with his feet, and they were free.


    Jinn and Reina shrieked, Kyla yipped once, and then all three fell silent as they flew through the air over a chasm filled with boiling red ki and shadows blacker than any others Kaz had ever seen. The rope angled down, leading toward its anchor at the bottom of the stairs created by Raff¡¯s friend. It wasn¡¯t much of an angle, but it was enough, and the fuulong silk glided down the rope as its unexpected passengers twisted in the wind created by their passing.


    Kaz craned his neck to look behind them. The humans were already stripping down, using their long black robes to create a much smaller version of what Kaz had done. It wouldn¡¯t be long before they were in the air as well, though Kaz was afraid that the rubbing of fabric over rope would cause any normal material to give way before they could reach safety. Still, he hoped at least some of them made it.


    Unfortunately, while the pillar to which the rope was attached might be the most stable thing remaining, that didn¡¯t make it stable enough to support them all. If - when - it broke, the second pillar might hold them or it might not, and Kaz had to be ready to grab the rope and the loincloth if they began to fall. At that point, it would be up to the females to hang on, because he couldn¡¯t catch them all.


    The first human tumbled from their makeshift sling, but the second managed to hang on as they began to slide away from the mage college. They didn¡¯t move as quickly as Kaz¡¯s group, but there was already a third human readying themself for departure.


    He felt the rope dip, a ripple going through as it developed a little slack. Then the pillar toppled to the ground, several humans fell with it, and the rope snapped taut again as the second pillar took the weight and held. Kaz clutched convulsively at the material to which he clung, as did Jinn and Kyla. Li¡¯s tail remained snug, and Mei¡¯s little nose quivered from within Kyla¡¯s robes.


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    Reina¡­ slipped. Kaz barely managed to grab onto the human princess as she slid backwards, nearly falling free of the sling. He had to channel ki into fingers that still felt too weak in order to keep hold of her, but he did it, and then wooden boards slammed into them. They fell into a tangle on the small platform hanging over the depths. Depths which were rising up to meet them.


    The sounds of destruction were less immediate here. Less threatening. Less terrible. Kaz rolled to his side, leaning up on his elbow so he wouldn¡¯t crush Li, and watched the continuing eradication of the once awe-inspiring mage college.


    ¡°Up we go,¡± said Raff, his cheerful words belied by the strain in his tone. Strong hands slid beneath Kaz¡¯s arms and lifted him up. In a matter of moments, the big man had done the same to the rest, only pausing when he realized that one of the females was his sister. Raff clutched her to him, something that might have been a sob slipping from him, but then returned to helping them all up the stairs and away from the platform.


    ¡°There¡¯re more comin¡¯,¡± Raff said as he led them up the steps. ¡°Someone started organizin¡¯ over there, so they tied the rope off again, and only a few people are crossin¡¯ at a time. It¡¯s a mess, though. They¡¯re not all gonna make it. Not by a long shot. Best we can do now is get out of the way.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s face was streaked with tears when Kaz saw her. She ran straight to him and hugged him tight, then reached out and gathered Kyla in as well. The pup stiffened against the embrace at first, then relaxed into it, giving a soft yip of joy at being reunited.


    Even when Lianhua turned to give Chi Yincang a withering glare, she didn¡¯t release the two kobolds. She didn¡¯t say anything, either, but Kaz had a feeling those words had already been exchanged. Exhausted creases bracketed the dark male¡¯s mouth and a line divided his brows. He held his sister¡¯s hand, and she in her turn looked like she wanted to protest this, but no longer had the energy to do so.


    Kaz felt the pressure that had been beneath him now pounding at his back. It was insistent, pushing at his ki in something that was almost the exact opposite of what the humans did when they cultivated. Rather than stealing his ki, it forced his core to produce more, especially red, and after Li nearly drained both of them of all five colors, having such an influx of only one was throwing him more and more off balance. He felt strangely angry, even though he should be feeling only relief.


    Turning, he looked out over the Cliff, which was a cliff in truth now. Far from being a smooth, unnatural column, the pillar beneath the mage college - what he could see of it - was a twisted, decayed mess. Chunks fell away, leading to other pieces dropping after them, and whatever organization Raff had seen around the use of the rope had already fallen apart. The drooping rope was littered with dangling bodies and empty loops of cloth, which prevented those who might otherwise have made it from proceeding.


    Fury. Not at the waste of life, not at whatever was going on that had nearly cost them their own, but an absolute rage. He was trapped. Trapped in this city, by these humans, by greed, by-


    The ground of the mage college split. Magma became lava as it it poured forth, fountaining up into a shape like a blazing, outstretched wing. Which was joined by a second, matching wing. Even from a distance it was huge, the spread feathers seeming to reach from one side of the pillar of land to the other. Another arch of lava formed a great head on a long, graceful neck. Flames sprang up in a ruff of burning feathers that surrounded the head as a blazing beak opened and a scream split the air.


    This. This was what Kaz had been hearing. Feeling. Power roiled off of it, burning away into clouds of mana like obsidian smoke lit with embers of fiery ki. The red ki in Kaz¡¯s abdomen boiled up in response, and he felt Li stiffen on his shoulder. She raised her own wings, spreading them wide, and roared. A gout of flame erupted from her throat, startling them both into a moment of clarity.


    Beside them, Kyla had no such respite. She lifted her muzzle, howling as flames seemed to swell from her body. Rather than burning her, it looked like her fur had regrown into gold and orange glory, making her seem to be a second incarnation of fire.


    The blazing bird was the first. It flapped its wings, lifting from the ground, and lava flowed from the gaping hole it left behind. It screamed again and again, struggling against the grip of the earth until only its legs and tail remained hidden.


    Anger. Fury. Desperation. Indignation. A savage kind of madness that nearly managed to hide the pain. This thing was hurt. Worse, someone had intentionally hurt it. Hurt it again and again, until it had finally almost given up. Almost given in.


    But it. Would. Not.


    WOULD NOT.


    This time when the bird-creature shrieked its defiance, something else answered. Not a scream but a hiss. Li¡¯s hisses were nothing but the squealing of an overheated pot in comparison. The ground shook. The earth rippled, and water fountained up just as lava had done such a short time before, only this time it wasn¡¯t out on the hovering pillar. No, this time it was in the city. Less than a hundred yards from Kaz and the others.


    A black-scaled serpent slid from the hole created by the water. If Heishe had seemed large when Kaz met her in her cave, now she was colossal. To Kaz¡¯s eyes, she looked like she was made of pure black ki, power made flesh, and her coils could crush the city in less time than it took to imagine the destruction it would wreak. Heishe rose up, a hood spreading flat behind her head, blocking the sun. She slithered on a river of water contained by nothing, gliding through liquid ki, across open air in order to reach the mage¡¯s sanctuary.


    The snake wrapped around the bird, and for a moment, Kaz thought they would do battle, utterly eradicating anything and anyone nearby. Instead, the coils of the serpent slid down within the lava-filled hole still restraining the feathered creature, and something snapped.


    Fire undulated, and the bird rose, free at last. Something dark, metallic but also not, crumbled from its leg as it rose into the air. It screamed again.


    Triumph. Pride. Exultation. The ki in Kaz¡¯s body shifted, and unable to resist, he raised his face to the sky and howled. Kyla, Li, and even Mei joined him, their voices soaring up to meet the bird¡¯s screech. Together, they howled the joy of freedom.


    <enough,> a mild voice said, and the bird¡¯s celebratory song ceased as he turned to glare at the snake.


    <I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE,> a new voice said, and Kaz knew it was the bird.


    <yessss,> Heishe agreed laconically. <but not yet. come.>


    Her enormous body twisted, shrank, vanished somewhere in the shattered remains of the mage college. The bird hung in the air, his wings so wide that an eerie red glow fell over the human city, while its residents huddled, desperately hoping not to be seen. Then he, too, shrank, though he flew up and disappeared into the brilliance of the unmasked sun.


    Compared to the commotion of the last¡­however long it had been, the lingering cracking of the earth and the gushing of water from the hole Heishe had left behind were like the gentle howls parents sang to their pups at bedtime. Kaz¡¯s throat was sore from his own howling, but he felt oddly powerful, filled with far more ki than he should have been able to produce in the short time since he¡¯d been drained.


    ¡°Well,¡± Raff finally said, breaking what wasn¡¯t quite silence. ¡°Anyone care to fill me in?"

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-seven

    Now that the bird was gone, at least as far as Kaz could tell, the terrible pressure of its power ceased pushing at their cores, which quickly settled back into their normal cycles. Out on what was left of the mage college, some kind of uneasy peace seemed to have been reached, and the black-robed figures were sitting in huddled groups, apparently waiting for someone to organize a rescue. No one tried the rope, which was filled with empty black cloth loops and no surviving humans.


    Seeing that there was nothing they could really do to help, their small group moved a little ways away, on the other side of the nearby house, then sat down and watched as water continued to flow out of Heishe¡¯s tunnel and into the pit. Everyone was exhausted, and it took a while before anyone spoke.


    ¡°So, what in Pellis¡¯ p-,¡± Raff coughed softly and glanced from Lianhua to the princess. ¡°Pockets happened to you, Jinn?¡±


    Jinn had been sitting beside him, leaning her head against his thickly muscled arm. Now she flinched a little and sat up, also looking toward Reina. The princess gave a small sigh, then nodded, and Jinn began to speak.


    ¡°We don¡¯t actually know,¡± she said. Then her cheeks darkened and she plucked a blade of grass from near her feet. ¡°Well, we do, a bit. My year of service was almost up, and Rei and I¡­ We just wanted to have a little fun. My wedding was scheduled almost as soon as I got home, and Reina had barely even been allowed outside the palace grounds. So we decided to, ah, sneak out.¡±


    Beside her, Lianhua smiled slightly and looked at Yingtao. The other female started to look away, then glanced in turn toward her brother, straightened her shoulders, and smiled back at Lianhua. It was a brilliant smile, and Lianhua¡¯s cheeks glowed almost as brightly as her eyes when she returned it. Their hands crept toward each other in the grass, until Yingtao¡¯s forefingers just touched Lianhua¡¯s.


    Kaz shook his head. He didn¡¯t understand everything that was going unsaid - didn¡¯t really want to understand, if he was being honest - but it seemed to him that it would go a lot more smoothly if they would all just use more words. Except Chi Yincang. That male had undoubtedly used up his words for the day. Or perhaps Raff could trade him a few?


    ¡°Someone attacked you on the street? Abducted you?¡± Raff asked, frowning.


    Jinn sighed. ¡°No. It went¡­really well. We went shopping, danced, attended a festival, just generally had fun. Did the things friends do, you know? Everything was fine. In fact, we went out a few times, and no one had a clue.¡± She grinned, and her resemblance to Raff was suddenly plain to see. ¡°I even entered a knife-throwing contest. And won!¡±


    Raff grinned back, clapping a huge hand against her shoulder so she lurched forward with a soft grunt. ¡°Good job!¡± he said. ¡°Knew you had it in you. So where¡¯d it go wrong?¡±


    It was Reina who answered, voice soft. ¡°We left a note, just in case someone did figure out what we were doing. We knew it¡¯d mean the end of our adventures, but we didn¡¯t want anyone to worry.¡± Jinn snorted a little, but let her friend speak.


    ¡°One night we pushed our luck too far. We went into the Mercenary District for the competition, and it seemed fine. But then we stayed too late, and found out carriages don¡¯t go into that area after midnight,¡± Reina said. ¡°We had to walk, and it took hours. Someone must have found our note, because when we got back to the tree we used to climb over the wall, there were men waiting.¡±


    Jinn crossed her arms over her chest protectively. ¡°They may have looked like men, but they weren¡¯t,¡± she said stubbornly, and Kaz had a feeling this was an argument they¡¯d had many times before.


    Reina sighed. ¡°They wore armor, but they were too tall for dwarves, and too short and wide for elves. There are a few other humanoid races in Holiander, but none who could pass so convincingly.¡±


    Raff¡¯s sister looked away, conceding the point, at least for now, and said, ¡°When we saw them, we assumed they were there to take us back to the royal quarters so our parents could chastise us. But instead, they just¡­ attacked. I had my knives, and Reina her magic, so we fought them off, but we couldn¡¯t reach the palace.¡±


    ¡°Over the next week, we tried everything we could think of,¡± Reina said, picking up the story. ¡°We sent notes to friends and family, hired people to carry messages, tried turning up at Hillcroft manor, even stood at the palace gates and yelled.¡± She shook her head. ¡°No matter what we did, who we spoke to, the moment we came out of hiding, those soldiers were there.¡±


    Raff leaned forward, frowning. ¡°Soldiers? Not mercs? What kinda armor did they wear? What weapons did they use?¡±


    The two females exchanged glances. ¡°Soldiers, we think?¡± Jinn said. ¡°There were always at least five, and they worked together like they, I don¡¯t know, really understood each other. The way units of soldiers who practice together constantly do, not like individuals who happen to be doing the same job.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t wear anything particularly unusual,¡± Reina added. ¡°Cloaks with normal armor, not too heavy. More leather than metal. But they always have helmets or hoods.¡± She cupped her hand and slid it down over her face. ¡°You can¡¯t see even an inch of skin, and their eyes are shadowed. They could be anyone.¡±


    ¡°Or anything,¡± Jinn muttered, then said, ¡°Some used short swords, but the majority fought with knives or crossbows. Lots of crossbows. If we could see three, there were probably another two or three hiding in trees or on rooftops. That¡¯s how they got Reina.¡±


    The princess gingerly touched the spot where she¡¯d been injured, looking surprised when it didn¡¯t hurt too badly. ¡°We¡¯d stopped trying to get messages through after being ambushed half a dozen times, but somehow they always turned up anyway. So we thought if we sent a message saying we would be at one place, and expected that it would be intercepted, then we could turn up at another while they waited for us at the first.¡±


    Jinn nodded. ¡°We sent a letter to Gil saying we were going to try reaching Mom and Da at home again, but instead we tried leaving the city, hoping we could catch you on your way back from Mt. Scarabus. It was the first time we ever tried just going away entirely, but we didn¡¯t even make it to the gate.¡±


    Reina winced, touching her ribs again. She was still wearing the remains of the ragged, blood-stained shirt, and Kaz could see the red, puffy skin through the torn area. He leaned forward, nose twitching as he tried to smell infection beneath the scent of jejing, and the human female pulled away from him. He tilted his head, looking at her flushed cheeks. Was she getting a fever again?


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    ¡°I¡­ They shot me,¡± Reina said, her voice squeaking a little. ¡°Always before, they went for Jinn first. She got hurt a few times. It seemed like they were trying to capture me, and we were able to get away because they were reluctant to risk injuring me. But this time, one of them just stood up on a roof and shot me.¡± She sounded like a puppy who¡¯d eaten duyu when she expected yumao, as if it was the plant¡¯s fault for being poisonous, rather than her own for not knowing the difference.


    Jinn bit her lip. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to do,¡± she admitted. ¡°We were out of money, almost out of food, Reina was hurt, and we had no idea who to trust. I saw an open sewer grate, and we just¡­went in. It wasn¡¯t that bad, really, at least as long as we stayed away from certain areas, but no matter what I did, Reina just kept getting worse.¡±


    Both females looked over at Kyla, who was eating some hardtack Raff had had in his storage. Almost everyone had had a little, but the young kobold actually seemed to be enjoying it, as did her fuergar. In fact, Kyla had mostly been ignoring the story in favor of eating, but she looked up when she felt eyes on her.


    Jinn gave the young kobold a broad smile. ¡°And then Kyla and Mei found us. Kyla said she knew Raff, and then the incursion happened, and the flood, and we were swept away to the incinerator. But somehow she and the dragon,¡± Jinn said this last word with a tone of disbelief, her gaze falling on Li, who was napping in Kaz¡¯s lap, ¡°got through and stopped the flames so we could escape. And you know the rest.¡±


    Raff reached up and rubbed his face, groaning softly. ¡°I have a feelin¡¯ there¡¯s a lot you¡¯ve left out, kiddo, but I guess it¡¯s a start. Now,¡± he looked at Lianhua. ¡°How ¡®bout you? Last I heard, you were goin¡¯ to the palace to get Yingtao. Obviously that part went all right, but what happened to attendin¡¯ parties and trying to suss out what happened to Jinn by talkin¡¯ to people?¡±


    Lianhua grimaced, clearly not ready to have everyone¡¯s attention turn to her. Yingtao¡¯s fingers edged closer, one lying gently atop Lianhua¡¯s, while the others slid beneath. It was barely a grasp at all, but Lianhua¡¯s shoulders straightened, and her chin lifted.


    ¡°Yingtao and I were safe in the palace when the incursion started. We sent Chi Yincang out to help, hoping to garner some trust and favor from the royal family by assisting in repelling the monsters. We should have been entirely safe in our rooms, especially with guards standing at the door,¡± Lianhua said, the corners of her eyes crinkling with tired humor.


    ¡°A courtier came, claiming he¡¯d been sent to bring us to safety,¡± she went on. ¡°But he failed to specify where that safety might lie, so I did as anyone might, and insisted we go to the mage college at once.¡±


    Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Who was it?¡± he asked.


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°He didn¡¯t say, but on the way, we met a woman whom he called Countess Greer. In return, she named him Lord Palmer.¡±


    Kaz noticed that Lianhua was speaking more stiffly than usual. Was that because she was uncomfortable, or because someone of higher rank was listening? Not that the human princess seemed to mind Raff¡¯s much more relaxed manner, or Chi Yincang¡¯s abrupt questions, for that matter.


    Jinn¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Palmer is one of Prince Philip¡¯s cronies. The countess is¡­¡± She shook her head, uncertain.


    ¡°She¡¯s Father¡¯s first cousin once removed,¡± Reina said. ¡°I¡¯ve only met her twice, because she spends most of her time rusticating.¡± She saw Kaz and Kyla¡¯s confusion and explained. ¡°She always claims to be in poor health, so she comes into Cliffcross once every few years to shop and tell everyone how terrible she feels, then returns to her country estate. I have no idea why she¡¯d be here now.¡±


    Lianhua frowned. ¡°She said something about being in the country when we passed through last month. But she didn¡¯t look ill. Of course, it would be hard to tell beneath all the makeup and the heavy clothes everyone has taken to wearing.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s feelin¡¯ better. Maybe she¡¯s here for the tournament.¡±


    Reina shook her head. ¡°I do remember that. Earl Greer comes every year and stays in the palace. Alone. He says blood makes Countess Greer feel faint.¡±


    Yingtao lifted a single brow. ¡°Not this lady,¡± she said firmly. ¡°I believe she would have been quite comfortable seeing our blood.¡±


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°There was a portal in the garden outside. It, ah,¡± she glanced at Jinn and Reina, ¡°well, Lord Palmer and the Countess claimed it was powered during emergencies. Yingtao signaled that there were other assailants approaching, so we were forced to do the one thing they weren¡¯t expecting. We ran through the portal, but  just before we did, we used a skill which allowed us to hide for a very brief period. There were several mages waiting for us on the other side, but they weren¡¯t ready yet, and of course they couldn¡¯t see us. We ran around them and onto the grounds of the mage school.¡±


    She smiled apologetically at Chi Yincang. ¡°I hoped the talisman you used to track me to the mosui city was still working, so we simply found a relatively safe place and hid. I will say someone was very eager to find us. I think the only reason we made it is because most of the strongest mages were fighting the incursion and then calling the rain. Every other mage was certainly searching for us.¡±


    The corner of Chi Yincang¡¯s mouth twitched, and he lifted the talisman from within his robes. ¡°Your grandfather felt it was best to take no chances.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know,¡± Lianhua said dryly, turning her hand to grip Yingtao¡¯s fingers.


    Raff shook his head, ignoring the byplay. ¡°So, here we are.¡±


    Everyone turned to look at him, and he coughed uncomfortably. ¡°I mean, what do we do now? We got everybody back together, nobody¡¯s dead, but we also don¡¯t know who or what we¡¯re up against. How are they findin¡¯ the girls, and how can we get ¡®em home safely? Obviously the palace itself isn¡¯t safe, if at least some of the nobles are in on it, though this Countess sounds like a pretty big stretch as a conspirator.¡±


    ¡°Maybe she wasn¡¯t the real countess?¡± Lianhua asked. ¡°Looking back, I¡¯m certain they were in on it together, and of the two of them, she was certainly the calmer one. Like she¡¯d attempted to capture or kill people in a garden during an incursion many times before.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not the Countess Greer I remember,¡± Reina said. ¡°She was¡­fluffy. Her hair, her clothes, even these little fluttering motions she¡¯d make with her hands.¡± She waved her own fingers in the air, wrist limp.


    ¡°So if Lianhua¡¯s right, then whoever she was, she¡¯s an expert impersonator,¡± Raff said. ¡°I expect if she¡¯d been after Reina - uh, her highness, here - she¡¯d have acted just like the real countess, right up until the end. Since Lianhua and Yingtao never met the woman, she didn¡¯t bother.¡±


    Yingtao looked thoughtful. ¡°While I sensed more than saw the people closing in on us, I could tell they were wearing helmets of some kind, and their outlines were right for light armor.¡±


    ¡°So maybe we¡¯re dealing with one large, well-organized group?¡± Lianhua said. ¡°And they¡¯ve infiltrated both the government and the mages. Or at least someone with the power to command the mages.¡±


    ¡°Fabian,¡± Reina whispered, her eyes shining. When everyone looked at her, she said, ¡°The mage. The one he killed.¡± She glanced at Chi Yincang, who looked back, impassive. ¡°He was my cousin. When our parents realized we both had mana, we had lessons together. Of course, I couldn¡¯t go to the mage college, so I haven¡¯t seen him in two or three years, but¡­we were friends. He never would have betrayed me.¡±


    She looked around for reassurance, and for some reason, her eyes met Kaz¡¯s. He had nothing to add to the conversation, and his proximity seemed to make her uncomfortable, so he¡¯d shifted toward the back of the group. Now the female¡¯s blue eyes seemed to plead with him, so he gave her an awkward smile, though his ears would have been flat against his head if he¡¯d had proper ones.


    <i can explain some of it,> a voice said into their minds, and they all whipped around, staring at the tiny black snake that had just crawled over the edge of the pit by which they sat.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-eight (END Book Four)

    This version of Heishe was no more than eighteen inches long, and her head was about the width of Kaz¡¯s thumb. No hood flared behind her small skull, and when her tongue flickered out, Kaz could make out curved rows of smaller teeth, rather than the menacing fangs that were there before. If Kaz hadn¡¯t been able to see the dense black ki packed into that small body, he would have said she was cute.


    The little snake slithered across the ground toward them, leaving a damp trail in the grass. The humans drew back, and Lianhua¡¯s face went white, causing Yingtao to give her a concerned look. Mei flattened her body in the grass, and Kyla¡¯s flickering shield rose around her and the fuergar.


    <have no fear,> Heishe hissed, sounding distinctly amused. <i am only here because i believe that our paths align, at least for the moment.>


    Raff had stood, and now his hand rested on the hilt of the sword Chi Yincang had returned to him. Anyone looking at him from the outside would have believed that he was vastly overreacting to the presence of such a small serpent, but for those in the group, the pressure of Heishe¡¯s power was such that Kaz was impressed the large human was even able to offer an appearance of threat.


    ¡°I hate to say it,¡± Raff said, voice hoarse, ¡°but that¡¯s exactly what someone might say right before they tried to eat us.¡±


    Heishe gave her hissing laugh. <if i wanted to eat you, you would be in my belly, mortal. now sit.>


    Raff sat.


    The snake moved without haste, gliding close enough that Kaz could have reached out and touched her before she coiled into a gleaming curve, head raised just enough to look at them all. Not a single one of them, human, kobold, or other, moved. Except Li.


    The dragon opened her eyes, which were no longer covered by white caps. Kaz had been absently picking the loose skin from her body for a while now, and she was nearly back to her usual shining perfection. All sign of her injuries had vanished, and her newly revealed scales had added a subtle gradient of deep red around her front paws.


    <Are you the snake who stole my Kaz?> Li demanded, a cloud of smoky vapor forming in front of her slender nose. Of course, no one could hear her except Kaz and Heishe, but the dragon¡¯s posture was clearly belligerent.


    Fortunately, Heishe just laughed again, her tongue flicking out to taste the drifting cloud. <and also the serpent who helped you put the fire in your belly, little dragon. i appreciate your loyalty, but you need not turn your jealousy in my direction. i have no designs on your puppy.>


    Kaz was still coming to terms with the idea that he was an adult, no matter what his chief might say, and he didn¡¯t really appreciate being called a puppy again. Still, he had a feeling that everyone there, possibly everyone in the city, might well be pups to this being.


    The snake¡¯s head wove slowly back and forth, her dark eyes meeting each of theirs until she finally gave a small nod. <let me tell you a story.>


    Raff jumped slightly as the voice entered his mind, then muttered something that might have been, ¡°Of course it¡¯s Pellis-cursed story time again,¡± but otherwise no one protested. Even Li settled back into Kaz¡¯s lap, and he sensed something through their bond that might have been chagrin.


    <long ago, when the world was young,> the tiny snake said, <the great Elder asked for the best of his creations to act as guardians while he went to explore the planes. so many volunteered that he held a contest to determine who would serve. in the end, twelve were chosen, and they stayed while others went on, maintaining the balance and keeping the peace.>


    Lianhua let out a soft sigh, and her fingers twitched, but she didn¡¯t take out one of her books.


    <their story is long, and not relevant at this time,> Heishe went on, <until around a thousand turnings of the world ago. that is when one of the twelve disappeared.>


    She hesitated, as if reluctant to share the rest, but went on at last. <the Elder gave his guardians great power, but they are not invincible. they are also individuals, with their own needs and personalities. in this case, the missing creature had a tendency to wander. as a result, it took far too long for the other eleven to realize that the twelfth wasn¡¯t simply resting somewhere until he was needed. in fact, it was only when another vanished that they realized the truth.>


    She released a hissing sigh, her chin coming to rest on the smooth black coils of her body. <someone,> she said, <was hunting them.>


    <I told you so!> a strident voice screeched. A bird came diving from above, seeming to appear out of the setting sun. It settled clumsily to the ground beside the snake, a few of its bedraggled feathers falling to rest on the grass. It was far from the majestic creature which had nearly destroyed the mage¡¯s college, but Kaz had no doubt it was one and the same, since he could see the red ki that formed its body, feel it pushing against his core in a way that Heishe either couldn¡¯t or chose not to. Probably the latter, from what little he knew of the serpent.


    ¡°A rooster?¡± Lianhua murmured, her voice full of wonder. When everyone turned to look at her, she flushed a deep red and shook her head, indicating that she was done speaking.


    <yesssss, fengji,> Heishe sighed. <we know. i have apologized a hundred times since then.>


    The rooster scratched at the dirt, pecking sharply at a blade of grass. <Then this will be the hundred and first,> he said sharply. <If you had all listened to me the first time->


    <was sssaving you not enough?> Heishe asked almost plaintively.


    <I was saving myself!> the rooster, Fengji, snapped. <All you did was prevent me from reducing this city to rubble.>


    <and in so doing, possibly save one or more of the others,> Heishe said.


    Fengji let out an annoyed squawk. <There are no more of our kind here,> he said. <If there were, I would know.> One beady red-brown eye settled on Li, then Kaz. <Though I suppose it would have been poor thanks to kill those who truly did free me.>


    Strutting forward, the bird¡¯s ruffled neck feathers lifted, framing his head in bright oranges and reds. He stretched out both wings, tilting forward in a kind of bow. Toward Li.


    <I thank thee for destroying the heart of that which bound me,> he said. <I had grown tired of waiting for this supercilious serpent to figure out I was right beneath her nose. The last eight hundred years have been an exercise in tedium.>


    Kaz assumed he was the only one who could sense the warm rush of embarrassed pleasure that ran through his dragon. There was no doubt her scales would have turned as pink as Kyla¡¯s former fur if they could have. Rather than melting down into a pleased puddle of scales, however, she lifted her own head, arched her neck just so, and nodded magnanimously.


    Kaz was certain that she had no more idea what she¡¯d done to earn the bird¡¯s thanks than he did, but he was usually the first to tell her what a good job she did anyway. This time, however, watching the way the Divine Beast - if that was what Heishe and Fengji were - was bowing before his dragon, Kaz felt a hint of some hot emotion light in his belly. Not in his core, but in some part of him that was more basic even than that.


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    The bird turned a wicked eye on Kaz and straightened from his obsequious bow. <Well enough to you as well, young hound. Yon fair maid is safe from me.>


    Kaz blinked, the warmth in his gut dissipating into confusion. What had the bird just called him? Or Li, for that matter?


    <may i finish?> Heishe said, sounding both amused and annoyed.


    Fengji¡¯s feathers puffed up, but he nodded and strutted back to the serpent¡¯s side. Settling in place, he began to groom his feathers, which were more than a bit patchy and tattered.


    <now that this arrogant avian has interrupted my story,> Heishe hissed, though there was no real heat behind it, <you may guess that many more of the twelve guardians have been lost. so far as i know, this brainless bird and i are the only ones left, though i have recently had reason to hope for more.>


    The snake glanced at Kaz as Lianhua almost vibrated with excitement beside him. The human female was barely managing to restrain herself, especially after this tacit acknowledgement that Heishe and Fengji were indeed two of the ancient creatures chosen to protect their world.


    <you may assssk yourselves, however, what this has to do with you, and your concerns for those you love,> Heishe went on, and both Reina and Jinn nodded, their eyes bright with astonishment and hope.


    <i believe that what is happening in this city is related to what happened to our lost friends and companions,> the serpent went on. <the simple fact that this foolish fowl was here is evidence of this, but i also find an uncomfortable familiarity in what is happening. you see, i, too, was never able to find out exactly who our enemy was, or how they were capturing or killing us.>


    The rooster bobbed his head in agreement. <They are able to conceal their ki, their very presence. Even from us, which should be impossible.>


    Kaz frowned a bit, wondering what that meant, and Heishe explained, though he had a feeling she was choosing her words carefully. <as the guardians of this world, every being alive is under our aegis. though even we cannot watch all of you at all times, so we divide up the responsibility in ways that make sense given our personalities and abilities. no creature created by the great Elder should be invisible to us.>


    Kaz felt a chill run down his spine as the snake¡¯s eyes came to rest on him. If he still had fur, it would be standing straight up. ¡°Are there¡­any creatures not created by this Elder?¡± he asked.


    If reptilian lips could smile, he thought Heishe might have done so. <until a few centuries ago, i would have said no. then, as i sought my vanished brothers and sisters, i met one of your kind. a female, and one who was, perhaps, slightly less coherent than you. ssssstill, i was able to speak to her, and she told me of a mountain where her kind were plentiful. she no longer remembered the way back, however, and so i have spent quite some time finding my way here.>


    ¡°You think kobolds are responsible for-¡± Kaz choked, looking around to see that everyone was watching him now, though the newer members of the group looked very confused. ¡°Everything?¡±


    The serpent¡¯s tongue flickered thoughtfully. <not exactly,> she said. <though i can only sense one of your kind when you are nearby and interact directly with my strongest element. this may give you the opportunity to sneak up on one of us, but, and i mean this in the kindest possible way, you are yet clay beneath the raging river of my power, and i was not the strongest of us.>


    ¡°We¡¯re not strong enough to do this,¡± Kaz interpreted, and actually felt relieved at the thought. She was right. Compared to the enormous depth of power in the snake and rooster, even he was little more than a clump of moss, clinging to a cavern wall, hoping not to be eaten.


    <you are not,> Heishe confirmed. <but i do believe that you, or some of your kind, were involved in the loss of my companions, and that this was accomplished in much the same way that the human leaders of this country are being made to disappear.>


    Jinn frowned. ¡°Um, I¡¯m really sorry, Lady Snake, but that¡¯s not right. No one has disappeared except for us.¡±


    Heishe turned her amusement on the human female. <that is not right, little mortal. i have been investigating for several centuries now, and have become quite good at it. there is no doubt that most, perhaps even all, of the human royalty of this country have gone missing and been replaced by beings i cannot sense or see with anything other than my physical eyes.>


    The rooster bobbed his head again. <Every now and again, the kings of this country would come to renew my bonds. If it hadn¡¯t been so irritating, I would almost have been grateful for the break in the monotony. One of the reasons I was able to escape today was because the last time the creature pretending to be your king came, whatever it is that keeps him hidden actually made those very bonds weaker. I do not know if that weakening was intentional or not, but it was very clear to me that he was unable or unwilling to contain me.>


    It was Reina¡¯s turn to pale. ¡°Father?¡± she whispered.


    The snake gave the rooster a quelling glare, then said, <i believe that whatever is being done, the perpetrators must keep those they copy alive. In fact-> she slithered forward until her flickering tongue brushed against the pouch at Chi Yincang¡¯s waist. A spark of black and white ki - the first indication Kaz had had that the serpent had any color of ki other than black - jumped between her nose and the pouch, which opened slightly, allowing a little round ball to pop out. This dropped to the ground beside Chi Yincang, who stared at it with blatant astonishment that was almost funny to see on his usually inscrutable face.


    Hissing in satisfaction, Heishe flicked the orb with the very tip of her tail. It flew through the air, vanishing over the side of the cliff, down into the depths. To Kaz¡¯s surprise, he heard a soft ¡®plunk¡¯ sound as it disappeared over the edge.


    Without hesitation, Kyla leaped to her paws, crossing to the deadly chasm in an instant. Looking down, she let out a yip of surprise, then turned and stared back at the calm little snake. Her golden eyes were wide with astonishment. ¡°It¡¯s full of water!¡± she said.


    <indeed,> Heishe said with satisfaction, gliding over to join the young kobold. <whoever created this trap for fengji surrounded it with a pit of air and metal. no wonder i couldn¡¯t find him.> She shook her head. <now i¡¯ve filled it with my element. nothing can hide in this place any longer.>


    <You could have just let me burn it down,> Fengji muttered. <Nothing would be hiding in it then, either.>


    The snake turned to eye her companion with an air of superiority. <and then we would learn nothing,> she said. <this way, each of those escaping the island will have to touch my water, even carry it with them. i will see everything.>


    The whole group turned to look out at the protruding piece of land, which now looked like it was floating in the center of a vast lake so deep that no bottom could be seen through the crystal-clear water. The people still on it, seeing that it was no longer an impassable pit, were beginning to find ways to cross. A few were already swimming, while others were cutting apart trees and attempting to lash them together to make some sort of vessel.


    ¡°Yep, time to get movin¡¯,¡± Raff said, coming up to stare out over the water. ¡°Somebody¡¯s gonna end up comin¡¯ ashore here, and we don¡¯t want to have to explain who we are and what we¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°We still don¡¯t know where to go, though,¡± Jinn said, voice sharp. Then she sighed and went on more gently, ¡°We can¡¯t just head for the palace. Even if none of the assassins showed up, if Lady Snake is correct, they¡¯re after Reina so they can do¡­whatever it is that little ball was meant to do.¡±


    Raff scratched his head. ¡°Can¡¯t send you home, either,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Timon was himself when we met in Wheldrake, but there¡¯s no guarantee that¡¯s true of everyone else. Even if it is, we¡¯d probably just endanger the rest of the family, especially if the king really has been replaced.¡±


    Reina nodded. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we¡¯ve been concerned about over the last few weeks. Even if we could ask for help, we¡¯d only be risking their lives as well, and I won¡¯t do that.¡± Her pointed little jaw set firmly.


    <then i suggest you do exactly as you planned,> Heishe said, slithering forward until she plopped quietly into the new lake.


    Kaz frowned, and so did others around him. Had they had a real plan? One that hadn¡¯t been completely demolished by the events of the last several hours?


    <enter the tournament,> the snake chortled.


    Raff¡¯s jaw dropped, and he waved at the destroyed mage college. ¡°There¡¯s no way they¡¯re havin¡¯ it after all this. Who knows how many people have died, between the incursion last night and, uh,¡± he glanced at Fengji, ¡°what happened today.¡±


    <oh no,> the serpent hissed as she vanished beneath the waters, which rippled with the passage of something much, much larger than she currently seemed to be. <i have it on excellent authority that the games must go on. and won¡¯t it be interesting to find out why.>


    Silently, everyone turned to look at the disheveled rooster, who was still busy straightening his feathers with his sharp beak. After a moment, Fengji gave a disgruntled little sniff and muttered, <Don¡¯t look at me. I¡¯ve been trapped in a furnace for the last thousand years.>


    Then he stood, shook out his feathers, which sent several more flying loose to land on the ground nearby, and flapped his wings. After a few awkward steps, he rose into the air, quickly disappearing into the sun once again. Without exchanging a single word, each person present bent to pick up the feathers, finding that there was exactly one for each of them.

 Chapter Two hundred twenty-nine

    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. If Chi can crack a smile here and there, nobody will recognize him.¡±


    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 second cloak and swung it up around her shoulders, tugging the hood up to conceal her face.


    ¡°Can you hide yourself, kid?¡± the big male asked, looking at Kaz¡¯s cousin, Kyla.


    The puppy 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 out something else.¡±


    ¡°I may know a place we can go,¡± 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. They obviously had better things to do than speak to such a ragged group.


    As the warriors 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 cloud of 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.


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    ¡°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 Ironfang 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 doubt and distrust 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 narrow roads not even wide enough for a single cart to pass. 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 her puff of fog, which made Kaz blink his eyes rapidly.


    ¡°Food flavorings, 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 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. The smell of 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, crooked 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 road 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 drawing too much attention 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, more 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.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred thirty

    Kaz and Yingtao exited the alley, and Kaz was proud that he only glanced back at the shining bond that connected him to Li a few times. He had expected to be interested and excited to learn more about the people who lived outside the mountain, but the more time he spent with them, the more he missed his home. The outside world was beautiful, but he longed for cool darkness and quiet.


    A bulky male bumped into Kaz, barely glancing down long enough to mutter a vague apology. Kaz had to restrain a growl. Such behavior might have been considered a challenge among kobolds, who made every effort to avoid physical contact unless it was appropriate.


    ¡°You¡¯re a quiet one,¡± Yingtao murmured, flashing him a smile. ¡°That¡¯s good. Being loud or belligerent won¡¯t serve us well in the Bard and Bee. In fact, it¡¯ll be best if you don¡¯t speak at all, unless I indicate that you should.¡± She gave him a slightly anxious look. ¡°Is that all right?¡±


    Kaz almost laughed, but restrained himself to a nod. If she only knew that he¡¯d spent most of his life being quiet. He had a great deal of practice by now.


    The Bard and Bee was a large building, with two doors bracketed by large windows. Through one window, Kaz could see several small tables, with people sitting at them, eating or talking. Through the other window was a single long table, with simple, backless chairs arrayed in front of it. A young human sat on another of the little chairs, and in his - or her? - hands he held a wooden object with a stick on one end, and a sort of bowl on the other. Strings connected the bowl to the stick, and the human plucked these, making a very pleasant sound.


    Kaz wished he had a tail so he could wag it. He¡¯d never seen a human musical instrument before, and hadn¡¯t been sure they knew how to make any. He was used to drums and music played on some of the rock formations found naturally in the mountain, but his people also tied stones together with finely drawn metal or long niu hairs, and plucked or tapped these to make different sounds.


    He started to ask Yingtao about the human and his tool, but remembered that she didn¡¯t want him to speak. He wasn¡¯t sure if that was in general or only once they were inside, so he swallowed the questions and resolved to ask Raff or Lianhua later.


    When Yingtao opened the door, quiet music poured out, along with a sweet, pleasant scent with only a hint of sourness beneath. The smell of food wasn¡¯t as strong as Kaz had expected, and the interior was pleasantly dark, almost making Kaz feel at home. He felt his shoulders relaxing, and had to remind himself that this was not a safe place.


    Yingtao crossed to the long, tall table, where a male - definitely a male, judging by the massive beard and total lack of hair on top of his head - was rubbing a cup with a clean, white cloth. The male looked up with a smile as the two newcomers approached.


    ¡°What can I do for you?¡± he asked cheerfully. ¡°We¡¯ve got an excellent ginger mead just in, or if you want something sweeter, our apple mead is the best in Cliffcross.¡±


    Yingtao didn¡¯t sit, instead leaning forward so she could quietly murmur, ¡°We¡¯re looking for Xtabentun. I heard this is the only place that carries it.¡±


    The male¡¯s brows lifted ever so slightly, but his smile didn¡¯t slip. ¡°Aye, that¡¯s true, but we don¡¯t have any today. I¡¯ve got one bottle of anise mead left, if you¡¯d be interested in that.¡±


    Yingtao''s expression went blank, and Kaz was reminded that she was Chi Yincang¡¯s sister. Her hands disappeared into her sleeves, and Kaz saw a small flash of ki before they re-emerged, settling flat on the table in front of her.


    When she slid her hands to the side, a metal disc peeked out, but to Kaz¡¯s surprise, it was silver, rather than gold. He couldn¡¯t see it well before the male human laid his cloth down across it, pretending to wipe the table. When the cloth lifted again, the disc was gone.


    Slowly, the male set down the glass he¡¯d been holding and tapped it with his fingernail, making it chime. At the sound, the human who had been playing music looked up, then set down his instrument and quietly left through a door to one side.


    ¡°Can¡¯t make Xtabentun from thin air, I¡¯m afraid,¡± the bearded male said almost regretfully. ¡°But maybe we have something that will do. Why don¡¯t you take a seat over there? Samara will bring you a menu.¡± He tilted his head to indicate the small individual tables, and Yingtao nodded graciously, showing no sign of frustration or annoyance.


    They sat down at one of the little round tables, and soon a female with hair almost as red as Raff¡¯s came by, handing each of them a piece of paper covered in images and runes. The images were all of food, from a simple loaf of bread to something that looked like a fish head floating in a bowl. It actually looked good, and Kaz hoped they would really get food.


    <Only if you bring me some.>


    Kaz started at the sudden voice in his head, though he¡¯d known Li was watching. The dragon was bored, and a bored dragon was a dragon who was going to find trouble. Fortunately, she was somewhat distracted by looking through Kaz¡¯s eyes, so she hadn¡¯t acted on any of a half dozen impulses to fly away, start blowing fog rings, or dive down to see if she could make Mei scramble out of the way.


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    He honestly wasn¡¯t sure if he would be allowed to take food with him when he left. On one hand, he would pay for it, but it would be in a dish, and while he¡¯d seen humans walking around with food, it was never in a container. They seemed to prefer meat and vegetables on what they considered disposable sticks, but he¡¯d also seen them place all kinds of things between bread, which was a food item that had taken Raff quite a while to explain.


    Li sent Kaz an image of a fish head disappearing into his pouch, and Kaz sent her back cautious affirmation. It was true that technically he could pour wet things and liquids into the bag, but given the way objects tended to come shooting out when he called for them, he had a feeling it could get to be very messy very quickly.


    Yingtao was looking at her paper as well, and now she gave a soft, ¡°Ah,¡± of satisfaction. When the human female who had brought the papers returned, Yingtao pointed to something on the page. The other female didn¡¯t even look at Kaz to see if he wanted anything, which was disappointing. Perhaps males weren¡¯t allowed to buy anything in this place, and that was why Yingtao told him not to speak?


    Long moments stretched as the people around them shifted in place, some speaking quietly while others focused on eating. Meanwhile, Li was growing more and more restless, until she finally did create a particularly large ring of water vapor, which she proceeded to dive toward. Kaz and the dragon were both watching the approach of the puffy white circle, so Kaz jumped as someone moved a third chair to their table and sat down.


    Blinking, Kaz focused on the newcomer, who was a female with black hair that stood up in curls all around her head, and skin almost as brown as Raff or Jinn¡¯s. The female ignored him, turning to smile at Yingtao.


    ¡°I hear you¡¯re looking for Xtabentun,¡± she said, voice pleasantly raspy.


    Yingtao nodded. ¡°I¡­had some at a friend¡¯s a few times, and it was suggested to me that if I ever wanted any more, I should come here.¡±


    The curly-haired female lifted a brow. ¡°You can¡¯t get more from your friend?¡±


    Yingtao¡¯s eyes dropped, just for a moment, but the strange female¡¯s sharp eyes narrowed. ¡°My friend is unavailable,¡± Yingtao said, meeting the other female¡¯s eyes again.


    Breath hissed between the female¡¯s teeth, and then she moved like she would slap the top of the table with her palm. She barely restrained herself, rolling her eyes as she said, ¡°I hate all this skulduggery. You¡¯re the doc¡¯s friend, right? I heard some folks¡¯re looking for you. Big, mean folks.¡± Her eyebrows waggled meaningfully, and Yingtao covered a smile with one hand.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yingtao agreed. ¡°Ad-¡± The other female held up her own hand, and Yingtao amended her words. ¡°A friend of his visited a few times while I was there. She seemed to look kindly on me, and said that if I ever needed her help, I should come here.¡±


    ¡°And you need help now.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question.


    Yingtao drew in a deep breath and nodded. ¡°Very much. And we need it to be discreet.¡±


    The stranger snorted. ¡°Discreet is what we do, darling. Can you meet me at the back door in, say, fifteen minutes?¡±


    Yingtao glanced at Kaz, who nodded. It would take a good part of that to get back to where the others were waiting, but if Li led them this way, the two groups could meet in the middle and be back in time.


    The female didn¡¯t miss this interaction, and lifted a brow as she looked at Kaz, taking in his messy hair and dirty clothes. They¡¯d all done their best to wipe off the dirt and ash so they didn¡¯t attract too much attention, but there was nothing to be done for the spots of blood on his shirt.


    ¡°Who¡¯s your friend?¡± she asked. ¡°I heard about you, and some of your other friends, but this one is new to me. Haven¡¯t met many people with blue hair before. An elf, once, and a girl who colored it that way.¡± She looked straight at Kaz. ¡°You don¡¯t look like an elf.¡±


    He started to answer, then closed his mouth and looked at Yingtao. She smiled slightly, pushing back her chair. ¡°We¡¯re meeting some friends soon. I¡¯ll see you later, ah¡­¡± She held out her hand, drawing the other female¡¯s eyes away from Kaz as he, too, stood up.


    The curly-haired female rose as well, her large hand engulfing Yingtao¡¯s. ¡°Genevieve,¡± she said. ¡°You can call me Eve.¡±


    As Kaz and Yingtao made their way back toward the rest of the group, Li flew down to Lianhua¡¯s shoulder and began guiding her and the others. In the mountain, Kaz and Li had created a system by which Li bit Lianhua¡¯s ear to tell her which way to turn, and though it had only been used once before, Lianhua remembered quickly, especially after Li gave her a particularly hard chomp for turning the wrong way.


    When the two groups met on the street, Kaz started toward Li, but Yingtao caught his arm and shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t know them,¡± she murmured, and walked past, looking in a window at a particularly bright yellow dress hung on what Lianhua called a dress form, and Kaz at first thought were headless human bodies.


    <I don¡¯t like this,> Li grumbled as Lianhua walked past with the others trailing behind her. <Why can¡¯t we be together?>


    Kaz had no idea, but as soon as Raff - who was in the back so his large body blocked sight of the females walking ahead of him - turned the corner, Yingtao pulled Kaz away from the window and began to follow along behind. As they walked, together but separated by at least twenty feet at all times, Li complained constantly, saying that Lianhua¡¯s ear tasted like dirt, and her hair smelled of¡­something that Li couldn¡¯t identify, but it was very unpleasant nonetheless.


    When they reached the Bard and Bee, Yingtao and Kaz went left, circling around the block behind it, while Lianhua and the others took the street to the right. They all met up again at a door opening into the back of the building, and Li gratefully flew over to perch on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, where she promptly demanded a chip of ki crystal.


    ¡°You just ate a crystal the size of my fist,¡± Kaz muttered, then clapped a hand over his own ear in order to avoid the not-entirely playful nip she directed there.


    As Yingtao moved up to the door, lifting her hand to knock, it opened, and she froze, staring into the face of a female with long hair the same golden shade as Gaoda¡¯s. The female stood there, framed by the door, looking at the fist hovering in front of her face.


    Finally, she grinned and said, ¡°I know I told you to find me if you were ever interested in picking up where we left off, little tiger, but I didn¡¯t expect you to actually hit me this time.¡±


    Yingtao¡¯s hand, which had been lowering to her side, rose again and punched the female in the nose.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-one

    Lianhua was sitting next to Yingtao, clutching the other female¡¯s hand in hers as she glared at the stranger, whose name was Adara. If Lianhua had been a kobold, Kaz would have expected her fur to be up and her lip lifted in a snarl. Fortunately, Adara seemed to find Lianhua¡¯s attitude amusing, since Yingtao¡¯s attempts to calm her friend had been entirely unsuccessful.


    Apparently, this Adara had been injured and gone to the same healer where Yingtao was recovering. During the time both females were there, Adara had developed a fondness for Yingtao, to the extent that she told Yingtao to look for her if she was ever in trouble. Which Yingtao had now done, and it seemed that Adara was choosing to interpret this as a return of her own affection.


    Adara swung one leg over the other, kicking her foot idly as her pale eyes watched Lianhua and Yingtao in much the way a kobold might watch a pair of jiyun grubs, just waiting to see which one looked tastier before popping it into their mouth.


    ¡°So, you need a place to stay,¡± she said, reaching up to touch her nose idly. It was no worse for Yingtao¡¯s assault, which had ended almost before it began, but Adara had made a point of prodding it gingerly ever since they all sat down.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lianhua said, cutting off Yingtao and practically bouncing to her feet. ¡°But I¡¯m sure we can find someplace else. If you¡¯ll just show us the way out-¡±


    Yingtao grasped Lianhua¡¯s elbow even as Adara barked out a laugh. ¡°Someplace else? Someplace where no one will turn you in for the extremely high reward being offered for any information leading to the recovery of the missing princess, her slightly less valuable lady in waiting, and a trio of Imperials who mysteriously vanished during the incursion? No, I don¡¯t think you will.¡± Adara¡¯s voice shifted, growing cold. ¡°Please, sit back down, Lady Lianhua Long.¡±


    Lianhua stilled, and her eyes flicked to Chi Yincang. Kaz looked in that direction as well, half expecting to see a weapon in the male¡¯s hand. Instead, he seemed as calm as ever, and though his ki was cycling a bit more quickly than usual, he wasn¡¯t holding it ready.


    Raff gave a dramatic sigh, pulling all eyes to him. He was leaning against a wall, arms crossed, one ankle over the other, the very picture of boredom. His mana was roiling in a thick cloud, however, and while he looked just as calm as Chi Yincang, Kaz suspected Raff was actually quite worried. ¡°Let¡¯s just out with it, eh? How much d¡¯you want for not tellin¡¯ the guard where we are? Or do you plan to just turn us in yourself? Because I can tell you that it won¡¯t be worth the fight.¡±


    If anything, Adara seemed to relax even further, melting back into her chair. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t doubt that. And I admit that the sheer size of the rewards being offered is tempting,¡± she smiled as Raff shifted forward slightly, ¡°but it¡¯s still not quite enough.¡±


    Laying an arm over the back of her chair, she tilted her head, looking at Yingtao and Lianhua. Her eyes lingered on Yingtao¡¯s hand, where it laid on Lianhua¡¯s arm, and she shook her head, sighing almost as loudly as Raff.


    ¡°I somehow doubt I¡¯ll be paid in the manner I¡¯d prefer,¡± she said, ¡°but I still want to help.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lianhua burst out. ¡°Not out of the goodness of your heart.¡±


    Adara burst out laughing, a warm, rich sound that seemed to surprise everyone there except for Yingtao. ¡°No,¡± Adara agreed, ¡°not out of the goodness of my heart.¡±


    With an abrupt shift in demeanor, the female leaned forward, causing thick strands of her hair to fall over her shoulder. ¡°I believe,¡± she said, ¡°that you already have something worth trading for. Information. Something has been happening in Cliffcross over the last month, and in spite of my greatest efforts, I¡¯ve been unable to figure out what it is. I wish that I believed that whatever happened today at the mage college was the end of it, but I very much suspect it¡¯s only the beginning.¡±


    She pointed a finger at Raff, then Kaz, and her gaze lingered far too long on Li, who still looked like a wyvern. ¡°You two are entered in the tournament, along with your¡­pet.¡±


    Turning her focus to Chi Yincang, Lianhua, Yingtao, Jinn, and Reina, she went on, ¡°You lot are wanted by the crown for very vaguely defined reasons.¡±


    At last, she looked at Kyla, who was hiding in a corner near Raff, her hood drawn down over her face, and Mei cradled in her arms. ¡°And you are the first intelligent kobold I¡¯ve seen in fifteen years.¡±


    Kyla let out a little yip, her shield rising around her before falling again. She had used up most of her ki staying hidden during the group¡¯s walk to the Bard and Bee, and hadn¡¯t yet recovered enough to keep a shield in place.


    Holding up a hand to still the voices starting to rise in protest, Adara said, ¡°My proposal is simple. I will hide those of you who are more¡­recognizable, shall we say. I believe our princess could use a healer as well, and while the one I usually use is currently under house arrest thanks to his entanglement with Yingtao, I¡¯m sure I can find someone else trustworthy. In exchange, you all tell me what you know about the very peculiar things going on in this city.¡±


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    Silence fell, as if everyone, including Kaz, was waiting for more. At last Lianhua said, ¡°That¡¯s it? You just want information?¡±


    Adara¡¯s fingernails drummed on the wooden arm of her chair as she said, ¡°That¡¯s it. Though it would be nice if Kaz and, ah, ¡®Big Bro Gravy¡¯ would be willing to accept a few more members onto their team in the group competition. I have some people entered already, of course, but given the way things have been going lately, I think I¡¯d like to add a few more, and one of my teams recently, ah, lost a few people.¡±


    Jinn had been sitting next to Reina, her eyes narrowed and expression suspicious, but now she turned to stare at Raff. ¡°Big Bro Gravy?¡±


    Her brother¡¯s cheeks darkened, and he tapped on the wall behind him in two sharp beats. ¡°I thought that if you heard the name, you¡¯d come find me. Sure woulda made the business of getting you home a lot easier. No runnin¡¯ through fire or exploding chickens involved.¡±


    Jinn¡¯s hand lifted to her mouth, and her shoulders shook. After a moment, the laughter burst forth, and the sheer joy of it made everyone in the room relax at least a little. When she finally managed to get herself under control, Jinn stood, crossing to stand on her tiptoes so she could press a kiss to her brother¡¯s chin. ¡°I love you, Big Bro Gravy,¡± she told him, then turned, staring at everyone else, as if daring them to say anything. No one did.


    ¡°Well,¡± Adara said, and for the first time her pale blue eyes held some true warmth. ¡°Do we have a deal?¡±


    A great number of glances were exchanged, and then Lianhua said, ¡°Yes. But what do you plan to do about what we tell you?¡±


    It was Adara¡¯s turn to laugh. ¡°Do about it? Nothing at all, sweet girl. I¡¯m not in the business of doing. I¡¯m in the business of knowing, and I have a feeling that what you¡¯re going to tell me will make or save me a great deal of money.¡±


    Standing, she crossed to the door through which they¡¯d come. This door had fascinated Kaz for a good while, since the door handle had a good amount of ki packed into it. It hadn¡¯t done anything when they entered, at least as far as Kaz could tell, but perhaps it was a lock of some kind? Adara herself had only a little mana, though what there was of it spun in the most well-ordered cycle Kaz had ever seen, so maybe she could use it to work the handle?


    Indeed, as Kaz watched, the human female¡¯s mana flowed out and met with the ki, which was mostly white, with a good amount of yellow mixed in. To Kaz¡¯s surprise, as she did so, the entire door lit up, bright runes flashing across its surface, then settled down again as she twisted her hand. The door swung open easily, revealing a very different room than the one they passed through on the way in.


    Reina started to her feet. ¡°Is that a hidden room spell? Those are only supposed to be-¡±


    ¡°Used by master mages, yes, yes.¡± Adara smiled, stepping into the room and motioning for them to follow. ¡°It costs about ten gold every time I open the door, since the mage who recharges the spell is well aware I can¡¯t get anyone else to do it. Still, it¡¯s worthwhile, especially when I need to hide something where I can be absolutely certain no one will find it.¡±


    Chi Yincang was the first to follow, flowing through the doorway like a shadow clinging to Adara¡¯s heels. Lianhua and Yingtao came after him, then everyone else, with Raff bringing up the rear. Kaz felt something like a spark leap through him as he passed through the portal, and he made sure not to touch the door, frame, or handle.


    The room that now lay beyond the magic door was large but simple, entirely lacking in the windows that humans put in almost every wall. There were no other doors, which made Kaz nervous, but otherwise it seemed safe enough. Two large beds took up most of the space, but there were several good-sized wooden boxes as well.


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you where this room is actually located, but trust me when I say that not only will no one find it, but attempting to leave in any way except through the door would be a very bad idea. That said, the door is keyed to me, so if you decide to stay here, you¡¯ll have to trust me,¡± Adara told them.


    Lianhua opened her mouth, but Yingtao leaned into her, staying her words. ¡°Yes,¡± Yingtao said. ¡°We understand.¡±


    The golden-haired female almost looked disappointed, as if she¡¯d hoped for an argument, or at least some resistance, but she said, ¡°Then anyone who¡¯s staying should settle in.¡± She pointed again at Kaz and Raff. ¡°You two need to meet the rest of your new team.¡±


    Jinn held up a hand as Kaz and Raff started moving toward the door. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± she demanded, looking at Raff. ¡°You¡¯re just going to leave us here? With a stranger? We don¡¯t even have a plan!¡± Tears stood in her eyes, and her hands were fisted at her sides.


    Raff crossed the room in two long strides and wrapped his arms around her. Looking down into her frightened face, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll always come for you, Jinnie. You know that, and,¡± he turned to look straight into Adara¡¯s eyes, ¡°so does she.¡±


    One corner of Adara¡¯s mouth lifted, and she nodded, meeting first Raff¡¯s eyes, then Jinn¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯ve heard enough about both Lord Grafton Fedorick Hillcroft and the mercenary Raff that I have no particular interest in incurring either of their wrath. Besides, it truly is in my best interest to remain quiet. Given recent events, I suspect that anyone who turns you in is likely to vanish shortly thereafter, and there simply isn¡¯t room in my schedule for my death or disappearance at the moment. You are as safe here as it is possible for you to be while remaining in Cliffcross City.¡±


    Jinn stepped away from Raff and bit her lip, but Reina took her arm. Her face was pale and sad as she said, ¡°We have to stop running sometime, Jinn. I¡¯m tired, and though this woman is¡­not someone with whom I would usually choose to associate, I believe we can trust her, at least for now.¡±


    Adara laughed. ¡°Damned with faint praise. The story of my life. Now,¡± she looked at Kaz and Raff, ¡°Shall we leave these lovely people to determine how to divide two beds between four women, a man, a kobold, and a rat?¡±


    Kaz and Raff exchanged glances but followed without further protest. Once they were through the door, Adara turned and glanced back at those they were leaving behind. ¡°There¡¯s food and other necessities in the boxes. I¡¯ll come in to check on you in a while, and we can have a little chat then. No one else can enter here, so you need not fear someone stumbling upon your hiding place.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°If you¡¯re the only one who can open the door, what if something happens to you?¡±


    Adara grinned. ¡°Best for all of us that I remain free and healthy, then, eh?¡± She closed the door firmly, pushing her carefully ordered mana into the handle as she twisted it. Kaz watched closely, as did Li, and when it clicked closed, he smiled to himself. The female might believe she was the only one who could open that door, but he was quite certain she was wrong.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-two

    The next time Adara turned the handle of the door, she didn¡¯t send any mana into it, and it opened onto the same small room containing a steep, narrow staircase that they had taken to reach the room below. As they passed through, Kaz wished he had time to experiment with the device.


    He hadn¡¯t felt the shift in his location until he stepped into the room where they¡¯d left the humans and Kyla, but was the connecting room like the platforms in the mosui city, carrying its passengers to a new location, or was it the room beyond that moved? Or perhaps the doorway itself was the only thing that changed?


    <I like it better when things stay where they¡¯re put,> Li muttered. <It¡¯s not that hard to walk or fly.>


    Kaz had to agree. As fascinating as the various devices to move around were, he preferred to have more control over where he was at any given moment. That said, he did have some idea where the hidden room actually was, since he could feel the way his connection to the mountain changed. It wasn¡¯t actually that far away, and in spite of Adara¡¯s ominous statements, he thought he could find it if he had to. The biggest difficulty would lie in digging his way down to it. If humans liked burying things underground so much, why didn¡¯t they just live in tunnels like reasonable folk?


    Li sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. <If there weren¡¯t so many humans above ground, I could fly as much as I want.> Images of the dragon, dipping and gliding through vast skies filled with nothing except sunlight and clouds, filled his mind, and Kaz could feel her longing. Li was as ready to leave this human place as Kaz was.


    ¡°Soon,¡± he told her, shifting her weight so he could stroke her long neck. She was large enough now that she could only fit on his shoulder if she balanced precariously on her back paws, and the sling they¡¯d created out of his pack and a piece of fabric was now too small. The next time she grew, he would probably have to stop carrying her entirely, which was a thought that made him feel quite melancholic.


    Adara glanced back at his single word, brows lifted, but they¡¯d reached the top of the stairs, so she let it go when he just shrugged. They climbed a short ladder, emerging through a hatch in the floor of a small, dusty room. Boxes were piled around, and once they were through, Adara shifted one back into place, using a bundle of twigs to erase the lines left by the box and the marks of their feet. Once the dust settled back into place, there would be no sign that this was anything but a little-used storage room.


    The door led to the room in which food was prepared. Several humans bustled around, some cutting fruits and vegetables, while two more chopped meat. Still another stood beside a metal rectangle that contained a fire, tending several pots and pans that sat on its hot surface. Rather than creating one large meal for everyone, they instead made many different ones, serving out portions as they were called for.


    Once again, Kaz wished he could simply stay, observing the way these humans worked together. It was so different from what his people did, where each individual, each tribe, was essentially independent, completing their tasks without anyone watching over them, and only coming together for safety and occasional companionship.


    ¡°This way,¡± Adara said, leading them through still another door. This time Kaz recognized the room where they ended up. It was the space with the long, tall table and backless chairs. Many of those chairs were now filled, while other people filled in the previously empty space in front of a different human playing another musical instrument. That human howled in a high-pitched tone that sounded like a puppy¡¯s plaintive call, while the people crowding the space nearby held each other and swayed in a way that made Kaz feel very uncomfortable.


    ¡°Let me introduce you!¡± Adara had to raise her voice to be heard, motioning toward one of the tables in the other half of the room. Three people sat there, and as they turned, rising to their feet, Kaz realized that he recognized two of them.


    Genevieve, the tall female who had spoken to Yingtao earlier, stood and grinned as she saw Kaz and Raff. ¡°Ha!¡± she said, ¡°It is Blue! Ada was being awfully tight-lipped about who our new team-members were, but she let a few things slip, and I thought it might be you.¡± She laid a finger alongside her nose and closed one eye at Kaz meaningfully.


    Beside Kaz, Raff stiffened. ¡°His name is Kaz,¡± he said, voice rumbling with warning.


    Genevieve shrugged, obviously unconcerned, even as she scanned Raff from head to toe. ¡°Kaz, then.¡± She flicked her black curls away from her face. ¡°I just like the hair.¡±


    Turning to her companions, she pointed to the other one Kaz recognized. It was the person who had been playing music earlier, and now that Kaz had a chance to look more closely, he was even less certain of their gender. The hair was short, which in his admittedly limited experience meant male, but the shoulders were narrow and the body, other than the hands and arms, was soft. An equally soft ball of mana stirred in their chest.


    ¡°This is Harper,¡± she said. ¡°Bit spot-on for me, but I guess that¡¯s what happens when both your folks are bards. At least she doesn¡¯t actually play the harp, eh?¡±


    Harper sighed but gave a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you,¡± she said, then sat down again without any further attempt at conversation.


    The last person was short and wide, with light brown hair plaited into numerous braids. Each braid was tied to one or more of the others, so while the whole was loose in the middle, the bottom came together into a single thick mass that hung down their back. Their skin was pale, the broad face furless except for wispy lashes and eyebrows, and they looked generally unhappy to meet Raff and Kaz.


    ¡°I thought I said I¡¯d only fight if I was in an all-female group,¡± she said, her words and higher voice settling Kaz¡¯s uncertainty about her gender. It was very convenient that most female humans had noticeably different voices than males.


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    Another voice came from behind Kaz, making him step sharply to the side while Li raised her head and hissed. ¡°Be polite, Bella,¡± the bald male who¡¯d been cleaning glasses earlier said. He reached out and clamped a hand over the short female¡¯s head, ruffling her braids affectionately.


    Looking over at Raff, he said, ¡°This¡¯s my daughter. If you have any trouble with her, come talk to me.¡± His face settled into a flat look, brows drawn into a single thick line across his forehead. ¡°If she has any trouble with you, I¡¯ll come talk to you.¡±


    Raff¡¯s lips twitched in a way Kaz recognized, but somehow he managed to hold back his grin and nodded instead. ¡°Understood, sir.¡±


    Apparently that was enough, because the older male gave a toothy smile, turned, and walked away, returning once again to his place behind the long, tall table. He immediately began pouring liquids from various containers into cups, no longer paying any attention to their small group.


    Adara sighed. ¡°Henriette and Glass were injured in the incursion, and you know it, Bella. If you wanted to avoid this, you should have convinced them not to run off after salamanders.¡±


    Bella scowled. ¡°Glass said-¡±


    Adara held up a hand, her eyes abruptly cold. ¡°I don¡¯t care what Glass said. They were your teammates. You should have kept them in or gone with them. Hopefully, you¡¯ll do better with these two.¡±


    Turning to Kaz and Raff, she said, ¡°Genevieve is terrible at defense. Forgets what she¡¯s doing as soon as she starts fighting. She¡¯ll take out a full team on her own, though, so long as none of them gets in a serious blow. Harper is squishy as a slime, but she¡¯s good at buffs and can do a little minor healing. Bella is a little slow, but nothing and no one will get through her, which makes her a good partner for Eve. Glass was their mage, and Henriette was good enough at both offense and defense, so she could fit in where needed. You two are going to fill those roles.¡±


    Looking around at all of them, she went on, ¡°Opening day has been moved to tomorrow morning. Every single one of you will be there, or I¡¯ll track you down and rip a new hole in you.¡± Her eyes lingered on Bella as she spoke.


    ¡°Will we be able to update our papers then?¡± Raff asked.


    Adara shook her head. ¡°No need. I¡¯ll send your new papers with Harper. All you have to do is show up and beat everything they throw at you.¡±


    Now Raff did grin. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡±


    Kaz was happy to hear this, too. He was tired of standing in lines in large crowds, waiting for someone to change a single rune on a single piece of paper, all so he could do something that they wanted him to do. Humans were really very strange.


    Without another word, Adara turned and left, presumably to go back and speak with Lianhua and the others. Kaz hoped that she would be able to make some sense of everything that had been happening, so Raff¡¯s sister and her friend could return home, and so could Kaz.


    He stilled at that thought. Why had he even had it? He fully intended to travel with Lianhua to her country, help her grandmother if he could, and then go with Li to find her family. None of that involved him returning to the mountain, and honestly, he had no intention of going back there even after completing his other tasks. He simply wanted to explore the world, learning and being free. Didn¡¯t he?


    <Do you?> Li¡¯s voice was tentative, as if she was afraid to startle him.


    He looked around at the noisy, busy room, comparing it to a similar space in a kobold den. Voices there would be low, other than the yips and giggles of puppies. Everyone gave each other space, with even mates generally keeping at least a little distance between them. Most of all, it would be dark, with only a few flickering red ki-lights, not bright white lights that glared from small glass containers dangling from the ceiling. Everything here was always so much, and he doubted if he would ever get used to it, much less come to like it.


    <We¡¯ll stay away from cities,> Li said. <I don¡¯t like them either.>


    That would definitely be better. Kaz liked the trees and the soft, natural sounds of the wilderness. He still preferred to be in a small space when he slept, but the wide open sky was a truly beautiful thing, and one he would happily look at every day.


    An image of himself, riding atop a great golden dragon, crept into his mind. Wind blew through his fur, and he could smell the sun-warmed air and the scent of dragon. His dragon. Yes, that would be a very good thing, and he would willingly have any number of uncomfortable experiences if they would allow him to achieve it.


    <Will you be lonely?> Li asked softly, and Kaz had a feeling this was a question that she had only come to recently, but which bothered her a great deal. Until now, Li had simply assumed that she would always be enough for him, and he for her, but now he could sense a niggling doubt in her.


    Never, he thought, and turned his head so he could look into her worried eyes. Her glistening gaze searched his, and he put every ounce of love he felt for her into their connection. She was enough, and though he might once have dreamed of having pups with a mate of his choice, that had always been a distant hope at best. Li was here, in his heart and his mind, and he couldn¡¯t imagine ever choosing to be without her.


    <Me, too,> she said, and then Raff bumped into Kaz, startling him out of that silent communion that had too-briefly taken him away from the loud, smelly, overbright room in which they stood.


    ¡°That all right with you, Bl- uh, Kaz?¡± Raff asked, looking a bit worried.


    Kaz shook his head. He didn¡¯t want to admit he¡¯d been paying no attention to the humans at all, but he also didn¡¯t want to agree to anything without knowing what it was.


    To his surprise, Raff looked almost relieved. Turning back to the three females, he shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s how it is. Kaz isn¡¯t much for large groups. Best we head back to the tournament barracks.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s stomach growled loudly, and Li¡¯s echoed the sound. Somehow, Raff heard it over the crowd and laughed. ¡°Make that food and then rest. We¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±


    Genevieve looked distinctly disappointed as they walked away, while Bella looked equally triumphant. Harper, who was still sitting at the table while the others stood, didn¡¯t even seem to notice when Raff led Kaz out into the cool evening air. Li immediately flapped her wings, launching herself from Kaz¡¯s arms and up into the star-speckled sky. The moon was back. Just a sliver, but enough to gild the dragon¡¯s scales as she spiraled upwards.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go too far!¡± Raff called after her as people around them stopped and stared, mouths falling open.


    <I won¡¯t,> Li replied in Kaz¡¯s mind. <I just need to stretch my wings.> She did, and Kaz watched the joyous, graceful curves of her flight as she stayed just ahead of Kaz. He was astonished by how much of the sky she covered with her wings fully extended, and he wondered if she would even fit inside the mountain if he ever decided to go back. Just for a visit, of course.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-three

    They got food and made it back to the barracks without too much more trouble. A few people were startled by Li, especially after the mysterious flaming bird that destroyed the mage college, but no one actually attempted to attack her. If anything, they seemed frightened, and hurried into buildings as she flew overhead.


    The barracks were distinctly emptier than before, and the male standing guard at the door told Kaz and Raff that even more people had pulled out of the tournament after the events of the day, apparently feeling that the city was no longer safe. He, too, eyed Li suspiciously, but once he checked the papers Raff handed to him, he allowed all three of them inside.


    ¡°Well, that explains why they¡¯re still allowing changes until tomorrow,¡± Raff said as they chose fresh beds. The five Mariners they¡¯d spoken to briefly were fast asleep in beds nearby, though the leader, Tollus, cracked an eye as Raff and Kaz laid out their blankets.


    Kaz shook his head. He was almost befuddled with exhaustion, and more than a little distracted by his own thoughts. ¡°What does?¡± he asked.


    Raff pulled off his boots, then gestured around. ¡°This. Without competitors, there¡¯s no tournament. Makes it even stranger that they¡¯re not just canceling it. The tournament is supposed to last a full week, with opening ceremonies the first day, and the battles between the various winners on the last, then closing ceremonies. But after so many people were killed or injured in the incursion, and with others leaving after the mage college was destroyed, I doubt they have enough people to fill three days.¡±


    ¡°Will they want us to fight more?¡± Kaz asked, dreading the answer. To his relief, Raff shook his head.


    ¡°Can¡¯t. People need time to recover, especially whatever mages are left. More likely they¡¯ll make each day shorter, and have performances or encourage people to go shopping the rest of the time,¡± Raff said. He flopped back in his bed, propping his feet up on the wooden board at the end.


    ¡°Get some sleep, Blue,¡± he said, closing his eyes. ¡°The answers will wait until tomorrow.¡±


    Kaz laid down as well, curling up on his side, with Li snuggling up against his belly. She didn¡¯t really fit into that space as she once did, and she certainly couldn¡¯t use his arm as a cushion any longer, but they made it work. He actually missed Kyla¡¯s small back pressed against his own, and the weight of the fuergar resting between their shoulders.


    As he closed his eyes, Kaz embraced his dragon, and Li¡¯s tail curved up and around his back, holding him close as well. Warmth and appreciation flowed between them as they drifted into their shared dreams of flight.


    The next morning came all too soon, with far too many people bustling around, gathering up their things and speaking in too-loud voices. Li tried to hide beneath the blanket, and Kaz felt the nonexistent fur along his back rise at being surrounded by strangers. He sat up, finding that Raff had apparently left and returned again, because the large man had a trio of skewers tucked between his fingers, two of which he thrust at Kaz.


    Accepting them, Kaz took a tentative bite of the oddly red meat on the end of one. It was sweet and chewy, but not unpleasantly so, and Li soon poked her head out of the blanket to see what he was eating.


    <Feed me,> she said, opening her mouth and showing far too many teeth that a wyvern wasn¡¯t supposed to have. Kaz shook his head, but quickly pulled a piece of meat from the second skewer and popped it into her mouth. She couldn¡¯t use her front paws at the moment, since she wasn¡¯t supposed to have them, and she was taking full advantage of that fact to get him to do everything for her.


    Raff saw the interaction and chuckled. ¡°She¡¯s a greedy one. There¡¯ll be a lot of food available pretty much everywhere today, for both competitors and the crowd, but most of it¡¯ll be way overpriced. I figured I better get something before the prices double closer to the stadium.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°What¡¯s a stadium?¡±


    Raff grinned. ¡°Just wait and see. I wouldn¡¯t want to ruin the surprise. Now grab your stuff and let¡¯s get out of here. With everything that¡¯s happened, I never did manage to buy some new gear. It¡¯ll be slim pickings today, if I can even find anything, but I have to try.¡±


    He eyed Kaz thoughtfully. ¡°Frankly, you¡¯re looking worse for wear yourself. Too bad we don¡¯t have any of that fancy silk. You¡¯re pretty hard on clothes.¡±


    Kaz fed Li the last of her skewer, then dug a chip of blue ki-crystal from his pouch and gave that to her as well. He lifted her into his arms, and she vibrated happily as ki radiated out from her stomach, filling their channels with warm blue.


    ¡°Could you help me find something to wear?¡± Kaz asked, eyeing the bloodstains and dirt that marred his new clothes. Humans had so many uses for mana. Why hadn¡¯t any of them developed a ¡®spell¡¯ for removing dirt from fabric? Perhaps Kaz could do it, just by picturing the clothes clean again? Or if he could find a water source, he could simply wash them, as he had washed his own loincloth dozens of times before.


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Sure. I could use a few changes of clothes myself. Somethin¡¯ a bit different from what I usually wear, y¡¯know?¡±


    Simply entering stores with Raff was very different from doing the same with Lianhua. Even granted that most of the shops were both busy and all but empty of items for sale, the shopkeepers didn¡¯t seem particularly interested in helping Raff or Kaz.


    Where they dropped whatever they were doing when Lianhua entered, Kaz and Raff could wander a store or stall for quite a while without anyone even asking if they needed anything. It was a refreshing change, since Kaz could usually tell if there was anything interesting at a single glance, and this way he didn¡¯t have to endure the human running the shop attempting to sell him something anyway.


    After looking through four equally barren stalls, Raff managed to find a padded shirt and a heavy leather vest that fit him, at least well enough. He complained about the price, but the male running the store didn¡¯t even try to haggle, seeming confident that he could sell the items to someone else at the price he was asking. This completely upset Kaz¡¯s entire concept of shopping, which he had believed was like trading, except with metal discs instead of things that were actually useful.


    Two more stores yielded a pair of thick leather pants that Raff said would work for today, and a new green shirt for Kaz. He was forced to continue wearing the same pants Lianhua had gotten for him, but as far as he was concerned, they were fine. They only had a few holes, and almost no stains at all.


    The real problem came when Kaz admitted that he¡¯d like a new knife. The only one he had was worn and battered, and even though he could fight with ki now, it was draining, and there was comfort in gripping a weapon, especially since his human claws and teeth were worthless.


    <My teeth and claws still work,> Li said, holding up front paws no one else could see.


    ¡°You can¡¯t use those,¡± Kaz murmured, though he smiled at the thought of an assailant being slashed by invisible talons. But they had to maintain the pretense that Li was a wyvern, just as they did that Kaz was human.


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    Li sighed, settling her head on Kaz¡¯s shoulder. <I hate this,> she said, sounding morose.


    Kaz did, too. As excited as he had been to change his appearance, he now missed everything about his real self. His claws, his nose, his fur, his ears, and most especially his tail. The one thing he liked was his increased height, and that was only because all of the humans were so ridiculously tall. The vast majority of them would have to crouch or crawl in order to fit through half the tunnels in the mountain.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try this one, Blue,¡± Raff said, ducking into an unusually large store with two crossed swords on the sign over the door.


    Kaz followed, just in time to hear a voice bellow, ¡°Sold out! Come back next week!¡± Kaz immediately turned around, but Raff caught his arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a sales technique,¡± Raff told him. ¡°The old miser¡¯ll have something tucked away. Just wait.¡±


    Wait they did, and Kaz watched the stream of humans flooding the road with increasing concern. Adara had said for them to meet the three females in ¡®the morning¡¯, and that was a term that he still struggled with. Morning was when the sun rose, but it was also all the time before noon, when the sun was high overhead. Right now, the sun was still low, therefore it was ¡®morning¡¯, but it had been more than an hour since they woke, and even longer since the sun rose.


    At last, Raff opened and closed the door a few times, causing the bell attached to it to jingle loudly. The voice called out twice more, and then a tall, slender person stormed out of the back of the store.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± he demanded, revealing himself as the owner of the booming voice, in spite of the fact that he was almost as slim as Kaz in his kobold form.


    Raff grinned. ¡°I did, Vesthar, but since when am I in the habit of listening?¡±


    Vesthar stilled, yellow eyes searching Raff¡¯s. Then those eyes widened, and he looked around, as if panicking, and gestured for Raff and Kaz to follow him into the back of the store. This was the first time Kaz had been invited past one of the doors that separated the items for sale from the storage or work area, and he was hesitant, but Raff followed easily.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing here, you fool?¡± Vesthar hissed as soon as the door closed behind them. ¡°Don¡¯t you know half the city is looking for you? A shave and a haircut isn¡¯t going to be enough to fool them for long, either.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not lookin¡¯ to get caught, but I¡¯d sure like to know who wants me, and why. I somehow doubt it¡¯s for the reasons they¡¯re claiming, seein¡¯ as how I¡¯m innocent, and they know it.¡±


    The other male, who Kaz could now see was actually a bit taller than Raff, leaned forward, as if they might be overheard, in spite of the fact that there was no one else in the room. ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t want to know. Don¡¯t get me caught up in your mess.¡±


    Scratching at his jaw, Raff gave a lopsided smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t figure you did. I did hope you might help a fellow out, though. For old time¡¯s sake.¡±


    Vesthar rolled his eyes. ¡°Old times, he says. Fine, what¡¯ll get you out of my shop?¡±


    Pointing at Kaz, Raff said, ¡°My friend here needs a knife. A good one.¡±


    Sighing, Vesthar leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m sold out. Did you think I was joking?¡±


    ¡°Exaggeratin¡¯, maybe?¡± Raff ventured. ¡°I know you. You¡¯ve always got a few special things tucked away.¡±


    Huffing a laugh, Vesthar said, ¡°And why would I show them to you? You¡¯re always broke, or close enough. You still owe me half a dozen draughts.¡±


    Looking between the two, Kaz decided he was done shopping. He stepped back, shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need anything after all,¡± he assured the slender male.


    At this, Vesthar¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he held out a hand. ¡°Show me your arm,¡± he commanded. Kaz did so without even thinking, extending his right arm so the male could take hold of it in surprisingly gentle fingers, turning it this way and that. Li hissed, but in a half-hearted way, watching curiously as Vesthar examined Kaz¡¯s wrist, forearm, and hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re small,¡± Vesthar said as he dropped Kaz¡¯s arm again. ¡°Good muscle tone, though. Strong but flexible. How much can you spend?¡±


    Kaz had no idea how much was reasonable, and Lianhua had taught him to always start with the lowest amount that wouldn¡¯t actually insult the shopkeeper. Of course, Kaz also had no idea how much that was, and there¡¯d been no haggling in the last several shops anyway.


    Reaching into his pouch, Kaz took out one of his gold ingots. Seeing Vesthar¡¯s eyes widen, he wondered if that was too little, and removed a second. Raff sighed in what sounded like exasperation, so Kaz¡¯s fingers dipped into the pouch a third time.


    ¡°No, no,¡± Vesthar¡¯s deep voice was choked as he laid a hand over Kaz¡¯s. ¡°That¡¯s ah, enough. At least unless you plan to purchase something made from a mithril alloy.¡±


    Kaz blinked. ¡°Do you have something like that?¡±


    Vesthar clapped a hand to his forehead, turning a despairing look on Raff. ¡°What did you bring me, fool?¡± Raff just gave a half laugh and motioned for the other male to get on with it.


    Turning away, Vesthar walked to a small metal door set into one wall. It was too small for most adult humans, and set halfway up the wall, so it had caught Kaz¡¯s eye when he glanced around, especially since the door glowed softly with mana. Vesthar laid his hand against this door, releasing a little of the murky gray mana inside his chest, and the door swung open. The male reached in, started to take something out, then hesitated and shifted to grab something else instead.


    ¡°This¡¯s a mage knife,¡± he said, walking back and handing a sheathed blade to Kaz. ¡°Not a lot of call for it here, since mages in Cliffcross pride themselves on using magic for everything.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°Like it never occurs to them that maybe some problems can be solved without blowing everything up or burning something down.¡±


    Kaz accepted it, seeing the crystal set into the hilt. Carefully, he pushed a little ki into it, and the whole blade lit up, a bright glow leaking from inside the leather sheath.


    Vesthar¡¯s eyes were almost as bright as he looked from the knife to Li. ¡°I thought you might be a mage, with a wyvern and a storage pouch. Cursed flying lizards are notoriously hard to tame for anyone without more mana than sense. Have you seen one of these knives before?¡±


    Kaz shook his head, shifting Li higher on his arm as he pulled out the blade. To his disappointment, the metal wasn¡¯t wavy like the Woodblade, but it did look very sharp. It wasn¡¯t particularly long, but that was all right. He didn¡¯t need a weapon that would become a sword when he was back to his correct size.


    ¡°When it¡¯s charged, it¡¯s all but unbreakable,¡± Vesthar said. ¡°Holds its edge without needing to be sharpened, too. The trouble is, when it¡¯s not charged, it¡¯s just a normal knife, and the more it¡¯s used the faster the charge runs out. A mage can keep it topped up, no problem, but for a regular person, paying even an apprentice to charge it every few days or weeks costs far more than it¡¯s worth.¡±


    Kaz ran a finger down the flat of the blade, feeling the way the weapon hummed beneath his fingers. It was like there was a very thin layer of ki all around the metal, and even the gentle pressure of his finger drained a tiny bit of power from the crystal.


    ¡°I got this one from a mage who traveled here from somewhere up north. He needed money to buy a wand, like the mages use here, and I figured I could sell it to someone like our friend here, a fighter who just happens to have mana,¡± Vesthar tilted his head toward Raff. ¡°But none of them could get it to work.¡±


    ¡°This uses ki, not mana, or at least not just mana,¡± Kaz explained absently, putting the knife away. ¡°That¡¯s probably why.¡±


    Vesthar¡¯s brows rose toward his hairline, but before he could ask any questions, Raff said, ¡°How much d¡¯you want for it?¡±


    The thin male grinned, saying, ¡°Two of those gold bars should be about right.¡± Raff gave him a flat look, and he sighed. ¡°Fine, fine. One gold bar.¡±


    Another look, and Vesthar groaned. ¡°I paid more than I should have for it! I thought for sure one of you mercs would buy it just because it¡¯s fancy. It¡¯s been sitting there taking up space in my vault for almost a year.¡±


    ¡°Then you should be ready to get rid of it,¡± Raff said, and the two of them seemed ready to get down to haggling when Kaz raised his hand.


    ¡°How much of one bar do you think it¡¯s worth?¡± he asked Vesthar.


    Frowning, Vesthar held out a hand. ¡°Let me see one of those.¡± He accepted the one Kaz held out to him, and his eyes immediately brightened. ¡°Is this pure?¡±


    It was Kaz¡¯s turn to frown. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡±


    Vesthar smiled, showing all of his teeth. ¡°Three-¡± he saw Raff¡¯s look and deflated, sighing deeply. ¡°Fine. A quarter of it. Maybe.¡±


    Kaz took out his new knife again and refilled the crystal, slicing easily through the gold bar. About a third of it fell into Vesthar¡¯s hand, and the male swallowed heavily, clutching at the heavy piece of metal.


    Raff shook his head, but said, ¡°That should cover those draughts, too, eh, Vesthar?¡±


    Vesthar nodded silent agreement, and Raff and Kaz hurried out of the shop again, finally ready for the tournament, whatever it was.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-four (Kyla)

    Everyone had forgotten about Kyla. She was used to it, so that part of her situation didn¡¯t bother her, but she didn¡¯t particularly like feeling trapped. That made her fuergar, Mei¡¯s, discovery all the more interesting, and led directly to Kyla¡¯s current conundrum. Did she attract attention to herself in order to let one of the humans know they weren¡¯t quite as captive as the human female, Adara, had claimed? Or did she follow her natural inclination and investigate on her own?


    Looking around, Kyla watched the groups that had formed as soon as the door closed behind Raff, Kaz, and Adara. Jinn and Reina sat together on one bed, devouring more than their share of the stash of food Kyla had found in the first box she opened. Meanwhile, Lianhua and Yingtao sat quietly on the other bed, their lips moving, but no sound reached Kyla¡¯s ears. Lianhua must have used one of her tricks to make it so no one else could hear them, which Kyla felt was truly unfair.


    Kyla edged toward Jinn and Reina, twisting her ears to better hear their conversation. The two were whispering, but Kyla could hear them just fine.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re all right?¡± Jinn asked anxiously, passing Reina a large chunk of yellow cheese. The contents of the box had included several food items Kyla had never tried before, but cheese was by far her favorite, and she eyed it covetously.


    Reina nodded, chewing slowly. Her eyelids were drooping, and she looked like she might fall asleep even with food still in her mouth. ¡°I¡¯m healing normally now that that thing has been removed,¡± she managed finally, though her words were still a little muffled by the cheese, which did have a tendency to stick to the teeth.


    Jinn nodded as if satisfied, but this was the third time she¡¯d asked the question, and Kyla doubted if she would really believe her friend until they¡¯d both slept well without Reina relapsing. ¡°What do you think that thing they took from your wound was?¡± she asked, leaning forward and flicking a glance toward Chi Yincang, who stood silently in the corner, his eyes fixed on Lianhua and his sister. Chi Yincang had put the rune-etched orb into his storage pouch after Kaz removed it from Reina¡¯s side, and then that funny little snake, Heishe, had flicked it into the new lake before anyone else even got to look at it.


    Reina¡¯s eyes widened, then shifted away from Jinn, and she squirmed as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± To Kyla, that was a dead giveaway that she did know, and Jinn seemed to have calmed down enough to pick up on it as well, because she narrowed her eyes at the princess, who took another bite of cheese.


    Kyla shifted in place, but only because one of her paws was starting to go to sleep, and it was only a coincidence that it also brought her slightly closer to the gossiping females. She¡¯d found a spot to hide between one of the boxes and the wall, but she¡¯d crammed herself into the end closest to Jinn and Reina, and her tail was cramping.


    ¡°All right, fine,¡± Reina murmured, barely audible even from Kyla¡¯s hiding spot. ¡°I really don¡¯t know, though. It¡¯s just.¡­ When I became an adult, Father told me a few things that aren¡¯t common knowledge. One of them is about a certain, um, trading partner.¡±


    She leaned in until her forehead was almost touching Jinn¡¯s. ¡°They turned up a few years after the kobold city closed, selling many of the same things we used to buy from the mountain. At first, Father wasn¡¯t sure about them, but they gave him his own weight in gold for nothing more than the opportunity to prove themselves. And they have. Proven themselves.¡±


    Jinn nodded, wide-eyed, and Kyla wondered if they really didn¡¯t notice Chi Yincang¡¯s sudden shift in focus. The dark male was always so quiet, and it seemed like most people found him hard to read, but Kyla was used to watching people, even if most of those people weren¡¯t human. She could tell by the subtle movement of his eyes and the way his brows drew together ever so slightly that he, too, was listening to the two females.


    ¡°The thing is,¡± Reina went on, her voice barely louder than a breath, ¡°these traders aren¡¯t human. We aren¡¯t sure what they are, but they have tails, and they¡¯re much smaller than humans. They wear these bulky robes, so you can¡¯t see any details. But they use humans for a lot of things, like driving their wagons and buying things in the city.¡±


    Jinn shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no way. People would talk, especially about a new nonhuman race.¡± Her eyes flashed to the door, and she smiled wryly. ¡°Someone like my brother would definitely say something, and it wouldn¡¯t stay a secret for long.¡±


    Jinn nodded, her eyes fluttering closed as she yawned. ¡°That¡¯s what Father said. But these¡­people, assured him they had ways of making sure no one would talk about them.¡± She pressed a hand to the back of her neck. ¡°They put an artifact here, under the skin, and they said it would kill anyone who disobeyed.¡±


    Kyla stilled, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes narrow ever so slightly. Hadn¡¯t Kaz mentioned something about some of the Irondiggers dying because of a strange object buried under their skin? Or had that been Raff?


    It didn¡¯t really matter who said it, she supposed, but if the elusive memory was correct, then these creatures the humans had been trading with were using the same kind of item to control people as the being known as Nucai. But according to Kaz and the others, Nucai was trapped in the Tree, wasn¡¯t he?


    Reina¡¯s head now rested on Jinn¡¯s shoulder, and it was clear that she wasn¡¯t going to be doing any more talking, at least for now. Small snores issued from her mouth, and Jinn gently shifted her down onto the soft surface of the bed, then used one of the blankets to cover her.


    Well, Kyla obviously wasn¡¯t going to be talking to them. Even if they were in good enough shape to do anything, Kyla doubted that they had any real interest in escape. Which was fair, because from the little they¡¯d said about what they¡¯d gone through over the last month, just having a relatively safe place to sleep and plenty of food was a vast improvement.


    Kyla turned her attention back to Yingtao and Lianhua. The two older females had been talking for quite some time now, and Kyla could tell that whatever they were talking about was very personal. They, too, sat close to each other, and though they didn¡¯t touch as easily as Jinn and Reina, it was clear that there was a bond between them. Each time one of them moved, the other would unconsciously copy them, so now they sat facing each other, fingers on the blanket between them, barely touching but so involved with each other that Kyla suspected she could bark in their faces without either one of them noticing.


    Which left Chi Yincang. But while that male was taking in everything in the room, and Kyla was certain he was well aware of exactly where she was, she doubted if he would respond to her directly. She had tried to speak to him several times over the course of their journey to Cliffcross, but he rarely answered, and when he did, it was usually with a single word. She¡¯d met kobolds like him, who were so focused on their tasks that they didn¡¯t allow anything to distract them, and in some ways she admired them, but mostly they just annoyed her.


    A little paw pressed on her hand, and Kyla looked down. Mei was back, and she had another small coin in her mouth, which made Kyla believe that she was right about where they were. Or at least what they were close to.


    Kyla accepted the coin, and Mei balanced on her hind legs, using her adorable pink paws to clean her eyes, ears, and nose. Pink and copper whiskers quivered as the fuergar eyed the metal disc, then the hole she¡¯d chewed in the wall. Water seeped out of it, but only a little, and it didn¡¯t have any of the worst stink of the sewers.


    Lifting the coin, Kyla sniffed it, then turned it back and forth. It was silver, but the surfaces were so worn that she couldn¡¯t make out the tiny pictures humans stamped on their coins. It smelled like rain and metal, but that was it. Hopefully that meant that wherever it came from wasn¡¯t one of the smelliest and most disgusting parts of the sewer.


    Leaning over, Kyla pressed her eye to the hole, trying to see how deep it was. She¡¯d put her arm in the last time Mei scampered off, and hadn¡¯t been able to reach the end. Had Mei eaten her way through the stone Kyla could feel, or was this tunnel already there and the fuergar had only opened up the wall to meet it? The uneven feel of the surfaces argued for the former, which made Kyla wonder if her little friend had known there was something in that direction, or if she¡¯d simply started eating and gotten lucky.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The sound of a door opening behind her made Kyla yank her head back, smacking her skull into the large wooden box behind which she hid. It made a loud thunking sound, and she scrambled back to a sitting position, so by the time Adara¡¯s suspicious face peered down at her, the hole was hidden behind her body.


    ¡°What are you doing, little kobold?¡± the female asked, lifting her brows and smiling. She held out a hand, almost as if she expected Kyla to sniff it. Kyla wanted to snarl at her, but Raff and Lianhua had both emphasized how important it was to be non-threatening if anyone figured out she wasn¡¯t human. So instead, she pulled back, lowering her ears, and was silently grateful when Chi Yincang, of all people, saved her.


    ¡°The lady has been waiting for you,¡± he said, appearing so suddenly that Adara actually jumped and let out a very embarrassing little squawk.


    ¡°Oh! Ah, I had a few things to take care of,¡± Adara said, obviously trying to regain control of the situation. ¡°I arranged for some fresher food, and sent out a few of my people to see if there are any rumors connecting the disaster at the mage college to Princess Reina or the missing Imperials.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lianhua¡¯s voice said, and Kyla dared to edge back up so she could look over the box as Adara moved away. As she did, Chi Yincang looked down at her, and then, to her utter astonishment, closed one eye in what Aunt Sika said was a ¡®wink¡¯. Kyla had learned almost everything she knew about humans from Aunt Sika, and so far the old female had been accurate in every respect.


    ¡°Did you find the washing basin?¡± Adara asked, settling one hip against the other box. Reaching down, she lifted one of the empty food sacks and looked into its depths. ¡°It seems I underestimated how hungry you all were. That was supposed to be a month¡¯s worth of food.¡±


    Lianhua had moved to the edge of the bed, sitting stiffly, rather than in the relaxed pose she¡¯d assumed while speaking to Yingtao. She folded her hands in her lap, placing them very precisely as she lifted her pointed chin and met Adara¡¯s eyes with a directness Kyla wasn¡¯t used to from her. Lianhua had a tendency to drift off in thought or lose herself in questions. She was also very kind, to the point that she would have been considered weak if she had been a member of Kyla¡¯s tribe.


    ¡°We did,¡± she said, her words measured. ¡°But it would be nice if we could get a proper bath. I saw there¡¯s a curtain, so we can block off part of the room.¡±


    Adara laughed. ¡°No baths, I¡¯m afraid. Which is a shame, because frankly the lot of you smell. It wasn¡¯t so noticeable upstairs, but now-¡± She shook her head, eyes calculating as she watched Lianhua, and Kyla wondered what she hoped to gain by insulting them.


    Whatever it was, Lianhua wasn¡¯t going to give it to her. She smiled, without any sign of irritation, and said, ¡°We¡¯ll make do. Now, you said you have questions for us?¡±


    Adara¡¯s lips pinched, and she began to fire questions at Lianhua, ignoring everyone else, at least for the moment. Why had Lianhua come to Cliffcross in the first place? Why did she and the others leave again without waiting for an escort? Why were they back now? What happened when Lianhua was taken to the palace the previous day?


    Lianhua answered each of these questions fully and truthfully, at least as far as Kyla could tell. Adara seemed interested in the story of the human¡¯s descent through the mountain, as was Kyla, though to her disappointment, Lianhua left out most of Kaz¡¯s involvement, simply calling him their ¡®kobold guide¡¯.


    Adara seemed most fascinated by the times that Lianhua spent in the human castle, though. She asked question after question about who Lianhua spoke to, what they did, and how they acted. She even asked what they wore, as if their clothing would reveal some great secret to her.


    ¡°So you didn¡¯t actually get to see the king this time?¡± Adara asked.


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°No. He was busy, so we were supposed to meet with him the next day. We spoke to Queen Natalia and Baron Ruben. A few of the queen¡¯s handmaidens and some guards were present, as well, but they didn¡¯t say much.¡±


    Adara¡¯s fingers drummed on the box. ¡°You met the queen when you were here last month. Did she seem¡­different?¡±


    Lianhua frowned. ¡°A little. She was sad, and seemed tired. But both of those are completely reasonable, given that her daughter was missing.¡± She cast a glance toward Reina, who was still sleeping the sleep of utter exhaustion, though Jinn was awake and flinched slightly at this comment.


    ¡°And Baron Ruben? Did you speak to him before?¡±


    Lianhua sighed. ¡°Only briefly. He seemed less than interested in talking to a woman from the Empire. He asked a few questions about my grandfather, tried to determine if I was engaged or romantically interested in someone, and then found a reason to be elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°And was he different this time?¡± Adara leaned forward, eyes intent.


    Lianhua¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Not noticeably. He danced attendance upon the queen.¡±


    She hesitated, and her brows drew together. Adara noticed, and prompted, ¡°What? There¡¯s something.¡±


    Lianhua glanced at Yingtao, as if for reassurance, then snapped her gaze back to the yellow-haired female and lifted her chin. ¡°Since you ask for my opinion - and that is all I offer - I thought he and the queen were a little too¡­ close. He held her hand for longer than was strictly proper.¡±


    ¡°Proper in the Empire, or Holiander?¡± Adara asked, eyes sharpening.


    Lianhua snorted. ¡°Proper anywhere, at least for a lady not his wife. The fact that she is a worried mother might account for it.¡± Her voice said she didn¡¯t think so, though.


    ¡°And the queen?¡± Adara said. ¡°Did she pull away?¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t even seem to notice he was doing it,¡± Lianhua said.


    Silence fell between them as Adara twirled a lock of her long hair around one finger. ¡°What were they wearing?¡±


    Lianhua blinked. Adara had come back to this again and again, and obviously Lianhua had no more idea why than Kyla did. ¡°Her Majesty was in a heavy brocade gown,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°It had quite a large skirt, and long sleeves. The Baron wore a coat, a high-collared shirt, breeches, and stockings.¡±


    ¡°And did the Queen wear a wig? With heavy makeup?¡±


    Frowning, Lianhua nodded. ¡°As did every other woman I saw, except a few of the youngest. Not that I saw many, since we were given rooms far from the rest of the residence.¡±


    ¡°I was there for more than a week,¡± Yingtao spoke for the first time, reaching out to gently touch Lianhua¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Every noble I saw was dressed the same. Why?¡±


    Adara barely seemed to hear the question, her gaze turned inward, but at last she said, ¡°Fashion at court is ever-changing. I have a few people there specifically to watch for the latest trends, so we can have the newest styles available when the lower nobility and wealthy commoners come looking. But over the last few weeks to a month, the Queen has been returning to some of the styles of her youth. Wigs were popular then, as well as the exaggerated skirts, gloves, long sleeves and high collars.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Most people think she¡¯s simply finding comfort in familiarity, but I can¡¯t help but wonder. Why would a suffering mother spend time creating, fitting, and encouraging others to adopt a new fashion trend? The Queen has never been a great political mind, but she does seem to care about her children. It¡¯s very out of character for her to behave this way, and however mundane it may seem, anything unexpected or unusual catches my attention at the moment.¡±


    Lianhua looked as though she was trying to fit pieces of a broken bowl together, but Yingtao said, ¡°When we visited the palace the first time, the style was low-cut bodices, loose skirts, cap sleeves, and simple, youthful hairstyles and makeup. I thought at the time that the Queen seemed to be trying to appear younger.¡±


    ¡°She hates getting older,¡± Reina said, her voice raspy and tired. Everyone turned to look at her, and she blinked bleary eyes at them. ¡°She loves it when someone asks if she¡¯s one of my sisters. And she really does love us. All of us children. Even though sometimes it¡¯s hard to tell because she¡¯s always off at some party or other.¡±


    Lianhua offered her a sympathetic smile, then looked back at Adara and said, ¡°She looked thirty years older than she did a month ago. The dress, the hair, just the way she carries herself, all of it is aging.¡±


    Adara stood up straight, pacing across the room in four long strides. ¡°So we have a princess who wants to go home but can¡¯t, a queen who¡¯s acting entirely unlike herself, a son-in-law who may be a bit too close to his wife¡¯s mother, and a tournament that should have been canceled, but wasn¡¯t. Someone attempted to abduct or kill an Imperial lady while her bodyguard was off fighting monsters, and someone also attempted to abduct or kill the missing princess.¡±


    ¡°Repeatedly,¡± said Jinn. ¡°And they¡¯ve also used my disappearance as an excuse to put my whole family under house arrest, and order my scapegrace brother to be actually arrested.¡±


    Adara nodded acknowledgement of this point. ¡°In fact, it¡¯s mostly subtle, but there seems to be some sort of schism among the nobility. People who used to attend all the same parties now¡­don¡¯t. The highest ranked, especially those directly related to His Majesty, have moved to the palace, supposedly so that they can support the family in their time of need. Meanwhile, many of the lesser nobility, especially young women, have gone to the countryside ¡®for their health¡¯, even though normally nothing would get them out of Cliffcross during the social season.¡±


    ¡°They know there¡¯s something wrong,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°They¡¯re sending their daughters away while they can.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I think, too,¡± Adara agreed. ¡°But what is wrong? More importantly, how is it going to affect the common people of the city, or Holliander in general?¡±


    Silence fell over the room, and Kyla¡¯s fuergar wriggled through the hole behind her, disappearing into the sewers once again.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-five

    The ¡®stadium¡¯ was enormous. It was the single largest building Kaz had ever seen, though he suspected if he ever saw the castle up close, it would be just as big. Stretching high into the sky, it blocked the sun with its bulk, and the sound of many people came from within.


    Kaz halted just outside the dense mass of humans flowing into the broad archways that led into the depths of the building, and to his credit, Raff noticed almost immediately, shoving his way backwards to reach Kaz¡¯s side.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Blue? You¡¯re awful pale,¡± he asked, brow furrowed in concern.


    ¡°I thought you said his name was Kaz?¡± Someone else responded, and both males turned to look at the trio of females who were looking back with varying levels of annoyance. Bella was scowling, while Harper¡¯s face wore only a small frown. The speaker, Eve, grinned almost as broadly as Raff usually did, though even she looked like she couldn¡¯t decide if she wanted to laugh or punch them.


    Raff sighed, ruffling his hair. ¡°I did. Because it is. It¡¯s just¡­. Blue is my nickname for him. You can¡¯t have it.¡± He scowled at Eve, who decided which way she was going to go and laughed at him.


    ¡°What d¡¯you think, Kaz?¡± she asked, arching a brow in his direction. ¡°Can I call you Blue?¡±


    Kaz sighed. He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on between the two humans, but he certainly didn¡¯t want to be in the middle of it. Besides, Li was practically radiating hostility as she mantled and hissed at the tall female.


    <No nicknames! She doesn¡¯t need to talk to my kobold at all!> the dragon muttered, and Kaz could see her cycle turn faster as she started to breathe vapor.


    Clapping his hand over Li¡¯s mouth, Kaz gave a weak smile. ¡°I¡¯d prefer Kaz,¡± he said firmly. Eve¡¯s face fell slightly at his words, but that was better than having Li use teeth wyverns weren¡¯t supposed to have to bite her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go,¡± Bella growled, and once again, Kaz thought she would have made an excellent kobold. She was a little taller than he was in his natural shape, and blocky rather than lithe, but kobolds came in all shapes, and her voice was certainly right.


    ¡°The lists have been formed,¡± Harper agreed in a voice that was a little higher than Kaz identified as male human, but unusually low for a female. ¡°We were only able to join because we had your papers. We told them you were retrieving your weapons from the shop after they were damaged in the incursion.¡±


    Raff coughed awkwardly. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that. You were kinda right, though. I needed some new leathers, and Bl- Uh, Kaz here needed a knife.¡±


    ¡°Come on, then,¡± Eve said, motioning for them to follow. She cut sharply to the left, avoiding the majority of the crowd, to Kaz¡¯s great relief. There were smaller archways set to the side of the larger ones, and the females walked through one of them without hesitation. Only Eve waved cheerfully to the male standing nearby, wary eyes scanning the crowd. He nodded back, though Kaz could feel his eyes on their backs as they entered the shadowed halls.


    ¡°I¡¯ve fought in the tournament a few times before. Never got far,¡± Eve admitted without embarrassment. ¡°I do all right in the individual bouts, but in groups there¡¯s always someone who can get to me while I¡¯m distracted.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my job to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen this year,¡± Bella said. Glaring up at Kaz and Raff, she added, ¡°Just stay out of our way, and we¡¯ll be fine.¡± She opened a door with a large wooden plaque hanging from it. The plaque was carved with a neat rune Kaz recognized as the number eight. It clattered loudly as they entered, drawing the eyes of the people already waiting there.


    There were perhaps fifty people crammed into the room, and since most of them were large, even for humans, and had on armor much like Raff usually wore, there was almost no space to maneuver. They stood in groups of four or five, and all studied the new quintet, gazes lingering on Raff and the ¡®wyvern¡¯ in Kaz¡¯s arms before dismissing the rest of them.


    Bella glared back, and if she had been a kobold, her fur would be up and lip curled. That seemed to be how she lived her life, though, and Kaz thought it must be exhausting. Even she didn¡¯t quite dare to shove her way through these looming figures, and led the way to a small open area to one side.


    ¡°Your papers say you¡¯re signed up for solo axe,¡± she said to Raff as soon as they came to a stop. ¡°You¡¯d better not get hurt or wear yourself out so you can¡¯t fight in our battles. Harper can heal scrapes and scratches, but anything more than that, and you¡¯re going to have to pony up for the healer yourself. I won¡¯t be disqualified because you took on more than you could handle.¡±


    Raff glanced at Kaz, but to his relief, didn¡¯t mention that the kobold could do some healing as well. Hopefully, no one would need his help, because the more healing he did, the more he realized just how large the gaps in his training were.


    Shrugging, Raff said, ¡°No worries, short stuff. I¡¯ll make sure I finish my fights fast.¡±


    Bella bristled visibly, but Eve set her hand on her companion¡¯s shoulder, holding her back. ¡°Let¡¯s just say no nicknames for anyone, at least until the tournament is over,¡± Eve said.


    Raff grinned. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of plans,¡± Harper said, ¡°do we have one?¡±


    Eve glanced around at all of the people pressing close to them and shook her head. ¡°Not one I¡¯d like to get into here.¡±


    Reluctantly, Kaz raised his hand. ¡°I can make it so no one else can hear us.¡±


    The tall female grinned. ¡°Handy! I¡¯d like to know what other tricks you folks have up your sleeves, so go ahead, as long as it won¡¯t drain too much of your mana.¡±


    Kaz promptly traced the rune for sound obscuration on his palm, though he concentrated on imagining a dome of ki falling around the whole group, much larger than the one he¡¯d originally learned. As the ki surrounded them, he felt it drawing on his power, but not enough that he couldn¡¯t make it up in a few cycles, so he didn¡¯t worry about it. It was worth it just for the way it muffled the constant sound of other people speaking, some of them almost yelling to be heard.


    Raff eyed Kaz until Kaz nodded to him, and then spoke. ¡°Nothin¡¯ special about me,¡± he said, lying with so much sincerity that it made Kaz doubt if the large human had ever spoken a word of truth. ¡°I¡¯m not going to pull any crazy tricks out there, but what I hit is gonna stay down. At least it will when I decide it should. Also, I¡¯m a visitin¡¯ Mariner, fresh off the ship Pellis Borne, so you might mention that if anyone asks.¡±


    For a moment, Kaz wondered why Raff had included that last, apparently unnecessary falsehood. Then he realized that if they fought well, other people might become curious about them. If a warrior did well in a luegat, especially one of the ones that were fought as much for honor as territory, females from both tribes would probably ask about him. Did Kaz need to worry about some human female offering for him? The thought was horrifying on several levels, and though he didn¡¯t think that was how human society worked, he couldn¡¯t shake the thought.


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    <Tell them you already have a mate,> Li advised.


    Seeing that everyone was looking at him now, Kaz did as she said and blurted out, ¡°I have a mate!¡± Their expressions shifted to confusion, and he hastily corrected himself. ¡°A female¡­wife? I have a wife. Back home. Far away.¡±


    Eve chuckled and nudged him with an elbow. ¡°Move fast, do you, lad? What¡¯re you? Eighteen? And married already. Why are you here, then?¡±


    Kaz gave Raff a wild-eyed look, but the big male had his lips pinched together and amusement dancing in his eyes. He would be no help. ¡°For the tournament,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Raff mentioned it, and I thought it would be¡­fun.¡±


    Now Raff let out the laugh he¡¯d been holding in and clapped Kaz on the back. ¡°Kaz is a second cousin or some such,¡± he said easily. ¡°We hit it off when I visited some family on the way here, and he was looking for a way to make some money so he could get a house for his, uh, wife. He¡¯s a mage, but can handle a knife pretty well, too. Has some neat tricks with mana bolts, and can make a shield over himself and anyone else he¡¯s touching, at least for a bit. His wyvern is well-trained, too. Almost like they share a mind.¡± His eyes twinkled mischievously.


    Bella was looking thoughtful. Kaz¡¯s announcement that he already had a mate seemed to have made her relax, at least. She didn¡¯t look quite as angry as she had before. Or was that wariness hiding behind anger?


    ¡°Good to know you¡¯re not defenseless if you run out of mana,¡± she said almost reluctantly. ¡°Use your mana bolts to take out any archers or other mages. Can you shield yourself and Harper, too?¡±


    He eyed the slim female, then nodded. ¡°She¡¯ll have to stay close to me. But not touching!¡± Li let out a little hiss of agreement, and all eyes turned to her.


    ¡°Does your lizard do anything but scream?¡± Eve asked, sounding dubious. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have particularly large hind claws, and wyverns can¡¯t bite worth a tinker¡¯s kiss. I did see one once who would grab arrows out of the air. That was something.¡±


    Kaz threw a glance at Raff. The other male had made it sound like wyverns were frightening creatures, and the one Kaz and Li had seen in the beast market certainly was.


    Raff coughed slightly. ¡°This one is a female, so the claws are smaller. As you can see. And it, ah, doesn¡¯t scream.¡±


    Bella looked disgusted. ¡°Then what does it do? It¡¯s pretty enough, I¡¯ll admit, but if it can¡¯t fight, it doesn¡¯t belong in a battle.¡±


    Kaz stroked Li, who was torn between pleasure at the compliment and anger at being dismissed. ¡°She¡¯s an excellent distraction,¡± he told the short female. ¡°But if she decides to attack someone, they¡¯ll regret it.¡±


    ¡°I hope so,¡± Eve said. ¡°I¡¯d hate to see her hurt because you got cocky. Most people aim to disable pets, not kill them, but that option is open. The rules only say we have to do everything in our power to avoid killing or permanently maiming a fellow combatant, but pets don¡¯t have that protection.¡±


    Oh. That was a relief, though. Kaz had planned to avoid killing anyone anyway, since a battle for entertainment seemed like a ridiculous thing to die for, but it was good to know that his opponents would do the same.


    ¡°Li will be fine,¡± Kaz said, over the rising images of the dragon tearing through mental representations of the many humans in the room, including their new party members.


    <I¡¯m looking forward to biting people,> Li muttered.


    Kaz gave her a look, sending a mental picture of the glimpse he¡¯d gotten inside the red wyvern¡¯s mouth. It had ridged plates, not teeth, and tearing a chunk out of someone would be a good way to make someone realize that Li wasn¡¯t what she appeared to be. Li turned her head away, shaking out her wings grumpily.


    There was a stirring in the people around them, and Kaz dropped his rune as everyone turned toward the door. A male stood there, beard bristling as he bellowed, ¡°Number seventeen and number thirty-six!¡±


    Two groups stiffened, then began to make their way through the crowd. One of them was in the back, and it took a good bit of jostling for them to get through. As the ten people filed out, however, there was a noticeable rise in the noise level outside the room.


    ¡°The first battle¡¯s been called,¡± Eve said. She pointed toward the ceiling. ¡°They¡¯ve had archery going all morning, but most people are here for the head to head fights. We¡¯re as close as it gets to a good melee, but they save that for just before closing ceremonies. That way if someone gets killed ¡®accidentally¡¯, it doesn¡¯t interfere with any other competitions they¡¯re signed up for.¡±


    There was a roar overhead, and dust drifted down from the ceiling. It was a bit like being trapped in the mosui city while Raff and Chi Yincang fought Zhangwo, and Kaz eyed the door thoughtfully.


    Seeing his look, Eve reached out and patted one of the dirty gray walls, built of blocks of stone almost as tall as Bella and twice as wide. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she told him. ¡°This old stadium has stood for hundreds of years. It¡¯s not going to fall down today.¡±


    I bet they said the same about the mage college, Kaz thought, feeling Li¡¯s answering amusement, but he didn¡¯t argue with Eve. At least he could be certain that there wasn¡¯t an ancient being trapped beneath their feet this time. Just to be sure, he looked down, seeing nothing but the normal blotches of mana and flickers of ki representing small lives in the earth below.


    Over the next hour or so, six more parties were called, leaving the room empty of all but Kaz¡¯s group and one other. They stood at opposite ends of the room, watching each other. The other group consisted of five humans, all of whom rivaled Raff in size, and they looked distinctly unconcerned. Mana swirled in their bellies, spreading out through their limbs in a way that made Kaz think they probably all had some level of body cultivation.


    ¡°Will we be fighting them?¡± Kaz asked softly.


    Harper yawned, patting her mouth with one hand. She had been sleeping off and on since the last group was called, and the room finally grew quiet enough to allow her to rest. ¡°Probably,¡± she said, then closed her eyes again.


    Eve gave her a bemused glance, then smiled at Kaz. Hooking a thumb toward her friend, she said, ¡°This is what happens when you usually work nights and sleep during the day. I can¡¯t remember the last time I saw Harper in broad daylight.¡±


    Bella seemed to have grown even more tense each time a group was called. Now she glowered at the other team, her arms crossed over her chest. ¡°I know a few of them,¡± she muttered. ¡°The tallest man is Gathrak the Destroyer. It¡¯s a ridiculous name, but he¡¯s a decent fighter. He¡¯s actually in the solo sword tournament as well, and is favored to win. I didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d joined a team this year.¡±


    Raff shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of him, I think. Got kicked out of a mercenary guild for being too violent, right?¡±


    The female snorted. ¡°That¡¯s the one. A little like Eve, that way, except he enjoys it.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Eve protested. ¡°I enjoy fighting, too.¡±


    Bella sighed. ¡°But you don¡¯t enjoy hurting people. You¡¯re always upset afterwards.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true,¡± Eve admitted. ¡°A good brawl is just fun, but some people take it too far.¡±


    The door opened, and the large bearded male stepped inside. Looking from Kaz¡¯s group to the other one, he said, ¡°Numbers twelve and twenty, you¡¯re up.¡±


    Eve had told Kaz, Li, and Raff that they were team number twenty, so that meant them, not that that was a surprise. Gathrak the Destroyer moved out, the rest of his group trailing behind him, and not even Bella tried to get in between him and the door.


    Once they were all in the hall, the male leading them began to lead the way while speaking in a bored tone. ¡°You should all know the rules, but I¡¯m required to go over them once more. Number one, no intentional killing or maiming.¡± He gave Gathrak a look. ¡°Judgment will be called in case of death or serious injury, and if it goes against you, you¡¯re out of the tournament in all categories.¡±


    Gathrak¡¯s lip lifted in a sneer, but he and everyone else nodded.


    ¡°Good,¡± the bearded male said. ¡°Second, you can only use what you¡¯re carrying at the beginning of the battle. If you have storage devices, take anything you¡¯ll need out now, because you won¡¯t be able to later.¡±


    Reminded, Kaz pulled his pouch open and removed his new mage blade. It felt good in his hand, and he fed the ki-crystal on the pommel just a bit more energy before tying it to his belt. Li watched, and he could almost feel her balancing the value of the knife against the delicious-looking crystal. He knew she wouldn¡¯t actually eat it, at least as long as it might help keep him alive, but that didn¡¯t keep her from thinking about it.


    ¡°Third,¡± the male went on, ¡°if two or more of your members are rendered unable to continue, you all lose. Remember, this is a team battle, and that means your goal is to keep your whole group ¡®alive¡¯.¡±


    Now that was interesting. That meant that while Gathrak might be powerful, it wouldn¡¯t matter if Kaz and the others could take out two of his teammates. Strategy could be as important as strength.


    ¡°Last,¡± the guide said, halting by a large alcove with a gate made of crossed bars covering the far wall. ¡°Give us a show. This is the tournament. Even if you can wipe out the other group in less than a minute, don¡¯t.¡± He looked meaningfully at Gathrak, then pointed into the alcove.


    ¡°Twenty, this is you. Have a good fight.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-six

    They stood in the alcove for less than five minutes before the gate swung open. A voice boomed out, and Kaz recognized his own name, as well as ¡®Big Bro Gravy¡¯ and the others. Bella lifted her arms and ran through the door, bellowing out a roar that would have made a dragon proud. Eve was close behind her, though her yell was more like a whoop of joy. Raff clapped Kaz on the shoulder before following after them, and then Harper sauntered through the opening, hand lifted to shade her eyes.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Kaz followed, and as he stepped into the brilliant sunlight, Li took off, her glittering scales catching the light as she swooped over his head. A noise that had been a steady roar shifted, and Kaz realized it was the sound of an unknown number of voices, all speaking or yelling at once. As they saw Li, however, the sound shifted to one of admiration, rather than excitement.


    Kaz looked up, watching Li circle, then wobble as she took in the hundreds - thousands? - of faces looking at her. At first, he felt the flush of her pleasure as she finally received the admiration she deserved, but that faded quickly, leaving her overwhelmed and unsure what to do.


    ¡°Li!¡± he called, raising his arm, and gratefully she flew back down, landing on his forearm. Though she was slim and graceful, she was also solid muscle, and he was glad he¡¯d refined his body far enough that he could easily support her. He didn¡¯t draw her back against his body, though he did bring her down to his side.


    ¡°Way to steal the show,¡± Eve said as he joined the others. She grinned to show that she didn¡¯t mean anything by it, but Bella was glowering even more than usual. Raff was busy staring out at a particular part of the crowd, near what looked like boxes built among the seats, separating a few people from the masses.


    They stood on a large circle of packed earth surrounded by long, low seats that were built on stepped levels all the way around. People of all kinds surrounded them, packed in with very few gaps. It made Kaz uncomfortable just to look at them, and he wondered how they could stand to be so close to so many strangers. Or did they come in groups of tribe or family so they would know those nearest to them?


    The loud voice was still speaking, and on the other side of the circle, Kaz saw another door open, releasing their opponents. Gathrak the Destroyer was first, and the crowd roared again as he ran in, arms raised, spinning in place so everyone could see his grinning face. Some members of the crowd threw glittering circles that looked like coins into the dirt at his feet, along with a few items of clothing.


    The other four members of his team were almost ignored, and they walked up behind Gathrak, their expressions grim. Hands gripped weapons as mana gathered around them. The crowd continued to scream each time Gathrak lifted his arms, until the voice interrupted them with the words, ¡°One minute!¡±


    Immediately, Harper lifted her instrument, set her fingers to the strings, and began to sing as she plucked them. Music flowed over Kaz and Li, and to his surprise, mana came with it. It pushed against him, but found no purchase. Beside him, however, Raff almost seemed to glow, even in the bright sunlight, as did Eve and Bella.


    Raff and Eve pulled in long breaths, their chests swelling. Raff¡¯s mana grew thick, and even more red sparks flashed in it, but Eve had no dantians open, so the power just sank into her body, making her look like she had a soft fog inside her skin.


    Bella, on the other hand, opened and closed her fists, then reached over her shoulder and slid a shield off her back. The mana in her body seemed to be pulled toward that shield, until a solid gray circle formed in front of her, merging with the mana in her arm until Kaz thought it would be easier to cut her arm off than to make her drop her shield.


    Harper sang and played for the entire minute, building up the mana in all of them, though by the end she had opened her eyes and was staring directly at Kaz. Her expression was the most focused he¡¯d ever seen it, and filled with curiosity. Could she tell that whatever she was doing didn¡¯t work on him?


    A loud bell rang, and for a moment, Kaz thought it was alerting them to another incursion, somehow happening in the middle of the day. Then he saw that the two groups were hurtling toward each other, and guessed that the minute was up and the battle begun.


    Kaz remembered he was supposed to protect Harper, and looked around to see that she was still playing, though she was now walking in the direction of the rest of the group. Did she have to be near them in order to use her power, or did they have to be able to hear her? If so, would her music affect the other team as well, once they got close enough?


    Watching closely, he saw that the answer to the second question was no. The human seemed to be able to decide where her power went. It continued to boost Raff, Eve, and Bella, without aiding their opponents. Satisfied, Kaz stepped between Harper and everyone else, pulling his shield around them both, though he was careful to imagine Harper¡¯s music passing through unhindered.


    Raff was wielding an axe almost as tall as Bella, and he swung it at Gathrak, who caught it on his equally large, mana-filled sword and shoved it away, roaring defiance. Eve swung her sword toward Gathrak¡¯s exposed ribs, but mana coiled in his limbs, allowing him to leap several feet backwards just in time to avoid the attack.


    Meanwhile, Bella was holding off three of the other four humans, her shield somehow managing to be in the right place every time the enemy swung their weapons. The fifth member of the other team was standing off to the side, watching all of this, holding one of the mana-sticks aloft, with power gathering at its tip.


    <That¡¯s our target,> Li thought, and Kaz nodded, remembering that Bella had told him to ¡®take out¡¯ any mages. Which would be simple enough, but the man who¡¯d brought them to the gate had also said to ¡®give them a show¡¯. Which one was he supposed to do?


    Li spread her wings, turning them just so, as sunlight raced over her golden scales like fire. Kaz chuckled. That was a kind of show too, he supposed.


    ¡°Should we stop him from using his mana?¡± he murmured. He had only had to directly fight one mage before, and that was because Raff asked him to. Raff¡¯s former friend, Ellie, had been working with a male named Lep. Lep had attempted to throw some mana at Kaz and his friends, but that mana had been so loosely bound together that it started unraveling on its own the moment it left Lep¡¯s fingers. It had been a simple matter to finish dispersing it, allowing the mana to rejoin all of the other unformed power that constantly surrounded them.


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    Behind him, the singing stopped. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Harper asked, sounding genuinely curious. ¡°Can you not hit him from here?¡± She immediately picked back up where she had left off, her fingers never having paused in their rapid plucking.


    Well, that answered that. Stopping the mage was more important than a ¡®show¡¯. Kaz gave a sigh of relief to have that clarified, then flung up his arm, releasing Li into the air.


    With a few beats of her wings, the dragon soared up high, then dove back down. As she did, she released a great roar, which almost succeeded in being audible above the continuing noise of the crowd. Kaz gathered his will, waiting for just the right moment, and when Li swooped over the mage¡¯s head, causing him to look up, Kaz reached through the dragon and caught hold of the mana that had been building in the stick.


    Mana was still tricky. It was ki, but it wasn¡¯t. It contained all the elements, but wasn¡¯t any of them. But the more time he spent surrounded by beings who used mana instead of ki, the more he realized that it didn¡¯t matter. He couldn¡¯t make mana the way he made ki, couldn¡¯t manipulate it without great effort, but he could release it, almost as if that was something he was meant to do. So as the mage looked up, raising his stick to point at Li, all of his power simply¡­went away.


    Kaz could see it, pouring out and away, mingling with other mana, then vanishing into gray wisps, no longer under the mage¡¯s control. The mage had put a good bit of his power into it, too, so he was left with less than half of what had been stored in his body.


    Li swung back up, enjoying the warm breeze that rose from the hot, dry dirt. The people screamed, watching her as she flew, and gradually, she relaxed into their admiration, accepting it as her due.


    All except for the mage, who shook his stick, tapping it against his other hand impatiently. He glared up at Li, face twisted in anger, and lifted the stick again. This time the mana rose hard and fast, not as strong, but twisted into a fine point that he flicked toward Li before Kaz was ready.


    Kaz sent the dragon a warning, and she spun, twisting and flicking a wing through the rising bolt, shattering it back into gray mist as easily as Kaz could have. Turning, she dove back toward the mage again, mouth wide as she prepared to blow fire or vapor into his face.


    ¡°No! Li!¡± Kaz called, leaving Harper behind as he raced across the dirt toward his dragon. For an instant, he thought she would ignore him, doing something that as far as he knew, no wyvern could, but at the last possible moment she pulled up, smacking the whip-like tip of her tail across the human¡¯s face instead. Blood flew, and he shrieked in pain, clapping his hands to his face. His knees buckled, and his stick hit the ground.


    Kaz dove, sliding across the dirt to scoop it up, then whirled and threw it away. It arced up, much further than he could have thrown anything before, bouncing across the ground close to Harper. Who was under attack.


    The bard had stopped singing, and was running away from the smallest of the remaining four opponents. He held a large sword, and was already far too close to Kaz¡¯s teammate. Kaz summoned power from his core, throwing a ki-bolt that burned into the male¡¯s back, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees, skidding several feet as dust rose up in a cloud. When the dust settled, the male was flat on his face, arms splayed, his sword several feet from his limp hand. For an instant, Kaz was afraid he¡¯d gone too far, and the human was dead. Then a hand twitched, and the male tried to roll over, failing miserably but clearly alive.


    Harper stopped, as did the sound of the crowd. For one cycle of his core, the only sound was the clanging of metal on metal as the remaining six combatants continued to fight. Then the bell rang again, and the crowd roared.


    ¡°Match over! Team Big Bro Gravy wins!¡± shouted the impossibly loud voice.


    Raff stepped away from his battle, staring at Kaz with his brows raised as he rested the haft of his axe on his shoulder. It was completely clean, and though all six of the humans who had still been fighting were dusty and sweaty, none of them had more than superficial scratches.


    Kaz looked over at Harper, who was calmly putting away her instrument in a hard case that she slung across her back. ¡°What happened?¡± he called, raising his voice to be heard over the almost angry buzz of the crowd.


    Harper gave a grin so wide it threatened to split her face. ¡°You won,¡± she said.


    Li flew back down, and Kaz reached up absently, accepting her weight and bringing her around so he could stroke her head. ¡°Are you all right?¡± he asked, inspecting the wing that had shattered the mage¡¯s mana bolt.


    <Did you know I could do that?> she asked, arching her neck happily. <I knew I could do that. Because dragons can do anything!>


    He laughed, leaning forward to touch his nose to hers, drawing in her breath and her ki, then breathing out as their shared cycle spun on.


    ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t quite the way it was supposed to go,¡± Raff said, and Kaz looked up, seeing a lopsided grin on his friend¡¯s face. Eve looked disappointed, while Bella¡¯s face was almost completely blank, as if she hadn¡¯t yet processed the fact that the match was over.


    ¡°What was supposed to happen?¡± Kaz asked, snuggling Li against his chest.


    ¡°Depends who you ask,¡± said Raff with a chuckle, hitching a thumb over his shoulder at Gathrak the Destroyer. ¡°That guy thought he was going to whale on us until he had the crowd all riled up, then knock us out.¡±


    ¡°What did you think?¡± Eve asked, wiping her hand across her brow.


    Raff shrugged. ¡°It was obvious that we were going to win. I just figured I¡¯d let you all have some fun first.¡±


    Bella stared from Raff to Kaz. ¡°Who in all the hells are you?¡± she asked. Pointing at Raff, she said, ¡°You just played with the man most likely to win the sword category. I don¡¯t even think you needed me or Eve.¡±


    Switching her accusatory finger to Kaz, she said, ¡°And you just took out a mage and a warrior without even using a wand or spell! You just looked at them! And that wyvern-!¡± She sputtered to a stop, and Raff began to gently urge them all toward the gate, which still stood open behind them.


    ¡°Well, I reckon it¡¯s time to go get some grub,¡± he said, his axe vanishing into his inventory as they walked through the dark opening. ¡°I¡¯ve got a fight in a couple hours, after the solo sword competition runs. I kind of feel sorry for whoever that Gathrak fights. He¡¯s a bit peeved.¡±


    ¡°Peeved?¡± Bella screeched. ¡°We just knocked his team out of the competition!¡±


    Raff grinned again. ¡°I had nothin¡¯ to do with it. It was all Kaz and his little friend.¡±


    All eyes turned to Kaz, and he desperately wished he could flatten his ears as he turned away from their attention, walking back through the broad tunnel through the stadium.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-seven

    Eve chose to eat with Kaz, Raff, and Li, but Bella and Harper returned to their dens instead. The friendly female obviously wanted to discuss the match, so she and Raff went back and forth, talking about things that had happened while Kaz wasn¡¯t looking. Kaz, on the other hand, spent his time talking to and feeding Li, who was still pretending to be a wyvern.


    I¡¯m sure real wyverns don¡¯t need to be hand fed, he thought to her, sending an image of the one wyvern they¡¯d met gobbling down chunks of meat directly from the ground. Whether she understood the words or the image, he knew she¡¯d sense his amusement.


    Li sniffed. <It¡¯s not my fault everything out here is so dirty,> she said, delicately taking a piece of cooked vegetable from his fingers. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t really need to chew her food, so maintaining the illusion that she had no teeth was simply a matter of keeping his hand in front of her mouth until she closed it around the morsel.


    Kaz laughed softly. It was true that while there was dust in the mountain, there wasn¡¯t dirt, and dirt was, in fact, dirty. Since leaving the mountain, he and Li had gotten filthy in whole new ways, and while water could be found almost everywhere, the water, too, was often dirty instead of crystal clear.


    ¡°Bl- Kaz?¡± Raff said, and Kaz looked up, realizing that both Raff and Eve were watching him.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked cautiously. He often lost track of what was going on around him while he was speaking to Li, which was a habit he needed to break, especially since he wouldn¡¯t always have Raff, Lianhua, or even Chi Yincang to keep watch while he and Li were distracted.


    Raff shook his head, but he was smiling. ¡°I asked if you want to go back and watch my fight. I¡¯m going to try to make it fun.¡± The smile widened to a grin.


    ¡°I¡¯m going, too,¡± Eve said. ¡°I know a few other folks fighting in the axe division. Some of ¡®em I like, and some I don¡¯t. Gravy said he¡¯d let me decide how fast he trounces ¡®em.¡± Her grin was predatory, and Raff shook his head, but Kaz could tell he¡¯d softened toward the female since they¡¯d met yesterday. Briefly, he wondered if this was what humans looked like when they were trying to decide if they would be compatible mates, then pictured the pups the two huge, loud humans would produce and felt a bit overwhelmed at the mere prospect.


    ¡°I want to try more shopping,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Then go back to the tournament hut.¡± He saw Eve¡¯s confused expression, and corrected himself. ¡°The barracks, I mean.¡±


    Raff frowned. ¡°You sure that¡¯s a good idea? We should go to the bank and get your, uh, weird money changed for Holiander groats. Or maybe just look around, but don¡¯t buy anything without me.¡±


    Kaz considered this. It was true that he didn¡¯t know how much gold things were worth, but couldn¡¯t he just continue cutting pieces off one of the ingots when he bought something? Surely the shop owner would let him know what was fair. Then he remembered the look in the eyes of Raff¡¯s friend, Vesthar, and decided Raff was right.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look, but won¡¯t buy,¡± he agreed, but Raff pulled a single gold coin from his pouch and slid it across the table to him.


    ¡°This is enough to get food and drink for you and the lizard,¡± Raff said. ¡°And if you see some new pants, you might go ahead and get them, too.¡± He lifted an eyebrow, looking down at the cloth covering Kaz¡¯s legs, which was more stained than clean and had several small holes caused by drifting ash at the mage college.


    Kaz couldn¡¯t help but laugh. The pants still covered a great deal more than his loincloth ever had, but humans were strange about showing skin. Were they as uncomfortable with their own lack of fur as Kaz was?


    They all pushed back their chairs and turned toward the door. There were, as usual, far too many humans crowded into the small food hut where they¡¯d eaten, so it took a moment to wend their way out. Raff paused just outside the door, looking at Kaz uncertainly.


    ¡°You sure you know how to get back to the barracks?¡± he asked.


    Kaz closed his eyes, figuring out where he was in relation to the mountain. He found it, home, and then pulled up the memory of how it had felt that morning when he woke up. He pointed. ¡°There.¡±


    Raff chuffed a laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you do that, but yes. Just in case you need to ask someone, though, do you remember the cross streets?¡±


    ¡®Cross streets¡¯ were the two closest streets to any given location, and Raff used them to give directions. Kaz was still trying to build a picture of the city in his mind, so the names didn¡¯t help him much, but it still made Raff happy when he remembered them. ¡°White Forest and Iron,¡± he said, and Raff smiled his approval.


    ¡°All right,¡± the big male said. ¡°I¡¯ll head back as soon as I finish my match. Don¡¯t get into any trouble.¡± He stopped as soon as he realized what he¡¯d said, and closed his eyes as he rubbed his face. ¡°Look who I¡¯m talkin¡¯ to,¡± he muttered. Opening his eyes, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t get into any trouble you can¡¯t get yourself out of.¡±


    Li was distinctly entertained by the change, and Kaz shook his head, trying to hide his own amusement. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± he said.


    Raff groaned. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of.¡± Turning to Eve, he motioned to her, and the two of them moved off down the street, though Raff threw back as many worried looks as Eve did confused ones.


    Only when the two humans turned a corner did Kaz finally relax. He wasn¡¯t terribly excited about looking in stores when he couldn¡¯t buy anything, and this part of the city was far too busy for his liking. He glanced at Li, who was perched on his left forearm. ¡°Should we head toward the hut and see if we find anything interesting before we reach it?¡±


    <I want to fly,> she said, sending a powerful surge of longing along with an image of herself winging through the beautiful blue sky.


    He hesitated. ¡°Maybe we can go someplace with fewer people first?¡± Reluctantly, she bobbed her head, and Kaz absently began to scratch at all of her itchy spots as he let his feet carry them through the streets.


    Humans flowed around them, as well as a few members of the other races Kaz had seen scattered around the city. He longed to speak to one of them, but they were all with other people or walking with great purpose, often in the opposite direction, so he didn¡¯t try. Instead, he changed streets when he didn¡¯t need to, moving two or three blocks further from the widest roads, then turning back onto a narrower one that led in the right direction.


    After two or three of these sideways turnings, Kaz found himself in a much quieter area. As a bonus, there were no strong smells or loud noises, as there were on some of the other streets he and Raff had walked down. For the first time since he entered the human city, he felt his muscles loosen, and he was actually able to take in his surroundings without being overwhelmed.


    Most of the buildings past which he walked seemed to be family huts, and there were even a few young humans playing in the streets. They had round objects that looked like the animal bladders kobold pups sometimes blew up and used as toys. Just like puppies, they kicked the bladder back and forth, though they whooped and yelled instead of filling the air with mock-ferocious barks and yips.


    When the children saw Kaz, some of the younger ones scampered out of the way, but most of the others just stared at him. He continued walking, offering them an awkward smile. If this was a kobold den- Well, first, he wouldn¡¯t be there, because a stranger would never have been allowed to simply walk in, but a den-mother would be nearby, protecting the pups. Yet here, Kaz saw no such person, nor did it seem like any particular child was in charge.


    At least it didn¡¯t until one youth, smaller than most of the rest, called, ¡°Why is your hair blue?¡± A taller child tried to take the little one¡¯s arm, but he or she just shook the hand off and kept staring at Kaz, waiting.


    ¡°It just is,¡± he finally said. ¡°Why is your hair brown?¡±


    The child shrugged. ¡°My mom and dad¡¯s hair is brown.¡±


    Kaz smiled. ¡°My father¡¯s fu- hair was blue, too.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± Clear gray eyes shifted to Li, and Kaz had a feeling that the next question was the one the child had wanted to ask from the beginning. ¡°Can I touch your dragon?¡±


    A thrill of fear ran through Kaz, and he had to fight to keep the worried whine from his voice as he said, ¡°She¡¯s a wyvern, not a dragon. And that¡¯s up to her.¡±


    The child tilted their head to the side, examining Li critically before saying, ¡°Sure.¡± Holding out a hand to Li, they said, ¡°My name¡¯s Nadia. What¡¯s yours?¡± After an accusatory glance at Kaz, Li sniffed the hand, gave a little cough, and turned her head away, resting it on his shoulder.


    Kaz found himself smiling at the memory of one of the first females who had been truly kind to him, for no other reason than that she wished to be. Nadi, the Stoneborn den-mother, had tried to protect him even though she believed he was a numb-mind. A pang of guilt reminded him that someday he should make sure she knew that strange puppy had survived.


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    ¡°Kaz,¡± he told the child. ¡°This is Li. I like your name. I once knew a female with a similar name.¡±


    Nadia blinked twice, then accepted this with another shrug. ¡°I¡¯m a girl, too. My mom cuts my hair short because I won¡¯t let her brush it. I like it this way. Is Li your pet?¡±


    The taller child, who was most likely a male, tugged at Nadia¡¯s arm again, and again she ignored him. This time, however, he hissed, ¡°Mom said not to talk to strangers anymore.¡±


    Nadia gave the eternally put-upon sigh of a pup who had been told to do something they very much didn¡¯t want to do, then said, ¡°I have a pet, too. A dog. I¡¯d show him to you, but Mom says I can¡¯t talk to strangers.¡±


    Both Kaz and Li turned to look at the child at this. Lianhua¡¯s book had pictures of the dog from her myth, and both she and Raff claimed that dogs were a common pet for humans, but Kaz was almost certain he hadn¡¯t seen one yet. He¡¯d heard a few distant barks, and smelled something that wasn¡¯t a kobold, yet had similarities to both kobolds and the wolves they¡¯d met while traveling, but he hadn¡¯t seen a dog.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a dog before, so I¡¯d like to see yours,¡± he said, ¡°but you should obey your mother. It¡¯s very important to listen to your elders.¡± Puppies who didn¡¯t listen ended up dead or missing, at least in his experience, and he wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to this oddly engaging young human.


    Nadia watched him for another moment, then put her fingers in her mouth and blew the loudest whistle Kaz had ever heard. It even put to shame the whistles Li used to use to demand food. The dragon hardly ever whistled any more. Kaz supposed that it must be something only newly hatched dragons did.


    A soft, breathy whistle came from close to his ear. <I can still do it,> Li insisted, then tried again. The scales around her mouth were wider and thicker than they used to be, making it difficult, but she managed. <See?> she said triumphantly.


    A large animal covered in shaggy brown and white fur came racing around the corner ahead. Its ears flopped around its head, and it barked happily, tongue lolling and tail wagging when it saw Nadia. The little female smiled and called, ¡°Brute! Come meet Kaz and Li!¡± Glancing back at Kaz, she confided, ¡°He knows how to open the door, but he¡¯s not supposed to do it, because he always forgets to close it again.¡±


    Kaz could see how that would be a problem, but he watched, fascinated, as the dog came toward him. It really did look a lot like a kobold, at least as much as the wolves had, though in different ways. The animal was wider and stockier than the wolves, with a much fluffier tail that definitely resembled a kobold¡¯s more than the wolves¡¯ had.


    When the dog was about five feet from Kaz, Li, and Nadia, it came to an abrupt halt. Its round brown eyes were fixed on Kaz, and for a moment, he thought it would bark or growl at him. Instead, it extended its front paws out ahead of it, bowing down, then rolled over, baring its belly as it wiggled. To Kaz¡¯s shock, Nadia giggled and ran forward, burying first her hands and then her face in the long fur.


    Looking back up at Kaz, she grinned and said, ¡°He must like you. Brute is usually kind of protective.¡±


    The dog¡¯s pointed white teeth and powerful claws did indeed look fearsome, but the goofy expression on his face as he rolled around completely countered it. It was like seeing a young pup in the body of an adult.


    He¡¯s like a numb-mind, Kaz realized. Were all dogs like this? The wolves had certainly behaved very differently. Cautiously, Kaz crouched, balancing Li on one arm as he reached out the other hand, letting the dog sniff his fingers as Nadia had tried to get Li to do. Perhaps that was how humans greeted each other¡¯s pets?


    Kaz gave a soft yip of greeting, and the dog¡¯s ears lifted. He gave a questioning bark in return, and Kaz offered the customary howl of a peaceful kobold entering another tribe¡¯s territory. At this, the dog rolled over again, whining quietly, and their eyes met.


    Curiosity. Worry. Love for the child still stroking his fur. Protectiveness, but also a strange certainty that this new dog wouldn¡¯t harm her. He wasn¡¯t as sure about the thing that smelled like one of the little scaled things that basked on the rock wall by his house in the summer, but-


    ¡°Brute!¡± The female voice pulled Kaz back from that bizarre and utterly unexpected connection. How was it possible? The dog didn¡¯t have a core. Didn¡¯t even have ki or any noticeable quantity of mana beyond what every living thing naturally drew into itself, which Kaz was still only beginning to be able to see.


    Blinking, he stood as a human female approached. She did have mana. A surprising amount, really, and Kaz wondered if she might even be trained in its use, because it cycled more evenly through her body than most of the humans he¡¯d walked past in the street. At least it did everywhere except her left arm, which hung limp at her side, clearly useless. A dark blotch hung in her shoulder, tangling the mana there up into a chaotic jumble.


    Seeing Kaz, she halted, her right hand reaching over to grasp the left one, almost as if she would hide it from him. Her lips pinched, and she snapped, ¡°Nadia Verity Wood. What did I tell you about talking to strangers?¡±


    ¡°I told her to stop, Mom,¡± the older boy said, sounding very self-righteous.


    His mother only frowned at him before saying, ¡°Next time, if you can¡¯t convince your six-year-old sister to listen, come and get me.¡± Shifting her glare to Kaz, she said, ¡°Who are you, and what are you doing with these children?¡±


    Was she the den-mother? If so, Kaz approved. She looked like she was ready to fight for her charges, and she had also been teaching them howls to keep them safe, which was only right.


    With Li in his arms, Kaz couldn¡¯t give the proper salute of respect, unmated male to senior female, but he bowed forward, offering her easy access to the back of his neck. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a dog before. Nadia called him for me. I didn¡¯t mean to cause her to break the rules of your tribe.¡±


    ¡°You, what?¡± the female spluttered, then reached out and grasped Kaz¡¯s shoulder, tugging him upright. This time, her expression was more confused than combative when she said, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°My name is Kaz,¡± he told her, and had to resist the urge to give her a yip of greeting. It had been nice to speak with someone who understood, even a little.


    She shook her head, seeming to take him in. Her voice was much gentler when she said, ¡°You can¡¯t just talk to children in the street. You¡¯ll frighten them. Or,¡± she smiled slightly, ¡°their parents.¡±


    Dropping her good hand, she laid it on the dog¡¯s head, and he looked up at her worshipfully, tail thwacking against her leg. ¡°Brute is a good judge of character, though, so I won¡¯t call the guards on you. Just be more careful next time, all right?¡±


    Kaz nodded, appreciating the warning and her forbearance. Glancing again at her shoulder, he hesitated, then burst out, ¡°May I touch you?¡±


    She jerked back as if he¡¯d growled at her, expression shifting back towards fury in an instant. Quickly, Kaz pointed. ¡°Your shoulder. It¡¯s hurt.¡±


    Now she looked thoroughly baffled, turning so her bad shoulder was further away from him. ¡°Yes, it is,¡± she said tightly. ¡°It¡¯d take a true mage-healer to fix it, though, and we can¡¯t afford one. I don¡¯t think some blue-haired boy off the street is going to help.¡±


    Kaz lifted his free hand, summoning a ki-light to hover over his fingertips. At the sight, all of the humans around him let out gasps of wonder or fear, and every single one stepped away. All except for Nadia¡¯s mother. She searched his eyes with a look that shifted from disbelief to desperate hope, then turned again so she could offer him her damaged shoulder.


    Reaching out, Kaz laid his hand over the dark spot. The female¡¯s shirt was thin, and he could feel a ridge of scar tissue beneath his fingers. He traced it, concentrating on the darkness within her flesh. He still didn¡¯t know how to get that darkness out without making a new hole for it to escape through, but unlike the others he had treated, this female wasn¡¯t weak from illness or injury, and she had power. Perhaps if he simply helped, her body could take care of it on its own?


    Li stretched out her neck, looking at the patch of shadow from another angle as Kaz let his senses sink into the flesh surrounding it. Together, they smoothed out its ragged surface, delicately pulling away wisps of darkness so the female¡¯s mana could carry it away.


    At first, he didn¡¯t think it would work. The female gasped, face contorting in something like pain, and her mana grew disordered, the once-stable flow hesitating in its path. Kaz started to pull back, but she gasped, ¡°No. Please. That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve felt anything in that arm in almost three years.¡± Tears stood in her eyes, but she stared into his with quiet desperation, refusing to allow them to fall.


    So Kaz and Li went in again, tugging away the blotch of unmoving darkness bit by bit. As they did, the tears began to trickle down her cheeks, silent and slow, but the female never flinched or pulled away. Inside her body, the slow spin of her mana became more and more uneven, however, and Kaz began to fear that it would fall apart entirely.


    <I¡¯ll handle it,> Li said, in that serious voice she sometimes used. Releasing the shred of shadow she held, she instead turned to look at the female¡¯s cycle of power, giving it careful pushes here, while gently slowing it down somewhere else. They couldn¡¯t offer this female their own ki, and making more mana for her would take time and effort that they couldn¡¯t spare, but what Li was doing seemed to work. The female¡¯s breathing evened out, and her tears stopped.


    When Kaz finally finished clearing the blockage, the mana still seemed reluctant to return to the weakened limb, so Kaz and Li both turned their attention to it. Cautiously, they urged the mana to flow, and it did, gradually entering flesh that had held only the barest trickle for far too long. When even the fingers were once again part of the smooth, even cycling of the female¡¯s power, Kaz withdrew his hand, stepping back.


    He almost stumbled over Nadia and her brother, who were watching with rapt attention and no small amount of concern. When their mother gasped and began to rub her arm vigorously, the two children turned to glare at Kaz.


    Seeing this, the mother gave a choked laugh. ¡°No, Nadia, Mikal. It¡¯s just¡­ you know how your foot feels when you sit on it for too long, and it falls asleep?¡±


    Both children nodded, and Nadia grimaced.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that, only a hundred times worse,¡± their mother said. Then, slowly, she lifted the arm, which trembled. The gesture lasted only a moment, but everyone around them turned to look at Kaz in astonishment.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been stretching and moving it ever since it healed,¡± the female said wonderingly, tracing her right hand down the left arm. ¡°The medic said that it might heal on its own, eventually, but if I ever wanted it to work right, I couldn¡¯t let it atrophy. I honestly never thought-¡±


    She lifted her gaze to Kaz. ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered.


    Then Nadia¡¯s arms were around Kaz¡¯s waist, and the male, Mikal, was screaming and jumping up and down with joy. The dog howled, a sound of exultation, and when Nadia released Kaz to hug her mother instead, Kaz whispered, ¡°Li, hide us.¡±


    Li¡¯s power snapped through the air around them, and Kaz took a slow step back, feeding the dragon all the ki she could handle. Concealing both of them as they moved was an enormous drain, but they were both far more powerful than they had been before. Only Brute noticed their disappearance in time to protest, and no one paid attention to his sorrowful whimper.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-eight

    <Why didn¡¯t we stay?> Li asked grumpily as they watched more people run down the street, following the sounds of happy yelling. <I bet they¡¯d give us food.>


    Kaz glanced at her. They were no longer hiding, since they were far enough away that none of the humans who¡¯d seen them heal Nadia¡¯s mother were nearby. ¡°Because otherwise we would have been there healing people until tomorrow.¡± At least, that¡¯s what would have happened in a kobold tribe. Healers rarely had a moment when someone wasn¡¯t coming to them for everything from a bruised tail to a woshi bite. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    <I could eat,> the dragon muttered, even though they¡¯d had a meal only an hour or so before. Kaz chuckled. He¡¯d known what she was going to say, and she knew he knew, which made it all the funnier.


    ¡°We can look for a person selling skewers,¡± he conceded. While they hadn¡¯t used much power in the healing, sneaking away afterward had drained a fair amount of ki. Not enough that either of them felt weak, but Kaz had to admit that his stomach was also beginning to complain.


    <I¡¯ll look,> Li said, flapping her wings. Seeing that she wasn¡¯t going to take no for an answer this time, Kaz raised his arm, and he was almost certain it was an accident when a wing hit him in the head. She soon lifted up above the small, single-level huts that lined both sides of the street, and Kaz continued walking, even as he split his awareness so he could watch through her eyes.


    <Here,> Li sent after a moment, though Kaz had already seen it. There was an open area with a few food stalls just a few buildings ahead and to his right. Li settled on the edge of a roof, enjoying the heat of the hardened tiles that covered it, and Kaz focused back on his own body.


    This street had few carts, and the ones that did use it were generally the small two-wheeled type, pulled by a single human rather than a horse or mule. Having learned his lesson when he was almost run down earlier, Kaz glanced both ways before crossing, then entered a particularly narrow passage between two buildings. It was too tight even for the small carts, so it was probably just meant for people walking, which was convenient.


    Kaz slowed as he heard soft voices coming from ahead of him. Was someone else already there? If so, what was the right thing to do? There definitely wasn¡¯t enough room for him to get by without touching them, and the very idea made him uncomfortable. He also didn¡¯t want to go back, because Li was waiting for him, and he didn¡¯t know how far it was to the next turn.


    <Go up,> Li suggested, sensing his quandary.


    Kaz blinked, turning his face up to the ribbon of sky visible between the roofs of the buildings on either side of him. He sent an image of himself, clambering awkwardly up, then promptly being caught by an angry human, yelling at him to get down again.


    The dragon sighed, but she didn¡¯t actually sound upset when she said, <Just jump. I¡¯ll come back and meet you.>


    Kaz blinked. She was right. He¡¯d done it on the night of the incursion, so why did it seem so impossible now? Was it simply that no one else used the roofs as a way to travel, at least as far as he knew, so he suspected it was taboo? How much trouble would he be in if he was caught?


    The voices grew louder, as if the speakers were drawing closer, and Kaz made up his mind. Crouching, he focused on the gap above, which was no wider than a foot, since the roofs overhung their structures by a good bit for some unknown reason. He remembered overshooting the roof when he jumped only a few nights before, so this time he didn¡¯t even put ki into his legs, instead trusting his body cultivation to give him enough strength. Sure enough, he flew straight upwards at an astonishingly rapid rate, simply reaching out to grab the edge as he went by.


    His dragon settled onto the roof beside him as he found his footing. Helpfully, she showed him what he¡¯d looked like as he appeared through the crevice. He hadn¡¯t realized how much he¡¯d flailed his arms. He was still trying to figure out how to react when he heard voices from below, finally close enough for him to understand in spite of the muffling effect of the cramped space.


    ¡°-did he go?¡± The first speaker said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± a second voice said, clearly frustrated.


    ¡°You should have kept a better eye on him,¡± the first said.


    Silence hung between them. Kaz was beginning to get a bad feeling, so he crept along after the two, with Li close behind, using her invisible forelimbs to allow her to move as quietly as possible.


    ¡°Did you see him heal that woman?¡± The second finally spoke. ¡°It was like a miracle.¡±


    The first snorted. ¡°He¡¯s a mage, you twit. It was magic, not the gods. Plus, our job is to follow him and report back, not stand there with our jaws bouncing off our shoes.¡±


    The end of the roof was approaching, and Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what to do. If he was Chi Yincang, he would become invisible and follow them. If he was Raff, he would simply grab them, crack their heads together, and take them back for questioning.


    But even if Li was at full strength, she couldn¡¯t hide them both for more than ten minutes or so, which admittedly was a great improvement from where she started, but not necessarily enough. And Kaz simply wasn¡¯t certain that he could take down both of them before they could retaliate. He didn¡¯t see much mana moving along below, so they weren¡¯t mages or cultivators, but he might well kill one or both of them while trying to incapacitate them, which would only leave corpses to question.


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    Feeling his uncertainty, Li said, <I can follow them. No one will see me.>


    He shook his head immediately. He sketched a silence rune, murmured, ¡°If they catch you, you¡¯ll be alone until I can reach you. Even if I stay close behind, it¡¯s not worth it,¡± and then erased the rune again. He sent the memory of his fear and loneliness when they were separated in the mosui city, and Li reluctantly agreed.


    Below, one of the people groaned softly, then voice two asked, ¡°What do you think they¡¯ll do when they find out we lost him?¡±


    ¡°Be glad they know we¡¯ll have another chance tomorrow,¡± the first said grimly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen people fed to the dragons for less.¡±


    They moved off into the street, two humans like any others, both with short hair, though one was gray, and the other yellow. He could tell they were of average build, with the pale skin that was common in Cliffcross, but otherwise nothing about them stood out.


    ¡°Dragons,¡± he murmured, staring after them.


    <Dragons,> Li repeated. Then, louder, <Dragons!> She spread her wings, clearly ready to take off after them in spite of Kaz¡¯s concerns.


    Quickly, Kaz grabbed his dragon, pulling her back, tight against his chest. She thrashed wildly, only stopping when one of her claws dug a long furrow across Kaz¡¯s cheek. The scent of blood saturated the air, and he felt warm liquid flow down, dripping from his chin onto the front of his clothes.


    Li froze, staring at him, her eyes huge and swirling for the first time since she¡¯d last shed her skin. They had settled into a deep shade of gold, with flecks of the other four colors of ki, but her emotions were violent enough to stir them again, perhaps for the last time.


    <What if they know where my family is?> she whispered, trembling.


    Carefully, Kaz released her enough to use his shoulder to swipe at his cheek. The wound burned, and he pushed ki into it. Li¡¯s tongue flickered out, tickling the skin beneath the deep scratch, clearing away some of the blood.


    <I¡¯m sorry,> she said. <But what if? What if they or the dragons they¡¯re talking about know where my family is? What if those dragons are my family? What if they¡¯re looking for me?> If dragons could cry, Li would be doing so.


    Kaz flinched, then said gently, ¡°Your family doesn¡¯t know you¡¯re alive. I¡¯m sure they would look for you if they did, but you didn¡¯t hatch until after they were gone.¡± He knew she was well aware of this, but there was so much pain and longing flowing through their bond that he had to say something.


    An idea occurred to him then, and he said, ¡°Those humans will be looking for us tomorrow, right?¡±


    Li nodded, sad trickles of vapor pouring from her nostrils.


    Kaz smiled. ¡°That goes two ways. We¡¯ll look for them then, too. And we have friends.¡±


    <So do they,> Li said, but hope was beginning to replace despair.


    Kaz turned to look after the two humans, his eyes narrowing as he tried to pick them out of the flow of people walking by. ¡°Yes, and I think,¡± he said slowly, ¡°that it will be very interesting to find out exactly who those friends are.¡±


    Li sniffled slightly, and Kaz leaned forward, touching his nose to hers. ¡°We¡¯ll find them,¡± he promised. ¡°And the dragons. Though I have to admit that the idea of dragons who eat people worries me.¡± Not that he¡¯d ever thought the rest of her family would simply accept him as her friend. As awe-inspiring and beautiful as they had been, they were also beasts, and before Kaz and Li, no kobold had ever succeeded in making friends with a beast. Not that Li was a beast any longer.


    <No eating people,> she said.


    ¡°No eating people,¡± he agreed, chuffing a laugh. ¡°They tend not to like you afterwards.¡±


    <I don¡¯t think they like anyone after being eaten,> she said, but there was a hint of humor in her voice this time. She sent him an image of a dragon swallowing a human whole, only for that human to attempt to cut his way back out. Of course, in her version the dragon just burped flames, cooking the reluctant meal in its shell of armor.


    Kaz grimaced. ¡°Let¡¯s not try that,¡± he said.


    Li¡¯s tongue traced over his cheek, properly cleaning away the crust of blood forming there. <No eating,> she said again, ducking away as he snapped playfully at her nose with his blunt human teeth.


    Finally satisfied that she wouldn¡¯t try to fly off and find the two unprepossessing humans without him, Kaz released Li, brushing at his cheek. Flakes of blood fell onto the roof and his clothes, but the wound below was only a fine line beneath his questing fingers. Between his cultivation level and concentrating blue ki in that area, the minor wound had healed already.


    Sighing, Kaz reached into his pouch, taking out first a bright yellow chunk of ki-crystal, then the golden circle Raff had given him. It looked like he would need yet another new shirt, as well as pants without extra holes. He greatly missed the loincloth made from the fuulong silk Lianhua gave to him. It was still in his storage pouch, but he hadn¡¯t seen a single human wearing anything like it, and apparently he already stood out too much, so he didn¡¯t dare put it back on.


    Handing the crystal to Li, Kaz stood, then dropped over the edge of the roof and down into the narrow passage below. Drawing in a deep breath, he fixed the scents he found there in his memory. One of the people following him had a fairly mild scent, simply one human among thousands, but the other had been sweating profusely, and his smell was strong. Strong enough that Kaz believed he would know it again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get food,¡± he told his dragon, feeling her agreement, and also her satisfaction as earth ki burst forth from the crystal she¡¯d just eaten. He heard her wings rustle as they opened, and then she lifted off, briefly outlined against the darkening sky. For a moment, she hesitated, looking in the direction the two strangers had gone, but she flew back toward the open area and food stalls.


    Kaz followed after, nostrils spread as he drew in the deepest breaths he could manage, trying to catch even a hint of anything that might help him identify the two the next day. The only thing he found was a spot past the point where he¡¯d first heard them, almost to the stalls where Li waited. There was a distinct aroma there, and he thought it was one he had smelled the day before, when they took Lianhua, Kyla, and the others to the Spice District. Unfortunately, he doubted if it would help, unless one of the two regularly went there to eat, but he would remember anyway, just in case.

 Chapter Two hundred thirty-nine (Mei)

    She gnawed at the stone, and it crumbled away beneath her teeth. It was so soft compared to what she was used to, and there were so many different things mixed into it. Some of it tasted quite good, but most of it was bland or even unpleasant. Still, she went on, because if there was one thing she¡¯d learned, it was that a burrow with only one opening was actually a trap.


    Voices raised again from behind her, and she turned, her long tail sweeping through the debris she¡¯d left behind. Her whiskers quivered as she sniffed deeply, but so far as she could tell, there were no new smells in the cavern beyond. Still, it was time to check, so she picked up the circle of gold next to her and clamped it between her teeth, hurrying back.


    The tunnel narrowed rapidly, ending at a hole barely large enough for her body. She peered through, blinking at the light, then squeezed into the space behind the one she¡¯d once thought of as the Littlest Monster, but now knew was called Kyla.


    Kyla gave a gratifying gasp of relief, gently stroking Mei¡¯s fur. Mei dropped the gold into Kyla¡¯s hand. She knew by now that the other female wouldn¡¯t eat it - perhaps couldn¡¯t? - but it still seemed right to share.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Kyla whispered, leaning over so she could bury her muzzle in Mei¡¯s fur. Mei appreciated that Kyla didn¡¯t grab at her. She mostly trusted these Monsters by now, especially this one, but she still preferred not to be held. Climbing and perching on them whenever she wanted was, of course, an entirely different story.


    Kyla had made a nest behind a large container that used to hold food and water. Since Mei¡¯s Monster was very smart, she quickly realized that Mei was making a second exit for them, and used her nest materials to hide the opening. Mei wasn¡¯t certain why she was hiding it, but assumed it had something to do with the New Monsters.


    Jumping from Kyla¡¯s shoulder to the top of the box, Mei looked around, sniffing. The Monster Who Left had brought more food and water to replace what had been eaten, and there was a particular substance the Monsters called cheese that Mei found almost as appetizing as gold. It even had a similar color, though its smell wasn¡¯t nearly as sweet. Once again, the cheese was in the middle of the New Monsters¡¯ nest. These Monsters seemed to like the cheese almost as much as Mei did, so if she wanted any, she needed to go and get it.


    The cave was as still as ever, with the female Monsters mostly speaking to each other, and spending the rest of their time sleeping or eating. At least the Sick Monster, who was one of the new ones, seemed to be recovering.


    Mei climbed down the far side of the container, her sharp claws digging easily into the soft surface, then scampered across to the females¡¯ nest. She felt the eyes of the Silent Monster on her, but as usual, he did nothing, so she ignored him and continued on, clambering up into the large nest.


    Halting next to the block of cheese, which was already a good bit smaller than the last time she¡¯d seen it, Mei sat down, offering a polite squeak. She had learned by now that she didn¡¯t have to steal food from these Monsters. They would feed her if she asked, and simply made soft sounds of appreciation as she held the food in her paws, eating daintily.


    Sure enough, the Healthy New Monster tore off a chunk of cheese and passed it to Mei. It was smaller than she would have liked, but these Monsters had fought beside her and Kyla, so it was important to make sure they remained strong, so they could fight next time as well. Mei didn¡¯t begrudge them food. She was only glad that none of the Monsters seemed to like metal as much as she did.


    Mei began to nibble carefully at the lump of cheese, and the two New Monsters made squealing noises that were almost worthy of a fuergar. It sounded very odd coming from such large creatures, but Mei graciously ignored them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe how cute she is,¡± Healthy Monster squeaked to Sick Monster. Sick Monster nodded in turn, eyes large.


    ¡°There are reports of hordes of Ironfang Rats ravaging fields and orchards every year,¡± Sick Monster said. ¡°But no one ever mentioned the creatures we were setting bounties on were so adorable.¡±


    Healthy Monster¡¯s face moved in a way it usually didn¡¯t. ¡°Raff told me they can be pretty tough if you corner them. They run, but just come back again, so you have to find their nest, and there¡¯s almost always a big one in there. Even veterans can get overconfident and die if there are enough of them.¡±


    Seeing that Mei was out of cheese, Sick Monster passed her some more. ¡°Wyverns are pests, too, but people have them as pets.¡±


    Healthy Monster nodded. ¡°True. And wyverns aren¡¯t nearly as cute.¡±


    The two looked at each other as if finding agreement on something, and their lips curved upward. Mei had realized this meant this particular kind of Monster was happy, in the same way that a wagging tail meant Kyla¡¯s kind of Monster was. She didn¡¯t know why they were happy, but they also had cheese, and cheese made her happy, so perhaps it did the same for them.


    The three of them sat together, eating, until Healthy Monster burst out, ¡°Rissa likes cheese, too. And cute animals.¡± Her face began to leak.


    Sick Monster wrapped an arm around Healthy Monster¡¯s shoulders, and Mei wondered if Healthy Monster was sick after all. ¡°You¡¯ll get back home,¡± Sick Monster murmured reassuringly. ¡°They¡¯re fine.¡±


    Swiping at her cheeks, Healthy Monster said, ¡°You don¡¯t know that. No one has seen or spoken to them since all this happened. Dad, and Mom, and all the kids.¡±


    Now Sick Monster started to leak, too. ¡°I know. But at least we have help now.¡±


    ¡°Do we?¡± Healthy Monster asked, suddenly lowering her voice. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen Raff since yesterday. That woman comes in, asks Lianhua more questions, gives us food, and then leaves again. We have no idea what¡¯s going on. What if Raff and his friend are already dead or missing, and this Adara doesn¡¯t want to tell us? She may not even know.¡±


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    A flush almost as pink as her hair suffused Sick Monster¡¯s face. ¡°Kaz. Your brother¡¯s friend¡¯s name is Kaz. And I think they¡¯re fine. Kaz is¡­ is¡­ he¡¯s really strong, I think. They¡¯ll figure this out.¡±


    ¡°Without us,¡± Healthy Monster said, eyes narrowing. ¡°I want out of this place.¡±


    Sick Monster¡¯s fists balled in her nesting material. ¡°I do, too. And I¡¯m a princess of Holiander. Next time Adara comes back, I¡¯ll just order her to let us out. Or at least tell us what¡¯s happening.¡±


    The two exchanged a look, but Mei was done with her cheese, so she turned and left them. The two big nests were close enough that she could easily jump to the other one, though first she glanced over to make sure Kyla was all right. The female was staring at something she held in her hand, so Mei went on, landing beside the Monster called Lianhua, who laid beside Tricky Monster.


    The two of them spent almost all of their time together, sleeping or talking, though it was rare for even Mei to be able to hear their words. She had discovered that if Lianhua saw her, however, the Monster would almost always offer Mei some kind of food, so whenever she made a circuit of the cavern, Mei made a point of stopping by.


    Sure enough, as soon as Lianhua noticed the fuergar sitting patiently beside her, the female¡¯s fingers reached into the pouch at her waist, pulling out a white cube. Mei didn¡¯t know what these white cubes were, but her instincts and a few cautious nibbles had told her they were safe, so by now she simply accepted them and began to eat. Sweetness burst over her tongue as the thing crumbled like sandstone, and Mei slowed down, savoring the treat.


    Tricky Monster watched the exchange, then shook her head, though her lips curved up. ¡°You¡¯re going to spoil the creature,¡± she said.


    Lianhua shrugged, laying her head on Tricky Monster¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I doubt she¡¯ll ever have to live in the wild again. Plus, she has a core. I don¡¯t think a few sugar cubes are going to cause her any significant damage.¡±


    ¡°True enough,¡± Tricky Monster said, reaching up to stroke Lianhua¡¯s fur. ¡°Xing-an, we need to leave soon.¡±


    Lianhua tensed. ¡°I know. I¡¯m shocked Chi Yincang hasn¡¯t cut his way out of here yet.¡±


    ¡°Mmm,¡± Tricky said, ¡°Chi-ge won¡¯t do anything Elder Long doesn¡¯t tell him to do.¡±


    ¡°Which means Grandfather hasn¡¯t told him to take us and run. Yet,¡± Lianhua said.


    ¡°But he will, or if he doesn¡¯t, it may be another test. Will you choose your friends or yourself? I think Elder Long would rather if you were selfish.¡±


    Lianhua drew in a long breath, turning her face into Tricky Monster¡¯s chest. ¡°I¡¯ll go when I have to,¡± she said, muffled. ¡°I won¡¯t leave Kaz behind, though.¡±


    Tricky bit her lip. ¡°The things you¡¯ve told me¡­ They¡¯re hard to believe. I wish I¡¯d had a chance to speak to him properly.¡±


    ¡°So do I,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°He¡¯s astonishing, and I get the feeling we¡¯re only seeing the edges of his potential. I truly believe-,¡± her voice cracked. ¡°If anyone can help Grandmother, I think he can do it.¡±


    Mei finished her cube, picking up a few fallen grains with her agile fingers. She waited to see if Lianhua would offer her a second, but when none was forthcoming, she continued on her rounds. Jumping to the floor, she crossed to the Silent Monster. Just as silently, she crept up on him, avoiding making a single scrape of claw over ground or brush of tail against the wall she clung to. When she reached him, she gently placed a single paw on his foot.


    Dark eyes looked down at her. Unlike the others, his lips didn¡¯t curve, up or down, but the fingers of the hand on his far side, out of sight of any of the other Monsters, slid into his pouch. When they emerged, they held a golden disc. Mei knew from experience that these discs held much more pure metal than the ones she found in the stinking tunnels. She also knew better than to try to reach up and take it.


    Each time they played this game, the Silent Monster made her wait a little longer. Perhaps there would come a time when the reward wasn¡¯t worth her patience, but this wasn¡¯t that time. After twenty breaths, the disc slipped from between his fingers, and Mei caught it in her paws. She had to be careful. Once, she fumbled it, and before it even touched the ground, the Silent Monster snatched it back up, moving almost too fast to see. If she made a single sound, she would lose her prize.


    Only after Mei returned to Kyla¡¯s side did she dare to eat her golden tidbit. As she nibbled, Kyla stroked her fur, making the raspy sound that indicated amusement in her kind of Monster. Leaning down, the pink-furred female whispered, ¡°I checked the hole. I think it¡¯s almost big enough.¡±


    Mei looked up at her, pushing the last bite of gold into her cheek, then glanced toward the dark gap that was barely visible at the edge of Kyla¡¯s nest. She, too, thought the space beyond the hole was almost large enough for the other female. It was too bad that the Littlest Monster was still so much bigger than herself, but she would make it work.


    With a soft squeak, Mei hurried back to the hole, ducking through, then turning so she could see Kyla¡¯s worried golden eyes peering in after her. ¡°Be careful,¡± the Monster said softly, and Mei¡¯s whiskers twitched in acknowledgement. Fuergar weren¡¯t brave, but that very fact was why they survived as long as they did.


    She turned away, chomping at the wall as she moved. Fortunately, while metal and food gave her strength, stone simply passed through her system, parts of it burning away, while any ore was turned into fuel. Fuergar could eat stone almost indefinitely without becoming full. Which was good, because she had a tunnel to complete.


    This place was almost like being home again, however, at least in that it was dark and mostly quiet, peaceful in a way the world outside the mountain mostly was not. She lost track of time as she bit and chewed, bit and chewed, avoiding the worst of the stinking material that fouled these tunnels.


    Each time, she seemed to reach the larger open area more quickly. It was a cavern almost as large as the one where the Monsters waited, except that it had many exits, much to her satisfaction. One by one, she had been exploring these exits, finding that several were actually blocked off, having collapsed at some point in the past. She had considered chewing through to find out what lay beyond, but for now she waited, content to continue investigating the open ones.


    Of the eight openings, Mei had discovered that three were blocked, and one was so unstable that her instincts told her not to even attempt it. Four others led to yet more branching tunnels, some larger, some too small even for Kyla. Now, Mei was ready to travel down the eighth.


    Never once had she met another living thing here, at least not since the time she and Kyla fought beside the New Monsters to defeat the lizards. Now, though, she found that her nose began to twitch as she traveled further from the connecting cavern. She definitely smelled reptiles again, but there was something different about them. Different, but also familiar. They smelled like the flying lizard who rode on the First Monster¡¯s shoulder.


    Mei smelled dragons.

 Chapter Two hundred forty

    ¡°D¡¯you see them?¡± Raff asked, looking around at the bustling crowd. They¡¯d gotten to the stadium early today, so they could watch for the two humans who had followed Kaz and Li, but so far it hadn¡¯t helped. Humans just looked too much alike, and since the two hadn¡¯t had a noticeable ki or mana pattern, there was nothing to look for. Kaz wasn¡¯t even certain that they were male, and for the first time, he understood Raff¡¯s frustration at not being able to tell male from female kobolds.


    <Nothing,> Li said, her voice filled with frustration. She was perched on top of a statue nearby, watching from overhead while Kaz attempted to catch the scent of the strangers from the mass of people and Raff tried to pick out possible matches for the other two to investigate.


    Kaz shook his head, but Raff wasn¡¯t paying attention any more. His eyes were on a group entering the stadium through one of the large arches. ¡°There¡¯s an old guy and a youngish blonde one there.¡±


    Li focused in that direction, sending the image to Kaz as she did so. Disappointment filled them both, and Kaz said, ¡°They were about the same height. That gray-haired male is too short, and he has a beard.¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°You said you couldn¡¯t see their faces.¡± Running his hand over his hair, he said, ¡°This is pointless. Let¡¯s head in. It¡¯s not my favorite idea, but I guess we¡¯ll have to let you play bait later after all.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to catch?¡± asked Eve, standing on her toes behind Raff in an attempt to see what had attracted his attention. She was one of the tallest human females Kaz had seen, but Raff still stood taller than her by several inches.


    Raff stiffened, but didn¡¯t jump. Instead, he turned and said, ¡°There you are. Did we actually beat you today?¡± He offered the trio of females a nonchalant grin, but Eve and Bella gave him suspicious looks, while Harper just yawned.


    ¡°Guess so,¡± Harper mumbled. ¡°Let¡¯s just go in so I can find somewhere to take a nap.¡±


    Bella stomped off, heading for one of the smaller archways, through which some other people were walking, all carrying weapons and wearing armor. Everyone else fell in after her, and they entered the dim recesses of the stadium.


    This time there were two people, one male and one female, waiting for them. They held loosely bound books which they flipped through as each person arrived. When it was their group¡¯s turn, Bella chose to speak to the female, handing her their papers as she said, ¡°We¡¯re team twenty. Big Bro Gravy, Kaz, Bella, Genevieve, and Harper.¡±


    The female looked through her book, then used a writing utensil to make some marks on a page. ¡°All here on time today?¡± she asked, one eyebrow raised.


    Bella glared at Raff, ignored Kaz, and said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    The other female snorted, then pointed back over her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll be in five this morning, and Gravy will be in three this afternoon for axes. You can wander around and watch matches not in your division, but if you¡¯re not in the room when you¡¯re called, you automatically forfeit.¡± Her eyes shifted to the people behind them, and Bella went in the direction she¡¯d pointed.


    Only Kaz hesitated, looking back at the light streaming through the entrance behind him. He sent questioning to Li, and received dissatisfaction in return. <I want to keep watch,> she told him before muttering, <I¡¯m certain the one with gray hair had an unusually large behind. Maybe he has a tail tucked into his pants?>


    Kaz still wasn¡¯t sure exactly how much of his words the dragon caught when he thought at her, so he sent worry instead. If she was alone, someone could attack or take her, and even though he would be close, what if he wasn¡¯t close enough?


    <I¡¯m not helpless,> she sent back. He was well aware of her sharp teeth and claws, as well as the fire breath she seemed so enamored of, so he just waited until she sighed. A moment later, she flew in, skimming the top of the passage to drop down and land on his head, balancing precariously and causing quite a stir as well as a few laughs from the competitors.


    When Kaz reached up, the dragon refused to shift to his arm, instead wrapping her tail firmly around his neck and shoulders. <You wanted me to come in,> she reminded him, and he sighed, well aware that he must look ridiculous. Which didn¡¯t honestly matter, but wouldn¡¯t she hit her head when they went through the tunnels with lower ceilings?


    As it turned out, she did not, and Kaz soon rejoined the rest of his group beyond the door marked with a five. As always, he felt a thrill of pride as he read the rune, and he was deeply grateful that Lianhua had taken the time to teach him in between her questions.


    ¡°Kaz!¡± A deep voice called as he stepped through the door, and brows rose as everyone turned to look at him, seeing the over-sized reptile perched on his head. Kaz ignored them and made his way to Raff¡¯s side, finding that they¡¯d managed to get a spot in the corner today, providing them a buffer from other people on two sides instead of just one.


    ¡°Dare I ask?¡± Raff said, grinning as he looked at Li.


    Li shook out her wings, settling down on her belly. <You can tell him I¡¯m still looking for those humans. Though,> she eyed the much taller male,


    Kaz glanced up at her. ¡°They¡¯re not going to be in here.¡±


    The dragon sniffed. <How do you know?>


    Eve watched all this with a bemused smile, while Bella and Harper ignored it, though Bella made far more of a point of it. Kaz still had no idea why the short female was always so grumpy, but in the end it didn¡¯t matter.


    They were called much earlier this time, going out at the same time as group number twenty-two. All the members of the new group had a good deal of mana, though it was concentrated in different parts of their bodies. One even looked like he used mana primarily to improve his senses, because his eyes, ears, mouth, fingers, and nose all glowed subtly.


    The male who led them along was the same one who had guided them the day before. He repeated his warning almost word for word, though without the same emphasis. In fact, he gave Kaz a small smile as he motioned for the group to enter the waiting alcove, so Kaz guessed he was glad that Gathrak¡¯s team had been eliminated.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Once they were alone, everyone began readying themselves as Bella looked around. ¡°It¡¯ll be harder today,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°Every team here has won a match, which means the weak are gone, and the remainder are less likely to make mistakes because they¡¯re nervous. I¡¯m told there were only fifty teams this year, which is quite a lot fewer than previous years, and leaves only twenty-five today. That means someone will get to go through without fighting, but obviously it¡¯s not us.¡±


    Raff shrugged and Eve grinned wildly. ¡°I¡¯m all good,¡± the female said. ¡°It¡¯s pure fun to beat somebody up without having to worry about anyone getting dead.¡±


    Harper sighed, but one corner of her mouth hitched up. ¡°You¡¯re a madwoman.¡±


    Eve flipped her weapon from one hand to the other. It was a strange sort of thing with a hammer on one end, a blade on the other, and the handle in the middle. Kaz hoped he would actually be able to watch her fight with it, since it seemed like it would require a great deal of skill.


    The metal door raised, and once again, Bella led the way into the sunlight. The crowd made a little more noise as she did so, and to Kaz¡¯s surprise, a few coins landed around her feet. When Raff followed, the sound grew even louder, and one female screamed, ¡°Gravy!¡± before throwing a piece of cloth that landed on Raff¡¯s head. He pulled it off, stared at it, and his brows rose before he gave the female a wave.


    Eve had her own admirers, though Harper didn¡¯t really seem to attract much attention, probably because her role in the previous battle was more difficult to discern. When Kaz stepped out, however, the noise rose higher than for any of the others, and coins rained down around him. They were nearly all copper, but there was one bright gold circle that arced through the air, glittering brightly. Li launched herself after it, barely remembering to catch it in her back claws, rather than her invisible front pair or her supposedly toothless mouth.


    <It¡¯s mine!> she called as she dropped it down on Kaz, and he caught it, tucking it away into his pouch. After that, a few more golds followed, mostly coming from the large boxes in the center front, and Li caught each of them, prompting another round of enthusiastic screaming.


    In comparison, when the team on the other side entered, the crowd grew slightly quieter, and when a single coin flew out onto the field, it was obviously a belated one heading for Kaz¡¯s group, not meant for their opponents at all.


    Raff whistled softly. ¡°Guess they liked our fight yesterday,¡± he said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited,¡± Bella muttered sourly. ¡°They like your muscles and the lizard. If we lose, tomorrow those same people will cheer on our opponents.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Eve said, ¡°but we¡¯ll have had some fun in the meantime.¡±


    The booming voice said, ¡°One minute!¡± and once again, Harper lifted her instrument, plucking at the strings as she sang a bright tune. Given how subdued her usual aspect was, it was strange to see her suddenly full of life and energy, swaying as she gathered mana and sent it out to encompass each of her teammates.


    Once again, the mana slid off Kaz, though this time he made an effort to take it in. It was no use, though. He produced ki, which became mana, which was absorbed and refined by everything else in the world. The stronger his core became, the more it flooded the area around him with his own ebbing power, and what Harper gathered simply wasn¡¯t enough to even get close to him.


    As the minute came to a close, Harper opened her eyes and stared straight at him again, brow furrowed. She knew something was wrong, and he should probably find out what she was thinking when she gave him those looks.


    The moment the voice told them to begin, Raff and Eve raced across the dirt. Both of them looked like they were putting more effort into it this time, and Eve¡¯s hammer-sword spun almost like Chi Yincang¡¯s weapon, which Kaz had finally found out was called a spear.


    On impact, Raff sent one of the other fighters spinning across the dirt, feet creating deep furrows and arms stretching down to grab at the earth. Then their hands came back up, and the earth came with them, a six-inch furrow heading straight for Raff, as though a tiny yanchong was digging toward his feet.


    In response, Raff leaped to the side, switching his focus to an entirely different opponent. As if they¡¯d planned it, he and Eve, who had been fighting the second warrior, swapped places, and the mage who had sent the earth to attack Raff suddenly found himself facing a wild female instead.


    ¡°Kaz!¡± Harper called, and he turned to see that she was pointing at another of their opponents. The male was difficult to see, almost blending into the wall as he crept toward Kaz and Harper, though the mana imbuing the cloak he¡¯d wrapped himself in was clear enough, to Kaz and Li, at least.


    Kaz nodded to Harper, wondering how she had known the other was there. Did she have a way of sensing power? Lianhua said that was a very rare gift, but it didn¡¯t seem that way to Kaz.


    Together, they waited, watching Li duck and dive through the air, distracting one of the two warriors now attempting to double-up on Raff. Bella was holding the fourth off, while occasionally moving in to block a particularly vicious blow from one of the three fighting Raff and Eve.


    Kaz was fairly certain that they were all stretching out the battle unnecessarily. Presumably Bella and Raff were still trying to make the audience happy, while Eve was just playing with her opponent for fun, much like Li was. The dragon was truly enjoying harassing the fighters from above. She had spent too much time bored and frustrated over the last few days, and now that she knew what to expect, she was pleased enough to play along.


    It seemed to take forever for the fifth member of the opposing team to reach Kaz and Harper. Every time one of them turned in his direction, he would stop, and while at first it was entertaining to pretend not to know he was there, eventually Kaz just wished he would hurry up.


    Presumably, this man was attempting to end the battle much as Kaz and Li had the day before. If he could surprise Kaz and the bard, he might be able to put them both out of action with a single attack, thus winning the battle for his side.


    Then, Raff seemed to realize that there were only four opponents visible when there should be five. With a single swing of his axe, he lifted the warrior he was fighting into the air and threw him back twenty feet, where the male collapsed to his knees before slumping face down in the dirt. Spinning to stare back at Kaz and Li, Raff shouted, ¡°There¡¯s one hiding. Watch out!¡±


    At this, the fifth male, who had finally managed to come within ten feet of Harper and Kaz¡¯s position, dropped his cloak and threw what looked like a bottle toward Kaz and Harper. Kaz had been quite curious about what he would do, and had almost hoped that he would attempt to use some kind of mana or weapon on them. Kaz was beginning to feel a bit stifled as well, and feeling Li¡¯s glee at being able to let her pent up energy loose, he¡¯d hoped for at least a brief combat.


    Unfortunately, without knowing what was in the container, Kaz wasn¡¯t comfortable letting it break, so he lunged forward, easily catching the little bottle in his hand, even though it was hurtling through the air with the full force of its owner¡¯s mana-imbued arm. He could feel the fragile glass begin to crack, and almost without thought, he formed a tiny shield around it, holding it together as he whipped around, hurling it back toward the male who stood, mouth agape.


    His ki released, and the bottle shattered at the male¡¯s feet. A deep blue cloud billowed out of it, roiling up far more quickly than any natural fog. Frantically, its victim attempted to gasp in a final clear breath, but it was too late. His skin darkened, his eyes rolled up in his head, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.


    ¡°Match over! Team Big Bro Gravy wins!¡± the voice boomed, and cheers rose up around them.


    Li settled onto Kaz¡¯s arm, lifting her wings to accept her rightful adulation. <I feel better now,> she said, preening a glittering scale.

 Chapter Two hundred forty-one

    After the battle, Eve once again invited Raff, Kaz, and Li to eat together with the females, but Raff quickly explained that they intended to do some more shopping before Raff¡¯s battle. Eve actually seemed quite excited to go with them, forcing Raff to simply tell her that they would be going alone. As they walked away, Kaz saw the injured look on the female¡¯s face, and hoped that Raff hadn¡¯t permanently damaged his chances at courting her.


    ¡°Quiet time?¡± Raff asked, and Kaz nodded. Instead of using the silence rune, however, he chose to draw the one that simply muffled speech, making it impossible to understand. Hopefully, the humans tracking them wouldn¡¯t get close enough for it to matter, at least not without being seen themselves, but if they did, unintelligible murmurs should be less suspicious than absolute silence.


    Li was already in the air, circling overhead as she looked for the combination of gray and yellow hair. Of course, this drew quite a bit of attention to her, but to Kaz¡¯s surprise, the people pointing at her seemed to be excited rather than fearful.


    Raff chuckled, though his eyes never stopped watching the shadows and the narrower streets around them. ¡°Li¡¯s got some fans,¡± he said. ¡°Maybe those two were just sent by some rich lordling who wants a pretty golden lizard to add to his collection.¡±


    Kaz frowned. He¡¯d been worried about Li in a vague sort of way, but now that worry solidified into a fist that clutched at his heart. ¡°Would someone really try to take her?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Pellis curse my tongue,¡± Raff muttered. ¡°Nah, she¡¯s probably safe enough. I think they¡¯d try to buy her first, so as long as you haven¡¯t turned down any offers you haven¡¯t told me about, she should be fine.¡±


    The fist loosened, and Kaz looked up at his dragon, dipping and tilting over the rooftops, her scales shining like the gold humans valued so highly. She was utterly focused on her task, even the muttering he¡¯d become used to hearing in the back of his mind reduced to little more than variants of, <Is that them? No, the hair is too long. That? No, too tall.>


    Kaz and Raff walked while Li flew, and what seemed like miles passed beneath their feet. There seemed to be hundreds of small stores in the area around the stadium, many of them little more than carts with umbrellas over the top to protect their wares.


    Once again, Kaz noticed that many of them sold the same things, though the colors and prices varied just enough to give people hope that they might find a prettier object or a better deal if they just kept looking. It was exhausting, especially since Raff lingered over something in almost every one, as if hoping that sheer boredom might drive their pursuers into the open. Kaz had to admit that if he was the one following, it might have worked.


    Unfortunately, neither Li¡¯s eyes nor Kaz¡¯s nose managed to pick anyone out of the crowd surrounding them. Once or twice Raff called their attention to a couple of likely humans, but every time the pair were obviously wrong in some way. The only good thing was that Kaz found a stall selling something made using the spice he¡¯d scented on the two, and he dropped his sound rune long enough to find out what it was.


    Leaning forward, Kaz sniffed a round tube of meat pinched inside a partially cut slice of bread. It was spread with a red sauce that smelled very much the same as what he remembered from the day before. ¡°What is this?¡± he asked, pointing at the thing.


    The trader had been watching him suspiciously, but now he smiled. ¡°Ah, you have excellent taste, my lad! This is my own invention. It¡¯s called a war weiner, and I only make them during the-¡±


    Kaz shook his head, indicating the sauce, rather than the meat and bread. ¡°No, this. It¡¯s,¡± he sniffed again, ¡°sweet, but spicy, too?¡± He felt a bit of the burn that sniffing jiao could cause, and he rubbed his nose, fighting an urge to sneeze.


    The merchant, a short, round male with a short, round beard, narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ¡°Did Liam send you? You tell that bas-¡±


    Kaz cut him off again. ¡°No one sent me. I think I saw someone eating one yesterday, and it smelled interesting. I wondered what it was. I¡¯d like to buy one.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so?¡± the man said, still looking skeptical. ¡°Two coppers.¡±


    Rather than handing Kaz the one on the top of his cart, he opened a large metal box, releasing a billowing cloud of meat-scented steam. For the first time in more than an hour, Li came swooping down, landing on Kaz¡¯s arm, and the merchant nearly dropped the war wiener he had been removing from the hot box with a pair of long pincers.


    Looking from Kaz to Li, the male¡¯s eyes caught on Kaz¡¯s blue hair, and he pointed with the limp meat tube in his hand. ¡°You¡¯re Kaz! And you like my war wieners?¡±


    Kaz started to say that he hadn¡¯t even tried one yet, but the male was already putting one together and shoving it into his hands. Four more came after that. Two for Raff, another for Kaz, and one for Li, though the merchant handed this to Kaz as well after realizing that Li couldn¡¯t swallow it whole or grip it in her back claws while standing on Kaz¡¯s arm. He was wrong, of course, since the dragon had eaten larger crystals, but Li would reveal her teeth in the process of gulping it down, so Kaz didn¡¯t say anything, much to Li¡¯s disappointment.


    ¡°If you come by tomorrow before the tournament,¡± the merchant said, leaning close, ¡°I¡¯ll give you more. If you walk out on the field eating one, I¡¯ll feed you for free for the rest of the week.¡±


    Raff brightened, taking a large bite of his war wiener. ¡°Mm, not bad,¡± he said. ¡°Not sure how I feel about the sauce, but the meat an¡¯ bread are good.¡±


    Kaz tore off a piece of one of the three he held and handed it to Li, making sure to cover her mouth as she took it. He bit off the next chunk, finding that it was quite pleasant. The meat tasted a bit strange, clearly having been made with some spices mixed in, but the best part was the sauce. He quickly took a second bite, then a third, only to find that he¡¯d already finished the first weiner.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The merchant grinned at Kaz¡¯s reaction, leaning in to whisper, ¡°The sauce contains an Imperial spice called rougui. It¡¯s sweet but spicy, with that strong scent, so it can draw in customers from blocks away. Hardly anyone here in Cliffcross uses it, so it gives my war wieners their own unique twist. Don¡¯t tell, though.¡± He closed one eye in what Kaz was beginning to realize meant the human doing it believed you now shared a secret.


    Having learned what he wanted to know, however inadvertently, Kaz stepped back, handing Li another bite. The dragon pushed the bread aside with her nose, but gobbled down the meat before licking the remaining sauce from the bread.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be back in the mornin¡¯,¡± Raff said cheerfully, waving to the merchant. ¡°The flavor kinda grows on you, eh?¡±


    The other male waved back, turning as the next customer stepped up. Kaz was so focused on eating that he barely noticed until Raff hissed, ¡°Kaz, sound.¡±


    Kaz blinked, pushing ki into the image of the sound-muffling rune. Raff continued eating as they walked away, but spoke around his mouthful. ¡°Does the guy in line behind us look familiar?¡±


    Kaz couldn¡¯t look back without being obvious about it, but Li turned her head to peer over his shoulder. <That could be them!> she said, showing him the two males now accepting war wieners from the merchant. The gray-haired male was looking impatiently after Kaz and Raff, but the yellow-haired male had eyes only for his meal. They both had short hair and pale skin, and were almost exactly the same height. The yellow-haired male even had an unusually large posterior.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Kaz said. He tried to pick out their scents, but the odor of the rougui was so strong that it overwhelmed everything else.


    As the two humans left the cart, Raff turned sharply to the right, heading down a different street. About halfway down the block, he stopped, looking at a sword in the window. ¡°They still behind us?¡± he murmured, and Kaz nodded. Li was resting her head on his shoulder as if she was sleepy, which allowed her to watch the males as they made their way along.


    ¡°They¡¯re trying not to be obvious, but the yellow-haired one keeps glancing at us,¡± he said.


    Li shifted, raising her wings. <I¡¯ll go up. I can watch them from above. People keep getting in my way down here.>


    Kaz looked at her. ¡°Just don¡¯t get too far away. We know they have friends.¡±


    The dragon bobbed her head, then rose into the air with a few powerful beats of her wings. Kaz felt her joy at being airborne once again, and his eyes followed her as she turned. Someday he would find a way to fly with her. Not just on her back, but beside her, equals in the sky.


    ¡°You stay close, too,¡± Raff said, turning away from the shop. ¡°I know a spot not too far away where we can try to corner ¡®em. You can drop the noise spell now, though.¡±


    Kaz did as he was told, trailing along after Raff as Li circled overhead. To their followers, it must have seemed that they had simply resumed their shopping, but now Raff led them down quieter and quieter streets, until he paused in front of a shop displaying a shirt and pants in the window.


    ¡°Ready?¡± he asked. Kaz just tilted his head, waiting. Raising his voice slightly, Raff said, ¡°I need another pair of pants. My backup pair¡¯s gettin¡¯ a little thin in the seat. After that, I¡¯ve got to head back for my other fight. You all right gettin¡¯ back alone?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°I will get there without trouble.¡± He spoke stiffly, too aware of his listeners, and he could see Raff¡¯s lips twitch, though the big male didn¡¯t laugh.


    Raff stepped into the store, and Kaz turned away, walking toward the barracks. When he reached the first corner, he turned down a passage almost as narrow as the one where he¡¯d overheard the two trackers the day before. Li lingered behind him, making lazy swoops through the air, as if simply enjoying the sun and wind, which, to be fair, she was.


    He¡¯d gone a fair distance when Li spoke. <They¡¯re coming,> she told him, her voice practically quivering with excitement. As planned, she swooped down, flying through the street directly in front of the shop Raff had gone into. He would be watching through the window, and only emerge when he saw the dragon.


    Kaz slowed his steps, walking just a bit further before looking up as if searching for his friend through the gap between the overhanging roofs. He put a ferocious frown on his face, turning and calling, ¡°Li?¡±


    There was a soft scuffle behind him, as of two people abruptly stopping in their tracks. A moment later, that scuffle turned to shouts, and Kaz ran back the way he¡¯d come, soon seeing that the yellow-haired man was on the ground, while the gray-haired man was suddenly blazing with white ki, even though Kaz was absolutely certain that he¡¯d only had the smallest shadow of mana when he¡¯d seen him before.


    The newly dangerous male thrust out his hand, grunting as uncontrolled ki blasted into Raff¡¯s chest, but also shredded the flesh of his palm and fingers. It was as if he¡¯d never used his power before that very moment, and he screamed as he staggered backwards.


    Meanwhile, Raff stumbled, a hand going to the front of his shirt, where a dark stain was spreading far more quickly than Kaz liked. His expression was absolutely shocked, and Kaz thought it was the first time he¡¯d ever seen the large male look truly surprised. Raff¡¯s back came up against a wall, and he slid down it slowly, leaving a crimson streak dark against the pale stone.


    Kaz ran forward as Li released a roar like none he¡¯d ever heard from her before. For all her claims that the humans were mere annoyances, she liked Raff, and she was less than pleased to see him hurt. Unfortunately, her wingspan was too large to fit between the roofs, so she was delayed as she circled, trying to find the best angle at which to plummet toward the enemy.


    But Kaz was already there. He had no time, and though the gray-haired male was clutching his shattered hand, he was also trying to get to Raff again. So Kaz reached out and tore his ki away. The power scattered, most of it flying away into clumps of disintegrating mana. But a single thick rope of ki also snapped away from him, and his throat exploded in gore. Something flew out of that terrible red and black hole, slamming into Kaz¡¯s hand, where it quivered like something alive. Kaz barely had time to glance at it, seeing a red-soaked white orb carved with shallow runes, before it crumbled, turning into a thick, bloody paste.


    Kaz wiped the sticky stuff onto the same wall against which Raff was slumped, his feet carrying him toward his fallen friend. He was almost there when Li called, <Kaz!> and he heard another of her new roars, echoing through the narrow space in which they stood. He whipped around, seeing that the yellow-haired male was attempting to stand, his eyes wild and one arm clearly broken.


    The male jerked upright as if dragged by a rope, and Kaz realized that the thick white cord of ki had transferred to him, pumping power into a body that was never meant to hold it. Li landed on him, all four clawed feet digging into his shoulders and upper arms as her teeth clamped onto the back of his neck.


    ¡°Get the rune-stone,¡± Kaz barked, and Li¡¯s teeth shifted, clamping down on something buried beneath the skin. She jerked her head back, tearing the skin, and the stone came free. Even Li knew better than to eat it, so she spat it on the ground, where it disintegrated as thoroughly as the first. The male beneath her claws shrieked and fell down, eyes rolling back in his head.


    <I¡¯ll watch him,> Li said, entirely serious for once.


    Kaz nodded, turning back to Raff.

 Chapter Two hundred forty-two

    As Kaz drew close, he felt the pull on his ki that told him Raff was attempting to cultivate, so he knew the other male was alive and conscious. Wondering if he had grown strong enough to prevent people from stealing his power, he stretched out a hand, and for a moment it seemed like it was going to work. Since Raff was reaching for mana, and Kaz¡¯s ki was so dense, the other male simply wasn¡¯t able to break it down enough to take it.


    Then Kaz¡¯s ki shifted, all moving toward Raff like iron toward a lodestone, and Kaz said, ¡°Stop. Raff. Let me help you.¡± Had Raff ever figured out that he could be unintentionally dangerous to Kaz? He was smarter than he liked to appear, and Kaz and Lianhua hadn¡¯t always been as cautious as they could have been when speaking around him.


    Raff¡¯s eyes, which had been closed in pain or concentration, cracked open. He gave a weak smile, then gasped, and the pull on Kaz¡¯s ki stopped. ¡°Had a¡­potion,¡± he whispered, grimacing as his chest moved. His hand opened, and a glass bottle fell from it.


    Kaz picked the bottle up, sniffing it. The few drops remaining had neither ki nor mana in them, so it might simply be medicine, but he had no way of knowing. It certainly wasn¡¯t like any of the medicines Rega had used. He dropped the bottle again and pulled on his friend¡¯s shirt, ripping it open to reveal the wound.


    It was bad, but not as bad as Kaz was afraid it might be. Whatever the gray-haired male had done had punched all the way through Raff¡¯s body, but lopo tongues did the same thing, and kobolds sometimes survived their strikes. It simply depended on what organs and arteries had been damaged, if any.


    Kaz closed his eyes, focusing on the flow of mana in Raff¡¯s body. It was disordered, but not completely chaotic, focused mainly around the messy hole punched through Raff¡¯s left side. It had missed the heart, or the other male would probably already be dead, but when it broke his ribs, it left scattered shards of bone within the chest cavity. It was actually a largish piece of bone that had made the hole out of Raff¡¯s back, but that wound wasn¡¯t as bad as it had seemed at first, so Kaz pressed his hands firmly over the chest wound and focused on the internal injuries.


    There were four, no, five bone splinters, but only two were immediately concerning. The first had actually punctured a lung, but was also blocking the hole so the lung could continue to function. The second was much too close to one of the large arteries leading away from the heart, and each time the heart beat or Raff moved, it shifted a little closer. Kaz didn¡¯t know if it could actually make a hole in the artery without any force behind it, but he didn¡¯t want to take the chance.


    Glancing toward Li, he made sure that the enemy human was still down. He was, and though the wounds on his neck and shoulders were oozing fitfully, none of them was truly dangerous, so this hadn¡¯t been completely pointless. They still had someone to interrogate.


    But first, Kaz focused, gathering his ki into the smallest amount he felt he could control with any precision. Cautiously, he formed it around the bone splinter closest to Raff¡¯s heart, holding it in place. What should he do with it, though? If he tried to put it back where it belonged, he would just damage more of the flesh between here and there.


    So instead, he crushed it much as he had once crushed a monster¡¯s core, but with more precision and efficiency. Clamping down, he brought metal ki and earth ki together, turning the piece of bone into dust between them, then burned the dust to nothing with fire ki. As he did, Raff groaned, but his heart continued beating, so Kaz ignored it.


    One by one, he repeated the process with three more splinters that sat in the spaces between tissues, muscles, and organs. Then he gently pushed the various larger pieces of the ribs into place, using wood ki to bind them back together. When he was done, it was obvious that he was still missing pieces, but he thought it would hold together, at least for now.


    Which left the bone sliver in Raff¡¯s left lung. It was down toward the bottom, and it had impaled the organ cleanly, without tearing it. In theory, Kaz simply had to remove it and then patch the hole long enough for Raff¡¯s body cultivation to step in and finish the job.


    Envisioning a tiny set of fingers, Kaz gripped the end of the splinter. Could he split his focus well enough to make sure that no blood got in and no air escaped? Normally, Li would handle part of it, but she had to watch their prisoner and be ready in case someone else came along. If she didn¡¯t, and if there were others with these two, or someone came to investigate the yelling, they might be dead or captured themselves before they even realized they were no longer alone.


    Before he could doubt himself too much, Kaz pulled, flooding the lung with blue ki as he did so, creating a barrier between ¡®in¡¯ and ¡®out¡¯. He imagined a leaf; a thin, flexible, seemingly fragile thing, covering the small hole. Something alive to bond to something else alive, and he only relaxed when leaf merged with delicate flesh. He quickly got rid of the offending piece of bone, and only then did he open up his sight to take in the full image.


    Raff¡¯s organs were strong, the heart pounding an insistent rhythm as the large male¡¯s lungs moved all-important air in and out. He was taking shallow breaths, but Kaz couldn¡¯t blame him for that. He had three badly broken ribs, a great deal of bruising, and holes in his chest and back, as well as a sealed hole in his left lung. And that was only the worst of it.


    Leaning back, Kaz opened his eyes and tried to look pleased with his work. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh,¡± he told the other male, repeating something Rega used to tell her young patients. Ironically, it almost always made them smile at least, and it worked this time, too. Raff¡¯s lips turned up, and though there was a worrisome gray cast beneath the rich color of his skin, he didn¡¯t seem to be in immediate danger.


    ¡°How bad is it, Blue?¡± he asked, looking like he was preparing for the worst.


    Kaz pushed as much blue ki as he could spare into his friend¡¯s chest, his eyes widening as he saw the skin begin to knit together in front of his eyes. The ribs were still broken, but the fine cracks vanished, as if the ki he gave them was the resin Lianhua said her grandfather used to repair broken dishes. The ribs would probably never be the same, but as long as they were strong, what did that matter?


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    The delicate tissue of the lung was holding as well, inflating and deflating exactly as it should, so Kaz leaned back, huffing a bit as his head swam. He had quite a lot of blue ki now, and he¡¯d poured almost all of it into Raff. Raff, whose body usually held only mana and the tiniest bit of red ki. Kaz had been completely focused on saving his friend¡¯s life, and hadn¡¯t taken the time to wonder what might happen when he changed the other male¡¯s balance of power so thoroughly.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll live,¡± he told Raff. ¡°Though I doubt your fur will completely cover the scars.¡±


    Blinking, Raff peered down, craning his neck to try to see the tender scars forming there. Cautiously, he lifted a hand, tracing the fine lines spreading away from the much larger mass in the center. There was still a wound there, just below and to the left of his heart, but it looked days or weeks old, not as though it had happened less than twenty minutes earlier. Kaz suspected that if he could see the other male¡¯s back, it would look the same.


    ¡°Pellis¡¯ purple pipe, Blue! What did you do?¡± He raised his eyes to stare at Kaz, then glanced around and leaned in, wincing as his ribs strained against the ki Kaz used to hold them together. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anybody what just happened here, you understand?¡± he asked, looking more serious than Kaz had ever seen him before.


    ¡°Not Chi Yincang, not Kyla, not even Lianhua.¡± Raff made a face. ¡°Especially not Lianhua. I know her type. If she knows you can heal people like that, she¡¯ll want you to do it all the time, for just about anybody. Worse, she¡¯ll tell her grandpa, and you¡¯ll never be free again. Keep this a secret, or be prepared to spend the rest of your life trapped by other people¡¯s expectations. Believe me, I know.¡±


    Kaz sat back, watching the way the other male¡¯s body was breaking down and absorbing the ki he¡¯d left behind. He thought about the other humans he¡¯d seen by now, and how even people he¡¯d been told were mages had less mana than Raff did.


    ¡°You lied, didn¡¯t you?¡± he asked. ¡°You could have been a mage, but when they tested you, you failed on purpose, and then you ran away so no one would find out.¡±


    Raff sighed, shifting until he could put a hand on the wall and start to lever himself up. Kaz quickly moved to his other side, sliding his shoulder beneath Raff¡¯s arm. Only when Raff was standing again did the large male meet Kaz¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°A secret for a secret,¡± he said. ¡°You keep mine, and I¡¯ll keep yours, eh?¡±


    <Enough secrets!> a peevish voice interjected. <Let¡¯s just leave before we¡¯re found here. The humans don¡¯t seem to like killing in their city, and the gray male is very dead.> Kaz turned to look at Li, who was watching the two males with slitted eyes. She was never fond of anyone else touching Kaz, and even though she liked Raff, enough was enough.


    ¡°Is the other one still alive?¡± Kaz asked. He didn¡¯t release Raff, but he did focus on Li and her prisoner instead.


    Li¡¯s head bobbed. <Most of the bleeding has stopped, too.>


    Something occurred to Kaz, and he tilted his head. ¡°You bit him a lot. Do you think he¡¯s smarter now?¡±


    The dragon blinked, and a warm flush of amusement filled Kaz, flowing through their bond. <If he answers our questions without arguing or trying to escape, then yes.>


    While Kaz and Li spoke, Raff had been assessing the situation, and now he clicked his tongue. ¡°Guards aren¡¯t gonna like this. Best to be as far away as possible when they find the dead guy.¡±


    Kaz eyed the limp and bloody form of the yellow-haired male. ¡°Can we claim we¡¯re taking this one to a healer?¡±


    Raff hummed thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea, and it might work if we hadn¡¯t killed one. But even if we stash the body somewhere, there¡¯s too much blood here. We¡¯ll want to wash away as much as we can, but there¡¯s no hiding that something very violent happened. If we¡¯re seen with a wounded man, sooner or later, someone¡¯s going to track us down and ask questions. That blue hair of yours is a dead giveaway, as is your little pet, and even my size and coloring.¡±


    If Kaz was in the mountain, he would leave the dead human for a beast to find, and take the other to another cavern until he could be questioned. There were simply too many people packed into this place for proper skulking and sneaking.


    ¡°Li could hide us for a little while,¡± he offered tentatively. He hadn¡¯t touched the dragon¡¯s ki while healing Raff, and he still had four-fifths of his own ki, or close enough, so Li could probably cover them for long enough to leave this road and get to another one. Maybe.


    Raff shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve seen your lizard do her invisibility trick, and though she¡¯s bigger and stronger than she used to be, even if she could manage it, she¡¯d probably be out for the rest of the day. She¡¯s a good scout and a decent fighter, and I¡¯d rather not lose her.¡±


    Li preened beneath this matter-of-fact praise and stopped glaring at Raff.


    ¡°You have any extra clothes in your storage, Blue?¡± Raff asked, eyeing the living male.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°They¡¯re dirty or torn, but I should be able to clean them if I can find a water source.¡±


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, the undertone to Raff¡¯s skin changed from gray to red. ¡°I, ah, haven¡¯t explained public wells yet, have I? Have you just been using stored water or what we get when we eat at restaurants?¡±


    Kaz nodded again, realizing that he¡¯d missed yet another aspect of human life that was so obvious to them that they didn¡¯t even think to teach him about it. Someday maybe he¡¯d know what questions to ask, at least.


    Tapping his storage pouch, Kaz passed ki into it, though he had to borrow a bit of blue from Li so that he wouldn¡¯t make himself dizzy again. A filthy cloak fell into his hand, followed by a stained and ragged shirt.


    Raff almost managed a grin. Leaning away from Kaz, he set his shoulder against the wall, grimacing as he looked at the long streak leading down toward the ground. His brows drew together, and he pointed at a red and white chip lying on the stone.


    ¡°What¡­is that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The attack that injured you blew bits of your ribs out of your back,¡± Kaz said. ¡°That looks like a piece. Do you want to keep it?¡± It would make an interesting talisman to hang on a warrior necklace, if Raff ever decided to make one.


    ¡°No,¡± Raff said, voice a bit choked. ¡°Though I guess we shouldn¡¯t leave body parts lying around a murder scene. A good mage can use things like blood and sometimes even hair to track people, which is why we need to thin out this mess before we go.¡±


    Kaz focused his ki, and the bit of bone puffed into dust, then vanished in a fizz of smoke and fire. Kaz went ahead and burned as much of the blood as he could, as long as he was at it. It left a terrible stench and a sooty smear on the walls and ground, but it worked. Raff stared, then looked at Kaz, then back at the spot the bone had been.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d like to fight you, Blue,¡± Raff said.


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing you don¡¯t have to.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred forty-three

    Together, they heaved the dead body up onto the roof of one of the nearby buildings, where he would be hidden until he began to smell or scavengers came for him. Then they dressed the unconscious male in one of Raff¡¯s clean shirts before wrapping him in Kaz¡¯s cloak. They used the last of Kaz¡¯s water to clean the blood from themselves and their captive, and bound the stranger¡¯s wounds so they wouldn¡¯t stain the shirt.


    After that, Kaz and Raff each draped one of the male¡¯s arms over their shoulders, and the three of them staggered out into the open. For some reason, Raff thought it would be a good idea to sing as well, so Kaz tried to howl along while Li swooped overhead, hissing and roaring. To Kaz¡¯s mind, they were drawing far too much attention to themselves, but most people just laughed or shook their heads when they saw them. Absolutely no one asked why the male in the middle was unconscious.


    Apparently, Raff had already planned out what to do with a captive, if they managed to get one. He had been leading them slowly toward the spice district for quite some time, but so subtly that even Kaz hadn¡¯t noticed. Within a few minutes, they found themselves only a few blocks from the Bard and Bee.


    Raff guided them toward a shadowed side street, where he leaned toward Kaz. The gray had returned to his skin, and his mouth was a flat line of pain, though no one watching would be able to see such details. ¡°Can you and your lizard get this dead-weight around to the back? I know she can¡¯t hide all of us, or not for long. I need to head toward the stadium anyway.¡±


    Kaz stared at him. ¡°You can¡¯t be planning to fight.¡±


    Raff managed a thin-lipped smile and a quirk of his brow. ¡°¡®Course I am. Signed up for it, didn¡¯t I? Big Bro Gravy doesn¡¯t go back on his word. Plus, if I¡¯m there, I obviously didn¡¯t kill a man and leave his corpse on top of someone¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°Your ribs-¡±


    Raff attempted a shrug, and clearly regretted it. ¡°No playing around today, I guess. Now, can you an¡¯ Li do it, or not?¡±


    <Of course we can,> Li said, clearly miffed that the human still doubted her. <Tell him so.> She hesitated. <And tell him not to die.>


    Kaz chuffed a quiet laugh. ¡°Li says don¡¯t die.¡±


    Raff¡¯s brows jumped, and he looked up toward the dragon as Li shouted, <I didn¡¯t say to tell him I said it! You were supposed to say it!>


    ¡°Thanks, Li,¡± Raff said, then pulled away from Kaz, leaving the smaller male supporting the full weight of their erstwhile attacker. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry I said you were just a big lizard.¡±


    <What? When did he say that?> Li demanded. She was perching on the edge of a nearby roof, and now she lifted her wings. Small, sharp spines lifted away from her long neck, and she glared at the tall male. <I¡¯ll bite him, and then hopefully he¡¯ll be smart enough never to say something like that again.>


    Raff chuckled as if he could hear the dragon¡¯s threats, then flipped two fingers away from his forehead in a salute and strode off into the street. He was whistling jauntily, and no one watching would ever have guessed that he had nearly died less than an hour before. He also started cultivating as soon as he was a few strides away, likely answering the question of whether or not he knew doing so could drain Kaz.


    The tall, powerfully built human with the carefree grin attracted the attention of everyone nearby, so no one noticed when his former companions vanished. Kaz and Li moved as quickly as they could, crossing the busy street and ducking into another small passage between buildings.


    By now, they were beginning to realize that these narrow spaces were actually somewhat dangerous, but in this case, several wooden crates had been abandoned there. Kaz hauled his awkward burden up to the top, then unceremoniously chucked him onto the roof. The body reappeared as soon as it left the space immediately around Kaz and Li, but that was all right; by then he was arcing through the air, with Kaz right behind.


    Unfortunately, rather than finding the male lying in a limp pile on the hot tiles, they instead found him attempting to crawl away, though he kept tilting to the left as he did so. Obviously, his sudden change in circumstances had jarred him into something akin to consciousness, and now he cast Kaz and Li a terrified look as he opened his mouth to scream.


    Kaz hastily clamped his hand over the other male¡¯s mouth. Teeth immediately clamped down on the flesh of his palm, but without power to give them strength, Kaz suspected they would break before his skin did. It pinched a bit, but that was all.


    In spite of the ineffectiveness of the attack, Li didn¡¯t appreciate the attempt. Her head whipped forward, jaws ready for a bite of her own, and Kaz barely managed to jerk the human out of the way in time. Giving the dragon a chastising look, Kaz turned to their prisoner, only to find that the human was staring at Li in horrified fascination.


    Oh. Li had been focused on hiding them completely, so of course she hadn¡¯t bothered to conceal her front legs separately as well. They, plus her rows of very sharp teeth, were now on full display, leaving no doubt that she was not a wyvern.


    The male looked from Li to Kaz, then back again, attempting to scramble away from the dragon. ¡°Oh, no,¡± he muttered, then said several more things that Kaz didn¡¯t understand before returning to the common language. ¡°You¡¯re one of them. But why didn¡¯t you just say so?¡±


    Now that he wasn¡¯t fighting, Kaz had loosened his grip slightly, and now the male reached out and poked Kaz¡¯s cheek. ¡°You look human, though. But you have a dragon.¡± He lapsed into the other language for a moment, then shook his head sharply.


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    ¡°Did you steal that dragon? How do you get it to listen to you? Is that why they¡¯re after you? But they¡¯re tracking a bunch of people. Did they all steal dragons, and you¡¯re just the only one stupid enough to show it off in public?¡± The male leaned forward, staring at Li, who hissed, showing her teeth again. They were much larger than they used to be, and the male grew noticeably paler as he pulled away again.


    <This one is almost as big of an idiot as you,> Li muttered, glaring at the human. <As if anyone could steal a dragon.>


    Kaz sent her negation and a warning. This male had obviously formed an incorrect conclusion, and he was already talking more than Kaz had believed he would. Could they turn this to their advantage?


    <Not here,> Li said, once again raising the question of just how much of his thoughts she could hear. She clicked softly, as if clearing her throat, and looked around at the rooftop, which was empty of everyone but the three of them and two plump birds who looked like they might be too heavy to actually fly away.


    She was right, though. Not only was it blazingly hot, with the sun¡¯s rays bouncing off of the gleaming roof tiles, but they were only ten feet from a good-sized road. There weren¡¯t a lot of people using it at this time of day, but if their prisoner actually did start shouting, there was no way it would go unnoticed.


    On the other hand, Kaz didn¡¯t know where else they could go. The Bard and Bee was only four roofs left and another three or four straight ahead, but if they went there, everyone else would get involved in questioning him. That might result in more information, but it probably wouldn¡¯t focus on the one thing Kaz and Li really cared about: dragons.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes caught on a broken tower of red brick in the center of a nearby roof. He had to admit that the humans had done a remarkably good job of cleaning up the damage from the incursion and the following rain, especially in the area immediately around the stadium, but there were still lingering traces, and this seemed to be one of them.


    Grasping the human¡¯s shirt, Kaz pulled him toward the remains of what looked like a smaller house set atop the larger one. What its purpose was, Kaz couldn¡¯t guess, but it provided shelter from the sun, and the only access point was a hatch in the roof, leading down into the main den. This hatch was firmly shut and quite solid, so Kaz stood on it as he looked at the other male.


    ¡°I¡¯m Kaz,¡± he said abruptly, deciding to try to play along with the human¡¯s misunderstanding. ¡°What¡¯s your name? Why were you following me?¡±


    The other looked noticeably happier now that they weren¡¯t in the sun. The heat wasn¡¯t enough to bother Kaz or Li, but this male entirely lacked any trace of the power he had wielded so briefly, and sweat was already running down his cheeks.


    As if realizing for the first time that they were alone, the human said, ¡°I¡¯m Doran. Where¡¯s Joneh?¡±


    Kaz winced internally. Well, that was an opportunity lost. There was no way Doran would talk to them when he realized that-


    ¡°Is he dead?¡± Doran asked, wiping sweat from his brow, then gingerly tracing the edges of the bandages wrapping his neck. He blinked as he looked at Kaz, then said, ¡°And did you know you have three noses?¡±


    Kaz and Li both relaxed. The human was still recovering from his injuries, and it seemed he¡¯d hit his head harder than Kaz realized.


    ¡°No,¡± Kaz said, attempting a friendly smile. Lips closed, brows up, chin lifted, just the way the humans did it.


    Doran flinched, pressing his head over his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he muttered. ¡°I never liked the scale-licker anyway. Never wanted to have any fun, you know?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Scale-licker?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± the human said, leaning back into a patch of deeper shadow with a sigh. ¡°Didn¡¯t they call them that in your group? The ones who act like the scalies are some kind of second coming of the Diushi?¡±


    And that¡¯s where the conversation would have gone horribly astray if Lianhua was listening. Any mention of the Diushi in front of her was like waving a bowl of cooked tanuo in front of a puppy. ¡°No,¡± Kaz said cautiously. ¡°We¡­had other names for them. What were you doing for the scalies?¡± He had to hurry on before Doran¡¯s muddled brain wandered too far.


    ¡°Following you,¡± Doran said, staring at Kaz as if he was an idiot. ¡°And that,¡± he added, pointing at Li.


    Li bridled at being called a ¡®that¡¯, but Kaz said, ¡°What were you supposed to do with us?¡±


    The human shrugged, then groaned. ¡°They wanted to know where you went and who you talked to. Did you have family or friends other than your team. Anyone who would miss you when the time came. What did you do to me?¡± He began to tug fitfully at the cloth wrapped around his throat.


    Kaz took a risk. ¡°We removed the rune-stone in your neck. It was hurting you.¡±


    Doran¡¯s eyes opened in suddenly remembered fear. ¡°Yeah. It¡­burned. They said it was just there to track me, so if I took off before the end of my contract, they could find me. Said it¡¯d-¡± He broke off, starting to claw desperately at his neck. ¡°They said it¡¯d kill me if I tried to take it out. Am I dead? Oh, gods,¡± he whimpered.


    Kaz laid a restraining hand over the trembling fingers, afraid the human would tear open the wound again. ¡°You¡¯re alive. What contract?¡± For a moment, he thought he¡¯d gone too far, but Doran was too distracted by his own fear to realize that Kaz had all but admitted that he didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°I was just supposed to be a wagoneer,¡± Doran muttered. ¡°Drive a cart here. Make it look good if we¡¯re questioned. Just merchants. You know. Joneh was a guard. Trusted. Come here, sell our goods, bring supplies to the scalies, go home. My cousin did a run last year. Said it was the best pay he ever got.¡±


    ¡°Where are the scalies?¡± Kaz asked. Then, driven by impatience, he said, ¡°Do they have more dragons?¡±


    Doran¡¯s eyes were starting to droop. He¡¯d used up most of his energy and awareness. Cautiously, Kaz gave him a little blue ki. He didn¡¯t want the male to return to unconsciousness, but he also didn¡¯t want to heal him out of his compliant state.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Doran said, sitting up a little straighter. ¡°Only the scale-lickers went there. They had storage items, so they didn¡¯t need us and our carts. Joneh was always really quiet when he got back. He¡¯d wake up screaming about the dragons, though. Was the only time he¡¯d really talk. Like he had to, or he¡¯d go crazy. Said there were dozens of them, hidden away somewhere, waiting¡­¡±


    <Where?> Li asked, hissing furiously, as if she could drag knowledge the male didn¡¯t have from his bruised brain.


    ¡°Waiting for what?¡± Kaz said, giving the human a little shake.


    Doran¡¯s head lolled, and he giggled. ¡°To kill everyone.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred forty-four

    In the end, Kaz left Li watching over Doran, who had fallen into a semi-conscious state. They had a feeling the human had already told them everything he knew about the dragons anyway, and Kaz desperately wished they¡¯d been able to keep the other human, Joneh, alive. It sounded like he could have given them a lot more information.


    Unfortunately, with Doran¡¯s last statement still ringing in his ears, Kaz couldn¡¯t convince himself it was worthwhile to continue interrogating him without the others. So now he was standing in the street behind the Bard and Bee, waiting for someone to answer his knock while Li told him what the human was doing.


    <He just rolled over. Not completely. Just onto his side. Did you know he has a hole in his pants? And he smells bad. Do male humans not wash themselves? Raff is always stinky, and I¡¯ve never seen Chi Yincang take a bath. Did Gaoda take baths? I don¡¯t remember. Even if he did, I¡¯m sure he was stinky, too. Lianhua almost always smells good. I like taking baths with Lianhua. But not with->


    Raff definitely took baths, but he also didn¡¯t usually have clean clothes to change into. Lianhua, on the other hand, wore fuulong silk, which repelled dirt, and still seemed to either find time to wash her clothes or replace them with clean ones. Perhaps this was a difference between male and female humans? Or perhaps Lianhua was simply unusual?


    The door opened, and the hairless male who sold drinks looked out at Kaz. His expression went from suspicious to surprised, and he opened the door wider, motioning for Kaz to come in.


    Kaz shook his head, imagining the sound suppression rune as he said, ¡°I need to bring something to my friends.¡±


    Some of the suspicion returned as the man peered at Kaz¡¯s empty hands, then lingered on the pouch at his belt. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Shaking his head, Kaz said, ¡°We captured a human who may have information about what Adara wants to know. He¡¯s-¡±


    The other male hissed, motioning for Kaz to stop speaking. ¡°Are you stupid? We don¡¯t say her name, and we sure as-¡±


    Kaz cut him off in turn. Making a small ki-light, which usually seemed to be enough to convince humans that he could use ki, Kaz said, ¡°No one can hear us. Can I bring this person in or not?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not here right now,¡± the male said.


    ¡°I can wait.¡±


    The human looked conflicted. ¡°Samara and I are busy working, so we can¡¯t watch you. She wouldn¡¯t like it.¡±


    Kaz sighed. ¡°I can bring this person here so she can question him, or I can do it myself, and she may not get a chance. Which would you prefer?¡±


    ¡°Curse it,¡± the other male muttered. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m locking you in. You¡¯ll be staying there until she gets back.¡±


    Kaz nodded. He dismissed the rune, then turned and jumped straight to the roof of the building next to the Bard and Bee, ignoring the human¡¯s gasp of surprise. It took less than a minute to run back across the roofs, even given the fact that he had to wait until no one was passing by in the streets below. He had to admit, he could see why Chi Yincang preferred to jump rather than walk. It wasn¡¯t quite flying, but it was closer to that than walking.


    Li was standing next to Doran, staring at him as he lay curled up in the deepest corner of shadow. His breathing was fast and shallow, and he looked far too hot. His borrowed clothes were soaked in sweat and sticking to his body.


    This time, Kaz didn¡¯t even try to pretend the other male was walking partially on his own. Kaz just picked him up and laid him across his shoulders, giving him a faint trickle of blue ki for healing, as well as black to hopefully help cool him down. It seemed to work, because as Kaz jumped back over the roofs, the human¡¯s breathing slowed and deepened.


    <Will he be all right?> Li asked as they crouched on the edge of the final roof, watching two human females walk by. They were chatting and laughing, far too caught up in their conversation to notice him practically glaring at them.


    ¡°Probably. He mainly needs time and water, I think,¡± Kaz murmured. One of the females looked up as he spoke, and at first he thought she¡¯d somehow heard him, but instead she stared down the street, then gave her friend a perfunctory farewell and rushed away.


    Kaz waited until both females were out of sight before jumping down, then hurried across the deserted street to rap on the now-familiar door. This time it was the red-haired female, Samara, who brought the food who opened the door. She gaped at Kaz and Li, who hovered in the air behind him.


    ¡°What-?¡±


    By this time, Kaz was more than tired of explaining himself to humans. Why did they always ask questions when it was clearly time for action? The female was supposed to let him in, not find out why he was carrying an unconscious male.


    Turning to the side, Kaz pushed past her, trying to be as gentle about it as he could. ¡°This male needs help,¡± he told her, as if it wasn¡¯t obvious.


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    ¡°Oh. Oh! Yes, then¡­ You can go downstairs.¡± She held up a key, almost as if she¡¯d forgotten what it was for. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to lock you in.¡±


    Kaz just nodded, shifting his burden to make it easier to pass through the narrow tunnel to the dusty back room. The female pushed aside the box covering the hatch, then opened it, and Kaz hurried down the stairs. Li¡¯s wings were too wide now to fly down the stairs, so she landed awkwardly on Kaz¡¯s head, clinging with her invisible front claws in a way that would have been impossible if she really only had wings and rear legs.


    <I just wanted to be bigger,> Li complained as they descended, trying to wrap her tail around Kaz¡¯s neck, but unable to do so because of the body draped across his shoulders.


    Kaz sent her an image of a huge dragon, lifting the roof from a human house so she could stare at the occupants inside. ¡°Maybe instead of turning into a human, you can just become larger and smaller dragons,¡± he told her.


    <Then I could go back into the mountain with you,> Li said thoughtfully.


    Kaz almost missed a step, and then they were in the short passage at the bottom of the stairs. The human female used her key to unlock the door, then stood aside so Kaz could carry his burden and his dragon through the doorway, which suddenly seemed much smaller than others of its kind.


    When he was through, the human simply swung the door closed between them, and he heard the lock click as the key was turned. A moment later, the female said, ¡°Da said to tell you that if you break the door, your friends¡¯ll be trapped in there, so just sit and wait.¡±


    They listened as her footsteps retreated up the stairs, and then Li flew off Kaz¡¯s head, landing on the back of a chair. Kaz lowered Doran to the ground, then crossed to the door. Without looking at Li, he said, ¡°Why would I go back to the mountain?¡±


    Li sighed, stretching out so her tail hung from one end of the chair, and she could lay her chin on her front feet. <I don¡¯t think you should,> she said, <but you do. It makes you sad when you think about it. You need to talk to Katri, and know that the rest of your friends are safe.>


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any real friends there,¡± Kaz answered almost automatically as he closed his eyes. He needed mana, not ki, which was simultaneously very easy and very difficult for him. His ki drifted into mana as it left his body, but all he could do with that was push it away. What he needed was mana he could actually manipulate, which meant he had to weave together all of the colors of ki into a single piece. It was something he hadn¡¯t done since the mosui city, and he frowned as he started pulling on threads of sapphire, gold, obsidian, ruby, and moonstone.


    One by one, Li sent Kaz images of other kobolds. Avli and her new mate, Dett. Ija. Little Gram and his friend Chix. The healer, Jul. Kaz¡¯s great-aunt, Sika. Loyal Ratre. Dax, Nogz, and Eld, left behind in the nameless city the husede and kobolds were supposed to share. Silly young Ilto, with his round, fluffy ears. Pilla. Pia. Nadi, the kind Stoneborn den-mother. The few remaining members of the Broken Knives, now the Longknives, who deserved to know the truth of their history. Even Ogden, the husede who was one of Kaz¡¯s rare friends from the time his tribe was rising through the mountain, one failed luegat at a time.


    Kaz¡¯s mind stilled as he looked at each one. Some wagged their tails, happy to see him, while others were solemn or even stern. Each had touched his life, just as he had touched theirs, at least for a little while. Were they friends? Not all of them, perhaps, but he still longed to know that they were safe. He cared about them, and knew that there was a great deal left of their howls.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he admitted. ¡°I needed to leave, but I also need to go back. But there¡¯s no way I can defeat Nucai.¡± He remembered that terrible, ancient being, and the pressure of his power and fury when Kaz escaped.


    And that was the real reason he felt such a compulsion to grow stronger, even at the risk of his own life. The sooner he became strong, the sooner he could go back, and the more likely it was that he could survive a direct confrontation with Nucai. He still didn¡¯t know what that confrontation might look like, but if it came to a fight, he wanted to have a chance.


    <We¡¯ll go back together,> Li told him. <Even if I have to eat that mountain one stone at a time.>


    Kaz chuffed a laugh, sending the dragon an image of herself, joined by a vastly oversized Mei, slowly chewing up the mountain one level at a time, as all the occupants fled to the Deep. They only stopped when the top of the Tree came into view.


    Li took over the image, and with a great deal of satisfaction, the false Li bit off the Tree, right down to its roots. In doing so, she ate Emperor Qiangde¡¯s skeleton and the fractured remains of his core, then burped out a cloud of fire and vapor, which engulfed a tiny, screaming Nucai.


    He shook his head. ¡°They need the Tree,¡± he reminded her.


    <They think they need it,> she told him, sniffing. Li was still enjoying her own mental image of a pathetic, vanquished Nucai.


    His dragon had a point. Nucai clearly used the Tree in some way, and though Kaz thought the presences that flowed through the Tree were neutral, if not benign, they were linked to the ki-crystals Qiangde had placed in the top of the Tree. He also knew Qiangde had planted the Tree in the first place. Was that only to create a place he could cultivate and grow stronger, or had he had some other use for it?


    In Kaz¡¯s experience, nothing that monstrous dragon did was good for the kobolds, other than causing them to be created in the first place. Honestly, even that was a dark part of their history, since no one involved had volunteered for the task, except possibly Dongwu, who actually carried out Qiangde¡¯s twisted experiments.


    A soft groan escaped Doran, and the human stirred, rolling onto his side. Kaz shook his head sharply, chasing away these thoughts. There was nothing he could do about them right now, and he needed to get Doran to Lianhua.


    Closing his eyes again, Kaz focused on the threads he¡¯d pulled from his ki, only to find that at some point their forms had shifted, becoming streaks of colored charcoal, rather than thread. One color layered atop another, merging into a single deep gray mass, much as his charcoals had done when he tried to draw a picture explaining how ki and mana worked. Somehow, it was much easier than when he¡¯d tried to force his ki to weave into cloth, and he was even able to adjust the depth of the color until it ¡®matched¡¯ what he remembered Adara doing.


    Cautiously, he reached out and touched the handle of the door. Ki flared, and runes raced across the door¡¯s surface. The latch clicked.

 Chapter Two hundred forty-five

    Six faces turned toward him as the door opened, and Kaz was glad to see that they all looked better than they had when he saw them last. Adara must have provided them with some way to wash themselves, because the room smelled much better, and they all wore clean clothing.


    Kyla was the first to react, jumping over the box she was sitting behind. She ran over and threw her arms around Kaz¡¯s waist, making soft whimpering sounds more appropriate to a much younger pup. Kaz leaned down, touching his forehead to hers. It was an intimate gesture, but the young kobold was clearly in need of comfort. The pup¡¯s small hand clasped his, and she pressed something into his palm before stepping back and giving him a look as her tail wagged wildly.


    Kaz had to struggle to keep the frown from his face, even as his fingers closed around the object. What could the pup have for him she wasn¡¯t willing to talk about in front of everyone? He ran his thumb over the flat, triangular shape, but didn¡¯t look at it yet.


    ¡°Kaz!¡± Lianhua said, swinging her legs out of the bed she was sharing with Yingtao. She wore a robe he¡¯d never seen before, with very long, wide sleeves, and her hair was braided, looped, and bound into a delicate structure that shouldn¡¯t have been able to stand up on its own, and yet had neither mana nor ki to aid it.


    Kaz smiled, then held up his empty hand. ¡°I have a gift for you,¡± he told her, stepping backwards so they could see the space behind him. Her eyes immediately went to Li, who had adjusted her weary pose to a regal one, with her long neck perfectly arched over her delicately crossed paws.


    ¡°Li! You¡¯re so big!¡± Lianhua exclaimed, and Kaz felt his dragon¡¯s rush of pleasure. It was always good when someone recognized her impressive growth.


    Chi Yincang appeared beside the male on the floor, though Kaz barely saw his blur of ki move past. No matter how much stronger Kaz got, Chi Yincang was still ridiculously fast.


    ¡°Who?¡± the dark male asked, pressing his fingers to Doran¡¯s throat, just above the bandages, which were now stained with sweat and other fluids.


    Quickly, Kaz explained how he¡¯d realized he was being followed, and what happened when he, Raff, and Li had attempted to capture the two humans. As Raff had recommended, he left out the details of Raff¡¯s injury, though he made sure to tell them everything he remembered about how the ki had seemed to flow into the males through the stones embedded in their necks.


    By the time he was done, Chi Yincang had carried Doran into the hidden den and set him down on the bed not occupied by the injured human princess. She was the only one still lying down, while everyone else crowded around, staring at the stranger.


    ¡°Can you wake him?¡± Chi Yincang asked.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°He collapsed and hit his head when I removed the orb from his neck. He gets better when I try to heal him, but I had to find a place to hide him until I could get him here, and I think he got too hot.¡±


    Yingtao laid a hand on Doran¡¯s forehead, gracefully holding her long sleeve out of the way with her other hand. After checking beneath the bandages, peeling back his eyelids, and feeling the male¡¯s head for lumps she nodded, smiling at Kaz. ¡°I agree. He has a small swelling on the back of his head, but it shouldn¡¯t be enough to cause serious damage. His pupils are reactive, and the wounds on his neck are unpleasant, but shallow.¡±


    The female took charge from there, and soon Lianhua and Jinn were holding medicine pots and fresh bandages respectively, while Chi Yincang provided clean water both for cleansing the wounds and for drinking.


    Once Doran¡¯s wounds were cleaned, slathered in various unguents, and rebandaged, Yingtao stepped back, her hands disappearing inside her long sleeves. She wore a gentle smile as she said, ¡°Would you please revive him?¡±


    She was looking at Kaz, and he had a feeling this was a kind of test. No healer was without a way to convince an unconscious patient to wake, and Yingtao was clearly as experienced a healer as Rega, though he thought she was still relatively young.


    Kaz glanced at Lianhua, who smiled encouragingly. With a sigh, Kaz reached out and pushed blue ki into the male¡¯s head. He avoided the piercing and tearing wounds inflicted by Li¡¯s teeth, focusing on Doran¡¯s brain instead. Kaz was recovering more blue ki with every cycle of his core, but his central dantian was still much too empty. Besides, he thought Yingtao¡¯s remedies would be just as effective as his power, even if they took more time to work.


    It took a few moments, but soon enough Doran¡¯s eyelids flickered, and he moaned softly, his hands twitching. He blinked and looked around, gaze hazy, then jerked away from all the eyes intent upon him.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± he demanded, then looked around. ¡°Where am I?¡±


    Kaz lifted a hand, drawing Doran¡¯s attention to him. ¡°Do you remember me?¡±


    The human¡¯s eyes flickered, and then he shook his head. ¡°Never seen you before. Did you people kidnap me? I¡¯m reporting you to the guards!¡± He tried to swing his legs from the bed, only to find that a knife was suddenly buried deep in the soft fabric beside him.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, it was Yingtao, with her gentle smile and calm demeanor, who slowly withdrew a knife Kaz recognized as one of the pair Lianhua had traded Idla for. Had she gotten those for Yingtao, not herself?


    ¡°You followed our friend,¡± Yingtao said conversationally, her smile never wavering. ¡°Your companion died trying to fight him. We would very much like to know why, and who sent you. And,¡± she turned the very long, delicate blade so the light caught the finely-honed edge, ¡°I suggest you answer both promptly and truthfully.¡±


    At this, Lianhua looked resigned, Chi Yincang looked distinctly proud, and both of the other human females seemed as surprised as Kaz felt. He¡¯d known Yingtao was hiding something, but he honestly hadn¡¯t suspected this. If she were a kobold, she would have made an excellent chief.


    Unsurprisingly, Doran¡¯s response was a bit different. He attempted to scramble backward, but found that at some point while Yingtao was caring for him, she had bound his hands and feet. He thrashed, but was utterly unable to move.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why they wanted him followed!¡± he all but shouted. At Yingtao¡¯s raised brow, he hastily added, ¡°They¡¯re having all the mages fighting in the tournament tracked. There are so many, they ran out of people, so they started making teams like ours. One trusted employee, one temporary contract worker. Joneh was the one who knew what¡¯s going on. They were particularly interested in Kaz because of his wyvern, but I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    ¡°You were supposed to report back and let ¡®them¡¯ know who I talked to and where I went,¡± Kaz prompted.


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    Doran nodded eagerly. ¡°That¡¯s it. Follow you, report back. It was kind of nice, because you kept wandering around, and I got to see Cliffcross. I¡¯ve never been here before-¡±


    ¡°Where do you come from?¡± Lianhua interrupted.


    ¡°Uh, Slavik. But my grandmother is from Holiander, so I speak the language,¡± Doran said.


    Lianhua frowned. ¡°The Diushi Empire didn¡¯t extend that far, so they don¡¯t share the common tongue. Why would anyone hire from so far away? It¡¯d be easier to hire people from the Empire or even the outskirts of Holiander.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy,¡± Doran said. ¡°They wanted people without any ties to this country. People who wouldn¡¯t know anyone. They almost didn¡¯t hire me, but I told them my babi had no family left here, and they needed someone who could talk to the customs officers.¡±


    ¡°Who is ¡®they¡¯?¡± Chi Yincang asked.


    For the first time, Doran looked hesitant. ¡°The scalies. They¡¯re these, um, giant, walking, talking lizards. Just another demi-human, I guess, but not one I¡¯d ever heard of. They¡¯re very secretive. Don¡¯t want anyone talking about them. That¡¯s why they pay us so well and put in the-¡± he rolled his neck, wincing as he pulled on the wound left behind by the absent sphere.


    Kaz held his fingers about a half inch apart. ¡°Was it a stone or crystal orb, about this big, with some kind of runes carved on the surface?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! One of those! They had piles and piles of them. Just went down the line right behind us, cut open our necks with their freaky long claws, then slid one of those in underneath the skin.¡± Doran shuddered. ¡°Worst part of the whole thing, even though they had one of their mages heal us right up. I still thought it was worth it for the pay. Until today.¡±


    ¡°What happens when you finish your contract?¡± Yingtao asked. ¡°They take you home? Do they take out the stone as well?¡±


    Doran shrugged. ¡°My cousin actually recommended me for the job. I guess they¡¯ve been coming here for the tournament for the past ten years or so. He got married last year, so he couldn¡¯t come this time. He says they don¡¯t take out the little balls, but after a while you don¡¯t even notice them. They¡¯re supposedly used to track you down in case you try to take off, but they said,¡± he swallowed hard, ¡°if you tell anybody anything, it¡¯d blow up and kill you. There are stories of guys who thought it was a lie, you know, to get you to follow the rules. They¡¯re not¡­pretty. Might just be another layer of tall tales, but I¡¯m not- I wasn¡¯t planning to test it.¡±


    Lianhua leaned forward. ¡°Where are these ¡®scalies¡¯ now?¡±


    Again, the human shook his head. ¡°They have us in a warehouse on the east side. That¡¯s where we stay unless we¡¯re told to go out and deal with other humans. I haven¡¯t actually seen a scalie since the day they stuck that thing in my neck.¡±


    ¡°Who else knows about this?¡± Reina asked suddenly. They all turned to see her sitting on the edge of her bed. Her face was pale, with bright red spots blazing on her cheeks, but Kaz didn¡¯t think it was because of her injury.


    Doran¡¯s brows drew together. ¡°I mean, everyone I talked to. We just bring in our carts and goods, sign papers and talk to officials, and then after the tournament, we leave again.¡±


    ¡°Officials, yes,¡± Jinn said, ¡°but who else? Nobles? Maybe even members of the royal family?¡±


    The male laughed outright. ¡°Nobody like that. I doubt if anyone I talked to has ever even seen a noble, except at a distance.¡±


    Kaz had been thinking hard for a while, and now he pulled his roll of art supplies from his pouch and laid them out across the box Kyla had been hiding behind. As he did, he caught sight of something behind the pup that almost made him pause, but a glance at his cousin convinced him to carry on.


    As the questioning continued, producing nothing helpful, Kaz drew a quick sketch on one of his few remaining pieces of paper. Seeing what he was doing, Li, Kyla, and Mei leaned in, watching intently, until he hesitated on filling in some of the colors and Li brought back the memory.


    It was immediately after he accidentally restored the collapsed stairs leading to the first level of the Deep. Among the things that were repaired was the one and only clear map of the Deep he¡¯d ever seen. The figures there were actually painted, as they must have been when it was first carved, so he¡¯d been able to make out details he never would have seen otherwise.


    Finally, he looked down at the page, and though it wasn¡¯t perfect, it was a reasonable representation of one of the figures Kaz had already begun to think of as dragon-people. He now knew that they were exactly that, born from feeding dragon cores to cored humans who had been infected with fulan spores. In addition, the ¡®humans¡¯ selected for these experiments were most or all descendants of the first Diushi emperor, who was actually a dragon himself. That meant that even before they ate the cores, they were already descended from dragons, which only made their final forms that much closer to their ancestor¡¯s original one.


    Holding up the picture, Kaz showed it to their captive. ¡°Is this a scalie?¡±


    Doran blinked. ¡°How the-? Yeah. I never saw any wings, but they always wear capes or cloaks, so I guess they could be under there.¡±


    Kaz looked at Lianhua, and they both understood what that meant. Doran¡¯s ¡®scalies¡¯ were the third kind of kobold, the ones who had rebelled. Qiangde had forced out of the mountain in his last moments, and Kaz¡¯s kobolds considered them to be traitors. Far from dying out or moving away, they had stayed, and were now in Cliffcross. And, unless Kaz was very much mistaken, they were either controlling or controlled by dragons.


    After that, many more questions were asked, but most of them resulted in the same information, or rather, lack thereof. They found out far more about Doran himself than they would ever need to know, and it should be easy enough to track down this ¡®warehouse¡¯ where the rest of the humans were being kept.


    Of course, when Doran and Joneh didn¡¯t come back, the wise thing to do would be to move them all, so Kaz had his doubts if they would find much there when they were finally able to look. Perhaps Adara could arrange something, but the rest of them weren¡¯t going to get far.


    Slowly, Kaz let the humans¡¯ conversation fade into the background and instead turned to look at Kyla. She was back in the pillow-lined den she¡¯d made for herself, and when she saw she had his attention, she shifted to the side, revealing the edge of the dark hole he¡¯d already noticed. Then she opened her hand, showing the empty palm, and Kaz remembered the little thing she¡¯d handed him earlier.


    Dipping his fingers into his pouch, Kaz removed the small, metallic triangle. It was handy that as long as he didn¡¯t give it any ki, he could just use the bag as a regular pouch, so he¡¯d just dropped it in until he had an opportunity to look at this thing properly. Not that it took long, because once he did, it was very familiar.


    Glancing back at Lianhua, Kaz wished he knew why his cousin was being so secretive. If he used ki to cover their conversation, Lianhua might well notice, and that would be the end of any opportunity for a private conversation. But was Kyla really trying to keep Lianhua from knowing whatever it was, or was his cousin worried about the other females, or even Chi Yincang?


    Instead of using ki, Kaz pointed from the gleaming red scale in his hand to the hole in the wall. Kyla nodded, then ran her hand over the ground, using her fingers like four little legs. The hand-creature vanished into the hole, emerging as a hand again, and Kyla looked expectantly at him.


    Mei. The fuergar had made the hole, and probably brought back the scale, too. But still, why the secrecy?


    Seeing his confusion, Kyla rolled her eyes. Raising her empty palm to her nose, she gave a deep sniff. Kaz mimicked the motion. At first, his almost-human nose didn¡¯t pick anything up beyond a faint stench, reminiscent of the way Mei, Jinn, and Reina had smelled after getting out of the sewer. If Kyla and Li had smelled like that as well, it was burned away when they passed through the ¡®incinerator¡¯ that Kaz now believed was the captive fire of the Divine Beast called Fengji.


    Kyla gave another deep sniff, and Kaz pushed ki into his nose. Something dry and dusty, but also vaguely similar to Li¡¯s scent. That was to be expected, since the reptilian kobolds, who called themselves the xiyi, were so closely related to dragons.


    More ki, another long inhale, and this time he caught it. Kobolds. His kind of kobolds. The xiyi had dragons, but they also had kobolds.

 Chapter Two hundred forty-six

    Kaz flicked a glance at the humans, who were still trying to get more information from Doran. When he looked back at Kyla, however, she shook her head firmly. No, she didn¡¯t want to tell them.


    He was torn. On the one hand, he and Lianhua had talked about this. Letting someone know what you were doing could be the only reason you survived the consequences of your actions. They needed to trust each other.


    On the other hand, Kyla had already taken off without him once, and he had a feeling that she would have done so again if he hadn¡¯t come when he did. The hole she was hiding was large enough for her, but definitely not for the humans. If Kaz told the others what she was doing, he would lose her trust.


    So, did he choose his cousin over the humans, or the humans over his cousin? Whose trust would he betray?


    Glancing behind him once more, Kaz could see that Doran was tiring. His fear had kept him going, but now his wounds and the long day were wearing on him. He would probably fall into sleep or unconsciousness soon.


    Kaz picked up his charcoals and paper, carefully rolling the kit back up, with each tool in its place. It took a while, but not long enough, and Kyla was clearly impatient.


    The end of his time to decide came when Mei poked her nose out of the hole, squeaking softly at Kyla. The fuergar was covered in dust, her fur brown and white, rather than glittering with metallic threads. She dropped another scale onto the pillow, and Kyla snatched it up. Without another glance at Kaz, the puppy laid on her belly and wriggled through the hole after the rodent.


    Quickly, Kaz swung over the box, settling into the soft depression that was still filled with his cousin¡¯s warmth. He, too, laid down, but found that his shoulders were too wide to get through the hole. He could see that it widened out further on, but he couldn¡¯t simply remove a few more bricks in order to open it up enough.


    Li landed beside him with a soft thump, and she poked her long neck inside as Kaz sat up again. Her wings jammed at first, but then she gave a fierce hiss, letting out all of the air in her lungs, and she slipped through.


    <Ha! I can still do it,> she chortled gleefully. <Becoming smaller isn¡¯t hard at all.>


    That wasn¡¯t what Kaz meant, but it reminded him that he, too, had a way to become smaller. He had only taken this human shape so he wouldn¡¯t be attacked before he could explain who he was. The only humans around right now knew either him or Kyla, and he could be himself again. Preferably before his cousin and his dragon got too far ahead.


    Sitting up, Kaz looked over the box, making sure that everyone was focused on Doran. Their backs were toward him, and all of the humans looked frustrated, including their prisoner. Kaz laid back down, pulling some of the blankets up to cover him, and closed his eyes.


    The last time he returned to his true shape, Kaz had been clinging desperately to his self-image in the midst of a breakthrough in his cultivation. It was more accidental than intentional, but he didn¡¯t think it should be that much harder to do it on purpose.


    Kaz pictured his true self. His fingers twitched as he imagined drawing charcoal across a smooth stone wall. There were his long snout, sharp teeth, pointed ears, sweeping tail, and deep blue fur. The longer locks on top of his head fell just so, while his chest was deeper and not so broad. He drew in a breath, feeling the expansion of lungs that were subtly different. His heels came up, feet lengthening, posture shifting, and¡­


    He opened his eyes, lifting his arms. They were his. Covered in dense blue fur, with large knuckles and thick claws. His shirt hung from his body, far too large now that he was a good head shorter and quite a bit less bulky. His pants puddled around his hips, along with his sagging belt, and Kaz quickly opened his pouch, removing the offending items and tucking them away. He couldn¡¯t put on his fuulong silk loincloth without standing up, so he would have to start out naked, but wasn¡¯t that how all lives began?


    And, in a way, he did feel as if he had been reborn. He felt free for the first time in¡­possibly ever. He was himself, not pretending to be other, briefly and gloriously allowing himself to leave behind the expectations and promises of his previous self. It was a very peculiar feeling, but as he laid down on his belly, extending his arms ahead of him, and slithered down the hole, he almost enjoyed the scraping of pebbles against his stomach and the tugging of rough stone on his fur.


    It took less than a minute to make his way through the tight passage, in spite of the fact that he could barely move his arms or bend his legs. Never once did he get the terrible, remembered feeling of the stone closing in on him, crushing his heart and stealing his breath. Was that because he knew he was stronger than when he was a young pup, crawling through an endless tunnel, or because he knew he wasn¡¯t alone?


    A hand clasped his as the passage widened, Kyla grunting as she tugged him out. To his surprise, Li didn¡¯t hiss or snap at his cousin, nor did she complain when Mei emerged from a nearby tunnel and then came over to sniff at each of them, including the dragon.


    Kyla didn¡¯t even look surprised to see that he¡¯d returned to his proper shape. Perhaps she¡¯d realized that the only way he would fit was if he changed forms. Her tail wagged as she gave the fuergar a bit of something crumbly and yellow, and in exchange, Mei dropped yet another of the scales. This one was black, rather than red, and it was noticeably rounder than the first two. Were there more than one kind of xiyi?


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Kaz asked, looking around. It was obvious that the fuergar had been working hard, because the familiar grooves of teeth-marks were visible everywhere. The passage through which they¡¯d crawled looked to have been created entirely by the rodent, passing as it did through solid stone, but the other tunnels had originally been formed of some kind of shaped brick, curving up to create an arch over the foul-smelling crust on the ground.


    Kyla shrugged, looking at Mei. ¡°We follow her.¡±


    And so they did. Kaz carried Li whenever he could. Some of the tunnels were too small for this, however, and the dragon was forced to walk, leading to a long litany of complaints about the smell and the feel of the dried gunk crackling between her toes and collecting in the grooves of her scales.


    <It was bad enough the first time,> she told him as she leaned as far away from a clump of something putrid as she could. <At least then there was water and I could still fly most of the time. This is just¡­rotten dirt, and I¡¯m too big. It shouldn¡¯t even be possible to be too big. I mean, you might be too big, but not me.>


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I think these tunnels haven¡¯t been used in a long time,¡± Kaz said as they finally came to the end of that passage. More of Mei¡¯s work was visible here, where the fuergar had had to chew away an area where the bricks had broken apart, blocking the tunnel.


    Thinking he was speaking to her, Kyla nodded agreement. ¡°The other sewers were wet, even before the rain. Things dripped down onto us, and everything was fresh.¡± Her nose wrinkled in disgust. ¡°This is much better.¡±


    ¡°Do you think this part is connected to the other?¡± he asked, and she shook her head.


    ¡°The rain didn¡¯t get in here. These are blocked off or separate.¡± She looked around. ¡°Hopefully that means there are no salamanders or stone lizards here.¡±


    It took Kaz a moment to realize that ¡®stone lizard¡¯ must be another name for the mana-filled reptiles who came through the incursion, and then he halted mid-step. ¡°You had to fight those beasts?¡±


    Kyla shuddered. ¡°They were everywhere after the flood. They got washed down into the sewer, just like the salamanders. The salamanders drowned, though. The stone lizards just got hungry.¡±


    Kyla, Mei, and the human females had been through more than Kaz realized. His arms tightened around Li. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe,¡± he told his cousin, his tail tucking down behind him. It was good to be able to express himself properly again.


    Kyla paused, her ears and tail lowering in response to Kaz¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I left without saying anything. I thought it would be like when I explored the Deep alone. I thought I could handle it. I was wrong.¡±


    By the last words, she was almost whimpering, and Kaz stepped up beside her. Leaning in, closer than he usually liked to get to anyone, he shifted Li to one arm and gave the pup an awkward hug. Li even rested her head briefly between the pup¡¯s drooping ears.


    The three of them stood in silent rapport for a moment, before something else occurred to Kaz. He pulled back, staring at his cousin. More precisely, staring into his cousin. Her core was bright, red almost overwhelming the subtle notes of yellow and blue, just as it had when last he looked.


    ¡°The salamanders had cores. All of them,¡± he said. ¡°Did you-?¡± He couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask, even knowing that he himself had given in and eaten one of their cores, and it hadn¡¯t harmed him.


    Kyla¡¯s shoulders tensed. ¡°I didn¡¯t know they all had cores. I only found one. I¡­¡± Her voice trailed off, and then she shrugged off the remains of her pack, swinging it around so she could take out a small package, neatly wrapped in the same kind of oiled cloth that had protected the jejing moss. Her fingers trembled as she opened it, revealing a round red stone that burned brightly in her palm.


    ¡°Father said not to eat them. That pups were too weak, and would lose the battle with the beast within. It didn¡¯t make any sense,¡± she said, eyeing the thing hungrily.


    Kaz, too, felt the pull, but somehow it wasn¡¯t nearly as strong as it had been before. Was that because he was more powerful, or because he¡¯d already eaten one? He reached out and curled Kyla¡¯s fingers around the salamander¡¯s core.


    ¡°I think he was right, but also not right,¡± he told her, remembering his own experience. What had Heishe said? ¡°The flames are yours, to do with as you will. Take them in. Don¡¯t fight them, or one of you will lose. There is no battle, only ki.¡±


    Kyla stared at him. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    He chuckled, but Li let out a little hiss of agreement. <That snake needs to speak more clearly,> the dragon muttered, breaking out of whatever introspection had kept her silent for so long.


    Kaz looked between both of them. ¡°I think it means that we¡¯re fighting a battle we were never meant to win,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Because we were never meant to fight. I¡¯m still figuring out how this world works, but one thing I¡¯m almost certain of is that it¡¯s all supposed to work together. I don¡¯t know how or why it became a battle instead of a cycle, but the power inside that core is already yours as much as it is anyone¡¯s, which is not at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ makes no sense,¡± his cousin said, hands on her hips as she mock-growled at him.


    <She¡¯s right.>


    He laughed. ¡°I know.¡±


    They all turned as Mei squeaked at them. The fuergar was staring out of the next tunnel, her nose quivering above a bright gold disc. Instead of a scale, this time she had a coin.


    Kaz crouched, holding out his hand, and Mei came closer, dropping it into his palm. Absently, he dug out an extra skewer he¡¯d stashed away in his pouch. Pulling off a piece of meat, he gave it to Mei, then handed the rest to Li. The dragon and the fuergar looked adorably similar as they both clutched their treats in the little paws, but Kaz kept that thought very carefully tucked away in the back of his mind. Li most definitely would not approve.


    ¡°Do you have any more?¡± Kyla asked, and he looked up to see that she was all but drooling, her eyes huge and locked onto the skewer. ¡°Adara only ever brought bread, cheese, and dried meat. It was good, but that looks even better.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail swept across the dirty ground behind him as he straightened. Opening his pouch, he removed another skewer, then a third. This one was dropped by a human walking in front of him, who chose not to pick it up again. Kaz had sniffed it, and it seemed fine, so it joined the rest of the random things that had gone into his storage item since he entered the city.


    Kyla accepted the first skewer, and Kaz kept the one that had been dropped. He brushed away a few pieces of dirt and bit into it. Yes, it was perfectly edible, and still warm, thanks to the power of his pouch.


    ¡°Does Mei bring back many of these coins?¡± Kaz asked, holding it in his free hand. Which wasn¡¯t so free, actually, because Li was perched on the attached arm, and the dragon was done with her own food, leaving her looking for more. She was already eyeing the gold disc greedily.


    Kyla shrugged and nodded, tearing off another chunk of meat. She chewed, then swallowed hard before saying, ¡°Four or five, I think. I lost track after she started bringing scales.¡±


    Kaz distracted the dragon with the last bite of his skewer, and switched hands. Lifting the coin, he turned it. If the memories he¡¯d regained of his early life were accurate, he was once able to tell different kinds of metal apart by smell, and perhaps a bit of that ability was returning as his ki shifted and grew, because he sneezed as a sweet, mellow scent reached him.


    ¡°I think this is an Imperial coin, not a Holiander groat,¡± he said. ¡°The Imperial coins are almost pure gold, while the groats-¡±


    ¡°Have five percent silver, with anywhere from ten to fifteen percent copper,¡± his cousin told him. At his look, she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d never seen a coin before, but Ija made sure I knew what they were, and there are drawings in some of the chiefs¡¯ books. Ija said humans like the coins we make, because they only have enough silver in them so they won¡¯t bend.¡±


    ¡°We make coins?¡± Kaz asked, caught off guard by this revelation.


    Kyla¡¯s tongue lolled in amusement. ¡°We¡¯ll make anything, as long as the trade is good. We haven¡¯t bothered with these since the mountain was closed, though.¡±


    That¡­made sense.


    Mei squeaked impatiently, and they turned to look in her direction again. The fuergar was staring at them, and everything from her quivering whiskers to her uplifted paw said she was ready to go whenever they were ready to follow.


    Kaz glanced back at the passage behind them. There was no sign anyone was following them, not yet, but he couldn¡¯t delay them any longer. He nodded to the fuergar, and she skittered into the shadows of the next tunnel.

 Chapter Two hundred forty-seven (Raff)

    By the time Raff reached the stadium, he was exhausted, and his chest burned like someone ran him through with a hot knife. He¡¯d had close calls before, but seeing pieces of his own bones on the ground really brought this one home. He was almost thirty years old. Maybe it was finally time to stop chasing after adventure and go back to his family.


    The laugh sent sharp agony stabbing through him, but it felt good. The muscles he¡¯d tensed against the ache in his side relaxed a little, and he thought the lousy potion he¡¯d nabbed from a stall on the way might finally be working. Those guys were just selling apprentice-level stuff at master-level prices, and they had zero shame about it. He couldn¡¯t even blame them. He¡¯d bought it, right?


    The pretty brunette waiting in the hall raised her brows at him. ¡°Big Bro Gravy, correct?¡± She held out her hand for his papers.


    He grinned. It wasn¡¯t up to his usual level of captivating charm, but he¡¯d almost died an hour ago, so it was good enough. ¡°You remember me.¡±


    She sniffed, but there was a hint of a smile around one corner of her mouth. ¡°I remember the name. They already started, so you¡¯re just lucky they haven¡¯t called you yet.¡±


    Damn. They must have finished the spear throw early. Made sense, though. How many people specialized in throwing pointy sticks really hard? Give him a crossbow any day.


    ¡°Three, right?¡± See, he wasn¡¯t just a lump of muscle. He remembered things.


    She shook her head, the little smile vanishing as a crease formed between her brows. ¡°Several people haven¡¯t shown up today. They decided to put you all in room five instead of splitting you into two groups.¡±


    He frowned back. ¡°People who won their matches yesterday aren¡¯t here today? Why not?¡±


    She gave him a look. ¡°Ask them. The officials think they were frightened off by the incursion and then the escape at the mage college.¡±


    His brows went up. ¡°Escape?¡±


    She glanced to the side, then leaned closer. ¡°They say some of the mages caught a bunch of salamanders and took them back to study. They got loose, and that¡¯s what caused the fire. Then some pipes broke and filled the Cliff with the runoff from the rain.¡±


    Above them, the crowd broke into wild screams. A bout just got exciting, or maybe a favorite won. Either way, it meant he needed to move.


    ¡°Thanks, ah-¡± he hesitated, waiting for her name, and the smile returned.


    ¡°Aimee,¡± she told him. ¡°Good luck, Big Bro.¡± Now she was definitely laughing at him, and it was a good look on her.


    ¡°Thanks, Aimee.¡± Raff tried the grin again, and this time it felt more genuine. With a wave, he vanished down the passage, reading the signs on the doors until he found one marked with a five.


    He felt the lingering smile broaden as he remembered how proud Blue was when he was actually able to read the numbers for himself. Then he shook his head as he pushed open the door. He was still conflicted about leaving the former kobold and his lizard to haul the baddie off by themselves. Raff was sure Blue could handle the guy if he started to wake up, but he was less certain the lad would be able to get an unconscious man through the streets without someone noticing, with or without his dragon¡¯s help.


    A wall of scent and sound smacked into him as he stepped over the threshold. By this time of day, the room had been filled with people for hours, and many of those people had been sweating either in the heat or from previous battles. They were also talking to each other in a way the teams didn¡¯t, either chatting about other matches or sending thinly veiled gibes at each other, depending on their personalities. Raff tended to be chatty, but there was a place and time for taunts, as well, and this could be it.


    They all looked at him, startled by the late appearance of a final competitor. Several grimaced unhappily, but it was a short, squat fella with a good bit of dwarf blood who explained why.


    ¡°They told us somebody wouldn¡¯t have to fight, since there¡¯s an odd number, and here you are, you ingrown hair on a pig¡¯s arse,¡± Theobold said cheerfully, his voice loud enough to make a few of the others wince. He didn¡¯t seem to understand the meaning of ¡®inside voice¡¯, which made sense, because as far as Raff knew, he¡¯d grown up under a rock. There was certainly enough moss in his beard to lend credence to that theory, anyway.


    Raff stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled it around. ¡°Sorry, could you repeat that? Something just exploded nearby, and I think I went a bit deaf.¡±


    Theo¡¯s laughter was even louder than his speaking voice, but Raff didn¡¯t mind it. Raff just met him the day before, when they were both waiting for their bouts to be called, but the man just seemed to be one of those people who didn¡¯t have a grumpy bone in his body.


    ¡°They¡¯re running them slow as snail butter today,¡± Theo went on. ¡°Trying to stretch it out, y¡¯know? Good thing for you, though, Little Bro.¡± He laughed again, and this time Raff joined in, even though it made his ribs hurt like they were coming apart all over again. Theo was at least two feet shorter than Raff, but a good bit older, so he¡¯d turned Raff¡¯s nickname back on him.


    The door opened again, and this time a stranger poked his head in. ¡°Cooliahmus and Justice, you¡¯re up.¡± He sounded bored, and didn¡¯t even bother responding when Cooliahmus tried to explain that his name was pronounced ¡®Kul-ee-arms¡¯. Cooli-Kulee and a brawny woman followed the man as he walked off, leaving Raff, Theo, and four other people Raff vaguely recognized from the day before.


    One of these, a truly enormous man with a single stripe of thick green hair running down the middle of his scalp, stared at Raff belligerently. Raff sighed. He was pretty sure he knew what was coming. Sure enough, the man walked over, stiff-legged, like a cat who¡¯d just seen a dog wander into its territory.


    Raff probably should have waited for whatever was going to come out of his mouth, but he was just tired. He was tired of playing nice, and he was sure as Pellis¡¯ puny pickle tired of pretending to be something he wasn¡¯t. If he had his Adamant Reach badge on, this guy never would have met his eyes, much less tried to loom over him. Of course, he also wouldn¡¯t have been here, because there was an unwritten rule that members of the local guard and mercs didn¡¯t fight in the open-year tournament.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    So Raff punched him. He didn¡¯t even put a lot of force into it. He didn¡¯t know how much mana the guy had, though he almost had to have some in order to have made it through two rounds. He might just have a magical axe and have gotten lucky, though, so Raff just pushed enough of his own power into his fist to lift the guy off the ground a few inches.


    When the big man¡¯s feet returned to the floor, he staggered backwards, spitting blood, wide-eyed and furious. Raff gave him a little grin, but not the one that said he was just a nice, friendly guy. ¡°I saw a bug,¡± he said, almost gently. The man paled, swiped his forearm across his lips, smearing red across his cheek, then turned and walked away, full of offended dignity, but smart enough to know he shouldn¡¯t push Raff any further.


    The remaining three people stared at Raff, and even Theobald had a look on his face that said he was reconsidering a few things. Raff just didn¡¯t have it in him to care, though he probably would later. Instead, he walked as far away from the others as he could get, tried not to look like he was leaning against the wall, and began to refill his mana pool.


    As always, the rush of power was enough to fill him with warmth, chasing away pain and fatigue. Unfortunately, as soon as he stopped, it would come crashing back in, all the worse for the temporary respite. He was lucky that he could continue gathering mana even while he was moving, which was a rare skill outside of mages. Unfortunately, it was that constant thrill of power that caused mages to be arrogant and overconfident, led on by the seemingly infinite mana that lay just beyond their skin, so Raff was careful to stop as soon as his mana pool was full, rather than continuing to attempt to take in power he had no place for.


    A riot of sound broke through his concentration, and Raff managed to open his eyes when the door creaked a few minutes later. It was time for the next match, and somehow he wasn¡¯t surprised when the man called his name. He was, however, surprised when the universe matched him against Theobald and not the green-haired man. He didn¡¯t have the energy to give a good fight right now, and whalloping the big man would have been nice. He didn¡¯t want to disrespect Theo like that, though.


    It seemed that Theo was thinking along the same lines, because when they got to the first gate and their guide finished droning out the rules, the short man stopped and looked up at Raff. ¡°Seems to me you¡¯re having a rough day, my friend.¡±


    Raff sighed, then immediately regretted doing so. The boost from gathering mana was wearing off, leaving him in even more pain, if possible. ¡°Yeah. Not my favorite day ever.¡±


    Theo nodded, plucking a bit of moss from his beard. He began to chew on it, then pushed it into his cheek with his tongue as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to find myself on the wrong end of a bug, but it doesn¡¯t feel right to just bow out. Would you be willing to dance with me for a bit before you knock me out of the ring?¡±


    Their guide looked between them, eyes narrowing. ¡°You¡¯re not talking about throwing the match, are you?¡±


    The dwarfish man grinned, all innocence, and said, ¡°Nah, ¡®course not. Just that Little Bro here hates bugs, and I want to make sure he doesn¡¯t think there are any on me. I just had a bath last month, y¡¯know.¡± He scratched idly at his arm.


    Raff barely managed to hold back a laugh. ¡°Well, obviously you¡¯re clean as Pellis¡¯ shiny hiney, then.¡±


    ¡°Too right,¡± Theo said before stepping into the alcove leading to the gate. He pulled the single biggest axe Raff had ever seen out of his storage device and began to swing it around, limbering up as he pointedly ignored the other two men.


    Raff silently gathered as much mana as he could on the way to his own gate, then pulled out his weapons as well as the breastplate of his third-best armor. All of his equipment had taken a beating in the mountain, and this one had a dent he hadn¡¯t quite managed to get out completely. Most importantly, however, it didn¡¯t have a guild symbol on it anywhere, since it was meant to be worn with a set of pauldrons that did carry the symbol.


    When the gate went up and his name was called, Raff walked out onto the sands without any of his usual showmanship. He was using his smaller axe, a miniature battle-axe made to be wielded one-handed. Honestly, Raff bought it because it was funny, not because he had any intention of ever using it, but today was the day. If this wasn¡¯t an axe competition, and he wasn¡¯t up against someone he liked, he just would have come out empty-handed and thumped his opponent on top of his head until he stopped moving.


    The crowd obviously didn¡¯t know what to make of him, so when Theobald came jogging out, carrying an axe as tall as he was, they cheered wildly. Theo made the most of it, swinging his weapon so hard that the weight of it all but lifted him into the air, allowing him to kick out at somewhere close to Raff¡¯s head height. Raff grinned at the sight. On any other day, he would have had a lot of fun trading blows with the other man.


    Theo spent his minute of prep time showing off for the crowd, which drew several gold coins down around his ears. A few even plinked off of his helmet, causing laughter to ripple through the crowd as the short man grinned and pretended to stagger.


    Raff, on the other hand, spent his time pushing mana into his hands and skin. There were words to the spell he used, but he¡¯d discovered long ago that if he held tight enough to the picture of himself with light surrounding his body, he didn¡¯t really need them. He used them, of course, because a common merc who could cast spells without speaking was a merc who would find himself closely watched by people he didn¡¯t want watching him, but sometimes he hurried through without worrying about the proper pronunciation. Today was one of those days.


    ¡°Begin!¡± the announcer yelled, and gouts of dust formed behind Theo¡¯s feet as he hurtled toward Raff. Normally, Raff would have played along, but today he just settled his feet into the earth more firmly and held up his two-pound axe. He¡¯d poured all the mana he could spare into it, and he¡¯d be willing to bet that if Blue was there, he¡¯d say it was glowing.


    The blade of Theo¡¯s axe was larger than Raff¡¯s weapon, handle and all, but it stopped dead when it met the relatively tiny blade. Raff turned it, catching the other man¡¯s blade against the butt of his little axe, and gave a gentle tug, almost but not quite pulling it from Theo¡¯s hand. The short man¡¯s eyes widened, and he nodded. Raff had won, the crowd just didn¡¯t know it yet.


    Theo bounced around like a child¡¯s ball, giving quite a show while not requiring Raff to do anything more than turn his axe aside. They stretched it as long as Raff could bear, and then he stepped into the arc of the huge weapon, allowing the enormous axe blade to skim along his shoulder as he bent to the side. His ribs screamed in protest, but Raff ignored them as he took hold of Theo¡¯s wrist and squeezed.


    The axe fell, thudding into the dirt beside Raff¡¯s foot, and he almost laughed as he realized he could have lost a toe in the last second of the bout. That would have been embarrassing when he had to ask Blue to reattach them later.


    Theo looked up as Raff looked down, and the two men grinned at each other before Theo pulled back, clutching dramatically at his wrist. Raff was sure it hurt, because he hadn¡¯t been gentle, but he was also certain it wasn¡¯t broken.


    ¡°Winner! Big Bro Gravy!¡± The announcer continued, but Raff ignored whatever else he had to say as he turned and trudged back to his open gate. First, he was going to get something to eat, maybe find a few more potions, though it wasn¡¯t a good idea to drink too many of the cheap ones in a row. Still, one more and a few to stash wouldn¡¯t hurt. Then he¡¯d make his way back to the spice district to check on Blue and the others. Maybe they¡¯d managed to get something from that-


    Pain tore through his head, and the lights went out.

 Chapter Two hundred forty-eight (Chi Yincang)

    Chi Yincang had waited long enough. He¡¯d listened to Li-xiao and Yingying fruitlessly attempt to interrogate the captive for a solid forty-nine minutes, and the kobolds had been gone for almost half an hour. It had been all Chi could do to maintain his composure when Kaz transformed back into his own shape. Kobolds really were adorable, perhaps especially because they, like his precious little sister, could be deadly if underestimated.


    But Kaz had then performed the slowest and most awkward wink Chi Yincang had ever seen, making his heart clench in his chest at just how cute he was. Really, how could Li-xiao stand being allowed to touch them, and yet not do so? Chi himself had only stolen a few small snuggles when he carried one of them someplace, and the feeling of their thick yet soft fur was¡­


    He brought himself up short. As much as he¡¯d like to spend all of his time rhapsodizing over the lethal appeal of the kobolds, much less their even smaller companions, Chi had a job to do. Silently, he glided forward, setting a hand on Lianhua¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Lady,¡± he murmured, for her ears only, ¡°the kobolds.¡±


    Lianhua frowned, glancing toward the burrow Kyla-keai had created. Chi Yincang had been quite entertained by the little kobold¡¯s attempts to hide her pet¡¯s project. He especially enjoyed it when the fuergar made her cautious circuit around the room, begging or cajoling food from each of the occupants, including him. It was quite intelligent, and had responded well to his efforts to train it to be more stealthy. He worried that it would be hurt if it continued as it was, so the improvement was a relief.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Lianhua asked, just as quietly, stepping out of the circle of women surrounding the prisoner.


    ¡°They¡¯re gone,¡± he said. That was really more than he should have told her. Li-xiao was well able to make these deductions for herself.


    Lianhua paled, and Yingying finally noticed, her own brows rising like delicate wings.


    Brow arches like wings,


    lifting gaze to skies above¡ª


    a flight of soft grace.


    Chi gave himself a small internal nod. That one was good. Later, he would have to write it down in his book of poems, To My Little Flower: A Brother¡¯s Gift. He would use his pen name, of course, but he was certain that this work would be even more popular than his previous efforts.


    The two women rushed toward the box and the pile of pillows and blankets resting behind it. Kaz had tugged them up after himself, no doubt to avoid his absence being detected too soon, but now Lianhua threw them aside, revealing the hole. It was surprisingly large. The fuergar really had been trying to make an escape route not only for itself, but for its master, and without any instructions from Kyla herself. So smart.


    ¡°Where does this go?¡± Lianhua demanded, as if Chi Yincang would know. He could make an educated guess, of course, but she would figure it out soon enough.


    At that moment, there came a loud bang on the door, and without hesitation, Chi invoked the Dao of the Shadow, slipping sideways into darkness. His ring hummed on his finger, Jinmao longing to come out and dispatch their enemies. Chi withheld permission, at least for now.


    The door flew open, and the rumormonger, Adara, stumbled inside, kicking the door closed again as soon as she was through. She was clutching a bloody wound on her upper arm, but her expression was more furious than pained.


    ¡°Where are your pox-ridden little friends, and how did they get in here?¡± she demanded, eyes flashing around the room. Her gaze lingered on the prone prisoner, then Princess Reina, who Chi Yincang suspected was almost fully recovered, other than some lingering physical damage. He hadn¡¯t decided why she was still pretending to be weak, so he hadn¡¯t done anything about it yet.


    Lianhua let the blankets drop, edging over in front of the hole she¡¯d so recently discovered. Her face settled into the look of the Long family¡¯s Young Miss, and she smiled gently, even as Yingying settled just behind her, hands vanishing into her sleeves as her eyes lowered demurely.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not certain to whom you¡¯re referring, Adara,¡± Lianhua said.


    Chi Yincang opened his ki to his master, allowing Elder Long to see through him momentarily. He didn¡¯t believe that this woman was a threat to any of his charges, but given what he¡¯d learned about their enemies, it was best to be cautious. He was glad he had when his master marked the wound on the woman¡¯s arm before withdrawing back to himself.


    Jinmao pulsed, but Chi Yincang again denied his spear spirit. This room was too small and the threat too minor for such a response. Instead, Chi withdrew a slender blade from his storage and used a minute fraction of his power to slide from one patch of shadow to another, appearing just behind Adara.


    He plunged the knife into the rumormonger¡¯s arm, ignoring her yowls of pain as he dug around until the tip of his blade scraped against something hard. Not a bone, not there, so he dug under it, popping it up through the flesh until it emerged, falling into his extended hand.


    Quickly, he tossed it to Yingying, who caught the small sphere and examined it, holding it out for Lianhua to look at as well. It lasted exactly twenty-seven seconds from the moment his sister caught it, and then slumped into a slurry of blood and fine sand. Threat removed, Chi Yincang returned to the shadows and his position in the corner.


    Adara was pale now, her blue eyes ablaze with fear as well as anger. Fresh blood was streaming down her arm, and she gripped it hard, baring her teeth. ¡°What in all the bloody hells was that?¡±


    Li-xiao was biting her lip in that way she¡¯d had since she was a tiny, pig-tailed child who only smiled when she was reading a book. ¡°I barely got a look at the runes,¡± she said, ¡°but I would be willing to bet that it was a way to track you. I¡¯m not sure what else it would have done, especially if it dissolved like that while it was in your body, but I doubt if it would have been pleasant.¡±


    Yingying lifted the rusty paste to her nose, sniffing deeply. She didn¡¯t taste it - his little sister was too smart for that, at least after a few unfortunate opportunities for learning - but she did stick out her tongue, allowing it to sense the flavor of the stuff.


    ¡°Poison,¡± she said with admirable brevity. ¡°Gu, I think, though of a kind I haven¡¯t encountered before.¡±


    That was unexpected. Yingying had studied poisons as one among the many ways that the master¡¯s enemies might attempt to harm Lianhua. Elder Long was extremely thorough in his training. If Yingying couldn¡¯t identify this poison precisely, then it wasn¡¯t one the Sheng Empire used, and the courtiers of the Empire were very well-versed in poisons.


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    ¡°Unpleasant,¡± Lianhua said, eyes narrowing. ¡°For now, the important thing is that someone knows where you are. That is, here, in your supposedly unfindable hidden room.¡± She tilted her head toward Adara, and Yingying glided forward, the bottom of her robe barely moving as she did so. Yingying gently but firmly pushed Adara¡¯s hands down, then examined the wound.


    Adara shook her head, gritting her teeth as Yingying began to cleanse her injury. ¡°My people told me your blue-haired mage was down here with a wounded man, so I hurried back. But when I got here, the restaurant was empty, except that it wasn¡¯t. As soon as I walked through the door, three men came from abso-damned-lutely nowhere, just like your guard did. One second nothing, the next there¡¯s a gods-forsaken arrow in my arm and three hooded figures coming for me. I had to use the emergency hatch behind the bar just to escape. And now you¡¯re telling me they can follow me anyway?¡±


    Chi Yincang looked at the black smear on the blanket where Yingying wiped her hand. It should still have been red, but it was oxidizing with unnatural speed, and Chi couldn¡¯t help but feel a momentary concern for his sister. He knew she would have used a universal neutralizer, just in case her poison resistance wasn¡¯t high enough to protect her, however unlikely that might be. Still, one couldn¡¯t help but worry for the child one had raised from infancy, even though she was now a highly competent adult.


    Lianhua sighed softly. ¡°Yes, but no. I can tell you that the runes I was able to read translate equally well to ¡®locate¡¯ or ¡®find¡¯, but I could easily have missed a minor modifier that would have shifted the meaning, instead instructing it to ¡®come¡¯ or ¡®return¡¯. It¡¯s equally possible that-¡±


    She continued as Yingying put one last tiny silken stitch into the rumormonger¡¯s skin, closing the wound. Chi Yincang knew from experience that those stitches would be all but painless and leave only the faintest of scars. This simple female had no idea how fortunate she was to have entered the care of so perfect a physician as Chi Yincang¡¯s beloved sister.


    Blossoms softly drift,


    each petal heals the winter¡ª


    spring¡¯s tender revival.


    Not as good, but Chi Yincang consigned this one to memory as well, maintaining his focus on the blonde woman as Yingying stepped back. Adara looked much better, with her torn sleeve cut away, the blood cleaned up, and a tidy line of stitches marching across her skin. She also looked uncertain, and very unhappy about that fact.


    ¡°If we go out, we¡¯ll have to face whatever¡¯s out there,¡± she said reluctantly. ¡°But they have my people, and I can¡¯t allow that to stand.¡±


    Lianhua glanced at Chi Yincang, but he kept his expression steady. His master had been very clear that Li-xiao was to be given no guidance, only supported in any action that didn¡¯t endanger her too much. His sister¡¯s beloved bit her lip again, turning her eyes toward the hole in the wall, then the door.


    ¡°Try the door,¡± she said finally. ¡°Chi Yincang, be ready.¡±


    He did as he was told, sliding to the shadow nearest the door as Adara laid her hand on the doorknob. Jinmao buzzed angrily at being left confined, but Chi was firm. The spear would wish to be blooded if he took it out, and it might yet be unnecessary. Whoever these assassins were, he had no doubt he could bring out his weapon before they were even aware of his presence.


    Adara turned the handle, and everyone in the room tensed. Nothing happened. Adara frowned, clearly concentrating as she stared at the metal knob, and tried again. This time, the handle twisted, then fell off, tumbling from her fingers to chime dully as it impacted the ground.


    ¡°Oh gods,¡± the blonde woman whispered, ¡°they¡¯ve damaged the door. We¡¯re trapped in here.¡± She pulled back, unheeding as the heel of her shoe knocked the doorknob into a corner. She was truly pale now, beads of sweat beginning to form on her upper lip.


    Raff¡¯s sister and the Holiander princess had remained quiet throughout this, other than readying themselves when Adara went to open the door. Chi Yincang had been both surprised and pleased that they hadn¡¯t simply attempted to hide, since up to this point they had barely moved or spoken other than to answer questions and get food and water.


    Now, Reina stared at Adara. ¡°You don¡¯t have another way out?¡± she asked, clearly incredulous. ¡°You created a trap for yourself? And now we¡¯re caught in it with you?¡±


    Adara¡¯s mouth opened once or twice, then flattened. ¡°No,¡± she admitted reluctantly. Holding up her hand, she showed them a heavy golden ring. ¡°This has a single-use teleport spell in it. It¡¯s just strong enough to get me out of here, and it cost me a kidney and a half. It¡¯ll take me to a safe place. But you¡¯re all-¡±


    She broke off, rubbing her face. ¡°No,¡± she muttered. ¡°I can get free, then come back and dig you out. Unless those assassins really did manage to track me here, of course. Then they¡¯d probably get to you first.¡±


    ¡°Give the ring to Princess Reina,¡± Jinn said, holding out her hand. ¡°If anyone is getting out, it should be her.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t know where this room is hidden, so she can¡¯t come back for us!¡± Adara said. ¡°Plus, the ring is keyed to me. I didn¡¯t want to waste the spell on some beef-witted giglet if someone did manage to get it off me.¡±


    Jinn took a step forward, looking like she would insist anyway, but Lianhua stepped in between the two women. ¡°There¡¯s another way,¡± she said. ¡°Or at least I think there is.¡±


    The fuergar¡¯s little hole was soon uncovered, with Adara looking both relieved and slightly sick at the sight. ¡°These walls are supposed to be magically reinforced,¡± she said. ¡°No mere rodent should have been able to chew its way through. Not to mention the fact that your mage managed to break in. I¡¯ll have Reginald¡¯s hide for this. If he¡¯s even still alive after yesterday¡¯s attack on the mage college.¡±


    That was interesting, but Chi Yincang allowed the small sense of curiosity to be drowned out by his feeling of pride. Little Mei was no ordinary rodent indeed, and with his training, it would soon become something very special. Perhaps then he would even allow himself to stroke its wiry fur and touch the quivering whiskers that framed its delightful pink nose.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way Kaz fit through there,¡± Reina said, eyeing the hole, which was far narrower than Kaz¡¯s human shape, and much too small for any of them except possibly Lianhua.


    Lianhua and Yingying exchanged a glance, and then Lianhua looked over at Chi Yincang. ¡°Make it larger,¡± she told him, and so he did. Jinmao didn¡¯t appreciate the lack of blood involved, but the spear did enjoy destruction. The main downside of such efforts was that Chi Yincang had to feed the weapon with his own ki, rather than the life force of others, which left him more drained than he would prefer.


    Fortunately, the narrowest part of the passage wasn¡¯t too long, and soon enough a piece of stone fell away to reveal an arched tunnel, clearly an old, dried-up sewer, just as Chi Yincang had suspected. The scent the fuergar brought back with her each time she returned from exploring was fairly unmistakeable, so long as one had the ability to smell it.


    Chi had spent a good part of his training learning to sense things others couldn¡¯t, in order to better gather information for his master. After all, what good was a spy or assassin who couldn¡¯t hear a trap click or sense the heartbeat of his victim? Serving as his sister and Li-xiao¡¯s guardian had been a refreshing change from his usual tasks.


    Adara looked around, her nose wrinkling as the faded but pervasive scent of waste surrounded them. ¡°Now which way do we go? And how do we keep anyone from following us?¡±


    Yingying bowed slightly, delicate tendrils of deep chestnut hair falling gracefully along her jawline. ¡°I have taken it upon myself to prevent such pursuit,¡± she said softly. ¡°May I suggest we hurry, however?¡±


    Lianhua laughed, a fond little sound that warmed her deep violet eyes. As a child, she had spent far too much time worrying, constantly distancing herself from those around her so she wouldn¡¯t be hurt when they betrayed her. It was good to see that she knew who to trust now. Yingying would die before allowing anything to harm the Young Mistress of the Long family, and Chi Yincang would die before allowing harm to come to his precious little sister.


    ¡°This way, then,¡± Lianhua said, pointing to some scratches on the wall. To other eyes, they might have looked no different from any of the other damage the old bricks had sustained since they were laid, but Chi Yincang and Lianhua knew better. This simple rune represented the first sound of Kaz¡¯s name, and was one of the ones Lianhua taught the young kobold after they left the mountain.


    The whole group turned, and Chi Yincang stepped into shadow, allowing his Dao to swallow him. Yingying would watch their backs, and Chi Yincang would range ahead, making sure no danger could reach them. He didn¡¯t even bother to turn back when a dull whumpf reached his ears. Little Yingying really did enjoy blowing things up.

 Chapter Two hundred forty-nine

    Kaz stared out over the wide underground.¡­ Was it a den? There were buildings, but the people hurrying in and out looked harried and exhausted, not like they were looking forward to resting or spending time with their families. It was almost more akin to the hoyi nest Kaz had once found himself reluctantly infiltrating, where all of the large insects worked constantly, their lives perfectly organized but lacking in any kind of joy.


    Nearly all of the figures below were human and adult, but otherwise there was nothing that would link them together. People of all shapes, sizes, and even ages worked beside each other, carrying objects to and fro to no apparent purpose.


    The figures who weren¡¯t human had to be what Doran had called scalies, and Kaz was nearly certain were actually the third kind of kobolds, or xiyi, as they called themselves. Most of them wore loincloths, like Kaz¡¯s kobolds, but some also had on shirts, short robes, and even cloaks.


    Long tails extended behind them, swaying just above the floor for balance, rather than tucked or raised high, indicating their emotional state. Some of these tails were slender, while others were rounded, thick, or ridged with spikes. They had longer faces than mosui, but shorter snouts than kobolds, and no ears that Kaz could see, though there were darker circles on the sides of their heads about where a human would have ears.


    Their scales were primarily red, but he saw a multitude of colors represented. Many, though not all, also had cores, some ki, and one or more open dantians. Like kobold fur, the xiyi¡¯s scales often matched their primary ki-type, though there were some grays and browns, as well.


    It was clear that the xiyi were in charge, but not in the same way as the mosui. None of the humans looked like they were prisoners, exactly, and they spoke to the xiyi just as they did each other. The xiyi told the humans where to take their boxes, bags, or jars, but then they picked up an object of their own and carried it along as well. This was more like the relationship between the husede and the captive kobolds, which begged the question: who controlled the xiyi?


    Beside Kaz crouched his cousin, her ears flat and eyes huge. She hadn¡¯t spoken since they¡¯d arrived in this alcove, tucked high over the bustling but subdued collection of buildings. Whatever she had expected to find, it wasn¡¯t this, and she clutched Mei to her chest, stroking the fuergar intermittently. The rodent was allowing this, in spite of her clear desire to be elsewhere, so perhaps she knew how much her kobold needed reassurance.


    Kaz completely understood, because he was holding Li in much the same way. The difference was that they were reassuring each other, rather than the connection being mostly one-sided. Only instead of staring at the humans and lizard-people, Li was watching the dragons.


    There were a dozen of them, perching in their own smaller caves even higher above the people than Kaz, Li, Kyla, and Mei. They were much larger than Li, but smaller than her parents, which made him almost certain that none of Li¡¯s family were here.


    Of course, it was always possible that her siblings were a good bit bigger than she was, both because of her smaller size when she hatched and because she¡¯d been starved of ki the first several weeks of her life. He still thought these dragons were too large, since each of them had a wingspan somewhere between fifteen and twenty feet, while Li¡¯s was not quite four feet. Kaz and Kyla together could have ridden on any one of them, at least while Kaz was in his natural shape. Every one of them had a core and ki of some kind or combination.


    <Why are they just¡­sitting there?> Li asked, her voice small as she watched a xiyi extend something impaled on a long stick with three prongs on one end toward a dragon. The lovely white beast snapped at the dripping chunk, nearly tearing the pronged stick from the xiyi¡¯s hands. Immediately, the reptilian backed away, retreating to a smaller tunnel the dragon couldn¡¯t fit into. The dragon, for its part, moved as if it would follow, then backed up, swaying from side to side as if confused.


    This standoff lasted for most of a minute, with dragon and xiyi each appearing ready to break in either direction. Eventually, however, the dragon settled onto its haunches, and the xiyi edged forward with more food. This time the white dragon delicately removed the food from the stick, swallowing it whole and then waiting patiently for more.


    ¡°I think they¡¯re being trained,¡± Kaz murmured. If he hadn¡¯t seen the kinds of things humans expected Li to do as a ¡®trained wyvern¡¯, he wasn¡¯t sure he would have recognized what was going on, but this looked much like the way the human animal trainer expected Li to wait for food, even when it was dangled in front of her face.


    Li stiffened, outraged by the very suggestion. It was one thing for her to play at ¡®training¡¯ while pretending to be a wyvern, but quite another to see other members of her species being treated like¡­like pets!


    Kyla was watching now, too, but she looked thoughtful. ¡°Is that what I should do with Mei?¡±


    Kaz shook his head slowly. The more he watched these dragons, the more he came to a realization that made him distinctly uncomfortable. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°I think Mei is smarter than these creatures.¡± Honestly, he hesitated to even call them dragons, because they acted nothing like Li, however much they might look like her. Were they even as intelligent as wyverns, which Raff said were only as smart as dogs?


    Li hissed softly, and a flood of worry and fear came through their bond. <What¡¯s wrong with them? Are they sick?> She turned a hopeful golden gaze on him. <Can you heal them?>


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    Kaz started to shake his head, then stopped as a thought occurred to him. Li had been like a vicious wild creature when she first hatched. She even bit him hard enough to leave a scar that he could still feel as a bump on his nose. She hadn¡¯t seemed to gain intelligence until after she fell into the pool and they both nearly drowned, requiring Kaz to use his ki to heal her.


    If Kaz hadn¡¯t seen the memories of the dragon emperor, he might have believed that these dragons were true representatives of their kind, and Li was the outlier. Having lived a day as Qiangde, however, he knew that wasn¡¯t true. All of the dragons the ancient ruler had spoken to or thought of were like Li, not these simple beasts.


    So what had changed? Kaz had two ideas. The first was that there was something about the mountain that allowed the creatures within to reach a higher level of intelligence than elsewhere. But while Li and Qiangde had been hatched in the cave at the top of Kaz¡¯s home, surely not all of the other dragons in that memory had been as well?


    Plus, while Raff claimed that kobolds outside of the mountain were little smarter than dogs themselves, Lianhua said that the Diushi emperors each spent a hundred years ruling their country. Even if having a core allowed a kobold or dragon who left the mountain to maintain their intelligence for longer, surely Qiangde and his descendents didn¡¯t spend half of every year in their mountain home. There would be howls about how the empire was left without its ruler for six months at a time.


    No, it seemed more likely that this was all tied to one very small, seemingly insignificant thing; something that Kaz had begun to dismiss as either a figment of his imagination or a result of his lack of understanding about the process of cultivation.


    When Li hatched, she was wild. After they bonded, she wasn¡¯t. But something else happened besides the joining of their ki cycles. When the black sludge blocking Li¡¯s channels had tried to leave her body, it got stuck in her upper dantian. Kaz managed to clean it out, and in the process, something that looked like a rune broke loose. When Kaz later drew that rune for Lianhua, she said it looked like several runes were layered on top of each other, and the only one she could be fairly certain about was ¡®silence¡¯.


    Had that rune been intended to limit Li¡¯s intelligence? Keep her silent? Weak? If so, where had it come from? Had someone come in when neither Kaz nor the parent dragons were there and placed the rune onto Li¡¯s egg? Was that why it was so much smaller than the others? Or were all of the hatchlings restricted, and Kaz simply hadn¡¯t been able to tell yet?


    Worse, was it possible that someone had managed to create a rune, image, or spell that changed dragons at a fundamental level? Qiangde and his three servants had created kobolds by altering the cores of their parents. That change had then been replicated in the following generations. Had someone else done the same thing, only instead of changing the outward appearance of their subjects, they changed what was inside?


    At this thought, Li twitched, a long, slow hiss pouring hot vapor over Kaz¡¯s arm. <These xiyi did it,> she said, certain. <We should kill them. Capture one, make it tell us how to free the dragons, and then kill them all.> Her voice was as cold as her breath was hot, far from the funny, thoughtful person he knew her to be. She was glaring at the xiyi as if she could burn them all from where she perched, and Kaz turned slightly, interposing his shoulder between his dragon and the reptilians below.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we really understand what¡¯s going on yet,¡± he said. ¡°Those people all look frightened and tired. Even if the xiyi had something to do with whatever happened to the dragons, that was hundreds of years ago-¡±


    <And they still have my people trapped here!> Li shouted, lifting her wings and her head as if she would dive over Kaz to get to the figures below. <If those were kobolds being fed with a stick, trained, would you just sit here and watch?>


    Just then, Kyla let out a little gasp. She held her breath for at least five seconds before releasing it in a shuddering gasp. ¡°Kobolds,¡± she whispered. Kaz and Li turned to look.


    Kyla was right. The kobolds were small, stunted even, standing somewhere closer to Kyla¡¯s height than Kaz¡¯s. Every one of them had fur of some shade of brown, and only one female had a faintly glowing core. None had a necklace, and all were completely naked.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Kyla asked, clutching Mei until the fuergar gave a little squeak and finally demanded to be put down. Kyla did so, albeit with great reluctance, but her eyes, like Kaz and Li¡¯s, remained locked on the furry little figures below.


    The humans petted them. Fingers patted the kobold¡¯s heads, and shaggy tails wagged happily. It was like watching the human child, Nadia, and her pet dog, Brute. The kobolds didn¡¯t seem to be under duress, and in fact they seemed quite pleased to be helping the humans and xiyi.


    A particularly tall, slim xiyi with green scales and a cloak spoke to the only kobold with a core. The cored kobold nodded her head eagerly, long ears flapping, and barked something to the other five who had emerged from one of the buildings with her. Each kobold then picked up a small crate and ran off with it, moving far more quickly than any of the humans.


    ¡°They¡¯re all working together,¡± Kyla said. Her eyes were huge, and when he glanced at her, Kaz couldn¡¯t tell if she was shocked or horrified.


    ¡°But what are they doing?¡± said another voice, and Kaz whipped around just in time to see Mei standing with one paw on Chi Yincang¡¯s shoe. The other paw was shoving a gold coin into her mouth, and she looked very pleased with herself.


    Kaz had been expecting the arrival of his other friends for some time, of course, since he made sure they knew where he was, but as always, Chi Yincang somehow managed to startle him. And was that a spark of amusement in the male¡¯s dark eyes? What if Kaz or Kyla had let out a yelp that alerted the people below to their presence?


    Reina and Jinn were next to appear, and Kaz wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about that. There was something about them, Reina in particular, that was faintly unpleasant to him. He hadn¡¯t managed to gather it yet, but when he did, he had a feeling he wouldn¡¯t like it.


    After the two Holiander females came Lianhua and Yingtao, and, to Kaz¡¯s shock, Adara. They¡¯d even brought Doran, though the male looked even more out of it than he had when Kaz first spoke to him. Had he relapsed because of the long walk, or had someone given him something to keep him quiet and obedient?


    Kyla had hunkered down at Chi Yincang¡¯s words, and gave each human a bewildered look as they arrived. She glanced once at Kaz, but didn¡¯t seem to suspect he¡¯d essentially led them here, much to his relief. When they were all together again, she opened her mouth to speak, but someone else beat her to it.


    ¡°What in the gods¡¯ name is going on down there?¡± Adara demanded. She looked like she would shove Kaz and Kyla out of the way so she could get a better look. At least she did right up until she realized they were both kobolds, at which point her lip curled and she drew back.


    ¡°Wait,¡± she said, pointing from the naked kobolds below to Kaz and Kyla. ¡°Is this where you came from? What in the name of Rhydon¡¯s left big toe do you kobolds think you¡¯re doing?¡±

 Chapter Two hundred fifty

    The looks of incomprehension following this outburst must have convinced the female that they had no idea what she was talking about, because she closed her mouth with a click, stepping back. Rubbing one hand over her face, she sighed.


    ¡°Get ahold of yourself, Adara,¡± she muttered. Looking up, she said, ¡°Does anyone have a clue what¡¯s going on? Because I¡¯m supposed to be the premier information broker in the largest city in Holiander, and I¡¯m completely lost. I feel like someone just flipped my world upside down. There¡¯s a city under my city!¡±


    For the first time, Kaz felt a hint of empathy for her. He understood all too well what it felt like to discover that something you¡¯d spent your entire life believing wasn¡¯t actually true.


    Jinn shook her head. ¡°What are the odds that there are two completely separate insane things happening in Holiander right now?¡±


    Adara snorted. ¡°Higher than you¡¯d think. Some of the things I¡¯ve found out about over the years would straighten that pretty curly hair, sweetness.¡±


    Lianhua gave her a quelling look, then pulled back away from the wide crack in the wall. Reluctantly, the others followed her, with Kyla lingering the longest.


    ¡°So, there are two possibilities,¡± Lianhua said softly. ¡°First, whatever has gone wrong with the Holiander nobility has nothing to do with that strange settlement, or it has everything to do with it. There are probably some in-between possibilities, where one started and the other split off from it, or the two started out independently, but became mixed up together, but at this point, it probably doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    Reina held up a hand. ¡°I agree with that analysis, but first,¡± she lifted a trembling finger to point at Kaz, ¡°where is Kaz, and where did a second kobold come from? Why are none of you worried about this?¡±


    Lianhua, who looked like she¡¯d been about to slip into her scholar mode, stopped and bit her lip. She looked unsure how to respond, so Kyla did it for her.


    ¡°That is Kaz,¡± the young kobold said matter-of-factly. ¡°I told you he was my cousin.¡±


    Jinn and Reina exchanged glances, and a flush rose in Reina¡¯s pale cheeks. ¡°We thought you¡¯d been found as a, um, puppy? When you were really little. And maybe Kaz¡¯s family raised you, and so you called him cousin. Because obviously a human can¡¯t-¡± Reina¡¯s face was pinker than her hair by the time she stumbled to a halt.


    Kyla¡¯s ears lowered in confusion. ¡°Kaz is my mother¡¯s sister¡¯s pup. Is that not a cousin?¡±


    Jinn¡¯s voice was choked. ¡°And he¡¯s a¡­kobold? With a spell cast on him so he looked human?¡±


    ¡°Or a human with a spell to look like a kobold?¡± Reina sounded oddly hopeful.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m a kobold,¡± he said, and there was a certain pride to it. He¡¯d seen enough of both humans and kobolds by now that he knew neither was innately better than the other. Still, he preferred his own people to humans, for the most part. At least he usually understood why they did the things they did.


    Reina¡¯s face fell. She started to say something, then glanced at Jinn, who shook her head, very slightly. The princess drew in a long breath, pasted a patently false smile on her face, and said, ¡°That¡¯s- You- Go ahead, Lady Lianhua.¡±


    Lianhua, for her part, looked like she¡¯d been completely thrown off by the change in subject, so Kaz prompted, ¡°What should we do about the¡­town?¡±


    The human blinked twice, then seemed to come back to herself. ¡°Yes, so, if the two things aren¡¯t connected, then we should leave and make our way back to the surface. Once Reina and Jinn are back with their families, and we¡¯ve figured out what¡¯s happening with the nobility, then Reina and her family can deal with this.¡±


    Lianhua gestured back toward the gap revealing the cavern below. ¡°On the other hand, if this town is linked to the rest of it, then we¡¯re finally getting somewhere in figuring things out. We have a whole new series of questions to ask, and as Dai Chun famously said in her classic work, Three Blossom Wind, knowing what to ask is the beginning of the answer.¡± She looked almost surprised as she finished speaking without anyone interrupting, and looked around at the others, waiting for their responses.


    Kaz pointed to Doran, who was staring blankly at a brick directly in front of his face. ¡°He said the people who sent him after me were ¡®scalies¡¯. Some of the people down there are certainly scaly.¡± He withheld his own opinion that they were xiyi, not some other group of unknown reptilians. ¡°He also said they had dragons.¡±


    Lianhua hummed thoughtfully. ¡°And you said you took small stone spheres from his neck and that of his companion, but shortly after they were removed, they dissolved.¡±


    Kaz nodded.


    Adara¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Like the one your guard took out of my arm?¡±


    This was news to Kaz, but Lianhua grimaced. ¡°Kaz didn¡¯t see that one, and we didn¡¯t see the ones Kaz described, so I can¡¯t say for certain. I find it vanishingly unlikely that two groups developed or found the same kind of magical devices, however.¡±


    ¡°Unless a third party found an ancient stash of those devices, and has been selling them to different people,¡± Yingtao murmured.


    Reina shook her head, her eyes carefully avoiding Kaz as she did so. ¡°Adara, you said the people who attacked you wore hoods, appeared from nowhere, and shot you with an arrow, correct?¡±


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    ¡°I also noticed the similarity to the people you described as chasing you,¡± Adara agreed. One hand rose to touch a delicate line of black thread that marched across her bare upper arm. The skin around it was red, but not puffy, so someone had taken good care of the injury.


    ¡°None of it is definitive,¡± Lianhua said, chewing on her lip. ¡°Adara has been asking questions about the nobles, so it shouldn¡¯t be a surprise that the people who¡¯re after Jinn and Reina came after her as well. The timing is suspicious, coming so soon after we captured Doran, but isn¡¯t conclusive. That¡¯s also true of these stone orbs. They¡¯re the same, but as Yingtao pointed out, there¡¯s no proof it¡¯s not two groups buying and using the same devices.¡±


    ¡°The sphere Kaz,¡± Reina stumbled over the name, ¡°removed from my wound was different from the ones that melt. Is that because they were made by different people, or because they had different purposes?¡±


    Lianhua started to respond, then hesitated with a rare show of uncertainty when it came to runes. ¡°That one didn¡¯t have any symbols on it that I would interpret as location or finding runes.¡±


    ¡°What did the runes mean, then?¡± Adara asked, unmollified.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know,¡± Lianhua admitted. ¡°They looked Diushi, but also not, and they¡¯re very old. I¡¯d say that rune-stone was probably carved after the Diushi fell, but I don¡¯t know how long after. Not more than a few hundred years, I¡¯d guess.¡±


    ¡°So how can you be certain those murderers aren¡¯t headed toward us right now?¡± The yellow-haired female demanded.


    ¡°I¡­can¡¯t,¡± Lianhua admitted.


    At some point during the conversation, which just seemed like a way for the humans to convince themselves that they didn¡¯t need to do anything about whatever was going on below, Kyla had wandered off. Now, she gave a short yip, and Kaz turned away from the rest of the group.


    Not surprisingly, Kyla was back at the opening in the wall, staring down at the activity below. The kobolds had vanished again, along with a good number of the xiyi. The humans continued about their tasks, with just a few xiyi remaining to work beside them. Interestingly, these were all red-scaled, but since the majority of the lizard-people were red, perhaps it simply worked out that way.


    Kaz gave an interrogative whine, and Kyla¡¯s ears twitched, but she didn¡¯t look around. Mei was perched on her shoulder, and both of them were watching something to their right. Li.


    The dragon was climbing along the wall rather than flying, and she blended in with the mottled brown and tan bricks surprisingly well. Kaz looked at their bond, and was startled to realize that she was pulling red ki, using it in a kind of shimmering shield covering herself. It looked more like whatever Kyla did than the way Li usually convinced the power in the air to consider her power as part of its greater whole. It took about the same amount of ki, but it was all red, and Li now had a good deal of red ki to work with.


    As if sensing Kaz¡¯s concern, Li looked back at him, and as she did, one of her claws slipped. She was able to regain her footing, and Kaz was well aware that if she did fall, she could simply fly back up, but there was no way someone below wouldn¡¯t notice something in the process.


    <I¡¯m all right,> she said, but even her mental voice sounded breathless. <I just want to talk to one of the dragons.>


    Kaz looked further along the wall, seeing that Li was heading for one of the smaller dragons. It was golden, like Li, but its horns were short and thick, clustering in a spiky clump on top of its head, rather than extending gracefully behind it. It was also sleeping, or at least resting, because it had its chin on its front paws and its eyes closed.


    Come back, Kaz thought. He sent a picture of the two of them, together, searching until they found one of the small tunnels the xiyi used to care for the dragons. From there, they could try speaking to one of the great reptiles, and Kaz might even be able to see if it had a rune like the one that had blocked Li¡¯s dantian.


    Li hesitated, but continued. <I¡¯ll be right back. Unless I¡¯m not. But I will be, because I bet the dragons are just pretending. If I can get one of them to->


    ¡°Kaz!¡± Kyla whimpered, and Kaz and Li both turned to stare down below. The kobolds and missing xiyi were back, but now the xiyi were leading a group of humans, while the kobolds circled them, growling and baring their teeth. The humans huddled against each other, except for a few that held themselves away from the rest of the group. One of these drew Kaz¡¯s gaze.


    He stood half a head taller than the humans around him, and had brown skin and short black curls. His shoulders were slumped and his chin almost resting on his chest as he shuffled along, so Kaz still might have overlooked him if he weren¡¯t wearing clothes exactly like those Raff changed into after he was hurt.


    ¡°Is that Raff?¡± Kyla asked softly.


    Kaz pushed ki into his eyes, and the group seemed to grow closer. The male had Raff¡¯s face, but the posture and expression were completely wrong. Moreover, he had only the faintest hint of mana in his chest, far from the thick, red-flecked cloud Kaz was used to. If it was Raff, he had used up almost all of his mana and he wasn¡¯t cultivating in an attempt to replace it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said. His eyes returned to Li, who was almost halfway to the other dragon.


    Please, come back, he thought, and this time his dragon turned around.


    <Why is Raff down there?> she asked, and Kaz held his breath as she shifted her weight. Dragons were made to fly and walk. Though Li could climb when necessary, her center of balance was wrong for it.


    ¡°They must have captured him,¡± Kaz said, just loud enough for both females to hear him.


    ¡°But why?¡± asked Kyla, unaware she was echoing Li.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lianhua asked, leaning out to see past them. Kaz was a little embarrassed he hadn¡¯t heard or sensed her approach, even focused as he was on Li and Raff. It was one thing for Chi Yincang to surprise him, but Lianhua? He should have smelled her long before she got so close. Had he forgotten how to use his nose during his time as a human?


    Kyla pointed as one of the xiyi walked among the group of humans, separating them out into an uneven line. The reptilian was firm but not unkind about it, and by the time he was done, each of the new humans had been placed into a group with one of the ones who¡¯d been here before.


    The old humans began speaking to the new ones, many of whom reacted badly. Some began to cry, while others looked angry. Raff, or the man who looked just like Raff, was one of the few to maintain his composure. His head lifted and he looked around, taking in the sprawling mass of buildings, scattered piles of containers, prowling kobolds, and, high above, the dragons.


    Kaz and the others ducked back into the tunnel, all except for Kyla, who stayed where she was, though a shimmering cloud of red ki and subtle heat surrounded her. Kaz was certain that she was now invisible to most eyes, and this was confirmed as Jinn, Reina, and Adara murmured and glanced around.


    Li was almost back, so Kaz soon found himself creeping forward again, watching for her to come around the edge of the crack in the wall. She didn¡¯t. Instead, she pulled harder on their combined ki, and the line of shimmering power that traveled between them began to drop precipitously. Li was going to investigate.

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-one (Li)

    Li was the best dragon. If she had ever doubted, now she knew. Because there was something wrong with the other dragons, and Li was going to fix it. If that didn¡¯t make her the best dragon, she didn¡¯t know what would.


    Of course, first she had to figure out what was going on with all of the dragon-people, and the humans, and the strange little dog-kobolds. And Raff. Raff was hers. Not as much as Kaz, because that was impossible, but she had kept the human alive, and, grudgingly, she had to admit that he might have kept her alive as well. That made him useful, and so she would keep him.


    Since acquiring the fifth - and last, which really made her a Divine Beast - type of ki, she had not only felt stronger, but more in control. As if this was what she was meant to be, and everything that came before was just a cloud in the sky. Not that she¡¯d forgotten it, because no matter how great and strong and huge and powerful she got, Li would never, ever forget Kaz.


    But with five kinds of ki - and an opportunity to observe Kyla¡¯s method of concealment - Li was now able to combine her instinctive camouflage with a learned technique. Using these two together allowed her to move quickly, like Kyla, without the subtle wavering of the image that gave the little kobold away. At least, it did if you knew what to look for.


    So now Li dove toward the ground, extending her wings just enough to glide and maintain control, without giving her more moving parts to hide. She stayed away from people of any kind, and swept down to land beside one of the many, many stacks of boxes sitting on the ground.


    <I¡¯m not coming back,> Li told Kaz, who was sending her images of a dragon climbing the wall toward him, then a dragon flying back up to him, then him leaping down to join the dragon. <Stay there!>


    Kaz was practically vibrating with worry, but he listened to her, as he should. She doubted that would last, especially as the others crowded around him, asking questions, so she opened her senses wider as she began edging around the stack.


    ¡°-job is to do as you¡¯re told,¡± someone was saying. ¡°If you do, you¡¯ll get plenty to eat and drink, and when the job is done, you get paid.¡±


    Someone else snorted. ¡°What good¡¯s money when we¡¯re stuck down here? Let us go! You really think we¡¯re all just going to carry boxes around for who knows how long? I¡¯ll kill you all myself as soon as I get my strength back!¡±


    A hissing laugh was the only response, and Li peered around the crate to see a squat xiyi with a deep red core staring at the powerful-looking human who¡¯d spoken. ¡°You¡¯re not from here,¡± the xiyi said. ¡°No one is looking for you. No one will miss you. And you won¡¯t get your strength back.¡± He flicked long, clawed fingers, and a ball of ki-infused flame appeared over his hand. A twitch, and that ball flew toward the human, splashing across his chest and making him howl with pain.


    Pointing to the back of his neck, the dragon-like being said, ¡°You each have a device in you, placed before you woke. It tracks your movements, and if you try to remove it or leave this area,¡± the xiyi motioned around the cavern, ¡°it will kill you. But when we¡¯re done, we¡¯ll take you back to your homes and release you. If you ever enter the area known as Holiander again, the device will kill you then.¡±


    The humans looked at each other, murmuring softly. One of the other humans, the ones who¡¯d been here before, stepped forward. Lifting a hand, he said, ¡°I¡¯m Palcher. This is my third year working this job. First year, they pulled me from the tournament, just like most of you. After a few weeks, they sent me home, along with three hundred gold.¡±


    There was murmuring at this, and Li crept a little closer. She still couldn¡¯t see Raff, though Kaz could, so she knew she was going in the right direction.


    ¡°You¡¯re a liar,¡± the human with the hole burned in his shirt said, but he didn¡¯t look nearly as certain as he had.


    Palcher shook his head. ¡°The job is boring, and not a single one of us volunteered the first time, but they treat us fair, and every year you come back, your wages increase by another hundred, and more if you choose to be a supervisor. I¡¯ll get six hundred gold when I go home. That¡¯s pure gold, not Holiander groats.¡±


    Now several of the humans looked much less angry, and they were very focused on Palcher as he dug into the pouch at his waist and took out a brilliant gold coin, which he twisted this way and that. Even Li had to admit that it looked delicious.


    ¡°This year they even gave me days off,¡± the male said, putting the coin away again and tapping at his neck. ¡°Once they know you won¡¯t talk, you get free time. Been nice. I even got to have some good Slavik food a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°Why not just hire people?¡± That was Raff¡¯s voice. It was a little rough, without the playful edge it usually carried, but he sounded like himself. Li crept a bit further forward, poking her head out around the box. She used just enough power to hide her head, trusting that Kaz would let her know if anyone approached from behind her.


    And there he was. It was definitely Raff, not someone else who looked like him. The face and clothes were right, and his eyes were that unusual shade of yellow-brown that some people might have called gold, if they had never been fortunate enough to see her own eyes and scales. But why didn¡¯t he seem to have any mana? His power was so dense that even though she couldn¡¯t see it as clearly as Kaz did, there should have been something visible, but instead he seemed to be as powerless as all the other humans.


    Palcher looked toward the xiyi, then shrugged and said, ¡°Don¡¯t know. They do hire sometimes. More often, it¡¯s folks like you and me. But look, here we are, and you have two options.¡± He raised a finger. ¡°Work hard, get a free trip home, get paid well. Keep your mouth shut, and maybe you come back and make even more. I work a month, maybe six weeks, and get enough to take care of my family for a year. Bought a house last time, actually. More than I would have made in the tournament, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    Another human stepped forward. ¡°A few weeks of work, three hundred gold, and home? What¡¯s the catch?¡±


    Now the xiyi spoke again. ¡°You sstay here. Keep quiet. No fighting. No running. Fair work.¡±


    High overhead, Kaz was relaying all of this to the others, and Adara was shaking her head. ¡°There¡¯s no way I haven¡¯t heard of this. Even if these people are from other countries, rumors would get back to me. And I¡¯d definitely hear about anyone spending that much gold.¡±


    Kaz shook his head thoughtfully. ¡°Not if gold doesn¡¯t matter to whoever¡¯s spending it.¡±


    Gold mattered to humans. Presumably, it mattered to the other ¡®humanoid¡¯ races as well. Gold didn¡¯t matter to kobolds, apparently including these self-proclaimed xiyi. To them, they were getting loyal, secretive workers in exchange for something kobolds would leave lying on the ground.


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    ¡°You said we had two options,¡± Raff said. ¡°What¡¯s the other?¡±


    Palcher sighed. ¡°Die. You know too much, and you can¡¯t be trusted to stay quiet.¡±


    A weak version of Raff¡¯s usual grin crossed his face. ¡°Well, I¡¯d rather skip the work part and go straight to the money and freedom, but I guess I¡¯ll take that deal.¡±


    Most of the others nodded, though there were quite a few who still looked angry. Palcher smiled, pointing to Raff, then four others from his group. ¡°You look strong,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ll be on squad A with Jerit.¡±


    Another male, almost as tall as Raff, stepped forward. ¡°That¡¯s me. Come on. I¡¯ll introduce you to the others.¡±


    The humans began to split up, heading in unpredictable directions, and Li knew it was time to move. Once they were all scattered around again, she would either have to keep her entire body invisible or find a place to hide. But where could she go?


    Eventually, Li found a spot between two particularly large crates. They were near the building Raff had gone into, and looked like they would take some effort to move, so she should have time to hide herself before her cover was removed. She settled in, completely concealed in the shadows, while Kaz and the others watched from overhead.


    After a few minutes, they saw Raff emerge from one of the largest buildings, carefully carrying a pot that seemed to be carved from stone. He looked around uncertainly as he emerged into the light of the lantern hanging nearby, and one of the stunted kobolds scampered up and gave a sharp bark. Li cautiously poked her head out again, listening for anything that might help find a way to help Raff escape.


    ¡°Jar. Follow,¡± the kobold said, its voice little more than a growl. It was more difficult to understand than any of the kobolds Li had met before, but Raff simply nodded and obeyed.


    From there, Raff and his guide took a winding path to a cart holding several large crates. The crates were strapped down so they couldn¡¯t move, but the top of one crate was open, and Li could see that there was already something inside. The kobold gently moved some of the contents aside, and then Raff lowered the jar into the hollow space, appearing to hold his breath until his hands were out of the box.


    As Kaz described this to those above, they began to argue about the potential contents of the jar. The guesses ranged from poison or explosives to fragile relics, but Li didn¡¯t pay any attention. She watched as Raff returned to the building, then walked back to the cart, each time carrying another jar.


    After the third, one of the humans whistled loudly, and all of the kobolds pricked up their ears before running off. For a moment, it looked like Raff would be left alone, and Li gathered her ki, preparing to move. Then one of the red-scaled xiyi separated from the rest and came over to Raff.


    At first, neither Raff nor the xiyi spoke, with the reptilian simply watching the human work. Then, while Raff went to get his fifth jar, the xiyi carefully placed a lid on the crate, and opened a different one instead. He prepared a space inside for the next jar, and when Raff walked back toward the building, the xiyi followed.


    This was the most boring rescue Li had ever taken part in. She withdrew back into her dark cave, listening for Raff¡¯s familiar voice, counting on Kaz to tell her if anything was happening outside. Raff spoke first, which really shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise.


    ¡°What¡¯s in the jars?¡± Raff asked. His voice was slightly muffled, so Li shifted until she could hear him more clearly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know,¡± the hissing voice responded.


    Silence fell, other than footsteps on stone and the gentle creaking of the cart as more weight was added. Raff tried again.


    ¡°Will you really let us go?¡±


    Nothing. Then, ¡°We will. If you do not attempt to flee.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Raff sounded genuinely baffled.


    A long, whistling sigh followed. ¡°My people know what it is to be treated as though our lives are worthless. We will not do the same to others.¡± A beat of silence, then, ¡°Most of us will not do the same to others.¡±


    More footsteps and the soft groan of the cart. Kaz showed Li a distant Raff, now trailing along behind the xiyi, who moved more quickly than the big male, and seemed impatient with the delay.


    ¡°You won¡¯t kill us, but you will take us and make us work against our will?¡± Raff asked.


    Li peeked out, seeing that the current crate was being sealed. As the xiyi pulled the lid from the third crate, he said, ¡°Our reasons are not yours to know. Be glad you¡¯re here. There are worse options. Do you understand your task?¡±


    Raff shrugged. ¡°Carry the jars. Be really, really careful with ¡®em. Put jars in boxes. When the box is full, close it and load another. Not complicated.¡±


    The xiyi released something that took Li a moment to realize was his version of laughter. Could she make that sound? It was a sort of chuckling hiss that she actually liked the sound of.


    ¡°Not complicated,¡± he agreed. ¡°But remain cautious. Dropping one would be very bad. Five to a crate, yes?¡±


    Raff nodded, and the xiyi gently patted the nearest crate. ¡°When the crates are full, you whistle. Kobolds will come and take the cart. When they return with empty crates, you start again. When the bell rings, you stop.¡±


    ¡°Food?¡±


    Again the sibilant laugh. ¡°When the bell rings.¡± The xiyi repeated. He walked away, leaving Raff alone. The tall human began his short journey again, back to the large building to gather one more jar.


    Li looked through Kaz¡¯s eyes, seeing that no one else was nearby. Pulling on her ki, she hurried over to the cart and hid beneath it, pressing up against one of the wheels. When Raff returned, she waited until he¡¯d carefully placed his burden into its resting place before she bit his ankle. It wouldn¡¯t do to have him drop something explosive on her, after all.


    Raff yelped sharply, jerking his foot back as if he¡¯d kick at her. Li hissed, releasing a small cloud of vapor as she glared up at the human. He stared back down at her, utter astonishment written across his face.


    ¡°Li?¡±


    She blinked. How many beautiful, elegant dragons did he know? She didn¡¯t count the creatures in their caves overhead. She was clearly superior to each and every one of them.


    Raff glanced around, then crouched down. Li was extremely uncomfortable when she realized he actually looked like he had tears in his eyes. ¡°Are the others here?¡± Raff demanded. ¡°Can you bring them? Use your thing with Blue to let him know I¡¯m here?¡±


    It was vaguely possible that she should have thought about this a little more. How was she supposed to communicate with him? Lifting a claw, she pointed toward Kaz and the others. Raff¡¯s face filled with hope as he glanced up at the wall.


    ¡°Are they coming? Better yet,¡± Raff turned so she could see a thin red line on the back of his neck, ¡°can you get this Pellis-cursed thing out of me so I can go to them?¡±


    Li considered. Could she? Kaz had taken one out of Reina, and more out of Doran and the other male. Of course, one of those hadn¡¯t gone well at all, so there was that. On the other claw, Chi Yincang removed the one in Adara, but honestly, if that had gone badly, no one would really care. But this was Raff. And Raff did matter. Raff was hers, even if only a little bit.


    She shook her head firmly. She wouldn¡¯t risk it. Not with Kaz so close. As much as she didn¡¯t like to admit it, Li couldn¡¯t do everything Kaz could do. Of course, he couldn¡¯t do everything she could do either, but that was only as it should be. The xiyi said the stone would kill Raff. If that happened, it wouldn¡¯t be Li¡¯s fault.


    Raff sighed, then leaned forward, closing his eyes and resting his hands on the ground. His body relaxed, and for the briefest of moments, she thought his lips moved as though he was speaking, though even she couldn¡¯t hear any words. Then he opened his eyes again, looking at her, and nodded. Standing, he stretched before murmuring. ¡°Two more jars and this cart¡¯ll be full. Head back to our friends now. And Li?¡± Pausing, he glanced back down at her hiding place. ¡°Thank you.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-two (Raff)

    Even if the lizard-people were lying, and they planned to kill the humans they¡¯d captured, it didn¡¯t seem like they were going to do it that day. Raff had debated opening one of the jars to find out what the lizards were so worried about, and see if he could use it to escape, but now that he knew help was near, he decided it wasn¡¯t worth the risk. Yet.


    So Raff continued carrying the heavy little jars, one after another, until the bell rang. Then he, along with all the other members of Squad A, trooped off to another cavern, where food was being served. To Raff¡¯s surprise, not only were the reptilians working together with their captives to make and serve the food, the experience was familiar. Having eaten with kobold tribes more than once, Raff immediately recognized the way food was served, as well as the lack of tables, utensils, and proper chairs. He didn¡¯t waste time looking around for the ¡®missing¡¯ items, as did some of the other new humans, but sat down on a rock and held the bowl to his mouth, allowing the stew-like contents to slide inside. It wasn¡¯t bad at all.


    Their captors sat down right along with them, eating the same food in the same way. The only difference was that humans sat with humans, while lizard-men sat with lizard-men. Raff didn¡¯t want to stand out, so he remained where he was when some of the other captives sat next to him and began complaining about what had happened to them, but his eyes were on the other group.


    The lizard-people talked among themselves, just like the humans did. They laughed a little more often, but not much, and they certainly didn¡¯t seem arrogant or look down on the humans. If anything, there was a certain solicitousness in the way they made sure every man had as much as he wanted to eat, as if they understood that the situation was difficult, and wanted to make it as easy as possible.


    The disparity between their actions and the simple and unavoidable fact that these people had abducted two dozen men, implanted a murder-device in their necks, and then set them to mind-numbing tasks that could have been handled by literally anyone¡­was bewildering. More, how and why had they managed to steal or block Raff¡¯s mana? No one else had mentioned any such thing, so he didn¡¯t want to attract attention by asking, but he¡¯d spent every possible moment attempting to regain his mana, with a notable lack of success.


    Before Li appeared, Raff had felt helpless in a way he hadn¡¯t since he realized that he was well on his way to having his entire life controlled by his well-meaning parents. Being a mage was safe, a position of power and respect, and would allow him to take a beautiful, respectable wife. But as much as Raff tried to explain that that life was one he didn¡¯t want - had never wanted - the more his father didn¡¯t listen. His mother had some sympathy, having chosen exactly once to go against her family¡¯s plans for her, but Da was the one who stayed with their children year-round, and so Da was the one with the final say in how to raise those children.


    So Raff ran away, leaving a life of luxury and privilege for one where he killed monsters and cheated at Dragons and Dice in order to earn enough money to pay for his personal gear and a place to sleep when he wasn¡¯t at the guildhouse. It wasn¡¯t a bad life, though, and Raff sure as Pellis¡¯ sinking ship didn¡¯t want to lose it to a bunch of bipedal lizards.


    So now Raff was going to take back control of his life, just as he had almost a decade and a half ago. These lizards thought they were in charge? Well, Raff had friends he could count on - and wasn¡¯t that a peculiar feeling for someone who had spent years avoiding serious entanglements? - and he was going to use this opportunity to help them. His gut said whatever was happening down here was tied to the madness up above, and when his gut started growling, Raff listened.


    Giving an occasional nod or smile of agreement to the men sitting nearby didn¡¯t take up much of his attention. It was difficult to listen in on what the lizard-people were saying, since he didn¡¯t have enough power to cast his hearing cantrip, but he focused, and soon enough he was able to pick out a few words.


    It was a disjointed mess, but a few words were repeated often enough that he could be fairly certain they were important. Xiyi was one of them, and the other was ¡®Jianying¡¯. Both words rang bells in the back of Raff¡¯s mind, and he was almost certain Lianhua and Blue had said both of them during three of the most boring days of his life. Why in Pellis¡¯ name hadn¡¯t he listened?


    When the meal was over, the lizard-people quietly joined the humans in cleaning up. Squad B had cooked, so it was Squad C¡¯s turn to wash dishes and put away the food. There were five squads, A through E, and they seemed to have been sorted by physical size and strength. The oldest and weakest of the prisoners were almost all in Squad E, with the largest and strongest, like Raff, in A. They would all rotate through shared chores, like cooking and cleaning, but during the day, each squad did the tasks to which they were best suited. It was really very practical, and by the time everyone headed for bed, there was already a sense of camaraderie growing among old and new humans alike.


    They all slept together in a bunkhouse not unlike the tournament barracks, except that the beds were stacked on top of each other, using vertical space, as well as horizontal, like hammocks on a ship. Most of the beds were clearly taken, with blankets and pillows already laid out on them, and as everyone entered, Palcher once again began to speak.


    ¡°You¡¯ve all noticed you don¡¯t have your belongings,¡± he said, and something that was almost a laugh swept over the group. ¡°And some of you have already asked about them. I¡¯ll tell you all what I told them. When you¡¯re returned home, you¡¯ll get everything back, no matter what it was. Money, weapons, all of it.


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    ¡°If you¡¯re asked to come back again, and decide to accept, you¡¯ll be allowed to bring some luxuries, like extra clothes and a little money. You¡¯ll see there are locked chests by some of the beds. They belong to those of us who¡¯ve done this before, and theft will not be tolerated. You may think you can get away with it, but I guarantee you will not.¡±


    He looked around, cold eyes sweeping over everyone. A few men shifted in place, while others simply smiled blandly. Those were the ones Raff would worry about, if this was his problem. Apparently Palcher knew it, too, because he locked onto one of the smilers.


    ¡°There¡¯s exactly one punishment here,¡± he said, tapping the back of his neck meaningfully.  ¡°Anyone care to guess what it is?¡±


    Now everyone looked uncomfortable, and Palcher nodded. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s exactly what you think it is. So don¡¯t mess up. That goes for the old hands, too. Every one of us has one of these devices in us. It¡¯s deactivated when we go home, and reactivated when we return. We all know that¡¯s part of the deal, but you¡¯re just figuring it out. Eventually, someone will break the rules, and everyone who survives will learn their lesson. It only takes once.¡±


    He shuddered before continuing. ¡°Now, go to bed. There¡¯s no sun down here, but the xiyi will turn the lanterns down for eight hours. When the bell rings, you get up. No sleeping in. No arguing. Squad C makes breakfast, and D will clean up. Then E makes lunch, and A cleans up after that. You get the idea.¡±


    Xiyi. There was that word again. Yeah, that was what Blue said the rebel kobolds called themselves, wasn¡¯t it? The ones who worked together with the emperor¡¯s brother, killed the emperor, then were forced out of the mountain when the big bad dragon cast his last spell?


    Raff dug through vague memories of a long three days of Lianhua nattering on about Diushi-this and some-famous-guy-that. His clearest memory was of his own astonishment that Blue didn¡¯t go stark raving mad after being asked the same question for the twentieth time, even if it was in a slightly different way.


    But there it was. Jianying. That was the name of the Emperor-dragon¡¯s brother, wasn¡¯t it? Yeah, he was sure it was, because Lianhua spent a solid two hours muttering to herself about what runes might be used to write the name. At least, it seemed like two hours, and that was what mattered.


    But that Jianying lived almost a millenia ago, right? In Raff¡¯s experience, history was history, and if it didn¡¯t make you money or feed you, only people like Lianhua cared about it. So why were these lizard-people - xiyi? - still talking about him?


    Dragons lived a long time, Raff knew that, but surely not eight or nine hundred years. Even the greatest human mages and cultivators lived only three centuries or so. But in theory, the dragon Emperor was born before the Diushi Empire was founded, and survived its fall, which would make him more than a thousand years old when he died. Was it so difficult to believe that his brother had achieved the same?


    The lights dimmed, and Raff looked around, realizing that almost everyone was in bed. Someone had passed out simple blankets and surprisingly plush pillows, and though more than one man lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, no one spoke.


    ¡°Not many beds left,¡± someone said softly, and Raff turned to look at Palcher. The middle-aged man wasn¡¯t smiling, but he didn¡¯t look upset either.


    ¡°I¡¯m not much of one for bunk beds,¡± Raff said, offering him a grin. ¡°Too much of me hangs off the end.¡±


    The other man smiled back, but his eyes were still thoughtful. ¡°Fair enough. Tell you what. You can sleep on the floor by the door, or you can take your chances with a top bunk, at least until you can convince someone on the bottom to trade with you. One way or the other, though, I need you to go to bed.¡± His voice held a warning that Raff didn¡¯t think was a bluff.


    With another grin, Raff flicked the man a salute. ¡°Fair enough. Don¡¯t want the lizards to kill me because I didn¡¯t get enough beauty sleep, eh? I¡¯ll take the floor. Pellis knows I¡¯ve slept in worse places.¡±


    Palcher held out a blanket and pillow Raff hadn¡¯t even realized he was holding. ¡°Fair enough. And call ¡®em xiyi. They don¡¯t much like other people giving them names. Pretty easy-going folks, for the most part, but they don¡¯t like anybody looking down on them. Can¡¯t say I blame them for that.¡±


    Raff lowered his voice. ¡°But you can blame them for kidnapping you and taking away a month of your life, even if you decided to come back for more, eh?¡±


    The other man¡¯s eyes were cold. ¡°However it started, the money I¡¯ve earned let me give my family a good home, and allowed me to pay a proper healer when my daughter got sick last winter. This may not be what you planned to spend the next few weeks doing, but if you or anyone else threatens to ruin this for me, I¡¯ll feed them to the dragons myself.¡±


    And that was the first time anyone had spoken the word out loud. A few of his fellow prisoners had asked about the beasts, only to be ignored or even told to shut up. This was always accompanied by a glance at the xiyi, so Raff guessed it was a rule - spoken or simply understood - put in place by the reptilians. Nobody talked about the Pellis-cursed death-lizards peacefully sleeping in their roosts around the top of the cavern.


    ¡°Is that what happens?¡± Raff asked, still conversational, as if his life hadn¡¯t just been threatened. ¡°They don¡¯t stab us or blow our heads off with these ¡®devices¡¯,¡± he winced at the vivid memory of exactly that happening to a kobold back in Scarabus. ¡°They feed us to their cousins instead?¡±


    There was suddenly a hand across his mouth, and Palcher was looking around the dark room. It was the first time there were no xiyi around, but Palcher didn¡¯t look like he believed they could speak privately.


    ¡°Never mention the dragons,¡± the older man said. ¡°I don¡¯t care if one flies around and craps on your head like a gods-forsaken giant pigeon. This is your one and only warning.¡± He stared straight into Raff¡¯s eyes, then slowly removed his hand, turned, and walked away.


    Well, that was interesting, wasn¡¯t it?

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-three

    While Kaz and the human females watched the people below work, Chi Yincang, Kyla, Mei, and Li explored the tunnels. Kaz didn¡¯t want to let Li go off without him, but she convinced him that this way the two groups could communicate, and she insisted she needed to be on the exploration team in case they discovered a way up to the dragons.


    Not too surprisingly, Chi Yincang was unable to fit through any but the largest passages, but he was very helpful anyway. A few times, he was able to clear out a rockfall, and more than once, he lifted Kyla and Mei up to cracks or small tunnels that Li couldn¡¯t reach because of her wingspan.


    In fact, he seemed almost eager to help, rather than disappearing every few minutes, which was a great relief to Kaz. He knew the three females could take care of themselves, but with Chi Yincang nearby, there was no doubt they would return safely.


    It was only when the xiyi and their captives extinguished most of their lanterns and vanished down a tunnel that Kaz called Li back. They hadn¡¯t found anything helpful, but at least it gave everyone something to do other than worry about Raff. Jinn, in particular, wanted to sneak down and free her brother immediately, and Reina had to calm her down when Raff disappeared with the others.


    ¡°What if they¡¯re taking them somewhere to kill them?¡± Jinn whisper-shouted. Her eyes were enormous and her fists clenched. If she could have survived the fall to the floor of the cavern, Kaz thought she might have run after Raff with or without their support.


    ¡°They¡¯re not,¡± Reina soothed. ¡°Nobody was even hurt, other than the-¡± She gestured at the nape of her neck. ¡°I hesitate to believe a man who willingly abducts others in exchange for money, but I think this Palcher is telling the truth, at least as he knows it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Jinn demanded, whirling on her friend. ¡°Because you always want to see the bright side of everything? Because it¡¯s easier to believe-¡± she choked off the next word, but it was too late. Reina stepped away, her hair falling around her face as she looked down at her feet.


    Lianhua bit her lip, looking between the other two females. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but Yingtao laid her hand on Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, and she stopped. Kaz felt distinctly uncomfortable, looking between all of the females.


    ¡°I¡¯m going down,¡± Kaz said, standing. They all turned to look at him, and he pointed down into the dimly lit cavern. ¡°There may not be a way out up here, but there has to be one down there. If we can¡¯t find one end, we¡¯ll just start at the other.¡±


    ¡°Kaz, no,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°At least wait until-¡±


    Chi Yincang appeared beside her. Perched on his shoulder was Mei, who had her little paws wrapped in the long, black strands of his hair. Her fur was rumpled, and as soon as Chi Yincang gently transferred her from her high perch to the floor, she began vigorously grooming herself.


    Kyla and Li were close behind, with Li clinging to Kyla¡¯s back so it looked like the young kobold had a pair of golden wings. Kyla looked relieved when she saw her fuergar, and even more relieved when Li hopped from her to Kaz.


    <Why didn¡¯t you tell me that being big is so much trouble?> Li demanded, puffing out a small cloud of water vapor, then plunging her head into it. Once her scales were moist, she started preening them as enthusiastically as Mei was licking her fur.


    Kaz shook his head, tail wagging. ¡°You still need to be bigger.¡± He sent her an image of herself, large as a mountain, flying through the sky as Kaz slept in a hut on her back. She returned a picture of hut and sleeping kobold blowing away in a gust of wind, and shared amusement flooded their bond.


    <Are we going?> Li asked, leaning out to look down below.


    ¡°Can you cover us both?¡±


    The response was a hissing, raspy sound he¡¯d never heard from her before. Was it a laugh? <Of course,> she said, lifting a wing to smooth the scales beneath it, even though they lay in perfect shining crescents already.


    He glanced back. It was Jinn¡¯s turn to look ashamed while Reina patted her on the shoulder. That was good. Friends should forgive one another for unintentional hurts. Chi Yincang was watching them all with his usual unfathomable expression, while Lianhua watched Kaz, and Yingtao watched Lianhua.


    Adara and Doran were the odd ones out, and now Adara shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m staying here,¡± she said. ¡°Even if my arm was in good enough shape to climb down there, I have no doubt those dragons would see me as nothing more than a light snack.¡±


    Doran, of course, said nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯m going, too,¡± Kyla said. She was enjoying this whole process far too much. Dark tunnels were a kobold¡¯s natural environment, and she was clearly glad to be in them again. Unlike Kaz, she wasn¡¯t bonded to a creature who longed for the skies, and Kaz thought his cousin was beginning to realize that not all adventures were good adventures.


    Lianhua looked torn, then glanced up at the dragons ringing the cavern. Most were drowsing, their heads drooping or, in some cases, tucked beneath a wing. A few looked wide awake, however, staring down into the darkness as if the snack Adara had mentioned might actually be there.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± she said. ¡°Someone needs to go, and you¡¯re best suited to it. Are you certain you won¡¯t leave Li-¡±


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    Li hissed at her, and Lianhua sighed, then laughed softly. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just so nice to know what¡¯s going on, at least in general.¡± Reaching into her storage pouch, she withdrew one of her many small books and passed it to Kaz, along with a pen. ¡°If you see anything interesting, would you please draw it? If these really are the xiyi, they may be using Diushi devices. As it is, now that we know kobolds, including the xiyi and mosui, were-¡±


    She hesitated, glancing toward Adara, who was listening with rapt fascination. ¡°We, by which I mean Diushi scholars, will have to revisit everything we know about them. This is an opportunity to not only observe a lost culture, but also see if we can learn more about their history and the hidden civilization of-¡±


    She stopped again, struggling with the clear desire to keep speaking, and this time Adara struggled to her feet. The female had spent the last several hours sitting against the tunnel wall beside Doran, looking both impatient and utterly bored.


    ¡°You know,¡± Adara said, ¡°I think I should go after all. These lizard-men may have my people, and if they do-¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m going, too!¡± Reina broke in. ¡°If these xiyi are responsible for all the missing people, including my family, then I need to be there when they¡¯re found.¡±


    Kaz rubbed his muzzle, exchanged a glance with Li, and stepped backward, through the narrow crack they¡¯d spent the last several hours staring helplessly through. As he dropped, he grabbed the edge, then began climbing downward as quickly as possible.


    <I could have carried you,> Li complained from her position on his shoulder. She was using her ki to keep them hidden, even though the darkness should be sufficient for the most part. Still, there was no saying how good the eyes and ears of adult dragons might be, and Kaz truly didn¡¯t want to become a tasty snack.


    ¡°I know,¡± he told her softly, even as he saw Kyla slip over the edge as well. She, too, was covered in red ki, and with the strength she¡¯d gained through contact with the Divine Beast known as Fengji, her core was easily able to handle the drain.


    Kaz generally didn¡¯t bother trying to surpass others simply for the sake of doing so, but something about his cousin made him reluctant to allow her to beat him. He couldn¡¯t make noise or use all of his and Li¡¯s combined ki to give the dragon enough strength to carry him down, so instead he concentrated on pushing power into his claws so he could simply slide them into the suddenly-soft stone. It was all he could to keep from yipping in victory as he dropped toward the cavern floor. He was truly happy to have claws again.


    His paws touched the ground several seconds before Kyla¡¯s, and his cousin mock-glared as she hurried to press her back against the wall. He could see her tail wagging, though, and his own responded as they skulked through the silent spaces between the buildings.


    He caught Raff¡¯s scent as they neared where he had been working, but continued on to the largest building.  Kyla opened the door so Kaz could slip through, with Mei on his heels. Li immediately lifted off Kaz¡¯s back, flying toward the high ceiling, where she summoned a ki light.


    Looking around, Kaz saw several tables laden with what looked like¡­plants? He padded closer, seeing that he was correct. There were two dozen different kinds of leaves, stems, and roots lying there, all waiting to be processed with the mortar and pestles sitting silently beside them.


    ¡°Are they making medicine?¡± Kyla asked, reaching for a vibrant red leaf.


    Something in Kaz pinched tight, and he leaped forward, knocking his cousin¡¯s hand away. ¡°Not medicine,¡± he said, not sure how he knew, but also certain he was right. ¡°Or not any kind that would be good for us. Use your eyes, but don¡¯t touch anything.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears lowered, but she nodded. ¡°You think they¡¯re poisonous?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he said slowly, ¡°but not not poisonous.¡±


    Kyla gave a soft growl of frustration, but as she prowled away, he saw that she kept her hands and paws far from the plants.


    <Kaz,> Li said, flying near a neat stack of boxes. Through her eyes, he could see that they glowed with ki.


    Hurrying over, Kaz hesitated, then removed one of the boxes, wary of touching anything except the wood of the small crate. Li settled to the ground beside him as he crouched down, carefully prying up the lid with his sharp claws.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kyla asked, turning away from a table full of the same kind of jars Raff had spent the entire day carrying.


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Kaz said sharply, staring down into the box. It was full of cores, each of them shimmering with ki. He felt the pull of them in the pit of his stomach, their ki calling to his. These were the lost, the abandoned, cores of creatures killed for no other reason than the fact that they harbored one of these. He could almost see their stories in the shimmering surfaces. What would he learn, what would he gain if he ate just-


    Li pushed the lid closed, and Kaz¡¯s head snapped back, as though a strap tying him to the cores had been cut. <Can you hear me?> she asked, and Kaz nodded.


    Settling back on her haunches, Li said reproachfully, <You stopped talking. You just stared at those and kept moving closer.>


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kyla asked again, and when Kaz looked at her, she was quite a bit closer than she had been what seemed like a mere moment earlier.


    ¡°Cores,¡± Kaz told her, his voice coming out as a growl. He looked at the stacks of boxes, all of them glowing softly in his ki-sight. ¡°Hundreds of cores.¡±


    Kyla shook her head, giving a soft, low whine. ¡°What are they doing with them?¡±


    Ever so cautiously, Kaz lifted the box and placed it back where he¡¯d found it, gently settling the lid into the groove around the inside. ¡°Lianhua once told me that humans hunt monsters - us - for our cores. They make them into medicine which allows them to cultivate and become stronger.¡±


    He turned, looking around at rows of tables, each covered with different plants. ¡°This is medicine,¡± he said. ¡°But it¡¯s only for humans. Maybe demi-humans as well. I think it would be very, very bad for us, though.¡±


    ¡°Could the xiyi take it?¡± his cousin asked, coming up beside him.


    Kaz¡¯s tail tucked, and his ears lowered. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think so. They¡¯re¡­like us. Kobolds, even if they don¡¯t want to be.¡±


    ¡°So who are they making this for?¡± Kyla said. ¡°Are they trading it to humans?¡±


    They both turned as they heard a soft squeak from the other end of the building, where even more tables still lay in shadow. Li flapped her wings, lifting into the air to skim over the tables.


    Kyla glanced around. ¡°Mei?¡±


    Another squeak, and the cousins exchanged glances before running after Li.

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-four

    The fuergar lay half-in, half-out of a hole she¡¯d chewed into the side of a crate. Her tail was limp, but she was still squeaking as they ran toward her. There was something very strange going on with her core. It flickered wildly between its usual white with red and gold sparks, and something like a very dark orange. In Kaz¡¯s experience, ki didn¡¯t act like that unless it was drifting away, mingling and in the process of becoming mana. But Mei¡¯s ki was still as dense as ever, just far too dark.


    Before Kaz could stop her, Kyla scooped Mei up, cradling her close as she looked down at her pet. Her golden eyes were enormous as she looked back at Kaz. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Kaz shook his head, crouching beside the box. He didn¡¯t see either ki or mana inside it, but obviously something had caused Mei¡¯s core to go wild.


    Li landed beside him, her head snaking in through the hole. There was a soft thunk, and then she dragged something back out of the box. It was no larger than the tip of Kaz¡¯s finger, but when she dropped it, it thunked to the floor, not bouncing or rocking at all. The clear grooves of rodent teeth were visible on one side.


    Kaz glanced at Li, but she seemed fine, in spite of having put this thing in her mouth. They would have to have a talk about that later, but right now it probably meant that touching the object was safe, so he nudged it with a finger. In spite of his strength, it didn¡¯t even move.


    <Metal,> Li said.


    Metal, but not one Kaz was familiar with. Kyla, however, came from a tribe of kobolds who worked with the rarest and most difficult metals. He sat back, holding out his arms. ¡°Let me hold her,¡± he told his cousin. ¡°Look at this. Li says it¡¯s metal, but I don¡¯t recognize it.¡±


    Reluctantly, Kyla handed Mei to Kaz. To his relief, the fuergar¡¯s heart was beating steadily, if a bit faster than he thought was normal, and she didn¡¯t feel too warm or too cold. In his experience, unless they were sick, those who were about to die became cool to the touch.


    Kyla tried to pick up the metal, but once again it resisted, seeming to eat the light cast by Li¡¯s ki-orb, which still hung in the middle of the space. ¡°Sky iron,¡± she said wonderingly. ¡°It can¡¯t be found in the mountain, but sometimes humans would bring a piece to be used in an alloy. Incredibly hard and heavy. Only we Magmablades can heat the great forges to a high enough temperature to melt it.¡±


    <that¡¯s very impressive,> Heishe said as she slithered out of the hole in the sky iron box. <it takes a great deal of ki to work with the spiritual metals.>


    Kaz¡¯s hands spasmed on Mei¡¯s body, and it was all he could do not to leap backwards at the serpent¡¯s sudden appearance. Li mantled, hissing, and Kyla yelped as she jerked away from the small chunk of metal.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Kaz asked, staring as Heishe¡¯s tongue flickered out, brushing Mei¡¯s fur. The Divine Beast was in her smallest form, barely eighteen inches long, and she would have seemed entirely innocent if Kaz didn¡¯t know what she really was.


    <a few interesting things have fallen into my water recently,> the snake said. <and then i sensed your little friend here.> She looked at Mei again. <i might not be able to sense you kobolds easily, but your dragon and this little creature are a different story. they are as the Elder made them, after all, which makes them mine to watch over, at least when I choose to do so.>


    Kaz felt a strange sense of relief at her words. Once, he¡¯d had the horrifying thought that his mountain might be entirely filled with Qiangde and his servants¡¯ failed experiments, but if fuergar were natural beasts, then surely most or all of the others were as well. He didn¡¯t know if it was better or worse to have evidence that his people, xiyi, and mosui were probably the only ¡®kobolds¡¯, but it certainly felt better.


    Mei twitched in his hands, and Kaz looked down, reminded that he had something else to worry about at the moment. The fuergar¡¯s core was throbbing in time with her heart, not simply spinning as it normally would. In fact, it looked something like what Kaz would expect to see if he actually watched someone else trying to compress their core. There were also distinct swirls of grayish orange in the white, gold, and ruby of its depths.


    Kaz felt helpless. If he tried to manipulate Mei¡¯s ki, perhaps trying to separate the ki back into its respective colors, he would have to touch Mei¡¯s core. If his ki mingled with hers, it might form a bond like the one he shared with Li. And as much as he loved his dragon, he didn¡¯t want to be tied to the fuergar as well. But the rest of the rodent¡¯s ki and body seemed fine, so there was nothing else he could do.


    His fingers hovered over Mei¡¯s abdomen, his own ki waiting, surging just beneath his skin. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he asked, looking at the serpent. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her ki?¡±


    Heishe gave her hissing laugh. <wrong? nothing. in fact, i would say something is right for the first time in far too long.>


    Kaz stared, uncomprehending, while Kyla edged closer and closer, whimpering as she stared at the unconscious fuergar. ¡°Her ki is orange,¡± he said, wishing anyone else besides Li understood what he meant. Unfortunately, the dragon, too, was baffled, her head swaying on her long neck as she tried to see every aspect of Mei¡¯s core.


    Hissing, Heishe slithered off into the shadows. <and that¡¯s bad?>


    Struggling to his paws, Kaz held Mei out after the vanishing serpent. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen orange before!¡±


    There was no sign of the Divine Beast, other than the thick, black coalescence of her ki. Still, her voice was as clear as ever in his mind. <and you¡¯ve seen everything, puppy? remember what i told you.>


    What had Heishe told him? Which time? But he knew. Kaz exchanged a look with Li.


    <Mei already has fire ki,> the dragon said.


    Kaz nodded, but looked at the lump of sky iron near his paw. It lay there, black and inert, a mass of absolute darkness. ¡°But she doesn¡¯t have water.¡±


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    ¡°Water? What does water have to do with anything?¡± Kyla asked. She had finally had enough of Kaz apparently doing nothing but make cryptic comments, so she snatched at her pet. Kaz gave over the fuergar without resistance, and Kyla pressed her muzzle into the wiry gold and copper fur, sniffing Mei like a mother checking her puppy for wounds.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted. ¡°There¡¯s so much I don¡¯t know. But Mei has metal, fire, and earth ki. Metal is white, but more like moonstone or agate. Fire is red, all ruby and garnet. Earth¡¯s gold is like veins of ore nestled between the other colors.¡±


    One ear flopped as he shook his head, gently stroking the longer fur between Kyla¡¯s ears. ¡°You¡¯re ruby and gold, with just a hint of sapphire for wood. You and Mei share two of your three types of ki. I think that¡¯s part of why you get along so well. That,¡± he pointed at the sky iron, ¡°has no ki in it at all, not that I can see, but there¡¯s something, and it¡¯s the cause of this. I¡¯m certain of it.¡±


    Kaz leaned down, held out his arms for Li, and the dragon climbed up, wrapping herself around his upper body. Remembering Heishe¡¯s words when Li gained fire, Kaz said, ¡°I think that what happens now is up to Mei. She can fight, she can surrender, or she can choose not to do battle at all.¡±


    He stopped, watching the way the ki in Mei¡¯s core was slowing, the colors seeming to grow more distinct with every moment. White. Gold. Red. And deepest orange. ¡°I think-,¡± he said slowly, stepping back, careful to avoid the sky iron. ¡°I think you should summon your power as well, Kyla.¡±


    Kyla jerked her head up, staring at him, then at the darkness around them. Her core began to spin faster, ki cycling rapidly through her body. Her arms tightened protectively around Mei as she whispered, ¡°Are enemies coming?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°No. But I think having pure ki near her would help.¡± That wasn¡¯t exactly it, but he couldn¡¯t explain what he was feeling. Was it instinct, or something else?


    Kyla¡¯s power surged, a haze of ki falling around her and the fuergar she embraced. Unlike her usual concealment, this held all three of her colors, not just red, but it wasn¡¯t a shield, either. Mei¡¯s core responded, the red becoming clear and bright, while the gold gleamed pure again. Red and yellow made orange. Take them away, or teach them to be themselves again, and that left¡­gray. Gray, but with only two, the colors separated easily, black and white.


    Mei opened her eyes.


    Kyla gasped, lifting the fuergar until she could stare into the rodent¡¯s confused eyes. Mei squeaked, and Kaz could hear the question in it. Kyla¡¯s legs gave out, and she plopped onto the ground, tail twisting beneath her as she did so.


    ¡°Mei? Are you all right?¡± Kyla rubbed her cheek against Mei¡¯s fur, and the fuergar wiggled, but didn¡¯t actually try to get away. Her nose twitched, whiskers tangling in Kyla¡¯s fur.


    Kaz and Li watched as Mei¡¯s ki smoothed out, a trickle of water ki joining her other colors, almost gleeful as it curled around motes of yellow, spiraled together with white, and teased sparks of red fire ki. It wasn¡¯t effortless, not yet, but it was natural, and beautiful in its own way. It made his fingers itch suddenly, longing to take out his chalks and draw the change that was happening within that small, unassuming body.


    The door creaked open, and they all spun to stare as Chi Yincang slipped inside, followed by everyone except for Doran. Even Adara was there, though she was clutching her injured arm and looked distinctly unhappy.


    Lianhua looked around, face lighting up as she saw Kaz, Li, Kyla, and Mei. It clouded again as she saw Mei cradled in Kyla¡¯s arms. ¡°Is everything all right?¡± she asked in a whisper that seemed to be carried on a breath of ki.


    As if in response, Mei gave her, ¡®I want down now¡¯ wriggle, and Kyla reluctantly allowed her to jump down. The fuergar looked at the hole in the box and the lump of sky iron, but made no move to eat any more of the metal. Did she feel the way Kaz had after eating the salamander core? Enough was enough, even of something good.


    Deciding not to attempt an explanation, Kaz shook his head. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. Just be careful what you touch. We think they were making medicine in here, and some of these things may be dangerous.¡±


    He pointed at the sky iron, then toward the stacked boxes of cores. ¡°There¡¯s rare metal here, and beast cores over there.¡±


    Everyone except for Chi Yincang looked surprised, with Lianhua, Yingtao, and Adara all looking intrigued as well. Lianhua immediately headed for the cores, while Yingtao walked along the tables, examining all the plants. Every now and then she would pick one up, or touch it to her tongue, but she moved with such certainty that Kaz didn¡¯t try to warn her again about the possible danger.


    Adara, on the other hand, walked straight for Kaz and his cousin. ¡°Metals?¡± she asked. ¡°Like gold?¡±


    Gold again. Kaz sighed. ¡°We found sky iron. I don¡¯t know what else is here.¡±


    Adara frowned, looking down at the chunk of sky iron. She attempted to nudge it with the toe of her boot, but it didn¡¯t budge. She pushed harder, and it rolled over onto its side, then stopped, dark and still.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°Star iron. It falls from the sky when there are meteor showers. Stuff is incredibly heavy and brittle. Only a master smith can work it, and few bother. I wonder why it¡¯s here.¡±


    Lianhua had opened one of the crates of cores, and now she looked up. ¡°These are all low-grade cores. Certainly nothing better than a B grade.¡±


    Yingtao picked up a dried leaf that looked almost as fuzzy as Mei. ¡°Most of these are of mediocre quality as well. There are a few that I would use, but most were picked at the wrong time, or dried in the wrong way. Cultivation pills made with these would be Elementary-grade. Maybe Profound-grade if a master alchemist made them, but no master I know would work with anything of such low quality.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail drooped. He had assumed that the xiyi were making something to trade with humans, but what were they going to achieve with these?


    Li hissed unhappily. <What¡¯s the point of making something that doesn¡¯t work?>


    Kaz echoed the question, and Yingtao shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t say they wouldn¡¯t work. They just won¡¯t work well. In fact, if someone took too many of these, they might stall their cultivation by flooding their meridians with so many impurities that even a breakthrough can¡¯t clean it all out. A few are fine, and a lot of people, especially independent cultivators, will use one or two just to push themselves into the next cultivation level, accepting the added contaminants for a chance to become strong enough to join a sect.¡±


    This was by far the most Kaz had ever heard the female speak, and for the first time he understood why she and Lianhua were such good friends. Yingtao might not be excited by the Diushi in the same way Lianhua was, but she was clearly both very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about medicine.


    Li reacted to an entirely different aspect of Yingtao¡¯s words, however, and he heard that odd maturity creep into her voice again as she said, <This medicine is a poison. A poison that the humans will take voluntarily.>


    Kaz¡¯s ears perked up. The dragon was absolutely right. ¡°Is it possible that the xiyi plan to produce so many of these bad pills that many human cultivators will ¡®stall¡¯?¡±


    Yingtao halted, staring around at the huge space filled with ingredients. Slowly, she said, ¡°There¡¯s enough here to make tens of thousands of pills. Each of those jars Raff was carrying yesterday could hold a hundred or more. Yes, if they sold enough of these, especially all at once, so no one had time to realize how bad they were, and at a low enough price, they could ruin the cultivation of an entire generation.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-five

    Everyone spread out, looking through the building, and while Kaz was glad for the help, in a way he also missed being alone with his cousin, Li, and Mei. Though he was beginning to suspect that the warning Kyla¡¯s father had given her about eating cores should, perhaps, be expanded and offered to the two four-legged members of their group as well.


    As he thought this, Li gave a little snort and bit him lightly on the ear. She was clinging to his back much as she had Kyla¡¯s, though he was enough larger than Kyla that it was still difficult for her. She was becoming adept at using her tail to anchor herself, however, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about her slipping off or digging in her claws if he had to run.


    <All of us should be more careful.> She was silent for several seconds as they opened yet another box to reveal carefully packed leaves. <Our instincts tell us to grow,> she said finally, <but not what to do when that growth results in problems.>


    The dragon tilted her head up, looking toward the dragons circling the cavern. They were lost beyond sight, but Kaz knew she was thinking about them.


    <You took the medicine Jul gave you without warning anyone or testing it. I was very angry at you,> she told him. <But then I ate the incinerator gem. I¡¯m not sorry I did, because I got so much stronger, and Fengji was able to escape. But I think a lot of humans died, too. My instincts say I shouldn¡¯t care, but you say I should. My instincts would leave me one of those dragons out there, mindless and hungry, ready to be trained.>


    By now, Kaz had stopped opening boxes. He didn¡¯t know what he was looking at anyway, and Li sounded so forlorn. Reaching up, he stroked her neck, just as he had done when she was much smaller.


    Sighing, he admitted, ¡°We¡¯ve both made poor choices. And yes, those were often made without thinking. But we also made good ones. Ones that resulted in someone living who otherwise wouldn¡¯t. And those were made just as impulsively.¡±


    Gently, he scratched around her horns, which grew longer and more graceful every time she shed her skin, sweeping back away from her slender snout and large, expressive eyes. ¡°Lianhua has made mistakes, too. Raff certainly has. I think that¡¯s part of being alive. Maybe we just have to try and do better next time.¡±


    An image appeared in his mind, of a little Li, chomping through bright red stones, one after another, growing larger every time. <Do you think there will be a next time?> She almost sounded excited, and he laughed softly, tugging on a horn.


    ¡°Absolutely. Somehow. But I don¡¯t think that making bad decisions will lead to us being¡­like them.¡± They both looked up this time, and the muddled lights of the dragon¡¯s cores were as clear as if there was no roof between them.


    <I¡¯m sorry those people died,> Li said. <A little.>


    ¡°Me, too,¡± Kaz told her. They were humans, not kobolds, and perhaps it was a little harder to care about them, at least when they weren¡¯t standing in front of him, with faces and names, but he wished they had been able to release Fengji without hurting anyone.


    Of course, that would have required knowing that it was Fengji down there, and not some horrible monster bent on cooking and eating them all. Truly, he wished that the Divine Beasts would explain more about what was going on, because he had a feeling Heishe, at least, knew more than she was saying.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Lianhua called softly, and Kaz and Li looked in her direction. She had insisted on going through every single box of cores, while Adara, Reina, and Jinn checked the metals, and Kaz and Yingtao looked over the plants. Which left Chi Yincang to watch for enemies, and Kyla¡­. Where was Kyla?


    Kaz¡¯s heart clenched in his chest, and for a moment, he thought his cousin really had run off on her own again. It seemed he and Li weren¡¯t the only ones reflecting on their choices, however, because soon enough he saw two familiar cores behind a box not far from Adara. Well, one familiar core, and one that was slightly different than it had been before. It seemed that Mei really did have four types of ki now, not just three, because the black swirling in her abdomen was faint but clear.


    Kaz yipped softly, and heard an echo just before Kyla emerged into the light. She was carrying Mei, who was, in turn, holding a large lump of something. Several bites had already been taken from it, so whatever it was, it didn¡¯t seem likely to hurt the fuergar.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing new here,¡± Yingtao said, walking toward them. Adara stepped in beside her as she passed, and if the golden-haired female¡¯s pouch hung lower than it had when they started, no one commented on it.


    ¡°There are eight more buildings,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°Do we check them all together, or split up?¡±


    Kaz hadn¡¯t really thought about it, but now that she said it, he realized that there were indeed nine buildings in this cavern. The one they stood in was easily two or three times as large as any of the other, so it seemed like more, but it was nine.


    Nine, which was found everywhere in his mountain. Nine-inch stairs that were too tall for kobolds. Nine levels to the mosui city. According to the howl Kyla learned as a young puppy, nine was ¡®forever¡¯. Was this just a coincidence, or did the xiyi still use the number the same way the other kobolds did?


    ¡°Split up,¡± Kyla replied, even as Adara said, ¡°Stay together.¡±


    ¡°It will be faster if we split up,¡± Kaz said. ¡°There are nine of us if Mei stays with Kyla. I¡¯m not sure we¡¯d all fit in all of the buildings anyway.¡±


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    It made sense to him, but almost everyone else immediately shook their heads. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with Lianhua,¡± Yingtao said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving Reina.¡± That was Jinn.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going alone,¡± Adara said, pointing at her injured arm as if that was an explanation.


    <I¡¯m staying with you,> Li agreed, wrapping her tail more tightly around Kaz¡¯s waist, even though he knew she preferred flying.


    Lianhua looked around, seeming bemused. ¡°So we have four or five groups. Chi?¡±


    Chi Yincang simply looked back at her, expressionless, and she shook her head. ¡°Four, then. That¡¯s easy enough. Each group will check two buildings. Adara, who will you go with?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with Yingtao,¡± the female said, lifting a brow. ¡°Of course.¡±


    This drew a chorus of sighs from almost everyone, which caused a wicked smile to cross Adara¡¯s face. For the first time since she¡¯d shown up with the other humans, the female actually seemed to relax, as though causing other people vexation was something she was comfortable with and even enjoyed.


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°This building is against the wall. When we go out, Kaz and Li will take the two buildings farthest to the left. They¡¯re closest to the tunnel the xiyi took the prisoners out through, but with Kaz¡¯s nose and Li¡¯s ability to hide, you should smell anyone coming in time to disappear. Kyla and Mei, next two, for the same reason. Yingtao and I will take the third set, along with Adara and Chi Yincang. Reina and Jinn, go right. That¡¯ll put you next to the tunnel we came through, and as far away as possible from any guards who may come to check this area.¡±


    That seemed reasonable enough to Kaz, so he followed along as ki-lights were put out and the door opened. Outside, the air was cool and still, barely lit by the faint glow of the few remaining lanterns, and they all separated. It was fortunate that all of them were good - or at least good enough - at sneaking. In fact, Adara nearly vanished into the shadows, disappearing almost as thoroughly as Chi Yincang.


    Kyla¡¯s concealment sprang up around her, and Kaz soon found himself left behind as his cousin opened the door to her first building. Kaz hesitated just long enough to make sure she hadn¡¯t walked directly into a trap or an enemy, then went on.


    The first building he and Li investigated held meat. It was one of the larger buildings, and it was packed full. Some of the meat was beginning to go bad, making him sneeze. A good portion of it was dried, however, and both Kaz and Li took the opportunity to eat. More ended up in Kaz¡¯s pouch, and when he found several round wooden containers of water at the back, he was able to refill his water bladders as well.


    The second building held a xiyi.


    When Kaz opened the door, he found himself face to snout with the reptilian, whose jaw dropped, exposing rows of sharp, very dragon-like teeth. Before Kaz could even react, however, Li launched herself from his shoulder, clamping her jaws on the xiyi¡¯s nose, right above the nostrils. The other stumbled back, arms flailing, and landed on its thick tail.


    Dragon and xiyi were hissing furiously, but Kaz gave a single quiet bark before closing the door behind him and leaping into the fray. He hoped Kyla or Mei would hear and either come to investigate or gather the others, but right now, he needed to save his dragon.


    Not that Li needed much saving. Several of the xiyi¡¯s deep brown scales already lay on the ground, and blood streamed from long scratches across his torso and neck. But the xiyi¡¯s claws were far longer than the dragon¡¯s, as were his teeth, so Kaz wrapped his arm around the other¡¯s throat, pulling the head back so the xiyi couldn¡¯t bite.


    The xiyi¡¯s long neck was far more flexible than Kaz expected, however, and in an instant, sharp teeth were snapping so close to his muzzle that he felt the other¡¯s breath on his nose. Instinctively, Kaz bit back, burying his own teeth in the xiyi¡¯s neck and shaking hard.


    The reptilian let out a strangled snarl, trying to reach back and claw Kaz off. Li bit down on one of the scaly wrists, however, and Kaz¡¯s hands were now free, so he twisted the other arm behind the xiyi¡¯s back. It turned out that the other¡¯s shoulders weren¡¯t as limber as its neck, and the joint popped loudly, making even Kaz wince at the sound. Whatever else this creature was, it was no monster, and he would prefer to speak to it, not kill or maim it.


    ¡°Surrender,¡± Kaz growled, but the xiyi growled back, snapping at Kaz¡¯s nose again. Li bit down hard on the offending snout, tearing out another chunk of scales and causing blood to flow into the xiyi¡¯s mouth, staining its teeth red.


    ¡°Surrender!¡± Kaz said again, and then the door burst open. Kyla ran in, already gathering power into a ki-bolt, with Chi Yincang right behind her. The building was small, and as the xiyi tried to escape its assailants, it crashed into one wall, and then another. Kyla¡¯s first blast missed, but only barely, and Chi Yincang stood, not even bothering to help as he watched the battle.


    With one good arm, Kaz¡¯s teeth buried in its neck, Li dangling from its nose, and Kyla readying her second bolt, the xiyi realized it couldn¡¯t win. Rather than attempting to attack again, it reached for something hanging around its neck. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what the thing was, but if the xiyi wanted it, then Kaz didn¡¯t want him to have it, so he reached around and yanked the thing off, tossing it to Chi Yincang even as he gave his prisoner another shake, hot blood welling up into his mouth.


    The xiyi went limp, its despairing eyes watching as Chi Yincang¡¯s hand closed around the necklace. ¡°I surrender,¡± it said, in a voice that was somewhere between a kobold¡¯s growl and a dragon¡¯s hiss. With a pained growl, it tilted back its head, revealing the thin scales on the underside of its throat.


    Kyla¡¯s bolt guttered out, ki dissipating into mana. She looked at Kaz, as did Li and Chi Yincang. Kaz hesitated, teeth still bound in flesh and twisted scales, then drew back. As he did, he felt something slide beneath the xiyi¡¯s skin. It was hard and round, and Kaz instantly knew exactly what it was.


    Sinking into his ki-sight showed him nothing. There was nothing beneath the skin, and yet his probing fingers found a small orb that slipped easily to the edge of one of the wounds.


    The xiyi gave a sibilant whimper as it began to thrash again. ¡°No, please. Better to rip out my throat than-¡±


    Kaz surrounded the invisible sphere with ki and yanked it out.

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-six

    As soon as the rune-stone began to move, the xiyi closed its eyes, body tensed as it waited for something. Something that apparently didn¡¯t come, because as the stone melted into bloody paste on the floor where Kaz dropped it, the yellow eyes opened again.


    ¡°What happened?¡± it asked, voice trembling.


    Cautiously, Kaz released the reptilian being, stepping back to stand by his cousin. Kyla still held her shield, but she looked almost confused at the sudden turn of events. Mei poked her nose in by Chi Yincang¡¯s feet, then scampered to her kobold. This left only Li still perched atop the supine xiyi.


    Bulging eyes shifted from the dragon, locking onto the bright-furred fuergar, and widened. ¡°You!¡± it gasped. ¡°How are you here?¡± The abrupt question startled everyone except for the rodent, who licked her paws and began to clean her whiskers, apparently unconcerned now that the fighting was over.


    Li stretched out her neck, staring down at her prisoner. The picture of the slender dragon pinning a muscular reptilian at least four times her size would have amused Kaz if he hadn¡¯t been worried that the xiyi might still attempt to escape and injure Li in the process.


    <How do you know Mei?> Li hissed, flooding the xiyi¡¯s face with steam so hot it flinched away.


    Kaz repeated the question, even as his ears twisted, registering the approach of more feet outside the building. He didn¡¯t hear claws scraping on stone, so hopefully that was the human females. Chi Yincang remained stoic, so he at least didn¡¯t think there was any threat to Lianhua or his sister, which meant Kaz didn¡¯t need to worry either.


    One clawed finger pointed toward the fuergar, who sat beside Kyla¡¯s paws, protected by the kobold¡¯s shield. ¡°It is the rodent¡¯s fault I¡¯m here,¡± the xiyi said, sounding indignant. ¡°When it escaped, I was reduced from hunter to guard. Guard what? A cavern full of frightened humans?¡±


    It seemed willing enough to speak, and with wounds still oozing blood and a dislocated shoulder, Kaz didn¡¯t think it could get past him, much less Chi Yincang, who still filled the doorway. Reaching out, Kaz plucked his dragon from the xiyi¡¯s chest, ignoring the angry muttering and snapping of sharp teeth in his general direction. No doubt she would chastise him for that later, anyway.


    Once Li was wrapped around his shoulders and back, Kaz crouched next to the xiyi. ¡°I¡¯m Kaz,¡± he told it. ¡°My dragon is Li, and these are Kyla and Mei.¡± For now, he didn¡¯t introduce the human staring at them impassively. Chi Yincang was almost more frightening without a name.


    Reptilian eyes flickered to each person as Kaz pointed to them, and the xiyi said, ¡°Snengriak. Snen. How did you remove the duqiu without killing me?¡±


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°I just took it out.¡±


    Snen snorted. ¡°And it should have killed me. The moment a duqiu begins to leave the body, it releases its poison, killing the bearer. There is no way to avoid this fate.¡± It rolled to one side, eyes fixed on Kaz. ¡°Tell me, and I will help you with whatever foolhardy mission you are attempting.¡±


    Kaz tapped a claw on the stone beneath them. ¡°Swear that you won¡¯t attempt to escape or let others know we¡¯re here, and I will. After we¡¯re done.¡±


    The xiyi shook its head. ¡°If there is a way, I must let my people know. My death would mean a lost opportunity. Tell me now, so that I may speak to another xiyi I trust, and I will ensure your success, or die trying.¡±


    Kaz stilled. ¡°Why?¡±


    Snen opened its mouth as if to reply, then shook its head. Its face wasn¡¯t as flexible as a human¡¯s, and it didn¡¯t have mobile ears, but Kaz knew Li well enough to recognize uncertainty, however rarely the dragon allowed herself to show such an emotion. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later, if you still desire to know. Please. Another xiyi will be here soon, so I can go eat.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t the answer Kaz wanted. Somehow, he had a feeling that if he understood why the xiyi behaved as they did, many other things would begin to make sense. Still, Snen was right. They¡¯d allowed themselves to be distracted for far too long. They were here¡­ Well, they were here to get away from masked warriors who might also be xiyi, or might be some of their human hirelings. But now they also needed to rescue Raff, and possibly other humans as well. Which reminded him of another question he needed to ask.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you,¡± he promised, extending a hand to help the xiyi up. ¡°But do you know of any other humans here? Besides the ones who were loading the carts and making medicine?¡±


    Snen gave a raspy, hissing laugh as it clasped Kaz¡¯s forearm. ¡°The human royals? Yes, though they won¡¯t be easy to free, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re here for. There are a great number of guards surrounding them.¡± Yellow eyes flickered to Li, though the xiyi didn¡¯t say anything about her. Kaz would have to ask about that as well, but not now.


    ¡°Hold still,¡± Kaz said, then pushed and twisted the xiyi¡¯s other arm, popping the shoulder back into place. He briefly flooded the arm with ki, watching as the flow of ki passing through the channels in the arm returned to normal. If the xiyi was an ally, provisional or otherwise, it would be better if it wasn¡¯t in constant pain. The ki would help close the gouges left by Kaz and Li¡¯s claws and teeth, as well.


    A single long hiss escaped Snen, but it just watched Kaz as he pulled it to its feet. Together, they moved past Kyla, who had finally lowered her shield, though she didn¡¯t look particularly happy about it. Her ki was starting to show the drain, however, so it was good that she rested for a while. Chi Yincang stepped back out of the way, revealing a ring of faces, all of them staring straight up.


    Kaz followed their gazes, seeing that every single one of the dragons was now staring down into the cavern, their eyes fixed and hungry. They watched the figures below like Kyla watched the minnows she so loved to hunt.


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    Snen stopped at the sight, and turned to Chi Yincang. The xiyi¡¯s voice was low and urgent as it held out its hand, saying, ¡°Give me my whistle.¡±


    Chi Yincang actually hesitated for a moment before throwing the object Kaz had taken from around Snen¡¯s neck. Rather than tossing it directly to the xiyi, however, he sent it to Kaz. The message was clear. Whatever happened next, it was Kaz¡¯s responsibility.


    Li rubbed her head against his jaw, her first action since Kaz pulled her off of Snen. Kaz could feel the conflict inside her. Not that long ago, she had advocated killing all of the xiyi, blaming them for the way the other dragons had deteriorated, but after their conversation about the consequences of their actions and meeting this surprisingly reasonable creature, she was torn.


    <Give it to him,> she said, lambent golden eyes on Snen. So the xiyi was male? Kaz didn¡¯t question it, or her words, placing the whistle in the scaly hand.


    Snen lifted it to his mouth. His lips weren¡¯t very flexible, so rather than blowing directly into it as Kaz had expected, he blew across the top, releasing an eerie hollow note that seemed to echo in the vast cavern. The dragons all jerked at the sound, some hissing audibly, while others gave grumbling roars. Another burst of sound had them all slinking back into their dens. All but one.


    The xiyi stared up at a dragon with scales the color of bronze, quite similar to his own mottled brown scales. This dragon was smaller than many of the others, but there was something about the way it held its head, eyes bright and attentive, that made it seem more intelligent than most of its kin. Not on a level with Li, not by any means, but not a simple dumb beast, either.


    ¡°Stay, xiongdi,¡± Snen murmured. ¡°I will come for you.¡± Dragon and xiyi stared at one another for a long moment, and then the dragon turned and laid down again.


    After tying a new knot in the leather cord attached to the whistle, Snen slid it around his head again, settling it against his chest with a pat. Turning, he looked them all over, taking in the humans until his gaze caught on Reina¡¯s pink hair. Slowly, the xiyi began to laugh, the throaty hissing sound oddly pleasant to Kaz¡¯s ears.


    ¡°We sought the last of the human royals for weeks, and now she delivers herself and I can do nothing,¡± he finally managed, seeing Kaz¡¯s confusion and the rising irritation on the others¡¯ faces. Lianhua at least would have been able to hear what happened inside the building, and it seemed everyone knew Snen was now something like an accomplice, because no one tried to attack him for his words. Judging by the looks on Jinn and Reina¡¯s faces, however, they would have liked to.


    ¡°So it was you people who¡¯ve been after us,¡± Jinn said with a credible hiss of her own. ¡°You nearly killed Reina!¡±


    Snen shrugged, then winced as the motion pulled on his wounds. ¡°That wasn¡¯t the intention. We needed to create fuzhi of all those descended from the False Emperor. Great Jianying commanded it.¡±


    ¡°Fuzhi?¡± Lianhua asked. There was a crease between her brows, and her fingers were twitching, as if they would like to be writing down everything that was happening.


    ¡°Copies,¡± Snen said. ¡°The fangqiu allows a shaman to copy the image of the human it¡¯s placed in. The effectiveness varies, depending on how much of the False Emperor¡¯s blood they bear.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The exclamation came from Lianhua, Reina, and Jinn all at once, though their expressions were entirely different. Lianhua seemed almost too excited to speak, while Reina was as pale as a patch of baimo, and Jinn actually looked even angrier.


    ¡°Who is this false emperor?¡± Reina asked faintly, and Kaz exchanged a look with Lianhua, anticipating the answer.


    Snen¡¯s mouth twisted as he said, ¡°Qiangde. The dragon who spread his spawn over half the world, then used them to create¡­us.¡± He looked at Kaz and Kyla as he said this last, but only briefly.


    ¡°So the royal family of Holiander is also descended from the Diushi Emperor?¡± Lianhua demanded. ¡°Was Qiangde also king of Holiander at some point? Was that before or after he created the Diushi Empire? Did they know they were part-dragon?¡±


    ¡°Xing-an,¡± Yingtao said gently, and Lianhua stopped, biting her lip.


    ¡°We need to go,¡± she said with clear reluctance.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But not all of us,¡± Kaz said, looking at the tunnel through which Raff had disappeared what seemed like days earlier, though he doubted it was more than two hours. ¡°Snen, if the females hide in the large building, will whoever comes to replace you find them?¡±


    Snen shook his head, glancing at Mei. ¡°Chekdrusk was my hunting partner. He is very angry at losing his position, so he does little. He will sit here and wait until I return.¡±


    Kaz turned and looked back at the building behind them. ¡°You mean, in the building that¡¯s covered in blood and smells of battle.¡±


    The xiyi clicked his tongue. ¡°Yes. We will have to subdue Chekdrusk. We cannot trust him. He was very close to earning a mate, and if he reported us, he could well earn back his position. He is-¡± Snen looked up, eyes lingering on the brown dragon. ¡°Chekdrusk has a very narrow view of the world.¡±


    ¡°Should we kill him?¡± Chi Yincang asked.


    Snen let out a hiss, shoulders slumping. ¡°I do not hate him,¡± he said. ¡°But I do not like him, either. Still, we fought side by side, and I would not see him killed. If you can subdue him, keep him unconscious or immobile for many hours, that would be best. If you truly wish to free the human nobles, you will have to kill many xiyi, and many dragons.¡±


    Once again he looked at the brown dragon, who stared back at him, its chin resting on its crossed front paws, peering down over the edge of its den. ¡°I will not aid you in those deaths, but I know they will be in part my responsibility. If you could spare me this one, I would be grateful.¡±


    Turning to Chi Yincang, the xiyi bowed deeply, turning his head to expose his throat as he did so. Having such a long neck made this more effective than when a kobold did it, and Chi Yincang seemed thoughtful as he looked down on the submissive posture.


    The cavern was quiet for a moment, only the sound of scales and talons rubbing against stone drifting down from overhead. Then Lianhua said, ¡°No killing unless it¡¯s necessary. Yingtao, can you knock out this Chekdrusk?¡± She did a better job of reproducing the rasp and hiss of the name than Kaz thought he could have.


    Yingtao shook her head. ¡°I have poisons and philtres that will work on every known race, but I have no idea what would happen if I used them on these xiyi. Are they cold-blooded? Egg laying? Mammals or reptiles? Do they have a fast or slow metabolism?¡±


    If the female looked at Kaz like she was looking at Snen, Kaz would have been very uncomfortable. Yingtao seemed like she might cut open the xiyi in order to find out how his body worked.


    This time it was Lianhua who cleared her throat and said, ¡°Yingying.¡± And Yingtao looked away, not embarrassed, but yielding to Lianhua¡¯s unspoken command.


    Kyla had been drifting away from them, her eyes on the tunnel, clearly ready to move on. Mei had vanished again, and it took Kaz a moment to find her ki pattern, several feet into the darkness. Then the fuergar turned and came scampering back, and Kyla looked at them.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-seven

    Li¡¯s power fell around her and Kaz, making them vanish. Chi Yincang stepped up into the air, disappearing just as effectively. Mei leaped into Kyla¡¯s arms, after which the two of them faded into the subtle shimmer of Kyla¡¯s technique. Everyone else scattered, with Yingtao and Lianhua staying close enough to be involved if they were needed, while the other females moved further away. This left Snen standing alone in the space just outside his hut, and for a moment the xiyi looked surprised, but then he let out a short hiss that might have been laughter.


    A second xiyi entered the dim lantern light. This one was a bit taller than Snen, who in turn stood about the same height as Lianhua. Its scales were deep green, and its clothing was more like that of humans, rather than Snen¡¯s simple loincloth and cloak.


    ¡°Sao, Snengriak,¡± the new xiyi said, lifting a clawed hand. ¡°Has anything happened? Perhaps the herbs rose up in rebellion?¡± Its words sounded like a joke, but the tone was sour.


    Snen shook his head, stepping to the side so he was in deeper shadow. From a distance, his injuries weren¡¯t obvious, but as the other drew closer, there could be no doubt that something had, indeed, happened.


    ¡°Nothing except that you¡¯re late again, Chekdrusk,¡± Snen said. ¡°Dinner will be cold before I get any.¡±


    For an instant, Chekdrusk bared sharp teeth. ¡°If you had let me drop that false dragonet from the mountain when I wanted to, neither of us would be waiting to eat. We would have been served first in the dining hall, as is our right as hunters.¡±


    Snen sighed. ¡°The shamans would have been pleased to receive a fuergar that could disguise itself as a dragon, and you know it.¡±


    ¡°I know that by the time I become a hunter again, Zhihs will have tired of waiting to choose her mate.¡±


    ¡°And I know that Zhihs never had any intention of accepting your offer in the first place,¡± Snen said, with the voice of someone repeating the words of an argument that no longer had any meaning.


    Chekdrusk walked past Kyla, then Chi Yincang, never noticing anything. By the time he reached Kaz and Li, however, he was close enough to see the bloodstains on Snen¡¯s cloak. He slowed, eyes narrowing. ¡°Are you sure-?¡±


    Kaz pushed a red ki-bolt into the xiyi¡¯s chest. The scales popped and sizzled, releasing a scent reminiscent of cooking binyi. Chekdrusk screeched, clutching at the wound, but Kaz wasn¡¯t done. With a flick of his mage-blade, he cut away the cord holding Chekdrusk¡¯s whistle, allowing it to drop and skitter across the stone floor. Once the threat of dragons was gone, Kaz slid the tip of his blade between two of the long, overlapping scales beneath the xiyi¡¯s jaw. Chekdrusk froze as blood trickled out between the scales, his eyes flicking to the kobold who seemed to have come from nowhere, then halting on Li.


    ¡°The¡­dragonet¡­¡± he choked, eyes so wide the white showed around the edges of the large irises.


    Snen stepped forward, removing a small knife from Chekdrusk¡¯s belt. Tossing it aside, he said almost gently, ¡°Guards don¡¯t talk about dragons.¡± Then he turned the knife around and struck a sharp blow to the base of Chekdrusk¡¯s skull, which would have driven Kaz¡¯s knife into the green xiyi¡¯s jaw if Kaz hadn¡¯t managed to pull his hand back in time.


    Slowly, everyone else approached, every one of them staring from Snen to Chekdrusk¡¯s crumpled form. Snen¡¯s head swayed from side to side in what seemed to be his version of a shrug. ¡°I said I didn¡¯t like him.¡± He looked at the fallen xiyi, muttering, ¡°You will never be good enough for my egg-sister.¡±


    Yingtao produced a rope from the storage item concealed within her sleeve, tying the xiyi up with ruthless efficiency and a skill that made Kaz glad she wasn¡¯t his enemy. Chi Yincang then carried Chekdrusk into the battered hut, where he was left to wake in his own time. Kaz was certain that however long that waking took, it would be incredibly painful for him to attempt to move, much less escape. He hadn¡¯t put enough power into his ki-bolt to seriously injure the reptilian, but the burn would certainly hurt a great deal.


    After that, at Lianhua¡¯s insistence, Chi Yincang jumped and climbed back up to where they¡¯d left Doran, and the human, too, was left with the unconscious xiyi. Yingtao said Doran would remain unconscious for at least two more hours, but she tied him up anyway.


    The whole group crept down the tunnel at last, and the passage turned out to be only a few hundred feet long. The smell of food had stomachs rumbling by the time they were halfway, and if their situation hadn¡¯t been so perilous, the sounds of quiet growling in the darkness would have been quite amusing.


    The tunnel opened up onto a cavern that was perhaps a third the size of the original one. One large building occupied the middle of it, but most of the space was taken up by an area that looked almost exactly like a kobold dining cave, while another section held what looked like a natural pool fed by a gently trickling fall of water. Instinctively, Kaz looked up as he entered, checking for lopo, but while there were stalactites, none of them held any power.


    Snen gestured to their left, where another passage branched off of the main cavern. They had decided the females and Chi Yincang would wait with the xiyi while Kaz, Li, Kyla, and Mei went to find Raff. Lianhua was less than pleased about this, but even she admitted it was wisdom, and so she waited.


    Li hid Kaz as they crept toward the large building, but Kyla was able to move much more quickly, so she and Mei reached the building first. The little female was remarkably good at remaining utterly silent, but Mei was even better. The fuergar had already gnawed a small hole in the building¡¯s wall by the time Kaz and Li arrived, and they saw her long tail vanish into its shadowy depths.


    The remaining three crouched in the darkness beside the building, each hoping that Mei understood what was being asked of her, and that she would succeed. Kaz wished Raff¡¯s mana hadn¡¯t been bound, because identifying his pattern of red sparks would have been relatively simple from this close. Without that, however, he had to depend on a fuergar who was, he suspected, rapidly becoming something more.


    Five minutes stretched to ten, and just when he and Li were creating a backup plan, the rodent poked her nose out of her little tunnel and squeaked softly. She ran into Kyla¡¯s arms as a deep but quiet voice said, ¡°Kyla?¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears perked up straight in pleasure, and Kaz felt his own do the same. He leaned down, whispering, ¡°Kyla, Kaz, and Li. The others are here as well, but they won¡¯t come unless they must.¡±


    Raff snorted softly. ¡°The boss thinks I¡¯m back here draining my bilgewater, but they won¡¯t buy that for too long. If you¡¯re gettin¡¯ me out of here, you¡¯d best get to it.¡±


    Once again, Kaz had no idea what half of Raff¡¯s words meant, so he just asked, ¡°Can you leave this building?¡±


    ¡°Nah. It¡¯s locked, and we¡¯re supposed to be sleepin¡¯ like good little boys. I¡¯ve got a spot right by the door, but that¡¯s also where the head xiyi is standin¡¯, so if you go in that way, there¡¯s gonna be fighting.¡± Raff hesitated. ¡°It¡¯s kinda strange to say, but these guys aren¡¯t so bad. I¡¯d kinda regret killin¡¯ them. Not to mention I¡¯ve got one of those stone balls in my neck, which would probably kill me if I tried. And they threatened to feed us to the dragons.¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Did they?¡± Kaz asked, so startled he couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say. Doran had said that his partner had nightmares about being eaten by a dragon, but after seeing this place, Kaz had assumed it was just the imaginings of a terrified human. Perhaps not, though. Surely the xiyi wouldn¡¯t threaten something they weren¡¯t willing to carry out.


    Kyla crouched down beside Kaz, whispering, ¡°Mei can make the hole bigger, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. He was rapidly coming to a realization he didn¡¯t like at all. ¡°Raff, if you leave, what will happen?¡±


    Raff sighed, and Kaz suspected the human had already reached the same conclusion. ¡°If, huh? Yeah, they¡¯ll notice right away. They¡¯ve got kobolds, too. Cute little furballs, even with all the teeth and claws. Never really noticed that before, since they were always trying to snack on my innards. But I suspect they¡¯d sniff me¡­us out, right quick.¡±


    ¡°If we promise to come back for you-¡± Kaz began, but Kyla grasped his arm so hard it almost hurt.


    ¡°No!¡± she gasped. ¡°We have to save Raff. He¡¯s stupid and rude, but he gives me rides and he¡¯s the only one who¡¯ll play with me when I¡¯m bored.¡±


    A big hand reached through the hole, feeling around until it could pat Kyla¡¯s knee. ¡°S¡¯alright, kid. He¡¯s right. I¡¯ve got a better idea, though, if we can make it work. Blue, can you take this thing outta my neck?¡±


    Kaz thought for a moment, and then Li sent a picture into his mind. It was ridiculous, and more than a little risky, but it was the best way.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he said. ¡°Lay down on the floor with the back of your neck toward the hole.¡±


    It took so long for Raff to answer that Kaz thought someone might have caught him, but then he heard rustling and a soft grunt. ¡°My ribs still hurt somethin¡¯ fierce, Blue. Can you do something about that, as long as you¡¯re at it?¡± His tone indicated he was joking, but Kaz nodded, even though his friend couldn¡¯t see it.


    Li slid down from Kaz¡¯s back, then walked between Kaz and Kyla, who still looked very unhappy with the way things were going. The dragon laid down on her belly, stretching out her long neck and wriggling forward until her head passed into the hole.


    Kaz watched through Li¡¯s eyes as everything grew dark, then light again. It was always a little odd to see things from her perspective, and Raff¡¯s broad neck seemed enormous to her. There was a red cut in the skin just above the spot where neck and shoulders met, but as always, Kaz couldn¡¯t detect the orb itself.


    ¡°Stay where you are,¡± he said, ¡°but can you feel the orb with your fingers?¡±


    Raff grunted and twisted some more. He was built for strength, and though he was more flexible than it seemed like he should be, it took an awkward moment for him to find the little nodule beneath his skin. It was a little lower than the cut, and Kaz was glad he hadn¡¯t assumed that the ball would still be there.


    ¡°This will hurt,¡± he warned, and then Li bit down hard.


    Raff¡¯s body cultivation was at what Lianhua called the Iron stage, and his skin was at least as hard as that metal. Fortunately, Li¡¯s teeth were even stronger, thanks to her own growth and what she gained through her link with Kaz.


    As Kaz formed a tiny pocket of ki inside Raff¡¯s flesh, surrounding the rune-sphere, Li tore the thing from its resting place. It wasn¡¯t a neat, tidy slice like the xiyi had used to place it. No, this was a bleeding wound at least a little bigger than Kaz felt it absolutely had to be.


    Raff recoiled briefly, biting back an exclamation, then forced himself to lay still as Li spit the bloody ball onto the ground. Strangely, there was no sign of the scraps of flesh that must have come away with it, but Kaz chose to ignore that, at least for now.


    Once the deed was done, Kaz sent a rush of blue ki through his dragon, flooding the wound as well as traveling down to the human¡¯s ribs. It was difficult to tell without any mana to trace out the damage, but Kaz thought at least one of them had cracked again, so he refreshed the ki he¡¯d used to bind the pieces together. Once he had given the male as much ki as they could spare, given that he had no idea what lay ahead of them, Li withdrew again.


    <Raff¡¯s not as sweet as Lianhua,> Li muttered. <Lianhua tastes like flowers smell, but Raff just tastes like meat. Is that because he¡¯s a male? If so, I only want to bite female humans from now on. But maybe I should try a few more, just to be sure. Not Chi Yincang. Maybe they¡¯ll take Gaoda out of the statue just long enough for me to bite him? I think he would taste disgusting, though, so¡­>


    Kaz pulled his dragon and his cousin backwards as Raff began to do his version of cultivation. Mana formed from the air around him, tugging on Kaz¡¯s ki even through the wall. Kaz held firm to the idea that his ki belonged only to him - and Li - however, and Raff didn¡¯t manage to steal any power from him. He was interested to note, however, that Kyla¡¯s ki never even shifted toward the human, seeming entirely unaffected by the drain. Was it really just Kaz, then?


    Kyla stared at Kaz accusingly as she stumbled back a foot, but when he realized that she was fine, he released her, and she moved to crouch by the hole again. Mei was already there, sniffing the scent of blood that now permeated the air passing through from the other side.


    ¡°Raff?¡± Kyla asked, almost a whimper. ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    This time there was no groaning when Raff moved, but Kaz could see him shift by watching the cloud of mana already gathering in his body move around. ¡°I¡¯m good, kiddo,¡± Raff said. ¡°Now how do I get out of this place?¡±


    Of course, Raff believed that they could leave the way they¡¯d come in, which wasn¡¯t true at all. Still, Snen had told them the way, and it wasn¡¯t even difficult. If it turned out the xiyi had lied, which Kaz doubted, they would find out soon and come back for Raff.


    ¡°There are three tunnels away from this cavern,¡± Kaz started, but Kyla jumped in eagerly.


    ¡°Take the one nearest the eating area, not the one back toward the dragons. Walk past four tunnels, then turn right at the fifth. There¡¯s an entrance to the real sewers there, and you can climb a ladder up to the street. The grate is heavy, but you can lift it,¡± she said.


    ¡°Where¡¯s it come out?¡±


    Kaz and Kyla exchanged a glance. They didn¡¯t intend to use that exit, at least not yet, and it hadn¡¯t even occurred to them to ask.


    Raff seemed to understand that, because he chuckled. ¡°No worries. I know Cliffcross like the back of my hand. If you haven¡¯t come to break me out by dinner tomorrow, or if things go sideways, you can meet me at the Bard an¡¯ Bee that night.¡±


    Another look passed between the kobolds, and Kaz said, ¡°Do you remember the fountain? The one where we were supposed to meet if we got separated at the gate?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Meet us there,¡± he said. ¡°But if¡­we don¡¯t come, just leave.¡±


    Raff¡¯s hand came through the wall again, palm up. His voice was unusually serious when he said, ¡°Don¡¯t do anything I would do, eh? And you better be at that fountain, or I¡¯ll come lookin¡¯ for you. I don¡¯t leave friends behind.¡±


    Kyla laid her hand in Raff¡¯s, and the strong fingers closed around it gently, giving it a little squeeze. The young kobold whined softly, then said, ¡°I don¡¯t either.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all right, kid,¡± Raff told her. ¡°You¡¯re not leavin¡¯ me behind. I¡¯m stayin¡¯. That¡¯s a whole different kettle of fish.¡±


    Reluctantly, Kyla released him, and Kaz placed the hilt of his old knife into that empty hand. He didn¡¯t think Raff could use the ki-powered mage knife, but even a dull old blade like this one was better than nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry-¡± Kaz said, but couldn¡¯t finish. He was sorry for so many things that he couldn¡¯t put them all into words, but the greatest of them was the fact that he planned to leave his friend behind because it was simply too soon for their infiltration to be discovered. Who knew what would happen to the human captives if the xiyi believed even a single human was loose in their territory? Even if the answer was only that the reptilians would immediately send people to hunt him down, the risk was too great. Now that Raff had his power, a weapon, and a way out, surely he would be all right?


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Blue,¡± Raff said, as if he¡¯d heard Kaz¡¯s thoughts. ¡°You go do what you¡¯ve gotta do. You figured out where Reina¡¯s people are, right?¡±


    How did he know? But Kaz said, ¡°We think so.¡±


    ¡°Pellis¡¯ waves carry you then. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± Soft scraping sounds reached them as Raff¡¯s mana raised and began to move away. He was already cultivating again, and thickened mana trailed behind him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± Kyla said, and Kaz laid a hand on the tuft of fur between her ears.


    <Me neither,> Li said as she climbed back up Kaz¡¯s leg and wrapped herself around his back. <I¡¯m sorry I bit him so hard. But look how much smarter he is already.>


    Kaz chuffed a little laugh. ¡°We¡¯ll get him as soon as the other humans are free. This is Raff. He¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    <I don¡¯t think you should say things like that,> Li said, but she pulled her power around them, and Kyla did the same for herself and Mei. They had a bunch of strangers to save, and it had better be worth it.

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-eight

    To say that everyone was surprised when they returned without Raff was an understatement. Once Kaz explained, however, everyone except Kyla and Jinn seemed to agree he¡¯d made the right decision.


    ¡°If he has a weapon and his strength, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be well,¡± Lianhua said, though she didn¡¯t look quite as certain as she tried to sound. ¡°And we won¡¯t leave without him. The timing simply isn¡¯t right yet.¡±


    By now, Jinn was practically twitching with frustration. ¡°Would you say that if he was your brother?¡± she demanded, glaring from Lianhua to Kaz.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes flickered away and she sighed. ¡°Perhaps not, but you are his sister, not someone with whom he has adventured. You didn¡¯t see him battle a monstrous amalgamation of all things unholy, nor did you see him fight his way through an underground city full of enemies. Here, he has only a few xiyi and, excuse me Kaz, stunted kobolds to battle, and plenty of time to reach his full strength before doing so. And that¡¯s only if he can¡¯t hold on and sneak away sometime when he isn¡¯t being watched.¡±


    Snen nodded. ¡°From here, it is less than ten minutes to the surface. If this friend waits for the right moment, he can be halfway out before anyone notices he¡¯s missing. We once had a human who nearly made it, simply by timing his escape correctly.¡±


    ¡°And was he eaten by dragons or poisoned by one of your horrible devices?¡± Jinn asked furiously.


    Kaz understood why the female was worried about her brother, and honestly, it warmed his heart. He couldn¡¯t remember a time when Katri stood up for him like this. On the other hand, arguing about it now was only delaying Raff¡¯s eventual rescue.


    Reina obviously felt the same way, because she took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders as she said, ¡°And do you think standing here is helping him? If we¡¯re caught because we lingered, does that make the risk he¡¯s taking worthwhile? Raff is an adult, and this is his choice. We should respect that.¡±


    Much like siblings, the two females seemed to argue as often as they got along, but this time when Jinn opened her mouth to continue the quarrel, she closed it again. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± she mumbled. ¡°It¡¯s just that I worry about him. All the time. When I was young, what he did sounded so exciting, but now all I can think is that he could die somewhere, and we would never even know.¡± Tears stood in her eyes as she finished speaking.


    ¡°We have a saying,¡± Snen said, startling them all. ¡°Fengan meiyoushe, fengan yiqie. In risking nothing, you risk everything. Your brother has chosen to take a risk in order to allow you to regain your people, and I am doing the same for a chance to regain mine.¡± He leaned forward, bowing his head. ¡°Please, we need to go.¡±


    No one had a response to this, so together, they skulked around the edge of the open space, careful to make no noise at all. When they reached the exit, however, Jinn wasn¡¯t the only member of the party to cast a glance back toward the dimly lit building they left behind.


    Just as Snen had told them, they passed four tunnels, each marked with runes scratched into the stone near the entrance, just as a kobold tribe might do deep within long-held territory. Lianhua lost half a step at each of these runes, her eyes scanning them as if burning them into her memory, but if they were new to her, she didn¡¯t stop to ask what they meant. None of them spoke, not knowing who or what might be near enough to hear sound carried down a passage.


    At the fifth tunnel, Chi Yincang reappeared beside Lianhua, the first time Kaz had seen him since before they entered the passage. The dark male glanced from Snen to the opening ahead and nodded briefly before bowing to Lianhua. He vanished again as quickly as he¡¯d come, but Kaz chose to interpret the exchange to mean that Chi Yincang was confirming the xiyi¡¯s words, and there was, indeed, an exit in that direction.


    As soon as Chi Yincang disappeared, Adara split off from the rest of the group. She took one step down the dark tunnel, then glanced back, meeting Lianhua¡¯s startled gaze. Slowly, she closed a single eye, lifting a hand to press her mouth against the palm, then blowing across her hand toward Yingtao. Lianhua¡¯s hand darted out, silently intercepting whatever the gesture meant, and one corner of Adara¡¯s mouth turned up in a smile. Then she was gone, leaving the rest of them to stare after her with mixed expressions of shock and outrage.


    There was nothing to be done about the female abandoning them, however, so Snen led them on past that turning, and three more after that. At the ninth intersection, the xiyi took them left, and then through a series of winding passages that Kaz was only able to keep track of because of his experience in quickly memorizing new territories.


    He began to notice patterns in the runes as they turned, and it seemed they were following a particular one that looked uncomfortably like the symbol Kyla had identified as ¡®dragon¡¯, and Lianhua called ¡®Emperor¡¯. There was enough difference, however, that Kaz couldn¡¯t be certain it had anything to do with that one. He had already learned that two similar runes could mean wildly varying things, and while Lianhua assured him he would eventually be able to puzzle them out from other runes nearby, he wasn¡¯t there yet.


    The question became moot when they turned away from the rune the next time it appeared, Snen stretching out an arm to stop them. He lifted a finger to his lips in a universal symbol for quiet, and Lianhua shook her head, gesturing for everyone to draw close to her. She sketched the symbol for ¡®silence¡¯ on the wall beside her, flooding it with her ki, and a dome of power swallowed them up.


    ¡°You can speak,¡± she told Snen, ¡°but this is a large area to cover, so hurry, please.¡±


    If Snen was a human, his eyebrows would probably have climbed toward his hairline, but instead his long neck curved and his whole head reared back in surprise. He looked at Kaz, however, and spoke quickly. ¡°This is where my friend works. I must share with him what Kaz told me of how to remove the duqiu and fangqiu. Otherwise, if I die, the knowledge will be lost with me. Remain here, and I will return momentarily.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s brows furrowed, and she said, ¡°How do we know you haven¡¯t brought us to a room full of guards, and as soon as you leave, they¡¯ll descend upon us?¡± Kaz didn¡¯t get the feeling that she truly believed the xiyi intended to betray them, more that she was asking because the question was clearly visible in Jinn and Reina¡¯s eyes.


    <I¡¯ll go with him,> Li said abruptly, and before Kaz could do anything, she leaped toward the xiyi, wrapping herself around his shoulders and neck in a way she no longer could with Kaz. Heat pulsed through his abdomen at the sight, the surge tied to emotion, not power, and his dragon turned to look at him. <Watch with me,> she said, and he understood.


    Kaz gritted his teeth but nodded, and Lianhua brushed away her rune. Li¡¯s core spun, and she vanished to all eyes except Kaz¡¯s. So everyone else watched Snen as he disappeared, while Kaz watched Li instead.


    Snen walked down the tunnel, past one intersection, and turned right at the next one. There was no way he couldn¡¯t feel Li¡¯s weight, but he gave no sign of it, not even turning to look at the space where she clung.


    A few feet down this passage, a piece of cloth hung over another opening, providing some semblance of privacy to the space beyond. It wasn¡¯t as good as a hut, at least not to Kaz, but better than nothing. The cloth was dyed a bright and cheerful yellow, and when Snen swept it aside with his arm, it seemed heavy and well-made.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Inside, a figure sat hunched over a table, a pen scratching at the page in front of it. A long robe covered the body from neck to floor, concealing almost all of the body and much of the chair in which it sat as well.


    Kaz¡¯s breath caught in his throat at the eerie resemblance to Nucai, and Li mantled as she swallowed back a hiss. <I don¡¯t like this,> she said, and Kaz could feel her hesitate, torn between fear and hatred.


    Then the figure looked up, and the momentary familiarity vanished, scattered like yumi spores. This was no humanoid with cold, reptilian eyes and too-sharp teeth, but an aged xiyi, who went from confusion to pleasure and back to confusion when he took in his visitor.


    The old xiyi¡¯s once-bright scales were now a dull blue-gray, and the spikes that crested his forehead almost seemed to sag. His eyes were yellow as much with age as the natural coloring of his race, and when he stood, he had to brace one hand on the battered wooden desk at which he sat. He held out the other hand to Snen, his long claws cracked and as yellow as his eyes, and his fingers stained with ink. His core, however, burned bright with almost as much blue ki as little Gram, the chief of the newly reformed Woodblade tribe.


    ¡°Snengriak, what are you doing here? You should be-¡±


    Snen fell to his knees in front of the old xiyi, his head falling forward in that way he seemed far too familiar with. Li, realizing what he was doing, shifted her body out of the way, nearly slipping from Snen¡¯s scaly shoulders.


    ¡°My duqiu is gone, Kus Ukark,¡± he said, ¡°and I have come to tell you how it was done.¡±


    It was a good thing that Li had moved, because the elder¡¯s fingers were on Snen¡¯s neck, poking and prodding at the wounds there. With surprising surety, they located the place where the orb had rested beneath the skin, finding nothing there but scales, bone, and the tissue that should lay in between.


    Kus Ukark - though Kaz and Li thought the first part might be a title of respect - leaned in so close that Li had to wriggle around to Snen¡¯s chest instead. The xiyi¡¯s tongue, smaller and thicker than that of a true dragon, but split at the end, flickered out, touching the injuries left by Kaz and Li¡¯s teeth.


    ¡°I taste a kobold,¡± the old xiyi said, sounding thoroughly confused. ¡°And¡­a dragon?¡±


    Snen nodded. ¡°A true kobold came, following one of the humans we took today. A friend. He had a dragonet with him. Not quite an adolescent, but no longer a hatchling, I think, though it was very small. Kus, the dragon does not bear the curse.¡±


    Li was less than pleased by this description of her, but Kaz was more focused on something else. Raff often used the word ¡®curse¡¯, and given the context Kaz had believed it was simply a word used to express anger or surprise. But Snen wasn¡¯t using it like that, and Kaz would very much like to know what the xiyi did mean.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± Kus Ukark said, and Snen did. It was brief, and often less than flattering to one member of the party or another, but it was all true, and the older xiyi listened with every evidence of fascination.


    When it was done, Snen looked up at Kus Ukark, his eyes bright and hopeful. The older xiyi hissed thoughtfully, and did something none of them expected. His hand shot forward, almost poking Li in the eye. The dragon jerked back, dropping her concealment as she, too, hissed, releasing a cloud of vapor that was only cool because she¡¯d been too surprised to produce heat as well.


    Kus Ukark instantly dropped his head, baring the back of his neck to Li. His scales were so thin and frail that the ball of the rune-stone beneath his skin stood out as a break in the pattern of his backbone.


    ¡°This one begs your pardon, wronged one,¡± the old xiyi said, ¡°but can you understand me?¡±


    Li blinked. This was the first time since she met Lianhua that anyone had seemed properly awed by her mere presence. Even Lianhua no longer acted like that, however, the female having lost much of her admiration of Li¡¯s majesty during their time as captives of the mosui.


    Slowly, Li nodded her head.


    Kus Ukark pressed himself even closer to the floor, his old joints creaking, and his tail protruding from beneath his robe. ¡°This one begs you to forgive him,¡± he said. ¡°In our haste and our pain, we inflicted upon you the same sorrow you once gave us. But our people never lost their ability to think, to regret what we did not have, which meant it was possible for us to achieve freedom. We took that from you, and it is the greatest shame of our lives.¡±


    Neither Li nor Kaz understood what this meant, and since Snen, too, was now bowing beside his friend, it was obvious that the xiyi weren¡¯t going to explain. With no better idea what to do, Li raised one wing and bowed her head with slow grace, like Lianhua with her fan.


    Both xiyi breathed a sigh of relief, but when Snen went to stand, Kus Ukark grabbed the younger reptilian and held him in place. Shifting backward, he pointed to one of the larger wounds on Snen¡¯s neck. ¡°You and the kobold did this?¡±


    <Does he mean the biting or taking out the stone?> Li asked, and Kaz shared her confusion. Either way, the dragon had certainly contributed, so she nodded again.


    Kus Ukark¡¯s head was almost on the ground this time as he said, ¡°Can this old one beg for the ss-same?¡± he asked, voice lingering on the sibilants.


    <What should I do?> Li asked silently, and honestly, Kaz had no idea. So far, nothing bad had happened as a result of removing one of the stones. Unless, of course, you counted the human named Joneh, who had nearly exploded when Kaz pulled on the thing too hard. Still this xiyi was aged and frail, and it seemed unwise to inflict damage on him.


    Then the old xiyi simply laid flat on the ground, hands outstretched in supplication. ¡°Pleasssse,¡± he hissed.


    So Kaz reached out and caught the knobby little stone in a field of ki, and Li bit him. She was far gentler than she had been with Raff, but there was no way to make tearing a foreign object from someone¡¯s body with her teeth into a pleasant experience.


    Kaz hadn¡¯t been certain it would work, given the distance that separated him from his dragon, but when Li spat the bloody sphere onto the stone, Kus Ukark was still alive. He remained alive as he and Snen recoiled from the object, which dissolved into a hissing black sludge within a heartbeat of Kaz releasing it from its casing of ki.


    That was far faster than when Kaz had removed the sphere from Doran, and now he wished he¡¯d watched when Li removed Raff¡¯s duqiu, and when Kaz himself removed Snen¡¯s. Had those, too, broken down almost instantly, or had they taken several seconds like Doran¡¯s? And why was the one taken from Reina¡¯s side the only one that had remained intact?


    Dragons couldn¡¯t cry, but they could sniffle, and both Snen and Kus Ukark were now doing exactly that. They held each other, apparently overwhelmed by this in a way that Snen losing his rune-stone after a battle hadn¡¯t caused.


    More importantly, however, was what was happening in Kus Ukark¡¯s belly. While the duqiu had seemed utterly inert, its removal proved that was far from true. Now that it was gone, the old xiyi¡¯s core was pulsing far more quickly than it had before, and there was a faint tinge of black and yellow ki joining the brilliant blue. The frail reptilian was already responding to the increase in his ki, moving with renewed vigor as he climbed to his paws.


    Of course, as soon as he was up, Kus Ukark bowed again. ¡°This old male thanks you, gracious one. He is unworthy of your-¡±


    Li really wanted to bite him again. It had been nice to be respected for a little while, but it really seemed to take much too long. She was ready to get back to Kaz, and as far as she could tell, Snen had done what he came to do.


    Kaz understood, but silently urged her to be patient. So instead of giving in to the urge, Li leaped upward, regaining her place on Snen¡¯s neck and shoulders before pointedly winking out of sight once again.


    Both xiyi froze, and then Kus Ukark laughed, a now-familiar rasping hiss, and Kaz finally realized why it was so pleasant. It was strongly reminiscent of Li¡¯s purr, though there was more sibilance and less rumble to the sound. Li was pleased at the comparison, and back in the tunnel, surrounded by silent, worried humans, Kaz¡¯s tail began to wag.

 Chapter Two hundred fifty-nine

    While Snen and Li made their way back, Kaz used his own silence rune and told everyone else the bare outline of what had happened. He wasn¡¯t sure why he didn¡¯t tell them about Kus Ukark¡¯s apology, but it seemed like something private; a part of the story that only the xiyi themselves should share. He did tell the humans about removing the duqiu, since it could be important that the stones could be taken out even at such a distance.


    Snen had never been a light-hearted person, but when he returned to them, he seemed both relieved and determined. Some shadow that had lain over him since they met was lifted, allowing him to walk forward with fresh resolve.


    ¡°We could meet more of my people at any time,¡± he told them as Kaz contained their voices. ¡°I would prefer if you could simply render them unconscious, but if they must die, I ask that you do so quickly and as painlessly as possible.¡± In spite of the seriousness of his words, the xiyi seemed at peace with them, yellow eyes never wavering as he continued.


    ¡°The section we¡¯re entering is where the shamans live, and while there are a few like Kus Ukark, none will hesitate to kill you. The humans are held in buildings much like the one your friend Raff is in, but there will be guards both inside and outside. These guards are nothing like myself and Chekdrusk. While we were trained as scouts, and are simply doing our best as guards, these xiyi have trained as warriors since they were barely more than hatchlings.¡±


    He turned his gaze on Reina. ¡°You have met their like before. We¡¯ve all heard of their attempts to capture you. They will not be trying to take you alive this time. They also will not allow you to take the prisoners. Kaz, you must remove the fangqiu as soon as possible. But be aware that once you do, the humans no longer have value, and the guards will not hesitate to kill them as well as you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Reina burst out. ¡°Why are you - they - doing all of this?¡±


    The xiyi bowed his head. ¡°We do as we must.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡±


    The reptilian simply bowed even deeper, leaving Reina and Jinn to glare helplessly at the ridge of scales along the back of his head and neck.


    They took a left turn, and then another and another, making Kaz realize they had traveled in a wide, sloping circle. He continued to see the almost-familiar rune at every intersection, but they didn¡¯t always turn toward it. Still, it was there, as if every path eventually led toward whatever it meant.


    They didn¡¯t have to kill the xiyi. Chi Yincang took care of that for them. By the time Kaz and the others reached them, any enemies had been reduced to piles of lifeless scales and staring eyes. Two of the fallen figures wore the same bulky robes as Nucai, and there was something both strangely satisfying and repellant about seeing the garments stained with blood.


    After six turns and five deaths, they stopped just outside a cavern that was far larger than either of the two they¡¯d seen before. Snen didn¡¯t bother to wait for Kaz or Lianhua to hide their voices before he spoke.


    ¡°At any time, someone will discover us or the fallen,¡± he said. ¡°When you hear a roar, run. Leave anyone you haven¡¯t saved behind. No one can defeat Jianying.¡±


    Jianying? Li helped Kaz pull up the memory of Qiangde, shouting at his black-scaled attacker. Jianying was the name of the emperor¡¯s brother and his betrayer, though it had been unclear if he was the leader of the xiyi at the time of the rebellion, or simply a co-conspirator.


    How could that Jianying still be alive, though? Or was this a descendant with the same name? According to Lianhua, Qiangde must have died around eight hundred years before. But then again, both Nucai and Zhangwo still lingered, however unnaturally, so why not an ancient dragon? But had he, too, been struck by this ¡®curse¡¯, or was he the only intelligent dragon remaining other than Li?


    Then Li pulled forth another memory. A different one, so buried in terror and awe that in spite of having shown it to the dragon a hundred times or more, he had never made the connection. Jianying was an enormous black dragon. Smaller than Qiangde, at least when they had their final battle, but who knew how he had grown since then?


    But Kaz did know. Because the huge black dragon that attacked Li¡¯s parent just after her siblings hatched looked just like Qiangde¡¯s memory of Jianying. From the shape and location of his horns to the absolute blackness of each and every scale, he was a match.


    <Why would the Emperor¡¯s brother kill my parents?> Li demanded, curling her tail so tightly around Kaz¡¯s chest and waist that it was almost uncomfortable. She was stretched across his back, so he couldn¡¯t hug her, but he sent as much comfort as possible through their bond.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know that they¡¯re the same,¡± Kaz murmured as the others shuffled around him, watching as Li apparently tried to crush him.


    ¡°Kaz-?¡± Lianhua said.


    He shook his head. ¡°Just a moment.¡±


    Because as much as he wanted to be able to sit down and hold Li while they worked their way through both his memories and Qiangde¡¯s, they simply didn¡¯t have time. If that monster was truly here, Snen was right. Even Chi Yincang would lose if he attempted to fight the great dragon.


    Reaching up, Kaz stroked Li¡¯s neck, tilting his head so his jaw pressed against hers. ¡°We have to go.¡± There was no time. No time for questions, contemplation, sorrow, or anger. Right now, they had to get the human royals out.


    ¡°Can you hide us?¡± Kaz asked Li softly. She sniffled but nodded, smooth scales sliding against his fur. He turned to Lianhua, waiting for instructions.


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    The human female looked uncertain, but she huffed out a quiet breath, looking around at all of them. ¡°Reina, you and Jinn need to go with Kaz and Li. Your priority is to get to Reina¡¯s family and remove the rune-stones from them. Convince them to let you, and then get them out.¡±


    Glancing at Chi Yincang and Yingtao, she said, ¡°Our job is to keep you and them safe. That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± Kyla demanded, puffing herself up. At her feet, Mei squeaked, and the young kobold said, ¡°Us, I mean.¡±


    Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°Hide. You¡¯re our secret weapon. If it seems like someone is in trouble, help them, then return to stealth. Do not show yourself unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s eyes narrowed, seeming to assess Lianhua¡¯s words, looking for any attempt to keep her out of the conflict simply in order to protect her. The human female was right, though. Kyla was fast, smart, and stealthy, but any xiyi they¡¯d seen was more than capable of simply overwhelming her physically once she ran out of ki.


    ¡°All right,¡± she said, and they began to move.


    The cavern was big, but its sheer size made it difficult to watch every part of it. Xiyi patrolled the open space, most of them wearing the simple leather and cowled cloaks Jinn and Reina had described. There were a few of the shamans as well, but these seemed to be posted in one location, instead of wandering freely.


    And it did seem that there was no pattern to their paths. Unlike when Kaz had to cross the ordered nest of the hoyi, there was no predicting when the xiyi would turn or where they would go. That made the space between the tunnel and the three long buildings standing in the middle of the cavern a constantly changing maze.


    Their only hope was the fact that the guards each carried their own lanterns. This meant one of their hands was occupied, and hopefully also that they couldn¡¯t see in the dark as well as Kaz¡¯s people. Some of them had the same blue, ordered ki as Kus Ukark, though none were as strong. Perhaps they didn¡¯t have enough strength to maintain a ki-light?


    Kaz stared out into the space, and the moment he was certain he could move between the shifting lights, he started out. Jinn and Reina stayed right behind him, though he could almost hear their hearts pounding in their chests. So far, it didn¡¯t seem that the xiyi could smell nearly as well as kobolds, which was good, because both females smelled of fear.


    Kaz watched to the right as Li watched left. The world narrowed to moving bubbles of light, the reptilians in the center fading out to blurry shadows that didn¡¯t matter, at least not yet. Together, kobold and dragon navigated the darkness, listening for the faintest brush of claw against stone, or a shift of illumination in their direction. Both sets of eyes formed a single vision, watching everything.


    Until Reina tripped. It was a small thing, just a catch of her toe in a narrow crevice that Kaz stepped over without even noticing. Jinn caught her, so the princess never even stumbled, just dipped slightly toward the ground, her slipper scuffing over stone softly as she straightened again.


    It was enough.


    The lights turned and shifted toward them in an uncanny ripple. Xiyi claws scratched against the ground, one after another, as they ran toward the tiny sound.


    Kaz stepped backward. This would have been easier in his human body, simply because of its greater height, but he wrapped one arm around each female¡¯s waist, then pushed ki into his legs. They were halfway to their destination, with perhaps two hundred feet remaining. Honestly, they¡¯d gotten farther than Kaz expected.


    He jumped straight up, clutching Jinn and Reina tight against his body. Both females let out startled sounds, which was unfortunate, but they were already above the densest parts of the circles of light, nearly touching the stalactites hanging some fifty feet overhead. Vaguely, Kaz hoped there were no lopos here, either, and then Li¡¯s wings snapped out.


    One kobold and two slender human females weighed less than five hundred feet of ki-infused rope, which meant that Li could carry them, at least for a little while. And this time she didn¡¯t have to haul them up, but simply let them down exactly where they needed to be.


    Li glided along the ceiling, draining both of their central dantians at a terrible rate. Kaz had really hoped that if they had to do this at all, they would be closer, but here they were, and their job was to get to the captives. The roof of the first building rose up beneath them, and Li let them fall.


    Apparently, when the xiyi put a roof on a building underground, they didn¡¯t bother to make it terribly sturdy. After all, the building wasn¡¯t meant to keep out wind, rain, snow, heat or cold. No, it had one purpose only, and that was to keep the humans inside. When Kaz¡¯s paws hit the tiles, they cracked and fell away, offering next to no resistance.


    Reina and Jinn screamed, but Kaz pushed a shield out around them, taking most of the impact and diverting a good bit of the debris away as well. He landed on something surprisingly soft, had less than a second to realize it was a bed, and then rolled out of the way as an arrow skipped off of his shield.


    To Kaz¡¯s surprise, Jinn and Reina reacted just as quickly. They had spent the last month being chased and attacked with little to no warning, and it showed. However surprised they were, they, too, were already moving, and Reina even had a thin shield up. He doubted it was enough to actually stop one of the arrows, but it would slow or deflect it, and that could be enough to save her life.


    Li lifted from his back, diving toward a xiyi and biting down on the shaft of the arrow he was setting to his bow. It snapped in half, and the reptilian released the bow, staggering back, yellow eyes huge as he stared at the dragon.


    Then Kaz was lost in his own battle, a knife swinging toward his chest from behind a nearby captive. The xiyi was crouching behind the human female, who looked as if she¡¯d been larger before she was diminished by captivity.


    Shoving the human forward, the xiyi charged, but he wasn¡¯t counting on Kaz¡¯s shield making the prisoner slip off to the side. Rather than having his own rather fleshier shield, the xiyi found himself entirely exposed, and Kaz¡¯s mage-blade removed his head before he could do more than hiss in surprise.


    Li was clinging to her own opponent now, teeth and claws tearing his scales to shreds, but he didn¡¯t even seem to notice. His own claws slashed at the dragon, and crimson stained her flank as she drew back, breathing out the purest flame Kaz had yet seen her produce. The xiyi made a terrible sound as it engulfed his face, and Kaz put him out of his misery. Burns truly were agonizing, and though they were enemies, Kaz hated to see anyone suffer.


    He longed to examine his dragon¡¯s wound, but there were three guards here, not just two, so Kaz crouched and spun, looking for the third. He needn¡¯t have worried. The final xiyi lay sprawled on the floor, a knife hilt protruding from his eye as Jinn stood over him, panting.


    Li fell into his arms and Kaz began pushing blue ki into her wound as he looked around for the last member of their party. And there she was. Reina was locked in the embrace of a woman with hair just as pink as her own, and both were crying.

 Chapter Two hundred sixty

    As Reina tried to pull herself together enough to explain, Kaz looked around at the females, most of whom huddled behind beds and against the walls, all staring at him. A few had their fists balled up, and one even held a wooden knife that must have been carved from a piece of one of the beds, which were the only furniture.


    ¡°We¡¯re getting you out,¡± Kaz told them. ¡°Get ready to run. We¡¯re going to go gather the prisoners from the other two buildings, and then we¡¯ll be back.¡±


    None of the females was particularly small, and Kaz thought Jinn and Reina were actually some of the youngest among them. Briefly, he wondered if there were no children with enough dragon heritage for the fangqiu to work, or if they were in one of the other two buildings.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here,¡± Jinn said, her eyes on Reina. ¡°If another xiyi comes in, I¡¯ll kill it.¡±


    That was actually a good point. If they all left, it was quite possible that another guard or, possibly worse, a shaman could come in. Kaz wasn¡¯t too concerned about being able to kill them, as well, but there was the possibility that they might either use more of the prisoners as shields, or start killing the humans.


    A particularly loud shriek came from just outside the building, and Kaz started moving toward the door. ¡°I need you or Reina so the humans will trust me.¡± He held up the hand clutching the bloody mage-knife, showing off the blue fur that covered his arm.


    Jinn frowned. ¡°Can¡¯t you just change back? Look like a human again, I mean?¡±


    He shook his head. Even if he really wanted to, he didn¡¯t think it would be that easy, and it would definitely take far too much of his ki. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± he told her, and grasped the handle of the door. Not surprisingly, it was locked, but Jinn crouched by the body of the xiyi she¡¯d killed. Her fingers shook, making the ring of keys jingle as she lifted them from his belt and tossed them to Kaz.


    There were only three of the long metal tools, and Kaz was glad Lianhua had shown him how to use one during their brief stay at the inn in Wheldrake. The second key opened the door, revealing a xiyi, crouched and snarling, with a long blade in his hands. Kaz supposed he should have expected it, but these guards had so little ki in them that they were next to impossible to see, making them practically invisible to him.


    He readied himself, pulling up his shield as Li came down from overhead, diving toward this new threat. Then the xiyi¡¯s eyes rounded, and he simply toppled forward, collapsing as Kaz stepped aside. Kyla stood behind him, her own eyes almost as large as the xiyi¡¯s, and her little knife dripping red.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­watch this group. You don¡¯t have to worry about them,¡± she said, looking past Kaz at the circle of shocked faces. Reina was the only one who looked truly happy to see her, a smile on the princess¡¯ face as she said something to the woman she¡¯d been hugging.


    There was no time, so Kaz just laid his hand on Kyla¡¯s head, briefly, as they traded places. There was another xiyi on the ground a few feet away, but he was definitely dead, so Kaz ignored him, moving instead toward the next building, with Jinn right behind him.


    Li couldn¡¯t fly through the doorway, so instead she rose up through the hole in the roof. She bobbled wildly as an arrow scraped along her side, but thankfully it didn¡¯t penetrate her scales. A xiyi had climbed the farthest building, and even as she watched, he nocked another arrow.


    Then Chi Yincang was there, and the two halves of the reptilian went in opposite directions. The dark warrior¡¯s eyes briefly caught on Li, now rapidly descending toward her kobold, and he nodded as if in satisfaction before leaping back into battle.


    Kaz watched the whole thing through Li¡¯s eyes, but couldn¡¯t see the xiyi beyond the building that loomed before him, so he simply added another debt to what he owed Chi Yincang and continued moving. Li landed beside him as he slipped one of the two remaining keys into the lock on the second building and turned it. The door opened.


    Once again, a xiyi waited immediately on the other side, but this time Kaz was expecting it, so his shield was in place. The knife skipped and slid away from him as his own hand impacted the reptilian¡¯s long, muscular torso. A ki-bolt discharged directly into the xiyi¡¯s flesh, blowing him straight backwards into a second xiyi. This one stumbled back, instinctively catching at his companion, but quickly allowed the body to slide down onto the floor.


    Two more xiyi came at Kaz, while a third emerged from the shadows around the corner of the building. This one no longer carried a lantern, choosing instead to walk in darkness and hold his bow ready to fire. Which he did. Jinn staggered as the arrow sank into her left arm, but in spite of the wound, she flipped her knife and threw it, once again leaving the hilt standing in the eye socket of her attacker.


    Kaz didn¡¯t see any more as he ducked, coming up inside the closest xiyi¡¯s reach, another ki-bolt lifting this one from his claws as well. A burbling hiss escaped the reptilian as air left his lungs for the last time. That left two more on Kaz, but Li took one, her wings beating at him, knocking his weapon from his hands as the dragon tore into his chest with her ki-powered rear claws.


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    The remaining xiyi came straight for Kaz, who was trying to decide whether to use another ki-bolt - thus draining his power but definitely killing his opponent - or his knife, which left the possibility of survival and retaliation. Before he could decide, someone grabbed the xiyi¡¯s head from behind, twisting the long neck until it snapped, then dropping the body to the ground.


    Kaz barely took time to see that the person who¡¯d helped him was a tall, dark-skinned human female with long, iron-gray braids, before he was on the final xiyi. Li had done considerable damage to this one, including steaming one side of his face, but she held one of her wings tight against her back, and Kaz could feel her pain through their bond.


    Now that there was only one, the question of whether to save time or power was easy, so Kaz slipped his blade up beneath the xiyi¡¯s ribs, belatedly realizing that the reptilian might keep his heart somewhere other than where Kaz expected it to be. Apparently his strike was true, though, because the xiyi went limp almost instantly, and Kaz was able to catch Li¡¯s falling body as her perch crumpled.


    A pang of hot fire went through Li¡¯s left wing, echoing in Kaz¡¯s left shoulder blade. Kaz cradled his dragon protectively as he turned, looking for any more enemies. There were none. Not yet. Like Reina, Jinn now stood in the embrace of one of the occupants of the building, except that this one was male, with short, straight hair of such a bright red that even Raff¡¯s might seem dark in comparison.


    The tall female who had snapped the xiyi¡¯s neck stood beside the two of them, her hand on Jinn¡¯s shoulder and an expression of deep relief on her face. This hardened into determination as she looked from Kaz to the younger female, and then at the open door.


    The clash of battle could still be heard outside, but the sounds were definitely becoming fainter, probably as the number of remaining xiyi was slowly - or not so slowly - chipped away. Unfortunately, there was no way someone hadn¡¯t gone for help, so reinforcements could arrive at any time. They needed to move.


    Apparently the human female came to the same conclusion, because she patted Jinn¡¯s back gently once more, then looked around at the others in the building. There were far fewer of them than there had been in the first building, which made it even more surprising that there were more guards, but from the hard looks on most of their faces, he suspected they hadn¡¯t been nearly as easy to control as the first group.


    ¡°Jinn?¡± the female asked. ¡°What do we need to do?¡±


    Jinn opened her mouth, then closed it and looked at Kaz. The older female followed her gaze, and dark eyebrows rose in surprise, but she just looked at Kaz expectantly.


    Kaz clenched his teeth, mind turning over various options, before saying, ¡°Take anyone who can¡¯t fight back to Reina, Kyla, and Mei. Anyone who can help, come with me.¡±


    Jinn turned, face now almost gray beneath her naturally dark skin. Her fingers clutched her upper arm, where blood stained the sleeve. The arrow had been removed or fallen out, so Kaz had momentarily forgotten that she¡¯d been wounded at all. Still, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll go back to Reina. You can¡¯t fight like that, and I can¡¯t heal you-¡± He broke off. He¡¯d been planning to say he couldn¡¯t spare the ki to heal her well enough to allow her to fight, but thinking about it made him realize something else.


    She¡¯d been hit by one of the xiyi arrows. Did she now have a duqiu or fangqiu inside her? If so, she was particularly vulnerable to whatever the shamans could do with one of those, since she wasn¡¯t valuable to the xiyi in the same way the others were. A shaman could simply trigger the thing to release its poison, and she would die before anyone had time to react.


    Kaz leaped across the room, shifting Li as he pulled out his knife once again. He fed it a pulse of ki, refreshing the gem and causing the blade to flicker with power. He couldn¡¯t ¡®see¡¯ the stone, if there was one, and there was no revealing lump just beneath the skin, so he simply muttered, ¡°Sorry,¡± before slipping the blade in through the wound, trying to find something that didn¡¯t belong.


    Jinn yelped, then sobbed out a ragged breath as Kaz probed with the tip of his knife, knowing he was doing further damage, but unable to take the risk of leaving it alone. He felt Jinn shift, moving her other arm, and then something scraped along his blade. Two more careful movements found the edges of the thing, and Kaz formed a circle of ki, knowing he would remove tissue along with the sphere, but unable to be more precise.


    A flick of his blade lifted rune-stone and gobbet of flesh from the wound, and he tossed it away without touching it. It landed on a bed - which he absently noted was simply a thin cushion placed on the floor, unlike the elaborate beds in the other building - and began to hiss and bubble as soon as Kaz pulled back his ki.


    That done, he turned, finding the point of a knife hovering right in front of his eyes. Li, too, had been caught up in the removal of the sphere, but now she hissed out a cloud of furious steam, making the knife¡¯s wielder pull away just slightly.


    At some point, the tall woman had taken Jinn¡¯s knife, stabbing toward Kaz¡¯s ear as he dug around in the young female¡¯s wound. Jinn had caught the older female¡¯s wrist, and though Kaz very much doubted she could actually force the thickly muscled arm to stay, the killing blow hadn¡¯t come.


    ¡°What in Pellis¡¯ name did you do?¡± The female asked, watching Kaz unblinkingly as she shifted the knife from her burned hand to the uninjured one. There was no clumsiness in the gesture, and Kaz guessed she could use both hands to fight, if needed.


    ¡°Saved my life, probably, Ma,¡± Jinn said, though her voice trembled. ¡°The xiyi have these little balls of poison attached to their arrows. I should have realized when the shaft just pulled out and left the head in my arm, but I didn¡¯t-¡± She swallowed hard, looking at Kaz. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Ma lowered the weapon, then dipped her head. ¡°Then you have my thanks as well.¡± One corner of her mouth tilted up in a way that made the resemblance to Raff utterly unmistakeable. ¡°And I never thought I¡¯d be saying that to a kobold. Pellis¡¯ wonders never cease. Now, you said there are more people to save?¡±


    Kaz nodded, and the female turned, pointing to four people, mostly male. ¡°Ricard, Phillipe, Mison, Verena, with me. Jost, take Jeanne and everyone else.¡± She spun the blade in her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll just borrow this for a little while, Jeanne. Ricard, grab the weapons from these cursed lizards, and let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-one

    The last building was slightly larger than the others. There were no guards left outside, and the only fighting Kaz could hear came from distant parts of the cavern. Had Chi Yincang, Yingtao, and Lianhua already killed all of the xiyi who were already here, and now they were fighting the ones who came to help? More importantly, what had the xiyi inside this building done in response to the attack?


    When Kaz tried the door, it was still locked, or at least locked again. Had the guards abandoned their prisoners to help or run away, or were they waiting for someone like Kaz to enter?


    ¡°Step aside, kobold. This¡¯s just like taking a pirate ship, and I¡¯m an old hand at that,¡± Jinn¡¯s mother said. She wore a grim smile, and motioned to the other humans she¡¯d brought with her. Each of them held a weapon taken from one of the fallen guards, and they looked like they knew how to use them.


    Kaz did as she said, and a foot flashed by him, the heel impacting the door right next to the handle. The female had no mana at the moment, but Kaz wouldn¡¯t be surprised to learn that she was almost as strong as her son, in spite of her age. Door and frame both cracked, splinters flying in all directions as the door flew backwards. Someone inside gave a pained cry, and then the female was through, with her companions close on her heels.


    He heard the snap of a bow string, and someone swore. Two particularly loud thumps reached his ear, and Li turned her head to look at him.


    <I don¡¯t think they need us,> she told him. Her voice sounded tired. She had pushed herself hard, both in body and ki, and now she was injured as well. His friend needed to rest, and soon.


    ¡°Then let me see your wing,¡± he murmured, but she only tucked it tighter against her side. From the feeling that came through their bond, he didn¡¯t think it was broken, but she had strained or pulled something.


    <It¡¯s all right,> she said stubbornly, then turned a hopeful gaze on him. <Though it does hurt. A crystal would make it feel better.>


    He chuffed a laugh, but it wasn¡¯t a bad idea. Both of their central dantians were all but empty, and they were running on what their cores were actually producing. If Li ate a crystal, both of them would benefit from the burst of ki.


    Reaching into his pouch, Kaz pulled out the largest blue crystal he had. It had been too big for Li just a few molts ago, but now he thought she could handle it. She had managed to eat the crystal that had bound Fengji, after all, and that was larger than this. Plus, the blue ki had to be good for her injury. Li ate it greedily, and they both sighed in relief as warmth and a fresh surge of energy rose from her belly and began to enter their shared cycle.


    Jinn¡¯s mother stuck her head out of the door. She looked pleased, but grim at the same time. A spray of blood dyed part of her gray braids red. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean you had to stay out. We¡¯re going to need some help carrying people over.¡± She looked down at him dubiously. ¡°If you can, anyway.¡±


    Kaz remembered Raff carrying two or even four kobolds at a time in the hidden Magmablade den. Kaz certainly couldn¡¯t do that, but he was strong enough to help, so long as no one minded if their feet dragged. But why were they carrying anyone at all?


    Kaz stepped through the door, and immediately stopped again, shocked by the sight. He¡¯d expected the dead xiyi, though the former prisoners certainly hadn¡¯t been gentle in the manner of death. But these humans were in much worse shape than any of the ones before.


    So far as Kaz could tell, all of the prisoners were males, and, thankfully, adults. They all wore clothes that hung off of their bony frames, fat and muscle alike having melted away. Had they been here much longer than the others, or were they being treated poorly?


    Looking around, he saw that there were beds, just as in the first building, but with thick blankets that looked soft and comfortable. Their clothes were over-sized but not dirty, torn, or stained. There were even plants that looked edible in a bowl nearby, ready to be eaten anytime the humans felt hungry. So far as Kaz could tell, these people had been treated like valued guests, and yet they all seemed to be in the final stages of some terrible illness.


    At that thought, Kaz stepped back. ¡°Are they sick?¡± Kobolds rarely became ill, but when they did, the tribe quarantined itself until it recovered or its members all died. If that happened, the next tribe to find them would use firemoss to burn out the diseased den and no one would settle in that territory for up to a generation.


    The female grimaced, shrugging. ¡°Don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with them,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°But King Maleim is here, along with most of his immediate family, so we¡¯re sure as Pellis¡¯ pelagic porpoises not leaving them here.¡±


    If they were sick, could Kaz catch their illness? Did it even matter? His task was to get these people out, wasn¡¯t it? He looked down at Li. ¡°Can you hang on?¡±


    She barely hesitated before nodding, much of her usual confidence restored by the influx of blue ki. When he shifted her around to his back, he thought her wing hurt less, too. Either that or she was better able to conceal it from him now, but he would ask her about that later. He didn¡¯t want her to hide her pain from him, but he couldn¡¯t talk to her because they had to go.


    They had to go because Kaz had finally heard the roar. It was a terrible thing, almost impossibly loud, and it pushed on him, forcing down his ki, shoving it back toward his core. It was almost like ki compression, but also not at all, because instead of strength, it filled him with a weak, trembling kind of terror.


    What had Snen said? When they heard the roar, they had to run. Leave anyone you haven¡¯t saved behind. No one can defeat Jianying. This was Jianying, a dragon who was at least eight hundred and probably closer to a thousand years old. He was angry, and he was coming.


    Kaz looked up at Jinn and Raff¡¯s mother. ¡°We have to go,¡± he told her, and she nodded, eyes wide. She wasn¡¯t smiling now, and she ran straight to one of the stalk-thin males and scooped him into her arms, ignoring his weak protest.


    ¡°Anyone who can walk will have to, at least until we reach the others,¡± she snapped. ¡°Boys, Verena, grab anyone who doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯ll make it.¡±


    Her helpers did as instructed, but their faces had lost much of their color. One red-haired male looked like he might simply fall unconscious as the roar faded, then began again, filling Kaz¡¯s ears and bones until he could hear nothing else, feel nothing else.


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    Nothing except Li. Because Li was furious. Kaz didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever truly felt his little friend full of fury, even when Fengji¡¯s angry aura had touched their own ki, drowning them in his anger. Now, the dragon clinging to his back was glaring around, her neck stretched so her head reached just over his, her jaw brushing his ears. Her claws dug through his fur and pricked at his skin, and her eyes, which Kaz thought had settled into a gem-speckled gold, swirled furiously with every color.


    She tilted up her head, almost standing on his shoulders, and her good wing stretched out behind her as she roared back. The sound pushed against Jianying¡¯s hunting howl, and though it was small in comparison to that of the ancient dragon, for an instant, she won.


    Everyone nearby turned their heads, staring at the dragon clinging to Kaz¡¯s back. Relief and confusion flooded their faces, and then Jinn¡¯s mother snapped out a word Kaz couldn¡¯t understand, and everyone moved.


    Beyond the reach of Li¡¯s voice, the other roar, the bigger, deeper one, continued, but it had changed. Kaz knew the sounds of dragons, or at least his dragon. Before, Jianying had been angry, yes, but also excited, like he was looking forward to hunting down whoever had dared to defy his will. Now, there was a questioning note to it. Instead of simply demanding submission, it asked a question. Who? Who had raised their voice against him?


    And Kaz very much feared what would happen if Jianying got the answer to that question. The old monster could not find Li. Kaz would die, would sacrifice every human in this cavern, in order to prevent the murderous reptile from finding his friend.


    His fear very nearly got the better of him. He knew the way out, and really, what difference would it make if one kobold and an injured dragon left before the task was done? But that would truly be a betrayal, and Kaz had been betrayed often enough not to easily do the same to others. He could wait until he had no other choice.


    Li bit his ear. <Help,> she told him, almost breathless. <If you help, we can leave sooner.>


    She was right. Instead of drowning in fear, he could help, and so he did. Kaz looked around, finding the frailest of all the humans remaining. He picked the male up, ignoring the faint, pained groan of protest, and ran back toward the first of the three buildings.


    There, he found Kyla, Jinn, and all of the others, including Lianhua and Yingtao. The only person missing was Chi Yincang, but when Kaz looked up, he saw the dark male perched atop the highest point of the roof. For once, he wasn¡¯t hiding in shadows, and Kaz could see thick ribbons of mana streaming toward him. He wondered if the male¡¯s eyes would be all black if he could see them, and then he wondered if the situation would be aided by adding a second monster.


    Yingtao saw him, assessed his burden with a flicker of green eyes lit with blue ki, and pointed him toward Lianhua. The white-haired female was speaking to Snen, who stood as close to her as he could get without actually touching her. The humans around them glared at him as they moved, and the ones bearing weapons looked like they would be happy to kill one more xiyi.


    As Kaz came up to them, Lianhua smiled in relief. ¡°Kaz, I hate to ask, but Snen says these people are being drained by the fangqiu. I don¡¯t¡­really understand how,¡± and he could see how much that admission pained her, ¡°but the stones need to come out. Can you do it?¡±


    Kaz looked around. There were at least sixty humans here. Could he remove all of the stones before Jianying reached them, if indeed such an enormous beast could even make his way through this warren of tunnels? Was that roar just the dragon¡¯s way of delaying them while he sent his servants after his fleeing prisoners? So long as they avoided capture, could they also avoid Jianying?


    Another shattering roar filled the cavern, and most of the humans who weren¡¯t actively helping hunkered down, covering their ears with their hands. Kaz could have told them that was pointless, because it wasn¡¯t just a sound, but he suspected they were already aware.


    Again, Li answered with her own roar. She would not yield. She claimed these. They were hers, and she would not let anyone else have them. It was a small roar, relatively speaking, but once again, it allowed everyone to rise up and begin moving again.


    Strong people placed shoulders beneath the arms of people who staggered. Females helped broken males to walk, and Jinn¡¯s mother guided them all to the door. ¡°Where do we go?¡± she asked, and it was Snen who answered.


    ¡°There is a large passage in the wall directly across from the one through which we entered. It leads to the area where the warriors live, guards and hunters alike. There are many of them, and you¡¯ll have to fight, but I think a number have already fallen.¡± The xiyi¡¯s chin dipped in what looked like regret to Kaz¡¯s Li-trained eyes.


    ¡°Go through the sleeping quarters, then right and through the food hall. There is another exit to the surface there, used to bring down provisions and other supplies.¡±


    ¡°And where will you be, lizard?¡± Jinn¡¯s mother demanded, but Snen only bowed more deeply, looking at Kaz, then Li. His yellow eyes rested on the small dragon as he spoke, even though he usually made every effort to avoid looking at her.


    ¡°I must attempt to save my xiongdi, my dragon-brother. When my betrayal is discovered, as it will be, they will try to give him to another, but I know Intong. He won¡¯t obey anyone but me, and so he will be put down, or sent to the breeding pens.¡± Snen shook his head. ¡°He deserves better. I owe him that.¡±


    Kaz had a thousand questions for the xiyi, and he could see Lianhua did as well, but there wasn¡¯t time, so Kaz said, ¡°Go,¡± and Snen turned and ran. He was fast, faster than Kaz had expected, and no one had tried to force him to stay.


    Looking at Lianhua, Kaz said, ¡°I¡¯ll remove the fangqiu or duqiu as we go. It¡¯ll be messy. They¡¯ll need bandages and medicine.¡± He remembered something Raff once used and said, ¡°Do you have any potions?¡±


    Yingtao had joined them, and now she produced a bottle from her bottomless sleeve. ¡°I only have fifteen,¡± she said. ¡°I used some when I was¡­sick, and haven¡¯t been able to brew more.¡±


    Kaz glanced around, counting the number of emaciated humans. It wouldn¡¯t be enough for all of them, but it could help those who were in the worst condition. ¡°Then we run.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± someone almost screamed, and they turned to see Jinn. She must have heard the end of their discussion, because she said, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving without Raff!¡±


    Her mother was beside her, and the taller female¡¯s brown eyes widened. ¡°Grafton is here?¡± She looked around as if she might have somehow missed her towering offspring.


    Jinn¡¯s finger trembled as she pointed it at Kaz. ¡°He left Raff in another of these prisons.¡±


    ¡°With a knife and mana,¡± Lianhua said. She met Raff¡¯s mother¡¯s eyes. ¡°I swear to you, he has all he needs to escape on his own, except for opportunity.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll make that himself, then,¡± the female said, and she almost sounded as certain as she wanted to appear. She looked at her daughter. ¡°You will come with us, Jinn. Now.¡±


    Jinn¡¯s mouth was already open to argue, but at the sound of her preferred name on her mother¡¯s lips, she stopped. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and then she sniffed hard and jerked her chin up and down.


    The roar began again, indefinably closer, undeniably heavier. Li¡¯s answering roar sounded raw, as if her throat was tearing beneath the strain. Kaz took out his knife and filled it with ki, already moving toward one of the skeletal males as Lianhua said, ¡°Go!¡±

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-two

    Battle raged around Kaz. Xiyi died, and Kaz cut rune-stones from the necks of humans one after another, adding an almost unnoticeable amount of blood to the gory trail they left behind. The gaunt males were first and easiest, the spheres sitting atop their spines, thin skin barely concealing the foreign object. In spite of his concern, it was a simple matter to close his ki around the starkly defined orbs, and the wounds hardly bled at all.


    By the time he finished with these, they were through the warriors¡¯ den. Kaz¡¯s paws slipped in blood as he tried to cut the stone from a young human female, and he drew a crimson line across her shoulder as well. She was one of the ones who was unable or unwilling to fight, and she¡¯d already tried to escape as he came for her. At this unintentional injury, she shrieked, and the other humans nearby looked toward Kaz, their faces hardening.


    He ignored them, holding her still as he cut away the orb, flicking it against the wall, where it sizzled as it slid down. The others had rolled away, taking several seconds to dissolve. This one was different. Was it a duqiu instead of a fangqiu?


    ¡°What is it doing?¡± one of the females whimpered, staring from Kaz to the blood now staining the first female¡¯s clothing.


    Lianhua heard this, and as there were no xiyi in sight as they made their way through the passage that was supposed to lead to the food hall, she turned on the second female. Her lips were pinched tight, and her eyes were dark with anger. ¡°He is making sure you don¡¯t all just fall over dead.¡±


    She pointed at the remains of the orb, which seemed so innocent, other than the blood that mingled into the dark streak. ¡°Those things contain a poison that will kill you if it¡¯s removed improperly, and the shamans - the xiyi mages - can set them off from a distance.¡±


    The female clapped a hand to the back of her own neck, pinching the sphere that lay just beneath her skin. Glancing again at Kaz, she turned her back to Lianhua. ¡°Can¡¯t you take it out?¡±


    Lianhua shook her head, the stern expression on her face a far cry from her usual sympathetic countenance. ¡°Kaz is the only one who can save your lives. If - when - we leave this place, every one of those stones needs to be removed, or the xiyi may simply decide to kill you all.¡±


    Hearing this, soft whimpers rose around them, and rather than having to track down the next person to work on, Kaz suddenly found himself beset by females, crowding far too close. Li snapped at them, her teeth and front claws on full display, and they withdrew, only to surge forward again as one kind of fear overcame the other.


    Jianying roared again, and though this time it was muffled by the stone surrounding them, that didn¡¯t weaken its impact. Several of the females stopped, staggering as they put their hands over their ears.


    Li returned the roar, but every time she did she sounded a little weaker. Kaz had given her two more ki crystals, as she simply burned through the ki from the previous one, harnessing its power to push Jianying¡¯s influence from her immediate surroundings.


    Two more orbs hit the floor, one dissolving and one not, and Kaz wanted to look at them, determine what the difference was, but he couldn¡¯t. Another cut, another sphere, and then they were in the food hall, and the shamans were there.


    There were a few warriors as well, some in the simple clothing of guards, while others wore light leather armor. They had no cloaks on, not in their own domain, but Kaz was almost certain these were like the ones who had followed Jinn and Reina, because they almost all carried bows and shot arrows with strange tips that were invisible to his ki-sight.


    As soon as the shamans saw the crowd of humans, they lifted their clawed hands. Their blue ki swirled, rising up and shooting toward the group. It looked like they were casting ki-bolts, but not, and when one struck a human with a rune-stone still in her neck, he knew why.


    The stone began to glow with a foggy power, and the female¡¯s face went slack. She turned on the male beside her, one of the ones carrying a xiyi blade, and lunged at him. When he instinctively cut at her, she didn¡¯t even attempt to dodge, just continued on as her arm was laid open.


    Lianhua¡¯s horrified eyes met Kaz¡¯s, and he could see she was thinking of the same thing he was. He had explained about the male with Doran, the one who had started using ki he hadn¡¯t had a moment before and nearly killed Raff. Kaz had been forced to use his own ki to pull out that stone, and the male had died in the process.


    Turning back to the enemy, Lianhua shouted, ¡°Kill the shamans! Don¡¯t let them use their power!¡±


    Chi Yincang heard, making a long, low leap that carried him over the warriors to land in the center of the group of shamans. He began attacking, but shields sprang up around the xiyi, making even the powerful warrior¡¯s weapon slide away. Kaz could see weak spots flicker each time the whirling blade impacted them, however, so Kaz knew that eventually Chi Yincang would break through, so long as nothing happened to distract him.


    Kaz wished he could help, but he was busy leaping from one human to the next, slicing away the terrible little devices as quickly as he could. Two more females and a male turned on their companions, and then Kaz was delayed in reaching a male as he blinked against the power now contained in the stone he was trying to remove, forced to find the center with his fingers as his eyes were nearly blinded.


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    Someone screamed as they flew backwards, thrown by a burst of ki that burned the palms of its senseless wielder. Kaz could already tell that the victim was dead. Without Raff¡¯s level of cultivation, the ki-bolt had torn out the male¡¯s chest. Two more males grabbed the arms of the female who¡¯d thrown the bolt, but her hands were already glowing with more ki.


    One of the shamans fell as Chi Yincang¡¯s weapon flared, breaking through a weak spot in the shield, and in response, a human shouted, clapping his hand to the back of his neck. His eyes rolled up, and he dropped to the floor, as dead as the male slumped against the wall.


    Lianhua screamed for Chi Yincang to stop. Chi Yincang did not.


    Li lifted from Kaz¡¯s shoulders, her injured wing straining as she leaped for the nearest human with a rune-stone glowing in their neck. Kaz pinched another stone between his fingers, splitting himself between his body and Li¡¯s, surrounding both stones with ki before his knife and Li¡¯s teeth removed the spheres.


    Two at a time, they leaped and flew, the humans grabbing those who were turning against them and forcing them to their knees in front of Kaz or Li. Two and two and two and then¡­they were done. Five human bodies lay on the ground, killed by their own people or Kaz¡¯s failure to move fast enough.


    Far more of the shamans were dead. Almost all of them, in fact, except for two who had simply fallen to the ground, arms splayed, prostrating themselves before Li. The dragon had ended up on the edge of the remaining humans, jaws and claws bloody, one wing limp. The two remaining shamans stared at her, completely ignoring Chi Yincang as they spoke words Kaz couldn¡¯t seem to understand.


    <It¡¯s the same thing Kus Ukark said,> she told him wearily. <Forgiveness, sorrow, regret, freedom, and shame.>


    Kaz made his way to her, stepping around the bodies of those he hadn¡¯t saved. He wasn¡¯t sure he could lift her up, so instead he crouched down, and she came to him, climbing into his arms so she could lay her head on his shoulder. Jianying¡¯s roar began again, but this time Li didn¡¯t have the strength to push it back.


    He looked over at Chi Yincang, who held the tip of his blade against a shaman¡¯s neck. ¡°Wait,¡± Kaz said, and the weapon lifted, just a bit.


    Kaz¡¯s knees creaked as he stood, but he stood. Crossing to the xiyi, he found the stones beneath their scales and compressed his core, urging more ki from it even as Jianying tried to suppress him. Somehow that horrendous voice had lost its power over Kaz, who had merged with his dragon to an even greater extent than before. What had once been a thread, then a cord that hung between Kaz and Li was now a chain, solid and unbreakable, and Kaz knew that whatever might have been true before, if one of them died now, the other would as well.


    The container of ki that had once seemed so tricky to form was now simple, and Kaz slid his mage-blade beneath the scales of the first shaman, not even needing his hands to take out the orb. As he moved to the next xiyi, the rune-stone from the first rose untouched into the air and hurtled against a wall with so much force it left cracks around the smear of blood and dust. Even Chi Yincang took a step back at the violence of its flight.


    The second orb followed the first, and then Kaz stood again, staring down at the two. ¡°Get up,¡± he told them, though he wasn¡¯t sure where the words came from. Something greater than himself was touching him, or perhaps Li, and it felt like the world itself was watching. ¡°You can¡¯t be forgiven for something you didn¡¯t do. Regret your own choices instead. Do better.¡±


    It was simple. Probably too simple. Certainly not profound, but the two xiyi got to their knees, long necks drooping. Kaz knew there was far more to what had happened today than he understood, and in some way these two were as much victims as the humans. So he walked past them. Through the exit Snen said would lead back to the surface. Behind him, the humans followed, circling wide around the two kneeling xiyi. Five of the strongest carried the fallen.


    There was a platform in the room beyond. Kaz was somehow unsurprised to find that it was the same as the ones in the mage college. Not everyone could fit on it at once, but half of them crowded together with Lianhua in the center, holding onto the rope that controlled it. Slowly, it rose through a shaft cut through the stone above them.


    Kaz stayed with the second group, which held most of those still able to fight, but he ignored them as he hugged Li to his chest. Her scales were dull again, and he wondered if she would even fit in his embrace after the next time she shed her skin.


    <I¡¯ll always fit,> she whispered, closing her eyes as she wrapped her tail around him. <You saved most of them.>


    <We,> he said, and for the first time he was sure she could hear him as clearly as he heard her.


    Surprise, then delight, flooded their bond. <We,> she agreed. <I did get to bite that female who called you an it.>


    Kaz¡¯s tail almost wagged. <Maybe she¡¯ll be smart enough not to do that again.>


    Li wiggled, and a sharp pain went through her wing. It was worse than before, and while Kaz still didn¡¯t think it was broken, she never should have tried to use it before it was healed. <No more flying,> he told her.


    <Unless I have to,> she said stubbornly.


    <You won¡¯t,> he swore to her. They had done what they came to do. The humans were free, or almost. Plus, though they still didn¡¯t know where Li¡¯s family was, they had somewhere to start now. The xiyi had them, he was certain of it.


    Silently, they watched as the platform returned. Lianhua, Yingtao, and Chi Yincang were the only passengers remaining on it, and judging by Lianhua¡¯s expression, the space above must be safe, at least for the moment.


    Humans surged forward, climbing onto the platform even before it settled completely to the ground, but they moved around Kaz much as they had the xiyi shamans. Kaz found that he didn¡¯t mind, especially when he stepped up and instead of being packed in among the bloody, frightened crowd, there was a tiny open area all around him.


    As the platform filled with ki and began to rise, Li said, <Kaz?>


    He looked down at her just before the stone swallowed them up. Several humans released startled or frightened gasps at what must have seemed to them like absolute darkness. To Kaz¡¯s eyes, however, the platform itself was suffused with soft yellow ki, and the familiar ki-patterns of his friends stood just a few feet away. Li¡¯s core and his spun in time, each suffused with glittering ribbons of all five colors, linked by a shimmering chain.


    <What?> he asked, entranced by the beauty before him.


    <Where are Kyla and Mei?>


    It was too late to get off the platform. Too late to search for his cousin. But he didn¡¯t need to. Kaz knew exactly where Kyla was. She had gone back for Raff.

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-three (Kyla)

    The building where Raff should have been waiting was empty. The door was closed but unlocked, and Raff¡¯s scent mingled with that of all the others, leading back into the cavern where the dragons rested. Kyla entered the building, looking for any sign that they had discovered Raff¡¯s weapon or his lack of a duqiu. She found the hole Mei had chewed in the wall, hidden beneath and behind a small table that also had Raff¡¯s scent on it.


    The only smell of blood was mingled with the acrid odor of the melted duqiu, and when Kyla used a little power to quickly opened a few of the locked boxes in the long sleeping room, she found more human clothing, a little food, and some copper-gold coins which even Mei seemed uninterested in. Instead, the fuergar kept sniffing at a flattened circle of something that smelled like food, but didn¡¯t look like it.


    Kyla crouched down by the rodent, holding out the circle, which was a good six inches across and three or four inches deep. Mei hesitated only briefly before taking a large bite, revealing that the hard red surface was actually some kind of skin or wrapper, and inside was¡­cheese.


    Kyla really did like cheese, and she¡¯d had to use quite a lot of power recently, between hiding and using power-bolts. So she and the fuergar took a few moments to hollow out the circle of cheese. It tasted different than the cheese they¡¯d eaten in Adara¡¯s hidden den, but it was just as good. And as long as they were eating cheese, it seemed reasonable to eat the hard bread and dried meat that was also in the boxes she¡¯d already opened, which made her even more interested in opening the rest.


    Kyla had come for Raff, but Raff wasn¡¯t here, and she didn¡¯t smell blood or fear, so she wasn¡¯t really worried about him. Yes, there was the distant roaring, which sounded a bit like a very, very large Li, but it had faded quite a bit as she moved away from the cavern where the captives had been held, and by now it was little more than an annoyance, except when it pushed at her power as if trying to snuff it out. Neither she nor Mei would be snuffed, however, so mostly she ignored it. Mostly.


    There were three more small boxes, each at the end of a bed, but with the power of the cheese filling her belly, it was easy enough to melt one lock while Mei simply bit the other two off. Inside, they found more clothes, food - which they ate, even though Kyla, for one, was beginning to feel full - and a good-sized knife, which Kyla gleefully added to her belt.


    She had found a short, dull knife among the things in Adara¡¯s boxes and promptly made it her own. It didn¡¯t have a sheath, but she had claws, time, and the remains of her own backpack to work with. It hadn¡¯t taken too long to craft a simple sheath, and while the backpack no longer had a flap to close, it also didn¡¯t have much to hold, since she¡¯d stuffed all of her ruined possessions into an empty box.


    Her new knife, however, came with a lovely sheath made out of some material she didn¡¯t recognize. It was actually somewhat flexible, as well as sturdy, so she thought it would probably work for any number of blades, not just another one of the same shape as this one. Whatever the material was, it could be very useful to her people, so she added it to the very long mental list of items she planned to tell Ija about when she returned home. It went right after bread, which was right after cheese.


    Kyla was about to follow Raff¡¯s scent out of the building when Mei squeaked, drawing her attention to what looked like a bare wall. Undeterred, the fuergar bit into the wood, which rapidly gave way, leaving a rodent-sized hole. Mei scampered through, and Kyla crossed the room again, leaning down to stare into the hole. Not surprisingly, it was dark, so she summoned a light to the space just beyond her snout, illuminating a small room filled with very interesting objects.


    It took less than a minute to break away enough of the wood to allow Kyla into the space as well, though she was too late to stop Mei from eating most of a large pile of pure gold coins that had spilled out of a bag with a hole neatly nibbled into one side. That was all right, though, since the only thing interesting about those coins was the fact that Kyla¡¯s training told her they were Imperial gold, rather than the local coins.


    Shelves lined the wall, holding neatly stacked objects. Each stack was marked with a piece of paper with writing on it. Kyla didn¡¯t recognize many of the runes, which she blamed on what Lianhua called ¡®linguistic drift¡¯, and not her own failings as a student. Great Aunt Sika had been quite insistent that all of the pups, including the males, at least try to read and write, even though it had to be kept a secret from Vega. Kyla herself had been fascinated enough by the old chiefs¡¯ books that she paid more attention than usual to those lessons.


    Which meant her people probably didn¡¯t have these runes, or they had changed since kobolds learned them. If Kyla had listened to Lianhua during Kaz¡¯s lessons, perhaps she would be able to interpret this, but honestly, she¡¯d stopped listening after linguistic drift.


    But Kyla recognized the scent that hung heavy on the particularly large stack on the right-hand side of the lowest shelf. There was no doubt that was Raff¡¯s sweaty, musky odor, which meant these were probably his things. She couldn¡¯t take them all, but she dug through until she found the little pouch he called a ¡®storage item¡¯.


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    She knew about the magical containers, of course. All of the Great Chiefs had one, as did a few chiefs of lesser tribes. She also knew they couldn¡¯t be used by anyone but their owner, at least not until quite some time after their owner died, so there was no point in trying to find out what was inside. Still, she was sure there had to be some way to transfer one short of killing the owner and waiting, though the chiefs certainly weren¡¯t going to tell anyone what it was.


    Quickly, Kyla grabbed all of Raff¡¯s smaller items, then dug through the other stacks to see if she could find anything else that looked like it might be a storage item. To her disappointment, there were only three, but perhaps they weren¡¯t as common as she¡®d thought. Or perhaps they didn¡¯t have to be pouches or bags? Could some other item be hiding unknown treasures?


    She had no time to figure that out, however, because the disconcerting roaring had reached new heights, and it really was time to find Raff. Not that that should be difficult, since he¡¯d gone into the other cavern, and there was no way out of there other than the tunnel leading back here or the crack Mei had led them all to in the first place. She doubted the xiyi knew about that, however, or they would have done something about it.


    It was hard to turn her back on the stacks of things, but she managed, turning away and racing toward the tunnel that carried Raff¡¯s scent, as fast as her paws could carry her. Mei was somehow even faster, running ahead as she dodged in and out of shadows, scampering along next to walls wherever possible.


    The tunnel almost felt like home, other than the confusion of strange smells that filled it and the near-constant humming in her ears produced by the distant roaring. Which made it not like home at all, because there Kyla would know every smell, every sound, where danger lurked and safety lay, and here she knew nothing. Nothing but a big, rude, smelly human, who carried her on his shoulders and sometimes tickled her paws just like her father had when she was little.


    There was no sound in the cavern. No humans spoke, no xiyi wandered from task to task, no carts clattered as they were drawn away to parts unknown. No one moved except the kobolds. The small, stunted beings ran around, many of them on all fours, their noses to the ground. At least half of them didn¡¯t even have on loincloths, and numb-minds would have seemed intelligent in comparison. At least most numb-minds could speak a few words and fight or help gather, but these things were just¡­beasts.


    Kyla had ignored them as much as she could. Looked away when they were called, closed her ears to their barks and whines, which carried up to the crevice where she crouched. But no matter what she did, she found her eyes drawn back to them. Especially one. Their chief.


    Because this was what she had risked in leaving the mountain. Howls of the Fallen were few and far between, not even those of the Deep willing to linger on the idea for too long. Tribes who could no longer survive within the mountain must leave, and when they left, they became little more than mindless animals.


    There was no way to stop this inevitable decline, and no one had ever returned to say how long it took. More than a week, certainly, so Kyla believed she was safe. But Kaz? Kaz intended to live outside the mountain. It had been one thing when she believed he was dying, but once she overheard Jul tell her father, Rudu, that Kaz would recover, she knew the decline couldn¡¯t be as rapid as the howls claimed. There was no way a healer would allow - even encourage! - a male who could be valuable to all of the tribes to go outside unless he believed that male would return.


    Besides, she knew from the old chiefs¡¯ books that female kobolds used to travel to the human capital to bargain with those who ruled there. Only females went, never males, but they couldn¡¯t reach Cliffcross, deal with the humans, and return in a week or less. That meant Kyla should be safe enough for the time it took to perform her spirit hunt, and by going with the humans, she could watch over Kaz while she was at it. If he began to show signs of deterioration, she would tell them that he had to return to the mountain.


    Of course, she hadn¡¯t known then that her cousin was so stupid that it would be difficult to tell when he began to Fall, but Kyla knew him well enough by now that she thought she would see other signs. For example, the male less than ten feet from her was currently sitting on the ground scratching at his ear with his back leg. His back leg! His tongue hung from the side of his mouth, he was drooling, and his eyes were closed as if in bliss.


    Experimentally, Kyla scratched at her own ear. With her hand, of course. Did it really feel that good?


    Something sharp poked into her back, just beneath her left ribs. ¡°Stay,¡± someone growled, but Kyla ignored the voice, leaping forward as she summoned a shield as close to her fur as she could. It wouldn¡¯t stop the blade that was already there, but it would keep any more attacks from reaching her.


    The small pain failed to become a larger one, and Kyla spun, summoning a power-bolt. The female kobold, chief of this tribe of Fallen Ones, had dropped her knife and was down on the ground, desperately pulling at Mei, who hung from the back of her leg. The brown-furred female kobold was howling loudly, and when Kyla glanced behind her, she could see that the male kobold was staring straight at her, teeth bared in a snarl.


    Kyla charged for the chief, knowing that the best way to stop a male was to reach the female he was trying to guard. Besides, if that idiot female thought to pick up her knife, or if she actually had power, she might hurt Mei, and Kyla would never, ever allow that to happen.


    Lifting her muzzle, Kyla added her own call to the sudden flood of barks and howls filling the cavern, rising up to where the dragons watched, shifting and stretching their wings in their little dens. Kyla didn¡¯t call for help in the way she¡¯d been taught. Instead, she made the one sound she knew might actually draw the only ally within hearing distance.


    Kyla gave a puppy¡¯s welcoming yip.

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-four (Raff)

    Raff carefully stacked another jar containing exactly one hundred of the pills the members of Squad E were concocting. He didn¡¯t know what the things were supposed to do, but everyone inside the biggest warehouse was being particularly careful today, including the xiyi, so he doubted it was anything good. At least it probably wouldn¡¯t turn them into ravening, multi-limbed monstrosities, so that was a positive.


    He winced as the roaring started up again. Whatever was causing it, it had made both the xiyi and the dragons anxious, leading to the lizard-men corralling everyone inside this building and closing the doors, leaving the little dog-like kobolds to roam around outside. Raff and the others had been cleaning up and moving things around for the last hours or so, while the reptiles huddled in a corner, hissing at each other.


    ¡°What d¡¯you think is goin¡¯ on?¡± he asked Jerit, who was polishing empty jars right beside him. The leader of Squad A looked almost as tense as the xiyi, and Raff knew it probably wasn¡¯t smart to prod him. Still, Raff had never been particularly smart, and he was okay with that.


    Sure enough, Jerit glared at Raff, but he also answered, almost as if he¡¯d been waiting to talk to someone. ¡°They found a xiyi and a human bound up together in the guard building, and now that cursed dragon is screaming. There¡¯s someone running around in here trying to do¡­something. Steal their fancy little pills? Hell if I know. It¡¯s not like they tell me anything.¡±


    His face was a study in frustration, and for the briefest of moments, he shifted his glare from Raff to the small crowd of xiyi. Then he looked at Raff again, growling, ¡°Now move those jars back where you got them. Don¡¯t even bother asking why.¡±


    Raff sighed, but obeyed. He¡¯d already moved the simple ceramic containers twice today, so a third time wouldn¡¯t hurt. He almost missed the mild thrill of finishing off a cart and calling for the dog-bolds to come take it away and bring him an empty one.


    Everyone paused as a new sound rose over the low thrum of the roar. It sounded a bit like barking and a lot like howling, and Raff recognized it. The kobolds outside were excited about something. The xiyi moved toward the door, and one of them opened it a crack, peering out, hand resting on the long knife at its hip.


    And in through that crack came a tiny, desperate little yip. It wasn¡¯t a yip that should have been made in that tone of voice. It should have been friendly, or questioning, perhaps even worried, but definitely not desperate. This wasn¡¯t exactly perfect timing, but it was time for Raff to weigh anchor.


    He eyed the distance from his position to the door. He was on the right end of the warehouse, which was good, but the xiyi were crowded around the opening, staring into the cavern like boys trying to peek into the girls¡¯ bathhouse. How close could he get before someone noticed he wasn¡¯t where he was supposed to be?


    Leaning down, Raff picked up one jar, then another. Jerit was pointedly not looking at him, so Raff kept going until he held six jars, each precariously balanced against the one beside it. If there was actually a reason why the lizards were so careful about this stuff, then Raff was about to find out what it was.


    The key to being somewhere you weren¡¯t supposed to be was confidence, and Raff had that down to a science. He moved toward the spot where he should have set the jars down, then just kept walking, acting as if nothing was wrong. A few humans noticed him, some stopping what they were doing to stare after him, puzzled, but when one opened his mouth to speak, Raff just gave him the ¡®It¡¯s all good¡¯ grin and kept walking.


    By the time the xiyi noticed him, Raff could have lunged forward and stuffed a pill down one of their throats. Which wasn¡¯t a bad idea, actually, since it would have kept the mayhem contained to just them instead of including the humans in the building as well, but here he was.


    A particularly ragged and slightly blood-stained xiyi was the first to notice him. His once-fine cloak caught on another lizard-man¡¯s claws as he spun, already giving a hoarse hiss, and Raff brought the first jar down on his head. Ceramic shattered, little orange-red discs rained down, and the xiyi sucked in a shocked breath, undoubtedly inhaling some pills while he was at it.


    Six xiyi met six jars, leaving only two of the lizard-men who had just caught the edge of Raff¡¯s attack, as well as the five leaders of the human squads. Raff reached behind him, pulling out the knife Kaz had slipped him, and with a single slash, another lizard was down, and everything around them was sprayed with blood as the xiyi bled out.


    Raff had deliberately gone for shock value when he made the cut, and the gouts of crimson succeeded in distracting everyone. Turning, Raff set his shoulders against the door and backed out into the cavern. He took only an instant to slam the doors closed again, blocking those within from seeing him for a perfect moment.


    Members of the Adamant Reach were trained to use simple cantrips for such things as sharpening their weapons, setting fires, and giving their armor extra durability during a fight. It was rare for one of them to have enough mana and control to be able to do more than that, because there was a fine line between a swordsman who could use magic and a low-level mage. And after all, who would want to be a merc when he could have been a magic-wielder?


    But Raff had learned a thing or two during his years of working with those very mages, most of whom would have fainted at the mere sight of what he¡¯d done inside that building. He¡¯d also spent the last month with Chi Yincang, who bounced around more than a Pellis-cursed jackrabbit.


    So Raff pulled mana and went up. Straight up, which wasn¡¯t quite what he¡¯d planned, and led to a sudden flailing that probably had nothing to do with the fact that he actually managed to catch the edge of the roof. Fortunately, the door below banged open as his arms flexed, flipping him up and over to land on his back with a soft thud. Between the door, the roar, and the barking, no one looked up until Raff was out of sight.


    The yip that had led to his sudden departure had stopped, but it was easy enough to tell where it must have come from. All of the upright doggies were running in the same direction, and when Raff headed that way, he saw exactly what he¡¯d expected. There, in the dim glow of the lanterns, was a ferocious bundle of bright-pink fur, latched onto a brown-furred kobold like a lamprey on a shark, while another, smaller, bundle of copper-pink fuzz darted in and out of the kobolds surrounding them, biting and fleeing, again and again.


    Raff shook his head, but didn¡¯t immediately join the fray. Kyla had a knife that was almost too big for her, and the fact that she looked unharmed indicated she probably had a shield up. The kobold she was holding looked like it was mostly intact as well, other than the blood staining one paw black. It was one of the ones wearing a loincloth, and Raff was almost certain it was the leader of these pitiful creatures. He muttered his hearing cantrip, and heard Kyla growl, ¡°Tell them to back up,¡± as she dug her knife into her captive¡¯s ribs.


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    The other kobold shook her head, ignoring the way the knife poked into her. ¡°Guard,¡± she said stubbornly. ¡°No strangers. Guard!¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears were pressed flat against her head, and she was watching Mei as much as the kobold she gripped. The surrounding dog-bolds were snapping and kicking at the little rodent, but she refused to stop, harrying them back, away from her young mistress.


    Satisfied that he understood the situation and wasn¡¯t about to make things worse, Raff jumped down. He landed in the middle of the group, plucking Kyla up and setting her gently on his shoulder even as he grabbed the brown-furred leader in his other arm. These degenerate kobolds were small. Even Kyla was almost as large as they were, so it was a simple matter to contain the growling, biting, probably-a-female.


    Seeing their leader so thoroughly tamed, the surrounding dog-bolds backed up, several of them dropping to all fours as they whined and tucked their tails. Mei stopped her assault as well, scurrying toward Raff¡¯s foot, where she sat down and began to groom her whiskers, sides heaving.


    ¡°Time t¡¯go, kiddo,¡± Raff told the kobold girl, who was hugging his head even as she insisted that she¡¯d had it under control.


    As soon as he started to move, the confused kobolds came together into a single unified mass. At least, they did until he grasped their chief by the scruff of her neck and held her out toward them, shaking her just hard enough to keep her from saying anything intelligible. Hoping they could understand words, even if they couldn¡¯t speak, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll drop her as soon as we¡¯re out. You come after us, and she¡¯s dead. Got it?¡±


    A few of the dog-bolds just kept coming, but some of the smarter-looking ones grabbed them. They were all still snarling, the fur on the back of their necks standing straight up, but there was something pitiful in the way their eyes tracked the female. Raff really didn¡¯t want to have to hurt them if he didn¡¯t have to.


    As he drew near the tunnel, Kyla still on his shoulder and Mei clinging to his shadow, he heard a loud hiss. When he glanced around, he saw that the remaining xiyi had left the warehouse, and the best-dressed one of the lot was standing at the front, holding up his hand. His scales seemed to be bubbling away from his skin, and his back was bowed, but he looked like he meant business.


    ¡°Ss-tay, or I will be forced to kill you!¡± he shouted.


    Jerit stepped up as well. ¡°He means it, Gravy! I¡¯ve seen it happen, and it¡¯s not pretty. Worse, they feed the corpse to the dragons, and even if you¡¯re a damn fool, the rest of us don¡¯t want to see that. Put down the dogs and get back here.¡±


    Raff felt Kyla stiffen at being called a dog, lumped in with the dumb creatures milling in between them and the xiyi. Rather than say anything, however, she pulled something from her belt and held it out so he could see it in his peripheral vision. A storage pouch. His storage pouch. He¡¯d recognize that pig-shaped bloodstain anywhere.


    The young kobold opened the pouch, and Raff reached up, touching the leather just long enough to give the thing a bit of his mana. A moment later, he felt the familiar, comfortable weight of his sword fall into his hand. A fierce grin split his face.


    ¡°You do what you¡¯ve gotta do,¡± he told them, ¡°but I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    Seeing the weapon, which was impressive even to other humans, the xiyi and the humans fell back. A xiyi on one side of the group lifted his bow, sending an arrow whistling toward Raff¡¯s chest, but he felt Kyla lift one hand, and the arrowhead shattered as it struck an invisible barrier.


    At this, the well-dressed xiyi raised his own hand, staring straight at Raff with something like pity. Nothing happened except that Raff took several more steps toward escape. Both clawed hands lifted, and the xiyi made a gesture, but again, nothing happened.


    Raff laughed. He would have liked to taunt them a little longer, but he wasn¡¯t willing to risk Kyla and Mei. So instead he turned, counting on his passenger to protect them from any more flying missiles, and started to run toward the tunnel.


    A piercing whistle sliced through the cavern. Kyla swayed, clapping her hands to her ears, and the dog-bolds did the same, crouching and whimpering as they pawed at their ears. Even the chief gave up her attempts to claw or bite Raff and gave a sorrowful little howl instead.


    Overhead, the dragons shifted. Heads poked out of dens, eyes whirling with vicious and hungry intent. They saw dinner, and they¡¯d just been given permission to eat. The xiyi and humans all turned and fled for the relative safety of the warehouse, leaving only Raff, Kyla, Mei, the dog-bolds, and one particularly pitiful-looking green-scaled xiyi left outside. Raff was fairly certain that the xiyi was the bedraggled one he¡¯d hit with the first pot of pills, and even through his peeling scales, he looked triumphant as he blew his whistle once more, then followed the rest of his kind into the building.


    Above them, a giant red dragon launched itself from its perch, heading straight for the group of dog-bolds. The furry creatures stared up at it, eyes huge and terrified, but didn¡¯t run. Raff swore, dropped the brown-furred chief, and began waving his free arm as he yelled.


    ¡°Hey! You! Yeah, the big, ugly lizard! Pretty sure your boss told you to eat me!¡± He clapped the hand that wasn¡¯t holding his sword against his chest. ¡°Come on and try it!¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if the dragon understood enough to know it¡¯d just been insulted, but it banked around, making only a desultory grab at the fuzzy critters plastering themselves against the floor. Raff wasn¡¯t going to stick around to see what happened after that. He¡¯d given the furry little guys a chance, and really, that was as much as he had at this point.


    Turning, he ran, half-hearing, half-sensing the huge beast coming for him. He settled one hand on Kyla¡¯s waist, ready to throw her toward the tunnel if worse came to worst. The fuergar was a survivor, and he was pretty sure that it would just keep running, but the kid wouldn¡¯t give up until she managed to save his sorry hide or died trying.


    And then something else came in between him and the red dragon. It knocked into the enormous flying reptile, throwing it out of the sky with a roar and a screech of fury. Raff stumbled, barely managing to hang onto the little kobold, and landed on his rear as he tried to turn in mid-air.


    Another dragon was attacking the first. The second one was smaller, but faster, its long neck darting in to tear at its opponent¡¯s flesh. Scales flew, and someone shouted, ¡°Come!¡±


    Kyla¡¯s hand closed on the back of Raff¡¯s shirt, and she said, ¡°That¡¯s Snen! He¡¯s¡­a friend, I think?¡±


    A xiyi was sitting on the smaller dragon¡¯s back, his brown scales an almost perfect match for the dragon¡¯s. Stabbing out with the long spear in one hand, he pierced the red¡¯s wing, then twisted so the hooks on the edge of the spearhead caught at the membrane, tearing it.


    The red dragon roared in pain and fury, and Snen looked toward Raff and Kyla again. ¡°I¡¯m going, with or without you!¡± he shouted, and Raff made up his mind.


    Rolling to his feet, Raff ran in, dragging his sword one-handed against the side of the red dragon as he passed. It wasn¡¯t the way the weapon was meant to be wielded, and usually, it wouldn¡¯t have been very effective, but Raff pushed all the mana he could into it; far more than he usually dared, for fear that someone would see and realize he had more mana than any sword-slinger should have. In the wake of the blade, rib-bones peeked out for a moment before red blood covered red scales.


    Raff threw Kyla up onto the brown dragon, then leaned down and did the same for Mei. Grabbing a wing-joint, he swung up behind the xiyi, praying to Pellis that riding a dragon was something like riding a horse. It wasn¡¯t, but the dragon flapped its wings, straining a bit under the sudden increase in weight, and headed for what had looked like an empty dragon den, and Raff now realized was the entrance to a tunnel. The tunnel led up, and there was blue sky at the end.

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-five (Bella)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill them,¡± Bella said. Over the last few hours, it had gone from a scream of fury to a simple statement of fact. Eve had laughed it off in the beginning, but even the giant barbarian wasn¡¯t laughing now.


    Harper looked around, her usually absent gaze focused for once. Rather than waiting with the other teams in the room below, they stood in the stands, trapped on one side by a pair of idiots who were as thick in the head as the waist, and on the other by a pack of screaming girls.


    ¡°That seems reasonable,¡± Harper agreed with a yawn.


    Only Eve was still willing to give their absent teammates the benefit of the doubt. ¡°I¡¯m sure they have an excellent reason why-¡±


    ¡°A reason which I will never know,¡± Bella said, ¡°because I¡¯ll kill them before they can give it.¡±


    That shut down her over-sized friend, and they all turned to watch the fight occurring in the arena below. It featured a group of muscle-bound men - not unlike ¡®Big Bro Gravy¡¯, and who did he think he was fooling with that obviously-fake name? - fighting a mixed-gender quintet with a fairly impressive set of skills.


    ¡°We could have beaten them,¡± Harper said.


    Eve squinted down at the clashing fighters, as if that would make them any clearer. It was bad enough that she and her friends were in the stands at all, having been disqualified because two members of their team failed to show up, but since they¡¯d gotten there late, they were so high up in the stands that the combatants looked like little more than dolls being thrown about haphazardly by a petulant child. ¡°Which ones?¡±


    ¡°Any of them,¡± Bella growled. She pointed a trembling finger down at the dirt. ¡°This was my year! All of them are pathetic amateurs compared to us! I could finally have shown the Order of Brass what they missed out on just because of a-¡±


    ¡°Height requirement,¡± her friends chorused, both having heard this rant many times before.


    ¡°You know it wasn¡¯t just that-¡± Eve tried, but broke off at Bella¡¯s glare. Sometimes Bella was willing to admit that she might be a little limited in her skillset compared to the rest of the all-female mercenary group, but right now was not one of those times.


    ¡°You should just join Adamant Reach,¡± Harper said, clearly missing the cues that it was better to shut up for now.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want Adamant Reach!¡± Bella almost screeched, causing the pretty, puffy little girls and the middle-aged men to all turn and glare at her. She glared right back, but did manage to lower her voice.


    ¡°They take men,¡± she reminded her friends. ¡°In fact, they¡¯re mostly men.¡±


    Eve sighed and slung an arm around Bella¡¯s shoulders. Since Bella stood a good foot and a half shorter than her, this was actually rather awkward. ¡°I know your dad told you to watch out for men because they all want one thing, but that doesn¡¯t mean-¡±


    Bella pulled away, wrapping her arms protectively across her chest. ¡°Did you see the way that Gravy looked at me? Like he wanted to carry me away!¡±


    ¡°Or like he wanted to stuff a sock in your mouth so you¡¯d stop arguing with everything anyone says,¡± Harper muttered. ¡°I know that feeling.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Eve said, and they both turned to look at her, startled. It wasn¡¯t often that Eve sounded that serious, and when they saw that her expression matched her tone, they followed her gaze without asking questions.


    Far below, the battle had stopped, and it wasn¡¯t because it was over. Four out of five of the strong-men were still up, and all five of the decently skilled team as well. But all nine of them had halted mid-motion and were staring at the boxes where the nobles, including the king and queen, sat. Those boxes had awnings stretched over them to protect their occupants from the ravages of the sun, so Bella couldn¡¯t see what was happening there. She could, however, see the reactions of those who could.


    They were horrified. Not just horrified, but frightened. The excited screams, stomping of feet, and whoops of encouragement had all stopped. There was no way for a stadium full of thousands of people to fall silent, but this was as close as it could get.


    And then the screaming began again. It wasn¡¯t enthusiastic and exhilarated this time, though. No, this was the screaming of terrified people who wanted to escape from something. Motion rippled away from the noble¡¯s seats, with wealthy merchants and lesser nobility suddenly regretting that they¡¯d spent so much money to get close to those in power.


    People began to run. Most of them didn¡¯t even know why, but they did know that other people were trying to flee, and that was enough to tell their hindbrains that they needed to get out of there as well. People were shoved aside, then knocked down, and Bella saw one of the annoying girls teetering precariously on the edge of a step. She lunged, grabbing the girl¡¯s wrist, which was tiny within the circle of her own strong fingers, and pulled her back, shoving her toward her friends.


    ¡°The main entrance will be a madhouse,¡± Bella told the quivering quartet. ¡°Better to find someplace out of the way, then get out once the rush is over.¡±


    She looked around. Since they were in the upper seats, they and everyone else there would have to climb down six flights of narrow stairs to reach the main level. There were handrails, so usually that wasn¡¯t a problem, but right now no one was trying to go carefully and avoid bumping into anyone else. These pretty little girlies would never make it without falling or being crushed.


    ¡°There¡¯s a back way,¡± Bella told them. By now she was having to raise her voice to be heard. ¡°I sold roasted nuts here last year. Go straight up to the top, and look for a blue patch of wall. There¡¯s a handle inset on the right side.¡±


    The four girls clung to each other, but Eve stood stalwart, her height and broad shoulders convincing the frightened people that it would be easier to go around than through her. When one of the girls ventured a timid nod, Bella waited for a break in the flow of people and ushered the girls upward. They would have to climb over benches rather than using the stairs, but not for long. There weren¡¯t many people higher up to get past.


    Once those four were out of the way, Bella returned her attention to what was happening below. There was an empty space around the royal box now, but people seemed to have stopped running because there was nowhere to go. Instead, they were shoved up against each other, without even the small space there had been during the fights.


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    She squinted down at the entrance to the broad hallway leading to the exits. Why was no one going through it? They just stood there, swaying as people tried to get out, realized they couldn¡¯t, and were pushed back.


    ¡°We need to get down there,¡± Eve said grimly. ¡°If someone starts a fight now, it¡¯s going to be a bloodbath. Harper, can you do a calming song?¡±


    Bella nodded. It was a good idea. Harper wasn¡¯t terribly strong as bards went, but she was particularly good at calming effects, perhaps because she herself never seemed to get excited about anything.


    As if in answer, a voice spoke. ¡°Please remain calm,¡± it said, the spell that allowed the announcer¡¯s voice to reach the entire stadium in effect. That wasn¡¯t the man who usually spoke, however. This voice was rougher, less theatrical, with an odd emphasis on the ¡®s¡¯ sounds.


    A man walked out into the center of the arena. Except he wasn¡¯t a man. Even from here, Bella could tell that his neck was too long, his face extending into a short snout. His pitch black skin glistened in a way skin shouldn¡¯t, and she wished she could see better. Was he covered in scales? One thing that wasn¡¯t in doubt was the long, thick tail that whipped behind him, stirring up dust as he walked.


    He raised his hands, and that mouth - muzzle? - moved as the voice spoke again. ¡°You need not fear,¡± he said. ¡°Some of you have seen something unexpected.¡± A ripple passed through the crowd as he said this. ¡°But I assure you nothing you¡¯ve seen needs to affect you in any way.¡±


    More of the lizard-people were climbing out of the royal boxes now. Some of them wore the vast skirts that had recently come into fashion again, while others had wigs slipping from their scaled heads. They should have seemed ridiculous, but instead there was something chilling about them; the grace with which they moved, or perhaps the long, angular fingers and gaping maws that she suspected were filled with very sharp teeth.


    Eve leaned forward over the railing. ¡°Where are the king and queen?¡± she asked. ¡°Did those things kill them?¡±


    ¡°And what, put on their clothes?¡± Bella snapped. ¡°No, this is what Adara was talking about. This is why people have been acting so strangely lately. They weren¡¯t people. Those things have been pretending to be the royal family.¡±


    Not just the royal family, either. There had to be close to sixty of the lizard-men, and the royal family only consisted of thirteen people, if you counted all the husbands, wives, and children. Not that any of the things down there were even close to child-sized, so what had happened to Prince Phillip and Princess Isabel¡¯s kids?


    Her eyes swept over the people around them. Was it just the nobles? Or were there more of these lizards hiding among them, pretending to be people they knew, even friends or family? Bella stared at Eve, trying to see a reptilian face beneath the familiar black curls.


    Harper slapped her upside the head. ¡°Stop that. I¡¯d know if either of you weren¡¯t yourselves. The only strange person I¡¯ve met lately is¡­Kaz.¡± Her brow furrowed, and her eyes were unusually thoughtful, but she didn¡¯t explain further because the first lizard-man was speaking again.


    ¡°You see, a thousand years ago, a terrible injustice occurred. Someone came to your queen at the time, one of my kind, pretending to be one of you.¡± There was a distinct edge in his voice as he said ¡®you¡¯. He didn¡¯t like humans, or at least wasn¡¯t impressed by them.


    ¡°Ever since then, the blood of my people has run in the veins of your kings and queens, but rather than being acknowledged, it was forgotten. I am here to right that wrong.¡± He lifted his hands again. ¡°I am here to take command of this country, just as it should have been for a millenia.¡±


    At that, a buzz rose up. People were starting to recover from their panic, and the longer this person spoke, the less seriously they took him. Yes, he looked frightening, and finding out that your entire ruling class had been replaced without anyone realizing it was horrifying, but what he was saying was ridiculous.


    ¡°Go away!¡± someone shouted, their voice echoing up in a momentary lull. ¡°Give us back our king, an¡¯ go away!¡±


    There was no way the man could have picked the one person who had spoken out of the crowd, but he turned his head and someone just¡­exploded. It was a terrible, gory sight, and led to fresh panic as people tried to get away from those who¡¯d been caught in the crimson downpour.


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen,¡± the reptilian man said as if he hadn¡¯t just murdered someone. ¡°But this doesn¡¯t need to be an issue. For the most part, your everyday life doesn¡¯t even need to change. In fact, if something hadn¡¯t gone wrong, you never even would have known until it was over.¡±


    Those two words, ¡®gone wrong¡¯, were said with such ferocity that Bella didn¡¯t think she¡¯d ever heard anyone be truly angry before. Even her own irritation at Gravy and Kaz was nothing compared to the depth of that wrath. For an instant, the tall, vaguely humanoid shape in the center of the arena seemed to swell, bulging within the dark clothes covered by a dashing black cape.


    The lizards ranged out behind the speaker, shedding clothing and hairpieces until they wore almost nothing. Without any covering, they were far more blatantly inhuman than the first. Spikes and horns crowned their heads and ran down their backs. Tails of all shapes and sizes swayed behind them. Most of all, their scales were all the colors of the rainbow, gleaming in the sun.


    Suddenly, a sword thrust through the chest of a particularly tall red-scaled one, releasing a gout of blood. The lizard-man slumped forward, revealing one of the warriors who had been fighting when whatever happened to break the spell concealing the reptiles happened. Bella couldn¡¯t tell if it was a man or a woman, but she hoped it was a woman. Right up until she, too, exploded.


    The dead person¡¯s teammates ran forward, screaming, quickly joined by most of the brawny men on the opposing team. Spells burst forth from the wands of the two mages, flames engulfing one of the lizard-men, while an earthen spike drove up toward another. All of it failed, and every one of the humans died. There was no hesitation, and when the black-scaled creature spoke again, its voice held neither regret nor concern.


    ¡°I can see that I¡¯ll need to show you proof of my strength,¡± he said. ¡°My supremacy. I am your king. Your rightful ruler. You will bow.¡±


    The lizards around him raised their hands, and the stadium was filled with the thud of knees hitting the ground. Bella, Harper, and Eve saw the ripple coming toward them, and had just enough time to take a step back and get down on their own, avoiding the cracks and howls of pain around them. Bella hoped that was the sound of knees on stone and popping joints rather than bones breaking, but she couldn¡¯t tell for sure. Her head was down, so she couldn¡¯t look around, and she felt like a huge hand was pressing on the back of her neck.


    Harper began to play softly, just loud enough for the three of them to hear her. ¡°Where are the mages?¡± she sang quietly.


    Bella felt the pressure on her back ease up as the music filled her ears. ¡°They should be here,¡± she managed. ¡°There should have been some-¡± Realization crashed into her. The mages - the real mages, not just the corner magicians and wise-women - would have been in the noble¡¯s boxes, if they were here at all. The very boxes those things had crawled out of. Had they taken over the mage college, too? Was that what had really happened out on the Cliff?


    ¡°Soldiers,¡± Eve choked out. ¡°Mercs.¡±


    Maybe. But the soldiers were controlled by the nobility, and the mercs didn¡¯t do anything without the promise of money. Who was left to save them from this?


    She caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of her eye, and managed to turn her head just enough to see¡­a wyvern? But no, as it rose up over the open edge of the stadium, broad wings blocked out the sun, and she realized this was far too large to be a wyvern. Plus, it had front legs, and front feet with long claws adorning each toe. As high up as she was, as close as she was, there was no doubt.


    It was a dragon.

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-six

    The sky was almost painfully blue and bright when Kaz and the others emerged into the open. The platform had come to rest in a long, narrow room in the back of a building not unlike those the xiyi had built down below. Almost as one, the humans rushed for a door outlined by sunlight, only to stumble back when eyes that had seen only dimness for a month protested the sudden blaze of light.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Scorched District,¡± Jinn said, staring out with one hand over her eyes. She seemed to be adjusting more quickly than the others, which made sense, given that she¡¯d only been below for a day, and in Adara¡¯s well-lit room for a few days before that.


    Kaz glanced at her. Ironically, his eyes were fine, in spite of the fact that he was more comfortable in darkness than light. None of his friends had had any problem either, though, so perhaps it was the increased body cultivation that was responsible for his quick adaptation.


    ¡°What is the Scorched District?¡± he asked, though he could guess at least part of the answer for himself. There were other buildings around them, but they were burned and broken, shattered walls protruding from the earth like dark, rotten teeth.


    ¡°Years ago, before I was born, an Incursion dropped a monster here,¡± she told him. ¡°We weren¡¯t ready, and people died - hundreds, maybe thousands of them. No one¡¯s even sure because whole families were wiped out, so there was no one left to miss them.¡±


    Reina stepped up beside her friend, briefly resting a hand on Jinn¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Periodically, someone will suggest razing it and rebuilding, but everyone knows someone who died that night, and the idea is always rejected. They consider it disrespectful. No one is supposed to live or work here, though sometimes a small camp will spring up, until the guards come and drive everyone away.¡±


    That made no sense to Kaz. Death was everywhere. Why allow perfectly good territory to go to waste? But humans had so much space, he supposed they thought about it differently from kobolds, who lived in any place they could find enough food and water to survive.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the middle of the city,¡± another voice said, and Kaz turned to see the people he assumed were Jinn and Raff¡¯s parents approaching. The red-haired male shook his head. ¡°I told Maleim it wasn¡¯t wise to leave such a large area uncontrolled and unpopulated.¡±


    The female lifted a brow, looking just like Raff as she did so. ¡°Perhaps now he¡¯ll listen.¡± She glanced up at the sun, then toward the east. ¡°We need to get home, and as quickly as possible. Ricard and Verena are fit to be tied, worrying about Rissa.¡±


    Jinn¡¯s expression instantly collapsed back into worry. ¡°Was she taken, too? Do we need to go back down to find her? We could get Raff-¡±


    Her father clasped her in his arms. ¡°The xiyi told us they didn¡¯t take the children, and I believe them. They were¡­surprisingly hospitable, given the circumstances.¡±


    ¡°I killed one and Mison got another,¡± Jinn¡¯s mother said, baring her teeth. ¡°But they only increased the guard on us and took away anything we could use to make weapons. Didn¡¯t even punish me. Then when Verena asked about the children, they said they were safe at home.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears flattened slightly. The xiyi were a very confusing people. Were they trying to control the city, or weren¡¯t they? They seemed to have no interest in hurting anyone unless forced to do so, and, as the humans said, even went out of their way to make sure everyone was as comfortable as possible, while still refusing to allow anyone to leave. He wished he¡¯d had more time to talk to Snen.


    <You might get another chance,> Li said, and when he looked at her, he saw she, in turn, was looking to their left.


    <What do you mean?> he asked.


    Without answering, she released her grip on him, dropping to the ground. She came up to his knee now, and when she began to run, still keeping her injured wing tight against her side, she moved away quickly. Ignoring the humans, Kaz followed.


    Li scrambled over fallen bricks and broken cobblestones, leading Kaz toward something she could feel at the edge of her senses. She relayed the feeling to Kaz, and it was like catching a scent of someone you hadn¡¯t seen in a very long time, and you weren¡¯t even certain any longer if that was the right smell.


    They passed down what might have been streets, and Li disappeared beneath a dark overhang. It looked like a roof had come down, crushing the upper story of a building, but leaving much of the lower level intact, except for one wall with a wide hole in it. Kaz followed his dragon, finding her staring down into a black pit. That sense of a familiar almost-but-not scent was strong here.


    ¡°What is it?¡± someone asked, and Kaz turned, not even surprised to see Lianhua standing there, with Yingtao close behind her. Lianhua¡¯s fuulong silk robe was as clean and neat as ever, and somehow her face and hair were equally tidy. Yingtao wasn¡¯t quite as unsullied, and blood stained the hems of her robe, left there by both killing and healing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said, but he was watching Li. If her wing had been intact, he thought she would have flown down already, with or without him. As it was, she paced along the edge, stretching the wing carefully before pulling it back in again. The damage was already noticeably better, though, so he didn¡¯t think that would keep her much longer.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not explore any more dark holes today,¡± Lianhua told him, smiling wryly. ¡°I would like to figure out where the other exit leads, though. Raff can¡¯t have missed the roaring, so he could be up any time. Do you think this is where he¡¯ll come out?¡±


    Slowly, Kaz shook his head, then turned, finding the mountain with his senses. He was here now, but when they were only a single passage from the exit Raff was supposed to take, he had been- ¡°There,¡± he told her, pointing. ¡°At least half a mile, I think.¡±


    ¡°Chi Yincang,¡± Lianhua said, and he stepped out of the shadow beside her and bowed slightly. ¡°Go find the exit, and-¡±


    ¡°No, lady,¡± Chi Yincang said, bowing over one hand pressed to his chest. Lianhua stopped, mouth open, staring at him.


    ¡°What?¡± Lianhua finally spluttered. ¡°You- You can¡¯t-¡±


    The dark male bowed more deeply. ¡°Elder Long commands I stay with you at all times,¡± he said. ¡°Your life has been endangered too often of late.¡±


    Kaz looked at Li. The dragon had stopped pacing, and now stood as close to the edge of the pit as possible, her long neck stretched downward. ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± he said. ¡°I can use the platforms, and I can track Raff and Kyla by smell.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Kyla?¡± She looked around as if expecting the young kobold to appear as suddenly as Chi Yincang. ¡°Wasn¡¯t she with us?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her since we freed the last of the humans,¡± Kaz told her, feeling frustration rise up inside him. Generally, he assumed that other people would make their own choices without his input, and simply hoped they wouldn¡¯t affect him in a negative way. Li had always been different, and now he found that Kyla was as well. He would be very unhappy if his little cousin was hurt, and when he found her again, he was going to let her know he was upset.


    There was something oddly freeing in that thought, and he realized that he usually didn¡¯t allow himself to be angry at others. He assumed that his opinion wouldn¡¯t matter to them, which made anger a waste of energy. But he thought that not only would Kyla regret worrying him, he might actually convince her to stop running off. Perhaps she, too, just assumed that what she did didn¡¯t really matter to anyone else, so he should let her know that wasn¡¯t true.


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    The sound of rising voices made Kaz and the others turn, and even Li looked up from her examination of the unchanging depths. The rhythmic thump of horse¡¯s hooves on mingled dirt and broken roads came next, and Chi Yincang vanished again as Lianhua and Yingtao hurried out from under the remains of the building.


    Li came back to Kaz and pressed her head against his side. <Let¡¯s go,> she said, and sent a picture of Raff, Kyla, and Mei. <We can find them and then come back.>


    That was remarkably unselfish of her, but Kaz suspected she wanted another opportunity to investigate the other dragons. Raff had been only a cavern away from the great creatures, so making their way back to him brought Li closer to her goal as well.


    Kaz crouched so Li could climb onto his back, and once she was firmly in place, they followed Lianhua and Yingtao. Having just thought about how angry he was that his cousin had gone off without saying anything, he didn¡¯t want to do the same to his companions. Even though he¡¯d just told them he would go looking for Raff, he wanted to be certain they weren¡¯t left to wonder.


    When he reached the building where he¡¯d left the humans, however, he stopped and almost instinctively stepped back into the nearest shadow. Horses and carriages milled about, with people helping the injured inside.


    Quickly, Kaz scanned them all, and saw no one who was as empty of either mana or ki as the xiyis¡¯ victims. No one here held a duqiu or fangqiu, at least as far as he could tell, and they all looked as human as Lianhua and the others. But who were they, and how were they there?


    Then he caught sight of a familiar face, though it held a very unfamiliar expression. Adara was smiling, and while there was still a slightly calculating edge to it, she also looked relieved. She gestured to two humans, each almost as large as Raff, and one unceremoniously scooped up a reed-thin male, while the other ushered a squawking female toward a cart.


    ¡°There we are, lords and ladies,¡± Adara said briskly. ¡°No time to waste. I¡¯ve prepared a safe place for you to rest and recover while we decide what to do.¡± Her smile widened, and Kaz noted the use of the word ¡®we¡¯. What happened to the female who said she only watched what went on in the city?


    At that thought, he narrowed his eyes on the golden-haired female, but her mana cycle looked exactly the same as it had the first time he met her. The weak but tightly controlled flow of it was fairly unique, in his experience, so this wasn¡¯t someone else pretending to be Adara, nor had Adara been bound by a duqiu.


    The humans certainly didn¡¯t seem to mind being taken care of, rather than being forced to walk out of the Scorched District. Kaz didn¡¯t know how large it was, but he suspected these entrances would be placed as far from inhabited territory as possible, and the city seemed almost endless, so they could have been facing quite a walk. Had Adara made that walk, alone and injured, only to come back looking for them? That thought made Kaz feel a little ashamed for thinking so badly of her. He didn¡¯t like Adara, but that didn¡¯t mean she was evil.


    ¡°Kaz?¡±


    Kaz and Li turned to see who had called for him, and saw Princess Reina, firmly holding the hand of another female who looked like an older version of her, but with reddish-gold hair instead of pink. Seeing no immediate danger, Kaz stepped out into the open, ready to run if anyone panicked at the sight of a kobold. The group of rescued humans had seemed nervous around him before he and Li cut their necks open, and these strangers didn¡¯t know him at all.


    Reina¡¯s face lit up as she caught sight of him, and she waved him over. Several people nearby shifted as Kaz approached, but none of them drew a weapon. In fact, most of them seemed more confused by his presence than concerned. Had Adara warned them he would be with the others?


    ¡°Kaz, this is my mother, Queen Natalia,¡± Reina said.


    Both females watched him, as if waiting for something, but Kaz wasn¡¯t sure what they wanted. Hadn¡¯t Lianhua once compared a queen to a great chief, though? Kaz pressed one hand to his chest and bowed over it, giving the salute of a kobold to the chief of another tribe.


    The queen smiled, looking at her daughter. ¡°You¡¯re right, dear, he is quite intelligent. Does he speak, as well?¡±


    Kaz felt the fur on the back of his neck lift, but stopped the growl that wanted to rumble from his throat. This female spoke as if he was a numb-mind who had managed to learn how to carve arrowheads from stone without breaking them.


    Reina¡¯s cheeks turned pink, and her eyes darted from Kaz to her mother. She said something, but Li was already speaking, and their bond was now so strong that her voice overrode that of the human. <Does she think Reina trained you like a wyvern?> his dragon asked, hissing softly. <I can bite her. Both of them, actually.>


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged gently, and he felt his fur settle. This human chief didn¡¯t matter to him. His dragon knew he was better than that, and nothing else mattered.


    Looking at Reina, Kaz ignored the queen and said, ¡°Do you need something?¡±


    Reina turned even redder, and she said, ¡°No, I- I told Mother that you could¡­turn into a human. And you saved me. Us, I mean, but also me, because you took that stone out of-¡± She stumbled to a halt, pressing her hand to her side.


    Kaz leaned in, sniffing the area where the wound had been. The only smell was of something both acrid and sweet, probably a salve or other medicine, and sweaty human. ¡°Is the wound healed?¡± he asked, curious. He still wasn¡¯t sure exactly how ki and mana affected recovery from wounds, but it seemed to him that she should be mostly recovered.


    Reina¡¯s mother made a startled noise and pulled her daughter away from Kaz. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think you¡¯re doing, kobold, but-¡±


    A sound like a small explosion came from behind Kaz, and everyone stopped what they were doing, turning to stare back toward the building that hid the pit. A cloud of dust and debris flew into the air, and as it settled, broad wings came into view, followed by a long, serpentine body. It was a brown dragon, and on its back was-


    ¡°Raff!¡± Kaz barked, turning away from the two humans. Li half-lifted from his back before settling down again with a hiss of pain. Almost without thinking, Kaz withdrew another chip of blue ki-crystal from his pouch and gave it to her. He was getting low on blue, and would have to switch to red or yellow soon.


    Raff was leaning forward, clutching something, but when he realized that they were outside again, he sat up. There, perched between two spikes on the dragon¡¯s back, protected by Raff¡¯s body, was Kyla, her ragged pink fur unmistakable. Kaz couldn¡¯t make out Mei, but the fuergar¡¯s distinctive ki pattern was there in front of Kyla as well. The greatest surprise, however, other than the fact that they were all riding on a dragon, was the brown-scaled xiyi sitting on the leather pad strapped to the dragon¡¯s back. Somehow, Snen, Raff, Kyla, and Mei had all found each other. And something else had found them.


    As the dragon rose higher into the air, the ground began to rumble, shaking almost as much as it had when the Rooster, Fengji, had escaped his own captivity. Had Raff and the others somehow managed to find and free another of the Divine Beasts?


    Raff was waving his arms now, and Snen¡¯s dragon dove toward Kaz and the others, skimming overhead as humans waved their weapons ineffectually. A few with mana had recovered enough to send weak attacks after it, but the dragon didn¡¯t even seem to notice. The horses were beginning to panic, and only Adara¡¯s large humans were keeping them from bolting.


    Kaz was finally able to make out what Raff was yelling over the sound of wings and rumbling. ¡°Run!¡± he called, sounding frantic, and Kyla added her own howl to his voice. Kaz knew that howl. ¡°Flee, enemies are coming.¡±


    Kaz spun, looking at the humans, most of whom seemed too focused on Snen and his dragon to even pay attention to the fact that the ground was still shaking. Kaz added his own howl to Raff and Kyla¡¯s, looking for his friends.


    Lianhua was standing with Yingtao and Chi Yincang. Like Kaz, all three of them were focused on the place from which the dragon had risen, not the dragon itself. They¡¯d seen and recognized Raff and Kyla, if not Snen and Mei, and knew that wherever the danger was coming from, it wasn¡¯t them.


    The ground exploded upward again. This time, there was no way the debris could conceal the enormous dragon that rose from the earth. A gout of flame chased the smaller dragon as the black lifted into the air. His wings were so broad that the wind they created threatened to knock people off their feet. Fortunately, the beast didn¡¯t seem to care about them, at least not at the moment. Instead, he roared furiously at Snen¡¯s mount.


    Kaz recognized that roar. It held ki that rolled out, attempting to force anyone nearby to their knees, and around him, he saw more than one human collapse beneath the pressure of it. The horses were stock still now, their eyes showing white all around the outside, and foam gathered at the corners of their mouths.


    The brown dragon dove, barely dodging a snap of jaws large enough to bite it in half. It wobbled as it drew close to the ground, one wing almost brushing a broken wall, and Raff leaped off, bringing Kyla and Mei¡¯s ki with him, though their bodies were hidden as he tucked and rolled, protecting them with his body.


    Kaz suspected things would have ended badly, even for the powerful warrior, so he snapped up a shield at the last moment, grunting as Raff¡¯s weight landed on it. Li caught it with her own power, however, boosting its strength so the three occupants hit the ground relatively gently as the shield dissipated around them.


    The brown dragon, relieved of most of its burden, snapped its wings out again, swooping straight upwards in a way the bulky black dragon couldn¡¯t replicate. It fled, with the terrible beast close on its tail. Small chased by large, they flew out over the city.

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-seven

    Kaz stared after the dragons, barely aware of several dozen people nearby, doing the same thing. Then Jinn broke the paralysis by falling on her brother, crying loudly. The big male patted her on the back as she sobbed, but Kaz could see by the look on his face that he was in pain.


    Quickly, Kaz crossed over to help, but found himself engulfed in an embrace as well, when Kyla leaped toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His first instinct was to pull away, but the little kobold¡¯s grasp wasn¡¯t as uncomfortable as he¡¯d expected, and after a moment, he bent down, wrapping his arms around her. The burned stubs of her fur prickled, but beneath it, her small body trembled, a puppy in need of comfort.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± she whimpered, ¡°you have to go back home. I know you don¡¯t want to, but you can¡¯t¡­you can¡¯t be a Fallen One. You can be a Woodblade, and heal people, or make art, or whatever you want to do. I¡¯ll become a chief and make sure of it!¡±


    Kaz stilled. She wasn¡¯t frightened for herself, she was worried for him. That was a strange feeling.


    <I worry about you all the time,> Li told him, but her tongue flickered out, gently touching the young kobold¡¯s fur. <I guess it¡¯s all right if she does, too, though. As long as she doesn¡¯t try to pet me. She can give me food, though.>


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged, and he stroked his cousin¡¯s head. ¡°I won¡¯t become a Fallen One,¡± he told her. ¡°Or at least not any time soon. I think that happens to kobolds who don¡¯t have cores.¡±


    Kyla gulped in a breath. ¡°The female in the dragon cave-¡±


    ¡°Has a core barely stronger than Chix¡¯s,¡± he told her. Chix was one of the rare male kobolds born with a core, like Kaz, but the puppy¡¯s core didn¡¯t even produce enough ki to support his growing body. Without someone else to give him power, the pup would probably have been dead within a few months. Fortunately, his friend and adoptive brother, Gram, had more than enough for both of them, and Kaz had taught him how to share.


    Kaz thought about everything he¡¯d seen and learned about kobolds, and said, ¡°I think something in the mountain,¡± that something possibly being the Tree, or whatever was inside of it, ¡°allows kobolds to exist as we are. In order to leave the mountain, we have to be able to produce our own ki, and the more we can produce, the longer we can survive outside the mountain without becoming Fallen.¡±


    <an interesting idea, young one,> a now-familiar voice said as Heishe slithered out from between some nearby rocks. <and one which certainly bears some thought. but not, i think, right now.>


    Kaz, Kyla, and Li turned to the little black serpent, who reared up so she could look at them. No one else seemed to notice her, but Mei, who had been ranging around, sniffing things and taking bites out of the nearby stones, circled wide around her and sat by Kyla¡¯s paws, bright eyes locked on the snake.


    <you might like to know,> Heishe said, <that the xiyi and their emperor, jianying, are currently at the stadium, as are a great many humans, some of whom you know.> An image came into Kaz¡¯s mind, showing Harper, Eve, and Bella crouched behind a low wall, their faces twisted with some combination of anger and fear. That picture faded and another appeared, showing a tousle-haired child clinging to her mother¡¯s hand. Nadia and her family were there as well. The image shifted, looking up, showing a vast, black-winged beast perched atop the old building, which was starting to crumble beneath his weight.


    Kaz looked around. Was there a way he could get to the stadium? What would he even do if he did? ¡°Lianhua!¡± he called, seeing the female helping one of the thin males drink something out of a bottle. It looked like the ¡®potion¡¯ Raff had used once, so it seemed Adara had truly come prepared to aid anyone who escaped from the xiyi.


    Lianhua looked up, as did Yingtao, who was helping another of the damaged males into a carriage. Chi Yincang was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn¡¯t unexpected. The two females stepped away from their patients, and Lianhua led the way over to Kaz.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Kaz?¡±


    ¡°Heishe says Jianying is attacking the stadium,¡± he told her. Not quite true, but attacking was more likely to get a quick response than ¡®staring menacingly¡¯.


    ¡°Heishe?¡± Lianhua asked, eyes darting around. Was it possible that she really didn¡¯t see the snake? Soon enough, however, her gaze settled on the area where Heishe coiled, and she let out a little, ¡°Eep!¡± as the Divine Beast became somehow more present, her body filling with that deep well of ki Kaz had seen in her before.


    Heishe hissed thoughtfully, then relayed her information again, causing Lianhua to frown in concern. ¡°What are they planning?¡± Lianhua asked. She looked around at the crowd of frightened and injured humans, shaking her head. ¡°These people aren¡¯t ready to fight back, even if they had a chance against an ancient dragon. What are the mages and soldiers doing?¡±


    Heishe¡¯s tongue flickered out. <the mages are mostly under the control of the xiyi,> she said. <it took a while to find them, since they¡¯re being held near the mage college, but my water finally reached the place where they were hidden. the xiyi who took their places have kept the rest of the mages from realizing what has happened.>


    ¡°And the soldiers?¡± Yingtao asked.


    <are under the command of the false king, and have not yet realized that they¡¯ve been tricked,> Heishe said simply.


    ¡°We have to get there,¡± Lianhua said, but Chi Yincang stepped into sight beside her. He bowed deeply.


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    ¡°You may not,¡± he said.


    Lianhua blinked rapidly. ¡°What?¡±


    The dark warrior actually sighed, very softly. ¡°Elder Long approaches,¡± he told her. ¡°I am to keep you out of danger until he arrives.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°Grandfather is coming? Here? When?¡± Her face lit up with sudden hope.


    Chi Yincang shook his head. ¡°He has just entered the mountains. Even for him, it will take a few days to cross. He reminds you, however, that this is not your land, nor your people.¡±


    ¡°Great ancestors,¡± Lianhua murmured, turning her eyes up to the sky. She bit her lip, thinking, then said, ¡°Yingtao, get Adara. I¡¯m going to go speak to Queen Natalia. We need to let them know what¡¯s happening.¡±


    Both females ran off, and Chi Yincang paused only briefly to nod to Kaz and Kyla. As he disappeared into the shadows again, something fell from his hand, and Mei ran to pick it up, quickly shoving it into her cheek.


    ¡°Now what?¡± Kyla murmured, watching as the humans began to scatter. Where before they had been moving at a measured pace, wary but trying to make sure the injured were stable enough to take to Adara¡¯s ¡®safe place¡¯, they also seemed to be uncertain exactly where their priorities should lie. No one had stepped up to take control, in spite of the fact that both the king and queen were among those rescued, and it showed.


    Now, however, Raff¡¯s father stood beside Queen Natalia, issuing orders through her. People scurried around, gathering up those who hadn¡¯t yet been treated, and ushering them into carts, while a few of the healthier people mounted horses and rode away. One of these was Raff¡¯s mother.


    <it¡¯s too bad so many people will be injured or killed fighting these xiyi,> Heishe mused, and Kaz turned back to her. Somehow, he had almost managed to forget she was there, but now she glided across the burned and rocky soil toward him, her coils seeming to grow as she did. By the time she reached him, she was nearly eight feet long, rather than a mere eighteen inches.


    Kaz shook his head, thinking of the huge dragon who had flown overhead so recently. He felt helpless, and rightfully so. There was nothing he could do.


    <I¡¯m going to help,> Li said, struggling up until she was perched atop his shoulder. Her skin was pale and stretched, but her wing was almost healed, and she flapped it experimentally.


    Kaz caught at her, but she dropped away from his hands, wings catching a breeze and lifting her to the top of a nearby wall. His heart almost froze in his chest as he looked at her. She was so much larger than she had been, and yet so much smaller than Jianying.


    <Stay,> he begged, but Li shook her head.


    <He tried to kill my parent,> she said almost sadly. <I have to at least try. There¡¯ll be lots of people attacking him pretty soon, and I¡¯ll wait until I can make a difference. I¡¯ll do my very, very best not to die.>


    Unspoken between them was the awareness that if she did, Kaz would likely die as well. That didn¡¯t even bother him, since he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to live without her anyway. He had been satisfied with his life before he met her, or at least he¡¯d thought he was, but now he realized he¡¯d only been existing. His life had changed irrevocably since then, but she was all the best parts of that change.


    <I¡¯m coming too,> he said, staring up at her. <Wait for me.>


    She turned and looked after the black dragon, and he could feel something pulling at her. It wasn¡¯t like their bond, but something like fate. Without Kaz¡¯s interference, Li would have died when her family fled. In the moment before Kaz picked up her egg, her life split, two possibilities equally probable. Kaz or Jianying. One of those connections had to end before she could reach her true potential. Kaz shook his head, almost dizzy with the strength of that belief, that instinct. <What was that?> he asked her.


    Li tilted her head. <You felt it? That¡¯s¡­the thing that speaks to me sometimes. Speaks through me, maybe? That¡¯s how I knew how to hide myself. It tells me about dragons. It talked to Nucai, too.>


    Beside Kaz, Heishe had grown still, her obsidian eyes on Li. When she spoke again, her voice sounded a little sad. <i would ask a favor, children.>


    Kaz and Li hesitated, then agreed.


    With a hissing sigh, Heishe said, <every living thing in this world has its place, its task. we twelve are no different. our job is to maintain the balance of this plane. as i told you once before, each of us has our domain, and we watch over it, though in the absence of my brothers and sisters, i have done my best alone. but something within your mountain has broken this natural order, and i find that i cannot enter to investigate. i could barely sense its existence, causing me to stumble around this area for more than two centuries.>


    She turned, then turned again, and with each turn, her coils grew longer and wider. Soon, she was larger than a horse, and still the humans didn¡¯t react, didn¡¯t even seem to see her.


    <i may not interfere in the conflicts of men,> she told them, speaking as if repeating a howl memorized long ago. <but this is no longer simply between men, and neither is it between creatures of the earth, or even invaders from another plane. for the first time in millenia, i find i do not know what my place is. but as uncertain as i am about what is happening in this city, i am certain that i must enter your mountain, and i believe you can take me there.>


    She rose up, her hood spreading like ink spilled across the sky.


    <You?> another voice squawked, and a bird with brilliant plumage of red, yellow, and orange strutted into view. He was smaller than Li in this form, but fire ki burned so brightly in him that Kaz¡¯s eyes ached and spots danced as if he¡¯d stared too long into the sun.


    <That scaled descendant of a wingless grub helped to put me in that prison for a thousand years. If you¡¯re going to bend your beloved rules enough to cut him down to size, I¡¯m going to come along.> Fengji scratched at the dirt with his sharp talon, then whirled, slashing long spurs through the air. <He¡¯ll regret trying to eat me, that¡¯s for sure. Let¡¯s go dice up some dragon!>


    Heishe sighed, but Kaz heard as much amusement as exasperation in the sound. She slid forward, lowering her head until it rested on the ground in front of Kaz. <get on,> she hissed.


    Looking up at Li, who flew impatient circles overhead, Kaz lifted his arms. ¡°I can feel that your wing still hurts,¡± he told his dragon. ¡°Come with me.¡±


    Now that she knew they would both be going, the golden-scaled dragon was willing enough to rest the wing that still sent twinges through her with every movement. She flew down to Kaz, who accepted her weight into his arms with enormous relief. He felt something far different from relief, however, when Kyla jumped up next to him, followed somewhat less eagerly by Mei.


    Kaz stared at his cousin. ¡°It¡¯s not safe,¡± he told her.


    Her tail wagged gently, eyes bright as she said, ¡°Oh, I know.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-eight

    Heishe didn¡¯t slither through the city. Instead, she opened another of those water-filled tunnels through the earth and dove into it. Oddly, though Kaz and Li felt the pressure of fluid moving around them, they could breathe without difficulty. A glance at Kyla and Mei showed that while the young kobold and her fuergar looked more terrified than Kyla¡¯s earlier words might have implied, they, too, seemed fine.


    The world around Kaz seemed to slow, showing only flickers of the space passing around them. Rather than bare stone, he caught glimpses of tunnels, much like the ¡®sewer¡¯ through which they¡¯d passed to reach the xiyi caverns. These were filled with squalid streams, and the bricks arching overhead were wet and unbroken.


    But while they were there, they also weren¡¯t, and no hint of the smell Li had described to him in excruciating detail reached his nose, nor did it matter if the tunnels were large or small. Was Heishe shrinking them and herself so they would fit, or was she changing the very world around them?


    <the world is as it is,> the snake¡¯s voice hissed softly into Kaz¡¯s mind, making him jump. He¡¯d assumed that, as when he rode the mosui platforms, only he was aware of what was happening. It made sense, of course, that the serpent had to be conscious of it, however, or they might simply travel onwards forever.


    Kaz¡¯s mouth wouldn¡¯t open, so he used that new voice he had so recently discovered. <But people, kobolds and humans alike, change the world all the time.>


    <in the most superficial way, that might be true,> the snake said, hissing a laugh. <but the mountains don¡¯t care if you build a city atop them. eventually, the city will fall, but the mountain remains.>


    <My mountain cares,> Kaz said, realizing that he absolutely believed his own words. For all that he now knew his mountain was only another spire of stone rising to meet the sky, it was also home, and he was as bound to it as Li, and, perhaps, it to him. Surely there had to be some element of awareness beyond existence in order for that to be true.


    Something moved within his mind, a gentle slithering that probably should have felt intrusive and unpleasant, but was so impersonal that it was more like being examined by a healer. <i see that,> Heishe said thoughtfully. <i¡¯m truly looking forward to seeing what lies at the heart of your mountain, young one.>


    There was nothing Kaz could say to that, so instead he focused on something she¡¯d said earlier. <You said the dragon¡¯s guardian wasn¡¯t able to ¡®complete their task¡¯. Is that another Divine Beast? A dragon? The Dragon?> He hesitated only a moment before asking, <Do you think it¡¯s dead?>


    Heishe¡¯s sigh seemed to ripple down the entire length of her body. <yes, that is exactly what i think. now, hold on.>


    Kaz gripped her back more tightly, and they rose up, flowing through stone like water. For the first time Kaz could make out the ki that surrounded them. It was black, of course, but not dark, and he could see through it, much as he had the red ki that saturated the Nine, the levels that lay in the very center of the mountain. This wasn¡¯t a mindless fog, but instead directed by Heishe¡¯s will, and the amount of power flowing through her was awe-inspiring. Was all of that coming from her core, or had she learned to take in mana and refine it like the humans did?


    When they burst up through the ground, water sloshed around them, and suddenly Kaz found that he was wet, though he¡¯d felt completely dry only a moment before. Had Heishe actually transformed dirt and rocks into water, or had water pushed aside everything else?


    A miniature serpent slithered near his paws, and Kaz danced back before recognizing Heishe. The snake wrapped around his leg, climbing up until she nestled at his waist like a belt, then lay as still as if she was nothing more than a skin made into an item of clothing. She seemed uninterested in speaking, so he decided to ignore her in turn.


    Kyla, Mei, and Li had been dropped back out into the world as abruptly as Kaz had. Looking at them, he couldn¡¯t tell if they had been aware of the time they spent traveling, but he thought Kyla, at least, hadn¡¯t. She looked absolutely shocked to abruptly find herself somewhere else, and as she gazed around, he realized that other than the brief time they spent traveling to the Bard and Bee, this was probably the first time she¡¯d been able to look at the human city properly.


    They stood in a street that wrapped around the back of the great stadium, which loomed up before them, far taller than the nearby buildings. At first, Kaz thought the sound he heard was the cheering of the crowds, screaming as people fought each other in battles that were as false as they were real. Then he realized there was a sharpness to it, a terror so profound he could almost taste it, and he saw the dragon.


    The sun was setting, and shadows stretched out to touch each other, gathering everything around them into darkness. At first, the obsidian behemoth above them seemed like nothing more than a particularly deep shadow, but then it moved, shifting its wings, and Kaz understood the sheer immensity of it.


    Beside him, Kyla let out a choked gasp, and Li flattened herself against him, her body trembling as she stared straight up. Up and up and up, from the scaled tip of a tail that almost brushed the ground in front of them to the arch of a throat that was only slender in comparison to the rest of the body. And every bit of it, from the shape of the horns to the curve of the wings, matched two memories in Kaz¡¯s mind. This was the dragon who had assaulted Li¡¯s parent, and also Jianying, Qiangde¡¯s brother.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Kyla asked, whispering in spite of the fact that there was no one around to hear. Not a single human remained within sight, probably having run as soon as the colossal dragon appeared.


    <We¡­we kill it!> Li exclaimed. <I¡¯ll fly around and distract it, and you can cut into it, just like you did with that big dragon-thing in the Deep. Or maybe you can destroy its core from here?> She sounded hopeful, but Kaz looked at the sheer size of the creature and shook his head.


    Then he stopped and looked again. The dragon was a dragon. There was no doubt about that. Its bulk blocked the lingering rays of the sun, and ki coursed through its body. Most of that ki was black, like Heishe¡¯s, but where hers was radiant, this was shadow, darkness without depth.


    Traces of red and gold ki mingled with the black, but there was a good bit of white there as well. And who else did Kaz know with black and white ki? Chi Yincang, whose abilities seemed strongest in the areas of shadow and illusion.


    And this dragon, impossibly enormous as it was, had no core. Ki flowed through and around it, resembling the black and white blur of Chi Yincang¡¯s power more and more the longer Kaz looked at it. But somehow it also appeared to fade, becoming almost translucent, at least to Kaz¡¯s eyes.


    Kaz knew well that Li could use her innate dragon abilities to hide herself, or even just parts of herself. Would she someday also be able to project an image that was no more real than a cloud in the sky? There was something to it, it could be felt, but it was far from the solid mass it appeared to be when seen from below.


    ¡°It¡¯s not real,¡± Kaz told Kyla, who stared at him in astonishment.


    His cousin lifted a finger, pointing up at the dragon, who appeared to be utterly oblivious of their presence, as if they were jiyun grubs wriggling by its feet. ¡°I can see it! Right there!¡±


    Kaz nodded, stepping forward to very, very cautiously touch the tip of his claw against a single scale as broad as his chest. There was resistance, and then the claw passed through into the ki just beneath the surface. No blood rose, and no flesh parted.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ You can¡¯t-¡± Kyla stepped forward, jaw muscles flexing as she, too, touched the tip of a tail that had to be at least fifty feet long. Rather than disappearing beneath the scale, her claw skittered along the top of it, exactly as if it were real. They all froze, eyes lifting to the dragon¡¯s head, which continued to weave back and forth in a sinuous rhythm, never even glancing down.


    Kaz stepped forward, burying his hand to the wrist in the illusory tail. He caught his cousin¡¯s hand in his own, gripping hers, palm to palm. ¡°Did you see the dragon that chased Snen?¡±


    She nodded, swallowing hard.


    ¡°That one was about the size of the dragon that attacked Li¡¯s nest. It was large, far larger than Li¡¯s parents, but it wasn¡¯t like this thing. I think this is some kind of image, created to frighten the people inside, while the real dragon is elsewhere,¡± he told her.


    ¡°So what do we do?¡± she asked again, releasing his hand and closing her own into a fist.


    ¡°We figure out how this is being created and destroy it. That should be much easier than actually fighting a dragon this size,¡± Kaz said.


    <But then where is the real Jianying?> Li burst out.


    Kaz shook his head, turning his attention to the stadium. It was a mass of mana and ki, layered together like meat and fungus in a cookpot. There were so many living creatures inside that he couldn¡¯t tell one from another, and though there were some bright sparks that could be cores, he couldn¡¯t be certain who they belonged to. He doubted if he could affect them from here in any case, not with so much else in the way.


    ¡°If Jianying really is the dragon chasing Snen, then he¡¯s not as large or as powerful as he¡¯d like people to believe. If he was, he would have simply blasted Snen and his dragon from the sky, and he never would have taken injury from a common beast like Li¡¯s parent.¡± Kaz watched Li to see how she reacted to this last, but at least for now she chose to ignore it.


    ¡°More importantly,¡± Kaz told them all, ¡°if this illusion is being created by Jianying, then he only has four kinds of ki. That means he¡¯s not a Divine Beast, at least not yet.¡± He distinctly remembered Lianhua telling him that Divine Beasts were incredibly rare, usually taking years, maybe even whole lifetimes to achieve that rank. Could a dragon survive more than a thousand years without ever gaining its fifth form of ki?


    More importantly, what did it mean that Kaz and Li both had all five elements already? And Mei was well on her way, too, though he had no idea how to help her gain the wood element, or if he even should. Was it important that the creature achieved divinity on its own?


    A new noise rose above the constant roar of frightened people shouting, sobbing, and occasionally screaming. It was the sound of horse¡¯s hooves clattering against the stone streets, and there were a great many of them. Had someone managed to call for help already?


    The false image above them shifted, leaning forward, its head suddenly wreathed in flame. That fire was real, filled with intense heat, and the screams redoubled as the layers of mana inside the stadium pressed downward.


    And then a door, all but invisible in the stone wall, swung open, and four females tumbled out. They all had long hair and long skirts, but the fabric of the skirts was tucked up into their belts much like Lianhua did when she needed to be able to move freely. Their hair was tumbled, their faces red, and tears poured from their eyes.


    The moment they emerged into the open air, one of them fell to her knees, pressing her forehead to the cobblestones. One of the others simply continued running, not even looking back at her erstwhile friends, but the other two stopped, each grabbing one of the kneeling female¡¯s arms.


    Kaz stared at them, utterly speechless, wishing that he was still in his human shape so he could speak to them without causing them further fright. Kyla felt no such constraints however, and simply pointed through the open door.


    ¡°Does this lead back into the building?¡± she asked, in the rough voice of a kobold.


    One of the two females who¡¯d stopped to help looked at Kyla, shrieked, and ran after the first female. The other, however, stepped between Kyla and her friend, who still wasn¡¯t able to stand, though her breaths were more even and her face was losing its alarming shade of red.


    ¡°It¡­does,¡± she said, voice quavering. ¡°There are a lot of stairs, and then¡­a door. You can go through if you want. We won¡¯t try to stop you. But let me get Margie out of the way first. Please.¡±


    She was so obviously terrified, and yet so determined to stay, that Kaz just nodded. He would have liked to go to the kneeling female and check on her, but he didn¡¯t know what that would do to the brave one. He would regret it very much if he was forced to hurt her in order to keep her from attacking. He doubted it would take much to stop her, but she didn¡¯t deserve even minor wounds in return for her loyalty.


    They all looked up as another wave of heat reached them. Flame blazed out overhead, turning the sky orange, but there were neither ashes nor smoke. This blaze was entirely formed of ki, and the sheer amount of power it had to take to create it was staggering.


    The horses had come to a halt somewhere on the other side of the stadium, where Kaz thought the usual entrance must be. Did they even know of this back way? Fierce yells reached his ears, but amidst the wailing and the roars of the false dragon, he couldn¡¯t understand the words they spoke.


    The two female humans had recovered enough to stand now, the shorter, Margie, leaning on her taller friend. The brave one wrapped an arm around Margie¡¯s waist, almost dragging her away from Kaz, Kyla, and Li. Kaz looked around, realizing that he had no idea where Mei had gone. Had the fuergar decided that she had finally reached her breaking point, or was she simply hiding, as her kind did?


    The females moved out of the doorway, their eyes growing huge as they realized they were standing right beside the thick tail of the dragon. They actually jumped away from it as it twitched, causing them to get too close to Kaz and Kyla, which made them twist away again, leading to the two of them tripping over each other.


    Again, Kaz hesitated to approach, even to help, but Kyla darted forward, tugging the taller female to her feet, then the shorter. She grinned up at them, looking like a puppy about to go on a great adventure, and not at all like a powerful female racing toward what could be her death.


    ¡°You should probably run away,¡± she told them, tail wagging. ¡°And if you see anyone else, they should probably run away, too. We¡¯re going to kill that dragon, you know.¡± She puffed up her fuzzy pink chest, and Margie actually released a tiny puff of laughter before she stopped and pulled away again.


    ¡°I¡­good luck, then,¡± the brave female said, grabbing Margie¡¯s waist again. She hesitated, then added, ¡°There were three women in the seats beside us. I heard them talking, and I think they¡¯re fighters, but part of their team didn¡¯t show up today. They looked pretty strong, though, so they might be able to help. They didn¡¯t panic like us. Um, we were in blue forty-two, I think.¡±


    At first, Kaz had no idea what blue forty-two meant, but then he remembered that the seats were divided up into colors. The ones closest to the ground were painted white, with red, then black, and finally blue in the highest reaches of the stadium. Only a small section was gold, containing the smaller individual boxes where only a few people sat, well-separated from the press of the crowds.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he told them solemnly, and Kyla nodded eagerly. It was always good to have more allies, especially ones who knew more about what was going on. The two females nodded in return and moved away as quickly as they could.


    Li used her front legs to push away from Kaz¡¯s back, and he realized that the two humans probably hadn¡¯t been able to see her front limbs, hidden as they were behind his body. How much more frightened would they have been to see another dragon, however small, as soon as they exited the stadium?


    <You need to continue pretending to be a wyvern,> he told Li reluctantly. It would use ki that they might need, but it wouldn¡¯t do for some panicked human to attack them because they believed that Li¡¯s presence meant Kaz and Kyla were allied with the xiyi.


    Li hissed unhappily, but settled back against him, at least for the moment. <Fine,> she muttered, <but I¡¯m definitely going to bite that big dragon, and then we¡¯re going to find my family.>


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaz said. ¡°We¡¯re going to find your family.¡± And hope that that family wasn¡¯t trying to kill them at the time.


    ¡°Mei¡¯s back!¡± Kyla called, and Kaz turned to look at her. There in the open doorway was the fuergar, whiskers quivering in excitement. Had the rodent gone ahead to make sure the way was clear? Kaz had a sudden feeling that he had been underestimating the fuergar, and briefly he wondered what else he wasn¡¯t seeing even though it was right in front of his muzzle.


    Then Kyla dashed after Mei, and Kaz followed the two of them, with Li still clinging to his back. Just as the human female had said, there was a long, narrow stairway immediately inside. The steps were short compared to the ones in the mountain, but after about ten steps, there was a landing that turned back on itself, and when he peered up, he could see another turn ahead. Did it go all the way to the top of the stadium?


    No matter. Kyla was already turning the first corner, so Kaz bounded after her, taking two or three steps at once, just as he had seen Raff do so many times. Kaz was no stranger to stairs.

 Chapter Two hundred sixty-nine

    The passage was dark, steps folding back around themselves over and over as they rose. There were doors on every fourth turning, along with some evidence that the females they¡¯d met weren¡¯t the first humans to flee this way. Bloody handprints marked the wall near the first door, and the second door buckled inward, as if something large had struck it from the outside. That one wouldn¡¯t open.


    The third door was promisingly unmarked and undamaged, opening easily beneath Kyla¡¯s gentle tug. A rush of heat and the almost overwhelming stench of terror and blood reached the kobold¡¯s sensitive noses, causing the young female to pull back sharply. The door jumped in its frame as it closed, but the sounds of the people crowded just outside completely covered the sound.


    In sheer self-defense, Kaz sketched the sound-muffling rune, reducing the noise to something bearable. It wasn¡¯t as if opening the door had truly changed the sound, but adding the sight and smell, as well as the stifling heat, had made the reality of what was happening undeniable.


    The people in the stadium were utterly panicked. No matter how long the dragon perched overhead or the xiyi spoke, nothing would allow these people to calm down again except fleeing this place. If the humans realized there was a way to escape, however narrow and precarious it might be, they would trample each other in an effort to use it.


    ¡°We can¡¯t allow anyone to see us,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Not even the humans. They¡¯re too frightened to be rational.¡±


    Kyla stared from him to the door. ¡°But aren¡¯t we here to save them?¡±


    Were they? Kaz was here because he was trying to keep Li safe, otherwise he would have waited until Raff and the others were ready to go. Li had come because she believed the dragon who attacked her family was here. Kyla was here¡­ Well, according to Kyla, she was here to save the humans, which made her the only one with that as her primary goal.


    Still, Kaz nodded. His dragon, however, was more honest. <I¡¯m here to kill Jianying,> she declared, spreading her wings as mist coiled from the corners of her mouth. Of course, Kyla couldn¡¯t hear her, so the pup took this as agreement, along with the soft squeak Mei gave as she came back down the stairs.


    Kaz¡¯s gaze caught on the fuergar, who held something shiny in her jaws. She stopped by Kyla¡¯s paws and dropped it, and the copper coin wobbled a few times before falling still. Kyla bent down to pick it up, gently stroking the rodent¡¯s head as she did so, and Kaz said, ¡°She does that when she wants you to follow, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    Kyla glanced at the door, then at her pet. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. She might just be bringing me food.¡±


    Kaz thought of all the times Li had tried to - or succeeded in - eating things he found, and briefly wondered what it would be like to have such a generous friend. Li bit him for the images flickering through his mind, but it was a teasing kind of bite, and he felt tension drain from both of them as she hissed into his ear.


    <You can¡¯t eat the same things I do,> she reminded him.


    <Kyla can¡¯t eat metal, either,> he said.


    She puffed a cool cloud of fog that circled his muzzle and said, <I¡¯m smarter than a fuergar.>


    Well, that was true. Probably. He almost got another nip for that, but Kyla was speaking, so they both turned their attention to her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find all the doors and then decide which one to use,¡± she said. ¡°Ija says a chief who acts in haste, regrets at leisure.¡± That seemed reasonable enough to Kaz, so they turned their paws back to the steps.


    The area beyond the fourth door was much clearer than the third. They could see humans crowded outside, but the mass of them couldn¡¯t seem to decide what they wanted to do. Most of them stared down into the area where Kaz, Li, and Raff had fought in the tournament, but others had their eyes locked onto the dragon who still roared and breathed fire overhead.


    ¡°Not this one,¡± he said, pulling back. Kyla looked uncertain, but Mei was already scampering higher, so the young kobold nodded, and they went on.


    The stairs ended at the fifth door, but even before Kyla tugged the door open, he knew this was the one. The power that made up the dragon almost surrounded him here, the tail draping down the outside of the building while the main mass of it sat almost directly overhead. If he was going to be able to affect it at all, he needed to be close.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one up here,¡± Kyla told him after thrusting her nose through the crack. ¡°They all ran down, I think, so it¡¯s just empty.¡±


    Kaz nodded, then dropped the rune. Distant, muted sounds sprang into clarity, and he heard a voice, booming over everything else.


    ¡°...do not wish to harm any more of you than necessary. You are all my people, and after a thousand years, some of you may even still bear our blood. Simply submit to the examination and the duqiu or fangqiu, and you will be allowed to leave.¡±


    Kaz stiffened. Snen had called the rune-stone in his neck a duqiu, and the ones used on the human chiefs, including the king and his family, were fangqiu. Kaz still wasn¡¯t entirely clear what the stones did, but given how desperate the xiyi were to have them removed, and the way the king and the other males had been drained, there was more to it than simply tracking, impersonating, and enforcing loyalty.


    ¡°We can¡¯t let them do that to all those people,¡± Kyla said, reaching for the door.


    Kaz reached out and caught her hand. She glared until he said, ¡°You¡¯re right. But the first thing we need to do is get rid of the false dragon. It¡¯s terrifying. After that, maybe people will be brave enough to fight back, or at least run without killing each other.¡±


    ¡°How do we do that?¡± Kyla asked.


    Li gave a little sniff. <Not her, us.>


    Kaz felt his ear twitch, but said, ¡°We¡¯ll handle that. You watch for anyone who might try to stop us. Xiyi or more of their human servants. We don¡¯t know who¡¯s here.¡±


    He wished Kyla could see the strange lack of energy that he now knew was an indication that someone was a servant of the xiyi. Though perhaps it was more accurate to say that they served Jianying? He hadn¡¯t figured out exactly what the relationship between xiyi and dragon was yet.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Kyla nodded, but her eyes were contemplative. ¡°If the male is the one who needs protecting, then the female will protect him.¡±


    Kaz blinked. He hadn¡¯t looked at it that way, but she was right. Even a few weeks ago, he never would have asked or expected a female to protect him, a male. Though the fact that she was his cousin made it a matter of family rather than simply tribe, it was still expected that males protected females, even with their lives.


    Pressing his hand to his chest, Kaz bowed over it, saluting warrior to warrior, rather than male to female. He would trust his ferocious little cousin at his back, and know that no one could guard it better.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, and her tail wagged.


    They went out the door together, each hidden in their own ways. Kyla and Mei went down the stairs between the long rows of benches, looking for any humans left in this part of the stadium. Kaz noted that the benches and stairs were painted in chipped and faded blue, and wondered vaguely if the warriors the brave human female had mentioned were still there. If so, he hoped his cousin could charm them as thoroughly as she had Jinn and Reina. It would be sad if they had to fight the very people they were meant to help.


    Kaz and Li, on the other hand, looked around and realized that there was no ¡®up¡¯. They needed to reach the illusory dragon, but it was perched atop the walls, which extended a good fifteen feet overhead. Worse, those walls were beginning to crumble beneath the creature¡¯s weight, making them unstable. The whole structure looked like it might cave in at any time.


    Li climbed up to perch with her back legs on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, and used one of her front feet to balance against his head. He expected her to fly off, looking for a safe way up, but instead she seemed focused on the broken wall.


    <How can a dragon that doesn¡¯t exist break a wall?> she asked.


    It was as if Kaz had been wearing Raff¡¯s darklenses and she had removed them from his eyes. Of course the false Jianying couldn¡¯t damage the stadium. His fire was real enough, but he wasn¡¯t, in spite of the fact that Kyla had been able to touch him. The destruction he¡¯d wrought had to be as illusory as he was.


    Looking around, Kaz saw two versions of the world. The first one was what someone wanted him to see: a cracked wall, crumbled rubble, burned and smashed benches. There were even a few crumpled bodies that faded into smoky ki, all but vanishing as they were slowly painted over by reality. The walls were battered by time and weather, but intact, as were the benches, and, to his relief, no one lay dead among the debris. He eyed the distance to the top of a half-seen wall. It was higher than a single-level building, perhaps so that no one would climb it and get hurt. Still, he thought he could make it.


    Li set her jaw on his head, right between his ears, and puffed out a cloud that settled slowly down around his muzzle, cooling him as the image of the black dragon blew out another stream of fire. He was beginning to see a pattern in the shifting and fire-breathing, as if someone had set it all to repeat itself so that they didn¡¯t have to continue paying attention to it.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± he murmured.


    <Of course,> his dragon replied, lifting from his shoulder as Kaz jumped.


    It was close, but only because Kaz was afraid he would go over the wall and end up falling to his death. He didn¡¯t want to think of the howl his cousin would make about him if he got this far only to fail so spectacularly at the last moment.


    <I would catch you,> Li said as Kaz dug his claws into the bricks that no longer appeared to be there.


    <I know,> he told her, pulling himself up to straddle the wall. He wondered if it would look like he was hanging in mid-air if someone else happened to see him. The dragon¡¯s leg was only ten feet away now, so even though the surface he walked on faded in and out of sight, he was sure he would make it.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Kaz stood, feeling the sturdy wall beneath his paws. It was at least eighteen inches thick, and compared to some of the ledges and passages he¡¯d traversed in the mountain, this was like walking down a city street. Only this was actually safer, since no errant carts were coming toward him at breakneck speeds.


    Eight steps later, Kaz closed his eyes. His normal vision was only confusing him, and if he needed to see what was happening, he could look through Li¡¯s eyes as she perched on the wall beside him. The great ¡®dragon¡¯ ignored them both, continuing to repeat the same motions over and over. The clawed foot beside Kaz shifted, dense ki lifting, then coming back down, right on top of him.


    He felt the pressure of it. His head was pushed down toward his shoulders, ears squashed flat, as his belief that what he felt was false warred with someone else¡¯s belief that it was real. Kaz¡¯s core spun as fast as he had ever felt it, pushing out his own ki; white, black, gold, red, and finally blue. The surface burst, popping like a bubble, and Kaz was inside the dragon.


    He was drowning in someone else¡¯s ki. It was thick and murky, and he felt like he was breathing smoke, though the fire the dragon produced was pure ki. He turned his face up, ¡®seeing¡¯ a burst of red forming within the black before the dragon shifted again, lifting its wings and sending forth an explosion of fire.


    Strangely - or perhaps not, given that he was surrounded by black ki - it was cool inside the image, though for a moment he felt a deep pang of fear at the chill. Chi Yincang¡¯s black and white ki was cool, but not cold, but Kaz had frozen his aunt Vega by surrounding her red ki with his own black and white. The hoyi, giant insects who lived on the mosui levels, created their frozen nests by using their own black and white ki in opposition to the red ki crystals that grew there. And here Kaz was, staring up at red ki while surrounded by black and white.


    Somehow - probably because whoever had created this image understood ki better than Kaz did - the three kinds of ki didn¡¯t interact. Instead, fire did as fire does, while water and metal worked together to create illusion. Which left Kaz shivering as he stood within the image of a scaled leg that was longer than he was tall.


    And what should he do now that he was here? If this was mana, he could probably pull it apart, dispersing it back into the world with a wave of his hands. If the mage creating it was skilled, it might be more difficult, as it had been when Kaz faced the mana-stick-wielding male beneath the mage academy. Every time Kaz tried to pull his mana apart, he had put it back together again, at least until Li and Kyla broke his concentration.


    That was a pointless tunnel of thought, however, since this was ki. If the creature had a core, Kaz could try to crush it, but it didn¡¯t. The ki was simply there, all around him, as if he really had stepped into the body of a powerful beast.


    But that ki still had to come from somewhere, didn¡¯t it? Mana was everywhere, all the time, but not ki. Ki was created by cores, or refined from mana by living creatures that didn¡¯t have cores. So where was the ki for this false dragon coming from? Or perhaps the better question was, where was the ki for the dragon¡¯s flame coming from? The dragon was stable, but the flame came and went, which implied it was being created or refined by a living creature.


    The ki around Kaz shifted as the ¡®dragon¡¯ prepared to step back to its original location, and Kaz moved with it. The sensation of being crushed and then surrounded by the foreign ki had been quite unpleasant, so he jumped upward, hoping to land in the location memory and Li¡¯s eyes told him he needed to be. At the top of his arc, however, his ears entered the area where the fire ki first formed, and he flinched away as frost formed on their tips. There was the cold he¡¯d so belatedly expected, but it was contained within that small area.


    As his paws came to rest on the wall again, he wondered what would happen if he introduced more red ki than the person sending it expected. Would that careful containment continue to hold, or would it burst? Rather than draining or dispersing this image, could he overload it?


    Between them, he and Li had quite a lot of red ki, and while Li used hers to heat her own breath or mimic Kyla¡¯s hiding technique, she didn¡¯t need it. Kaz could probably come close to doubling the amount of red ki in the dragon¡¯s flames, but he would only be able to do it once.


    <Kaz, I don¡¯t think you should be inside that thing when you try this,> Li said, her voice worried. She was flapping her wings, half lifting from her perch as she tried to decide what to do. If she did start flying, there was the possibility that whoever was controlling the false dragon would see her and realize that something was happening. Hiding herself while she flew was far too draining, and they would need all the ki they had, but she felt trapped and helpless just standing in one place.


    Kaz looked up. The red ki was forming again, right on time, and he began to pull all the red ki he had from his central dantian, allowing it to re-enter his cycle. His channels grew warm, pushing away the chill that surrounded him.


    <I think I have to,> he told her. <I think most of my fire ki would be scattered when it hit the image¡¯s surface, just like a ki bolt impacting a shield.>


    <Then think of something else!> she insisted, but he was already jumping.


    Stretching out his hand, Kaz pushed fire into fire. The world froze and then exploded.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy (Kyla)

    Kyla pressed her back against the wall as she slipped around the inside of the stadium. This building was a cavern in and of itself. It would be huge even in the city of the Deep, but if she understood its purpose, no one even lived here. It was a building that only existed for entertainment, which was so strange. It was simply too large. How did the humans ask questions, or pick the next howl?


    Mei brushed against her leg, and she looked down, seeing that the fuergar hadn¡¯t brought her anything for once. This was unusual enough that she looked more closely at the rows of blue-painted benches Mei had been investigating. They looked just like all the others, but her ears twisted as she caught the barest hint of¡­was that music?


    Kyla liked music, and had even been allowed to strike the bell to call her tribe for meals a few times. This wasn¡¯t the sound of niu-fur strings, though, nor was it drums, or the tap of bone against stone draperies.


    Her eyes followed her ears, and she caught a glimpse of movement between the bottom-most blue bench and the short wall directly in front of it. Was that dark fur or shadow? Were there still humans hiding up here, rather than joining the huddled crowd down below?


    There were several sets of stairs going down, one at each end of the long benches, so Kyla made her way to the next one over. Mei followed silently, and the two went down until they could see into the gap between bench and wall.


    Kyla wouldn¡¯t have guessed that three humans could fit into that space, but there they were. A tall, black-haired female who Kyla really should have seen sat by a brown-haired female who was so short Kyla almost missed her behind the first. The third person was the one playing the music, their face pale and tired beneath short brown hair. They held an instrument with slender strings connecting a long neck and a round belly , and their fingers looked raw from plucking those strings, even from where Kyla stood.


    The trio certainly didn¡¯t look like they were here to help the xiyi, and when the black dragon roared again before shooting another stream of flame directly overhead, they all winced. Kyla was fairly certain they were just humans, and she remembered what the female who¡¯d stumbled from the stairs had said. Were these the warriors she¡¯d mentioned?


    Looking at the bench next to her, Kyla saw a small metal plate on the end. She¡¯d noticed these already, and quickly figured out that they indicated how many benches there were. Why the humans wanted to mark that number, Kyla didn¡¯t know, but this bench said it was number forty-five, and if she understood the numbering system, that would make the one the females hid beside number forty-two.


    So, Kyla now had some kind of confirmation that these humans were simply that, not spies working for the xiyi. According to the females escaping earlier, they had been here before the xiyi arrived, and hadn¡¯t joined them since. The question was, what should Kyla do about it? She and Kaz would look like monsters to them, so even if they weren¡¯t really enemies, it was still dangerous to ignore them. When Kaz did whatever he was going to do, they might attack him simply because he wasn¡¯t human-shaped right now.


    So what should she do? If she approached them, they might turn on her instead. Then she would have to hurt or even kill them to get them to stop, and that might draw attention that none of them wanted. But if she ignored them, they might do something when she wasn¡¯t ready.


    Then the black-haired one, who had her back to the wall and was curled up into an extremely awkward position, shot upright before quickly sinking down again. She pointed, and the short female turned to look, though the musician just kept playing.


    Kyla turned as well, wondering what they¡¯d seen, and almost lost control of her power as she saw Kaz, apparently walking across empty air toward the dragon¡¯s colossal foot. He had seemed so tall and strong when she first met him, but surrounded by humans and now dwarfed by the dragon, he was small. His ears were up and his eyes determined, however, and Li ran along behind him, wings raised and mouth open as if she would leap over Kaz and take a bite from the gargantuan dragon.


    Kyla¡¯s mouth went dry as her cousin stopped next to the black-scaled limb, and she almost howled out a warning as that limb lifted and then came down again, right on top of his head. Even from here, she could hear the gasps of the humans, but there was no burst of gore, no crunch as a body was crushed to nothing. Instead, Kaz simply vanished, and Li waited, watching. There was no way the golden dragon would be so calm if Kaz had just been squashed.


    Then the tallest of the three females turned to the others and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Kaz¡¯s wyvern? Why does it look like a mini dragon? Are my eyes playing tricks on me now? And was that a kobold?¡±


    The short female rubbed her eyes , then looked back up where Li crouched, watching the leg beside her without any apparent concern for her own safety. ¡°That¡¯s what I saw, Eve, but-¡±


    ¡°I told you Kaz and Li were more than they appeared.¡± The human playing the instrument howled rather than spoke, each word rippling into the next.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Eve said, ¡°but maybe that isn¡¯t Li, did you think of that? Maybe it just looks like Li, and it really is a dragon. Maybe it¡¯s the big one¡¯s baby.¡±


    Kyla blinked at that absolutely ridiculous suggestion, and burst out, ¡°That is too Li!¡± Then she clamped her hands over her muzzle, hoping that the three humans hadn¡¯t heard her. But even Mei was looking up at her, the pointed little face and long whiskers somehow conveying the rodent¡¯s shock.


    Instantly, the one called Eve rolled over onto one knee, a peculiar weapon appearing in her hand. It looked a bit like a hammer, but instead of a normal handle, the other end was a deadly-looking blade, and the female gripped it halfway down the haft. It was fascinating, actually, both useful and lethal, and Kyla would have liked to look at it when it wasn¡¯t swinging threateningly in her direction.


    ¡°Who said that?¡± Eve hissed, glaring around.


    Kyla remained silent, but suddenly the music swelled, surrounding her, and her power faltered, causing her to flicker in and out of sight. Eve focused on her, lifting her odd weapon, but frowned, hesitating before attacking.


    ¡°Another kobold? What in all the hells is going on here? Giant lizards blowing people up, dragons the size of the stadium, and now kobolds? And why is this one wearing clothes?¡± This last almost sounded plaintive, and Kyla shifted her power from hiding to shielding.


    ¡°You wear clothes, and no one wonders why. And we came with Lianhua from the mountain,¡± she said quickly, pointing up toward Li, who was now raising her wings as if she couldn¡¯t decide whether or not to take flight. ¡°My cousin Kaz has been pretending to be a human, but now he¡¯s a kobold again, and his dragon is a dragon, too. I have a fuergar, and she¡¯s even better than a dragon, but-¡± She broke off, because they didn¡¯t need to know that last part, especially since Mei should be hidden by Kyla¡¯s body and the bench behind which they stood.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The tall and short females adjusted their positions, one readying herself to attack, while the other took a small, round shield from somewhere. The musician, however, laid their hand on the strings of the instrument, stilling them, and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s why my spells didn¡¯t work on him. He wasn¡¯t human.¡± Then they fell backward, going limp.


    ¡°Harper!¡± the other two exclaimed together, turning back to their friend. The tall one looked between Kyla and the unconscious form, clearly undecided, while the short one somehow switched the small shield for a larger one and held it between Kyla and her companions. Which was probably what saved all three of them when the world exploded.


    Kyla was blown away from the wall where the ¡®dragon¡¯ had perched, but most of the impact of the concussion and the following debris was taken by her shield. She went from feeling full of power to almost empty in an instant, however, and when she looked up, she found that she was lying on her back against the same wall the three humans had been huddling against. That wall now had a distinctly Kyla-shield-shaped section that was relatively intact and clean, while the rest of it was broken and filthy.


    She groaned as she tried to sit up, finding that her right side ached terribly. She must have come down on that side, though she had no memory of the moments between the explosion and opening her eyes again. Had she lost consciousness? How long had she been out? And where was Mei?


    ¡°Mei?¡± she called, coughing as dust filled her nose and lungs when she inhaled. She ignored the pain as she struggled to her paws, only vaguely aware that blood was dripping into her eyes from somewhere. ¡°Mei?¡±


    A small squeak answered her, and she slumped as a dusty but apparently unharmed fuergar emerged from the remains of the bench in front of her. Kyla had made sure that her shield was around the rodent, and either that or the bench had protected her little friend.


    Kyla¡¯s ears twitched as she heard someone groan, and she looked from Mei to the humans. At first she thought they weren¡¯t where they had been, and then she realized that she¡¯d been blown further than she thought. They weren¡¯t a whole staircase and three benches away any more. Instead, they were less than ten feet to her right.


    There was a large chunk of wall laying across the short female¡¯s shield, but that female was making a valiant effort to push it away. She couldn¡¯t seem to get it, though, so Kyla staggered over and started tugging. Seeing what her kobold was doing, Mei came, too, and began to gnaw away at one side of it, quickly destabilizing the whole thing so the shield-wielder and the kobold were able to roll the four-foot-wide layer of bricks and mortar over the short wall, where it crashed into the benches below.


    Kyla met the female¡¯s eyes as they both flinched, hoping that no one had been down there to be hurt. They each leaned over the wall, staring down to see that everyone had crowded away from the blast, creating an open area below. Moreover, hardly anyone was even looking up in their direction, because a pitched battle had begun in the middle of the circle of bare dirt occupying the center of the stadium.


    Together, they watched as humans poured through a wide entryway, some of them mounted on horses, while others ran with long spears thrust out ahead of them. Many of the xiyi were already down, while others were standing shoulder to shoulder around a crumpled figure. The black-scaled xiyi who had been speaking so arrogantly was on his knees, clutching his head as the others protected him.


    ¡°Wha¡¯¡­hap¡¯n¡¯d?¡± a groggy voice asked, and Eve pushed a few chunks of brick away from her face as she sat up. She actually seemed to be in fairly good shape, other than a trickle of blood coming from one ear, matting her black curls. Her head-fur was almost as wild as Kyla¡¯s usually was.


    ¡°How should I know?¡± the shorter female snapped. ¡°Ask the kobold while I find Harper.¡± Her blue eyes were sharp with fear as she began to shove at the debris surrounding them. Like Kyla¡¯s resting place, there was a clearer, shield-shaped area around them, but the musician wasn¡¯t there.


    Rather than interrogating Kyla, Eve, too, began moving rocks and pieces of wood aside, looking for their friend. Kyla took a moment to close her eyes, gingerly rubbing at her forehead. Her hand came away sticky, but not worryingly so. Head wounds always bled a lot, which meant she probably only had a small cut, and she didn¡¯t feel dizzy anymore, though her side still ached.


    The short female gave a yelp, and Kyla looked back at the humans. The two females had found the musician beneath a broken bench that had come to rest against the wall. Without hesitation, Kyla went to help, and they got the piece of wood, which was so large it must once have been an entire tree, out of the way. The slim figure beneath breathed easily and evenly, and no blood stained their clothes, so Kyla thought they might have simply slept through the entire experience.


    The short female plopped back onto her rear with a grunt, one hand on the shoulder of her unconscious friend, and the other on her shield. She stared straight at Kyla and demanded, ¡°Now, who are you? You were saying something about Kaz and Li. How do you-?¡±


    She was interrupted by the golden dragon herself, who swooped and dove directly between them, letting out a long, rough sound that was something like a whistle and something like a roar. Li wobbled a little as she flew, which was slightly worrying, but she very definitely wanted something.


    Once she saw she had their attention, Li glided in a circle, flying back up toward the wide hole in the wall. She gave the whistling roar again, looking back at them for so long that she almost ran into a shattered piece of stone that teetered precariously on the edge of the wide gap. She managed to stop by awkwardly flapping her wings in a way that looked like she was trying to fly backwards, then landed on the stone, which creaked and swayed beneath her weight.


    Ignoring the humans, who didn¡¯t seem to be in any better condition to attack her than she was to attack them, Kyla began to climb what remained of the stairs. Mei ran ahead of her, scurrying from one hiding place to another until even Kyla lost track of her. Li had her wings half up, and seemed to be bouncing on the stone, making it swing gently up and down. When Kyla got close enough, she could see why.


    The stone, which looked like it might once have been a piece of the flat section at the very top of the wall, had fallen across several benches. Somehow the thick rectangles of wood were still holding up beneath the weight, and beneath them lay Kaz. He was awake, his blue eyes blinking slowly, but he didn¡¯t respond when she called his name.


    ¡°Ah, hells,¡± a voice muttered behind Kyla. She flinched, but Eve wasn¡¯t there to hurt her. Instead, she stared at the blue-furred kobold trapped beneath the rocks. ¡°He doesn¡¯t even look that different,¡± she muttered. ¡°I mean, there¡¯s the fur, but it¡¯s the same color as his hair, and those eyes are exactly the same. The big nose, too.¡±


    Turning, she looked at Li. ¡°All right, Li, all right. We get it. But once we pull him out of there, he¡¯s going to have a lot of explaining to do.¡± She put her back to the section of wall and began to push with her legs, causing the thing to shift, but it didn¡¯t fall.


    Kyla watched as the dragon bounced up and down while the human shoved, then said, ¡°Li, go to the other end.¡±


    The dragon looked at her, and Kyla could almost see the moment when she realized she¡¯d been doing the exact opposite of what she needed to. Her golden eyes flicked away, and she hissed softly, then flew up and away, landing again on the far end of the chunk of wall. At first it didn¡¯t seem like it was going to work, but then Eve grunted, muscles bulging as she straightened her legs. The wall tumbled over, leaving Li flapping wildly in suddenly empty air.


    Li somehow managed to get back to Kaz even before Kyla could, and the dragon pressed herself against him, clicking and hissing in a way Kyla had never seen before. Her body trembled, and when Kyla and Eve approached, the dragon bared her teeth at them, releasing a thin stream of fire.


    It was Mei who managed to get through to the dragon. The fuergar appeared from Kaz¡¯s other side, dropping a copper coin beside his ear. She used her nose to push it closer, and Li went to snap at the rodent, but pulled back as she realized who it was. Kyla took a step closer while the dragon was distracted, and when Li looked back at her, she seemed to realize who Kyla was, too, and that she was there to help. With a soft sigh, the dragon laid her head on Kaz¡¯s chest.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-one

    The dark space was hot, and Kaz rolled. He spun around the smooth curve, chased by a golden ball, then a black one. Their paths crossed, and the spheres merged with him, tugging at his very essence before separating again, spinning, spinning through the red dust that coated everything.


    The bowl tilted, and Kaz poured down through a spout, the surface shifting from smooth to rough, tearing at his fur, even though he knew he didn¡¯t have fur. He had nothing, not in this place. No flesh concealed his inner self, leaving him exposed. Exposed to the heat, the darkness, and the laughter. Who was laughing at him? Had someone else been there, when this happened? What was this? A memory? A dream?


    Where was Li?


    He turned a head he didn¡¯t have, looking for the chain that bound him to his dragon. Rather than one chain, however, he saw three. Three? Li, the mountain, and¡­what? But it didn¡¯t matter. The link was there, therefore Li was there. He reached out, trying to grasp the glittering links, but they slipped away. Slipped away from hands he didn¡¯t have.


    <Li!>


    There was no answer. Kaz looked around frantically. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was using his ki to¡­what? He¡¯d definitely done something, and he could vaguely remember Li saying he shouldn¡¯t. Then he was¡­ He was back in the bowl in Nucai¡¯s den. He¡¯d been spinning, chased by two cores. Two cores which merged with his.


    After that¡­ He wanted to whimper. Why couldn¡¯t he remember? He¡¯d been poured out of Nucai¡¯s bowl, and then¡­


    The world shivered around him, a shrill chime slicing through his mind as a crack formed, pale light filtering through to reach him. He looked toward it. Was it a way out? But no, rather than offering a path to escape, he thought the jagged tear in this space was a very bad thing.


    <shhhh, child,> a voice said. It took him a moment to place it, but then he remembered. That was Heishe, one of the twelve ancient Divine Beasts who were supposed to protect the world. Enigmatic, yes, but not an enemy. Her coils formed from darkness, circling him, holding him together as another crack formed overhead. This time the light that entered was a deep, clear red.


    The serpent¡¯s tongue flickered out, pink against the black scales and curving white fangs. <where are you?> she asked.


    Kaz shook his head, though he only knew he did it because the world moved back and forth. <I don¡¯t know,> he told her.


    <you do,> she urged gently.


    Crack! This time the sound was loud, insistent, and a gold light, like sunlight but entirely different, fell across them. Heishe¡¯s eyes glowed with it, and for a moment Kaz thought he was looking into Li¡¯s golden gaze.


    <Where¡¯s Li?> he demanded.


    <the dragonling is safe. for now,> she said. <where are you?>


    Red, white, and gold were pouring in, filling up the space around them with chaotic swirls. In some places, they remained bright and clear, but where they came together, the barest hint of gray began to form.


    <Nowhere!> he said. <A memory?> He¡¯d seen such memories before, though rarely without Li¡¯s assistance. <Is this when Nucai healed me?>


    Silence. <did he?>


    Kaz stepped back, but when he touched Heishe¡¯s cool scales, it wasn¡¯t with his flesh. Instead, his surface slipped along hers, smooth and solid.


    <He did,> Kaz told the serpent. <I was injured while I was out with my father, and the only chance I had was Nucai. So Father took me to the Tree, and Nucai healed me.>


    The ground shuddered, black swelling up like water rising from an underground river. The other colors were held back, beyond Heishe¡¯s long body, but he could feel the black rising up around him. Kaz felt a sudden, chilling fear. Time was almost up.


    <I don¡¯t want to die,> he whimpered, staring at the chain that bound him to his dragon. Always before, even when it was nothing but a thread, it had shone with light. Now the end attached to him was turning as gray as everything else.


    <then tell me where you are,> Heishe said, rising up and spreading her hood. An arch of golden scales sprawled across it, the first color he¡¯d seen on her scales besides black.


    He looked around. Spun. A core, spinning in place, trying to escape its fate as someone far above him played with his life as if he were a puppy¡¯s toy.


    <I¡¯m in my core,> he said. <And it¡¯s breaking.>


    <yessss,> Heishe agreed. <you did something that should have killed you, but because of who and what you are, you were merely reduced to this. a core.>


    Now that he knew - no, now that he¡¯d faced what he¡¯d already known - he realized what was happening. His ki was leaking out, escaping into the world, merging and becoming one with the mana that was everywhere, all the time.


    <Can you fix it?> he asked, spinning toward Heishe. <Nucai did. He just¡­crushed it all back together.>


    Heishe hissed in amusement. <did he? is that how it works? someone simply pushes ki together until it forms a core?>


    Kaz hesitated. That¡­wasn¡¯t how it worked at all. Was it? The way Lianhua described it, that did seem to be how humans created their cores. Compression, cultivation, meditation, all together until they could force enough power into a small enough space that it became solid.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    But Kaz wasn¡¯t a human. He wasn¡¯t human, and he¡¯d been born with a core. Even if human cores worked that way, his didn¡¯t. Why had Nucai been able to do it, then?


    Around him, Heishe¡¯s coils twisted, then melted, becoming something entirely different. A humanoid female stood before him, her long white hair trailing down, tangling over her black robes, which were embroidered with golden serpents. In her hand she held a swirling orb. A core.


    Kaz slid toward it, a sudden terrible hunger overtaking him. That core would solve everything. If he had it, he could fix his core, could find Li, could wake up. But Heishe held it away from him, and Kaz had no hands. He was just a core. Just¡­like¡­that one.


    <Is that¡­me?> he asked.


    The human Heishe turned the sphere in her hands, showing him the long cracks running down its sides. It wasn¡¯t shattered, not like the first time, but the damage went deep. Too deep to be patched, even if he knew how he¡¯d once formed that nacreous coating that held his core together the first time he broke it. Held it together long enough for Nucai to find him and fix it properly.


    Except that Nucai hadn¡¯t. Not properly. In repairing Kaz¡¯s core, he¡¯d left a mark on it. An entirely unnecessary handprint, ensuring that every time Kaz looked at it, he would be reminded of the enormous debt he owed the venerable being.


    <what is ¡®ki¡¯, young one?> Heishe asked, apparently changing the subject.


    Kaz answered.


    she mused. <what else?>


    If not power, then what? Mana? Energy? Earth, fire, water, metal, and wood?


    <Life,> he told her.


    She released a pleased sigh. <yessss. each core is a life, existing for a brief moment before flickering out, sharing itself with the world. what did it do? what did it learn? what experience does it have to share? some lives make those around them greater, while others only take away, but they all exist, at least for that moment.>


    She held up Kaz¡¯s core, and he thought he could feel himself lift into the air as she did. <so what is this?>


    <My life,> Kaz said.


    She nodded and stroked a finger over its surface. Kaz felt a shudder run through him as she did so. <and what else have i told you?>


    Kaz tried to think, but the cracks were widening, bit by bit. Was he inside his core, or outside of it? He felt his power, his life, ebbing, but it was around him, not leaking away.


    <There is no battle, only ki,> he managed. <All is one, in an eternal cycle. But what does that mean?>


    <did this nucai fix your core?> she asked. <was it ever broken to begin with? Did he save your life?>


    Kaz¡¯s mind fragmented. Pieces spun away, each one bearing a memory. Some were sharp and terrible, others drenched in sorrow. A few, mostly recent, shone with joy and laughter.


    ¡­


    He opened his pack, staring down into the furiously whirling eyes of a baby dragon. There was a baby dragon in his pack. It snapped at his nose, then licked away the drop of blood that fell onto its snout. A drop that he could now see was suffused with ki. That ki spread through the tiny creature, giving it strength. Life.


    ¡­


    Rega. Her eyes were dull and empty. She had spoken her last words, drawn her last breath. She was the only one who had truly cared for him. How could he go on? But how could he not? He pushed the emotions away.


    ¡­


    Rega again, but this time her hand stroked his fur as she howled quietly, late into the night. Katri had already fallen asleep on their aunt¡¯s other side. But his sister hadn¡¯t been there, hadn¡¯t seen. She didn¡¯t know, and he only wished he could forget.


    ¡­


    He remembered crouching beside his father¡¯s body. His hands shook as he dug through the fallen kobold¡¯s pack, pulling out the firestriker, the only thing small enough to hide. To keep. To remember. His father¡¯s last words. ¡°Listen to your mother.¡± Blood. Blood and pointless death.


    ¡­


    Always moving. Monstrous creatures surrounded them, and some were other kobolds. No one wanted them, so they just went on. Everyone was always so tired, so angry.


    ¡­


    Rega lifting him into her arms, chastising Ghazt for taking him to the Tree. She took the necklace that was meant for him and placed it around her own neck. Now he could see the chains that bound the stones to her organs. Limiting her. Around Ghazt¡¯s neck, within his body, identical chains hung, but these were old, thick and strong. Binding him, making him less.


    ¡­


    He spun. The bowl was hot, and a golden sphere chased him while he chased one made of obsidian. They created furrows in the dust¡­


    Before that? Nothing. He remembered holding onto memories of his family until they were burned away, but that was all they were; memories of memories. He¡¯d been told Rega was his mother, but he didn¡¯t remember sleeping in her arms, sharing a hut with her and Ghazt. Where had that Kaz gone?


    And then he knew. That Kaz, the one who had experienced a family without Oda, before the Broken Knives, that Kaz had died. He knew a core retained the memories of its last life, and even some of the ones before that, at least if it was eaten by one of his people. Nucai had harvested that Kaz¡¯s core, combined it with others, and then somehow, somehow, managed to give his creation a body again.


    <he didn¡¯t,> Heishe said gently. <you did. because you knew who you were. you held so firmly to that version of yourself that you became it.>


    <Am I a-> He hesitated. What had Lianhua called it? <A shiyan? A monster created from cores contaminated with fulan?>


    <at one point,> she told him, <that might have been a reasonable description. no longer, however. you are you. you are the life held within this core, and it is you.>


    An enormous crevice opened above them, releasing blue into the world. It gaped wider than all of the others together, and Kaz spasmed, power pouring out of him as if the sky had sprung a leak.


    Heishe leaned closer, cradling the core against her chest. It was impossibly large, too big to fit in Kaz¡¯s chest, much less his abdomen, and he could see it shifting further and further toward gray as he watched.


    <There is no battle, only ki,> she said, and for once there was urgency in her voice. <All is one, which means->


    His mind stuttered, but he managed to finish the sentence, somehow finally, finally understanding what she was trying to tell him. <I am all, and I am Kaz, > he whispered, and his core imploded in her hands.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-two

    His eyes snapped open, but he wasn¡¯t back. Not yet. He was close. Much closer than he had been when Heishe appeared. She was gone now, but he knew what he had to do.


    Reaching out, Kaz took hold of the ki surrounding him. He no longer feared drowning in it. It was him and he was it. But he wasn¡¯t yet ready for this part of him to join the greater whole, and in order to stop that, he needed to rebuild his core and take control of his body.


    Quickly, he gathered in ki. Ruby, obsidian, sapphire, moonstone, and topaz swirled close. He tried to remember precisely what his core was supposed to look like, and found that he couldn¡¯t. He knew it had four layers, and now he also understood that it didn¡¯t need to. But those layers were part of him, part of his experience, his growth, and so he rebuilt them from the outside in.


    As he brought the outermost layer together, he left in fine strands of silver mana, each one perfectly imperfect, winding through without regard for pattern or beauty. How many times had he been broken and put back together now? Each of those mattered, and should not be forgotten. He was stronger for them, and each one made him less likely to break the next time.


    Beneath that he brought together the delicate gray remnants of that shell of mana he¡¯d once forced into being as he lay dying beside the woshi pool. He now suspected that Li¡¯s ki, the connection between their cycles, had kept him alive - or returned him to life - more than her wings beating against his chest. She had filled his failing core with her own life until he was able to do something he never should have. He had created the shell of a human core around his beast core, and the remnants of that impossible feat still lingered there, hidden but not forgotten, still altering the flow of his ki in ways that defined him.


    The third layer was probably the closest to what he was meant to be. Whatever Nucai had been trying to create, this was probably it. Ki in its purest form, all five colors working together in harmony. But to Kaz¡¯s eye, there wasn¡¯t enough blue. Whatever the original Kaz¡¯s balance had been, it wasn¡¯t this. The black and gold Nucai had added were part of him now, but they were too strong. Gently, Kaz pushed the other colors down, making room for a greater proportion of Wood ki, and immediately felt more at peace.


    But now he remembered what the other link led to. His dragon, his mountain, and there, within him, where only ki should have rested, a seed. It lay dormant, its connection to him the smallest of the three that trailed away into the very full emptiness that surrounded him. What now seemed long ago, when Kaz had allowed himself to be captured by Vega, he had placed the seed into his storage pouch, where he¡¯d all but forgotten about it.


    The seed had been draining his golden ki almost since the moment he picked it up, and unlike Li, Kaz had no idea what it was doing with it, if anything. It had seemed bottomless at first, but a few times he¡¯d seen the ki gathered there surge upwards, indicating that it might actually be possible to fill it.


    Like everything else in his pouch, however, it was frozen, unable to do whatever it was going to do. Rather than pulling on everything around it, it hung there, taking only the barest hint of earth ki from his cycle, and he was finally able to look at it properly. The space around it was smaller than he¡¯d ever seen it before, and golden ki swirled nearby with relative impunity. Rather than being overwhelmed by the emptiness of it, Kaz could actually examine its wrinkled surface.


    By now, he had seen a few kinds of seeds. Raff had given him a wrinkled apple, with its little droplet-shaped seeds, and he¡¯d seen several berries, with seeds so miniscule that if he hadn¡¯t seen the spark of ki in them, he never would have believed they were alive. Each seed was different, depending on the needs of the parent plant, and thanks to Qiangde¡¯s memories, Kaz now knew what this one was.


    Qiangde had called the Tree in the Deep a Sacred Plum tree. It grew only one fruit every century, but that fruit contained more ki than most living things could gather in a lifetime. When Qiangde was attacked, he had been eating one of these plums, and its power had allowed him to survive long enough to escape back into the mountain.


    The dragon emperor had dropped the seed of that fruit, which must have somehow managed to grow, in spite of the bitter cold and fierce winds that scoured the mountaintop. How long had it taken before it was able to produce its own plum? Was this the first, or were there others that had fallen, unnoticed, only to decay or sprout their own trees?


    During the battle between Li¡¯s parent and Jianying, this fruit had rolled away from wherever it had lain, dropping down beside Li¡¯s egg. After Kaz accidentally tasted dragon blood, filling himself with more ki than his body at the time could handle, he had found both Li¡¯s egg and the plum, picking them up only because he could tell that they were both able to hold the power that threatened to explode from him. One of those items had produced the greatest companion he could ever have asked for. What might the other become, if only it was allowed to grow?


    Reaching out, he gently grasped the link which now seemed so fragile, especially in comparison to the one binding him to Li. Taking hold of the golden ki nearby, he wound another strand into it. He wouldn¡¯t remove the seed from the pouch right now, even if he could, but once he had a moment to breathe, he would. He wanted to see what the seed would become, and in the meantime, he had more than enough ki to offer it a little more.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    And that was it. His core was restored. It was so simple, and yet it had taken him so long to understand. For that matter, he still wasn¡¯t certain he understood everything about what had just happened, but for now, he was at peace with that.


    Which left his body. A body which, in some sense, wasn¡¯t even real. What had it started as? Had Nucai used some other hapless kobold as the foundation of his construct? Or had the body been that of a fuergar or a janjio, only to be entirely altered by the original Kaz¡¯s self-image, becoming a copy so perfect that even Kaz¡¯s parents hadn¡¯t been able to tell? The best option was that Nucai somehow preserved that original body, simply placing the altered core back inside it.


    The very idea was nauseating, and if Kaz had had a body at that moment, he would have scratched at it, trying to tear away the unreality of it to reveal the truth. But his body was the truth. He had worn it for more than a decade, and it was him as much as his core. He was a kobold, and he was Kaz.


    Bracing himself, Kaz began to gather ki around him again. He used it to paint a picture of himself. It used more blue than any other color, but there was white in his eyes and sharp teeth, black in pupils and gums. White fur covered his chest and muzzle. Red dyed his tongue, shading to pink for the insides of his ears and the pads of his paws.


    The only color he didn¡¯t use was gold, and in a moment of perverse humor, he added a subtle shading of golden fur around his throat. Perhaps he would keep it, and perhaps he wouldn¡¯t, but for now, giving himself his own warrior¡¯s necklace amused him. Besides, it was the same shade as Li¡¯s scales.


    And then he opened his eyes again and found himself looking into swirling golden orbs.


    <Kaz,> the dragon whispered, then raised her head from his chest and shouted, <Kaz!> Steam boiled from her mouth, and he had to blink his eyes closed again against the heat of it.


    ¡°What happened?¡± he asked, trying to sit up, only to find that the body he¡¯d so painstakingly rebuilt wasn¡¯t quite ready to obey him yet.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know,¡± a familiar voice said, and Kaz rolled his head to the side, astonished to find Eve staring back at him. Even more shocking, Bella was sitting next to her, with Harper¡¯s limp form leaning against the shorter female¡¯s broad shoulder. The bard was almost completely drained of mana, and her fingers looked swollen and sore, but otherwise she seemed fine.


    ¡°Did I stop the dragon?¡± he asked, trying to sit up enough to see the spot where the behemoth had perched.


    <Oh, you stopped the dragon,> Li said. <The big one and me, too! You blew me right off the wall, and I had to fly back up here after dodging half the stadium trying to fall on me, and then I couldn¡¯t find you. It was like you just vanished, and then you reappeared in my mind, but I couldn¡¯t find you, and then I did find you, but I couldn¡¯t get you out, even though I tried and tried, and so I had to ask for help, and->


    Kaz gave up on sitting and wrapped his arms around his dragon. <I¡¯m sorry,> he told her silently. <I¡¯ll explain everything later. Are you really all right?>


    Li wriggled in his arms, but she wasn¡¯t trying to get away. Instead, she clung to him as if he was the single largest ki-crystal she¡¯d ever seen, and she didn¡¯t plan to let him go until she was big enough to eat him. He stroked her head and neck, ignoring the pricking of the sharp horns that now crowned her head.


    ¡°Are you really Kaz?¡± Bella asked, and Kaz realized he¡¯d closed his eyes again. Honestly, he thought he could fall asleep right there in the rubble, curled up with his dragon, but that definitely wasn¡¯t a good idea. Perhaps not as bad as his last idea, but definitely not good.


    Looking up into the squat female¡¯s suspicious face, Kaz said, ¡°Yes.¡± Then, just to prove it, and because he could now, he allowed his body to shift into its human form. Understanding that he was really only shaped by his own self-image was both freeing and slightly horrifying. Would he now change shapes if he simply thought about it?


    It took a bit more effort than he¡¯d thought, though, and judging by the looks on the female¡¯s faces and the way they scrambled away from him, it was far less pleasant than when he¡¯d changed by merging with an image he¡¯d drawn on the wall. Perhaps it would be best to stick to that technique, if only for his own peace of mind.


    ¡°What in all the fourteen forgotten pits?¡± Eve burst out, lifting her weapon. Beside her, Bella held up her shield, leaving only Harper blissfully unaware of what had just happened.


    ¡°Oh. You¡¯re doing that again,¡± came Kyla¡¯s disapproving voice as she poked her head around a stack of wooden boards. In spite of her words, her tail was wagging so quickly her paws seemed to bounce on the ground, moving her closer to him with each motion. Even Mei looked pleased to see him, her eyes bright as she sat up and began briskly cleaning her whiskers. Kaz felt something in his chest loosen, and smiled at his cousin, giving her a yip of greeting. She yipped back, relief clear in the sound, and for a moment, with his dragon in his arms and his friends safe and close, he almost forgot why he was there.


    Then the screams, which had been almost completely absent since he woke up, returned and rose to a new crescendo. Rising above them was another sound he recognized: Jianying was roaring. Again. And this time Kaz could actually see the coalescence of power that rose through the air, gathering into something capable of pushing against everyone nearby.


    Kyla¡¯s shield flared out around her, holding the black dragon¡¯s ki at bay, at least for now, but both Bella and Eve fell to their knees. Bella¡¯s face was red and furious as she pushed against it, but Eve just gave in, apparently having decided that it was better not to fight against something that wasn¡¯t actively hurting her.


    Kyla panted as she placed her hands on her knees, her core churning out ki that was used almost as quickly as she could produce it. ¡°That¡¯s what¡­I came to¡­tell you. The xiyi¡­called more dragons.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-three

    Dragons flew overhead, each with a xiyi mounted on its back. The xiyi pulled on ropes attached to their mounts¡¯ heads, and the dragons dove, using claws, teeth, and occasional bursts of fiery breath to drive back the humans who were assaulting the few remaining xiyi on the ground.


    The black-scaled leader was back on his feet, and he was no longer making any attempt to appear conciliatory or reasonable. His teeth were bared, claws stabbing at the air as he sent bolt after bolt of power into the crowd of warriors.


    Some of them fell beneath the onslaught, but many lifted mana-filled shields to block the attacks. Their forward progress was broken, but they¡¯d reached the edges of the stadium crowd, who were fleeing as quickly as possible while the human warriors provided protection.


    ¡°We have to help,¡± Bella said, leaning over the now-cracked and broken wall that had protected her and the other human females from discovery. Bella was simply carrying Harper by now, and the two females looked very odd with the taller one resting on the shorter one¡¯s broad shoulder.


    ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± Eve said with unusual solemnity, ¡°at least not while that-¡±


    They all staggered as the roar reached them. It was stronger sometimes than others, which Kaz assumed was related to Jianying¡¯s distance from them. This was one of the weaker ones, and while most of the human spectators dropped beneath it, none of the grimly determined warriors did.


    ¡°Yes, that,¡± Eve growled as she straightened her knees. ¡°Without Harper¡¯s music, we¡¯re not strong enough to handle that. I see several merc groups, including the Adamant Reach and the Order of Brass, down there. Once they have all the civilians out, they¡¯ll be able to let loose and tear those monsters apart.¡±


    The roar reached them again, closer this time, and Eve allowed herself to fall to one knee while Bella¡¯s face turned crimson beneath the effort of remaining upright. She managed, though she was trembling as the sound receded, and sweat stuck tendrils of her hair to her face and neck.


    ¡°That¡¯s a dragon¡¯s roar,¡± Kyla offered. She was still able to hold off the worst of the roar¡¯s effects by flaring her shield, but Kaz could tell that her dantians were almost drained. It would be better for her to save her energy and yield like Eve, but his cousin had as much stubborn pride as Bella. Oddly, Mei seemed almost completely unaffected, even though she was ranging far beyond the protection of Kyla¡¯s shield.


    Bella gave Kyla a disdainful glare, but Eve stood up between them, brushing off her knees as she said, ¡°Yep, that¡¯s what we figured. The big black one, right? I thought Kaz killed it, though.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°That was just an illusion.¡± He frowned down at the leader of the xiyi, who still threw ki bolts as if he would never run out of power. ¡°I thought Jianying himself was controlling it, but after seeing that xiyi fall when it was destroyed, I¡¯m not so sure.¡±


    Was Jianying the leader of the xiyi or was he just another victim? He¡¯d certainly seemed intelligent enough when he fought Qiangde. Had the xiyi tricked him into helping them, and only then done whatever they did to limit him as well as the other dragons? But Snen had said ¡®great Jianying commanded¡¯ them to use the fangqiu. A mere beast didn¡¯t give commands, did he?


    Kaz¡¯s gaze focused on the reptilian forms down below. Either way, it seemed like stopping that black-scaled xiyi would be necessary. Feeling his determination, Li shifted beside him.


    <I¡¯ll do it,> she told him. <He can¡¯t fly, but I can. I can attack him from above.>


    Kaz shook his head, looking back toward the human defenders. In spite of the attacks of the dragons, they had managed to get most of the weakest humans out of the way. He could still see some noncombatants clinging fearfully to the far walls, but if they wouldn¡¯t come closer, there was nothing to be done about it.


    <You¡¯ll just look like another dragon to them. Even if you hide your front legs and try to look like a wyvern, I doubt they¡¯ll notice or care. Both sides would consider you an enemy.> He was right and Li knew it, which only made her unhappier.


    <You can¡¯t go alone,> she insisted, and he could hear from the stubborn tone of her voice that he wouldn¡¯t be able to convince her.


    With a small sigh, Kaz looked over at the females just as another roar hit. This was the closest yet, and both Eve and Bella¡¯s knees impacted the ground with painful-sounding cracks. Kyla¡¯s shield finally gave way, and his cousin went down, too, though she bared her teeth and barked at the air furiously as she did so.


    So far as he could see, only Kaz, Li, and some of the human warriors remained standing. Most of the warriors who went down did so like Eve, yielding so they wouldn¡¯t be forced down, straining themselves in resisting the irresistible. A few lurched and then broke, creating gaps in the line of defense.


    The dragons overhead - or rather their riders - immediately took advantage of these holes. Several dragons landed for the first time, swinging barbed tails into exposed sides, while claws hauled fallen warriors into reach of gaping jaws.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Bella muttered, passing Harper to Eve as she stood again. She was obviously in pain, but equally obviously wasn¡¯t going to let that stop her.


    Eve accepted the bard, but caught Bella''s arm. Her usually cheerful demeanor was almost angry as she glared at her friend. ¡°You¡¯re a weakness, Bell, and you know it.¡± Eve pointed down to where the humans were struggling to recover. ¡°You¡¯d be one of those on the ground right now. Wait, and help when you¡¯ll manage to do something other than get yourself killed.¡±


    ¡°And when will that be?¡± Bella spat. ¡°When our city is under the control of dragons and lizards?¡±


    Kaz had had enough of the pointless argument, so he ignored them, turning to his cousin. ¡°Wait here,¡± he told her, though there was a questioning note to his voice that he hadn¡¯t meant to be there. She was young, and his cousin, but with her teeth bared and her shortened fur, she looked very much like Katri when his sister was angry.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Also like Katri, she started to ignore him, but then her ears lowered and she glanced sidelong at Eve and Bella, who were still bickering. Did she see herself in them? Which one would she identify with more?


    ¡°All right,¡± she said softly. ¡°But only until the big one is dead. They hurt and trapped Raff, and almost killed you.¡±


    Kaz chuffed a laugh. To be fair, he¡¯d almost killed himself. Again. He didn¡¯t think that would happen any more, though. Leaning forward, he touched his nose to hers for a brief moment. ¡°Be safe,¡± he told her.


    ¡°You, too,¡± she said, and Kaz turned, vaulting over the wall.


    Li came with him, concealing them both as they dropped to the top of one of the many fallen chunks of wall. The fall was still almost twenty feet, but Kaz barely even noticed as he slid down the back side of the pile of rubble, starting a small rockslide that didn¡¯t even come close to tripping him up.


    <You have to stay out of sight,> Kaz warned her.


    <I know,> Li muttered. <But if it looks like he¡¯s going to hurt you, I¡¯ll do whatever I have to.> She sent an image of herself, dropping out of empty air to bite off the xiyi leader¡¯s head in one massive chomp. She wasn¡¯t quite large enough to actually do that yet, but Kaz didn¡¯t say so.


    <He won¡¯t,> he told her instead, wishing he was as confident as he sounded. He felt like his ki had some new depth to it, a connection to something greater than himself that hadn¡¯t been there before, but he had no idea how to use it. Which was nothing new, really. It seemed like he¡¯d spent his entire life stumbling around in the dark until he met Lianhua and the others, and they gave him a spark to light the firemoss he¡¯d been holding all along.


    Crouching, Kaz crept around the side of the rubble pile, briefly noting that at least a few humans had either been killed by the falling bricks, or had died before the wall blew up. He felt genuine sorrow for them, just as he would have if the broken shapes had belonged to kobolds, and hoped that someone would be able to howl them to their ancestors. No matter what body they wore, they were people, and they deserved to be mourned.


    The human warriors had managed to rally, and from the distant sound of hooves, it sounded like they might even get reinforcements soon. Still, many of them were injured, and they were defending, no longer even trying to move forward. That allowed the xiyi to rally in turn, and with their dragons, they were clearly readying a new assault.


    And then Jianying - the real Jianying - swooped by overhead, still chasing the far-smaller brown dragon. Because Snen¡¯s coloring so perfectly matched his dragon, Kaz couldn¡¯t see if the xiyi still sat atop the brown dragon, but it was obvious the creature was tiring. Frankly, it was amazing it had lasted so long, given how hard it had to be to stay ahead of a dragon at least four times as large as itself. It must have led the new dragon emperor on a merry chase.


    That chase was over now, however, as the brown dragon dove abruptly, heading straight for the other beasts already on the ground. As it did, Kaz could finally make out a smaller figure mounted on its back, and Snen seemed to be desperately trying to pull his dragon up again. The xiyi was leaning back, hauling on two ropes that led to the brown dragon¡¯s head, much like the reins humans put on horses.


    His dragon seemed to have no interest in obeying, however. Its instincts were in charge, and it sought safety with the other dragons. It landed, stumbling forward awkwardly before crumpling into a heap, panting so loudly Kaz could hear it even from where he stood, caught up by the sight.


    He wasn¡¯t alone, either. Almost everyone, both human and xiyi, had stopped to watch the end of the pursuit. Overhead, Jianying swept his wings back, and a cloud of dust rose from the field, surrounding them all.


    Yells came, and through the brown haze, Kaz saw a few lights wink out. Two were filled with mana, humans who had dropped their guard to watch what was happening above them, but the last was a xiyi. Another, particularly dense, cloud of mana moved through the battlefield, using the cover of the dust to approach the xiyi leader.


    Unfortunately, that leader wasn¡¯t among those who had lowered his guard. A ki-bolt burned Kaz¡¯s eyes, and the mana jerked backwards, then began to fade. Kaz clenched his teeth at the futility of it, but that unknown human had had the right idea. The air was already beginning to clear and weapons were being lifted again, but this was the time to act.


    The question was, what action should he take? Only a short while before, the answer was obvious, but Snen¡¯s arrival had changed that. Kaz could see the other male¡¯s familiar ki on the ground beside his dragon, unmoving. Had he been injured in that last tumble, or had he chosen to stay with his dragon? Snen clearly considered the brown dragon almost as precious as Kaz considered Li, and Kaz didn¡¯t think the xiyi would abandon the beast while he believed there was any hope to save it.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes flickered between the two clumps of ki, the leader and Snen, and came to a decision. The air was clearing, so Kaz ran, keeping down so he was hidden within the lingering cloud. He had to close his eyes against the dirt, but at the moment he could see as clearly with them shut as he could when they were open.


    When he reached Snen¡¯s side, Kaz crouched, running his hands over the xiyi¡¯s body. One leg was pinned beneath the dragon, but that didn¡¯t stop the male from biting at Kaz. ¡°Get back,¡± the xiyi gasped. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    Kaz¡¯s hand darted out, and he grabbed the dragon-kobold¡¯s short muzzle as it snapped toward him, holding it closed for a moment. He didn¡¯t want to change to his kobold form right now, not when he was about to be revealed to the desperate humans who were fighting to hold back the invaders. Looking like one of the ¡®monsters¡¯ would not be wise, and Kaz was trying to learn some wisdom at last.


    ¡°It¡¯s Kaz,¡± he said softly, releasing his grip. ¡°The kobold from-¡±


    ¡°I know the name,¡± Snen said just as softly. ¡°But you are no kobold.¡±


    Kaz could have laughed, but he didn¡¯t, choosing instead to say, ¡°I am kobold as much as I¡¯m anything. But I am that Kaz, no matter how I look.¡± Reaching down, he pushed blue ki into the form of the exhausted dragon, which gave an almost confused-sounding groan and shifted. Kaz was just glad it didn¡¯t try to bite at him like Snen had, because catching its snout would have been much more difficult.


    As the dragon moved, Kaz pulled on Snen, and the xiyi tugged his leg free with a pained hiss. Kaz could see the damaged flow of ki in the limb, but it wasn¡¯t blocked or broken, so he thought the injury wasn¡¯t too bad. Still, he reached down and let more blue ki flow into the leg, finding that it was much easier to do so than it ever had been before. Was that because he¡¯d accepted his power on a deeper level than he used to, or because he had shifted the balance of his own ki?


    ¡°We have to go,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Both sides will probably consider you an enemy now.¡±


    Snen managed to get to his feet, but rather than following Kaz, he leaned over his dragon, stroking the beast¡¯s neck comfortingly. ¡°They may,¡± he agreed, that strange calmness in his voice again, ¡°but I will die with my xiongdi, as a hunter should.¡±


    Kaz felt a surge of frustration, but there was no time left to argue. The dust had settled around them, and everyone, from human warrior, to xiyi mage, to dragon-beast, was staring at them.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-four

    Raising his hands, Kaz pictured a shield covering him, Snen, and the dragon on the ground. A barrage of attacks - physical, as well as both mana and ki-based - assaulted them from all sides, and he felt his ki drain away precipitously. Was this what it felt like when Bella tried to remain standing while the roar pressed her down? It was terrible, worse even than when he first heard Jianying roar in the hidden xiyi den.


    But when arrows fell and spells sputtered, Kaz, Snen, and dragon remained. Once again, everyone stared, but now for a different reason. He could see them glancing at their enemies as well as their own people, all of them asking, ¡°Who are they? Whose side are they on?¡±


    Kaz briefly debated allowing everyone to wonder, but he doubted if anyone would actually leave them alone in order to return their focus to where it belonged. Everyone was well and truly distracted by now.


    But he¡¯d forgotten that there was one being who wouldn¡¯t be confused. From overhead, Jianying roared yet again. There was a different sound to it now, a terrible and triumphant ring, and Kaz abruptly found that no one was looking at him at all. Instead, those who were still on their feet craned their heads to stare up at the dragon blotting out the sky.


    Just like his illusion, Jianying landed on the stadium. He was indeed noticeably smaller than the false dragon had been, but the damage he did was far from illusory. Wings shattered benches, while his clawed feet crumbled bricks. Fortunately, the great dragon settled on the opposite side of the stadium from where Kaz¡¯s friends crouched, but some other humans who had still been attempting to hide weren¡¯t so lucky. They were sent tumbling by his great tail, their screams the last sign of them.


    Beside Kaz, Snen was trembling, his large yellow eyes fixed on the black dragon. The other xiyi bowed, but Snen did not, and Kaz realized that he was shaking not from fear but from fury.


    ¡°We create our own fate. We rule no one, and no one may rule us,¡± Snen muttered, his hissing voice oddly rhythmic, as if speaking a howl. ¡°We are free in our hearts, if not our bodies, and one day we will be free in truth.¡± He crouched, his hand going to the knife hanging from his belt. ¡°And today is that day.¡±


    The xiyi stood as if he would launch himself toward the dragon, but Kaz caught his arm. He wasn¡¯t sure what Snen intended to do, but he was certain that one xiyi couldn¡¯t defeat a dragon, at least not without the kind of magic they had used against Qiangde. Even then, it had taken two and another dragon.


    ¡°Do you have-,¡± Kaz cast his mind back to Qiangde¡¯s memories, trying to remember what, if anything, the old dragon emperor had called the power used to hurt him. ¡°A statue that can hurt him?¡±


    Snen¡¯s look of bewilderment was answer enough, and Kaz dragged the xiyi down behind the brown dragon¡¯s bulk. It wasn¡¯t a particularly large beast, as dragons went, but it was more than large enough to cover both males.


    Arrows and power began to fly again, but this time the humans were very much in retreat. Jianying could raze the stadium in a matter of minutes, and his mere arrival had destabilized the building in such a way that the section where he sat looked like it could come down around him at any moment. Then the overly loud voice rang out again, for the first time since Kaz destroyed the illusion of Jianying.


    ¡°Lay down your weapons and submit to the examination and the duqiu or fangqiu, and you will be allowed to leave,¡± it hissed, and Kaz peered over the brown dragon to see the black-scaled xiyi¡¯s mouth moving. ¡°Continue to fight, and you will all be killed, and the rest of the population will have the qiu implanted anyway.¡±


    ¡°The mages and the army are on their way, you pox-ridden lizard,¡± a human warrior shouted, his deep voice echoing from inside his metal helmet. ¡°You won¡¯t-¡±


    The xiyi flicked his hand, and blood spurted from the joints of the armor as the male¡¯s mana was pulled out, leaving him as dark as a smothered torch. To Kaz¡¯s shock, the ball of mana flew away from the crumpling body and into the air between human and xiyi, creating a small cloud of mana that quickly dispersed.


    Li saw this through Kaz¡¯s eyes, though so far she was still in place behind the pile of rubble, waiting for Kaz to need her. She had nearly come when everyone attacked him and Snen, but even she hadn¡¯t believed she could fly unscathed through the torrent of attacks. Now, she said, <What happened?>


    Kaz shook his head. He had no more idea than she did. How could this xiyi simply rip someone else¡¯s power from their body? Tilting his head toward the xiyi leader, Kaz whispered, ¡°Who is that?¡±


    Snen¡¯s sharp teeth were bared as he said, ¡°Ganring. He¡¯s the only son of Emperor Jianying and Guaruka, our queen. It¡¯s because of his conceit that we have been infiltrating the human lands. For centuries, Emperor Jianying was mostly satisfied with being venerated and indulged. Then Ganring was hatched, and from the moment he reached adulthood, he has desired nothing more than to recreate the great Diushi Empire his teachers taught him so much about. He believes that because we bear the blood of the dragons, who ruled the humans for nearly a millennium, it is our right to do so again.¡±


    He shook his head, and Kaz¡¯s extensive experience with Li allowed him to read the derision on his reptilian features. ¡°It goes against our belief that no being should rule another. He brought the use of the qiu back, and made his mother queen in fact as well as title.¡±


    And now Kaz actually had more questions, if that was possible, but for the moment he pushed most of them to the back of his mind and asked only the most important one. ¡°How did he kill that human?¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Snen shook his head, and now he seemed sorrowful. ¡°It is the power of the qiu. Only the royal line can command them, allowing them to steal power from anyone with either a duqiu or fangqiu. They can also take the energy of those without such a stone, but it kills them instantly.¡±


    That was¡­horrifying. ¡°Can he kill or control someone without power? Does it matter if it¡¯s mana or ki?¡±


    Snen¡¯s head swayed from side to side in his version of a shrug. ¡°All xiyi have power, so I don¡¯t know. What is the difference?¡±


    The difference was that the human had had mana, so it was possible Ganring¡¯s trick wouldn¡¯t work on someone with ki. Though so far all of the xiyi Kaz had seen bore ki, not mana, and Snen hadn¡¯t seemed at all surprised when the human burst within his metal shell. That implied that it didn¡¯t matter what kind of power the victim had. But what about someone with no power at all?


    Kaz looked around, taking in the momentary lull in fighting. The humans weren¡¯t sure what to do now that the loud one had been killed so easily, while the xiyi were holding their attack until they knew if the humans would surrender. It made sense that Ganring would want to keep the most powerful of the humans alive if he planned to steal their mana for himself once the duqiu were implanted.


    The common people, most of whom had little to no power, would serve no real purpose, however. Ganring probably wasn¡¯t lying when he said he intended to place these qiu and then leave the humans mostly to themselves. Kaz couldn¡¯t imagine the difficulty of commanding an entire city, much less a country containing more humans than his mountain held kobolds. It would certainly be more effort than it was worth.


    Then his time to think was over, as Ganring¡¯s yellow eyes flicked toward the brown dragon, taking in Kaz and Snen crouched beside the beast. He lifted a hand, pointing one sharp claw toward Kaz, and two of the tall xiyi behind him began to move forward.


    <Can Snen¡¯s dragon fly?> Li asked.


    Kaz glanced at the creature, who was now resting on his belly rather than his side. His eyes were bright and watchful, but his core was still drained, and his wings hung limp at his sides. <I don¡¯t think so,> Kaz answered. <He certainly can¡¯t carry any extra weight.>


    There was a brief silence as the two xiyi advanced and Ganring continued to exhort the human warriors to give up. <I¡¯m coming,> Li said, and the bright bond between them began to shift.


    She was using a great deal of red ki as she moved, just like Kyla, so Kaz wasn¡¯t surprised at all by the shimmering blur that flew toward him. Kyla¡¯s ability to hide worked best in shadow, when no one was looking directly at her, but the stadium was bathed in bright sunlight, and Li wasn¡¯t as good at it as the young kobold yet.


    Unfortunately, at least a few of the other people in the stadium obviously noticed the shimmer as well, including Ganring, whose eyes latched onto it, widening with something that looked like hunger. He couldn¡¯t know what that subtle blur concealed, but he had to know it took power. Could he even sense it, like Lianhua?


    Li landed beside Kaz with a soft thump, sheltering beneath one of the brown dragon¡¯s wings as she allowed her concealment to fall. <Oh,> she said softly, <I think that was bad.>


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaz murmured, seeing Jianying¡¯s great head turn toward them for the first time since he¡¯d landed. The dragon¡¯s eyes were yellow and feral, though there was a cunning intelligence in them behind the hunger.


    Ganring let out a loud hiss, and the two xiyi heading for Kaz and the others faltered, then stopped. The loud voice spoke again, but this time in a conversational tone, not the one he¡¯d been using to speak to the humans.


    ¡°Stand,¡± Ganring said.


    There was no doubt in Kaz¡¯s mind that the xiyi meant Li, or rather whatever had caused that movement of power. Holding his hand out just in case Li decided to try something, Kaz stood instead, staring straight at the xiyi leader. As he did so, all eyes turned to him, and for the first time he became aware that he still wore nothing more than his loincloth, belt, knife, and storage pouch. Worse, because he had no tail, his loincloth hung awkwardly. Murmurs rose from among the humans. Would they recognize him as the ¡®mage¡¯ who had been fighting in the tournament? Did it matter?


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with you,¡± Ganring said, holding out a hand. His fingers were long, with knobby joints and sharp claws. ¡°Come here and allow yourself to be examined.¡±


    Kaz wished he had his kobold voice as he growled, ¡°No.¡± His discomfort made him long to shift back to his proper form, but he held onto his human image. He couldn¡¯t spare the ki it would take to change shape, even if it didn¡¯t cause the humans to do something unwise.


    Jianying roared, and his ki pushed out from him like a thick blanket. It started as a small roar, but grew as the people around Kaz began to fall. One by one the humans went down. They were already tired from their battle and the many previous roars, their mana nowhere near as dense as it had been when Kaz first saw them, and now even the strongest of them knelt. A few managed to plant their shields first, using them to hold some part of their bodies upright, but soon not a single human stood.


    But Kaz did. The power in Jianying¡¯s voice split around him, like water around a stone, and far from bowing, he threw his shoulders back, lifting his chin. He was Kaz, and this dragon was little more than an overgrown janjio, screaming for him to flee.


    Seeing this, the huge dragon locked his eyes on Kaz and roared again, flooding the stadium with even more power. This time even the xiyi staggered, then knelt. At Kaz¡¯s feet, Snen gave in, head bowing on his long neck, though his hands were clenched into fists, weeping blood from the gouges dug by his claws.


    ¡°Great Emperor!¡± Ganring yelled, but if Jianying heard him, he paid no attention. The roar swelled, and even Kaz felt it, pushing at his ki, trying to make him small, break him down. But Kaz had been broken already. Broken and put himself back together, each time stronger than before, and with greater understanding of how the world worked.


    Kaz opened himself to Jianying¡¯s ki, a swirling mass of power with little to no direction. There was no way he could best the dragon physically, but when it came to power, Jianying was almost small, especially when compared to Heishe. He had clearly never made any real effort to learn, depending on sheer strength to overwhelm everyone who attempted to defy him. Water, Metal, Earth, and Fire licked at Kaz, and Kaz¡­won.


    Kaz was so caught up in the realization that he was stronger than this ancient dragon that he didn¡¯t notice Ganring until it was too late. The xiyi leader was the only other living creature that hadn¡¯t been forced down by Jianying¡¯s power. He staggered across the blood-soaked dirt, pulling a wicked-looking blade from its place at his waist. Raising it high, he brought it down toward the blue-haired human¡¯s bare, unprotected back. And a small golden dragon stretched out from its hiding place and bit him as hard as she could.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-five

    The ankle was all Li could reach from her hiding place, pressed down as she was by Jianying¡¯s roar. She and Kaz were joined, but not the same, and while the other dragon couldn¡¯t suppress her completely, she couldn¡¯t leap or fly.


    It was enough. Ganring yelped, turning his focus from Kaz to Li, just for a moment. Kaz turned, grabbing the xiyi¡¯s wrist. Ganring was several inches taller than Kaz, and he had momentum on his side, so the knife continued downward, creating an indentation in Kaz¡¯s bare chest. And there it stopped.


    Xiyi and kobold stared, and Kaz felt a laugh begin bubbling up inside him. He had just rebuilt this body in some very fundamental way, and apparently that way was good enough to make it impenetrable, at least in this case. The knife looked sharp, and had the subtle sheen of adamantium. He thought it was only an alloy, but it still should have easily pierced his flesh, even if he had reached Iron body cultivation.


    With a twist, the keen tip dragged over Kaz¡¯s skin, once again failing to slice him open, and Ganring hissed as his fingers spasmed beneath the pressure of Kaz¡¯s grip on his wrist. The two of them stared at each other over the xiyi¡¯s awkwardly twisted arm, and then Ganring bared his teeth furiously.


    ¡°You won¡¯t live long enough to regret thiss,¡± he said, drawing out the final sound as his body began to swell, bulging beneath his long robe and fine clothing. His back curved upwards, his snout elongated, and his tongue flattened and split as it flickered out, almost touching Kaz¡¯s face.


    Rapidly, Ganring¡¯s body distorted. He became something other than a xiyi, but also not a dragon. All of the parts of either species were there, including stunted wings that tore through his shirt, but none of them were right. Not a single piece matched any other, leaving him as much a monstrosity as any of the fulan-created shiyan.


    Like Kaz.


    Except that Kaz knew what he was. Had known from the moment of his death, into his rebirth. He was a kobold; neither human nor beast but something entirely new. Not, perhaps, what either Qiangde or Dongwu had intended, but Kaz had no desire to be anything else.


    Ganring¡¯s right eye was bulbous and mad, yellow with red veins visible around the outside. His left was almost that of a xiyi, but held the same gleam of madness mingled with triumph. He was certain that he had won, and he turned to look at the humans, all but ignoring Kaz.


    ¡°You won¡¯t lissten to sssweet words? Sssee what you face! I can crush you with a thought!¡± His words rang out over the stadium, reaching even the most distant, hidden listeners. The humans paused in their efforts to regain their feet, while the xiyi remained kneeling, long necks bent in supplication.


    Turning back to Kaz, Ganring laid his hand on Kaz¡¯s face, beginning to pull at Kaz¡¯s ki. And Kaz pulled back. It was almost too easy. Ganring was right there, and his white, black, and yellow ki was quivering, open, expanding toward Kaz. Kaz didn¡¯t even have to reach out, just hold onto his ki, know that it was his, and as soon as Ganring¡¯s ki touched his, Ganring¡¯s power became his as well.


    Ki flooded Kaz. It burned through his channels, sizzling like strips of meat placed on a hot rock. Ganring stiffened, then began to sag, not bursting like the human he¡¯d killed, but emptying out, a water bladder drained of its contents.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes blazed. Mana was everywhere, obscuring the world, or perhaps revealing it in all its elemental beauty. Every living thing around him held power, even those he would have sworn were utterly powerless. He turned his gaze, more blind than he had been after his physical eyes were burned by the blood of the creature in the Deep.


    Had the world always been so profound? Had he walked through it, believing he was beginning to understand? Only a short while ago, he had thought he must be as strong as it was possible for him to become, but now he was more. His skin felt stretched as Ganring became hollow, and far too late, Kaz realized that the xiyi was connected to an immense network of beings.


    Kaz could feel every person, human or xiyi, who contained a duqiu or a fangqiu. They were something like reverse cores, trapping power, ki and mana alike, rather than creating it. Then, instead of allowing that power to strengthen their bearer, some or all of it was sent away. Ganring had known how to control the amount of power he accepted, but Kaz did not.


    Streams of bright ki flowed into him from the bowing xiyi, though he wouldn¡¯t have known that was what it was if he didn¡¯t remember from when his eyes still worked. Mana swirled and split as things - people? - moved, but Kaz was blind and turgid and now that he had accepted what was hidden within Ganring, he couldn¡¯t stop it.


    His body was unraveling. He had forced it together, forming it out of power, and now there was too much. It hummed, then sang, then screamed, and he could feel his core swelling, becoming all of him.


    <Kaz!>


    A voice. Li. Kaz turned ki-filled eyes toward her. Saw her. Brilliant Fire over bones of Earth, with Water in her mind, Metal claws, and Wood for a heart. She was the only shape that remained in a tumult of power, and he was killing her.


    Their shared cycle was a conflagration hanging between them. Kaz could stretch, expand, possibly until he simply merged with the power all around him, but Li was both more and less. She wasn¡¯t made of vision, of image and dreams, but flesh, and that flesh couldn¡¯t hold everything. Just¡­everything.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Kaz released Ganring. The empty husk dropped to the ground, and Kaz gasped, drawing air into lungs that once again felt like they were more than merely solidified elements. His knees gave out, failing as they hadn¡¯t when a thousand-year-old dragon tried to crush him, and he gathered Li into his arms. She shuddered, skin splitting, peeling off in layer after layer of white as her body desperately tried to keep up with the ki that had poured into her.


    ¡°Li?¡± Kaz whispered, ignoring Snen, who sat, staring at him, horrified and more than a little frightened. His dragon didn¡¯t answer. Her head lolled on her slender neck as she shivered, and for the first time in a very long time, Kaz actually looked at her core.


    The last time he did this was on the rocky shore of an underground lake, where he had broken his own core. Kaz¡¯s instincts, either as a kobold or as a shiyan, had almost overtaken him, urging him to devour her core in spite of the fact that she had just saved his life. Since then, he had made an effort not to see it, to pretend that it didn¡¯t exist, so that no similar temptation could overcome him. This time, he felt no such urge.


    Her core heaved, looking like it was a pulsing heart as the ki within swirled wildly. It was muddy and unstable, but not broken. Not yet. Reaching out, he gently, gently stroked it, gathering one color after the other, setting them into swirling patterns rather than churning surges.


    Water was first. Her favorite, no matter how much she liked the idea of breathing fire. He soothed black waves into soft ripples. Metal was easiest. It had resisted chaos from the very beginning, and as Water became smooth, Metal willingly joined it. Wood wanted to grow, to become more, but it also longed for stability; a steady, smooth growth rather than an abrupt and violent one. Earth nourished the others, willing to go along so long as the whole continued to become more.


    Fire was the most difficult. It was transformation and energy. It would willingly burn away all the rest so long as it could change and expand. But it required fuel or it burned itself away, and once the other four elements were settled, it had no choice. It resisted, prideful and eager, until even it was forced to admit that it had done all it could.


    Kaz pulled back, watching the smooth turning of Li¡¯s cycle, her channels strong, dantians full, core filled with richer, deeper colors than ever before. His vision flickered between what he was used to and that blurred, overwhelming awareness of everything, but he could see that she lay still now, breathing easily, though black sludge coated her, forced out of her body by her abrupt advancement. She wouldn¡¯t like that, so he tried to clean it, wiping away layers of sloughed skin as he did so.


    ¡°You killed him,¡± Snen whispered, and Kaz paused, looking over at what remained of Ganring. If Li had grown, Ganring was a husk. A thin layer of scales stuck to dry bones, as twisted and misshapen as the xiyi had been when he died.


    The sun went out. Kaz, Snen, and Snen¡¯s dragon looked up. At first it was difficult to understand what they were seeing, but then it clicked. It was a head. Jianying had come to see what had happened to his son.


    For a moment, Kaz was thrown back to the moment he entered the mid-levels in the mountain. There, someone had carved a colossal head into the cavern wall, and in order to descend, you had to enter through its gaping maw. Even after a thousand years, it was still daunting, serving as a warning that anyone who entered took their life into their own hands. It was also worn and dirty, difficult to define as any particular beast, though Kaz had come to believe it could well be a dragon.


    Now, he was certain. Not this particular dragon, though it was strange to think that Jianying had been around when the image was carved. Had it been Qiangde? That certainly seemed reasonable, given that dragon¡¯s extreme self-centeredness. Kaz had been inside Qiangde¡¯s head, however, so he didn¡¯t actually know what the long-dead emperor looked like in his natural form.


    Smoke streamed from Jianying¡¯s mouth, creating a dark cloud that concealed the black tendrils that floated around his face. His maw opened wide, and a light swelled beyond the white teeth, each of which was longer than Kaz was tall.


    Fire ki bloomed, and though Kaz was now certain his ki was stronger than the dragon¡¯s, and his body might be all but indestructible, that wouldn¡¯t stop those gargantuan teeth from crushing his companions, including Li. Could he hold a shield and shatter Jianying¡¯s core at the same time? He didn¡¯t think he could steal the dragon¡¯s ki, not unless Jianying left himself open to that. It wouldn¡¯t be good for Li, anyway.


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have to find out. Something shifted at his waist, and Heishe slipped down to the ground, growing as she moved, until she was nearly as large as Jianying¡¯s head. Kaz was well aware she could have become much larger, but if she had, she would probably have squashed Kaz, Li, Snen, and even the brown dragon.


    Then enormous, burning claws closed around Jianying¡¯s neck, pulling him up. A crow of triumph echoed out over the stadium, threatening to deafen its bewildered and terrified occupants. Huge, flaming wings flapped, lifting the ancient dragon into the air, where he writhed and tried to bring his long claws to bear. A few of Fengji¡¯s blazing feathers fell, turning to glittering ash as they drifted toward the ground.


    <Mine!> The bird shouted, stretching out his neck to release another shriek of exultation.


    <yess, yours,> Heishe hissed impatiently, growing a bit larger as she wound herself around Kaz and the others. <cocksure fowl,> she muttered, bringing her head down to Kaz¡¯s level.


    As Fengji finally began to wreak his vengeance upon one of the dragons who had enabled his imprisonment, Heishe spread her hood protectively over Kaz and the others. Snen was on the ground again, his arms wrapped around his terrified dragon¡¯s neck, as if ensuring that if they died, they would die together. Li was still unconscious, but Kaz pulled as much of her body into his arms as he could, ignoring the stinking sludge that covered all of him except the parts protected by his fuulong silk loincloth.


    <i have completed my side of our bargain, young one,> Heishe said with surprising gentleness. <now it lies upon your shoulders to complete yours.>


    Bargain? So much had happened in so short a time that Kaz had to strain his memory to find the one to which she referred. If Li was awake, she would have known. But then he had it. Promise that you will take me where I must go, and I will aid you.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he told her, ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    She released a long, hissing laugh. <i am neither so cruel nor so impatient that i cannot wait a little longer. what has rested in darkness for a thousand years can remain so for a little longer. gather what you need, and when you are ready, i will know.>


    With that, she coiled around him twice more, each time growing larger and larger. Only when she was a hundred feet long or more did she pause, her bottomless black eyes staring at the few humans who hadn¡¯t fallen or fled. She didn¡¯t speak to them, but there was a sense of implacability to her stare that no one could misunderstand.


    Then she lifted up and the earth slid aside for her, water engulfing her body as she vanished beneath the surface of the world. For the first time, Kaz could see her moving away, her black ki glittering like the night sky, with flickers of blue, red, gold, and white stars made of pure ki. He didn¡¯t know how he hadn¡¯t seen them before, burning in the depths of her impossibly dense black ki.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-six

    Overhead, the battle continued for a few more minutes, with Jianying whipping his long neck around to bite at Fengji. The Rooster allowed it until a few of his burning feathers were pulled free, and then he reached down and tore Jianying¡¯s head from his body, gulped it down, then lifted his beak and let out a crow that flooded the area with ki. Unlike Jianying¡¯s roars, this one left Kaz - and the others, if the expressions on their faces was any indication - feeling somewhat invigorated.


    Once the dragon¡¯s body stopped thrashing, Fengji flew away with his prize clutched in his claws. During that time and for several more minutes thereafter, none of the remaining humans moved, though they stared at Kaz through the rain of Jianying¡¯s blood. The xiyi, all but Snen, were as dead as their master, and their dragons crouched, looking as lost and frightened as such large and deadly beasts possibly could.


    Then, as the power of Fengji¡¯s final crow faded at last, a clatter of stones made them all turn to see a pink-furred kobold helping three humans down the crumbling stairs at the far side of what remained of the stadium. All four females were dirty and injured, with fresh streaks of blood staining skin and fur alike. They were all alive and conscious, however, and Kaz caught a quick movement in the shadows behind them that looked like Mei.


    Kaz stood as Kyla stepped into the open area. His cousin¡¯s tail was tucked tight against her legs, but her ears were up and her shield was in place. One of Harper¡¯s hands rested on her shoulder, which was a form of protection in itself, and Bella held her more physical shield at the ready.


    When no one made a move to immediately attack, Kyla led the way across the muddy battlefield. With each step, her tail relaxed, and by the time she reached Kaz, it was wagging rapidly. She gave a ululating howl, one of being reunited with someone long absent, and Kaz returned the same, holding out the arm that wasn¡¯t touching Li, where his dragon leaned against his leg.


    Kyla hesitated briefly when she saw Li, but Kaz gave her a nod, and the pup came to him, cuddling close as she buried her nose against him so she was surrounded by his scent. Kaz bent his head and did the same, drawing in the smell of burned, dirty fur, blood, fuergar, and Kyla.


    The scuff of a foot pulled them apart. It sounded so much like Raff¡¯s boots that Kaz was actually surprised to see someone else; a male, not quite as tall as Raff, but with the same defined muscles. On his shoulder was a familiar symbol. This man was from Raff¡¯s guild, the Adamant Reach. Kaz wasn¡¯t entirely certain what a guild was, other than a loose collection of unrelated people who had agreed to help each other, but Raff seemed proud to be part of it, so Kaz nodded respectfully.


    To his surprise, the man nodded back with equal respect before touching the side of his hand to his forehead, giving a much more formal-looking version of the finger-flick Raff did all the time. ¡°I¡¯m told your name is Kaz, is that correct?¡± He was watching Snen and the brown dragon warily as he spoke, and seemed ready to leap backwards at the first sign of aggression.


    Kaz nodded. That much was true, anyway. ¡°It is,¡± he agreed. Indicating each of his friends, he said, ¡°And these are Li, Kyla, Snen, Eve, Harper, and Bella.¡± As each of them other than Li were named, they nodded, though the humans all looked a little surprised to be included.


    The human male flinched a little as a dragon, a kobold, and a member of a race that had just attacked his city were named, but he said, ¡°I¡¯m Eugene, leader of the Adamant Reach, one of the guilds of this city. We¡­appreciate your help?¡± There was a definite question there, and Kaz couldn¡¯t blame the other male. Kaz had killed Ganring, and the other xiyi as well, though that was both unintentional and distressing. On the other paw, he was also with two dragons, a kobold, and another xiyi.


    Kaz felt his head duck and wished he could lower his ears. He really didn¡¯t like it when people paid too much attention to him, and he thought this human must be something like a chief. In his experience, it was never good when those of high rank noticed him.


    Then he remembered that this was neither his chief nor someone else who could tell him what to do. Kaz didn¡¯t like people who used power to get their way, but if he needed to, he could probably escape simply by raising a shield and walking away. Though it would be difficult to carry Li with him, given how large she¡¯d grown.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I could help,¡± he said finally, though his eyes shifted to the exit. The large archway was behind the humans, and now that the dragon and the xiyi were gone, more humans were trickling back in, many of them showing signs of having been injured earlier.


    Eugene opened his mouth to speak further, but as he did, Kaz saw something that made his heart leap in his chest. There, among the people just entering, were some he recognized. Raff, along with his mother, father, and the rest of his family.


    Kaz and Kyla gave yips of welcome, and a broad grin spread across Raff¡¯s tired face. Kyla immediately scampered away, and Kaz would have tried to hold her back except that she was still maintaining her shield. No matter how excited she was to see their friend, she hadn¡¯t forgotten herself entirely.


    For whatever reason, while several of the people Kaz didn¡¯t recognize touched their weapons, no one actually swung at the kobold running through the small crowd. When Kyla reached Raff, he picked her up, swinging her high overhead as she yelped in offended dignity. Still, her tail gave her away, wagging almost as wildly as it had when she saw Kaz.


    Raff set the little kobold on his shoulder, which was once again adorned with the symbol of the Adamant Reach. Rather than the light armor and axe he had been using, he wore his usual metal shell, with his enormous sword hanging at his waist. His hair was still short and black, but his beard was already starting to grow back in, brightening and concealing the lower half of his face.


    Raff and his father came to join Kaz, Eugene, and the others, while Raff¡¯s mother began giving orders to anyone who looked like they didn¡¯t know what to do. People began to move out, looking behind and beneath fallen stone, obviously searching for survivors.


    ¡°Captain,¡± Raff said, making a gesture that was much closer to what Eugene had done than his usual lackadaisical flick of the fingers.


    Eugene¡¯s heavy gray brows rose, but he returned the gesture. ¡°Raff. I see you found¡­Lord and Lady Hillcroft.¡±


    Raff sighed, tapping a finger twice against the hilt of his sword. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend any more, sir. I think just about everybody¡¯s figured out who I actually am.¡±


    One corner of Eugene¡¯s mouth twitched up briefly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise to most of those who know you, lad. Now, what do you have to do with,¡± he waved around at the sadly broken stadium, ¡°this?¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to answer that, if I may,¡± Raff¡¯s father said. He was wearing clean clothing, and his hair was styled almost as neatly as Lianhua¡¯s usually was. Eugene nodded, and Kaz turned away, listening with only half an ear as he knelt down by Li.


    She had her eyes open now, though he only knew because she sent him a weak mental image of the world covered in a pale white blur. Gently, he rubbed his finger over the scales covering her eyes until they shifted, revealing deep golden orbs containing flickers of the other four colors of ki. It reminded him of Heishe¡¯s rich black ki, filled with bright stars of power.


    Together, and then with Snen¡¯s well-practiced help, they managed to peel away the many layers of skin, revealing a dragon who was still mostly gold, but with a dark obsidian nose, white toes on all four paws, a crown of ruby horns, and a deep sapphire patch over her heart.


    Once the discarded skin and scales lay in a disgusting, stinking pile of sludge, Kaz threw his arms around his dragon¡¯s neck. She wasn¡¯t anywhere close to the size of Snen¡¯s brown dragon, not yet, but she was larger than Brute, the dog who had once seemed so big to Kaz. <I¡¯m sorry,> he told her, and her ribs expanded as she sighed, laying a surprisingly heavy head on his shoulder.


    <I¡¯m bigger now,> she told him, as if he hadn¡¯t noticed. And if the pleased tone of her voice wasn¡¯t quite as genuine as it could have been, neither of them mentioned it.


    <I¡¯m not sure I can carry you any more,> he said.


    She sniffed. <Of course you can¡¯t. I¡¯m huge. But,> she turned her head so she could look at him slyly, <I think I could carry you.>


    Kaz wasn¡¯t so certain of that, but the picture she sent of him clinging desperately to her back caused him to chuff a laugh. Something hot trickled down his cheek, and for a moment he thought he¡¯d begun bleeding from some unnoticed wound, but when he reached up to touch the moisture, he found only tears.


    <I¡¯d like that,> he told her softly, and their foreheads touched as they shared an image that so far existed only in their dreams. The two of them, together, flying through a clear blue sky, filled with nothing but them and a few clouds to play in.


    Then something one of the humans said managed to penetrate his consciousness, and he looked around, seeing that two warriors had hold of Snen¡¯s arms. Kyla was protesting loudly, but they ignored her, focusing on the brown-scaled dragon that was attempting to get to its feet instead.


    Snen¡¯s dragon did not look happy, and neither did the other dragons that still crouched nearby. Kaz looked around, realizing that each of those dragons were surrounded by warriors with weapons, mostly spears. The warriors looked determined, and the dragons were becoming progressively more angry and defensive.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Kaz spoke without thinking, and it came as an utter shock when almost everyone did as he said. A few of the humans glanced in his direction before dismissing him, but they all wore clean, shiny armor. The people who had been here during Ganring and Jianying¡¯s deaths immediately stepped back.


    Unfortunately, the males holding Snen were both of the clean sort, but Kaz only had to take a single step toward them before Eugene snapped, ¡°Release the lizard.¡±


    ¡°Xiyi,¡± Kaz corrected, though he was certain he¡¯d heard Raff use the word already, so the captain knew it. Why hadn¡¯t he used it?


    ¡°Snen,¡± Kaz said, ¡°Can you get the dragons to listen to you?¡±


    Snen nodded, tugging his arms free so he could pull his whistle out from under his tattered cloak. He blew through it, and all of the dragons immediately began to walk toward him, moving with sinuous grace as they went right past their erstwhile foes.


    The xiyi blew a few more times, and when he finished, all of the dragons sat in a line, watching him attentively. Some of them were injured, but other than one with a wing held close to its side, none of the wounds seemed serious. They still wore the leather pads and straps the xiyi used to control them, and Kaz could see calculation in the faces of more than one of the humans nearby.


    <You have to free them,> Li said, and Kaz nodded. But unlike when he¡¯d so impulsively released the wyvern, he knew this was neither the time nor the place. He also knew Li wouldn¡¯t wait, and that it broke her heart to see others of her kind made into mere beasts of burden.


    Perhaps he could compromise, however, so he turned to Snen, who now stood free and tall in the bright sunlight. ¡°You care for your dragon,¡± he said.


    Snen nodded. ¡°Intong is my xiongdi, my dragon-brother. I carried his egg from his mother¡¯s nest, nurtured it, and cared for him since the day he hatched. It is the old way, and not all xiyi follow it, but he and I are friends, as well as rider and mount.¡±


    ¡°Would he still listen to you if he were,¡± Kaz tried to find a better way to put it, and couldn¡¯t, ¡°free?¡±


    <So what if he wouldn¡¯t?> Li demanded, stretching out her long neck to stare at him. She could nearly look him in the eye now, and when he was in kobold form, he thought she would be a little taller, when she cared to be.


    <If he attacks these humans,> Kaz asked gently, <what will happen to him?>


    She hesitated only a moment. <You¡¯ll keep him safe!>


    <And what of the humans he attacks?>


    She had no easy answer to that. Her instincts told her only dragons mattered, but she was more than instinct now, and she valued the lives of those who weren¡¯t dragons. Some of them, at least.


    <No eating people,> she said finally.


    <No eating people,> Kaz agreed.


    When he looked up, Snen was on the ground, head bowed. He bowed far too easily, and Kaz hoped he would learn otherwise, in time. ¡°I have seen your companion, Kaz. She is not cursed. Are you saying you can do the same for Intong? If so, I will be in your debt forever.¡±


    Kaz looked at the brown dragon, who gazed back. His eyes were neither placid nor furious, but there was little beyond instinct and training in them. The creature might be as intelligent as Brute, but Kaz felt no connection to him, as he had with the dog.


    Focusing his gaze, Kaz looked deeper. The dragon¡¯s ki was clean and simple, coursing through the natural channels running from his core to his head and back down along his spine. There were a few paths leading to his limbs and organs, but very little ki suffused his flesh, other than his wings.


    Reaching out, Kaz laid his hand on Intong¡¯s forehead, over the dantian that hung there. It was dark, barely swirling in spite of the steady flow of ki passing through it. Carefully, Kaz prodded it, seeing if he could urge it to spin faster without actually using his ki. He didn¡¯t want to end up bound to another dragon, however much he loved the first.


    It resisted, feeling almost sticky beneath his mental touch, and Kaz remembered the strange, stretched rune-thing he had accidentally torn from Li¡¯s upper dantian. He was fairly certain that just ripping it away had been risky at best, and this dragon had borne the rune far longer than Li.


    Li reached into his memory, and together they examined the moment the thing emerged. Here and here were the strokes, not barbed, because any change of shape would alter the meaning, as they had learned from Lianhua, but still somehow hooked into the dantian. Sticky, like fresh yanchong slime, but set in place as if it had been heated.


    Thoughtfully, they laid the rune over Inchong¡¯s dantian, and there it was. The rune was a little different from Kaz¡¯s memory, not yet stretched out of shape, but clearly identifiable. But if Lianhua was right, it wasn¡¯t one rune, but several, layered over one another. She had even managed to figure out one of them, or believed she had. With a sudden burst of hope and understanding, Kaz laid the symbol for ¡®silence¡¯ over both, then wiped it away.


    The dragon shuddered as something broke free within his dantian. He began coughing, then stretching out his neck to hack up a deep black glob of stinking slime. The long strokes slithered over one another for the barest instant before melting into an incomprehensible blob.


    A new voice entered their minds. It was loud, but also somehow dull, without depth. <Snen?>

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-seven

    Li was all but dancing in place. <Do the rest!>


    Kaz shook his head, watching the way Intong was stretching out his wings, looking at them in surprise, almost as if he¡¯d never seen them before. That rune might have prevented him from speaking, but it also seemed to play a role in limiting his intelligence. The dragon was already looking around, eyes brighter and more interested than before.


    When he saw Snen still bowing, he thrust his head into the xiyi¡¯s chest, nearly knocking the reptilian over. Snen barely managed to stay upright by grabbing into the horns thrusting from either side of Intong¡¯s jaw, at which point the dragon licked the xiyi happily.


    ¡°Like a big dog, isn¡¯t it?¡± Raff said, sounding both surprised and amused. ¡°Why aren¡¯t the others like that? What¡¯s this curse Snen was going on about?¡±


    Kaz himself didn¡¯t know most of the story, so he said, ¡°It would be best if Snen explains, but at some point, someone ¡®cursed¡¯ the dragons, reducing them to the beasts you know today. I believe I can remove the rest of the curse, but I¡¯ll need Lianhua¡¯s help.¡±


    At this point both Eugene and Raff¡¯s father stiffened. ¡°You want to make dragons smarter?¡± Eugene asked, frowning. ¡°The things do enough damage as is, and we¡¯ve nearly managed to eradicate them. Just these almost double the number I was aware of, and while the idea of training them is¡­interesting, we definitely don¡¯t need to make them harder to kill.¡±


    Now it was Li¡¯s turn to stiffen, and she hissed at Eugene, creating a hot cloud of steam that had to make the human¡¯s metal shell uncomfortably warm. He didn¡¯t react to the heat, however, so Kaz assumed he must have at least some level of body cultivation, which made sense with the amount of mana he held. It wasn¡¯t nearly as much as Raff, or even Raff¡¯s father, but it was quite a bit more than most non-mages.


    Kaz laid his hand on Li¡¯s head, looking straight at Eugene. ¡°The dragons will be freed,¡± he told the human. ¡°I promised Li.¡± Li purred beneath his hand, while Eugene¡¯s expression shifted to one that almost looked frightened. He quickly wiped it away, but Kaz had been around humans long enough that he didn¡¯t miss it.


    Raff¡¯s father coughed softly. ¡°Well, ah, we¡¯ll have to discuss that. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a way to maximize our efficiency while determining the viability of such an action. Perhaps a committee can be appointed to-¡±


    Raff groaned, running his hand over his short curls. ¡°Da, Kaz said he¡¯s going to do it. You should probably just work with him on this.¡±


    At that moment, a loud burst of noise echoed through the stadium. That was probably for the best, because Kaz was about to explain that what the humans wanted didn¡¯t actually matter, since their king wasn¡¯t his chief, and this wasn¡¯t his home. Certainly, he would do his best to make sure that no one was hurt during the process, but there was no way he¡¯d break a promise to Li.


    They all turned, finding that a new group of people was entering. They rode horses, and their armor was burnished to a high shine. Unlike the mercenaries, it all matched, making them look fairly impressive. Most kobolds had something that marked them as members of their tribe, but few tribes went so far as to make all of their members wear the same style of loincloth and equipment.


    Around Kaz, humans began to bow, including Eve and Bella, though Harper was already sitting down with her back against a particularly large rock, apparently asleep. Several of the horses were drawn aside, and a carriage slowly rolled past them, taking up almost the entirety of the space within the large archway. It halted just inside the stadium, and one of the people sitting on the seat up front jumped down, hurrying back to open the door.


    A hand reached out, and as the occupant began to emerge, one of the guards cleared his throat and shouted, ¡°His Highness, Prince Lucas, heir to the throne of Holiander!¡±


    There was a soft rustling as people adjusted the depth of their bows based on this information, and one of the humans whose damaged armor indicated he¡¯d been there for at least part of the battle muttered, ¡°Oh, of course. Now that the dangerous part is over.¡± The female next to him sent an elbow into his ribs, and they both bowed a little more deeply.


    A person with long yellow hair bound low at the back of his neck stepped out, barely seeming to touch the blood-stained earth before he turned and reached back into the carriage again. The yelling guard called out, ¡°Her Highness, Princess Reina of Holiander!¡±


    Kaz had seen the princess¡¯ familiar mana pattern inside the carriage, so he barely looked at her other than to see that she was now wearing a dress made from so much fabric that a kobold tribe could have made loincloths for two generations out of it. She was also clean for the first time since he¡¯d met her, which was good. Hopefully someone had checked her wound and bandaged it again.


    Once Reina was standing beside the male, who was probably her brother, since they were ¡®prince¡¯ and ¡®princess¡¯ of the same country, the male reached into the carriage once again. Kaz once again wished he had a tail to to wag as the next person¡¯s ki began to move.


    ¡°Lady Lianhua Long of the Sheng Empire, declared a Friend of Holiander by King Maleim the Third!¡± the guard announced, and a ripple went through the people around Kaz. Something about the introduction seemed to have surprised them, but now Lianhua was coming into sight.


    If the prince and princess had stepped, Lianhua floated. Her robes consisted of layers of fabric that might have been translucent if there weren¡¯t so many of them. Sunlight caught each layer, almost making her seem to glow, an effect that was enhanced by the sheen of the pure white hair piled high on her head. Jeweled sticks held twists and braids in place, with delicate chains supporting more gems that twinkled and swayed as she moved.


    At first, Kaz was a little intimidated by the sight. This was clearly the daughter of a chief, not the friend with whom he had fought behemoths, and who would willingly spend hours brushing his fur. But then as the prince tried to lead her away, clearly intent on leaving the final member of the group to make her own way out of the carriage, Lianhua yanked her hand away and gave him a little glare. She grasped her long sleeve, pulling it back to reveal a slender wrist as she offered her own hand up to the carriage instead.


    Yingtao accepted it, and hopped down with a flutter of simple green robes. The guard who had been speaking opened and closed his mouth helplessly, clearly not having been informed who this last female was. Was it an omission, or was Yingtao simply not considered important enough to mention? Whichever it was, Reina¡¯s expression said she was more than a little embarrassed about it as she watched the other two females continue holding hands as they stood side by side.Stolen story; please report.


    Lianhua and Reina caught sight of Kaz at the same time, both of their expressions brightening with happiness. Lianhua fairly flowed over the ground between them, her fuulong silk robes remaining utterly perfect even in the churned mud. Reina, on the other hand, looked down, grimaced, and then began picking her way carefully toward him, which meant Lianhua and Yingtao reached Kaz first.


    Lianhua opened her arms as if to hug Kaz, but stopped, biting her lip. So Kaz stepped over to her instead, giving her a very awkward hug. It was still strange to allow himself to be so vulnerable to someone else, to willingly allow their scent to mingle with his own, but he liked Lianhua, and truly believed she was a friend. Behind him, Li only hissed briefly before stepping up next to him, gently bumping Lianhua with a wing.


    <I¡¯m big!> the dragon said gleefully, arching her neck gracefully. She half-lifted her wings, twisting them so the sun rippled over the gleaming scales.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Lianhua gasped, releasing Kaz so she could fall to her knees beside Li. She threw her arms around the dragon¡¯s neck as well, and Li didn¡¯t even pretend to bite her. Behind Yingtao, who waited patiently nearby, Reina stopped midstep, watching all of this with a complex mixture of emotions, foremost of which seemed to be¡­regret?


    When Lianhua stood, her robes still completely unblemished, Kaz said, ¡°If I show you a rune, could you tell me what it is? There might still be more than one, stacked on top of each other.¡±


    Lianhua blinked. ¡°Like that one you showed me once before? Silence? Certainly. But, Kaz, what happened here?¡± She looked around, taking in the stinking, filthy battlefield, the stinking, filthy survivors, and Kaz, standing with Snen and Li in the middle of a small crowd of dragons.


    ¡°It was amazing!¡± Kyla yipped from her perch atop Raff¡¯s shoulder. She climbed to her paws, setting one hand on top of his head as she pointed up to where they had exited the stairs.


    With great enthusiasm, she ran through how they had realized the dragon wasn¡¯t real, and she had bravely volunteered to guard Kaz¡¯s back while he attempted to get rid of said false dragon, since it was really, really frightening the humans down below. When it came to the part where everyone thought Kaz was dead because the dragon had exploded and blown up the wall, all of Kaz¡¯s friends turned to give him a rather accusatory look.


    ¡°I thought we agreed that you wouldn¡¯t try anything new with ki unless we talked about it first?¡± Lianhua said, hands on her hips.


    Kaz winced, thinking about just how many times he¡¯d violated that agreement. Most of the time it was either an accident or an emergency, though, so he didn¡¯t feel too bad about it. It had worked out fine. Mostly.


    Fortunately for Kaz, Kyla was so caught up in her howl that she ignored them, continuing, ¡°And then Kaz and Li jumped down here, but the dragons came, and Jianying, and he was really, really big! He looked just like some of the pictures in the oldest chiefs¡¯ books, though, so of course I knew exactly who he was.¡±


    That, as far as Kaz knew, was an outright lie, but even lying was within the prerogative of the howler, so long as it didn¡¯t change the essence of the howl.


    ¡°And the black xiyi burst a human inside his armor, and Kaz went to rescue Snen, and the black xiyi got mad about that, too. So Kaz killed all the bad xiyi - or at least I think he did, because he didn¡¯t look surprised at all when they just fell over - and then Fengji came and grabbed Jianying just before he could eat Kaz and Li. Oh, and Snen.¡±


    Kyla released Raff¡¯s head, holding one hand out while the fingers of the other opened like a giant maw descending up on the first. ¡°And Fengji just flew off with that old dragon like a janjio with a jiyun, and Mei and I helped Harper, Eve, and Bella get down the stairs even though they were broken, which was really hard. Mei¡¯s good at figuring out which areas are safe and which aren¡¯t, though.¡± She drew in a deep breath, puffing out her chest with pride. It was a good howl, especially for an inexperienced howler, so Kaz gave her a soft yip of approval, which made her tail wag.


    Lianhua blinked. ¡°Oh. That¡¯s¡­a lot. But where is Mei?¡±


    Kyla¡¯s tail stopped, and her ears lowered slightly. ¡°She got down when these humans tried to take Snen away, and I haven¡¯t seen her since. She probably smelled something good to eat. That¡¯s where she usually goes when she disappears.¡±


    The patch of black and white ki that was Chi Yincang suddenly solidified, and this time Kaz could see the human well enough to tell that he actually jumped up slightly before he appeared so it seemed that he was dropping out of the air. Li snorted a little puff of vaporous laughter at the sight.


    Bowing over his open hand, Chi Yincang said, ¡°The small one is in the royal box, my lady.¡± Then he jumped up, disappearing again, though Kaz could see his ki moving toward the remains of one of the large boxes where Raff said the noble humans sat.


    Glancing at Snen and Intong, Kaz saw that they still seemed to be communicating in some way. He couldn¡¯t hear actual words, but something tickled at the edge of his mind, as if a conversation was occurring just out of earshot. In any case, the xiyi and his dragon appeared happy enough for the moment, and something told Kaz that he needed to follow Chi Yincang.


    Li had the same idea, but she slid her head beneath Kaz, making him slide down her long neck to settle just above her wings. This was actually a somewhat uncomfortable experience for him, but Li was so pleased with herself that he didn¡¯t mind, even when he had to lift his legs awkwardly so they didn¡¯t drag in the mud.


    Everyone else was quite surprised by his sudden departure, but after a moment most of them turned to follow. Only Raff, his father, and Eugene stayed behind, though Raff¡¯s expression spoke loudly of his curiosity.


    Kyla quickly moved ahead of everyone else, but Kaz¡¯s attention was caught by something entirely unexpected as he drew near enough to see the fuergar¡¯s ki. It was flashing, almost pulsing, and it tugged at him somehow, insistent. His own core sped up in response, pushing out more blue ki, the excess drifting away in something a little more cohesive than the usual diffuse mana. That cloud of not-quite-ki, not-quite-mana reached Mei¡¯s core, where it flashed brilliantly, making him blink.


    Feeling what was going on, Li slowed, but Kaz stroked her neck in thanks as he climbed off his dragon¡¯s back, hurrying forward. He wasn¡¯t sure what had just happened, but it was¡­good? It wasn¡¯t bad, certainly. It didn¡¯t feel anything like those times his ki had been taken before. This time, it was more like his core understood something he didn¡¯t, and had offered up what help it could.


    When he saw Mei properly, he understood at least a bit of what had happened. Her core, which before had contained mostly Metal ki, with specks of Fire, Earth, and the recently gained Water, now also held Wood ki. As it spun, a trickle of blue began to flow out through her channels. Mei had acquired all five types of ki and was officially a Divine Beast.


    She was also holding a piece of deep blue metal in her small paws, and her cheeks bulged as she chewed. It looked like she had already eaten more than half of it, but the thing had originally been a circle of elaborately decorated metal, complete with carved gems thickly inset around the outside.


    Behind Kaz, someone let out a quiet gasp of horror. ¡°Did she eat Father¡¯s crown?¡± Reina asked.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-eight

    The humans were not happy. When he arrived, Reina¡¯s brother actually drew a mana-stick from a cylindrical sheath at his belt and cast some kind of spell at Mei. Kaz wiped it away with a flick of his fingers as Kyla dashed in, scooping up her fuergar and the remnants of the crown. A moment later, the crown struck the ground, causing a beautiful chime to echo out over the stadium. Whatever the metal was, it would make an excellent dinner bell.


    Prince Lucas attempted another spell, and this time Kaz only dispersed most of its power before turning the rest of it back on him. He jumped, yelping loudly as his stick burst into flames, causing him to fling it away from him.


    ¡°What in the Gods¡¯ names is going on here?¡± he shouted furiously. ¡°That beast has destroyed the crown of Holiander, gifted to us by the founder of our great nation, and now the Wand of Gilthan has been destroyed? Guards! Seize them!¡±


    The warriors in the matching armor went still, then drew their weapons, advancing toward Kaz, Kyla, Li, and Mei. They ignored Lianhua and the other humans, which was a definite mistake, judging by the way Lianhua¡¯s mouth flattened and Yingtao¡¯s hands plunged into her capacious sleeves. Even Chi Yincang¡¯s ki brightened as the hidden male readied himself for battle.


    It was Reina who stopped the advance, however, by the simple expedient of stepping directly in front of Kaz and saying, ¡°No.¡± It was the first time Kaz had heard her speak with so much authority, and he blinked as he mentally reassessed the young female.


    ¡°Kaz and these others were as much a part of rescuing you and our parents as Lianhua. She was named a Friend of Holiander. Plus, Kaz killed the people who attacked the tournament when the combined might of the top guilds couldn¡¯t. How are you going to explain imprisoning someone who should have been treated as a hero?¡± she asked.


    Lucas seemed as surprised as Kaz, staring at his sister as if he¡¯d never seen her before. ¡°But that thing ate my crown!¡± he protested, pointing at Mei, who was busy cleaning her whiskers and appeared entirely unrepentant. Kaz knew the fuergar was smarter than others of her kind, and he suspected she even understood a good deal of what they said, so he doubted she was unaware of Lucas¡¯ anger, or the reason for it.


    Reina¡¯s back stiffened. ¡°It¡¯s not your crown,¡± she said softly. ¡°It¡¯s only used for ceremonial purposes anyway. And you seem to forget that Father can still change his choice of heir.¡±


    It was Lucas¡¯ turn to freeze, giving his sister an incredulous glance. He took a step closer to Reina, lowering his voice as he said, ¡°I¡¯d be careful, Rei. What you just said could almost be mistaken as a threat.¡±


    Silence stretched between the siblings as neither backed down. Reina¡¯s shoulders were thrown back, and while Kaz couldn¡¯t see her face, he suspected her expression was as stubborn as the ones his own sister used to give him when he suggested they avoid some unnecessarily dangerous activity.


    ¡°Well, look at that,¡± Raff said, causing both Reina and Lucas to jerk their heads around to stare at him. ¡°The little rat got herself in trouble again, eh? Good thing she¡¯s the only reason the whole royal family was rescued.¡±


    He stepped over the broken wall blocking entry into the rectangular space, leaning over to pick up the remains of the crown. He flicked it with his fingernail twice, causing melodic chimes to shiver across Kaz¡¯s skin, then looked at Prince Lucas.


    ¡°Nice to see you again, your Highness,¡± he said. ¡°You probably don¡¯t remember me. Name¡¯s Grafton. I¡¯m the youngest son of Duke Jost and Neris Khoros. When you were a boy who liked pulling the wings off dragonflies, I tossed you into the pond because you insisted you could swim as well as your little sister. Turns out that wasn¡¯t true, though.¡±


    Apparently Prince Lucas did remember Raff, because he paled slightly and took a half step back, giving his sister and those she was trying to protect some space. Raff tilted the crescent of crown toward Mei, who was now perched on Kyla¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°This, uh, fuergar was the one who discovered the xiyi base and led Lianhua and the others to it, or so I hear,¡± he said. Kaz and the others all nodded. ¡°See, I was a prisoner myself at the time, but Mei made it possible for me to escape as well.¡± That was exaggerating a bit, but without Mei it would have been a lot more difficult, if not impossible, to communicate with Raff without alerting the xiyi.


    ¡°That means I owe my life to her,¡± Raff went on. ¡°And so do you, all of our parents, and everyone else who was trapped down there, having our magic drained from us like milk from cows.¡± He tossed the half-crown to Lucas, who fumbled, barely managing to catch it. ¡°So I don¡¯t think a crown nobody ever even uses anymore is too much to pay for all that. Apparently the xiyi liked it better than the king does, anyway.¡±


    By the time he finished, Raff¡¯s father was standing behind him, rubbing his temples as if his head hurt. He didn¡¯t say anything to counter his son¡¯s speech, however, just exchanged a long-suffering look with Eugene.


    ¡°I- You-¡± Lucas spluttered. His fingers clenched around the crown, and he swept a glare over everyone assembled. Turning on his heel, he strode away, his departure somewhat marred by his clumsy clamber over the wall Raff had just stepped over.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Raff shook his head, watching the prince go. ¡°I never liked that one,¡± he muttered. ¡°When he¡¯s crowned, I suppose I¡¯ll have to see if my sea sickness has gotten any better. Or maybe there¡¯s a branch of the Adamant Reach in Cape Locke I can check out.¡±


    Reina didn¡¯t slump, but she looked like she¡¯d like to as she stepped to the side. Her cheeks were as pink as her hair, and she couldn¡¯t quite meet Raff¡¯s eyes. ¡°I may not be the strongest member of the royal family, but I won¡¯t let my brother take revenge for your protecting me, Lord Grafton.¡± More softly, she went on, ¡°And I remember the incident with the pond as well. I hadn¡¯t realized that was you.¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t think Raff had been protecting her so much as Mei, but if the princess wanted to see it that way, he wasn¡¯t going to argue. He was just glad that the human prince had gone away. He reminded Kaz of Gaoda, but Kaz was now strong enough to do something about him. He didn¡¯t think the humans would forgive the injury or death of a prince as easily as the destruction of a crown.


    Raff was awkwardly trying to extricate himself from Reina, who had placed a hand on his forearm in a grip that the big male seemed utterly unable to do anything about. The two older men seemed amused by that for some reason, and the various guards were either looking away or trying to hide small smiles.


    This left Kaz able to focus on his friends, and he turned to see that Lianhua was now gently stroking Mei, with that expression that said she was doing whatever she did to sense the rodent¡¯s power. Her eyes brightened, and she gave Kaz a questioning look as he stepped closer. He responded with a small nod, then held up his hand, sketching the sound obscuration rune on his palm. He didn¡¯t really need the rune any more, but as silence settled around them, it let everyone else in their group know that no one else could hear them.


    ¡°She has all five forms of ki now,¡± Kaz confirmed quietly.


    Kyla¡¯s tail began to wag, and she snuggled her fuergar close. ¡°You¡¯re so strong, Mei,¡± she said.


    Kaz smiled, but he was a little sad. Would a Divine Beast really want to continue living with his little cousin? The fuergar seemed happy enough to remain with Kyla for now, but when Kyla returned to their mountain, would the rodent want to go? Kyla certainly couldn¡¯t remain here, even if she wanted to. Her core hadn¡¯t started to fade yet, but there were too many howls to be entirely wrong, plus Kaz had seen the dog-like kobolds who lived with the xiyi, so he knew living outside the mountain wasn¡¯t safe, even for cored kobolds.


    That was a worry for another time, however, so for now he simply said, ¡°It¡¯s probably best if no one else knows,¡± and everyone else nodded.


    Li had been looking after Lucas and the remains of the crown, and now she said, <What kind of metal was that?> Kaz started to repeat the question aloud when he realized everyone else was staring at his dragon.


    ¡°I think it was orichalcum,¡± Kyla said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t form in the mountain, but sometimes traders would bring some, so each of the great tribes have a little. Only the greatest smith of each generation can work it, though. Did Li just speak?¡±


    ¡°I thought I heard her, too!¡± Lianhua yipped. A delighted smile split her face. ¡°Say something else, Li!¡±


    Li tilted her head, trying to look unaffected, though inside she was probably even more excited than the other two females. <Stop being ridiculous, or I¡¯ll bite you,> she told Lianhua.


    Lianhua squealed, throwing her arms around Li¡¯s neck again. ¡°You can talk! Oh, I have so many questions about being a dragon! Kaz says you sometimes have an instinctive understanding of ki and other-¡±


    Yingtao pulled her friend back just before Li¡¯s teeth snapped closed right next to Lianhua¡¯s ear. Kaz was almost certain those teeth wouldn¡¯t actually have pierced the human¡¯s skin, but not entirely. Judging by Yingtao¡¯s narrowed eyes, she wasn¡¯t either, and since Chi Yincang¡¯s sister was significantly more dangerous than Lianhua, Kaz tried to distract them all.


    Pulling the small book and pen Lianhua had given him before he descended into the xiyi cavern, Kaz drew the rune or runes that still blocked Intong¡¯s upper dantian. As he¡¯d hoped, Lianhua¡¯s attention was instantly diverted, and she focused on the page.


    ¡°Is this the rune you want me to interpret?¡± she asked, tracing it with her fingertip. Every trace of the eager female had vanished, leaving the serious scholar with whom he was more familiar.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Someone placed these runes inside the dantians of all of the dragons, or at least all the ones here.¡± He tapped his forehead to show her where the runes rested. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it happens when the dragons are in their eggs, or if they¡¯re like this from the moment they¡¯re laid, but since Li had them as well, I suspect it¡¯s the latter.¡±


    Lianhua bit her lip thoughtfully, taking Kaz¡¯s pen without asking. With quick, sure strokes, she drew several more runes, then crossed them all out and drew more, all the while muttering beneath her breath. This went on as she filled one page after another, until she finally just sat down with a soft thump, laying the book in her lap as she continued to work.


    Yingtao shook her head, smiling gently. ¡°She¡¯ll be like that until she either figures it out or I force her to eat and sleep. You might as well see what everyone else is doing.¡±


    Kaz hesitated, then nodded, allowing the dome of ki surrounding them to fall. In spite of the fact that it was large enough to cover him, Li, Lianhua, Yingtao, Kyla, Mei, and the patch of ki that was Chi Yincang, he had been able to hold it in place using only the ki emerging from his core. His central dantian was already full beyond what it had been capable of holding before, and he thought that he probably didn¡¯t actually need it any longer. Still, he continued filling it, out of habit as much as an excess of caution.


    Kyla was watching over Lianhua¡¯s shoulder, taking in the runes the human female was scrawling across the page. Mei crouched between Kyla¡¯s paws, wary eyes taking in the humans moving around them. Raff was speaking to his father and Eugene, while Reina hovered nearby, watching him with huge blue eyes.


    <Is Intong all right?> Li asked. Kaz felt something heat in the pit of his belly at the sound of Li speaking the other dragon¡¯s name. Watching Reina and Raff, he had the first inkling of what it might be, and felt a sense of impending dread creep over him at what it meant.


    Forcing both feelings down, he gently stroked his dragon¡¯s head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go see.¡± Turning, he vaulted over the wall, heading back out of the seating area. Li followed, though once she reached the top of the low wall, she lifted into the air, gliding gracefully over the blood-stained earth, now that she wasn¡¯t held down by Kaz¡¯s weight.

 Chapter Two hundred seventy-nine

    Snen looked up as Kaz and Li approached, his yellow eyes bright. Bowing deeply, he said, ¡°Thank you again, friend Kaz. Intong and I have finally been able to speak, and it isss-¡± His voice trailed off into a hiss and he simply shook his head, unable to finish.


    <Intong!> Li said, stretching out her claws to land on Kaz¡¯s back and shoulders. At the last moment, she remembered that she was too large and came to rest on the ground instead. Pretending she hadn¡¯t almost fallen over herself in the process, she peered into Intong¡¯s golden-brown eyes.


    <I¡¯m Li,> she told him. <I¡¯m a dragon, too.> Then, as if realizing she might have stated the obvious, she curved her neck, half-lifting her wings. <I¡¯m the best dragon, though.> Another pause. <Which doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re a bad dragon, because you probably aren¡¯t. Have you ever eaten anyone? I haven¡¯t, though I bite them sometimes.>


    She stopped, once again seeming uncertain. There was a long silence, and then the slightly hollow, distant voice they¡¯d heard once before said, <Intong. Hungry. Snen-brother feed.>


    Li froze, then turned stricken eyes on Kaz. He could feel her pain as she struggled to understand the simple words. For an instant, Kaz wondered if this was simply the way dragons spoke when they were young, or had just had part of a life-long curse removed, but one look at Intong¡¯s eyes told him otherwise.


    Once the runes were removed from her dantian, Li¡¯s eyes had always shone with keen intelligence, but this dragon¡¯s gaze said he understood no more than what he¡¯d said. He was Intong. Intong was hungry. Snen was his brother who fed him.


    Fortunately, Kaz could take care of one problem. It was completely reasonable that Intong would be exhausted after his flight from Jianying. Kaz was just glad he hadn¡¯t tried to eat anyone, because a truly wild beast would have done exactly that. Hopefully, it was an indication that the dragons could be reasoned with, even in their current state.


    Reaching into his pouch, Kaz began removing strips of dried meat. He¡¯d taken them from the xiyi¡¯s storage hut, so using them to feed the dragons was fair enough. Intong began swallowing them whole. Soon, the other dragons had circled him as well, and he had a dozen sharp-toothed snouts snatching long chunks of meat from his hands. He couldn¡¯t tell if Snen recognized the meat, but the xiyi did give him an odd look before taking some and handing it out to the dragons at the back.


    Li remained silent throughout all of this, and only when Kaz ran out of meat and Snen had to whistle the dragons back did she react. Snapping at the beasts, she chased them away from Kaz, and the dragons - the smallest of whom was ten times Li¡¯s size - obeyed without even trying to fight back.


    Snen gave his chuckling hiss as he watched. ¡°She reminds me of my egg-sister, Zhihs. Small but so fierce no one questions her right to command.¡±


    Kaz glanced at him, sensing an opportunity to finally ask some of the questions that had been plaguing him, at least in the moments when he wasn¡¯t busy dying. ¡°Do your females lead your people, as well?¡± He started to say that all of the xiyi he¡¯d seen had cores, then realized that would probably reveal too much, and simply waited for the answer.


    Snen leaned back against Intong¡¯s side, and the brown dragon huffed a contented sigh. He had eaten more than any of the others, and seemed happy enough as long as Snen was nearby. He kept one eye on the humans walking around, but since Snen didn¡¯t seem worried about them, Intong wasn¡¯t bothered either.


    ¡°We have tales of the time when we all lived in the mountain,¡± Snen said softly. ¡°When we were just kobolds, servants and slaves of the false emperor.¡± He hesitated, glancing at the spot where Jianying had landed, then up at the sky. He seemed almost apprehensive, but managed to continue.


    ¡°No. Qiangde was not the false emperor. Jianying was-ss.¡± He heaved an almost gasping breath, as if he¡¯d run a race rather than speaking a few simple words. ¡°But we knew we couldn¡¯t kill Qiangde, so we played on Jianying¡¯s vanity. He was a fool, but a powerful one. We had no idea we would have to continue to serve him for a millennium after we were supposed to be free.¡±


    He rubbed a hand across his short muzzle, then said, ¡°But you asked about our females. No, males and females are equal, each individual performing the role to which they are best suited. But females who leave our home no longer lay fertile eggs, so it¡¯s rare for them to venture far until they have reached senescence.¡±


    Kaz blinked. ¡°Where do you live?¡±


    Snen sighed again, glancing sidelong at Kaz. ¡°Our home is our greatest secret, and our greatest vulnerability. Our eggs only survive there, so if it is lost, so are we.¡±


    Kaz frowned. ¡°Is it like the mountain, then? We - kobolds - become¡­less if we leave our home.¡± He knew Snen knew that. Somewhere in the xiyi den below Cliffcross was at least one small tribe of Fallen Ones, and the xiyi had been working with them.


    Reaching up to grip his whistle, Snen gave the xiyi shrug, weaving his long neck back and forth. ¡°Something like. Qiangde and his servants somehow managed to create a place where the world¡¯s power is so strong that unnatural creatures like us can survive, and even thrive. When we left, Jianying found or made another, similar place, though it¡¯s far smaller. In spite of centuries of trying, we still don¡¯t know exactly how, so we were forced to obey him in order to survive. Otherwise, we simply would have vanished into the mountains long ago, leaving him to fulfill his own whims.¡±


    Li leaned against Kaz¡¯s leg, and only his newfound strength allowed him to hold her up. His dragon wasn¡¯t trembling, but her heart was on the verge of breaking. He rested his hand on her head, stroking gently as she spoke.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    <Now that Jianying is dead, what happens to the dragons? You can¡¯t continue to control them,> she said, glaring defiantly at Snen.


    Snen didn¡¯t seem surprised to hear Li speak, and Kaz realized that the xiyi had only known them for a matter of hours. He had no idea that this was a new skill. Snen¡¯s hand came to rest on Intong¡¯s head even as he bowed his own.


    ¡°Things will be¡­complicated, now that both Jianying and Ganring are dead. Ganring was far from Jianying¡¯s first child, though he was the first in centuries to turn his eyes from home. That egg-line will be unwilling to give up power, and while we bore the qiu, we couldn¡¯t force them to. But Kus Ukark will carry the knowledge of how to remove the stones home with him, freeing us to fight back at last.¡±


    His large eyes were sorrowful. ¡°A great many of us will die, and we have never been numerous. Like dragons, xiyi mate for life, and each pair will produce only a few clutches. Still, members of my group believe that we owe the dragons a debt for enslaving them, however accidentally. We protect them from the humans who hunt them, and keep their eggs safe with our own until the day we can release them.¡±


    Kaz remembered the words Kus Ukark had spoken to Li. This one begs you to forgive him. In our haste and our pain, we inflicted upon you the same sorrow you once gave us. But our people never lost their ability to think, to regret what we did not have, which meant it was possible for us to achieve freedom. We took that from you, and it is the greatest shame of our lives.


    ¡°How did you curse them?¡± he asked, leaning forward. ¡°Can you undo it?¡±


    Snen shook his head. ¡°We believe it was done by Trunzas, who slew Qiangde, but why or how, no one knows. The tales told of that time are few and ambiguous. We know he had help from someone within Qiangde¡¯s court, but there are only vague hints as to who it was and what role they played.¡±


    <Jianying!> Li said, and Kaz nodded. It made sense. Jianying had been jealous of his brother, that was clear from Qiangde¡¯s memories.


    To their surprise, Snen disagreed. ¡°Jianying was powerful, but he was neither wise nor imaginative. He spent the last thousand years doing the same things over and over again, never realizing that our entire culture had moved on without him. For the most part, he was an emperor in name only.¡±


    Kaz frowned. Who else could have betrayed Qiangde, and so thoroughly? Not that it really mattered now, when everyone from that time was dead, other than Nucai, who was still utterly devoted to his Master.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to free the dragons, then,¡± Kaz said. He met Snen¡¯s eyes, his own unwavering. ¡°Will your people try to stop me?¡±


    <Us,> Li said, lifting her wings and hissing in a show of support.


    ¡°Mine won¡¯t,¡± Snen said, though his fingers curled around one of Intong¡¯s horns, holding on, not possessively, but as if touching something precious to make sure it was still there. Kaz knew exactly how he felt. Still, once Intong and the other dragons were free, they would make their own choices about where to go and what to do. Just like Li.


    Turning to look at the gathered dragons, Snen said, ¡°My people see ourselves as caretakers, not owners. When those we care for are ready to leave, we will not try to stop them from doing so.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll help your side, if I can.¡±


    The xiyi was silent for a long time. Around them, the crowd of humans began to thin. The guards remained, but most of the mercenaries had gone. They believed no one else survived in the devastated stadium, and as it grew dark, it became more dangerous for those searching.


    ¡°You are a powerful ally,¡± Snen said finally, ¡°but this is something my people must do. Perhaps I¡¯ll regret saying no, but I believe we must fight our own battle, so that whatever comes of it cannot be blamed on any outside power. It¡¯s enough that Jianying and Ganring are dead. Now, we must find our own way as a people.¡±


    Kaz thought about how he would feel if powerful outsiders appeared one day and killed the chiefs of the great tribes so that a different group of kobolds could take command. He would know that that group didn¡¯t succeed through their own power, and the changes they forced weren¡¯t ones that would be upheld by kobold tradition. They wouldn¡¯t have his respect, or that of many other kobolds, leaving them open to rebellion from within, like the Magmablades.


    ¡°Can you get home by yourself?¡± he asked, changing tunnels. ¡°And what will happen with Kus Ukark and the other xiyi below? The humans will kill them all.¡±


    Snen bared sharp teeth. ¡°They can try. But yes, I can get home, even if Intong chooses not to carry me. My people are very good at hiding.¡±


    His core surged, and he faded away before Kaz¡¯s eyes, leaving only a blur of ki. It was different from what Chi Yincang did, which depended on shadow, and what Kyla did, which depended on heat. This was closer to Li¡¯s method of concealment, convincing the power in everything that it was one with the power coming from Snen. After a moment, he flickered back into sight.


    ¡°By now, everyone will know what happened here,¡± he told Kaz. ¡°We were only in this city because Ganring planned to trade places with the king of this country, place qiu in the humans, and then head toward the place now called the Sheng Empire.¡±


    Which reminded Kaz of the warehouses of cores and cultivation pills. The people of Holiander didn¡¯t cultivate, depending instead on mana, so what were the pills for?


    Snen chuckled when Kaz asked. ¡°One of Ganring¡¯s plans, though it was a good one, for him. Once Holiander was his, he would move on to the Empire. Their cultivators are far less numerous than Holiander¡¯s mages, but can become much more powerful. But even the strongest only live a few hundred years, and the pills could destroy the cultivation of a weak human. Stop them before they start, even as the old, powerful ones die or ascend. Leaving a generation lacking the strength to resist Ganring¡¯s assault.¡±


    Lianhua had talked about ascension a few times. ¡°Ascend? Is that when their ki becomes one with that of the world?¡± But wasn¡¯t Kaz himself literally nothing but an image made of ki? Did that mean he had already ascended?


    But Snen was shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m no Kus, and I don¡¯t pretend to understand it, but when humans reach the point where their ki becomes so dense it is capable of turning into a core, they either fail and die, leaving their ki to rejoin this world, or succeed and ascend to the next.¡±


    So Kus was a title, not part of Kus Ukark¡¯s name. That was good to know. Was a Kus like a mage then, or more like an elder or chief? But Kaz had a more pressing question. ¡°But how do they reach this other world?¡±


    Snen lifted his hand, pointing at the moon that was growing brighter as the sun set. ¡°There,¡± he said. ¡°They go through the Gate.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred eighty

    The idea that humans might travel through the Gate wasn¡¯t a new one to Kaz, not entirely. Lianhua had mentioned that some humans cultivated in order to become strong enough to try passing through, seeking the source of the monsters who appeared on the night of no moon. Was Snen saying that they really could do that, and, in fact, had no choice? But why? What made monsters come here, and powerful humans go there? Wherever ¡®there¡¯ was. Or did the Gate open to different planes, or worlds, each time?


    Before he could ask, they were interrupted by Lianhua¡¯s excited voice. ¡°Kaz! I¡¯ve got it!¡± They all turned, even Intong lifting his large head to look toward the female who was running across the dirt. She had her robes clutched in her hands and stray tendrils escaping her hair, looking much more like the female Kaz knew.


    When she reached him, she held her book open, then saw Snen and Li craning their necks to see. Kyla arrived just before Raff, adding to her audience, and Lianhua clicked her tongue before tucking the book away and pulling out a long, polished stick instead. The dirt was mostly dry by now, but still moist enough to move easily, so she set one end of the stick on the ground and began to write so everyone could see.


    With a glance at Snen and the others, Lianhua said, ¡°All right, this is the set of runes Kaz initially showed me.¡± She drew the complex mess with an ease that belied her claim to have no skill at art. Then, turning, she drew ¡®silence¡¯, followed by the remaining sprawl of lines.


    ¡°Occasionally, we¡¯ll find old documents, usually made of vellum, that have been scraped down and reused. Sometimes there are lingering remnants of the old ink, allowing us to use a rune to separate them, lifting one document from the traces of the one before. The oldest document recovered in this way was the ¡®Way of the Wind¡¯, a series of poems that predated the Diushi Empire. This was particularly exciting because the Diushi absorbed preexisting countries so thoroughly that it¡¯s difficult to be certain which parts of their national identity were a result of-¡±


    Several people cleared their throats at once, and Lianhua blinked, bringing herself back to the topic at hand. ¡°Of course, the point is that I¡¯m actually used to taking apart runes. Sometimes the scraped sections are so thin that even our best efforts can¡¯t separate them, and using the surrounding context to interpret them is something of a hobby of mine. When I was studying with the Zhe sect, I found a parchment discussing the way some people would unconsciously shift the stem of the next rune in order to allow space for the remnant below.¡±


    She started to draw a completely different rune on the ground, then stopped as Yingtao gently touched the back of her hand. Pink rose in her cheeks, and Lianhua tried again. ¡°When Kaz originally showed me this particular set of runes, the rune for ¡®silence¡¯ was fairly clear. I suspect that was the last one used, and it also has a rather unusual closed counter, which is a space inside the rune which is entirely enclosed by the strokes of the rune.¡±


    Shifting her stick, she pointed to the ¡®silence¡¯ rune. ¡°That left us with this,¡± she pointed to the sketch where ¡®silence¡¯ had been removed, ¡°but without further context, I couldn¡¯t really narrow it down further. I thought that it might have something to do with sticky, or sweet, because those runes have a particularly deep descender, but I now believe that had to do with the way the rune was stretched.¡±


    As if she couldn¡¯t help herself, Lianhua began to draw rune after rune, naming them as she went. ¡°Honey. Sugar. Candy. You can see how this descender makes up the majority of the rune. Some people even draw it down through the line below, which is intended to be decorative, but in fact leads to great confusion in readers, especially when rendered in only one color of ink. Which is why any good scribe should ensure-¡±


    This time when Yingtao coughed gently, she followed it up with a glance up at the darkening sky. Kaz didn¡¯t know what that meant, but Lianhua¡¯s ears were pink when she spoke again. ¡°Without that extreme descender, the options actually increase significantly, but now that I know where the runes were found and what their purpose probably was, I believe I have the answer.¡±


    She stopped, slightly breathless and looking triumphant. Kaz exchanged a look with Li, who said, <I think she means it¡¯s your fault it took this long.>


    Kaz didn¡¯t think it was anyone¡¯s fault, but he shrugged. Looking back at Lianhua, he asked, ¡°So what are they?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Ah, yes,¡± Lianhua said. She took her stick and drew four more runes. It was getting dark enough that the humans leaned forward, straining to see, but Kaz, Kyla, Snen, and Li had no difficulty.


    ¡°The first one is ¡®insensate¡¯. That one was more difficult than you¡¯d think, because obviously there has to be a rune blocking the dragon¡¯s intelligence. But ¡®insensate¡¯ is more than just another word for stupid - which was also an option - because it means lacking in sense or reason, but also lacking sympathy or compassion. That would make it difficult for them to form relationships, and explain why dragons went from powerful but sometimes even heroic or wise characters in the most ancient stories to the beasts they are today. They¡¯re probably also not terribly good parents.¡±


    Snen nodded at this. ¡°Dragons often ignore their eggs, or, in the worst case, crush them underfoot. We usually take the eggs and keep them in the same incubation chamber as those of our own young. That¡¯s why I could care for Intong¡¯s egg personally, rather than simply training him after he hatched, as most xiyi do now.¡±


    Kaz thought about how Li¡¯s parents had cared for their offspring, turning the eggs and keeping them warm. The one Jianying injured or killed had brought the dragonlings the ki-rich food they required right after hatching, even though it was already wounded at the time. Had their curse already been fading, or were they simply so kind that some of their caretaking instincts broke through this rune?


    Li leaned against him, puffs of cool vapor pouring from her nostrils. She was sniffling as she watched his memories of her parents caring for the nest, even though the same memories showed her own egg drifted further and further from the center of the pile, small and all but forgotten.


    <We¡¯ll find your family,> he told her again. <Snen must know where they would have been taken, if they were captured.>The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Li¡¯s head jerked up. <Ask him now!> she insisted.


    Kaz winced. This was why he hadn¡¯t mentioned it. Hadn¡¯t even allowed himself to think about it too hard. The moment Li had a real clue about where her family was, she would want to go, but he felt a rising compulsion to return to the mountain. Plus, he had promised to take Heishe into the mountain, and while she¡¯d given him some time, he didn¡¯t think she was that patient. The time when either he or Li would have to make a difficult decision was quickly approaching.


    Lianhua, unaware of their silent conversation, had drawn another rune, and was discussing the shape of it, and how its loops, brackets, and a rounded terminal had allowed her to identify it. ¡°-so obvious I don¡¯t know how I missed it, even given that I didn¡¯t know where it came from.¡± She looked up, beaming, only to find everyone else staring at her.


    ¡°So what is it?¡± Raff demanded, pulling at his breastplate so he could scratch his armpit, all the while pointedly ignoring Reina, who wrinkled her nose at the sight.


    ¡°Oh, yes. ¡®Stall¡¯. Specifically ¡®stall cultivation¡¯. This is probably intended to keep the bearer from developing any more ki than they were born with. It would prevent any of the dragons from becoming more than a two or three-ki beast, making sure no new Divine Dragons could arise.¡±


    So, stupid, uncaring, unable to grow, and unable to communicate. Whoever had done this truly, deeply hated dragons.


    ¡°Pellis¡¯ pink petunia,¡± Raff muttered. ¡°And there are two more? What are they? And, uh, can y¡¯ keep it short, Lianhua? I¡¯ve got dirt in places I usually only wash every other month.¡±


    Lianhua blinked, and then her eyes flicked to Reina, who had actually stepped away from Raff at this comment. Lianhua¡¯s lips twitched, and she nodded. ¡°This one is ¡®ephemeral¡¯. We know that Jianying and Qiangde lived a thousand years or more. Snen, how long do dragons usually live now, if they don¡¯t get sick or injured?¡±


    Snen hissed thoughtfully. ¡°The oldest dragon I¡¯ve heard of lived about fifty years. It takes twenty before they can produce young, and they often die at thirty-five or forty after having produced only one clutch of eggs. I truly believe that the only reason they¡¯re not extinct is because we xiyi have cared for them all this time.¡±


    This made Li look at the xiyi in a new light. She had liked him and Kus Ukark in spite of herself, but now she softened further. Kaz was sure that the obvious affection between the xiyi and the dragon Intong was also helping.


    ¡°And the last?¡± Kaz asked, interrupting his dragon¡¯s thoughts. They made him very uncomfortable, and he didn¡¯t really want to think about why.


    ¡°Yes, well, that one actually is ¡®sticky¡¯,¡± Lianhua tugged at a strand of hair, bringing it toward her mouth before Yingtao gently removed it from her fingers and tucked it back into her elaborate hairstyle. Lianhua made a little face at the other female, and they exchanged a warm smile before Lianhua went on.


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s ¡®viscid¡¯, and I only figured it out after I removed the others. For obvious reasons, it¡¯s not commonly used unless you¡¯re looking at records from an ancient glue factory. Which I¡¯ve done, so once it was there in front of my face, I knew what it was. Rather than simply ¡®sticky¡¯, it means something like ¡®having an adhesive quality¡¯, modified by a stroke in the time quadrant which tells us it¡¯s meant to be forever. This is probably the one that makes it all transfer from one generation to the next.¡±


    Kaz frowned. ¡°All of these words seem¡­complicated? Perhaps even unnecessarily so.¡±


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°Definitely. I can think of half a dozen simpler runes that could have been used instead of any of these. Perhaps the complexity was required for them to work as intended?¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t think so. If another of the dragons in Qiangde¡¯s court had been behind the plot, surely they wouldn¡¯t have cursed the entirety of their own race forever. That argued that the traitor probably wasn¡¯t a dragon. Which left all three races of kobolds and their various progenitors.


    Snen claimed the xiyi had only been participants in the rebellion and cursing the dragons, and he didn¡¯t think the mosui were capable of something like this, even if they wanted to. That left Kaz¡¯s kobolds, but Kaz had actually seen some of his own people in Qiangde¡¯s memories, and they certainly hadn¡¯t seemed resentful or aggressive. The Magmablades seemed the most likely culprits, but they probably hadn¡¯t been involved or Kyla would know something about it. That left the three creators of the kobolds.


    Kaz had met Zhangwo, and the progenitor of the mosui didn¡¯t strike him as being particularly intelligent. Cunning, yes, but not someone who formed and followed plans. Lianhua had even said that while his record-keeping was good, it was clear from them that his ¡®experiments¡¯ weren¡¯t methodical enough to produce useful results. The fact that the mosui had been considered a failure even in Qiangde¡¯s time supported this idea.


    Nucai, on the other hand, was a meticulous plotter. He was the creator of the xiyi, so he had the closest ties to them. In addition, he rarely allowed his emotions to overwhelm him. Even when Kaz upset all of his plans by saving the Tree, he only sent the Irondiggers and the monstrous beast to capture him.


    The ancient being had some use for Kaz, and hadn¡¯t allowed his fury to take control. He was also surrounded by books and scrolls, with his pen constantly writing runes all over the pages that lay before him. Surely he had to know every rune in the world by now, and might even find some entertainment in using ones that others wouldn¡¯t. It would be a sign of his superiority and intelligence. He would certainly be the best suspect, if it weren¡¯t for his loyalty to Qiangde, which persisted to this day.


    Which only left the mysterious Dongwu. The creator of Kaz¡¯s race of kobolds was the only female of the three. According to Qiangde¡¯s memories, Dongwu had joined him not out of fear, like Zhangwo, or arrogance, like Nucai, but because she felt that her own people didn''t appreciate her, and she wanted to prove herself.


    Had she eventually become disillusioned with Qiangde and his cruel experiments? Had she decided to stop him, and wanted to be sure another like him was never born? She had to be intelligent, in order to produce the most successful kobolds, at least to Qiangde¡¯s mind. Was she a scholar, like Lianhua? Someone who reveled in words, longing for those around her to acknowledge that she was as intelligent and capable as her male counterparts, if not better? Was that why female kobolds had so much power in their society; even more than was called for because of their ki?


    Kaz shook his head. Again, it didn¡¯t really matter who had killed Qiangde or why. What mattered was that he now knew all of the runes blocking the dragon¡¯s upper dantians. Rather than tearing them out, as he had inadvertently done with Li, surely he could now simply erase them one by one, avoiding damage to the dantian and ki channels.


    Turning to Snen and Intong, Kaz said, ¡°I¡¯d like to try again to remove Intong¡¯s curse. Are you ready?¡± He knew Intong didn¡¯t really understand, not yet, but Snen nodded, only the faintest hesitation visible behind an otherwise calm expression.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-one

    To Kaz¡¯s mind, the greatest benefit of knowing all the runes was the ability to remove them one at a time. It was possible that Intong would panic at some point during the process, and Kaz wanted to make sure that he couldn¡¯t do much damage if he attacked rather than fleeing.


    With that in mind, Kaz urged everyone else to move away. This was made easier by the fact that almost everyone except his group had left. There were still a good number of the guards with matching armor, and Eugene had stayed, but even Raff¡¯s father was gone, probably to recover from his ordeal at home with his family.


    There was light visible through the windows of the carriage that had brought Lianhua and the others, and Kaz could see the prince¡¯s mana there. Was the human still so displeased by the destruction of the crown that he wouldn¡¯t come out to see what was going on? If it was Kaz, his curiosity would have driven him to investigate long ago, especially if his sister was already involved in whatever it was.


    Once Kaz, Li, Snen, and Intong were alone in the center of the stadium, Kaz created a shield around Intong. Rather than preventing anything from passing through from outside, this one was meant to keep Intong in, though Kaz wasn¡¯t sure how long it would last if the dragon truly tried to escape. Even with the vast amounts of ki Kaz was now producing, he couldn¡¯t actually hold that much more in his body, so the result was more of an increase in the mana immediately around him than having a greater amount of ki ready for use. He expected that his new body and dantians would become more refined in time, but for now most of his new power simply vanished into the air.


    Kaz looked down at the runes drawn into the ground. A ki-light illuminated them, held by Kyla, who wasn¡¯t willing to move as far away as the others. She and Mei crouched behind a large piece of wall halfway between the Kaz and the ¡®royal box¡¯ where the humans waited. To be fair, Chi Yincang and Yingtao had almost had to drag Lianhua away as well, but everyone else went willingly enough.


    Snen glanced at the other dragons, all of whom he¡¯d sent away by using his whistle. They seemed to sense that something important was about to happen, because eleven pairs of gem-colored eyes were locked on Snen and Intong.


    ¡°Should I have them move further away?¡± the xiyi asked softly.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°If they¡¯re too far away, they might flee before I can remove their runes. Plus, even if they¡¯re not very intelligent right now, this way they can see that we aren¡¯t hurting Intong, which might make it easier to keep the rest of them calm when their time comes.¡±


    Li shifted from foot to foot. She wanted to try removing all of the runes from all of the dragons at once, or at least do them all as quickly as possible. Kaz wanted to go slowly, making sure that the dragon didn¡¯t suffer any ill effects. Snen backed this up, saying that while he and Intong had a strong rapport, if the dragon felt any pain, he might still attack or run.


    <Hurry up,> she demanded. <He¡¯s just getting more worried the longer you stare at him.>


    It was true. Intong had been calm almost to the point of placidity so long as he was near Snen, but now he was standing, staring at the xiyi as if for reassurance. Kaz nodded and began.


    He started with ¡®insensate¡¯. Kaz had been tempted to remove ¡®viscid¡¯ first, just in case Intong did fly away. That way at least this dragon¡¯s offspring wouldn¡¯t bear the curse, if Lianhua was correct about what that rune did. Something told Kaz that one needed to be last, however, and so he started with the one that prevented Intong from understanding what they were doing.


    Closing his eyes, Kaz laid the rune over the bundle of apparently random lines and loops that filled the dragon¡¯s upper dantian like a clinging lichen. He¡¯d stared at the rune for silence so many times that he knew its every twist and turn, but this was a new one, and it had several strokes, each of which was integral to its formation and meaning.


    Only when he was certain that he had it right did Kaz empty it, making it an inverse of the one that already existed. Neither mana nor ki flowed inside the strokes of the rune, and when he pressed it down over the original, it fit like a shoe on a human foot. Kaz tugged it free, bringing the old rune with it, and Intong began to cough violently, finally snorting black goo from his mouth and nose.


    To Li¡¯s vast disappointment and Kaz¡¯s quickly-discarded relief, the dragon didn¡¯t immediately begin speaking like the dragons in Qiangde¡¯s memory. Instead, he looked at Snen and said,


    Snen took a step forward, then another. Without a glance at Kaz, he broke through the shield, which was only meant to keep the dragon in, and threw his arms around Intong¡¯s neck. ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± he said. ¡°Everything will be all right now. Can you hold on just a little longer?¡±


    Intong nodded, his eyes darting around as he took in their surroundings. His voice was no longer hollow when he asked, <This place is safe?>


    Snen nodded, sniffling like Li did when she was overcome by emotion. ¡°Safe enough. Just wait a little longer.¡± He turned to Kaz and said, ¡°Do the rest. Please.¡±


    Kaz did so, though he kept his eye on Li as much as the runes as he did so. ¡®Stall¡¯ and ¡®ephemeral¡¯ seemed to want to cling a little more than the first two runes, but Kaz got them free after a few tries. When he got to ¡®viscid¡¯, however, he found that the rune very much did not want to go. Each time he tried to pull it free with his empty rune, it caught at Intong¡¯s dantian, threatening to tear it. Kaz remembered how painful and frightening it had been when his channels were damaged. How much worse would it be to have a shredded dantian?


    Stopping, he shook his head. It didn¡¯t seem like it took much time or power to remove one of the runes, but after four, he found that his dantians were almost empty and the moon now stood high overhead. At least half the night had gone by while he stared at the runes in Intong¡¯s head.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    <What happens if you can¡¯t remove that one?> Li asked, worry clear in her voice. <It doesn¡¯t do anything but hold the others in place, does it?>


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kaz murmured. ¡°Presumably just that one would still be carried on to the next generation, but otherwise have no effect.¡± He couldn¡¯t be certain, though. No one knew, except possibly whoever had created the curse.


    It had been a long time since the previous rune was cleared away, and Snen refused to leave Intong¡¯s side. With him there, the dragon remained calm, and Kaz¡¯s shield was never needed. Now Snen called, ¡°Is it done?¡±


    Reluctantly, Kaz said, ¡°No. But I think I¡¯ve done all I can, at least for now.¡± Not entirely true. Kaz was certain he could simply tear the stubborn rune free, but he didn¡¯t think anyone would be pleased with the results.


    Li paced back and forth at Kaz¡¯s side, tail whipping anxiously through the air behind her. <Why was it different with me? Or was it? Was my dantian damaged?>


    Kaz thought back to that time. He¡¯d barely been able to see ki then, much less channels and dantians. He certainly hadn¡¯t known what they were supposed to look like, to be certain no damage had been done when he tore the runes free.


    Closing his eyes, he examined the moment when the blotch inside Li¡¯s upper dantian came loose, spinning the memory back and forth, examining it from every angle, aware as he did that Li was watching, too. They had both nearly drowned, and only the tiny thread linking their cores had allowed Kaz to find Li and save her. Neither of them had been in any condition to think clearly.


    Finally, Kaz stopped the memory on the exact moment the runes broke loose. ¡°I think the runes tore, not the dantian,¡± he said, feeling Li¡¯s agreement. ¡°But Intong¡¯s runes are much stronger.¡± That reminded him of something, and it took a moment to realize what it was.


    ¡°The necklaces the great chiefs wore were like that, too,¡± he said, remembering how much easier it was to remove Avli¡¯s necklace than Tisdi and Idla¡¯s. The chains linking the runestones to their organs were much thicker and stronger in the older kobolds. He hadn¡¯t thought much of it at the time, but now he wondered, ¡°Maybe it depends how long the runes have been in place. Or if they use the bearer¡¯s ki to strengthen themselves, then a weaker bearer might mean weaker runes.¡±


    They both turned to look at Intong. The dragon had only two colors of ki; red and yellow. Of the two, red was dominant, but even it wasn¡¯t particularly strong. If Kaz had seen that core in a kobold, he wouldn¡¯t have predicted that the female would be a chief, or even from a chief¡¯s family. Honestly, Kaz was surprised, because he¡¯d half-expected Intong to immediately become more powerful when the stall rune was removed.


    The other dragons were no different. In fact, a few of them were even weaker than Intong. Kaz would have to examine each of their upper dantians in order to determine if age or core-strength affected whether or not the runes could be removed, or if something else was at play.


    The sound of footsteps pulled him from his contemplation, and he blinked, suddenly realizing that he was very tired. With faint amusement, he thought that a body that had only been created earlier that day should have been better rested.


    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Lianhua said gently. Kaz turned to see that she and the others were arrayed behind him. Raff held a drowsing Kyla against his shoulder, Mei curled up in the crook of his other arm. Kaz¡¯s cousin blinked sleepily before her head drooped back down. Even the young kobold had finally run out of energy.


    Kaz nodded reluctantly. ¡°We can¡¯t just leave them here. The humans are frightened of them, and they¡¯ll be hungry again soon.¡± That wasn¡¯t a good combination, in Kaz¡¯s opinion.


    Raff shrugged the shoulder Kyla wasn¡¯t sleeping on. ¡°Bring ¡®em to my house,¡± he said cheerfully. ¡°Da invited all of you to stay there, and there¡¯s a nice open courtyard just outside the guest wing. Might be a bit of a tight fit, but we¡¯ll manage.¡± He grinned. ¡°As long as they don¡¯t eat anyone, I doubt it¡¯ll be much of an imposition. And one of those gold bars Kaz is carrying around should cover their feed.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Reina said, half-raising a hand. ¡°I meant to invite you all to the palace. Lianhua and Yingtao already have a suite there, and we could put the rest of you nearby.¡±


    Raff raised his brows. ¡°Have lots of room for dragons, do you?¡±


    Reina¡¯s cheeks turned pink, but rather than back down, she glared. ¡°The dragons would have to stay here, but I can post guards to make sure no one bothers them.¡±


    Both of them turned to look at Kaz, who looked at Lianhua. Kaz would be just as happy to find a relatively clean, dry spot and simply sleep in the stadium, but even he had to admit that the structure was somewhat unstable. Every now and then something else broke loose, creating a fresh cascade of debris, and it would be very difficult to explain how he¡¯d survived if the entire building came down on top of him. Not to mention that Li could get hurt.


    Lianhua looked from Reina to Raff, then asked Raff, ¡°Are you certain no one will panic if we bring the dragons to your estate?¡±


    Raff waved his free hand. ¡°Eh, if they do, they¡¯re not meant to work there anyway. I guarantee no one in the family will blink an eye.¡±


    Sighing, Lianhua bent her head toward Reina, looking only faintly apologetic. ¡°Given what happened last time I stayed at the palace, I¡¯m sure you can understand my reluctance. You should go back in the carriage with Prince Lucas.¡±


    At that, Reina brightened. ¡°But how will you get to the Hillcroft estate? I could call for more carriages back to the palace.¡±


    Snen and Intong had approached as they spoke, and the dragon¡¯s gaze lingered on each speaker, taking in the conversation in a way he hadn¡¯t before. Snen laid a hand on Intong¡¯s neck and said, ¡°You can all ride dragons, if you wish.¡±


    And that settled it. Even Eugene, who still lingered in the background in spite of the deep lines of exhaustion carved into his face, decided that he would go with them. The aged warrior almost looked like a pup as he climbed onto the back of the second-largest dragon. Raff rode the largest, of course, while Lianhua and Yingtao rode together on a single dragon. Kyla and Mei were perched in front of Kaz on a smaller bronze dragon, while Snen rode Intong.


    The newly freed dragon didn¡¯t hesitate to allow his xiyi brother on his back, and even Li didn¡¯t protest after Kaz reminded her that he was looking forward to her being large enough to carry him. There was nothing inherently degrading in a dragon carrying someone, so long as that dragon was allowed the choice. Of course, the eleven other dragons weren¡¯t asked, but they were all just eager to be away, so that was a concern best left for another day.


    As they rose into the air, and Kaz felt the powerful movements of the beast beneath him, Li matched their path. He could feel her disappointment as she finally burst out, <I wanted to fly with you first!>


    Kaz smiled, showing her image after image of their shared dreams. <You did,> he told her.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-two (Heishe) (END Book 5)

    At last - at very, very long last - Heishe felt hope. When the Elder left this world, Heishe and her adoptive siblings had promised him that they would maintain the balance, and so they had. For millennia, they watched, only occasionally having to step in. The mere knowledge of their existence was usually enough to prevent those who would otherwise have gone astray from doing so.


    And then, just over a thousand years ago, everything went wrong. First, Rabbit disappeared. That wasn¡¯t unusual. Rabbits were flighty and tended to wander away. Sometimes they would vanish for centuries before a new one would appear. Frankly, there had been so many that Heishe wasn¡¯t even certain what name the last one used. It had simply been Rabbit.


    But this time Rabbit¡¯s disappearance was followed by Goat, then Pig, and Rat. These four were the weakest, and the ones who tended to settle down among their charges, pretending to be no more than the beasts from which they sprang. Heishe hadn¡¯t paid any attention to their loss. She hadn¡¯t paid attention to anything she didn¡¯t have to for many, many years.


    It was Fengji who called for them to gather, and when they did, it was Fengji who told them he¡¯d gone to look for Rabbit and found instead a wasteland, burned and empty of all life. To her shame, Heishe ignored him. This Rabbit wouldn¡¯t be the first to have simply allowed itself to die when something happened to those it protected. That was the danger of tying oneself too closely to the world, and especially of building a family.


    Fengji insisted something was wrong, however, and continued on his hunt for their other missing members. He found Goat¡¯s home, buried beneath an avalanche. The herd with whom Goat had been living were all dead, crushed beneath tons of snow, but there was no sign of Goat herself. Heishe was sad that Anning was gone. She had been Goat for longer than most, and was a pleasant companion in those rare times Heishe felt like spending time with someone else.


    Pig¡¯s sounder was missing, and the area where he¡¯d lived with them was now a small but thriving human town. Rat- Well, Rats were intelligent and sly, making them difficult to find at the best of times. Heishe didn¡¯t even know if she¡¯d ever met the Rat who had, almost certainly, died at that time.


    Only when Monkey and Tiger became involved did Heishe bother to take notice. Tiger had apparently been friends with this Rabbit - though how that came about, Heishe didn¡¯t know - and the great feline was very worried. He insisted that Rabbit would have told him if she had grown tired of their task, and while it did happen that something killed one of the Twelve unexpectedly, it was rare.


    And then the Incursions started. The Gate was always there, but it began to grow. It was small at first, no larger than any star in the sky. Small things came through, too weak to be a real challenge even for normal humans, much less those trained in battle. For a while, they were even perceived as a boon, since they almost always yielded a core, which the humans used to make themselves even stronger.


    But year by year the Gate opened wider, and more powerful creatures passed into the world Heishe was supposed to keep safe. Balanced. Eventually even she was forced to help fight, but by then Ox was gone, as was Horse. How many years had it been since Fengji gave his warning? How many of Heishe¡¯s siblings could she have saved if only she had listened?


    But no, she was too busy. Too busy listening to the water. She burrowed beneath the earth, wrapping herself in the dark ki of the deepest aquifer. She watched through the waves and the currents and the eyes of the serpents, and thought she knew everything. Everything she needed to know. Everything worth knowing.


    Until Dog was killed almost before her very eyes, or at least what served as her eyes at the moment. She had always had a soft spot for her canine brethren, respecting their loyalty and determination, which were much like her own. There had only been eight Dogs since the Elder left, and only one Snake. Only Heishe.


    She had been watching for Incursions, ready to intercede if something powerful emerged, when she saw a small cluster of human homes under assault. An enormous bird flung lightning down on them, setting them afire. This forced out the inhabitants, who were protected by a single massive hound.


    Heishe recognized the Dog, Zhong, so she hadn¡¯t bothered to rise to the surface. She could see that Zhong would win the battle, and he did, though he was battered and weak by the end. The lightning bird was stronger than she¡¯d thought, and she¡¯d almost regretted her choice, but the humans had rushed to Zhong¡¯s side, supporting and healing him, which she knew would please him. Dogs always liked humans too much.


    So her focus drifted, only to be drawn back when Zhong¡¯s blood entered her water. Had he gone to the river to bathe and drink? But no, there was his body, lying open and empty, surrounded by the humans he had struggled to save. They, too, were dead, their homes still burning, and as Heishe watched in horror, shadowy figures grasped Dog and human alike, tossing them into the blaze. Heishe began to rise, but she was too late. Whatever had killed her - Friend? Her sibling, at the least - had gone.


    What was it? What could evade her senses in such a way? It should be impossible. Heishe was one of the Twelve, linked to every part of this world, able to see anything, anywhere she cared to turn her attention. And yet this being, or beings, were nothing but shadows to her. When she reached the surface, she could taste it, a mixture of things that shouldn¡¯t have been possible, but her eyes told her nothing more than that.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    This remained true as both Rooster - Fengji - and Monkey vanished. They had been working together to find out what had happened to their missing brethren, and why new ones hadn¡¯t been born. By now it was more than a hundred years since Rabbit went missing, but no new Rabbit had appeared, nor had any of the others, even Rat, and Rat was usually one of the fastest to develop. All it took was a rodent of some kind to be born with at least three elements. If that rodent was exposed to the right catalysts, a new Rat would spring up, just as it was meant to.


    Now the Gate was obvious every time the moon was dark. Without the reflected power of the sun to block it, even humans could see it, and when the barrier between this world and the next grew too thin, or something strong enough pushed against that Gate, it opened, allowing those things passage. The balance had been broken. Heishe had failed the Elder.


    Beside her, Fengji twitched, making a soft squawking sound in his sleep. In spite of the frivolous fowl¡¯s claims that he was as strong as ever, Heishe could tell his long captivity had scarred him, both in body and soul. His core was intact, it had to be, but he had nightmares he couldn¡¯t wake from on his own, and his endurance was¡­lacking.


    Without knowing for certain what had happened to the rest of their siblings, Heishe didn¡¯t dare leave him alone, and so she remained with him, or at least near him, at all times. She would feel better if she could see the creatures called kobolds and their reptilian kin, but they remained a fog to anything but her physical eyes.


    She had learned to recognize that fog, know they were there, as she had when the one called Kaz had fallen into her water, but she still couldn¡¯t see them. Worse, she had learned from listening to Kaz and his friends that there was still another type, and she had never seen that kind at all, so she had no way to identify their particular form of absence.


    Fengji thrashed, some of his feathers bursting into flame. Her water soothed the heat, preventing it from starting a fire, but she decided that it was time to wake him. Truthfully, one of the Twelve as old as he was shouldn¡¯t have needed to sleep at all. The fact that he did was yet another way she knew he was still weak.


    With deliberate brusqueness, she wrapped a coil around the bird¡¯s leg and tugged. <wake,> she told him. <you¡¯re too noisy, foolish fowl.>


    Fengji¡¯s dark eyes flashed open, and his neck twisted as he looked around. Taking in the quiet glade in which they rested, he breathed a sigh of relief, though he was quick to hide it with a great flapping of his wings. Several bent and broken feathers drifted away, burning to ash before they reached the ground.


    <I said nothing, stubborn serpent,> he muttered, preening a feather into submission. <You¡¯re so old, your mind is probably going.>


    Perhaps it was. Perhaps it was time for there to be a second Snake, and for Heishe to allow her ki to rejoin the world at last. It was just so hard to think that when she was gone, there would be no one left who remembered the Elder. No one who had felt his hand rest on their head, his ki touching their own. She could pass on her memories, as the others had, but she would have to relinquish self to do so. Could she?


    <my mind can outthink yours any day, bumbling bird,> she told him. There was no heat behind it, especially since he might well be right. She had missed the obvious for centuries, after all.


    He stood, gazing to the east, where the sun was just beginning to touch the edge of the world with an argent glow. Soon pinks and oranges would tinge it with fire, but for now it was an ethereal radiance that marked the end of night.


    Lifting his head, Fengji began to crow. The sound rolled out, rippling through the darkness with a power held only by the Rooster. The creatures that inhabited the shadows hurried toward their homes, while those who only came out when dusk and dawn settled over the land began to poke inquisitive noses from nests and burrows. Day could come without the call of the Rooster, but it was better for his presence.


    How long had it been since she wasn¡¯t alone? Since she heard the voice of one of her siblings? The Rooster was always the noisiest, but each of them laid their own touch upon the world, giving it a depth and strength that it would otherwise lack. How many more birds would bear cores now that Fengji was awake and wandering again? How much more Fire would there be in the world?


    Only when the sun was fully risen did Fengji cease his call. All around them, birds sang back, crying, ¡°Here! Here! See me, Rooster!¡± A particularly plump partridge paraded into the glade, followed by his hen and three young, each still retaining a bit of fluff mixed in with their adult feathers.


    Fengji shrank, becoming no larger than a normal rooster, and strutted over to the little family. Bending his head, he touched his beak to the middle offspring, where they could both sense a small core. Power surged, and the little bird flapped, cheeping loudly as its core grew stronger.


    Heishe nodded in satisfaction. One by one, little by little, they would return the world to balance. With two of them, it was possible, but five would be even better. At least one for each element, and more to bear the burden of watching over all the natural creatures of this world.


    She was Water, while Fengji bore Fire. Earth, Metal, and Wood still needed representatives, and it would be better still to have a full Twelve; two for each element, and two more to support the weakest, ever changing as the world did.


    At last - at very, very long last - Heishe felt hope. Now, she simply had to be patient. There was a Way to this, a right and a wrong. The Twelve must choose a difficult path, and she could only hope that the right choice was made. Fortunately, Heishe was very, very patient.


    Unfortunately, Fengji was not. Done with the pheasants, he looked at Heishe, who basked on a stone warmed by the first rays of the sun. Unlike her more mortal brethren, she didn¡¯t require heat to survive, but it was pleasant nonetheless.


    <When will the puppy be ready?> he demanded, as if she would know.


    Hissing softly, Heishe slithered in a circle, turning to expose her other side to the sun. <when he is,> she said, pretending she didn¡¯t care. If. If he ever was. But she finally dared to hope.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-three (START Book 6)

    Raff¡¯s family hut was larger than many kobold dens. In fact, it sprawled across what would have been several streets in every other part of the city Kaz had seen. From above, he could tell that some other enormous buildings were nearby, also surrounded by high walls, but Raff¡¯s was the largest, other than the palace itself. That was so huge Kaz thought even he might have become lost in it, so he was glad they had decided to stay with Raff instead. The large male was also correct that there was plenty of room for the dragons, which was good.


    They landed in an open area surrounded by flowers, with a convenient pool of water in the center. The dragons immediately began to drink, with a few even trying to climb in for a bath. It wasn¡¯t large enough for that, however, and they broke a large piece off the statue in the center, which was unfortunate, because it wasn¡¯t as pretty with only one arm and no head.


    Even Raff seemed a bit chagrined as people poured out of the building, many of them looking angry. Jinn was there, in a clean dress, with her bright red curls tamed into a puff at the back of her head. Kaz recognized a few others from the group they¡¯d rescued, and they, too, looked clean and far more relaxed, though their faces were still drawn and tense.


    Once Raff explained what was going on, though his mother looked ready to nip his ears, most of the people went back inside. Kaz lingered with Snen and Li, watching as the xiyi checked each dragon with well-practiced confidence.


    ¡°Sso long as they have enough meat, I should be able to keep them from hunting,¡± Snen said, stretching his sibilants as he seemed to do when he was worried or upset. ¡°There are deer in the woods nearby, and they scented them.¡±


    Indeed, several of the dragons were staring toward the broad swathe of woods that grew between this building and the palace. Now that they weren¡¯t thirsty any longer, they were thinking about their bellies instead, and the meat Kaz had fed them earlier obviously wasn¡¯t enough.


    <I can feel how hungry they are,> Li said wonderingly, staring at the dragons as intently as they stared at the trees. <Is that normal?>


    Kaz had no idea, but he couldn¡¯t feel it, except through her. It was a distant gnawing in the pit of his belly, and he probably wouldn¡¯t even have noticed it if she hadn¡¯t mentioned it. He had spent a great deal of his life hungry, after all. Apparently these dragons hadn¡¯t, or else the feeling was far stronger than what he sensed, because they looked ready to fly away.


    <Maybe we should try to clear more of the runes,> Li said, leaning her head against his side. <Then we could explain why they need to wait.>


    And they could also loose a dozen powerful, intelligent dragons in the middle of the human city. Now that he¡¯d had time to think about it, that seemed like an even worse idea than it had originally, and he wondered if he should have simply had Snen fly them out of the city altogether. Besides, almost all of the other dragons were larger than Intong, which indicated they were probably older. Removing their runes would be more difficult, if it was possible at all, and both Kaz and Li were already tired, however much his dragon might try to deny it.


    ¡°We should wait until we¡¯re rested,¡± he said, scratching the scales at the base of Li¡¯s horns. It was hard for her to reach there, and he could feel her satisfaction when his fingers found just the right spot.


    She sighed. <All right, but I¡¯m sleeping out here.>


    Kaz threw a look at the huge building. He had to admit to some curiosity as to what the inside of a human home looked like. He had been in barracks and public buildings, but not a house. Did humans really have separate rooms for everything and everyone, rather than the whole family sleeping together? It made sense that they all had separate beds in the barracks and inns, but those were strangers or tribe-members, not members of the same family. How would they know if one of the pups had a nightmare, or that they were all safe in case of an attack? Was that how Raff¡¯s family had been captured in the first place? Were they taken one by one in their too-private rooms?


    Raff had gone inside with the rest of his family, but now he emerged with several more people trailing behind him. These weren¡¯t the warriors who had emerged before, wielding weapons and many still in armor. These looked like average people, of the type who walked the streets of the city, though their clothes all matched. Why did humans all want to look the same?


    ¡°Oi, Snen!¡± Raff called. He was trying to appear as cheerful as ever, but there were dark circles beneath his eyes, and lines etched at the corners of his eyes and between his brows. Seeing it, Kaz moved closer to him, and sent blue ki into his friend, finding that his own power was now so dense that he could push a cloud of pure ki toward the other male even from a short distance.


    ¡°Ma agreed to let me have all the meat in the kitchens, including the dried venison she takes when she sails,¡± Raff straightened a little, attempting a grin, though it didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s a real privilege. Mostly, she prefers Mariner food, which is a lot spicier than ours, but she gets tired of fish when she¡¯s aboard, and Cook has a special way of-¡±


    He broke off, rubbing a hand over his face. The first traces of his beard rasped against his palm. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. The important thing is this.¡± Raff waved, and the people behind him came forward slowly, each carrying a crate or pushing a hand-cart. When they reached Raff, they dumped these on the ground, and a mountain of meat slowly began to form. Once each human unburdened themselves, they all but ran back toward the building.


    ¡°Ma says I have to replace it all from my own funds, unless I can find some other way to pay for it,¡± Raff said as a relieved Snen began to call dragons forward. Even Raff stepped back as the great beasts began to eat, and Kaz didn¡¯t think it was only because they were messy.


    Only when Kaz caught Raff watching him did he realize that the male¡¯s words were a hint. He knew the humans well enough by now to understand that this much food would be very expensive, since it had to be brought in from outside the city. That was yet another thing Kaz didn¡¯t understand. Why did the humans gather in groups too large to sustain themselves? Not even tribes in the Deep did that.


    Sighing, Kaz pulled a gold ingot from his pouch, then, after a moment¡¯s thought, he removed two more. Turning to Raff, he held them out. Raff¡¯s mouth dropped open, and even he hesitated before reaching out to accept them.


    ¡°Blue,¡± Raff said softly, trying to take only the top bar from the stack. ¡°This is too much. You¡¯ll need the rest.¡±


    Kaz shook his head. He¡¯d implied he had less gold then he did, but even so, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d need it. ¡°I have to go home,¡± he said. ¡°I can get more there.¡±


    Not that he thought it would matter how much gold he found. As much as he liked his human friends, the sheer number of people in the city was overwhelming. Even Wheldrake, which was tiny compared to Cliffcross, had really been larger than he was comfortable with. When Kaz left the mountain again, he thought he would stay away from humans entirely, at least for a while, so there would be no need for gold.


    Raff frowned, but accepted two of the bars before pushing the third firmly back to Kaz. ¡°This¡¯s enough to pay Ma for the meat and replace most of my armor. With what Lianhua still owes me, I¡¯ll be sitting pretty for a while. It doesn¡¯t feel right to take more than I need, and that¡¯s not something I say often.¡± He gave Kaz a lopsided grin that lightened his expression for a moment.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Li nudged Kaz¡¯s hip. Now that the other dragons were happy, she¡¯d settled down as well, but when he glanced at her, she opened her mouth, revealing rows of sharp white teeth. <I¡¯ll take it.>


    Kaz laughed at this reminder of the greedy little hatchling she¡¯d been not that long ago. He was tempted to give her the ingot, but stopped, trading the gold for the enormous red ki-crystal he had snapped off on his way out of the hoyi nest. It had been far too large for Li at the time, but now he thought she could handle it.


    ¡°Here,¡± he told her, placing it gently on her tongue. His dragon bit down, gripping the crystal gently with her teeth before tilting her head back, swallowing it whole. Her throat rippled, bulging oddly as the crystal slid down, and then warm red ki began to pulse out of her, filling both of their channels with heat. It was like sitting beside a fire, feeling it chase away the chill of the caves, and he almost slumped at the sudden loosening of his muscles.


    When he looked up, he found Raff and Snen both watching him. Raff looked a bit confused, but Snen was nodding in satisfaction. ¡°Dragons need a great deal of ki,¡± he said, reaching out and stroking his hand down Intong¡¯s neck absently. ¡°Their first meal needs to be from a cored beast, and it¡¯s best that they have meat or some other high-power food every day for the first month at least. I wondered if you knew, since she¡¯s so small, but perhaps she¡¯s simply still very young?¡±


    Kaz blinked. How old was Li? For that matter, how long had it been since he met the humans and started down through the mountain? A month? Two? He thought two was closer, but even tribes within the mountain didn¡¯t all maintain the same schedule, and he certainly hadn¡¯t slept or eaten regularly enough to provide a normal rhythm to his days.


    ¡°How old is Intong?¡± he asked, rather than trying to answer.


    Snen hissed thoughtfully, looking at the brown dragon. Only then did he seem to realize that he was still stroking Intong¡¯s neck, and jerked his hand back. Intong was no longer a pet or a mount, after all, but his own person. The dragon just thrust his large head back under Snen¡¯s hand, however, much as Li sometimes did with Kaz, and Snen gingerly began to stroke the smooth scales again.


    ¡°Intong is almost two years old,¡± Snen said, then looked startled as Intong tilted his head and spoke.


    <Is two a lot?> the dragon asked.


    Snen gave a soft, rasping laugh. ¡°Not a lot, no. You still have a good deal of growing to do.¡±


    Looking around at the other dragons, Kaz had to agree. He had a feeling Intong was simply a smaller, slimmer dragon than some of the others, but he still had a ways to go before he was as big as the red-scaled dragon who was eating what looked like half of a niu on the other side of the pool of water.


    ¡°I think Li is about two months old,¡± Kaz offered cautiously, suddenly realizing that if she was a kobold, she would only just be starting to eat solid food. She really was still just a baby.


    <I am not,> she told him, leaning so heavily against his leg that he actually stumbled to the side. <Dragons mature faster than kobolds.>


    ¡°She is small, then,¡± Snen said, making Li glare at him, though he redeemed himself with his next statement. ¡°Dragonlings mature very quickly in the first few months. They can double in size almost daily for a few weeks before they slow down. We usually start training them when they¡¯re about a month old, by which time they are already larger than Li.¡±


    ¡°Great Pellis¡¯ porpoises,¡± Raff muttered. ¡°No wonder it seems like dragons are already big enough to destroy a village by the time we find them.¡±


    Snen looked sad. ¡°Few wild dragons remain now, and when they are found, either humans or Jianying kill them.¡±


    Kaz and Li focused on the xiyi, their attention caught. ¡°Why would Jianying kill other dragons? I thought you xiyi captured and trained them instead.¡±


    Shaking his head, Snen said, ¡°Not the adults. If there are eggs or hatchlings, Jianying would kill the parents while scouts gathered the young.¡±


    <What about my parents? My family?> Li demanded, body tense beneath Kaz¡¯s hand.


    Kaz looked from her to Snen. ¡°About two months ago, Jianying attacked an adult dragon with mostly blue scales. Nine hatchlings flew down the mountain while the adults fought. Do you know what happened to them?¡±


    ¡°Nine?¡± Snen hissed softly. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the ones that had nested at the top of Shensheng Mountain, we only caught five. The mother, a gold, chased us away before we could catch the rest.¡±


    Kaz felt a rush of hope. He had assumed that Li¡¯s other parent had been killed, since it wasn¡¯t there during the battle, but what if it - she - was alive? Alive and raising four of Li¡¯s siblings? He leaned forward as Li asked, <Where are the five you captured?>


    The xiyi hesitated. ¡°There is only one place where my people¡¯s eggs will hatch, and most of our offspring survive. The hatchlings are there.¡±


    ¡°But you won¡¯t tell us where it is,¡± Kaz said.


    Snen fell to his knees, leaving Intong hissing unhappily as he glared uncertainly from Kaz to his xiyi. ¡°I cannot! If anything happens to our home, it means the end of my kind. Please understand. I will ask the Kus if you may come, and even if they deny me, I will bring the younglings to you. I swear it.¡±


    Silence hung between them until Raff said, ¡°You gotta admit he has a point, Blue. Seems like wherever you go, things fall apart.¡± Li whipped around, glaring at the human, but Kaz held her back. After all, Raff was right. Even though Kaz knew logically that most of what had happened lately was the result of years of conspiracy and machinations coming to a head, it did seem like his presence always hurried things along in one way or another.


    <I¡¯m going to free the dragons,> Li told them all. <Wherever they are. And I¡¯m going to find my family.>


    Kaz didn¡¯t miss the ¡®I¡¯ rather than ¡®we¡¯, and his heart clenched painfully. ¡°Yes,¡± he said, ¡°we will.¡±


    She turned her head to focus on him. <But you have to go home first.> Her voice was far too solemn, too understanding.


    Kaz felt like he was going to split in two. Everything in him said that he had to go home. He needed to return to the mountain, and the sooner the better. Finding and freeing all of the dragons could take years. Years he would happily spend with his dragon, but not yet. Something in him was still incomplete, and the only way to finish it, to become what he was meant to be, was to go back.


    But he also had to fulfill his promise to Li, not only because he might lose her if he didn¡¯t, but because the longer Li¡¯s siblings bore the curse, the harder it would be to remove. If Intong was only two years old, and the last rune was already too integrated to be dislodged without damaging his dantian, then they had perhaps a year to find her family before permanent damage was done.


    <One month,> Li said, and Kaz looked down at her, startled to find that her eyes were whirling, all five colors of her ki visible in her irises as bursts of brilliance.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked, completely lost.


    <In one month, we can go find my family,> she told him, completely calm and reasonable. <I¡¯ll be too big to go into the mountain after that,> she said, sounding much more like herself. <And I¡¯ll be able to carry you while we look. Snen can use the time to go home and get permission for us to come, or bring my siblings to meet us. It just makes sense to wait.>


    It did. Li was growing larger almost daily, and she was right. In a month, she would probably be able to carry him on her back without any great difficulty, at least for short distances. And it would give Snen and the xiyi time to decide what their lives would be without Jianying and the qiu stones. But Kaz could feel the conflict driving the colors in her eyes. She was so close to finding at least some of her siblings, but she was willing to wait. For him.


    Kaz sank down onto his haunches, finding that even in his human shape Li¡¯s eyes were now above his own. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against her chest, listening to the beat of her heart, as she had done with him so many times.


    ¡°One month,¡± he agreed. If he couldn¡¯t finish whatever needed to be done in that time, then it would have to wait. However long it took, he would fulfill his promise. That still left a hundred other things uncertain, including the promise he¡¯d made to help Lianhua¡¯s grandmother, but once Li could carry him, surely it wouldn¡¯t take that long to reach the Sheng Empire. Yes, it would all work out, if only he had time.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-four (Kyla)

    Humans were strange. Some of those strangenesses were pleasant, such as cheese and bread, but others most certainly weren¡¯t. The clothes Jinn had given Kyla, retrieved from the room of one of the human puppies - puppies! - were among the unpleasant strangenesses. Kyla had liked Lianhua¡¯s robes, which were really only a slightly more cumbersome version of the clothing chiefs wore for ceremonies, but these were ridiculous. And they belonged to a puppy. Kyla was almost certain she didn¡¯t count as a puppy any longer, and wearing puppy-clothes was both demeaning and uncomfortable.


    On the other hand, it was better than what they¡¯d done to Mei. The fuergar, after being stuffed with all kinds of treats at the group meal - which was eaten while everyone sat around a single enormous table, which was another oddity - had been subjected to a bath, then had ribbons tied around her neck and ankles. She could barely walk until she managed to bite off the ones on her legs, though so far she was tolerating the one around her neck fairly well.


    Kyla, however, was not. Not only did she have five layers of fabric weighing her down, but there were more ribbons around her wrists, ankles, throat, and waist. What were they even for? She might be able to use one to strangle an enemy, but they were so delicate, she doubted it. If they were meant to be decorative, they were failing miserably. They weren¡¯t made of rare metals, gems, teeth, bones, or any of the things a kobold might have admired, and though they were fabric, their greatest advantage was their bright colors, none of which were red.


    She sat on a soft piece of furniture Jinn had called a chaise, stroking Mei. She had to admit that her fuergar¡¯s fur was both softer and glossier than ever before, as was her own, so that was pleasant. The overpoweringly sweet stench that had filled the room, wafting away from all of the females except for Lianhua and Yingtao, made Kyla want to rub at her muzzle. Even now that Jinn was the only one left, the smell lingered.


    ¡°So they just didn¡¯t take the children for some reason?¡± Lianhua asked, leaning toward Jinn, who sat on a chair across from her. Yingtao stood behind Lianhua, hands tucked into the sleeves of her simple green robe, expression serene. Whenever one of the other two females needed a fresh cup of ¡®tea¡¯, it was Yingtao who brought it, so Kyla assumed she was checking their drinks to make sure they weren¡¯t dangerous in some way.


    According to the oldest of the chiefs¡¯ books, it was once common practice to use what was called a ¡®poison tester¡¯ in case an enemy attempted to slip something dangerous into food or drink. Once the luegat and vara system was put in place, such an indirect means of killing an opponent was considered a show of weakness, so no one used it any longer. Which was beside the point, because humans were strange. Kyla just wondered who these females thought might try to kill them, and if she and Mei were at risk by being around them.


    Jinn¡¯s expression was more relaxed than Kyla had ever seen it; her forehead smooth, and the dark circles beneath her eyes smudges rather than bruises. She wrapped her arms around herself, glancing over at Kyla for some reason.


    ¡°Yes. Rissa says that she was told Ma had gone back to sea, Da was working, and the rest of us adults were busy with the tournament or taken ill. She was terribly worried when she couldn¡¯t even visit her mother to bring her some flowers. Apparently we don¡¯t have enough dragon blood to allow the xiyi to copy us, though. We were simply removed when Ma and Da started kicking up a fuss about the King and Queen¡¯s sudden change in political stances.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, though that wasn¡¯t her ¡®really interested¡¯ face. Not the one she got when someone mentioned the Diushi or something about runes, anyway. ¡°King Maleim suddenly raised taxes and called all of the diplomats home, correct?¡±


    ¡°Especially the ones closely related to the royal family, yes,¡± Jinn agreed. ¡°Presumably, those are the ones related to Jianying, or whichever of his offspring pretended to be our first king. I¡­didn¡¯t really understand that part.¡±


    Indeed, dinner had been an entirely confusing affair, filled with bizarre eating conventions and equally bizarre conversation. Most people seemed almost giddy with relief at simply being home and together again, but Jinn¡¯s parents and a few other adults had held heated conversations across the broad table.


    ¡°I¡¯m just glad most of the mages survived,¡± Jinn said, closing her eyes briefly. ¡°Though they were drained even more than King Maleim, they¡¯ll recover in time. And Reina sent word that her cousin Fabian was among them, so the one Chi Yincang killed was a copy.¡±


    Lianhua glanced at an apparently empty spot next to the broad window, smiling slightly as she nodded. ¡°A fuzhi, I believe Snen called them. Once all of this is over, I hope he¡¯ll show me some xiyi runes. It would be fascinating to see how much their language has drifted from that of the kobolds we know, and again how much that has changed from the original Diushi. I believe I could spend a decade in Shensheng, simply reading the Magmablade books. Now that we know the kobolds are actually the last remnants of the lost Diushi, the etymology of-¡±


    Yingtao leaned in front of her, cutting off the flow of words as the taller female handed Lianhua a cup of gently steaming tea. It was in one of the cracked and repaired cups that Lianhua used, rather than one of the matched set Jinn had offered her, and Lianhua closed her mouth with a soft click as she accepted it.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Jinn said. ¡°Yes. That will be¡­ I¡¯m sure Gil would be fascinated by that as well. He works in Logistics now. He¡¯s always loved reading.¡± She lifted her brows as she accepted a cup from Yingtao as well. ¡°He¡¯s already thirty-eight, and not married, you know. All the girls find him terribly boring.¡± Her cheeks darkened. ¡°Not that he is! He just has, um, different interests than most-¡±


    A soft knock came at the door, and Jinn leaped to her feet, almost dropping the cup as her hand moved toward her waist, grasping for a blade that wasn¡¯t there. She managed to hold onto the vessel, but her feet shifted into a battle-ready stance. Kyla nodded approval, but her ears and nose had already told her who was in the hall, so she remained seated.


    ¡°Jinn?¡± Reina¡¯s soft voice came through just before the female did. Her pink hair was as glossy as Kyla¡¯s fur, and for the first time there was something resembling a healthy color to her skin, which had ranged from ashen to feverish in the time Kyla had known her.


    ¡°Reina!¡± Jinn cried, all but dropping the cup onto a small table before rushing forward, only to stop after a single step and grab hold of her skirts, spreading them wide as she bent both her knees and her head. Kyla had seen a few of the humans do this by now, and it seemed to be a female version of a bow. But Jinn had never bowed to Reina before. In fact, Jinn spent as much time arguing with the other female as she did clinging to her or fighting by her side.


    Reina let out a little puff of laughter and crossed to tug Jinn up. Throwing her arms around the taller female, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s not even pretend any longer, Jinn. You¡¯re my sister, as much as Isabel or Anna, and if any of those fussy old women dare claim you¡¯re not, we¡¯ll just glare at them menacingly until they stop.¡± Stepping back, she drew her brows together, almost managing a credible snarl, though she didn¡¯t show any teeth, so how did she think anyone would take her seriously?


    Lianhua was standing, too, and she smiled as she bowed slightly toward the newcomer. It wasn¡¯t quite a bow of equals, but Kyla was willing to admit it was a good effort. She supposed she should probably do something similar, but Mei had fallen asleep in her lap, and she just didn¡¯t feel like disturbing the fuergar. Besides, she was the sister of a chief, and not part of Reina¡¯s tribe.


    Reina bowed back to Lianhua, murmuring a greeting, then rather awkwardly did the same for Yingtao, though her bow wasn¡¯t nearly as deep. The humans seemed very confused by Yingtao, which was perhaps due to the fact that she wasn¡¯t officially Lianhua¡¯s mate yet?


    ¡°Is everything well in the palace?¡± Jinn asked, guiding Reina back to an empty seat, then getting the other female a cup of tea herself, rather than allowing Yingtao to do it. Was she making sure Yingtao didn¡¯t poison the princess? Why would she think that was likely?


    Reina sighed softly. ¡°As well as can be expected, but I¡¯m very glad you sent me an invitation to stay with you tonight. All of the people who usually ignore me are suddenly very interested in speaking with me, and I¡¯ve been positively inundated with invitations to tea parties and balls. You¡¯d think the xiyi and the dragon were a mere inconvenience, the way people are acting.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Lianhua smiled sadly. ¡°Those parties and balls will be where the real power-mongering and deals are done. At least, that¡¯s how it would be at home, especially after so many people were, ah, removed from the normal power structure.¡±


    The princess¡¯ face fell. ¡°I know, but perhaps that¡¯s why it feels so disrespectful. I know it could have been far worse, but several nobles died during our escape, and we don¡¯t even know yet how many of our citizens were lost before they were able to flee the stadium. It will probably be days before the numbers are finalized, and there will still be visitors and those without family who are never counted. Not to mention the warriors who died holding the xiyi back, and the royal guards who were killed when the xiyi in the palace realized they¡¯d been discovered. Most of them simply ran, but a few fought, and the guards were taken entirely unawares.¡±


    Jinn and Lianhua both looked grim, and Jinn reached out to clutch Reina¡¯s free hand. Kyla understood how they felt. While she and her friends had all survived, allowing her to see what had happened as something like an adventure, she hadn¡¯t been blind to the carnage in the stadium. There hadn¡¯t been as many dead humans as she¡¯d expected - the xiyi really did want them alive - but some people had fallen or been crushed in the panic.


    ¡°Father has declared a national day of mourning,¡± Reina went on, ¡°but even during the short time the xiyi were in power, they changed a remarkable number of things. Father says it may take years to figure everything out.¡±


    She leaned forward, lowering her voice. ¡°They also removed all of the crown jewels from the treasury, as well as most of the magical objects. The jewels have mostly been recovered, but the magical items have vanished. All but a few, like the crown, that we believe the xiyi who replaced Father was wearing, have disappeared completely.¡±


    Jinn looked shocked at this news. ¡°But some of those have belonged to the royal family since-¡±


    ¡°Since the first King,¡± Reina finished, smiling grimly. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to dig through scrolls and history books that haven¡¯t been touched in hundreds of years, trying to find out if there were any clues that he wasn¡¯t actually human, and what he wanted.¡±


    ¡°He wanted to control everyone,¡± Kyla said, feeling almost as surprised as everyone else looked when they turned to her. She looked down at Mei, who opened her eyes and yawned, stretching as she rolled over to expose her rounded belly. She really had eaten well at dinner.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Jinn asked. It could have sounded scornful, as a similar question coming from Kyla¡¯s mother would have been. Instead, she simply sounded curious.


    Kyla shrugged. These females hadn¡¯t been in the stadium when Ganring spoke. The xiyi had sounded so much like Vega it had lifted the fur on Kyla¡¯s back. Not the parts where he was wheedling, trying to get the humans to obey him peacefully, but the parts where he talked about how ruling them was his right.


    That was exactly how Vega felt, and possibly for much the same reason. The Magmablades¡¯ first chief had been a princess of the Diushi, ranked high above the other humans used in Dongwu¡¯s experiments. According to Vega and many of the books left by long-dead Magmablade chiefs, that meant the rest of the kobolds should follow them, because by blood and by power, they were simply superior.


    ¡°It was the way this one talked,¡± she said vaguely, not looking at them, and an awkward silence fell over the females.


    Finally, Reina cleared her throat. When she spoke again, she sounded like she was trying to be more cheerful than she felt, but Kyla appreciated the effort. Then she actually took in what the princess was saying, and felt her ears stand straight up as her tail began to thump.


    ¡°So if Mount Scarabus truly is open again, Father wants to restart trade,¡± Reina said. ¡°He only agreed to speak with the xiyi in the first place because they said they could provide the gold, mithril, and adamantium that we haven¡¯t been able to get since the mountain closed. He was already starting to discuss who should be in the delegation, and Phillip volunteered, of course, but he mentioned that the kobolds used to send a representative of their own here. That stopped a long time ago, apparently after the last one died while she was at court, and none of the other kobolds wanted to do it. So I suggested that Kyla might-¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kyla said, tail wagging so hard it lifted her skirts behind her. That felt so good that she hauled the layers of fabric away from it, allowing the over-warm air in the room to reach her legs, and she decided in that instant that once she removed this ¡®dress¡¯, she would never wear anything like it again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± she said, but Reina blinked, looking taken aback.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, her voice small. ¡°I thought you might recommend someone. Because you¡¯re,¡± she gestured weakly, ¡°small?¡±


    Kyla bared her teeth. ¡°Once I return home, I¡¯ll be an adult,¡± she declared stiffly. At least, she would be if Ija was willing to accept this as her spirit hunt, and why wouldn¡¯t she? It was true that Kyla hadn¡¯t managed to spend a full week alone, but she¡¯d faced far more danger and trials than any female who simply sat in a cave and ate dried meat while she attempted to communicate with the ancestors.


    ¡°I know more about you humans than anyone else of my generation,¡± Kyla went on. ¡°Those who used to treat with you are old now, and even if some, like Idla of the Goldblades, would welcome you, others won¡¯t. But I know everyone, and I-¡±


    She gritted her teeth. It was true that she knew everyone, and moreover, she knew many of their secrets, thanks to her tendency to skulk around the territory of other tribes when she was trying to avoid Vega. They didn¡¯t actually know or respect her in turn, but if she became the liaison to the humans, that would come in time. More importantly, she would finally be able to help Ija, in a way no one else could. Even if Kyla wasn¡¯t a chief in her own right, she would have power equivalent to a chief, but without having the lives of so many depending on her.


    Looking down at the slumbering fuergar, Kyla briefly considered disturbing the creature by standing. Then Mei laid a sleepy pink paw over her nose, and the idea vanished. Looking back up at the human females, Kyla was heartened to see that they, too, seemed entranced by how adorable Mei was. For an instant, she even admired the golden bow around Mei¡¯s throat, which gleamed prettily against the fuergar¡¯s pink-copper-gold fur.


    ¡°I can do it,¡± Kyla said, bolstered by their moment of unity. ¡°My sister is chief of the Magmablades, and she¡¯s going to train the new Woodblade chief. She¡¯s friends with the chief of the Mithrilblades, too.¡±


    Reina¡¯s eyes widened, making Kyla certain that she had recognized the names of three of the Great Tribes. Of course, she couldn¡¯t know how the Magmablades had fallen, nor how weak the Woodblades were at the moment, and most especially that the chiefs of both the Waveblades and the Goldblades wouldn¡¯t like to see a Magmablade in a position of such power, and Kyla certainly didn¡¯t intend to tell her.


    A glance at Lianhua said that the other female had no intention of mentioning any of this either, and in fact, Lianhua looked quite pleased. ¡°I think Kyla would be an excellent choice,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°She¡¯s young and ambitious, but not power-hungry. She¡¯s also very loyal to her people, while being¡­quite likable. She¡¯d need to learn more about how to conduct herself in court, but so would any other kobold. She¡¯s also intelligent and surprisingly well-read, and Kaz says she¡¯s strong enough that she can stay out of the mountain for quite a while.¡±


    At this, Reina and Jinn exchanged glances. ¡°Philip said the old kobold representative stayed here for one month, then returned home for five.¡±


    Kyla nodded eagerly. ¡°I can do that. And I can learn more about human culture.¡± Even if you are very strange. ¡°Let me try, and you¡¯ll see I can do it. I already know a few things I¡¯d like to trade for, and I¡¯ll get you a good deal. Much better than you¡¯d get if you went through Idla, and I guarantee she¡¯ll be the only one to volunteer. Not that she¡¯d come to Cliffcross herself. She¡¯d probably send Mila.¡± And Mila was shaping up to be just as obnoxious as her mother.


    Reina glanced at Lianhua, who nodded encouragingly. The princess drew in a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and nodded firmly in response. ¡°All right,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Philip you should do it, and I¡¯ll go to all the tea parties and dances, and tell everyone all about how you saved Jinn and me. I hear you helped some people at the stadium and assisted in slaying the first black dragon as well.¡±


    That dragon had been an illusion, and Kyla hadn¡¯t really had anything to do with destroying it, but she wasn¡¯t going to say so. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her tail was beating a matching rhythm on the chaise behind her.


    The conversation turned to the xiyi stronghold where the prisoners had been held, which was apparently empty of all but the abandoned human workers by the time the royal guard arrived. Even the Fallen kobolds were gone, vanished into a warren of tunnels the humans hadn¡¯t even begun to explore.


    Kyla slowly relaxed, letting the words flow around her. She tried to listen, take in everything the humans were saying. After all, soon all of this would matter to her. She would be in the middle of it, especially if Snen¡¯s group of xiyi won the battle for control of their people. Maybe she could become the liaison to the xiyi as well!


    Her eyes slowly drifted closed, however, dragged down by the weight of her exhaustion. Before long, Kyla was fast asleep, dreaming of her triumphant return to the mountain. She would finally be able to truly help Ija, make up in some small way for the years her sister had spent protecting Kyla from their mother¡¯s disapproval. Best of all, she would be able to eat all the cheese she wanted, for the rest of her life.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-five

    The next day, Snen and Intong carried Kaz outside of the city, with Li flying close behind. Kaz then tried to remove the runes from the dantians of the twelve dragons, with mixed success. The ¡®silence¡¯ rune slipped away easily enough for all but the oldest dragon. ¡®Insensate¡¯ was next, and the one Kaz was most concerned about, because he had no idea how the dragons would respond to their new circumstances. That rune could only be removed from four of the dragons, however, and as it tugged free from the last dragon¡¯s dantian, it left a dangling thread of black. Kaz thought it might finish dissolving on its own eventually, but he wasn¡¯t willing to pull on it and damage the dragon.


    After that, he stopped, watching Li and and Snen speak to the dragons. They were like puppies, with all the memories of their lives, but little to no comprehension. Rather than suddenly understanding what had happened to them, they were confused, looking to Snen, Intong, and Li to explain. The core concepts were completely new to them, so only one seemed to understand enough to be angry. He was a large, green-scaled male named Yanshi, and he demanded that Kaz immediately remove his other runes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can,¡± he told the huge creature, staring up into eyes almost as large as his head. Kaz had changed back into his kobold shape as soon as they left Cliffcross, and the dragon seemed even larger than he had the day before.


    <You must!> Yanshi growled, baring his teeth, and then Li was there between them, roaring so fiercely that a dragon many times her size took a step back.


    <Kaz will help you however he can, and so will I,> Li said, <but only if you don¡¯t threaten us. We don¡¯t eat people! We especially don¡¯t eat the only person who can save our race.>


    The ¡®don¡¯t eat people¡¯ statement was one that had already been repeated several times. It seemed wise to make sure that was clear while the dragons were still learning. Li had already had a few conversations that might have been amusing if the being with whom she spoke hadn¡¯t been capable of eating the population of a small tribe.


    ¡°I may learn how to do better in time,¡± Kaz told the green dragon. ¡°But for now, I¡¯m worried that I¡¯ll harm you if I pull too hard.¡±


    Yanshi settled back, yellow eyes going from Kaz to Li. All the others who had had the first two runes removed were watching now, and though they knew little, they weren¡¯t stupid. <There are¡­three more runes,> he said, then scratched three marks into the dirt with a sharp talon. <This is three.>


    It wasn¡¯t a question, but Kaz nodded. ¡°One to keep you from growing stronger, one to cut your lives short, and one to make all of the runes stay in place from generation to generation. I wasn¡¯t able to clear that one, even from Intong.¡±


    <Remove them,> Yanshi said, but it wasn¡¯t a threat this time. He leaned his head down, waiting.


    Kaz stretched out his hand, cautiously touching the next rune with his ki. ¡®Stall¡¯ was stiff, unwilling to move until Kaz shoved hard at his reverse image of it. Then it tugged free, but he could see that the dantian was thin and raw where it had clung. Yanshi winced in pain as he coughed up a glob of stinking blackness.


    When it was done, the dragon spoke again, but his voice was weaker. <It hurt,> he said.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaz agreed, clenching his teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to try any more right now. It- You may heal, and you may not. I don¡¯t know.¡± And that was frustrating beyond measure. A healer should know the body of those he healed. He should know the risks and the rewards, be able to balance them for the best result. But he didn¡¯t. Would Yanshi¡¯s dantian heal? How long would it take?


    Yanshi was silent as the wind blew around them. It was stronger today than Kaz had felt it before. There was a chill behind it, too, a feeling of moisture. Was rain coming? He didn¡¯t know that either, and again he felt inadequate. The simplest things about this world were a mystery to him, and he thought he could spend a hundred lifetimes without learning everything.


    <You can¡¯t remove the other two?> Yanshi said finally.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m fairly certain it¡¯s too late for ¡®viscid¡¯. Snen says you¡¯re older than Intong, and age is definitely a determining factor. I can try ¡®ephemeral¡¯, but not now that your dantian is damaged. You have to heal first.¡± That he was certain of, deep in his bones.


    The green dragon sighed, turning to look at Li. <Can you do this as well?>


    Li started to nod, then stopped. <I don¡¯t know either,> she said in a small voice. <Maybe not alone. I¡¯ll learn, though!>


    Yanshi nodded, then climbed to his feet. <Then when you come to save the rest of us, you can try.> He turned and walked away, though he kept an eye on the proceedings as Kaz moved to the next dragon.


    ¡®Ephemeral¡¯ was actually easier to remove than ¡®stall¡¯, and Kaz wished he¡¯d tried that one first on Yanshi. Now he knew, though, so he erased ¡®ephemeral¡¯ from all three of the newly sapient dragons, then tried ¡®stall¡¯ again. Only one, which Snen said was about the same age as Intong, could be freed.


    Besides Intong, that left seven dragons who could speak, but were no more intelligent than they had been before. Four dragons, including Yanshi, had their minds freed, three would live longer lives, and only Yanshi and a yellowish-brown dragon named Renao could grow their ki.


    Renao was a young female who was already playing happily with Li, chasing fallen leaves, and asking question after question about the sky, the trees, and what exactly she could eat, if not people. She distracted Li and the other dragons, including the ones Kaz couldn¡¯t help but think of as numb-minds, while Snen and Kaz stepped away from the group.


    ¡°That went better than I¡¯d feared,¡± Kaz said softly, watching as Li snatched a butterfly from the air before spitting it out again, only to have Renao snap it up and swallow it whole. Li began to berate the larger female, which led to a playful chase, though none of the dragons seemed willing to get far away yet.


    Snen hissed in agreement. ¡°These are some of the best dragons we have,¡± he said. ¡°The wilder ones are usually placed in the breeding pens, and have little to no experience with xiyi except as providers of food. It does seem that the largest dragons, which are also the oldest, may only be able to regain their voices. That might be for the best, though,¡± he admitted reluctantly.


    Kaz nodded. A large group of wild, powerful, intelligent dragons bent on vengeance or destruction would not be good. In fact, they might well send the humans down a dark tunnel. Right now, it seemed that humans simply killed dragons who damaged their homes, but if those dragons suddenly became a much greater threat, he had no doubt the humans would make a concerted effort to eradicate them all, if possible. The last thing he wanted to do was free the dragons only to see them killed, and he didn¡¯t want to be responsible for any more unnecessary human deaths, either.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°I freed Li when she had only just hatched,¡± he said. ¡°The hatchlings will need adult dragons to care for them, but if your people are willing, it seems that at least some of those we free will accept your help.¡±


    Together, they turned toward Intong, who was lying with his head on his front feet, basking in the warm sunshine. Feeling their eyes on him, he opened his, yawning. <What is it, brother?> he asked, his voice already sounding clearer and more lucid than it had the day before.


    Snen shook his head, the longer, pointed scales on top of his head lifting slightly as he gave his hissing laugh. ¡°I only hope that you will allow me to remain by your side, xiongdi.¡±


    Intong rolled onto his side, exposing his belly to the light. <You are my brother,> he said simply before closing his eyes again.


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged. If there were others like Snen and Intong, the newly hatched dragons should be safe and well cared-for until they were ready to make their own way in the world. Which reminded him of some questions he kept meaning to ask. ¡°How many of your people - I mean xiyi who believe that the dragons should be free - are there? Are they the same as the ones who do not wish to continue using the duqiu and fangqiu?¡±


    Snen sighed. ¡°Much the same, but not entirely,¡± he admitted. ¡°People who have been careful not to be too obvious about their convictions will have to make a choice, and I don¡¯t know where the divide will fall. As soon as we¡¯re done today, I¡¯ll go home and see how things are going. Without dragons, it will take the others a few days to reach home. Only Kus Ukark and I know that there is a way to remove the qiu, so we can begin quietly gathering allies, but it may take some time, since we can¡¯t yet remove them ourselves.¡±


    Kaz hesitated. ¡°That may not be quite true. That you¡¯re the only ones who know.¡±


    The xiyi stiffened. ¡°You told others?¡±


    ¡°On the way out, there were two xiyi who surrendered; bowed down before Li and said the same thing Kus Ukark did when he saw her. I removed their qiu and let them go.¡± It was his turn to sigh, and he looked at the two dragons chasing a squawking bird across the sky. ¡°There had been enough killing.¡±


    Snen¡¯s eyes were wide and almost hopeful. ¡°If they requested forgiveness, then they were my allies. There were few of us among the xiyi here. Ganring brought his supporters, of course. Kus Ukark was the only elder not related to Ganring, and his attendants would have been among those you faced. I had feared them dead. But perhaps they live, and more, have been freed!¡±


    He started to kneel, but Kaz caught his arms and pulled him back up. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was the xiyi in general or Snen in particular, but his new friend was far too ready to yield. How could they defeat the tribe of someone like Ganring with such an attitude?


    ¡°I¡¯m no chief,¡± Kaz said, ¡°and if I were, I wouldn¡¯t want you to kneel before me.¡±


    ¡°You are a Kus, and have freed both me and my allies. You stand ready to return to the dragons what we unintentionally stole from them.¡± Snen¡¯s yellow eyes were steady as they met Kaz¡¯s. ¡°You have saved not one race but two, and you saved my life and Intong¡¯s as well. I owe you every respect. But fear not.¡± He bared dagger-like teeth, ¡°My enemies will not see me as weak.¡±


    That was a relief. Kaz didn¡¯t like to think of Snen going home, only to be cut down by his adversaries. Still, he shook his head. ¡°I did what anyone would, if they could. And I failed¡­too many.¡±


    He thought of the humans who had fallen while escaping the xiyi. And while he didn¡¯t feel as directly responsible for the ones who died on the mage island, he still wondered if he could have been less impulsive, moved more quickly, simply made better choices that would have resulted in fewer deaths. And of course there was the revolt in the mosui city. He was certain lives had been lost there that shouldn¡¯t have been. His every action seemed to change the very world around him, and he longed to be done with it all.


    Snen shook his head. ¡°Lives are always the price of freedom,¡± he said sadly. ¡°My people have known that from the moment we understood what we were. We were made to serve, and when our service was done, we would have been discarded like the used-up tools we were. We chose to do what we had to in order to escape that fate, and we are well aware we made mistakes.¡±


    Turning, he glanced toward the dragons, many of whom were now stretched out beside Intong. ¡°We guarded the dragon¡¯s eggs,¡± he whispered, barely audible even to Kaz. ¡°That was our task, our duty. But when we discovered that duty wasn¡¯t all there was to the world, we wanted to leave.


    ¡°They were too powerful. So we cursed them, the young who had never yet harmed us. We were afraid, and we believed that if they remained alive and strong, they would chase us down and force us back into servitude. But we didn¡¯t know that that curse would linger, generation upon generation, and so we took our masters¡¯ guilt upon ourselves, doing to them what they had once done to us.¡±


    ¡°How could you not know?¡± Kaz asked, just as quietly. ¡°Didn¡¯t your shamans create the curse?¡±


    ¡°We had no shamans then. Not as we do now. We were allowed no true leaders.¡± Snen sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know where the curse came from, I only know that we chose to use it. Many of us died on the day we killed the False Emperor, and none left alive knew who betrayed Qiangde. Truthfully, that time is almost as lost to us as it is to the dragons. We had to leave everything behind, including any history not locked within the minds of those who survived.¡±


    ¡°And yet you remained with Jianying, and continued watching over the dragon¡¯s eggs,¡± Kaz said.


    ¡°He was injured when he fought Qiangde,¡± Snen said. ¡°We were so used to obedience that when he told us where to take him, we did. We owed it to him for his help, in any case. But then we found that all of our eggs laid outside the mountain were infertile. Only those xiyi who decided to stay with Jianying in his new home had young. What could we do? A race without children is a dead race. And when we saw that we had doomed the dragons as well, we had no choice but to return to our task.¡± He glanced at Intong. ¡°Though there are good reasons not to regret that.¡±


    It was true, and Kaz had no idea what his own people would do if faced with such a dilemma. Serve a cruel and whimsical master, or die out in a single generation? He found his eyes drawn to the highest peak in the distant mountain range. He knew it was his home, as certainly as he knew that soft grass poked up between his toes, tangling gently in his fur. But his mountain was the xiyi¡¯s home, too. They had as much right to live there as the kobolds or the mosui. If they wanted to, they should be able to return.


    Then his gaze turned to a low, almost flat-topped mountain not far away from his. The top was purple and green rather than white with snow, and it was short and squat instead of soaring into a high and delicate point. But there was something about it, something¡­familiar.


    Lifting his hand, he pointed. ¡°Is that your home?¡± he asked, and his voice sounded odd, even to him. It was deeper, more resonant; his own, but more.


    Snen turned to stare at him. ¡°Yes-ss,¡± he hissed, almost as if he couldn¡¯t help himself.


    There was ki in the grass beneath Kaz¡¯s paws. Mana in the air. More ki and mana in every small creature that crawled, every plant that grew, every gust of wind that pushed the clouds he could now sense approaching from the direction where the sun had risen. He could feel it all, whispering to him, telling him that he was part of it, and it of him.


    ¡°The world doesn¡¯t understand you,¡± he told Snen, his voice still holding more than a voice should be able to contain. ¡°But it will soon. And when it does, your people will be free to live wherever you wish.¡±


    This time when Snen knelt, Kaz didn¡¯t try to stop him. He was too busy trying to teach the world a new howl.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-six

    Kaz wasn¡¯t sure how much time passed before he became aware that he was lying on the ground, face up and arms spread wide. Li was stretched out beside him, her breath tickling his ear and the tip of her tail wrapped around one of his paws. When he opened his eyes, so did she, and they stared at each other.


    <I knew you were all right,> Li said, <but Snen and Intong were worried.>


    Kaz¡¯s ear twitched, flicking her on the nose, and she sneezed. He chuffed a laugh and sat up, holding out his arms. Li laid her head on his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he told her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what happened.¡±


    His dragon pulled back, looking at him. <Aren¡¯t you?>


    He started to shake his head, then stopped. ¡°I¡¯m changing,¡± he confessed. ¡°I don¡¯t understand it, but I will eventually. I¡¯m not scared.¡±


    Li puffed a small circle of vapor that drifted around his nose. <I knew something happened,> she said. <When you woke up in the stadium you were different.>


    Kaz closed his eyes. Of course she¡¯d known. How could she miss it? ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    The dragon hissed softly. <Then tell me now.>


    And he did. Opening his mind, Kaz showed Li everything that had happened to him in that strange space that both was and wasn¡¯t his core. When he was done, she just blinked and said, <So you¡¯re just a little bit more who you¡¯ve always been?>


    Kaz looked away. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­Kaz,¡± he admitted. ¡°Not Oda¡¯s pup, but not Rega¡¯s either. Not Ghazt¡¯s son. Not Katri¡¯s brother.¡±


    <You¡¯re my Kaz,> Li said, stretching so she could meet his eyes. And that was that.


    Soon enough, Snen noticed that Kaz was sitting up and came over to him. The xiyi looked hesitant, but when Kaz stood, Li climbing to her feet beside him, the xiyi gave his version of a smile. ¡°I was worried when you stopped responding,¡± he said, ¡°but Li said you were all right.¡±


    <Renao thought you¡¯d died and wanted to know if she could eat people as long as she didn¡¯t kill them,> Li said.


    Kaz remembered having a similar conversation with a certain golden dragon, and said, ¡°I hope you told her no-¡±


    <Eating people at all,> Li said with him, then puffed a cloud of cool steam and blew it toward him. <I know. I did.>


    <But I¡¯m hungry,> a new voice said, and they all looked around as Renao landed beside Li.


    Snen hissed a short laugh. ¡°Now that you¡¯re awake, I¡¯m going to take them hunting. Usually we don¡¯t allow our dragons to hunt for themselves, because they¡¯re not smart enough to tell the difference between what is prey and what is not, but obviously that¡¯s no longer true. Do you want to go with us?¡±


    Kaz thought about it. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what was and wasn¡¯t good prey either. They¡¯d eaten mostly rabbit, fish, or dried meat during the journey to Cliffcross. Raff had described some other food animals, and of course they¡¯d seen birds and deer, but knowing more about your environment and how to survive in it was always a good thing. Still, he had too much else to do, so he shook his head.


    ¡°We need to return to Cliffcross. I told Raff we¡¯d be back before nightfall.¡± The sun had traveled a good distance across the sky, and though Kaz still wasn¡¯t entirely clear on how many hours should be left before the sun set, he didn¡¯t think he had enough time to do anything that wasn¡¯t necessary.


    Snen nodded, then looked at the dragons rather uncertainly. Intong, Yanshi, Renao, and the other two dragons whose ¡®insensate¡¯ rune had been removed were clearly the leaders now. The xiyi was no longer the master, even though his whistle still hung around his neck.


    <I¡¯ll carry him,> Yanshi rumbled, stepping closer.


    Kaz looked at the large green-scaled male, automatically checking his dantian. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see that it looked much the same as it had before; the dragon¡¯s cycle was a little rough, ki oozing out through tattered walls. Kaz still didn¡¯t think it posed any real danger to the dragon, and it might even lead to an increase in Yanshi¡¯s body cultivation, as Kaz¡¯s leaking channels had done for him, but there was no doubt it was uncomfortable.


    ¡°Do you feel all right?¡± he asked, stepping closer and instinctively lifting a hand toward the dragon¡¯s head.


    Yanshi flinched back, then held still, allowing the touch. <I am well,> he said stoically, ducking away after only the briefest brush of Kaz¡¯s fingers over his scales. Stretching his wings out of the way, he ducked his shoulder.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    There was no leather pad on his back - Snen had removed those from every dragon except Intong - so Kaz climbed gingerly into the space just in front of his wings. It looked like some of the dragon¡¯s spikes had been trimmed to allow the pad to rest there, and as Yanshi shifted, Kaz saw a bare patch of flesh where the scales had rubbed away.


    Without thinking, Kaz sent blue ki into the painful-looking area, and Yanshi shuddered, his skin rippling beneath Kaz¡¯s touch. <What did you do?> he asked sharply.


    Kaz pulled his hand back. ¡°Did it hurt? It looked like you were injured, so I tried to make it better.¡±


    Yanshi stood still, neck curved so he could stare at Kaz, then said, <It didn¡¯t hurt. You want to go back to the human city?>


    Beside them, Li shifted. She¡¯d tensed when Yanshi shuddered, and she didn¡¯t like the fact that Kaz was riding another dragon who wasn¡¯t her. <I¡¯ll show you the way,> she said.


    The green dragon huffed, and Kaz wasn¡¯t sure who was more surprised when a faint haze of smoke emerged from his mouth. Snen let out a soft gasp, Yanshi backed up a step, and Li actually hopped into the air and started to fly away before quickly circling back.


    ¡°None but the oldest dragons can breathe fire,¡± Snen said, yellow eyes wide.


    Li immediately blew out a short burst of pure, bright flame that almost toasted Snen¡¯s snout. <I can breathe fire. And water. And air.> Only after she said this last did she seem to realize how it sounded, and she circled up again. <Follow me!> she called, and flew off toward the city.


    Without comment, Yanshi lifted off. He was larger than Intong, and larger even than some of the older dragons, so it seemed likely that he would be truly enormous when he reached his full growth. Which might be sooner than it should be if Kaz couldn¡¯t remove the ¡®ephemeral¡¯ rune from his dantian.


    The other dragons scattered, but Renao actually followed them for a little while, until she grew bored or distracted and turned around. Kaz hoped she would return to Snen, but she was her own person now, and she would make her own choices.


    Soon enough, the walls of Cliffcross once again stretched from horizon to horizon, but this time they simply soared over. Below them, humans pointed and scattered, but no one actually tried to attack them. Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if that was because they¡¯d received word that some or all of the dragons who¡¯d left that morning might return, or if their weapons simply wouldn¡¯t reach so high, and they knew it. Either way, Li, Kaz, and Yanshi reached the sprawling building that was Raff¡¯s family¡¯s den without trouble, and landed in the same open area where they¡¯d spent the night.


    As soon as Yanshi¡¯s claws touched the ground, Kaz jumped down, aware that even his relatively light weight had to be painful for the dragon. Hurrying to Li¡¯s side, Kaz turned back to the green dragon. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, and Yanshi nodded before turning away.


    For a moment, it seemed that the dragon would leave without another word, but he hesitated. Looking back at Kaz and Li, he said, <I will go with Snengriak to protect the eggs. You¡¯ll come soon to remove this curse.>


    Kaz felt his ears flatten. ¡°As soon as I can,¡± he agreed cautiously. He didn¡¯t want to promise anything more than he already had.


    <Soon,> Li said, and there was something in her voice. It was familiar, having been there several times before, and yet not, because it wasn¡¯t exactly Li¡¯s voice. Or not exactly Li yet. <The dragons will be free.>


    Yanshi looked surprised, then thoughtful, and Kaz could almost feel him reassessing the smaller, younger dragon. At last, the green male nodded, accepting her words. <Intong was fortunate,> he said, and when he stretched out his wings, Kaz saw the raw, scaleless flesh where his xiyi rider once sat. <So are you. I hope the new hatchlings will be as well.>


    Looking at Kaz, Yanshi said, <I will watch for you. Both of you.> Then he took a few steps forward, launching himself into the air and flying back toward Snen and the others.


    <What now?> Li asked, but she was still watching Yanshi¡¯s rapidly shrinking form.


    Kaz looked at her, trying to ignore the discomfort in the pit of his stomach. He had no right to that emotion, and so he refused to feel it. ¡°We get Kyla and Mei, and then we go home,¡± he said, but there was something still bothering him, and Li knew it.


    <You should take Raff,> she told him, and in her voice was a kind of amused resignation.


    Kaz glanced at the huge den, where he assumed Raff and the others were waiting. Kaz had only seen Raff for a short time that morning, when another group of humans brought more food for the dragons, Snen, and Kaz. At that time, Raff hadn¡¯t been certain what he was going to do, other than check in with his guild.


    Li lifted her wings, stretching them as wide as she could, so the sun gleamed across them like they were made of liquid gold. They were easily eight feet wide from tip to tip, and there was no way she would fit comfortably inside the building. <I¡¯m going to fly up to the top of the building. There¡¯s something up there that looks a bit like Fengji, and I want to look at it. Then I¡¯m going to take a nap in the sun. You¡¯re going to bring me back more food. And crystals.>


    Kaz peered up at the very top of the building, where a spire stretched toward the cloudless sky. Li was right. There was a golden shape glinting there, spinning in the wind, and when it turned correctly, it did indeed look like Fengji, the Rooster.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± he asked. Li didn¡¯t like to be left out of things.


    She opened the link between them a bit wider, and suddenly Kaz was looking at himself; tall, strong kobold with deep blue fur and sapphire eyes that were too serious for his age. He thought his shoulders had broadened slightly since he last saw himself through her eyes, and his fur looked a bit thicker, but he had recently reformed himself from his own image. Had he really made himself look better, or was it just something about seeing through Li¡¯s eyes? Either way, the thought was embarrassing, so he was glad when Li spoke.


    <Where you go, I go,> she told him. <So you can go be annoyed by the stinky humans while I take a nap.>


    That was both fair and true, but as she began to lift her front legs, preparatory to leaping into the air, Kaz stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. They stood, chest to chest, hearts thudding in time, and he could feel both of their bodies as if they were one whole. ¡°I love you,¡± he told her.


    <Of course you do,> she said, but laid her head against him. <I love you, too.>

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-seven

    ¡°You sure this is the right street, Blue?¡± Raff asked. The two of them were peering around a corner as if they were warriors stalking a binyi. No one wanted to confront one of the ice-lizards, especially not in their den, but they couldn¡¯t be allowed to breed unchecked, or they could render an entire level unlivable.


    Kaz nodded. He had his sense of direction, of course, but beyond that he now had a faint awareness of certain beings he¡¯d met. Their presence wasn¡¯t always there, like Li or the mountain, but when he reached for them, they almost seemed eager for his attention. This time, he was following the trail leading to the only dog he¡¯d met, Brute.


    Sighing deeply, Raff stepped around the corner of the building they¡¯d been skulking behind. He glanced furtively down the street, as if expecting an attack. Nothing happened, of course, because this was a quiet street in a quiet part of town, where young humans played without fear. Or at least they had, before the xiyi plot was exposed. Now, people watched each other with suspicion, and the children stared longingly out of windows. In spite of the King¡¯s announcement that the conspiracy had been quashed and the conspirators routed out, it would take time for people to fall back into their easy habits and assumptions of safety.


    ¡°It¡¯s just, I know some folks who live around here. I know it¡¯s ridiculous to assume that out of an entire city, you¡¯d manage to find them, but given that it¡¯s you-¡± Raff glanced sidelong at Kaz.


    Li laughed in the back of Kaz¡¯s mind. <He knows you,> she said, and Kaz sent her images of herself, right beside him every time something happened. If she was going to take that tunnel, it was just as likely that she was the reason things always went awry when they were nearby.


    ¡°There,¡± Kaz said, turning toward the muffled sound of a bark. His ears couldn¡¯t twist, but he wished he dared remain in his kobold shape so they could. Unfortunately, he was currently in human form, since the humans were already enough on edge without seeing a kobold wandering through their city.


    ¡°A girl named Nadia, with short hair because she hates to brush it. An older brother, and no idea on the mother¡¯s name, but she has brown hair, too.¡± Raff shook his head. ¡°Not much to go on, Blue.¡±


    Kaz paid no attention. He was following that faint, excited sense of ¡®Here!¡¯, which was now accompanied by an increasingly frenzied barking. If Raff would stop talking, he would probably hear it as well, but that seemed increasingly unlikely. All Raff had done since they left his family den was ask questions and tell Kaz about things that he didn¡¯t really care about. What did it matter to him if King Maleim had decided that Prince Lucas might not be the best choice for his heir? Kaz could have told him that two minutes after meeting the young male.


    Somewhere not too far away, wood creaked, then struck loudly against something much harder. It sounded like a door being flung wide against a stone wall - probably because that was exactly what it was. A second later, a large, furry shape rounded the corner ahead, ears flapping and tongue lolling as he lunged toward Kaz, only to scramble to a stop just short and roll over, exposing his belly.


    Raff stared down, bemused, and Kaz crouched, rubbing his hand over the dog¡¯s fur. Brute gave a deep, satisfied groan, drooling on Kaz¡¯s foot. Kaz smiled. He could feel the creature¡¯s pleasure at seeing him again, and the dog didn¡¯t feel worried or sad, which was a good sign.


    Sure enough, a brown-haired child came careening after the dog several seconds later. She started to chastise her dog, then stopped, staring at Kaz with her mouth hanging open. Kaz was wearing a hood pulled up to conceal his blue hair, because no matter how he tried, he couldn¡¯t imagine himself with fur of any other color. It was obvious that Nadia recognized him, however, because a huge smile spread across her face, revealing a gap in her lower teeth. Without greeting him, she turned on her heel and ran back around the corner, screeching for her mother and brother.


    Kaz straightened, and Brute stood with another groan that somehow held as much protestation as the previous one held happiness. He followed along as Kaz and Raff rounded the corner, however, and even took the lead as they passed two buildings and reached a third, whose door was torn away at the bottom. The dog passed inside this house, but Kaz and Raff hung back on the doorstep, uncertain.


    Mikal appeared next, coming down the stairs in the back of the room with an expression that wasn¡¯t quite disbelief on his face. This vanished as he caught sight of Kaz, and he yelped, turning around. A moment later, Nadia, Mikal, and their mother were all on the steps, looking thrilled, horrified, and astonished according to their natures.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± the mother said, the word slurred through the swelling on one side of her face. Kaz quickly slipped deeper into his other sight, but could detect no trace of her former injury. Her left arm was still stiff against her side, but he thought that was more from habit than necessity. At least he did until he saw the edge of a bandage beneath the collar of her shirt and realized that she was leaning against the wall.


    Starting forward, Kaz said, ¡°Are you all right?¡± She obviously wasn¡¯t, but he didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong beyond the physical. She would recover without his help, but he could help her, at least in this moment.


    To his surprise, however, she grasped Nadia¡¯s shoulder with her good hand and pulled the little female back. She couldn¡¯t do anything about the dog, who was now terribly confused, looking between his family and Kaz with drooping ears and a tucked tail.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± the mother demanded through her swollen lips. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a friend, Blythe.¡± The answer came from behind Kaz, and everyone turned to look as Raff ducked through the doorway. It was just a bit too low, only an inch or two, and he didn¡¯t even seem to notice as he did it. No doubt he was used to everything around him being a little too small for comfort, even here in the human city.


    The female¡¯s jaw started to drop open, but then she flinched and released Nadia so she could press a hand to the purple bruise on her face. The smaller female immediately took advantage of her mother¡¯s distraction to dart forward, kneeling beside Brute and throwing her arms around his neck. His tail relaxed and began to thump.


    ¡°Raff?¡± The female - Blythe - said uncertainly.


    Raff tapped the wall twice as he stepped up beside Kaz. The small room just inside the door seemed suddenly much smaller. ¡°Yep,¡± Raff said. ¡°And I wish I could say I was surprised to see you, but-¡± His voice trailed off and he shrugged as he lifted a brow at Kaz. ¡°I met Kaz a couple months ago. He¡¯s an odd one, but means no harm. At least, not unless you start something. Then I reckon he¡¯ll finish it.¡±


    Kaz blinked. He hadn¡¯t realized Raff took him that seriously. It was an interesting description. Turning back to Blythe, he pressed his hand to his chest, bowing slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to enter without a howl,¡± he said. ¡°The door was open.¡±


    Mikal scowled. ¡°The door was open because that dog just went crazy a few minutes ago. Started barking and scratching and throwing himself at the doors. Mom had to get out of bed to see what was wrong. And now the door is broken, and I don¡¯t even know how to fix doors!¡± His voice cracked as he said these last words, making him sound more like a worried pup than an angry warrior.


    Raff craned his head around to look at the broken door. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve fixed a door or two in my time,¡± he said. ¡°Sometimes I don¡¯t know my own strength, you know.¡± He flexed an arm, and Nadia giggled as the muscles bulged. Then Raff grew serious again, his eyes searching what he could see of the small building. ¡°Is Corvin here, or is he off on a mission?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­on a mission.¡± Blythe answered, but her hesitation and sidelong glance toward her pups made Kaz question the truth of her statement. Raff was smarter than he liked to appear, so Kaz doubted the big human had missed the telltale pause either.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all right,¡± Raff said, taking a step back and gingerly moving the door until it stood upright. ¡°No doubt I owe you two more than a door after all the times you bought drinks for us.¡±


    Blythe almost managed to laugh, and her body relaxed slightly. ¡°No doubt you do.¡± She gestured weakly at the opening. ¡°Just set that in place and come in. I need to sit down.¡± Mikal helped her down the last few stairs, and then led the way through a doorless arch, directly into another room, without a tunnel to connect them. Which meant they were really one big room with an extra wall in the middle, and Kaz had no idea why such a good-sized space had been made smaller for no apparent reason.


    The room contained several shelves - many of which were empty - and a round wooden table with four chairs arrayed around it. A cup of something sat precariously on the edge of the table, still gently steaming. It looked like someone had set it down abruptly, without realizing that it wasn¡¯t completely stable.


    Kaz reached out and caught it before it could fall onto the large dog, who went directly to the space beneath the table and flopped down, lifting the table with his broad back before thumping against the legs as he collapsed. Mikal immediately snatched the cup from Kaz, sloshing hot liquid over his hand as he did so. He bit his lip, but didn¡¯t say anything as he handed the drink to his mother, who was sitting down with obvious relief.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Kaz sniffed. He thought he recognized some of the scents rising from the spilled liquid. Honey, certainly, and milk, but there was something that smelled like flowers. One of the ones Raff had shown him, that was good for pain.


    Blythe sipped the drink and sighed softly. A bit of liquid dribbled from the swollen corner of her mouth, and she flushed darkly, swiping at it before wincing. Without looking at Raff or Kaz, she set the cup down and wrapped her hands around it, allowing the heat to seep into them.


    Finally, she turned her eyes to Kaz. ¡°When we heard monsters were pretending to be people, we remembered you,¡± she said. ¡°Forgive me, but you¡¯re a bit¡­strange. The way you appeared, out of nowhere, and healed me-¡± She shook her head.


    ¡°But then you vanished, and we heard about a young man with blue hair and a golden wyvern fighting in the tournament. I bought tickets and we went at the time you were supposed to fight. Except you didn¡¯t, and then those terrible lizards appeared and started killing people.¡±


    She was clutching her cup so tightly that her knuckles shone white beneath her skin. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure we were going to make it out, especially when the walls started coming down. That¡¯s when I got hurt.¡±


    ¡°Mom protected me when the dragon broke the wall,¡± Nadia put in. She looked like she wasn¡¯t sure whether to be frightened or thrilled by the memory. It was over, after all, and her mother was supposed to be fine, but it must have been terrifying. Lifting her hand, she reached under her messy hair and fingered a lump Kaz hadn¡¯t noticed before. So the child hadn¡¯t escaped unscathed after all.


    ¡°I thought I saw you there, running toward the smaller dragon,¡± Blythe finished, watching Kaz. ¡°You looked like you were trying to help him. So we weren¡¯t sure¡­ We thought¡­¡±


    ¡°That I was one of them, or an ally,¡± Kaz said, finally understanding. ¡°That dragon was Intong, and his brother is my friend, but none of us are friends with the xiyi who tried to take over your country.¡±


    Blythe didn¡¯t look like she knew what to do with that, so Raff opened his mouth to speak, but Nadia beat him to it. Throwing her arms around Kaz, she said, ¡°I told them you weren¡¯t a bad guy. And I was right!¡± She gave her brother a superior look that Kaz distinctly remembered Katri giving him more than once.


    ¡°But they were right to think I could be,¡± Kaz said, feeling compelled to defend the brother who was still standing stiffly by his mother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s good to hope that people will be kind, but best to assume that they won¡¯t. The xiyi do have a way to look human.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re not one of them, are you?¡± she asked, and he smiled. He wasn¡¯t what he seemed, either, but this wasn¡¯t the best time to mention that.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I saw you and your mother there, as well.¡± In Heishe¡¯s vision, but that was another thing that didn¡¯t need mentioning. ¡°I wanted to make sure you were safe.¡±


    Turning to Blythe, he held out his hand. ¡°May I heal you again? You look like you¡¯re in pain.¡±


    He could see the denial on her face before she opened her mouth, but then her gaze shifted to Raff, and she said, ¡°Yes. All right.¡±


    So Kaz leaned across the table and rested his fingers on her cheek, pushing his now-plentiful blue ki into the swollen flesh until her lip pulled in, and a partially-healed cut closing completely. The colors of her bruise shifted from deep blues and blacks to green and brown, and he could see her sit up straighter as he sealed a cracked rib with ki.


    He could have done more, but he didn¡¯t think she would actually appreciate it. Instead, he gently brushed Nadia¡¯s hair aside and repaired the small clot of blood that had formed within her skull. That could have been bad if it was allowed to remain, so he was glad he had come, and not only for his own peace of mind.


    Blythe blinked, opening the eye that had been almost swollen shut, then brushing her fingers over her lips, feeling the way they closed fully again. Her jaw shifted, and she said, ¡°Did you grow me a new tooth?¡±


    Kaz drew back. ¡°Was that wrong? It felt like the tooth on the top would grow down into the gap, which could make it hard to chew.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just-¡± Blythe stuck her finger into her mouth, feeling the spot where Kaz had sensed an oozing hole in her gums. ¡°Usually it would take a healer who specializes in teeth to repair it.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Kaz nodded, and didn¡¯t offer to urge Nadia¡¯s missing tooth to grow in more quickly. He hadn¡¯t realized that young humans lost their puppy teeth just like young kobolds, but he could tell the new tooth was there, waiting. He hadn¡¯t fixed it, but he had wondered if it would be all right to hurry it along.


    Silence fell as everyone there realized that they didn¡¯t really know what to say to each other. Brute was happy enough with his muzzle laying across Kaz¡¯s foot, and Nadia was staring at her mother, but Raff, Blythe, and even young Mikal seemed awkwardly uncomfortable.


    At last, Blythe stood, pushing away the cooling cup of liquid. Walking across the small room, she took a jar down from a shelf, turned it over, and pulled off a false bottom. Taking out a silver coin, she handed it to Mikal. ¡°Get us some of those war dogs, Mikal. As many as you can get with a silver. Take your sister with you.¡± Mikal tried to argue, but eventually gave in and left, dragging Nadia along even as he stared back with frustrated eyes.


    Blythe wrinkled her nose, staring down into the almost-empty hiding place. ¡°The vendor was calling them war wieners, but that was obviously a terrible name. I suggested he use war dogs instead, and they suddenly began selling much better. He gives us a discount on them as thanks.¡±


    Kaz and Raff exchanged a glance, but neither told the female about their previous experience with what Kaz guessed was the same vendor. Instead, Raff leaned forward and asked, ¡°Blythe, where is Corvin really?¡±


    Blythe¡¯s fists clenched, and she glanced after her children. ¡°Why?¡± she demanded. ¡°What does it matter to you? You vanished after I left the guild. I thought we were friends, but you didn¡¯t even come when I hurt my arm.¡±


    Raff refused to look away. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said. ¡°I should¡¯ve. I didn¡¯t even hear about it until a year or so ago. By then it was old news, and I figured you¡¯d recovered. When Kaz said he¡¯d healed a woman¡¯s arm, and wanted to check on her and her children, I had no idea it¡¯d be you. Though somehow I¡¯m still not surprised. But where is Corvin?¡±


    The brown-haired female gritted her teeth, then blanched, though not nearly as badly as she had before Kaz healed her. ¡°Your guess is as good as mine,¡± she finally admitted. ¡°Probably better.¡±


    Raff closed his eyes and ran his hand across the red fur growing in along his jaw. ¡°Left, did he? But you didn¡¯t tell the kids?¡±


    ¡°He might come back,¡± Blythe insisted. ¡°If he does, Nadia and Mikal should be able to meet him as their father, not the man who abandoned them. They deserve better than that, even if he doesn¡¯t.¡±


    Raff gave her a long look, then shook his head. ¡°You always were too easy on him. How long has he been gone?¡±


    ¡°He left after I lost the use of my arm,¡± Blythe admitted. ¡°Things got hard, and he started to take missions that took him away from the city. Then he just didn¡¯t come back, but they won¡¯t give me a widow¡¯s benefit, because no one believes he¡¯s dead. For a while, I was afraid we¡¯d lose the house, but then Kaz-¡±


    Her voice broke, and she looked away. ¡°I applied to renew my guild membership. I can only take bronze-level jobs; the annoying ones no one else wants. I won¡¯t take a chance of leaving my kids without parents. But it¡¯s better than the part-time stuff I was picking up before. Mikal was even starting to talk about quitting school so he could help. I told him no, but I think he would have done it anyway.¡±


    Meeting Kaz¡¯s eyes, she said, ¡°You saved my life. All our lives. Thank you.¡±


    The sincerity in her gaze made Kaz incredibly uncomfortable, and he nodded once before ducking down under the table, sitting next to Brute, who happily accepted petting while Li complained in the back of Kaz¡¯s mind about the fact that she wasn¡¯t there to receive her fair share. It had been her choice to remain on the roof, basking in the sun, however, so he didn¡¯t pay too much attention.


    When the children returned, they all ate the newly renamed war dogs until their bellies bulged. It seemed that the vendor was very pleased with the heightened demand for his product, so he¡¯d been generous. That, and Mikal was fairly certain he had been about to close, and once the meat tubes were cooked, they wouldn¡¯t be edible by the next day.


    When Raff and Kaz finally stepped back outside, they found that it was dark, and Kaz could see that the moon was beginning to grow smaller again. It had hung in the sky like a ripe chouchou for a few nights, but now there was no doubt that the night of no moon was on its way.


    Raff stood, looking down at Blythe while little Nadia clung to her mother¡¯s skirt with one hand and rubbed her eyes with the other. ¡°I¡¯ll be back with a new door tomorrow,¡± he told her. ¡°Once I set this one in place, it¡¯s not going anywhere until I get back. Is that all right?¡±


    Blythe nodded, but said, ¡°I can do it myself, you know.¡±


    The big male grinned, white teeth bright in the darkness. ¡°Oh, I know. You always could do ¡®bout anything you set your mind to. That was one of the things I admired about you. But if I do it, you can tell me all the ways I¡¯m doin¡¯ it wrong, and then maybe next time I¡¯ll be better at it.¡±


    Blythe huffed a laugh, but stepped back, pulling Nadia with her. Mikal was already inside the room, watching Raff with an expression that was somewhere between anger and hope. Kobolds mated for life, so this was something he knew little about, but Kaz had a feeling that if Raff wanted to spend more time with Blythe, he might find that the younger male was more of an obstacle than he thought.


    Carefully, Raff set the door in its frame, and then struck it hard with his fist, jamming it in place. Once he was satisfied that no one weaker than him was going to move it short of taking a weapon to it, he stepped back and offered Kaz a grin.


    They walked off down the street together, heading back toward Raff¡¯s home. Neither spoke until they¡¯d put a good distance behind them, when Raff slanted a glance down at his shorter companion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you do it, Blue,¡± he said. ¡°Somehow, whenever you get involved, all the things that have gotten messed up start fixin¡¯ themselves again. It¡¯s usually a pretty messy fix, like randomly shovin¡¯ glue into a gap until things start holding together the way they¡¯re supposed to, but it works at least long enough for someone else to figure out somethin¡¯ better.¡±


    Kaz wasn¡¯t at all sure that was a compliment, but he didn¡¯t say anything. After all, at least the messy part was true.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-eight

    Two days later, Kaz, Li, Lianhua, Yingtao, Chi Yincang, Raff, Kyla, and Mei snuck out of Cliffcross under cover of darkness. Somehow, the journey to the mountain had become an event to which almost everyone had been invited, and the soonest they were talking about leaving was in a week. About half of Raff¡¯s family, a good part of his guild, Princess Reina, Jinn, and even several mages were supposed to join them. Apparently this meant that a number of people had to come in order to cook and clean, which required several large, slow wagons. Eventually, Kaz told Lianhua that he and Li would be leaving with or without everyone else, and she immediately started planning their escape.


    Surprisingly, Kyla was the only one who was difficult to convince, and for a while, Kaz thought they would have to leave her behind. Then Yingtao, who had been silently embroidering in a corner, casually mentioned that it would soon be the night of no moon, and Kyla realized that if she didn¡¯t go now, she could be stuck outside the mountain for another month. After that, she was as eager as everyone else, if not more so.


    For some reason, Kaz still couldn¡¯t use either Kyla or Li¡¯s invisibility trick, but Li was able to use his power in order to cover all of them, at least for the short time it took to escape Raff¡¯s home. After that, they once again passed through the gates by simply mingling with all of the other people. Raff said most of them were heading to jobs on farms nearby, so they all dressed in their shabbiest clothing. Lianhua had to borrow something from Yingtao, who had many outfits of different styles for some reason, but otherwise everyone managed.


    Once they were past the last of the sprawling farms that surrounded the city, it was like a cloak fell away. They all sat up straighter, their eyes were brighter, and Raff even began singing one of the songs that always made Lianhua turn a little pink and avoid looking at him.


    ¡°You said we¡¯ll be there by tomorrow night?¡± Kyla asked, watching the fish swim in the little stream that parallelled the road.


    Raff broke off mid-note and grinned at her. He was letting his beard grow out again, but he¡¯d cut off the hair he¡¯d colored black, so he looked oddly as if he¡¯d put his head on upside down. ¡°Yep. We ended up going way south last time because somebody tried to drown himself, so this trip¡¯ll be a good bit quicker.¡± He cast an amused glance at Kaz.


    Kyla sighed in relief. She¡¯d already gone over the days multiple times, coming to the conclusion that they had just over a week before the portal into the mountain was supposed to open again. Kaz wasn¡¯t entirely sure how she¡¯d come to this conclusion, though she¡¯d tried to explain it. She also said she was sure she could get the chiefs to open it early, but her knowledge was based on a howl, not experience, so Kaz didn¡¯t think she was as certain as she acted.


    They¡¯d left at a time the portal wouldn¡¯t usually be open, but if the great chiefs went back to the normal schedule, then the next time the mountain would open was in exactly eight days. Apparently it had to do with a schedule Qiangde - or whoever the Voice had been - had set up, rather than any particular date or phase of the moon. It mostly ended up being about four weeks apart, but not always, and somehow Kyla knew how to figure it out.


    ¡°We have plenty of time,¡± Lianhua soothed, stretching out to pat the young kobold on her head. Kyla had her own mount this time, but she spent just as much time off it as on. She and Mei loved to run through the brush and splash in nearby streams or ponds, then return to her horse to dry and rest.


    ¡°I know,¡± Kyla muttered, almost but not quite ducking out of the hand¡¯s way. ¡°I¡¯m just ready to,¡± be home, she didn¡¯t say, though Kaz could tell she wanted to, opting instead for, ¡°start figuring out exactly what we have to trade.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed. ¡°And I¡¯m not letting Idla get away with driving up the price of Shom¡¯s work. She¡¯s always making something, and she doesn¡¯t care if anyone needs it or not. She spent four years making a sort of giant club with spikes on it, all out of adamantium. She keeps it on her desk to hold her sketches down.¡±


    Kaz pulled his eyes away from Li, who was swooping and swirling above them, her scales brilliant in the light of the sun. Through her, he could feel the gentle warmth and the wind that lifted her up, and he had barely been listening to his friends.


    ¡°Idla mentioned Shom before. Is she really the greatest kobold smith?¡± he asked.


    Kyla nodded, her eyes holding a kind of awe that he¡¯d never seen there before. ¡°She¡¯s a Mithrilblade, of course. Her line has existed since the days of dragons. Some say one of her ancestors even made the chief¡¯s blades, but if you ask about it she just grunts at you and refuses to answer.¡±


    Kaz blinked. ¡°You¡¯ve met her?¡±


    His cousin grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve met everybody. Shom is the only kobold who lives near the magma forge. It¡¯s too hot there for even most Magmablades to stay more than an hour or two, plus Shom is the only person Vega was actually afraid of.¡±


    This caught Lianhua¡¯s attention. ¡°Why?¡± she asked.


    Kyla shrugged, then tugged at a twig that was tangled in the fur on her arm. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know. I think Shom is Vega and Idla¡¯s age, but she could be older. Her fur is all white, and she¡¯s very strong, so it¡¯s hard to tell. I asked Aunt Sika once, but she just said there¡¯s always been a Shom, so they must keep the name and-¡±


    She stopped, then glanced around and almost whispered, ¡°They must pass their core down, just like we did. That would explain why she¡¯s so powerful. She can actually bend adamantium.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Raff¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that was possible. Frankly, I thought adamantium could only be used as an alloy until I saw those fancy knives the kobold chiefs wave around all the time.¡± He flicked a glance at Kaz. ¡°No offense, Blue.¡±


    Kaz wasn¡¯t sure why he should be offended. It was true that he regretted the loss of his father¡¯s blade, but only because it had belonged to his father, not because it was the Woodblade. The Woodblade was where it belonged; in the hands of the Woodblade chief. Kaz actually liked his mage-blade, even though he did have to feed it ki. It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have enough of that.


    Lianhua had latched onto something Kyla had said, however, and now she nudged her horse closer to the smaller one Kyla was riding. ¡°You said they pass their core down, as if some tribes or families don¡¯t. I got the impression everyone did, to some extent.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s hands clenched on her horse¡¯s reins, and she shifted as if she might jump down and run off again. Mei was curled up in front of her, taking one of her many naps, so Kyla stayed and eventually said, ¡°Not everyone. As far as I know, all of the great chiefs do it, but it¡¯s not something anyone really talks about. Ija explained it to me when I became old enough to go on my spirit hunt, though.¡±


    She took a deep breath, then continued. ¡°When a female dies, her core is offered to her daughters. They know that if she was more powerful than them, they can fail to overcome her spirit and she will live again, to a greater or lesser extent. But if they succeed, they can add her power to their own. Among the great tribes, eating the core of the last chief is less of a choice and more of a requirement. A female who cannot defeat her mother will never be seen as strong enough to lead. Of course, in the case of my tribe, the daughter was expected to fail, so the mother could continue to lead.¡±


    That was horrible in a way Kaz couldn¡¯t even describe. How could a mother and daughter ever love each other if they knew that someday one of them would kill the other? Was that why relationships between chiefs and their heirs always seemed so tense and uncaring? But Oda had treated Katri better than anyone else in the tribe. Or had Oda behaved that way because she expected to be able to crush Katri¡¯s spirit? Had Katri eaten Oda¡¯s core, or had the core hunter done so? Uncertainty lifted the fur down his spine, and he forced himself to pay attention to what Kyla was saying.


    ¡°Sika once told me the Woodblades were the only great tribe who didn¡¯t follow this tradition, and neither did their subsidiary tribes. That was why the Woodblade chiefs were relatively weak, but they were so respected that no one challenged them.¡±


    Weak? Kaz didn¡¯t think that sounded right. Admittedly, his father had never shown his power after leaving the Deep, but that wasn¡¯t because he was weak, Kaz was certain. There was very little blue ki in the mountain, other than what was in the Tree¡­and that made sense. The Tree had required a great deal of blue ki in order to begin to recover. Had the Woodblades given so much of their ki to the Tree that they only had a little left for themselves?


    ¡°What about regular members of the tribe?¡± Lianhua asked, clearly fascinated. ¡°Do they also eat their mother¡¯s core?¡±


    Kyla shrugged. ¡°Sometimes, if they¡¯re ambitious, but not usually. I think in most cases, the core is left in the body when it¡¯s burned, and the female¡¯s spirit is sung to the ancestors. It¡¯s not really discussed, even between females. I don¡¯t think most males have any idea, though perhaps they¡¯re told when they take a mate. Maybe that¡¯s why fathers love their daughters more than mothers do.¡±


    At this, everyone fell silent, instead turning their eyes up to watch Li as she swooped through the air, chasing a small, terrified bird. She could have caught it if she wanted to, but it was too small to provide nourishment now. She was just enjoying the chase.


    <It¡¯s going to die from fear or exhaustion,> Kaz told his dragon, watching the way the little bird was struggling to maintain its flight. Every time it started to dip down toward the relative safety of a tree or tall bush - Kaz still wasn¡¯t entirely clear on what the difference was - Li dove beneath it, snapping playfully at its feet.


    The dragon wobbled, then dropped back, allowing the feathered creature to finally land on a branch full of leaves that hid it from view. <It was having fun, too,> she said. Kaz just stared at her until she blew a large ring of vapor and dove through it.


    <I want to fly with you,> she told him, sending a flashing image of one of their favorite dreams. In this one, she blew ring after ring as Kaz chased her, trying to get closer while not missing any of the rapidly disintegrating circles.


    His tail wagged. <Me, too. Soon.> For now, that meant she had to grow large enough to support him on her back, because he wasn¡¯t quite ready to try the other option; the one he¡¯d only just begun to realize might become a reality someday. He needed to have an incredibly clear image to build on, and so far, it was hazy at best.


    Raff cleared his throat. ¡°Do we want to stop for lunch, or eat in the saddle? It¡¯ll be better for the horses to stop, and the stream empties into a pond not far ahead. There¡¯s a waterfall and,¡± he threw a look at Kyla, who was gently stroking Mei¡¯s rounded side, ¡°I hear the fishing¡¯s good, though I haven¡¯t tried it myself.¡± He made a face. ¡°After you¡¯ve had saltwater fish, these little freshwater ones just don¡¯t compare.¡±


    Kyla looked up, her ears lifting as her tail began to wag. ¡°Minnows?¡±


    The big male grinned. ¡°D¡¯you remember the big fish in the river Kaz fell into?¡±


    Kyla¡¯s tail began to thump against her horse¡¯s back, making the animal look around. It was a calm beast for the most part, which was good because most horses didn¡¯t seem to like the smell of kobold, but every now and then it became mildly irritated at its young rider¡¯s peculiarities.


    Raff laughed at the reaction. ¡°Friend o¡¯ mine claims he caught a fish as long as his arm there once. He¡¯s almost as short as Lianhua, though, and fishermen always exaggerate.¡± Lianhua gave him a mock glare, and he shrugged. ¡°Sorry, but you know it¡¯s true.¡±


    Yingtao had remained silent through all of this, though her eyes constantly scanned the surrounding area. Now she looked at Raff, raising her brows. ¡°Lady Lianhua is precisely the height a lady should be.¡±


    ¡°O¡¯ course you¡¯d say that,¡± Raff said, then stilled as Yingtao¡¯s calm eyes met his. Her hands folded together, the reins vanishing into her sleeves, and Raff coughed slightly as he clicked his tongue and tapped his heels against his horse¡¯s sides. ¡°Last one there is a rotten turtle,¡± he called back, his horse speeding along the road as Lianhua and Yingtao exchanged amused smiles.

 Chapter Two hundred eighty-nine

    <Kaz?>


    <Kaz!>


    Li dove down, the tip of her wing just brushing the top of Kaz¡¯s ear. The closer they got to the mountain, the more he found it difficult to look away, or even think of anything else. It was like he was being called by something he had known even longer than he had known Li, and his dragon didn¡¯t like it.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked absently, looking up at her. It was just growing dark, with gray shadows softening the edges of everything, and for a moment she seemed more silver than gold, a figment of his imagination rather than a very real person.


    <Raff asked if we should stop for the night or go on. Lianhua and Yingtao said we should stop, since we probably can¡¯t enter yet anyway, but Kyla and I want to keep going. No one knows where Chi Yincang is, as usual, and Raff says he doesn¡¯t care, so you need to tell everyone we should keep going.>


    Lianhua laughed softly. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to tell him what to do,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s his vote.¡±


    <And he wants to keep going,> Li said, landing on a tree branch not far ahead. The trees here were taller and thicker than the ones closer to Cliffcross, sturdy enough to support a smallish dragon without bending or losing branches.


    Kaz looked around, trying to figure out where they were. He knew, of course, knew every foot that brought him closer to whatever it was that called to him. But they could have been wading through mud for all he was aware of his surroundings.


    The mountain was ahead of them, occupying his entire field of vision beyond the tall trees. The road along which they were riding had become little more than an overgrown dirt track, though he could still see that it was once a well-trodden road, just not important enough to be paved in cobblestones.


    ¡°How far is it to the portal?¡± he asked.


    Raff huffed a sigh. ¡°Y¡¯ didn¡¯t hear anything I said, did you, Blue? There¡¯s a nice clearing ahead with a deep overhang that¡¯ll provide us some cover in case it decides to rain.¡± He pointed up, where Kaz could see that gray clouds partially obscured the equally gray sky. ¡°The portal¡¯s a little over two hours away, but there¡¯s clean water at the campsite there, so the horses can get a drink and Lianhua could take a bath. Nothing over our heads but trees and tents, though.¡± He tilted a brow at Lianhua, who shook her head at him.


    ¡°I bathed just two days ago, and while I admit it would be good to be properly clean, it¡¯s going to pour soon. I don¡¯t want to set up camp in the mud and rain, and somehow, no matter how much ki is used, tents always leak, at least a little,¡± she said.


    Raff shrugged. ¡°If you say so. I think the rain¡¯ll hold off till midnight at least, so if we go on now, then we don¡¯t have to tear down and slog th¡¯ last bit over muddy ground in the morning. But I¡¯m also willin¡¯ to hope I can talk you all into just staying at our nice, dry campsite until the rain clears and the ground starts to dry, even if that takes most of the day. If Kyla can¡¯t figure out how to get the chiefs to open up, then we¡¯ve got a few days to wait, so no great loss.¡±


    Kyla glared at him, and he gave her a shrug and a half smile. She and Mei had dismounted at some point, and the fur around Kyla¡¯s mouth was stained a deep purple from the sweet berries she¡¯d been pulling from the bushes. She had small, shimmering shields covering only her hands, since the bushes had long, wickedly curved thorns protecting their bounty, and Kaz was impressed at how much her strength and control had improved since they left the mountain. The shields weren¡¯t exactly flexible, so she crushed as many berries as not, but neither she nor Mei seemed to mind overmuch.


    ¡°I know the howls,¡± she told him fiercely. ¡°We should go on. What if they open the portal to check, just in case I return early? Father and Ija will definitely be worried enough to push for that, and it wouldn¡¯t take that much power to just glance through.¡±


    Kaz wasn¡¯t so sure. From the little he¡¯d seen, most of the ki involved was required to open the portal, not keep it that way, though that wasn¡¯t easy either. ¡°Can anyone with enough power use the knives, or does it have to be the chief?¡± he asked, thinking of Idla and her damaged core.


    Kyla¡¯s ears twisted to the side, flattening slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she admitted. ¡°I think it has to be the chief or one of her daughters. Or sons, I guess, in the Woodblade tribe. Only someone very strong can open the portal at all, and a chief wouldn¡¯t want-¡±


    She stopped, but Kaz knew what she meant. If someone else was strong enough to open the portal, then they were probably also strong enough to challenge the chief, or at least her heir. No chief wanted factions forming within their tribe, so it was best not to acknowledge anyone but her own heir.


    He shook his head. ¡°They won¡¯t be able to check that often then. Idla won¡¯t allow it.¡± Because if she did, everyone else would see that she couldn¡¯t recover as quickly as the other chiefs, and Kaz was certain that she wasn¡¯t so well-liked that she could afford to show weakness.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go on,¡± he said, staring at the mountain again, and felt a rush of triumph through his bond with Li. ¡°But I¡¯d like to stay dry more. There¡¯s nothing we can do tonight, and I hate having wet fur.¡±


    Kyla, who obviously didn¡¯t mind being wet, glared at him, but it was Li¡¯s frustration that bothered him the most. She wanted to go, and not just because she hated waiting, but because¡­something. Something she didn¡¯t want him to see, at least not yet. It didn¡¯t feel like something bad, at least, so Kaz wasn¡¯t too worried about it.


    ¡°Good,¡± Chi Yincang said, stepping from a particularly deep shadow near Lianhua. Kaz had seen him there, of course, and Lianhua had no doubt sensed him as well, though Kaz didn¡¯t know why Yingtao didn¡¯t react. Did she also have a way to sense her brother? Raff and Kyla both jumped, with Kyla letting out a short, high-pitched yelp. The corner of Chi Yincang¡¯s mouth twitched up minutely before he continued speaking.


    ¡°Elder Long has arrived,¡± he said, before dropping to one knee, touching the knuckles of one fist to the ground while the other pressed against his chest. Yingtao instantly moved to his side and mimicked the posture, her longer robes flaring out around her before they settled gracefully to the ground.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Lianhua turned, her eyes searching, before her face lit up in a broad, welcoming smile. A dark speck was flying through the sky toward them, and at first Kaz thought it was a dragon, until he realized that what he saw flapping was clothing, not wings. As the figure drew closer, Kaz could tell that it was perched atop something, and though he couldn¡¯t tell what it was, both the figure and its ¡®mount¡¯ blazed with ki.


    It took over a minute from the time the figure became clear until he reached their group, and neither Yingtao nor Chi Yincang moved during this time. Chi Yincang didn¡¯t even look like he was breathing, though Kaz could see Yingtao¡¯s ribs expand and contract periodically. He had never seen her look truly nervous before, but now there was a tiny crease between her brows, and the fist she touched to the ground was clenched tight.


    Elder Long had white hair that reached past his waist, and a beard and mustache that were almost as long. His fuulong silk robes were gold and white, and the thing he balanced on was a sword, almost as long as Raff¡¯s, but much finer. The blade held the sparkling sheen of mithril, but Kaz had the feeling that was the least of its strength, since it was filled with so much black and white ki that it was difficult for Kaz to make out any further details.


    ¡°Granddaughter,¡± he said, as he stepped down from his sword, which continued hovering obediently. It seemed to take a moment for him to remember that his slippered feet were supposed to touch the earth, but Lianhua didn¡¯t appear to notice. She threw herself at him, their white hair mingling as the old male shifted from a power-soaked monster to a relieved grandparent.


    Everyone waited awkwardly as the two hugged, though Kaz noticed that Raff slid off his horse on the side away from Elder Long, and Kyla sank deeper into the brush, her yellow-gold eyes gleaming from the shadows. Mei vanished so completely that if Kaz hadn¡¯t been able to see her ki not far from Kyla¡¯s paws, he never would have known she was there. Even the distinctive scent of fuergar faded until he would have sworn it had been days since one of the creatures passed by. Kaz followed their lead and slid as quietly as possibly from his own horse.


    Eventually, Elder Long clasped Lianhua¡¯s shoulders and set her away from him gently. Her cheeks glistened with tears, but she sniffled and pulled herself together, turning to the rest of the group. Her eyes scanned over them before coming to rest on Kaz.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± she said formally, ¡°may I introduce my grandfather, Elder Long of the Long clan?¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t know what to do. Why had she introduced him first? Shouldn¡¯t they have spoken with Chi Yincang or Yingtao before him? Even Raff might have given him a hint to the correct response. As much as the large male tried to pretend otherwise, he had been born into a high-ranking family, so surely he must know how to answer.


    With no other option, Kaz bowed over his own fist, giving a soft yip of greeting. Then, remembering the kinds of things humans said to each other, he ventured, ¡°It is my honor to meet you, Elder Long.¡±


    The old male¡¯s lips curved into what looked like a genuine smile, and he bowed slightly in return. It was only a bare dip of his head, little more than a slight bending of his neck, but Lianhua gave a gasp that she barely managed to turn into a soft cough when her grandfather flicked an amused glance in her direction. His eyes were as black as Chi Yincang¡¯s, and honestly, he looked more like that dark warrior than he did his own granddaughter. Their only similarity was in the pure white color of their hair, which might just be the result of Elder Long¡¯s advanced age.


    ¡°It is my honor to meet you, Kaz,¡± Elder Long said with no hint of irony. Then his eyes landed on Li, who still perched in the tree where she¡¯d landed what seemed hours ago, but was actually less than ten minutes. This time when the old human bowed, it was even deeper, his back bending at the waist just a little.


    Seeing this, Lianhua bit her lip, then managed to say, ¡°Li, may I introduce my grandfather, Elder Long of the Long clan?¡±


    Kaz could feel Li¡¯s apprehension. She, too, could tell just how strong this human was. He was the first person Kaz had ever met whose inner light wouldn¡¯t be utterly eclipsed by that of Heishe or Fengji. If Lianhua¡¯s grandfather fought one of the Divine Beasts, the Divine Beast would win, but it would be a battle hard fought, and there would probably be nothing left of the surrounding area.


    His dragon had her dignity, however, and she settled the long line of her body into an exquisite curve, stretching and turning her neck and wings just so, until she was all that was grace and beauty. <I greet you, Elder Long,> she said, and only Kaz knew about her surge of apprehension when she realized that she hadn¡¯t repeated the words Kaz used.


    Elder Long¡¯s brows lifted, very slightly, and he sent a glance toward Chi Yincang, who flinched. Had Chi Yincang failed to inform his elder that Li was now able to speak for herself?


    Lianhua continued with the introductions, though she seemed unsure whether to move on to Kyla or Raff. In the end, she chose Kyla, who stepped out of the brush and executed a perfect bow, high-ranked female to chief of another tribe, before saying, ¡°It is my honor to meet you, Elder Long of the Long clan.¡± She flashed Kaz a tiny, triumphant glance at this improvement on his choice of words, and Kaz didn¡¯t think Elder Long missed it, though he responded solemnly enough.


    This was repeated with Raff, who responded more formally than Kaz had ever heard before. Even Mei was introduced, though she refused to emerge from her hiding place, which was now several feet away. Only when all of this was done did Elder Long turn his attention to Chi Yincang and Yingtao. The siblings still hadn¡¯t moved, though Kaz thought he could see Yingtao¡¯s heart pounding. She had the least ki of any of the group, but it was usually perfectly ordered, flowing in controlled cycles that wasted nothing. Now it churned through her, small amounts leaking into her body, where it was absorbed or drifted away as mana.


    ¡°Stand,¡± Elder Long said, looking at the two. Chi Yincang and Yingtao came to their feet so smoothly that the movements in between were all but lost. They both stared into the distance, as if looking directly at the elder was unthinkable. At least they did until Elder Long reached up to place a hand on Chi Yincang¡¯s shoulder, making Kaz realize, to his shock, that the old male was only a little taller than Lianhua, which made him shorter even than Yingtao.


    ¡°Chi Yincang,¡± Elder Long said, ¡°I thank you for your service.¡±


    For the barest instant, Chi Yincang¡¯s black eyes met those of the elder, and then he was down again, bowing so deeply that his hair brushed the ground. ¡°You honor me,¡± he said hoarsely, and Elder Long smiled before laying his hand on Chi Yincang¡¯s black hair. Kaz half-expected that hair to have turned white beneath the force of the old male¡¯s ki, but when the hand was lifted, Chi Yincang¡¯s hair was as obsidian as ever.


    Then Elder Long turned to Yingtao, but before he could speak, Lianhua stepped up beside her. The smaller female lifted her chin, face pale and lips pressed together tightly. When she reached for Yingtao¡¯s hand, the taller female hesitated only briefly before twining her own fingers through Lianhua¡¯s.


    Kaz suddenly understood something he should have seen some time ago, and could have nipped his own ear for it, if that was possible. If he hadn¡¯t been so busy worrying about himself and his situation, he never would have missed the fact that what Lianhua and Yingtao felt for each other wasn¡¯t simple friendship, or even sisterhood.


    Elder Long looked between the two females, then let out a sigh and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m old,¡± he said. ¡°But not so old that I can¡¯t see when I¡¯ve made a mistake. I wished for you to have an easy life, Lianhua, but that was never what you wanted.¡± Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to his granddaughter¡¯s forehead. ¡°I wish you happiness.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s expression changed to one of such heartfelt joy that Kaz felt a sudden, deep surge of envy. He was pleased for his friend, but he wondered; had he ever felt that happy?


    <We will,> Li said, just for him.


    <Yes,> he sent back, promise and hope bound together into an inextricable whole, thrumming from his heart to hers. <We will.>

 Chapter Two hundred ninety

    Now that Elder Long had joined them, there was no question of continuing on, much to Kyla and Li¡¯s disappointment. Li sulked, refusing to come down from her tree, but Kyla had an oddly calculating look on her face when she looked at the old male, and Kaz wondered if she was trying to decide whether she should talk to him about trading with the Deep. Admittedly, it was unlikely Elder Long would be interested, given how long it took to reach the mountain from the Sheng Empire, but his cousin was taking her new role as liaison between kobolds and humans very seriously.


    The overhang Raff had mentioned was only a short walk from where they¡¯d stopped, and it was indeed deep enough to cover Lianhua¡¯s large tent, as well as Raff¡¯s much smaller one. Kaz was glad of it, since almost as soon as they were settled, large, heavy raindrops began to pour straight down from the sky, soaking everything. Li was caught in it, and flew in, settling beside the fire Raff had just started, steam soon rising from her scales.


    <I suppose it¡¯s good that we stopped,> she muttered as she leaned against Kaz¡¯s leg. He¡¯d taken over much of the cooking, and was busy stuffing the cavities of several rabbits full of the same sweet berries Kyla had been eating, as well as some plants Raff said were safe. He already had skewers of fungus roasting on the rocks around the fire, as well as a few roots he¡¯d dug up, washed, and cut into smaller pieces. Honestly, it was amazing how quickly he¡¯d learned to use the things he found in the wild, though he still checked with Raff when he wasn¡¯t certain about something.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯re not in the rain,¡± Kaz said. His words were noncommittal, but he sent her an image of herself, knocked from the sky by enormous raindrops, while he sat warm and dry, eating rabbit.


    Li hissed softly, pretending to snap at him, only to twist her long neck at the last moment, tearing off one of the rabbit¡¯s legs instead. She swallowed it whole, then burped a small ring of cold, damp water vapor that settled in his fur, making him shiver.


    ¡°You really are exactly as you seemed,¡± a voice said, and Kaz jerked, almost dropping the rabbit. How was it possible that someone with so much ki could move without him noticing? But Elder Long¡¯s ki really was suppressed, rigidly confined within his skin. Not a single bit escaped as mana, instead cycling around and around, though quite a lot of it was gathered in his abdomen, right where a core would be if he had one. Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed, focusing on that spot. Or did this human have a core?


    The aged male laughed softly, placing one hand over his belly. His ki tightened even further, withdrawing from his skin and into his channels, at least what wasn¡¯t bound into his flesh itself. How high was his cultivation? What was Kaz seeing?


    Elder Long sat near Kaz, ignoring the mud created by Li¡¯s dripping, much as his granddaughter did when she became absorbed in a particularly fascinating rune or book. ¡°I know people who would kill you for that look,¡± he said conversationally, ¡°without ever knowing what you really were.¡±


    Instantly, Li moved in between her kobold and this disturbing human, baring her teeth as flame flickered over her tongue. Elder Long didn¡¯t even seem to notice, but Kaz tugged the other leg from the rabbit and put it in his dragon¡¯s mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be as easy to kill as you believe,¡± he said, and now Elder Long¡¯s black eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Maybe you wouldn¡¯t be at that,¡± he murmured. They sat together, Li between them, until Kaz skewered the last rabbit on a stick from a tree Raff said would grow fruit in the fall. Kaz hoped he would be able to see that someday. He liked flowers, now that he¡¯d seen them, and it was both amazing and intriguing that food would grow from the sweet-smelling blossoms.


    ¡°I came here to make you an offer,¡± Elder Long said at last. ¡°I can give you a good life. Provide you with anything you can imagine. Lianhua says you¡¯re almost as hungry for knowledge as she is. I can grant you access to the largest collection of books in the world. Once word of your existence gets out, people will come hunting for you. And your dragon. I can keep you both safe.¡±


    Kaz propped the end of the skewer between two rocks, then turned another skewer he¡¯d placed a few minutes earlier. Li was glaring fiercely at Elder Long, but Kaz said, ¡°Among kobolds, males are often traded between tribes for the benefit of their chiefs, and to keep the bloodlines strong. When I was young, I thought they had no choice, but now I know that in many tribes, the chiefs listen to what the males want. Often, we choose to do what¡¯s best for our tribe, but a good chief wouldn¡¯t force them if they said no.¡±


    Elder Long blinked, and Kaz went on. ¡°You pretended to listen to Lianhua when she said no, but you bound her in so many tests and agreements that you might as well have forced her.¡± He looked straight into the obsidian eyes. ¡°If you would do that to someone you love, why would I trust you to do anything other than lock me up in a cage for your own use?¡±


    Ki flared, pouring out of the human¡¯s body, licking at Kaz like a searing flame, but Kaz neither flinched nor looked away. Finally, Elder Long pulled his ki back, anger gone as quickly as it had appeared, and then he began to laugh. It was a low, rough sound, as if his throat was entirely unfamiliar with it, and Lianhua poked her head out of her tent, making Kaz realize that none of the other humans were in sight. Even Kyla and Mei were with Lianhua and Yingtao. Had they intentionally distracted his cousin, or had Elder Long chosen this moment specifically because no one else was around?


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± the old male said, though his power still simmered just beneath his skin. Periodically, it brushed against Kaz, but instead of being accidental, as it might be with any other human Kaz had met before, he was quite certain it was intentional. Li knew it, too, and the next time it happened, she snapped her sharp teeth on the tendril, making Elder Long¡¯s eyes widen. He finally pulled in all of his ki.


    ¡°I depended on my wife to raise Lianhua, as she had our other children,¡± Elder Long said. ¡°When she was no longer able to do so, I reacted¡­badly. I wanted my granddaughter where I could see her, know she was well taken care of, not wandering all over the world, constantly at risk.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He sighed, looking up at the rough stone that arched over them. The air was filled with the scent and sound of rain, and Kaz found that there was a strange feeling of closeness between them. He hadn¡¯t decided yet if he liked this human, but for the moment at least, they understood each other.


    ¡°Your ability to see ki is invaluable,¡± Elder Long said bluntly. ¡°No other clan would be able to keep secrets from the one you joined. Since you¡¯ve learned to take human form, I would even be willing to find you a powerful wife, in hopes that your children might have your gift.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Kaz said gently.


    Again that quiet laugh, and the old male said, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Kaz looked at Li, then turned his rabbits on their spits. The first ones were almost cooked through. ¡°Nothing you or anyone else can give me,¡± he said.


    Elder Long watched him for a long time, ki throbbing beneath his skin. Kaz was almost certain by now that he was cultivating, but he wasn¡¯t taking in mana, just pressing and releasing what he already held in a steady rhythm that he didn¡¯t even seem to be aware of. Oddly, though he held four colors of ki - only missing Kaz¡¯s blue - they were all strictly regimented, each held in certain areas rather than flowing freely through his body.


    Kaz¡¯s hand stretched out to turn a rabbit, but somehow it reached toward Elder Long instead. He didn¡¯t touch the old male, but his fingers stopped just above the dense layers of ki that almost hid something thick and gray. He leaned forward, staring into it, and as a section of white ki expanded briefly, he saw the beginnings of a core.


    It wasn¡¯t a core like his own, but looked instead like the thin shell he¡¯d once accidentally formed when he¡¯d believed his core was breaking. He had almost managed to believe it into doing exactly that, and when he tried to shove it all back together, he¡¯d made¡­this. But this wasn¡¯t anything he¡¯d truly call a core. For one thing, while it was incredibly strong, it impeded the flow of the natural ki of this world, blocking it out, rather than adding to it.


    ¡°I¡¯m at the late Core Formation stage of spirit cultivation,¡± Elder Long said, his voice strained. Kaz jerked back, suddenly realizing that what he was doing was intrusive at best. Lianhua had said that humans didn¡¯t speak of their own cultivation levels and techniques, at least not in the Sheng Empire. Would Elder Long be angry?


    But no, the old male¡¯s eyes blazed with something that almost looked like hunger. He leaned toward Kaz. ¡°What did you see?¡±


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. But you lack blue - Wood ki. I thought Lianhua said you needed all five to ascend?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Elder Long agreed. ¡°And soon I will have to choose. I may have already damaged my own cultivation beyond repair by waiting so long to gain Wood. I have a Divine level cultivation pill, one of only three I¡¯ve ever even heard of, that would grant it to me, but-¡± His eyes went to Lianhua¡¯s tent, where his granddaughter¡¯s ki leaned toward the much weaker Wood and Water that indicated Yingtao.


    ¡°If you ascend, you¡¯re afraid you¡¯ll have to leave Lianhua behind,¡± Kaz said. For the first time, he was sure that this old, powerful male truly loved his granddaughter. If Kaz understood how human cultivation worked, he must have been working toward ascension for as much as three centuries, only to intentionally halt his progress at the very end because he didn¡¯t want to abandon Lianhua.


    Elder Long nodded. ¡°If I fail to form my core, I will still be powerful, but my cultivation will be broken. I¡¯ll die in a few decades, possibly less. I could protect her during that time, but my enemies fear what I may become as much as what I am, and they can afford to be patient.¡±


    He looked at Kaz, and something like hope filled his eyes. ¡°Do you know what happens when someone does form a core and breaks through to the Golden Core stage?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Kaz asked, then yelped softly as a smell of burning reached his nose. One of the rabbits had finally overcooked, and he pulled it from its skewer, moving quickly out of habit, even though the hot meat was no more than a pleasant warmth on his hands.


    He gave the burned part to Li and put the rest on a piece of oiled cloth Raff had left for just this purpose before he ventured into the rain, claiming that he should gather as much wood as possible before it was all soaked. Now that Kaz actually thought about it though, that didn¡¯t even make sense. Raff could just use his fire stone if they ran out of wood. It didn¡¯t provide the same pleasant crackle and warmth, but it also didn¡¯t smoke.


    As Kaz took the next rabbit from its skewer and began to break it down into smaller portions, Elder Long said, ¡°There are few records left by those who have reached the Golden Core stage. Clans guard their power and their secrets carefully, so most stories are passed down verbally, not written. The Long clan has particular difficulty breaking through, with only one scroll remaining from the time before the Diushi Empire.¡±


    Oh. That was probably because Lianhua¡¯s family was directly descended from Qiangde. In the first few generations, some of Qiangde¡¯s children and grandchildren had been born with cores, but Kaz had no idea if any had developed those cores through cultivation. It seemed unlikely, though. Somehow, he was sure that ¡®beasts¡¯, including dragons, were tied more tightly to the cycle of ki and mana than humans. But what exactly did that mean about humans? There was something there, something he needed to understand, but Elder Long was still speaking, and he lost his tunnel of thought.


    ¡°That single ancient scroll says that our ancestor felt as if he was being called, or pulled, to someplace other. He fought it, but it was like a compulsion, and over time his words devolved into a single rune, repeated over and over: ascend.¡± The old male shook his head. ¡°There the record stops, and we have no other scrolls from that time, telling us what happened to him. But I believe he was forced to go somewhere else, whether he wanted to or not.¡±


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t his home any longer,¡± Kaz said, then stopped, not sure why he¡¯d said that. It felt right, though, so he pointed to the gray mass in the human¡¯s abdomen. ¡°That doesn¡¯t belong here. You¡¯ve refined it from the power of this world, separated it out, and it wants to go back where it came from. If you gather enough, it will leave you no choice.¡±


    The old male¡¯s hand moved, as if he would grab Kaz¡¯s, but a hiss from Li made him pause. He was still stronger than the dragon, at least for now, but he didn¡¯t really want to hurt her. Instead, he set his hand on the ground beside him, rising so smoothly that Kaz thought even Chi Yincang might be envious. Elder Long might look ancient, with his white hair and seamed face, but he was as spry as a kobold Kaz¡¯s age.


    Once he was on his feet, Elder Long bowed, far more deeply than he had when they met. ¡°I thank you for your wisdom,¡± he said. ¡°This old man dares ask for one more favor, but he will wait for morning.¡± He bent so far that his white hair brushed the ground, just as Chi Yincang¡¯s had earlier, when he bowed to Elder Long. Then he turned and walked back to Lianhua¡¯s tent as Kaz began to gather the cooling meat.

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-one

    Kaz found a ledge where Li could sleep, then cut away some of the stone nearby with his mage blade. Once he had two angled protrusions carved out, he tied ropes to them and spent that night in the hammock Raff had given him. It was almost disturbing how easy it was, but when he was stretched out in the hammock with Li sleeping on the nearby ledge, he fell asleep quickly and easily, not lingering on what might happen the following day.


    He woke to find Li¡¯s head resting on his chest, her neck stretched out awkwardly from her ledge, and was afraid to move for fear of disturbing their delicate balance. Not that either of them would be seriously hurt by a fall that could be no more than ten feet, but he didn¡¯t really want to start the day by falling on his snout. Plus, while Li¡¯s head was now about the same size as her whole body had been when she hatched, he still enjoyed their time together. Now that she could move about freely, she seemed determined to make up for the time she spent hidden, so they were rarely so close for long.


    Turning his head, he saw that a pale light was painting the stony, muddy ground with a luminescent glow. The sun was rising, and there, limned by its radiance, stood a shadowy figure. He balanced on one foot, the other lifted in the air, knee bent. One arm stretched behind him, while the other was bent in front. As Kaz watched, he shifted position, moving with a slow, steady grace that seemed both elegant and unstoppable at once.


    Elder Long spent the time of the sun¡¯s rising gradually shifting through ever more complex movements. Some looked almost like a dance, while others would have been vicious blows, if they hadn¡¯t been performed so slowly. He was surrounded by an ever-flowing cloud of mana that sank through his skin and condensed into ki so quickly that Kaz couldn¡¯t even see it happen.


    At last, the old human resumed the same position he¡¯d held at the beginning, then slowly settled both feet to the ground and bowed toward the sun. His ki withdrew into his body, once again expanding and contracting rhythmically, like breathing or a heartbeat. Then he turned and looked directly at Kaz and Li.


    <Do you think I could learn to do that?> Li asked softly, lifting her head from Kaz¡¯s chest. Somehow she managed not to unbalance herself as she did so, though Kaz¡¯s hammock swung awkwardly for a moment.


    <You can do anything you want,> Kaz told her, even though dragon anatomy very definitely wasn¡¯t made for whatever Elder Long had just done. But Li had never before shown any particular interest in anything she couldn¡¯t do as a dragon, and he felt a flicker of hope that he immediately shoved away. <Qiangde could take human shape. I¡¯m sure you could, too.>


    Li eyed him for a moment, then said, <Could a kobold move that way?>


    Kaz thought about it, but his heart was hammering in his chest. He was sure she knew it, too. <Our knees are a little different, but I think so.>


    She gave a soft, thoughtful whistle, the first one he¡¯d heard from her in a while. Then she slid from her ledge, stretching her wings just long enough to glide to the earth rather than falling. Kaz wasn¡¯t far behind her, though he had to stop and put away the hammock, and by the time he did the others were beginning to emerge from their tents.


    It seemed that Chi Yincang had either kept watch all night, as he often did, or had taken the last watch, because he appeared from the deepest shadow beneath the overhang. His skin actually held a slight sheen, and his usually dusty aroma was touched by sweat. What had he been doing? Kaz suspected he knew, however. If Kaz had been able to move, he might have tried to copy Elder Long, and there hadn¡¯t been a dragon head pinning Chi Yincang down.


    Then Mei scampered out of the shadows behind him, her belly looking even rounder than it had been after dinner the night before. Kaz chuffed a small laugh and shook his head, seeing it. The fuergar still moved with surprising grace, but Kaz suspected that had more to do with the ever-deepening ki in her body than her current physical ability.


    Kyla and Raff were stretching and yawning, the little kobold looking almost like a human child beside the much larger male. When she saw Mei, however, she yipped a greeting and scooped up the rotund rodent, her wagging tail breaking the illusion.


    ¡°What have you been eating?¡± she demanded of Mei as Kaz and Li walked up beside them. ¡°No more cheese for you!¡±


    The fuergar seemed undisturbed by this declaration, probably because Kaz had noticed absolutely everyone in their group feeding her at some point over the last few days. The creature would never go hungry, no matter what Kyla said, and that was all for the best. Kaz was certain she would need her strength soon enough.


    Breakfast was an unhurried matter, with Raff setting a thin, flat piece of metal over the fire, while he laid another one with a shallow lip over the fire stone. Onto the first he laid flat strips of fatty meat, which sizzled and popped, releasing clouds of aromatic steam. He cracked more than a dozen eggs into the second, then topped both with leaves he¡¯d chopped very small.


    The meat and eggs were delicious, and Kaz wondered if insect eggs would taste as good if he tried cooking them the same way. He¡¯d once eaten a hoyi egg, which he didn¡¯t think would work for this, but jiyun could lay hundreds of eggs that kobolds usually allowed to hatch, since the grubs were delicious and only mildly poisonous. He didn¡¯t know if anyone had ever tried cooking the eggs themselves, but it seemed like it was worth a try.


    Chi Yincang made tea, serving it to Elder Long while Yingtao carefully poured a cup for Lianhua. Lianhua herself hadn¡¯t spoken a word since emerging from her tent, but she kept darting glances between Kaz and Elder Long that told him that even if Kyla had been oblivious to what happened the night before, at least some of the humans weren¡¯t.


    Only when food and tea were gone, dishes cleaned, tents packed, and Raff was preparing the horses did the soft conversations shift from greetings and discussions of the fine drizzle still falling intermittently from the sky. Kaz had never known there could be so many words for the way water fell. Drizzle was a new one to him, and one he decided he didn¡¯t really like. The moisture wasn¡¯t heavy enough to soak his thick fur, but it wouldn¡¯t be pleasant for Kyla, with her burned patches. All of the brittle pieces of fur had broken off, and new fur was forming in swirls of fuzz across her pink skin, but she had to be both wet and cold.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    But somehow Raff never quite brought the horses forward from where they were tied at the back of the overhang, and finally Yingtao drew Kyla away, offering the young kobold a circle of oiled cloth with a hole cut in the middle of it. There was a deep hood sewn into the hole, and the item was apparently meant to keep the rain off of the wearer. It looked like it would be more effective than the umbrella Lianhua seemed to prefer, since the rain couldn¡¯t blow across and soak the user¡¯s lower body.


    As soon as Kyla was distracted, Lianhua fell to her knees before Kaz, placing her hands on the ground in front of her before bowing over them. She didn¡¯t seem to notice the drying mud pressing up between her fingers, and she didn¡¯t look up as everyone around them fell silent. Then her grandfather knelt beside her, assuming the same position.


    Kaz froze, staring at them, until Li nudged his hand. <Tell them to get up,> the dragon told him.


    He did so, and they both sat back, though they didn¡¯t stand. Kaz was shocked to see tears dripping from Lianhua¡¯s chin, and the tip of her nose was red. Elder Long¡¯s face was as expressionless as Chi Yincang¡¯s, but the corners of his mouth held deep creases that hadn¡¯t been there the night before.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± Lianhua finally managed to say, ¡°do you remember the promise you made me?¡±


    Which one? They had promised to guard each other¡¯s secrets, promised to watch over each other, even promised to tell each other when they were going to do something that might be dangerous. But somehow he knew, so he said, ¡°I promised I would help your grandmother, if I could.¡±


    Her face lit up with a smile that was at once hopeful and sad. She looked at her grandfather, who said, ¡°It was that promise that brought me here.¡± He sighed, absently touching a ring on his left hand in what Kaz thought was the first unplanned movement he¡¯d made since he arrived.


    ¡°My wife - Lianhua¡¯s grandmother - has lived far beyond her level of cultivation. At first, we believed she could advance with me, but no matter what we did, she stalled at late Foundation. We found secret cultivation techniques, and bought cultivation pills that were the masterwork of their creators, but she simply couldn¡¯t move on. Even her body cultivation halted at late Iron. We thought it might be because she had only two types of ki, but when she tried to gain more, that failed as well.¡±


    Now he was twisting the simple golden band on his finger, and swallowed hard before saying, ¡°She should have died decades ago.¡± Beside him Lianhua gasped, and he smiled at her, the gentleness of it catching Kaz off guard. ¡°She likely never would have met Lianhua, never been able to guide her, but I have access to things others cannot even dream of. Baihe remained alive and in relatively good health until a few years ago. At that point, her organs simply began to fail. When we bolstered one, another grew weaker, and so did she. The end was coming, and she didn¡¯t-¡±


    His voice broke, and Lianhua¡¯s hand came to rest on his, stilling the movement. Her grandfather closed his eyes, and for a moment, he was just a male, on the brink of losing the female to whom he had sworn his life. There was no doubt he was by far the most powerful human Kaz had met, but even he was helpless before death.


    ¡°She wanted to see Lianhua happy,¡± he said. ¡°She told me our granddaughter had found someone to love, and the way her eyes sparkled-¡± He stopped, cleared his throat, and tried again.


    ¡°I¡¯m an old man. I was old when I married her, and have only grown older, as is the way of things. The happiness she saw wasn¡¯t one I could understand, and so when she knew the end was coming, she took a cultivation pill I had been keeping for her. It was meant for the day when she finally broke through, and we could ascend together. She hoped it would be enough to allow her to see Lianhua wed, but instead it¡­broke something in her mind. Her body grew stronger, but she was all but gone, and there was nothing I could do. Nothing but watch the last hints of her wash away in an inexorable tide.¡±


    Lianhua was even paler than usual now, her amethyst eyes huge, and she whispered, ¡°You said she was trying to break through so she could ascend with you.¡±


    The old male finally looked at her. ¡°If I told you the truth, you would have blamed yourself. I can see you doing it now.¡± He glanced from Lianhua to Yingtao, who was standing beside a cloth-draped Kyla, her expression stricken. ¡°But it was my fault. If I had let you be yourself, you would never have spent so long trying to be someone else. You would have admitted to me, and yourself, that you loved differently, but just as strongly. Your grandmother would have seen you happy, then allowed herself to rest.¡±


    Gently, he took his hand out from under that of his granddaughter, turning it palm up. A burst of ki circled the ring, and a tiny figurine appeared in his hand. It was a human, perfectly captured in stone, with hair as long and white as his own, wearing robes that were similar, but covered in delicate flowers and birds, rather than intricate golden patterns.


    Lianhua gasped, and Yingtao finally broke, coming forward to kneel beside her mate, wrapping her arms around Lianhua¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Grandmother,¡± Lianhua choked out, tears beginning again. ¡°Is she-?¡±


    Elder Long¡¯s face held all of his years now. Channels were carved from his nose to his mouth, across his forehead, and around his eyes. He shed no tears, but there was a depth of pain in the black eyes that Kaz wouldn¡¯t have guessed he could feel.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± he said, ¡°but close. I prepared this talisman for when the time came, though I promised myself I wouldn¡¯t use it unless there was some hope for her. There was none, until the day you met Kaz, and he promised to help.¡±


    Kaz glanced at Chi Yincang, whose face was as unreadable as ever. Kaz was certain Lianhua hadn¡¯t told anyone - except possibly Yingtao - of their promise, and he was equally certain that Elder Long had learned of it through Chi Yincang. Somehow, the old male was able to see through Chi Yincang¡¯s eyes, and possibly hear through his ears as well, even when a great distance separated them. How Chi Yincang knew something that was supposed to have been locked behind a silence rune, Kaz didn¡¯t know, but there was no doubt he did.


    Dismissing that as unimportant, at least for now, Kaz asked, ¡°Was that like the talisman Chi Yincang used to capture Gaoda? Lianhua said it was meant to save people who were injured, so they could be brought to a healer.¡±


    Elder Long nodded. ¡°Exactly like that. I had three of the last ones known to exist. The Emperor has some as well, but I don¡¯t know how many, and I have reason to believe there are no more. The Diushi were truly masters at creating tools that defy our understanding today.¡±


    Those tools were probably developed because of Qiangde¡¯s obsession with discovering how humans were able to ascend. Still, this one seemed to have many positive uses, including the ability to seal Gaoda¡¯s mouth. And, of course, allow Elder Long to bring his wife to Kaz.


    Kaz looked between Lianhua and her grandfather, and finally saw some resemblance. Though their irises were very different colors, the looks they were giving him were identical. But how could he possibly succeed where some countless number of pills and treatments had failed? Especially if he had only a very limited amount of time to try.


    Then Li stepped in front of him, her eyes locked on the little figure. For a horrified moment Kaz thought she might eat it, but her tongue only flickered out, barely touching the miniature body. Kaz could see Elder Long struggle not to snatch his hand away, but he held still until Li said, <Release her.>

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-two

    Elder Long¡¯s fingers immediately closed around the small figure, and he drew his hand back. ¡°What?¡±


    <Release her,> Li insisted, staring after the statue hungrily. <She¡¯s mine.>


    Kaz didn¡¯t know what was going on, but he recognized that tone of voice. He couldn¡¯t see what Li was seeing, not this time, but she - or whatever she was speaking for - did, and that was enough. It had never led them astray, and had probably saved their lives more than once.


    ¡°Please,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Trust us.¡± He met Lianhua¡¯s eyes, and she nodded slowly, then reached out and laid her hand on top of her grandfather¡¯s.


    ¡°Trust me,¡± she said, and he released the statue into her grasp.


    Deactivating the talisman was as simple as activating it. Elder Long touched his finger to the statue¡¯s forehead, and when he lifted it, there was a tiny rectangle clinging to the tip. This expanded into a slip of red paper covered in painted runes, and as it did, the little figure expanded as well. Within moments, a female human lay on a blanket stretched across the ground. Her eyes were closed, her hands laid across her abdomen, and every part of her looked ancient, as if old age itself had been given the form of a tiny, wrinkled female.


    Together, those watching gave a soft sigh of relief when that thin, fragile ribcage rose and fell beneath the opulent robes. Kaz and Li were watching something else entirely, however, and they leaned forward, staring intently not at the female¡¯s surface, but what lay beneath.


    Simply put, her channels were a mess. Thickly scarred in some places, weak in others, they were alternately blocked or leaking. She had only two colors of ki, fire and wood, which Kaz suspected was the only reason she was still alive. Fire sought to spread, to grow, but could be destructive in that growth. Meanwhile, Wood fed Fire, but it also wished to grow, and together the two of them sustained her ki cycle as it attempted to expand, barely staying ahead of the dissolution that crept through her body.


    ¡°What did you do to her?¡± Kaz breathed, his eyes wide. Reaching out, he laid a hand across her forehead, gently urging her upper dantian to settle. Rather than spinning, her ki kept impacting bits of gray, compressed mana, exactly like the unformed core in Elder Long¡¯s abdomen. It was sticky and chunky, though, blocking and unsettling her cycle, turning it into a chaotic swirl. No wonder she was unable to think properly!


    ¡°What is it?¡± Elder Long demanded, leaning forward. Beside him, Lianhua did the same, but instead of looking at Kaz, she was watching her grandmother, trying to see what Kaz and Li did.


    ¡°It looks like she was trying to form a core, but it¡­shattered. Pieces of it are everywhere. I don¡¯t even know if they can be removed,¡± Kaz said absently, His eyes shifting downward. The upper dantian was too small and too full of debris. If he was going to heal this female, he would have to start somewhere else.


    Her middle dantian was in much the same condition, but because it was larger, the pieces there had clumped together. Unfortunately, there was very little ki left in the old female¡¯s reserves, and Kaz had a feeling that this dwindling resource was the reason Elder Long had finally had to use the talisman or give his mate up to death.


    Blue and red ki began to flood the dantian as Kaz watched, and he jerked his eyes up to Li. She had placed a paw just above the other female¡¯s heart, and was pushing her own ki into the shriveled body. The old female spasmed, twisting away, then coughed violently, black-speckled blood dribbling from her chin. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t open her eyes, but both Elder Long and Lianhua looked horrified.


    <Li, stop!> Kaz said, but the dragon had already released the connection. She, too, knew the potential danger of allowing her ki to enter someone else¡¯s cycle. It was bad enough that she¡¯d allowed her ki to touch that of the other female at all.


    They both watched, holding their breath as Lianhua¡¯s grandmother drew in a deep, shuddering breath, her muscles relaxing again. She was curled on her side now, but when Elder Long reached out to turn her, Kaz grabbed his hand without thinking. It seemed like the powerful old human should have been able to shake Kaz free without even trying, but instead Kaz stopped the movement easily. He knew Elder Long wasn¡¯t making a serious effort, but still, they stared at each other for a long moment before a cough from the female between them drew their focus back to her.


    However unwise it had been for Li to give this female some of her own ki, somehow it had worked. Fresh red and blue ki now turned easily in her middle dantian, flowing out through her abused channels. Her alabaster cheeks turned faintly pink, and Elder Long finally withdrew his hand.


    <Look at her core,> Li said softly. Kaz almost told her there wasn¡¯t one, but then he actually looked, and to his shock, there was. It was tiny, smaller even than the one belonging to Chix, but still somehow slightly stronger. Rather than the gray of a human core, or the dingy color of Chix¡¯s all but powerless one, it held colors: the soft blue of the sky at the end of day, and the red of a beetle¡¯s wing.


    <How does she have a core?> Kaz asked, moving his hand down to hover over her abdomen. He could feel it now, the faintest pulse of ki, buried beneath broken mana and an uncontrolled cycle.


    <She¡¯s mine,> Li said again. <Dragon.>


    And it was true. How, Kaz didn¡¯t know, but pieces of Qiangde¡¯s lineage had come together in this female, allowing her to be born with a tiny, perfect beast core, though hundreds of years had passed since Qiangde himself had died. That core had probably granted her a relatively easy path to power when she was young, but its presence would prevent her from forming a human core, and had probably also made it so that the medicines that were supposed to strengthen her had poisoned her instead. How many other cores had she eaten, in bits and pieces, in pills and potions?


    Kaz lifted his eyes to Lianhua, taking in her white hair and violet eyes. She had a gift that was rare even among her people. One that probably came from her draconic heritage. Her grandfather¡¯s blood had thinned out Qiangde¡¯s, allowing her and her mother to live relatively normal human lives, but her grandmother wasn¡¯t human. Not quite.


    <What can we do?> Kaz asked, turning his gaze to his dragon.


    Li shook her head. <She can¡¯t be both. Not anymore.>The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Kaz felt the fur on his spine lift as a shudder ran down his back. There was no doubt that the broken human core had to be removed. It was causing too much disruption to an already battered system. But that would still leave the female with a tiny dragon core, one which was innately opposed to everything she might do to repair her body and ascend, if she truly wished to do so.


    <We can¡¯t just destroy her core,> he said, staring at it. It was so weak, and there were minute cracks in the surface, but it still functioned, still added a tiny bit of ki to a world that, he suddenly understood, had far too little.


    Li stared at him, and he could feel her own inner conflict. Everything in her said to strengthen that fragile little core, but while that would probably grant Lianhua¡¯s grandmother a few more years of life, it would also lock her irrevocably to this world. What should she do?


    <Now that she¡¯s a little stronger, we can try clearing out the pieces of compressed mana,> he suggested tentatively. <Then she might be strong enough that->


    <We can ask her,> Li finished, her relief palpable.


    Kaz stretched out his hand, palm up, and Li laid her paw over it. Hers was still a little smaller than his, with long, slim fingers. Her claws were sharper, but his were thicker. They wound their fingers together, sinking into their bond, and then into the body of the female who lay between them.


    Kaz didn¡¯t know how long it took. He would carefully pluck a piece of splintered core free, and Li would send a wash of ki to carry it away to the relatively empty space within the central dantian. There, they gently prodded at it, breaking it down into smaller and smaller pieces that could be expelled safely from the body. They started with small pieces in areas that were relatively undamaged, and worked their way up to more challenging sections, until at last they returned to the upper dantian.


    This was where the worst of the damage lay. The walls of the dantian were thick with splintered mana, and when Kaz tried to tug them free, it was like removing the cursed runes from a dragon. Was it just part of this dantian¡¯s nature to cling to such things, or did the two apparently unrelated issues actually have something else in common?


    Still, unlike with the dragons, who at least had healthy bodies, this female would die if the pieces weren¡¯t removed, and soon. So Kaz gritted his teeth and pulled them out, leaving small holes that leaked ki. By the time they were done, her dantian was barely intact, and he had no doubt that some of the damage would never heal. At least not unless something very significant happened.


    When all of the pieces were out and dissolved, Kaz and Li released each other. Kaz, for one, found it strange to be alone with his own thoughts again, feeling only his own heart beating in his chest, and it took a moment to realize that Lianhua was kneeling across from him, not to his left.


    Vile black goo was spattered on the ground around the frail old female. Her face and chin were streaked with it, but Lianhua was wiping it away even as more was expelled. Elder Long held his mate¡¯s hand, looking helpless and more than a little angry. When he saw that Kaz¡¯s eyes were open, he snapped, ¡°What have you done? You¡¯re torturing her, not healing her!¡±


    Kaz shook his head wearily. ¡°We need to speak to her, but she couldn¡¯t think while that was in her.¡±


    ¡°What could you possibly need to say? I can tell you anything you need to know. Just help her!¡± the old male cried, fingers tightening around his mate¡¯s hands.


    A soft groan answered him, and his expression went blank as he looked down into amethyst eyes that were even more vibrantly purple than Lianhua¡¯s. They blinked, hazy with pain, and then her lips formed words. Both Elder Long and Lianhua leaned in to hear as she said, ¡°...never¡­listen.¡± She lifted one hand from his and tapped him gently on the cheek in an affectionate rebuke.


    Tears overflowed her mate¡¯s eyes, and Lianhua caught her breath in a sob. Behind her, tears were streaming down Yingtao¡¯s cheeks, and for some reason Chi Yincang was holding Mei, stroking her copper-pink fur, though his face remained inscrutable.


    Turning her gaze to Kaz, then Li, the old female seemed somehow unsurprised to find that a kobold and a dragon were crouching over her. Had she been able to feel their presence as they worked to save her? Li had given her quite a lot of ki. Suddenly worried, Kaz glanced between his dragon and the old female lying on the ground, but thankfully there was no visible link between them.


    Li leaned in until all the supine female could see was her face, all golden scales and delicate snout, with elegantly curved horns like a natural crown. <You are dragon,> she said simply. <But dragons cannot ascend. They are part of this world, inextricable. I can empower your dragon, and you can fly, or I can->


    She stopped, and Kaz felt her revulsion at what she was about to say. <I can make you entirely not-dragon. I don¡¯t know what it will do. You may be able to do as humans do and leave this world, or you may die. Either way, you will not re-enter the cycle of ki and mana as you were meant to do.>


    Kaz could tell that the female didn¡¯t understand. That was fair. Neither he nor Li truly understood either. They could only do their best, and so must she.


    The amethyst eyes turned toward her mate, and lips so pale they were nearly white curved up. ¡°I want¡­to be with my Yufei. And I want Lianhua¡­happy.¡±


    The choice was made. Kaz was fairly certain that Lianhua would be happy with any solution where her beloved grandmother didn¡¯t die, at least not yet. But there was only one way for Elder Long and his mate to be together.


    Kaz looked at Elder Long. ¡°You said you had a way to help her gain more ki,¡± he said.


    The old male nodded, but frowned. ¡°I brought the pills that helped the most in the past, but-¡±


    <You were poisoning her,> Li said. <Soon, those things will work as they should. Be ready.>


    Kaz and Li clasped hand to paw again, and Kaz crushed the tiny dragon core with his own ki.


    The old female screamed, the sound tearing from her throat as she arched backwards. Her joints popped, and her muscles spasmed, sending her into convulsions. Bloody foam gathered at the corners of her mouth. The humans stared, horrified.


    ¡°Give her the medicine!¡± Kaz barked at Elder Long, and the human jerked his head back, forcing himself to look away from his mate. He held out his hand, and a golden orb formed in his palm. It looked too large for a human to swallow whole, but he shoved it into his mate¡¯s mouth and down her throat with a grim determination that showed how he had reached the peak of human power. He would do whatever he had to do to achieve his goal.


    The scream choked off as the medicine moved down into the female¡¯s body, ki pouring through her channels, filling her dantians. Only a moment ago, those channels had connected to her core, rather than a lower dantian, but now one formed before their eyes, opening like a night-blooming flower Kaz had spent an hour watching one night in camp.


    This ki was different from what a natural core produced. It was refined from the ki of the world, but separate from it, and Kaz could finally see how it could then be made into something entirely different. All ki was one, part of a whole, but this had been removed from that cycle, that whole, at least for as long as it was held within this human shell. No wonder the conflict between this and her core had nearly torn her body apart.


    It was done. Kaz and Li sat back, opening a single pair of eyes that split into two pairs only with the greatest reluctance. There in front of them lay a human female, white hair daubed liberally with stinking goo, as was her face. But that face had changed. No longer was it ancient and wrinkled, blank of thought or strained with agony.


    Now it looked like Lianhua, but softer, with a rounder chin and cheeks that sagged gently. Faint wrinkles still splayed out from her eyes, but when she blinked them open, their deep amethyst hue had shifted to a more natural purplish blue. Kaz had destroyed her core, but Li had removed her dragon, leaving only a human behind.


    ¡°Baihe,¡± Elder Long said as Lianhua gasped, ¡°Grandmother!¡± The two fell forward, arms going around the stinking figure lying before them. Slowly, her arms came up, clasping her mate close as she gently stroked Lianhua¡¯s white hair.

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-three

    Lianhua took her grandmother into her tent to bathe her. Yingtao went as well, but Elder Long and Chi Yincang stood outside the entrance to the tent, waiting. Raff went ahead and started cooking another meal, even though it hadn¡¯t been that long since breakfast, at least according to the movement of the sun. Kyla sat by the new fire, stroking Mei, with a contemplative look on her face.


    When the three human females emerged, all clean and wearing fresh robes, Elder Long immediately went to his mate, wrapping her in an embrace as tears poured down his face. Everyone else looked away as the female began to stroke his hair gently, though Lianhua bit her lip fiercely as she clutched at Yingtao¡¯s hand.


    No one interrupted the reunion of the pair, simply moving away gradually as they found their own things to do. Eventually, Raff brought back a deer for their meal. They¡¯d often startled the beasts from the brush as they passed, but Raff hadn¡¯t hunted one before, so Kaz hadn¡¯t been sure if they were good to eat. It turned out that they were, but they took longer to dress and cook than rabbits, so Raff had settled for the small and plentiful rabbits instead.


    Eventually, when conversation had begun to fall back into its usual patterns, mainly led by Raff, who could joke even in the most serious of circumstances, Elder Long and his mate joined them all by the fire. The Elder held his mate¡¯s hand, refusing to release it even when he bowed deeply to Kaz and Li. ¡°I wish to introduce my wife, Lady Baihe Long. Baihe, these are Kaz and Li, who have returned you to me and freed us both to ascend at last.¡±


    Kaz had known something like this was probably coming, and managed a bow in return, his fist against his chest. Li, however, spread her wings like human females spread their skirts, her long body curling into graceful arches that caught the rays of sunlight filtering in from the edge of the overhang. Kaz didn¡¯t know how she always managed to be in the perfect spot to highlight the beauty of her scales and the grace of her form. Did she plan it out ahead of time, just in case it was needed?


    Baihe gave a smile that was remarkably like Lianhua¡¯s, when Lianhua was presented with an unknown rune or a new book. ¡°It is my honor to meet you both,¡± she said, crossing her hands in front of her as she, too, bowed deeply. She glanced at her mate as she straightened, saying, ¡°I hope that you will honor me with your story. Lianhua has told me a little, but I believe there is a great deal more to understand.¡±


    When she met Kaz¡¯s eyes, she looked so much like her granddaughter that he chuffed a laugh. ¡°Do you also study runes?¡± he asked.


    She smiled, a distinct twinkle visible in her eyes. ¡°Oh, no. My granddaughter has always been a greater scholar than I. I am, however, fascinated by people. Everyone has a story, and no matter how common they may believe it, each and every one has something to teach. I believe yours may have more than most.¡±


    Kaz generally didn¡¯t like to talk about himself, but Li did, and Baihe quickly picked up on this. With only a few open-ended questions, she soon had Li rambling on about everything from first becoming aware of how disgusting Kaz¡¯s backpack was, to the taste of red ki-crystals compared to black ones. Apparently the yellow ones were her favorite, which was something Kaz hadn¡¯t known, but felt like he should have.


    As Li spoke, everyone else began to as well, correcting or adding to the dragon¡¯s comments. Soon they were all giggling over the description of Kaz tumbling head over tail as he learned to control how quickly he ran with ki-infused legs, or jumped too far and bashed his head against the ceiling.


    This finally drew Kaz in as he defended his actions, and it wasn¡¯t long before he was describing his experiences with Nucai, and his suspicions about the reasons his own family might have acted the way they had after leaving the Deep. His sister Katri was the only one left alive to ask, and somehow he found himself lingering over his conflicting feelings for her.


    When he finished speaking, he looked up, finding gentle blue eyes resting on him. Baihe reached out and patted his hand. ¡°You¡¯re going to see her soon, aren¡¯t you.¡± She wasn¡¯t really asking, but he nodded, and she gave him a small smile as she said, ¡°Then you can ask her yourself. There¡¯s never anything to be gained by speculating about the motivations of others. We can only ask, and then do what we must.¡±


    Kaz had managed to hold back a few very important things. He hadn¡¯t told them he¡¯d died at least twice, nor that he wasn¡¯t sure he was exactly a kobold any longer. He definitely hadn¡¯t mentioned the fact that Katri wasn¡¯t actually his sister, at least not by birth, and he didn¡¯t now. In every way that mattered to his tribe, he was Kaz, son of Oda and Ghazt, brother of Katri. And Baihe was right. Katri felt the way she felt, was who she was, and at this point, he didn¡¯t think he could change that. All he could do was move on with his own life, with or without her.


    Seeing his determination, Baihe patted his hand gently, then sat back, snuggling against her mate¡¯s side. Elder Long had barely spoken or moved, simply watching his mate with wonder and love in his eyes. Kaz would never have guessed that someone so powerful could care for someone else so deeply, but there it was, and it gave him a little hope he barely dared to acknowledge.


    ¡°Now,¡± Baihe said, and something in her eyes shifted, becoming more focused as she looked at the dragon curled up beside Kaz. ¡°Li, please tell me what you meant when you said I was a dragon. And how is it that that made me yours?¡±


    Li twitched, and Kaz could feel her touch their bond as if for reassurance. He laid his hand on her shoulders, just above her wings, and she relaxed slightly, leaning into the touch. <The first Diushi emperor was a dragon named Qiangde,> she said. They¡¯d gone over this, so everyone nodded, but with varying degrees of understanding and belief.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    <Qiangde had many mates and many young,> Li went on, <and some of them were born with cores, more dragon than human. Qiangde liked being emperor, but what he really wanted was to ascend, like humans can. He wanted to become more powerful and leave this world, but no one born with a core can do that.>


    Li paused, and all eyes turned to Kaz as he said, ¡°I think what you humans call beast cores are where the ki of this world comes from. We¡­make it, somehow, and as we use it, however we use it, some enters the air, like water turning into clouds. Once there, it becomes mana, which is far less dense, and made of-¡± He struggled to find the right words before simply saying, ¡°Everything.¡±


    <All living things contain at least some power, whether it¡¯s mana or ki,> Li said, looking around. For a moment, their vision slipped a little further into the special sight that had once belonged to Kaz alone. The world lit up in a glory of power, the members of their group each shining in their own unique patterns, while all around them were plants and tiny animals. Some bore mana alone, while others had tiny sparks of ki, somehow refined by the simple process of living.


    ¡°But some humans have learned to intentionally pull apart mana into its component pieces, using what they can and casting off the rest,¡± Kaz said, looking at the humans from the Sheng Empire. ¡°Lianhua said some of them could even condense a core from this ki, but until I met Elder Long, I didn¡¯t understand what she meant.¡±


    Now even Li was watching him, but Kaz was talking to himself as much as to them. ¡°We know alien creatures sometimes come to this world through the Gate. I¡¯ve only seen a few kinds, but some had mana, and some had cores and ki. Heishe - the Divine Snake - keeps talking about balance, and the Twelve, and their role in the world. And I don¡¯t know what it means, not yet, but I think humans also came through the Gate, or at least something like a Gate, probably a very, very long time ago. And when they - you - take in ki and refine it, you also gather a tiny bit of whatever power came from that other world. That is what you make into a core, and it is¡­incompatible with the ki of this world.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes were huge. ¡°Which is why humans who condense their own cores are eventually forced to ¡®ascend¡¯. But is ascension really just returning to the world where we originated?¡±


    Kaz shook his head, letting his tail wag gently. ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I never will. I was born with a beast core, and I won¡¯t give it up, even if I could.¡±


    Baihe had her hand pressed to her abdomen now, and she said, ¡°My mother was a daughter of the third wife of the previous emperor. My father¡¯s family also claimed direct descent from the Diushi emperor, though their records were destroyed during the upheaval after the court vanished. You¡¯re saying that I had enough dragon blood in me to have a dragon¡¯s core?¡±


    Li nodded. <It was very small. I don¡¯t think it could have supported even a very small dragon, but for a tiny human like you, it was sufficient.>


    ¡°At least until you started trying to form a human core,¡± Kaz said. ¡°The medicines you took forced that other power into your body, tearing you apart from the inside. Whatever you finally did allowed you to create the core you wanted, but there was nowhere for it to go, no way for it to meld with or replace the core that was already there. It shattered, and in doing so, broke you as well.¡±


    <You can¡¯t ascend with a native core,> Li said, <which is the answer to Qiangde¡¯s question. He would have had to destroy his own core and replace it with a human one.>


    ¡°As you did for me,¡± Baihe pointed out, as if it was simply a fascinating fact, and her life hadn¡¯t been hanging in the balance.


    <You were human in every way except your core,> Li admitted, though not without some reluctance. <It was so small that your body had adapted to be almost entirely independent of it, which is the only reason you could cultivate mana and refine ki. When someone with a proper core tries to cultivate the way humans do->


    ¡°The pressure of our own ki prevents the mana from entering,¡± Kaz finished. ¡°We have only what we can produce ourselves, which is why beasts are usually weaker than trained humans.¡± He thought about the brief time he had spent as Qiangde. The dragon had been incredibly powerful. There was no way Jianying could have beaten him if he hadn¡¯t been so badly injured.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Qiangde could possibly have survived the process, even if he figured out how to do it. His core was simply too strong, too integral to his being.¡± Kaz told them.


    Elder Long spoke for the first time since they¡¯d sat down. ¡°But Baihe can ascend now? She can form a core? A proper one?¡±


    Li glared at him. <Her dragon core was a proper one,> she muttered.


    Kaz stroked her neck. ¡°I think so. The fact that she survived to this point is very promising. It¡¯s also possible, however, that she will - what do you call it? - ¡®stall¡¯ in her cultivation.¡± Elder Long opened his mouth, but Kaz shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing more we can do. You humans must handle it from here.¡±


    Baihe laid her hand over his. ¡°And that¡¯s as it should be, Yufei-ai. Even with all the cultivation pills in the world, we must each earn our own power. You taught me that.¡± Elder Long¡¯s jaw flexed as he gritted his teeth, but he nodded, then tensed as Kaz stood. Li stood as well, and together, they bowed toward the two aged humans.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to go to the portal now,¡± Kaz said, looking toward his cousin. Kyla had definitely lost focus when they began talking about how cores and ki worked, and now she was tossing small chunks of deer meat to her fuergar. Kaz wouldn¡¯t have thought it possible, but he would swear the creature was even rounder than she had been just the night before.


    Kyla threw the last lump of meat to Mei, then stood, licking her greasy fingers. ¡°Finally!¡± she exclaimed.


    One of Kaz¡¯s ears twitched, and he laughed softly. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been wondering what I should do when we get there, but this conversation has helped me decide.¡±


    His cousin tilted her head as she scooped up her portly fuergar. ¡°Decide? I¡¯m going to tell the great chiefs that we¡¯re waiting, and they¡¯ll open the passage.¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°Unless you figure out how to open it without them?¡±


    The look of admiration and absolute confidence she gave him was heart-warming, and Kaz regretted having to disappoint her. ¡°You¡¯re going to howl to the chiefs,¡± he told her. ¡°Li and I are going back to the top of the mountain. Back to where our story began.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-four

    Everyone stared at Kaz, and he half-wished that he still felt comfortable just sneaking away when he was ready. He¡¯d promised Lianhua, however, and it wasn¡¯t like they wouldn¡¯t understand soon enough.


    ¡°Li can tell where other dragons are, at least familiar ones,¡± he told them, ¡°and she¡¯s been sensing one since an hour or so ago. He¡¯ll be able to take us to the cave.¡± Well, Li would probably insist on flying herself, even though she was still small enough to cling to Yanshi¡¯s back. She was certain that was who waited for them, though she couldn¡¯t speak to him from here.


    ¡°A dragon¡­is waiting for you,¡± Raff said, then rubbed his hand over his short fuzz of curls and muttered, ¡°Well, of course it is. And why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡±


    Lianhua blinked, then said, ¡°It¡¯s one of the ones who went with Snen, then? Is Snen there as well? I have so many questions, and I didn¡¯t even really get to talk to him before-¡±


    Kaz shook his head. He¡¯d lost some of his own certainty about where other kobolds were, and this close to the mountain all he could feel was ¡®many¡¯ and ¡®near¡¯. He thought he would know if Snen was with Yanshi, but Li was certain she would sense Intong, and Snen¡¯s dragon-brother wasn¡¯t here. Kaz was almost certain Snen wouldn¡¯t leave Intong behind, or vice versa. ¡°It¡¯s just Yanshi. He should have some news about what¡¯s happening with the xiyi, though.¡±


    Baihe and Elder Long knew who Snen was, thanks to the story they¡¯d just been told. Still, Baihe¡¯s eyes were alight as she said, ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? I want to meet a real dragon!¡± Her cheeks colored instantly, and she crossed her hands in front of her, bowing her head to Li. ¡°Another dragon, of course.¡±


    Kaz believed he knew what she meant. Li was beautiful, but compared to other dragons, she was still small. Not small enough that he wasn¡¯t worried about what would happen when they needed to slip quietly through the narrow passages of the mountain, but also not one of the massive flying reptiles whose claws and teeth could be as long as a human¡¯s forearm.


    Li hissed softly, but seemed to understand. Still, when she began to beat her wings, lifting from the ground, the last sparks of the dying fire flew up, sparkling red motes surrounding her shining form. Only Kaz could see the wisps of red ki that gathered those sparks into the perfect shape, accenting the arch of her wings and the length of her neck and tail, and there was a round of soft gasps as his dragon circled slowly, allowing everyone to admire her before flying out into the open air.


    <I¡¯m going to go meet him,> she sent back, and then she was gone, following the feeling of ¡®dragon¡¯ that Kaz could only sense through her.


    Baihe chuckled softly as she grasped her mate¡¯s arm. ¡°She has a great deal of pride, doesn¡¯t she? Well, that must be a draconic trait.¡± Her eyes sparkled in a way that made Kaz remember that she herself had more or less been a dragon, descended from other dragons. She probably had a great deal of experience in dealing with this particular quirk.


    Kyla had only a few pouches she¡¯d found somewhere and the remains of her burned, smelly pack, while Raff¡¯s storage device was quite small, at least according to him. These two quickly gathered their things and went to ready the horses, which Raff had tied up outside where they could graze. This left everyone else to go around and use their large-capacity storage devices to once again pack away the remnants of their camp, while Kaz watched with barely suppressed impatience.


    Honestly, Kaz had enough ki by now that he could have everyone else behind and simply run toward the glimmering chain that bound him to Li. He was no longer worried about meeting an enemy he couldn¡¯t defeat, nor finding himself without enough power to reach his destination, and he was reluctant to leave Li alone with Yanshi. He knew that she needed the company of her own people, but it was so hard to watch it happen.


    Still, he waited, and rode slowly with the others, following the wide path of mud left by last night¡¯s rain. The horses walked along, their legs chilled and heavy, and Kaz surreptitiously sent each one a trickle of red ki, warming them and encouraging the muck to dry and flake away. Elder Long took his flying sword from his ring, and this time both he and Baihe rode it, their ki intertwined just as their arms were.


    They heard the dragons first. A deep, rumbling roar was answered by a softer, lighter one, and Kaz could feel Li¡¯s amusement through their bond. Then a flash of gold shone through the trees, followed by a green that blended in with the leaves, and Kaz saw them; the larger dragon was attempting to catch Li¡¯s small, darting shape, which slid through gaps Yanshi had no chance of passing. His neck was almost as long as Li¡¯s whole body, though, and when Li saw Kaz and suddenly changed course, heading straight for him, Yanshi snapped playfully, making it clear he could have caught her tail if he¡¯d wanted to.


    <Kaz! This is a game dragons play!> Li cried, ignoring Yanshi as she circled over Kaz¡¯s head. <It helps them learn to change direction quickly, and dodge attacks in the air. Yanshi says I¡¯m very good at it already!>


    The great green dragon settled to the ground with a surprisingly gentle thump. That made sense, though. The xiyi wouldn¡¯t want their mounts skidding and hopping to a halt the way Li still did when she wasn¡¯t careful.


    <She is fast and strong,> Yanshi said approvingly. <I would welcome her in my flight.>


    ¡°Flight?¡± Lianhua asked. She and her grandmother were watching the green dragon with matching expressions of admiration and wonder.


    <The group of dragons with whom we live is called a flight,> he said, arching his neck proudly. <Kus Ukark knows much of the way my people once lived. A great deal has been lost, but once we are all free, we will rediscover it all.>


    ¡°You were able to find Kus Ukark and the others, then?¡± Kaz asked. ¡°How are Snen and Intong?¡±


    Yanshi nodded solemnly. <They are all well. It seems that Ganring took a large number of the xiyi queen¡¯s servants with him to the human city, and many of them died. That has left their forces weakened, and the ones who remain are not good at using the qiu stones. They are only able to resist us because they are hiding within the incubation chamber.>The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    He snarled, baring many very sharp teeth. <They threaten to destroy the eggs there if we do not yield, but Snen and the Kus have a plan. All will be well.> He said this with the same confidence Li often used to hide her own worry and uncertainty, and Kaz felt his heart clench. Could these xiyi truly be so ruthless as to destroy an entire generation?


    As if sensing Kaz¡¯s concern, Yanshi lowered his head to Kaz¡¯s level, looking him in the eyes. <It will be well,> he repeated, and this time Kaz nodded. Snen and now Yanshi had made it clear that this was their battle, and Kaz would respect that. He could only hope that it went as well as Yanshi believed it would.


    <Li says you wish to go to the nesting cave at the top of this mountain,> Yanshi said, raising his head again. <I was here because I told you I would watch for you, and at least for now I am not needed at home.> He sighed, then spoke with a hint of frustrated amusement. <It seems I am too large to enter the passages around the incubation chamber, and we have already subdued the bound dragons.>


    Kaz nodded understanding, then allowed his eyes to dip beneath the surface of Yanshi¡¯s scales, examining the dragon¡¯s upper dantian. To his relief, it was already slightly better than it was the last time he saw it. The holes had closed, though there were thickened areas where they¡¯d been. He would have scars, and, unlike Baihe, there were no pills he could take to repair them.


    ¡°If you keep healing so well, I think we¡¯ll be able to try removing the ¡®ephemeral¡¯ rune in a few weeks,¡± he told his large, scaly patient. ¡°But I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything we can do about ¡®viscid¡¯. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll just have to remove that one from any young you have when they¡¯re hatched.¡±


    <Are the runes there in the egg? Could you remove them then?> Yanshi asked, eyes intent.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°They may be there, but I¡¯d have to see an egg to be sure. If they are, touching a dragonling¡¯s dantians before hatching is a risk I don¡¯t really want to take. I think it¡¯s best to wait. Removing the runes immediately after hatching should be safe and relatively simple. That¡¯s what I did with Li, and I understand a great deal more now than I did then, so there should be no difficulty.¡±


    Yanshi settled back on his haunches, sighing softly. <If a dragon without runes takes a mate who still has some or all, what will happen to their offspring?>


    That was an excellent question, and one Kaz had no answer for. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to see. The runes may be weaker because of the unruned parent, or there may be no difference at all. I think as long as at least one mate still has ¡®viscid¡¯, there¡¯s no avoiding at least some transfer.¡±


    The green dragon¡¯s toes curled, long claws digging into the wet soil. <I thank you for your honesty,> he said, then stood. <Are you ready to go?>


    Kaz had expected to have at least until they arrived at the portal field, but he nodded and slid down from his horse, handing the reins to Raff. The beast seemed pleased to be further from the large predator, rolling its eyes at the dragon as it sidled away uneasily.


    ¡°I¡¯m going, too!¡± Kyla immediately declared, swinging her leg over her own horse¡¯s back. She was holding Mei, who seemed disinclined to run around today.


    Kaz hurried over and laid a hand on his cousin¡¯s leg, holding her in place. ¡°You have to stay,¡± he told her. He met her eyes, hoping she could see his sincerity. ¡°I would be lucky to have you at my side, but if anyone can figure out how to open the portal early, it will be you. Early or not, when the portal opens, you have to be there. Your family will be terribly worried, and if you truly want to be the liaison between kobolds and humans, you must be there when they meet.¡±


    ¡°Then you should stay, too,¡± she told him stubbornly, but he could see her indecision in the way her ears flattened and her tail drooped.


    ¡°If you wait for the normal cycle, then I have a week to get down through the mountain,¡± he reminded her. ¡°You¡¯ll arrive first, but it shouldn¡¯t take me much longer to reach the Deep, not as I am now. Just,¡± he paused, then looked around at the entire group, ¡°please don¡¯t tell anyone I¡¯m coming. I think it¡¯s very important that my arrival is a surprise to everyone. Even Ija and the other chiefs mustn¡¯t know.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears perked back up. ¡°Why not? This should be the best spirit hunt howl ever, but if I can¡¯t mention you, half of it will be missing!¡±


    Kaz laughed. ¡°You can tell them all of it after I return. Please, Kyla.¡± He gave her a warrior¡¯s salute, and after a long hesitation, she returned it. Before he could turn away, however, she leaned toward him, holding out Mei, who looked back at him with bright eyes.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s something wrong with Mei,¡± Kyla whispered. ¡°I may have fed her too much.¡±


    It was all Kaz could do to maintain his serious mien; ears up and tail still. Reaching out, he gently stroked Mei¡¯s side, feeling the bulge of her belly as his ki-sight told him all was well inside. ¡°Take good care of her, and she¡¯ll be fine. I would stop giving her so much cheese and bread, and instead feed her metal and meat, though.¡±


    Reminded, he reached into his pouch, taking out several bars of gold, as well as one of mithril. He had plans for the adamantium, but this was just extra, and he thought the fuergar would put it to better use than he could, anyway.


    ¡°Give her these,¡± he said, passing them to Kyla, who grunted beneath the weight of the gold. ¡°Make sure she eats all of it over the next few days, and don¡¯t worry about her. You might make her a little nest or something, though. Someplace warm, soft, and dark.¡±


    By now, Lianhua, Baihe, and Yingtao were all looking at him with dawning understanding, though the males all seemed either uninterested or uncomprehending. Well, they would figure it out soon enough. The important thing was that his cousin looked less worried. He really did wish he could stay to see her reaction when Mei ¡®recovered¡¯, but he thought that was still up to a week away, and he simply couldn¡¯t wait.


    Kaz started to walk away, then paused and looked up at his cousin again. Her eyes were huge, and her ears flat, but she was holding herself stiffly, refusing to give in to her anxiety. Reaching out, he touched her hand. ¡°I would be sad¡­if anything happened to you. Please be safe.¡± Kyla jerked, then nodded once, sharply, before giving the soft yip of acknowledgement usually used by puppies when their older family members gave them instructions.


    Crossing to Yanshi, Kaz waited until the dragon lowered himself down and bent a leg for Kaz to use to climb up. This time, he pulled a thick cushion he¡¯d acquired from Raff¡¯s house out of his pouch, and laid it over the area of skin with missing scales. The flesh was no longer red and angry-looking, but he had no doubt it was still tender.


    Climbing on the dragon¡¯s back, Kaz took hold of two of the long spikes ahead of him. He wasn¡¯t settled quite as firmly with the cushion beneath him, but he could hold the spikes as hard as he needed to, since they were like fur or claws, and wouldn¡¯t hurt Yanshi unless they were plucked out, which he obviously wouldn¡¯t do.


    Finally, he looked down at his friends, seeing faces that had been not only strangers but utterly foreign to him only a few months before. Now, many of them were precious to him, and he hoped that they would all be safe while they were apart.


    ¡°Bright howls,¡± he told them all, and as Yanshi lifted from the ground, he heard their voices wishing him well.

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-five

    The flight up the mountain was both cold and utterly glorious. Kaz used his ki to keep himself from freezing, as well as protecting his eyes from the whipping winds. Li flew just beyond the tip of Yanshi¡¯s wing, and together they watched as grass and trees gave way to stone, with only an occasional determined shrub clinging to the steep mountainside.


    There were a few lakes, as deeply blue as the sky, but so clear he could see through to the bottom. Li wanted to fly down and dive into them, but that water had to come from the snow at the top of the mountain, so Kaz sent her an image of a frozen dragon, bobbing to the surface of a tranquil lake, and Li reluctantly gave up on the idea, at least for now.


    The mountain grew ever colder, narrower, and steeper, until it was nothing but pure white snow barely concealing the craggy stone beneath. The wind blew fiercely, just as Kaz remembered from being Qiangde, and Li had to pull on the fire at her core in order to stay warm. Kaz wondered if this was part of the reason all the dragons he¡¯d seen had fire ki, and Qiangde had struggled so much without it. Without it, did they simply grow too cold and fall from the sky if they went too high?


    By the time they reached the top of the mountain, which was far larger than Kaz had somehow expected, in spite of knowing that it couldn¡¯t truly be as fine as a knife point, Kaz was hunkered down against Yanshi¡¯s neck. He had enough red ki to keep himself warm, but that was only if he was willing to deny it to Li. His dragon - far smaller than Yanshi - was using every bit she produced to keep herself comfortable, but she was tiring quickly. Once they stopped, her ki would refill rapidly, but that didn¡¯t help her while she was still moving.


    When the cave opening came into view, Yanshi instantly turned toward it, as did Li. Kaz tried to think as loudly as he could when he said, <Li, go to the cave entrance, but don¡¯t go inside without me. Yanshi, can you fly me up a little higher?>


    <I¡¯m coming too,> Li insisted immediately, turning to follow as Yanshi curved away from the side of the mountain.


    Kaz sighed, but honestly, he wasn¡¯t surprised. He¡¯d been trying to save her from exhausting herself, but she would make her own choices, and that was as it should be. <We¡¯re looking for a plant. I don¡¯t know what it will look like, but->


    He stopped abruptly as something that he would have called a bush appeared, stark against the brilliance of the snow. It was little more than a single, fragile branch, with a few small twigs springing from it. Six leaves flickered in the wind, showing green one second, then golden the next. Its roots were hidden by snow, but Kaz could see them, reaching deep into the mountain for whatever nourishment it managed to eke out.


    Those roots, indeed every part of it, were filled with ki. Not just the normal amount of power hidden within every living thing, but a fierce, blazing glory of gold, shining so brightly that Kaz blinked against it, barely able to make out its physical form.


    <There,> he said, pointing, but Li had seen it as well, and swooped down in an attempt to land beside it. As soon as her feet touched the snow, however, it began to slide away, and both dragons quickly withdrew as a cascade of snow began. Like a rockslide, it gathered more of itself as it went, until an enormous cloud of snowflakes engulfed a roar that was utterly different from any Kaz had heard before.


    Only Kaz¡¯s ki-sight told him that that tenacious life still clung there, and the two dragons flew in circles as the snow settled again. His connection to Li was filled with her embarrassment and weariness, but sheer stubbornness outweighed them both. Kaz could feel her growing weaker, however, and he nearly told them to head for the cave. If its entrance had been covered, Li would have a hard time staying in the air until he could dig or melt a way in.


    Fortunately, the air cleared just before he gave up, and they could see the little plant again. Its roots were partially exposed now, and he could see that it had a few more branches, though they were just as thin as the others. There was no fruit, though he hadn¡¯t really expected there to be, but the ki continued to flow within it, steady and solid as the rock to which it clung.


    <That¡¯s it,> he said, not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. He¡¯d like to be able to approach the tree, but he wasn¡¯t willing to risk dislodging more snow. What if he accidentally destroyed a plant that had probably been clinging to life for nearly a thousand years, or, possibly worse, the snow really did manage to block the cave opening so they had to try and make it back down the mountain again?


    Li gratefully circled away from the twig, which bent in the chill wind, leaves flickering a green and gold farewell. This time Yanshi followed Li, and fortunately, though the dark hole in the mountain was noticeably smaller, it wasn¡¯t covered. Li flew in easily enough, but Yanshi had to extend his claws, digging into the rock that was hidden beneath the fresh piles of snow. Kaz clung to the sharp spines ahead of him, his pillow falling away to tumble down the mountain, shivering as Yanshi burrowed inside, covering them both in snow.


    The temperature grew noticeably warmer as soon as they were in out of the direct wind, but Kaz didn¡¯t pay any attention to that. Instead, he stopped and lifted his nose, sniffing deeply at the air. This¡­felt right. He was finally where he was meant to be. Objectively, it hadn¡¯t been that long since he left, but it seemed like a lifetime. So much had changed, though it was really only his understanding that made everything feel different. He supposed that was what Heishe meant when she told him that the world ¡®is as it is¡¯.


    <If this is the correct place, then I¡¯ll leave you here,> Yanshi said, making Kaz open his eyes. The green dragon was standing near the entrance to the cave, shifting from foot to foot uneasily. His eyes were locked on the scattered, broken remnants of stalactites and the traces of long-dried blood that streaked the floor and walls.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Yanshi bowed his head. <Be safe,> he said. <You still have many dragons to save.>


    Kaz chuffed a small laugh as the dragon turned, walking out onto the narrow ledge that extended beyond that cave¡¯s mouth. He usually seemed so large, but Kaz thought he was smaller even than the smaller of Li¡¯s parents. The other parent, the one who had probably been killed by Jianying, had filled the entire opening, and Jianying himself hadn¡¯t even been able to get inside. But Yanshi was able to half-spread his wings before launching himself back down the mountain.


    <This is it?>


    Li¡¯s voice was small and sad. When Kaz turned toward her, he saw that she was staring at the largest pool of dried blood. Cautiously, she stretched out a talon, as if to touch the dark stain, then backed up, tail twitching as she hissed and clicked, vapor coiling from her mouth.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Kaz was at her side in an instant. Crouching, he embraced her, pulling her slender body against his, until she was on him as much as beside him. He stroked her head as if she was a frightened pup, and her trembling stilled.


    <Gaoda took the bodies,> she said. <My siblings.>


    Kaz nodded. ¡°He took some, and he had Chi Yincang take the others. We¡¯ll get them back. The broken shells and blood, too. Your parents had brought in various metals as well, but those are-¡± He looked around, finally seeing the scattered remains of the nest. The battle had destroyed any semblance of organization, but once he and Li began looking, they were able to gather some chunks of raw iron, copper, silver, and even nickel. Kaz remembered there being some gold, and what might have been adamantium, but they weren¡¯t there now.


    ¡°Here¡¯s a piece of shell,¡± he said triumphantly, carefully tugging it from a crevice in the floor. It was partially hidden by a chunk of rusty iron, which was probably why Gaoda hadn¡¯t found it. The palm-sized fragment was mostly white, but there were bright blue speckles scattered across its surface, and a scrap of thin membrane clung to the inner curve.


    Li had been piling the metal together, as if rebuilding a nest she couldn¡¯t possibly remember, but now she hurried over. <Which of my siblings did it belong to? Did they survive?> She sniffed at it, her tongue flicking out to taste the dry, brittle membrane.


    Kaz shook his head. He didn¡¯t know how many times he¡¯d rewatched his memory of both the hatching and the attack, as well as the times before when he simply came to observe. When Li was newly hatched, and they could communicate only through images and emotion, he had shown her this place over and over again. It was like a bedtime howl a puppy demanded every day, no matter how many times their parents had repeated it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t dare get close to the eggs,¡± he told her, even though she already knew. ¡°I didn¡¯t want the parents - your parents - to smell me, so I stayed close to the jejing and jiao.¡± He turned and looked for the wide, deep patch of moss where he¡¯d spent so much time, especially those last days. Both mosses had such strong smells that it would be difficult for any creature to sniff out anything that might be hiding there. At times, jiao was even used to cover a hunter¡¯s scent, though it made some kobolds sneeze so often that the benefits were countered by the constant noise.


    To his surprise, however, the moss was gone. Instead, there was a broad area of blackened stone, where only a few small pieces of burned, dead moss still clung. Was he looking in the wrong place? But no, there was the narrow crevice that would take them into the mountain. That certainly hadn¡¯t moved, and neither had the entrance to the cave, which was directly across from it.


    Touching the stone, Kaz frowned. Who had done this, and why? Fire didn¡¯t just happen inside the mountain, not unless one of the rare pockets of deadly gas was released by a rockfall or beast, and a spark struck nearby. Ghazt had taught Kaz to recognize the smell of these, however, and he had never caught even the slightest whiff of danger here.


    <Do you think the fulan made it here?> Li asked, and Kaz¡¯s hand stilled, leaving a paler streak on the stone where he¡¯d wiped away the ash. He hadn¡¯t even thought of that. But surely the fulan had been contained to the mid-levels? Zhangwo had said the stairs were supposed to prevent it from passing, but he¡¯d intentionally allowed it through to punish the mid-level tribes for some supposed transgression. Unless the husede and kobolds who now ran the city there had somehow allowed the power controlling the stairs to fail?


    ¡°I hope not,¡± he said. ¡°Most of the tribes in the heights have only a few females who could burn out fulan. If it reached this high-¡± He couldn¡¯t finish.


    Li turned and looked back out over the cavern. It seemed so cold and empty without the two large dragons and their pile of eggs. The metal Li had gathered sat in the middle of the space, covering less than one fifth part of the original nest, while being significantly less deep. Perched at the top of the pile was the single piece of eggshell.


    <We should go find out,> Li said. <There¡¯s no point in worrying.> She walked toward the crevice, and Kaz saw immediately that it was going to be difficult for her to pass through. Even he had lost more than one clump of fur to the pieces of jagged stone, and while Li¡¯s body was slender enough, her wings could only fold so much. Still, even Raff had made it, so Kaz was confident that Li could, too.


    But to his astonishment, she stopped, and her ki pulled in abruptly. Her core started spinning much more quickly, but she held the ki it produced in a smaller and smaller space. As he stared, she began to shrink.


    It lasted for only a moment, Li¡¯s body momentarily losing definition as it drew in on itself. When it was over, her size was noticeably reduced, back to the size where she had been able to cling awkwardly to Kaz¡¯s back with her front legs perching on his shoulder. She would still struggle to get through some of the smaller passages, but so would Kaz.


    ¡°How did you-?¡± he tried, barely able to contain his awe.


    Li snorted, but her neck curved in the way it did when she was particularly proud of herself. <You proved that with a strong enough image and a sufficient amount of power, you could change your shape. I watched Qiangde¡¯s memory when he changed, too. And I know precisely how it feels to be this size, so it wasn¡¯t exactly difficult, once I tried it.>


    She looked away, muttering, <Though I did end up with two different sized wings once, and spent far too long flying in circles before I figured it out.>


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°How long have you been practicing this?¡±


    She sniffed softly, still refusing to look at him. <Ever since you said you had to come here. I knew I¡¯d hold you back if I stayed the size I should be.>


    Kaz felt his heart ache as he thought of the amount of time, ki, and effort his dragon must have put in for him. She wasn¡¯t a person who liked to work, so the fact that she was able to maintain her focus long enough to figure this out was a silent declaration of her love.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said softly, then, ¡°Can you get bigger, too?¡±


    She hissed in frustration, her tail lashing. <No! I wanted to be as big as Yanshi the next time we met him, but I don¡¯t know how it feels to be bigger, so whenever I try, the ki just falls out, and I stay the same.>


    At the mention of Yanshi, Kaz felt his heart clench in his chest. Why did she care about the green dragon, anyway? They¡¯d only just met, while Kaz had been with her since she hatched. Of course, Yanshi was a dragon, and Kaz wasn¡¯t, which was the simple fact of the matter. Even if Kaz took a dragon¡¯s form, he¡¯d no more be an actual dragon than he was a human when he looked like one, and Li knew it.


    With a soft sigh, Kaz stroked Li¡¯s head, gently tracing the delicate oval shape of a smooth scale before gently scratching the itchy spot just behind her horns. ¡°You¡¯ll be big soon enough,¡± he said. ¡°But now you can come and visit me, even when you¡¯re as large as this mountain.¡±


    Li stared up at Kaz, her golden eyes as inscrutable as Chi Yincang¡¯s dark ones. Then she shook her head, releasing a small cloud of water vapor before turning away and entering the crevice. Her scales rasped against the stone, but she passed through easily, leaving Kaz to follow after her.

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-six

    As Kaz started to put his paw through the crevice, he paused, glancing back around at a particularly dense patch of shadow. ¡°Are you coming, Heishe?¡± he asked.


    The serpent slithered into view with a slightly amused hiss. She was in her second smallest shape, about two feet long, with a pure black-scaled body and no hood. <i wondered if you would forget.>


    He snorted softly. ¡°How could I, with you lurking like that?¡±


    Heishe hissed again, thoughtfully this time. <you¡¯re the first to notice me in¡­a very long time.>


    Something about that statement spoke to a loneliness so deep Kaz doubted Heishe was even aware of it any longer. Were all Divine Beasts so solitary, or was it this one in particular? Then he remembered Fengji, and the story of the twelve beasts who were meant to guard the balance of the world, whatever that was. The Rooster was a gregarious creature, and several of the beasts had been described as friends. Could they even have families? He suspected - hoped - that the answer was yes.


    All of this went through his mind, but he didn¡¯t dare ask. Perhaps he would have if she was Fengji, but probably not even then. ¡°Are you coming?¡± he said instead.


    Without replying, the snake came to him, winding her way up the arm he extended, then slipping down to rest atop the thick belt around his waist. She tucked her head under her tail, once again taking on the appearance of a simple black leather belt, and showing no interest in continuing to speak.


    By now, Kaz was used to the serpent¡¯s nature, so he simply nodded to himself and turned sideways, edging through the passage. Instantly, the dim illumination offered by the slanting sunlight faded to almost nothing, leaving Kaz to make his way through by memory. It wasn¡¯t a short crevice, and several times his fingers found that a protrusion they remembered had been broken off, and now rolled under his paws. Had the humans done that when they made their way through? Poor Raff must have been scraped raw, since he had to remove almost everything he was wearing in order to fit. Though on second thought, perhaps not, but only because of his cultivation level.


    Kaz emerged to find Li waiting impatiently for him, a pale ki-light hovering over her head. <Why didn¡¯t you make a light?> she demanded, looking up at hers.


    He shrugged. ¡°It didn¡¯t seem right. I never used a light after I found the dragon nest. I couldn¡¯t risk alerting the dragons that I was there.¡±


    She sighed, but didn¡¯t argue the point. <Which way do we go?>


    They stood in a small open area. Kaz and Katri had paused here, waiting for the humans to squeeze through. Raff took a terribly long time, and now Kaz knew that Chi Yincang probably could have cut away at least the narrowest parts, making it much easier for the larger male. Had he not offered because he was still pretending to be Gaoda¡¯s loyal servant, or did it tickle his strange sense of humor to listen to Raff¡¯s constant muttered complaints?


    ¡°Right,¡± Kaz said, after examining two dark tunnels. In the distance, he could hear the familiar chittering of fuergar and the soft screams of janjio. The creatures were braver up here, since no kobolds lived this high up in the mountain. Kaz now understood that the ki here was too thin to support their bodies as they were meant to be. Whatever it was that made his people become ¡®Fallen¡¯ had already begun by the time they came here. His tribe had been perilously close to the end, while believing they had further to go.


    Li eyed the opening to their right suspiciously. It was noticeably smaller than the left, though larger than the passage they¡¯d just come through. <Can¡¯t we go the other way?> she asked plaintively. She was a fierce combatant in a close-up fight, but even better if she could use her wings to carry her out of reach in between attacks. Her instincts didn¡¯t like entering a tight space when there was a larger one available.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°Katri and I took the humans left, mainly because of Raff, but also because the path is easier. Right is shorter.¡±


    <I like easy paths, too,> Li muttered, but headed for the smaller tunnel. The ceiling was low, which was actually better for her than for Kaz, but the edges of her wings scraped the walls whenever it grew narrow, while Kaz could turn sideways and spare himself the worst of it.


    Li maintained her ki-light, and Kaz stared at the area around him. Most of the time, he used a small firemoss torch to light his way and keep back the relatively small, weak creatures that lived here. As a result, everything around him had always flickered with orange and yellow shadows. There weren¡¯t many plants this high up, but he looked at the ones there were, as well as the rock formations, with new eyes. Had baimo lichen always been such a pure, true white? Was the green of the rougu mushroom¡¯s gills always such a virulent shade?


    Reaching out, he plucked a mushroom from a small patch that clung to the wall above his head. A few drops of water turned the stone a crystalline gray, and the mushrooms were noticeably larger than ones that grew without visible water nearby. They also glowed softly with black ki.


    <What is that?> Li asked, pausing to look at it.


    He offered it to her. ¡°Rougu. Don¡¯t you remember? It was the only mushroom you would eat when we were lost in the between levels. I thought it was because it tastes like meat, but it has a little ki in it, too.¡±


    Li bit the cap of the mushroom off, leaving Kaz with a slender stalk. She licked her lips daintily. <It¡¯s not terrible. I like ki-crystals better.> She eyed him expectantly.


    Kaz took the hint, his tail wagging as he pulled a black ki-crystal from his pouch. He didn¡¯t have many left, but he hoped he could refill his bag when they reached the former mosui city. He was trying to avoid having anyone notice the theft, so he hadn¡¯t taken many, but he wasn¡¯t as worried about that now. Though he could probably just go to the mines and gather his own at this point.


    Li ate the crystal, and they continued on, past waterfalls of stone, stalagmites as wide as Kaz was tall, cascades of quartz that glittered in Li¡¯s light, and a thick vein of gold that showed obvious signs of being eaten by fuergar. Li sent Kaz an image of Raff, armed with a pickaxe, attempting to mine the gold while swarms of rodents assaulted him for taking away their favorite food, and Kaz laughed, the rough, barking sound echoing down tunnels that were far from empty.


    At last, they came to what Kaz had been heading for. It was a huge pit in the floor, one of many that some long-forgotten person or group had attached chains to. The links of the chain were as thick as Kaz¡¯s arm, and it was bolted to the ground near the opening, dropping away to vanish into the depths below. The scent of rust hung heavy in the air, but he¡¯d come this way whenever he was in a hurry, and he was sure it would hold. Plus, the pit was large enough that Li could simply fly down, and he knew that would make her happy.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    As indeed it did. His dragon launched herself into the air with the excitement of a pup given free rein to run around in the den. Her light went with her, but she quickly realized she¡¯d left him in what passed for the dark when Kaz could see all the life around him. She flew back up, and Kaz grinned at her, tongue lolling, before turning so he could grasp the chain and lower himself down.


    As the humans had once done, Kaz pushed a little extra ki into his hands and paws, digging the sharp claws into the stone as he simply slid downward, the chain thudding through his hands. It was a little awkward, simply because the links were so large, but Kaz was sure that if he managed to slip, Li would catch him, at least long enough for him to catch hold again.


    They reached the bottom almost too soon, and Kaz wiped his rust-covered palms against the fuulong silk of the loincloth Lianhua had given him. He was glad to be wearing it again, not least because he knew he could do things like coat it in rust without actually damaging it. He¡¯d gotten used to having clean, sweet-smelling fur, and though he had a good amount of water and some of Lianhua¡¯s unguents in his pouch, he couldn¡¯t stop and wash every time he touched something distasteful. It was amusing to find that he was now as focused on his cleanliness as Lianhua. Well, perhaps not that much.


    Li hissed at him softly as a patter of rust fragments fell on her tail. <If you get to be clean, so do I,> she told him, and he laughed again. It was so good to be home. Home, but not, because everything was different now. Better, because he was with Li.


    ¡°This way,¡± he told her, stepping around a particularly large chunk of smoky quartz. It caught the light, his movement reflecting in the four sides he could see, so he didn¡¯t realize that the thick, barbed tongue was spearing toward him until it was too late.


    Li rammed into Kaz, pushing him out of the way, so the lopo¡¯s tongue smashed against the quartz, breaking off several pieces of gray crystal. Before he could think better of it, Kaz reached out, grabbing the tongue just above its poison-tipped barbs and pulling, hard. There was a loud crack, and something fell from overhead. Kaz had pulled the lopo from its place.


    The monster lay sprawled on the ground, oozing a thick fluid from its base. Its ¡®mouth¡¯ was splayed open, revealing row upon row of curving teeth. For the first time ever, Kaz could see that there were two tiny black pits in the narrow end, and they caught the light as they rolled wildly. Were those eyes? What kind of vision did a lopo have?


    Kaz held onto the tongue with his left hand as he pulled his mage-blade from its sheath with his right, pushing a little ki into it as he did so. The hard outer shell of a lopo was all but impervious to ki, at least at the strength most upper-level female kobolds could wield. Kaz didn¡¯t bother trying, just turned, stretching and wrapping the tongue around the quartz to keep it out of the way, then stabbing his blade deep into the creature¡¯s mouth. It released a shriek like cracking stone, and more of the viscous fluid poured out as he yanked his blade free.


    Only when it no longer moved did Kaz release the limp tongue and step away. His heart was pounding, but he realized that his teeth were bared, and he felt a fierce pleasure in the kill. This lopo hadn¡¯t killed his mother, Rega, but one like it had. These powerful ambush predators were far and away the most dangerous creatures in the upper levels, and Kaz had killed one, all by himself.


    Li puffed a cloud of water vapor at him, and he blinked. Looking down at the dripping blade in his hand, Kaz¡¯s fierce pride drained away to slightly self-conscious pleasure. He didn¡¯t regret the kill, but it was possible that he hadn¡¯t needed to be quite so enthusiastic about it.


    <Does lopo taste good?> Li mused, walking over to sniff the body. This lopo wasn¡¯t nearly as large as some of the ones the humans had fought when they tried to reach the ¡®ruins¡¯ in the cavern where Lianhua had nearly died, but its body was five feet long from base to tip, and its tongue had been almost three times that length.


    Gagging, Li recoiled, skittering back as quickly as a small dragon could. <Its mouth smells like the Cliffcross sewers,> she said, staring at Kaz accusingly, as if he had intentionally made the creature stink.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t eat it,¡± Kaz told her. He strode forward, narrowing his eyes as he caught sight of a faint glimmer in the thickest part of the corpse. This lopo had had a core, though not a particularly large or strong one. It held mostly white Metal ki, but there was some red Fire there as well. Oddly, he felt no urge to dig it out and eat it, for which he was profoundly thankful.


    <What would happen if I ate it?> Li asked, though she sounded more than a little dubious.


    Kaz frowned. Li had never shown any particular interest in eating the cores they¡¯d come across, so he hadn¡¯t ever thought about it. Surely they wouldn¡¯t actually hurt her, though. Dragons ate ki-filled meat, and as far as he knew, the best way to get that meat was to hunt a beast with a core. Parent dragons didn¡¯t dig the cores out and discard them before feeding their young or themselves, did they? Unless they did, but Li¡¯s parent hadn¡¯t had time, and that was why some of Li¡¯s siblings had become overwhelmed by the ki they¡¯d taken in? Looking back, he wondered if their small cores had actually broken beneath the flood of power, and winced internally, tucking that thought away before Li caught it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you should try,¡± he told her. ¡°At best, you would probably get some of its memories along with its ki.¡± He thought of something else, though, and his fingers flexed on the hilt of his mage blade. What would happen if he cut out its skull and took it to Katri as a trophy from his spirit hunt? He¡¯d seen a small lopo skull before, and it had been worn with pride by the warrior who¡¯d killed it. This one would be far larger and more impressive.


    Then his fingers rose to the subtle ring of golden fur around his throat. No, he didn¡¯t need a warrior¡¯s necklace, or Katri¡¯s acknowledgement. He knew he was an adult, and a warrior, and that was all that mattered. He had made his own necklace, and what greater trophy could he have than proof of the ability to shape his own body into anything he imagined? Well, anything he imagined and understood, because it was probably still a bad idea to try shifting into a shape he wasn¡¯t completely comfortable with.


    <If you¡¯re done almost dying, where do we go now?> Li asked, but he could feel the worry beneath her words. The lopo might or might not have been able to spear him, but that attack would certainly have hurt either way, as would burning the poison out of his system if he¡¯d had to do so. Worse, what if the thing had gone for Li? She was strong, but not as strong as him. He needed to be careful, and stop getting lost in his own thoughts.


    And speaking of being lost¡­ Kaz turned, orienting himself. It had been a while, but Kaz never got lost. ¡°At the other end of this cavern, we¡¯ll find a tunnel that slopes down. It¡¯s steep, and the ceiling is low, but it should be more than wide enough for your wings, at least most of the time. When we get to the bottom, we¡¯ll be-¡±


    He broke off. The mountain was ¡®home¡¯ in some very general sense. It was the place he belonged, where he felt most comfortable. It was what his strange sense of direction oriented him toward every minute of every day. But within it, he¡¯d had a dozen ¡®homes¡¯. Far more than a dozen, if you counted the places where the Broken Knives hadn¡¯t even stayed long enough to finish learning the territory.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be in the last Broken Knife den,¡± he said. ¡°The place where Rega died.¡± His tail tucked tight against his legs, but he straightened his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going to find her. Whatever is left of her. And I¡¯m going to howl her to the ancestors.¡±


    Li pressed against his legs, and he felt the soft vibration of her body as she said, <Teach me that howl, too. I want to help.>


    Jerkily, Kaz nodded, reaching down to lay his hand on her head. ¡°It¡¯s a good howl,¡± he told her. ¡°Rega will be glad to hear your voice.¡±

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-seven

    Entering the abandoned den was as eerie as he¡¯d expected it to be. The huts remained where they¡¯d been when everyone left, the tattered leather and tied-together bones looking even sadder now that he¡¯d seen dens from the heights to the Deep. There were only twelve huts remaining, and even though some of the kobolds who¡¯d lived in them were still alive, it was obvious that no one had bothered to return and attempt to retrieve them. Not that that was terribly surprising, given that as far as they knew, some terrible creature still stalked the level.


    Kaz and Li used the rear entrance, the one that led to the small water source, since the Broken Knives hadn¡¯t been able to find a defensible den with water in it. There were a few good-sized caverns with just enough water seeping from the walls that they produced a decent amount of yumao, duyu, toufa, and even some jejing, which was unusual at this level. Kaz had seen no sign of fulan, even here, so he hoped there was some other explanation for the burned moss in the dragon cave.


    As soon as they entered the den, Li took off, flying near the high ceiling until Kaz reminded her that even the short time this area had been abandoned was enough for young lopo to move in. The ones that could still move were rarely longer than a hand, but their poison was just as effective as that of the adults. After that, Li dropped down several feet, skimming just over the tops of the scattered huts, low enough that an immature lopo couldn¡¯t reach her with its short tongue.


    <She¡¯s here,> she said after a minute of skimming over the area, but Kaz already knew. Death had its own scent, and though it had been partially covered by jejing and whatever had happened to the body in the last few months, it was unmistakable. There were multiple sources, as well, so Kaz had more work to do than he¡¯d thought.


    Oda¡¯s body was where Kaz and Raff had left it. The jejing was dry, and some small scavengers had found her, but the remaining fur was a deep, familiar crimson. Her necklace still hung around what remained of her throat, but several of the beads and gems were missing, perhaps carried away by fuergar, who liked shiny things.


    Kaz removed an old, dirty cloak from his pouch and placed it over her, gathering the body up into a surprisingly small bundle. He carried this back to the center of the den, where the stone was blackened from many exposures to burning firemoss. This spot had been used to burn the bodies of fallen tribe members, but also to prepare food, because there was a crack just above where smoke vanished into the ceiling.


    Oda and Rega were the only females left who were strong enough to produce a good fire, and they¡¯d needed to conserve their strength in case they had to defend the den, so cooking was done over firemoss, which infused everything with its own sharp flavor. Kaz had never really wondered about this, since few tribes at these levels had strong females, but the Broken Knives were the cast-off members of a great tribe. How was it that they had become so weak, so quickly?


    <Should we howl to her, too?> Li asked uncertainly, staring at the sad remnants of the female Kaz had always believed to be his mother.


    Kaz hesitated. His first instinct was to say no. Rega and the other adult females had still been preparing Oda for her two-day mourning period when the core-hunter appeared, so she hadn¡¯t had a howl, but she also didn¡¯t have a core any more. That essential part of her was missing, never to return. At least, not unless Katri had eaten it.


    But in the end, he nodded. ¡°Everyone deserves a howl. Without it, a spirit can become lost, and never find its way to the ancestors at all. Refusing her that won¡¯t undo her actions, only make me no better.¡±


    <Nothing you would do could be that bad,> Li muttered, but nodded. She¡¯d landed on the largest hut, the one where Oda and Katri slept, and the secret exit was hidden. Kaz had glanced inside, but even with Li¡¯s help, he couldn¡¯t see anything different from when he looked in here just before tracking Rega and the others down. There were even a few small scrolls scattered around, and Kaz was fairly certain Katri would have taken those if she¡¯d returned. Kaz tucked them into his pouch to look at later.


    Together, they tracked down the other sources of the smell of rot, finding two more bodies hidden down side tunnels. They were males, and it was difficult to be certain who they had been, since most of the Broken Knives had fur that was some shade of red, but Kaz thought they were Gin and Kol. Gin was older, a contemporary of Ghazt and Oda, but Kol had only become an adult a few years ago, and Kaz remembered when they¡¯d gathered together as pups. He wouldn¡¯t say they¡¯d been friends, but Kol had never been aggressive or cruel, either.


    Kaz carried the two back to where Oda¡¯s body waited, then went out once more. He was still watching for any sign of the terrible hunter that had chased his tribe from their home, but he had yet to see any signs of life other than the ever-present fuergar and a few other small creatures.


    The former food storage cave was utterly empty, except for a few chunks of sulfur that had been shoved out of the way, probably by the same fuergar it was meant to deter. The entrance to the fuergar nest was narrow and winding, but Li refused to remain behind, and Kaz didn¡¯t argue. If the hunter really was here somewhere, he wouldn¡¯t leave his dragon alone to face it.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    To his surprise, the nest was as empty as the den had been. The smell of the rodents was still strong, but not recent, as if they¡¯d left the area at least a week ago. They must have eaten all of the metal, and moved on to a new, better seam of ore.


    Rega was right where Kaz and the others had left her. The fuergar hadn¡¯t overlooked this source of food, but they hadn¡¯t eaten everything, and Kaz crouched beside the sad little pile of remains for far too long before he could bring himself to gather it up. Reaching out, he touched the cord around her throat. Like Oda¡¯s, her necklace was gnawed and missing several beads, including the crystals that had been on the necklace she bore in his place.


    <I can do it,> Li said gently, resting her chin on his shoulder as he slumped beside what was left of his mother. She held out her nimble hands, flexing her clawed fingers, and Kaz chuffed a tiny laugh.


    ¡°I know you could,¡± he quickly reassured her, ¡°and I appreciate it. But this is mine to do.¡±


    <You always say that,> she told him, curling closer as they looked at the pile of white bones and garnet fur. <But sometimes it doesn¡¯t have to be.>


    Slowly, Kaz nodded and took a fresh, clean tunic from his pouch. He tied the bottom together, and then he and Li filled it with Rega¡¯s remains. To no one¡¯s surprise, they didn¡¯t find her core.


    After that, they returned to the abandoned den, placing Rega with Gin and Kol, while keeping Oda to the side. Kaz used Oda¡¯s remains to teach Li what he knew of the traditions surrounding death. As a male, he hadn¡¯t been included in the preparation of female bodies, but he tucked fresh jejing around Oda as best he could, placing the long bones of her arms at her sides. Only then did he step back and call his ki, setting her ablaze in a burst of ferocious heat.


    He kept the howl simple. It started off low and rough, and since Oda had no living mate, and Kaz wasn¡¯t truly her son, he used the howl of a tribe member, short and simple, then called to the ancestors. He knew the call well, had participated in the howl too many times to count. Usually, he added only the smallest parts, howling as an unrelated pup, but he¡¯d heard the lead, and when he threw back his head and raised his voice, it sounded exactly as it should. Li joined in at the end, just in time to return to the original sound, a soft, raspy whine that tore at the throat.


    Only when Oda¡¯s body had been reduced to a smear of black ashes did Kaz call back his power. Smoke coiled away through the crack in the ceiling, and when the air cleared, there was no sign of her body except a lingering heat rising from the stone.


    ¡°Fair howls, Oda Broken Knife, Oda Magmablade,¡± he said. ¡°Find peace with the ancestors.¡± This was the mildest and most impersonal thing he could think to say, and he found that he meant it. Oda was a complex female, and she had had little to recommend her by the end, but at one point she had been someone that Rega loved, and for that alone, he found that he couldn¡¯t hate her.


    At last, Kaz turned to Gin, Kol, and Rega. The ceremony for the males was even simpler than the one for Oda. They each got a bundle of jejing moss that Kaz placed on top of their ribs, along with their arm bones. They should get a weapon, as well, but Kaz didn¡¯t have any extras, so he had to forgo that, though not without a whispered apology. Li roared along with him the whole way through the howl this time, and if she didn¡¯t always get it right, that was fine.


    When the bodies were nothing more than ash, Kaz let the fire die again, saying, ¡°Kol, may you have all the tanuo you can eat, and Gin, I hope you find your mate quickly.¡± Kaz remembered Kol sneaking bites of tanuo when they found a cluster, many years before. Gin¡¯s mate had died years ago, sometime in the mid-levels, and Gin had never seemed truly happy since.


    Which left only Rega. Once again, Kaz packed some of the jejing he¡¯d gathered on their way down to this level around her, and placed her arms at her sides. Family members often brought trophies and food for the deceased to take to the ancestors with them, and Kaz laid several soft rabbit skins beside her, along with a loaf of bread, half of a cooked rabbit, several berries that had been carefully preserved in his pouch, and a large chunk of cheese. He hoped she and the ancestors could enjoy these strange items together. If any of his human ancestors were there, they might even remember these things and be able to explain them to the others.


    That done, Kaz brought out Ghazt¡¯s firestriker. He¡¯d considered leaving this with Rega, but couldn¡¯t quite bring himself to do it. Instead, he laid it in his hand so the smooth metal curved along his palm. With a sharp click, he brought the flint and the metal together, sending a bright spark through the air. It was unnecessary, of course, but he thought both Rega and Ghazt would have appreciated it, and together, Kaz and Li urged the fire to burn.


    It did; larger, brighter, and hotter than any of the others. It spread across bare stone, which cracked in the heat. Huts began to blaze, sending everything the Broken Knives had left behind up with the female who chose to remain, hoping to delay their stalker long enough to allow them to escape.


    This time, Kaz used the howl of family. It was longer, higher, more mournful, and his voice ululated above the fierce crackle of the flames. He held a shield around himself and Li, holding back the worst of the heat and smoke, and around them the den burned.


    When everything was gone, leaving the stones themselves shattered and black, Kaz allowed his ki to withdraw. He and Li were both drained of red ki, though it was already pouring back into their channels from their powerful cores, but even as he blinked against the dizziness caused by throwing off his balance so badly, he couldn¡¯t regret it. No one would ever enter this cavern without knowing something terrible had happened here.


    ¡°Bright howls, Rega Broken Knife, Rega Magmablade, Rega, mate of Ghazt Woodblade, mother of Katri and Kaz. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for taking on the burden of a life-debt when even Ghazt believed there was no choice but to place it on me. I don¡¯t know why you made the choices you did, but I believe they were made because you loved your sister, your mate, your pups, and your tribe. I hope you find happiness with our ancestors. Say hello to Ghazt for me.¡±


    The stones beneath his paws were still hot, so Li climbed up on his back, wrapping her tail tightly around his middle as she rested her head on his shoulder. Together, they walked out of the den, leaving it to the darkness.

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-eight

    While there had been little doubt that the Broken Knives¡¯ den would still be where he¡¯d left it, essentially untouched, Kaz wasn¡¯t as certain about the Longtooths - or rather, the Longknife tribe, now that the two were combined. It was possible that Katri would have had them move, if only to start fresh together.


    But when Kaz arrived at the outskirts of the former Longtooth territory, he found that it was still clearly marked. The totems had changed slightly, with the long teeth of the skulls now painted gray on the bottom and brown on the top. He supposed if you looked at it correctly, it might seem like knives were protruding from the jaws, but if Katri had allowed him to stay, he would have done a much better job.


    And what would his life have looked like? He would have spent two months as a Longknife, unless Katri decided to get rid of him another way, perhaps by trading him to a tribe on a lower level. If she allowed him to stay, would she have sent him on his spirit hunt? Would she have officially chosen his mate? He¡¯d already had Li by the time he left, but would he have been able to keep her hidden, or would he have taken her up to the dragon cave and set her free?


    <I¡¯m glad you weren¡¯t here,> Li told him fiercely, butting her head against his knee. In the short time she¡¯d spent being too large to be carried, she¡¯d grown used to the independence, and now often preferred to walk on her own. Rather than being able to snuggle against Kaz, she¡¯d begun leaning into his leg, and he was glad his body cultivation had come so far, because even at her current size, her head was hard, and her horns were pointy.


    <I am, too,> he told her, laying a hand on her head. They weren¡¯t trying to be quiet, but Kaz also didn¡¯t want anyone to overhear their conversation, and kobolds had excellent hearing. They were well within Longknife territory, and though they didn¡¯t have patrols - which was a good sign that Katri hadn¡¯t immediately gotten them into vara - he could run into hunters or gatherers at any time.


    It took several more minutes to pick up the familiar sounds of many paws on stone and the soft murmur of voices talking about what kinds of plants they¡¯d found. They had found a gathering group, then, which was almost worse than meeting hunters. Gatherer guards were jumpy, since they were protecting puppies, while hunters were confident in their ability to take care of themselves, and should be willing to stop and talk.


    <Should we go around?> Li asked as Kaz paused, uncertain what to do. Then a puppy yelped softly, and another one gave a soft mock growl, and Kaz nodded. He¡¯d like to see these pups, see if they looked happy and healthy, but he didn¡¯t want to frighten them.


    Leaning down, he picked Li up, and she surrounded them with her own form of camouflage. She hadn¡¯t used the one she learned from Kyla since it failed her at the stadium, and seemed to be somewhat leery of fire in general. She had even stopped practicing her fire breath, and was focusing again on water and vapor.


    As they drew closer to the den, they heard more and more of the sounds that made him remember so many years of gathering with the other pups of his tribe. There was a constant low murmur of yips and short howls, as well as the movement of bodies through the narrow tunnels. He even caught sight of what he thought might be cores, faint smudges through the walls. Was one of them Katri¡¯s? When he¡¯d lived with the Broken Knives, he¡¯d tried so hard to keep his power from filling him to the point where he could see, and when he¡¯d failed at that, he¡¯d avoided any of the females for fear that they would be able to see his power in return. If only he¡¯d known then that that sight was his alone, what could he have learned from Katri, Oda, and Rega¡¯s cores?


    He and Li avoided another group of gatherers and a pair of guards. The hunters were probably further out, near the edges of the territory, where there were still creatures unwary enough to remain near a kobold den. Kaz knew he should have Li drop their concealment, but something in him wanted to see his sister for a few unguarded moments, if he could manage it.


    It seemed that fate was on his side, because as he approached the main entrance to the den, he could smell the spicy scent of jiao and fuergar, along with the richer aroma of toufa. It was almost time for a meal, and judging by the way the guards kept glancing back into the den, it was probably dinner. Once their replacements had eaten, they would come and take their place, allowing these two to get food. It wasn¡¯t good for the tribe that the guards were so distracted, but it worked well for Kaz and Li, who slipped in while both males were staring longingly toward the corner of the cavern where the delicious smells originated.


    Li had dropped their camouflage whenever no one was nearby, but she¡¯d been holding it for almost five minutes this time. It wasn¡¯t so much that she was running out of ki, but the level of concentration it took to continually ¡®convince new mana that they were part of it¡¯ was mentally exhausting. Sensing that she was reaching her limit, Kaz slid along the wall until he reached a hut with no ki inside, and entered.


    Thankfully, the interior was dim and quiet, allowing Kaz to set Li down on the small furs sewn together to make a covering for the floor. That was already more than Kaz had had for most of his life, since the furs from his kills were usually needed to make loincloths and repair hut walls. He wondered if this hut belonged to a male or female, and a quick sniff told him two kobolds slept here; a mated pair, then.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    A bell rang out, the pleasant chime telling all the kobolds the food was ready. The guards at the entrance gave the low ¡®come home¡¯ howl, letting the gatherers and hunters know as well. Anyone who heard the howl would repeat it, even out to the edge of the tribe¡¯s territory, until everyone was back.


    <Where do you think Katri is?> Li asked. Her head drooped a little, but her eyes were bright as she looked around. She created a small ki-light, brightening the interior of the hut, and they were able to see a few items neatly piled near the back. There was a warrior¡¯s pack, small and light, but with a long tear down one side. Next to it sat a folded loincloth, with brightly-dyed leather and beads made of polished gems and bones, indicating it probably belonged to a female.


    <She¡¯ll be in the food cave,> Kaz said, crouching to look at the pack. The damage looked rough, the edges ragged, so either an accident or a beast attack, not the clean slice of an edged weapon. That was another good sign, as was the rising sound of soft chatter outside. These kobolds didn¡¯t sound angry or unhappy. Kaz doubted they¡¯d simply forgotten their former chief and her family, but he hoped the cheerful yips meant no rebellion was simmering beneath the surface.


    <Can we find her hut?> Li asked, lying down on her belly so she could peer beneath the bone and leather door. Shadows cast by hurrying paws passed by, but no one stopped or even slowed. Li was very good at covering their scent, so Kaz wasn¡¯t worried someone would sniff them out, but there was always the possibility that one of the owners of the hut would decide to enter. They needed to make a plan and move.


    He tilted his head, ears twitching thoughtfully. <You think we should just wait for her there? Not even show ourselves to the rest of the tribe?>


    Li turned to look at him, and he could feel her trying to find the right words for what she wanted to say. <Are you going to come back here? To live?>


    Instantly, Kaz shook his head. <Never.>


    <Not even if Katri tells you she¡¯s sorry, and she wants you to come home?>


    This time he hesitated for a bare moment, but his head shake was as firm as before. <This isn¡¯t my home. It never was. I¡¯d be happy to visit Katri if she wants me to, but that¡¯s it.>


    Li huffed a little sigh and sat back up. The number of paws going by outside had slowed already. This wasn¡¯t a huge tribe, though it was much larger than the Broken Knives. The majority of the members should be close by, and most kobolds had an excellent sense of time, allowing them to start heading for the den a little while before they needed to be there. That meant almost everyone except the guards should be eating by now.


    <If others see you, will Katri feel like she has to force you to submit, if only to prove she can?> she asked bluntly, apparently having decided that the right words were honest ones.


    Kaz froze, staring at her, but she was correct. He had become so used to being treated as a person in his own right that he¡¯d forgotten about the way Katri had always expected him to instantly do as she said. He was her brother, but until she took a mate, he was also the male who was supposed to protect and obey her. When they were alone, she sometimes softened that with a distant sort of affection, but when anyone else was around, her ability to control him was a reflection of her own strength, and Katri was never willing to appear weak.


    <She¡¯s not that bad,> Kaz tried, but he knew Li might be right. When they were young, Katri had cared about him, he was sure, but the older they got, the more she seemed to view him as an extension of her, just a thing without its own needs.


    If his sister had eaten Oda¡¯s core, she might be even worse now. He hadn¡¯t seen it when it was all he knew, but Katri had been manipulating him for years, giving him just enough attention so he willingly came to her, even when he was unhappy. When those dregs of affection were all he got, other than what Rega dared to offer, it seemed like so much more than it was.


    Bowing to his dragon¡¯s greater wisdom - and when had that happened? - Kaz waited until no more kobolds passed by their hiding place. Li hid them again, and then they went hunting. Kaz¡¯s eye quickly picked out the largest hut, and they checked it first, but to Kaz¡¯s surprise it seemed to be a communal hut, holding supplies such as zhiwu web and neatly labeled medicines, as well as a few furs, weapons, some filled water bladders, and a several packs of dried meat, ready to be carried away in case of an emergency.


    Next to this one were two huts of almost the same size, and the first one they checked smelled strongly of Katri. Her scent had changed slightly, but there was no mistaking it, so Kaz and Li slipped inside and settled down to wait. The one thing Kaz had been worried about was that Katri might have taken a mate already, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Others had been in and near this hut, but the pile of soft furs smelled of Katri alone.


    Time passed, paws once again scratching their way toward their own places, and Kaz began to wonder if this was the mid-day meal after all. Hunters usually ate part of their catch or dried meat for that meal, though, and the howl to come back had definitely been for everyone. There was no way it was breakfast, not with gatherers out already, so Katri was simply taking her time going home after she ate.


    Li grew bored, and began pacing around the edge of the hut. She walked across Katri¡¯s bed, ignoring the fact that she was getting her scent all over it, as well as messing up the neat pile, but stopped close to the bottom. Using a claw to delicately hook one of the furs, she lifted it, revealing¡­a book. Oda¡¯s book.


    Somehow, Kaz hadn¡¯t even thought to look for this. It wasn¡¯t as though he¡¯d forgotten it existed, because he most definitely hadn¡¯t. Perhaps it was that he was afraid of what he might read within those pages, if he could read it at all, and so he¡¯d pushed all thought of it away. But here it was, and there was no one here to tell him he wasn¡¯t allowed to look at it.


    Without a word, Li pushed the book toward him, and Kaz opened the fragile cover.

 Chapter Two hundred ninety-nine

    Someone had torn out several pages from the front of the book. The ragged edges protruded like the stumps of old, worn teeth. The damage looked old, so he suspected Oda had done it herself, and for a moment, Kaz just touched them, wondering what had been going through her mind. The Magmablades treasured the books left by their chiefs, and he suspected that damaging one - even if it was your own - would have been frowned upon. And to tear out these first, early pages¡­wasn¡¯t that like destroying the record of your own childhood?


    But no, Kaz knew exactly what those pages had contained. According to Lianhua, every chief¡¯s book started the same way. They copied Tegra Magmablade¡¯s story, rune by rune, and only when they¡¯d completed that were they allowed to begin writing their own tale. Oda had destroyed the words that were the very foundation of the Magmablades beliefs, the thing that drove them to murder and treachery.


    The top of the first whole page was loose, and Kaz looked at it, seeing that it, too, was half-torn from the cover. The page itself was rumpled, as if it had been clutched in someone¡¯s fist, then smoothed out again. The runes were simple and clear, and while Kaz didn¡¯t recognize all of them, he was able to figure out that Oda had been very young when she wrote them.


    Lianhua had said that some of the Magmablade chiefs wrote only what they needed to: names of tribe members, births, deaths, and any warnings for following generations. Others wrote as if speaking to a trusted friend, and to Kaz¡¯s surprise, Oda¡¯s book started out that way. She wrote about what she ate, where she went, and how much her mother¡¯s rules annoyed her. She also mentioned other kobolds, and one name in particular was repeated over and over, usually in the happiest passages.


    Not that that happiness lasted long. As the runes became sharper, more confident, Oda talked about her mother more and her friend less. She boasted of being powerful, of leading, and rarely mentioned anyone other than herself.


    Then something shifted. It was hard to understand exactly what was going on, but Kaz thought Oda had gotten into an argument with someone. A sister? An aunt? Then the name of her friend was written in harsh, angry lines, dragged deep in the pressed sheet of yumi-reed paper. There was a rune that looked like ¡®tree¡¯, and then the one for ¡®knife¡¯, which had to be the Woodblades, and her friend was gone.


    Rega. That was when Rega left to learn from the Woodblade healer. The friend - the only one Oda had, so far as Kaz could tell - was Kaz¡¯s mother. He flipped through pages, looking for the rune for Rega¡¯s name, only to pause when he saw ¡®Woodblade¡¯ instead.


    There was a mark that could be used to indicate whether a rune was male or female, and ¡®Woodblade¡¯ suddenly gained that mark, becoming male, rather than neutral. Oda hadn¡¯t even known Ghazt¡¯s name, then, not at first.


    Kaz focused on a particular passage that was written with a slightly softer hand, looking more like that in the earlier part of the book. A new name-rune appeared, and Kaz had no doubt who it was. Ghazt.


    Oda had gone to carry Rega¡¯s request to take Ghazt as her mate. She intended to make certain her sister and this Woodblade were never¡­together? Was that the rune for mate? But then she saw Ghazt, and suddenly his rune was everywhere. She was happy, at least for a little while, when she thought that she could convince Ghazt to be her mate, rather than Rega¡¯s.


    And then the runes grew even sharper and more furious. There was a dark red smear down one side of the page that Kaz sniffed, taking in the scent of blood that was probably older than he was. Ghazt had refused Oda absolutely, and she was barely coherent, the strokes of her runes tearing the paper, or smudged into one another in an unintelligible mess.


    Kaz leaned forward, squinting. Not that he couldn¡¯t see, but why did that rune seem so¡­oh. It was death. At first, Kaz thought Oda was saying that she was going to kill Ghazt, but there was a new name-rune, one with a female marking. It was similar to Rega¡¯s, but the age quadrant indicated it was older, and¡­


    Vega. Oda had found out that Vega planned to kill Ghazt. If Oda knew why, she didn¡¯t write the reason down, but she had gone to the location of the gas explosion that killed Ghazt¡¯s friends and very nearly took his life. She had dragged him away, at first planning to get help, but then realizing that if she cared for him herself, he might see her in a new light. The blood on the page belonged to Ghazt.


    Kaz flipped through several pages. There were far too many runes he didn¡¯t know, couldn¡¯t even guess at, but finally Rega¡¯s rune appeared again. Ghazt was injured far more badly than Oda had realized. Something on the inside of his body was damaged, and if Oda asked for help now, everyone would believe she was responsible for everything, not just hiding Ghazt for a few days.


    So Oda asked Rega for help. She had set aside her own pride and gone to her sister. She and Rega had cared for Ghazt together. It wasn¡¯t that Rega followed Oda and stole him from her evil sister,. Instead, they had set their differences aside and cared for him, taking turns watching over him so no one would guess, until he was recovered enough that he could go home and explain to his family and his tribe what had really happened.


    Except that something changed. The ¡®mate¡¯ rune was there along with Rega¡¯s name, but it was slightly different, the timing quadrant indicating urgency. If Kaz had to guess, that was when Katri was conceived, and Oda was angry all over again when she found out.


    Her runes went deep and sharp, difficult to read until Vega¡¯s name came up. That rune was repeated over and over, and Kaz suddenly realized that Oda wasn¡¯t angry, or at least not just angry - she was afraid. She was afraid of Vega, and what might happen if Vega discovered that not only was Ghazt alive, but Rega was going to have his pup.


    Kaz pushed the book away, blinking in confusion. Who was this Oda? Yes, she was selfish and arrogant, both of which were very familiar, but it was obvious that she cared about Rega, at least in her own way. She hadn¡¯t been behind the plot to kill Ghazt, and while she had tried to convince him to take her as his mate, refusing to accept that his ¡®no¡¯ was final, she had only made a nuisance of herself. How in the world had this Oda become the one he¡¯d known? How was it possible that she¡¯d changed so much? Unless-Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    <Kaz!> In the periphery of his vision, Li shifted to the oddly faded colors that meant she was now hidden by her camouflage. He spun just in time to see the door to the hut open, and a female kobold walk in. He barely even recognized his sister, whose body had slimmed down and developed real muscle, while her shoulders had firmed into a straight line. Her ears were the only thing soft about her, drooping slightly with weariness, at least until her silver eyes landed on Kaz. Her mouth dropped open, and she gasped. And there it was. Her honest reaction to his presence, without any posturing or opportunity to prepare herself. Relief. His sister was, if not glad to see him, at least pleased that he was alive.


    Then her ears flattened, her tail stiffened, and Katri growled, ¡°How did you get here without my guards seeing you?¡±


    Kaz didn¡¯t answer. He was too busy studying her core. It was a bright one, mainly filled with red ki, but with a strong thread of blue as well. Still, it wasn¡¯t as powerful as one of the great chiefs. ¡°You didn¡¯t eat her core,¡± he murmured, filled with a powerful relief of his own. If Katri had eaten Oda¡¯s core, she would be much more powerful than this. She¡¯d never been weak, he was sure of that, and her core looked about right for what he believed she¡¯d been born with.


    Katri¡¯s jaw fell open again. ¡°What? Eat whose core?¡±


    ¡°Oda¡¯s,¡± Kaz said, laying his hand on the book that was now slightly behind him.


    His sister¡¯s lip lifted, and a low growl rumbled in her chest. She had always been pretty, but though she was powerful, she left it up to Kaz to physically intimidate anyone who needed to be put in their place. It seemed that without him or another strong male at her side, she¡¯d had to develop her own body. Now, she actually looked intimidating, and Kaz was proud.


    ¡°Why would I?¡± she demanded, taking a step forward. She stabbed a claw toward the book. ¡°Give that to me. You can¡¯t even read it.¡±


    Kaz picked the book up, but rather than handing it to her, he touched a finger to the page. ¡°Vega¡­desires - no, wants to - end Rega and¡­the Woodblade,¡± he read carefully. Interestingly, it didn¡¯t say Woodblade with the male marker, but the neutral form, and he started to focus on the page, wondering what Oda had been writing about. Katri¡¯s hand splayed across the runes, covering them, and her fingers trembled slightly over his.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she whispered. ¡°There¡¯s nothing good in that book.¡±


    Kaz lowered it from beneath her hand, closing the cover, though he kept a finger on the page. ¡°What does it say, Katri? Is this,¡± he waved the book, ¡°the reason you hate me so much?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t hate you,¡± she snapped, trying to grab the book. Kaz was quite a bit taller than her, however, so he simply held the book up to the roof of the large hut. In response, Katri threw a tiny ki-bolt in his general direction, and though there wasn¡¯t enough to do much more than give a normal kobold a minor burn, Kaz raised a shield and allowed the bolt to splash harmlessly against it.


    Katri¡¯s silver eyes, so like their father¡¯s, widened again. Kaz half expected her to ask if he was really Kaz, or perhaps simply attack him with a stronger bolt, but she did neither. Instead, she began to laugh. It went on for so long that Kaz started to become concerned, but at last his sister managed to control herself.


    ¡°You do have power,¡± she said between panting breaths. ¡°Mother said you did, but I didn¡¯t believe her. So it wasn¡¯t all for nothing after all. Oh, thank the ancestors.¡± Katri lifted her muzzle, looking like she might begin to howl, and her fur lifted even as her ears folded in what looked like sorrow.


    ¡°Mother?¡± Kaz asked, now completely lost. ¡°Oda?¡±


    Katri¡¯s focus snapped back to him. ¡°Rega,¡± she growled, baring her teeth. ¡°They¡¯re both dead now. You don¡¯t have to keep pretending. You did enough of that all these years.¡± This last was said with so much bitterness that Kaz froze, staring.


    ¡°You knew all along,¡± he said. ¡°You remembered that Rega and Ghazt were our parents.¡±


    It was Katri¡¯s turn to stare. ¡°Of course I knew! We weren¡¯t newborn pups when we fled the Deep. But Mother said we had to pretend that Oda was our mother, and Ghazt was her powerless mate. All to protect you. It was always, always about you, and you never even seemed to notice.¡±


    Kaz felt like his heart would break beneath the pain in those words. And of course he hadn¡¯t noticed, because he¡¯d forgotten. He¡¯d lost all of his memories from before his first death, and to him, the elaborate series of lies they¡¯d all played out had been pure truth. He was always supposed to know truth from lies, but he hadn¡¯t, and they¡¯d never realized, because they were all too busy acting out their roles.


    ¡°Why?¡± he whispered, the word torn from his throat. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°You never do!¡± Katri howled, and her core spun, burning hot, though she didn¡¯t draw up another ki-bolt. ¡°Poor little Kaz. Poor puppy, with no one to love him. Except they all did. Mother tore herself apart to protect you. Father died to protect you! Even I¡­ Even I¡­¡±


    Someone rapped at the door loudly, and Katri stepped back, leaning against it as it started to open. ¡°Katri!¡± a voice called, sounding worried and protective. No ki shone through the door, so this must be a male, and he was calling Katri with such familiarity. Was Kaz wrong, and his sister had taken a mate after all?


    Katri¡¯s shoulders slumped, but she didn¡¯t move. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Latz. I caught my toe on a rock. It hurt.¡±


    Latz chuffed softly and stopped pushing on the door. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll smooth out the floor so it can¡¯t attack you, if you like.¡±


    Katri¡¯s face turned away, and her ears perked forward as she looked through the door in the direction of the male. Her whole posture softened, and Kaz could see that she genuinely cared about the warrior on the other side of the door. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it myself,¡± she said tartly. ¡°No floor will defeat me.¡±


    Latz laughed again. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t dare try, with me beside you. Bright howls, my chief.¡±


    ¡°Bright howls, Latz,¡± Katri said softly, then waited until they heard paws moving away before turning back to Kaz. Instantly, her shoulders tightened again, but Kaz had had time to gather himself. Rather than restart the conversation, he sat down, laying the book aside and holding out his arms. Katri stared at him like he was mad, but Li dropped her concealment, shimmering into sight as she curled up in his lap, her tail draping perfectly across Kaz¡¯s paws as he stroked the curve of her neck.


    Sighing softly, Kaz tried again. ¡°I think we have a lot to talk about, Katri, and I¡¯d very much like it if we could do it without killing each other.¡±


    Eyes locked on the small dragon now resting her head on Kaz¡¯s knee, Katri nodded jerkily. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°That seems like a good idea.¡±

 Chapter Three hundred

    Katri seemed unwilling to begin, so with Li¡¯s reassuring weight in his arms, Kaz drew in a deep breath and spoke. ¡°When I was young, Father took me out to teach me to hunt. The Woodblades had just been killed. His whole family, his tribe, everyone was gone, and I¡¯m sure he was worried about what was going to happen to us, so he wanted me to be strong enough to protect myself. He left me to face a fuergar alone, and I wasn¡¯t ready. It hurt me, badly. I was dying.¡±


    Katri twitched, but she didn¡¯t say anything, so Kaz went on. ¡°He took me to the Tree. There, he made a deal with a creature who lives in it; if that being saved my life, it could call me later, if it chose to do so. No one had been called in a long time, so Ghazt thought it was a reasonable risk. But he was wrong, wasn¡¯t he?¡±


    His sister nodded jerkily. ¡°Mother and Father knew Vega had tried to kill Ghazt, and that she wanted to kill all the other pure-blooded Woodblades, but not even Oda understood exactly why. She claimed it was because they were ¡®weakening¡¯ us, and the other great tribes listened to them too much, even though they didn¡¯t have the strength to lead. But in the end it didn¡¯t matter, because Oda and Rega knew that if their sister discovered that not only was Ghazt alive, but he had a family, we¡¯d all be in danger. Oda was able to keep Vega in check for a few years. Long enough for you to be born.¡±


    Katri¡¯s eyes softened, and her tail thumped on the stone behind her. ¡°You were adorable. All paws and fluff. But your fur is blue, and while Father dyed his fur, you grew so quickly that it seemed like some part of you always needed to be touched up. But the tribe we lived with, the Farpaws, were loyal, so as long as we kept you hidden, and Oda kept Vega occupied, we were happy.¡±


    She sighed, her eyes on the book. ¡°And then our Magmablade grandmother died. Oda ate her core. She didn¡¯t even hesitate. She always wanted to be the strongest, and her book says that she hoped she would become even more powerful than Vega, even though Vega had eaten our aunt¡¯s core years before.¡±


    Katri looked up, frowning as she caught Kaz¡¯s eyes. ¡°You do know, don¡¯t you? That the Magmablades have two chiefs? One is known to all, but is truly little more than a sacrifice, meant to be offered up in case the real chief needs to be protected.¡±


    Kaz nodded, his heart in his throat, and Katri looked both relieved and a little angry. ¡°You acted like you didn¡¯t know anything,¡± she growled. ¡°It would have been nice if you stopped pretending, just for a moment.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s fists clenched, then relaxed again as Li nudged his fingers with her nose.


    she told him, and he looked down at her, meeting Li¡¯s warm golden eyes rather than his sister¡¯s cold silver ones.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t remember,¡± he admitted, not daring to look up. ¡°Whatever happened in the Tree took my memories. I remember living with the Magmablades, never being allowed out without Father, but nothing before that. Our Great Aunt Sika told me who I was after I reached the Deep.¡±


    Rustling reached his ears, and then Katri¡¯s nose was in his face, her eyes boring into his. ¡°Nothing? Not the Farpaws? Not living with Mother and Father. Being a family?¡± Li hissed softly, and Katri backed up, but she was watching him with such intensity that she seemed to be seeing him for the first time.


    ¡°No,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Until I reached the depths and Sika told me the truth, I truly believed Oda was our mother and Rega our aunt. I never understood why Father and Oda didn¡¯t sleep in the same hut.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why we had to pretend at all.¡±


    Katri sat back so abruptly that she twisted her tail beneath her, grimacing at the discomfort. She snorted a bitter laugh. ¡°Oda ate our grandmother¡¯s core,¡± she said again, as if that explained everything. Perhaps it did, given what Kaz knew of how cores could take over a weaker kobold.


    ¡°She changed,¡± Katri said bluntly. ¡°She was always self-centered and prideful, but in her own way, she cared about us. She would come and give us gifts. A new toy for you, or a shiny gem to tie in my fur. She almost never spoke to Father, though. She hated that he had refused her, preferred someone else to her, even Rega. After the core, though, those moments of kindness all vanished. She only visited one more time, and I remember, because she hurt me.¡±


    Katri rubbed her upper arm absently, soothing a long-ago pain. ¡°She said I reminded her of my mother. She called her a traitor, and said that traitors didn¡¯t deserve mates or pups. She never quite threatened Rega¡¯s life, but mine¡­yes. After that, she didn¡¯t return, and life went back to normal for a little while longer. It was fine until the Woodblades died. Vega called all of the subsidiary tribes in, claiming that she wanted to make sure such a tragedy couldn¡¯t happen again. She said that if the Woodblades had lived closer to other tribes, more of them would have been rescued.


    ¡°In spite of everything, Oda hid us from Vega and anyone else who would want a Woodblade. But she insisted that Rega and Ghazt couldn¡¯t be together, and Ghazt had to pretend to be her mate instead, at least in public. By the end, I think she¡¯d convinced herself it was true.¡±


    She sighed, closing her eyes wearily. In that moment, she looked so much like Rega that Kaz wondered how he had missed it for all these years. It was true that Oda and Rega looked similar, but if Kaz was his father¡¯s son, Katri was very much their mother¡¯s daughter, other than the color of her fur and eyes.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°And then it was ¡®proven¡¯ that Oda was responsible for the murder of the Woodblades. As soon as it became clear that Oda and at least some of the other Magmablades would have to leave the Deep, Mother began to have fits. She would stop whatever she was doing, grab you, and start to walk away. The first time, she made it all the way out of the den, but Ghazt saw her, and you were howling because she was holding you too tightly, so he stopped her. She didn¡¯t even know what she was doing.¡±


    Katri¡¯s hand lifted to the necklace around her own throat. It was surprisingly simple, with a few polished bones and gems woven into it, but there was no sign of the rune-carved orbs the great chiefs wore. She glared at Kaz as she tugged at it, then said, ¡°It took her a while to understand what was happening, but she realized it was the necklace. The one you were supposed to be wearing. The Tree was calling you back, and she was being forced to do its bidding. So she cut it off.¡±


    Kaz choked back a whimper. Those necklaces formed links to the organs of the wearer. Removing them was incredibly dangerous. How had Rega even survived?


    Seeing his expression, Katri spoke with a hint of scorn. ¡°She was a healer. She knew what the necklace was, even though Father hadn¡¯t really understood. She had medicines ready, and her body survived, but,¡± she swallowed hard, ¡°her core was damaged. It took a long time before she could use her power again, and she was never as strong as she had been.¡±


    Rega had been strong, though. Kaz had often thought that she might even be stronger than Oda. And that was after damaging her core and weakening her body by removing the necklace? How powerful had she been before that? It explained why she had removed herself from the chief selection process. No matter how much ki Rega had, she wasn¡¯t as ambitious and bloodthirsty as her sisters. She just wanted to be a healer, but she never would have been allowed to do so if she stayed with the Magmablades. She probably would have been forced to become the hidden chief, who also had to eat the core of the previous hidden chief. What would such a vicious core have done to Rega¡¯s gentle soul?


    ¡°And then we left the Deep,¡± Kaz said, gently stroking Li¡¯s neck. His hands were a little unsteady, but his voice wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°To keep you safe,¡± Katri said, lifting a lip. She didn¡¯t sound truly angry though, just tired. ¡°Oda had to go, and we went with her, walking with open eyes into a life of bowing to her mad whims. Mother and Father were barely allowed to speak, and I had to stay with Oda, while you slept with Father. But you were their pup, and the last of the true Woodblades, and you had to be protected. Vega would kill you, whatever lives in the Tree wanted you, and you might be the key to restoring Father¡¯s tribe. So we rose, year after year, while Oda ranted about returning to a Deep that would have killed her if she stepped a single paw into it.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t we go out on our own?¡± Kaz asked, remembering the conversation between Rega and Ghazt immediately after Kaz had been returned to them. They¡¯d talked about running away to the mid-levels, fleeing Rega¡¯s sister. At the time, Kaz had assumed they meant Oda, but they¡¯d never said her name, and now he realized they must have meant Vega instead. Rega had refused at the time because Kaz and Katri were so young, and she must have still believed she could count on Oda to help them.


    Katri shook her head. ¡°At first it was because Mother¡¯s power was broken. Then, by the time she recovered enough to fight, Father had died. Mother couldn¡¯t protect us on her own, and she still had some loyalty to both Oda and our tribe. She knew that without a healer they would all die within a year, likely as a result of one of Oda¡¯s schemes. No doubt another tribe would take us in, since a good healer is worth a dozen warriors, but she wouldn¡¯t leave. Plus, there was you. Of course.¡±


    His sister¡¯s eyes traveled pointedly over Kaz¡¯s bright blue fur. ¡°Any chief who saw you would instantly know you were a Woodblade, even in the heights. That¡¯s why Mother convinced Oda not to let you go on your spirit hunt. Once you were a warrior, you could be traded, mated, or simply stolen by someone who knew that even a throwback Woodblade could be offered to one of the great tribes in exchange for a chance to become a direct subsidiary. You were only safe while you were a puppy, kept out of sight and away from other tribes.¡±


    Kaz was stunned. Was it possible? Far from being forgotten and unloved, he had been loved so much that everyone around him¡­lied to him? Except that they hadn¡¯t, had they? Well, perhaps Oda, but everyone else believed he already knew. How oblivious and selfish must he have seemed, to complain about Oda and being forced to remain a puppy when both of those things were keeping him safe?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he managed, meeting his sister¡¯s eyes. ¡°I swear, I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    Katri¡¯s mouth twisted. ¡°And what will you do about it? You and your¡­dragon?¡± For a moment, her eyes held the awe that everyone seemed to feel on seeing Li, but then they grew shadowed again as she said, ¡°Vega still wants all the Woodblades dead, and the thing in the Tree won¡¯t stop looking for you. You have power, so you truly can create a new Woodblade tribe. You need to take a mate, have pups, and when Vega is dead, and there are enough of you, we can all return to the Deep at last.¡±


    ¡°You still want to go back?¡± Kaz asked.


    His sister shrugged. ¡°Life was good there, before you. We always had enough to eat, and we were safe. Almost all of the puppies survived to become adults, and for the most part the great tribes left us lesser tribes alone. So yes, I¡¯d like to go back. I want my puppies to survive, and grow strong.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s eyes went to her slim belly, but there was no sign that she was with young, and her necklace had no mate bead. ¡°Latz?¡± he asked.


    Katri¡¯s tail wagged. ¡°Yes. He wasn¡¯t convinced at first, but I won him over.¡± Her eyes sparkled, and for a moment she looked astonishingly like their little cousin Kyla.


    ¡°I wish you well, then,¡± Kaz said. When Katri¡¯s cycle came next, she would be mated, and he would probably be an uncle within the year. He had to admit that the idea of little pink-furred pups to play with was appealing. ¡°But things in the Deep have changed. Let me tell you¡­¡±

 Chapter Three hundred one

    By the time Kaz finished speaking, the light around the door had dimmed. The females of the tribe had doused most of the lights, leaving only a few to allow the guards to see and members of the tribe to reach the waste crevice. Li was dozing in Kaz¡¯s lap, only occasionally opening her eyes to make sure Katri was still keeping her distance.


    Katri was. In fact, she¡¯d taken a place at the far side of the hut, leaning against one of the long bones that supported the wall. She watched Kaz silently, her pale eyes almost glowing in the soft light. When Kaz was done, she shook her head slowly.


    ¡°If there wasn¡¯t a dragon in your lap, I¡¯d say you were crazy,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°You were never a liar, though. Not smart enough.¡± She lifted a lip toward him, eyes watching to see if he would react. When he didn¡¯t, she chuffed softly and raised her muzzle toward the ceiling, closing her eyes.


    ¡°I spent so long protecting you. That was my job, even though usually it¡¯s the brother¡¯s duty to protect his sister. And now it turns out that not only did you have enough power to protect yourself all along, but you managed to do everything Mother and Father hoped you might, entirely without my help.¡±


    ¡°What did you expect, when you sent me with the humans? Did you think we¡¯d make it to the Deep?¡± he asked.


    Katri¡¯s ears flattened, but she didn¡¯t look at him. ¡°I was angry,¡± she admitted softly. ¡°We made it through all those years, and now, when we could finally be free, you came back and told me Mother was dead.¡± Her voice was rough. ¡°It felt like it was all your fault. I just wanted you gone.¡±


    ¡°You told Raff that if Rega refused to follow your instructions, he should kill her.¡± Kaz tried not to sound accusatory, but this was a memory that had clawed at him ever since it happened.


    Now his sister looked at him again. ¡°I knew she wouldn¡¯t argue. Rega never wanted to be a chief. Not of the Magmablades, not of the Farpaws, and certainly not of the Broken Knives. I was just full of myself,¡± she said bitterly. ¡°I wanted her to be proud of me, finally.¡±


    ¡°She was,¡± Kaz said, blinking in surprise. ¡°You always learned the howls the fastest, and all the pups listened to you, even the older ones. When you were learning to use your power, you were stronger than anyone else, and even though it took you a little while to learn control, you practiced until you nearly made yourself sick, and once you had it, no one was better.¡±


    Katri glared at him. ¡°Do you know how many times she told me to hold back? I shouldn¡¯t make the others feel bad. I shouldn¡¯t leave you too far behind. I¡¯d be an adult for many long years, so I should enjoy being a puppy.¡±


    Kaz thought about Ija and Kyla. ¡°I don¡¯t think it was easy, growing up as the daughter of the Magmablade chief,¡± he said. ¡°All of them were pressured to be the best, and specifically to compete with each other. They didn¡¯t have friends, or-¡±


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± Katri barked. ¡°Oda was always encouraging me to be the best, make sure everyone else knew I was the best. All while Mother was quietly worrying that I didn¡¯t have friends.¡± She bared her teeth. ¡°I wanted to be the best. So what if no one likes me?¡±


    Likes, not liked. Katri lifted a hand to her chest, absently fingering a patch of thin fur that Kaz didn¡¯t remember being there before. As she brushed at it, he caught the reddish-pink gleam of a fresh scar beneath the fur, and his eyes widened. ¡°Someone challenged you!¡±


    Katri bared her teeth again, but this time it was in defiance of the world, not Kaz in particular. ¡°Several of them did. And I showed them exactly what Oda taught me.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill them?¡± Kaz asked.


    Her eyes flicked away. ¡°The first one, yes. I had to prove that I was willing to do what had to be done. But as strong as the Longtooths were, we can¡¯t afford to lose strong females. Not if we want to be able to hold territory lower in the mountain.¡±


    Kaz hesitated. He was glad that his sister was alive, and honestly, he¡¯d never expected that holding the tribe would be easy. Katri had taken it through underhanded means, and unless every female remaining was certain Katri was the strongest, there was no doubt they would challenge her. He¡¯d hoped they would take longer to risk it, but obviously the challenges had begun almost immediately.


    ¡°If I can find you a place in the Deep,¡± he asked carefully, ¡°would you want it?¡± Want another place she hadn¡¯t earned? A place she would have to prove her right to, over and over? But the rest of the tribe would be safe. She wouldn¡¯t die in a vara or luegat, wouldn¡¯t lose her mate or her pups, wouldn¡¯t spend years in the descent.


    Katri stared at him. ¡°Nothing is free,¡± she said, waving a hand to indicate the cavern beyond the hut, and the tribe sleeping there. ¡°What would the price be for safety?¡±


    Kaz barked a laugh. ¡°Danger, probably,¡± he told her. ¡°The Woodblades are reforming, and the Magmablades are now their chief subsidiary tribe. We¡¯re cousins to Ija, the new Magmablade chief, and you would be seen as her ally, even if you¡¯re not. No one likes the Magmablades. In fact, I suspect many tribes would be happy to force them from the Deep entirely. They certainly wouldn¡¯t be happy to see more Magmablades, especially the remnants of the ones they did manage to get rid of.¡±


    One of Katri¡¯s ears twitched in a way he knew meant she was laughing at him. ¡°You make it sound so inviting.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I can almost guarantee it wouldn¡¯t be. You¡¯d be the lowest of the low, there because of family and luck, not power. But you¡¯d be in the Deep.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯d take it,¡± she said immediately. ¡°There aren¡¯t many Broken Knives left, but I know they¡¯d like to go home. And the Longtooths were always ambitious. When can we go?¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Kaz thought about it. He couldn¡¯t drag an entire tribe down through the mountain with him. Even if he could defend them, it would take too long, and they had nothing to trade for safe passage. He could certainly force the kobolds between here and the Deep to allow them all through, but he would have to hurt people, which he didn¡¯t want to do. Better to gather trade goods and send someone back up for them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in the Deep within a week,¡± he told her. ¡°Ten days at most. I have¡­some things to do there, but I¡¯ll make sure that no matter what happens to me, someone will come for you.¡±


    Katri¡¯s eyes sharpened, and for an instant he thought she might actually be worried for him. ¡°What might happen to you?¡±


    Kaz lifted his own lip. ¡°I¡¯m going to make sure that that thing in the Tree never bothers any of us again.¡± He didn¡¯t know how or why, but he had no doubt that Nucai was behind many of the things that had gone wrong in the mountain. He knew the ancient being had been manipulating the kobolds for hundreds of years, if not longer, and Kaz was going to put a stop to it. Somehow.


    His sister¡¯s ears flattened, and now he was sure. Katri didn¡¯t like the idea that he might be killed. She shook her head. ¡°Forget it. Stay here. Take a mate. We¡¯ll make it down to the Deep eventually. Faster if you help us.¡± She looked at Li consideringly. ¡°Will that thing grow larger?¡±


    Li raised her head and puffed a cloud of over-heated vapor toward his sister. Kaz grabbed her mouth gently and cooled the hot steam before it could reach its target. ¡°Li will be enormous,¡± Kaz said with absolute confidence. Even if it turned out that Li¡¯s full size was closer to her smaller parent than her larger, Kaz was certain she would still find a way to grow bigger. Li was determined to grow large enough to eat his mountain someday, though he very much hoped she wouldn¡¯t actually do it.


    Katri chuffed a laugh, waving the mist away from her face. ¡°Then she can help. With a dragon on our side, no one will even dare challenge us. We may need to wait until she gets a bit larger, though. She¡¯s only a little bigger than a large fuergar right now.¡±


    For a moment, Li had almost started to like Kaz¡¯s sister, but at that last sentence, she stood, carefully stepping away from Kaz, then glancing around the inside of the hut. It really was a good-sized hut, but still, Kaz reached for her. She deftly dodged, and then she began to grow.


    It wasn¡¯t as fast or as smooth as it had been when she shrank. Her wings grew first, and then her paws and tail, and Kaz could feel her self-image falter. She hadn¡¯t been big for that long, after all, and she could only see certain parts of herself easily. But Kaz stepped in, showing her all of herself, from crimson horns to the patch of deep sapphire scales on her chest, right over her heart. And if those scales were exactly the same color as Kaz¡¯s fur, who was to say they hadn¡¯t started out that way?


    Li grew until she had to curl up on herself in order to avoid poking a hole in the ceiling with her horns. She was definitely larger than she had been, but she was too busy watching Katri to even notice. Kaz¡¯s sister, for her part, had shrunk back for only a moment, and now glared at the dragon with the fur on her neck standing straight up and all of her teeth on display.


    Katri¡¯s core was spinning, and he could see the ki gathering in her hands, so Kaz knew it was time to intervene. Not that Katri could hurt Li, but she could bring the entire tribe running to find out why her hut had just exploded, and if Li bit her now, Katri wouldn¡¯t just get a little smarter. His dragon was far too used to biting people with at least some body cultivation, and Katri certainly wasn¡¯t Iron body or above.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be all right,¡± Kaz tried to reassure his sister while silently encouraging Li to return to her smaller size. ¡°As you can see, I have powerful friends.¡± This mollified Li, and since she wasn¡¯t enjoying the feeling of holding herself in so she didn¡¯t destroy Katri¡¯s hut, she started to shrink again.


    Only when Li was once again lap-sized did Katri move away from the wall of the hut. Before, she¡¯d seemed to find Li as much a curiosity as anything - possibly because Kaz¡¯s howl had emphasized how different she was from the dragon who had once ruled the kobolds. He wasn¡¯t sure how much Katri knew of the story of the first Magmablade, especially since Oda had torn those pages from her book.


    ¡°Obviously you don¡¯t need me,¡± Katri said, and for once there was only a little bitterness in her tone. ¡°Go ahead, but I won¡¯t count on you. I was planning to declare luegat on the Darkpelts soon. Our scouts found a good territory not far from theirs, but their chief wants to keep it for her daughter. She¡¯s strong, but not as strong as I am, and while our tribes are about the same size, she won¡¯t want to risk losing any females if she really means to split the tribe. I don¡¯t intend to stay there for long, anyway, so I think it¡¯ll be relatively bloodless if I just convince her that we¡¯re far too powerful to stay in the heights for long.¡±


    Kaz searched his mind, but he didn¡¯t remember a tribe called Darkpelt. That wasn¡¯t too surprising, however. While Oda had been good at making everyone nearby hate her, she hadn¡¯t been good at learning more than she had to about the territories not immediately next to theirs. After all, she was going to lead the Broken Knives deeper again, so it was a waste of time to learn about the ¡®weak¡¯ tribes who lived and would remain in the upper levels.


    ¡°Wait two weeks,¡± Kaz told his sister, holding Li as he stood. ¡°If no one has come for you by then, do as you must. You¡¯re a good leader, Katri. I could tell that just by walking through the den. Your people sound content, and there¡¯s no tension here, like there always was with Oda as chief.¡±


    Katri stood as well. She looked pleased, her tail even giving one abortive wag before she got it under control, but she just said, ¡°Which reminds me. How did you reach my hut without anyone noticing you? Were the guards sleeping or talking?¡± There was a hard edge to these last words, and rightfully so. The guards at the entrance to the den were the last line of defense before an enemy could reach the pups and the tribe¡¯s store of food. If they weren¡¯t paying attention, Katri needed to know.


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°No,¡± he told her. ¡°Though you might want to send someone to relieve them for dinner a little earlier. I think I heard one of their stomachs growl as I went by.¡± That and they were distracted by the smells of the food. Their focus had slipped, and while that might not be a terrible risk on this level, once the tribe started their descent, it would become progressively more dangerous.


    His sister¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Then how did you get in?¡±


    Li made them disappear, and Katri forgot herself so far as to gasp softly. She stared around the apparently empty hut, then gave a deep sniff, searching for their scent. She would find it, of course, since they¡¯d been there for several hours, but now that Li¡¯s power was hiding them, it would soon start to fade.


    ¡°No one will know we were here,¡± Kaz promised, his voice apparently coming from thin air. ¡°You can tell them whatever you want, or wait until someone comes with trade goods to pay the tribes from here to the Deep. Someone will come, Katri.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll believe it when I see it,¡± Katri said, though she was obviously shaken.


    ¡°Bright howls,¡± Kaz said softly, then opened the door to the hut, peering out into the darkness.


    ¡°Bright howls, brother,¡± came the quiet words behind him, and Kaz hesitated for just a moment, looking back before making his way out of the sleeping den.

 Chapter Three hundred two

    Kaz continued to follow the same path he¡¯d used with the humans, stopping only briefly to rest and eat. He didn¡¯t even feel tired, but Li wasn¡¯t used to walking so much, and she still insisted upon walking so they were both ready to fight, if necessary. Only after he¡¯d built a small fire from firemoss did she curl up beside him, staring into the flickering orange flames. The fire produced a lot of smoke, which was why kobolds made and used the clean-burning oil that they squeezed from the plant, but they weren¡¯t going to stay long enough for that to be a problem.


    <Are you all right?> she asked, as Kaz placed some toufa wrapped in jiao on the hot stone floor beside the fire.


    With a deep sigh, Kaz stroked her neck. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I didn¡¯t know why Katri was angry with me, but the fact that she sent me off to be killed or captured told me we would never be friends again. If we ever truly were. I¡¯m just glad she didn¡¯t try to kill me herself. I wouldn¡¯t have been that surprised if she had.¡±


    <Is it better to know?> Li asked, gingerly prodding a sizzling mushroom with a long claw.


    Kaz chuffed. ¡°I¡¯m glad to know the truth. And I know it¡¯s not my fault that I forgot, but I feel stupid. There are so many things I would have done differently if I¡¯d only remembered that Rega was my real mother. Even if I didn¡¯t know Father could use ki, didn¡¯t understand what that meant for me, I would have-¡±


    His voice broke as he thought about his kind, gentle ¡®aunt¡¯, who had given up the right to call him son in order to keep him safe. What must she have thought when he never said anything to her, never touched her, even in private? He treated her as a wise elder, a den-mother, and his aunt, but he could have leaned against her, hugged her, even for a moment. Yes, there had been times when she held him, but only as she did for all the pups.


    <Or did she hug them so she¡¯d have an excuse to hold you?> Li asked, nosing his hand until he began petting her again.


    Kaz started flipping the mushrooms with his free hand, but he was thinking hard. At one time, he had assumed that all tribes were like his, to a greater or lesser extent. Now he knew there was a great deal more variation than he ever would have guessed, but he thought that for the most part, den-mothers were more strict than kind. While they all cared for their charges, their job was to keep the pups safe, teach them the howls, and send them back to their parents at the end of the day. Rega and the Stoneborn den-mother, Nadi, seemed to be the exceptions.


    ¡°I think she truly cared for all the pups, but you¡¯re right,¡± he said. Looking down at Li¡¯s curving red horns, he suddenly felt a deep rush of affection and, more, pride. Not pride for anything he¡¯d done, but pride for how she¡¯d grown in the short time since she¡¯d hatched. ¡°How did you get to be so wise?¡±


    Li¡¯s neck arched, firelight glinting from her scales, and she sniffed softly. <Dragons just are wise, and I¡¯m probably the wisest.> She cocked her head, cool vapor curling from her mouth as she looked at him. <But I had a good teacher. When he wasn¡¯t trying to get himself killed.>


    Kaz laughed, tail wagging as he plucked the steaming fungus from their spicy parcels. He divided them between himself and Li, then added some dried meat he¡¯d acquired from Raff¡¯s house. They stored a truly enormous amount of food there, so he doubted they¡¯d miss a little. The two of them ate in companionable silence before Li fell asleep by the dying fire, her head on Kaz¡¯s shoulder.


    =+=+=+=


    Li only slept for a little while, and when she woke they set off again. They could hear the sound of Ogden¡¯s platform from several tunnels away, the chain rattling and scraping as he pulled it up and down. Kaz was happy to hear it, since it meant the husede was still there. He knew it hadn¡¯t really been that long since he¡¯d last seen the older male, but it felt like several lifetimes, so he was glad to hear the rather eerie noise echoing through the passages.


    When he reached the top of the wide pit, Kaz gave a low howl, letting Ogden know that he was waiting. The rattling, which had been silent for a while, started up again, along with Ogden¡¯s soft muttering. As the platform came closer, Kaz called down, ¡°How much gold does it cost for a ride?¡±


    The chain paused, and Ogden groaned. ¡°Not another gharaklin. Why is this mountain suddenly filled with humans?¡±


    Kaz chuffed as the top of Ogden¡¯s shiny head came into view. Kaz was using a ki-light like the ones female kobolds made, warm and flickering like fire, rather than burning pure as the sun. The reflected light made Ogden¡¯s gray skin look orange, and the broad white teeth of his grin seem bloody.


    ¡°Kaz, pup! I didn¡¯t expect to see you again, unless it was when you came back up.¡± He glanced around curiously, probably looking for humans, until his eyes landed on Li. His fingers spasmed, and for the first time in Kaz¡¯s memory, the chain slipped from his powerful grasp. He caught it again a moment later, but grunted as the links bit his fingers, drawing bright crimson blood that dripped onto the chain and down the hole through which the chain passed.


    Quickly, Ogden pulled the piece of metal he used to lock the chains from his belt and slid it into place. That done, he opened a slim pouch at his waist and pulled out a wad of zhiwu web. Before he could pack it into the filthy wound, Kaz jumped down onto the platform, followed by Li, though the dragon took the opportunity to stretch her wings in the wide open cavern first. She stayed away from the ceiling, and landed beside Kaz as he grasped Ogden¡¯s thick-fingered hand.


    Leaning forward, Kaz sniffed the wound, taking in the scent of rust and blood. Not surprisingly, Ogden¡¯s body held a thick fog of mana, and from the density, Kaz suspected the husede was somewhere in the Iron-body level of cultivation, whether he had intended to reach it or not. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t enough to keep such a large, heavy chain from breaking the skin.


    Ogden tried to take his hand back, but Kaz held onto it easily, gently pushing blue ki into the wound. A few large chunks of rust popped out of the broken skin, and Kaz wiped them away. Only when he was sure the wound was clean did Kaz release his grip and take a small piece of jejing from his pouch. He rolled this between his fingers, gently breaking the fibers to release the pungent juice, then packed it into the wound, which was no longer bleeding. By now, Ogden was watching with his mouth open, not even trying to resist.


    Kaz held out his hand, then blinked when there was no response. Looking up, he said, ¡°Web?¡± and Ogden placed it into his hand. Carefully, Kaz rolled the strip of webbing around the injury, leaving a soft white swathe across the gray, dirty skin. He could have put more power in, healing the small wound more completely, but Rega had taught him that doing too much could prevent the patient from learning wisdom as a result of their mistake.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°There,¡± he said, backing away. ¡°That should heal cleanly.¡±


    Ogden shook his head, flexing his fingers carefully. ¡°What in the gods¡¯ names happened to you, Kaz?¡±


    And only then did Kaz realize what he¡¯d done. He¡¯d never had any intention of hiding his abilities, since as a male without a female, he would be viewed as an interloper at best, and a possible prize at worst. Proving that he didn¡¯t need a female was the best way to keep anyone from doing something they would regret. Still, he hadn¡¯t meant to be quite so blatant about it. He¡¯d just gotten so used to being himself that he¡¯d acted without thinking.


    <You helped,> Li said, though he could tell she was amused by his consternation.


    Ogden¡¯s head whipped around, and he stared at the dragon. ¡°It talks?¡± His deep voice cracked into something close to a pup¡¯s howl. ¡°I¡¯m too old to think I¡¯ve seen every beast in this mountain, but if that thing talks, it¡¯s no animal, so what is it?¡±


    ¡°This is Li,¡± Kaz told him, wagging his tail gently. ¡°Li, this is Ogden. He was one of my first friends. I met him when the Broken Knives lived nearby.¡± Li knew all of this, of course, so telling her was mostly for Ogden¡¯s benefit.


    Li inclined her head, spreading her wings to catch the light of Kaz¡¯s ki-orb. Hopefully, Ogden didn¡¯t notice when she licked a drop of the husede¡¯s blood that ended up in front of her snout. Kaz gave her a meaningful look, and she flicked her tail innocently as she straightened.


    <I¡¯m Kaz¡¯s best friend,> she said, <but I¡¯m glad to meet you.> And she was telling the truth. Ogden had met Kaz when he was a frightened, confused puppy, and made sure he was returned safely to his tribe, so Li already liked this particular husede.


    Ogden started to scratch his head with his injured hand, then grimaced and said, ¡°And I, you, but what are you? I mean, I know what you look like, but¡­¡±


    Li sniffed, releasing twin streams of vapor from her nostrils. <I¡¯m a dragon,> she told him, with the tone of someone stating the obvious.


    Ogden coughed, glancing at Kaz. ¡°That is what you look like,¡± he admitted, ¡°though I¡¯ve never seen one in person. Young husede are taught to avoid them, because one was rather famous for stealing away those who were foolish enough to wander the surface world. That was centuries ago, but my people are long-lived and slow to forget.¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°That was probably Qiangde. He took them for one of his servants, who built a city in the mid-levels, and made slaves out of them. Their descendents live there still, but both Qiangde and the servant, Zhangwo, are dead now.¡±


    Ogden pointed below them with a finger that shook only slightly. ¡°There are other husede in this mountain? Ones who were born here?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°I was going to tell you, in case you wanted to go meet them. There are several hundred, at least. The last I heard, some of them were planning to return to wherever their ancestors were stolen from, but others wanted to continue living in the city, along with the kobolds who helped free them.¡± It was quite a bit more complicated than that, but he didn¡¯t have the time or the inclination to explain the rest.


    Ogden shook his head, then stared searchingly into Kaz¡¯s eyes. This could have been interpreted as a challenge if Ogden was another kobold, but the husede didn¡¯t look threatening, only confused and a little worried. Finally, the other male blinked and looked away, moisture rising to gleam in his eyes, though none fell.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know how long it¡¯s been since I last saw one of my own people. Thank you for telling me,¡± he said at last.


    ¡°Will you go?¡± Kaz asked. He was planning to visit the mosui city briefly, if only to gather more ki-crystals for Li. While he couldn¡¯t take a whole tribe of kobolds with him, Ogden¡¯s presence certainly wouldn¡¯t slow him down, and might even make things easier, since the husede was intimidating even to a warrior.


    Ogden glanced away. ¡°I don¡¯t know, pup. My life here may not be perfect, but I have friends, a task, and a home here. What would your people do if I just up and left? I¡¯ll have to think about it.¡±


    Kaz nodded, then looked at the thick chain that passed through the platform, once going up, and once going down. Now that he could see mana, he could tell that his guess had been correct, and this platform was probably once very much like the ones in the mage school and the xiyi base in Cliffcross. This one was more basic, and the platform was larger than most of those, but there was no denying the similarities. Maybe all of the shafts like this had once had platforms, but over time many had broken or simply been taken apart by kobolds who couldn¡¯t use them.


    Reaching out, Kaz touched the chain itself. He still couldn¡¯t use mana, but there was no control pedestal here to convert ki to mana anyway. Instead, he pushed a little ki into it, first trying each color, and then different combinations. The metal didn¡¯t respond, so he crouched, examining the pedestal instead. Carefully, he scratched away the filth and rust that had accumulated on it, exposing cracked and broken crystals.


    Ogden had watched all of this with bemusement, and now he said, ¡°What are you looking for, pup? I admit, this old platform is filthy, but frankly, you kobolds¡¯re constantly carrying ore and other things onto it, so I gave up trying to clean it years ago.¡±


    More likely the husede had never tried, given how thick the crust of filth was, but the hard surface had probably protected the crystals from claws and other damage, leaving the color and pattern of the crystals barely discernible. Kaz pushed a tiny spark of ki into one, and it flashed a dim yellow before fizzling out.


    ¡°There are platforms like this in the human city I visited,¡± Kaz said, standing up. ¡°They use power to control them. There¡¯s something like it in the mid-levels city as well, but those are more advanced, and seem to be able to move from one place to another without actually traversing the distance in between.¡± He was pretty sure that wasn¡¯t quite right, but that was what anyone other than him would experience, so he wasn¡¯t going to try to explain it.


    ¡°I think if I replaced all of these crystals with fresh ones, it would be usable again. The others have to convert mana to ki, but-¡± He saw the look on Ogden¡¯s face and just said, ¡°Kobolds could use this themselves if it was repaired. Probably.¡±


    Ogden chuckled, the rumbling sound echoing down the shaft below them. Howls had been rising up for a while now, other kobolds growing impatient at how slowly the husede was responding. ¡°Well, if you figure out how to fix this old thing, then I¡¯ll decide whether I should visit this city. Otherwise, I have a job to do.¡± A job Kaz knew he enjoyed, no matter how much he complained about it at times. It wasn¡¯t a life that would make Kaz happy, but Kaz wasn¡¯t Ogden.


    Li nudged his leg, and when she spoke this time, he knew it was only for him. <You¡¯re gathering a lot of things to do for someone who plans to leave soon.> The words were teasing, but there was a note of seriousness behind them.


    <I know,> he said softly, stroking her head. <I can ask someone in the mosui city to come look at this. I don¡¯t know if they can make a new pedestal, but kobolds use ki directly, so it shouldn¡¯t really matter. I just don¡¯t know how much power it will take to move something this size.> He had to admit he was a little worried about that, but a strong enough female should be able to do it, for a while at least.


    Li gave him a dubious glance, but didn¡¯t argue as Ogden tugged the metal rod from the chains and began lowering the platform into the depths, hand over hand. Kaz turned to the husede and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want any trouble with the Graybellies, so Li and I are going to disappear. I just wanted to let you know I¡¯m still alive, and tell you about the other husede. I¡¯d appreciate it if you don¡¯t let anyone else use this corner of the platform.¡±


    Ogden¡¯s brows climbed as Kaz leaned over and picked Li up, promptly vanishing behind her camouflage. Kaz grinned as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t drop us,¡± and Ogden shook his head, laughing again.

 Chapter Three hundred three

    Nadi, the den-mother of the Stoneborn tribe, was sitting on one side of a circle of puppies, teaching a howl about the difference between yumao and duyu. When Rega taught this one, she always looked slightly worried, and emphasized how ill duyu could make even an adult. She had always insisted upon inspecting the yumao before it was cooked, even after the gatherers were experienced enough to know the difference.


    Nadi, however, made a game of holding up a bunch of duyu, and then an almost identical bundle of yumao. Then she asked all the puppies to yip when she said the correct name, and everyone who got it right received an approving smile and a pat on their heads. Only when everyone got both mosses right did she run through the howl once more before giving the pups several toys to play with and letting them run free. They yelped loudly as they chased after balls made of inflated bladders, and bundles of fur, allowing Nadi to sit back, looking at the two adult males waiting nearby.


    Kaz had wondered why the two males who had been guarding the gatherers when the woshi took him were there, but he was shocked when Nadi told them to watch the puppies while she went to get some water for them. And the two warriors obeyed, settling comfortably down among the pups, who promptly brought their toys over for the males to play with. What was going on here?


    <You wanted to talk to the female,> Li reminded him as Nadi moved away. <Shouldn¡¯t we follow her?>


    Kaz¡¯s eyes lingered on the puppies, remembering how fun it had been to simply relax among them, allowing himself to enjoy their rambunctious energy, interspersed with sudden and unexpected naps. He found that he was actually envious of the two males, and wished he could simply join them without question. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t going to happen, so he followed Nadi instead.


    The Stoneborn tribe seemed to be in the early part of their day. Kaz could smell the lingering scent of food, but the hunters and gatherers were gone. Females were working to prepare leather, make firemoss oil, craft weapons, and a hundred other things that were made easier by using power. He knew they were also ready to defend the den and the puppies with their lives, but there was none of the grim unease that had characterized the den of the Broken Knives.


    Kaz held Li close as he made his way around the edge of the den, enjoying the fact that she was small enough for him to hug again. He thought she was actually slightly smaller now than she had been when they first re-entered the mountain, and it reminded him of the times when it had been just him and her, exchanging images and emotions without words.


    Li sent him a warm rush of affection, along with a mental picture of herself, nipping his nose if he didn¡¯t move faster. <She¡¯s going to get the water and come back if we don¡¯t hurry.>


    <Can you keep us hidden if I go faster?> Kaz returned an image of himself, suddenly revealed when Li ran out of power, freezing against the stone wall as if he could convince a whole den full of kobolds that he was nothing more than a particularly odd stone formation.


    The dragon sniffed. <Of course I can. As long as it isn¡¯t too much further.>


    Kaz glanced around, saw no one, and ran after Nadi. He could feel the ki draining from Li¡¯s channels, then his own, but it would recover quickly enough once they stopped. Fortunately, the pool of water the Stoneborn used as a water source was just around a pair of huts, and Kaz turned the corner, almost managing to stop before he ran into Nadi. Almost.


    Thanks to his body refinement, Kaz managed to avoid falling, but Nadi wasn¡¯t so lucky. The den-mother was holding a very large, very full water bladder, and when she fell, it burst, spraying all three of them with its contents.


    Nadi yelped unhappily, staring at the spreading pool of water. Kaz extended a hand to help her up, and Nadi accepted it with a sigh, not even looking at him as she muttered, ¡°I hope there¡¯s another bladder available in the storage cave. That was the last one I had.¡±


    ¡°I have one,¡± Kaz told her eagerly, shifting a damp and unhappy Li to the crook of his elbow so he could tap his pouch. Feeding it a precise balance of ki that had become automatic by now, he removed a bag he¡¯d picked up in the xiyi den. It was empty, of course, but it was made from a kind of leather he wasn¡¯t familiar with. The leather was very soft, and didn¡¯t leak, even along the seams.


    When he looked up, he found Nadi staring at him, and his ears folded slightly as he realized that in the heat of the moment, he¡¯d completely forgotten that she might think he was dead. She might have forgotten about him entirely, for that matter, and be about to attack him or howl for help.


    She did neither of those things, however. Instead, her ears went straight up, and her tail began to wag. ¡°Kaz!¡± she exclaimed, looking as pleased to see him as he¡¯d wished his sister might be. Then her eyes fell on Li, widened, and she took a step back, her paw slipping on the wet stone so she started to topple over backwards again.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Kaz dropped the water bag and caught her hand instead, pulling her back upright until she was steady. She promptly pinched his ear as if he was a very young puppy who had stolen another pup¡¯s favorite toy.


    ¡°You made me think you were dead!¡± she said as Kaz pretended to rub his ear. The pinch hadn¡¯t really hurt, but he knew what she expected, especially when she stood with her hands on her hips and an expression of disapproval on her face. Her shape and coloring were entirely different from Rega¡¯s, but in that moment she looked so much like his mother that he wanted to laugh. Instead, he flattened his ears, attempting to look contrite. Li clicked softly, wiggling out of his arms so she could climb up on his shoulders, putting herself higher than both Kaz and Nadi.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he told the yellow-furred female, and it was true. He had never wanted to deceive her, but the Stoneborns had left him no choice. ¡°The humans I was with¡­their leader would have killed you all for blocking his path. Then the old female insisted I stay, so I had to find a way to escape.¡±


    ¡°Captured or rescued pups are supposed to stay with their new tribe unless the old one comes to trade for them,¡± she reminded him sternly. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous for you to go wandering. Though,¡± her eyes lingered on the golden ring of fur around Kaz¡¯s neck, then the dragon perched precariously on his shoulders, ¡°I heard you made your way down to the Copperstrikers. And you seem to be safe enough now. And not a numb-mind.¡±


    She gave him a look that only den-mothers seemed to know how to do. It was at once affectionate and chiding, and made Kaz want to tuck his tail and apologize some more. ¡°No, not a numb-mind. I just needed everyone to stop watching me.¡±


    He could tell she¡¯d already figured that out, but she sighed deeply, then looked around. ¡°But why are you back? Did you decide that you wanted to stay with us after all? I think¡­it would not be a good place for you. When Listet heard the Copperstriker chief had offered for you, she was furious. She kept talking about how much we could have traded you for if we¡¯d known you were a warrior and a descendent of a Deep tribe.¡±


    Kaz grimaced. While members of different tribes didn¡¯t speak to each other often, knowing about nearby dangers and what other tribes were doing could be the difference between being prepared or not when something happened. He really shouldn¡¯t be surprised that news of the zhiwu swarm had reached the Stoneborns, and of course his contribution to stopping it had been mentioned as well.


    He shook his head. ¡°Li and I came to let you know we were safe, and to thank you for taking care of us while we were here. Many females wouldn¡¯t have been so kind to a male, especially a numb-mind.¡±


    Nadi blinked, then looked around. ¡°Li? Your fuergar? It didn¡¯t run away? I assumed you¡¯d found a new creature when the old one, ah-¡±


    <I didn¡¯t run away!> Li said, hissing softly. <I saved Kaz¡¯s life after your guards let that big beast drag him off!>


    ¡°After you were taken, Lan and Lok were assigned to help me keep better control of the pups,¡± Nadi said absently, eyes on the dragon. She lifted a finger and pointed. ¡°Did that creature speak?¡±


    Kaz reached up and stroked Li¡¯s neck, silently urging the dragon not to react to being called a ¡®creature¡¯. ¡°Li was pretending to be a fuergar before, but she¡¯s actually a dragon.¡±


    The yellow-furred den-mother shook her head. ¡°Your fuergar is one of the masters, and you¡¯re a great warrior,¡± she said wonderingly. ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯ve entered one of the old howls, from the time when we were guardians of the Deep. I think if the Voice spoke to me right now, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised.¡±


    She might not be, but Kaz was. ¡°Guardians of the Deep?¡±


    Nadi reached out and plucked the forgotten water bag from Kaz¡¯s hand, then turned and led him back the way she¡¯d come. ¡°Did your den-mother not teach you the howls of the first ancestors? In the time before memory, we served the Voice and the Master, and carved out the city in the Deep. We watched over it for them until the Master was betrayed and the Voice went silent. The old howls tell us to wait for them to return, but until today, I thought those were only howls to keep the puppies occupied.¡±


    It was Kaz¡¯s turn to shake his head. Of course Rega hadn¡¯t taught him and the other Broken Knife pups those particular howls. He was particularly interested in finding out why Nadi had called Li one of the Masters. Did other kobolds know those ¡®Masters¡¯ were dragons? Even if she tried, given the way Oda felt about history, she probably would have told Rega to stop. He wished he had time to listen to them now, but he didn¡¯t. He¡¯d already spent too long here. It was amazing that someone hadn¡¯t stumbled over them yet.


    Nadi crouched by the side of the pool, dipping the mouth of the bag beneath the surface. Bubbles rose as it filled, and Kaz said, ¡°I should go. I just didn¡¯t want you to worry about me. You remind me of¡­someone else, and she would have fretted over a lost pup, even if it wasn¡¯t one of her own.¡±


    The bubbles stopped, but Nadi didn¡¯t stand. Instead, she watched the water as she said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you did. Hearing that a blue-furred pup helped a tribe several levels below us is one thing, but seeing you is another.¡±


    She pulled the dripping bag out of the water before saying softly, ¡°So many male pups leave, you know. Some are traded, while others die. I watch them grow up, and then they¡¯re gone. Sometimes I get to see their puppies, but it seems like I don¡¯t, more often than not. I think that once you leave, this will be like a dream. It already doesn¡¯t feel real.¡±


    Something rose up in Kaz at the deep sorrow in her voice. It was the sound of a thousand mothers, mourning the loss of a thousand young. Life in the mountain was hard, especially in the heights, where pups were as likely to starve as be killed by lopo or snatched by janjio. He felt that connection to something greater than himself again, and said, ¡°It will be better. Soon. If this is a dream, then it¡¯s one that foretells the future.¡±


    Nadi looked up, meeting Kaz¡¯s eyes, and whatever she saw there made her own widen. The water bag sloshed as her arm fell limp, and she bowed her head again, pressing her other hand to her chest. ¡°A dream or an old, old howl,¡± she said softly as Li convinced the power in the air around them that their power was a part of it. The convincing wasn¡¯t as difficult as usual, and they left Nadi behind, alone in a cavern with a water bag given to her by someone she barely dared to believe in.

 Chapter Three hundred four (Li)

    Li was worried. Ever since Kaz spoke to the Nadi female, he¡¯d been all but silent. She¡¯d tried sending him images of himself as various creatures, including a blue fuergar and a particularly amusing image of a hairy lopo, but got back only a half-hearted picture of herself as a tiny dragon being grabbed by the Kaz-lopo¡¯s tongue.


    <We¡¯re nearly back to the mid-levels, aren¡¯t we?> she asked. She knew they were, because he¡¯d told her when they stopped to eat, but she needed something to say. Dragons didn¡¯t like being bored. She was actually concerned more than bored, but she was discovering that dragons didn¡¯t like being concerned, either.


    Kaz made another of those soft, almost sad little noises, and she bit him. Not hard. Just enough to make him actually look at her, rather than whatever was going on in his head that was making him think so hard that he couldn¡¯t even talk to her about it. It was bad enough that he¡¯d been hiding some of his thoughts and feelings from her recently, but she wasn¡¯t going to put up with him not even talking.


    He yipped, and Li flapped backward, flying up and around him. They were currently in a fairly large cavern, so there was enough room to fly, and it felt good to stretch.


    she told him. She¡¯d been patient long enough. She¡¯d been patient through a night and three meals and one attack by a flying thing with slimy black flesh, bulbous eyes, and a dim light dangling from its forehead. She was tired of being patient.


    Her kobold looked up at her, blinking, then shook his head as if he¡¯d just realized that he wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    Li puffed out the largest cloud of vapor she could manage in a single breath. It engulfed Kaz¡¯s head, and for a moment she considered becoming larger just so she could do better the next time. That really was a lot of effort though, so she just said, <Are we almost to the mid-levels?>


    Kaz glanced around, and she could practically see the moment when he actually thought about what they were doing and where they were. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re almost to Copperstriker territory.¡±


    Li narrowed her eyes, letting out another puff of cool vapor that settled on Kaz¡¯s fur like tiny gems. She would never admit it to him, but she liked the look and feel of his soft, warm fur. Scales were the best, of course, providing both protection and a beautiful shine, but fur was nice, too, especially when it came to snuggling. <We¡¯re just going straight to the stairs, aren¡¯t we?> she asked.


    Kaz looked conflicted. ¡°If the Copperstrikers are still holding the stairs, we should tell them that the fulan is almost gone. I don¡¯t know if the husede and kobolds have reached the first mid-level or not, but if they haven¡¯t they will soon. Without Zhangwo and the mosui spreading the spores, the fulan will die out on its own as it runs out of food.¡±


    Li thought about the Copperstriker chief, with her long, shiny fur, and brown, adoring eyes, and hissed softly. That female was very, very annoying, for reasons Li hadn¡¯t yet identified, and she didn¡¯t want to see her ever again. Specifically, she didn¡¯t want Kaz to see her ever again.


    They were nearing the end of the cavern now, and Li reluctantly flew down, eyeing Kaz¡¯s shoulder longingly as she landed on the cold stone. Dragons did like to be warm, and nothing about the mountain was warm except for Kaz. Li hadn¡¯t even realized just how much the stone sapped the warmth from her body until she spent most of her time walking, but now she wondered if her paws would ever be warm again. Still, she didn¡¯t want to be a burden to Kaz, and this way they were both ready to fight, so she would bear it until she could feel the sunlight on her scales again.


    <You can just talk to the guards then. You don¡¯t need to speak to the chief,> she said, and Kaz gave a quiet affirmative yip. He had drifted away again, and she resisted the urge to nip at his paws. They had always talked to each other about everything, or at least sent images through their connection, so why was this different?


    Ahead, she saw a tall, shadowy object that slowly resolved into a gray-colored skull with glittering eyes. As they drew closer, she realized the sockets were filled with small teeth that looked uncomfortably like Mei¡¯s. How many fuergar would you have to kill to get that many teeth, and how many of these totems did the Copperstrikers have?


    So far, she and Kaz had avoided killing any of the scurrying rodents. She knew they were just animals, unlike Mei, but there was something about eating a creature that looked like your fr¡­companion that made her uncomfortable. No eating people, and apparently not things that looked like someone you knew as people.


    As they passed the bone-mounted skull, Kaz almost bumped into it, and Li realized that he was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn¡¯t even seen it. They both knew that nothing in the heights could hurt him, and so he had let his guard down. Well, they were about to enter the mid-levels, and he needed to pay attention.


    Glancing from side to side, Li saw that the passage was low but broad, the way kobolds seemed to prefer them, and launched herself into the air. Her horns scraped the ceiling, and one wing tip brushed the wall, but she ignored it, flying around to land in front of Kaz. Standing on her back legs with her wings spread wide, she said, <What¡¯s wrong?>


    Kaz stopped, and this time his focus snapped back to her much more quickly. She saw a flicker of something in his mind before he tucked it away, and she leaned forward, saying, <Stop doing that.> She didn¡¯t like the plaintive note in her own voice, but she was worried, and she was frustrated, and she¡¯d already delayed freeing the dragons and finding her family in order to allow Kaz to confront Nucai, which probably wasn¡¯t even a good idea, and she wanted him to talk to her!This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    He let out that growling sigh that she liked so much that she sometimes made him sigh just so she could hear it. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just thinking about what we need to do next.¡±


    <No, you¡¯re not,> she told him. <You¡¯ve been sad ever since we left that yellow-furred female with all the puppies. But I don¡¯t know why.>


    Kaz stopped, glancing back at the totem, which had nearly vanished into the darkness again. His ears were almost completely flat, and while his tail wasn¡¯t tucked against his body, it wasn¡¯t anywhere close to wagging, either. She knew he was trying to hint that just inside a tribe¡¯s territory wasn¡¯t the best place for a conversation, but Li didn¡¯t care. If he was worried about that, then he should have talked to her when they were in unclaimed territory.


    Li just waited, wings spread, blocking the path, until Kaz crouched, rubbing his fingers over his eyes, then down his muzzle, the way he did when he was tired or worried. If he was worried, then he should tell her why, so they could be worried together.


    ¡°Did you hear what I said to Nadi, there at the end?¡± Kaz asked. It was one of those questions with an obvious answer, that he only asked to make sure they were both talking about the same thing, so Li just nodded.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to say that,¡± he confessed. ¡°I know it¡¯s true, or at least that it will be true if I do what I need to do, but I don¡¯t know how I know.¡±


    She stared at him. She¡¯d had the same experience, more than once. It was how she knew how to do dragon things even when there were no other dragons to teach her. It was also why she¡¯d been able to tell Nucai to let them go, and he¡¯d had to listen. And Kaz had felt some of that through her, so she knew he knew. He¡¯d never really seemed to worry about it before, just like she didn¡¯t. It was the way it was supposed to be, and sometimes that was enough. <Isn¡¯t it a good thing if kobolds like Nadi are happier?> she asked.


    He nodded, and that, at least, was firm and certain. ¡°Of course.¡±


    She felt her tail twitch. He was still hiding something from her, and that wasn¡¯t all right. They were bonded, meant to be together. After all, she didn¡¯t hide things from him. Well, except when she got hungry and used his ki to open his pouch and take out a ki-crystal. That didn¡¯t even count, though.


    The distant echo of kobold yips and the scratch of fuergar claws filled the silence that fell between them. At last, Kaz closed his eyes and muttered something. Li clicked at him, and he winced as if he¡¯d heard her frustration, and met her eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to go with you,¡± he said, and now Li flinched.


    There it was. But she¡¯d known. She¡¯d known since he said he needed to come back here, rather than going with her to the place where at least some of her family was. They were so close, but he couldn¡¯t go with her, and she¡¯d known then.


    <Are we together now?> she asked softly, and he nodded, even though he was obviously miserable. <Were we together in the mosui city? Even though our bodies weren¡¯t?> He nodded again, and Li leaned forward, careful not to poke him with her horns as she leaned against him.


    <We¡¯ll always be together,> she promised. <Even if you stay here and I go to find my mother and my siblings. You¡¯ll be with me, and I¡¯ll be with you, and we¡¯ll do both things together. Whatever it is you need to do here, I think I¡¯ll need to do something like it, only out there.>


    Raising her head, she looked up, through the stone and crystal and ore and bones that made the mountain, and saw the blue sky as clearly as if nothing lay between her and it. That was where she belonged, and she knew it as certainly as she knew that Kaz belonged¡­here. He was part of the stones and bones of this place, and she was made of clouds and sunlight. It was only through some strange twist of fate that they ever even met, and now they would never be apart.


    She pressed closer, feeling his fur wrap around her horns, tangling and holding her close. It would hurt both of them when she pulled away, but that was all right, because the time to separate wasn¡¯t here yet, and right now she was exactly where she belonged. The thing that sometimes filled her, that told her the right and true way for things to be, rose up in her, and Li said, <We¡¯ll be together until the end of time, as long as you want to, and I want to. I know.>


    Kaz¡¯s arms wrapped around her, gently folding in the wings she¡¯d forgotten she¡¯d spread. ¡°Will you come back?¡± he asked, and she could hear the fear in his voice. ¡°Or will you forget me, out there? Or, worse, will you hate me for breaking my promise?¡±


    And that was it. That was the heart of it, the biggest part of what he¡¯d been hiding from her. There was more, she could sense it, but that would work itself out, so long as this was spoken and fixed. <Will you betray me?> she asked, and she could instantly feel his denial, deep down in the most basic part of himself. He was Kaz, and she was Li, and neither would ever turn on the other.


    ¡°Never,¡± he said, and truth was in the word.


    <Then I will always love you,> she told him, and truth was there, too.


    They clung to each other, there in the darkness, as Kaz turned his power inward and the gentle ki-light faded. The bond between them hummed with ki, but also with their hopes, as well as their fears, and there was only a very little that each kept to themselves.


    Then rough kobold voices broke their silent communion, and Li jerked back, pulling out several large tufts of Kaz¡¯s fur. Loose strands fell around her, tickling her nose until she sneezed sharply, once, then again. Soft yips came from the darkness, and Kaz scooped Li up, and she reached out to the world around them, whispering, We are you, and you are us, and the world listened.


    Two short, muscular male kobolds came around the corner ahead of them. The flickering light of a firemoss oil torch illuminated the tunnel. A few tufts of blue fur lay on the ground, and the brown male in front edged forward, eyes darting around as the other male hung back, ready to react if something or someone leaped out at them.


    The brown male squatted and poked at the fur carefully, the tip of his knife coming far too close to Kaz¡¯s camouflaged paws. Not that such a weapon could hurt him any more, but it hadn¡¯t been so long since it could, and Li could feel muscles jump in his arms as he leaned away.


    Sniffing at the strands, the kobold grunted softly. ¡°Kobold, but not someone I know. We should tell Pilla.¡± The second male nodded, and the two guards retreated carefully, yipping some message as soon as they were around the corner again.


    Kaz chuffed a soft laugh as they reappeared, along with his ki-light. ¡°We should hurry,¡± he said, then scratched at his ear awkwardly. ¡°Pilla was nice, but¡­I don¡¯t really want to see her again.¡±


    <Good,> Li told him, and they began to run. Together.

 Chapter Three hundred five

    There was a dragon carved into the stone around the stairs. The last time Kaz saw it, he¡¯d guessed it might be, but now he was certain. Four guards paced back and forth near the dragon¡¯s gaping maw. They each bore a club made from a single thick bone, with copper fuergar teeth embedded in jagged rows up and down the length of the weapon. One of them was Bek, his squat, powerful body practically vibrating with readiness, in spite of the gray that speckled his dark fur.


    <Are you sure this is a good idea?> Li asked, and he could tell by the tone of her voice that if he¡¯d asked her the same question, the answer would have been a resounding ¡®no¡¯.


    <No,> he replied silently, and felt her surprise at the admission. <But it needs to be done, and I don¡¯t think anyone else can do it.>


    The stairs in the mid-levels had been carefully maintained by the kobolds who lived there. Having quick and easy access to another level could be the difference between life and death for a whole tribe, especially since the powerful creatures who lived there never used those stairs themselves.


    Kaz wasn¡¯t sure if anyone had ever questioned why that was, since beasts certainly did travel between levels via cracks and crevices in the stone. During the time he spent in the mosui city, however, he¡¯d learned that Zhangwo - the mosui leader - could control whether the stairs held back beasts and contaminants like fulan. None of the spores should have been able to travel via the stairs at all, but Zhangwo had turned off that protection for his own reasons, and as far as Kaz knew, it had never been turned back on. Kaz hoped to fix that.


    <I don¡¯t smell fulan any more,> he said, sniffing again, as if he might have missed the pungent aroma the last dozen times he¡¯d tried.


    <Then what does it matter?> Li asked. <Let someone else worry about it.>


    Kaz knew she was worried because the last time he¡¯d interacted with the stairs they had nearly emptied him of ki. If she hadn¡¯t made the mountain stop draining him, he would have been as dead as the xiyi Ganring by the end, just a husk of skin and bones. He shook his head, knowing she¡¯d feel it even though they were hidden at the moment. <I need to do this, and I think I can, now. At least enough.>


    <If I have to bite you to get you to stop, or roar at the mountain again, I¡¯m going to be mad at you,> she threatened. <Once you¡¯re better, I¡¯ll probably bite you some more, just to make sure you¡¯re smart enough never to do this again.>


    Kaz laughed silently. <That¡¯s fair,> he agreed.


    Creeping forward, Kaz kept an eye on Bek. He didn¡¯t want to have to explain what he was doing. It would be better to just do it and move on. But Bek was intensely loyal to his chief, Pilla. There was no way he¡¯d allow Kaz anywhere close to the stairs without her permission, and Kaz didn¡¯t want to hurt or shame him by forcing the issue. Plus, now that he and Li had cleared the air between them, Kaz had relaxed enough to feel a bit like a puppy practicing sneaking up on his parents. He knew nothing serious would happen if he was caught, so it was fun to see what he could get away with.


    There was a ridge of stone curling up on each side of the dragon¡¯s jaws, and Kaz crouched down behind the closest one. Up close, he could see the remains of carvings, worn down by centuries of kobolds sitting, leaning, or simply touching them as they went by. The widest part of the ridge narrowed down and then split into five smaller ridges, faintly evoking arms and clawed feet, with the dragon¡¯s ¡®chin¡¯ resting just behind them.


    Ever since he¡¯d reformed his body and Heishe helped him further refine his core, Kaz had found that he could see both ki and mana much more clearly than before. Here in the mountain, where mana hung far more thickly than in the outer world, even in the heights, it was disruptive, so most of the time he forced the ki in his eyes down to a reasonable level. Now, however, he let it rush back in, depending on Li to warn him if one of the guards got too close.


    Peering into the dragon¡¯s mouth, Kaz looked for what he expected to be there. He¡¯d been watching, and for every set of stairs he¡¯d taken since re-entering the mountain, there had been an arch at both top and bottom. Many of these arches were damaged, some even shattered, as were the stairs themselves. Most were missing one or more of the ki-crystals that were supposed to be there, which meant they probably couldn¡¯t be repaired, even if he tried. Honestly, though, he had no real urge to make the effort. Not only were there so many other ways between the levels, but the amount of ki it would take to fix a staircase that was little more than rubble just wasn¡¯t worthwhile.


    Unlike every other staircase, there hadn¡¯t been an arch at the entrance to this cavern, which meant it had to be closer to the top of the stairs themselves. The most reasonable location was inside the dragon¡¯s open mouth, which formed an arch of its own. But even with his vision so subsumed by ki that he was effectively blind to anything else, he couldn¡¯t see anything other than the light of the red ki-crystals that lined the walls.


    Then he looked up higher, and almost groaned. Why had he expected Qiangde, or whoever had built this very special entrance to this particular set of stairs, to do anything normally? Even through the curve of the stone above him, Kaz could see the bright gleam of more ki-crystals. It was so clear, he wasn¡¯t even sure how he¡¯d missed them before, other than the fact that he hadn¡¯t really been looking yet.


    <They¡¯re in the eyes,> he told Li, though he was sure she¡¯d been watching through his eyes as much as her own.


    <How do we get up there?> she asked, tensing as one of the guards moved toward them, then relaxing as he turned away again.


    <Climb or jump?> he asked, and she thought about it.


    <Jump,> she answered finally. <You can hold me, and I can keep us hidden. Just don¡¯t miss.>


    That was fair. Kaz had been known to put too much ki into his legs and jump right past his goal. But she was right. Jumping would be faster and allow them to keep in contact more easily. <Can you hide us if I move that quickly?>


    A small puff of vapor formed about where her nose would be as she snorted. <Of course.>The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Kaz backed up, shifting his vision back into normal sight as he looked up toward the top of the stone dragon¡¯s muzzle. It would be easiest to land on the relatively flat section there, then move back toward the eyes. He bent his knees, gathering his muscles but not his ki. As ridiculous as it seemed, a jump of only a bit over ten feet shouldn¡¯t even be challenging for him any more, and he really didn¡¯t want to either jump over entirely or bash his head into the ceiling some eight feet higher, especially after assuring Li that he wouldn¡¯t.


    His claws dug into the stone, scraping as he jumped in a short, tight arch. Bek glanced around, his lip lifting slightly as he peered toward the spot where Kaz and Li had hidden, but they were gone. Kaz teetered momentarily on the ridge of the long nose, which was sharper than Li¡¯s, then caught his balance and stabilized as Bek¡¯s pale blue eyes swept around the cavern. The male sniffed deeply, then shook his head, moving back toward the other guards.


    Once he was sure the older male was looking elsewhere, Kaz walked over to the closest carved eyeball. It was as large as his torso, and to his surprise, it, too, showed some signs of wear. Unlike in the outer world, neither rain nor wind wore away at the stone, so it should have been discolored but sharp. Instead, the edges were softened, and Kaz wondered whimsically if generations of young kobolds had dared each other to climb up here and poke the monster in the eye.


    <You¡¯re going to poke it in both eyes,> Li commented, clearly amused. <But we should probably hurry. I don¡¯t think Bek is entirely convinced there isn¡¯t something wrong.>


    Kaz glanced down to see that Bek was talking to one of the younger males, who nodded and headed out of the cavern at a pace a little faster than a walk. He felt his heart sink, and turned back to face the eyes again.


    Five ki-crystals had been carefully embedded in the carving, each one surrounded by runes. Kaz tried to pick out the meaning of those runes, but gave up after a moment. While Lianhua was teaching him, she¡¯d often mentioned that people who tried making the runes more decorative often only succeeded in making them harder to read, and now Kaz could see what she meant. Each rune had one right way it could be made, but it was possible to create decorations around it that were nearly indistinguishable from the original runes, especially after ten thousand hands had touched and worn it away.


    Fortunately, Kaz didn¡¯t need to read the runes to know at least some of what the crystals were meant to do. They just needed power in order to do it, and power was something he had in abundance. Carefully, he bent and placed Li between his paws. He would have preferred to hold onto her, but the eyes were too far apart to touch without pressing himself against the carved face, so he leaned against the cool stone, spreading his arms wide.


    He felt it when his questing fingers touched the first crystal. It was Water, and its cool, calm presence was comforting beneath his hand. His wrist contacted the Earth crystal, which was on the other side of the stone pupil, and he smiled at its steady presence. His other hand touched Metal, then Wood, the unchanging nature of the one balanced by the constant effort toward growth of the other. That left Fire, which sat in the center of the dragon¡¯s forehead, right where the upper dantian would lie. Left with no other option, Kaz leaned forward and touched the last ki-crystal with the tip of his nose.


    The mountain came apart around him. Staircases spun, creating a pattern Kaz had never noticed before, even with how many times he had traveled up and down. There were more than he¡¯d ever guessed, but most of the ones in the upper levels were dark, untouchable. Holes hung in the pattern, and Kaz guessed that those were staircases where all five crystals were missing, leaving nothing for him to connect to.


    He felt his ki beginning to drop precipitously, pulling on his core. Even with the large amounts of ki he could produce, it wouldn¡¯t be enough for all of this, but he¡¯d known that. What he hadn¡¯t expected was to find himself in the midst of it all, instead of dealing only with the stairs in front of - or rather below - him. Kaz gasped as he felt parts of himself begin to fade, losing their coherence as the mountain tried to remake him in its image. It needed power, and in a very real sense, Kaz was power.


    But Li had no intention of allowing her kobold to be taken from her. While Kaz was the stronger of the two, Li was better at controlling their ki, and now she pulled it back, viciously cutting off every part of the mountain except for the ones Kaz had intended to focus on. The heights and the Deep vanished abruptly from Kaz¡¯s vision, as did some very interesting things that he was almost certain were part of the mosui city. This left only the stairs, and these were, as he¡¯d hoped, in remarkably good condition, so they were the least of what had been pulling him apart.


    Kaz was finally able to catch his breath and begin to gather his ki into something he could control. He turned his attention to the staircases, and realized that he could actually feel people walking up and down the steps. The ones with cores were female kobolds, while the dense bundles of mana were husede. But looked at this way, he could sense the male kobolds as well, the power present in all living things gathered in them, too, though it was oddly wispy, as though it was constantly being pulled in and then escaping again, so none of them was ever able to keep much for long. He longed to look more closely, see if he could determine why this was happening, but he didn¡¯t have time. Not yet.


    He felt the Fire crystal beneath his nose pulse almost eagerly, and understood that he could burn these interlopers with its power if he wanted to. This was the ki used to keep things like the fulan in check, but it could also be used to burn away every living thing within range. That was why there were so many red ki-crystals up and down the stairs. It wasn¡¯t to light the way, but to burn those things the mountain¡¯s master didn¡¯t want to pass.


    No, he told it silently. Only these. He showed it fulan, lopo, dengyu, and janjio, among others. He felt the Fire recognize these things, and, rather sulkily, return to doing what it had done for a thousand years, whenever Zhangwo hadn¡¯t forced it to stop.


    That done, Kaz started to pull his ki back, but stopped as another kind of ki reached out to him. It was Earth, with Metal close behind, and, like Fire, they were eager to complete the tasks they had been given. Earth shaped the stairs, the tunnels, the landings, even the carved maps that guided travelers. Metal coated each step, protecting them from the passage of claws and time. It picked out xiyi scales on the maps, and formed reflective shields behind the red ki-crystals that lined the steps.


    Carefully, Kaz offered them ki, though he could feel Li¡¯s disapproval. His dragon was ready to roar at the mountain again, and it almost seemed like the Earth and Metal knew it. They pulled only their own elements from his cycle, and stopped when they¡¯d taken as much as he could give. He promised to offer them more, now that he knew they could be trusted not to kill him, and they settled back, content.


    That left Wood and Water, and the tips of his fingers on both hands tingled as they acknowledged him. Water was the connection, flowing from one staircase to another, pervasive and eternal, and while it acknowledged him, it didn¡¯t need his help, at least not here. And Wood¡­Wood was ready to grow, to become more than what it had been allowed to be, but it wasn¡¯t time for that to change, either. It touched Kaz¡¯s strong Wood ki, acknowledged it, and let him go.


    Done, Kaz blinked his eyes open, wincing as he realized just how off-balance he was. He had almost no red ki left, and yellow and white weren¡¯t in much better shape. Only blue and black held him upright, so he swayed on his paws while Li attempted to steady him.


    Down below, past the slope of the stone dragon¡¯s muzzle, a kobold barked, then began to howl. Kaz had been discovered.

 Chapter Three hundred six

    Kaz looked down, but his view was blocked by the stone on which he stood. The sound of scratching heralded a hand, then a wary face that peered up over the carved muzzle, looking ready to leap up or drop back down at the first sign of movement. It was Bek, and his teeth were visible, lips pulled back beneath his wary eyes. Those eyes skimmed over Kaz and Li, where they stood covered by Li¡¯s power.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Bek barked, but he didn¡¯t climb back down. Instead, he pulled himself to his paws, then crossed over to the large stone eyes glaring down at anyone who dared to enter the gaping maw below. Staring into the closest eye, he growled softly, then sighed and ducked his head in something that wasn¡¯t quite a bow, making Kaz remember that the Copperstrikers had only risen from the mid-levels recently. Did they still repeat the old howls about their dragon master and the Voice?


    After another moment, Bek deliberately turned his back on the eyes, staring straight toward Kaz and Li, where they perched on the very tip of the dragon¡¯s nose. Kaz briefly thought the other male would walk along the narrow muzzle toward them, but instead, Bek finally climbed back down. Kaz was about to do the same when a voice stopped him.


    ¡°Baji said you thought you smelled something?¡± a familiar voice asked. It was a little higher than most kobold voices, thanks to its owner¡¯s small stature and narrow build. Kaz moved back to the end of the carved nose and peered around a nostril to see Pilla¡¯s long copper fur and steady brown eyes, which were fixed on Bek.


    Bek glanced around, then nodded. ¡°I need your eyes,¡± he murmured, his deep growl so quiet even Kaz had to strain to pick it up. ¡°After that mande made it up the stairs, I don¡¯t trust mine anymore.¡±


    Kaz flinched. He¡¯d never seen a mande himself, but he¡¯d heard the howls. Every part of the creature bore a slow-acting but incurable poison. The creatures would strike from within their perfect camouflage, then track their victim for days if necessary, eventually finding and feasting on the dead body. They moved very slowly, but could climb walls as easily as walk across the floor, making it next to impossible to find them. The best way to catch and kill one was to wait by its previous victim and have a female attack the monster from a distance when she noticed parts of the body vanishing.


    Pilla nodded, and then her eyes began to glow with red and yellow ki. Her central dantian drained quickly as she looked around, and Kaz dodged backwards, suddenly worried that she might be able to see him even through Li¡¯s camouflage. Presumably she had seen the mande somehow, and the howls made it sound like that monster was, for all practical purposes, invisible.


    The Copperstriker chief stepped back into Kaz¡¯s line of sight a moment later, however, staring straight up at him. She blinked, shaking her head so her long ears swayed. ¡°Did you check up there?¡± she asked Bek as her eyes faded back to normal. Her channels and dantians were all but empty now, and Kaz wondered how she was still upright, until he saw Bek¡¯s hand surreptitiously grasping her elbow.


    Bek nodded. ¡°I did. I felt like I was being watched, but you know how it is in this cavern. Feels like that statue is just waiting to eat us all.¡±


    Pilla chuffed a soft laugh, still looking up toward Kaz and Li. ¡°Does it look¡­better to you? Like someone cleaned it up?¡±


    The broad, powerful male flinched, glancing around. ¡°Yes. I thought I was imagining it.¡±


    The chief shook her head. ¡°No. I want someone to go down the stairs tomorrow. Baji or Mik. Someone we can trust to know what to say in front of others.¡±


    Bek¡¯s ears twitched. ¡°You said we were going to wait until someone came up.¡±


    Pilla¡¯s eyes slanted toward Bek, and Kaz fell back, released from her gaze. He could still hear them talking, but he couldn¡¯t see them, and they shouldn¡¯t be able to see him, even if he was visible. ¡°I changed my mind. Chiefs are allowed to do that.¡± Her tone was dry, but not chastising. Bek had been out of line to question her order, but it was obvious that she didn¡¯t really mind.


    ¡°Yes, my chief,¡± Bek said, his voice slightly muffled. Was he bowing or smiling? Both?


    ¡°I wish Kaz had come back,¡± she murmured, for no apparent reason. ¡°Soon I¡¯ll need to take a mate, and none of the options suit me as well.¡±


    ¡°That Bonewalker warrior seemed good,¡± Bek said in a neutral tone. ¡°The green-furred one.¡±


    Pilla sighed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll probably choose him. But he didn¡¯t talk back to me. Not once.¡±


    ¡°Males aren¡¯t supposed to talk back to females.¡±


    ¡°Kaz did,¡± Pilla said.


    ¡°Kaz was a very strange puppy,¡± Bek agreed.


    Silence, then the sound of claws scratching on stone as they walked away. One set hesitated, and Pilla spoke a little more loudly as she said, ¡°I liked him. I hope he¡¯s safe.¡± Then her claws clicked away, and Kaz let out the breath he hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d been holding.


    <Do you think she could see us?> Li asked, and there was something in her voice besides concern.


    Kaz was so full of conflicting feelings that it was hard to answer, but he finally managed. <I think she could see something, but it was very difficult. It¡¯s definitely not like my vision, but maybe more like the Magmablade trick of hiding that Kyla can do? Different tribes probably have unique skills they¡¯ve figured out over the years.>If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    <Do you think she could tell who you were?>


    Kaz hesitated. <Enough that it reminded her of me.>


    Li shifted in his arms. <Let¡¯s go. You fixed the stairs so they¡¯ll keep out the bad things again. If we hurry, we can reach the city today.>


    Kaz dragged his eyes back from the direction Pilla and Bek had gone. All he could see was darkness and the cavern wall, but he could almost sense Pilla¡¯s bright core moving away. It wasn¡¯t quite a connection, more like that strange sense of ¡®kobold that direction¡¯ which vanished when they entered the mountain again, but it was enough to make him think.


    What would have happened if he had accepted her offer? What if he followed her now, and promised to come back soon? Would she keep waiting for him? But the answers didn¡¯t really matter. There was only room in his heart for one, and that space was very much taken.


    Kaz stroked Li¡¯s head. <Yes, let¡¯s go,> he told her. <You need more ki crystals.>


    Li sniffed softly, leaning into his hand. <Yes, I do. You¡¯re out of yellow and blue.>


    He laughed softly, then glanced down into the cavern below. The Copperstriker guards had returned to their pacing, if they had ever stopped, and Kaz jumped down, landing easily on his paws. No sound betrayed his movement as he and Li entered the stone dragon¡¯s mouth and began to descend the stairs.


    The remains of Golik - Pilla and Litz¡¯s brother - still lay sprawled across the bottom of the stairs. His fur was almost gone, as was most of his flesh, and the fulan spores he¡¯d lain in had become fungus. That fungus lay over him in a thick coating of rust-red tendrils, and Kaz stared at it. The air was clear, or close enough, especially compared to what had been there before. Most of the spores that lay on the ground were gray, rather than red, making it look like dust or soot covered the stone.


    He had raised a shield the moment he saw the first hint of red, and smelled a faint whiff of fulan, but the fungus was already dying back. Was its life cycle always so fast, or had Zhangwo done something to the spores he used so they would spread more quickly and then die away, leaving the area clear again? Kaz thought that must be it, because he distinctly remembered Rega teaching them a howl about a den that had been abandoned for years after a fulan infestation. Yes, it was difficult to get rid of, but that was because it couldn¡¯t be killed easily, not because it usually spread so quickly.


    Thinking about Pilla¡¯s determination to send someone down here, Kaz pulled up the Fire ki he¡¯d managed to regenerate, and used it to immolate Golik¡¯s body. He gave a soft howl as it dissolved into ash, but didn¡¯t offer even the simplest words of mourning. From what he¡¯d seen, Golik¡¯s ancestors were probably better off if he never found his way to them.


    ¡°Hopefully, the rest of it isn¡¯t dangerous,¡± Kaz said, looking for any more of the tell-tale red color. He flared his ki-light so he could see the entire cavern, noting a few more fallen bodies, and burned them as well. He had no idea if they had been kobolds or beasts, but he said, ¡°Fair howls,¡± as they crumbled anyway.


    <You can¡¯t burn it all,> Li said, but her tone was gentle. She felt his sorrow at the loss of so many kobolds, even if these particular bodies weren¡¯t those of his people.


    Kaz sighed, watching as his paws parted the ashes and dead gray spores as he walked by. He kept the shield around his knees, just as Lianhua had, though he wasn¡¯t doing it to conserve ki. He just didn¡¯t want to accidentally allow in any spores as he moved, and this seemed the best way.


    ¡°I was hoping the husede might have reached here already, but I suppose it makes sense that they haven¡¯t. If they¡¯re trying to completely clear each level as they go, and they were all as bad as we saw, I¡¯ll be surprised if they¡¯ve even finished the city levels,¡± he admitted.


    <Kobolds have to use ki or a lot of firemoss oil to kill fulan, right?> Li asked as Kaz burned another unidentifiable body. <What do the husede use?>


    Kaz paused, blinking. Husede only had mana, not ki, so what did they do to destroy fulan? They had seemed confident about their ability to do so, which was good, because kobold females not only usually didn¡¯t have enough power to clear out a very large area at a time, but generally would only clear their own territory and any close enough to infect theirs. Kobolds simply didn¡¯t have the resources to help each other anywhere except in the Deep. Life was too hard for kindness.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll find out,¡± he told her, pausing to destroy a small patch of fungus the color of dried blood. He couldn¡¯t even tell if it was growing on a body or other plants, but he offered a short howl just in case. ¡°Whatever it is, it hasn¡¯t allowed them to move any more quickly than I would have expected from kobolds alone.¡±


    Then he thought about an enormous storage cavern, filled with containers of a thick black fluid that clung to everything it touched. That stuff had certainly burned well, but he had accidentally destroyed a vast quantity of it. Was that the husede version of firemoss oil, and had Kaz ruined their chance to clear these levels properly? He felt a little sick at the thought, and burned the next patch of still-living fungus with an unnecessarily powerful burst of ki.


    Li was still in his arms, since she couldn¡¯t fly or walk while the fulan might still be active. Now, she butted her head gently against his jaw. <Maybe they¡¯re on the level right below us. Let¡¯s just go as quickly as we can. We don¡¯t need to hide, here.>


    Li was right. They¡¯d really been hiding from other kobolds, not the beasts that lived here. Kaz had no intention of fighting anything he didn¡¯t have to, but he suspected he could pull the ki from any cored creature as easily as he had from Ganring, and all shiyan - the creatures warped by fulan - had cores. Unless something managed to sneak up on him and break through his shield, Kaz and Li should be relatively safe. On the other paw, if there was only one shiyan left on a level, that would mean it had eaten all of the others, and it could be very powerful indeed. Kaz definitely didn¡¯t want to touch fulan-twisted ki with his own. No, best to stay quiet and slip through these levels without notice, which shouldn¡¯t be too hard, since everything here was completely and utterly dead.


    Kaz continued forward, focused on simply reaching the next set of stairs. He burned every hint of red he saw, and when he heard something large howl in the distance, even his paws hurried through the drifts of dead gray spores.

 Chapter Three hundred seven (Kyla)

    Kaz had been gone for almost three days, and it felt like three years. Kyla lay on her belly, staring into the cozy space she¡¯d made for Mei, using grass and branches. The fuergar had immediately vanished into it, only to reemerge a few moments later to begin gathering more grass and anything else soft she could find. She had even plucked some of Kyla¡¯s loose fur while she was sleeping! Now, the rotund rodent spent all of her time in the tiny hut, while Kyla brought her water and fed her Kaz¡¯s metal bars.


    ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s all right?¡± Kyla demanded again, rolling over to stare up at Yingtao, who was standing beside Lianhua. The taller female had proven to be quite knowledgeable about medicine, and without Kaz, Kyla had turned to her instead.


    A small smile passed over Yingtao¡¯s lips, and amusement brightened her eyes. There was definitely something the other female wasn¡¯t telling her, and Kyla didn¡¯t like it at all. Worse, it seemed like all of the humans were in on it, except possibly Lianhua, who was oblivious to everything except the runes carved into the archway that would contain the portal into the mountain.


    ¡°Quite sure,¡± Yingtao said. ¡°Though I¡¯d still recommend watching her very closely over the next few days.¡± She hesitated, then reached into her sleeves, coming out with some round, golden coins. ¡°Here. In case she needs more metal.¡±


    Kyla sat up, accepting the coins. She was more than a little surprised by the gesture, since Yingtao was almost as good a trader as Idla, and everyone knew Idla didn¡¯t give anything away for free. Kyla was not looking forward to negotiating with the strict old chief on the humans'' behalf, though at least she knew the true value of Idla¡¯s goods, which would prevent the chief from pretending something was rarer than it was.


    ¡°Kyla?¡± The absent voice made her turn around, meeting Lianhua¡¯s eyes. There was a wide streak of dirt on the female¡¯s cheek. Yingtao saw it at the same moment, and took out a small square of brightly colored cloth, which she used to wipe the smudge away. Lianhua blinked, then smiled blindingly at Yingtao before catching the taller female¡¯s hand in hers and kissing the back. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, and Yingtao¡¯s cheeks turned red as Lianhua looked at Kyla again.


    ¡°Do you know what this rune means?¡± Lianhua asked, pointing to it. This one was half-buried in the ground, but Kyla sent one more glance toward her sleeping fuergar before climbing to her paws and brushing grass from her fur.


    Kyla had been certain that she would be able to let the kobolds inside the mountain know that she was outside, waiting. After all, the howls told of runes she was supposed to be able to fill with her power, lighting a corresponding rune inside the mountain. Unfortunately, the portal was completely covered in runes, and even though Kyla used her power until she was drained, none of them seemed to do anything. Certainly, no one had opened the portal, and the day it was scheduled to open was drawing close.


    Now, Lianhua was trying to translate the runes, to see if they contained any instructions or if any particular one was more promising than the others. At least, that was what she said she was doing, but mostly she just moved a few inches at a time, all the while writing in one of her little books. Yingtao was always there beside her, ready to bring an apparently endless supply of tea and food, and draw anything that Lianhua didn¡¯t feel she could capture properly by herself.


    Kyla crouched beside Lianhua, staring at the weathered stone that vanished into the dirt. Lianhua had pulled grass and other small plants away from the column, but bits of dirt still clung to it. Brushing away what she could, Kyla traced the curves of the rune with the tip of a claw.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just the number three?¡± she asked finally, unable to see why Lianhua had called her over. Numbers were the first thing any pup learned, since they were simple to draw and understand.


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°Numbers don¡¯t have modifiers, they just are. But look here.¡± she pointed to a faint notch Kyla had taken for a chip in the stone. ¡°This is the modifier for ¡®eternal¡¯, and in the size quadrant, it¡¯s¡­I don¡¯t even know what that is.¡± She huffed a breath, but Kyla could tell she was actually enjoying herself, which was perhaps the strangest thing about all of this. ¡°Could you tell me the number howl again?¡±


    Kyla knew perfectly well that Lianhua had written the howl down, because the human had shown it to her when she asked if Kyla knew what it meant, but she dutifully repeated it anyway. ¡°One is safety, two is clear, three is home, four is bone, five is forbidden, six is work, eight is mine, and nine is forever.¡±


    Lianhua nodded, taking another book from her pouch and opening it. Kyla had no idea how she could tell them apart, or remember what was in which one, but somehow whenever she took one out, it always had what she was looking for in it. This time she was apparently looking for a picture of a map, though it wasn¡¯t drawn in her usual stark, sharp lines. No, this one was full of shadows and depth, looking like it might rise up off the page.


    ¡°Kaz drew that,¡± Lianhua said with a smile, tracing a gentle finger over the lines on the page. It wasn¡¯t perfect, even Kyla could tell that, but there was an energy to it, a sense that the essence of the thing had been captured in time, and she held her breath for fear that she would damage it.


    Yingtao shook her head. ¡°He has real talent,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯d love to see what he could do after receiving proper training.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s smile took on a melancholy edge, and she looked up at the mountain that towered over them. ¡°I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll ever get the chance to receive that training. I hope he will.¡± Then she shook off whatever dark thought she¡¯d had, and said, ¡°But look at the numbers.¡±


    Her finger tapped the page, pointing out the runes carved into the stone map. Kaz hadn¡¯t been able to fit everything in without making it unreadable, so he¡¯d marked the placement, and then drawn the actual runes around the edges, along with rough, simple runes to indicate color, where necessary. ¡°One is safety. Those runes are in the cities, but also in a few places around the Deep.¡±


    Kyla peered at it. ¡°I think those are the main dens of the great tribes. They¡¯re the only ones that never move, since they have water from the underground river, as well as their own small yumi fields. Those haven¡¯t done well since we lost the Woodblades, though, so they¡¯ve had to share what comes out of the fields near the Tree.¡±


    Lianhua nodded. ¡°That makes sense. ¡®Two is clear.¡¯ Those are almost all in the upper levels, with a few in the mid.¡± This time Kyla had nothing to contribute, so she shrugged. She knew only the broadest of generalities about life in the levels above the Deep.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°All right,¡± Lianhua murmured, ¡°We¡¯ll put that aside for the moment. Given how much less of everything there is in the upper levels, this could be pretty literal. Nothing here, move on. Which brings us to three. ¡®Three is home.¡¯ I¡¯d think that would mean the dens or cities, and there is some crossover, but there are only three threes.¡±


    Her finger tapped the page, going from the image of the Tree, to the city in the mid-levels, and then to the only spot that was also marked with an eight. ¡°Who lives - or lived - in these three places, and why is the same version of the number carved into this arch?¡±


    ¡°The dragon skeleton is at the top of the Tree,¡± Kyla offered. ¡°And the last one is near the forges. Don¡¯t dragons like fire?¡± They all paused and looked around, as if expecting a response from someone who wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°I think our dragon prefers water, but she does like it very, very hot,¡± Lianhua said, laughing a little. ¡°I don¡¯t know about other dragons, but it does seem likely that they also prefer hot places. Both Huo Hu and Meng Yan Hai mention dragons breathing flame, while Ling Qiao claimed there was a dragon breeding ground in the heart of the Yan Gu volcano. Of course, that claim was weakened by Yue Ta, who put together an expedition in 579 AD. The whole expedition died when the gases produced by the volcano smothered them in their sleep, but in 621 AD, Yue Ming, Yue Ta¡¯s grandson, discovered their camp, along with Yue Ta¡¯s records, which showed that he¡¯d found some evidence that dragons had once nested there, but no definitive proof. In fact, he believed that bandits had used the caldera as a place to hide their stolen goods, and started the dragon rumors to keep other people away.¡±


    Kyla and Yingtao waited patiently until Lianhua finished. Fortunately, Raff was out hunting again, and the Elder Longs were in the tent nearby, so no one felt the need to hurry her along. Presumably Chi Yincang was somewhere nearby, but he certainly wasn¡¯t going to pop out of wherever he hid just so he could tell Lianhua to get to the point.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Lianhua said, finally coming back to what they were talking about, ¡°so maybe three is something about dragons?¡± Then her eyes narrowed, and she bit down on her lip. ¡°Or maybe it¡¯s about dragon servants. We know Nucai is in or under the Tree, and Zhangwo lived in the mid-level city. Kyla, do you know where Dongwu lived?¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears flattened. Dongwu was the name of the human who had ¡®created¡¯ the kobolds. She might or might not have been the Voice, but otherwise there were no howls about her, at least not that Kyla knew of. ¡°No,¡± she said, voice tight. ¡°Not even Tegra¡¯s book says much about the person who led the experiments. She hated Qiangde and his servants, but I¡¯m not sure she even knew this Dongwu¡¯s name. If she did, it was a rune I didn¡¯t know how to translate.¡±


    Lianhua shook her head. ¡°Dongwu, you¡¯re as mysterious as ever,¡± she murmured, and by now Kyla recognized the look in her eyes. Lianhua wanted to know more, and she would pick and pry at every clue until she got an answer. She was also oddly good at making leaps of intuition that turned out to be correct, so Kyla didn¡¯t discount the possibility that she was right about the meaning of the number three, as well.


    ¡°But none of that tells us why this version of the number rune is here,¡± Lianhua said, frowning at the mark. ¡°What I do know is that at some point it got chipped. See, look at the spur on the drawing, and what looks like a terminal on the portal.¡± She pointed to the very bottom of the rune in both places, which was helpful, because Kyla had no idea what she was talking about.


    ¡°It still says ¡®three¡¯ either way, because over time, even runes shift, so you have to know the era they were created in order to be certain of an accurate translation. But without the spur marking the fourth quadrant, it doesn¡¯t match, which is strange, because these should be from the same era as the other numbers, which don¡¯t have equivalent alterations.


    ¡°Normally, that quadrant indicates ownership or location, depending on context, but of course there really isn¡¯t much context here. It¡¯s almost like someone took the most important words out of a poem or song and just slapped them up here. Other than the numbers, the runes are things like ¡®ethereal¡¯, ¡®solace¡¯, and ¡®ineffable¡¯. At least I think that was ineffable. It might also be ¡®eggplant¡¯, but that just doesn¡¯t make as much sense. Unfortunately, time and weather have worn away some of the finer marks, but in this case, I think something hit the column pretty hard, chipping off that spur.¡±


    Looking to her right, Lianhua said, ¡°Chi Yincang, would you come here, please?¡±


    Instantly, the dark warrior dropped out of the air, landing lightly in the soft soil. Somehow, in spite of the fact that it was still damp from a light rain that morning, he didn¡¯t leave even the slightest trace of his passage as he walked over to Lianhua. Kneeling beside her, he said, ¡°Yes, Lady Long.¡±


    Lianhua sighed very, very softly, then showed Chi Yincang the page. Pointing to the carving, she said, ¡°Can you add this spur back on the terminal?¡±


    Chi Yincang dipped his head in acknowledgement, then spent a moment staring at Kaz¡¯s drawing. When he was satisfied, he raised his hand, and his long, bladed weapon appeared as if from nowhere. Kaz said it was stored in the ring on his middle finger, and Kyla would very much like to have a ring like that. Of course, she would use it to store cheese, but to each their own.


    Using only the deadly tip of the blade on the end of the pole, Chi Yincang made a short, decisive stroke against the stone. The tiniest sliver fell into the grass, and then the weapon vanished again, leaving Chi Yincang waiting to see if Lianhua needed anything else. Seeing that she didn¡¯t, he jumped straight up from his crouch in one smooth motion, disappearing into thin air once again.


    Turning to Kyla, Lianhua said, ¡°Try putting your ki into it now. Just a little, at least at first. Right here.¡± She pointed to the center of the ¡®three¡¯ rune.


    Three is home. Kyla nodded and reached out, pressing a finger to the same spot Lianhua had just touched. Gathering her power, she did what she would have done to create a light on the tip of her finger, focusing on keeping it small but bright. At first, she thought this would be as much a failure as every other time, but then the rune shimmered, and the entire arch glowed for the barest moment. No portal opened, however, and Kyla sat back.


    ¡°Should I try a power-bolt?¡± she asked, though she felt oddly shaky, given how little power she¡¯d meant to use.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes were bright, and her pen was scratching at the page of yet another book. She glanced up. ¡°What? Oh, no. That was perfect. Thank you.¡± She looked back down at the page, clearly having forgotten Kyla was even there.


    Yingtao gave a small laugh, smiling at Kyla conspiratorially. ¡°She¡¯ll be like this for a while, I think. Perhaps you should check on Mei until she¡¯s ready to talk again.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s ears perked up instantly. How long had they been talking? It seemed like forever, with all of Lianhua¡¯s meandering howls. Quickly, she hurried back over to Mei¡¯s little hut, peering inside. There was her fuergar, sleeping deeply on her side, in that way she had only started to do when she grew too round to sleep normally. But as Kyla watched, her belly rippled, like something inside was trying to come out, and Kyla threw herself backward, then forward again. Her hands stretched out as if to snatch her friend from the hut, but stopped. What if she hurt Mei even more? What if whatever was inside her burst out?


    A soft laugh came from behind her, and Kyla whipped around, staring up at Yingtao, who wore the broadest smile Kyla had ever seen on her face. ¡°Did you finally figure it out?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Kyla asked, her voice barely a whimper, and the smile vanished.


    Yingtao crouched down, reaching out toward Kyla, who backed away. Yingtao had known about this, but hadn¡¯t helped Mei? Had Kaz known, too? ¡°Oh, no,¡± Yingtao said with surprising gentleness. ¡°Your little friend is going to be a mother soon, that¡¯s all. She¡¯s perfectly fine. Her body is just working hard to grow her babies.¡±


    Kyla turned huge eyes back toward the little hut, then toward Yingtao again. Finally, her tail began to wag with the most enthusiastic thumps ever, and she clutched her hands in front of her. ¡°Eeeeep!¡± she said, unable to form coherent words.


    Yingtao reached out and patted Kyla¡¯s head. ¡°That sums it up perfectly.¡±

 Chapter Three hundred eight

    Kaz leaned forward, peering into the cavern at the end of the long, low tunnel. The last time he¡¯d seen it, it held several huts and the remaining males from the Sharpjaw tribe. The fulan had taken its toll on the females of their tribe, and even though they all knew it was likely that the females were dead, they had refused to leave them behind entirely.


    Their leader, Zyle, sent several of the younger warriors with Kaz and the humans, in hopes that they, at least, would live. Kaz left, knowing that it was unlikely he would ever return, and if he did, they would probably all be dead. But here he was, and the fulan was dying back, so he had dared to hope that Zyle and the others might have survived. Unfortunately, no guards had been at what was left of the gate, or at the stairs, which did not bode well.


    Kaz gave a soft, questioning yip as he stepped into the cavern. Li called up her own shield, then ran forward a few steps and lifted off, flying away through the low-ceilinged cavern before Kaz could call her back. There was something about the heavy silence that told him all he needed to know.


    <I don¡¯t see anyone,> Li said after a minute. <It doesn¡¯t smell like anyone has been here for a while, either. And, Kaz-> She didn¡¯t finish her sentence, but Kaz could see what she didn¡¯t want to tell him. There was dried blood pooled on the stones beneath his paws. Too much blood. He picked his way around it, but sometimes he just couldn¡¯t avoid it, since the ceiling was too low to allow him to jump across.


    <I know,> he told her. <Come back.> He watched the strong, glittering bond between them shift as she turned around, and waited until she glided back down beside him. Stroking her head as much for his own reassurance as hers, he continued through the cavern, looking into the huts. Many of them were intact, while others were little more than shreds of leather and splinters of bone. The blood was usually near these.


    ¡°This is Zyle¡¯s hut,¡± he murmured as they drew close to it. It was one of the intact ones, and he yipped again before pushing the door open. He half expected to see the old kobold, either alive or dead, but it was as empty as the others he¡¯d seen. That is, not quite empty, because some of the former occupant¡¯s belongings were still there.


    <There¡¯s nothing here,> Li said finally, and Kaz nodded in reluctant agreement. He had truly hoped that he might be able to persuade any remaining Sharpjaws to go to the mosui city with him. He suspected that most of the once-powerful tribes in the mid-levels had been decimated by the fulan, and their remaining members might move to the city once they knew it existed. Even Zyle might have been convinced if he believed that any surviving females would go there.


    As Kaz turned to go, his eye caught on something tucked beneath a large, flat-bottomed bowl, of the type kobolds used for washing loincloths and dishes. He spun back, crouching to lift the bowl, revealing a single piece of scraped-down leather covered in painted runes. The runes were far from the graceful strokes Kaz was used to seeing in Lianhua¡¯s books, and he squinted at the thick, blocky markings as he tried to make sense of them.


    ¡°I think¡­it wants this taken to someone else. I can¡¯t read the name, though.¡± He touched the rune that he thought was the name, but though it bore some similarity to a few of the runes Lianhua had taught him, he couldn¡¯t make sense of it.


    Li stood on her back legs, and he held it down so she could see the page. She didn¡¯t care about reading the way Kaz did, so even though they¡¯d shared the same lessons, she just scanned the runes without any real comprehension. <Is that all? Why would Zyle want this taken somewhere?>


    Kaz chuffed slightly. ¡°There¡¯s more to it. Something about his¡­mate? I think? Or mother.¡± He touched the rune, which was probably also a name, but had the mark indicating it was referring to a female. Sliding his finger along, he said, ¡°This is definitely the rune for death, but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s past or present.¡±


    <We can take it to Lianhua,> Li said, dropping back to all four feet. <Or Kyla. She might know the names better.> The dragon sounded almost smug at the idea that Kaz¡¯s cousin might be better at some runes than Lianhua. Kaz knew Li liked the human female, but she had definitely grown to like Kyla more since they passed through the Incinerator together, even though he doubted she would ever admit it.


    Kaz nodded and rolled up the fragile piece of leather, tucking it into his pouch. With a sigh, he admitted, ¡°There¡¯s nothing here. We should go.¡±


    Li nodded, and they both stepped back out into the dark den. Kaz drew in a deep breath, hoping to catch some hint of which direction either the Sharpjaws or their attacker had gone, but the scents were so faded that he couldn¡¯t pick one out to follow.


    Li flew off, heading back toward the entrance of the den, but Kaz hesitated. Closing his eyes, he pictured the old male as clearly as he could. Zyle¡¯s patchy gray fur, bent posture, and rheumy brown eyes came into sharp focus, and Kaz focused on him, and his own desire to find the elder Sharpjaw.


    For an instant, he thought it might work, but then the connection to that greater sense of ¡®kobold¡¯ was gone, leaving only an emptiness that Kaz somehow knew meant Zyle was nowhere to be found. He bowed his head, giving the soft howl that called a kobold¡¯s ancestors to guide him to their den, and after a moment, Li picked it up, giving a high-pitched roar of sorrow.


    =+=+=+=


    They left that level behind, and then another, and though they heard strange sounds in the distance, nothing came for them, nor did they see or smell kobolds. Kaz¡¯s effort to burn out the remaining fulan was the only sign that anyone had been through these levels recently, though in places he could still see the remains of his own paw prints, as well as those of his companions.


    When he came to the top of the stairs leading to the level where the Redmanes lived, Kaz stopped and looked around. He was carrying Li again, since the dead gray spores were thick here, and it was hard for her to maintain her own shield while plowing through layers of grainy dust.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t the husede made it here?¡± he asked, though he knew Li had no more answer than he did. He still had a creeping dread that it might be his fault, that they¡¯d needed the black goo that had burned up in the storage cavern, and when they discovered that it was all gone, they had had to fall back on firemoss oil and the power of the few female kobolds available, who were all Redmanes. That wouldn¡¯t have gotten them very far.


    Li shook her head, clicking softly. <It¡¯s not your fault. You didn¡¯t ask the mosui to try to kill you.> Kaz nodded, but that didn¡¯t make the guilt go away. Surely he could have found a way to defend himself that wouldn¡¯t have resulted in burning an entire level of the city. Li huffed a sigh and laid her chin on his shoulder. <Let¡¯s just go down and ask,> she said reasonably, and Kaz started down the stairs.


    As usual, the spores vanished the moment they entered the stairwell. Kaz held Li out, and she launched into the air, gliding down the stairs and then flying back up again. It was tricky, even at her much-reduced size, but she was getting quite good at knowing just how much she could hold her wings in without falling.


    The red ki-stones tucked away in alcoves along the walls flickered at Kaz as he went by. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that while they had once seemed eerie, almost threatening, the light now appeared almost cheerful. They were definitely brighter than they had been, as they should be, since he gave them more power every time he passed through an arch. They always drained whatever red ki he gave them in an instant, but increasingly he felt like they understood that they couldn¡¯t take more than he offered.


    They heard the first sounds when they were less than halfway down the stairs. These weren¡¯t the distant, muffled sounds he¡¯d become used to, but rather a loud keening, roaring, screeching noise, as of a hundred creatures all screaming at once. Kaz had heard sounds like that before, though this was the worst by far. Somewhere down there was a shiyan.


    When they got close enough to hear the scratching and scraping of something huge moving around at the bottom of the stairs, Kaz called Li back. Together, they stared into the red-lit dimness. <I guess now we know why the husede haven¡¯t gotten any higher,> Li said.


    Kaz nodded. As far as he was aware, there were only a few sets of stairs on each mid-level, and he knew better than most. The mental map he saw when he connected to the mountain certainly had gaps in it, and there could be a staircase with no ki-stones left in one of those places, but this was by far the closest set of stairs, and the one that connected to the system of broad hallways that was the only relatively safe way through. Did anyone else even know about the other one on this level, or was it one of the hidden stairways?


    <How do we get past?> Li asked. <And no, you can¡¯t cut your way into it and crush its core.>


    Kaz¡¯s ears twitched in amusement. He had done that, but he didn¡¯t think he would need to this time. ¡°Now that the stairs are working properly, whatever that is can¡¯t come up after us, so we should be able to get a look at it and decide then.¡±


    <Unless it throws rocks or something,> Li said as a rumbling crash came from below. Kaz winced. That definitely didn¡¯t sound good, and he suspected he¡¯d need to give the stairs a good amount of Earth ki to repair the damage in the cavern below.


    ¡°It won¡¯t throw anything at us if it doesn¡¯t know we¡¯re there,¡± Kaz offered, and Li was forced to admit he was right. Her ki fell over them, and they vanished from sight.


    Even after they were concealed, Kaz moved slowly, and not only so he didn¡¯t drain Li¡¯s ki faster than her core could replace it. He¡¯d run into too many people who could sense ki, even if they couldn¡¯t see it like he did, and shiyan gained power and possibly abilities from each core they ate. Janjio, for instance, had an uncanny ability to know which kobold was using power to attack it and go after that one. Their eyes were tiny, able to do little more than sense light, so how did they know who to kill first, if not through something they sensed in the echoes of their screams?


    His first sight of the thing made him glad he¡¯d moved slowly, but not because it seemed to sense him. No, it was simply that this was a monstrosity greater than any of the ones he¡¯d seen before, and he needed time to take it in.


    The main body, which occupied a large part of the huge cavern below, was composed of something that looked like solid slime, with chunks of bodies dissolving inside it. Its immense size should have meant it was trapped in that space, but it seemed able to squash that part of itself into any shape it needed, though it preferred to be able to expand completely.


    That part matched the description Ghazt had given of a muju, but those were usually all but immobile, hanging almost invisibly across a tunnel until something simply walked into them, at which point they engulfed their prey, which smothered inside their gelatinous folds. This had probably started out as a muju, but as with every shiyan he¡¯d seen, it had some visible remnant of every cored creature it had eaten.


    There were dozens of kobold parts, from heads to paws, along with insectile legs, chitinous jaws, antennae, wide woshi mouths, janjio wings, the dangling luminescent orbs that hung from the heads of dengyu, and a dozen other things he could barely recognize. Some legs had a dozen other legs protruding from them, and he was almost certain that there was a smaller kobold head inside the toothy maw of a renyu. It looked like nothing more than a bowl of random body parts that had been smashed together into a single gruesome mass.


    Kaz swallowed hard. It was more horrifying than he could possibly describe that he might once - however briefly - have been something like this. What creature had Nucai fed the original Kaz¡¯s core to? Had the body he¡¯d considered his own started out as a zhiwu or a fuergar? He¡¯d once had to fight a fuergar the size of a small kobold, so that wasn¡¯t that great of a stretch.


    Li¡¯s hard, scaly head thumped into his jaw, and when he looked down at her, she clicked her sharp teeth at him. <Do I have to make you smarter?> she asked, and Kaz gave a choked bark of laughter.


    ¡°No,¡± he told her, his voice rough. ¡°I know I¡¯m not¡­that. But I could have been, far too easily.¡±


    <No, you couldn¡¯t,> she told him, glaring even as she leaned against his chest comfortingly. <You¡¯re too strong, and too kind. Your core never would have hurt anyone the way that thing did. You¡¯re Kaz.>


    And he was. Whatever he might have been, he was Kaz now, and in the process of becoming something much, much more. He defined who and what he was, and he was Li¡¯s Kaz, and his own Kaz, and that would never change. Not again.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Kaz nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go closer,¡± he said. ¡°I have an idea.¡±

 Chapter Three hundred nine

    Kaz had had to deal with far too many of these shiyan by now. For the first one, Chi Yincang had cut a hole in the body so Kaz could reach and crush the core. Then he had torn Litz¡¯s misshapen core from her body, killing her. When faced with Ehlan, the chief of the Redmanes, he had been able to cut away the core she had eaten, salvaging her own core, however damaged it was. The last shiyan had been a truly monstrous thing that looked like a dragon that hadn¡¯t yet figured out that it was dead. Its core had been too large to destroy at once, so he¡¯d cut away the various parts of it until the thing simply ceased to function as a whole.


    The abomination below wasn¡¯t as large as that draconic monstrosity, but it was far too close for Kaz¡¯s comfort, and he didn¡¯t have anyone else to distract it while he got close to it. Well, there was Li, but a single strike from one of those unnervingly boneless limbs would be far too dangerous for his friend, even if she grew to her largest size.


    In the time since they left the Deep, however, Kaz and Li had changed. For one thing, they were far stronger, and for another, they had faced the xiyi and Jianying. Thanks to Heishe and Fengji, that had ended about as well as Kaz could realistically have hoped, and in the process, both he and his dragon had learned.


    ¡°Can you roar?¡± Kaz asked softly, staring down at the core in the center of the pulsating mass of flesh. It was suffused with the dull reddish hue of fulan, but he could see at least a dozen disparate cores still in it, all attempting to consume the ki of the others around it, then convert it into their own. That would make what he planned to do more dangerous than he¡¯d hoped, since the ravenous cores would grab onto his ki and attempt to pull it in, but he was sure he could do it.


    <Of course I can,> Li said, affronted, then hesitated as she realized what he meant. <You mean like Jianying? Pushing my ki out?>


    Kaz nodded. ¡°This will be easier if the creature is suppressed, both in body and power. But I think it¡¯ll work even if you can¡¯t.¡± He should have known Li would take that as a challenge, and the dragon mantled.


    <If Jianying could do it, I can, too,> she said with absolute confidence, then opened her mouth. Before she could make a sound, Kaz pinched it closed again, making her give a muffled squawk.


    ¡°Just a moment,¡± he told her. ¡°I want to get a little closer.¡± There were still at least fifty steps between them and the writhing monster, and he was almost certain that it couldn¡¯t actually sense them in any way. Still, he moved slowly and cautiously as he descended ten more steps, then fifteen. The rank stench of something dead filled his nostrils, and he had to fight not to sneeze. Li, unfortunately, wasn¡¯t so successful.


    As the dragon¡¯s small sneeze echoed out into the open area below, her control of their camouflage slipped, just for a moment. It was enough. Every head on the thing below snapped toward them, several already opening jaws filled with mismatched teeth. Its gelatinous flesh stretched as both heads and body attempted to move up the stairs, only to have the red ki-crystals at the bottom of the stairs flash into brilliance. The creature stopped, making a many-throated cry that made every hair on Kaz¡¯s body lift in instinctive horror. ¡°Now,¡± he managed, and Li began to roar.


    Her voice started out only a little louder than the sneeze, but rose to something her small throat should never have been able to produce. Her ki pushed out with it, tentative at first, then shoving hard at everything around them. To Kaz¡¯s sight, even the ever-present mana in the air receded before that pressure, and the monstrosity below was squashed down like well-cooked tanuo.


    It was Kaz¡¯s turn, and he focused on a single one of the sickly colors in the monster¡¯s core and pulled. Greedily, it reached back, attempting to take Kaz¡¯s power, but he held it just out of reach. The mistake he had made with Ganring was allowing the xiyi¡¯s ki to enter his own cycle, after which Kaz¡¯s more powerful core simply pulled on Ganring¡¯s until he was empty. Kaz knew better this time, and used Li¡¯s roar to push the ki away instead, watching as it dissolved into mana. Then Kaz used the briefest touch of his own ki to separate the power from its originating core. With no ki left, that core flickered and died. The monster sagged.


    Kaz took a single step closer, repeating this sequence of actions over and over, until only a single core remained in the quivering mass of flesh. Even Li¡¯s prodigious strength was nearly drained by now, and her roar was little more than a rasp, so Kaz stretched out his ki one last time. The core was starving, now that it was trying to support the whole body alone, and it reached toward him with almost pathetic eagerness. Kaz felt a twinge of regret as he severed the core¡¯s ki, and it, too, faded into powerless emptiness.


    Li allowed her voice to fall silent, and Kaz sat abruptly on the stair. He gathered her up, feeling his eyes burn, even though he was still within the shield he held almost without conscious thought by now. ¡°How many dead?¡± he wondered softly as he rested his muzzle against Li¡¯s warm body. ¡°How many tribes and how many kobolds died because of Zhangwo¡¯s madness? Even the creatures of the mountain were innocent in this. They kill us, and we kill them, but there¡¯s no malice in it. It¡¯s simply the way of life. But this?¡±


    His eyes roved over the thick mass of flesh. Parts of it were beginning to bubble; melting or simply failing under their own weight, without the power of ki to reinforce them. This thing had to have eaten dozens of kobolds, among everything else. A whole tribe? Two? This had to stop, and stop soon. Who knew how many of these shiyan there were? Yes, they might die as the fulan did, but what if they didn¡¯t?


    <At least they¡¯re trapped now,> Li said, her voice exhausted. <Once people learn where they are, they can be avoided until someone manages to kill them.>


    Kaz nodded, but that wasn¡¯t entirely true. Yes, the shiyan in general tended to be cumbersome things, but some of them could move surprisingly quickly. And what if one of them ate a mande and became all but invisible? Even a large group of strong females would have taken losses in killing this monster, if they succeeded at all. What chance would they have against one they couldn¡¯t see?If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Well,¡± Kaz said, climbing to his paws, though he didn¡¯t put Li down. For once, the dragon didn¡¯t protest, instead laying her head on his shoulder. ¡°How do we get to the tunnel?¡±


    Li sighed, not even raising her head to look for herself. Gazing out through his eyes, she sighed. <It¡¯s filling the cavern, isn¡¯t it?>


    It was true. The shiyan had had parts of itself extended out through both of the exits from this cavern, and, worse, it looked like it had badly damaged, if not destroyed, the arch leading to the wide passage. Now, even though it was slowly flattening out, there was no way to leave without walking on the disgusting corpse, and crawling along some unknown length of its limbs when they did reach the tunnel.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to burn it,¡± Kaz said with resignation.


    <All of it?>


    He eyed the enormous mass below. ¡°I might as well. It will have to be done. Any fulan spores in the area would find this a feast.¡±


    <It¡¯s going to smell so bad,> Li said plaintively, hiding her head beneath a wing.


    He laughed. She meant it, but she was also trying to cheer him up, and he loved her all the more for it. ¡°I can put your head in one of those masks Lianhua used to keep out the spores when we came through the first time,¡± he offered. ¡°I, ah, forgot to give one back.¡±


    It was Li¡¯s turn to laugh, and small wisps of steam trailed from her nostrils. <It¡¯s almost worth it,> she muttered. <Can you make the shield keep the smell out?>


    That was a good idea, and he should have thought of it. When he burned the Broken Knife den, he¡¯d made a shield so thick that not even air passed in or out of it, keeping the smoke away. Eventually, it had become difficult to breathe inside of it, though he wasn¡¯t sure why. He could hold his breath for quite a while now - if he even needed to breathe at all - but Li¡¯s body cultivation wasn¡¯t even as high as Kaz¡¯s had been before he remade his body.


    Concentrating, he pictured a thick bubble around them, but pushed it out much further than usual. So long as he didn¡¯t move, it shouldn¡¯t be too much harder to hold this than the much smaller one he¡¯d been walking around in. It took quite a bit of ki, but he really hadn¡¯t used much in the battle, since he¡¯d mostly been using it as a lure, not a weapon. Once it was as strong as he could make it, he looked back at the bubbling flesh of the shiyan.


    ¡°Burn,¡± he told it.


    It was exactly as disgusting as he expected, and he felt Li pull away from their connection as much as she could, closing out his vision. After a while, however, thick, greasy smoke surrounded them, and only the space within their shield remained clear, which prevented Kaz from seeing anything either. Still, he held on until he¡¯d drained their combined red ki down to only what their cores were creating, and he began to feel a little dizzy. Then he sat on the stairs again, trying to breathe as slowly as he could so the air would remain good for Li.


    Eventually, the smoke thinned, revealing a thick coating of black soot on everything, including - somewhat to his amusement - their shield. He wasn¡¯t even sure what to do about that, since as soon as the shield dropped, the residue would probably fall on them. Perhaps Li could use her steam to clean it?


    That was exactly what happened, though it took some effort to get the shield to allow the steam to cross while keeping everything else out. It took only a small amount of air coming in through an opening Kaz made to convince both of them that they very much didn¡¯t want to smell anything for quite a while.


    Once they could see through the shield again, Kaz pulled it in, bringing it up around his knees. Li wrapped her tail around his waist so not even a single speck of ash could reach her shining scales, and they made their way through what was left of the shiyan. The ashes were greasy and the stone beneath was hot, so Kaz had to move slowly, digging in his claws with every step.


    He stopped at the broken archway, staring up at it. As he¡¯d feared, two of the ki-stones were missing, along with a good chunk of the arch itself. The runes were covered in soot, but Kaz could see the faint glow of the drained crystals, and reached up to touch the yellow one.


    The white ki-crystal was gone, as was the blue one, but with Earth, Fire, and Water, Kaz thought he could repair this archway and the cavern beyond, as well as giving the defensive crystals more power. Water served only to keep this arch connected to all of the others, but that was important, too.


    Earth ki pulsed out of Kaz, quickly draining his channels and dantians. When he had rebalanced his ki after his body was¡­damaged, he had shifted it toward Wood and away from Earth, so even though he was stronger overall, the amount of that particular color of ki he had available wasn¡¯t enough to complete the repairs.


    Then Li joined her ki with his even more closely than usual, and bright yellow ki poured through him. She, too, had learned to compress her dantians in order to store more power, but Kaz tried to use only what flowed through their shared cycle. Now, she opened her dantian, and Earth flooded out, strong and confident, filling the ki-crystal beneath Kaz¡¯s hand.


    Something cracked loudly, and then there was a whole series of sharp sounds, making Kaz try to pull his hand away and turn to look back at the cavern he¡¯d just exited. For the first time in several levels, it was difficult to separate his ki from that of the mountain, but then something else, familiar but also different than he remembered, pushed him away gently, and his hand dropped to his side.


    Turning, Kaz saw that the blackened, broken cavern had been restored. Not entirely, since there were still smears on the ground in places, and fresh gouges in the walls, but there was no rubble, and, more importantly, the stairs themselves were clear of soot and ash. When he looked back at the arch, he could see that it, too, was clean, and though the blue and white ki-stones were still missing, the stone in which they were supposed to be set was back, along with the sharp lines of the runes surrounding them.


    <Do you think someone knows how to make new crystals?> Li asked. <The husede?>


    Kaz shook his head. ¡°Not the husede. I think they were just there to serve the mosui. The mosui themselves¡­I don¡¯t know what they were supposed to do.¡± Then, thinking of the mosui¡¯s powerful claws and the massive mines beneath their city, he said, ¡°Maybe they were supposed to be the miners, originally, but either they weren¡¯t good enough at it, or Zhangwo just didn¡¯t like his creations doing something like that.¡±


    Reaching out, he didn¡¯t quite touch the archway. ¡°Snen said the xiyi were supposed to guard the eggs, and I think they must have been warriors in general. That only leaves one group to maintain the rest of the mountain, and we still do it to this day. No, kobolds made this, and all of the other marvels here. We¡¯ve forgotten, but what we used to know, we can learn again.¡± Certainty rose up in him, a sense of truth that he might have doubted if he hadn¡¯t realized what it was. He pushed it back down. It wasn¡¯t time for that. Not yet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said to his dragon, snuggling her tired body against his chest. ¡°You need more crystals.¡± Li clicked in pleased agreement, and they walked off down the empty hall.

 Chapter Three hundred ten

    Once they reached the Nine - the central levels in the entire mountain, where the mosui city had been built - Kaz and Li saw an instant change. There were guards standing at the bottom of the stairs, and all around them, the stones were stained with the dark marks left by fire. Someone had definitely been working hard to clear away the remnants of the fulan. Was it only the presence of the shiyan that had prevented them from continuing upward?


    When Kaz saw the guards, he stopped, offering a short howl of question. There were four male kobolds and a single husede female, and they all jumped at the sound, spinning to look toward the stairs they were supposed to be guarding. The husede stepped forward, clearing her throat before calling up, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    <I told you we should have snuck past them,> Li said from her place on the stairs behind him.


    <We can always go back up and sneak down again if they refuse to let us pass,> Kaz told her, not for the first time.


    Li hadn¡¯t wanted anyone to know they were in the city until after her crystals had been acquired, but Kaz was curious how well the kobolds and husede were working together, and they would have had to avoid everyone for several hours at least to reach the crystals. He was sure they could slip away long enough to get to the mine or the processing level once they were in the city.


    Kaz¡¯s fur color made it difficult to pretend to be anyone else, and Li¡¯s presence would give away the truth even if he tried, so he said, ¡°I¡¯m Kaz. I was here when-¡±


    The four kobold warriors had hung back as the husede spoke, taking their traditional role of supporting a female, even if she wasn¡¯t of their own kind. Now, one with rich yellow fur stepped forward, his ears perked forward as he peered up at Kaz. His eyes caught on Li, who was partially hidden by Kaz¡¯s legs, and his tail gave a single pleased wag.


    ¡°Kaz! The Woodblade who killed Zhangwo!¡± he said. The other three males stared, their eyes wide, while the husede female¡¯s gray skin paled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m Gral. You¡¯re welcome here,¡± the kobold said, ¡°but you¡¯ll have to wash in the pool before you can go any further. We don¡¯t want any more fulan entering this level.¡±


    The husede shifted her large, heavy pickaxe from one hand to the other, looking unhappy. ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to let anyone in without the Council¡¯s approval.¡±


    Another of the males - a scarred, gray-furred warrior with a missing ear - grunted. ¡°And they haven¡¯t let anyone in since we kobolds started to outnumber you husede.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t why!¡± the female exclaimed. ¡°Every time a kobold came down, we¡¯d have a fresh fulan outbreak from all the spores in their fur.¡±


    ¡°Which is why they have to wash now, and we don¡¯t allow anything to grow in this cave,¡± the older male growled, then stepped between the husede and the stairs. Deliberately, he turned his back on the female, showing his lack of deference. He had a wide band of bare silvery scar tissue around his throat, so he must have been one of the miners, while Kaz suspected Gral, the younger male with the bright yellow fur, had probably been a servant in a mosui home.


    ¡°Come on,¡± the gray warrior said, ignoring the others. ¡°Water¡¯s over here.¡±


    Now that the protections were on in the stairs, Kaz was certain that no live spores lingered in his fur, but it wasn¡¯t worth arguing with these guards. They were following the rules they¡¯d been given, though it was obvious there was some dissent amongst them.


    He and Li found that ¡®the pool¡¯ was actually a shallow natural basin with several water containers arrayed around it. While Kaz and Li stood in the basin, the guards threw water on them until both kobold and dragon were thoroughly soaked. The water drained away into a nearby crevice, which probably went to one of the in-between levels, where no one lived. If there was a fresh outbreak of fulan, Kaz would look to cracks and crevices like that, not the stairs.


    Li watched the water swirl away with woeful eyes. <When they said pooI, I thought I would get to swim,> she said plaintively.


    <We¡¯ll use the hot spring baths while we¡¯re here,> Kaz consoled. He pulled red ki from their channels, pulsing it gently through their bodies until the water rose in clouds of steam from both of them. The guards watched this with obvious astonishment, staring from Kaz to Li.


    When Kaz¡¯s fur was only slightly damp, he said, ¡°Is this level clear of fulan, then?¡±


    The guards exchanged glances, and once again it was the gray-furred warrior who spoke. ¡°They make a sweep of the areas around the city every day. The husede have some stuff that burns hotter than firemoss oil, so if they find a patch starting, they can destroy it, and the spores, too.¡± There was grudging admiration in this admission.


    Kaz nodded. He¡¯d have to find out what that stuff was, and if there was enough he could take a little. He pointed upward. ¡°Why haven¡¯t they cleared the other levels, too? It wouldn¡¯t keep reappearing if there wasn¡¯t any left.¡± Given that spores could still linger in the between-levels, that was a little too simplistic, but it would still be better for everyone if all of the true levels could be cleansed. Plus, any kobolds still alive above might have a chance, but only if potential rescuers moved quickly. Tribes usually kept a few weeks of food stored in their dens, if possible, but even that would have run out by now.


    The kobold¡¯s eyes all slid toward the husede, whose cheeks went slightly purple. ¡°That¡¯s the Council¡¯s decision, and they say we need to take care of ourselves first.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Who¡¯s on this Council?¡±


    ¡°Lady Lothitsdottir and her son, Qiyi Thabilsson,¡± the husede said promptly, but Kaz had the impression that even she didn¡¯t like them very much.


    ¡°And Dax, of the Bronze City tribe,¡± the gray-furred male said. ¡°Though half the time he doesn¡¯t go to the meetings, or so I hear.¡± The other warriors shuffled uncomfortably at this, but no one contradicted him. That didn¡¯t sound like the Dax Kaz knew, though, so it was fortunate that he¡¯d already planned to find the other male while he was there.


    ¡°There¡¯s a Bronze City tribe?¡± Kaz asked, instead of following up on the gray male¡¯s comment.


    Grel nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what we call the kobolds who¡¯ve decided to stay here, rather than going to the Deep or trying to find their old tribes.¡± For a moment, his youthful face grew solemn. ¡°So far, no one who¡¯s done that has returned.¡±


    <That¡¯s probably because the fulan is still alive on the other levels,> Li said. <If they did find their tribe, and anyone was still alive, it would only be because their females all died or quarantined, like the Redmanes. It would be dangerous for those females to leave.>


    Kaz nodded agreement, while the other males just stared at her, either astonished that she¡¯d spoken or simply unable to refute her words. She was right. There was no way the male members of a tribe would leave their females behind unless it was obvious those females had gone mad, like the Sharpjaws. Even then, they only remained where they were because the last female had ordered them to do so. Otherwise, they would have returned and been killed beside - or by - their mates, sisters, and daughters.


    That reminded him, though, and he asked, ¡°Do the Redmanes come often? And have you seen any males from the Sharpjaw tribe? Or females?¡±


    The gray male¡¯s lip lifted as he let out a low snarl. ¡°No females,¡± he said, ¡°other than the Redmanes. They come down the other stairs, though, so I don¡¯t know if any of them are here now. They were here a lot, in the beginning, but I think the Council chased them off, too.¡±


    ¡°Sharpjaw doesn¡¯t sound familiar,¡± Grel added. ¡°But there¡¯s a husede who writes down the name and tribe of every kobold who makes it here. If someone leaves, she writes down where they plan to go. If they stay, she puts down where they built their hut. Most of us live on the level with the yumi fields.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears perked up. ¡°Where is this husede?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you there,¡± the gray-furred warrior said. ¡°It¡¯s about time for shift change, anyway.¡±


    The husede looked like she might argue, but the older male didn¡¯t even glance at her as he walked past. Kaz followed, summoning a ki-light as they left the red-lit cavern at the base of the stairs. For the first time since entering the mid-levels, he didn¡¯t stop to renew the arch on his way by.


    The tunnel beyond the cavern was large enough that Li could fly, but once they left the passage that led from one flight of stairs to the next, she¡¯d have to walk or ride on Kaz¡¯s shoulder. Their guide watched Li¡¯s swooping turns with the closest thing Kaz had seen to pleasure on his face. Obviously, Li¡¯s ability to entrance kobolds hadn¡¯t faded since they left the mountain.


    Only when they turned away from the large tunnel and Li flew back to Kaz, allowing him to carry her now that they should be in relatively safe territory, did the older warrior speak again. ¡°My name is Orko. I used to be a Bronzearm, but now I¡¯m Bronze City. You¡¯re Kaz?¡±


    Kaz nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not actually a Woodblade, though. My father was, but I¡¯m¡­not of any tribe, now.¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time Kaz had denied having any tribe at all, but he still felt a stab of pain at the words. Katri might take him back, and he knew any of the Great Tribes would accept him, though the only one he was even vaguely interested in was the new Woodblade tribe. He couldn¡¯t join them without taking on the role of chief, whether he wanted to or not, so it was better to claim no tribe.


    Orko¡¯s pale gray eyes slid to him, but the other male didn¡¯t comment. Kaz felt those eyes linger on the thin ring of golden fur around Kaz¡¯s throat, but Orko also didn¡¯t mention the lack of a necklace. Perhaps that was because the other male¡¯s necklace was little more than a string of knots, with almost no bones or teeth remaining, and perhaps it was because the kobolds here had been through more than enough to qualify any of them as adults. Either way, it was refreshing.


    Orko didn¡¯t seem inclined to say anything at all, however, so eventually Kaz asked, ¡°Are things going well? In the city?¡± He could already tell that the answer was ¡®no¡¯, at least to some extent, but he was hoping for more information.


    Li was less patient than Kaz. She stared straight at Orko and demanded, <Are the husede being mean again?>


    Orko¡¯s step hitched, and then he gave a growling laugh. His shoulders relaxed a bit, and he shrugged. ¡°Not all of them. There are a good number who¡­ They slip, sometimes. Forget they don¡¯t command us any more. But then they remember, and you can tell they regret it, even if they don¡¯t say so. The youngest ones, especially. But that Thabil and her son-¡± He shook his head. ¡°The only good thing is that they treat their own people almost as bad. Give them just enough that they don¡¯t ¡®elect¡¯ someone else.¡±


    The gruff warrior said ¡®elect¡¯ like he couldn¡¯t decide if he liked the taste of it. Kaz remembered something about this from before he left. Lianhua had mentioned that the kind of system the husede were putting in place allowed for leaders to be replaced if they did a poor job. It took a large portion of their tribe to choose to remove them, however, and Lianhua claimed that the former chiefs simply became normal members of the tribe and remained in the den. That seemed unwise to Kaz, since their mere presence would be a point of enmity in a tribe that needed to be united in order to survive.


    ¡°What about Dax?¡± Kaz asked.


    This time Orko¡¯s shoulders actually slumped for a moment. ¡°He¡¯s outnumbered. There are two husede to one kobold, and they always ¡®vote¡¯ together.¡± Again that hesitation over the new word, though this time Orko definitely looked like he¡¯d tasted old meat.


    <And the mosui?> Li asked.


    Orko actually growled softly. ¡°There are a few. Mostly pups. The husede didn¡¯t want anything to do with them, but there was a kobold who saved one of the pups, and he gathered the rest of them up. He acts like a den-mother, teaching them howls and making sure they eat.¡±


    Kaz could feel Li¡¯s conflicting emotions. She hated the mosui for what they¡¯d done to her, but she also liked puppies, and didn¡¯t want to think of them dying, even if they were mosui. He stroked her neck and said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to meet this male. Do you know his name?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s Vakhus,¡± Orko said.


    Not someone Kaz knew, then. He hadn¡¯t met all that many of the kobolds who¡¯d been captured by the mosui, but for some reason, he¡¯d thought this male might be one of those. Hopefully, he really wanted to help the few remaining mosui. Kaz would definitely have to check on this Vakhus. Zhangwo had encouraged the mosui to do evil things, but that didn¡¯t make them evil. Perhaps puppies raised without any mosui adults could learn to be better. The mountain was their home as well, after all.

 GLOSSARY (not a chapter)

    <h2>Diushi </h2>


    First emperor - Qiangde Long


    Language is called Diushan. The civilization it replaced was the Sheng Empire, so the original language was Old Sheng.


    Kobolds


    Broken Knives


    14 members remain, none younger than Kaz


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Katri - elder sister - pink fur, silver eyes, some scarring on chest</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Oda - Chief, crimson fur, silver/blue eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rega - den-mother and healer, garnet red fur, orange eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Killik - strongest adult male, brother of Oda and Rega - reddish-Brown fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lek - 2nd strongest adult male - dark green</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bik - female, recently became adult, about Katri¡¯s age</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gin - male - dead - older, contemporary of Oda and Ghazt, red fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kol - male - dead - only a few years older than Kaz and Katri, used to gather with Kaz, red fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lis - pup - dead</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Palla - pup - dead</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kam - adult female, but not strong - Kol¡¯s mother - dark purple fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ghazt - Blue male - Katri and Kaz''s father. He looked like Kaz but with silver eyes. Ghazt¡¯s last words were ¡°Listen to your mother.¡±</li>


    </ul>


    Longtooth Tribe (Longknife)


    Seventy or eighty members. lives a few levels deeper that Broken Knives, defeated Kaz¡¯s tribe in luegat


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Mital - gray fur - leader - deceased</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Daughter Maza - pale green - deceased</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Daughter Mika - dark green - deceased</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Daughter Mella - dark gray - deceased</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Mital¡¯s mate - green fur - deceased</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Latz - strongest male left after Mital¡¯s mate was killed. Bright green fur. (Katri¡¯s future mate)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Daughter Moru - pale gray, almost silver, still a pup when Mital was killed, Katri plans to have Kaz become her mate</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lem - male pup, dark gray, almost black - Moru wants him to be her mate</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Jul - almost adult male, served Kaz breakfast</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nik - almost adult male - served Kaz breakfast</li>


    </ul>


    Palefurs


    lives on the level between the Longtooths and the Broken Knives


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lorn, large white male mated to the tribe heir - wields a metal knife</li>


    </ul>


    Graybelly


    Rule much of six levels under the Longtooths, including the elevator Ogden runs. Remained mostly neutral in the conflict between Broken Knife and Ironclaws. Wear yanching leather breastplates. Granite hammers. Kaz has free passage through their land for one year for delivering the message to Lignan from Ren. By the time the Broken Knives reached this level, they were already too weak to take any territory from another tribe, so they ended up living in the spaces between. In this case, between the Graybelly tribe and the Ironclaws. The Ironclaws were relatively new at that time as well, though they were going down, rather than up, and they hadn¡¯t yet settled in.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lignan - chief - yellow and white ki</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ren - chief¡¯s heir, mate of Kellin</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kellin - copper fur, orange eyes - brother of Oda and Rega, mate of Ren, Kaz¡¯s uncle, he was traded as part of one of Oda¡¯s failed luegats</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pol - male guard</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nat - male guard</li>


    </ul>


    Ironclaw


    Warriors have iron sheaths on their claws, which they use to fight.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Idil - leader, hated Oda - maroon and gray - red and yellow ki</li>


    </ul>


    Blackbow


    Black to gray fur, use bows and knives, control the level about 9 above the mid-levels, control the only stairs on that level


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Vix - small male who runs to warn the tribe the humans are coming</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Vida - dark gray female, daughter of the chief, low in the order of succession</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Vilti - chief, mother of Vida</li>


    </ul>


    Stoneborn


    Control the base of the stairs 8 above the mid-levels. Recently rose from mid. Green or greenish-yellow fur.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Listet - Chief female - gray-green fur, withered leg, grandmother of Lidi, bright core, can make her light hover, instead of being attached to an object</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lidi - Granddaughter of Listet, helps her grandmother, fur the color of green agate</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">??? - Powerful female, emerald fur, sulfur eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pilik - male trainer of warriors, yellowish-green peridot fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lonti - dark green male (almost black), young, not much time for Kaz</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nadi - yellow female, den-mother</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Yumi - eight-year-old female gatherer - fascinated by Li, orphan</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Jek - older gatherer</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pim - older gatherer</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kir - male numb-mind pup, died during spirit hunt</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pia - lanky rust-colored female a little younger than Kaz. Helpful</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Jin - oldest male pup, leader of the gatherers</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lan - yellow eyes, darker muddy (brownish) green male, brother to Lok - gatherer guard, doesn¡¯t like Li. ''Punished'' by being assigned to help Nadi with the puppies.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lok - slightly lighter muddy green male, brother to Lon - gatherer guard, indifferent. ''Punished'' by being assigned to help Nadi with the puppies.</li>


    </ul>


    Copperstriker


    Totem is a skull dyed gray and eyesockets filled with copper fuergar teeth. They use the same teeth embedded in hard bones as clubs. Last before mid. ¡®Captured¡¯ the humans. Short but very muscular, males have a thick ruff of fur protecting their throats.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bek - male, squat and powerful, very long fangs, thick, dense ruff of fur around neck, silver-blue eyes, loyal to Pilla (mate is grayish-purple, has two identical older pups). Gray-speckled dark fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pilla - female leader- head and shoulders shorter than Kaz , long copper fur, droopy ears, brown eyes (may take a green-furred Bonewalker as mate)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Litz - female, wants to be/challenges for chief, mid-brown long fur, orange eyes (dead)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Golik - brown male with very long fur, brother to Pilla and Litz, red eyes (dead)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Namid, Poil, Dezre, Keil - rebels who supported Litz and were exiled with her (dead)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Baji and Mik - two males who escorted the party from the CS den to the mid-level stairs</li>


    </ul>


    Bronzearm


    Tried to take over the mid-levels, drove out the Stoneborn through vara. Forced from Deep for unknown reasons. Totem bloody stone knife stuck in the skull of a woshi


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Davik - dead. Mate to Scov Sharpjaw. Found in the fulan by our party</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rolpa - chief in the Deep. She refused to listen when told not to press into mosui territory and even managed to kill several mosui, leading to the fulan infestation.</li>


    </ul>


    Sharpjaw/Woodjaw


    Mid-level tribe. Black fur, brown eyes dominant. Encountered when Kaz saved three of their warriors from an abomination.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Scov (mate to Davik) - dead - traded to the Bronzearms. Black fur, brown eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pils - youngest male saved by Kaz and the others. Zyle¡¯s son¡¯s last surviving pup. Dark brown fur.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Regz - male saved by Kaz - went with the party - medium gray fur - likes to sing, left-handed</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Civ - male saved by Kaz - black fur, green eyes, tall and strong, considered very good-looking by kobold standards - engaged to Etle of the Redmane tribe - went with the party</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ilto - male - went with the party, brown fur and eyes, looks like a corgi fluffy round ears and curly tail. Barely more than a puppy</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Zyle - elderly male, gray fur and brown eyes, Pils¡¯ grandfather, mate of the former chief, father of the recent one, and the de facto leader of the Sharpjaws with no females left</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tekdu - dead chief, Zyle¡¯s daughter</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nuji - Tekdu¡¯s daughter, not adult, Tekdu wanted her to mate with Civ - deceased</li>


    </ul>


    Redmane


    Blonde or golden fur, males dye the ruff around their necks red, while females have dyed ¡®tattoos¡¯ all over. their fur (kind of like henna) Use a combination of bows and red-dyed bone clubs lined with obsidian chips.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Etle - pretty, very pale blonde with green eyes - engaged to Civ, gold core, strong</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Elvi - white fur, blue eyes, Etle¡¯s younger sister and Ehlan¡¯s second daughter, barely an adult - white and gold core, strong</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Hod - mate of the chief, tall and strong, with light gray fur and dyed vivid red fur around his neck, green eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ehlan - chief of the Redmanes, gold fur, light brown/gold eyes, yellow ki (mixed with black when Kaz meets her)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Huss - Hod and Ehlan¡¯s son. Silvery gray fur and silver-blue eyes.</li>


    </ul>


    Irondiggers/''Muckdiggers'' (derogatory)


    disrespected but serve as something like traders because they move around all the time. They wandered the edges of other tribe¡¯s territories, trading things that couldn¡¯t be found on one level with tribes living on the next. They never engaged in luegat or vara, and many of their members had been expelled from their birth tribes for being too weak or useless. Most tribes looked down on them, though their arrival was also a cause for excitement, since they always seemed to have something interesting or unique


    Goldcoat tribe


    Live in the first few levels of the Deep. Subsidiary to Goldblade tribe, totem is yellow-painted leather stretched over a kobold skull, use knives made of an alloy with a bit of gold for color. Wear gold armbands indicating their connection to the Goldblades.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tezne - chief in the Deep</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Senge - leader guarding the mid-levels after the fulan appeared. Tezne¡¯s younger daughter, yellow fur, yellow eyes, wants a Goldblade son for mate, gold and white ki</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Brez - Senge¡¯s birth-brother (born at the same time as her), yellow fur and yellow eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kibbiz - female with light brown fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Berin - Senge''s older sister, gold and white ki. She and Senge are rivals and seem to dislike each other intensely. There¡¯s a wide scar on her lower back, lost part of her tail and most of the feeling and movement in what¡¯s left</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dat - very large, sly and ambitious, male, mate to Berin - son of Goldblade chief, Idla, brother to Dett, yellow fur and dark eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Jul - old warrior healer, light brown fur with a white blaze between his eyes, orange fur, brown eyes, chief Tezne¡¯s mate¡¯s brother</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Guni - male warrior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Loge - male warrior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Loor - Jul''s assistant</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Jia - orange-furred female, Jul¡¯s sister, strong in body and ki, with red and gold ki</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Woodblade - weakest of the tribes, artists and crafters, allied with earth and water, but wary (at best) of the fire tribe, took care of niu and yumi fields (along with water knives) and grew other ¡®crops¡¯ and the Tree - first was Cyeba, Ghazt¡¯s mother was Enght</li>


    </ul>


    Mithrilblades


    Great Tribe. smiths - steady and strong, historically supported Magmablades. First was Zren. Totem is a kobold skull upside down, with a knife driven through the jaw and into the brainpan, make abstract art sculptures with metal


    ¡°Mithrilblades are the greatest smiths among us. They use forges heated by molten stone, and are the only kobolds who can craft using mithril and adamantium. All the weapons used by the Great Tribes are created by them, and each one will last for centuries unless they¡¯re raised in battle against another of their own kind."


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Avli - young female leader, very soft white fur, blue eyes. Likes Kaz (as a friend) and was friendly with Ija when they were younger.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Zava - deceased chief, mother of Avli</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tiga - a white female guard who guides our party to the human servant¡¯s quarters in the Deep city. Green eyes.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Narn - Tiga¡¯s mate, pale silvery gray</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Shom - a great smith, possibly part of a family whose strongest female always takes the name Shom. Not talkative. Able to bend adamantium. Wears leather clothes, including pants, shirt, gloves, wrapped boots. Dark brown eyes and yellow-blonde fur. She has hairless/furless patches on her head and face, probably as a result of being burned while working. Habitual snarl. Short stump of a tail.</li>


    </ul>


    Waveblades


    care for the yumi fields now that the Woodblades are gone, but used to just do the pools,. Run the equipment that raises and purifies water from the rivers beneath. Neutral to everyone else but have historical enmity for the Magmablades - First was Shibi


    ¡°The Waveblades control the water, drawing it up from the rivers that run beneath the Deep. Without them, we would only have what trickles down from above, and we would use that up within a hundred years. Waveblades can create a water source in any den, so tribes can settle wherever they wish, without having to hunt for a pool or spring."


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tisdi - black fur and eyes, even her claws were painted black, so only her teeth and the whites of her eyes are white</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Khara - Tisdi and Chotta¡¯s adopted daughter, dark gray fur, black painted claws</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Chotta - Tisdi¡¯s mate (this is unofficial, since they can''t have pups, but everyone knows), a female, black fur with a white stripe from nose to tail-tip, black and white core, very strong</li>


    </ul>


    Magmablades


    Magmablade - work with the Mithrilblades to keep the fires going, run the forges - first was Tegra (Princess Tiyang Long was actually the sister of the last emperor). Used to be a Great Tribe, but now officially subsidiaries of the new Woodblades


    ¡°Magmablades command the fires of the earth. They work with the Mithrilblades to run the ancient forges. They could heat a den without fire, or take control of an existing flame, turning it against those who started it. If they were still as strong as they once were, they could wipe out the fulan on this level in hours, and destroy the monsters born within it in seconds. Now, it¡¯s all they can do to make the forges hotter or colder as the Mithrilblades require, and the only reason they still exist at all is because the mountain created them.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kyla - youngest daughter of Vega. Pink tufted fur, gold eyes, yellow, red, and blue core, very powerful. Burn scars on her right shoulder. Father Rudu is half Goldcoat and half Woodblade. Kaz''s cousin.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Vega - Oda and Rega¡¯s sister, Kyla and Ija¡¯s mom, chief of the Magmablades after Oda was exiled from the Deep, crimson fur and very dark blue eyes, tall, slim, considered beautiful by kobolds</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rudu - Kyla¡¯s father, Vega¡¯s mate, half Goldcoat and half Woodblade, peridot/yellow-green fur and yellow eyes, brother to Tezne, Berin¡¯s uncle, tufted fur, short and wide</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ija - Kyla¡¯s older sister, assumed to be the next chief, red and yellow core with faint sparks of blue, dark red fur and yellow eyes </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gram - Ija and Kyla¡¯s little ¡®brother¡¯ (adopted), his father was Ija and Kyla¡¯s brother, but he and his mate died in a monster attack, and Gram has been living with Chix and Acha ever since, though Ija and Qhurg have been very involved. Bright blue fur and powerful blue core</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Shoc - a bullying male puppy, larger than Gram</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Vrak - a male puppy who tends to hog the toys</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Chix - a grayish male puppy whose core isn¡¯t working and leaks mana, Qhurg¡¯s little brother</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Acha - Chix and Qhurg¡¯s mother, takes care of Gram</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sika - female who serves as den-mother in the puppy den, dark red fur with lots of gray, sagging jowls, sister of Oda¡¯s mother (Kaz¡¯s great aunt), grandmother of Acha, great-grandmother of Chix and Qhurg</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qhurg - red male Ija likes, calm intelligent. Deep brown eyes. Chix¡¯s brother</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Reit - female puppy, very young, still walks on all fours (crawls) most of the time. Greenish blue fur, gold core with a fair amount of blue.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Achi - young female pup with purplish-red fur, mischievous, father has red fur</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Efna - Magmablade female who is kind and likes puppies</li>


    </ul>


    Goldblades


    Miners - chief is Dett¡¯s mother (Idla). Closest allies of the Woodblades. First was Idje. Gold beads on their necklaces


    ¡°The Goldblades are the only kobolds who can mine the mid-levels and the Deep metals. Their females can shift immovable stone, and our most ancient howls say they could once pass through that stone, finding hidden veins of mithril and adamantium."


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Idla - chief, Dett¡¯s mother, yellow fur and topaz eyes, tall, broad-shouldered, muscular, core no longer as strong as it was</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dett Goldblade - Captured by the mosui while on his spirit hunt. One of the oldest miners, claims to have found stairs in the hoyi nest. Light brown/¡±gold¡± fur, and blue eyes. Son of Idla. Engaged to Avli</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Teck - Dett¡¯s father, small and slim, brownish fur and blue eyes, half Woodblade on his father¡¯s side, deadly and lean</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Mila - Idla¡¯s oldest daughter, yellow fur, short and slim</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kric - big male, strong warrior, one of Idla¡¯s personal guard</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Uzid - one of Idla¡¯s personal guard</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gren - one of Idla¡¯s personal guard</li>


    </ul>


    Woodblades


    The ''weakest'' of the Great Tribes. Very artistic - inclined to sculpture and painting. Males were treated as equals with females within the den, though they acted at least somewhat subservient in public spaces. They maintained the yumi fields and the Tree. Almost all of them (including all of the chief''s family except Ghazt) died in a fire before the Broken Knives were exiled from the Deep. Now reinstated, since a new chief has been found. New members have been pulled from all of the tribes in the Deep.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gram - young puppy with a powerful blue core. Formerly a Magmablade, but now the new Woodblade chief. He''s being raised by Acha and trained by Ija and Idla.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ghazt - The old chief''s son. He was believed dead long before he actually died.</li>


    </ul>


    <h4>Random tribes:</h4>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Darkpelts - the tribe Katri plans to declare luegat on if Kaz doesn¡¯t come back or send someone for her. Their chief wants to hold a territory for her daughter, Katri is stronger, and the tribes are well-matched</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bonewater - vicious and strong</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bittergrub - reasonable</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Coppertalons - higher</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Coppermane - nearly destroyed by the Silverfists in luegat</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Silverfist</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Unnamed - at least some males use two copper blades at once</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Unnamed - females mount copper fuergar skulls on their shoulders</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gorebelly - paint their stomachs red. Live(d) at the very top level of the Deep. Oda challenged them and lost.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Goldfangs - controlled the stairs at the top of the nine mosui levels when the Broken Knives went through. Oda had the gatherers steal from them on the way.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Farpaws - a Magmablade subsidiary Kaz¡¯s family lived with </li>


    </ul>


    <h2>Kobold language/customs</h2>


    birth brother/sister - a sibling born at the same time (twins or rarely triplets)


    Two day mourning period, males packed in jejing moss and burned immediately or with their females, if applicable. Females are left in a closed hut with smoking jejing moss, so mourners can visit. Burned after the two days (with any males). Chapter 297 for kobold burial howls. Males are burned with a weapon, arms over their chest. Females have their hands by their sides.


    Pups are naked, get first loincloth before gathering, get another decorated with teeth and claws after spirit hunt, and males get one from their mates, which comes from the family and will only be worn for ceremonial occasions


    Bow to females, hand over heart to warriors


    Bright howls - a farewell between friends (fair howls is more generic)


    Fallen ones - Tribes who weren¡¯t able to hold territory in the mountain, so they leave. (they become unintelligent, with only the females capable of more than what you might expect of particularly intelligent dogs)


    Numb-mind - a kobold who can¡¯t think properly


    Luegat - ritual battle for territory, where the females fought each other, and the males fought to protect them. Many males usually die, but it¡¯s over when a female leader is killed or concedes. In case of death, after two days of mourning, the winning tribe can then:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">take goods/males from the loser, leaving much/all of their territory</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">take over the territory of the loser, allowing the other tribe to flee</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">kill the adult females, leaving the adolescent ones to take the tribe and flee</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">kill all the females and absorb the tribe, usually then splitting off one of their own females as leader of a new tribe containing a mixture of males from the original and conquered tribes</li>


    </ul>


    Vara - basically war. Because of some insult, the leader just says, ¡®we¡¯re going to wipe you out¡¯, and then they come straight to the den and do it. Some members, especially pups or unmated males, might be taken into the conquering tribe.


    Husede


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    Ogden - a Gray Dwarf/husede - bald, black eyes, pale gray skin - about the same height as Kaz - works the elevator, traded cloth handkerchief for passage (gharaklin - word Ogden uses as an epithet ¡°not another gharaklin¡± could mean anything from idiot to human). Probably quite old, has high body cultivation, but only mana.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Jingli - manager, what the husede who are given the devices that control other collars</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ziyou - word that means freedom, key word for the husede revolution</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Trasig - male husede who should have been leader of the husede warriors</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kithrik - a male husede, brother¡¯s son/nephew to Thabil, wields a hammer, has one gold epaulet ¡°a piece of carved gold attached to the shoulder of his shirt¡±, leader of the husede warriors</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Claikni - husede female who was watching the stairs with Orko and Grel (and two others)</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Mosui


    Mole-men - Star-nosed mole-like beings. They live where there is no light at all, except that cast by the red ki-crystals. They have extremely refined sense of hearing, and walk hunched over. Their jaws and claws are very powerful, and they are independent and belligerent. Chitter and squeak, though some adults are able to produce very high-pitched speech. Huge, flat hands with wide claws.  Broad, stubby arms covered in (usually dark) fur so short and fine it they look bald (though they''re actually very, very soft and slightly fuzzy), Nose was longer than a human¡¯s, but shorter than a kobold¡¯s, and flat on the end. Several finger-length tentacles waved gently around its damp, pink nostrils, and tiny eyes stared at him from within heavy folds of skin. Have a hard time with sounds formed by the tongue, /t,d,n,l,s/ They walk slowly and waddle.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Yanshu - female silver mosui, albino. Torments Li and Lianhua. Zhangwo''s ''granddaughter''.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Zhangwo/Pantu Lianren - ancient leader/creator of the mosui, also white furred, great great great etc grandfather of Yanshu. Not particularly organized, and probably at least a little crazy</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Eritherlun ¡®Erith¡¯ - a male husede who wanted to delay firing the ki cannons</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lady Thabil Lothitsdottir - a female husede who wants to stay in the city, even as slaves. 8th level jingli</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qiyi Thabilsson - Thabil¡¯s son</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Former kobold slaves


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Eld - yumi reed gatherer, young warrior, very small, Nogz¡¯ brother, light brown fur with white spots. Former Bronzearm.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nogz - yumi reed gatherer, Eld¡¯s younger brother, puppy, tan fur, soft white spots, light/golden brown eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Surta Redmane - gray male with a long, narrow muzzle. Brown eyes. Practical and manipulative/sneaky DEAD</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dax Bronzearm/Bronze City - dead-eyed, speaks little. Brown fur. Black eyes</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Zargo - kobold who found a yellow crystal and hid it from Surta</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Geru - former miner who leads Kaz et al to the stairs down. Has been helping burn fulan. Brown fur, brown eyes, muscular build</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ratre Woodclaw - male missing right paw, gray fur, older, one of the eight who came down to the Deep with Kaz - Ghazt¡¯s second cousin, his tribe were the Rockclaws until Ratre¡¯s grandmother, a Goldblade, mated and became their chief (chief when the Woodblades died was Nika), gray-blue</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Vik - brown-furred male with only one hand, one of the eight who came down to the Deep with Kaz</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Minc Darkbow- youngish male with dark brown fur, was scratched by a mosui during the battle, infected leg, one of the eight, Darkbows serve the Wavefangs, who serve the Waveblades</li>


    <li>Trig, Drel, Strem - three puppies in the mid-level puppy den</li>


    <li>Dugo - a brown-furred older puppy who was captured very young. Green eyes, short muzzle that causes breathing problems, drooping ears, one leg shorter than the other. Very anxious. Quiet, gentle voice.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Grel - a male kobold with bright-yellow fur. He worked for a mosui family and wasn¡¯t treated badly.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Orko - an older gray-furred former miner whose attitude is basically ¡°I do what I want¡±, missing one ear, with a thick scar from his collar.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Vek (orange kobold) and Vakhus (orange mosui child). Vakhus saved Vek and Vek protected Vakhus during the uprising Vakhus calls mosui round-pups</li>


    </ul>


    <h2> </h2>


    <h2>Dragons and servants</h2>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qiangde Long - first Diushi emperor, all five elements (born with gold and blue)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Renao - young female dragon with all runes gone except sticky. Yellowish-brown scales. Playful. Relatively small</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Yanshi - a freed dragon, male, green scales, large, yellow eyes, still has the ¡®ephemeral¡¯ and ¡®viscid¡¯ runes because of a damaged upper dantian</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Huoyan - red dragon assigned to watch over the humans and kobolds at the time of the rebellion</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dongwu - female human who created the canine kobolds</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nucai - male human(probably) who created the xiyi. Remains inside the Tree. Constantly writing with a magical pen.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    </ul>


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Xiyi and servants


    Xiyi - reptilian/Nucai''s kobolds¡¯ name for themselves


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kus Ukark - kus is a respectful title for an elder/wise one. Ukark has dull blue-gray scales and drooping forehead spikes. Wears a long robe, much like Nucai. Eyes and claws are yellow. Knows and likes Snen. Lots of blue ki.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">xiyi, one of the two hunters who originally lost Mei, very cranky about being demoted. Wanted to have Zhihs as mate.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    Snengriak (Snen) - xiyi, mottled brown and bronze, one of the two who originally lost Mei, Kaz removed the duqiu (rune-stone orb sphere) under his skin. Zhihs¡¯ egg-brother


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Intong - bronze dragon with red (dominant) and yellow ki</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li></li>


    <li>Jerit - Human, Squad A leader, almost as tall as Raff (There are squads a-e, with smaller, more dextrous men on E and bit, powerful men on A)</li>


    <li>Doran - blonde man ¡°hired¡± by scalies/xiyi, told that the runestone was just to track him. His cousin did the run the year before - speaks in slovak(ish). From Slavik. Grandmother/babi is from Holiander</li>


    </ul>


    "Wronged one" - what traditional xiyi call dragons


    Zuzhou - the emperor¡¯s curse, the layer of runes blocking dragon¡¯s upper dantians


    Xiongdi - dragon-brother/sister, what some xiyi call their dragons


    Fangqiu - Can only be used on those of draconic heritage. Allows the user to copy their bodies and steal their ki


    Fuzhi - the copies made by putting fangqiu beneath the skin of a person with draconic heritage, steals their image and their power


    Sao - a common greeting between xiyi


    Fengan meiyoushe, fengan yiqie - In risking nothing, you risk everything


    Party


    Kaz - blue fur, blue eyes - 5¡¯6¡± fights with knife, then bare-handed - strong spiritual sense (can see others'' ki) - too young for spirit hunt - Broken Knife tribe - mother Oda*, father Ghazt. Born with Wood, Fire, and Metal, and a tiny smidge of Earth. Nucai added Water and more Earth. He''s choosing to lean into Wood


    Li/Plum - gold dragon - starts with Earth/Metal/Water (gold/white/black) - mostly gold eyes with swirls of white and black, go silver-white when angry, larger parent was blue/white (probably dead), while smaller one (mother) was gold. Current wingspan about ten feet, still mostly gold, but with a dark obsidian nose, white toes on all four paws, a crown of ruby horns, and a deep sapphire patch over her heart (subject to change). Written name is the runes for fly and gold


    Lianhua Long/ White Lotus(Flower) - scholar - 5¡¯2¡± researching the Diushi-  white hair, violet eyes - clothes are made of fuulong silk, which protects from almost everything except some crushing damage - wood/water/earth - Tin Body(became early Iron at end of book 2, and is Mid-Iron by chapter 300), Early to Late Foundation - first daughter of the Xiang leader¡¯s first wife¡¯s first daughter, who married into the Long (dragon) clan, considered a ¡°fairy¡± for her beauty and power. Became Grandfather Long''s adopted daughter after her ability to sense ki became known, and people kept trying to kidnap her. Favorite tea Longjing, Favorite flower lotus blossoms. Small dog Gao. Triple Life cultivator. 22 years old . Sometimes swears by the Enlightened Ones, but isn¡¯t devout.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Grandfather/Elder Yufei Long - just a little taller than Lianhua. Has yellow, white, and black ki, with a hint of red. Black eyes and long white hair and beard/mustache. Flies on a sword. Very powerful.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Grandmother Baihe Long - red and blue ki, calls her husband Yufei-ai (Yufei-love)</li>


    </ul>


    Chi Yincang/ Hidden Fang - Bodyguard - smells faintly dusty - 6¡¯0¡± Black hair, black eyes, short black beard - short black robe with embroidered elephants (he changes this to pure black after Gaoda is gone) - spear wielder (a spear, with a leaf-shaped spearhead and a gold and blue tassel lashed just beneath it, stored in a ring on right middle finger) - Water/Metal (less than young master, son of an outer family) - Iron Body. Lianhua says he''s Late Refining, but is almost certainly stronger. Duality. Uses Shadow Arts/art of shadow/Dao of the Shadow Calls Lianhua Li-xiao in his mind. Yingtao is Yingying. Kyla is Kyla-keai (Kyla-cutie) To My Little Flower: A Brother¡¯s Gift. Spear spirit is named Jinmao


    Gaoda Xiang/ High Elephant - scholar/young master - 5¡¯10¡± fuulong silk Blue robe with gold and silver embroidery of elephants - Mother is a granddaughter of Grandfather Long. Gaoda is the third son of the second son of the leader of the Xiang clan - Gold hair, blue eyes - Metal/Water - Tin Body, Early Foundation - Gaoda¡¯s power matched his hair and eyes; gold and blue leaped from his hands to his glowing orbs, while his body retained less of the light than that of Chi Yincang - Double Life cultivator


    Yingtao - 5¡¯5¡± Lianhua¡¯s attendant/bodyguard, who became sick and had to stay behind at an inn - mid-Refining (4th level) - garden image - daughter of a merchant family and one of the daughters of the Xiang clan¡¯s fifth wife. Chi Yincang calls her Yingying. Bright green eyes and long dark brown hair, usually in a high ponytail. Lianhua¡¯s father¡¯s mother¡¯s sister¡¯s granddaughter. Has Wood and a tiny bit of Water ki, like her brother, even though Lianhua tells people she only has Wood. Calls Lianhua Xing-an, and Chi Yincang Chi-ge. Expert in poisons, including gu, which is made by sealing venomous creatures in a container, where they would eat each other and concentrate their toxins into a single survivor. The survivor would then be fed on by larvae, and the final larva would contain the poison.


    Chi Yincang is ten years older than Yingtao, and they have different mothers. Yingtao was brought into Chi Yincang''s mother''s house when her mother died (she was too young to remember) and his mother wasn''t happy about it. Chi basically raised her, and he absolutely adores her with all the love of a father with a squishy-cheeked little girl who toddles up with a flower saying "Papa, I wuv you!" (except her flower was probably poison hemlock) When a member of the extended family was needed as a companion for Lianhua, they didn''t even really get a choice, and off Yingtao went. Chi Yincang wasn''t going to put up with that, and went to Elder Long to sell himself into servitude in exchange for continuing to care for his sister, even in secret.


    Raff (Grafton) Fedorick Hillcroft - 6¡¯6¡± Fighter, works for a mercenary group (Adamant Reach - chapters) - armor (including cuirass) over a regular tunic and pants - saber wielder (heavier and considered somewhat brutish) - orange hair, beard, gold eyes - would be considered mid-iron - swears by Pellis (Pellis-forgotten/cursed, Pellis¡¯ pants, Pellis¡¯ pits, Pellis¡¯ frigid nuggets) - his sword is self-cleaning and remains sharp, but otherwise isn¡¯t magical, mid-brown skin (think Hispanic or possibly Middle Eastern) - Calls father ¡®Da¡¯, five older brothers (two are/were decent, and three are obnoxious. Oldest is Ricard, probably obnoxious), one younger sister (Jeanne/Jinn - six years younger, 24 now), and left home because his parents were trying to force him into a (safe and pretigious) life he didn''t want. He ran away at 16 (eventually got in contact again, so his family knows he¡¯s safe and where he is, but rarely visits - now almost 30) Mother is a Mariner (a member of a sea-going race who live on ships as traders and pirates) from the family Khoros (Khoros fleet), which is one of the largest and wealthiest, though there are no nobles, her family fills that role


    Dragons and Dice - a card game with dice element, Ironic, because Raff was now sneaking a duo of kobolds and an ace of dragons into the guard¡¯s town.


    <h2>Humans</h2>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Foss - redhead, male guard in Wheldrake</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    Helmund - owner of The Old Crow - an inn in a medium village (Wheldrake) on the way to the mountains. Raff led Lianhua and the others there on the way, but they stayed at the Jeweled Chalice because Gaoda wanted someplace fancy. a retired member of Adamant Reach. Left hand missing. Has many daughters. Married to Elena.


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Theobold - a bearded part-dwarf (??) in the axe tournament. Friendly but loud, with moss in his beard</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aimee - a pretty brunette Raff flirts with at the tournament</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Albert - runs a bad skewer shop and trades in information</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Joneh - gray-haired man who died (scale-licker, guard)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nadia and Mikal - a young girl (6yo, short brown hair) and her older brother. They live in Cliffcross. They have a large, shaggy dog named Brute (brown and white fur, round brown eyes, floppy ears, shaggy tail). Their mother¡¯s left shoulder was injured, Kaz and Li fixed it. Their mom and dad have brown hair.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Blythe - Nadia and Mikal¡¯s mom, wife of Corvin. Brown hair. Former merc.</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Bard and Bee


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Samara - barmaid and waitress, red hair</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Joseph - Bald, bearded barman</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Harper - Slim, androgynous bard, short brown hair, soft mana</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Genevieve - curly black hair, half Mariner, husky voice, tall, likes Raff, calls women darling, calls Adara Ada</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Adara - golden blonde (long hair), pale blue eyes, leader of an underground smuggling and information ring, swears by ¡®the gods¡¯ and has mentioned Rhydon</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bella - half dwarf with lots of brown braids and wispy eyebrows, defensive, thinks all males are after her (it''s her dad''s fault), Joseph the barman¡¯s daughter, Samara¡¯s half-sister, wanted to join Order of Brass all-female mercs</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Henriette and Glass - two females who were injured in the incursion, but would have been part of Harper, Genevieve, and Bella¡¯s fighting team</li>


    </ul>


    Mages


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Praxar - a high-ranking mage who is also related to the royal family</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fabian - Reina¡¯s cousin, a mage, killed(?) by Chi Yincang</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Eleus - a mage apprentice</li>


    <li>Reginald - Adara¡¯s inside mage</li>


    </ul>


    Nobles


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lord Palmer - a nobleman of unknown rank who was supposed to lead Lianhua out of her rooms during the incursion, a crony of Prince Phillip¡¯s</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Countess Greer - (wife of Earl Greer) - wears a blue wig and voluminous skirts, undoubtedly a </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    Lord Demetri - a high-ranking Royal Guard, trusted by Ruben, third son, brown eyes


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    Baron Ruben - husband of Princess Isabel, smooth operator, perfectly cut brown hair and brown eyes, thick brows and long nose, usually looks disdainful


    </li>


    </ul>


    Royal family


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">King Maleim - first cousin once removed to Raff''s dad</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Queen Natalia - wears a blonde wig, actually has graying reddish-gold hair</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Prince Lucas - heir, kind of a wuss, and a pushover, but not the villain, unmarried, used to wield the Wand of Gilthan</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Prince Phillip - second son but ambitious (two kids)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Princess Isabel - married to Baron Ruben, fluff-headed (two kids)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Princess Anna - newly married no kids, likes to dance</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Princess 3 - unmarried, likes to dance</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Princess Reina - 19 - long pink hair and very blue eyes. A surprisingly tough cookie. Best friends with Jinn. Got stuck outside the palace when the xiyi took over.</li>


    </ul>


    Mariners who ended up at the same barracks as Kaz and Raff and provided info


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tollus - Master Defender for the Khoros family ship Pellis Blessed. Leader of five.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cynric - had a small scar by his mouth.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Milton- was the shortest. More mana than the others. Can mildly sense magic. Pale brown eyes. Curly black hair.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Keane - was almost entirely one color, brown skin, brown eyes, brown hair, brown clothes, all the same shade. Soft voice. Practical.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Wakeman - had only one and a half ears, and the half remaining looked more like it had melted than been cut off.</li>


    </ol>


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bear - flat-faced man working with Ellie and Lep at the Barrow</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lep - weaselly man, with bulbous blue eyes and thick lips, works with Bear and Ellie at the Barrow, deep voice</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Two-Faced Ellie - a robber currently working out of the Barrow. She and Raff have a history. Head is shaved on the sides, wears the rest in a platinum blond curly ponytail. Dark chocolate brown eyes, golden freckles, an imposing nose. Not beautiful, but striking. Former member of Adamant Reach, who was caught stealing from her clients.</li>


    </ol>


    Raff¡¯s family - Hillcroft


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ma - Neris Khoros - tall, well-muscled, 60, but doesn¡¯t look it. Dark skin and iron-gray braids. Brown eyes </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Da - Duke Jost - very bright red hair</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ricard - 43 - Verena¡¯s husband, can fight, daughter Rissa (6)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Phillipe - 42</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Timon - 40 - retired at 35 after ten years in the military. Holds rank of Colonel. Auburn hair, tan skin. Crow¡¯s feet. Brown eyes. Thinning hair. Raff punched him in Wheldrake.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Guillaume ¡®Gil¡¯ - 38, works in Logistics (moving and storing goods)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Oliver - 36 - became a functionary at court</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Raff (Grafton) Fedorick Hillcroft - 30</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Jeanne/Jinn - 24 - curly red hair, little sister</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Mison - Da¡¯s nephew?, can fight</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Verena - 35 - Ricard¡¯s wife, daughter Rissa, can fight</li>


    </ul>


    Agrian - an old soldier who once trained all of the Hillcroft boys, and one of Duke Hillcroft¡¯s most trusted men. One blue eye. Still works for the Duke, but traveled with Timon to find Raff.


    Adamant Reach


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Miles - one of Raff¡¯s good friends from the Adamant Reach - once got tricked by some miners with Raff</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Eugene - leader of the Adamant Reach. Old, gray hair, very imposing, described as very tall and broad</li>


    </ul>


    Groat - gold coin with copper. Worth less than an Imperial gold.


    <h2>Places</h2>


    The Barrow - a literal burial mound that a group of robbers found and made into their hideout.


    Cape Locke - the far south-western point of Holiander. Raff says his mother came from past there.


    Grimgar Wilds - west of Wheldrake. Beasts emerge from here, trapping Wheldrake between it and Mt. Scarabus. Good place for adventurers, but not much else. Wheldrake sits on a trade road protected by soldiers


    The Old Crow - an inn in a medium village (Wheldrake) on the way to the mountains. Raff led Lianhua and the others there on the way. Innkeeper Helmund, a retired member of Adamant Reach.


    The Jeweled Chalice - a relatively high-end inn and restaurant in Wheldrake. Gaoda insisted they stay there on the way to the mountain


    Chaoxue - the central plaza of the city in the Deep, where the emperor used to rest (literally ¡®lair¡¯). Leads to the Luzhijia (Law house) where Qiangde (and sometimes Dongwu) used to issue instructions


    Shensheng (what Sheng calls it)/Mt. Scarabus (what Holiander calls it) - the mountain where Kaz lives - written about by the sage Tan Fong when he discovered the kobolds after the fall of the Diushi (in ¡®Scrolls of the Far Mountains¡¯)


    Guanko/Warmane Mountains - the mountain range containing Shensheng


    Holiander - the country around Shensheng Mountain, used to be part of the Sheng Empire. Raff¡¯s home. Lord Hartton was supposed to send guides, but Gaoda pissed him off, so they had to hire Raff instead


    Sheng Empire - home of Gaoda, Chi, and Lianhua, original language Shengan - grows and rarely exports spiritual bamboo (cloth can only be gifted by high-ranking people)


    Valile Desert/Lonely Waste - a desert Raff once had a mission in, where he picked up his darklenses (sunglasses made of smoked glass and wire)


    Stairs - There were at least a hundred similar sets of stairs drilled down through the mountain. Many of them had been broken, either by rockfalls or backbreaking labor, but the ones that remained were the easiest and most impressive way to travel between levels.


    Each stair was exactly nine inches high, and elaborately carved, though the carvings were too worn to be able to make out what they had originally represented. In the deeper levels, they were also topped with solid metal veneers that never seemed to wear down, even though every third step was golden, which was one of the softest metals. Up here, those veneers had been long since stripped off, and the unprotected edges of the stairs were chipped and cracked. Still, the tall steps were imposing. Eternal red flames that flickered from alcoves on each side (from ki-stones)


    <h2>Empire Clans and sects</h2>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"></li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Long clan - Lianhua¡¯s mother¡¯s clan. Very powerful, but reclusive. Live on the Long estate</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Zhe - sect/school associated with the Xiang and Long clans. Has a warrior and a scholar track. Lianhua studied there. Live in the Zhe compound. Elder Jianyu opposes Lianhua¡¯s selection as a scholar.</li>


    </ul>


    <h4> </h4>


    <h4>Beasts</h4>


    <ul>


    <li>Shiyan - word for the creatures formed when different cores come together under the influence of fulan</li>


    <li></li>


    <li>Glow-worms - The larvae dangle from single strands of webbing attached to ceilings above cave pools, and are bioluminescent. They become small flying insects, and are one of the few creatures in the mountain that aren''t dangerous in any way. (Fun fact, these are real!)</li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li>Dengyu - lampfish on land - light on an extension - slimy black flesh, bulbous eyes, dim light, flying</li>


    <li>poison moths</li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li>mosui</li>


    <li></li>


    <li>yanchong.</li>


    <li></li>


    <li>lopo.</li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    </ul>


    <h4>Plants</h4>


    <ul>


    <li>Bloodmoss - a deep red moss that feeds on the corpses of dead beasts. It couldn¡¯t seek out or kill its food source, so it produces the only known ''flowers'' in the mountain, which attract Jiyun large white moths that produced a poisonous powder, and the adults fed solely on the sweet liquid produced by the bloodmoss flowers.</li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li></li>


    <li>Firemoss - rusty red, commonly found near water. pound on it with a flat rock to quickly turn into a dense, fibrous paste, which he picked up and twisted, squeezing out a gelatinous goo. Usually, a female would heat this goo until the last of the fibers separated from the liquid, creating the ¡®oil¡¯, a few drops of which would then be combined with fresh moss to create torches</li>


    <li></li>


    </ul>


    Outside world beasts


    <ul>


    <li>Wyvern - shorter neck and pointier nose than dragons, plates for mashing food rather than teeth, no forelimbs, and a wide chest. Grows to the size of a large dog (80-100 lbs), almost 6 feet tall, but much of that is neck. Long talons on the rear feet, including a few on the back of the legs, at least in males</li>


    <li>Tinger (forests) - shy animal with the head of a rabbit (but with carnivore fangs), body of a squirrel, horns of a deer, and wings of an owl. Saliva causes hair growth (can be sold), and sprays foul-smelling liquid onto attackers that cannot be removed in any way for nine years. Can be captured by sprinkling salt on their tail.</li>


    <li>Dog-Man</li>


    <li>Tree Giant</li>


    <li>Chimera? - Lion with snake for a tail, seen on posters in Cliffcross</li>


    <li>Winged wolf - Flying wolves</li>


    </ul>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Number


    </td>


    <td>


    Animal


    </td>


    <td>


    Traits


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    1


    </td>


    <td>


    2 Rat</a> OG he


    </td>


    <td>


    Smart, resourceful, versatile, kind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    2


    </td>


    <td>


    3 Ox</a> OG he


    </td>


    <td>


    Diligent, dependable, strong, determined


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    3


    </td>


    <td>


    Tiger</a>


    </td>


    <td>


    Brave, confident, competitive


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    4


    </td>


    <td>


    1 Rabbit</a> OG she


    </td>


    <td>


    Quiet, elegant, kind, responsible


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    5


    </td>


    <td>


    Dragon</a> OG Loong she


    </td>


    <td>


    Confident, intelligent, enthusiastic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    6


    </td>


    <td>


    * Snake</a> OG She


    </td>


    <td>


    Enigmatic, intelligent, wise


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    7


    </td>


    <td>


    3 Horse</a> OG he


    </td>


    <td>


    Animated, active, energetic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    8


    </td>


    <td>


    2 Goat</a>


    </td>


    <td>


    Calm, gentle, sympathetic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    9


    </td>


    <td>


    4 Monkey</a>


    </td>


    <td>


    Sharp, smart, curious


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    10


    </td>


    <td>


    4 Rooster</a>


    </td>


    <td>


    Observant, hardworking, courageous, arrogant


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    11


    </td>


    <td>


    4 Dog</a> (OG Xu, male, last was Zhong)


    </td>


    <td>


    Lovely, honest, prudent


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    12


    </td>


    <td>


    2 Pig</a> OG he


    </td>


    <td>


    Compassionate, generous, diligent


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter Three hundred eleven

    The city consisted of the same lacquered streets and glittering buildings as before, all still covered in the red glow of ki-crystals. The feeling of it was entirely different, however. It was like Kaz had gone from a tribe like his own, where everyone was quietly and desperately obedient, simply trying not to draw too much attention to themselves, to a tribe like the Copperstrikers, filled with worry and hope all at once.


    The biggest change, however, was the kinds of people he saw hurrying through those streets. Before, it was almost entirely mosui, sometimes walking on their own paws, but more often carried in chairs on the backs of kobolds with matching brightly colored fur. Some husede had been there as well, looking harried but not afraid, but the only kobolds were the ones used by the mosui.


    Now, the balance had shifted. The majority of people were husede, looking much the same as they had before, though their shoulders were straighter and they strode along at a comfortable pace, rather than scurrying from place to place. But there were a good number of kobolds here as well, and of all fur colors. They wore clean, new-looking loincloths, and though many of them were still thin and scarred, they no longer looked beaten and exhausted.


    There were no mosui at all, even when Kaz shifted his vision to see the smudges of mana inside the buildings they passed. Mosui were small, even by kobold standards, while most husede were Kaz¡¯s height or slightly taller. All of the mana he saw occupied a husede-sized space.


    <Where are the mosui?> Li asked as Orko led them along a path Kaz had walked once before. He was beginning to believe he knew where they were going, and was curious to see if the same female was there when they arrived.


    Orko snarled slightly. ¡°The adults live in a few buildings on the husede level. There are only ten or fifteen of them.¡±


    Kaz almost stumbled. He had no idea how many mosui had been living here, but it had to be many hundreds. Enough to make up several large tribes. And they were all dead? Or had some of them run when they realized that Zhangwo had been killed and their control sticks weren¡¯t enough to turn back the fury of those they¡¯d oppressed?


    <If they were killed, it¡¯s because they deserved it,> Li said, her body shivering against his. He held her close, remembering not only what it felt like to be collared and controlled, but to be trapped in a tiny box without food or water, terrified that he was about to die. Once their full connection was restored, they had shared both experiences, and Kaz had to admit that not one of the mosui either of them had encountered had seemed redeemable.


    ¡°What about their pups?¡± he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.


    ¡°There are more of them,¡± Orko said. ¡°I don¡¯t care much about them one way or the other, myself. I was in the mines, and the mosui never went there. It was all kobolds and husede, and while I met more than my share of cruel kobolds, I certainly know there are many of us who aren¡¯t like that. Same with the husede, I suppose. Claikni¡¯s not all bad.¡± He glanced at Kaz before offering, ¡°The female at the stairs.¡±


    Kaz nodded. How many was ¡®more¡¯? Were there only thirty or forty mosui left alive, and more than half of those were puppies? There couldn¡¯t be too many, or this Vakhus wouldn¡¯t be able to care for them all. When Zhangwo and the mosui had been killing his own people, he hadn¡¯t cared what happened to them, but now he was very glad that Lianhua had asked for their lives to be spared.


    <You can sense kobolds and xiyi,> Li said, for him only. <Can you feel the mosui as well?>


    That was a thought, and a good one, but here in the mountain Kaz was surrounded by too much ¡®kobold¡¯, all the time. If he knew someone well, he thought he might be able to pick them out if he was close, but the only mosui he¡¯d even spoken to was the one who captured him, and he didn¡¯t even know its name.


    <I¡¯ll try when we get a chance,> he told his dragon, then paused as Orko turned and walked inside a building. Sure enough, it was the same place Kaz had come to be assigned a job, but when he stepped inside, he saw that it had changed a fair bit. The metal rods had been ripped from the wall, leaving cracked holes, and instead one of the mosui¡¯s metal tables stood in the center of the room. An enormous book atop it, its leather cover dyed a deep red. One thing that did remain the same was the short husede female behind the table. She had her hands on her hips, and was staring at Orko, who looked completely at ease as he silently stared back.


    The husede turned to Kaz as he entered, her expression shifting from exasperated to questioning. Then her eyes fell on Li, and she gasped, stumbling backwards until she hit the wall with a painful-sounding thump. ¡°Dragon!¡± she gasped, and Li perked up.


    <Finally!> the dragon exclaimed, lifting her head and staring at the husede. <That is the correct reaction when someone sees me for the first time. Why do they all think I¡¯m cute?>


    The husede female blinked, obviously taken aback by Li¡¯s words, or perhaps by the fact that the dragon had spoken at all. She looked at Kaz. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what that is? It¡¯s small now, but you should kill it before it grows larger. They¡¯re monstrous beasts who care for nothing other than filling their bellies!¡±


    Li hissed softly. <I do like to eat, but I don¡¯t eat people. Kaz taught me that no one likes a people-eater, and Kaz is usually right. Not always, especially when he tries to kill things much larger than himself, but usually.>


    Kaz shifted his grip on Li, turning his shoulder toward the husede and summoning a shield for the first time since entering this level. He didn¡¯t like this talk of dragon-killing. ¡°No one outside even seemed to notice Li, other than a few glances.¡±


    The husede was sliding slowly across the wall in the direction of the stairs. ¡°That¡¯s because they don¡¯t read the old stories. I do. I know how we ended up in this mountain, and it wasn¡¯t because of the mosui. We ended up serving them, but it was dragons who took us from our home. The stories are¡­horrific.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Kaz winced. There was no doubt in his mind that she was talking about Qiangde and his court. Qiangde had carried away anyone he thought might help him learn how to ascend. Those with cores had been used in his experiments, but Kaz didn¡¯t know why the ancient dragon had wanted the husede. None of them even had cores, at least not that Kaz had seen, but he supposed it was possible that they could develop one and ascend, so perhaps they had simply been an easy source of material to study.


    Li was no longer pleased with the husede¡¯s reaction, and shrank back against Kaz. <I¡¯m not like that,> she said. <And the other dragons won¡¯t be like that anymore, either. I promise.> And there was something in her voice when she spoke these last two words that resonated, almost humming as they hung in the air between her and the squat, frightened female.


    Slowly, the husede relaxed, her dark eyes searching, rather than alarmed. ¡°I think you mean that,¡± she said softly.


    <I do,> Li agreed, and Kaz nodded with her. There was no way Li would ever be like Qiangde. She was fierce, but not cruel, and though she demanded respect, she was also willing to earn it.


    With a soft sigh, the husede took a single step back toward them, then glanced at Orko, who had watched this exchange with a strangely intent expression. ¡°Orko, if you¡¯re done, you should go back to the stairs,¡± she said tartly.


    Orko shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s about shift change.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Not for another hour. You know how this works. If you don¡¯t do your job, you only get the minimum, and they¡¯ll take a day off.¡±


    A low rumble came from Orko¡¯s throat. ¡°You think kobolds don¡¯t know about doing what they must for the tribe to survive?¡±


    She took another step forward. ¡°I know you do,¡± she said gently. ¡°And you¡¯ve worked enough, for long enough. But if someone reports you-¡±


    ¡°And who¡¯ll do that, Kedia? You?¡± he growled.


    ¡°No!¡± Kedia said, settling her hands on her hips again. ¡°But if something dangerous comes down those stairs and you¡¯re not there to fight, you know you¡¯ll regret it.¡±


    Kaz almost told them that nothing dangerous could use the stairs anymore, but then he remembered that kobolds still could. If an infected female or a group of desperate males tried to come down, the Fire ki wouldn¡¯tstop them.


    The ragged fur on the back of Orko¡¯s neck slowly settled back down. ¡°I suppose,¡± he rumbled. ¡°Grel¡¯s barely more than a pup, and Claikni¡¯s pickaxe is bigger than she is.¡± Neither of those things was true, but Kaz said nothing as the scarred gray male turned for the door. He didn¡¯t even bother with a farewell yip as he pushed back out onto the bustling street.


    Kedia shook her head. She met Kaz¡¯s eyes, and managed a small smile, though Kaz noticed she still kept the table in between herself and them. ¡°Orko was in one of the bad mines. Hardly anyone else made it out. He should be allowed to rest, for a while, at least.¡±


    Kaz tilted his head. ¡°If it helps, he probably wouldn¡¯t. We kobolds work from the day we learn to walk on two legs until the day we die.¡±


    The husede¡¯s smile faded, and she looked down at the thick book that lay on the table in front of her. ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡°No one ever needed to make you work. It¡¯s what you do. If the mosui had simply opened this city to you from the beginning, some tribe would have been willing to come here and mine in exchange for nothing more than the safety the city provides.¡±


    She was right, and that was yet another part of the tragedy that had lain at the heart of Kaz¡¯s mountain for centuries. Rather than comment on that, however, he asked, ¡°What would happen if Orko didn¡¯t work?¡±


    Kedia grimaced. ¡°The Council has decided that everyone - from independent youth to adult - has to contribute in order to earn food and a place to live. It¡¯s not a terrible system. At least people can choose what they do, for the most part. If someone is unable or unwilling to do their job, however, they have to leave after nine days, and during those nine days, they¡¯ll only receive a small amount of food. The minimum. If someone repeatedly tries to work for one day, then not work for eight, they just start deducting days from their nine, even if they¡¯re not consecutive. That¡¯s where Orko is now.¡±


    She laid a hand on the book. ¡°Speaking of which, Orko brought you here so I can record your name and where you¡¯ll be staying. If you plan to remain here longer than nine days, you¡¯ll have to take a job, but I can help you find one you like.¡± She glanced at Li. ¡°I don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll want to do about the¡­the dragon.¡±


    <My name is Li,> Li told her, and Kedia flipped open the book with a hand that barely shook. Dozens of pages fluttered from one side to the other, and then she picked up a pen Kaz hadn¡¯t even noticed beside the bulk of the book. Dipping it in a small pot of ink, she leaned forward and wrote Li¡¯s name in the smallest runes Kaz had ever seen. When Lianhua told her to pick, Li had chosen the runes for ¡®fly¡¯ and ¡®gold¡¯ as her written name, but Kedia used the simple rune that sounded like Li¡¯s name instead. Neither Kaz nor Li corrected her.


    ¡°I¡¯m Kaz,¡± Kaz told the husede. She wrote down the simplest version of his name as well, which was fine since he hadn¡¯t actually chosen his runes yet. The pen hovered over the page, and finally Kedia looked up.


    ¡°What tribe?¡± she asked. ¡°Even if you think they¡¯re all dead, I should write it down. If someone else does make it here, I can tell them where you are, and if one of your tribe members is already here, I can help you find them.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s tail swayed gently. She sounded genuinely concerned, and he remembered her helping him when he came here shortly after he was captured. She¡¯d tried to get him assigned to the yumi pools rather than the mines, and she was the only person to offer him help in finding Lianhua and Li, by telling him they might be in ¡®the tower¡¯. Of course, while she was much the same, his fur was gray then, so it was no wonder she didn¡¯t recognize him.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, ¡°but I have no tribe now, and I know where my former tribe is. There¡¯s no one here for me. Though¡­do you keep track of visitors as well? Do you know if any Redmanes are in the city right now? And are Dax, Eld, and Nogz of the Bronzearm tribe still on the yumi levels?¡±


    Kedia¡¯s heavy black brows rose up toward the braids that started at her hairline. ¡°No Redmanes have come here in days. And all of the former Bronzearms now live near the pools. But-¡± Her eyes narrowed as she examined him, lingering on his bare, unscarred throat. ¡°Have you been here before? Are you one of the kobolds who left right after the battle?¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ear twitched. ¡°I have been here before, and I did leave shortly after Zhangwo died,¡± he agreed cautiously. Not cautiously enough, however, because her eyes touched on his fur again, widening.


    ¡°You¡¯re the kobold who killed Zhangwo!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Or the one the other kobolds howl about, anyway. Kaz, with the blue fur, a male kobold with the power of a dozen females. You supposedly ripped out Zhangwo¡¯s throat with your teeth, or perhaps clawed out his guts, or sometimes-¡±


    Kaz¡¯s ears were flat by now, and he whined softly as he said, ¡°None of that is true. I¡­helped. That¡¯s all.¡± He glanced toward the door, trying to decide if he¡¯d learned as much as he could here, when he thought of something else. Opening his pouch, he pulled out the piece of leather he¡¯d taken from Zyle¡¯s hut and lowered his shield before placing his burden carefully on the table.


    With gentle fingers, Kedia picked it up, her eyes scanning the small, carefully drawn runes that covered it. ¡°Oh,¡± she said softly, then turned more pages in her book until she came to a section near the end. Meticulously, she copied each rune down onto the page, then handed it back to Kaz.


    ¡°Next time someone heads for the Deep, you¡¯ll want to send that with them. Or,¡± her eyes touched Kaz¡¯s blue fur and Li¡¯s crimson-gilded golden scales, ¡°perhaps you¡¯re planning to go there yourself. Either way, you should give that to someone from one of the great tribes. It¡¯s a list of the dead members of a tribe called the Woodjaws.¡±


    She sighed, shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about kobold politics, for obvious reasons, but I talk to a lot of kobolds. I know the Woodblades were killed years ago, and given the tribe name, I¡¯d guess these Woodjaws are one of the ones who left the Deep after that happened, for one reason or another. I don¡¯t know the Woodjaws¡¯ story in particular, but they¡¯ll have family down there. Someone who can howl them to their ancestors.¡±


    Kaz bowed his head, carefully rolling up the piece of leather and returning it to his pouch. It was longer than the pouch, and Kedia watched with barely concealed interest as it disappeared. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°Are the platforms between levels still running?¡±


    She nodded, and Kaz moved toward the door, only to pause once more as he thought about the promise he¡¯d made to Ogden. The husede seemed to know how to fix the platforms, and they¡¯d likely be interested to know there was another of their kind on the mountain, especially one who hadn¡¯t been born there. But if Kaz told the husede about Ogden, he would be taking away Ogden¡¯s right to choose his own path. So, in the end, he simply said, ¡°Fair howls,¡± and left.

 Chapter Three hundred twelve

    The bright lights of the yumi fields shone down as Kaz allowed his wet paws to dry naturally, rather than using red ki to hurry the process along. He and Li had spent the last hour or so slowly wandering through the fields, watching as gatherers cut down the stalks and pulled thick roots from the shallow water. Most of them were kobolds, but there were a few husede as well. The majority were working hard, but a few chatted with their neighbors, while others sat beside the pool, peeling yumi roots to chew on.


    Li had remained with Kaz for quite a while, though the ceilings here were more than high enough for her to fly, even at her largest size. They were supposed to be looking for puppies, after all, not lingering to watch the gatherers, so they had to pass through the long, wide tunnels that connected the fields.


    Neither of them had realized just how many of those fields there were, however. Some of them were packed with busy kobolds, but others held only a few gatherers, working alone and in silence, separating plants and cutting only the stalks that were growing in such a way that they interfered with others.


    Kaz had wondered how it was that there was enough yumi for all the purposes to which it was put, and this was it. There were dozens of fields, and they were probably harvested in a cycle, much like the way gatherers covered different parts of a tribe¡¯s territory on different days. This allowed the plants to regrow in between cycles, and when the cycle was too short or the tribe too large, they knew it was time to move on or expand their territory. There should be no such problems with the yumi, however, at least not unless the population of the city above grew too large even for its confines.


    Eventually, Kaz slowed, and Li flew off above him. No one looked up here, and for good reason. There were no stalactites here at all, since the ceilings and a good part of the walls were completely covered in the complex patterns of ki-stones. This meant that unlike in the rest of the mountain, this space was completely safe. No tense guards stood or paced, watching the ceiling for the brief moment of warning when a lopo¡¯s jaws split open, or eyeing the tunnels and crevices in case janjio, woshi, yanchong, binyi, or any of the other dangers that lived just out of the reach of the light wandered by. Even fuergar could snatch a small enough pup and drag it away, if given a chance.


    Now that the people here were no longer being forced to stay and work, this was¡­a good place. Kaz had finally come to a stop in the middle of one of the growing fields, enjoying the gentle light and the feeling of growing things all around him. Yumi didn¡¯t have ki, for the most part, though there was sometimes a little Wood or Water in the larger roots, but they did have a surprising amount of mana. The soft glow of it made the stalks shimmer in Kaz¡¯s vision, and with Li swooping against the glittering ceiling, it was a beautiful sight that he suspected could be found nowhere else in the world.


    Of course, even in that place, Kaz wasn¡¯t truly alone, and one of the few gatherers working in the field came over to see if he was lost. This was an older brown puppy, with a very short muzzle, sad green eyes, and drooping ears, and he spoke in the gentlest voice Kaz had ever heard from another kobold.


    ¡°The fields are confusing at first,¡± he said softly. ¡°But you¡¯ll learn the way soon. Or are you visiting someone?¡± He seemed almost anxious, watching Kaz as if ready to drop his gathering bag and run at the slightest unexpected movement.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes caught on the heavy scar around his throat; a sign that, for all his youth, this pup had been here for a very long time. He must have been captured before the Bronzearms did whatever they did to anger Zhangwo, causing him to release the fulan on the mid-levels. How had he come here, and why did he seem so afraid?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaz said, finding that his own voice had gentled to match. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Dax, Eld, or Nogz. Or, perhaps, a male named Vek?¡±


    It was obvious that the young kobold - who was perhaps only a year or two younger than Kaz, and likely would have been sent on his spirit hunt soon - recognized all of the names, but he shrank back a bit at the last one. This worried Kaz, until the pup said, ¡°Why do you want Vek?¡± and for the first time, there was a hint of a rumble in his voice. He was protective of the other male, not frightened of him.


    Kaz¡¯s tail wagged. It was a good sign that at least some of the other kobolds liked Vek, and presumably didn¡¯t mind that he was taking care of the mosui pups. He kept his own tone soft and non-threatening as he said, ¡°I heard he¡¯s watching over the little mosui. I¡¯d like to help, if I can.¡±


    The brown-furred pup relaxed a little, though his eyes remained wary beneath the heavy folds of skin that sagged over them. Kaz had never seen a kobold quite like him, and wondered what tribe he¡¯d come from. Those eyes considered Kaz, weighing his honesty, and then the pup turned, splashing out of the pool onto the narrow strip of dry stone surrounding the yumi. There, he dropped his sling full of roots, though he kept the viciously curved knife the gatherers used to cut both roots and stalks.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you the way,¡± he said, still in that quiet tone. ¡°He lives past the dead pools.¡±


    Kaz blinked, and from above, Li, who had been watching and listening through him, asked, <The dead pools?> Kaz repeated the question, and the brown pup nodded, already trotting away toward a distant tunnel.


    ¡°There was a cave-in at some point,¡± he said, already starting to breathe hard. For the first time, Kaz could tell that he was limping slightly, though there was no obvious injury or scarring on the leg. ¡°The crystal pattern broke, and the yumi in those fields died. The water is still there, though.¡± Glancing back at Kaz, he added, ¡°It¡¯s not like everything is actually dead, though, just the yumi.¡±


    The pup turned away so he could watch where he was going as he entered the tunnel, which was only dimly lit by a few well-placed red crystals. Li swooped down to settle on Kaz¡¯s shoulder, immediately vanishing beneath her camouflage. Kaz sent her a feeling of approval. This young kobold was skittish, and there was no telling what his reaction would be to the sudden appearance of an unknown creature.


    They passed through several more of the growing fields, with Kaz¡¯s guide waving to one or two of the other kobolds working there, while ignoring - and being ignored by - the others. Kaz began to notice that these relatively solitary individuals were all damaged in some way, and every one had the wide, furless scars around their necks that showed they had been here for a long time. Only one also had a necklace, in spite of the fact that several were Kaz¡¯s age or a little older.


    As for the brown-furred male leading Kaz, his breathing grew more and more ragged, until every breath was a whistle torn through his throat. He leaned against a wall until it evened out again, avoiding Kaz¡¯s eyes as he did so. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t want Kaz¡¯s sympathy, so Kaz didn¡¯t offer it, though he was already searching for a way to help. Unfortunately, because the pup only had the very small, constantly fluctuating amount of mana Kaz had only recently begun to notice in other male kobolds, there was no ki or cycle to examine, and Kaz would have to touch him in order to ¡®see¡¯ more.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    When he could breathe clearly again, the pup took off once more, moving just as quickly as before, in spite of the fact that it obviously made the problem worse. He was limping more, too, and Kaz finally realized that his left leg was actually shorter than the other. There was no sign the difference was the result of an injury, so Kaz suspected he must have been born that way.


    That probably explained how he had ended up here so young, as well as why he hadn¡¯t tried to return to his original tribe. Oda hadn¡¯t allowed the Broken Knives to have puppies, insisting that Katri¡¯s would be the first, but Rega had taught Kaz about birthing and some of the things that could go wrong. It was rare, but possible, for a puppy to be born deformed.


    What happened then depended on the tribe, but in order for this pup to be here now, he must have been one of the lucky ones. The leg might not even have been noticed at first, and when it was, he could still gather and do other things around the den, though it was unlikely he¡¯d ever get a mate. But when the breathing issue became apparent, he¡¯d probably been abandoned, and fallen into a mosui trap. He might not even remember his original tribe, or who his parents were, and if he did¡­well, they hadn¡¯t wanted him then, so why would they now?


    They had to stop two more times, at shorter intervals each time, to allow the pup to catch his breath. He neither looked at Kaz, nor offered an apology or explanation, so Kaz remained silent, turning his own head away as he watched through Li¡¯s eyes.


    <His nostrils are too small,> Kaz said thoughfully, and Li sent agreement.


    <His muzzle is really very short. It looks like someone stepped on him when he was little,> Li noted.


    Kaz nodded. He was almost certain that was the heart of the problem, but he wasn¡¯t sure if there was anything to be done about it. Would it be possible to open the nostrils more, perhaps by inserting tubes when necessary? But the pup spent most of his time panting heavily anyway, bypassing the nose entirely. No, there was more going on.


    Then they reached the first of the dead pools, but as the pup had said, they were far from dead. There were only a few functional ki-crystals still scattered around, but light was provided by a profusion of life. The thickest mass of glow-worms Kaz had ever seen covered the ceiling, making it resemble a night sky filled with even more stars than the real one. Luminescent mosses and lichens coated the walls, including things like zhitong, which only grew in high-moisture environments. And there was so much tanuo that Kaz felt his mouth begin to water. It was too sweet for him now in its cooked form, but fresh it was perfect, with a soft chew that lasted a surprisingly long time.


    Staring around, Kaz asked, ¡°How could anyone call this place dead?¡± To his eyes it teemed with life, even in the darkest shadows. Ki gathered in many of the plants, especially near the few remaining ki-crystals, and Kaz thought he could spend days here, trying to figure out what everything was based on nothing more than Rega¡¯s descriptions and Ghazt¡¯s drawings.


    His guide was scooping water from the pool and drinking it quickly. Without all of the yumi, the pool was clear all the way to the bottom, and Kaz could actually see small creatures moving there. One darted toward the pup¡¯s hand, and Kaz reached out, yanking him back. Deep water was usually where the danger lurked, but any unknown animal could be deadly here.


    The pup laughed softly, freeing himself before scooping the glowing thing from the water. He held it out to Kaz. ¡°It¡¯s a guang. They live in all the yumi pools, but in the other caverns, it¡¯s too bright to see them.¡±


    Kaz leaned forward, urging more ki into his eyes until he could see the tiny insect. Its legs were flattened slightly, allowing it to swim quickly, but it also had a long tail that it held tightly coiled until it used it to produce a sudden spurt of speed. It did this now, and shot off the side of the pup¡¯s palm and back into the pool, where it swam away.


    ¡°They¡¯re harmless,¡± the pup said. ¡°We keep anything dangerous out of here, so nothing eats them, either.¡±


    Kaz straightened as the other kobold did. ¡°We?¡± he asked.


    The pup ducked his head, showing the back of his neck. ¡°I live here, too. I don¡¯t¡­fit in with the others, but Vek doesn¡¯t mind.¡± His voice suddenly grew deep, and Kaz had the impression he was mimicking someone else. ¡°What do I care? You can live anywhere you want now. Just don¡¯t bother the round-pups.¡± It could have sounded harsh, but there was an edge of humor to it that spoke of affection.


    ¡°Round pups?¡± he asked.


    The pup¡¯s drooping ears twitched, and his voice returned to normal. ¡°That¡¯s what Vek calls the mosui pups. He says they¡¯re kobolds, now, since the other mosui don¡¯t want them.¡±


    This Vek was more right than he knew. The mosui were indeed kobolds, created as part of Qiangde¡¯s research, and used as servants for centuries, just as much as Kaz¡¯s people and the xiyi. But round-pups?


    And then they entered the cavern where the puppies lived, and he saw them playing. There was no doubt that ¡®round-pup¡¯ was a perfectly accurate description, especially for the smallest ones. They were little more than balls of fluff, with flat pink paws paddling at the air as they played with the kobolds. Even the squirming tentacles surrounding their noses were almost cute at this size, and Kaz couldn¡¯t see their tiny eyes within their fur, so it was difficult to tell which end was up until the feet or nose came into view.


    There were so many puppies. Dozens, kobolds and mosui alike, tumbling and playing together, though the kobolds had a tendency to treat the miniature mosui like squeaking toys, which is what they looked and sounded like. Pups gently pounced on the little round balls of fluff, which squealed shrilly in response. At first Kaz was worried, but then one little mosui after another wriggled from beneath a playful hand or paw and ran off, producing something that sounded like nothing more than an extraordinarily high-pitched giggle.


    Their guide ran off, moving with greater confidence now that he¡¯d reached his den, and Kaz could hear him yipping for someone. Kaz, however, was fixed in place, watching the scene. The only thing missing were xiyi young. What would they look like? Would they, like Li, slowly develop their horns and spikes as they grew, but have smooth scales and adorable faces as hatchlings?


    <You don¡¯t think I¡¯m adorable now?> demanded Li, lifting a now-visible wing to block his sight. When she shrank herself down, she retained her current shape, including the crown of ruby horns and the spikes growing down her back, rather than changing back to her youthful form.


    Kaz hesitated. Honestly, he always thought she was adorable, but he had a feeling this was a dangerous question to answer, so he walked as carefully as he would through a fuergar nest, wary of sections of stone that might collapse beneath his paws.


    <I think you¡¯re beautiful now,> he told her, offering his whole-hearted admiration through their bond. It was true that she wasn¡¯t as sleek and cuddly as she¡¯d once been, but there was no doubt of the deadly grace contained within her new shape.


    Li stared at him, her eyes wide, then blinked and looked back at the puppies. A few of them had noticed the strangers, and some were slinking away, while others stood in front of smaller, younger friends and looked fierce. The littlest kobold was more than double the size of the largest mosui, and the little round-pups appeared to be far less inclined to aggression than their kobold counterparts. Several kobold puppies began to call out, giving the call for aid, and Kaz held still, waiting to see what would happen.


    Suddenly, little dragons seemed to appear in between the other young. They were faint, and several looked remarkably like a younger Li, but they breathed tiny, harmless gouts of flame in protection of the others. <They¡¯re missing xiyi and dragons, but I don¡¯t know what xiyi should look like,> Li said, sounding slightly breathless but very proud. The puppies looked startled, and even some of the larger ones seemed frightened, but the image disappeared as quickly as it had come.


    A sharp bark came from deeper in the cavern, settling the pups down again, and then they broke and ran in what looked like a single mass of fur toward the paws of an adult male kobold with deep orange fur. He stared down at them with a look Kaz had seen on the faces of several den-mothers now. Were all of his charges safe and accounted for?


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, growling voice remarkably similar to the brown puppy¡¯s earlier imitation. ¡°Kaz, is it? Dugo says you¡¯re looking for me.¡±

 Chapter Three hundred thirteen

    Kaz hadn¡¯t offered his name, any more than Dugo had, but obviously his blue fur had given him away again. He wasn¡¯t sure he liked having strangers know who he was, but it did explain why Dugo had been so willing to guide Kaz to this hidden place. If the other kobolds really did believe Kaz had slain Zhangwo, then they might feel¡­ Honestly, he wasn¡¯t certain. It would be like meeting a kobold from a howl, which was a very strange thought to have about himself.


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered slightly, and he glanced toward the brown-furred pup who had come up behind Vek. Dugo was panting again, and looked like he should really sit down. Kaz wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d noticed, either. A few of the pups who were closer to Dugo¡¯s age were edging toward their friend, as if ready to catch him if he needed support. The concern on their faces confirmed Kaz¡¯s feeling that this was a good place.


    ¡°I was looking for Dax, Eld, or Nogz of the Bronze City tribe,¡± Kaz told the orange-furred warrior he assumed was Vek. ¡°But I wanted to see how the remaining mosui were doing, and someone told me you were watching their pups.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Vek said, laying a hand on the head of a particularly round round-pup with fur almost the exact same unusual shade of orange as his own. ¡°There are a few who have surviving parents, and they¡¯re staying with the adults, but for the most part, the little ones escaped because they hid, and only came out when they got hungry. They have no remaining family to care for them. I already had Vakhus here, so people started bringing me the others as well. We outgrew the huts we were given, and people who had been uncomfortable with a few mosui became¡­even more so. So we came here. We watch the dead pools, and everyone else leaves us alone.¡±


    Kaz nodded. That was about what he¡¯d expected when he¡¯d heard the pups were so far from everyone else. Kobolds and husede alike had years of hatred built up toward the mosui. It would take more years to counter that hatred, and in the meantime, these little ones were at risk.


    <Why did you take Vakhus in?> Li asked suddenly, and Vek shifted his attention to her. She glided down from Kaz¡¯s arms and walked toward the little orange mosui slowly, her eyes wide with curiosity and something like anxiety. Kaz couldn¡¯t see Vakhus¡¯ expression through his fine cloud of orange fur, but Vek looked wary as the dragon approached.


    ¡°I was a slave in a mosui household,¡± Vek said. His body tensed as Li stretched out her nose, cautiously sniffing at Vakhus. The little round-pup squeaked softly, then leaned toward her in turn, the pink tentacles on his nose reaching for her. Li jerked back as they brushed against her snout, then shivered once and held still as the soft tendrils gently traced her face. Kaz could feel her refusal to be frightened, and knew this was something she needed to do in order to begin to recover from her own time in captivity. Still, he kept a cautious eye on Vek as the other male tried to decide how he was going to react.


    ¡°Vakhus saved me, and then I saved him when the rebellion reached us,¡± Vek said, and Kaz could hear a whole unspoken howl in those few, terse words. ¡°His parents died, so I took him in. I took him to the adult mosui, after they were released back into the city, but none of them wanted him.¡± He finally looked away from Li and Vakhus. Li¡¯s fear was fading rapidly. Apparently mosui tentacles tickled.


    ¡°Most of these little ones can barely even speak our language yet. Vakhus is old enough to know some, but they have a hard time making the right sounds. They want to growl like us,¡± Vek said, and now there was a hint of humor in his voice. ¡°And the kobold pups keep trying to squeak like them. So I just call them all pups, and since there are no den-mothers here, I started teaching them the howls, and how to gather and hunt.¡±


    His hand left Vakhus¡¯ head, gently ruffling the short fluff there as it did. ¡°Sometimes Eld and Nogz come to help, and the older pups are good at keeping everyone together, but it can be challenging, with so many.¡±


    Finally satisfied, Li backed up. Vakhus turned his squashed little nose after her, but didn¡¯t follow, instead trundling off on his short legs to join the others in their games. He was one of the largest round-pups, and Kaz wondered if others his age and size hadn¡¯t been able to find good hiding spots that allowed the worst of the bloodlust time to die down.


    ¡°No one else helps you?¡± Kaz asked, watching Li watch the pups. ¡°I thought there were jobs that people could do to earn food and shelter. Can¡¯t they make caring for the puppies one of those?¡±


    Vek sighed. ¡°I asked, but the Council said that they wouldn¡¯t ask anyone here to help take care of mosui.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± another voice said, and everyone turned to look back toward the tunnel Kaz and Li had entered through. Dax stood there, flanked by Nogz and Eld, looking almost as tired and somber as he had when he and Kaz had been trapped in the mines together. He¡¯d obviously heard their conversation before they heard him, thanks to their own focus on their conversation and the puppies.


    ¡°Thabil and Qiyi said that, and they outvoted me. As always. They want all of the mosui dead or out of the city, but thanks to their promise to the human female, Lianhua, they can¡¯t actively do anything about it. If we still had collars, all of the mosui would be wearing one, but without that, Thabil is determined to force them out through less obvious means.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Dax came to a halt eight or ten feet from Kaz, then pressed his hand to his chest, bowing over it as he would to a leader of warriors. ¡°Welcome back, Kaz Woodblade. And Li.¡± He bowed toward the little dragon, too, and she had the presence of mind to raise her wings and curve her neck, offering a graceful acknowledgement, while Kaz still struggled to comprehend what was happening.


    Finally, Kaz managed to press his own fist against his chest and bow over it. This male was a chief of sorts himself, while Kaz didn¡¯t even have a warrior¡¯s necklace. Kaz didn¡¯t care about that any longer, but he knew how he must seem to other kobolds. Without a necklace, he was still a puppy himself, and certainly not someone a grown warrior and chief should be bowing to. Yet here was Dax, apparently entirely unconcerned with any of that.


    Dax chuffed a tired laugh, tilting his head toward Nogz. The younger of his two pups immediately yipped happily and ran off, joining the others in play. Eld, who had been the leader of the kobolds working in the yumi pools in spite of his own youth, remained at Dax¡¯s side.


    ¡°Several of my kobolds came to tell me that a blue-furred kobold with a golden lizard was wandering the fields. Then I got a message from Kedia as well,¡± Dax said, ear twitching in amusement. Kaz¡¯s own ears lowered in embarrassment as he realized he¡¯d been far more conspicuous than he¡¯d believed. Had everyone simply been giving him space, since he didn¡¯t seem interested in talking?


    ¡°We¡¯ve been on your trail for a while now, but we were always a little too late, and it¡¯s hard to catch your scent. Then someone said they saw you with Dugo, so we hoped you¡¯d be here,¡± Dax explained.


    ¡°He¡¯s here all right,¡± Vek said. ¡°But what am I supposed to do with him?¡±


    Dax huffed softly as he looked at Kaz. ¡°It¡¯s not so much what you¡¯re supposed to do with him as what I hope he¡¯ll do with you.¡± He pointed at Vek. ¡°We need another kobold on the Council, and I want you. You¡¯re the only person actually doing something about the mosui, and I¡¯m afraid the adults aren¡¯t making things better for themselves. They refuse to work, and steal food and other things. They try to order the husede to serve them, and hide in their homes when people become angry about their actions. Soon, Thabil will use their behavior as an excuse to force out all of the mosui, including your round-pups, and there won¡¯t be anything I can do to stop her.¡± His voice held deep bitterness as he watched Vakhus.


    Kaz had a feeling this wasn¡¯t the first time the two males had had this conversation, and that feeling was confirmed when Vek said, ¡°There¡¯s no way Thabil and Qiyi will allow anyone to break their hold on this city, even if I wanted the job. Which I do not.¡± He sounded firm, but his eyes rested on the puppies as he spoke.


    "There¡¯s one way,¡± Dax said. ¡°Kaz can force them to step down. One of them would be bad enough, but Qiyi only howls when his mother tells him to. They¡¯re just like Rolpa, the chief of the Bronzearms. She refused to listen to anyone, only hungering for more power and more territory. When she pushed too far into mosui territory, they pushed back, and she killed a dozen or more of them. That¡¯s why Zhangwo set the fulan on us all. Her selfishness and refusal to see reason led to hundreds of deaths, including her own. Thabil may not be able to see it, but soon all of the kobolds will rebel again, unless I manage to convince them to come here and form our own tribe. Even then, I¡¯ll probably only be delaying the inevitable.¡±


    Kaz felt a chill run through him, lifting the fur on his spine. He remembered the aftermath of the rebellion against the mosui, and it was terrible. Once the mosui lost control of their slaves, they had fallen quickly. How much worse would it be when those fighting were more equally matched?


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± he rasped, unconsciously holding Li closer, until she coiled her tail around him and hissed at Dax.


    ¡°You¡¯re our only hope,¡± Dax said simply. ¡°Everyone in this city - kobold and husede alike - knows you¡¯re the reason we¡¯re free today. They¡¯ll listen to you, even over Thabil. If you take her down, and tell them to choose leaders who will represent them better, they¡¯ll do it. They¡¯ll even allow Vek to join the Council, and kobolds desperately need another voice there.¡±


    Kaz was already shaking his head, and found himself backing away, even though he didn¡¯t remember deciding to do so. ¡°This is between you and Thabil. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be able to,¡± he cast his mind about, searching for the word, ¡°¡®vote¡¯ for your leaders?¡±


    ¡°Supposed to,¡± Dax said. ¡°But ¡®supposed to¡¯ doesn¡¯t matter if everyone is afraid of Thabil or feels like she¡¯s acting in their best interests. She¡¯s very good at convincing the older husede that she¡¯s doing everything she does for their sake. And Qiyi is surprisingly good at making friends among the younger ones. He tells them he¡¯ll talk to Thabil, so they feel like they have a voice, but of course they don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Still,¡± Kaz said, backing up another step and trying to decide if he should have Li hide them so they could run. ¡°I¡¯m not a part of this tribe, and I didn¡¯t really do that much. It¡¯s not my-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be the only one who knows you¡¯re here,¡± Dax said, almost reluctantly. ¡°You¡¯re not just another puppy any more, Kaz. People have seen you, and they¡¯re talking. Nucai told us that if you ever returned, he would reward us for telling him immediately.¡±


    Kaz¡¯s fur lifted as he halted, baring his teeth at Dax. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    It was Dax¡¯s turn to step back as he held up his hands. ¡°Never,¡± he said with great sincerity. ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t owe you my life, and those of Eld and Nogz, I only talk to Nucai when I have to. He¡¯s made it very clear that he can shut down the crystals that power this city,¡± he added grimly, ¡°and I don¡¯t much like people who use power to try to force me to do their bidding.¡±


    He shook his head, then looked up at the distant ceiling. ¡°But Kaz, what do you think Thabil and Qiyi are doing right now?¡±

 Chapter Three hundred fourteen

    ¡°Are you still there?¡± Dax asked quietly as a large husede male stepped toward the pedestal. Several other people had been waiting for this platform, but Dax had insisted upon having it ¡®to himself¡¯ so that no one would bump into or step on Kaz and Li. This had made the group of mostly husede mutter among themselves, but they¡¯d yielded and now waited impatiently for the platform to return.


    Rather than answering, Kaz touched Dax¡¯s arm. From his experience with Ogden, Kaz knew husede hearing wasn¡¯t as good as that of a kobold, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as a human¡¯s, either, and he didn¡¯t want this one to know he was there. Dax jumped in surprise just as the husede touched the pedestal, and red ki surrounded them all. Dax froze in place, a startled expression on his face, fur just beginning to lift. The husede¡¯s mana flowed down through the control pedestal, which refined it into the ki needed to move the platform.


    Kaz looked at Li, and to his surprise, his dragon was staring around at the gleaming shaft of red ki through which they moved. Before, she, too, had been caught in whatever power made time seem to stop for the passengers of the platform.


    <It¡¯s beautiful,> Li said softly, golden eyes reflecting the ruby gleam of Fire. <You didn¡¯t say it was beautiful.>


    Kaz looked around again. To be honest, he¡¯d been too startled by the phenomenon at first, and then had become caught up in figuring out how and why it happened. Was it simply a side-effect of whatever made the platforms work, or was it intentional? He even thought it might be there to protect the people riding the platform, since he didn¡¯t think it would be safe for someone to try to touch the endless stream of ki that flowed up and around them.


    ¡°It is beautiful,¡± Kaz said, and indeed it was. The ki was all Fire, but like fire, it was made of many shades of red and orange, all flickering and dancing with one another. Sparks flashed around them, and deep red streaks had gathered around the husede¡¯s slowly descending hand, as if curious about the mana he was pushing into the pedestal.


    <Why can I see it this time?> Li asked as she watched vague images of the world flicker just outside their small enclosure.


    He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe because you have Fire yourself now? Or maybe because you have all five types of ki.¡± Those were both possibilities, but he suspected the real reason was because she was becoming something far more than just a dragon. Something he himself had already been well on the way to becoming when they first passed through here, though he hadn¡¯t known it.


    Li just nodded in response to his suggestions, though. She was watching as a scene of two young husede chatting melted into a picture of a hallway occupied by two different husede, each very large, very serious, and very armed. Their heavy hammers were crossed, and they looked like they might well remain in that exact same position for the rest of eternity.


    This image solidified, and the carmine flush of Fire withdrew into the ki-crystals that were embedded in the surface of the platform on which they rode. The husede controlling the platform raised his hand from the control column, and the two guards stiffened as their dark eyes landed on Dax.


    ¡°Councilor,¡± one of them said. He had a single piece of gold that had been shaped into a slender bar attached to one shoulder of his shirt, and he neither bowed nor moved aside as Dax stepped onto the narrow section of hallway available to him.


    ¡°Kithrik,¡± Dax said, lip lifting. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t care for the other male, and it seemed the feeling was mutual. Kaz touched Dax¡¯s back, urging the other male to move so he could step off the platform as well, since he didn¡¯t want to find out what would happen if the platform left while he was still partially on it. Dax started, letting out a low growl before he moved forward to press his chest against the crossed handles of the hammers.


    ¡°Let me in,¡± Dax said, and Kaz had to admire the older warrior¡¯s determination. He was fairly tall for a kobold, but he was all sinew and lean muscle after his time in the mines, and each of the husede was taller and as heavy as two or three of Dax.


    Kithrik¡¯s lip lifted in a credible snarl that was somewhat ruined by his flat, square teeth. ¡°There¡¯s no meeting today.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Dax said, pushing harder as Kaz crowded up beside him. ¡°But these are the Council chambers, and I¡¯m a Councilor. Let me by, or lose your pretty gold bar.¡±


    The husede flinched slightly, his eyes flickering to the side as if to make sure the little rectangle of gold was still attached. What was it? As far as Kaz could tell, it had no ki in it, which meant it was just a piece of metal. Was it part of some husede version of a necklace?


    ¡°You can¡¯t decide that on your own,¡± Kithrik grunted, but he didn¡¯t quite push Dax back.


    Dax lowered his voice to a threatening growl. ¡°I can if I rip it off with my teeth at the same time I tear out your throat.¡±


    This time Kithrik did give way slightly, and Kaz remembered that though the husede were physically large and strong, they¡¯d served mostly as caretakers, messengers, and the people who controlled the kobolds for the mosui. Few, if any, of them had actually been trained as warriors, and so far as Kaz knew, even fewer had faced real combat except during the short-lived rebellion. Without their collars and pain-dealing devices, the mosui had simply been slaughtered, so even that didn¡¯t really count as battle.


    While Kithrik was still trying to decide if he was willing to back down, the other husede did it for him. Lowering his hammer, he stepped back and to the side, clearing a space large enough for both Dax and Kaz to walk by. They did so, while Kithrik glared at his fellow guard with all the baleful energy of a male who had just been humiliated. Without looking back, Dax continued down the hall, and Kaz trailed him, remaining silent until they turned a corner and paused outside the room in which Lianhua had been tortured by Zhangwo.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± Kaz asked, after picturing the rune for silence in his mind.


    Dax shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right. No one can hear us,¡± Kaz told him. ¡°For the moment at least.¡±


    This little journey had already been difficult for Dax. He had known intellectually that Kaz had power, since he was able to remove the collars that kept the kobolds and husede prisoner, but Kaz had never done anything as obvious as disappearing in his presence. Of course, that was actually Li, but Kaz didn¡¯t think it would actually help anything to explain, in spite of Li¡¯s mild disgruntlement at the omission.


    A few heartbeats passed as Dax digested this, and then he sighed and said, ¡°Kithrik is Thabil¡¯s brother¡¯s son. He¡¯s neither intelligent nor skilled, but he was given the role of leader of the warriors. The male with him was Trasig, who probably would have held that role if he¡¯d been allowed to fight for it. Kithrik likes to pair with Trasig so he can show off, knowing Trasig can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    Kaz nodded, then remembered Dax couldn¡¯t see him and said, ¡°Trasig was proving that Kithrik can¡¯t control him. Will he challenge for the position soon?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how things work for the husede,¡± Dax said, defeat in his voice. ¡°The mosui simply told them who would do what task, and they still follow that tunnel of thought. Thabil is the leader, therefore they do what she says. There is nothing Trasig can do except irritate Kithrik in small ways.¡±


    ¡°That was small?¡± Kaz asked, startled.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Dax said, ¡°because the door is always locked. They expect me to return with my tail between my legs in a few seconds. All Thabil has to do is ignore me when I howl for her.¡±


    Kaz made a thoughtful sound, then looked at the door. He had seen locks like this before in the mosui city. They required the right combination of ki to open. Zhangwo used to set the doors to recognize the mana of certain people, ensuring that only his select few favored servants could access the space beyond. Kaz, however, had accidentally blown one up, and if he was forced to, he could do the same again, except this time from around the corner.


    ¡°In a few seconds, everyone will be able to hear you again,¡± he told Dax. ¡°See if Thabil will answer.¡± He dropped his dome of silence, and after an awkward moment, Dax rapped sharply at the door, then howled loudly. A snicker came from where the guards waited, and Kaz guessed Kithrik had recovered his equanimity enough to laugh at what he believed to be Dax¡¯s powerlessness.


    There was a sudden silence from beyond the door, but it didn¡¯t open, and no voice called out. Dax looked back in the direction Kaz¡¯s voice had come from and shrugged. He tried once more, but it was obvious that if Thabil was inside - and Kaz could see the thick gray mana of two short, squat bodies beyond the door - she had no intention of answering.


    Kaz was trying to decide if he should simply throw ki at it until it blew open, even though the occupants might be injured in the process, or if he should start running through potential combinations of ki and hope he got it right when Li said, <Try this.> She showed him a memory of Thabil touching the door that led into the chamber that held the ki cannon. Red, yellow, and white ki rose from beneath Thabil¡¯s mana-imbued palm, and the door clicked open.


    Stretching out his hand, Kaz cautiously pushed Fire, Earth, and Metal ki into the door. The metal groaned slightly, as if protesting, and he watched the memory again. Less red and yellow, he thought, as well as a little more white.


    This time the door clicked softly, and when Kaz pushed on its surface, it swung open slightly. Dax stared at it for a long second, then kicked it open so hard that it bounced off the wall behind it and he had to catch it again. This he did without noticeable discomfort, so Kaz thought he must have been expecting it, and felt an uncomfortable amount of admiration at the realization. He probably would have been smacked in the snout, and while it wouldn¡¯t have hurt him, it certainly would have ruined his entrance.


    Thabil and her son, Qiyi, were standing near the glowing image of the city and the surrounding levels that Kaz had once seen Zhangwo use. They spun around at the sharp crack of the door meeting the wall, their eyes widening as Dax held the door open just long enough for Kaz to slip in after him, then slammed it shut in the face of the two guards who had just come around the corner. They began to bang on the door, but everyone inside ignored them.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Thabil demanded, her face settling into tight lines as she looked around. For a moment it felt uncomfortably like she was looking straight at him, but then he realized she was glaring at the door right behind him.


    ¡°I belong here,¡± Dax growled.


    Qiyi snorted, adjusting his long sleeves. Rather than the heavy cloth covered in simple patterns most husede seemed to favor, his clothes looked more like those of Zhangwo or Yanshu, the high-ranked mosui female who had held Lianhua captive because the human¡¯s silver hair matched Yanshu¡¯s white fur. The cloth itself was a rich purple, with glittering golden thread forming what Kaz now recognized as trees and flowers around the edges.


    ¡°We¡¯ve invited you to several meetings, and you failed to attend. We assumed you no longer desired the responsibilities of being a Councilor,¡± he said.


    A deep rumble emerged from Dax¡¯s throat, and the fur on the back of his neck stood straight up. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to argue with you miserable jiyun, only to have you ignore everything I said and do what you wanted anyway.¡±


    Qiyi¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You were outvoted. That¡¯s how this works, though I wouldn¡¯t expect a kobold to understand that.¡± His lip lifted, but it wasn¡¯t in a snarl of anger. Instead, he looked like a pup had lost control of its bowels before reaching the waste crevice, and he¡¯d just stepped in the resultant mess.


    ¡°Forget that,¡± Thabil said. Her voice was almost as rough as that of a kobold, and there was a fierceness to her gaze that her son entirely lacked. She would have made a credible chief, if she wasn¡¯t so preoccupied with her own power over the well-being of the tribe.


    ¡°Where is Kaz?¡± she demanded. She pointed to the glowing image hanging in the air behind her. ¡°We had reports he was going to the yumi pools, so he must have been looking for you. Is that why you¡¯re here? You think that overblown puppy will help you?¡±


    Overblown puppy? Kaz wasn¡¯t even sure what that meant, but he felt an unexpected anger arise at the words. He was accustomed to being thought less than he was, and usually accepted it, or even encouraged it if he thought it would make his path easier. But he wasn¡¯t a puppy any longer, and something about the words or the way Thabil spoke them awoke something inside him that had slept for most of his life.


    ¡°Have you told Nucai he¡¯s here?¡± Dax demanded. This was why Kaz had come in hiding. If they believed they were in danger, Thabil and Qiyi might claim Nucai already knew Kaz was here, in hopes that he would run. But they had no respect for Dax, and thus had no reason to lie to him.


    More of Qiyi¡¯s flat teeth showed. ¡°The reward for handing him over is greater than that for mere information, now tell-¡±


    Thabil elbowed him in the ribs hard enough that Kaz thought he could hear the bones creak. Qiyi clutched at his side, his gray skin paling. ¡°Shut up,¡± she snapped, but Kaz could tell that she knew she couldn¡¯t bluff her way out of it.


    ¡°No,¡± Thabil admitted. ¡°And if you can bring him to us, we¡¯ll give you part of the reward.¡± Her eyes glittered. ¡°Better yet, we¡¯ll let you make that kobold, Vase¡­Vek? A member of the council. Once we have what Nucai has offered, there will be more than enough for everyone, even,¡± now her lip curled, and this was definitely a snarl, ¡°the mosui.¡±


    Dax settled back on his paws, and his hand fell to the knife at his waist as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t need your permission. You and your son are no longer members of the Council. The husede will have to select someone else, and from now on, there will be equal numbers of kobolds and husede.¡± He drew in a breath. ¡°And, when the round¡­when the little mosui are old enough, we will add mosui as well.¡±


    Thabil had listened to the first part of this with open scorn, while Qiyi shook his head, still holding his bruised ribs. But this last sentence was too much, and her face contorted with utter fury. ¡°Never,¡± she hissed. ¡°Not while I live.¡±


    <Now,> Kaz told Li, and they were already moving as the dragon flew up into the air, revealing Kaz while remaining invisible herself, and ready to help. Kaz¡¯s knife was out, and its tip sank into the soft flesh beneath Thabil¡¯s jaw, drawing a steady flow of blood. Qiyi yelped and started to move toward them, but Dax was there, and the soft young husede was no match for a seasoned warrior. Dax was on the husede¡¯s back in much the way Kaz had once taken down Thabil, with his claws in the young male¡¯s sides and his knife across the quivering gray throat.


    ¡°I helped you free your people,¡± Kaz told Thabil quietly. He hadn¡¯t put any power into his mage-blade yet, or it would have simply sliced through her lower jaw. He wanted to give her one more chance, in recognition of the aid she¡¯d given him in saving his friends, however reluctantly it had been offered.


    ¡°Why are you attempting to force others to bow to your will now? The kobolds simply wish to share this place, which has become their home as well. You all fought together, but now you¡¯re little better than the mosui,¡± he said. He thought of the xiyi, who had accidentally taken the dragon¡¯s minds and freedom, then spent the better part of a thousand years atoning for their error. But here were the husede, or at least these two, willingly becoming what they claimed to hate.


    ¡°The kobolds are weak,¡± Thabil rasped. More blood poured down her neck as the tip of Kaz¡¯s blade moved in and out of the wound as she spoke, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice. Her eyes were on Qiyi, who was on the ground beneath Dax¡¯s claws and blade.


    Kaz glanced in that direction as well, and Thabil moved. It was an abortive attempt, because Kaz pulsed the tiniest amount of ki into his weapon, and it sliced through her flesh like the soft cheese Kyla had become so fond of. ¡°How weak can we be,¡± Kaz asked quietly, ¡°if two of us have taken down the two of you with so little effort?¡±


    ¡°We¡­weren¡¯t expecting-¡± Qiyi gasped, but his mother scowled at him, and he stopped. Bloody spittle flecked her mouth, but Kaz¡¯s knife hadn¡¯t yet dug deep enough to cause it, so she must have bitten her lip or tongue when she moved.


    ¡°We built this city,¡± Thabil said. ¡°Kobolds came here to die, but we lived. Every day, we rose and worked beneath the mosui¡¯s paws, and when we saw a chance to be free, we took it. We did that. We were stolen from our homes and forced to become something other, and now we can¡¯t go back, so this is our home.¡± Blood ran from the corner of her mouth, joining that which already stained her collar. ¡°It¡¯s all we have left, and we will keep it.¡±


    Kaz wondered what she would say if she knew that the kobolds and the mosui were not so different as she believed. Their ancestors, too, had been stolen away, and made into something they never could have imagined. Only their very bodies had been warped and twisted, while at least other husede would recognize the female standing before him.


    He felt oddly sad as he said, ¡°If I let you live, will you go quietly? Either leave the city, or stay but work as just another person? Leave the kobolds and the mosui alone?¡± He already knew the answer, but it would be better from her own mouth.


    She looked him in the eye, and said, ¡°I would rather die,¡± and then she did exactly that. Gently, Kaz lowered the body to the ground, cupping the back of her head so it wouldn¡¯t strike the stone floor. He had seen so much death, and much of it was utterly unnecessary, but there was something so terrible about a death brought about by a person¡¯s unwillingness to let go of hatred. Would he have thought so only a few months ago? Or would he simply have been glad that it was over?


    Now that it was done, Li reappeared and came to land on Kaz¡¯s back, clinging in such a way that he could feel her reassuring presence, but she wouldn¡¯t be in the way if he needed to fight. Turning to Qiyi, he looked down at the husede.


    ¡°And you?¡± he asked quietly. ¡°Will you follow your mother to your ancestors, or remain here to howl her on her way?¡± He glanced at Dax. ¡°I warn you, if you remain, no one will trust you. You¡¯ll be watched for the rest of your life, no less hated than the mosui, at least by the kobolds.¡±


    ¡°What do I care about kobolds, you-¡± Qiyi struggled, and Dax dug his claws into the husede¡¯s sides. Kaz couldn¡¯t see much blood on the bright robes, so he knew Qiyi must have some of the body cultivation that naturally came with the husede¡¯s accumulation of mana, but it still had to hurt, and Qiyi wasn¡¯t one to fight through pain.


    Qiyi¡¯s eyes fell on Thabil¡¯s body, and his face twisted. It didn¡¯t look like grief, not quite, but something more like fear and uncertainty. ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t fight. But everyone will know-¡±


    Kaz crouched by Qiyi¡¯s face, holding out the knife that still gleamed wet and red. If he gave it power, it would clean itself, but right now the reminder of what it had done was more important. ¡°No,¡± he said, ¡°they won¡¯t.¡± He could see the response forming, so he looked at Dax again.


    ¡°We know what you¡¯ve been doing,¡± Dax said, sounding both weary and furious. ¡°You killed two of the adult mosui in the last week. It¡¯s possible no one would care about that, but did you know that kobolds are very good at smelling blood? My warriors found the kobolds and young mosui as well. You didn¡¯t even bother to burn them. You didn¡¯t want anyone else coming here, did you? And it was easy enough to kill those who managed to make their way through the fulan, and to find ways to avoid attempting to rescue anyone still alive above and below these levels.¡±


    Kaz felt a cold chill and then a hot flash of fury go through him at this revelation. Dax hadn¡¯t mentioned it, or Kaz wouldn¡¯t have even offered the husede a chance. How could someone do something so terrible? Just because they saw those others as ¡®less¡¯, and didn¡¯t want them in their city?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Qiyi tried, but Dax pressed his blade against the husede¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Your scent is all over them,¡± he said. ¡°The others don¡¯t know your smell from that of any other husede, but I do. I¡¯d kill you in a heartbeat, if I didn¡¯t think your people might turn on us if both you and your mother die here today. You husede have your ¡®trials¡¯, and I¡¯ll hand you over to the new councilors so they can decide what to do with you.¡±


    At this, Qiyi¡¯s eyes closed, and Kaz could see the fight drain from his body. He still didn¡¯t trust the husede, but Dax knew this city and its people best. If he believed Qiyi needed to survive in order to preserve peace, Kaz wouldn¡¯t challenge that.


    ¡°Can you reach the husede you want to talk to?¡± Kaz asked Dax. The older kobold had had a chance to get to know some of the other husede since the mosui were killed, and hoped that without Thabil, one of the more tolerant ones would be selected for the Council. Kaz had been happy to discover that one of these was Kedia, the female who had recorded the Sharpjaw dead into her book.


    Dax nodded. ¡°From here, I can use crystals to speak to several buildings throughout town. I am a Councilor, so even if they don¡¯t know why I¡¯m howling for them, they should come.¡±


    Now that the worst was over, Dax had relaxed his grip on his prisoner, and Qiyi abruptly rolled to one side, shoving off the much-lighter kobold. Dax tumbled backwards, his claws slipping from the mana-infused flesh, and Qiyi bolted - not for the door to the corridor, but for the one that Kaz knew led to Nucai¡¯s mirror. Before Kaz could react, Li was lunging over him, her body growing as she did so, until she was as long and heavy as Kaz. Her jaws clamped on Qiyi¡¯s neck, and he fell, his hand falling from the door handle as he slumped bonelessly to the ground.


    <I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you,> Li said, blood dripping from her jaws. Kaz felt his heart clench, and he crossed to her, using his fuulong silk robe to gently clean her scales to their usual pristine gleam.


    <Don¡¯t eat people,> he told her, then wrapped his arms around her neck and whimpered like a puppy, mourning all the death that seemed to follow everywhere he went.

 Chapter Three hundred fifteen

    Kaz and Li had been slowly slinking closer and closer to the door for at least half an hour, though it felt more like three days. The people in the room didn¡¯t even need them any more, not now that they had gotten past the bit with all the yelling. Husede were far more emotional than Kaz had realized, and he longed to be elsewhere by the time they remembered that he existed.


    ¡°You look like you¡¯re about to run,¡± a rumbling voice said with surprising gentleness. Kaz and Li turned from the small crowd of husede and kobolds who were arguing about who exactly should be on the Council now. Apparently it really wasn¡¯t just a matter of choosing the strongest people, and the tribe members could actually vote out anyone they didn¡¯t like, so choosing people they would accept was as important as choosing someone wise and powerful enough to lead.


    <We¡¯d already be gone if Kaz had listened to me,> Li mumbled, barely raising her head from Kaz¡¯s shoulder. When the new husede hadn¡¯t seemed to believe the truth about what happened, she had used the new illusion ability she¡¯d learned when playing with the pups. All of their illusory copies had precisely played out the events that led to the deaths of the two husede, complete with their own voices. It was very convincing, but left Li utterly exhausted. Her core was working hard to refill her dantians, however, and Kaz had a feeling she was playing up her weakness by now, but he was more than willing to snuggle her close while she ¡®recovered¡¯.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do now,¡± Kaz admitted to Vek. ¡°I just want to go, but-¡± He looked helplessly from the crowd of mostly strangers to the door that was so close now.


    ¡°Then go,¡± Vek said. He¡¯d seemed gruff at first, but Kaz could see the calm kindness behind his brusque facade now, and it suddenly made sense that he¡¯d not only taken in the mosui pups, but that they were thriving under his care.


    ¡°If you stay, they¡¯ll just ask more and more from you,¡± the other male went on, tilting his head toward the others. ¡°Can you help kill this beast, or burn out more fulan, or find more survivors, or just frighten a few people into obedience. And every one of those things will be reasonable, things you want to help with, but you can¡¯t say yes to them all and still do what you need to do.¡±


    Sudden guilt stabbed through Kaz. He could do those things, and more, and they did need to be done. But he only had a few weeks, and-


    As if he could read Kaz¡¯s mind, Vek¡¯s tongue lolled out in sudden amusement. ¡°In fact, I find that I also need help. Apparently, I¡¯m going to be a member of a Council that has no idea what it¡¯s doing, and so I won¡¯t be able to spend much time with the pups for at least a day. Eld and Nogz are there, but Nogz plays with the puppies more than he watches them, and they both have other things to do, especially with Dax here as well.¡±


    <Do you want us to go play with the puppies?> Li asked, lifting her head, eyes suddenly intent.


    Vek chuffed a laugh. ¡°Well, I was hoping you could watch them, but play is good for puppies, too.¡±


    ¡°For a day?¡± Kaz asked, already feeling some of the tension easing from his body.


    ¡°About that,¡± Vek agreed easily. ¡°If you need to leave sooner, send Dugo for Eld.¡±


    Li was nodding before Kaz could convince himself they couldn¡¯t afford any distractions, and Vek grinned, tail wagging. ¡°Better get going, then. You¡¯d be amazed how much trouble almost fifty puppies can get into.¡±


    Fifty? Kaz¡¯s eyes widened, and he suddenly wondered if this was such a good idea after all, but Li had already dropped her concealment around them. <Let¡¯s go,> she said to Kaz alone. <Or I¡¯m going without you.>


    Vek had looked slightly startled at their sudden disappearance, but now he stepped aside as Kaz tugged the door open just enough to slip through. Then he was off, and he had time to take a detour.


    =+=+=+=


    <I told you we should have just snuck down the stairs using my camouflage,> Li said as they did exactly that. Admittedly, she was talking about an entirely different set of stairs, but still, they were definitely sneaking, and definitely going down stairs.


    <You¡¯re right,> Kaz told her again. They had gone down several sets of stairs by now, and every one seemed to remind Li to tell him she¡¯d told him so. Fortunately, this was the level they¡¯d been heading for, and Kaz set his hand on the ki-stones embedded in the wall that seemed to simply cut off the stairs midstep.


    He¡¯d already been standing there for several minutes, watching the blurry outline of husede move past on the other side of that wall, some of them carrying ki-crystals that shone brightly in Kaz¡¯s vision. A familiar bell had rung not long ago, however, telling Kaz the ¡®shift¡¯ was over, at least for these workers, and once a particularly thick mass of mana went by, nothing else had moved beyond the stone wall.


    Cautiously, Kaz pushed open the wall, which pivoted on a central axis. He slid through as quickly as possible and returned the hidden door to its original position, then froze against the wall, watching and listening for signs that someone might have noticed them.


    Nothing happened, so Kaz breathed out a soft sigh and moved off down the hall. Thanks to his sense of direction and Li¡¯s ability to revisit their memories, he moved effortlessly through several turns before arriving at the large cavern at the center of the processing level. Yumi, ki-crystals, and goods of all kinds arrived on the platforms in rooms to one side, and the husede then took those items down the various other halls to be made into more useful objects.


    A scent caught his attention, and Kaz drew in a deep breath, then smiled. His mental image of what happened on this level was slightly wrong, but in a good way. The first time he¡¯d come through here, he¡¯d seen and smelled only husede, but now the scent of several kobolds mingled with the other aromas. Hopefully, that meant that both races were working together here, as well as in the rest of the city.


    Male kobolds didn¡¯t often get the chance to do anything creative, other than the occasional leatherworking or making of stone tools, since the females could do those things so much more easily and accurately with the assistance of their power. Kaz hoped the kobolds who worked here were doing so because they¡¯d chosen the job, and that they were enjoying the chance to do something entirely outside their traditional activities.


    <I want a lot of yellow crystals,> Li told him excitedly as Kaz carried her down the tunnel where the husede stored the ki-crystals the miners found. <But I really like the black ones, too. They taste so cool. And the yellow is sweet!>This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Kaz wasn¡¯t sure how something could taste ¡®cool¡¯, but perhaps that was the same as refreshing? <I think we should leave the red ones, though,> he told her. <I know you said they¡¯re spicy, but the city uses them for everything. I¡¯ve hardly seen the other colors, except for the blue and yellow on the yumi level. So maybe we should->


    <So I can only have Water and Metal?> Li asked, suddenly sinking back down dejectedly.


    That didn¡¯t seem right, either. Li needed ki to grow properly, and these crystals were the best source of power they¡¯d found. She shared his ki, of course, but somehow he knew that wasn¡¯t as good as taking it in herself.


    <We¡¯ll see what there is,> Kaz promised his dragon, suddenly regretting the suggestion. When he¡¯d come through the first time, there had only been a hundred or so of each crystal, other than red. He¡¯d taken a fair amount, but then he¡¯d been more worried about discovery, and less about taking a resource the city needed.


    Fortunately, he needn¡¯t have been concerned. Either there had been an unusually small number of crystals last time, or the miners were now much more productive. He suspected the sudden change was a result of healthier, happier miners, and perhaps a better system of reward than ¡®dig or starve¡¯. The cave ahead was ablaze with ki, to the extent that Kaz had to push as much of his own ki out of his eyes as he could, just so he could see well enough to walk.


    Reaching down, he tapped his pouch. It was time to make sure that his dragon wouldn¡¯t go hungry for the foreseeable future.


    =+=+=+=


    ¡°...and then Kyla took down the bad xiyi, rescuing the humans,¡± Kaz said as Li produced yet another illusion. Eld had been extraordinarily pleased to see Kaz and Li, and all but ran from the den when they informed him they would be taking over. Nogz was more reluctant, but eventually he left as well. Now that Kaz had had to feed, entertain, clean up, and now teach so many puppies, he understood Eld¡¯s feelings. Li, of course, had taken on the task of entertainment with gusto, leaving Kaz to cook and clean, but now it was time for a howl, and the pups were entranced.


    ¡°Does Kyla really look like that?¡± one of the older pups asked, pointing at the image Li was creating. In it, Kyla whirled through the large hut where the human royals had been kept, beating back their attackers. A round little Mei was at her side, and several puppies had already shown a little too much interest in acquiring a fuergar of their own. Kaz had tried explaining that Mei was a very special fuergar, but he suspected he¡¯d need to warn Vek to keep a close eye on them until they became interested in something else.


    Kaz nodded. Admittedly, Li seemed to like to embellish her illusions as much as Kyla liked to enhance her howls, but the Kyla-figure was fairly accurate, if perhaps a little too small. Li didn¡¯t like to admit anyone was larger than her, so everyone else had shrunk, while her own brave image had grown disproportionately large.


    ¡°Why is her fur like that?¡± The puppy asked, plucking at his own brownish-yellow fuzz.


    Kaz thought he meant the tufts and whorls that made Kyla¡¯s fur stand up in what seemed at first glance to be utter disorder. Then he noticed that the pup was patting his shoulder, and realized that he meant the burned parts.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, settling back for another howl, ¡°when we entered the human city, Kyla decided that she would wander off on her own. Is it ever wise to leave without telling someone where you are, or going with a group?¡± He waited for the chorus of resigned ¡®no¡¯s, and opened his mouth to continue, only to be interrupted.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for sleep, puppies,¡± Dugo said firmly. Kaz had quickly discovered that the older pup knew exactly what everyone was supposed to be doing at all times. He was old enough that he had to go do his job as a gatherer, but when he returned to the den, he helped Kaz get all the pups under control for the first time since Eld and Nogz left.


    Kaz nodded, and Li allowed the illusion to fade with a soft sigh of relief. She¡¯d already eaten several crystals, and each one gave her a fresh burst of power that allowed her to continue creating her images, but while it was good to practice the skill, and she was already noticeably better at it, she was genuinely tired, and not just physically.


    Dugo ushered all of the pups into their various huts, making sure the right younglings went into the correct hut. Apparently some would continue playing or harass each other long into the night if given the chance, while others needed to snuggle together in order to get any rest. There was one older pup in each hut to protect the littler ones and keep the peace, which left Kaz, Li, and Dugo alone in the middle of the ring of huts, listening to the yips and squeaks of puppies who were resisting sleep.


    Dugo rubbed his short muzzle, his droopy face looking even more despondent than usual. Even his ears sagged as he tried to draw in a too-deep breath and wheezed a bit. Kaz turned toward him. ¡°May I touch you?¡± Kaz asked, gesturing toward Dugo¡¯s flat nose. ¡°I can do a bit of healing. I¡¯d like to see if I can help.¡±


    The pup¡¯s eyes widened, and he backed up a step. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be done,¡± he said with only a hint of bitterness. ¡°My father took me to our healer, and my mother even insisted that the female¡¯s healer look at me, although I¡¯m a male. Both of them said I¡¯m just deformed.¡± He fingered his muzzle, snuffling slightly. ¡°It happens in our tribe sometimes, but not so often since we started taking mates from other tribes.¡±


    Kaz wanted to ask exactly which tribe, and what had happened for Dugo to end up here, but the younger kobold didn¡¯t seem interested in telling him more, so he simply said, ¡°You know I have power. A lot of power. I may be able to do something they couldn¡¯t.¡±


    Over the last several hours, Dugo had relaxed around Kaz and Li, even giving his snuffling laugh a few times as Li flew just out reach of some of the pups, causing them to tumble over each other awkwardly. Now, he eyed Kaz suspiciously, then nodded. ¡°All right.¡±


    Before the pup could change his mind, Kaz reached out and gently touched the squashed snout, pulsing a tiny bit of blue ki through it. As the ki quickly dispersed again, Kaz followed its path through Dugo¡¯s body, trying to picture what he was sensing.


    <Here,> Li said, once again creating an illusion. This one was small and simple, pulling from Kaz¡¯s understanding of the way kobold anatomy worked, and what he was feeling in Dugo. Dugo stared at it, and Kaz pointed to the narrow black spaces that were the nostrils, sending Li a warm rush of gratitude.


    ¡°Your nostrils are too small,¡± he explained. ¡°You probably know that, since you breathe through your mouth most of the time. But here,¡± he pointed to the inside of the mouth, faintly visible through the foggy jaw, ¡°there¡¯s something else going on.¡±


    He repeated his earlier actions, shifting his fingers as he sent Wood ki into Dugo¡¯s face and jaws from different angles. There was definitely something happening in the back of the pup¡¯s mouth, and perhaps in his throat as well, but Kaz wasn¡¯t comfortable trying to alter anything he wasn¡¯t certain he understood. He¡¯d seen the insides of a surprising number of kobold mouths, and even a few noses, under Rega¡¯s supervision, but had never examined a throat other than to pull out a stuck bone.


    ¡°Do you have any mamu?¡± he asked, stepping away from Dugo again.


    Dugo blinked, then nodded. ¡°It grows well in the dead pools. Why?¡± His voice was definitely suspicious now, and Kaz couldn¡¯t blame him. Mamu was most often used for numbing wounds while a healer worked on them, but Dugo wasn¡¯t injured.


    ¡°Good,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Now look.¡± He opened his own mouth, pointing to the very back, where his tongue vanished down his throat. Then he pointed to the image Li was still holding in the air. ¡°You have too much skin here. It¡¯s falling down and blocking your breathing. I think I can remove the excess, but it may hurt, and continue to hurt for a while.¡±


    Dugo was backing away now, eyes looking a little wild. ¡°Remove? As in, cut it out? No!¡±


    Kaz nodded. It was Dugo¡¯s choice, and the pup should have time to think about it. Sometimes a healer had to cut out flesh when it started going bad, or open a wound to get out a piece of broken weapon or a tooth, but it was dangerous, and no one simply did it as casually as Kaz was suggesting.


    ¡°If you change your mind before I leave,¡± he said, ¡°just let me know. I do believe it would help.¡± And for Kaz that belief in itself might be enough to make it true, though he tried not to think about that too hard. How much would it take before he managed to disbelieve himself out of half the things he could do?


    Dugo was still backing away. ¡°No. I won¡¯t. Fair howls, Kaz.¡± He turned and almost ran toward his hut, leaving Kaz and Li staring after him.


    Li let the illusion vanish. <You didn¡¯t find out where we¡¯re supposed to sleep,> she said almost accusingly.


    Kaz grimaced. She was right. ¡°We¡¯ll set up the hammock somewhere,¡± he told her, and they headed off into the darkness to find a place to rest. The distraction the puppies provided had helped, but he needed some time to hold Li and think about what had happened today.

 Chapter Three hundred sixteen (Mei)

    Mei lay in the little nest her Monster had made for her. She could feel her young move in her belly, and knew that they would be born in only a few more days. That would be good, because she was tired of carrying them around. She was meant to be graceful and silent, and now she laid awkwardly in her nest, allowing the Monsters to bring her food. It was not her favorite time, but at least Silent Monster continued to bring her gold, even though she could no longer play their game. Still, she somehow understood that this was part of the Way, and so she would bear it until she bore her young.


    Sounds came from outside the nest, and Mei wriggled around until she could see what was going on. She was entirely unsurprised to see the Kyla Monster raise her hand from the curved pile of stones again. She had touched it repeatedly since the sun rose, and nothing had happened yet, other than the occasional flash of light.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it working?¡± Kyla demanded, pulling back her paw as if she would kick the offending stones. She stopped, ears flat and one paw still hovering as she glared at the silent arch.


    The pale Lianhua Monster patted Kyla gently on the shoulder. ¡°Perhaps the chiefs haven¡¯t recovered enough yet. Or perhaps they¡¯ve forgotten what the signal means, just as your stor - ah, howls - left out a few key details about how to know if the message has gone through. It¡¯s only a few more days.¡±


    ¡°And by then Kaz will have made it down through the entire mountain. You know he will,¡± Kyla growled, but she placed the dangling paw on the ground. ¡°Everything will be over before we even get inside, and I won¡¯t get to help. Again.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s mouth curved, and she moved her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s possible. But you know, I don¡¯t think so. Kaz is extremely cautious right up until he decides to act, and he needs to find out who and what Nucai actually is before taking action.¡±


    The two Monsters had had almost this exact conversation every time Kyla attacked the stones, so Mei turned away from them, rolling over with difficulty, so more of the fur she¡¯d plucked from Kyla while she was sleeping surrounded her. It wasn¡¯t so much that Mei wasn¡¯t able to lift herself, because she very much could, but it seemed like her belly extended past her paws now, and it was terribly ungainly. She remembered when she was a pup herself, and other members of her nest brought food for the mothers while they cared for their young. Her current nest was a very strange one, but she was satisfied with it.


    As the quiet murmur of the Monsters and the songs of the flying beasts filled her ears, Mei closed her eyes, preparing to sleep again. Kyla had given her mithril, while Lianhua offered cheese. Yingtao gave her things that didn¡¯t taste good but seemed to strengthen her, and the Silent Monster - Chi Yincang - brought the gold discs. Raff gave her mostly copper, and sometimes she didn¡¯t even bother to eat it, just tucking it away beneath the fluff of her nest. Even the New Monsters peered in at her, though only the one that still bore a lingering scent of dragons gave her food. Soon, she would learn that one¡¯s name, but she wouldn¡¯t bother with the other. He kept trying to talk to her, but talking wasn¡¯t food, so he didn¡¯t deserve a name yet.


    Then the world shivered, the thing that had begun to build inside her ever since she ate the blue metal jangling loudly in response. Something had just happened that wasn¡¯t meant to happen, but it also wasn¡¯t terribly wrong, so she didn¡¯t need to do anything about it. Not until after her young were born, anyway.


    Squeaking in grumpy protest, Mei spun in place, using her round belly to pivot. When her nose was just inside the opening to the nest, she pushed aside the fluff covering her eyes and looked out. There was a tunnel through the world, opening out in the center of the stacked stones. It wasn¡¯t a large tunnel, and not a permanent one, but also not made the way such a tunnel should be made. Mei understood a great deal about tunnels, and she eyed this one consideringly. Yes, someday she would-


    Her nest was scooped up entirely without warning, and Mei squealed, legs scrabbling as the bottom almost fell out of her warm burrow. A few copper circles fell to the ground, but Kyla ignored them, clutching at Mei with too-tight fingers. Mei preferred it when the Monsters asked before picking her up, but it would be too much effort to either wriggle free or perch on her usual spot on the Little Monster¡¯s shoulder. She gave another annoyed squeak and allowed herself to be held.


    ¡°Everyone move,¡± Lianhua said sharply, then looked at the New Monster who Talked as if she was unsure if she was allowed to speak. The sparse fur above that Monster¡¯s eyes went up, but he nodded, and the entire nest grabbed for all the things they¡¯d left scattered around. Mei saw the tunnel begin to flicker, and understood that it would collapse soon. It was never good when a tunnel collapsed while someone was in it, but Mei thought she could chew herself out of even this odd hole in the world. Could she do the same for the others, though?


    They were hurrying, but not fast enough. The tunnel might well close before they entered it, and that would be fine, but if it collapsed while they were inside? Mei eyed the distance to the tunnel and made her decision. It needed to be fixed anyway, after all, and if they were going to disturb her, she might as well do it now.


    It was astonishingly difficult to jump with so much belly in the way, but Mei managed it. The babies inside her wriggled in reaction to the sudden impact with the ground, but Mei¡¯s game with Chi Yincang stood her in good stead, allowing her to balance on the very tips of her toes. From there, she churned forward toward the tunnel, well aware that Kyla was right behind her. Even if something happened to the other Monsters, or they were left behind, she didn¡¯t want Kyla to be hurt. The Littlest Monster was a strange nest-mate, but Mei liked her.


    ¡°Mei!¡± Kyla yipped, but even now, Mei was faster. She entered the tunnel.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    It wasn¡¯t dark. Tunnels were usually dark, but this one was filled with a sort of soft light, reminding Mei of the way the great white fungus above illuminated the sleeping times. It even fluctuated like that, though it grew and shrank so quickly her stomach churned uncomfortably in reaction. She looked around for Kyla, certain that the Little Monster had followed her, but she couldn¡¯t see anyone.


    The tunnel flickered. Ahead, a bright light glowed, but only for a brief moment before it was gone again. Was that the exit? Had she gotten turned around, and that was the way back? Where was Kyla?


    Waddling forward, Mei sniffed. There was so much to smell here. Moisture and metal and fire and earth and growing things seemed to surround her. They mingled with scents she recognized from the time when she lived in the stone, eating and moving and growing until she reached what she now knew was Outside. The smell of strange Monsters was here, too, inextricably bound to the tunnel, and Mei knew tunnels. There was something in those Monsters and those smells that was the tunnel.


    And then the smell of dirt faded, and the other scents tried to fill in the gap it left, and they did it, but there was uncertainty to the space around her. The collapse was imminent now, and Mei had lost Kyla. Were the other Monsters here, too? Some of them were strong enough that they might survive the failure of the tunnel, but Kyla wouldn¡¯t. Had Mei made a mistake? Should she simply have waited after all?


    But Mei was fuergar. Fuergar knew tunnels, and Mei knew tunnels best of all. She opened her mouth, or perhaps something not-mouth but close enough, and began to make her own tunnel. For the most part, she followed along the old one, finding that the world was a little softer there, a little easier to swallow. This tunnel had been dug out and collapsed many, many times, and it wasn¡¯t difficult to find the way.


    And then Kyla was there, her tail tucked, her ears flat, and her eyes wild. Mei included her in the tunnel. Kyla had almost gotten lost, but she hadn¡¯t, and even though Mei was starting to find it a little difficult to continue eating - which was really not a problem she¡¯d ever had before - she went on, because she¡¯d almost reached the scents that still meant Home, and Mei was very, very good at creating tunnels.


    Her paws touched cool stone, and Mei squeaked in protest. She¡¯d been in her nice, warm, soft nest, and then in the tunnel which wasn¡¯t hot or cold, and now she was Home again, and Mei had forgotten that Home was always cool, which wasn¡¯t her favorite thing about it.


    Kyla scooped Mei up without asking, again, but Mei enjoyed the warmth of the Monster¡¯s fur and body. She would have to make a new nest, and this time she wouldn¡¯t be quite so gentle about plucking the Little Monster¡¯s fur to line it.


    The other Monsters passed through Mei¡¯s tunnel, not even seeming to notice that she¡¯d fixed it. And it was their fault that she¡¯d had to fix it right now, and there had better be more cheese and mithril for her once she built her new nest.


    ¡°Ija!¡± Kyla cried, running toward a Monster with dark red fur. The red-furred Monster was holding something that felt like fire to Mei, and her tail was drooping in a way that Mei was fairly certain meant she was tired. Still, the tail began to sway as she held her arms open, and Mei was crushed between the two Monsters in a way she Did Not Like. She squeaked again, and Kyla sprang back.


    Several more Monsters were gathered around a yellow-furred one who lay on the ground. They were all growling at each other, with a particularly small one with light brown fur snapping at another one when he got too close.


    ¡°Send for a healer,¡± that one barked, and two more of the Monsters ran off.


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Lianhua. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Idla?¡±


    The red-furred Monster called Ija shook her head. A very small Monster with bright blue fur came up beside her, whimpering unhappily, and she patted his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ija said. ¡°We¡¯ve been hearing these strange chimes for the last few days, and finally all the Great Chiefs went to the choaxue. When they returned, they said we had to open the mountain, even though it wasn¡¯t time yet. Something felt off from the very beginning, but then it was like¡­trying to balance on one paw while carrying a chouchou. And then it got better, but Idla fell.¡±


    Lianhua opened her mouth, then closed it again, let out a little sigh, and said, ¡°It¡¯d probably be best to release the portal, then. It can¡¯t be good for her to be holding it open right now.¡±


    Everyone else turned to look back at the tunnel Mei had made. It was a good tunnel, solid and safe, even though it did hang in the air rather than passing through metal or stone or earth like a tunnel should. The important thing was that the world was no longer protesting its presence, however quietly, so Mei was satisfied.


    The Ija Monster stared at the tunnel, then looked down at the sliver of fire she held in her hand. ¡°I¡¯m not giving it power any more. The Magmablade isn¡¯t even in the stone.¡± Her eyes swept over the arch that surrounded the tunnel. ¡°None of the Blades are in place. Why is the portal still open?¡±


    Mei felt a little irritated. Hadn¡¯t they wanted a tunnel there? She¡¯d eaten a lot, more even than she thought she should have, and Kyla had nearly become trapped in the collapse, and though Mei would have tried to get her out, she wasn¡¯t sure she could have found the exact right tunnel out of all the potential ones that surrounded them. Not before it was too late, anyway.


    The New Monster who Talked moved toward Mei¡¯s tunnel and peered at it. For a moment, he seemed to swell, changing from a fairly small Monster to one who pushed against everything around him, expanding to fill the available space. He pushed against Mei, and she pushed back, feeling very disgruntled about the whole thing, and he shot her a glance that said he was probably going to try talking to her even more.


    ¡°This is a permanent portal,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen two like this, and they were both in Diushi ruins.¡± He turned to Ija and tilted his head toward her. ¡°I would very much like to spend some time examining this, Lady Ija. Ah, am I correct that you are Kyla¡¯s sister, the chief of the Magmablades?¡±


    Ija nodded. ¡°I am, but I can¡¯t give you permission. Even if I wanted to, the Magmablades are no longer a Great Tribe. When Idla recovers, she, Avli, and Tisdi will have to decide. But-¡± her ears lowered, ¡°what¡¯s going on? And Kyla, where have you been?¡±

 Chapter Three hundred seventeen (Kyla)

    Kyla stared at Ija, and for the first time in a long time, she didn¡¯t know what to say. Usually, she was ready with a story or, better yet, a distraction, but there was no talking her way out of this. She had left the mountain without telling anyone where she was going or why, and though they knew her well enough to guess, guesses weren¡¯t knowledge.


    Before spending these last few weeks away, she might have believed that her disappearance wouldn¡¯t really bother anyone except perhaps her father, but now? Now she recognized and was able to accept the concern and affection hidden behind her sister¡¯s controlled facade. Kyla no longer felt like quite such a failure, nor a burden, and didn¡¯t think her family saw her that way, either. Bowing her head, she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wanted to go on my spirit hunt, but I should have told someone where I was going, so at least you knew. Did you look for me?¡±


    Ija blinked, her mouth already open, no doubt to begin the reprimand that Kyla deserved. Kyla¡¯s acceptance of guilt had obviously taken her by surprise, and in the moment of silence while she gathered herself, Lianhua stepped up, resting her hand on Kyla¡¯s shoulder, an act which drew attention to the burn scars there.


    ¡°Kyla came with us to the city of Cliffcross,¡± Lianhua said. ¡°There, she rescued a princess from a flood, faced a horde of monsters, helped to free a creature of legend, aided in repelling an army of invaders, and formed alliances which will benefit your people for many years to come.¡±


    Ija¡¯s eyes narrowed, then she glanced around. Most of the Goldblades were swarming around Idla, who was now sitting up, though she looked distinctly unwell. The other kobolds, however, were looking from Idla to Kyla and the humans with varying amounts of concern and excitement. Dozens of ears were pricked in their direction as everyone from the new Mithrilblade chief to a few members of lesser tribes listened with fascination.


    Clearing her throat, Ija crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°Kyla of the Magmablades, did you complete your spirit hunt?¡± she asked clearly. Kyla¡¯s heart began to pound in her chest. This wasn¡¯t the way she¡¯d imagined this happening, but Ija wouldn¡¯t want to give anyone else an opportunity to find fault with Kyla¡¯s actions, especially if Lianhua¡¯s last claim was true.


    Kyla had straightened, but now she bowed again. ¡°Yes, my chief,¡± she said formally. ¡°I have brought my trophies to be made into my necklace. Each contains a howl, which I will gladly share.¡± This was usually a formality for a female, since most of them were in no real danger during a spirit hunt in the Deep. They brought back pretty gems and howls of the connection they felt to the ancestors while holding them, but little more.


    Ija¡¯s eyes sparked with interest, but she held up a hand. ¡°Hold your howl until we can celebrate your entry into adulthood as a tribe. For now, it¡¯s good that you have returned to us safely.¡± She glanced around again as their listeners realized that she had no intention of allowing Kyla to speak further and began to lose interest.


    Only when she was certain most of them had shifted to watching an angry and embarrassed Idla did she lean forward, almost touching her nose to Kyla¡¯s ear. ¡°That was true, but when Father and Aunt Sika learn you¡¯re home, you may regret returning. Especially after they see your scars.¡± Quickly, she gave Kyla¡¯s ear a short, sharp nip, then stood straight again, turning to Lianhua.


    ¡°Lianhua, Raff, Chi Yincang. Welcome back,¡± she said, turning to each one and bowing in turn. Gram - the little blue male pup who had somehow been accepted as the new Woodblade chief - watched closely, and Kyla could see him taking in everything from Ija¡¯s manner of speaking to the depth and style of her bow. She felt a brief pang of jealousy that he was learning directly from the sister she so admired, but Kyla herself would be building her own tunnel, not using one others had created, so if anything, he should be jealous of her.


    As Lianhua began to introduce her mate and grandparents, Kyla¡¯s eyes drifted to the stone arch nearby. That arch had been silent and empty for as long as Kyla could remember, but now the entrance to a long, shining tunnel filled it. As Ija had said, not a single one of the Great Chiefs remained next to it, nor were any of the Blades inserted into the stones, but the passage remained, as solid and strong as if it, too, were carved from stone.


    In her arms, Mei squeaked softly, sounding almost satisfied, and Kyla glanced down at her. The round fuergar, too, was looking at the impossible tunnel, and when she felt Kyla¡¯s gaze, she looked up and preened her whiskers, just as she did immediately after a particularly hearty meal. Kyla¡¯s eyes widened. No, whatever had happened, there was no way her small friend had anything to do with it.


    On the other side of the portal, a shadow shifted. Kyla¡¯s attention was caught as a very unusual figure stepped out around the stone arch, muzzle tilted up as she, too, examined the mysterious phenomenon.


    Very few kobolds bothered to wear anything beyond a loincloth, belt, and pack on a regular basis. They didn¡¯t really need to wear clothes at all, but the loincloths were decorative and protective, as well as symbolic. Kobolds were more than beasts, and they wore clothes.


    This kobold was the only one Kyla knew who covered most of her body most of the time. She wrapped her hands and paws in leather, protecting them from the blistering heat of the forge where she worked. Similarly, she wore heavy leather pants and a shirt that reached from ankle to wrist, and even covered most of her chest. She¡¯d told an inquisitive young Kyla that it was because sparks or droplets of magma sometimes made it through her shields, and she preferred to replace clothing rather than skin. There were patches of furless skin on her head and face, evidence that she¡¯d been burned often before she learned to protect herself properly. She was much smaller than Raff, of course, but she had muscles like his, rippling and bulging beneath her leather protections.


    ¡°Shom!¡± Kyla yipped, and the old female looked around, almost looking pleased to see Kyla before her dark brown eyes shifted to the humans and the expression turned back into her habitual snarl.


    ¡°How many times have I told you not to be so familiar with me, puppy?¡± she growled, but Kyla ignored her. Shom was always grumpy, but unlike others, she wouldn¡¯t chase Kyla away without reason. She would even answer questions about forging and being a smith if she was in a good enough mood. Which wasn¡¯t often, honestly.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°My friend Lianhua would like to talk to you,¡± Kyla went ahead. ¡°I told her you¡¯re the best smith in the mountain, and the only one who can work with adamantium and mithril.¡±


    Shom¡¯s lip peeled from her teeth, and she actually sounded like she meant the growl she directed at Kyla. ¡°You did, did you? Well, you can tell her you were wrong, too.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve seen you do it,¡± Kyla said blankly. She had, too. It required lowering the metals into the depths of the magma that bubbled beneath the hottest forge in the Deep, then striking them with Shom¡¯s special hammer that was made of some material she refused to name. Watching Shom work was one of the few things that truly distracted Kyla from thoughts of Vega and the uncertain future of her tribe, and she¡¯d spent hours sitting and watching Shom at work the lesser forges, though at that time she hadn¡¯t been able to bear the heat of the magma forge. She was stronger now.


    ¡°Forget it, then,¡± Shom barked, turning her back on Kyla. She¡¯d lost most of her tail in some terrible accident long ago, and hid the stump beneath her clothes, so Kyla couldn¡¯t use it to tell if she was really serious. Shom was usually serious, however, at least with most people. She¡¯d always seemed to like Kyla, though, and her attempts to chase the ¡®annoying pup¡¯ away had been half-hearted at best. This was different.


    A squeak came from Kyla¡¯s arms as she watched Shom¡¯s stiff, leather-clad back vanish among the crowd. She looked down at Mei, shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten into her. Shom¡¯s never really friendly, but she¡¯s not usually rude. Not very rude, anyway.¡±


    ¡°That was the smith you spoke of?¡± a voice asked softly, and Kyla turned to see Lianhua¡¯s grandmother also looking in the direction where Shom had vanished.


    Kyla nodded. ¡°I was going to introduce her to you. She usually makes whatever she wants, but sometimes if you ask at just the right time, she¡¯ll agree to small projects that don¡¯t take much effort. She makes things that take months or years of work, so she says it¡¯s nice to do something different now and then. But her ¡®simple projects¡¯ are better than anything anyone else can even dream of making.¡±


    ¡°She sounds like a very talented craftswoman,¡± Baihe said, smiling. ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice she looks a bit different from everyone else. I imagine she must have quite a story.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t like to talk about herself,¡± Kyla warned. Shom had spoken to Kyla herself more than she had to anyone else Kyla knew of. That might be because Kyla kept asking questions long after anyone else would have stopped, however.


    ¡°Kyla!¡±


    Her heart stuttered, and Kyla spun. There he was. Rudu, her father, the one and only person who had never failed to show Kyla that he loved her. He stood beside Ija, and she wondered when his peridot fur had grown so gray. Was it because of her, or had she just failed to see it before? He¡¯d always been shorter than Ija, at least in Kyla¡¯s memory, but had he always looked so weary?


    Then his arms opened, and Kyla ran toward him, passing Mei to Raff as she ran by. The human male, standing almost twice the height of some of the kobolds now surrounding him, stared down in bemusement at the round rodent as Kyla flung herself at her father. Without Vega there to growl in disapproval at how soft he was making their daughters, Rudu hugged her as fiercely as she hugged him, and she could hear his heart beating beneath her ear.


    They stood there for a long minute, as the bustle of kobolds discussing the oddity of the lingering portal and muttering about Idla¡¯s collapse and the arrival of more humans faded around them. Then Rudu¡¯s powerful arms gave Kyla one last crushing squeeze, and he set her back from him. Their eyes met, and she realized that for the first time, they were almost on a level. Rudu was as squat and muscular as Vega had been tall and slim, and during her absence, Kyla had grown to match his height. Or perhaps she had only just allowed herself to realize that she was no longer his little pup.


    ¡°Father,¡± she said, her voice choked.


    Rudu shook his head, and as his relief faded, she could see anger following it. ¡°Kyla. How could you leave like that? We scoured the Deep and the mid-levels looking for you. When eight days came and went, I even convinced Idla and Tisdi to open the mountain early in case you were waiting just outside.¡±


    Kyla¡¯s eyes opened wide. How had her father gotten Idla to agree to that? What concessions could he possibly have made? Looking for one of Vega¡¯s puppies certainly wouldn¡¯t have been a good enough reason, even though that puppy was also her cousin¡¯s daughter. It was true that Kyla had told Lianhua and the others that someone would come looking for her when her spirit hunt should have ended, but she hadn¡¯t actually believed they¡¯d open the mountain just for her.


    ¡°I would have been fine,¡± she told him, lifting her chin. ¡°I¡¯m stronger now, and I can control my k-¡± She broke off. Kaz had taught her that she used ki, not just ¡®power¡¯. Without him, would she have learned the word from Lianhua and the others, or could using it give away the fact that Kaz had survived? She was suddenly nervous in a way she hadn¡¯t been before. Even Ija didn¡¯t know her as well as her father did. Rudu would be able to tell the moment she told a single lie.


    Holding his suddenly-suspicious gaze, she hurried on. ¡°I can control my power much better than before. I walked through fire as hot as Shom¡¯s furnace and survived!¡± That was true, though it was Li¡¯s power that had held off the flames in the end. She touched the tender scar on her shoulder and Rudu¡¯s eyes locked onto it.


    ¡°What is that?¡± he demanded, pulling her hand away. ¡°Have you seen a healer?¡± He turned away and barked at a nearby male, telling him to get Sika. Kyla wanted to interrupt, but what would she say? Kaz had healed the wound with Wood ki, and it was a good thing he had, or she might have lost some or all use of the arm. The muscles had been damaged beyond what simple medicine and bandages would have been able to repair.


    ¡°The damage is mostly superficial,¡± Yingtao said softly, appearing beside Kyla and Rudu with a suddenness that was worthy of her brother. ¡°The fur may never grow back completely, but I think it lends her a rakish air.¡± She gave one of her small smiles, her green eyes twinkling behind lowered lashes.


    Rudu eyed her suspiciously, but he had been the mate of a chief for many years. He knew better than to react without more information, especially when speaking to a strange female. ¡°Are you a healer?¡± he asked.


    Yingtao tucked her hands into her sleeves and bowed slightly. ¡°Of a sort,¡± she murmured. ¡°Enough to be certain your daughter is in no danger.¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s in danger, all right,¡± another voice joined the conversation, and Kyla flinched. Great Aunt Sika had arrived, bent with age and cheek bulging with zhitong, as usual, but no less ready to nip a puppy¡¯s ear if she caught one disobeying. And Kyla was still technically a puppy until her chief placed her necklace around her throat.


    Kyla had only one defense, and she took a step back, half-hiding behind Yingtao as she pulled at the strap tying a particularly heavy pouch to her belt. As she opened it, a pungent aroma filled the air, and kobolds for several feet in every direction turned toward her, noses quivering. Carefully, Kyla pulled out a crumbling, oilcloth-covered lump and began to unwrap it. As she did so, she held it out toward her aunt.


    ¡°Aunt Sika,¡± she asked, ¡°have you ever tasted cheese?¡±

 Chapter Three hundred eighteen

    A dozen puppies ran in circles beneath Li, barking and leaping up toward her dangling tail-tip. This was particularly amusing because not all of them were kobolds, and the tiny round-pups rolled and tumbled like fluffy toys.


    Over the last day or so, Kaz had learned quite a bit about these new little creatures. Like the adults, their flat hands and long claws weren¡¯t good at fine movements, but these young ones hadn¡¯t yet learned to assume that others would do the difficult things for them, so they tried everything. They never seemed to become bored or frustrated, which meant that eventually they could usually figure out a way to do whatever they were attempting.


    Kaz would often find one sitting somewhere, carefully trying to piece together a toy that some rambunctious kobold had torn apart. They used their nose-tentacles almost like fingers, but since they couldn¡¯t use eyes and tentacles at the same time, it was a challenging task. Still, they succeeded more often than not, simply through sheer tenacity.


    They were also far more resilient than one would assume from their small size. They were compact, but solidly muscled, and when hit, they pulled their extremities tight against their bodies, simply allowing themselves to roll to a halt. As soon as they stopped, they just popped back up again, and went right back to doing whatever they¡¯d been doing. They didn¡¯t seem to mind being played with like toys, and some of them would even waddle out into the middle of a group of kobold pups and hunker down, ready to be batted around.


    Honestly, Kaz liked the little creatures, and his only real difficulty lay in the fact that almost none of them could speak intelligibly. Their voices were so high that it was hard to differentiate between the sounds, even for Kaz. That made it difficult to know what they needed, and most of the kobolds just offered them various things until something was accepted.


    That is, until Kaz tried to teach the oldest one, Vakhus, the rune for ¡®food¡¯. Vakhus became very excited, and scratched several more runes into soft limestone with one long claw. After that, all of the puppies learned the runes for ¡®food¡¯, ¡®water¡¯, ¡®play¡¯, ¡®tired¡¯, and, eventually, ¡®happy¡¯ and ¡®sad¡¯. Now the round-pups would trundle over to the appropriate rune and sit on it - or, in the case of ¡®tired¡¯, sleep on it - until someone older noticed and helped.


    The time had passed remarkably quickly, and neither Kaz nor Li really wanted to leave. Unfortunately, even if they had time, eventually others would find out where they were, and their mere presence would destroy the fragile sense of peace that had been built in this place. So now Li was playing one last game of chase with her admirers, while Kaz checked over a few pups who had injuries of one kind or another.


    Most of these were a result of the kind of rough play young kobolds indulged in, but some had broken bones or other injuries that hadn¡¯t been cared for properly during their time as slaves. Most of them had worked in the yumi fields, which was relatively safe work, but even with a good leader like Eld, there was a limit to what could be done without a healer.


    ¡°Try that,¡± Kaz said, and a green-furred pup cautiously put weight on his left paw. His tail immediately began to wag, and he nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s much better,¡± he told Kaz. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be able to catch Squeak now.¡±


    The pup had twisted his paw when a little mosui called Squeak had turned his awkward run into a downhill roll on the far side of a broken stalagmite near the den. Not expecting such a maneuver, the kobold pup was quickly reminded that he wasn¡¯t as well-padded or spherical as his smaller friend.


    ¡°Maybe you should let Squeak try chasing you for once,¡± Kaz suggested, straightening. ¡°Or you could play with a toy together, instead.¡±


    Without acknowledging this suggestion, the puppy took off, barely limping on the paw Kaz had healed. Kaz hadn¡¯t quite healed it all the way, since he wanted the puppy to be a little more cautious in the future, but it shouldn¡¯t swell or cause any real pain from now on. Kaz watched as he leaped into the fray, and chuffed a small laugh when Li dipped down to gently bop him on the nose with the tip of her tail.


    ¡°You really are a healer,¡± Dugo said in his quiet voice as he came to stand beside Kaz.


    Kaz¡¯s ears twitched. ¡°You thought I was lying?¡± It could have been a serious question, but he put enough humor into his voice that even the cautious younger male shouldn¡¯t be able to miss it.


    ¡°Not¡­exactly,¡± Dugo admitted, ducking his head. ¡°But I heard what you did to Zhangwo, and I didn¡¯t think power that could tear out someone¡¯s throat from across the city could also heal.¡±


    Well, that was one Kaz hadn¡¯t heard. The puppies loved to share the howls they¡¯d heard about ¡®another kobold named Kaz¡¯, and though he was fairly certain at least half of them had been made up right before they were spoken, Dugo wasn¡¯t that type.


    Kaz sighed. ¡°That¡¯s not what happened. There was a kind of weapon Zhangwo wanted to use on my friends. I just took control of it and used it on him instead. I was in the right place at the right time. Anyone could have done the same.¡± Not entirely true, but not entirely false, either, so he only allowed himself the smallest twinge of guilt.


    Dugo frowned, but nodded. Male kobolds understood weapons. Power belonged to females alone, at least as far as most were concerned, but anyone could put their hand to a weapon and kill their enemy. ¡°But you healed Trig¡¯s paw, grew back Drel¡¯s missing teeth, and fixed Strem¡¯s broken tail.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    And the tail had been difficult. It had broken and then healed badly, not only causing the pup quite a bit of pain, but also making it almost impossible to wag or tuck properly. Kaz had to use his ki to re-break it in exactly the right place, then heal it correctly, all while using mamu to block the pain.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaz agreed. Simply being able to stay in one place and help others the same way Rega once had made him feel warm and satisfied. Now if only he knew how to make the kind of paints Ghazt had used, he would also have tried to paint a mural for the pups. All that remained of the charcoals and paints Lianhua had given him were stubs and mostly-empty tubes, and he wanted to keep those in case he needed them to help him form an image again.


    Dugo cleared his throat, then touched it with trembling fingers. ¡°Do you really think you could make it so I can breathe more easily?¡±


    Kaz nodded instantly. He¡¯d been watching the brown pup closely, and by now he could actually hear the way Dugo¡¯s throat closed when he was gasping for air. He¡¯d had only the vaguest idea of what to do when he¡¯d offered, but now he was certain he could help. ¡°Are you willing to let me try?¡±


    The other kobold glanced around at the happily playing puppies, then nodded jerkily. ¡°Will it¡­hurt?¡±


    By now, Kaz had taken a couple of groups of puppies into the dead pools to gather. They weren¡¯t old enough to spend a whole day working, but they needed to learn about the plants that grew there, as well as some of the dangers they needed to watch for. He¡¯d taken the opportunity to fill his pouch with some very rare plants, including a good amount of mamu, which numbed any area it touched.


    Pulling some out, he handed it to Dugo. ¡°Chew this, but don¡¯t swallow it. Just make sure your mouth is numb. And don¡¯t bite your tongue.¡± Not only would mamu upset the stomach, enough of it could actually make it hard to breathe, so it was rarely used for pain in or around the mouth. This was probably going to hurt enough that Kaz didn¡¯t want Dugo to try to tough it out, however.


    Dugo had undoubtedly been warned not to ingest mamu, but he did as Kaz said, letting the wet mass fall from his mouth when he was no longer able to feel his tongue. Kaz immediately summoned a ki-light and set it just behind the other kobold¡¯s front teeth, so light was cast on the interior of the mouth.


    Sure enough, the soft tissue at the back of the mouth was drooping over the opening to the throat. Kaz gently prodded at it with a claw, but Dugo didn¡¯t seem to notice. Raw mamu wouldn¡¯t last as long as the boiled and reduced liquid most healers preferred, but Kaz had no intention of lingering over this.


    Summoning his red ki, he burned away a small part of the excess skin, cauterizing it as he went so there was almost no blood. The smell was unpleasant, however, and Dugo¡¯s eyes were already starting to look a little wild. Once Kaz was certain this would work, he quickly sliced away more of the extra tissue, then flooded the area with blue ki, holding together the skin and healing the burns he¡¯d created while fixing the original problem. His ki-light now revealed a throat that looked much like any other he¡¯d seen, though the area where he¡¯d removed the extra skin remained red and angry-looking.


    Kaz started to pull back his ki, feeling that he¡¯d done all he could, but hesitated. He was leaving, and while he didn¡¯t think there was any way for this to open up and begin to bleed, if there was one thing Rega had taught him, it was that a patient could always find a way to undo a healer¡¯s hard work. So he reinforced the blue ki, pulling the flesh together and convincing it to join into a single piece, then used black ki to cool the angry redness. He knew that had been the right thing to do when Dugo breathed a small sigh of relief.


    Satisfied, Kaz released the small ki-light, then said, ¡°Close your mouth and swallow.¡± Dugo did so without any visible discomfort, and Kaz nodded. ¡°You can chew a very small amount of mamu if the pain becomes bad, but I don¡¯t think it will. Don¡¯t swallow the juices, and try not to let the puppies see you do it.¡± Puppies were told that mamu was never, under any circumstances, meant to be put into the mouth. Healers did so, of course, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that puppies could be counted on to try anything they saw an older pup doing, especially if they¡¯d been told not to do that thing themselves.


    Dugo nodded. ¡°Is that all?¡± His voice was subtly different, missing a sort of liquid snort that had been there at the end of certain sounds, and he looked startled.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°That¡¯s it. Stick to soft food for the next several days. No insects, and definitely no bones. Drink lots of water.¡± He wasn¡¯t entirely sure why water was helpful, but Rega always told every patient to drink water, even if they were there for a broken claw, so Kaz dutifully repeated her words.


    ¡°Can I run now?¡± Dugo asked, looking like he might take off the very moment.


    Kaz held up a hand. ¡°Give that a few days, too. You can do your gathering, but move slowly and take breaks. When you do start to run, do a little at a time until you find your new limits.¡±


    The other kobold looked crestfallen, his ears drooping even more than usual, and Kaz found himself patting his head. He quickly snatched back the offending hand, but Dugo didn¡¯t even seem to notice. ¡°Thank you, Kaz,¡± Dugo said. ¡°I hope someday you can come back to visit us again, and I can show you how quickly I can run.¡±


    And maybe by then Kaz would have figured out how to help with the one leg that was shorter than the other. Could he create a sort of shoe that would make them both match? Or would Dugo be happy enough with just being able to breathe?


    <Vek is back,> Li said, looping around above Kaz¡¯s head as a fresh round of yips and barks also announced the older male¡¯s arrival. The puppies all stopped whatever they had been doing in order to run toward the orange-furred kobold, who crouched down to receive them with a look mingled of affection and patient tolerance.


    The dragon landed on Kaz¡¯s shoulder as they watched the joyful homecoming. Kaz and Li had known this was coming, but there was a definite feeling of regret that their brief stay was over. <We¡¯ll come back,> Li told him, but they both knew that that might well be untrue, at least in the most literal sense. Kaz would stay, while Li would go, each to fulfill their own tasks, and while their bond would remain, who knew what that two-fold future might bring?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaz said, tilting his head so his forehead touched her side. He would make sure of it. Somehow.

 Chapter Three hundred nineteen

    <Those are hoyi?> Li asked, staring at the horde of insects scurrying through the cavern below. They stood on the stairs that led into the hoyi nest, having descended from the hidden doorway in the yumi fields. Kaz had told Li that the largest ki-crystals were found here, and she¡¯d insisted they see if there was a way to gather some without the hoyi knowing they were there.


    Kaz had agreed, not only because they could sneak silently through the vast cavern under the cover of Li¡¯s camouflage, but also because there was something here that called to him. A part of the mystery of the mountain could be found here, he was sure, if only he looked in the right place.


    <There¡¯s the queen,> Kaz told her, pointing. The comment was unnecessary, since Li could see the bulky, unwieldy body covered in flying hoyi for herself. Still, the monstrous insect and her airborne servant-guards were worth noting, and they both stared in awe.


    <How many are there?> Li asked finally, watching as the smaller, winged insects groomed and fed the queen between eggs.


    <Hundreds?> Kaz asked silently. <Maybe thousands. There were so many just moving through the nest, carrying eggs, guarding the others, and gathering food. Like a kobold den, in a way, but without a single hoyi out of place. There are dozens of the flying ones alone.>


    <But only one queen,> Li said. <What would they do if something happened to her?>


    Kaz shrugged. <They must have a way to select or make a new one. It¡¯s not a job I¡¯d like.>


    They watched as the massive hoyi produced another round of eggs, and the worker insects carried them away. Finally, as the last glimmering orb fell into waiting jaws, Li shook her head. <I thought this would be more exciting.>


    The large warrior bugs protected the egg-bearers as they vanished down the surrounding tunnels, and Kaz sent his amusement to the dragon. <It was more than exciting enough for me when they almost cut me in half.>


    <And when you froze to the wall,> Li said, amused by the memory of his fur stuck to the ice.


    <That, too,> Kaz grumbled, but he didn¡¯t really mind. Looking back, it might have been funny if he wasn¡¯t so cold and, yes, terrified. Now, he just wondered if the fur was still there, in its vaguely Kaz-shaped pattern.


    <Should we go down?> Li asked, watching the last warrior-gatherer pair as they left the cavern. The queen lowered herself onto her bulbous abdomen, and her servants rose in a glittering cloud, heading for the pile of half-frozen meat nearby. There wasn¡¯t as much of it as there had been last time, and Kaz hoped that that was at least partially due to the miners being both better protected and less desperate.


    Kaz thought about it. <Let¡¯s wait. We can still go back up for now. It might be a little tricky to hide all the way through the city, but we could do it. If you want to gather some crystals, now is the time. Once we¡¯re on the ground, we just need to get out.>


    Li clicked thoughtfully. They were perched on a step just beyond the point where the stairs entered the ceiling. The hoyi had no eyes, depending on touch, sound, and perhaps smell to tell them what was going on around them. So long as Kaz didn¡¯t draw attention to himself by moving, Li could go, using her camouflage to cover herself while she flew around and broke off a few of the very large crystals that covered the ceiling and upper curve of the walls. Most of these were red, which was the one color Kaz had left alone when he raided the storage level, and Li wanted them.


    <All right,> the dragon agreed easily. She lifted her wings, then peered back over her shoulder. <This would be much better if you could fly, too.>


    Kaz¡¯s heart filled with warmth, but he sent her an image of himself, flapping his arms as hard as he could, only to fall flat on his face while she flew away. <I¡¯ll let you know when I learn how to do that.>


    <Good,> she told him seriously, and took off.


    It took another full cycle of egg-laying for Li to be satisfied with what she¡¯d gathered. Kaz¡¯s pouch was almost humming with all the times he¡¯d opened it and the amount of ki stored inside. It was still not full, even after everything he¡¯d put in it, but he had a feeling he might finally be reaching some limit. Every time he used it, it seemed to take a bit more of his ki to open, and there was a kind of pressure pushing back when he slid items in.


    Li gobbled down the yellow crystal she¡¯d been saving ever since bringing it back, even though she¡¯d eaten most of the other non-red crystals she found. Even here, they weren¡¯t particularly large, but this yellow one was the size of Kaz¡¯s fist, and Li had been particularly pleased with herself when she found it.


    <Now we can go,> she said. <Are you going to jump through again?>


    Kaz thought about the way he must have looked when he escaped from here the first time, wildly leaping from column to column, and grimaced, shaking his head. <We¡¯ll just have to be more careful.> They moved quickly down the stairs, which ended far too close to the queen for comfort. There were no loose eggs for him to steal this time, but that was all right, because they had a much better plan.


    After winding their way through the complex pattern of guards and servants, they found themselves not at the same tunnel Kaz had entered through once before, but at another one, far to the left. Kaz and Li couldn¡¯t tell the difference between one tunnel and the next, but the hoyi obviously could. Not all of the eggs were carried in the same direction, and this time, Kaz had been able to tell that the ones with the strongest ki were taken this way.


    Hopefully, they were timing this correctly, because the tunnels were surprisingly narrow, and there was no way they could pass a hoyi on its way back without being noticed. If that happened, Kaz would have to kill the hoyi very quickly, before it could call for help, but there was no way the next insect wouldn¡¯t notice the corpse, so this could very quickly go from a stealth mission to a bloodbath.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    <We should still have a few minutes before they all come back for the next batch of eggs,> Kaz said, more to reassure himself than Li. The dragon was as confident as ever that they would succeed at whatever they attempted.


    This tunnel was longer than the one Kaz had used before, and side-passages split away more than once. Kaz followed the well-worn paths in the stone, growing more and more nervous the deeper they walked into the nest.


    Then, without any warning at all, the tunnel ended, leaving them standing in the entrance to a cavern whose walls were covered in small alcoves. Each alcove had a shallow depression in the bottom, and each depression held an egg. Another new kind of hoyi worked here, one with antennae almost twice as long as those of the others. They used these antennae to check on the eggs, turning them carefully with the flattened ends. They moved along the walls, focused on the alcoves and their spherical occupants, leaving the center of the cavern almost entirely empty. Kaz quickly moved into the open space and stood there, holding Li and watching what was going on.


    <I think they¡¯re checking to see if they¡¯re ready to hatch,> Kaz said, and Li sent agreement.


    <Why are there so many eggs here? Only ten or fifteen of the last batch were carried this way,> Li asked.


    <The tunnels split several times. Maybe we went the wrong way, or maybe the egg-carriers take different tunnels, only to end up in the same place,> Kaz said. He was moving slowly along the cavern, careful to make no noise as he stared at the hoyi and the eggs. The opalescent sheen of the eggs¡¯ surface seemed to fade as they moved deeper into the cavern, and he began to see darker patches moving inside. The insects in the eggs were growing and developing. Their ki was stronger, too.


    After a while, they saw one of the caretakers actually lift an egg from its alcove, carrying it still deeper in the cavern. The egg was almost black with the insect inside, and as Kaz looked more closely at the eggs around it, he could see that some of them were rocking in their shallow depressions, and one even had a small crack in its surface.


    <We don¡¯t want ones that are about to hatch, do we?> Li asked, staring at them. <You eat bugs, but I don¡¯t really like them. I¡¯d rather have one that pops in your mouth instead of being crunchy.>


    Kaz wasn¡¯t particularly picky, but he also wasn¡¯t really here for eggs. They¡¯d come for the crystals, which they¡¯d gotten, and yes, the first hoyi egg had given him quite a boost of power, but he didn¡¯t want to have the balance of his ki shifted again. He did plan to take some eggs, but just to keep in his pouch, if it would hold them. Still, he found his gaze being pulled inexorably in the direction the caretaker hoyi had carried the wiggling egg. Rather than moving back toward the fresher eggs, he went deeper.


    Fewer and fewer alcoves held eggs. Some of the ones that were there were dark and lifeless. A flicker of power remained in a few, but others were as empty as if they¡¯d never held life at all. Eventually, they had to dodge out of the way of the returning insect, who now had empty pincers, and Kaz found himself standing beside a wall of alcoves that stood entirely empty.


    <Do you suppose all of these used to be full?> Li asked, watching the retreating adult, who was now testing each of the few eggs in the area with its overlong antennae. It found one of the lifeless eggs and picked that up, as well, but took it back toward the entrance rather than deeper into the cavern.


    Kaz was distracted by something that hung, just beyond his ability to see. It was as if the air itself was thicker here, and it was almost difficult to move his paws, though neither Li nor the hoyi had seemed to struggle.


    <What?> he asked absently, still staring down the long rows of empty holes in the wall. <Maybe. Or maybe they just made more alcoves than they needed.>


    Li sighed and looked as though she might bite his ear, but decided against it. <Just go. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s down there.>


    Kaz didn¡¯t need any more encouragement, though he had to push a bit of ki into his legs in order to keep moving. The air grew thick with mana, and even Li began to feel it, stretching out a wing, then a leg, only to peer at them as if checking to make sure nothing was wrapped around them. Sparks of ki jumped from Kaz¡¯s fur and Li¡¯s horns, disappearing into the air, becoming just another part of the power that pressed against them. Then the walls changed from alcoves to crystals, and between one step to the next, the pressure eased up.


    Li gasped softly as she looked at the thick layer of ki-crystals that covered every surface except for the stone beneath Kaz¡¯s paws. <Why are there so many here? Can you gather them?>


    Rather than standing in individual prisms or small bunches, the way the crystals grew in the rest of the mine, these looked like a single, solid mass. Kaz shook his head reluctantly. <I don¡¯t know what would happen if we broke these, but I think it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t try. I just-> He turned back toward the area of highest pressure. <I want to know what¡¯s there, and why it feels like that.>


    It was Li¡¯s turn to hesitate. <I think we should just get some eggs and go. Whatever that is, it doesn¡¯t feel right.>


    There was no doubt that was true. Kaz had never felt such a dense miasma of power before, even when he was in the pit surrounding the mage college. That had been fueled by Fengji¡¯s fury, and there was no emotion in this. It just was.


    Unconsciously, Kaz touched the smooth loop of scales that hung around his waist like a second belt. Heishe had asked to be brought into the mountain for some reason, and he had a feeling this was part of it. He couldn¡¯t just go on without even trying to investigate.


    Turning around, Kaz stepped back into the heavy shroud of mana, feeling his shoulders sag a bit beneath the weight of it. Li hissed unhappily, but didn¡¯t try to argue or draw him back. This time, they both kept their eyes on the walls, searching for anything that was different, and it was actually Li who found what they were looking for.


    Kaz was almost blinded by the fog of mana, but Li still didn¡¯t see mana as well as he did. So she was the one who realized that among all the undifferentiated gray, there were sparks of black and white. But when she pointed them out and Kaz peered into the alcove that held the ki, he found that it wasn¡¯t produced by naturally forming crystals like all of the others, but had clearly been placed there. They were actually partially embedded in the stone, which was carved with a series of complex runes.


    <Those look like the ones surrounding the crystal that controlled Fengji¡¯s prison,> Li said instantly, and Kaz yielded to her greater expertise. He¡¯d been a bit busy when she stole and swallowed that crystal, and shortly after that the entire building had begun to melt as Fengji escaped. Kaz had barely glanced at the runes.


    <Don¡¯t eat them,> Kaz responded instantly, but Li just gave a sniff, as if the thought had never crossed her mind.


    <Of course I won¡¯t. I was injured and needed ki to recover then, but now I have plenty of other crystals and I¡¯m perfect.> She tilted her head, eyeing the runes. <What should we do with them, though?>


    Kaz honestly wasn¡¯t sure, but he had an idea. It wasn¡¯t a particularly good idea, and he was fairly certain Luanhua would have yelled at him for allowing it to enter his head, but she wasn¡¯t even in the mountain yet, as far as he knew.


    Reaching out, he touched the crystals.

 Chapter Three hundred twenty

    The wall twisted in place, but unlike the other hidden doors Kaz had found in the mountain, this one carried the floor with it as well. Stone ground against stone as what seemed like half the cavern dropped into a pit, making Li dig her claws into Kaz¡¯s shoulder as she instinctively flapped her wings, trying to lift them both back up. Kaz glanced down, and the bright lights of formerly quiescent ki-crystals hidden in the stone made him realize what was happening.


    ¡°It¡¯s a platform,¡± Kaz said, reaching up to grasp Li as she started to lift into the air. ¡°This whole section of the cavern is just a huge platform.¡±


    Which made him wonder if the same had been true of the wall containing the ki-crystal in the mage school. If Li hadn¡¯t eaten it, might a platform have taken them down to Fengji¡¯s prison, where they could have freed him without destroying the building? Possible, but Kaz thought it was more likely at least some of them would have burned up in the heat of the Rooster¡¯s fury before they could do anything.


    <Where is it going?> Li demanded, still holding her wings at the ready. She hadn¡¯t released Kaz, either, and not for the first time, he was glad his skin could no longer be punctured by things like dragon claws.


    As their heads dropped below what had been the level of the floor, red ki surrounded them, and Kaz looked up at the face of one of the hoyi who tended to the eggs. Its antennae were waving wildly, and he was certain that it was calling for help. And he hadn¡¯t even taken any eggs yet.


    The peculiar glow that was ki laid over darkness filled Kaz¡¯s vision, but he let Li stare out into it while he turned his own attention inward. The feeling of ¡®home¡¯ that constantly guided him was growing stronger. Instead of merely feeling like he was directly above whatever it was that he centered on, now he was moving toward it at a rapid pace. His stomach lurched, and something plucked at the link between him and the mountain, making it hum.


    Without seeing stairs and levels, Kaz didn¡¯t know how far they dropped, but it was a long way. Five levels? More? Were they even still in the mid-levels, or had they entered the Deep in the most precipitous way imaginable?


    When the platform came to a halt, it was as abruptly as it had begun to fall. Kaz and Li found themselves in a room that could have been lifted straight out of a mosui building, except that it was much larger than the small creatures seemed to prefer. The walls and ceiling were smooth and covered in chips of red ki-crystal, though a good portion of these were dark and cracked. Obviously, no one came here to replace crystals when they broke.


    <What is this place?> Li asked, staring around. She saw one of the empty holes that served as windows in the upper levels of mosui buildings, and flew toward it. To Kaz¡¯s relief, she came to a rest on the edge of the opening, rather than flying out into the dim red glow beyond, and Kaz hurried over to join her.


    They stood within the top level of one of three tall buildings, exactly like those found within the mid-level city. The buildings themselves stood in a wide cavern, rising from the floor to meet the ceiling some ninety or one hundred feet above. Every surface was covered in red ki-crystals, though many of them were burned out, just as they were inside. Even the ceiling was smooth and coated in crystals, making it seem as if the cavern and the buildings had been carved from stone in one whole piece.


    They whirled as stone ground again behind them, seeing that the column of red ki had reformed once they stepped off the platform. The chunk of wall and floor rose straight back up, trapping Kaz and Li in the dead and silent cavern. Li flew up, staring at the apparently unbroken ceiling, then circled the wide, now-empty room. <I don¡¯t see any crystals to call it back,> she said, with the faintest tinge of worry shadowing her voice.


    Kaz had to admit he wasn¡¯t particularly happy with this turn of events, either. If this had been a normal level, he would have been certain he could find some stairs or even a crevice somewhere that would allow them to continue traveling through the mountain. But this space looked entirely created, not natural at all, and it was possible that the only way in or out was by using the platform that had just left without them. Still, there was always a way, so he sent Li reassurance as he paced the room as well.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t even stairs down through this building,¡± Kaz said when he returned to the opening in the wall. It was more than large enough for him or Li to climb out of, so it wasn¡¯t like they were truly closed in, but it was very strange that there didn¡¯t even seem to be another way out of this room.


    He leaned out, peering at the other two buildings. Now that he looked at them more closely, he could tell that the far side of each of them merged into the wall. Turning, he looked at the wall opposite him, wondering if there was anything on the other side of it, or if that was simply more mountain.


    <I can go investigate,> Li told him, already standing in the opening again. <I could even grow larger and carry you down to the ground, if you don¡¯t want to jump or climb.>


    Did he want to jump almost a hundred feet to solid stone? Not really, though he would probably be all right if he did. Eventually. He had no doubt he could climb simply by digging his claws into the wall, but somehow he was reluctant to break any more of the crystals covering the surface.


    ¡°Go look around,¡± Kaz agreed, with some reluctance. Not a single mote of dust had stirred since the platform vanished, but this was still a very strange and almost eerie space. It almost felt as if it had been built and abandoned on the same day, with no one ever having lived here at all.


    Li immediately dropped down into the wide open area, and Kaz blinked as her movement revealed that what had looked like a flat floor was actually concave, with the walls and the buildings at the highest point, and the center of the cavern at the lowest. The shift in perspective made him feel slightly dizzy, and he stepped back from the opening as soon as he was certain nothing was going to immediately attack the dragon.


    He paced the room again, more slowly this time. Pushing red ki from his eyes, he searched for ki of any other color. There was nothing, nor was there anything merely physical, like a button or a lever that would open a hidden door. He trailed his fingers over the walls, pushing any crystals that caught at his fingers, all while sniffing deeply, trying to locate the scent of anything other than stone.


    Outside, Li flew circles over the open area, slowly descending from the outside edge toward the center. She was watching for the same things Kaz was, as well as any sign of movement. After a while, she even released a small roar, which hung in the air, both echoing and oddly muffled, as if it had nowhere to go, either. <There¡¯s nothing here,> she told Kaz, and he nodded, having come to the same conclusion. They had never been anywhere that held so much absence.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    <I¡¯ll climb down,> Kaz told her, and Li immediately turned back. As she flew, from one stroke of her wings to the next, she allowed herself to grow, and when she was done, her wings spanned more than ten feet, which was a noticeable increase from before they entered the mountain.


    Li was almost too large for the opening beyond which Kaz stood. She turned before him, her serpentine neck curved so the red light glimmered from her golden scales, and turned her crown of crimson horns a deep, sanguine hue.


    <I¡¯m big enough to ride now,> she announced, and Kaz couldn¡¯t argue. Her body was still slim, no wider than his own narrow waist, but with her long neck and tail she was more than twice his height in length, and there was no doubt she could support him, if only for a while. She could not, however, land in the room, and Kaz wouldn¡¯t simply leap out and jump on her, so he wasn¡¯t certain how she meant for him to climb aboard.


    Then Li¡¯s claws reached out, and she grabbed hold of the wide opening, allowing her lower limbs to catch at the wall below. It was awkward, to be sure, and Kaz winced as a small shower of ki-crystals fell to the ground, but the dragon was watching him expectantly, and Kaz refused to disappoint her.


    Carefully, Kaz climbed up onto the narrow ridge, then swung a leg over Li¡¯s neck, which she stretched out in an attempt to make this easier. Several of the pointy spikes on her neck came into contact with Kaz¡¯s flesh, but fortunately he was impervious to them, though they bumped beneath him as he slid into place at the base of her neck.


    Once he was settled, grasping the lowest horns on the back of her head, Li let go, and for a moment it was like being on the platform again, falling without any sign that the descent was controlled. Then her wings snapped out, and they turned, gliding away from the building.


    Kaz had ridden Yanshi twice now, but the male dragon was so much larger compared to Li, and Kaz had been focused on trying to avoid scraping or pressing on the injured area between his wings. With Li, he was momentarily worried she wouldn¡¯t be able to support them both, but then she gave a powerful flap, and they were flying. Together.


    It wasn¡¯t like their dreams. There was no clear blue sky or brilliant sun, no puffy white clouds and warm breeze pulling at his fur. He could feel Li¡¯s muscles shift beneath him, visceral in a way no dream could ever be, and Kaz lifted his head and howled. Li¡¯s horns tilted back as she added her roar to their song, and they circled through a small city that might as well have been empty since the beginning of time.


    Li¡¯s body became tired long before their hearts did, and reluctantly she circled down to land on the curved gray stone. There they sat, their hearts and breaths perfectly in time, until Kaz swung his leg over the dragon¡¯s neck, realizing that his paws were already on the ground as he stood. That ground felt almost slippery, polished smooth as if by many paws.


    Then he looked up, and the three hollow buildings seemed to lean in toward him, while the ground felt like it would fall out from beneath his paws. He started to slip, and sat abruptly on his rear, while Li curled around him protectively, hissing as she looked for whatever had caused her kobold to feel a sudden spike of deep dread in the pit of his stomach.


    ¡°This is the place,¡± Kaz whispered, staring up. He drew a line across the ground with a suddenly shaking finger, but when he lifted it to his eyes, he saw no sign of the red powder from that terrible memory.


    <What place?> Li asked, heated vapor and gray smoke mingling as they rose from her mouth and nose. Kaz was frightened, and Li was angry, and she didn¡¯t know what had caused either of those feelings.


    ¡°The place I was made,¡± Kaz said. ¡°Where Nucai turned my core into a shiyan, at least for a little while. I thought it was¡­imaginary? Much smaller, certainly.¡± He laid his hand over his core. ¡°I was nothing but a core then, and Nucai set me rolling in here like a child¡¯s toy. But there was a red dust. Fulan, I think. And Nucai added two more cores and sent us spinning around in here until I was the only one left, and the others were a part of me.¡±


    Li scratched at the ground, which, rather surprisingly, didn¡¯t give way beneath her talons. <There¡¯s no fulan here.> She gave a somewhat exaggerated sniff. <I don¡¯t even smell any old spores.> Fulan smelled of rot and the sweetness that came with decay, and Li was right. There was no trace of that stench now, if it had ever been here.


    Kaz closed his eyes, blocking out the curve of the cavern floor and the disorienting familiarity, then drew in a deep breath of his own. He had smelled nothing in the room where they entered, and this was no different. Had it been long enough that the scent had faded completely? Would it even be possible to eradicate every spore from a space so large? Or was this really an entirely different place that simply reminded him of Nucai¡¯s bowl?


    Kaz slapped his hand against the too-smooth stone, then stood. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he told Li. ¡°There would be some trace of the smell. Especially since there¡¯s no reason to believe I was the last kobold on whom Nucai experimented.¡± And that was a terrible thought. Were there others like him, living among the tribes at this very moment?


    Li slid her head beneath Kaz¡¯s arm, steadying him as he began to walk carefully down the curve of the floor. The bizarre perspective of this place was still throwing him off, but now that he was so close, he was almost certain the bowl in which they stood wasn¡¯t quite as empty as he¡¯d first believed. More, he could feel pressure building around him with every step, filling the air with so much rich, pure mana that it was almost ki.


    <What is that?> Li asked as they finally reached the bottom. They¡¯d begun walking in circles as they descended, rather than trying to go straight down the slippery slope, and there was something about that thickness in the air that told them both that trying to fly might be unwise.


    Kaz shook his head. It was a bulge, something pushing the utterly smooth stone up in a mound no more than three feet in diameter, and half that in height. Black and white ki-stones covered this lump, but almost all of them were cracked and gray, matching the natural color of the stone. Whatever was generating the rich mana that surrounded them lay beneath this crust of dead crystals.


    ¡°Black and white ki in the presence of red will freeze, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what this was meant to do,¡± Kaz said thoughtfully. ¡°But maybe¡­as these crystals broke, the red ki poured out and met that of the hoyi, creating the mines? Or were the mines here first? Maybe that¡¯s why this thing was placed here, and the hoyi just moved in when the xiyi or mosui stopped maintaining all of this?¡±


    Almost against his will, he reached out to touch the topmost crystal; a particularly large black one that still faintly glittered with ki. Two hisses stopped him, and Li froze with her mouth open, ready to nip the offending hand.


    Heishe dropped down from Kaz¡¯s waist, uncurling and expanding as she landed on the floor. <don¡¯t touch,> she said with unusual sharpness, and glided forward, coiling around the mound. Her black ki poured forth, visible in its turbulence, and surrounded the red. Her power surged, again and again, until Kaz and Li could barely breathe, caught as they were between both. Li¡¯s core shuddered beneath the pressure, but Kaz¡¯s ki was strong enough to push back, so he expanded his power to surround them both, giving the dragon some space to recover.


    <now,> Heishe said, then brought her tail down in a hard strike that cracked the dome of broken ki-crystals in half. Each portion slid to the side, then simply crumbled, the crystals falling to the ground in a cascade that surrounded Kaz and Li¡¯s paws.


    With the concealing ki-crystals out of the way, the large red core resting within a sort of stone nest became clearly visible. <loong,> Heishe murmured, an infinite sadness in the single word. <this is the core of the Dragon.>

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-one

    ¡°The Dragon?¡± Kaz repeated, while Li turned her gaze on the core before them with sudden interest.


    Heishe sighed, nudging the silent core with her nose almost as if she expected it to wake and speak to her. It didn¡¯t, of course, but she curled around the remnants of its resting place almost protectively.


    <loong was my sister,> Heishe murmured. <one of the eldest. she was also one of the first to disappear, but she could sleep atop a mountain for a century at a time. i, on the other hand, spent most of my time far beneath the surface of the earth, where water runs so deep that some of it no longer remembers the touch of the sun. i didn¡¯t even think to worry about her until it was too late.>


    Kaz stared at the core, which burned with a subdued fire so deep that its red was nearly black. Unlike Heishe¡¯s water ki, which moved constantly, ebbing and flowing as she shifted, this lay still, in a thick pool.


    ¡°What is it doing here?¡± he asked quietly, respectful of the deep sorrow in Heishe¡¯s voice.


    Black eyes pierced him, and the serpent hissed with sudden fury. <being used. someone has been stealing loong¡¯s power, and using it to-> She looked around, and Kaz felt confusion push away the anger. <i don¡¯t know what. this shouldn¡¯t even be possible. when one of us dies, our core begins to break down, just like any other. we¡¯re not meant to be separate from the world. it needs our experience and our power. loong¡¯s ki should have rejoined the world long ago, giving rise to a new Dragon.>


    <A new Dragon?> Li asked. She had been staring fixedly at the core since the moment Heishe revealed it. Now she tore her eyes away and looked at Heishe instead.


    Heishe hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. <that is how the Twelve go on. when one of us dies, another rises to replace them. there must always be twelve, but for too long, i thought i was the last one left.>


    <Does the replacement know what they are?> Li asked, and Kaz felt his heart pound, waiting for the reply.


    <sometimes,> Heishe said, sounding like she¡¯d really rather not answer. <the important thing is that this must be the reason replacements haven¡¯t risen. this qiangde found a way to steal our cores; hold them in stasis while he used them.> She hissed as if in pain, staring around at the cavern. <how many of my siblings are trapped here, and why couldn¡¯t i sense them?>


    Kaz felt his shoulders tense. He stared at the dull core, cautiously stretching out his own ki toward it. He¡¯d felt it, hadn¡¯t he? He¡¯d known something was here, at least. Something which felt very familiar. But how could it? He was certain he¡¯d never seen this core before.


    When his ki touched that of the red core, he felt a sudden spark; a connection that felt like he¡¯d stared into a fire for so long that he¡¯d begun to feel like it was looking back. He blinked, certain he must have imagined it, but both Li and Heishe were staring at him.


    <what did you do?> Heishe demanded, raising a head which suddenly had a black hood spreading behind it.


    Kaz took a step back, and Li shifted so she was in between Kaz and the Snake. Kaz stretched out his hands, but he didn¡¯t know if he meant to pull Li back, launch some kind of attack, or simply try to calm the two females before anything happened. Heishe sank back down, though, the hood melding back into her body with a ripple like a breeze over the surface of a stream.


    <no. i¡¯m ss-sorry,> the snake said. <i know you had nothing to do with this. either of you. but kaz, you did something.>


    He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he told her. He¡¯d never tried to describe his feeling that the mountain was linked to him, and sometimes watched or spoke to him. Li knew because she felt it through him, but surely anyone else would think that his mind had been lost. But he knew Heishe had gone through his memories at least once, so surely she already knew? She was keeping things from him and Li, and perhaps if he wanted her to tell him her truth, he needed to trust her with his.


    ¡°There¡¯s something here,¡± he told Heishe. ¡°It¡¯s not conscious, but it¡¯s tied into something that is. That something is right there.¡± He lifted his finger and pointed it at the core, then, slowly, uncertainly, downward. ¡°It¡¯s linked to me - or rather to the mountain, which is linked to me. I think it all has to do with whatever Nucai did to me, all those years ago.¡±


    Heishe stared at him, and he could almost feel the weight of that gaze. It was expectant, but also wary. Finally, she said, <Do you wish to eat this core?>


    Kaz felt a terrible sense of revulsion at the very idea, and said, ¡°No,¡± at the same moment Li said, <Yes.> Kaz turned to stare at his dragon, who stared back, looking almost as startled as he felt, but not at all as if she¡¯d like to take the word back.


    Heishe began to laugh, and the raspy hiss swelled to fill the space in which they stood. Even the core seemed to shiver in response. <yes,> she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. <of course you do. but will you? now?>Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Suddenly, she seemed almost eager, and tapped the core with the very tip of her tail, sending it rolling toward Li. Heishe lifted her coils out of the way as it moved, so it met no resistance until it came to rest against Li¡¯s toes.


    The golden dragon stared down at it, and Kaz twitched with the urge to snatch the thing away. But he could feel something passing through their bond. It wasn¡¯t hunger, but it wasn¡¯t not hunger. It was a longing for something she wasn¡¯t ready for. Not yet. Swallowing hard, she flicked the core back at Heishe, who gave an almost inaudible sigh.


    <No,> Li said firmly. <It isn¡¯t mine.>


    In spite of himself, Kaz felt a laugh bubble up in his chest. As if something not being hers had ever stopped Li before. Li felt his amusement and glared at him, but something dark drained from her, and she sent him an image of herself, round as a ball, rolling around after having eaten an enormous core she couldn¡¯t digest. It was funny, but it also wasn¡¯t, because there was a little too much truth in it.


    <will it be yours?> Heishe asked, and the core vanished into her coils.


    ¡°Will it? Wouldn¡¯t this Loong just take Li over if she ate it?¡± Kaz asked, feeling a sudden rush of anger as he stared at her. He laid his hand over his own core, then stepped up beside Li. ¡°Heishe, what do you know that you won¡¯t tell us? And why?¡±


    The serpent¡¯s forked tongue flickered out. <so much, young one. and as to why,> she turned in and in on herself, becoming smaller with each turning, <some knowledge is a denial of choice, and choice is the only gift i can give you.> With that, she slithered up his leg and around his waist so quickly that Kaz barely had a chance to jump, and when he looked down, she was as still and silent as a strip of leather once again.


    Kaz and Li stared at each other, frustration flowing between them. What choice did Heishe believe he or Li would have to make? And what could she possibly tell them that would make them choose a different one? He wanted to tear off the ¡®belt¡¯ and shake Heishe until she answered, but at least he finally understood that she at least believed she was doing what was best, and she wasn¡¯t just being enigmatic for her own entertainment.


    At last, Li broke eye contact, looking in the direction of the broken pedestal where the Dragon¡¯s core had laid. <Where is it?> she demanded, and Kaz, too, looked around. The last time he¡¯d seen the core, Heishe had wrapped it in her coils, and-


    ¡°Heishe has it,¡± he said. ¡°Somehow.¡± And that was truly a mystery. The serpent had neither pack nor pouch, and he was certain she hadn¡¯t swallowed it, so where was the core? He closed his eyes, trying to sense its presence, but it was as if it had utterly vanished. They still stood in a thick miasma of its ki, but it no longer had a source, and he suspected that it would begin to fade soon.


    He felt a spark of concern at that thought. If Loong¡¯s core was the reason there was so much Fire ki in this part of the mountain, what would happen now that it was gone? Would the mines even exist in a few years? What would become of the city without the ki-crystals that powered everything there?


    Conflicting emotions poured through his bond with Li. There was relief and disappointment, worry and also a deep feeling of calm confidence. She shook those off and raised her wings, looking up at the three buildings which felt more like towers now that they were at the bottom of the bowl.


    <You felt that core,> she said. <Do you feel any more?>


    Kaz shook his head, then shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s still something, but it¡¯s below us.¡± He took a single step forward, his paws crunching through the fallen ki-crystals. Looking straight down, he said softly, ¡°The Tree is directly below us. It¡¯s the heart - the core - of the mountain, and that¡¯s where I need to go. But I had to come here first.¡±


    <Why?> Li asked, watching him carefully.


    Kaz¡¯s claws scraped against something buried beneath the broken and scattered crystals. Kneeling, he brushed them aside, revealing the precise spot where the core had sat. There, buried in the stone, was the top of a perfect ki-crystal, brilliant red and larger than any he¡¯d ever seen before.


    <What is it?> Li demanded, leaning forward. Kaz had already pulled his mage-knife from its sheath, though, and had begun cutting away at the polished stone surrounding the crystal. It was surprisingly difficult to cut, even with a steady flow of ki to the blade, and by the time he¡¯d carved out a hole more than a foot deep, Kaz found himself panting for breath.


    <How big is it?> Li asked, lending her own claws to the effort. To her annoyance, she found that she could barely damage the impossibly hard stone, and quickly sat back again, glaring at the rock with deep irritation.


    At last, Kaz gave in, climbing back up out of the hole. There was now a column of red ki-crystal in the center of it, standing just a little shorter than he was. ¡°I think it must go all the way down,¡± he said, gingerly tapping the six-sided crystal, which chimed in answer. The first time he¡¯d accidentally touched it, he¡¯d been afraid it would break, but it hadn¡¯t, and by now he almost wished it would, if only to have an end to the thing.


    <To the Tree?>


    Kaz stilled. He¡¯d lost track of it in his urge to dig out the crystal and find an answer to at least one of what seemed like a never-ending series of questions, but Li was right. He¡¯d said the Tree was directly beneath them, and he was absolutely certain he was right. Which meant this ki-crystal was at least leading in that direction, even if it didn¡¯t go all the way. Because it couldn¡¯t. Could it?


    ¡°I think,¡± he said, ¡°that we need to go to the Tree now.¡±


    <How?> Li asked, and that single word was filled with the frustration of a dragon who had just spent several hours watching her kobold try to hollow out the center of a mountain all by himself.


    Kaz scratched his ear, staring up at the looming buildings and the complete and utter lack of anything that looked like an actual exit. ¡°Are you ready to fly some more?¡±


    Li immediately sank down, extending a leg so Kaz could climb up onto it, in spite of the fact that it was entirely unnecessary. <I thought you¡¯d never ask.>

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-two (Kyla)

    The howl was about to begin, and Kyla¡¯s stomach felt like she¡¯d swallowed a dozen jiyun grubs whole. Not only was this the first howl she¡¯d ever attended that was for her, but Ija had solemnly informed her that this was also the first full howl which would include both the old Magmablades and the new Woodblades. Worse, many of these Woodblades had been traded or given to the new tribe from other great tribes, which meant that they didn¡¯t really know Kyla, and now they were going to have to howl for her.


    ¡°Breathe,¡± Baihe said, gently stroking Kyla¡¯s ear. Her finger caught on the rather painful bite Aunt Sika had given to her wandering ¡®pup¡¯, and Kyla flinched a bit, which made Baihe click her tongue. The old female didn¡¯t speak out against Aunt Sika, though, which Kyla appreciated. Lianhua had been less than pleased to see even a few drops of blood on Kyla¡¯s ear, but Kyla hadn¡¯t expected anything less. A pup who didn¡¯t listen was a danger to herself and the rest of her tribe, and Kyla had spent a good portion of her life not listening. For good or ill, she was about to become an adult, and a nip to the ear was the smallest punishment she could have received.


    Baihe took a small container from her pouch, and when she opened it, Kyla flinched away from the sharp scent of the contents. Baihe scooped some up on her finger, laughing softly. ¡°Lianhua¡¯s Yingtao makes the best medicines, but she only makes them smell good for Lianhua. Hold still for a moment.¡± A careful finger spread the stinky goo on Kyla¡¯s ear, while Kyla tried not to whimper. Now the smell would be on her for her entire howl, and everyone would remember it. She would rather have had a sore ear, but she didn¡¯t dare tell Baihe.


    ¡°From now on, you¡¯ll be responsible for yourself,¡± Baihe said as she screwed the lid back on the jar and put it away. ¡°And I¡¯m certain you¡¯ll remember not to place yourself in danger when others are counting on you to be safe.¡± Her amethyst eyes met Kyla¡¯s in calm amusement, and Kyla was suddenly less certain that this wasn¡¯t just another form of punishment; one old female supporting another in correcting the young.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Baihe,¡± Kyla said, trying to sound properly chastened. What she would remember was to do a better job of covering her tracks. If no one knew she left the mountain, they wouldn¡¯t have been worried about her. Usually, she would have told someone in the hidden den that she was going to the main Magmablade den, and vice versa. The two groups rarely spoke to each other, and when they did, they had more important things to worry about than where Kyla was. Unfortunately, now everyone was in one den, talking to each other constantly, and apparently Kyla had become a topic of shared interest.


    Ducking her head, Kyla said, ¡°I¡¯m going to check on Mei.¡± Then she scampered off before Baihe could call her back for more of the stinky goo, or perhaps something even worse. Not that she was running away, because she really did need to check on her fuergar.


    Mei was almost as much of a topic of conversation as Kyla herself. Ija had told Kyla not to share her story with anyone until the actual howl, but that didn¡¯t stop people from asking. But rather than focusing on Kyla¡¯s adventures, most of the questions centered around how Kyla had ended up with a fuergar at all. Some kobolds couldn¡¯t understand that she wasn¡¯t just keeping Mei as some elaborate form of food-storage, while most pups just wanted to know how they could get a pet of their own. A few had even gone so far as to ask if they could have one of Mei¡¯s babies!


    Mei was now tucked into a new nest hidden in the back of Lianhua and Yingtao¡¯s hut. They were staying in one of the large huts made for human traders. All of the great tribes except the Magmablades had built one or more of these huts in their part of the city, and now that the Woodblades had returned, the humans who¡¯d come with Kyla were staying in their human huts. The Goldblades, Waveblades, and Mithrilblades had maintained their part of the city, including these huts, and even Raff seemed happy enough with the accommodations. He barely even had to bend over to walk around inside.


    Kyla knocked on the yumi-reed door before entering. She¡¯d just walked in soon after Lianhua and Yingtao settled in, just as she would when they were in the tent while they were traveling, and she had vowed never to do so again. She hadn¡¯t even known that the ¡®bathtub¡¯ was large enough to hold two humans, no matter how friendly they were.


    ¡°Yes?¡± That was Lianhua, which was good. Kyla liked Yingtao, but she was always very aware that the other female probably knew more ways to kill her than there were glow-worms in the Deep. Chi Yincang was frightening enough, but Kyla always got the feeling he would regret killing her. She wasn¡¯t absolutely certain that Yingtao would even blink an eye if she decided it was necessary for Kyla - or anyone else - to die.


    Kyla gave a yip of greeting, then said, ¡°It¡¯s Kyla. Has Mei had her babies?¡±


    Unlike Raff, Lianhua didn¡¯t try to yip back, but she did open the door, smiling with real pleasure at seeing Kyla. ¡°No. Yingtao says it may not even be tonight.¡±


    Kyla entered the building, still somewhat amused by how different it was from a human dwelling. Not that she¡¯d seen many - only Raff¡¯s, really - but this was so small and cramped in comparison. Kobold huts had only one room, though they sometimes hung furs to create separate areas for older pups, so when the human traders told them they wanted more than one room, the kobolds simply divided up what they thought was a hut large enough for their enormous guests.


    The whole building would have fit into Kyla¡¯s bedroom in Raff¡¯s home, and then it was further split into four smaller rooms, with no real thought given to the size of each of those spaces. Someday, she would have these taken down and rebuilt properly. Or perhaps she would have better ones built in the old Magmablade part of the city, which was currently also controlled by the Woodblades. No one quite knew what to do with it anyway, since the Magmablades weren¡¯t actually a great tribe any more, but they also couldn¡¯t be ignored, since their Blade was needed to open the mountain. Or at least it was until yesterday.


    Reminded, Kyla glanced back at Lianhua. Yingtao had appeared from somewhere, and to Kyla¡¯s relief both of her hands were visible. It was never good when they vanished into her sleeves. ¡°Have they figured out why the portal won¡¯t close?¡± ¡®They¡¯ in this case actually meant Lianhua and her grandfather, though the great chiefs were all very concerned as well.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lianhua bit her lip. ¡°No. It seems that something made the portal permanent. Or at least it hasn¡¯t shown any signs of fading, and both Idla and Tisdi have sent several scouts through. Females, of course, in case they get trapped outside.¡±


    Kyla almost glanced toward the tiny room where Mei now rested, but caught herself in time. Neither she nor any of the humans had suggested that the fuergar might have anything to do with this change, but Mei had been acting very oddly ever since the portal was opened. Kyla hadn¡¯t told anyone that she¡¯d actually started to feel the passage collapsing in around her when Mei waddled into sight, busily chewing pieces of, well, nothing apart.


    Lianhua, too, seemed to be looking very deliberately away from Mei¡¯s nest. ¡°If Shensheng truly is open for good, things will probably change quite a lot. You¡¯ll need to hire human guards, as well as creating rules for who can come in, and when. When only a few humans could enter, and only on the solstices, you kobolds could keep the bad humans out, for the most part. But now-¡± She shook her head, and Kyla could tell that she was genuinely concerned.


    Of course, back before the Woodblades were murdered, kobolds had opened the mountain every three to six weeks, depending on a system that most females in the Deep learned from their den-mothers. Humans just weren¡¯t allowed to come in at those times, and not even Aunt Sika could tell a young and curious Kyla why the ¡®extra¡¯ openings existed. Now, she suspected it was for the convenience of Qiangde and his servants, but over the last thousand years, reason had faded into tradition, and kobolds were nothing if not loyal to tradition.


    ¡°Ija has been talking to Raff, and it sounds like we can trade gold to some of the humans from his guild in exchange for them helping keep the bad humans out. He said he might even come to help, if Reina is still looking for a mate. I¡¯m not sure why he doesn¡¯t like her. She¡¯s very strong, and the daughter of a chief. She also has very pretty hair.¡± It was a little lighter than Kyla¡¯s deep pink fur, but Reina¡¯s hair was indeed lovely.


    Lianhua snorted a small laugh, and exchanged a look with Yingtao that Kyla couldn¡¯t quite interpret. ¡°Well,¡± Lianhua said carefully, ¡°Raff would probably be very helpful. He likes kobolds. Especially puppies.¡±


    Kyla nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll help, too, since I¡¯m the liaison to Holliander. Maybe I¡¯ll even be the liaison to the Sheng Empire, someday, as well.¡± She eyed Lianhua as she said this, but for once the pale female had nothing to say. With a sigh, Kyla let it go and entered Mei¡¯s room.


    This space was barely larger than what the humans called a ¡®closet¡¯. Not even the human puppies could have slept on the floor, unless they curled up in a very tight ball, and it had originally only had one exit, which made it a tiny trap for anyone who couldn¡¯t eat through the walls. Mei, of course, could do exactly that, and had, so now there was a Mei-sized hole in the opposite wall.


    Mei herself was ensconced in a nest made of furs, cloth, and far more of Kyla¡¯s fur than she would voluntarily have parted with. It was just beginning to grow back after the long bits were burned off in the incinerator, and now she had bald patches again where Mei had chewed it off while she slept last night. She supposed it was worth it to see her copper-pink fuergar curled up in her cozy nest, but Kyla would really have preferred to appear before her new tribe with her fur intact.


    Kyla squeezed herself into the small space beside Mei, glad for once that she got her father¡¯s stature, instead of her mother¡¯s. Height was the only thing Kyla had wanted from Vega in a very long time, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that she wasn¡¯t even going to get that. Well, at least she still might be taller than her father, which was something.


    Lying down on her side, Kyla stared into Mei¡¯s sleepy eyes. The fuergar looked back, then opened her mouth in a blatant plea for food. Kyla chuffed a laugh, pulling her new backpack around to her front. It wasn¡¯t as nice as her old one, entirely without beads or decoration of any kind, but it was far better than the ragged, burned tatters she¡¯d been carrying around.


    ¡°Here,¡± Mei whispered, pulling out the last of the mithril bars Kaz had given her. She followed that with several chunks of raw gold ore, which Mei glanced at disdainfully. The fuergar was already used to pure, smelted metal, but Kyla would have to get that from the Mithrilblades, and she wasn¡¯t quite ready to face Avli yet.


    The youngest great chief was Ija¡¯s friend from when they¡¯d both been pups - or at least as much a friend as any Magmablade had outside their own tribe - but Kyla was technically still about as far below her as it was possible for a female to be. Perhaps once she had her new necklace around her throat she would be able to face a great chief. Or perhaps she would wait until she was officially the liaison to the humans. But Mei needed ore for her puppies now.


    When Kyla pushed the mithril and gold ore closer, Mei gathered the ingot into her pink paws and began to nibble daintily at it. The gold she ignored, at least for the moment, but Kyla edged it close enough that she could reach it when she was ready. The fuergar really looked like she was going to burst at any moment, and Kyla wasn¡¯t certain she could actually walk, so she made sure her little friend had food and water within reach at all times.


    The gold thunked against some other metal that was already hidden in the nest, and Kyle gently nudged the fur and fluff aside to see a small mountain of copper coins, along with some silver, and what looked like quite a collection of cheese crumbs. It seemed that she wasn¡¯t the first to bring treats since Mei settled in here.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to leave for a while,¡± Kyla told Mei, unsure as ever how much the fuergar actually understood. Those round eyes could be disturbingly intelligent, but then at other times Mei seemed to want nothing more than to eat and create tunnels. Tunnels like the one that now connected the mountain to the outside. Possibly permanently.


    ¡°Ija called a howl for the whole tribe, and Gram decided the Woodblades should come, too. Ija says they haven¡¯t had much to celebrate together, and since I¡¯m her sister and Gram¡¯s cousin, it seems like a good way to get everyone in one place for something fun.¡± Kyla lowered her voice. ¡°I¡¯d rather just have a quiet howl with Ija and Rudu and some of the puppies. And maybe Aunt Sika.¡±


    Mei chewed her bite of mithril slowly, fluffy cheeks bulging as her whiskers twitched. She stared at Kyla, as if to say, ¡°And what does that have to do with me?¡±


    Kyla drew in a deep breath. ¡°Please stay,¡± she said. ¡°When you have your puppies, please don¡¯t run away with them. I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can. I¡¯m not abandoning you, so please. Please don¡¯t abandon me, either.¡±


    Slowly, Mei lowered the mithril and laid one paw on Kyla¡¯s finger. She pulled the finger in until Kyla¡¯s hand was pressed against her cheek, and then the fuergar rested her head against Kyla¡¯s fingers and closed her eyes, snuggled up against her kobold. Kyla sniffled and held very, very still, determined to remain exactly where she was until Ija herself came to drag her away.

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-three (Kyla)

    There were so many kobolds crammed into the cavern that Kyla couldn¡¯t even count them all, and every one of them was looking at her. Well, that might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one, and while Kyla used to think everyone paying attention to her would be a good thing, now she wasn¡¯t so sure.


    She had just finished her howl, telling them about the journey to Cliffcross, including fleeing Wheldrake and meeting the thieves. Then she skimmed over the part where she deliberately left Kaz and Raff - or rather, just Raff, since she wasn¡¯t mentioning Kaz - and focused on her journey through the sewers, where she met Reina and Jinn, both powerful females from high-ranking human lines.


    She skipped over Fengji entirely, just mentioning that the incinerator had mysteriously failed and melted the island, then focused again on the journey through the xiyi den and almost single-handedly rescuing Raff from the dragons. She¡¯d kept her eyes on Raff as she howled, but for once that male knew when to remain silent, and simply nodded along as she spoke, though his grin said he might have something to say later.


    Now, friends and family were allowed to question the howler. This used to be a way to pick out what the aspiring new adult had learned from their spirit hunt, or point out particularly impressive things they¡¯d done, but in recent years few questions were asked. Most spirit hunts were much the same, with the young females finding a cave with water and food nearby, and sitting there as they thought about their power and the ancestors. Young males, of course, stalked and killed the most dangerous beast they could handle, returning with bones and teeth as trophies, but there were only so many ways to kill a janjio or ponder the meaning of life. As long as the young kobold didn¡¯t die or run back home, it was generally considered a success, and everyone just moved on to celebrating.


    Kyla¡¯s howl, on the other hand, had so many new and unusual ideas and situations in it that no one had any idea how to respond. If they asked all the questions they had, they would never get to eat, and, frankly, at least some of it was all but unbelievable, but they couldn¡¯t just call the sister of the chief a liar. Could they?


    Gram - Kyla¡¯s cousin and the new chief of the Woodblades - solved at least part of this communal conundrum by leaning forward and saying, ¡°Tell me again about Mei. She was injured, and you took care of her, and then she just stayed with you?¡±


    Once again, this was a tricky topic to navigate without mentioning Kaz. Kyla had avoided lying, at least for the most part, by just leaving her cousin out of the howl entirely. The older kobolds would certainly notice the omission - especially since she should have included howling him to the ancestors if he¡¯d died - but the younger were fixated on two things: Mei and dragons.


    ¡°A creature has to choose to stay with you,¡± Kyla said with as much authority as she could muster. ¡°You can offer it food, or care for it if it¡¯s injured, and it seems to help if it¡¯s young when you begin. But if you force them to stay, they¡¯ll fear and hate you.¡±


    Now that she thought of it, that wasn¡¯t that different from how kobolds worked. If you were kind to them, they stayed with you because they loved you, but if you forced them to stay, they would abandon you as soon as they saw an opportunity, and possibly injure you as they went.


    Gram nodded eagerly. When he spoke again, his ears stood straight up, and his tail wagged. Beside him, the ever-present Chix looked much the same, though he kept his eyes on Gram, rather than Kyla. The tiny gray male looked stronger and more aware than Kyla could ever remember seeing him before. There was actually some flesh on his bones, and some shine to his fur, so he didn¡¯t look like he was one missed meal away from death.


    ¡°And Mei is going to have puppies, isn¡¯t she?¡± Gram asked, eyes intent. ¡°How many puppies do fuergar have? Could I have one?¡±


    This was the first time anyone had come straight out and asked, but Kyla had an answer prepared. She wouldn¡¯t promise to give Mei¡¯s babies to anyone, not even a great chief. ¡°It¡¯s up to them,¡± she said firmly. ¡°You¡¯ll have to give them lots of treats and be very nice, and maybe one of them will want to stay with you.¡±


    At that, Ija stood up and gave a sharp yip, cutting off Gram¡¯s next question. This would have been terribly rude in almost any other circumstance, but Ija was Kyla¡¯s chief, and it was up to her to decide when the time for questions had ended.


    Everyone obediently fell silent, and Ija turned to Kyla. ¡°Kyla, daughter of Rudu and Vega.¡± There were a few soft gasps at this. The female mate was supposed to be named first, but Vega wasn¡¯t there to defend her placement, and obviously Ija didn¡¯t want to give their mother that honor, though she also didn¡¯t cut her out entirely. ¡°Kyla, you faced dangers and trials that no one here has ever faced. And though these trials were unnecessary, and resulted from your own choices, you handled them with honor, bravery, and cunning. The Magmablades are proud to count you among their number.¡±


    At this point, Rudu lifted his muzzle and began to howl in fierce pride. He was quickly joined by Aunt Sika, her aged voice wavering high above Rudu¡¯s, and then Acha and Qhurg. Soon, all of the adult Magmablades were calling to Kyla, accepting her as one of them.


    The howl only began to quiet when Ija held something high over her head. It was Kyla¡¯s necklace, heavy with all of the treasures and mementos she had gathered over the last few weeks. There were salamander and stone lizard teeth, as well as copper, silver, and gold coins. Beside the coins sat the copper button Mei had brought back to her when they first entered Cliffcross, and a piece of crystal Kyla found near the incinerator. She also had a triangular red dragon scale, and there, in the very center, hung Fengji¡¯s feather.


    ¡°This necklace,¡± Ija barked, and everyone else fell silent, ¡°is the first I¡¯ve made as chief of the Magmablades. It shows both my sister¡¯s bravery, and her willingness to leave behind the safety of the known, and seek out new places and people. It holds pieces of her story, connecting kobolds and humans for the first time in years. When a howl is sent up for someone to represent our people in dealing with the humans, Kyla¡¯s will be the first name spoken. She brings our tribe honor now and, I believe, will continue to do so in the future.¡±


    Kyla felt the fur down her spine lift with the ferocity of the emotion that ran through her as Ija met her eyes. For the first time in her life, Kyla truly believed she was more than just another thing for her brave, strong sister to protect. Kyla could help Ija, and she would.


    As the weight of the necklace settled around her neck, the heavy coins jingling softly, Kyla bowed, turning her head to expose her throat to her chief. ¡°I will bring honor to my tribe, fight for my people, and protect our pups and our den with my life.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Ija smiled, her yellow eyes warm and affectionate. ¡°Welcome, Kyla,¡± she said softly. ¡°Sister.¡± Kyla howled, and the feast began.


    The den was loud with celebration, and Kyla was glad to see kobolds with green, pale blue, and black fur speaking with those who had red, orange, and pink fur. There were a few true blues mixed in, other than Gram, but the puppy definitely had the brightest fur, and the closest to Kaz¡¯s natural color. Kyla didn¡¯t remember other Woodblades, but apparently her cousin¡¯s fur color was a dead giveaway to the strength of his Woodblade heritage, which is why everyone had wanted him so badly when he reappeared.


    Once everyone had food, the humans made their way over to Kyla. Elder Long was still at the portal, and Yingtao was at the human hut with Mei, but Kyla was certain Chi Yincang was somewhere nearby. Lianhua and Raff had both had some experience with kobold ways, but Baihe was looking around with bright interest, and her stone bowl held at least a few bites of everything that had been prepared for this event. Should Kyla warn her about the spicy jiao and the fact that the jiyun grubs were poisonous? Before she could decide, Lianhua spoke, and Kyla was thoroughly distracted.


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± the female said, holding out a bundle of pale pink cloth. ¡°Among humans, it¡¯s traditional to offer a gift to the person celebrating. I hope you like it.¡±


    Kyla barely remembered to give a bow of thanks before accepting the present. She shook out the cloth with careful fingers. It was incredibly soft, and as it unfolded, she was astonished to see the delicate stitches that formed a brightly colored bird with a tail made of enormous feathers splayed out behind it. This was a glorious gift, worthy of a chief.


    ¡°That¡¯s a peacock,¡± Lianhua said, seeing Kyla tracing the glorious tail. ¡°Yingtao made that. She has far more patience than I do.¡±


    ¡°Until it comes to translating ancient scrolls,¡± Baihe said. ¡°Even when you were barely taller than Kyla, you could spend hours staring at pages no one else had read for a thousand years. I think you told old master Tao Ru Fang that he was incorrectly translating ¡®artery¡¯ as ¡®pathway¡¯ when you were only twelve.¡±


    She popped a jiyun in her mouth, bit down, and looked quite startled when the steaming insides squirted out. Jiyun grubs were a bit of an acquired taste even among kobolds. Perhaps Kyla really should have said something. Baihe shouldn¡¯t have commented on Kyla¡¯s height, though, so it was fair.


    Lianhua¡¯s cheeks turned faintly pink. ¡°I could have been more diplomatic about that,¡± she admitted. ¡°I was just so excited. And really, who makes such an obvious mistake?¡±


    Raff had been standing silently by, eating from a bowl that held little besides sweet, quivering mounds of steamed tanuo. That was something usually only puppies allowed themselves to indulge in, but Raff showed no embarrassment as he swallowed another bite and said, ¡°Y¡¯know, a lot of people barely know enough runes to sign their names and read a map. It¡¯s not like it comes up a lot. The only things I ever read anymore are quest notices.¡±


    Lianhua looked shocked. ¡°You don¡¯t read books? Histories? Even adventure stories?¡±


    ¡°Got enough adventures of my own,¡± Raff said, shrugging as he ate more tanuo. He saw Kyla¡¯s look and said, ¡°And don¡¯t you tell me what I¡¯m eating. It¡¯s good, and if it¡¯s spider liver or centipede brains, I don¡¯t want to know.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°It¡¯s a lichen. It only grows near water, under the light of glow worms.¡±


    The large male looked relieved. ¡°So I¡¯m not eatin¡¯ bugs?¡±


    Kyla shook her head, then pointed at Baihe, who was on her third jiyun. ¡°No, but Lady Long is.¡±


    For a moment, Baihe looked uncertain, and then she shrugged and ate another. ¡°They¡¯re good, and they make my tongue tingle, just for a moment.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the poison,¡± Kyla agreed. ¡°Males shouldn¡¯t eat too many, but females will sometimes have contests to see who can eat the most without getting sick. It¡¯s supposed to show how much power you have.¡±


    Lianhua had picked up one of the round grubs, and now eyed it warily. After a moment, she set it back down and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take it to Yingtao. She loves to try new poisons.¡±


    The four of them talked for a bit longer, and then the howl rose for dancers. Kyla¡¯s ears twitched nervously as she eyed the adults who were gathering near the power-fueled fire. Males stood on one side, and females on the other, though they leaned around the fire to see who stood where in the other line.


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes were bright with interest as she said, ¡°What¡¯s going on? I thought males and females weren¡¯t supposed to interact.¡±


    Kyla was grateful for a moment to gather herself, and said, ¡°They¡¯re not. Though there are ways, especially if you know a family member of the person you¡¯re interested in. A sister can ask about her brother¡¯s friends, and a brother can let his sister know he wouldn¡¯t mind if a certain female she knows would ask for him to be her guard. But when we have a howl for the whole tribe, that¡¯s the best opportunity for males and females to indicate interest and see whether that interest would be returned.¡±


    The kobolds began to jump over the flames, leaping as high as they could so their fur and paws wouldn¡¯t be singed. As they did, there was a brief moment when one male and one female hovered above the fire, their eyes meeting and their fingers almost touching as they reached out toward each other. The goal was to get as close as possible to the other jumper without actually touching them, and it was considered very bad luck if two kobolds actually bumped into each other in the flames. The female controlling the fire would put it out immediately if that happened, of course, but there was no way such a male and female pair would ever take each other as mates.


    The humans were watching the dance; the way the two kobolds swayed toward each other at the height of their jumps, then spun, yipping and excited, when they landed safely on the other side. Raff chuckled as a particularly bold pair actually brushed tails on the way by, and Kyla guessed those two would be mated soon enough.


    ¡°I thought you lot were a bit uptight, with all your ¡®males this¡¯, and ¡®females that¡¯, but you do know how to have fun, eh?¡± Raff asked. ¡°Just need to figure out how to make mushroom beer, and this¡¯d be a great party.¡± Lianhua glared at him, though Kyla wasn¡¯t sure why. She didn¡¯t have time to ask, either, because Ija was coming toward her, holding out her hands, with a wicked smile on her face.


    ¡°You need to dance, too, Kyla. You¡¯re an adult now,¡± her sister said, and Kyla tried to pretend to be happy as she set her bowl down. This dance was for unmated adults only, but Kyla didn¡¯t know any of the males except a few who had been in the hidden den with her. They were all older, and had become adults a while ago, but she remembered when they were annoying pups who chased her around. She definitely wasn¡¯t interested in any of them.


    Lianhua saw Kyla¡¯s discomfort, and gave her a sympathetic smile. ¡°Just relax and have fun,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Forget about the expectations and the etiquette, and just enjoy leaping through the flames. It¡¯s not like they can burn you, right?¡±


    That was certainly true. Ever since the incinerator and Fengji, Kyla had found that she had very little to fear from fire. She had even tested it by putting her hand directly in the coals after dinner one night, and discovered that while it was slightly uncomfortable, the only damage it caused was to her fur. She could just ignore the male jumping with her, and take pleasure in the dance itself.


    Accepting Ija¡¯s hands, Kyla let her sister pull her toward the dance. Someone had begun playing a drum, and now that she was listening, it felt like the beat was perfectly in time with her heart. Her paws lifted a little higher with each step, and soon enough she whirled, tail flying behind her as she yipped with excitement. It was finally time to dance, and if she danced alone, well, at least she knew she could burn brighter than anyone else.

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-four

    There were a surprising number of rooms in the first two towers, so it took a while to explore. In the process, Kaz realized that someone had indeed lived here, or at least planned to do so. Most of the towers were filled with small rooms containing carved stone beds that were more like those humans used than the piles of furs kobolds slept in when they got the chance, though he suspected fur or cloth would have been placed on them before sleeping. There were also ¡®tables¡¯ carved out of the stone walls, and flat-topped rocks that would make good chairs. None of the rooms looked like anyone had been using them at the time this place was abandoned, but Li found a single scale that might have belonged to a xiyi or a dragon.


    <The xiyi were supposed to guard the dragons¡¯ eggs, weren¡¯t they?> Li asked as she picked up the scale in her increasingly dextrous front paws.


    Kaz nodded. ¡°So either this place was where they lived, or some of them lived here while they guarded the eggs.¡±


    <But where were the eggs?> Li said, looking around. They were back outside the tower, and it was very obvious that there was no place for eggs. Unless, of course, they were meant to be piled up in the bowl in the center. That made no sense, though, since the eggs would pile up on each other and break, even if they could be kept warm and turned as he¡¯d seen Li¡¯s parents do with their eggs.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t looked in the bottom part of the tower we arrived in,¡± he offered. ¡°There could be several nests in there.¡±


    <Who puts nests in a building?> Li asked with clear disdain. <The hatchlings couldn¡¯t fly anywhere.>


    Kaz laughed, rubbing the top of her head. ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of a mountain. They must have some way of getting the little ones out, but this cavern is large enough for them to learn to fly. And they could get in and out of the windows. Maybe that¡¯s why there are no stairs inside the towers. If the xiyi rode dragons-¡±


    <Hatchlings?> Li was dubious, and once Kaz thought about what he¡¯d said, he couldn¡¯t blame her. Kaz had only seen Li¡¯s siblings for a little while, but even though they were all much larger than she was when she hatched, there was no way a full-grown xiyi could ride one. Once the hatchling grew large enough to be ridden, they would also be too big to fit through the windows, and it could be very difficult to get them out of the mountain at all.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re back to this being a place for the xiyi to live. Which means the eggs were kept somewhere else. But where?¡± He looked around. ¡°And how did the xiyi reach any but the bottom level of the towers? Surely they didn¡¯t climb the walls or up chains every time they wanted to sleep.¡±


    There was no sign of wear on the faces of the towers where chains or claws might have been used, and though the stone was very strong, surely it would be damaged by such abuse. Of course, it could simply be that chains were never hung and claws were never used because no one actually lived here, but when Kaz peered up at the ceiling where the top of the towers merged with the stone, there was nothing he could identify as an attachment point for a way to lift people or aid them in climbing.


    Li sighed and rose from the ground, flying back toward the tower where they¡¯d arrived. They¡¯d left it for last, partially because they¡¯d checked the top room so thoroughly, and partially out of sheer curiosity. They knew what lay in that tower, or at least the top part of it, but the others were complete mysteries. It turned out that they held nothing more exciting than several dozen copies of the exact same room, which left both of the brave explorers feeling that they¡¯d wasted their time.


    <Maybe Snen will know,> Li said as she landed on the edge of the opening beneath the one they¡¯d flown out of. The pattern of windows was subtly different from that of the other buildings, with a slightly greater distance between them. That meant that while the other two towers each had ten windows, this one only had eight.


    ¡°Li, wait for-¡± But the dragon was gone. The window was about eighty feet up, but he could have used his claws to climb, or perhaps jumped. Jumping was risky, though. If he missed the window, Li would never let him forget.


    <It¡¯s just like the others, only a bit bigger,> Li said. Kaz watched through her eyes as she moved from room to room. As in the other towers, there was a round central space, with empty doorways leading away from it. Rather than ten doorways, there were only eight, and when Li looked into each room, they could see that they were slightly larger in every dimension than the ones they¡¯d looked at before. Even the bed was bigger, looking like two xiyi could fit in it, if they were willing to snuggle together. There were two flat stone ¡®chairs¡¯ at the table, too.


    <For mates?> Kaz asked silently, since Li was too far inside to easily hear him.


    Li said, sounding disgruntled that she hadn¡¯t found something more interesting.


    Quickly, Li checked the next several levels while Kaz waited by the entrance to the bottom of the tower. He had a feeling that if they were going to find something besides sleeping rooms, it would be here, if only because there was nowhere left to look, other than going over every inch of the actual cavern. Which was the logical next step, no matter how much Kaz dreaded it. Anything could be hidden by the power of the ki-crystals that coated the walls.


    Li landed beside him, staring at the empty opening. As on the other buildings, this one was larger than the ones above. Even Raff probably wouldn¡¯t have to duck his head when he entered, or not much, and Kaz and Li would be able to walk in side by side. Kaz reached out and stroked Li¡¯s neck, and she leaned into the touch, vibrating softly. ¡°Shall we?¡± he asked, and she nodded. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    As soon as they got past the short hallway, they both stopped, staring around. They were in another of the circular chambers that filled the middle of the tower, but only four doorways led away from a much larger space than any of the ones above. More importantly, however, there was a gaping hole in the floor, leaving only a ledge of about five feet around the outside of the room.


    Carefully, Kaz tested the floor, finding that it felt as solid as all the rest. Then he summoned a ki-light and guided it to the center of the open space ahead of them. It revealed nothing but impossibly smooth stone walls for as far as the light extended, which was at least a hundred feet below floor level.


    <I¡¯ll see where it goes,> Li said, spreading her wings, but Kaz held up a hand.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go together,¡± he said firmly. ¡°There could be anything down there, and it¡¯s large enough for your greatest size.¡± It was, too, though she wouldn¡¯t have much room to maneuver.


    Li huffed. <Then let¡¯s go!>


    But Kaz was looking around again, and what he saw made him want to explore just a bit more. Other than the ki-crystals in the cavern, there wasn¡¯t a single item of decoration in the entire place, and he had a feeling that the crystals were there for light and, perhaps, to power whatever contained or controlled the Dragon¡¯s core. But here he could see faint curls and patterns carved into the stone. They were too shallow to see properly, as if they were just the beginning of something much more elaborate, and Kaz wanted to examine them.


    Sensing his interest, Li stretched out her neck, staring at the nearest carving. She moved her head up and down, back and forth, without shifting her feet at all, then leaned away again, staring at Kaz. <They¡¯re just grooves in the wall.>


    Kaz shook his head, fingers touching the same sharp corners and smooth, perfect curves. ¡°They¡¯re¡­a picture, I think. Something like the maps, but larger. Maybe even life-sized?¡±


    And it clicked. While the strokes were too broad to make sense up close, and too shallow to see from further away, if they were carved deeper, and he stood in the center of the room on the non-existent floor, they would make¡­


    ¡°It is just like the maps,¡± he said, heedless as he walked around the room on an ancient ledge that he¡¯d never tested. ¡°Look, here¡¯s a xiyi. And a mosui, but this one is taller than the ones we met. Or these xiyi are shorter than Snen and the others. And they-¡±


    He traced his fingers over the image, feeling detail he couldn¡¯t see. The mosui was almost Kaz¡¯s height, and not nearly as round as the ones he¡¯d seen in the city. It had distinct legs, and the hands were less like broad, clawed scoops, and more like human appendages with long claws. In fact, they were far more like Zhangwo than Kaz would have guessed. Is this what they were supposed to look like, and Zhangwo hadn¡¯t been some kind of terrible half-thing?


    As for the xiyi, at first Kaz thought this one had the same hunched back he¡¯d noticed on the ones carved into the maps. Then he realized that there were further details carved into this scene. Those details were familiar, and he turned to look at Li as his fingers traced over the wall.


    ¡°These xiyi had wings,¡± he told Li, his eyes wide. ¡°They were smaller, so their wings could lift them. That¡¯s why there are no stairs in the towers. They just flew.¡±


    Li looked around, her own interest sparked now. <Are there any dragons? Or kobolds?>


    They walked around together, ignoring the open doorways, at least for now. The shallow lines vanished and reappeared when looked at from different angles, making it difficult to form a real mental picture of what the long-ago artist had intended. Kaz would have closed his eyes if he hadn¡¯t been afraid he would just step off the path and fall into the pit, since his fingers were telling him more than his eyes.


    ¡°No kobolds or dragons,¡± he said finally, having come back around to the entrance. ¡°But the xiyi in the middle is holding what I think may be an egg.¡±


    Rather than clinging to the wall to go around, Li jumped and glided back over to the carved image Kaz indicated. Her back legs scrabbled a little as she landed, but she managed to pull her tail back up with a minimum of inelegant flailing, and ignored Kaz¡¯s amusement as she traced the hands of the figure directly in front of her.


    <It is!> she exclaimed. <I thought it might be the Dragon¡¯s core, but it¡¯s oval, not round.>


    That thought had occurred to Kaz, too, but Li was right. The thing in the xiyi¡¯s hand was definitely pointier on one end than the other, with a shape that was exactly like the dragon eggs from Kaz¡¯s memory. Besides, even with the xiyi¡¯s reduced size, it was too big to be an accurate representation of Loong¡¯s core.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what these are, though,¡± Kaz said, coming up beside Li. He traced the tall rectangles that made up the background of the image. At first, he¡¯d thought the boxes were just random decoration to fill up the space, but each of them was different, and he was almost certain he felt the shape of more eggs barely sketched into the centers of the rectangles.


    Li shook her head. <I don¡¯t know,> she admitted. <I wish I could see the way this was meant to be.>


    Kaz agreed. If only it had been a painting, rather than a carving. Even given how long it had been since this was made, most of the image would probably still remain, since nothing had happened to disturb it. Then his eyes widened, and he tapped his pouch. A long package ejected itself with far more force than necessary, and he almost fumbled it, allowing it to fall down into the pit. He managed to keep hold of it, though, and held up the set of paints and colored charcoal sticks Lianhua had given him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fill it in,¡± he said, crouching to unroll the bundle. There were only short pieces of the colored sticks left, and the paints were more empty than full. He wasn¡¯t sure how long the paints and charcoal would last even if he only barely colored in the existing lines, but he could certainly color the section containing the egg-bearing xiyi and a few of the rectangles immediately behind it.


    <I want to help,> Li said, and carefully picked up a stick of dark green charcoal. She¡¯d never shown any interest in drawing before, and Kaz felt a moment¡¯s misgivings, but then he nodded. She wasn¡¯t nearly as deft with her claws as he was with his hands, but all she had to do was draw the charcoal along the existing grooves, darkening them in.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-five

    They were completely out of paints and charcoal, and they were filling in lines with dusty fingers and colored claws. Still, it was enough to see the outline of several winged xiyi figures, and bring out details of a few of the rectangles behind them, which were easily recognizable once they had depth and color.


    ¡°So the hoyi didn¡¯t create the alcoves where they keep the eggs,¡± Kaz said, using his finger to smudge the charcoal into a shadow cast by an egg. His fur was dirty and colored in every shade, but he hadn¡¯t been able to resist filling in the shapes at least a little bit.


    Li was equally splattered in paint, having discovered that she could hold the metal tubes in her mouth, then dip a claw into the contents in order to trace the carvings. Of course, she¡¯d accidentally punctured more than one of those tubes in the process, and hadn¡¯t paid attention to what color she used for what part of the picture, so there were purple and blue xiyi and bright yellow eggs, but she was proud of herself for helping, so Kaz wasn¡¯t about to complain.


    <The xiyi kept their own eggs up above, and the dragon eggs below,> Li agreed, looking at the rows of familiar alcoves behind the reptilian figures. The xiyi were placing, turning, and watching over the eggs in both the top row of alcoves and the bottom row, but the eggs themselves were distinctly different. The eggs on the bottom looked exactly like the ones Li and her siblings had hatched from - albeit more colorful - while the ones on top were smaller and longer, almost like cylinders with rounded ends.


    ¡°And when the xiyi abandoned this place, the hoyi moved in,¡± Kaz finished.


    Li stretched out her neck, staring down into the pit. <Do you think the dragon nests are still down there?> It was obvious she wanted to go investigate right now, but Kaz had one more thing to do.


    ¡°They might be,¡± Kaz said. ¡°If they were forgotten as thoroughly as this place. On the other paw, we might just find ourselves in a den of lopo or binyi.¡± He felt her impatience rising and added, ¡°We¡¯ll go, but I want to check out the rooms first.¡± Li had been quite satisfied by peering in to see large, empty tables and chairs, but there were parts of the rooms hidden by those same items, and Kaz wanted to search them.


    The dragon sighed but nodded. <I¡¯ll look in here,> she said, moving into the closest room.


    Kaz did the same, quickly examining the long table that had been carved directly into the stone wall. There were only a few ki-crystals here, probably for light, and most of them had cracked at some point in the last thousand years. Their dim glow and Kaz¡¯s small ki-light were enough to reveal that the table was indeed nothing more than rock, with no hidden carvings or compartments, and there were no conveniently dropped items tucked between the chairs for Kaz to find.


    Li¡¯s room was equally uninteresting, so they each moved around the circle to the next open doorway. Kaz checked this room even more carefully than the last, while Li only glanced around hers before coming to join him.


    <Can we go now?> Li demanded, almost dancing with impatience. Kaz sighed and sat on the closest chair, feeling like he was still missing something. As he did, he absently noted that while the chair appeared to be perfectly flat, in fact it had a small slope along one side which gave his tail room to hang behind him, rather than being forced awkwardly out of the way. That must be because these were made for xiyi, whose tails tended to be thicker and even less flexible than those of his people.


    Slowly, he swept a hand over the surface of the table, wondering what it was meant to be used for. Had xiyi come together in these rooms to talk? Or were the tables a place to keep eggs or other items while they were sorted or processed in some way? If this place had ever really been used, there might be some marks, stains, or gouges to offer him a clue, but as it was-


    His hand paused as it passed over the table¡¯s surface. He had touched the previous one, of course, in hopes that it might have the beginnings of more carvings, but once he realized that it was perfectly smooth, he¡¯d stopped there. But there was definitely something about this one that was¡­different.


    Laying his palms down flat in front of him, Kaz pushed a brief pulse of ki into the stone. There was no immediate reaction, but there was still something lurking at the edges of his awareness. What was that? He sent more ki out into the table, then followed it with just a little of each individual type of ki. When he reached Water, the entire surface of the table flickered, briefly revealing something lying beneath.


    <What was that?> Li asked, suddenly much more interested.


    Rather than answering, Kaz gave the table more black ki, this time holding the connection for a little longer, rather than withdrawing immediately. The surface shivered again, then vanished, revealing apparently empty space within.


    Kaz¡¯s eyes quickly began to ache from staring at it, and then the flat depths rippled, and he realized he was looking at water. Moreover, the water was very, very occupied, and he saw a head lift from the surface, a vast mouth opening to reveal what seemed like far more teeth than any creature could possibly need. It looked a little like Heishe, with a long, flat snout and a split tongue, but in spite of the fact that it seemed so small, he was certain it was in fact enormous. Beside it, more and more heads appeared, each identical to the first, and all of them were looking-


    He yanked his hands back, breaking the connection, and the plain surface of the table reappeared in front of him. Realizing that he was panting, he struggled to get his breathing back under control. Li leaned against him, her own body shivering in instinctive fear.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    <Don¡¯t do that again,> she said, and Kaz nodded immediately. He had no idea what that thing was, but he was absolutely certain he never wanted to meet it in person. There at the end, he would have sworn it was looking straight at him, and was reaching out with power that rivaled his own.


    ¡°Do you think the other tables are like this one? Did the xiyi just sit here and watch that thing?¡± he asked.


    Li shuddered. <Do you think that¡¯s what¡¯s at the bottom of the pit?> she asked, sounding almost timid for once.


    Finally feeling like his paws would support him, Kaz stood, turned, and embraced her. ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I¡¯m not even sure those things are supposed to be there. They may have moved in after the xiyi were driven out, just like the hoyi.¡±


    Li was right beside him as he headed for the door, but stopped while he turned to the right. Re-entering the first room he¡¯d searched, Kaz sat down at the table there, laying his hands flat out ahead of him.


    <What are you doing?> Li demanded, hurrying toward him as if to knock his hands away.


    Kaz lifted one hand and stroked his fingers along her neck when she got close enough. ¡°Trust me. No black ki this time.¡± Reluctantly, Li settled down, but it was clear that she didn¡¯t like it.


    Quickly, Kaz offered the table blue ki, then red, and finally yellow. As soon as the yellow ki touched it, the surface vanished into an image that both Kaz and Li instantly recognized. ¡°The hoyi egg room. Or rooms, I suppose,¡± Kaz said.


    Indeed, it was clear that they had only seen part of the long, alcove-lined cavern. It had seven arms stretching out from a central point that Kaz suspected might contain the platform they¡¯d used to come down here, though it was so small he couldn¡¯t be certain. Each of the long arms contained seemingly identical spaces, though hoyi could only be seen moving through three of them. The other four were dim, barely visible in the soft natural light of mosses and lichens.


    Cautiously, Kaz lifted one hand, though he continued feeding the table more Earth ki through the other. Tracing one of the dark sections, he said, ¡°It looks like whatever makes the alcoves work - whatever it is that they do - has broken down in these areas. There don¡¯t even seem to be any ki-crystals in the walls.¡±


    Li nodded, leaning forward until her nose was almost touching the now-invisible surface of the table. <Do you think the xiyi used this to watch over the eggs?>


    ¡°It makes sense,¡± Kaz agreed. ¡°I don¡¯t know how many xiyi there were, but they couldn¡¯t be everywhere. It¡¯s certainly easier to have a few sit and keep watch, then send others out if there was trouble.¡±


    Together, they went to the third room, where Kaz offered the table pure blue ki, and it responded with an image of the yumi fields. Even the dead pools were visible, and they could make out Vek¡¯s den, with mingled kobold and mosui pups playing nearby.


    <Is that Vek?> Li asked, pointing a claw at a small but sharp image of a kobold with bright orange fur.


    ¡°I think so,¡± Kaz agreed, his tail wagging. ¡°Everything looks fine there.¡± That was a great relief. They¡¯d only left a day or so ago, but Kaz couldn¡¯t help but worry for Vek and what he¡¯d built. The other male had taken on a dangerous role, trying to convince both the other kobolds and the husede to accept his authority, and it would be far too easy for someone to attack him in a den filled with puppies.


    Together, Kaz and Li watched for several minutes, enjoying the antics of the puppies, as well as the calm, orderly way in which the yumi was gathered in the sprawling cavern system. Finally, however, Kaz lifted his hands and sat back with a sigh.


    <I want to try!> Li said, and dashed back out of the room again before Kaz could even stand up.


    When Kaz entered the next room, he found Li awkwardly draped across one of the chairs, with her two front paws spread on the table. She wasn¡¯t as good as he was at separating the colors of ki, but it was apparently good enough, because as she flooded the table with mostly Fire ki, the surface faded into a cloudy gray fog. Through that fog, they could see another of the seven-armed caverns, lined with more of the alcoves. All of these were dark, however, and nothing moved in the still, silent spaces.


    <Is this where the dragon eggs were kept?> Li asked, her voice soft. <There were so many.>


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kaz said with equal solemnity. ¡°But I don¡¯t think the xiyi used all of theirs, so maybe the dragons didn¡¯t either. It makes sense to me to build as many as you think you might ever need, and then you don¡¯t have to worry about running out of space.¡±


    <That¡¯s true.> Li said, then leaned forward, staring at a particularly shadowy section of the image. <Can you see what this is?>


    Reaching out, Kaz laid a hand beside her paw, offering the table pure red ki. The fog cleared, and they could both tell what the thing was Li had been staring at: a skeleton. Specifically, a dragon skeleton, very much like Qiangde¡¯s, though this one was probably quite a bit smaller, and the bones had fallen into mounds.


    Li pulled back, and Kaz released his hold on the ki as well. Li was puffing out small clouds of vapor that hung in the air, obscuring her face, though it didn¡¯t cover the clicks and whistles she was making. Kaz held her until she regained her composure, then asked, ¡°Are you going to be all right? If that is what waits for us down below?¡±


    Li¡¯s voice was small. <I knew dragons died here. But I didn¡¯t expect¡­ It was one thing when it was Qiangde. I don¡¯t like him. And Jianying was almost as bad, just not smart enough to do much about it. But these dragons might have been innocent. They might have been just like me, or my family. And they were all killed just for existing.>


    Kaz had no rebuttal. It was not only possible but likely that at least some members of Qiangde¡¯s court had been relatively blameless, especially those who¡¯d simply been born here. They never would have known anything different, and certainly wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to change anything, even if they disagreed with Qiangde¡¯s actions.


    ¡°It happened a long time ago,¡± he finally offered. It was so little consolation, but it was also the only thing that really helped him when he thought about what had been done to his own ancestors. Everyone involved was long dead, except Nucai and Zhangwo, and even Zhangwo had now paid for his atrocities. There was nothing Kaz could do to help them, and the living descendants of the xiyi and mosui were no more responsible for what happened then than the kobolds were.


    Li nodded. <I wish it didn¡¯t happen at all.>


    Something plucked at Kaz, reaching out and through him, and he said, ¡°We¡¯re going to make sure nothing like it happens again. You and I, together.¡±


    His dragon pulled back, whirling golden eyes catching his, and then she nodded. <Yes,> she agreed. <We are.>

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-six

    The pit was deep, and with the unknown things possibly at the bottom of it, Kaz and Li didn¡¯t dare fly down quickly. Instead, Li glided as much as possible, flying in tight circles by making minute adjustments of her wings, then flapping a few times to drop as far as they could see in Kaz¡¯s ki-light.


    This was only possible because she didn¡¯t quite grow to her largest size, which in turn made it more difficult to carry Kaz. He even tried to make himself smaller so he would be less of a burden to the dragon, but found that his self-image was deeply rooted in the size that he was, and he couldn¡¯t hold onto a smaller image for long enough to have an effect.


    Eventually, though, Kaz¡¯s light reflected back to them in a way that indicated something had changed below them. There were glints of red in it, for one thing, but it also seemed to spread out more, rather than the light being reflected from the dark, perfectly-smooth walls.


    <We¡¯re almost there,> Kaz said silently, wary of alerting anyone or anything that might be below. <Let me go first.> He¡¯d suggested this before, but Li threatened to drop him down the hole if he mentioned it again. Now, though, he was fairly certain he would survive the fall, even if she followed through on the threat.


    <We¡¯ll go together,> Li said stubbornly, though even her mental voice was tired. With the constant drain on her ki, she hadn¡¯t been able to gather her strength, and she simply wasn¡¯t used to bearing weight while she flew. Add to that the difficult maneuvers she¡¯d been forced to make, and she was physically and mentally exhausted.


    Kaz sighed, considering simply sliding off her back, but as soon as the thought occurred to him, Li dropped precipitously, folding in her wings so she almost scraped his shoulder against the wall as she did so. He had no doubt that it was intentional, and abandoned the idea.


    Soon enough, they saw what had caused the change in lighting, and Kaz was glad he hadn¡¯t tried to jump. The pit continued on, and he probably would have fallen right past this level, and then had to catch himself by digging his claws into the wall so he could climb back up. That would have been embarrassing, to say the least, and there was no doubt Li would tell the story with relish as soon as they were reunited with their friends.


    Li, on the other hand, was able to glide easily to a landing on the white-tiled floors, though it wasn¡¯t her most graceful landing ever. The gleaming tiles were so hard even her claws couldn¡¯t dig into them, and she spun slightly before coming to rest. Her wings instantly slumped, though she managed to keep her head up as she stared around with fascination.


    They stood in what had to be the central connection of the seven caverns used for dragon eggs. If the caverns the hoyi now occupied were originally sized for the xiyi, then these were definitely dragon-sized. Kaz was fairly certain that even Qiangde could have walked through this space at his full size and not have had to bend his head.


    Around them, seven well-lit caverns split away. These, too, were so large that Kaz couldn¡¯t think of them as tunnels, even though they were long and relatively narrow. The ceilings were so high overhead that it was difficult to make out the complex patterns of ki-stones, and the walls were so far apart that any dragon could have spread their wings without touching both sides.


    The caverns themselves stretched far beyond Kaz¡¯s light, but he remembered what they looked like from seeing them through the table above. Now that he truly understood the scale of the place, those caverns had to stretch for miles, and just through the closest opening, he could see the first of the alcoves where eggs would have been placed.


    Li was staring at that alcove, but Kaz was frozen, looking around at the carvings and paintings that covered every inch of the walls here in the heart of this place. They mostly showed dragons, but there were a few xiyi as well, though they were all relatively tiny and depicted caring for eggs. The dragons were of all colors and sizes, including a few who were as golden as Li. But of course Qiangde stood largest and grandest of them all, his outstretched wings occupying most of one vast section of the wall. And he was white, with eyes like amethysts.


    Kaz supposed it shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise, not with Lianhua¡¯s coloring and the way she described paintings of the first emperor, but somehow it was. Qiangde was beautiful, with a long, delicate body, a curving neck, and a tail that wrapped around and through the ki-crystals that had been used to mark the design on the walls. His expression was calm and wise, and long tendrils like whiskers seemed to float in the air around his snout. How could something that looked so pure have been so selfish and evil?


    <Vega didn¡¯t look evil either,> Li reminded him, pressing her head against his arm. <You thought she was beautiful.>


    ¡°She was,¡± he admitted. All of the Magmablade females were, with their long, powerful bodies and thick, shining red fur. Even the aged and bent Sika still held a sort of grace he didn¡¯t usually associate with elders. Perhaps their beauty was part of the reason they continued to get away with their evil deeds. Who could believe that such a broken and twisted mind lurked behind such a lovely countenance?


    Kaz shook his head, tearing his eyes away from Qiangde to look at the rest of the figures depicted in what he now realized was a magnificent carving that had been painted to seem as if those it portrayed might almost step out from the wall and return to life.


    There were more than a dozen other dragons shown there, though seven of them stood out in particular. Each of these seemed to touch one of the archways leading into the egg caverns, and Kaz wondered if they were the leaders of some subsidiary tribe - flight? - of dragons whose eggs would be kept there.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Li shook herself, and as she did so, she shrank just a little, seeming to find it easier to move when she was smaller. She lifted her wings from their drooping positions and settled them into place on her back, then walked toward a small group of painted dragons with bright golden scales.


    <Do you think these might have been my ancestors?> she asked, staring up at them, then peering curiously into the cavern ahead.


    Kaz walked over until he stood beside her, which put the image of Qiangde at his back. Even though he knew the dragon emperor was long dead, knowing even an image of him was just out of sight made his shoulder-blades itch.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Kaz said, resting his hand on Li¡¯s neck. Her head was almost level with his at this size, and when she turned to look at him, their eyes met, and their noses touched. They both froze, and then Kaz moved back just an inch or so, shifting away from the contact.


    Coughing slightly, Kaz said, ¡°I think it¡¯s just as likely that your ancestors were dragons who hadn¡¯t joined Qiangde¡¯s court, though. We know your parents took good care of their nest and young, which tells me the curse runes may not have had a firm grip on them. We don¡¯t know exactly what happened to the eggs that were here when Qiangde died, though I suspect the xiyi took at least some with them, but many¡­may not have made it out of the mountain.¡±


    This was an uncomfortable thought, but a very real possibility. The xiyi had killed as many of the adult dragons as they could in their attempt to escape, but from Kaz¡¯s interactions with them, he didn¡¯t think they would have murdered the young. On the other paw, the xiyi hadn¡¯t had any more warning than the dragons that Qiangde was about to force any creature with a significant amount of dragon blood from the mountain, so they wouldn¡¯t have had time to grab eggs or hatchlings.


    The curse was passed down from the parents, but surely there had to be other dragons in the world, including some who didn¡¯t bear that curse. But over time, as the two groups interbred, the curse would spread, possibly resulting in some dragons in whom the curse was weaker, thanks to not having been reinforced so many times or from both sides of their heritage.


    Li¡¯s eyes moved again to the cavern beyond the archway, where they could see the first alcove only fifteen feet away. It was larger than the ones above, clearly designed to hold a bigger egg, and it stood empty. The one next to it was empty as well, but after that, shadows began to creep in, and it was more difficult to tell.


    <I want to look before we move on,> Li said, and he could feel that she was ready to insist if he resisted. She was right, though. Even if they might learn things that would only make Li more unhappy, they needed to find a proper set of stairs or a way out other than the pit behind them. Kaz was growing more and more certain that the only thing they would find at the bottom of that hole was the great lake filled with monsters.


    Together, the two walked past alcove after alcove. Every one was identical and empty, which was honestly a great relief. Seeing silent and forgotten eggs or the skeletons of long-dead hatchlings might have been more than Li could bear.


    <Why did the dragons use these things, rather than sitting on their eggs and caring for their hatchlings themselves?> Li asked as they finally reached the end of this branch of the cavern system without seeing any sign of an exit or any dragons.


    Kaz shook his head, but paused, staring at the closest alcove. It, like all the others, held a softly glowing pattern of ki-crystals that illuminated the curved receptacle below. He hadn¡¯t really questioned why the things even existed, but Li was right. Her parents certainly hadn¡¯t attempted to carve egg-niches from the walls of their cave. They had built a nest of metal, used their own bodies to provide warmth, and fed the hatchlings ki-rich food as soon as they were born. This whole system was unnatural.


    Stepping closer, Kaz cautiously ran his hand along the curve of the hollow space at the bottom of the alcove. He held his own ki in, feeling instead the ki of the stones that had been set in place around the inside of the carved opening. Warmth instantly enveloped his hand, and ki touched his flesh in a gentle but powerful flow.


    ¡°I think this is designed to make sure the dragonling inside the egg received the perfect amount of heat and ki. There¡¯s a little Water, which keeps the air moist, and Fire to keep it warm. Wood to help them grow, and Earth¡­maybe to make sure that growth is steady? I¡¯m not sure why the Metal is there, but it might be in hopes of encouraging the young ones to develop-¡±


    He broke off, his eyes widening. ¡°Qiangde was trying to breed for dragons born with all five types of ki. This system would make sure that not only did the eggs have perfect conditions for hatching, but their developing cores would be exposed to all the elements. He was trying to create a race of Divine Beasts.¡±


    <Is that possible?> Li asked, eyeing the glowing niche.


    Kaz pulled back his hand, shaking it absently. It felt like it was humming with ki that wasn¡¯t his own, and he didn¡¯t like the feeling. ¡°I never would have thought he could create a whole new species, but he did it at least three times. Or at least his servants did. Who knows what else they were doing here, and how well it might have succeeded.¡±


    <I think I¡¯d rather take care of my eggs myself,> Li said dubiously. <Though it would be good to be sure that none of them would-> She stopped, but Kaz knew what she was thinking about. She, herself, never would have hatched if Kaz hadn¡¯t flooded her egg with ki. Even then, she might not have survived if there hadn¡¯t been a Sacred Plum in his pack for her to eat. How many wild dragons died in their eggs or shortly after hatching, and would they have survived if their eggs were placed in one of these alcoves?


    ¡°Do you want to have eggs?¡± Kaz asked, trying not to show how much the answer mattered to him.


    <Of course!> Li replied promptly. <Not soon, though. There¡¯s so much to explore and do first. Besides, Snen said dragons don¡¯t lay their first eggs for years and years.>


    A bit of weight lifted from Kaz¡¯s shoulders. Soon he would have to talk to her about these things, but not yet. Not until he was done with Nucai, one way or the other. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to either of them to do otherwise.


    ¡°Well, we have six more caverns to explore,¡± he said, turning back to face the long distance they had already traversed once.


    Li sighed, then seemed to swell as she grew to her largest size. Dipping her shoulder, she offered Kaz her back. <It¡¯ll be faster to fly,> she said.

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-seven

    They checked all seven arms of the cavern, finding dragon skeletons down three of them. There were broken eggshells in several of the egg alcoves, though always in the first hundred or so down a new cavern. They didn¡¯t find any sign of dead hatchlings, so perhaps those shells were the debris of some long-ago hatchings that hadn¡¯t been cleaned up?


    All evidence supported Kaz¡¯s guess that the dragons - or had it been the kobolds? - had built far more of the niches than they needed. Which seemed to ease Li¡¯s sorrow, since she had been imagining hundreds or even thousands of dead and forgotten eggs.


    <Is there anything we can do for them?> Li asked, staring at the fifth adult-sized skeleton they¡¯d found. It lay, tumbled and stretched out, with the bones in piles, not held together in dragon-shape even after the dragon¡¯s death. Not like Qiangde. Interestingly, while there were no teeth-marks or other signs that the dragon¡¯s body had been preyed upon, there was also nothing left but bare bones, not even cores.


    ¡°We can try to burn the bones,¡± Kaz said dubiously. ¡°But you saw what happened in the Broken Knife den. It was all right to break the stones there, but this-¡± He looked at the perfect white tiles beneath their paws, then around at the glowing niches, still functional after all these centuries.


    Li heaved a sigh. <Will it fit in your storage pouch so we can do it later?>


    Kaz eyed the skeleton. It wasn¡¯t large, as dragons went, so he thought some of the smaller bones would fit through the opening of his pouch. From there, the pouch seemed to be able to pull in almost anything, as long as it had room remaining within it.


    Unfortunately, Kaz had developed a habit of tucking away almost anything that he didn¡¯t think anyone would miss, and he could just tell by the amount of ki and pressure that it took to put things in now that it was almost full. Soon, he would have to empty it and decide what he really needed to keep. He wasn¡¯t a half-starved pup from a weak tribe any longer, and he didn¡¯t need to hold onto everything that might be edible or repurposed into something else.


    ¡°Some of it, maybe,¡± he said, ¡°but we would just end up taking it apart. That seems even worse, somehow.¡±


    <True,> Li said. She glanced behind them in the direction of the pit. <But we should probably tell Lianhua about this place. I trust her to respect them, but what if other humans want to come? She¡¯s always writing in those books, so others may read about it eventually, even if she doesn¡¯t tell anyone.>


    Kaz was fairly certain that Lianhua would want to tell everyone, but he didn¡¯t tell Li that. Instead he said, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure no one damages this place or takes the bones.¡± He knew they were both thinking about the way Gaoda had taken the bodies of her dead siblings, as well as every other trace of dragons he¡¯d been able to gather. If other humans were the same, then there was a very real possibility that they would try to tear this place, and the rest of the ¡®Diushi¡¯ artifacts, apart. And unfortunately, kobolds simply weren¡¯t strong enough to defend it, even if they wanted to. But Kaz was, or would be.


    Li looked at him, and the promise hung between them. It would require Kaz to stay here, but he already planned to do that. It would also mean he continued to do something to help her, something that would mean he was thinking of her, trying to help her, even when they were apart. <Yes,> she said.


    And then it was time to continue down the pit. They¡¯d found no sign of any way out, even though Kaz was almost certain that the xiyi must have had a platform to carry them between levels, rather than flying up and down every time. After all, it was one thing to lift themselves, but what if they were carrying eggs or other items back and forth? No, they wouldn¡¯t risk getting tired or dropping something, so there must be another way, but Kaz and Li hadn¡¯t figured out what it was. Kaz suspected it might be as simple as the platform being stuck at the bottom of the pit, either by accident or design.


    He started to climb aboard Li, who had been able to rest and recover most of her ki, but then hesitated and took out a large red ki-crystal. He wasn¡¯t used to having enough to give her whenever she was even a little low on ki, but he was trying to remember to offer even if she didn¡¯t ask.


    Li¡¯s eyes lit up, and she started to take it, then hesitated. <I¡¯d like a yellow one, too.>


    Kaz was startled, but pulled a good-sized Earth crystal from his pouch and gave it to her along with the Fire stone. ¡°I thought you were cultivating Fire,¡± he said, trying to sound like it was an offhand comment.


    The dragon took a moment as the crystals vanished down her throat. <You chose Wood when you changed the balance of your ki,> she said finally. <That made me think. I¡¯ve just been taking whatever was available, and eating the crystal in Fengji¡¯s prison tipped me strongly toward Fire. Now that we have all kinds of crystals, I¡¯m trying to shift my own balance. I don¡¯t want to lose Fire, but even though I was born with Earth, I don¡¯t have much any more, at least compared to Fire. And I like Water, but I think just using it helps it grow a little stronger.> She blew a thick cloud of cool vapor to show what she meant.


    So that was why she¡¯d been avoiding using her fire breath lately. Kaz was worried that she¡¯d been frightened by the explosion he¡¯d almost - all right, had - died in, but all this time she¡¯d been thinking about what she wanted for her future instead.


    He focused on her core. ¡°You¡¯re doing a good job,¡± he told her, seeing the flush of golden ki pouring into it from the yellow ki-crystal. ¡°You¡¯re right, that crystal and the improvement in your cultivation that it brought tipped you toward Fire, but Water is slowly pushing back.¡± He chuffed, watching as red ki swirled happily, taking in the fresh power from the red ki-crystal. ¡°Fire wants to feed and grow, though, so it will take any chance it can get to regain lost ground.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Li took in a deep breath, then released a slow cloud of cool vapor that clung to them and everything around them in glittering droplets. <Then I just have to use Water even more, and find something to do with Earth.>


    ¡°What about Wood and Metal?¡± Kaz asked, ears twitching in amusement as he watched her core shift, the various elements swirling in bursts of color.


    His dragon sighed. <I know I should work on them. Especially Wood, since that¡¯s your favorite, but I just don¡¯t feel drawn to them. I don¡¯t have iron or twig breath, either.>


    Kaz laughed and stroked her neck. ¡°You don¡¯t have to like what I like. I have enough Wood for both of us. Being yourself is the best thing you could possibly be.¡±


    She leaned against him, throat vibrating as she purred. <Then that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. Now come on. We have a monster to avoid.>


    And that was the plan. Go down the pit until they reached whatever lay below, but do it even more cautiously than they had in reaching this level. Li would need to use as little ki as possible, so that if that monster really did lurk beneath them, they could sneak past it and hopefully find a way out of this area.


    Honestly, if they couldn¡¯t find stairs or a platform, they would have to go all the way back up and return to the hoyi nest, but Kaz suspected he¡¯d have to destroy the platform they¡¯d come down on in order to get through. They¡¯d already spent several days exploring these levels, too, so even though he¡¯d felt like he had plenty of time, now the month Li had given him seemed far too short. It was likely Kyla and the others were in the mountain, too, or would be soon, and he¡¯d promised to meet them.


    Together, they spiraled gently down the pit, trying to remain prepared to disappear at the first sign that the passage was coming to an end. Kaz gave Li more crystals each time the ki stored in her dantians sank too low, alternating between red, yellow, and black. Kaz didn¡¯t use a ki-light this time, leaving them in a sort of pseudo-darkness filled with the light of their own ki flooding the area around them before drifting away into mana.


    It reminded Kaz of the very first time he¡¯d ever used a rune, when he was left behind in the passage above the lopo cavern, trapped in absolute blackness, just like when he¡¯d spent hours crawling through a narrow crevice that might well have had no opening on the other end. Now, he could barely imagine that darkness, since his own power constantly surrounded him. It didn¡¯t illuminate surfaces the way ¡®real¡¯ light did, but through it he could sense where the tunnel walls were, along with a hundred thousand tiny lives that filled the stone. He didn¡¯t even know what those minute creatures were, but someday he hoped he would find out.


    <We¡¯re here,> Li said, her voice tight. She still couldn¡¯t see as clearly as he did, and her senses didn¡¯t reach as far, but this kept her from being distracted by things that were smaller than could be seen with her eyes alone.


    Kaz turned his focus downward, and realized that she was right. Only a short distance below, the tunnel walls vanished into open air, and he felt Li¡¯s concealment surround them as they glided down into a cavern. She didn¡¯t even flap her wings, simply curving up along the ceiling until they felt a new wall form from the blankness. They still had no idea what lay below them, but if this was the cavern that held the colossal lake and its enormous inhabitants, there should be solid stone around most or all of the walls. Neither of them had seen much more than that in their brief glimpse, but hopefully they would have a safe place to land.


    The temperature dropped sharply as they flew downward, and their sensitive ears picked up the sound of water lapping against stone. There was no wind in the mountain, so moving water meant that either there was flowing water coming from somewhere, or something was in that water. Li¡¯s paws touched down on stone, and they both breathed silent sighs of relief. If they¡¯d found only water, Li would have had to fly back up and try again, and keeping them hidden while actively flying, not just gliding, was significantly more difficult for her.


    <I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to split up,> Li said. Their original idea had been to each head in opposite directions along the wall until one of them found an opening, was cut off by water, or they met on the other side of the cavern. Staying together would mean spending twice the time searching for a way out, but Li was right. There was something about this place that spoke of danger beyond even what they¡¯d been expecting.


    <All right,> Kaz said, and felt Li relax slightly. <But if that thing finds us, we¡¯re going to run. Can you find the exit again?>


    Li shifted as she looked up at the distant ceiling. <I think so. But once we¡¯re up that high, we should have time for you to guide me there.>


    Kaz wasn¡¯t so sure that was true. The things they¡¯d seen had very long necks, and while the ceiling was quite a ways up, he wasn¡¯t certain they couldn¡¯t reach. There was no point in saying so, however. It wasn¡¯t like he could make the necks shorter or the ceiling higher.


    Turning, Kaz used his claws to dig a deep scratch in the wall, right at the level where his hand naturally rested. Once he had a way to be sure when they returned to this spot, they set off, moving as quickly as possible without draining Li¡¯s ki too much. They had plenty of ki-crystals, but Kaz had noticed that when she ate too many of the same color too soon, they had less and less effect. Their cycles were linked, of course, but if she took too much of Kaz¡¯s ki, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight or heal if they needed him to do so.


    The cavern must be truly huge, which in turn meant that the biggest monster had to be larger than any living creature Kaz had seen before. It might well dwarf Qiangde, whose skull had been large enough for even Raff to stand upright inside. Kaz and Li walked, side by side when they could, but more often with Li trailing Kaz when the narrow, sloping floor grew even more narrow. Many creatures who lived in water could sense when that water was disturbed, so Kaz was wary of dipping even a toe into the encroaching lake.


    At last, they found that they could go no further. It was possible that the dry area on which they walked resumed only twenty feet or so further on, past this section of water, but Kaz didn¡¯t know if the things that lived here could sense his ki if he pushed it out too much, so he kept it just far enough to give them some warning if something approached.


    In the end, it didn¡¯t matter. As they turned, Li¡¯s tail tapped the surface of the water, sending out a ripple that faded within inches. That was enough, because even as they both froze, the surface of the water began to foam. Something that seemed to be made of utter blackness rose toward them, its ki-dense body almost hiding the huge core in its abdomen.


    It was a single black core. As water sloshed, waves lapping against Kaz and Li¡¯s paws, head after head broke the surface, and now Kaz could tell that they were all attached to a single gargantuan body. They twisted and writhed, searching for whatever had disturbed their lake, and then a voice spoke into their minds.


    <Who dares?>

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-eight

    The voice sounded like a whole tribe howling at once, with an odd echo as the last tone faded away. Kaz froze as it entered his mind, but Li was already moving, dipping her shoulder as she pushed against his back.


    <Get on,> she said, <or I¡¯ll pick you up and carry you away in my claws.>


    Kaz had no doubt she would do exactly that, but the one thing they hadn¡¯t accounted for in their plans was the possibility that this creature was intelligent. Could it be reasoned with? Just because it was huge and had enough teeth for a whole family of dragons, did that automatically make it an enemy?


    <I want to talk to it,> he told her. <You stay hidden. That way this creature won¡¯t know I can escape whenever I¡¯m ready.> And Li would remain relatively safe.


    Without waiting for her response - which he already knew would be an angry denial - he took a step away from her, breaking contact so her camouflage fell away. Lifting his hand, he summoned a very small ki-light, keeping it in the red and orange colors of flame, which didn¡¯t seem to bother his eyes as much after a long period of darkness. For the first time, he realized there weren¡¯t even any glow-worms or luminescent mosses here, though the water should make this a perfect place for them. As far as he could tell, the many-headed creature was the only living thing in this vast cavern. Other than himself and Li, of course.


    ¡°My name is Kaz,¡± he said aloud. ¡°I-¡±


    But the thing was already turning its largest head away from him. <A kobold,> it said dismissively. <And one of Dongwu¡¯s, at that. Where are Nucai¡¯s kobolds? At least they had better manners than to sneak about in my territory.>


    Kaz blinked. This thing knew of Dongwu and Nucai? No, it hadn¡¯t just said their names. It sounded like it knew them. Nucai¡¯s kobolds would be the xiyi. Had this creature been here since they lived in the mountain?


    ¡°Nucai¡¯s kobolds,¡± the words tasted foul in his mouth as he said them, ¡°don¡¯t live in the mountain anymore. Even my people have-¡± Would this thing become angry if he told it it had been forgotten? ¡°We don¡¯t come here.¡±


    <Of course you don¡¯t,> came the prompt response. <You¡¯re not allowed near sevens.> Some of the heads were looking at Kaz again, and there were far too many teeth on display for him to be comfortable with that regard.


    A pup¡¯s howl echoed through his mind. One is safety, Two is clear. Three is home, Four is death. Five is forbidden, Six is work. Eight is mine, Nine is forever. No seven was mentioned at all. But every level of this place except for the living quarters of the xiyi was made up of a single cavern split into seven branches. Had there once been runes carved in the walls to let wandering kobolds know they weren¡¯t welcome, or had his ancestors simply known that this was a place they should never visit?


    ¡°But you recognize me,¡± Kaz said, ¡°so you must have seen my kind of kobolds before.¡±


    The necks swayed back and forth in a very serpentine motion. <Of course. I didn¡¯t always live here. Qiangde brought me to this lake when I grew too large for my original pool.>


    Kaz must have reacted to Qiangde¡¯s name, because the monster hissed laughter from dozens of throats. <That¡¯s right,> it said with great satisfaction. <I call your Master by his name, because I am his greatest creation. His child. He told me so.>


    This thing wasn¡¯t a dragon. If it was, it would have been forced from the mountain with the rest, or gone mad from the compulsion it wasn¡¯t able to obey. So what was it? Kaz focused on its core, and now that he wasn¡¯t distracted by sheer, instinctual terror, he could see that it wasn¡¯t one core, but many. Rather than a smooth sphere, this core was bumpy and irregular. It held a huge amount of pure Water ki, but that ki didn¡¯t quite flow naturally. Rather it swirled and pushed against itself, like many pebbles had been dropped into a single pool, producing waves that countered each other.


    ¡°You¡¯re a shiyan,¡± Kaz breathed.


    A dozen heads lunged toward him, and Kaz leaped away an instant before one of them would have bitten him in half. There was only a narrow shelf of ground to stand on, and he didn¡¯t want one of those attacks to accidentally strike Li, so he found himself running along the wall for several steps before dropping back to the ground in a crouch. He was a good thirty feet from where he¡¯d started, but he brightened his ki-light into a pure white flare so he could see if the monster tried to eat him again.


    <I¡¯m coming for you,> Li told him, but Kaz held up a hand.


    <Wait,> he said over their bond. <I can avoid it as long as it doesn¡¯t go all out, and I need to ask it some questions. This creature may be the last being alive who knows about Qiangde and Nucai, and I need to know as much as possible before I face Nucai himself.>


    Li didn¡¯t like it, but he could feel her acceptance. She would wait. For now.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Kaz said quickly, readying himself to jump away again. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was an insult. I¡¯m a shiyan myself.¡± And that, too, left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was a kobold, and in a way, all kobolds were shiyan, but Nucai had made Kaz into something else again. It lifted the fur on his neck to admit that Nucai was in any way responsible for who Kaz was.


    <What, not who,> Li said softly, following his admittedly loud internal conflict, and he sent warm gratitude in her direction before focusing on the monster instead.


    <I am no monster,> the creature hissed, its heads weaving angrily just at the edge of the pool of light. <I am the Snake, the ultimate Divine Beast, and my father¡¯s child! All of you kobolds were nothing but failed attempts to perfect the process that produced me.>


    Kaz was certain none of that was true. Qiangde had been trying to discover why humans could ascend to other realms, where they could theoretically continue to grow stronger, while he - a dragon born with a beast core - could not. In the process, he had created an entire empire among the humans, learning everything they knew. Those who ascended never returned, and each sect or family guarded its methods of cultivation well. By becoming emperor, Qiangde had been able to force them to give up their secrets, only to find out that while humans knew how to ascend, at least in general, they knew next to nothing about why it happened or what came next.


    After that, Qiangde and his court came to the mountain, though Kaz had yet to learn why they chose this place in particular. The dragons were sent out to abduct all kinds of beasts and humans with cores, and those beings were then merged using fulan. Nucai, Zhangwo, and the mysterious Dongwu each produced a stable race, which were called kobolds, meaning ¡®servant¡¯ in the Diushi language. But the kobolds hadn¡¯t been created in order to learn how to create even more shiyan, but rather in an attempt to produce a creature born with a core who could still ascend. Hadn¡¯t they?


    Carefully, Kaz said, ¡°What is the Snake?¡± Could he keep the creature talking?


    The monster settled back at this, almost seeming to relish the opportunity to speak. Which made sense, if it had been trapped down here alone for a millennium. How was it that it hadn¡¯t simply gone insane? Or had it?


    <There are twelve ultimate Divine Beasts,> it said. <Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The greatest of these are the Dragon and the Snake. We are the chosen ones of God, able to pass beyond this world and into the next. The only creatures born of this world who can ascend.>Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Oh. Oh. Of course Qiangde had heard of the twelve Divine Beasts. He had spent a thousand years among the humans, following every hint that might lead him to ascension. And yes, in the story Lianhua told Kaz, those beasts went to the palace of the Celestial Lord in the next realm. Which would make the Twelve the only creatures of this world who had passed through the Gate. And Qiangde was a dragon, though not actually the Dragon.


    But from the moment he knew becoming one of the Twelve would allow him to leave this world, he would have wanted nothing more than to be the Dragon. Had he known that when one of the Twelve died, another would rise? Had he hoped that if he killed Loong, he would become the new Dragon, simply because he was the most powerful dragon left alive? Knowing what Kaz did of Qiangde, he doubted it. That ancient monster left nothing to chance.


    ¡°So you can ascend to the heavens?¡± Kaz asked, remembering how Lianhua and her grandfather had spoken of growing too powerful for this world.


    The many heads shifted, some looking away from him, while others hissed angrily. <Not quite. Father said I had to eat the core of the old Snake, first. I¡¯ve been waiting for him to come release me so I can hunt it for¡­a long time.>


    And that was Qiangde¡¯s plan. He had killed or captured the Twelve - all but Heishe, who was beyond his reach, deep beneath the surface of the earth - and what? Fed their cores to other creatures of the same type? Studied them in an attempt to discover how to make himself into the Dragon without any risk? But if a creature ate a core that was too strong for them, that core could kill them, or, worse, the being within the stronger core could take over the body of the weaker creature.


    Was it possible that Qiangde was stronger than Loong? Kaz didn¡¯t think so, and Qiangde would have wanted to be certain. So he had created a test creature, just like all of his others, only this one was so strong he had to tie it to him with more than fear and tradition. He called it his child, and made it love him.


    <The poor thing,> Li said, and he could feel her pity. This creature had been made for a purpose it could no longer serve, lied to, and abandoned. Unfortunately, it was also terribly powerful. It might even be more powerful than Kaz. There was nothing Kaz or Li could do to save it, at least not without its cooperation.


    Kaz looked again at the misshapen core before him. He could see weaknesses in it, places where the many cores that had been used to create it hadn¡¯t quite come together completely. Nothing like that was in Kaz¡¯s core, thankfully. Was Nucai better at making shiyan than Qiangde, or had he learned more in his centuries of continuing experimentation?


    Still, there was no doubt that this thing was strong. Was it stronger than Heishe? Kaz didn¡¯t think so, just like he didn¡¯t think its core would handle the transition to Divine Beast. Not that he could become a Divine Beast without all five types of ki, and Kaz didn¡¯t see anything but Water in this monster. Had Qiangde not realized he needed all the elements, or did he not care that his ¡®child¡¯ would die so long as he learned what he needed? Or was this creature never intended to win? Kaz wouldn¡¯t put it past Qiangde to have created this beast just to hurt Heishe badly enough that Qiangde himself could finish her off and take her core.


    Kaz drew in a deep breath. ¡°Qiangde is dead,¡± he said, and he was already moving out of the way of the attack when it came. He leaped again as he shouted. ¡°That old dragon died hundreds of years ago, and you¡¯ve been rotting here, forgotten and alone, ever since!¡±


    <NO!> The heads shouted, and chips of stone flew as several of them crashed into the spot where Kaz had just stood. <You¡¯re lying! I¡¯ll eat you, and then you¡¯ll stop, and when Qiangde comes, I¡¯ll be even more powerful!>


    ¡°He was using you,¡± Kaz went on, briefly standing on the back of one of the enormous heads before jumping away as another head bit the first as it tried to reach him. ¡°He used everyone, and eventually we tired of it. Some of us fought back, and Qiangde died. His bones lie beneath you, hollow and empty. You should leave here. Go live your own life, and forget him.¡±


    The creature seemed to have gone mad by now. Kaz had run out of nearby ledges to jump to, at least ones that weren¡¯t anywhere near Li, and instead he leaped from head to head and neck to neck, digging his claws deep into the monster¡¯s flesh so it couldn¡¯t shake him free. Several of the heads were snapping at each other, and some of the necks were tangled in knots.


    <No! Father is coming! I am the Snake! We will ascend together, and he won¡¯t leave me alone anymore.> The voice was a wild howl, and Kaz jumped again and again, barely avoiding one head only to almost be caught by another.


    He didn¡¯t even feel something slip from his waist as an invisible Li flew overhead and caught him at the height of a jump. Her claws dug into his shoulders until it seemed like they might actually break the skin, and she was hissing furiously, cold vapor surrounding them in a thick fog.


    <Idiot!> Li said, flying straight up with mighty beats of her wings. She was at her largest size so she could pick him up, which meant she was a bit too large to fly up through the dark hole overhead. Her ki was draining fast, and she dropped her camouflage, depending instead on the chill mist to hide them. Teeth thrust suddenly through the cloud directly beneath them, and Kaz yanked his paws up just before the largest head could grab hold of him.


    Another voice broke into the one-sided fight, and Li lost several feet of height when she stopped beating her wings for a moment in surprise. Fortunately, the many-headed monster halted in mid-bite as well, and everyone looked around for the source of the new voice.


    <child, i failed you,> Heishe said from somewhere far below. Li¡¯s mist obscured what was happening, but Kaz could see the Snake¡¯s familiar ki unfold, and hear her coils slip into the water.


    Kaz and Li dipped lower, just in time to see the still-unnamed creature staring at Heishe with more than a dozen slack jaws. <The Snake,> it muttered, and then, <The Snake!>


    It lunged for Heishe with every one of its heads, and Kaz took advantage of its distraction to grab onto Li¡¯s leg and swing himself up onto her back. She wobbled, hissing and clicking at him angrily, but when he offered her a large yellow ki-crystal, she seemed somewhat mollified. Now that he was settled properly, she could have made herself small enough to fly back up the tunnel, but she waited, and they watched.


    Physically, Heishe and the monster seemed fairly evenly matched. There were suddenly many more coils thrashing through the water as Heishe grew until she appeared to fill the lake. The creature used its many heads to great effect, however, biting and tearing at her with serrated teeth. Blood flowed from both of them, darkening the already-black water, but Kaz had the feeling Heishe wasn¡¯t using her full power. Not yet.


    <i am the guardian of the serpent,> Heishe said. <you should be one of mine, and yet i can barely feel you. you were raised and twisted into something you never should have been. i¡¯m sorry.>


    Her foe ignored her words, still trying to sink its teeth into her body so it could tear her into chunks. <but i will not allow you to take my place,> Heishe went on, her voice now implacable. <i did not choose you, and i will not gift you my essence. but i also won¡¯t punish you for what has been done to you.>


    Her coils shifted, and now Kaz could see that while the monster had been attacking wildly, Heishe had been coiling her own body around the other. She began to squeeze, and Kaz winced, expecting her opponent to be crushed into a gory mass. Instead, it began to shrink. The heads grew smaller as ki was crushed out of it, and its power grew less dense. Its core became fully visible, no longer hidden by the thick fog of ki, and then its body vanished entirely, leaving something dark and round resting atop Heishe¡¯s long body.


    <come down, children,> she said, looking up at them. Li did so, though it was difficult to find a part of the ledge that wasn¡¯t hidden by water displaced by Heishe¡¯s bulk. Heishe shifted, and the dark thing rolled along her coils, coming to rest on the very tip of her tail. She offered it to Kaz.


    At first, he drew back, believing that she had reduced the creature to a core and was now inviting him to eat it. Then he looked more closely and realized that while there was a core there, it was tiny, barely larger than the end of his thumb. It hung in the center of something that his brain simply couldn¡¯t comprehend, but Li had no such difficulty.


    <An egg!> she said, reaching out to nudge it with her nose. <Is that creature inside of it?>


    <he is,> Heishe said. <i have never had children, for all my years of life, but this one needs a home. will you care for him? i can find someone else, if you aren¡¯t willing. he¡¯ll need someone strong to keep him in line.>


    Li whistled softly. <Maybe,> she said. <But I don¡¯t want a hatchling yet. Especially not such a difficult one.>


    Heishe gave her rasping laugh. <then have your kobold store the egg in his pouch until you¡¯re ready. the egg, and this child, will wait, and i will owe you a great debt.>


    Li looked at Kaz. <Can we?> she asked, and Kaz felt a sudden laugh bubble up inside him. This was not how he had imagined having a family, but-


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said, and lifted the egg from Heishe¡¯s tail. Opening his pouch, he set the narrow end of the egg inside the opening and gave the pouch some ki. Nothing happened. He gave it more ki and a gentle push, and with a great deal of reluctance, the egg vanished. There was no doubt that his pouch was now full and overfull, but this wasn¡¯t the time to deal with it.


    With a deep sigh, he brightened his half-forgotten ki-light. They still couldn¡¯t see the whole cavern, but he was fairly certain they¡¯d come quite a distance from where he and Li had originally landed. Not least because there, in the wall beside them, was the exit they¡¯d been looking for.

 Chapter Three hundred twenty-nine

    As with most of the other hidden doors Kaz had found, this one was decorated with a map. It focused on the mid-levels, and for the first time he was able to pick out the rune for the number seven, carved from stone and painted in a rich, deep red. Not terribly surprisingly, the sevens marked the levels he¡¯d just passed through, though he was startled to see that the level containing the yumi fields was also a seven. Had the xiyi or mosui originally worked in those fields instead of his people? Or were the husede brought here for that purpose? And why had Kaz¡¯s - or rather Dongwu¡¯s - kobolds been the only ones forbidden to enter? Or had they?


    Kaz desperately wished he could ask someone who knew the answers to all of these questions, but everyone involved was long dead except for Nucai. Kaz very much doubted that ancient being was interested in explaining anything.


    Well, the important thing was that they had found the way out, so Kaz stepped forward to place his palm against the center of the image. Once again, the ki-crystal that powered the door was hidden within the tower Zhangwo had occupied, and Kaz pressed his finger into the hole until he could touch it. He had a moment to realize that this one was larger than the others, and then an enormous section of the wall began to rotate.


    As with the platform in the hoyi nest, floor, wall, and anyone standing nearby all moved together. Kaz swayed as a fifty-foot arch of stone, along with the piece of wall contained within it, shifted and spun in place, making a loud grinding sound and sinking several inches into the ground as it did so. Water sloshed, then began to drain rapidly from the lake and down the tunnel revealed by the opening of the door. If Kaz hadn¡¯t dug his claws into the ground, he would have been washed away by the current, and Li flapped her wings, lifting from the ground with an irritated hiss.


    Heishe quickly shrank, allowing her smaller form to be carried toward Kaz, who scooped her out of the water and placed her back around his waist. When the Snake¡¯s massive bulk vanished from the water, the surface of the lake once again settled below the level of the surrounding rock, leaving Kaz standing on a wet ledge, his fur dripping.


    Li settled beside him again, but looked very unhappy about it. Lifting each paw, she shook it, then put them all back down with a beleaguered sigh. <Dry us off?> she asked plaintively, and Kaz chuckled as he brought his red ki to the surface, drying his fur and producing a cloud of warm steam that Li leaned into.


    Kaz stared up at the archway above them as the steam cleared. ¡°I don¡¯t think that snake-shiyan could fit through here. How was he supposed to get out?¡±


    Li stared at him, then obviously decided to go along with it, and sent him an image of a very ugly white dragon shoving the many-headed snake through the gap until it popped out like a plug from a water bladder. <Maybe the snake got too big? And he needs a name, if we¡¯re going to raise him. What about Li-az?>


    Kaz chuffed, but looked down at the perfectly round section of stone that had sunk into the ground beneath him. If the only other door he¡¯d ever seen like this had turned out to be a platform, what were the odds that this one was, too? Perhaps more importantly, what were the odds that it wasn¡¯t? It seemed to be stuck at the moment, but if it became unstuck while they were standing on it, what would happen?


    Carefully, Kaz took several steps deeper into the tunnel, followed by Li, who was still suggesting ridiculous names for the snake-creature. Only when they were both off the potential platform did Kaz stop and turn, kneeling as he brushed at the surface of the stone. To his physical eyes, it looked like completely normal rock, complete with natural cracks and an uneven surface, but when he sent a flush of ki out through it, faint flickers came back to him.


    <Or Kali? Lishe? Wait, is that a platform?> Li finally caught on to what he was doing and stared down at the wide circle of sunken stone they¡¯d just been standing on.


    Kaz nodded, cautiously giving the stones a bit more power. ¡°It¡¯s completely out of ki. Maybe that¡¯s why the other one wasn¡¯t working? Did you notice that there was nothing living in this cavern other than the creature?¡±


    <You can¡¯t keep calling him a ¡®creature¡¯,> Li chided. <We don¡¯t like it when someone calls us beasts.>


    That was fair, but not the point. ¡°Xun..du, then. Nothing lived here but Xundu.¡±


    <Xundu?> Li said. <What does it mean?>


    Kaz shrugged. ¡°Xunma is a type of moss that stings if you touch it with bare skin, but tastes good in soup. The fronds look a bit like serpent heads.¡± He lifted his hand, using the fingers as a mouth to snap at her playfully. Li caught his fingers in her mouth and bit down very, very gently until he laughed and shook his head, relaxing his hand. ¡°It¡¯s a good name.¡±


    Li sighed, but she seemed pleased that he was making an effort. <Xundu then. For now. What does it mean that he was the only one living here?>


    Kaz straightened, his ears twitching. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know. Maybe something about this place kept outside power from making its way in, or maybe Xundu absorbed power somehow, leaving none for anything else. All I know is that I can name a dozen plants and insects that would love this place, and in a thousand years, at least some of them should have found their way here, but none did. And then there¡¯s this platform. I think these crystals are intact, not broken like the ones that burn out naturally. If I recharge it, we may actually be able to ride it to its next destination.¡±


    <Which is where?> Li asked, clearly suspicious. After all, they¡¯d been trapped on these few levels for days after the last platform carried them away. How could they be sure that taking this one wouldn¡¯t just make their situation even worse? <I think we should follow the tunnel. If it was meant for Xundu, it should go somewhere relatively safe.>


    Kaz stepped back, pressing against the wall so he could see the carvings on the half-turned wall. Yes, there were the sevens and the xiyi, but no sign of a many-headed serpent. Had this place even been meant for Xundu, or was it for-


    ¡°Dragons,¡± Kaz said, staring up at the dark passage in the ceiling. It opened over the deepest part of the lake, so if there had once been a platform to carry dragons and xiyi between this level and the egg-chambers, it was likely far below water now. Was it possible that when this space was created or discovered, there was no water in it, and Qiangde had had the lake created just for his last experiment?


    <What?> Li asked, cocking her head to the side.


    ¡°This passage isn¡¯t big enough for Xundu,¡± Kaz said, finding that the name was already coming to him more easily. ¡°But it is large enough for dragons to walk through, especially young ones. What if this leads to a way out of the mountain?¡± His eyes scanned the map, finding the level they were on primarily because the one above it held egg-like ovals and many xiyi. Sure enough, one side of it trailed off, fading and vanishing into the sloping side of what Kaz now recognized as the outside of the mountain.


    Li¡¯s eyes brightened, and she looked down the dark passage. <Let¡¯s go find out.>


    Kaz¡¯s heart clenched at her eagerness, but he nodded. ¡°There may even be stairs leading down, so we don¡¯t have to try the platform at all. If we fly, it¡¯ll be faster.¡±


    Li looked around and stretched out her wings. For a moment she seemed slightly fuzzy around the edges, and then she swelled to her largest size. Her wingtips weren¡¯t even close to the sides of the passage, and she nodded in satisfaction, then dipped her shoulder so he could swing his leg over her neck.


    Time was always difficult to judge in the mountain, so its occupants based their lives around feelings of hunger and weariness, or the time it took for a torch to burn out. Kaz and Li no longer felt either of these things in the way they once had, and Kaz¡¯s light would never go out so long as he had ki, but Kaz was fairly certain it took no more than an hour to reach the end of the tunnel, even given that they stopped several times to examine suspiciously flat sections of wall that always turned out to be nothing.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    When their light revealed a rapidly-approaching wall directly ahead of them, Li slowed, then landed, running several feet as she tried to lose the speed she¡¯d built up over the last several minutes of flight. Kaz climbed off her back, and stared at the blank circle of stone that completely blocked the path ahead. It was the same fifty-foot diameter as the tunnel itself, and Kaz stopped twenty-five feet away, crouching down to touch the floor.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Kaz said, with mingled relief and disappointment, as he sent several pulses of ki into the ground ahead. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a platform here.¡±


    <Is there a door?> Li asked, already moving past him to stare up at the blank wall. She reared back, placing her front paws on the wall as she tried to push her own ki out the same way Kaz did. She managed it, but while she was excellent at fine control, these larger uses of power were more challenging. Still, if there had been ki crystals embedded in the wall, they should have reacted to her. Nothing happened,  and she dropped back down, releasing a thick cloud of frustrated fog.


    <Did we come all this way for nothing?> she asked, glaring at the wall. <Why even make this tunnel, then?>


    But Kaz¡¯s ears were half-lowered as he frowned around. ¡°It¡¯s possible they just didn¡¯t finish whatever they were planning to do,¡± he said, ¡°but it looks very complete. And this wall is absolutely flat, not natural-looking at all.¡± He walked from one side of the passage to the other, sending his own ki into the walls and even the ceiling. Nothing reacted, and he finally stopped, shaking his head. ¡°I think we¡¯ll have to go back and try the platform.¡±


    Li glared at the stone that blocked their path, but started to turn away. Then she kept turning, ending up right back where she¡¯d started, facing the flat surface again. <You said there was no power in this place, right? How about now?>


    Kaz looked around. There was still no sign of any plant life, and hadn¡¯t been anywhere along the way. Then he realized that he still had most of the ki blocked from his eyes so the constant cloud of mana that had only grown thicker as they descended through the mountain wouldn¡¯t block his normal sight. Releasing that block, he blinked, startled by what he saw, or rather, didn¡¯t. ¡°There¡¯s no ki, and no mana, either. Or so little that I can¡¯t see it.¡±


    Li gave a little click of satisfaction, then moved toward the wall again. <What if this place is supposed to keep out all outside power? The platforms could be recharged when they returned to other levels, but things that are meant to stay here->


    ¡°Would eventually run out of ki, unless they produced their own, like Xundu,¡± Kaz finished as Li began to push against the right side of the wall. ¡°So whatever this is, it would need to work without ki or mana.¡±


    <And what¡¯s a ki-powered door without power?> Li asked as the wall shifted forward ever so slightly.


    ¡°Just a door,¡± Kaz said, stepping up beside her to add his own strength. The door swung forward again, just slightly, and they both looked at each other, dug in their claws, and shoved. This time the stone scraped softly, and they stumbled forward as it moved several feet. The wall was quite thick, but soft, filtered light streamed in through a gap a little more than a foot wide. Kaz could fit through, but they would have to open it wider in order for Li to make it.


    Li stepped forward, thrusting her nose into the gap. She drew in a deep breath, her ribs spreading wide as she took in the scents. <It¡¯s outside,> she said, her eyes closing in pleasure. <I can smell fresh air, and feel the wind.>


    ¡°Should we open it wider?¡± Kaz asked, eyeing the slab of stone. ¡°If it leads outside, it won¡¯t help us, though I suppose now we know how the xiyi and dragons left the mountain.¡±


    Shaking her head, Li stepped back, then began to shrink. She still wasn¡¯t as good at growing smaller as she was at being big, so different bits of her wavered and shrank at slightly different times, but soon enough she was down to her smallest size again. Kaz picked her up and squeezed through the gap.


    They stood in the back of a large, deep overhang. Sunlight filtered in from cracks overhead, and the wind whistled through stones, creating an eerie sound that added to the loneliness of the few drifting snowflakes that fell just beyond the opening ahead. Kaz padded out to where shadow met light and peered down the steep side of the mountain.


    <We really are about halfway up,> Li said, rising from his arms to lean out, stretching her wings. For a moment he thought she might try to fly, but then a particularly powerful gust of wind picked up a flurry of snow, and she pulled back, shivering.


    Kaz nodded. Taking a few more steps closer to the sharp dropoff , he twisted around, trying to look back up the mountain. Sure enough, he could make out the tops of a stand of spindly trees with narrow, surprisingly green leaves. He¡¯d seen several such groups of trees as they¡¯d flown by, and suspected that this one, too, surrounded one of the many brilliantly blue lakes that dotted the mountainside.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably where the water for Xundu¡¯s lake came from,¡± he said, pointing, then looked down the craggy, nearly vertical drop below. ¡°I feel sorry for the xiyi if they really did leave this way. I wonder how many of them didn¡¯t make it to the bottom.¡±


    Li shuddered, though this time he wasn¡¯t sure if it was from the cold or thinking about the fates of the fleeing xiyi. Either way, Kaz used red ki to warm them both, and she settled back against him with a sigh.


    <We should go back,> she said reluctantly, even as she turned her face up to the sunlight. <We don¡¯t want to have to start from my nest cave again, and we don¡¯t have time to wait for the chiefs to open the tunnel, if they already let Kyla and the others in.>


    She was right. The platform at the beginning of the tunnel was now their best chance to reach the Deep on time. Kaz went back, enjoying being able to hold Li close again, and began to slip through the gap in the door. Halfway through, he stopped.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he asked, peering at a narrow band of gray that almost blended into the similarly gray stone around it. It was a little too consistent, though, and Kaz lifted a finger to prod at it, giving it a bit of ki almost out of habit. He jerked his hand back as that ki was instantly rejected, flowing back into his finger in a very unpleasant way.


    Li glared at him. <Stop touching things!>


    Kaz¡¯s ears lowered and he nearly gave a whine of apology. She was right, and he knew it. She wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d told him that, either, and if Li told Lianhua and Kyla what Kaz had been doing, those females would also be upset with him.


    ¡°But what is it?¡± he asked, trying to turn her attention back to what was really important, which was clearly not whether he¡¯d been poking at things when he had no idea what they were.


    Graciously allowing herself to be distracted, Li cautiously sent a very small burst of ki toward the material, but unlike Kaz, she didn¡¯t maintain a connection to the power. It was like a tiny ki-bolt, and it bounced almost like it had hit a shield, striking Kaz and making him jump. He was almost entirely certain it was an accident, however, so he didn¡¯t comment on it.


    ¡°This has to be the reason there¡¯s no ki or mana in the tunnel or cavern,¡± Kaz said, prodding it with a completely unpowered finger. Nothing happened, and he tried again, this time rubbing his finger against a surface that was unnaturally smooth. Next, he tried scratching it, and found that without using ki to strengthen his claws, he couldn¡¯t even scuff it.


    Seeing that Kaz was still messing with it, Li sent out another ki-bolt, this time a little stronger. It popped against Kaz¡¯s arm when it bounced back, and a tiny wisp of smoke carried the scent of burned fur to his nose. <You¡¯re probably right,> Li said, not sounding at all apologetic, and Kaz sighed.


    ¡°All right,¡± he said, and slid the rest of the way through the door. He moved several feet from the opening, and turned to look at it. ¡°Maybe I should-¡±


    <No,> Li said firmly. <Just leave it open, and everything will balance back out naturally.>


    Kaz hesitated. ¡°But someone might use it.¡±


    <Yes,> Li agreed. <Us. Who¡¯s going to find it at the top of a cliff, halfway up the tallest mountain around? But we can use it to get in and out without having to wait for the chiefs.>


    That made Kaz think of something else, and he asked, ¡°Do you think the xiyi remember this is here?¡±


    <If they do,> Li said gently, <it¡¯ll just make it easier for them to return when you fix it so they can. Isn¡¯t that what you want?>


    It was, but Kaz realized he¡¯d had some idea of controlling exactly how that happened. That wasn¡¯t right, though, was it? If he truly hoped some of the xiyi might make this mountain their home again, he had to allow it to be their home, and that meant allowing them to decide when and if they stayed here.


    Yes, the xiyi and his people would have to figure out exactly what that meant for all of them, but he didn¡¯t want to decide what that would look like. He might have to step in to make sure that nothing like what Thabil and Qiyi had been doing in the former mosui city happened again, but otherwise they needed to work it out for themselves.


    As he stepped away from the opening, he felt wind swirl in to pluck at his fur, trying to chill him again. He leaned over and set Li on the ground, where she immediately began to grow, quickly reaching her largest size. Kaz climbed onto her back, and she ran a few steps, wings beating, before leaving the open door behind.

 Chapter Three hundred thirty

    Kyla lay on her side, staring as Mei licked her first pup, cleaning away the fluids and other things that coated its skin. It was barely larger than Kyla¡¯s thumb, with dark eyes visible beneath fragile eyelids, and its ears and tail were barely more than nubs. The little creature was also completely hairless, so Kyla couldn¡¯t tell what kind of metals it had taken in during its time in Mei¡¯s belly.


    ¡°Stay still, Kyla,¡± Yingtao said softly as Mei shifted, producing a second baby. Kyla desperately wanted to do something to help, even though Mei had shown very few signs of discomfort. Again, Mei cleaned the new pup, and a few minutes later bore a third. After twenty minutes, Yingtao said the birth was over, leaving Mei looking very satisfied with herself as five pups suckled along the curve of her belly.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Kyla whispered, unable to tear her eyes from the newborns. Four of them were as pink as the first, but the fifth had completely black skin that made it difficult to see the eyes and ears, making Kyla worry that something might be wrong with it.


    Yingtao chuckled. ¡°Nothing except make sure Mei has plenty of food and water. Now that the pups are born, it may be less important to provide her with metal, though I don¡¯t know that for certain. I¡¯ve read many books and scrolls on the healing arts, including some that discussed rare beasts, but I must admit that I know little specifically about even common rodents. In the most general sense, however, most animal mothers instinctively know how to care for their young.¡± Her voice darkened for a moment. ¡°The same cannot be said of human mothers, unfortunately, but most of the time they have help to fill in the gaps.¡±


    This was unusual for Yingtao, who wasn¡¯t emotionless like her brother, but covered those emotions with false smiles and a gentle demeanor. Kyla liked the other female, but it was hard to know what aspects of her were real, and what weren¡¯t. Other than her feelings for Lianhua, which were obviously both deep and true.


    ¡°Among kobolds, some females are excellent mothers, while others are¡­not,¡± Kyla said, still not looking away from Mei, who was licking clean one of the pink pups while it squeaked in protest. ¡°Males often care for the puppies as much or more than the females, at least once the pup is weaned. My mother had only a few pups, and left the raising of them to my father, Rudu. She only cared if the females were strong enough to lead, and otherwise we were forgotten.¡±


    Yingtao sighed, and Kyla could almost feel her decide to continue speaking. ¡°My father has many wives, of which my mother was one of the most junior. The power of the wives is determined by the rank of their sons, since daughters inherit nothing. My father visited Mother rarely, so she only bore a single child. When I was born female, they say Mother turned her face away and died of shame.¡±


    Kyla wanted to growl at this. Other than the fact that kobolds usually took only one mate during their lifetimes, it could be similar among her own people. At least among the Magmablades and their subsidiaries, male pups were often left to the fathers, and sometimes were even passed on to den-mothers to be raised as if they had no living parents. While females whose parents had died could usually find a new family, males would grow up without close relations. Without official den-mothers, Magmablade pups could find themselves without any support at all. It was one of the things Kyla hated about her own tribe, and she hoped that Ija would change it.


    ¡°For the first few years, I was passed around between the other wives, but when I was three, Chi-ge¡¯s mother took me in, and he decided I would remain there.¡± Yingtao paused, and Kyla glanced up to see a genuine smile on the human¡¯s face. ¡°He was twelve years old at the time, and a prodigy with the Dao of Shadow. He was only the fifth son, but Father treated him as if he was second or third, so his words bore weight. He raised me like I was his beloved child, not his half-sister, until I was twelve myself. He refused to marry and leave me behind, so when Elder Long called for a servant for his granddaughter, I was sent away in hopes that my brother would forget about me. Chi-ge immediately followed and gave himself into Elder Long¡¯s service as well, even though Father threatened to remove him from the family if he did so.¡±


    That sounded like their father had said he would exile Chi Yincang from the tribe, which would leave him as the lowest member of a new tribe, if he could find one, or forced to join a group of unaffiliated people like the Irondiggers. For a kobold, it would be just short of a death sentence. ¡°Did he?¡± Kyla asked.


    Yingtao snorted a little laugh. ¡°Of course not. It was an empty threat. Chi Yincang brings our family great honor through his skills, and being part of Elder Long¡¯s household only raises his status. Father simply wanted to keep his so-useful son beneath his thumb, and now Chi-ge listens to no one but Elder Long and the Emperor himself.¡±


    Kyla watched the helpless fuergar pups now sleeping next to their mother, who continued giving each one a lick every few seconds, as if to reassure herself that they were all there and accounted for. ¡°I hated my mother,¡± Kyla finally said, feeling that a revelation like the one Yingtao had made should be answered by an equal one. ¡°I wanted to love her. I tried. But she only cared about me when she could use me.¡±


    ¡°She sounds like my father,¡± Yingtao said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Lianhua and I¡­she wants children, but I don¡¯t know how to be a good parent. It frightens me to think I¡¯ll fail as badly as my own.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Chest growing tight, Kyla looked up. ¡°Be better than them,¡± she said, meeting Yingtao¡¯s green gaze with all the ferocity she could muster. ¡°Love your children, teach them, and take care of them. Make sure they know you wish for them to be happy. That¡¯s all puppies really want. I¡¯m going to find the best mate ever, and we¡¯ll have lots of puppies, and raise them together, no matter how weak or strong they are. And someday, when those puppies grow up, they¡¯ll try to be even an even better parent than I was, and if each of us just keeps doing better, eventually there won¡¯t be any pups who grow up sad.¡±


    Yingtao stared back, then reached up and rubbed the heel of her hand against her eye. ¡°Yes. I can be better. And Lianhua will be great.¡±


    ¡°Then your children are already lucky,¡± Kyla said, reluctantly climbing to her paws. She should go find some meat for Mei, and probably some more metal, too. Everyone knew that a new mother needed to eat well so her pups could grow strong. There was still water in a bowl nearby, but it could be freshened as well.


    Yingtao stood too, though she had to back up to do so. The space where Mei had her nest was barely large enough for Kyla and the fuergar, so Yingtao had knelt in the low doorway, just in case she was needed.


    Lianhua was waiting just outside, and threw her arms around Yingtao, giving an almost silent squeal of excitement before whispering, ¡°Is it over? How many babies are there? Are they all right? Do fuergar give birth like other rodents? Are the babies¡¯ eyes open? Is Mei all right?¡±


    Yingtao laughed, and for a moment her face was transformed, shining with happiness as she looked down at her mate. ¡°Everything is fine, and yes, as far as I could tell, this was a very typical birth. There are five pups, all with closed eyes, and Mei is taking excellent care of them.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s eyes went from the door to Yingtao, and then to Kyla. ¡°Do you think she¡¯d mind if I looked? No one has ever documented fuergar breeding before, and I¡¯d like to take notes and draw some sketches. Oh!¡± She looked back at Yingtao. ¡°Ying-ai, can you draw some pictures while the memories are fresh?¡±


    Bright red rose in Yingtao¡¯s cheeks, and she very gently flicked Lianhua between the eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that in front of other people.¡±


    Lianhua rubbed the spot. ¡°Grandfather has given his blessing, and Kyla knows we¡¯re, um, mates,¡± she said, though her own cheeks turned pink at the last word.


    Yingtao cleared her throat, looking up, though Kyla didn¡¯t see anything on the ceiling when she followed the female¡¯s gaze. ¡°That¡¯s true. I guess. Then, yes, Xing-an, I can draw sketches for you.¡±


    Lianhua¡¯s smile grew even brighter, and Kyla decided this would be a good time to go find fresh water and food for Mei. She could even use the little hole Mei had chewed in the wall to give them to the fuergar when she returned, because she didn¡¯t think she wanted to go back into the hut for a while.


    Turning away, Kyla caught a brief glimpse of a figure darting away down the wide path between huts. There was something strange about it, so she pulled her power around her and followed, dodging around the few kobolds passing through this part of the city.


    For the most part, kobolds lived in their dens with the rest of their tribe, even though the city was large enough to house many people. A few members of each tribe stayed here to protect and maintain their parts of the city, and others came to meet in a relatively neutral space, but they all moved with steady assurance, not as if they were running from something. Was this a sign that someone was spying on the humans? If so, why and for whom?


    Kyla soon found herself in the vast open space at the very center of the city. This was called the chaoxue, and by tradition it belonged to no one. The Woodblades had once taken care of it, so it was covered in carvings, statues, and paintings, but since their deaths it had remained mostly unused and unattended. Shortly before Kyla had left the mountain, Kaz and the others had fought a great battle against a colossal flying monster here, which resulted in many of the beautiful works of art being damaged and destroyed.


    The smaller debris had been cleared away, but now it held only a sad shadow of its former beauty. Many of the lovely tiles that had once covered the ground had been broken, and whole buildings pulled down on top of the shattered remains. Once, the space had been clear, and Kyla could have seen from one side of it to the other, but now there were so many large chunks of stone and shattered buildings that Kyla had to climb up to the top of one of them before she could look around.


    At first, she thought she¡¯d lost the mysterious figure, but then movement flickered to her right, and she spun, stones falling out from under her paws and scattering to the ground. The noise must have caught the attention of the one she was following, because the figure stopped and looked back, and then Kyla knew exactly who it was. There was no mistaking those clothes, or the nearly complete lack of a tail that made the person look incomplete. It was Shom.


    The smith¡¯s eyes were narrowed as she stared around, and she lifted her nose as if sniffing the air. Kyla knew that her camouflage would cover most of her scent as well, so she just held still, watching until Shom gave a short shake of her head and turned away, climbing the stairs to the building behind her.


    Kyla followed the other female with her eyes, but made no attempt to do so with her paws. That building was where the great chiefs met when they made decisions that would affect two or more of the great tribes. No one other than the chiefs and their declared successors were allowed inside. Even Vega hadn¡¯t been able to enter, since Oda had been the official chief while the Magmablades were still a great tribe. No one knew what lay beyond the huge stone doors that Shom had just pushed open as if they weighed nothing. No one but the great chiefs, and, apparently, a single smith.