I’ll probably fail at it anyway. I’m only good for one thing. And I’m not even good enough at that.
I’m shaking, and the dragon is still watching me. God knows what he’s thinking.
I pull myself together. “I’m not doing anything until you tell me what the reward is,” I bluff.
“Of course.” Ygdris’ voice is cool, but he doesn’t call my bluff. We both know that he could make me do this for no reward at
all. “Here.”
He reaches under his cape and pulls something out. My throat goes dry.
He’s holding an orb the size of one of my fists. A soft glow surrounds it, and if I didn’t know better I’d think it was a trick of the light that makes the glow seem to be separate from the orb itself, like some sort of aura. But I do know better.
I swallow. I also know I shouldn’t know what the object is, not if Ygdris is as ignorant of my past as he claims to be, so I stay silent.
“This is an Imperial-grade defence orb. It has a range of one hundred of your Earth kilometres. In practical terms, it mitigates the worst of adverse climactic and atmospheric effects on the defended area… and creates a shield that is completely impenetrable to those of draconic descent.”
I lick my lips. “That’s not salvation.” My voice is choked. “It’s…”
“It’s dangerous, I agree. The sort of sanctuary it could create will attract the Protectorate’s attention. Unless you were careful. Unless it was deployed with care, in an area the Protectorate has already abandoned. No more earthquakes. No storms. And no dragons. You wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore.” There’s a hint of pleading in his voice.
Oh, God, he’s really laying it on thick. And for good reason. Whatever this treasure is, he’s willing to do more than just go against the Protectorate to take it back – giving a piece of tech like this to a human is treason.
I take a ragged breath. This is more important than just me.
My mind races. Not Wellington. The Spire’s derelict, at least, that’s what everyone says – except the Protectorate is keeping the dragon’s treasure there, so maybe it’s not as abandoned as we thought.
Further inland, though, or up the coast. Places that never got more than a touch of Protectorate attention in the first place. Some hidden bay or valley, or somewhere up in the mountains where ice-melt creeks trickles between ancient rocks…
A sanctuary.
A shiver goes down my spine, followed by a chill of dread. I can’t do it. I know that. I’ve tried playing the hero before and see where that got me. I’m broken. You can’t lead people to safety if you’d throw yourself at the first dragon to step in your path.
But I could give it to someone else. Someone who would be able to use it properly, who could help people.
Someone like Sia.
“It’s a deal,” I say. And for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m making the right decision.
“Very well.” Ygdris returns the orb to its hidden pocket. “The Protectorate stole a great treasure from me. I need you to steal it back.”
“Oh,” I say, feeling dizzy. “Nothing difficult, then.”
“From the Spire.”
“Oh.”
I keep a nervous eye out for Sia or any of the others as we make our way through the drowned streets. They’re empty, of course. What’s left of Wellington’s population – those who didn’t die in the Cataclysm or any of the earthquakes, and who didn’t venture further inland to escape the coastal storms – live in the outer hill suburbs, where there’s less risk of a skyscraper falling on you in the next quake.
So there’s no one to see me sitting cosy in the front of my kayak, with Ygdris behind me. His legs are inches from mine. If I leaned back, I’d fall into his lap, my shoulder blades pressing against his upper thighs, my head nestled in his lap, my hands reaching up…
No. I teeter on the edge of the black pit, tendrils of blackness coiling around my ankles. I have to pull back.
“The Spire is guarded against draconic energy signatures,” Ygdris is explaining. “It’s a similar mechanism to that used in the defence orb. If I enter the Spire, the alarms will immediately alert the Protectorate. But a human should be able to enter undetected.”
A thousand questions leap to my tongue, and I bite them back. My silence seems to unnerve Ygdris.
“Should be able to.”