Jackal Among Snakes

Though Argrave had been all but told that he might be expected to return the favor later down the line, for now, he wasn’t opposed to accepting the convenience of Jaray’s free help. Getting something for nothing had always been his preferred way of doing things. And help Jaray was—he helped Argrave mitigate any tension with Law, mostly by being a convenient cushion to the truth of the matter.

“Argrave was understandably terrified by the prospect of the White Planes collapsing,” Jaray had said to Law smoothly. “Is it any wonder he went to you, the only god who he could trust to keep their word? Truly, all that he asked of you was what was already established by the agreement made to form the Blackgard Union. Can it really be considered a wrongdoing, especially when done at the advice of others?”

Jaray’s intervention was rather like a mother swooping in to abate a father’s wrath. There was some disapproval expressed, some words of disappointment levied, and some questions about whether or not they were hiding further information. But with the setup Jaray had given him, Argrave felt like it was child’s play to bat all the questions aside and preserve the goodwill that had been established so long ago. Law went away renewing his vow to protect Sophia, but reminding Argrave that half-truths compromised authority and justice.

After, Jaray offered to help more, swaying favor toward Argrave regarding his intention to assume the role of the Blackgard Union’s leader. They decided instead to look to Jaray’s offer: attending the meeting. It was only then that they were free of him, and only then that they had the opportunity to relay what Jaray was like to their companions. Argrave told all—every beat of their conversation.

“You know what he likely is, don’t you?” Anneliese asked once he’d finished describing things to the others.

“A catspaw of the Heralds.” Argrave closed his eyes. “Meaning he’s hearing everything that we’re talking about, now.”

Elenore narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps you ought not call him a catspaw, then. Are you sure of this?”

“He dodged the question when we brought it to him. It was clear to me he didn’t intend to answer.” Anneliese shrugged. “That’s no proof, but there’s knowing something and knowing something.”

“You didn’t press him?” Durran asked.

“I felt we got our answer the moment he wormed his way past the first question.” Argrave tapped Durran’s shoulder. “But if it makes you feel better, I intend to pose it again when we meet outside of Law’s Court.”

“We’re going?” Galamon raised a brow.

Argrave looked at him. “We can’t afford to waste valuable days of time on a wild goose chase searching for lunar dragon descendants. Whether a trap or a genuine dialogue, this is worth confronting.”

The Veidimen commander nodded solemnly. “I urge caution. Securing safety around the world is more important than this meeting.”

Orion looked about to say something in disagreement, but Argrave beat him to it. “That’s why Anne and I are going alone.”

All Argrave’s advisors looked at him in shock.

“Their reactions don’t surprise me,” Anneliese said to Argrave almost as if the others weren’t there. “They didn’t see us fight in the Shadowlands.”

Argrave nodded to her, then looked to Elenore. “Can you stay here, get a grip on things? In particular, while he’s absent, find out what you can about Jaray.”

“I can do that. You’re sure about this?” Elenore questioned.

“Like Anne said… you didn’t see us in the Shadowlands. If you had… you’re probably seek out a therapist for me.” He patted his sister’s shoulders. “Good luck.”

“What about Sophia?” Elenore questioned.

“Keep her here, for the time being.” Argrave closed his eyes. “The next time I see her, I want a proper conversation.”

“Just make sure there is a next time, then,” Elenore insisted.

#####

Argrave and Anneliese joined up with Raven far from the designated meeting area, looking upon it from a distance. The location chosen was a mountain in Anorexhai—the continent that the Smiling Raven had wiped out, countless millennia before. It was deep inland, where the hum of the bugs in the rainforest echoed out far more constantly than any human activity. It was as untamed as the Bloodwoods, and nearly as harsh. There was no civilized presence here for hundreds of miles.

“Any more things you’ve picked up on?” Argrave asked.

“Nothing of note,” Raven confirmed. “So long as you maintain avenues of retreat, I believe you’ll emerge from this unscathed.” He lifted his arm, pointing. “The one called Jaray waits, already.”

“Since when?” Anneliese asked in surprise. Raven shook his head to indicate it wasn’t a long time. Anneliese followed up curiously, “Could you tell what he was smoking?”

“Nothing more than grass dipped in a peculiar, non-harmful ointment. Still, I’d not advise inhaling.” He looked between the two of them. “Will you go?”

Argrave looked to Anneliese, and then the two of them nodded. They proceeded through the rainforest on foot, making their way to where Jaray was. They found him where Raven had pointed out, lounging on a fallen stump. In the humidity, his smoke seemed lazy, almost heavy. There was a gargantuan creature beside him—an overgrown lizard, frankly. Jaray fed it red meat, and it laid there contented.

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“You’ve come.” Jaray threw the remainder of the meat at the lizard’s feet, then stood up. He walked to a nearby stream, cleaning off his hand of the blood. “Shall we go?”

Argrave looked at the giant lizard, gluttonously scarfing down meat. “A part of me wonders if I didn’t just see some divine symbolism. I walk in on you, Jaray, feeding a fat lizard red meat. If that’s not a portent for what’s to come of this meeting, I’m not sure what is.”

Jaray laughed as he looked at the reptile. “The truth is often far more boring than reality. People invent these grandiose scenarios in their head about the future, present, or even the past. They suspect people are working with Gerechtigkeit, or the Heralds.” His dark eyes met Argrave’s, a smile graced his lips as he smoked. “Sometimes, it’s better to live in fantasy than to have reality confirmed. It’s less disappointing that way.”

Argrave chuckled at his audacity—he was all but saying he knew their concern. “If that’s true, why can’t you just bore us with the facts?”

“Well… I said the truth is often far more boring. Not always.” Jaray laughed, then turned. “Come on.”

Jaray walked up a mountain trail, and after exchanging a quick glance, the royal pair followed after him. Anneliese kept a grasp on the situation from above with her Starsparrow, and Argrave guided her along as she focused on her druidic magic. The hike wasn’t particularly long, but it was quite steep. Anneliese and Argrave, enhanced as they were, easily kept the god’s pace until they arrived at the summit.

The peak looked much as Raven had described it—desolate, with the only hint of life being tracks so faint it was hard to decide if they were real. The howl of wind was but a quiet whisper here, and above, the red moon shone down on them like a brilliant spotlight. It might almost be a romantic getaway spot if not for the gravity of this meeting to come.

“Where’s your friend?” Argrave asked Jaray.

Jaray looked up to the sky, puffing smoke. He pointed his finger. “See that red dot?”

Argrave followed his finger up, peering at the sky. He indeed spotted a blinking red dot, assuming it naturally to be a star or a planet or some other such celestial body. He shifted on his feet uneasily when he saw it grow in size.

“She’s very dramatic, and somewhat insecure,” Jaray continued, smoking his pipe. “I don’t help, teasing her as I do. But she’s a good person. You don’t have anything to fear.”

“Anne?” Argrave questioned, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the rapidly-approaching red dot. It looked like a meteor, come to end them. “I’m wondering if we might consider getting the hell out of here.”

Anneliese watched the sky the same as he did—in rapt attention, in awe and fear. “I think… I think we’ll be fine.”

“You think?” He looked at her briefly, then looked back above. “You want to elucidate how exactly you came to that conclusion? Jaray?”

“You wanted to speak to a descendant of a lunar dragon,” Jaray explained. “It’s always much easier if you bypass all the proxies, however, and get straight to the source.”

The next moment, Argrave was certain they’d share the dinosaur’s fate, dying to a meteor suddenly and unexpectedly. A burst of fire cut through the atmosphere itself, and the moon was blocked out by a roaring inferno that sent every animal of the rainforest at the foot of the mountain screaming and hollering. Argrave was moments away from teleporting away when all of this meteor’s momentum ceased, and a great shockwave wracked the mountain.

Argrave saw, then, as classic a dragon as he had ever seen. Its red scales were the same hue as the moon above, and its eyes a white-gold that were an equal to the stars in the sky in brilliance. The creature seemed as large as Blackgard itself. Its wings could hide the sky, its clawed legs could rend the mountains, and its spiked hammer-like tail could shatter the continents. But it descended slowly, lowering itself without any physical movement as though its wings were just for show.

The moment its great legs seemed like to touch the ground, its entire body shifted, fading away like smoke in wake of a decidedly female figure. Though possessed of white, almost yellowish human skin, she bore a crimson robe of scales that Argrave suspected grew from her body. She had hair of the same color, long enough that Anneliese’s seemed short by comparison—those red locks had to stretch for many yards, just from first glance. Her eyes still shone like stars, retaining a hint of their reptilian nature. She stood at equal height to Argrave.

“I am not dramatic,” the lunar dragon protested at Jaray in irritation. Her voice was quite deep for a woman’s. “I’m simply efficient.”

“You’ll concede the insecurity, then.” He smiled at her.

“Arguing would only prove you right.” She looked at them. Her eyes did not move in a human fashion—they darted like a chameleon’s might, able to look different directions at the same time. “It’s strange to see you in person. I don’t really like it. It’s like reading a book and finding your name in it, or…” she sighed. “Well, we’re here.”

“Reading a book?” Anneliese repeated. “Then you…?”

“I’m aware of you. And I’m one of the lunar dragons you were looking for, yes.” She blinked—a translucent eyelid obscured her eyes for a moment, then retracted. Her appearance was remarkably human-like, yet the longer he scrutinized, the more he recognized things that were off—her tongue, for instance, was thin, long, and forked. “You might call me the first. It’s not entirely true, but I’m the first you might accurately add ‘lunar’ to.”

She walked closer in the following silence. Argrave caught sight of a long tail behind her, which moved forward with the sleekness of a snake. It coiled around her gracefully, then she laid down in front of them. She assumed a position rather like an empress decadently lounging atop pillows, with her own tail as the bed.

“Have a seat,” she said with a sigh. She turned her head. “Jaray,” she called out.

“Yes?”

Her next words defied expectations—not because of their meaning, but rather because Argrave could find no meaning in them. For the first time Argrave could ever recall since arriving here, he heard a different, unfamiliar tongue. It wasn’t arcane by any means, but there was no denying this lunar dragon spoke a different language.

Jaray nodded and began to walk away. She looked back. “Jaray will get you chairs, some food. He’s helpful like that.”

Argrave pushed past his surprise to ask the first question. “What’s your name?”

“Impossible to say, what with your facial structure,” she gestured vaguely. “Dragons have long snouts, different tongues, and numerous teeth—our words are simply different sounds entirely. I shan’t mock you by insisting you use it. Roughly translated, it means, ‘reflection of the suns upon a still lake.’ You could call me that, but I know it sounds off.” Her long claws stroked her sharp chin for a moment, then she raised a finger as if in epiphany. “When I was last in human form, I went by Lorena. It’ll suffice.”

“Alright, Lorena.” Argrave glanced at Anneliese, who was infinitely more fascinated than he was—and he was pretty damned intrigued. “Let’s talk.”

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