All Chapters of Called by the Dragon: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

 Getting out of the palace proved less complicated than she had expected, but more troublesome than she had hoped. Anzi and Kaizat stood patiently by the enormous stone barrier that made up one of the six massive gates that led out into the city. Just beyond the barrier would be a bridge made of the same heavy stone as well, solid and true.The gate guards were the same way. No ordinary beasts, these: while Anzi had her doubts about entrusting critical responsibilities to non-humans, control of the impossibly heavy gates had to fall into the capable hands of the enormous stone golems. Somewhat man-shaped, just vaguely, while bearing the rippling, coarse texture of rocky earth, the hunched-over creatures stood more than twice as high as the tallest human and as many times wide. They had no eyes nor mouth nor ears, or none that Anzi could see at least, but they had a sizable, featureless lump where the head might be on a man along with two arms and two legs as wide around

"Welcome back, Anzi, didn't expect to see you so soon. Fell off, did you? Passing muster for Premier induction a little harder than you thought?""If I fell off, then you should be worried about where you'll end up," she said flatly, but she didn't bother putting on a frosty front otherwise. Blunt words were enough to get her point across when it came to this gaggle of malcontent soldiers who thought she was a wise target to heckle. Oscar had never been very smart though, so while his friends would know better than to do much more than sneer in her direction, he was the one she knew would be raising hell soon enough.Too bad all the other training grounds were already reserved for drills and other training exercises. It was nearing the end of summer, which meant it was about that time - the recruits needed to be broken in before winter came. This area - Training Ground Twelve, was the only one that wasn't off-limits. Unfortunately, that meant all the loiterers

"What do you think you're doing." Anzi had no choice but to remain in place since she didn't dare step in front of the chieftain, but if she could, she would have been in Oscar's face in the span of an eye blink. Was he crazy or stupid or both? Didn't he recognize what kind of guest she was escorting by the priceless regalia he wore? Her eyes narrowed to sharp slits as she glared at her fellow soldier, violently willing him to move back."I'm just welcoming -""It's alright, Anzi. I'm sure he means no harm."She couldn't bring herself to look over at Kaizat, not even when she felt a soothing hand rest upon the leather guard over her shoulder. This was humiliating. No discipline, she seethed. And what was Oscar's plan, exactly? What did he think was going to happen? Now that he had issued what was plainly little more than a poorly disguised challenge, the honor of the Empire's entire military rested on a pair of shoulders more suitable for posing for portraits th

"So you get sent back here, and the first thing they make you do is give a tour to some barbarian nomad princeling?"Anzi said nothing in response to the haughty sneer that came from her left. She had no idea which one of Oscar's friends was speaking, but it was all the same to her anyway. He wasn't worth responding to."Stop that," someone else said. A feminine voice this time, softer but no less lofty. "It must have felt awful coming back like this. It's alright, Anzi...you're five or ten years too early for the Premier Guard, anyway. It would have been ridiculous if you managed it, don't you think? Now that you're back, you can train some more and prepare better. Next time, if you work harder, you'll definitely make it."The snide, backhanded pretense at encouragement was even more annoying than the outright taunting. If she were allowed to speak of the Gauntlet or the Running at all, she would have shot back with a cold assurance th

"The market is still crowded around this time. It'll be better if you wait until closer to the evening to explore the wares.""That's fine."It had been quiet between them ever since Anzi had led Kaizat away from the training grounds at least half an hour ago. Since then, they had been walking along the wide, smooth stone path that followed the circular Annat River and bordered the inner edge of the upper districts. Now they approached a divide in the river, as well as in the path: one way would continue leading them around, and the other would take them deeper into the city districts.When they reached the fork, she came to a halt. "What would you like to see in the meantime, sir.""What would you recommend?""It's hard to say. There are people who enjoy exploring the Quarter Art, but I don't think you'll be wanting souvenirs to take back with you.""How did you know? Do I not look like the sort to collect souvenirs?"She was glad th

 Anzi was grateful to finally get away from the chieftain. After spending no more than half a day with him, she was already feeling horribly bereft by his absence, so how much worse would it have been if she had been in his presence any longer? Even now, she thought she could feel the warmth of his fingers trailing along the side of her face, smell the dizzying scent of spice and desert wind rising from his body, hear his voice alternate between smooth syllables and deep, roughened rumbles...Really, she was grateful they were separated now.They had returned to the palace as the sun set even though her summons had not yet come, and luckily, they had made it back into the grounds without much disturbance thanks to the letter that vouched for them. After that, she had made sure to deposit him into the care of a pretty palace maid who eagerly agreed to show Kaizat-Amun to his room."I said to call me Kai," he had said again with a smile, and Anzi had hurriedl

 "Anzi."She was back on her feet in an instant. Night had fallen hours ago, but the flickering light of the standing torches in the courtyard illuminated every harsh line of Colonel Bisset's face. "Yes, sir.""You're needed. The Emperor will see you first."First? Who else was she to see tonight? It was already late, and while she didn't dare complain about the hour nor did she have any desire to, the timing was too odd to discount. At the sound of a loud, sudden snuffle, she glanced behind the stone bench she had been sitting on at the massive snout of the colonel's dragon. She had awoken finally; all this time she had done little more than sleep. Scaly eyelids flickered, then opened to reveal bright blue eyes that sent a tingle down Anzi's spine.She turned back to Colonel Bisset. "Will I find His Excellency in the throne room?""Yes. I won't be accompanying you. You remember the way."It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway. "Ye

Anzi felt utterly dwarfed by the gaping, slanted hole in the ground. Five meters across at least, perhaps more, and now that her eyes were finally adjusting to the faint light that flickered from the lone torch, she saw that it was not a hole at all but a long tunnel that gently sloped down into some unknown abyss. The angle was such that she could barely see any illumination inside the giant passageway unless she crouched down and peered sideways under ground level.Not that the Emperor had any interest in waiting for her to allay her misgivings about entering the darkness. When she glanced back at him, there was a surprised gleam in his eyes, and she realized at once that her hesitations were tantamount to disobedience. With a sharp, hasty exhale, she pushed herself off her knee and back to a stand."Yes, Your Excellency," she said, and while she remembered just in time that the man disliked being saluted, she couldn't excuse herself from his presence without a bow,

 This wasn't possible. Dragons were all but extinct; everyone knew that.Following the great Purge over two centuries ago, only the scant few taken in by the Empire had survived. The Imperial dragon bonded to the Emperor along with those partnered to his four generals - those were the only ones that had made it safely through the catastrophic war that decimated their population. After that, the only dragons eggs in existence had been those produced by those survivors, and that was why the Premier Guard only numbered a scant eight to this day.But now she had just been shown that was untrue. In two hundred years, had five dragons really multiplied into this unborn horde? She couldn't hope to count how many were crammed into this chamber. From wall to wall, some eggs were as long as her forearm and wider around than her waist, others could fit in the palm of a small child. Eggs scaled with rippling, iridescent patterns, eggs bearing feathers, eggs with fanned fins a

 "You haven't slept."It was only thanks to years of rigorous discipline that Anzi didn't leap out of her skin. Instead, she reacted the same way she had back in the underground passageway when Bastien had surprised her, lashing out with her arm at the source of the unexpected voice while simultaneously sliding backward off the stone railing. But a spark of - something inexplicable exploded under her skin when she struck warm flesh, making her nearly lose her balance. Head reeling, she retreated several swift steps back toward the doors before she finally realized who it was before her."...Chieftain Kaizat?""Do I have to get on my knees for you to stop calling me that?"She stared in silence at the darkened silhouette that half-straddled the balcony rail. She hadn't bothered to light a candle back in the room before coming out here, and with the clouds muffling the faint light of the moon, all she could see was the tousled, almost shaggy black hair