Dragon Lord (Dragons & Phoenixes Book 1) Page 6

  As I continued walking, passing by pretty stoops that led to well-maintained and brightly colored doors, something else struck me. Everything was so clean. There wasn’t even a little bit of litter anywhere. Even the better areas inside the dome had some dirt, candy wrappers, something. With that much humanity crammed so close together, it was almost impossible to keep everything perfect.

  I didn't see anything like that here. It was impressive.

  Whatever they use for paving wasn't dark. It was a beige, sand-like color.

  "No asphalt?" I asked.

  It was Enzi who answered me again. Maybe Hathai wasn't my biggest fan. Or maybe she was just a woman of few words.

  "We use a blend that includes desert sand," Enzi explained. "The dark asphalt absorbs too much heat out here."

  That made sense. The buildings around us were also built from a light material, not quite the same tone as the ground. I wouldn't be able to tell the exact color until the morning though.

  We finally stopped in front of a large building with double doors that were already open, light spilling out onto the stairs leading up.

  "Right this way."

  I climbed up the stairs, shifting Omari in my arms again. The state of the streets should have clued me in, but I still wasn't expecting how the building looked on the inside. Marble lined the floors, matching the columns. I followed one of them up to the cathedral ceiling, where a pretty mural of the sky covered the space. A large chandelier with sparkling crystals threw soft light all across the room. Furniture was set up in conversational groupings on top of plush area rugs. Paintings adorned the walls, spaced apart and lit individually to set off the rich colors.

  Straight ahead, a wide staircase was carpeted in deep purple with a subtle golden pattern woven through it. The stairs rose up and then split halfway, separating into two flights leading to the second story. There was another, slightly smaller chandelier at the landing where the staircase divided. The banisters gleamed under the light, a faux wood that looked different than any I'd seen before.

  "Is this a hotel?" I asked. I didn't know who would be staying in the dragon stronghold. Maybe visiting dragons?

  Omari wiggled in my arms and I let him down and took his hand. He looked around with the same kind of absorption that I had. I'd never seen a place this nice before.

  "No. This is Ashur's home," Enzi explained. "Your room is going to be on the second floor."

  All of this belonged just to Ashur? Guess it paid to be at the top of the dragon heap. I didn't know why I was so surprised. Intellectually, I knew the dragons wouldn't live in the actual ruins of the city. But I guess I thought where they did live would be sort of like ruins, if that made sense. I definitely didn't picture this well-thought-out, elegant setup that was a large step above city dome life.

  Obviously, my bias was showing. There was no denying that both dragons and phoenixes were painted as somewhat animalistic and less sophisticated or intelligent than humans in most city dome schools.

  I didn’t realize I'd actually bought into that narrative, knowing my own not-so-human blood. But I guess it still had an effect on me. It made me wonder how many of my other assumptions or ideas might be wrong.

  Omari and I followed our guides up the stairs and into a hallway, gently lit and carpeted with the same plush purple. The wallpaper had little gold accents and there were alcoves at regular intervals that housed small benches and paintings. I didn't know who would stop in the hall to take a rest on those benches, but I couldn't deny that the effect was pretty.

  "Here we are," Enzi said, stopping in front of a double door. He opened one side. "Unless you would like two rooms?" he asked, looking over at me.

  I shook my head. I would keep Omari nearby.

  "Wow!" Omari exclaimed as he walked into the room. There was no word for it other than opulent.

  The space was large enough that I could have easily fit five of my apartments in it, if not more. The carpet in here was a beautiful cream color, and my boots sank into the plush depths of it as I followed Omari inside. There was a massive four-poster bed with deep gray linens and white trim in the center of the room, with a mountain of accent pillows set up in front of the crisp, white pillowcases. There was a desk in the corner with a delicate chair in front of it and a sleek computer on top.

  My watch wouldn't work this far out from the city dome. They must have their own network. Of course they would. It only made sense. I needed to stop being surprised.

  A seating area on the other side of the room was complete with a couch and overstuffed chairs and a coffee table in the middle. A tapestry was all the art in this room, the large surface area of it covering almost the entirety of one wall. It depicted dragons sweeping down over the city, only the ruins visible.

  Maybe it was a way to remind me where I was. Not that I could forget.

  There were two other doors apart from the door leading to the hall. I walked over to one and peeked inside. It was a walk-in closet with a few clothes hanging inside. I could probably live in the closet alone.

  Enzi said, "Feel free to help yourself to the clothing there. They aren't anything fancy, but you should be able to find something that fits. I'll bring something more for Omari here." He glanced over at Omari and smiled.

  Either everyone was doing their best impersonation of empathetic people, or they really didn't kill phoenix children here.

  Call me paranoid, but I wouldn't let my guard down just yet.

  I moved over to the other door and turned on the light inside. It was a massive bathroom complete with a tub large enough for five and a separate shower. There were double sinks and more marble, with gold accents in the faucets and the towel rods.

  Both the tub and the shower were calling my name but I stepped back outside and turned to face Enzi. His fellow babysitter must have been waiting outside.

  "Thank you." Might as well be polite to our captors. I looked over at Omari. "Are you hungry?"

  He nodded, looking back over his shoulder at me from where he was poking at the bedspread. I looked at Enzi.

  "I'll bring something up for you." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "And please. Do not leave this room tonight."

  I didn't respond, but he took my silence for agreement I suppose, leaving and closing the door behind himself.

  "Mia?"

  "Hmmm?"

  "Are they going to let us go?" he asked, his eyes worried.

  "Yes," I said confidently, though I wasn't sure at all. There was no reason for both of us to be worried. He gave me a long look but he let it go. Nothing could have made me feel smaller than having a six-year-old allow me to keep up appearances.

  He walked over to the curtains and pushed them open. I thought they covered a window, but with them pushed aside, it was clear there was a balcony outside. Omari immediately opened the door. I quickly followed him outside, not knowing if it was safe for him out there. I tested the railing by shaking it hard, and it didn’t budge. Good enough.

  Since the buildings where built so high and we were only on the second floor, we couldn’t look out over the city. We did have a good view of the street below. Something shiny caught my eye to one side of the balcony—there was a slim ladder bolted to the side of the building that led to the very top.

  Easy roof access.

  When I looked up, I also realized there were no plain windows, at least not on this side. They were all balconies. I guess when you could fly, not having a balcony would be restricting.

  I looked down at the street again and noticed again exactly how wide they were. The facts clicked together in my head. They were built to accommodate a dragon's wingspan.

  Somehow, it was that detail the fully brought home that I wasn't in a familiar place anymore. That I had no idea what the rules were here. No matter what my blood said I was, I was still raised mostly human apart from the excursions to soak in the sun.

  There was no point dwelling on it. I'd have to roll with the punches and hope for the b
est.

  I looked over at Omari. "I think you need to take a bath."

  His face immediately set into a mutinous expression. "No I don’t." He peeked up at me and quickly looked away.

  I hid a smile. Leaning down, I pretended to sniff at him. "You're starting to smell," I teased with a smile.

  He giggled, his smile bright. "No I'm not!"

  I straightened, shrugging. "Well, if you want to be smelly, I can't stop you."

  He bit his lip and glanced down at himself. "Well...maybe I could take a really fast bath. Not because I need to," he quickly added. "But because it would be polite."

  I nodded solemnly. "I understand," I said gravely. I led the way into the bathroom and started the water for him as he chattered about everything we'd seen so far.

  "Do you think Ashur showers?" he asked.

  "I'm sure he does," I said mildly.

  He looked at the tub of the water and sighed. "Okay," he said glumly.

  "Do you need help?" I asked, stepping back.

  He shook his head. "I know how to bathe all by myself now," he said proudly.

  "That's very impressive."

  "I know," he said confidently as he took off his shirt. "I'm an impressive person."

  I was still chuckling as I left the bathroom.

  There was a knock at the door as I entered the bedroom. Enzi was there with a trolley full of food.

  "The chef didn't know what Omari would like, so he gave you all the usual suspects."

  I looked at the array of chicken nuggets, french fries, and what looked like small burgers. Meat was usually grown in labs these days because it was more efficient, but they'd gotten pretty good at it.

  Everything looked fresh and smelled delicious. My stomach growled in response. Enzi smiled at the sound but didn’t comment on it.

  "I'm sure this will be fine. Thank you,” I said.

  Enzi brought forth a bundle from beneath is arm and handed it to me. "I also brought some clothes that might fit the little guy if he needs them."

  I took the stack in my hands. Omari's bag was in the car, along with mine. I hadn't thought to grab it. Probably a side effect of being surrounded by dragons.

  "Thank you."

  He left the room, closing the door again behind himself. I didn’t have any illusions he wouldn't barge in if he needed to, but I appreciated the veneer of politeness.

  I took the clothes to the bathroom and set them down on the counter.

  "Omari, here’s some clothes on the counter for you," I told him. I found the towels underneath and picked one out. "I put a towel here too."

  "Okay!"

  Not knowing what else to do, I left the bathroom. I didn't really know anything about kids. Would he be able to handle everything himself? I shouldn't have worried. Less than five minutes later, Omari came out dressed in the sweatpants and bright yellow shirt that had been left for him. His eyes went directly to the food.

  "Come on, sit next to me," I invited.

  He sat down in the chair I pointed to and I made him a plate.

  "Is there anything you don't want?"

  He shook his head so I set the plate in front of him and he dug in with a voracious appetite.

  I completely understood. The travel rations were nutritious, but nobody could call them tasty with a straight face.

  I bit into one of the burgers and had to close my eyes. God, it was so good. If nothing else, at least we got to eat well while we were here.

  Neither Omari nor I were slow eaters, so we worked through all of the food quickly. I was pretty stuffed, and I could see Omari's eyes already closing. Probably I should have made him brush his teeth. But I figured skipping one time wouldn't hurt. And he was exhausted.

  Even apart from everything that had happened, I knew he wasn't completely over his sun sickness yet. I could see the gray creeping in again.

  "Time for bed," I said, trying not to show my worry.

  He didn't argue, climbing in when I pulled back the covers. I really needed a bath too. But when I moved to leave, he stopped me.

  "Can you lie down next to me?" he asked sleepily.

  I lay down on top of the covers on the other side so I wouldn't get the sheets dirty underneath.

  He put his head on the pillow and was asleep in under two minutes.

  I carefully got up and shut off the light in the room, but left the bathroom light on and the door open a crack so a small shaft of light came out into the room. I knew when I was a kid, waking up to a fully dark room was not comforting at all.

  "What if they don't want us to leave tomorrow?" Omari whispered, his voice sleepy. Not quite conked out after all.

  I lay back down on the bed. "We'll just leave anyway," I said.

  "Can we do that?"

  Good question. "I'll find a way."

  He nodded, snuggling into the pillow. Between one breath and the next, he fell asleep.

  I waited a little a bit longer to be sure he wouldn't wake up again. When he didn't, I slid out of bed. I needed to speak to Ashur without Omari listening. I needed to know what he had planned, what was going to happen to us. He hadn't said anything about letting us go tomorrow.

  If he thought he could just put me away for the night and I'd stay there obediently, he had another thing coming.

  I went to the door that opened to the hallway, hoping it was Enzi out there. I knew it wouldn't be empty. They would have left a guard. When I opened it and peeked outside, I let out a sigh of relief.

  Enzi stepped away from the wall on the other side of the hall.

  "I'm sorry, but you have to stay in the room," he said, sounding apologetic but firm.

  I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. "I'm not going back inside until after you've taken me to talk to Ashur."

  He shook his head. "I can't do that. My orders were to make sure—"

  "I don't care what your orders were. I have a kid asleep in there and I need to know that he's going to be safe. Take me to Ashur or I'll find him myself," I warned, hoping he didn't call my bluff.

  He hesitated. Another push might do it.

  "Look, what am I going to do? Stab him with a knife? All he would have to do is transform and step on me."

  He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm going to regret this." He turned and started down the hall.

  Score. I grinned, falling into step beside him. "Life is full of regrets."

  He gave me a sideways glance. "This is where you're supposed to reassure me that I won't regret this," he pointed out dryly.

  "Sorry," I said. "You won't regret this," I parroted dutifully.

  He shook his head. "You're really bad at that."

  "You're not the first person to point that out."

  Chapter Nine

  Enzi took me down the hall to an elevator this time. When I looked at him questioningly, he explained.

  "He's a few floors up. You can take the stairs if you want to, but this is more efficient."

  "This is fine."

  The gold doors were shiny enough to show us our reflections as we waited.

  In silence.

  "So...do you get a lot of trespassers?" I asked. I was so amazing at small talk. I watched his reflection look over to me and then turn back to look straight ahead again.

  "No."

  Good to know. Guess I was in the minority. At least I was special.

  We stepped into the elevator and Enzi pressed the button for the forty-fourth floor. My eyebrows rose at that. I guess his definition of a few and mine weren't exactly the same.

  We stood in silence again as the elevator rose. Enzi broke it this time.

  "You shouldn't push him too much," he said quietly.

  "Push who?" I asked, though I had a pretty good idea of who he was talking about.

  "Ashur," he confirmed. "He doesn't take kindly to trespassers. You're only alive because you have a child with you."

  That was good to know, too. And so comforting.

  The doors finally opened into another
hall, though this one was short. And the floor wasn't covered in carpet but rather in gleaming faux wood. I looked up from my contemplation of the floor as we walked to the end of the hallway.

  What were those sounds?

  The hall abruptly opened up into a cavernous space, the ceiling maybe three stories high. Recessed lights illuminated the room, along with sconces around the walls. There were open archways in the middle of every wall in the room, ostensibly leading to other connecting rooms.

  On one side of the space, practice mats were laid out on the floor. On the other side, the wall was covered in various weapons. Swords, knives, spears, maces, whips. I didn't know in what scenario a whip would be efficient but there you go.

  This was clearly a room set up to train, which was exactly what it was currently being used for. Men and women were focused on exerting themselves, improving their skills. They were dressed in an array of differing outfits. Loose flowing pants, leggings or shorts and sports bras. There didn't seem to be a strict uniform of any kind.

  Some were practicing throws and what looked like some form of martial arts on the mats, while others were sparring with weapons or practicing combinations on the heavy bags in the back.

  Even among all that activity and all the toned and muscled bodies on display, my eye immediately went to one.

  Ashur.

  This was the first time I'd seen him in good lighting. His bronze skin gleamed under that illumination, his chest bared but his legs covered in loose, black pants. His focus was on his opponent, a tall but whiplash thin man who had the grace of flowing water.

  I watched them attack each other, Ashur's blows fast and powerful, the other man's flowing and almost delicate. The thin man was pretty to look at but Ashur quickly got the upper hand.

  His fighting style wasn't elegant or for show. It was brutal and efficient. And it didn't take long before the other man was on the ground with Ashur pinning him. He tapped out and Ashur got back to his feet, lending a helping hand up.