Dragon Realms

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A complete epic-fantasy trilogy.

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Chapter 1- Heldum, Reclium

It was a city of echoes. Hacked from the very stone of the mountain, rising in towers so high that only the winged could access the tops, it magnified every sound, sent it bouncing around where sharp ears and keen minds could trace it back.

Which made the job Viktoria Autumn had taken on extra challenging.

She walked slowly along the canyon-like street, ignoring the dim lights of the vendors selling everything from the newest in easily-hidden weaponry to the latest in forbidden herbs transported at great cost from the jungles of Droy Thus. None of that interested her now.

What did was keeping her quarry in sight, while remaining as inconspicuous as possible. While that was easy enough here, among the crush of humans who made up the bulk of Heldum’s population, that wasn’t who she really wanted to avoid. Those, the ones who did matter, glided on silent wings far above, higher than the loftiest of the stone towers. Invisible, for all intents and purposes. Human eyes weren’t designed to see that far into everlasting night, no matter how long they’d lived with it.

And night was all Viktoria had ever known. Of course, she’d heard stories of the other lands, like Droy Thus and Ascana, where the sun shined during the day, and night was something that only happened for part of the cycle. She couldn’t imagine it. The mere thought made her head hurt. All that light! How would you hide from the dragonkin?

She shook her head, dispelling her errant thoughts. Trailing Yulis Drach was no great feat but, ending him where no one could see would be another matter. He may belong to the Bloodworth clan, but that meant nothing. Not when she was involved.

Viktoria belonged to no clan. Many would have claimed her, if they could have, but she preferred to stay independent. Something that was a death sentence for most in Heldum. Without others by your side, your chances of surviving were next to nothing.

Unless you knew where to hide. Where to go to ground. And had made a name for yourself that made the Clan Heads want to hire you more than kill you. Even now, when she was done with Drach, the Bloodworth clan would howl for her head and offer good money for her skin. But not enough to draw the best after her. And when a few weeks had passed, the furor would die down, and Bloodworth money would be as good to her as any other.

She didn’t know what Drach had done to earn the ire of the Soulcatch clan. It didn’t matter. They paid; she’d do the job. And always paid upfront, because Viktoria had never failed. Not once.

Ahead of her by several paces, Yulis Drach stopped at a store. He gazed in the open windows and seemed to be considering if the items within were worth buying.

Viktoria wasn’t fooled. He’d stopped because he’d sensed he was being followed. His eyes shifted slowly toward her, then away, as she blended in with a group of three young people who had just walked past her. Even though she was quite a bit older than them, her dark hair, smooth pale face, and slight frame made her appear younger.

She passed by Drach without slowing, chuckling at some inane comment one of the group had made. It wasn’t until they were past Yulis and had turned a corner onto a less crowded side-street that they noticed her.

“Who are you?” the girl asked. Dressed all in black, she openly wore a short knife at her belt, and the bulge in the sleeve of her tight shirt told Viktoria of another hidden blade, betrayed by the fashion sense of the young woman.

“No one,” Viktoria answered and slid away before they could continue to question her.

The girl’s companions, both strong, young men, with swords at their hips and sneering expressions, seemed about to pursue, when the girl called them back. “Not her,” Viktoria heard the young woman say.

She either recognized Viktoria, which was a thought she didn’t like, or— what would be better— she simply acknowledged Viktoria as one it wouldn’t be wise to antagonize. Either way, the two men fell back to the young woman’s side and they continued down the narrow street, scowling back over their shoulders to let her know they weren’t afraid of her.

They should have been. But what was the point of going after them? It would only draw undue attention.

She was turning back around, to go back to the main thoroughfare and Yulis Drach, when she heard a sound. A footstep, placed so softly as to be almost unheard, but Viktoria had trained herself to be aware of such things for many years now. She flowed to the side, just as a large-bladed axe clanged off the stone street next to her.

“Why are you following me?”

Drach stood before her, axe still clasped tightly in both hands, sweat beading his brow. His knuckles were white from where he gripped the haft of the weapon. That, and the perspiration, was enough to tell Viktoria that he knew, or at least had an idea, of who she was.

Which meant he knew why she was there as well.

“You know why,” she said quietly.

The man had made a serious mistake. If he’d stayed on the main street, Viktoria would have had a hard time getting to him without being seen. Now, he was at the edge of a maze of side-streets, alleys, and dead-ends. No one who had legitimate business came that way. Which meant that only a fraction of Heldum’s populace would utilize those streets, and any of those, at the moment, had scattered when Drach wielded his axe.

Yulis looked around and swallowed hard. He seemed to have just now realized what he’d done by following her. If he was that sloppy in other things— it was no wonder Bloodworth wanted him dead.

“Why?” His voice came out in a whine and the axe trembled in his grip. “I’ve been loyal!”

Viktoria shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”

“Didn’t ask.” Yulis started to laugh before choking it off in a strangled sob. “Sure. Why would you? Who cares, right? It’s just my life!”

Viktoria sighed. She hated this part. The pleading and crying. The tears and finally the anger. For some, it led to acceptance, others fought until the end. She suspected Drach would fight a bit, then end up on his knees, begging for mercy he knew she wouldn’t give.

She reached behind her with both hands and drew two long knives, each with black blades and black hilts. Gifts from her mentor, several years ago now, the knives had seen their share of blood, but Viktoria took care of them above anything else she owned. As an added bonus, they blended in with her clothing, which was a dark gray shirt and tight dark pants. Her boots were of black leather, with soft soles that let her walk silently and feel the street beneath her.

“You think I’ll go down that easily?” Drach snarled. He’d worked past his initial tears and into an impotent rage now. He was hoping that his greater size, since Viktoria was a smaller woman, standing just over five feet tall and whip thin, would tip the balance.

It wouldn’t.

“No,” she said, more to placate him than out of any real belief that he’d give her any trouble. “But the end will be the same.”

Yulis Drach cursed and sprang forward, his axe sweeping in a level arc, aimed for her chest. It was a good blow, and for a moment, Viktoria could see that Drach might have been worth something to Bloodworth. At one time, anyway.

She slipped backward, letting the axe pass in front of her and then stepped forward behind it. An axe was a mighty weapon, especially in the hands of one who knew how to use it, but it was slow. She lashed out with her right knife, opening a long, deep gash in Drach’s left arm.

He squealed and pulled back, letting go of the axe with that hand. The weapon was made to be wielded with both hands, which was another drawback to it, as far as she was concerned. Against an opponent in armor? Maybe it would work better. Maybe Yulis should have headed for Obristan and challenged those knights or whatever they were.

But he wasn’t in Obristan, he was here in Reclium, and in Heldum to boot, the capital city. Here, no one walked in armor.

Drach tried to lift the axe with one hand, but only managed to raise it to knee level, where it wavered uncertainly.

Viktoria stepped back. “Do you have something else?”

Yulis stared at her. “What? Why would… what?” His voice edged on hysteria.

“I’d rather not butcher you like a pig,” she said. “I don’t know what you’ve done, but whatever it was, it wasn’t to me. So, if you have something else, drop the axe and get it out. I’ll wait.”

Drach stared at her open-mouthed for a few seconds, then hate began to steal over his features.

“I don’t deserve this!” he spat. “To be played with like I’m some common worker! I’m Yulis Drach! I’m the Butcher. The one they call when they need a brutal job made of it!”

Viktoria cocked her head. “Really? You must not have been very good at your job.”

She knew it was an insult, but the words popped out of her mouth anyway. If Drach really was a killer in the service of Bloodworth, that clan was in a lot of trouble. He hadn’t even caused her to break a sweat or speed up her breathing. And, whether he knew it or not, it was over.

With a scream of pure rage, Drach dropped the axe and lunged at her, hands clutching for her throat. Viktoria side-stepped easily and took three of his fingers off. Yulis tried to scream but all that came out was a gargled moan and a sudden gush of blood.

Viktoria’s second knife was buried in his throat, the point sticking out of the back of his neck.

He stared at her as he stumbled backward. The hate was gone now, replaced by a bewilderment that such a thing had happened to him. His mouth worked as if he were trying to speak, but all that came out was more gurgling.

Viktoria watched as he stumbled back into the wall of a building and slowly slid down it. He was still trying to say something when she reached out and pulled the knife from his throat. He jerked when she did it, and then he was gone.

She stared down at him, feeling nothing other than that the job had been too easy. Then, she wiped the blood from her knives on his shirt and tucked them away.

When she turned toward the street she saw two men entering the side-street. Both were making it a point not to look at her, but they were carrying a large sack. Without a word or acknowledging her at all, they approached Yulis Drach and began stuffing his body into the bag.

Viktoria stepped away and let them do their business, but the sight disturbed her. She assumed the two men were Bloodworth and had been assigned to clean up when the job was done. That was one thing she never did. Viktoria left no clues behind, so she was never worried about the authorities— such as they were in Heldum— attributing the murder to her.

But how had they known that this was where and when she was going to kill Yulis? She’d told no one, and only told her Bloodworth contact that the job would be completed in a few days.

She scowled and turned away. Something felt off about it, and, for a very rare time, she found herself wanting to get back among people. To be able to blend in and disappear as one face among many.

She was almost to the end of the side-street when she heard the next soft sound. It came from above.

Viktoria stepped back quickly, in case it was someone shadowing her along a balcony or windowsills, ready to drop down on her.

It wasn’t. When she looked up, there was no one there.

No one human, anyway.

Far above, on top of the tall building to her left was a shape. The noise she’d heard had been the thing landing, which meant it had wanted to be heard. Wings tented over its long body; a long, sinuous neck stretched over the side to stare down at her with glowing eyes from the horned head.

Dragonkin. Although what it wanted was impossible to say.

It was hard to see from this far away, in the ever-present gloom, but Viktoria knew it was watching her. It had probably witnessed the whole short-lived, lopsided fight.

She stayed still, wondering and afraid of what it could want.

When the dragonkin didn’t move, she took a slow step toward the main street. It did nothing to stop her, so she continued. She kept glancing up, but all the dragonkin did was follow her progress.

A few moments later, she had made it to the illusion of safety. If the dragonkin wanted her, it would land in the street and ignore anyone in its path. And no one would lift a finger to try to stop it.

But it didn’t. She began to walk faster, away from where her nearest hiding place was. When Viktoria glanced back, searching the tops of the towers, there was no sign of the thing watching her anymore.

She hunched her shoulders and hurried on. Not seeing it meant nothing. For all she knew it was up there, far overhead, floating silently and observing every move she made.