"Very clever!" Zivan said.
"This does make things kind of awkward," I pointed out. "While the prospect of kidnapping the princess taking her back to the King was never one I was particularly happy with, a princess who is more powerful than the rest of us combined kind of renders it moot."
"Why do you want to take me back to that fat bastard anyway?" she asked.
"That's a nice way to describe your dear old Dad," Fairwater said.
"'Dear old Dad' had my mother beheaded," the princess pointed out. "He'd been wanting to do that ever since I was born with wings, and he'd do the same to me in at the drop of a hat if I wasn't the sole heir to the throne." Fairwater flinched.
"You know how much he hates Creatures," she added. "So instead I'm going to wait until he dies and then go back to claim the kingdom," she grinned. It was not a very nice grin. "Well, maybe. I might just pass on the kingdom and stay here."
"There's got to be something I'm missing," I said. "Your mother must, by necessity have been a Dragon herself. How in the world was she so powerless as to be executed by her husband?"
"A good point," Zivan agreed. "And related to that, I want to know why you'd prefer to stay here. With powers such as yours, dethroning the King should be child's play. Don't you want to try to repair what he's done? Don't you want to rule?"
"I'm already a ruler," she said.
"Of an empty castle? Big whoop."
The princess smiled tolerantly, and clasped the door-knocker. It glowed briefly, and then the wall opened like a door. Inside was a lush, meadow with log cabins dotted around. I had no idea where we were, but in contrast to the dull, overcast weather outside the castle, it was bright and sunny. Behind us was a crude brick wall with nothing behind it... a textbook example of an intra-dimensional portal.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a faint shape, roughly the size of a person. A cloaking spell, I realised immediately. Moments later they became visible again. It was an incubus.
"Milady," he said. "You bring an Angel! Is he the replacement?" Zivan bristled and reached for his blade.
"No, no, no," the princess said. "These are our guests. For the time being, at least."
"Oh," he said, and his headwings drooped.
"So, you're the 'wingies' that stoat was talking about," I said. Zivan looked pleased... it seemed that had been his guess. Perhaps he hadn't voiced it aloud for fear of offending Fairwater and myself.
"You saw him?"
"Briefly. He fled... I might add that he wasn't in a very healthy condition. What did you do to him?"
"Not much. We held him captive and took it in turns to feed on his emotions."
"Charming," I said.
"Look, we have to eat something," he said. "We don't get many people out here, just the people who were sent to slay the dragon. Sometimes they escape, sometimes they die... Though not if we can help it, mind you."
"Which clan are you?" I asked.
"Kansuri," he replied, exposing the clan-mark on the palm of his hand.
Fairwater's eyes took on a strange look, and then he removed one of his long, leather boots. On his ankle was the same insignia.
I gazed out over the meadow. "These 'Cubi? They're your captives, Dragon?"
"Since when have you ever seen a Dragon with feathery wings?" she asked. I glanced back... suddenly the collie had head-wings.
"Jeeze," I said. "How the hell did you do the Dragon thing? You don't usually see 'Cubi transform into something bigger, unless they are very powerful."
"I am very powerful," Admaria said. "I have inherited the position and powers of my mother, by virtue of my blood and of the necklace she bequeathed to me in the event of her death. It contains the soul of our Founder and a portion of his power is granted to any of our bloodline who wears it."
"Oh my gods... " said Fairwater. He was trembling. "I.. I've killed the leader of my own clan."
"Yes," she said. "Treason."
"I didn't know... I swear to the gods I didn't know! It was just another Creature to be put to death... I didn't question it..."
His protestations died away as the border collie raised a hand.
"I can find it in my heart to forgive you, Fairwater," she said, "But on one condition."
"Name it," he said, looking up at her like a puppy who had been caught eating a shoe. The princess smiled at him coldly. Fairwater wore an expression of horror for a moment, and then mastered himself, bowing his head with as much dignity as he could muster.
"My death?" He asked. "If that is what it takes to atone for my sins, then so it must be."
"No," the princess replied. "Not your death. As by treason you found damnation, so too can it be your saviour."
"As you command, milady," the Doberman said, kneeling before her.
"Do you people always talk in this archaic manner?" I interrupted.
"Sorry," she said, "Force of habit."
"Would you mind running that by me again?" I asked. "If your mother was a clan leader and powerful enough to pull off a convincing Dragon impression, how did she end up dead?"
"Indeed, she could have prevented it," Admaria agreed. "It was her decision, in part. Though the King never loved me, he did at least have a concealment charm made to hide my wings. But alas, he became even more withdrawn into cruelty. Our clan has always had a flair for self-sacrifice - indeed, that's how our Founder came to be stuck in a piece of jewellery. My mother hoped that by giving up her own life the King's wrath would be sated and he would not seek to slay me as well. Unfortunately she misjudged him.
"But enough of this," she decided. "You must be off on your mission."
Not another bloody mission, I thought.
Few knew that we had attempted to ransack King Ordros' chamber, which made things a lot less complicated, politically speaking. However, the King's decree that he would return all the relics of the Order of Saint Kelnar into our custody did raise a few eyebrows among his subjects. Perhaps this announcement came too soon after the mass pardoning, the abolition of the official state religion, and the announcement that the current executioner would not be replaced following his abrupt disappearance. I could taste the lovely awe in people's minds as wondered what it was that had brought about this miraculous change of heart. It was almost as if he was a different person.
Princess Admaria returned soon afterwards, having managed to break free and slay the dragon herself. She brought with her a number of prisoners whom the King granted leave to settle in the city. Privately I wondered how things would play out.
Probably the Kingdom would have to be told eventually, unless the King 'abdicated' in favour of his former executioner. Given time, all things are possible.
Carrying the King's entire haul of Saint Kelnar booty was made easier by the gryphon wagon he had graciously provided for the purpose. Regrettably it also provided a tempting target for thieves, and several bands had to be persuaded to leave us be. Unlike our inbound journey, I was able to restrain Zivan and the bandits were permitted to flee with their bodies and souls still attached.
"Shit." I said, staring at the ruins of the temple. Apparently Charline had got there first. Cautiously I probed with my mind to ensure that she was not still in it.
"Well," Zivan said, "if they don't want it, I'd be quite happy to-"
"No," I said. "It goes back to the King..." Then it suddenly clicked. "That's it, isn't it? Your insane determination to do all of this was all so you could acquire those wretched trinkets for yourself. You never had any intention of returning them, did you?"
"Indeed not. And it would be best for you if you did not try to force me." The panther's hand was at his side, on the hilt of his blade.
"Now, now," I said, raising my hands slightly. "Just tell me why it matters so much."
Zivan's hand tightened on his sword, but he didn't draw it. Instead, his finger pressed a stud on the ornamentation. There was a faint haze around the sword, around him. When it was gone, I was staring back at the Angel. He had changed species. He was now a fox.
"Zivan?" I asked, my jaw dropping. "You are a shapeshifter?"
"Kelnar, actually. And no, it's just a concealment charm."
"You... you're Saint Kelnar?"
"Yes. Most of what the priest said was true. I was revered as a higher power for some time, and I did perform a number of acts which Beings would consider miraculous. It was a convenient enough way to ensure my access to the library."
"Why did you leave?" I asked. "It sounded like a pretty cushy number to me."
"I left because the priests were a bunch of dipshits," said Kelnar. "They were hell-bent on commercialising my name, my deeds, everything about me. Things came to a head when I found that they were going around gathering tithes and stuff in my name, even after I told them not to. The priests couldn't keep their fingers out of other people's purses, so we had to part ways."
"And the treasure?" I gestured back at the wagon, where the gryphon was starting to sulk.
"Family heirlooms. When I left the temple, I went on a sabbatical. It wasn't practical to bring them with me, though it was always my intention to return for them. Of course, one thing led to another and it took me many decades before I could return. And in the meantime there had been a change of leadership and everything had gone to pot."
"So, what are your plans now?"
"I'm not really sure," he admitted, gazing at the remains of the temple. "My original plan was to come here, throw the priests out on their arses and take the temple for my home. Now it's rubble."
"Well, you could go back," I said thoughtfully. "Take the wagon back to King Fai- uh, Ordros, and settle down there. They're looking for a new religion, so I hear."
"I'm through with being deified, but it's a good suggestion. I understand they have a good library there..."
Shortly afterwards, I waved farewell as the wagon rode off into the dusk. And with a flash of blackness, my thoughts turned back to the Academy.
"Well, that was a bust," I told Ashley. "I do have some rather interesting film of a dragon's castle, but it turned out that the dragon was a succubus in disguise."
"Never mind," Ashley said. "It might make good stock footage for the drama department. By the way, Izak popped in with a new assignment. Another wildlife job."
"Later," I said. "Right now, I need to unwind. I'll see him tomorrow."
For tomorrow brings a fresh day.