The Shattered Land_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [47]
“I come in the company of friends, not as a slave following a master.” Pierce said. “Perhaps friendship is a concept you cannot understand.”
“I know it well,” she said, taking a step closer to Pierce. His instinct was to step back, moving away from her reach, but he chose to hold his ground. She was a foot shorter than he was, and she gazed up into his crystal eyes. “Those creatures of flesh created us to die in their wars. Believe what you will, you are nothing but a tool to your so-called friends. You are the shield: the strong wall that protects them from harm and the first to be sacrificed when the onslaught comes.”
“I think I know my companions better than you do,” Pierce replied. The first stirrings of anger burned at the back of his mind. “I fought in many battles alongside the captain, and I am still here. I would not be, if not for the magical gifts of my lady Lei.”
“Listen to your speech, brother. Your captain. Your lady. There is no war, not any more. You owe fealty to no one, but you have forged your own chains. Tell yourself they are your equals—your friends—if you wish, but in your deep thoughts, they remain your masters.”
Pierce looked away, breaking the eye contact. She was twisting his words, but there was some grain of truth to it. Though he had consciously sought to set aside these terms of rank, at his core he still saw Daine as his commander. There was comfort in that hierarchy, in that sense of purpose, but even as his doubts grew, so did his anger.
“You know nothing of my life,” he said.
“I lived your life, brother. I served in their war. I believed in the cause. I was almost destroyed more than once, only to be brought back from the darkness by their smiths and their spells, but that gift of life was not given freely. They made me to serve and brought me back so I could kill and die for them again.”
Curiosity warred with anger. “How did you serve? You carry no weapons. Have you set aside the path of war along with your former loyalties?”
“Things are not always as they seem.” She crossed her arms before her chest and clenched her fists. Blades of black metal snapped out of her forearms. “I was born to kill generals and princes. I am the sword in the shadows, and many fell by my hand. I was built to bring death to creatures of flesh, and now that I am free, I choose my victims.”
“You did not live my life,” Pierce said. “I was not made to kill—I was made to protect. Now that I am free, I choose who I will defend.”
There was a flash of motion. A tiny creature came darting out of the sky, a delicate silver construct no larger than a dragonfly. It settled on the assassin’s chest. Pierce had heard of such devices but never seen one; they had been built to transmit memories and images from one warforged to another, facilitating communication between spies and scouts. The stranger’s eyes dimmed for a moment as she listened to a voice Pierce could not hear.
“So you are not alone?” Pierce said. He did not know the range of the messenger, but he was certain it could not fly across the sea.
“I did not cross the Thunder Sea just to argue with you, no. I have my own purposes here, and it is time I returned to my work.” She took a few steps back. “So return to your captain and your lady. Just remember—these creatures of flesh and blood are not as strong as we are. They are vulnerable to so many things: disease, hunger, the ravages of time. They will die eventually, and in a land as dangerous as this one, there are many ways it could happen. Defend them if you must, but we will be waiting for you when they are gone.”
She turned and sprinted down the pier, moving with astonishing speed and silence. A moment later she had passed through the harbor gate, and Pierce was alone again.
Daine’s sleep was troubled. He dreamt of a thousand floating eyes surrounding him, peering, probing, trying to press inside his mouth and ears. There were multifaceted insect eyes, yellow eyes of