The Dragon's Path

Voices raised in song wove through the chill air, praising God and working through harmonic puzzles as if the two pursuits were one. Master Kit paused when she did, listening with her. The smile on his face softened into something touched with sorrow.
    “It is lovely, isn’t it?” he said.
    “What is?” Cithrin asked.
    He leaned against a stone wall and gestured out. The square, the song, the sky above them.
    “I suppose I meant the world. For all the tragedy and pain, I do, at least, find it beautiful.”
    Cithrin felt her lips press tight. She wanted to apologize for what had happened to Opal, but that would only put Master Kit in a position where he had to apologize again,and she didn’t want to do that. Words and thoughts banged against each other, none of them quite right for the moment.
    “What will you do now?” she said.
    Kit took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning away from the song.
    “I expect we’ll stay here for the time being. I don’t think Cary’s quite ready to take on the full burden of Opal’s roles, but by the end of the summer, with some rehearsal and serious work, I expect she will be. Between the armies of Vanai and now Opal, the company’s a bit thinner than I like. I hope we’ll be able to recruit a few good people. I’ve found port cities often collect itinerant actors.”
    Cithrin nodded. Kit waited for her to speak, and when she didn’t, went on.
    “Besides which, I find myself rather fascinated by your Captain Wester.”
    “He’s not
my
Captain Wester,” Cithrin said. “He’s made it perfectly clear that he’s his own Captain Wester.”
    “Has he, then? I stand corrected,” Master Kit said. The church song swelled, what could have been a hundred voices rising and falling, throbbing against each other until it seemed like some other voice threatened to speak through them. God whispering. It seemed to pull Master Kit’s attention, but when he spoke he hadn’t lost the conversation’s thread. “I believe the dragons left a legacy in this world that is… destructive. Corrosive by nature, and doomed to cause pain. Unchecked, it will eat the world. Wester is one of the few people I’ve met who I thought might stand against it.”
    “Because he’s so stubborn?” Cithrin asked, trying to make it a joke.
    “Yes, because of that,” Master Kit said. “And, I suppose, the shape of his soul.”
    “He was a general in Northcoast a long time ago,” Cithrin said. “Something happened to his wife, I think.”
    “He led Prince Springmere’s army in the succession. There were battles against the armies of Lady Tracian that should have been lost, but Captain Wester won them.”
    “Wodford and Gradis,” Cithrin said. “But people also talk about… Ellis?”
    “Yes. The fields of Ellis. They say it was the worst battle in the war, that no one wanted it and no one could back down. The story is he was so important that the prince grew afraid that another of the pretenders might seduce his loyalty. Convince him to change sides. Springmere had his family killed and his rival implicated. The captain’s wife and daughter died in front of him, and badly even as these things go.”
    “Oh,” Cithrin said. “What happened to Springmere? I know he lost the succession, but…”
    “Our friend Marcus found out what had really happened, took his revenge, and then dropped out of history. I think most people assumed he died. In my experience, the worst thing that can happen to a man in that position is that he live long enough to see how little vengeance leaves after it. I don’t think he has many illusions left to him, which is why he’s…” Master Kit shook himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wander off like that. Getting old, I think. I had wanted to say again that I’m sorry for what happened, and I am deeply committed to seeing that it not happen again.”
    “Thank you,” she said.
    “I would also like to offer whatever help I can in seeing you safely to Carse. I feel we owe you more than a day’s free labor. A bit odd, I know, but I think pretending to be soldiers for so long left us all with a bit of the camaraderie of the sword.”
    Cithrin nodded, but she felt her brow furrow even before she knew quite why. The church song sank in a final, conclusive cadence, and silence seemed to flow into the world like a wave. Seagulls looped through the high air, yellow beaks and steady, unflapping wings.
    “Why do you apologize for everything