Page 50 of The Last Slayer
rievance nobody remembers anymore, and not even the alliance Lord Nathanael struck with them could get them to stop. I’m still not sure—”
I didn’t need to hear the entire history of the supernatural here. “So a Harmonia Singer is…?”
“Oh. A singer who is so pure in heart and voice that she can open the Harmonia Chamber. There’s never been more than one at a time. It’s a great honor to hold that position.”
He wasn’t really answering my question. Time to rephrase. “Why is it such a big deal to be a Harmonia Singer? Why do you care about a singer?”
He blinked. “Only the voice from the Chamber can quiet the Four Winds, milady.”
I paced, my eyes on the floor. So my mother the slayer had served Nathanael. I didn’t know how I felt about that. Maybe Nathanael was upset because she had left him to have a baby. Paid maternity leave probably wasn’t part of the benefits package for the Windgar staff. Going to see her seemed like walking into a trap. What if she still worked for Nathanael?
I raised my head to glance at Toshi, but he was already gone. Guess he didn’t want to stick around for any further inquisition. At least he’d left me a set of more comfortable clothes before disappearing.
I changed into a shirt and a pair of pants and sneakers before going to the courtyard. It was bigger than I’d initially thought, stretching away in the moonlight. Well, it had to be big to accommodate Ramiel’s troops. I wondered how many dragons he had in his military.
A few wyrms and drakes loitered around the perimeter, while wyverns flew patrol patterns overhead. Their bodies were enormous, some the size of 747s. The ridges of their lower bellies rippled as they swished their tails, silver spikes glinting on the tips. Their wings snapped the air like whips, and the area was ripe with anticipation and uncertainty.
Ramiel stood in the center of the field. He had a pair of naked swords, one in each hand. They reflected the silver moonlight like mirrors. He no longer wore the ceremonial robe. Only simple leather armor covered his torso and legs.
The air caught in my throat. Without the robe or elaborate armor, he no longer looked like a gallant knight. He reminded me of a rogue warrior, lone and dangerous.
The smell of sweat and musk on numerous dragon bodies drifted my way with the breeze. I glanced at the walls surrounding the courtyard. More than just the guards were out and about. Were they expecting an attack? Maybe they were nervous after Supäi’s visit. Who could blame them?
Ramiel tossed me one of the swords. I caught it. It had good balance but was too long, and the jewels on the hilt dug into my palm. I wanted my katana.
“Carry it with you until you get your own,” he said.
“I have one already.”
“Insufficient to fight a dragonlord.”
I couldn’t read his expression. “Or Supäi, apparently.”
“She’s not a dragonlord.”
“She’s a servant of slayers.”
“No longer. She serves Nathanael, as do her three sisters. She was one of the betrayers.”
The betrayers—the groups of supernaturals and mortals who’d turned their back on the slayers during the Twilight of Slayers. If it weren’t for them, the dragonlords might have failed to exterminate their enemies. Or so the old texts went, but many of the accounts were sketchy and contradictory.
Ramiel’s tone didn’t reveal anything about his thoughts. Maybe he was angry on the slayers’ behalf. Or maybe he felt that they all deserved to die.
“Why did she come tonight?” The hilt in my hand didn’t comfort me much. “What did she want?”
“You.” Ramiel flicked his sword. The motion made the air whistle. “But it was an idle threat, nothing more. If she’d thought she could really do something to hurt you, she would’ve done it.”
That made me pause. Nathanael didn’t seem like the type to issue idle threats. So there had to be a reason for his sending her. Unless she was acting on her own.
“She’s not dead, is she?” I said.
He shook his head.
“Is she spying on us?”
“No. We are safe.” He raised his sword, subtly changed his stance. “En garde.”
I blinked. “You want to fight me?”
