The Dragon Ascendant

The Unexpected Visit

CHAPTER 9: THE UNEXPECTED VISIT

Raiden woke from fitful sleep, the secret training he shared with only a few trusted souls and the mysterious events of the day before pressing heavily on his mind. He ached all over from pushing the limits of his physical training just last night. But, as always, it was a good pain….a sign that he was breaking through and getting stronger. He was just starting to gain some momentum in that training, when...

His eyes opened, and his heart nearly stopped at the sight of Lady Morgana seated in the chair opposite his bed. A cold, predatory gleam glinted in her eyes, and the faint, twisted smile on her lips suggested that she had only been waiting for him to regain consciousness.

Raiden sat up as if propelled by some internal force, extending a leg from beneath the bedclothes, with one bare foot finding the floor and pushing him quickly to a stance. Sensing immediate danger, he demanded an explanation.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?"

Morgana found this outburst delightful, her face lighting up as if she might share a private joke. Raiden stared at the woman who stared back at him, eyes narrowed, hands clenched, pulse pounding.

"You shouldn't be in here," he grated.

Morgana waved a dismissive hand, as if he were a bug she was trying to shoo away.

"Relax. I'm not here to beat you up, Raiden." She paused, glancing at his still form. "I was just contemplating your existence."

"Contemplating?" His voice was an incredulous rasp. What did she think he was, some kind of study specimen? She had no right to be in here, watching him, and he was going to assert that right like a typical American cop in a B-movie.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

Raiden felt his jaw tense. He had seen Elara, but a week didn't go by that he didn't contemplate her presence. His relationship with her was as close to any semblance of a normal relationship as it could possibly be; courtship had its formalities, and this was one of them. Raiden had done what he was supposed to do and had lived what was, at least on the surface, the way a good husband lived. Elara had been gone; but should he not view her return, if it was imminent, as occasion enough to bestow upon her some small sentiment of goodwill or token, if you will, that suggested "appreciation" and "welcome back" as much as it did "husbandly"? Maintain the facade.

Raiden privately laughed at the idea. *A gift? For me?* He had long since come to terms with the fact that his marriage to Elara was just a title and that Elara never wanted him to do anything extravagant for her.

Morgana leaned in, her condescension seeping into every syllable.

"But I guess I shouldn't expect someone as pathetic as you to think of that. Even still, if you had any decency left, you'd want to do something nice for her to make her feel special when she comes home."

Raiden barely held his anger in check, and the insult was the only thing keeping him from straight-up losing it. He wasn't about to let her get under his skin, but the way she was pushing him toward giving Elara a gift felt wrong.

"What are you getting at, Morgana?" he asked, keeping his tone level.

"I know you didn't come here just to push me into giving Elara some kind of present that's more of a proposal."

Morgana's eyes shone with a bright, unfriendly light.

"Oh, don't be silly. I would never presume to tell you how to woo your lady. This is something much more, how shall I put it? mutually beneficial."

Raiden's brow furrowed in suspicion as he asked, "What sort of task?"

She stepped toward him, elegant and powerful, taking up space in the room.

"I need you to take a scroll two villages over and deliver it," she said. "It's really quite simple, and I promise you the pay will be... more than adequate." She leaned a bit closer, proffering a smile that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. "More than enough to get Elara a gift that will truly impress her."

Raiden's instincts told him this was an ambush, but the gold being offered was hard to resist. He could use it to train in secret, away from the prying eyes of his enemies. Still, he couldn't trust Morgana not to double-cross him.

"What's on the scroll?" he asked her, trying to gauge her reaction. She was good at keeping secrets, but if she knew he was going to go against her orders and open the thing, then she really would have motive to pull the trigger on a surprise attack.

For a short while, he considered his choices. He would not, could not, trust Morgana. But was it possible she had a legitimate plan that could skim some gold off the top of whatever shady business those merchants were up to? This was a risk, and a solid one at that. But Raiden had a decent sense of self-preservation and was feeling pretty good about his recent power-ups.

"You got it, Morgana. Just pay me, and I'll skip the talk about what nonsense your mysterious benefactor is up to."

Morgana rubbed her hands together gleefully.

"Excellent. I always knew you would see it my way." She delved into her cloak and pulled out a small leather bag, tossing it onto the bed next to Raiden. "This is yours, for now. It contains a few gold coins. When you return after your little jaunt above, there will be more waiting for you."

Raiden eyed the bag. It looked about the right size to hold several coins. But why was Morgana being so generous all of a sudden?

"What's with the sudden largesse?" he asked, unable to keep suspicion out of his tone.

A quiet laugh escaped Morgana, and it sent chills down Raiden’s spine, not that he was inclined to shiver.

“Your usefulness has come to light for me, Raiden. But don’t get comfortable, because whatever I’m doing with you now, it's just business.” She pivoted on the ball of her foot and headed toward the door, giving it a solid shove before stepping out. But before she strutted off, she did a 180 and offered Raiden one last look, a look that said he might be in deep trouble if he didn’t step up.

"There's more gold where that came from. You don’t want to cross me and come back with nothing.”

He saw Morgana leave, felt the door close behind her, and then he vacated his breath in a way that made it seem like he'd just come back from the underworld. Everything about her visit had felt off, starting with her surreal politeness and ending with the way she said "you" and actually meant him, the one who was standing there across from her. 

He lifted the pouch of gold she'd left him and let the coins inside announce themselves. He had to think this through.

There was something amiss. Morgana had a way of doing things that always had a hidden motive, and whatever it was this time, he needed to be ready for it. She must have known he would need to deliver the scroll with considerable caution. He would do the job, but on his terms. 

He rose from the bed, body still sore from the previous night's training, but resolve strengthening from the notion that, whatever this was, he could not evade it. He had to see it through. Get the gold, pay off the covenant, and continue a path that, if nothing else, was moving increasingly toward some unknown moment when he would be strong enough to challenge Lucan, Morgana, and anyone else who stood in his way.

The mission he was about to undertake filled Raiden with an apprehension that was new to him. Until he had met Morgana, he had been oblivious to the art of playing a part, of keeping emotions hidden. She had shown him more of himself than he had ever thought to glimpse. And in doing so, she had left him with a nagging uncertainty. 

Was it the part he'd played that had made her look at him as she had in those last moments before the mission? Was he, for all his valor, some kind of fool in her eyes?