Called by the Dragon novel Chapter 6

“You look like shit.”

Anzi Anzi Anzi raised her head to see Pierro standing in the hallway outside her open door. She hadn’t noticed his approach because of the irritating noise that this barracks building tolerated, the humming of constant conversation leaking through the cabin walls and even occasional shouting. In the Imperial City, noise beyond a whisper was never tolerated in sleeping quarters. If soldiers wanted to socialize and speak freely, they went to the recreational buildings. No discipline here at all. Desert garrisons really were disorganized.

“You don’t look so good either,” she told the other soldier, making sure to look him up and down with a deliberate, pointed expression from where she sat on her low cot. “You could have left the trash talking behind when I knocked you out, by the way.”

He sidled into the tiny room with his hands clasped behind his back, He sidled into the tiny room with his hands clasped behind his back, looking around from left to right and floor to ceiling with casual innocence She stared at him all the while, but he pretended not to notice as he turned to explore the suddenly-very-interesting corners of her quarters.

“If you don’t have anything to say, leave.”

He threw her a glance over his shoulder at long last. “Oh, come on. You’re not mad, are you? That was all friendly banter. I don’t know why you let me get you so worked up all the time.”

“And why do you try to work me up all the time?”

He rolled his eyes and turned away again. “If you’re done feeling disrespected, have you heard anything?”

She pressed her lips together. Of course. Pierro wasn’t the sort of person to come back and try to make amends with anyone, even badly. She should have known he had come only to try to find out what was coming next. He had been the most good-natured in their squadron at first, but ever since the group had arrived here last week, his easygoing and playful demeanor had become blotted with a competitive, belligerent streak. It was a shame fellow soldiers couldn’t get along. She’d had high hopes for everyone. Too high.

“No,” she said. “Colonel hasn’t come back from the Gauntlet site. He and the garrison captain are taking care of the wyrm problem.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, the size of that thing, right?”

She didn’t answer. He was still on her shit list. But yes, he was right. She was still marveling at how one of that size had showed up all the way on the outer edges of the desert. They had only begun reappearing a scant decade ago, nymphs that were a meter or two long at most, no more than that. Who would have thought things could change so rapidly? After two hundred years of tame peace, beasts were reappearing on the Empire’s desert doorstep again. Unprecedented.

Well, with the exception of that one time all those years ago. But she didn’t like thinking about that encounter. The incident. She quickly shelved it away again, queasy at the mere memory of pitch black scales and knowing eyes, flashing golden in the night…

“…llo? Come back to us. Hello, hello.”

Anzi frowned and shot Pierro an irritated glare. “We’re not talking right now. I want to rest. Go away.”

“So even the amazing Anzi needs a breather sometimes. That’s incredible, someone fetch the town crier.” He waved his hands with mock excitement. “I can’t believe it. Next, you’ll say you’re only human like the rest of us.”

“Stop it.”

“I’m just kidding. You know I am.”

“Are you? Because it seems like you only ever say that when you want to annoy me.” She pointed at the door. “Go away. Aimee and Doufan might appreciate your company more.”

He turned slowly and carefully until his whole body was facing her. In such a small room as this, his large stature took up more space than it should - not to mention his demeanor had suddenly become frosty and more stifling than his bulk. “You know,” he said, “you haven’t even asked about the other two at all.”

She lowered her eyebrows hard. “They’re fine. Just banged up.”

“You know that for a fact?”

“If they’re not, then they shouldn’t have been here in the first place.” Did he think he was going to make her feel guilty just because they had done what they were supposed to do? This wasn’t a game, and they weren’t here to play. She was simply the last one left standing - that didn’t make her wrong.

“See, normally…” He paused, holding his tongue in a way she knew was supposed to be at least mildly offensive. “…you would check to see how everyone’s doing, just in case. Which is why I came here, actually.”

“You didn’t need to.”