Chapter 66 – Fire Drill

“Master! Wake! It time!”

With a low groan, Kairon turned over. He’d taken to sleeping in the citadel atop some salvaged furs. Barbaric, but relatively private. The city lord appreciated the latter quite a bit. Sleeping in the camps or rookeries just didn’t seem right to him. He required a space to go back and unwind in.

A quiet turning and sniff in the corner reminded him he wasn’t the only one. Draped in shadows on the opposite side of the tower, Sythara turned over in her own slumber.

Yeah, yeah. Go back to sleep, princess. Time for some of us to get to work.

Rousing himself, he removed the cloth he’d been using as a sleeping mask. The moment it slid off, golden light streaming from the flooring nearly blinded him. Wincing, he rubbed his forehead.

“Already?” he sighed.

“Yes. Two hour after dark,” said Boney.

Kairon untangled his tall form from the makeshift sleeping area and stood. He snagged the nearby skin, taking a pull, before tossing it away. It was only then that he noticed it.

Boney’s connection. It’s… Wow.

The red and yellow energy positively vibrated. Thicker than his arm, the invisible connection swirled around Boney. So much so that his skin seemed practically luminescent.

Just how much bigger can that leash get?

A new voice broke his train of thought. Nod and his assistants. “Evening master! Is this… still plan? Still doing?” They were already sitting near the door, their backs resting against the stone.

Unlike Boney, they resembled Kairon. Disgruntled and drowsy. It seemed while they were more than willing to do their duty, they too weren’t thrilled about it.

A stark contrast to the rest of the Red Claws who were to their rear.

“Well! Good evening, everyone. Or morning, depending on how you look at it,” Kairon said, forcing some cheer in the words. “Are we all ready?”

Nod looked back at his assistants, before turning and giving a claws up. “DR ready! Maintain compliance! No nonsense tonight.”

“Red Claws ready!” exclaimed Boney. His underlings gave huffs of approval from the door. Cocking his head, Boney gave his master a concerned look. “Master… You not need rest?”

“Good point. Master, I can—” began Nod, only to be stopped by the city lord.

“No, no.” Kairon gave them each a pat on the head. “I’m a demon. We don’t need rest!” he proclaimed. “Besides, if everyone else is going to be awake, I am too.”

Boney didn’t seem convinced.

Seeing this, he continued. “Listen. I need to make sure we can do what’s required. If not, I need to know that now so I can pivot!”

“I suppose…” replied Boney. “Still…”

“Boney, don’t you want to show me all your hard work? And show your fellows as well? To prove to not only me, but all the warriors just how strong the Red Claws are? If you’re to be not only the backbone of Operation Shakeout, but our city’s future elite task force, I need proof. They need proof.” The city lord paused, let Boney absorb that. “Unless you aren’t certain you’re up for it, that is…” he trailed off.

Boney stiffened. “Master! Red Claws strong! Very strong! Ready!” Turning, he started barking orders. “Prepare depart! Show master strong!”

From outside, a chorus of roars replied. The Red Claws were ready.

Nod just shook his head, Bob and Shake beside him crossing their arms. “Master… Remind you. Code state proper rest. This pushing it.”

Kairon waved a claw. “Just for tonight. Now then! Let’s be off!”

It was time to gather the others.

***

The party quickly made their way through the sleeping city. They took fast, purposeful strides, heading straight for the rookeries.

Kairon and his walking stick at the lead, the DR imps on the left and the dozen Red Claws on the right. A contingent made of compliance and wrath, moving as one.

Recently Vorathrex had started a nightly watch. Two fists of imps on rotation each day. Kairon would have preferred an entire pack, but rest was too important right now. Well, too important besides tonight, that was. Half of which were currently on the east walls. When they spotted their approach from the citadel, their orange pupils went wide.

“Master?” came a shout. “What doing?!”

Kairon could just make out another five pairs of glowing orange eyes. They were just visible in the spaces between the massive rookeries between them and the party.

Before Kairon could answer, Nod spoke up. “Step back! Too close edge!” Waving excitedly, the little imp dashed ahead of him, his two assistants hot on his heels.

Sighing, Kairon looked helplessly at Boney. The little warrior was watching in distaste as the DR trio were pulling out little pieces of bark, squeaking scolding remarks at the night watch fist leader.

“Warriors do not fall,” muttered Boney.

“Not normally,” confirmed Kairon. “But that’s the thing about risk. You don’t base assertions on what normally happens. Let Nod do his job. We have ours.”

“But—”

Kairon slapped him on the back. “Chin up, my friend. You have other warriors to worry about tonight!” Bobbing his chin in the direction of the massive rookeries, Boney turned his focus to them.

Up ahead, three masses of dark timber loomed in the night. Their orange veins crackled, pulsing faintly in the dark.

“Impressive, aren’t they?” asked Kairon.

Boney shrugged. “Warm,” he said simply.

“Mmm.” The warrior was right. As they approached, Kairon looked up, observing their pulsating side panels. Dark as it was, they made an ominous sight.

Yet, that wasn’t what had his attention. It was the sensation that grew the closer they got. A pleasant, cozy feeling seemed to practically radiate from the giant buildings.

He was still parsing that sensation when Boney cut in. “Orders, master?” Beside him, the other Red Claws halted, expressions resolute. Kairon nearly grinned when he noticed several of them flicking their gaze from left to right alertly. As if he needed protection in his own city.

Stopping in front of the brood-assigned rookery, Kairon planted down his walking stick with a thud on the green stone below. With the construction of the third domicile, he’d moved all eighty workers and one hundred twenty-four warriors into the big homes. Camps were a thing of the past.

Kairon took a moment, before gesturing at the other two rookeries. “Let the brood rest. They have their own roles. As for the warriors…”

“Wake?” asked Boney a little too eagerly.

“Wake them,” confirmed Kairon. “All of them.”

“Yes Master!”

“And Boney?”

“Master?”

The city lord hesitated, before making up his mind. “I say this with caution, but… No need to be gentle. Let’s use this as a training drill, of sorts.”

The little general grinned wickedly. “Drill!” Turning around, he eyed his squadron. “Red Claws! With me!” snapped Boney.

As one, the contingent barreled away from Kairon, headed straight for the two wrath rookeries. “Wolf! Take half squad! Hit rookery three. I go rookery two. All warrior wake. Three minute—no more.”

“Three minute, Claw Leader!” replied Wolf.

“Three minute!” replied the other Claws in unison.

The two teams split off, half flowing into one domicile and half into the other. Kairon was considering joining one—just to be certain no snafus happened—when he noticed Nod returning. Six scolded warriors followed, gazes downcast.

They padded through the space between the wrath and brood houses, trying not to look directly at their master.

“Sorry supervisor Nod,” muttered one.

“We more careful. Promise!” squeaked another.

“See that you are! Bob, Shake. Ensure records kept.”

“Already done!” informed Bob. He was scribbling something with one sharp claw on his bark sheet. How the little monster could see anything in the star-lit night, Kairon had no clue.

Turning to the trailing warriors behind them, Nod crossed his arms. “This will be warning. Only warning!”

The warriors shuffled along, looking truly scolded. “We just try make—”

“No! What you did bad,” hissed Nod. “Understand? Big bad. Not good. Litigation risk.”

“But—”

“But what? But you want litigation? Want restitution from city?” Nod lifted his head back, laughing. As he did, that golden strand of energy seemed to inflate. Like a bit more of the corruption and energy beneath the city swam into him. “No. Don’t think that happen.”

At the word restitution, the warriors had nearly stopped in their tracks. “Supervisor Nod! We would never!” said the Fist Leader.

“Yes. Yes,” agreed another.

“Bad! No litigate!” cried the third.

Seeing the exchange had been quite amusing to Kairon. If any brood imp tried talking to a warrior like that, it would certainly come to blows. But Nod? Even the wrath feared the power of Demonic Resources.

They were just reaching Kairon, Nod in the lead. He gave the other imps one last stern look, before looking expectantly at his master.

“Well,” began Kairon. “You heard him. Now, why don’t you all go take a seat over there,” he said, pointing at some open space near the training grounds.

Without a word, the fist ambled off.

“Master, I tell you. Those walls protect. But a legal nightmare! All take one imp. Fall and hurt. Then we in trouble.”

“Don’t I know it,” sighed Kairon. “Once we get a third ring and a forge district, we’ll see about getting some crafters on some proper fencing and walkways.” He looked at the towering height of the rookeries. “Maybe some safety netting too,” he mused.

“Net?”

Out of nowhere, a howl broke through their conversation. It was like a wolf, but a higher pitch and more guttural.

“Wake up! Under attack!” came a roar.

Nod gave Kairon a concerned look.

“It’s fine. Just a drill we’re running,” assured the demon.

From the first rookery, some kind of metal clanging, followed by thumping and shouts, came. Inside, Kairon could nearly picture the scrambling warriors.

“To the walls!” came another roar. Boney on the second floor from the sounds of it.

The mental image of what was going on had hardly begun to form when the first awakened warrior came stumbling out of the rookery. Then the second. A third. More and more piled out, legs still trembling from sleep.

“What going on?!” shouted a warrior.

“Attack! Find weapons! Prepare!” replied another.

“No!” A fist leader stepped forward, striding purposefully from the first home’s doorway. “Line up!” he shouted. “Brown Two! Attention!”

“Brown Three to me!” yelled another.

From the side, warriors from the second rookery began to join. As fist leaders arrived, they quickly caught onto what was going on and found their squadrons. Most of the warriors—save several packs still on missions or on overnight scouting treks—were present.

In mere minutes, Kairon was able to validate as much. A dozen Red Claws walked the lines of nearly a hundred warriors. Almost twenty neat squares had formed, divided into four packs.

Only once Boney made two walks up and down the line did he pause. By the time he made it over to Kairon, even Vorathrex had woken, coming to witness the excitement. The big giant was still rubbing the interrupted sleep from his own eyes when Boney snapped to attention. Claw on chest, he gave his report.

“They ready master! Drill complete!”

“Your thoughts, Boney?”

The warrior clicked his tongue. “Too slow! If real attack… It be bad. Very bad. Need do better!” he barked loudly, spinning around so the warriors could hear. Catching one of them slouching, his little eyeballs nearly fell from his head. “Head up! Head—up! If enemy, you dead!” With a growl of frustration, he marched over to berate the poor warrior.

Vorathrex snorted, his massive arms crossed. “They actually did pretty good,” he said just loud enough for Kairon to hear. “My clan would have approved.”

“Apparently not good enough,” muttered Kairon, watching Boney dress one of the fists down for its lousy performance.

The towering giant next to him rubbed a meaty palm under his chin. “A warrior needs a firm teacher. It is how we learn best.”

Kairon grunted. “Which is precisely why I told Boney not to be gentle.”

“Really?” asked Vorathrex. “I am impressed. A fledgling teaching their young, not coddling them. Very good.”

“You think I coddle them?” asked Kairon in amusement. “Truly? Do you remember how we first met, Vorathrex?”

The big demon waved a hand. “That was… different.”

“Indeed,” said Kairon simply. Both of them took a thoughtful expression, returning to that eventful night.

For the next several minutes, Kairon allowed the Red Claws ample opportunity to properly mentor the warriors. They walked up and down the lines, giving reports to each fist on what they needed to do better next time. Only once everything began to simmer down did the city lord finally take the reins.

With a clap, he stepped forward. “Good. This officially concludes tonight’s warmup drill.”

“Warmup?” asked one of the warriors in the back.

“Warmup,” repeated Kairon with a sly grin. “Now it’s time for the main event.”