Dragonvein - Book Three (11 page)

Keira did most of the work when it came to finding their way back to Borgen. For this, Ethan was more than a little grateful. Navigation, he quickly discovered, was infinitely more difficult when there were no voices in his head to direct him.

Everyone was greatly excited to hear the news that King Ganix had arrived safely in the Dragon Wastes. A young dwarf named Forsym, who had been left in charge of the island, provided Ethan with a pilot to take them on the second stage of their journey. He also presented him with a
sending rod.

“When you are ready to return,” he instructed. “Grip it tightly and concentrate. Once you have made contact, simply inform us where you are and we will come to collect you.”

Ethan thanked him, and after only a few hours rest, was ready to set off once again. His intention was to head north for the shores near Gol’ Shupa. From there, he was hopeful that they would be able to make it inside the mountain unseen.

They had been back at sea for little more than an hour when Ethan spotted a group of three adult sirean males swimming alongside their boat. Kat and Keira saw them as well. The dwarf pilot immediately increased speed.

“No!” shouted Keira. “Stop the vessel.”

The dwarf looked skeptical, but after receiving a hard stare, quickly obeyed.

“What do they want?” asked Kat.

“I don’t know,” Keira replied. “But they rarely frequent these waters, so they must have a purpose.” Without another word, she dove over the side and swam out to meet the newcomers.

“Do you think she knows what happened to the sirean child?” asked Kat in a half-whisper.

“She hasn’t mentioned it,” replied Ethan. “But I think I should tell her.”

They could hear Keira and the sirean exchanging a series of hums and whistles. After a few minutes of this conversation, she returned to the boat. The sirean lingered until she was safely back on board and then vanished beneath the surface.

“They say that the coast is being watched all along the south,” Keira told them while wringing out her hair. “Shinzan’s soldiers are everywhere. There is no way for us to reach Elyfoss by that route undetected.”

Ethan frowned. “Are the sirean sure about this?”

“Absolutely. They have been watching the area for weeks.”

“But why would they do that?”

“At the behest of the dragons,” she told him. “They are not pleased to be helping those who murdered their young. But they understand the danger that all of Lumnia is facing.”

Ethan swallowed a little awkwardly. “I was going to tell you about that. It was an accident. Lylinora had no idea –”

Keira cut him short. “Save your excuses. It matters not. The debt of blood has been repaid by Renald Dragonvein.”

“What do you mean,
debt of blood?
”

“If Renald chose not to share such things with you, it is not my place to do so. Suffice to say he has sacrificed much. And because of this, the mage Lylinora is pardoned.”

A pang of regret struck Ethan. “Maybe I was too hard on the old man,” he murmured. But there was nothing to be done. Whatever deal Renald had stuck was between himself and the sirean.

“Is there any other way to Elyfoss?” he asked.

“We should head due east to Ralmaria,” Keira told him. “I can guide us past any patrols easily enough.”

Ethan noticed Kat stiffen.

“That’s a long way from Elyfoss,” she said. “Isn’t there anywhere further south we can go?”

“We could try,” Keira replied. “But I wouldn’t advise it.”

“What’s wrong, Kat?” Ethan asked.

She gave him a weak smile. “Nothing. It’s just that I haven’t been to Ralmaria in a long time.”

“If you have friends there, it could be of help to us,” Keira said.

Kat shook her head. “No one I know there would help us. Anyway, I thought it was urgent we get to see your father.”

“Better to be delayed than to be killed,” the elf replied. “I trust the sirean. And if they say we should go that way, I believe them.”

“But they could only know what it is like along the coast,” Kat pointed out. “What if it's worse further inland?”

“There are elves in Ralmaria,” she replied. “I am confident we can make it to them before we are discovered. Once we are among my people there is little chance we will be seen, let alone captured.”

Ethan could see the anxiety on Kat’s face. “If you don’t want to go that way, we won’t.”

“No,” she replied. “Keira is right. If it’s the safest route, we should take it.”

Keira nodded. “We should land at nightfall. From there it will take only a day or two to locate my people.”

Satisfied that they were in agreement, she moved off to inform the pilot of their new route. That done, she went below to change into dry clothing.

Once the elf was out of sight, Kat walked slowly to the bow. There, she sat down with her hands draped over the railing, staring across the water. Ethan joined her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Look, I know something is bothering you,” he said. “Please. What is it? Maybe I can help.”

“I wish you could,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

She took a deep breath before continuing. “You remember when we first met and I told you I was a princess? Well I wasn’t lying. My father is King Yularian of Ralmaria.”

Ethan leaned back, his surprise obvious. “Are you serious?” He had never thought she had lied. But he did think she had more than likely exaggerated somewhat. “Your father is really a king?”

“Of course he is,” she retorted. “I may have been a thief, but I was always honest with you.”

“Then why
did
you leave home?”

“I had to. My cousin found out I could use magic and threatened to turn me over to the Empire.”

“Your own cousin?”

Kat sneered. “She was a real bitch. She hated the fact that my father was the king and hers wasn’t. She stole a doll my mother had made for me. Not that she had any use for it. She was already a teenager and had stopped playing with dolls. Of course, when I confronted her, she denied taking it. But I knew she was lying. She knew how much that doll meant to me and was just trying to upset me.”

“Let me guess what happened next,” said Ethan. “You used your magic to try and get it back.”

She nodded. “A stupid thing to do. I knew if anyone ever found out about me, my father would be forced to turn me over. He wouldn’t have a choice. If he refused, Shinzan would have him executed.” She paused. “Anyhow, I made myself invisible and snuck into my cousin's room after she went to bed to see if I could find out where she had hidden my doll. Of course the crafty little bitch figured I’d come and was only pretending to be asleep. When she heard me moving things around she turned up her lamp, and the sudden shock of that made me reappear out of nowhere.

“I begged her not to tell anyone, but she just ran screaming as fast as she could. So I hurried back to my room, packed anything I could think of I might need, and ran away.”

Ethan cocked his head. “Why didn’t you just deny it?”

“I couldn’t. No matter what I said, I still would have been tested. Anyone who is accused of using magic is forced to prove their innocence. And I wasn’t able to do that.”

“Couldn’t your father have protected you?”

“No. His brother would have seen to it that the Emperor was told. There would have been nothing father could have done…other than die for me. And to be honest, he hated magic. He even forbade my mother from telling me stories about the mages.”

“So you think he would have just turned you over?”

Kat shrugged. “There’s no way of knowing.”

“I'm sure he wouldn't have,” Ethan told her firmly. “I don’t think any parent could do that.”

“If you’d seen what I have, you wouldn’t be so quick to say that,” she responded. “People can do some pretty nasty shit to their children. But it really doesn’t matter anymore. It was a long time ago and there’s no going back now.”

Ethan took her hand and kissed her fingers. “I’m so sorry.”

Kat smiled and straightened her back. “I’m not. Things work out the way they’re meant to. At least, that’s what I think. And could you imagine if he saw me now? He’d never believe it was me.”

Ethan chuckled. “It sure would be hard to explain.”

After getting their backpacks together, they spent the rest of the day on deck discussing what life might be like once Shinzan was defeated. Keira mostly stayed below until the sunlight began to wane. Just before it became fully dark, they caught site of the shoreline.

“Stay behind me until I am sure we haven’t been seen,” the elf instructed.

Their pilot eased the boat in until they heard the keel scraping bottom. It was only a few yards to the beach, but the sea was rough and both Kat and Ethan were very nearly pulled under by the strong rip current while wading ashore. Only Keira’s quick reflexes saved them.

Coughing and spitting up sea water, they followed her up the beach toward a row of low growing brambles and shrubs. On reaching these, Keira motioned for them to duck down and wait.

She listened carefully for a while, then nodded for them to head due east.

After a mile or so, the sand and pebbles gave way to hard clay scattered with patches of tall grass. Ethan gritted his teeth. Though there was only a slight chill in the air, his drenched clothing was making it feel far colder. To make matters worse, sand had crept its way irritatingly into every crevice of his body. Kat, on the other hand, seemed to be taking it all in stride. He wasn't sure whether to feel proud of her, or just a bit jealous of her adaptability.

Soon, the terrain became increasingly rocky and uneven, forcing Ethan to slow his pace. This did not please Keira one bit.

“The nearest shelter is more than twenty miles away,” she told him. “We must reach it before sunrise.”

“I’ll do my best,” he said.

Kat took his hand. “Just stay behind me. This is child’s play.”

Keira gave her an approving nod. “You are quite agile for a human.”

“I spent half of my life running in the dark,” she told her.

Without another word, Keira continued on. Ethan kept a tight hold on Kat’s hand as she guided him through the darkness. Clearly the years on Earth had not dulled the memory of her former life. Nor had it lessened her skills. She hopped and weaved along in the same way Ethan had seen her do when she was thirteen years old.

Every now and then, Keira stopped to listen carefully. Each time Ethan thought he heard something moving in the dark. Keira, however, dismissed it as nothing more than harmless wild animals and pressed them ever forward.

It was just after midnight when the ground became more level and the dark shadows of a few trees appeared. By now, Ethan’s legs were burning from the effort, while his feet felt raw from what seemed to be a pound of small stones trapped in each boot. Yet again he wondered why he hadn’t thought to bring an extra pair with him. Though his clothes had dried, the air was now much colder and the wind had picked up considerably. He looked to Kat, but she still seemed to be handling the grueling pace and cold weather much better than he expected.

For a moment he felt ashamed. If anything, it should be
him
leading
her
. Not so long ago, during his Airborne days, he would have handled conditions like this a thousand times better. Had he really lost so much of the fitness and resilience he had gained from his training back then?

Keira halted a couple of hours before sunrise to allow them a quick meal and rest. Renald had packed them several bags of dried fruits and jerky, some of which they now devoured eagerly.

“Does any of this look familiar?” Ethan asked Kat.

She shook her head. “My family lived pretty much in the dead center of Ralmaria, so I never came out this far. But I think the mountain where King Ganix lives is only a few days to the north.”

“That is correct, though he has now abandoned it,” Keira told her. “Not that we will be going anywhere near there. I know of a grotto on the banks of Lake Hurin not far from here that is well hidden. We can wait out the day inside, then go south to the border of Al’ Theona. We should run into my people along the way.”

By now, Ethan’s damaged feet were making each step even more of a struggle. He could feel the skin splitting painfully apart, especially on the ends of his toes – a result of being trapped inside a wet and dirty boot for so many hours. It was the beginning of what was commonly known in the military as 'trench foot', a dangerous condition that could eventually lead to gangrene.

Noticing his distress, Kat gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “Lylinora taught me some healing spells. Once we get to the grotto I’ll take care of you.”

Ethan smiled and nodded his appreciation.

When they reached the lake, he took a moment to survey their surroundings. A thin fog hovered just above the water, making it impossible to see the other side, while scattered all over the shore of coarse yellow sand was millions of tiny, multi-colored pebbles. The tree line was only a few yards from the bank, but it was not particularly dense and would make poor cover for any enemies who might seek to approach.