Draykon (44 page)

Eva didn't need
to spell it out. The implications were clear: no other Lowers beast
was known to have so powerful an effect on humans who wielded their
bones or their hide. If the draykon bone was the sole exception,
that suggested they were fully immersed in the Off-Worlds; born of
the fabric of those Realms, part of it in a way no human could ever
be. Wearing a piece of their bone was like wearing a shred of the
realm itself.

'In effect, they
are sorcerers too, with strong instinctive abilities. Remember how
Llandry-as-draykon vanished in mid-air? She was crossing into a
different realm. Perhaps the Uppers, or the Middles. She didn't
need a gate.'

That triggered
another recollection in Eva's thoughts. When she had touched the
draykon, she had seen through the realms and grasped the truth:
that they were not layered as their common names suggested but
existed in the same space. She opened her mouth to share this
thought with Tren, but she was interrupted by voices talking loudly
in the hallway outside their parlour. One of the voices was
familiar.

'I think the
cavalry's here,' she said, with a small smile. The door was flung
open and Vale walked into the room.

'Eva!' She found
herself pulled out of her chair and roughly enfolded in an embrace.
Vale began to scold and praise her by turns, apparently undecided
whether she was a heroine or a villain for her reckless
behaviour.

'Are you hurt?
Anywhere? In any way at all?' He checked her over quite carefully,
heedless of the room filling up with his men.

'I'm fine,' she
said, pushing him away gently. 'I've an awful lot to tell
you.'

He nodded. 'Your
carriage is waiting outside.'

'Mine? How did
you know I'd be here?'

'Fin told us
which way you'd gone. We've been checking every inn, village and
wayside tavern we've passed on the way out from Glour
City.'

'What if you
hadn't found me?'

'Then we were
going down after you. I brought sorcs with me, summoners, people
who hit things with sticks, the whole lot.'

'So this is a
rescue mission.'

'Potentially.
Only of course, you don't need rescuing.' He seemed to remember
Tren, belatedly, and looked around for him. 'Where's Warvel? I
suppose he survived?'

Eva glanced
around. Tren's chair was empty. 'Alive and well as of a few minutes
ago. He must have slipped off somewhere.'

Tren had hidden
himself so thoroughly, in fact, that he could not be found
anywhere. Eva smothered her disappointment as she left the inn on
the way to her carriage. The filthy clothes she'd been wearing when
she emerged from the Lowers had been burned, on her request, and
her few remaining possessions had been loaded up already. She had
instructed that the books be placed inside the carriage itself, so
she could keep an eye on them on the journey home. The air was
crisp, so she had hastily purchased a new, thick woollen cloak from
the landlady. It was an inelegant garment, but she welcomed the
warmth as she crossed the courtyard.

Footsteps rang on
the cobblestones behind her and a hand gripped hers.

'Eva, I'm sorry.
I didn't realise you were - I mean - of course you would want to
get home as soon as possible.'

She didn't.
Actually, she was peculiarly dreading it, but she said "yes"
anyway. 'Will you be in Westrarc long? I'm going to need your help
convincing the Guardian that I'm not crazy.'

'I'll be a few
days with Ed's mother, probably. Then I'll be coming home.' He
glanced over his shoulder as Vale emerged from the inn and made his
way in their direction. 'May I speak with you alone for a moment?
Really briefly,' he added, seeing her hesitate.

'Of course,' she
said graciously. She smiled at Vale as they passed. 'I'll join you
in a moment,' she murmured, touching his hand briefly.

Tren led her back
inside the inn, into the private dining room they'd shared. He
stood for so long, looking at her without speaking, that she grew
confused and a little impatient.

'Tren, it would
be rude of me to keep the carriage waiting long.'

'Oh - yes, of
course. I'm sorry.' He stared at her again. 'I just... I just
wanted to ask. Will I be seeing you again?'

She frowned
slightly, uncertain what he was getting at. 'Didn't we just agree
on that? I hope you aren't planning to abandon me to my fate.
Without your corroboration, I'll be locked up in the asylum within
a week.'

'Yes, I...
suppose so. But what I really meant was - was -' He stuffed his
hands into his pockets and looked at the floor. 'May I visit you?
In a purely social way?'

'Oh. Well, yes,
if you'd like to. You know where I live, of course.'

He didn't. As she
gave him her address he nodded solemnly, eyes fixed on her face as
if he was engraving it on the inside of his brain. He didn't say
anything else.

'I'd better go,
then.'

'Yes,' said Tren.
He opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, and shut it again. 'Safe
journey home,' he said with a brief smile. Then he was gone,
darting through the door as if keen to escape.

When she reached
the door herself, he was nowhere in sight. Tucking her hands into
the folds of her cloak, Eva walked slowly back out to the carriage
where Vale waited to take her home.

***

End
Notes

Thank you for
reading
Draykon
! If you enjoyed this book, please consider
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The cover art was
created by Elsa Kroese. If you’re interested in seeing more of her
work, visit her website at
www.elsakroese.com
.

Books by
Charlotte E. English on Smashwords:

Novels:

Draykon
(Draykon Series, 1)

Lokant
(Draykon Series, 2)

Orlind
(Draykon Series, 3)

Short Story
Collections:

Leximandra
Reports
(Draykon Series)

Novellas:

The Rostikov
Legacy
(Malykant Mysteries, 1)

The Ivanov
Diamond
(Malykant Mysteries, 2)

Glossary of Terms

Astwach
:
reptilian but furred, lives in burrows in the ground. Darklands
type.

Bilberry
:
A fat purple berry that grows in the mountains of Irbel.

Caomdir
:
An amphibian with sleek, multi-coloured skin, the caomdir is highly
venomous. Caomdirs are treetop creatures with multiple sub-species,
some adapted to life in the Upper Realms and some preferring the
darkness of the Lowers.

Cayluch:
A
hearty beverage made from milk, cream, cocoa beans and coffee.
Typically enjoyed steaming hot.

Cluine
: A
small mammal with inky black, blue-tipped fur and vicious claws,
the cluine is relatively harmless when encountered singly. In
packs, cluines are ruthless and will attack anything. They are
night-loving animals, with large eyes, large ears and particularly
sensitive hearing.

Curulay
: A
vibrant green vegetable from the realm of Nimdre.

Daefly
:
Insects with small, thin bodies and enormous coloured wings.
Feeding on flower nectar, daeflies are instrumental in the
pollination process.

Darklands
:
It is always night in the Darklands provinces of the Seven Realms.
During the day, sorcerers use a powerful enchantment called the
Night Cloak to block out the light and keep the sun from damaging
the eyes of its residents, or the plants brought from the
permanently dark Lower Realms.

Darsury
: A
pale Darklands grass prized for its uses as an antibiotic and
anti-inflammatory.

Day Cloak: A
magical enchantment wrought by sorcerers which keeps the Daylands
permanently in sunlight (or something like it). This ensures that
sun-loving plants and animals native to the Upper Realms may thrive
across the Daylands, too.

Daylands
:
In the Daylands provinces, night never falls. When the sun goes
down, sorcerers create an artificial daylight effect called the Day
Cloak, less powerful than full sunlight but sufficient to keep
light-loving plants and animals content. Daylands realms include
Glinnery and Irbel.

Drauk
:
These reptiles are adaptable and can live in most Daylands
environments. They are usually black-scaled, with wickedly sharp
claws and long, thin necks and tails.

Draykon
: A
beast from legend, said to be larger than any other species
currently living. Draykons are reptilian, with scaled hide of
various colours as well as long tails, claws and vast webbed wings.
Some say the draykoni can breathe fire.

Dringle
bird
: A small bird native to the Lower Realms, with feathered
bodies and webby wings. Dringles are restless and easily
distracted, though their appetite for insects makes them popular
with gardeners.

Evenglow:
Glinnery term for the Day Cloaked hours, when the strong natural
sunlight gives way to the more muted light of the
enchantment.

Finruk:
Finruks are long-legged, short-haired mountain beasts whose cloven
feet are ideal for clinging to steep slopes. Their hide ranges in
hue from dark brown to black. Both males and females possess long,
curling horns.

Glissenwol:
Native to the realm of Glinnery, the
glissenwol tree is taller than most other species, with a broad,
sturdy trunk and a wide cap instead of branches and
leaves.

Gloereme
:
A species of moderately large, nocturnal serpent native to the
Lower Realms (listed as an extinct species by the summoner guilds
of the Seven Realms). The gloereme is venomous, its hide dark brown
lit with moss-green markings among males and cream markings among
females.

Gloren
fruit
: A plump, sweet, golden-skinned fruit popular in
Glour.

Glostrel
trees:
Graceful, slender-branched trees with silvery bark and
wide, white leaves. These grow in abundance across Glour, and in
some parts of Orstwych and Ullarn.

Gludrai:
A
red-crested Darklands bird of unusual size, its plumage typically
dark brown or black. Gludrais are noted for their aggressive
natures.

Gwaystrel:
Rarely seen outside of its native environment in the Lower Realms,
the gwaystrel is a tiny mammal with webbed wings and dark fur. It
is nocturnal and almost blind, using sounds rather than sight to
find its way around.

Inalo
: A
large, shaggy white-furred creature native to the Darklands. Inalos
feed on fish and small animals, and have been known to attack
larger creatures - including humans - when hungry. They live among
the palest white trees of the Lower Realms, their fur providing
camouflage amongst the thickets.

Irignol
trees:
Leafless trees with black, frondy bark and very dark
brown wood. These form symbiotic relationships with a species of
pale silvery-green lichen. They can grow to great heights, and
their trunks and branches become ever more contorted with
age.

Irilapter:
These tiny winged creatures have long, thin bodies covered with fur
and comparatively large wings similar to those of a daefly. A
typical irilapter will have a long, curled tail and a similarly
long, curled proboscis, plus far more riotous colour in its small
form than ought to belong to a single creature.

Istore:
Named by Llandry Sanfaer, istore is an indigo-coloured gemstone
with a silver shine.

Litorn
mushroom:
Originally from the Upper Realms, the litorn
mushrooms are cultivated in Glinnery for their pain-killing
properties when prepared.

Lower
Realms:
Existing as an adjacent plane to the Seven Realms, the
Uppers are so-called because they are believed to be situated
somewhere beyond the ground. There is no sun in the Lowers, and as
such it is always dark - though there are multiple moons which
sometimes change colour. This place is notoriously unstable and
difficult to navigate, as the geographical layout and scenery are
in a state of constant flux. The Lower Realms may be reached by
opening a gate between the two worlds.