Drogoya: Book 3 Circles of Light series (56 page)

Fenj and Jeela had both
pressed their brows to Thryssa’s but made no reply to her greeting.
Now the black Dragon lay watchful beneath Gremara’s ledge while
ivory Jeela slept close by, Lula curled on her back. Lashek and
Kwanzi were in low voiced discussion a little apart from where
Thryssa sat with Pachela’s head in her lap. On the ledge the black,
knobbled husk that had been the Silver One had hardened,
solidified, and Lorak lay just as stiff and still against that
husk.

A breeze riffled
through the crater and Fenj’s eyes whirred, reflecting the
starlight. Deep within Lorak’s mind a voice whispered.

‘You have done well
little brother. We glorify your name.’

Chapter
Thirty-Four

The Sea Dragons stared
at Mist, frozen where they stood. Tika broke their silent
stillness, throwing herself across the sand to reach her arms round
Mist’s neck. Mist lowered her face to Tika’s shoulder as the girl
stretched her hands to the left wing. She stared at it, feeling the
bones, the sinew and muscles, the pulse of blood through leathery
hide. She turned her head to look at Mist’s face, the sparkling
brilliant right eye, the puckered empty left socket. Mist pressed
her wet cheek against Tika.

‘She mended my wing,’
Mist’s voice whispered in Tika’s mind. ‘She wept because she could
not restore my eye, but what is an eye when I can ride the wind
once more? I did not ask for such a healing, and I know what
strength it must have called for. Tika, the Silver One has flown
into great danger and yet she gave so much in healing my wing that
I fear she may have weakened herself too far.’

Tika felt an icy
prickling down her spine. ‘Did she speak to you of Mim – the Dragon
Lord? I asked her but she didn’t answer.’

‘Then I can say nothing
small one. She was insistent that you travel south with all speed,
to the desert of Biting Sands.’

This interchange took
place in less than ten heartbeats and Mist’s Flight now approached
with cries of delight and amazement. Tika squeezed between the mass
of Dragons and found her human friends and Seela had gone through
the cliff path to their camp. Farn still slept against Brin’s side
and Tika paused, gently probing his mind. But he was deeply asleep.
She caught only flickers of dreams from her soul bond.

‘The Silver One
strengthened him,’ Brin told her. ‘She was too drained from her
work on Mist to do more than a little, but he will be stronger
now.’ Brin’s eyes glowed in the starlight. ‘We must go south Tika.
At once.’

Tika sighed. ‘I know.
She seems to have impressed that idea on everyone.’

Sket handed her some
hot tea when she joined her friends around the replenished fire.
Ren broke the silence.

‘Did she tell you of
Grek?’ he asked her.

Tika frowned. ‘Yes she
did and I don’t know if we should trust such a
creature.’

Seela rattled her
wings. ‘He is here now. I have been told how to deal with him
should he show sign of causing us trouble. I will teach you to
unmake him also.’

‘If Gremara gives me
her partial trust at least, surely you could do no less?’ The voice
in all their minds was mild, the voice of a youngish
male.

Ren cleared his throat.
‘We will trust you within limits Grek. Now answer me truly: why
must we go to the south?’

There was a
considerable pause before Grek replied and then it was apparent
that he was choosing his words with care.

‘South is where
solutions may lie. Although I have been here for many human
generations, I did not know Survivors remained hidden anywhere on
this world. Never have I been to the desert lands, but Gremara told
me that within that region lies help for you to travel yet further
– even to the Survivors themselves.’

‘Who are these
Survivors?’ Gan asked.

After another long
pause Grek replied, his tone sounding wistful. ‘I may not tell you
that. Not yet at least.’

‘Gremara said you flee
from the evil one in Ren’s land. Why have you run from him and why
should we trust you at all?’ Maressa surprisingly spoke
aloud.

Khosa jumped from
Navan’s knees and went to sit a few paces from the fire, staring
steadily at empty air.

‘Cho Petak is finally
mad. Gremara says he has always been so, but I do not think I
believe that. He spoke long ago of building such a wonderful world,
and I followed his ideas. I believed others corrupted his teachings
for which he suffered the blame.’ Grek sounded thoughtful now.
‘Perhaps Gremara has the right of it though and I was just a
foolish boy, blinded by clever words and high philosophies. That
does not excuse me of course, in fact it drives me to seek a way of
reparation. I do not expect forgiveness, but I can try to make some
amends.’

The company sat
pondering Grek’s words until finally Pallin got to his
feet.

‘If we’re to travel
tomorrow we should all be in our blankets by now.’

Everyone obediently
began to move towards the awnings and to arrange their sleeping
places. As Tika took her blanket to curl up on the beach with Farn
and Brin, Ren caught her arm. He nodded towards the dark stretch of
sweet grass. ‘I wish we’d found that mint plant – it smells so
strong yet I cannot find a trace of it. And I also wish I could
stay and search those rooms we found.’

Tika managed a smile.
‘Surely we’ll do both on our way back.’

Two pairs of silver
eyes met and held for a long moment until Ren nodded.

‘You’re right. Of
course we’ll be back. Goodnight Tika.’

Next morning the party
divided as before, most climbing onto koninas although Seela
offered to take riders. The awnings were neatly packed and loaded
on the spare animals and the party made their way through the gap
in the cliff to the beach. Farn was excited at the prospect of more
adventuring but Tika noticed an underlying calmness about
him.

The Sea Dragons had
gathered to bid them farewell and Salt announced that Storm would
travel with them – he could at least keep them supplied with fresh
fish. Tika noted Storm’s eyes whirring with an excitement that
matched Farn’s and sincerely hoped they wouldn’t cause too much
mischief between them. Khosa wound herself round Salt’s great chest
and he bent his head to the orange Kephi Queen. She ran to Mist to
give a similar show of affection before returning to Tika to be
stowed in her carry sack.

Grek’s voice rang in
their minds. ‘Beware of men from inland,’ he warned. ‘There is one
such as I among them – one who has always been truly wicked. These
men in his company would kill Dragons.’

A furious hissing arose
from the Dragons and several lifted into the air, darting over the
cliffs to watch for any such men.

‘Mist and Ice know how
to destroy such a one,’ Seela said firmly.

‘They will not be able
to do so should they be taken by surprise,’ Grek
retorted.

With no more ado, the
company parted from the Sea Dragons. Olam led the way on his konina
along the firmer sand at the sea’s edge. Seela, Brin and Farn
lifted into the air, followed by Storm and then, to Tika’s delight,
Mist rose effortlessly from the beach. She flew with them for a
league then swerved out to sea trumpeting her last farewells before
turning northwards.

They made good
travelling for several days, the Dragons flying ahead to locate any
tiny pools or streamlets of fresh water. For two days the koninas
trotted between high cliffs and the great sea. Then the cliffs
dropped away and seemingly endless sand dunes took their place.
Heartily sick of the sand, Pallin was not the only one to welcome
the sight of cliffs beginning to rise again on the sixth day
out.

Several times Tika flew
on Seela’s back so that Farn could dive through the sky, tumbling
after Storm. Maressa, aloft on Brin, cast her mage’s sight further
south at the end of each day’s travelling. They usually found a
suitable place to make camp by late afternoon. Materials for fire
making grew more and more scarce and on three nights now, Brin or
Seela had heated piles of pebbles with their own fire to enable the
travellers to at least heat the fish Storm brought them.

‘We are out of reach of
Far by now I suppose?’ Olam asked one evening.

Maressa thought for a
moment. ‘Yes I’m afraid so. I have been unable to reach Mist for
two days as I told you.’

Khosa chirruped and the
sand flurried briefly beside her. The company had grown somewhat
used to this method the Kephi and Grek had devised to warn them of
his presence, and that he was about to join their conversation. But
they still found it unnerving to know an invisible being was among
them.

‘I could go wherever
you wish – it takes me but moments to move unbodied between
locations. Show me a mind picture of where you wish me to look and
I will do so.’ Grek offered.

Olam shifted
uncomfortably, looking to Tika and Ren for their opinion. Tika let
her mind touch Grek’s more closely than she had yet dared. To her
surprise, his mind seemed open, enough for her to see no dark,
hidden areas.

‘Very well,’ she said.
‘This is the place we would know of, and these two people.’ She
pictured Lallia and Seboth. She hesitated then formed an image of
Hargon. ‘This one also – we would know of his
whereabouts.’

‘No.’ Grek’s reply was
instant. ‘I know him, but he now harbours another such as I – the
one I warned the Dragons about. He would sense my nearness at once,
and for now I don’t think he is aware that I am in this land. Let’s
leave him in ignorance as long as possible.’

Khosa did one of her
front-end-down, tail-end-up stretches and yawned
mightily.

‘Grek will not be
long,’ she announced, scrambling onto Seela’s broad purple back and
settling herself comfortably.

In truth, the moon had
scarcely moved a finger’s width before Grek spoke again.

‘They were together and
both were aware of me at once.’ He sounded surprised. ‘I told them
you were well and they hoped you would remain so. There has been
fighting. The towns of Tagria and Andla have been put to the torch
and many farming communities also. They last heard that the other
one you named – Hargon – is reported moving towards the coast. It
seems he is tracking your company.’

Olam sprang to his feet
and paced round the fire. ‘I should have stayed to help fight
Hargon! Dear stars, what of the Lords Raben and Zalom – do they yet
live?’

‘Seboth said he has
reliable reports that they do survive and are regrouping their
forces to join with Seboth’s own.’

‘I should be there,’
Olam fretted.

‘No sir.’ Pallin’s
gruff voice rang with years of authority. ‘You are here. For
whatever reason, you are here, and this is your fate as it is all
of ours.’

The following day they
could not travel. They took what shelter they could behind the
cliffs and waited while a storm blew in from the sea. Raging winds
and torrential squalls of rain continued unabated until late in the
day. Only Maressa enjoyed the experience and let her mind swirl
with the twisting clouds. A wonderful exhilaration, she explained
in the face of unanimous disbelief from her companions. But even
she conceded that soaking clothes were none too enjoyable. Huddled
round the heated stones that evening, Maressa told them she thought
they were quite close to the desert.

‘I let my mind go so
high in that storm that I saw further than I would usually be able
to. I could see right back to where your Sapphrean plains lie, just
beyond these unwelcoming lands.’ She paused. ‘The desert looks
worse I’m afraid. I could see no end to it, south or
east.’

Sket grunted. ‘No
matter. ’Tis where we must go. We’ll manage.’

Tika grinned at him.
‘We can go anywhere – as long as there is tea, isn’t that so
Sket?’

Her personal Guard
grinned back. ‘Quite right,’ he agreed.

They settled to sleep,
all trying not to anticipate a land worse than they’d already
crossed. Khosa toured the little camp as the companions slept then
curled against Gan’s chest. A voice brushed her mind like a
caress.

‘Beloved little
daughter.’

The cliffs continued
for a few more days then disappeared again to be replaced by sand
dunes. A tough grass grew in places but it had not much goodness in
it for the koninas. Pallin and Maressa had been careful with their
supplies, relying so far on the fish Storm brought them. They
argued the necessity of keeping their dried foodstuffs for if or
when they had to turn inland. It didn’t make the rest of the
company complain less about the continuous fish diet.

Storm had been
disturbed that they met no other Flights of Sea Dragons along the
coast. He’d expected to find at least one, but the caves and ledges
on that section of cliff were all empty. Then Storm flew ahead
early one morning and returned in some excitement.

‘There are two legs
down the coast. Three of them and they have creatures the same as
the ones you ride. They are just sitting there.’