Drogoya: Book 3 Circles of Light series (59 page)

When Rhaki felt the
alien mind’s hold weakening, he had loosed all his power, forcing
free and hurtling up through the lava rock of the Menedula and into
the higher atmosphere. Parts of his mind hurt, stung as though
bleeding. He was disorientated, confused and yes, afraid. He
hurried to the east, instinctively wanting to put distance between
himself and Cho Petak.

Weaving through the
air, Rhaki realised he was too weakened to travel as far as he’d
like. He saw snowfields to the north and descended, sliding through
the snow and on through the rock. He rested, he knew not how long,
but eventually he was restored enough to test his mind for the
effects of that – thing. Had he a body, he would have shuddered and
retched: the idea of another creature inside his mind was utterly
abhorrent.

Slowly, patiently,
methodically Rhaki tested his mind. He sealed off sections that
hurt, the places where the thing had dug too deeply. Above him,
days and nights passed unnoticed while Rhaki healed what he could.
Finally he felt nearly whole again and began to consider his
position. During the healing he’d worked on himself, he had
uncovered many memories that had apparently slipped from his
conscious mind. Or been concealed by that creature.

He remembered
experiments of a foulness that sickened him, faces filled with
terror, and names. One name hurt him immensely – Bark. Bark had
truly been his friend, and now he remembered how he had ruined him.
Knowing as he now did, that most if not all of these actions had
been implemented by the other creature within him, gave him no
comfort. Had his great pride in his abilities been encouraged by
that thing as well?

Rhaki’s torment began
all over again. Who was he? How much was he still Rhaki of the
Asatarian People, and how much tainted by Cho Petak’s machinations?
Iska! Her memory suddenly confronted him and he groaned aloud, the
rock vibrating with his agony.

He had no idea what
Cho’s plans were for this world but judging by the rapid ruination
of Drogoya lands, Rhaki had little hope that his own lands would
long be spared Cho’s attention. If he was to return to Gaharn,
would anyone trust him, listen to his warnings? Surely not. And yet
they should be warned – they must be warned. Rhaki shivered in the
interstices of the rock, summoning the courage to travel back to
Gaharn. A faint sound seemed to filter down to him, or was it from
the very rocks themselves? It sounded like a distant
singing.

Another of Cho’s
missing lieutenants was in the far west of Sapphrea on the other
side of the world from Cho. He was bored. He found the humans very
slow witted and unambitious. They had no great pleasure in
inflicting pain on others, no idea of the exquisite delight that
could be found in the delicacy of torture.

M’Raz was amused that
the human he now possessed still struggled against him. Admittedly,
he was proving stronger than M’Raz had expected, but then, it was
so delightfully simple to play on his prejudices and beliefs. Lord
Hargon of Return hated and feared any hint of abnormal mental
abilities. Such abilities had nearly destroyed these lands once,
and must never be allowed to regain so much as a toehold in society
again.

The fact that the
catastrophe Hargon dwelt on happened millennia past was irrelevant:
it must never be repeated. M’Raz merely prodded those thoughts in
Hargon’s little brain and the man was ready to destroy anything in
sight. It had been amusing at first but was becoming deeply boring
now. M’Raz had felt Cho’s summoning and buried himself within
Hargon’s mind.

Cho Petak was crazy.
M’Raz had concluded as much centuries before and planned to
extricate himself from involvement in Cho’s conspiracies. But he’d
left it just too late: he’d found himself wrenched from his body,
trapped in the Void, and hurled into space. He had been furious.
He’d witnessed Cho’s freeing of D’Lah and Grek and fumed further
for more centuries. When Cho’s call came at last, he had made sure
that his loyalty and adoration were shining beacons to Cho’s
searching mind and thus secured his release.

He had no intention of
going anywhere near Cho Petak ever again, but the summoning he’d
heard bothered him. Had Cho grown so powerful he could span a
world? M’Raz looked out of Lord Hargon’s eyes, ignoring the way the
closest armsmen flinched and averted their faces. He saw endless,
barren land, undulating in all directions. He had no real
understanding of why this man wanted to travel in such an
inhospitable region. The animals they rode were suffering – already
several had collapsed and been slaughtered where they fell. At
least their blood provided liquid and their flesh, food.

No, M’Raz was
uncomfortable. Twice he’d felt Cho’s summoning and once, he was
sure, he had sensed either Grek or Cho himself actually within the
immediate vicinity. He did not want to confront either of them
trapped in this human. On the instant, he pulled free from Lord
Hargon’s body and without a pause, headed south east.

Men pulled their
koninas out of the way as Hargon fell from his saddle. Trib
cautiously bent to peer at his Lord. Hargon groaned, his eyes
fluttering open. Trib stepped back, then stared again. Lord
Hargon’s eyes were blue, as they had not been since the retreat
from Far. Trib glanced quickly at the armsmen nearest him and saw
they too were staring at their Lord’s eyes. Warily Trib knelt,
lifting Hargon’s shoulders from the ground. He hesitated, then
unclipped the water flask from his belt and let a few drops trickle
onto Hargon’s lips.

Hargon stared at Trib
then at the surrounding armsmen. He struggled to his feet, leaning
on both Trib and his konina. He looked over the konina’s back and
gave an audible gasp. He looked at his men again.

‘Where are we? What are
we doing in these lands?’

‘Erm, you led us here
Sir Lord,’ Trib replied carefully. ‘Do you not remember? After we
fired Andla, you led us here.’

Hargon stared at Trib
in horrified disbelief. ‘Fired Andla?’ he repeated.

‘Yes Sir Lord.’ Trib
felt it prudent to keep to the briefest of comments.

‘Dear stars, what has
happened? Have I been ill, fevered?’ Hargon’s expression was of
utter bewilderment. ‘No. Tell me later. First, where exactly are
we?’

‘Fifteen days into the
Bitter Lands, Sir Lord. You, erm, said we would reach the great sea
before nightfall.’

‘I did?’ Hargon looked
at each of the twenty seven armsmen gathered round him and shook
his head. He hauled himself back into his saddle. ‘Lead on then
Trib, and where is Captain Navan?’

‘Erm, you were leading
us Sir Lord. None of us has any idea where we are. And you ordered
Captain Navan executed’

Chapter
Thirty-Six

Nine days had passed
since the Dragon Lord had been seen. Ashta slept for the first four
of those days and then was roused by Snow Dragons and Delver
healers led by Berri, acting Wise One in Nolli’s absence. Kera and
Nesh watched closely but Ashta seemed calm and untroubled. She flew
from the great gateway to hunt and, apparently, just for fun as
well. She encountered Baryet on one of her returns and the hissing
and squawking that ensued worried everyone. None of the Dragons
appeared much interested in the two Plavats and this sudden spat of
animosity was cause for concern.

Kera wrote a note which
she gave Motass on one of his excursions for food. She had to wait
nearly a full day for a reply and then she was only told that
Chakar was “occupied” with Mim and not able to say when she would
be “unoccupied”. Kera swore in a fashion that shocked Voron but
made Nesh grin and comment that perhaps the Discipline Senior was
spending too much time in proximity to the Guards.

During this time they
had learned with great sadness of Ryla’s death in Gaharn. Kera and
Nesh, the only Asatarians at the Stronghold, spent an evening
remembering the ancient Lady and wishing her well on her journey
Beyond. During the time of Mim’s seclusion, it became apparent that
the affliction had come no further into the Domain than the
settlement of Arak, despite their fears.

Scrolls came through
the circle from Vagrantia once more, causing great excitement mixed
with sorrow when they heard not only of the destruction of the
strange entity but also Gremara’s appalling end. From the
description of Lorak’s unmoving state, it seemed he too had passed
Beyond, but neither Jeela nor Fenj would allow anyone near him or
Gremara.

On the tenth morning
since Mim had been seen, Kera sat after breakfast with Bikram, the
Delver gardener, and Nesh. Kera had read a letter just received
from Emla in Gaharn, giving her suggestions regarding Mim’s
disappearance from general view and Gremara’s death.

‘If the two events are
linked, surely we should be concerned for Mim – his mental state at
least?’

Nesh was reading Emla’s
letter again as Kera spoke. ‘I think Lady Emla has made a likely
connection, but I cannot see a reason or what any outcome might
be.’ He shook his head. ‘If Chakar won’t tell us, we’ll just have
to wait.’

‘Surely she would tell
us if there was something badly wrong?’

Nesh passed the letter
back across the table. ‘I have tried to mind speak Dessi,’ he
smiled at Kera. ‘I’m sure you’ve tried too.’

Kera grunted. ‘The
whole area around that section of the upper level is shielded.’ She
grinned reluctantly back at Nesh. ‘Yes, I’ve tried – several times
– all to no avail.’

Nesh shrugged. ‘So we
wait.’ He got to his feet. ‘I must check the herb beds in the first
level while I remember Kera, but I’ll be back by
midday.’

Kera glanced at Bikram
as Nesh’s tall figure vanished through the tunnel opening. The owl
Sava poked his head out from under Bikram’s jacket, clicked his
beak and hooted dolefully. Bikram stroked the feathers along Sava’s
wing. ‘I don’t believe old Lorak would have died Lady Kera. He’d so
many plans for the gardens here, and for things he and that great
Fenj were going to do. He’d be most put out if he’d died
Lady.’

Before Kera could think
of an answer to that, Jal’s third Guard Officer marched smartly
down the ramp from the upper levels, escorting a tall thin figure.
Kera gaped, leaping to her feet.

‘Doochay! How
marvellous to see you. Is all well in Gaharn? We were distressed at
the news of Ryla but -’

‘Oh do stop Kera. I
would appreciate a drink, tea if you must, but preferably something
a little more fortifying.’

Bikram produced a
leather flask from a pocket and Sava peered out briefly to survey
the stranger.

‘This is Bikram. He is
an excellent gardener and a friend of Lorak’s.’ Kera clamped her
lips shut before she could burble any more nonsense.

Doochay took a
considerable gulp from the proffered flask. Her eyes watered and
she was a trifle breathless but her tone was respectful as she
returned the flask. ‘Amazing. Most amazing. Sorry about my
sharpness Kera, but I did not enjoy the experience of being hurtled
through those circles.’ She looked thoughtful. ‘I wonder if
anyone’s ever worked out exactly how they function.’

Doochay stared around
the immense hall, empty at this time of day, then looked at Sava
who stared unblinkingly back.

‘What a handsome owl.
Did you raise him yourself Bikram?’

‘Oh no Lady. He belongs
to Observer Chakar but he doesn’t like the Plavats so he moved in
with Lorak and now he’s with me.’

As though on cue, there
was a screech from outside the gateway which sent Sava burrowing
inside Bikram’s jacket. Doochay stared in appalled fascination as
the giant Plavat stilted into the hall. Cocking his head from side
to side and raising and lowering his neck feathers, he eventually
concluded Chakar was absent.

‘I have not seen Chakar
for many days.’ His mind tone was definitely peevish.

‘May I give her a
message Baryet?’ asked Kera politely.

‘I suppose so.’ His
chest swelled. ‘Syecha has ten eggs,’ he announced.

‘Oh dear. I mean, how
perfectly marvellous for you both. I’ll surely tell Chakar your
news.’

A yellow rimmed eye
glared at her over the lethal black bill and the Plavat stilted
from the hall.

‘Thank the stars there
was no one else here – ten eggs!’ Kera sounded quite
faint.

‘That was a Plavat?’
asked Doochay.

‘Mmm. Very little
intelligence, over blessed with conceit, and unbelievably ghastly,’
Kera explained.

‘They came here with
Observer Chakar, who has been closeted with the Dragon Lord for
nine days?’

‘Is that why you’ve
come here?’

‘Partly.’ Doochay
grinned. ‘As I am now the eldest Discipline Senior, Emla and I
thought I outrank anyone – anyone – here.’

Kera snorted
disrespectfully. ‘That won’t work with Chakar.’

‘We’ll see.’

Doochay seemed in no
hurry to confront Chakar so Kera gave her a brief tour of the
Stronghold’s growing areas – copied from the Delver system in the
Domain. Doochay was most impressed with their ingenious methods.
She met workers tending a long bed of medicinal herbs in one
section of the lower caves. They became involved in complicated
botanical discussion and it was nearing midday as they joined
labourers and Guards heading back to the hall for a
meal.