Echoes in the Dark (34 page)

He’d
hadn’t mentioned the ship.

“Especially
now that I’m fine-tuning the ship’s design.”

“Especially
that,” he agreed. “It will be easier to gather people and supplies in one
place.” He frowned. “Though I think it will take folk here a little more time
to get ready than they anticipate.”

“A
few days, then?”

“Ayes.”

Raine
considered that. Her time at Faucon’s castle in the south was over. She should
have been ready for that change. It never seemed as if she was. After a long
breath in and out, she said, “I’d like to go to the manor first, look around
without so many people.”

Faucon
shoved the tray to the bottom of the bed, took her hand, rolled close, stared
into her eyes and kissed her lips. Tender. Supportive. “I thought you would.”

“I’ll
leave after breakfast.” She looked around the room. She hadn’t unpacked. Just
as well. “Do you have to stay?”

“It
might be better,” he said, lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed them
again. His gaze was steady on hers. “But I’m also tired of being away from
you.”

She
smiled and that, too, felt real and right, then kissed him. “It won’t be for
very long. We’ll be together soon.”

The
alarm sounded and they both tensed, but it only indicated that the trials would
start shortly.

She
pushed him onto his back, crawled on him and rubbed her body against his,
savoring him, too. Then she kissed him deeply, taking his taste into her, and
rolled away. “I’ll shower, then I’m gone.” She fluttered her lashes at him. “I
think everyone is expecting you at the Landing Field.”

He
groaned and subsided on the bed and she laughed.

R
aine didn’t say
goodbye. As she walked with Enerin puppy to the lower courtyard where Blossom
was awaiting her to fly to the north, the crowd at the Landing Field roared
with shouts and applause. No need to interrupt the activities with a brief
appearance of one who wasn’t a permanent Exotique.

She’d
see them in a few days anyway. The corners of her mouth quirked up. She
couldn’t escape Exotique togetherness.

She
stepped over the security threshold at the gate between the wards and smiled at
the guards’ snappy salutes. They met her eyes briefly, then at another eruption
of noise their gazes went yearningly to above the Landing Field, where four
volarans raced.

One
of the guards said, “Friend of ours, just graduated Chevalier class, trying out
for the invasion team. She’s good.” He heaved a sigh. “No soldiers on the
force…otherwise…”

His
companion nodded. “Otherwise…”

Raine
felt her smile freeze. She’d just have to get over the casual mention of the
invasion and the battle and death it would bring. It was like a ten-ton
elephant following her around, or Bri’s roc flying over her head, not something
she could ignore. She hitched up her duffel and nodded to them once more. “Good
days ahead to you. I have a ship to build.”

“All
the luck to you, lady,” one of the guards called, then turned his attention to
the air show again.

Blossom
trotted to her, then stood as Raine fastened the duffel behind the saddle.
Raine hesitated. There was no need to say goodbye physically anyway, when you
could do it mentally.
Hey, Alexa, I’m off to Faucon’s northern manor.

Immediately
Alexa’s attention focused on her.
Faucon told us. Keep well. We’ll be there
soon. Virtual hugs.

Raine
laughed.
Virtual hugs back.
Which was better since Alexa tended to hug
too hard.
Love you, Calli and Marian.
Those two were at the trials, too.

Love
you, Raine,
came in stereo from Calli and Marian.

Raine
stretched her senses and found Bri between patients in Castleton.
I’m
leaving for the north, love you, Bri.
Just repeating the sentiment warmed
Raine, made her smile real.

Love
ya. See ya soon,
Bri said, then through the common channel added,
How’s it going there at the
trials, any surprises?

Maybe,
again in
unison, from Calli and Alexa.

See
you!
Raine called.

See
you!
they all replied.

They
didn’t add anything about the ship. Because they fully believed that whatever
Raine was doing was right. She understood that from their feelings toward her.
They’d never doubted her.

As
she and Blossom and Enerin took to the air and flew south and east to prevent
any intersection with the Landing Field, she thought of how close she was to
these women, sisters she’d never had, instead of brothers. She snorted at the
thought of any of them linked up with her brothers. Never would have worked.

She’d
bonded with the women and all of them would be on that invasion force. She
loved them, a blessing and a curse.

Then
she turned her face and Blossom to the west so she could taste the sea air.

Singer’s Abbey

J
ikata ate lunch
alone with Chasonette on the balcony off her sitting room. After ensuring no
one could overhear them, Jikata said, “So, what do you think of Singer’s
Abbey?”

Chasonette
stopped parading along the thick rail.
It is pretty but boring. Not much to
see or do. I have perched on all the spires and weather vanes and towers and
looked at all the views.

Jikata
nodded. “I think I’ve had enough of the views myself, and it’s time to move
on.”

The
bird swivelled her head, fixed a gleaming yellow eye on Jikata.
We are
leaving? The Singer won’t like that.

“It’s
not the Singer’s life, it’s mine.”

It’s
everyone’s.

“Do
you want to expand on that comment?” Jikata asked.

Chasonette
rippled her comb.
No.
She turned so her tail was toward Jikata.
When
do we go?

“Tomorrow
evening. That will give us time to prepare. I’ll walk the perimeter this
evening, check out the walls and find the best place to go over them.” She
considered her companion. “You can scout for me, go farther afield than the
Abbey.” The psychic shielding on the walls let in creatures and humans that
meant no harm to the Singer, so they shouldn’t be any deterrent to getting out,
either. Jikata didn’t think the Singer had a clue that Jikata might want to
leave.

I
will look for a good clearing.
Chasonette groomed her upper wing
feathers.
You can call a volaran and it will come and pick us up for the
flight to the Marshalls’ Castle.

Jikata’s
breath came in sharp. She hadn’t thought too much about going to the Castle.
Where others would be the stars of the show. That didn’t matter as much as
meeting
all these people and seeing their expectations of her in their eyes.

Since
all the others had been brought for a specific task, it was only logical that
she had been, too.

To
help Amee, to destroy the leech that Alexa and Marian called the Dark in their
books. Finally she would have time to read the books and discern what was ahead
of her. She was sure there would be specifics.

“I’m
not ready to go to the Castle. I want some time to myself. If a volaran will
only take me to that Castle, I don’t want one yet.” Liar.

A
while back she’d gone to the western gate, the simplest path that led to the
volaran stables, corrals and landing field. The gate was two hefty pillars at
the ends of high stone walls with an equally tall iron gate and an always
staffed little sentry box. The gatekeeper had put on a pleasant smile but shifted
into a militant stance that set him solidly in front of the gate when she’d
spoken to him. His action told Jikata that before he became a Friend he was a
warrior.

Jikata
was fascinated with the flying horses, who wouldn’t be? When she was high in
one of the Singer’s towers, she could sometimes see them outside the window,
sometimes soaring alone, sometimes with a person winging away. The idea of
flying on a volaran tempted her.

She’d
once had a relationship with a third-generation California rancher, but she’d
been on her way to the top and he’d wanted someone who’d fit her life to his.
Wasn’t meant to be and she thought they both regretted that. But she’d learned
to ride and acquired some knowledge of horses. Enough that she’d made owning a
horse property one of her wishes to fulfill once she made it to the top and
could spend a decent amount of time with them.

So
she had questioned the gatekeeper guard about volarans. He’d eased, but didn’t
move from the gate. He’d been a Chevalier, sworn to a noble lady who’d
fallen—he’d gone mum. Then he’d switched back to volarans, talking about their
intelligence, their mindspeech, mentioned that great changes had come when
Exotique Calli had been Summoned, then frowned at himself and made busy work,
waving Jikata away.

She
told him that the Singer had discussed the Exotiques with her and the man’s
expression had relaxed, but she’d known she wouldn’t get any more out of him
and had left.

But
the Singer’s volarans might not let her fly with them, and others might take
her to where she didn’t want to go, yet. She had no idea how much they would
obey her, consider her wants.

An
incredulous Chasonette was staring at her.
Not want a volaran?
Her beak
clicked.
How will we get to the Castle then?

Jikata
raised her brows. “Walk?” Though she’d never liked hiking and would have given
a lot to have had her Mercedes here. Absurd idea. She hadn’t even shipped it to
the spa.

For
a moment she recalled “Club Lladrana” and had a vision of one of those
party-colored golf carts with a fringe canopy in hot pink. She chuckled, then
put aside fancy for reality. “I know there’s a village to the north. I can hire
horses or a carriage or perhaps a volaran. I have jewelry I can sell.”

With
a whir of feathers Chasonette was gone, bulleting toward the north, to the
Castle? To whom? “Wait!”

I
will return by tomorrow evening.

Jikata
snorted. It wasn’t a sound she often made, but it was satisfying. So she did it
again.

So
much for companionship. She allowed herself a scowl.

25

Creusse Landing

E
ven with
Distance Magic, it took Blossom, Raine and Enerin a while to reach Faucon’s
northern estate. It was a beautiful summer’s day, warm and sunny and with a
breeze that brought the scents of the changing land beneath them as they flew above
trees, flowers, growing crops. There was the richness of turned earth, a whiff
of animals and manure: cattle, sheep, pigs.

They
flew due west toward the ocean until the sea breeze and the taste of salt was
in the air. Then followed the coast until they were flying over the large bay
that curved into Lladrana.

Raine
was familiar with the coastline from the maps, and from working with the ponds
on the southern estate, and dismissed the Distance Magic bubble so she could
see the shape of the land where she’d raise the ship and from which the force
to destroy the Dark’s Nest would sail. The estate was on the southern coast of
the last part of Lladrana that jutted into the ocean, so they would actually
have to sail around land before they set course to the Dark’s Nest.
They.
Her stomach jittered as she realized she was thinking of captaining the boat
herself.

It
was just projecting herself into the mind of those—or he, or she—who would sail
the ship, visualizing the coast. In any event, that first turn around the bulge
of land would shake down the crew and the people on the boat. She shook her
head. How would restless Alexa cope with hours onboard a ship?

But
a ship was the way to go. It could carry stores and the people and volarans and
they’d be fresh for the battle of their lives. Everyone seemed to think that
the Dark would notice a massive flight of volarans arrowing to it over several
weeks.

The
ship wasn’t going to be small, more like a galleon or a man of war than a
graceful schooner, but Raine would guarantee that it would go faster than the
volarans, using the Power stones and the wind Amee would fill the sails with.

Then
Enerin cawed, lifted herself from the bag she’d been traveling in and launched
herself off Blossom. Raine looked down to see a pretty U-shaped manor house of
cream-colored stone, the long bottom of the U faced southeast to the ocean. The
landing field was to the east along with several other out-buildings, and a lot
of people.

When
they circled down to a newly expanded landing field she noted busy activity in
setting up more corrals and storage sheds.

Corbeau
hurried up, lines in his face smoothing as he met her. He grasped her hands and
she heard the beat of his blood that held a note of the sea, just as her blood
and her Song—and Faucon’s—did.