The Arrival (Birthright Trilogy #1) (53 page)

'We’ll discuss your outfit later.'

'Geez if they don’t watch out they’ll be expecting soon,' Gredel muttered to his wife.

Citaan laughed, murmuring in his ear, 'You know, I’m pretty sure it requires more than kissing.'

He chuckled and gave her a careful hug. She was only just showing, and even though he loved having her company, he had pleaded with her to stay home today. She’d refused of course. There was no way she was going to miss out on the markets and enjoying the girls company. The five of them got along well, but due to the training schedule, the girls rarely got to spend much time with her. Still, he worried about the baby and his lovely wife exhausting herself with excitement.

'Are you sure you won’t stay back? It’s not that long to wait.'

She gave him an annoyed look.

He sighed.

Elena said it would be fine, and Phroma promised to take it slow.

The five griffons pushed off, then gathered in a circle high above the courtyard and began to hum. A low, rumbling sound. Kassie watched in breathless anticipation, as she felt the griffons energy rise. A shimmering in the middle of the circle caught her eye, and she went to lean forward. Rumal’s arms locked tight around her.

'Hush,' he breathed. 'Don’t move.'

She complied and watched as the shimmering grew more pronounced. It developed a spherical shape and grew until it was an obvious ball of swirling silver and blue energy. The intensity of the hum increased, and she could feel the energy crackle and twist around them.

'Hold your breath,' Rumal snapped.

Kerak gave a strong flap of his wings and dived into the swirling mass. Darkness surrounded them. She lost any sense of up and down, and couldn’t even feel Rumal or Kerak. She felt a sense of panic begin to well in her chest as she continued to hold her breath. Suddenly it was light again and she could breath. She blinked rapidly, looking around.

'Welcome to Rhdanon, Kass,' Rumal smiled.

Kerak moved so they could watch the others come through. It was a strange sight. There was no visible orb on this side, but just before a griffon came through the sound of their energy was suddenly audible. Then the griffon and riders appeared, like stepping through a doorway. It went silent again until the next came through.

Loi watched the process, fascinated, and turned to smile at Kassie. Loushka came through and Cat was wide-eyed as they came around to wait with the others. Just Phroma was left. The dark griffon came through smoothly and the gateway closed with a loud chime.

Citaan beamed at the girls and practically hopped in the saddle.

'C’mon. It’ll be getting busy. Let’s go!'

Everyone laughed, and the girls exchanged questioning looks. They’d soon see what all the fuss was about.

The forest was much sparser here, and the smell of salt in the air was strong. I squirmed in the saddle, trying to see more, and Alek laughed at me.

‘Pull Cat up to standing,’
Loushka thought to us both.
‘It’s a good view.’

Helping me out of the stiff overcoat, Alek pulled me to my feet, and I leaned back against him, looking out. It was a spectacular sight. We came up to what must be a city. It was miles bigger than Gartoll, and I could just make out a harbor littered with boats. I felt a surge of excitement and twisted to look up at Alek.

'Are we going to the city?'

'No, we’re going to somewhere even better.'

We settled back into the saddle, and I stretched my arms out, relieved to be rid of that coat.

'Would you stop that?'

'What?'

I looked up in surprise as he stared down with a bemused smile.

'I said we’d discuss your outfit later, and arching your back like that isn’t helpful.'

Whoops.
I’d actually forgotten how low the v-neck on my sweater was.

I laughed at him.

'No ones making you look.'

The griffons flew lower, and we could make out houses and people now. All of them looked up to see us. Some waved and shouted, while others just gaped. The attention was funny. I frequently forgot the status of the Griffon Guard and Alek. I could see a large, make that huge, clearing coming up. It was teeming with people. My jaw dropped, it had to be the largest crowd we’d seen yet. The griffons knew the place well, and I got a shock when Loushka dived low over the crowd and let out a screeching roar. The others followed suit, and the crowd screamed back in excitement.

The griffons wheeled around and landed in a smaller, empty clearing, just beyond.

'What is that place?' demanded Sian.

Daron grinned and motioned for her to slide down from Nesha.

‘That’s the Rhdanon Markets,’
Nesha informed her.
‘A favorite place of ours. You'll love it.’

They waited until everyone was down, then set off with the griffons padding along behind. The trees were slender and about half the height of the ones in the forest by the castle. There was a definite seaside feel to the place. Sand was visible underfoot, blown in with the wind. The sound of the crowd grew louder and Sian glanced at Daron, a little nervous. Picking up on it, he reached out to draw her in so they walked side by side with his arm around her.

The track we followed widened out and Citaan, who was in front with Gredel, gave a little skip and squeal of excitement. Everyone began to laugh and Alek gave my hand a squeeze.

'If you hadn’t yet noticed, the markets are a favorite of Citaan’s.'

She spun back to poke her tongue out at him, then winked at me.

'You wait, Alek. Cat and the girls will love it just as much.'

As she spoke, we walked into the market clearing.

It was loud with voices, vocal and telepathic, with a mass of creatures before us. A total shock to the senses. The griffons were vocal and greeted everyone. It seemed strange to hear them out loud.

Cat and the other girls stared about in amazement and it made the men smile. Rhdanon was the cosmopolitan city in Elion, and the market was packed. Alek caught sight of a water sprite couple and glanced down to see if Cat had noticed. She had, and she wore an intent expression while studying them, with alternative glances at Citaan, comparing the differences. Someone caught his eye and he realized it was his friend Ieran.

Smiling, he strode forward to clap hands in greeting with him.

'Ieran. It’s good to see you.'

I stepped out of the way so Alek and his friend could catch up. His friend looked unusual, a tall slender frame and dark hair pulled back in a pony tail. His eyes slanted and were framed with cursive brows that I would have thought drawn on if I didn’t stand so close. A long neck and fingers and tan skin with green under tones.

I wonder what he is?
As I waited for the conversation to finish, so I could ask Alek, I heard his friend say.

'I’m surprised we haven’t seen you sooner, Alek. We’d begun to think the rumors true and Rayna’s been rather beside herself.'

What?

I froze and listened but Alek shrugged the remark off. Loushka gave a husky cough of a laugh and I turned to her.

‘Who’s Rayna?’

‘A human female who’s been interested in Alek for some time. She has a stall here, I’m sure she’ll be along soon.’

Hmm.

Alek finished talking to Ieran and turned to Cat with a smile.

'Ieran's elvan. We've been friends for years. I met him when we first started practicing leaping.'

'Uh-huh. Who’s Rayna?'

‘Loushka!’

‘Wasn’t my fault, she overheard Ieran and asked me.’

The griffon gave him a "serves you right" look, and wandered to where Tomiar and Nesha were.

'So?'

Better get this over with. He sighed.

'Rayna’s someone I had… fun with, for a few years.'

Cat’s face was impassive.

'How recently?'

'Oh not for a good couple of years,' he assured her, while waiting for her reaction. She seemed to take it well.

'Okay. Thanks for letting me know.'

She wandered after the others, then paused to glance back when he hadn’t moved.

'You coming?'

Feeling a little stunned, Alek followed.

Well that was easy, he thought, I'm almost disappointed.

Kassie and Rumal had stopped at a stall that sold maps. There were rolls and rolls of them at the back of the stall. The stall owner eyed them curiously and she stared back. She’d never seen anything like it. It walked on all fours, its lower back dipping down to shorter hind legs, and it had skin that reminded her of an elephant. Wrinkled and loose looking. Dark green with black eyes, long green lashes, and a narrow face with a protruding muzzle.

Cat and Alek stopped with them at the stall.

'Greetings,' the stall owner whispered. 'How may I be of service to you?'

'Do you have a world map?' enquired Cat.

It inclined its head and turned to look.

'What is it?' Kassie breathed into Rumal’s ear and he smiled down at her.

'A fenria, traditionally a forest dweller.'

They looked over the map and she exchanged a look with Cat. Gar'nyse was huge, far bigger than Earth. Elion appeared to be the largest land mass, and she could see now how far the griffons had leapt this morning. It was impressive. A large mass at the bottom of the map was marked ‘forbidden’, she looked to Rumal.

'Why does this say forbidden?'

He glanced down at where her finger rested on the map.

'That’s Jenviet’s territory. Not a place you want to go.'

'What you really want, is a disk-map,' Alek arched an eyebrow at the stall owner. 'Do you have one?'

The stall owner shook his head.

'No, your Highness, they are so expensive I don’t find them worthwhile to stock. Other stalls within the market place do though.'