Keeper of the Dragon
Chapter 11 - Escape?
Azumi closed her eyes. At last. He saved me, just to put me back in the same situation!
She landed back in Anshu's arms with a jarring thud as he swooped down under her and caught her. "Good gods, woman, you're heavier than you look!" he commented.
"Is that how you test for the Wing Goddess?" Azumi asked sarcastically. "By dropping me? Mr. Leland should have tried that a lot sooner."
"Of course not! I just wanted to see what you would do!" Anshu tossed Azumi into the air, then caught her by her wrist and let her hang beneath him as he flew. "How about now? Are you afraid?" he taunted.
Azumi looked up at him. I just tried to jump off a cliff; do you really think that the thought of being dropped from up here would frighten me?
"No?" Anshu considered the situation mockingly. "Have I lost my touch during my time in the Pool of the Nereids?"
"Let me go, please," Azumi said quietly.
"Let you go?" Anshu began to swing Azumi back and forth precariously. "If I let you go, you'll die," he reminded her. Azumi kept a grip on his tunic with her free arm. Why? She should let them fall. It would serve him right.
"I know."
"But then, that's what you want, isn't it?" Anshu laughed harshly. "Oh, you are a problem. What to do with Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess?"
"How about letting me go?"
"No, I think not."
Azumi reached up and dug the nails of her free hand into Anshu's wrist, drawing blood. "Ai!" He cuffed her across the face. "None of that!" Anshu tossed Azumi into the air and caught her in a more stable hold, picking up speed with another flap of his wings. "Don't force me to summon Naegling, girl. I know you want to die. Try that again, and I'll make sure you live a very long and very painful life," he snapped. Azumi shrugged. "And try to go to sleep," he added in a softer voice. "The journey isn't as long by air, but it will still pass faster for you that way."
Azumi frowned. Cruel to kind in the beat of a hummingbird's wing. He must be mad after all.
As the sun began its sojourn across the sky, dying the blue a temporary peachy-pink, Riyad tread softly toward Anshu's hut. Winter birds chirped and sang; the cold, morning air smelled fresh. I wonder if he's awake. The Elder said that he would be all right now. Riyad pushed aside the curtain door.
The room was absent of the Keeper. A pile of neatly rolled, white bandages lay upon the folded blanket. Anshu's clothes and the Token of the Demon had vanished. He must have wanted them to notice that he had gone; he would have had no trouble disguising the blanket as a sleeping person. It left Riyad feeling as though someone had spit in his eye.
"Oh, Naiades!" Riyad breathed, "I have to tell the Guild Master!" He turned and dashed for the Abaharaki wagon, his cloak flapping wildly behind him. "Guild Master! Guild Master! Keeper Anshu is gone!" he cried, throwing open the door.
Leland lifted his head. "What, Riyad?"
"Guild Master!" Riyad dropped to his knees next to Leland. "Guild Master, Keeper Anshu's room is empty. Sir, he's well and he's left."
"Well, good riddance, then. The sooner we get rid of him the better, I say." Leland closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall.
"Leland!" Sapir leapt into the wagon and skidded to a stop on all fours next to them. "Leland, I've searched th' whole village an' I can't find the lil' missy anywhere!"
Leland looked to Riyad. "And Anshu has disappeared, too."
Sapir growled. "I thought I saw footprints goin' ta th' mountains! He must've taken her! She hasn't got anywhere ta go alone!"
In unison they bolted for the door. Leland snatched his sword, leaving his coat behind. "Hurry! Maybe we can catch up!" he ordered.
"Yes sir!" Riyad caught up his bow and quiver. Sapir had already jumped out the door, bells chiming wildly. They sprinted for the mountain path, the cat-girl in the leead, followed by Leland, Riyad close behind his Master.
"Guild Master!" Silas ducked out of Anshu's hut and spied the three running. "Keeper Anshu is—damn! I guess he already knows!" The Erinyes joined in the chase.
"They haven't been gone real long!" Stones crunched under Sapir's feet. "I can still smell 'em! They went this way, all right!"
"Guild Master!" Riyad struggled to keep up—the guild-home had no mountains or cliffs near it, he did not have much experience running uphill. "What would Keeper Anshu want with Miss Azumi?"
Leland glanced back down over his shoulder. "I really don't have any idea, Riyad. The Wing Goddess has nothing to do with the Red Demon Clan, at least as far as I know. Unless he means to use her to bargain with us or the Dragons, he has no use for her."
Riyad stumbled on the path. Silas caught him by the back of his tunic and gave him a push ahead. Sapir stopped abruptly, sliding on the path and spraying small stones into the air. "They didn't go any farther!" she announced, sniffing at the air. Leland looked around, turning in a circle.
"Well, they're definitely not here."
"Th' smell stops here!" Sapir insisted.
"Yes, but look at this." Silas crouched down, peering at the ground. "Look at these stones, Guild Master." He scooped up a handful and stood. "They're sparkling." Riyad gave Silas a questioning look. "Demon scales," the Erinyes explained. "Shed when they spread their wings. Keeper Anshu has flown away, and he probably took Miss Azumi with him."
Leland jumped up on a rock, the rising sun at his back, and gazed out across the forest and plains. "No sign of them. The gods damn it all!"
Riyad moaned and sat down where he stood. "It's hopeless! We don't know what he wants her for, they could have gone anywhere on Gaea by now!"
Silas tossed his hair out of his face, though it fell right back. "We need the Oracle."
"The Oracle is dead," Riyad replied bitterly.
"But his successor ain't." Sapir looked at Riyad knowingly.
"I can't do it." Riyad stood slowly, brushing the dust from his cloak. "I can't be the Oracle. We don't even know if Naiades will choose me."
"You sound like Miss Azumi," Leland said quietly, "and look where she is now." The blond man's words seemed to have an effect upon his apprentice.
"You're right, Guild Master." Riyad shouldered his bow with feigned confidence. "I'll do my best to follow my father."
"We can't do anything for Miss Azumi right now," Leland said, jumping down from the rock. "Our only hope is the Oracle. We leave for the Blue Siren Clan as soon as possible."