Dart's POV:
//You know, I still don't agree with this// Ragnarok complained.
/You've already said that about half-dozen times before we got started/ I tightened my hold on the crest of feathers at the base of Tygris's neck and tried somewhat desperately to keep my seat on the smooth scales of his back as we hit some turbulence. "Be more careful, would you?"
"That's a little difficult," He called back. "The air currents around here are strange and I don't know when they're going to change from one moment to the next."
We had left Niern and the silver cygnet behind in the Forgotten Lands two nights ago and had flown steadily southwest since. The cygnet was now concealed deep within a twisting maze of caves deep beneath a range of mountains that was far enough east that it would be off any map of the known world. Niern assured us that nobody who hadn't been born and raised in these caves as he had would find themselves hopelessly lost and would probably starve to death. Even if they did manage to find their way through to the gallery where the cygnet was hidden, they'd still have to face him. That was a reassuring thought. Niern reminded me of Eire: they both had the same overbuilt shoulders studded with short hooked horns, the same thick legs and gnarled talons, although Niern did not suffer from the same disease as his elder. I still was uncomfortable about leaving the cygnet behind, but Ragnarok assured me that there wasn't a dragon in the entire world better suited to guarding the cygnets.
Like I said, that had been two nights ago. We were now over the ocean approaching the Aquarius Corel Reef where I prayed Meru was still waiting. I'd been gone for almost a week now, and a week is a very long time to wait. Meru may have aged, but her attitude hadn't changed one bit. If things got too dull she'd probably leave and try to convince some whales to take her water skiing.
Maydalsk cut through the water below us, her smooth reptilian body flashing in the waves. Every so often she would dive beneath the water to skim the bottom hundreds of feet down, then come racing back up to leap clear of the water, then plunge back down. Seeing her full body, I was reminded strongly of Regole. I guess that particular breed of dragon was fairly common in the lakes and rivers around the Forgotten Lands.
"She sure looks as though she's enjoying herself," Rasqul noted dryly. The huge red dragon had, until now, flown silently beside us for most of the trip. In fact, I realized, thinking back through the trip, this was the first time he'd actually spoken. "This is a treat for her. Most sea dragons never get to swim in anything any bigger than a large lake nowadays."
"Why is that?" I called back, but the wind swept away my words. Feeling myself start to slide again, I quickly turned my attention back to keeping my balance. Tygris's wings rose and fell on either side of me in a steady, untiring rhythm. Starting to feel lulled by the constant sound of wings beating the air, I scanned the water below for a sign of the reef. I'd only ever seen the reef during storms when most of it was hidden beneath leaden waves that leeched any trace of color from the coral, making what few pieces that had been visible seem like fingers of fleshless bone. So as you can imagine, I was totally unprepared for the blaze of color that confronted me when I finally spotted it.
The ocean floor quite suddenly rose up to meet the surface, leveling off into a sandy plateau about forty feet down. Curling and fanning up from the white sand in a blaze of color were the deep purples and bright reds of the coral. Here and there were patches of a strange gold color, twisting along in ropy coils through the myriad of other shades and shapes of coral. Fish of every imaginable sort darted to and fro amongst the waving aquatic vegetation that grew in patches and clumps between the coral and stone. Surrounded by a calm sea of deep blue, the entire scene seemed to glow with an inner light. Rubbing my eyes with one hand, I blinked. I wasn't imagining things; prisms of light glinted across the surface of the water and reflected on the coral.
/How.?/
//The reef grew over an old wingly ship that crashed here when they were still experimenting with the magics that allowed their cities to fly. One wingly named Eantul had an exaggerated opinion of himself. While the first airships were being built, he was repulsed by their ugliness and his finely tuned wingly preferences for crystal began to show through//
/Winglies are attracted to shiny objects?/
//Of course. They don't know it, and even if they did they'd never admit it, but they all love the sight of quartz or crystal. Why do you think they went through the trouble to mine enough of it to build the Crystal Palace?//
/I never really thought about it/ I admitted, winding my fingers tighter into the feathers running along the crest of Tygris's neck as he started to descend.
//At any rate, this Eantul fellow had an airship built for him entirely of crystal. But, like I said, winglies were still experimenting with magic// Ragnarok seemed to be on the verge of laughing.
/I think I see where this is going/
//You probably do. Eantul was very proud of his shiny new toy, so to celebrate he invited a great number of his friends to accompany him on the ship's maiden flight. They had no navigator, so they flew to and fro with no real sense of direction. Eventually, they got caught out here during a storm and the ship went down in the wind// He really was laughing now. //It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen//
Tygris leveled off a few feet above the water, his tail trailing over the top of the waves. /You were there?/
//I was the reason they got caught out there in the first place. They saw me hunting, so they came over to watch. It irritated me, so I started trailing them to give them a taste of their own medicine. They must have thought that I'd decided to hunt them, because they panicked and flew out into that storm to try to lose me//
/You have a very warped sense of humor, you know that?/
//Probably// he admitted. He was silent for a moment as I watched the crystalline glimmer of the water below. //Funny as hell though//
"So," Tygris called back to me, "What are we supposed to be looking for?" He arched his neck and slowed his pace until he was little more than hovering above the waves, his tail curling around one hind leg so as to avoid sinking into the water.
I adjusted my handhold and then glanced around. "There should be a wingly around here somewhere," I said, using my free hand to shield my eyes from the sun. "If we don't find her then Maydalsk will have to look for an entrance into the coral. One of them should have a cygnet inside it." I watched as Maydalsk snaked away through the waves, her head dipping alternately in and out of the water. Rasqul slipped away without a word, gaining altitude and beginning to circle like a hunting hawk over a meadow. I got the impression that he was trying to put as much distance between himself and the ocean as possible.
//That's understandable. Flare dragons don't tend to enjoy water all that much// Ragnarok paused reflectively, scanning the reef quickly through my eyes as he did so. //I don't think that she's here yet//
/What makes you think that?/ I asked.
//I can't feel the cygnet//
/Maybe the water's confusing you/
//That's not it// I felt his mind go out, gently probing the area for any trace of magic, his own or otherwise. I felt a stab of alarm, and then he pulled his mind back quickly. //There's someone down there!//
/Who?/ I asked, leaning over Tygris's shoulder to peer into the depths below. As far as I could see there was nothing out of the ordinary to look at.
//I don't know, but its probably a wingly. They're shielding themselves with magic, although it feels as though it's going to give out soon.// He left it hanging.
"Meru." I breathed. It could only be her; no other wingly would have a reason for being out here. I snapped my head up. "Tygris!"
"What?!" He asked, surprised by my outburst. The bird-dragon swung his head around to face me, flat eyes slightly alarmed.
"Is there anywhere around here where you could land?"
He glanced around quickly, then soared over to a place where the coral rested only a foot or so beneath the surface. Landing carefully, he dug his talons into the lumpy, bone-like stuff. "This okay?"
"Excellent," I replied absently, unfastening my sword belt. After a moment's hesitation I also removed the loose belt that carried the dragoon stones and stripped to the waist. Kicking off my boots, I slipped off of Tygris's back and into the chill water. "Do not let any of that fall," I told him, pointing to the items I had left on his narrow back. "If you can, get the attention of the others. I don't want to have to go looking for them when I get back up here." That said, I turned and plunged headfirst into the water to cut off any further questions.
I surfaced farther out, then slipped back beneath the water again, pausing to allow my eyes to adjust slightly to the salt water. Everything was still pretty much one big blur, but it was better than swimming around blindly with my eyes closed. /Where is she?/
//Somewhere off to your left// He replied tersely. //Look for a break in the coral//
Mutely I complied. I had to come up for breath twice more before we found it, and even then I would never have noticed it if Ragnarok hadn't pointed it out to me. Hidden behind a frond of brightly colored seaweed, the cavity would have just broken the surface at low tide. Pushing the weed aside, I peered in. My body blocked out what little light that might have filtered its way through the narrow opening but I could still make out the pale form huddled at the back of the cavity. I reached in and grabbed her wrist; I could feel her pulse beating faintly underneath her cold skin. She was alive, but she felt so cold.
//Dart!// Ragnarok's voice cut sharply through my thoughts. //Her shield's fading fast! We have to get her out of here before it gives out entirely and she drowns!//
So that's how she'd kept herself alive. Tugging carefully, I turned her so that she was facing the opening. Her eyes opened and she struggled briefly for a moment, but sunk back into unconsciousness after a moment. Dragging her out, I pushed her to the surface. Almost before I myself broke the surface, Maydalsk caught her up in one long tentacle and lifted her clear of the water. Waves lapping gently at my face, I spat out salt water and made my way to the outcropping of coral where Tygris stood. Maydalsk floated behind me, her long serpentine body coiling around the submerged ridges and lumps of coral. "Is she alright?" she asked, her quiet voice worried.
I glanced up. Rasqul, despite his distaste for water, had landed next to Tygris and now crouched with Meru lying on his broad back. I looked back at Maydalsk. "Can you give me a lift up there?" Wordlessly she obeyed, lifting me clear of the water and depositing me on Rasqul's scaly back next to Meru. She lay still, not even breathing. /Guraha's going to kill me./
//Quit it Dart. She put all her energy into that shield so that she could breathe. She bearly has enough left to keep her heart beating//
/What do we do?!/
//Calm down. I can't do anything if all you're going to do is yell//
/She's dying!/
//I know// He responded calmly. //And if you don't shut up, we're not going to be able to help her// Once he was sure I wasn't going to interrupt again, he continued. //I'm going to have to use you as a channel again. She's lost a lot of her energy, so we're going to have to replace some of what she lost//
I felt a momentary surge of apprehension at the word 'channel', but swallowed it. /What do I do?/ I asked, moving closer to her.
//Just make contact. Take her hand or something//
I did as he directed. /Now what?/
//Hold on//
There was no sudden sound or stab of pain. I just felt my energy ebb slowly away. After about a minute of this Meru had started to breathe again. Another thirty seconds and the color had restored itself to her face.
//That's enough// Ragnarok's voice came at last, and the flow of energy stopped. I released Meru's hand and got to my feet, swaying slightly as I did so. The world around me spun, blurred, then came sharply back into focus. I was surprised at the effort it took to keep standing.
/Meru sure needed a lot of energy, didn't she?/
//Meru usually has a lot of energy. That was probably the only reason that her shield held out for so long//
"Tygris, about how far back were those islands we passed on the way here?" Rasqul asked, swinging his blunt head around to stare at the smaller dragon.
"Maybe half an hour. Less, if we hurry." Tygris glanced at the sun low in the western sky. "We'll have to hurry if we're to make it before dark."
Maydalsk nodded. "You two go ahead. If that wingly girl was carrying a cygnet, she probably dropped it around here somewhere. I'll look for it, then catch up with you later." Without another word the sea dragon slipped off into the shallows, angling out towards the deeper water.
I climbed back on to Tygris and numbly strapped my sword and the carrier belt back on. Taking off my bandana, I wrung it out and retied it, then pulled my shirt over my head and slipped into my jacket. Jumping back over to Rasqul, I settled down between his massive skeletal wings. Pulling Meru in front of me where I could steady her, I nodded to my host and prepared for his take off.
//Why don't you let me handle things from here? You'll probably fall off faster then Meru will in the state you're in right now if I let you ride//
/Sure you're not too tired?/
Ragnarok chuckled dryly. //Trust me Dart. I won't blow up the world while you nod off for a bit//
/No, only half/ I started to respond, but I felt my mind being pushed to one side. I tried to stay awake, but Ragnarok's insistent repetition of the words 'sleep now' eventually lulled me into slumber. I'm not sure for how long exactly I slept, but when I awoke it was dark and much of my energy had returned. /What's going on?/ I asked silently.
//Not much. The wingly girl just woke up a few minutes ago. I think it would be better if you were the one asking the questions. She has something personal against me, I think//
/You scarred her/
//What?// Ragnarok asked, confused.
/In the fight on the Mountain of Mortal Dragon/ I told him. /She was trying to hit you in the eye with that hammer of hers, and you tried to bite her in half. You missed killing her, but one of your teeth left a very nasty gash running down her back. We healed it, but the scar is still there/
//Oh. Stupid reason to hold a grudge// He replied.
/Not to her, Ark/ I pushed him to one side and took control again. I found myself sitting on a beach, next to a small fire. Rasqul lay behind me, serving as a windbreak. Tygris was stretched out on the other side of the fire, eyes half-closed in a sort of dreamy bliss as Meru stroked the crest of feathers on the top of his head with one hand. For some reason he suddenly reminded me of a puppy dog lying beside his master. The whole scene was suddenly so funny I had to struggle to keep myself from laughing out loud. Apparently, despite my best efforts some sound leaked out, because Meru looked over at me. "What's so funny?" She asked tartly
Not trusting myself to words, I shook my head and moved closer to the fire. When I was positive that I wouldn't burst out laughing the moment I opened my mouth, I glanced back up at Meru. "What happened back there?"
She hung her head. "I was attacked before I could get to the reef," She said, her voice trembling slightly. "I'd almost reached the ocean, but that damn cult caught up with me."
"But how? Nobody but the group that traveled to Aglis knows about the cygnets."
"I know," she said, raising her head to look at me once more. "Demara, the girl who helped to make the cygnet's shell, was a cultist Dart. I didn't realize it until it was too late. By then there was nothing left to do but hide the cygnet."
"Where is it now?" I asked, trying to pull my thoughts into some semblance of order.
"I dropped it in the ocean off the coast of Tiberoa. If we're really, really lucky it'll still be intact. But we'll have a job trying to get it out again."
That wouldn't be too big a problem. Maydalsk could find it without much trouble if we gave her the right place to look. "So the cygnet's more or less safe for the moment?"
"Yeah. They're not going to go diving for it anytime soon."
//How'd they manage to catch up with her? She's fast enough flying with the dragoon spirit that it should have taken weeks for anyone to catch up with her// Ragnarok growled in the vaults of my mind.
I repeated the question, and Meru shrugged. "Demara teleported after me, I guess. She must have mobilized the chapter of the cult in Fletz. All I know is that when I stopped at the coast for the night, they were waiting for me the next morning."
"Did you fight them?" For some reason that question seemed horribly important.
"I tried, Dart, but if I'd stayed I would have been slaughtered." Meru spread her hands wide in a gesture of apology. "They had the dragoon stones there. Jade, White-silver, and Gold, all of them with people who could activate and use them. And, what's worse, Demara stole mine while I was sleeping. And it recognized her! Next time you happen to talk to the Blue- sea dragon, would you mind yelling at him for me? I'd love to know why he let her use it."
I was about to tell her that I wasn't really on speaking terms with the other spirits, but thought the better of it. She wouldn't listen to me anyway. Instead, I asked her another question. "So how did you end up out there in the reef like that?"
"After I dropped the cygnet into the ocean it caused quite a bit of commotion. While they all tried to get it out before it sank too deep, I ran. Well, flew actually. Anyway, they were starting to catch up to me by the time I found the reef, so I created that shield, stored as much air in it as I could, and hid in the coral. I was planning to stay in there only until they'd gone, but I guess I passed out before that."
"When did you reach the reef?"
"Mid afternoon. Arkie said that you found me just before sunset, so I was probably down there for about three hours or so." She shook her head. "I'm lucky that my shield held out that long."
After a short time Meru dozed off again, her breath kicking up little swirls of sand as she breathed in and out. I lay back and closed my eyes. Something besides the obvious had bothered me about Meru's story, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. /Ark?/
//What is it now?//
/Meru said that Demara had followed her from the Forest of the Winglies because she didn't know where the cygnet was going to be hidden, right?/
//Not in so many words, but that was the gist of it. Why do you ask?//
/If they didn't know the location of one, then they probably would have no idea where the others were hid, would they?/
//Probably not//
/But Demara would have known that there were still three more cygnets. She knows that she needs to destroy all four of them if she wants to release the Moon, but she must have figured that Meru's cygnet was lost because they left fairly quickly. They still need to destroy the other cygnets, but no one knows where they are. Doesn't it make sense that they'd go after someone who would?/
Ragnarok was silent for a moment, piecing things together. I stayed out of his way, knowing that he'd come to the correct conclusion faster than I could. I had a suspicion, but I didn't want to think about it unless I had to. Finally Ragnarok spoke.
//Meru said that Demara had the cultists from Fletz with her, didn't she// He stated it as a fact, not a question.
/Yeah/
//Well then, you'd better wake everyone up. We don't have a whole lot of time//
I swallowed the feeling of dread that was slowly creeping up my throat. /What do you mean?/
//Don't you get it Dart? Blano is the only one that they know of who could tell them the locations of all the cygnets. He's not going to tell them willingly, but that's what that army is for// He spoke calmly, but I got the feeling that that was only because he was to weary to put any excitement into his words. //The cultists are going to attack the Forest, and unless we're there to stop them, the Forest of the Winglies is doomed//
//You know, I still don't agree with this// Ragnarok complained.
/You've already said that about half-dozen times before we got started/ I tightened my hold on the crest of feathers at the base of Tygris's neck and tried somewhat desperately to keep my seat on the smooth scales of his back as we hit some turbulence. "Be more careful, would you?"
"That's a little difficult," He called back. "The air currents around here are strange and I don't know when they're going to change from one moment to the next."
We had left Niern and the silver cygnet behind in the Forgotten Lands two nights ago and had flown steadily southwest since. The cygnet was now concealed deep within a twisting maze of caves deep beneath a range of mountains that was far enough east that it would be off any map of the known world. Niern assured us that nobody who hadn't been born and raised in these caves as he had would find themselves hopelessly lost and would probably starve to death. Even if they did manage to find their way through to the gallery where the cygnet was hidden, they'd still have to face him. That was a reassuring thought. Niern reminded me of Eire: they both had the same overbuilt shoulders studded with short hooked horns, the same thick legs and gnarled talons, although Niern did not suffer from the same disease as his elder. I still was uncomfortable about leaving the cygnet behind, but Ragnarok assured me that there wasn't a dragon in the entire world better suited to guarding the cygnets.
Like I said, that had been two nights ago. We were now over the ocean approaching the Aquarius Corel Reef where I prayed Meru was still waiting. I'd been gone for almost a week now, and a week is a very long time to wait. Meru may have aged, but her attitude hadn't changed one bit. If things got too dull she'd probably leave and try to convince some whales to take her water skiing.
Maydalsk cut through the water below us, her smooth reptilian body flashing in the waves. Every so often she would dive beneath the water to skim the bottom hundreds of feet down, then come racing back up to leap clear of the water, then plunge back down. Seeing her full body, I was reminded strongly of Regole. I guess that particular breed of dragon was fairly common in the lakes and rivers around the Forgotten Lands.
"She sure looks as though she's enjoying herself," Rasqul noted dryly. The huge red dragon had, until now, flown silently beside us for most of the trip. In fact, I realized, thinking back through the trip, this was the first time he'd actually spoken. "This is a treat for her. Most sea dragons never get to swim in anything any bigger than a large lake nowadays."
"Why is that?" I called back, but the wind swept away my words. Feeling myself start to slide again, I quickly turned my attention back to keeping my balance. Tygris's wings rose and fell on either side of me in a steady, untiring rhythm. Starting to feel lulled by the constant sound of wings beating the air, I scanned the water below for a sign of the reef. I'd only ever seen the reef during storms when most of it was hidden beneath leaden waves that leeched any trace of color from the coral, making what few pieces that had been visible seem like fingers of fleshless bone. So as you can imagine, I was totally unprepared for the blaze of color that confronted me when I finally spotted it.
The ocean floor quite suddenly rose up to meet the surface, leveling off into a sandy plateau about forty feet down. Curling and fanning up from the white sand in a blaze of color were the deep purples and bright reds of the coral. Here and there were patches of a strange gold color, twisting along in ropy coils through the myriad of other shades and shapes of coral. Fish of every imaginable sort darted to and fro amongst the waving aquatic vegetation that grew in patches and clumps between the coral and stone. Surrounded by a calm sea of deep blue, the entire scene seemed to glow with an inner light. Rubbing my eyes with one hand, I blinked. I wasn't imagining things; prisms of light glinted across the surface of the water and reflected on the coral.
/How.?/
//The reef grew over an old wingly ship that crashed here when they were still experimenting with the magics that allowed their cities to fly. One wingly named Eantul had an exaggerated opinion of himself. While the first airships were being built, he was repulsed by their ugliness and his finely tuned wingly preferences for crystal began to show through//
/Winglies are attracted to shiny objects?/
//Of course. They don't know it, and even if they did they'd never admit it, but they all love the sight of quartz or crystal. Why do you think they went through the trouble to mine enough of it to build the Crystal Palace?//
/I never really thought about it/ I admitted, winding my fingers tighter into the feathers running along the crest of Tygris's neck as he started to descend.
//At any rate, this Eantul fellow had an airship built for him entirely of crystal. But, like I said, winglies were still experimenting with magic// Ragnarok seemed to be on the verge of laughing.
/I think I see where this is going/
//You probably do. Eantul was very proud of his shiny new toy, so to celebrate he invited a great number of his friends to accompany him on the ship's maiden flight. They had no navigator, so they flew to and fro with no real sense of direction. Eventually, they got caught out here during a storm and the ship went down in the wind// He really was laughing now. //It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen//
Tygris leveled off a few feet above the water, his tail trailing over the top of the waves. /You were there?/
//I was the reason they got caught out there in the first place. They saw me hunting, so they came over to watch. It irritated me, so I started trailing them to give them a taste of their own medicine. They must have thought that I'd decided to hunt them, because they panicked and flew out into that storm to try to lose me//
/You have a very warped sense of humor, you know that?/
//Probably// he admitted. He was silent for a moment as I watched the crystalline glimmer of the water below. //Funny as hell though//
"So," Tygris called back to me, "What are we supposed to be looking for?" He arched his neck and slowed his pace until he was little more than hovering above the waves, his tail curling around one hind leg so as to avoid sinking into the water.
I adjusted my handhold and then glanced around. "There should be a wingly around here somewhere," I said, using my free hand to shield my eyes from the sun. "If we don't find her then Maydalsk will have to look for an entrance into the coral. One of them should have a cygnet inside it." I watched as Maydalsk snaked away through the waves, her head dipping alternately in and out of the water. Rasqul slipped away without a word, gaining altitude and beginning to circle like a hunting hawk over a meadow. I got the impression that he was trying to put as much distance between himself and the ocean as possible.
//That's understandable. Flare dragons don't tend to enjoy water all that much// Ragnarok paused reflectively, scanning the reef quickly through my eyes as he did so. //I don't think that she's here yet//
/What makes you think that?/ I asked.
//I can't feel the cygnet//
/Maybe the water's confusing you/
//That's not it// I felt his mind go out, gently probing the area for any trace of magic, his own or otherwise. I felt a stab of alarm, and then he pulled his mind back quickly. //There's someone down there!//
/Who?/ I asked, leaning over Tygris's shoulder to peer into the depths below. As far as I could see there was nothing out of the ordinary to look at.
//I don't know, but its probably a wingly. They're shielding themselves with magic, although it feels as though it's going to give out soon.// He left it hanging.
"Meru." I breathed. It could only be her; no other wingly would have a reason for being out here. I snapped my head up. "Tygris!"
"What?!" He asked, surprised by my outburst. The bird-dragon swung his head around to face me, flat eyes slightly alarmed.
"Is there anywhere around here where you could land?"
He glanced around quickly, then soared over to a place where the coral rested only a foot or so beneath the surface. Landing carefully, he dug his talons into the lumpy, bone-like stuff. "This okay?"
"Excellent," I replied absently, unfastening my sword belt. After a moment's hesitation I also removed the loose belt that carried the dragoon stones and stripped to the waist. Kicking off my boots, I slipped off of Tygris's back and into the chill water. "Do not let any of that fall," I told him, pointing to the items I had left on his narrow back. "If you can, get the attention of the others. I don't want to have to go looking for them when I get back up here." That said, I turned and plunged headfirst into the water to cut off any further questions.
I surfaced farther out, then slipped back beneath the water again, pausing to allow my eyes to adjust slightly to the salt water. Everything was still pretty much one big blur, but it was better than swimming around blindly with my eyes closed. /Where is she?/
//Somewhere off to your left// He replied tersely. //Look for a break in the coral//
Mutely I complied. I had to come up for breath twice more before we found it, and even then I would never have noticed it if Ragnarok hadn't pointed it out to me. Hidden behind a frond of brightly colored seaweed, the cavity would have just broken the surface at low tide. Pushing the weed aside, I peered in. My body blocked out what little light that might have filtered its way through the narrow opening but I could still make out the pale form huddled at the back of the cavity. I reached in and grabbed her wrist; I could feel her pulse beating faintly underneath her cold skin. She was alive, but she felt so cold.
//Dart!// Ragnarok's voice cut sharply through my thoughts. //Her shield's fading fast! We have to get her out of here before it gives out entirely and she drowns!//
So that's how she'd kept herself alive. Tugging carefully, I turned her so that she was facing the opening. Her eyes opened and she struggled briefly for a moment, but sunk back into unconsciousness after a moment. Dragging her out, I pushed her to the surface. Almost before I myself broke the surface, Maydalsk caught her up in one long tentacle and lifted her clear of the water. Waves lapping gently at my face, I spat out salt water and made my way to the outcropping of coral where Tygris stood. Maydalsk floated behind me, her long serpentine body coiling around the submerged ridges and lumps of coral. "Is she alright?" she asked, her quiet voice worried.
I glanced up. Rasqul, despite his distaste for water, had landed next to Tygris and now crouched with Meru lying on his broad back. I looked back at Maydalsk. "Can you give me a lift up there?" Wordlessly she obeyed, lifting me clear of the water and depositing me on Rasqul's scaly back next to Meru. She lay still, not even breathing. /Guraha's going to kill me./
//Quit it Dart. She put all her energy into that shield so that she could breathe. She bearly has enough left to keep her heart beating//
/What do we do?!/
//Calm down. I can't do anything if all you're going to do is yell//
/She's dying!/
//I know// He responded calmly. //And if you don't shut up, we're not going to be able to help her// Once he was sure I wasn't going to interrupt again, he continued. //I'm going to have to use you as a channel again. She's lost a lot of her energy, so we're going to have to replace some of what she lost//
I felt a momentary surge of apprehension at the word 'channel', but swallowed it. /What do I do?/ I asked, moving closer to her.
//Just make contact. Take her hand or something//
I did as he directed. /Now what?/
//Hold on//
There was no sudden sound or stab of pain. I just felt my energy ebb slowly away. After about a minute of this Meru had started to breathe again. Another thirty seconds and the color had restored itself to her face.
//That's enough// Ragnarok's voice came at last, and the flow of energy stopped. I released Meru's hand and got to my feet, swaying slightly as I did so. The world around me spun, blurred, then came sharply back into focus. I was surprised at the effort it took to keep standing.
/Meru sure needed a lot of energy, didn't she?/
//Meru usually has a lot of energy. That was probably the only reason that her shield held out for so long//
"Tygris, about how far back were those islands we passed on the way here?" Rasqul asked, swinging his blunt head around to stare at the smaller dragon.
"Maybe half an hour. Less, if we hurry." Tygris glanced at the sun low in the western sky. "We'll have to hurry if we're to make it before dark."
Maydalsk nodded. "You two go ahead. If that wingly girl was carrying a cygnet, she probably dropped it around here somewhere. I'll look for it, then catch up with you later." Without another word the sea dragon slipped off into the shallows, angling out towards the deeper water.
I climbed back on to Tygris and numbly strapped my sword and the carrier belt back on. Taking off my bandana, I wrung it out and retied it, then pulled my shirt over my head and slipped into my jacket. Jumping back over to Rasqul, I settled down between his massive skeletal wings. Pulling Meru in front of me where I could steady her, I nodded to my host and prepared for his take off.
//Why don't you let me handle things from here? You'll probably fall off faster then Meru will in the state you're in right now if I let you ride//
/Sure you're not too tired?/
Ragnarok chuckled dryly. //Trust me Dart. I won't blow up the world while you nod off for a bit//
/No, only half/ I started to respond, but I felt my mind being pushed to one side. I tried to stay awake, but Ragnarok's insistent repetition of the words 'sleep now' eventually lulled me into slumber. I'm not sure for how long exactly I slept, but when I awoke it was dark and much of my energy had returned. /What's going on?/ I asked silently.
//Not much. The wingly girl just woke up a few minutes ago. I think it would be better if you were the one asking the questions. She has something personal against me, I think//
/You scarred her/
//What?// Ragnarok asked, confused.
/In the fight on the Mountain of Mortal Dragon/ I told him. /She was trying to hit you in the eye with that hammer of hers, and you tried to bite her in half. You missed killing her, but one of your teeth left a very nasty gash running down her back. We healed it, but the scar is still there/
//Oh. Stupid reason to hold a grudge// He replied.
/Not to her, Ark/ I pushed him to one side and took control again. I found myself sitting on a beach, next to a small fire. Rasqul lay behind me, serving as a windbreak. Tygris was stretched out on the other side of the fire, eyes half-closed in a sort of dreamy bliss as Meru stroked the crest of feathers on the top of his head with one hand. For some reason he suddenly reminded me of a puppy dog lying beside his master. The whole scene was suddenly so funny I had to struggle to keep myself from laughing out loud. Apparently, despite my best efforts some sound leaked out, because Meru looked over at me. "What's so funny?" She asked tartly
Not trusting myself to words, I shook my head and moved closer to the fire. When I was positive that I wouldn't burst out laughing the moment I opened my mouth, I glanced back up at Meru. "What happened back there?"
She hung her head. "I was attacked before I could get to the reef," She said, her voice trembling slightly. "I'd almost reached the ocean, but that damn cult caught up with me."
"But how? Nobody but the group that traveled to Aglis knows about the cygnets."
"I know," she said, raising her head to look at me once more. "Demara, the girl who helped to make the cygnet's shell, was a cultist Dart. I didn't realize it until it was too late. By then there was nothing left to do but hide the cygnet."
"Where is it now?" I asked, trying to pull my thoughts into some semblance of order.
"I dropped it in the ocean off the coast of Tiberoa. If we're really, really lucky it'll still be intact. But we'll have a job trying to get it out again."
That wouldn't be too big a problem. Maydalsk could find it without much trouble if we gave her the right place to look. "So the cygnet's more or less safe for the moment?"
"Yeah. They're not going to go diving for it anytime soon."
//How'd they manage to catch up with her? She's fast enough flying with the dragoon spirit that it should have taken weeks for anyone to catch up with her// Ragnarok growled in the vaults of my mind.
I repeated the question, and Meru shrugged. "Demara teleported after me, I guess. She must have mobilized the chapter of the cult in Fletz. All I know is that when I stopped at the coast for the night, they were waiting for me the next morning."
"Did you fight them?" For some reason that question seemed horribly important.
"I tried, Dart, but if I'd stayed I would have been slaughtered." Meru spread her hands wide in a gesture of apology. "They had the dragoon stones there. Jade, White-silver, and Gold, all of them with people who could activate and use them. And, what's worse, Demara stole mine while I was sleeping. And it recognized her! Next time you happen to talk to the Blue- sea dragon, would you mind yelling at him for me? I'd love to know why he let her use it."
I was about to tell her that I wasn't really on speaking terms with the other spirits, but thought the better of it. She wouldn't listen to me anyway. Instead, I asked her another question. "So how did you end up out there in the reef like that?"
"After I dropped the cygnet into the ocean it caused quite a bit of commotion. While they all tried to get it out before it sank too deep, I ran. Well, flew actually. Anyway, they were starting to catch up to me by the time I found the reef, so I created that shield, stored as much air in it as I could, and hid in the coral. I was planning to stay in there only until they'd gone, but I guess I passed out before that."
"When did you reach the reef?"
"Mid afternoon. Arkie said that you found me just before sunset, so I was probably down there for about three hours or so." She shook her head. "I'm lucky that my shield held out that long."
After a short time Meru dozed off again, her breath kicking up little swirls of sand as she breathed in and out. I lay back and closed my eyes. Something besides the obvious had bothered me about Meru's story, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. /Ark?/
//What is it now?//
/Meru said that Demara had followed her from the Forest of the Winglies because she didn't know where the cygnet was going to be hidden, right?/
//Not in so many words, but that was the gist of it. Why do you ask?//
/If they didn't know the location of one, then they probably would have no idea where the others were hid, would they?/
//Probably not//
/But Demara would have known that there were still three more cygnets. She knows that she needs to destroy all four of them if she wants to release the Moon, but she must have figured that Meru's cygnet was lost because they left fairly quickly. They still need to destroy the other cygnets, but no one knows where they are. Doesn't it make sense that they'd go after someone who would?/
Ragnarok was silent for a moment, piecing things together. I stayed out of his way, knowing that he'd come to the correct conclusion faster than I could. I had a suspicion, but I didn't want to think about it unless I had to. Finally Ragnarok spoke.
//Meru said that Demara had the cultists from Fletz with her, didn't she// He stated it as a fact, not a question.
/Yeah/
//Well then, you'd better wake everyone up. We don't have a whole lot of time//
I swallowed the feeling of dread that was slowly creeping up my throat. /What do you mean?/
//Don't you get it Dart? Blano is the only one that they know of who could tell them the locations of all the cygnets. He's not going to tell them willingly, but that's what that army is for// He spoke calmly, but I got the feeling that that was only because he was to weary to put any excitement into his words. //The cultists are going to attack the Forest, and unless we're there to stop them, the Forest of the Winglies is doomed//