Shade sits in the corner of her room, attached to her laptop by a short leash-
Dart: -dusts off his hands- There! No more distractions for you!
Shade: ;-;
Well finally! Between finishing the contest entry, finishing my portfolio, my AP English exam, karate ranking, horse shows, and a bazillion other things that kept biting me on the backside, I finally got around to finishing it. -.-; Talk about taking a while to get back into the swing of things.
I know. I shouldn't be making excuses. So shoot me, dagnabbit! They had merit at th- GAH!
-Shade is gunned down by a few dozen happy people who have probably wanted to do so for quite some time-
Well, enough of my rambling. Back to my usual course of work.
The Sharra: I did give away some indicators of Soltrane's gender earlier on, though they were pretty obscure. They were all sort of incidental at the time. :P
AngelusTheAngelicDemon: Ragnarok's 'sword' isn't exactly his. I wrote it in as a relic from the spell used when the ancient winglies sealed him in the first place. Dragon buster to fight him, Dragon block staff to seal him- and the sword to anchor him. Ragnarok had Dart retrieve it afterward because though it doesn't have the same properties as the other two items, it's still pretty much indestructible as a weapon.
Goochflex: Actually, had Dart simply told Kaelin just to call him 'Dart', it would have slowed things down, rather then sped things up. She'd be rather 'wtf' about it all, since history as she knows it says that he's nearly a thousand years dead. If she believed him all, that is. In any case, he's still trying to hold back a bit from her, at least. O.o Dart has information constipation. Tee hee!
GundamWingFanatic90: Ack, I'm going to have to root back through my hard drive for this one. Right. The names I used for the Great Dragons were as follows: Rythl (red-eye), Madgor (violet), Xern (blue-sea), Acrrea (dark burst), Kaze (jade), Evengil (white-silver), and Umbre (golden). I don't mention them anymore, but I believe that's what they were. I might go back and change them during the re-writing process, though Rythl and Acrrea will remain the same because they're the only two I really ever mentioned more than once, and I don't like the others that much anymore.
Sors: 1) Yup. The darkness and thunder spirits are the only two left unclaimed.
2) Dart pissy about not killing Ayrel? Hell yeah, as we get to see this chapter. 'Course, he wasn't about to explode on Kaelin just then…
Dart's POV:
((Of all the stupid…))
(Ark…)
((Idiotic…))
(Ragnarok…)
((Moronic things, you had to go and open your damned mouth, didn't you?)) Ark snarled. ((I thought you wanted to keep them in the dark about all of this!))
I sighed. Kaelin glanced over at me momentarily before looking away again, slipping back into her own stupor. We were walking through the darkened hallways of Solana's manor house, heading upstairs to join the others in Solana's study. Neither of us spoke; all that had needed to be said had been said back in the shadows of the kitchen. Now we walked in silence, each of us digesting our own thoughts. At least, I assumed that she was. I, on the other hand…
(What else could I have done, Ark?) I asked, annoyed. (If I had told her anything else, she would have known it was a lie. She had me backed into a corner)
((I could have wiped her memory, at least)) He snapped back. ((You know that as well as I do. And don't even start about not wanting to touch her or hurt her or whatever. She's figured out enough already. How much longer before she puts it all together?))
(I don't think she will) I disagreed. (I know she's nosy, but she's got all of her answers now. She doesn't have any reason to pry anymore)
Ark snorted. ((You're deluding yourself, Dart. No one's around. If you're quick, we could have her memory blank as a sheet in about ten seconds))
(And have her completely clueless about all that's going on? I know as well as you do how inaccurate your memory wipes are. She might lose everything altogether. Anyway…) I said, as we rounded a corner in the hallway and began to climb a short flight of stairs (why are you so upset? I thought you wanted me to tell them)
Ark snarled and fell silent. Wearily, I passed a hand over my eyes. I knew the reason behind Ark's irritation; far from really caring about Kaelin's discovery, it really meant very little to him. But when he was angered he felt the need to lash out somehow, and Kaelin's confrontation had given him something to chew on while he seethed. Ayrel's unexpected risk in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity had cheated him of his kill, leaving us both frustrated and bitter. But while Ark was free to express himself in the isolation of my mind, I was forced to keep a straight face, stewing on the inside while doing my best not to let anything show without. So far, at least, so good. But…
We reached the door to Solana's study. Kaelin hesitated with her hand hovering above the brass knob, glancing at me sideways.
"Just a word of warning, Ry? Try not to do anything too… unexpected in there, okay? I know you've probably had a rough time this evening, but…" She shook her head. "Just try to keep in mind that we're exhausted too, and as confused as hell to boot. Zion's had a particularly bad night by the sound of it, and all this stress has Cai in a temper again."
"Why am I not surprised?" I said wearily. Then, aside to Ark (You hear that? Keep your ranting to yourself, okay?)
The dragon rumbled something that might have been an agreement, though I couldn't have been sure. Not wanting to press the issue, I let him be. Instead, I turned my attention back to Kaelin. "Would you mind telling me who this unexpected guest is, Kaelin? You've been acting rather ominous about it, so I gather that I'm not going to like this much, will I?"
She took her hand from the knob and stepped back from the door. "It's that messenger from this morning. I guess she's a friend of Mariko's, because the woman refused to leave without her. But she-"
"Really." I reached past her and grabbed the knob with a grimace. "It could have been worse, I suppose." Light spilled into the dim hallway as I pulled the door open wide, bringing with it the dusky scent of leather and old paper.
Several things happened at once. Kaelin, suddenly panicking, lunged forward and grabbed my elbow, trying to pull me back as the door swung open. The study was suddenly filled with the sound of scraping chairs as Zion, Cai, and Solana got to their feet as one, a mixture of apprehension and relief evident on their faces. Only two remained seated. One, a slim, pale-haired young woman with violet eyes and a blue cloak, only sat up a bit straighter, looking startled. The other remained seated at the edge of the hearth, suddenly tense, like a snake poised to strike. Our eyes met for a moment as I froze in the doorway, my eyes flickering from her face to the crafted armor -half covered by a cloak- that lay in a jumbled heap beside her. At last my gaze focused on the helm resting on the floor at her knees.
Only Kaelin's weight on my sword arm prevented me from going for my blade. Still, I dragged her forward a step or two as I advanced angrily, feeling Ark come alert with anticipation. "What," I snarled, "in Soa's name is a dread knight doing here?"
"Ry!" Kaelin hauled mightily on my arm, holding me back. "Zion! Help me out here!" She panted.
Vaulting over a table, Zion seized me by the shoulders and forced me back into the doorway, pinning me against the doorframe. Kaelin let go of my arm with a gasp of relief as I struggled angrily for a moment and then gave up, knowing full well that when it came to brute strength, I was no match for Zion. Breathing heavily, I glared around his arm at the knight.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kaelin hissed. "I thought I told you to try to keep a hold of yourself!"
"Speak for your self!" I snapped back. "Why didn't you tell me that she was a dread knight?"
"I was going to, but you decided to go barge in before I could finish!" She glared at me, and then took a deep breath. "Just calm down, Ry," she told me through gritted teeth, "and listen for a moment, would you? The only way that we could get Mariko to leave the palace was if Soltrane- that is, Amaya- could be taken with us. We didn't have a choice."
"She's right, Ry." Zion eased up his grip slightly, though he still held me pinned tight to the wall. "Anyway, we would have had a hard time getting out of the palace without her. Amaya gave Mariko the spirit, and then left her station and dismissed all of the guards from their posts so that we could get past. From what Solana says, if she heads back to the palace now, she'll be hit with everything from dereliction of duty to high treason."
I shot a look over at Solana, who nodded in confirmation. "Is that so." With a vast effort I managed to rein in my anger, letting my muscles go slack and ceasing my struggles altogether. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. "All right Zion, relax. I'll restrain my homicidal impulses for the moment," I told him, smiling humorlessly. "I promise," I added when he hesitated.
((Unfortunately)) Ark grumbled. He had perked up momentarily at the prospect of a fight, but had returned to his sulking once he realized that Zion had me pinned. ((You should've moved faster, Dart. Some blood would make me feel much better right about now))
Kaelin gave me a dark look, as though she didn't quite believe me, but she said nothing as Zion backed off, still looking a bit wary. On the other side of the room Cai sunk slowly back into his chair, looking thoroughly disgruntled. One by one, the rest of us found our way back into the scattered chairs, save for Zion, who opted to sit on the edge of a bookcase instead.
I stripped off my sword belt before sitting down, leaning it carefully against the back of my chair. My jacket followed, and I sat with some relief, aware of the eyes following my movements. (I get angry once, and they're all jumpy as rats for the rest of the night) I grumbled. Running my hand through my dusty hair, I took a few more steadying breaths to make sure I had a hold of myself completely before I spoke. "All right. Who's going to explain what exactly happened tonight?"
Somewhat surprisingly, it was Cai who spoke up first. "I don't think any of us are really sure," he admitted. "Solana and I were able to sneak Zion into the palace by passing him off as a bodyguard easily enough, and Kaelin was able to sneak in through some other entrance. While we were in the court we received a message from one of Solana's informants, telling us who exactly our visitor this morning really was, but by then there was nothing that we could do to warn Zion. The next thing we know, Soltrane here-" he nodded to the woman sitting on the hearth, "-comes to fetch us from the courtroom, claiming to be our escort to the queen. But when we got out to the courtyard, well…" he shrugged. "Zion and the girl were waiting, and somewhere along the line Kaelin had found her way back to them as well. At that point, there didn't seem to be anything to do but run for it and ask questions later."
I leaned forward. "Zion? You said it was you who found her, then?"
Zion nodded, and briefly filled us in on the details of his conversation with Soltrane at the top of the tower and the fight, followed by their escape. I listened intently, forgetting my anger for the moment in my fascination. When he finished I sat quietly for a moment, mulling things over. At last I looked over at the two newcomers who, throughout the entire conversation, had remained silent.
"Mariko, was it? And you…" I frowned.
The dread knight met my eyes. "Amaya will be fine," she supplied, her voice soft and toneless. I kept my eyes on her a moment, trying to read her expression, before giving up.
"Right. You're going to have to fill in the gaps for us here, I'm afraid. Start at the beginning, and don't leave anything out." I smiled, though it felt thin and forced. It was more of a demand than a question, though at this point, I'd given up on upholding any pretence of politeness or patience. My outburst had shown everyone exactly what sort of mood I was in; trying to cover it up with a show of forced friendliness would do nothing. But if that were the case, and the others were really as wary of my moods as she said they were, then letting a bit of my anger show though a bit more probably wouldn't hurt. "I think we'd all like to know what has been going on exactly with your side of things."
The focus of the room shifted from myself to Amaya, who for the first time began to show some sign of discomfort. Picking up the helm from where it lay, she buffed it on her sleeve and stared into it, as though the answer lay hidden within the dark sheen. At length, however, she set it aside, uneasy under the scrutiny of so many eyes. "The beginning," she repeated slowly, getting to her feet. "You'll have to pardon me if I take some time with this, I'm afraid. I'm not even sure if I know where to start anymore."
((She had damn well better)) Ark muttered waspishly. ((Now that that brat got away, we don't have all night for listening to explanations if we're going to make it out of the country in time))
(We'll worry about that later) I told him. Then, to Amaya, "You don't have to give us your life story, or anything. You're a sworn knight, right? Just explain why you suddenly decided to help us out after you swore allegiance to the moon child."
"That's right," Solana put in. "Dread knights are reputed to be on the verge of fanatical when it comes to their oaths to the child."
Amaya nodded. "Many are. The moon child draws people from all walks of life; it doesn't matter what a person's background is, as long as they're willing to fight, they're allowed to enlist as guardsmen. A talented boy from a poor family could conceivably enlist and become an officer within a year or two. The temples are very free with their coin towards the soldiers, so attachments tend to form very quickly. Those of us who go on to become dread knights are required to serve directly under the child herself in her honor guard shortly after our elevation." She paused, a distant look in her eyes. "Serving under her… affects all of us, for better or for worse."
((Fanaticism)) Ark affirmed. ((I had thought as much))
"Really." I leaned back in my chair slightly, not taking my eyes from her face. "How long ago did you serve in the guard?"
"Two years ago. Maybe three." Amaya shrugged. "As a captain, I've been given personal assignments from her directly more than once, but I've avoided the guard ever since I left it."
"Why?" It was Zion who spoke up this time. He had since slid off of the bookcase and now sat on the floor. "I thought that serving in the guard is some sort of an honor."
"For some. For me…" She trailed off, shaking her head again. "In truth, I could never stand the position. My allegiance has always been to Commander Mychael before the child, for one reason or another. The child… makes me feel small. Unlike Mariko, I have no abilities in the realm of magic, but when you're near that girl, it's as though…" Again she stumbled, searching for the words. "I feel… like there's some unbearable pressure slowly crushing my spirit. I don't enjoy feeling that helpless. Others feel that it is a sign of her power and revere her for it, but I've never been able to feel that way. But once I became a dread knight, it seemed that there was no way to back out. The moon child by now had discovered my abilities, and had begun giving me private assignments. Every time I tried to find a way to pull out, something else would come up to draw me in even tighter." She smiled for the first time, though it was tinged with a bitter self-resentment. "Some might call it loyalty, but I've always felt it was closer to slavery. There's a fine line between the two, sometimes.
"To say it plainly, yes, I did swear an oath. But I've never been satisfied since. When we found Mariko-" she looked down at the other woman, her expression softening slightly, "- I realized that if she were to become a dragoon for the sake of the temples, she'd be no better off than I would. Worse, if they decided to take her mother into custody to control her." She lifted her head, meeting my eyes. "That's no way to live, not for any creature. Mariko's one of the few people who I have ever cared to call a friend, and, failing that, she was appointed my ward. At first I wasn't sure what to do. When I heard about the dragoon sightings in Fueno, though…" She shrugged. "I saw a way out for her, even if it meant nothing for me."
I sat silently, digesting her story as she settled down again next to the heap of armor. Solana must have been going to great pains not to attract any unneeded attention from the servants if she had had the woman remove her steel in here rather than in another room or antechamber. (What do you think?) I asked Ark.
((It sounds a bit far fetched. But,)) He admitted ((lies would do her no good now, and she knows that. High treason, they said?))
(Among other things. She's a dead woman if the temples get their hands on her)
((True. You don't suppose that Ayrel let this happen on purpose, do you? Amaya could have been sent by her to try and take us from behind))
I blinked slowly, feeling my eyes start to itch with fatigue. (She's too proud to let someone else finish matters for her. Besides, I doubt that she would have allowed herself to become so drawn into that fight earlier if she had another plan in reserve)
"Wait a minute," Kaelin said suddenly, her voice pulling me back from my conversation with the dragon, "How did you know that we would come for her? Were you just lying about that whole 'message' thing this morning?"
"No." Amaya shook her head, her long red braid swaying slightly. "The summons was a real one. After the disappearance of both the jade spirit and the Anlades earlier this month- and the emergence of the jade dragoon in the harbor of Fueno a few weeks later- I had some suspicions on the matter. I volunteered to carry the summons in hopes that I might find some way to confirm it. I wasn't entirely sure at first," she admitted, "But once I found Zion lurking around in the stables, I became sure." She smiled slightly. "One can only accept so many coincidences before a possibility becomes a certainty, no?"
Kaelin nodded thoughtfully then looked over at me. "Well? What are we going to do with her?"
Next to Amaya, Mariko sat up very straight in her chair, cloak falling forgotten from her shoulders with the sudden movement. Incredulously, she looked back and forth between Kaelin and I, and then, for some reason, looked pleadingly at Zion. Uncomfortable, Zion cleared his throat. "Ah, I think we have a bit of a problem here. Mariko made it rather clear back in the tower that she wouldn't budge an inch if Amaya wouldn't come with. I think she'll help us, but only if Amaya stays."
I stared at him for a moment, then reached up to rub my head with my hand. (I'm starting to get a headache) I grumbled, more for my own benefit than Ark's. When he didn't reply, I let my hand drop back onto the armrest. "Why is it that everything seems to come with strings attached these days? All right. Assume –just assume- for a moment, if we were to send you away, what would you do?" I ignored Mariko's glare, keeping my eyes on Amaya instead.
"Nothing. I'm a dead man walking –if you'll excuse the expression. Whether you leave me in the waste or kill me here and now, it doesn't make much difference. No one can hide from the child forever, and even if I wanted to, there's nothing that I could say or do to repent."
"I thought as much," I grimaced, but at that particular moment, something else caught my attention. Too tired to be disbelieving I got to my feet, twisting the carrier belt around until the final two spirits came into the light. The violet remained cold and dormant. The other glowed softly; radiating a bitter chill that had begun to numb my hip from the moment Amaya had unfalteringly pronounced her sentence. Popping it deftly from its holder, I held it up to examine it, aware of the total silence that had engulfed the room.
Something tightened in my throat. Others had used the spirit before, of course, but I had always thought of the stone belonging to Rose, and no one else. The thought of it openly accepting another bearer like this had never really struck home until this moment. In an instant I finally realized exactly how out of place I really was in this time. The dragoons, my friends of my own personal time, were gone; now, lifetimes later, they were being replaced. For the first time, I thought that I finally understood how Rose must have felt as she watched the spirits claim my friends one by one.
"And then there were six." Feeling particularly detached, I dropped the spirit into Amaya's hand, I retrieved my things from the back of the chair and started to the door.
Just before I pulled the door open, Cai rose from his chair. "Ry?"
"Get what rest you can." I didn't bother turning around as the door swung inward. "We leave tomorrow at dawn. We're going to have to press hard if we're going to make it to Doneau without being discovered." Shutting the door firmly behind me, I strode up the chilly corridor in silence, struggling to come to terms with the whirlwind of emotions warring inside me.
Ayrel's POV:
Candles burned softly in the corners at the near end of the room, halos of pale golden light flickering around the flames. It was a poor light compared to that cast by the oil lamps found in most of the other rooms of the palace, but anything stronger than candlelight made my head ache painfully. The rest of the room was sunk in shadow; here, this deep into the castle, there were no windows to the outdoors. It was dim and quiet, kept comfortably warm by the heat from the kitchens below. The furniture was sparse, consisting of a large bed tucked away in the corner, a small table and washstand, and the stuffed armchair that I sat in now. The priests and the Queen had protested violently when I had asked for this room, trying to press a royal apartment on me instead, but I had held out adamantly. Now I was glad that I had: the tower rooms were too open to the night, and isolated from the rest of the palace besides. The room I had taken might have been far from grand, but it was in the heart of the palace. Secure.
Safe.
I rested my chin on my knees and stared broodingly into the flame of the nearest candle. Overtired and still shaken from my encounter with the dragoon earlier that night, I couldn't bring myself to sleep just yet, though my muscles ached and my eyes felt as though they were packed with sand. Each time that my eyes began to shut a whirlwind of images descended on my mind's eye, battering me with memories of floating pinnacles and obscuring shadows, the glint of moonlight on steel as the blade sliced through the darkness toward my throat…
With a start I jerked myself from my stupor, banging my elbow on the edge of the table as I did so. Hissing, I cradled it against my body, shooting the table dark looks as I rubbed the joint, settling myself back into the chair comfortably, and staring resolutely at the candle once more. After a moment, however, I could feel my eyelids beginning to droop again, as though drawn down by some irresistible weight.
I'd lost tonight on more than one front. When at last I'd returned to the palace, I had discovered the girl Mariko missing, along with the dread knight who'd been assigned to guard her. The two courtiers who had been summoned to the Queen to give their account of the jade dragoon's death had disappeared as well, without seeking an audience. And since someone had dismissed most of the guards, no one had been able to give a decent description of where or when any of them might have gone. It was humiliating to realize just how thoroughly I had been outsmarted; the whole fight, as dangerous as it had been, had been nothing more than a distraction while the dragoons who followed him had slipped into the palace and made off with my spirit bearer.
'That stupid…slimy…urgh'
I had just begun to nod off again when there came a knock at the door, hesitant and tentative sounding as though the caller was afraid to disturb me. When I didn't answer the latch lifted and the door inched its way open. Light streamed in from the hallway in a narrow beam, illuminating my father's head as he peered in, blinking and straining furiously to see in the semi-dark. Realizing that I was still awake, he slipped in, shutting the door softly behind him.
"You should be resting."
I laughed sarcastically as he came over. "You think so? Fine. I'll get right on it." I rubbed my eyes. "How's mother doing?"
Father sat down on the end of my bed. "She's still looking for Dart," he replied, his mouth twisting slightly with distaste as he spoke the name. "Something passed by an hour or so before you came back, but the signature was too faint for her to tell. If it was him, then he was making sure to stay well away from the city."
"Which way was he headed?"
"Somewhere off to the west. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess." Father reached up and loosened the silk scarf he wore tied about his neck, unpinning a large opal brooch from the knot and slipping it into his pocket. No matter what the occasion, he always seemed dressed ready for the courts; even now, in the small hours of the morning he smelled faintly of mint, and his fine clothes were as prim as though they were freshly pressed. "Your mother's still worried, but I doubt that he'll be back tonight. But… Ayrel, we need to do something about this."
I snorted. "Yeah. Like mount the bastard's head on the wall. But how am I going to manage that? He's not going to be so easy to corner from now on; he showed that tonight. He outsmarted me, Father." I grimaced, the words acid on my tongue. "He would have had me if I hadn't taken the risk and made the jump from that valley. As it was, I'm amazed that I was able to do that. I've never had to try so hard to do anything in my entire life."
Father fiddled with one of his rings, thinking. "Ayrel, how strong do you think you are?"
"What?" The question caught me off guard.
"Between you and Dart, who has more power?"
"Dart doesn't have any magic on his own. He gets it all from that dragon."
"Then between you and Ragnarok?"
I opened my mouth to reply, but then hesitated. A day ago, I would have answered the question without hesitation, but now…for the first time, I was becoming aware of the limits of my powers. I had never really paid much attention to how much I had to extend my self to work a spell, but after tonight I could feel it like a barrier on the horizon, as solid and impenetrable as a mountain. And Ragnarok… I shook my head, trying to weigh the two of us up realistically. "I…"
"Dart wields the blade, and Ragnarok gives him his power," Father mused. "Plus, from what your mother says, they've been working this way for hundreds of years. It's a very dangerous combination. But if you had fought him on the plains, without being lured into the valley, do you think you could have won?"
I glared at him. "Of course I could have! The only reason I lost was because he trapped me."
Father got to his feet, running his hand through his hair. "Let me see if I understand this, then. Between you and the dragon, you don't know who has more power, but you're sure that you could beat him on even footing."
"Ragnarok's powerful, but the only way he can use it is through the spirit. Dart's only human, so he shouldn't be able to channel it when he's in his normal form." I leaned forward in the chair, wondering where he was going with this.
"Correct. But he did beat you by finding a way to curb your power." He paced the length of the room, keeping his back to me. When he finally turned around, he was almost lost in the shadows at the far end of the room. "Well, I think that the answer should be obvious. He trapped you. Now you need to return the favor."
"Oh." I slumped back into the chair, disappointed. "You've been talking to mother, haven't you? I thought it through once before. I couldn't see any way to do it."
"Really." Father came back into the circle of candlelight, looking almost amused. "You must not have thought it through well enough, then. No one's so invulnerable that they can't be caught or cornered, Ayrel. It's just a matter of figuring out how to do it."
I looked hard at him. "Do you know how?"
"I may." He was smirking openly now, the way he did when he spoke of the politics happening in court. "Would you be up to some traveling once you've rested yourself some more? There're some papers that I'll need from the temple archives in Bale before I can say anything more for sure."
"What're you thinking, Father?" I asked suspiciously. "And what do you need from Bale?"
His smirk, if possible, became even wider. "I'll tell you in the morning. For now, you get some sleep. I'll go and talk things over with your mother before we do anything for sure. Trust me, Ayrel. I think I may have just found a way to hit him on his weak flank."
"His weak flank?" I sat bolt upright. "What do you mean?"
"You know as well as I do, Ayrel. He may not have any strings for us to pull, but his dragoons do. If we can find some way to catch a hold on them, well then…" Picking up a candle from the table, he blew it out.
"Dart's as good as ours."
Mariko's POV:
The first fingers of dawn had only just begun to touch the horizon when we rode out into the grey half-light, traveling in single file as we rode slowly across the scrubby fields surrounding the Anlade's estate. A light wind was blowing out of the hills to the north, carrying the scent of dry bracken and sun-baked earth as the pinkish light slowly inched its way across the deep sky, gradually strengthening as the night receded until only the Moon remained, stolidly refusing to fade with the stars. Our shadows appeared to march implacably beside us, gargantuan and distorted as they rippled over the broken ground. Now and then a bird would call out stridently from its place of concealment, unwilling to venture out just yet into the grey morning. Not for the first time since awaking, I wished I were somewhere like that bird- holed up comfortably, safe and warm. But instead here I was, trying my best not to slip into a doze as my horse plodded along docilely behind Amaya's, his gait swaying me slightly back and forth in the hard leather saddle.
For the most part, the others seemed little better off than I. Zion slouched over miserably in his saddle, his eyes half-closed and unfocused as he held the reins loosely in one hand. I strongly suspected that he actually had managed to slip into a doze, or something close to it. Whenever his horse stumbled or deviated from the track he would snap upright with a start, catching the animal sharply in the mouth with his reins before slouching over again without so much as a mumble. Cai, who was leading two spare mounts along behind his own at the end of two long tethers, seemed slightly better off, though his eyes were shadowed and his golden blond hair in disarray. He rode with Solana at his side, though neither of them spoke a word. The folds of her hood hid Solana's face and she sat up straight, the butt of her trident jammed into the flat of her stirrup next to her toe like a flagstaff. Even Kaelin and Amaya riding ahead of me looked tired; their backs slouched slightly in their saddles as their bodies moved loosely with the motion of their horses' gate.
Only the one who had called himself Ry seemed truly awake. He rode up and down the line impatiently; his face unshaven and his eyes sunk deep into the shadows of his face. Vaguely, I wondered if he had even slept at all; if he had, it seemed to have done him little good. Even so he rode alertly, ranging sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, keeping a tight rein on the big grey charger Cai had loaned him. Though we hadn't yet left the grounds of the estate the animal's hide was already soaked with sweat, and it steamed slightly in the cool air as it danced on and off of the path anxiously. It had thrown a fit when the man had first swung into the saddle in the courtyard, rearing and screaming shrilly until it seemed certain that it must wake the sleeping stable boys. But if it had none had come to investigate, and Ry sat through the fit grimly, struggling with the horse until at last it stood still, eyes rolling wildly and nostrils flaring. Since then it had remained manageable, though it startled easily and pranced more than walked.
I lowered my eyes as he rode past, though I still watched him from the corners. Personally, I couldn't say that I blamed the horse for acting so. There was something odd about the air he carried around him, though it was a far cry from the oppressive weight that had always surrounded the Moon Child. Neither was it like that of the dragoon spirits, though there was some similarity. It was hazy, indistinct: almost as though some secondary force was muffling it. For the most part, it just felt… feral. Like a wolf, watching a herd quietly from the undergrowth.
I shivered. It wasn't bad or evil as such but still… it was unsettling.
"How long do you think we have?" Kaelin's voice wondered from up ahead.
My horse stopped. I looked up, and saw that the others had as well; we'd reached the northernmost gate of the estate. Miles of straight stone wall stretched off to either side, cutting a neat line through the landscape, cleanly dividing the scraggly field from the cracked and near-barren wasteland. The land broke up into low hills a few miles distant, flat-topped and ragged, dotted with finger-like pinnacles that reached imploringly toward the deep blue sky.
At the back of the line, Cai swung out of his saddle and handed the tether lines to Solana before leading his own horse forward to unlatch the gate. "I don't know. It depends on what divisions of the guard have been mobilized. Most likely the temple guardsmen will have been sent out in addition to the palace's Mounted Guards, so we're going to have to move quickly if we're going to keep ahead of them. They're probably already out there, so our only advantage is going to be the fact that it'll be difficult for them to cover the landscape completely before we're past. If we do happen to run into a group though, we're going to have to stamp them out before we move on. All that it'll take is one messenger to set the whole lot of them on our tail."
"Don't hesitate to use your spirits." Ry added, urging his horse forward toward the gate. "They already know about them, so there's no need for any pretence. I shouldn't have to say this, but aim to kill. If you can't do that, then at least make sure that they won't be able to run off to alert any other groups."
Next to me Zion exchanged glances with Kaelin, who had been watching Ry closely. She nodded, and pulled her horse in closer to his as Ry trotted forward through the gate. "He still looks ready to bite someone's head off," Zion muttered. "Are you sure he's calmed down at all?"
"I doubt it," she replied. They spoke in low voices, though neither of them seemed aware that I could overhear what they were saying. "He seems to be keeping himself under control, though, so I don't think that we have anything to worry about." She looked up suddenly, catching my eyes before I could look away. I flushed slightly, realizing that I had been caught. Kaelin, however, only shrugged before turning back to Zion. "Anyway, you go on ahead. I think I'll hang around back here with Mariko for a while."
She hung back while the others passed on ahead, though when Amaya started to ride past, she stuck out her arm to stop her. "You too, if you don't mind. You were listening just as much as she was, so you may as well join in."
Amaya, to her credit, actually managed to look a tad guilty. Pulling her horse up beside mine, the three of us passed through the gate, taking up the rear as Cai remounted and hurried ahead to join Solana. Behind Kaelin's back, I exchanged glances with Amaya, wondering what exactly the other woman had to say to us.
If Kaelin had noticed our exchange, she didn't seem to care. As we moved into a trot she sat back slightly in her saddle, holding the reins tightly in one hand. "Have you ever used a weapon before, Mariko?"
I shook my head no. Fighting men had come to stay at our inn in Seles dozens of times, but even so I had rarely even touched such a thing.
Kaelin bit her lip. "We'll have to find you something, then. Can you help her with that, Amaya?"
"I daresay I can."
Kaelin reached up her horse's neck, smoothing the short fur. "Great." Then she paused, her manner changing. "Amaya, can I ask you something?" she asked quietly, not looking up.
Amaya nodded, slightly surprised. "What do you want to know?"
"Ry. Do you know how long the temples have been after him now?"
I looked over sharply at Amaya, but her gaze gave nothing away. The temples were after him? It made sense, I supposed, considering it seemed that he had the remaining spirits, but still…
"How long? I'm not sure. Years, yes? Beyond that…" she shook her head. "We were all required to commit his description to memory in the honor guard, with orders to kill on sight if we were ever to face him. The Lady Asalla was very… emphatic about that." She shook her head at the recollection. "Beyond that, I know very little about him. Dangerous." She shook her head. "Very dangerous."
"But you don't know how long?"
Amaya shrugged. "As I said, years. Before I had entered the ranks in the very least. I can't say much more than that."
"I see." Kaelin looked up again. "So what do you think of him, then? You guys didn't exactly get off on the right foot, I gather."
"Not by anyone's standards." Amaya lurched forward slightly as her horse stumbled, steadying herself with one hand on the pommel of the saddle. "But I suppose that his reaction was understandable, if he hates dread knights half as much as I think."
Kaelin shook her head. "He had a rough night, from what I can gather. There must have been…something bad to get him fired up like that. Ry's not a bad guy, but he can really snap sometimes. But," she added, a little guiltily, "he's kept all of us alive and safe so far, and that was no small task. He knows what he's doing, whatever his attitude."
I rode quietly, unable to contribute to the conversation. 'You want us to trust him,' I thought to myself. Well, given last night's impression, that was more than I would have afforded him at the first. But why had she first asked Amaya about the temple records on him? She hadn't seemed surprised in the least at the answer, but…
The sun inched slowly up the horizon, taking the last of the chill from the air and replacing it with a warm, dusky still that spoke promises of another hot autumn day. Dust trailing in our wake, we continued on through the hills in a loose knot, picking up our pace still more. I moved ahead with the rest, though my thoughts stayed with me, cool and questioning in the morning heat.
The first attack came without warning shortly after midday. Riding through the close, rocky passages of the hills, we found ourselves set upon from both sides as mounted guardsmen spilled out from between gaps in the rock.
At the head of the line Zion wheeled his horse around sharply, shaking his sword free of its scabbard as the first of the guardsmen bore down upon him, lance at the ready. As he struggled with the sheath Cai surged past him, knocking the lance aside with a sweep of his axe and riding his big war horse straight into the oncoming opponent with a roar that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Screaming as they clashed, the two mounts went down hard, raising a cloud of dust that obscured them from view. At my side, Amaya pulled her stave from where it had been hanging at her stirrup, brandishing it with both hands while she controlled her horse with her knees.
Not knowing what else to do, I reached for the belt knife Kaelin had given me earlier and drew it, the short blade looking pitifully small in my hand. Gritting my teeth tightly, I spun my mount around as the second group of guardsmen hit us from behind. The knife was almost laughable in the face of the long spears the soldiers carried, but at least now I didn't feel completely helpless.
Madness. Light burst and flared off to my left, though who it was, I couldn't say. Stabbing and slashing with my little knife, I struggled to stave off a guardsman who had fallen from his horse until a clout from Amaya's staff took care of him properly. Screams filled the air as bursts of light died and faded; now and then I would catch a glimpse of color from the corner of my vision, first green, then red, then blue. But none of the changes lasted long, and no magic was used; in the melee, chances were as good that any spell might damage an ally as easily as an enemy.
Amidst the chaos, I felt someone grab me by the back of my dress and haul me bodily from the saddle, dumping me to the ground as my horse spooked and shied away. For one awful moment the scarred face of a guardsman loomed over me, the broken shaft of a spear held tightly in one hand while the other reached for the crossbow pistol hanging at his belt. My knife had been lost in the fall; desperately, I reached for my dragoon spirit, only to find it cold and unresponsive. Struggling backward on my elbows, I tried to drag myself away as he aimed the little bow, knowing that it was no good.
Grey and black flashed overhead, and red stuff spattered on the ground. The guardsman howled, dropping the crossbow as he groped at the wound that had opened across his chest. I scrambled forward, grabbing the small crossbow from where it had fallen as Ry drew rein next to me, his big grey horse churning the dust with its plate-sized hooves.
"What're you doing down there for?" He jerked sharply on his horse's mouth as it squealed and half-reared, panicked by the commotion. "Don't you know how to stay in a saddle?" He shifted his sword to his rein hand and reached down to me.
For a split second I hesitated. The strange aura that had seemed to surround him before had intensified with the heat of the battle, until the air itself seemed to crackle with the incredible energy that radiated from him. No regular human had ever possessed a power like that. Yet neither was it that of a wingly, nor of a dragoon.
'What are you?'
"Hurry!" He snapped, stooping low and grabbing me by the wrist. As he did so, another rider rose up behind him, swinging his spear in a broad arc toward Ry's unprotected back.
Without thinking, I raised the crossbow pistol and squeezed the catch, aiming as best I could. Almost simultaneously Ry flipped his blade up over his back, wrenching his arm around to block at the last instant. The spear bounced off the blade and fell away, clattering to the ground as the soldier slumped from his saddle.
Ry glanced back over his shoulder once before looking back at me and bracing himself, hauling me up to sit behind his saddle. "Nice shot. Now hold on tight, and try not to get in my way!" Satisfied that I was secure, he kicked his horse forward, rushing to help Solana with the guardsman who still harried her.
And almost as suddenly as it had begun, the fight had ended. Bloodied and breathing raggedly, Zion helped a dazed looking Cai over to Solana, who swung down from her saddle with a worried expression on her face. Amaya, mopping sweat from her brow with her sleeve, joined them. Kaelin, who it seemed had spent the better part of the fight in transformation, landed next to us, the armor disappearing in a flash of blue light.
"You look like you're in a better mood," she commented to Ry sourly.
Ry, surprisingly, grinned. The moment the fight had ended the flow of power had ebbed; now, he felt almost like a normal human again. "I guess I just needed some exercise," he told her, wiping his blade on the hem of his coat before sheathing it again. Then he sobered. "What happened to Cai? Did either of you see?"
I shook my head. Kaelin shrugged. "I think he did something to his leg when he tried to mow over that other horse back at the start. One of the guardsmen managed to get him pretty good upside the back of his head with the flat of a spear blade, and he went out cold. Zion and I managed to keep the guardsmen off of him until things were finished though, so he should be okay."
"Mariko?" Ry looked back over his shoulder at me. "Can you use your spirit? You should be able to patch him up without too much trouble."
Nodding, I obliged, sliding somewhat gratefully to the ground and hurrying over to where they had laid Cai out on the stony ground. His eyes were unfocused, but he seemed to be aware, mumbling to himself slightly and trailing his fingers in the dirt. Reaching into the neck of my dress for my spirit, I felt my fingers close around its smooth surface. I closed my eyes, concentrating. The transformation had gone easiest last time while I was touching it too.
Within moments Cai was back on his feet, looking refreshed and hale once more. As my armor shed itself with one final flicker the others began to gather up the mounts again, preparing to leave. Not knowing what else to do, I caught the reins of the horse nearest to me and led it back to Kaelin and Ry, waiting for the others to finish. In short order we were ready once more, though a little worse for wear.
Moving to take the head of the column, Cai shook his head. "Someone's going to have to ride ahead from now on, I think." He said ruefully. "We were lucky this time, but I don't think we want to risk running into another ambush like that again."
"I'll do it." Ry trotted past him, rubbing the back of his neck. "We're going to have to push it from here on out. Chances are if they were able to find us out here, then they know that we're heading to Doneau. Kaelin, you might have to figure out a way to slip us into the city if they decide to post guards at the gates."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Kaelin shrugged. "Worse come to worse, I'll slip in and find a smuggler ship that would be willing to pick the rest you guys up further down the coast." She smiled hugely at Cai and Solana, who, in response, looked wary. "I hope you guys brought some money along. Lots of it. I have a feeling that this could get expensive, and I sure can't afford it."
The sun had long since sunk below the horizon when, travel beaten and weary, we at last reached the outskirts of Doneau. Like Bale, the city consisted of an outer town and an inner town, separated by a low wall that enclosed the old city. I had seen little of either when I had passed through the city before, but I knew enough to know that the gates separating the two were always guarded, though it would be easy enough to slip into the old city. As it was, we were still about a mile from the first of the houses, hidden in the shadows of a low ridge. Kaelin had slipped off a few minutes beforehand to scout for possible routes into the port city. For the moment, at least, the rest of us sat about on the rocky ground, taking advantage of the brief respite.
Amaya sat next to me, rubbing her fingers as she tried to work out the stiffness that had settled into them during the ride. Ry crouched a short distance away at the very edge of the shadow, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he kept watch out over the short stretch of waste that separated us from the city.
"How long do you think it will take her?" Amaya asked quietly, shaking her hands and clenching them into fists.
Ry glanced back at us briefly before looking ahead again, not seeming to want to take his eyes from the city. "Half an hour; maybe an hour at most. She knows what she's doing."
"What will we do if she can't find a way in?"
He shrugged. "Then we keep on riding. If necessary, we can follow the coastline around the edge of the bay and into Mille Seseau."
"But that would take months!" Solana came over to join us, leaving Cai and Zion to tend to the horses. "And do you think that we'd be able to avoid the patrols for that long?"
"The patrols can't cover all of Tiberoa, though they'll certainly try. In any case, I doubt that we'd have to go all the way around the bay. There're a few fishing villages along the country's northern shore; we could probably hire a boat there and slip away with none the wiser." He rocked back onto his heels, then suddenly leaning forward again. "Hello. She's coming back already?"
I looked up. Someone was coming toward us; almost invisible under the buff-colored cloak they worse as they ran crouched over toward us. When she reached the shadows Kaelin threw back her hood, looking none too pleased.
"Someone's coming," She said shortly, before anyone could ask why she had returned so soon.
Zion looked up from the horse he had been tending, one hand automatically going for his sword. "Guardsmen?"
"I don't think so," She disagreed. "He seemed to know I was there, but didn't care in the least when I saw him. Whoever it is, they're wearing a big cloak, but I'd say that they aren't armed."
"Where was he?"
In response, she pointed out over the moonlit barrens. Getting up to my knees, I squinted, trying, like everyone else, to see where she was pointing. Sure enough, a cloaked figure was hurrying across the open ground some distance away, running from outcropping to twisted scrub in an attempt to stay hidden.
Kaelin swore under her breath. "He's following me, see? Though if he's going through all of that trouble trying to stay hidden if he knew that I saw him…"
"He must be hiding from the patrols," Ry finished. "I think you're right, Kaelin. He doesn't seem like he's coming for a fight. Still…" He scratched his chin. "Mariko? You still have that crossbow, right?"
I nodded, reaching to touch the thing where it lay beside me. It was a strange contraption; less than half the size of the proper crossbows I had seen the hunters carry back in Seles, it didn't seem to match them in range or power either. Even so, it was small enough that I could wind and load it easily enough, and after a brief lesson from Cai while we had let the horses catch their breath earlier that afternoon, I at least felt competent enough to be sure that I wasn't about to shoot myself in the foot.
"Good. Keep it close by." Ry got to his feet, coming to stand with his back against the outcropping in the deepest of the shadow. "If he keeps running like that, I imagine that he'll be with us in a minute or two." He crouched down again, resting his chin on his thumbs. "Let's see what he wants."
The stranger continued to sprint haltingly toward us. When he came within earshot, however, he stopped, crouching low on the rocky ground. "Hel-lo? I can see you, so you guys don't need to hide back in the shadows like that. Most of the patrols have been ordered to stay near the city gates, so we don't have to worry about them this far out. I'm coming closer, if you don't mind. And I'm unarmed," he added, almost as an afterthought.
Catching Ry's eye, I lifted the little crossbow questioningly as the man scurried closer. Ry shook his head, but didn't motion for me to put it away just yet. Hoping that our visitor was being honest, I lowered the weapon.
"Whew, that's a long way to run in the dark," the cloaked man gasped, sitting down hard the moment he reached the shadows. "It was hard enough to find you as it was. Once the Temple seized the ports, I started to worry that you'd skip this place entirely."
"You knew we were coming here?" Cai rumbled, surprised. "How? Who the hell are you?"
"I had a hunch," the man replied, ignoring Cai's second question, "that the lot of you would be wanting to leave the country in short order. I wasn't sure, mind you, but my hunches usually seem to turn out right. In any case," he added, pushing back his hood, "I think you'll find that I could be of some use to you."
"Shane!" Kaelin lurched to her feet, staring at him incredulously. "Where the… how… what in Soa's name are you doing here?"
He looked up at her calmly, leaning back on his hands. "I thought that would be obvious, Kaelin. I've come to save the lot of you."
"You know him?" Solana asked, surprised.
"He's my brother," she growled through gritted teeth. "Mariko, don't put that thing away just yet, I might find a use for it yet. Shane, how…"
"I visited Lyke a few weeks back and had a little chat with him about the way he treated you. Then, when I stopped over in Fueno, I recognized your distinguished friend here from the description Lyke had given me. That, coupled with the stories of dragoons flying around left right and center… well, you can only hit someone so many times over the head with something before they start to catch on. Nice job on my brother, by the way." He added to Ry, who didn't seem to know whether to be annoyed or impressed. "I think you hold the honor of being the first person to scare him shi-"
"So you figured out what was going on," Zion interrupted loudly, "just from a handful of rumors and a rough description?" He shook his head, and then looked at Kaelin. "Is this guy for real?"
"Unfortunately, yes." She grumbled. "He acts like an idiot, but he can spot connections between things so quickly it makes my head spin. Let me guess. You're here to offer us a lift out of this mess, right?"
He nodded. "I anchored the Blue Wind up the coast a little ways, away from the patrols just before they closed the port. The choice is yours, but…" He looked out at the waste meaningfully.
Kaelin ground her teeth. "And I suppose that you'll swear that you're going to take us straight to Furni flat out with no underhanded schemes, no attempts to betray us, and at absolutely no profit to your self, am I right?"
"On Soa, my life, and everything that I hold dear."
"I was afraid of that," she said grimly. "Well, everybody? Are we going to take him up on his offer?"
"Can we trust him?" Amaya asked slowly. "I seem to remember delivering you to the temple holding cells the last time you made a deal with a family member."
"If he says we can trust him, we can trust him," she grumbled. "He's so honest it makes my teeth hurt. I don't think he's ever broken his word once in his entire life."
I looked from one to the other, uncomprehending. If Shane could be trusted, then why did she sound so annoyed about it?
She must have seen the confusion on my face, because her glower became even deeper. "I hate depending on family." Shooting one more glare at her brother, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well Ry? It's your call."
Ry stared at her, then shook his head slowly. "I honestly don't see that we have much of a choice in the matter." Reaching down, he grabbed Shane by the arm, pulling him to his feet. "All right, Shane. Show us your ship. But-" he added, "If you try anything- anything- like your brother did…"
"Yes, I know. Lots of pain and more of the same." He shivered. "Now do you mind if we get a move on? I absolutely abhor Tiberoa at night."
Ayrel's POV:
Morning light filtered through the curtains, filling mother's tower with the sort of airy breathlessness that sometimes accompanies the early hours of the day. Sea birds wheeled and dove in the sky overhead, riding the breeze that was blowing in off of the ocean. In the city below the towers had just begun to toll the hour, their bells ringing out crisp and clear in the heady morning air. There was an infectious feel to the sound that pushed away worries and replaced them with a light-headed whimsicalness that left me feeling wide-eyed and awake. Which was fortunate, given the matter at hand.
We sat around a small table in the center of the room, pouring over the sheaf of documents that father had had me retrieve from the temples in Bale the day before. A map, held open with a glass bottle at one corner and a lump of rock at the other, was stretched out over the floor at out feet. A stack of books lay jumbled next to it, one or two marked with pieces of string or slips of paper.
"Here's another one, Mathis." Mother handed father another handful of papers, careful not to wrinkle them. "That would make three of them."
Father took the sheets and pushed his chair back from the table. "Zion Damnen, Mariko Ruche, and Kaelin Alphine. The Anlades, if they really are in league with Dart, are relations of the royal houses, so they're more or less untouchable unless we want to complicate things unnecessarily." He tapped the page lightly with one finger, thinking. "It won't be difficult getting a handle on the boy and the part-breed, but the Alphine woman is a different matter entirely. It wouldn't be difficult to force the family to comply, but word would get out. If we're to keep things quiet, we're going to have to find another way."
"Sounds like a lot of trouble," I commented, pushing aside my stack of papers and reaching for one of the books marked with string instead. "Maybe we should just leave them out of it?"
Father shook his head and looked at mother. "You said that they were headed for Furni?"
Mother nodded. The night before, she had hovered about the Doneau port, and had tracked Dart's aura fading out to sea. "They could be headed to another port, but in all likelihood they'll be heading in that direction."
"Which means that sooner or later, they'll come in contact with the rest of the family," he mused. "No, I think our best chance lies in finding some way to subvert a member of that family. If we can manage that much, the rest should fall into place rather easily."
"I still don't understand," I grumbled. "Are you sure that this will work?"
"Positive. Don't worry too much about it Ayrel. Leave the politics to me and help your mother with her research."
"Ancient history, you mean." I corrected him absently. "I don't think that we'll find much to help us in there. And I think you're enjoying yourself too much, father. I'm supposed to be the one who gets all the thrill of taking him down." I stuck my tongue out at him, though I was only half-kidding.
"I wouldn't worry about that too much, Ayrel. I wouldn't dream of taking your fun away from you. But things will go much easier if you let me have my little fun with things first." He pulled another paper across the paper toward him, and then glanced down at the map. "All right. I'll have Commander Mychael dispatch an escort to Seles to retrieve the women while we head to Mille Seseau."
"I still think it's too complicated," I told him dubiously, but mother shook her head.
"Let him be, Ayrel. He has some idea of what he's doing, even if we don't. Besides, you want to face Dart again, don't you?"
"Of course."
"Then trust him. I'm sure things will be clear in time. Ah. Here we are." She slid her book across the table to me, flattening the pages under her fingers. "Whatever your father manages to arrange, it's secondary to this. Do you think you could figure out a way to re-create one of these?"
I took the little book from her. A large, detailed picture of a rather unremarkable staff, topped with a lump of stone, had been scrawled over the top of the page. A short, written description of the item was printed neatly underneath in a neat, precise hand. I scanned through it quickly, then flipped the book over in my hands. "What is this?"
"It's a journal, kept by one of the past kings of Serdio. More importantly, one of Dart's former companions as a dragoon. Those are his notes on an item they recovered from the ruins of the wingly capitol during their journeys." She reached out and flipped the book over again, so that I was once more looking at the illustration. "The same item," she said, "that was used to seal and kill the Divine Dragon."
I dropped my eyes to the description again, reading it through more carefully. An item to seal and contain the powers of dragons. And one of the three items used to seal the Divine Dragon himself in his lair by the ancient winglies, thousands of years past…
Carefully, I set the book back on the table. Seal and kill. Render him powerless.
In spite of myself, I allowed myself a crooked little half smile.
"How appropriate."
Dun dun dunnn! Evil plots and such fun? Nyar.
.- My, aren't I coherent today? -slaps self with tuna