We are being followed, Embrald said. Those were the first words they had exchanged since Mellary had woken up from the first truly restful sleep she had had in weeks. Embrald had flown through the night, coasting on the easy currents that criss-crossed over the forest.
Just a short while ago, they had finally reached the edge of the deep emerald sea that was Du Weldenvarden. The trees had simply stopped, creating a sharp contrast between the lush forest and the sparse rolling hills beyond it. The boundary had tugged at them both as they passed through, the ambient magic that had saturated her every breath fading away.
They had left the forest far from where they had entered, at the base of a rolling mountain chain that stretched away west and north. The sight of the brown crags in the distance had lifted her spirits.
Where? she asked, resisting the strong urge to turn.
Behind us and to the right. They're trying to hide behind the peaks.
Mellary yawned and stretched her arms over her head, twisting to each side to flex her back muscles. Just as she turned right, she caught a flash of red cresting one of the sharp hills before dropping out of sight behind the next.
How long? She didn't bother asking if he was certain.
Almost an hour now, he replied. A strange tension resonated in his voice, making Mellary frown.
What's wrong? She had only caught a flash of red, nothing more.
Our pursuer is a dragon, Embrald said. Mellary's heart came to a stuttering stop in her chest. And Rider. It restarted with a kick, making her suck in a deep lungful of thin air.
So the last egg hatched… she whispered. And since they haven't approached us declaring honorable intentions….
…we may assume they're not friendly, Embrald concluded for her.
Wonderful. Mellary snuck a glance behind them, but the skies were clear.
She and Embrald were flying high. High enough that she had to gasp great lungfulls to get a breath of air, and high enough that moisture had beaded her red hair with sparkling diamonds. High enough that even her dragon's long sinuous form would be mistaken as a bird. Although the mountains below were too wild to host travelers, Mellary hadn't wanted to take the chance of being seen.
It didn't matter now.
They going to guess where we're going if we keep flying north…. Mellary began.
Which is why I shifted course when I first spotted them. We're flying due west now, we'll have to double back.
Mellary's head snapped up as she finally took in the position of the sun. They were indeed flying west, and she hadn't noticed. She grimaced and swore at herself.
They're flying low, so they don't want to be seen yet, Embrald continued.
It isn't exactly easy to hide a dragon, Mellary commented wryly.
The implied question hung between them: what to do next? Mellary thought over their options. Turning and confronting the Rider would be sacrificing all the advantages they currently held for an uncertain outcome. Not knowing anything about the Rider made Mellary hesitant to attack.
Embrald could attempt to outrun them. Mellary didn't doubt that he would be able to, but then they wouldn't learn anything useful, and would lose the pair as well. She preferred to know where her enemies were. And who they were.
Hold? Embrald suggested.
Hold, she confirmed. Let's see what they do.
Glaedr had taught them both enough about aerial combat that she knew having altitude was preferable. The other dragon would have to strain to reach them up here. Not a cloud decorated the crystalline sky; they would see the other pair coming far in advance.
Mellary settled back in the saddle and closed her eyes. Sinking down into her mind, she began to spin her lace-like shields back into existence. The shimmering walls around her mind, intricate and ethereal, gave her a strong sense of comfort.
The sun slipped across the sky without any challenge. Mellary continued to glimpse flashes of red when she turned to look. Using Embrald's vision, she could even make out the dragon's massive scarlet wings and ruby neck. But the Rider remained a mystery.
This is becoming tiresome, she growled as the sun began to sink. And we're going to lose too much time going back.
Are you proposing something? Embrald asked.
Mellary hesitated. How tired are you? He had been flying for almost a full day. Even with the strength of a dragon, that had to be tiring.
I was gliding most of the time, Embrald told her, a wicked grin in his words. I will be fine.
The other dragon had been rising and falling with the mountains, struggling to stay out of sight. Combined with it's much more muscular structure, it had to be struggling.
Ready? Embrald asked. Mellary checked the straps that bound her legs to the saddle, then made sure that the bags were tightly secured.
She slid her arms into the special constraints, tightening them with small tugs.
I know this area, she told him. There's a cave system north of here, with wide caverns, and a river and waterfall to the south.
Embrald's gleeful laugh sounded suspiciously like a cackle.
The next thing she knew, the earth ground was rushing towards her head. Embrald had rolled over in the air and folded his wings, sending them plummeting towards the ground. Infectious joy spilled down their bond, sweeping her up.
Embrald adjusted the angle of his wings ever so slightly. They spun in the air, until the uncontrolled fall turned into a headlong dive.
The mountain peak was racing towards them, obscuring the red dragon. The air ripped and tugged at her clothes, snarled in her hair, and lashed at her exposed ears. Mellary pressed herself harder against Embrald's back to reduce the pull of the wind. They were mere feet from the top of the mountain, the angle just shallow enough to graze by.
Time seemed to slow. The red dragon crested the peak, prepared to slip down the other side. Instead, it came face to face with Mellary and Embrald, moving faster than the wind.
The dragon reared back and, its jaws opening in surprise. Her heart seemed to beat so slowly as she realized they were too close.
They were going to collide.
Embrald wrenched his wings, sending them into a spiral. The world tipped as they shot by, her back set to pass no more than a hand's breadth above the red dragon's head.
Acting on instinct, Mellary yanked one of her arms from the straps and reached out. Her fingers grazed along the smooth scarlet scales that crowned the dragon's head.
She dropped her outer shield and shot a focused spike straight into the dragon's mind. They had appeared so suddenly, that the Rider and dragon had had no time to raise them mental shields.
Her concentrated and swift attack tore right through the nascent shields and burrowed deep into the dragon's mind. It went right down their bond, exploding into the Rider's brain.
Information, memories, and old pains slammed into her. Mellary gasped as a deep and unrelenting rage burned her blood, threatening to consume her mind from the inside out.
The Embrald was past, sweeping her away and the connection was shattered.
She twisted around in time to see the vast red wings crumple under the force of their slipstream. The whirling currents of air grabbed up the other dragon, spinning him around and slamming the pair down into the mountain face.
There was a heartbeat of silence, then a deep bass roar seemed to shatter the very air. Mellary clapped her unbound hand over one of her ears.
The red dragon, Thorn something in her mind whispered, extricated himself from the thicket he had been knocked into. Stretched his neck out, he bellowed at them again and leapt off the cliff.
Embrald?
Flying now.
I might have made him mad. Memories were piling up in her head, shooting shards of pain through her skull. Mellary slammed a shield around everything she had learned, locking it down behind an adamantine wall. The pressure subsided.
She glanced behind to see Thorn and his Rider surging after them. He may have been tired, but she could almost see the rage in his eyes, spurring him on.
Scratch that. I made him very mad.
Didn't your mother teach you to never go poking around in people's heads?
She might have mentioned it more if she had known I'd end up riding a prissy dragon.
I could dump you right now, Embrald threatened as he banked hard, whirling around a jutting cliff in a sharp turn. She heard a roar and twisted to see Thorn overshoot the turn.
Nope. I'm strapped in too well, Mellary said, her voice smug and distracted.
Embrald rolled over and dove down, shooting through a narrow gap and into a deep cleft in the rock. The canyon wound serpentine, the turns blocking her view behind them.
An uneasy feeling was crept over her as she craned her neck, trying to look behind them.
We need height, she said urgently.
Embrald raised his wings to angle upwards just as a shadow fell over them.
DOWN! Mellary cried unnecessarily. Embrald was already diving, flaring his wings to jerk them almost to a complete stop in the air. A red shape sliced through the space they would have been in, dropping down into the canyon like a hunting falcon.
Wings flared on either side of her head and they shot into the air, soaring above the canyon. Embrald gained height quickly, only to dive straight down into the mountains.
Mellary opened her mouth to comment, then closed it. The dragon knew what he was doing without instruction from her.
They dropped straight down, angling for a slight indentation she could see in the wall. Just before they hit, Embrald snapped his wings open. They dropped down on to the damp stone floor of the cave and darted out of sight.
Mellary loosened the ties and slid out of the saddle. Her muscles ached slightly as her feet hit the floor, a testament to too much time in the saddle.
Where are you going? Embrald asked as she started for the entrance.
To take a look around, Mellary told him, sliding into the shadows of the overgrowth that cloaked the entrance. Grasping the vines, she scaled up the wall and sidled under a bush.
May I borrow your eyes? she asked. In seconds, her vision shifted and sharpened, the mountains becoming a blaze of emerald fire.
Ruby flashed in the distance. Mellary focused, the distant scene snapping into sharp detail. Thorn was flying above the peaks, his long blunt head swinging back and forth.
Pain slashed across her back. Mellary gritted her teeth against a scream as something seemed to flay her open from shoulder to hip. Hot blood rushed down her back, scorching her skin.
Mellary pressed one hand to her head, the other to her back. Beneath her fingers, her tunic was…dry.
The stolen memories had escaped her hold, infecting her mind. Phantom pains ghosted across her body. She had only taken a handful of memories combined, but the ones taken in such attacks were always the defining moments.
Defining moments had an unfortunate tendency to be painful.
Prickling swept over her as she crawled out of the egg, scraping against the smooth internal surface with blunt claws. A familiar fire scorched across her palm as she touched the soft leathery skin of the hatchling.
A deep voice rumbled an incomprehensible phrase in the ancient language. Something deep insider her wrenched in a way that had her clutching her heart, sweat beading all over her body. Her muscles spasms as she fought the command boomed at her. Every part of her seemed to be burning as her mind rebelled against the chains of magic that bound her body.
Hopelessness claimed her, followed by an intense, fiery rage.
The memories released, and she collapsed against the ground. Mellary gasped for air, inexplicably exhausted.
She raised her head and saw red. Thorn's massive wing beat the air just in front of her ledge, sending currents of cool mountain air to swirl around her. Mellary held perfectly still, barely daring to breathe.
Dragon and Rider studied the crease in the cliff face, giving her plenty of time to study them.
They're so young, she said to Embrald.
All humans are young to you, ancient one.
And don't you forget it. Her voice crackled with strain.
Thorn was small, smaller even than Embrald. His wings were shorter and wider, though they beat the air with power. The muscles that wrapped around thick bones were well defined, giving the scarlet dragon a heavy-set look. He was a creature made for slashing and hacking, for intense aerial combat.
His Rider appeared no more than nineteen. Even without his memories, she would have said he was an expert swordsman; Mellary had learned to recognize proficient warriors quickly when she left the elves. He had that certain lethal look to his eyes.
Thorn shifted on the breeze, and she saw the double handed broadsword strapped across his Rider's back.
If my blades had been made by anyone else, I would have to make sure not to get into a swordfight with him, she said to Embrald. A blade with that kind of weight could snap mine like so many twigs.
It does relegate yours to the realm of butter knives. Despite the banter, she could feel his anxiety. Thorn's shadow was dancing across the screen of vines that concealed her dragon. Mellary cursed herself for leaving.
After a tense moment, the Rider shook his head and said something to the dragon. The pair pulled up, moving off down the mountain side. Mellary heaved a sigh of relief, even as she tracked their progress.
As soon as the red dragon was out of sight, Mellary slid out from beneath the bush. The memories had played themselves out, leaving her body her own again. She scrambled down the vines and ducked through the curtain. Embrald was curled up in a dark corner, flattened against the wall to keep from being seen.
He uncoiled as soon as she appeared, shaking himself as if to shed water from his scales. What now?
That was the question.
We can't kill them, she said, feeling Embrald's instant rejection of the idea.
I will not aid in the extinction of my own species, he told her.
We don't have the resources to detain them. So the only thing to do is find out what they're doing here and possibly send them in the other direction.
Embrald hesitated. They are working for the King?
They are sworn to him, she replied just as quietly. The incident had lurking been in both their memories, as subtle as a blazing bonfire on a dark night.
I want to see what he has to say, Mellary said thoughtfully.
He wasn't in a talkative mood, Embrald observed dryly.
I know. I'll be careful. He didn't even try to talk her out of it.
Her plan balanced on the edge of insanity, all parts of it. But with a little skill, she should be able to pull it off. With a little luck, she'd be able to do it without too much bloodshed.
I'll find them, she told Embrald. You take me as close as we can get without being seen, and I'll go the rest of the way on foot.
Embrald bared his fangs. Too dangerous.
Don't tell me you aren't curious.
He flashed his fangs at her again, but didn't reply. Mellary smiled smugly, then closed her eyes to concentrate. As she lowered her outer shields, she felt Embrald raise his.
Just like in meditation, Mellary sent her mind out. But this time, she didn't limit herself to the surrounding area. Her mind swept over the entire mountain and beyond, splashing up against the nearby slopes.
It lasted only for an instant. Her sweep collapsed back in on itself, the world imploding in a sharp rush. For a moment, she felt blind.
Mellary slammed her shields back into place.
They are close by, she told Embrald as she rubbed her temples. Far enough away to be on the next ridge. South by southwest. We need to move, they may have felt that.
She climbed into the saddle, pressing low as Embrald lunged out of the cave and into the air in a single sharp movement.
Embrald kept low, the tips of his talons just skimming the tops of the tress. The sun was sinking beyond the highest peaks, creating pockets of shadow in the creases of the mountains. They dropped into one and banked hard, streaking up the mountainside. Mellary stayed silent as Embrald twisted to hug the gathering darkness as it ran along the ridgeline. This type of twisted, aerobatic flying was something that he must have learned from Glaedr.
They were coming up on a line of cliffs. Mellary did another sweep. Ahead and just out of sight she could feel the iron hardness of two shielded minds.
Down, she told Embrald. He folded his wings immediately, dropping into a hole in the canopy. They landed hard since the trees were too closely spaced for Embrald to spread his wings. He turned their forward momentum into a bound, racing through the trees.
Stop here, Mellary told him. The dragon came to an instant stop, his talons digging into the ground.
She swung out of the saddle and moved forward. Her mother had given her the gift of elven grace. Mellary used that now, moving through the forest quickly and silently.
Finally the trees thinned and ended all together. Mellary ducked into the shadows of a thick trunk, peeking around it. Bare rock stretched away, a flat plane that had been long clear of boulders. Cliffs rushed in from both sides, forming a sharp peak. Beyond that the mountains spread out like a map, visible for leagues and leagues. Perched on the lip of the sharp cliff, no more than twenty paces away, was the scarlet dragon. Both dragon and Rider were scanning the surroundings.
Embrald had fallen behind where the trees were still dense. Mellary reached down their bond, whispering her plan. She felt him turn away and take off, leaving her alone with the hostile pair.
For a moment, fear gripped her. Mellary shook it off. She was sure in her power and her skill; there was no need to be worried.
But she didn't know anything about the Rider's power.
There was no point in worrying now. Her plan was already in motion. Mellary stepped out from behind the tree and leaned back against it, crossing her arms in front of her.
"You're a long way from Urû Baen, Murtagh, son of Morzan."