Day 150, part 2
Frald. Her eldest son, Giret. Warrior sisters Nar and Urzul. Two scouts—Zam and Gorza.
I know their names now, after a shared meal around a campfire. I've also learned that the Foxfire clan has been tormented by masked dragon riders for decades. The dragons swoop down from the cliffs and steal their livestock, and sometimes their children and elderly. Even seasoned warriors have gone missing on occasion. The orcs have been calling these dragon riders Night Shades without realizing how close to the true name they are. My family is far from the only one that has been hurt. We won't be the only ones fighting for vengeance.
The fire is extinguished now and the orcs slumber beneath heavy blankets, except for Giret and Urzul, who have first watch for tonight. I'm afraid to sleep, but I need to. My sore body needs rest if we're going to be able to keep up our pace.
"I'd tell you to stop scribbling so I can sleep, but if I sleep I'll have nightmares," Daelis says. He's buried somewhere within the pile of blankets to my left. The winter desert night is cold, colder than anything we experienced in the cave, but we can't risk leaving the fire lit for warmth. Patrolling dragon riders would see the flame.
"You need to. You're going to feel this ride a lot more than I am."
"And you're going to hurt yourself if you keep fighting your need to sleep. You didn't sleep at all last night and you nearly fell off your horse earlier. You can't keep going on willpower alone."
I comb my fingers through my hair and watch a bat flit between the bluffs. "I know. It's hard to consider my own needs right now, but I must. I'm not alone in my body and I need to care for myself so my body can care for this baby." A high pitched whistle sounds and the single bat is joined by a small cloud of others. "I'm afraid of losing another child I've never even met."
Daelis's hand fights its way through the blankets to rest on my thigh. "You're not going to lose this one. Rin, I lost a child of my own yesterday and I don't wish it upon anyone, especially not you. Not again, never again. Stop writing. Burrow under the blankets so we can keep each other warm and have someone to battle the nightmares with."
Day 151
Frald woke us before dawn. "Rin. Elf boy. Get up. We need to move."
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before sitting up. "What is it?"
"Dragon. Up there." Frald pointed to the western edge of a distant rock arch. "Been sitting there a while. There were two, but one flew off. Could be wild dragons. More likely to be Night Shades. Come. We need to go before it notices us. Unless it's already noticed us, and in that case we need to leave before the other scout comes back with her friends."
We kept in the shadow of the rising bluffs to our right as we rode across the desert plains. The dragon followed. It was too distant to see distinctly, but occasionally sunlight broke through the clouds and revealed its color. Blue, sky blue. I doubt we would have been able to see the beast at all if not for the overcast sky.
We reached the edge of the desert plain as the sun began to set. An expanse of arid forest filled the western horizon. Vulture Wilds. Inhospitable terrain, and we'd be burned alive if we tried to cross it during the summer. Winter is more manageable, and we'll leave the badlands behind for the Wilds in the morning.
We're camping at the border between the desert and the forest, and I'm uneasy. There is a cave opening in a cliff not twenty yards away. Frald inspected it and insisted that it's nothing but a shallow pocket with no descending tunnels. I trust her, but I don't trust the Jarrah not to create an illusion. I'm certain I've seen glowing eyes within that dark alcove. I'm staying as far away as I can, and I'm keeping the entire party of orcs between the cave and myself.
Daelis fell asleep as soon as he choked down his dinner. He's never traveled such a long distance by horseback, let alone ridden while injured, and he's in agony. He won't admit to it, but we all know. Frald sits by him now, a healing hand on his shoulder and a pungent incense bundle burning next to her knee.
I search the southern horizon for the outline of the dragon, but the moon hasn't yet risen so it's too dark to see. I assume it's still out there, waiting for the flare of a campfire we've chosen not to light. Perhaps it has gone to sleep on top of one of the buttes. Do dragons sleep on a similar schedule as us? I'll have to ask Daelis if he knows. Our own nocturnal schedule was abruptly altered when our children were kidnapped. It's not safe to run the horses in the darkness so we travel only by daylight, with shaded heads and shielded eyes.
Gorza offers me a length of jerky. I believe it came from one of the large desert beasts I saw lounging on sun-warmed rocks near Sungate. I thank him and say, "I can be on first watch tonight."
"No," Gorza replies. His mouth twitches as he passes me a water skein. "You are a great warrior, Rin Sylleth, but you are not required for watch tonight. We will take all watches for the duration of this mission."
"Do you not see me as fit?"
Gorza rubs his nose and nods his head toward Daelis. "You and your mate are as resilient as orcs, but you are not orcs. Your bodies have been weakened by your trial and they require more rest than usual. There is no shame in that, so I hope you don't consider it an insult."
"I don't," I say. "Your judgment is sound. It's difficult to admit I can't do everything I normally can, including stay awake until midnight."
"You're not going to manage staying awake past nine," Gorza says. He smiles as he traces spirals in the dirt with his thick fingertips. "Go to sleep, Rin, but keep your sword at your side. We'll wake you if your skills become needed."
Day 152
The dragons came for us at midday. One obsidian and one crimson, both with riders, and both beating their ragged wings within a handspan of the blooming acacia trees. The tree trunks snapped as the dragons landed, and wilted yellow petals fell like snow upon the monsoon-dampened earth.
The Jarrah riders descended, wielding slender rapiers and murderous auras while the dragons sat on their haunches, snapping their jaws and huffing. We dismounted our frightened horses and drew our weapons. There were eight of us, seven of whom were able to fight, and only two Jarrah.
We underestimated them. They parried our blows, cloaked themselves in smoke and shadow, and spat ice from their fingertips.
One shouted, "Use fire, not ice!"
To which the other replied, "No, you idiot. We'll set the forest on fire. Ice only."
So the ice continued. It was more of a nuisance than a threat, but occasionally it would strike one of our limbs and we'd have to stop fighting long enough to hack it away. They slowly wore us down while retaining their own effortless, agile footwork. I'd never encountered melee-skilled elves such as these two before, but they had the advantage of magic augmenting their fight. I only rarely managed to get close enough to draw blood.
Nar took a rapier thrust to her thigh. Gorza took one to the meat of his abdomen, but it appeared to be an inconvenience rather than a dangerous wound.
A powerful roar rattled the acacia boles. A third dragon landed between the first two. This one was sky blue. Its rider was cloaked and masked, but not in the manner of the Jarrah. She wore azure and silver, and her white mask was decorated in silver filigree.
The Jarrah lowered their weapons and staggered backward. "Sister Chaos. We were... we were not expecting you."
The blue rider held a polearm over her head. She spun it until its moon-like blade pointed at the Jarrah. "Sister Lacuna. Sister Dolor. Go home."
"We were told to–"
"I do not care what you were told. If you do not leave them alone, I will strip you of your garb and toss you into the catacombs for our loyal friends to eat." Sister Chaos held her polearm in an attack position as she stepped toward the Jarrah. "Be gone with you whelps."
The Jarrah clambered onto their dragons and vanished into the cloud-streaked sky.
We raised our weapons and circled Sister Chaos. She planted the spiked butt of her polearm deep into the dirt and held up her hands. "Oh, enough. I'm not here to hurt you. Qu
ite the opposite."
"Hello again, Celeste. Do you remember me?" Daelis was in front of the blue dragon, his arm outstretched. "You're bigger than you were the last time I saw you, and even more beautiful."
"Dae, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Greeting an old friend," he said. The dragon sniffed his hand, then nuzzled his fingers. "Good girl, Celeste. You wouldn't hurt me, would you?"
"Dragons have long memories for those who treat them kindly, as well as those who harm them," Sister Chaos said. She removed her hood and mask to reveal herself as an elderly elf with opalescent white hair and bright green eyes.
The corner of Daelis's mouth twitched. "Hello, Grandmother. I'm not certain what to make of your appearance here. And with a name that implies you're a member of the group that has spent months trying to kill us."
"Every group needs an outlier, and I am she. The dissenter, the untrustworthy Sister Chaos. Still, the voles are taught to respect their elders, so they are unwilling to revolt against me. Even my daughter."
I had no affection for this woman and no reason to lower my guard. "Ranalae is a monster."
"Oh yes, I know," Sister Chaos said. Mara Nightshadow. That was her real name. "She always has been. Even when she was young she enjoyed watching living things die. Then she manipulated her way into becoming the Fathomless Mother when the old Mother died, and her Jarrah became as brutal as they were in the old days. No longer were their victims true criminals, but instead whomever Ranalae perceived wronged her."
"I only wronged her by existing," Daelis said.
"Daelis, my dear, you are the single bright star to shine out of the darkness of her life. Everything she has done is her own fault, not yours." Mara smiled at him and leaned hard on her polearm. "I've been watching you since you left Sungate. I'm not about to let Ranalae's followers bring you any more harm than you've already experienced. Allow me to escort you to your destination."
"Jadeshire. We're going to Jadeshire," I said.
"You're running to Ranalae instead of away from her? Why?" Mara asked.
Daelis rubbed the dragon's nose. She huffed and summoned a purring noise from deep within her throat. "Mother took our children. I think she means to turn our son into one of her beasts. I'm not sure what she intends for our daughter. Yana is an Uldru. She adopted us after Rin found her in the caves."
"Oh, I see," Mara said with a nod. "If you will allow us, Celeste and I will escort you to Jadeshire. We'll keep our distance so you will only see us again if we are needed."
Frald gestured toward me. "I don't trust her, but it's up to you."
"Why should we trust you?" I asked Mara.
"Because I do," Daelis said. He stepped away from the dragon and embraced his grandmother. "I told you she is the only person in my family who is fond of me."
Mara kissed his cheek. "I'm so sorry you were banished to the underground. If I'd known, I would have freed you. Somehow. My magic has never been strong. Only the most skilled among us can teleport. I only found out what Ranalae did after you made it to Sungate, and only because I eavesdropped on a conversation I was not intended to hear."
I rubbed my nose and sighed. "All right, you may escort us. From a distance."
Daelis mouthed thank you to me. "It's nice to see you again, Grandmother, even under such horrid circumstances. This is my wife, Rin. We need to get our children back."
"And I shall help you," Mara said. She left Daelis's embrace and nodded toward me. "Rin, I love my grandson. I will not do anything to harm him, or his friends, or the family he so clearly loves. Now, if you don't mind, it's time to fly. Daelis, whistle for Celeste if you need us."
Mara climbed onto her dragon and rose well above the trees before flying to the west.
"Forgive me for not trusting her," I said as I helped Daelis back onto his horse.
"I understand," he replied. "I don't fully trust her either, but I believe her intentions are true. I won't tell her about Shan's dragon eggs, not until we know for certain that she's not working as an agent for my mother."
"Don't tell her at all. Not unless our children are safe and your mother is no longer a threat. Please. I need to be sure her motive is helping you and not getting her hands on those eggs."
"Agreed. We still have a long way to go. Let's ride."
Day 153
It's still dark and the night creatures are singing, but I can't go back to sleep. I had nightmares, one after another, punctuated by a frequent need to get up and relieve myself.
This place smells of rosemary. I wonder if that's helping trigger these nightmares. Tessen grows rosemary under his bedroom window, so the scent makes me think of him. I’m going to see him again soon, and hopefully that is when all of this will be over.
I'm trying to remember the nightmares so I can write them down and let the dry wind carry them away, but only pieces come back to me. A bowl of coagulated blood sits on the kitchen table. The sun rises from it every morning and sets into a bowl of cold oatmeal at night. A crow pecks out the eyes of my parents, who are still alive but under Ranalae's thrall. A snake with a thousand eyes devours the Foxfire clan one by one while dragons swarm like bats over Sungate. And then, there are my children. Tessen is underground alone, having been declared unfit by Ranalae. He grows old on a never ending diet of mushrooms and pale crustaceans. He's gone mad from the solitude and screams for Shan. Over and over, for years he screams, but Shan only watches him through his seeing stone and does nothing for his beloved brother. Instead, he has helped Ranalae take the crown from the High King. The world turns to shadow and ash at Shan's command. He boils Ranalae alive and takes the crown for himself, Yana at his side.
I hate nightmares. I can deal with the fright, but they become unnerving when they leave lingering doubts about the people I love. Shan, especially. He was six years old when he threw a shadow bolt at Tessen during a game of tag. Luckily for Tessen, it wasn't a powerful one. It knocked him out briefly and left him wondering how he got from the breakfast table into bed. Shan was terrified of his own ability until I introduced him to a mercenary warlock I occasionally worked with. Rose Stargazer, full-blooded Faeline. She taught him that his power was nothing to fear, but he needed to learn how to dampen it until he was old enough to understand it. Her lessons were effective and his shadows have only rarely broken through in the years since. He's old enough now to learn how to use his power instead of restraining it. I've encouraged him to accept the Warlock Masters' offers to instruct him, but he's afraid. How can such a bright soul contain such darkness? Shadow skills aren't inherently evil or malicious. A shadow is only an indication that there is a light nearby. That's my son—light and shadow as complements to each other instead of adversaries. I hope he learns that soon instead of whatever true darkness his grandmother must be feeding him.
Shivers, shivers, everywhere. I can't help being afraid that the Shan I find in Jadeshire won't be the Shan who was taken from me in Sungate. I know my son. I don't think he's capable of being corrupted. Especially by the monsters who caused us so much strife.
Daelis rolls toward me. He opens his eyes and mumbles, "I dreamed you were an octopus. A clockwork octopus. You gave birth to three crabs with monkey heads."
"I dreamed your grandmother's dragon ate you," I say.
"That's more realistic." Daelis closes his eyes and his breathing returns to the rhythm of sleep. I envy his ability to fall asleep easily no matter what the circumstances.
Frald nods at me from across the cooled firepit. "Rest while you can, Rin. There is still some night left. We have a hard day's ride through the hills in the morning, and then we should be in Jadeshire tomorrow. Afternoon or evening, unless something slows us down." She stares at Daelis for a moment. "I won't be surprised if he comes to a canyon he can't cross. I don't often see someone fight through pain like he has. He possesses a stubborn sort of honor, doesn't he?"
"That's one of the things I love about him," I say. I look toward the eastern horizon. It's untouched
by gray. Sunrise is still hours away. I yawn and rearrange the rolled-up blanket I've been using as a pillow. "I suppose I can sleep more. I'm not going to give birth to monkey-headed crab triplets, am I?"
Frald squints at me and laughs. "No. Just one little half-blood human-elf."
"Boy or girl?"
"You'll find out when she's born."
"Girl, then. Good. I was hoping I'd have another daughter to balance out my sons."
Frald prods the ashes of the fire pit with the end of her walking stick. "You'll have several. Go to sleep, Rin."
Day 153, part 2
We are well into the Jade Realm now. Hills rise all around as tumultuous emerald waves beneath a fair sky. These hills are only green in the winter. The rest of the year, they are an expanse of dry and brittle gold, and every stray lightning strike ignites the grass into an inferno that is encouraged to spread by the continuously raging winds. Few people inhabit this part of the Jade Realm except for stray, nomadic keepers of grazing flocks and herds.
Sudden downpours are common in the winter, so we're camped near the top of a hill to avoid any possible flash flooding. A lonely pair of intertwined oak trees and a jagged sandstone outcropping shelter our position. Mara and Celeste are two hilltops away. Close enough to come to our aid if we need it, but not far enough for me to be comfortable.
As if comfort were possible. It's not just missing my children anymore. Physical discomfort is dismantling me bit by bit. My lower back is a mass of writhing knots. My head aches and the ground feels unstable beneath my feet. I'm trying to stay hydrated and fed, but it's difficult when my stomach protests every morsel I give it. I need to keep focusing on the horizon. Each hill we cross brings us closer to home. Sometime tomorrow, the bustling expanse of Jadeshire will unfold before us.
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