“Grab it!” Silver screamed.
Nebekker flung herself toward the sled, catching and gripping the frayed ends of the ropes with all the fire she had in her.
“Wait for me!” Silver yelled. She dove to the ground, snatching one of Nebekker’s trailing feet. “Guh.”
Silver’s one useful shoulder was nearly yanked from its socket—again—as her body dragged over the glacier, nubbly ice scraping against the layers of her clothing, tearing and tossing aside bits of fur and wool. The thickness kept the ice from ripping her skin, but she knew that would last only as long as her furs held up against the onslaught.
Silver and Nebekker grunted with the effort of holding on.
“You’re heavy.”
“And getting dizzy.” Silver swept left to right, rolling from shoulder to shoulder as she redoubled her efforts to hold on. “But don’t let go!”
The faster they sped down the glacier, the more space they put between themselves and the mercenaries. And the Snuckers. She knew they were going the wrong way for the Keep, but they would deal with that when they could. For now, Silver’s eyes widened as she banked left and caught sight of a snowdrift in their path. “Watch out! Dig your talons in!”
Kirja and Hiyyan did the best they could to slow the sled down, clawing until the tips of their talons snapped off, but there was no stopping them.
They slammed into the lump, went airborne, flipped once, and landed in a heap on the edge of the glacier, the newly fallen snow breaking their fall. Still, the four didn’t move for some time, letting the flakes gather in a thin blanket over them, catching their breath and assessing their limbs for breaks. Other than the Aquinder’s ragged talons, and the old wounds that plagued them, they were in better shape than Silver could have hoped for.
Gingerly, she got to her feet and walked several paces away, looking around.
“I don’t think we went too far down the mountain,” Nebekker said at her shoulder.
“It’s hard to tell. It feels like we’re on a different side of the mountain,” Silver said as she nibbled the inside of her lip.
“Let’s go all the way down, then,” Nebekker said. “The queen knows we’re here—”
“Or whoever it is hunting us,” Silver corrected.
“Correct. We can’t go to the Keep now. Stop fighting me on this, girl.”
Silver shook her head. This argument of Nebekker’s was getting old. “We got away from the trackers, and without even needing to cause an avalanche—which could have killed us! Now, I need to ask the Watchers for help. You know that.”
“Don’t tell me what I know. I know Kirja would have gotten us out of the avalanche.”
“She didn’t have to. Now, she can focus on helping her son, who she won’t leave,” Silver said.
“And I won’t leave her,” Nebekker mumbled.
Silver nodded triumphantly. “Back up the mountain we go.”
Nebekker didn’t just look defeated, she looked angry. To soften the mood, Silver turned the conversation to the one Nebekker cared about over all others.
“How are Kirja’s claws?”
“We’ll see now.”
The two humans returned to their dragons. Silver wanted to go right to Hiyyan and run her hands through his thick, soft fur, but first she inspected Kirja’s talons with Nebekker. All ten claws on her front paws were broken, though some had only the very tips chipped off. Others were worse, and one was even split up the center, all the way to the quick. It oozed slightly, the cold freezing the blood before it could flow too much.
Silver frowned. “I’m sorry, Kirja.”
Kirja folded her paws under her body. We got away. That matters the most. Let’s focus again on healing Hiyyan.
Silver blinked at Kirja. Her words, like Hiyyan’s, had suddenly gotten much more complex. Or maybe it was Silver’s understanding of the water dragon language that had grown.
Silver moved to Hiyyan, checking the wound on his wing. She, too, felt the poison seeping into her central organs. If the Watchers didn’t have any healing ideas—or some insight on how Silver could get her hands on her own heartstone—the Keep was the last place the two of them would ever step foot.
We’ll get better, Hiyyan said.
“I appreciate your optimism,” Silver said.
Snuf-fle.
Silver sighed. Looked to the trees in the distance. Were those the same Snuckers that had helped them up-glacier or a new troop of hungry mountain critters?
You promised.
They were the same.
I know I promised. But Kirja’s claws are broken. She can’t hunt now.
The Snuckers snuffled, their voices rising angrily.
You said … you said!
Aren’t you full after eating … them, anyway? Silver’s stomach roiled with the thought of the Snuckers making a meal of the mercenaries. Just because they were her enemies didn’t mean she wanted … Silver squeezed her eyes and shook her head.
Eat them? The Snuckers’ tone was incredulous. Disgusting. Our kind don’t eat your kind. Not if we can help it. Do you even know how you taste?
Do you? Silver shot back.
For hundreds of years, dragons have passed down the decree banning our kind from eating yours. You are simply too gross. Do you even know what your kind eat?
Silver’s stomach rumbled at the idea of Aunt Yidla’s rich and redolent feasts. But then she recalled something Sagittaria Wonder had suggested: Her Dwakka had eaten a human before. And then there was the Screw-Claw beneath the glacier down-mountain.
The Snuckers snuffled with indignation.
That is not representative of our kind! The Screw-Claw faces winter desperation! And that Dwakka water dragon is rebellious, it was coerced, it was—
Okay, okay, Silver soothed. The Snuckers, for all their ferocity, were genuinely upset at the implication. But what about the first time she’d encountered the Snuckers? Silver’s glance went to Hiyyan, and her heart felt like gold pinched between pliers. Humans may not have been on the menu, but other water dragons?
A hiss sounded across the glacier, and when Silver looked back in the direction of the Snuckers, she saw a flash of light against teeth.
They’re not our preference, but when winter falls, we eat what we can.
Silver shuddered. The snow eased, and the wind picked up, pushing the clouds across the face of the mountain. If the mercenaries were still out there, Silver and her friends weren’t safe.
What did you do with the other humans?
We sent them down the chute.
The … what?
The burrows. Now where’s our feast?
Wait. Burrows as in an underground travel system? There were desert foxes in all climates, weren’t there?
Of course. There’s a particularly steep one that slides all the way to the valley at the base of the mountain. It’s the one we use to exile bad Snuckers.
Or bad humans.
Yes. Ones who break their promises.
Silver swallowed nervously and reached a hand out to Kirja’s talons again.
“We’ve rested long enough,” Nebekker said. “The snow’s stopped. Time to move.”
Silver remembered that Nebekker couldn’t hear the conversation she was having with the Snuckers. “One more minute. I’m putting a plan together.”
“Oh, now you have a plan?” Nebekker mumbled.
To the Snuckers, she asked, Does the chute also go to the top of the mountain?
Yes.
Can the Aquinder fit through?
No.
Silver frowned. The chute sounded like the ideal way to get to the Watchers’ Keep: out of sight, out of the elements, likely faster, too. But no way was she going to abandon Hiyyan and Kirja to go underground.
I will carry him up, Kirja said, pulling her shoulders back and lifting her chin regally.
“Out of the path of an avalanche is one thing. But all the way up the mountain? It’s impossible.”
Kirja growle
d.
“Besides, what about Nebekker? I could climb the chute, but not her. Plus, going up the chute means leaving Mele and Luap behind for certain.”
“What chute?” Nebekker said. “What are you talking about?”
“The Snuckers have a burrow system under the mountain. One line runs to the top. We’d fit, but Hiyyan and Kirja won’t.”
Nebekker rubbed her gloved hands over her cheeks. “What is it with you and small, underground-dwelling creatures?”
Small and big underground-dwelling creatures, Hiyyan joked.
“We all have our specialties.” Silver rubbed the back of her neck. “The trouble is, I promised a nice meal for the Snuckers. A deer.”
“Go find one, then.” Nebekker slumped to the ground, exhausted.
“I told them Kirja would find food, but now…”
Silver looked at Kirja’s claws. The Aquinder, though, pulled herself up even taller, unabashed. She curled and uncurled her talons, the muscles in her face contracting, her eyelids drooping majestically. Without a word, Kirja took to the skies.
“You shouldn’t have underestimated her,” Nebekker said. “And you shouldn’t make decisions for her, either.”
“I was doing my best to get us away from the trackers,” Silver said.
“She’d have done that better than any of us could.” Nebekker examined Silver’s battered furs, then sighed. “Still, here we are. You did well, Silver. Now, we’ll go underground. We must. You have a habit of underestimating this elderly lady, too. I’ll keep up.”
Nebekker gingerly got to her feet again and turned her back to Silver, as miffed as Kirja had been.
A roar of excited snuffles filled the air. In the distance, a blue blur crested the tree line and returned to them. Kirja landed on the glacier with a triumphant stare at Silver.
Silver felt as small as a Snucker.
“Imagine being made to feel unequal, unworthy,” Nebekker said quietly as Kirja turned away to lick her sore paws. Nebekker’s weathered face tipped up to meet the weak sunlight, and her hands folded over the top of the walking stick that she’d somehow managed to keep hold of this whole time. “Imagine being made to feel you’re living in someone else’s world, that you’re a secondary character in all their adventures.”
“What do you mean?” Silver said.
“Your whole life you’ve wanted a water dragon. Start with that, Silver Batal. You can want a tasty meal or a pretty new dress. But can you want a water dragon?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Can you want another person? And if you do, what does that mean?”
Silver was saved from digging deeper into Nebekker’s questions by the arrival of two Snucker emissaries. Their eyes were more pink than red, as though softened by having the edge taken off their hunger.
Delicious deer.
“Deer?” Silver said.
Oh yes, the Aquinder brought three! they snuffled. Enough to repay sending the other humans down the chute, and to pay for getting your party up the chute.
Silver’s gratitude warmed her better than her layers of tattered furs.
And now we take you up the chute. Come, come.
Silver quickly gathered their few remaining possessions and went to Kirja.
“Thank you for repaying our debt,” Silver said. “For keeping the promise I made. And for making it possible for us to go up the chute, too. You can … help Hiyyan get to the Keep?”
Silver knew the question was another insult—of course Kirja would get Hiyyan to the Keep—but Silver had to know. Had to hear it firsthand.
A mother carries their child as needed.
Kirja held back as Hiyyan twisted himself around Silver’s legs. He was unhappy that they would be separated, but they both knew it was necessary and hoped it wouldn’t be for long.
“I’ll be right below you the whole way,” Silver assured him. She marveled at how young Hiyyan was, compared with Kirja. He was barely out of his baby stage. It felt as if they’d done so much together in his short life: crossed deserts, swam in oceans, climbed mountains. But he still counted on Silver to make the best decisions for both of them.
Or did he?
Kirja didn’t need Silver to make decisions for her. In fact, Kirja seemed to be growing frustrated. And perhaps rightfully so. When was the last time Silver treated Kirja like more than … Nebekker’s companion? Had she been treating Kirja like a pet? A thing to possess?
For so long, Silver believed dragons existed in her world; did water dragons view her the same way, as something they possessed, as something that existed in their world?
Silver hugged Hiyyan tightly, then reluctantly untangled herself, her chest squeezed with worry.
“I’ll see you at the top. Promise.”
You’re slow. Only two legs. I’ll get there first and eat all the hot food. Hiyyan’s double row of teeth gleamed as he grinned at Silver. Kirja’s mirthful snort sent up a cloud of mist.
Silver combed her fingers through Hiyyan’s mane. She wanted more of his teasing, every day of the rest of her life.
Hiyyan’s grin faded from his face, though the smile in his eyes remained, and the hum of a soft song filled both of their minds.
Soon, they thought at the same time. Always, soon.
Reluctantly, Silver turned away from Hiyyan and Kirja and marched to the Snuckers waiting to escort her to the burrows. The pain she felt at walking away from Hiyyan was laced with the sweetness of hope: a thing that had carried them this far.
“Thank you again,” she said to the Snuckers. Because they, too, didn’t only exist to help Silver on her path; they had their own lives, their own reasons for doing the things they did.
Come, come, follow us here.
Even in their new friendliness, the Snuckers’ red eyes and razor teeth made Silver shudder. She followed them into the tree line and to the burrow entrance, tucked behind a boulder and encircled by several feet of snow. Silver peered into the darkness, smelling the earthy depths of organic matter and the musky scents of furry water dragon oils. She guessed the oils were essential to keep the Snuckers’ coats dry and warm, but still she wrinkled her nose, thinking about how she was going to smell riper than fermenting fruit in the crocks of Aunt Yidla’s kitchen by the time she reached the top of the chute.
Silver looked around. “Where did Nebekker go?” she asked the Snuckers.
Up ahead. Far, very far. She is carried fast and demands faster. We’ll try to catch up. A race.
Silver laughed. Somehow, Nebekker always seemed to rise to the occasion. Why not show off a bit of speed?
Go down there.
“It’s very dark.”
It’s nice to see in the dark. The Snucker who conversed with Silver grinned and snuff-chuckled. He knew of Silver’s vision limitations and thought it funny. She wasn’t impressed.
Silver twisted her mouth. “Do you know how ferocious you look?”
Thank you very much. The Snucker sat back on his haunches proudly, his tall ears flicking in the wind.
“That wasn’t really a compliment.” Silver sighed. How she missed spending her days on the desert sands, the sky big and endless above her. She’d spent more time underground in the past few weeks than she’d ever expected to in her whole life.
A loud BOOM followed by a splitting CRACK tore across the air.
The slide!
One boot was dipped into the burrow when two Snuckers rushed up behind Silver and shoved her in, just as Silver caught sight of the landscape rushing toward her.
“Hey—ooooogaaahhh!”
Silver slid down a narrow, frozen-earth slide, one arm pointed down and the other thrown over her head. She dug in the heels of her boots, to no avail. Her rear bounced painfully, and her fur collar snagged on roots, choking her before being yanked away again, sending broken roots and dirt down her back.
Then she hit the bottom.
“Oof.”
She couldn’t see them, but she heard dozens of Snucker
s laughing at her landing. Silver tried to stand and bumped the back of her head on the top of the chamber. It was only high enough for her to rise while doubled over at her waist. That dark, suffocating feeling of being trapped creeped in, and Silver closed her eyes—even though she couldn’t see anything, anyway—and took several deep breaths. It’s better than being buried alive by the avalanche, she told herself.
“Please. Just get me out of here.”
The tops of furry heads deposited themselves under her palms. More nudged the backs of her legs. Six Snuckers carried her on her back. If she kept her eyes closed, Silver could pretend she was in an open space, something as grand as the palace rooms of Calidia, with their views of the stars above.
Sleep for a while. Relaxed body is easier to carry. We’ll watch over you. Nothing will eat you. The Snuckers laughed. What could get to Silver in that belowground tunnel?
Silver felt a little uneasy, but soon exhaustion took over.
* * *
WHEN SHE WOKE, Silver’s mind was refreshed, but her body ached even more. As the Snuckers continued to carry her, she sent a question to her Aquinder.
Hiyyan, where are you?
We see the Keep. Hiyyan’s quick reply excited her. So close!
Hiyyan gave Silver a play-by-play of what he was seeing as he and Kirja approached the Keep. Fewer trees. More snow. I smell … figs and bread.
Images of figs and bread and Aunt Yidla’s kitchen and her own mother laughing around the table at Brajon’s house and … and … Silver rubbed her forearm under her nose as the Snuckers climbed onward.
Almost at the top! Almost there! The Snuckers were nearly as excited as Silver.
Nebekker! Hiyyan said.
They’d made it.
The air around her ears surged with frost. Silver dared open her eyes to discover a faint light over her head. She reached up with her good arm and emerged from the chute with a sucking breath like a swimmer elated to discover they hadn’t drowned.
Good-bye, humans.
“Thank you. Good-bye.”
Silver spared a glance to see that Nebekker looked no worse for the climb up the chute and then went to Hiyyan, hugging his neck tightly. His breath was mist in the cold, and Silver’s lungs burned with the thinness of the air. Her head swirled, spotted with fits of darkness.
Race for the Dragon Heartstone Page 8