by D. E. Morris
Misuzu shook her head. “He didn't seem particularly interested in you. Besides, right before I left he was telling Gia that he was not staying but was heading back to Altaine.”
“Why?”
“To pretend to be concerned. He already has some sort of vendetta against Ashlynn. I can only imagine what will happen if he thinks something has happened to me.”
Cailin gave a crooked smile. “Ashlynn has always been rather masterful at making up believable stories. I'm sure she'll be fine.”
“That's not all.” Misuzu almost looked pained. “Gia mentioned someone she called the 'Shadow King' and my father used his real name...Merrik.”
Cailin's eyes widened. “In what context?”
“She asked if there had been any further orders from him.”
Unable to sit still after hearing this, Cailin got to her feet and paced the wide stall, her hand over her mouth, eyes darting around as her thoughts sped through possible explanations. “That doesn't make any sense.”
“I know.” Misuzu looked small in the giant space, huddled in a corner. “What now, Cailin?”
The older girl shook her head, hands splaying at her sides. “I really don't know. We could try to make a break for it if I could get Connor and Jaryn out somehow, but I don't see that ending well. Our other option is staying here a little longer, gaining trust, and seeing what more we can find out.”
Misuzu wrung her hands, giving her head a vigorous shake. “I can't. I can't keep shifting back and forth. Have you ever gotten to that point when you were in your draconic form that you started thinking more like an animal than a human? The only reason I followed those people down here was because of that cow they bled. I smelled the blood and it was like my animal instincts took over.” She pulled her knees into her chest. “There has to be another way.”
“I've been thinking about that, actually.” Cailin walked back to Misuzu and crouched before her. “You're a shape shifter, right? You take on the appearance of other things, but it doesn't change your mental status. Before you became an Elemental, did you ever take on the shape of a dragon?”
Thinking, Misuzu nodded slowly. “Often. I liked to go flying with my mother.”
“Why couldn't you take on the appearance of your dragon form without truly shifting into the Elemental?”
Misuzu's eyes lowered, a line of consideration drawn between her brows. “I don't know. I've never tried it.”
With a glance toward the entrance to the barracks, Cailin raised her brows. “Now is as good a time as any.”
An uncertain sigh passed Misuzu's lips, but she nodded and rose. Cailin backed out of the stall and looked once more toward the entrance, certain she heard someone coming. “Here goes nothing.” The transition was as smooth as it ever was with Misuzu. It was just like watching the transformation from before, when she went from dragon to human, only in reverse. Clothing turned to scales, hair to a wispy mane, legs and arms shortening and a long, slithering tail to complete the change.
Cailin watched her for a moment, hopeful but reserved as the dragon moved around in the stall so she wasn't so close to the wall. “Well?”
It worked.
“How do you know?”
When I shift into an Elemental, there is pain and a rush of magic that runs through me. I didn't feel it this time.
The sound of feet approaching through the cavernous hallway momentarily stole Cailin's attention, though she was quick to return to Misuzu with a confident nod. Good. I'll see what I can do to get you out and at least flying. For now, act like a normal dragon.
“Cailin.”
Gianara stepped into view at the other end of the barracks. If only to assure her things were well, Cailin offered a smile and a wave. Before the woman could get too close, however, Cailin told Misuzu, I can't explain why now, but I think we can trust Gia. Misuzu only blinked in reply. When Gianara joined them, she looked at Misuzu, distracted.
“Is your dragon feeling better?”
“Yes, thank you.” Cailin tilted her head, picking up on the touch of irritation in the other woman's voice. “Is everything all right?”
Instead of answering, Gianara took a few slow steps into the stall and held out her hand to Misuzu. “Will she let me touch her?”
Confused, Cailin looked from the dragon to the woman. “I think so. She's pretty docile right now.”
Taking that as permission to get closer, Gianara approached Misuzu with calm, deliberate steps. Misuzu acted the way she thought any animal would when faced with an unknown entity and sat up a little taller, one brown eye fixed on the woman so small before her.
“I will not hurt you,” promised Gianara, her voice soft and lilting. “You can trust me. No one will hurt you here. You will never be safer than you are here, with me.”
Cailin glanced up at Misuzu and gave her a nod. Feigning uncertainty, Misuzu brought her head down at a snail's pace, keeping her attention fixed on Gianara. She paused, teasing, just out of reach, and stared at the woman. When Gianara didn't try to advance any closer or simply give up, Misuzu gave her a slow, deliberate blink, and lowered her head the rest of the way. Gianara took one step closer and laid her hand on Misuzu's muzzle so gently, it was as though she thought the dragon was made of glass.
“She is cool,” the older woman said with wonder. “Most dragons are warm to the touch.”
Cailin crossed her arms and approached as well, a small smile on her face. She gave in and stroked the scales on Misuzu's cheek. “I suppose I never noticed before.”
“Outside I watched her scales shift in color, almost as though they were trying to mirror the sky around her. I wonder if they do that with the air temperature as well. There is much we do not know about the air dragons,” Gianara murmured. She placed a hand on Misuzu's broad forehead, stroking down between her eyes before closing her own and leaning her forehead against Misuzu's muzzle.
Cailin watched, bewildered by the interaction and the mystery that surrounded not only Gianara but the entire island. The woman before her had been hard, commanding and condoning violence to get whatever information she wanted. Now, with a slight smile on her full lips, she almost looked soft.
“Thank you,” Gianara breathed at length. She straightened and scratched under Misuzu's chin as though she were a domesticated animal. “I will make sure you are able to fly very soon.” She glanced at Cailin. “What is her name?”
“Misuzu.”
Gianara nodded. “Misuzu. Shihouzen for beautiful bell.”
“You know Shihouzen?”
Pausing, Gianara gave Cailin an assessing look. “Some. Say goodnight to your dragon. It is time to return to your cell.”
Any progress she was hoping to have made was discarded with that command. Cailin gave Misuzu's cheek a final caress as Gianara turned to leave the stall. “I'll see you soon,” Cailin promised.
I'm scared about what all of this means. Be careful, Cailin.
We'll get out of this soon, Cailin promised silently. Aloud, she said, “Rest well, Misuzu.” The two met eyes for a moment, neither of them comfortable with leaving the other but understanding it was necessary for the time being. With one final telepathic goodbye, Cailin followed Gianara out of the barracks and back to her cell.
Chapter Nineteen
It was late in the afternoon the next day by the time Gianara returned to see her prisoners again. This time she came alone and didn't look as menacing as she had in their previous encounters. The weather was slightly warmer than the day before, the sun brighter as it tried to usher winter on its way out for good. Gianara held her ring of keys securely, the fur on her arms only reaching to her elbows now, exposing more of her light brown skin and the tattoos that covered it. She unlocked Jaryn's cell first and swung the door open, then did the same for the cell Connor and Cailin shared. None of them moved at first, instead they watched the tall woman with question as they huddled around the small fires allowed them. Their inaction made her jerk her chin upward, no doubt used to hav
ing people jump at even her simplest, silent commands. “Come.”
They stood slowly, Jaryn casting a glance in at the other two when he could see into their cell. “Where are we going?” he braved, being the first to step into freedom. As the others joined him, he kept them behind him to protect them should the need arise.
“Did you really think I would keep you in these cells forever?”
There was no need to wait for an answer; she turned on her heel and walked down the way she'd come in. Jaryn followed after, quietly telling the other two to stay behind him. Cailin slowed in her steps until Connor was between her and Jaryn, on the look out for anyone who might try to surprise them from behind. Gianara had no words to offer or further commands to give as they made their way higher up the mountain to where more housing seemed to be. When they stopped at another landing where a few more empty cells were, she turned to the balcony and pointed into the sky. “See there?”
All of them turned to look, but Connor was the first to find what they were supposed to see. “Misuzu!” The long air dragon soared through the air as though she hadn't a care in the world. Several other dragons were flying with her, making the flock look like hatchlings playing among the clouds. “You let her out again?”
“Cailin explained how delicate the temperament of an air dragon can be. She will find all the solitude she needs, as well as the freedom to fly around the islands.” Continuing on, she spoke over her shoulder. “We have no empty cave big enough for her, so she will have to stay below for the time being. Breeding season is swiftly approaching, however. We will need to make better accommodations for her soon.” When they approached a house quite high up the mountain, Gianara pushed the door open and stepped aside, nodding into the quiet space. “This is where you will be living.”
Once more, Jaryn took the lead and went into the small house first. There was a sitting room as big as their two cells combined, a tiny kitchen with a rectangle table and chairs just big enough for the three of them, as well as two cramped bedrooms. Like everything else on the island, the furnishings were simple and worn with time, but the beds and the chairs looked comfortable enough. They each even had a set of clothes laid out for them on their beds. Returning to the front of the house, Jaryn told the others to come in, then faced Gianara as they explored.
“Why the kindness all of the sudden?”
“You have no other place to go, do you?” There was no teasing, no mockery in her tone, only simple matter-of-fact. “Your dragon, though alone when resting, is kept in the barracks by the guards at the entrance to the caves. She cannot escape that way and were she to try to leave when she was in flight, my dragons would be forced to either kill her or attack her into submission. Dragons are smarter than most give them credit for. They know when they are outnumbered and when they have made attachments with another of their kind or, say, a human, they will not leave them. Misuzu would not leave you any sooner than you would leave her.”
Jaryn's eyes narrowed, his arms crossing. “What do you want from us?”
“I want you to settle into your new home and to report to morning meeting by the watchtower at sunup.” She glanced at Connor and Cailin as they came back into the room. “You are free to wander as you please.” She gripped the wooden knob on the door. “After all, this is your new home. There is a water pump several houses up if you would like to wash, and a late meal will be served in the great hall at the very bottom of the mountain in a few hours, or you may come to the kitchens for your own food to prepare here.”
“What about our map?”
Gianara looked at Jaryn without expression. “It will remain with me. You will not be leaving, so it is no longer of any use to you. Good evening.”
Once the door closed and the silence settled around them, they all looked at one another with question. It became apparent rather quickly, however, that the other two were looking to Jaryn for his guidance. He went to the kitchen and poked around, finding a large metal cauldron to place over the fire that had already been lit in the fireplace in the front room. Neither of them had to ask him what they were to do, the uncertainty was well spoken in their wide, questioning eyes. “All of us need to wash the dirt and muck of the past two days off and change into clean clothes. For now we do as Gia said and settle in.”
“That's it?” Connor questioned. “These people are obviously the ones who attacked your castle and have been making those weird noises in the night. She has our map and our friend basically held captive, not to mention the unspoken threat to us if we even think about trying to leave - and you want us to just settle in?”
“For now,” repeated Jaryn. Unable to hear any other questions for fear of his calm facade breaking, he grabbed two wooden buckets from one of the corners of the kitchen and left. No one was out on the thin rocky road, and for that at the very least, Jaryn was grateful. He looked one way and the other in search of the promised water pump, heading up the road when he spotted it. Though he appeared calm and accepting on the outside, he was fighting a panic attack on the inside. Tonight would make it four nights since he'd left home and left his wife, no word sent back to let her know he was all right.
He had been wrong to leave her in the first place. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for the Great Dragon's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Giver.” Jaryn muttered the verse to himself as he grasped the water pump and began to fill his buckets. “Bloody buggering fool you are, Jaryn, so eager to rush to vengeance.” As water splashed into the bucket, he pumped harder and harder, his fear and anger with himself coming out in his actions. As he drove the handle down, the motion twisted something in his side and made his ribs scream at him in a sharp, sudden pain. With a loud curse, Jaryn stumbled back and wrapped his arms around his chest. A fire built within him, making him turn and kick his empty bucket without thinking, a growl on his lips. It was only when the bucket went sailing over the edge of the mountain that he realized what he'd done.
All at once, he felt like nothing more than a fool. Cailin had blamed herself for the situation they were all in, but Jaryn took responsibility for all of them, no matter how she felt. Since she'd made her home at Altaine, he was her king and under his rule. Connor may have been a ruler in his own right, but he was still just a child, and Misuzu...Jaryn could pick her out easily among the others now. Her figure was bigger than that of those around her, her flight patterns far more graceful. She was stuck, a shadow of who she really was because he had acted on impulse after the attack and didn't take the time to evaluate the situation.
His heart ached thinking of Ashlynn. It was strange how marriage changed their relationship and how he felt about her. They were engaged when she left for Caedia on a mission that would take her over a year to fulfill. Those days had been hard and he'd missed her terribly, but it hadn't been anything like this. Only four days away from her and he felt like all he'd been given since he left her was water when he really needed food. His heart was starving. She was probably worried, or angry, or both. She could have still been so thick in her grief that she hadn't left their room. Then again, Ashlynn was not one to be held hostage by her emotions. She acted out on them, usually in anger and to the misfortune of those around her. He knew Cavalon would stay with her for as long as he couldn't be there himself, but that did little to ease his guilt for leaving in the first place.
“Giver,” he whispered, closing his eyes and turning his face to the sky, “protect my wife from further heartache. Keep her safe. Remind her how much I love her. Remind her of Your love.” His brow wrinkled. “Remind me. Ever since I started this journey with You, I have always felt You near. Now I feel...forgotten. You have seen fit to fill my beloved's life with loss and in that, I cannot understand Your motives. Every time she feels pain, I feel it with her. I pray for grace for her and for a renewal of faith in me. I know You are there. Never once have I doubted it, but these past few years have made it hard to believe the matters of men are important
to You.”
A chilly breeze blew, a simple calm caress of wind. Jaryn was slow to open his eyes. Something told him, however, that he was being watched. As he lowered his chin, he looked around and saw faces peeking out at him from behind curtains in the surrounding houses. No doubt his shouting had drawn attention. How odd he must look to them, standing there, talking to himself. He pasted on the most genuine smile he could muster and waved at them before picking up his remaining bucket and struggling through the pain in his ribs back to his appointed house.
As soon as he opened the door, Cailin rushed to take the bucket from him. “Where's the other?” she asked, dumping the contents into the waiting cauldron.
“I kicked it off the mountain.”
She chuckled and set the bucket down, then turned serious as she stood and realized Jaryn wasn't joking. “You what?”
“I had a bit of a temper tantrum.” He eased himself down onto one of the stuffed chairs in the sitting room. It was lumpy under him and smelled like a horse, but it was the most comfortable he'd been in the past two days. “Just give me a minute to rest and I'll go get more.”
“Uh, no you won't. Connor!” The boy came out from one of the bedrooms and looked at Cailin with curiosity. She nodded toward the empty bucket she'd placed by the door. “I need you to go get some more water.”
He laughed at her as though she'd told a mildly amusing joke, then paused when he realized neither of the other two were laughing. “You're serious?”
“It's not that hard.” From Jaryn, she asked, “Just a basic water pump?” He nodded and she shrugged. “Just a push and pull handle. You'll figure it out.”
Connor wrinkled his nose. “I know what a water pump is, Cailin, but I don't get water. People get water for me.”
She smiled sweetly at him. “Well if you want to scrub the stink off of you, you're going to have to get your own water.”
“Who's that one for that's heating up right now?”
“This one's for me. You'll heat up yours while I wash up, then I'll get a few more buckets to heat for Jaryn while you have your turn.”