by D. E. Morris
A rumble of a low growl built in Misuzu's throat. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried, but once we get to Ibays, they'll be out of luck. Come on. I'll keep clouds below us to block us from their sight for now, but we need to hurry to catch up to Cailin. It may not be the smartest idea to go to either Ibays or Siness right away. I don't know how deeply my father is involved in this, but the first place he will look will be Ibays since we have to pass over it, then he will direct his attention to Siness.
Mairead flew in a tight circle. I know the perfect place.
Then let's get there as fast as we can to regroup, and come up with a plan.
As the pair bolted ahead, clouds and heavy fog gathered below them, giving them the cover they would need to get away from the dragons that most assuredly swam below like hungry piranhas. They could only pray it would be enough to give them at least a little bit of an upper hand.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Off the far northwestern tip of Siness, where dangerous bluffs cut off any ships that might try to come from the north and attack, there was a small island that the older Celts used to cherish, but seldom visited anymore. This island had only a few trees and a beach with fine pale sand, but what held the awe of any who saw them were the two giant sculptures of horse heads standing like a high crown at the northernmost part of the small island, one face raised to the sky while the other looked down. It was here Mairead led them all, landing in the shadow they cast with the light of the moon beside it. They'd been scattered when they landed in Ibays a time, letting the three Gaels shift in order to keep their sanity. All too soon, however, they were off again, finding each other in the sky and making a direct flight for sanctuary.
Connor jumped to the ground and helped Jaryn down as well so that Cailin could shift. As Mairead did the same, Misuzu had to change her shape to that of a bird in the air before she could safely land and return to her human form. Connor touched the pocked stone of one of the statues and looked up, realizing that even if they all stood on each others shoulders, they'd never reach the top of the head. “Where are we?”
“This is Horse Head Island,” Mairead told him, looking up at the stone structure.
“How original,” muttered Jaryn, contorting his body to make sure he was still in one piece. Feeling all of the pain in his ribs, he nearly let out an audible cry of disappointment. The three women seemed all right, though they had been in their draconic forms in the fight and Cailin stayed well out of the way for most of it. Turning to Connor, he saw the way the boy's attention was no longer on the horse head looming over him, but on the scarring and puckering of the skin on Mairead's face. “Connor.” Just hearing his name broke whatever was going on in the boy's head, and he looked to Jaryn. “Come here, lad. Let me make sure you're not injured too badly anywhere.”
Misuzu made sure everyone stayed in the shadows, both she and Cailin keeping their eyes on the sky while Mairead set to tearing strips for bandages from the bottom of her dress. There had been no activity in the water since the group landed, and no dragons could be seen following them, but that did little to lessen the anxiety they all wrestled with.
“I nearly attacked you a few times,” Cailin confessed quietly to Misuzu. “Those pipes...I can't explain it. My body no longer belonged to me when I heard the music, and though I am certainly not one of their trained attack beasts, it was as if I knew what each melody meant and what was expected of me.”
Misuzu only glanced at Cailin before returning to her watch. “What stopped you?”
“Connor. I told him how I was feeling and made him promise to beat on the back of my head until I listened to reason, should it ever go that far.”
“And did it?”
Cailin shook her head, her lips set into a grim line. “No, thankfully. Had he not been with me, though...” She peered over her shoulder at him, watching the way he listened to Jaryn and let Mairead minister to the few wounds both males had sustained. He introduced himself to her as a boy would, not a young man who bore the burden of a high crown, and yet followed Jaryn's every movement in case he should need to spring into action as well.
“I think a disservice was done in assuming Connor would be our enemy,” Cailin revealed at length. “His people fear and hate Sinessians because of what demon Donnchadh led them to believe, just as those from Ironedge fear and hate them for the same reasons. How easy it is to believe the worst about someone rather than have faith in the good.”
They fell silent for a time, watching and waiting. Mairead joined them once the two men were taken care of, Jaryn and Connor soon behind. They all huddled together for warmth, watching the sky grow darker as the night wore on. They took turns sleeping in brief shifts, making sure at least one of them was awake at all times. When the promise of morning light was teasing the horizon, Jaryn crouched on the beach to scoop cold sea water into his good hand and splash it on his face. The others were rousing behind him, all of them sensitive to the slightest movement.
“I think we're in the clear. The water's hardly moved all night and there has been nothing in the sky. It's time to decide upon our next step.” He dried his hand on his pants as he stood, peering at Mairead. “How did you find us? How did you know where to even look?”
She gave a reluctant glance in Misuzu's direction. “Hideo paid Altaine another visit only a few days after you had gone. He was irate and harsh with Ashlynn, but he was calculating in what he said, as though he already knew what her answers would be at times. She knew he was watching them even after he had stormed out, using the form of a bird to be able to appear non-threatening as he sat upon the window sill to listen. We only knew it was him because of Lilia; she stayed near him in her shifted form. When the meeting was over Ashlynn had me follow him.”
“Did he go straight for the island?” asked Misuzu.
The blonde woman shook her head. “No, which is why it took several days for me to even know where you were. We went to Cieria where he stayed for almost a week. Since the only forms I can take are human or that of the dragon, I dared not get too close for fear of being found out.” She pressed her lips together. “I never saw who it was he visited or knew why he was even there. After that, he flew to another island like the one you were on before moving on to where you were.”
“There's another island?” Connor burst. “With mountains full of dragons like Ironedge?”
“Yes,” Mairead confirmed, “though it looked to be much smaller than that of the one you were on, and their eyes not as keen. I was able to blend in without suspicion when in my dragon form and hid myself well within the caves of their singular mountain when in my human form.” She looked at Misuzu. “Ashlynn believes your father is responsible for the attack on Siness, and it was for that reason she let him overhear all that was said after he pretended to leave, and bid me follow him. She wanted to know where he shared his new knowledge.”
Misuzu's eyes were narrowed in thought. “I don't know my father as well as I should...” She bit her lip. “Obviously I don't know him at all if he is involved in this. He's shared some parts of his life with me, but never once has he mentioned knowing anyone in Cieria.”
Resting his hands on his hips, Jaryn was thoughtful. “Of all the other Celtique Nations, Cieria is equal to Siness and Caedia in power and wealth. Could he be hoping to find support for his campaign there? It has been ages since I've been there, but I do recall noting how few Gaels lived down there.”
“That's why they're the quietest among us,” Cailin noted. “They bend easily to power, especially when it seems their defeat is assured. When Tadhg allowed the hunting of Gaels and immediately declared war on those countries that refused to obey, they were the first to follow his command if only to avoid a war they likely wouldn't win.”
“And they call the Ibayish the bottom of the Celtique barrel,” grumbled Connor. “There is no honor in laying down for a tyrant.”
“None of this makes any sense,” cried Misuzu, pulling everyone's attention back to the subject
at hand. “My father hates dragons in general, and he has a special hatred for Gaels. Why would he be working with islands that house and protect them?”
Connor, standing beside Jaryn, glanced up at the older man and rested his hands on his hips just as Jaryn did. “It could be that your father is playing both sides of the coin in order to try to manipulate what is sure to be an oncoming war to his advantage. It's certainly not the first time in history that it has happened, nor will it be the last.”
Unable to think with everyone talking, Jaryn clasped Connor on the shoulder in hopes of getting him to stay put, then moved away from everyone for a few moments. He needed to clear his thoughts and get everything in order. Misuzu was right when she said none of it made sense, but Connor's theory had credence. If that was the case, and Hideo was aligning himself with not only Ironedge, but another island full of trained fighting dragons as well, the war Connor believed was coming would hardly be a battle, but a slaughter of innocent people who would have no real fighting chance.
“Jaryn?” He turned to see Cailin approaching, worry on her face. “Are you all right?”
He raised his hands, frustration on his face. “I can't wrap my head around any of this. Is it dragons who are being targeted, or is it Gaels? Is it Siness only, or did we draw the short straw and are we only the lucky first pick before he moves on to other nations?”
Cailin's lips twisted in a cynical smile. “He is only one man. Yes, he has a gathering army, but Tadhg was much worse and he was killed by two girls and an old man who were smarter than he was. Hideo has no idea who he's crossing.”
For a minute, Jaryn said nothing. He saw the confidence Cailin had in Ashlynn and it swelled his heart with pride for his wife. She was indeed a force to be reckoned with when the safety of those she loved was in peril. Yet Cailin didn't have all the facts. “Cai...I saw Merrik tonight. Both Misuzu and I did. It was like he stepped out of the blackness of the shadows the way Luella can.”
All chatter down the beach had stopped and Jaryn's voice carried without him realizing it. “Merrik?” Mairead questioned weakly. “Ashlynn was right.”
“We have company.”
Connor's deadpan comment made everyone scramble behind the statues. Seeing something large in the sky flying their way, both Jaryn and Cailin reached for their swords, only to stop short as they remembered neither had their usual weapons. Mairead, however, drew a dagger from her belt and Misuzu revealed her mother's fanblades, holding a set in each hand, ready to strike. The shape took on form and it was easy to tell the dragon coming toward them was searching. As it tilted one way to change its course ever so slightly, its scales glinted copper in the waning moonlight. Mairead touched Misuzu's arm, a silent request to stand down, before she stepped out of the shadows.
“What are you doing?” Connor whispered harshly.
Mairead was calm, her eyes never leaving the dragon. “There are no others.”
“That we can see!”
The dragon spotted Mairead alone on the beach and descended. Almost as soon as its feet touched the ground, it shrank and shifted its form until it took on that of someone much more familiar. Her colorful mohawk was unmistakable, and Connor nearly fell out of the shadows in shock. “Gia?”
Misuzu hastened to Mairead's side, her fanblades still at the ready and a snarl on her lips. “Where is the rest of your army?”
Gianara opened her mouth to reply, but as she made eye contact with Misuzu, everything she was about to say appeared to be forgotten. She took a few slow steps closer, an awed look on her face. “This whole time you had even me fooled. You are Gaelic, yet you did not heed the call of the pan flutes.”
Blue and gold flames sprang to life at the tips of each blade of Misuzu's fans, crawling their way up toward her hands as she warned, “I am much more than a Gael.”
Taking a step back, Gianara gasped in shock at the sight of the fyre. Her expression registered sudden understanding, then, as she met Misuzu's angry gaze once more, desperation. “You are no mere air dragon. You are the ruler of all air dragons, the Elemental.” She spread her hands as if to show she was unarmed, and there was a look of defeat about her. “I would never have harmed you, especially had I known.”
“You've been so cut off from the world,” Jaryn injected, finally coming into the light with the others, “how is it you recognize an Elemental?”
Gianara pulled her gaze from Misuzu somewhat reluctantly, focusing on Jaryn. “I met one of them many years ago, before I was assigned to Ironedge. I never knew her Element, but I saw her fyre and learned it was unique to her kind. It was she who brought us together, the secret protectors of the Gaels, the Keepers we were called.” She held up her left arm to show them all the tattoo she'd shown Connor and Cailin, the triple looped knot with the heart in the middle. “This is the symbol of our people. We exist to make sure the Gaels thrive and flourish among a world that was leaning toward destroying every last one of them. In doing that, I found my love of full blood dragons as well and vowed to protect and keep them too, making sure no harm came to them or those that would hold them as sacred as I did.”
Jaryn crossed his arms. “How do we know you're not making all of this up to try to get us to trust you?”
“She's not.” Cailin's confirmation was quiet, yet it still drew a look of shock from Jaryn. She wet her lips, then pulled back the long left sleeve of her nightdress to reveal a tattoo of the same marking on the inside of her wrist. “Everything she said is true.”
Speechless, Jaryn looked from one woman to the other.
“I know it's a lot to take in,” Cailin rushed to continue. “I kept telling you that I wanted to trust Gia and this was why.” She glanced at Gianara. “We've never met before, but we were both raised with the same values and charges. We were trained to be anything and everything that may be needed in order to keep Gaels safe.” She gave a small shrug and half a smile, looking up at Jaryn searchingly. “How do you think I went from being a castle maid to a deputy so quickly?”
Jaryn looked down at her, hurt. “Why did you never say anything?”
“Because I was never allowed to...and then when I was, it didn't matter anymore. We disbanded soon after Tadhg and Laidley were killed.” She looked to Gianara, head tilted. “Did you know?”
“I suspected, but only because of your curiosity in the cell. I knew you were a Gael by your skin, but I did not know you were also a former Keeper.”
Frustrated, Jaryn scowled at her. “If you're on the side of the Gaels, how could you attack one of the two kingdoms where they are most welcomed? Did you truly not know the high queen of Siness, my wife, is a Gael herself?”
“And a sister Elemental,” added Misuzu, still holding onto her anger.
The shock on Gianara's face was genuine, and she shook her head. “I did not.” Slowly, confusion edged its way into her expression. “If the high queen is your wife, why did you run away with your mistress? To be the high king of such a large nation would be-”
“None of it was true,” Connor supplied with a sloppy shrug. “We're not related at all. In fact, I'm Connor McKane, son of Donnchadh McKane, and High King of Ibays. Cailin was my father's deputy. She is also friend to both the high king and queen of Siness, and not Jaryn's lover.”
Gianara simply stared for a long moment, as if her mind couldn't hold all the information she was receiving and was trying to sort through it all. She said nothing in reply to Connor's revelation, but slowly took them all in turn, finally resting her eyes on Mairead. She looked over the scars the woman bore, as well as her fine dress, no doubt trying to make some sort of a guess as to who she might be. “You are the dragon I passed above the water.” There was no uncertainty in her statement, and Mairead nodded. They held each other's gaze for a long moment before Gianara finally asked, “Who are you?”
“I am no one,” Mairead said humbly. “A daughter of a chamberlain in a lesser kingdom in Siness, and one of High Queen Ashlynn's ladies. I am no more than that.”
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br /> “But you are a Gael.”
“I am, as are both of my parents. We are fire dragons, as I assume you are as well.”
Gianara shook her head. “Earth, actually. My colors changed as I aged. Many believe it is the elf blood in me.”
“Then the high queen is your mistress, for she is the Elemental of Earth.”
The older woman gave a solemn nod, but said nothing in reply to the fact. Instead, she said, “I felt something when we touched.”
Mairead nodded knowingly. “As did I. It is not the first time I have felt something like that when coming into contact with another Gael, though I cannot explain it.”
“I have never experienced it before.” Gianara pressed her lips together. “There is so much I do not understand.”
“I have never known an elven Gael,” Cailin confessed, coming to stand before her. She gave a pleading glance to Misuzu, making the young woman give a sigh of irritation before extinguishing her fyre and collapsing her fanblades.
“I am only half elven,” said Gianara. “My mother was an earth dragon and she hid that from my father, an elven noble. When he found out she was Gaelic, he was so outraged that he soiled her reputation and sent her away in a convent somewhere, never to be heard from again. He was relieved of his title and cast from Mirasean forever. I was fostered in Caedia for a time, but eventually I ended up on Ironedge.”
“My father hates Gaels, too,” Misuzu admitted lowly. “He never knew that my mother was one or that I am. Until tonight, at least.” She slid her fans back into her robes before fixing Gianara with a demanding stare. “Where did my father and Merrik go?”
The older woman maintained eye contact. “When I returned to the island, he said he knew Jaryn and that he knew where to go next. He ordered my people to Siness to attack, but I left as they were preparing to leave to try to find all of you.” She turned to him. “I do not know where the Shadow King went, but I do know you must leave quickly if you have any hope of saving your wife and your people.”