Calling the Change (Sky Raiders Book 2)

by Michelle Diener

  There was utter silence, but Taya looked past Kas, and saw most of the villagers had stepped out from their hiding places now, too.

  “They wanted us all back,” Min said. “Because we know how to do the work.”

  Garek dipped his head. “They didn't get Luci. Taya stopped them. And they only got about fifty of the Kardanx. That means they have a total of seventy prisoners up there.”

  Taya straightened, her arms dropping from around Luca. “That means we can fit everyone in one sky craft.”

  Garek met her gaze, nodded.

  “You're going to get them back?” Min's mouth opened in astonishment.

  Taya felt the cold grip of terror in her gut at the thought, but she nodded her head decisively. “Of course we are.”

  WHILE GAREK and Kas argued about who would come on the rescue mission, Taya looped an arm around Luca and another around Min, and found her way to Quardi's forge.

  He was still in his wheelchair, and his forge was not the same, efficient place it had been, but she could see that he had started cleaning it up, and a fire burned bright. Pilar sat on an upturned bucket. His gaze met hers, and he tried to smile.

  “I'm glad you're safe, Taya.”

  She knelt in front of him and hugged him close. “We'll get Noor back, don't worry.”

  He made a sound, completely forlorn, and she didn't think he'd heard her.

  A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked into Quardi's grizzled face.

  “We thought we'd lost you.” Quardi's voice was gruff. “When Kas didn't come back straightaway, we knew things were bad.” She turned to hug him, too, and he gently touched the side of her head. “You would have felt that.”

  She smiled. “It put me on my back for a few days. Meant Gaffri and Fek had to carry me through the mountains. It slowed them down.”

  Quardi didn't smile back. “Where are they now?”

  She slid a look at Luca, who was hanging on every word. “They're gone,” she said, and saw Quardi understood what she meant.

  “That's a pity.” He drew in a breath and shook his head. “What's this about getting Noor back?”

  “We can't leave Eli and Noor up there. We can't leave anyone up there. They've got fifty Kardanx, twenty of our own. We have to go get them.”

  Pilar raised his head as if what they were saying had finally penetrated. “What's this? Go back? To Shadow?” He looked like someone who'd just woken up and found the whole world changed.

  “There's enough room for everyone they've taken to fit into one sky craft,” Taya said, and met his gaze. “And we have one sky craft.”

  Min made a sound, and crouched down. “Taya, I know we have to go back but . . .” She shared a look with Quardi. “I am afraid for you.”

  Taya slid an arm back around Luca. “I'm afraid, too. We'll need to plan it. But there is one thing that's good about it.”

  “What?” Min looked like she couldn't think of a single thing.

  “I can get some more shadow ore for myself.” If they were going up there, she would take as much ore as she could. Their sky craft was already beginning to bubble with rust, and it wouldn't last forever. The day would come when it wasn't going to be safe to fly, and then her chance of getting more ore would be gone forever.

  “There was some shadow ore in the Dartalian Range. I could feel it. But it wasn't concentrated, it was just a tiny proportion of the other minerals there. This is an opportunity to get as much as possible, with very little effort.”

  Quardi was looking at her with a thoughtful expression. “We'll need wooden boxes.”

  “Anything that holds water without leaking, but yes, the wooden boxes worked.”

  “Luca,” Quardi turned to her nephew. “Spread the word, I need people to help Taya. Tell them to come here for instructions.”

  Luca's face split into a grin, and he turned on his heel and ran out.

  “I'll go talk to Garek, then I'll come back to help, too.” Pilar all but ran out the forge.

  “Taya, I'm going to ask you for a favor.” Min looked down at the ground, cheeks flushed red. “Please, don't let Kas go with you. He can barely think straight, he's so tired. And Luca . . .” She closed her eyes. “Luca shouldn't lose him a second time.”

  THIRTY-THREE

  Taya eventually won the fight.

  Garek had tried, but he realized he should have given the floor to Taya from the beginning.

  It hadn't even taken that long.

  She had simply walked up to Kas, taken his hand and leaned against him, and whispered in his ear.

  Kas had closed his eyes, dropped his cheek onto Taya's head, and given a huge sigh. And just like that, the battle was over.

  “Who will you take, then, if not me?” he asked as he raised his head and Taya stepped back.

  “Me.”

  They turned, surprised, and Jerilia lifted her chin angrily. “I'm as good as any.”

  “It's not that,” Garek told her. “I didn't think you'd want to go back.”

  She deflated a little. “I can't get it out of my head. It keeps whirling round and round when I close my eyes. Sometimes even when I don't close my eyes. I want to do something to hurt them. I feel like going back and beating them again is the only way this will stop.”

  “We have to be able to count on you,” Garek said. “When I give an instruction, I need to know you'll follow it through. That you can do it.”

  She gave a sharp nod. “I give you my word.”

  “I'm going.” Pilar made it a statement, not a request.

  Garek nodded to him. There was no way he would stand in the way when it came to Pilar and Noor.

  “I want to go, too.” Lynal stepped forward. “Eli watched out for me on Shadow, kept me positive. I owe him.”

  Lynal had run with Kas all the way to Gara looking for Taya, and for that, Garek would forever be in his debt.

  “You heard what I told Jerilia?”

  Lynal nodded. “I give my word, too.”

  “What's the plan?” Kas asked, seeming more centered now that the decision had been made.

  Garek hesitated. If he could, he would try to persuade Taya not to go. He felt a terrible, yawning pit in his stomach at the thought of her back on Shadow, of her back in the sky raiders' hands. It made it hard to think clearly about anything else.

  “Taya and I both need to sleep, even if just for a few hours. We've had a grueling few days.” He needed time to reason with her. And in truth, he really was exhausted. Night had fallen an hour ago, and he couldn't remember the last full night's sleep he'd gotten.

  “Quardi is organizing boxes for me, anyway.” Taya pushed a few tendrils of hair off her face. “We can't go until they're ready. We can use the ones we made on Shadow, but I'd like a few more as well.”

  “Boxes?” Kas asked.

  “To bring back more shadow ore for me.”

  Garek nodded slowly. Why not? More ammunition against the sky raiders, more of Taya's element to sustain her. But she didn't have to be there to supervise getting more ore. It was piled in a heap outside the mine.

  “We need food and water, enough for everyone they've abducted, and the boxes should probably be filled with water in advance, so we're sure they don't leak by the time we get to Shadow. If you can organize that while we sleep, Kas, then we'll leave at dawn.”

  “You only want to take three of us?” Jerilia asked.

  Garek shook his head. “I need to let Aidan know what we're doing, and I have a feeling some of the guards in Juli might consider this trip an unmissable experience.”

  For the first time, Kas relaxed, and Garek realized he'd been afraid they were going with too small and inexperienced a force.

  “We can only take at most another four,” he reminded them. “But the Juli guard master, Vent, is sure to have some well trained volunteers.”

  That decided, they all went their separate ways.

  He led Taya to his room behind the forge, which his father had set more or less to
rights.

  Quardi had filled the small tub with the hot water he always had to hand, and they took turns bathing, and then, naked, clean, and alone at last, he drew Taya onto his bed.

  “Something is worrying you,” she said as she tucked herself against his side.

  He hesitated. “You going to Shadow worries me.”

  She was quiet, giving him time to explain.

  “I know all the reasons why you should come, but I don't want you to. I want you safe here.”

  “Last time you left me safe here, I was taken away.”

  Her words made him flinch.

  She tilted her head up to look at him. “I'm not saying that was your fault, I'm saying nowhere is safe until this is over. I'd rather be with you, and using my Change to help, than sitting here worrying about you, just as, you have to admit, you will be worrying about me, even if I stay right here in Pan Nuk.”

  She was right, and yet . . .

  “Don't ask me to stay, Garek. Understand staying here, worrying about you, would be torture for me. And there are as many dangers here as on Shadow, but at least on Shadow, we'll have each other.”

  He had no answer to that. And he had to admit, while fear for her still twisted him up, something in him also relaxed at the idea of her being right beside him.

  He pulled her closer, trying to enjoy the fact that they were here together, warm, safe, and comfortable.

  Tomorrow, they would be none of those things.

  AS THEY FLEW toward Juli Taya realized Pilar, Lynal and Jerilia had never seen the water city before.

  Even when approaching the city by road--something she'd done a year ago to attend Aidan's sister's wedding--it was breathtaking, but coming in from the air, its full magnificence was revealed.

  The way it rose out of and above the cliff, the way Corinnda's Hair fell in two waterfalls on either side of the city, tumbling and roaring down into the massive lake below.

  All three of them leaned against the window and pressed their faces closer.

  Garek, face still grim, still tight with unhappiness, landed them lightly on the massive palace wall, and Taya put out a tentative hand to touch his shoulder.

  He brought up his own hand, curled his fingers around hers, but it didn't ease the worry on his face.

  She didn't think anything less than her staying behind would do that, and even then, he would worry ceaselessly about whether she was safe here, too.

  She tightened her grip for a moment, unable to offer any other comfort, and then looked out the window to see who would come up to greet them.

  Dom and Vent.

  And about ten guards.

  Dartan brought up the rear. He looked as if he'd aged since they'd last spoken to him, only a day ago. His chiseled features looked stark, now; the grooves on either side of his mouth deeper.

  Again, Aidan was nowhere in sight.

  Garek opened the door, but he made no move to leave, so she stayed where she was, too.

  It forced Vent and Dom to come to them.

  “Someone out there is a traitor,” Garek said. “I'm not saying anything where it can be overheard.”

  She hadn't even thought of that, but it was true. Someone in Juli had told the sky raiders when the Kardanx were leaving for home. And in a city full of suspects, Vent had her and Garek as an alibi, and Dom was the last person who would have done such a thing to his own people.

  Vent climbed in, looking angry. Dom was just behind him, but he was harder to read. His hands were restless, though. He rubbed them together, gripped them, twined his fingers together. It was the only part of him not utterly still.

  “Don't let Dartan in,” Garek said to Vent, and the guard master's head came up in outrage.

  “We know you and Dom are not traitors, but he could be. Every time I think of his reaction to the information about Habred having a deal with the sky raiders, I wonder why he took it so badly.”

  Vent opened his mouth, closed it, and leaned back out the door.

  Whatever he said, they could all hear Dartan's protest.

  “Move away from the door,” Garek said, and Vent pulled in, turning with a look that said he'd had enough of orders.

  Garek closed the door and shot the sky craft up to hover over the river.

  “There, now there's no way he can listen.”

  Dom and Vent gaped at Garek, but Taya grinned, and Lynal, Pilar and Jerilia didn't bother hiding their amusement, either.

  “You're serious in suspecting him?” Vent's anger turned to a scowl.

  “It was as if he felt a physical blow at the news yesterday.” Taya had also thought the liege's advisor's reaction had been unusual.

  “If he's in league with the sky raiders, he would know about their deal with Habred, though,” Jerilia said.

  Taya shook her head. “Why would they tell him who else they were dealing with? If he thought he was the only one, then finding out Habred had a secret deal, too, would have come as a nasty shock. It might have occurred to him that the sky raiders are playing the states off against each other, and the only winner is going to be them.”

  Dom was watching them with his mouth open. “You think Dartan told the sky raiders when my people were leaving?” He looked out of the window, down to the palace wall, where Dartan was staring up, fury in every line, and his features hardened. “If it is true . . .”

  “If it is true, he's betrayed the whole of West Lathor, as well as your people.” Vent's voice was firm. “He'll be punished.”

  Dom didn't look as if that answer satisfied him, but he kept quiet, hands curled into fists now and still at his sides.

  “So what did you want to say out of Dartan's hearing?” Vent turned back to Garek.

  “We're going to Shadow to get everyone back. They took about twenty people from Pan Nuk, as well the Kardanx. There should be enough room for everyone in the back of this sky craft.”

  Dom turned slowly. “You're going back for them?” His voice was low, and strained with emotion.

  “Of course we are, Dom.” Taya stepped forward, put a hand on his arm, and Jerilia touched his shoulder.

  The Kardanx bowed his head, and Taya saw him swallow hard.

  At the news, Vent was silent for a long beat. He looked them all over with that cold, assessing gaze of his. “This is who you're taking?” His comment was to Garek, but he was looking at Taya and the other three when he spoke.

  “If you've got up to four guards who'd like to come along, we have room for them.”

  “Oh, I have them.” Vent turned to face Garek again. “I'm going to be one of them.”

  “So am I,” Dom said. “Besides the fact that they're my people, and it's best to have at least one Kardanx in the rescue team, I can help you fly the sky craft.”

  Garek looked between them, then focused on Vent. “You'd be leaving the city in the hands of someone who might be a traitor.”

  Vent lifted his shoulders. “I have no proof. We could be wrong. And there is no way I'm giving up an opportunity to see Shadow.”

  “This is about rescuing people, not a holiday.” Dom's voice was sharp, harder than Taya had ever heard it.

  Vent blinked in the shock at the attack from such a soft-spoken quarter. “I'm the guard master of Juli,” he said, voice equally cold. “I know exactly what this is. But this enemy is not going away any time soon, and I want to see them up close.”

  Silence settled in for an uncomfortably long time.

  “As long as you understand I'll be giving the orders,” Garek said eventually, “then I'll be happy to have a guard of your experience along.”

  Vent stiffened at the idea of taking orders from Garek.

  “I've been there, I planned the last rescue. Either agree to follow my lead, or don't come.”

  Eventually, Vent inclined his head.

  “Do you have two others who will want to come?” Taya asked him to diffuse the tension that was thick in the air. “What about Aidan? Where is he?”

  He looked at
her, face pinched in disapproval. “Aidan is tied up with his father. I've got a whole barracks of guards who would want to come. It would be better if you and your friends stayed behind, and others more qualified took your place.”

  “You really don't know how qualified we are,” Taya said, and Dom's lips twitched. He caught her gaze for a moment, and she saw a gleam in his eyes.

  “Taya doesn't answer to you, and she has her reasons for coming.” Garek looked like each word was spoken around a rock in his throat. He would love to take up Vent's suggestion, and leave her behind. She could see it. But not because he thought her incapable, like Vent did. Because he feared for her. Wanted her safe.

  She decided to forgive him because of that.

  “Everyone in this craft has the right to be here. More right than you.” She spoke to Vent in her calmest voice. “Now, you can choose two guards to come, or we can go right now. It's up to you.”

  “Set down, I'll get two guards. But Dartan will want to come up while we wait for them, what do we tell him?”

  “I'll tell him I want to speak to Aidan, that I've been over the border again, and there is a group of Fabre guards moving toward West Lathor. That we want to check it out.”

  “He'll want to know why I'm coming with you,” Dom said.

  Taya shook her head. “As you said, you can help Garek with flying.”

  Vent nodded. “It's as good an excuse as any. Maybe send these three to the back,” he pointed to Lynal, Pilar and Jerilia. “No need for him to see them. Their presence makes the incursion into Fabre less believable.”

  Garek looked over at them, and with a tight nod, Pilar led the way to the back.

  “You, too,” Vent said to Taya.

  She hesitated. “No. He knows Garek and I have just found each other again.”

  “He won't believe a guard like Garek would take someone who isn't a guard into a combat situation. I can't understand why Garek's letting you go to Shadow. No matter how much you dress up as a guard, it doesn't mean you've had the training. You shouldn't be allowed to wear that.” Vent flicked a hand at her guard's trousers and shirt, his words intended to cut.