“Yeah.”
“Then go clean yourself up!” Kaine pointed towards the bathroom. “There’s a spare shirt and pair of trousers in there that should fit you.”
“Cheers Kaine,” Volk said. He eagerly moved, being careful not to drip chunks of bile onto the ground.
“Then all that were left were the Bluwahlts!” Kallum raised his glass.
“To good health,” Sonja said, raising her glass, “and keeping the contents of our guts on the inside!”
Eltra made her way down the stairs. “Tequidi has passed out in your bed, Kallum. I wouldn’t worry too much though, she’s got nothing left to mess it up with!”
“That’s fine, I’ll just use the guest room these moons,” Kallum said. “Is she alright?”
“Yeah, just a little drunk and worried she’s made a fool of herself,” Eltra sat down beside Kallum and rubbed his back. “Be easy on her next sun.”
“I wanted her piloting Raithia…” Sonja furrowed her brows. “We need to locate Formidor.”
“I can do it!” Kallum exclaimed.
“No, you need to look through his things, remember?”
“Hmmm… Will be a big sun.” Kallum finished his lolligolp and poured another. “One more, no more?” he suggested with a cheeky grin.
Once Kaine had finished cleaning, Sonja asked, “Is there any more of that stew? You invited me for dinner, not drinks!”
“Ah!” Kaine moved over to the hearth. “You mean to say that you are hungry after all that?”
“The smell of bile might be off-putting, but it doesn’t fill the void in my stomach!”
“Nothing puts you off a meal, does it?” Kaine said, ladling some stew into a bowl.
“Nah-uh!” Sonja took the bowl and hastily gobbled up a chunk of meat. “A girl’s got to eat,” she said with a full mouth.
By the time Volk returned, tidied up with clothes far too baggy for his lean body, Kallum had finished his ‘last drink’ and was pouring another. He didn’t drink lolligolp too often, but when he did, he lacked all discipline.
“Mind if I have another?” Volk asked.
“One more, no more!” Kallum said, laughing as he did.
“We have a big sun coming up,” Sonja said. “I want you and Tequidi piloting the reds. We need to locate Formidor.”
Volk grabbed the bottle and halted the pour. “That will do then,” he said, then sat himself down. “Right, find Formidor, find the leeches…” He grasped at his forehead and closed his eyes. “No problem. Rise at first sun?”
“Rise at first sun,” Sonja confirmed. She had a feeling things weren’t going to be any easier next sun. She greedily poured the remaining contents of her beverage down her throat and offered a belch. “That’s me done, I’ll see you at first sun.”
“Oh, come on, one more!” Kallum shook the bottle in her direction.
“Not this moon,” Sonja forced herself to say. A third of the bottle’s contents still remained, and she knew her brother well enough to know that ‘one more’ would mean finishing the bottle. “Next time, sleep well Kallum, Volk, Father, Eltra.”
“You too,” replied a chorus of voices.
Chapter 18: Aerial Control
Songbirds chirped a peaceful and soothing melody, confirming that the sun would strike its first rays of light across Holtur soon. Sonja was alert and ready early, awakening before the tweeters heralding first sun. She always enjoyed being up and among them during the early hours before light. The other townsfolk who were up this early kept quiet, huddled in their furs, and to themselves. Not the songbirds, they were oblivious to the cold—or the countless problems the town encountered—and their only goal in life was to contribute a tweeting melody to the rising sun’s beauty. In a way, Sonja was jealous of the simple avian life.
She made her way to her father’s residence. Surprisingly, Sonja had consumed just the right amount of lolligolp to numb her mind into an easy sleep, without having it bring forth an ache of vengeance come sobriety. She had a feeling that Tequidi and her brother may not have been so fortunate—or calculated—with their consumption!
Raithia was still guarding the residence, but instead of coiled and weary, she was standing tall and proud. “Raithia!” Sonja called out to the wyvern.
The large wyvern responded with a gurgle, then breathed out a plume of flame that melted the icy air. Raithia was a whole lot livelier this sun!
“I hope Tequidi is doing as well as you!”
The wyvern’s neck twisted, cocking its head as if to ponder the words.
“Don’t worry, she’ll recover. Tequidi just drank a little too much alcohol.”
Raithia’s head twisted around even further, stopping when it was almost upside down. Sonja had no idea that wyverns were capable of such mannerisms. That said, a year ago she never foresaw herself having a conversation with one—especially with claymore sheathed—outside of her father’s house.
“I guess Tequidi never really drank much in Aestridge, huh?”
Raithia exhaled a deep breath that smelt of burnt bread. How odd, had the wyvern been eating toast?
“Regardless of how she is, I’ll send her out here to see you.” Sonja didn’t think the wyvern would assume her family had harmed Tequidi, but she also figured it was best to be careful when dealing with a massive fire-breathing serpent. Sonja had dealt with pissed off flame wyverns in the past and wasn’t in the mood to do so right now; besides, she had a soft spot for Raithia.
The smell of freshly made coffee rushed towards her once Sonja had opened the door. It smelt good, a significant improvement on the slurry she had concocted the previous sun at the Pinksohn residence.
“Coffee, Sonja?” Kaine asked from the source of the aroma.
She didn’t need it as badly as the previous sun, still, Sonja wasn’t one to say no to a fresh mug of her father’s brew. “Does a slater beast shit in the mountains?” she asked rhetorically.
“Supposedly,” Kaine said, pouring her a cup. “However, I wouldn’t be shocked if we discovered that they shat in their flesh. Can’t fool me with that foul meat!”
Sonja chuckled as she took the cup; clearly the overabundance of slater beasts this year was annoying more than just the slayers. “Kallum and Tequidi?” she asked.
“Out to it. Don’t tell me that surprises you?”
“Poor little Pukey,” Sonja said with a roll of her eyes. “I can head out on horse to track down Formidor and the brothers, but the task would be much easier with a wyvern. I’ll go check up on her, see if she can force herself to ride. Is she still in Kallum’s room?”
“Hasn’t so much as shifted a muscle.”
“Right.” Sonja took a swig of her coffee than placed it down on the hearth’s mantle. In her own residence she’d take food and drink wherever she wanted; it was odd that her father’s strictness, about dining in the kitchen exclusively, never rubbed off on her.
Entering her brother’s room, Tequidi groaned the kind of noise that someone mortally wounded, bleeding out and unable to scream—or suffering from an excruciating hangover—would groan. “I’m dying…” she managed.
“You’re not dying, have you never drank before?”
“Shhhh…” Tequidi hushed. “Not so loud.”
“Are you capable of riding Raithia?” Sonja already knew the answer.
“I’m dying…” Tequidi repeated.
“You’re not dying, just a little hungover.”
Tequidi groaned. “If I live, never drinking again.”
“You’ll live!” Sonja opened the blinds, allowing the sun’s first rays to sneak into the room.
“That hurts…”
Sonja then flicked the latch on the window and opened it. “Raithia,” she called out.
Raithia snaked her head up to the window. The wyvern’s scaly snout poked in and around it, trying to force her way in through the small opening.
“Tequidi is here, sick, recovering!” Sonja said. “Definitely not dying!”
Raithia whined
a high-pitched groan.
“Ugh…” Tequidi sat up, blinked a few times. She fumbled for her glasses, which fell from the bedside table and onto the floor, then waved her hand in dismissal. Tequidi staggered a hobble over to the window. The girlish bundle of joy now looked like an ancient relic of a woman, one so old and gnarled that her growth had reversed in on itself. “Sorry Raithia, I’m ill this sun.” She reached out and stroked the wyvern’s head. “I will sleep until next sun. Don’t let me ever drink again, alright Raithia?” She stumbled back towards the bed.
“Do you mind if I pilot her?” Sonja nervously asked. “I’ve done it before. Volk and I can go looking for Formidor and the Brothers of Eternity. It would be much faster than horses and would let you rest.”
“Ouch,” Tequidi responded to a throbbing head as she sank into the sheets. “Yes… only if you close the window.”
Sonja grinned, she knew Tequidi didn’t stutter much when talking to wyverns, it seemed a hangover made her voice more concise too. “Done! You heard that Raithia? We’ll go flying! No burning things, no shroud, just looking for my friend.” Sonja wasn’t sure what she’d do if she encountered Crispin or Caede. She wasn’t ready for either of them.
She thought for a moment about the sorbguamis she had fought several suns ago. Would the Bristrunstium have forged that shell to create a new armour yet? The early awakening of hungover people had suddenly become an activity of the sun, and Sonja found herself heading towards the guest room to annoy her brother.
“How’s Tequidi?” Volk asked Sonja once she finished climbing down the stairs.
“Fucked,” Sonja responded, not realising the red-head had already come over. “I think it’s her first hangover.” She took a swig of her coffee, then made for the guest room.
“Will she be right to pilot Raithia?” Volk asked. “Will she be able to locate Formidor?”
“I’ll be in charge of wyvern piloting activities this sun,” Sonja responded. “First, I must ask my brother something.”
“Let the poor kid rest,” Kaine said, only to be ignored.
After Sonja stepped into the guest room, Kallum took in a deep breath and opened his eyes wide. “Yes?” he asked.
“Glad to see you’re not as dead as Tequidi.”
“Yes?”
“The sorbguamis armour, is that ready yet?”
“No,” Kallum said, rolling onto his side. “We were meant to run a few more tests last sun, but you know, things came up!”
Sonja laughed into a sigh. “That they did. Well, I want two sets ready—more if you can—as soon as possible.”
Kallum shot his sister a disgruntled look.
Sonja continued, “One suitable for myself, the other suitable for…” She paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath, “Volk.” She nodded with pursed lips to confirm her decision.
“Why?”
“I’m going to kill Crispin.”
Kallum slumped deeper into the bed. “Guess I have a lot testing to oversee.”
“Thanks Kallum.” Sonja rubbed his shoulders and stood back up. “Don’t sleep too late.”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” Kallum said. “Besides, you’re fully aware that once I’m awake I won’t go back to sleep, not while the sun shines.”
Sonja laughed. Kallum was right, she’d never seen him sleep much past sunrise. She gently stroked her hand through his hair, then went to leave the room.
“Oh, Sonja,” Kallum asked. “That gem Rigst gave you, where is it?”
“Ahh…” Sonja pondered for a moment. “At my place, why?”
“Did he get that from Modryklo Mountain?”
Sonja scrunched her face up trying to remember. Rigst said he got it from some mountain during his final scouting trip. “It might have been.”
“Would you mind if I try something with it?” Kallum asked, his eyes wide and mouth forming a grin while he waited for her reply.
“What are you thinking?” Sonja asked. Clearly he had an idea, but Sonja didn’t want to risk losing the most precious item Rigst had ever given her. Then again, he wasn’t gone, not anymore. Could they pursue a relationship even though he was some kind of monster?
“Well, depending on the gem’s properties, it could reinforce the armour’s power. There’s a material, from within the armour, that we are—”
“Will it break the gem?” Sonja interrupted, wanting to get on with the sun.
“No…” The look on Kallum’s face said he wasn’t sure, but really, really wanted to try whatever he was thinking.
“Alright, just don’t break it!” Sonja eventually said. “Get the spare key from father. The gem is on the mantle in the bathroom. Don’t touch anything in my bedroom!”
“I won’t,” Kallum said. “Thank you! You won’t regret it!”
“I hope not,” Sonja said, racing out of the room and into the kitchen.
“Everything alright?” Volk asked.
“We’ve got a lot to do,” Sonja said to Volk. She then grabbed her coffee and downed the last of its contents.
“Ah, how hard can it be to find the professor?” Volk asked. “I can’t imagine him blending in with any scenery!”
“I can’t help but worry about that.” Sonja nodded to the entrance. “But it’s what comes after we find him that truly worries me.”
“And that is?”
“One thing at a time.” Sonja tightened her fists. “First, we take to the sky!”
***
Rigging up a wyvern was far different than saddling a horse. For starters, you pilot a wyvern—a flame wyvern anyway—by hanging from its chest. Despite Sonja’s lack of knowledge on types of wyvern riding, she assumed that other species—if they had been tamed at all—would be ridden from atop; between the shoulders of the wings, or somewhere along the spine, positioned similarly to a where horse rider would sit. Piloting from atop a flame wyvern however, with their two rows of vents lining their spine, could prove incineratingly fatal if the creature decided to ventilate.
Raithia and Reizexus were both well behaved while having the lightweight, metallic A-frame attached to their torsos. It connected up to either side of their chests with a material that wrapped around their serpentine body on either side of their winged fore-limbs. Sonja had piloted Raithia once before, when partaking in a piloting course in Aestridge, and knew that the wyvern would respond to her shifting weight from side to side.
The piloting sack was what Sonja had least faith in. Before attaching it to Raithia’s frame she pulled and tugged on it, trying to rip it apart.
“What are you doing?” Volk asked.
“Ah…” Sonja stopped attacking the sack and begun strapping it into the frame. “Tequidi didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Uh, I ahh… had a problem with my sack when I did that course.”
“Oh…” Volk shook his head. “Well, if you keep trying to break that one, you’ll probably have issues again!”
Raithia shook her head and exhaled a puff of smoke.
Sonja sighed. “It was probably a freak incident… Can’t hurt to test the thing’s integrity though.”
“I guess not.” Volk climbed into the piloting sack attached to Reizexus and slid a pair of goggles embedded in thick, leather straps over his eyes. “Just don’t tear it. I doubt we could find a replacement here in Holtur!”
“That we would not!” Sonja laughed. She climbed into Raithia’s piloting sack and struggled with the straps to her own goggles. After a brief battle between the leather covering her gloved hands and that of the headgear’s straps, the goggles finally sat comfortably enough.
“You ready, Captain?” Volk queried. It was a weird situation, being the captain, but being led by one of her slayers—by Volk of all people. Reizexus was the head alpha of this little flock of misfit wyverns, and while Volk was his pilot, he was the leader.
“When you are, Red,” Sonja said, offering a thumbs up.
Volk grinned one of those big sm
iles that crinkled his face and made his freckles appear to be thousands of tiny smiles. “Let’s go!”
Go. Sonja had forgotten how excited these creatures get upon hearing the word. The moment Volk said it, the two massive wyverns leapt into the air and pounded their thunderous wings. Gaining altitude was a bigger feat with the lack of a volcano’s updraught. The wind flung loose some of Sonja’s hair as it whipped at her face. Both ice-cold and smoky-hot gusts lashed at her in confusion as their altitude increased. The air’s natural temperature—which was significantly below freezing—mixed with the heat given off by the flame wyvern’s body only added to the sensual overload.
Despite the goggles, Sonja had difficulty keeping her eyes open amidst the chaos. Eventually the furious flutter of gusting winds died down to a smooth and constant breeze. Sonja focused her eyes, she could see the entirety of Holtur as they soared southwards. To the west the great ranges—and beyond! To the east the magnificent spires that spiked through that rugged terrain. Even the southern coast didn’t seem all that far away. Sonja felt that if she looked hard enough, she might even find another town—one even more frozen than Holtur—somewhere over the ocean! Listening to the wind flapping against the folds of Raithia’s body, and the parts of her wings that weren’t stretched taught, soothed Sonja’s mind.
“Woooo!” Volk cheered. “I always said these creatures were majestic!”
“I know!” Sonja yelled back. While gliding beneath a wyvern did permit conversation, you had to raise your voice in order to be heard; a little louder than when communicating in combat, but sentences felt easier to form. “We need to fly lower, we won’t find Formidor this high.” Once she finished speaking, Sonja noticed the younger wyverns had caught up and were playfully rolling around the sky.
“I know,” Volk called back. “We’ll swoop down south of Holtur. Just relax for now.” One of the juvies—closest to Volk—released a series of sharp barks as if mocking him. Volk stared at the little wyvern and its head flickered away, up and then down, as if trying to find something else to focus on.
Sonja laughed at the juvie. It felt odd again, but finding calm in the view before her was not a challenge. First she gazed over the Bristrunstium. The huge building—that seemed to go on forever from the ground—now appeared not much larger than her fist. Still, it dwarfed every other building; it looked like she could squish several at a time if she poked at them with a single finger!
The Holtur Curse (The Holtur Trilogy Book 2) Page 23