Hushed, Tales of Ryca, Book 2

by Shereen Vedam

  Thoroughly disgusted, Tamara ordered Fane to get rid of the cord so no one could ever use it again – not on Halla, or Kiron and certainly not on Skye or Jarrod.

  Fane did as she bid, taking it outside. When he returned from the entryway, he said, “Denton and his friends are getting restless.” In his words she heard, It won’t be long before they attack.

  No more time to waste. Tamara’s heart fluttered at what she was about to commit. On reaching Fane, she said quietly, “Time for us to leave.”

  Halla, who’d been quiet until now, let out a howl of joy.

  Joy was the last thing Tamara felt. Fear, yes. Panic, certainly. Terror, a close third. Definitely no joy.

  She scowled at the green. After we arrive in Melak, no more reading my thoughts. No more mind melding. No more eavesdropping on my conversations.

  Are you speaking to me? Jarrod whispered in her mind.

  Halla chuckled.

  Tamara groaned at his mischievous look.

  “It will be all right.” Fane gave her a soothing pat on her shoulder.

  Little you know. All he had to worry about was one dragon invading his thoughts.

  “We’ll need to be quick if we’re to escape,” Fane said, in a worried voice, “but I’m unsure how well Kiron can fly.”

  “Halla and I will lead.” Tamara put a lid on the worry sputtering in her chest, which proved as effective as covering a boiling cauldron with a sheaf of paper. “Let’s tie the two dragons together, so if Kiron flags, Halla can lend him support. That might also keep us from getting separated while travelling across worlds.”

  “Who goes with which dragon?” Thyel asked.

  Halla’s glare and the smoke puffing out of her nostrils, dared him to try mounting her again.

  Tamara gave him a sour look, sorely tempted to leave him behind.

  Skye leaned in to whisper, “With dragons outside, it might amount to murder if we leave him here. He was trying to help you.”

  Remembering Skye’s horror at killing her elk decided the matter. “Thyel can ride with Fane.”

  “For your sake, I hope Kiron has no objections,” Fane said to him in a grim tone. “Or you will find yourself a permanent resident of Isa.

  “Before you ask, I’m with you,” Skye said to Tamara. “Jarrod should be between us so we can support him.”

  “Agreed,” Jarrod said readily. “Carrying three would tax Kiron.”

  “Of course, you’re only thinking of Kiron.” Skye sent him a teasing smile and snagged Falcon’s Tome and his pack.

  Thyel lingered by the ledge, glancing at the circling dragons above.

  “We’ll need a long, strong, vine to connect the dragons together,” Tamara said to Fane as she and Skye helped Jarrod to mount Halla.

  “I’ll fetch us one,” Thyel said and headed off. “Give me something useful to do.”

  Fane dressed Kiron’s wounds one last time while he launched into an intricate explanation about binding with a dragon.

  Tamara listened with care, shivering at the idea of dropping all barriers between her and Halla.

  “You have more blocks than you think,” Fane went on. “As one lowers, another will assert itself. When the final wall drops, you and Halla will become one being, with two bodies. You can move each other’s limb separately or together.”

  Her stomach flip-flopped at the thought.

  WE BECOME ONE, Halla said, her enthusiasm bleeding into Tamara. YOUR FEARS, MY FEARS. MY JOY, YOUR JOY.

  Easier said than done. She was sure that instead of lowering any of her barriers, on the climb up with Jarrod, she had erected at least ten more.

  Once Jarrod was settled, Tamara said, “I’ll go back down and check on how Thyel’s doing.

  “No need,” Fane called up leading Kiron forward. “He’s returning with his find.”

  “Ready?” Thyel called up and swung one end of a vine to Tamara.

  When he tried to tie it in place, Halla growled. Fane hurried to take over that task. Kiron, too, protested when Thyel came near him with the long vine. Fane finished the task of stringing the two dragons together. Then, while he looped the excess vine on the ground between the dragons, he spoke soothingly to the bronze. While Kiron was thus distracted, Thyel swiftly scaled up to sit on the bronze’s back.

  All too soon they were ready take off.

  Chapter 14

  “During the journey, you must clearly picture Melak,” Fane called out to her from the bronze.

  Tamara had been so involved with her personal turmoil, she’d missed Fane evolving from the fervent young apprentice she met a few days ago into this confident young dragon rider.

  “See its general location in your mind, and Halla will follow that lead,” he said.

  “I don’t know what Melak is like or where it’s located.” Tamara released Jarrod so he could lean back into Skye’s waiting arms.

  Her niece shifted, one hand wrapping around Jarrod’s middle, while the other gripped the back of Tamara’s chainmaille, until he was firmly sandwiched between them.

  Jarrod seemed better. Fane’s medicine was helping more than Thyel’s had. Another strike against him. His intentions may have been good, but he had failed abysmally during execution.

  “Do you remember the map in the tower room?” Fane asked. “The one that showed where Melak was located in relation to the rest of Ryca?”

  “Yes.” Tamara pictured it in her mind. “But what’s Melak really like?”

  “My master visited there once and described it as a place of high mountains and deep valleys.”

  Fane described the particular area over which his master had flown. He reviewed it in minute detail, from the glint of the orange sun to the color of the lakes and the fish leaping out of the water, until she felt as if she were there.

  “Mind you,” Fane concluded, “my master only saw all this by flying overhead. He never landed on Melak.”

  “Why not?” Tamara asked. “After going all that way, why didn’t your master land?”

  “Little is known of Melak,” Fane said. “One rumor has fairies living there. Another that magic cannot function in the land. No one knows for certain. It would have been too much of a risk for my master to land.”

  “Yet, we plan to,” she said.

  “To rescue the prince,” Fane agreed. “Worthy of the risk. My master traveled out of curiosity. He described the place as green and gray.”

  Bevan’s description of tall, pale skinned warriors from Melak made her tremble at what she and her friends might encounter there. If they reached there safely. If they didn’t get killed leaving this cave. If Tamara was successful in lowering all of her barriers in order to bind seamlessly with Halla. A great many ifs.

  They had to at least try. Once they arrived on Melak, Skye could use her talent for finding things to locate her brother. Assuming wielding Light was possible on that parallel realm.

  Jarrod’s good arm wrapped around Tamara’s waist while his legs stretched out on either side of hers. She sighed into his comforting hold, cherishing the feel of his face as it rested on her right shoulder. She was careful not to lean back though, lest she inadvertently hurt his left arm.

  “Ready?” she asked her two companions.

  “I will not lose you,” he whispered.

  Tears swelled in her throat, choking her at his promise. For with those words, he swore that even if she became trapped during this ride, she would not be alone. A wellspring of happiness sprang up and washed away the last of her fears.

  “Ready,” Fane called to them.

  “Or not,” Tamara muttered, “here we go.”

  Hands splayed on either side of Halla’s scaly neck, Tamara shifted her bottom one last time so she fit the dips and rise of scales along the dragon’s shoulders.

  The two dragons ambled onto the wide ledge, and Tamara balanced, getting ready for the ride to come.

  Overhead, the black hooted a challenge. He and his friends circled, calling to each other. The blac
k still listed, suggesting the noise and dramatic flight was all for show. It would be his strong and healthy friends that were tasked with bringing Halla to heel and disposing of the bronze.

  She took a deep breath, opening herself up for the full mental contact with Halla. When it came, the instant intimacy of the binding stunned her. She’d expected one barrier after another to give way, as Fane described. Instead, like a curtain rising, all the barriers lifted in unison.

  Halla and Tamara became one in an instant. They flexed their wings together and tucked them back in.

  Halla gave Tamara a wicked backward glance and then they took off, jumping off the cliff face and diving straight down. Kiron had no choice but to follow her lead. Without being told, Tamara knew what Halla was about.

  Jarrod wrapped his good arm fiercely around Tamara’s waist.

  Skye screamed.

  Tamara could only laugh as the ground rushed up to meet them. Knowing this was Tamara’s reoccurring fear, Halla led her straight into it.

  Jump together, indeed.

  The sense of freedom she always dreamed such a leap would give her smacked her across her face in the form of a wild wind. Tamara reveled in the fall, the sheer joy of knowing full well that Halla would never let them touch ground.

  At the last moment, the green opened her wings and swerved up, with Kiron right beside her.

  Tamara howled in triumph as they became fully airborne.

  The black’s contingent of dragons, at first lagging behind in obvious surprise by the green and bronze’s unexpected dive, soon gave chase.

  To the roaring cheer of onlookers.

  Tamara glanced back. Could Halla and Kiron out-fly the pack? Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something to the left.

  In one of the trees behind a large gray dragon, was a little green creature. It looked furious, shaking its tiny fist at Tamara.

  The gray dragon, noticing Tamara’s intent stare, looked behind at what had caught her attention. The tiny green creature vanished.

  “That lead dragon is almost within reach of us,” Skye shouted.

  Tamara was shocked to find a brown-black dragon closing in. Carrying the heaviest load, Halla had begun to lag.

  WHERE? the green asked, desperation and fear embedded in that one word.

  Kiron flew parallel to them. Fane inclined his head to indicate he would implant the information he had about Melak to Kiron at the same moment Tamara did with Halla.

  Leaning forward, she gently stroked the side of Halla’s scaly neck and recalled her arrival at the tower room. She pictured Fane proudly pointing at the ancient, yellowed and crinkly map. This time, Halla followed her into there to look at the drawing. They studied the layout with care, seeking out where Melak resided in respect to Isa and the other worlds.

  Tamara then played back the descriptions Fane mentioned about the fairy world. The high mountains, flowing rivers and ancient Oaks and Hawthorns.

  A startling howl from behind alerted Tamara to the dragons on their trail. A glance back showed their pursuers looking confident. Holding back their fire, their eyes gleamed with the taste of victory.

  One, then two and three and four lined up. Gathering for the kill? One reached out and swiped at Halla’s tail. The green howled and sped forward.

  The pack surged after her.

  Expecting to be brought down, Tamara was shaken as the world shifted.

  The line of dragons passed harmlessly through them. For a moment, she felt their essence and heard their howl of surprise and frustration, and then a resounding simultaneous roar of awe from the onlookers.

  In a blink, they’d left Isa.

  Specks of light sparkled around Tamara, whizzing by faster than Skye’s magic Lights, buzzing with whispered words that Tamara couldn’t quite make out.

  She was suddenly alone. Her pulse racing, Tamara cried, Not again.

  NOT ALONE, came an instant response. NEVER ALONE AGAIN.

  Halla! Tamara looked around, searching. Where are you?

  HERE, came the green’s gentle reply. TAMARA SAFE. HALLA ALWAYS WITH HER.

  Where are we?

  BETWEEN PLACES. MY MOTHER SPOKE OF THIS. The dragon flashed a picture of Melak as Fane had described to Tamara. WE GO THERE. WE FLY BETWEEN WORLDS.

  Tamara soaked up the warmth of Halla’s presence, willing herself to breath, to calm down. Her racing pulse refused to listen, convinced the time spell was happening all over again.

  An arm circling her waist squeezed. She sighed in relief, patting the hand to show she understood. She still rode on the green, and Jarrod held her tight.

  Never alone again, he whispered, mimicking the dragon’s words.

  Tears wet Tamara’s cheeks. If Jarrod was with her, Skye must be safely tucked in behind him. She wasn’t alone. Remembering his teaching, she dampened her fears, focused on her thundering heart, and chanted, You’re safe.

  Slowly, her heartbeat changed – a terrified gallop dropped to a nervous canter and finally settled into a dignified trot. Her breathing quieted. In the stillness, came whispers, like the scurrying of mice down a dark corridor.

  What are those whispers? She asked Halla.

  I HEAR ONLY YOU.

  Tamara blinked, surprised. Was she hearing things? The rapid movement of stars made her dizzy, uncertain. She touched Jarrod’s arm, relishing his solid presence. He was real. Halla was real. Concentrate on that.

  The world of Melak remained firm in Halla’s mind and Tamara closed her eyes, shutting out the flashing stars. She clung to Halla and Jarrod as the only constants in a world gone wild. The whispers persisted, sounding louder, insistent, buzzing. She opened her eyes.

  To her right, a lion lounged among the speeding stars, watching their passage with regal contemplation. Then it sat up, as if startled, and spoke. Tamara?

  She recognized that voice, the familiar tone of censure. Her name had been spoken just so, in another lifetime; when she’d done something bad, when she’d misbehaved, when she’d displeased the king.

  Father? The thought rocked her. He was dead. He couldn’t be here in the midst of this confusion.

  While trapped in the time spell, sometimes having lost track of reality, she’d imagine seeing beings that weren’t there. Then Tamarisk would stride into the room, bringing the real world into focus. Was that what was happening? Was she losing track of what was real?

  She closed her eyes and focused on the image of Melak that Halla projected like a beacon. Then, unable to resist, she peeked over her shoulder, to prove she was okay, that she wasn’t imagining things.

  The lion stared back, looking as shocked to see her, as she was to see it.

  Tamara’s heart pounded as panic galloped toward her. Halla flew as if the black’s friends were once more nipping at her behind.

  Did you see him, too? Tamara whispered, trying to calm her heartbeat, to reassure her body that she wasn’t going mad. Hard to do when her mind was in total agreement with her racing pulse.

  The dragon flashed her an image of Melak. Tamara’s mind flew instead to Ashari. The world of souls. That was where her father should be. Were they traveling near Ashari? If so, that lion could indeed be the doomed King of Ryca.

  Father. A flutter of desire to acknowledge him, to know he was here with her, was intense.

  The last time she’d seen him was the day he died.

  He’d stood tall and commanding on the balcony, looking at his people gathering from far and wide for a blessing her mother was to perform. A ceremony he’d said was needed, for Ryca quivered on the edge of disaster.

  “How can land quiver?” Tamara had asked.

  “All is not right with our world, Tam. It shakes and shivers and I don’t know how to heal it.”

  “You can do anything, Papa,” Tamara had replied with the confidence of a thirteen-year-old.

  He’d given her a kiss on the top of her head. “How could I not, when you expect me to do no less?” He’d said with deep indulgence, but also a pr
omise, or so she’d thought. Then he’d allowed his brother to knife him. Leaving her and her family to fend for themselves in a world turned terrifying.

  Had he missed her as much as she’d missed him? His appearance switched from the father of Tamara’s youth to that of a wise old man. He wore a white robe cinched at the waist and stood on an open field of green, the sky a blinding blue. He frowned, his fists resting on hips, much like he would whenever her mother brought her to him to be punished for being disobedient.

  Only, he never ever punished her. Once her mother left the room, her father would throw her into the air and tell her to not do that again or next time he wouldn’t catch her when she came down. The idle threat always sent Tamara into a fit of giggles.

  What are you doing here? He sounded angry, not indulgent or playful.

  Tamara frowned, and suddenly, Halla, too, was with her, staring with surprise at her father.

  The world turned upside down and they fell.

  Skye screamed. Jarrod’s grip across Tamara’s abdomen tightened into a band of steel.

  Fane shouted across the roaring wind and spinning lights. “What’s happening?”

  They fell out of the between places. Halla flapped her wings to keep airborne. Kiron popped out of thin air beside them. The vine that tied the two dragons jerked him along with Halla until he, too, flapped frantically to stay airborne.

  The dragons gained balance and once again flew side by side. Below, verdant fields greeted them instead of ancient ash or hawthorn or oak. The few trees that were present appeared young and vibrant, as if spring had just arrived.

  “Where is this place?” Skye shouted.

  “Not Melak.” Guilt reared in Tamara at bringing about this disaster. She’d allowed herself to be distracted and Halla had picked up on it.

  Kiron listed, hardly able to stay in the air.

  Fane indicated with an arm motion for them to descend. “The bronze needs rest.”

  Tamara nodded and urged Halla to land by a copse of trees. The two dragons flew over a little lake in a clearing near a wood and landed.

  Tamara slid from Halla’s back to the ground with a thump that wobbled her legs. She slumped onto her behind. All was silent and peaceful. This place embodied a sense of calm.