Logan hooked their packs on a low hanging branch, sat down, and patted the ground between his outstretched legs. She could see his teasing grin in the dying light, but her heart sped up a little as she lowered herself to the ground. She tried to lean her back against his chest and keep her legs straight, but that way left her boots in the water. She turned sideways, rested her cheek against him, and curled her legs up as tightly as she could. Then she straightened again and began yanking at the wet rope wrapped around her sodden boots.
“What are you doing?” Logan asked with an amused chuckle.
“Taking these things off! My feet are soaked and cold.”
“That might not be a good idea. There are snakes, and Rah only knows what else.”
“Well, you can explain to them that I taste terrible, and they should go in search of something sweeter to bite.” She was wrestling with her second boot, and when it gave way, she flew backwards and hit his chest, causing him to let out a grunt.
“I do not think I can do that.”
“Why not?” she said, trying to get comfortable again.
“I do not like to lie.”
She looked up at him with a questioning expression.
“How can I convince them you do not taste good when I find your kisses as sweet as honey?”
“Logan! What a thing to say! Are you trying to flirt with me?”
“Yes. How am I doing?”
“Pretty well,” she giggled, “but don’t expect any of my honey kisses as a reward.”
He reached up and brushed a chunk of dried mud from the tip of her nose. “I think I can control myself.”
***
Holly was holding herself so still, Brint wondered if maybe she had fallen asleep already, but then he heard a soft sniffing noise. It only took him a moment to realize she was crying. Was it so repellent for her to have to be near him?
“Holly? Holly, what’s wrong?” He asked the question, but he was a little afraid to hear the answer.
“I miss my mother and father,” she answered quietly.
He wrapped her in a hug, but there was nothing more to it than wanting to comfort her. “Oh, Holly, of course you do. Nothing has gone right from the very start, has it? It'll all work out somehow.”
“You don’t know that.” Her breath hitched as she spoke, and he could hear her struggling to control the tears which threatened to become sobs. The last thing they needed was for Logan and Tabby to come over to see what was wrong. It would upset her more to have an audience.
“No, but I believe it. I believe that there's a reason for everything, even when we can’t see it.”
“Now you sound like Tabitha when she talks about Rah. I can’t make myself trust in a god who would allow such terrible things to happen to people.”
“Did I say I trusted in Rah, or even believed in him? I don’t know how I feel about him one way or the other. To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought. Still, I don’t believe that all of life is just one random event after another. Anyone who knows the story of our parents and Brin could not deny that there are other forces at work.”
She didn’t argue, but he didn’t think he'd convinced her of anything. It was more like she had given up, not willing to expend the energy necessary to argue over it. She leaned her head back against him and took a deep, shuddery breath, and sniffed once more.
“I’m sorry this is so hard on you, Holly, and I’m sorry you had to hear what Logan said at Gabriel’s cottage. That isn’t how I wanted to tell you.”
“It’s okay. I was a little shocked at first, but it’s better now, flattering, but—”
“But you still have feelings for Logan and not for me.”
“As far as Logan goes, no, I don’t think so, not anymore. It still stings a little to watch him with Tabitha. It’s everything I imagined for myself, but they’re good together. It’s very easy for them to…I don’t know, just be, I guess.”
“And me?”
“And you…” Holly sighed.
“Don’t let it bother you, Holly. I was like your brother before; I can be that again.”
“No, Brint. I don’t think we can go back to what we were. Looking back on our friendship, now, I don’t think you ever thought of me as a sister, did you?”
Now it was Brint’s turn to remain silent.
“That’s what I thought. I’m glad you told me. I just don’t know what I feel. I know this is going to sound incredibly selfish, but can I have some time to figure it out? It’s okay if you say no,” she added in a rush. “I always hated those girls on the island. You know the ones, the girls who would string a boy along to see the power she had over him, or to see if a better offer would come along. That’s not what I'm doing, I swear. It’s just that I feel all mixed up inside.”
Brint tightened his hold around her. “Take all the time you want, Holly. I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 23
Brin had rolled onto his side and was examining his scar. It had healed, but the scales would never grow back quite right. It would remain a weak spot for as long as he lived. Of course, with Cifera still out plotting his doom, he might not have to worry about it all that long.
There had been no sign of Cifera since the kraken attack, and that worried him for a while, but as the months passed, there were other, more pressing things on his mind. Until yesterday, that is. Aodh had come and said they'd had found something in the scrolls, but they wanted to check to make sure. Why did people do that? Oh, I need to talk to you. Can we meet tomorrow? Didn’t they realize how that affected the person who had to wait with no idea of what to expect? It was downright rude! If they weren’t ready to talk that very minute, they would do well to keep their mouths shut until they were.
So, here he was, waiting. Of course, he hadn’t been told when to expect Aodh. Oh, no, no, no, why would the man think to be specific? Just because Brin was confined to the cave while he continued to recuperate didn’t mean people should take for granted that he would make himself available at their whim. He might want to…nap, or maybe…well, he could be doing anything, really. The point was that it was the height of disrespect to keep him waiting like that. He would tell Aodh just that when the man decided to grace him with his presence. He spent the next three hours contemplating exactly the right words to say to give the man the setting down he deserved. When Aodh appeared at the entrance to the cave, Brin pulled himself upright and opened his mouth to begin the tongue-lashing, but then he saw her—Siusan—following close behind Aodh. She pulled her hood back and looked at Brin, and her whole face lit up in a radiant smile.
“Brin! I am so glad you are awake! I hope we have not kept you long.” She came over, threw her arms around his neck, and planted a fleeting kiss on his cheek.
“Certainly not!” he responded. “Is it late? I honestly didn’t even notice the time. I’ve been resting most of the day and appreciated the quiet respite. Your timing couldn’t have been more perfect,” Brin assured her.
Aodh gave Brin a look that said he wasn’t convinced the dragon was quite as magnanimous as he was putting on, but Brin chose to ignore that look and focus on the woman before him who was wearing a much sweeter expression.
“We have found some information, Brin,” Siusan said, motioning for Aodh to come forward. The two of them spread a series of scrolls before him and weighted the corners down with stones to prevent the paper from curling back upon itself.
Brin scanned the words and images before him. What immediately caught his eye were the drawings of two magnificent dragons facing each other, one breathing fire, the other ice. The two deadly jets met, and at their nexus, the artist had drawn a great divide. Surrounding the dragons were multitudes of what Brin could only assume were Etrafarians. On the next panel, the dragons were facing away from each other, flying in different directions. On the third scroll, the dragons were gone, and fairies clustered around an image of the Great Tree. They appeared to be weeping and clinging to one another.
&nbs
p; “Auriel and Cifera, I presume?” Brin asked. He looked up and saw Aodh’s nod of confirmation.
Aodh tapped the first panel. "This must represent the fight between the two, when Cifera tried to kill Auriel. Do you see how the jet of ice is much longer than the jet of fire? I think that is meant to show that Cifera attacked first, and Auriel’s response was strictly defensive. And here, the divide must be symbolic. It shows that some of the Etrafarians stood by Cifera and some by Auriel, but this…” Aodh said with some excitement as he slid the second panel closer to Brin, “this is the really interesting part. This is what we came to show you.”
It looked pretty straightforward to Brin’s eyes—two dragons in flight, going in opposite directions. That must be when Rah sent them from Etrafa, one sent to protect her, the other to punish her for her betrayal.
“Do you see?” Aodh asked.
The man was fairly bouncing with excitement. Brin took another look but saw nothing that would cause such a reaction. “I give up,” he said. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“Here, Brin, look here.” Siusan ran her delicate finger along the underside of the image of Auriel.
Brin narrowed his eyes, looked at Siusan, back to the image, and back at Siusan once more. “No. No, it cannot be. And…and even if it was, that wouldn’t mean that I….”
“But, Brin, why would the artist have colored it that way? She was a fire dragon, as you are. There would be no reason for her to have that purple flush along the belly unless—”
“You are reaching!” Brin protested, but he lowered his face closer to the scroll and could not look away. “It has been so long. The colors could have altered with time.”
“Yes, Brin, they could have. They probably have, but faded to become less vibrant, not changed entirely, and not only in that one spot. We think that there can be little doubt Auriel was pregnant when she left Etrafa.”
Brin did the math in his head. A thousand years in that blasted sword, almost as many years spent wandering from place to place after the death of Oke, the wizard who had raised him, several hundred years with Oke (though who really remembered how long it was, it wasn’t like he had paid much attention to the passing of years) ... It could be—it seemed impossible, but it could be. It would make a fair amount of sense, actually. As powerful as Cifera was, what could a lesser dragon have done to make Cifera hunt her so relentlessly, and then her child after her? We were talking about somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty-five hundred years, which was an awful long time to carry a grudge.
“My father…” Brin said in hushed tones. “There must have been another dragon, but I see nothing here to indicate that, and all the histories say it was only the two dragons that were sent to watch over Etrafa.”
“A mystery to be sure,” Aodh agreed, “but you must be right. Perhaps we will find something, but I would not count on it. These scrolls have been studied by centuries of Etrafarians. If there was a mention anywhere of another dragon, it would have been discovered. The coloring on Auriel’s scales is subtle. It was Siusan who noticed it and started putting the pieces together. We do not know for sure that you are the child of Auriel, but you must admit, the facts seem to support it.”
“Yes, that would explain her obsession with me,” Brin agreed grudgingly. “Her newfound interest in Holly and Tabitha must be tied up with that as well, although Aesri and I think that when we find the prophecy we'll understand more.”
“I agree,” Aodh said. “The prophecy might very well be another piece in the same puzzle.”
Brin snorted, “Yes, that sounds very Rah-like. He loves a puzzle. The problem is, Rah doesn’t seem to care if the pieces get torn up a bit as He puts it all together.”
“You are worried for them.” Siusan placed her hand on Brin’s neck and patted gently.
“Of course I worry! I’ve told you, time and time again, that as soon as I can fly, I am going to find them. I can’t imagine what they’re going through out there. Trina’s monster of a son may have already found them, for all I know. It’s an intolerable situation, Siusan.”
“Please do not be so hard on yourself. Even if you were well, you would not know where to start looking. You cannot track them through the forest, and you could fly right over them and never see them.”
“You aren’t making me feel any better, Siusan. You know I have to try.”
“I know, Brin. I know.”
Aodh rolled the scrolls back up and tucked them under his arm. “I need to get these back. If anyone notices they are gone, it will draw suspicion. I think this information is best kept between the three of us for now.”
“Agreed,” Siusan said.
“You aren’t both going?” Brin complained.
“Yes. Aodh will return the scrolls to the library, and I am going to take some fruit to the holding area. Trina keeps them fed, but their diet is pretty limited. She is being purposely cruel. With the bounty of Etrafa, there is no reason why they should want for anything.”
“I don’t like you going there, Siusan. They told you to keep away. Why do you insist on risking Trina’s wrath?”
“Oh, Brin, you worry too much. What can she do to me? I am not cine measctha; my family line is impeccable. She might like to lock me up with the rest, but she knows that would be a mistake. If the ‘pure’ families think they might be at risk, she will lose the bulk of her supporters.”
“Still, it is a foolish chance to take. I don’t like it, I tell you.”
“Yes, as you have already said, many, many times.”
She kissed him once more, and he watched her leave. It occurred to him that males, that is to say, all males, everywhere, had the same problem. In a word: females. There was no getting around it—they were the ones in control. Even the Breken with their illusion of male mastery over their women were fooling themselves. Women pulled the invisible strings of all society, even in the animal world. Males were but their puppets, forced to dance for their pleasure. The thing of it was, they had a way of making you think the dance was your idea in the first place. They had a way of twining themselves around your heart. Fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, it was just a slight variation on a theme.
Brin sighed. Dearra, Tabby, Siusan—three women, all bent on driving him crazy, and he'd let them! He told himself he needed to put his foot down, and he'd tried, truly, he had, but somehow, his foot always seemed to come down precisely where they wanted it.
“Females!” he said aloud.
And now there was one more female to think about: his mother. Had she still lived, Brin had no doubt she would be no different than any of the others. He would probably find himself making a willing fool of himself for her. He didn’t grieve for her loss, exactly, after all, he'd never known her, but knowing now what he knew, he felt a pang of regret. Oke, had raised him well, with affection, certainly, but he would have liked the chance to have known his mother. She must have been an extraordinary dragon. He smiled a little and thought about how much he would've enjoyed introducing her to the other women in his life. Wonderful, brave, loyal Dearra, who had risked everything for her love of him; funny, feisty, Tabitha, who had just started to become what she was always meant to be, though she was too insecure to see that she need never compare herself to anyone else; and beautiful, intelligent, loving Siusan who had a heart as big as any dragon’s. How he would have liked for those two females to know one another.
“Sentimental drivel,” he spoke again to the empty cave. “I am growing soft in my old age,” he complained.
Brin shuffled toward the back of the cave and used a curved claw to peruse a mound of pearls, but they all looked dull and lusterless to him. The pile of gold had taken on a brassy quality and likewise could not hold his attention. He moved to the huge, yellow sapphire he'd acquired some ten years ago while in search of the prophecy. Its color had never failed to mesmerize and delight him, but today, as he looked into the jewel's depths, he compared it to the amber of Siusan’s e
yes, and found it lacking in any real brilliance. He tossed it away, and it rolled into the corner, there to be forgotten like a favorite toy that had been outgrown.
He returned to the place where he preferred to sleep, and he let his lids drift shut. A nap would be just the thing to set him right. He was feeling out of sorts, but a good snooze always made him feel better.
He exhaled, and his warm breath covered him like a blanket. The persistent drip of water from some far depth of the cave lulled him like chamber music.
He was in a field unlike any he could remember. Wave after wave of glorious white flowers rippled in an unseen breeze sending their sweet perfume over him, around him, and through him. Sunshine, clean and bright, drenched his skin, making his scales shimmer.
Across the field, Brin saw two figures standing hand in hand. They were not walking, and yet they drew closer until he was able to make out their faces.
“Tabitha! Holly!” he called out to them, but they seemed not to hear, and they were no longer coming nearer.
A shadow passed overhead, and Brin shuddered at the sudden chill. He started to walk towards them, but his steps didn’t seem to be closing the distance. He paused and cocked his head
“Tabitha!” he called out again.
She cannot hear you, Brin’du Drak’Tir. She is too far away.
“Tolah!” Brin bowed his head in reverence. The sound of Tolah’s voice was one he would know anywhere, as any dragon would.
Again, the shadow blocked out the sun, and this time Brin felt fear.
Do not fear the darkness. It is only a momentary thing, with no more substance than a sigh. When the darkness comes, you must remember that it does not mean the light has gone, only that something has gotten in the way. The light remains, always.
Prophecy (The Destiny Series Book 4) Page 19