Siusan saw Dearra in the crowd as they flew over, but she was relieved to see that the woman did not look angry. Instead, she wore an expression of amused indulgence. She watched them as one might watch a much-loved child who had gotten into the candy. It wasn’t a look of happiness so much as a look of "well, if you must," but Siusan would take it over the shocked disapproval that Dearra had first shown when learning about them.
Brin glided away from Etrafa and headed toward the sea. The sun was setting. Its colors as it hit the horizon were a vivid wash of orange and yellow. She closed her eyes against its brilliance, but she couldn’t keep them closed long, wanting to savor every moment, no matter the discomfort.
“Having fun?”
“Yes, Brin, I am. Up here I can almost forget everything that happened today.”
“It isn’t so awful, is it? You have always served, why is this any different?” Brin banked hard, and she had to focus to maintain her grip. He leveled out again, but did not press her to respond, waiting for her to be ready.
“But, Brin, leader of the council! What if I can’t do it? What if I make a mistake?”
“You are not infallible, Siusan. For that, you would need to be a dragon. You most certainly will make a mistake, many mistakes, even, but they have elected you leader, not God. They will help you.”
“Did you hear all the things Nona said? And they believed her. Didn’t you see it in their eyes? They are expecting things from me I can’t give.”
“Then you will educate them. You will lead, for lack of a better word, and they will follow. They will learn, Siusan.”
“I wish I had your confidence.”
“Impossible! For that you would have to be—”
“Yes, yes, I know. For that I would have to be a dragon. You know, Brin, sometimes it gets a little crowded in this relationship, what with the three of us and all.”
“Three?”
“Yes, darling, Brin. Me, you, and your giant-sized ego.”
“Oh, well, that. I can hardly help it if I am a little proud. I mean, I am a—”
“Dragon,” she finished for him. She laughed and leaned forward once more, pressing herself against the warmth of his scales.
“Are you cold? We can go back.”
“No, not yet. I want to feel you beneath me for a while.” She heard the sadness in her voice and knew that he would as well. “You're going away, aren’t you?”
“Yes, for a little while. You knew that I would. Tolah has said it is time. I was going to take you with me, of course, but now—”
“Now I am on the council, and my duty lies in Etrafa.”
“It will not be long. We will go north, find the children, and bring them home. Then I can stay with you. Always.”
“And if they have found the prophecy? What then?”
Brin was quiet for a long time while Siusan contented herself listening to the sound of the rushing wind and watching the way the last of the dying light played off his scales. The prophecy could be either their salvation or their doom. She both longed for it and feared it. It was the unknown. All she could do was to put her faith in Rah, but sometimes, many times, actually, that was easier said than done.
Brin had been quiet for so long she wasn’t sure he was going to answer her, so when he started to speak, she held her breath in anticipation.
“If they find the prophecy, I will do all I can to help them from here. I will not leave you, unless there is no other way. I can’t promise you it won’t come to that, but for now, you need me more. Trina and her people are not to be trusted. Aesri can spout all she wants about healing and coming together, and I hope she is right, but when they elected you to lead the council, they painted a giant target on your back, whether they realize it or not. If it were possible, I would not go north, even now, but Tolah insists. It’s hard to explain, but when Tolah speaks, dragons listen. There is no argument, only obedience.”
“Wish I could learn that trick,” she said, mostly to herself.
“I heard that,” he grumbled back to her.
She laughed and hugged him more tightly.
He was right about the target. As much support as she had gotten during the vote, there was no way to miss that there were still people who found her relationship with Brin an outrage. They still believed that anything impure would taint them all and that the only path back to what they had been before the fall of the Great Tree, was to purge that impurity from their society by any means necessary.
“We should go back. You need to eat and get some rest. Tomorrow we will leave for the north, and I want to know I left you in as good a condition as possible before I go.”
“And will you let me come to your cave so that we can spend this night together?”
“I would not have it any other way.”
Chapter 31
Brint and Logan sat and stared at the innocuous looking scroll before them, as if they could decipher its meaning by strength of will alone. Some of it seemed clear, at least, but the rest of it…
Tabby was ensconced in a cushioned chair out in the sunlight. Her foot was propped up on a pillow, and there was a table beside her where the Etrafarians kept her well supplied with tea and something like a cookie that was made with maple syrup. Even now, Brint could see her napping in easy comfort. The break had been worse than they thought. Logan had set the bone, and while his efforts had helped, the healers said it would never mend properly the way it was. He didn’t even want to think about what they had to do to fix it. He was no faint-hearted miss straight out of the Mirin Tor capital, but even he’d had to fight back a wave of nausea as they re-broke the bones to set them back into place. Thank Cyrus and all things holy they had given her a sleeping draught before they attempted it. Logan was even more of a mess than he was, torn between staying by her side and running as far away as possible. In the end, he had stayed, but he kept his eyes firmly on her face and nowhere near where the healers were working.
Holly was out walking again. She had taken to wandering the surrounding forests in a state of nervous agitation, which had him worried. Gabriel had been right about the forest here. It was moody. The Etrafarians assure him that the trees were only restless, and there was no real harm in them, but if one was not careful, it was easy to get turned around within the woods. He tried to go out with her more than once, and she had allowed it, but he could tell she was wishing him far away so that she could be alone with her thoughts. After a few attempts to offer comfort and companionship, he gave up and left her to herself, knowing her Etrafarian escort would keep her from any real harm.
Logan stood up so abruptly that Brint was startled from his silent musing.
“I can’t stand this! We are not getting anywhere with this blasted thing!” At that, Logan took ahold of the small table and flipped it on its end, sending it, and the scroll, crashing to the floor.
An Etrafarian came bursting through the front door. They were so attentive that it bordered on annoying. Anything that could be done for the foreigners was done almost before the request was made. The sound of the table being violently upended had probably panicked the poor man waiting outside the door to attend to them, should they need anything.
The fairy’s eyes grew round with shock and dismay as he looked upon the sacred scroll and the upturned table.
“Get out!” Logan bellowed at the man who backed out of the door as quickly as he had entered, pulling it shut behind him.
“Did that help?” Brint asked him. “Because if it did, set it up again and I'll give it a go myself.”
“No, it didn’t help at all,” Logan said, kicking the table aside as he bent to retrieve the scroll.
“Well then, maybe we should be a little easier on the furniture in the future. I think you scared our friend out there half to death.”
“Good. They are getting on my nerves. All that running and fetching. If they wanted to be useful, why didn’t they take the last thousand years to study this thing?”
“I�
�m pretty sure they explained that to you already and more than once, if I remember correctly. I don’t really like their answer any more than you do, but there’s no use in getting angry about it now.”
“I feel like we should be understanding this more,” Logan said as he set the table back in place. “What I mean is, yes, it’s written in a cryptic sort of way, but we should be able to reason it out, shouldn’t we? It’s almost like…well, it’s almost like it doesn’t want us to understand.”
Brint leaned forward. “You know, that might not be as crazy as it sounds. No, really, think about it—if Rah is the designer of this plan, which it seems he must be, we are operating on his schedule. He’s had this plan in the works for, well, ever. Maybe we will understand only when he wants us to. Maybe we aren’t ready yet.”
Logan didn’t argue the logic, but he looked pretty annoyed by it. Brint was right there with him. If anything was clear, it was that Holly and Tabitha were part of the prophecy. That much they had known from the start. It was beyond terrifying to think of the two of them in any danger, and when the prophecy used words like “paid for with willing sacrifice,” it made his blood run cold. That didn’t sound like something that would end happily. He could all too easily picture his sister or Holly sacrificing themselves to save someone else.
“If we aren’t meant to know yet, there’s no sense in staying shut up all day. Let’s get out of here,” Brint said as he rose from his chair.
“What do you propose?” Logan asked with a glimmer of interest.
“Your sword arm could use some exercise—not that your magic isn’t impressive, but if you're determined to woo my sister, I'd feel better knowing you had more than one way to keep her safe. You may have noticed: she can be a bit of a handful.”
“But, what a handful,” Logan said with a grin on his face.
“Seriously? You want to go there?” The man had a talent for saying the very thing that was sure to get Brint’s back up. Worse, he knew it, and took great pleasure in doing exactly that.
“Actually, nothing would give me greater pleasure than ‘going there,’ but I think I will let her heal up a bit first.”
“That’s it! Get your sword. I’m going to give you a lesson you won’t soon forget.”
“I look forward to it.”
“And no fair cheating, Logan. No magic—skill alone.”
“That is hardly cheating. Would I ask you to tie one arm behind your back to keep things fair?”
“An interesting thought,” Brint said, as he moved towards the door. “One arm behind my back, you say? And you will not use magic?”
“Agreed, so long as it is the right arm.”
Oh, this is going to be fun, Brint thought. He'd make the man sorry he ever dared to cross him. As they made their way out into the sunshine, Brint felt better than he had in weeks, cheered by the idea of giving the Etrafarian a lesson in manners.
***
Holly picked her way through the forest, stopping now and again to listen for the sound of her tail. Everywhere she went, it seemed, someone would follow her, ready to get her whatever she desired—nothing was too good for the prophecy girl. It appeared as though she'd finally managed to rid herself of her unrequested escort, and she began to move more quickly, looking for a spot that would suit her purpose.
She'd made up her mind to go with Dibbuc a while ago, and since reading the prophecy, she'd only become more sure of her decision. The thought of leaving frightened her, but not as much as the thought of staying. Dibbuc had told her she could make everything better if she'd only go with him. She didn’t completely trust Dibbuc, and she trusted Cifera even less than that, but she had to do something. The others seemed to be flummoxed by the words of the prophecy, but they were perfectly clear to her, and she didn’t very much like what they had to say. If there was a chance, no matter how small, that she could prevent that from coming to pass…
"Of course, they'd never understand. They'd think she'd abandoned them.
“Dibbuc? Dibbuc, are you there?”
She heard the thrum of his wings, and she swallowed back her fear.
“Dibbuc isss herrre. Have you decided?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid,” she admitted.
“You will come with usss, yesss?”
“I will.”
“Then do not be frrrightened. The missstrrresss will take good carrre of you. She lovesss you.”
“Loves me? She doesn’t even know me.”
“Bah! Do you not have earrrsss? I have told you, the Etrrrafarrriansss arrre herrr childrrren. That makesss you herrr child. She wishesss only the bessst forrr you, forrr all of you. Herrr childrrren have ssstrrrayed, but she isss making rrready to brrring them all back into herrr arrrmsss. You arrre going to help make that posssible, all will be asss it wasss meant be.”
“I don’t understand. How will I do that?”
“Rrrah isss a jealousss god. He isss the one who hasss causssed all of thisss missserrry. When some of the Etrrrafarrriansss loved the missstrrresss betterrr, he punished them. What kind of fatherrr punishesss a child forrr loving? But my missstrrresss hasss neverrr given up, neverrr abandoned herrr childrrren. She fightsss forrr them ssstill. By choosssing to go with herrr, you will be able to brrreak Rrrah’sss prrrophecy, and my missstrrresss will be unbound frrrom hisss command to leave thisss place.”
“Break the prophecy?” Holly wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. Maybe she was making a mistake. Her feelings must have shown on her face, for the little creature fluttered forward and landed on her shoulder. He was much lighter than she expected. Her first inclination was to shy away from his nearness, but as she looked into his eyes, his head began to sway from side to side and she felt a kind of peace settle over her.
“Child, do not let yourrr hearrrt be trrroubled. The missstrrresss will take carrre of everrrything. All you need do isss what you have alrrready done. You have chosssen, and you have chosssen wisssely. We will come forrr you sssoon, verrry sssoon. The missstrrresss hasss alrrready dissspatched shipsss to brrring you to sssafety. She knew yourrr hearrrt. She sssaw yourrr goodnesss. Be rrready. Watch forrr the sssignal. You will know it when you sssee it.”
She continued to gaze into his eyes, unable to look away, but she discovered she didn’t want to, and all fear, all doubt, melted away from her.
“And child, when you come, you will brrring the ssscroll, yesss?”
“The scroll?” she asked, not understanding. “You said the prophecy would be broken. Why would we need the scroll?”
“It isss a minorrr thing of no rrreal imporrrtance, but my missstrrresss would like to have it. It hasss causssed enough trrrouble. She would sssee it dessstrrroyed. You will brrring it?”
A flutter of something tickled at the back of her mind and she hesitated, but Dibbuc’s head began to sway once more, and the feeling was forgotten. Why shouldn't she give it to Cifera? It would be of no consequence once she left, anyway. “Yes, of course. I will bring it.”
“Good! Dearrressst child, you have made the missstrrresss ssso happy. She will showerrr you with all of herrr affection, and everrry good thing will be yourrrsss for the asssking. Go now, beforrre you arrre misssed. Watch forrr the sssignal.”
Dibbuc flew off once more. It felt like quite some time had passed before Holly realized she was just standing there, staring in the direction he had gone. Some of the peace she'd felt with his presence had melted away, but not all. She was certain she was doing the right thing‒the best thing—for her and for everyone.
Chapter 32
Only a handful of people were at the docks to see them off—Siusan had seen to that. She claimed she wanted to keep the chaos to a minimum, but Brin thought she was worried she might cry. When you got right down to it, he was worried about the same thing. It was hard enough for him to leave her without the threat of tears.
Aesri drifted over to Brin while she waited for their ship to take on the last of the supplies. They didn’t plan to be gone lo
ng, but it made sense to prepare, just in case. Brin snorted. He knew who had ordered that precaution taken. Dearra was fairly chomping at the bit to get going, but she wasn’t going to let herself get lax. She knew taking on supplies now would hold them there slightly longer, but being forced to stop and find food or medicine after they had already set out could mean huge delays. What a change from her younger days when she never would have paused to consider before rushing headlong into danger.
“Aesri,” he said as a greeting. He looked down at her and was shaken to see she was the one with tears in her eyes. “Aesri! What is it?”
Aesri scanned the trees and the people, taking in the scene before her. “I am probably being foolish, but I have the strangest feeling I will never see this place again.”
“Has something happened? Do you know something I don’t?” he asked with real concern. Aesri was not at all prone to dramatics, and her behavior jarred him.
“Believe it or not, my friend, I know many things that you do not. Hard as it is to believe, dragons are not perfect, nor do they hold within their hearts all the secrets of this world.” Her voice held a teasing note; Brin was relieved to see her smile and dash the tears from her face.
“Bite your tongue, woman.”
Aesri laughed loudly, drawing the attention of several people, but when they saw her speaking to the dragon, they returned to their labors. “You have always made me laugh, even when I did not wish to. After Niada died and I returned to Etrafa, I started to sink into depression, but you knew that, did you not? It was you who reminded me there was still happiness to be found in this world, and even though I had lost the brightest light in my life, it did not mean all that was left was darkness.”
Prophecy (The Destiny Series Book 4) Page 27