“Ashclaw,” she rasped.
Iseult was already on his feet, drawing his sword, as if he’d face the dragon on his own. The camp had begun to stir. Naoki lifted her head with an inquisitive chirp.
Iseult looked down at Finn, then to the rest of the camp. “Deeper into the woods! Now!”
Finn felt rooted to the spot as a thousand thoughts coalesced into one solid notion. She had acquired many different enemies, but what was the one thing gods, faie, and mortals alike feared?
Dragons. This one especially.
She launched to her feet and ran past Iseult toward Naoki.
“Finn, no!”
Iseult’s words barely reached her. Naoki was already up and moving. Finn dove onto her dragon’s back just as she launched herself skyward. She had a moment where it felt like all her organs had sunk to her belly upon Naoki’s white feathers, then they were in the sky, cold wind whipping by almost painfully.
She didn’t dare look down at the camp, at those calling out to her. Ashclaw had noticed her. He veered off course, circled once, then gave chase as Naoki made for the edge of the forest, her wings pounding frantically.
In Finn’s last encounter with Ashclaw, he had spoken into her mind, then left her alive for Loinnir to heal her. He’d called her dragonkin, not his enemy.
Would that truce hold now?
She was about to find out.
Bedelia
Bedelia shot up in her bedroll to the sound of frantic shouts and running feet. A flash of white caught her eyes as Naoki grew small in the sky above, Finn atop her back. Awestruck, her jaw dropped, then instinct kicked in and she was out of her bedroll, tugging on her boots then strapping her sword across her back.
Her next thought was to look for Iseult, who she turned to find rapidly approaching her back.
A rare show of emotion creased his brow. His sword was out, for what little good it would do. “Saddle the horses. We must follow them.”
Kai and Anna arrived on either side of her, then moved on, reacting more quickly to head toward the horses. She forced her dizzy thoughts to quiet and rushed past Iseult to aid them.
She had just tugged her horse’s belly strap tight when a hand alighted on her shoulder. She turned toward Syrel, already outfitted with her quiver and bow strapped across her back.
She gripped Bedelia’s shoulder so tightly it almost hurt. “Let me come with you.”
Bedelia glanced around, confused. The other Aos Sí had already dispersed into the woods.
“Wha—”
Syrel’s blue eyes were wide, pleading. “Hiding in these woods like a coward is as bad as being trapped under the rule of the Snow Queen. Please, do not leave me here. Take me with you.”
The others had already climbed into their saddles. She had to go. “It is too dangerous! We’re chasing a dragon!”
Syrel clung to her. “If the world is to stay as it is, I do not want to live in it!” Her voice lowered. “Please, I long to be free. Let me help.”
“Bedelia!” Iseult shouted. “Now!” With the reins of Finn’s horse looped on his saddle, he turned his horse and galloped off, followed shortly by Anna and Kai.
She pulled away from Syrel and hoisted herself atop her saddle. “I have to go!”
One last look at Syrel’s pleading eyes made her decision a split second before she acted. She offered Syrel a hand, then tugged her up into the saddle behind her as she kicked her horse to a gallop.
Syrel clung tightly to her waist, letting out a shout of excitement, followed by joyous laughter. Laughter at heading away from a safe existence and into danger.
Bedelia found that odd, and decided her initial impression of the female Aos Sí was correct. Their time with Oighear had driven them utterly mad.
Finn
Finn clung to Naoki’s neck, keeping her belly pinned low across the dragon’s back to avoid being ripped free by the wind. Their aim was the Sand Road past the edge of the forest, where both dragons could comfortably land.
Naoki slowed as they passed the last of the trees, touching down gently for her, but for Finn, the momentum was too great. Her body kicked upward, flipping her over Naoki’s neck. Her breath left her as her back hit the hard-packed dirt road.
She groaned, then sat up, wincing at a ground-trembling thud as Ashclaw touched down some ways off. For some reason, her mind had made him smaller—likely because she couldn’t quite comprehend how large he actually was—but now she could not deny it as his looming shape cast her in shadow. His glistening black scales, cracked the last time she’d seen him, had repaired themselves. Perhaps he’d shed his skin like a snake, though Naoki had never done so. Of course, she had feathers, not scales.
Ashclaw stalked toward her, steaming saliva dripping from fangs the size of her forearm. One had been cracked at their last meeting too, but was whole and terrifying once more.
Naoki stood over her protectively as Ashclaw’s words hissed through her mind. “Brazen girl. I may have left you alive once, but ’tis foolish to believe I’d do so again. Dragons may not eat other dragons, but we kill each other for territory often.”
She scrambled to her feet, then placed a hand at the base of Naoki’s neck, worried she’d charge Ashclaw and they’d have no chance to talk. “I think if you simply wanted to kill me you would have caught us in the air.”
“I like to play with my food.”
He was getting too close. One blast of flame and— “Wait!” She held up her free hand. “I think you’d like to hear what I have to say.”
He took one step closer, then sat back on his haunches, curling his tail around his feet. He towered over her, blocking the sun’s warmth. “Do go on.”
She stepped forward, pressing her trembling hands against her thighs to hide her fear. “What happens to the magic you eat?”
“I thought you had something important to tell me.”
“I’m getting there, I promise.”
Ashclaw tilted his spiked head, then huffed a cloud of acrid smoke. “I digest it. It sustains me.”
“So what happens when I eat magic?”
“How should I know? You are an anomaly.”
“What if I told you I can eat faie magic?”
“That is useless to me. The faie are not tasty. They are deeply bound to their magic, and so I must consume their bodies. They offer little sustenance. Trust me, I’ve consumed many varieties.”
“What if I could give you Belenus and Arawn? You’ve had trouble catching them, haven’t you?”
Smoke spewed forth from Ashclaw’s nostrils as he craned his neck down toward her. “Do you taunt me, girl? I will catch the gods eventually.”
She smiled coyly. “Or, I could give them to you. Unlike you, I can take magic from the faie. When I am strong enough, I will use it to defeat the gods—they speak to me regularly. If you’re willing to make a deal, I will give them to you instead of killing them.”
She felt ill at her own words. She was no killer, and feeding anyone to a dragon just seemed wrong . . . but Belenus had started this. He wanted her dead, and would not stop unless she killed him.
Ashclaw seemed to consider her words. “What sort of deal?”
This part made her feel more ill still, as it came to her suddenly without time to consider consequences. She hoped she did not regret it. “Protect the burgh of mages from Belenus and his soldiers so that I can be free to travel and consume faie magic. Once I am finished, you will get Belenus and Arawn.”
“Or I could just eat you and your little dragon now, and find the gods myself. It is only a matter of time.”
She shook her head, desperately searching for a reason for him to help her. “This world is unstable! You say it is only a matter of time, but what if time runs out before you achieve your goal? What if you are forced back to your realm?”
He huffed smoke again. “Me? The mightiest of dragons, protect puny mages? They aren’t even powerful enough to make a good snack. Only lesser dragons would bother with them.�
�� He lifted his snout, but she could tell he was finally interested in what she had to say.
Her body was so filled with tension she thought she might burst. She needed to finish this before Iseult and the others reached them, for surely they were already on their way.
“It is good you do not wish to eat the mages, because you cannot eat them. Eat one single mage, and the deal I offer is off. Harm them, or refuse me, and I will kill Belenus and Arawn in another realm, and you will never get to feast on their magic.”
Ashclaw leaned forward, slamming his front talons into the earth. She braced herself against the sudden reverberation. His neck slunk toward her like a snake until his humungous snout nearly touched her face. His breath smelled like rotted meat and ash.
Her body began to tremble against her will.
Naoki breathed heavily, crowding toward Finn, ready to face down the much larger dragon without a hint of fear.
“Fine, dragonkin, you win.”
Her shoulders relaxed with a subtle exhale.
“I will protect your mages,” he continued into her mind. “Tell them I will come so they do not attack me. You have ten risings of the sun to complete your task. Provide me with at least one god, weakened for the kill. Fail, and I will eat the mages. I will steal their magic and use it to become strong enough to find Belenus and Arawn on my own.”
“Finn!” Kai’s voice sounded somewhere far to her right, near the edge of the forest. She was out of time.
She heard hoofbeats thundering near.
“Ten suns. Ten moons.” The force of Ashclaw taking flight knocked her from her feet. She fell back against Naoki, who curled her wings forward, sheltering her.
She steadied herself, watching Ashclaw growing small above her as she waited. Iseult and the others would reach her soon, and they would return to Garenoch to tell Ealasaid what had transpired. The mages would be protected, so she could venture far from Garenoch and not worry about Belenus attacking in her absence. He would not be able to punish her for rallying the faie despite his warnings, or for consuming the magic of those who would not obey her. Everything would all be alright. She had ten days. Ten days to change everything.
She clung to Naoki, and shook her head. Ten days to change the entire balance of the land, bring all the faie under her rule, and capture two gods. She couldn’t forget about saving Kai’s family, and the others trapped in that secondary realm.
With that thought in mind, ten days suddenly didn’t seem like a very long time at all. Iseult was the first to reach her, and it was then that it became clear what a massive mistake she’d just made, because she dreaded telling him her plan. She might have bought ten days of protection, but she might have also bought a death sentence for them all.
Bedelia
Since they were one horse short—the Aos Sí women had no mounts to spare Syrel—Syrel rode with Bedelia back toward Garenoch. They kept to the Sand Road, the fastest route, despite the inherent risk of bandits, other dragons, or soldiers from Sormyr. Bedelia’s mind still spun from what Finn had done. That black dragon—Ashclaw she called it—was so massive . . . it could easily destroy the burgh. It might be put down eventually with so many mages around, but many lives would still be lost.
She clenched her reins, looking ahead to Finn, Iseult, Kai, and Anna—plotting, as usual. They’d all quietly conversed the entire day’s ride. Now night had nearly come again, but at least the torches lining the walls of the burgh were within sight. They would be safe soon, at least for the next ten days.
Syrel leaned forward, placing her mouth close to Bedelia’s ear as they both gazed at the nearing lights. “Are we sure it’s wise to enter a burgh that’s now allied with a dragon? Finn’s plan seems a bit mad.”
Bedelia secretly agreed with her, but thought it best not to say so out loud. When Finn had divulged her plan to feed Belenus to a dragon, she’d thought for a moment Finn had turned fully dragon herself. “If you remain near Finn long enough, you’ll grow used to these things. Much of her life is spent walking along a frayed rope through chaos, above a pit of untimely demise.”
“And here I thought power made life better.”
Bedelia sighed. “I’ve never met a man or woman with power who was truly happy. Not once. If you’re having second thoughts about joining us—”
Her breath was warm on Bedelia’s cheek. “No. No second thoughts. I told you, I will pay any price to be free. The life I’ve lived thus far, well, it can hardly be considered a life at all. Anything is better than that.”
Bedelia couldn’t help but be pleased Syrel would stay. She was pleasant to be around, and seemed to actually care about her thoughts and opinions. Not that Finn and the others didn’t care, they just tended to be busy with other things.
As they neared the gates of the burgh, she thought of Àed, hoping he yet lived. She was sure he’d like Syrel despite her lineage.
“Do you think we’ll see my brother this night?” Syrel’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Are you worried?”
Silence weighted the air, then Syrel spoke, “It’s just been a long time since I’ve seen him. I’m not sure how he’ll react.”
She was quite sure there was more that Syrel wasn’t saying. Perhaps an old grudge? Had Syrel done something to upset Eywen? Given the character of each, she thought this the most likely scenario, and not the other way around.
“We may see him, but he will likely be quite concerned with Anna.”
“He really loves her?”
“I believe so.”
She seemed to relax, slumping lightly against Bedelia’s back. “Then perhaps he is not the brother I remember. I look forward to meeting his new self.”
Well now she was wildly curious. “New self?”
“We all suffered under Oighear’s rule, in different ways. Spending so long . . . it changes you. I’m glad to see some of those changes can fade over time, and can perhaps be reverted entirely.”
Thinking of her own traumas, suffered in such a short time compared to Syrel and Eywen, she hadn’t the heart to convey her doubt that such wounds ever truly heal. You could learn to be a different person, but the hurt would always be a part of you, in one way or another.
Anna
With the horses stabled, and her companions safe in their chambers, Anna stalked through the dark streets of Garenoch. Maarav had pointed her in this direction, letting her know Eywen had been overseeing the construction of a new wall to the east, as far as the forest and distant cliffside would allow. Since they’d come in from the west after nightfall, they hadn’t noticed the construction.
Though Eywen would likely be back to the estate soon, she was eager to find him. Why did he never mention having a sister?
What else did she not know of him?
She found the group of mages, a few assassins, and Eywen as they were admitted through the gates. The mages shoulders were slumped. She’d learned previously that using magic to erect entire walls exhausted them. Many would sleep through the next day, and some likely beyond that.
Eywen brought up the rear. Despite the black hood shadowing his features, she could tell it was him by the way his tall form gently shined to her eyes alone.
She waited for the tired mages to pass, then went to him.
He noticed her immediately, and waved off the few inquisitive mages who’d noticed he no longer walked behind them.
He gripped her arms gently. “You’re back so soon? Has something happened?”
She wanted to embrace him, but resisted, even though with his features shielded from the humans, it likely wouldn’t draw much notice. The non-magic mortals of the burgh had grown comfortable enough with the occasional presence of Aos Sí, but they treated Eywen much like they did Naoki—they wouldn’t outright attack him, but they tended to scurry in the opposite direction.
She took a step back. “Finn drained the magic of the Dearg Due, bringing them to heel, and has allied the burgh with the black dragon, but we have othe
r matters to discuss.”
Eywen blinked at her, his features barely visible in the ambient light from windows, along with a few outdoor lanterns and torches. “We have other matters to discuss?”
She nodded, then glanced around the quiet road leading into the burgh. Her bones ached for her comfortable bed, but sleep would elude her unless she first spoke with Eywen. “Yes, I’ll answer your questions about Finn, but there are some questions you must answer too. But not here.”
“Have you eaten?”
She shook her head. They’d had some slightly stale bannocks on the road, but little else.
“Then let us go to the inn. We’ll each have a nice meal away from the interruptions of our companions.”
“Don’t you think people will stare?”
“Since when have you cared what anyone else thinks?”
She laughed. However, despite his bold words, his hood remained up when they entered the inn’s common room, and he led her to a far corner table, then sat with his back to the few burghsfolk present.
Once they both had wooden mugs of hot herbal tea—peppermint with oatstraw—and sad meals of undersized trout and brown-spotted boiled potatoes, Anna couldn’t quite bring herself to ask the questions she’d been so intent on having answered.
After taking a sip of his tea, Eywen leaned forward, trailing a lock of black hair out of his hood. “We were able to erect a good portion of wall today, but it will take many days to complete it, and far beyond that for any winter crops to fatten the burgh’s food stores.”
She looked down at her plate, then back up to him. She had not involved herself much in burgh business, too busy with the constant chaos that was Finn. “Things have grown quite dire, haven’t they?”
Dawn of Magic: Sea of Flames Page 8