A day later, they’d stopped when the sun was at its height and were scattered along the side of a shallow but wide stream. A piercing shriek came from high overhead and the Dragons pushed themselves up onto their haunches, eyes whirring but showing no aggression. The horses, having grown used to the proximity of Dragons, did not appreciate this new noise and plunged and pulled on their picket lines. An enormous Raven wheeled down to land among the company, most of whom prudently backed a few paces to give her a respectful space.
Hag’s beak gaped, then she strutted towards Tika.
‘To what do we owe the honour of your company, Hag?’
Hag took the words literally and almost purred with pleasure. ‘Just thought I’d visit, my dear,’ she said. ‘Funny place, this though.’
Tika frowned. ‘What do you mean by funny?’
Hag bounced slightly. ‘Most of the people in the whole land are dead.’
Ren gasped and Hag tilted her head to peer at him.
‘A few places, here and there, seem untouched,’ she told him in a kindly tone. ‘But not many.’
‘Hag have you been to the Menedula?’ Tika asked.
‘Menedula? What’s a Menedula?’
‘It’s a great building, made of black stone, further east.’ Ren waved a hand vaguely in that direction.
‘Nothing there.’ Hag was dismissive, then her eyes sparkled and she half spread her wings. ‘Magic north of there. Strong magic.’
Tika stood up, feeling happier once she could look down, a little, on the great bird. ‘Can you tell exactly where?’ she asked.
‘Of course.’
‘Well, would you then, and tell us?’
Hag cackled. ‘Always want me to run errands but always rude.’
‘Hag, I am not rude to you,’ Tika objected, then added, ‘My dear.’
Hag shuffled her feathers and strutted towards Khosa, who spat at her. Hag shrieked with laughter and went back to Tika.
‘You aren’t rude,’ she conceded. ‘I’ll have a look then,’ she ducked her head. ‘Just for you mind. My dear. The magic’s gone from that place you stayed at anyway. I’ll see you soon.’
She pushed up on her powerful legs and rose rapidly, a last shriek ringing down on them.
Again, Tika found Volk watching her. He smiled.
‘You have many friends, lady.’
‘Tika,’ she corrected automatically, but he’d turned back to calm the horses again.
‘How far to that town – where the Menedula is?’ Sket asked Ren that evening.
Ren grinned apologetically. ‘I have no idea. Volk,’ he called across their small camp. ‘How far to Syet?’
‘Four, five days.’
‘Is it still forest around there, or farm land or what?’ Tika asked.
‘Forest was cleared long ago.’ Volk stretched his legs towards the fire. ‘Farm land, pasture, for leagues around. Mostly south of the Menedula though. North is mixed forest, hills, lowish mountains. Hunters and trappers live up north.’
‘No towns north then?’ Sket pressed.
Volk shook his head. ‘People live solitary in the wild places. I used to.’
There was an odd note in his voice Tika couldn’t identify, but he’d clearly said all he intended: he got to his feet and vanished in the dark towards the horse lines.
Two more days of unending forest and at the midday halt, Shivan announced that he wished to go on ahead, to observe the Menedula. Brin’s eyes sparkled and he was in the air, ready to go. Shivan laughed and began to walk away from the company. His body shimmered, a gust of burnt cinnamon scented air blew towards them, and Shivan’s Dragon form lifted gracefully to follow Brin.
Brin had been carrying Essa and Geffal but Geffal was happy enough to ride a horse for a time, and Fedran chose to do so as well so Essa could join Dog on Kija’s back. The other two engineers were being given instruction in small arms use. Essa, and Sket, had been disgusted by the engineers total reliance on their explosive devices. They insisted the engineers learn knife work and at least basic sword skills. Shea had joined in the sword lessons with great enthusiasm. Dog had steadfastly refused any such nonsense, maintaining her leg still gave her unexpected twinges. As Tika had healed Dog’s smashed leg, there was doubt whether her excuses were strictly true. But when Sket and Essa appealed to Tika for her opinion, she just laughed and refused to get involved.
Brin and Shivan arrived back when the company were eating their evening meal. Volk had snared rabbits most evenings, and Kija had brought them a small deer on one occasion. Tika watched Brin and Shivan land at the edge of the firelight. Shivan’s Dragon form dwindled until he was the more usual, slender young man they’d grown used to. She noticed that they had landed quite close to the horses, but those animals made no fuss at the sudden smell of burnt spice.
Brin had fed on their journey back but Shivan was ravenous. They left him to eat his fill before plying him with questions about what he’d seen.
‘It’s not pretty,’ he said eventually. ‘Most of the dead are skeletons now, but there are an awful lot of bones. I used cold fire on the worst places – the steps up to the Menedula building, and in the first hall.’
He raised his hands at Tika’s scowl. ‘I didn’t go right inside. I felt nothing; no life, good or bad. But I didn’t go further. It is a very splendid building. Volcanic rock entirely I think.’
Ren nodded.
‘There was no life at all in the town – we flew over most of it. There were a few hens and goats but only a very few.’
Tika considered Shivan’s report. ‘I’d like to go there anyway. There may be some hint of what Cho Petak did to loose this violence. And maybe we can find the Weights of Balance.’
She wasn’t hopeful about that last. Although the Weights in Gaharn were not hidden away, the Weights in the Stronghold had been well warded. Ren had spent much of his life inside the Menedula and had no idea where the Weights might be. When the company settled for the night, Tika heard some speculation among her guards about the possibility of finding treasure within the ruined town and the mighty Menedula. She listened for a while but realised there was no great greed or enthusiasm behind that speculation. No, she had no need to worry how her guards would behave.
Two more days and they stopped at midday. It had been very hot, even for those riding among the trees. Volk estimated they’d reach the first pastures bordering Syet by late afternoon, even with a longer halt than usual. The Dragons sprawled in the sun, half asleep, half watching the sparkling water droplets thrown up by Storm’s splashing in the stream by which they lay. Tika moved a little away from the company, upstream, occasionally pausing to pick up an oddly coloured pebble from the water’s edge.
‘Lady.’
Her head swung round and she saw Volk, partly hidden by a tree trunk a few paces further on. She felt both Farn and Sket come alert but she sent a quick pulse of thought, telling them to stay as they were. Tika resumed her stroll, coming closer to Volk.
‘What is it Volk?’ she asked quietly.
‘The one called Shivan, lady. Where is he from?’
Tika considered her reply, then told him the truth. ‘From lands far to the south, Volk. A place called the Dark Realm. Many of the people have eyes such as his, and some transform to Dragon shape. Essa comes from that land too, but she shares only a fraction of Shivan’s Dark blood.’
She saw that Volk was listening intently to every word.
‘Why? Does it bother you that he changes his form?’
Volk gave a bitter laugh. ‘No, lady. It thrilled my heart to witness it.’ His dark eyes fixed on hers. ‘We are hunted and killed here.’
His body shivered, and there was a faint scent of spice, and an enormous bear stood in his place. Whatever Tika had expected, it hadn’t been this.
‘Are you still Volk, in this form?’ She had no fear of either the man or the bear, but she was deeply curious.
‘Yes lady. I was born Volk, a man.’
The
bear, its thick rich fur gleaming where speckles of sunlight touched it, shimmered, and became a man. Tika noted that somehow the bear had spoken aloud, as Hag did she realised. Yet neither bird nor bear had the right vocal chords to be able to do so. Tika smiled and sat down, patting the grass next to her.
‘Come and talk to me Volk, although perhaps it is Shivan you should speak with. You say you were born a man – in human form you mean?’
Volk sat beside her with a sigh. ‘We change when we grow to adult.’
Tika nodded. ‘That’s what happens among Shivan’s people. What else?’
‘We have different talents lady.’ He shrugged. ‘I can deal with most animals, calm them, heal their hurts and sicknesses, ease a birthing.’
‘There are others like you?’
‘There’s been a hawk spying on us last few days. It’s a young woman I’ve met before.’
Tika tried to keep her face expressionless. A hawk? She frowned. ‘You said “they hunt you and they kill you”. Who do?’
Volk’s lip curled in a silent snarl. ‘Those under the Menedula’s rule. Their Sedka said that my people were evil, abominations. Said we stole children, raped any females we found, drank the blood and ate the flesh of our victims.’ He spat on the ground then looked straight at Tika. ‘Although you got their eyes, I knew you weren’t one of them. That Ren, he WAS one of them but he feels the same as you do: different.’
‘The people you told us about – who live in the north, those who “live solitary”. Are they of your kind?’
A sigh gusted through Volk’s beard. ‘When it first happens, it’s difficult to control. It can happen with no warning. Many young ones leave if it happens when they live in a town or village. It doesn’t happen in every generation see, lady. I have a daughter back in the Oblaka. She’s never changed. I fear her younger boy may, and he’s in the worst possible place now, if he changes. But I couldn’t steal him away from her, could I?’
Tika decided that question was impossible to answer. ‘Do you know that Sergeant Essa comes from the Bear tribe? When she first saw you, she told me you were a bear. I thought she meant that you’d come from her homelands.’
She reached across to rest a hand on Volk’s arm. ‘You must surely be aware that among my company, Ren is the only Drogoyan? The Dragons, Sket and I come from across the sea, the place your people sometimes call the Night Lands. All the others come from the lands to the south of Drogoya. If you choose that they know nothing of you and your people, so be it. But I know they would all be interested to know more of you. They have seen far stranger things than you might guess Volk.’
She hesitated briefly. ‘I will be honest with you now. What I just saw, the Dragons also saw. They watched through my mind and my eyes. Yet they still lie there in the sun. They saw no harm in you.’
Green silvered eyes stared at Volk.
‘If they had feared you, or what you might do to me, you would be dead. But clearly they see you simply as one of our company.’
Chapter Three
Volk’s estimate was proved correct: the riders emerged from the forest just as the sun was beginning to sink beneath the trees at their backs. The Dragons landed on rough pasture, where new grass struggled through old, winter burnt tussocks. Volk dismounted.
‘We could stop here the night, lady, reach Syet this time tomorrow.’
Tika slid from Farn’s back. ‘Sounds sensible,’ she agreed.
She turned to stroke Farn’s face and laughed. His eyes flashed and he rose into the air again, swiftly followed by Storm and Brin. Kija huffed, but stayed with the company.
‘They cannot be patient for just one more day.’
Everyone heard the gold Dragon’s grumble within their minds, and turned to busy themselves making camp and to conceal their smiles.
The three Dragons returned as dusk turned to darkness and the two younger ones seemed subdued. Tika touched Farn’s face and spoke aloud for all to hear.
‘Was it very unpleasant, dear one?’
Farn’s prismed eyes whirred soft blue pearl. He used his mind voice to reach every mind. ‘This town is a bigger place than Gaharn, or Karmazen, but not so big as Harbour City. It is empty of people. It felt very strange.’
Storm gave a sigh which blew the fire’s flames almost flat. ‘It felt uncomfortable,’ he said, and leaned against Brin’s shoulder.
It was unusual for Storm to speak to anyone other than the Dragons and Tika saw Khosa’s eyes narrow where she sat on Konya’s lap. Yes, Tika thought, the Dragons felt the residue of the violent deaths which had occurred within the town and it unsettled them badly. She made no comment then, but resolved to speak to Brin once Farn and Storm were asleep. Brin was always happy to explore, she would ask him to suggest they reconnoitred north of the town for suitable resting places if she decided to travel further in pursuit of that burst of power.
They travelled at a steady pace next day, the horses much fitter than when they’d left Oblaka town. Usually, there was chatter as the guards rode, punctuated by occasional laughter, but by the time they saw the outskirts of Syet, the riders had fallen silent. There was nothing there at all, no song birds, no livestock, no one worked the fields weeding through newly sprouting crops, and there was a heavy cloud of desolation hanging over all.
Volk climbed down from his horse and led it forward, and the other riders followed suit. Tika and Sket, with those who rode the other Dragons, also walked now. Kija drifted above them but, as Tika had asked, Brin made a game of chasing Farn and Storm round the edge of the town and over the large black edifice that loomed above the empty streets and buildings.
Ren hurried forward to walk beside Volk, searching familiar streets and squares and open garden spaces for anything other than the tangled heaps of raggedy clothed bones. Although they’d not noticed even a breeze as they crossed the last fields before entering the town, once in the streets sudden eddies stirred piles of leaves and pushed dust devils scampering round corners. Tika had been prepared for the sadness of a derelict town, but she found it more oppressive than she could have imagined.
Ren had told them of various protected gardens at the rear of the Menedula, where he thought they should camp but he, like everyone else, was having doubts about spending a night in this eerie place. Approaching the side of the Menedula, they saw the broad and steep flight of steps leading up to huge double doors, both sides of which hung drunkenly from broken hinges.
Ren took them right up to the steps then along the depth of the building. The black stone looked as though it should have gleamed in the last light of the setting sun but the walls were sullen and flat. Ren led the way into deep shadow beside a high wall to their left, the Menedula itself to their right. The horses snorted and pulled at the leading reins. Essa held two of the spare horses and her arms didn’t seem to move against the tug of their tossing heads.
At last Ren took them through an open arch and they found they were in a large rectangular garden. Water splashed from a small broken fountain at one end and overflowed into a tiled pool. Shivan handed his horse to the nearest person, Fedran, and began to check the area. They waited in the gathering gloom until he came back looking a little puzzled.
‘No bones, nothing,’ he said. ‘I would have thought people would perhaps have tried to hide here.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s clear anyway.’
Volk immediately set about testing the freshness of the water before letting the horses drink. The company fell quickly into the routine for making camp while Konya and Khosa prowled what remained of the garden.
‘We set guards tonight,’ said Sket firmly.
There was a flurry of large wings and Farn landed carefully in the confined space. A bugling call came from above and heads tilted to look up at the roof of the Menedula which showed sharp against the last of the light. Brin, Kija and Storm peered down from what seemed an ornate but wide ledge surrounding the peaked roof. Tika sent a thought to the three, asking them to be alert through the coming night. She w
asn’t sure it was entirely necessary but the whole place had such a weird air about it that she preferred to err on the side of caution.
A sombre silence accompanied their meal and the guards scavenged every burnable scrap they could to build their fire higher than usual. Sleep took a while coming and was broken for most of them. It was a relief when dawn arrived and people could stop lying in their blankets, nervous of every sound. Volk had no wish whatsoever to enter the Menedula so he elected to remain with the horses, and Geffal volunteered to stay with him. Farn wasn’t happy that he would be unable to get into the passageways of the great building and reluctantly agreed to wait on the rooftop.
Eight guards waited for Tika to give orders, and she was pondering what they should be. Eventually, she sighed.
‘I was going to suggest we split up and search floor by floor. But quite frankly, I’d rather we stayed together. I can sense nothing alive in this building, any more than in the town.’
Ren nodded without much enthusiasm. Shivan moved alongside him, glancing back at Tika.
‘Shall I use cold fire if the ways are too – cluttered?’
She nodded curtly and followed him, her company falling in around and behind her. Shea tugged her sleeve and Tika looked at her, realising the girl was nearly her own height. She did so wish she could grow just a little bit taller, unlikely as that might seem.
‘I haven’t seen any ghosts, have you?’ Shea whispered. ‘There should be crowds and crowds of them I would have thought.’
They were now entering the building; a door lay split and broken to one side. Tika stared intently down long black corridors and realised Shea was right. She had never consciously seen ghosts before she visited Kelshan, but she felt sure, having seen them there, they would continue to be visible to her if any were in her vicinity. She stopped. Shivan had gone ahead and fire streamed from his spread fingers. There was no smell, and when they moved on, she couldn’t see even the finest layer of ash where bones must have impeded their path.
Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light Page 3