Essa caught Tika’s quick shake of the head and asked no more. Tika understood Kija’s worry. Kadi and she had been friends, almost sisters, for centuries, and now Kija feared for Kadi’s survival among people led by one she deeply distrusted: Finn Rah. Although Tika and Shivan could find no hint of power in the direction they were travelling, they stayed alert for it. The rest of the company relaxed again as the terrain slowly began to rise.
They were three days out from the Menedula, fortunately halted as usual in the middle of the day, when Kija screamed. Brin’s cry came only a heartbeat later, and Tika sprinted from the gathered company to hurl herself on Farn’s back even as he was lifting from the ground. Sket stood for a moment, watching the four Dragons and the Lady he served dwindling in the distance. He turned back to their fire, only large enough to brew the inevitable tea, and sat down beside it.
‘What?’ Dog thrust her face into his. ‘What happened?’
‘Kadi,’ was Sket’s quiet reply.
Shivan walked a little apart from the company and shimmered into his Dragon form. They watched him rise and follow the other Dragons at a phenomenal speed. Sket reached for the kettle and poured himself another bowl of tea.
‘Finn Rah caused Kadi to either sleep or somehow become unresisting.’
Volk squatted beside Dog, staring at Sket who raised his eyes from his tea.
‘They hacked her head off.’
Volk pushed up to his feet, his face twisted with rage and sorrow. The air shivered around him and a bear, far larger than Sergeant Essa, stood in his place. No one moved, except Shea. She came alongside Sket, resting a hand on his shoulder as she looked up into the bear’s face.
‘They would thank you greatly Volk, for your trust in us, and for your sympathy.’
The old healer Konya squinted across the fire at Shea. Where did that child get her dignity, and her knack for saying exactly what was needed?
The air shivered again and Volk, the man, returned. He stood almost defiantly, daring any comments or judgement. Only Essa risked speaking.
‘I just knew you were a bear,’ she said, in a tone of deepest satisfaction.
Interest in Volk dissipated when Onion asked Sket if he knew what their Dragons would do? And Lady Tika – how could they help her from here? A faint thaw touched Sket’s frozen face at Onion’s concern. He shrugged.
‘They’ll tell us when they get back I’m sure. Let’s just try and rest, we won’t move on until they return.
They kept the fire going throughout the night: no one even pretended to sleep. It was near dawn although still dark when Sket leapt to his feet. A flurry of wings, and three Dragons landed – Farn, Storm and Brin. Tika slid from Farn’s back and hurried to Sket. She threw her arms round him, hugging him tight.
‘I’m sorry Sket, I had to go, and nothing would have made them wait.’
Briefly Sket closed his eyes and returned her hug. Then he pushed her away a little as Kazbeck thrust a bowl of tea at her. Tika looked round at the relieved faces, pale in the dim light.
‘I’m sorry,’ she repeated to them all.
‘Where’s Kija?’ asked Essa.
‘Where’s Lord Shivan?’ asked Volk at the same time.
Khosa tiptoed through the dew wet grass and jumped onto Farn’s back, crooning softly. Tika sat by the fire with a groan. Extra wood was hurriedly piled on and flames began to leap again.
‘Finn Rah tricked Kadi somehow.’ Tika stared into the flames as she spoke. ‘Kija said that although unable to move, Kadi was fully aware. Then some of the men just – cut her head off.’ Tears rolled unnoticed down Tika’s cheeks. ‘Kadi called Kija and managed to tell her quite a bit of what she’d learned of their plans.’
There was silence but for the crackle and sputter of the fire.
‘Babach also sent his mind to Kija. He tried to stop them. One of the men chopping at Kadi’s head simply stuck his sword into Babach.’ Tika sipped her tea. ‘That woman, Finn Rah, stood with Mena watching. And laughing. By then we all saw, through Kadi’s fading mind.’
She looked up as a growl rumbled through the air. A great bear towered over Essa, his eyes glowing in the firelight. Tika managed a faint smile before she continued.
‘We arrived when it was almost finished. Kadi’s soul had fled. Brin sent fire towards the people. He destroyed some of the men – I don’t know how many. But the rest ran inside the Menedula. Storm attacked the doors but there was no place large enough for the Dragons to get inside. Farn and I went back to Kadi. Kija asked me to help Babach.’
She shrugged. ‘He’d lost blood enough to cause him to faint. He is very old and I only recently healed him in the Stronghold. Kija took him – I don’t know where. Brin used fire on Kadi’s body. I saw no point in remaining there, so we came back here.’
‘Lord Shivan?’ Volk the bear asked, his voice only slightly different from Volk the man.
‘He opened a Dark gateway to the Realm. Ren was taught how to make gateways.’ Her tone was bitter. ‘He was trusted. He could cause havoc anywhere he chooses in this world. Corman must be warned. Hopefully, he will then alert Gaharn.’
Storm’s silvery grey face lowered towards the company.
‘We will destroy those people. One day, we will.’
Tika rose and caught his long face between her hands, pressing her brow to his. She remembered his fierceness in the desert, his anger at Kertiss.
‘One day it shall be as you say, dear one.’
His prismed eyes calmed and after a moment he withdrew, to settle back with Farn.
Corim had been heating the usual stew, left from the previous evening when no one had much appetite. He passed Tika a large dish and a spoon and, seeing her begin to eat, everyone else realised how hungry they were. Volk had resumed his man shape and was tending the horses as daylight rapidly increased. Tika spoke quietly to Sket.
‘No one seemed surprised when Volk changed.’
‘He changed last night, when I told them what you sent back to my mind, about Kadi.’
‘He told me Finn Rah is “Old Blood” – that’s what he calls people like him. This Sedka of theirs ordered the extermination of such people. Volk said Finn can change into many different shapes, but only told others it was through her mage talents. Really it was just her blood line enabling her to do so. She hunted down any like Volk and had them killed.’
Sket regarded her. ‘Volk changed when I said that Kadi’s head - . Well, that’s when he changed and he was truly angry.’
‘Perhaps that is the preferred method of execution here.’ Tika spoke with distaste.
‘Kadi,’ Sket began.
Tika leaned closer. ‘Kija severed her life thread before the men got to her air tubes. She did not suffocate.’
Sket’s eyes held pain. He understood what that would have cost Kija.
‘Do you know why she took Babach?’
Tika frowned. ‘She talked with him quite a lot in the Stronghold. She liked him. He did try to help Kadi.’
‘What do we do now? Suppose Finn Rah changes into a dog, or a bird, could she catch up with us and cause us any trouble?’
‘I’ll ask Volk. I think he can tell somehow – that’s why he was so interested in Shivan. We’ll wait here; Shivan did not expect to be away long.’
‘Bloody gateways,’ muttered Sket.
Tika laughed and got to her feet.
‘Can you identify your people Volk, like that hawk?’ Tika said without preamble when she reached Volk.
He nodded.
‘Are there many in this region? You said they live as solitaries.’
Volk shot a quick glance at her. ‘Quite a few in these parts. Family groups,’ he agreed.
‘Can you contact them? Warn them Finn Rah might try and spy this area – as a bird perhaps?’
Volk straightened and released the horse’s hoof he’d been examining. ‘We’d like her dead,’ he said flatly. Then he nodded again. ‘I can send word. Any who are ready to take a ris
k, I’ll ask them to meet us about two – three days travel from here. There’s a lake, set between several hills. I’ll suggest we meet there.’
Tika longed to know just how Volk might communicate with people so widely scattered; she was sure he did not command mind speech. But she let it lie for now. She understood the wariness ingrained in people constantly in fear for their lives would not be quickly overcome.
Sket ordered guards to watch the trail from the south, just in case Finn Rah decided to send her men after them. The three Dragons rested. They had used a lot of energy flying the distance to the Menedula at such speed, using their fire, and then flying back. They slept until early afternoon when Brin took the two younger Dragons to find meat. Tika had expected Shivan back that day but it was the next morning, when the sun was well risen, that the Dark Lord shimmered into view in his Dragon form. He returned to human shape and walked over to the company still gathered by the fire.
‘Corman was most grateful for the information,’ he said at once. ‘He said he had not been entirely sure of Ren so the instructions for making gateways had a few – restrictions among them.’
Tika gave a sigh of relief. The idea of Ren taking a group of armed men through a gateway to Gaharn, the Stronghold, Kelshan or the Realm had been preying on her mind to a considerable extent. Now Shivan began to smile. He handed her a scroll of thick creamy parchment, sealed and tied with a black ribbon.
‘The First Daughter has awoken,’ he said simply. ‘She sends her love – to you all.’ He turned towards the company, giving Tika some privacy.
‘Have you anything to drink other than that dreadful tea, Sket?’
Tika heard the ensuing exchange of insults from a distance as she stared at the roll in her hands. Lerran was awake! She found a sunny spot, a little apart from the others, slid the ribbon from the scroll and broke the black seal embossed with a Dragon at rest. Carefully she unrolled it, smoothing it against her knee. Black writing, in an exquisite script, flowed across the parchment. Looking down at the bottom, she saw a signature in a very different hand, the letters formed as if with a great effort by a trembling hand: “Lerran”.
People glanced across at Tika but continued to saddle and pack the horses and break camp, leaving her in peace while she read and reread the message from Lerran. Khosa was the one who finally approached her, butting her head gently against Tika’s arm.
‘They are ready to leave, Tika. If we are to meet Volk’s people, we must make some haste.’
Farn also paced towards her. ‘Is the news good, my Tika?’ he asked, his mind tone full of affection. ‘The poor lady is better?’
Tika carefully rolled the parchment again and tied the ribbon around it. She lifted Khosa to her cheek.
‘She says she longs to see you both. She thanks you Khosa, for your sons. She is glad of their company and of Akomi’s.’
Khosa was quite unable to hide the delight and pride in her mind voice. ‘Well I should hope they take notice of her properly.’
They travelled faster than previously, Volk leading them along tracks and paths indiscernible to any other eyes. Next day, they began climbing steeper ground although Volk kept the pace up. At the evening camp, he spoke across the fire to Tika.
‘Many more have gathered than I dared hope, Lady Tika. Word has spread among my people even quicker than usual. We will reach Blue Mirror by the middle of the day tomorrow.’
From Tika, Volk looked around the company. ‘No one of us remembers the last time we trusted Others.’
‘Your trust will never be broken by any here,’ Tika told him quickly.
He nodded. ‘Kija has taken Babach to Blue Mirror.’
Tika looked at him in surprise.
‘He is a dream walker,’ said Volk, as if that explained everything.
The three Dragons held back, flying only just above the trees, and staying with the horse riders so that they would all arrive together. The trees thinned as Volk took them over the crest of yet another hill and they saw below a large oval lake. Its waters were the most brilliant blue, slightly darker than Farn’s sapphire scales. Descending the hill, they saw a long low building about halfway round the western side of the lake. Dark fir trees spread behind the building but other trees along the shore were beginning to show the pale misty green of new leaves.
There were no people in sight, only Kija’s huge body reclined between the building and the lake. Farn, Storm and Brin now flew ahead of the horses, landing close to Kija, their riders slipping to the ground and closing up around Tika. They waited patiently. Kija gave them only greetings, no information about Babach’s condition or the people they were to meet.
The horses trotted down the hill, Volk in the lead, Shivan slightly behind him. The riders dismounted and suddenly children ran from the side of the single storey building, taking the reins and ducking their heads to acknowledge Volk. Tika released Khosa from her travelling sack, keeping an eye on the main central doors. She probed lightly for the feel of life forces and hid her surprise at the numbers she felt within that building. Far more than she’d anticipated. The children led the horses away and her company formed up behind her. Volk took a couple of steps towards the doors.
‘Is this all the welcome you give to friends of Volk?’ The lake rang with his roar and the doors flew open.
Tika walked over to stand at Volk’s side, inwardly cursing her lack of height, yet again. She watched the people emerge. Men and women, young and old, all wary but none holding weapons. A slender woman came to the front of the crowd and nodded in Volk’s direction although her eyes were fixed on Tika’s.
‘Hesla, this is Lady Tika. She is from a distant land, as all her companions are. She is not Kooshak. Have you heard what happened but three days past?’
The young woman Hesla nodded. ‘The gold one told us.’ She shivered in such a way that Tika knew with certainty that Hesla was the hawk who had spied on them days ago.
‘We have Babach within,’ she addressed Tika. ‘He has long been a friend to our people and although he is still weak, he says you have healed him twice now. He trusts you. Volk also seems convinced of your sincerity.’
Tika inclined her head. ‘I am glad Babach is mending. Perhaps we might see him?’
Before she’d finished speaking, Shivan joined her and all eyes turned to the young Dark Lord. His eyes blazed bright, as golden as Kija’s scales.
‘I travel with Lady Tika and her friends,’ he said. ‘I have implicit faith in her.’
He stepped away and his body shimmered into Dragon form. The crowd gasped and Tika watched as some of the people, older ones, she noted, fell to their knees, their expressions awed. Shivan extended his translucent wings to their full span and turned his head towards them. Then he closed his wings against his body and remained in that form for only a few heartbeats and before changing back to human shape in a gust of burnt cinnamon scented air.
Tika let her senses drift over the crowd. She felt acceptance in varying degrees from all except the woman, Hesla. Hesla had no mind powers as Tika understood such things, but in a way, she was shielded. She had a defensive barrier around her mind, suggesting it would take more than Shivan’s transformation to convince Hesla that this company was trustworthy. Even the woman’s posture was defensive: her shoulders stiffly squared, arms folded tight across her chest and hands clenched into fists.
Shivan rejoined Tika and the company moved slightly to let him through their double line. The sun glinted on the silver Dragon insignia on their uniforms and Tika saw the quick glances exchanged among the people.
‘May we see Babach?’ she repeated her request.
‘Of course.’ A much older woman spoke and beckoned Tika to the doors.
Tika felt Hesla had lost some authority somehow – clearly she had been resistant to meeting Volk’s “friends” and had swayed some of these people to her way of thinking. Shivan had cancelled out that advantage and now this older woman was reinforcing the idea that Volk was right in offeri
ng them welcome rather than Hesla’s distrust. Several of her guards remained outside while Tika entered the building.
She found herself in one large room but was quickly taken through it to a corridor off which small rooms opened. The woman turned the handle of one door and ushered them in. A narrow bed was set under the window and propped on many pillows lay Babach. He stretched a shaky hand towards Tika while tears poured down his thin cheeks. Tika and Sket went straight to the bedside while the others studied the old man.
He was thin and frail, yet had been hale only ten days or so before. His pale blue eyes, surrounded by silver, had sunk back in his skull. Konya joined Tika by the bed, regarding Babach with a healer’s gaze.
‘I’m sorry. So sorry,’ Babach stammered weakly.
‘Ssh.’ Tika brushed her fingers over his brow and the old man grew calmer. ‘You are still weak Babach. It will take a few more days for your body to replace the blood you lost, and a few more after that for the blood to be strong again.’
Konya had been holding Babach’s wrist, checking the thready pulse. She frowned.
‘You could surely heal him fully, could you not?’
‘I could.’ Tika smiled at the old man. ‘But forced healing leaves the body confused. It knows it was injured, or sick, then suddenly, it isn’t. It is a form of shock I believe. I am beginning to suspect the great healing I performed to save Farn, was too hurried. Or maybe I didn’t pay close enough attention immediately afterwards. His mind was very fragile then, until the First Daughter drew him back from the Dark.’
Konya nodded thoughtfully. ‘And in this case, the patient is safe, well cared for, so should recover more naturally?’
‘Did you know there is nothing quite so aggravating, as being talked over as though you were already dead?’ Babach’s voice was a tiny bit stronger but definitely peevish.
Tika grinned at him then sobered. ‘Babach, Mim gave you a pendant, but I haven’t seen you wear it?’
Babach struggled to sit up a bit more and Konya slid another pillow behind him.
Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light Page 5