Garo-lin just sat there on a rock by the side and stared distractedly at the uneasy run of that crystal clear water.
It was good to breathe that fresh air, to see that familiar scenery, to feel again what it was like to live caring only for the little things of the village. There was not the splendor of the Fire Capital, the intensity of Routes or the ostentation of the Dul'Maojin Institute, with its proud Black Gates. Even so, Godan was well. Nanfan Storm with the period of strong winds would soon pass, the harvest promised to be good for some time and people were excited. It seemed to be a happier time than when she left...
Faced with all this, a question sounded sneaky: could not she just stay?
For a moment her mind was lost with that possibility.
She would not go back with the Dragons, she would stay. They could not force her to go and she was not inside the walls of the Institute so she could not leave...
Garo-lin laughed at her own absurd idea. It would be nice, but it was not that simple. What would she say to her parents? How could she explain that she no longer wanted to be an almakin when they did not know the true meaning of it? How she would the Fire Dragon deal, especially after that statement of possession last night?
Knowing that it was not so easy to simply act as she wanted, she took the glass ball and held it in front of her face, twirling it between her fingers and admiring the rounded effect she gave to the reflection of the landscape. After all, there were things she could not just give up. How would she leave Kidari? She would be spoiled by her mentor.
And there was another person who wanted to see: she would give everything so that the Royal Dragon was there. Even with his strange way of being oblivious to reality, of all the Dragons he seemed to be the one closest to the rest of the world. Certainly, under all circumstances, he would only appear at that moment and say something like-
— Are you lost?
She looked around, startled. She could have sworn she had heard Nu'lian Gillion's voice, and it was not an echo of her thoughts. Then she felt a wet sensation on the palm of her hand, in which she held the ball distractedly, and opened it. Even more amazed, she saw that there was something inside it, something very much like golden hair. So, as one might expect in a supernatural situation like that, her reaction was exemplary:
— AAAAAAAAAHHH! – she jumped up and ripped the chain from her neck, desperately trying to end the ball.
— NO, GARO!
But it was too late. The shout in demand tone ended in a muffled and gurgling form as the ball sank into the river water.
But fortunately he succeeded in getting Garo-lin's rationality back and reminding her of the things she had seen in Routes. Her knowledge about almakis objects and their functionalities was minimal and, consequently, limited. This was an object of one of the greatest almakins of the Realm, and would receive a great fury if he discovered that she had thrown it in the river because a voice had come out of it.
Then, even fearful, she slipped into the icy water and began to search among the stones until she found the silver glint of the chain. Lifting it carefully, hoping it had not broken, it was with a mixture of relief and amazement that she saw the face of the Royal Dragon intact within the sphere.
— Hello – he said, after concluding that she would not be frightened again.
— I’m sorry! – she asked, taking the ball carefully in the palm of her hand, thinking that the damage it caused to the object would also be inflicted on the dragon. – Did you get hurt?
Unable to restrain himself at the situation, he laughed. Realizing how silly her question had been, since it was impossible for the Royal Dragon to really be inside that glass ball, she felt it had turned red to the root of her hair.
— I didn’t get hurt, Garo – he reassured her, trying to stop finding the funny situation. – Did not Kris tell you how that sphere works?
She remembered the circumstances in which she won the sphere and how she definitely did not want to reveal those details to him.
So just summed up with a saving formula:
— He didn’t – and, covertly, returned to the stones, taking off her soaked boots and sit where there was sun to dry.
Patiently, he explained how that form of communication worked.
— Unbelievable! – that was all that his fascination allowed him to express.
— If you didn't know that, how did you call me? – he asked in doubt.
She lost the feel of the stones beneath her feet. How could she tell the dragon that she was thinking of him?
— I... I... the river! – she found a way out and focused the ball into the water, mistakenly thinking he could see the landscape. – You are the Water Dragon and I thought you would like this place!
Saving to tell her that he could not see and that it was no use to turn the ball around, he tried to change the subject:
— How are you? Did you like Routes?
— I did! A lot! But now we're not on Routes.
— I know.
— How?! – she turned the ball to her face.
In response, he just smiled.
— It was a promise! – she tried to explain her version of everything. – If I tried, he-
— And you did it, Garo. In such a short time, you did what Kris took more than a year to learn.
She stared at him, as if searching for something on his face saying it was true. To confirm if she had heard right, she asked:
— Did the Fire Dragon take a year to manage his almaki?
— Well, he was 5 years old and always had trouble concentrating.
Garo-lin thought it best to forget those sublime seconds in her life that she thought she had done something astonishing compared to the Fire Dragon and she was silent.
— And the visit to your village, how it doing? – he asked, amused by her annoyance, but not wanting to provoke her any further.
— Very good! – she exclaimed, finally meeting someone to talk about it.
Good things had happened and she knew she could tell them to the Royal Dragon. Even if he did not really listen to her, at least she could speak without bothering to get offensive comments from him. Then she tell about people, her brothers, the new bridge built, about the party they had made for the Dragons, about Kidari having fun and about her newest control, the handling of colorful explosions, and he listened attentively.
— I'm glad you're having fun.
— Yeah – she sighed. – But we must go back. The assignment deadline is running out and I don't know exactly how I'm going to report.
— Did Kris ask you to make a report?
She wondered at the question and only replied with a negative nod.
— So don’t worry – he completed, as if the fact that she did not need to submit a mandatory report at the end of her mission was something of no importance at all. – Enjoy more of this little time with your family. You will have to go back to two years at the Institute and there you will do as many reports – and completed before her sigh. – Don't get discouraged, Garo. It will not be so difficult from here on out.
Well, Garo-lin wanted to believe it, but her hopes had no strong basis to support this expectation.
— See you, Garo.
— Nu’lian! – she called suddenly and then realized that she had called him by his first name.
Not seeming to mind this, the dragon looked at her, hoping she would continue. Then she took a deep breath and gathered all the courage she had to say:
— Thank you!
Slightly surprised by this thanks, he only replied:
— I should thank you.
And then, without much explanation, the image of the dragon's face thinned into what looked like water and then disappeared, leaving the sphere completely empty.
More confident after that little conversation, feeling that she would be able to solve any problem from now on, Garo-lin put on her boots, stood up and stretched, repeating loudly so that the words had more effect:
— Don'
t get discouraged, Garo. It will not be so difficult from here on out.
But when she turned, she came across someone staring at the stones. A man was propped up in a tree, as if he had been waiting for her to finish what she was doing. When she realized that she had noticed him, he straightened up and said:
— So you're really such a Garo-lin vilashi.
And at that moment several other people began to appear around her, leaving hiding places camouflaged by the play of lights and shadows of the treetops.
She did not know how they had come so close without making noises in a place like that, where any broken twig resounded like a whip through the stones. The fact was that she was surrounded and had no idea of the intention of that group. Without having an alternative to escape, she prepared to attack any hostile movement. However, they were much faster. A net fell on her, and as she tried to look up to see who had thrown it, something hit her head.
She still felt her body hit heavily against the stones, before she completely lost the notion of what was happening and everything went dark.
***
— Where was that useless?! – Krission Dul'Maojin raged as he paced the floor in the center of Godan village, being watched by the Lighting Dragon, Kidari, and an uncomfortable Garo-nan.
— She must have gone out with some of her twenty brothers – Zawhart deduced, in a tone of complaint.
It was apparent that the Lightning Dragon did not find it particularly useful to be there when he could use that time to finish the basic lessons of her protégé and teach her to handle her almaki decently. The fact that he was wasting his time precisely because of the problematic vilashi did not help to reduce his state of mind.
— She isn’t with her brothers, the Vilashi has already checked – the Fire Dragon pointed nonchalantly at the one mentioned, as if he had as much importance as the stones that coated the floor.
Acting wisely, Garo-nan preferred to ignore the rude way he was treated by Dul'Maojin and reported only to the other two:
— Mother Colinpis spoke to her this morning, but she was not home by noon. I've also searched in the village and surrounding.
While Garo-nan reported, The Fire Dragon gave up on walk from side to side and tried again to use a more efficient method to find his protégé. He took the chain with the ball and concentrated, squeezing it in his hand. But as he opened his palm, the inside of the glass ball was still empty. Since he had demanded that Garo-lin return to his house to the center of the village-since they had to leave that day- and he had received the news that she had disappeared, he tried to find her by the sphere without success.
— I'll put an end to that useless one! – the dragon declared before another failed attempt at communication. – How does that vilashi dare not answer a call from the absolute self?!
— Kris, if she doesn’t come, let's just leave her here – the Lightning Dragon suggested.
— Ani! – Kidari said, horrified at the thought.
— Do you want to stay too? – He asked, without a trace of joking tone.
But the kodorin did not have time to end her gasp of dread. A shrill whistle sounded over them, calling their attention, and they saw a large bluebird with a black beak, that circled for a few seconds and then descended into the center of the stage.
On its paw was a leather strap that fastened a small bag of the same material.
— It's a messenger bird! – Exclaimed Garo-nan, surprised.
— He's an envoy from an almakin of nature. – Zawhart was more precise.
Before any of the three moved, Kidari took the lead and ran to the bird, which remained obediently stopped.
— What is she doing? – Asked the Fire Dragon, after she had knelt in front of the beast and stood that way for a few seconds. Then she patted the bird's head and unleashed the pouch from the strips. As soon as it was relieved of her burden, the bird flapped its wings and flew quickly, disappearing into the sky.
Kidari opened the bag and rummaged through it, counting:
— A letter here and... – She did not finish the sentence, just got up in awe and came back to them, displaying a handful of hair mingled in her hands, covered by something red.
— Blood – she said, her voice shaking.
— Is it from Garo-lin?! Said Garo-nan, but it was the Fire Dragon who grabbed the letter first and read it.
He narrowed his eyes and something seemed to flash around him, so he immediately used his orderly tone:
-VINSHU! Wait here with kodorin! Vilashi! Show me where this place is! – He indicated the name on the letter.
Chapter 16 – The Proposal from Stone Valley Pirates
Feeling her body aching and cold, Garo-lin opened her eyes with difficulty, but all she saw was darkness. Soon she became aware that she was lying on the ground and that her hands and feet were fastened by ropes. There was also something sticky that had run down for her head and was partially dried, creating what appeared to be a shell across the right side of his face. From the strong smell, she soon recognized it was blood, and that was a clue to remember what had happened.
Breathing quickly and trying to stay calm, she realized that she was not really in a dark place, but that there was a blindfold over her eyes. The pain that pressed the bruised side of her head was so intense that it did not let her feel the cloth covering her vision.
Trying to ignore the wound, – since it would not help her at all – she focused on the noises and sensations around her to find out where she was. It seemed a closed place with a light breeze, dry and icy. There was a continuous noise, filled with heavy beats, which sounded uneven and in various forms. Plus, she was probably alone, since there was no movement around her. If the person who had done this to her, was watching her, would not be around.Confident in this deduction, she slowly began to move her hands, trying to get rid of what was holding her. He could not risk handle in the dark, not without knowing where he was. If she let go, she could take of the sale and then at least hope to run away.
She did not know exactly from who or what she was running away. But by the way they got it, it was clear that those people had no good intentions and she did not simply want to wait to find out what they were.
Suddenly she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, of small stones being kneaded and soon a conversation became distinguishable:
— Coming from Sutoorin. Something also happened on Routes last night and we have accurate information that they were in town. In Royal Capital has a comment circulating that the Government has not yet accepted the proposals and that it is acting on its own.
— And what do we do with that one? – The second voice asked, speaking clearly about her.
— It must be no big deal – the other one laughed, now with his footsteps pausing. – A vilashi who has almaki... but our informant said that if we were with her, we would have an asset against the Fire Dragon. – And if we are with him, the Lady of the Fire Capital and his heiress cannot do anything.
— Did you send the messenger bird?
— Yes, and he can come at any moment.
— But what if this informant is wrong?" Why would we be at an advantage against the Fire Dragon with this vilashi?
Garo-lin felt as if something chilly ran down his spine as he understood the situation and could not avoid an involuntary movement with his leg, which hit something and made another metallic thing fall with a crash, revealing fully his situation of consciousness.
Immediately, the footsteps reached her and pulled her by the jacket, causing her to stand up abruptly. She let out a muffled moan as the movement caused a sore pressure in her head that nullified her ability to stand.
— Are you awake, then? – A menacing voice sounded very close to her face, and she could now recognize it as the man she had first seen before being caught. – It would be easier if you were unconscious, but we can arrange this.
— No! – said the other voice. – She will not be useful if she ends up dying.
—
Who are you? – Garo-lin said, her voice was muffled like who had been shut up for a long time.
But she did not receive an answer, as if she had not even asked, It was exactly the kind of attitude she received at the Institute, which gave her the absolute certainty that they were almakins.
— Take her out. – said the one who spoke as a leader. – Even with her here, we do not know how the dragon will react. – Let's stand her and wait for him to arrive.
— HE WILL NOT COME! – She cried, and when she realized that she had their attention, she continued. – Do you think the Fire Dragon will come here just because of me? – He is not stupid enough to take such a risk for... – She hesitated to admit the truth, however cranky it was to refer to herself in that way. – For nothing!
— Hunf – the man said. – We'll see.
And they dragged her effortlessly.
***
After a long time debating with himself, Garo-nan decided that the most important thing now was to find Garo-lin and put aside all he had against the Fire Dragon to ask:
— Why did they do that?
Krission Dul'Maojin kept concentrating on guiding the mombelula, as if he had not heard him.
Thinking he should not have opened his mouth and waited to find out for himself, the vilashi just moved to stay as far away as possible inside the cabin. For a moment, wondered if this was how her friend had been treated and if that was why she was so careful in the presence of the Dragons.
— When we get there, you stay on the mombelula – said the dragon after a while, exposing a plan that up to that moment seemed to be formulating in his mind.
— I'm going after Garo-lin! – Said Garo-nan, determined. – I can not just stay when her.
— You stay and make sure that get away! – Dul'Maojin spoke louder, to override his voice, using an unconditional tone. Garo-lin knows how to make the mombelula fly. You must flee, do you understand? They want the Fire Dragon, not the vilashis.
Almakia_The vilashi and the Dragons Page 20