It still seemed difficult for her to understand how things had happened in Almakia at the time she had stayed in her village. And at the same time, everything fit, making it possible to mount a panorama with the pieces that already had in hand. Now he could understand the frustration that Kandara felt, to the point of losing his vitality suddenly: your mother had managed to think ahead and left them with almost no exits.
The dragon said it was not as if they wanted to hide what was happening, but that the fact that she was alive was a novelty with which they did not count and that it forced them to rethink some certainties. He told me that Kandara had planned to expose him all that morning, but that his sudden departure to find the Lady of the Fire Capital and his return with the dragon were the fuse that had forced her to act quickly. Of course, the fact that Vilashi had brought her brother back was something decisive, an asset that Director Dul'Maojin did not counted on.
More than having the support of the Dragons, they needed to have all the power that only the Fire Dragon could perform in Almakia. Power that the director herself had cultivated and which she saw as certain in her plans. Just as Kandara had noticed since meeting with his brother during the Assignment in the Fortress, Garo-lin was an unknown factor for her mother. When he realized that something was wrong and began to monitor his son's footsteps, it was too late. And changing a person's feelings was not as simple as giving an order, even to the Lady of the Fire Capital. Then she tried to get rid of the vilashi in a way that did not cause a revolt in her son either.
Knowing about the fire and its aftermath, the Fire Dragon was not only shocked to be easily manipulated, it was in a state where it could not be struck by the calls of friends. Thus, she was able to continue her plan, acting through the pirates, who were given authorization to command the villages. She was sure that no vilashi would dare go against her and that the pirates would take care of any hindrances. Again, he did not say that vilashi in particular would be able to pass the siege and reach Routes for help. And knowing that she was in the Fire Capital, she might have thought that she would be able to peacefully end this obstacle by bribing her, as she had once done in a similar case. However, what she received was a barrage of insults that made her discover that perhaps that vilashi could not be so inconsiderate. And when he knew his heir was behind her, it was definitely the last straw.
At that, Garo-lin saw an immense hole that he sent before she was involved. Many times in his speech, the Royal Dragon made her understand that somehow the Lady of the Fire Capital knew who she was dealing with all along. So would not it have been much easier to eliminate all the problems at the root by stopping Kandara instead of letting her act freely? To answer that question, Nu'lian only smiled, and she immediately knew what he was going to say: that she still did not understand all the nuances of being dealing with the one who saw possibilities at all. So, trying to expand his vision, he explained:
— Of all of us Dragons, Vinshu is the smartest. But all he knows is nothing compared to the intelligence of Kris's mother. Not only does she formulate strategies as soon as she encounters situations, but she can determine various points of view for her actions. Kandara is a Dul'Maojin heiress, even though she has decided to follow in her own footsteps. Taking action against your own heir is dangerous and could split opinions. And at the moment, in order to be able to act absolutely, she must take care to always be well looked after in Almakia. It is much easier to thwart her attempts, letting Kandara herself get a bad name and lose her strength and will.
In the face of all this, Garo-lin felt extremely tired as he had never been in his life. It was very difficult, no matter what angle he looked at. Then, with a sigh, she spoke in a murmur, so that only the dragon could hear:
— Honestly, I do not know how I let myself stop here.
— Actually, it's very simple. Any way you took would end here.
The certainty with which he said it frightened her, as if she were doomed to be forever imprisoned.
— What can happen to us, Nu'lian? – She asked in despair.
— Do you want me to foresee it?
She stared at him, processing that request, which seemed to be much deeper than it appeared. And then she asked, with a tone of distrust:
— Can you even predict?
— It's a Water Family Secret. – He shrugged, as if he did not care. – It's not something simple, but sometimes I have to.
— Why is not it simple? – She wondered, since she had always had the idea that handling a Secret was something extremely easy for a Guardian, just as the Fire Dragon had shown her at the Institute.
— Unlike all other Family Secrets, the Water Secret is the only Secret that can not be taught. We were born with it. Perhaps it would be right to consider as Secret not our ability to predict the future, but to know how to control it. He who can not learn it in time does not always have good luck... it isn’t something simple because there are so few representatives of the Water Family. We can, yes, predict what can happen with certain precision. But every glimpse contemplated is exchanged for our lifetime.
— What do you mean? – She interrupted, startled.
— It's a price to pay. – He took a lock of white hair from the gold wire.
For the first time Garo-lin noticed that the whiteness in his hair was not something natural, akin to his mixtures. They were really white threads, like the old people. Up close, one could clearly see that he had golden hair, coming from his royal blood, but the white wires predominated. And if the connection she had made that these white threads were directly linked to the price to be paid and the concern the Dragons had when he spoke their certainties, the fact that there was more white than gold was frightening.
Understanding, but failing to believe, she asked:
— You mean... does your Secret Almaki make you die a little?
— Basically. Someday we will be exhausted.
— But that's terrible! – She was shocked by this new way of seeing an almaki power, far from being an enviable thing to own.
— Foreseeing the future is dangerous, Garo-lin. It is not natural. And if it were not for this detail, the almakins of water who knew how to handle their almaki for this purpose could make the world a chaos, deliberately anticipating anything. It may sound terrible, but it's a way to keep a balance.
Now several things about the Water Dragon seemed to make sense. From his most basic thinking about him: the fact that he smiles like someone who is still learning to do it. Really, it should be tricky smile like him even knowing that your own almaki power was consuming him from inside, like a incurable disease.
— You... you used the Secret... today...? – She remembered what the Fire Dragon had told her and how her friend knew where she would be.
It sounded terrifying for her to think he had sacrificed his lifetime to know about it.
— It was a debt. – Seeing the incomprehension stamped on her face, he explained it best. – The Dragons know my Secret, but they've never asked me to use it because they know the consequences. On the night of the fire, as I was, Kris came too close to asking me this, to really know what had happened, but he did not ask. Maybe if I'd heeded that silent request from the friend I cherished, he'd know you were alive and several things could have been different.
Although she didn't feel that was fair or right, Garo-lin understood what he was saying. If she were in his place, he would probably think the same way.
— Why... why are you telling me about your Family Secret?
— Because all my friends know. And you're part of the Dragons now.
Garo-lin, shocked, stared sat him. Maybe if this had been said by the Fire Dragon, she would not have had that reaction. But who had said it was the Royal Dragon himself, and those words struck her as deeply as if they were impregnated with almaki power.
— Sorry for messing up your talk, but we're here – Kinaito informed, taking her completely out of her paralyzed state.
Even as the mombelula flew
through the darkness, having only the faint light emitted by her eyes to know where she was going, Garo-lin felt the unmistakable sense that she was diving toward the ground and being held on.
Zawhart and Savorul stood watch, each taking care of one side of the creature, while Gran'Otto skillfully guided the harness and placed them on the ground.
— Where are we? – Kidari asked her in a whisper.
— I do not know – Garo-lin replied, since all he knew was that this was not one of the few places she'd ever been in Almakia. – Let's wait for and...
She did not finish what she was talking about. Suddenly the Royal Dragon stood at his side, attentive.
— What...
-PROTECT YOURSELF! – He warned and at the same time a mombelula was struck by a fireball.
The creature let out a loud buzz and then tipped over to the side, knocking over the cabin, which fell heavily to the floor and splintered to pieces with the impact.
Garo-lin rolled out, hited what looked like a stone, and then shielded himself from the splinters of the cabin wood that flew around him. Despite the painful impact, she scrambled quickly for Kidari.
— It's all right? – He asked hurriedly as he found her.
— Hand – Kodorin managed to say, clutching a hand in the other and Garo-lin felt the unmistakable scent of blood.
But before he could say anything, the Wind Dragon oriented in a shouted whisper:
— Stay back! He pulled Kinaito and So-ren to the side of the mombelula, staying among the debris of the cabin, where they could be partially protected.
Garo-lin helped Kidari get up and ran with her there.
Immediately, the princess clung to Zawhart, who was looking around, as if forcing his eyes to see in the dark.
Knowing that Shion would take care of the owner so that nothing bad happened to her in case the dragon could not protect her, Garo-lin was in position of attack along with the Dragons. If they were dealing with fire almakins, she could not just stand watching.
— How did they find us?! – The Metal Dragon asked in disorientation, noting that her mombelula had not resisted that wound.
As if it were an answer to his question, several flames lit around them, illuminating the place.
It was one of the ancient buildings of Almakia, from the days when there were still stone castles, which now could only be found in the High Valley Region, in the canyons that demarcated the boundaries of the Realm of the almakins with those of the south. But the place they were in was not important. All that Garo-lin saw was that they had landed on what looked like a ruin in a large open field and were completely surrounded.
— Are they pirates? – She asked Stifful, who was nearest.
— Probably – he replied – But it was not they to be here.
— Well, look this! – One of the pirates crossed the siege, to be the spokesman. -
Looks like we've gathered the whole pack now.
And then he beckoned to her right, where there were the ruins, and from behind them so many pirates appeared. Garo-lin's heart chilled instantly. All the almakins that had gone on the mimbelulas were with them, their hands tied by ropes. The Fire Dragon and his sister came forward, being forced to walk by the pirates who holded them.
At first glance, she did not understand how that was possible, but she soon realized something: everyone holding a prisioner had bracelets on their arms, with those Dark Stones and used them to threaten them.
Those bracelets were the same time and different and the samefrom what she'd seen in the quarry that time. Aside from being not just a chain with the stones, they looked much more like a kind of armor made exclusively to be used for that purpose. The stones were much more rounded and glistening, as if they had been well crafted and proudly polished.
— You know what they're doing?! – Kriss growled – We are Dragons, idiots!
There was a burst of laughter from the group of pirates, who made mocking remarks among themselves.
— Then I think we've got the right fangs. Right, boys? – Commented the one who had spoken before, who seemed to be in charge, and there were more laughter.
— What they want? – Kandara was more cautious than her brother, but she looked at them in the same charged way that she clearly said that she had never been so insulted in life and that she would be spoiled in the least opportunity.
— We do not want anything from you – he replied, as if he did not give a damn about the fact that he was treating Almakia's elite like that, and then he ordered – Creature! Tell us where we are.
— Shion!
Garo-lin heard Kidari's choked cry and yet he only believed when she saw him fly through the pirates and land next to the one who had called him.
As if he were accustomed to these people and knew exactly what to do Shion sat down beside them and stood motionless, concentrating. Then he opened his yellow eyes and suddenly they became blurred and darkened. As he stood without even breathing, his glass pendant began to glow with threads of light. Sensing that he was on a false step, Garo-lin remembered that he had seen something exactly like this when the cat had been caught by the Dragons in the field. Kidari's eyes stayed that way and she knew exactly where her friend was.
— Resonance – she heard Kinaito murmuring from somewhere behind her, not sounding cheerfully.
— Let's get organized until they get here! – The commander oriented, speaking to each group of pirates. – Arrest him and stay watching! – Leave the useless together and separate the Dragons. I want a Stone bearer on either side of them!
***
For useless, they specifically meant to Garo-lin, Kinaito, So-ren, and the other almakins who were with Kandara. Because it did not have an almaki, the kodorin was the best tied, to avoid that it fled. Already next to the two almakins of fire, two pirates were on guard, with those bracelets of Dark Stones.
Now, near them, Garo-lin could understand why it was so easy for them to control the Fire Dragon and Kandara. Even though she was not in direct contact with the stones, she could feel a sort of magnetism emanating from them, as if they were able to draw soul-like particles from her body and carry them into them in an ant job. Suddenly she remembered the time when the Lightning Dragon had asked her if she had not felt anything strange about being near the Dark Stones and understood what he meant.
Although almost imperceptible, there was that feeling and the feeling that they could attack at any moment, as if they were a living monster. It was enough for his almaki to discourage any sudden movement. Even for an almakin as powerful as Kandara or the Fire Dragon, fighting that invisible force would require an immense reaction, like blowing up everything around him, and that would mean wounding everyone, no matter whether he was an enemy or a friend.
Obviously the pirates who wore the bracelets were not almakins, and it was possible to see on each of their faces the satisfaction of being overwhelming those who have always been beyond them at all.
The ruins were even abandoned. Full of mosses, a thicket of long time and worn and corroded stones. But there was a large part of an old shoe-yard that remained clean enough for a sort of camp to be set up.
Lighting a campfire to illuminate the place, the almakins pirates stood apart, in the highest parts, fulfilling the mission of watching to remain spaced from those who carried the stones. Just as they had been ordered, they arrested the Dragons separately, in species of cages with stone bars.
The cages were created by metal almakins, who handled all the ores they found on the ground and around, creating those prisons. Unlike the work the Metal Dragon did, they were grotesque and poorly finished, with sharp sides that could cut only at the touch. There was no lock or a way to open it so that it could get out of there. An escape would only be possible by breaking the stones, which was not exactly easy, as they were being guarded by at least four Dark Stone bearers each. The Dul'Maojin heirs were watched by six of them.
Garo-lin tried to count how many pirates there were in total. B
ut since everyone wore a standard outfit and their faces were virtually indistinguishable in the darkness, she gave up when she realized that she had counted at least four times the fire almakin responsible for the bonfire. Then she searched for Kidari, who was in the least protected cage.
The Princess seemed devastated, both by the effect of the stones and by having discovered the betrayal of the one she trusted most. Her face was wet and she swayed slowly, hugging her arms.
— It's my fault – Kinaito said so close to her ear, so it sounded so low, that the pirates around their cage did not understand.
Garo-lin was startled and caught the attention of one of the pirates, who gave him an ugly look and raised his arms, displaying the bracelets. Feeling suddenly his knees weakened, Garo-lin stepped back, acting defensively.
— The cat – Kodorin explained. – It was my fault they found us. I should have suspected the princess's cat. He's not a Rajin... I started this in Kodo.
— What did you start?
— The research. I was one of the Royal Researchers. We were studying... possibilities.
— Quiet! – One of the pirates ordered, knocking on the stone bars.
Kinaito fell silent, but even then it was possible to understand how the guilt he felt did not seem to be fresh. Not being influenced by the presence of the Dark Stones, he leaned on the floor and stood there, just desolate.
At her side, also seated and using her walking stick as support, So-ren seemed to be the most affected of all. Her old age was not easy, and she seemed to be about to faint. Garo-lin was worried: how much that old lady could bear with that exposure to something so damaging to almakins? She already was feeling dizzy and weak.
Not knowing what to do glanced toward the other cells and her chest tightened as he caught sight of the Fire Dragon. Though he did not open his mouth, she could tell that the dragon was furious, much more than when he had seen her release his almaki power in the quarry. If there was a possibility – no matter how small – to escape the danger of those bracelets, did not want to imagine the damage he could do.
Almakia_The vilashi and the Dragons Page 37