There was no mention of dragons anywhere in the original text. The Order had condemned them to death for no apparent reason. And they kept perpetuating the lie! They knew that the text had been changed. Yet they still talked of the evil of dragons, of the need to kill them. And though none had been killed or even seen in decades, what of before? Gods! All those dragons killed, and for what? What if the Order was wrong? What if it was something else that they should have been hunting down?
It pained her knowing that Polandra’s anger about that poor girl might have been deserved. Maybe those creatures were what the Order should be hunting. Unlike the lie inscribed on the stone tablets, the original text didn’t name Yrdra’s dark gift.
She’d even heard tell of a plan by the Nesch to extend the reach of search parties, send them further out seeking more poor dragons to kill. A plan no doubt inspired by that persistent rumor of the boy and his pet dragon.
“I don’t know what to think,” she told Isandath when she got to his room. “Everything I strove for, everything I believed in is a lie. I feel . . . lost.”
“I know exactly how you feel.” His eyes lost focus. “And because of that, I left Bataan-Mok for a time.”
He had disappeared a few years ago, people said. But no one left Bataan-Mok. She’d thought it a lie.
“When I discovered the original text tucked away in the archives, when I found out that the Capu and the Nesch, and even many Umeri knew of the discrepancy, my faith in the Order was shaken. So I left. I had no particular destination, really. I just needed to think.” He stared at his hands clasped in his lap.
“For days I wandered about the desert, eventually ending up in The Scars. My feet had led me to some caves. The caverns provided me with better shelter from the cold nights, and deeper in, there was a pool of water fed by a spring at its bottom.” He looked up at her. “Whether subconsciously or not, I found myself at a former home of dragons.”
Renata’s eyes grew wide.
“There hadn’t been any dragons there in a very long time, but I could almost feel their presence. It was strangely comforting. I set up a more permanent camp there, and spent the remainder of my time away in and around those caves, thinking.”
His story was shocking, amazing, and completely at odds with what she thought she knew of the man.
“I had to decide what I was going to do. I felt angry, confused, and lost, as you said.” He paused, rubbed his thumbs together and looked up at her. “It was perhaps two weeks after I arrived when she first . . . spoke to me.”
“She?”
“Yes. We talked at night. She didn’t show herself at first, keeping instead to the shadows down a passage. Terribly frightened of me when I arrived, she had nearly left the caves. But she needed them, just as I did. So she had watched me, listened to me in a way, and eventually, she felt comfortable enough to talk with me, if not show herself.”
He smiled. “At first, I thought she was a simple-minded girl. Despite the extraordinary way she talked, that was still my first impression. For her manner of speech was plain. The more I talked with her, however, the more I realized that she just didn’t know all our words. She was actually quite intelligent, though extremely shy and nervous.”
He was silent for a moment, lost in his memory. Renata just stared at him, stunned by his tale.
Out in The Scars? All by himself? Isandath?
“One evening, she asked why I was sad. That she could sense my inner turmoil surprised me. Still, glad for ears to listen, I told her about what the Order had done, how they’d based the First Principle on a lie. I told her that the Order’s lies made me sad, but what made me even more sad was all the dragons that had been killed because of the lies.”
Renata clenched her jaw and her heart beat faster.
“These caves were once filled with dragons, I told her, living their lives in peace. Now they only echoed hollowly with faded memories.”
He glanced at Renata. “She said I had a kind heart, and that she would tell me of a dream that came to her recently. I had experienced strange and detailed dreams while in the caves, and I was curious if hers had been like mine.
“In her dream, she heard a voice, a male. He told her to go to the caves. Her children would meet my children. They would become friends, would be together. They would help dragons and people. She said that there was also a strong feeling she got from the dream. This was her purpose. Would I help her with it?
“I told her that I would be more than happy to do anything that would help dragons, but I had no children, so perhaps it was not me in the dream. But she insisted that it was me, that she somehow knew.”
Isandath sat back in the chair. “There was something very compelling about her. On the one hand, she was timid, nervous and shy. On the other, she had complete confidence in that dream and a fierce determination to see it through.
“I told her I would help her, though it might take some time. Excited, she said it was no matter, she would return with a child each year. My agreeing to help made her very happy. It also made her brave enough to finally show herself.
“When she walked out of the shadows,” Isandath said, a joyful smile on his face, “I knew I had made the right choice.
“I returned to Bataan-Mok shortly after and told my superior that I had left to help a sick relative. The punishment wasn’t beyond enduring, and I accepted it with no qualms, thinking the whole time of my new friend’s strange dream.
“One day I saw children laughing, new Pesani running down a hallway before being admonished by their Ojoni trainers. That was when I realized what I was meant to do. So I searched, watched, asked questions, and talked. And you, my dear Renata, are the first I think might be worthy of the trip.
“Go to The Scars. Meet her, meet her child. Hear her story and choose your path.”
They spoke for maybe another hour, but Renata had already decided to go. After all, there was nothing to keep her there anymore. The place that had been home, Bataan-Mok, was built on lies. As for family, she had none. Her parents’ faces were already fading from memory, though the hurt of what they’d done still burned deep inside her heart.
Renata left within the week.
Though the Scars covered an enormous area, finding the caves wasn’t as difficult as she thought it might be. Isandath had provided a satchel filled with supplies, including a map, and she located the cave system soon enough. She had been waiting for the woman ever since.
However, after everything that happened yesterday, she almost left. If it weren’t for the odd dreams that returned last night, she would have. They reminded her about dragons and what the Order had done to them, what it was going to continue doing to them. So this morning, she decided to wait a little longer. Isandath was counting on her. And if the mysterious woman could help with dragons, Renata wanted to know how.
She looked out across the sun-baked land, heat shimmers wavering in the air. A deep sigh made her ribs twinge. With a grimace, she stood, the ayllu bumping against her thigh.
She’d made the throwing weapon soon after finding the caves, using some of the leather Isandath had squirreled away in the carry-all. The ayllu had served her well these past few weeks, though two days of practice had been needed to get good with it again. As a young child, she’d been expert with them. Isandath used to laugh at her stories about pestering the other village kids with random throws around their legs. She’d been something of a terror.
Her smile at the memory faded. That was before she’d been given to the Order.
Renata could have used magic to hunt, of course, but she refused to use anything learned in Manisi training. Damn the Order; she’d do things her own way.
She shook off those thoughts and focused on the task at hand. Leaving the shade, she made for a likely patch of scrub in the distance. Perhaps there’d be a jackrabbit. With all the plant shoots from the rain, surely some would be out and about.
“A girl’s gotta eat,” she mumbled, heading off.
> Behind her, a shadow separated from a rocky cliff.
+ + + +
Aeron finished the last bit of his sketch, then lifted the two translucent sheets of tracing paper from the map of Caer Baronel.
That’s a start, he thought. At least while they look for a better place.
A knock sounded at the door. Opening it revealed Willem.
“Morning!”
“Good morning,” Aeron replied, with a grin. “Come, look at this and tell me what you think.”
Aeron placed the first sheet of paper on the map. “We can expand the Dragon Stable like this.” There was a small building drawn on the piece of tracing paper, and the map of the Caer showed through. He slid the paper so the new building sat just off the corner of the dragon stable, next to the investigation office, and extended to the west along the courtyard fence. “Your—ah, that is the next dragon could be housed here. Then,” he placed the second sheet on top, slid it into place, and indicated the two buildings on it, “we can build more extensions on the west side of the courtyard and the north, as needed. That should work until a new permanent place is found or built for more dragons. What do you think?”
Willem looked over the hastily sketched plans and nodded. “I think that’s a great idea. It allows the next dragons to be here, too, so we don’t have to change much of what we do already for Anaya. And it seems like Master Doronal wants to take things slow at first, so like you said, being able to use the same stables will give us time to figure out a better location.”
Aeron smiled. “Great!” Clearing his throat, he said, “I, ah, asked if you were coming over this morning, um, because I wanted to ask you something.”
Willem said, “Sure. What is it?”
“Right. So. . . I think it was pretty clear last night . . . at–at least I think so, but I suppose I could be wrong. I mean, I’m not the most observant person in the world about these things, but it sure felt like—”
Just ask him, Aeron.
Anaya! He’d thought she was still asleep. Okay, okay. You’re right.
Willem stared at him, looking completely confused.
Aeron took a breath to calm himself, and with the words almost tripping over each other, he said, “I really like you a lot, and it seemed last night that maybe you feel the same way about me.” He stared at Willem, searching for a clue as to his reaction. “Can we . . . are we going steady?”
Willem tilted his head. With a smile, he said, “I really like you a lot, too. And yes, we can—we are—going steady.”
Aeron closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Then he quickly reached over and hugged Willem. “I’m so happy,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if my memory of last night was right. I was worried it had been a dream.”
“Noodlehead.” Willem leaned his head back a bit as they looked at each other. “You caught my eye when we first met. Then, as I slowly learned who you are, I couldn’t help but fall for you. You don’t know how difficult it’s been to resist—” His eyes widened slightly, and almost as if to himself, he said, “But I don’t have to anymore.”
After a few seconds, Anaya told Aeron, Willem kisses really well, does he not?
Aeron stepped back and looked at the doorway to his bond-mate’s den. “Anaya!”
“What happened?” Voice tense, Willem looked from Aeron to the doorway. “Is it another nahual?”
“No, she . . .” Aeron’s cheeks warmed. “She said you were a really good kisser.”
Willem’s cheeks turned crimson and he burst out laughing. “I forgot about the link!” After a moment, he raised an eyebrow and told Aeron, “You’re very good yourself, you know.”
There was a knock at the door, and annoyed by the distraction, Aeron opened it.
“Morning!” “Hey guys.” It was Sharrah and Cheddar.
She looked at the two of them and said, “Why are both your faces so red?”
The laughing grunts from Anaya’s den made Aeron’s face even warmer. “N–No reason,” he said.
Sharrah raised an eyebrow.
Cheddar said, “You two want to get breakfast with us before Aeron has to head off?”
+ + + +
After breaking his fast with fluffy eggs, crispy bacon and a thick slice of warm toast, Aeron took Millinith to the site via portal. Anaya might remember how to fly there, but he didn’t.
Last night, he hadn’t paid much attention to where they were going; he just followed the nahual-sense. Master Doronal told him to familiarized himself with the site, however. No doubt already planning for him to portal back with Millinith.
He watched the gateway close as Anaya angled down for a landing.
“Going through those always seems to unsettle my stomach,” Millinith said as they landed.
“Really? They don’t bother me.”
As he brought down one of Millinith’s tool bags, he asked Anaya, How about you? Does going through a portal upset your stomach?
Not at all.
“It fades soon after,” the magic adept continued as she removed her other tote from the saddlebags, “and it’s not of such intensity that I worry I might empty my stomach. It’s mostly an annoyance.”
She looked around the semi-wooded area. It was near a rise, and they stood in a small clearing amongst the trees. “Where did you—ah, I see it.”
At the low mound of turned soil, Anaya carefully dug up the creature she’d helped bury the previous night.
Having done this nearly a dozen times now, Aeron found the examination almost routine, though some parts of it were still kind of awful to him. Anaya, oddly enough, had taken to watching the process closely. Maybe not so odd, though. She hated nahual as much as he did, and knowing more about them might make fighting them easier.
Aeron wrote down Millinith’s dictation as she went about measuring, examining, and probing the beast. She then cut it open to examine its insides, and made sample slides from some of those internals.
“Every one of these we’ve been able to examine,” Aeron noted as he finished up the notes, “has been female, hasn’t it?”
Millinith frowned as she replied, “Yes. And it makes me wonder. Have we just not run across males, or is it that they truly do not exist?”
“How would they, ah, reproduce without males?”
“Self-fertilization is possible,” she said as she removed the gloves and tossed them onto the carcass. “But I’ve never come across any information about higher animals doing so. I read a study about some worms which do, but they seemed to become weaker over the generations, less able to deal with stress or changes in their environments. Some plants can self-pollinate, too.” She shook her head as she stared at the nahual. “But I haven’t kept up with Animal Craft studies since I switched to sorcery. I’ll talk with Sharrah. Maybe she’s come across something more recently.”
Aeron closed the notebook and helped Millinith gather her things and pack them away. He then had Anaya bury the nahual again. He didn’t want anything to find it and eat it. Not that he felt sorry for it. Oh, no. He just didn’t want a big cat or whatever to feed on it and have that evil thing inside.
He showed Millinith where the nahual had been digging last night, the beginnings of its den, and she examined it for a time. They then spent nearly an hour searching for signs of tracks nearby. Millinith wanted to see if there had been another nahual in the area, perhaps a male. The search ended up being fruitless, as Aeron knew it would be. First, neither he nor Anaya sensed a nahual, and second, the things had some knack for not leaving much of a trail at all, except in snow. There hadn’t been snow in a while.
When they returned to the Caer, Millinith retired to the investigation office to go over the notes and start on her report while everything was fresh in her mind. After unsaddling Anaya, Aeron plopped on his bed and thought about going over this week’s spells again, but he wasn’t in the mood. Lately, nahual examinations always left him feeling a little depressed.
Why couldn’t they find out more about those dam
ned things?
We do not need to know any more about them, Anaya said, tone confident.
Aeron looked through the doorway to the den. She lay on the ground, chin on her forepaws, clear inner eyelids closed, and her beautiful gold eyes staring at him.
What do you mean? he asked.
We can kill them now, even with what we know.
Aeron smiled. He loved her uncomplicated way of looking at things. That’s true, dear-heart.
Lunch was big bowls of beef soup with crusty bread and cheese on the side, though Aeron paid it little attention. His mind was occupied with nahual and what to do about them. More dragonlinked would help. And him getting better at spells, performing better under pressure as a sorcerer, would definitely help. But Anaya’s point not withstanding, he would still like to find out more about the horrible creatures.
He was still thinking about them when he and Willem returned to the Dragon Stable afterward.
“What’s on your mind?” Willem asked as he closed the door behind them.
“On my mind?” Aeron looked in on Anaya, she was sleeping soundly, then sat down on the couch.
“Well, at lunch you were pretty quiet, and you didn’t seem, I dunno, yourself.” Willem sat next to Aeron and lay back into the couch, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Something’s troubling you. You hardly even spared a look at your food during lunch.”
Aeron twisted his mouth. “I’m just thinking about nahual. It seems like we’ve again reached the limit of what we can learn about them, even with the ability to get to attack sites faster.”
“I see.”
“So much about them remains a mystery, you know? Why is it we’ve yet to come across a male? And if there are no males, how do they reproduce? Is not having males why they need animus to reproduce? And do they really need animus for reproduction? I mean, yeah, I came up with that theory, but it’s just based on the slim evidence we have. What if they use animus for some other reason? What if they don’t use it at all and they kill people for something else? And where are they even coming from? Are they like spores or something, all being emitted from one place, or are they more like a plague of evil rats breeding and spreading across the lands?”
The Bond (Book 2) Page 5