Where is home for you? Alena asked.
The draasin’s tail flicked, clipping the pen and sending a small spray of stone flying. Alena doubted the pen was stout enough to withstand a full attack if Sashi wanted to destroy it. Given what happened the last time she had been here, Alena couldn’t fault her if she did.
Why do you care, Lren? You have me here.
I speak to the draasin, but that doesn’t mean that I know everything about you.
Sashi snorted. You know little about the draasin, or you would not have asked. There was a pause and then, But you ask. From the tone of the last, Alena realized that mattered to the draasin. My homeland is far to the south. Beyond your Rens. Beyond what others call the waste. A land where the sun keeps us warm and grants us her favor.
I didn’t know that there was anything beyond Rens.
Beyond the water, Lren. There are many lands beyond the water. There is hunting there, and the sun, and peace. No man has touched those isles.
Alena could almost imagine what the draasin experienced. She could almost see the island, as if the draasin pushed an image of it to her. Stretches of rolling hills, covered with orange and reds. Deep valleys where water cut through the land. Tall rocky mountains where the draasin could perch and stare out over their home. Dozens of draasin soaring through the air.
Is that your home?
That is my home, Sashi answered.
What of the draasin of Rens?
There are some who claim this land as their home, much like there are some who claim the lands to the north. Fire exists everywhere, Lren.
What lands to the north?
She knew of some places, but beyond Ter, there was Tsanth and Delphin. Then there was the sea. From Cheneth, she knew Hyaln was somewhere out there. It had to be. Only… only, she had never heard of a place called Hyaln. Was it possible that it was beyond the sea as well?
The north was never my home, Lren. I do not know those lands. The draasin there are different than to the south, or in your Rens. They do not mind the cold, or the snow, or the ice. They are almost not draasin. She said the last with something close to a snort, as if telling a joke to Alena.
Alena smiled inwardly. This was the most Sashi had spoken to her since returning from Tsanth and the touch of Tenebeth.
How did you come to these lands?
We were summoned.
Alena found herself frowning. Summoned?
There are those of power who call to the elementals. If the call is strong enough, and if the need is great enough, even the draasin cannot refuse.
That sounded too much like what Tenebeth did. And what Ter had seen from the first attack from Rens. Why would you answer a summons if you would be used?
Not used. Not always. The summons comes from one of great need and one of great skill. For a summons to reach the draasin, the summoner must have strength of fire. Otherwise the summons would not reach us.
Who summoned you? Alena asked. Did Cheneth know that such summons existed and that they were the reason that the draasin came to Rens?
A man of much power. That has been many years ago.
Is that why others came to Rens?
No. Others are born of Rens, but the draasin of Rens are different than the draasin of my homeland. Lesser in some ways, she said with a sense of pride.
This was all new to Alena. What are the differences?
Look upon this form and tell me that it is not stronger than others you have seen.
Sashi appeared no different than many of the other draasin, but Alena didn’t want to tell her that, not when she finally felt they were making progress.
You are powerful, she said, offering the draasin what praise she could.
The draasin snorted and flicked her tail.
I would like to see your homelands sometime.
Sashi turned away from her as if the comment upset her.
Alena tried reaching her again, only to be ignored.
With a sigh, she sank to the ground to sit and wait.
18
Alena
Can another go to Hyaln in my stead? Will they be willing, with so much on the line, to go and discover what Hyaln can teach? How can they not?
—Rolan al’Sand, Enlightened of Hyaln
“I saw what you did.”
Ifrit made her way toward Alena, straight dark hair barely moving as she walked. A light cloak hung over one shoulder, leaving her sword exposed. Alena hadn’t taken much time to speak to Ifrit since returning to the barracks with the egg. Now she realized that she should have. Ifrit had changed because of Volth’s healing. Everyone he healed changed, allowing them to reach their capacity with the elementals. What did Ifrit hear now that she had been healed? What would she do?
“What did I do?” Alena asked.
Ifrit stopped barely a pace in front of her, and she looked up at Alena. The blasted woman might be shorter than her, but she somehow turned it into an advantage.
“The draasin.” She spoke with barely more than a whisper, and there was heat in her words.
Alena tensed. Had Ifrit seen her moving the draasin from the pen in the barracks? How would she explain it if she had? Cheneth would understand, and he led in the barracks, but even he recognized that it was a tenuous sort of leadership. If Ifrit were to make trouble, and if she had Calan on her side, there would be little that Cheneth could do without betraying himself. And it might come to that. Eventually, it would have to come to that, but Alena suspected Cheneth wanted a little more time before he revealed what he knew. Likely he wanted to discover why Tenebeth was now moving.
Of course, Alena didn’t really know. With Cheneth, you could never be sure what he intended. The blasted man was nearly as difficult to read as Volth.
Ifrit watched her, waiting for an answer. If Ifrit attempted any sort of shaping, there would be very little Alena could do to prevent it. Weakened as she was, any shaping would be more than she could handle. The twisted smile on Ifrit’s face made Alena wonder what the shorter woman knew.
“What about the draasin?”
Ifrit casually turned her eyes up the street. “You brought something back here. I know that you did.”
Alena relaxed slightly. The egg. That was what she meant. Calan had seen her with it as well, though he hadn’t been all that pleased when she wouldn’t let him examine it—or destroy it. “Cheneth knows about it, if that’s your concern.”
Ifrit’s half smile faded and she pulled her gaze back to Alena. “That’s not really my issue. With you, I’ve never doubted that you have the support of Cheneth. It’s the others who know that you should worry about.”
The sound of boots thudding across stone caught both of their attention.
Calan strode down the center of the barracks, dragging a long, bloody draasin foreleg with him. When he saw Ifrit and Alena, he stopped. “Damn creature nearly took my head off,” he said. “But I got her in the end.”
Alena felt like she might get sick. From the size of the leg, the draasin would have been enormous. Large enough that she—and she didn’t doubt that the draasin had been female, as Calan knew the difference—would have proven a formidable challenge for him.
“You hunted alone?” Ifrit asked.
“This beast attacked near Pa’shu. When Cheneth sent me, I couldn’t find my partner.” He said the last without much accusation.
He didn’t have to. Alena was supposed to hunt with Calan. Cheneth had set that up for several reasons, not the least being that she could keep an eye on Calan and possibly delay him with the draasin. How many had she prevented him from killing? Probably a dozen. Each had lost a talon, but not their life.
“I had another task,” Alena said.
Calan nodded as if it didn’t matter to him, and it probably didn’t.
Ifrit glanced from Alena to Cheneth. “None are supposed to hunt alone.”
“Careful, Ifrit,” Calan said.
She met his eyes. “I thought that was the policy of the barracks. N
one were to hunt alone.”
Calan pulled on the draasin leg and drew his back straight. “Next time, then. You may come with me on the next hunt, especially if this one is unavailable again. Some hunts can’t wait.”
He left them standing there, Alena staring after the remains of the draasin leg. When she turned, Ifrit was watching her with a curious expression. She said nothing more before hurrying off after Calan.
Damn that woman.
Alena couldn’t spend too much time thinking about it, though. Now she needed to find Cheneth for another reason. Did he know what Calan had done? Had he known Calan had gone on a hunt, and alone? It was bad enough if he had killed one of the twisted draasin, but if he had killed one that had not been twisted… There were few enough females as it was. Losing even one more was dangerous.
As she hurried to Cheneth’s dorm, she paused near Volth’s. Again, she sensed that he was not alone. She glanced at the sky, noting that the sun had barely begun to clear the trees. Not alone, and so early in the day.
She sniffed. And here she thought he mourned Issa. Perhaps his mourning time was over.
Who would it be? She thought of all the women in the barracks. Most were students, trainees who worked with some of the other hunters. When would he have found the time to meet them? Well, more than meet them? Hadn’t he been busy enough working with her?
She shook away the question. It was not her concern. She could be responsible for seeing him trained, but other than that, it didn’t matter. The blasted man could do what he wanted.
Reaching Cheneth’s dorm, she paused to sense whether he was there. Always before, she’d never felt anything unusual, but since learning of his abilities, at least since he no longer had to hide them from her, she had noticed that there was something like a void when she tried to detect his dorm. The harder she pushed, drawing on strength she really couldn’t spare, the less that void seemed to exist until it essentially disappeared.
She raised her hand to knock, but the door swung open.
Cheneth peeked his head out, saw her standing there, and pulled her quickly into the room. “Didn’t expect to see you today.”
“What do you mean by expect?”
Cheneth glanced at his desk and, with a flick of his wrist, the books that were spread open all flipped closed on a controlled gust of air. More controlled than she would have managed, even were she well.
“What is it?” Cheneth asked.
“Did you know that Calan went on a hunt?”
Cheneth frowned. “He was to have brought you. I thought it would do you good to get away from the barracks for a while. And you might be able to soothe the draasin long enough to convince him that it had died.”
“She.”
Cheneth frowned.
“The draasin. A female. And Cheneth said that he searched for me but didn’t find me, so he went by himself. And now he’s brought himself back a prize.”
“What kind of prize?”
“The kind that involves him carrying a damn draasin leg through the camp. It was one thing for him to take a talon. I could convince the draasin that they needed to suffer long enough for that. Most understood.” Alena still didn’t know why the draasin would simply allow it. Most of the draasin were strong enough and swift enough of wing that they could fly away. Calan might be able to give chase, but he was a shaper and his strength had limits. But the draasin never attempted to escape.
Was that because she was there? Did they trust her and her connection?
If that was the case, then how would Calan have managed to attack this draasin?
“Yes, I agree this is more distasteful,” Cheneth said.
“Distasteful? I won’t be able to stop him if he thinks to take an entire leg each time he hunts, Cheneth.”
Cheneth pushed his glasses up onto his nose and frowned. “Why weren’t you with him?”
“I don’t think that matters.”
“It matters, Alena. There is a reason I have paired the two of you. Why weren’t you with him? Had you been there, Calan’s baser urges would not have been so… prevalent. I doubt very much he would have attempted to defile the draasin with you there.”
“I’m not certain I would have managed to suppress him.”
“You have more influence with him than you realize.” Cheneth sighed and took a seat on one of the hard wooden chairs he kept in his dorm.
Alena glanced around before taking the other on the opposite side of his desk. She looked across at him, meeting his eyes.
“Why else did you come for me?” Cheneth said. “You might have come because of Calan, but what was the reason you weren’t able to hunt with him?”
“You know my situation.”
“Yes. I understand that you perceive limitations. I also understand that you still are more capable than most. You would have found a way to travel with Calan had you known.”
She sighed. Cheneth was right. She would have tried to find a way to go with him, but how much would that have cost her? Even small shapings weakened her. What would attempting to travel have required? And not only traveling, but then facing the draasin, trying to soothe her once they found her, and that’s if she could have been soothed.
“Was she twisted?” Alena asked. When Cheneth didn’t answer, she pressed. “Did Tenebeth control her?”
Cheneth closed his eyes before answering. “I don’t know.”
Alena let out a frustrated sigh. “That’s the reason you wanted me to go. Damn you, Cheneth, but you could have said it.”
“I could have. Would it have mattered?”
“You wanted me to find another female.”
“Finding an alternative would provide you with some protection. If you can coax another to hatch the egg…”
Then she wouldn’t have to worry about first reaching the female she had in the forest. It might have worked. And now she wouldn’t know.
She leaned back in the chair, feeling more tired than she had in days. How much longer would she be able to withstand the effect of the egg? Even now, she felt the way it pulled on her ability with fire, drawing on her from a distance, through the fortified stone of the pen, as if trying to drain every last ounce of fire from her.
Something inside her resisted. Not her, she didn’t think. The resistance came from Volth, she suspected. It was because of him that she’d managed to survive as long as she had. When his ability failed?
“Why did you come to me today?” Cheneth asked again.
She took a deep breath and blinked. “The draasin.”
“The draasin.”
She nodded. “I’m… I’m trying to get through to the female. If I can, I might be able to convince her to help me with the egg.” With each passing day, that seemed less and less likely.
Cheneth’s frown deepened. “You will do what you must. As will I.”
Alena worried about what that meant. Would Cheneth make a move to go after the draasin egg? If he did, would she be able to stop him? The only protection she had now was that no one else was able to even handle the egg. If they attempted to touch it, they risked it doing the same to them as it had done to her, connecting to them and drawing their fire. If anyone would have a way around that, it would be Cheneth. And he might attempt to destroy the egg if he thought it meant saving her.
“Did you know that there are different types of draasin?” she asked him.
“There are only the draasin, Alena. They are different from the other elementals, but there is nothing else that is different about them.”
“The female,” she began. “She shared with me that there are different types of draasin. Rens was not her homeland. That was another place, far across the sea. And she says there’s another home for the draasin to the north, in a land of ice and snow.”
Cheneth pushed his glasses farther up on his nose. As usual, his face changed when he did, seeming to gain wrinkles and lose some of the intensity of his gaze, almost as if the glasses shielded him in some way. “She told you t
his?”
“That, and something else. She claims she was summoned to Rens.”
“Summoned? She used that term?”
Alena shifted on the chair. It was almost as if the chair was made to be uncomfortable. At least it kept her awake. After spending the night lying next to the draasin after drifting to sleep, she was just as tired as she’d been before. The chair pressed against her back and her buttocks, preventing her from drifting off.
“Summoned. That was what she said. But Cheneth, if there is someone who can summon the draasin, wouldn’t they be useful to this Tenebeth? Wouldn’t that put us in danger?”
He glanced down at one of the books on his desk and flipped it open. “There are some with the ability to summon the draasin.”
“You know of this?”
He nodded. “I would not have thought a summoner responsible for this,” he said softly.
“Do they speak to them?”
“Not like you do, Alena. Your particular talent is unique enough, and rare enough, that few share it. But they are able to speak to them in a way, sending a sort of calling through the summons so that the elementals know they are needed.”
“How is it you know this?”
He met her eyes with a hard gaze. “Because they come from Hyaln.”
19
Oliver
Tenebeth is real. His control over others is real. Are there those who think to control Tenebeth?
—Rolan al’Sand, Enlightened of Hyaln
“What are you doing, Oliver?”
Yanda studied him with a sour expression, her eyes darting around his room but always settling back on the slender rod Cheneth had given him. Oliver had shaped through it, practicing until he managed to get the engravings along the sides glowing. As Cheneth had suggested, it didn’t require much shaping skill at all, but with fire at least, it was the edge of his limits, almost beyond his skill.
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