“I felt nothing. Are you sure?” the older woman asked.
“I’m very sure. It wasn’t a vision though. It was a…connection of some sort.”
Emallya’s eyes turned wary. “What do you mean a connection?”
“I connected with the thought paths of another person. She has Spirit magic. I first connected with her when she tried to make a man change his mind. From what I saw, I get the feeling she crushed his mind in the process, not on purpose though. I tried to warn her, but my thoughts in her head shocked her so much, she lost her concentration and I lost the connection. I think she must have got caught though because the next time I felt her, she was terrified someone was after her and there were two Benduiren offering her sanctuary.”
Emallya let her breath out in a hiss. “She went with them?”
“I sent that she should not. She was on the verge of refusing when something happened and she took their offer. Again, I lost the connection. When it picked up again... Here, it will be easier to show you,” Maleena offered.
Like the first night a black egg hatched, Nydara took the entire encounter and projected it to the other dragons, who in turn relayed it to their riders. There was silence at the table while everyone in the room watched through the eyes of Taela, everything that had happened from her first connection to Maleena, to her arrival at the Kormai, and through the Hatching of the pale egg.
When it came to its conclusion, Emallya drew in a sharp breath. Maleena leaned forward. “Do you know what it means?”
Emallya nodded. “Somehow, a Guardian Dragon hatched in the Kormai.”
A collective gasp went up. Maleena felt all of the pieces of the puzzle click into place. “How is that possible?”
“Are you sure?” Vaddoc asked at the same time.
Kellinar stabbed at the food on his plate. “Well that’s just flaming fabulous.”
Emallya ignored Kellinar and addressed Vaddoc, “Look back through everything. It only comes in small snatches, but there are clearly times when you can feel the crooning of the Dragon Song in her head. And when she first sees it in the Kormai, the egg pulls at her. I wish we could see beyond the Hatching and the feeling of danger.”
Vaddoc shook his head. “Is she a true Guardian though? Can she and her dragon communicate with each other? Or is she some sort of weird in-between thing? Is she truly good or is there evil in her soul we cannot see through this?”
“What are we going to do?” Serena asked. “We can’t leave her there.”
Bardeck scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Under normal circumstances, we would try and rescue her. But there are just so many unanswered questions with this.”
Maleena looked at him. “What if there was a way to get the answers? I could connect with her again. After so many accidental connections, I can now easily follow the path back to her mind.”
Emallya shook her head. “No, do not. We have no idea how powerful she is. If she followed you back, and she is not a pure Guardian, she might discern things from your mind that would compromise us.”
“She won’t be able to follow my mental path back. Not even you can follow me when I erase the path. She will find nothing.”
“It is too dangerous,” Emallya said.
Serena’s brow furrowed. “I thought the Dragon Song only came to Guardians. I thought the black dragons couldn’t sing for a rider because they have no soul until the hatcher gives the dragon half of theirs. How is it possible for a Shadow Dragon to sing the Dragon Song? And if not a Shadow Dragon then it must be a Guardian.”
Kellinar scowled. “I say if the burning thing hatched in that evil place then most likely it and its rider are both evil. This could be some kind of ploy. Erase all the mental paths and be done with it.”
“I don’t think we can Kellinar,” Serena said gently. “This woman and her draclet could be in serious danger.”
Kirynn leaned forward. “Has there ever been a successful rescue of someone from the Kormai?”
Bardeck shook his head. “No. There have been several attempts, but none successful. After the last effort, in which only a single Guardian pair from the rescue party returned, we deemed it too dangerous to try anymore. The Kormai is not an easy place to get through. The entrance, at the end of a canyon, is the only way in or out. There are many ledges in the main cave and that is where the black dragons roost. Several hallways lead from the main cave. They wind away underground in a maze of tunnels, chambers and levels.”
“So it can’t be done?” Kirynn persisted.
Bardeck leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes troubled. “We can try. But can we afford to lose any of you to save one rider we know nothing about?”
Maleena understood the hesitation to try and rescue the new pair, but it made her feel sick to her stomach to leave them there. It sentenced the pair to certain death.
Emallya leaned back with a sigh. “This is something we are going to have to think about and plan. Do not try to connect with her, Maleena. If she reaches out for you, allow her to connect and do your best to discern just what kind of pair we are dealing with. I do not like it, but I do not see we have much choice.”
They ate in silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts. Kellinar scowled darkly at his food and stabbed at it with more vigor than necessary. He broadcast his thoughts so loudly, Maleena couldn’t help hearing them. He didn’t like this new development, he didn’t like that they considered rescuing the strange pair, and most of all, he didn’t like the idea of putting Shryden in danger on the off chance the whole thing wasn’t a trap of some kind.
She reached for her cup of milk and stopped. The people around her faded and she again saw through Taela’s eyes.
“Maleena?” Mckale’s voice sounded distant. She held up her hand to silence him as she concentrated on what she saw. Two books lay before Taela. A book with a gold Di’shan star on its cover that gave off feelings of hope. The other, a black book with an upside down tree on it, gave off feelings of despair and evil.
Taela wanted to reach for the golden book, but didn’t. Instead, she reached for the black and even Maleena could feel the pain in her own head from the book. She could see all of the symbols in the book, but she didn’t understand any of it. Taela understood what she saw, though. Maleena could see the symbols translated in the other woman’s mind.
She watched, through Taela, as a Benduiren interrupted the reading. Taela denied being able to read it and walked away, fading from Maleena’s mind with each step.
Maleena’s eyes focused on her cup again and she looked up. Everyone stared at her. Mckale had a worried furrow between his eyes that matched the inner emotions she sensed in him.
Emallya cleared her throat. “What did you see?”
Maleena looked across the table at the older woman. “I saw two books. One, black as a Shadow Dragon with an upside down tree and one with a Di’shan star on its wooden cover.”
Emallya gasped. “The Ka’ti! The book with the Di’shan star is the Ka’ti. After all these years, we finally know where it is.”
Bardeck let out a heavy sigh. “Yes, the last place we would ever want it to be.”
“What else did you see?” Emallya asked.
“Taela wanted to open the book with the star, but she was afraid it would make the others more suspicious than they already are. So she opened the black book. There were symbols in it. I didn’t know what they meant, but she did.”
Bardeck and Emallya looked at her in stunned silence for a long moment. “She can read it? You are sure she understands what the symbols mean?”
Maleena nodded. “Yes, I’m very sure. I didn’t understand them, but I could see the translations in her mind. The black book is a spell book…an evil one.”
“If this woman turns out to be a Shadow Rider, they will have far too much power in their hands,” Bardeck said. “Does anyone else know she can read it?”
Maleena shook her head. “No. When the Benduiren asked, she denied the ability. I’m no
t sure he believed her.”
Vaddoc leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “What is this Ka’ti you mentioned Emallya?”
“Ka’ti means dragon sight in the dragon tongue,” Emallya answered. “The Ka’ti contains the history of Galdrilene and the history of dragons in this world. It also contains all of the spells of the Guardians. Not the smaller individual spells in the towers, but the big spells. The spells that do things like take people through a lake of the dead or that use all of the powers of the Dragon Riders together. The magic in the Ka’ti is neutral, just like the magic of Galdrilene. If the Shadow Riders find someone who can read it for them, they will be able to use those spells against us.”
“What is the black book?” Maleena asked. “It made Taela’s head hurt to read it. Why? It made my head hurt even though I wasn’t directly reading it, although not as much.”
Emallya rubbed a hand across her forehead. “That is the Kor’ti, it means black sight. It is the spell book of the Shadow Riders. It is full of evil and that is why you felt pain in association with it. Much like coming into contact with someone who is evil. It did not hurt you as much because you were not the one in direct contact with it and you have a shield, Taela does not.”
Mckale shifted uneasily in his chair. “What does this mean for Taela and for us? Does it change things?”
Bardeck nodded. “It changes everything. Where before we really couldn’t risk it, now we must. Whether we can help this young woman and her dragon–if they are truly Guardians–remains to be seen. But we have to retrieve the book. We cannot leave it in their hands. If we can retrieve the Kor’ti, or destroy it in the process, then so much the better.”
“When do we do this?” Mckale asked.
Bardeck shook his head. “We don’t. If we are able to figure a way to do this, you and Maleena will not be participating. You two will remain here.”
Mckale’s face was impassive, but Maleena knew he wasn’t happy with the older man’s statement. “Why must we remain?” His voice showed none of the emotion inside him. Maleena marveled again at his control.
Bardeck smiled slightly, a look of understanding in his eyes. “You and Maleena are the key to the survival of the Guardians. You’re the only viable bondmate pair. Nydara is the only dragon that can lay eggs and when she is ready to mate, she’ll only permit Tellnox to fly with her. Galdrilene and the Guardians cannot afford to lose either one of you. Galdrilene is beyond fortunate to end up with a bondmate pair out of this Hatching. Without you two the days of Galdrilene would be numbered.”
Maleena felt Mckale’s disappointment and understanding. It never occurred to her that she and Mckale were the keys to the Guardian’s future. From what she felt from him, Mckale never thought of it either. He nodded. “I can see the reasoning. I may not like staying behind, but one does not have to like their duty.”
“Try to keep contact to a minimum at this point, Maleena,” Emallya said. “Since we do not truly know where she stands, we do not want her to know too much.”
Maleena climbed to her lair, an empty feeling in her stomach. She probably should have ate more, but the events at mid-day took her appetite away. Her previous plan to spend the afternoon at the Tower of Spirit no longer appealed. Maleena wanted to be in the air with Nydara. The freedom of flight, the feel of the wind in her face, and the closeness of her dragon…that is what she needed–time to sort out the tangle of emotions she felt.
She started to reach for the doors to the wardrobe and stopped. Before she did anything else, Maleena wanted to know what Taela looked like. She had looked through the woman’s eyes and shared her mind. Now Maleena wanted to see her face. She pulled her viewing bowl with its inky black interior from a shelf and set it on the floor. The same bowl she viewed Emallya and Mckale in that day at her grandmother’s house. Had it really been a year already?
She took the pitcher off the table and poured water into the bowl until it shimmered on the verge of flowing over the edge. Settling herself in front of it, she closed her eyes and centered her thoughts, allowing her mind to quiet. When the quiet was completed she focused on Taela. Her eyes drifted open. She stared into the bowl and whispered, “Show me.”
Colors began to swirl through the still water as her power flowed into it, twisting around in intricate patterns before settling. The image of the Kormai formed in the water. The mouth of the cave at the floor of a canyon. The mountain peak rose into a cloudless sky. The water swirled and blurred into random colors and settled again.
A woman with long, straight black hair replaced the Kormai. Her dark blue eyes were tilted in her slightly round face. Maleena searched the face. She didn’t think Taela was evil. She had shared thoughts with the woman, would she really have missed that? Maleena sighed and pulled her power back from the bowl. Rising to her feet, she dumped the water and placed the bowl back on the shelf before opening the wardrobe.
She changed into clothes that resembled Kirynn’s style of dress. She had tried divided riding skirts, but found the excess material flapped in the wind in an annoying fashion. Kirynn’s style of loose pants gathered at the ankle worked so much better. Emallya said it was a favorite style among female riders before the fall of Galdrilene.
Boromar and Galdrilene had once been close, friendly neighbors. Immediately after word of Galdrilene’s demise, the warriors of Boromar started wearing the style in honor and remembrance of their fallen Dragon Rider friends. The style stuck and became tradition, though the reason behind it faded.
Mckale stepped into the room as she wove her thick hair into a braid. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching her quietly. Maleena felt his concern. She finished her braid and turned to him. “She didn’t pull me along unwilling. Up until the actual hatching of her dragon, I could have broken contact at any time. I might have been able to during the Hatching if I had concentrated on it.”
“I don’t like that she was able to access you without your permission,” he said.
“I was surprised, but it wasn’t without my permission. I allowed the contact. You have no reason to worry.”
He regarded her for a long moment. “I do have reason. Whether you allowed it or not, it still took you by surprise. And although Emallya has warned you against it, you still want to maintain mental contact with her. I can feel it through our bond.”
Maleena shook her head. “I may want to, but I won’t have any more contact than necessary with Taela.”
He ran a hand through his dark, shoulder-length hair. “Kellinar doesn’t look happy with all of this,” he said.
She nodded. “Kellinar has some very valid worries.”
Mckale’s eyebrows rose slightly. “And what worries are those?”
“He doesn’t see any reason to put any of us in danger–particularly Shryden–so we can rescue someone we really don’t know enough about. Someone who hatched a dragon in the Kormai. To him, the only reason that justifies what is going to be done is the retrieval of the Ka’ti.”
He crossed the room and put his arms around her, his voice gentle, “He is right, you know. I would hate to rescue this girl only to lose one of our friends in the process. With the hatchings of the black dragons, eventually we are all going to be facing grave danger whether we wish it or not. I’m not sure we should go looking for swords to throw ourselves on.”
“I know,” she sighed and leaned her forehead against his chest. “I’ve already thought of all the reasoning and rationale. Besides, we won’t be throwing ourselves on any swords. We will have to stay behind while our friends do it.” She pulled away from him reached for her heavy cloak and gloves. “I’m going flying with Nydara. I think the cold wind and being close to her will ease my mind.”
“Would you like Tellnox and I to fly with you?”
“No, I think I just need to be with Nydara for now.”
“Fly safe then, my heart.” He brushed her lips with a light kiss. “I’ll return to the training fields with Vaddoc and see if the newest ba
tch of recruits will remember anything we taught them this morning.”
Maleena smiled. “It’s very nice of you two to help Yaakov with the training of the soldiers.”
He shrugged. “It gives us something to do. Since the hatching of the black dragons, they are getting more trainees than they have trainers.”
They walked together until they reached the Great Hall where they split ways. Mckale turned toward the front entrance on his way back to the practice fields. Maleena turned the opposite direction and walked out onto the inner terrace where Nydara already waited, her massive body stretched out on the sun-warmed stone.
“You are troubled,” Nydara sent as Maleena settled the saddle on her.
Maleena nodded and began securing the saddle straps. “I want to rescue Taela. I know she isn’t evil, but it’s not fair to ask others to risk their lives for her. I understand the need to get the Ka’ti back. I wish I could justify the risk of getting Taela and her Paki out as well.”
Maleena felt frustration in Nydara as she secured the final saddle strap and fastened the catcher strap on her left ankle. Using Nydara’s leg, she boosted herself into the saddle and set the leg straps over her thighs. She had flown enough that it only took her a few minutes from the moment she placed the saddle until she was ready to fly.
There was no need to give Nydara any signals, they were connected, they were one. As soon as Maleena was ready, Nydara leaped into the air and brought her powerful wings down in a rush. In seconds they were in the air and rising fast. When they reached a comfortable altitude, the silver spread her wings out and coasted on an updraft.
“Your attention seems divided. Why?” she asked the dragon.
“I can feel Paki’s struggle to behave as a filthy shadow. Paki is not a shadow. As you shared Taela’s mind during the Hatching and after, so did I share Paki’s. They are both in such danger.”
They soared out over the bay, the water glittering like a field of jewels below them. Maleena closed her eyes and let the wind rush past her face as she took in what Nydara had said. “You are sharing the draclet’s mind?”
Embers at Galdrilene Page 32