Kalila glanced at her sisters again. They hadn’t moved, their eyes still fastened to the floor in front of them. Someone was here that shouldn’t be. She scanned the massive chamber. How did she know someone was here? Kalila analyzed the feeling for a moment. It came from the air currents. They…told her? Maybe Sadira’s treatment was driving her crazy. She turned toward the alcove that held the two books.
Someone was there, right in front of the alcove’s arched entrance. She couldn’t see him, but he was there. He was going to steal the books or maybe only one. The connection or whatever it was she felt with the air was fading. The loss of either book would certainly put a twist in the Shadow Rider’s chain. She smiled and turned away to look out into the canyon again. She reached out to the currents, hoping her message of good luck would find the invisible person.
Kalila gazed out at the striped rock and the flowers. She hadn’t seen anything and knew nothing. She was going to have to work on getting her smile under control. Sadira would be back soon. She never left them alone long.
The currents led Kellinar through a warren of passages that grew smaller the farther they went until he reached a narrow set of stairs carved into the rock. He could just make out a doorway in the darkness at the bottom of the stairs.
He started down the steps, but a tortured scream stopped him. A dim light flickered somewhere beyond the doorway. The scream stopped only to start again. Maleena. He moved to leap down the stairs, intent on cutting whoever caused the scream, from navel to nose.
The air coalesced around him and he couldn’t move. He reached out for the currents. Why wouldn’t they let him help? He felt their reply. Too dangerous. He sagged. They wouldn’t let him go until Maleena was alone.
Her screams tore at him and he fought the urge to force the currents away. Severing ties with the currents would leave Loki alone and lost in the maze of tunnels. It would leave Taela with no idea of how to get out. And in the end, if the currents thought there was so much danger that they restrained him, then he would likely get himself killed. Everything would fall apart.
The cries finally ended. After several long minutes, the currents released him and tugged him forward. He wasted no time following them. The doorway led to a narrow passageway lined on one side by cells. Midway down the passage, a torch flickered in a sconce on the wall across from one set of bars. He ran to it.
Maleena lay on the floor inside the cell. He tried to open the door. Locked. Not surprised, he reached for the hinge pins and pulled them out. He didn’t have time for lock picking.
He shifted the door open, and stepped through. His breath caught. The light flickered over the battered and bruised form of his friend. She wept softly, her eyes closed. A bruise covered in dried blood discolored her forehead and half her face. Her eyes fluttered opened. They had a glassy look to them. A shiver ran through her body as she looked up at him.
“Kellinar?” Her voice was soft and barely audible.
Tears stung his eyes. He reached out for Shryden. “I need you to send what I see to Miya so Serena can look. Don’t let the image overflow and tell Miya to keep it between her and Serena.” He wiped a hand over his face and knelt next to his friend. “Mckale doesn’t need to see this. It will only distract him. Feeling is one thing, seeing is another.”
“It will only take a moment.”
Kellinar brushed the hair away from Maleena’s face. Her skin felt hot on his fingertips. “She’s burning with fever, Shryden. Ask Miya to find out if there is anything I can do.”
Maleena raised a hand to Kellinar’s face. She shivered again and her palm felt hot on his cheek. “Are you real?”
“Yes, I’m real. I’m here to get you out. Shryden has relayed what I am seeing to Serena through her dragon. Miya sends back that Serena wants me to ask where you hurt.”
Tears filled her eyes and her lip quivered. “I hurt…everywhere.”
“Can I pick you up?”
“I–I don’t know. I think my ribs are broken. It hurts to move.” Her eyelids drifted down. “I’m tired. Maybe I should sleep first.” They fluttered back open. “Are you really here?” Her eyes closed again. “I need to tell Emallya…I can’t remember.”
Kellinar wiped away the tear that ran down his face. He’d promised Mckale and Nydara he would get her back. But now he wasn’t sure she would live long enough.
“Miya says that Serena demands you stop that way of thinking,” came Shryden’s sending. “Serena says to use the bandages in the pack she gave you to bind her ribs, it will help.”
Kellinar dug in the small pack and pulled out the long strip of soft bandages. “Maleena, I need to help you sit up so I can put this around your ribs.”
She opened her eyes. “Can we do it in the morning? I’m so tired.”
“No, we have to do it now.”
She let out a small sigh and reached for him. He helped her into a sitting position. He wrapped the bandage snug around her from just under her breasts to her waist. This wasn’t the first time he’d wrapped broken ribs, but it was the first time he’d wrapped them on someone he cared so much about. He made sure the binding was free of any wrinkles that might cause discomfort.
When he was done, Shryden sent, “Serena says to see if you can get her to drink the liquid in the red vial. She says it will help ease her pain and fight infection.”
Kellinar pulled out the small bottle and uncorked it. He placed it to her lips. “Drink this, Serena says it will help.” He tilted the liquid into her mouth. She swallowed convulsively. It dribbled down her chin and she coughed. Her arms went around her middle and she groaned, tears spilling down her cheeks. He only got about half of it down her, but it would have to do.
He slipped the bottle back in the pack. Her eyes were closed again, her head leaning against the stone wall. She trembled with more shivers. He made a quick search of the cell for a blanket he could wrap around her for warmth, but found only a bare room save for a foul smelling bucket in one corner. Rage welled up in him. As if what they’d done to her wasn’t enough, they hadn’t even given her a blanket.
He turned back to her. They were running out of time. He knelt beside her again and as gently as he could, lifted her into his arms. She whimpered and more tears rolled down her cheeks, making new trails through the flaking blood. Her eyes opened again. “Did you know our dragons can Slide already?”
He nodded and stepped carefully from the cell, trying not to jar her too much. His voice caught and he had to clear his throat. “Yes, I know.”
“Nydara…” Maleena drifted again. He made it back through the doorway and up the stairs beyond. The currents tugged him along. While Maleena appeared to be unconscious, he moved quickly through the winding corridors. He hoped Loki had already made it out with the book.
Kellinar stopped in the hall that would take him from the Kormai. He reached out to the currents waiting for them to bring news of Loki and Taela. It took only a moment to find they were already out on the slopes beyond.
He carried Maleena down the hall and out through the door at the end. The wind lashed them with sand when he stepped out from behind the rocks. Maleena stirred in his arms, a moan escaping her lips. Her eyes flew open. “Does Mckale know?”
“Does he know what?” Kellinar asked gently.
Her eyes closed and she faded again. He crossed to the pile of boulders where Loki waited.
He found Loki clutching a large book in his arms and glowering at Taela. She crouched next to rocks, a quarterstaff in her hand. Loki looked relieved to see him. “Who is this woman? I found her at the door and she insisted you told her to come and your currents led her.”
He knelt next to them, taking a brief respite from the wind in the shelter of the boulders. “This is Taela. She’s a Guardian.”
Loki stared at him, then his eyes traveled to Maleena and he gasped. “What did they do to her?”
Kellinar looked at the woman in his arms. In the light of day, he saw just how bad Maleena looked. The
gash across her forehead laid the skin open down to the bone, the tissue around it red and infected. A bruise covered half her face in dark blue and purple blotches. Her swollen lower lip oozed blood from an infected split. Kellinar swallowed, seeing the burns on her leg and side for the first time.
Taela reached a trembling hand toward Maleena. “Sadira,” she whispered, her eyes on the rope-shaped, festering blisters running up Maleena’s arm.
He didn’t know what she meant and he didn’t have time to find out. “Taela, where is Paki?”
Taela didn’t take her eyes off Maleena. “She is out among the canyons, hunting lizards.”
Kellinar repositioned his grip on the woman in his arms, trying to hold her as gentle as he could. “Let’s get down there to her. The sooner we can Slide back to Galdrilene, the better. It will already be near nightfall before we get back to where we need to be.” He looked at Taela. “How long do you think we have before they realize they’re missing a few things?”
She chewed her lower lip for a moment. “The book I’m not sure about. It was kept in an alcove, no one goes in there much. We may have some time on that, but someone will check on Maleena in a few hours. Kovan was supposed to heal her just enough to keep her alive later this evening.”
Kellinar scowled. “They have a healer and they let her remain like this?”
Taela shook her head. “You don’t understand. Their powers are twisted and evil. Kovan uses weaves to stop hearts, burst blood vessels, and other things. He practiced on people captured along the border.” A haunted look crept into her eyes. “He tried healing once. The screams were terrible. The wounds were mended to some extent, but the person suffered during it.”
Compassion filled Kellinar. She’d been through so much. “What did you do?”
She shrugged, her eyes on her hands folded in her lap. “What could I do?” She hung her head. “I ran and hid in my chamber and I cried, too afraid for Paki to do anything to help. I’m not much of a Guardian, I guess.”
Loki laid a hand on Taela’s arm. “You did the best you could for your dragon. There is no shame in that.”
Kellinar started to stand. “Loki is right, you had to protect Paki and if we don’t get going, your protection will be for nothing.”
Loki put his hand out to stop him. “Kellinar, something strange happened in there.”
He searched Loki’s face. “What?”
The boy tightened his grip on the book. “When I was in the main chamber all of the dragons were there and three women. Not Shadow Riders, I don’t think anyway. One of the dragons started to look my way and I felt a strange prickling all over. I’m not sure what happened, but no one saw me. Not even when one of the women looked right at me. And, I think she told the air currents to tell me good luck.”
Kellinar stared at Loki. Was it possible? Who in there besides Taela would be willing to aid them rather than raise alarm? “It sounds like you used magic, though you are very young for it. Something that would make you invisible, that would be light bending. It’s the same magic Vaddoc uses. We’ll have to discuss this with Emallya and Bardeck when we get back.”
Taela glanced between them. “This is fascinating, but we should go.”
He nodded, readjusted Maleena and stood. A small cry escaped her lips, but her eyes remained closed.
They retraced the route he took that morning with Loki, keeping to the cover of the small canyons. Kellinar tried to move as careful as possible to keep from jarring Maleena, thankful for the stamina and strength of the dragon bond. Paki joyfully joined them when they reached her. She lumbered along behind them, snapping up small lizards flushed out by their passing. Loki followed like a shadow. Taela surprised him with her agility and silence. She was almost as good as Loki.
The sun slowly sank toward the horizon. They paused to rest and drink. Loki leaned against a low canyon wall. “How much farther?”
Kellinar’s eyes swept the land around them. “Less than an hour.”
Taela took a small drink and handed the water bag to Loki. Dust and sweat left smears of dirt on her face. Paki yawned and started to settle on the canyon floor, but jerked her head around back the way they had come. She unfurled her wings and hissed. Taela stiffened and turned to look at the Kormai. She looked back at Kellinar, her slanted eyes wide. “They’re coming.”
Kellinar gave a sharp nod. “Time to go.” They set off at a fast walk. Kellinar would have jogged if he wasn’t so afraid of hurting Maleena.
The sinking sun spread long shadows over the land. Kellinar sensed the Kojen catching up to them. Not even with the enhancement of the bond could he outrun them. Kellinar scanned the landscape. His small group was near where Shryden dropped them off that morning. The canyons ended, leaving only the forest of black rocks.
He reached out for Shryden. “We aren’t going to make it. The Kojen are closing and I’d be a fool to think it’s only Kojen who search for us.”
Shryden sent waves of comfort. “We come.”
Ahead, the sky began to ripple as if distorted by massive, swirling heat waves. Behind, Kellinar heard the shriek of a dragon and the battle roar of Kojen. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The last time he faced Kojen, they’d nearly killed him. He opened his eyes and searched the rock formations. There. That one over there with the small depression at the base. Kellinar sprinted to it. Maleena didn’t make a sound. That worried him. He had to get her somewhere safe. He reached the formation and carefully laid her in the depression.
He stood and turned, pulling his sword from its sheath. He preferred the zahri to the sword, but his zahri was tied to Shryden’s saddle. It wouldn’t be long now. He felt the blue enter the Slide. Taela came to stand next to him, her quarterstaff ready. Paki pressed against her. Kellinar looked at Loki. “Take the book and scoot back with Maleena. If I die, do your best to protect her. Mckale and the others should be here any moment. You won’t be alone.”
Taela rested her hand on the dull-silver neck of her draclet. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “You stay with Loki. I will do my best for us.”
The draclet moved to place herself in front of Loki and Maleena.
Kojen boiled out of the canyons. Kellinar set himself for the onslaught. Taela braced herself next to him. “Whatever happens,” she said, “thank you for trying to help us.”
Kellinar nodded and brought his sword up against the first Kojen to meet them. He took the first and the second in a blur of movement and turned to engage the next. Above him, Shryden and the other dragons of Galdrilene burst into the air. The blue angled his wings and dove, a loud roar issuing from his throat. The timbre of it shook Kellinar’s bones. The Kojen reversed their forward charge in the face of the dragon.
Shryden landed in front of Kellinar with a heavy thud, his head snaking toward the retreating Kojen. A burst of fire swept their ranks. Screams and the smell of burnt leather and flesh filled the air. Kellinar reached to help free the Weather mage from the saddle straps, impressed by her courage to fly alone. Another shriek from above drew his eyes as he untied his zahri.
The other Guardians engaged Shadow Dragons in the air, green and orange fire lighting the area around them.
Syrakynn slowed in the air, allowing the three Shadow Dragons pursuing them to catch up. Kirynn saw what her dragon planned and tightened her hold on the mage in front of her. “Hold on!” she yelled over the wind at him.
The red flipped around in the air and flew straight at the Shadow Dragon in the lead. Her mouth opened, a wide band of bright-orange flame bursting forth into the shadow’s face. Her mouth opened and a wide band of bright-orange flame burst forth into the shadow’s face. The black dragon screamed and dodged away, the scales on its head and face smoking.
The formation of blacks splintered. Syrakynn dodged a black as it spit green fire at them. The sharp sting of the green flames bit into Kirynn’s shoulder and she reached to beat them away. The man in front of her smacked at the flames eating at the sleeve of his shirt. Kirynn lo
oked around and saw Vaddoc and Serena in similar battles.
Three Shadow Dragons in the air. According to the information passed to them through Paki that meant at least four Shadow Dragons and their riders were missing from the aerial battle. Below, Kellinar and Shryden fought Kojen. It would soon be time to get their passengers on the ground.
Syrakynn twisted again, pushing Kirynn against the saddle straps. To her left, Tellnox set the wing of a black dragon on fire before diving for the ground.
Mckale and Tellnox flew low to the ground behind Emallya and Nydara. A Shadow Dragon landed and a blonde woman leaped off its back. Nydara touched the ground, threw her wings out to catch the air, and came to an abrupt halt. She twisted her head around on her sinuous neck and shot a mouthful of flame at the unsuspecting dragon. The woman on the ground screamed in protest and ran toward Nydara with a sword. The silver swept her tail into the woman and sent her slamming into a rock formation.
Tellnox touched down. Mckale let the man in front of him go. The mage immediately undid his straps and leaped to the ground. It only took Mckale a second to lose the safety straps then he too was on the ground, swords drawn. Kojen poured out of the shallow canyons. Nydara, now riderless, turned on the Kojen. Her flames took out another wave while Tellnox fought with the Shadow Dragon on the ground.
Mckale’s eyes swept the area for Maleena. His chest tightened and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. She lay in a depression at the base of a rock formation. A deep gash marred her forehead and the massive bruise around it discolored a good portion of the right side of her face. One arm was covered in festering blisters. Her left pant leg and part of her shirt was burnt away, the exposed skin blackened and oozing. She looked dead.
He ran toward her, his heart constricting. A gray draclet leaped to block his path. Mckale pulled his swords. The draclet hissed and unfurled her wings, drawing her head up as high as she could.
Loki jumped in front of the draclet. “Paki, no!” he yelled, trying to push the young dragon away. “This is her bondmate, he won’t hurt her.”
Embers at Galdrilene Page 36