Daughter of Lightning

by Anna Logan

  Talea scrambled out of its path with a gasp. Yhkon was not so lucky. He got out a snarled, “You have got to be kid—” before he was bowled over by the creature. A pink tongue, easily the length of a man’s arm, drenched him in saliva while the long white tail wagged almost uncontrollably.

  The fact that Skoti and the other Wardens were bent over with laughter only added to her confusion.

  Dazed, she straightened and faced the monster warily. She needn’t have worried, its full focus was on Yhkon, who was writhing beneath its bird-like feet and its slobbering tongue. He was growling out curses and threats at Skoti and at the same time demanding they get the beast off him.

  “Ah, but Yhkon, canchya see she’s missed ya?” Skoti was grinning like a boy.

  Grrake was too, but he sobered a little as Yhkon barked for him to make himself useful. He was still smiling, however, as he coaxed the giddy animal off the lead Warden. Yhkon leaped to his feet with a fierce scowl on his saliva-dampened face. “Skoti, what did I tell you about—”

  “Come now, m’lad!” Skoti clapped him on the back, still grinning. “Stop your fussing. We both know I haven’t any control of which lareers are brought back an’ forth. T’ain’t my fault Diamond m’lass happened to be around!”

  “You let her out of her stall!” he pointed a finger accusingly at the manager.

  Skoti chuckled. “Friend, we both know if I hadn’t, she would have broken down the whole barn jes’ ta say hello to her favorite fellow.”

  Still scowling, Yhkon muttered something inarticulate and walked into the stable, though he gave Diamond’s shoulder a pat as he passed, earning a delighted squeal that seemed all too dainty a sound for such a big animal.

  After watching Yhkon go with an amused smile of her own, Talea cautiously moved to get a better angle as she studied the lareer. She was probably twenty-five feet long including her tail, and perhaps twelve feet tall at the shoulder. Her four legs were like those of a cat, and a pair of wings draped gracefully over her body. Glossy white feathers covered her wings and part of her torso, as well as the end of her tail. Her head was held high, with large, soft, violet colored eyes that gazed about in a docile manner.

  Tarol appeared at her side, nodding his head at Diamond. “They’re pretty critters, aren’t they? Diamond here has always had an infatuation for Yhkon. Drives him crazy, although I’ve seen him get gentle with her when he thinks no one is looking.”

  Haeric joined them with a smirk and shake of his head. “It’s actually quite normal for lareers to do that. They tend to be obsessive about one or two things, whether it be a person or an object or a time of day. They’re intelligent, but in a naive, childish sort of way. Just so happens,” he approached Diamond to stroke her neck, “that Diamond obsesses over Yhkon.”

  “Always has, always will,” came Yhkon’s grumbling voice as he rejoined them, a sizable, heavy-looking saddle of sorts in his arms. “Tarol, make yourself useful, why don’t you? You too.” He used the saddle to give Haeric a bump in the direction of the stable. Diamond, meanwhile, wiggled with enthusiasm and nudged him with her nose, nearly making him fall.

  With the other two Wardens gone to tack more lareers that Skoti was leading from the stable, he set the saddle down so he could put his hand on Diamond’s side and draw it down to her belly. It must have been a command, because she immediately plopped down, legs folded underneath her. He hefted the saddle onto her back and began working the straps around her chest and under her barrel. She, all the while, watched him with wide, adoring eyes. Done, he vanished back into the barn, returning with more gear. It was fastened to her lower back and hindquarters. There was no saddle attached, so Talea assumed it was used to secure their luggage. After all, the saddle he’d already put on her had three seats, each with a little space and a short barrier of sorts between them. It would be more comfortable than fitting two people on a celith’s saddle meant for one.

  Four additional lareers were brought out and readied. Yhkon had already instructed that each ward would ride with their Warden, and that Naylen and Brenly would ride with the outpost operative who would be at the head of the fifth lareer. Alili, of course, would ride with her and Yhkon.

  Eventually, everything was ready.

  Her eyes strayed to the ocean, only a few stone’s throws away. She closed her eyes to picture the white beach, the waves rippling over the sand. When no one was talking, she could just hear the water. The outpost was in a valley, with the ocean on one side, mountains on the other. Though it was blocked from view by a wooded hill, Haeric had told her that the cliff with the incredible view was, in fact, just above them. It was because of the rugged terrain that surrounded the area that it was unknown to Kaydorians or others who would seek to do harm, Yhkon said. Even if it made getting here not so fun.

  This part of the region was not what she was used to. The beach and ocean, for one, was something entirely new. Aside from that, the trees were different, the forests were denser. There was more water, more green, but it was Zentyre. And she was about to leave it behind. Should she feel wistful, or apprehensive, or remorseful? Or should she feel excited, keen?

  The Wardens were saying goodbye to Skoti and the man that wasn’t coming with them. Talea joined them to shake hands and smile at each of them. When they had first arrived the night before, they had seemed to feel awkward around her and the other wards. They’d been overly courteous and bowed, not addressing them by their names. As they were going to bed, she’d overheard Yhkon telling them to go ahead and ease off the formality and the three men, Skoti in particular, had been more relaxed ever since. Now, Skoti gave her a bright smile in return and squeezed her hand.

  Yhkon climbed easily into the saddle of an elated Diamond. Talea approached more uncertainly, not sure if she could copy his method to get aboard. He, however, simply reached down, telling her to hand Alili up. She did. Before she could figure out what to do next, he had leaned back down and lifted her into the seat behind him with Alili behind her. He showed them how to wrap the belts that were connected to the saddle around their waists, lest they should fall.

  Nerves had sent the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. Eyes wide with both excitement and anxiety, she checked to make sure Alili’s belt was secure and that she had a good grip before grasping the ledge of the saddle between her and Yhkon with white knuckles. A pressure materialized in her gut only to jump into her throat as Diamond leaped into the air. Each powerful wing stroke sent a jolt through Talea’s body. She sucked in a deep breath and held it.

  The lareer squealed—a happy sound—as she rose higher and higher. When the outpost building was small enough to be covered by Talea’s thumb, Diamond leveled out, coasting with her wings spread. The cool air tingled on her skin and pulled strands of hair from her braid. Above and around them was the vivid blue of the clear sky. Below, the glistening sea. A broad smile stretched her cheeks.

  Yhkon looked over his shoulder at her. He didn’t appear as enthralled as she was. If anything he looked nervous, though he smiled a little as he saw her expression. Alili had switched to holding tightly to Talea’s waist, but she wore one of her rare smiles, an excited sparkle in her eyes.

  They didn’t talk at first. That was fine, she was plenty occupied with the wonder of being atop a lareer, hundreds of feet above the ocean, on their way to the Shadow Region. The silence wasn’t awkward, either. But after a while she decided to break it anyway. “Do you not like flying?”

  Yhkon swiveled in his seat, now sitting sideways in it, so that his legs were on one side of Diamond’s shoulder instead of straddling it, though she was too wide to straddle effectively anyway. Talea did the same, making it easier to hold a conversation. “I’m not a big fan of heights,” he said.

  “Oh.” She leaned forward, just enough to see the water below them. It was quite a way down. Next topic. “Will you be glad to be back in Calcaria? Do you like it there?”

  His expression brightened, just a little, meaning she’d hit on a g
ood subject. “I reckon I do. Better than Zentyre.”

  “Why don’t you like Zentyre?”

  Perhaps not as good a topic, by his frown. “No reason, I guess,” was all he said.

  Well, now seemed as good a time as any to ask her real question. “So um…why didn’t you want to take that shortcut, last night? And you left, while we were all up on the cliff.”

  “Does it matter?” The ice-blue color of his eyes had become even more frigid.

  Talea’s toes curled inside her boots, her lips in a tight line. “Sorry. I was just wondering,” she whispered the words, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

  He exhaled as if frustrated. “I just don’t like to talk about it, okay?”

  She nodded, choppily. “Okay.”

  She thought that was going to be the end of the conversation. He’d go into one of his usual moods that often took hours or days for him to come back out of. It would be a mute ride the rest of the way to Jalkiva.

  But then he spoke again, quietly. “Ask me something else.” He wasn’t looking at her, he was frowning, but he wasn’t glaring. He was trying to make it work.

  Well, if he would try, so would she. “Well…” she cleared her throat, forcing her voice to come out clearer, less timid. “You could tell me some of the things you like about Calcaria.”

  Nodding, he started, almost wearily. “I think our system is less corrupt there. We don’t have a ruler, we have lots of people in authority, and they don’t just inherit it.” A bit more energy entered his tone. “The entire city was founded by people wanting freedom and an escape from persecution, not profit or prestige, so we help each other out. When new San Quawr families come to Calcaria, it doesn’t matter if they have money, we’ll find them a place to live and a source of income. Not that it’s flawless,” he tilted his head, as if considering the concept. “There’s a lot of people who take advantage of it. And at some point, we won’t be able to give so freely to so many people. So eventually I suppose it will have to change. But I think it’s a good mindset to start with.”

  “So…” she wet her lips with her tongue. “Are there classes? Laborers and lords? Any of that?”

  “No. That’s what I mean.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if someone comes fresh from a laborer’s village or if they come as upper class, they’ll be treated the same. Not that there’s isn’t differences in wealth. Some are paid more than others. But there aren’t classes. And anyone can go for a better-paying career if they put in the work.”

  “Is that how it was for you?” she asked. The way he spoke about it made her think he had personal experience with the generosity shown to newcomers in Calcaria. “You arrived as lower class, yet now you’re the lead Warden?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I suppose that’s what it’s going to be like for me, too.”

  “Pretty much. It’s not so bad,” he said, with a trace of a smile.

  ~♦~

  Talea nearly sighed with relief when she saw pinpoints of light in the distance, the only thing to be seen of their surroundings in the blackness of night. “Please tell me that’s Jalkiva,” she said under her breath, so as not to wake Alili, who was asleep in her lap.

  Yhkon nodded in front of her. “It is.”

  Thank Ema. Or…she inwardly shook her head at herself, recalling that she was supposedly San Quawr now, and that most San Quawr were Radical Xanytes. Probably should stop using the Irlaish gods.

  It was near midnight of the second night since they’d set out from Zentyre. There had been stops periodically along the way, usually on tiny, uninhabited islands. Otherwise, however, it was non-stop flying, and that lost its luster quickly.

  She woke Alili as they began the descent toward the island. It looked to be several square miles in size. With a sprinkling of torches being the only light source, there wasn’t much else to be determined. Diamond tucked her wings in, angling into a controlled dive. Just when Talea thought the lareer was going to splatter them against the rocky beach, the feathered wings fanned out, easing them the final few yards to the sand.

  Talea fidgeted as Yhkon got down, impatient to be on the ground. “Why does she do that? Slow down at the last second?”

  He got Alili down, before giving Talea his hand so she could climb off. “They all do. Lareers can’t hover or move straight down in the air like a dragon can, so they have to dive.”

  “Oh.” She stepped gratefully onto the solid ground, wincing at the strain in her stiff muscles. The others had landed and were dismounting with grimaces and groans of their own.

  “Lamara’s glory, who knew sitting could be harder work than mining,” Naylen muttered, stretching his arms over his head.

  “Alright.” Yhkon moved to the front of the group. “Since it’s so late, we’re just going to spend the night at the inn. We’ll see your families in the morning.”

  Talea caught up to him as he started walking off the beach, leading Diamond by her halter. “You have an inn? I thought those were reserved for, you know, big cities.”

  He quirked an eyebrow at her. “You think that because you’re unfamiliar with the concept of free travel. Since San Quawr can—and do—move about, we have them wherever we need them.”

  “Right.” She kept pace with him, holding Alili’s hand. “Do we just bunk on the floor like we did at the outpost, or—”

  His laughter interrupted her. “Oh, glory. You’re going to be in for quite a shock when we get to Calcaria.”

  Puzzled, she only frowned and waited for his meaning to become clear when they reached this inn.

  Some men met them along the way, with bows and formal greetings. They and the outpost operative from Zentyre that had accompanied them took the lareers off to be stabled elsewhere on the island. Yhkon led the rest of them into the town of the island, their boots no longer rustling through grass but instead shuffling over dirt roads. There wasn’t a haliop in sight. Instead, houses, similar to the Krims’. It was at a much larger building that they stopped. I guess an inn would have to be larger.

  Yhkon knocked on the door. It opened to a middle-aged woman illuminated by the soft glow coming from inside. “Silquijes!” She practically nose-dived into a bow, even as she smiled brightly. “Welcome back! Are these them? Are these the fabled wards?”

  “They’re not a fable anymore, Aggi.” Grrake smiled, putting a hand on Talea’s shoulder and his other on Wylan’s. “This is Taleareinna, Eun; Wylan, Werrin.” He pulled the twins forward next. “And Ki and Kae, Quoye and Orra.”

  Aggi pursed her lips, squinting at each of them in turn. “Well, alright then. One of you show me this lightning of yours, and I’ll believe it once and for all.”

  Talea looked questioningly at Yhkon and Grrake, both of whom gave her a nod. Okay...She formed an electrical sphere in her palm, holding it up for the woman to see.

  Aggi’s narrowed eyes bulged. “I don’t believe it,” she murmured.

  Grrake tsked his tongue at her. “You just promised you would.”

  As Talea let the sphere die out, the woman faced Yhkon and Grrake again, shaking her head slowly. “I apologize for every skeptical thing I have ever said about—”

  “No need.” Yhkon shrugged. “I didn’t believe it either when Grrake first told me.”

  Aggi blinked a few times, seeming to try and recover. “Well, well…come in, all of you! Gracious, now I wish I had better to offer you than the simple bedrooms, with—”

  “Don’t worry about that either.” Yhkon was smirking. “At least in the case of this one,” he jerked his head to indicate Talea, “your simplest bedroom will be plenty luxurious.”

  They entered a spacious room, made cozy by the crackling fireplace, the maroon rugs on the floor, the plush looking sofas and armchairs. Who needed a bedroom? Sleeping on one of those couches, or even just on a rug, would probably be considerable improvement over the ground.

  Aggi didn’t waste so much as a moment in the main room, however. She was already
bustling up a staircase, then down a hallway that was lined with doors. Opening the first, she gestured Talea inside, with an even deeper bow than she’d given the Wardens. “I’m sorry I don’t have better, Arji, but I hope you’ll be comfortable.”

  Talea opened her mouth to assure the woman it would be fine, until she stepped into the room, and the words dropped from her tongue. It was the size of her haliop’s living room back in Zentyre, with the same wooden floors and maroon rugs as downstairs. A window with curtains. A nightstand. And, in the middle of it all, looking absolutely heavenly: a giant bed. At least three feet tall, with creamy gold covers, perfectly white pillows.

  The only other time she’d seen such a bed was in the ladies’ chambers, in Lord Vissler’s mansion.

  Yhkon was grinning at her. “That, Talea, is called a bed.”

  It only got better from there. After showing each of the rest of them to their rooms, Aggi said she’d show them the four privies they would be sharing, at which point Talea asked what a “privy” was. Tarol laughed outright at her and laughed again when she gawked as Aggi showed it to them: it was a small room with the same purpose as an outhouse or chamber pot, except it was far nicer. There was a water basin, a bathtub that Aggi said would be filled for them whenever they wanted, and what she called a toilet. Talea abandoned the propriety that might keep her from discussing such a topic and asked about how it worked. Yhkon explained the mechanics of the flushing to her, conspicuously amused.

  After the tour, they all wished each other goodnight, and Talea went with Alili back into their bedroom. For a moment they both just stared at the massive bed. Then, Talea took the little girl’s hand and they both jumped onto it, giggling. It was soft, almost bouncy. Though she felt far too animated to sleep, they undressed down to their smocks and crawled under the covers.