“It's okay. We'll find her. Get in the bag.”
Lumin's hips wiggled and his tail whipped side to side. He snapped his jaws, then dove off the beam and into the rucksack. He turned around several times to arrange himself into a serviceable position, then looked up at me. “Chirp.”
“We'll go get Serida and Ragan, and then we'll find Shan. It'll be okay. We'll all be back together shortly.” I buckled the flap and slipped the rucksack straps onto my shoulders. “Just try to stay still and quiet.”
“I hope your optimism doesn't leave you devastated,” Rose said. She dabbed the tears from my cheeks and kissed my brow. “Come now, hurry.”
∆∆∆
Rose slammed the note on the night sheriff's desk. “Where is he?”
The night sheriff, a scrawny, middle-aged Horsefae, sighed and turned the note around so she could read it. She sighed again and pushed her piebald hair away from her jaded eyes. “If you mean the abomination, it's in Belise. If you mean Captain Harris, she's still in Belise as well.”
Rose ground her palms into the desk. “That's not possible. Belise is days away.”
The sheriff tapped the butt off her pencil against the note. “Vedalun Harris is a warlock of considerable skill.” She dropped the pencil and snapped her fingers. “Just like that, all it takes. The dragonbound abomination and its little pet are in Belise, along with both–”
Now it was my turn to slam my hands on the desk. “The dragon was mine, asshole!”
The sheriff's brown eyes widened and her lip curled. “You're a feisty little human, aren't you? The abomination was found in possession of a gold-scaled dragon, so the dragon was teleported to Belise with it.”
“The half-Fae's name is Ragan, not abomination or it, and the dragon is bound to me. Look at my sarding eyes, gods-dammit.”
“There is no need for that sort of language, youngling.” The sheriff rubbed the bridge of her broad nose and forced a sigh. “If you want your pet back, you'd better start riding to Belise. It's two, maybe two-and-a-half days east. Better hurry if you want to reclaim it alive. The Justice Council likes to begin trials immediately and they hardly ever last more than three days before the sentence is carried out.”
“And Ragan?” Rose asked, her voice shaking.
The sheriff sputtered her thick lips and laughed. “No hope there, lady. All half-Fae are executed on the third day. Law mandates public trial to serve as a warning, then public death. Disgusting creatures are usually disposed of at birth, so I never expected to see an adult one. Pity. What a miserable life it must have had. Would've been kinder if its parents had left it in the woods to be torn apart by wolves.”
Rose's fingernails cut crescents into the surface of the desk. “His name is Ragan and I will not allow him to be executed.”
“Why in the world not?” The sheriff tilted her head back and laughed, a grating sound reminiscent of a donkey bray. “If you want to help the kid get his dragon back and further waste your time, you can try appealing to the Justice Council. Not going to work, but it would be entertaining. Say hello to my new little elf friends while you're there. Those two put up quite a fight. Stronger than they look, especially the boy.”
“What elves?” I glanced at Rose. Her jaw was clenched so tight I was sure her teeth were fracturing.
The sheriff spun her pencil across the desk. “Couple of elves I arrested for lewd public behavior. Kissing, they were. Disgusting, hideous elves. A little drunk, too. Girl was a witchy type with green eyes and tattooed arms. Boy was pale with a scarred face, odd scars like an animal had raked his cheeks. Recognized him right away as the one the Crown Guard has been looking for, so I had Harris incapacitate him, then take him and his whore to Belise so the Crown can come pick them up. They're Anthora's problem, so no trial for them here in the Faelands.”
No, couldn't be. Shan and Marita and Ragan and Serida, all gone. I groaned and leaned over the desk. Lumin slowly adjusted his weight to keep the rucksack on my back from slipping to the side. “How far to Belise again?”
The sheriff rubbed her chin. “Two days, if you've got good horses and ride hard. Go right when the road forks or you'll end up in the North Vale. Don't get your hopes up, kid. Looks like you've got eyes that can match you to your dragon, but three days is the maximum so she might already be dead when you get there. I'm sure you'll know that before you're told, though. I've heard your type can feel the bond sever like a chunk of your soul is being sliced away.”
I grabbed Rose's rigid arm. “We need to go. Now. Iefyr and Nador will have to ride drunk or catch up later. We need to get to Belise.”
Rose nodded and rushed me out of the constabulary. Once outside, she pulled me close and whispered, “Thank you for not revealing him as my son. I think they'd have me executed too, and then I wouldn't be able to save him. Gather our things and ready the horses. I'm going to find those two fools and see if they are right enough to ride, otherwise we're on our own.”
“Hurry. Please. If you can't find them right away, let's just leave a note and go,” I said. My hands were shaking. My brother, my dragon, my friends. I needed to save all four. I'd never forgive myself if I lost any of them. “We never should have come here.”
Tears landed upon Rose's collar. “Too late, only regret. Go. Get ready.”
Rose left me on the constabulary stoop and jogged toward the city square, which still overflowed with music and activity.
I oriented myself to my surroundings and then hustled toward the inn. I needed to get my things, and everyone else's things, and interrupt the horses' much-deserved rest. There would be no soft beds for us tonight, and no sleep at all.
“Wait! Human, wait!” I didn't recognize the voice behind me, or the sharp accent that bit into his Ts.
I held up my hand. I didn't have time for distraction. “I can't talk right now.”
“You can about this. Wait!” Jogging feet drew closer, then flanked my sides.
Elves. A pair of elves walked with me. One male and one female, they were slight with raven black hair and fair, freckled skin.
“Whatever goods you're selling or religion you're peddling, I'm not interested,” I said. Words didn't come easily. I was short of breath and alternating between terrified and enraged.
“We're not selling anything,” the girl said. She was young, maybe my own age or slightly older. The boy, who I assumed was her brother, appeared close enough to the girl's age that I wasn't sure if one was older or if they were twins. “Listen, please. We saw your companions get arrested, the forest elf and the half-elf. They weren't doing anything wrong, even by Fae standards, but I'd recognize Shannon Goldtree anywhere. He is being searched for all over Bacra. He shouldn't have shown his face and expected not to be captured.”
I stopped walking and stared at the elf. She kept her eyes fixed on the brick road in front of us. “What do you know of Shannon Goldtree?”
She shrugged and nodded toward her brother. He fiddled with the moon-shaped cloak pin at his collarbone and said, “The High King wants him for questioning, and possibly an alliance. The Goldtrees have been deposed as leaders of the Jade Duchy. The realm is under Starbright leadership now, and all of the Goldtrees are either dead or in hiding. Shannon Goldtree is a dragonbound warlock of prodigious skill, so the High King thinks he might be of some use in a position much more suited to his abilities than Duke of the Jade Realm. All of this is known. The Crown sent out fliers about it. Haven't you seen them?”
“Been busy,” I said, then continued walking.
The girl cleared her throat. “We know Lord Goldtree was captured without his dragon. We also know that the half-Fae was arrested with a dragon, but Lord Goldtree said that it wasn't his when the Captain asked about it. We think you know where his dragon is, and the one that was taken was yours.”
“I'm not telling you anything.”
“You don't need to. Your eyes speak for you. You must be Tessen Lim, Lord Goldtree's half-brother. We want to help you get your dr
agon back from the Fae. Your brother needs to be reunited with his dragon, too. We know the fastest way to Belise and we have some influence in Anthora if we get to Belise and Lord Goldtree and his companion are no longer there.”
I stopped again and stared at the girl. “Who are you?”
She looked up at me and smiled uncertainly. Blue irises swallowed all areas of her eyes that should have been white, and her pupils were vertically elongated. “We're like you, Tessen. Dragonbound. We've been dragonbound much longer than you, so we know better what it means, and because of that we know how imperative it is for both you and your half-brother to be reunited with your dragons. We'd offer to fly you to Belise, but our dragons aren't yet large enough to carry more than one, and they won't fly for anyone but us. We're witches, not warlocks, so we can't teleport you, but we can work spells to temporarily help your horses run faster and escape fatigue. We want to help you, so please, let us.”
I didn't know what to do. These were strangers and their true purpose could be anything, but desperation drove me to consider their help. I had no reason to trust them, but I also had no reason not to.
“Fine. I accept your help, but if you do anything I see as a threat, I've killed before and I am ready to do it again. Help me ready the horses and then you can try to explain yourselves again to Rose and my other friends when we're on the road. They're better judges of character than I am, so if they find you suspicious, you're gone.”
“We're trying to help you, not hurt you,” the boy said. “Although this will hurt. You'll feel it soon. Distance becomes torture when you're separated from your dragon, especially this early in the bond.”
“It already hurts,” I said.
“Not like it will.” The girl shuddered and stepped over a loose brick in the road. “My name is Kemi, by the way. Kemi Silverwind. This is my brother, Kai.”
“Well, Kemi and Kai Silverwind, I'm Tessen Lim. I suppose you already know that, but formalities... I can't say I'm glad to meet you, but I'll forever be grateful to you if you're sincere about helping me and you follow through with it.”
“I can't tell you not to worry, but I can assure you we are sincere,” Kai said. He looked at me for the first time. His eyes were blue-green, and elven instead of dragonlike.
I couldn't trust them yet, but I could allow them to kindle a tiny fire of hope in my galloping heart.
Chapter 38
“Why? Why would you trust them? You don't know them.” Iefyr wasn't as drunk as I expected. He must have stopped drinking just after I did, but Nador had clearly continued. She was asleep and snoring, braced between Iefyr's arms and a rolled blanket tucked against Rakas's shoulders.
“I don't trust them, but if it turns out they can help us, they're worth the risk. I didn't know you when I started traveling with you either, and now I almost trust you with my life,” I said. Lumin stirred against my back. I'd strapped his turnip crate behind Saragon's saddle, but he refused to leave the safety of Ragan's rucksack. He was restless and frequently shifted positions or poked his head out of the bag to hiss at the pair of dragons who ran along the cliffs above us. They were riderless. The Silverwinds rode Shan's Evinlore and Marita's Hedimar on the road slightly ahead of us. The faint green vapor that swirled behind them served not only to bolster the horses, but also to alleviate some of our own fatigue.
“You're a damned fool.” Iefyr craned his neck and looked up at the running dragons. The creatures were silver in color and no larger than a Fae horse. I hadn't seen them up close yet. Kemi had told me when we were starting out that they'd stay high to act as lookouts.
I shrugged and kept my eyes on the road. “Maybe. What choice did I have? We need to get to Belise as soon as possible if there is any hope of saving anyone, and they were willing to help us. Dragonbound green witches . . . they know how important Serida is to me and Lumin is to Shan.”
“You don't even know how important she is to you,” Iefyr growled. I knew he wasn't angry with me, but instead with our situation. He was supposed to be asleep in a lumpy down bed, but instead he was riding along a dark and misty rainforest road two hours east of Kethra on a possibly-futile rescue mission.
The moon broke through the thick clouds and showered light upon us.
“Stop!” Kai shouted. He drew Marita's horse to a halt and held up his hand. “Quickly, before the moonlight fades. Tessen, use the light's power to locate your dragon. Make sure she is in Belise before we go any further.”
I stopped next to Kemi. “What? I don't understand.”
“Do you not know how to locate your dragon? It's such a basic skill,” Kemi said, an eyebrow raised. Her dragonlike eyes reflected the moon as silver.
“I . . . I have no idea what I'm doing. I haven't had anyone to teach me.”
Kai glared at his sister. “No, of course you haven't. You've been running and your dragon is only an infant. This is as easy as breathing, but it's not obvious to an outsider so I'm not surprised you don't know how to do it. I'll help you this first time, so pay attention.”
“I'm ready,” I said.
“Close your eyes and feel the moonlight wash over you. Your dragon's heartbeat echoes in that light, and yours matches hers. Feel the moonlight, feel your heartbeat, find her heartbeat. Connect with her across the distance. Do you feel her?”
A gold-tinted pulse resonated throughout my body. She was already with me. “Yes.”
“Now open your eyes and see what she sees.”
I was no longer on the forest road. I looked upon a stone room through a web of metal bars. Mildew and moss grew between dripping rocks and the stench of decay further suffocated the stagnant air. Lanterns hung from hooks dangling from rotting wood ceiling beams, offering a hazy and flickering light that threw twisted shadows upon the walls.
“I'm in a cage, possibly in an underground dungeon.” My whisper came from somewhere far beyond where my consciousness dwelled.
“What else do you see?”
I felt a reluctant resistance as I slowly turned my head. My neck was long, much longer than I was used to, and I could easily twist it to see my complete surroundings. “A string of rotting dead rats hangs from a rafter next to some dried-out fish. Flies swarm around them, and over a plate of moldy food set on a stone block by the door. A bone sticks out of a pile of straw in the corner. It looks like a thigh bone from someone at least human in size. There is another cage to my left, a big one. The one I'm in is small and it dangles on a chain hooked to the ceiling, but this other cage is on the ground. The bars are crisscrossed and intertwined, like vines or a spiderweb, so it's hard to see inside, but there is a bare foot in view. Serida, will you chirp for me? Get his attention. I think that's Ragan, but I need to be sure.”
“Chirp?” Serida's voice did not come from far away like my own did, but instead from within me. She was me, and I was her. I wondered if she was with me in her own sight or if we had switched places and she was looking upon the forest road. Her muscles trembled and quaked, so much that the floor of the cage vibrated. She was frightened, and I didn't know how to console her other than reassuring her that I was with her. I'm coming for you, I thought, hopeful that she was able to hear and understand. “Chirp?”
“Hey, you're awake,” said a hoarse voice from within the second cage. Hands gripped the bars and a pair of bright blue eyes stared at me. Ragan's lower lip was bloodied and his left cheek was bruised and swollen. He rested his head against the bars and watched me. “Only just woke myself, maybe twenty minutes ago. I know where we are, but I don't remember getting here so they must've knocked me out. Again. Sorry about this. You should be with Tessen. Wish you'd hidden when I told you to. Your brother listened, but you were too busy acting like a friendly puppy to pay attention. Too late now, and I'm afraid it'll soon be too late for us, as well. Not sure what they're gonna do with you, but I know they're gonna kill me. I'll fight them, of course, 'cause that's all I can do. Fight or surrender are the only choices I've got left, and I've never been one
to surrender.”
“Chirp.” Damn it. I wished I could speak to him and let him know we were on our way. I wished I could ask him about Shan and Marita, or do anything at all to let him know that I was with him.
Ragan sighed and rocked against the bars. “I hope they're reasonable enough to let you go once they realize you're bound to someone else. You and Tessen need each other. That kid . . . he's a good kid, always has been, and I love him to death, but damn it all if he didn't used to hate me. He's grown up since then and I think now he's started to like me a little. I always hoped for that, you know. I wanted to be his dad and he wouldn't let me. Maybe that's changed lately. I feel like it has. Now I'll be leaving him again, but this time there won't be any finding me in a teahouse at the shit end of nowhere.”
“Chirp? Chirp.”
Ragan laughed and rubbed his weary eyes. “You're good for him. Hope you see him again. Hope he figures out you're not in Belise before anything happens to you. He doesn't need to go the rest of his life knowing what it feels like to lose a child. That's what you are to him, you know, though I don't think he's realized that yet. You're his child.”
Not in Belise? Come on, Ragan, help me figure out where you are. I felt the direction, I felt Serida. Northeast. Belise was east, so what was northeast?
“Chirp?”
Ragan ran his fingers along the twisted bars. “Never planned on being a gladiator. That's how they carry out sentences here. Fight to the death, entertain the masses. Suppose they allow some honor in that, even for an anomaly like me. Serida, I don't know if you're able to communicate with Tessen at all, but if you are, can you have him tell my mother that I—”
My vision exploded into sparkling starlight and wandering moonbeams. I blinked it away into darkness, into the rainforest east of Kethra. I was back in my own body, but Serida's fear still pulsed through my core. I shivered as I reached a hand back to make sure Lumin was still in the rucksack.
“See, easy,” Kai said with an indifferent shrug. “Now you can do that any time there is moonlight, even during the day.”
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