Wilderness Untamed

by Butler, J. M.

  "We'll risk flying," Naatos said.

  She lifted her head, startled. That would be a change. She cut off another strip and placed it in her mouth. The bitter tannins flooded her mouth, strong enough to hurt but with the slightest hint of wintergreen.

  "Will you be flying?" WroOth asked his brother pointedly.

  "As long as I can," Naatos responded.

  "The bavril won't like flying," QueQoa said.

  "It will like flying better than dying," Naatos said dryly.

  "Yes, but how do we tell it that? We don't have any Bealorns."

  "Cover his eyes." Amelia kept her hand over her own eyes. "Feed him. Calm him. Then put the mask over his face so he can't see."

  AaQar contemplated this before nodding. "That could work."

  "Perhaps so," Naatos agreed. "We'll secure the trunk so he can't reach whoever carries him."

  She held the canteen to her forehead, grateful for the little bit of coolness as she waited to see whether the willow bark worked its magic. The brothers continued to fine-tune the details. If this headache was going to get worse…

  In Indiana, she'd had pressure headaches, tension headaches, and weather-related headaches. This wasn't the worst on its own, but having to exert so much energy and move so much tipped it over the top. Curling up in a dark room with an ice pack and a light blanket until the throbbing passed sounded more appealing than almost anything.

  Though rest was important, the brothers did not seem willing to stay long at all. They finished talking, then set about the final tasks for their departure.

  "You get to fly with me this time, little sister," WroOth announced. "No barrel rolls until your head isn't trying to assassinate you, all right? Are you—are you eating bark?"

  "My head hurts." She picked up a length of rope and tied up the remaining branches. She'd need these later. "Do you want some?"

  "We could have built a fire and made you tea," he said.

  "No time."

  "So you ate the bark." He stared at her incredulously.

  "Rough day."

  "Obviously. I can't remember the last day I had that was so bad I decided to just eat tea leaves."

  "What does that even taste like?" QueQoa asked as he walked behind her. He sniffed and wrinkled his nose. "That's very bitter."

  "Incredibly." She offered him a strip. "Want some?"

  "You like this?" He gave her a skeptical glance.

  "I like that it gives me a chance for relief."

  QueQoa grimaced as he tried it. "That—that needs to be mixed in a tea with something else."

  "You could have spit it out," WroOth said.

  QueQoa swallowed again. "That would be wasteful."

  Naatos finished securing Proteus. "QueQoa, come here."

  AaQar finished checking the last of the bags to ensure that they were all secured and ready to be carried. "The canteens are filled, yes?"

  "All filled. Except mine. But I'll do that now." By the time she returned from filling her canteen, WroOth had already shifted.

  He was in his red fire dragon form, but there had been some changes to it. The horns and spikes were more clustered together, and the scales themselves were finer and lacking the jagged interlocking points they often had. He tilted his shoulder down. "Hook your arm around the neck spikes, dear heart." As she climbed up, he continued, "I'd recommend you stretch out and brace your feet against the ones at my shoulders as well. There's nothing you need to do except stay on. No need to fight the wind any more than you must."

  "Winged serpents don't fly at night, right?" It never became entirely ordinary to hear his or any of their voices coming out of creatures. In this case, WroOth retained the turquoise eyes which were somewhat reminiscent of him, despite the fact that the pupils were diamonds rather than circles. She wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

  "Not unless something has changed."

  "Well nothing here has changed, so we don't have anything to worry about." She hooked both her arms around his neck spikes and lowered her head. The spikes were cool, so that was something.

  "Nervous, little sister?"

  "Nope." She kept her head down. The throbbing was worse. The moonlight hurt her eyes a little as well.

  "If anything does come for us, you make sure you stay flat. And if you fall, you scream."

  "I promise."

  It took only a few moments longer for the brothers to organize everything. Then they took off.

  The wind rushed up against them as the ground fell away. Being stretched out flat meant she didn't feel the lift or the intensity of the wind as much as she expected. But that blast of wind was delicious against her face and neck as they leaped into the endless sky with the pastel stars.

  Naatos did not carry anything except himself. In case he lost the form, most likely. That was probably why they weren't staying in what Naatos had referred to as the safe zone, with the caveat that no area in Ecekom was truly safe. The safe zone seemed to be only a little above the treeline. If Naatos lost his form from that height, there wouldn't be time for anyone to intervene before he hit the ground. And if he lost his form, his healing capabilities were likely low as well, which made the fall all the more dangerous. No, strangely being significantly higher actually meant they were safer so long as predators did not intervene.

  Even so, she noted that AaQar kept himself a little lower than Naatos and remained close. Closer than QueQoa or WroOth were even to one another. QueQoa, in his six-legged iron dragon form, carried Proteus with great care. The bavril occasionally mumbled or fussed, but within perhaps an hour, he was snoring. Tacky offered his own commentary, objecting to this lack of rest during the obvious time when they should be sleeping.

  At any other point, this night flight might have been soothing or even pleasant. But there was one particular problem. Dragon wings were significantly louder when you had a migraine. Each thundering flap cut through her skull like a double-bladed sword. And there were four of them, which meant ten wings since QueQoa's preferred iron dragon form had four. She learned that at most there would be twelve seconds of silence before at least one set of dragon wings would slam down and send a sharp pulsing ache through her skull.

  Better than jogging though. Better than running for certain.

  She kept her gaze focused almost entirely on the scales along the back of WroOth's neck and counted each one, blocking out the kavWHOOSH of the wings.

  Just an hour or so before dawn, they landed. There were no dolmaths about. That added to the ominousness of it. The moon, nearly full now, had slid down through the treetops and neared the horizon. Some of it would remain visible even after daylight.

  They did not bother with a fire this time either. For their meal, they ate the dried and smoked meat prepared beforehand. She found it difficult to get any of it down and wanted only to be still. The few bites she managed were enough so she curled against a rock, resting her head against its cool surface. Not an ice pack but close enough.

  "We'll leave in a few hours. Get what sleep you can," AaQar said. "I'll take the first watch." They divvied up the rest of the tasks. Soon everyone was settling in. Amelia remained against the rock. She'd move in a bit.

  Naatos removed the blankets from a bag. "Do you want to sleep alone?"

  She lowered her hand from her temple and studied him in the silver moonlight. "If I sleep next to you, will you accept that it's just sleeping? I don't have the energy to be seduced. And I am this close to just crying. So—" She shrugged. "Be warned."

  "You were eating bark a few hours ago. I'm aware not all is good."

  "You noticed." Smiling a little, she picked up a large flat rock and set it beside her, then another one. Tiny little insects disappeared into the hard soil.

  He frowned. "I did… why are you collecting rocks?"

  "They're cold. And if all else fails, I'm going to beat my skull in." She stretched out on the ground. "This seems like a good place to sleep. Also if you get any of my blood moving faster, I wil
l—I don't even know what I'll do. Probably hit you with this rock."

  "And you accused me of surliness when I was ill."

  "You were. You usually are. And I am. I'm not mad at you though. It's just my head."

  He sat beside her and placed two fingers beneath her jaw over her carotid artery. "Your pulse is a little fast. Aura storms are difficult for a lot of Bealorns, Machat, Tiablos, and Neyeb. This one is probably a little tougher because it's coming on faster. Did the willow bark relieve the headache at all?"

  She closed her eyes. "I couldn't actually tell. Maybe it kept it from getting worse? Usually it's wonderful."

  "Better if you take it in tea though. I might be able to help."

  "It's atmospheric. If you heal me, it's going to go right back to it. Maybe it'll even be worse because it won't be a gradual buildup. It'll just be all of this right here and all at once."

  He clicked his tongue at her. "You think I only have one technique?"

  "If you want to chop off my head so that we can cure this headache, I'd like to save that option until I'm truly desperate. Which might be tomorrow."

  "I'm going to massage your head. Not rip it off."

  "You need to sleep too."

  "Crespa, woman, stop fighting me." He only sounded half as annoyed as usual.

  She cracked her eyelids open. Actually he was smiling a little. "I'm not fighting, I'm making a point. But… yes. If you aren't—"

  He had already picked her up and put her head on his thigh. "Just hold still." He placed his palms along her temples and began forming small circles. "Stop holding your breath. Try to relax."

  She sighed, wincing slightly at the pressure. It was helping though. "If I could get past this pain, I could have a breakthrough with my skills. I feel like all of the barriers I've put up, all of the boundaries, all of it is so much stronger now. Even in the murkiness. I haven't done my exercises today, but I feel like—I think that if I could push past this, I could make a breakthrough."

  "I think the last thing you should be worrying about right now is advancing your skills."

  "Hear me out." She peeked up at him.

  "Amelia." He continued to move his hands along her temples and scalp in small circles.

  "Talking into people's minds and hearing their responded messages should not be the hardest thing. Basic telepathy seems like it should be one of the simplest of things."

  "It isn't, but that doesn't mean it's easy either."

  "I still can't do it. I can get answers to specific questions. I can read impressions and general mood clouds. I can sense people coming or going. And I can sort of plant messages, though I do better with psychic stones. I haven't been able to contact anyone though. I guess my bond isn't strong enough."

  "Who are you trying to contact?"

  "Jacinda. Matthu. Uncle Joe."

  He canted his head. "They aren't on this world, veskaro."

  "I was hoping that mindreading didn't have a range to it."

  He frowned. "Why haven't you talked to me about this?"

  She smiled up at him. "Hmmm, probably because you're a horny bastard. And the last time I talked to you about forming a connection, you had other very particular ideas. And I don't want to try with you because I know that there's a better than good chance, I'll pull out some of your thoughts about what we should be doing."

  "I do have ideas." He returned the smile with his own crooked one. "Don't be so hard on yourself though. You reached me before because we were nulaamed and had the necklaces as well. And I bonded with you in Polfradon after the locking. I bonded with your elmis. That and everything else made it much easier for you to find me. And as for AaQar, you had already reached him once. You entered the depths of his mind and helped him heal. You also pulled him into your mind. You pulled all of us except QueQoa in. To my knowledge, you haven't done that with any of your other companions or friends."

  "I was in Matthu's mind."

  "Yes, but he is also on a different world, and your connection was not for an extended period. You need to be slightly reasonable on this point."

  She still felt certain that she could do this. If not now, then soon. "The books don't mention that there's a limit. It said it's easiest initially if it is someone close, but if you can find the thread, distance doesn't matter."

  "Maybe after you have more experience. Besides, with your head aching, is this really the time to add more strain to your mind?"

  She shrugged. It startled her to realize how comfortable she was with him now. She still didn't want to think of moving. The thought of sex hurt. Soon any sound at all was probably going to be agony instead of just the loud noises. But there was comfort here. There was also something intimate about this soft manner of speaking. Not that any of the rest of them would mind. They all seemed to possess the bizarre talent of sleeping regardless of what was going on around them if they so chose.

  Tacky continued to purr, happily settled in the crook of her arm.

  The silence grew between them as the minutes passed by. She tried to touch his hand, but he shushed her and pushed her away. "You need to sleep soon."

  "I will. For now I can't sleep though. You gave me a lot to think about. Especially with your little bargain this morning. And since you did cheat, we compromise. One question."

  "Naatos—" She frowned, her body tensing.

  "Do you want to know what I like about you?"

  Tears stung her eyes. She blinked. "Yes, but not now." That wasn't what she had expected.

  "Fair enough." He wiped away the tears with his thumb. "Why are you crying?"

  "Just tired. And my head is splitting. And I didn't expect you to be sweet with me." He really could be surprisingly thoughtful at points.

  He pulled an annoyed expression though he sounded pleased. "I am not sweet. Sleep, onion fish."

  Eventually she'd have to figure out her own nickname for him. Something playful and insulting. The dull throbbing had receded enough she could rest at least. He settled in beside her and moved her head to his arm. To her surprise though, he placed his one hand along the back of her head and continued to work along the tension points, his movements slower now. "Thank you," she whispered.

  He kissed the nape of her neck.

  57

  Racing the Storm

  Amelia drifted off soon after. The tormented mishmash of thoughts was fractured by the headache's intensity. The Ki Valo Nakar screeched and screamed with frustration and pinned her to the black floor, but it made no difference what it commanded. She could barely hear it over her own mind's screaming. When Naatos roused her, the dreams faded almost at once except the nausea-inducing phrase "Dry Deep."

  Daylight meant the return of predators and walking. The risk of a hunting frenzy remained too great as did the likelihood that they could encounter something unexpected.

  But still they pressed forward at a faster pace, jogging and walking at intervals. The agitated animal attacks continued. Several times the winged serpents struck in a cyclone formation, scattering and spreading. A few got onto her and bit and clawed, scraping over her. They flew in so fast that it was sometimes as if the scrapes magically appeared.

  The only thing she could do was drop to the ground and lay flat in the low grass with her head covered.

  This pace was hard. The animal attacks came less frequently in the afternoon though sometimes creatures cut across their path. An entire pack of besreds stampeded in front of them, bellowing and biting at anything that got in their way. Three times a large troop of mantises skittered along in front of them, moving too fast to even glance at them. Up above, the quetzies screeched and strange creatures flew toward some unknown refuge. The coarse calls of a cabiza mother warned them to alter their path before they angered her and her brood further.

  On and on they went.

  Her left foot ached more than usual, but that soon faded to the background beneath the thunder of her head.

  When they finally stopped for a break just an hour or so befor
e dusk, she was almost blinded from tears. She wrapped her hands across the back of her neck and forced herself to take deep breaths. Uncle Joe had told her that it was possible to endure anything for five seconds at a time. Counting backwards was easier than forward so she did, over and over again.

  AaQar placed his hand between her shoulders as he crouched beside her. "We're flying again tonight, little sister."

  She nodded. "I understand."

  "We're going to try gliders tonight. Less noise. But we can't make it entirely silent."

  "You do whichever forms are fastest," she said tightly. "I know your gliding forms aren't as swift."

  "We have adapted to harder things. All of us had to learn how to make our scales tighter and finer to avoid the winged serpents' bites. We will go as swiftly as we can. Here. This may help tonight." He pressed something frozen wrapped in cloth into her hand. "Put this on your head."

  She lifted her head, startled. "Where did you get ice?"

  "Ice dragon forms have their advantage." He smiled slightly though his gaze remained serious. "You may want to stop eating the willow bark though. It's an anti-coagulant. And your stomach can't be feeling so good after that much. It's also not going to help any more than it has. This ice is very primitive, I suppose, but it may offer a little more relief."

  She pressed the freezing bundle to her temple, suppressing a moan. "The ice helps a lot. But we should go fast. I'm just going to stay here until we're ready. Unless you need me to do something."

  "No. Stay still. This will all be over soon."

  His definition of soon likely wasn't the same as hers. She kept her eyes shut; every fiber and nerve hated her at the moment except for what was directly beneath the ice. Its relief was marginal but enough she wouldn't release it.

  After matters were settled, AaQar came to get her. She was riding with WroOth again. He mercifully did not speak to her much except to encourage her to hang on. She kept her head down even more during this part of the journey, the almost full moon much too bright and even the stars like needles despite the generous cloud cover.