“So you haven’t yet followed him at all?” Cerana asked, puzzled as to why she would not have at least scouted before.
“As I said before, he is being protected by the mage. I think it must be something to do with the dragonstone as I cannot get near him.”
“It is really that powerful? It could prevent you from getting to him?”
“Yes.”
Cerana was staggered. This stone was unheard of to her, but it clearly had so much power if even Coviche was defenceless by it. A mighty dragon – unable to approach a feeble human? And it could keep another dragon captive? Cerana’s task seemed more daunting by the minute, as if it wasn’t already formidable enough to begin with.
“Darkness has fallen,” Coviche mused. “We can leave, but we must still be careful as not to be seen.”
“We are going scouting at night?” Cerana asked quizzically.
“My sight is best at night, plus we need the cover of darkness to get there quicker.”
“How do we get there?”
“We fly, Cerana Proudstone. Come.”
Cerana’s eyes widened as she realised the meaning of the dragon-woman’s words. “Wait…” she said. “I will help you, but we need to do something first.”
“What is it?” the tall girl snapped, as if the statement had offended her.
“I must go home. I need to see for myself if Jana is there.”
“There is no time. And it is too dangerous, the enemy knows where you live and will be looking for you. You are the only one who remains that knows of the disease.”
Cerana understood the huge woman’s concerns, but she just could not take the word of anyone until she saw it with her own eyes.
“I do not have to help you,” Cerana argued. “But afford me this one request, and I will do everything you command, without question.”
Coviche breathed deep, clearly weighing up the situation.
“Please, I must see for myself. My mind will not be my own until I am convinced,” Cerana pleaded.
Coviche let out a long sigh. “As you wish,” she begrudgingly agreed. “But we cannot risk being seen. We do this my way.”
“Agreed. Thank you.”
Cerana was going home. Not that long ago, she was swinging under gallows with her head in a noose. Seconds from death. She never thought she would be able to see home again.
“Come,” Coviche smiled softly and led her from the cave.
CHAPTER 40 – The Flight to Barnesbay
Stars shone brightly in the night sky like tiny sparkling diamonds on a black blanket. Although the moon remained hidden from outside the cave where they stood, it lit the area sufficiently. Cerana was still able to admire the beauty that surrounded her even in the moonlight. The lake was so still, it reflected the trees perfectly that grew on its banks, and the stars could be seen in the water like shimmering glowflies.
Coviche led them to a ledge just past the waterfall entrance. “Jump on my back,” she said, turning around and crouching to face away from Cerana, who did as she was told. Cerana safely on her back, Coviche powered her legs upwards, and they jumped into the air over the lake. Cerana had no time to ask what was happening as Coviche performed her transformation into the beautiful azure dragon, in mid-air. The miracle seemed to perform much quicker than it had in the cave, and Cerana wondered if she had deliberately drawn out the astonishing event just to add to the spectacle. Within a matter of seconds, the mist that had quickly formed had just as quickly vanished, and Cerana was flying. The enormous dragon spread her colossal wings, and they ascended from the basin, high up and away over the trees at a speed Cerana could scarcely believe.
Cerana perched at the base of the dragon’s neck where it met the body, just between the rows of dagger-like spines. She tightly held onto two protruding horn-like spikes that seemed as though they had been placed there just for this very purpose. Her initial shock of flying through the night sky on the back of a gargantuan dragon quickly passed as they flew so high that the trees appeared as mere specks below them. Strangely, she felt no fear on Coviche’s back, and a smile appeared on her face as they rushed over the forest. They sailed high above the mighty Tohenas River, which now appeared so small from the height at which they flew.
Cerana saw tiny dots of orange light concentrated around dark objects far below. As they passed over the town of Otterley, Coviche effortlessly banked to the right and glided south down the river towards Barnesbay.
Towards home.
Tempted for a moment to ask if Coviche knew the way, Cerana realised that she had been there before, so said nothing and just admired the rather exhilarating view. They were close to Barnesbay now as they sailed high over the forest to the west of the village, and before long, Cerana could see the forest end and the empty blackness that was the Halgarn Sea, signalling the southern edge of Evorene. Coviche descended toward the forest, the trees below becoming slightly larger as she banked and glided once more. Glancing to her right, Cerana could see the huge walls that protected the only way of reaching the mighty Southstorm City by land, towering over even the tallest trees in the forest.
She saw more orange specks atop high towers and buildings, still way too far away for anyone to be able to see them from their watchtowers. Coviche drifted silently over the trees, past the village to their east. As they drew closer to the cottage, Cerana craned her neck to get a better view, but the tops of the trees obscured their home from her sight.
Now only slightly above the tallest trees, without warning the giant dragon manifested back to human form in mid-air. Cerana found herself temporarily unable to see for the mist that had formed during the transformation. She opened her mouth to shriek, but before she could utter a sound, Coviche caught her in her arms and clamped a large hand over her mouth. They slowly descended into the forest between a gap in the trees, Coviche using the same slow-fall spell she had cast when they initially dropped into the basin in the woods near Mallam.
As they silently landed on the forest floor, Cerana dropped to her hands and knees and let out a long sigh.
“You know,” she whispered, “you really do need to work on your communication.”
The dragon-woman just shrugged and casually raised an impeccable eyebrow, placing her index finger to her lips to signify silence.
They had landed a short distance from the edge of the forest, so on foot they silently continued, taking cover behind the last available tree and surveying the cottage and its grounds. Coviche concentrated intently before leaning her head towards Cerana. “I sense no presences here,” she whispered. “Yet I fear a trap. I do not like this.”
Cerana, however, was adamant. “Well, we are going in. I’m not leaving without seeing for myself that Jana is not here.”
All was dark and silent in the house; no candle or firelight was evident from within. Aside from the chorus of crickets from the woods, there was no sound whatsoever. They waited for a few moments, watching and listening.
Finally satisfied their entrance had not been witnessed, they scuttled out from the cover of the trees and took further cover at the west wall of the cottage. Cerana slowly crept along the wall until she was next to a window and carefully peered in, taking care not to be seen by anyone inside. If this was a trap, she was not willing to give away their approach.
It was almost pitch black inside the house yet as she squinted, Cerana could make out the little furniture they did own strewn across the floor. “Shit,” she cursed under her breath, turning to where Coviche should have been. The dragon-woman was nowhere to be seen. Cursing again, Cerana looked around for signs of the big woman. “Coviche!” she whispered, as loud as she dared to. “Where are you?”
“Come, Cerana Proudstone!” her travelling companion shouted from the front of the house. “There is no-one here.”
Cerana bristled and ran to the front of the house, where Coviche was opening the main door. “How could you tell from outside?” she demanded.
“I told you, my vision i
s best at night. And I can sense people’s presence. There is no-one here.”
“So we can go inside?” Cerana asked a little disappointed.
“Yes, but as I said, no-one is here. I am still unable to detect Jana’s presence at all.”
Cerana ignored her and barged past Coviche into their family home. As dark as it was inside, it was easy to see that there had been a disturbance. The dining table was upside down, three legs reaching for the ceiling. Where the other one was, Cerana could not tell for the mess on the floor. The writing desk was on its side, contents all over the floor. The bookcases had been torn off the walls, and the plates, books and ornaments lay broken on the ground. The fireside bench had disappeared, but when Cerana looked into the kitchen area, she found it had been thrown through the window, half in and half out of the shattered pane.
In the bedroom, the covers had been removed from Esteri’s single bed, its frame broken in the middle. Strangely, the double bed that Esteri usually shared with Jana had been left untouched, save for a small pool of blood that had seeped through the covers. Upon closer inspection, Cerana saw with horror that drops of blood led from the main pool near the pillows all the way down the blankets and onto the wooden floor. A smear of blood left a trail heading through the doorway before it faded away into the mess of the living area. Someone had been bloodied and dragged through the bedroom, Cerana realised with terror. And if Esteri had continued to use the single bed to aid her rest, it can only have been Jana’s blood. Cerana choked back sobs, but tears escaped her eyes, slowly rolling down her cheeks. She held her hand to her mouth and sobbed silently.
“I tried to warn you, Cerana Proudstone,” Coviche advised, tactful as ever. “But I am sorry.”
Cerana ignored her and fought back the tears, sniffing and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Let’s go, I have seen enough,” she announced. “I will kill whoever has hurt my sisters with my bare hands.”
Cerana stormed past the dragon-woman and left the house, kicking an overturned chair in anger and frustration.
I will find these bastards, she promised herself. Whoever did this has picked on the wrong woman. I will find them.
CHAPTER 41 - Onwards
Back into the chilly night sky they flew, this time giving Southstorm City a much wider berth than they had on their way to Barnesbay. Cerana guessed that Coviche wanted to take as few chances as possible of being seen, and Southstorm would undoubtedly be the most populated place around.
They followed the Tohenas River north, but veered north-west and flew even higher once they had cleared the forest, no doubt to avoid detection from the passing towns of Otterley to the east and Mallam to the west. Cerana thought it unlikely that any of the town citizens would be awake at this time of night, but Coviche certainly liked to err on the side of caution.
Since leaving the cottage, Cerana felt utterly dejected and resigned to the fact that she had lost Jana. The discovery at the house all but confirmed Coviche’s premonition, if that was what it was. She knew she had to concentrate all her efforts on saving Esteri now, but after the euphoria of rescuing Jana and then for it all to count for nothing seemed plain unfair, not to mention heartbreaking.
The moon was full and positioned in the north-west of the sky. It faced them as they flew, illuminating the tall peaks of the impressive Mallam Mountain range. As they cleared Mallam village, Coviche banked east and flew high over the city of Kingham. So high in fact that Cerana could only just make out the tiny glowing dots that signified the area was inhabited. Once the city was cleared, Coviche banked hard west and approached the mountains from the north-east. Kingham was the last occupied area of Evorene before the considerable expanse of land that stretched towards Hagast in the north-east section of the realm. This meant their approach to the mountains from this direction would be completely unseen. Coviche clearly knew this area well.
The dragon began her descent and flew past the highest tips of the mountains, the northern-most peaks topped with what Cerana assumed must be snow. Once inside the range, Coviche dropped sharply and used the full span of her enormous wings to glide effortlessly towards one of the smaller peaks, reaching the ground and coming to a stop. Cerana was certain that the relatively small mountain would quiver under the weight of her landing, but the enormous creature made not a sound as she expertly and gently came to a halt.
Coviche lowered her neck for Cerana to jump to the ground, and as she did, the dragon-woman performed her manifestation back to human form once more. “I feel the power of the dragonstone already,” she said, massaging her furrowed brow. “I will not be able to go much further, Cerana Proudstone.”
“Where exactly is this tower?” Cerana asked. All she could see around where they stood was mountainous rock; there was no sign whatsoever of a tower or any such dwelling.
Coviche stood close to her and ducked down to Cerana’s height. She pointed to a large mountain about a hundred yards from where they stood. “See that tall peak there? The tower is inside.”
“Inside the mountain?” Cerana questioned.
“Yes, inside.”
“How do you know this? It’s just like all the others to me.”
“Look carefully, near the tip. Do you see anything unusual?” Coviche asked.
Cerana squinted at the moonlit peak, and at first, she saw nothing unusual. She shook her head.
“Keep looking. Away from the mountain.”
Then she saw it.
There was a thick plume of black smoke, rendered almost invisible against the backdrop of the night sky. It emerged from a fissure in the side of the mountain, trailing its way up into the night. “I see smoke!” Cerana announced excitedly.
“Yes.”
“A fire?”
“I assume so too. Most likely for cooking or fuel - perhaps powering something.”
Cerana watched the smoke, trying to figure out its purpose.
“We only have a small timeframe, Cerana Proudstone,” Coviche continued. “We must return to cover before day breaks. I need you to get closer to the mountain than I am able. See what you can find.”
“Such as what?” Cerana still did not know what was fully expected from her this night.
“We need to find a way inside. But I imagine that will be easier said than done. The mage will have taken every precaution he can to avoid unwelcome guests. He will not want to be disturbed.”
“Okay, I’ll go,” Cerana said. “Anything else I need to know?”
“There is nothing more I can tell you. You now know as much as I do.”
The sheer magnitude of their task suddenly hit home to Cerana. They had absolutely nothing to go on. No idea what they were up against, nor what to expect. Yet they had to succeed. She must find something to help their cause. Cerana took a long, deep breath. “Right, here I go.”
A naturally formed path led down from the plateau, with the only obstacles being the odd dead tree on the edge of the track, so the going was easy for Cerana to descend to the ground. She hugged the side of the small peak she had just climbed down until she was close enough to her target mountain to swiftly traverse the open ground and start to investigate the peak that apparently concealed a secret tower.
It was not long ago that Cerana would have laughed at the idea of a secret tower in a mountain. But the events that had transpired recently had opened Cerana’s mind to many things. Having now witnessed extraordinary and fantastic magic for herself, she was prepared to accept almost anything.
Yet still, she could scarcely believe what she was actually doing.
Although the light from the moon gave some illumination, her search was proving difficult as she made her way around the base of the mountain. For one, she did not know what she was supposed to be looking for. It would be surprising if she came across a front door lit by torches if the place was so secret, so what exactly was it that Coviche expected her to find? Around an hour had passed of her patrol around the mountain’s base, and she e
stimated to be only about halfway round. It was still dark, and there was no sign of dawn, so hopefully she would have time to navigate the whole of the base before returning to the dragon-woman. Cerana fully expected to return without news, the way her search was so far proving fruitless.
All she had seen so far were rocks of various sizes, lone trees and bushes somehow growing in the desolate grounds, and a mouse that scurried in front of her from behind a boulder, making her jump. There was no sign whatsoever of any way into the tower. There was no sign of anything that would alert suspicion as to the purpose of this particular mountain.
But there was the possibility that Esteri could well be inside. Just the thought of her sister being held captive and experimented on gave Cerana motivation to continue her search as diligently as she was able, despite the growing feeling that this was leading to nothing.
Cerana was alerted when the sound of small rocks falling down the side of the mountain broke the silence of the night. She fell back against the rockface and held her breath, listening intently. Keeping as still as possible, her eyes darted in the gloom as she tried to pick up the source of the disturbance, but all had returned to silence.
She was just about to continue her search when more scree tumbled down the peak. Cerana was aware of a low rumbling sound, faint at first yet gradually increasing in intensity. It sounded like it was coming from inside the mountain, and she strained her ears and concentrated hard. The strange sound intensified as she stood there, still as stone. It was getting closer to her. Nervousness was beginning to set in; something was happening to the mountain.
Small pebbles and dust particles fell on her head and shoulders, and she shimmied away to avoid being hit. As she did, the very face of the rock - close to where she had just been stood - began to open, yet the rumbling abruptly stopped altogether. Total silence had once again fallen, yet despite the darkness, she could see a doorway slowly opening in the side of the mountain. It was only small, yet sure enough, it was opening.
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