By the time dawn broke, the mountains stretched high into the pink sky, close enough to make us crane our necks. At mid-morning, we passed the timberline. In the early afternoon, the temperature dropped despite the brilliant light of the sun, and I began to notice the subtle signs of frost on the ground. Although the cold didn’t bother me and Cate, Ellie and Belle had long since bundled up, and the dwellyn didn't look too thrilled with the temperature either.
"Too high," Ulig muttered, scowling back at the path we had taken up the mountainside. His bristling beard made him seem grumpy, but I could see a hint of nervousness in his beady black eyes.
"Don't look if you don't like it," Lok said, running an affectionate hand between his shoulder blades. "Common sense, pebble."
Ulig grumbled some more, but he followed her advice and pulled his hood further over his head.
The only one who wasn’t bothered by the weather or our uncomfortable distance from the ground was Neva. The princess seemed positively bubbly, petting Stinky's enormous ears to guide him in the right direction. Since our mount was under her control, she had been given the important role of navigator. Cate had entrusted her with both the deadeye and the enchanted hourglass, and so far, she had handled them carefully.
Unfortunately, Cate was not so well off. She slept in restless fits, and when she opened her eyes, the pain in them was obvious. The cold wasn't bothering her, but I could tell that the deep bite in her shoulder did. It wasn't healing the way a wyr's wound was supposed to.
"Would you like me to take a look at that?" I asked, scooting closer to where she was huddling between Stinky's shoulder blades. "I can tell it's hurting you."
"I was just about to ask," Cate growled. She was still in her half-shape, but she changed as I approached, melting back into her human form. It was a fascinating process to watch, and I couldn’t help staring as her bulky limbs shortened and the thick core of muscle around her waist melted back into curves. The change was so drastic I couldn’t help wondering if it was painful, but Cate didn’t seem to be in any distress as the last of her hair disappeared. Her long muzzle receded back into a human nose, and when she smiled, her teeth were blunt again.
"Amazing," I said, staring at her in awe. Then I realized that she was naked, and I blushed, averting my gaze. "I didn't mean…the shift."
"I know what you meant," Cate laughed, but the sound transitioned to a groan as she attempted to sit up.
"Hold still," I ordered, helping her settle back down. "It's just that you would make a fascinating subject for an in-depth study. Oh no, that sounds even worse."
Fortunately, Cate seemed amused by my embarrassment. "It's all right, Ailynn. You're a healer. I can see why we might interest you." She tried to find a relaxed position as I removed my pack. "Perhaps when this is all over, I'll volunteer to help you with that in-depth study. Learning more about wyr physiology could benefit injured humans."
"An intriguing idea," I told her, "but for another time. That shoulder looks even worse than it did under the fur."
"It doesn't smell right." Cate winced as she tilted her head out of the way to give me a clearer view. "The wound is rotten, somehow. I shouldn't be surprised. Luciana's always had a poisonous mouth." A snort of laughter came from behind us, and I realized Belladonna and Ellie were listening in.
"Thank you for making that joke," Belladonna said. "I wanted to, but I wasn't sure it would be appropriate coming from me."
"Please." Cate rolled her eyes. "By all means, insult Luciana as liberally as you like."
Ellie shook her head, and a bemused expression crossed her face.
"What?" Cate asked, brow furrowing.
"It just amazes me how much you've changed since we first met," Ellie said with a smile. "I like it."
Cate grinned back, although her forehead knotted with pain as I extended her arm. "I blame you entirely, Ellie."
"Hold still," I ordered, opening one of the pouches from my pack and dumping a few spear-shaped green leaves onto my lap. "Jokes aside, I think you were right. This wound shouldn't be so inflamed, especially at the rate you heal. Belle, how much water do you have left?"
"Enough to spare some." She passed over her canteen, but remained beside me afterward, watching with interest as I began tearing the leaves apart. "What are you doing?"
"Making a poultice," I said, laying out a strip of bandage and dumping the wetted leaves inside it. "Comfrey and lavender. Good for sucking infection out. I'm not sure how well it will work on magical poisons, but it's better than nothing."
"Where did you learn all this? Because I'm always looking for more books to add to my library."
"I didn't learn from a book, I'm afraid. Healing used to be the family business." I placed the poultice on Cate's arm, guiding her other hand on top of it to add some pressure. "Hold that in place for about half an hour. We'll need to do this four times a day until it shows improvement."
Cate let out a grateful sigh. "It already feels better. Thank you."
"That's the lavender working. It should prevent scarring too once the wound closes up."
Her expression fell in mock disappointment. "No scar? What's the point of narrowly escaping death if you don't have a scar to show for it?"
"I'll be happy to never see you narrowly escape death again," Ellie said.
Cate began to protest, but before she could respond, Neva clambered between Stinky's shoulders to join us. "Cate, your thread is ending," she said, her voice rising in excitement as she held out the hourglass. "Do you want to look?"
"Ending? Let me see." Cate took the deadeye from Neva's hand, peering through the hole in the middle. Her lips pulled into a frown, and she passed it over to me. "Here, Ailynn. Take a look."
I lifted the stone to my eye and looked through. The magical crimson thread stretched from the middle of the hourglass to a ledge slightly above our position before disappearing completely. I shielded my eyes with my hand, but the sun's glare made it difficult to pick up the trail. "Lok," I said, motioning the dwellyn over, "do you think there could be a cave over that ridge?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," Lok said. "It's rare to find caves at this elevation, but the Rengast Mountains are right on top of the largest fault in the continent. Between the earthquakes and the constant weather erosion, even solid rock like granite can give." She joined me in peering up at the ledge, and despite the brightness, she seemed satisfied with what she saw. "Besides, the make-up of the rock beneath us is interesting. I suggest we stop and follow the trail on foot."
"Foot," Ulig grunted, seeming relieved. "Good."
"He doesn't say much in Amendyrri, does he?" Cate said.
Lok shrugged. "He doesn't say much in general, but his Serian's even worse. At least when he does have something to say, it's usually important. Come on then, Cate. Let's see if we can get you down without jostling that poultice and ruining Ailynn's hard work."
With Lok and Ellie's help, and my supervision, Cate managed to slide down Stinky's arm. Belle went to help Neva, but Neva climbed down on her own like a squirrel, and her feet hit the ground first. Ulig wasn't far behind. He nearly sagged over when he landed, and I thought he might actually kiss the ground. Once we were all together again, I passed the hourglass over to Ellie and opened my pack again. "Here, Cate. Take my spare shirt. You can't go exploring caves naked."
"We aren't even sure there is a cave yet," Belle pointed out. She squinted up at the ridge.
Ulig seemed to understand her, because he nodded. "Cave." He stomped his boot, as if that explained everything. "Tunnels under."
"How can there be tunnels under us?" Belle asked, alight with curiosity. "Did your people build them?"
"Oh no," Lok said. "Dwellyn prefer flatland caves. What Ulig is trying to say is that we aren't standing on a mountain at all. It's hard to tell from a distance, because it's so old and the clouds shroud its peak, but this particular mountain used to be a volcano."
"A volcano?" Ellie and Belle repeated at the same time, n
ervous and excited respectively.
"Used to be?" Cate added, popping her head through my white shirt.
"I couldn't say from here, but the hollow spaces beneath us are probably lava tubes. During an eruption, magma can harden and form—"
Ulig shook his head and tapped Lok's shoulder to silence her, and his gruff face dimpled with uncharacteristic affection. "Don't tell. Show."
"I'm not sure I want someone to show me the inside of a volcano," Ellie muttered, but still, she was the first one to begin climbing up to the ledge. There was an unhappy squalling from her pack, and I heard her huff in annoyance. "Jessith, we can't stay out here. At least inside the mountain, you'll be away from the shadowkin."
"The cat's got a point for once," Belle said. "Neva, what are you going to do with Stinky?"
Neva didn’t seem worried. "Oh, he'll wait for us. I told him to." She took Belle's hand, practically bouncing. "Come on, I want to see inside!"
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Belle said, and I caught her sharing a skeptical look with Ellie and Ulig. “Besides, someone needs to stay out here with Jessith and Stinky.” She opened Ellie’s pack and withdrew what had to be the unhappiest feline I had ever seen. Jessith huffed but seemed relieved to be placed in Neva’s arms.
Neva wasn’t thrilled but being put in charge of Jessith seemed to mollify her. After only a bit of arguing, she agreed to stay outside with the animals. “Don’t get lost,” she called out to us as we started our climb. “And if there’s a dragon inside, bring it out to meet me!”
I was not nearly so enthusiastic as I followed the others up to the ledge, but there was little choice. We had to go where the thread led us.
After just a few yards of climbing, the mouth of the cave came into view. I gasped. The tunnel burrowed straight into the mountain, just as Lok and Ulig had said. Its entrance was tall enough that we didn't need to duck our heads, and though it descended into darkness, the stone had an eerie, orange-gold glow around the edges. For the first time since our separation, I was glad Raisa wasn't with me. My Tuathe had seen enough narrow, endless passageways for one lifetime, and so had I.
"Well," Ellie said as everyone else stared in awe. "This looks like an appropriate place for an ancient being of fire and magic to live, doesn't it?"
"You're already writing about it in your head, aren't you?" Belle quipped, but her joke was somewhat lost in the awe we all felt.
"It's beautiful." Cate tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, hypnotized. "Look at how it shines in the dark."
I saw what she meant. The walls were threaded through with glittering mineral veins and pockets, almost like living tissue. It reminded me of someone's throat, and although I knew it was only my imagination, I was half-convinced I could hear the cave breathing around me as I stepped inside.
"Well?" Lok asked, interrupting my trance. "What does the magic thread say?"
I lifted the deadeye again and examined the hourglass. The thread spooled straight into the depths of the cave. "It wants us to go forward," I said, although I would have known anyway. The entire cave reeked of old, powerful magic, enough to make my nose tingle and my skin hum.
"We first," Ulig said, peering up at me. "Dark eyes. You behind, have light."
I nodded at him and passed the hourglass back to Cate. "I'll light the way if you'll guide us."
Cate draped the deadeye back around her neck and held the hourglass up. My heart raced faster when I noticed there were only a few stubborn grains of sand left clinging to the top. "All right," she said, giving Ellie a smile of reassurance. "Let's go find you a dragon."
We followed the tunnel in pairs—Lok and Ulig, then Cate and me, with Belle and Ellie taking up the rear. After only a few yards, the sunlight began to fade before vanishing completely. I reached within myself, feeding from the energy that always lived there and setting my hands alight. The scent of magic grew stronger, and I was surprised at how easy it was to summon my flames. It was almost as if something other than air and my own flesh fed them.
"I don't like this," Cate whispered, stepping closer to my shoulder. "It feels hungry."
It was a strange word to describe the sensation, but I couldn't deny that it was accurate. "Like we're about to be eaten," I whispered back. Then, we fell silent. Both of us were too afraid to talk.
Gradually, the quiet sounds of our footsteps and the echo of our shallow breaths were overtaken by something else—a deep, rhythmic rumbling sound. It was low enough to make my bones vibrate, and I tensed. Cate's eyes met mine in the dark, as wide and terrified as my own. She didn't speak, but the question in them was clear. What was that?
I shrugged. Whatever it was, it made me want to turn around and run. But Lok continued on, and Ellie and Belle were still behind me. I forced my stiff legs to keep moving.
The deeper we went, the louder the noise grew. Soon, it was all I could hear. It filled my head, and with sudden clarity, I realized what it was. Snoring. Oh, Maker, how big is this thing?
A few steps more, and the narrow passage opened into a wide, sloping cavern. It was large enough to hold an entire lake in its belly, but instead of water, it was filled with large glowing orbs. They seemed to pulse, and my fire only lit a fraction of them. An enormous shadow rested on top of them, a ship on the ocean of gold.
Slowly, the shadow stirred. The low noise stopped. A humming sound swelled through the cavern instead, and a wall of raw power washed over me. This was the source of the magic and the clawing hunger. It was overwhelming, and I knew it knew we were here. A roar split my ears, loud enough to make the stone beneath me quake. The cave flashed brighter than the sun and sweltering heat threatened to swallow us whole.
Part Three
Chapter One
Taken from the diary of Lady Eleanor Kingsclere
"SECUTEM!"
A SHIELD OF rock and wind curved in front of us, arching over our heads before a brilliant column of fire swallowed us whole. It heated the stone beneath our feet and crackled through the air, sending heat through every inch of my body. My tears dissolved before they could fall, and steam rose from my skin. I groped for Belle, but I could scarcely stand to touch her. Grasping her arm burned. Saints, we're going to die. We're all going to—
As suddenly as they had appeared, the flames vanished. The room plunged back into darkness. We were still alive. Ailynn had shielded us. I waited for someone to do something, to confront the great monster I had glimpsed, or at least run away. But no one moved, and no one spoke. All at once, I understood everyone else was waiting for me. This was the entire reason they had brought me here, to convince the dragon not to kill us.
But what am I supposed to do? Just ask it politely to stop? It was the only semblance of a plan I had. I heard a deep inhale, and the knowledge that the fire would return spurred me into shouting. "Wait! We only want to talk to you."
The second blast never came. Instead, the cavern began to flicker, and I made out a great reptilian face hovering above me. It had three twisted horns on top of its head, and a latticework of golden scales covered its leathery hide. The dim light allowing us to see came from its giant slitted nostrils and its huge reflective eyes. Eyes fixed directly on me.
"You," it said, washing me in a wave of hot breath. "You do not speak as humans do. You use our language. Why have you disturbed Feradith, Eggmother of Caer-Naloth?"
Feradith? My mind raced. Surely this cannot be the same dragon. Those who thought she was real at all told of her living hundreds of years ago!
"Speak, or be eaten. Feradith hungers."
I gathered the few thoughts in my head that weren't swirling with fear. She's referring to herself in the third person. So formal. "Feradith." Her title. What was her title? "Eggmother of Caer-Naloth, we have come to request your aid."
Feradith opened her mouth, and the sound she made set the cave trembling. It took me a moment of blind panic to realize she was laughing. "Aid? The Great Flight does not involve itself in the affairs of hum
ans. You may have a dragon's tongue, but you speak only foolishness. That is reason enough to devour you." Her jaws opened wider, revealing rows of pointed teeth almost as large as I was.
"No! We need you to help us stop Umbra!"
Feradith paused. Her mouth closed, although her lips remained peeled back over her fangs. "Umbra," she repeated, in a much more thoughtful voice. "That name is familiar. He is the one who escaped. The one Feradith did not eat." Her glowing eyes narrowed over me. "You say he has returned?"
“Yes.” Smoke poured from Feradith's nose as more of her coiling bulk emerged. I scrambled to soothe her impatience. "He's using the Queen to build an army."
"Humans always build armies. Your kind enjoy slaughtering each other. How do you know Umbra commands this one?"
"Our shaman has seen visions of his presence in a giant mirror,” I explained, trying to mask my fear and awe. I still hadn’t quite processed the fact that an enormous dragon of legend stood before me, actually speaking to me. “He uses magical objects to control his servants. They corrupt whoever they touch."
"Impossible," Feradith declared. "No human Ariada's magic is powerful enough to cheat death for centuries and possess other bodies."
No human magic. Pieces of the puzzle came together in my head; the way the sorcerer's chain had burned me with the sheer force of its power, the sketches Cate had uncovered, the tale of Feradith's bloody revenge. Suddenly, I knew what to say. "But dragon magic is." I looked up at her, unflinching and unafraid. "He's using your hatchling's magic. I've felt it myself. It's kept some part of him alive all these years and—"
"What?" Feradith let out a mighty roar, and the cavern rumbled around us. It was loud enough to hurt my ears, and bits of dust and shale rained down over our heads. We all crouched, and I felt Belle's arm come up and around my shoulder to shield me. "The audacity! He is not only a murderer, but a thief as well. The Great Flight's flames will consume his army, and when whatever sniveling form he has taken is found, Feradith will devour it herself!"
The Mirror's Gaze Page 17
