The Mirror's Gaze

by Rae D. Magdon

  "Ellie, what's happening?" Belle muttered in my ear, still clutching my arm. "What did you say to make her do that?"

  "She isn't angry at us," I whispered back. "I think she wants to help."

  "Help?" Ailynn gasped. "She looks like she's about to eat us!"

  Ulig let out a low wail of fright.

  "You need to calm her down," Lok said, an edge of urgency in her voice. "If she keeps thrashing like that, the entire tunnel could collapse."

  I slid out of Belle's arms. She reached for me, but I stepped forward, standing on the edge of the precipice. "Eggmother Feradith!" The dragon's head reared high above me. Smoke poured from her mouth, and an angry fire blazed in her eyes. I spoke before I could lose my nerve. "We want to see Umbra destroyed, too. Let us take you to him. After that, he is yours. A sacrifice for the death of your hatchling."

  "Not a sacrifice," Feradith growled. "Justice. His life will be payment for the life he stole. Does this shaman you spoke of know Umbra's hiding place?"

  I turned back to glance over my shoulder. Cate cowered beside Ailynn, and she looked about ready to bolt. I couldn't blame her. Feradith's roaring was probably even more terrifying without words attached. "Cate? She wants to talk to you."

  Cate looked at me in disbelief, then at Feradith. "Me?" she mouthed.

  When Feradith spoke again, it was in a grating, accented version of Amendyrri, one I struggled to understand with my limited knowledge of the language. "The human with the dragon-tongue says you have seen Umbra within a mirror. Is this true? Where is it?"

  Cate stood, trembling. Her voice wavered, but her speech was a little clearer. "The mirror is in Kalmarin. He's using it to control the Queen and his army. I think he's living inside it."

  "The white cliffs. I know Kalmarin." She turned back to me, speaking once more in her own language. "He has clung to life in the place where he slaughtered Feradith's hatchling. You will take Feradith to him. Vengeance will be delivered, and the power he stole will be obliterated." She rose from the sea of glowing orbs beneath her, placing her enormous front feet on the ledge where we stood. More rock crumbled, and we all scurried backwards to avoid falling as she hauled herself out.

  "We accept your terms,” I said once I had my balance. “We will show you to Umbra, and you can destroy him."

  "Terms?" Feradith chuckled, smoke pouring out of her blunt nose and from between her teeth. Her wicked, mirrored eyes seemed almost amused. "This is not an alliance. It is a demand. You will take The Great Flight to Umbra." The “or you will perish” did not need to be added. It was already implied.

  I swallowed. "I'm sorry, but what is The Great Flight?"

  Feradith's stare intensified, and it took me a moment to place her expression as one of disbelief. "It has only been three hundred years since the last mating flight. Surely even humans can remember?" She paused, then growled, obviously unsatisfied with our stupefied expressions. "Dragons have no kingdoms or borders. We are not divided. We are The Great Flight, and The Great Flight is us."

  My jaw dropped. "So, you mean…every dragon is going to come to Kalmarin? All of you at once?"

  Feradith made nothing of my astonishment. "The Great Flight serves all Eggmothers. It will satisfy Feradith's vengeance." Her brief answer left me bursting with more questions, but before I could ask them, Feradith noticed Belle. "Is this one of your drones?" she asked, leaning in closer. "Why is it staring?"

  Belle was indeed staring, eyes wide and neck craned back. Apparently, awe had won out over fear. I nudged her side, and she startled.

  "A drone?" I stammered. "No, this is my, um." I hesitated, unsure whether dragons had any concept of marriage or the word “wife.” "My mate."

  "Yes. Your drone. Tell it to stop peering at Feradith with its tiny eyes, and command the rest of your Flight out of my hive."

  That, at least, was a request I could understand. "She wants us to leave," I told the others. "I think she's going to follow us out."

  "You don't have to convince me." Cate loped off down the passageway as soon as I said the words, clearly relieved to escape the cavern. Ulig wasn't far behind her, and Ailynn and Lok didn't linger either. Only Belle seemed reluctant to leave.

  "I can't help wondering what's down there," Belle whispered, squinting over at the ocean of glowing orbs beneath Feradith's huge back legs. "There must be hundreds of them. Do you think they’re eggs? If I could get a closer look—"

  "Don't you dare," I hissed, dragging her out by her sleeve. “She wants to devour Umbra for hurting her hatchling. We’re leaving her eggs alone.” It didn't surprise me at all that Belle's curiosity had taken hold, but she had already annoyed Feradith once. I didn't want to think about what would happen to us if she got it into her head to snoop through a dragon's clutch. I hauled her back the way we had come, hurrying to catch up with the light of Ailynn's flame. A loud shifting sound followed behind, and I knew without turning that Feradith had emerged from her pit. She slithered after us, and the tunnel vibrated with her motions.

  It didn't take long to leave the mountain and re-emerge into the sunlight. Neva, Jessith, and Stinky were still there waiting for us, and the princess brightened when she saw me. "Ellie! Did you find the dragon? Am I going to—" Her jaw dropped, and she stared over my shoulder in awe, much the same way Belle had. "You did! Maker, it's huge!"

  I circled in time to watch Feradith emerge from the mouth of the tunnel. She took up almost the entire space, and in the afternoon sunlight, she was even more impressive. Her scales glittered a brilliant gold, and her horns twisted high above her head, one on either side of her narrow face with a third straight down the middle of her skull. She unfurled her wings, and the shimmering, translucent layers looked almost like smoked glass. She dipped her head, regarding Neva with some interest.

  "You have a hatchling," she said, addressing me with an increased amount of respect. "What is your title, Eggmother?"

  I didn't correct her misconception. Something with that many teeth could think Neva was my daughter if she wanted to, even if we looked nothing alike. "Eleanor Sandleford of Baxstresse."

  She gazed around at my companions. "And this is all of your Flight? It is small. Humans usually live in bigger hives."

  "No," I told her. "There is a much larger Flight waiting for us at Kalmarin. We only came to ask for your assistance."

  "And you shall have it, Eggmother Eleanor," Feradith said, raising her head once more. Her great jaws fell open, and a mighty roar ripped from her throat. All around us, the mountain shook, almost as if it had come alive to roar with her. Sheets of rock tumbled, and my companions dropped to the ground, tucking their arms over their heads. Belle grabbed for me, shielding me as best she could, and I pulled Neva close to my chest, preparing to drag her down with us.

  Before we could dive for safety, a deep shadow fell over us. It swallowed the entire mountainside, stretching further and further. The air seemed to hum, and I looked up, inhaling a sharp breath of surprise and amazement. The sky above us was no longer blue. Instead, it was filled with moving black shapes. They erupted from within the mountain, swarming overhead and blotting out the sun. There have to be dozens. No, a hundred. No. I was too astonished to speak, but Neva gripped my sleeve with one hand and pointed up with the other.

  "Look, Ellie, dragons! A whole flock of them!"

  Feradith bowed her head once more. "No, hatchling," she said, in the same grating version of Amendyrri. "Flocks are for birds. This is only Feradith's portion of The Great Flight." She fixed her blazing eyes on me, showing all of her pointed teeth. "Feradith's drones will summon the other Eggmothers, and Feradith's workers will accompany us to Kalmarin. The Great Flight will blacken the sky and rain fire down on the murderer's army. He will not escape our justice again."

  Chapter Two

  Taken from the letters of Cathelin Raybrook, edited by Lady Eleanor Kingsclere

  "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, Cate?"

  Ailynn's mouth was right beside my ear, but I could barely he
ar her voice. The wind whipping across my face swallowed most of the noise, even when I crouched low over the dragon's back. Feradith had ordered her workers to carry us—smaller, skinnier dragons of a burnished bronze shade rather than their leader’s brilliant gold—but despite Ellie's reassurances that they could handle passengers, I was terrified of falling. My injured shoulder made it difficult to get a good grip on its spines, and the added security of Ailynn's arms around my waist didn't help much.

  "Not really," I shouted back. "You?"

  Ailynn shifted uncomfortably behind me. "Would be better if your hair wasn't blowing into my mouth." I was sorry I hadn't put it up, but nothing in the world could have convinced me to fix it. Ailynn would just have to manage. "What's down there? Can you see anything?"

  "Don't ask me that," I muttered, but I doubted she heard me. The wind had picked up again, buffeting the dragon's gossamer wings and making it tilt to compensate. We veered slightly, and my stomach lurched. Maker, why did I agree to this? I should have stayed behind and taken Stinky back down the mountain.

  "I said, can you see?"

  "Fine. I'll look."

  It took me several moments to screw up my courage, but eventually, I stole a peek at the ground. Or, more precisely, where the ground should have been. I could see nothing but thin wisps of cloud below me, and somehow, that was far more terrifying than making out the world below at a distance. I had no idea how far up we were, but it was much higher than any human or wyr had a right to go.

  "I can't see anything," I called. "Just sky." Ailynn leaned over to confirm what I had said, but I tore my eyes away from the vast expanse of emptiness, huddling close to the dragon. Its warm, leathery body and Ailynn's provided some warmth, but not much. The air around me was still biting cold. "If you were going to look yourself, why ask me?"

  "Because you're sitting in front."

  I didn't argue. Instead, I prayed for mercy. The dragons had to land soon. We were moving at an incredible pace, and we had already been flying for hours. It couldn't possibly be too much longer.

  The dragon tilted downward in a graceful dive, and for one brief, terrifying second, my body felt weightless. I closed my eyes, trying not to be sick. "I take it back," I groaned. "We can stay up here. There's no reason to—"

  "Cate, look!"

  Against my better judgment, I looked. All around us, other dragons were doing the same, hurtling back toward the earth. They circled like gulls, but somehow, their movements were all timed to perfection. The Great Flight moved as a single unit, spiraling down and down, and all I could manage to do was scrabble for a better hold on my dragon's hide.

  Suddenly, the clouds around us broke, and the ground hurtled into view. Glaring sunlight shone across a jagged, rocky coastline, and I could make out the glittering blue of the sea off in the distance. I gasped, forgetting my fear of flying as I stared in awe. From this high up, the sparkling water of the ocean looked as smooth as glass.

  "Cate, look!" Ailynn called, tugging at my sleeve.

  "I am. The ocean."

  "No, down."

  I turned to look straight down past my shoulder, and the sight beneath the shadow of The Great Flight's wings was much less beautiful. A large black mass was crawling across the plains. It seemed like a swarm of ants at first, but as we swooped lower, I caught a clearer picture. An army of kerak and shadowkin marched for the coast, moving at a sluggish pace. I could make out their target, rushing closer and closer by the moment—Kalmarin, white stone walls standing tall and proud above the cliffs.

  That must be Mogra's army. It looks like we got here just in time. But where is the rebellion? Our dragon dove again, and for the first time, I began to hear something other than the screaming rush of air and Ailynn’s voice. The city was wrapped in a second mass of black, roiling and twisting. A battle stretched out below us, and I could smell the burning stench of magic drifting up along with the thick pillars of smoke. My heart clenched. Larna. Larna is down there somewhere, fighting with our pack.

  "There it is," Ailynn shouted, pointing past my head. "We need to get down."

  I didn't know if the dragon could understand her, but it tucked its wings close to its body, streaking down. For a moment, I felt like I was floating. Then the force of the dive kicked in, and everything around me became a blur. The ground hurtled closer and closer. I clutched tight to the dragon's spines, certain we were about to crash.

  The collision never came. We veered up at the last possible second, and light blossomed everywhere as a whirling column of fire blasted from the dragon's mouth. Its whole body vibrated, and heat washed over me in a thick wave. All around us, other dragons were doing the same, flying close to the battlefield and burning everything. Whole swathes of kerak crumbled to dust, and even the shadowkin were no match. Those that weren't devoured in the flames were torn to pieces by The Great Flight's claws and teeth.

  A loud roar echoed over the din, drowning out the shrieks and the clang of metal. Soaring high above the chaos was Feradith, wings outstretched, twice the size of the other dragons and gleaming golden against the sky. Her enormous head turned straight toward us, and her huge jaws opened, breathing out plumes of hot-blue fire. Thankfully, our dragon dipped off to the side. It came in for a landing, settling down gently on the patch Feradith had just cleared.

  Even with a war raging around me, I had never been so happy to set my feet on solid earth. I slid off the dragon's back, catching myself on my good limbs as my body stretched and shifted. The last of my dizzying vertigo left as I settled into my half-shape, and I was off before the transformation finished, bounding toward the worst of the fray.

  The wall of kerak I encountered were no match for me. They had numbers, but I was determined. Until I found my mate, they were merely obstacles. I continued onward, nose pointed to the wind. I couldn't make out Larna's scent over the smell of magic and blood, but I did see a few large, bristling wyr bodies writhing amidst Mogra's creatures.

  Another shattering roar came from overhead, and a large shadow stretched past me, blotting out the sun. Feradith was flying straight above me, but this time, I could see the passenger on her back as well. Ellie was perched astride the beast's great golden shoulders, and with the light at her back, I could see one of her arms extended. She was pointing me in the opposite direction, away from where I had been headed. I turned tail and sprinted, sucking in air to fill my stabbing lungs.

  At last, I caught the scent I was looking for, buried amidst the smoke and tinged with fear. Larna filled my nose, and her name swam through my head with every breath, giving me the surge of speed I needed. More kerak fell before me, and I avoided the lumbering shadowkin, streaking past them before they even saw me. I dropped to all fours, sprinting until the trail ended. A dark, hulking shape was thrashing beneath a mass of twisted grey bodies, baying as it tried to shake free.

  I knew that call in my bones. I leapt, diving past the mass of tearing limbs with all my strength. Scythes slashed into my pelt, but I ignored the pain, tearing with my teeth. Kerak fell to pieces around me, spilling rivers of foul black blood through my fur. I fought my way through to the middle of the pile. Larna was there, snarling and snapping as she tried to rip her way out. With my help, she burst free, staggering on all fours for several paces and swaying from side to side. She was soaked in blood as well, but some of it was hers, streaming from an open wound on her side.

  I positioned myself in front of her, lips peeled back over my fangs, but the rest of the queen's horde gave us a wide berth. Nothing dared come close. Once the enemy thinned, I ducked my shoulder beneath hers, helping her to stand on two legs.

  "Tuathe," she rasped, her voice thick with pain. "What was keeping you?"

  I laughed, blinking back human tears. "You don't tell a dragon how fast to fly."

  "Dragons." Larna pointed her muzzle at the sky, and her eyes widened when she saw The Great Flight swarming over us. "You and Ellie were really bringing them. And just in time."

  That wa
s when I noticed the other corpses that littered the ground. Most were human, but two were wyr still in their half-shape, and one was recognizable. Kera. Her body was pointing toward the place where Larna had struggled, and I knew what had taken place. I had gotten through. She hadn't. Dead piled high around us.

  "Larna, what happened here?" I asked, gazing around in horror. I had been expecting casualties, but not this much destruction.

  "We were expected," she growled, lowering her head. She stared at Kera too, teeth clenched. "The Queen's army waited on all sides. When we were approaching the walls, they closed in, surrounding us like prey."

  Anger boiled within me. Before, both armies had been marching across the kingdom in search of us. It was not mere coincidence both of them were converging on Kalmarin at the exact same moment the rebellion had arrived. "Could it be Mogra? She has eyes everywhere. Maybe she discovered our plan."

  "Perhaps," Larna said, but she did not appear convinced. "But how was she finding our camp in the wilderness? How was she knowing about Neva?"

  “The mirror,” I said, fists clenching in frustration. “The Queen and Umbra are watching us through it. They’re always going to be one step ahead of us until we destroy it.”

  Larna nodded but didn’t speak. She glanced once more at Kera before pulling away from me, and I was relieved to notice the flow of blood along her side had lessened. The wound was already healing.

  I was not so lucky. With the fear of death rapidly wearing off, my shoulder stabbed with pain once more. I swallowed, trying to shake it off, but Larna noticed. "Cate, you be hurt," she murmured, touching my arm lightly with her paw. It was nowhere near the injury, but I winced at the slight motion my arm made. Larna inhaled, and I saw a shadow cross her face. "This wound is smelling wrong. Rotten inside."

  "Luciana," I said in a shaking voice. I didn't want to talk about her, didn't even want to think about the terrifying creature Mogra had made her, but I knew better than to conceal what had happened from my mate. "She found us in the forest. Her new form is more dangerous than I thought."