by Mark Robson
With trembling fingers the junior handed Conrad a thin, leather-bound book. Without hesitation the old scholar opened it to the blank final page and placed the book down into the pool of blood underneath Kalen’s hand. Shaking with effort, Kalen trawled the nib of the quill through the pool of blood and began scratching out a string of spidery letters on the open page. It seemed to take an age for him to form each symbol, but Conrad was nodding and muttering encouragement throughout. Tears formed in Kira’s eyes as she watched the determination of the dying man to complete his message.
With a horrible gurgling groan, Kalen’s whole body suddenly tensed and then relaxed into death. The word was left unfinished, a trailing line of blood dragged across the rest of the page marking his final moment of life.
Kira scanned the small crowd of scholars. They were all wearing light-coloured robes. The only person aside from Conrad and herself who had any blood on them was the young man who had knelt by Kalen’s side when she had first approached. He did not have the look of a killer. The old man had dragged himself a considerable distance from where he had been attacked. The murderer would be long gone by now.
‘Did he name his attacker?’ she asked, looking at the strange red symbols Kalen had scratched into the book.
Conrad shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, sounding puzzled. ‘His dying wish was to solve your riddle, but I’m not sure what his message means.’
‘What does it say?’ Kira asked, trying to banish any eagerness from her voice.
‘It’s not easy to read,’ Conrad said slowly. ‘But I think it says: “Not Darkenfell. Castle of Shadows. Night . . .” then there is one final word that might be “drag” or “drags”. He didn’t finish it, so I can’t be sure.’
‘Could it be “dragons”?’ Nolita asked.
‘He could have been trying to write “dragons”, but it’s impossible to say for sure,’ the scholar replied. ‘Does the message mean anything to you?’
‘I don’t know,’ Kira replied, eyeing the people around cautiously. ‘It might do. It appears that whoever left the scrap of parchment with “Darken-fell” written on it was looking to mislead us. Has anyone heard of a Castle of Shadows?’
Kira turned in a slow, deliberate circle. She was surrounded by pale-faced scholars whose expressions varied between shock, sadness and outrage. Was one of them a murderer? Would the killer stay to see if he had achieved his aim? Her instincts told her the killer was gone.
‘Yes. I have,’ a young scholar volunteered. ‘There’s a ghost story set in a place called the Castle of Shadows. I remember the author’s note in the front said the castle was based on a real castle. I think it’s in northern Orupee.’
‘Could you check for me?’ Kira asked. ‘It’s very important.’
‘Of course. I’ll do it at once.’
Northern Orupee! thought Kira. That’s not far. If he’s right, we could reach the next orb within two or three days. Kira reached out with her mind. ‘Fang? Can you hear me?’ she called, concentrating all her will on reaching out through the bond. Nothing. Not a whisper. She felt no sense of his presence at all. ‘Fang? Have you seen any sign of night dragons?’ Still nothing. He was out of range of her thoughts. He and Firestorm had been gone a long time. Were they still bathing in the sea? Kira’s instincts began to twitch again. Something was wrong.
Chapter Sixteen
A Fistful of Spears
As Aurora descended in a gentle arc to land in the meadow near the campsite the riders had used before, Elian’s mind was elsewhere. He was trying to picture the Castle of Shadows. It would take about two days to fly there, but once they reached it – what then? They could not retrieve the orb without Kira, so was there any point in going there? If only they had not got separated, the penultimate step of the quest would be firmly in sight . . . if only.
Aurora refused to talk about the castle. If dragons deliberately avoided it, then it was obviously not a place to wait around in. There had been a distinct sense of dread through the bond when she told him of its reputation.
Pell had suggested returning to their old campsite for some breakfast and Elian was happy to oblige, though he was not sure if he should be eating breakfast or supper.
They had left through the dawn gateway from Isaa into France. Despite the journey taking an instant, they had arrived in the other world just before dusk. He had then been awake all night, as his body still felt it was daytime. At dawn in France, just as he was ready to rest, they had opened another gateway. This time they arrived before dawn in the mountains of Orupee. His eyes felt tired, as if it were late evening, but the day was just beginning. It was weird and disorienting.
As they landed behind Shadow and Pell, a movement between the trees caught Elian’s eye. It took a moment for his mind to process what he was seeing and another for him to react.
‘LOOK OUT!’ he yelled at the top of his voice. ‘THE TREES!’
Both dragons and Pell turned as one. It was too late to avoid the volley of weapons totally, but Elian’s warning saved the dragons from certain death. Aurora could not dodge the first spear, but instead of it striking the middle of her body, it hammered into the muscle high on her right foreleg. The piercing agony of it lanced through the bond. Elian clutched his right bicep, as the muscle burned with an empathic shock of pain.
For a few heartbeats the air was full of weapons. Aurora swept her tail around to protect her torso as three more spears thudded home into the dense muscle along its length, sending further shocks of pain down Elian’s back. Aurora opened her great jaws and roared with anger and pain. It was a primeval bellow that would have sent any normal foe scrambling for safety, but the hunters did not retreat. Even as he clutched his right arm with his left, another spear brushed the tops of Elian’s thighs, whistling past with deadly momentum, whilst a further weapon lodged at a shallow angle across the nape of Aurora’s long neck.
Shadow had also taken several hits. Her heavy natural armour had deflected some of the weapons, but one was caught under the leading edge of her right wing where the main muscle joined the wing to the body. Two more had penetrated her tail, which she too had instinctively used to protect herself.
‘Shadow! No!’ Aurora’s mental cry to her fellow dragon reverberated through the bond, sounding deafening inside Elian’s head.
The night dragon was incensed. She opened her mouth and let out an ear-splitting scream of defiance. She was preparing to strike back.
‘It’s a trap, Shadow. Don’t do it,’ Aurora continued. ‘They want us to fight back. Come. Follow me. We need to get away now. Can you still fly?’
Elian did not hear Shadow’s reply, but her posture changed and he could tell that Aurora had got through to her. He was surprised to have heard Aurora’s words spoken to Shadow. He normally only heard her voice when she was directing thoughts at him through the bond.
‘Good. Follow me. We need to get out of their reach.’
It was strange to hear just one side of the conversation, but Elian felt more than able to fill in the blanks. Aurora broke into a launch run, her powerful back legs driving away from the danger at a formidable rate of acceleration. Elian felt spikes of pain as the spears bounced with every muscle movement. Her gait was awkward as she tried not to put too much weight on her right foreleg, but she got up to flying speed quickly and was soon powering up into the air.
Once airborne and climbing away with a steady rhythm, Elian looked back over his shoulder to make sure Pell and Shadow were following. They were, but Shadow was struggling to fly with the spear stuck in her right wing. It was obvious they would not be able to go far. Further back, Elian could see the hunters bringing horses out from between the trees. It seemed the men on the ground would not give up now they had drawn blood.
‘How bad are your wounds, Ra?’ he asked, leaning over to look at the spear sticking from her right foreleg.
‘Bad enough, but they will not cause lasting trouble if we can draw the weapons soon,’ she replied.
Elian’s arm, neck and lower back throbbed with sympathetic pain. He did not know how she could make her mental voice sound so casual given that she had a fistful of spears lodged in various parts of her body.
‘I don’t understand, Ra,’ Elian admitted. ‘If those are the same men who attacked us before, why are they so set on hunting us? I thought they’d give up after seeing Shadow eat their leader, Kasau.’
‘I am not sure I understand, either,’ Aurora replied. ‘Most dragonhunters do it for the money. There are those who will pay vast amounts for dragonbone, but this feels different. I don’t think their new leader is entirely human.’
‘Not entirely human? What do you mean?’
‘There is something strange about his mind,’ she said, choosing her words carefully. ‘Kasau, their old leader, felt the same way. I have entertained a suspicion ever since our first encounter, but have been reluctant to mention it until now. If I were to make a guess, I would say their leader is a joining.’
‘A joining? What’s a joining?’
Aurora thought for a moment before answering. ‘Explaining a joining is not easy,’ she admitted. ‘Humans name them differently around the world. The man looks normal on the outside, but there is a race of unseen creatures, bodiless and often malevolent, that can only express themselves by invading and using the minds and bodies of others. I think one of these creatures has joined with the leader of these hunters.’
‘Demons!’ Elian breathed. ‘You’re talking about demons,’ he added with more volume. ‘Are you saying he’s possessed?’
‘I’ve heard humans use this expression when talking about joinings,’ she admitted. ‘It is not an entirely accurate description, as the person who has been invaded still has limited control over his mind and body. The “demon”, for want of a better name, will normally encourage behaviour in the host body that furthers its own agenda. A joining enjoys abilities beyond those of normal humans, but the relationship between host and hosted is not symbiotic. The spirit creature is very much a parasite. Any benefits the host body gains are granted only to further the aims of its invader and are often self-destructive.’
‘If Kasau was possessed, did the demon die when Shadow ate him?’ Elian asked.
‘No, the spirit creature part of a joining cannot be harmed in that way,’ she said. ‘It will have transferred itself to another host body in the instant of Kasau’s death. I expect it preselected him as the best available host. Demons have ever harboured a deep hatred for dragonkind. This one must have begun trailing us from the moment we first met. When Kasau led the dragonhunters into attacking our campsite that night at the meadow, he was expecting two dragons. The presence of Firestorm and Shadow took him by surprise.’
The thought of being selected as a host for a demon sent a shudder down Elian’s spine. He was still coming to terms with the sensation of his bond with Aurora, but the idea of something invading him and taking over his mind was repulsive.
‘Do not worry, Elian. Your mind is safe whilst I live,’ Aurora assured him. ‘One of the reasons these creatures are hostile towards dragons is that they cannot invade our minds. Once the bond is in place with a rider, you become immune to their abilities. If I am killed, you will become vulnerable, but I am not in a hurry to die just yet.’
‘I’m glad to hear that.’ Elian’s stomach churned as he considered what might have happened if he had not spotted the first hunter making his throw. He looked back to see where the others were. ‘How is Shadow doing?’ he asked. ‘That spear in her wing doesn’t look good.’
‘She is struggling,’ Aurora admitted. ‘I have felt better, too. We cannot go far. Shadow needs to land and have the spears removed soon, but we also need to get as far from those hunters as we can. The joining will push his men relentlessly. No doubt they are being fed dreams of wealth. Little short of death will deter them now. However, most dragons do not kill except as a last resort.’
‘What about Shadow eating Kasau?’ asked Elian. ‘The hunters were running away when she did that. That was hardly a last resort.’
‘True,’ she said. ‘But Shadow is not like most dragons.’
‘You. Here. Now!’
Husam barked out the order like a military drill instructor. His accusing finger singled out the man he was addressing. The hunter looked over both shoulders, half hoping the hunt leader was pointing at someone behind him.
‘Yes, you!’ Husam snapped, his strangely mismatched eyes narrowing with anger and his finger now pointing at the spot on the ground he wished the man to occupy.
Tembo watched in silence as the man Husam had singled out stepped forwards. The unfortunate hunter’s eyes were wary and his face was draining of colour. Husam waited, motionless until the man was standing right in front of him. The rest of the hunters shuffled about uneasily. Those who had known Kasau remembered how intolerant he had been of error. Husam now had the same strange discolouration in one of his eyes. Would he demonstrate the same brutal code as the silent hunter had before him?
‘You did not wait for my command. You threw early and drew their attention,’ Husam accused, his body stiff with anger.
‘Did I? I thought—’
‘No, you did not think!’ Husam interrupted. ‘If a whisper of thought had entered your mind, you would have known to hold your position until I gave the word. If you had not been so impatient those dragons would be dead or at the very least, mortally wounded. Thanks to you, we’re now faced with a long chase. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand.’
The man did not answer. His face was white and his hands were trembling. Tembo eased forwards slowly, searching Husam’s face for signs of his old friend. He was not the man who had set out with him from Racafi. This Husam was different. Something had changed him. Somehow he had inherited Kasau’s cold aura. Husam had always been focused, but never with the burning intensity that he was displaying now. The change had come immediately after Kasau’s death. What had happened that night?
‘No answer?’ Husam prompted. A blade suddenly appeared in his hand so fast that Tembo did not even see him draw it. The point was underneath the man’s chin and pressing against the soft flesh there in the blink of an eye. Tembo was taken aback. For a moment he thought Husam was going to slit the man’s throat. Taking another step forwards, Tembo clamped one of his huge hands over Husam’s wrist.
‘Enough, old friend,’ he said. ‘He made a mistake. If you want to punish him, expel him from the group. There’s no need for this.’
‘You’re right, Tembo,’ the slim hunter replied. ‘He’s not worth staining my blade on.’ He lowered his knife and sheathed it again. His eyes stared into those of the other hunter with unblinking intensity. Sweat was pouring down the man’s forehead. ‘This is your first and final warning. Disobey me again and I will not hesitate. The same goes for the rest of you,’ he added, projecting his voice with more power.
The men understood perfectly. It was the sort of language they expected from a strong leader. They were not shaken. Rather they looked galvanised into a stronger team. Tembo noted the reaction and was forced to question his own response. Was he imagining things? Was Husam playing a role to impress the men? His head told him it was possible, but his heart spoke differently.
‘Bring the horses into the open and let’s get going,’ Husam ordered. ‘They won’t have gone far. If we’re quick we can still end this today.’
‘How do we know where to look?’ one of the hunters asked, braving Husam’s attention as he grabbed the reins of his animal.
‘Finding them will be no problem,’ Husam replied, his voice strange and resonating. ‘I know exactly where they’re going.’
Chapter Seventeen
Followed
Kira prowled back and forth like a caged tiger as she waited for the young scholar to return. Her eyes glowered dark thoughts and her right hand continually strayed to the hilt of the hunting knife at her belt. Everyone else gave her plenty of space.
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Time and again Kira’s eyes strayed back to Kalen’s body and her lips tightened into a thin line of controlled anger. Should they mount a hunt for the killer? Should she and Nolita go looking for their dragons? Should they look for more answers here in the library? All appeared to offer danger of differing degree.
It was ironic that Nolita seemed more in control of her emotions than she was. The situation seemed dire. Kalen’s murderer might still be loose in the library. The air was thick with tension. Night dragons might be nearby and somehow involved in Kalen’s death, yet Nolita looked comparatively at ease.
‘At last!’ Kira muttered, as the young man returned clutching a tatty old book.
‘Here it is,’ he announced, waving the book in the air. ‘The Castle of Shadows.’
She intercepted him and pressed him to show her the map. Nolita and Conrad were not far behind.
‘Here,’ he said, opening the front cover and turning to the first page.
Sure enough, there it was, labelled clearly with a little image of a castle. It was on the northwestern coast of Orupee. Kira fixed the image in her mind and knew that she would be able to recall it at will.
‘Conrad, why do you think Kalen considered this castle to be a place where shadows dwell?’ she asked. ‘Our quest leads us towards such a place, but we do not have time to go chasing fantasies. Why would he have been drawn to this book?’
‘Perhaps it’s due to the rhyme at the bottom of the map,’ Conrad replied, pointing to four lines of writing at the bottom of the page. ‘Look, it reads:
‘Come hither all darkness, come hither to death,
Be still all ye living, if still ye want breath.
Here shadows await thee, fell creatures of Hell,
Come join us in shadow, for here shadows dwell.
‘It’s all nonsense, of course, written by the author to enhance the feeling of ancient evil and to set the mood for the book.’
