Alkin slapped Tall’s thigh roughly. Tall started, turned, realizing the rider was trying to say something to him.
“Be of use in the search or join the others on the run,” Alkin said tersely.
Avea said, “Alkin, manners.”
“The boy daydreams and stares off into nothingness.”
“The boy has never been aloft. I’m sure it is all a wonder to him.”
Tall said, “The boy is right here.”
Avea and Alkin turned to him at the same time. Avea said, “Would that we had a seer. We would know where to begin. Lacking one, we must hunt.”
“Ever hunt?” Alkin asked. “A good hunter knows the signs, how to pick up a trail and follow tracks, how to distinguish between a false trail and a real trail. While aloft, we look for signs, try to follow where trail and track lead us.” Alkin paused. Tall nodded to indicate he was listening.
“The soldiers may have a few days on us, but there are so many of them. They leave a wide path of destruction in their wake. Trampled grasses, broken plants, felled saplings. Not to mention litter and waste.”
Avea added, “As we close in on them, we should see a dust plume like that one.” She pointed to the distance.
The thought that they were close to finding Ray made Tall’s heart race. Ray was hope, even if finding Ray meant telling him of his parents’ deaths. “The wizard’s men?” Tall asked.
“Hardly,” Avea said. “That’s your brood. We’ll need to do something about that. Can’t have them announcing our presence to our enemies.”
“But,” Tall objected, “Surely Grandin and his make a wake too.”
Alkin pointed. “That’s Grandin and his. See anything?”
Tall stared, squinted. He saw nothing.
“Grandin and his wear soft leathers and padded jerkins. They move silently and without sign.”
Tall sat silently, glumly. For a long time, he stared out at the vast expanse below.
Alkin broke the silence, saying, “Staring at one point in the distance isn’t much good. Take a post and scan it. It’s what a good spotter does. Avea looks ahead. I, to our right flank. The left flank can be yours.”
Tall started to respond, a glint of mischief came to his eyes. He grinned, pointed. “Don’t make sign huh? What’s that then?” A thin plume of smoke rose into the sky. In the amber hues of the setting sun it was like an exclamation point etched into the horizon.
“That,” Alkin said, “Is Grandin signaling.” Alkin touched Avea’s shoulder, pointed to the smoke trail. Avea must have said something to Rhyliath, for the great lizard banked immediately and soon after they were landing beside Grandin and his men.
Tall slid off Rhyliath’s back. Snub Nose, Horn Eyes and Big Tooth tackled him and playfully nipped at his legs and arms. Big Feet, Bent Snout and the others seemed to think it was funny. They watched and snorted. The bulls were half grown now and nearly as big as Tall himself. Tall rolled, rubbed bellies, scratched behind ears.
Grandin broke up the play with a thunderous clap of his hands. The bulls formed a loose circle around Tall, eyeing Grandin. “There’s a stream west of camp. Go, find your dinner,” Grandin told them by way of Tall, who had only to think to pass it along.
Big Tooth circled Tall protectively before scampering after the others. It was a warning to Grandin, and Grandin seemed to understand it.
“Their joining to you is more than the tethers now,” Grandin said. “It is unfortunate.”
Tall didn’t understand. “Why?”
“No one person can bond so many.” Grandin walked toward the others as he talked. He handed Tall a plate and scooped something from an iron pot onto it. “Such a bonding is unheard of. It takes Avea and Alkin both to bond Rhyliath, and then only because Rhyliath restrained it and allowed them to draw off it as he grew to adulthood. You, with so many, have no chance, and yet to break the connections now will… Will…”
“Enough, Grandin,” Avea said. “Between you and Rhyliath, I don’t know which is worse. Telling the boy things he should not know so soon, and perhaps not at all.”
Tired of being spoken of like he wasn’t present, Tall said, “I’m right here, Avea. I want to know.”
Avea spun about on her heel, came to stand right in front of Tall. “You want to know. Do you really? Do you want to know that as they grow and grow and grow the bonds will become such a burden you will not only wish them broken but desire it above all else, knowing even that it will kill you or them or both? You won’t be able to ingest enough seed to stay the hunger or cure the desire.”
It was Alkin who came unexpectedly to Tall’s defense. “Unfair, Avea. You speak of Rhyliath’s binding. There were many who told you attempting to bind a wivre was foolishness. That it would kill you and the wivre with a certainty. And yet you tried… You tried because of our great need, and you succeeded.”
“Forget to mention my great conceit, you old fool?” Avea said. A hint of laughter was meant to hide her lament, but Tall still heard the sorrow in her voice. As she stalked off, he was certain there were tears in her eyes. She called back, “See that he doesn’t expire just yet, at least until after I return.”
With that Avea was gone into the deepening shadows. Grandin patted Tall’s shoulder, ladled another heaping spoonful from the iron pot onto his plate. Tall joined the others on the ground and started eating. It was a thick stew. “Vegetable, no meat,” Grandin told him when he poked at it with his spoon.
The stew warmed his belly. Tall washed it down with cool water. He went to refill the emptied water bag. The stream was alive with the sounds of his bulls. They churned the waters with their frolicking.
Snub Nose was the first to see him. She crawled up halfway onto the bank and turned her head for him to scratch behind her ears. Tall obliged her. The others followed, clambering over each other. When each got their turn, they returned to the stream.
Tall squatted down at the bank to watch them play and hunt. They were efficient, indiscriminate hunters. They seemed to eat just about anything that swam, crawled, flew or hopped.
The way they suddenly pounced reminded him of the way Avea suddenly snapped at him. She’d done it several times now. In front of one of the others each time, bringing them to his defense. He wondered if it was like when Ever Hungry chased his prey, feinted right, only to pounce left. If so, her antagonism was a ploy.
A soft crackling behind him caused him to start. He turned to see Avea. She was standing behind him. From her expression, he guessed that she might have been there for some time and purposefully made a noise to get his attention.
As she stared down at him, there was no hint of tears in her eyes. She didn’t say anything for the longest time, then she said, “You are as clever as I hoped. You see things others don’t. Ray was like that.”
She offered him her hand, helped him stand.
“Now if we could just teach you not to broadcast your thoughts so readily.” Her voice trailed off. Half to herself she said, “Or perhaps there simply are too many tethers for a proper closing.”
To change the subject, Tall asked, “Where’s Rhyliath?”
Avea said nothing but looked west. For a while they watched the brood, they stood idly, they said little. The spectacle of the setting sun gave way to the half-light of dusk. In hushed tones, Avea began telling him of her people, of the time before the wizard’s reign. She told him also of the gypsies of the wastes, the peoples of the kays. Some time passed before he realized those she spoke of were his people seen through her eyes. This realization came only when she spoke of Nahter, of how the deep amity Nahter’s people shared with hers birthed their deep passion for each other.
Through her words, Tall came to know her, the woman once a queen, fierce in her constancy, who desired above all else a return to easier times, who died a little each day the wizard lived. He realized she opened herself to gain his trust, for she needed him to trust her fully, just as she needed Grandin and Alkin to put aside any dislike they had fo
r him. Be that as it may, she got much more than his trust; she got his affection. Who would not love such a woman, who when asked put others above herself and who when faced with insurmountable odds continued on.
Feeling suddenly queasy, Tall stumbled. Avea helped him keep his feet. Convulsions followed and she cradled him in her arms. “Seed,” he croaked, barely getting the word out.
At her call Grandin and Alkin came running—or at least they must have, for his next conscious thought was of Grandin and Alkin carrying him into a tent. Alkin was angry, carrying on about how they would never catch the soldiers in time if they had to babysit. “He is hope,” was Avea’s reply before she stalked out of the tent. She returned moments later with seed. She tried to fight her way past Grandin to feed it to Tall, but it was Alkin who gave Tall the seed.
“His death when it comes,” Grandin shouted, “is on you. I nursed him to health once. I wash my hands of it.”
That was what Grandin said, but it was Grandin who helped Tall through the long night. A night filled with dreams of shadows and white fire and angry crimson.
Chapter 16: Goals Glimpsed
Grandin and his were packed and waiting for word to move out by the time Tall washed in the stream and ate breakfast. Avea said a bath was a necessity to rid him of his animal smell. He bathed perhaps a bit too long, as his brood thought he came to play.
Tall emerged from the cool waters to find someone had taken his clothes and replaced them. He returned to camp wearing the high boots, leathers, and cape put out for him. The clothes were similar to Avea and Alkin’s, but Alkin seemed displeased to see him in them. Alkin said, “Why is he in the seer’s clothes? This does not bode well for the seer’s return.”
“Not like the seer needs them now,” Grandin said. He shrugged, turned to his men. “North and west again. Avea believes the soldiers will go to the Towers at Ank-Korran for reinforcements before they go east.” With that, Grandin and his started loping away from the camp at an easy jog.
That left Alkin and Tall. Tall didn’t know where Avea and Rhyliath were but guessed they might be scouting ahead. Unsure what to do, Tall paced in a tight circle while Alkin rubbed the blade of his sword with a stone. Tall knew little of such weapons, but he knew the stone was used to sharpen.
Alkin looked to the east. “Rhyliath prefers to hunt just before dawn and just after sunset.” He said it matter-of-factly, as if it would answer Tall’s unspoken question. But as Tall only looked more confused, he continued. “Avea usually accompanies to ensure he doesn’t overindulge. Nothing worse than a wivre who’s eaten too much and gotten lethargic.”
Tall understood then that Alkin was talking about game hunting, and not their hunt for the soldiers. “What does Rhyliath eat?”
The words came out before Tall realized he really didn’t want to know the answer. Too late, though, as Alkin answered. “Just about anything. Deer, boar, horse. A few sheep or goats sometimes. Cattle, other times. Once, a bear.”
Most of these creatures Tall had never heard of, though it answered the question about where Rhyliath disappeared to yesterday after they made camp. It also made him wonder and worry. Were his beasts safe? Would Rhyliath feast on bulls and slithers? Would Rhyliath try to eat Lady or Lucky?
Alkin stood, sheathed his sword. Not long afterward Tall heard a rustle of wind and a thud that announced Rhyliath’s return.
Avea helped Tall mount Rhyliath. Alkin needed no assistance to ascend. “Grandin and his have a good start on us.”
“As I intended,” Avea said sharply. To Tall, she said, “Have your brood follow Grandin. Do it at once. Tell them of the urgency to stay close to Grandin, and follow his instructions as if they were yours until your return.”
Tall looked at her quizzically. “I don’t—”
“Don’t think. Just do. Tell them now.” Avea waited until he listened, then signaled for Rhyliath to take flight. Rhyliath lumbered into the sky.
Tall felt like he would lose his breakfast. He fought to keep it down as Rhyliath climbed and climbed. The queasiness only worsened when Rhyliath banked and was buffeted about. He found he had to close his eyes. He sucked at the air, tried to calm himself.
A hand on his shoulder was heartening. “Best to busy yourself,” Avea said. “Take the right flank. Watch for sign as you learned yesterday.”
Woozy, Tall held a hand to his mouth.
“Child,” Alkin hissed under his breath. He handed Tall a water bag, said, “Drink this.”
Tall listened, turned the bag up and took a deep draught only to choke, sputter and spit as he tried to swallow. “Not water,” Tall gasped. “More like liquid fire.”
“Alkin, you didn’t?” Avea asked.
“I did.” Alkin grinned, took the water bag back. “How’s your stomach now?”
Despite himself, Tall had swallowed some of the liquid. It was warming his belly and the warm glow was spreading. “Better, I think,” he said after a long pause.
Alkin slapped Tall’s leg, glared at Avea, and turned back to his spotting. “Rhyliath,” he said, “Due west. Something I want a closer look at ahead.”
Rhyliath stroked his wings through a turn. Afterward, the buffeting worsened and Tall winced.
“Eddies,” Avea said.
If it was meant to be an explanation, Tall didn’t understand.
“The air has currents in it,” Avea said. “Some are great rivers, but of air and not water. Others are small. Think of them as streams. To fly, Rhyliath must navigate these rivers and streams. Sometimes, where these rivers and streams converge there are eddies—places where the air swirls. We feel these especially because of how Rhyliath must move through these with us on his back.”
Tall understood how water flowed and knew that at times it swirled. Still, he saw no currents when he stared out into the vast expanse around him.
“We can no more see these currents than Rhyliath can. Rhyliath senses them much as you and I sense a coming rain.”
Tall nodded and smiled—something he learned to do in his village when his thoughts wandered during a lesson and the elder checked to see if he was listening. Apparently taking this as a cue to change the subject, Avea said, “Ray’s clothes fit you well. I thought they might. You two are of a height.”
“Ray’s clothes?” Tall asked, half aware of what he was saying. Then abruptly, his full attention on Avea, he said, “These are the seer’s clothes… Ray was your seer?”
“Ray is our seer,” Avea said. “We will retrieve him soon enough.”
All of a sudden Tall heard the smoot’s voice in his ears. “You must leave our world now to rid your heart of the calling. Ray carries the key to saving our people. He can end your calling.”
Tall was about to ask Avea to explain seers and callers when she shouted, “Rhyliath, descend. Land now. Before we are seen.”
Tall got a good view of the lowland hills they were flying over before the sudden impact of the landing. It was all he could do to hold on and keep from falling. Beside him, Avea and Alkin were rolling off Rhyliath and drawing their weapons like they were going to war. He stared wide-eyed until Avea hissed at him and waved him down.
He rolled off Rhyliath, ran to join the others. He found them squatting down at the top of the rise. Alkin pointed to fields filling the narrow vale that spread out below. Even from this distance, Tall thought he recognized the leafy bush with the long blue pods. “Is that what I think it is?” He asked.
“It is,” Avea said. “The wizard has scores of these fields, but this is the largest operation I’ve ever seen. It was sheer luck that I spotted it this morning when Rhyliath was hunting. Most don’t know the source of the wizard’s blue water. He guards the secret well.”
Alkin shifted positions, moving to the other side of Avea and then crawling closer to the edge of the valley’s high wall. “I suspect this is something few on the outside have ever seen. I myself have been through this area many times and have never before seen this. Some type of concealment, I
expect.”
Avea said, “If so, then why isn’t it concealed now.”
Tall saw a familiar glow from Avea’s pocket. He reached down, snatched up the orb. “Why did you take this?” he shouted.
Avea turned, clear frustration showing on her face. At first she didn’t seem to understand what he was talking about, then the intermittent flashing caught her eye. She snatched the orb back. “Could it be?” she asked, showing the orb to Alkin.
“This is mine,” Tall said. He tried to take the orb back.
Alkin turned on Tall, grabbed him and held him so tight he feared what would happen next. Alkin and Avea said at almost the same time, “Where exactly did you get this?”
Complete Magic Lands Books 1 & 2 Omnibus Page 23
