“It must die!” Again the fist-pounding. “This perversion of a dragon is infecting the young with ideas.” The old man’s expression became grim. “Radical ideas, heretical ideas. This change in them is anathema to us and cannot be allowed to continue!”
More murmurs of agreement, some fervent.
“There are a number of sections to coordinate for a change like this,” Takatin said, “not to mention the villages. I’m sorry, but it is impossible.”
“If not tonight, then when?”
Takatin stared at the umeron sitting on the other end of the long table and kept the smile from his face. “Tomorrow night is the earliest it could happen.”
+ + + + +
“Guildmaster Millinith. Do you have a moment?”
She looked up from the most recent draft of the training manual. “Master Canneth?” The silver-haired man stood in the doorway to Anaya and Balam’s den. “Of course,” she said. “Come in, come in.”
Looking a bit sheepish, he twisted his lips in a grimace. “I’m very sorry, but it seems the Animal Craft Guild has sent someone from the branch in Delcimaar to, ah, visit.”
Millinith narrowed her eyes. “Oh?” It appeared that the review of the training manual might have to wait.
“I wish they’d told me. Then I could have warned you in advance.”
She waved off his concern. “I expected a visit soon, anyway. Curiosity about dragons is nearly universal. I only wonder that we haven’t had visits sooner from our co-primaries. And, too, I’m guessing that Animal Craft wants dragons to be in their purview.”
Master Canneth frowned. “Dragons aren’t animals. Well, they aren’t mere animals.”
“Exactly,” Millinith said, “so it’s just as well the representative is here. The sooner the Animal Craft Guild realizes the truth of dragons, the better. Where is our visitor now?”
“Sharrah took her to the Housing Hall to get a room for the duration of her stay. They’ll be here momentarily.”
Millinith nodded and sighed. Too many things—
“How are they?”
She glanced at him. “Willem says that they are doing well, all things considered.” She tugged on a lock of hair by her cheek. “Maybe I shouldn’t have let them help the manisi find nahual.”
“They would have anyway. Those kids, especially Aeron, once they get something in their heads . . .” He shrugged.
She let out a humorless chuckle. “True enough. I just feel like I let Aeron and Anaya down, somehow. We were a team, before all . . . this.” She gestured at the guild paperwork on her desk.
“You train them as best you can, but eventually, you have to let them go out on their own. They’ll do great things, perhaps, but they will also make mistakes, and they will have to deal with the unexpected. That’s part of life. As long as you help them learn from their mistakes and give them support when they need it, you’ll be doing right by them.”
She nodded and a small smile curved her lips. “I think I know how Enora felt.”
“Enora?”
A knock on the door drew their gazes. Master Canneth ducked into the den as the door opened.
“Excuse me, Guildmaster.” Sharrah led a woman into the office. “Auditor Komako has come from the Animal Craft Guild for a visit.”
The woman looked to be of an age with Master Canneth. Eyes bright, she took in the room and then turned her gaze upon Millinith, a smile on her lips.
Millinith returned the smile. “I was wondering when our co-primaries would stop by. I was actually in the middle of reviewing the latest draft of our training manual.”
The auditor nodded. “I would like to see it at some point, but first, I’d like to examine your policies and procedures. Once I look those over, I think I’d like to spend some time with the dragons and the, ah, dragonlinked, I believe they are called?”
“That’s correct.”
“Yes, good. I’ll look over the manual after, and then perhaps a tour of the Guildhall would be in order.”
Millinith stood and walked to a shelf. “Well, you’ve set yourself a busy schedule for the next few days, so perhaps it would be best,” she pulled down a heavy leather folder, “if I got you started right away.” She set the folder on her desk, unsnapped the strap holding it closed, and opened it to reveal all the pages within. “We have not had time to have it printed, but the policies and procedures are all in here.” She closed the folder and handed it to the auditor.
“My thanks, Guildmaster. I shall return to my room and begin reviewing these immediately.”
“Of course,” Millinith said. “You can find me here most of the time if you have questions for me, and Sharrah,” she gestured to the girl, “is a dragonlinked, though unbonded at the moment, and can answer your questions in that regard. She can also introduce you to her fellow dragonlinked and the dragons, when you’re ready.”
“Excellent.” The woman turned to Sharrah. “If you could guide me back to the Housing Hall?”
“Of course, ma’am.” With a glance at Millinith—there was only the slightest hint of panic in the girl’s eyes—Sharrah led them out the door and closed it behind her.
“Delegate, delegate, delegate.” Master Canneth walked in the room.
Millinith nodded. “I’ve learned the immense value of delegation, recently.”
He smiled. “Sharrah should be able to handle the auditor, but call on me if you need anything.”
“Oh, you can be sure I will.”
With a chuckle, Master Canneth left her.
Millinith returned to her desk. With that dealt with, she could get back to reviewing the manual. She’d like to have the review of the current draft finished before the auditor left, so the woman would have a chance to examine it as well. Running her finger down the page, she found where she’d left off.
“Guildmaster!” The shout had come from outside, along with the sound of running.
Millinith closed her eyes. Alandra’s merciful heart, what now? Worry about Aeron and Anaya already made it difficult enough to focus on reviewing the manual without some new crisis adding to her concerns every ten minutes.
Jessip ran into the office from the den. “Nenet’s coming to lay an egg.”
Millinith stood. “She spoke to Zolin?”
He nodded. “Yeah. When she couldn’t find Aeron or Anaya, she spoke to him.”
Of course. Zolin was her son, after all. Millinith just wished Nenet had arrived a few days from now, after the difficulty with Aeron and Anaya was resolved. “That’s some good news, at least.”
“Yeah.” Jessip scrunched his face up. “I was wondering, though. Now that the clutching room is finished . . .” He stared at her, expectantly.
Millinith supposed they might as well get to using it. “Have you broached the idea with Nenet?”
His gaze went flat for a moment and then he chuckled. “She didn’t want to at first, but Zolin said he convinced her to at least see it before making up her mind. She’s going to meet us at the road north of the Caer.”
“Good.” Millinith thought briefly of inviting the auditor along, but decided against it. She glanced at the enchanting schedule. “Have Zolin speak to Xochi. I’d like her and Renata to join us at the clutching room.”
“Done.”
“Get ready. I’ll meet you in the yard in a few minutes.”
He nodded and dashed out.
Once he’d left, she scratched her head furiously and flung her arms out. Gods! Could a girl not get a break? She ran a hand down her face and took a breath. Too much was happening at once. The actions of those idiots in the Corpus Order were at the top of her worry list, but though it sounded a little dangerous, Aeron’s plan should work. There would be enough dragonlinked there to ensure one of them could get it done. The two should be back home in a few days, removing one item off the list.
And now there was the Animal Craft auditor. It had taken almost three months, but one of their co-primaries had finally sent someone to gauge their
progress. At least Sharrah was handling that, allowing Millinith to get back to her current task: reviewing the latest version of the training manual.
She frowned down at the thing. The draft of it, anyway. She wanted it patterned after the ones from Animal Craft and Magic Craft, but doing so was proving difficult due to how different Dragon Craft was. Not to mention having to weave in bits of Investigation Craft and hand-to-hand combat training. What gave her and the masters the most trouble right now was organizing the lessons logically while dividing them into accepted and apprentice levels. Liflin’s suggestions were actually a big help in that regard, and she hoped this would be the last draft, at least until they addressed higher rank lessons. She placed a marker-ribbon and closed the large notebook. She’d have to return to it later. Right now, she had a nervous dragon mother to settle in. Speaking of which . . .
She eyed a writing board tucked into a corner next to her desk. It wasn’t used much because there were large boards already mounted on the walls. The thing was two feet by three, so it would be awkward to carry, but she’d take it anyway. She grabbed a writing stick and tucked it in a pocket.
In the courtyard, Jessip eyed the board.
“Let me mount first,” she said, “and then hand this to me.”
“Uh, sure.” He took it from her and did as asked.
Once mounted, he looked over his shoulder. “Hold it tight, we’re off.”
She nodded, wrapped one arm around him, and gripped the board as best she could with her other hand.
It didn’t take long to meet up with Nenet. She barked a greeting up at them and then followed through a portal to the Guildhall. Down below, on the ledge that was the dragon entrance to the clutching room, Renata and Xochi waited.
Millinith leaned forward. “Please land quickly. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on to this stupid board.”
Jessip nodded and Zolin banked down.
Once on the ground he dismounted quickly and took the board from her.
“Thank you!” She flapped her hand trying to ease slightly cramped muscles. “I nearly dropped it a few times.” She hopped down.
Nenet landed nearby. The brown dragon did look nervous, casting glances about and moving closer to Zolin.
“Nenet,” Millinith said, “we would be honored if you would clutch in our Guildhall. You would be the first, but it is up to you, of course.” She turned to Jessip’s bond-mate. “Go ahead and show your mother in, Zolin. Let her see the place we’ve made for dragons.”
Zolin chirped. Come, blood-mother. I think you will like it.
Nenet turned to Millinith, ducked her head, and chirped. She then followed her son.
Millinith and the others trailed behind, letting Zolin take as much time as needed with his nervous mother. Once in the clutching room proper, however, Xochi bounded onto the sand.
Is it not the best? She rolled in the sand and then jumped to her feet.
Nenet took her time looking about the room. She glanced at Xochi and the sand before making her way over to it. She sniffed at the soft powder and then stood upon it.
T–The room is nice. But it does not s–smell right. Life has never been brought forth in here. I–I would prefer to use the cavern again, i–if that is okay?
“Of course it’s okay,” Jessip said. “Whatever you prefer.”
I am sorry.
“There is no need to apologize,” Millinith said. “It is your child. You decide where to bear it.” She turned to Jessip. “Why don’t you and Zolin go with her to the cavern. Renata and Xochi can take me back to the Caer. Once I get back, I’ll speak to the captain and have guards stationed at the sinkhole again.”
He nodded and handed her the board. “Sounds good. Come on Zolin, let’s take Nenet over so she can start to settle in.”
Millinith watched them leave and sighed. “So much for bringing this along.”
Renata glanced at the board. “What was it for?”
“We need to have some kind of sign at the main entrance of this room. It will indicate when an unbonded dragon is clutching in here. At those times, unsupervised access should be restricted. We don’t want just anyone coming in and frightening the dragon. Candidates would be allowed supervised visits, and of course, they’d be allowed in when the eggs hatch.”
Renata nodded. “That makes sense. What if a parent or friend wants to watch a candidate try for a bond-mate? Will we let them in?”
Millinith frowned. “I hadn’t really thought about that.” She looked about the chamber. Where would they put them?
“It could help foster goodwill, having kin here to witness the bonding. And for those candidates who are passed over, having family and friends here to console them would be a blessing, I think.”
Millinith faced the door to the Guildhall proper. “What do you think? A sort of gallery on each side of the entrance? We could enchant tiered seats, benches, say five rows deep? At least to start.”
“Yeah. We can see how many want to attend a bonding and increase the seating as needed.”
Millinith rubbed the space between her brows. “Where will we house them?”
Renata chuckled. “I sense an adjustment to the housing plans coming soon.”
“We’re going to need more guest rooms.” Millinith sighed.
“Those can be anywhere, though, as long as the way to the clutching room is fairly easy to navigate. Don’t want people to get lost.”
Millinith nodded. After a moment, she glanced back into the room. “What do you suppose Nenet meant about it not smelling right? Did any of our dragons mention anything of the sort?”
Renata shook her head. “No, not at all. They loved it in here and couldn’t wait to lay their eggs here.”
Millinith grunted. “This whole place was solid rock a few months ago.”
“True. And there isn’t much to the sand we ported over from the deep desert. I suppose to a dragon, this place could seem a bit sterile and lifeless.”
Millinith glanced at the ceiling and walls. “All the more reason to get started on Aeron’s idea about moss and lichen in here. Do you suppose the places unbonded dragons go to lay their young have been used for centuries?”
Renata shrugged. “I could ask Xochi to check her memories, but that’s probably true.”
Wild dragons probably used the same places over and over. Except for Anaya’s mother. But she’d been running away from House Yaot.
Thinking of Malina brought to mind Anaya and Aeron’s predicament, and that reminded Millinith of another thing that had been bothering her. Aeron’s plan called for using the portal in a way that had never been done before.
She picked up the writing board. “Let’s get back to the Caer. I want to do a test with the gateway spell. A trial run, if you will, of Aeron’s idea.”
It took almost an hour to get everything together. Dragonlinked and the dragons stood or sat around the courtyard, waiting. When Renata returned from her errand, they all stood and moved to the middle of the yard in a loose circle by Millinith.
“Sorry it took so long,” Renata said. “I had a heck of a time catching a fly.” She held up a wire-frame glass box. “But I finally got one.” Inside, the insect flew around, landing briefly on one side of the box or another.
“Excellent.” Millinith turned to Sharrah and pointed to a spot on the ground. “If you could place the squash there?”
Once she set it down, Sharrah stepped back. “I hope this works.”
“As do we all.” Willem stared at the squash. “I never even considered that his idea might be dangerous.”
“It very well might not be,” Millinith said. “But as it has never been used this way, I want to test the spell beforehand.”
Willem nodded. “I’m glad you thought to do so.”
“Alright.” Millinith looked about and pointed to the side. “Let’s keep that area over there clear, as well. That will be the destination.”
People and dragons took a few steps back from the area.
“Sharrah, if you could observe and take notes?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She removed a notebook, a pencil, and after a few brief scribbles, looked at the squash, waiting.
Millinith took a breath. “This is test one of in situ gateway activation. Willem? If you and Balam would do the honors? Origin is the squash. Let’s make them about two feet in diameter. Destination is there.” She pointed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Millinith felt a surge of power when the spell began.
“Here we go,” Willem said, looking at Sharrah. “Completing the spell . . . now.”
A large pulse of magic washed over Millinith and the small portals began to form. Most of the origin portal was visible, but about a third of it was below the ground. The entire destination portal floated about a foot or so above the yard. When the translucent plates faded, leaving only the swirling mist, there was a soft sound, almost like a green branch cracking.
Millinith’s stomach clenched. What in hells was that? There was never any sound with a portal.
From the destination gateway, two items fell: an oddly-shaped chunk of soil, and the squash. The soil hit the ground and the large squash landed on the crumbling pile of dirt, letting out a quiet thump. It rolled to the side a few feet before coming to a stop.
Everyone stared.
“Yrdra’s tits,” Jessip said, “what happened?”
“Language,” Millinith said.
“Sorry, ma’am.”
“But that is a good question. Willem, if you could end the spell?” When it faded, Millinith stared at where the origin portal had been. Part of the ground was . . . missing. It looked as if someone had scooped it out with an enormous iced cream scoop, or pressed a large ball into the ground causing a spherical indentation. She squatted down and examined the bowl-shaped pit closer. Its surface was as smooth as glass.
“The gateway anchors are spheres,” Sharrah said. “It appears that when the spell activates, anything on the edge of the sphere is cut, sliced clean through, and transferred to the opposite portal.”
Millinith nodded. “Of course. It follows that this should occur. Normally, the anchors are in the air, so there is no indication that this is happening.”
A Storm in the Desert: Dragonlinked Chronicles Voume 3 Page 43
