by Mara Amberly
Ariane gazed up at the dragon. “You could ask him to wait outside the town while we’re in there? A spell could disguise him if he doesn’t oppose it. I’ve heard of dragons possessing magickal ability before too. They’re just so rare. I never expected to set eyes on one.”
Ariane reached a hand out to touch the dragon’s wing and it let out an almighty growl.
She pulled her hand back quickly, grateful that she still had it.
While Alexa didn’t hold much against Ariane, the corners of her lips quirked slightly into a smile. She’d wiped it off her face by the time Ariane glanced her way.
Alexa had a feeling that the dragon wouldn’t be quite so wary of her, but the truth was she didn’t know. She respected its boundaries and it seemed to appreciate that.
No one directly opposed the dragon’s presence on the journey.
Turning to the dragon, Alexa spoke with it telepathically as best she could.
“Do you want to come with us? We’re going after the ones who killed our people. I’m not sure if they’re the same ones who did this to you, but they might be.”
She could feel a sense of excitement and anticipation from the dragon. “Yes. I will come.”
The dragon seemed happier than in all the time she’d known it so far.
She then turned back to the others. “I asked and the dragon’s agreed to join us.”
Knave frowned, suddenly realising all eyes were on him. “Some more time to think about it would’ve been a good idea, but what’s done is done. Uh, welcome.”
It watched him with its yellow eye but showed no further signs of ill will toward him. It studied Cassia for a time, just as she watched it, but then it put its head under its wing to rest.
“So what do you suppose this place is?” Ariane asked, as she looked around what appeared to be a chamber carved from the rock.
“A temple maybe or perhaps just a hiding place,” Alexa surmised.
The weaving of tree roots was strange; as though the earth had once been soft, but it had solidified around them. There was no sign of the tree on the surface, except for when Alexa viewed it through her mind’s eye. Then it was there.
“I think the tree exists in another realm,” Alexa said. “We can’t see it above the surface, but I see it clearly with my mind’s eye. That leads me to believe the tree may span more than one realm.”
Knave wasn’t an expert on such matters, so he couldn’t say one way or the other. “Are you sure it’s not dead or they cut it down when they carted the manse away? It’s a tree.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple. It’s known there are forms of life here in Maeridea that can maintain a stronger presence on a spiritual level than purely on a physical one, like dragons. I think it’s why I can connect with this one mentally,” Alexa explained.
Knave didn’t know what to make of that, but he was willing to accept that Alexa knew more about it than he did.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll take your word for it, lass.” He glanced up at the snoozing dragon. “Does it have a name?”
Alexa shrugged at the question. “I expect so, but it is bad form to ask dragons for their name. As magickal beings, it’s believed that knowing their true name gives you power over them, so it’s not something that you ask –at least, if you expect to get any kind of favourable response.”
He nodded at that. “I’ll just call it ‘the dragon’ for now then. It helps that there’s only one of them.”
Cassia laughed softly, keeping her voice down so she didn’t disturb the dragon. “That’s funny. I wonder if there are more of its kind out here it could join? Like a flock of them.”
That formed quite an image in Alexa’s mind and she smiled. “I’m not sure how safe it would be to go looking for them. It can fly so I’m sure it could search them out if it wants to. I think this one would sense another dragon long before it saw one.”
It obviously trusted them enough that it felt safe resting in their presence.
That surprised Alexa after what had been done to the dragon, but she’d given it access to her thoughts and memories. She sensed that its perception of them had changed at that point and it knew with certainty that she, at least, meant it no harm.
She’d sensed its injury but physically it appeared to have healed now, other than its missing eye, which now appeared permanently closed. It seemed unlikely there was anything that could be done about that. Its greatest injury was emotional and went much deeper.
Alexa thought that perhaps that was why she understood the dragon so well, and how it understood her too. She too had lost people she cared about.
“It’s the strangest thing, but I can already feel a bond forming. I think it might be because we’ve seen into each other’s minds. I don’t know how or why, but I have a strong feeling this will change things.”
Cassia nodded, even though she didn’t know what that meant.
Ariane glanced at Knave, then over at the sisters. “I think it may have a part to play in all of this, just as we do. I’m not sure what kind, but time will tell.”
It may have been her imagination, but Ariane felt the dragon was watching her. Its good eye was firmly closed, but it was as though she felt its mind trained on her thoughts. If so, she felt its wariness wasn't deserved.
“There are some things I think we need to talk about,” she finally admitted, “but perhaps here isn’t the place. We have limited supplies, so if our water’s to last, we should get moving. We’re still headed for the town?”
Alexa wasn’t sure what it was about, though she sensed it might have had something to do with the shielding accident that befell Cassia. Thankfully, she seemed to have fully recovered now, though she wasn’t in any hurry to have magick cast on her by Ariane again.
“I think we’ll need to travel in the daylight now with terrain like this, so we should make the most of it.”
The uneven ground held many cracks and large rocks. It would be far more difficult and precarious to travel at night.
“We should go then,” Knave exclaimed. “Alexa, it’s on you to wake the dragon.” He grinned, then made his way back outside.
***
Ariane walked alongside Cassia and Alexa, while the dragon surveyed their surroundings from high above. Knave hung back to give the Sisters some privacy to talk.
“You may not trust me if I tell you,” Ariane explained, “but I hope it will go some way toward proving my heart’s in the right place. I have a lot of reasons not to trust you either, but I want what’s best for the Sisters of Destiny and I hope you’ll understand that. There aren’t that many of us left.”
Knave watched Ariane with curiosity as she began explaining herself to Cassia and Alexa. He wondered what the conversation was about.
“What’s going on?” Cassia asked nervously, wondering why she wouldn’t trust Ariane. She was trying to move on from the accident in the tunnels, but it seemed like Ariane couldn’t let it go. “It seems like you’re having a harder time dealing with this than we are.”
Alexa found herself questioning Ariane’s motivations. “I’m guessing there’s more to the story?”
Ariane nodded at that, which caused her hood to slip back. She let it fall around her hair as she surveyed the barren land around them.
“I learned of your existence before you came to stay in Kelbani. I’d been told you were born of the D’Orelia family. We cast aside our family names and allegiance when we joined the order, but our families were sworn enemies.”
Cassia swore under her breath. “You’re from the Vengard family?”
She nodded at that. “Blood was shed on both sides, but I don’t have any bad feelings toward you and I hope you won’t toward me.”
They walked on in silence for a moment, while Cassia and Alexa traded glances.
Cassia gathered her thoughts before she spoke further. “How did you learn about us?”
Her memories of the past were still vivid, especially of the Vengard man she’
d burned saving her mother with fire sorcery. While it was a grim memory, she no longer felt any guilt for it.
“Members of my family tracked you down a while ago. They wanted me to interfere in order matters, but I refused.”
Alexa was shocked by that. Of the million and one things she’d been worried about in recent times, she hadn’t considered this. She’d all but moved on from the past, but it seemed the Vengard family hadn’t. She no longer feared that Cassia would be cast out of the order, because she was needed and she’d fought in the Sisters’ defence. They needed every priestess they could get. The survival of the order depended on it.
“I don’t know what to say to that,” Alexa confessed, noticing the flicker of fear in her sister’s eyes.
“Thank you for not interfering,” Cassia replied in a soft voice, smiling at Ariane.
It showed that she was worried, but it had more to do with the nature of her history than with Ariane especially.
Ariane nodded at that, accepting her thanks.
Cassia wasn’t sure if Ariane knew that she’d killed someone in her family, but while she was grateful for Ariane’s admission, she wasn’t in any hurry to tell her about it. Instead, Cassia settled for a watered-down explanation. She knew she could live with what had happened, because she had for years, and would’ve made the same decision again to save her mother’s life.
“I regret some actions of the past but I didn’t know much about your family. I was young when I joined the Sisters of Destiny and Alexa wasn’t much older. I’d thought of leaving the Sisters before the attack on the Temple of Solitude. I wasn’t sure being a Sister was right for me, but I’ve come to realise a lot that I hadn’t before. If we’re going to thrive, we need to be strong and work together. We have to find these manses and deal with the Nemorans, or we won’t be the only ones to suffer.”
Cassia hoped that wouldn’t anger Ariane if she knew what she’d done, but Cassia felt impassioned to explain. She wanted Ariane to understand that she wasn’t a bad person, and she didn’t think Ariane was either. In a way, they were both victims of circumstance and the imperfect world they lived in.
“I don’t want us to be enemies or our families’ past to drive a wedge between us. I just want us to do what we can here.”
Ariane nodded at that. “I think we see eye to eye. You’ve given me a lot to think about, but I just wanted you to know what happened. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Cassia. I’m still not sure why it happened, if it was something subconscious or the shield failed for another reason. I just want you to know I didn’t do it deliberately.”
Alexa was thankful for Ariane’s explanation. “I want you to know that you have my trust. I appreciate you opening up to us about this, so it isn’t something divisive between us.”
Cassia wondered about the reasons for the shield failing, but she appreciated Sister Ariane coming forward. In her place, she probably wouldn’t have done it, but she was the kind of person who usually kept things to herself. She saw no point stirring up trouble when there needn’t be any.
“Let’s leave the past in the past,” Cassia suggested. “I think we have enough to deal with ahead of us without creating more. You’re my Sister, Ariane, and that’s all there is to it.”
Knave could tell that the tension had eased between the Sisters ahead of him. He wasn’t sure what had been said, but he hoped that would be the last of the difficulties between them.
His mind turned to Aveline, as he wondered what she would be doing. Probably working, given the hour.
He caught up with the ladies sometime after, and while the dragon had disappeared for the time being, he was sure it would return. Knave still wasn’t sure how things were going to work having the dragon with them or what would become of it once they were done. He was sure they’d figure it out as they went along.
“So how far away do you think the town is?” Knave asked. He was growing tired from the walking.
“I’m not sure,” Alexa admitted. “Still some distance. It’s easier to determine the distance the closer you get to a place. I could try sensing it again, if you want?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
Taking a deep breath, Alexa closed her eyes and reached out with her mind.
Nothing.
She tried again, but the town was no longer registering on her senses. She reached out around her, searching for any other presence, and soon sensed the dragon. It had spotted a lizard basking on the ground and she felt its joy as it swooped down to scoop it up in its claws.
Alexa eventually sensed a small gathering of people to the north, but it wasn’t the large presence of people and animals she’d detected previously to the east. She opened her eyes.
Knave could tell at once that she was upset.
“I’m not sensing the town anymore. Either it’s gone, which I sincerely doubt, or someone’s blocking me. I think that’s what’s happening, so they may know that someone’s coming. They might even know it’s us.”
Knave put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “How could they know we’re out here?”
She looked around at the barren landscape and back at him. “The same way I knew they were there? I don’t know. Maybe they have an agent among the Sisters of Destiny who told them we were heading out here. It’s also possible they could scrye our location or they could’ve spotted the dragon.”
“So does that mean you can’t find the town?” he asked with concern.
“Oh no, I’m certain I know where it is… or rather, which direction it’s in. I’m unsure about the distance but I know it isn’t too far away to reach. We’ll just need to keep our eyes open for it… and trouble.”
Chapter 12
Jonas returned to the house with Elena Briette. He was more nervous than he had been before, because he knew he might be walking into a trap. His instincts told him he should run, but this was his chance to steal the manse – and such a chance might not come again. He had to try while he could.
“I couldn’t see any way down to the basement when I was in there,” he told her in a quiet whisper.
“There’s only one way in or out of the basement,” she whispered back. “Jarlath had it added after we moved in.”
Jonas remembered what he’d heard about the town being conquered by the enemy. He wondered if Elena Briette had witnessed it. Maybe she’d helped.
Making her way down the hallway, she beckoned for Jonas to follow. She was just past her room when she poked her head into the living area, where one of the cultists had been reading earlier. Jonas wasn’t far behind her when Elena Briette raised her hand, then gestured for him to return around the corner. He did as she suggested, and watched as she slipped into the room.
He could hear quiet voices carrying, though he couldn’t tell what was being said. He just heard the occasional word here and there. It wasn’t enough to make sense of the conversation, and Jonas didn’t know if she was turning him in.
He glanced back in the direction of the kitchen and was on the threshold of returning there. He knew it would be safer to leave, but he wanted to try and get the manse. He stayed aware of his surroundings and prepared himself in case he had to run for it.
As the moments passed, Jonas felt his will to remain diminishing. It was dark as he peered around the corner of the hallway, hoping no one came down the stairs or stumbled upon his presence from another direction.
Please hurry, he prayed, as he waited impatiently and with growing concern.
Soon Elena Briette walked through the doorway and extracted a key from her pocket, holding it up for him to see.
She opened the door to the apothecary, if that’s what it was, though she didn’t use the key. As Jonas knew, the room was unlocked.
The room was shrouded in darkness, as it had no outside windows.
As he followed Elena Briette through the doorway, Jonas saw her summon a small ball of flame in the palm of her hand. She cupped her hand over a candle on a nearby work bench and used it to light the w
ick.
The light revealed far greater detail in their surroundings than Jonas had noticed earlier. He wasn’t sure what to make of the fact she was a sorceress, but minor magick was common among the human population.
Jonas knew he had magick of a different kind. It was that of his own people, who he’d belonged to before they’d exiled him.
Jonas closed the door behind Elena Briette, hoping he wasn’t sealing some trap that would lead to his own demise. It didn’t seem that way, so he tried not to assume the worst.
“Are you alright?” Elena Briette asked, perhaps noticing Jonas’s unease.
“I’m fine,” he asserted, but he was afraid for himself and the future of so many people, including his own.
She nodded toward a bookshelf against the far wall. “There’s the way in. Jarlath hid the entrance well.” She lit a lantern from the candle and set about opening the door.
Elena Briette made a gesture with her hand, which seemed to have no effect that Jonas could see, but then she grasped the side of the shelf and slid it back. It must’ve had a locking mechanism that could only be activated with magick.
Behind it was a heavy, rectangular oaken door with a lock. There was no door handle, but Elena Briette unlocked it with the key. She gave the door a push and it swung inward, revealing a darkened passage. There was no stairway down; rather, there was a tunnel that sloped downward.
The walls glittered strangely in the lantern-light. It was quite beautiful. The stone contained flecks of a reflective mineral that was unlike any Jonas recognised.
After extinguishing the candle, they entered the passage and Jonas glanced back at the door.
“Should we close the door behind us?” he asked nervously.
“We should,” she agreed, and reached around the door to pull the bookshelf back into place.
“How does it open?” Jonas asked interestedly.
He wanted to know, in case he needed to escape the cellar. Magick might be necessary to access it from the other side, but perhaps not from the side he was on.
