"This way, this way, this way," the bobcat hissed and even came to nudge us on.
"I should try to --"
"This way, this way." The big cat glanced upward at the sky and shuddered. "Big wings. Big wings come!"
Dragons? I thought I might hear their wing beats.
I grabbed Adrian's arm and began to move away as quickly as we could. We both limped, but we made good time. By now the storm had grown, of course. All the damned magic in the air sent peals of thunder and flashes of lighting every other heartbeat. The storm would get much worse tonight. Snow began to fall, thicker with each step we took.
I glanced back once, and saw Tamerlane staring at the sky and with fear in his face I hadn't seen there before.
The big wings were not his friends -- but I couldn't count them as my allies. I didn't know the reason these dragons might be here. I didn't think this was the time to stop and try to talk to them, either.
Tamerlane shouted, his riders surrounding him -- a very worried man, looking for protection in numbers. Someone threw Aletta over a saddle. She didn't appear to be conscious.
Good.
We disappeared over a hillock, and into a ravine. I felt too rattled to keep the snow solid, and we left tracks a blind Pekingese could follow. The wind and the snow helped, though. And I thought the others might be having troubles of their own. I could hear yelling, even at this distance.
I could hear the beat of wings, there in the snow. Definitely more than one creature. I saw Adrian glance up, his eyes gone wide -- and I saw two enormous shapes, gliding through the snow trailing magic where they passed.
"Honey," he whispered.
Hell. Had we seen a transformed dragon at the hotel? Hell.
The dragons didn't come for us.
The bobcat sat at the top of the next rise, waiting impatiently while we struggled upward. I stopped, took several deep breaths, and spread some magic behind us. I tried to find Cato and Shakespeare, but I could sense nothing but Tamerlane and his people -- and huge pools of magic gliding down at them.
Maybe the dragons would solve my problem, though I couldn't even be certain the dragons were his enemies. I'd read a lot about dragons, and even their fae allies took precautions when meeting them. Dragons held a logic all their own.
I suddenly thought I might understand some of the problems I'd been having, too. Those massive waves of rolling magic could well have been dragons coming through The Edge. They might even be part of the reason it kept moving. They held powers we fae never fully understood.
We went on, sliding into another ravine and rushing across a stream frozen beneath the covering of snow. We followed no trail, and we weren't heading to town. I began to think I should protest, but at least the bobcat led us away from the trouble.
We climbed another hillside which proved difficult, though near the top we found a wide ledge blown free of snow and a small-mouthed cave. The bobcat urged us inside, batting her head against my legs.
"Go, go!" She cast a wary glance at the sky. "Go in. Warm. Safe."
Adrian said nothing -- probably so he wouldn't upset the large cat the way he had Snow. I nodded. Getting out of the cold, and out of sight, would be a good idea. I would have preferred to be in town, but no one would find me here.
Adrian pushed his pack in and crawled in first and I followed, with the bobcat at my feet, making anxious sounds. I soon found out why. Two little ones hissed and growled when they saw us, but settled as soon as their mother appeared. We settled as far to the side was we could, Adrian moving the invisible sword so I could lean close to him.
"My human can speak cat," I told her as Adrian and I leaned against the wall opposite where she settled with her two kittens. "I hope this will not bother you, my friend."
"A human who speaks?" Her head lifted and stared at him, her eyes catching the light of the open cavern. "How interesting."
"I hope I don't offend you," Adrian said, bowing his head to her.
"You behave well for a human."
Adrian gave her another polite nod, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitch in a little smile.
We had survived.
Sitting still and resting helped until I considered what had almost happened. My hand found Adrian's and I probably held on too tightly.
"You saved -- not just me, but everything. They were using me to open a door to fae, a door which would stay open forever with me trapped in the middle."
"I didn't know what they were doing, but I knew it wasn't good. But Cato -- Cato said you'd rather be dead than let them use you for something evil."
"He was right," I answered. I laid my head on his shoulder. "But I'm glad I didn't die. I'm glad to be here with you."
"We had to think fast. I remembered how you had shorted the alarms at the library, and how magic and technology didn't mix. We can't let Tamerlane take you again." Adrian took my chin in his fingers and gently lifted my face so I looked into his eyes. "You can't be at risk --"
"I can't hide. If I hide, they'll just find another way. They could lure another fae over, eventually. I, at least, know what they plan, Adrian. And this is my work. This is why I'm here. I have to do what I can to stop them."
He nodded and let my head rest against his shoulder.
"Sleep for a while. I don't think we're going to have a chance to rest again soon."
I nodded and lowered my head. He wrapped his arm around me, and I felt movement in my jacket, followed by the inevitable tickle as Gaylord worked his way up to the collar.
"Hey where are we? Did I miss something?"
I almost choked trying not to laugh.
The bobcat turned our way. Her ears flickered and her eyes narrowed to golden spots of light in the dark.
"Nice little bird," she said in a soft, near purr.
Gaylord saw her and ducked back into the jacket, burrowing deep into the pocket.
A very nice and wise little bird.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The storm didn't last for as long as I expected, given the amount of magic we had used. The snow fell in fits and starts, and the wind dropped to a gentle breeze long before the sun disappeared over the mountains. Perhaps there wasn't enough moisture left in the air to create more snow. I could hope for such a simple, natural answer, and not find the magic had pooled somewhere and all hell would break lose at the worst possible time.
Perhaps I was getting a bit too pessimistic.
Or maybe I was finally becoming a realist.
I sat, still nestled in Adrian's hold as he kept watch. We had shared food from the pack with the bobcat and her kittens. The night felt calm and quiet. I could feel everything coming together . . . though it might be preparing for the end of the world.
I fell asleep and awoke to the sound of a hiss, and the whisper of snow moving on the ledge outside, as though with a sudden breeze. I sat up, blinking, and put a hand on Adrian's arm. Something --
I heard the steady beat of wings. One, two, one two -- and shadows passed over the ledge.
And returned.
The dragon landed with a scratch of claws on stone and the tumble of rock shifting under the huge weight. Magic swept over me so fast my head swam. I could only see the tip of a wing, sky blue and glowing like water and ice. A talon moved, the tail wrapped forward -- and the shape changed to a human in a long cloak. I knew, beyond a doubt, what we had seen in the hotel.
"I would speak with you this time," a woman's voice said, lovely and compelling, the words like music in the chill night air.
I pulled away from Adrian, signaling him to stay put. He wanted to argue, but he obeyed.
I crawled out of the cave and stood. A person cannot help but feel dowdy and dirty in the face of something so magnificent. Even in human form, she held grace and air, diamonds and magic, and the world sang around her. I bowed my head to her.
"Look upon me, fae." She held magic even in her voice. I obeyed. I might not have had a choice, but I don't like to consider those things. "
You are the one who must win this battle."
"I'm doing my best." I feared it sounded as though I was whining.
She nodded and her long hair moved. The strands were as dark as the cloak she wore, and I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. Her jade green eyes caught the light of the moon or more likely shown on their own power. They could look through a soul, I thought. I might have preferred her in dragon form.
"Who are you?" I dared to ask.
"We are the East and the West, and the ones who ruled the world before the usurpers came. Timur the Lame is not the first such human, but he took something precious we had put in the hands of others who well served us --"
"The Golden Horde." I remembered watching him lift the small golden bowl with the dragon handles. Of course the moment started a legend, linking him back to real dragons.
"Yes. We do not wish for him to have such a myth again, not in this mock form. We sent you such warning as we could through the fine gray bird and only dared come closer after technology began to fail. We gave the bird the words of a myth about this Tamerlane."
And that explained Shakespeare. It made sense they used a poem -- Dragons loved such things. "Thank you. Once I realized he was telling me about a myth and a man, I was able to find the link." I didn't say how long I had taken to figure out the problem, but she probably knew already. She didn't berate me.
"We have done what we can to unsettle Timur the Lame and his army. We have tried to remove the fae, Aletta -- but she is protected by greater magics than come from her own powers."
"Why did you go to the hotel?"
"To lead you there, of course. To see this human for myself, the one you keep hidden in the cave. I wanted to see him among other humans, and judge his actions -- but he found me out too soon. He walked with the others, and we did not trust him. I saw his soul, though, however briefly. He is free of their hold. With him, you will defeat Aletta and Tamerlane."
I nodded. "I'll do my best to stop him. I want him to go back where he can live as a myth and do no harm to this world."
"So it should be."
"Why are you here?"
"If you fail, we shall make certain he cannot survive here."
I thought that might not be so bad -- and then I thought again. Dragon didn't often do things in delicate measures. The work they had done with Shakespeare had been extraordinary, and something I had never heard happening before. They were big and expansive, and they did not act by small measures.
I worried about what they would do to end this trouble. Making certain Tamerlane didn't survive might mean pulling down the mountains and burying us all.
"You understand quite well," she said. I shivered, both because she could read my mind and because she didn't disagree with my assessment of the problem. "This is our nature. We are big in body and magic, and we do not act in the same delicacy as the fae. We settle things permanently. I do not wish to do so here, but we will act, rather than have this link made between the two worlds which would change and destroy both, eventually. He cannot succeed. Go now. Fix this."
She spread her arms out, and the cloak grew. I leapt to the opening and flattened myself there as I watched her change from beautiful human to exquisite dragon. She looked at me with the same jade green eyes and blinked, nodded, and reached out with a huge talon to touch me over the heart.
Magic. Magic like I had never known before coursed through my body. The power healed, gave me strength, and gave me the chance to do this right. I bowed my head with tears of gratitude. We had a chance. We might yet survive this. Along with the magic, she gave me hope I had not had until now.
She turned and pushed off from the ledge and glided out over the trees below. Her companion swept down and joined her -- a golden dragon, glittering in the moonlight.
Adrian came out of the cave and stood beside me, watching as they flew away. I took Adrian's hand, silent and listening long after the big wings disappeared.
"We have to go now," I said, my voice calm and certain. I would not let the dragons make the final choice on what happened. They had given me fair warning. She had given me strength. I had to do the rest.
Adrian didn't argue. He crawled back in and grabbed his pack, and we said farewell to the bobcat and her kittens. I wished them well in the world, and hoped the world would still be there in the morning.
We started down the hillside. Far off in the distance I could see a lovely glow of blues and greens. "We're going back to The Edge," I told Adrian.
"I know. I always knew we would." He seemed remarkably serene and calm. I didn't think a human who had seen such a creature would feel that way -- but Adrian had seen a lot lately.
I savored this hike tonight. I didn't feel as though we rushed off to fight another battle for which I was not prepared. I didn't feel as though the world would end tonight -- though I knew we might never see the dawn. I accepted the peace of the moment and prepared to face whatever trouble came next.
"I think I know why some of the oriental philosophers were always so sedate and their words so calming," I said at last. "I think the dragons were always close to them."
Adrian nodded and frowned a little. "Should we be more . . . I don't know . . ."
"Panicked?" I laughed at his emphatic nod. "I don't think panicked would help now, Adrian. I think we will either win or we won't. We need clear thoughts."
"And what are you thinking?" he finally asked.
"I need help because I will never have the power to defeat an entire army and Aletta. I can't use the cats and birds again because Aletta will have a spell ready to use against them."
"So what will we do?" he asked.
"You'll stand guard, and I'll open a door to fae and call for help."
Adrian stopped and looked at me, worry in his face. "Opening a door could help Aletta, right?"
"Maybe. Adrian, I don't have the ability to stop her. But I have friends and relatives who can if I can force a call through to them. I don't know what's going on in the fae world, but I have to believe if they knew the seriousness of this trouble, they would come."
"I heard the dragon. We don't have much choice in what we do now, do we?"
"Very little. I have to act as quickly as possible. I have to get us what help I can."
He nodded and didn't argue with me.
I loved this human who stood by my side, who understood the weight of my decisions, and who accepted that I did the best I could. I'd known others who would have wanted to argue with me -- fae and human, men and women -- just prove themselves, whether wisely or not. I was lucky to have such a companion.
We climbed one hill and I could see the double sphere off in the distance. The expanse of golden sand had grown wide between one wall and the next. Most of a mountain had disappeared, turning from snowcapped and high, to a wide desolate waste of weed and sand. I thought I could see the sphere moving inward more quickly now.
"Not much time," Adrian whispered.
So we walked faster.
Chapter Twenty-Four
We found Tamerlane's army camped before The Edge, obviously intending to keep me away. I could see Timur and Aletta seated around a campfire -- a normal one, no magic there -- with the magic glittering and dangerous at their back.
Too close. I had expected them to move away again, in hopes of luring me in.
I would never reach The Edge and open a door before they could stop me. The plan I had carefully worked out in detail during the long hike dissolved at the sight of those below.
The usual panic didn't follow. Instead, I took hold of Adrian's arm and we both slid into the shadows. I thought Aletta might detect me this close, but apparently the overpowering magic of The Edge blinded her to my own presence.
Riders moved here and there along the trail, patrolling and watching for trouble, so we moved into a little ravine and took shelter below a fallen pine. Animals had lived here for a while, but they'd probably gone as soon as the magic came so close.
"What
can we do?" Adrian asked softly.
"I think I can scare them," I replied. He looked surprised, but pleased. I bit at my lip, trying to think the idea through. We didn't have much time. "I'm not sure it's wise, what I am going to do -- but we have little time and I don't think we have a chance to search for wisdom."
"What do you need from me?"
"To watch and guard while I get the door open. I'll give you a shield against Aletta's magic, but my power might not hold her back for long."
He didn't ask for more.
I took a few quiet moments to work the magic out in my mind, to form an image I wanted and feed magic into the shape, until I thought the spell would burst from my head. I didn't let go. I took Adrian's hand let him lead as we returned to the hill overlooking the camp.
I turned towards the moon, a glow of light behind the clouds, and I let the magic slip from me and up and up -- and the magic formed into a shape dancing in the light . . . flapped huge, blue wings --
Shouts of fear erupted from the scene below. I knelt in the snow by Adrian and watched the army abandon their camp, race for horses and weapons -- chaos as the image of the dragon glided towards them. I forced the semblance low -- but not too low. They would see through the spell. Back up again, and curving around in the clouds --
Tamerlane and Aletta quickly scrambled to a horse. He grabbed a crossbow, and if he tried to shoot the dragon, he'd realize the secret. However, the horses had taken up the fear of the humans, moving so erratically that he could barely hold on, let alone aim.
I patted Adrian on the hand, and gave him a shield of magic just before we slipped over the hillock and across the snow. We had no shadows to hide us, but no one looked at The Edge as they watched the dragon, expecting an attack.
I reached the area where The Edge tapered off into the real world. I had to go farther along the line to find a stable spot, and there I quickly began my work. I heard Aletta give a cry of anger and glanced back to see her waving towards me. Tamerlane shouted, and horsemen turned and galloped our way. Adrian drew his sword --
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