Enemy Known

by Butler, J. M.

  Shon set his jaw. "My brother's right. We aren't leaving without the bruins."

  "Your brother is an idiot. My brother is not carrying two Awdawms and three bruins on his back," WroOth said.

  AaQar muttered something under his breath and stretched his arms out. He shifted, lengthening and expanding into the silver river dragon once more. His scales shimmered under the moonlight.

  Matthu moved closer to the bruins as if that would protect them. "Well, we can't just abandon them!"

  "You two are the ones wanting to move us," Shon said. There was no way that they could gather the weapon and meet up with the Machat again without the bruins. "You can't just drop us on the other side of the mountain without our supplies and transportation."

  "Actually we can." WroOth rolled his eyes.

  AaQar rolled his eyes. "WroOth." He slid down into the river. The water lapped against the muddy shore. "These beasts are only carrying pack supplies it seems, but doublecheck. If there's anything you don't like, get rid of it. Take the bruins to the end of the Silktam on the other side of the mountain. Tie them near the river so they can eat and drink. Don't worry about their scent. Naatos won't notice them, and if he sees you carrying bruins, that's easy enough to explain. As for you, Awdawms, we'll be taking a slighter longer but safer journey. You can untie your bruins once we reach the other side. Another argument out of you two, and you will be unconscious for the trip."

  Shon nodded. He motioned for Matthu to come. Perhaps this was Elonumato's way of creating a path for them. He returned his arrow to its quiver.

  Matthu lingered before at last lowering his javelin. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked under his breath.

  "We'll make the most of it." Shon looked back at AaQar, uncertain how one rode a river dragon.

  "Step on. And speak of this to no one." AaQar lowered the majority of his body into the water, leaving only the top of his back and head exposed.

  According to legend, Vawtrians did not allow people to ride them except in special circumstances. Apparently this was one of them.

  Shon jumped onto AaQar's back and sat slowly. The cold water seeped into his boots and trousers. He grimaced as it soaked through his socks and left his feet cold. Balancing on AaQar in this form felt like standing on a firm muscular mattress.

  Matthu jumped on beside him. Slipping, he grabbed hold of Shon's shoulders. "Slick," he muttered.

  WroOth walked alongside one of the bruins. He motioned to the left. "Delorme, bruin to the left." The bear remained in its place. "Delorme, bruin. Move along now. Stand next to your comrade." The bear snuffled at him and then returned to eating crushed berries in the grass. "Come along now, old girl. Let's move." He tapped her on the shoulder. The bruin reared up on its hind legs, growling but reaching out as if to hug him. WroOth frowned, stepping back. "I'm not going to hug you. Get over there with your comrades."

  "All our bruins do that," Matthu said. He readjusted his position, setting his javelin across his lap. "Tap them on the right shoulder and they stand on their hindlegs. All Libyshan bruins are trained that way when they're cubs. Even the free-range bruins. It's a game we play with them when we're little. You tap them on the shoulder, they stand, and then you hug them. Then when they're big enough, you put your arms around their necks and hug them so they can carry you. It's like hide and seek but with bears."

  "How charming," WroOth said, returning his attention to the bears. "Now move, you two, or I will make you."

  Shon shook his head, a half-smile twitching at his lips.

  AaQar swam down the river. The currents of water lapped against him, the fine mist occasionally spraying up. Shon placed his hands on his knees. He looked back over his shoulder, his gaze lingering on the dark forest. Amelia was out there somewhere. Elonumato be with you, he thought. Some of the darkness seemed to have lifted. At least now they would reach the other side of the mountain and be prepared for the attack sooner than anticipated.

  Whatever was happening in two days, Shon knew he would have Amelia back before the end.

  25

  Surprise

  Amelia held her breath as she stared up into the sky. The rush of dragon wings sounded again. The second whoosh was even farther away. Amelia slowly released her breath, counting to five. Another whoosh of the dragon wings, even farther away. Her fingers dug into the bark as she scrambled back up into the tree. Reaching the top, Amelia caught sight of a red fire dragon.

  WroOth.

  The trees ended at a clearing along a large river that curved out of sight, cutting closer to the forest than her view allowed. The Silktam, most likely. That sounded right but she could not be sure.

  Amelia frowned. What is WroOth doing? Maybe the scent of the cinnamon pepper spice had sent him too far. Not that she wanted him to catch her, but the wind wasn't moving that way.

  WroOth soared past the river and swung around. He was even more terrifying with his broad red wings and smoke-seething jaws silhouetted against the moon. Then, without warning, he shifted back into his state of rest, disappearing beneath the tree line closest to her.

  Amelia swung down from the tree. He must be coming after her on foot. Great!

  Grabbing another handful of the potent spice, she blew it around the circle and ran. The moon was at least another hour or so from being cradled in the double crescent on the mountain.

  Every fiber of her body screamed for her to be careful. The crisp air in her lungs brought clarity to her mind. She wove between the trees and made a few false trails. With every twig snap and rustle in the bushes, her heart clenched. But there were no other signs of pursuit. Each time she paused to listen, she heard nothing beyond the soft chirping of cicadas, the whisper of leaves, and the thrumming of autumn peepers.

  Very strange. It wasn't good that WroOth had become so quiet. She continued on farther into the forest, craning her neck to catch any hint of WroOth. She soon reached the edge of the forest once more. Through the trees on her left she glimpsed the long, snaking river. To her right were more trees. If there wasn’t a possibility that AaQar would be in that river, she might have risked swimming across it to the welcoming shelter of the dense brush and the lower side of the mountain. With all of the false trails she had set up in this forest, they might go in circles for hours. Perhaps if there was a narrower point she could slip through.

  Amelia glanced at the cloud-covered moon. All was dark now. No hint of any of the Vawtrians. Not even a warning in her mind or running along her back and neck.

  She moved away from the riverbank. The branches and shrubs pulled at her as she hurried along. At last she entered a clearing and ducked behind a low-limbed thorn tree. She couldn't see the moon any longer. No other brushes from the psychic stones or indications from her elmis gave her any warnings. Only an uncomfortable sensation that something had gone wrong.

  Where had WroOth gone? Where was Naatos? AaQar?

  Amelia remained still, measuring her breaths and watching. The wind picked up again. The upper branches bent beneath it, smelling like ash and smoke. But it intensified and came from the wrong direction. She tensed, preparing to run.

  The branches overhead erupted in flames as the wind rushed through, blackening the leaves. Amelia sprang forward and to the right.

  To her left, the forest blazed red and orange. WroOth swooped overhead. The rush and flow of fire, smoke, and wind masked the beat of his wings. Amelia barely made it out of the fire's path and to the relative safety of a nearby clearing. If she had been even a few steps closer to the riverbank, she would have surely been trapped in the fire. And it still might catch her.

  Covering her mouth and nose with her cloak, Amelia plunged deeper into the forest. Smoke swelled around her, thick and pungent from the green wood. Deer, skelro, lizards, and more leaped and slithered from the outskirts, clambering up the mountain. A skelro ran alongside her. With a panicked bleat, it cut across, bounding over a crack. The blunt curve of its horn clipped her as it passed.

  Ameli
a fell, clutching her side, barely restraining a cry of pain. She grimaced, rolling onto her back.

  A rabbit jumped over her. Bits of dirt and ash fell on her face. Amelia scrambled back against a tree. With a groan, she touched her side. A buck leaped from behind black-berried brambles. Its hooves clattered against the moss-covered rocks and fallen logs.

  "WroOth, what are you doing?" Naatos bellowed.

  Amelia froze. He was close. Much closer than she expected. Her fingers dug into the tree bark, her palms sweating. Slowly she slid to the ground.

  His voice came to her right. Amelia drew up her hood to protect her head as ash and leaves fell from the crackling and popping tree, hooking the edges of the hood behind her ears to help with her hearing. With her eyes burning, she crawled forward.

  WroOth swooped down. Tree branches cracked beneath him as he cut down into the forest. Amelia ducked again, covering her head. The heat intensified. A branch fell behind her.

  Scrambling forward, Amelia crawled on her hands and knees. She dodged behind another boulder and peered up over it. This was back where she had just been. WroOth continued to crash through the trees. He landed in a small clearing just beyond the fire, a fire, which strangely enough, did not seem to be advancing.

  Naatos stalked toward him, his eyes blazing. "What have you done?"

  WroOth lashed his tail back and forth. It cracked and splintered against the trees, gouging their trunks. "Nothing."

  "Nothing." Naatos gestured to the forest. "You set the river bank on fire! This cursed spice covers almost the entirety of the forest. You cannot know if she was in there."

  Amelia stared in horrified fascination. She had not realized how close Naatos was. There had been no indication. Perhaps he had found some way to avoid the psychic stones? How could he be this clever! At least the fire gave her some protection.

  She glanced around the blazing trees. This had been a highly calculated attack, but it might have been intended to cover something rather than trap. Perhaps it had nothing to do with her at all.

  Wrinkling her nose, Amelia sniffed the air. Even through the smoke, she caught an odd scent. It was as if the fire had been created with chemicals, quite unlike the smell of WroOth's other fiery blasts.

  WroOth shifted to his human form and shrugged, avoiding Naatos's gaze. "I'm sure she isn't. She'd let us know if she was on fire. Give it a few minutes, and this will clear everything up."

  "Why are you covering the riverbanks in fire?"

  Excellent question. Amelia burrowed down between the two rocks, turning her face from the smoke. WroOth did not look like himself at all. An uneasiness hung over him, and Naatos's intensity only worsened it. The fingers on WroOth's right hand twitched.

  "We need Amelia alive, WroOth," Naatos continued. "You of all people should realize this. Have you stopped thinking? Do you suddenly want her dead? Do you think she is fireproof?"

  "It would certainly help if she was." WroOth managed a weak smile. Naatos glared, his eyes narrowing. WroOth cleared his throat. "I wanted to cut her off from the river."

  "Then why not set the river on fire?"

  "Because water doesn't burn."

  WroOth was hiding something. Curiosity nibbled Amelia's mind. What could WroOth possibly be hiding from Naatos?

  "You mastered the elthion storm dragon seventy years ago. You could have set the river on fire. I am not a fool nor is my memory flawed. What game are you playing, WroOth?"

  WroOth snapped his gaze up. His eyes sharpened; they reflected the gold and crimson of the flames. "The game where I leave you to find your viskaro on your own if you do not take more respect when you speak to me. This is my world, and if I choose to burn its forests, that's my choice."

  "Not when my wife is in them!"

  WroOth rolled his eyes. "What are you worried about? It's not as if she'd die silently. Burning alive tends to hurt, brother, and she isn't the silent type. And if she is burning alive, well, you'll get to save her. Otherwise it pushes her back up the mountain and closer to us."

  No. That was partially true but not completely. There was something else. The bitter and sour tendrils spoke clearly of the falsity.

  Amelia pressed her palms out, trying to snag some bit of factual information. It wouldn't be a bad idea to leave, but she needed to know more.

  "So you expect me to believe you have forgotten about death by smoke inhalation?" Naatos said. "Immolation? No. This did not have to do with driving her closer. What are you hiding from me?" Naatos circled WroOth. WroOth turned, keeping his eyes fixed on his brother.

  She couldn't leave. Something within Amelia warned her that whatever secret WroOth held, it needed to be kept. Naatos had to be stopped in this interrogation. No, Amelia thought. This is ludicrous. She closed her eyes and shook her head. But the impulse returned, quiet but stronger now, impossible to ignore. She scowled at her elmis. They had better know what they were talking about.

  WroOth gave a cold laugh and shook his head. "Paranoia does not suit you, brother."

  "No more than lies suit you."

  "Amelia wouldn't have been by the riverbank. She's using that spice to mask her scent, and so she's obviously going to stay in the middle of it. The wind is scattering it, but the water would absorb it. Besides, Elonumato won't let her die."

  "This isn't about that anymore. There is something you are hiding from me."

  Amelia slowly rose to her feet, annoyed with her elmis. Still, she could not ignore them. Pulling back her hood, she refastened her hair and secured all the loose strands as best she could. There was one way she could get Naatos to stop.

  A quick glance at the sky revealed nothing through the treetops and haze now. But from her last estimate, she just had to keep ahead of them for a little less than an hour. Maybe the time was already up. Regardless she'd keep running until she knew for sure.

  She slipped out to a smoother spot. On her left was a sheer drop of about eight feet with a more gradual slope covered in trees. Naatos and WroOth were straight ahead, a little more than fifty feet away.

  "Why would I rely on lies when the truth is much better?" WroOth continued to keep pace with Naatos, keeping his eyes on him.

  "Hey, you two! What are you doing?" Amelia set her hands on her hips, looking from Naatos to WroOth. "I thought this was a chase, but apparently you'd rather fight each other. Which is fine by me, but you could have let me know. I went to all this effort of creating false trails and spreading a special spice combination that I mixed up specifically to foul your noses, but you would apparently rather argue between yourselves."

  A flaming branch crashed to the ground. Sparks flew. Smoke flared up, white and black columns disappearing into the black of the night. Naatos and WroOth stared at her.

  "Well…" WroOth gestured toward Amelia. "As you can see, she is not on fire."

  "For now…" Naatos shot WroOth an annoyed glance. "But there is no guarantee. What you did was reckless and foolish, and there is still the matter of what you are hiding from me."

  "It's really annoying how you talk about me like I'm not here." Amelia folded her arms. The smoke made her blink. "I expect a chase to be exciting…" She let her voice trail off, realizing Naatos had vanished. She looked around. But he wasn't there. All that remained were his footprints.

  WroOth's entire mood had shifted. He cracked his knuckles as he winked at her. "I think it's about to get far more exciting. Best start running, dear heart. Unless you want to get caught."

  Naatos was behind her. Amelia knew it. Had their argument just been a trap? Keep calm, keep calm. She forced a smile. "Not really." The back of her neck tightened. A sharp twinge spasmed across her shoulder and up her neck, warning her. Amelia sprang to the side and off the ledge. With her arms folded, she struck the ground and rolled. Leaves and grass flew up around her. Reaching the bottom, she sprang to her feet.

  Amelia's head spun, the firelight and darkness blurring around her. Adrenaline surged in her veins. But the elmi impulses seemed to have
taken control. She dodged to the left and started to run. Footsteps thudded behind her. Leaves rustled, branches cracked. Wind rushed. Chaos surrounded her.

  Then, all at once, the world snapped into focus again. Amelia didn't know what had happened. All she knew for certain was that she was running deeper and deeper into the forest. She dodged around a trunk, crawled under a fallen tree, and ran around a thorn thicket. To her left, something crashed, snapping branches and eating up the distance. But it didn't overtake her. Something brilliant and glowing snagged her attention. A large snake-like creature with luminescent green scales slithered through the forest.

  WroOth.

  Her elmis recognized him at once. But where was Naatos?

  The realization cut through her. WroOth was distracting or herding her. Naatos had to be ahead or to the right. She stopped, and WroOth shot past.

  Amelia cut to the left, jumped over the long serpent tail, and ran back toward the fire.

  Trees crashed in the forest behind her. Adrenaline surged through Amelia's veins. She wove in and out among the trees, making choices on nothing more than instincts that were supposed to take more time to develop. Yet, right now, they were impossible to ignore. As she ran, she grabbed the last bag of cinnamon and pepper from inside her cloak, flung the contents around, and crawled inside a hollowed log.

  Naatos sprang into the clearing and at once covered his eyes. He grimaced with pain, his breath hissing between his teeth. WroOth slithered in beside him. He shifted back into human form, grimacing and sneezing.

  WroOth rubbed his nose, his eyes watering. "I'm going to ban that spice."

  "Hush." Naatos wiped his eyes and shook his head.

  Amelia held her breath. It was strange to listen to these instincts. She'd always had them, but she had rarely followed them as she did now. Perhaps her mindreading and elmis weren't quite so bad. Holding onto the betrothal necklace, she focused on Naatos and willed him to search in another place.

  "Argh." WroOth sniffed. He began circling the clearing with Naatos and kicked one of the logs.