Chapter 18
Jayf pulled the brush-disguised door shut and Kestrel stumbled against the wall as the light from outside blinked out. “One moment, hawkling, while I light a torch. We sometimes forget that few of the races have the night sight of a dragonkin or Vortryl. It is not the same as night vision most…” The dragonkin stopped mid-sentence when Marley’s hand reached for the torch with a shake of his head.
Shadows trembled on the walls as fire bloomed at the end of the torch and Marley handed it back to Jayf. The dragonkin led them into a cavern tucked away a couple of turns off the main tunnel. Shelves and stone niches covered its walls. Boxes and barrels sat in haphazard piles at the back and, from behind that pile, Glyf stepped.
Her large eyes, swirls of amber and green, held the shadows of terrible grief. Still, deep within, the runesmith sensed there sparked the optimistic hope she’d always carried like a banner. Marley dropped his pack next to Jayf and strode forward, enfolding the petite hatchling in a hug.
“Oh, my,” Kestrel gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, a blush covering the rest of her face as the runesmith released Glyf. “You are so delicate and lovely,” the clan girl finished.
Jayf chuckled, and the tension dispelled.
Marley smiled at Kestrel, waving her forward to meet Glyf. His plans for a safe harbor for the girl, under Hefldeep’s care, ended with the brutal attack on the port city. The ramifications of first Moira’s death and now the destruction here in Windy Cove forced him to look farther afield.
His gaze shifted from Kestrel to Glyf as he introduced her to the hatchling. The possibility of taking not only Jayf but also the clan girl with him to Ymarii’s mountain loomed at the back of his mind. Still, he was not ready to broach the subject with the dragonkin, at least not yet.
Kestrel stepped forward with a slight bow. “I am honored to meet Ymarii’s daughter.”
Glyf’s smile lit her face. “In a different time, I would greet you with joy and…” She stopped and, tilting her head, studied the young clan girl for a moment, but with a shake of her head continued. “Alas, the fates have not given us such a time.”
“Come,” she said, turning to Marley. “We need a healer.”
Marley didn’t remember Glyf’s nature being so bold. But then, even by dragonkin standards, it’d been a long time since last they saw each other. He followed the hatchling as she trotted behind the piles of boxes, her voice trailing.
“I found Thysl in the Cove’s community cavern, buried beneath rubble from the great hearth.”
“Has he regained consciousness?” Marley asked, pulling his pouch of runes from his belt.
Glyf shook her head. “I removed the stones from his body and did what I could to clean the visible wounds and make him comfortable.” She glanced over at Jayf and smiled and Marley could have sworn his partner changed color.
“Jayf appeared just as I finished and so did Zeph. We fashioned a pallet and, dragging it behind us, moved him here.”
Glad Zeph was accounted for, Marley knelt beside the makeshift bed. Immediately, the silver collar drew his attention. “I think I can at least help him with his newly acquired necklace.” He reached inside his cloak to his just-in-case pocket and pulled out the key that unlocked the collar Jayf wore not long ago.
“Do you think it will work on a different collar?” Kestrel asked, watching from the end of the pallet.
Marley glanced up at her and smiled. “Stands to reason the lock and key would be identical. Looks like they used these to keep the dragonkin from escaping. Pfft, they made a mold for these,” he said as the key clicked into the lock and the collar sprang open. “The question is, how did they subdue so many long enough to collar them.”
He handed the collar to Kestrel after both Glyf and Jayf refused to touch it. “Hold on to this while I help Thysl.” He studied her for a moment and added, “Why don’t you examine it? I’d like to know your opinion of what kind of weaving they used, what you sense about it.” He gave her a wink. “Just don’t put it on.”
The runesmith turned back to the unconscious kith. He ran his hands just above Thysl’s still form and then fished around in his pouch, searching for his last two healing stones. The first, a piece of blue granite, was meant for purely physical wounds. The other, an oval of jade, healed wounds both of a physical and ethereal nature.
He studied them for a few moments and then, looking at Thysl, slipped the jade stone back into his pouch. Marley didn’t sense any spiritual damage. He frowned. He did sense the essence the dragonkin put off when in dragon sleep. And he wondered if that was what saved him.
Quietly, he named the rune and the stone flared a brilliant blue as it crumbled to a cloud of fine dust in his hand. The runesmith let it sift through his fingers to settle onto Thysl’s motionless form.
“Now,” Marley said, looking up from his patient. “I suggest we let Thysl finish his dragon sleep and mend.”
Jayf and Glyf looked at each other in alarm. Marley knew they spoke together in mind-speak. And confusion colored her tone when Glyf finally turned to him, asking.
“Neither Jayf nor I sensed the sleep being on him, why not?”
Marley rose and moved out from behind the makeshift wall and waited for them to follow before he spoke. He glanced at Kestrel. She still held the collar, but she no longer examined it.
“I suspect these collars hold the answer. Kestrel, did you sense or feel anything about them?”
She shivered, shaking her head, and handed the collar back to the runesmith. “It is like what I sensed back at the Inn in Four Corners, but not.” Kestrel turned to Jayf. “Could it be akin to one of those spirit stones?”
Jayf’s eyes were slow, soft swirls of thought as he wandered back to stare down at the unconscious Thysl. “A spirit stone contains the captured spirit of an elemental or espaire and is used to do the bidding of its master until the spirit is completely and utterly extinguished. I don’t…”
His head snapped up, realization lit his eyes. “I don’t know why I didn’t recognize it before when I wore one. Like I said then, this collar is anathema. It builds a wall between the kith and kin and the Paths. It is as if the Paths don’t recognize the elementals. If they are in dragon sleep when the collar is put on, I think their spirit becomes trapped in that place between here and there.
“So you are saying the collar works by confining the elemental’s spirit,” Marley groaned. “And that means a minjinjae has infiltrated if not taken over the academy.”
Glyf and Jayf nodded and Glyf said, “You speak truth. Hefldeep said there was one of the minjinjae on the ship.”
“This news connects the rumblings of trouble coming out of Sedd to those responsible for the Wista Wars of three centuries ago.” Marley sighed and tried to massage the knotted muscles in his neck. He needed to get this information out as soon as possible, but for now, waiting for Thysl to awaken and tell his tale was all he could do.
He smiled at his friends, glad the fates saw fit to spare them. “Come, let us sit, eat and rest. Then we can talk and plan.” Marley picked up the bags he dropped earlier and they all got busy setting up a place to spend the night.
Soon they sat at a makeshift table eating a tasty stew with hunks of the clan’s dark travel bread. Kestrel smiled, proud of how well she fell into working with Marley and the dragonkin. She listened as Marley quizzed Jayf and Glyf about what they found.
When their talk turned to travel plans and the Bitterun Mountains, the thought of going that far away from the clans and the horses stopped her. She listened for some mention of her part in their plans and soon felt as though she’d disappeared. Exhausted and distraught, she longed for the quiet of the night and the comfort of the familiar.
When she popped up from her seat at the table, all eyes followed her, their voices cut off by her abrupt movement. “I am going to check on the horses if you need me,” she said, biting her lip and wondering why embarrassment claimed her over the least little thing.
“That’s a good idea, Kestrel. We will need to decide what to do about the horses, Little Hawk, but for tonight, let us all be glad we’ve made it this far,” Marley said, seated next to Kestrel’s empty seat.
Concerned flickered in his eyes and he reached out with a comforting and somewhat awkward pat on the arm. Kestrel smiled down at him, thankful for his friendship. But neither he nor Jayf could give her what she needed right now.
“I’ll be back soon. May I take the extra torch?
“Indeed, you may remember to douse it before leaving the tunnel.” Jayf scurried to the supplies, retrieved a torch, and then lit it with the torch he held before handing it to Kestrel. “Would you like company?”
“If you don’t mind, I want to go alone.”
She headed for the entrance, relieved they didn’t force their company on her. Although she sensed their eyes briefly upon her back, before she entered the tunnel, the murmur of their voices again filled the room.
Glad she paid attention to the way in, Kestrel tried not to look right or left as she passed the holes of darkness where corridors joined or crossed her path. Her skin tingled and almost itched. She wondered if it was from the spent essence or spent lives and shivered. There was a deep heaviness here, and she longed to see the stars.
When she stood at the hidden entrance, she found a bucket of sand next to it, just as Jayf promised. After dousing the torch, she slipped out the door. She breathed in the night air, not ready to think, just wanting to be for a little while.
Flitting from behind one tree to the next, Kestrel practiced the skills she knew. She stopped beneath a blooming Lumalia tree. The scent, heady even in the cool night air, soothed her frayed nerves with its familiar fragrance.
Behind her, the soft nicker of horses signaled the animal pens were near and she was recognized. Content to stand looking up through the tree’s new foliage, Kestrel watched the sky. Tears formed unbidden and traced a wet curve from eye to ear as she pondered the strange and cruel twists her life had taken.
Her ability to sense the Yanzul’s presence felt almost natural to her now and she turned toward the sheltered glen. Close by, the creature settled in the lush grass. Kestrel wiped the tears away with the heels of her hands and stepped forward.
She tilted her head and waited for the Yanzul’s mind touch. That touch had disappeared earlier, as they drew near Windy Cove. Only now did Kestrel realize this disappearance was the reason behind her increasingly restless state.
A great evil happened here this day. The very essence of this place cries out.
Still uncomfortable communicating without speech, Kestrel backed up a bit. Although determined to hear the owly creature’s message, confusion and doubts buzzed around in her head like flies on a midden pile. They choked her voice and filled her mind with chagrin. So many things had happened so quickly. How could she know she walked a true path?
Peace, child, your turmoil rages. Only when you focus your mind and calm your spirit, will you be able to see beyond the obstacles and glide over them… successfully.
“I am useless here. I am too young to be the help they need. And I am dangerous to them. I don’t understand what is happening to me. I sense things and know things, but do not know how to use this knowledge. If I could figure out how… I think… I could reach out and touch the essence of everything around me. Yet there will come moments when the essence or something calls and without even realizing it, I will reach out, and then it always seems like bad things happen.” Kestrel bit her lip, blinking back tears.
She wasn’t sure the Yanzul could relate, but her large round eyes slowly blinked and the gold disappeared in black for a moment. The creature’s mind-speak, when she opened her eyes, held a tender aspect.
Hear me, Kestrel Thorn, for it is time you are formally given my name and the message I bear. The ruff of silver-edged black feathers about her face fluffed out full.
Kestrel stood completely still, her eyes closed, her breath caught in her throat. She felt her life path shift again, but this time she sensed this was a true path… like going home. With a sigh and a nod, she opened her mind and allowed the connection to complete. She let out a small gasp of delight at the closeness and comfort and warmth she experienced.
My true name is Veloz’Kissa’Ruhcan, but for common use, I am called Sirrsi. I was born deep within the Rhoaddyn Mountains in the month of Mierintet beneath a full Raisha moon, the hunter’s moon.
A shiver slid through Kestrel’s body. The words like the echo of memory tucked so far back in her mind that its images set in motion a resonance within her that spoke its truth to her heart.
I am Kestrel. I don’t know who my parents were or when or where I was born. A hunting party from Dondorian Thorn-wolf’s clan found me in the wreckage of a wagon. The only clues to my identity or origin lay in a small crystal hand pipe clutched in my hand and an intricately painted silk scarf tied about my shoulders like a cloak. I remember my parents were very sick and angry at my Nana and… and that is all I remember.
Kestrel sighed, glad to at last tell someone, even if it was a talking to a strange owly creature in the middle of the night, in an unknown territory just ransacked by a vicious enemy and the conversation happened completely in her mind. Kestrel chuckled, feeling embarrassed and a bit awkward as she stood staring into Sirrsi’s golden eyes.
We have much to learn from each other. When your spirit began to recognize the Tavir, it called to me. I sensed your heritage and went first to Urilith, the head of the Al’far Conclave, for he and I have long known each other and I requested his counsel. Then, before I left to search, he gave me a message and an invitation for you.
Kestrel sat next to the Yanzul in the sweet kalayani grass. The woods a whispered cacophony of night music and the sky above a glittering field of unwept tears. “I am ready for the message,” she said, her voice jarring in her ears.
Peace Kestrel Thorn, Urilith, Prelate for the Al’far Conclave, and High Mediator of the Espiare Council offers you a place of sanctuary and learning with him as your mentor should the Fates dictate such a need.
Contemplating Sirrsi’s words, Kestrel twirled a blade of grass in her fingers. The thought of leaving Marley and Jayf was frightening. Although their friendship encompassed only a few days, they shared a connection to her mother and the clans. Leaving them seemed like she turned her back on the clans.
The offer added more questions than it answered. But she realized things had gone from deadly and dangerous to perilous and grim. And she was the extra weight that might prove lethal. Then a thought struck her. If she learned to weave the Tavir and what gifts and talent she possessed, perhaps she could be of help.
I will listen and talk to Marley and Jayf about it. Kestrel pulled her cloak about her as the cool night air settled into the woods. She moved over to sit closer to Sirrsi, happy that the owl-headed creature had the warm furry body of a giant black moor cat.
“Where is this sanctuary?”
Sirrsi rolled to her side a little and angled herself to shelter the girl. Deep within the Rhoaddyn Mountains lies Silverstone Vale and deep within Silverstone Vale sits the village of Legacy, a bastion and sanctuary to a people eternally balanced on the edge of never and forever.
Kestrel stroked Sirrsi’s paw and wondered if the Yanzul would forever speak in riddles. The Yanzul startled her a few moments later as she began to purr and Kestrel, a little disconcerted, turned to ponder the anatomy needed to allow a bird to purr.
A mental shrug and chuckle from Sirrsi reminded Kestrel how much more than an animal or pet the Yanzul was.
We are each what we are and hopefully, we will be strengthened by our fellowship. I look forward to growing with you, Kestrel Thorn.
“Can you still communicate with him?”
Urilith? No, when I gave my name to you, I became unable to mind-speak any but you and some elemental creatures such as Jayf.
“I am sorry I don’t have a special name or something to give you.”
Perhaps as you grow, you will find your special name and then you can give it to me.
“How will this Urilith know if I accept his invitation?”
My communications with him will stop, so by dawn on the morrow, he will be certain we have bonded.
Kestrel took a deep breath and hoped she made the right choice. “How will we get there?”
We will fly mostly if my wings remain strong and the wind gives its blessing.
Kestrel got up from where she sat, brushing herself off, the damp of the evening seeping into her britches. She tilted her head to one side, studying the large strongly muscled body of the Yanzul.
“You may be equipped to fly, but I fear it is not so for me and although you are certainly strong, for you to carry me that far would surely cause you grave injury.”
Sirrsi’s head swiveled around, so she looked back at her body. She fluffed her wings and ruff out to full. Kestrel stepped back and waited for Sirrsi to stop preening.
You are but a bit of a girl. I would have no trouble carrying you to Raisha and back.
Kestrel chuckled; picturing herself flying to the moon on the Yanzul’s back and wondered if that was possible. The nicker of a horse reminded her of where they were and what still needed to be done this night. She wanted more than anything to explore the connection between herself and Sirrsi, but she needed to do what she told the others she would do.
“I will let you know when I am ready to leave. I still must consider what Marley and Jayf have to say.” Kestrel headed toward the animal enclosure, shaking out the bottom of her cloak as she walked.
“What we have to say about what?” Marley asked out of the dark, his voice startling Kestrel. She turned, scanning the shadows until she saw the ripple of movement as he came from beneath the drooping pines.
“Sorry if I… if I made you bolt there, young one. Was just worryin’ about you… the way you left.” Marley cleared his throat. “Need any help with the horses?”
“Yes, yes, I believe I could use the help, and we can talk…”