Survivors: Book 4 Circles of Light series, page 19
‘Land ahead! So. We will anchor there by late afternoon.’
They could see a small dark line low on the horizon which they presumed was the island Kasmi was making for, when Maressa sprang to her feet in the bows. She let out a shriek and to Culinth’s consternation, began jumping up and down, waving her arms wildly. She raced down from the bows towards Sket.
‘Look!’ They heard her yell. ‘The gijan! Leaf! All of them!’
Kasmi’s other two ships were within hailing distance and Gan could see their crews hanging in the ropes and craning over the rails.
The three specks in the sky rapidly closed with the ships, circling above the main masts. Ululating screams overrode the snap of canvas and the hiss of water. Then Leaf landed on the railing, her wings extended for balance as Willow and Piper came down next to her. The crews stared in awe, some falling to their knees when the three gijan hopped down from the rails and swooped upon any member of Gan’s party they could reach, enfolding them with cries of delight.
Seeing the reaction of the ships’ crews to the gijan, Gan crossed the deck to speak to Taseen. The old mage smiled and nodded at Gan’s suggestion. Gan climbed the steps to the pilot house and the shipmaster Kasmi who still stood staring at the three gijan fluttering across his deck.
‘Kasmi, you have to understand something.’
Kasmi forced his gaze up to Gan’s face.
‘These three are indeed true gijan. But they are the first for centuries to develop their wings to become true gijan. They are desperately young Kasmi. We think they are maybe thirteen or fourteen years, and although they carry long memories, they have no Elders to guide them. I think it best that you put word among your crews that while these three are very special and worthy of the respect you show them, they are but children still.’
Kasmi paid close attention to Gan’s words, turning to look down at the deck. But Piper proved Gan’s point: with two beats of her wings she was on the upper deck by the pilot’s house. Small pointed teeth flashed in a smile as she spun before Gan and Kasmi.
‘Do you see my trousers Gan? Leaf’s friend Salma made them for us. Three each and all different.’ Again Piper twirled, the green trousers matching her apple green under feathers.
‘They are wonderful Piper. Salma is the kindest of women and an artist with her stitching.’
Piper trilled a laugh. ‘She will make our robes when we need them.’ And she fluttered from the upper deck across the water to land on the following ship – the one with painted flames licking along its bow.
Kasmi spoke softly. ‘You spoke truth Gan. A child, excited by her new clothes. So. I will tell the crews this. It will be hard for them at first to treat gijan as the children they are.’ He lifted a bare shoulder. ‘We served the Elders when they shared our lands and we have since revered their memory. So. To find they return to us without yet the wisdom of adulthood is a hard thing to accept.’
The ships slowly approached the tiny islet ahead and dropped anchor in a small bay – a flinty crescent of a beach lay a few ship lengths away. Small boats were swung out and empty barrels stowed by the rowers’ knees. Kasmi joined the company watching the boats being hauled half out of the water.
‘We usually spend the night ashore here. It is custom. So. Food is cached here for any ship who might need it. We will check what is there and add some small supplies ourselves.’
The men on shore suddenly shouted in alarm, then fell silent. A silver blue Dragon loomed over the hillier side of the islet, a small figure astride its back.
‘Lady Tika!’ Sket yelled.
The Dragon landed and, with incredible grace, reclined beside the stunned shipmen on shore. Tika slid from Farn’s back, a grin splitting her face in half as she stared out at the ships.
‘How deep is this stars dratted water?’ Sket demanded. ‘I want to get on land. Now.’
‘Too deep to wade through,’ Kasmi warned him and called an order.
Another boat swung out and Sket and Navan were in it before it hit the water.
‘He is anxious to reach the Elder and – another child?’
‘Sket is Lady Tika’s personal guard Kasmi. And Lady Tika is soul bond to that Dragon whose name is Farn.’
Sket splashed into the water without waiting for the boat to be pulled out but was nearly flattened as both Tika and Farn rushed at him. Farn’s eyes flashed sapphire and pearl in excitement.
‘We missed you Sket. It seems ages since we were together.’
Sket’s grin matched Tika’s. He hugged Farn hard and stood back. ‘Not ages Farn, eight days.’
‘Hmm.’ Farn was not confident where numbers were concerned so he made no comment, instead greeting Navan and Gan. Willow landed on the rim of a hauled out boat and they saw he held Khosa in his arms.
‘She scratches,’ Farn began but subsided when both Tika and Sket glared at him.
Most of the crews of Kasmi’s three ships were ashore when Brin, Seela and Storm drifted lazily down from high overhead.
The tiny islet was furred with rough grasses and small, bent shrubs, but it had fresh water. A spring bubbled from the further side of the hill to form a pool barely a man length across. Gan watched a gang of shipmen heaving aside large rocks close to the pool, disclosing a cupboard-like cavity. Small casks within were pulled into the fading sunlight and their contents inspected. Food was remarkably well preserved, wrapped in oiled cloth. Kasmi’s men added a few similar packets, resealed the casks and blocked them away again.
There was no fire making material but the great Dragons obligingly heated round pebbles until they glowed. The three crews and Gan’s company settled round this unusual “fire” for the night. Privately, none of the Dragons understood this human ritual of huddling round fires but they were content to be of assistance. The crews, their officers and Kasmi found it difficult at first to accept Dragon voices within their minds, but by the time full dark had fallen, it didn’t seem quite so strange.
The sea Dragon Storm had shown great delight in finding Navan again and reclined, his chin resting on Navan’s head. Kasmi and many shipmen gathered near them, fascinated as they compared the Dragon’s tales of living with the great seas to their own lives and experience.
‘Why did it take so long for your ships to get to this land? It took us less than half a day to fly,’ Storm asked the men.
‘There are many reefs and irregular currents between all the islands of the whole archipelago. So. We have to chart our course with much care.’ Kasmi grinned. ‘If we could sail in a straight line, it would take perhaps one day.’
Storm’s faceted eyes whirred. ‘I could see some of them,’ he agreed. ‘The water turned in circles and sometimes I could see rocks below.’
‘So. This is why my people pay for Brothers and Sisters of the Wind to journey with us. They will not always agree to join a ship, no matter what rewards are offered. But a ship with such a one is far safer than one without.’
Storm looked across the glowing stones. Maressa and Culinth sat leaning against Brin’s great chest. Seela reclined close by, the three gijan sprawled asleep on her back.
‘Where does Culinth come from?’ asked Navan.
Kasmi exchanged glances with the men and women around him. All shook their heads. A woman replied.
‘No one knows where they are from,’ she said. ‘One morning there will be a Brother or Sister sitting by the docks. Then the shipmasters will approach and speak with them, begging them to join their ships.’ She shrugged. ‘It is said the Brothers and Sisters know which ship will become theirs before any master offers for them. They are friendly enough with the crews they join but they never speak of their lives before.’
An older man spoke up. ‘I heard tell they come from far beyond the northern deserts – but who knows?’
‘I see a similarity though,’ said Kasmi. ‘Culinth’s hands, her feet, her skin. So. She is like to the gijan.’
At first light, Sket and Maressa were rowed back to the Spiral Star to fetch their packs: they, along with Khosa, would continue the journey with the Dragons. The next landfall would be Beffir, whose people were famed for their work with the timber they had in profusion on their large island. Kasmi reckoned two to three days for the ships to reach Beffir after consultation with Culinth. She said there was clear weather to the east while the wind continued steadily from the north west.
As the ships got under way the Dragons flew above them, gradually gaining height. The gijan continued to race through the air, diving and swooping between the ships, occasionally landing on Spiral Star, Star Flame or Eternal Star. During that morning, watching the gijan play, no one could doubt how young they were. Ren and Taseen commented to each other how the crews’ attitude had altered toward the gijan. The awed reverence had subtly changed to a respectful protectiveness. The wind strengthened and the crews made changes to the sails; mystifying to Gan and Ren but already comprehensible to Olam and Riff.
‘Culinth’s people are related to the gijan,’ Taseen confirmed when both Ren and Gan questioned him. ‘Did you not see Culinth surrounded by the gijan last night? The Sister did not seem as surprised by their appearance as one might have expected but then, Wind Sisters have the power of mind speech much more strongly than I. I would therefore surmise they had spoken to her, perhaps even in Harbour City.’
‘This island we approach – will there be any difficulties there?’
Taseen laughed. ‘Surely not Gan. They are not renowned shipmen although they build some of the best ships on these seas and small boats for many. Beffir has long been settled in its ways and its people rarely travel off island themselves.’
‘Seela has kept watch behind us,’ Ren began.
‘As has Khosa,’ Gan interposed. Ren nodded.
‘Neither of them report any mind seeking our whereabouts. But Brin has flown ahead a couple of times and he says there are minds further east which seem to do sweeping searches this way twice a day.’
‘Sheoma spoke to me last night. She said that Chevra has a fleet assembled – many of them the merchant ships he commandeered. He is fitting them to carry armsmen. Sheoma believes it will be twenty days at least before they sail. She suspects quite a few will vanish from the port well before then, slipping off to their home ports. There is no enthusiasm for conflict – Harbour City is a trading City and conflict is not good for trade.’ The old mage sighed. ‘I am unable to far speak Tavri or Sheoma. Would you be able to reach them Ren?’
Ren shook his head slowly. ‘I’ll try, but Maressa is the one to far speak – or Brin or Seela.’
‘And would the Dragons speak to them on my behalf?’
‘Of course. You have only to show them Tavri and Sheoma’s mind signatures and they will find them.’
‘Is that so? You must explain it to me. Clearly our uses of power have diverged greatly since the world was divided.’
Gan braced his long legs against the rail as the ship seemed to buck slightly. ‘This world was divided?’ he queried.
‘I speak of the Time Before, when the Ancient Elders first arrived. Those who would one day become human tribes were still more animal than human then. They lived in dens and burrows and scarcely had the power of speech, let alone thought. But even so, they wandered this world, all over the great land masses at least. There is evidence to suggest that the climate was different then – without the regions of ice far to the north which are well documented in our histories. It would be a small matter for the tribes to move between your land Ren and this one.’
Gan was more concerned with Chevra’s plans. ‘How long to reach Wendla?’ he asked.
‘Kasmi will know better than I but perhaps twenty days.’
‘I’m still not sure what we’re supposed to be going there for. And Grek’s been missing since we left Harbour City five days past. Who is dictating our lives at the moment? I thought we were in Sapphrea to find Rhaki and maybe discover some means of helping Ren deal with the evil in his land. Now, we’re in the middle of the sea heading for an island of which we’d never heard even a whisper. Why? What are we meant to do?’
Ren stared at Gan in surprise. That was the longest speech he’d ever heard from Gan and underlying frustration was very plain in his voice. It was Taseen who replied.
‘I thought you accepted the connections Gan. Far too many coincidences led you and your friends to be here at this particular time. You travelled through the Valley of the Spiral Star, met the strange creature Kertiss and the Ship of the star fields. Now you sail in a ship of the sea, named Spiral Star. I did not know of a fertile valley deep in the great desert but for it to be named thus just cannot be chance. You and your friends have been drawn together and together drawn on.’
‘Fate? Destiny?’ Is that what you’re saying?’ Gan laughed without humour. ‘I do not believe in such things Taseen.’
Taseen regarded the tall thin figure of the Asatarian. ‘Fate or destiny are indefinable philosophical abstracts. I cannot convince you that such things are real. One of the affirmations in the rituals of the Way of the Elder Races states: The land is. The stars are. There is an acceptance there which I think you do not understand or possess my friend.’
Gan frowned. ‘I accept that the land is, and that the stars are.’
‘But the stars are what Gan?’ Taseen asked quietly. ‘From the story the Ship called Star Singer told, the stars are much more than lights in the night sky. Can you say the stars are and accept that you do not know what that truly means?’
Gan stared down at the old mage then turned on his heel and stalked to the bows where he stood, battered by the wind and by his own confused anger.
‘I hadn’t noticed,’ Ren confessed. ‘Gan is an armsman. He is used to action, to command, to making quick decisions. Since we left the coast of Sapphrea we have followed others – guided through the desert, sheltered by the priests from we knew not what and now on ships heading we know not where or why. I think also that Gan dislikes being apart from Tika and the Dragons. Navan at least has become intrigued by Kasmi’s arts of navigation, which occupies him for now.’
‘I have no doubt whatsoever of Gan’s bravery and steadfastness, but I fear his patience has worn thin of a sudden.’ The mage frowned at a thought. ‘You say Gan is not strongly gifted in the mental powers such as you have?’ He waited for Ren’s nod. ‘Would it be possible to affect him – I mean another such as yourself – could you perhaps disturb or upset his usual equilibrium without his knowledge?’
Now Ren frowned. ‘It would be possible yes, but with the Dragons alert for any mind probes as well as myself here how could it happen? There are Culinth and Maressa too.’ He shook his head. ‘It should not be possible without one of us picking up a hint of it.’
‘Could you tell if Gan’s mind had been tampered with?’ asked Taseen.
Ren left his seat beside Taseen and went to stand by the rail. The wind felt suddenly chillier as he stared unseeing at the heaving waves. The wood beneath his hands felt sticky with damp salt and Ren wished fervently that he was back in the Menedula and none of this had happened. He went back to stand beside the mage.
‘I will only do this with Gan’s consent,’ he told him. ‘I think I could do it without him being aware, but that I refuse to do.’
Taseen nodded and held out his hand. ‘Would you be so kind as to help me to the cabin – this wind is proving too cold for my bones.’
As they made their way to the ladder to the lower deck, Taseen tightened his grip on Ren’s arm.
‘I am glad you insist Gan be aware of your investigating his mind. Sadly, I know many mages now who would not quibble to dredge through another’s innermost thoughts.’
When Ren had settled Taseen in the tiny cabin they shared, he returned to the upper deck and stood watching Gan for some time. He jumped when the unbodied entity Grek spoke to him.
‘Forgive me for startling you. I arrived when you were speaking with Taseen. I suspect he may be right. No.’ He forestalled Ren’s immediate question. ‘I would not invade the privacy of any of your minds.’
With no further hesitation, Ren made his way forward to Gan. Gan still stood, about ten paces behind the Sister of the Wind. She was pressed into the very joint of the ship’s bows, her head back, her eyes closed.
‘Gan.’ Ren put his hand on Gan’s arm. ‘Would you permit me to see if anyone has touched your mind?’
The Asatarian turned sharply, staring down into Ren’s silvered eyes. After a moment’s pause he slowly nodded.
‘I have been considering why, and indeed how, I could be so rude to the old man. You think someone may have reached me? But why me, rather than you or Maressa?’
‘Because we would have noticed at once.’ Ren smiled and let his mind slide into Gan’s. He saw at once some alteration had been attempted to the muted web of power about Gan’s mind. There! Even as Ren grasped a wisp of an identifying thread, it was gone.
Chapter Sixteen
Chevra sat alone in the Debating Chamber within the Xantip Palace. He shifted his position again: the intricately carved and ancient throne looked impressive but was most uncomfortable to sit on for too long. Six days ago he had snapped out orders to his generals and administrators, demanding reports. Now he was struggling to work his way through the copious papers which had flooded back in response. There seemed an inordinate number from General Koolis and his staff officers. They used ponderous phrases and constructed sentences in the most convoluted fashion that drove Chevra to fury.
The Commander of the Coastal Defenders had sent a brief report on the state of seven warships, long forgotten in a small inlet: two were beyond salvage; the remaining five would need a tremendous amount of work to make them seaworthy again. As a footnote, the Commander quoted the cost he estimated it would take to repair one ship alone. Chevra blanched at the figure but when it dawned on him that it was the cost for one ship only, he felt positively ill.
He shouted with rage when informed by Tavri that the Mage Taseen had retreated to his estates, citing his illness as excuse. Tavri became quite tearful as he described Taseen’s near comatose state. At least Vorna had reappeared although she didn’t seem to be as interested in the prospective retaliatory attack he planned on Wendla as Chevra would have wished.
