Drogoya: Book 3 Circles of Light series, page 37
‘Old fellow misses that wife of his,’ he said gruffly. ‘Thinks it’s time he went Beyond to be with her again. If he can be of help to your people –‘ He shrugged.
Pachela shook his arm, forcing Lorak to look at her. Her grey silvered eyes saw the grief Lorak could not hide. Lashek turned away, heading back to the building. Pachela followed, tugging Lorak with her while Lula flashed past on Lashek’s heels.
‘He said,’ Lorak muttered, ‘that his old life was little to pay for all the people in these Circles.’
‘Never!’ Pachela hissed. ‘Each individual in the world, in the cosmos, is important and valued.’
‘Well we won’t get back to him in time to stop him. The waters were flooding across the paths outside the tunnel from Talvo already.’ Lorak dragged Pachela to a halt and stood puffing for breath. ‘And I can’t move so fast no more.’
‘Come,’ Lashek called impatiently, beckoning them on.
‘Lorak says the way may be too flooded,’ Pachela told the Speaker as they caught up with him.
‘Thryssa knows how to move us without the circles – she must do so at once.’
Pachela’s face registered her astonishment at this piece of information. Lashek led them towards the stairs and found Thryssa and Kwanzi hurrying down. Obviously Lashek had ignored the ban on mind speech and had summoned Thryssa thus in the urgency of the moment. Lashek spoke softly but fast, explaining what he wanted her to do. She listened without interruption but Kwanzi could not keep silent.
‘Lashek, all is disrupted about us. Mages work on the shield, we don’t begin to understand the workings of the forces this Zloy is manipulating. You could all be lost.’
Thryssa touched her husband’s lips with a gentle finger. ‘My heart, we have little to lose at this point.’ Briskly she called to a clerk struggling past with a great box of scrolls. ‘Find First Councillor Pajar and send him to me in the visitors’ sitting room with all speed.’
She led the way down a corridor, round several corners, finally opening a door on her right. Inside, she had the furniture moved back against the walls and closed the shutters at the windows overlooking the fruit gardens. Pajar arrived, breathless and with his flaming hair on end. Lashek was explaining their intent to him while Thryssa studied the room minutely, eyes half closed.
The floor was of chequered slabs of black and green stone and Thryssa moved to stand on the central black square.
‘I intend to take us to a spot about two thirds of the way across Talvo.’ She smiled at Pachela. ‘You will know the place. Once there, I will immediately return Kwanzi and myself to this room.’ Her voice became bleak. ‘Events press so heavily – I must be here when Zloy communicates. You must not attempt to return this way Lashek – I have not the time to instruct you in this and a hasty lesson could spell disaster.’
Lorak scooped Lula into his arms and clutched her firmly to his chest. He readjusted his abominable hat. ‘Ready when you are Lady.’
Thryssa moved to a green square at the edge of the room and began to tread steadily in a spiralling curve inwards, chanting softly as she walked. There was a faint popping sound, and the room was empty.
Five people and a small Kephi appeared in an open space in Talvo Circle and most of them breathed a surreptitious sigh of relief. Thryssa looked up at the sky.
‘How wonderful not to be rained on again. But evening draws nigh. I must go back to the Corvida at once. Stars guide your paths and guard your hearts my dears.’
She quickly kissed each of them and shooed them in the direction of Gremara’s favourite ledge. They watched though, with some trepidation, as once more Thryssa paced out the circling spiral, Kwanzi behind her. A gulp of air, and they were gone.
Lula squirmed and hissed until Lorak put her on the ground and then she bolted in the direction Thryssa had indicated. Ignoring the others, Lorak stumped after her.
‘I suspect Fenj planned to attack Zloy, or at least cause a serious distraction, once night has fallen,’ Lashek remarked, hurrying after Lorak. ‘We do not have long to dissuade him.’
A gout of water shot skywards to their left and as hot droplets landed on their faces, Lashek and Pajar stared in amazement.
‘Fascinating!’ Lashek murmured. ‘I wonder if the Silver One will permit us to study this once our little problems are over?’
Pajar stared at the Speaker in disbelief. ‘If, and when, they’re over you mean,’ he retorted, and hurried after Pachela. ‘Come on Speaker, I think it safer to stay together.’
‘I thought Jeela would know we were here by now.’ Pachela sounded worried.
But even as she spoke the ivory Dragon skimmed over her head then twisted to circle above them.
‘How did you get here?’ she asked reproachfully. ‘You didn’t tell me you were coming, and I didn’t see you – I was near the tunnel entrance, keeping watch on the water.’
‘The High Speaker brought us. Is Fenj still here Jeela?’
‘Of course he is. He’s been looking at Lorak’s plants all day long.’ The small ivory Dragon twisted in mid air and flew in front of Lorak. ‘Is something wrong Lorak? I thought you agreed to Fenj’s plan?’ Her mind tone was a touch peevish. ‘He still won’t tell me exactly what it is.’
‘And we’re here to tell him he’ll have to change it,’ Lorak replied. He stopped as he reached the eastern wall of Talvo’s crater.
Fenj reclined against the rock only a few paces in front of them, Lula already buzzing happily from the crook of his arm. His eyes whirred the shadows on snow colour and he sighed. Jeela settled beside him, clearly puzzled. Pajar could only stare at the enormous black Dragon before him. This was his first meeting with one of the Dragon Kindred and he was stunned by Fenj’s size and grace. Lashek nudged him sharply and he jumped.
‘Oh yes.’ He approached closer and bowed. ‘I am Pajar, First Councillor to High Speaker Thryssa. She ordered me to come to you and to insist that you refrain from your plan. She bade me tell you that your death would be too great a burden of sorrow and guilt upon the Vagrantian people. And her words reflect the feelings of us all.’
Fenj pushed himself up to a sitting position and his prismed eyes blazed. ‘You have not the strength to defeat this being alone. Unless his concentration is deflected, you will all be lost. My action will give you the time your mages need – quickly, before they are tired from holding against him too long.’
‘No.’ Pajar stood his ground, suddenly finding himself absolutely calm despite this huge Dragon’s wrath. ‘There will surely be another way.’
‘It is fire this creature fears and I can provide fire. Several of your mages together could perhaps raise the illusion of fire which would take the thing but an instant to see through. I can provide real fire.’
‘I’ll help,’ Jeela said eagerly.
‘No!’
Fenj, Pachela and Lorak snapped the single word in unison.
Jeela drew herself up, her eyes sparking mutinously. ‘I am Gremara’s successor. In her absence I speak for Talvo. If I decide that I will use fire to help defeat this thing, I shall do so.’
‘You will not, little one.’ Fenj spoke gently. ‘Because you are Gremara’s successor, you must survive. You will keep well away from what must be done.’
Darkness had fallen whilst they spoke and Pachela sent her thoughts carefully back to the Corvida. She frowned and glanced at Lashek.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘There is no communication as yet – all is calm. But it has become the norm for Zloy to speak to the High Council as soon as darkness falls. And he gave this night as his ultimatum, did he not?’
Lashek sent a cautious mind probe to Thryssa and then nodded. He glanced around their group. ‘I wonder what might be delaying him, or is it just a trick?’
Lorak had set about making a small fire as soon as they’d reached Fenj and belatedly Pajar swung a pack off his shoulder.
‘There isn’t a lot, but I had little time to collect much food.’
He had a loaf, cheese, dried fruit and nuts and they shared the meagre meal among them.
‘I suggest you all sleep,’ Fenj said. ‘You will thus be refreshed for whatever tomorrow might bring.’
Lashek chuckled. ‘A good try Fenj, but do not think that I won’t notice should you try to move one scale more than a handspan.’
A low rumble sounded from deep in Fenj’s chest but Lorak, comfortably settled against the Dragon’s shoulder, patted him soothingly. ‘Drop of restorative old friend? Warm your bones.’
Fenj peered down benignly. ‘Splendid fellow.’
Both Lashek and Pachela slept lightly, frequently checking back to Parima Circle, but although they both sensed tension in the people gathered in Thryssa’s study, there was no hint of Zloy’s presence there.
Dawn was edging over the high rim of Talvo Circle when Fenj got to his feet so fast that Lula tumbled onto Lorak’s head. Jeela too had woken and was instantly spinning up into the sky, calling as she rose.
‘What is it? What’s happening?’ Pajar was still groggy with sleep.
‘Gremara,’ Pachela breathed. ‘Gremara returns.’
The sky over Talvo was a delicate blue, deepening as the sun crawled higher above the crater, when Fenj raised himself upright and his deep voice trumpeted in greeting. Lorak stood beside the old Dragon while the three Vagrantians stared as two Dragons spiralled down to the ground. As they landed, Gremara sank flat to the earth and even Lashek and Pajar recognised how exhausted she was. The silver scales were dulled, her eyes half closed.
‘Gremara, are you hurt? Ill?’ Fenj’s tone revealed great concern and distress.
‘No my dear. Just plain tired. I must sleep – I cannot talk to you now. Forgive me.’
The prismed eyes closed fully and Gremara slept.
The being known as Zloy, was not happy. He had taken the body of Prilla, First Councillor of Fira Circle and he disliked it intensely. He had rummaged briefly through Prilla’s mind and destroyed it in disgust. Cho Petak had assured him that there were intelligent beings here. What nonsense! And what ridiculous bodies! If this was the highest life form then he preferred the company of the amoeba like creatures he had once encountered on a far distant world. He was particularly appalled by all the hair. The females let their hair grow. Prilla’s – now unfortunately his – reached to the back of his thighs. He kept getting mouthfuls of the stuff every time he turned round too quickly.
Speaker Kallema’s mind was fractionally more intelligent than Prilla’s but she had fought against the acquiescence he laid in her thoughts and so he had to destroy her. Zloy now sat in the Speaker’s residence. A primitive hut in his opinion but it would serve. He was alone, and flames flickered in his eyes as he watched the clouds rest steadily above Parima and Segra Circles. Tonight he had planned to finally confront the Vagrantian High Speaker but he had been distracted.
He thought he’d heard a summoning from Cho Petak. It had been faint and distant, but he was sure he had heard it twice. It was unclear who Cho was summoning: Zloy knew Rashpil was on this side of the world while Cho Petak was on the other. Had Cho realised four of them at least had chosen to avoid an immediate reunion with him? Or guessed why? The thought of Cho’s appearance here, or even a strong, direct mind contact gave Zloy pause.
He had spent many centuries in the Void and there had been little to do in all that time but think. He had never been as close to Cho Petak as say, D’Lah or Grek. Since Cho had seen fit to let them and their multitude of fellow prisoners languish in the Void for so long, Zloy personally was in no hurry to rush to do Cho’s bidding now. In fact, Zloy was quite taken with these craters.
He planned to remove the human animals from the other three craters, and probably, most from this one. Some would be kept to work on his experiments. Zloy had a great fondness for igneous rock and there could surely be no better place on this world than here in this clump of old volcanoes.
A knock on the door made him turn his head. Hair flew across his face and he clawed it out of the way as his eyes changed from red flame to Prilla’s green. He opened the door to find a slim young man standing there, head bowed submissively.
‘Well?’ Zloy snapped.
‘The water levels still rise Councillor. It is beginning to rise here, within Fira.’
‘It will be dealt with.’ Zloy closed the door on the young man and went to look out of the window again.
He should be frightening the lamentably feeble wits out of the High Council shortly, but he hesitated. He would need to use a considerable amount of energy to do so and such a large energy fluctuation would most surely attract the attention of Cho Petak. He swore in a strange, guttural language, then snapped his fingers angrily. Flames reappeared in his eyes as he focused on the clouds above the other Circles. He watched as the heavy rain eased in moments to a fine drizzle and then ceased altogether.
He turned away and sat at Kallema’s desk, anger simmering through him. He leaned back and breathed deeply, forcing himself to a calmer frame of mind. Rashpil and M’Raz. He must try to find their exact location – he had no desire to have them encroach on what he already considered his territory. And Grek. Was Grek here too? Zloy thought Grek foolish in his old devotion to Cho. He knew that Grek and D’Lah had been on this world nearly as long as Cho himself. In their position, Zloy would have organised a comfortable niche in which to settle. It would take a very big enticement to tempt him to leave it and join with any bizarre plans Cho Petak might have.
Although Zloy had been here such a brief time, he felt possessive of these craters and welcomed no encroachment. He moved in the chair and swore again. This cursed hair tugged at his scalp. He leaned forward and pulled handfuls of the stuff from under him. His anger rising again, he caught the whole mass of blonde hair in one hand and reached for his knife. He winced, sawing through the hair at the nape of his neck until the great bundle he held came free. He stared at it with distaste and threw it from him. When he turned to glance out of the window again, he felt the coolness round his neck and smiled with satisfaction. How the females endured such torment was a mystery, but perhaps they were more stoical than he’d given them credit for.
It was annoying to delay his crushing of the so-called High Council, but he did not want to attract further attention from Cho Petak – if indeed he had been the target of the summoning. Today at least, he would quietly seek out those others – Rashpil, M’Raz, D’Lah and Grek. Once he could establish their whereabouts, he could continue his game with these Vagrantians. While the night darkened, Zloy lay back and sent his mind drifting to the north west.
In the high Speaker’s study at the top of the Corvida, Kwanzi poured fresh tea.
‘He’s playing with us,’ Orsim growled from his armchair.
‘I’m not so sure.’ Thryssa stretched her legs towards the fire.
‘The rain has stopped,’ Orsim argued. ‘He is poised to strike.’
‘Or perhaps he’s busy elsewhere?’ suggested Shema. ‘Talvo?’
Thryssa looked momentarily alarmed then shook her head. ‘No. Somehow we would know should he attack any Circle individually.’
‘At least we know the great Dragon was prevented from attacking Fira,’ one of the group of mages remarked.
Heads nodded in agreement. The senior mage Lori, raised a hand.
‘I think we could risk contacting Pajar or Lashek if we do it through a shielded mind link. We have to know if the great Dragon continues to insist on carrying out an attack or if they have devised another plan.’
Kwanzi agreed at once. ‘They must wonder what’s happening here. Jeela at least will have been able to tell them that the rain has ceased.’
Orsim got to his feet. ‘I have to ask you Thryssa, but how long have you known how to transfer without using the circles? And could you not have moved our people out of the danger here by that method?’
Thryssa smiled. ‘I was told by my predecessor and had practically forgotten it.’ She stared hard at Speaker Orsim. ‘Where would you suggest I move them to? I could manage maybe three or four such transferences, taking perhaps twenty at a time. Then I would need to rest at least for a full day, probably longer.’ Her tone sharpened. ‘Who would choose those to go, and in what order? We know nothing of what lies outside our walls – could we survive out there? Would Zloy sit back and allow small groups to be evacuated thus?’
‘You could tell some of us how to work the transference,’ Orsim insisted.
Thryssa’s eyes narrowed. ‘Could I really Orsim? My first vows when I trained as successor to the High Speaker, swore me to secrecy of many things – including this. I have broken that vow once and will not do so again. Orsim, one mistake and stars know where one could end up – in another realm of which we have no conception, or taken apart to our very atoms.’
‘You broke your vows once you say.’ Orsim refused to let the matter drop. ‘To whom have you dared teach this supposedly secret art? We have a right to know this.’
Thryssa stood up, facing the Speaker of Kedara Circle. Her voice was icy.
‘You have absolutely no right to know such things Speaker. You have never been considered as a prospective High Speaker as you, and all here know. I designated a successor some time ago, but there is no compulsion upon me to name that person until I deem fit.’
Senior mages and Councillors nodded in confirmation of Thryssa’s words, even Orsim’s own First Councillor, Dashka, and in the face of such unanimous agreement Orsim shrugged, resuming his seat.
Shema repeated Lori’s suggestion that they should try to reach Lashek or Pajar. ‘It is nearly dawn, I do not believe Zloy will speak to us now.’
After a brief pause, Thryssa also sat back down and sighed. ‘Very well. Shall we all link while I speak with them?’
Lashek was awake when Thryssa’s mind touched him. She told him briefly of their uneventful night in Parima and then asked for his news.
‘Gremara returned but moments ago. Stars know where she’s been but she is exhausted. She slept as soon as she touched the earth. I will mind speak you when we have spoken with her – I imagine that will be afternoon at the soonest.’
