Drogoya: Book 3 Circles of Light series (4 page)

Dessi giggled
helplessly.

‘You have been
preoccupied with poor Kadi,’ Kera continued. ‘Thus you may not be
aware that something occurred?’

Chakar was listening
closely, conscious that the amusement had vanished from the faces
around her. Quickly Kera outlined the supposed death of Rhaki in
Serim’s body in the Asatarian circle, and of the distress it caused
Daro here.

‘Emla reports the same
distraction in Elyssa and Tika. Ren was also discomfited and it was
he who suggested the appalling idea that Rhaki’s spirit is in
Drogoya. If that is so, Rhaki allied with your Cho Petak is not
something we dare ignore.’

Chakar tugged at her
long white braid, Rofu batting at the feathery end of
it.

‘It would be possible
for a strong Dragon to fly to Drogoya. The longest space between
islands was a full day and a night. The islands are small but large
enough for a Dragon to land on and rest.’ Chakar was thinking
aloud. ‘I will ask Baryet to fly, order him if necessary. I am
still his “parent” and thus have the right to insist if I must. I
think it better that the Dragons do not attempt the journey until
we are more sure of what may be happening there. If you would find
me paper and pen, I will write at once to Babach.’

Kera dug in her ever
present satchel and produced paper, pen, a small jar of ink and
sealing wax.

‘I will write what I
think best, then you must tell me of anything other that you wish
me to pass on.’

The chamberlain Yoral
appeared with several servants loaded with trays to set the supper
ready and Guards began to emerge from their labours in the lower
levels.

‘Perhaps we had best
not mention Syecha’s condition to Lorak, Lady Kera,’ Jal said
thoughtfully. ‘He constantly grumbles that none of the hens sent
from Gaharn have begun laying yet.’

Mim chuckled. ‘Can you
see Lorak trying to steal eggs from Syecha?’

‘Unfortunately, yes,’
said Kera grimly. ‘You are right Jal – not a word to
Lorak.’

‘How long do the eggs
take to hatch?’ asked Kija.

Chakar glanced up.
‘About a season.’

‘Stars preserve us,’
Kera groaned.

It took Chakar some
considerable time to persuade Baryet of the necessity of another
flight to Drogoya and back but outrageous flattery finally
convinced him. The scroll tube was strapped beneath his wing and he
departed the Stronghold.

‘I felt quite ill,
hearing all that,’ Kwanzi teased Chakar gently.

She smiled. ‘I know.
But I would rather persuade him than resort to ordering him really.
He is a little unbalanced due to the fact that I brought him up,
and I am not a Plavat.’

Kwanzi patted her back
and plied her with spice tea.

Next day, Thryssa and
Kwanzi went through the circle to Gaharn. From there, they planned
to go directly back to Vagrantia. A warm friendship had grown
between the Vagrantians and the tiny Drogoyan Observer. Thryssa and
Kwanzi had watched how hard Chakar had toiled over the injured
Dragon Kadi, which earned her their respect and admiration. Thryssa
urged the Observer to visit Vagrantia soon and assured her she
would be a most welcome guest.

Thryssa had also taken
the time to explain the exact working of the circle’s pattern and
the words of the chant – something only previously divulged to
Emla. Chakar was touched by this evidence of Thryssa’s trust and
promised she would visit Vagrantia in due course. She voiced some
surprise that Ren had gone through the circle with Lashek, given
his aversion to any form of travel other than his own two feet or
horseback.

Thryssa laughed. ‘He
was not exactly sanguine about it,’ she admitted. ‘He eventually
decided it would be slightly preferable to flying on your birds or
on a Dragon.’

The great hall seemed
empty once Thryssa and Kwanzi had gone to Gaharn, but Dessi kept
Chakar company. Dessi told her much of the Delvers’ history, and
Chakar began to teach Dessi of the Order of Myata. Mim listened to
many of these sessions and both he and Dessi became increasingly
drawn to Myata’s surprisingly simple teachings of love and respect
for the land, and the magic therein.

Reports came daily from
Arak of Kadi’s slow improvement, but Chakar felt she should stay at
the Stronghold until Baryet returned. He would be impossibly
irritated if she was not patiently awaiting his reappearance. A ten
day passed, and nearly a second when a Snow Dragon warned of
Baryet’s imminent arrival.

Kija had just returned
from visiting Kadi and was describing in detail to Chakar how each
and every injury seemed to be mending. Her eyes began to whirr in
consternation as the great bird stilted into the hall.

‘I do not know what is
wrong with him my Chakar! It is through no fault of mine!’ Baryet
sounded afraid, sending a chill of terror through Chakar which Kija
picked up at once.

Chakar, Mim and Dessi
were already hurrying to Baryet as he sank down onto the floor, his
head twisting anxiously. They saw a shape among the thick plumage
on the bird’s back and reached up to help the rider
free.

‘Voron!’ Chakar
exclaimed.

‘Help him Chakar. He is
burnt so badly. I could think only to bring him here when Baryet
arrived.’ Voron helped to ease Babach’s heavily wrapped body into
the arms of Motass and other Guards who had been taking their ease
in the hall.

Delver healers came
running, already summoned by Kija. Voron staggered and Jal held him
until Mim came to support Voron as well.

Voron’s voice was
hoarse. ‘He was conscious until two days ago. Baryet flew
magnificently Chakar, I thought he would never tire, but he said he
must get Babach to you. I do not even know if Babach still
lives.’

Voron would have fallen
if not for Mim, and Jal called other Guards to carry the Drogoyan
to pillows by the fireside. The healers and Chakar were unwrapping
the bundle that was apparently Observer Babach. There was a screech
and Sava fluttered free, clicking his beak in agitation. Finally
the hood of a second cloak was pulled from Babach’s face. Even the
healers gasped involuntarily. The face revealed was a mass of
weeping blisters, no eyelashes, no brows or beard
remained.

Slower now, the healers
uncovered his body and found his back untouched but his front was a
mass of raw flesh.

Chapter
Three

Cho Petak had long
awaited the arrival of Rhaki and Mena. He was aware, where they
were not, that two creatures of the Void had insinuated themselves
within not just the bodies but the minds and spirits of the two.
The creature which inhabited Mena had waited through generations of
her ancestors and was extremely annoyed on finding Cho’s plans were
coming to fruition when he was in a very young female body in this
male dominated world.

At least that creature
had learnt to adapt, whereas the one who had entered Rhaki had
become complacent over the near thousand years of Rhaki’s bodily
existence . The one within Rhaki had been terrified when Rhaki
became unbodied: it was a reminder of the countless ages the
creature had spent trapped Beyond in blinding light.

Cho Petak now opened
the way for the other creatures who clamoured for release from
their long confinement. This had always been the most dangerous
part of his plan: if he had miscalculated and there was even one
creature who held back a little and considered his actions in this
world, as had Cho, then he might face a serious
challenge.

Cho Petak sealed
himself within his secret room, where not even Rhaki, unbodied,
could enter without permission, and released his kindred. Outside
the Menedula, in the town of Syet, buildings burned on in the
morning light, the heat distorting the air above them. Screams rang
out as the students Cho had modified continued to hunt and rend any
inhabitants they found. The red eyed killers would die soon
themselves, their bodies consumed because of their raised
metabolisms.

A river seemed to erupt
from the sky, a river of darkness mixed with scarlet pebbles,
cascading down to the land. It widened from the place it seemed to
spring from, spreading out like flood water. Cho Petak waited, his
knuckles whitening where his hands clenched the arms of his chair.
He allowed himself to relax a little, smiling with satisfaction.
None of his brethren had hesitated long enough to think of usurping
Cho’s position and they would not get another chance half as good
as this one.

The dark river’s volume
dwindled, disappeared, and Cho leaned his head back against his
chair. He would allow them their freedom for a while: they would be
grateful that he had not asserted his will upon them before they
had sated their all but forgotten appetites. Cho reached for the
jug of water he had brought in here with him and poured some into a
black crystal beaker. Sipping, he let his mind play with the
thought of Mena and Rhaki.

Once, they had been his
closest companions. Grek, whose spirit now resided within Mena, Cho
recalled as a laughing boy, only too willing to please his many
friends, following Cho’s lead until he was too deeply mired to
extricate himself. Cho could not remember ever hearing D’Lah laugh.
Within D’Lah there had always burnt a fierce desire for power, and
more power. When the Grand Master Cheok discovered what these three
had already achieved and surmised their future plans, he had struck
fast and without mercy.

Cho Petak had escaped
his wrath only by coercing D’Lah and Grek to offer him their
combined strength. Their howls of rage followed him through time
and space, tormenting him ceaselessly. His first task on finding
himself on this world, had been to gain the release of his two
accomplices from the Void.

Cho Petak had
appropriated the body of a farmer’s son in the hot lands far to the
south of Drogoya. It amused him to use his own name for this body
once he had worked his way north to the seat of power which was the
Menedula. It took many years to calm Grek and D’Lah into coherence.
Then, he encouraged them to search through the captives within the
Void, choosing those who would prove useful to them once freed.
Using his own magic, harnessed to the magic of this land, he had
freed Grek and D’Lah who raced to the beacon of his
mind.

Grek had learned much
of adaptability during his sojourns in various bodies, but he was
still willing to please Cho Petak. D’Lah had learned much of power,
through his long tenancy within one of the strange race who had
arrived on this world a thousand years after Cho Petak. But he was
too used to the one mind, the one body which had been Rhaki, as
evidenced by his panic when Rhaki was unbodied. Cho would need to
watch them both but especially he would be careful of
D’Lah.

Cho had spent these
long years in preparation. He knew how to nullify a large
proportion of the natural magic within this land itself. He had
worked under a considerable handicap: a great deal of his energy
had to stay focused first on D’Lah and Grek, and then on the
position of the Void until this moment, when he could release the
chosen ones. For the first time since he had arrived here, his
whole mind could be turned to making this world what he chose it to
be.

Cho Petak watched with
his mind as the kindred, bodied again, forced human limbs into
impossible contortions in wild excitement at their freedom from the
Void. He smiled. Let them have their fun unchecked for now. His
mind ranged further afield. He saw the Chapter House in Radoogar,
from whence he had chosen Krolik to become Master of Aspirants. All
was quiet there, working to his instructions on the themes he had
devised before Cheok tried to destroy him.

Cho’s mind searched
south and found the other Chapter Houses. Some were in uproar, some
were as calm as Radoogar. Finally he reached to the north western
House of Oblaka. He frowned. There had always seemed to be a faint
blurring around Oblaka. Cho had put it down to the fact that Oblaka
held strongly to the teachings of Myata, subtly different from
those of her father, Sedka. He probed a little harder and jerked
upright in his chair, his eyes widening.

There was a hard shell
around the most northerly part of the complex. He analysed the
composition of this shell and then sat back again, amused at his
own concern. It was a particular amalgam of rock, well known to be
impervious to magic. There were small deposits scattered throughout
Drogoya and they had been well documented.

Once more he viewed the
House of Oblaka and saw that his servants there had done well. Most
of the buildings were unrecognisable, and charred bodies were
strewn everywhere. Cho nodded. This part of his plan had gone very
smoothly and easily: he would be tested when he attempted to draw
the kindred away from their present amusements.

But for the next few
days, Cho would explore Rhaki’s recollections of his land of
Gaharn. He would have to allow for Rhaki’s narrow view of those who
shared that land, but D’Lah would be able to enlarge on many of the
matters Rhaki had disregarded. Cho next considered Mena. If he was
so inclined, he could think of many interesting things he might do
with the child. She was attractive in a way: the short cropped,
blonde hair, the large eyes, reddened now of course.