Embers at Galdrilene (52 page)

They soared out over the bay, the water glittering like a field of jewels below them. Maleena closed her eyes and let the wind rush past her face as she took in what Nydara had said.
“You are sharing the draclet’s mind?”

“Yes. I have not completely let go since the Hatching. My presence helps keep the young one focused. She and Taela are struggling. The one called Sadira is very suspicious and dislikes them intensely. Taela feels a great deal of fear toward the woman. I am afraid to leave Paki and her completely alone.”

“Does Taela know you are there?”

“Yes, it brings her much comfort.”

Maleena reached out along the path she remembered to Taela’s mind. It was early evening there and she paced in her quarters. Maleena felt for her. For the first several months she had slept no farther than the distance across the hatchling lair from Nydara. Even now, she and Mckale slept just on the other side of an open doorway from their two massive dragons. Maleena couldn’t imagine being forced to sleep away from Nydara. She didn’t make full contact with the other woman, but she did send comforting waves down the path to help ease her mind.

Nydara banked to the right and they left the waters behind, gliding out over the mountains and the forests. From the memory of what Maleena saw in the bowl, both she and Nydara could see in their minds the rock of the Kormai entrance and the canyon leading to it. A thin forest of tall black rocks rose straight up like sharp deadly fingers a short distance away.

A sudden pulling sensation drew a startled cry from Maleena. The world around them swirled and blurred into a confusion of colors then snapped back. Hot desert wind struck Maleena full in the face and took her breath away. Her skin tightened as sweat beaded from every pore.

Below them in the dimming light of evening, the black rocks of the Kormai reared up from the desert floor. Nydara roared in shock at the sight and was answered by the thunderous roars of those in the Kormai.

“Nydara,”
Maleena tried to suppress rising panic as she battled through the red haze enveloping the dragon’s mind,
“how are we here?”

Below, something large and dark lifted off from the canyon floor.
“Shadows! Evil, tainted shadows! They must be burned back!”
Nydara raged and dove toward the rising darkness.

“Nydara, no!”
Maleena’s heart pounded in her chest. The hot wind stole her breath as the dragon dove. She focused her entire mind and strength on Nydara.
“We must get away! How did we get here?”
She pushed a picture of the bay, like they had seen it just moments before, into the dragon’s mind.

The sound of another set of wings beating the air drew her attention. A black dragon, its eyes gleaming green and despair beneath its wings, flew at them. Nydara coughed smoke and a small spout of fire before turning to flee. None of the dragons had flamed yet, but Nydara tried.

The Shadow Dragon spit a small amount of dark green flames. Agony seared through Maleena’s left side, thigh, and arm. Nydara screamed with shared pain and twisted away. Maleena beat at the flames, tears welling in her eyes from the sting of burning skin.

The picture of the bay solidified in Nydara’s mind. The air ahead of them rippled and swirled, then collapsed on itself. Again the dragon tried to form a fold to Slide through, but it too collapsed before it opened.

The silver jerked as the black dragon slammed into her. Its claws tore through her back leg. Nydara roared in pain as crimson blood splashed across her silver scales. She whipped around in the air. Her jaws closed over the black neck just behind the head. The Shadow Dragon roared and ripped free. It banked away. Black scales, torn loose by Nydara’s teeth, flew through the air.

Maleena clung to the saddle, the skin of her leg blistered from hip to ankle. Her heart pounded in her ears. Her stomach churned with fear, but still she held the picture of the bay clear in her mind. As the Shadow Dragon broke off, Nydara tried another Slide. It swirled, almost opened, and collapsed.

Two more shadows lifted off from the canyon floor.

The first Shadow Dragon came back around. Its mouth opened and more dark green flame spewed forth. Black flame flew from the rider’s hand, too. Nydara flipped to the side to shield Maleena. Black and green fire scored along her underside.

Unprepared for Nydara’s defensive move, Maleena’s weight was thrown against the straps burned by the flames. She fell from the saddle and felt the brief tug of the catcher strap on her leg before the burned leather gave way. Hot air rushed past her. Above, the shadow spit more unnatural flames, blackening Nydara’s wing.

She wove a quick net of magic and threw it at the rider of the Shadow Dragon. The black peeled away from Nydara, its rider screaming and clutching her head. The net wouldn’t last long. Nydara dove for Maleena. Ignoring the wind rushing in her ears as she fell through the sky, Maleena pushed the picture of the bay into Nydara’s mind.
“Slide!”

“Not without you.”

She read determination in the dragon’s mind.
“Slide. There are too many, they will kill you. Slide now!”

The two new black dragons sent small streams of green flame toward the silver. The air rippled like swirling heat waves in front of Nydara as the fold opened. The green fire arced across empty space as the silver disappeared into the Slide.

The wind roared in Maleena’s ears as pain and darkness enfolded her.

T
he cold breeze off the bay chilled Kellinar’s skin. The damp boards of the dock under his feet creaked with the push and pull of the water. With one hand shading his eyes against the afternoon sun, he watched the intertwining dance of every air current, alive and visible to his eyes. The natural winds and those created by the Weather mages wove together in the clear air. The careful balance of magic and nature was beautiful.

An anxious sending from Shryden disrupted his thoughts.
“Something is wrong! Maleena and Nydara are gone from here!”

Kellinar’s pulse quickened as adrenaline poured into his veins.
“What do you mean gone from here? Taken?”

“I do not know. Somehow they are not here. They are far to the east and under attack…shadows!”
The last was accompanied by a roar. Even down on the docks, so far from the hold, the thunder of the combined dragon voices roaring in rage and fear, echoed across the water. Kellinar felt Shryden lifting off to fly to him. As he turned to look for his dragon, a ripple in the sky caught his attention. It looked like a large whirlpool of heat waves in the sky above the water.

It lasted only a moment before Nydara burst through it. Screaming in pain and loss, the silver fell through the air and crashed into the water several yards from the dock.

“Oh, no. No. No. No.” Blackened scales marred her neck and shoulder. Where was Maleena? In the distance, Tellnox bellowed. Through Shryden, Kellinar knew all of the dragons and riders were winging their way to the bay as fast as they could.

He didn’t bother to wait. He flung himself into the water and swam to the silver, who splashed blindly toward the shore. He reached her as she gained shallow water. Up close he saw the torn and blistered wing, the empty saddle with its burned safety straps. He laid a steadying hand on her neck.

“Shryden, hurry, help me. Nydara’s hurt pretty bad.”

“I see it and have passed the picture to Miya. She passed it on to Serena. She is prepared to heal Nydara. Do you see Maleena anywhere? Is she in the water?”

“No, the straps are burned. She wasn’t in the saddle when Nydara came back.”

Kellinar looked toward the hold. Shryden and the rest were almost to the bay. Kellinar stared beyond them, a sinking feeling in his stomach. A larger dragon rose from the hold. Mernoth’s damaged wings made it painful for him to do much more than lift himself to the crater rim. Despite that, he now flew toward them. How bad could the situation be? What would prompt the venerable dragon to put himself through the discomfort?

Nydara staggered partway onto shore and fell to the ground, her head on the sand. Her left wing lay limp in the water. One back leg was ripped open near the hip. Blood ran freely over the silver scales and into the water.

The other dragons’ wings whipped the air around him and the silver as they landed. Shryden settled himself in the water behind Kellinar. Mckale leaped out of the saddle as Tellnox landed next to Nydara. Kellinar shook his head. The man hadn’t fastened any of his safety straps for the brief flight.

Mckale, his face expressionless, strode to Nydara. He knelt next her head and looked her in the eye.
“What are they doing?”
Kellinar sent to Shryden.

“She is replaying what happened for him.”

Within minutes Tellnox took what they had shared and passed it around. The sick feeling in Kellinar’s stomach grew. How had they ended up in the Kormai? Maleena fell so far, could she still be alive?

“I can’t feel her,” Mckale’s voice was strained. “Where she has always been, there is nothing.” The desolation in his friend’s silver eyes made Kellinar’s chest tighten. If Maleena was dead… He barely noticed the shaking beneath his feet at first. It started quietly and built until the groaning of the ground became a backdrop to the roar that tore from Mckale’s throat and was answered by the dragons.

Kellinar staggered to Mckale’s side and grabbed his shoulder. “You have to stop this,” he shouted over the noise. “Shaking Galdrilene apart is not going to deliver her to you, my friend.” Seeing Mckale lose control of his emotions was almost as frightening as seeing Nydara burst out of the sky, injured and minus her rider.

Serena marched across the shaking ground as if it shook every day and she was used to walking on such. She stopped in front of Mckale and smacked him across the face with a full armed swing. The shaking stopped. Mckale looked at her with the same stunned expression on his face that Kellinar knew must be on his own.

She planted her fists on her hips and studied him for a moment through narrowed eyes before giving a sharp nod. “That should do. Sometimes you just have to smack the shock out of people, it’s the only healing that will work.” She stabbed a finger into Mckale’s chest. “That will be enough of that from now on. Is that understood? I know you’re worried about Maleena, but shaking Galdrilene and terrifying those who live here, not to mention possibly causing injuries, is not the way to show it. It sure doesn’t help me heal Nydara.”

“I can’t feel her. She is gone,” Mckale’s said in a ragged whisper.

“Then she must be unconscious.”

“Nydara can’t feel her either. What if she is…?”

Serena shook her head, exasperation written on her face. “Be practical and think with your mind, not your heart, Mckale. Nydara is alive and strong. She’s not fading. We are our dragon’s anchors in this world. As long as Nydara lives, so does Maleena.”

Mckale nodded and seemed to accept Serena’s reasoning. Kellinar let go of Mckale’s shoulder as Serena pushed past them. “Now out of my way; Nydara needs healing.”

Kellinar watched Serena lay her hands on the silver’s wing. He couldn’t see the magic that flowed from Serena, he didn’t have Healing magic, but he could see the results. The blisters disappeared. The ragged tear in her wing and along her hip slowly closed. The blackened scales faded back to silver. Or almost silver.