Embers at Galdrilene (54 page)

“I take that as a yes, you are bound to each other.”

Oksana glared at Sadira. “We should question her, kill her, and be done with it. Why do we need her stupid dragon here? Let it die with her. One less Guardian to deal with.”

“She won’t answer us, no matter what we do.” Sadira’s face twisted into a malignant smile. “But apply the same treatment to her dragon and she will tell us anything we want to know.” The shadows leaped forward and buried themselves in the flesh of Maleena’s arm. Agony tore a scream from her throat. Her skin bubbled and blistered where the shadows touched. They writhed their way up her arm from wrist to shoulder and across her back. In her head, Nydara roared with rage and shared pain.

Sadira pulled the shadows back. Maleena sobbed, unable to control her shaking. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Sadira gazed down at her with an evil glint in her eyes. “Your dragon will come for you now. And when she arrives, she will find you bound by shadows and I will control her through you. You will be my new pet and so will your dragon. I look forward to meeting her. To ensure her swift arrival, I will be back tomorrow and every day until she arrives. And when I come, we shall make time to talk about Galdrilene, and what goes on there.”

Through the haze of terror and pain, Maleena barely noticed when the women left. Sadira took the torch and left her in absolute darkness. She wished she could stop the tears. She wished Nydara would wall herself away.

Through it all, Maleena felt Mckale’s rage. He would come, too. He and Nydara and Tellnox. All of them would walk into the trap. She needed to make them stay away. Although if the roles were reversed, nothing would stop her from coming.

Maleena curled up on the floor next to the tiny pool and wept until sleep took her.

M
ckale paced back and forth unable to remain still, while the others gathered at the long, oval table to discuss plans for a rescue. His fellow riders, Emallya and Bardeck, talked with the Mage Councilors over a sketchy map stretched out on the table. Tarik, the city leader, Hemmen and Yaakov, the first and second of the Defenders, and Anevay, listened quietly.

He had suffered for three days, unable to feel Maleena. In the four days since she woke, he lived with the knowledge of her hunger, her exhaustion, and her injuries. He shouldered as much of her pain as Tellnox would allow. It wasn’t that the dragon was afraid of the pain, but he knew there was only so much Mckale could take without placing himself in danger.

Nydara’s misery tore at him. Despair and frustration filled the silver, though she did her best to keep her emotions from flowing over to Mckale and Tellnox.

In the past few days each of the dragons mastered the basics of Sliding. It was rushed and Emallya and Bardeck both admitted it wasn’t ideal, but there wasn’t much choice.

Mckale tensed as he felt Maleena scream in pain. Outside, Nydara roared. His jaw clenched and he grasped the edge of the table to steady himself as the pain he assumed spiked before Tellnox intervened. Vaddoc and Kirynn stood on either side of him, asking if he was alright. He couldn’t answer. Maleena suffered. Nydara suffered. The distress Tellnox felt for his mate pressed on Mckale and he couldn’t do anything about any of it. He was not alright.

Nydara’s roar quieted to a soft keening and she passed to him what she had heard through Maleena.

Emallya’s voice reached him, “Mckale? What happened?”

“They know she is bonded to Nydara and what she feels, Nydara feels. They are torturing her to force Nydara to react and to get information about Galdrilene.”

Serena leaned forward and frowned. “Our bodies and minds may be stronger due to the dragon bond, but there is still a limit to how much we can stand. Without the dragon bond the injuries Maleena has already sustained would probably have killed her. I imagine she’s near her limit. She’s not going to be able to survive any kind of torture for long. If we don’t hurry, we may end up losing Maleena, and Nydara with her.”

Emallya shook her head. “It does not help to hurry if we fly straight into a trap. If they are doing this to force Nydara to act then they will be expecting at the very least, Maleena’s dragon. We would be fools to think they do not expect some of the rest of us.”

Mckale looked around at them. “I’m done planning. It’s time to move.”

Bardeck shook his head. “Unfortunately, these things take time. We just don‘t have a viable plan for getting either Maleena or the book out of the Kormai.”

Kellinar leaned his fists on the table top, his pale blue eyes steady. “I’ll go.”

The room fell silent as everyone looked at him. “What do you mean, you will go?” Emallya asked.

He straightened. “You need a person and an object stolen from a place that is difficult to get in and out of. Who better for such a job than the former Thief Lord?”

“How would you do it?” Bardeck asked. “The only way in is through the canyon and main cavern.”

“There is always a back way, always a secret entrance.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“It’s there, trust me. Shryden could Slide me there, drop me off and Slide back. Then he and the rest of you can be ready and waiting to Slide the minute I need you. I’ll take Loki with me.”

Emallya shook her head. “Your plan might actually work, but I draw the line at Loki. He is just a child.”

Kellinar smiled slightly. “I’ll take him with me. For two years he was my shadow. He’ll know what he needs to do and how to do it. His small size can be an invaluable asset. Besides, once I let him know what I intend you’ll never be able to stop him. No one can keep track of him when he doesn’t want them to.”

The older woman sighed and shoved a hand through her chestnut hair. “I still do not like it.”

Mckale felt the first glimmer of hope since Nydara came back without Maleena. “You are certain you can do this?”

Kellinar nodded. “She’s my friend, as are you. If it’s even remotely possible to get her out, I can do it.” He looked at Emallya. “I want to be clear, though. I’m doing this to get Maleena back and get the book. I’m not risking myself, Maleena, Loki, or any dragon to try and get some strange woman and her half-shadow dragon out of there.” He turned to Yaakov, the first officer of the Defenders. “Would you please fetch Loki for me?”

Yaakov nodded and left. The room remained quiet while they waited. After a long while Yaakov returned with the sandy-haired boy. A year older than when he first arrived, he was still small for his age. Although the child barely glanced around the room, Mckale was sure he missed nothing. He was so much like Kellinar they could have been brothers.

Loki looked at Kellinar. “What’s going on?”

Kellinar leaned on the table. “We have a job.”

Loki’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You mean a ‘job’ job. Who or what are we stealing from where?”

Kellinar smiled, but his eyes were serious. “You know Nydara accidentally Slid to the Kormai and returned without Maleena?”

The boy nodded, his face sober. “The mages and professors have tried to keep it quiet, but nobody can keep things from me.”

“That is the job we have, Loki. We need to ‘steal’ Maleena from the Kormai. And if at all possible, we need to get our hands on a book that has an emblem on its cover that looks just like my Di’shan pendant.”

Emallya leaned toward the boy. “It will be more dangerous than anything you have ever done. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you in the Kormai.”

Loki drew himself up and looked her in the eye. “I’ll go with Kellinar. I’m not afraid.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Emallya’s mouth. “I think I remember hearing that once before.”

Bardeck nodded sharply. “It seems we have a plan. Kellinar, Loki, make ready to go.” He turned to the Mage Councilors. “Pick who you want among the mages to go. They will help defend the rider’s backs. Whomever you pick needs to be as skilled with a weapon as they are with their magic. I know it will be difficult to pick just one, but without more extensive preparation and training with the dragons, we can’t safely transport more.”

He looked at Amariel Molloren, the Spirit Mage Councilor. “The mage you choose will have to ride alone on Nydara. The saddle is repaired, but the mage will have to not only be unafraid to ride a dragon, but also be able to blindly trust that dragon.”

Amariel raised her chin slightly. “They have captured and tortured one of our Spirit sisters, there will be no shortage of those willing to fly and trust the dragon.”

“The Spirit mage will not fly alone.” Emallya said, drawing startled looks from those in the room. Bardeck stepped toward her, but she held up her hand to stop him, her expression hard. “I will fly with Nydara as well.”

“Emallya.” Worry creased Bardeck’s brow.

Her look softened and she laid her hand on his cheek. “I must, my heart. Besides yourself, I am the only one who has personal experience with Shadow Dragons and their riders. I am the only one who has fought Benduiren. You and Mernoth cannot go.”

Bardeck’s eyes searched her face for a long moment. He nodded and sighed. “Very well.” He turned and his look took in all of the gathered Mage Councilors. “Choose your mages and have them hurry. We are out of time. I want Kellinar on his way first thing in the morning. Kellinar, we will be awaiting your call.”

Hemmen, the leader of the Defenders, scowled. “Are you sure there is no way for them to take any Defenders with them? Mernoth
can
still get off the ground, would he be able to open the Slide?”

Emallya shook her head. “We should not ask it of him if we can avoid it. It pains him greatly to fly. The flight down to the docks the other day was agony for him and he would have to travel through the Slide with the Defenders, which would place him in the middle of battle. And he would have to be able to fly again in order to open a Slide to bring himself and any remaining Defenders, back. It might be more than he can do. There is guaranteed to be Kojen there. I am sure we will be out numbered, but unless there is no other hope we cannot ask Mernoth to do it.”

Mckale really looked at Emallya for the first time since Maleena’s capture. Dark circles made smudges under her eyes and her face looked pale and strained. Sympathy washed through him. She worked for over five hundred years to keep the eggs safe and bring those who were called to them. And now when it looked like there was hope for Galdrilene and the world all could be lost because of a simple miscalculation. He had no comfort for her. He hoped they all returned. He hated to think of any of his friends dead, but he would not abandon his bondmate there.

As the meeting broke apart, Kellinar paused to clasp him on the shoulder. “I will get her back, my friend.”