The Adamantine Palace (19 page)

He talked to her when she was there. Not expecting any answer, but simply because the mountain was so cold and lonely and he felt better hearing the sound of his own voice. Sometimes, from the way she looked at him, he wondered if she was listening.

He got his answer to that when he trod on a loose stone. The first thing he knew, one of his feet was sliding out from under him. The world tumbled, hit him on the head and wound up lying on its side, dim and blurry.

Hurt? asked a voice inside his head.

He tried to move, but for a moment that didn't work. Yes, he decided. I am hurt.

The next thing he knew, Snow was standing over him, the tip of her face inches from his own, blotting out the sky, the scorching-hot wind of her breath almost pinning him to the ground. He put up a hand, flinched away, and she retreated.

Is it hurt? asked the voice again.

He groaned and sat up. His head was starting to throb. When he touched it, his fingers came away with blood on them. Slowly, he looked up at Snow.

'Did you speak?' He laughed and then winced. Dragons Couldn't speak except in myth.

Its head is broken. Is it going to--

Am I going to what? The thought formed inside his head, but the last part of it didn't make any sense. Something to do with getting hotter and hotter and fading away and then waking up wrapped up tight inside an egg.

Snow peered at him and cocked her head. Die?

To Kailin, it seemed as though a giant hand had slapped him in the lace. He went numb. The pain in his head washed away. He stood up and staggered away from Snow. 'You ... you ... I heard you thinking.'

Snow snorted and shook her head, the way she did when she was excited. It hears! Understands!

Kailin was trembling. 'You understand me! You understand Kailin!'

Kailin? He got a sense of incomprehension.

'That's my name.'

Name? What is a name?

Kailin didn't know how to answer that, but Snow didn't seem to mind. She seemed to pluck the answer out of his head.

All Little Ones have names. Do I have a name?

'Snow.'

Snow. Why?

Kailin picked up a handful of snow. 'Because you're white.' He held it up to show her and then pressed it against the wound on his head.

Hurt? He could feel the tension in her thought.

'A little bit.'

They tried to talk, on into the night until the sun was long gone and stars filled the sky. Most of the time Kailin couldn't make sense of the images that flashed in his head, nor did Snow seem to understand him, no matter how ferociously he thought. He would feel her frustration build up inside her, and then something would burst and their thoughts would somehow align. It would last for a few seconds, maybe a little more before they drifted apart. Eventually he fell asleep, drained. The last thing he felt from Snow was how awake she was, how filled with wonder and awe.

For days afterwards the thoughts that appeared in his head were strange and alien. They rarely made sense, and he would have to ask again and again what Snow was trying to tell him. As time went by, though, they grew sharper, brighter, clearer. He talked to Snow whenever she was there, and she responded. Every day she was changed, filled with new discoveries. Clearer, more articulate, more intelligent than she'd been the day before. A voracious sense of amazement and adventure infected her every thought, and his as well. No Scales had ever experienced what he was seeing, this blossoming.

It is like a veil is lifted in my mind each night, she told him one day as she left to hunt. He spent the rest of the day wondering what use a dragon would have for a veil, until he understood: she wasn't hearing his words any more, she was seeing into his mind. And when she answered him, she was looking inside him for things that he would understand.

'We have to go home,' he told her when she came back from her hunt with fresh blood still on her claws. 'I have to show you to the others.'

I am different. Why?

'I don't know, Snow. It's a miracle.'

Miracle? He felt her confusion. No. Little One Kailin, I feel as if I have awoken from a sleep that has lasted a hundred lifetimes. I do not understand how I have awoken, nor do I understand how I fell into such a slumber. Nor even how much more is to come.

'We'll go back home. We can ask Master Huros or one of the other alchemists, or even Eyrie-Master Isentine--'

NO! She snapped her jaws. Kailin scrabbled away from her in sudden terror, before she bowed her head to the ground, a dragon gesture of submission. I did not mean to frighten you, Little One Kailin. I will not hurt you, but nor will I go bac\ to that place.

'Why?' Kailin watched warily.

My brothers and sisters there are awake yet asleep. I could not bear to be that way again.

But all dragons are like that. Except you. You're the miracle.'

No, Little One Kailin. I do not think so. I think we were all this way, a long time ago. I have dreams. Memories of other lives I've lived. Many, many lives, but all of them long ago. I remember when my kjnd flew in our hundreds. I remember the silver gods and the breaking of the very earth itself then a hundred lives of bright thoughts and flying free. And then, Little One Kailin, something changed, and everything since has faded into an eternal dull blur, dim and impenetrable. Out of reach. All my kin are still sleepwalking their lives. Somehow, you have awoken me. How, Little One Kailin? How did you awaken me? I will not return to my kind until I have that answer. Until I can bring that knowledge back to them.

'I don't know.'

I know. Your thoughts speak far themselves. There are Little Ones who know far more, who may have the answers. You know of them. You wish to take me before them.

'You would be the wonder of the realms.'

I am not so sure, Little One Kailin. Would you like to see the memories I have of your kind from my lives long ago?

'Of course.'

Visions burst into his head. He saw armies of men, hundreds of thousands, more than anything he could have imagined. He saw himself land among them, lashing with his tail, scattering them like leaves, scores of them, smashing them to pulp in their little metal shells. He felt the fire build in his throat and burst forth. The air grew heavy with the stench of scorched flesh. And he felt the appetite growing inside him. For more, more, more ...

He screamed. The vision abruptly vanished.

Do you understand? In my dream your kind were never anything more than prey, and your thoughts were always filled with hopeless terror. Why would you wish to return to such a world?

'No, no, no!' Kailin shook his head. 'Dragons and men have lived together for hundreds of years. We helped you. You were dying. We looked after you. We've always looked after you. No.' He shook his head again. 'Go back to the eyrie, Snow. Our queen is good and wise. She'll know what to do.'

The dragon cocked her head. You have seen what we were, and yet you are more afraid of this queen? Curious. I can see that you truly believe everything you say. Perhaps ... Snow lifted her head off the ground. She rose onto her back legs and flapped her wings a few times. A sign of warning.

No, she said at last. I will not go back to the place you call the eyrie, Little One Kailin. Not yet.

27

The Burned Man

The dead man's lips began to move. He gave a soft sigh. The dragon-knights shifted away, shuffling uncomfortably. Sollos heard them muttering under their breath.

'He's all, um, yours,' said the alchemist. 'I don't know, um, how long he'll last. He hasn't been dead for long, so you've probably got at least, um, half an hour.'

Rider Semian was looking at the dead man with a mixture of horror and disgust. 'Ask him what happened here.'

'You can ask him yourself, if you wish, rider.'

Semian's lips curled in distaste. 'No, Master Huros. You made this abomination. It's yours now. The sell-swords will guard you. We will return to the river.'

The alchemist shrugged and turned his attention to the dead man.

'He kept on about the dragon speaking to him,' said Sollos, when the knights had gone. 'It was the white. He said there wasn't a rider. And something about someone called Maryk. I don't know what that was.'

'Leave me with him, Sword-Master Sollos. This isn't for your ears.'

Sollos snorted. 'You heard Rider Semian. We're to watch over you.'

'Thank you, but that's not necessary.'

'Master Huros, there probably aren't any snappers or wolves lurking around after a dragon's been here, but you never know. I don't overly mind if you get yourself eaten, but I'm quite sure that Rider Semian would delight in holding us to account for it.'

The alchemist shrugged. 'Stay if you must.' He settled himself and turned to the dead man. 'Um. What's your name, corpse?'

'Biyr,' said the dead man. Sollos shivered. The dead man spoke perfectly normally. He sounded much better than when he'd actually been alive and racked with the agony of his burns.

'Well, Biyr, what happened here?'

'A dragon came out of nowhere. We had no warning. It burned us. I was walking away from our tree shelters when the fire came.'

'Did you see the dragon?'

'Yes.'

'And, er, what colour was it?'

'White.'

The alchemist nodded, pleased. 'Did you see who was riding it?'

'No one was riding it.'

Huros frowned and shook his head. 'Ah. There must have been a, um, rider. Perhaps you missed it? Um ... When did you see the dragon? When it was in the air? Did it land?'

'It came down in the river after it burned us. I saw it then, between the trees.'

'Did you see it in the air?'

'No.'

The alchemist nodded. 'There, you see. Um ... whoever was riding her had probably already dismounted. Besides, it's not a good view from here through the trees to the river. I'm sure you could see something the size of a, ah, dragon clearly enough, but it would be very easy to miss a man.'

'I didn't see anyone get on its back before it went,' said Sollos quietly.

'That's because it didn't have a harness on,' grumbled Kemir. 'I kept telling--'

'It spoke,' murmured the dead man.

Huros shook his head. 'Dragons don't speak.'

'It spoke in my head. I heard it. It came for Maryk.'

'Um, no. You must be mistaken. That cannot be. Dragons do not speak.'

The alchemist's knuckles had gone very white.

Sollos asked, 'Who's Maryk?'

'One of us,' said the dead man. 'The dragon came after him.'

'How do you know?'

'That's what it said. It had come for Maryk. I heard its voice inside me, full of hate and fury.'

The alchemist shifted uncomfortably and frowned.

'Was this Maryk here?' asked Kemir.

'Yes. He was in the shelters,' said the dead man.

The alchemist raised a hand. 'Enough. Um ... sell-sword, go and bring Rider Semian to me.'

'So he's probably dead then.' Sollos made a face. 'Pity.'

'You should leave now,' said the alchemist.

Kemir grunted. 'I want to know about this Maryk. Where did he come from? Why did the dragon want him?'

'I want you to, um, leave us now, sell-sword. Bring Rider Semian. Um, right now.' The alchemist was chewing his lip in agitation.

'Do dead men lie?'

The alchemist turned and looked at Kemir. For a timid man, there was something very fierce in his eyes. And frightened too. 'About as much as living ones do, sell-sword. I said go!'

Kemir rolled his eyes. 'I'm only asking. Maybe when Rider Rod comes back, you could ask Crispy here whether we stabbed him. Just to make sure, you know.'

'There are no, er, wounds,' said Huros, between gritted teeth. 'It is patently obvious that you did not kill him. Now go!'

Sollos turned and left, pulling Kemir away with him.

Kemir chuckled to himself.

'Well he didn't seem very happy.'

'Do you have to annoy them so much?'

'Do I annoy them?'

'Does the sun rise in the morning? One day, one of those dragon-knights is going to lose his temper with you.'

'Let him. I'll put an arrow through him before he can remember which side he buckled his sword.'

'Yes. And what will you do about the other five?'

'Run like buggery, I expect.' Kemir laughed again and slapped Sollos on the back.

'I'm not finding this funny.' Sollos wrinkled his nose and loosened his shoulders. 'Something isn't right about this.'

'You keep saying that. As far as I'm concerned, what's not right is that we're helping dragon-knights.'

'We've been helping dragon-knights for months, remember?'

'Then let's just say I liked this work much better when we were helping dragon-knights by killing other dragon-knights. They're so stupid. They deserve to die.'

Sollos shook his head and pulled away, walking briskly towards the river.

'Well they are,' Kemir shouted after him. 'No obvious wounds? That's easy. Force open a man's mouth, drive a skewer up into the soft bit in the roof of his mouth and wiggle it about a bit. Or in through his nose, if he's totally out of it. Or up his arse, like Rider Rod. Need a bigger skewer for that, of course.'

'Will you shut up!' Sollos shook himself in exasperation. Whatever they both thought of dragon-knights, a fight wasn't going to help anyone, and Kemir was going to have to understand that sooner or later. Preferably sooner.

'Sell-sword!' Sollos emerged from the trees. Rider Semian was there, waiting for him. Sollos sighed. He couldn't bring himself to bow, so he settled for a slight nod.

'Rider. Master Huros has requested your presence. I suppose he has information he thinks you should hear.'

Semian looked at him askance and Sollos braced himself for the inevitable scornful tirade, but it didn't come. 'Very well, sell-sword. You can make yourself useful here instead. I require a fire.'

Sollos looked around at the smouldering embers all around him. 'That shouldn't be too difficult.' Even for a dragon-knight.

'I need smoke, sell-sword, and lots of it. No more walking through these cursed river beds. We're finishing this search as we should have started it. On dragonback.'