Wingborn (45 page)

“
Sorry.”
Mhysra tumbled out of her dormitory, tying her curls back.
“
I needed to change. It
’
s too muddy to fly in fawn breeches.
”
She eyed Derrain
’
s pointedly, but he shrugged.

“I
’
ll flirt with the laundry maids later and
they
’
ll work their magic
for me.
”

Mhysra shook her head.
“
You
’
re incorrigible.
”
But she didn
’
t waste her breath; Derrain was charming and knew
it. Unfortunately it was a skill that worked on both sexes, which
was how he
’
d gained
Lieutenant Stirla
’
s
permission to fly outside of lessons – as long as an experienced
flyer kept him company. So far Dhori and Mhysra had been the only
first-years granted that privilege, but most didn
’
t gain permission until their third year.
Trust Derrain to outdo them all.

“
I’
m also lovely, cuddly and perfect for taking home
to mother,
”
he promised,
holding the door for her, but only so he could hurry her through
it.

“Not my
mother. She knows you.”

“
Please
don’
t take me home to your mother. Or your aunt,
”
he added, shuddering.
“
One Wrentherin woman in my life at
a time is as much as I can handle.
”

She patted his cheek.
“
So wise so young.
”

The eyries were quiet when they entered.
Most would still be making their way back from Maegla
’
s Hall after the Starday service,
though Captain Fredkhen and Lieutenant Hlen were checking their
students
’
miryhls.
Mhysra raised her eyebrows at Derrain, then hurried to fetch
Cumulo
’
s tack and prise
him away from his lounging.

“
Too
early,” Cumulo grumbled, when she pulled his head down and slid his
bridle over his beak. “Come back when the sun’
s
gone.
”

“
It’
s going to rain later,
”
she warned, amused by how quickly his
moods changed. It had only been a half-moon since they
’
d flown for the first time in
months. Mere days ago he
had
purred happily whenever she approached, no
matter what the time of day.
“
Wouldn
’
t
you rather fly when it
’
s
warm?
”

He opened an eye, sighed and pulled his
wings in.
“
You win.
Where are we going?
”

“
Derry’
s got permission to fly with us, so
we
’
re going to see the
lake.
”

“
I’
ve seen it,
”
he muttered, while she settled his saddle into
place and tightened the girths.
“
It
’
s
icy.
”

“It might have
melted by now,” she coaxed, smiling as Hurricane lifted a marbled
wing so that she could walk around her miryhl. “Thank you.”

Hurricane winked, stretched out his neck and
returned to lazing. Cumulo watched him with a beady-eye.
“
The things I do for you
and your friends. You
’
d
best be keeping notes.
”

“Reams,” she
promised. “Is all well?”

He shook himself and stretched his wings.
“
Good enough,
”
he grunted.
“
I suppose we have to go now?
”

“
Yes,
please.” Smiling, she stepped onto his lowered wing, laughing as he
twitched to boost her into the saddle. “Derry will join us as soon
as he can,” she said. “So let’
s enjoy the warmth while
it
’
s with us.
”

Muttering, Cumulo shuffled between the
basking Atyrn and Hurricane, stepped daintily over an out-flung
wing and hopped onto the hatch ledge. He paused, head high, while
sunlight gilded his beak and shimmered over his feathers. Smiling,
Mhysra raised her face too, soaking up the delicious heat. Sunlight
was always more precious at the start of spring.

Cumulo tensed and she opened her eyes,
shifting with him as he launched through the hatch. They exited on
the falls side, swirling away from the roaring water to lift over
the bridge and rise in broad circles around the towers of the
citadel. They glided lazily, passing from light to shadow, over
figures sprawled across the Lawn and in the courtyards below. All
of Aquila had become sun-worshippers since the thaw had
arrived.

Skimming along the river, Cumulo snatched
playfully at the waters, then tucked in his wings.

“
Cumulo,” she warned, but it was too late.
“
Cue!
”
Her
shriek echoed off stone, half-drowned by the roaring water as her
miryhl dived underneath the bridge and tipped them over the edge of
the falls.

This time he dropped as far as the town
before opening his wings and sweeping up again. Mhysra lay against
him, heart pounding, skin still chilled from the shadow of the
bridge. She felt him laughing beneath her.

“
You’
ll be the death of me,
”
she grumbled.

He chuckled.
“
Not yet, chickling. Not quite yet.
”

As they rose above the bridge again,
shedding rainbow drops of spray, Derrain and Zephyr were waiting.
“
Ready?
”
her friend called.

She flattened against Cumulo
’
s back in answer, laughing as he
broke out of their spiral and raced up the valley. A scream behind
promised that Zephyr was following, and the two miryhls darted
through the shadows of the citadel towards the heart of the
mountain. When they reached the cascade, Cumulo thumped the air
with his wings and catapulted them towards the broken spurs that
separated the lake from the valley. A second hard flap, a third and
they were over the rocks and through.

“Oh, Cue,”
Mhysra whispered, as she pushed herself upright on his back for a
better look.

A u-shaped bowl glistened before her, the
semicircle broken by a sharp peak jutting from the cliffs at the
far end. Around the edges snow-clumped fir trees lined the icy
shores. As Cumulo soared over the valley, his shadow changed from
black to blue below. The lake was thawing, but it still had a long
way to go. She was doubly grateful for the sun on her back as the
chill reached them. Spring had barely touched this place yet.

Derrain and Zephyr caught up, and the two
miryhls darted to and fro. The further they explored the more
complex the valley became, with hidden ridges and secret inlets. It
would be perfect come the summer and Mhysra spotted some ideal
picnic spots. She wondered if there were boats for warmer months
and vowed to ask Kilai when next she saw him.

The far end of the valley ended in a sheer
cliff, glossy black where all else was white. The water at the base
had thawed entirely and was glassy, dark and still, reflecting them
perfectly as they passed over. Cumulo glided along the stone,
searching for a place to land, while Mhysra stared in wonder.
She
’
d never seen such a
perfect natural wall. There wasn
’
t even room for a raven to land, let alone a
miryhl. It could have been chopped by a giant axe: not one crack
marred the surface.

It became a game for the miryhls to find a
fault, swooping back and forth, using the glistening sunlight to
study the surface, until they were forced to concede.

“Dragon-made,
it has to be,” Derrain said, after they landed on the crag in the
middle of the wall that jutted over the lake, making the dip in the
giant U. There was nothing perfect about this slice of rock and it
provided ample roosting places for all manner of birds. “Nothing
else could carve so smoothly.”

“Mm,” Mhysra
agreed, drinking from her water bottle. “You should ask Captain
Fredkhen.”

“
Maybe,”
Derrain agreed, taking the bottle but pausing mid-swing. “Hey, it
looks like something found a fault. Maybe we didn’
t go high
enough.
”

Mhysra shielded her eyes and looked up.
Something was moving on the wall, close to the top. It
didn
’
t look like a bird,
or at least not any species she could recognise at that distance.
Perhaps a giant bat? It was crawling headfirst down the rock-face.
A second joined it.

“Cumulo,” she
murmured, a chill that had nothing to do with the lake creeping
over her.

Her miryhl tilted his head at her words, one
golden eye focusing. He tensed and turned to view the creature head
on.
“
Mount
up,
”
he rumbled.

Derrain jumped at hearing her
miryhl
’
s voice, then
looked again. Five creatures now crawled down the wall.
“
Oh.
”
He paled and fumbled to put the lid back on the
water bottle.
“
I
didn
’
t
…”
he began, but ran out of words.

Zephyr butted him in the back as Mhysra
swung into Cumulo
’
s
saddle. Derrain dropped the bottle and climbed onto his miryhl.

“Straps,”
Mhysra said tersely, turning to buckle her own as Derrain fumbled
with his.

“
Carefully,” Cumulo murmured, edging around the spur with
Zephyr until they were out of sight
.
“
Go.
”

They leapt into the air, not bothering to
circle for height. It was hard work, but both miryhls were in good
condition and they crossed a quarter of the lake before their
presence was noticed.

A harsh scream echoed over the valley,
raising the hairs on the back of Mhysra
’
s neck. Other voices joined the chorus.

“Blast and
burn it,” Derrain growled, glancing over both shoulders, until
Zephyr snapped at him to stop. “What do we do?”

“Get to Aquila
and raise the alarm,” Mhysra told him, far more calmly than she
felt as her heart thumped in her chest. “Rouse the eyries.”

A shadow dropped from the ridge in front of
them, followed by a second and a third. Leathery wings spread wide,
cupping the air as elongated limbs dangled beneath, thick tails
swaying in the wind. Almost-human faces grinned at them, thin lips
peeling back to reveal pointed teeth. They threw their heads back
and screamed.

“
Cue,
go!” Mhysra shrieked, fumbling at her waist for the sword she
didn’
t have. They hadn
’
t even begun learning to fight on miryhl-back yet,
and now this.

Kaz-naghkt.

Two shot upwards while the third coiled its
body and launched straight at them. Curved claws opened and for a
breathless moment Mhysra stared into red eyes, knowing not even
Maegla could save her.

Screaming, Cumulo swung his body up and hit
the kaz-naghkt in the chest with his talons. Digging through its
belly with one foot, he shredded with the other, using his beak to
distract the creature
’
s
teeth. Before it had a chance to use its wing spurs or claws,
Cumulo tore off its head and dropped it into the icy lake
below.

The fight lasted a handful of heartbeats,
but they had dropped perilously low in that time, while Derrain and
Zephyr continued on without them. Their friends were almost at the
cascade, but two kaz-naghkt were gliding above them. Zephyr was a
big miryhl, solid and strong, but she wasn
’
t fast.

“Keep watch
behind,” Cumulo ordered his Rider, powering in pursuit and skimming
the water to clean his talons.

Eager to help, and berating herself for not
at least bringing her bow, Mhysra darted glances above, below and
over both shoulders. What she saw filled her with horror.
“
We have
company.
”

“Where?” he
growled, not taking the time to look.

“Everywhere,”
she whispered.

“Hold on!” he
called, rising to catch the sharp tail-wind that blew down the
valley. With that beneath his wings, he glided over the kaz-naghkt
pair stalking Derrain – and dropped.

Seizing one in his beak and thumping the
other with his wing, Cumulo plunged towards the lake, taking both
creatures down with him. He shook the one in his beak, throwing it
into the cliff, before turning on the other.

Dazed but watchful, the kaz-naghkt spread
its wings, using them like sails to drift back from the enraged
miryhl. Cumulo was almost twice its size, but the kaz-naghkt was
protected by hard scales down its back and sides, and armed with
claws, teeth, wing spurs and a club tail. It would be a close match
and the kaz-naghkt knew it. Lips peeled back over ferocious teeth,
thin nostrils flared and it gurgled with laughter.

Watching their enemy warily, Cumulo circled,
keeping the creature in sight. It didn
’
t seem to care that Derrain and Zephyr had escaped
and even now would be rousing Aquila. All that mattered was the
miryhl in front of it.

“
Cue,”
Mhysra whispered, not wanting to distract him but needing to tell
him what was coming. There were at least fifty kaz-naghkt skimming
over the lake or rising to strike from above, with more still
arriving from the forests. She had never questioned her
miryhl’
s courage, but he was just one eagle and they were
outnumbered.
“
We have no
time.
”

When the sun hit their back, he flapped his
wings hard, shooting up as the kaz-naghkt lunged. Its scream was
curtailed with a thud when it hit the jagged spurs above the
cascade. Mhysra looked down at its impaled body as Cumulo rose over
the rocks and twisted into the wind. Tucking his wings in tight he
dove into the valley below, racing down the river towards the
citadel.