Embers at Galdrilene (50 page)

“I don’t know, but I am going to head inside,” she said in answer to his question. “This wind is too cold to stand any longer. Besides, the smell of the cooking is making me ravenous.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Kellinar offered. “Shryden is obviously enjoying himself and won’t have any use for me for a while.” He glanced down at her. “Where is Mckale?”

“He spent the morning at the training fields with Vaddoc again. With all of the new recruits signing up, Hemmen and Yaakov can use all the help they can get training the new soldiers. Mckale and Vaddoc are both on their way here for mid-day. Where have you been all morning?”

“Anevay and I were organizing some of the scrolls.”

Maleena smiled up at him. “You two spend a lot of time together.”

He nodded. “She’s a good friend and I enjoy her company.”

For a moment, Maleena saw through Kellinar. He still stood there, but more like a ghost of himself. Through him, she saw two dark cloaked Benduiren. She was in the mind of the woman again. This time only partially. She heard the Benduiren offer the woman sanctuary.

“No!” she said out loud as well as in her mind. “Do not!”

Again she lost the connection and saw only Kellinar, looking solid and concerned. “Don’t what?”

Maleena rubbed her temples. “I’m not sure.”

His brow furrowed. “Maleena, you aren’t making any sense. Are you feeling alright? Do you want me to call Serena for you? Or Mckale?”

She let her hands drop and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m fine and Mckale is already on his way, remember. Come, let’s get a move on. I’m cold.”

They crossed the terrace together. Kellinar glanced at her several times, a worried frown on his face.

Kellinar held the door for her and she started to step through, then stopped and looked at the glowing orb on the wall in the hall beyond. It shimmered between clear white and a golden color. She watched in fascination as it flickered against the pale marble walls. She shook her head as if that would help clear it. Orbs didn’t shimmer and the walls weren’t marble.

The hall faded, through it she saw a massive cave with a pale egg in the middle. Her breath caught and her mouth went dry. Above, black dragons stared down at her from broad shelves formed in the marble walls. Shadow Dragons. She was seeing through the woman’s eyes again. Taela...the name floated to her.

It was disorienting to see Kellinar and the hall through her own eyes, and another place completely through the eyes of another at the same time. She staggered, aware of him as he reached out a hand to steady her. Concern filled Kellinar’s blue eyes. “Maleena, what’s wrong?”

Maleena held her hand up, told him not to worry and to hush so she could hear. Or at least she thought she did. Maleena saw various people as Taela rummaged through the heads of those around her.

She could hear Kellinar explaining to Mckale what happened. Then she heard Mckale’s voice, “I know; I could feel it. Something or someone has made a strong connection with her.” His silver eyes, so steady and sure, replaced Kellinar’s.

Kellinar asked something that she didn’t catch, but she heard Mckale’s response. “No, Nydara doesn’t seem unduly alarmed. What or whoever it is, it’s not going to harm her.”

Maleena wished they would hush so she could hear what was being said to the woman. She saw another woman whose beauty veiled the evil in her mind. She laid her hand on Taela’s arm and Maleena could tell the touch caused Taela severe pain. Taela, being so new, had no shield. Could a Shadow Rider even gain a shield? Surely bondmating was impossible amongst such people.

Then Taela focused on the egg. Maleena saw her reaching out to touch it as if it were her own hand. Mckale’s face faded away and she was fully in the Hatching.

At first she thought another black egg hatched, but something wasn’t right. The pain and evil that usually accompanied these visions, while present at first, quickly faded. Images–first of Guardian Dragons attacking then of black dragons attacking–warred with each other. Then something shifted. She didn’t know what happened, except the Guardian Dragons no longer flew at her. She was taken on a similar, although dimmer and more distant trip through time, like the one Nydara took her on when she hatched.

The images faded. Danger. Intense danger threatened. The feeling came from another. It came from Taela. In front of her a silver-gray draclet glittered dimly in the light. Maleena sensed no aura of evil or despair emanating from it.

The vision faded, replaced by Mckale’s face. Maleena sat on the floor, the cold stone of the wall pressing into her back. Mckale knelt on one knee next to her. Kellinar and Vaddoc stood nearby. Mckale brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “You are back.”

Maleena glanced around at the familiar hall. “Yes, it’s over.”

Kellinar kneeled on her other side. “Was it another one of those flaming black dragons hatching? How many of those burning things are going to crop up?”

Maleena looked at him, her brow creasing in confusion. “I thought so at first, but now…I don’t know. I’m not sure if it knew what it was in the beginning. One second it was a black dragon hatching, the next it wasn’t. The whole thing was so confusing. ”

Vaddoc leaned over Mckale’s shoulder. “What do you think it means?”

Maleena sighed. “I don’t know. I wish I did. I need to talk to Emallya.”

Mckale stood, pulling her with him. Once on her feet, Maleena stepped away from him and straightened her skirt. “Emallya is on her way to our dining room, we can talk to her there. It’s best if everyone else hears it as well anyway. I have a feeling this is going to affect us all as much as another Shadow Dragon Hatching would have.”

Vaddoc’s amber eyes narrowed slightly. “You don’t think it was another Shadow Dragon Hatching?’

“No, I don’t.”

“But
something
hatched,” Vaddoc persisted.

Maleena struggled to understand the confusion in her own mind. It just wouldn’t straighten out and make sense. She looked up at Vaddoc. “Something hatched, yes.” Without any more explanation, she started down the hallway.

In the dining room, she barely noticed the food being served, too focused on what she had seen to pay attention. Mckale leaned close and said quietly, “You should eat.”

Maleena glanced up, startled to realize the serving maids were gone. “Thank you, I was so distracted, I forgot how hungry I am.”

He smiled. “I know. I can feel both your hunger and your distraction.”

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” she said, frustrated with her inability to understand. “How can there be a Hatching among the Shadow Dragons that didn’t result in the creation of another Shadow Dragon and rider?”

Sitting across from them, Emallya and Bardeck looked up from their food. “You felt another Hatching?” Emallya asked, a stunned expression on her face. The quiet conversation between the others stopped as they turned toward Maleena.

“Yes, but it wasn’t a normal black dragon Hatching.”

“I felt nothing. Are you sure?” the older woman asked.

“I’m very sure. It wasn’t a vision though. It was a…connection of some sort.”

Emallya’s eyes turned wary. “What do you mean a connection?”

“I connected with the thought paths of another person. She has Spirit magic. I first connected with her when she tried to make a man change his mind. From what I saw, I get the feeling she crushed his mind in the process, not on purpose though. I tried to warn her, but my thoughts in her head shocked her so much, she lost her concentration and I lost the connection. I think she must have got caught though because the next time I felt her, she was terrified someone was after her and there were two Benduiren offering her sanctuary.”

Emallya let her breath out in a hiss. “She went with them?”

“I sent that she should not. She was on the verge of refusing when something happened and she took their offer. Again, I lost the connection. When it picked up again... Here, it will be easier to show you,” Maleena offered.

Like the first night a black egg hatched, Nydara took the entire encounter and projected it to the other dragons, who in turn relayed it to their riders. There was silence at the table while everyone in the room watched through the eyes of Taela, everything that had happened from her first connection to Maleena, to her arrival at the Kormai, and through the Hatching of the pale egg.

When it came to its conclusion, Emallya drew in a sharp breath. Maleena leaned forward. “Do you know what it means?”

Emallya nodded. “Somehow, a Guardian Dragon hatched in the Kormai.”

A collective gasp went up. Maleena felt all of the pieces of the puzzle click into place. “How is that possible?”

“Are you sure?” Vaddoc asked at the same time.

Kellinar stabbed at the food on his plate. “Well that’s just flaming fabulous.”

Emallya ignored Kellinar and addressed Vaddoc, “Look back through everything. It only comes in small snatches, but there are clearly times when you can feel the crooning of the Dragon Song in her head. And when she first sees it in the Kormai, the egg pulls at her. I wish we could see beyond the Hatching and the feeling of danger.”

Vaddoc shook his head. “Is she a true Guardian though? Can she and her dragon communicate with each other? Or is she some sort of weird in-between thing? Is she truly good or is there evil in her soul we cannot see through this?”

“What are we going to do?” Serena asked. “We can’t leave her there.”

Bardeck scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Under normal circumstances, we would try and rescue her. But there are just so many unanswered questions with this.”

Maleena looked at him. “What if there was a way to get the answers? I could connect with her again. After so many accidental connections, I can now easily follow the path back to her mind.”

Emallya shook her head. “No, do not. We have no idea how powerful she is. If she followed you back, and she is not a pure Guardian, she might discern things from your mind that would compromise us.”

“She won’t be able to follow my mental path back. Not even you can follow me when I erase the path. She will find nothing.”

“It is too dangerous,” Emallya said.

Serena’s brow furrowed. “I thought the Dragon Song only came to Guardians. I thought the black dragons couldn’t sing for a rider because they have no soul until the hatcher gives the dragon half of theirs. How is it possible for a Shadow Dragon to sing the Dragon Song? And if not a Shadow Dragon then it must be a Guardian.”

Kellinar scowled. “I say if the burning thing hatched in that evil place then most likely it and its rider are both evil. This could be some kind of ploy. Erase all the mental paths and be done with it.”

“I don’t think we can Kellinar,” Serena said gently. “This woman and her draclet could be in serious danger.”

Kirynn leaned forward. “Has there ever been a successful rescue of someone from the Kormai?”

Bardeck shook his head. “No. There have been several attempts, but none successful. After the last effort, in which only a single Guardian pair from the rescue party returned, we deemed it too dangerous to try anymore. The Kormai is not an easy place to get through. The entrance, at the end of a canyon, is the only way in or out. There are many ledges in the main cave and that is where the black dragons roost. Several hallways lead from the main cave. They wind away underground in a maze of tunnels, chambers and levels.”

“So it can’t be done?” Kirynn persisted.

Bardeck leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes troubled. “We can try. But can we afford to lose any of you to save one rider we know nothing about?”

Maleena understood the hesitation to try and rescue the new pair, but it made her feel sick to her stomach to leave them there. It sentenced the pair to certain death.

Emallya leaned back with a sigh. “This is something we are going to have to think about and plan. Do not try to connect with her, Maleena. If she reaches out for you, allow her to connect and do your best to discern just what kind of pair we are dealing with. I do not like it, but I do not see we have much choice.”

They ate in silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts. Kellinar scowled darkly at his food and stabbed at it with more vigor than necessary. He broadcast his thoughts so loudly, Maleena couldn’t help hearing them. He didn’t like this new development, he didn’t like that they considered rescuing the strange pair, and most of all, he didn’t like the idea of putting Shryden in danger on the off chance the whole thing wasn’t a trap of some kind.

She reached for her cup of milk and stopped. The people around her faded and she again saw through Taela’s eyes.

“Maleena?” Mckale’s voice sounded distant. She held up her hand to silence him as she concentrated on what she saw. Two books lay before Taela. A book with a gold Di’shan star on its cover that gave off feelings of hope. The other, a black book with an upside down tree on it, gave off feelings of despair and evil.

Taela wanted to reach for the golden book, but didn’t. Instead, she reached for the black and even Maleena could feel the pain in her own head from the book. She could see all of the symbols in the book, but she didn’t understand any of it. Taela understood what she saw, though. Maleena could see the symbols translated in the other woman’s mind.