Protector of the Flight (46 page)

Her
nape tingled.
Go where?

The
lead stallion and mare of the wild volarans in Volaran Valley Summon.

She
hesitated, then nodded.
I’ll be right with you.

The
Valley is on the far side of Lladrana, we fly over mountains, much Distance
Magic will be used.

Right.
I’ll leave a note….

Not
necessary,
said another voice, light and chirping.

Calli
glanced down to see a peacock dragging its long, colorful tail come around her
tent. Despite the fact that it was a peacock, Calli recognized Sinafinal. She
tilted her head and the comb fluffed in the wind.
I have not been to Volaran
Valley for a while.

Thunder
looked down his nose at her. You
are not invited.

She
clicked her beak, beady eyes glittering.
No?

Thunder
moderated his tone.
I was told volarans and the Volaran Exotique only.
His hide rippled.
If you want to come, you must ask for an invitation
yourself.

Sinafinal
spread her tail, and it was more brilliant than the dawn.
I will tell Alexa
and others of Calli’s absence.

“Thank
you,” Calli said. “I need to dress.” She hurried into the tent and inspected
her clothes. She’d left her blue gown at home. Rubbing her fingers over the
stains on her least battered leathers, she gave up and took new dreeth leathers
that she’d never worn from a pegged clothing stand. Sliding the tunic and pants
over her silk underthings, she found the skin unusually comfortable. Pliant.
And she knew it was nearly indestructible. Though the color was a drab brown,
there was a slight sheen to the clothes. She wished for a mirror, then shrugged
and gave up. Wearing dreeth skin made a statement in itself.

When
she stepped out of the tent, Sinafinal was gone and Thunder greeted her with a
flick of his ears and a nuzzle. She stroked his nose, then mounted. Small
sounds came of servants rising to tend fires and start breakfast.

Raoul,
who now slept in a little guard tent between hers and another wealthy
landowner’s, exited the tent wearing only breeches. He sent her a smile and
stretched. “You’re sure taking off early.”

Calli
nodded and swung onto Thunder, who ruffled his feathers.

Making
a noise of disgust, Raoul curled his lip and said, “That man of yours is crazy
to leave you alone for anything.”

“He’s
watching our children.”

Raoul
snorted, opened his mouth, then shut it. Calli knew what he’d stopped himself
from saying. She’d heard him calling her children “orphaned brat bastards” when
gossiping with others. “Good fighting,” she said.
Let’s go,
to Thunder.

“I
hope not. Good journey. Where are you going?”

Thunder
rose with a loud beating of wings, leaving the question unanswered.

As
the sun rose, painting the sky in pastels, and the winds whispered to them of
bright skies and sunny days, Calli’s mood lifted, too. Excitement fizzed in her
blood. As far as she knew, she was the only person in hundreds of years to
visit Volaran Valley.

She
and Thunder stole precious time to do a couple of loop-de-loops and other
aerial tricks, just for fun. No reason to worry about the cost of Distance
Magic. Whatever the cost to their Pairling relationship, the dark night sex
always energized her the next day, and did the same to Marrec.

As
she passed over noble estates, volarans flew to join her in a colorful stream,
wind caressing roan and white and gray and brown manes.
This
was the
kind of flight she liked to lead, not trailing with other Shielded Pairs onto a
battlefield.

They
flew over her estate…and all the volarans, including Dark Lance, rose to
accompany her….
Calli?
came Marrec’s startled mindcall at the sight.

I
am Summoned to Volaran Valley.

She
felt surprise from him, a flash of envy, and she was human enough to smile.
I’ll
be home tonight.

They
don’t need you for the expedition planning?

No.

I’ll
see you later.

Volaran
Valley was gigantic, an oval crater-like depression in the continent, ringed
with mountains and showing a rich verdancy of grasses and flowers. The wild
herd, though, was smaller than she expected. She circled down, sighing as the
kiss of volaran Power—a magical shield—slid against her skin.

When
she landed, a young mare trotted up, stared at her, swiveled her ears and
dipped her head in greeting.

Salutations,
Calli said in
Equine.

Welcome.

She
dismounted from Thunder and staggered. The beauty of the valley itself was near
perfection. She was drunk on volaran Song.

The
herd circled her. No, not as large as expected…especially if this was
all
of them. Narrowing her eyes, she scrutinized them. The younger ones seemed
smaller than the older ones and there were slight signs of inbreeding—color,
conformation, the closeness of one Song to another.

The
alpha stallion, a compact, muscular black, came up to her and she felt the
strongest mental probe she’d ever had from him.

You
were brought here to tell us of this Flight to the Dark’s nest,
as the stallion
projected the concept in Equine—a huge black hole with a writhing tangle of
snakes—a shudder ran through the mass of the herd. Younger volarans flung their
heads back, rolling their eyes, and galloped away. When they came back, they
stood at the edge of the crowd around her, protected from her and the dire news
she brought by their elders.

The
young ones have not fought any horrors yet,
a calmer, more resonant
mind-tone said. Calli sensed it was from a mare, the alpha probably, but she
didn’t step forward. She left Calli to the one running on testosterone.

The
people believe this is your task,
the stallion said.

Calli
unfastened her waterskin from her side, unplugged it, swigged a little cool,
minty water, then said, “Yes.”

The
stallion nodded, a larger gesture than Calli expected. As if he spoke loudly to
someone who didn’t know his language well. It irritated her, but perhaps her
mastery of Equine
wasn’t
as good as she thought it was. And perhaps she
should get over her nerves at the beauty of the scene and pay attention to the
visual cues he was giving her. Concentrate on the alpha male. Yeah, that might
be good if she didn’t want to get kicked.

Ears
flicking, the stallion eyed her.
We, too, believe this is your task.

Her
mouth dried. She bowed.
Thank you for that information. How can I do it?

Trust
yourself and Thunder and the Song.

In
other words, he didn’t know or wasn’t telling.

There
is something else…
said the female voice.

Yes?

The
Song has been unclear, but you smell so good and look so good.
A small, older
white mare came forward, extended a long tongue and licked Calli’s arm.
Taste
good.
She tilted her head one way, then the other.
Your Song…it makes me
want to Sing.

Calli
simply closed her eyes.

The
ambience of the valley sank into her, ancient Songs imbuing the mountainsides,
the vitality of the winged horses. When she opened her eyelids, only the mare
remained with her, and Thunder was eating and watching a few feet away.

Stay
as long as you want, return whenever you want,
the mare said.

Thank
you.

The
mare fluttered her black-etched wings.
We would all like to greet you. To
smell. To touch and be touched.

Ayes.

Some
would like to fly with you.

Calli
pulled her handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her eyes.

She
spent the day with the volarans. This was the one essential task that she must
fulfill, she thought, to bond with each of the wild ones, know their character.
Sing with them. Fly with them.

It
was after dark before she left. Wholly content.

Her
pleasant mood was shattered as she began the descent to her home.
Don’t
bother to land,
Marrec said.
The Marshalls want you back at camp. The
expedition to the Dark’s island leaves at dawn.

She
hesitated, but before she could insist Thunder alight, he shot off toward the
encampment.

33

C
alli shared tea
with Alexa before dawn, letting her squire pack for her. Since her eyes felt
rolled in dirt from sleeplessness, she was glad for his help.

“Everyone
wants to survey the island.” Alexa grinned.

Calli’s
heart jumped. She didn’t. This was not a beautiful flight with her volaran.
This was a flyover of the enemy’s headquarters. An enemy that had been sending
unlimited monsters across the borders of Lladrana for centuries.

“Good.
That’s good,” she mumbled.

“But
we’re limiting it to twenty. The strongest Marshalls and Chevaliers. We had
trials while you were gone yesterday.” Alexa slid a look at her. “Volaran
Valley pretty cool?”

“Nothing
in two worlds is as cool as Volaran Valley,” Calli said sincerely.

Alexa
sniffed, looked at her from the corner of her eye. “If you’d been here
yesterday, we could’ve put up some barrels. You’d have won.”

Calli
laughed. “I guess so.”

Sobering,
Alexa said, “Marian and Jaquar are coming, too. I don’t know how many others of
the Tower Community might show up—probably a few now and then along the way,
bringing and taking reports and suchlike.”

The
interlude of peace was over. Calli glanced around the camp. “We’re leaving this
here?”

“Yes.
Packing lightweight camping equipment only.” She pulled a face. “I never cared
for camping. Hiking, yes. Camping, no. I hate bugs.”

“I
can do that. I traveled more than one rodeo circuit. Did about sixty-five
rodeos one year.”

Alexa
stared. “You must have been on the road all the time.”

“Yes.”
And she wouldn’t do it again.

Clearing
her throat, Alexa said, “Will Marrec be coming?”

Calli’s
smile was bitter. “Despite his shocked and loving attitude a couple of days
ago, we are currently not speaking. I don’t think so.”

Alexa
rubbed her face. “The, um, orders to be here this morning, huh?”

“I’d
say that was the last straw, yes.”

“It’s
only for a little while. One task.”

“One
more task. One
big
task. That could kill me, and he’d die, too, right?”

“Oh.
Yeah. I’m sorry.” Since Alexa’s hair stood straight out from her head with
Power and tension, Calli guessed she meant it. Alexa shook her head. “It’s like
riding a tiger. And I don’t guess I ever knew what that really meant ’til I
came here. Rare that you get any breaks.”

“Ayes.”
Calli put her teacup down and stretched her aching body. She’d flown with about
twenty wild volarans in the valley the day before and every muscle ached.
Concentrating on her breathing, she let her mind rest. “But even though Marrec
and I aren’t getting along, I have him, a wonderful—sometimes—jerk of my own.”

Alexa
snorted a laugh.

“And
beautiful land of my own.”

“And
great children,” Alexa said quietly.

Calli
stared at her. “Do you mind not—”

Alexa
shook her head. “No, not really. I’m pretty much obsessed with fighting the
Dark. And Bastien. Well, not fighting Bastien, but being with Bastien. You know
what I mean.”

“Yeah.”

“Leaving
in ten minutes!” Thealia’s Powerful voice rolled over the camp.

“Guess
we’d better get along,” Alexa said.

“Guess
so.”

E
ven with
Distance Magic, it took the Chevaliers and volarans time to fly northward.
Marrec did not accompany them. Oh, he made the first couple of camps—as many as
four, and Calli went home to visit after the first couple of camps—then the
distance was too far. The skies outside Lladrana seemed heavier, as if Amee
kept most of the magic in the world concentrated in Lladrana. And the Dark’s
existence and its use of the area—breeding camps for the horrors—layered an
additional danger.

Three
weeks later the expedition camped on a gentle sweep of land that curved closest
to the island. They weren’t in Lladrana anymore, hadn’t been since the first
couple of days, but this land had always been claimed by the Dark. No one lived
here.

Though
it was cool so far north—maybe like Greenland or Iceland—the freshwater inland
sea could have been dotted with settlements. All was barren of human life, and
had very skittish, very limited animal life. The Chevaliers and Marshalls
mostly subsisted on food they brought with them. No way could an army come this
route. Not even all the Marshalls and Chevaliers who partnered with volarans.