Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice (14 page)

They sidestepped around three men talking in
the corridor outside Cale’s quarters.

Aven whispered, “Did you know the commitment
between Jaer and Shan was arranged?”

Erynn’s attention snapped to Aven.
“What?”

Cale emerged from the office. “Aven, you
should come in and hear this.” He frowned. “You’ll be accompanying
Erynn to Deanaim tomorrow.”

TINY PELLETS OF ICE SWIRLED on the gusting
wind and in the open bay doors. Shafts of golden sunlight pierced
thick iron-gray clouds, seeking a firm hold, grasping the forest
cloaked with a mantle of fresh snow.

Erynn came around the front of the ship for
the third time. The smooth black surface reflected her intense
concentration as she inspected the exterior.

Again.

Aven leaned against the open hatch. “How many
times are you going to go over the Herk [HrC-Hover Craft]?”

She glared at him and continued her route.
“You don’t want to crash, do you?”

He sighed. “That’s not what this is about,
Erynn. You keep checking the main corridor. I’ve seen you. Do you
want me to contact Jaer? Get him down here so you can say
good-bye?”

Erynn spun around. Her mouth worked at a
rebuff, but she couldn’t get a denial to verbalize. She stared out
the open doors instead. The last of the storm gave way to blue sky.
She squinted at the brightness. Her gaze swung back to Aven. “No.
But where is he? I thought…I mean…I’m leaving. You’re leaving. If
not me, doesn’t he have anything to say to you?”

Aven cocked his head and smiled at her. “Jaer
gave me my orders last night. You can guess what they were.”

“Yes, I can imagine.” Erynn frowned and
smoothed her heavy flight suit.

Cale trotted down the metal stairs from the
control room. “Erynn, Aven, is there a problem?” His gaze darted
between the two of them.

Aven shrugged and tipped his head toward
Erynn. “We’re making sure we won’t crash.” He grinned and nodded
with enthusiasm.

“We’re leaving. Right now.” Erynn squeezed by
Aven and through the narrow hatch.

“Are you sure?” Aven whispered, turning his
head to follow her.

“I’m sure.” Her heart skipped and her pulse
quickened. Once inside the aircraft, Erynn smiled and dropped into
the pilot’s seat. “Let’s do this.”

She slipped on the communication link,
securing it around her ear. The device buzzed with quiet static and
connected to the chip under her skin.

Aven climbed on board and pushed his large
frame into the seat. He pulled the straps across and down, buckling
in.

Erynn flipped switches. The hatch swung up,
closing with an airtight hiss. The engine hummed, and the
instrument panel before her lit up, gauges jumping to life. Thick,
clear sections bolted to solid metal posts surrounded the cockpit.
She watched the ground crew push the Herk, rolling it to the
scramble pad. When they backed up, standing by the open hangar
doors, Erynn tapped the connection behind her ear. “All clear,
control?”

Cale’s voice sounded through the tight
compartment. “You’re cleared for launch. And, Erynn, be
careful.”

“I will.” She took hold of the stick and
feathered the controls under her feet. The rotors above whined,
spinning faster and faster. Soothed by the cramped interior of the
Herk, the scent of warming electronics, and the familiarity of
flight procedures, Erynn gained focus. The small ship levitated,
rising straight and smooth. She turned the nose toward the sun,
tipping forward. “Be back soon.” Erynn accelerated and they shot
away, the landscape below a blur.

Aven twisted a dial on the panel before him.
“Coordinates are plotted into the NAV-COM.” The flight path would
take them nearly halfway around Arranon and through several time
zones. He turned to Erynn. “Are you going to engage Auto-Fly?”

Erynn shook her head and smiled. “No. I like
to pilot.”

Aven chuckled. “Yes, well, no fancy flying,
okay? I’ve seen what you can do. I don’t need to experience your
expertise first hand.” He glanced away from the scene outside.
“Please.”

“Don’t worry. This ship isn’t built like an
Interceptor. The Herk wouldn’t handle that kind of stress.”

They flew on in silence. Erynn enjoyed the
freedom of flying after so much time confined inside the base.

Aven’s posture had relaxed. “I talked with
Tam last night. She wanted to come with us, but since she’s on
Korin, she understands that we needed to go before she could get
back.”

Erynn frowned. “How’s her father? I heard he
was doing better.” With all that was happening on the base, Tam’s
family crisis had slipped her mind more than once.

“Recovering nicely. Starting to drive the
rest of the family crazy. He won’t sit still.” Aven stared out the
clear section next to him. “Tam will be home soon. I mean back to
the base.”

Erynn grinned. “Then we need to check out
Deanaim and get back home.” She glanced over to Aven and bit her
lower lip.

“What?” Aven asked.

She took in a deep breath. “Jaer’s commitment
was arranged? I didn’t think that sort of thing happened anymore.
It’s…archaic.”

Aven leaned forward and tapped the face of a
gauge. “The agreement worked for Jaer at the time and was helpful
for Shan’s family.”

“Helpful? Why did the commitment work for
Jaer?”

“Shan caused her family trouble. She was—is—a
bit of a wild thing. They thought being committed would settle her
down. Especially if there were children.”

Erynn grimaced and glanced at Aven, her
stomach lurching into her throat. “Are there children?” She
swallowed.

Aven shook his head. “No, Shan is unable to
carry a child. This news made her more restless, agitated. Jaer was
gone most of the time. They rarely saw each other. She took off not
long after their commitment ceremony never to be seen again. Until
now.” His voice was low and full of anger.

“Did Jaer love—”

“Love was not a factor, for either of them.”
Aven turned his face to Erynn and smiled. “I’m not supposed to talk
to you about this.”

Erynn studied him. “Jaer’s orders?”

Aven nodded. “Jaer’s orders.”

Dense green forests replaced high mountains
and snow-covered trees. The sun, well behind them now, sent long
fingers of blue shadows pooling under boughs and limbs.

Erynn could see the dark ahead of them. Night
beckoned, waiting. There would be nothing but the vast unpopulated
regions of Arranon until the city of Glaskra, and then they’d fly
deeper into the wilds to Deanaim. She smiled, thinking about
Glaskra and the nine children that resided there. Children like
her, with mixed parentage. They lived together in the city,
protected by Leathan Tal. Iyan, the oldest, would be coming to the
base for a visit when they had a break in classes. Erynn looked
forward to seeing him again.

Aven’s voice broke through her musings. “I
understand we’re searching for information that will lead us to the
portals.”

Her thoughts scattered like startled aleuns
against the sky.

“But how will we know?”

Erynn glanced back to their gear packed away
in the cargo hold behind them. “I hope to have contact with Cace.
He’s my symbol expert. If the communication equipment we brought
doesn’t work, well, we’ll have to record what we find and bring it
to Cace. But it will work.” Her smile widened.

She sensed Aven’s gaze on her. He
straightened and frowned. The glow of the instrument panel cast his
face in a pale yellow light. “How will Dhoran begin this again? If
he’s not dead, like Zander told you, how will he be able to gather
an army? He’s not real, not a solid form.”

Her brow knitted and her eyes narrowed. “I’ve
been thinking about that. If the Shifters can become other shapes,
then why can’t Dhoran? Only more effectively. Maybe he’s not
limited like the Shifters in becoming another being.” She shook her
head. “Hmmm, I don’t know.”

Aven nodded and stared into the black
nothingness. “No, Erynn. That makes sense. But not exactly the way
you described. What if Dhoran can take over a body? Any body?
Inhabit and
use
it?”

Erynn shivered. Icy fingers played along her
spine. The truth in what Aven said battled against her grasp of
reality, her concepts of nature. If this was what had happened, or
would happen, Dhoran could be anyone.

Dark ebbed behind and light grew ahead. A
growing radiance shone down on nightmares, revealing them to the
sun’s radiance, pushing fear to a far corner. Time passed as the
Herk sped onward. Dawn gave Erynn’s thoughts a new perspective. She
smiled and shook her head.

I would sense. Know if Dhoran were near.
He couldn’t hide from me or Cale
.

The shining city of Glaskra sparkled like
jewels in the morning’s golden rays.

Glaskra looks just like the first time I
was here
.

An indicator on the panel directed Erynn to
change course. She guided the small ship to the right, the sun now
fully at her left and rising. When the great orange ball was
overhead, a large clearing in the thick forest marked Deanaim’s
inner walls.

Erynn stared below and prepared to land. “Why
doesn’t the forest intrude inside the wall?”

Aven leaned as far as his harness allowed.
“Ghosts,” he whispered. “Not even the plants will go there.”

Erynn glanced quickly at him. He wasn’t
smiling.

Does he actually believe in the ghosts of
Deanaim
?
Do I
?
Or maybe a better question is, should
I
?

Erynn could see the layout. A circular wall
of stone was overgrown with vines, impossible to see from the
outside without knowing its precise location. The forest had
reclaimed the land there. The fortress walls continued, one end
overlapping the other, concealing the opening. Inside the lushly
screened stronghold, the forest had not returned. Stone buildings
remained, formidable and sturdy.

Erynn landed, setting the Herk down with
gentle precision.

Aven unbuckled his restraints, pushing out of
the seat. He smiled, but Erynn could feel his apprehension. Like
waves in the ocean, his surging emotions crashed over her, pulled
back, and crashed against her again. “Let’s get the gear unloaded
and set up. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Takes a lot
to keep this body fueled and ready for action.” He glanced down and
patted his stomach.

The trip had taken a little over half a day,
and Erynn was hungry too. Anxious to get started, she had been too
nervous to eat much breakfast. “Sounds good.”

The spicy scent of the forest permeated the
air. This equatorial region hadn’t experienced the heavy snows yet.
They would come. The heady mix of trees and musky soil would
diminish under winter’s spell. For now, the forest was alive with
familiar chirping, chattering, and the sighing of wind through the
trees.

A small storage building became their base.
The structure offered a secure defense. With no windows and a solid
door, the space would be easier to keep warm if the weather
changed. They set up bunks, stowed their personal gear, and
established a kitchen. Aven got to work preparing a hot meal, while
Erynn began connecting the wiring for communications.

“Jaer’s was a commitment of convenience, for
Shan’s family. Jaer felt a debt to them.” Aven talked with his back
to Erynn. “When he was young, in school, he and his friends were
responsible for another boy’s death. Indirectly, but they had a
part in what happened.” Aven sighed. His shoulders rose and then
slumped. “That boy was Shan’s older brother.”

Erynn tightened her grip on a tool she had
been using to secure connections and stared at the dirt floor
before turning to Aven.

“Even now, Jaer believes this debt is his to
carry.” Aven dug something out of a pack. Tiny ripping sounds
preceded him dumping the contents of a package into a pan. He
shrugged, studying the empty container he held. “Shan contacted our
parents to learn Jaer’s whereabouts just about a week ago. She
wanted a separation. She’s found a new half she wants to be sworn
to.”

The
achcear
, crunchy nuts, and red
berries in a creamy sauce began to simmer, filling the space with a
mouth-watering aroma. This particular meal was Erynn’s favorite
since arriving on Arranon. Jaer must have told Aven.

“But not anymore. After returning to Glaskra
and hearing of Jaer becoming Fayn, and then seeing his standing,
his position on the base, Shan has decided not to press for a
separation.” Aven turned. “Shan always enjoyed, and shared, Jaer’s
status as an Anbas until his constant absence became too much and
she left. Even when Shan was around, she was never really with
Jaer. Always gone, running around with her friends.” Aven’s jaw
muscles tightened and released repeatedly. His eyes narrowed.
“Meeting with other men.”

Erynn winced.

Aven met Erynn’s gaze. “Now his position here
as Cale’s second and the fact that he is the youngest Fayn in
written history intrigues her. Shan knows her presence torments
Jaer. She has the power and enjoys letting Jaer know it. She’s
going to take everything she can from Jaer before giving him what
he wants. The separation.” He tossed the empty container into a
bin.

“What does she want?” Erynn’s voice was
little more than a whisper.

Aven chuckled, shaking his head slowly.
“You’re thinking material riches, or even Jaer’s position. Jaer
doesn’t care about those things. The one thing Shan wants to take
from him—the one thing he does care about—is you, Erynn. Hurting
people is what Shan is all about.” He turned back to the pot, its
contents bubbling, steam rising.

“Why didn’t Jaer petition for a separation
when she left him?” Erynn set her tools down, stood up, and stepped
toward Aven.