SummerDanse (16 page)

“Will I always be able to come to this place? Any time I want?”

“No. But occasionally, when all the elements are in their right places.”

Etos’s voice had begun to fade. “Don’t leave me yet!” I cried out.

“It is not I who leave, but you. Use your strength. Much is asked of those to whom much is given.”

And there I was, back in the Chamber of Vows, with an echo of Etos’s voice fading away. Zhantar stood in the center of the second circle, his eyes closed, one hand on my head and the other one raised, palm upward. A look of elation suffused his face. His eyes opened and he looked straight into mine.

“It is done,” he said.

My stomach turned into ice. What was done? Had I spoken the words while my spirit and soul danced with Etos?

“Now, come. Our first task together awaits.” He held out a hand to me.

I didn’t take it. “I want you to free Mama first.”

Fire flickered in his eyes. “She is nothing of significance to you now. We are your family.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward one of the other doors. I tugged against him, but he was much too strong for me. I tried to summon my maejic to resist him, but my thoughts were too scattered.

Beyond the door was the beginning of a spiral staircase, and up we went, our steps turning round and round on themselves.

My thighs burned and I was out of breath by the time we reached the top. Down another corridor, then Zhantar opened a door and we went in. This room was lit only by the moon shining through wide windows that stood open, and the air was filled with the sounds of birds cooing and rustling.

“Now,” he said as he reached for the latch of the nearest messenger bird’s cage. “You will summon the red dragons.”

I gasped. “Are you mad?” This was to be my first task? To lure the red dragons to the dragonmasters?

Zhantar turned on me. He gripped my upper arms and, lifting me off my feet, pushed me backwards against the wall. “You will send a bird for the dragons. You will do it now. You swore fealty to me, and if you disobey me, you will pay so dearly you will wish you were dead. For many, many long years. Just like your father.”

“Papa?” I cried. “What have you done with Papa?”

And something strange began to happen. All my anger, all my worry, all my hatred, all my love, everything within me began to coalesce around the maejic that had lain dormant so long. One moment, I was helpless, held pinned to the wall by a man far stronger than I. The next, I was filled with unspeakable power.

I raised both legs to my chest and kicked them out at Zhantar. The force knocked him across the room. I landed lightly on my feet, as lightly as if I were a trained dancer, and yanked the door open. Zhantar let out a bellow of rage. I stepped into the corridor and pulled the door closed behind me. With both hands gripping the handle, I bid the door stay locked. A bellow of rage informed me that my cast had worked. But I didn’t know how long it would hold. I fled.

I’m so tired of being treated like a little kid! Yallick is all in charge and never tells me anything, and Oleeda is his right-hand man, well, woman. Breyard is always off with the dragons. Okay, so the truth is that he’s amazing with them, even I can tell that, but still. He’s turning into a military general with the dragons or something. And Grey, well, look what happened to him.

Then there’s me. It’s like they think I’m just some dumb tagalong with nothing to do with all their powerful plans.

But I have a part to play in all this, too. I’m sure of it. And I have an idea. I won’t be Lini’s novice much longer; just wait and see.

We’d come from the right, so I went left. At the end of the corridor was a staircase leading down. Three flights later, the stairs ended in a wide hall. A servant, possibly a doorman, stood near the main entrance. Having heard someone coming down, he was looking straight at me when I stepped into the hall.

My instinct was to make a run for it—surprise him and get out the door before he quite knew what had happened. Immediately following on that thought, however, was a more sensible one. Better not to do anything that would make him raise the alarm too soon.

Standing with one hand on the wall, I summoned my maejic and projected a thought at the man.
I must have been hearing things. No one is there.
I stood, tense and still, waiting to see what would happen while I sent the thought toward the man again.
No one is there.
To my amazement and relief, he shook his head a little and looked away. Concentrating hard, I sent another thought.
I need to check the opposite end of the hall. Maybe the noise was from down there.
A breath later, he marched purposefully away from his post.

I sidled to the front door, turned the handle slowly, all the while thinking
I’m sure I heard something down here
, eased the door open, and slipped out. Projecting one parting thought of
Maybe I did hear something on the stairs
, I ran down the drive and into the roadway beyond. I kept running until I made the next turn into a busy street, then slowed down to the same pace as everyone else lest I draw attention to myself.

“Are you Donavah?”

My heart nearly stopped, and only the realization that I’d heard the voice speaking inside my head, not with my ears, kept me from dashing away at top speed. It must be an animal, probably a bird. Slowing my steps, I looked around. Pigeons were everywhere, strutting on the ground and scuttling this way and that to keep from being stepped on, sitting on the ledges of the nearby buildings, and flying overhead. But none of them showed any interest in me.

Then I spotted it: a robin perched on the branch of a tree in a nearby garden, its beady eye fixed directly on me.

“You best do something about that mark on your face.”

Oh! I hadn’t even thought about that. No wonder a few people had give me strange looks. I’d thought it was the clothes. I lifted a hand to my cheek as if to scratch an itch and moved toward the nearest wall. With my back to the street, I crouched down, pretending there was something in my boot, and scooped some loose dirt into my hand. I didn’t know how well it would work, but it would have to do. I rubbed the dirt all over my face, paying special attention to the left side, then rubbed more into my clothes as surreptitiously as I could. With luck, now I just looked dirty instead of noteworthy.

“Better,” said the bird when I stood up. “Yallick sent us to seek you.”

“Yallick?” A wave of relief washed over me. He must have understood the message. “But how did you find me so fast? I’ve only just escaped.”

“It is not difficult to find a maejic human, even among so many.”

My eyes narrowed as I thought of something else. “How do I know you’re not one of Anazian’s birds?” It would be just like him to try to fool me. “Prove you come from Yallick.”

“Ah, yes. He said to tell you that the dragons are coming to Penwick from Delaron.”

Delaron! Anazian wouldn’t know that name. And the dragons were here? “Where are they?” I demanded, looking skyward as if I would see them circling overhead.

“They are not far by wing. But now that I have found you, I must return to the mages. Yallick said that you are to go to the marketplace near the arena if you can get there. He will send someone to meet you in the central gathering place.”

Just like Yallick, giving orders before doing anything else. “I can get there. How long—” But the bird launched itself from the branch and disappeared into the sky.

I looked around and caught sight of the greenish stone of the arena straight ahead. With so many the people heading in that direction, they must be going to the marketplace next to it. I stayed as far to the left as I could to try to keep anyone from noticing the mark on my face. It didn’t help to be wearing such unusual clothes, but short of stealing—and I wasn’t about to do that—there was nothing I could do about them.

A few minutes later, the road ended and the market opened out wide in front of me. So many colors. So many wares. So many people! How would anyone ever find me here?

“Just do as you were told,” I told myself, then headed for the stalls. I walked slowly, looking at the wares on offer as if I were actually shopping. No one gave me strange looks, so the dirt on my face must be working well enough. People haggled over prices of cloth, cooking gear, leather goods, and more. The spicy smell of cooking meat from a lunch vendor made my stomach grumble.

I eventually made my way to the center of the market, where a large square was set up with benches and tables. I found a likely spot in a corner where I could sit inconspicuously and watch the people coming and going.

A newsboy’s voice rose above the hum of the chattering people. “King to hold extravaganza tomorrow to celebrate Summer Solstice. Tax increase for textiles. Unexplained shortage of cooking oils.”

Many people groaned. A woman sitting near me punched one hand into the palm of the other. “That’s it. My poor darling Agi won’t be able to afford a new dress for her wedding now.”

Her friend patted her shoulder in consolation. “But the king can afford his ‘extravaganza.’ As if it weren’t on our backs that he makes himself rich.”

A man at the table next to them leaned over. “They call that shortage ‘unexplained’ but we all know how the king manipulates the supply to his own advantage. Bah! All these new taxes have driven my old papa out of business. Now he’s moved in with my family, though we don’t have the room or the money for another mouth to feed. But when it’s family, what can you do?”

The grumbling continued. Nobody seemed inclined to pay the newsboy to hear the stories in full and he moved on, his voice fading quickly. No one cared about the big extravaganza tomorrow, either.

Summer Solstice! I couldn’t believe it was already here. It had always been my favorite holiday: being able to stay up late, watching the village magician cast her most exciting spells, feasting into the wee hours, dancing and singing. This year, my friend Marileesa back at Roylinn Academy would be singing in the ensemble. I’d been so excited for her, and now I would miss her performance.

The man sitting next to me rose to his feet, stretched, and strode out of the square to join the stream of people walking past. An old woman with her back bent under a heavy sack came over and sat down. Easing her bag to the ground, she gave me a friendly nod, and with a start, I realized it was Tebina.

She leaned her head back and let out a long sigh. Then, her lips barely moving, she whispered, “Donavah? Is it really you?”

I scooted a little closer to her. “What do we do now?” I whispered back.

“First, let me rest a bit to play out the charade. Then we must get away from here. And get you into other clothes.”

Five minutes passed, then ten. My senses were alert, seeking any sign of disturbance. Zhantar wouldn’t let me just get away. That door wouldn’t hold for long; I imagined it must already have given way.

Finally, Tebina said, “All right. You go first. Go down the aisle on the right straight ’til it ends. I’ll meet you there.”

I nodded. After a short time, I stood up, brushed the dust from my clothes, and left. Once at the end of the aisle, I didn’t have to wait long before the old mage appeared. Now she greeted me enthusiastically, as if we were friends who’d chanced across one another.

“Now, come with me to the ladies’ refreshing tent to change. We thought you might need something different to wear, though none of us imagined that.” She gestured with distaste at my clothes, then handed me the bag, which wasn’t nearly as heavy as she’d pretended it was.

In the tent, I found an empty cubicle and stripped out of the dragonmaster clothes gratefully. The bag contained sturdy but plain trousers and shirt. There was also a pair of boots, but I decided to keep the black ones on. They fit perfectly and really were just another pair of black boots. I considered whether to throw the black clothes into a rubbish bin, but decided it would be better not to leave any traces they could find when they started looking for me. I bundled them into the bag and left the cubicle.

Tebina stood waiting, holding a small jar of tan-colored paste. She applied some to my cheek, stood back to look at her handiwork, and applied more. Once satisfied, she gave a curt nod and tucked the jar into my pocket.

“Come along,” she said, leading the way outside. “We must leave the city now, before it’s too late.”

“What do you mean, too late?”

“The hunt for you is starting. Can you not feel it in the air?”

Now that she mentioned it, I could. We walked quickly away from the market.

Tebina carried on. “The dragons are about two days’ ride—by horse, that is—east of the city. Doesn’t take long to fly, but it’s out of reach of the Royal Guard and the dragonmasters. Xyla will come get us after dark. Of course, at this time of year, that’s a long time from now. First, we must get safely out of the city and make our way eastward along the road.”

At Xyla’s name, my heart leapt. Oh, to see her again! It couldn’t come a moment too soon. And Yallick and Traz and Oleeda and—My mood dropped again. Grey. I couldn’t let myself hope that he might still be alive. I must accept in my heart what my head knew to be true.

We’d been walking about half an hour, alert to everything going on around us, when a clatter of hooves and angry voices coming from behind made us stop and turn around. A dragonmaster on a black horse! He galloped at full speed, heedless of those who couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. I shrank behind Tebina, frightened that the dragonmaster would recognize me.

“Stand aside, fool!” he shouted as the horse bore down on a feeble old woman who stood frozen in terror.

With an astonishing leap, a young man standing next to us swooped into the road, snatched the woman off her feet, and got out of the horse’s path just in time. Some people shouted after the dragonmaster while others gathered around the woman and man who’d rescued her.

“You poor old dear,” said a matronly woman who put a supporting arm around the oldster’s shoulders. “That musta give you a fright. Lean on me here and get you breath back in you body.”

“Gran!” A high-pitched screech rose above the babble of the crowd. “Gran!” A girl about my own age pushed her way through the people. “Oh, Gran. Are you all right?” She shoved the man away. “Be getting away from her, you oaf!”

His eyebrows shot up. I expected him to defend himself—after all, he’d just saved the old woman’s life—but he just smiled sardonically, shrugged, and carried on walking in the same direction Tebina and I were going. There was something about the young man, something about his smile and his stride that seemed familiar.

“Come along, dear, keep up,” Tebina said, a note of urgency in her voice, and I saw that I’d fallen behind.

“That was ... that was amazing,” I said when I’d caught up with her. “How do you think he did that?” The only place I’d ever seen someone leap like that was on Stychs. The man was only a few paces ahead of us and I looked him up and down a little more keenly than I had before.