Survivors: Book 4 Circles of Light series (27 page)

‘How deep is this stars
dratted water?’ Sket demanded. ‘I want to get on land.
Now.’

‘Too deep to wade
through,’ Kasmi warned him and called an order.

Another boat swung out
and Sket and Navan were in it before it hit the water.

‘He is anxious to reach
the Elder and – another child?’

‘Sket is Lady Tika’s
personal guard Kasmi. And Lady Tika is soul bond to that Dragon
whose name is Farn.’

Sket splashed into the
water without waiting for the boat to be pulled out but was nearly
flattened as both Tika and Farn rushed at him. Farn’s eyes flashed
sapphire and pearl in excitement.

‘We missed you Sket. It
seems ages since we were together.’

Sket’s grin matched
Tika’s. He hugged Farn hard and stood back. ‘Not ages Farn, eight
days.’

‘Hmm.’ Farn was not
confident where numbers were concerned so he made no comment,
instead greeting Navan and Gan. Willow landed on the rim of a
hauled out boat and they saw he held Khosa in his arms.

‘She scratches,’ Farn
began but subsided when both Tika and Sket glared at
him.

Most of the crews of
Kasmi’s three ships were ashore when Brin, Seela and Storm drifted
lazily down from high overhead.

The tiny islet was
furred with rough grasses and small, bent shrubs, but it had fresh
water. A spring bubbled from the further side of the hill to form a
pool barely a man length across. Gan watched a gang of shipmen
heaving aside large rocks close to the pool, disclosing a
cupboard-like cavity. Small casks within were pulled into the
fading sunlight and their contents inspected. Food was remarkably
well preserved, wrapped in oiled cloth. Kasmi’s men added a few
similar packets, resealed the casks and blocked them away
again.

There was no fire
making material but the great Dragons obligingly heated round
pebbles until they glowed. The three crews and Gan’s company
settled round this unusual “fire” for the night. Privately, none of
the Dragons understood this human ritual of huddling round fires
but they were content to be of assistance. The crews, their
officers and Kasmi found it difficult at first to accept Dragon
voices within their minds, but by the time full dark had fallen, it
didn’t seem quite so strange.

The sea Dragon Storm
had shown great delight in finding Navan again and reclined, his
chin resting on Navan’s head. Kasmi and many shipmen gathered near
them, fascinated as they compared the Dragon’s tales of living with
the great seas to their own lives and experience.

‘Why did it take so
long for your ships to get to this land? It took us less than half
a day to fly,’ Storm asked the men.

‘There are many reefs
and irregular currents between all the islands of the whole
archipelago. So. We have to chart our course with much care.’ Kasmi
grinned. ‘If we could sail in a straight line, it would take
perhaps one day.’

Storm’s faceted eyes
whirred. ‘I could see some of them,’ he agreed. ‘The water turned
in circles and sometimes I could see rocks below.’

‘So. This is why my
people pay for Brothers and Sisters of the Wind to journey with us.
They will not always agree to join a ship, no matter what rewards
are offered. But a ship with such a one is far safer than one
without.’

Storm looked across the
glowing stones. Maressa and Culinth sat leaning against Brin’s
great chest. Seela reclined close by, the three gijan sprawled
asleep on her back.

‘Where does Culinth
come from?’ asked Navan.

Kasmi exchanged glances
with the men and women around him. All shook their heads. A woman
replied.

‘No one knows where
they are from,’ she said. ‘One morning there will be a Brother or
Sister sitting by the docks. Then the shipmasters will approach and
speak with them, begging them to join their ships.’ She shrugged.
‘It is said the Brothers and Sisters know which ship will become
theirs before any master offers for them. They are friendly enough
with the crews they join but they never speak of their lives
before.’

An older man spoke up.
‘I heard tell they come from far beyond the northern deserts – but
who knows?’

‘I see a similarity
though,’ said Kasmi. ‘Culinth’s hands, her feet, her skin. So. She
is like to the gijan.’

At first light, Sket
and Maressa were rowed back to the Spiral Star to fetch their
packs: they, along with Khosa, would continue the journey with the
Dragons. The next landfall would be Beffir, whose people were famed
for their work with the timber they had in profusion on their large
island. Kasmi reckoned two to three days for the ships to reach
Beffir after consultation with Culinth. She said there was clear
weather to the east while the wind continued steadily from the
north west.

As the ships got under
way the Dragons flew above them, gradually gaining height. The
gijan continued to race through the air, diving and swooping
between the ships, occasionally landing on Spiral Star, Star Flame
or Eternal Star. During that morning, watching the gijan play, no
one could doubt how young they were. Ren and Taseen commented to
each other how the crews’ attitude had altered toward the gijan.
The awed reverence had subtly changed to a respectful
protectiveness. The wind strengthened and the crews made changes to
the sails; mystifying to Gan and Ren but already comprehensible to
Olam and Riff.

‘Culinth’s people are
related to the gijan,’ Taseen confirmed when both Ren and Gan
questioned him. ‘Did you not see Culinth surrounded by the gijan
last night? The Sister did not seem as surprised by their
appearance as one might have expected but then, Wind Sisters have
the power of mind speech much more strongly than I. I would
therefore surmise they had spoken to her, perhaps even in Harbour
City.’

‘This island we
approach – will there be any difficulties there?’

Taseen laughed. ‘Surely
not Gan. They are not renowned shipmen although they build some of
the best ships on these seas and small boats for many. Beffir has
long been settled in its ways and its people rarely travel off
island themselves.’

‘Seela has kept watch
behind us,’ Ren began.

‘As has Khosa,’ Gan
interposed. Ren nodded.

‘Neither of them report
any mind seeking our whereabouts. But Brin has flown ahead a couple
of times and he says there are minds further east which seem to do
sweeping searches this way twice a day.’

‘Sheoma spoke to me
last night. She said that Chevra has a fleet assembled – many of
them the merchant ships he commandeered. He is fitting them to
carry armsmen. Sheoma believes it will be twenty days at least
before they sail. She suspects quite a few will vanish from the
port well before then, slipping off to their home ports. There is
no enthusiasm for conflict – Harbour City is a trading City and
conflict is not good for trade.’ The old mage sighed. ‘I am unable
to far speak Tavri or Sheoma. Would you be able to reach them
Ren?’

Ren shook his head
slowly. ‘I’ll try, but Maressa is the one to far speak – or Brin or
Seela.’

‘And would the Dragons
speak to them on my behalf?’

‘Of course. You have
only to show them Tavri and Sheoma’s mind signatures and they will
find them.’

‘Is that so? You must
explain it to me. Clearly our uses of power have diverged greatly
since the world was divided.’

Gan braced his long
legs against the rail as the ship seemed to buck slightly. ‘This
world was divided?’ he queried.

‘I speak of the Time
Before, when the Ancient Elders first arrived. Those who would one
day become human tribes were still more animal than human then.
They lived in dens and burrows and scarcely had the power of
speech, let alone thought. But even so, they wandered this world,
all over the great land masses at least. There is evidence to
suggest that the climate was different then – without the regions
of ice far to the north which are well documented in our histories.
It would be a small matter for the tribes to move between your land
Ren and this one.’

Gan was more concerned
with Chevra’s plans. ‘How long to reach Wendla?’ he
asked.

‘Kasmi will know better
than I but perhaps twenty days.’

‘I’m still not sure
what we’re supposed to be going there for. And Grek’s been missing
since we left Harbour City five days past. Who is dictating our
lives at the moment? I thought we were in Sapphrea to find Rhaki
and maybe discover some means of helping Ren deal with the evil in
his land. Now, we’re in the middle of the sea heading for an island
of which we’d never heard even a whisper. Why? What are we meant to
do?’

Ren stared at Gan in
surprise. That was the longest speech he’d ever heard from Gan and
underlying frustration was very plain in his voice. It was Taseen
who replied.

‘I thought you accepted
the connections Gan. Far too many coincidences led you and your
friends to be here at this particular time. You travelled through
the Valley of the Spiral Star, met the strange creature Kertiss and
the Ship of the star fields. Now you sail in a ship of the sea,
named Spiral Star. I did not know of a fertile valley deep in the
great desert but for it to be named thus just cannot be chance. You
and your friends have been drawn together and together drawn
on.’

‘Fate? Destiny?’ Is
that what you’re saying?’ Gan laughed without humour. ‘I do not
believe in such things Taseen.’

Taseen regarded the
tall thin figure of the Asatarian. ‘Fate or destiny are indefinable
philosophical abstracts. I cannot convince you that such things are
real. One of the affirmations in the rituals of the Way of the
Elder Races states: The land is. The stars are. There is an
acceptance there which I think you do not understand or possess my
friend.’

Gan frowned. ‘I accept
that the land is, and that the stars are.’

‘But the stars are what
Gan?’ Taseen asked quietly. ‘From the story the Ship called Star
Singer told, the stars are much more than lights in the night sky.
Can you say the stars are and accept that you do not know what that
truly means?’

Gan stared down at the
old mage then turned on his heel and stalked to the bows where he
stood, battered by the wind and by his own confused
anger.

‘I hadn’t noticed,’ Ren
confessed. ‘Gan is an armsman. He is used to action, to command, to
making quick decisions. Since we left the coast of Sapphrea we have
followed others – guided through the desert, sheltered by the
priests from we knew not what and now on ships heading we know not
where or why. I think also that Gan dislikes being apart from Tika
and the Dragons. Navan at least has become intrigued by Kasmi’s
arts of navigation, which occupies him for now.’

‘I have no doubt
whatsoever of Gan’s bravery and steadfastness, but I fear his
patience has worn thin of a sudden.’ The mage frowned at a thought.
‘You say Gan is not strongly gifted in the mental powers such as
you have?’ He waited for Ren’s nod. ‘Would it be possible to affect
him – I mean another such as yourself – could you perhaps disturb
or upset his usual equilibrium without his knowledge?’

Now Ren frowned. ‘It
would be possible yes, but with the Dragons alert for any mind
probes as well as myself here how could it happen? There are
Culinth and Maressa too.’ He shook his head. ‘It should not be
possible without one of us picking up a hint of it.’

‘Could you tell if
Gan’s mind had been tampered with?’ asked Taseen.

Ren left his seat
beside Taseen and went to stand by the rail. The wind felt suddenly
chillier as he stared unseeing at the heaving waves. The wood
beneath his hands felt sticky with damp salt and Ren wished
fervently that he was back in the Menedula and none of this had
happened. He went back to stand beside the mage.

‘I will only do this
with Gan’s consent,’ he told him. ‘I think I could do it without
him being aware, but that I refuse to do.’

Taseen nodded and held
out his hand. ‘Would you be so kind as to help me to the cabin –
this wind is proving too cold for my bones.’

As they made their way
to the ladder to the lower deck, Taseen tightened his grip on Ren’s
arm.

‘I am glad you insist
Gan be aware of your investigating his mind. Sadly, I know many
mages now who would not quibble to dredge through another’s
innermost thoughts.’

When Ren had settled
Taseen in the tiny cabin they shared, he returned to the upper deck
and stood watching Gan for some time. He jumped when the unbodied
entity Grek spoke to him.

‘Forgive me for
startling you. I arrived when you were speaking with Taseen. I
suspect he may be right. No.’ He forestalled Ren’s immediate
question. ‘I would not invade the privacy of any of your
minds.’

With no further
hesitation, Ren made his way forward to Gan. Gan still stood, about
ten paces behind the Sister of the Wind. She was pressed into the
very joint of the ship’s bows, her head back, her eyes
closed.

‘Gan.’ Ren put his hand
on Gan’s arm. ‘Would you permit me to see if anyone has touched
your mind?’