Whisper (16 page)

The men knew they had been defeated, made helpless by the two girls uniting against them on the matter.

***

As she lay in bed that night, her mind focused on the coming mission, Dearra was unable to fall asleep.

Dearra, you could have been a little nicer to the men at supper this evening.

“Oh, Brin, don’t be that way. I would have thought you would be thrilled at this chance.”

Not really. To be honest with you, I have no desire to ever see Darak again.

“Don’t be a baby, Brin. It’s just a place. Hathel is long dead. You know there’s nothing there that can harm you anymore.”

Yes, well, we all have our irrational fears, don’t we?
Brin snapped, annoyed at being called a baby.

Dearra laughed at her friend. “Not me! But I suppose that’s because I am just naturally stronger than you,” she teased.

Dearra?
Brin said, his voice icy.
Have you forgotten how we are getting to Darak?
he asked, certain that she had, indeed, forgotten, in anticipation of the journey ahead of her.
Two whole days on the back of a horse. And not just any horse, but the biggest, strongest, most dangerous horse ever to draw breath. I sure am glad you aren’t bothered by irrational fears. Well, goodnight, Dearra.

Dearra swallowed the hard lump in her throat and stared wide-eyed at the ceiling above her. “Night, Brin,” she said with a catch in her voice. It was three long hours before sleep finally claimed her.

“There’s no way, Darius,” Daniel said. He paced back and forth across the floor, his step so heavy, his boots scuffed the wood beneath him. “There’s no way they can just go off into the desert alone. I won’t have it.”

Darius sat silently in a chair, his long legs stretched out before him, the glow from the fire lighting his face. He gave no indication that he’d heard Daniel’s rant other than when his hands flexed on the arms of his chair.

“Two little girls, out there where anything could happen to them,” Daniel continued. “Dearra’s a fine warrior, but she doesn’t know this region. The animals here are different from home, and they will be outnumbered by Breken.” He resumed his pacing.

Darius stared into the flames before him, his eyes growing darker in the flickering light.

“I don’t know why we let a bunch of Breken dictate to us anyway. Are we men or not?” Daniel slowed his pacing as he saw the effect his last words had on Darius, who had straightened noticeably in his chair. “Not to mention Jacob,” Daniel prodded. “Who knows what trouble he could cause?”

Darius sprang suddenly to his feet and headed towards the stairs.

“Where are
you
going?” Daniel called.

“To pack. We’ll want to have everything ready if we’re to follow after the girls in the morning.”

A slow smile spread across Daniel’s face, and he followed Darius up the stairs to make ready.

***

Dawn came. Dearra sat behind Carly on Khan as he pranced sideways, eager to be off. He was annoyed to be wearing a bridle, but Carly thought it was better to be safe than sorry, seeing that, if Dearra needed to control the animal, he would not respond to her as he did to Carly.

Hugh stepped forward and took each of the girls’ hands in his own. “Be safe, and hurry back.”

Carly wheeled Khan around, and gave him his head. The men watched as they raced through the cobbled streets. It wasn’t long before the pounding of hooves on stone faded into the distance.

“Darius?” Daniel said.

“Get the horses ready, but there is no rush. I am familiar with their destination. We will be less conspicuous if we wait until they make their way out a bit. Once we’ve reached the dunes we should be able to follow them a bit more closely, but the ground’s too flat until then.”

“I don’t like it,” Daniel said. “What if something happens? What if they need help and we don’t know it?”

“Not to worry, I have ways of knowing these things,” Darius said, smiling broadly.

“Don’t tell me you have some kind of strange fairy powers, too. I don’t think I could handle it if you did.”

“I have something even better than fairy powers.”

“Better?” Daniel asked.

“Yes. I have Brin.”

A smile grew on Darius’s face, which was soon matched by the one on Daniel’s. Somehow, Darius had convinced the dragon to keep their secret from Dearra and agree to help them follow. “How?” was all Daniel could ask.

“I owe it all to you, Daniel. Last night, when I was arguing with Brin in front of the fire, I thought his mind was made up, but when you mentioned Jacob, that swung things in our favor.”

“You’re something, you know that? I thought it was you who I had convinced with Jacob’s name, not some dragon.”

“The truth is I really didn’t need any convincing, but if I had, that would surely have done it.”

Daniel chuckled and went to get the horses, shaking his head as he went.

Hugh had been holding back, but now that Daniel had gone to the stables and William had headed back inside, he felt free to speak. “It kills me to not be going with you, Darius.”

“I know, Lord Hugh, but it has to be this way. If you were taken, it would be the end of us all.”

“That’s something I don’t understand, Darius. There are hundreds of them that could simply come in here and drag me away. What prevents them from doing that?”

“Perception. Too many witnesses. If they could sneak in an assassin during the night, they might try that, although they wouldn’t be likely to get their ransom that way.  Things could get interesting once they have been paid, or they may just let us go, there’s really no way to tell. It all depends on how bored they are and if they are dealing with any other threats at the time.”

Hugh shook his head. “Being a father is the scariest thing I have ever done. It’s worth it, mind you, but it’s terrifying none the less. Just you wait until you and Dearra have little ones of your own.”

Darius almost choked on the words of comfort he was about to offer the man. Never in a thousand years would he have anticipated that statement coming from Hugh’s lips, and he could only stand there, dumbstruck as a result. 

Hugh clapped a hand to Darius shoulder and offered him a small smile as Daniel returned. “Ah, Daniel,” he said. “Wonderful timing. You had better get going. That horse Carly rides is faster than your mounts, and you don’t want to fall too far behind. Good luck, and be safe.”

“Thanks, Hugh,” Daniel said, swinging awkwardly into his saddle. “Come on, Darius.”

Darius had recovered from his conversation with Hugh enough to mount as well. Before leaving, he looked down at Hugh and said, “I’ll protect her with my life, Lord Hugh.”

“I know you will, Darius. See to it that you protect yourself as well; I’ve grown used to having you around.”

The two men nodded at one another, and then Daniel and Darius urged their horses forward.

Daniel and Darius settled into an easy pace and left Bandar behind them.

“Darius, are you sure we shouldn’t speed things up? Your range with Brin isn’t very far is it?”

“It’s a lot better here, Daniel. We’ll be fine.”

“What do you mean it’s better here? Do you mean here in the desert?”

Darius nodded. “Exactly. This is the place of my birth, and where the magic comes from. The closer we get to Darak, the stronger my ability. It’s not anything I can give you a specific answer to. After all, I’ve never known a dragon before now. Brin is very powerful, and he is doing what he can to amplify his voice for me. That will help too. On Maj, I was too far away from home to get much range with my ability, even with Brin helping.”

“I always thought magic was magic,” Daniel said. “I never realized there were all of these rules.”

“Don’t feel bad. It’s my ability, and I didn’t really know either, although, my trainers did warn that distance from Darak would impact those skills to some degree.”

“Gives me a headache,” Daniel complained, rubbing his forehead with one hand.

“Come on, Daniel. Let’s catch up to the girls a little. Maybe trying to stay in the saddle will give you something else to think about.”

***

“This is miserable, Carly,” Dearra complained. “I don’t know how you can stand it. It’s so hot, I’m sweaty and sticky in places that were never meant to be sweaty and sticky. My bottom is sore, I think I’m getting a rash, and no offense, but have you ever noticed that Khan smells?”

Khan threw his head back and snorted, but continued forward at a steady pace.

“Dearra, I understand that you don’t care for horses much, but we don’t really have much of a choice. I could let you down if you really want to try and run alongside us, but we both know that isn’t very practical.”

Dearra sighed heavily. “I suppose not,” she said. “It’s just so hot! How much longer do you think we have to go?”

Carly shrugged. “Darius said it would take us about a day and a half, maybe two, and since we’ve been traveling for…maybe a whole hour now, I would imagine we have a little ways to go yet.

“Stop complaining so much, Dearra. It will only make the trip longer.”

“You don’t have to be so mean about it, Carly.”

“I’m sorry, Dearra. I guess I’m just nervous about the meeting. I want everything to go well.”

“You? Nervous? I can hardly believe it. This sort of thing must be almost boring for you. You’ve been to court about a hundred times. That’s got to be at least as intimidating as the Breken.”

“I suppose, but no one has ever tried to kill me at the court of King Jaymes. I’m not quite as confident of my chances in Darak.”

“They have nothing to gain from harming us,” Dearra said. “True, I feel better being here with you, just in case, but really, this should just be a grand adventure. When you think about it, what makes this any more challenging than any other mission Father has sent you on?”

“You,” Carly said under her breath.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“Nothing, Dearra,” Carly said, but in her thoughts she added,
Brin, I know you can hear me. Don’t you dare tell her.
Since Dearra hadn’t launched into a tirade on the benefits of having her along, Carly could only assume Brin had held quiet.

Though it was comforting to have Dearra along on the lonely trek across the Breken Desert, Carly worried about how the Breken might tolerate Dearra’s temper, seeing as she wasn’t exactly known for her cool-headed diplomacy.

Even more of a worry was Carly’s own temper. It was a little frightening to lose control and have no memory of it afterward, though Aesri had assured her the memory loss was only temporary. All Etrafarians went through something similar when they came into their full powers, but the process had been delayed with Carly, due to her Maj upbringing. Also, Aesri had said that Carly had possessed powers from all four elements, making her awakening a little bumpier than most. When Carly had asked Aesri what she’d meant by “bumpy”, she only patted Carly’s hand and told her not to worry about it, Rah knew what He was doing. Carly wished she were as sure about that as Aesri was, but other than trusting her Etrafarian sister, what choice did she have?

***

Brin? Are you there?
Dearra thought.

You always do that. You and Darius both. Where in Tolah’s name would I go?

Wow, everyone’s bad-tempered today.

Maybe it’s the company we’re keeping.

Funny, Brin. You’re a funny, funny dragon. So what I wanted to ask was, what’s Darak going to be like?

Like?

Yeah, you know, big? Little? Loud? Quiet? What’s it going to be like?

Dangerous, Dearra. It’s going to be dangerous.

***

“Darius,” Daniel said.

“Yes, Daniel?”

“Are they there?”

“Yes, they’re just a few dunes ahead of us. Brin says that with so few people to show off for, Khan is setting a more reasonable pace.”

“That’s good, I was worried for our horses. Strong as they are, they wouldn’t be able to keep up that speed in this heat for long. Do you think they’re all right up there? The girls, I mean.”

“You think Brin would keep it a secret if they weren’t,” Darius asked.

“Well, no, but…”

“But, you worry anyway.”

“Like you don’t?” Daniel shot back.

“Peace, Daniel, peace. Yes, I worry, too, but I have Brin feeding me information, and that helps.”

“Meddling sword.”

“Well, technically, he’s a dragon.”

“Bah! Sword. Dragon. Whatever. Magical nuisance if you ask me.”

Darius laughed aloud, but didn’t argue with his friend. “Daniel, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, that’s one of your specialties: asking me things, usually things you already know the answer to.”

Darius glowered, his jaw grew stiff, and he frowned at Daniel’s teasing.

“Oh, Darius, don’t be that way, now. You know you can ask me anything.”

Darius stared straight ahead, refusing to meet Daniel’s eyes.

“Stubborn Breken. I was just giving you a hard time. Don’t be so touchy.”

Yes, Darius. Don’t be so touchy,
Brin said.

You really want to get involved? Really?

Um, maybe not. I better just stay focused on the girls.

Good thinking, Brin.

“Are you going to ask me, or would you rather just pout?”

“Breken don’t pout,” Darius said confidently.

“Really? Not a lot of mirrors where you come from are there?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just ask the question, Darius.”

“Well, I know you and Carly are planning on joining when we return to Maj.”

“That’s not a question, but yes, we are.”

Darius almost laughed out loud at the wistful expression on Daniel’s face, but good judgment caught him before he made that mistake. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I was wondering, I mean…it must have been…well…when you asked her, did she…How was…What did you—”

“Spit it out, boy. I’m not getting any younger.”

Darius made a sound like a low growl.

“And none of that nonsense, either. I neutered the last dog that growled at me myself. Now he chases rats out of the corn bins all day.”

Darius snorted and rolled his eyes. “You could try it, old man.”

“You think you could stop me?”

“I think fear and common sense would stop you.”