SummerDanse (18 page)

We hadn’t been airborne long enough for me to get my fill before Xyla began to descend. I wondered where she was going, because all below us was dark. Surely there should be fires to show where the mages were, for cooking at least, if not for warmth. Then when we were almost on the ground, the encampment bloomed before us as if by magic. I laughed at myself, for that’s exactly what it was, a powerful illusion spell.

Red dragons were everywhere, though in the dark they looked more like small hillocks. Campfires burned and clumps of people were gathered around them.

When Xyla landed, two people approached. Yallick assisted me down, and before I could take a step, Breyard had gathered me into a hug.

“You’re safe,” he said, and from his tone I didn’t know who he was reassuring: me or himself. “I thought I’d lost everyone.” To my surprise, his voice broke.

Hugging him back, I said, “You should know by now that I’m a lot harder to get rid of than that.”

He made a choking sound that could’ve been a sob or a bark of laughter, or maybe both. “You’ve always been a thorn in my side, little sister.”

Oleeda stepped up now and put a hand on my shoulder. “You must be hungry, dear. Come get something to eat.”

Breyard kept an arm clasped around my shoulders as we followed Oleeda to one of the fires, where a large cookpot sat on coals keeping warm. A mage I didn’t recognize, seeing us coming, filled several bowls and handed them around. The stew was simple and hearty. Compared to the fine food I’d had in Zhantar’s house, it might’ve been coarse, but it was deliciously free of the taint of magic and captivity.

When we’d finished eating, Yallick said, “All right, you have been greeted, welcomed back amongst your friends, and fed, and now it is time for you to tell me what happened.”

Despite beginning to feel sleepy, I nodded. The small group of us—Yallick, Oleeda, Breyard, Traz, and I—went off into the darkness where we could speak without being overheard. Xyla was there, too, and I sat next to her, using her belly as a backrest. Breyard sat on one side of me and Traz on the other.

Trying to stick only to the most important points, I told them what had happened. I was glad it was dark because somehow it was easier to speak into the anonymity of the night. My voice tumbled on for ages. I had an attentive audience, even in Traz to whom none of this was new. Sometimes Breyard put a comforting hand on my arm or gave my shoulder a squeeze. Once, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Traz beating the ground lightly with his fist.

At the end, I announced my belief that Zhantar had something planned for tomorrow.

Yallick gasped. “Yes, of course,” he said. “Of course. I am sure you must be right. As you say, it all fits together. I know exactly what we need to do. Thank you, my dear girl. You have come through great adversity and greater danger to save us all. You must be weary, so go to your rest now. The rest of us must plan for tomorrow.”

“But—” I started.

“No, Donavah,” the mage interrupted me, and I didn’t have to see his face clearly to know exactly the look that would be in his eyes. “You have done more than enough. Let those of us who can take over now do so. Sleep well, child.”

Oleeda stood up and came over to me, reaching a hand down. “Come, I will show you where to sleep.”

I took her hand and she helped pull me to my feet. The other three didn’t speak as we walked away.

“Are you truly all right?” Oleeda asked. “You have been through so much.”

“I don’t know,” I said with a yawn. “I’m tired. Glad to be back with my friends.” Tears threatened yet again. “Terribly worried about Mama and Papa. I mean, Mama a slave in the palace? And I don’t even know what happened to Papa.”

Oleeda stopped and gave me a hug. “Whatever can be done will be. Tegar and Mellas have two very powerful, very determined children. Now, try to put it all out of your head for awhile and get some sleep. I know it will not be easy, but I will help.”

We walked back to the fire. Oleeda handed me a blanket from a pile of bundles.

“You lie down here. I shall stay with you until you fall asleep.”

Just beyond the circle of light cast by the fire, I lay down and wrapped up in the blanket. Oleeda sat next to me and placed a hand on my head.

I relaxed at her touch. A moment later, my thoughts seemed to still themselves. I slept.

And didn’t dream.

And so, things fall into place in ways I never could have imagined. I am an old fool. Yet there is much more that could go wrong ere all is over, and a greater fool than I would grow complacent before the final battle is engaged.

Donavah is returned to my care, and I watch as she moves with such self-assured grace. Worry and pain have etched themselves into her heart, but her strength bears her up and over all. I am proud of the woman she is growing into.

They say that the greatest students surpass their masters. I daresay she surpassed me the day she was born.

It was still dark when I was awakened by a gentle shake from Breyard. It couldn’t have been much more than three hours since I’d fallen asleep, but I felt fully refreshed.

“What’s up?” I whispered, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

“We’re sending a group of mages into the city, and Yallick wants you to be one of them.” He spoke softly, too, for there were sleeping people all around us. “The dragons will take you there before it gets light. Here are some clothes to change into, then join the group at that campfire over there.”

I took the clothes he handed me, and after he stepped away, spent an awkward few minutes under my blanket tugging off the ones I’d slept in and getting the new ones on. These were light, decorative clothes appropriate for the coming day of celebration. From the feel of the fabric, this outfit was far finer than anything I’d ever worn for Summer Solstice before. What exactly was the plan, that I needed to dress like this?

I got to my feet and went to the fire. About ten other mages stood around it while Traz crouched next to it, spooning porridge into tin cups. I took one gratefully, then blew on the surface to cool it while Breyard spoke to the group.

“You will be our eyes and ears on the ground,” he said. “We believe that whatever the DragonLord is planning, it will take place at the arena during the king’s extravaganza. We’ve made contact with those mages in hiding in the city, and they’ll let us know if anything untoward happens outside the arena. All of you will be going to the extravaganza so that we will have people in the arena itself if needed.”

“You keep saying ‘you,’” I interrupted. “What are you going to be doing?” The other mages shifted uncomfortably, and I instantly realized I’d spoken out of turn. Traz, who’d risen to his feet, put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a tiny shake of his head.

But Breyard answered my question. “We’ll stay here with the dragons until we’re needed. We’ve co-opted birds to stay near the arena. Just call on them and one will come to carry a message. You will each be given a purse with enough coin to buy tickets to the extravaganza and to spend as is appropriate for the day. Any questions?”

I had quite a few, starting with why he, instead of Yallick, was bossing everyone around. But no one else spoke up, so I held my tongue. Another mage, a woman I didn’t recognize, stepped into the firelight and handed small pouches to everyone. I shoved mine into the pocket of my tunic. Everyone started to move away.

“I hope you don’t mind being with me,” Traz said.

I looked up at him—and wondered how long it would take to get used to doing that. “Are you coming with me or am I going with you?”

He grinned. “You needn’t sound so sour. But probably both.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to tell me the plan?”

“C’mon, Xyla is waiting.” We started walking. “You heard the plan.”

“You can’t seriously mean that that’s all there is to it. A bunch of us go into the arena and wait for something to happen?”

“Well, I know it doesn’t sound like much, but when we don’t know what Zhantar is going to do, the only thing we can do is be prepared to react quickly.”

I looked at him sidelong. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”

He sighed. “No, really, Donavah. I’m not hiding anything from you.”

“And another thing. What’s with Breyard giving all the orders?”

Traz shrugged. “Why shouldn’t he? He’s the commander.”

I let out a bark of laughter. “The commander! Very funny!”

“I’m not joking. Your brother has a startling knack for it. You’d be surprised.”

“Very,” I said with a snort.

By then we’d reached Xyla. Yallick stood next to her, and he handed me my pack. “Your things are in there. Including your meditation kit. You stay with Traz, and everything will be fine.”

“How can you be so sure?” I couldn’t help asking. This whole thing seemed stupid to me.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I imagine you want to go blazing in with all the dragons spouting flames. I admit, there is a part of me that would find satisfaction in that myself. But until we know what is going on, we cannot do that. Can you understand?”

I looked down at my feet, feeling a little embarrassed. “I’ll try.”

“I almost would rather not send you on this mission. I would keep you by my side if I could. But my heart tells me you have more to play in this. You have been on the inside, and you will see things with different eyes than everyone else. That fact could turn out to be decisive.”

Now I felt myself blush. “I’ll do my best,” I muttered, unable to imagine what that could be.

He and Traz boosted me up Xyla’s side, then Traz mounted up behind me. The feel of his arms around me—that was a new feeling, too, one I didn’t quite know what to make of yet.

The sky was just beginning to lighten when we landed in a field near the city. We all dismounted and stood in a small group watching the dragons launch themselves and disappear into the darkness.

“Well,” said Noor, an older man with whom I was only slightly acquainted, “I think we should take this opportunity to meditate. We’ll all need to draw on our strength before the day is over, I daresay.”

We all went off in separate directions. I found a likely place and sat down. For a few minutes, I simply breathed, quieting my thoughts. Then I opened the meditation kit and in the faint light chose two candles, this time not at random: orange for creativity and forest green for strength.

I put the orange candle into the crystal Spring candleholder and the green one into the gold Summer one, then I lit them.

Clear my thoughts. It took a little while to banish the stray images and worries from my mind. I concentrated on breathing, filling my body and soul with cleansing air. My feverish brain slowed, then grew quiet.

Find my calm center. A sense of safety engulfed me. No fear. No worries. In this place within myself, I was truly me, and no one could alter that.

Open my inner senses. I felt the pulse of life all around me. The life vibrations sent up a symphony in my soul. There was the deep steady thrum of the earth itself, and the dancing melody of the sky. The grass of the plain and the pockets of shrubs, the myriad creatures who lived their lives here with no thought of the wider world beyond. Birds of the air. Fish in the streams. Abundant life, all adding their own harmonies to the world’s everlasting song.

Absorb the power of the earth, the air, and life. I let it fill me, let it infuse me with its strength, let it overflow and return whence it came. I was strong. I could do that which was needful, that which was right, that which would change the course of the world.

When I opened my eyes, the sun had risen and I saw the world anew. Colors were brighter, the air smelled sweeter, and I could taste its power. I was at one with the universal life flow; it filled me, carried me along awhile, and moved on.

I blew out the candles, repacked them in the leather pouch, and returned to the mages. Traz reminded me to put on some of the tan-colored paste to hide my silver mark, and one of the women helped me apply it. Then we headed into the city.

As when we’d left yesterday, there was a barrier where the road entered the city proper, but the guards didn’t seem much interested in folks going in. At a quiet word from Traz, the mages repositioned themselves so that I was in the middle, and we walked past the barrier without an incident. It helped that there were many people heading into the city for the day’s celebrations so that our group didn’t particularly stand out.

Even this early in the morning, the streets were already filling up. All the shops and markets would be shut for the day, but street vendors plied their wares: gooey breakfast buns, ribbons of every color, bouquets of flowers, noisemakers, sweets of every sort. Children ran through the crowd, chasing each other in their Solstice best—girls in embroidered white shifts and boys in tan shorts and white shirts—their mothers calling after them to be careful and not get their new clothes dirty.

And then there were all the young men and women, also dressed in finery, who later would be chasing each other, though in a very different way. For now, girls gathered in giggling bevies while the boys strutted around them singly or in twos and threes. I smiled, imagining myself to be one of those girls while Traz and Grey vied for my attention.

As if reading my mind, Traz bought a flower from a vendor we were passing and gave it to me with a little bow. My face grew hot when the other mages grinned at us, though I managed to return a proper bow in thanks.

Thus we made our way through the city and toward the arena. We bought buns to eat and gave coppers to the beggar children, as was traditional. We even stopped to watch a troupe of acrobats and jugglers, laughing and applauding at their antics.

When we reached the market square, I was surprised to see that the stalls were all gone, leaving the area open. It looked bigger than ever. A large platform had been set up in the middle where, later, musicians would play so that the people could dance into the wee hours. As a child, that had always been my favorite part of Summer Solstice: watching the villagers of Barrowfield whirl and reel and stomp about in the complex country dances. Sometimes Papa would ask me to be his partner, and even though I didn’t know all the steps then, I loved following the ladies as best I could and letting the men swing me round. I knew most of the dances now, but doubted I’d have a chance to put that knowledge to use tonight. Though dancing with Traz ...

“Time to split up,” said Noor. “Stay in pairs, keep your eyes open, and if anything happens, call for a bird.”

One at a time, as unobtrusively as possible, each pair of mages walked away until only Traz and I were left.

We bought our tickets and went inside. When we came out of the tunnel into the sunshine on the other side, I shivered a little. How I hated this place.

We took a slow lap around the fighting pit, weaving our way through people standing around chatting and waiting until the event started before taking their seats.

Eventually, the arena began to fill in earnest, and we headed to our seats high up in the stands directly above the king’s box.

I gave Traz a suspicious look. “How’d you get seats here?”

He grinned and shrugged in mock innocence. “Just lucky, I guess.”

I punched his arm lightly as we sat down. “So what do we do now?”

Traz raised his eyebrows and grinned. “We sit back and watch the show. Until something happens.”

The “show,” as Traz called it, soon began. A large contingent of the Royal Guard marched to the king’s box. Zhantar stood outside the box looking all around. I let out an irrational squeak of fear. Surely he couldn’t recognize my face in the crowd.

Traz, as he always seemed to do, guessed what was going through my mind. He leaned over and whispered, “Let’s just be safe, all right? Play along.” Then much to my astonishment, he put an arm around my shoulder and kissed me. A long kiss. A very long, breathtaking kiss. When he finally released me, I just gazed at him wordlessly.

He cocked his eyebrows at me. “Well, um, so where did you learn to kiss like that?”

My face went hot, but I managed to retort, “One could ask the same of you.”

His mouth opened but no words came out. Inwardly, I congratulated myself for confounding him. At any rate, his timing has been typically perfect. Zhantar was nowhere to be seen, and Royal Guardsmen were positioned around the king’s box.