Courting Darkness (38 page)

Hyto kept hold of me as we sailed into the sky. I could hear Delilah and Shade screaming from the ground below, and I looked down to see them staring at us, horrified. The ground sped away at a dizzying speed, and my fear of heights began to kick in. Everything was spinning, and the only thing between me and a plummeting death was someone who hated my guts. Delightful.

As I tried to think about what I could do from my position, I heard another shriek echoing from our left. I did my best to look around and saw that Smoky was staring directly at us. He knew that Hyto had hold of me. Vishana came circling around, her great wings giving her position, even as her long, snakelike body coiled to give her purchase in the air.

Hyto hovered, his wings gently beating the air. “What are you going to do now? Going to strike me with your fire? Send me spinning to the ground? She’ll be dead before you touch me.”

“What do you want?” Smoky’s voice echoed across the expanse.

Hyto laughed, then said. “Your life, my son. Your life. If you choose to follow, meet me on the Cusp.” And then, the world began to spin, and everything vanished in a cloud of smoke and vapor.

 

We were in a different realm, but it wasn’t the astral, that I could tell. And it wasn’t Hyto’s private dreyerie. He was still in dragon form, but as we soared over tall timber, toward a misty ledge on the cliff face, I saw a cavern mouth. Great,
more caves
. I was mildly claustrophobic and with all the caves and barrows lately, all I wanted was to spend a week out under the open sky.

Hyto hovered over the ledge and let go of me about four feet off the ground. I dropped to the narrow outcropping and scrambled to catch my balance. As he was transforming, I quickly looked around for a place to run, but there was none. Unlike his other dreyerie, this place had no path leading down. The cliff was straight with granite beneath the snow. I’d never be able to climb down the rock face. I decided to chance the unknown and raced into the cave before he could lay hands on me again.

“Camille? Where the fuck did you go, girl? Get your ass back here or I guarantee, you’ll be begging me for mercy when I find you!” His voice was harsh and he was panting. He must have been hurt by the attacks while in dragon form.

I glanced around, wondering where the hell I could hide. I couldn’t see—coming into the darkness after the blinding light of the snow-covered mountain had the same effect as if someone had snapped a flash camera in my eyes. I stumbled ahead, holding my hands out to feel for the walls. After a moment, I made contact and I pressed against the rock, praying he wouldn’t notice me until I’d found a place to hide.

“I said, get the fuck out here.” And there he was—standing not ten feet away. I could see the glimmer of his robes.

He swung around and then stopped, staring in my direction. A low, throaty chuckle told me the jig was up. “Well, well. There she is.” He started for me and I backed up, fumbling in my robe for the unicorn horn. It still had some energy left in it—probably enough for one big blast. If I had to, I could bring down the cavern on both of us, and I was considering doing just that. The thought of being buried under tons of rubble wasn’t all that appealing, but the thought of Hyto putting his hands on me again was even less savory.

“Leave her alone!” Smoky’s voice came from the front of the cavern and then I could see him—my eyes were adjusting. “You wanted me. You have me. Let her go and I’ll stay.”

“No!” I shouted at him, realizing he was getting ready to make a trade. “Don’t you dare! He’ll kill me after he kills you. It’s both of us or neither.”

Hyto let out a loud snort. “She’s smart for her kind. I’ll give her that. She’s also sweet. Her meat will be tender and delicate . . . or maybe I’ll keep her around to be my toy for a while. She’s very amusing when she’s in pain.” And then he lashed out. A jagged spear of ice came reaming out of his palms, aimed directly for my husband.

I screamed and thrust the horn in the air. Maybe none of us would come out of this alive, but Hyto would die. “Lady of the Land, hear me!”

The cavern shook violently and the spell Hyto had cast slid off target by a mere inch, but it was enough to give Smoky time to dodge it. Hyto let out a string of curses in what I could only imagine was dragonese. I grabbed for the wall as a low rumble began to shift through the cavern. There was a roar behind me, and I screamed again as rocks and rubble began to fall.

“Camille!” Smoky shouted at me, and I tried to make my way around Hyto, but the damned dragon caught hold of me with his hair and drew me toward him.

“You decide to play for keeps, then you take the consequences, girl.” He wrapped his hair tight around me and I screamed as he squeezed until I could barely breathe.

The shaking went on and on, and the ceiling began to cave in, stalactites crumbling to the floor from where they had hung for a thousand years. A cloud of dust began to rise and I started to cough. I could hear Smoky shouting my name, and Hyto’s horrible laughter as the world started to spin.

The roar became thunder, and the thunder a cascade of sound and movement. I closed my eyes, trying to protect them from the debris, and held tight the unicorn horn. I just wanted everything to stop. Regardless of the consequences, I wanted it all over. I was tired of fighting Hyto, of being afraid every time I turned around. I was tired of the pain and threats, and the knowledge of how ready he was to make good on every one of his ugly promises.

“Enough,” I whispered. “Moon Mother, enough. If you want me to come home to you, take me now. But please, spare Smoky and his mother. And send Hyto to the depths of the abyss.”

There was another loud roar, and then the dust suddenly began to clear and I felt myself fall to the ground. I opened my eyes and saw that Hyto was screaming—I couldn’t hear him through the cacophony of the falling rocks, but the long tendril of his hair that had held me up was on the ground, cut off from near his head. As I stared, droplets of blood began to flow out of the severed ends. Next to him stood Vishana, her nails long talons, dripping with blood.

I whispered to the horn, “Calm, please . . . calm the earth.” And the shaking slowed to a halt. As I stood up, bruised and covered with cuts from the flying debris, Smoky struggled out of another pile of rubble. He raced over to me and pulled me into his arms, but I pushed him away.

“We aren’t done yet,” I said, nodding to Hyto.

Vishana turned to the white dragon, who was struggling to stand. She lifted one delicate arm and backhanded him so hard that she tore a long gash in his face. He let out a curse but fell back, leaning back against the rocks. A large stalactite that had been delicately propped against a pile of rubble shifted and fell across his legs. He was trapped by a ton of rock, and there wasn’t room for him to transform into his dragon self.

Smoky stepped forward, but his mother held up her hand. “Your father’s life is forfeit. But since I am here, I have the final say. This shall be done in the Dragon Reaches. Gather your wife, and I will take Hyto. Meet us in the Council chamber. Camille has first right of punishment.”

First right of punishment? What did that mean? I was about to ask when Smoky merely inclined his head.

“As you wish, my Lady.” He tenderly lifted me in his arms as Vishana grabbed hold of Hyto’s arm and, the bedraggled dragon in hand, vanished.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I don’t understand—what’s going on? Where are we going?”

“You are going to meet my people, my love. We’re going
home
. To the Dragon Reaches.” And then, before I could say a word, the world again began to turn, and we spun around and around through the Ionyc Seas, just me in the arms of my beloved Smoky.

 

The hall was larger than I could have imagined. Picture an amphitheater large enough to seat row after row of dragons—in their natural form. Add to that a central pavilion from where Smoky told me the Wing-Liege and the Council presided. The ledges for the dragons were fashioned of a stone that reminded me of marble. One entire wall was open, missing, facing the sky, and I realized that the dragons flew in from there, landing on the spacious deck that stretched the entire front of the pavilion. The skies here were pale blue, with billowing clouds rolling across the sky. The temperature was chilly, but not icy cold like in the Northlands, and I wondered to just what realm the Dragon Reaches belonged.

As we appeared in the center of the room, there was a bustle and a number of dragons—some in their human form, others in their natural form—stopped to stare at us.

Vishana strode into the room. “Your father is being wing-strapped for now. But I have spoken to the Wing-Liege and he has already agreed: Hyto must die. The question is, who gets the first right of punishment. We will meet within two hours. You have time to rest and relax. Camille, I imagine you would like to bathe—the dust in the cavern was thick and your people do not have our natural abilities.”

I stared at her, realizing she was as clean as a whistle. Same as Smoky. “What is with you dragons? How do you
do
that?”

Vishana laughed. “Iampaatar told me that you and your sisters continually badger him about his secrets. I’m afraid this one is not to be found in a detergent bottle or a washing powder. Now, Iampaatar—take your wife to my chambers. Bid my chambermaids to wait on her—whatever she needs.”

“Excuse me, but the collar . . .” I left the question unfinished, merely brushing the yoke I still wore around my neck.

“That will be removed soon enough. You will never need fear wearing it again after we are done today.” And then, with a gracious nod, Vishana left us, gliding over to talk to a group of other dragons, who I assumed were silvers. They had the same coloring and feel that she did.

Smoky insisted on carrying me, and I didn’t object. After the past few days, being pampered was a blessing. I wrapped my arms around his neck and covered him with kisses as we headed out of the Council chamber.

The Dragon Reaches were huge—as befitted dragon-sized inhabitants. As we entered the main complex, I realized that most of the dragons were walking in human form through the corridors, but the chambers themselves were large enough in which to change shape.

Smoky carried me down one marblesque corridor, and as I gazed at the walls, I realized that as ornate as the chamber was, it was far from pretentious. The engravings on the walls were muted, tone on tone, but as I looked closer, they proved to be meticulous and I began to get the impression that they were history in motion—a pictorial history of the Dragonkin.

The light in the chambers came from open windows along the walls—huge slits that looked out onto the sky. How far up we were, I could not fathom. I felt a little giddy, but whether it was from altitude or from just the knowledge that Hyto was locked away, I didn’t know.

“I hope Delilah’s not too worried,” I said, suddenly realizing that my sister had no clue what had happened to me. The last she saw, I’d been carried off by Hyto, and Smoky and Vishana had disappeared along with us. “I wish I could let them know I’m alive.”

“They’ll know soon enough. I know it’s hard, my love, but we cannot leave yet. We must finish matters with Hyto.” Smoky buried his face in my hair and gently kissed my cheek. “I am so proud of you, Camille. You’ve been brave—and you’ve kept a calmer head than I.”

Saying nothing, I tightened my grip around his neck, reveling in the feel of his arms, his presence. We came to a turnoff to the left and Smoky opened the ten-foot door leading into the chamber. As he carried me over the threshold, I let out a little gasp.

Smoky set me down. “Welcome to my family home in the Dragon Reaches. Your home, too—I told you on returning from my last trip that the Council put the seal of approval on our marriage. You are welcome here, as much as any dragon.”

The room sparkled. Voluminous lengths of silver and blue material draped across the walls, sparkling with metallic threads. The same crest I remembered seeing on a shield in Smoky’s bedroom adorned the wall—a huge bas-relief sculpture set in lapis lazuli and silver. A dragon, glancing over his shoulder, was engraved on the front with nine silver stars shooting out of his mouth into the sky.

Stretching over the dragon—two silver foils crossing blades shimmered, set in silver. Beneath the dragon, nine silver snowflakes drifting down from the sky. The borders of the crest were set in silver, with two vertical lines of knot-work to the left of the dragon.

I slowly walked over to the crest. “Tell me. This is the one in your barrow. You said that belonged to your father and your grandfather . . . is this, then, Hyto’s symbology?”

Smoky nodded. “It is my paternal crest, yes. But I count it as my grandfather’s more than Hyto’s. Hyto did not deserve it—he carried the shield out of obligation rather than honor. Over there, on the other wall, is my mother’s crest.”

On the opposite wall, the crest was set in silver and onyx. In the center, a dragon coiled, etched in the onyx. To the left, five sparkling silver stars. To the right, four stars faceted from diamonds. I gasped at the size of the diamonds—they were as big as my fist. Overhead, nine lines of silver arched over the dragon. Below, something had been written in silver, but I could not read it. Instinctively, I could tell that this crest outweighed the other in importance—by a long, long ways.

“What does this say?” I asked, kneeling down to look at the writing.

Smoky knelt beside me and made a sign of genuflection toward the crest. His voice was low. “It says,
Dreams into action, life into death, take honor to heart, bring honor to breath.
It means . . . my mother’s family is one of the oldest in the Dragon Reaches. I am truly a lord among my people. We are looked to for role models. My mother is very big on honor—which is why she married Hyto in the first place. Her father had promised . . . she could not break his promise.”