Dragon Choir (37 page)

“
I know what you are up to,” said his father. The leagues
between them were no security against the scolding his tone
implied.

Uighara
tensed. “You shouldn’t be using this.”

“
You should have contacted me when your feet touched
land.”

“
I’ve been busy.”

“
You lied.”

“
What are you saying?”

“
I’m not blind, I have eyes in the High Temple.”

“
Are mine no longer good enough?”

“
Explain yourself!”

“
I already have. The plan is unaltered. Their net will
fail.”

“
Why did my agent detect a jump just before you arrived,
thumping your pious stick on the wasps nest?”

“
The inferior batch was hijacked by rebels, as was I. I got
away and jumped back to my ... to a net I had prepared as a
contingency. I had to use the untainted powder.”

“
So the net under the High Temple does work.”

“
To some extent, yes, but it is flawed.”

“
Yet, my agent tells me it is not. Did you actually think you
could get away with pulling the prize from under my nose?
You?”

“
Who is your agent to know the difference? Does he have the
Lord’s gift or is he a charlatan? There are only two who know the
process back to front; you and I.”

“
Don’t bring your god into this.”

“
The Lord is your god too, whether you believe or not. When he
returns to his throne, you will bow down before him and ask for
redemption.”

“
By Calim, you really believe that nonsense. Where is the
proof of their Lord? Does he even have an arse to sit on his
fictitious throne?”

“
He will return.”

“
Why? Because some glorified poachers are praying for it? No
wonder the Jandans were banished across the ocean. They’re second
rate hacks who use religion to justify their inferior
magic.”

“
How then do you justify yours?”

“
Don’t give me that! I protect Calimska by whatever means are
necessary. I had no choice. You did.”

Uighara ground
his teeth; this argument was without end. Every time it was the
same, he couldn’t win.

Not yet.

The redeemer
held his tongue, and redirected the subject. “So, here we are
again, have you got yourself ready yet?”

“
I have, no thanks to you. However, the transition will be
problematic. Arbajkha won’t survive the increased
strain.”

“
A shame, though it won’t matter. Just supplement the draw
from another source.”

“
Don’t you think I know that!” His father’s voice cracked with
the retort. It pleased Uighara to know he was so tense.

The redeemer
pressed the advantage. “If you’re not able to capture your own,
I’ll have some candidates transported. Did you find the
eavesdropper?”

“
No. He was last seen at Rum Hill. If he’s smart he’ll be on
his way across the ocean.”

“
He can’t get in the way now.” Sleep weighed down Uighara’s
eyelids. “Is that everything?”

“
Don’t cross me, Uighara.”

“
I pay my debts. This will be the last.”

The ether
retracted from his mind. He didn’t bother cleaning the bone dust
off the blackstone, just shuffled across the cabin in the dark and
dropped into his hammock, letting sleep blanket his weary body.

***

“
Last
one in’s gotta clean out the bins!”

Uighara’s
cousins ran through the meadow down to the creek. Tep had the lead
while Roel and Klana shouldered each other for second place.
Uighara bolted after them, through the squelchy patch, under old
Dernin’s fence and down through the orchard. He tried to keep up,
but they were too fast. He slid down the bank and dove into the
cool water. When he came up for air, his cousins were floating face
down surrounded by fish floating belly up.

Uighara swam
to Klana and turned her over, her blue face stared at the green
canopy arching over the creek. He dragged her to the bank then went
to get Tep and Roel, but they were gone. The creek was low and
stagnant. He was covered in mud.

Zarkas walked
through the tea brown sludge, his saucer eyes devoid of his usual
aloof cheer. “A deep sleep. Perhaps, too deep, yes?”

Klana had
disappeared too, though the memory of her cold limp body still
weighed down his arms. His heart twisted with grief; dredged from
the past, yet still as painful as the day he buried it.

With great
effort, Uighara reined in the emotion and narrowed his focus,
morphing into his adult self. “It has been a tiring day, you should
be pleased. I bring the armada.”

Zarkas shifted
the dreamscape to a cliff top.

Uighara
flinched, taking a quick step away from the edge. Death came just
as swift in dreams as it did when conscious.

“
Arbajkha’s son is in the sanctuary,” announced Zarkas,
unloading the fact with a gust of wind that buffeted Uighara back
to the edge.

“
What? How can that be?”

“
He arrived with Kobb and the rebels.”

Uighara’s
stomach dropped. Could it be the same Calimskan who tried to stab
him with a fork? He was man grown, not a boy. How long had it been?
Thirteen years? Fourteen?

With every
question Uighara came to realise the depth of his mistake. How
could he have been so close and not known; under his very nose and
he never thought to ask a name, to make the connection.

Zarkas’s wide
eyes narrowed. “You knew?”

“
No, how could I? I wouldn’t recognise him now.”

“
He has clarity, he sways them. I will delay the debate as
long as I can. You must make haste.” Zarkas pointed to the open
water between the islands and the caldera. “Advance with everything
you have.”

***

The
fresh dawn light greeted Pelegrin’s command. Great galleons and
frigates, carracks and caravels sailed shoulder to shoulder.
Signals flashed between the vessels and the armada fanned out in a
battle front thirty ships wide and two deep. Pelegrin ordered
twenty more to bolster the centre and flanks. He would not be
caught out by an ambush this time.

From the quarterdeck of the flagship
Saint Jan
, Pelegrin watched the
pirate fleet quiver their way out of the island channels and square
up to face him. It was a pathetic sight. Kobb’s prize ship
Bone Dancer
pranced to
the centre of a single line of scrawny caravels and galleys; twelve
in all their bravado. There would be more, they had his
Juniper
, and the
galleons they took as prizes. Kobb would have them protecting their
hideout or laying in wait to ambush.

Pelegrin spoke
to his solargraph officer. “Advance. Maintain formation.”

The armada sailed forward, a pride of sails hungry for the
hunt. The pirate ships fled, one by one, deserting Kobb in the face
of the invincible might of Jando. Only after all his line had left
did Kobb wheel
Bone Dancer
around and flee. Pelegrin didn’t blame him. He
would do the same faced with these odds.

If Kobb wanted
him to chase then he would wait. “Halt advance. Await
instructions.” The solargrapher wrote the order and transmitted the
message to the armada.

Pelegrin
watched the pirates sail into the calm waters between the hoard
islands through his spyglass. Just as he had suspected, they slowed
and came to rest before losing sight of the armada behind the
islands. They weren’t fleeing. They were bait.

Uighara strode
up to the quarterdeck, patting down his dishevelled hair.

“
Ah, Uighara! Glad you could join us. You’ve missed the first
manoeuvres I’m afraid.”

“
Why wasn’t I awoken?”

“
I sent for you, but you did not answer your door. The
messenger feared you would rather not be disturbed should you be
praying for our souls in the coming battle.”

Uighara pulled
his cowl up to shield his eyes from the new morning’s glare. “Yes,
that was considerate of him.”

“
Are you ill? You seem out of sorts.”

“
No, there is urgent news from Jando. I have received
instructions from the High Priest.”

“
Have you now?”

“
We must advance.”

“
All in good time.”

“
Now!”

“
I am the commanding officer of the armada, not you. I will
make that judgement.”

“
The High Priest conveyed that he had a vision.”

“
A vision?”

“
Yes, from the Lord.”

“
The Lord spoke to him directly?”

“
Do you question our most venerable and holy
leader?”

“
No, I question you.”

Uighara
stepped close. “See where you stand. You command the armada. Is
that not what I promised the Lord wished for you?”

“
Yes, but ...”

“
The Lord has great plans for you. This is the beginning or
the end; faith or death. Take my hands and choose for
yourself.”

Pelegrin took
Uighara’s hands and was pulled into a dream.

He commanded
the armada to halt and wait it out, probing the island channels and
testing for an ambush. He advanced the armada north with caution
and discovered the pirate hideout empty. Monstrous shadows circled.
The sky clouded with dragons raining fire upon the entire
fleet.

Uighara
squeezed his hands, lifting him back to the present. “You must
advance with the full force of the armada.”

He was right.
“I will advance with our full force.”

“
The Lord protects the bold and faithful. Use everything he
has blessed you with to smite his enemies.”

“
I have faith, I will smite the Good Lord’s
enemies.”

Uighara
released Pelegrin’s hands and embraced him. “May faith be your
armour, the will of the Lord your sword.”

The Lord’s
arms surrounded Pelegrin with strength. He was chosen to wield the
Lord’s armada. He wasn’t going to waste this blessing.

Pelegrin
called to the solargrapher. “Advance full speed north in trident
formation.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Protection

The ancient dragons
wrestled in an intense debate. A strange field had wrapped around
the companions, distorting sound and warping light. Elrin’s senses
were skinned and pulled inside out, altering the landscape of
understanding. It was impossible to penetrate any meaning. Only the
memories of times past had real substance. The dragons had warped
the weave, stitching him into an inescapable, incomprehensible
pocket of incapability.

Time bent
around them, a moment was at once an age. When an understanding of
the present finally emerged in Elrin’s consciousness, his legs were
weak from standing. Against dry eyes, a parched mouth and a stomach
that ached for food, Elrin battled to recover his senses.

Jaspa fell to
his knees, exhausted. “What did they do to us?”

Delik helped
Jaspa back to his feet, his own legs struggling with the effort.
“If they bothered to tell us, it would make no sense.”

Hurn rested on
his knees and his stomach growled like a tiger. “We here long? Have
we missed battle?”

The unified
voice of the choir tolled.

Silence. We
have chosen the path ahead.

The companions
were compelled to cease their questions and bear witness to the
choir’s decision.

The akiri rose
from his throne, clutching his spear in his clawed hands. “I shall
remain to defend our sanctuary and the innocents within from the
aggressors.”

The muden
stood and thumped the butt of her trident down. “I shall also
remain to guard our sanctuary and protect those who did not choose
this battle. When the aggressors have been dealt with, those who
remain must depart. Neither have any place here. We have grown
lazy, leaving others to defend our hoard.”

The elven
warrior stood beside the man in purple robes, placing a hand on his
shoulder. “We shall join you in battle. Your cause to end slavery
is just. We will secure the birthright of our kin and punish the
aggressors. We will aid Arbajkha when the sanctuary is secure.”

“
Now we must go,” said the man in purple. “The time is upon
us.”

“
I am Tetula,” said the elf warrior. She motioned to the man
in purple. “This is Qarim.” Next, she motioned to the akiri,
stretching his wings. “That is Wyggen.” The muden approached, her
soft speckled skin shining with moisture. “And this is
Obst.”

The undanae
and the orc left their thrones, throwing foul looks at their
fellows before disappearing behind the column.

Elrin listened
to the sound of claws scrapping down stone and great wings
flapping. “What of the others?”

“
Zarkas and Goranuk will keep the vigil,” said Obst, dripping
water. “They do not see any advantage to helping you. They will
hold until it is time to sing the return.”

“
Each of you will ride into this battle with us,” said Tetula,
her polished armour catching the light like a sunrise over the sea.
“You do not command us like pets to face your enemies. You will
suffer this battle just as we do, in a common cause.”