Dragonclaw (19 page)

After a while, she felt Feld's frail hand patting her shoulder and heard him say awkwardly, ‘Come, come, ye are wetting my book, and indeed it is far too auld and rare to be wetted with salt tears. I ken what it is ye did, and how that must grieve your heart, but really, what could ye do? Ye saved Ishbel's life and your own, and ye could have destroyed the Banrìgh, which indeed would have been a good thing, much as it pains my heart to say that the death o' any living thing could be a good thing.'

‘The mother-dragon told me Khan'gharad is no' dead,' Meghan said, wiping her lined face impatiently.

‘Did she so? Well, dragons do no' lie, though they can twist words in such a way that they might as well be telling an untruth. I canna see how he could have lived after ye opened a chasm at his very feet, but then the Banrìgh survived, did she no', and her black-hearted servant with her. Stranger things have happened.'

‘Like finding ye alive, and Ishbel too, when I had given up all hope,' Meghan said. ‘Ye can imagine how I felt when Ishbel turned up for Isabeau's Testing, after sixteen years of silence!'

‘Indeed! So that is why she woke. She must've kent ye needed her. And I tried to stop her, the auld fool I am. One moment she was asleep, the next awake and looking about her with those great blue eyes o' hers. I caught her in my arms and tried to hold her down, but she was too strong for me. A wee thing like Ishbel, too strong for me! Och, I am getting auld. She struggled and fought like an elven cat, and after she had won free, threw herself out the window o' her room! I thought she must be mad in her grief, and the confusion o' waking after so long, and trying to kill herself.

‘I was always a fool. Ishbel the Winged, to die by falling out a window! For light as a feather, she twirled and floated through the sky, and I watched her till she was beyond the Cursed Peaks, and out o' sight. I could no' rest till she returned, I fretted and fumed, and young Khan'derin celebrated her coming o' age alone and no' very happy, I am afraid. I felt I could no' be easy until Ishbel was safe home again, though when she did return it was to sleep's arms that she turned, no' mine, and asleep she has been ever since.' The old warlock sighed, and took off his glasses to rub them with the skirt of his robe.

Meghan and her old friend Feld talked long into the night, and he told her of some of the marvels of the Towers' library. It had been gathered together by the great twin sorcerers, Faodhagan and Sorcha, and Feld claimed it had some texts from Alba, the Other World, which they had brought with them in the Great Crossing. Written mainly in Latin, one of the sacred languages of the Other World, they were very difficult to read but Feld had persevered gamely.

‘The twins lived in harmony with the dragons, ye ken, riding their backs and building the Great Stairway for them. Faodhagan was a great artist and craftsman, far greater than anything we ken, and a great wielder o' magic. It is he who built the dragons' palace, and the Towers o' Roses and Thorns, as well as many o' the other Towers too. Books in this library tell o' acts o' magic that are almost beyond belief. I have barely started my work, even after fifteen years here.'

Suddenly Meghan felt so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, and she rested her head in her hands and her elbows on the table while Feld went on describing the treasures of his library. After a while she must have dropped off to sleep for she woke when he laid a hand on her shoulder, begging her forgiveness and leading her off to bed.

Her first night in a soft, warm bed for over a week did wonders for Meghan and she woke reinvigorated and almost happy. Although she and Feld had never been very close at the Tower of Two Moons, each preoccupied with their own concerns, it cheered her greatly to see a familiar face. It was also a comfort to know there was a great store of knowledge here that one day could help the witches reestablish the Towers, and perhaps even take them to greater heights of wisdom and understanding. The discovery of Khan'derin was also a wonder and a joy, for here perhaps was a power equal to Isabeau's, and another young witch to fill the halls of learning both she and Feld dreamt of. Meghan washed her face and plaited her grey hair amidst dreams of a new Tower and a defeated Banrìgh.

There was a knock on the door, and Khan'derin came in bearing a tray with hot porridge and tea. She was wearing a loose white shirt, and her head was covered with a long-tailed white cap so Meghan could still not see her hair. The old witch smiled at her. ‘I am glad that I came,' she said. ‘Indeed, ‘twas grand to find the lost Towers o' Roses and Thorns intact still, and so rich in knowledge. So much has been lost. Feld tells me there are books here that came over in the Crossing!'

‘Are all the other Towers really destroyed then?'

‘I believe so,' Meghan replied. ‘I sent carrier pigeons to those we knew still stood, and tried to contact their scrying pools in case any witches had returned after the Burning, but received no response at all. And I asked in all the villages and towns o' Upper Rionnagan, and everyone says the Towers lie in ruins, with no living creature but rats and crows to disturb their emptiness. I hope one day we will rebuild them, but for now they are nothing but piles o' stones.'

Khan'derin shrugged. ‘I never really believed in their existence anyway,' she said. ‘The first I really heard o' witches was when I came here to the Cursed Valley and met Feld. He tries to teach me, but what do witches have to do with me?'

‘A lot, I hope,' Meghan said. ‘Bide a wee while I eat and we can talk.'

Khan'derin remained standing. ‘I do no' want to hear what ye have to say.'

Meghan was surprised and affronted. ‘What do ye mean?'

‘The Firemaker had a dream that I was to leave the Spine o' the World and travel far away. I do no' wish to go.'

Again Meghan was conscious of the fact that Khan'derin was an unknown quantity and that she must tread carefully. ‘Do no' your grandmother's dreams speak truth?'

‘All dreams are visions o' what may be. We ourselves choose whether or no' to make dreams reality.'

‘What did the Firemaker dream?'

‘She dreamt that I was to come face to face with my shadow.'

‘What does that mean, do ye think?'

‘I did no' ken afore I met ye, but now I fear ye mean to take me to meet this girl ye keep speaking o', the one who is meant to look like me.'

‘Indeed, she looks enough like ye to be your mirror image. I am sure now that she is your twin sister, born to Ishbel the Winged, whom ye call the sleeping sorceress. Ishbel and the Dragon-Laird Khan'gharad were lovers, ye see, back in the Tower o' the Two Moons. When the Red Guards attacked the Tower, Ishbel was only a few weeks away from giving birth. I helped her escape, and she must have flown in search o' Khan'gharad's people then. The dragons say they found her on the slopes o' Dragonclaw—what ye call the Cursed Peaks—in dreadful pain. They helped her give birth then gave Isabeau into my care and ye into the care o' your father's people. I do no' ken why they separated ye.'

‘Because twins are forbidden, I imagine,' Khan'derin said coldly.

‘Perhaps … though I would have gladly taken ye both. Twins are no' forbidden in Rionnagan. I do no' understand why they are here.'

‘It is no' natural for two to be born o' the one womb. They are too close, the threads o' their destiny too tangled. They bring tragedy, for we are all meant to be born and die alone.'

‘Is this why ye do no' want to come with me? Ye do no' want to meet Isabeau?' Despite herself, Meghan's voice was incredulous.

‘No' only that. I have just been scarred. I was to have joined the council next winter. Auld Mother says I am the youngest warrior ever to receive my scars.'

‘Is that what the scars are for? A mark o' fighting prowess?'

Khan'derin traced the scar on her left cheek. ‘This is for finding my name. This one,' and she traced the right scar, ‘is for fighting.'

‘Fighting? Who do ye fight?'

‘Our greatest enemy is o' course the Pride o' the Fighting Cats, who dared to trespass on our traditional hunting grounds and then made an assault on our Haven. The Fighting Cats are fools, trying to muscle in on our land.'

‘So the prides fight among themselves?'

Khan'derin stared. ‘O' course. We have always fought. What else is there to do?' When Meghan did not reply, she continued. ‘The Fighting Cats are jealous o' our Haven, which is large enough for all the pride, and high enough to be free o' any attack from the demons in the valleys. The Fighting Cats' Haven is much deeper north, on the ice plains, where spring is very late in coming and where the frost giants live. Their pastures are no' as lush as ours and, indeed, it has been a very hard winter.'

‘So ye are scarred as a sign o' hunting and fighting prowess?'

‘Aye. All o' us are scarred, according to our calling. I chose to become a Scarred Warrior, which is why I do no' want to leave. Ye will want me to learn your tricks and treacheries, when all I want is to stay with my pride and fight for them and feed them, as is the way o' the Scarred Warrior.'

‘Was your father a Scarred Warrior?'

‘Indeed, he was, the greatest o' them all. He received all seven scars, which I will too one day.'

‘What does this mean, the seven scars?'

‘Only those who have the seven scars can order the Council o' Scarred Warriors. In my lifetime, I have heard o' only two Scarred Warriors with all seven scars.'

‘Explain to me again about how ye won your scars, and what it means. Ye said ye would have led the pride now?'

‘No! No Scarred Warrior leads the pride, that is the job o' the Auld Mother. One day I will be Firemaker, and that is why I must win my scars. No, the Council o' Scarred Warriors discuss war plans and when to leave the Haven and head for the summer pastures, that sort o' thing. The Auld Mother decides, o' course, but she listens carefully to the Scarred Warriors.'

‘And ye are to be Auld Mother one day?'

‘I am the only daughter o' the blood—at least I thought I was. Now ye tell me I have a sister. That is no' good. Who is to be Auld Mother and Firemaker?'

‘I do no' ken. Surely that is still a long way off?'

‘Indeed, I hope so. I need to win my scars first, and then be taught the way o' the wind, and how to travel in dreams.'

‘I canna teach ye that, but I can teach ye other things. How to talk to animals and understand the ways o' the earth. How to read omens and signs, how to ken what others are thinking.'

‘Feld has tried to teach me such things but I canna see how they will help me.'

‘If ye are to become Firemaker, they will help ye greatly. In the meantime, though, what o' your Auld Mother's dream?'

‘I do no want to leave the pride.'

‘Sometimes we must do what we do no' wish to do. Tell me what she dreamt and I will tell ye what I think.'

‘I do no' ken what she dreamt. All I ken is what she said to me as I was preparing to leave for the Cursed Valley. She said she had dreamed I was to leave the Spine o' the World and follow in the footsteps o' my father. She said I must test my wings.'

‘That is all I want ye to do,' Meghan said. ‘I felt such an omen when first I met ye. I feel the Spinners are twisting the threads o' our lives together.'

‘So ye think I should go with ye?'

‘Aye, I want ye to, Khan'derin.'

She turned on her heel. ‘I will think on it.'

Meghan spent the day in the library with Feld, finding out more about Tìrlethan and its strange history. The original inhabitants of this mountain country, who called themselves Khan'cohbans, or Children of the White Gods, lived in groups called prides. They were not human, though very similar in bodily structure, being closely related to the Celestines, the race of forest-dwellers who had ruled Eileanan before the time of the First Crossing. Faodhagan the Red had been fascinated by their ancient culture, and had spent much time with them after the establishment of the Towers. He had fallen in love with one of their women and had fathered twins with her.

So
, Meghan thought,
Isabeau and Khan'derin are probably descendants o' his line, half human, half faery. No wonder Isabeau's magic is so powerful!

Later that day the white-clad youngster came up behind Meghan, startling her with her noiseless approach. ‘I have thought long on this, auld mother,' she said reluctantly, ‘and if ye and my grandmother both think it is my fate to travel away from the Spine o' the World, then that is what I must do.'

‘I am pleased to hear that,' Meghan responded gravely.

‘I am very unhappy,' Khan'derin said. ‘I have never crossed the mountains—I ken nothing o' your people or your land.'

‘They are your people too, Khan'derin, do no' doubt that for a moment. You may have been born into a faery tribe, but human bluid runs strong in ye. From what I have learnt, ye are the descendant o' one o' the First Coven, Faodhagan the Red, and that makes ye and Isabeau o' the very finest bluid. A banprionnsa, no less. If that were no' enough, I sense much Power latent in ye. I canna allow that to go to waste. But there is no need for ye to be afraid.'

‘I am no' afraid!' Khan'derin snapped. ‘I just do no' think o' your people as being my people. The prides have kept to themselves for many hundreds o' years now. Only the Firemaker crosses the mountains, and then only when it is time to mate.' She sighed. ‘Perhaps this means it is time for me to mate.'

‘Does that mean the Firemakers do no' marry and interbreed with the people o' the prides?' Meghan was fascinated.

‘Sometimes. Khan'fella did. But mostly the Firemaker crosses the mountains in search o' a suitable mate. When she is with babe she returns to the Spine o' the World.'