Echoes in the Dark (40 page)

An
offhand apology for rousting her out of bed if she’d ever heard one.

They
rode in companionable silence, through copses and woods, and once when they
reached another long meadow, she sent a mental message of running to Hope and
he did, but then he lifted his wings and they glided. Airborne! Maybe only a
couple of feet off the ground, but flying.

She
laughed, let it ripple from her like a banner of notes, a melody…Jikata’s first
flight.

In a
show-off move, Lightning sailed by them, a full ten feet off the ground, legs
tucked close to his belly. Luthan was grinning, something Jikata sensed was not
common, and the sight fired more flickers of awareness of him as a man inside
her, as lovely and joyful as the flight itself.

Then
Hope was galloping across the field and in the distance Jikata heard the bells
of the Abbey ring the hour.

Her
mind whirled with a slight dizziness, the headiness of escaping—once again in
her life—an old woman who commanded her, though Ishi had never been as
autocratic as the Singer.

No,
Jikata would not go back to the Abbey willingly. She didn’t know what her fate
was now, but she would fight to hold on to it.

Marshalls’ Castle

F
aucon had said
his goodbyes to his friends during the long celebration the night before. It
was more of a “see you later,” since the next day those on the invasion force
would be preparing to leave for his place and the start of the true adventure.

Which
meant he had to be there first. He trusted Corbeau absolutely, and knew
preparations there were going apace, but Faucon wasn’t sure how Corbeau would
mix with the Chevaliers and Marshalls.

Not
to mention the fact that Faucon yearned for Raine, was ever conscious of the
short time he’d have with her before she returned to her home.

His
foolish heart. But he was a man of his time, risking all—love, life, soul—to
live the fullest and kill the Dark.

So
he and his volaran, and his Chevalier team that had been on alert the day
before and was still sober, flew to the North. The second team would remain
assigned to the Castle.

Two
pairs of his Chevaliers had made the expedition force. Only three pairs had
tested. Most of his people had signed on with him for the reward at the end of
their service—a bit of land of their own. He’d have to revise his will before
he left.

As
he arrived at his northern home, he saw the bustle of the inhabitants and
townsfolk preparing for an invasion of their own.

Below,
on the newly extended landing field that would hold fifty volarans, Raine was
waiting for him.

His
heart lurched as he saw her unbound brown hair lifting in the wind, her
long-limbed body held like a sailor’s, the creamy skin of her face lifted to
him.

His
sex stirred and all thought of doing anything except taking her to bed for the
rest of the day went from his head.

They
landed and he dismounted, running toward her…he was always running toward
her…catching her and feeling her body against his and tasting her mouth and
hearing her Song—
their
Song—that ripped through them like an undertow.

This
woman was his, and he was hers.

For
the moment.

Living
in the moment was all he had.

29

Creusse Landing

R
aine spent the
day in sumptuous sensuality…making love with Faucon with a hungry urgency. It
had shocked her, the feeling they had for each other, but it hadn’t stopped her
from exploring the man, making him tremble, making him surrender to the passion
between them. As she’d been explored and had trembled and had surrendered.

A
moment out of time with no expectations beyond pleasuring themselves.

Reality
had come in the need to satisfy other hungers, namely their stomachs, and a
discreet knock on the door told them it was time for dinner.

After
dinner there was a slight commotion. The shipbuilders had arrived by volaranback,
looking a little stunned. Three men and a woman, and the way they carried
themselves sent a twinge of loneliness through Raine, reminding her of her
family. People who worked with their hands, who sailed, who were completely
confident of their abilities…though the woman was old enough to be the mother
Raine lost early, the obvious matriarch of the family, just as Raine’s father
was a patriarch.

She
wondered how much difference that really made.

The
woman was stiff—and not just from the volaran ride—until she saw Raine. Then
she smiled and bowed low. “Salutations, Exotique Seamistress.”

Raine
inclined her torso, recalled her name and said, “Salutations, Madam Deauville.”

Striding
to her, the older woman held out both hands. Faucon and his family were
observing closely. Raine accepted the woman’s grip, but Madam took Raine’s
hands and turned them over, studied them, nodded as she saw calluses in the
same place as her own. “I knew you would do,” Madam said. “Even if the
Seamasters did a poor job of Summoning, our beloved Amee would ensure we
seafolk would have an Exotique to be proud of. My boys could tell you were a
good one when you flew over us.”

Raine
couldn’t see how, but all four of the shipbuilders had wide streaks in their
hair. The men, all quite a bit older than Raine, bowed. Madam had started
childbearing young.

Faucon
moved smoothly forward. “Welcome to Creusse Landing. I hope you will be
comfortable here. Corbeau is the master of this place. We have a suite for you
on the main floor facing the sea.”

Madam’s
curtsy was deep, her sons’ bows quite low and none met Faucon’s eyes. Raine was
picking up nuances of the culture.

“You
are all very gracious,” Madam said, bowing more to Corbeau and his wife. Then
she turned back to Raine, and Raine thought she saw relief in her eyes at
dealing with a strange Exotique who knew ships more than with high Lladranan
nobility. Someone she could identify with, and that touched Raine.

“The
word has gone out and is spreading that there will be a great gathering, that
testing of sailing skills will occur to man the Ship to the Dark’s Nest.” Her
tone shimmered with excitement. “Sailors will come from all the land, Captains
will come to be your second in command, Exotique Seamistress.” She glanced at
Faucon. “There may be a great fair….”

Corbeau
said, “We are preparing.”

“Good,
good.” Madam rubbed her hands, then her face took on an additional inner glow,
her Song lilted. “We are honored to be the ones to help you raise the Ship. The
design is brilliant.”

“Only
to be expected from an Exotique,” one son said.

“Thank
you,” Raine said, “and thank you for coming to help.”

“This
is what we were born to do,” another son said.

The
next morning, they finished with the last of the design, all in charity with
each other.

Then
the shipbuilders, Raine, Faucon and Corbeau began crafting the ship-raising
Ritual. It wasn’t going to be easy, and Raine was going to be the one holding
all the Power and directing all the others.

She
must not fail.

Luthan’s Home

J
ikata received
an impression of shabby comfort from Luthan’s place, something that surprised
her since she thought of him as an elegant man.

But
the house, the first she’d seen on Lladrana, was nothing compared with flying.
She learned the basics easily, mostly because she could mentally hear/see
instructions from all three of them…and Luthan was the best of her teachers.

In
fact, he’d been the most patient of all her teachers, equaling her childhood
Japanese voice instructor, who’d trained her in several languages.

The
next morning they were mounted and with an older, sedate volaran carrying
packs, on the road and walking through the thick forest before dawn. Jikata
marveled at the sunrise in a forest, the lessening of dark into shades of
green, then sunlit oblongs slanting in, beautifully illuminating the forest
floor.

She
sensed that Luthan felt the mystery, too, then he glanced over to her and began
Singing a lovely tune of praise for the sunrise and the Song. He Sang it
through once, then emphasized the chorus. When he started on the second verse
Jikata twined her voice around his, only adding the notes since she didn’t know
the lyrics, and joined in on the simple chorus. Chasonette Sang with them.

That
set the tenor of the day, walking and talking and singing. She was learning
today, too, simple folk tunes and a complex Song or two…and listening to the
soundtrack around her change as the landscape did. She soaked in the underlying
tones of meadows and forests and villages.

Much
more satisfying than in the Singer’s Abbey. This, too, could be considered Club
Lladrana, the local tour.

Chasonette
took off on little flights of her own, coming back with bits of gossip…the
closest village was having a market day, the Singer’s Abbey’s bells had rung as
usual, so they were keeping her disappearance secret.

Midmorning
Jikata had a mental discussion with the Singer.

You
come back,
the Singer commanded.

No,
Jikata replied
in English.

I
will have you brought back.
But there was more anger being flouted than desire
for Jikata in the Singer’s tone.

Jikata
couldn’t resist a cliché.
You and what army?
They both knew it was
Jikata and Luthan who could call an army.

The
Singer had hissed, snapped their communication. Luthan had stiffened beside
Jikata and she could almost hear the Singer scolding him. His face had
darkened, he’d made a cutting gesture and urged Lightning forward.

For
a few minutes they’d galloped, then flown, slowing when the old pack volaran
complained. Luthan had met Jikata’s eyes. “I am no longer the Singer’s representative.”

She
laughed. “Good. I’m no longer the Singer’s apprentice.” But she sensed he was
purposeful, set on the same course as the other Exotiques.

Now
that she was away from the stultifying and shielded walls of the Abbey, she
could hear, even
feel,
the links between her and the other women.
Because they were all from Earth. More, all were from the States, and most held
a common lilt—the signature of Colorado in their tunes.

Oddly
enough, she was most curious about Raine, and could feel that woman’s Song ebb
and flow like the tide. Probably because there wasn’t a book by Raine in
Jikata’s saddlebag.

As
they’d transferred her possessions to saddlebags, Luthan had seen the books.
His mobile mouth had curved, then flattened as he’d held them in his hands. He
hadn’t opened the covers, and she was sure he didn’t read English, yet she
thought he partially recognized the alphabet.

Jikata
didn’t bring the subject up of the other Exotiques, why they were Summoned, the
monsters, or the Dark. She selfishly wanted the rest of the day to be as
pastoral as the countryside. He seemed to understand that, and quiet sensuality
spun between them.

When
they stopped for the night, she helped build a fire, tended the food as he
erected the small, fancy pavilion. The volarans flew off to forage and
Chasonette settled down on a branch and went to sleep.

They
ate chicken breasts he’d brought in a cold-spelled food bag and potato cakes
that had heated in the same pan.

Jikata
knew from what she’d read of Alexa’s and Marian’s books that there hadn’t been
any potatoes in Lladrana, so one of the other Exotiques must have brought them,
but when? And how?

She’d
had a lot of things in her pack, but usual items a woman would carry, and
jewelry—costume and good—for the tour. She had energy bars and a small stash of
chocolate. But potatoes? She’d certainly never carried them in her backpack.

After
dinner she cracked open Marian’s Lorebook, but had no better luck reading this
night than others, her eyes blurring.

Luthan
took the book from her hands before she dropped it and half carried her to one
of the tent’s “rooms” that was her own. After he left, she skimmed off her
clothes, put on a nightgown and snuggled into the surprisingly soft mattress.

They
weren’t traveling light, and it seemed odd that all this stuff had been in the
packs on the third volaran. She sighed. Like most of her entire experiences
here, it could be summed up in one word. Magic.

She
dreamed of Ishi. Jikata walked with the old woman through the overhanging trees
along the road she and Luthan had taken. This time there was the added benefit
of the sound of a rushing stream. Pretty and soothing.

He’s
a handsome man,
Ishi said, glancing over at Jikata.
But do you think you should go with him?
She gestured in a smooth and graceful movement and Jikata followed her hand to
see they were walking back to the Abbey.
It is safe back there, dear one.
You should return and learn a little more, stay safe. Here outside the walls is
much danger.