Moons' Dreaming (Children of the Rock) (65 page)

They rushed to the bow, water dripping from their clothes. The rest of the sea monster
’
s body floated to the surface, over fifty feet of scaled muscle, tapering from the broad base of the head to a tail no thicker than a common snake
’
s.

Chasa grinned at the look of annoyance on the Dherrican
’
s face.
“
You get used to being wet.
”

“
I never planned to become an apprentice hero. First phantom cats, then weapons training, now this. The whole summer, gone. I can
’
t decide whether to blame your father or your sister. Or you.
”

“
I promised I wouldn
’
t do it again,
”
Chasa muttered. Despite Jeyn
’
s best efforts, their father had found out about his foray into Rhenlan. The king had listened to his and Aage
’
s report about the Abstainers and Soen and Rhenlan
’
s captain of the guard with his usual keen attention. Later, in private, he
’
d vented his disapproval of the escapade with such vehemence that Chasa
’
s ears burned just thinking about it.
“
Besides, it
’
s not my fault that it
’
s been a busy summer for monsters.
”

Bare feet scuffled on planking behind them as the seamen prepared to raise the sail.

“
They
’
ve kept you running from one end of Sitrine to the other,
”
Ivey agreed.
“
Too bad you have to wait for a report before you can act.
”

“
Aage can locate monsters the moment they appear
—
that is, if he had the time for daily searches. I look forward to the day Mojil or Forrit comes of age.
”

“
Your Dreamer cousins?
”

“
Second cousins. No, third. I don
’
t know them very well.
”

“
Because of their Dreamer training, I suppose.
”

Chasa shrugged.
“
The Greenmothers visit them now and then, but apparently there
’
s not much they can do in the way of training until their magic comes to them. So it
’
s not that they
’
re so busy, just that they live near Bren, and I don
’
t get down there very often.
”

“
It should come soon, shouldn
’
t it?
”

“
The girl
’
s thirteen, the boy
’
s eleven. Aage says it
’
s not just a matter of physical maturity. They have to be ready in every way to bend the power before their gifts will be revealed.
”

Ivey said,
“
I can
’
t imagine waiting so long to know exactly what my life
’
s work would be. I started training as a musician when I was seven.
”

“
It would be unsettling, wouldn
’
t it? Knowing that you
’
ll have this amazing power, but not knowing what form it will take.
”

The ship steered past several of the floating harpoons, close enough that one of the men reached down to retrieve them from the troubled surface without much difficulty. The harpoons, like Chasa
’
s sword, were the result of Aage
’
s mastery of the art of making magic weapons. For over sixty years, he had overseen the forging of all of Sitrine
’
s monster-slaying blades. Most followed the traditional pattern used by generations of Shapers
—
the killing edge permeated with dragon powder and the weapon as a whole magically attuned to a single user. Sene carried such a sword, as did Hion of Rhenlan and Pirse of Dherrica.

However, toward the end of the long battle with the fire bears, Aage had moved beyond tradition. As the death toll among the Shapers mounted, Aage had located a few exceptional Keepers with the strength and reflexes to control the power-filled weapons. In addition, he discovered that, if he infused a blade with the minimum amount of dragon powder necessary to harm monsters, he could render it safe for use by as many as ten people. The magically weak weapons were useless against the large dragons of Dherrica, but they proved acceptable against fire bears and ideal for hunting sea monsters.

The men and women who crewed Chasa
’
s ship were chosen not just for their sailing skills, but because they could tolerate the bending of power that surrounded the specially forged harpoon heads and Chasa
’
s dragon sword. A few had even learned to wield them. Ivey, to Sene
’
s delight, proved receptive to Aage
’
s magical imprinting. He would probably never develop the swordsmanship needed to defeat a phantom cat, but hacking at a sea dragon required no finesse, only perseverance.

Ivey moved out of the way as they pulled alongside the monster
’
s corpse. Chasa snagged his sword out of its eye, then stretched forward to detach one of its gills.

“
Not much smaller than a dragon
’
s ears.
”
Chasa resumed his education of the reluctant minstrel.
“
Aage prepares most of them for Jenil to use in her healing. He says all the monsters have to bend power to a certain extent, just to exist.
”

With the aid of a large hook, Chasa rolled the body in the water so that he could reach the other gill, then laid it on top of the first on the deck. Chasa pushed the now faintly shimmering body away with the hook, then took a dry cloth out of the storage locker forward of the mast and began to clean his sword.

“
Being healed by magic
’
s unpleasant. Our bodies aren
’
t designed to have power bent through them. Without that,
”
he indicated the sea monster
’
s gills with a flick of his sword,
“
no one could survive any extensive power-bending healing.
”

The captain approached Chasa.
“
We
’
ve retrieved all the weapons, Your Highness.
”

“
Very well. Set course for port.
”

“
Aye, sir.
”

Chasa took one last look at the monster. All of its magic had dissipated, leaving it a peculiar mass of seemingly unrelated blobs of flesh. As he watched, what had been the tail jerked and vanished beneath the surface of the water, snatched by some scavenger fish glad of an easy meal.

Ivey stood at his shoulder.
“
You
’
ve given me another story to sing about
—
as soon as I
’
m back on the road.
”

Rain clouds loomed closer from the north. Chasa and Ivey went below out of the freshening wind before the storm arrived.

* * *

After the leaves began to turn, just after Fall Festival, there was the Horse Fair. There had been an annual Horse Fair in Edian for generations of Dreamers. Once, the horse people had been part of it. According to the Redmothers, the horse people had started it, long before Edian itself had existed. At the northeast corner of the lake, near the center of the best grazing land in the three kingdoms, horse traders and horse admirers gathered to buy, sell, and talk about horses.

Dael rode along the line of, and spoke briefly to, his guards at their posts. After this first inspection of the day he could get some breakfast. Once, he had enjoyed being at the fair. The easy duty of policing visitors and making sure the events went smoothly had been something to look forward to. The fair signaled the end of summer for him more than the F
all F
estival. Some of the people who arrived for the Fall Festival, especially the minstrels and entertainers of various sorts, stayed for the fair, some stayed until midwinter, and some simply stayed through until spring. A few outstayed their welcome, and had to be escorted out of town, but most contributed to a more colorful Edian. D
ael still anticipated the post-f
air festivities. He enjoyed the parties with the entertainers, and the company of the pretty girls visiting from the countryside. But the
f
air itself, the animals and the skills they demonstrated, no longer interested him.

The queen
’
s pavilions occupied their customary choice location, near the show rings and convenient to the watering troughs. Dael gave the complex a cursory glance. Queen Gallia brought her entire staff up each year, and needed no help from the guard. He saw several horses being exercised in the smaller ring, the thud of hooves clear in the still morning air. There was a dry smell of straw and sawdust. In the next row of stables a wisp of smoke from a cook fire spiraled lazily skyward.

The road into Edian was still empty. Dael urged his horse to a canter, in a hurry to be away. He was feeling very much alone today. The
Horse
Fair was full of reminders of the royal family, and of the past. He didn
’
t have time for melancholy anymore. He had a full day ahead of him, starting with breakfast at the Lakeside inn. A breakfast planned since the beginning of the summer, although he no longer looked forward to the meeting.

Dael handed his reins to the inn
’
s stable boy and crossed the yard. The familiar horse was standing next to the wall. He mounted the steps and walked into the cool interior of the inn
’
s main room. A trio of merchants sat by the hearth, engrossed in conversation. He identified them as regular visitors to Edian, still blissfully ignorant of the unease growing among the local business leaders. They were of no concern to Dael this morning.

The man Dael had come to meet was seated at a table near the large, diamond-paned window that overlooked the lake.

“
Dael,
”
the carter said in greeting.

“
You arrived last night?
”
Dael asked as he took a seat opposite Jordy.

“
Aye.
”

A pretty serving girl, smiling familiarly, said,
“
The usual, Dael?
”
then disappeared into the kitchen before Dael could do more than nod his agreement.

“
You
’
re well-known, I see.
”

Dael smirked and reached across the table to snare a slice of bread from the carter
’
s full plate. Jordy, his mouth full, merely raised his eyebrows.

“
I
’
ve been working,
”
Dael explained.
“
Where
’
s Tob? He
’
s usually the one to filch from your plate.
”

“
Back at the market,
”
Jordy said after he swallowed,
“
with the wagon. Probably still asleep. We came in very late.
”

“
I have some news.
”
Dael wanted to have it said at once.
“
I located that boy from your village.
”

Jordy put his fork down.
“
Pross. Well?
”

“
He was sent to the Dherrican border. An outpost on the Galla, fifty miles up from the sea.
”

“
Can you get him away from there? Reassign him to a troop nearer home, at least.
”

“
He
’
s dead, Jordy.
”

The blunt statement drained the color from the man
’
s face. Jordy lowered his eyes for just a moment, his jaw set. He looked up again to ask,
“
What happened?
”

“
The details aren
’
t really necessary.
”

“
His family will think so. Yours would.
”

Dael accepted the rebuke, tasting bitterness.
“
He and another boy were practicing swordplay. Pross dropped his shield. The other boy tried to stop his swing, lost control. His blade went through Pross
’
thigh. He bled to death.
”