Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light (2 page)

The Dragons had
squeezed themselves as far as they could into the cave beyond a
ledge which had been widened when Kadi had first arrived. Braziers
had been brought to try to alleviate the worst of the chill,
although the Dragons made no complaint. The old Observer, Babach
had told them that the weather would begin to improve the very next
day, and Tika sincerely hoped he would be proved right.

She was sick of tunnels
and caves although she had to admit, at least there were very few
stairs in this place. She’d grown to detest the mighty staircases
within the Karmazen Palace. At least the enforced rest inside the
Oblaka complex had allowed her to regain some of the weight she’d
lost and she had to admit to feeling a great deal better. During
these days, she had listened rather than talked. She was worried by
the fact that Finn Rah and her people appeared to know nothing of
the Splintered Kingdom, or of Namolos, or the danger that an
outside power was presently threatening them with. Tika’s name was
known among the Oblakan community but she said nothing at all of
Kelshan or the Dark Realm.

Sergeant Essa’s
towering presence was explained by vague reference to the fact that
she came from one of the tribes on the southern continent. Shivan’s
gold eyes, once noticed, were similarly dismissed as the result of
mage training among those same tribes. Finn Rah seemed unconcerned
about such matters; all her concern was focused on Drogoya, the
devastation of the land and the people. Once Tika understood this,
she made no mention of her own reasons for being here.

There was little chance
to discuss this turn of events with her people because they were
always surrounded by members of the Oblakan community. It was a
relief therefore, when Babach’s prediction was proved correct and
the weather became almost balmy overnight.

Mena, the child stolen
from a Lord of Sapphrea and held in enormous regard by the
Oblakans, appeared wary of Tika. Tika had sensed instantly that the
girl who she’d met only briefly in Sapphrea, had a considerable
amount of power at her command. She also knew that Mena’s power was
but a minute fraction compared to her own abilities. Tika felt
there was a sort of local definition to Mena’s strength: if the
girl returned to Sapphrea, Tika suspected her powers would be
greatly diminished, although how or why that should be, she
couldn’t work out.

It was with a feeling
almost of escape on the afternoon of the ninth day that many left
the caves to wander above ground. Tika and her companions walked
away from the ruined buildings and reached the cliffs which
overlooked the sea to the west and the empty town of Oblaka to the
south. The breeze was gentle at last and the sun was warm. Storm
and Brin had gone down to the beach, Kija and Kadi reclined against
a half fallen wall and basked. Farn paced steadily at Tika’s
side.

By unspoken consent,
they sat along the cliff top, well out of earshot of anyone. Shea
was the first to speak.

‘I wish Gossamer was
here.’

Tika was surprised by
the remark but Shea continued.

‘You know I’ve been
exploring everywhere – no one seemed to mind where I went. But
there was one room that I went in and that girl Mena told me off.
She said I had no right to be there.’

Farn’s eyes began to
whir a deeper blue and Tika rested a hand against his
chest.

‘Mena told you off?’
she asked incredulously.

Shea nodded, glancing
back towards the ruins.

‘But was there anything
particular about the room – maybe it was her own, her private
place?’

Shea’s short dark
curls, so like Tika’s own, tossed as she shook her head.

‘It was empty. No
furniture. Nothing. Just the painting all around the walls, like in
The Bear’s den.’

Sergeant Essa’s filed
teeth gleamed pale purple when she grinned. ‘You show me this room
Shea. No one tells ME off.’

‘Not even the Sword
Master?’ teased Corim.

Essa’s grin widened
into a leer. ‘He wouldn’t dare.’

‘Do you mean the
painting was exactly the same?’ Tika asked.

Shea frowned in
thought. ‘Not exactly the same, but there are Dragons on it. The
Bear’s picture showed hunters, and people being buried and things.
I didn’t have long to look at it, but it had a man in several
places, planting trees, and fields, all in straight
lines.’

‘Sedka.’ Ren identified
for them. ‘He is said to have founded the Menedula and the rule of
the Sacrifice.’ He glanced from face to face. ‘I’m sorry Tika, but
I feel out of place here. No,’ he added hurriedly. ‘Not with all of
you. Finn Rah and Babach and the others. They are worried about all
the people: I quite understand that. You know I’ve been worried
too. But they seem locked in only the troubles here, they have no
thought of any wider worries.

‘Babach has told them
much of what happened in the Northern Stronghold. Mena told them
more than enough about her experiences in the Menedula with Cho
Petak, yet all that seems to have no effect on their thinking. I
find it hard to believe that Babach, at least, hasn’t seen the
connections of all these separate horrors.’

‘Perhaps you’ve
travelled too far Ren, seen too much more of this world,’ Tika said
in an attempt to offer some comfort to his obvious
distress.

He sighed. ‘Maybe. But
I cannot stay here as it is now.’

Brown silvered eyes met
green silvered eyes.

‘My path lies with you
now. Completely.’

Tika let a small
silence fall then she spoke on a different subject. ‘This painting
Shea saw – do you know of it?’

Ren shook his head.
‘Never heard of its like. You say there is a picture in the village
you stayed at?’

‘Essa’s village. A huge
painting, all round the room. And the other tribes have similar
pictures.’

Sket gave Ren a quick
glance then went back to tugging up pieces of the short, salt burnt
turf. ‘What do you reckon of that child then, Ren? I get the
feeling she’s the chief here – makes all the decisions.’

Ren looked very
uncomfortable. ‘Finn’s made it clear to me that they believe her to
be Myata reborn. Sedka’s daughter, the woman who established the
Oblaka in opposition to her father’s rigid beliefs.’

Sket frowned. ‘Pretty
important then huh? I remember her, not so long ago, as a fairly
unpleasant child.’

Tika gave him a warning
poke with the toe of her boot. ‘I’d like Shea to take us to look at
this picture when we go back inside.’

‘Mena might have
concealed it. She has sufficient power to work a minor illusion,’
Shivan put in.

Heads turned in his
direction and he gave a slightly guilty shrug. Khosa jumped onto
his knee and regarded him closely. She looked over her shoulder at
Tika but everyone heard her mind voice.

‘I thought he was going
to be really careful with his experiments?’

‘Well I was.’ Shivan
defended himself against the amused faces of the company. ‘Her
mental defences are minimal.’

Tika continued to study
him: she had a feeling there was more. Shivan cleared his
throat.

‘We thought Namolos was
somewhere out there.’ He waved towards the sea in front of them.
‘So I’ve been puzzling how we could deal with something under Dark
knows how much water.’ His audience was listening intently now.
‘But he’s not there. He’s somewhere inland, and that thing with
him.’

Tika glared at him now.
‘You sought them out? Without bothering to warn me what you were
doing?’

Shivan ducked his head
in embarrassed apology and missed Tika’s scowl changing to a
smile.

‘Well, I’m quite glad
they’ve moved. I admit to being a bit bothered by the thought, as
you said, of all that water.’

Sket snorted. ‘Scared
witless more like.’ He looked around. ‘Can any of you lot
swim?’

When two of the ex
Kelshan guards raised their hands, Sket glared at them.

‘Only fools mess about
on or in large amounts of water,’ was his only comment.

Tika got to her feet,
rubbing the seat of her trousers: the ground was still far too wet
to sit on. ‘I think we will leave tomorrow then, no matter if the
weather turns again, and we will go east.’

‘Will we ask the
Dragons to carry us or will we march?’ asked Sergeant
Essa.

‘They have horses
here,’ Kazbeck volunteered. ‘There’s a nice old fellow I’ve got
talking to. He’s not happy here but he looks after various animals
that have been brought in. From some things he’s said, I reckon
he’s got more horses tucked away than he lets on, maybe hidden down
in that town.’

‘Horses might be the
best idea,’ Tika agreed, although not happily. Her few ventures on
the back of such creatures had not left good memories.

‘We can go down a path
just along here, or there is another way through the caves,’
Kazbeck suggested.

‘Lead on,’ Tika
laughed. ‘Let’s stay outside a bit longer now we’ve got the chance
shall we?’

Tika wasn’t so sure
this was a good idea when she saw what Kazbeck had called a path. A
track wide enough for one foot at a time, she thought, and if your
feet were the size of Essa’s, barely manageable at all. But Essa
apparently found no problem and strode down the side of the cliff
as nonchalantly as Khosa. Farn simply glided down and watched
Tika’s descent with great amusement, although fortunately he was
tactful enough to make no comment.

They found themselves
about halfway between the cliff top and the outermost houses of the
town. A herd of goats, their cries uncannily like laughter, watched
them from a distance where they foraged under the supervision of a
couple of young children. Large boulders were strewn across the
escarpment like great marbles tossed from a giant’s hand. Picking
their way between them, they came upon picket lines where perhaps
twenty horses were tied. A large stout figure approached and
Kazbeck muttered his name to Tika.

‘That’s Volk, the man I
spoke of.’

Tika ignored the man
for the moment, intent on Sergeant Essa. The huge woman had
stopped, her back stiff, her hand on the hilt of one of her several
knives. Tika moved closer, touching Essa’s left arm.

‘What is it Essa?
What’s wrong?’

She saw Essa’s nostrils
expand, her pale blue eyes narrow. ‘He’s a Bear.’

Tika looked more
closely at the man who was now nearly upon them. He had a shambling
gait and was heavily bearded but Tika wasn’t entirely sure what
Essa meant. Did she recognise this man as someone from her own Bear
tribe, thousands of leagues to the south? The man had halted a few
paces away and leaned against one of the boulders. Dark brown eyes
examined Tika as closely as she was studying him. Then his gaze
flicked over the rest of Tika’s company and he nodded in
recognition to Kazbeck.

‘Your friend there says
you ain’t Kooshak.’ His voice was a soft rumble. ‘Not from these
parts, he says.’

Tika, Sket very close
at her shoulder, moved nearer.

‘No we aren’t. But we
need to move east. Kazbeck says you may have a few horses to
spare?’

Volk scratched his
bearded chin. ‘Might have. I’ll be leaving tomorrow meself, Guess
east would suit as well as any other direction. Going anywhere
particular?’

Shivan moved out of the
group of guards and watched Volk take note of his gold eyes. ‘We
search for an evil that is loose. Not just in this land as they
seem to think.’ He jerked his head towards the cliffs.

Volk spat on the ground
by his foot. ‘They know nothing.’ His tone was full of contempt. ‘I
think you might, though.’ He gave the companions an appraising look
and pushed away from the boulder. ‘I’ll see what horses I might be
able to – find.’ He grinned, revealing very white, square teeth,
and pointed down towards the derelict town. ‘See that blue painted
house, to the left? I’ll be there come dawn.’

Chapter
Two

Tika knew that some of
the Drogoyan mage trained had limited abilities to use mind speech.
She’d discovered, through her own experience, that she could force
her own words into virtually any mind, mage trained or not. But she
was careful to speak to the Dragons only on a tightly focused
thread directed to each individual, alerting them to her new
plans.

It was late afternoon,
the sun sinking below the sea, by the time they all returned to the
cave complex. There was a crowd of student survivors and refugees
crammed into the big common room for the first serving of the
evening meal. Shea led the way through passages in which Tika knew
she’d have been lost in moments, until at last the girl
hesitated.

‘I’m sure it was here.’
She sounded puzzled.

Shivan smiled and
concentrated on the left wall. Nothing happened. He turned his
attention to the right wall and the stone shivered away, leaving a
door sized gap. Tika nodded approval and was the first inside. Ren
took a glow stone from his pocket and held it high. As Shea had
described, there were many scenes of a solitary man planting crops
and guiding regular columns of cattle through gates in
fields.