Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light (32 page)

A voice called and a
thin tall woman came running out of the trees, her escort trotting
to keep up. Tika hesitated only a moment then began to race towards
the woman, who knelt as Tika neared, her arms spread wide to
welcome her. Shivan and Rhaki slowed a little to allow the two
women a moment’s privacy, then drew closer even as Lady Emla’s
escort caught up with her.

Emla rose to her feet,
a brilliant smile lighting eyes almost the same emerald as Tika’s.
Sket brought the guards to a halt and grinned across at Soran, who
by chance also had eight guards at his back. Tika drew a deep
breath and moved to stand between Shivan and Rhaki.

‘Lady Emla, this is the
Dark Lord, Shivan, nephew to the First Daughter and a member of
this company.’

Emla smiled at the
young man. ‘You are welcome to Gaharn, Lord Shivan, and to my
House.’

Tika noted that Shivan
merely smiled and inclined his head: he did not give the formal
salute of the Dark Ones. But she couldn’t think about that now.
Grasping Rhaki’s right hand tightly in her left, she looked
straight into Emla’s eyes.

‘This is a new member
of my company Lady Emla. His name is Rhaki.’

Rhaki bowed deeply, his
hand still in Tika’s.

Emla, the Seniors in
her escort, and Captain Soran had frozen where they stood. Emla’s
eyes devoured this short, sturdy man of middle years, his greying
hair and dark grey eyes. Then she touched his mind and gasped. He
made no effort to resist, laying his mind open completely. At
Emla’s gasp, Soran’s hand moved to his sword, as did the guards
behind him. Sket, too, rested his hand on the hilt of his sword
and, as he did, his eight guards, including Shea moved out to the
sides, only too ready to engage Soran’s men.

There was a flurry of
wings and four Dragons descended to settle close to the humans.
Farn bustled forward to stand between the two groups. His eyes
whirred pearl and sapphire as he lowered his head to be level with
Emla. His mind speech was clear to all.

‘Dear Lady Emla, we
hated Rhaki before. But that wasn’t really the proper Rhaki. This
is really Rhaki and we are very fond of him.’

Well, thought Tika, not
the clearest of explanations, but perhaps it would do. For slow
heartbeats Emla still didn’t move, then a breath gusted out between
her lips.

‘We will accept him as
one of your company, but I ask that we test his mind.’

Tika’s chin came up.
‘You will do nothing to harm him. He is our friend and we will not
permit any hurt to him.’

Tika’s words rang with
an authority none of the Gaharnians had heard from her before, and
they watched her with different eyes.

‘Are we still welcome
here, Lady Emla? We will not remain if it displeases
you.’

Again there was a
pause, but briefer. Emla’s rigidity relaxed a little.

‘You are truly welcome,
all of you. Come, refreshments await you and we would know your
news.’

Her eyes were drawn
again to Rhaki, who stood patiently at Tika’s side. Tika made a
quick decision.

‘Emla, why don’t you
walk with Rhaki, just for a while? I think you will find a brother
returned who you only knew in the nursery.’

Emla slowly nodded and
indicated a gravelled path. Rhaki moved towards her and Soran
instantly swung in behind Emla. Before Tika could speak, Emla
raised a hand.

‘No Soran. Leave us. We
will join you in the house shortly.’

When Emla and Rhaki
passed from view, Nesh looked down at Tika. ‘Is that really
Rhaki?’

Tika sighed and began
to walk in the direction of the House.

‘Yes he is. The one
we’ve learned is the Crazed One, has been interfering in this world
much longer than we had guessed. He influenced Rhaki’s mind when
Rhaki was only a boy. You’ll hear it all in full I’m sure, but
something happened and Rhaki’s spirit, soul, whatever you want to
call it, fled and hid. His spirit was found by an old man who
walked in dreams. He chose to give Rhaki a second chance with his
life and he surrendered his body to Rhaki’s spirit.’

‘And where is the old
man now?’

‘He made it clear that
he no longer felt a need to be embodied. It’s all there, in Rhaki’s
memory.’

They rounded a towering
clump of shrubs full of glossy green leaves, and Lady Emla’s House
was before them, its white stone glowing in the afternoon sun. They
reached the steps and Sket paused, but Tika caught his
arm.

‘We will all go
inside.’

She glanced at Soran,
saddened to see the suspicion on his face. Sergeant Essa strolled
up, trailed by Volk and Daisy. Essa smiled her purple smile in
Soran’s direction while Volk removed the halter from Daisy’s head
and turned her loose. The horse began to browse on the grass edging
a flower bed and Tika trusted that Daisy had no taste for dainty
spring flowers.

Nesh led the way up the
steps and through the open doors into Emla’s hall. Tika’s throat
tightened, looking at the familiar room, but she recovered by
beginning to introduce all of her company to Nesh and the other
Seniors. Then she saw a man lying on a couch and sped towards
him.

‘Kemti! Are you
sick?’

‘Broken leg.’ He
reached for her , hugging her tight. ‘It will be all right,’ he
whispered, lips against her ear. ‘Emla has accepted him as he is
now. I long to meet him.’

He held Tika away and
studied her. She hadn’t grown at all but her face was no longer a
child’s face. He looked surprised when one of Tika’s new companions
came close and regarded him with interest.

‘Broken leg, did you
say?’ Dog enquired. ‘She’s good with broken bones. Fixed mine.’ She
saw Sket glaring at her. ‘Well, it’s nearly as good as
new.’

Tika pushed aside the
blanket covering Kemti’s legs and saw the right leg splinted from
hip to ankle.

‘However did you manage
this?’ she asked, seeking the broken bone with her mind even while
she spoke.

Kemti looked deeply
embarrassed. ‘I fell off a ladder.’

Dog snorted and Kemti
scowled at her. He began to say something else when a look of
surprise crossed his face. Tika was undoing the straps which held
the splints secure and taking them off his leg.

‘It will feel a bit odd
for a day or two, but it’s quite strong enough to use
normally.’

She put the poles and
straps on the floor under the couch and found another Senior
looking at her with a welcoming smile.

‘Yash!’ She held a hand
out to the older man.

‘And what are you doing
to my patient?’ he asked genially.

Kemti swung his legs
over the edge of the seat and stood, cautiously. ‘Healing me,
that’s what she’s done.’

Kemti studied Tika
again. ‘Your power has grown, as Iska foretold,’ he said softly. He
tested his weight on the mended leg and laughed. ‘Just let me go
and change from this robe.’

‘I’ll help you with the
stairs.’

Tika regarded Dog’s
helpfulness with suspicion but Kemti seemed quite grateful. The two
moved carefully to the foot of the wide staircase.

‘You can leave your
pack down here,’ Tika heard Kemti say.

Dog patted her satchel
lovingly. ‘I prefer to keep it close by.’

Tika saw her company
were helping themselves to the plentiful food set out on several
tables around the hall. Nesh was sitting head to head with Konya –
odd how healers recognised each other and immediately dived into
talk of, usually gruesome, cases they’d dealt with. She felt Khosa
wind between her ankles.

‘I’ve spoken to several
of my Kephis.’ Khosa spoke on a very tight mind thread to Tika
alone. ‘They watch Emla’s guards. Something’s wrong.’

‘Soran?’ Tika asked
with a sinking feeling.

‘Jemin showed Soran how
to make those exploding things when he was here. Soran has made
thousands of them.’

Before Tika could
respond, a woman appeared directly in front of her. Tika looked up
into bright yellow eyes set high in a smiling face.

‘I am Shiral,’ the
woman introduced herself. ‘Corman sent me here to be the contact
between Lady Emla and our Realm. I am Shivan’s aunt.’

Tika began to
smile.

‘Yes. I am his mother’s
sister and they all thought I was odd too.’

Shiral slipped an arm
through Tika’s, drawing her towards the food. ‘I haven’t spoken to
him yet, but he seems so much – happier. He was just too different
for most of them to cope with. I do thank you Lady Tika, on behalf
of our family, for giving him a chance to be what he is intended to
be.’

Several beaming
Seniors, only two or three of whom seemed familiar to Tika, were
bearing down on her from the side. She turned slightly to hide her
face: she remembered Kemti telling her that many Seniors learnt to
read lips.

‘Has there been any
sign of two other Dark Ones here?’ she asked quickly.

Shiral’s smile didn’t
falter although her tone matched Tika’s for seriousness.

‘Nothing at all. But of
late I have noticed that I am – somehow – kept very busy here,
rather than being free to wander.’

Tika bit her lip. ‘Do
they know you can take Dragon form?’

‘No one’s asked me. And
I chose not to mention the fact.’

Gold eyes met green in
a brief look of complete understanding. Then the Seniors were upon
them.

Chapter
Eighteen

By the time Tika had
extricated herself from the crowd of Seniors, Shiral had taken
Shivan off somewhere. Tika found Sket at her elbow as they pondered
on whether either of them still had room for just one more honey
cake.

‘Shiral told me that
Soran has made thousands of those popper things,’ Tika murmured,
regretfully deciding she really couldn’t manage any more food.
‘Jemin showed him how they’re made.’

Sket cursed under his
breath. ‘This land is at peace – has been since the Ganger Wars
when I was a lad. Why would he want any, let alone
thousands?’

‘Any chance you could
find out?’

Sket sighed. ‘Soran
doesn’t trust us now, he’s made that all too clear. Haven’t you
noticed?’

Tika glanced at Sket
then looked around the hall. Somewhat to her alarm, she saw two
dozen or more guards in the light blue of Gaharn, the golden
blossom insignia glinting on their shoulders. They were stationed
at regular intervals around the walls and Tika’s gaze finally came
to rest on Soran, who leaned casually by the door. He met her gaze
and his own hardened, his lip curling in a sneer.

Then the sneer
disappeared as a huge crimson Dragon came through the wide doors,
his long neck twisting down so that he could stare into Soran’s
face. Brin said nothing, but Soran backed a few paces. Brin’s head
swung forward and lifted, seeking Tika in the crowded hall. Prismed
eyes focused upon her and she heard his deep toned voice in her
mind.

‘What’s happened to
Soran? There is a bad change in him.’

‘Hush my dear, I
know.’

Brin paced to the left
of the door, scattering five of Soran’s guards Tika noticed with
some amusement, and reclined against the wall. Three Discipline
Seniors hurried to greet the Dragon to Brin’s obvious pleasure.
Kija entered next, displacing half a dozen more guards near the
large hearth, and reclined with dignity. Senior Kera went straight
to hug the gold Dragon and Tika rather hoped Storm would stay in
the gardens: his temper was unpredictable at best.

Tika couldn’t see
either Volk or Essa in the hall, although a rather bemused Kemti
was surrounded by three engineers and guards. Dromi and Shea were
talking to a young blonde woman and, with a start, Tika recognised
Shan, maid to the Lady Emla. As if she felt Tika’s gaze on her, the
woman turned and gave a saucy wink.

‘I’m going to find
Rhaki and Emla,’ she told Sket. ‘I don’t want to be
followed.’

He flashed a grin at
her. ‘Certainly not Lady Tika.’

She headed for the wide
doors and had just crossed the threshold when Soran and two other
guards stepped close behind her. To her complete astonishment,
there was a blood chilling snarl. From Brin. His eyes whirred
rapidly, gold and scarlet predominating. Smoke wisped from his
jaws.

‘My lady needs none
such as you following her.’

Tika glanced back and
the crowd in the hall were utterly silent. Brin’s mind voice rang
in every head, but his eyes were pinned on Soran. Soran paled but
stood his ground.

‘I am Captain of Lady
Emla’s guards, and her safety is my only concern.’

‘And you dare to
suggest that Lady Tika threatens my safety?’ Emla’s voice was like
an ice covered knife.

Colour flooded Soran’s
face then receded as quickly. He snapped to attention.

‘She brings more
strangers my lady. Your safety is paramount.’

Emla stared down at her
Captain. She had an arm across Rhaki’s shoulders, Tika was relieved
to see.