Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light (33 page)

‘You are dismissed from
duty for the rest of this day Captain.’ She looked into the hall.
‘Shan, ask Officer Kran to report to me please. And you, Captain,
will report to me at sunset.’

Soran saluted and
turned away, his body rigid with anger. Emla frowned, then released
Rhaki.

‘I would speak with
Tika, brother. There are many within who would be glad to meet
you.’

‘Kemti especially,’
Tika put in.

‘Kemti,’ Rhaki
repeated. ‘I remember him.’

As Rhaki entered the
hall, Tika began to go down the steps to the gardens, Emla
following. She looked up at Emla with a rueful grin.

‘I’ve lost Volk and
Essa. And a horse called Daisy.’

‘Aah. I saw a horse
just now, over by Grib’s workshop.’ Emla walked a little faster.
‘Regrettably, Grib concocts restoratives, similar to
Lorak’s.’

Tika trotted to keep up
with Emla, finally catching her sleeve to slow her down. She forced
Emla to a halt and glared up at her.

‘I want to know what
you think of Rhaki,’ she demanded.

Emla’s face softened.
‘I sorrow for the fact that Kija made him remember what he’s done
over most of the long years of his life. But yes, he is the brother
I knew as a small child. I think he realises how fortunate he is to
have been found by that old man. He has grown fond of you Tika, and
wants to continue with your company. I believe he will serve you
well, amazing as that idea still seems to me.’

‘And Soran? Emla, what
has happened here? I’ve been told he’s had far too many of those
exploding things made. Why?’

Emla began to walk
again but at a pace Tika could cope with.

‘Several of us have
tested his mind but we can find nothing wrong or changed. But he
has obviously changed, as you say. We had chosen to leave him for a
time, but his training methods have become harsh. Shan reports that
he has picked a few particularly brutal men as his senior officers.
Perhaps you will be able to discover more.’

‘Were you aware that
Shiral’s movements are being – restricted?’

Emla looked down at
Tika in horror. ‘No I was not.’

Emla had been guiding
them through an area of thick shrubbery, and now they emerged into
a small grassy glade. A dilapidated wooden building was half buried
within one shrub, a chimney pipe leaning at an alarming angle from
its roof. Daisy stood to one side, her head low, eyes closed, a
back foot cocked as she dozed in the patch of sunlight.

Volk and Essa sat on
low wooden stools, drinking bowls in their hands. A small man leapt
to his feet, removing what Tika first thought was part of his head
but belatedly, and thankfully, saw was some sort of hat.

‘Well, well Grib.’
Emla’s voice was pure honey. ‘Entertaining my guests are
we?’

‘Yes my lady. They
just, just – um – happened by.’ He spread an astonishingly filthy
hand in Emla’s direction. ‘I had to offer refreshment, my
lady.’

‘Of course you did.’
Emla studied Volk.

He rose to his feet, a
certain deliberation to his movements and regarded her with
slightly glassy dark eyes.

‘He’s very hospitable,’
he managed.

Emla’s gaze moved to
Essa. She remembered the huge Sergeant from her brief visit to the
Karmazen Palace so she didn’t flinch when Essa smiled.

‘Lady Emla,’ Essa
greeted her. ‘My father would greatly appreciate Master Grib’s –
concoction.’

‘Hmm. Perhaps you would
be kind enough to help Master Volk back to the House. He will
probably benefit from a bed and some sleep.’

‘He’s welcome to stay
here my lady. Nice man.’ Grib grinned toothlessly as Volk turned
towards him in slow motion. ‘I’ll take care of him.’

Emla sighed. ‘Oh very
well, but Grib, don’t you dare pour any more of the stuff down that
man.’

Essa strolled across
the glade and Tika walked between her and Lady Emla.

‘Reminds me of Theap,’
Essa remarked.

Her foster brother
looked nothing like Grib, Tika thought. Theap was a tiny man, with
mage powers. And clean. They came to one of the main paths and a
guard marched towards Emla.

‘Ah Kran. You remember
Lady Tika of course? And this is her Sergeant. Sergeant
Essa.’

Tika smiled, watching
Kran’s eyes widen as he took in Essa’s size, but then he looked
back at Tika with a shy smile.

‘I remember you my
lady,’ he said.

‘And I remember you
Kran.’

‘I still dream about
those tunnels, my lady. I thought they’d never come to an
end.’

He came to attention.
‘Sorry Lady Emla. You sent for me.’

‘I did indeed. You are
now Acting Captain of my guards.’

Kran’s mouth fell open.
Emla tilted her head to one side.

‘You have something to
say?’

‘But my lady, I can’t
be. Captain Soran said I was to be dismissed.’

‘He. Said. What?’ Emla
moved to one of the many stone benches scattered throughout her
gardens, and sat down.

Kran was greatly
distressed. ‘My lady, Captain Soran said I was a disgrace to you,
and I must therefore be dismissed.’

Tika joined Emla on the
bench while Essa folded her arms, listening with
interest.

‘Things are far worse
than I’d imagined,’ Emla muttered. She looked up. ‘Kran, we have
been concerned about Soran for a while. Since Prince Jemin was
here, in fact. Tell me honestly, what’s been happening in the
barracks?’

By the time Kran
finished speaking, Emla was furious and Tika increasingly worried.
Emla’s eyes lost their focus briefly and Tika knew she was mind
speaking some of her Discipline Seniors.

‘Soran will be held in
the barracks under close watch,’ she said eventually. ‘Those he has
raised to second officer rank, whom you have named, Kran, will be
stripped of their uniforms and expelled from this
estate.’

Emla watched worry
crease Kran’s forehead. ‘Well?’

‘Of those six I named,
two are as bad as Soran has become. I don’t think it wise just to
let them go, my lady.’

‘And I would like to
know where all the explosives are stored,’ Tika
interposed.

Now Kran grew really
nervous. ‘I don’t know Lady Tika. Only those I’ve spoken of know
how they are made, and where they are hidden.’

‘I think you would be
very unwise to let any of them loose, Lady Emla,’ Essa observed.
‘Not a good thought – thousands of poppers and a bunch of angry
idiots.’

Emla mind spoke her
Seniors again and stood up with a sigh. ‘Assemble the guards Kran.
I’ll talk to them before the evening meal in the training yard. If
you have doubts about any, give their names to Senior
Kera.’

‘My lady.’ Kran saluted
smartly and departed at a trot.

‘Emla is this familiar
to you?’ Tika formed a mind picture of Mena, letting Essa see what
she was doing. ‘This alteration of appearance is happening more
frequently, but no one can tell what manner of being this might
be.’

Emla held the picture
in her own mind, examining it minutely. ‘May I show some of the
others? It is quite unfamiliar to me. It looks so sad, doesn’t it,
but rather beautiful.’

Emla began to hurry
back towards the House.

‘We’ll be in shortly,’
Tika called after her.

She and Essa took their
time and found themselves by one of Emla’s ornamental fish pools.
Farn and Storm were both reclined beside it, mesmerised by the fat
golden fish lazily finning beneath large new lily
leaves.

‘Your Lady Emla is
beautiful,’ Essa said quietly. ‘And she cares for you very
much.’

‘I know. And I care for
her. She was one of the first people to be kind to me, to treat me
as a real person.’

Farn dragged his
fascinated gaze from the golden fish and his eyes whirred soft
blue.

‘I loved you
first.’

Tika slid her arm
across his shoulder and leaned in to him.

‘I know you did,’ she
agreed.

‘Strange though, that
Lady Emla should think Mena was both sad and beautiful. Did she
know the child?’

Tika shook her
head.

‘It looks as if the
Splintered Kingdom is back to work here, doesn’t it?’ Essa said
thoughtfully.

Storm turned his head.
‘Why was Brin angry?’

Tika reached to stroke
his face. ‘A man tried to offend me. I think the man wanted to make
me lose my temper, to see what powers I might unleash.’

Storm watched her
closely and Tika dropped a kiss on his nose. ‘You know that my
strength has changed since Farn and I were lost?’

She looked between the
two young Dragons and they regarded her solemnly.

‘I was afraid of this
new great strength, power I don’t know the limits to. I wondered
what might happen if I lost my temper and couldn’t hold back that
power. So I’ve been practising blocking the power away when I feel
my anger rising.’

Essa sat on the wall
bordering the pond. Like Tika, she concentrated on Storm. His eyes
whirred but the colours remained soft, muted. Storm’s head lowered
until it rested against Tika’s shoulder. Essa was moved when she
realised that Storm was deliberately letting her hear his mind
voice, as well as Farn and Tika.

‘I didn’t like that
desert,’ his voice whispered. ‘No water for so long made me afraid.
And then that poor Ship, locked away under the ground, never seeing
the sky. I didn’t like being afraid Tika, so I made myself angry.
And now it’s hard to stop being angry.’

Tika folded her arms
around Storm’s head and neck, her eyes magnified with tears as she
met Essa’s gaze.

‘Perhaps I can show you
how I try to stay calm?’

‘I’d like you to do
that.’

Heartbeats passed then
Tika gave Storm a final hug, turned to hug Farn as well and stepped
towards Essa.

‘Why don’t you go and
find meat, before dark?’

Silver blue and grey
lifted into the air.

‘Don’t you dare take
anyone’s farm animals,’ she called, as they began to
climb.

‘It’s easy to forget
they are so young,’ Essa said, watching the Dragons dwindle to the
west.

‘They are just about
one full year now. And Dragons don’t consider themselves old enough
to speak at a Gathering until they are at least a hundred years
old.’

Essa’s huge hand patted
Tika’s back. ‘Let’s see if Shea has persuaded anyone to part with
their coin yet.’

Tika laughed. ‘She’s
deadly serious isn’t she? I wonder why she wants coin so badly –
she must have a fortune in her pack already.’

They walked a way in
silence until the wide front of the House came in sight.

‘Shea wants to be sure
she and her sister will be independent. I don’t think Shea will
ever trust anyone to look after them. Kerris will always be safe
with my family, but Shea only really trusts you, Tika.’

Tika frowned,
considering what Essa had said, and realising the Sergeant had paid
far more attention to the girl than she had lately. Approaching the
steps, they met Shivan and Shiral coming from another path. Tika
quickly explained Emla’s plan to confine Soran and at least six
other guards. She also told Shiral that Emla had no idea that she
had been restricted in where she went in the grounds or in Gaharn
City.

‘I didn’t think she
knew,’ Shiral nodded. ‘I was on the point of speaking with Senior
Kemti when he broke his leg.’

Entering the hall, a
quick glance showed Tika only a handful of light blue Gaharnian
uniforms were now present. Brin and Kija seemed happy enough
talking with groups of Emla’s people. Dromi and Konya wandered over
to her.

‘That child has gone
off with a very sweet girl – I think her name was Shan – to teach
her snap-the-rat.’

Tika rolled her eyes.
‘I should warn you Konya, Shan isn’t quite as sweet as you might
think. She came on the journey north, and she fought in all the
battles.’

Dromi smiled faintly.
‘I did wonder.’

Konya scowled at him.
‘What do you mean? She seemed a charmingly ordinary
girl?’

Dromi shrugged. ‘The
way she stood. The way she moved. Her eyes were always watchful. I
suspected she had weapon training.’

Tika was searching the
crowd for others of her company. To her alarm, she saw only Sket,
Dog and Kazmat still helping themselves to food. Two engineers and
two guards were missing. She sent a thought to Kija who raised her
head to look across the hall at Tika.

‘They left soon after
you. They seemed – purposeful.’

Tika used a word she’d
heard from Prince Jemin and Essa snorted while Konya’s eyes
twinkled as she struggled to keep her face stern. But Shivan was
frowning.

‘Where can they have
gone?’ he asked.