Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light (38 page)

She saw beyond his left
shoulder that the sky was lightening and knew she had been gone
from her body a dangerously long time. But she didn’t rush back,
just followed the thread of her mind where it linked to Kija’s and
so, steadily, made her way home.

Her body shuddered as
her mind repossessed it. Tika opened her eyes and blinked. Her
company sat around her, relief chasing away worry when they saw she
was back. She struggled to sit up and Sket, as always, was the
first to help her. He cursed when he touched her skin and reached
for any blankets he could get hold of, wrapping them around her icy
form. Tika leaned her head against Farn and closed her eyes
briefly.

The pendant lay against
her skin, the only warm spot on her whole body. But warm, she
noted, not hot, not burning. And something felt weighty against the
side of her chest, then she remembered: the two Dragon scales.
Looking at the faces round her, she saw they’d all witnessed her
seeking vision, probably through Farn’s mind.

‘It was Karlesh,’ she
said.

Konya pushed a bowl of
soup into her cold hands and she held it gratefully.

‘Kija has alerted Lady
Emla. Shivan, I am tired, very tired, but you must tell Emla to
summon her strongest Seniors to shield this House and have others
protect her City.’

A yawn interrupted her
and she struggled to stay awake a little longer. ‘I don’t know how
long he will be fooled into continuing southwards; not long, I
fear.’

The bowl in her hands
tilted and Shea took it from her. She gave another jaw cracking
yawn.

‘Tika,’ Rhaki asked
urgently. ‘Is that thing of the Splintered Kingdom?’

‘Oh yes,’ was all she
managed before sleep claimed her.

Shea and Dog remained
at Tika’s side while her company moved away to discuss what they’d
seen. Emla, Kemti and Nesh arrived almost at once, all dressed,
obviously having followed events through either Kija or Brin. Emla
looked worried.

‘I know, Shivan,’ she
said immediately. ‘Tika wants Seniors to shield, but many are still
far from recovered.’

When Shivan showed his
confusion, Farn spoke, his mind voice sad.

‘When I was lost
Shivan, my screams would have harmed too many people. Lady Emla’s
Seniors shielded me to keep my cries confined. I am very
sorry.’

Lady Emla strode to
Farn’s side and folded her arms around his neck and shoulders. When
he lowered his head to her, she caught his long beautiful face
between her hands.

‘Do not blame yourself,
my dear, never do that. We would do exactly the same again Farn,
for you or any of our loved ones.’

Farn pressed his brow
to Lady Emla’s, gratitude surging through his mind to hers. Drawing
away, Emla peered down at Tika, curled on her side under a pile of
blankets against Farn’s chest.

‘She sleeps,’ he told
her. ‘She is safe.’

The Lady rejoined the
companions to find Sket asking for some of her best
scouts.

‘From what I could tell
of that creature,’ he was saying. ‘I’d guess it doesn’t move fast.
But it will have enormous stamina though – I doubt it needs much
rest. I would like men sent out to watch for any sign of its
approach.’

‘Tika asked for shields
to be in place,’ Nesh objected.

Shivan nodded. ‘Indeed
she did, sir, but if those of you who are able to form shields are
still weak, there is no reason for them to use power they cannot
afford to expend any earlier than is absolutely
necessary.’

Brin mind spoke them.
‘Storm and I are already on our way south.’

Sket swore at the smug
delight in Brin’s tone. Lady Emla looked none too pleased
either.

‘For stars’ sake Brin,
guard yourselves well. If this is the same creature that caused
Tika and Sket to be cast into that Splintered Kingdom, he has more
power than his appearance might suggest.’

She waited, but Brin
did not reply, which didn’t improve Lady Emla’s temper at all. She
turned back to Sket.

‘I think your plan a
sensible one. Find Kran and however many guards you think suitable.
But Sket, I would not wish you to go further than the Candle
Hills.’

Sket nodded,
remembering his years of training under Captain Gan in that area on
the edge of the Lady’s lands. Geffal, Onion, Kazmat and Darrick
went after Sket as he hurried from the pavilion. Essa watched the
departure, of Onion in particular, her eyes narrowed. She glanced
at Dog who shrugged, all wide eyed and innocent.

‘How soon will the
Seniors be here from the Asataria?’ Rhaki asked.

Kemti looked at the
still dark sky beyond the windows. ‘Stars willing, before
dawn.’

Chapter
Twenty-One

Volk also disappeared
in the direction of the barracks. He found Sket and Kran rousing
guards and preparing to march. He drew Sket aside.

‘The cat,’ he said
softly. ‘Khosa. She will stay with Lady Tika but she asked me to
tell you those crows alerted her to this thing. She said the crows
described the air as looking shivery. And one crow died when it
tried to fly through.’

Sket scowled. ‘That
happened before, when we fell.’

He glanced up at the
big man. ‘Are you coming with us.’

Volk nodded and Sket
gave him a grin. ‘Good.’

Kran selected men who
were skilled with the short bow and Sket was glad Geffal was one of
the four guards who accompanied him: Geffal was a renowned bowman
in the Dark Realm according to Sergeant Essa. Sket reckoned the sun
would be well up by the time they reached the Candle Hills, but he
intended to force the pace. Emla’s guards had been trained to
travel short distances at speed under Gan’s command. Sket hoped
Soran had continued the practice. Before he joined Kran, Sket
turned to Volk again. He lowered his voice.

‘Can you keep an eye on
Onion and Darrick? I know they’re meant to be guards, but first and
foremost they are bloody mad engineers. I don’t want any mischief
today.’

Volk grunted with
amusement. ‘I’ll do my best,’ he agreed.

Kran led nineteen men
out through Lady Emla’s gardens, Sket and his five men with them.
Trees and bushes were dark shapes but the light was increasing
fast. Sket was pleased to see his five men kept up with the pace
set by Kran, even the two engineers. They jogged steadily, not
wasting any breath in chatter, and by the time the sun cleared the
horizon to their left, the smooth curves of the strange Candle
Hills were visible barely two leagues ahead.

They made their way
over the low mounds to the further side and Sket was astonished to
see the ground pocked and scarred, bare of turf. Kran stood beside
him.

‘Soran liked testing
those exploding things here.’ He waved a hand at the pits and
craters. ‘As you can see.’

These odd humps,
scarcely hills, ran in a long line east to west, and Kran sent men
to spread out, always alert for any movement on the plains which
began at the foot of these Candle Hills. Sket saw Geffal and Kazmat
a hundred paces west, Onion and Darrick trotting further along.
Kran sat down, and Sket sat beside him to begin their
watch.

By midday, the sun was
quite hot, although it wasn’t long since winter had loosed its hold
on the land. A trilling whistle came from their left, repeated
twice. Both Kran and Sket searched the southern horizon, the
burgeoning new grass shimmering under the sun and rippled by a
gentle breeze.

‘I see nothing,’ Kran
muttered.

Sket started to agree
then stopped. ‘That shimmer – it’s not heat Kran. It’s that
creature!’

Kran followed Sket’s
pointing finger and saw the shimmer effect was concentrated in only
one comparatively small area. As they stared, lightning flashed
amid the distorted air. But the lightning shot up from the earth to
the sky, and Sket was suddenly afraid. He concentrated his thoughts
as never before and sent a screaming thought into the
sky.

‘Brin! Storm! Get away!
Get away!’

He watched in terrified
apprehension of seeing a Dragon shape falling, burning to the
ground, but he saw nothing. Volk and Geffal scrambled up next to
him.

‘It’s moving fast sir,’
said Geffal. ‘It will be a close thing, for us to get back before
it reaches us.’

Kran was already
signalling his men back and sliding down the northern slope of the
hill. Sket followed, Kazmat falling and being hauled to his feet
again by Geffal. Two leagues back they could see the line of trees
marking the border of Lady Emla’s estate.

‘Hold up at the
border,’ Sket yelled as men started running north.

Volk caught his arm and
when he turned to look at the Old Blood, he knew.

‘They both ran down,’
Volk jerked his thumb over his shoulder. ‘Into those deeper
holes.’

Sket stared back up at
the slope but Volk held his upper arm in a nearly painful grip and
began running after the other men, dragging Sket with
him.

‘They must take their
chance Sket. You cannot risk going after them now.’

Sket struggled to pull
free but Volk only tightened his hold, shaking Sket’s
arm.

‘How do you think any
of us could tell Lady Tika that you’d been hurt or worse man? Now
move!’

Only after Sket started
running did Volk release his hold. By the time they stumbled among
the barely greening trees, both men were gasping for breath. They
leaned behind the nearest trunks, squinting back to the low line of
rounded hills. Kran moved up beside Sket, sweat gleaming on his
face.

‘I don’t think it’s
worth waiting here Sket. We should withdraw to the House. Arrows
won’t stop this – it reminds me of the Cansharsi.’

Sket gave him a sharp
glance, then nodded. Kran started to order his men to prepare for
another running retreat when a series of explosions shook the
ground they stood on. Sket stayed by his tree trunk but yelled at
Kran.

‘Go on! Get the men out
of here! I’ll wait only a short while, I swear.’ He glared at Volk.
‘You too. Go on, but I must wait,’ he repeated.

Another half a dozen
explosions shattered the quiet of the early afternoon. Sket stared,
watching earth and rock leap into the air and tumble back to the
ground. But watching the tops of the mounds, he also saw the air
quivering, as it sometimes did on a very hot summer’s day. He swore
loudly and angrily then spun to sprint after Volk. As he did, he
saw a figure emerge from the hills further to the west, a figure
running in a stumbling, uncoordinated way.

Sket swerved, racing
along the line of trees until he was close to the figure. He dashed
into the open, grabbed the man, and pulling an arm over his
shoulder, dragged him back towards the scant shelter of the trees.
He didn’t see Volk but the big man was suddenly there, snatching
the man from Sket’s grasp. Volk tossed the man over his shoulder,
grabbed Sket yet again and ran, amazingly fast, through the trees
and on through the furthest reaches of Emla’s cultivated
gardens.

Emla stood at the top
of the steps, just outside the hall, and watched the men running
towards her. She knew, by the way they ran, that danger was at
their heels. She pushed away her own fear that her people had not
regained enough power to withstand the creature she had seen by way
of Tika’s far seeking. Kemti stood beside her.

Nesh was in the library
directly above, watching southwards, ready to trigger the shields
from the minds of more than twenty Seniors placed around the upper
floors of the House. He too saw the guardsmen racing towards the
House and he noted that the bearded man, Volk, carried another over
his shoulder. He sent a thought to a Senior healer, Kollas, then
returned his attention the distant border.

One probing glance told
Emla that only one man was injured and that was the one carried by
Volk. The men staggered into her hall, gasping for breath but Sket
stopped in front of her.

‘Nothing attacked us,
Lady Emla,. But we all experienced a great fear which came over us,
a foreboding sense of doom.’ He paused to suck in more air. ‘None
of these men are cowards, all have seen battle, yet everyone of us
were nearly mindless with terror when we left the Candle
Hills.’

Emla nodded. ‘You’re
suggesting a compulsion.’

Sket wiped a hand over
his sweaty face. ‘That’s what it felt like. It’s gone now, and I
feel stupid for doing that wild run.’

‘None of you have power
Sket, and it needs that ability to fight a compulsion of this sort.
Who was hurt?’

Sket shook his head.
‘One of the engineers. I don’t know which one. The other one is
dead.’

‘I’m sorry. Go and
check him Sket. Nesh sent a healer to tend him.’

Sket turned away, his
breathing steady now but his legs wobbly after that frantic run. A
maid approached.

‘Senior Kollas is with
your man, Captain Sket. Along this passage.’

Captain Sket? The title
still didn’t sit comfortably with him. For Sket, there would only
ever be one Captain: Captain Gan Jal Sarl. The maid opened a door
and Sket went through. He found himself staring down at a burnt
mess. He hadn’t realised the man was so badly injured when he’d
grabbed him at the edge of the Candle Hills. Sket had to look hard
to identify Onion.