Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light (4 page)

‘Hag have you been to
the Menedula?’ Tika asked.

‘Menedula? What’s a
Menedula?’

‘It’s a great building,
made of black stone, further east.’ Ren waved a hand vaguely in
that direction.

‘Nothing there.’ Hag
was dismissive, then her eyes sparkled and she half spread her
wings. ‘Magic north of there. Strong magic.’

Tika stood up, feeling
happier once she could look down, a little, on the great bird. ‘Can
you tell exactly where?’ she asked.

‘Of course.’

‘Well, would you then,
and tell us?’

Hag cackled. ‘Always
want me to run errands but always rude.’

‘Hag, I am not rude to
you,’ Tika objected, then added, ‘My dear.’

Hag shuffled her
feathers and strutted towards Khosa, who spat at her. Hag shrieked
with laughter and went back to Tika.

‘You aren’t rude,’ she
conceded. ‘I’ll have a look then,’ she ducked her head. ‘Just for
you mind. My dear. The magic’s gone from that place you stayed at
anyway. I’ll see you soon.’

She pushed up on her
powerful legs and rose rapidly, a last shriek ringing down on
them.

Again, Tika found Volk
watching her. He smiled.

‘You have many friends,
lady.’

‘Tika,’ she corrected
automatically, but he’d turned back to calm the horses
again.

‘How far to that town –
where the Menedula is?’ Sket asked Ren that evening.

Ren grinned
apologetically. ‘I have no idea. Volk,’ he called across their
small camp. ‘How far to Syet?’

‘Four, five
days.’

‘Is it still forest
around there, or farm land or what?’ Tika asked.

‘Forest was cleared
long ago.’ Volk stretched his legs towards the fire. ‘Farm land,
pasture, for leagues around. Mostly south of the Menedula though.
North is mixed forest, hills, lowish mountains. Hunters and
trappers live up north.’

‘No towns north then?’
Sket pressed.

Volk shook his head.
‘People live solitary in the wild places. I used to.’

There was an odd note
in his voice Tika couldn’t identify, but he’d clearly said all he
intended: he got to his feet and vanished in the dark towards the
horse lines.

Two more days of
unending forest and at the midday halt, Shivan announced that he
wished to go on ahead, to observe the Menedula. Brin’s eyes
sparkled and he was in the air, ready to go. Shivan laughed and
began to walk away from the company. His body shimmered, a gust of
burnt cinnamon scented air blew towards them, and Shivan’s Dragon
form lifted gracefully to follow Brin.

Brin had been carrying
Essa and Geffal but Geffal was happy enough to ride a horse for a
time, and Fedran chose to do so as well so Essa could join Dog on
Kija’s back. The other two engineers were being given instruction
in small arms use. Essa, and Sket, had been disgusted by the
engineers total reliance on their explosive devices. They insisted
the engineers learn knife work and at least basic sword skills.
Shea had joined in the sword lessons with great enthusiasm. Dog had
steadfastly refused any such nonsense, maintaining her leg still
gave her unexpected twinges. As Tika had healed Dog’s smashed leg,
there was doubt whether her excuses were strictly true. But when
Sket and Essa appealed to Tika for her opinion, she just laughed
and refused to get involved.

Brin and Shivan arrived
back when the company were eating their evening meal. Volk had
snared rabbits most evenings, and Kija had brought them a small
deer on one occasion. Tika watched Brin and Shivan land at the edge
of the firelight. Shivan’s Dragon form dwindled until he was the
more usual, slender young man they’d grown used to. She noticed
that they had landed quite close to the horses, but those animals
made no fuss at the sudden smell of burnt spice.

Brin had fed on their
journey back but Shivan was ravenous. They left him to eat his fill
before plying him with questions about what he’d seen.

‘It’s not pretty,’ he
said eventually. ‘Most of the dead are skeletons now, but there are
an awful lot of bones. I used cold fire on the worst places – the
steps up to the Menedula building, and in the first
hall.’

He raised his hands at
Tika’s scowl. ‘I didn’t go right inside. I felt nothing; no life,
good or bad. But I didn’t go further. It is a very splendid
building. Volcanic rock entirely I think.’

Ren nodded.

‘There was no life at
all in the town – we flew over most of it. There were a few hens
and goats but only a very few.’

Tika considered
Shivan’s report. ‘I’d like to go there anyway. There may be some
hint of what Cho Petak did to loose this violence. And maybe we can
find the Weights of Balance.’

She wasn’t hopeful
about that last. Although the Weights in Gaharn were not hidden
away, the Weights in the Stronghold had been well warded. Ren had
spent much of his life inside the Menedula and had no idea where
the Weights might be. When the company settled for the night, Tika
heard some speculation among her guards about the possibility of
finding treasure within the ruined town and the mighty Menedula.
She listened for a while but realised there was no great greed or
enthusiasm behind that speculation. No, she had no need to worry
how her guards would behave.

Two more days and they
stopped at midday. It had been very hot, even for those riding
among the trees. Volk estimated they’d reach the first pastures
bordering Syet by late afternoon, even with a longer halt than
usual. The Dragons sprawled in the sun, half asleep, half watching
the sparkling water droplets thrown up by Storm’s splashing in the
stream by which they lay. Tika moved a little away from the
company, upstream, occasionally pausing to pick up an oddly
coloured pebble from the water’s edge.

‘Lady.’

Her head swung round
and she saw Volk, partly hidden by a tree trunk a few paces further
on. She felt both Farn and Sket come alert but she sent a quick
pulse of thought, telling them to stay as they were. Tika resumed
her stroll, coming closer to Volk.

‘What is it Volk?’ she
asked quietly.

‘The one called Shivan,
lady. Where is he from?’

Tika considered her
reply, then told him the truth. ‘From lands far to the south, Volk.
A place called the Dark Realm. Many of the people have eyes such as
his, and some transform to Dragon shape. Essa comes from that land
too, but she shares only a fraction of Shivan’s Dark
blood.’

She saw that Volk was
listening intently to every word.

‘Why? Does it bother
you that he changes his form?’

Volk gave a bitter
laugh. ‘No, lady. It thrilled my heart to witness it.’ His dark
eyes fixed on hers. ‘We are hunted and killed here.’

His body shivered, and
there was a faint scent of spice, and an enormous bear stood in his
place. Whatever Tika had expected, it hadn’t been this.

‘Are you still Volk, in
this form?’ She had no fear of either the man or the bear, but she
was deeply curious.

‘Yes lady. I was born
Volk, a man.’

The bear, its thick
rich fur gleaming where speckles of sunlight touched it, shimmered,
and became a man. Tika noted that somehow the bear had spoken
aloud, as Hag did she realised. Yet neither bird nor bear had the
right vocal chords to be able to do so. Tika smiled and sat down,
patting the grass next to her.

‘Come and talk to me
Volk, although perhaps it is Shivan you should speak with. You say
you were born a man – in human form you mean?’

Volk sat beside her
with a sigh. ‘We change when we grow to adult.’

Tika nodded. ‘That’s
what happens among Shivan’s people. What else?’

‘We have different
talents lady.’ He shrugged. ‘I can deal with most animals, calm
them, heal their hurts and sicknesses, ease a birthing.’

‘There are others like
you?’

‘There’s been a hawk
spying on us last few days. It’s a young woman I’ve met
before.’

Tika tried to keep her
face expressionless. A hawk? She frowned. ‘You said “they hunt you
and they kill you”. Who do?’

Volk’s lip curled in a
silent snarl. ‘Those under the Menedula’s rule. Their Sedka said
that my people were evil, abominations. Said we stole children,
raped any females we found, drank the blood and ate the flesh of
our victims.’ He spat on the ground then looked straight at Tika.
‘Although you got their eyes, I knew you weren’t one of them. That
Ren, he WAS one of them but he feels the same as you do:
different.’

‘The people you told us
about – who live in the north, those who “live solitary”. Are they
of your kind?’

A sigh gusted through
Volk’s beard. ‘When it first happens, it’s difficult to control. It
can happen with no warning. Many young ones leave if it happens
when they live in a town or village. It doesn’t happen in every
generation see, lady. I have a daughter back in the Oblaka. She’s
never changed. I fear her younger boy may, and he’s in the worst
possible place now, if he changes. But I couldn’t steal him away
from her, could I?’

Tika decided that
question was impossible to answer. ‘Do you know that Sergeant Essa
comes from the Bear tribe? When she first saw you, she told me you
were a bear. I thought she meant that you’d come from her
homelands.’

She reached across to
rest a hand on Volk’s arm. ‘You must surely be aware that among my
company, Ren is the only Drogoyan? The Dragons, Sket and I come
from across the sea, the place your people sometimes call the Night
Lands. All the others come from the lands to the south of Drogoya.
If you choose that they know nothing of you and your people, so be
it. But I know they would all be interested to know more of you.
They have seen far stranger things than you might guess
Volk.’

She hesitated briefly.
‘I will be honest with you now. What I just saw, the Dragons also
saw. They watched through my mind and my eyes. Yet they still lie
there in the sun. They saw no harm in you.’

Green silvered eyes
stared at Volk.

‘If they had feared
you, or what you might do to me, you would be dead. But clearly
they see you simply as one of our company.’

Chapter
Three

Volk’s estimate was
proved correct: the riders emerged from the forest just as the sun
was beginning to sink beneath the trees at their backs. The Dragons
landed on rough pasture, where new grass struggled through old,
winter burnt tussocks. Volk dismounted.

‘We could stop here the
night, lady, reach Syet this time tomorrow.’

Tika slid from Farn’s
back. ‘Sounds sensible,’ she agreed.

She turned to stroke
Farn’s face and laughed. His eyes flashed and he rose into the air
again, swiftly followed by Storm and Brin. Kija huffed, but stayed
with the company.

‘They cannot be patient
for just one more day.’

Everyone heard the gold
Dragon’s grumble within their minds, and turned to busy themselves
making camp and to conceal their smiles.

The three Dragons
returned as dusk turned to darkness and the two younger ones seemed
subdued. Tika touched Farn’s face and spoke aloud for all to
hear.

‘Was it very
unpleasant, dear one?’

Farn’s prismed eyes
whirred soft blue pearl. He used his mind voice to reach every
mind. ‘This town is a bigger place than Gaharn, or Karmazen, but
not so big as Harbour City. It is empty of people. It felt very
strange.’

Storm gave a sigh which
blew the fire’s flames almost flat. ‘It felt uncomfortable,’ he
said, and leaned against Brin’s shoulder.

It was unusual for
Storm to speak to anyone other than the Dragons and Tika saw
Khosa’s eyes narrow where she sat on Konya’s lap. Yes, Tika
thought, the Dragons felt the residue of the violent deaths which
had occurred within the town and it unsettled them badly. She made
no comment then, but resolved to speak to Brin once Farn and Storm
were asleep. Brin was always happy to explore, she would ask him to
suggest they reconnoitred north of the town for suitable resting
places if she decided to travel further in pursuit of that burst of
power.

They travelled at a
steady pace next day, the horses much fitter than when they’d left
Oblaka town. Usually, there was chatter as the guards rode,
punctuated by occasional laughter, but by the time they saw the
outskirts of Syet, the riders had fallen silent. There was nothing
there at all, no song birds, no livestock, no one worked the fields
weeding through newly sprouting crops, and there was a heavy cloud
of desolation hanging over all.

Volk climbed down from
his horse and led it forward, and the other riders followed suit.
Tika and Sket, with those who rode the other Dragons, also walked
now. Kija drifted above them but, as Tika had asked, Brin made a
game of chasing Farn and Storm round the edge of the town and over
the large black edifice that loomed above the empty streets and
buildings.

Ren hurried forward to
walk beside Volk, searching familiar streets and squares and open
garden spaces for anything other than the tangled heaps of raggedy
clothed bones. Although they’d not noticed even a breeze as they
crossed the last fields before entering the town, once in the
streets sudden eddies stirred piles of leaves and pushed dust
devils scampering round corners. Tika had been prepared for the
sadness of a derelict town, but she found it more oppressive than
she could have imagined.