Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light (63 page)

‘Well thank you
darling. You are simply too sweet.’

And Ferag
vanished.

Chapter
Thirty-Four

Onion chortled. ‘Dog.
Delicious. Nice ring to it, though.’

Dog snarled and wrapped
her blanket around her, intending to get some sleep before daylight
if possible.

Rhaki and Navan were
both smiling.

‘You really do like
that – lady, don’t you?’

‘Yes I do Navan, so no
rude remarks about her please.’

Tika watched Shivan
chewing the side of his thumb.

‘What?’ she
demanded.

‘Couldn’t I open a
gateway and -’

‘No.’

‘But Tika,’

‘I said no Shivan. We
could try to send a message scroll if there were circles
here.’

‘I could ask about
circles,’ Navan offered.

Tika raked a hand
through her hair. ‘I would like everyone to know what’s happening,
but I’ll only agree to written messages being sent.’

She regarded Shivan
thoughtfully. ‘You take people through gateways, but can’t you send
things through on their own?’

Shivan brightened. ‘I’m
sure it could be done, but I’ll ask some of Darallax’s
adepts.’

Tika peered out at the
still dark garden. ‘Well give them a chance to wake up and have
breakfast,’ she advised.

Tika left the company
to try to rest a little longer, and wandered outside, Khosa snoring
just under her chin. Kija was reclining nearest the garden room and
her great eyes glittered when she saw Tika. She lowered her head
and sniffed Khosa, who stretched, yawned and gazed blearily at the
gold Dragon.

‘I’m glad to see you,
little sister. We were concerned for you.’

Khosa patted Kija’s
nose with a gentle paw, but said nothing.

‘Stay with me for a
while. Tika can fetch my cushion for you to rest on.’

Obediently, Tika
returned to find her pack and unearth the cushion Essa’s mother had
made and presented to Kija. It was Kija’s only, and highly valued,
possession. Tika offered it to Kija, who held it carefully between
her arm and her chest, and then lifted Khosa onto the
cushion.

‘You will be careful of
the threads, won’t you?’ Kija asked.

‘Of course I will.’
Khosa turned round three or four times, and settled into a purring
ball, held tenderly in the crook of the enormous Dragon’s arm. Tika
smiled fondly and went deeper into the garden seeking Farn. She
found him at the garden’s very centre, peering at the barely
visible mosaic which depicted two large Chyliax. He sent a pulse of
affection when Tika arrived.

‘I heard your thought,
and what you said, to Shivan and Navan,’ he told her.

‘You did?’

‘Yes, yes. But look, my
Tika. These aren’t inside a circle, but they make a full spiral
pattern if you follow it very carefully, right in to that yellow
stone in the middle.’

Tika knelt and bent
closer over the mosaic.

‘Start just there.’ A
thick finger pointed to a place under her knee and began to trace a
line on.

Tika followed the
pattern, crawling over the Chyliax still on her knees until, sure
enough, she reached a pale yellow, circular stone the size of one
of Essa’s hands. She sat back on her heels and beamed up at
Farn.

‘You are very clever,
you know.’

His eyes flashed and
whirred in delight. ‘Do you think so? Well of course, my parents
are, so obviously I would be like them.’

‘Hmm.’ Tika hoped her
impulsive words wouldn’t encourage a bout of boastfulness. She sent
a thought to Rhaki, asking him to join her.

‘Spirals.’

Tika looked warily at
the black line around her left thumb. ‘Spirals,’ she
agreed.

‘Like
spirals.’

‘Oh. That’s nice. Do
you know much about them?’

Silence, broken by the
sound of booted feet approaching.

‘Did that shadow speak
to you then, my Tika?’

‘Yes, did you hear
it?’

‘Only
faintly.’

Rhaki emerged from one
of the several pathways which looped and wound through the garden
and touched Farn’s shoulder, looking down at Tika.

‘You used circles, in
Sapphrea, didn’t you?’

Rhaki
nodded.

‘Well, just look what
Farn’s worked out.’

Rhaki joined Tika on
his knees and crawled around the line she indicated.

‘We could try sending a
scroll through. I admit I would feel much happier knowing others
might have some warning of any impending –
unpleasantness.’

Tika met his gaze. ‘You
know it will be nasty, don’t you? she said softly.

Rhaki raised his hands
and let them drop to his lap. ‘I fear it will indeed.’

Tika got to her feet
and held out a hand to Rhaki. ‘Shivan might find others, if
Darallax is helpful. Let’s go and write messages for Emla and
Thryssa.’

She glanced up at the
sky where pink clouds were pushing the night further
away.

‘Thryssa could move to
specific places without using circles at either end. Can
you?’

Rhaki looked surprised.
‘I’ve not heard of that. How did she do it?’

‘She paced as though
she was walking a spiral, and said the words, and she had to
visualise the place she wanted to go to. To its last tiny
detail.’

People were up and
about now and Tika asked one of the blue gowned women who had
apparently been assigned to look after them, if she could be
provided with paper and pens. The woman smiled and trotted off.
Tika ate several honey cakes and a handful of berries while she
waited. Shivan and Navan were gone already and so were the two
engineers and Shea. The serving woman returned with piles of thick
parchment, three pots of ink and four long pens.

Tika thanked her and
pulled a table close to one of the couches. It took most of the
morning to phrase the messages as clearly and briefly as they
could, but finally it was done to their satisfaction. Sket had
listened as his lady and Rhaki argued over a particular word or
sentence.

‘Shall I find some
scroll cases?’ he asked.

Tika nodded. Rhaki,
could you picture a place, if I give you an exact mind picture, to
send a message to?’

Rhaki frowned. ‘I could
try.’

‘That’s good enough.
I’ll copy this again for Corman, and another for Essa’s father. You
can take the details from her mind for her father’s
house.’

She picked up a pen,
dipped it in an ink pot and bent over a fresh sheet of parchment.
Sket reappeared with several battered scroll cases and watched Tika
at her writing.

‘Your writing has
improved, my lady,’ he commented straight faced.

Tika scowled. ‘It’s
readable,’ she retorted.

‘Will they be able to
send a reply?’ he asked.

Tika turned to Rhaki
who scratched his chin. ‘We could ask Navan to draw a copy of the
Chyliax spirals here I suppose.’ He sounded doubtful. ‘I would say
it’s unlikely.’

Tika signed her name
and laid the pen down. ‘Do you know where Navan is,
Sket?’

‘No but I’ll find
him.’

‘Where is
everyone?’

‘The lads went off with
Dromi and Subaken. Dog and Onion are out there.’ He nodded towards
the garden. ‘I hope they’re not playing about with those bloody
poppers.’

Tika looked thoroughly
alarmed and squeezed out from behind the table.

‘If Navan turns up, ask
him to try to draw those spirals,’ she called to Rhaki as she sped
out of the door.

After searching through
several of the arbours, she was relieved to find the engineers and
Shea, watched over by Sergeant Essa. They sat round a large shallow
dish of water in which, as far as Tika could see, different shaped
leaves floated. She went closer and four faces turned to
her.

‘What are you doing?’
she asked curiously.

‘Working out how to
blow the Kingdom either away or up,’ Onion replied with a happy
smile.

Tika sat between Essa
and Shea and contemplated the bowl of water.

‘We don’t know what
shape or size the thing is so we’re using different leaves,’
explained Dog.

The leaves in the dish
were removed and then one single, oval leaf was carefully set in
the middle. Dog leaned over and Tika saw she held a handful of
small stones. Dog held her breath and dropped one stone near an end
of the leaf. Ripples pushed the leaf nearly to the side of the dish
where it then spun gently, still bobbing. Tika looked at Dog and
Onion who were scowling in concentration. Shea seemed equally
absorbed. She turned to Essa who rolled her eyes but said nothing.
Dog and Onion replaced the oval leaf with a long narrow one and
proceeded to drop more stones around it. Their conversation became
incomprehensible involving numbers and items unknown to Tika, and
conducted heatedly.

‘I think I’ll leave you
to it,’ she said, getting up.

‘But it’s fascinating,’
Shea told her.

‘I’m sure it is, but I
have things to do.’

‘Like what?’

She found the engineers
staring at her with suspicion.

‘We’re going to try to
send scrolls to Lady Emla and Lady Thryssa.’

‘Oh. That’s all right
then.’ Dog nodded and returned to her discussion with
Onion.

Essa climbed to her
feet and left with Tika.

‘Did you know what they
were talking about?’

‘Not a clue,’ Essa
replied, purple teeth showing in a quick smile. ‘And I would rather
not know, too.’

They found themselves
in the arbour where Darallax had first met them and settled on a
couple of benches.

‘I wonder who that
Serida is, that Ferag mentioned,’ Essa mused.

‘Little
god.’

Tika lifted her left
hand. ‘Can you let my friend hear you?’ she said aloud.

‘Little
god.’

Essa blinked. Tika
pointed to the black line around her thumb and Essa
nodded.

‘So Serida is a little
god?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where is he a
god?’

‘Many
places.’

Essa crossed her eyes
and Tika giggled.

‘Is he a god of
death?’

‘Hunting.
Fighting.’

‘Really? Ferag said
he’s very reclusive. I can’t imagine a fighting god being
reclusive.’

Essa snorted with
amusement.

‘No sacrifices
now.’

Tika frowned in
thought. ‘Simert said he stayed away from Drogoya because no one
called him anymore. Is that what you mean?’

‘Like.’

‘So would Serida come
if he was called?’

The air in front of
Essa flickered and a half naked man appeared. Essa was on her feet,
long knife drawn as the man turned in a circle as if to see where
he was. Tika swallowed.

‘Serida?’ she asked
tentatively.

Dark eyes regarded her
then the man gave a curt nod. He was large; not as large as Essa
but very sturdy and muscular. He wore something like a short skirt,
and his torso bristled with weapons’ harnesses.

‘Why have you called
me?’

His voice was
surprisingly low, soft, but his eyes remained fixed on Tika. He
tilted his head in Essa’s direction. ‘This is a warrior but she
didn’t call. You did, but you are no warrior.’

Tika’s thumb tingled
but she ignored it. ‘Many people might tell you how wrong you are
to assume that.’

Tika was unaware of how
cold her eyes and voice had become. She didn’t notice the
sprinkling of frost that suddenly sparkled on the foliage around
them. Serida did. Moments passed while he stared at her.

‘You are not the child
I first thought,’ he announced finally. He folded arms bulging with
muscle, across his chest. ‘Why did you call me?’

Very slowly, Tika’s
eyes warmed, the frost on the leaves turned to water and dripped
onto the stone below.

‘Ferag said the
Splintered Kingdom is most closely attached to your –
Domain.’

‘My Field,’ he
corrected.

Tika shrugged. ‘How
closely?’

‘Two borders are more
compromised than I’d thought. I’ve spoken with others. Four more of
us are linked with the intruder.’

‘Can you join forces
with each other and with some of us ordinary humans, and destroy
the one within that Kingdom?’

Serida’s head tilted
back and he gave a shout of laughter. Tika sincerely hoped none of
her company heard and came running. She didn’t want to think what
damage a warrior god might inflict on mere humans.