Tears of War Read online

  “I still have to find Taela.”

  “I can find her for you if you like. In fact, I can find her faster.”

  “Thank you, Maleena.”

  A slight, young woman strode through the doors of the Great Hall. The sun shone off her rich black skin. Her black hair hung in a multitude of braids. The blue and white beads on the ends of the braids clicked as she walked. She smiled as she approached them. “Dhovara said I might find you here.”

  Maleena smiled in welcome. “Hello, Tania.”

  “Good afternoon, Maleena.”

  Maleena turned to Kellinar. “I must go. I still have duties to attend to at the Tower of Spirit after I find Taela. And then later, Taela and I have some experimenting to do.”

  He frowned. “I wish you two would stop, it isn’t safe.”

  Maleena laughed. “Nonsense. We only messed something up once.”

  “And blinded everyone in the Dragon Hold of their senses.”

  “It only took us an hour to reverse it.”

  He shifted, visibly uncomfortable with the memory. “It felt longer than that.”

  She patted his shoulder. “We will be careful, I promise.”

  Still laughing softly, she walked into the Great Hall. She and Taela had made a few mistakes, but they had learned far more than they messed up. She reached out with her mind, “Taela?”

  The return sending came immediately. “Yes?”

  “Anevay needs you in the records room if you have time.”

  “Of course. We can meet there after dinner.”

  “I will be there.”

  Maleena walked through the city, enjoying the sweet smell of roses on the early summer breeze. After two years, her fear of crowds and the people of Galdrilene had faded. It didn’t ease the knot of anxiety in her gut though. In less than a month, she and Mckale would leave for Calladar.

  She’d become used to the people here, but Calladar might not be so welcoming to magic users even if some of the ruling houses knew about Galdrilene. She took a deep breath. It would all be okay.

  Taela walked into the Great Hall on her way to the records room. Dhovara, the Mage Councilor of the Tower of Air and Water, and a Fire mage stood with a young woman in the hall. Something about the woman tickled Taela’s memory. Golden hair hung to her waist and framed a heart-shaped face. Why did she look so familiar? The blonde turned her head to look at the Fire mage. Taela stopped short, her breath freezing in her chest.

  Ropey scars ran down the side of the woman’s face and trailed down her neck. More scars marred her hands and arms. Memories flooded Taela. A massive cave with white marble walls and a polished onyx floor. The woman cowering from Sadira, yet defying her at the same time.

  She looked at Taela and recognition flashed in her eyes. Taela forced herself to breathe again, to walk forward. Her eyes didn’t leave the familiar face. She stopped a few paces from them. The Fire mage turned toward her. “Hello, Di’shan. We have a new mage.”

  Taela nodded. She’d always felt a spark of something in this woman. “Welcome, Kalila.”

  “You two know each other?” Dhovara asked.

  Kalila glanced at her. “Yes.” She turned her gaze back on Taela. “So you did escape. I have wondered about it and thought of you and Paki often. Is Paki…well?”

  Taela smiled. “Paki is well. She is a mature dragon now. How are you here? How did you get away?”

  “Everyone left the Kormai to pursue you. I tried to get Drisa and Larna to come with me, but they were broken. They are empty shells of themselves. So I…I left them and ran.”

  The two mages looked back and forth between them in confusion. Guilt rolled off Kalila in waves. Taela shook her head. “You did what you had to. You have no reason to feel so much guilt. How did you make it here?”

  “I nearly died in my escape. A band of Traders taking a short cut found me on the Ash Plains just south of Calladar. Their Shamam healed me. She used magic and knew I could too. I traveled with them until we reached Yari then she introduced me to Aleel.” She nodded her head toward the Fire mage. “Aleel brought me the rest of the way.”

  “You’ve been traveling for over a year to get here?”

  Kalila smiled sadly. “I have nowhere else to go. I can’t go home. Not when I can use magic. Madeir, the Shamam, proved that magic doesn’t drive you insane.”

  Taela gave her a hug. “I’m glad you found your way here. Galdrilene is a like a balm on open wounds. You will be happy here.”

  Kalila returned the hug and stepped away. “I hope so. My life is not what I expected. Everything seems confused and turned on its head. My time in the Kormai with Sadira changed me. I’m not sure I would fit back into my old life even if I couldn’t use magic. The things that seemed so important before no longer have any worth for me.”

  Dhovara smiled, dark eyes full of warmth. “You will find your feet here. Aleel is going to take you to the Tower of Air and Water. I have things I must attend to in the hold, but I will see you later.”

  Taela watched as Aleel led Kalila away. She turned to the small door that would take her through a short hallway to the records room. Memories from over a year ago intruded her thoughts.

  The door to the records room opened before she even reached for the latch. Anevay stood in the doorway, concern on her face. “What’s wrong?”

  Taela shook her head. “Nothing.”

  Anevay pulled her into the room. “I may not be a Spirit mage, but I can feel your distress through our bond. Why are you upset?”

  Taela let out a deep sigh. “I’m not upset really. In fact, I’m happy. I told you about Kalila, remember?” Her bondsister nodded. “She’s here.”

  “Here? In Galdrilene?”

  “Yes. She escaped Sadira. She can use magic and with help, made her way here. I’m happy for her, but seeing her brought up a lot of bad memories.”

  In her mind, Taela heard the screams of those Kovan tortured with his ‘healing.’ Screams she could do nothing but run and hide from. Images of Maleena—battered, bloodied, and nearly dead—being carried through the marble cavern. The overwhelming fear that Paki would be killed. Too many memories she wished she could forget.

  She didn’t notice the tears until Anevay enfolded her in her arms. She stood quietly in the arms of her bondsister and let her silent tears fall. Images and memories of her time in the Kormai, short though it was, burned through her mind.

  She sensed Kellinar’s agitation. He would feel her distress too. She pulled away from Anevay and worked to gain control. The past couldn’t be changed; only learned and moved on from.

  Anevay’s dark eyes searched hers. “Are you okay?”

  Deep love washed through her from her bondsister. More love surrounded her heart and soul, flowing in from Paki, Kellinar, Latia, and Shryden. The memories faded to the background where they belonged. She had so much now. So much more than she ever expected.

  Taela nodded to Anevay. “Yes, I’m okay now.” She sucked in a deep breath and wiped away the tears. “Maleena said you needed my help.”

  Anevay smiled. “I think I’ve found another key, but some of the symbols are clearer to you. If you wouldn’t mind translating a few.”

  “I don’t mind. Maleena is meeting me here later anyway.”

  Anevay’s brow furrowed. “You two will be experimenting again?”

  “Of course. We have things to figure out too. Besides we can’t let you have all of the fun.”

  Her bondsister shook her head and laughed softly. “Just try not to blind everybody this time.”

  Taela rolled her eyes. “Why does everyone keep bringing that up? We only did that one time and it was nearly two weeks ago.”

  “Losing all of your senses at once so you are left standing deaf, numb, and blind for nearly an hour left quite an impression on everyone.”

  Taela mulled that over. She would have to see if Maleena remembered exactly what they did that day; it might come in handy later. Would their friends and bondmates be
willing to be experimented on? Probably not. Maybe they could practice on each other.

  She sat down at the desk with Anevay beside her and immersed herself in the symbols; the meaning of each line clear as the morning sun to her mind.

  Vaddoc walked through the hold trying to suppress his growing irritation. Where had Loki gone off to now? He knew Merru shouldn’t leave the hold. Only a couple months younger than Latia, Merru’s scales had just hardened and the young dragon had taken his first solo flight. Vaddoc didn’t really believe anyone in Galdrilene would harm the draclet, but it wasn’t a chance worth taking.

  It wasn’t because Loki didn’t care for the young gold dragon. Anyone could tell he adored Merru. It didn’t help that the draclet was just like his rider. The two were constantly disappearing and getting into trouble. Soon the young pair would be flying together. Vaddoc could only guess the kind of trouble they would get into then.

  He would never forget the day they’d stopped everyone’s heart by leaping off the waterfall at the edge of the caldera. Merru’s wings weren’t strong enough to lift himself into the air, much less a rider. But he’d thrown his wings out and locked them, gliding down the seventeen hundred foot drop.

  Vaddoc shook his head at the memory. He thought he would never breath right again after that. Every adult dragon had dived over the cliff after them, terrified the two would die. Not even a stern talking to by Bardeck and Emallya, or the long lecture from Marda, had elicited any chagrin in the two.

  They’d made many such dives since and sneaked out as often as possible. Loki mastered light-bending so fast, Vaddoc was sure the boy had been using the weave without realizing it for a long time. It made sense. It was probably how he got past all of the Spirit mages every time.

  Vaddoc stopped on the inner terrace, his eyes sweeping the caldera again one more time. The adult dragons, back from their hunt, bathed in the lake. He didn’t bother asking Namir; it wouldn’t do any good. Merru wouldn’t answer the older dragon anyway. Not when he and Loki were off getting into trouble. It wouldn’t help to ask Emallya, Taela, or Maleena either. Just as no one sensed magic in him, the Silver Riders couldn’t sense him when he was cloaked in a light-bending weave.

  Emallya didn’t understand why no one could sense his magic. Every senior mage was able to sense the magic in another, even a young mage just balanced on the edge of first use. But not with Loki. Something in him kept any of the mages from knowing he was ready to use magic the year before when he went to the Kormai. It had kept Emallya from sensing it in him the moment she met him. But it hadn’t stopped Merru from finding Loki, or bonding with him, too young though Loki was.

  Namir looked up at him, water running in streams off his golden scales. His amber eyes held humor in them. “You might as well find something else to do. Loki and Merru won’t be found until they wish to be.”

  “Why do you dragons not make the two behave?”

  Vaddoc felt Namir’s mental shrug. “Merru is his own being. As far as Loki, we like him.”

  Vaddoc shook his head. The same answer the dragons always gave when they let Loki get away with too much. The boy could probably set Galdrilene on fire and the dragons would find no wrong it in. Come to think of it, it was probably a very good thing Loki’s magic dealt with light and energy, and not fire. What a mess that would be.

  “How is Loki supposed to learn to be a responsible Dragon Rider when he acts like this?” he sent to Namir.

  “Do not worry so, Vaddoc. Loki will be what he needs to be when he needs to be it.”

  Heaving a deep sigh, he walked back into the hold. Loki needed training. Vaddoc would leave for Shadereen soon. Hadar would have to teach the boy. If Loki actually behaved and did what he was supposed to.

  He met Maleena in the Great Hall. She smiled at him, her violet eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter. “What is so funny?”

  “You are broadcasting your thoughts so loudly, I can hear them through my shield. Don’t worry so about Loki. He will be fine. And quit scowling, it makes you look more fierce than you are.”

  “How can he be trained if he keeps disappearing? He is my charge now and I cannot keep track of him. What kind of teacher am I that my pupil chases after whatever he fancies?”

  Maleena laughed softly. “You are too hard on yourself and have too little faith in Loki. He is a lot like Kellinar. Trust Loki, he will turn out alright.”

  “Maybe you are right. I guess he will come to me when he is ready to learn something. If I am not here, Bardeck is and so is Hadar.”

  Maleena looked thoughtful for a moment; then a mischievous glint lit up her eyes. “If you still want Kirynn to go to Shadereen, I would suggest you don’t mention sand spiders.”

  Vaddoc gazed at her in confusion. “Why?”

  “Apparently, Kirynn’s only real fear in the world is spiders.”

  “Spiders? She’s completely fearless in the face of armed enemies but terrified of spiders? How do you know?”

  “She found a spider about the size of my hand in her bedchamber. She couldn’t even get within zahri range to kill it. Believe me, feeling terror from Kirynn was confusing.”

  He threw his head back and roared with laughter Sand spiders were much larger than Maleena’s hand. He tried to imagine Kirynn running in fear from one. His mind couldn’t conjure the image. He shook his head. He would have ample opportunity to see it in person, especially if they visited the border villages in Shadereen.

  Maleena’s smile faded and her violet eyes took on a look of concentration. Vaddoc watched her carefully. It was the look she got when her mind was being pulled elsewhere. “Maleena?”

  Her eyes flashed to his face. “He let his weave down for a moment. I believe you will find Loki and Merru down by the tanneries.”

  Vaddoc smiled. “Thank you, Maleena.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He hurried for the broad stairs beyond the outer terrace. In all likelihood, Loki would be gone from the tannery by the time he got there. He paused, turned abruptly, and walked back toward the inner terrace. His long strides carried him past Maleena. She gave him a knowing smile.

  He walked out onto the inner terrace. “Namir, would you kindly take me to the tannery?”

  The gold immediately started in his direction. “Of course. Although I highly doubt either one of them will show any repentance for missing their lesson today.”

  “I still have time. If I have my way, they will not miss it.”

  He strode to the equipment cave and pulled Namir’s well-oiled saddle from its rack. Although the seat was sized for him, the skirts were made to fit over the shoulders of the full-grown dragon. Though large, it was surprisingly light. He stood on Namir’s leg and settled it over the dragon’s shoulder peak where the dorsal ridge scales were the smallest. It only took a few minutes for him to fasten all of the straps and settle into the saddle. He buckled the two safety straps snug over his upper thighs.

  Namir launched into the air without any command from Vaddoc. They were one; two halves of the same being. Their hearts, souls and lives were blended together until the only separation was that of their individual bodies.

  His spirit soared with Namir over the edge of the waterfall. It was impossible not to feel the thrill of flight and the enjoyment of being in the air with his dragon. Namir locked his great golden wings and twisted into a sharp dive, pushing Vaddoc against the safety straps. Pure joy flowed into him from the dragon. They shared the love and happiness together.

  All too soon, the tannery came into view below. For a moment, Vaddoc understood how Loki might want to escape and be alone on an adventure with Merru. Nothing was quite so beautiful as the gift of a dragon-bond.

  “He is there.”

  Namir’s sending brought his thoughts back to the present. Yes, taking off and having fun with your dragon was great, but they all had their duties. Duty was something you didn’t shirk lightly. Vaddoc’s upbringing and training had taught him that.

  He f
ollowed Namir’s sight path and there stood Loki and his golden Merru gazing up at them. The workers in the tannery stopped their labors to watch Namir land. Many smiled and waved. The big gold rumbled a greeting at them.

  Tell, the head of the tannery, walked toward them. “I’m assuming you are here for these two truants,” he said as he got closer.

  Vaddoc cast a glare at the youngsters. “Yes, it appears they forgot they had a lesson today.” He had to work at holding the glare. The two looked unabashed and so completely pleased with themselves, he really wanted to laugh. Oh the fun and innocence of childhood. It really wasn’t Loki’s fault. He was so young for the position of a Dragon Rider. Nowhere in the histories was there a record of someone so young bonding with a dragon. No one had ever been called before their sixteenth year of age. “I hope they have not caused too much disturbance to your work.”

  Tell shook his head. “Not at all. Full of questions, as usual, but careful to stay out of our way.”

  Vaddoc looked back at Loki, “I expect you in the hold within an hour.” He sent to Namir, “Please back me up.”

  Namir lowered his head to Merru’s. “It is time, young one, to behave as a dragon. I trust you will not force this issue. Vaddoc is a fair and patient teacher; he does not deserve this disrespect.”

  Merru lowered his gaze to the ground and Vaddoc heard his reply through the mind of his dragon. “We will be there, Namir. I am sorry. We did not think of it as disrespect.”

  Loki stared at Merru for a moment before turning to Vaddoc. “Merru is right. I really didn’t think of it like that. We will be there, Vaddoc. For this lesson and any others. But we still won’t stay in the hold if there are no lessons to attend. We will have some fun.”

  Vaddoc nodded. “An acceptable compromise. Thank you for that.” He glanced at Tell, “Thank you for letting them spend their time here. May peace be on your day.”

  Namir brought his wings down in a rush as he launched himself into the sky again. He climbed quickly until he was high enough to ride the air currents. He started to coast toward the hold, but Vaddoc stopped him. “It will take Loki and Merru most of the hour to make it back to the hold on foot since Merru can’t yet carry a rider. Let us enjoy a little flight time.”