A Storm in the Desert: Dragonlinked Chronicles Voume 3 (60 page)

Stars filled the small patch of sky visible through the opening, outlining the silhouette of the distant horizon. Polandra pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She spent some time watching the night sky.

Somewhere nearby a coyote let out a barking howl. It was very different from the howls of the wolves around Caer Baronel.

She rested her chin on her knees and wondered what everyone was doing at the Caer. Liara was probably practicing hand-to-hand combat. No, actually, at this hour, they were all likely asleep. A smile curved Polandra’s lips. Still, that girl was very dedicated—to studying, to practicing, and to Mia.

Polandra glanced at Ikan. The big beast had a soft spot in his heart for the young dragon. Would he continue to feel that way as she grew?

Thinking of the two dragons reminded Polandra of Aeron’s talk. While never having been with someone, she knew of desire and of release. Did dragons experience all those things the same way she did? Did boys? Well, soon enough she’d find out what dragons felt. And as Ikan was male, she’d get that perspective, too, at least from a dragon point of view.

Yes. All in all, she was very curious about what she’d sense through the link.

A thought made her take a quick breath. If it happened with Ikan and Mia, that meant Liara would be there. Her heart pulsed and started beating faster.

You seem excited.
Ikan turned to her.

I was just, ah, thinking about what it will be like when dragons are considered people.

He tilted his head.
Really?

She sighed.
You know full well who I was thinking of.

Humor came through the link, but he refrained from outright laughter. Ikan turned back to Adept Oran and their conversation.

Polandra shook her head. The big dragon didn’t miss much. She stretched her legs out toward the fire and leaned back, propping herself up on her arms. The flames danced and flickered and smoke curled up to the ceiling. It wouldn’t be much longer before they could go back home.

Later, as Ikan backwinged for a landing in the courtyard, Polandra gripped the handholds and Komako’s arms tightened around her waist. Once he dropped the last few feet to the ground, the Animal Craft auditor’s arms loosened.

Polandra drew her brows together. For some reason, light spilled from all the dragon doors. Why wasn’t everyone asleep at this hour?

Surprise came through the link just as Liara ran out from Ikan’s den. “Nenet laid two eggs, and so did Anaya!”

+ + + + +

Constant shaking of his shoulder pulled Umeron Yiska from sleep.

He blinked bleary eyes. His pesan leaned over him, lips pressed thin.

Sitting up, Yiska said, “What is it, child?”

“I’m sorry, Dozon, but Umeron Fala demands a meeting with you.”

He frowned. What in Yrdra’s deepest hells did the woman want? “Get my robe and a drink to freshen my breath.”

Five minutes later, Yiska walked into the small meeting room, Fala trailing behind. He turned on her, “What couldn’t wait until the morning? Do you know what hour it is?”

“I just learned that two umeri have cut ties with us. I have not yet discovered who they aligned with.”

Yiska sat. Two more?  He slammed the goblet down on the armrest. “Gods damn it! I told Takatin we should have killed that twice-cursed dragon sooner! His stupidity is going to destroy the Order.”

“What can we do?” Nerves or age made the woman tremble. Her earrings clinked and tinkled.

Yiska frowned. “I’m going to have to fix this. To start with, we need to have another execution sword forged. That idiot Takatin has yet to have it replaced. Can’t count on him for anything. He proved that this morning in front of us all. He has learned nothing in the last four days.”

“Forge a new sword. What else?”

“Tomorrow, I’ll visit with Gomda. I think he’s in Takatin’s pocket. We’ll see if I can’t convince the umeron of a few things. With everyone losing their spines, I suspect the meeting with the dragon guild Cirtis mentioned this morning will be approved.” He smiled. “It will be the perfect place to remind everyone of our purpose.”

“All is ready for tonight’s session of the umeri.”

Capu Cirtis glanced at Isandath. Behind the archivist, Suule’s rays broke from the horizon and spread golden light across the desert.

“At least on our end.”

Cirtis turned back to the rock garden. Serenity. Determination. Tranquility. He needed them for what he was to attempt after this.

“Nesch Takatin appears to be continuing with his—”

“I know,” Cirtis said. “Even so, I’m meeting with him within the hour.”

“You are? What of Umeron Anoki?”

“I’m meeting with him two hours later.”

Isandath sighed. “Do you think speaking with Nesch Takatin will change his mind?”

“I want to try. At the very least, the information you provided should allow me to keep him off-balance. I just—” He shook his head. “I’m disappointed by his intentions.”

Movement caught Cirtis’s eye. A small bird sat atop a saguaro arm. A drab gray, it still seemed happy and eager to get on with life. Its tail flicked down once, twice, and then it flew to another perch.

“I understand his anger and frustration,” Cirtis said. “He’s lost so much. But to destroy the Order? I want to know why. And I’d like to learn whether those in his group know his true goal. If they do not, we may be able to use that against him.”

“I see. And we’ll continue on our other front with Anoki.”

“Precisely.”

After Isandath left, Cirtis remained in the gardens. There were a few minutes before he had to leave. He tried locating the little bird again, but could not.

The walk to Takatin’s office was long. It did give him an opportunity to once again note the change in the mood of people. What had started with the capture of Anaya had continued, buoyed by their incredible escape. People were less anxious and seemed . . . hopeful? Dragons and the Dragon Craft Guild were on many tongues. He also noted that some were wearing a kind of cloth armband, just below the left shoulder. Of various kinds of material, they were all green in color. Their meaning eluded him.

Takatin’s face was impassive as they withdrew to the small side room. His steward served out tea and moved to a position near the wall.

“What did you want to talk about?” Takatin seemed subdued.

Cirtis sipped his tea. Leaning back in the chair, he said, “Why do you want to destroy the Order?”

Takatin made no reaction to the question. He merely stared at his tea and murmured, “I’ve had the strangest dreams.” Lifting his cup, he said, “I suppose you can think of me as groundsel tea.” He took a sip.

Eyes wide, heart racing, Cirtis looked at his tea. No. From what he recalled, groundsel tea was greener in color and bitter. Setting down the cup, he said, “And why does the Corpus Order need to be ushered unto death?”

“Why doesn’t it?” Takatin frowned. “The Corpus Order is a parasite like mistletoe, sucking the life out of the villages.”

“No.” The conviction in his voice drew Takatin’s gaze. Cirtis stared at him. “If anything, the relationship is more like that between coyotes and cactus.”

Takatin drew his brows together.

“Sure,” Cirtis said, “a coyote will eat the sweet cactus pear, will eat as many as she can. And to most it may seem she gets all the benefit from that relationship. But the cactus benefits greatly, too. The seeds the coyote will release later mean the cactus gets a chance to spread farther and faster than it could ever have alone.”

“So the villages benefit from the shit of the Order?”

Cirtis frowned. “The villages benefit from the Corpus Order, yes. This place, this region, was desolate before the Order. Less than half the villages existed then. Life was very different. People had to work hard just to scrape a meager existence from the land.” Cirtis lifted his cup. “Tea? Unheard of, much less the porcelain cups to drink it in.

“With the Order’s help, wells were dug, buildings were constructed, and jobs were created both inside and outside the Order. The villages and the people grew and flourished, and they still do today. That is why I cannot understand why you and your group want to destroy the Order. Change it, yes, but destroy it?”

Takatin set his cup down. “The group doesn’t want to destroy the Order, I do.”

Oh ho, so it was just him. But still— “Why?”

Takatin sat forward in his chair. “The blight of the false principle is rotting the Order from the inside like a poisoned apple!” He sat back and pinched just above the bridge of his nose over and over as if trying to lessen a headache. “The Laminae had their turn and failed. You,” he looked at Cirtis, “have spent years trying to change the Order. And you failed. It’s my turn now.”

Cirtis stared at him. “The Order is not an apple. It doesn’t have to be thrown away because of some perceived rot. And have you looked around lately? Have you listened? The Order
is
changing. Even more so since Anaya was captured and then chained in Daelon’s Plaza. Once people saw her, saw how dragons can truly be, it did not upset them. It was the complete opposite. They were energized, excited even.”

Cirtis stood. “I did not fail. The resolution will pass tonight. And when we meet with the Dragon Craft Guild, the First Principle will be revealed for what it is—to everyone.”

Cirtis couldn’t decide whether the look on Takatin’s face as he left was surprise or hope.

As he had some time before the next meeting, he walked Bataan-Mok. He wanted to see the change he’d spoken of, wanted to revel in it. Takatin seemed to want to wallow in his misfortune, in his terrible past. Cirtis wanted to witness the future.

Now that he’d noticed it, he saw that there were a large number of people with the armbands about the place. He’d ask Anais about it, or perhaps Lonato would know something. Beyond those cloth wraps, the attitude, the atmosphere was lighter, as if a weight had been lifted or a storm had passed. Cirtis knew that the true tempest hadn’t even arrived yet.

“There are only a handful remaining in Yiska’s group.” Capu Cirtis glanced across the table at Umeron Anoki. Though the man would never admit it, he was head of the largest group in the Order. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see that number dwindle further, actually.”

Much like Umeron Anoki, the man’s rooms were simple, but tasteful. There was nothing ostentatious, nothing gaudy, nothing too . . . anything. Anoki sipped his tea.

His group, Cirtis thought of them as blinders, kept the Order from being distracted and veering too far from its path. They operated a bit like Cirtis himself, in that they didn’t involve themselves directly very often, they proceeded more by influence. That influence had been oddly lacking in the last few days. Cirtis hoped he knew why.

“Like Yiska,” he said, “his group is too inflexible. Their unyielding stance on the old ways is destroying them.” Cirtis lifted the cup to his lips. The tea was quite good.

Admiring the pattern on the delicate porcelain, he said, “Someone I respect once told me that, much like a massive storm, the winds of change tend to eradicate anything that is not flexible. Plants, buildings, people, anything that won’t bend will break. Yiska’s group seems to be proof of that.” He set the cup in its saucer and looked at Anoki. “I don’t want the Corpus Order to suffer the same fate.”

“You’ve taken steps to prevent that.”

“Over the years I have tried to lead the Order out of the barn built from the false Principles, but I’ve had to be careful and patient: The horse is skittish. Events are now proceeding quickly, however. Dragonlinked and their bond-mates, their dragons, are increasing in number, and their guild will not allow our old purpose. A purpose we both know to be born of lies anyway.”

Anoki’s lips lifted in a faint smile. “Dragon wings are beating the winds of change into a tempest.”

“A tempest that will bring down that barn on all our heads.” Cirtis set aside his tea. “The vote at tonight’s session must pass. We need this meeting with the Dragon Craft Guild. We need Aeron and Anaya here, as guests, so that everyone can know the truth.

“It is time, Anoki. Time to remove the bridle and the blinders. We must set the Order free so it has a chance to survive the coming storm.”

+ + + + +

Aeron leaned against Anaya. He couldn’t stop smiling.
They’re beautiful, dear-heart.

They are, are they not?
Her happy rumble vibrated against his shoulder.

The two eggs sat within a foot of each other on a low mound of sand in the clutching room. He and Anaya spent every minute they could spare here, watching over her children. She often slept here, too. He’d get a ride back to the stables with Willem whenever she did. Though, he had slept here with her twice. Other dragons and dragonlinked sometimes kept watch if he and Anaya had to be away for long. Not that their friends wouldn’t want to come see the eggs anyway. There were the four guards, too. They stood a few feet out from the sand, watching over the occasional person who came to view the new arrivals.

Aeron studied the left egg, critically.
I think the one with the triangular splotch of green will be a boy.

It is too early to tell.

I know, dear-heart. I just have this feeling.

He frowned. He’d felt a lot that night. A lot of pain. He looked at Anaya. Would she go through that every time she laid eggs? He’d tried distancing himself from the link, but it had not helped much. Just as when she and Balam had coupled, the sensations had come through in a torrent. Those cramps she felt had burned like fire. His own belly had been sore for almost two days.

You did well, Anaya.
He patted her neck.
I’m proud of you.

She let out a pleased rumble and a bark.

“I didn’t realize that dragons laid eggs.”

Aeron turned. “Nathan!”

The young man smiled as he approached. “I’m leading an enchanting ring in a few minutes, but I wanted to drop by and see them again.”

Chuckling, Aeron met him at the edge of the sand. “Of course they lay eggs. It
is
called ‘the clutching room,’ after all.”

Nathan laughed. “I know. I just never put it together for some reason.” He stared at the eggs a moment, then looked at Anaya. “I hadn’t seen her this close before. She’s bigger than I thought she would be.” He glanced back at the eggs. “Even so, those are huge. What? Five feet tall, maybe? I do not envy her the laying of them.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Aeron said. “Still, now you understand the scale of the room.”

“Indeed I do.” Nathan looked around the enormous space they’d worked on. He nodded in satisfaction. “It’s good to see it in use, finally. Well, I’ve got to run.” He grabbed Aeron’s shoulder. “Congratulations on the eggs.” He looked over at Anaya. “And congratulations to you, too!”

She chirped at him.

A faint smile curving his lips, Aeron watched Nathan head off.
Honestly. Why do people congratulate me? You’re the one who laid them.

We are one. My joy is yours.

You’re absolutely right about that.
Aeron strode over to her.
You being happy helps me be happy.
He hugged her neck.

“Any idea yet on their sex?” Sharrah walked in from the dragon passage. Renata and Xochi were with her.

Renata laughed. “Right to the point, Sharrah.”

Xochi padded to Anaya and touched noses with at her.

Aeron chuckled. “Let me ask.” He looked at Anaya.
Still too soon?

Still too soon.

He turned to Sharrah. “Not yet.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’m curious about that, but I also want to make note of how soon she can tell.”

Aeron nodded. “Everything we can learn.”

“Exactly.”

Renata looked at the eggs. “I can see why you and Anaya would want to be here all the time. They’re beautiful.” She turned to Anaya and hugged her. “I am so happy for you!”

Anaya rumbled.
Thank you.

Renata released her and looked at Sharrah. “I have to go grab those reports. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She jogged to the doorway.

“Alright,” Sharrah said. She turned to the eggs and crossed her arms. “I still wish we could have weighed them as soon as Anaya laid them.”

Aeron smiled. “We don’t have to learn everything the first go-round. There will be more eggs. You need to figure out a safe way to weigh them first.”

Anaya paused in her chirping with Xochi and looked at Aeron.
I trust Sharrah.

I do too, dear-heart. It’s just that the idea that one of your eggs could come to harm worries me.

Anaya turned back to admiring her eggs.
That is true.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Sharrah said, “but still no solution has come to me. I’ll talk it over with someone in the Smith Craft Hall, see if they can help figure something out. The hardest part has been thinking of a safe way to lift the eggs onto whatever device is used.”

Aeron twisted his lips. “What if we levitated them up? They’d be safe, then.”