Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (56 page)

Later that evening as Syrakynn lifted off from the castle at Boromar, Kirynn reached out to the dragon,
“Let’s Slide to Galdrilene. I would like to check on Lenya.”

She sensed the red shift images in her mind and then the Slide opened. A brief tug and they were flying over Galdrilene to the sound of welcoming bugles from the younger dragons. Soon, Toren and Nordhas would be joining them in the downlands.

Syrakynn landed smoothly. Kirynn was out of the saddle before the dragon was completely settled on the ground. With quick movements, she released the catcher strap then removed the saddle from the red.
“Enjoy your swim.”

“I will.”
Syrakynn started for the lake with a happy rumble in her throat.

Kirynn checked Emmaleen’s room and her own lair but they were empty. She headed to the kitchen. Marda would know where the child was.

Though the evening meal was over, the kitchen was still busy with a mixture of clean up and preparations for the morning meal. Mckale’s father, Barden, sat in one of the chairs outside the kitchen cavern as he watched Emmaleen play with and chew on a variety of toys.

He smiled and nodded to her as she passed. Kirynn returned the gesture then entered the busy cavern. Marda directed the staff with a long wooden spoon as she moved about. The plump woman paused near a washing station. “Drina, do you really intend for people to eat off dishes with the remnants of the last meal still stuck to them?”

“No, ma’am,” the slip of a girl answered.

“Then I suggest you rewash them.” She turned, blinked, and then hurried across the large room. “Jaysa, how much salt were you planning to add to that pie?”

Kirynn waited patiently for Marda, although it quickly became apparent it wouldn’t be anytime soon. She moved to intercept the woman. “Marda.”

Marda turned and smiled warmly. “Kirynn, what a pleasure to see you. Are you hungry? I can put together something for you.”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you. Where is Lenya?”

The older woman sighed and waved her spoon toward the Great Hall. “Most likely in the records room again.”

“What is she doing in there?”

“I honestly don’t know. She found her way in there a couple of days ago and seems to enjoy it. I didn’t have the heart to make her stay out. I don’t know if it has to do with the loss of everything, but Lenya seems very mature for a five-year-old. If you feel it’s inappropriate though…”

“No, I’m sure there’s no harm.” Kirynn turned to leave. “I will go check on her.”

Rather than cut through the kitchen, she retraced her steps to the inner terrace and entered the Great Hall from there. Halfway down, she took the short, narrow hallway that led to the records room.

The soft glow of candlelight greeted her when she pushed open the door. Lenya sat in the chair that Anevay had so often occupied. Her short legs were folded beneath her, and Nica perched on her small shoulder. All eight of his legs were pulled up tight so that he fit there, mostly hidden by her long hair. On the floor next to the chair, Mola thumped her tail in greeting and Cat meowed from where he sat on a stack of books.

“Lenya, what are you doing in here?” Kirynn edged into the room and tried to avoid looking at the spider that regarded her with his too-many eyes. She often wondered if Maleena’s communication with the spider had changed it. Nica seemed more intelligent and aware than other spiders.

Lenya looked up, and her face brightened. “I like it in here.” She ran a small hand over the pages of the Ka’ti that lay open in front of her. “This has pretty pictures.”

“Pictures?” Kirynn frowned and moved to the desk in spite of the arachnid that watched her. The pages looked as they always had; filled with a jumble of indecipherable lines and symbols. “Do you see pictures when you look at this?”

“Kind of.” Lenya leaned forward to peer at the page. “It’s a magic book. When I look at it, the lines turn into things. They’re pretty.” She looked at Kirynn with big dark eyes. “Am I in trouble for coming in here? Marda said I shouldn’t but didn’t say I couldn’t.”

Kirynn stared at her. “No, it’s fine. You can come here as often as you want.” She glanced at Nica. “I gather you like the spider as well.”

Lenya nodded. “He’s a good friend.”

“I can’t stay. I just wanted to check on you, and I’m glad I did. I will let Marda know that you can come here as often as you want.”

A smile spread across Lenya’s face, and she reached to hug her. Kirynn did her best to hug her while avoiding the spider. A shiver ran through her when one of his hairy legs brushed her hand. Kirynn pulled away quickly. “You go ahead and go back to what you were doing. I’ll let Marda know and then I have to leave. I’m glad to see you are doing well.”

Lenya nodded but her eyes were already back on the book. Kirynn left the room and shut the door behind her before giving into a full-body shiver. “Ewwwaaahhh!” Spiders may be okay to eat and use for target practice with her bow, but they were too creepy to keep as pets. Not that she would ever do anything to Nica.

Kirynn walked back toward the kitchen. Lenya could read the book. She didn’t understand it yet, but one day she would. Did that mean she would be a Dragon Rider someday? Or at the very least a mage? It would be interesting to see what unfolded.

K
ovan stood in the middle of the small village tucked into the mountains with his arms spread wide. His heart thundered in his chest as relief washed through him at the momentary release from the madness plaguing his mind.

The chorus of terrified screams from the women echoed in the air. He paid no attention to them as he let his power rage through the male population. It reached out from him in tendrils, hunting them down as they ran or tried to hide. He felt every blood vessel break, every hemorrhaged cough, every bloody tear shed, each victim’s agony bringing him another blissful moment of relief.

He needed to do this. Needed to do it so he could think straight, even if only for a few short weeks. It was the child’s fault. Somewhere it lived, and it was driving him to this. The child had to be found. There were plans to put into motion, and he couldn’t do his part if he couldn’t think straight. And so he stood with every male in the village dying around him. It was cathartic.

Kovan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, soaking in the release as the last died. When he opened his eyes again, he dug into the pocket of his cloak for a tobacco roll. Then he strolled into a house and used the hearth fire to light it. After taking a strong pull and sucking the smoke into his lungs, he turned and walked back out to the dirt street, releasing the cloud as he went.

Stepping through the doorway, he looked up to see Oksana standing with her hands on her hips. She glanced at the strewn bodies and blood. “Must you do this again? Weren’t three border towns enough for you?”

“What do you care?” He strolled past her toward Quillan, taking another long drag off the tobacco roll.

“These people could be used for more productive purposes.” She rubbed her forehead as one woman screamed long and loud, only quieting long enough to suck in a breath before beginning again. “This isn’t helping anything.”

Kovan shot her a sharp look. “It helps me.”

Oksana opened her mouth to respond but turned toward the screaming woman instead. “Silence!” When the woman didn’t stop, she flung a small bolt of green lightning at her, quieting the screams forever. She turned back to Kovan. “Can you find no other way?”

“Why? This helps the most. Quit complaining so much, there are plenty of women left.” He chuckled darkly and took another pull on the roll. “All of them actually. One day, I will overcome that. Until then, be happy you have half the village.”

“And what do you want me to do with them?”

He shrugged and pulled himself into the saddle. “Don’t know and don’t care. Do what you want. You seemed to think they had uses.”

Quillan launched into the sky. Kovan didn’t bother looking back at the frustrated Oksana. She didn’t understand. None of them did. Not even Sadira with her love of killing for pleasure understood. He didn’t want to do it, he
needed
to, and the only way to fix this was for the child to die. He’d been fine until his son was born. Killing the babe should return his sanity. It made sense.

Sadira took the tiny roll of parchment recently brought by pigeon from the servant. Unrolling it, she reclined back on the long, cushioned seat in her lavish house in Shadereen and read the brief encoded script. A slow smile spread across her face.

Finally. No wonder it had taken so long. No matter, it could be repaired soon. A few details and plans needed to be seen to first then this particular problem could finally be laid to rest. She pulled a tiny piece of blank parchment, wrote a quick message on it in the same encoded script, rolled it, and sent it with the servant.

Azurynn stood in the main chamber of the Kormai, her eyes on the clutch of eggs laid the night before by Murynn. All but one were black as night like the other clutches. The pale gray egg shimmering in the light held her attention. According to Dreth it should be destroyed, especially after what happened with the last gray egg.

The world around her faded.
The gray egg sat alone in the depression in the onyx floor as she looked on from one of the ledges high above. A young man walked into the chamber with a zahri held at the ready. His soft boots left tracks in the thick dust. Beside her, Murynn held her breath, and the silence inside the Komai was that of a tomb.