Lokant (24 page)

‘Ah - where are we
going?’

‘You’ll find out
tomorrow.’ Aysun switched off the box and the noises faded. Ynara
looked at him for a long moment.

‘You,’ she said at
last, ‘never cease to amaze me.’

Aysun grinned like a
schoolboy.

Orillin was in class
when Ynara arrived at the school. As an Elder of the Realm, it was
no trouble for her to gain access to his lecture. She had only to
say a few things about “extreme importance” and “complete urgency”
and she was ushered straight in.

Orillin was a bright
young man with a shock of messy blond hair. He looked at Ynara with
a mixture of interest and puzzlement as she was shown in.

‘I’m afraid I need to
borrow Mr Vanse,’ Ynara said, addressing the tutor.

The tutor, a
middle-aged Glinnish woman with a cheerful demeanour, looked at
Orillin in amazement. ‘Oh! Is there some problem?’

‘Hopefully not, Ms
Pelne.’

Orillin stood up
slowly, his red face showing that he was conscious of the stares of
his classmates. He left the room with her without looking back.

‘Ah... I’m not in
trouble of some kind, am I?’

Ynara shook her head.
‘Truthfully, Mr Vanse, I hardly know. But possibly. Quite possibly,
yes.’

That silenced the boy.
He followed her outside, palpably nervous.

‘Elder. Do my parents
know about this?’

‘You’ll see your
parents in a few minutes, Mr Vanse.’ Ynara spread her wings and
jumped. Orillin followed her into the air. To her relief, he asked
no further questions as they flew to Ynara’s home; the pace she set
was extremely fast, but he didn’t complain.

Aysun had collected the
elder Vanses while Ynara extracted Orillin from his lessons. When
she arrived, he gave a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of his
head. She understood. He’d questioned the Vanses and discovered
nothing; if there was anything unusual about their son, they knew
nothing about it.

Orillin smiled
nervously at his parents as he entered the Sanfaer living room.
They stood up, looking at Ynara anxiously.

‘Elder Sanfaer, what is
this about?’

In answer, Ynara simply
handed them Devary’s note. ‘This came from an agent stationed in
Nimdre,’ she explained. It wasn’t too far from the truth.

The Vanses read
rapidly. When they’d finished, they both looked up at Ynara with
identical expressions of alarm.

‘Ori is in danger? From
who?’

‘The precise identity
of the enemy is not known,’ Ynara replied steadily. ‘But our
Llandry has encountered considerable trouble since she discovered
the cursed draykon bone. If her enemy is also Orillin’s, then he
must be removed from Glinnery with all haste. We propose to take
charge of his safety. He will be taken to some relatives of ours;
we do not anticipate that anyone will guess to look for him
there.’

‘Where exactly?’
Orillin’s mother looked the way Ynara had often felt lately:
alarmed, confused, and oppressed by a degree of fear she only felt
when her child was threatened. She felt a stab of deep sympathy for
the woman.

‘Irbel,’ Ynara said.
‘As you know, my husband hails from there. Is there some story you
can tell to explain Orillin’s absence for a time?’

‘Um.’ Orillin’s mother
faltered, looking at her son with terrified amazement. ‘We can say
he is ill, perhaps.’

‘He’s in a specialist
infirmary in Glour,’ Ynara decided. ‘Don’t say which one.’

Mrs Vanse nodded, but
her husband was not satisfied. ‘I mean no disrespect, Elder
Sanfaer, but can you protect our son? The two of you alone?
Shouldn’t he be placed under government guard?’

Aysun spoke up at that.
‘A government guard did nothing for Llandry. Your son needs to be
placed somewhere he can’t be found. And we won’t be alone.’ He
crossed the room in two strides and opened the far door. On the
other side stood Rufin, cleaning his gun. He beamed and bowed
extravagantly.

‘We’ll have help,’ said
Aysun.

Sayfer Vanse frowned.
‘Where
is
your daughter?’

‘Somewhere safe,’ Ynara
said firmly. She only wished she felt as sure of that as she
sounded. As was too often the case of late, she really had no idea
where Llandry was now.

Orillin himself asked
considerably fewer questions than his parents. He was scared and it
showed, in spite of his efforts to be cheerful. He stayed close to
Ynara, watching the insouciant Rufin with a mixture of awe and
dread.

‘Time’s wasting,’ said
Aysun gruffly. ‘Let’s go.’

Mrs Vanse clung to her
son for a long time. After a while Aysun looked ready to separate
them, but Ynara held him back. She understood the shock the Vanses
were suffering; in some ways Orillin’s danger would be hardest on
them. They had the unenviable task of doing nothing, only waiting
for Orillin to come home.

At last Mrs Vanse
released Orillin. She and her husband left quickly.

‘Your parents packed
some of your things,’ said Ynara to Orillin gently. ‘Are you ready
to go?’

He didn’t say anything,
just nodded. Ynara gave him a smile, squeezing his hand briefly.
This boy was as brave as her Llandry.

They left the house on
foot, on account of their wingless comrades. The boy walked along
in silence for some time, his mind obviously busy. Ynara took up a
station on his left, keeping him company without pressing him to
talk. He would have enough to worry about soon; she left him his
peace, for a brief space.

After perhaps an hour,
he roused himself from his reverie and looked at her. ‘Elder
Sanfaer? How long will I have to be away? You see, my exams are
coming up and I’m due to graduate soon.’

‘I’m sorry about that,
Orillin. I’ll make sure you’re given the chance to make up the lost
time later. I really don’t know how long you’ll be away.’

The boy sighed a little
and nodded. ‘Ah, Elder?’

‘Yes.’

‘I don’t understand any
of this. You say I’m related to your family in some way?’

‘You and my Llandry are
distant cousins, yes.’

‘Why does that put me
in danger?’

Ynara debated briefly
about how much to tell him. She didn’t want to scare the boy, but
he deserved to know why he had been suddenly pulled out of his
comfortable life by a family he barely knew.

So she told him
everything. About the draykon bone, about Llandry’s transformation,
and about Pensould. When she had finished, poor Orillin’s eyes were
very wide and he swallowed nervously.

‘If anybody but you had
told me such things, Elder Sanfaer, I’d say they were crazy. But
those news reports... was that Llandry?’

‘The grey was Llandry,
yes.’

‘And you think I may be
able to do that too?’ A note of excitement crept in and when he
looked at her his eyes were shining.

‘I don’t know, Orillin,
but it’s possible.’

‘I’d like to meet
Llandry. Just to meet her, I mean in a sociable way, but also maybe
she could - maybe she could teach me things.’

Ynara sighed. She
didn’t have to ask what “things” he meant.

‘I want to see her too.
Perhaps we will, soon.’ She signalled to Aysun and he drew level
with her.

‘We’re far enough along
the Irbel road,’ she murmured to him. ‘Shall we move it along?’

Aysun nodded and turned
off the road, heading into the trees. When they were well hidden
from view, he smiled at his wife.

‘Go ahead.’

Ynara looked at him for
a second, trying to gauge his state of mind. For many years he’d
hated it when she worked sorcery in his presence. She couldn’t tell
if he truly felt differently about it now; his face was, as ever,
impassive.

Needs must,
she
thought. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting her mind slip
into the working-trance. It had been a long time, but she had
forgotten nothing. In an instant the paths to the Upper Realm were
within her reach. A swift, sharp tug was all that was required, and
a gate blossomed in the air before her. She inhaled, enjoying the
heady fragrance of flowers and honey that drifted through.

‘After you, Ruf. Eyas.’
She watched as Aysun’s friends stepped through first.

‘Aren’t we going to
Irbel?’ Orillin’s excitement had faded; his fear was back as he
hovered on the edge of the gate.

‘Irbel isn’t far enough
away,’ said Aysun. ‘Don’t be afraid. You’ll be safe.’

Orillin swallowed,
nodded, then he too passed through.

Brave boy,
Ynara
thought.

Aysun turned to her.
‘You sure about this?’

She nodded. ‘I want to.
Are
you
sure about this?’

‘No choice, really.’ He
kissed her briefly, then placed a gentle hand on her lower back,
guiding her to the gate. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself
to be drawn into the portal.

It was the first time
in a decade that she’d used an expletive, let alone several of them
in quick succession.

‘Why... the bloody
hell... does it have to be so painful,’ grated Rufin. Ynara agreed
with him entirely, setting her teeth while her body tried to expel
every piece of food she’d ever eaten in her life.

‘Won’t last,’ she
gasped. Poor Orillin’s face had passed through stark white and
progressed to pale green. She went to him, holding his head while
he vomited.

‘You’ll be all right in
a moment,’ she murmured.

He managed a weak
smile. ‘It’s training. I’ve made the crossing too many times
lately. Wears you down, I suppose.’

‘Of course.’

Eyas was lying on his
back in the grass. ‘Every time I do this, I think - this time - I’m
definitely going to die.’

‘Rubbish.’ Aysun was
white with tension under his tan, but otherwise he was remarkably
unaffected. Ynara knew him well enough to guess that he simply
refused to display his discomfort. She patted his arm lightly and
he flashed her a brief smile.

‘Better get on,’ he
said. ‘Sooner we reach my father’s house, the better.’

‘How do you know where
to find him?’ Ynara asked the question in an undertone. Aysun
responded with a humourless smile.

‘I don’t. But he has a
habit of finding me.’

Aysun was right, for
soon after their arrival in the Uppers there came a whirring of
wings and a flash of colour and Llandry’s erstwhile companion
appeared. At least, it looked like the same creature. Ynara raised
a questioning brow at her husband and he nodded confirmation.

‘Follow that,’ he said
curtly. Orillin watched the creature’s progress with an expression
of puzzlement on his youthful face.

‘Irilapter?’ he asked.
‘Odd. Its mind doesn’t feel the way I’d expect.’

‘It has a passenger,’
Aysun replied, though he refused to explain further.

Rufin took the lead,
flanked by Eyas and - at his own insistence - Orillin.

‘I can be useful in
this,’ he’d protested when Ynara had tried to shepherd him behind
the others. Watching him take his position at Rufin’s left, she
suffered some misgivings. He was under their protection, and it was
her
job to keep him safe. But she ruthlessly suppressed her
doubts. She’d tried to protect Llandry by hiding her from all
danger, but all she’d achieved by it was frustrating Llan to the
point that she’d run away. The consequences of that had been
severe. The last thing they could afford to do was push Orillin’s
youthful pride to breaking point.

Aysun kept his wife
close, stationing them both behind Orillin. Ynara had to be content
with that, merely praying that they wouldn’t encounter anything
excessively dangerous before they reached Aysun’s father’s
house.

She sneaked a glance at
her husband. She had been surprised when he’d suggested taking
Orillin to his father. He’d returned not long ago swearing never to
have anything to do with the man again. But she couldn’t deny that
the plan was the best option they had; up here, Orillin would be
well hidden.

And she was curious to
meet the infamous Rheas Irfan.

‘Trouble yonder,’ said
Orillin suddenly. Ynara noticed Eyas cast him a sharp look.

‘You sure, lad?’

At Orillin’s nod, Eyas
whistled. ‘You’ve a better range than mine, then. What’s the
danger?’

‘Orboe,’ he
replied.

Ynara didn’t recognise
the name, but the word rattled Eyas. He turned back quickly.

‘I’d like to suggest
you travel on the wing for a while,’ he said to her. Feeling her
arm squeezed, Ynara glanced over at Aysun.

‘Go on, love,’ he
said.

She obeyed, but
reluctantly. She flew low, keeping Orillin and Aysun in clear
sight.

Until her attention was
distracted by a blur of movement up ahead. She flew higher, rigidly
controlling the pulse of dread that threatened to freeze her
limbs.

Apparently an orboe was
a creature more than six feet long from nose to stubby tail and
covered in shaggy grey fur. It walked on all fours, its
horrifyingly powerful body heavily built. Its eyes and ears were
tiny, but its jaws were massive. Ynara had no trouble imagining the
size of its teeth.

It would be only a few
minutes before it would see - or smell - Ynara’s group.

She dived back towards
the ground. ‘Aysun,’ she gasped. ‘We cannot handle this creature.
We need to get out of here.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Orillin
said over his shoulder. He smiled, looking remarkably at ease. ‘I
can deal with it.’

Eyas was shaking his
head. ‘Ynara may have a point,’ he said. ‘Facing down an orboe is
not-’

‘It’s fine,’ Orillin
interrupted. ‘I’ve done it before.’

‘What? Don’t be an
idiot, you can’t just-’

He was interrupted by a
shattering roar and the orboe came on, crashing through the
yellow-tipped bushes that covered the ground ahead. Swearing again
- her vocabulary of expletives had rarely been so well exercised -
Ynara returned to the air, watching anxiously as Rufin levelled his
shotgun at the beast and Eyas prepared to attempt mastery over
it.