Orlind (43 page)

‘
What
are you hoping to achieve?’

Llandry explained
the steps they had taken since receiving Eva’s information. Eva
heard her out without interrupting, though she did shake her
head.

‘
I
fear this is futile,’ she said. ‘There is no doubt in my mind what
has become of Eterna’s unfortunate comrade, and I am afraid that
Krays has succeeded in augmenting his powers in ways that should
have been impossible for him. No Lokant has ever accessed draykon
abilities before; merely wearing a piece of bone has never been
enough for those not born to this world, or so I surmise. But if
Krays has succeeded in melding his own body with that of a
draykoni, he is now much more dangerous.’

‘
We’re
hoping she will tell us more about her dealings with Krays,’
Llandry said, nodding. ‘But she says he asked nothing in return for
their help, and that means he told them nothing of his
goals.’

‘
That
is all of a piece with the rest of his behaviour,’ Eva said with a
sigh. ‘It will achieve nothing to convert Eterna to our point of
view, Llan, and we have a way forward regardless. We came to ask
you to take us to Orlind.’

Orlind?!
Eterna understood
that
word, it seemed, and it had no
pleasant connotations for her. Her eyes blazed as she stared at
Eva, though Llandry couldn’t read the emotion that gripped her.
What is she saying of Orlind?

Puzzled, Llandry
relayed Eva’s request. This only excited Eterna more.
You cannot
go there! It will be the death of you!

‘
She
recognises the name?’ Eva asked, watching Eterna
closely.

‘
Yes,
and she says it means our death if we go there.’

‘
Please ask her what she knows of the place,’ Eva said,
unruffled.

It was our
first and most glorious home,
Eterna cried in response to this
entreaty.

But... I thought you used to dwell in Iskyr and
Ayrien?

That was much
later,
Eterna snapped, impatient.
After we had lost
Orlind.

Why
was it lost?

To this day, I
do not know the cause,
Eterna replied. Her anger had vanished,
and now she sounded only sad.
Some great disaster occurred. The
land was torn asunder, and worse than that, the amasku was forever
corrupted. We
-

Hold a
moment,
Llandry said.
What is amasku?

She sensed
Eterna’s puzzlement.
I know of no other way to express it. It is
what it is.

Llandry thought
that through. Eterna’s mental utterances were, strictly speaking,
wordless; it was she herself who interpreted them into words her
mind could clearly understand. “Amasku” was the word that formed in
Llandry’s mind, but the sense of it was clearer. A better
translation, she realised, would be energy, or
life-force.

I think I
see,
she said. Privately she checked her conclusion with
Pensould, winning his agreement.

What does it
mean, that the amasku was corrupted?
Llandry asked of
Eterna.

I cannot
describe it to you,
Eterna replied.
I can offer only a poor
impression.
An image born more of sensations than pictures
flooded Llandry’s consciousness; she saw a world in which the
internal logic was so badly broken that all natural structure was
lost. Her mind reeled under the dizzying confusion of such a
place.

Enough,
she said shakily.
I understand. You have no notion at all as to
why this happened?

No
specific notion. But that Lokants were involved, I do know. And
that is why I accepted the aid of the one called Krays! His kind
have injured ours before; in penance for that, he sought to help us
win back this second of our lost homes.

Lokants?
Llandry prompted.
Which ones?

All
of them, little draykon. They were not so divided, once.

Troubled, Llandry
thanked Eterna and turned her attention back to her fellows. Trying
to explain all this to Eva, Tren and Commander Iver was a
challenge, but she managed it, with a little help from Pensould and
Ori. But her representation of the fate of Orlind lost much in the
translation.

‘
That
is interesting,’ Eva said, frowning. ‘Particularly the involvement
of Lokants, though I cannot say that I am surprised by that. But
this news changes nothing. We have no recourse but to go. Orlind is
part of
our
world, and if it is a prospect of such urgent
interest to the likes of Krays - and, yes, Limbane - then I think
we must discover why.’ In response to Llandry’s anxious expression
she offered a reassuring smile. ‘We will go as a group, yes?
Between us we have the skills of one Lokant, one sorcerer, two
summoners and three draykoni. Four, if Eterna will honour us with
her company.’

‘
I
think she won’t,’ Llandry guessed, observing the look of horror and
stubborn disapproval on Eterna’s face.

‘
Perhaps not,’ Eva agreed. ‘Three draykoni, then. And I believe
it is you three whose presence will be most important. Krays has
gone to extraordinary lengths to secure some of your powers for
himself; it must be significant. And it’s perhaps fortunate that
Tren and I are also descended from draykon blood.’

Llandry turned
back to Eterna, and offered her a respectful bow.
We honour your
warning, Wing-sister, but for us this is no matter of choice.
Krays’s involvement with Orlind may threaten our worlds, and as
such we must find a way to block him.

Krays,
Eterna mused.
I still do not say you are right about him, but
perhaps I am not wholly correct either. Why cannot everyone be as
simple as draykon-kind?

We will work
on that,
Llandry promised, concealing a smile.

I wish you
luck, then,
Eterna said flatly.

Luck. Was it luck
that had carried them this far and brought them through every
attempt to destroy them? If so, Llandry hoped fervently that their
luck would hold for just a little while longer.

Chapter Twenty Nine

The party to
Orlind was to comprise five explorers: Llandry in draykon-form
bearing Eva, Pensould carrying Tren, and Ori flying alone. To save
time, Eva transported the group to the western reaches of Irbel.
They paused for one final consultation before embarking on the
journey, huddled in a chilled knot at the base of the majestic
mountains that divided Irbel from Orlind.

Llandry stared up
at that barrier, suffering some misgivings. The approach to the
mountain range was deceptively gentle: a slope wandered its way
upwards without any seeming hurry, covered in alpine grasses and
cheerily-coloured blossoms. Beyond that, the terrain lost all
friendliness and began a sharp climb up into the heavens. Those
distant, snow-capped peaks must be truly inhospitable to have kept
people out of Orlind all these long ages.

Eterna’s concerns
had centred on the flight into the realm, though she had been
unable to define the precise nature of her worries. Undefined fears
always had the strongest hold over Llandry. What awaited them in
the skies over the Seventh Realm? She smiled to hide her unease as
Eva began to speak.

‘
I
think it safe to say that we will not wish to prolong our visit,’
her ladyship said seriously. ‘We will remain as long as is
necessary to learn what we need to, and no longer. Please look out
for each other. Nobody ought to be left alone in there. We will
keep together, understood?’

Nobody had any
objection to that. Llandry drew Pensould to one side, addressing
him in a low voice.

‘
You
don’t know anything about this place, do you Pense?’

‘
Surely you have noticed me being as confused as the rest of
you,’ Pensould replied with a bland smile.

‘
Well... so it appears, yes, only I wanted to be sure this
wasn’t one of your “nobody asked me” moments.’

‘
Have
a little faith in me, Minchu. I would not withhold information at
such a time. The matter of Orlind predates my period of
existence.’

‘
What
a shame. We might have been saved a crazy expedition.’

Pensould bowed.
‘Please accept my apologies for being insufficiently
aged.’

He was so grave
Llandry feared that he was offended, but when he straightened he
smiled, mischief sparking in his eyes.

‘
I’m
sure you’ve tried your best,’ she grinned.

‘
At
aging?’

‘
Precisely.’

‘
Ouch.
What a wretch you are.’

Eva approached,
wearing her conciliatory smile. ‘Ready to go?’

‘
Perfectly,’ Llan said as firmly as she could. ‘Let’s get it
over with.’

It took a little
time for Llandry to accustom herself to carrying a person on her
back. She had only done so once before, and Eva had never travelled
by such means. They remained in Irbel until all four were
comfortable with the arrangements.

Then it was time
to go.

Ori insisted on
taking the lead, since he was the only draykon without a passenger.
Llandry followed, and Pensould came behind. The first stretch was
pleasant: the sun was high, the air warm and fragrant and the
flight not at all arduous. It wasn’t long, however, before the way
began to steepen and the draykons had to climb higher into the
firmament. After an hour, they were already higher than Llandry had
ever been before, with still some distance to go. The air was
growing thin, and Llandry’s lungs laboured almost as hard as her
wings.

Too high,
Ori said after a while.
We can’t go over the top. I’ll find us a
way through.

He picked up
speed and was gone before Llandry had chance to reply. Finding
herself the leader, she slowed her pace and dropped down, close to
the rocky slopes that streamed away below her. It didn’t make a
noticeable difference to the quality of the air.

More than half an
hour had passed, Llandry judged, before Ori returned. He was out of
breath, but unhurt.

Follow me
again, then,
he said cheerfully.
I found a route. It’s still
going to be uncomfortable, but I think we can make
it.

Well done,
Ori,
Llandry said in gratitude. She hoped that Ori’s route
might also be warmer; once fully over the mountains the benefit of
the steady sun had swiftly vanished in the onslaught of cold air.
Knowing Eva’s hatred of the cold, Llandry was worried about how she
was bearing it.

There was nothing
to be done but to go on. The three draykoni wheeled away to the
southwest, circled around the tallest peak and surged northwards
again. Ori had found a narrow pass that wound its way between two
gigantic peaks, a channel just wide enough for them to fly through.
It was still very high; Llandry tore through it with her lungs
burning, praying that it wouldn’t go on for too long. Increasingly
concerned about Eva, she began checking every few minutes that she
still bore the weight of a passenger.

Almost
there,
Ori informed them at last. His mind-speech was calm,
belying the strain she knew he would be feeling.

How many
minutes?
Pensould asked.
The humans are in poor
shape.

Five,
if we try hard.

Flying behind her
as he was, Pensould would be able to see Eva.
What’s amiss?
she asked him, anxious; for if the journey was hard on her even
with her draykon strength, it must be hard indeed on their human
passengers.

I think the
cold is affecting Lady Eva the most,
Pensould said.
We need
to descend as soon as possible.

Last effort,
then,
said Ori grimly. Llandry gathered herself, and when Ori
sped away ahead of her she matched his burst of speed, determined
to keep pace no matter how hard the effort. The mountain slopes
faded into a blur of white under her tired gaze as she struggled
on.

End in
sight!
Ori reported.
I see ocean in the distance,
and...
Neither she nor Pensould said anything, waiting breathlessly for
Ori’s next words.

And
nothing,
he said, disconcerted.
There’s just
water.

Nowhere to land?

Nope.
I don’t see anything on the water either.

Llandry was
silent with dismay. Nothing here? How could that be?

Maybe it’s
under the water,
she hazarded.
Whatever it
is.

Hope not,
Ori groaned.
Or we’re finished.

We must find
somewhere to land,
Pensould interjected.
All other
considerations can wait.

Righto,
Ori agreed.
Let’s get down from here and then we’ll
see.

As he spoke those
words, the mountains abruptly ended and the glittering water began,
a long way below. Ori dived towards the sea at speed and Llandry
followed, taking care to avoid angling her body too steeply and
allowing Eva to fall off. They descended fast, and with every beat
of her wings the tortured feeling in her lungs eased a little more.
The air warmed, too, a fraction at a time until the bone-numbing
cold was gone.