Survivors: Book 4 Circles of Light series (15 page)

At that moment Farn
ambled up, eyeing Khosa with caution. ‘I thought you’d wandered off
and left us,’ he said.

‘So sorry to disappoint
you.’ She did her front end down, tail end up stretch, her claws
extended into the ground.

Farn’s eyes whirred in
consternation. ‘I’m not disappointed. I mean, I never believed
you’d really leave. I mean - .’

‘Hush dear one.’ Tika
hugged him. ‘You’re making it worse.’

‘Well, as long as she
doesn’t think those two nice girls and the boy are
birds.’

Farn’s mind tone was
intended as a whisper but Khosa turned to glare at him. She spat,
lashed her tail furiously and marched off in Ren’s
direction.

‘Oh Farn, why do you
always upset Khosa?’

Farn rattled his wings.
‘I don’t mean to my Tika. The wrong words come out – not exactly
the ones I mean.’

‘Then perhaps it might
be best if you say nothing until you’re sure you’ve got the words
right.’

In the morning, Gan
announced that he thought they should be moving on. Tika wasn’t
surprised: she suspected Khosa had probably approached several of
the company with this idea during the night. Grek explained that he
had checked their possible route southwards and they would not
encounter any human settlements or farms for three or four days
yet. Tika noted the gijan stared at the same spot on which Khosa’s
gaze was fixed as Grek mind spoke them. Khosa could apparently
“see” Grek: it looked as if the gijan could too.

Tika elected to walk
with all the others, at least to begin with. Pallin suggested Olam
ride on Brin, but Olam indignantly declared himself quite fit
enough to walk.

‘The exercise will
loosen me up a bit. I’m stiff as a board from all the lying around
you’ve forced on me.’ He glared at Pallin, daring the old man to
persist in his fussing.

They packed their scant
belongings and by midday were making their way along the western
edge of the lake. The young Dragons chased each other through the
sky, then joined forces in racing after the shrieking gijan. Seela
drifted higher but stayed overhead while Brin went higher still,
ranging further south to confirm Grek’s account of the land they
would travel.

They took an easy pace
and for the first time Tika and Olam had a chance to observe their
surroundings. The cliffs far behind them stretched endlessly, as if
the land was formed in a series of giant steps, Tika thought,
remembering the towering barrier of the mountains which hid the
Valley of the Spiral Star. Her view was increasingly restricted
where taller bushes and slender trees began to line the lake
shore.

She saw a few of the
long legged white birds, some standing motionless in the water,
others flapping broad wings to get away from the advancing humans.
They saw an occasional goat but few other large animals appeared to
live here. Maressa pointed out that the ground was only slowly
improving from a dusty sand to a darker soil.

‘Grek?’ she asked
hopefully.

‘I am here
Maressa.’

‘Are there any people
with silvered eyes in these lands? What may we expect nearer the
coast?’

‘I think none have
silvered eyes, so it may be best if Ren and Tika stay with the
Dragons once you reach populated areas.’

‘Are there many people
in this land?’ Gan carried Khosa at the moment: she had draped
herself regally across his shoulders.

‘You will first come to
quite isolated farms, then a few villages before a much larger
place. I do not know if it is all one town – buildings proliferate
all along the coastal region, going inland perhaps two leagues. It
is a busy place: many ships are anchored in its
harbour.’

‘Ships?’ asked
Olam.

Grek imaged a picture
of ships.

‘But I thought Singer
was a ship.’ Olam sounded aggrieved.

‘He is, but he travels
through the spaces between the stars: these ships travel on top of
the waters of the great sea.’

Sket was aghast. ‘Will
we have to travel on one of those things?’

‘I’m not sure. Unless
Brin can fly from coast to island to island comfortably, then I
think it will be your only option.’

Pallin scowled as
darkly as Sket.

‘I think the ships take
five or six days from the harbour in the south to the nearest
island,’ Grek continued.

‘Five or six days, in
one of those boxes?’ Sket sounded ill already.

‘We have no coin,’ Gan
pointed out. ‘Surely we would need to pay to be carried across the
water to the islands? And you said there are many islands, which
means many gaps between them to be crossed.’

‘I have been trying to
resolve that difficulty,’ admitted Grek. ‘So far I have been
unsuccessful. From talk I heard around the harbour, some people who
have no means to pay – “work their passage” it was called.’ The
unbodied entity sounded extremely dubious. ‘I cannot see any of you
being able to do that. The people are so used to the sea, to ships
and to smaller boats. Even children were dashing about on the
water.’

The party walked on,
all deeply thoughtful.

Chapter
Nine

A day later, the lake
beside their route began to narrow and flow faster. Grek had not
replied when Tika called his name so they presumed he was seeking
ahead again. When they made camp the second evening, the gijan
sprawled in a tangled heap on Seela’s back, fast asleep. Brin had
not returned but Farn was content with Storm’s company and did not
fret for the crimson Dragon.

‘I will ask Grek if
Tika and Ren could perhaps wear the white cloaks in the coastal
town,’ Maressa said. ‘If they kept the hoods up and their eyes
down, surely they would be safe among us?’

Gan stretched his long
legs towards the fire. ‘I had thought that too. I would prefer we
were together and the Dragons and gijan could stay out of sight
well enough. Few people bother to look up at the sky for very long,
so if the Dragons flew high enough, they would seem merely large
birds.’

Farn’s eyes whirred
pearl and sapphire. ‘We could be with you quickly if you should
have need of us of course.’

‘I’d like to stay with
you and see this town for myself,’ Tika admitted.

Ren nodded. ‘As would
I. I have seen only your town of Far in Sapphrea and that only
briefly.’

‘This place sounds much
bigger than any I’ve heard of,’ Olam remarked. ‘They must have a
great amount of farmland around it, to feed such a large number of
people.’

‘There were about
twelve thousand people in the town of Syet,’ Ren said. ‘On market
days and festivals it seemed as though half the world was packed
into the streets. This town Grek describes sounds a lot bigger than
Syet.’

The company lounged in
comfortable silence, all trying to imagine twelve thousand people
collected in one place.

Grek returned two days
later to warn of a tiny village ahead. Gan explained their notion
to allow Tika and Ren to continue with them, wrapped in their Qwah
cloaks. Grek was cautious.

‘It might work. At
least you’ll have a chance to put it to the test in this village
you’re approaching. There are six small houses, a couple of barns
and sheds, only a handful of men and their wives and children. But
be on your guard.’

The river beside which
they walked had greatly deepened its channel now and rushed in a
foaming torrent to the south. They followed its course as close as
they could, occasionally having to climb over outcrops of white
rock whose sides reached smooth and glassy down below the water.
Tika and Ren already wore their cloaks fortunately because,
reaching the top of one such outcrop, they discovered two men below
them on the other side.

A plough stood idle,
harnessed to two odd looking animals while the men stood, feet
apart and drawn swords in their hands. Riff and Olam were in the
lead and halted at once. Olam held his hands well clear of his
weapons.

‘Stars give you good
day,’ he called. ‘We intend no harm and would hope to receive
none.’

As he spoke, Gan and
Tika came over the boulders. An odd pair – one enormously tall and
thin, the other child sized, swathed in a white hooded cloak. The
others were pressing behind them now having heard Olam call out.
The two men below stared in astonishment, their jaws sagging. They
looked quickly at each other and sheathed their swords.

‘Greetings strangers,’
one said. ‘Sometimes the wild tribes venture this far and steal
from us. And worse.’

He spoke the Common
Tongue but thickly accented: the r’s rolled and the s’s sibilant.
Ren stood beside Tika and Gan now and it was apparent that the two
men in the field stared hardest at the white cowled figures of Ren
and Tika. Olam and Riff jumped down the last part of the bank. One
of the men was unhitching the two animals from the plough: now he
bowed towards Tika and Ren.

‘Would you ride to our
village and accept guest rights from our families?’

Gan towered over Tika
and smoothly replied on her behalf. ‘We all prefer to walk but we
would gratefully accept your hospitality.’

The men exchanged
glances again. The one now holding the animals by their reins put
his free hand flat against his chest.

‘I am Zenidor and this
is my brother Vanim.’ He gestured southwards. ‘Our homes are not
far.’

‘What are these
animals?’ Tika’s voice was soft and emanated from the depths of her
hood.

Zenidor’s eyes widened
hearing an obviously female voice addressing him.

‘They are donkeys
sacred one.’

Tika stumbled in
surprise at being called sacred one but recovered
herself.

‘Are they usual animals
here?’ Ren distracted Zenidor’s attention from Tika.

‘Yes sacred one. What
else could we use for heavy work?’

Pallin opened his mouth
to comment but closed it again after Olam found the older man’s
ribs with a sharp jabbing elbow. Maressa reached out to touch the
nearest donkey’s long furred ears.

‘Do many sacred ones
visit you?’ she asked, bestowing a dazzling smile upon
Vanim.

‘These are the first I
have seen,’ he whispered nervously back.

‘How did you know who
they are?’

‘The white cloaks of
course. All the stories of sacred ones visiting folk tell that they
were hidden in white cloaks.’

‘You must tell us some
of these stories,’ Maressa beamed. ‘So many odd ideas get about –
we can tell you which are the real stories and which may have been
concocted beside a warm fire by a mischievous old one with a pot of
strong drink!’

Vanim looked astonished
then frowned. He nodded. ‘Such things could happen I suppose. We
will tell some tales over our meal, if it pleases you.’

‘Oh it does,’ Maressa
agreed. ‘It would please us enormously.’

‘Are you safe my Tika?’
Farn’s voice rang in Tika’s mind.

‘Of course I am dear
one. You just make sure you stay out of sight.’

‘We will. Leaf is
having a little rest on my back at the moment,’ he added, a touch
of smugness in his tone.

Tika suppressed a
groan. Farn was still very fond of girls it would seem.

‘Well don’t let her
fall if she goes to sleep,’ she told him. ‘I will speak to you
later.’

The dwellings were
sturdily built, two storey houses of stone. There was a flurry of
excited activity as the party approached, Zenidor and his donkeys
in the lead. A child ran to take the animals, leading them towards
a shed. Hens, slightly smaller and of different colours to
Sapphrean hens, tiptoed about the barn doors. Zenidor took them to
the largest building and ushered them inside.

The whole of the ground
floor was one room with a hearth set at one end. Ovens and spits
were built into the hearth and three women worked over pots and
trays. After a basic diet of goat and fish, the smell of fresh
bread baking was indescribably welcome to the travellers. The end
opposite the hearth was set with three long tables with benches
against the three walls behind each table.

‘Please be seated. The
women will bring you tea while I send children for the rest of the
village.’

Two women brought pots
of tea and clay drinking bowls. They kept their eyes on the table
until Maressa touched the back of one woman’s hand.

‘Will you not tell me
your names? Come,’ she coaxed. ‘Sit and talk with me until Zenidor
returns.’

The women did as she
bade but would only risk quick darting glances at Tika or Ren and
spoke very little. By the time the entire community had squeezed
itself in, the room didn’t seem nearly so large. There was a buzz
of general chatter until everyone had eaten their fill. They had
reached the point where they were nibbling very sweet rolls, merely
to fill the last gaps.

‘Why do you travel
through our country?’ Zenidor asked finally, and silence fell
throughout the room. Even the babies hushed their
fussing.