The Bond (Book 2) (29 page)

“It’s late in the day,” Master Canneth said. “I’m not sure we can stop it now, anyway.”

“We have to try!” Gregor looked around at everyone. “This work, this life
means
something to me. I’ve only ever cared about one other thing, and—” His eyes darkened and he sighed. “And she was taken from me. I don’t want this to be as well. I promised myself I would fight nahual for her.”

Aeron was astonished. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one whose life was wrapped up in this. “I, too, don’t want this to end.” He stood. “We’ve worked so hard, for so long, and it hurts nothing to try.”

Master Doronal stared at him and then nodded. “True enough. Good luck.”

With Gregor helping, it took less than a minute to saddle Anaya, and they were off.

“We’ll be at the mail station in moments,” Aeron called over his shoulder. “Much faster than on foot or horse.”

“Perfect.”

The mail clerk sat behind a heavy, glass window, looking from one to the other. “Even were I able to, the carrier has already left.” He shrugged. “You missed the outgoing mail by an hour. Sorry.”

“Where’s Master Malho,” Gregor asked, looking past the clerk, searching the office behind him.

“He has the morning shift.” The clerk appeared to be a little offended that Gregor was trying to go over his head.

“I can give chase on Anaya,” Aeron offered.

Frowning, the clerk said, “You do know that interfering with mail delivery is against the law? And even were you able to catch up, the bags are all locked. Keys are only kept at the mail stations.”

“We must have my letter back!” Gregor slammed his fist on the counter.

“Calm down, sir. Don’t make me summon a guard.”

Aeron shared Gregor’s frustration. “You don’t understand. It’s a matter of Caer security. We have to get that letter! If need be, I’ll fly to the carrier and drag him back here, kicking and screaming.”

“Drag
her
back,” the clerk said. “And I’d like to see you try. She’s a fighter, that one is. At any rate, unless you want Lord Baronel to be forced to throw you in a cell for breaking the law, you’ll need a note from me to summon her back.”

Gregor, face red, screamed, “Why didn’t you—”

“And,” the clerk continued, voice raised, “the only way that would happen is if there were some express mail that was inadvertently left out of the outgoing bag.” He slipped a small sheet of paper, an envelope, and a pencil through the slot in the window and stared at the two of them, expectantly.

Gritting his teeth, Gregor grabbed the items and hastily scribbled out a letter. He slammed a mark on the counter and shoved all the items back through the slot.

After stamping a few symbols onto the letter, the clerk slipped Gregor’s change back through, along with a note. “Give that to Illsa.
She
will bring back the mail bags, understand?”

They raced after the courier. Aeron and Gregor clung to the saddle as Anaya beat her powerful wings. The ground flew past below them, and after less time than Aeron would have thought, they caught up to the rider. Unfortunately, she didn’t want to stop.

Aeron had Anaya fly around her, but she merely glanced at them, waved them off, and spurred her horse faster. He even had Anaya land in the road ahead of the rider, but she merely went around them. Finally, Aeron had Anaya try to keep pace, hovering above them.

“Stop!” he shouted down to her.

“Piss off!” she shouted back, racing ahead.

Though she tried to leave them behind, Anaya easily kept up. Eventually, the horse began to get nervous with all the unusual activity. After a near-stumble, Illsa was forced to slow and stop. She dismounted, short, wavy hair like a halo around her angry face.

“What in Yrdra’s deepest hells is wrong with you?” she said as Aeron and Gregor approached her. “Don’t you know it’s illegal to interfere with a mail courier? Can you not see my uniform?”

Gregor held out the note. “You need to return to the Caer,” he said. “The clerk forgot to include a letter in the outgoing bag.”

“That’s a load of crap.” She snatched the note. “I’m not sure what’s going on,” she said, as she read it, “but this is real enough.” With a final glower, she mounted her horse and galloped for the Caer.

“Wow,” Aeron said.

“Pleasant, wasn’t she?” Gregor added.

I like her.

Aeron grinned at Anaya.
She is plucky, isn’t she?

They flew back and waited at the mail station. Aeron informed the clerk that the rider was on the way. He spoke to a boy who emerged a minute later from a side door and went to the stable area. The boy and a girl began brushing down a horse.

When Illsa arrived, she rode her horse into the stable, whereupon another boy removed the mailbags, taking one into the building. The other bags were transferred to the horse prepared earlier, now saddled. Illsa stood by, glaring out the door at Aeron and Gregor. When the boy returned with the bag, placing it on the new horse, Aeron and Gregor walked up to the window.

The clerk slid the letter through the slot. “I cannot refund the delivery fee, of course.” He shrugged. “It’s non-refundable.”

Gregor grabbed the letter and, after confirming it was his,  turned to Aeron. “Let’s go.”

“Were you successful?” Master Doronal inquired when they arrived back at the investigation office.

“We were,” Gregor said, waving the letter.

“We had to chase down the rider with a note from the mail clerk,” Aeron said. “She was not happy to have us stop her.”

“I’m not surprised.” Master Millinith had a smile on her face.

“What do you mean?”

“From what I understand,” she said, “couriers are very competitive with each other as far as how quickly they complete their runs. I think I even heard they get bonuses for consistently fast runs. You added a great deal of time to hers today.”

“Oh,” Aeron said. “I see. Yeah, almost an hour was added to her run. But we needed to get that letter!”

“I’m sorry for all the trouble,” Gregor said and sat in a chair. “My father wrote to me a few weeks ago asking how I was doing and asking about the dragon he’d heard rumors of. He asked if I would mind keeping him informed about the dragon. I wasn’t too surprised, rumors of Anaya and Aeron are very popular. But I did feel a little . . . uncomfortable reporting Caer happenings to my father. I told myself that if it ever got to the point where I really felt bad about anything I was telling him, I’d just stop doing so. And besides, like I said before, I wanted to get involved in the nahual investigations. I’d promised myself I would fight those damned things in Dayna’s memory.”

“You were the young man who stayed at her grave when everyone else returned to the Caer.” Master Doronal stared at Gregor.

He nodded. “I’m surprised you remember that day. Anyway, I’ve been sending a letter to my father nearly every week since I joined you all, telling him of my work.” He looked at the envelope in his hands. “Maybe I should just stop.”

“No,” Master Canneth said, “keep writing. He’s your father. I’m sure he’s happy to see that you’re doing well. Merely limit what you talk about to things you’ve covered before.”

“We’re not asking you to cut yourselves off from everyone,” Master Doronal said, looking at them all, “just be circumspect about what you tell people.”

“Now that this excitement is over,” Sharrah said, “what about the whole craft guild thing?”

“Ah,” Master Doronal said, “yes.” He stood and began pacing again.

“All we’ve done so far,” he said, “has been with that aim in mind. As such, nothing will really change, as far as what we do. However, there is one thing.” He stopped and faced everyone.

“When the Dragon Craft Guild is approved, you will have a choice before you. Some of you will need to make that choice sooner, before you bond with a dragon. For, in order to join Dragon Craft, most of you will have to transfer out of your current craft.”

Aeron was stunned. He was going to have to give up Magic Craft? The room was silent as others came to the same realization.

What is it?

Aeron didn’t want to upset Anaya, so he pulled back from the link in an effort to hide his disappointment from her. He really liked sorcery and would miss it.
Just some surprising news. Don’t worry, sweetheart.

“Now,” Master Doronal said, “before any of you panic, remember that once you reach journeyman in a craft, you are allowed take on secondary crafts as you continue in your main craft. So, those of you who aren’t yet journeymen will be able to return to your current craft soon enough.”

“Assuming you work hard and attain journeyman rank in Dragon Craft, that is.” Master Canneth’s lips were curved in a faint smile.

Aeron let out a deep breath. Thank the gods. He
had
forgotten about that. The only question he had now was whether to try to attain journeyman in Magic Craft before the dragon guild was approved, or return to sorcery later.

“As to what happens now,” Master Doronal said,  “Master Millinith will be taking over Magic Craft classes, though she will sit in on a few beforehand, to see where we are. She will also attend Animal Craft classes, to get familiar with that aspect of training as well. If you could get with her, Gregor? And Master Canneth as well?”

The two nodded in response.

“Excellent.” Master Doronal faced the table. “Our most pressing concern, however, is getting more dragons. It seems our enemy has been at it again.”

Aeron sat forward. “What do you mean?”

“We recently learned that the Bureau of Business Affairs is now requiring us to have at least four dragons at the meeting.”

“Four?” Sharrah’s eyes were large.

“Four,” Master Doronal said, looking more calm than Aeron thought he should. “But do not fret. Nenet’s egg will provide us with one, bringing us to three. As well, we remain hard at work looking at other avenues.”

“Does that even matter?” Willem asked. “You just told us that we aren’t really forming a business.”

Master Doronal glanced at the other masters before turning to Willem. “An astute observation. However, many of those in the BBA are also members of the Council of Guilds. The requirement may very well carry over to the guild application. We cannot afford to assume it won’t.”

Master Doronal clasped his hands behind his back. “Now, one requirement that definitely pertains is the need for more dragonlinked candidates. A craft guild is required to have at least ten members upon formation. Therefore, assuming all of you still wish to be considered in Dragon Craft, that leaves us two short.”

“Two?” Cheddar said.

“Yes,” Master Canneth said. “We have eight at the moment. Aeron, Renata, Willem, Jessip, Sharrah, Cheddar, Gregor and Master Millinith.”

“Gregor and Master Millinith?” Aeron blurted out.

“They may or may not eventually become actual dragonlinked,” Master Doronal said, “but they will be in the Dragon Craft Guild.”

“Actually, Master Millinith will be the Guildmaster,” Master Canneth said, eliciting surprised intakes of breath and more words of congratulations.

Aeron shook his head, bemused. He’d wager fifty marks that as soon as he got used to calling her Master Millinith, he was then going have to get used to calling her Guildmaster.

“And,” Master Doronal continued, “Gregor will be head of the hall’s medical staff, who will be in charge of both human and dragon health.”

“Which,” Master Canneth said, “as mentioned, leaves us two members short to be approved. As Liara and Fillion have apparently dropped out, we need to acquire replacements.”

“Aeron.” Master Doronal turned to him. “Could you get with Anaya and have her scout out two candidates? There are a great number of people showing up to the stables every day now, so the task should be easy.”

He stared at the magic master. Replace Liara and Fillion? It felt as if the ground fell away from under him.

“Aeron?”

“Of course. I, ah, will work with Anaya to fill out the roster.”

+ + + + +

Aeron paced around his study, thinking.

“You can’t just replace Liara and Fillion.” Willem stood near the door to Anaya’s den. “They were here first. They went to classes with us, were part of us. Well, until you chased them off.”

He spun on Willem. “I didn’t mean to!”

They are both still candidates. She is actually—

“I know they are candidates, Anaya.” He rubbed his forehead and resumed pacing.
Please, sweetheart, let me think.

“They deserve to be given the chance to come back, if they want to, before any other candidates are asked.”

“I know.” Aeron turned to Willem. “But are you sure? Liara—” He cleared his throat, unsure he should say anything. But he had to tell him, so he knew everything before he agreed to inviting her back. “Liara kissed me, you know.”

“I know.”

Aeron took a step back, eyes wide. “You know?”

Willem glanced away. “Yes.”

The look on his face! “I’m so sorry.”