Dharman whipped out his
rahke
and touched the tip to his best
friend’s throat. Blood impressed her as nothing else, and Sal would enjoy the
threat. “You will lie with Khul’lanna for comfort and nothing else, or you’ll
give her every drop of blood in your body.”
“Aye,” Sal breathed, letting his eyes
fall shut. “On my honor, I shall do exactly as Khul’lanna asks.”
Deliberately, Dharman pricked his throat
in a small wound. He sheathed the blade and Sal stretched out in front of her.
He did well; he didn’t even put his hands on her. He didn’t have to.
Khul’lanna caught the scent of his
blood, wrapped both hands in his red hair, tugged him close, and planted her
mouth over the wound.
Shuddering, Sal pressed closer, tossing
his head to send the rest of his heavy hair tumbling across her and onto
Dharman’s arms and shoulders. He couldn’t mind, not when she enjoyed the
sensation so much.
“Sleep, Khul’lanna. I stand at the edge
of your Dreams with
rahke
in hand.
Nothing, no dragon or dread threat of Shadow shall cross your sleep again this
or any night you allow me to guard at your back.”
“Gregar…” her voice was already heavy,
muffled against Sal’s chest.
“Aye,” Dharman whispered, rubbing his
cheek lightly against her shoulder. The musk of dragon still clung to her skin.
Her scent as the White, or the Black’s? “If he comes, the Shadowed Blood shall
pass.”
Vulkar help him, he’d slice that
dragon’s foul heart from his chest if he even thought about slithering into her
Dream again.
CHAPTER
FIVE
“THE
KHULS ARE IMPATIENT,” DRENDON SAID. “We can’t wait much longer.”
Rhaekhar turned toward his friend and
bumped into both Varne and Pawl. With an irritated growl, he shoved them out of
his way. Their protection had become so intense as to be laughable for a warrior
of his prowess. Nay, an insult. They guarded him like a mother goose honking at
her goslings.
Shannari shone in his mind, her bond as
sharp and determined as ever.
:They guard
you like my Blood guard me.:
Although she had begun watching his
every move through their bond, he didn’t mind her constant surveillance. Not
when he could deliberately torment her with images of what he was going to do
to her as soon as she arrived. With a low rumbling growl, he pictured dragging
her off her mare and carrying her directly to his tent.
“She’s on the Plains even as we speak.”
He couldn’t help the heated thickness in his voice. Vulkar help him, it had
been three nights since he’d held her. Her Blood had been holding her in his
stead, and as much as he wanted her safe and comforted, he would much prefer
his
arms around her this night, not
theirs. “She ought to arrive before we eat at the fire.”
“Good,” Drendon replied, but by the
tightness around his eyes, he didn’t look happy.
“Speak, my friend. I count on you to always
be honest.”
“Winter comes.”
Indeed, for this being the “Summer”
Gathering, it felt rather chilly this morning. Rhaekhar had actually seen his
breath plume the air.
The Plains enjoyed several years of
summer weather, but each year, the period of cold strengthened until the
Winter, months of blizzards so thick and vicious that their nomadic wandering
across the Plains ceased. Shannari had yet to see their Winter, since it only
came roughly every nine years. The last Winter right before he’d become Khul had
been mild in comparison to how this one already felt.
“Aye, it’s the ninth year. I expected
it.” Rhaekhar narrowed his gaze in a hard stare. “What of it? Have the khuls
somehow decided to blame my outlander Khul’lanna for the depth of the coming
snows?”
“How will she travel to her Green Lands?
You said things were very bad for her this time. Assassins tried to kill her
nearly each day. Her own people rebel, which required her to stay later than
expected and promise to return earlier than planned. So how will you travel
back and forth if the Winter is as bad as I suspect? The last thing we need is
for Khul of the Nine Camps to be stranded in the Green Lands while we face the
wolves at home.”
He nodded slowly. “We’ll consider our
options. If the snows are deep, she won’t be able to travel anywhere. The Green
Lands may have to survive without her for awhile.”
“Will you winter here or closer to her
lands to make it easier?”
The Sha’Kae al’Dan typically didn’t
settle in any one spot, much preferring to roam the hills and grazing their
na’kindren
at will. However, when the
snows came, they often used shelters built in previous years. Here in the
foothills of Vulkar’s Mountain, the winds typically kept the snows blown away
from the grass so the herds could graze, and while colder, the snows weren’t as
deep as to the north on the wide open Plains. “I don’t know yet, but she feels
very close to her Lady here at the Silver Lake. I suspect we’ll stay here.”
“I heard wolves this morning when I
checked the
na’kindren
.” Drendon
shivered and touched his
rahke
on his
hip. With especially deep snows, their greatest
kae’don
came when predators began hunting the hampered
na’kindren
. “I doubled the guards on our
herd.”
“Good. Perhaps I’ll ride into the hills
this day and see if I can thin the pack before the snows even begin.”
Drendon gripped his shoulder a moment.
“Be careful, Khul.”
“Great Vulkar,” he grumbled without
rancor. “You’d think I had never hunted a wolf or two in my entire life. Will
it make you feel better if I take a fist of warriors to hunt these vicious
beasts?”
:Yes,:
Shannari answered immediately through their bond, while Drendon nodded.
Throwing his hands up in mock disgust,
Rhaekhar stalked toward his waiting stallion. “Warriors!” Camp activity
stilled, warriors standing and facing him expectantly. “Anyone who wants to
hunt in the foothills, mount up!”
With a whoop, many of them did so,
whistling for mounts and gathering bows and swords. In moments, he had several
fists of warriors trotting after him. So much for a nice quiet hunt. He glared
at Drendon who had of course joined them, but his friend merely shrugged and
grinned.
They hadn’t ridden far when one of the
scouting warriors gave a long, piercing whistle. Eager, the warriors rode in
that direction. Wolf sign indeed—by the amount of scat and tracks, this hilltop
was a favorite resting spot. Looking down at the Plains stretched out below,
Rhaekhar felt his stomach tighten. The vast herds of the Sha’Kae al’Dan grazed
directly below.
“Split up,” he ordered, pointing at each
track winding back higher into the hills. “Drendon, take the far left. Tomai,
take your warriors to the right. I’ll take the middle. If you find their dens,
smoke them out.”
“Aye, Khul.”
Resolute, the groups split. Varne and
Pawl each rode beside him, with the rest of the Blood at his back. Casson, his
Second, acted as the tracker. The wolves had made no attempt to hide their
passing. After climbing the steepening slope to the next hill, they found the
remains of a doe and her young fawn. Drendon’s trail led him to the same peak.
Rhaekhar could easily picture one of the
spring foals torn apart, and by the queasy look on his friend’s face, he wasn’t
the only one considering such horrors.
“There were two other kills down below,”
Drendon said. “I think we’re dealing with a large pack.”
“Then it’s good that so many warriors
rode this day.” Khan shifted beneath Rhaekhar slightly. Other mounts weren’t as
disciplined, sweating and snorting anxiously at the strong wolf markings.
Rhaekhar turned his stallion toward his
waiting Second and they began the climb to the next hill. Rocky and sparsely
dotted with low scrub, the path took all of their concentration to ensure a
na’kindre
didn’t break a leg in the
climb. Breathing hard and sweating, the
na’kindren
couldn’t climb much farther. Rhaekhar stared up at the jagged black cliff
rising overhead. He could barely make out a crack in the fissure that might be
a trail, but certainly none of their mounts could make it. Their hooves would
be sliced to ribbons by the obsidian shards.
Frustrated, he dismounted and joined
Casson. His Second stood in the shadow of the cliff, studying the tracks. “They
lead up there,” he said, pointing to the jumbled passage. “Why would wolves be
this high? There’s no game up here.”
“My guess is they’ve hidden their den up
high on the Mountain.”
Casson grunted disgustedly. “Why would
Vulkar tolerate such killers on His Mountain?”
Rhaekhar slapped him on the back and
turned to enjoy the view. This high, the
na’kindren
and colorful tents looked like a child’s toy set. He could easily imagine the
twins whispering and giggling as they moved the pieces about. “The wolves
aren’t evil. They’re simply creatures who’ll starve if they don’t hunt. When
the snows come, they’ll be desperate enough to brave our swords for a shank of
na’kindren
. We must be ready.”
Casson grumbled and headed back down
toward his
na’kindre
.
A shout drew Rhaekhar’s attention back
to his warriors. They all stared up at the cliff, their faces lax with awe.
He looked up and tears of joy fill his
eyes. A thousand handspan above, a
sangral
na’kindre
stood looking down at them. Generations ago, these magnificent
Children of Vulkar had galloped the Plains with joy. After the
kae’don
against the outlanders who’d
thought to steal them and Vulkar’s terrible retribution, the
sangral
na'kindre
had fled the tents to live high in Vulkar’s Clouds where they
would be safe.
Few ever saw such an incredible sight.
Lit with an otherworldly light, the
sangral na’kindre
glowed very much like Shannari’s
dragon had filled his mind with radiance. The
na’kindre
reared, hooves flashing in the sun like mirrors, and then
leaped down the broken slit in the rock face. Effortlessly, it cleared the
tumbled boulders and dangerous slope, so light on its hooves it floated like
dandelion fluff on the breeze.
Spellbound, he could only watch as the
na’kindre
swooped down the last few feet
of cliff.
And
galloped straight at him.
His heart locked down in his chest, his
lungs banded with iron.
Great Vulkar,
what will become of Shannari? How can I possibly leave her?
The
sangral
na’kindre
slid to a halt, throwing up rocks and dust in his face. Its sky
blue eyes gleamed with sympathy, sorrow, and boundless love.
:Rhaekhar, Khul of the Nine Camps of the
Sha’Kae al’Dan, the Great Wind Stallion sent me to bring you home to His
Clouds.:
There was no greater honor. Yet he fell
to his knees, every muscle in his body frantically denying his fate. His hands
ached for his
rahke
, his body shouted
to fight, to roar his furious grief to the heavens and fight until the last
drop of blood dripped from his body, yet this was a
kae’don
he could not win.
:No!:
Shannari howled in his mind, her bond piercing him as though she’d stabbed the
ivory
rahke
directly into his heart.
:Fight! How can you leave me like this
without even trying to save yourself?:
He couldn’t breathe with such sorrow
strangling him.
:Forgive me, my heart. My
kae’valda
demands no less than I do
Vulkar’s will, as you will continue to do your Lady’s.:
Her bond hammered at him as viciously as
the dragon had torn through his mind. She pulled and dragged at him, trying to
physically drag him away, while she raged.
:Don’t
you dare leave me without a fight, without even trying. How could you? You
always said your Khul’lanna received whatever I wanted, and I want you to live!
I want you to fight!:
The
sangral
na’kindre
lowered its head to brush its soft pearly muzzle against his
cheek.
:Our Dark Mare’s Daughter loves
you very much, but it’s time for her to return to Shanhasson. Vulkar would
rather have you gallop His Clouds than wither in the outlander city, and while
her heart is dedicated wholly to you, she cannot fulfill Our Dark Mare's
destiny. She must return.:
“How long?” His throat was so tight and
raw he could barely speak. Shannari still railed at him, urging her mare to fly
over the hills toward him, but not even the High Queen of all the Green Lands
could save him from his
kae’valda
.
“How long must she be alone?”
:Only
the gods know.:
The
sangral
na’kindre
echoed sadness.
:Be
comforted, Khul, for she shall never be truly alone.:
He knew her Blood would take care of
her, but would she allow them? Would she ever forgive him for leaving her?
:Are
you ready?: