You have to take the pain away, she said. You have to.
We can, but for that you must let us into your mind all the way and you must accept that one of us will be with you always to guide you, said Cleress. We will be silent unless you ask something of us or if we believe your mind to be at risk. But you must know that once the process is started it cannot be stopped.
I don't want any process to start. I just want the pain to go.
That is the beginning of the process, said Myriell.
So be it. But don't push me where I don't want to go. Don't presume to control me or anything about me or I will fight you. Do nothing without my express agreement.
Both Al-Drechar laughed. Erienne, we know you well enough not to presume anything ever again.
It is no laughing matter, snapped Erienne.
No, it isn't, said Myriell. Now, are you ready? Just relax your mind.
Begin, said Erienne.
And, with the most gentle of probing feelings, her pain vanished and she saw for the first time the well of power that was the One magic, hers to control if she had the strength. It was a force for good or evil far more comprehensive than any single college's magic. It drew on the energies of land, sky, mana and sea. Its scope was endless. With it at her beck and call, there was so much she could do. The ship had sailed in under cover of darkness, and before dawn much of the loading had been done. Sha-Kaan had woken to the sounds of Xeteskians preparing to leave on the next tide and he took to the air, anger surging within him, powering his tired wings.
Stay and rest, Nos-Kaan, he pulsed, as he swooped down on the house from which Sytkan, the lead Xeteskian mage, was emerging. I will call should I need you.
The mage knew he was coming. The boughs of nearby trees bent under the downdraught, dust and sand were whipped into the air and the noise of each beat of his wings drowned out any speech on the ground. To his credit the Xeteskian faced him squarely, having picked himself up and dusted himself down. Others of his order were not so calm, haring off down the path to the landing beach.
Sha-Kaan glowered down at Sytkan, choosing to sit up on his hind legs and angle his neck down, noting the ten Protectors who stood in a defensive circle around him.
'Was I to be privy to your decision to leave these shores or were you hoping we would sleep until your ship was out of sight?'
'Our work is done here, Sha-Kaan. Aside from the defence force we will leave to guard the Al-Drechar and their people, we must all return to Xetesk to validate our research.'
Sha-Kaan bent his neck further, moving his mouth close to Sytkan and sighting along his snout at the mage, whose eyes widened. Protectors drew weapons.
'Tell them to sheathe those things. They cannot harm me.'
Sytkan gestured and blades were lowered.
'What is it you want of me?' asked Sytkan, a superior and rather bored tone to his voice.
'Finish what you started,' said Sha-Kaan. 'You need go nowhere to validate your research. Indeed, I forbid it. You will free us to return to our own dimension before I free you to return to your petty squabbles on Balaia.'
'You are in no position to forbid anything, Great Kaan,' said Sytkan, clearly unaware of his own vulnerability. 'We are in charge here, and I suggest that if you do want to return to Beshara, you let us set the timetable. That means we leave to employ our research in a practical fashion before turning to lesser matters.'
Sha-Kaan almost swatted him then and there but refrained, Hirad's caution echoing in his mind.
'You tread delicate ground, frail human,' he said. 'The timetable as you call it states that we do not have the luxury of waiting on your whim. And, as you will discover if you choose otherwise, there are no greater matters than completing your work to send us home.'
'Don't threaten me, Sha-Kaan,' said Sytkan. 'We have foreseen your reaction and taken appropriate steps. Without your fire you are much weakened, as the Dordovans discovered. Don't think we will hesitate to defend ourselves. Together, we are very strong.'
'But individually, very weak,' said Sha-Kaan.
His head snapped forwards and he scooped Sytkan into his jaws, wings unfurling to project him into the sky and away from danger.
Nos-Kaan, take to the air. The Xeteskians have to be stopped.
In his jaws, Sytkan struggled. Sha-Kaan brought his head to a foreclaw and deposited the mage in it, bringing it in line with an eye.
'You have very little time,' growled Sha-Kaan. 'Remove your work from your ship before we sink it.'
'And lose everything for which we have worked and that could benefit you?' shouted Sytkan into the wind. 'It stays there. You don't dare touch it. Set me down.'
'You think me a foolish reptile, I am sure. Ignorant. But I hear much and am told more. I know the exactitude of a Xeteskian mage. All your papers are in watertight containers, are they not? And I am a very good swimmer.'
He watched Sytkan's fragile confidence disappear and proper fear replace it. But the mage was not done.
'Release me or Nos-Kaan dies now.'
Sha-Kaan swept round to face the hillside. Nos-Kaan was hovering, waiting for him. Below, hidden by the curve of the slope, a dozen mages. Nos hadn't seen them and they were casting.
Sha-Kaan bellowed in rage and arrowed down towards them, pulsing alarm at his Brood brother.
Fly! They are below you. Fly!
Nos-Kaan moved as the mages cast their spell. An orb of fire thirty feet across raced from their position, catching Nos-Kaan's left wing on the downbeat and rolling along its length to scour his back. Flame ate at his scales and burned the wing membrane. Nos roared pain and, smoke trailing from his savaged wing, spiralled into the sky, heading for the quenching ocean.
Sha-Kaan powered on, Sytkan forgotten in his claw. The Xeteskian mages could not react fast enough. The huge dragon landed just upslope and slid down on them, his great hind claws tearing up the ground as he came, his wings beating again, his weight shuddering the earth. His head launched forward, his fangs slicing through human flesh, jaws snapping open and shut to crush puny bodies. His claws scythed through torso and limb, dug up stones and dirt and flung them down.
With the next beat of his wings he took to the air again, banking sharply to check for any survivors. One was running, the rest either dead or dying. He powered in again and seized the running mage in his other foreclaw before chasing out to sea after Nos-Kaan.
The dragon's entry point was clear and the smell of burning scale and membrane hung in the air. Sha-Kaan put Sytkan to his eye once again, seeing the mage shaken but still just conscious.
'Weak am I? Pray to your false gods that Nos is still alive. Pray that your lungs can hold and your body does not break.'
With that he dived into the ocean, tucking his foreclaws in to protect the mages from the impact. He might have need of them. His eyes pierced the clear blue waters easily and he didn't have to swim deep before he saw Nos-Kaan struggling to the surface, his left wing dragging him back, his tail stroking weakly.
Nos-Kaan, I am here.
Sink the ship, Great Kaan. I will survive. But his thoughts were feeble. They must not escape.
They cannot outpace me. I will be back.
Sha-Kaan stormed back to the surface and broke into the air. In his claw Sytkan gasped a lungful of air. The other mage hung limp. Sha-Kaan discarded him. He flew towards the ship, which still lay at anchor, keeping high to avoid the spells. On deck he saw two groups of mages crouching together, spells no doubt on their lips.
'So anxious to get on board,' he said, Sytkan once again large in his vision. 'Let me help you.'