Keeping hold of the hand that wore Shek Kul’s ring,
Kheda kissed Risala’s fingers fervently. Better burned than dead.’
‘You’re the healer. Can you see any plant that will take the sting out of this?’ The wizard’s barbarian skin was distinctly paler where his clothes habitually protected him from the sun. His back and chest were an angry red just short of blistering.
‘Leatherspear, that’s what we need.’ Kheda looked around for pale-green spikes tipped with black among the clustering rustlenut saplings. He swallowed, his throat dry and rough. ‘And water.’
‘Where is it?’ Risala looked up, squinting through the tattered canopy of a spinefruit tree for a glimpse of the dragon. She was shaking faintly, her fingers still entwined with Kheda’s. ‘And where are we?’ Dev didn’t seem to hear them, eyes distant, face twisted with fury. ‘The bloody thing sank my boat, my AmigaV A furred vine coiling up the spinefmit tree burst into crimson flame.
‘Dev!’ Kheda said sharply.
‘I traded the length of the Archipelago in that boat for ten years and more,’ the wizard growled, looking up at the obstinately empty sky.
The vine disintegrated in a flare of scarlet fire, leaving a black score wrapped around the tree.
Kheda crossed the glade in a few rapid steps. ‘Dev!’
‘Cursed bloody worm!’ The black furrow in the grey bark began to smoulder, edges glowing golden.
‘Dev!’ Kheda slapped the wizard hard across the face, his hand ready to add a back-handed blow. ‘Get a grip on yourself!’
‘Before you set this place alight,’ Risala added harshly Dev blinked and the unreasoning rage faded from his eyes. ‘You obviously don’t know how dangerous it is to hit a wizard in a temper.’
‘I’m surprised you lasted ten years in these islands if that’s what happens when you lose your temper.’ Kheda nodded at the charred spinefruit tree.
‘A lot you know.’ Dev rubbed a hand over his bald head and winced.
‘Where are we?’ Risala moved to the edge of the clearing.
‘On the island where we first saw the dragon,’ Dev said heavily. ‘A wizard can only use magecraft to go somewhere he’s already been. I didn’t think there’d be anyone to see us here.’ His expression challenged them both.
‘You could hardly take us back to the residence, I suppose,’ Kheda acknowledged tersely. Appearing out of thin air in a blaze of magic would take some explaining. Would Itrac believe some obliging eccentricity of the dragon had thrown us home? Or would she just have you killed, for the sake of the domain, since you were so plainly suffused with sorcery, warlord or not, willing or not? ‘Someone will send a ship from the fleet to look for us, once we’re overdue . . Risala broke off, biting her lip. ‘But they’ll be looking for us in the wrong stretch of the sea.’
‘Which at least is a problem we can do something about,’ countered Dev, his anger still simmering. ‘Or would you rather have been burned to cinders by the dragon?’
Kheda looked to the north, the sea hidden by the scrubby forest. ‘The fleet will have seen the dragon, I suppose, even though we were out of sight.’
‘Do you think they believed all that goose grease about you needing to take the omens around an empty horizon?’ wondered Dev.
‘It was the truth,’ retorted Kheda. ‘And I’ll continue to seek all the guidance I can in the earthly and heavenly compasses until you come up with something better with your magics and your barbarian friends.’ Though I saw no omen to give me any clue we were about to be attacked. Was the dragon already bearing down on us, corrupting the patterns of nature?
‘Well, I can get us back to the residence now.’ Dev rubbed his hands together and grinned. ‘If you can think of a likely spot where we can arrive unseen.’ He shifted his gaze to Risala. ‘And if you can come up with some tale to explain how we got there, mistress poet.’
‘This carrying us away with magic, that’s what you did before.’ The girl looked at the barbarian mage, frowning. When that wild mage found you and me spying on him?’
‘Yes.’ Dev shrugged.
‘That was just you and me and not nearly so far as this,’ Risala said slowly. You couldn’t have kindled a candle after that. You were exhausted.’
‘But this time your magic’s getting away from you, Dev.’ Kheda gestured at the scarred spinefruit tree. ‘Here and before, when you tried scrying on the beach. What’s going on?’
‘We may not know much about wizards but we know you.’ Risala fixed the barbarian with a piercing stare.
Dev opened his mouth and then shut it, as if he had changed his mind about what to say.
We tell Aldabreshin children that someone who opens their mouth and then forgets what they were going to say was about to tell a lie. Does the same hold true for barbarians?
Kheda pressed Risala’s hand against his thigh.
‘It’s the dragon,’ the wizard said finally. ‘It’s a magical creature. It has a magical aura. I drew on the beast’s own magic to get us here. I don’t think it even noticed.’ He grimaced, rubbing the back of one hand across his forehead. ‘I’ve got a heartache, but nothing worse than I’d deserve after a late night drinking white brandy. I’ve enough magic within me to cany us somewhere closer to the ships. How about that for an idea?’
Kheda looked at Risala. ‘When he did this to you before, did you end up parboiled in your own sweat?’ She shook her head and he looked back at Dev. ‘Then why did it happen this time?’
Dev looked at him for a long moment. Sable finches chattered insouciantly in the trees. ‘It’s like I said: the dragon has an aura. My magic got away from me with that much raw elemental fire filling the air. That’s the element I have an affinity with.’ He sounded more resigned than angry, then his voice strengthened with his usual cockiness. ‘And now, forewarned is forearmed. Believe me, keeping my hide whole as a wizard in the Archipelago has taught me more fine control of discreet magic than any mage of Hadrumal possesses. It won’t happen again.’
‘It had better not,’ Kheda said stiffly. ‘If it does and you’re seen, you’ll be hunted till some mob has skinned you alive and nailed your hide to a pole. And I won’t be able to lift a finger to save you.’
‘Can’t we get off this island without magic?’ Risala walked a few paces away and looked from one side of the clearing to the other. ‘And come up with a story to explain where we went? The sooner the better.’ She glanced at Kheda. ‘Word of this dragon will fly around the islands faster than the beast itself. If rumour that you’re dead follows, your whole rule could be fatally undermined.’
Kheda nodded grimly. ‘And if some courier dove takes that rumour beyond the domain, who knows who will chance the danger of these waters for the sake of claiming our pearl harvest..’
Could Janne talk Sirket into sending Daish warriors?
He resolutely set aside such worries. ‘We have to get back to the fleet. If they’ve seen the dragon, they’ll have fallen back to the rendezvous point on the far side of Dalao.’
‘Unless the dragon sank them, too,’ Dev inten-upted with a scowl.
‘We just have to hope the beast didn’t.’ Kheda sighed heavily.
‘That’s a wager we’ve no choice but to take,’ agreed Risala.
‘We can build a raft, but we’ve the current to cross.’ Kheda looked reluctantly at Dev. ‘Could you use your magic to save us from being swept away?’
Never mind that,’ said Dev brutally. ‘We need to go hunting whatever wild mage summoned this dragon. You’ve no notion what a wizard could do with that amount of power to call on. He’ll take this domain away from you in a matter of days and there’ll be nothing you can do about it.’
‘But we killed all the wild mages,’ protested Risala with a touch of despair.
‘What if we only killed those who were strong enough to make a fight of it?’ countered Dev. ‘You saw how they fought among themselves, to the death. I reckon there was someone with the sense to keep his head down.’