All of them, in falcon form or dragon, were exuding deep shock and horror. And terror.
“Are you certain?” asked Rowan.
“I am certain that is what Darcy sent me, and since Frederica and Quickthorn are both here, I cannot be lying,” Elizabeth snapped. “And I can think of no reason why he would not tell me the truth.”
Rowan sank back on his haunches. “My apologies, Companion Elizabeth. This is such frightful news that we all seek to find a way to disbelieve it, because the truth is so unpalatable.”
“Why?” Frederica asked. “It is shocking, yes, but why does it frighten you so?”
The dragon lowered his head. “Because Napoleon, or the dragon masquerading as him, is a killer, which means he is in thrall to the Wicked King, cursed be his name. It means our greatest enemy has a powerful foothold in this world which has been our refuge. None of us are safe any longer. A killer dragon can destroy us all.”
“But you already knew that Napoleon was in league with the Wicked King, from what the sea serpent told Darcy,” Frederica argued.
“We thought him human then. A human with the backing of the Wicked King could do terrible things, yes. A dragon in his service, with all of Europe at his command, could bring the end to this world.”
Elizabeth shivered. An end to the dragons, or an end to everything? Napoleon, either as a human or a dragon, had shown great callousness to slaughter.
Cerridwen leaned her leg against Elizabeth’s. “This was the missing piece,” the dragon said heavily. “Now we know the meaning of my vision. Some dragons disbelieved it before, because they could not imagine any power great enough to cause such devastation. Not any longer.”
To no one’s surprise, Elizabeth was summoned by the Eldest the following day. The Nest was a hive of activity, with more dragons in the main rooms than Elizabeth had ever seen before. She followed Cerridwen through to the chamber of the Eldest.
The room was unchanged, but the great dragon’s aura weighed on it with deep concern tinged with despair. If only she could offer some comfort! But that was not possible. Cerridwen had not been herself since the news had come, either.
After exchanging greetings, she allowed the Eldest to read her memories of the previous evening. When it was done, the Eldest said heavily, “I wish to ask a favor of you. Would you permit me to intrude upon your connection with your mate this evening? I would use it to take the memory directly from his mind.”
“I expected you would wish to do something like that,” she said.
“You do have the right to refuse. The scale by which you connect was a gift to you.”
“I do not object.” Even if she would prefer not to give up her brief moment with Darcy, this was obviously more important. “How do we go about this?”
“You are generous, Companion Elizabeth. I will need to hold you against my body, with both of us touching the scale. It will mean remaining here through sunset.”
She nodded. “Cerridwen warned me I might need to stay at the Companions’ House overnight,so I came prepared.”
The Eldest dropped her forelegs, releasing Elizabeth from the odd embrace she had held her in while the scale connection activated. “Well, that was curious,” the ancient dragon said.
Elizabeth craned her neck to look up at her. “Were you able to see anything? I could not tell.” To her, it had merely been an incomprehensible rush of Talent, with a slight flavor of Darcy’s oak grove in summer.
“Enough to be certain the French Emperor is no mortal, and almost certainly a dragon. A killer dragon, with all that implies. What is puzzling is why he did not put a binding on Darcy to keep him from revealing this.”
That was indeed odd. “A good question. Napoleon must have a companion, since he is far from any Nest. Is there a way to tell who it might be?”
The Eldest lowered his head. “To a mortal? No. If one of us were in his presence, we would know.”
She knew better than to suggest that killing Napoleon’s companion could force him back to his Nest. It did not matter, anyway, if they did not know who it was. And perhaps Napoleon was like Rana Akshaya, mysteriously able to leave his Nest with no companion.
“What will happen now?” she asked. The question had been pounding at her all day.
The great dragon sank back on her haunches. “That is a difficult question, and one that is too large for me. I must consult with other Nests.”
Elizabeth had already heard this from Cerridwen, that dragons with companions from around Britain would be invited to the Dark Peak to discuss this news, along with how to manage the end of the Great Concealment. “Will Rana Akshaya be invited to speak to them, too?” If the Indian dragon was to be excluded, Elizabeth wanted to prepare for the explosion likely to follow.
“I think we shall have to, as some of the other Nests would like their own reports on her. But I fear I must also ask you for more assistance than is our custom with companions.”
She had not expected that. “I am glad to offer any help I can.”
“We need messengers to bear our invitations to Nests across Britain, men who can travel long distances quickly and are willing to be under binding. Our Kith are not accustomed to such journeys and lack good horses. Would there be any in your service who would be able to help?”
