“All safe,” Rodgard reported, a moment or two after the number five had been called, and Koradan wondered if he, too, was still jarred by the lack of their final member.
“Check your mounts,” Koradan ordered, wincing as the desert heat began seeping into his bones again. “Eat or drink what rations you have, and sleep, if you possibly can. We move at midnight.”
CHAPTER TWO
The twin moons of Chalandros, Rison and Roft, shone brightly down on the makeshift camp in front of the mighty gate. Rison was past the zenith, while Roft was just clearing the horizon, the two moons competing to create shadows on the rolling desert sands.
Beneath the dim light, the tor that housed the Gate of Chalandros stood tall and dark, an imposing figure amid the otherwise featureless dunes. Nestled into the side of the tor and sheltered on both sides by massive boulders was the gate itself. It was a tall arch, five metres wide, with a frame of thick stone blocks.
Even now, on the cusp of midnight, clusters of people crowded near the gate, some trying to work up the courage to cross the void between worlds, while others were waiting for someone else to take the plunge and distract the warriors on the far side, so as to give them a better chance of slipping past unnoticed.
Lingering outside the narrow gorge that led to the gate, Koradan checked the straps on his vreki’s saddle for the fifth time. They were tight and firmly buckled. His sword was strapped to his hip, his breastplate fastened to his chest, his vambraces on his arms. He was as ready as he was going to get.
“Are you ready to go?” Koradan asked his vreki. Ashd was as fine a mount as he’d ever seen, and he couldn’t help but smile as the vreki pushed his wide, black head against Koradan’s chest.
We go now? At night?Ashd asked, via their mental bond. Vreki couldn’t speak, but like both unicorns and fire-dogs, they were capable of a form of telepathy, communicating in a combination of words, images and emotions with the bipedal peoples of Chalandros.
“Yes. Under cover of darkness,” Koradan replied. “That way, the humans should have a harder time seeing us. But remember, they’ve got ballistas. They’re going to be firing spears at us.” Though he’d explained the situation to Ashd several times, it bore repeating. Vreki, while highly intelligent, did not process information the same way as Koradan and his men did.
Fortunately, Ashd seemed to have got the message. He sent Koradan a mental image of a vreki in the air, weaving and dodging as spears flew around them.
“I admire your confidence,” Koradan told him. “But caution would serve you better than pride.”
Ashd nodded, a meek look crossing his face. He projected a stream of thoughts at Koradan, and despite the long years of practice at interpreting what the vreki was saying, he only caught a fraction of the idea.Darkness… something, something…skilful… something, something…wings of the night, Ashd had said.
“Absolutely right,” Koradan said, knowing that Ashd knew he’d missed some of the details. His steed was patient with his failings, just as Koradan was patient with Ashd’s misunderstandings of salas ways. “Just like the old legends. We fly as one with the night. We’ll be almost invisible.” It was hard to know just how much of an advantage that was going to give them, when the humans had weapons that were decades more advanced than anything the Chalandrians could lay claim to.
Ashd sent one last message across their mental link, an emotion that seemed to be mainly fear, with an edge of loneliness.
“Never,” Koradan replied immediately. “I will not leave you. No matter what.”
Ashd rubbed his head against Koradan’s shoulder once again, then turned to face the gate. Behind them, the five other vreki were lined up, ready to cross the gate. “Head south-west,” Koradan instructed his men. “Clear the battlefield as quickly as possible. As I’ve told you over and over again, you are my brothers and I would willingly give my life for yours, but on this final journey, there will be nothing I can do to help you. It’s each man for himself until we’re free of the army. May Arix the Lifebringer guide you on your way.” The words were painful to say. In the training camps of the salas warriors, they had all been taught that loyalty and teamwork were the keys to winning any battle. United they stood, divided they fell.
But when faced with powerful machines capable of hurling spears fifty metres in the air, the best they could hope to do was dodge the weapons and flee as fast as the vreki could carry them. Koradan climbed into Ashd’s saddle and strapped himself in. “Midnight hastens, my brothers,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
Stilling his mind, Koradan gripped the handle of the saddle and merged his mind fully with his vreki. Riding the powerful beasts was not done with whips or bridle, but rather by directing them via mental commands, with images of where they should go and how they should move.
The vreki themselves had a firm mental connection to each other, telepathy being their native way of communicating, and Koradan waited until Ashd informed him that all the riders were ready.
“Into the air as soon as we’re through the gate,” Koradan reminded Ashd. “The ballistas are your only enemy. Ignore the rest.”
Ashd stood up from his resting position, the saddle lurching in a familiar way. His long tail swished back and forth and his shoulders shifted up and down as he prepared himself for a short sprint, followed by a great leap and then a steep climb into the air. Koradan sent him a mental image of his wings pinned close to his body as they passed through the stone archway. The gate, as wide as it was, was too narrow to fit a vreki’s wings through at full spread. Obediently, Ashd tucked his wings in a little closer.
“Stand back!” Koradan bellowed. “Vreki coming through!”
Along the gorge leading to the gate, the lingering refugees scattered, pinning themselves against the rock walls. As placid as the vreki were, they had claws as long as Koradan’s hand and they weighed twice as much as a unicorn, and being run down by one would do some serious damage.
Once the path was clear, Koradan gave Ashd the go-ahead. Like a coiled spring, Ashd shot forward, powerful hind legs propelling them towards the gate. Behind them, the rumbling thunder of five other sets of feet echoed off the rock walls. The gate loomed large and bright ahead of them, then an instant later, they were through, the cool air of the human world’s night blasting them in the face.
Upward!Koradan commanded Ashd.Into the air!
Ashd gave a mighty leap, his wings snapping out like the crack of a whip. On the first beat of his wings, the claws at the tips almost touched the ground. But by the second beat, they were several metres in the air, and by the third, they were well out of reach of any of the soldiers.
Below them, the human camp was suddenly in chaos. “Dragons!” multiple voices shouted, as men scurried about. But while Ashd might have been clear of the humans, the ballistas were another story.
“Fire!” a deep voice boomed, from the rear of the army. The loud thwack of triggers being released filled the air, and five long spears shot upwards from the ground. Koradan did little in the way of directing Ashd. Though his night vision was good, a vreki’s was far superior, and Ashd would be able to see the spears far easier than he could.
Ashd dipped sharply to the right, a spear missing them by less than a metre, and Koradan simply held on. His legs were secured to the saddle via four sturdy straps, so there was a minimal chance of him falling off, but lurching from side to side could still be jarring if he wasn’t ready for it.
