“All right, let’s try this,” Koradan said, turning to look at Bel. “Go ahead, buddy. I’m ready.”
He felt a feather-light touch in his mind, which was at once startlingly similar and vastly different from Ashd’s presence. He tried to relax as Bel surged into his consciousness.
Hello, human, Bel said to him. A rough, croaking sound told him she thought it was funny.
Koradan grinned.Hello, dragon, he replied, being sure to layer a good dose of humour over the words.
Bel lifted her head higher and strutted a little.Bel look good dragon?
“Absolutely perfect. Just remember, you’re atamedragon, not a scary one. Okay?”
Secret person. Secret dragon. Clever disguise.
“You’ve been talking to Ashd, haven’t you?” Koradan said, with a wry quirk of his eyebrow. He remembered his initial conversation with Ashd when he’d explained that he was still a salas, even when he was in a human body.
Ashd clever. Choose clever rider. Very proud Koradan group arrive settle warm good.
“Um… did you get that?” Koradan asked Sigmore. It was a well known fact amongst the group that Koradan sometimes struggled with the vreki’s more rapid communication spurts, though as far as he was aware, no one looked down on him for it. The team had embraced him as its leader, regardless of the unconventional path he’d walked to get there.
“She’s very pleased with everything you’ve accomplished to bring us this far,” Sigmore translated for him. “And she’s confident you’ll succeed at this next part, as well.”
“Thank you,” he said to Bel, rubbing her flank. “I’m very grateful to you for agreeing to come with us.”
“We’re as ready as we’re going to get, over here,” Mitch announced, stepping back from where he’d been doing a final check on the straps holding Markon to Ashd’s back. “Are you ready to go?”
“More or less,” Koradan said. He didn’t miss the odd look Mitch gave him, which was no doubt due to the fact that he was now in human form, and the villagers weren’t used to seeing him that way.
“Before you go, I figured you should take this, as well,” Sigmore said, handing his own obsidian necklace to Koradan. “If you manage to find a witch in Minia, you can get her to redo the spell. This one feels a bit off.”
“You’ve been trying it out, then?” Koradan asked with a grin. Only the gods knew what Sigmore and Hazel had been getting up to behind closed doors.
“Don’t start,” Sigmore complained. “Just get it fixed.”
“Not sure how I’m going to find a witch, short of wandering around the city looking for anyone wearing a similar necklace.”
Beside him, Lynette shrugged. “That’s as good a place as any to start. Or we might find that someone reaches out to us, once words spreads that there are two dragons sitting in the forest outside the city.”
“That is not reassuring,” Koradan said, feeling a surge of concern over Ashd’s safety. “It’s just as likely that they draw the attention of humans wanting to kill them as Chalandrians wanting to make contact with their own people.”
“We’ll be careful,” Lynette said, putting a hand on his arm. “Now, I think we’re about as ready as we can be. Shall we go?”
Ready?Koradan asked Ashd.
Cross the divide on the wings of the night,Ashd replied.
Ready?he asked Bel. She ruffled her wings and stomped her back feet. She was raring to go.
“Be careful,” Paul said, waiting near his mother. “You’ll be back tomorrow afternoon, right?”
“That’s the plan,” Lynette said. “But don’t panic if we’re late. We might get held up at the hospital sorting Markon out.”
“I will be panicking,” Paul said, managing to smile despite his concern. “Just come back safely, okay?” He fidgeted for a moment, then darted forward and hugged Lynette, putting aside the tough teenage boy image for a moment.
“I’ll be fine,” Lynette said, hugging him back. “I’ll see you when we get back. I promise.”
Paul nodded and let go, stepping back to give them room to mount the vreki.
“Come over here,” Koradan said to Lynette. “Getting into the saddle is fairly easy. Just climb the ladder and swing your leg over.” He stood close to her as she did so, ready to catch her if needed. But she settled into the saddle easily, looking like she’d been doing it her whole life.
