“There are two straps on either side to hold you in,” he said, showing her how they did up. “They should be fairly tight, but not enough to cut off the circulation in your legs. How’s that?”
“Feels fine,” Lynette said, shifting her weight slightly to test the straps. But her voice was tighter now, her fear beginning to show.
“Hold on here,” Koradan said, putting her hands on the handle. “And listen to Ashd. He’ll tell you if he’s going to make any sudden moves or change direction. He might decide to just have a bit of a chat on the way as well.”
Lynette nodded. Her fingers were gripping the handle until her knuckles were white. Gently, Koradan covered her hand with his own. “You’re going to be fine. Ashd is going to take good care of you.” Ashd glanced back over his shoulder and gave a reassuring trill.
“Thanks, Ashd,” Lynette said, leaning forward to stroke his neck. “I appreciate it.”
“You’re ready to go?” Koradan asked Markon. He’d been very stoic about the whole thing; the pain in his leg as well as the idea of flying while strapped to a thin and flimsy bed.
“Looking forward to getting this over with,” Markon said. “I truly appreciate this, by the way. Everyone’s been trying to keep a lid on it, but my chances of a useful future are grim without this trip.”
“I’m just as grateful to you for trusting us,” Koradan said. “If you need us to land at any point along the way, just tell Lynette. You might have to yell a bit when we’re up in the air, though.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Markon said. He gave Hetti’s hand one last squeeze, his wife not having moved from his side for the last half an hour, then Sigmore guided Hetti away to give them room to take off.
“Best of luck,” Morgan said, stepping close and giving Koradan a hug. “We’ll be thinking of you.” She’d been coordinating a lot of the preparations for this trip, and Koradan was grateful for the steadfast support she’d offered ever since they’d arrived in Varismont.
“Take care of yourself,” Mitch said, offering his hand for Koradan to shake. “We’ll be waiting eagerly for news of how it all goes.”
“Thank you all,” Koradan said, waving to the rest of the small gathering. “Your faith in us means a great deal. We’ll see you all tomorrow.”
He turned to climb into Bel’s saddle, but before he could, one last figure approached him, wringing her hands as she came. “Koradan? I owe you an apology,” Ann said as she stopped in front of him, not quite meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry for all the assumptions I made about you. It’s easy to think the worst of people when we don’t know them. But you saved my Daniel’s life, and…” She stopped, tears suddenly spilling from her eyes. “I’m very grateful,” she managed to say, her voice tight. “And I genuinely hope that everything goes well for you in Minia. And that you come back here again. You belong here. I’m not much of a hugger, but I’d like to shake your hand.” She thrust hers out abruptly, and Koradan was well aware that this would be the first time that she’d touched him – or any of them, for that matter.
Being deliberately gentle, he took her hand and shook it. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
Ann nodded, then moved away into the crowd, and Koradan suspected that even that small admission had cost her a lot.
“Safe travels,” Peter said, leaning on his walking stick. The aging man should have been fast asleep in bed, but he’d insisted on coming out here anyway. “The gods guide you on your way.”
Koradan nodded to him, then climbed into Bel’s saddle and strapped himself in, feeling odd about being on the back of a different vreki. He attempted to relax his mind and tune in to Bel, but he immediately found Ashd answering his call.
Sorry,he apologised to both vreki.This is a little confusing.In reply, he received a surge of affection from both of them, and he realised that they were all connected now, himself to Ashd and Bel, and Lynette via Ashd’s connection to her. He sent a mental image to the two vreki of them racing across the paddock and taking to the air. Bel rose up on her long legs, bracing herself for the sprint. Then she was off, powerful muscles thrusting them forward, then up into the air.
Behind him, he heard a startled yelp from Lynette as Ashd took off, and he felt her terror through his mental connection to Ashd. But Ashd was already reassuring her.Safe. Smooth soon. Ashd protect.
For a long moment, there was no reply from Lynette. Once they’d gained height and evened out, Koradan turned to look back at her. She was still there in the saddle, fingers gripping the handle. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open as she stared at the ground. Then, at Ashd’s prompting, she lifted her eyes to look at the far horizon. And her fear, while not disappearing completely, was replaced with wonder. Through Ashd’s connection to her, Koradan heard a soft echo of her thoughts.
Gods, it’s amazing. I can see the whole world!
CHAPTER THIRTY
The far eastern sky was just beginning to lighten as Ashd and Bel glided down towards the forest outside Minia. They’d spotted the city from the sky, lanterns lighting some of the streets, a few windows still lit as pubs closed their doors for the night and bakeries began work for the day. Satisfied they were in the right place, Lynette had then guided them south, to the forest outside the city.
Can you land here somewhere?she thought, as loudly as she could – for all that it was a ridiculous idea to try thinking ‘loudly’.
Turn circle check, Ashd told her, so she was prepared for it when he banked in a wide arc to the right, scanning the trees below for a likely place to land.No cliff, he said a few minutes later, and then Lynette experienced an odd sensation in her head, like a swarm of bees had momentarily taken up residence there. She’d learned over the last few hours that that meant Ashd was communicating with either Koradan or Bel, so she waited patiently for a verdict to be reached.
Then she felt a warm and soothing presence in her head, as she had done a couple of times throughout the journey, and Koradan’s voice.They’re going to land vertically in a tree. Like they do on the cliffs back in Varismont. Hold onto the handle and lean forward. Ashd will climb to the ground once he’s landed.
Will Markon be okay?she asked, concerned about him accidentally slipping off the stretcher. He’d been quiet for most of the ride, aside from a few times Lynette had shouted back to him to ask if he was okay.
He’ll be fine,Koradan said.I checked the stretcher to make sure we could land that way.
Trust Koradan to think of everything. The flush of warmth she felt in her chest at the thought of him no longer surprised her. She’d been feeling it more and more often lately, but particularly over the last couple of hours. The flight had been breathtaking, the whole world spread out below her in beautiful greys and blacks, with silver slivers of water where rivers carved their way through the landscape and faint beacons of orange and yellow whenever they’d ventured near a town. Ashd had taken care to avoid flying directly over any of the settlements, lest they give someone a nasty fright – and start some unwelcome rumours in the process – but the glimpses of warm, cosy houses had been heartening in an entirely unique way; she’d never seen them from the sky before.
And she had Koradan to thank for all of that – not just the flight itself but the care he’d taken to make sure she wasn’t too scared and was as comfortable as possible.
