“Wait for a messenger to arrive before you do,” Gosta warned him. “I’ll send one in three days. I want to see what reaction the town has to the news of tame dragons before we get them back here. Worst case, they could take it badly and try to kill them if they come here again. We’ll take good care of Markon, either way. We have guards at the hospital who can protect him if need be.”
“Do you really think it’ll come to that?” Lynette asked her.
“Hard to say. I sincerely hope not. All of the Chalandrians in town will be making as much noise as possible to support the idea, but there are only so many of us. And a lot of the humans’ beliefs are deeply ingrained. I honestly couldn’t say at this point which way it’ll go.”
“We’ll wait to hear from you,” Koradan said. “We need to get going, though. If we stay much longer, we’re going to start attracting unwanted attention.” The forest road was busier now than it had been first thing in the morning, with travellers passing them every five or ten minutes.
“Goodbye for now, then, and godspeed. And whichever way this turns out, I’m grateful that you tried. It’s a big, bold plan, but it could make a real difference for our people in the long run.”
Koradan stowed the new clothes he’d bought in the vreki’s saddle bags. He’d told Lynette about it once he’d got back to the hospital; seeing Yorin, the tailor, and Nerik’s bashful flirting with the man, though Yorin seemed entirely oblivious to his attentions. Koradan had bought five large shirts and five pairs of trousers, paid for with the silver coins he’d been given by the jeweller. He and his men would need warmer tunics for winter, and a second set of clothes at some point, for when these were being washed, but it was a start.
Lynette climbed into Ashd’s saddle, while Koradan climbed into Bel’s.
“Do you mind if I stay to watch you take off?” Gosta asked. “I haven’t seen a vreki fly in twenty years. It would be a welcome little reminder of home. Just this once.”
“Of course,” Koradan agreed easily. “You’ve been a huge help today. We owe you a debt of gratitude.”
“It was a pleasure to see you again,” Gosta told Lynette. “The gods know we need more humans like you, willing to look beyond the rumours and lies.”
Lynette glanced at Koradan and felt her heart do a familiar little flutter. “It was a steep learning curve,” she admitted. “But I think I’m getting the hang of it.”
“Just before we go, Ashd has something he’d like to tell you,” Koradan told Gosta.
“Oh? What is it?” She looked at Koradan expectantly, no doubt waiting for him to translate Ashd’s message. But Ashd apparently had something else in mind. Connected as she was to Ashd’s mind, Lynette heard the words clearly, and felt the strong admiration behind them.
Clever human. Secret salas. Ashd like.
Gosta’s mouth dropped open and she pressed a hand over her heart, seeming completely overwhelmed. “Oh my goodness! He spoke to me. He likes me!” It was touching to see the stern woman so undone, and Lynette realised she’d taken it a little for granted how easily Ashd had accepted her and decided to speak to her directly. “Oh, thank you, noble vreki,” Gosta said, as tears gathered in her eyes. “You are a true champion of your people. And I hope I have the chance to see you again.”
“Come on, Ashd,” Koradan called him. “Time to go.”
Both vreki turned around, facing the small clearing. Bel went first, five or six strides, then a graceful leap into the air, enormous wings lifting them rapidly above the tree line. Then before Lynette could even think about what they were about to do, Ashd was racing after her. Lynette felt the lurch as they surged into the air, almost forgetting to be afraid this time. One flight and she was already getting used to this? If anyone had told her a week ago that she’d be helping demons and riding dragons, she’d have told them they were insane.
She glanced back to see Gosta waving from the clearing below, and she waved back, feeling hopeful and elated and exhausted all at once. It had been a long day, with no clear outcome on the city’s opinion of the vreki, but it had been a promising start.
They turned to the south west, heading away from the city, and Lynette had a whole new experience seeing the land below them in daylight this time. The forest was beautiful, the farmland split up into fields of various different colours, depending on the crops growing in them, and the rivers sparkled in silver ribbons as they wound through the countryside.
People were going to be able to see them on the way back, as they flew over the few small towns between here and Varismont. It was a calculated risk. News would spread from Minia soon enough that two dragons had visited, and one of the usual human responses to unexpected news of that magnitude was flat denial. People would say the story was made up, or greatly exaggerated, or even that the people who had seen the dragons were hallucinating after eating a bad batch of mushrooms. This way, the handful of people who saw them flying overhead could at least confirm that there were two dragons in the area. And if things went extremely well, it would help spread the news that there was soon going to be a flying carriage service, transporting injured patients or people with urgent business to Minia. Everyone beneath their flight path was a potential customer, after all.
Koradan was keeping a close eye on the land beneath them. They wanted to get close enough to the towns to draw some attention, but not close enough to start a panic. He guided the vreki a little to the north as they passed the first major town, keeping them high enough to avoid any danger, but low enough for people to get a good look at them. If this all went horribly wrong, of course, Koradan and the rest of his team would be forced to retreat into the mountains to protect the vreki. Lynette prayed that it wouldn’t come to that.
Watching Koradan now, looking so completely at home on Bel’s back, she felt a sudden need to talk to him. And then she remembered that she could – with a little vreki cooperation, of course.
Can I talk to Koradan?she asked Ashd.
Koradan Lynette talk, Ashd said, and she felt the connection to another mind open up… along with the faint hint of a fourth. Bel. The other vreki felt mildly amused about the two ‘humans’ being unable to wait even a couple of hours to get back to the village before they had a conversation.
Easy for you to say, Lynette shot back at her.You can talk to Ashd and Koradan whenever you like. So why should I have to wait?
Sassy human, Bel said, and Lynette felt Koradan’s laughter in her mind.
So you’re charming not one, but two vreki now?he said.
What can I say? I’m naturally charming.
Ashd snorted, and Lynette chose to say nothing in response.
How did it go in town?she asked Koradan.No problems with any of the humans?
