Page 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

I wish I could say I gracefully and easily mounted Leicht’s back, the way I’ve seen Tia and other riders do so many times in the past. The truth is, what I did ended up being more of a frantic scramble that resulted in me falling not once, not twice, but five times before I even got close to his back. One of those times I actually slid down his foreleg on my belly, scrabbling for a handhold that would stop my descent.

After the fifth time, Leicht is looking at me with outright disgust on his face. “Really? You’re supposed to be the future of mages?”

“You didn’t say I was allowed to use magic,” I snap, straightening my shirt and yanking my drawers out of my asscrack. I’m counting myself lucky that nothing delicate got twisted up in my clothing during that undignified slide.

“By all means,” he drawls, “continue to make a mockery of yourself and me. Perhaps by the time the zombie hordes have fully risen and reach us, you may have managed to mount up.”

Seething, I use a small amount of telekinesis to build myself an invisible staircase and regally ascend until I’m level with the top of his shoulder. I could have levitated myself, but this is a tiny bit easier and looks more impressive. Not that anyone other than Leicht can see.

I hope.

Just in case, I glance over my shoulder toward the campsite, but I don’t see anyone watching us. Thank the gods. It wouldn’t have done much for my reputation as expedition leader if they’d seen my attempts to climb Leicht’s leg. Jaimin’s seen me in worse situations, but I’d like to maintain some authority and mystique for the others.

From my position standing midair, I can see across the top of Leicht’s back. There’s a spot at the base of his neck that I think is where I’m supposed to sit. It’s kind of indented, with a knob of his spine rising behind and his neck in front. I send him a visual image. “Is that where I go?”

“Yes. Hurry up. We’re wasting time.”

Sure, that’s my concern right now. “What am I supposed to hold on to?” I knew better than to expect reins, but I figured there would be… something. I’ve seen dragons perform some very daring aeronautics with riders on them. How do the riders not fall off?

“You’ll see. Move!”

That’s not reassuring.

Reminding myself that we’re still on the ground, that I have my magic to help me get off him in a hurry if I need to, and that Jaimin, the world’s best healer, is nearby if I get injured, I gingerly step from my nice solid telekinetic stairs onto Leicht’s shoulder. Immediately, he flexes a muscle, and I lose my footing. Dropping to my knees, I scramble toward the wider part of his back, eyes narrowing as his laughter echoes through my mind.

“I really hate you,” I tell him. Making me crawl like this is rude.

He snorts in response.

I reach the divot I’ve been heading for and nearly plunge in face-first. Leicht’s amusement runs through me, and I make a mental note to get revenge somehow. I just need to work out how.

Meanwhile, I maneuver around and slide into the indent in a slightly more dignified manner. At the very least, this way won’t leave me with a broken nose. Once my ass is in place, I realize that this is almost more comfortable than Sweetie’s saddle. Which is to say, not as comfortable as my desk chair back at the academy, and certainly not as comfortable as the armchair at the king’s palace in Lenledia, but much better than what I was expecting. In this specific position, my legs fit into natural grooves along the sides of his neck, and the raised bone behind me gives support—and will hopefully prevent me from sliding right along his spine and off his tail once he’s moving.

There’s still nothing I can see to hold on to, though. I’m sure I’ve seen dragons turn completely upside down with riders aboard—how did they stay in place?

“Yeep!” I shriek as Leicht begins to move. “What are you doing?”

He sighs. “Getting you accustomed to how it feels when I’m not standing still.”

“This technically counts as riding a dragon, correct? Could we call this a successful first lesson and leave things here for the day?” I will willingly dig the latrine if I can get off his back right now.

“No.”

With absolutely no warning, he spreads his wings and pushes off the ground. I can feel the powerful muscles beneath me bunching as he launches into the air, and then I’m tipped back into the bone behind me as we angle upward. The sound that leaves my throat is shrill and entirely undignified.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I screech mentally. “Baby steps, baby steps! Where do I hold on?”

The only answer I get is his mocking laughter.

My heart is beating so hard and fast that I can actually hear it pounding in my ears. The wind whistles past as we continue to climb, but I’m surprisingly well sheltered here, tucked in behind Leicht’s thick neck and head. I don’t feel as though I’m going to be blown off. Not before I freeze to death, anyway. Because it’s damn cold up here.

Leicht hasn’t leveled off yet, and I bravely risk a glance downward, trying to see how far off the ground we are—farther than I’d like, but not as far as I’d feared. I can see now that he’s climbing at a fairly gentle angle, even if it doesn’t feel like it. We’re well above the tops of the trees that hold our campsite, but not anywhere near as high as dragons usually fly. It looks like he’s taking it easy on me after?—

He banks. Not sharply, but enough that I slide sideways and am suddenly freefalling toward the ground.

Lashing out with telekinesis, I thicken the air beneath me. Not enough to make it solid—that would hurt—but enough to slow my descent. The problem is that the thicker air is hard for me to breathe, and if I pass out, I’ll keep fa?—

A clawed talon snatches me from the air so sharply that I lose my grip on my magic—and almost my lunch. “Took you fucking long enough!”

Leicht doesn’t reply, just continues his shallow dive toward the ground. When he doesn’t let up speed, I begin to wonder if he’s planning to smash me into it, but then he pulls up sharply, drops me the remaining six or so feet, and angles steeply upward, leaving me staggering to regain my feet in the downdraft of his wings.

“I hate you.”

“I can’t speak to you right now. You’re a disgrace.”

“It’s not my fault I fell! You should have warned me before turning—and told me where to hold on!”

He wheels midair and returns to hover above me, staring down in a way that makes me think he’s considering whether roasting me would be worth the backlash.

“No rider, ever, falls on such a gentle turn.”

“I’m not a rider,” I remind him. “I don’t have what they have. Anyway, I know for a fact that they spend time learning how to keep their seat before they climb onto a dragon!” I remember that much from Tia’s first few months at the academy.

He huffs, and he’s close enough that hot breath washes over me. “You’re a rider now,” he insists, “and you will learn what must be learned.” The words ring inflexibly through my mind as he lands nearby. “Try again.”

I give him the most “are you fucking kidding me?” look in my repertoire. “Or, we could talk about the mechanics of flying. Maybe draw some diagrams.”

“No.”

I try to stare him down, but it’s hard when he’s looming over me. It seems unlikely that this is a fight I can win.

Resigned, I walk toward him, and the movement makes me ache. I guess I must have picked up some bruises when he caught me—or maybe when I hit the ground. Either way, I hope Jaimin’s still got that bruise cream he packed.

“Put your leg out,” I demand. If he’s making me do this, I’m going to do it right. Or at least waste time trying. Jaimin will interrupt us when it starts to get dark, I’m sure.

I hope.

Leicht gives me a superior look and extends his foreleg. I squint at it. The problem is with the angle. It’s too steep to climb without handholds—for me, anyway. Tia and other riders seem to get up with no problems, but that’s beyond my skill set right now.

Instead of making even more of a fool of myself by trying, I back up, crouch, and push off with my back leg, taking a running start. That gets me more than halfway up his leg, and I stretch up toward his shoulder, using my height to my advantage. The joint bone protrudes just enough to give me a handhold, and I brace my feet and scramble the rest of the way.

“Acceptable,” Leicht grumbles as I drop into what I’m privately thinking of as the saddle. I have a feeling he wouldn’t be happy if I called it that out loud. I don’t care, though—I made it up here on my own, and nobody can take that from me.

My satisfaction lasts right up until my next fall.

Nearly two weeks later, Jaimin rubs bruise balm into my hard-to-reach places and says, “They’re not as bad today. Are you sure you don’t want me to heal?—”

“No.” I soften my tone and smile at him over my shoulder. “Thank you, but no. The ache reminds me I need to try harder. Is it causing a problem for you?”

He shakes his head and screws the lid back onto the jar. “Not how you mean. I don’t like knowing that you’re in pain, though.”

Turning, I pass him a cloth to wipe his hands on, then kiss him while he’s preoccupied with that. Kissing him is the new highlight of my day.

“All my pain vanishes when we do this,” I murmur, and he chuckles against my mouth.

“Excellent. I’ll have to start testing this method of treatment with other patients.”

The growl that escapes my throat sounds remarkably like a more human version of the sound Leicht makes when he’s annoyed. “You will not .”

“I won’t,” he agrees, stealing another kiss. “Put your clothes back on and come out for dinner. Coryn caught six rabbits, and Arimen found some mushrooms, so we’ve got a decent meal tonight and leftovers for stew tomorrow.”

Rabbit and mushrooms, plus whatever we still have from yesterday’s forage… yay. I promise to be right there, then sigh when he’s left the tent. I’m going to need to talk to the stone later. We’re dangerously low on supplies, and even this far south, winter means poor foraging and game. The stone has to let us detour to a village or at least a larger farm so we can resupply. I haven’t said anything to anyone else, but I can tell Jaimin and Coryn are aware of how close we are to disaster. Plodding across back fields like this feels like a waste of time—if the stone really does want us to go to Caimae, there were faster, easier ways to get us there. Also, even though I’m still in regular contact with Master, we all feel cut off from the rest of the world right now. Our only sources of news and information are my master and Leicht. Master’s not omnipotent, and Leicht says the other dragons aren’t telling him everything. They say he needs to focus on his mission.

Every time I see smoke in the distance, my gut curdles with the thought of what it might be. Leicht admitted that he’s spotted a few dragons in the area—not close enough for human eyes to see, but clearly they’re patrolling even this remote region. There has to be a reason for that. The zombies haven’t found us—yet—but we haven’t found them either, or any clues to their whereabouts, or the champion.

Could the champion be a recluse, living apart from the world at Caimae? I give the stone a mental nudge, but it refuses to respond. Even if the champion is at Caimae, why couldn’t we have hired a nice, swift boat to take us there?

Those are all questions the stone refuses to answer.

Sighing, I pull my coat on and leave the tent. All I can do at this stage is follow the path the stone has pointed me on, keep my eyes open, and learn to ride Leicht so I’m not murdered when this is all over… assuming I live that long.

Jaimin looks up from where he’s sitting beside the fire, his expression softening when he sees me, and some of my tension flees. He—and Coryn, and even Arimen, but especially Jaimin—is the one part of this whole fiasco that I don’t want to forget about when I finally get home. I’m basking in every second I get to spend with him, and I’m planning a long and very happy future. It’s the only time I refuse to let myself acknowledge how slim the chances of my survival are.

“You only fell once today!” Arimen says proudly. “That’s great!”

I gingerly sit beside Jaimin. “I’m getting better,” I agree, and Leicht snorts in my head. He’s off finding his dinner but will be back to rest near our camp before we go to sleep. “The day I stop falling will be one of the best ones in my life.”

To my credit, I can keep my seat most of the time now. Sharp maneuvers still send me flying, no pun intended, but I can mount and dismount almost as well as an actual rider, and I’m fine for most turns and all level flying, even when it’s fast. I’ve also worked out that unless I want icicles to form on my extremities, it’s best to use magic to insulate myself. Tia always swore by her leathers to stay warm, but I’m not sure I’d be comfortable wearing them. Aside from the nature of the fit, which isn’t my style, riders’ leathers are a statement. Nobody would wear them who isn’t a rider, and though technically being bonded to Leicht does make me a rider, I’m a mage first and foremost. I don’t want to mix messages or give people the wrong idea.

Honestly, I’m not sure how I’m going to handle all this when the time comes. For now, I’m dealing with the essentials and leaving everything else for future Talon. He’s going to hate me.

I compliment Coryn and Arimen on dinner, which leads to a beaming smile from Arimen and chatter about how much fun it is to cook only with what can be found. Coryn thanks me, but the accompanying worried expression tells me he understands how dire our situation is becoming. Tonight we’re eating well, but we’re completely out of oatmeal and hardtack, so our meals are going to get sketchier and sketchier from now on. I prod the stone again, hoping for permission to deviate from our route and find a village, but it stubbornly clings to the same direction.

“We’ll reach the hills tomorrow,” Jaimin says when Arimen winds down.

“I saw them today,” he replies, face lighting with excitement. “We’ll be at the floating city before you know it! I can’t wait to commune with the spirit of Wasianth. It must be one of the most holy places on the planet.”

Holy. That’s just what we need. “We’ll do our best to give you time to… commune,” I promise. “But we don’t know what to expect at the city. It should be completely abandoned, but abandoned places are often used as hideouts for brigands.” Jaimin and I discussed this a few nights ago. We need to be ready for anything.

“Brigands? You mean like… pirates and highwaymen?” Those green eyes go wide.

“I mean like thieves and murderers,” I correct. It’s essentially the same as what he said, but he has a fondness for stories, and I want him to clearly understand that these aren’t likely to be nice people who are simply misunderstood. “Which is why Leicht is going to reconnoiter from the air, and we’ll approach cautiously.”

Arimen nods solemnly. “Whatever you say. I hope nobody’s despoiling Wasianth’s favorite city.”

I hold in my sigh and remind myself that he’s still a child.

“I’m sure they’re not,” Jaimin says diplomatically. “Now… once we reach the hills, I’m assuming we’ll find some kind of path? I know there isn’t a proper road or anything, but there has to be some way for small groups of travelers to reach the city other than by boat.”

I shrug. “I don’t know. The stone might.”

“Dry creek beds,” Coryn says. “And some animal trails—goats, mostly, and deer. Some Camblish soldiers told me once, when we were in Josanin on a state visit. They do training exercises in the hills sometimes.”

“Are we likely to run into them?” I can’t decide if that would be good or not. The last time I checked in with Master, he said the nations of the continent were still strongly supporting our mission, especially since the City of Knowledge has sent out its resources in force, but it would be stupid to underestimate the hold the temples have on individuals. People are committed to the gods.

Coryn shrugs. “Any other year, I would have said maybe. Late winter’s a good time for training. But whatever forces from the Camblish army that aren’t scouting and patrolling should be making preparations for a campaign against the zombies. I’d be surprised if they sent soldiers on a training exercise now.”

That’s not a no, and I don’t know enough about how army commanders think to rule it out. “Leicht, keep an eye out for any military activity, please.” It’s bad enough we already need to be on the lookout for bandits. Dodging soldiers would be a nightmare.

Leicht acknowledges my request. He’s been grumpy today, because we scouted ahead and it looks like once we enter the hills, there isn’t going to be anywhere he can comfortably land that will be easily accessible to us on foot. Especially if we’re using creek beds and game trails. That means he’s not going to be able to get to us if we run into trouble.

It also means he’s going to miss out on his daily conversation and petting with Coryn, but it might not be the best idea to tease him about that right now.

“Can I talk to the stone?” Arimen asks. “We need more information.”

For a split second, I consider telling him I’ve been begging the stone for more information for days. Instead, I fish it from around my neck and hand it to him. Maybe he’ll have more luck than me—and even if he doesn’t, the petty part of me likes the idea of someone else taking a turn to irritate the stone.

His questions get him nowhere, however, and eventually, his face falls into lines of frustration. “Here.” He holds it out to me. “We need to find this path on our own.”

“Stone,” Coryn says as I take it, “are we going to be able to resupply soon?”

~Yes~

I freeze, and Jaimin’s head turns in my direction. I’ve been asking the stone if we can detour to resupply, but I never phrased the question quite like that.

“In Caimae?” Jaimin asks.

~Yes/No~

We all sigh. “So something in Caimae will lead to our resupply,” I mutter. I’m not really asking the stone, but it replies anyway.

~Yes~

I tuck the chunk of rock away, and Jaimin pats my arm. “At least now we know we’re definitely going to Caimae,” he points out. “I wasn’t sure if we were just going to wander through the hills for a while.”

I shudder at the thought. “Lost in hill country or the dead city. This champion had better be worth it.”