Текст книги "The Equen Queen"

Автор книги: Alyssa Brugman

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 7 страниц)

Chaperone

Being the first paralysed, the City Watch and marines were the first to awake, and once Verris had explained their predicament to everyone, they began to disassemble the still-frozen piles of people, laying the bodies across the lawn. Others fetched buckets of water and ladles so that the freshly woken could drink and splash their faces.

Commander Storm started a bonfire in the square so that the Quentarans could burn their clothing if they chose to. Most did – even though their clothes were salvageable. It was more a ritual to rid themselves of what had happened than a necessity.

Many Quentarans stood around the bonfire watching the flames, sharing their stories of the Loraskian attack, and speculating as to what had happened after the mounds had been made. Very few had been paralysed with their eyes open and fewer still on an angle that allowed them to see what was happening.

Rumours spread quickly about Tab's involvement and many cast suspicious glances Tab's way, but she ignored them. She had promised to keep Verris's chamber a secret, and without that detail there was not much of a story to tell.

Instead she waited near the frozen bodies of her two friends, stretching her sore muscles and scraping the lime from under her fingernails. In the end Verris had helped her patch the wall in the dungeon, but it was still hard work!

When Philmon and Amelia finally came around Tab treated them to a feast with one of the coins she had stolen from Verris's treasure. They laid out a picnic in the street outside the Navigators’ Guild, and set an extra place in honour of their friend, Torby.

Once they had eaten all the pies and thickleberry tarts they possibly could, they leaned back against the wall of the building opposite, where they had the best view of Torby's window.

‘I'll sleep well tonight,’ Philmon said, rubbing his tummy.

‘Look!’ Amelia gasped.

Framed in the window was Torby. The three friends laughed and waved. Philmon pointed to the extra place setting, and Tab held out her mug of honey ale in a salute.

Torby smiled and waved back. He looked over his shoulder, back into the room, and then the curtain dropped.

‘He looked better than last time,’ Tab told the others. ‘Happier. Stronger.’

Amelia said, ‘He looked terribly pale to me.’

‘Maybe we could get him down to see those equens in the livery?’ Philmon suggested.

‘They don't work. They're just drones,’ Tab said. Then she explained to them all that the equen queen had shown her in the vision – how the females were the only ones with the power.

‘We have to get him down there,’ Philmon replied.

‘We should take the drones home too,’ Amelia added. ‘They would be happier with their own kind. If they're of no use to us, surely the council will agree?’

*

There was a line of people outside the throne room waiting to address the council. It was mostly shopkeepers appealing to the council to be reimbursed for goods damaged, or removed during the two journeys through the vortex and the attack, but they were swiftly sent on their way – mostly complaining, but not too loudly, as Vrod followed them all the way to the outer door.

Fontagu joined the queue not far behind the three youngsters.

‘What's he doing here?’ Amelia grumbled. She did not share Tab's peculiar affection for the trickster.

Then all of a sudden the thrumming of the great propellers vibrated beneath them. Tab's heart beat faster. She needed to get down to the world below right now! She wanted to see that Tattoo was all right.

She shifted from foot to foot, trying to count how many people were in the line before them. The thrumming intensified. The flames on the torches in the wall sconces all shifted at once. Quentaris was on the move. Tab wondered about the baby dragon too. How long would it last without food? She knew it wasn't possible, but somehow she wanted them both to be all right.

Eventually they were at the front of the queue and the three were called into the throne room to be heard.

Tab cleared her throat. ‘We want to return the equens to the world below.’

‘There is no need for that,’ the Archon declared. ‘Our scouting party has recently returned. The world below is not as promising as we thought. Besides, no one can accompany you. Even as we speak the guilds make ready to leave.’

‘Respectfully, sir,’ Tab began. ‘It wouldn't take very long. One scout and one vessel is all we would need… and our friend Torby. We don't even need the scout really – just the vessel.’

Stelka narrowed her eyes. ‘Why would you take Torby?’

‘It's said that the equens who live on the world below have healing powers,’ Amelia said.

Stelka sighed. ‘Some people will believe anything.’

‘If there is hope to speed up Torby's recovery, isn't it worth trying?’ Amelia countered. The Chief Navigator fixed her with a glare and Amelia's glance dropped to the floor. ‘There's no harm in trying,’ she mumbled.

‘This is a waste of our time,’ Florian said, inspecting his fingernails. ‘Next!’

‘I'll take them,’ offered Fontagu from the doorway. ‘If a scout vessel can be spared.’

Everyone looked over the three friends’ shoulders to where he stood.

‘You?’ snorted Verris. ‘Out of the goodness of your heart?’

‘I don't suppose one more look around would be too much trouble, since we're not likely to come back,’ Drass said, suddenly sitting forward. ‘I could join them also – to make sure that they're back promptly.’

Tab could have laughed. Of course, Drass was interested now. He knew Fontagu wouldn't offer to escort them unless there were gold royals in the venture.

Florian took his feet off the council table. ‘You're needed here, Drass, to prepare for the journey, and finish the hearing. But I could probably fit it in to my schedule.’

‘Surely nannying a few children and ponies is a task too low for the Archon's own nephew?’ Drass retorted. ‘And who will chaperone the chaperone?’

‘I'll take Vrod,’ Verris said, standing.

Both Florian and Drass began to protest.

‘Want to fight me for it?’ Verris asked, half drawing his sword from his scabbard. Florian closed his mouth. ‘Didn't think so.’

Drass stood, drawing his sword.

‘I say!’ the Archon spluttered. ‘Have you lost all sense of etiquette? There will be no fighting in this chamber.’

Drass narrowed his eyes at Verris, and then sheathed his weapon.

Fontagu hovered in the doorway rubbing his hands together and making a pathetic low bleating noise to attract attention.

‘Yes, you can come too, Fontagu,’ Verris said. ‘It's probably best for the city if you stay within my sight.’

‘… And Torby?’ Tab asked.

Verris and Stelka exchanged a glance. The Chief Navigator sighed again. ‘I suppose it can't do any harm.’

Amelia and Philmon went with Verris to gather the two equens from the ostler, while Vrod escorted Tab to the Navigators’ Guild to collect Torby. Tab was almost skipping. She felt as though she hadn't talked to Torby for ages!

Vrod waited outside while Tab entered the room in which Torby had been convalescing. It was a comfortable space with a warm fire. She was pleased to see that there was a table and chairs for drawing and toys on the floor. Tab knew that Stelka would have chosen a magician with strong skills to help Torby contain his gifts, but she was happy to see that the scholar who attended him had a kind face and a soothing voice.

He was pale, but Torby didn't seem unhappy, or afraid.

‘Have you seen ponies before?’ she asked him.

‘Only in the street,’ he whispered back, pointing to the window.

‘Would you like to see one up close?’ the nurse asked him, smoothing his hair away from his face.

Torby nodded shyly and held out his hand to Tab.

The nurse followed them along the corridor and when they got to the front door she placed her hands on Torby's shoulders. ‘Do you remember everything we have practised?’

Torby nodded again.

Tab could see the strain on the nurse's face. ‘He will be fine,’ she said, but she seemed to be trying to convince herself more than Tab.

Verris had already loaded the equens on the scout vessel when they reached the harbour. They seemed to be much more nervous about their proximity to Vrod than about being in the confined space. Tab could feel from them that it was the smell of meat fat that oozed through his pores. It made their muscles twitch and their eyes wide. She did what she could to send calming thoughts, but she was nervous herself about what she might find on the world below.

Amelia and Philmon didn't seem worried at all. They were quizzing Torby about what he was learning from the magicians, and Tab was pleased to hear Torby answering. They were slow, halting answers, but it was progress.

When they first boarded Torby rubbed the scars on his hands fretfully with his thumbs, but the more questions his friends asked the more relaxed he became. He sat close to the equens, and one of the drones reached out to gently nuzzle his hand.

The boy grinned with delight. ‘Tickly whiskers,’ he said.

Tab caught Fontagu watching the boy with an indulgent smile.

She sat next to him and dug him in the ribs with her elbow. ‘If you go near him I will set Vrod onto you,’ she whispered from the corner of her mouth.

Vrod's ears waggled. ‘Simesian actors make good stew,’ he mused, smacking his lips. When Fontagu shuddered, the troll grinned at Tab. Tab smiled back, but inside she shuddered too.

Verris steered the small craft down below the cloud layer and then began searching for the gouging trail left on the surface by the mighty anchor on their last visit.

Tab leaned her chin on her elbows. As they passed over a vast desert there was not much to see except undulating dunes. Tab squinted ahead. Beyond the dunes was the shimmering savannah, similar to the place Tattoo had shown her in her vision. She watched as the distant objects on the surface changed from faint blotches of colour to recognisable shapes.

She spied a dark lump half-buried in the sand.

‘What's that?’ she asked Verris.

He shrugged and handed her the spyglass. She placed it to her eye and swung it this way and that, trying to find the shape again.

When she found it she wound the focusing ring, and when she had it trained on the dark-coloured mound, she gasped and dropped the spyglass. It clattered as it rolled across the floor. The two equens started at the sound. Tab sat down quickly and tears sprung into her eyes.

‘What is it, Tab?’ Philmon asked.

‘It's…’ She tried to speak through the lump in her throat. ‘It's Melprin.’

On the Edge of the Savannah

Tab jumped out of the vessel before it had even landed. Her feet sunk into the soft surface. When she sprinted across the sand she swung her arms, trying to haul out her half-buried feet with each step. Warm sand slid over the tops of her boots and slipped in between her toes.

Tears poured down her cheeks. She grunted, trying to breathe, but her chest felt full and heavy.

As she drew nearer she could see two shapes. The larger was Melprin, but tucked in underneath the dragon's wing Tab could see the hatchling. It trilled a welcome in her mind, but she could feel that it was weak. The trip to the world below had taken a lot of energy. It rested its head on its mother's shoulder so affectionately that Tab almost choked on her tears.

There was a spear through Melprin's neck, and several arrows buried in her rump. Tab knelt down next to her friend, trying to blink away her tears so that she could see.

She looked over her shoulder to see Verris approaching cautiously. Back in the vessel the others waited and watched. Verris drew his sword.

‘Put that down!’ Tab shouted. ‘How could you?’

‘Dragons are hard to kill, Tab,’ he said gently. ‘And if she isn't dead…’ He paused. ‘Maybe it would be better for her if she were.’

‘Get away!’ Tab screamed. ‘I won't let you!’ She fell to her knees and collapsed into sobs.

Melprin's scales were warm under Tab's fingers. She pressed her cheek against the dragon's side. She should have come down here sooner. All this time her friend, who had saved her life three times now, had been lying in the sand, alone and slowly dying. Tab had done nothing to help. She'd been having a picnic and gorging herself with thickleberry tarts. It was all her fault. She had been selfish.

›››Not

Tab sat up. ‘Did you say something?’ She put her hand on her friend's side and felt it rise a little.

›››Not alone. Hatchling… most beautiful

Tab laughed. ‘You're alive!’ She called over her shoulder. ‘She's alive!’

›››Name her

‘Her?’ Tab called over her shoulder again. ‘The hatchling! It's a her! A she. I mean, it's a girl!’

›››You really want me to name her?››Goodness! I don't know. It needs to be something strong. Let me think

›››Don't think

›››Aventurine

›››Aventurine

Melprin rolled ever so slightly.

‘I can take those arrows out,’ Verris said. ‘But it will hurt. At least it would hurt a human. Can you tell her that?’

Tab translated Verris's offer.

Melprin inclined her head.

Verris put his sword back in its scabbard and drew out his dagger. He reached into his waistcoat and pulled out a flask, pouring the alcoholic liquid onto the blade. ‘She'd better not torch me,’ Verris added.

Tab crawled around to the front of Melprin and placed her sand-encrusted snout on her lap. ‘There now. If anything happens it will happen to me.’

She looked back over the sand to where her friends stood next to the scout's vessel. Fontagu was gesturing wildly, hopping up and down. Eventually Amelia punched him in the arm. Tab faintly heard her shout, ‘Fontagu! Shut up!’

Verris crouched down over Melprin's wounds. He started to press and dig, gingerly at first but then with more vigour. Melprin's breath was hot on Tab's arm, making her sweat. The dragon made the sound like glass in a barrel again, which Tab remembered meant that she was hurting.

‘Let me tell you about when Aventurine hatched,’ she began. Then she told Melprin about how the roofie had caught the egg and taken it to the council chamber. She laughed out loud when she thought the part about Tash Morley scrambling away as the egg rolled toward him.

Tab felt a rumbling in Melprin's throat. She hoped she was laughing too. Verris had extracted one of the arrows. He was examining the tip. Blood dripped from his hands and down Melprin's side.

‘Now I know how the arrowheads are shaped the next one will be easier. It should not hurt as much.’

›››Are you ready?

›››Do it

Tab nodded to Verris. He doused his dagger again and slid it under Melprin's scales.

Tab told Melprin about being thrown into the dungeon – about how little Aventurine had punched through the wall. She talked about the Loraskian attack, the screeching, and how they looked like giant moths.

Verris placed another of the arrows on the ground.

Next she explained about how Aventurine had scampered through the Barrenlands and escaped over the Drop-off.

A third and a fourth bloody arrow now lay on the sand.

›››You're doing very well››He's nearly finished

Tab felt the rumble again and this time a plume of smoke emerged from one of Melprin's nostrils.

‘Last one,’ Verris said, holding up the nasty looking arrow. His face was glistening with sweat. He shuffled around so that he could see the spear through Melprin's neck. First he inspected the spearhead, then he pressed at the wound. He wiped his face with his sleeve, panting. ‘We will have to break the spearhead off, and then slide the shaft back through the wound. I can't do it by myself, but Vrod should be able to split it. It will really, really hurt. Can you explain that?’

›››Do it

Verris called for Vrod. When the troll approached, Verris explained what he wanted.

Vrod knelt down. He took the spear in his two massive hands, poking out his tongue as he focused. His knuckles went white.

Snap! The spear broke in two. Melprin's head jerked and Tab gasped. She looked down to see blisters bubbling on her arms.

›››You burned me!

›››Trying to hold it inside. I couldn't

‘Tab! You're burnt!’ Verris said, moving around the dragon's body.

‘We can fix it later,’ she said. ‘We must help Melprin first.’ She winced against the pain, feeling a cold sweat spring up on her forehead, and a sick churning in her stomach. ‘Besides, it doesn't hurt that much,’ she lied.

Verris and Vrod discussed how to draw the shaft of the spear from Melprin's neck, their faces grim with concentration. Verris looked at Tab, frowning. ‘We're set to go.’

›››Are you ready?

Melprin still had her eyes closed. Verris and Vrod grasped the shaft. Tab felt herself tense. If Melprin burned her again she wouldn't be able to stay conscious. It might even kill her, but she didn't want to abandon her friend either.

‘Wait!’ Tab said. ‘Let me try something.’

She wanted to show Melprin the moment when Aventurine hatched. She closed her eyes and created the pictures in her mind, the way Tattoo had shown her – paying attention to every detail.

›››Can you see it?

›››I can see

‘Now!’ said Tab through gritted teeth.

Verris and Vrod pulled, and the shaft slid through Melprin's flesh and out the other side.

When Tab opened her eyes again, a tear slid down Melprin's face and then disappeared in a waft of steam.

Vrod and Verris fell back in the sand, panting.

‘We did it!’ Tab said.

Verris shook his head. ‘We're only halfway there. Melprin has a lot of healing to do.’ He crouched down to inspect Tab's burns. ‘We need to get something cold on that, and quickly.’ He shook his head. ‘It's not good, Tab.’

‘Look,’ growled Vrod, pointing to the horizon.

Tab saw shimmering shapes heading towards them. ‘What is it?’

‘Peoples,’ the troll answered. He sniffed. ‘Lots of peoples looking for a fight.’

Tab looked at the dragon with her sharp talons and leathery wings. One of the skills her gift was giving her was the opportunity to see things through other people's eyes. Even without melding she could guess what an equen might see. ‘Scavenjaw,’ she muttered. Melprin would look a lot like a scavenjaw from a distance. Maybe the scavenjaws were dragons?

‘What did you say?’ Verris asked.

Tab turned and looked towards the scout vessel at her friends – child-sized, and the equens still on board. ‘It's the herdsfolk,’ she answered. ‘They think we're the sky-traders. They think we've come to kidnap more equens.’

Alyssa Brugman

The Equen Queen

Alyssa Brugman

The Equen Queen

Mysterious Herdsfolk Magic

The silhouettes shimmered as the herdsfolk came forward over the sand. Tab guessed there were twenty, maybe more. They wore the long capes that she had seen in her vision and when the capes fluttered in the breeze she could make out the tattoos on their legs. They looked angry.

‘How many can you take?’ Verris asked Vrod, as he flexed his fingers, readjusting his grip on his sword.

The troll shrugged. ‘Ten?’

‘We can solve this without fighting,’ Tab said.

Verris ignored her. ‘That leaves ten for me. Maybe more. And Fontagu is next to useless.’ He helped Tab to her feet and herded her towards the craft. ‘Philmon can fly that scout vessel. Take your friends back to the cloud layer. You can come back down again when it's over.’

Tab shook her head. ‘I'm not leaving.’ The first stone from a sling whistled past her ear. She put her hands over her head, trying to protect herself. The burns on her arms stung so much she found it hard to think about anything else.

‘Agh!’ Verris hopped up and down on one leg. He'd been hit in the shin. He let go of Tab and her knees buckled.

Another stone whistled by and caught Vrod on the chin. The troll growled, and then looked around for something to throw. He picked up one of the bloody arrows, testing its weight in his hands.

‘No!’ Tab shouted. Her legs wouldn't hold her up, and she fell awkwardly, holding her burned arms out of the way.

The air was thick with whistling stones. Verris and Vrod turned their backs trying to protect their faces.

Philmon and Fontagu retreated into the scouting vessel, out of harm's way.

Amelia was standing halfway between Tab and the craft muttering something, and gesturing with her hands. In front of her the stones slowed and then fell to the ground, but there were more than her powers of levitation could handle. A stone hit her in the shoulder and she lost her concentration. She crouched and crossed her forearms in front of her face as she was peppered with tiny rocks.

Torby closed his eyes and held his arms outstretched. Suddenly a whirlwind of sand rose out of the dune between the herdsfolk and the Quentarans. It spun faster and faster, reaching twice the height of Tab and then four times.

The herdsfolk lowered their slings and backed away slowly.

The whirlwind kept growing and soon Tab could feel her hair and clothing fluttering towards the sandstorm. It roared louder and louder.

Tab turned to her small friend. His feet were buried in the sand, and as she watched his ankles disappeared into the dune, and then his calves. He was sinking!

‘Torby!’ she shouted, but her voice was carried away by the wind.

He had his eyes closed, and a frown of concentration furrowed his brow. He was buried up to his knees.

Tab crawled towards the scout vessel. The sand scratched against her burns and she winced with pain.

‘Philmon!’ she screamed.

Her friend saw what was happening and ran towards the smaller boy – now up to his thighs in sand.

Philmon grabbed him by the arms and shook him, but he too started sinking. Philmon shouted into Torby's face as the sand reached his waist.

Torby's eyes opened and he looked down. A look of fright crossed his face. Suddenly the whirling sand stopped in midair and fell to the ground all at once with a giant whomp.

The herdsfolk stared at the Quentarans across the barren expanse, slack-jawed with astonishment.

Amelia joined Philmon, trying to pull Torby out of the sand. Verris and Vrod ran over and began to dig. Between them they were able to drag the small boy out of the sand.

‘Nice trick, boy,’ Verris noted, ruffling Torby's hair.

Tab clambered to her feet and stumbled the rest of the way to the scout vessel. Once there she unloaded the equens, who were trembling and sweating with fear.

›››Calm

She took their lead ropes and led the equens across the sand towards the herdsfolk. It took all her concentration to stay upright. She held her forearms up and blew on them gently.

‘What are you doing?’ Verris shouted after her.

She ignored him.

The herdsfolk raised their slings as she approached, but they didn't fire. A boy came forward, shading his eyes with his hands. He turned to his people and said something that Tab couldn't hear, and then he jogged towards her over the sand.

As he got closer Tab recognised him as the boy from her dream – the one she had seen jumping from the Drop-off with Tattoo. His face was twisted. He was horrified. When he reached them he scrabbled at the halter the first equen was wearing, as though he couldn't bear it being on the equen's skin.

‘My name is Tab,’ she said. ‘We rescued these equens from the sky-traders. We brought them back to you.’

He threw the first halter on the ground in disgust. ‘Rescued? Then why have you bound them? I have been to your streets and seen your equen slaves with…’ His eyes blazed. ‘With metal in their mouths and on their feet…’ His eyes filled with tears of rage, and his fingers fumbled with the second halter. ‘… And bound all over with straps made from the hides of their brothers and sisters!’

‘They're not equens, they're horses,’ Tab explained.

He glared at her. ‘You consort with scavenjaws, and you are wicked! Leave here or we will slay you all.’

‘With those?’ she said, pointing to the sling tucked into his belt.

The boy lifted his chin defiantly.

‘She's not a scavenjaw, she's a dragon,’ Tab continued. ‘She's my friend the way Tattoo is your friend.’

‘Meat eater!’ the boy spat, and he stalked away. The two equens followed him.

‘We need your help. My friends are sick. Tattoo said that she can heal them.’

‘We will not help you,’ the boy said, furiously stomping across the sand.

‘I don't see that you have much choice,’ Tab called after him. ‘Even if you did manage to slay us with your pebbles, others will come looking for us. Then more will come looking for them, and more, and more, until there is a whole army here. You have seen how many people are in our city. Wouldn't it be easier just to help two of us? And then we will be gone.’

The boy stopped and turned. ‘I will consult with the herdsfolk.’

The herdsfolk retreated and sat down in a circle to confer.

Tab staggered back to the scout vessel. She sat down heavily on one of the benches. Verris tore his shirt into strips and began to wrap it around her burns while she recounted what had happened.

‘Nicely played,’ Verris said, nodding.

Fontagu sat down next to Tab. ‘Did you manage to collect any of that dragon's blood? Or perhaps the tears? Big market for dragon's tears.’

‘She's still bleeding,’ Tab said. ‘Go and help yourself.’

Fontagu looked longingly at the dragon lying in the sand. ‘Perhaps if you could make a formal application to her on my behalf.’ He glanced at the arm that Verris had not yet bandaged. ‘Whenever you're ready.’

Tab shook her head. ‘Sometimes you're just…’ She searched for a word.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘It doesn't matter.’ She sighed.

‘Look,’ said Philmon, as another herdsfolk man approached. He was decorated all over with the curlicue tattoos. He was smiling, but Verris stepped away from Tab and kept his hand on his scabbard.

‘You have made my young friend very angry,’ the man said when he had reached them. ‘He spits and dances as if he is filled with hot coals!’

‘Sorry,’ Tab said.

He stepped forward and took hold of Tab's exposed forearm, examining the burns. ‘This is what you wish to heal?’

Tab shook her head. She pointed at Melprin. ‘Our dragon… our scavenjaw has wounds.’

The herdsfolk healer looked at her through sparkling eyes. ‘It's not our custom to heal scavenjaws.’

Tab held his gaze. ‘We'll not leave until she's ready to fly,’ she replied quietly.

He nodded. ‘I'll prepare a poultice. It should do for both. Will you wait here?’

Tab put her hand on Torby's head. ‘My friend is unwell in here. I thought maybe if he saw Tattoo… ‘ She trailed off.

‘The storm maker.’ The healer grinned. ‘He is not supposed to sink, yes?’

‘He's not master of his gifts,’ Amelia murmured.

The healer tilted his head to the side. ‘I'm not sure if you understand how this works.’

‘How does it work?’ asked Fontagu.

The herdsfolk man regarded Fontagu for a moment. ‘I will prepare a poultice and return, and then we will talk more. We will be back when the first moon rises.’ He pointed to the horizon. ‘Your strongest should head in that direction.’ He pointed over the dune. ‘And collect wood for a cooking fire. Do you know what makes a good cooking fire?’

Verris nodded. ‘Hot coals?’

The healer nodded. ‘Like in my young friend's chest.’ He laughed and then he left. Two of the herdsfolk stayed on the dune, at a distance, to keep watch.

Philmon, Verris and Vrod tramped away across the dune to collect wood. Fontagu trailed behind them grumbling. ‘I have a bad hip. My body is my livelihood, you know.’

Amelia and Torby joined Tab sitting by Melprin and Aventurine. Torby had dark circles under his eyes. Amelia made him lie down with his head resting on her lap. She stroked his forehead until he went to sleep.

‘It's not really going to plan, is it?’ Amelia asked.

‘There was a plan?’ Tab joked.

‘You know what I mean,’ Amelia said.

Tab lay back and rested her head on the dragon's shoulder. She was tired and her arms throbbed in time with her heartbeat. Verris had not bandaged her other arm since the healer was going to poultice it anyway. She blew on the blisters gently.

‘Does it hurt?’ Amelia whispered.

‘I'm all right,’ Tab answered, closing her eyes.

It seemed to her that since Quentaris had left Amlas all they had met were people who didn't like them! They did enough fighting when they were on the ground without more fighting in the sky. For that matter, Quentarans did enough fighting amongst themselves. It was exhausting.

The five lay silent and still for some time. The air became cooler. It was reassuring to feel the warmth and the rise and fall of Melprin's chest against Tab's back.

After a while of struggling with her emotions, she sent a thought to Melprin.

›››There are other dragons here

›››I can hear them

›››Will you stay?

Before Melprin had a chance to answer, the others returned and set about making a fire halfway between the scout vessel and the place where Melprin lay, and not long after they had a blaze going the herdsfolk healer returned. He brought a family with him and they each carried a shoulder sack. The herdsfolk children eyed Tab and her friends shyly.

Presently, five equens crested the hill, led by Tattoo. They shied and snorted when they first saw Melprin and Aventurine lying side by side in the sand, but soon settled when they saw the healer and his family were not alarmed.

The healer sat cross-legged next to the fire, mixing the poultice in a bowl. Once it was blended he held out the spatula and Tab offered her arms. The mixture was cool and soothing on her burns. He rebound her arms with fresh strips of cloth offered by Verris, then he helped her to her feet.

They approached Melprin together and the healer showed her how to smooth the mixture over the scales and into the wound. He wouldn't touch the dragon himself, but his nerve was steady as he advised Tab.

Tab left Melprin to rest and they returned to the fire where the rest of the family had been preparing the food. They were rolling some sort of meal with water into rounds, which they cooked on hot stones. Then they stuffed the rounds with a gooey, mashed vegetable mix.

Philmon took a bite and his eyes widened. He smiled politely at the herdsfolk lady. ‘It tastes very… wholesome,’ he said.

Vrod turned over his mouthful as if he was afraid to swallow. Verris elbowed him in the ribs when he thought the herdsfolk weren't watching and reluctantly the troll finished, rubbing the floury meal from his hands.

Tab bit into hers and immediately regretted it. It was bland and fibrous, and seemed to stick to the roof of her mouth, but it was too late. She had to finish. She tried to imagine it was a sweet cake, like the ones the sky-traders had given them.