Eileanan - The Skull Of The World Part 7

it."

"Nay, go to sleep, Mam," Isabeau said gently. "That was a long time ago and ye are safe here and your wee babes are strong and well."

Ishbel nodded and smiled, tears leaking out from under her bruised looking lids. "Aye, thank Ea," she murmured. "And thank ye too, dearling. I'm glad ye were home in time."

Ishbel did not awake from her sleep for seven days and seven nights. Despite the wails of her hungry babies, she floated peacefully about the bedroom, her silver gilt hair weaving itself into a coc.o.o.n about her. Vigorous shaking, pinching, shouting in her ear, das.h.i.+ng cold water over her, and bringing the babies to scream l.u.s.tfully beneath her did nothing to disturb her slumber.There was no one at the towers who could act as the babies' wet nurse and so Isabeau had to feed the babies on watered down goats' milk reinforced with strengthening and nouris.h.i.+ng herbs. She had great difficulty in getting the milk into the children, having to teach them to suckle from an adapted wine gourd.

For two such tiny sc.r.a.ps of humanity, the twins had extremely strong lungs. No one in the castle got much sleep, except for the twins' own mother. Exhausted, stressed and worried, Isabeau was irresistibly reminded of the days when she was nursemaid to Bronwen MacCuinn, the Ensorcellor's daughter.

Thinking of Bronwen made Isabeau eager to leave the Towers of Roses and Thorns and return to the capital. She had been away so long she really had no idea how Iseult and Lachlan were doing in their endeavor to bring peace to Eileanan. Ishbel's stories of increased activity by the Fairgean had made her uneasy for she knew the sea faeries felt a great hatred for all humans and wished to destroy them utterly.

Isabeau had developed a peculiar friends.h.i.+p with Maya the Ensorcellor, who was the daughter of the King of the Fairgean and a human concubine. Even though Maya was the implacable enemy of everyone Isabeau loved most, the young apprentice witch had been unable to help feeling a strong connection with the former banrigh.

Since Lachlan had won the throne, he and Iseult had been engaged in bringing peace and order to Eileanan and rebuilding the towns and cities which had been destroyed by the long civil war. Isabeau knew, however, that Lachlan would soon have to raise arms against the Fairgean once again. And she knew more about the sea dwellers than any other human, thanks to her friends.h.i.+p with Maya and her care for the little Fairge banprionnsa. So she was determined to travel to Lucescere as soon as she was able, to help in the struggle.

Isabeau was terribly afraid, though, that her mother would not wake from her strange enchanted sleep.

Ishbel had slept for sixteen years after she and Iseult had been born. If Ishbel slept on, Isabeau would have to stay and care for her baby brother and sister, giving up her dreams of studying at the Tower of Two Moons and becoming a sorceress. She could not leave the little babes to be brought up by old Dimpna, who was rather too fond of a wee dram for Isabeau's liking. Khan'gharad, the stern warrior, was helpless before the rage and hunger of his two tiny newborns. A look of absolute terror would cross his scarred face whenever Isabeau thrust one at him, and he would hold the babe awkwardly in his huge, hard hands, as if the child was made of eggsh.e.l.l and would break with the slightest pressure. So it was with a feeling of utmost relief and joy that Isabeau woke from an uneasy sleep seven days after the twins'

birth to see her mother standing over the cradles, her blue eyes s.h.i.+ning with tenderness, her pale cheeks touched with color.

Well rested after her week's repose, Ishbel was happy to try and suckle her hungry babes, who went to her breast like bees to honey. Within moments the red-faced screaming demons who had tormented Isabeau for seven days and seven nights were sleepy, contented little cherubs. Isabeau was able to crawl into her own neglected bed and sink fathoms deep into sleep.

When she woke it was midafternoon and all was quiet. She lay thankfully still, looking about her room with its tall mullioned windows and the stone fireplace carved with roses and thorns. When Isabeau had first come here it had been a cold, austere room with only a chest and a tall wooden candlestick to relieve the severity of the stone walls. Now it was hung with tapestries and decorated with beautiful artifacts which she had found while cleaning out the towers. The diamond-paned windows sparkled in the suns.h.i.+ne and the dragon carved over the fireplace seemed to dance in the reflections of light.

A smile curved Isabeau's mouth. Now her mother was awake, she was determined to set out for Lu-cescere as soon as she could, but the journey would take many months by foot. Isabeau really did not want to spare the time. She glanced up at the curved wings and raised claws of the dragon on the wall and her smile deepened. It might be time to call the dragon's name.Isabeau had flown to Lucescere by dragonback twice before and there was no swifter or more spectacular way to go. The young dragon-princess Asrohc was not always amenable to allowing a human to cross their leg over her back, however. Isabeau had not seen her for some months and was not at all sure the great flying beast would wish to take her such a distance.

Isabeau leaped out of bed, washed her face and hands, and dressed in her shabby old breeches. Buba slept, crouched on the back of the ladder-backed chair, her ears sticking straight up, her eyes shut.

Isabeau let the elf-owl be, digging around in her chest and pulling out a ma.s.sive leather halter, so heavy she could hardly carry it. Hanging it over her shoulder, she went down the corridor, marveling anew at the new tapestries and chairs, the polished silver jugs and candlesticks, the gilded mirrors and ornaments that graced the walls. Ishbel and her team of refugee women had worked wonders in turning the long-abandoned towers into a home.

She popped her head around the nursery door, to see her mother and the babes sleeping and a chambermaid ensconced by the fire with a pile of mending. Feeling freedom heady in her veins, Isabeau bounded down the stairs. Grabbing some bannocks on her way through the kitchen, she ate hungrily as she ran down through the garden to the loch. Even though the sun was s.h.i.+ning, Isabeau had pulled on her tarn o' shanter and had her plaid draped over her arm. It was bitterly cold on dragonback.

Isabeau stood on the sh.o.r.e of the loch and looked up toward the twin mountains the Khan'cohbans called the Cursed Peaks. She felt excitement and antic.i.p.ation quickening her blood. There was no greater thrill than flying the dragon's back. Even flying in the shape of an owl was no comparison, for the dragon could soar above the clouds, so high the curvature of the planet could be seen. Besides, the dragon was the greatest of all creatures, the wisest and the most dangerous. Few people had the chance to even see them, for they lived in the most remote mountain heights, far away from human civilization.

To have the right to call the dragon by name and fly the skies on her back was a rare and precious privilege.

Caillec Asrohc Airi Telloch Cas.

She did not say the name aloud but thought it, each strange syllable throbbing through the chambers and tissues of her body. For a long moment afterward there was a sort of sickening echo that made her ears ring. Then Isabeau saw an immense winged creature rise from the heart of the Cursed Peaks, serrated wings spread wide. The dragon's gilded green body shone in the suns.h.i.+ne, dazzling Isabeau's eyes. She raised her hand to shade them, watching as the dragon soared down the snow-patched slopes and over the loch, her sweeping shadow blotting out the turquoise color of the water. All the birds stopped singing, and the insects stopped chirping. There was an impression of stillness, as if all the busy life of meadow and forest had crouched down in terror. Then the black shadow of wings fell upon Isabeau's face and she had to fight down the instinctive urge to run for her life.

Gracefully the dragon landed on the sh.o.r.e beside Isabeau, folding her wings along her burnished side.

Rather dazedly Isabeau thought, How big she has grown. How bright.

Greetings, little human. Is it not a beautiful day?

Aye, bonny, Isabeau replied, approaching on rather shaky legs. The dragon towered over her, tall as a castle. Her scales were as smooth and s.h.i.+mmery as silk, her angular head with its crown of sharp spikes and narrow golden eyes seeming more menacing than ever. Her long crested tail, sinuous as a snake, writhed gently back and forth.

So thou wishest to fly, little human. Dost thou dare to trust the dragon?Isabeau stopped her approach, feeling unaccountably apprehensive.

Dost thy Khan'cohban relatives not say one can never trust the dragon? Dost thou believe them?

Aye, Isabeau said with a mental smile. The Khan'-cohbans are wise indeed.

Yet still thou dreamest of soaring the skies. Art thou brave or art thou foolish ?

Both, probably, Isabeau said and reached out a tentative finger to stroke the cream silk of the dragon's forearm. A vein raised the silken skin, pulsing. The dragon-princess reared back, her wings spreading and that long muscular tail thras.h.i.+ng. Isabeau scrambled backward, alarmed.

Do ye no' wish me to cross my leg over your back?

The dragon sat still, coiling her tail over her claws. It is not that I do not wish to speak with thee or fly with thee, she answered in a rather puzzled tone of voice. 7 feel very restless today. I wish to fly. I wish to fly very far and very fast. Thou mayst fly with me if thou so wishest.

I would like to, very much, Isabeau replied, still hesitant to approach for the tip of the dragon's tail was twitching and she could see muscles bunching in the dragon's neck.

Then cross thy leg, for I grow impatient. Choose. Dost thou wish to fly or stay on the ground and merely long to fly?

I will fly, Isabeau replied, coming forward with the leather harness. The dragon submitted to having the bridle fastened around her head and shoulders and crouched down so Isabeau could clamber up on to her back, settling herself between two of the great spikes that crowned her spine. Isabeau was hardly in place before Asrohc launched herself into the air, bugling loudly. Isabeau clung on, the sound of that cry chilling her to the very marrow. It was a cry of challenge, of triumph, of excitement, and Isabeau had never heard the young dragon-princess make such a call before.

They soared over the mountains, heading west. Isabeau saw the Spine of the World below her, that great range of peaks which cut Eileanan in half. Far, far below she saw the blue winding ribbon of the Lament of the G.o.ds and marveled that they had traveled so far, so fast. The journey that had taken her so many weeks had been accomplished in minutes.

The dragon screamed again and folded her translucent wings. They plunged, the world below blurring into a swirl of blue and icy white. Isabeau clung to the leather straps, her long hair dragged from its plait and twisting behind her like the fiery tail of a meteor. As the snowy ground rushed up toward her, she shut her eyes and bit her lip, determined not to give the dragon the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

Without warning the dragon suddenly twisted and soared, and a cry was forced from Isabeau's lips as her crouched body was flung clear of the dragon's. She gripped even tighter to the leather straps and grunted as she again thudded into place between the spikes of the dragon's crest.

"Ouch!" she cried. Asrohc, do ye have to do that? Your spine is b.l.o.o.d.y hard.

The dragon laughed and writhed sinuously so that Isabeau was almost flung clear again. Art thou afraid I shall let thee fall, human? It is a very long way down for one who has no wings.

That is why I wear all these straps, Isabeau replied, clinging tighter nonetheless. I do no' trust ye for a moment.

The dragon turned her head to regard Isabeau with one huge, golden eye, nearly as tall as Isabeau herself. I always thought you were wise for a human, Asrohc answered sardonically. She rolled, herwings folded along her side. Isabeau's hair hung straight down, the sky arching blue above the dragon's bright green body, then she was swung upright again, screaming despite herself.

Asrohc! What's wrong with ye today?

I feel . . . odd. Restless. I want . . .

Suddenly the dragon-princess bugled again and soared into the sky. Isabeau was blinded by tears as the bitterly cold air rushed past her face. She raised one gloved hand and rubbed her eyes, then tried to secure her hair into a knot at her nape. She saw a flash of bronze-gold from the corner of her eye and turned. Another dragon was chasing them. By the deeper cast of his skin, Isabeau knew he was male.

With fingers suddenly rigid with fear, Isabeau clung to the harness. Asrohc bugled again and this time her call was answered. Another male, far bigger than the dragon-princess, was coming up from the south. He was flying with great, powerful beats of his sail-like wings. The two males saw each other and bellowed in rage. Asrohc mocked them, turning and rolling so her pale belly was exposed, then soaring up far into the sky.

They shall never catch me, she said complacently.

Asrohc, why are they chasing ye? Why are ye putting on such a show for them? Asrohc, I think I want to get down!

The dragon princess only bugled mockingly, then folded her wings and plummeted like a stone, falling past the big bronze males who twisted midair trying to catch her. Isabeau saw to her horror two more dragons on the horizon, flying to join in the chase.

Asrohc, are ye on heat? Isabeau asked frantically. Are ye ready to mate?

Is that why the males all follow me? Asrohc asked with a dragonish laugh. They think to mount me, daughter of the queen of them all? Arrogant fools! So big and clumsy they are. She bugled a challenge that was met with four deep-throated bellows. Isabeau saw with absolute terror that the dragons were now all soaring and swooping in Asrohc's tail wind, their eyes gleaming like jewels, their red cavernous nostrils spread to catch her scent. Two were so huge their shadows darkened entire mountainsides, their coats so dark a bronze as to be almost black. Beside them Asrohc seemed very small and very bright, but she darted and danced ahead of them like a dragonfly. Again and again the males lunged for her, seeking to close their jaws upon her neck. Isabeau said aloud, "I do no' think I want to be here. Asrohc! How could ye let me fly wi' ye today o' all days?"

How was I to know? the dragon-princess replied with a little shudder that had her whole body undulating. All I knew was that I wanted to fly . . .

A small, lithe copper-colored dragon tangled his wings with hers. For a moment Asrohc let him grasp her with his strong forearms and the two dragons fell toward the earth, their bodies pressed together.

Isabeau crouched as close to Asrohc's neck as she could, the weight of the male dragon's great body pressing against her, crus.h.i.+ng the breath from her body. Then Asrohc shook him free contemptuously, bugling again. The dragon-princess spread her wings and glided away, the male screaming in frustration.

Isabeau bit her lip. Carefully, wondering if she was a fool, she unfastened the straps around her waist.

Asrohc wheeled and soared, and then the shadow of a dragon fell upon them. Isabeau glanced up and saw a bright-winged bronze falling down upon them out of the sky, claws extended, wings spread against the sun. She screamed and let go.The earth rushed up toward her at a sickening rate. The wind thundered in her ears. Isabeau shut her eyes and concentrated. For a moment she thought her Talent had failed her and she was falling to her death, then suddenly the wind was knotted to her will. She beat her wings and opened her eyes, giving the harsh, triumphant scream of a golden eagle. The wind held her, rocked her, obeyed every minute adjustment of her wings and tail. She soared up, watching impa.s.sively as a majestic bronze dragon closed his jaws upon Asrohc's neck and twined his tail with hers. The two great winged creatures fell together, screaming hoa.r.s.ely.

Isabeau tilted her wings and spiraled away. All her clothes were falling like little rags in the wind. She caught a falling square of white fabric in her cruel curved talons and used it as a net to catch the small glittering rings tumbling down through the air. Even as an eagle, Isabeau knew she did not want to lose her rings and plaid. The owl talon on its leather thong still hung down upon her feathered breast, much to her relief.

It was a long flight back to the Cursed Valley, and even with the strength of a golden eagle's wings, Isabeau was worn out by the time she at last glided down toward the towers. She had no desire to run naked through the halls so she came down to land on the sill of an open window on one of the top floors.

She transformed back into her own shape and almost fell from the window, so deep was the exhaustion which swept over her. She managed to scramble through, bruising her knees as she dropped to the floor.

Wrapping her soft woolen plaid about her, Isabeau was relieved to find it was still fastened by the brooch Lachlan had given her, the stylized dancing dragon with the golden jeweled eye. It was one of Isabeau's most precious possessions, along with the plaid itself which had been woven for her by the Keybearer Meghan herself. White crossed with soft bands of red and blue, it was the Macf.a.ghan tartan and the mark of Isabeau's royal heritage. Although she was sorry to have lost her favorite breeches and tarn o'

shanter, she would have been distressed indeed by the loss of plaid and badge.

"I can see I'm going to have to work out some solution to this problem o' losing my clothes all the time!"

she said to herself as she thrust her two rings back onto her fingers. She then hurried through the corridors to her own room, managing to avoid being seen by any of the servants.

Isabeau had studied a great deal of dragon lore during her time at the Towers of Roses and Thorns. For her first three years there she had had Feld of the Dragons as her teacher and mentor, and after he had died, she had continued her studies alone. Feld had catalogued all the books and scrolls in the library with references to the dragons and Isabeau had systematically read her way through them. She knew that Asrohc would soon lay an egg which she would guard jealously for the next three years as the little dragon embryo within grew and developed. According to the textbooks, a newly laid dragon egg was quite small but over the three years slowly swelled until it was large as a sleeping horse. It would take a hundred years for the young dragon to reach its full size and maturity. Asrohc herself was only a century old and the youngest by far of all the dragons. If she could keep her egg safe, and if the newly hatched dragonet proved to be female, the slow dying-out of the dragons might be halted.

Isabeau could only be happy at the thought, even though Asrohc's coming of age presented her with what seemed like an insurmountable problem. There was no possibility of the dragon-princess flying Isabeau down to Lucescere now. She would be busy building a nest before the egg was laid, and busier still keeping it warm and safe from ogres, goblins, frost giants and the other vicious scavengers of the mountains. Her mate would hunt for her and take turns to rotate the egg and keep it warm. Dragons mated for life, Isabeau knew, and only if their mate died could they be persuaded to take another.

Although Asrohc was not the only dragon to live in Dragonclaw, she was the only one to allow humans to fly her back. Asrohc had been saved by Khan'gharad when he was only a boy himself, and she felt some friends.h.i.+p toward his family as a result.Isabeau could no more ask Asrohc's haughty brothers to fly her down to Lucescere than their ancient and powerful mother, the queen-dragon herself.

All that evening Isabeau worried about how she was to get to Lucescere. She could transform into an eagle again and fly down, but that would mean arriving at the royal court naked and without any possessions. She wanted to take her plaid and brooch, her rings, her owl's talon, her quartz crystal, her witch's knife, her belt of tools and weapons, her satchel of herbs and medicines, not to mention a few essential items of clothes. Far too much to be carried in the talons of an eagle, no matter how large and powerful.

She could set off on foot, as she had done when she had first left the safety of Meghan's secret valley on the night of her sixteenth birthday. That had been a long and dangerous journey, though, and Isabeau had no real desire to repeat it.

So, that night at dinner, Isabeau leaned over to her father and said softly, "Do ye remember when we first came to the Cursed Valley?"

They were sitting together at the high table in the grand dining room, with Khan'gharad's newly appointed squire serving them. The gentlemen and ladies of the household sat at the lower table, served by either their own personal servants or by the footmen who, having only recently been promoted, were still rather clumsy. There was a loud buzz of conversation which effectively screened Isabeau's voice.

Her father shook his head. "No' really," he answered softly. "My years as a horse seem like a nightmare now, vague and horrible. I remember they had hobbled me and ye came and cut the hobbles."

"Ye brought me and Bronwen here by the Auld Way," she said.

"Aye, that's right." Khan'gharad's voice was reserved.

"How did ye ken how? Are the Auld Ways no' the Celestines' roads? Meghan has been friends with the Celestines for centuries and they have never shown her the secret o' the hidden roads."

"Happen she never asked them."

"Nay, she would've. Meghan always wants to ken everything about everything."

"Happen they did no' want to reveal their secrets to one o' humankind."

"But ye are half human."

"I am also Khan'cohban."

"So do the Khan'cohbans ken the secret o' the Auld Ways?"

"Why all these questions? Are ye offering me a question in return?"

"If ye wish to ask me questions, ask me," Isabeau replied impatiently. "We are no' on the Spine o' the World now."

"Rudeness is rudeness anywhere."

Isabeau sighed. "I'm sorry if ye think I have been rude but indeed I have a reason for my questions."

"And what is that reason?""Now the babes are born and Mam is on the mend, I wish to be returning to Lucescere. Ye ken I can be o' help to them there, and besides, I want to study at the Tower o' Two Moons. I'm way behind the rest o' my peers now, and if I want to take my Tests and join the Coven, then I need to be working hard and catching up."

"But Ishbel tells me this ability to take on the form o' different animals is a powerful Talent indeed, that ye are already a sorceress o' uncommon ability. Why do ye need to study and take Tests?"

"If I want to reach my full potential I need to be in complete control. I do no' really understand what it is I do or how. Besides, there are many, many Skills I do no' have. I've had only a wee bit o' instruction in the powers o' air and water and earth, though my fire Skills are quite good thanks to Latifa. A witch needs to learn as much as she can about all the elements if she is to gain the High Magic. Normally an apprentice spends eight years doing naught but studying afore she is thought to have enough understanding o' the One Power to even be admitted to the Coven as a witch. Then there are many years more specializing in one element or another afore ye can win your sorceress rings. Ye must ken all this, Dai-dein, ye went to the Tower o' Two Moons to learn what ye could. I remember Meghan saying ye came to learn from the witches once ye had mastered all that the Khan'cohbans could teach ye." He nodded. Isabeau went on, "Ye ken it is no' that I do no' want to be with ye and Mam, but ye have the babes now and ye are both busy restoring the castle and setting up trade opportunities. I need to find my own place in the world."

He nodded again.

Isabeau sighed inside. Her father had all the more irritating Khan'cohban traits. She wished he was not so reserved and taciturn. She subdued her impatience and said very deliberately, "I have answered your question in fullness and truth, now will ye answer mine?"

His eyes widened a little and he leaned back in his chair, goblet in one hand. She watched him thinking back over their conversation. Then amus.e.m.e.nt flickered on his hard face and he inclined his horned head.

"I asked ye how it was that ye knew the secret o' the Auld Ways but ye were reluctant to answer me,"

Isabeau said with the appropriate Khan'cohban gestures. "I respect your reticence and ask ye instead if ye will tell me how I may travel that way."

"It is no' my secret to reveal," he answered. "The Auld Ways are dangerous indeed and no' to be traveled lightly."

Isabeau remembered their journey along the magical road and gave a little shudder. She knew her father spoke the truth. She was anxious to reach Lu-cescere though and knew no faster way. She sipped her wine to give her time to think, then said, "When I told ye the story o' my naming quest, ye offered me a story o' my choice in return. Ye ken that the secret o' one's name is the most carefully guarded tale o' any Khan'cohban yet I told ye mine willingly. I have now asked ye the question o' my choice. Do ye refuse to answer?"

He stared at her, anger in his eyes. His mouth was set grimly. "Ye ken I canna do that," he answered in a hard voice. "It would be dishonorable indeed and though I may have left the Spine of the World afore ye were born, I am still a Khan'cohban and a Scarred Warrior."

"Well then," Isabeau replied.

He stared at her for a long time then bowed his head. "The secret o' the Celestines' road is no' one easily told," he said harshly. "I shall have to show ye. I warn ye again about the dangers o' the Auld Ways. It is easy to wander astray. Once ye ken the way o' it, ye must promise me no' to use it lightly. Ye could endup in places ye could never have imagined."

Isabeau nodded, her blue eyes brilliant with excitement. He rose abruptly, saying, "We must be at the ring o' stones by dawn so ye shall have to wake early."

"I am no' sure I'll be ready to leave so quickly, I-"

"Do no' be a fool," he snapped. "Do ye think ye can learn to travel the Auld Ways in a single morning or that ye can go on any auld day? Nay, if ye are to travel to Lucescere ye would be best waiting till the night of the spring equinox, when the Celestines shall sing the sun to life and the running o' the summer-bourne cleanses the lines o' power. Even so, ye shall have to run fast."