55

Wolf By the Ears

Candle stood on the plateau watching the mist pour over the side in a never-ending waterfall of starlight. After a long moment, she wiped the moisture from her eyes and straightened her shoulders, peering up into the sky. There was no one and nothing in sight. It was time for her to get to the Keep, Fordh Dhall, the Olduvai Gate, or whatever the place was called in the Night Nation. Tensing herself, she concentrated on shifting into her dragon body. To her great satisfaction and delight, she transformed without too much effort. Soon, she thought, she would be able to do it instantaneously, the way Jotham did.

She launched herself over the cliff with the remnants of the cascading cloud and spread her wings wide, heart soaring as she swept upwards. Whatever hardship she had endured, whatever horrible things she had seen and done, it was all worth it so long as she could experience the joy of flight.

The night was warm and it was pleasant to be coasting along above the lush green forests and emerald slopes of the Night Nation. She flew high, above the mountain peaks but just below the clouds, keeping a cautious eye out for lightning, dragons or anything else that might threaten her passage. But the skies remained empty except for stars and clouds. There was, however, plenty of interest to be seen on the ground.

The slopes below alternated between thick, moss-covered plains and dense forest that hugged the mountains all the way up to the granite cliff faces. The branches of the trees might be hiding anything beneath their lichen covered bows. Candle could spy narrow, twisting animal tracks and wider hollow tunnels that seemed dug into the earth and wide enough to take a small cart. Who used them? She wondered. So far she had seen nothing that looked like a human settlement. In fact, she didn't see settlements of any kind. Every now and then some tumbled down stones became visible amongst the trees but they all looked like long forgotten ruins. Nothing was inhabited, and there were no houses, no buildings in sight, save the Dawn Watch ruins she had left in her wake.

She wondered uneasily where the lightning bird brothers made their home and where did the dragon live? Perhaps they nested in one of the many cliffside caverns.

While there were plenty of spirits she spotted very little that was flesh and blood - some white-winged gulls riding high on a sea breeze, and some rock wolves that slunk through the shadows across the bare mountain tops. That was all. Further on, across the slopes of the Guardian a herd of auroch engaged in battle with a hoard of lumbering wights.

Candle watched from her great height, circling on curious wings, as the clash of horns and the crunching of breaking bones filled the mountain air. Her claws twitched. There would be good eating on the aurochs. The great four-legged beasties had muscular builds, with high domed backs and formidable elongated horns. The wild bovines of Havi were commonly left to their own devices to roam the fell in peace. If a herd was in danger of trampling a village the dangerous task of moving them on lay with the Ancestors Own.

Auroch survived the twilight by dint of their speed and awareness of danger. If they smelled a wight coming they were gone before it could lumber too close to become a threat. But here, in the Night the wild bovines defended their herd with much more aggression. Candle watched with fascination as a large bull ripped a chunk out of the closest wight, before lowering its head with a bellow and gouging it with its sharp, metal horns. The wight made a dreadful noise, part howl, part scream, and a short while later it was but a smudge beneath the bull's hooves. The remains of the wight were pressed into the lush green and trampled over many times. ­Two more wights fell before the herd before the animals broke away, racing down the valley. The remaining wights lumbered off in the opposite direction in search of easier prey.

Lost in her observation Candle didn't notice she had company in the skies. She jumped as a swift shadow darted overhead at the edge of her vision. She veered sideways, looking around frantically.

Wait, said a voice, ringing in her mind. The timbre was rich, demanding, a decidedly female – a voice used to obedience. Wait!

A dragon dropped down in front of Candle who gazed in shock and awe at the glorious wingspan and gleaming body before her. The dragon's black scales glimmered with a bronze edge in the shifting light of the stars. Its eyes were molten gold and fixed on Candle with feral intensity. Who are you? It asked, And where have you come from? I do not know you.

I am no one, said Candle, twisting away. The larger dragon moved to intercept her and Candle was suddenly afraid. She might be able to outfly a pair of giant birds, but here was something much more powerful and much more deadly. There was nothing of Jotham's good humour about this creature and Candle was keenly aware that she was outmatched.

I said, who are you? Who are you to travel these lands without permission? Slaughtering the Necromancer's familiars and causing trouble for us all? I know all who live beneath these skies...and I have never seen you. You smell strange...

I'm no one, repeated Candle. I am no one. She spiraled away, but the great dragon turned with her, blocking her path with effortless grace, matching her wing beat for wing beat.

I said, where are you from? Do not toy with me. Did you travel here? Did you come through a gate? Show it to me.

Clouds were drifting around them in great dense piles and Candle's scales were glistening with moisture. She could draw on magic, if necessary, but to what purpose? She didn't want to fight and whatever runes she knew this dragon would know more. However, the choice was on the verge of being taken from her. Candle could see the dragon calling in threads of magic, thick gossamer strands of luminescent energy, being absorbed into their skin. In a panic, she drew in the same, frantically thinking of ways to get out of the situation. She didn't want to fight; she had no quarrel with this stranger whoever they were. What she wanted was to get away, kill Belias and then go back home to Jotham and her friends.

Tell me, said the great dragon, moving closer, as Candle backed away. Tell me where you come from.

In desperation, Candle drew the rune guw, for the light spear and cast it wide. She aimed not for the dragon but at the sky behind her. It blazed through the darkness and disappeared in a flurry of sparks in the distance. The dragon turned to watch it go, confusion in its eyes. Candle darted away, aiming for the dense cloud above. Bursting through into the dim peace of the fog she turned sharply and ghosted on silent wings, hoping and praying that she could lose the stranger in the mists. The sound of a muffled roar reverberated through the heavy air and Candle let out a sigh of relief. The cloud was thick and voluminous, and with any luck she would be able to hide effectively. All she had to do was avoid flying face-first into a cliff. With this in mind she flew as high as she could and then glided with locked wings, sightless and silent through the haze. Luck was in her favour, and the cloud field was deep and dense.

When she finally surfaced into the clear starlight she was blessedly alone, although the ground beneath her wings was unfamiliar to her. Her flight through the clouds had taken her far off course, and the land beneath was grey, flat and uniform. The mountains were only just visible to the east, low against the horizon, and the pitch black of the sea was visible to her right. Once again she set course for Fordh Dhall, vowing not to let herself get distracted by anything on the ground.

Almost immediately, her resolve was tested by the sight of people wending their way through the forest. Humans. Or things that looked like humans, at least. When they saw her they scattered and vanished into the thick undergrowth. She resisted the urge to swoop down to investigate. While the sight of humans in the Night Nation was interesting it had nothing to do with her mission, and they had not looked happy to see a dragon flying overhead. Who knew what her reception would be if she met them on the ground.

She flew onwards, leaving the humans and the plains behind. A short while later she was circling the castle of Fordh Dhall, the great Keep that rested in the same place that Gwavas occupied in Havi. She circled, looking for signs of life and noting the difference between this building and the headquarters of the Ancestors Own.

The Night Nation Keep was both familiar and other. The stone was similar but had a weathered, ruined look to it. Tiles were missing from the roof and parts of the castle had collapsed and fallen in. The whole place had an abandoned air about it as it stood isolated in the wide valley. There were no outbuildings; there was no boundary wall. There was no serpent stair winding into the valley below, and there was not a soul in sight. The castle was wrapped in darkness, without a single light to be seen. Was it possible that this place was a ruin, inhabited only by spirits and the odd wight?

Like everything else in the Night Nation the surrounding environs were green and verdant, the walls moss covered, and thick with creepers. The white flowering blossoms were just visible in the dark. Trees grew thick and deep about the stone base, obscuring the lower walls of the Keep and throttling courtyard. There was no moongate. There was no one around, human or otherwise. The place was either uninhabited or else the incumbents had nothing to fear by leaving the grounds unwatched.

Candle landed a discrete distance away and transformed into her smaller human body. Eyes watchful she made her way up the valley. The Keep seemed much larger when she stood in front of it, staring up at the blank, dark windows. The walls loomed menacingly over her as she studied the entranceway with some trepidation. In place of the Mester's ornate iron door stood a gaping black hole, with a rotting wooden door hanging off one hinge. It stood invitingly ajar.

Candle walked up the weed-covered steps and stopped on the threshold, listening for a long moment. There was nothing to hear and no one to see, so heart thumping, she slipped through the wide open doors, and into the dark hallway beyond.