Chapter 59 - Searching the Wastes

Kitaraiya sat silently, resting her chin on her knees and hugging her legs. A sharp glow emitted from the depths of her sky-blue eyes. An ear twitched as she watched him sleep. Outside the tent, the afternoon was spent and the sun was already casting long, deep and dark shadows, she could only let him sleep just a few moments longer.

The shallow cave that reached under the walls of the canyon was mostly dark, but not from the lack of light. Earlier in the afternoon she had carefully ventured out, to find the tent surrounded by Rhyker’s shroud, the inky black blanketing the floor of the cave thickly and reaching to her knees. After a few moments of indecision she had walked tentatively into it. It had clung to her momentarily before parting, allowing her passage. For a time she had sat at the edge of the drop, staring at nothing and alone with her thoughts.

The few memories she had gained from her last feeding, both full and half-formed came to the fore and dominated her silence. Her brother’s experiences and pain, his hopes, dreams and regrets. His desires. One of her ears twitched with the thought, those amber eyes coming to haunt her. More and more she found herself returning to the sight of Lia looking down at her, copper hair hanging like a curtain in the night, the weight of her straddling her hips and the look of unbridled desire in those amber eyes as she murmured her name with such a look that it set her on fire inside. The prickle of heat under the skin of her chest prompting her to quickly part the fur, searching for what marked her brother.

Since returning to the tent she had sat, watching Rhyker sleep. Watching the steady rise and fall of his chest as she felt those amber eyes observing her from the back of her mind until she could stay still no longer. Rocking forward onto the balls of her feet she smoothly shifted onto all fours and leaned over him. Sniffing at him and gently nuzzling him with her nose, resisting the urge to rub her neck against him and scenting in the wake of the memories that pursued her. There was no need, only her own was strong on him now. Shifting her position, she looked at his face, the calm expression before his head tilted to the side. Kitaraiya’s eyes slid to his exposed neck, his skin peppered and scored with scars.

A desire-filled heat rose in her chest, her breath quickened as her tongue slipped over her canines. The pulse throbbing in his neck, drawing her eye. Leaning in closer still, she fought the draw of his blood, her eyes now picking out the flood and flow of life and power in his veins. Slowly she let out a shaking breath, her fangs exposed, holding herself there as she choked back the desire to ravage his neck, gorge herself and feel bliss in the afterglow. Kitaraiya closed her mouth and carefully lapped at the scars with her lupine tongue, satisfying herself with the taste of his skin alone before laying atop of him and resting her head in the hollow of his neck.

She was unsurprised, feeling his large hand pat her back, stroking from the nape of her neck to her waist.

“You conceal your waking too skilfully, Rhy.” Kitaraiya whispered with a sigh, stretching a little while he ran his hands through her fur.

“Need I be worried?” he asked, frowning and rubbing behind her ears as he felt her shake her head.

She slowly rose and pushed herself back until she knelt beside him, a hand still resting on his chest, “It’s time Rhy. Nearly sunset.” she said softly, keeping her eyes averted and reaching for her clothing.

Rhyker watched her carefully, the occasional flicks of an ear, the way she slid her arm into her clothing and the slight lingering glances she gave when she thought he had not noticed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he said, giving her a concerned glance while he tightened his belt.

She smirked, exposing a row of teeth, “If I can handle being cursed as I am, I can handle a few of your memories, brother.” she chuckled and exited the tent.

He frowned slightly, noticing the gleam of her eye as it slipped over him. Her words from earlier, before she slept, coming back to him.

“A few of my memories…” he echoed to himself, grabbing his cloak and following her out.

“Don’t drink that water; there is something amiss with it.” Kitaraiya said from the shadows near the opening of the cave, “Nothing that I have seen before, like a poison or something worse. I dare not even touch it.”

Rhyker nodded, “I came across something similar in the valleys, the ruins.” he said while efficiently breaking the tent down, rolling and strapping it into his pack, “It is a taint, weak, but it remains.”

He looked at her standing at the entrance to the cave as she surveyed the sky.

“I can feel your eyes on me, Rhy. No, I do not wish to talk of it…Let me struggle a little longer.”

Suddenly his voice was at her side, almost in her ear, “Would more help?”

She looked at him, meeting his eyes momentarily before averting her gaze and staring back out at the deepening blue and the wash of rosy flare from the start of sunset. He watched as she shook her head then rested her shoulder against his.

“Hopefully we can find what we are searching for before midnight or we will be staying the daylight hours here again.” she said quietly, stretching her arms,

“Wanting to get back so soon?”

Kitaraiya laughed, “No, you know I prefer the solitude. It is just something about this place, it is making my hair raise. Like we are being watched.”

“I feel it too, everything about these wastes. It is unnerving, somehow.” he said with a smile, “Give me the mountains, the snow, the evergreen forests and the valleys, that is contentment.”

“That which is best in life?” Kitaraiya said with a short laugh before growing silent, “Is that your plan? When you and Lia…?”

“We have talked about this, Kit.”

“Hollenheim? That is no longer its name. We already know that it was claimed. Siraleeya resides there now, the Palace of Storms.”

He nodded, “We shall go there, the three of us.” he absently touched the black pendant at his neck.

“The three of us?” she stopped, glancing at him, “I still have not had that pleasure. I doubt she would think kindly of the beast that drinks of her chosen.”

Rhyker met her eyes, “That can be a hurdle best crossed once we are reunited.”

Kitaraiya shook her head, “Let us just imagine that we pass that concern. Then what, brother? We make for the once fortress of the Fyrlings and demand that Siraleeya, a Hithren, allows us to traipse through her home with an ancient key in hand?”

She stared at him, her eyes unflinching as he met them, “Digging up the grave of her father to retrieve and safeguard what was forgotten is different to dealing with Siraleeya, There is just something about her, makes my whiskers twitch.” she said, shivering visibly, “She is such a close ally, but… I am not sure. Every part of me felt amiss when we met her.”

“Even the monster?”

Kitaraiya looked at him, “Especially the monster. I spoke with Father about it, but he told me not to worry. That many feel uneasy before her.”

Rhyker watched her from the corner of his eye, “I will trust the monster if we do travel to the remains of Hollenheim.”

She gave him what amounted to a smile, her teeth shining in the low light, “Trust it? Trust the nose and gut of the beast over reason and logic?”

He chuckled, “I rely on it more than you realise.”

Kitaraiya shook her head, her smile widening and her eyes following him with half-lidded intensity as he stepped closer to the edge of the cavern. A faint blue mist stole though the air, a white glow shimmering through the dark of the cave as Hendosphyre was summoned.

A piercing shriek sounded over the wind, high and to their left as Hendosphyre banked around to the right, skirting the valley wall. Cresting the saddle, he let his wings flare, slowing his pace before descending into the next valley. Rhyker looked up, catching sight of Calasylara, her more aggressive form with wings aflame as she cut through the last dregs of sunset. His arms were wrapped around Kitaraiya’s waist, she was peering down into the valley, only her eyes exposed from the makeshift wrap to stop the flow of wind over her snout and ears. Despite the protection of the layers of cloth, she did not feel confident enough to fly alone. Not that Calasylara was prepared to carry her, the gryphon not even allowing her to approach, shying away and eyeing her warily with a dangerous glint in her wild eyes.

After a quick set of orders, Calasylara had calmed somewhat, approaching Kitaraiya and sniffing at her though still shying away from her touch. Within moments she had launched herself out of the cave at a run and into the air, ascending powerfully and starting to sweep the mountains. Hendosphyre had taken a more leisurely pace, mindful of Kitaraiya’s struggle and returning to the last place he and Rhyker had flown over.

Another shrill shriek sounded out and Hendosphyre adjusted his course, rushing over the valley, following the left arm.

Kitaraiya twisted in Rhyker’s grasp, her eyes dazed and shaking her head. Releasing his grip a little, she pulled her legs up and tucked her head into his cloak.

“Damn it.” she growled near his ear, “It helps, but it is not enough.”

“We will work something out when we rejoin at Escorath. I am sure Rhuthain might be able to fashion something.” he said, his voice almost being torn away by the wind.

“The other places you passed this morning, were they like the one we just came from?”

“Yes.” he said, keeping his eyes on the valley floor as they rushed over it, more remnants of the ruinous past sticking out of the eroded valley like rotted and decayed teeth.

“I almost do not want to know what happened here. If this was all built for the...What is it?” she stopped, feeling his shift and tightening of his chest as he tapped Hendosphyre’s neck and pointed.

“Rhy, what is it?” Kitaraiya asked, pulling back a little so she could see.

“Cala saw something and we are checking it.” he said, leaning close to her ear as she tucked her face back into his cloak.

“More of the same?”

Rhyker did not answer, instead pinning her tighter to his chest as the gryphon banked in more severely before swooping low and skirting the tops of the misshapen and scraggly trees that grew on the slopes. Ahead the steep valley wall gave way to a cutting, a sheer cliff that dropped away below them. Rhyker looked down, his brows furrowed as he looked into the chasm that opened up beneath them.

Another shrill shriek sounded from above, Calasylara confirming they were nearing what she had sighted earlier.

He tapped Hendosphyre’s neck, “Circle back, low.” he said, noting the quick nod of the great beast as he took a wide sweeping bank, flaring his wings and riding the updraft off the edge of the valley.

“Rhy?” asked Kitaraiya, her voice muffled.

He shifted, looking back and catching sight of Calasylara landing on the top of the cliff, trotting to the edge and peering over as Hendosphyre continued his long bank. Without warning, she dropped off, wings outstretched and disappeared into the blackness.

“You saw?” he called out and immediately heard the great one’s response.

“Rhy, what’s wrong?” Kit asked hurriedly.

He grimaced and grabbed his pendant, pulling it over his head and flicking the chain around his wrist before dropping the black rectangular pendant through the remaining loop. In one practised movement he flipped it over, exposing the two amethysts that were sunk into its design. Quickly glancing at it, he then looked back, tracking the place where Calasylara dropped and scoured the darkness.

Hensosphyre snapped his beak in frustration.

“I know Sphyre, I am worried too.” he said in return.

“What is happening, Rhy?” Kitaraiya said firmly, digging her claws into his back in warning.

“Cala has gone ahead to check if it is safe.”

“Gods, I hate it when she does this. Is she back yet?” Kitaraiya muttered.

Glancing at the pendant, he shook his head, “No, not yet, we will give her a few moments more, then follow.” he said, twisting again, keeping his eyes on the strangely dark chasm while Hendosphyre continued to circle in a broad arc.

Time dragged on, the lack of glow from Calasylara returning to the pendant a welcome sign as Hendosphyre slowed further. His banked circling now diminished into a wide spiral, descending as mere moments were claimed by minutes. Finally, Rhyker let out a sigh of relief. A faint sensation of the sleeker gryphon’s thoughts brushed his mind, a curiosity in what she had found.

“She is well.” he said, patting Hendosphyre’s neck and feeling the tension leave the gryphon’s movements.

“I swear it Rhy, she has got to stop doing this.” Kitaraiya growled, “We can both feel it if she dies…”

“You talk to her, Kit.” he said, glancing suspiciously at the impenetrable dark below them, “Maybe she’ll respect you as you are now if you do so.”

He tapped Hendosphyre’s neck and nodded as the gryphon turned his head slightly, “We go down, slow descent.”

With a click of his beak, Hendosphyre tightened his banking and headed toward the black with wings flared out. Taking a steady approach, he glided blind through the black, passing through the illusionary shell that hid the chasm from above.

“Kit, get out of my cloak and open your eyes.” he said, looking up at the dark-tinted and transparent membrane they just passed through.

As she extracted herself, he responded to Hendosphyre’s animated clicks and vocalisations and looked down, the bottom of the crevasse now visible to his elven sight.

Glancing around, Kitaraiya quickly took in their surroundings, “Is that a…? Rhy, this small canyon, it was being concealed?”

“We did not see it this morning. Sphyre and I passed over this area after dawn.” he said, “It appeared like any other part of the landscape in the light of day.”

“Like Father’s veil over Escorath?”

“Appearance only, Kit.” Rhyker said with a frown as he considered it, “I do not like this.”

Kitaraiya nodded, her eyes on his momentarily, “It is recent.”

He looked down as Hendosphyre continued to bank in a loose descending spiral. Below them, he could just make out Calasylara winding through the wreckage. Her wings tucked, sleek and sinuous as she ducked under overhangs and slipped through narrow gaps. There appeared to be a large structure below them, the remnants of a large roof peppered with holes and partially collapsed sections half buried in ages of dust.

“How is that compared to what you have already seen?”

Rhyker raised his eyebrows, “The biggest.” he said before frowning, noticing how the structure butted against the base of the cliff.

“Rhy, look.” Kitaraiya said, nodding to her left.

He shifted, pulling her tight to his chest as he looked to where she had mentioned. The remnants of other buildings spread further.

“This is not many structures, it was a complex!” he exclaimed, his eyes catching the smashed remains of a larger tower that had collapsed and crashed though an arm of the sprawling compund.

“Do you think this is what Neci found? What we are looking for, Rhy?”

He nodded, keeping an eye on the rubble and twisted remnants of rusted steel as they continued to descend. Catching sight of Calasylara, he noticed she had stopped and was waiting in an open area before the main structure. She was circling what appeared to be remnants of significantly more recent activity.

“Kit, there are wagons down there.” he narrowed his eyes, “I am sure…No.”

Kitaraiya’s eyes gleamed blue in the night, glancing below and quickly finding the gryphon, “What are you thinking?”

“I will have a better idea once we land.”

She stared at him, the hard expression on his features, “Rhy?”

“I feel like I have seen this before.”

Kitaraiya looked down again, scouring the sight, confused, “Rhy, we have never…”

“I swear it, Kit. I feel like I have.” he tapped Hendosphyre’s neck, “You feel it too, Sphyre?”

Immediately, the gryphon gave a curt nod before angling to land. Gliding between two ruined walls, he flared his wings and slowed further, his paws hanging and almost scoring the sands. Quickly pulling his wings in, he dropped smoothly and cantered into the cleared area where the wagons were parked before stopping. The moment that Rhyker and Kitaraiya had dismounted he turned and bunted his head against Rhyker’s chest.

“Rhy, tell me.”

Rhyker gestured to the wagons roughly, “These do not feel familiar in some way? And this place?”

She looked about their surrounds, the wreckage and ruin. The wagons heavily covered in dust and the sand already risen past the rims and to the spokes of the wheels.

“I am sorry, but no.” she said with a slight shake of her head.

He watched as she unwrapped her face, her lupine features slowly being exposed.

“Maybe it is just a thought. But it could be that we are back in the desert.” she met his eyes, “The last time…”

Rhyker nodded, giving a tense smile.

“Rhy, I only vaguely remember places we were dragged to by our birth parents, living in tents and among ruins…But that is gone now. We gave up a long time ago.”

“Kit, that is not what is concerning me.” he said sharply.

“Then what is?”

“That what happened to us, is happening to them. Tiffaniel and Groyven of this world. These wagons, they are the same make and type that we as children were among.”

Kitaraiya sighed, “Rhy, we have found no evidence of even one place that we are familiar with yet. The Enclave does not exist here and no one has heard of the Talkenerran coast. Or even a ship known as the Lychen’s Fiddle.” she said calmly, glancing around and scrutinising the parked wagons.

She frowned as she watched Hendosphyre’s stiff movements, “Do you feel the same as Rhy?”

Kitaraiya was immediately met with a click and snap of the great one’s beak.

“That sure?” she remarked, raising a brow and letting out another sigh.

The sharp shriek of Calasylara sounded a little distance off, drawing their attention. Sharing a quick look with each other, they followed Hendosphyre past the wagons and through the ruins where an obvious path had been cleared. Kitaraiya drew in a sharp breath as the cavernous opening of the tunnel-like building came into view. The semi-circular roof that met with the sands on either side, its inner structure and frame visible and decaying.

Calasylara stood in position, her wings loosed and ready. The siblings shared a quick glance and nod. Rhyker quickly re-strapping his sword and loosening its draw while they approached the alert gryphon. Kitaraiya’s eyes started to glow and the air chilled around them further as she began to draw moisture in readiness. She broke away from Rhyker and walked out, circling to the left, allowing him to approach Calasylara while she watched the deeper shadows in readiness, her sight penetrating the darkness of night.

Without turning she glanced across at Hendosphyre as he took a similar defensive position to herself.

“What is it Rhy?”

“It is a body. The remains of one.”

Kitaraiya frowned, “A threat?”

“No, both of you can stand down.” Rhyker said, patting Calasylara’s leg and meeting her bright eye, “Keep on scouting.”

The gryphon gave a nod and ran ahead, leaving the desiccated remains and moving off. Rhyker crouched over them and gently dug away the sand. Kitaraiya stared at Hendosphyre, the gryphon becoming visibly more agitated by the moment, clicking and vocalising aggressively.

“Sphyre? Rhy, what is going on?”

Ignoring her, he looked up to the gryphon, “Is your other self still here? Can you feel him, can you feel the other pendant, Sphyre?”

“Gods, what is wrong with you two?” Kitaraiya exclaimed under her breath.