The elder hurried into the courtyard, his eyes anxiously searching our faces for approval.
I gathered all the courtesy I could find amongst my misgivings. 'It is a most harmonious house,' I said. 'Thank you.'
He beamed. 'There is a hot-spring bath through there,' he said proudly, waving to the passage with the rush matting. His hand swept across to the closed double doors. 'And that is a dining area. Your belongings, Lord lion, have been placed in the left chamber, and yours, Lord Ido, in the right. If you require anything, we have people wail ing.'
'That is not necessary,' Lord Ido said abruptly. 'We have our own servants.' He smiled, covering the moment of ungraciousness. 'You have done well, Elder Hiron. I thank you for your considerations, but now I must rest. To prepare for the exertions of tomorrow' He nodded towards me. 'I imagine Lord Eon is also weary'
'Of course, of course,' the elder said, bowing and backing away. 'If you need anything...'
He disappeared into the passageway
The three of us stood silently for a moment, suspended in thick tension. Lord Ido moved, as if towards me. Immediately, Ryko lunged forwards, the movement a breath away from attack.
Although Ido's face was unreadable, his body tightened into the coiled expectancy of a warrior. The power in him had nothing to do with dragons and I felt my own blood answer it for a dizzying moment.
'I will be with Lord Eon at all times,' Ryko said through his teeth.
Ido looked past him to me, his eyes narrowing. 'Call off your guard dog, Lord Eon. Or I will have him flogged for insolence.'
The sound of footsteps echoing in the bathhouse corridor made us all turn. Rilla appeared, accompanied by three of Lord Ido's servants.
'Ryko!' My voice cracked on his name.
He stepped back, but his body was still angled for confrontation.
Lord Ido smiled maliciously 'Good dog.' He turned to me. 'Sleep well, Lord Eon. I look forward to an exhibition of your power tomorrow. Let us hope you are more effective than your island mongrel.' He snapped his fingers at his servants, pointing them to the right bedchamber.
'I will stay outside your door, my lord,' Kyko said grimly as we Watched Ido and his entourage enter his room. And I have already placed men at the window and any points of entry'
I nodded.
And Rilla will sleep at the foot of your bed,' he added as she approached. 'Won't you?'
Rilla rose from her bow 'Of course.' She glanced behind her at the closed screen of Lord Ido's bedchamber. 'But he would not be so stupid...'
Kyko shrugged, ushering us to the left chamber. 'We take no chances. Tomorrow's test is the key to everything. We will get you there safely, my lord. Then it is up to you.'
I nodded again. Fear had blocked my throat and there was only one thing that could clear the way I stepped inside the sparsely furnished bedchamber.
'Tea,' I whispered, fumbling for the Sun drug pouch.
Rilla followed me inside and slid the screen shut. 'Yes, my lord.'
The dark security of Ryko's silhouette appeared on the door's waxed parchment panes. I sat on the bed and worked open the pouch drawstrings. Another dose tonight would completely destroy any chance of a restful sleep. I gave a short laugh. With Lord Ido lying less than ten lengths away, sleep was a faint hope anyway
CHAPTER 17
The long hours of wakefulness gritted my eyes as I watched the room brighten into the start of the King Monsoon day. The humidity was already so heavy that it pressed on my skin like another hot, damp body At the foot of my pallet, Rilla stirred then lapsed back into sleep.
I eased myself off the bed and poured a cup of water. The tail end of the folio pearls dropped out of my sleeve and swung loose. I tucked it back up, coaxing the black pearls around my forearm again. Their grip was slackening every day; perhaps they had realised I was a fraud.
I carefully pulled out the drug pouch from my pocket. The generous pinch of herbs sank into the cold water as one lump, then bobbed up to the surface, bursting into dry powder. It should have been dissolved in hot tea, but Rilla had been vigorous in her disapproval last night and I didn't want her to wake and see me taking more of it. At least not all of the doses. No doubt Ryko had told her about its dangers and had asked her to report back to him.
I gulped down the lumpy mixture in one bitter mouthful.
I crossed over to the door anc^slid it open. Ryko's face, heavy-eyed and drawn, peered in at me.
'Everything all right?' he asked softly
'Yes.' I stepped out. 'But it's so hot. I want to sit in the garden.'
Ryko scanned the small courtyard and nodded. I had just settled down on the elegant bench when a dust-covered messenger, slouching with fatigue, emerged from the passageway, accompanied by one of Ryko's men.
'Sir,' the guard said to his captain. 'This man says he has a message for Lord Ido.'
' He has not yet risen,' Ryko said.
The screen door of Ido's room snapped open. The exhausted messenger flinched and swayed on his feet. A servant hurried out from the room and bowed to me then turned to the messenger.
'Lord Ido will receive you in his chamber,' he said, waving the man over. 'Come.'
The messenger bowed to me then half jogged, half stumbled behind his guide into the room.
Another servant immediately emerged, closing the door behind him and standing with arms crossed and eyes alert.
'That messenger has travelled very hard and very fast,' Ryko remarked.
'On horseback,' his man said. A good horse.'
Ryko nodded. 'You've done well. Go back to your post.'
The man saluted and headed back through the passageway. Ryko stood where he was, still and silent. No doubt straining, like me, to hear any sound from Ido's chamber. But I could hear nothing over the morning bird shrieks and the distant rumblings of the King Monsoon thunder.
I scanned the ranks of village men kneeling around the edge of the square, chanting their prayers for our success. Where was Ryko? He had left just before midday to find out more about
Ido's messenger, but had promised he would be back before the test started. I turned my attention to the knot of apprentices waiting nearby with food and water in ease their masters called for sustenance. Dillon was standing a little apart from the others, and Hollin was calming the younger boys, but no sign of the big islander.
Lord Tyron looked across at me, his face unusually pale. Are you ready?'
No, I was not ready, but the weather-watchers had sent their runner to the village with the final report: the King Monsoon was heading inland. No more than a half bell away, the man had panted.
I pressed the ruby compass between my palms. The gold disc was cool against my damp skin.
Just before the runner had arrived, I'd managed to take another dose of Sun drug with the ghost-maker's tea that Rilla had prepared. The drugs had started a thudding ache in my head that was still sending waves of sweaty heat through me.
Trying to ignore the relentless pain, I studied the compassarium in front of me. Last night it had been a low circular stage the width and breadth of a small room, bare of any distinguishing features in the dim light. Today, it was the Dragoneye centre of power. In the bright sunlight, I could now see that the twelve compass points were marked by jade arrows inlaid in the grey stone. A curved bench had been placed over each jade marker, the seat cunningly fitted into its neighbour to form an unbroken circle around the edge of the dais. The flat of each seat was carved with the heavenly animal sacred to that compass point, the wood so beautifully crafted that the Rabbit's eyes seemed to glisten, the Monkey's hand was only a moment away from grabbing, and the Snake caught mid-strike. The wooden Dragon that reared across my bench was bright with new varnish; the artisans must have worked hard to finish it in time for the festival.
Earlier, Lord Ido had handed me his ley-line calculations with a superior smile; we both knew that, even with them, I had very little chance of success. I mentally overlaid his diagram onto the dai
s and tried to memorise where the deep earth power meridians crisscrossed the huge stone compass. According to Ido, the new year had changed the energy flows, and the best power could now be drawn from the lines that intersected in the northern sector of the dais. Of course, those calculations were for the Rat Dragoneye. They may not be of any use to me.
Part of me wondered if the lines were really where Ido said they were; maybe he had taken the chance to put another obstacle in my way. Squinting, I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the energy world. Maybe I would be able to see the network of earth power beneath the dais.
'Lord Eon.' A voice broke my concentration.
'What?'
Elder Hiron was bowing before me. 'My lord, surely it is time to mount the compassarium?'
I nodded, my irritation swamped by fear. The test had finally arrived. The other Dragoneyes were standing a little apart from each other, lost in their own private preparations for the ordeal ahead.
'Shall I open the circle, my lord?' Hiron asked anxiously
'Yes, we'll start.' I searched the crowd again, but there was still no sign of Ryko.
Elder Hiron bowed again and kneeled on the low step that encircled the dais. Carefully he pushed my bench inwards, breaking the closed circle of seats, then quickly backed away.
'Lord Dragoneyes,' I called, but my voice was drowned in the loud prayer chants. I tried again.
'Lord Dragoneyes, please take your positions.'
Finally I had their attention. Lord Ido, with an ironic bow, stepped up behind me, acknowledging my leadership during the test. The other Dragoneyes silently formed a queue after him in
order of ascendancy, with Lord Meram, the young Pig Dragoneye who'd ascended last cycle, bringing up the rear. The chanting intensified and the sound pounded against my ears like the piercing throb of cicadas. I led the Dragoneyes onto the stone dais, careful not to trip on my red silk robe. The pearls around my arm had slackened even more over the past tew hours. 1
touched my sleeve to check the position of the folio. It had slipped a little, but most of the pearls were still holding it against me.
As was Ascendant tradition, I stood in the centre of the compassarium. When all the other Dragoneyes were standing at their jade marker, Elder Hiron kneeled on the step and pulled my bench back, locking it' against its neighbours and closing the Dragoneye circle.
Immediately the chanting stopped, leaving an eerie quiet. As if on cue, the heat thickened, distorting the air into shimmering waves. Searing heat and silence: the two harbingers of the King Monsoon.
My legs felt stiff as I walked over to my seat and turned to face the ring of men who would look to me for leadership during the long hours of delicate work. One by one, I met their eyes.
Lord Silvo nodded, Garon dropped his gaze from mine, and Tyron gave me a strained smile. I saw caution, anger, hope, dislike, anxiety, spite, ambivalence and, lastly, the wolf stare of Lord Ido. He was waiting for me to fail.
I sat down on my bench, holding the ruby compass out before me. The other Dragoneyes immediately did the same, the glint of the twelve gold discs flashing in the sunlight. A deep rumble made everyone look to the horizon. A huge bank of black cloud was moving steadily towards us, spitting jagged bursts of lightning that raked the ground.
I licked my lips, silently rehearsing the traditional call to power that Hollin had taught me in the carriage. Eleven men stared at me, poised over their instruments, waiting for my words.
Another cracking boom rolled towards us, sending a flinch of fear through the villagers.
'Dragoneyes,' I yelled over the fading thunder, 'call your dragons, draw upon your power, prepare to do your sacred duty for our bountiful land and our glorious Emperor.'
As one, they chanted, 'For our land and Emperor.'
I had been told that every Dragoneye had his own method of calling his dragon's power. Lord Tyron pressed his compass between his palms, as if in prayer, his mouth moving in a private chant. Silvo, his head thrown back to look at the heavens, held his compass up in the cradle of his hands. I glanced across at Ido and my body locked in shock. He was pressing a sharpened edge of his compass across his palm, a thin welling of blood rising around the makeshift blade. I met his eyes in a long, silent moment of realisation: this man's only desire was power and he would do anything for it. I watched him grind the blade further into his flesh. Then his eyes half closed, surrendering to an ecstasy I did not understand, his amber gaze flooding with liquid silver.
Repulsed, I broke away from his blank stare. Around the circle, the other Dragoneyes were still easing into trances, slowly connecting with their beasts. Only Lord Ido and I could step into the energy world as quickly as walking through a doorway Was it because we were both Ascendant? Or was I like him in some other way? The thought made my skin crawl.
I tightened my grip on the ruby compass. Had the Sun drug done its job? That was the real test: whether or not I could finally unite with the Mirror Dragon. For all the stifling heat, I felt a cold wash of hope and dread rush through me. This was my last chance.
I looked down at my compass. Beautiful and useless, but I had to pretend I knew how to work it. I focused on the ruby as Tyron had shown me and breathed deeply, seeking the pathways of my Hua. Slowly, the facets of red stone merged and swirled in my eyes, twisting and folding me into the energy world.
Thunder boomed overhead, forcing my head up. The sky was full of dragons. Immense beasts crouching over the village, over
the roiling black clouds, over the heavens, their huge spirit eyes staring down at me. They lowered in a circle, each guarding their compass point. Green, purple, grey, pink, blue, orange. All of them ready to do our bidding. I stood and spun around, eager to see the red Mirror Dragon behind me. Eager to feel his power. Eager to finally be a true Dragoneye.
Gone.
The crushing loss hit me in the chest before my mind made sense of it. There was no dragon.
Not even a faint outline of his red body Only the villagers gaping up at me. Only the dark thunderous sky
I staggered back, dropping the compass. It clanged on the stone and rolled away.
My dragon was gone.
I had already failed. The terrible reality dropped me onto my hands and knees. A hesitant murmur around the square rose into the shriller tones of alarm. The villagers knew something was wrong. I lifted my head. The other Dragoneyes were still deep in the energy world.
Around me, the dragons were listening; huge heads tilted, answering the call to service.
'Where are you?' I screamed at the huge gap in their circle. 'Come back. What have I done wrong?'
A brutal grip on my arm pulled me to my feet. My eyes focused on blue silk. I looked up into the pitiless face of Lord Ido.
'Quiet.' His harsh whisper was hot against my ear. I jerked my head away from the brutal intimacy, but he held me tight against his body. The silver was ebbing from his eyes, leaving gold-flecked triumph. 'Get back into your position. I'll take over now.'
I wrenched my arm out of his hold. My shock was igniting into fury. At him. At myself. At the Mirror Dragon.
'Let me go!'
I was not quick enough. Ido grabbed my wrist, twisting my arm back into agony, pushing me to my seat. I felt the blood from his wound slick against my skin.
'You have railed, Lord Eon,' he called out to the crowd. 'Now get out of the way while I save this province from your youthful pride,'
Above him loomed the blue immensity of the Rat Dragon. Lord [do had broken his communion with the beast to gloat over my failure. I stared up into the blue dragon's dark otherworld eyes. I had called him before. I could call him again. There was st ill a chance to be a Dragoneye. I dug into my Hua, gathering up the thick grey Sun-drug energy in my seven centres of power. I did not have the Mirror Dragon, but I could have the Rat Dragon. With all of my anger and pain, I hurled the energy at the huge blue beast in front of me and grabbed at his power,
Lord Ido gasped as the silver burs
t back across his eyes.
'What?' He fell to his knees, pulling me with him.
A moan of bewilderment swept around the village square. My body was pinned to the dais under Lord Ido's weight, but at the same time I rose above it, a huge presence that stared through the earth to the network of power in my domain. I was the blue dragon. I was the keeper of the north-northwest. I was wind and rain and light and dark. I was...
Another presence. My mind flooded with memory With ambition. With practised power, insatiable desire, dangerous knowledge. With the essence of Ido. Pain and twisted pleasure.
Pride and rage. I fought against the suffocating malevolence, struggling to escape his hold on my body and mind. I thrust the power back at him, but it clawed at me, dragging me down into the mire of his truth.
Let me go.
My scream was silent, but his silvered eyes widened and I knew he heard it in his mind.
His hand closed over my mouth and I gagged on the sweet metal of his blood. I sensed him draw more power, pulling up the earth's life force through the dragon, funnelling it through his power centres into me. The colour of his eyes deepened from silver to black. He tore into my I Inn, ripping through to the centre of my being. A moment of shocked stillness, a sharp grab of understanding, and then I heard the rasp of his voice in my mind.
You are mine, girl.
Splintered.
All at once I was soaring in the dragon heavens, flailing against Ido's mind, struggling under his weight on the stone dais. There was no centre. No self. Just a howling madness fuelled by fury, fear and loss.
Fight.
A voice. Familiar and comforting. It gathered me into myself. Curled me around a flicker of gold truth that he could not touch.
Find it.