Chapter 16 Alar
"When instinct drums its warning beat,
You'd better heed it and move your feet."
—Elurian Proverb
As Codric and I made our way toward the square, I adjusted the straps of my backpack.
It wasn't heavy, but the items strapped to the bottom made walking uncomfortable.
I should have tied them on top of the pack like I had done during training in the academy, but I was afraid it would give me and Codric away.
Was I being paranoid?
Probably.
No one here had ever been to the Vedona Elite Forces Training Academy or even visited an Elurian military installation, so no one should notice the different style of packing gear for a trek.
That was another thing that I hoped to change.
Eluria and Elucia were allies, and they should have participated in joint military exercises that would benefit both countries.
We could start with a personnel exchange program, of which Codric and I were the unofficial spearheads.
The fatigues weren't all that different from Elurian military gear, except for the brown and white camouflage pattern, which was designed for these mountains, rather than the green that blended better in Eluria's landscape.
The boots, though, were terrible.
If I ever made it up in the ranks of the Elucian military, I would change the supplier and order proper boots for their soldiers.
If it were a budget problem, I would use my connections in Eluria to secure a generous donation to the Elucian Forces, with the stipulation that the funds be used only toward purchasing better footwear.
"My stomach is killing me," Codric groaned beside me. "Why did I eat that third helping?"
"Because you're an idiot who can't control himself around food or women?" I kept my voice light, but my attention was on the armed guards positioned strategically around the perimeter of the square.
The space was surrounded by terraced seating and large planters, and it could easily accommodate several thousand people if packed tightly.
"Can we stop by the apothecary?" Codric clutched his middle. "Maybe Kailin's grandmother has something that can help my stomach."
I shook my head. "There's no time, and even if there were, the herbs need to be steeped in boiling water, and we can't go back to the lodge for that. Besides, I told Kailin that we would be there early and save spots for them near the front."
He nodded. "Shovia and I talked about standing next to each other during the ceremony."
He was acting as if Shovia was his lady friend, which was a change from his regular mode of operation of sleeping with a different girl each night.
But even though I was happy to see him approach this relationship with more maturity, I had to discourage it for the same reason I couldn't allow myself to get entangled with Kailin.
Any relationship would be complicated by Codric's and my true identities, not to mention my secret mission.
I chose to ignore the pang in my heart and focused on the security arrangements instead. In addition to the visible guards, I spotted several civilians whose level of alertness suggested that they were not the ordinary observers they pretended to be.
Good. The Elucians weren't taking any chances with their shaman. The blessings before the pilgrimages were the only known times of Saphir Fatewever's public appearances, and the Shedun would love nothing better than to take him out.
It would be a blow Elucia might not recover from.
"There they are!" Codric's exclamation drew my attention to the front of the square. "They made it here first."
Kailin sat cross-legged on the ground near the stage where the shaman would perform the blessing, her golden hair gleaming under the aurora lights. Shovia sat beside her, waving enthusiastically at us.
I blamed Codric and his gluttonous feasting for our late arrival. As Elurian gentlemen, we should have arrived first and saved a place for the ladies.
As I quickened my pace, Codric grabbed my arm. "Wait." He doubled over. "Drak, this hurts."
My cousin had a penchant for drama, and I was sure things weren't as bad as he was making them out to be.
"You should have thought about that before stuffing yourself." I softened my tone at his distress. "Just breathe through it. Once we're sitting down, it'll feel better."
Codric lifted a hand. "Give me a moment, please."
"A moment, but no more."
As a sharp, high-pitched bark sounded across the square, I turned to see Chicha straining at her leash, which was held by a woman who had to be Kailin's mother. They had the same delicate features, but the harsh mountain weather or maybe anxiety had etched deep lines around the older woman's eyes.
Kailin's grandmother stood beside her, and when she spotted me, she smiled and waved.
I waved back, oddly pleased by the warm greeting, then turned to Codric. "Okay to go?"
When he nodded, we continued toward the girls.
The crowd was still relatively light, but more pilgrims were arriving by the minute, and if we didn't claim those spots soon, Kailin and Shovia would have a hard time saving them for us.
When Chicha barked again, more urgently this time, I frowned and glanced back.
The little dog was practically pulling her leash out of Kailin's mother's hands, but she wasn't trying to get to Kailin as I'd first assumed.
Instead, she was facing one of the large planters that decorated the square.
Maybe she needed to do her business, and the planter with the rosebush growing in its middle seemed like a good spot.
"Come on," Codric urged, not noticing my distraction. "I need to sit down before I explode."
I kept going while looking over my shoulder at Chicha. She was still barking, and Kailin's grandmother was frowning and saying something to her mother.
"Alar!" Kailin called, waving us over. "Better hurry. We can't hold on to these spots for much longer."
Already, the girls were getting nasty looks from Elucians who also wished to secure a spot at the front, as close as they could to the stage and the famous shaman that would soon stand on it.
I pushed my concerns aside and headed toward her. After all, what could happen here, in the most heavily guarded part of the most secure town in Elucia?
The Shedun would never be foolish enough to attack Skywatcher's Point.
Still, Chicha's frantic barking grated on my nerves, not because I was angry at the dog, but because I was afraid she was sensing something that was making her nervous.
"I think I'm dying," Codric moaned dramatically as we finally reached the girls.
"What happened?" Shovia asked.
"I ate too much." He sat down beside her and folded himself in half. "I think something about the roasted mountain goat disagreed with me. But it was so damn good that it's almost worth the suffering."
I settled my pack beside Kailin's, noticing that she smelled faintly of the herbs growing in the window boxes of her grandmother's apothecary. "Do you know if your gran's remedies are also good for stomach problems?"
"The ginger for sure. We can steep them later in the camp tonight." She looked at Codric. "I just hope he can make the trek to the foot of the mountain. It's not long, just about an hour and a half or so, but still. I don't know if they will let us stop for relief breaks."
As the image of Codric soiling his pants flashed through my mind, I wanted to suggest to him to go before the ceremony started, but another burst of barking distracted me.
Kailin turned toward the sound, her brow furrowing. "What's wrong with her?"
Codric groaned pitifully and slumped against Shovia. "I'm never eating again," he declared.
"Not for the next three days, you're not." Shovia patted his head fondly. "But this should be a lesson for you. Don't make the same mistake during the Feast of Fate."
Codric waved a hand. "Please don't talk about food."
I watched their easy interaction with concern. Codric was getting too attached. Then again, who was I to criticize? Every time Kailin looked at me, my carefully constructed plans seemed to blur around the edges.
"The stage decorations are beautiful," Kailin said, drawing my attention to the structure before us.
It had been adorned with mountain flowers and hanging lanterns that would be lit during the ceremony.
"Wait until you see the shaman arrive on his dragonia.
Saphir is quite the showman. He likes to make a grand entry. "
The fondness in her voice didn't match the image of the formidable shaman I'd created in my mind. "Isn't that awe-inspiring?"
"The dragonia? Of course she is. All dragons are. They are magnificent creatures despite what the Sitorians think of them."
I chuckled. "I find it ironic that the Shedun call dragons demons and hell spawn when they practically worship the devil."
"Elusitor is not the devil," Shovia said.
"He's the destroyer and the deceiver, but he's the counterbalance to Elurion, and they are the two faces of Elu.
One cannot exist without the other. The devil is an entirely different entity.
He's in charge of the seven hells, where he torments sinners and evildoers, and that's where all Sitorians end up, and where the Shedun spend eternity because they are not redeemable. The devil is their daddy."
Codric laughed, forgetting that he was supposed to be in agony. "Maybe Elusitor and the devil are one and the same? It's not like anyone has seen either of them, let alone standing side by side, so it could not be confirmed that they are two separate entities."
Shovia rolled her eyes. "It's not like I believe in any of this. I'm just repeating what others say."
"Fair enough." Codric returned to clutching his stomach. "Maybe the Sitorians are right and the seven hells are where the dragons come from. Perhaps they roast sinners and evildoers with dragfire there. After all, it's the hottest fire of all, so it makes sense."
I shook my head. "Don't repeat their nonsense. Dragons are noble creatures."
Kailin nodded. "I've only met one up close, and he was as terrifying as he was magnificent."
I arched a brow. "He?"
"Yeah, it was very obviously a male." When I arched my brow again, Kailin blushed furiously.
"I didn't see that. They are just much bigger than the females, and my brother says that you can even see the difference in their faces.
The dragonias are more delicate and prettier.
" Her lips twisted. "Not that I know how Dylon can call them pretty.
As magnificent as dragons are, they are quite ugly. "
Shovia gasped and put her hand over her chest. "Don't ever think that while you are next to a dragon. They might torch you for the insult."
The blood drained from Kailin's face. "Oh, drak. You are right. If I have the gift, and dragons can talk to me in my mind, they can also read my thoughts. What am I going to do?"
"Change the way you think," Shovia said. "Take Chicha, for example. I think she is an ugly little thing, but you think she's beautiful, right?"
"She's cute. I wouldn't go as far as calling her beautiful."
Shovia shrugged. "Good enough. Just think of dragons as cute."
"Really?" Kailin tilted her head. "Cute? They are terrifying!"
Shovia sighed. "You are so hardheaded, Kailin. So, think of them as wise old men. Old men are not pretty either, but we still like them because they have good stories to tell, right? With how long dragons live, imagine all the stories they know."
Something stirred in my gut at her words. The dragons must know a lot about the things I was here to discover, so if I bonded with one, I might learn all their secrets without having to do any spy work. Well, provided that the dragon I bonded with was willing to share.
Around us, the square was slowly filling up, as pilgrims and townspeople found spots on the ground or stood in groups, their excited chatter creating a low buzz of anticipation.
"Look!" Shovia pointed to the sky. "I think I see movement up there. I think it's Saphir."
I was still struck by the casual way Kailin and Shovia referred to the spiritual leader of their people. The Elucian shaman was respected throughout the continent, admired by some and hated by others, yet in either case, held an almost divine status.
"It's not him," Kailin said. "It's probably just the patrol. Saphir won't arrive until the square is full."
I was glad that they were patrolling from the sky.
The place didn't feel safe to me despite the high security and the proximity of the Citadel.
All these pilgrims and the shaman who was about to arrive might be so tempting to the Shedun that they would throw caution to the wind and attack even if it were a suicide mission.
They weren't afraid of dying. On the contrary, to them there was no higher honor than to die while killing the nonbelievers.
A chill ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the cool mountain air or with the anticipation for the famous shaman's arrival.
I'd learned to trust my instincts during my training, and right now, they were screaming at me to pay attention, mostly because of Kailin's little dog acting so agitated, but also some innate sense of foreboding.
The need to act, but the inability to do so, was frustrating.
If I were back home, I would have found the commander of the security force in charge of safeguarding the ceremony and demanded that the alert level be raised.
But here I was a nobody—a wealthy Elurian pilgrim who knew next to nothing about what these people were dealing with.
Even if I risked drawing attention to myself by approaching the guards, no one would listen to me.
The best Codric and I could do was keep Kailin and Shovia safe.