05 #3
That did sound like Teela.
The four cohort members gathered, but Teela split off as Bellusdeo assumed her gold-plated, human form. Hope squawked.
Bellusdeo’s reply was offered in loud draconic. No doubt it was rude. Kaylin had a small collection of linguistic curses,
but draconic curses were beyond her physical limitations.
Tiamaris, however, remained a Dragon. He roared; Bellusdeo roared back. In a normal, booming voice, Bellusdeo said, “Step
away from the building but be prepared!” She followed up with a longer speech in the Norranir tongue. Kaylin assumed it meant
the same thing.
Clearly, she was wrong. The drummers split off, heading to the very edge of the border. Oh. Here, the barrier seemed more
amorphous. Kaylin didn’t understand why the Towers were so distinctly geographically separated. But the Norranir and their
drums moved to stand—and drum—at that barrier. She was impressed that their arms were strong enough to continue without pause.
But some of the Norranir came to stand beside the drummers; they carried drums of their own, but they weren’t beating them
yet. She guessed they’d pick up the beat when the first set of drummers was too exhausted to continue. For Kaylin, that would
have happened on the walk, if she’d lasted that long. The man carrying Kaylin set her on the ground as she could no longer
slow them down.
Hope stood on Kaylin’s shoulders, claws briefly digging into her collarbone. His voice, at this distance, was louder than
Tiamaris’s warning.
Severn began to unwind his weapon chain—which was never a good sign. Terrano ran to her side, passing through the Norranir
who were standing just ahead of her.
“Teela wants you to stay out of the building.”
“No one’s going in there yet.”
“True. She wants you to stay out when—and if—she and Bellusdeo head in.”
“And she sent you here to make sure I keep you out?”
Terrano grinned. “She’s always optimistic.”
This was so not true. “I could ask Hope for help.”
He grimaced. “I’m supposed to be keeping you here, not the other way around.”
“Whatever works, right?”
Tiamaris inhaled; the sound was louder than the consistent, continuous drumbeats. His exhalation was louder still as a gout
of impressively hot flame splashed, like liquid, against the building that had caused Kaylin’s magical allergies to activate.
As if it were that liquid, it dripped down the building’s face, burning nothing.
It’s stone, Severn pointed out.
Against Dragon breath. We’ve seen that melt stone in the city. She lifted a finger and poked her familiar; he batted her face with a wing and then left it over one eye. Some of the stone is beginning to heat up.
Not visibly.
“Terrano—tell one of your friends to tell Tiamaris to keep going.”
He gave her the side-eye but clearly did as she asked. On the other hand, it was left to Teela to tell the fieflord. Honestly,
some people were cowards.
“What? She’s got the big sword. Nothing they’re wielding is going to even scratch a Dragon’s scales.”
Bellusdeo came over to Severn, who stood, weapons readied. “We’re going around the back. Terrano is allowed to follow us;
Teela thinks he’ll be useful.” Two of the Norranir fell in behind Bellusdeo. Bellusdeo shook her head, and they bowed and
stepped back.
“They might be helpful as well,” Terrano said.
“We need them on the border. Teela is going to stay at the front with Tiamaris and the Norranir. And your two brothers.”
Severn didn’t sheathe his weapons, but he didn’t take point. He would have, but Terrano was impatient—and permeable. Bellusdeo
told him that she’d scout, and he blew a raspberry and scooted ahead.
“One of these days, I’m going to kill him,” the Dragon said, in a tone that almost implied affection.
“You’re probably going to have to stand in line. And no, I won’t be in it.”
“I believe he was supposed to stay with us in order to more easily communicate with Teela.” The Dragon exhaled steam.
“He’ll come back—there’s almost nothing that can actually hurt him when he’s like that.”
She was half right. Terrano did come back, racing around the corner and ducking. Something flew after him—fire? Bolt? It was
dark and slender and moved quickly.
To Kaylin’s surprise and growing horror, she could see that he was both transparent and bleeding.
Kaylin ran to meet him while Hope squawked. She could see blood with both eyes, winged and unwinged. She couldn’t see a pursuer
with either. Bellusdeo leaped above her, landing behind the fleeing Terrano. She’d drawn a sword, although it wouldn’t be
her most significant weapon. No, that was her breath, and she did exhale. A fan of impressively pale flame covered Terrano’s
flight.
Kaylin hadn’t drawn her weapons; they were long knives, and they weren’t impressive in a strategic ground fight—or a battle
backed by magic, which this clearly was.
Instead, she reached out for Terrano. He ran straight for her, leaping forward to take both of her outstretched hands in his;
they passed through.
“Come back to where I’m standing!” she shouted. “Do it now!”
He tried to grab her hands again, and this time she could feel something pass through her palms.
“Hope!”
Hope did nothing. Kaylin felt the air chill, although both Tiamaris and Bellusdeo had added instant, ambient heat to it. Her
annoyance vanished, her worry deepening instantly. This was something Hope wouldn’t interfere in until and unless Kaylin was
willing to sacrifice something meaningful in exchange.
It was the only thing she hated about the familiar.
“Tell Teela we need her here right now!” she shouted. “She needs to bring Terrano back to our plane!”