Lokant by Charlotte E. English Page A

Uppers.
    Perhaps it had. Could
he really believe that this was Llandry’s own pet? Surely there
must be more like it. But its markings looked identical to the
other one he had seen. Could it be coincidence that this one had
flown virtually into his face?
    Yes, of course it
could. He released the creature, disgusted with himself. He was
grasping at straws, so desperate was he to discover some trace of
Llandry. He turned his back on it and resolutely put it out of his
thoughts. For another brief hour he dozed uncomfortably, covering
his eyes with his arm to block out the light.
    When he woke again, the
winged creature was still with him. It sat a few inches from his
nose, its snout testing the air. He felt a slight sting as it
jabbed him with the tip of its proboscis, and he realised it was
its antics that had woken him.
    ‘What do you want,’ he
grumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position. The thing took
flight immediately and flew a short distance away, then paused
expectantly. When he didn’t move, it flew back, bumped his face
again and then repeated its motion.
    If he didn’t know
better than to think so, he might have said it looked like an
invitation.
    Nyra dropped down from
above, landing lightly on the branch upon which he sat. She used
her wings to restore her balance, but he was nearly pitched off
onto the floor a long way below.
    ‘Friend of yours?’
    He grunted. ‘Think
not.’
    Nyra sat neatly
cross-legged and passed him a handful of fruits. ‘Looks like it
disagrees.’
    ‘It’s free to do that
if it wishes.’ Aysun ate his meagre breakfast quickly and he and
Nyra set off once more. He had gone barely three steps before a
scrap of colour soared past his face on jade-dusted wings. After
another three steps, the creature passed again, swooping around him
in tight circles. After a few more repetitions of this cycle, Aysun
stopped, and Nyra landed in front of him.
    ‘It’s flying in
circles.’
    ‘I noticed.’ Aysun
started walking again, and immediately a flurry of wings shot past
his nose and circled. When he stopped, the creature darted away to
his left and paused.
    ‘Huh.’ Aysun repeated
this process a few more times as Nyra stood and watched. At length
she grinned.
    ‘Something odd about
that.’
    ‘Reckon so,’ Aysun
agreed. He hesitated, then told Nyra about the history of Llandry’s
similar pet.
    ‘Well,’ Nyra said when
he had finished, ‘ seeing another one the same might be a
coincidence. But the chances of a different one showing particular
interest in you aren’t high.’
    ‘Right,’ said Aysun.
But he still hesitated. He was obviously being encouraged to go
left, but according to his device Llandry’s trail lay straight
ahead of him.
    Nyra solved it for him
by taking off and veering to the left.
    ‘I’m supposed to be the
leader here,’ he called up to her. She ignored him. With a sigh,
Aysun trudged after her.
     
    As he walked after his
unlikely guide, Aysun had the odd sensation that he was covering
more ground than he ought to have been. The landscape flowed past
him, melting freely and rapidly into new formations. He passed
through glissenwol forests that seemed vast, only to meld suddenly
into rolling hills and then into boggy marshes and on into leafy
woodland. There was a curious buoyancy to his stride, as though his
legs stretched themselves and ate twice the regular distance with
each step. Occasionally he saw buildings through the trees or away
on the horizon, towers and tree houses and once a sprawling
mansion. But he was drawn on relentlessly, never given pause to
examine the structures that he glimpsed.
    He was taken into a
narrow pass through a series of mountains that had abruptly
shimmered into view moments earlier. Beyond it lay a house built
from stacked stone, with mullioned windows and a walled garden
visible to the rear. The architecture was wholly Irbellian in
style, of the traditional sort popular in his grandfather’s day; it
looked so