destroyed.
He
panted a spell over his blade to clean it, ordered Dark Lance to the ground.
Marrec wiped his forehead with his arm, winced as he finally felt the sting of
two sucker rounds that had raised bumps on his cheek. His muscles were tired,
aching, but his blood still sang with the aftermath of victory. He grinned at
Sharmane and Jon and went to count his booty.
He
found six soul-sucker bodies with his killing mark, three renders and a couple
of slayers. A third of his kill went to Sharmane who’d acted as his Shield. He
gave his tally to Lady Hallard and she took her third, choosing to keep the two
headless soul-suckers with most of their hide and tentacles. Soul-sucker was
now in demand for hats ever since Bastien Vauxveau had shown how well they
protected a person from the frink-worms that fell with the rain.
When
Marrec piled his prize in the spell-net, ready to take to an assayer, Dark
Lance lifted his lip. Nasty smell.
“Yes,
but I made some decisions when you were gone. From now on we’ll be taking all
our kill.”
The
volaran shuddered. Uses more Power to fly back.
“From
both of us.” He attached two long lines to rings on both sides of Dark Lance’s
saddle to the net. “I promise this catch will feel no heavier than a pouch of
silver coins. And I’ll buy a better net. There’s zhiv to be made in selling
hides. The demand for slayer and render hide has gone up from the City States
and Shud.”
Dark
Lance snorted, then looked away. We last.
Marrec
looked around. His volaran was right. Everyone else was gone. An atavistic
tingle slithered down his spine. The sun was setting and they’d be lucky to be
back at the Castle before dark. He tested his reserves and found them
acceptable for the flight. That was a relief. Not everyone had taken their
kills. The Marshalls and wealthier nobles who had paying estates didn’t need
the extra zhiv and only claimed trophies they wanted mounted. A whole
soul-sucker was a few strides away…. He snorted in disgust at the idea of
becoming a scavenger…but he wanted to better his lot in life. Still, his net
was full and his Power limited.
And
night threatened. There was no local landowner so far north to offer
hospitality. Died out long ago, just as had Marrec’s parents and the rest of
his village. His memories of that massacre were blessedly vague. Again he
shivered, then the light dimmed just enough for the boundary line to brighten
the evening and he was comforted.
The
ancient fence posts that had begun failing a couple of years ago were now being
replaced. Everyone now knew how, and how to energize the boundary line from one
fence post to the next. This bit of land was secure.
That
didn’t mean he wanted to hang around. “Let’s go home.”
Home, echoed Dark
Lance wistfully. To Marrec’s relief he saw the image of the Castle stables in
the volaran’s mind, instead of Volaran Valley. Thank the Song.
A n embarrassed
Thunder took off, with a brief telepathic, I must report on our ride
together. Huh. Calli rolled her shoulders and fell into a standard analysis
of her performance. The flight had been magnificent. She’d bonded with the
volaran more than with the simple empathy she’d felt for her lost Spark. They’d
been partners, but with her in the lead. She sensed a volaran’s threshold of
going “right brain,” acting in panic, was far higher than a horse’s. They must
not have had many predators, probably not for a long time.
Marian
and Jaquar took Calli to the Map Room on the other side of the courtyard.
Something in the way people referred to the room jittered her nerves so she
thought of it in capital letters. When they reached the door, she noted incised
golden letters in curlicued words which she couldn’t read. More and more this
was seeming less a dream, more like an alternate reality, but how could she believe that?
Jaquar
opened the door and held it. She stepped in to see a topographical map as large
as a California king
He
panted a spell over his blade to clean it, ordered Dark Lance to the ground.
Marrec wiped his forehead with his arm, winced as he finally felt the sting of
two sucker rounds that had raised bumps on his cheek. His muscles were tired,
aching, but his blood still sang with the aftermath of victory. He grinned at
Sharmane and Jon and went to count his booty.
He
found six soul-sucker bodies with his killing mark, three renders and a couple
of slayers. A third of his kill went to Sharmane who’d acted as his Shield. He
gave his tally to Lady Hallard and she took her third, choosing to keep the two
headless soul-suckers with most of their hide and tentacles. Soul-sucker was
now in demand for hats ever since Bastien Vauxveau had shown how well they
protected a person from the frink-worms that fell with the rain.
When
Marrec piled his prize in the spell-net, ready to take to an assayer, Dark
Lance lifted his lip. Nasty smell.
“Yes,
but I made some decisions when you were gone. From now on we’ll be taking all
our kill.”
The
volaran shuddered. Uses more Power to fly back.
“From
both of us.” He attached two long lines to rings on both sides of Dark Lance’s
saddle to the net. “I promise this catch will feel no heavier than a pouch of
silver coins. And I’ll buy a better net. There’s zhiv to be made in selling
hides. The demand for slayer and render hide has gone up from the City States
and Shud.”
Dark
Lance snorted, then looked away. We last.
Marrec
looked around. His volaran was right. Everyone else was gone. An atavistic
tingle slithered down his spine. The sun was setting and they’d be lucky to be
back at the Castle before dark. He tested his reserves and found them
acceptable for the flight. That was a relief. Not everyone had taken their
kills. The Marshalls and wealthier nobles who had paying estates didn’t need
the extra zhiv and only claimed trophies they wanted mounted. A whole
soul-sucker was a few strides away…. He snorted in disgust at the idea of
becoming a scavenger…but he wanted to better his lot in life. Still, his net
was full and his Power limited.
And
night threatened. There was no local landowner so far north to offer
hospitality. Died out long ago, just as had Marrec’s parents and the rest of
his village. His memories of that massacre were blessedly vague. Again he
shivered, then the light dimmed just enough for the boundary line to brighten
the evening and he was comforted.
The
ancient fence posts that had begun failing a couple of years ago were now being
replaced. Everyone now knew how, and how to energize the boundary line from one
fence post to the next. This bit of land was secure.
That
didn’t mean he wanted to hang around. “Let’s go home.”
Home, echoed Dark
Lance wistfully. To Marrec’s relief he saw the image of the Castle stables in
the volaran’s mind, instead of Volaran Valley. Thank the Song.
A n embarrassed
Thunder took off, with a brief telepathic, I must report on our ride
together. Huh. Calli rolled her shoulders and fell into a standard analysis
of her performance. The flight had been magnificent. She’d bonded with the
volaran more than with the simple empathy she’d felt for her lost Spark. They’d
been partners, but with her in the lead. She sensed a volaran’s threshold of
going “right brain,” acting in panic, was far higher than a horse’s. They must
not have had many predators, probably not for a long time.
Marian
and Jaquar took Calli to the Map Room on the other side of the courtyard.
Something in the way people referred to the room jittered her nerves so she
thought of it in capital letters. When they reached the door, she noted incised
golden letters in curlicued words which she couldn’t read. More and more this
was seeming less a dream, more like an alternate reality, but how could she believe that?
Jaquar
opened the door and held it. She stepped in to see a topographical map as large
as a California king
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