“Not here yet,” Gill said.
“I’m being chased,” she said. “There’s no time to wait.”
“We’ll have to swim for it,” Gill said, bending down to pull off a boot.
“What about the king?” dal Ruisseau Noir said. “He’ll drown.”
“Maybe,” Gill said. “But if Amaury gets him back, he’ll be dead before sunrise.”
“There’s another way,” Pharadon said.
When Gill looked at him, he saw that Pharadon’s human form was already starting to break down at the edges; he looked like a person who had started to melt. The shape beneath the malleable flesh began to change and grow larger. His skin grew dusky, then took on a rose tinge. Gill could see individual scales starting to form. For a moment Pharadon looked like some strange human lizard being, having the general form of a man, but covered in lustrous red scales.
“What in the name of the gods?” dal Ruisseau Noir said.
“There’s no need to worry,” Gill said. “I assure you, he’s on our side.”
There was something stomach-churning about watching the transformation—seeing a person come apart like putty and become something else. At the same time, there was something intimate about the act, and Gill felt that continuing to watch was in some way an invasion of Pharadon’s privacy. He turned and looked out over the mist-laden river, pretending to look for the boat, which he was beginning to realise was never going to come.
Solène placed a comforting hand on Gill’s back. He looked up at her. She was staring down at Val’s body.
“Is there nothing you can do for Val?” he said.
“I’m sorry, Gill; he’s dead. Even if I’d made it back earlier, I don’t think I could have helped—it was too great a wound. I only seem to be able to heal injuries that would mend on their own, given time. A mortal wound is beyond any skill I have. Moreso when I’m as drained as I am now.”
“How did you get away?”
“The Prince Bishop doesn’t know how to wield his power yet. He overreached. I was able to take advantage of that and get away from him, then mask myself from others. It took nearly everything I had. We need to get out of here. Before it’s too late.”
He nodded. “Can you swim?”
“A little.”
“Good, you might have to rescue me,” Gill said. To his surprise, he laughed, and after a moment, so did she. When he turned back to Pharadon, the ancient creature was now the size of a small house and fully returned to his dragon form. He continued to expand, albeit more slowly, until he reached his normal dimensions—and just in time. Gill could hear noise coming down the passageway. Someone must have finally figured out that the quarry shaft’s impenetrable barrier was no more.
Dal Ruisseau Noir and his colleague were both staring at Pharadon with dropped jaws. It struck Gill as odd that the sight of a dragon was no longer astonishing to him; it seemed that even the most fantastic act could become mundane, given enough time.
“Will you take Val also?” Gill asked. “I want to make sure the boy gets a proper burial.”
“I will,” Pharadon said.
“There’s a village a full day’s ride east of here,” dal Ruisseau Noir said. “Castandres. I’m told that one of the king’s cousins has established a garrison there to maintain the peace. We should regroup there.”
Pharadon’s mouth curved into a smile. “If there are a large number of soldiers there, landing a few miles away might be better for me. I’ll revert to your form, then fetch you to your king.”
The noise in the passageway resolved into the sound of men running in armour, a noise which was ever the signal that it was past time to leave. Pharadon stretched his wings, casting them all into shadow.
“Time for us all to depart, I think,” the dragon said, his voice rumbling from his massive chest.
He sprang into the air, showering them all in dust and gravel. Gill didn’t need to be told twice. He plunged into the river, which was as cold as he had feared. He gasped for breath as he turned to look back. The others were following him into the river, while Pharadon, hovering, had taken the king in one claw and Val in the other.
As Gill floated downstream, he watched Pharadon rise in the air as effortlessly as smoke, then turn and disappear from sight. He wondered how many people would see the dragon and what panic that might cause.
He couldn’t shake the thought of Val’s lifeless face from his mind. It wounded Gill to the core of his heart to see a fine young man dead. He tried to console himself with the warning he had given Val when the lad had first asked to be his squire. Val had chosen this life, and the risks it entailed, as did every young man dreaming of being a banneret.
None of them expected it to end badly, though. They all thought they were invincible—that belief was vital to the dream. If they knew the reality, if their fathers had taken them to see a battlefield rather than to the parade of an army marching out of the city, he suspected the Academy’s dormitories would be far less crowded.
It was said that the sons of Mirabaya died cheaply for a priceless dream. Guillot had seen that more times than he cared to dwell on. He rolled over and started to stroke downriver as shouts erupted from the mouth of the passageway. Amaury might have won today, but they weren’t done. The debt had grown ever greater, and so long as Gill drew breath, he was determined to see it settled.
CHAPTER 15
Ysabeau surveyed the temple site from a distance, and maintained her watch for at least an hour. Only when she was sure there was no movement did she approach—alone—to take a closer look. She peered down into the hole and was relieved to see no signs of activity. The temple itself looked exactly as she remembered it, magnificent and ancient. The academics would wet their britches when they saw it. Still, she had to be certain it was safe before she let anyone else enter. Enough people had been lost down there already. She doubted her father would be happy with her if she lost more.
She used a touch of magic to conceal herself—there was an enormous amount of energy to draw on down there, so she had no trouble making herself all but invisible. The hardest part was keeping all that power out. She shuddered at the thought of what might happen to her if she let its full force flow through her.
When she entered the second, lower chamber, Ysabeau stopped dead in her tracks. She even held her breath, so terrified was she of making a sound. One of the dragons was still there. It took her a moment to push the initial fear aside and get her mind working again. The creature seemed to be sleeping, and had not been disturbed by her presence. The temptation to go over to it for a closer look was almost overwhelming. How many people could say they had seen a dragon from so close, and lived to tell the tale?
What should she do? If she brought her people down to do their job, they would certainly wake the creature, and it would kill them all. Likewise, she had no great desire to return to Mirabay and explain to her father why she had failed. Might they slay it while it slumbered? She had heard the stories of how many men her father had sent to kill dragons, and knew how many of them still lived, so didn’t think for a second it would be an easy job, but perhaps, if they were fast, and silent?
She returned to the surface and called the Spurriers to her. The academics looked annoyed that they weren’t being made privy to the conversation, but after the long and unrelenting ride, they had learned better than to complain. She would have told them, but didn’t reckon their bowels would hold up to the prospect of a dragon slumbering beneath their feet.