Pharadon drew closer at an alarming rate, then cast them both in shadow as he spread his great wings to arrest his flight and drop to the ground, touching down as nimbly as a cat. There was no body in his talons.
“No joy?” Gill said.
Pharadon shook his head, the expressiveness of his reptilian face still coming as a jolt every time Gill saw it.
“I’ve detected traces,” Pharadon said in a sonorous bass voice. “Places where she delayed a moment and her magic was unable to completely hide her scent. It’s not powerful magic, but it’s very skilfully worked. I’m unable to see through it.”
“So unless we find her the old-fashioned way…” Gill said.
Pharadon nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
As unappealing a prospect as Gill found Amaury getting his hands on this last unused Cup, he realised it was far more devastating to Pharadon, if he hoped to help the other remaining dragon to enlightenment.
“We can set off as soon as you’re ready,” Gill said. They couldn’t travel through the countryside with a dragon lumbering along beside them, so Pharadon had to transform himself into a surprisingly innocuous-looking human, using magical means that were nauseating to watch and that Gill had no desire to attempt to understand.
“I’ll be as quick as I can,” Pharadon said, prowling lithely off to obtain some privacy behind the tree where he had left his human clothes.
Gill forced himself not to laugh at the comedy of an enormous dragon hiding his modesty behind a twig of a tree, but he supposed it was large enough to conceal Pharadon while he was in human form, which was when it mattered.
He cast an eye at Valdamar’s old armour, bundled on a horse’s back. He’d recovered it from one of Vachon’s packhorses, along with his swords. He wondered if he should get into the armour in preparation for trouble, but it would make a hard ride pretty unpleasant, comfortable though the armour was.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked Solène.
She gave him a tired smile and nodded. “As soon as Pharadon is.”
He mirrored her smile and checked his horse. It looked far fresher than he felt, but it would do no one any good if the horses carried them to their destination with legs to spare, and he didn’t have the strength to lift a blade. Pharadon returned, looking tired. Drained. He had said the process of transforming was incredibly taxing, and it was showing on his face. They mounted in silence and got moving. The tender spots, rubbed raw by his saddle, complained instantly, but Gill did his best to ignore them.
Their quarry continued to elude them, no matter how hard they pushed their horses. Their only advantage was that they were pretty certain where she was headed: to Mirabay and the Prince Bishop. Equally, that meant Gill was all too well aware that they were running out of road. Their best chance of getting the Cup back was before the thief reached the city. After that, she would be sheltered by the Prince Bishop and all the resources he could bring to bear.
The evening drew in faster than Gill expected, the changing of the season into winter having caught him off guard thanks to the distractions of the past couple of months. Dusk had taken hold when Gill spotted a rider ahead, moving more quickly than any ordinary traveller. He squinted to make sure his sleep-addled mind and dry eyes weren’t imagining it, but the figure was definitely there, cloak billowing out, and he thought he saw them cast a furtive look behind. That was enough to give him hope they had their prey.
“Rider ahead,” he shouted, above the thumping of their horses’ hoofs on the soft ground of the road.
“You think it’s her?” Solène shouted back. “I can barely see from here.”
“That person has the Cup,” Pharadon said, his voice no different from the way he usually spoke, yet perfectly audible.
“Come on then!” Gill urged his horse on for all it was worth, the excitement of finally being on the thief’s tail giving his energy level a boost.
The others followed suit, and the horses thundered down the road. The exhilarating sensation reminded Gill of the joy of the hunt, something he hadn’t done—dragon hunting aside—in many years. But the pleasure started to quickly leak away as he realised they weren’t making up any ground.
“How long can she keep up this pace?” Solène shouted.
“How long can we keep up this pace?” Gill shouted back. Magical intervention or not, Gill knew there was no way their horses would be able to run this fast for long. In the distance, he could make out details he had been dreading. Mirabay was in sight.
He tried to push his horse on harder, but it was already running at its limit and he still grew no closer to the woman ahead. He wondered how she kept her horse moving. They knew she could use magic, so perhaps she was constantly feeding it benefits similar to those Solène provided during their rest stops. If so, there was no way they could catch her. There had to be a way he could slow her.
“Might she be using magic on her horse?” Gill shouted.
“Perhaps,” Pharadon said. “It seems likely.”
“Can you do the same for mine?” Gill asked. “I know dragons have powerful magic. Cast something on me so I can catch her.”
“I can’t in human form,” the dragon said. “If I change, it will take time before I can shape it again. I was only able to in the temple because the Fount was so strong there. Almost limitless.”
Gill looked over at Solène, head and heart railing against one another. Her face was pale and she had dark shadows under her eyes. How could he ask her for more? Was there another way? If there was, he couldn’t think of it. There was so much about magic he didn’t understand, but he could never forgive himself if he demanded more from her than she was able to give.
Before he could say anything, he saw her brow furrow and his horse surged forward. Rather than argue, he tucked down and encouraged it. Immediately, the distance between him and the thief started to fall away. He could see the woman more clearly now—she looked back every few moments and knew as well as he did that he was catching up.
The walls and towers of Mirabay were growing ever larger and more distinct.
He saw her throw her hand out behind. It took him a second to realise what that meant, and at the speed he was galloping, he barely had time to swerve to the side to clear the caltrops she had thrown on the road. He hoped the others would realise the danger, but was riding at such breakneck speed he wasn’t able to look back to see.
Mirabay’s walls loomed up, and he could make out the gates now, as well as people standing around them. He was close enough that the muck thrown up by her horse’s hoofs was hitting his face. He was close enough to move over in preparation for coming alongside her. The walls were racing toward them and her horse was showing no signs of slowing. He could make out her features now, when she looked back. Dark curls framed a pale face with large eyes and dark lips. Something about her seemed oddly familiar, but Gill didn’t have the time to dwell on the thought.
“I’m an agent of the Crown! Let me pass!” she shouted. “Stop my pursuers!”
There was a momentary hesitation before the duty guards burst into a flurry of activity. More of them appeared from the guardhouse, spears at the ready. They moved forward to create a spear wall, and Gill knew the game was almost up. Standing in his stirrups, he leaned forward as far as he could, reaching for the thief. Arm outstretched, he felt the end of her cloak flutter against his fingertips. He made one last desperate grab, nearly throwing himself from his horse, but seized nothing but air.