Onyx closed her eyes for a moment and pressed her hands to her temples, as if the posture would silence the barrage of questions. If only she could reason now as clearly as she'd done as a dragon. Her eyes popped open. Why not? Onyx felt an overwhelming longing to assume her dragon form. Then she could think the problem through without the distractions of human emotions. It would calm her to feel like herself again, even for a moment. To not have to concentrate on every gesture or word. To be herself. The more she considered it, the better the idea sounded. But did she dare?
Onyx cast a glance over her shoulder. She was some dis shy;tance from the clearing where Led and the ogres waited. She concentrated to drown out the noise of the babbling stream. Beyond it, she heard only chirping birds and other forest sounds. No one had followed her.
Onyx looked up the trail, then back over her shoulder again. Nothing in either direction. Just to be safe, she prompted the mare to continue at a canter uphill for a short time, putting a little more distance between herself and possible discovery. Tugging the mare's head to the right just after a tall boulder, she quickly dismounted, looping the mare's reins through the branches of a young tree.
Onyx stepped away from the horse and into the protection of the enveloping pines. She pulled off her armor and clothing and stuffed them into the leather bag that had hung behind the saddle. Reluctantly she untied the thong holding the swords and the maynus; if she left it on during the transformation, the choker might well live up to its name before she could enlarge it with sorcery. Looking closely at the maynus once more, she was convinced anew that Toba, or at least some part of him, was trapped inside. Deciding she could do nothing about him right now, she added the whole necklace to the bag.
Onyx was joyful at the thought of doing something so reck shy;less; every minute as a human was an exercise in self-contain shy;ment. The woman's slanted, tawny eyes closed. When she opened them again, she was a black dragon.
Immediately she felt a stab of pain. Hunger. The little strip of jerky may have filled her tiny human belly, but it wasn't even a mouse to a dragon's enormous stomach. She hadn't feasted recently enough to satisfy her voracious appetite, and it was demanding something big.
Khisanth's dragon senses pricked up. Beyond her protective hedge of pines, she heard the mare wicker softly. Slaver rose in her mouth. Her heavy dragon body answered the call. She felt almost as if she watched herself lumber through the trees, crushing shrubs beneath her enormous feet. Blood pounded in her head, narrowing her field of vision until all she saw was the black mare ahead. The horse's eyes widened with terror when it spotted the dragon crashing through the underbrush. It leaped up and pawed at the air, straining at the reins that bound it to the tree.
The mare's wails were high-pitched and steady. Afraid of the attention the noise would surely draw, the black dragon swung her tail around in a vicious slap aimed at the mare's head. The strike snapped the horse's neck, silencing the beast in midscream. The creature dropped lifeless to the ground. Khisanth's jaws opened wide. She closed her sharp teeth around the mare and lifted it high, joyously shaking it.
Khisanth abruptly spat out the mangled corpse. Something about it tasted wrong, bitter. She espied the leather saddle and bridle. Snatching at them with a claw, she flung the offending morsels far into the woods. Then she returned her attention to the dripping horseflesh. Ravenous, exhilarated by the kill, the dragon sank her pointed teeth into the corpse. Tearing with abandon, she stopped only to gulp down whole chunks.
When the pounding in Khisanth's head began to slow, there was little left of the mare except teeth and hooves. She'd crunched through the bones for the moist, delicately flavored marrow.
Swallowing the last knuckle joint, Khisanth fell into a sated languor, listening to her own mind. It was thankfully clear of the emotions that had confused her decisions as a human. She felt powerful again, in control. That was very good. But to her surprise, she also felt unpleasantly cumbersome. She missed the spriteliness, the freedom afforded her by her human form. Heaviest of all, now, were her eyelids. The dragon wanted nothing so desperately as a nap. Into her drowsy brain came a vision of her last sleep, and Led. She was instantly alert. Sigh shy;ing, she pressed herself to remember the purpose for changing back into her dragon form-to think clearly about a lie to dis shy;guise Toba's disappearance.
What would she tell him? Did it matter? Led was intriguing, but still merely a human. Yet she could not deny that she felt some sort of attraction for this man, that she had begun to appreciate aspects of her own facade of humanity because of him. Now, in her dragon form, she found it much easier to consider him objectively.
Once Khisanth reached her decision, she willed herself back into the form of Onyx, then located the saddlebag in the woods, retrieved her clothing, and dressed. The young woman envisioned the campsite near the pool and narrow clearing, and called upon her sorcerous abilities. Within the time it took to blink once, she was standing some ten feet from Led. Star shy;tled, the mercenary drew his sword. He relaxed only slightly when he recognized Onyx.
"Where's your horse?"
"She, uh, stumbled in a hole and threw me, then ran off. I couldn't stop her."
Led looked at her closely for a moment longer. Licking the end of his thumb, he dabbed at a crusted, brown spot in the corner of her mouth. "Found something to eat, did you?"
She pushed his hand away to wipe at the spot herself. "I couldn't find any sign of Toba."
A muscle jerked in the hollow under Led's left cheekbone.
"This just isn't like Toba. I checked the wagon, and there's no sign that he attended to, uh, its contents yet today."
Once again Led peered intently toward the tree line, speak shy;ing to himself. "I can't believe Toba would just up and leave. He's been with me for three years. There's something very odd about this." He ran his fingers through his hair in exaspera shy;tion. "I can't waste any more time searching for him. I'll tell you this, though. If he does show up again, he'd better have a damned good story to tell or he'll never work for me again."
Led pulled the wagon back onto the trail and checked the traces. At his signal, an ogre stepped up onto the wagon. The vehicle's front end settled and groaned noticeably under the massive bulk. The ogre fumbled with the reins, and Led eyed the doltish soldier dubiously.
"There's nothing to be done about it, I suppose," he said stiffly. "Lef s get a move on."
He blew shrilly between two fingers. Onyx took her place to the right of the wagon. The ogres collected up their weapons and filed to their usual positions behind. Without morning food except wine for himself, Led doled out traveling rations to the groggy, grumbling soldiers, climbed aboard his horse, and herded his troops onward toward Needle Pass.
Led's foul mood allowed for little conversation as they wound their way up the mountains. The rocky trail, if the nar shy;row passage they followed through the trees could be called that, became slippery with snow the higher they rose.
By midday they came at last to Needle Pass. The horses pulling the wagon were showing signs of exhaustion, espe shy;cially with the added weight of the ogre driver. Led called a halt, hoping to rest and eat at a point just beyond the gap in the mountains, a spot where the trail widened to a width of two wagons. The ogres spread out and pulled chunks of meat and coarse, molding bread from the depths of their packs. Led again offered Onyx a few strips of jerky. She wasn't hungry and gave her share back to him.