Jahet had the grace to smirk at Khisanth's impertinent, though accurate, observation. She gave the other dragon a glance of unabashed awe. "By the queen's ten eyes, you're fast, Khisanth."
Khisanth stifled the urge to gloat. Instead, the dragon said, "Your performance was impressive as well, Jahet."
The Black Wing's ranking dragon gave an ironic snort of laughter. "Highlord Maldeev's mount had better be!" She swung her heavy head around to glance at the Black Wing's highlord and commander, who stood some distance away, watching the drills from the reviewing stand. "If I were a more suspicious dragon, I might think you were angling for my job," Jahet concluded, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
Khisanth's own tawny eyes widened in genuine alarm. "You know I would never-"
"Never take a rider, is what you mean," concluded Jahet for her. Her expression turned serious. Jahet thought about starting in on a familiar lecture, then changed her mind. "I have something important to tell you, Khisanth," she con shy;fided, "but not here. We've risked too much, speaking in the open, already."
Jahet looked at the three mounted dragons still in flight formation in the cloudless blue sky above. Her gaze abruptly shifted to the long, northern leg of the drill field, to the troop tents and Shalimsha Tower directly behind it. Between them and the tower stood Maldeev in his reviewing box, arms clasped behind his back. The highlord liked to come to the field at least once a week and personally monitor the progress of his generals and their troops. As an old horse cavalry com shy;mander, he derived a special thrill from watching the drag shy;ons' flight drills.
Jahet looked back to the younger dragon at her side. "Meet me in my antechamber as soon as possible" — she looked to the dragons in flight again- "and let no one see you." Jahef s left eye shifted away to look to the sun for the hour. "I need to feed, and I haven't much time before a strategy session with Maldeev."
With that, Jahet turned toward the dragon barracks. She'd intended to walk, but decided to step up the pace toward the newly mined dragon lairs in the deforested foothills to the west. Taking a short two-step hop, she extended her wings and glided just above the grassy slope, dropping to the ground again when the land leveled into the glade before her lair.
Alone on the dry, barren field, Khisanth watched with a sigh from her soul as Jahet went. The fatigued black dragon was in no mood for the lectures Jahet delivered with greater frequency these days, but Khisanth didn't wish to offend the ranking dragon by ignoring a summons to her antechamber. Khisanth couldn't remember Janet's asking any of the higher ranking dragons to her lair. Perhaps Khisanth was headed for a dressing down. She thought it more likely that Jahet had invited her because, unlike the other dragons, she and Jahet were friends. More than friends, for they had secretly blood-mingled in the way of those who had come before.
Strangely, she and Jahet had become friendly despite Khi shy;santh's determination not to. Trust no one but yourself- Led's betrayal had taught her that. Pteros had so much as told her. Even before she'd made the decision to join the army forming in the south, she'd resolved to keep her own counsel among humans and dragons because of them. Her ego would never allow her to tell anyone about Led or Pteros.
First Led, whom she'd briefly but utterly trusted, had con shy;sidered her sole value a nighf s pleasure. Khisanth had diffi shy;culty deciding who was the greater fool in that fiasco, though she ultimately concluded it was Led, since he was not alive to learn from his folly.
Then Pteros. He'd disappointed her as much as betrayed her. All she'd asked for was a small part of his vast knowledge and experience. She couldn't forgive him his weak spirit. In her reflective estimation, worse than leaving her to die was the fact that he left behind none of the treasure of which he had bragged, except the gemless diadem she'd removed from his broad, bloodied forehead.
There was much Khisanth respected about Jahet. She was more concerned with advancing her own considerable skills than comparing herself to the other dragons. Jahet had every black dragon's exceptional greed. While Khisanth admired that, it prevented her from telling Jahet some things, includ shy;ing the range of her magical skills. She was especially careful to conceal her shapechanging ability, thinking the other dragons would feel threatened by the unusual power.
Jahet had disappeared beyond the trees now, and Khi shy;santh realized she would have to hurry if she was to meet with Jahet before the other dragon began her feed. Covering the distance quickly on foot, she plowed through the thick row of ponderosa pines left standing to disguise the entrances to the dragon warrens. Khisanth unconsciously ducked her head as she stepped into the tall cavern that served as the central meeting hall. She needn't have, since the cavern had been carved to twice her own height to accommodate even the tallest of dragons who might eventually join the wing. It was pleasantly dark inside after the annoyingly bright sun shy;shine she had never grown to like. Water dripped steadily in the far recesses of the cavern.
Jahet's rank demanded the privilege of quarters separate from the other four dragons. To the right and left of the meet shy;ing hall, like the legs of an enormous spider, three large dens, or lairs, had been carved, each at half the height of the central hall. That made six chambers, with room to excavate more if necessary, though two were currently empty and awaiting dragons.
Lairs that fed into the main chamber were assigned in descending order of rank from the first lair on the left. Khi-santh's was the last one, located at the right rear of the meet shy;ing chamber. As a result, and to the great irritation of the others, her lair was the most secluded and private.
Her long tail softly brushing the dirt floor, Khisanth walked clockwise around the chamber to steal a quick glance into the other dragons' lairs. It was forbidden to physically wall off the entrance to one's lair, for "security reasons." The rule was Dimitras's, adjutant to Brigade Commander Wakar. He was the human officer responsible for maintaining the dragon wing's morale, which Khisanth always interpreted to mean keeping them under control. He enforced the no-walls rule as strictly as any human among dragons could, prevent shy;ing physical impediments, such as rocks or vines.
Dimitras had no control over the dragons' magical defenses, however. Like most humans, he was terrified by what he didn't understand, a long list topped off by dragon magic. All of the dragons had devised some sort of magical screen that limited or altered the view into their lairs.
The second-ranked dragon's defenses were the most impressive and long-lasting. Khoal was a well-scarred, battle-hardened, ancient male with tremendous greed and an extensive knowledge of magic. He was like Pteros with too much conceit, thought Khisanth. For his own amusement, the confusion of others, or simply to prove his superior magical skills, Khoal varied his spells daily. Some favorites included a wall of force, which created an invisible barrier that allowed others to see into but not enter his lair, and an illu-sionary door that couldn't be moved even by touch or disbe shy;lieving the illusion.
The most impressive and offensive of Khoal's protective spells was discovered by the fourth-ranked dragon. Neetra, young and even more rash than most black dragons, had refused to attend flight drills one day, alleging that he had a stiff wing. Khisanth had raised an eyebrow at that, since Nee shy;tra prided himself on his strength over Khoal's bulk or Khi-santh's agility. It was also widely known that Neetra felt the competition between Khoal and himself more keenly, since Khoal was the only other male in the stable. No one above or below Neetra in rank chose to order him to the field, since his absence would only make the others look better. Dimitras knew better than to try to force a dragon to do anything. So Neetra stayed in his warren, while the others filed out and onto the drill field.