Rhiannon - Dragonrider

Chapter Fourty Five - Psionon at the Dom Terrace

As Psion landed in front of the Quaro portway, I jumped from his back and hurried into the Edifice. As usual, the place was full of dragons but this bit was pretty quiet.

I gave him a mental shout to come on through

I heard the little dragon approaching... then there was some sort of commotion in the tunnel and I sort of held my breath. I mean... if anything happened in there, he'd be totally helpless. After a surprisingly long time he emerged, looking astonishingly ungainly as he used his short forelegs to help himself crawl forwards. "What took you so long?" I demanded.

"The portways were not designed to accommodate someone of my substantiality!" he explained." At one point, I found myself lodged fast and required Jenko's assistance to free myself. Now, should we proceed or would you prefer to linger here as we discuss the merits of your selection of under-dimensioned entrances?"

"Or over-dimensioned bellies?" I murmured as Jenko and I hopped onto his back.

But Psion didn't say anything. Instead, he turned all serious as he wrapped us up in his most intense illusion. Then he stepped off the terrace and we glided downwards, sticking close to the wall.

By now, I could half-way see through the illusion that he'd used to hide the lair but of course Jenko couldn't. I could feel him tensing up behind me as we flew straight towards what, for him, was a solid wall.

Then we flashed from the light of the Edifice into the darkness of the lair. "One moment," Psion said as he landed. He applied his mind and the place was flooded with a delicate half-light.

"Welcome to my lair," Psion said, as Jenko stared around, lost for words at the incredible place, "or, to be more precise," the little dragon went on, slightly wistfully, "Psionon's lair, for it is your dear, departed mother's taste which endowed it with the elegance and sophistication it enjoys."

"But, if this is Psionon's lair," Jenko said, stumbling over his words in his excitement, "then you must be..."

"Psion at your service," he responded with an extravagant flourish of his tail.

"How on earth do you know my mother?" I demanded. I thought for a moment then added, "You're much too young."

"Your mother?" Jenko exploded. "I thought you were just some nonentity tyro like me. 'Psionon at the Dom Terrace' is one of my favourite battle sagas."

"And aren't you supposed to be dead?" he said, turning to Psion.

"I believe the phrase, 'Rumours of my death have been much exaggerated,' is entirely apposite," the little dragon observed with a bit of his bubbly cloud thing.

But I was less than amused. "Excuse me!" I said, turning to him sharply. "What, exactly, is going on here? Why do I get the impression that you've not been telling me the truth." I tried to keep my voice calm but I guess I had a dirty great dollop of the menacing undertone thing going on.

But Psion turned and looked me straight in the eye, kind of opening his mind to me as he did. "I have always told you the truth," he said simply. "Though I will admit to having avoided prematurely divulging certain items of information, the revelation of which would have increased yet further the peril of your position."

"What, exactly, do you mean by that?" My voice was ice cold.

"Would you have been able to act out the rôle of loyal little neck guard if you had known that it was Rhiannas's treachery that led to your mother's death?"

That shut me up.

"No, I don't suppose I would," I admitted at last.

"However, the time has now come to provide you with the unexpurgated story of the fall of Psion," he said. "But, before I start, I wish to reiterate one point. I have not and will never lie to you." Then he stopped talking and just stared at me.