The Dragon's Slave

Chapter 15

"What is this orb you are after anyway?"

Dynarys's eyes hardened, his lips pinched into a tight line. "That is not your concern. You have one task."

A task that would be made easier if I knew what I was after. What if I found the safe and Dynarys wasn't available? How would I even know if I had the right item?

Dynarys folded his hands across his stomach and watched me, but he said nothing.

The carriage jostles and then stopped. A sharp order followed.

Dyanarys straightened, nothing left of his relaxed expression. He reached up and pulled the curtains closed.

"Stay inside the carriage," he ordered, and then slid out the door.

"They are in the trees," someone called.

"Get the torches on this carriage lit," Dyanrys commanded from outside the door. Then a great wing-beat followed and silence descended in the air.

Alarm tapped at my spine and I shifted in my seat, pulling back the curtain just enough to peek through.

A flash of fur caught my gaze then was gone. Illaise? I hadn't seen her since the evening before, but she was supposed to be part of the delegation. The image of the woman as a wolf did not temper my nerves.

But then there was nothing.

The wide leaves and crowded branches made certain no direct sunlight reached the forest floor. Yet the day was still bright with it and I saw no reason for such commotion.

The ground around the carriage was extra bright, I bent my neck and looked up through the glass, risking a slightly wider curtain opening. Torches lined the roof, placed at regular intervals. They glowed forcefully with unnatural brilliance. Like a beacon.

What good did it do to announce my location so obviously?

Something slammed against the roof.

I flinched back, dropping the curtain and pressed myself against the cushions.

Footsteps thudded. Whoever...or whatever it was, wandered from side to side on the roof. I fidgeted, uncertain, and then leaned back toward the window. Raising trembling fingers I pulled the fabric back.

In the torchlight, flickering against the forest floor, the silhouette of a person crouched.

At first I assumed the figure was a protector, perhaps even Dynarys. It was impossible to tell with a shadow for a guide.

The light faltered and dimmed, and the shadow slunk along the ground.

Footsteps echoed, before the light dimmed again.

They were putting out the torches.

Suddenly the extra lights felt very safe...and they were disappearing. I narrowed my eyes at the form, hardly distinguishable now.

The last torch blinked out, I listened for a moment to silence. The footsteps were gone. Peering through the curtains I tried to see the top of the carriage. My heart skipped and thudded. Where had everyone gone?

I scooted to the other side, cracking the door open a tiny amount. Nothing but trees and forest floor. Leaning out farther I ascertained that the roof figure was gone. Unnatural silence filled the forest. Like everything held its breath. The wolves that pulled the carriage were gone. Everyone was gone.

A fluttering of light caught my attention. Something shifted behind the trees, deeper in the forest.

I hesitated, debating. Dynarys had told me to stay in the carriage. But he had also ordered the torches lit. If he knew someone was going to put them out he might not have felt it was so safe.