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What was going on in Leech’s mind?

  6

  Scirye

  As the ice crevice raced toward her, Scirye tried to shuffle toward the shore. Cracks had appeared all around her so that the lake resembled a giant white plate breaking.

  Kles flapped his wings frantically as he tugged at her hand.

  But it was like trying to run in an earthquake. When Scirye lost her balance and fell, she began to crawl forward on her hands and knees.

  Behind her came the loud hiss of scales on snow. Bayang was heading toward her like a scaly locomotive, piling up the snow before her chest as she plowed along. As a dragon she was used to the cold depths of the sea, so the ice-cold lake held no terrors for her.

  “Hop on.” Bayang’s claws, strong enough to puncture steel, closed delicately around her collar and hoisted her into the air. Kles fluttered next to her as the dragon deposited the girl upon her back. All around came groans and snaps as the ice fell apart.

  At the lake’s edge, the girl was still waving for them to come to her, but there was no sign of Leech and Koko. Scirye was wondering where they were when Bayang plucked her into the air again and reared up.

  “What’s the idea?” spluttered Kles.

  As the ice gave way beneath them, Bayang plunged into the freezing water, but she held the girl safe above the lake.

  Water rilled from Bayang’s wet scales, which gleamed now like polished emeralds. Scirye decided that dragons were at their most beautiful when they were in their natural habitat of the water. “Do you understand now?” the dragon asked.

  Kles attempted to recover his dignity as he fluttered by the dragon’s head. “Ahem, yes. And thank you.”

  Chunks of ice bobbed against Bayang as she swam the rest of the way across the lake and then deposited her burden carefully on the shore.

  When the teenage girl took Scirye’s arm, Scirye immediately felt safe. “You’ve reached our haven, far traveler.” She spoke English with a slight accent and then called over her shoulder. “Tute, bring blankets for our guests.”

  “I already thought of that,” came a peeved voice from the gaudy wagon. A large feline creature padded down the steps at the rear of the wagon. The short hair on his head was as tawny as Kles’s fur, but there were black spots along its back. His jaws stretched to breaking so he could carry several threadbare, folded blankets.

  The girl turned to Bayang solicitously. “Oh, my, I don’t think we have a blanket big enough for you though. Will you be all right?”

  Bayang shook herself like a dog so that rain spattered all over. “Yes, I like a brisk dip. The temperature’s no worse than the seafloor.”

  “Then come with me, you poor little thing,” the hospitable girl said to Scirye. “I have a comfy fire going in the cave.” The friendly stranger treated Scirye like a fragile porcelain doll, insisting on supporting Scirye through the snow and up the slight slope.

  All the way to the cave at the foot of the cliff, Scirye felt she was in a marching band as the little silver bells sewn around the hem of the girl’s robe chimed, mixing with the jangling of the girl’s many bracelets decorated with magic symbols.

  Koko and Leech were already huddled by a fire inside, though Leech’s flying discs hummed near his shoulder and the weapon ring leaned against his shin ready for use.

  “I want a refund for this trip,” the badger grumbled.

  “I don’t recall you ever paying anything,” Bayang said.

  “That ain’t the point,” Koko said, windmilling his arms for warmth. “It’s the principle.”

  “You have no principles,” Bayang retorted.

  Koko scratched his head. “Oh, yeah. I forgot that I pawned them a couple of years back so I could buy a candy bar.”

  As the girl helped Scirye sit beside them, Kles looped elegantly in the air, finishing with a grand flourish of forepaw and tail. “You have our deepest gratitude, Lady…?”

  The girl smoothed out her robe and then straightened, eyes glancing at the lynx as she cleared her throat loudly.

  Tute dropped the blankets and rose on his hindlegs, but he was so unsteady that he almost pitched forward when he attempted a bow. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the one and only, Māka the Magnificent, whose feats of sorcery make the very stars and planets halt and marvel.”

  Stretching out her arm sideways, Māka twirled her wrist. “At your service.”

  It seemed to Scirye that Māka was more of an age for an apprenticeship than grand titles, but the kindhearted girl had gone out of her way to make five strangers feel at home. Scirye liked her already so she returned the bow with one just as formal and grand. “Thank you, Māka the Magnificent.”

  Kles introduced their hostess to their company, adding, as he saw the shadow at the cave mouth, “And this is Bayang the dragon, of the Moonglow clan. Bayang, this is Lady Māka the Magnificent.”

  “You are most welcome,” Māka said, spreading her hands as if they were sitting in her parlor rather than a cave. “Now you shall have a cup of nice, warm—.”

  The lynx was already swinging around to head back to the wagon. He had a perpetual air of being put upon. “Yes, yes, I know,” he grumbled. “You want the tin of tea next.” And then he left.

  “If you would be so kind,” the girl called after him and then wrapped a wool blanket around Scirye’s shoulders that smelled of dried sage and thyme. As she draped blankets around Leech and Koko, she asked, “But who was that chasing you?”

  And so Kles, with help from the others, told her their story. Māka’s eyes grew wide as she heard about how they had chased Roland to Hawaii to retrieve the ring that Badik the dragon had stolen for him and how he had killed Scirye’s sister during the theft. How the thieves had nearly trapped them there with the goddess Pele and stole a magic bowstring from her before they escaped.

  The pursuit had taken them to the Arctic next, where they had failed to help a powerful spirit, Uncle Resak, protect the magical bow that had belonged to Yi the Archer. Again, Roland and Badik had gotten away.

  Tute had come back with a basket about midway through their tale. He set it down on the cave floor, ears twitching skeptically. “And you say you’re the chosen of the goddess?” he asked Scirye.

  Scirye pulled back her glove to show the “3” glowing faintly on her palm. “She left this on my hand.”

  Māka shook her head in wonder and even the lynx dipped his head respectfully. “She must really not want Roland to get hold of Yi’s bow,” Māka said.

  “And Roland’s just as determined to stop us. He’s set all sorts of traps like the thunder lord,” Kles said. “The lord of thunder was only the latest.”

  “But how did he know you’d pass this way?” Tute asked.

  Bayang shrugged. “He’s rich enough to hire enough creatures to set traps along all the probable routes. This one happened to be guarded by the lord of thunder.”

  Koko shivered. “The hag was still a lot scarier. I get the heebie-jeebies just remembering her.”

  Of course, after that, they had to tell Māka and Tute about Scirye’s battle with the hag. In the Arctic wilderness, Roland had hired the creature to capture them in a strange, magical sack, but before Scirye had trapped the hag inside her own bag instead, she’d taken the hag’s belt. They hadn’t been able to work out what power the other charms might have, but they thought the otter charm was what had let the wearer get free of the bag’s hold. She now kept the otter charm separate in its own pouch around her neck with a charm from the goddess Pele.

  “May I, Lady Scirye?” Māka asked, and when Scirye nodded, the sorceress leaned over to examine the charms on the belt.

  Scirye tugged the glove down to hide the mark. “Can you figure out what some of them do?” she asked her hopefully.

  Māka shook her head. “I can feel the power, but I’m not sure from which ones.”

  “Too bad,” Leech sighed. “We need all the help we can get. We’re not sure what Roland intends to do with the ring and the bow, b
ut we have to stop him.”

  Falling on her knees, Māka hugged Tute. “I told you there was a reason why our show went wrong. The goddess wants us to aid Her chosen one.” She paused dramatically. “It’s Destiny!” Sometimes Māka spoke as if her words were on a theater marquee.

  “The show went bad because you’re one of the worst magicians in the world,” Tute grumped.

  Māka tweaked a furry, pointed ear. “I’ll have you know my magic is good enough to astound the crowned heads of Europe and Asia.”

  “Only with how terrible you are.” Tute closed his eyes. “Do these poor people a favor and leave them alone.”

  Māka leaned forward and pursed her lips as she scratched Tute between the ears. “Oh, did Mr. Grouchy Pants wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” she cooed.

  Tute opened one eye. “Do not treat a powerful lynx like a common alley cat, missy!” Even so, his tail had started to twitch with pleasure.

  Māka winked at the others as she continued to stroke the lynx. “Don’t mind Tute. Some day his manners will match the size of his pride.”

  “That will happen long before your skills match your confidence,” Tute murmured.

  “Ha, ha.” Māka laughed nervously. “Tute will have his little joke.” But as she sat back, a small, palm-sized book dropped from her sleeve onto the stone floor. Before the girl could snatch it back up, Scirye read the title. The Beginner’s Grimoire: Easy Spells for Children.

  Māka hastily stowed the book back into her sleeve before she opened the basket. Inside it were a battered tin kettle and cups along with a small box of tea. As she scooped some snow into the kettle and set it on top of two large rocks that sat in the middle of the fire, Scirye couldn’t help noticing odd red stains on Māka’s skirt.

  Koko sniffed the air. “It’s funny, but I swear I can smell ketchup.”

  Tute’s ear rotated and then pointed toward Māka. “That would be the hothouse tomatoes they tossed at her.”

  “Our audience was kind enough to share their humble repast with us,” Māka tried to correct him.

  “They threw it at you. Since when is that sharing?” Lifting his head, Tute explained to Scirye and her friends, “We’d been hired to entertain at a town banquet, but when Māka kept bungling the tricks, they flung vegetables at us.”

  “Their ‘offerings’ made a very nice soup that you were more than happy to have.” Licking a finger, Māka rubbed vigorously at a stain. “You need to look up the definition of ‘tipping.’”

  “You need to look up the definition of ‘criticism.’” Tute placed his forepaws together in an earnest plea. “Either improve your magic or get so bad that they won’t notice what they’re grabbing and toss steaks instead. And in the meantime, leave these poor folk alone.”

  The last thing they needed was a clumsy sorceress and a grouchy lynx. Protecting Māka would only increase the risk for the rest of them.

  Scirye eyed the others, hoping for help in refusing Māka’s proposal of help. But Leech’s chin was sunk against his chest as he thought about something. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. You almost had to give him a good shake to get his attention. Bayang was just as lost in thought and looking troubled. Only Koko looked as uncomfortable as Scirye felt.

  It was up to Kles to politely decline the clumsy sorceress’s offer. “Tsk, tsk. I’m afraid that audience etiquette is a casualty of modern times. On behalf of my companions, let me thank you for your warm and gracious offer to assist us, but surely you have other performances scheduled.”

  “Yeah,” Koko said drily, “and more soup to make.”

  Māka’s bells jingled and her braclets jangled as she shook her head. “When there is evil present, it is the duty of every follower of the True Path to fight it. It is Heaven’s Will. Our public will just have to understand.”

  As the kindly Māka puttered about the cave and fussed over them, Scirye didn’t have the heart to turn down her offer. Scirye had already come to like the magician too much.

  When steam finally curled from the kettle spout, Māka dropped tea leaves into the kettle, measuring them out as if they were flakes of gold at first. And then with a smile at Scirye, Māka impulsively dumped in a double measure. “No sense being stingy. We want a proper cup of tea to toast teaching Roland a lesson.”

  “Let’s just hope that vegetables is all he throws at us,” grumped Tute.

  Suddenly, over the crackling of the fire, they heard a faint howling sound.

  “What now?” Koko groaned.

  7

  Bayang

  Leaning forward, Māka stoked the fire so that it blazed up even higher and hotter. “Don’t worry. The fire should keep the wolves away.”

  The noise had brought Bayang out of her own dark thoughts. She leaned her head out of the cave and studied the surrounding mountains. “If they are wolves.”

  “Do you think Roland might have hired more thugs just like he did the thunder lord?” Scirye asked.

  Bayang nodded. “We must really be bothering him. It’s a compliment in a way.” She dipped her head toward Māka and Tute. “I’m sorry for getting you involved.”

  “Don’t be silly. As I said before, it was Fate that brought us together.” With warm water from the kettle, Māka tried to wipe away a tomato stain from her skirt, but only succeeded in smearing it around more.

  Apparently human fledglings like Māka were just as reckless as her own hatchlings, Bayang thought. “Scirye, if you’d be so kind as to send out Kles to scout?”

  “Of course,” the girl said, but she wagged a finger at the griffin. “Just be careful.”

  “I always am,” the griffin said and hopped off her lap, his claws clacking on the stone as he bounded out of the cave. Spreading his wings, he shot out into the open air.

  Getting to her feet, Scirye followed him to the cave mouth, watching him anxiously.

  Leech shed his blanket and rose, pointing his weapon ring at the wagon. “You might want to bring in your horse.”

  Māka coughed in embarrassment. “Well, um, I would but she ran off yesterday.”

  “I told you the knot in the halter rope wasn’t tight enough.” Tute yawned. “But would you listen?”

  “I just hope she’s far away by now,” Māka said.

  Tute stretched, his claws clicking on the stone. “Probably. She was a lot more sensible than me.”

  “Too bad we can’t say the same,” sighed Koko. He drew out a glittering axe.

  Tute’s eyebrows rose. “And here I thought you were just your typical flying riffraff.”

  Koko plucked a hair from his paw and tested the blade. Though gold was soft, some sort of magic made the axe keep its sharp edge. “No sirree, we’re riffraff with style.”

  Scirye leaned against the cave mouth, pulling the leather gauntlet onto one wrist while she scanned the sky anxiously.

  “Don’t worry, that furry parrot’s too tough to die,” Koko assured Scirye, but he watched for the griffin just as intently as she did.

  Only Tute remained by the fire with Māka, who had surreptitiously taken out her pamphlet and was thumbing through it hurriedly.

  Scirye had the sharpest eyes of the friends. “There he is!” she said, pointing and then leaving her arm up as a perch for her friend.

  Finally Bayang saw the griffin as a dot darting over the snow. He was flying with head and body in a straight line like a bullet of feather and fur, and he had barely landed on Scirye’s wrist when he panted, “Lyaks are coming. About a dozen of them.”

  Scirye stiffened immediately with Māka, and Tute got up.

  “What are lyaks?” Leech asked.

  “They’re the hereditary enemies of the griffins,” Scirye explained, cradling her friend against her. “Did they see you?”

  Kles’s chest heaved up and down still from the extertion. “No, but they have powerful snouts that could find us anyway.”

  “How big are they?” Bayang asked.

  “About eight feet long,” Kles
explained. “They have throwing axes that might penetrate even your scales.”

  “Then I’ll hit them before they get within throwing range,” Leech said as he reached for the flying discs that still hovered near him. “I’m a smaller, faster target than Bayang.”

  She had meant to talk to the hatchling when they were alone, but there was no time for that now. “You seemed distracted when you fought the lord of thunder.” The dragon set a paw on Leech. “Don’t try to fly and fight unless you can give it your undivided attention.”

  The hatchling frowned. “I was just figuring out what to do.”

  “Well, the cave is a good defensive position so you don’t need to fly anyway,” Bayang insisted. “I can grow big enough to handle any trouble so you stay behind me and take care of anything that gets around me.” She didn’t give him a chance to object, pacing immediately to the mouth of the cave.

  8

  Leech

  She knows I’m awake! the Voice said in alarm. She only spared you before because she thought you were alone. Now she wants to keep us trapped in the cave so she can finish us later.

  Leech felt not only scared but sad as well, because he had come to value the dragon’s friendship. She’s just trying to keep us safe, Leech insisted, or at least he hoped so.

  He watched his friend spread her paws, her body bouncing up and down as she flexed her knee joints. He desperately wanted to believe her fangs and claws would harm only their enemies and not him.

  Their visitors came down a pass across the lake, small dots slipping and sliding down the snowy slope. At first they fanned out as they searched, but then they smelled the smoke from the fire, and they began to howl as they crossed the lake, sometimes skidding on a patch of bare ice, but coming forward steadily.

  Leech studied them as they drew closer. Their heads were long like a horse’s with a single large eye in the center and a wide flattened nose. Their skin was as pale and moist as a slug’s belly. They wore little more than furry kilts and vests, revealing chests and limbs almost as hairy as their clothing. Broad leather straps ran diagonally down from the lyaks’ shoulders, and sheathed on it were several axes. Hanging from the belts at their waists were pouches and daggers.