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  I heard her chuckle inside my head.

  “You sly lizard, you!” I slapped her affectionately.

  Leaves rustled behind me and I turned to see Yallick approaching. Behind him, there was a flurry of activity as the mages set up camp for the night. I looked up at the stars and saw that it wasn’t nearly as late as I’d thought.

  “Xyla, my dear,” Yallick said aloud, and that surprised me; why did he want me to hear what he said to her? “How do you fare?”

  “Well,” she said. “And you?” It took a moment for that to sink in. I was hearing her speak to Yallick. That had never happened before.

  “It has been a tiring day,” the mage continued aloud. “And more to come.” His glance fell on me. “Donavah has told you what happened?”

  “Strange lightning.” And she actually shuddered.

  “Yes. I do not know for certain what it means, but I fear . . . the worst. You must fly far ahead tonight. Not just a day’s walk for a human. You must go to the mountains immediately. Tonight if you can get that far. Then send a bird back with word where we can find you.”

  I opened my mouth to object, but Yallick raised a hand to silence me.

  “I understand,” Xyla said, and there was fear in her tone. What could frighten a dragon?

  We stepped back several paces as Xyla rose and stretched her wings. She leaned her head down over me, and I felt her breath stir my short-cropped hair.

  “Be safe, child mage,” she said. And with a great leap, she was gone. I wondered whether Yallick had heard what she said to me. He didn’t speak as he turned back to the clearing where a number of fires crackled merrily. I followed him, almost in a daze.

  At a fire a little apart from the others, Traz sat tending some concoction. He might be only ten, but his days serving as a kitchen boy at Roylinn Academy had turned him into an excellent cook. Before long, our supper was ready, and we all three dug in. I wanted desperately to ask Yallick why he’d sent Xyla so far ahead and out of reach, but I sensed that for now, he wished me not to say any more about it.

  We finished eating, and I started gathering up the dishes. When Traz and I had traveled together, we’d agreed that one would cook and the other would wash up, so it seemed natural to fall into that pattern now. Yallick offered to help and picked up half the dinner things while I stood there speechless. In the dark, I couldn’t tell if the look he shot me was mocking or pleading, so I just shrugged and went in the direction Traz pointed.

  When we arrived at the noisy stream, Yallick nodded as if satisfied about something. “I know that you do not understand my purpose in sending Xyla so far away.”

  I crouched down and set my load of dishes in the water at the edge of the stream. “Yes, that’s right. I don’t. But you have a reason.” A statement, not a question.

  “I do. And I will share it with you. But I must ask you not to speak of it to anyone, not even to Traz. Do I have your word?”

  I nodded, then spoke my agreement. “I won’t tell anyone.” I could feel his eyes staring intently at me, as if he were trying to read my mind. Or my heart.

  “I doubt I should tell even you. But if I do not, I know that it will worry you to obsession, and I do not need that kind of energy distracting me.”

  I felt myself blush and was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see. Whatever else I might think, I had to admit that Yallick understood me. A lot of the time, anyway.

  He glanced around and moved closer to me. “Let us make as much noise as we can washing the dishes,” he said softly. “Listen carefully.” That definitely piqued my curiosity, but also made my stomach turn in fear. “I am afraid that Xyla would be in grave danger if she stayed in this area. I believe that it is not the Royal Guard who are after us, but,” his voice dropped to a whisper I had to strain to hear, “the dragonmasters.”

  I dropped the pot I’d been scrubbing with a loud splash. Dragonmasters! Just the thought of those black-robed magicians who could control dragons frightened me. They’d captured Xyla once before with their magic; they could do it again. Yallick reached into the icy water and retrieved the pot for me. A rush of questions crowded my mind, but all that came out was, “How?”

  “That, indeed, is the question. And if I knew the answer, I would not be half as fearful as I am now. The mages have lived for centuries unhindered. Then, almost upon the heels of Xyla’s arrival, we are betrayed. And on our very first day journeying, we come under attack. I do not know what is happening, and it is unsettling me as I have never been before in my long life.”

  A spoon I held in one hand began to clank rhythmically on the pot I held in the other, and I couldn’t tell whether it was fear or cold that caused the shaking. Yallick took my hand in his. Somehow, despite washing dishes in cold water, his hand was warm, and the warmth spread to me, up my arm and further, making my hair feel almost as if it were standing out from my head.

  “I have sent Xyla away to keep her safe. But we will not be able to join her until we have shaken the pursuit, and that will be difficult with such a large group, mages though we all be.”

  If Yallick had meant to put me at ease, he failed. I tossed and turned all night, and while that was bad enough in one’s own bed, it was infinitely worse when camping out on the ground in Winter.

  In the morning, I yawned through breakfast and breaking camp. At first I walked with Traz, listening to him grumble about not seeing Xyla tonight. It was hard to resist telling him why Yallick had sent her on. How could it hurt to tell Traz? But I’d given my word, so all I said was, “Yallick must have his reasons.”

  Traz looked at me and rolled his eyes. “Yeah. He’s grouchy and wants to make the rest of us that way.”

  I laughed but dropped the subject.

  When the sun was well and truly up and everyone’s mood seemed to have improved, Yallick called me to join him. I noticed how the nearby mages slowed down a bit, allowing the space to grow between Yallick and me in the lead and the rest of the group. Anazian was nearest, and he had to be at least twenty feet back.

  “I do not know how long we will be on the move, and I do not want to neglect your studies any more than necessary. We cannot do much, but what we can do, we shall.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Yallick gave me a sharp look, as if in disapproval of my light tone, but he didn’t remark on it. “How are you bearing up under all the tension in the air?”

  “What tension in the air?” And then I caught my breath. I had always been extremely sensitive to the life vibrations all around me. But until Yallick mentioned it, I hadn’t even noticed their absence the past few days.

  He frowned. “Do you not feel it? Between this gaggle of mages and the forest itself, the cacophony is palpable.”

  “I . . . I don’t understand. I don’t feel anything. That’s very strange.”

  For several moments, Yallick looked deep in thought. Then his eyebrows shot up. “Try this. I know you cannot close your eyes as we walk, so it might not work. But try anyway. Clear your thoughts.”

  Just like the meditation routine. I tried to allow the rhythm of my steps to substitute for blocking out sight. I’d learned back at Roylinn that rhythm could work that way, although I’d never tried it.

  Yallick must have been able to tell when my mind had cleared. “Now focus. Feel what is around you. Life. Heart. Thought. Song. Feel the forest.”

  It was as if a brick wall crashed down inside my head. Yes, I could once again feel the vibrations around me. The heartbeat of the forest. The thought of the earth itself. The song of the wind. And more. The agony of defeat. Fear of the future, of the present. Terror for an end. An end to what? I staggered under the burden. The screaming earth rose up and slammed itself against me.

  What have the dragonmasters to do with us? Why do they pursue us? And more to the point, how did they find us?
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  All the world is in upheaval now. A red dragon. A powerful new mage. Our ancient nemesis attacking. Portentous signs indeed, but to what do they point?

  Is this the darkest hour before the dawn?

  Ididn’t pass out. But my collision with the ground didn’t stop the onslaught of vibrational activity. I clamped my hands over my ears to try to lessen the effects, but since it was a spiritual awareness, that didn’t work.

  Yallick knelt next to me, and the mages began to draw near.

  “Stay back!” Yallick’s arm shot up and I felt power emanate from him. To me, he said softly, “Focus again.” But I couldn’t. He placed a forefinger in the center of my forehead. “Focus on this spot.” That was easier. “Clear your mind. Concentrate on the place where my skin touches yours.” I took deep breaths, slowed the beating of my heart, and tried to ignore the noise inside my head. And suddenly, it was gone. I blinked in surprise and sat up.

  In such close proximity, I could see in Yallick’s eyes a deep concern, almost like a father’s for a terribly sick child. “What did you do?” I asked.

  His expression turned quizzical. “Do?”

  “The noise . . . the vibrations . . . it all went away. It’s gone.”

  He let out a long breath, stood up, and pulled me to my feet. Then he beckoned the watching mages, in front of whom I saw a very anxious Anazian, and we started moving forward again.

  “Well,” Yallick said, cocking he head slightly to one side, “that was an interesting experiment.”

  I scowled at him, and he burst out in laughter that rang through the forest. A sarcastic remark rose to my lips, but I managed—just barely—to suppress it.

  “In truth, I cannot teach you what you already know. I can only teach you how it works and how to control it.”

  Not in a mood to solve conundrums, I just kept walking and didn’t say anything.

  “Today I thought to teach you how to block outside vibrations. I know how sensitive you are, and with the air around us so unstable with them, I knew you must be struggling. Only I find that you have been blocking already.”

  My annoyance quickly turned into interest. “Blocking vibrations? You can do that?”

  “Yes, I can do that. Been able to for more years than your father has been alive.” He grinned and raised his eyebrows. I couldn’t help smiling back. I wasn’t used to this side of Yallick’s personality, joking and laughing and all. It took some getting used to. “You can, too, Donavah,” he said more gently now. “You have been.”

  “But how?”

  “How you have been blocking without realizing it, I have no idea. I will teach you the theory so that you can understand the practice. Then you will have the power to control the skill.” His voice fell into its usual teaching tone. “As in all things, control is the key. Control is power. As it turns out, you can block. You must now learn how it is that you can block, and how to unblock. This ability to control a skill allows you to use that skill more effectively.”

  He paused, as he often did during lessons, to let me absorb that. Or perhaps he knew that all the activity in the woods around us, as well as that of all the mages following, would be distracting. “We will work more on this later. Once you master it, you will be ready to learn how to control the vibrations you generate.”

  And with that tantalizing announcement, he ended the day’s lesson.

  So it went on for the next several days as we headed northeast. Sometimes, I heard snippets of grumbling conversation, which were always cut off when the speaker noticed me nearby. I wondered whether Yallick had told anyone other than me that we weren’t yet heading directly to meet with Xyla.

  At some point during each day, Yallick had a short lesson with me. It took only two days for me to learn how to block and unblock vibrations at will. Once I knew what I was doing, it was so easy that I created my own challenge. Perhaps I could learn how to pick out a single vibration.

  I decided it would be easiest to experiment with Traz. At first, I didn’t tell him what I was doing. I’d unblock for a few moments when he was near and again when he was off somewhere else, trying to discern the vibration that was uniquely his. When I thought I had the knack of it, I told him what I was trying to do and enlisted his aid.

  After supper that evening, he hid somewhere in the nearby woods. I unblocked and searched for the trace of his signature. There, faint. I headed into the trees. It grew a little stronger. Off to the left. A little way farther. On the other side of that tree, right there.

  “Ha! It worked!” I exclaimed.

  “I bet you just followed me,” he said as we headed back to camp.

  “Did not.”

  “Hrumph,” he snorted, but I could tell from his vibration that he was only teasing. I also felt a small twinge of jealousy from him. If only there were something I could do to help.

  Then, just as we reached the perimeter of the camp, a searing green flash filled the sky. Blinded by the light, I reached out for Traz, but my searching hand didn’t find him. A deathly silence fell on the camp. Where others, less disciplined, might have burst into screams, the mages all stilled themselves. I unblocked to try to get a sense of what was happening, but while all might be still, the air was filled with pandemonium. I couldn’t risk losing control of myself now, so I quickly blocked.

  By this time, I could see again. The campfires blazed away in the night, but all around, the shadowy shapes of the mages rose to their feet. I tried to see where Yallick was, but couldn’t.

  Then green lightning arced across the sky and into the midst of the camp. Someone screamed, and I smelled burning flesh. Another flash of lightning and another scream. Sounds of panic and figures racing everywhere. Where was Yallick? What should I do? I looked at Traz, but he wasn’t next to me. I spun full circle to see where he’d gone, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.

  “We are discovered!” Yallick’s voice boomed over all the other sounds. “Scatter!” As if everyone wasn’t already doing that. Everything went dark as somehow, all the fires were extinguished. Lightning fell faster and faster now. I called out Traz’s name, then Yallick’s, but I couldn’t even hear my own voice.

  A sizzling sound split the air, and a bolt of the green lightning struck a tree only a few feet from me. Until now, I’d stood rooted in place watching the scene unfold, but the shock of the strike shook the ground beneath me and I fell down. That was enough for me. I scrambled to my feet and ran headlong in the opposite direction from the camp.

  As I raced away from the confusion, lightning continued to strike all around. The forest animals were now trying as frantically as I was to get away. Birds that would normally be sleeping at night flew dazedly through the trees. Predators ignored their usual prey as both ran in the same direction.

  There was shouting, some nearby, some farther off. Once or twice, I even thought I heard my name, but I didn’t slow down to find out. All I wanted was to escape, and in double-time. I didn’t know in what direction I ran, and I didn’t care.

  A loud thrashing noise came from my left, and whatever it was, it was moving a lot faster than I. It couldn’t be a squirrel or a fox, not making that kind of noise. A wolf, perhaps? The fleeting thought that I had no way to protect myself was followed immediately by the creature itself. I took one glance and suddenly wished it were only a wolf. A huge wild boar tore through the undergrowth, heading straight at me.

  I screamed. In the flashing green light, which was all behind me now, I caught a glimpse of a nearby tree with branches low enough to climb. If only I could reach it in time. I thought I’d been running at full speed, but now found I could sprint just a little faster. The heavy breathing of the creature was on my heels; I fancied I could feel its breath on my neck. Loud grunting noises and the thunderous pounding of its heavy feet . . . I wasn’t going to reach the tree in time. A tusk caught on my cloak. Th
en, just as I thought maybe I’d make it after all, I tripped on something and fell in a heap. Instinctively, I covered my head with my arms and curled up into a ball. Mama’s face flashed into my mind, then Papa’s, and Breyard’s. I waited for the huge tusks to rip into my unprotected flesh. My muscles tensed in anticipation.

  A thud, and everything went quiet. Almost afraid to see what new threat had arrived, I opened my eyes. The boar lay on its side next to me, a tusk still poking through the rip in my cloak. I felt a strong power emanating from nearby, even though I was still blocking. Then Anazian came striding toward me, a look of intense worry on his face.

  I let out my breath in a loud sigh, trying to release some of the tension as well. I started to stand up.

  “No,” Anazian said, “stay there. Let me make sure you’re all right.”

  “I am,” I assured him. “It didn’t get me.”

  The mage dropped to one knee beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. His chest rose and fell as his breath recovered from the chase. Mine was returning to normal, too. I let out a strained giggle when I noticed that we were breathing in rhythm.

  “I really am all right,” I said, appreciative of Anazian’s concern, even if it was unnecessary.

  “I’m glad I happened to be fleeing in the same direction as you,” he said with a wry smile.

  I looked at the fallen boar. “Me, too. Is it dead? How’d you kill it?”

  He shook his head. “Not dead. Definitely unconscious, and if my spell was strong enough, it should stay that way for the rest of the night. But I had to prepare the spell hastily, so we should move away from here quickly, just in case.”