69

Leech

The storm had passed by the time they returned from their scavenging trip to Roland’s camp. The wind and the snowflakes seemed to have scoured the dust and impurities from the air so that everything he saw on the moonlit ground seemed sharply etched on his eyes.

Since he had given Pele’s charm to Scirye, Leech had taken a coat from the camp to wear over his robe. Even then, he still felt cold, but his discomfort vanished when he spotted Roland’s body. “We don’t want any more bad guys getting hold of the ring,” Leech said as he rose on the discs and left the cloud.

As he sped toward Roland, he saw the bow a few yards away. Circling around, he hovered while he squatted in midair and picked it up. The wood seemed to pulse against his palm and the string hummed. As he slung it over his shoulder, he felt the vibrations pulse through him.

He went on until he reached Roland, who was lying facedown. Roland’s hand was already cold and Leech was afraid the archer’s ring might be frozen on the finger, but it slid off easily into his palm.

He gazed down at the jewelry carved out of bone. It seemed like such a harmless thing, but it had started all of them on this strange journey. It was too bad that Scirye wasn’t here to share the moment.

When he had reached the cloud again, he handed the ring to Kat. “Here. I think Scirye would want you to return this for her.”

Tears appeared at the corner of the tough warrior’s eyes. “Now Nishke’s spirit can finally rest.”

Oko hefted a shovel to her shoulder. “Not until we find her little sister.”

*   *   *

Primo landed them upon the hill that was all that remained of Kemshap. A team of prisoners wrestled a portable generator off the cloud while a second team carried the lights that Roland had used on calmer evenings. All of them were volunteers, some seemed genuinely moved by Scirye’s sacrifice while others, realizing they were technically traitors, were trying to curry favor by cooperating.

Even though they were as impatient as Leech to begin digging, Scirye’s parents had to wait for the lights to come on.

But a dragon is used to finding her way in the lightless depths of the ocean. As they stepped off Primo’s strange craft, Bayang pointed to the broken column. “We’ll dig there,” Bayang announced to the other rescuers, “but since we can’t be sure this is where Kemshap’s heart is, the rest of you should explore elsewhere.”

As they climbed up the slope, Koko munched a cookie that he had found in the mess tent. “I bet we hear Kles long before we see him,” he said, trying to lift his friends’ spirits.

“He’ll be giving a lecture on internal organs,” Bayang agreed.

Leech chuckled. “There’s one person who likes the sound of his own voice.” All three of them wanted to cling to the faint hope that their friends had survived.

Bayang said a growth spell and her body shimmered in an iridescent mist until she was three times as large. “Be careful not to get behind me,” she warned. Then the dragon began to dig, her large paws breaking up the frozen dirt into clods that she cast behind her. Soon she was digging in a steady rhythm like a scaled steam shovel.

As he watched the mound of discarded earth rise behind Bayang, Leech was sure they’d find Scirye soon. Going to a spot on the other side of the shattered arrow, Leech swung a pickaxe. The cold ground was like iron but he worked determinedly until there was a small pile of rubble, which Koko lifted away with his shovel.

Soon, despite the cold, he was sweating. A little distance away he heard the generator cough into life and light suddenly flooded the slopes. All about them, people began digging.

And we won’t leave until we’ve found our friends, the Voice said.

No, we won’t, Leech promised.