The icy cold stream froze Sanna’s knuckles. She crouched near the bank, closed a fist. The tight joint had no feeling.
How odd.
Totally numb.
Could she manage that with her feelings? With the paralyzed sensation in her chest? Doubtful.
Sanna leaned back on her haunches and withdrew her hand from the stream. Her palms pressed into the dirt with sharp prickles of ice. Her breath billowed in front of her as she tried to recall the lacy designs the smoke used to make.
Did Luteis seethe in this penetrating cold? Did fog whisper off his scales on chilly days? Dragons were bottled fire, so it stood to reason. But she couldn’t remember. A cracking stick brought her attention around. She jerked back to the moment.
“Just me,” Jesse called. “I came to check on you.”
Sanna stood, spun around to face him. She shook her fingers, flicking the last of the water droplets off their tips, and shoved them into her coat pocket. The crunch of his boots over frosty ground approached.
“How did you know where to find me?”
“A hunch. You always liked this spot. We’re not all that far from Anguis, really.”
Heat bloomed across the back of her neck. When was the last time she stood alone with Jesse? She couldn’t remember. Definitely before she lost her sight. Since then . . . well . . . all swirled in a miasma that made it hard to recall.
“I asked Luteis to bring me here because it feels safe.”
He stopped within arms length. She could feel his closeness and resisted the urge to reach out and confirm.
“How are you, Sanna? Roxi says you stopped by yesterday, had some questions about building a house.”
“Oh! Yes. I have . . . yes. So many. Do you know how to build a house?”
He chortled. “Definitely not.”
“Oh.”
“Daid knows a little. Enough that we could probably figure something out, but there’s a lot we’d need to learn and a lot we’d do wrong.”
“I see.”
Her throat tightened. Tears came so easily, sometimes without warning. She pushed those back. While she had Jesse, she could get answers. Besides, it was nice to have someone else break up the daily monotony.
His voice moved, as if his head twisted around when he said, “Is this where you want to stay?”
“No, we’re just here while Isadora looks into something for us.”
“The creature?”
“Did she tell you about it?”
“Roxi did. Daid’s never seen or heard anything like it, though. Me either.”
“Nothing?”
“No. Weird that it has no smell. Not even for Luteis?”
Her shoulders slumped. “He says there’s a vague something, but nothing strong and identifiable. We can’t understand it either. Isadora is going to a library to find a book on creatures in the forest.”
“The Great Library of Burke?”
“Sure? That sounds right.”
He kicked at a rock. The hollow thunk of it hitting the tree reverberated around them. “I’m jealous. I’ve heard a lot about it, now that I’m speaking with villagers a bit more. Wish I could see it.”
“I’m sure she’d take you.”
“There’d probably be books on building houses there.”
Suddenly, the library sounded a lot more interesting.
“Really?”
“Sure.”
“But . . .”
Her elation died. How would she read the books? Someone else would have to read it to her, and didn’t that defeat the purpose of living independently? No matter how she looked at it, she needed help. Isadora had mentioned special books that she could feel . . .
His tone changed undeniably, dropping register. “Hey, what are those?”
“What do you mean?
“Those . . . things . . . on the trees? Did Luteis tell you about them?”
“What things?”
The rasp of shoes moving over snow came again. His voice was a little farther away when he said, “They’re white, kind of bulbous. Giant sacs, maybe? They’re sticking out of the tree trunk just behind this one. Probably thirty of them.”
Cold fear struck Sanna in the chest.
“White?” she whispered.
“Yes. Almost like . . . I don’t know . . . like giant spider eggs? Except they’re attached to the side of the trees.”
Sanna froze.
“What?”
Another twig cracked under his feet as he shifted away. His voice rang from even farther back, but she didn’t have to strain to hear.
“There are several. All of them are higher up, spread across several trees.”
“Luteis never mentioned them.”
“Huh. Well, you can’t miss them. They’re . . . pretty huge. They make the trees look misshapen and strange.”
Luteis? she inquired.
A beat of quiet passed before he replied. Yes, little one?
Where are you?
Not far. Do you need me?
Yes, please.
A distant dragon cry followed, not far to her right.
“Luteis is on his way back. We’ll ask him, just to be sure, but I don’t think they were there before. I’m sure he would have mentioned them.”
Wouldn’t he?
Sanna curled her fingers into her palm, grateful that her gloves hid the nervous gesture. Despite attempts to push Mam’s voice away, she couldn’t stop thinking about her suggestion that Jesse and Sanna court each other.
Just . . . weird.
Gratitude that he was here followed in a rush. What if the white things were going to attack her? Did his presence stop them?
“What is Luteis doing, by the way?” he asked.
“Just stalking some rodents for me to eat later.”
“You stay here alone?”
“He didn’t go far. There was a rabbit he scented not far away. Otherwise, I go everywhere with him. Just in case.”
“Oh.”
“He doesn’t leave me unless I go to Mam’s. He’s really good to me. Always taking care of me and keeping me safe.”
Somehow, the words rang hollow. They were true, but perhaps not something to be so proud of. Really, her dependence on Luteis had only increased as they ventured into the challenge of developing her independence.
Without him, the forest was so . . .
. . . terrifying.
No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise. Admitting it came with a heavy weight of grief.
“How are you, Jesse?” she asked, eager to hear more of his voice. It changed the forest in a friendly way. “Mam says you’re busy in forester villages.”
He huffed a laugh. A budding excitement thrummed underneath. “Yes, very busy. A blacksmith just asked me to apprentice with him. He said I’m strong as an ox and promised a steady stream of supplies if I wanted them.”
“Are you going to accept?”
“Already did.”
“Oh!”
“Daid isn’t too happy.” He let out a quick breath. “But that’s Daid and it’s my life. He’s having a hard time admitting that the time of the Dragonmasters is over. I’m not the only one leaving the families, you know? Lucey already built her own life. Greata will leave as soon as Hans is a bit older. Trey will probably stay and trap, at least for awhile. Build up some trading power. I think he wants to see if it will work out for me first, then he’ll give life in the villages a try.”
The dissolution of their former life came without much fear in his voice. Didn’t the thought of so much change frighten him? Unseat what he always knew?
“Daid is . . . struggling,” he continued. “He wants to hold onto the old ways and hide in the forest. That might have worked when we had three families to support each other, but now?”
He blew a raspberry.
Sanna sucked in a breath. By Drago, she understood Elliot’s response better than Jesse’s, and what did that mean about her?
“You don’t want the old life?”
“No,” he exclaimed. “Noooo. There’s so much more out there! Magic and witches and supplies and . . . did you know that there are spells to fetch water and do laundry?” His fingers snapped. “It’s that easy!”
She startled.
A short-lived yearning bolted through her, then back out. Indeed, it sounded fantastic. Life without sight would be much easier, but magic always came at a cost.
“Maybe Elliot is afraid of using magic,” she said, bristling. The ground trembled as Luteis approached. “Elliot has been told all his life that it’s wrong, and bad. It’s hard to just . . . just turn that off and do something previously forbidden!”
“But it’s not wrong. We’re here to do magic, Sanna. It’s part of what witches are. Talis deprived us of a fundamental facet of our existence, and I say good riddance to him. I’m living my life.”
“Well maybe Elliot doesn’t truly realize that yet!”
The shrill note in her voice startled her. She paused, breath held, and waited. Jesse seemed to do the same. Finally, her emotion ebbed. The de-escalation of panic left her shaky.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t ask you to talk about things you’re not ready to talk about. I’m . . . sad, Sanna. For Daid, my siblings, and for you, too. Talis tried to convince us that using everyday magic would harm the dragons, when really he just wanted to control us. In the end, we lost. Your situation is different, anyway.”
She reared back. “What?”
“Well, you tried magic. You engaged with it, then you lost everything. You commandeered a powerful magical system, became High Dragonmaster, and set all dragon races free from bondage. Mori, but your unwillingness to use magic probably has more to do with all that it cost you, not just fear of Talis.”
He said the last like a toss away comment. Something he’d observed, but maybe hadn’t proven yet. She felt like he’d reached into her soul and plucked a chord. Her body trembled, as if she dipped into a cool bath, then a hot one.
Probably has more to do with all it cost you.
By Drago, that was it!
She didn’t actually fear long-dead Talis, nor the vengeance of a hidden god. Drago had long dissolved in her mind. She feared the magic. Meddling with such powers had introduced her to all manner of dragons, different parts of Alkarra, and a grand scale of ability previously improbable. In the end, she walked away without her sight, a life she didn’t ask for, and no connection to the dragons she saved.
All because of magic.
Rising emotions surged like a tide too great to battle. Tears sprang to her eyes. Only Luteis saved her from an epic emotional breakdown.
I’m here, little one.
He nudged her from behind. She reached back, touched him. The moment her palm hit scales, she calmed. The tears evaporated to deal with later.
“Merry meet, Luteis,” Jesse said. “Good to see you again.”
Luteis snorted an amiable greeting. He is quite pleasant, as far as witches are concerned.
Sanna cleared her throat, removing the final vestiges of emotion. “Show him, Jesse?”
It didn’t take long for Luteis to comprehend what Jesse pointed out. Shock filled his serpentine voice.
Those were not there when I left, little one. Only a short while ago.
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” she whispered darkly. “Luteis says that they weren’t there earlier. He’s only been gone twenty minutes, maybe.”
“Huh.”
“You didn’t see anything?”
“No.”
Little one, I will not allow you to stay. We must leave. The forest isn’t safe. Whatever this creature is, or isn’t, it stalks us.
It’ll just follow us! We can’t lead it back to Mam and Elliot’s. We’re going to have to get rid of it in a different way.
He growled.
“What are you going to do?” Jesse asked.
“We’re going to find somewhere else to sleep tonight,” she announced. “We’ll keep moving until we figure out what it is. Will you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Send Isadora a message? Tell her we’re going to follow the stream north. Luteis will leave burn marks along the way. She can find us along the stream, or back at Mam’s. I’ll check in there everyday around dawn. Until we know what we’re fighting, we need to evade.”
“Sure. Right away.”
“Thank you.”
Sanna put her hand on Luteis’s flank, comforted by his warmth. Whatever stalked them wasn’t about to leave, and she wouldn’t bring it to Mam’s doorstep. It would harm Elliot’s children, perhaps destroy their home.
“I’ll come check on you,” Jesse said with unusual gravity. “Sanna, please be safe.”
“We will. I promise.”
He left with a mere whisper. The quiet rang until Sanna broke it with a steely declaration.
“We’re not going to run from it, Luteis. We’re going to face it down. Blind or not, this is my forest, my home. I will not be bullied away.”