Lance of Earth and Sky - By Erin Hoffman Page 0,15
the sky's edge, dampening Vidarian's spirits further. As if acknowledging his attention, an icy storm wind swept over the craft, flattening the gryphons' feathers and finding every nook and cranny in the small ship. Lightning flickered, echoing through the distant thunderheads, and from Vidarian's side, the pup lifted his head and let loose an eerie howl.
Was it the everstorm, the perpetual blizzard that hung over the Windsmouth? But no—they'd passed over those spectacular mountains not long after leaving the gate site, and the everstorm itself had dissipated (for esoteric elemental reasons the gryphons had argued over at length) with the gate's opening.
In moments the storm was upon them, flying with unnatural speed. As it drew closer, it raised the hair on the back of Vidarian's neck, and not out of merely electricity or fear. There was an elemental force behind the storm.
And that wasn't all. The storm did “fly”—it had a shape: a giant hawk with outspread wings, lightning crackling from its “feathers.”
The craft rocked suddenly, and behind him Calphille yelped as she grabbed for a handhold. Vidarian turned to assist her, clinging to his own seat, and saw the source of the impact: Isri had landed, not gracefully, on the port quarter.
“There is an elementalist at the center of this storm!” She shook water out of her eyes and arched her wings over her head to block the rain.
// We noticed, // Altair called, and Vidarian lifted himself slightly to look for either or both of the gryphons. At first they were nowhere to be found—then he saw the flash of a white wing, signaling Altair's presence several ship lengths away. He and Thalnarra had given the Destiny a wider berth when the storm hit, almost certainly to avoid being driven into the sails, or worse, by a blast of wind.
But how could there be an elementalist this high up? A gryphon?
“They are seridi, but my mind cannot reach them! Their defenses are formidable!” Isri answered his unasked question, an unnerving habit she had. More disturbing still was the thought of a seridi that could block her out, and create or control the storm at the same time.
Humans were rarely gifted with either telepathy or elemental magic, but Vidarian knew now that both the seridi and gryphons could carry them at independent levels of strength. Still, even for their kind, someone with Isri's mind-strength and Altair's elemental ability was extremely rare.
// She is an electricity mage, // Altair offered. // A lightning-wielder. //
“How do you know it's a she?” Vidarian yelled, in between bursts of thunder.
// Electricity is a specialization within air magic, // he said, tearing through a bank of cloud and coming into view only for a moment. // And her energy has a female signature. //
“Is she sane?” He clung again to the seat as the Destiny pitched. Calphille, pressed to the deck, cried out again, but held herself steady even with one arm wrapped around the wolf pup, who continued to bark at the sky.
“I cannot tell…” Isri began, then closed her eyes, head-feathers rousing. “She is Alar, storm clan!” Isri cried over the storm.
“Like the last one we captured!” Vidarian shouted back, and Isri nodded emphatically. “You said they were dangerous!”
Just then, the wolf pup ceased his barking but wriggled free of Calphille's grip and scuttled to the forward bow. He put his paws up on the rail and howled.
Three arcs of lightning shot down out of the thunderhead above them, striking the pup, who howled even louder. Vidarian was knocked back off his seat and into Calphille, blinded and senseless.
Vidarian thrashed, unthinking, on the deck, and this time Calphille reached to steady him. When the stun wore off, he straightened, anxiety and grief hitting him like a wall from the wolf pup.
As his vision slowly returned, punctuated by more blasts of lightning off the bow, he saw a shape still standing at the forward rail, and wondered if the pup had been burned standing up, seared in place.
But then the shape moved. A howl split the air, muffled to Vidarian's still-impaired hearing, but distinct.
* Impossible! * Ruby had kept her thoughts to herself throughout the whole journey so far, but now radiated astonishment.
// Control that creature! // Altair thundered, his voice bitter and sharp like lightning-struck wood. // It's calling down the storm! //
Lightning flashed again, mercifully distant, and the pup barked joyously at it again. Altair was right—the pup was calling the lightning. And it was answering!