Lance of Earth and Sky - By Erin Hoffman Page 0,16

the storm was bearing down on the craft, too small to be one of the gryphons.

Her feathers were black, nearly invisible against the dark clouds, except for streaks of white around her eyes and at the tips of her primaries. Clawed feet, large and strong, caught the forward rail easily, and she perched there like a gargoyle, haloed with a blue aura of electricity.

Mad as it was, Vidarian prepared for a fight, for a stream of insane babbling followed by an elemental attack. But the strange seridi only looked down at the pup and laughed, reaching out to ruffle his fur.

At this Vidarian called out a warning, which, too, was unnecessary. An arc of electricity flashed out from the pup's spines, strong this time, but the seridi's aura absorbed it harmlessly.

“He has a good spirit!” the new visitor cried, her beak parted in a seridi smile at Vidarian.

“Glad to hear it!” he shouted. “Could you—ah—”

“Oh! Of course!” Her feathers slicked down in what would have been sheepishness in a gryphon and he guessed was the same for seridi. Then she made a strange twisting motion with her hands and the storm tamed instantly: lightning vanished, thunder grumbled into silence, the sky itself around them lightened. By the time she pulled her fingers apart again, shafts of sunlight were breaking through the clouds.

* Such quickness! *

Living or…whatever it was she was now…Ruby had never impressed easily, but in this case Vidarian could hardly disagree. Not only was this seridi equipped with a level of elemental ability yet unseen in this age, she was accustomed to it, used it as easily as touch or speech.

Altair and Thalnarra glided closer to the craft, exchanging greetings with their new guest. Isri, who must have fallen from the craft at the lightning strike, performed an interesting full-body shake in midair that sent water droplets flying from her feathers, then came to a delicate landing on the aft rail.

“I am Alikai, of the Alar seridi,” the newcomer said to Vidarian, and then added, to Isri, “first storm-wielder, second speaker to Sia'kalia.”

// You call the goddess by her ancient name, // Altair said.

She parted her beak slightly in a smile: // I did not know she had taken a new one, sky-brother. But the wind has always worn many names. //

“They call her Siane now,” Isri said gently. “Have you spoken with your clansfolk, since coming through the gate?”

* She doesn't know! * Ruby said, exactly as Vidarian realized the same thing. Now the seridi's facial feathers were roused with nervousness.

“I have not, mindspeaker.” Her crest, black striped with thin lines of white, lifted as she bowed her head in embarrassment. “I must confess my relief at escaping the gate was so great that I flew aimlessly with the wind, then created this storm, and have ridden it since.”

“You should go to your people, who remain at the gate,” Isri said, stepping down from the rail and carefully crossing the craft to take Alikai's hands in her own. “Much needs to be done. Many did not emerge from the gate whole.”

The black-plumaged seridi nodded, her head still lowered, droplets clinging to her long eyelashes. “I have been foolish, indulging in storm-play out here.”

// We all emerged from the gate changed, and owe no apologies for tending first to our own recovery, // Isri said. Rarely did she use her formidable telepathic ability to project speech, but when she did, the warm light of her spirit engulfed all who listened with strength and compassion.

Alikai nodded, and lifted her head, dashing tears away with a fingertip. “I will return. Thank you for calling to me.” She smiled again at Vidarian, and held her hands out to the wolf pup, who eagerly trotted to them. “Take care of this one,” she said, rubbing his eye-ridges. “I haven't seen his like in quite some time!”

The next three days of flying went smoothly, without unnatural storm or mishap. By night they landed and the gryphons hunted, and they rose to the air again with dawn's light. When they could see the ground, Calphille kept Vidarian occupied with questions as to which people lived where, what villages lay below them, and the names of rivers that had shifted in their beds since last she saw them. He tried not to be grateful for the distraction, but her curiosity was infectious.

Inhabited territories grew more numerous the farther northeast they traveled, and on the fourth morning, thick banks of fog obscured much of the ground