“You stay as high as you can, don’t get too close, don’t land, and come straight back.” The tension returned to Tauran’s voice, his grip on the reins tight. He clearly hated that he couldn’t do it himself. “You’re not a soldier, Kalai. Promise me.”
Kalai steered his mount close and pried Tauran’s hand from the reins. “I promise.”
Tauran nodded.
Kalai passed his horse’s reins to Tauran and mounted Arrow, quiet unease mixing with the excitement inside him. Tauran transferred Kalai’s saddle bags to Arrow, just in case. They didn’t know what they were flying into. But they’d spent weeks practicing together on the ground. They were ready for a real task.
“Remember.” Tauran’s horse shifted nervously under his tight rein. “If you start to feel light-headed, give Arrow the signal to descend.”
“I know,” Kalai said, taking care not to let his impatience color his voice. Tauran cared about him. Kalai would have acted the same if their roles were reversed. “I’ll see you in a moment.”
Tauran answered with a casual salute.
Kalai gave Arrow the signal for flight. With a few long leaps, they were in the air, rising toward the low clouds with steady beats of Arrow’s wings.
Kalai glanced at Tauran, Leyra and the horses growing smaller. Swallowing, Kalai directed Arrow south and settled in. This would be their longest flight together, yet, and he wouldn’t have Tauran near if things went wrong.
But Tauran trusted him with this. Kalai wouldn’t let him down.
He’d left Kel Visal for an adventure, and he was damn sure getting one. The landscape raced by below. When Kalai looked back up, he realized what the strange, straight column was.
“Smoke,” he whispered, his voice stolen by the wind. “It’s a fire.”
* * *
It wasn’t just a fire. It was a chimney. Atop a house. A whole house, right in the middle of the marshes.
Kalai rubbed his eyes to make sure they didn’t deceive him, but the house remained, more details growing visible the closer they came.
It sat on a relatively large stretch of dry land, a fence of crooked sticks forming a circle around it. Beside the house was a smaller building, perhaps a stable, or a shed.
Kalai slowed Arrow as they approached. This close, it was obvious that the house had been built from materials gathered in the marshes. The walls and roof were a mixture of dried mud and gnarled branches, although the chimney was made of stacked stones, the smoke rising from it betraying that there was, in fact, someone home.
Who in all the skies would live all the way out here?
Was this where the coordinates had sent them?
What if whoever lived inside had the answers the note promised?
Eagerness made Kalai lean too far left in the effort to turn around, and Arrow voiced his annoyance with a quiet sound.
“Sorry, buddy,” Kalai said, releasing the neck strap with one hand to stroke his smooth scales. “But we’ve got to tell Tauran what we found!”
Arrow seemed to sense his impatience and increased speed, beating his wings without pause. The speed made Kalai’s eyes water, and he bent down, the heat from Arrow’s scales soaking through his clothes. True freedom had never tasted sweeter.
After what felt like ages, Leyra’s form below grew larger. Tauran rode beside her, leading Kalai’s horse by the reins on a narrow strip of land between two large pools. When he spotted Arrow and Kalai, he raised an arm and waved.
Kalai smiled, waving back. Then, something else caught his eye: Two large, smooth forms, moving in the pools on either side of Tauran. Only a section of their bodies broke the opaque water, but the width of them was twice that of Leyra’s. As Kalai watched, they disappeared below, leaving only ripples in their wake.
Kalai waved at Tauran, urging Arrow downward. “Watch out!” he shouted, but he was still too far to be heard. Tauran only waved back, making no move to rush.
“Tauran!” Kalai’s voice broke. “Faster!” he urged, pressing hard on the neck strap. Arrow folded his wings and dove, Kalai’s hands nearly slipping on the saddle before he tugged himself low.
Both creatures burst from the water at once, arching over Leyra and Tauran with their jaws parted wide. Kalai had not been prepared for the size of them. One giant, eel-like head suddenly blocked Arrow’s downward path.
Arrow fanned out his wings, stopping his descent. His head jerked upward before Kalai was ready, and Arrow’s neck-spikes filled his vision a split-second before colliding with Kalai’s head. Kalai