Page 141 of Ashborne Forged

‘Nothing yet.’

‘You’re close enough to see them, even if they’re on the wooded side of the house?’

He offered the feeling equivalent of raising an unimpressed brow. I smiled into the dark and trotted down the narrow stairs that passed inside the stone exterior of the house, to a door that emerged just short of the trade entrance at the kitchen. It was the fastest way to get outside. Very risky during the day when staff would move in and out of the house on this side, along with the occasional trader or merchant trying to sell wares. But in the middle of the night, the safest and fastest route out to my dragon, short of simply walking out the front door.

‘Yes,’ he drawled when I didn’t apologize for the question, his tone clear that I shouldn’t even have asked.

It was a relief to be moving through the dark, knowing that if anyone had perceived my flight, they would struggle to follow me. God had blessed me with a near-moonless night, and enough cloud cover that even the stars were few and far between.

But my peace, being out in the night, in the company of my dragon, would be short-lived.

I’d been right about Mother taking action when she was on her way to bed. Just minutes past midnight, the footman my mother held under her thumb with the threat of his wife’s death had been called into service. He left the house quietly, but through the front door, looking left and right, then trotting into the night—past the house, and away from the road, unaware that I was on his heels.

‘Kham, Stay in range, but don’t let anyone from the house see you.’

‘Of course not.’ He was still annoyed about my question, but he wouldn’t allow it to affect a mission.

We moved together in our minds, but taking very different paths. I followed the man primarily by sight, while Kham flew high, using his senses to shadow our progress, while staying well out of sight and sound.

Half an hour later, a couple miles from the house, the nervous footman darted past a thick tree and into a moonlit clearing. I’d given him plenty of space because the trees were thinner here, and Kham was drawing nearer, sensing the man’s agitation increasing in anticipation.

We’d been triangulating him, coming at him from different angles. Unconcerned that I couldn’t see him, I didn’t rush, because I knew Kham would keep him in range—but then, as I reached the edge of the clearing and peered around a wide trunk, a jolt of alarm reached me through the bond. From Kham.

‘What’s—’

‘Take care—take great care, Voski. They’re here. They’re here and close and… Creator, help us, I didn’t even sense him near!’

‘Him? The footman?’

‘No. The dragon.’

I went still. ‘They’re already here?’

Kham remained quiet. He hadn’t known the fury was there? How was that possible? Dragons possessed a sixth-sense for each other.

Though, if this wasn’t one of his herd, that connection would be weak. Still…

Swallowing confusion and a sudden chill, I carefully turned and slipped around the tree, keeping myself flat to it so I wouldn’t be seen in the dark, moving in an attempt to get a clear view into the clearing. But the lack of moonlight worked against us.

With Kham muttering in the bond, and his heart slowly sinking, I couldn’t shake the sense of impending doom—and frustration. How had a dragon gotten this close to the house without Kham being aware? And why was my dragon so flustered?

‘Because, you’ll see. He isn’t… something is deeply wrong!’ Kham protested.

I continued to creep through the trees, trying to get close enough to the other side of the clearing to see clearly—eventually able to hear voices, and once, a deep, resonant snort.

“…just said to be ready for tomorrow. Daylight hours. Before the lunch bell. When the sun is up, so he’ll have the heat.” That was the footman, his voice tight and high.

“But did she mention the gold?”

“Do I look like they speak to me of gold?”

“Waiting like this could get me killed!” the second voice said, a deep, gruff male voice, but not one I recognized. “I’ve half a mind to simply leave. We’re already two days late!”

“Certainly,” the footman sneered. “Off you go, then. I’m sure that will work well when you show up without her.”

“But the go—”

“Shut up about the bloody gold—your choices are to do as you’re told, or not. Don’t look to me for assistance when she stops your heart with a look.”