Part 23 (1/2)

Twenty-six.

Friend of Highwing.

She thought, in her dream, that she glimpsed a strange, delicate creature that whispered to her of Highwing in his dungeon - of Highwing hearing her call and dying many times over because he had no way to answer her, no way to let her know that he believed in her still, that he remained faithful in his friends.h.i.+p. She thought, in her dream, that the creature entered the dragon's cavern like a spirit-being, emerging from the burning embers of the fire, and disappearing again the way it had come. She thought that the creature was a fire elemental, and then she thought it was not that, after all, but instead a slim lemurlike thing covered with silken fur, and that it slipped across the stone hearth with the stealth of a cat.

Its appearance made her afraid at first, and then her fears were stilled.

Jael!

She felt a hand touch her, and heard a rumbling snort. She opened her eyes, and saw the rigger-station controls as a ghostly presence over her. She had nearly dropped all the way out of the net. But the sounds she had heard were from the other side, from the world of the Flux. Dazed, she sank back into the net and found herself in the gloom of the dragon's cavern, by the hearth. It seemed unreal, impossible; but she knew that it wasn't. It was as real as her s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, as real as her own hands pressed to the cold stone. Ar was shaking her gently. Ed was fluttering his wings, making a gargling sound.

And the dragon, Windrush, had raised his head and was looking around the cavern.Who is here?

We are,Jael mumbled.We never left.

Not you. Something else.The dragon c.o.c.ked his head, snorting sparks.An iffling. While I slept, an iffling was here. His eyes rotated to gaze at his guests.Did you see it?Ar looked puzzled.An iffling? There was a moment . . .when I thought I felt, or saw ... something.

But I don't know what it was, and it pa.s.sed quickly.

Jael remembered the images in her dream.I may have seen it, she murmured. She described the creature that she had seen, or imagined, in her sleep. Was it like the being she had glimpsed once talking to Highwing? She wasn't sure; she hadn't seen either one very clearly.

But Windrush was nodding gravely, his eyes glowing with a smoky inner fire. He seemed perturbed by her report, particularly the mention of Highwing's awareness of her presence. He lifted his head and sniffed the air and shot a frustrated flame toward the ceiling.

Then it was true, Jael thought. The dream-visit had been real. And Highwing was alive, and knew she was in the realm. How could she not do everything in her power to reach him?

The dragon was watching her now, his eyes darkening.I sense your thoughts, he observed.You do not know what you ask of yourself. There is nothing that you can do. Nothing that any of us can do.

Jael rose and strode to face the dragon at close range. Though his head rested on his forefeet, she had to look up into his eye. He seemed more ma.s.sive than ever before. The scales that covered his head shone dimly in the cold light of the dying hearth fire.I must try. And if that means trying alone, I will do that, she said flatly.

Smoke billowed from the reptile's nostrils.Are you so certain of what you wish to do?

I know what Imustdo.

May I point out, at least, that your strength is limited here? You would not last. It would be best if you let me fly you to the edge of our world, so that you could leave all of this safely behind you.His gaze narrowed.In truth, you know, our troubles are not your concern.

Ar made a clearing-of-the-throat sound.He has a point, Jael. Our s.h.i.+p is damaged. We limped into these mountains. I don't know how we can expect to - But Windrush could help us,Jael interrupted.Couldn't you?

The dragon gave her a measured look.I confess that I do not understand your powers, or your role in our world - if you still have a role to play. He hesitated.The Words of prophecy, I admit, seem to suggest that you might. But I perceive that your strength has been weakened by the ... mishap ...

that brought you here.

Jael could not dispute the point. She scuffed at the stone floor of the cavern with her booted foot. The floor was solid, cold, hard. A part of her wanted to believe that this was all a rigger-illusion, but she knew that it wasn't. Her debts, and her honor, were as real here as they were back in that world of s.p.a.ce and stars and planets. Turning to Ar, she said,I know you don't think we should do this. I wish there were some way that we could split up, so that you could take the s.h.i.+p to safety, and I could go on with this alone.

Ar reached out with both hands.Jael, please!

But there isn't, is there?she continued, not responding to his gesture.Ar, I have to do this - to try, anyway. At least, that's the way I feel. She swallowed, knowing that she couldn't make the decision alone. Not only would that be unfair, it would be impossible, if Ar opposed her.

Awk!The parrot flapped his wings violently.Try! We Try! Yes, Jayl?Ar looked askance at the bird before addressing Jael again.What do you think you ... or we ... can do?

Jael had no plan, and she feared that there was little time left before Highwing's execution. She wished she could remember more clearly what the iffling had tried to tell her in the dream. What would Highwing say to her if he could speak?Windrush, she said suddenly,can you reach out to your father with your thoughts?

The dragon's breath hissed out unhappily.I have tried. But there is a barrier preventing me - a sorcery. I cannot break through.

Was that what he was doing when he was ranging outward with his thoughts in his sleep? Jael wondered.

She nodded in disappointment.What about the ifflings, then?

A raised eye ridge conveyed the dragon's puzzlement.

Couldn't you contact the ifflings and ask them to help us? If they have touched Highwing's thoughts in prison, then they must know how to reach him!

The dragon s.h.i.+fted position suddenly. He raised a talon, dangerously close to Jael, and scratched at the k.n.o.bby b.u.mps on the back of his head.A good idea, perhaps. But I do not know how to reach the ifflings, either. They come to me when they will, not when I will. I wish I couldcall them to me.

Jael squinted at him, then paced. There had to be a way.Do you know how to get to where he is being held? she asked.

The dragon's eyes glowed dully.To the Black Peak? Of course. But that won't necessarily help us find him.

Why not? Don't you know where he is imprisoned?

That, I fear, is a closely guarded secret,Windrush murmured.He is somewhere deep within the mountain, in a dungeon protected by tightly woven spells that alter the very shape and substance of the world. That is all know. I do not know the way, nor can I penetrate those spells.

Jael remembered the magical entrance that had brought them into this cavern. She believed Windrush when he said that such knowledge of Highwing's prison would be kept from him. But there had to be a way!

There was a sudden rasping sound behind her, and then a fluttering of wings, as Ed flew to her shoulder.

Rawk. Coming. Something coming, the bird muttered in her ear.

Windrush must have sensed the approach at the same time. The dragon's eyes brightened, and he raised his head, sniffing.It comes! he hissed in astonishment.

Jael turned to look and her heart nearly stopped. The creature from her dreams was crossing the cavern floor, walking toward them. It moved with four-footed grace, and its head was raised, eyeing them each in turn as it approached. It looked, as she'd remembered, like a sleek, huge-eyed lemur.h.e.l.lo, Jael whispered, scarcely knowing how to begin, knowing only that she had a thousand urgent questions.

You must go to Highwing now, if you would go at all,the creature said, its voice a willowy sigh in her head. Its eyes shone dark and glistening; but the real contact, Jael sensed, was not through the eyes but directly through the mind.You know how to reach him?Jael whispered.Can you take a message to him?

There is no time. Highwing rises to the peak now, and if you would speak to him in this lifetime ...

Jael felt an electric shock go through her.You mean ... he is being taken to his -? Her voice caught; she could not speak the words.

You must not delay,urged the iffling.For the draconae, if you will not do it for Highwing. For the memory of Skytouch!