Page 25 of Galadon
Apparently, even shifters had that tradition. She’d have to come up with something, though she had no idea what. The old Kandoran territory was pretty much the Wild West, with few modern items left to pilfer that might be appropriate for a baby,especially a shifter that could burn almost anything made by humans.
“Of course,” Rayna said solemnly, not letting her doubt show.
She and Titan headed toward the village, working their way around the children running in human and dragon form on the field. Their laughter filled the air. A couple of them chased each other and blew flames at their friends. Of course, it couldn’t hurt them, but they made a fun game of it. They'd often come out last fall before the war, but there had been underlying tension then. Now, she detected only joy and happiness among the Taugud and humans who lived there.
It was about a five-minute walk from the landing pad to the village, so it didn’t take long to reach the stables, even with them at the far end of the long road that cut through the houses and businesses. Many people were either out doing chores like laundry or sitting on their porches chatting with friends. Seeing such normal behavior was so strange when she never saw it during her travels.
Onyx nickered as soon as she came near his stall. Her horse was undoubtedly restless and ready for exercise after two days. He’d needed the break, and it had given the farrier a chance to put new shoes on him. The stallion had been overdue.
After opening the stall door, she checked him and ensured his hooves looked good. The man who was previously from Watonga had done excellent work. Onyx would be set for a while as long as he didn’t do anything too crazy, which was always a risk with him. She let him nuzzle her chest as he showed her how much he missed her.
You return unharmed,he said.
She smiled.Of course.
It was hard to believe they’d been together for nearly four years now. Ever since Rayna had come away from a tough battle in a rural area of Kentucky and heard Onyx’s wild neighs from a nearby barn. It was clear the house next to it had been recently burned and his previous owners dead.
He’d been trapped and starving in his stall, unable to get free. She’d intended only to release him, but he’d followed her despite her discouraging him. Before long, they’d become friends with them telepathically speaking together often. It was tough keeping him out of danger that first year since he was brave even back then, but she’d eventually found a sorcerer who could make a potion to protect her horse from fire. After that, she’d felt a little more confident riding him while out hunting.
It’s lonely here.
“I missed you, too,” she whispered to Onyx, understanding how he didn’t like them apart.
Titan stood to the side quietly as she readied her horse for travel. Thankfully, the few items she’d left here while on her trip to Texas were still by the door to her room above the stables. It only took a few minutes to halter him and pull on her pack.
Rayna turned to Titan. “Guess I’m off then.”
“Try to stay out of trouble,” he said, hugging her tightly.
She squeezed him back. “I will, and you try not to work too hard. Take some time to relax now and then.”
The shifter gave her a pained smile. “It’s still difficult when everywhere I go there are memories of Eliam. Keeping myself busy helps, but I’ll try to relax if you will take care of yourself.”
“Fair enough,” she agreed.
Without another word, she mounted her horse and headed west.
Chapter 11
Galadon
The late afternoon sun heated my scales as I flew along the southern border of my territory. It had been quiet since the attack a few days ago, but I knew that could change anytime. The Takaran dragon toriq bordered my land on three sides. Until several years ago, when I joined the Faegud, they had regularly tried to infiltrate my wards to get inside, and it appeared they’d resumed their efforts.
Despite having more than enough territory of their own, I had suspicions about the reason. Old magic predating my arrival six centuries ago pulsed up ahead. As I flew closer, I could view one of the sources. Within a stained silver zaphiriam metal ring about twenty feet in diameter, polished dark gray algodonite stones were embedded about every eighteen inches with strange symbols carved into them. I’d tried prying them from the circle a few times over the centuries, but they didn’t budge.
A spell using foreign magic held them fast to the polished metal, and even when I used my full power, they easily rebuffed my attempts. I’d spent too many hours studying the strange relic, but I still couldn’t discern its purpose, nor had it ever done anything interesting. It simply rested on the ground, impossible to dismantle or lift from the earth.
About two hundred feet beyond it, an even stronger magic pulsed like the beat of a drum in my veins. It could be felt nearly two miles away, partly into Takaran territory. Nothing visible explained the source, except I’d somehow always known there must be an artifact of some sort buried underground. If not for the perfect bed of otherworldly blue-green grass that never yellowed with the seasons or grew beyond four inches high, there would be no visual evidence of something unusual there.
The lush field of vegetation boasted no trees or bushes, but every year around mid-April, pale pink flowers rose two feet high and bloomed with petals, each as large as my hand. Zorya help anyone who came near them. They spit out a thick cloud of poisonous pollen that left me sick with severe stomach cramps and a brutal migraine for a week when I was nine. I’d only caught the edge of the plume, or else, I might have died.
At least a hundred covered the field now, lying in wait for someone oblivious enough to visit them. They’d remain until late May before dying off. If I had to put up with them, at least they were pretty enough to look at from a distance.
In the fall, the same field of grass produced three-foot-tall lavender flowers. These even stranger blooms spread wide enough to fit my head, but the sharp teeth at the tips of the thick petals gave me plenty of warning to stay away. The spring flowers had already tricked me by then, so I knew better than to go near anything that sprung from that grass.
I had witnessed the occasional bird, rabbit, or squirrel pass too close, and the plant had lunged forward to grab and gobble up its prey. A few days later, it would spit out the bones, fur, or feathers it didn’t want in a pile that would get absorbed by the rich soil. It did leave some insects, such as beesand butterflies, alone. The carnivorous plant lasted eight to ten weeks each autumn, dying with the first frost.
If I wanted to explore the field, I had to do it between those seasons. Originally, the field was smaller and only took up about ten square feet of space, but over the years, it had grown. Now, I estimated that it spanned a couple hundred feet in each direction and would eventually reach the lake a quarter mile west of here. I suspected something was deep under the ground, but the one time I tried digging, my talons didn’t make it more than an inch down before pain suffused my entire body. It took an agonizing hour to free myself and crawl away.
