Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

CHAPTER 24

Ryko hauled Lady Dela past the first stack. Her body was slumped against his tight hold, her face ominously pale.

'Take her,' Ryko said.

I caught her weight, barely managing to swing her around and rest her against the crate. There was fresh blood seeping through the bandaging and ripped armour. Her eyelids flickered.

Ryko eyed the bloodied sword in my hand. Are you all right?'

'I'm fine,' I said.

'Here.' He passed me its twin, sending a surge of new energy into my exhausted reserves. 'Go.

I'll hold them off.'

The mouth of the alley was suddenly blocked by men. Four of them in dark, close-fitting armour: Ido's private guard. Two men immediately came forwards, swords raised. Behind them, Ido swept a searching glance along the corridor, his height giving him a clear view.

Although his face was in shadow, I knew the moment his eyes found me.

'I want her alive,' he ordered and there was a caress in his voice. 'The others you can kill.'

Ryko picked up the dead swordsman's weapons. 'For Shola's sake, get going,' he hissed. 'I'm not going to last long.'

He ran to meet Ido's front guard. They were already past the first stack and angled themselves ready for his momentum. The crash of metal against metal reverberated off the stone walls, the force of the guard's blows pushing Ryko back towards us. He was using his body to block the narrow pathway Beside me, Lady Dela stirred, roused by the clanging danger. Ryko desperately blocked a simultaneous attack by both guards, barely managing to stop their slicing blades. He was not going to hold them off for long.

'Help me,' Lady Dela said. She was fumbling in the opening of her armour. 'I'll keep looking for the name.'

She withdrew her hand, unable to pull the folio through the tangle of waist bindings. We both knew it was too late, but I tucked my sword under my arm and jerked out the book, pressing it into her hand. The pearls lifted and unwound, clicking into a slide of welcome across my skin.

I pushed their weight back onto the folio.

'If things go bad,' I said, 'get to the grate.'

The swords were whispering to me, eager to fight.

Lady Dela's eyes flicked to Ryko. 'I'm staying right to the end,' she said through clenched teeth.

I turned and sized up the battle, my eyes seeing it through the ancient wisdom of the swords.

Ryko had been hit; blood was running from a deep slice in his forearm. Superficial but it would take its toll. One of his attackers was down, not moving. The other was close to breaking through to me, a young man with over-quick moves and a cocky smile. Two more guards were approaching. At the mouth of the alley, Ido was waiting for Ryko to fall. I took a deep breath and yelled, the release of Hua propelling me into the fight.

I met the young guard as he broke past Ryko, each of my swords singing in a lethal figure-eight. He blocked the lower

blade, but mistimed his deflection of the higher slice. It caught the side of his face, snapping his head back and opening his cheek to the bone. I lunged, aiming for the shouldei weakness in the armour, revelling in the borrowed skill and fluid movement, He countered the thrust hut the move was soft and clumsy with shock. Even as 1 swung my other sword around, 1 knew it would hit home. My blade hit into his neck, smashing hone and severing column into a bloody mess. As he started to topple, the ancient part of me was already pulling my weapon free, ready to move on.

I checked on Lady Dela. She was edging behind the stack near the grate, the folio angled to catch the moonlight. Ahead, Ryko was fighting with his back against the bales, two guards raining blows on him. He was blocking most of them and frantically dodging those that he missed, the slicing thrusts ripping dusty holes in the bale behind him.

'Oy' I shouted, running at the closest of his attackers.

The man spun around. I saw Ryko's eyes cut to me — shock turning to fury — then my view was blocked by the guard. This one was older, more cautious, shrewd calculation on his lean face.

'You should surrender,' he said. 'Then perhaps your friends will survive.'

I answered with the Monkey Dragon Third: a series of quick cuts aimed at the neck. But this man was no over-confident youngster. He stopped me by sweeping his swords outwards, the weight of each connection pushing my swords wide. I felt my grips slip and loosen. He swung his right sword back, lining up a hilt punch to my head. Gritting my teeth, I tightened my right grip and brought my blade down onto his hilt. I heard him curse as the cut just missed his fingers and sliced into the leather binding. He broke away, deftly swinging the sword around.

Kinra's knowledge was still bright within me, but my body was tiring. Her rage could not keep me going much longer.

At the corner of my vision, I saw Ido, swords drawn, coming up the alley. Ryko saw him too and, in a desperate lunge that left

him unprotected, slashed a wild stroke at the Dragoneye's head. It missed, and Ryko's back arched as his opponent's sword plunged into his right side. Then the guard in front of me attacked and my focus narrowed into deflecting the flicking thrusts that threatened to disarm me. Was Ryko hurt? Dead? I could not take my eyes off my opponent, but the clanging sounds of sword on sword and the heavy pants of pained effort gave me hope.

'Pull out,' Ido ordered.

My swinging cut sliced through air as my opponent immediately ducked sideways, making way for his master.

'Try and take the islander alive,' Ido ordered, jerking his head back at Ryko. 'And then find the freak.'

The guard dipped his head and retreated. If Ryko was hurt, he would not last long against such a cunning fighter. I raised my swords, trying to catch extra breath in the momentary lull.

Ido smiled at me, and swung his swords up into a mirror of my own. He had discarded the heavy embroidered Ascendant coat and his thin linen undershirt showed the broad lines of his shoulders and chest. I had felt his massive strength in the Dragon House at Daikiko. He was quick too. I flexed my toes, trying to ease the weakness of exhaustion already trembling through my legs.

'You fight very well for a cripple,' he said. 'Perhaps you have access to more power than you claim.'

I met his amber eyes. There was no silver Hua threaded through them — he was not using his dragon power — but there was a light in their depths made of madness. How did you fight a madman? I tightened my grip on Kinra's swords; a wordless prayer for the power to stop him.

'You've killed all the other Dragoneyes, haven't you? Even the apprentices,' I said, watching for the flicker of tension that would herald his attack. The sounds of Ryko's grim battle echoed against the stone walls, but I could not look away from Ido's eyes.

He edged forwards, pushing me back a step. 'Sethon has forced my hand. He thought he could use me to take the throne, then turn around and use the Council to kill me 'He snorted, his heavy jaw lifting with disdain. 'Now there is no Council, Only you and me, and more power than Sethon could evei imagine'

All you've done is left the land without its guardians,' I said. 'There will be no land to rule.'

'Don't you see? When 1 have you, I'll be its guardian.' I lis face was alight with his own truth.

'It's time for the dragon throne to be reunited with the dragon power.'

Suddenly his blades were hissing through the air. Kinra's reflexes raised my swords in time to stop the sledgehammer blows, but the impact forced me backwards. I le swung his weapons around again, the high bludgeoning connections scraping against my hilts and locking into them. My borrowed knowledge told me he was well trained; far more accomplished than a normal Dragoneye. He leaned into the crossed swords, the pressure of his weight straining my muscles into shaking fatigue. Up close, I could see the rings of exhaustion and drug use under his eyes; my attempt on his dragon had depleted his power. Even so, his strength was overwhelming. And the smile on his face filled me with sick fear. He wanted to hurt me. The only way I could disengage was to retreat. But if I went further down the alley, he would see Lady Dela behind the last stack. It would be her death.

Horse rears and kicks.

My body knew the form and my mind snatched at the hope. Calling on Kinra's energy, I pushed up against his blades and thrust them outwards, sending a vicious kick at his knee that jarred my bad hip. He jumped back and slashed at my foot, just missing it. I staggered a few steps to regain balance and realised I was level with Lady Dela's hiding place. She had slipped down the wall and was crouched on the ground, still hunting through the pages. Her head snapped up. For a second I saw panic in her

eyes, and then she recognised me, the fear shifting into a moment of desperate, silent communication. She was close to finding something.

I looked back at Ido, terrified he would follow my focus. The sounds of Ryko's battle were further apart. Was his staunch strength finally failing?

'Your skill is far too great for your training,' Ido said. 'What kind of dragon power is this?'

1 ignored the question, watching as he gathered himself for his next attack. I could not risk retreating any further. I spun my swords into the whirring Goat Second and ran at him. The shock of the collision resonated through my whole body. My right sword blocked his chest cut, the strength of his blow too light to be anything more than a feint. The knowledge was not mine nor was the swinging angle of my left blade that stopped the vicious attack on my legs. Ido pulled back, his smile gone.

'Don't be a fool, girl,' he said. 'Even with this extra skill, you'll fail. I need you alive, but I don't care what condition you're in.'

I suddenly understood his pattern of attack: hacking at hands, slicing at ankles. He didn't want me dead. He wanted me helpless. For a second, the realisation made my vision haze with white terror.

'My lord, we have the islander,' the older guard called.

Ido kept his eyes on me. 'Is he alive?' he asked.

'Yes, my lord.'

Ido smiled. 'If you surrender now, Eona, you can save your friend a great deal of pain.'

I tightened my grip on my swords.

Ido raised his eyebrows. 'Or do you have enough steel to let him die in agony?'

'No,' I whispered.

He started forwards. I raised the swords and stepped back. If I gave up, he would take my will forever.

Ido's smile widened. 'Bring the islander here,' he ordered.

The two remaining guards approached us with Ryko's body slumped between them. I lis head was bowed and a dark spread of blood from under his armour had seeped into the cloth of his trousers. It clung wetly to his thigh, Ido motioned to the guards to drop their burden at his feet. Ryko's body lolded onto the stone with a slapping thud. His lace was turned towards me, his dark skin drained into grey hollows. I chanced a look at the guards — both of them were injured, deep lines of pain and exhaustion on their faces. Ryko had made them work hard for their victory.

Ido kicked Ryko's injured side, forcing a moan out of the islander. He was barely conscious.

Ido looked over at me. 'Well?'

I knew Ryko would not want me to surrender. But I also knew Lord Ido: there was no mercy in the man. He would make me watch my friend suffer. And he would enjoy both kinds of pain. I kept my eyes fixed on the Dragoneye although every part of me longed to glance across at Lady Dela. Was she any closer to the name? But I could not risk bringing her to the attention of this monster.

'Hold him down.'

The older guard settled his knee between Ryko's shoulders and leaned his forearm into the back of his neck. The islander stirred, but did not rouse.

'Spread his hand and hold it still,' Ido ordered the other guard.

The man squatted beside Ryko and pulled his hand from under his body, pressing it flat onto the stone paving and holding it by the wrist. Ido raised his sword and positioned the tip over Ryko's knuckles. He licked his lips as though savouring the moment.

'Put your swords down, Eona,' he said softly.

May the gods and Ryko forgive me: I did not move.

For a hung moment, Ido stared across at me with an odd smile, then he drove the sword tip through Ryko's hand. My

friend's scream shuddered through me. He thrashed, trying to pull his speared, spasming hand free, but one guard held his wrist /down and the other was on his back, locking him against the stone. A thin line of blood oozed from under his palm and collected in the cracks between the flags.

'More?' Ido asked, but he didn't wait for my answer. He jerked the sword, tearing another scream from the big man. I heard Ryko's teeth connect as he clenched the terrible sound back, his agony forced into rasping pants.

'Get his other hand,' Ido ordered.

'No!' I shouted. 'No!'

Ryko's pain-glazed eyes found me. 'Don't,' he breathed.

I dropped Kinra's swords. They hit the stone with an echoing clang.

'Good girl,' Ido said.

He motioned to the older guard to take his place. 'Hold the sword. If she makes any move, rip open his wrist.'

The guard released his grip on Ryko's hand and stood, grasping Ido's sword. The grinding shift of the blade sent a shudder through Ryko.

'And you,' Ido said to the other guard. 'Get the freak. She's behind that last row of crates.'

I felt all my hope leave me. Ido had won.

Lady Dela's head was still bent over the book, her forefinger tracing a line along a page, her lips moving in silent translation. She, at least, had not given up. The guard pushed himself off Ryko's back and pulled a knife out of a wrist scabbard.

'Don't kill her,' Ido added. 'Not yet.'

The man nodded and advanced. I watched him pass me and warily round the corner of the stack. Lady Dela glanced up at his cautious approach, her face flaring with fear, then she bowed her head, still reading.

And then Ido was coming at me, so fast I didn't have time to move. He grabbed my right arm in a bruising hold and steered me

backwards towards the end of the alley, I stumbled and felt my feet leave the ground. I le half turned, hall dragged me to the wall, my shoulder twisting up into agony, With B grunt, he rammed my back against the grimy stone and let go ol my aim, only the solid press of his hips keeping me upright. His face was so close that I couldn't focus; all I saw was his mouth framed by the neat line of his black oiled beard and the blur of his dilated eyes. I le was so heavy; solid muscle made of Sun drug and hard training. I strained, trying to turn from his overwhelming strength, but I felt the warm pressure of his hand curl around my throat. I clawed at his fingers. He gave a slight shake of his head and squeezed. Gasping, I dropped my hands away and held very still. I le bent his head and pressed his lips against mine, slowly relaxing his hold so that I gulped for air, opening my mouth to him. I lis tongue licked mine, bringing the taste of vanilla-orange, and then he was dragging his teeth across my lower lip, biting the tender skin into sharp pain. I jerked away, tasting the copper warmth of blood.

'So now we find out,' he said softly against my cheek, each word brushing me like a kiss.

'Now we find out what really happens when the last two Dragoneyes become one.'

'We're not the last two,' I croaked.

He pulled his head back slightly 'You mean Dillon?'

I met his eyes. Thin threads of silver slid through the amber. The caress of his charisma stroked my skin.

'Poor Dillon,' he said. 'I've bound his Hua to mine. He no longer has his own link to the Rat Dragon.' He traced his forefinger along my jaw. And what little power he has will soon be drained.' His other hand yanked at the neck of my undertunics. The thin silk gave way, exposing my shoulder and the tight breast-band.

The sound of scuffling snapped his head around but I could not see past him.

Lady Dela's voice screamed, 'She's the Mirror Dragon, she —' I Ier voice was suddenly muffled as if someone had slapped their

hand over her mouth. What was Dela trying to tell me? I already knew she was the Mirror Dragon.

Ido turned back. 'She? The dragon is female too?' He gave a low, wondering laugh. 'Of course, I should have guessed; it is the feminine where your power exists. No wonder the black folio speaks of the Sun and Moon joining.'

His hand skimmed over the tight bindings at my breast and dropped to my waist, pulling at the thin linen of my undershorts. I flinched, but his other hand tightened on my throat again.

The alley closed around me in a haze of grey suffocation. Again he released the pressure, allowing me precious air. His face had hardened into harsh purpose and I knew I could not stop him physically But he was not going to get all of me.

I lifted my chin. 'You cannot make me go into the energy world.'

'Do you think I can only force my way into your body?' His eyes were a wash of silver. I felt his power buffet me like a physical blow. 'Every time you called my dragon's power, you opened your pathways to him,' he whispered against my ear. And to me.'

Sweet vanilla-orange filled my mouth. I felt power pressing into me, searching. Blue power that bent and distorted the alley into roiling colours and shifted Ido's face from flesh and bone to planes of pulsing energy, then back again. He looked up, his fingers ramming my head back; the Rat Dragon was above us, the cloudy blue scales of his underbelly like a summer sky. The beast curled his massive head around to watch us, the pearl at his throat shimmering with power. His huge spirit eyes reached further into me and found a silvered pathway still darkened with the grey welcome of the Sun drug.

Ido was in my mind. Now you are truly mine.

'No,' I gasped.

A shrill voice sliced into the blue storm that was rolling over my senses. 'She's the Mirror Dragon. Do you hear me? Her name is your name! She's the mirror.'

Lady Dela. I struggled to focus on her words, My name? How could that be? Then, like a mined kaleidoscope, the last few weeks shifted into a new pattern of bitter understanding, At the moment of union, the Mirror Dragon had not tried to rip my true name from me, she had tried to give me her name. Oui name. All along at my master's house, in the bathing room, on the roadside I had denied her, blocked her, stifled her with drugs. And all along, the tiny gold kernel of my power had been locked within me, waiting.

'Eona,' I whispered and the truth of the name was like a claw of light ripping through the misunderstanding, shredding the fear and the fading veil of drugs. It reached into the overwhelming blue, forcing a thin sliver of hope.

Ido's fingers dug into my flesh. What are you doing''

'Eona,' I screamed, the name shaking his hold on my mind. I felt his comprehension and his sharp grab of anticipation.

Tou have called her.

A shrieking rise of power rushed into my pathways, rocking me against the wall. Ido's body slammed into mine. He was not going to let go. Not now. The Rat Dragon howled, his heavy blue force driven back by the onslaught of sinuous gold. Raw, rejoicing energy flooded my seven centres of power; opening, pushing, seeking. And behind it all, a presence exulting in the joy of release and reunion. I looked up and finally my mind-sight was clear: I could see the Mirror Dragon. My dragon.

She was rearing on the roof behind me, obscuring the smaller blue dragon, the gold pulsing pearl at her chin bright against the crimson scales on her chest. Her forelegs slammed down onto the roof and two sets of long ruby claws grabbed the edge and sliced into the stone.

Fragments of rock showered down, sending up clouds of dust at either end of the alley Her fragile wings spread for balance as she ducked her head, the moonlight rippling across her arched neck in fiery reflections. Her warm breath was a summer breeze, spicing my mouth with cinnamon; the taste of power. And joy.

I can see her. I felt Ido's awe shift into stark desire. Delicately, she lowered her huge muzzle and offered me the pearl nestled under her chin. The luminescent gold orb was the size of a barrel and thrummed with the song of a thousand years, of old wisdom and new life, of balance and chaos.

I reached up and pressed my palms against the hard velvety surface. Gold flames rose and jumped across my skin in flicks of stinging promise.

Ido's hands closed around my wrists. Bring her to me.

The scream of his dragon shivered in his mind, sending an echo of pain through me. I laughed and felt an answering exultation through the flaming pearl. The blue power was a mere shadow under the glorious incandescence of our connection. The red dragon's fathomless eyes met mine and her question — deeper than words — rode the rush of my Hua.

Would I give her Eon?

I groped for understanding. What did she mean by Eon? The answer rose through me: she was asking for the masculine power within me. She wanted the male energy I had fostered from my core. The only identity I had come to trust.

My mind floundered. Didn't she want Eona? My female energy? Wasn't that the point of it all? Why did she want Eon? I hesitated as I had in the arena, a chasm of doubt ripping through the gold euphoria. I had fought so hard to bring my male energy forwards and subdue the female within me. If I let Eon go now, what would replace him? I had made Eona too small.

Too weak. What if the dragon took Eon and there was nothing left?

I dragged my gaze from the shimmering flames of possibility to Ido's silver eyes. His hands were locked so tightly around my wrists that I could feel my sinews grinding under his hold.

He was waiting for my power. Waiting to take everything. What if he was too strong for the Mirror Dragon? He had overpowered me every time we had met in the energy world. Won every time wc

had clashed through the might of the blue dragon. Would it be different through the red dragon?

It had to be different. She was my dragon, my power.

I thrust my hands against the gold pearl. Let me be enough, 1 prayed. Let us be enough.

'I am Eona,' I roared. 'I am the Mirror Dragoneye.'

And then it happened: a tearing release of old needs, stunted power, and narrow pathways built from fear and skewed belief! The gold nugget of power within me exploded into radiant strength.

The red dragon shrieked, a piercing celebration that resonated in every part of my mind and body But within the joy was the soft, keening presence of other voices. A bereft chorus that wove its way into our union. Was it the other dragons? The faint song of mourning was suddenly cut short.

My mind-sight split. I was the Mirror Dragon, my huge head whipping around to face the fury of the blue dragon on my back. His huge jaws closed around the arch of my neck. His opal claws sliced down my flanks, opening up bright, searing wounds of golden light.

But I was also in the alley, fighting Ido as he slammed my hands back into the wall and locked my wrists against the cold stone with his forearm. He forced his leg between mine, his other hand tearing silk and linen. Above, the Mirror Dragon rolled, and I was a desperate twist of red and orange muscle that sent a rumbling shock of power through the air. Paving and dirt flew up as my effort ploughed a seam of devastation along the alley I heard Lady Dela scream and watched from above as the guards ran for cover, leaving the tiny figure of Ryko crouched under the rain of stones.

Give her to me. Ido's hunger was like a fist punching through my mind.

'No,' I screamed.

The red dragon shrieked my defiance, meeting the blue dragon in a thunderous clash of heavy chests and raking claws that boomed across the sky. The world burst into pure energy as the dragon and I fused into one shimmering being. In front of us, the flesh and blood of Ido melted into a streaming network of Hua. The silvery pathways were dulled by a coating of Sun drug, but his life force pumped frantically through the swirling catchments of his points of power. His hold on us faltered, the blue dragon rearing back in confusion.

We watched Ido's fear flick and jump in the flow through his transparent body, collecting in the bright red point at the base of his spine. Above it, on the central meridian that held the seven points, the orange sacral and the yellow delta flared with his power — his charisma and the burn of his desire. Then we saw the dull green point nestled in his chest. The heart-point: the centre of compassion and unity. Grey and shrivelled, the flow through it choked into a thin, stuttering thread. A sickness. Easy to heal. We channelled our power into it, watching the greyness drain from the green point and slowly build into a huge rise of dark emotion. It crashed over us: a thick roiling mass of thwarted desire, wounded innocence, harsh rejection.

So much hopelessness and anger. The blue dragon howled. Our hand touched Ido's chest and the connection of Hua shivered between us. Gold and silver power blending, building into a burst of compassion that snapped his green point wide open, releasing the mass of leaden pain.

Ido screamed and staggered back, ripping my other hand off the pearl. The brutal rending from my dragon twisted me out of the energy world and back into the alley.

She was gone.

It felt as if my spirit was being wrenched from my body. I slumped back against the wall, groping for some sense of our union. It was there — a warm, gold echo of her presence that cushioned the shock of our separation.

Ido dropped to his knees, his energy body moulding back into the solid planes of flesh and heavy muscle. Waves of shivering spasmed through his bowed form. He lifted his head, his eyes muddy with shock.

'What have you done to me?' he gasped. 'I have never seen such power.'

With trembling hands, 1 pulled the edges of my shredded tunics across my exposed body. I was not sure what I'd done. What we had done.

'"Your heart-point is open,' I said.

He took a deep, sobbing breath. 'You have made me feel it all,' he said. All at once.

Everything I've ever done.' He rocked forwards, doubling over with inner pain, his arms wrapped across his chest.

The clink of stone hitting stone made me look up. Something was moving. It took a moment for the dusty, ragged mound to make sense: Ryko, dragging himself through the razed alley towards us, his mutilated hand held to his chest. Panting, he crawled past the sprawled body of one of the guards, his eyes fixed on Ido.

'Kill him,' he said hoarsely. 'Kill him. While you've got the chance.'

Lady Dela emerged from behind a pile of tumbled bales and struggled upright, one of my swords in a wavering grip. Her face was caked with dirt and streaks of blood. She lifted the weapon, the effort making her sway 'I'll do it.'

'No!' The words burst out from somewhere deep in me. Somewhere newly forged. 'We can't.'

'Why not?' Ryko demanded.

I bit my lip, knowing my reasons would mean nothing to a man who had just been tortured. I hardly understood them myself. Part of me still felt the touch of Ido's hands on me and wanted him to suffer and die, but a bigger part — a golden part — wanted to stop his pain. In forcing compassion onto Ido, I had somehow opened my own heart to him.

The Dragoneye slowly pushed himself back onto his heels. The arrogant tilt to his head was gone. 'Because if you kill me, you kill Dillon,' he said quietly.

Ryko looked across at me. 'Is that true?'

'1 don't know,' I said. 'Perhaps. He has bound Dillon's Hua to his _»

A sudden fear clipped my words short. Had I somehow bound Ido's Hua to mine?

The sound of sliding pebbles pulled my attention past Ryko. The older guard was stumbling out of the alley, his limping haste sending a clear message.

'He's going to got help.' I stepped away from the wall. 'We have to go.'

'There's unfinished business here,' Ryko said. He pushed himself to his knees, hooking the dead guard's sword towards him in a drag of dust.

'No!' I met the vengeful hardness in the islander's eyes. 'I have her power, Ryko. I called the Mirror Dragon.' The wonder of it softened my voice; I had united with my dragon. I forced myself away from dwelling in the joy 'We can still help the Pearl Emperor and the Resistance.

But not if we get taken by Sethon. We go. Now!'

'You have her power?' His fierceness turned on me. 'Is that the truth?' He looked at Lady Dela, searching for confirmation. 'Did you find the name?'

She nodded, a smile forming through the dirt and blood.

Ryko's face brightened for a moment then settled back into grim pain. 'You're right. We go.'

Wearily, he dug the sword tip into a crevice and used it as a balance to stand.

Ido was doubled over again, enduring another wave of shaking. Seeing his powerful body in the grip of such weakness shocked me. But deep below my pity stirred a dark exhilaration.

My power had brought Lord Ido to his knees.

Clutching together the remnants of the tunics, I started towards the grate. Even as I took the first step, I knew something fundamental had changed: my bad hip was flexing into a new stretch of muscle and sinew. No pain. No awkward

gait. I stopped, disoriented, then stepped forwards again; a longer stride that should have buckled into a limp. But it was straight and true. I yanked back the edge of the tunic and touched the pale skin over my hip, It was smooth. No scar. I was whole again. A laugh broke out of me. My dragon had healed me too.

'What is it?' Lady Dela asked. Are you injured?'

'No,' I said. 'My hip is healed!' 1 ran my hand down the smooth line of my thigh again.

'Healed? By your dragon power?'

I nodded, meeting her wonder. I was free. No longer a cripple. No longer untouchable. I was strong and powerful. 1 ran a few steps then lunged, finding my balance with a quick confidence that made my heart sing.

Distant shouts cut through my elation. The guard had raised the alarm. There was no time to revel in my new body. Not yet. I squatted in front of the grate, smiling at the easy movement, and quickly dug away the dirt and broken stones that had piled up against the metal cover. As I wrapped my fingers around the bars, it occurred to me that I was also feeling invigorated.

Did the new energy come from my bond with her as well? Our true union. I smiled — even just thinking about the red dragon started a rise of jubilation, a yearning to call her name. Our name. I wrenched the grate out of its niche and eased it to the ground.

'This is for my hand,' Ryko said.

It was the tone more than the words that spun me around. The islander was standing in front of Ido with the heavy sword hilt aimed at the Dragoneye's bowed head.

'I understand,' Ido said. He closed his eyes.

With a savage jerk, Ryko slammed the hilt end into Ido's face, the force of his own blow making him stagger. Ido collapsed to the ground in a curl of agony, his hands pressed to his forehead. He made no sound, just rocked into the pain as blood ran between his knuckles.

I stood, appalled. 'Ryko! Stop!'

The islander let out a deep breath. 'Now we can go.' He dropped the sword.

Lady Dela crossed to me, a pile of emerald silk draped over her uninjured arm.

'Leave it,' she said, blocking me with her body 'He's trying to follow your orders. Trying not to kill him.'

I caught the warning in her voice and nodded. 'Do you still have the red folio?' I asked.

She patted the armour over her chest. 'It's safe.' Her eyes flicked over my nakedness and she held out the Story Robe. 'Here, put this on.'

Gratefully, I slid my arms into the wide sleeves. I brushed my hand over the plaques pushed into the breast-band — they were still secure — then tied the inner binding. The robe was loose but at least it covered me. I glanced across at Ido. He was slowly pulling himself up into a sitting position. The old Ido would never have sat still for a beating. How long would this change last? I did not trust it.

Ryko limped up to us. 'I have one of your swords. The other is over there,' he said, indicating a nearby crate. He leaned a hand on the wall and sucked in air through clenched teeth. Was he going to make it to the river?

'You go first,' I said to Lady Dela. 'Help Ryko through.'

I expected a protest from the islander, but he just nodded. As Lady Dela eased her way into the hole, I ran across to the crate and picked up my sword. The familiar jolt of rage added its own strength to the glorious renewal in my body. I returned to the grate just as Ryko awkwardly crawled through the small opening. For a moment, I saw Lady Dela's strained face as she steered him down the first of the steps, then I stepped a foot into the opening and pulled the grate up towards the wall. It was not worth wasting the time to fit it back in place. I dropped it.

'I am sorry' Ido said across the few lengths between us. 'It is not enough, but I am sorry'

He was watching me out of one eye, the Other already swollen shut, and his breathing was ragged — every inhalation edged with pain.

I drew the Story Robe tighter across my body. 'I know you are.' I had felt it in the meld of Hua.

'My ambitions have made us the last two Dragoneyes. Sethon won't rest until he has our power harnessed to his war machine.' The harsh arrogance in his face had been stripped away.

'There's Dillon too,' I said stubbornly.

He pressed the palm of his hand against his mouth, wiping away blood. 'We both know I have ruined him.' I le shook his head, the movement making him wince. 'Sethon knows about the String of Pearls. He knows about the black folio. Do you have it? Did you take both folios?'

I shook my head, thinking of Dillon wrenching the black folio from my arm. But I was not going to share that with Ido.

Shouts of command beyond the alley made me withdraw into the hole. I turned on the small top step and looked out. Ido had lunged for the sword abandoned by Ryko. He dragged the hilt onto his lap, the effort making him pant.

He looked across at me with some of his old authority 'Find the black folio. It has ways to bind dragon power and force its use. Make sure Sethon never gets it or we will be his slaves.'

It did not make sense. 'How could Sethon bind us?' I demanded. 'He is not a Dragoneye.'

'No, but he is royal. He has the dragon blood. Anyone with the blood can bind us with the power of the black folio.'

'I thought the dragon blood was a story'

Ido lifted his shoulder in a tiny shrug. 'I thought you were a story' He raised the sword hilt, the blade point barely lifting from the ground. 'Go, I'll keep them away from the grate as long as I can.'

'You can hardly hold the sword.'

'You forced this new generosity on me, so don't waste it,' he said harshly 'Get out of here.'

He was right. I should go — let him make his grand gesture of atonement — and get myself and my friends to safety. I owed him nothing. But even as I backed further into the hole, something stopped me from taking the first step of my escape. I could not leave him to face Sethon. My power had ripped his strength away; I had made him vulnerable. I doubted he even had enough stamina left to connect with his dragon.

I leaned out of the hole again.

'You could come with us.'

Even as I said the words I knew they were a mistake. I did not want him near me; I could already feel the slow building rage that was forcing its way through the soft reach of compassion. A sharp, deadly female rage that was not forgiving or pitying or merciful.

He angled his battered face to see me more clearly. 'No.' He gave a lopsided smile that made him look younger. 'I think my chances of survival are better with Sethon than with your islander friend.'

I did not smile back; the image of Sethon aiming his sword at the infant Prince, Lady Jila's anguished screams and the child's sudden silence were too huge in my mind. The High Lord was not only ruthless, he was vicious.

'Sethon will know you killed all the other Dragoneyes by now,' I said. 'He'll make you pay for your treachery'

Ido's smile tightened into a thin line. 'I know. But he has to take me first.'

Could he hold off Sethon? Perhaps — he did have an Ascendant dragon. Still, a Dragoneye had to be conscious to use his magic, and Ido was barely strong enough to stand.

'He won't kill me,' he added. 'Not until he has you.'

We both heard the jangle of armour and weaponry.

'Go,'he said. 'Or else he will have both of us.'

I ducked back into the grate hole and fell for the second step with my foot.

'Find the black folio,' he called, 'Before Sethon does.'

I scrabbled down the sleep staircase, Kinra's sword clinking as I found handholds in the darkness, The black folio was with Dillon. Or it had been a lew hours ago.

Keeping my eyes on the faint glow emanating from the passageway, I brushed my palm along the wall and followed it around the two corners. The lamplit corridor stretched before me in all its blue and gold grandeur. Up ahead, Lady Dela was struggling to keep Ryko upright. I ran along the soft carpet, the sound of my new, even footfalls swinging both of them around into tense readiness. Lady Dela stepped in front of Ryko, Kinra's sword raised.

'It's you,' she said, her shoulders slumping. She lowered the blade.

'Ido is holding them off,' I said. 'He won't last long. Come on.'

Ryko gave me a hard look. 'When did he become our ally?'

I bent under his arm and pulled it around my shoulder. 'I would not call him an ally' I said.

I did not know what to call him.

Although I took some of Ryko's weight and carried both swords, our progress was heartstoppingly slow. The three of us lurched along the soft walkway, our heavy breathing obscuring any possible sound from behind. I constantly looked back, expecting to see Sethon's men pounding towards us, but there was no one. Ido was keeping his word.

Finally, we reached the entrance that Ryko and I had used, the glow of the wall lamps abruptly ending. I peered beyond the soft light of the last lamp into the darkness beyond.

'River,' Ryko said, feebly gesturing further along the corridor. 'Waiting for us.'

Lady Dela leaned against the bright tiled wall, the vivid colours accentuating her pallor. 'Will they still be there?'

Ryko cast a scornful look. 'Tozay will wait.

Tozay is waiting for us?' I asked, the name prompting an image of a broad, tanned face and the sea smell of a long-lost home. 'Do you mean Master Tozay?'

'He is our leader,' Ryko said as I took the lamp from its niche.

I grabbed Lady Dela's good hand and pulled her up, then urged Kyko onwards.

'But I have met Master Tozay' I said. 'Before the ceremony' I eyed Ryko. 'That wasn't a chance meeting, was it?'

Through his pained exhaustion, Ryko smiled. 'Tozay made it his business to meet every candidate,' he said. 'You were all potential allies for the Resistance.'

Had Ryko told his leader the truth about me? It probably made no difference: there was no one else. I was their only hope. So much had happened since Master Tozay and I had bowed side by side as Lady Jila passed by in her litter. Now the poor lady was dead, her baby slaughtered, and her other son, the Pearl Emperor, fleeing for his life. Or was he dead too?

Silently, I sent a prayer of hope to the gods. Please, keep him safe.

We laboured onwards, the weak lamplight only ever showing the next few steps along the corridor. The rich blue pathway seemed endless. Ryko's shallow inhalations were breaking wetly in his chest, and Lady Dela's hand rested heavily on my other shoulder. Even my renewed energy was beginning to flag. Then, the carpet suddenly ended. I held up the lamp, the sight of the rough stone floor and the curve of a corner bringing a spin of giddy relief.

It was the same design as the other entrances; we climbed the steep stairs and pushed out the grate. I guided Ryko and Lady Dela through the small hole, then crawled out behind them into a clump of concealing bushes. We were by the river, outside the Dragon Circle. Dark clouds obscured the moon, or perhaps it

was the smoke from the battlefield, The air smelled of fire and fear. To our right was a small jetty moored with the royal barges — waiting for the

Ryko nodded at a small spit of kind on the left, almost hidden by a copse of elegant water trees. We hobbled towards it, Kyko wet his parched lips and made the low bud signal he had used to call Solly. A figure emerged from the cover of the thick trailing branches.

'Tozay?' Ryko whispered.

The stocky man hurried up to us, catching Ryko's limp form as he staggered forwards. 'There, I've got you.'

With astounding ease, he turned the islander towards a small rowboat waiting in the water, manned by another shadowy figure. 'Come,' he whispered. 'We must move swiftly or lose the tide.'

I pulled Lady Dela's arm across my shoulders and took her tired weight against my side. We slipped and skidded down the shallow embankment.

As Master Tozay delivered Ryko into the hands of his assistant, the moon finally broke from the clouds and gave me a clear view of the man I had met by the road a lifetime ago. The last few weeks had carved even deeper lines into the master fisherman's stern face. He steadied Lady Dela as she stumbled towards him, and half lifted her into the small craft. Then he turned to me and gently took the swords from my tense hold, passing them to his man. I smoothed back my hair and met his silent scrutiny.

'Greetings, Master Tozay' I said.

He bobbed his head in a bow. 'Lord Eon.' I caught the flash of a smile as he held out his hand to help me onto the boat, his foot holding the vessel still. 'So, a dragon had the sense to choose you after all, my lord.'

'She did,' I said.

I lis eyes widened. 'She?'

'Yes.' 1 took his hand and stepped into the boat. 'But I am not Lord Eon. Not any more. I am Eona, the Mirror Dragoneye.' I looked up at the black smoke that hung over the palace and Dragon Halls then turned my attention back to the startled man beside me. 'And I want to join your Resistance.'