Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

CHAPTER 2

The full-hour bell was ringing as I finally lifted the latch of the gate that led to the kitchen of my master's house. Irsa, one of the bond maids, was standing at the delivery door with the miller's man. I watched as she laughed, her hands spread on her hips to show their generous shape, as the young man hoisted a large sack onto his shoulder. Then she saw me and quickly stepped back into the shelter of the doorway Her coy giggles dropped into the hissing undertones of gossip. The miller's man swung around and stared at me, his fingers curling into a ward-evil. I looked away and made a show of shutting the gate. Better to wait until he followed Irsa into the storage rooms.

When the courtyard was clear, I walked slowly up the path towards the kitchen. Lon, the gardener, was on his knees repairing the low bamboo fence that enclosed the Sun Garden. I nodded as I passed and he waved a dirt-crusted hand. Lon mainly kept to himself, but he always greeted me with gentle courtesy and even had a smile for Chart, the slops boy His kindness was not copied by many of my master's other staff. Our small household was very much divided: those who believed a cripple could be a Dragoneye, and those who did not. All who served my master knew that his wealth had nearly run dry; there would be no funds to train another candidate. If I did not secure the apprentice bonus and the twenty per cent tithe tomorrow, my master was ruined.

The kitchen doorway was open and I stepped over the raised threshold that kept evil spirits from entering the house. Immediately, the heat from the large cooking stoves pressed against my skin and I smelled the sharp tang of sour plum sauce and salt-baked fish: my master's evening meal. Kuno, the cook, glanced up from the white-root he was slicing.

'You, is it?' He turned his attention back to the vegetable. 'Master has already ordered the gruel,' he said, tilting his shaved head at a small pot hanging over the spit fire. 'Don't blame me when you eat it. It was according to his instructions.'

My evening meal. As part of the cleansing ritual, I was allowed only one bowl of millet gruel before praying throughout the night to my ancestors for guidance and help. A few months ago, I had asked my master whether it mattered that I had no knowledge of my ancestors. He stared at me for a moment, then turned away saying, 'It matters very much.' My master was being very careful; he said we must do everything according to Dragoneye tradition to avoid attracting Council scrutiny. I could only hope that old Hian's precedent for the Reverse Horse Dragon Second was in the history scrolls. And that my master could find it in time.

A rasping noise rose from behind the large wooden preparation table that stood in the centre of the room. Chart, calling me from his mat beside the stoves.

'He's been waiting for you,' Kuno said. 'Been getting under my feet all day' He sliced off the end of the white-root with an extra heavy chop. 'You tell him I'm not blind, I know he's been at the cheese.' Although they had worked in the same kitchen for eleven years, Kuno still refused to speak to Chart or even look at him. Too much bad luck.

I skirted around the end of the table and used its worn edge for balance as I sat on the stone floor beside Chart. He tapped my knee with a clawed finger, his lolling mouth slowly forming a smile.

'Did you really get some cheese?' I asked softly, shifting my weight off my aching left hip.

He nodded vigorously and opened his hand to show me a piece of dirty cheese rind. The muscles in his throat contorted as he struggled to speak. I listened for his words in the strained, elongated sounds.

'For…the…rat.' He pushed the rind into my hand.

'Thank you,' I said, slipping the cheese into my pocket. Chart was always giving me food he had found. Or stolen. He was convinced that if I fed the big grey rat that lived behind the storeroom where I slept, the Rat Dragon would repay the kindness by choosing me as his apprentice. I wasn't so sure an energy dragon would take note of such a thing, but I still gave the scraps to the rat.

From beneath his body, Chart pulled out a thick slice of fine bread covered in dust. The master's bread. I glanced at Kuno; he was still bent over the white-root. I moved to my right until I hid Chart and the bread from view.

'How'd you get that? Kuno will whip you,' I whispered.

'For you…only gruel tonight…you be…hungry tomorrow.' He dropped the bread into my lap.

I ducked my head in thanks and stuffed it into my pocket with the cheese. 'I think that's the whole idea. They want us to be hungry' I said.

Chart twisted his mouth into a puzzled grimace.

I shrugged. 'We're supposed to prove our natural stamina by doing the approach ceremony hungry and tired.'

Chart rolled his head back and forth across the mat. 'Stu…pid,' he said. He took a deep breath and steadied his head against the side of the firewood box, fixing his eyes on mine.

'Tomorrow morning you come…say goodbye?' His fingers closed around my wrist. 'Come say…goodbye…before the ceremony? Promise?'

Chart knew that if I was chosen, I would not come back. A new apprentice was taken straight to his Dragon Hall after the ceremony. A new home. A new life. My scalp prickled from a sudden wave of heat and sweat; tomorrow I could be a Dragoneye apprentice.

'Promise?' Chart said.

I nodded, unable to talk through the squeeze of panic in my throat.

He let go of my wrist, his hand suspended in the air. 'Tell me…what the…Rat Dragon Hall…is like…again.'

I'd only seen the hall once. A few months ago during training, Ranne had marched us around the Dragon Circle, the avenue of halls that ringed the outer precinct of the Imperial Palace.

Each hall had been carefully built at the compass position of the dragon it honoured, and was the home and workplace of the Dragoneye and apprentice. The Rat Dragon Hall was in the north-northwest of the Circle and, although it wasn't the biggest or the grandest, it was easily three times the size of my master's house. We were not permitted inside any of the halls, but Ranne allowed us five minutes' rest in the garden that now marked the position of the Mirror Dragon Hall. Five hundred years ago it had burned down; only the stone outline of the building remained embedded in the grass. Dillon and I had walked its perimeter and were amazed at the number of rooms.

Beside me, Chart closed his eyes, preparing for my words.

'Two grey stone statues of the Rat Dragon guard the gate,' I said, closing my own eyes to remember my brief glimpse of the hall. 'They stand bigger than me and twice as wide. The one on the right holds the Dragoneye compass in its claws, the other cradles the three sacred scrolls. As you walk past them, their stone eyes follow you. Inside the gate, a courtyard made of matched dark cobbles leads to the —'

'I don't know why you bother,' I heard Irsa say. I opened my eyes. She was in the doorway, briskly brushing down her skirt. 'The freak doesn't understand your words.' She smoothed the looped braid of her hair.

Chart and I exchanged glances. No doubt the miller's man was going home happy

'Sl…u…t,' Chart said loudly.

Irsa pulled her face into a mockery of Chart's and mimicked his elongated sounds, unaware of the word within it. Chart rolled his eyes at me, his body thrashing against the floor in laughter.

I grinned as Irsa backed away.

'Freak,' she said, her fingers making the ward-evil at Chart. She turned her attention to me.

'Master said you were to go to him as soon as you returned,' she said, then added snidely,

'although he wasn't expecting you until the end of training time.'

'Where is he now?' I asked.

'Moon Garden. On the main viewing platform.' She smiled slyly She knew I was not allowed in the Moon Garden — my master had forbidden it. 'He said as soon as you return.'

I grabbed the edge of the table and pulled myself upright. Should I obey my master's ban on the Moon Garden, or obey his command to attend on him immediately? He would not be pleased that I was home so early Let alone the other news I had for him.

'Irsa, do your work,' Kuno said. 'Stop wasting time or you'll feel the back of my hand.'

Irsa gave me one last gloating look then hurried into the dark passageway that connected the kitchen to the main house.

There was a saying in one of the earthier Dragoneye texts: a man on the horns of a dilemma ends up with his arse pricked. My master would find fault whether I went into the garden or I waited. Since there was no avoiding his displeasure, I would go to him. At least I would finally see the garden that had won him such fame.

'Tomorrow,' I said to Chart. He gave his slow smile.

I stepped over the threshold and out into the courtyard. To my left was the grey stone fence of the Moon Garden, its low metal gate etched with the shape of a leaping tiger. I headed towards it, the promise of my master's anger dragging at my feet. There were many ways to tell the truth — I just needed to find one that would satisfy him. All that was visible over the gateway was a black pebble path leading to an impressive stacked slate wall. Along its face a waterfall cascaded down a carefully haphazard run of ledges, pooling into a white marble bowl.

My master had designed the garden to symbolise female energy and it was said that during a full moon the garden was so beautiful it could rob a man of his essence. When I heard that, I wondered what would happen to a man robbed of his essence: would he become a woman or would he become something else? Something like the Shadow Men of the court? Or something like me?

There was no latch on the gate. I traced the strong lines of the tiger on the metal for luck — or maybe for protection — then pushed against it until the gate swung open.

The black path was made of pebbles and seemed to move in front of me like a slow ripple of water. As I stepped onto it, I realised why: the stones had been laid in a subtle graduation of matt to polished that caught the sunlight. On either side, a flat expanse of sand had been raked into swirling patterns. I pushed the gate shut behind me and followed the path to the waterfall wall, my uneven steps sounding like the chink of coins in a pouch. The path diverged around the wall. I paused for a moment, listening. Underneath the sound of the waterfall splashing into the bowl was the muted hiss of more flowing water. No other sounds of physical movement. But deeper, in my mind, I felt the soft thrum of carefully contained power. I chose the left path and walked around the wall into the main garden.

It was a severe landscape: clusters of rocks on flat sand, swirling paths of black and white pebbles, and an intricate weaving of waterfalls, streams and pools that was directing the thrumming energy to the wooden viewing platform. My master was kneeling in its centre, as spare and severe as his surroundings. I lowered into a bow, watching for acknowledgement.

He didn't move. And there were no signs of anger in the lean lines of his body A shadow above made me flinch. I looked up, but there was nothing. No bird. No cloud. Only a strange, hot joy that eased the cramp in my belly and the ache in my hip.

My master's body stiffened. 'What are you doing here?'

'I was told you wished to see me, Master,' I said, crouching lower. There was still no pain.

'Why are you back so early?'

'Swordmaster Ranne said I need not train any more,' I said carefully

'You should not be in here. Especially not now. The energies are too strong.' He stood up in a single practised movement, the frayed silver embroideries on his tunic flaring in the sun.

'Come, we must leave now.'

He held out his hand. I hurried forwards and extended my arm, bracing myself as he leaned on me and stepped off the platform.

He paused, still holding my arm. 'Do you feel them?' he asked.

I looked up into his gaunt face, the prominent bones made even starker by his shaved skull.

'Feel them?'

'The energies.' Irritation edged his voice.

I bowed my head. 'I can feel the flow of water energy to the viewing platform,' I said.

He flicked his fingers. A novice could feel that. Is there nothing else?'

'No, Master.' It was not the truth, but how could I explain the heat of an imagined shadow? Or the soft unravelling that was the absence of pain.

He grunted. 'Then perhaps we have succeeded.'

He turned and walked quickly towards the house. I followed two paces behind, concentrating on keeping my footing on the

shifting pebbles. For once, each step did not jar with pain. We passed a simple Moon altar — a smooth concave stone resting on two smaller rocks — surrounded by a shallow amphitheatre of cut marble. Ahead, the pebble path widened in front of another viewing platform that also served as a step up to the house. Two carved doors stood open, allowing a view of floor-to-ceiling scroll boxes, a cabinet and a dark-wood desk. My master's library — another area forbidden to me. Until now. I paused, staring at the shelves of scrolls. My master had drilled me in my letters and I'd read all of the Classics and Dragoneye texts, but I longed to read about other things.

'Don't just stand there gaping like a fool,' my master said, holding out his hand.

I helped him onto the platform as Rilla, Chart's mother and my master's body servant, stepped out of the library and kneeled at the doorway For the first time I noticed the swirls of grey hair in the neat loop of her 'unmarried' braid. It was meant to be her disgrace, but she wore it with quiet dignity My master extended one foot and she slid off his scuffed silk slipper, then the other, placing them neatly on a small woven mat.

'We are not to be disturbed,' my master ordered. He held out his hand and I helped him over the lip of the threshold.

Rilla looked up at me and raised her eyebrows. I twitched my shoulder into a shrug, then hurriedly pulled off my woven straw sandals, grabbing the doorframe for balance. Black dirt striped my feet around the pattern of the straps. I licked my fingers and rubbed the top of each foot, but the dirt just smeared into streaks.

'Stay still,' Rilla said softly. She took a cloth out of her pocket and wiped my left ankle.

'You don't need to do that,' I said, trying to pull my foot away No one had touched my bad leg since the splints had come off three years ago.

She held my foot still. 'A Dragoneye has servants,' she said.

'Best get used to it.' She scrubbed my other foot clean. 'Now give me your sandals and go in.'

Four years ago, when I came to my master's house — a half-starved drudge willing to become a boy for food and warmth — Rilla was the only person who showed me any care. At first I thought it was because I was a cripple, like her son, but later I realised she desperately needed my master to have a successful candidate. 'No one else will have us in their house,' she once told me, stroking Chart's dusty hair. 'I've seen a lot of boys come through here, Eon, but you're our best chance. "You're special.' At the time I thought she had guessed the secret, but she hadn't. And even if she did know, she would never say anything. Rilla was bound too tightly to my master, his tolerance of Chart a hundred times more compelling than any bond of indenture.

I handed her the sandals, smiling my thanks. She shooed me into the library

'Close the doors, Eon,' my master said. He was standing at the cabinet sorting through the keys he wore around his neck on a length of red silk.

I pulled shut the doors and waited for further instruction. He looked up and nodded at the visitor's chair in front of the desk.

'Sit down,' he said, shaking a key free.

Sit down? In a chair? I watched him insert the key into the lock. Had I heard correctly? I crossed the soft, thick carpet and gingerly laid my hand on the back of the chair, waiting for a reprimand. Nothing. I glanced across at my master. He had a leather pouch and a small black ceramic jar in his hands.

'I said sit down,' he ordered, closing the cabinet doors.

I perched on the very edge of the leather seat, my hands tight around the carved armrests. I had always imagined a chair would be comfortable, but it was hard against my rump bones and made my hip ache again. I shifted around, trying to recapture the warm ease I'd felt in the garden, but it was gone. I looked at the closed double doors, imagining the stark landscape outside. Did the

garden take my pain? Did its Moon energies call to my hidden self? I shivered. My master was right: I could not afford to enter it again. Not so close to the ceremony On the desk in front of me were two small, black lacquered death plaques. I tried to read the names carved into the wood, but I could not make sense of the upside-down characters. I quickly looked away from them as my master sat in the chair opposite me. He placed the leather pouch and jar next to the two memorials.

'So it is tomorrow,' he said.

I nodded, keeping my eyes fixed on the desk.

'You are prepared.'

It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded again. An image of old Armsmaster Hian flashed through my mind. Now was the time to ask my master about the Reverse Horse Dragon Second.

'I went to a ghost-maker today' my master said softly.

I was so startled I looked up and met his eyes. A ghost-maker dealt in herbs and potions and, it was said, in the spirits of the unborn.

'She gave me this.' He pushed the pouch towards me. 'If it is taken as a tea every morning, it will stop the Moon energy But it can only be taken for three months. Then it becomes poison to the body'

I hunched down in the chair.

'Your Moon cycle must be stopped for these ceremonies,' he continued. And if you succeed tomorrow, then —'

'I am about to bleed,' I whispered.

'What?'

'I have all the signs.' I ducked my head lower. 'It's early. I don't know why'

I saw my master's hands clench the edge of the table. It was as though his anger weighted the air between us.

'Have you started?'

'No, but I have the —'

He held up his hand. 'Quiet.' I watched his long fingers tap the wood. 'If it has not started, then all is not lost. She said it was to be taken before your next cycle starts.' He picked up the pouch. 'You must take a cup now'

He leaned back and pulled on the bell cord hanging behind the desk. Almost immediately the far door opened. Rilla stepped in and bowed.

'Tea,' he said. Rilla bowed again and stepped out, closing the door.

'I'm sorry, Master,' I said.

'It would be most unfortunate if the whims of your body undid four years of planning.' He steepled his fingers. 'I do not know why you have the gift of full dragon sight, Eon. It must be some plan of the gods. How else can I explain my impulse to test a girl on my search for a candidate? It goes against all that is natural.' He shook his head.

I knew he was right; women did not have power. Or if they did, it was from the shapeliness of their body. Not from their spirit. And certainly not from their mind.

'But you have more raw power than all of the Dragoneyes combined,' he continued. And tomorrow that power will attract the Rat Dragon.'

I looked away, trying to hide a sudden rising of doubt. What if my master was wrong?

He leaned closer. 'When he chooses you, there is a bargain that must be made. There is no advice I can give you — the bargain is different between every dragon and his new apprentice. However, I can tell you that the dragon will seek an energy in you that he wants, and when he takes it, you will be united.'

'What kind of energy, Master?'

As I said, it is different for everyone. But it will be linked to one of the seven points of power in the body'

My master had taught me about the points of power: seven balls of invisible energy that were positioned in a line from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. They regulated the flow of Hua, the life force, through the physical and emotional body. It seemed that the whispers around the candidate school were true — a Dragoneye did give up some of his life force. No wonder they aged so fast.

'When I was chosen by the Tiger Dragon,' my master continued, 'the bargain I made was the energy that no man gives up lightly' His gaze met mine then slid away. 'So be prepared — it will not be easy. You cannot gain the dragon's power without giving something valuable in return.'

I nodded, although I did not truly understand.

And then when your bargain is made and you are the Rat Dragoneye apprentice, we must be even more careful. You cannot place a foot wrong, Eon, or we will both die.'

There was fear and hope in his eyes, and I knew he saw the same in mine. The far door opened again. My master sat back as Rilla entered, carrying a black lacquer tray laid with tea implements. She placed the tray on the desk.

'Only Eon will be taking a bowl,' my master said.

Rilla bowed, unrolled a round gold mat and arranged it in front of me. It was a representation of the Dragoneye compass, intricately painted with the twenty-four circles of energy manipulation. As a candidate, I had been drilled in the first and second circles of the compass

— the cardinal points and the dragon-animal signs — but only apprentices studied how to use the other circles. I leaned closer and touched the painted Rat near the top of the second circle, sending out another silent plea to the Rat Dragon: choose me. Then, to complete my private petition, I swept my fingers around the twelve painted animals in the direction of their yearly rising. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon…

Rat turns, Dragon learns, Empire burns.

The harsh, echoing words stabbed through my mind, searing into my gut. I gasped and jerked back my hand as Rilla set a red drinking bowl in the centre of the mat. Her eyes flicked to mine, wide with concern.

'What are you doing, Eon?' my master snapped.

'Nothing, Master.' I ducked my head in apology, pressing my hand against my belly. Why had such a strange rhyme come to mind? Was it something I'd read in one of the Dragoneye texts?

They were full of strange sayings and bad verse.

'Well, sit still.'

'Yes, Master.' I took a careful breath. Only an echo of the stabbing pain remained. I had never had such sharp cramps before — maybe the ghost-maker's tea would ease them. Rilla lifted a small brazier of hot coals from the tray and placed it on the desk, setting a pot of steaming water over the heat.

'I will prepare the tea,' my master said.

A shivering unease twitched across my back. Rilla nodded and positioned a larger mixing bowl with a small bamboo whisk in front of him. He waved his hand towards the door. 'You may go.'

She bowed and backed out of the room.

My master waited until the door snapped shut, then picked up the pouch and untied the leather fastening.

'You must only use one pinch per bowl.' He dropped a grey-green powder into the mixing bowl. And do not use boiling water or you will destroy the power of the herb.' He lifted the pot off the brazier and poured a small amount of water into the bowl. With a few flicks of the bamboo whisk, the tea was mixed.

'Give me your bowl.'

I passed it over. He deftly transferred the murky liquid and passed it back.

'The ghost-maker said it was best taken in one swallow.'

I eyed the dark surface of the tea, watching my reflection slide and settle.

'lake it.'

The bowl smelled of damp leaves and decay No wonder it was best taken in one swallow. The oily bitterness washed through my mouth. I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to spit.

My master gave a nod. 'Good.'

I put the empty bowl back onto the gold mat. My master tightened the leather cord around the pouch and passed it across the table.

'Keep it hidden.'

I slipped it into my pocket, next to the cheese and bread. I knew how to keep secrets.

'I have also prepared your way with the Council,' my master said. 'Do you know what this is?'

He tapped the sealed top of the black ceramic jar.

'No, Master.'

He turned it around slowly and the white painted characters of my name twisted into view.

'It is a vessel of proof,' he said. 'On the records of the Council you are a Moon Shadow.'

I stared at him. Somehow, my master had registered me as a Moon eunuch: a boy castrated before puberty for family advancement and opportunity. Such boys were never touched by manhood, forever retaining the physical form of their youth. I leaned closer to the eunuch jar.

I had never seen one before, but I knew that sealed inside was the mummified proof of the operation. Without it, a Shadow Man could not gain employment or promotion. If he was not buried with it at death, he would have no chance of returning to wholeness in the next world.

What Shadow Man would give up such a precious thing? There was only one answer: one who was already dead.

'Master,' I whispered, 'surely this will bring bad luck.'

He frowned. 'It will ensure that your size and voice will not be remarked,' he said firmly. 'And any evil spirits have been well placated with coin.' He picked up the jar, motioning to a new layer of wax around the lid. 'According to the records, yon have already been examined and pronounced a true Shadow When you are chosen tomorrow and move into the Rat Dragon Hall, you will no longer be under my protection. You must use this Shadow status and your deformity to ensure no one sees you unclothed.'

I bowed my head. It was bad luck to bathe or sleep in the same quarters as a cripple. And a crippled eunuch would bring even worse fortune. My master had thought of everything. But there was still one problem.

'Master?'

'Yes?' He put the jar back onto the desk.

'I spoke to Armsmaster Hian today. He wished to be remembered to you.' I jammed my fingers together on my lap.

He nodded. 'I hope you thanked him for his courtesy'

'Ifes, Master.' I swallowed, a sudden dryness grabbing at my voice. 'He —'

My master pushed the two death plaques across the desk. 'Your ancestors,' he said abruptly.

'For your prayers tonight. They are only women, but they are better than nothing.'

It took me a moment to realise what he had said. 'My ancestors?'

One plaque was inscribed with the name Charra, the other, Kinra. I lifted my hand to touch them, but stopped, glancing at my master for permission.

'They are yours,' he said, nodding. 'I retrieved them from your previous master. When he bought your bond from your parents, your mother insisted the memorials stay with you.'

I stroked the smooth surface of the Charra plaque, the name and a plain border the only adornment. My mother had given these to me. A choking mix of warmth and pain rushed through me, leaving an old pang of loss. I clenched my teeth against the threat of tears. The Kinra plaque was old and worn with a faint sinuous outline of an animal under the name. Who were these women? My grandmother? My great-grandmother?

When I looked up, my master was watching me intently.

'Pray hard tonight, Eon,' he said softly. 'We cannot afford to fail.' He gestured to the plaques.

'Go, set up your altar and prepare for the cleansing ritual. You may ask Rilla for what you need.'

I was dismissed, but for the first time in four years I did not obey. I kept my eyes fixed on the chiselled name of my ancestor, Kinra, and tried to push my need into words.

'I said you may go, Eon.'

I did not move.

My master brought the heel of his hand down on the table, the crash making me jump.

I grabbed the armrests, glad of their solidity 'Master,' I said hoarsely I risked a look: he was scowling. Armsmaster Hian told me the Mirror Dragon sequence could be replaced with a Reverse Horse Dragon Second. Is that true, Master?'

'Why?'

I heard his voice sharpen ominously, but I had to know.

'I can't complete the Mirror Dragon Third, Master. My leg. I can't do it. If I could do the —'

I saw him move, but I was caught between the armrests. The back of his hand cracked across my ear, slamming me into the edge of the carved wood.

'You wait until now to tell me?'

My head burned from ear to jaw. I hunched around the jabbing ache in my ribs, trying to move away from his hand. The punches hammered into my thigh, shoulder, back, jarring through my whole body

'You have killed us,' he hissed.

Armsmaster Hian said you would know if it was true.' I gasped. 'Please…'

Through a blear of tears, I saw him lift his hand again. I shut my eyes and ducked my head.

My body waited for the blow; my whole existence narrowed to the fall of his fist.

No blow.

No pain.

I opened my eyes.

He was not there. I scanned the room, holding my breath. He was at the far wall, reaching up to a shelf, his fingers feverishly flicking across the scroll boxes. I carefully uncurled and ran my fingers down my ribs, jumping as they hit the swollen heart of a bruise.

He pulled a box out of the stack. 'The Chronicle of Detra. That should describe it.'

He shook the roll of priceless paper from the wooden container. The box clattered onto the floor. In a few strides he was at the desk, the whole scroll unfurled across its length. In front of me was row upon row of cramped calligraphy

'What did Hian say, exactly?' he demanded.

'He said there was a precedent for replacing the Mirror Dragon Third with the Reverse Horse Dragon Second and that Ranne was wrong to have kept it from me.'

My master's face darkened at the shift of blame.

'He also said you were one of the best history-keepers and would know if it was so,' I added hurriedly

He eyed me for a moment then turned his attention back to the scroll. His index finger hovered above the words as he read. I stayed as still as I could, searching his pale drawn face for the flame of discovery

'The alternative form was in practice five hundred years ago, before we lost the Mirror Dragon,' he finally said. 'It has not been used since.'

'Does that mean I cannot use it, Master?' I whispered.

He held up his hand. 'Quiet.' He studied the scroll again. 'I cannot see any prohibition on its use.' He shook his head. 'No, there is no reversal of its standing. It has just not been used for five hundred years.' He looked across at me, a fierce light in his eyes. 'This is a good omen. It must be a good omen.'

I straightened in the chair, the new bruises aching as they stretched. 'I can already do the Reverse Horse Dragon Second, Master. All I need to do is practise the bridging forms,' I said.

'The way must be smoothed,' he muttered, rolling up the scroll. He pulled the bell cord. The door opened and Rilla appeared.

'Order a rickshaw — I must go to the Council,' he said to her.

He turned back to me. 'Go and practise. You know what is at stake.'

I crouched out of the chair into a low bow, unable to contain the smile on my face. The Reverse Horse Dragon Second was allowed. I still had a chance.