Wind Rider (Return of the Dragons 2)

How were we going to find them? I reached out with my mind as we reached the peaks of the Stone Mountain, as the dragons stopped in their roosts, all except Adalbjorn, whose nest was deep beneath the mountain.

I reached out my mind, and felt something, some kind of network, a whole web of connected minds, that opened to me, but where was Kara?

Kara?

We are in full council, Anders; that is why you feel us all. Where are you?

At the summit of the Stone Mountain. Show me the way and we will be there soon.

And the Tree Mother?

I sent a series of images of the battle to her — the demons, the poison, the great old magic that sent them back to another plane, the healing of the Tree Mother.

Those demons give us food for thought. We must be prepared should the Dark Lord or his minions conjure any more.

We wouldn’t have been able to remove them without the help of the dragons. Even the tree mother couldn’t have saved Woltan without their help.

The dragons are a great aid to our shared cause. My dragon is eager to fight the evil that threatens and enslaves the peoples of our lands. Listen, now, Anders: My people will watch the rest of your flight through your eyes, and guide you. We have a space ready for the dragons to land. I will try to be with you, but when I cannot, my sisters and brothers will be your guides.

And the dark lord and his minions?

We believe that as long as they are on the far side of you, they pose no danger of interference. You could teleport right now to us, but you will get here almost as fast on dragonback. Anyway, I don’t think we are ready to teleport a dragon. The gateway and the energy expended would be enormous.

I felt Ulrike’s mind interrupt. Anders, we need to get going. We are not dragons; we are just getting colder here on the peaks, and Adalbjorn has no place to roost either.

I looked around me. We stood now all on the craggy peaks of the Stone Mountain. Adalbjorn was perched awkwardly between two peaks, his enormous body surely missing his home inside the mountain.

We fly then. Kara and her kin will show us the way.

And then I did something I had never done before: I connected Kara’s mind to Ulrike, and to the others around us, and to their dragons.

I felt Adalbjorn’s huge and foreign intelligence. We see the way. Let us fly.

Then we were in the air again, falling first, then moving up. Although the protective sap warmed my face and hands, the cold wind still numbed them. I concentrated on helping Yesenia navigate. We flew parallel to Adalbjorn and Ulrike, high above the meadows that lay below the far side of the Stone Mountain. Ahead lay forest, and somewhere in the forest, was the land of the Kriek, hidden from all eyes except their own.

I reached out and felt the life below me. The plants were different from the other side of the Stone Mountain; they were foreign, but seemed to welcome the touch of my mind — I could feel their energy.

I tried to follow the link of Kara’s mind all the way back to the Kriek city but it was too far; I could only feel the plants and trees beneath me for about a mile ahead.

What I felt was calming, though. Here the plants had not been trampled and burned by goblins, kobolds and trolls… the land was happy, and growing, and neither swamped nor thirsty.

Relax and rest, little one. Yusef and Sednar are sending Adalbjorn and me their directions… You humans may as well rest. Do not fall asleep, or I will have to swoop down and catch you, but you can relax your mind… We will not break the link…

Aren’t you tired, yourself?

We dragons do not tire quickly; we tend to rest for long periods of time, relative to humans, but then we are active without need for rest. I think we will all be hungry soon, though… Rest a little, and when you wake, we will hunt, perhaps, and then will be there. Listen to my dragonsong, and let it fill you with restful and peaceful thoughts, and let yourself relax and perhaps even sleep; I will catch you if you fall…

And so I let myself fall into a slumber as the dragonsong filled my mind and my limbs with its warm sunny song. As the cold air raced over me I was filled with warm images and colors, and with music that made my muscles relax. I felt one with the dragon, as if I were sinking into her song. I could sleep now, I was sure, without falling off her back… I let myself be one with the music and let my worries and my fears empty out of me. And then, for a few minutes, at last, in the cold air high above the green fields, I slept.

The wind burned my eyes when I opened them again. We were descending in a great spiral, high above a tiny field in the middle of what must be green forest. You have slept longer than we intended, little one. We are here, in the land of the Kriek. Can you see your friend down below? We flew very high, to avoid detection and because the air flows faster up there.

I blinked as I looked down. I could not make out Kara, but when I used my third eye I could see her as a point of green light down below, and heard her voice in my head.

Anders, it is good to feel your mind.

Can we really land on that tiny strip?

It seems tiny because you are so high up. Yusef says it’s adequate, and Sednar agrees.