Gates of Ruin (Magelands Eternal Siege, #6) Christopher Mitchell (classic reads .txt) 📖

the hollow where the dragon slept. She was quite beautiful, Aila thought. Her silver-grey wings shone in the moonlight, and she moved with a grace that belied her impatient belligerence. Her red eyes reminded Aila of Blackrose, and they would glow in the same way when she was angry, which was often.

‘Do it properly this time,’ she cajoled Kelsey, her long neck turning as she followed the Holdfast woman’s movements. ‘It’s not a difficult job; even you insects should be able to manage it.’

‘Stop complaining,’ muttered Kelsey as she dropped the moss into the hollow. ‘Before we arrived, you were living in your own filth; it’s no wonder you need humans to help you.’

‘I do not need you,’ said Frostback; ‘I tolerate you. You serve me, and in return, I provide you with food and protection. You can always leave if you don’t like it.’

‘You’re always saying that, but I don’t believe you. You want us to stay, don’t you? You were lonely until we showed up.’

The dragon snorted. ‘You have a vivid imagination.’ She raised her neck and sniffed the air. ‘Those goats I was tracking yesterday will be on the move.’ She extended her great wings and lifted into the sky, sending a wave of cold air down into the hollow.

Aila shielded her eyes until the dragon had gone, then stood, and walked over to help Kelsey cover the ground in the fresh moss.

‘Maybe we should be thinking of going,’ she said to Kelsey.

‘Why?’

‘We’re supposed to be finding Corthie and Van, and yet we’re no closer to Kin Dai. You seem fit and healthy again; if Frostback won’t carry us south, then perhaps we should start walking.’

Kelsey’s face fell. ‘But I don’t want to leave.’

‘What? Are you happy slaving for that flying lizard?’

‘Don’t call her that.’

Aila sighed. ‘She’s bewitched you. It’s the only explanation.’

‘We nearly starved to death getting here; well, I did – you would have been fine. I have no intention of going through that again. I’m not walking to Kin Dai.’

‘So it’s not about the dragon, it’s about the walking? What if Frostback offers to take us to the outskirts of Kin Dai, would you be happy to say goodbye to her?’

‘Oh, shut up. This is the happiest I’ve been in ages, and you just want to ruin it.’

Aila squinted at her. ‘You like it here? You’re happy living in the middle of a forest with no roof over our heads; happy to work every day for no thanks? Frostback is mean and spiteful…’

‘No, she’s not; she’s just had a hard time. Her father kicked her out, and she was nearly killed by the Ascendants. Maybe I am a little bewitched, but come on, Aila – she’s a dragon.’

‘This is unlike you; you’re usually very hard to impress, but what about Van? Corthie? I need to get back to civilisation.’

Kelsey glanced up from the moss. ‘What if we could persuade Frostback to join our cause? She’s already fought against the Ascendants once; if she could get over her fear of their death powers, then she might be willing to help us.’

‘She doesn’t seem interested. I think she was only helping Blackrose because Blackrose ordered her to. If I had to guess her motives from everything that she’s said to us, then I reckon she wants to reconcile with her father Deadfang.’

‘Deathfang.’

‘Yes, alright; Deathfang. Let’s discuss it with her when she gets back. If she’s not willing to help us, then we should tell her we’re going.’

Kelsey glowered at her. ‘Why don’t you go? You can go, and I’ll stay here. You won’t starve in the forest and, without me, you’ll be able to use your disguise powers. Look, all I need is a chance to show her that I can protect her from the Ascendants. If that takes a little bit longer, then so be it.’

Aila suppressed her irritation. Was the young Holdfast woman being serious? There was no way Aila was going to turn up in front of Corthie only to tell him that she had left his sister in a forest with a dragon for company.

A flock of birds arose from the trees to their north, calling as they flew away. Aila turned. Frostback regularly scared the wildlife with her appearance, and the sight of birds being disturbed had become normal, but never from the north. That way lay the ever-encroaching lumber gangs, hacking, burning and sawing their way southwards, and the silver dragon did not hunt in that direction.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Kelsey. ‘The edge of the forest is still several miles away. It’ll be a couple of months before they get here.’

They finished laying the carpet of fresh moss, and went to sit down by the cold remains of their little fire, where, to Frostback’s disgust, they cooked the meat she brought them every day. Aila knelt by the circular pile of ashes and prepared the fire for the coming evening, while Kelsey relaxed, her eyes on the blue sky above them.

Aila was laying the last stacks of firewood next to the hearth when Kelsey sat up, her eyes narrowing.

‘Something’s wrong,’ she said.

Aila followed her glance to the north. Smoke was rising from the forest in several places, thin wisps, which were being carried away by the wind.

‘Those fires are too close,’ said Kelsey. ‘There’s no way the lumber gangs have reached this deep into the forest by now.’

More smoke rose as Aila watched, this time from the east and west of their position, a clutch of grey tendrils clearing the roof of the forest. To the north, the volume of smoke was increasing, growing thicker and darker.

Aila stood, and stared all around them, but saw no movement in the trees. ‘Damn it,’ she muttered. ‘I think they’re trying to burn us out.’

Her boots scrambled on the dirt as she hurried up the slope of the low hillock next to the hollow. When she reached the top, she turned. She could just see over the tops of the nearby trees, and the