five Demons called themselves, and the children and StarLaughter seemed so like me. All of us had been betrayed; all of us had seen our heritages stolen from us. It seemed so right to be with
them. It seemed so right to aid each of them to regain their heritage as I needed to regain mine.‖
He smiled, but it was sad, and faded almost as soon as it had appeared. ―They said they
would give me back my Icarii power. Oh, Stars! To regain my power! To be like Caelum, and
Zenith! To be an Enchanter again.‖
Everyone was quiet, watching.
―But the longer I spent with them,‖ Drago continued, ―the more I came to realise that
their hatred and bitterness and their need for revenge had twisted them. Darkened them.
StarLaughter, and the children—they were once so powerful, and so enchanted. Now…‖
Drago paused, and his hands trembled. He clasped them together. ―Their thirst for
revenge at all cost had made them nauseating. Worse, I realised that I was very much like them,
and I could not bear that thought. I grew to despise myself.‖
―Drago,‖ StarDrifter said. ―Do not so hate yourself. Few possess the courage to
acknowledge their own shortcomings. It would have been easy for you to drift away among the
Stars, regretting what you‘d done but making no effort to right your wrongs. You had the
courage to come back, and face the fruit of your sin.‖
―I had almost no choice, grandfather,‖ Drago said. ―The Demons propelled me through
the Star Gate. I could not have said no had I wished to.‖
―Nevertheless,‖ StarDrifter said, ―having come through the Star Gate you could have run
for Coroleas, or made across the Widowmaker Sea. But you came here, to face those who have
most cause to hate you.‖
Gods, Askam thought, his face carefully hidden in shadow, Drago has everyone
convinced he is the hero of the moment, doesn‘t he. But what if, StarDrifter, you feathered idiot,
Drago still aids the Demons? What if Axis is right, and Faraday is wrong?
Drago shrugged aside StarDrifter‘s words. ―In actual fact, I first planned to die, for I did
not particularly want to come back. But then,‖ he raised his face and smiled at Faraday, ―the
Sentinels spoke to me—‖
―The Sentinels!‖ Faraday‘s green eyes widened. ―They are alive? You saw them? Did
they come back?‖
Drago smiled at her excitement. ―Yes, they live, but no and no to your other two
questions, Faraday. I did not ‗see‘ them, for they are spirit only, and they did not wish to come
back through the Star Gate, preferring to spend their eternity drifting among the stars. They love
you, Faraday, but they did not want to come back.‖
―Are they still arguing?‖
Drago laughed, and most about the fire smiled at the sound. ―Yes, they still argue. I think
the stars must ring with the music of their debates.‖
―So, they helped you to survive,‖ StarDrifter said.
―Yes, but only after they persuaded me to aid Caelum and Tencendor as best I can.‖
Drago sighed. ―Not that Caelum will accept my help.‖
―Drago, do not blame him for that,‖ Zared said.
―I do not. Instead I reproach myself for creating such a fear within him.‖
―And now?‖ DareWing asked. This sitting about and listening to confessions was all very
well, but there were over thirty thousand men and Icarii standing about, waiting for direction.
For the first time an expression of uncertainty crossed Drago‘s face. ―I want to help,‖ he
said, ―but—‖
Faraday put a hand on his shoulder, interrupting him. ―There are many things that I have
come to know over the past few months,‖ she said, ―and, regrettably, few that I can tell you for
the moment. In time, it will become Drago‘s story to tell, and I ask only that you wait.‖
―Faraday—‖ Zared began, as eager as DareWing to make a start to something.
―Hush. Listen to me. At the moment none of us know much, but that can be remedied.
First, may I ask what you all know, and understand?‖
―Demons, through the Star Gate,‖ Herme put in. ―They have ravaged this land.‖ Briefly,
he gave details of what hours were safe to venture forth, and what not.
―And we are thankful, Lady Faraday,‖ Theod said, smiling and inclining his head at her,
―that before the Demons broke through you spread the word that safety could be found indoors
during those hours the Demons ravaged. Without the warning, most of Tencendor would be
lost.‖
―As it is,‖ Zared said, ―our scouts at the edge of the forest report seeing crazed people
wandering the plains, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups.‖
―And there are also herds of livestock,‖ DareWing added. ―Animals that are caught in the
grey miasma of the Demonic horror seem to behave…most peculiarly. As if they, too, have gone
mad.‖
Faraday‘s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She had not thought about the animals. ―Do you
know why the Demons have come to ravage?‖ she asked, pushing the conversation forward.
They could think about the animals later.
―To find what lies at the foot of the Sacred Lakes,‖ Leagh said, ―in order to resurrect one
of their number, the worst of all. Qeteb, the Midday Demon.‖
Faraday nodded. ―The answer to all our woes must lie at the foot of the Sacred Lakes. All
I know is that Drago and I must go to the Cauldron Lake, as soon as we can. What is there needs
to speak with Drago.‖
Everyone, including Drago, started to speak at once, but Faraday hushed them.
―I will take Drago there, and once we get back…well…once we get back I hope that we
will have some answer to our current dilemma.‖
―Cauldron Lake?‖ Zared said. ―But that is far south. It will take you days to get—‖
―Seven or eight days to get there and back,‖ Faraday said.
―What?‖ Zared exploded. ―Wait! A week? Gods, Faraday! Tencendor lies ravaged and
you say, ‗Sit here and smile and wait a week‘.‖
―Zared,‖ Leagh said, glancing at Faraday. ―What can we do but wait? Where can we go?
We cannot move beyond the shelter of this forest for more than a few hours at a time, and that is
no time to get an army anywhere. We must wait. Drago—what will you be able to tell us when
you get back?‖
―Leagh, I don‘t know. I am sorry.‖
Zared sighed, accepting. Leagh was right. They needed some answers. ―Well, at least
take two of our best horses. You might as well move as fast as you can.‖
Faraday laughed. ―I thank you, Zared, but no. My two donkeys can carry us, and they
know the way well enough.‖ Faraday sat awake late into the night, watching as Tencendor‘s
army slept curled up in blankets or wings in an unmoving ocean spreading into the unseeable
distance.
Drago lay close to her, and she reached out, hesitated, then touched his cheek briefly.
He did not stir.
She sighed, and turned her gaze to the forest canopy, needing to sleep, but needing more
to think. She was appalled by the scene earlier, and the face of hatred Axis had chosen to show Drago.
All Axis could see in Drago was the malevolent infant, using every power he had to try to
put Caelum away so that he, DragonStar, could assume the name and privileges of StarSon.
Faraday could hardly blame Axis and Azhure, and certainly not Caelum, for their distrust of
Drago—but it was going to make things difficult. Very difficult.
At that thought Faraday almost smiled. Here she was fretting at the fact that Drago‘s
parents did not welcome the prodigal son with open arms and tears of joy, when beyond the trees
ravaged such misery that SunSoar quarrels paled into insignificance.
But to counter the misery there was Drago. And somewhere, secreted within his craft,
there was Noah. Between them, those two must somehow prove the saving of Tencendor.
Faraday let her thoughts drift for a while, content to listen to the sounds of the sleeping
camp. Somewhere a horse moved, and snorted, and a soldier spoke quietly to it. The sound of the
man soothing the horse made Faraday think, for no particular reason, of the stunning moment
when Sicarius had leapt to the aid of Drago. Drago? Faraday knew how devoted those hounds,
and especially Sicarius, had always been to Azhure, but she also remembered that for thousands
of years they had run with the Sentinel, Jack, and she wondered if their origins lay not in Icarii
magic, but deep below the Sacred Lakes.
Perhaps no wonder, then, that Sicarius had leapt to Drago‘s defence.
There was a slight movement at her side, breaking Faraday‘s thoughts.
She looked down. Drago had rolled a little closer, and now lay with his head propped up
on a hand.
―Faraday—what did I come through the Star Gate as? You transformed me somehow,
back to this form… but what did I come through the Star Gate as?‖