‘Ha!’ said Ren Tang. ‘I like you, human.’ Throwing his arm around Yu Yu’s shoulder he kissed his cheek. ‘You stay close to me. I’ll teach you how to use that demon-sticker.’
‘Time to march,’ said Song Xiu.
Yu Yu Liang, the Chiatze ditch-digger, led the fighting men of the Riaj-nor down on to the Eiden Plain.
As they reached the ruins a mist began to form ahead of them.
Norda was quite sure she was dreaming. At first she had been frightened, but now she relaxed, wondering where the dream would take her next. She rather hoped it would involve Yu Yu Liang.
The first part of the dream had been very real. Eldicar Manushan had sent for her, and told her that Beric had need of someone to sit with him while Eldicar himself was engaged in other duties. This was no hardship, for Beric was a delightful boy. Norda had been a little surprised to hear that Beric was waiting for her in the North Tower library. It was getting late, and in Norda’s experience little boys tended to dislike dark, cold places.
Norda had climbed the circular stair, and been surprised to find four dark-garbed swordsmen in the library room below the tower. She had paused, sudden fear flooding her system. Such. . . creatures as these had been the talk of the palace for days now, with their cat-like eyes and their haughty manner.
The first of them had bowed to her and offered her a sharp-toothed smile. His arm swept out, beckoning her to mount the stairs.
At this point Norda had no idea it was a dream. She climbed the stairs to the tower, and found Beric lounging on a wide couch. He was wearing only a white robe, belted at the waist. The tower room was chilly, a cold breeze whispering from the open balcony. Norda shivered. ‘You must be cold,’ she said to the boy.
‘Yes, Norda,’ he said sweetly. She was filled with the urge to hug him, and crossed the room to sit beside him. He snuggled into her. That was when she first realized that she was dreaming. Norda felt light-headed as he moved in close, and awash with feelings of love and contentment. It was really quite exquisite. She gazed down at his beautiful face, and saw that it was swelling at the temples, large blue veins pulsing across the stretching skin of his brow. His eyes grew smaller under heavy brows, the blue changing, becoming tawny gold. He seemed to be smiling, but she saw that, in reality, his lips were being dragged back across his cheeks, as his teeth grew longer and thicker, overlapping each other. His face was but inches from her own, and Norda frowned as it changed. She still felt great love for the boy, even though he was obviously a boy no longer. Norda regretted the cheese and bread she had eaten for supper, and the goblet of red wine with which she had washed it down. Cheese and wine always made her dream. But how odd that Beric should feature. Normally Norda dreamt of more potent men – men like Yu Yu Liang and Emrin. Even the Grey Man had figured in the more erotic dreams.
‘You are not so pretty now, Beric,’ said Norda, reaching up to stroke the pallid grey skin of his face. Her fingers brushed against his now dark hair. It was more like a pelt.
His own, taloned, hand moved across her shoulder. She glanced down and saw that the skin of his arm was scaled and grey.
Something touched her leg. Norda saw that it was a long, scaled tail, with what seemed to be a claw growing from the base. She laughed.
‘What is amusing, my dear?’ asked the creature.
‘Your tail,’ she said. ‘Long tails.’ Then she laughed again. ‘Emrin has a long tail. Yu Yu’s tail is shorter and thicker. They don’t have claws on them, though. I’ll not drink that Lentrian wine again, that’s for sure.’
‘No, you won’t,’ said the creature.
The tail slid up over her belly, the claw pricking at the skin.
‘That hurts,’ said Norda, surprised. ‘I’ve never felt pain in a dream before.’