The Wyvern's Gift

Chapter Eight

The tree tops above their heads crowded closely together, blocking out much of the afternoon sun. The warm rays would have been a welcome presence. Haelyn was more interested in watching Isra's flight above the trees.

The dracontix and mage had taken off twice in a whirl of leaves. The first attempt had ended in them slamming into a tree branch only six feet off the floor. It had taken plenty of urging from Evander and Haelyn to get them to try again. Wren's sarcastic advice hadn't been particularly helpful in getting them to move again.

"Ten copper she falls off and gets stuck in a tree," Weylyn muttered to Wren. They started to shake hands but Yophiel pushed them apart.

"We do not make bets dependent on someone coming to harm," he said tiredly.

Weylyn struggled to reach around the broad man. "No, you don't. We do." Their fingertips brushed over each other and Weylyn cheered. "The bet has been made."

Suddenly, he felt a tight grip on his left pinky finger. His hand twisted and he dropped to one knee. Haelyn stood above him, his finger caught between her index finger and thumb. Instinctively, he reached for his knife in his boot. The soft hiss of a blade being drawn sounded from beside him, a warning from Yophiel.

"If she falls and something happens to Isra, I will make sure every sip of water you take for the rest of your life tastes like slug slime," she threatened. Her glare shifted to Wren who met her eyes without fear. Before she could come up with a suitable threat, Isra landed in a puff of dirt and fallen leaves.

Evanora tumbled off her back and across the forest floor. She rolled to a stop flat on her back with her limbs spread out. "That was the single most amazing moment of my life."

"Did you see anything?" Wren asked as he held out a hand to Weylyn.

The struggling thief finally shook free from Haelyn and passed him ten copper pieces. He shuffled to the edge of the tiny clearing and massaged his red hand.

Still laying flat on her back, Evanora nodded. She raised both hands and a thread of orange began to weave between her outstretched fingers. As her hands drew apart from each other, the crisscrossing thread grew. Small lights appeared at seemingly random intervals along the thread. They glowed brighter and brighter until color burst out of them, creating a view of the forest from above.

The image was blurry in places where Evanora hadn't gotten a steady look. "Get a piece of paper," she directed Wren. A light by her left hand flashed, a second glowed a steady blue in the middle of the threadwork. "We're here, give or take a few miles." The first light pulsed.

"Couldn't you have been more precise? A few miles could change everything," Wren grumbled.

The magic faltered for a moment as Evanora's eye twitched. "Perhaps you'd like to try remembering a sea of identical trees while leaning over a flying lizard. Oh wait, you can't."

Evander cleared his throat and circled his finger around the blue light. "I assume you found something of interest here."

The small mage nodded and the magic steadied. "Wyvern sign, north east of us. There was no way to tell if there's a nest but it's really all we have to go on right now." There were a few more charcoal scratches as Wren finished the map.

"That looks like a three day walk, if we don't rest. They expect us back with the flower in two," Yophiel muttered, mostly to himself. He began to pace, drawn sword tapping against his leg every so often. "If we don't show up, they'll think I've run off with a band of ruffians."

"As if we'd take you with us," Weylyn muttered. He didn't get so much as a sideways glance from Yophiel, who continued to pace more and more frantically.

Isra hunkered closer down to the ground, watching him with steadily increasing irritation. Some of his turns took him within biting range of the dracontix. She made that fact clear after his boot sent a puff of dust into her face. Her teeth clamped down around his flapping cloak and she tugged. The fabric ripped, leaving the lower quarter of it half attached.

Yophiel turned and stared down at the beast. "How dare you, Isra. That was my best cloak. How much do you plan to take from me on this journey?" He tried to pull the remains of the ruined cloak section from Isra, but she only pulled harder.

"She's going to think you want to play if you aren't careful," Haelyn warned him.

"Then tell her I don't want to play."

"How about you sit down and take a breath before you pace a hole into the forest," Evanora suggested. The magic had dissipated from her fingers and her arms rested at her sides like abandoned sticks.

"I can't until I've figured out how to make sure the king knows I'm not shirking my responsibilities without leaving the lot of you to your own devices." He gestured at all of them, changing his outspread hand to one accruing finger directed at a retreating Wren. "Where do you think you're going?"

Wren spared him a glance before disappearing between two trees.

Evander dropped to sit on the ground. "Great, you've scared off our guide with all your ramblings." He closed his eyes and folded his arms behind his head. A dark brown curl slid over his forehead in the breeze.

The sound of ripping fabric grew louder as Yophiel desperately tried to pry the remainder of his cloak away from Isra. She growled and he returned the gesture with his best mimic of her growl. They continued the tug of war until Haelyn took pity on him.

"Let go of that," she ordered as she tugged the cloak free. "And you," she continued as she pressed her palms to either side of Yophiel's face. "You really need to calm down. Whether we're late or not, we'll be showing up with the cure eventually. Then we'll explain what happened and everything will be ok. But, if you continue to pace like that, I am going to lose my mind."

Leaves and twigs crunched loudly and Wren reentered the clearing. His hood was pulled back and he held his left arm up with his wrist at eye level. It helped to keep the falcon on his wrist calm and stable. It twisted its head upside down and back up, observing them all.

"Did you just walk into the woods and catch a bird?" Evander asked.

"I live here," Wren said as if that explained everything. "This is Firefly, he'll get a message to the castle so they know what happened. Someone write a note."

Weylyn and Evanora hurried to write a note detailing their obstacles and the upcoming delay. Yophiel signed his name and Wren instructed him on how to roll it up for Firefly to carry.

"That was nice of you," Haelyn told Wren quietly after Firefly had taken off. The others were distracted with going through their remaining supplies. They'd have to stretch everything to make it last the extra time.

Wren rolled his eyes. "He was making me itch with how nervous he was." They rejoined the group as they went over their new route. Even with Wren's help it would still be a longer journey than any of them had been anticipating. They were especially nervous about how close they'd be to the mountains. The dangers that waited in the valley just on the other side wasn't what they had signed up for. Not that anyone signed up for running from dragons.