Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

CHAPTER 16

I hunched over the small oil lamp beside my bed and dug my finger and thumb into the leather pouch, pinching up a generous dose of the Sun drug. Outside, the sounds of my palace staff preparing for the Daikiko journey carried across the pre-dawn quiet: the clip of horse hooves on stone flags, the creaking of cartwheels, and Ryko's voice ordering his men to check the load straps. It would soon be time to leave.

I dropped the drug into the bowl of ghost-maker's tea that Rilla had left with my breakfast.

For a moment the powder floated on the top, then broke apart and dissolved into the murky liquid. I tied off the pouch and pushed it into the pocket of my travelling tunic alongside the precious ruby compass.

The Sun drug was my last resort. With only a slim hope of deciphering the folio in time for the test, it was the only other way I could think to forge a quick connection with the Mirror Dragon. Ryko had said it kindled the Sun energy in the Shadow Men, rebuilding their manliness and fighting spirit. Surely it would stoke the Sun energy in me too.

1 eyed the steaming tea. Of course, there was no guarantee it would help me contact my dragon. And there was a very big possibility it might turn me into a raging madman like Lord Ido. Or I could descend into sullen despair and crashing head pain like Dillon. Maybe the ghost maker's tea would just cancel its effect.The other alternative — death by poisoning — was like a cold stone of possiblity lodged in my gut.

I picked up the bowl and inhaled the bitter steam. An image of my master's dying face, twisted and contorted, shivered through me. Such a terrible way to die.

Yesterday I had cried myself dry in Rilla's arms, but 1 could not forgive my master's betrayal.

Not yet. Even after Rilla had cut through my self-pity with one of her hard truths — that my lame leg helped me hide my sex — I still could not find any forgiveness. Perhaps one day I would, but for now the energy of anger was far better than the lethargy of grief.

I looked down into the cup. The tea had turned very dark, its surface reflecting the shadowy planes of my face. Surely one dose would not kill me; it had not killed Dillon or Ryko. I bowed to the altar in the corner and raised the bowl to my lips. May my ancestors protect me, I prayed and tipped the vessel back, coughing over the last bitter mouthful.

I put the cup on the tray and sat for a moment trying to feel the drug in my body I knew it was too soon, but now that it was finally taken, I wanted to know if it had worked. A soft clap outside the bedchamber door roused me from my inner search.

'Enter.'

Rilla hurried in, carrying a long travelling coat over her arm. 'Ryko says we are ready to go when you are, my lord.' She shook out the garment and held it open for me.

'Thank you.' I stood and pushed my arms into the wide sleeves. 'Is Chart settled in?'

Rilla beamed. 'Yes, he is.' She gave the stiff neckband of the coat one last smoothing then dug around in her skirt pocket. 'He wanted me to give you this.'

I unfolded the small scrap of parchment. There was one character scratched on its surface in wavering black ink: sorry.

I smiled. 'Is he writing already?'

'He and Lon worked on it all last night.'

'You must tell him that he has nothing to be sorry about. He was just doing as the master asked.'

'I'll tell him.' She touched my arm. 'You have done so much for us. Thank you.'

'You have done as much for me.' I paced across the room, suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of dread. 'But there is something else I would ask of you, Rilla.'

'Of course. Anything.'

'If I ever tell you to go, will you take Chart and leave the city as fast as you can? No questions. Just go somewhere safe. Like the islands. Will you do that?'

'But I wouldn't leave —'

I held up my hand. 'No. Promise me you'll go. It's important.'

She nodded, but her face was troubled. 'Do you think it will come to that?'

'I don't know. I hope your free status will protect you. But if it doesn't, then you'll need to move swiftly And you'll need money' I waved her over to the doorway. 'Come with me, quickly'

I led her into the dressing room. My candidate ceremony uniform was stored neatly on a low shelf in the clothes press. I pulled it out and slid my fingers along the hem until they found hard metal.

'Chart gave me this in case I had to run away Do you remember?'

She nodded. A Tiger. He showed me when he found it.'

I took her hand and closed it over the silk-covered coin. 'Now it is yours. It will keep you and Chart for a few months if things go bad.'

Rilla took my hand. 'But what about you? Won't you need it to get away?'

I didn't answer. Her hold tightened for a moment and then she turned towards the sewing tools. We both knew that if she and Chart had to run, then it was already too late for me.

The courtyard of the Ox Dragon Hall was a noisy melee of people hauling luggage, hitching oxen to carts and leading horses. My driver called my name over and over again, gradually clearing a pathway through the crowded square and manoeuvring the carriage up to the front entrance of the hall.

A servant approached us and bowed. 'Lord Tyron sends his compliments, my lord, and asks for your forbearance. He will be with you soon.' The man offered a goblet of wine on a tray, but I waved it away. My taster was in a cart at the rear of the line. I sat back in the opulent carriage seat and watched an outrider struggle to calm a skittish horse. I knew how the animal felt.

Finally, Lord Tyron emerged from the hall. I shifted across to make room for him as he climbed into the carriage, his weight rocking the well-sprung cabin.

'So, the Prince has lent you his own cart, hey?' he asked jovially, but the tone was at odds with the anxiety on his face. The suspension straps beneath us creaked and swung as he settled beside me. 'No one can be in doubt of your allegiance now.'

'I don't think anyone has ever been in doubt of my allegiance,' I said.

Lord Tyron nodded. 'Nor of mine.' He rubbed at his forehead. 'My apologies for sending away all your messengers. We could not risk giving Ido any reason to stop the test.'

'Lord Ido doesn't want to stop the test,' I said. 'He expects me to fail, and he's probably right.

Do you really think I can learn how to control the King Monsoon in two days?'

Tyron sighed. 'It takes an apprentice the whole twelve years of study to manage his own dragon's power. And the same time to prepare for his year as Ascendant.' He patted my shoulder. 'But then, you can see all of the twelve dragons. If anyone can do it, you can.'

I smiled weakly at him. He pulled back the opulent silk curtaining and watched the rest of his entourage move into position behind us. Now was my chance to show him the compass without any interruption. I pulled it out of my pocket, my excitement so intense I could not even form a prayer.

'Lord Tyron…'

He turned back to me.

I held up the pouch and fumbled with the drawstring. 'I wanted to show you this. The Prince returned it to me with the other Mirror Dragon treasures.'

The ties came loose. The compass dropped into my palm and I felt the pearls around my arm shiver.

'Oh, my, what a beauty' Tyron breathed. He looked at me for permission then picked up the compass, stroking his thick forefinger across the ruby centre. 'Magnificent.'

I leaned closer. 'Do you recognise the writing, Lord Tyron? Can you read it?'

Squinting, he examined the etched rings around the compass.

'The animal pictures and the cardinal points are the same,' he finally said, 'but I've never seen this other writing before. It must be very old.'

The disappointment was like a blow to my chest. I closed my eyes. Even a Dragoneye could not read the folio. Its secrets were locked away from me forever. There was no way of decoding it. But I still had one chance left — the Sun drug. But what if it didn't work?

'Lord Eon.'

I opened my eyes. Tyron was looking over the compass at me. His face was grey

'Is this the only compass you have?' he whispered. 'But of course it is — there would have been no more made after the Mirror Dragon was lost.'

I realised why he looked so appalled. Every compass was specific to its particular dragon, the secret information on it

handed down from Dragoncye to apprentice, and set into a new instrument for the trainee, But I could not read my inherited compass, there was no Dragoneye to teach me its mysteries, and I could not use another Dragoneye's instrument to direct my heast's power. In all of my frenzied attempts to read the folio, such a catastrophe had not even occurred to me.

Tyron wearily pressed his fingers into the hollows of his eyes. Among those who travel to Daikiko, I can only think of Ido who has an interest in old writings. But we cannot show it to him. If he knows you cannot read your compass, he will use it as evidence to stop you taking your place on the Council.'

'He will know at the test,' I said shrilly 'He will know when I don't use it.'

Tyron passed the compass back to me, briefly closing my hand in a reassuring grip.

'No, you won't need it for the test. Ido will have already made the Ascendant calculations for the ley lines. You can use those, and I will teach you the rudiments of focusing your power through the ruby'

'But the calculations will be for the Ascendant Rat Dragon. How can I use them?'

Tyron chewed at his top lip. 'You're the Co-Ascendant. I'm hoping they'll be the same. Or at least close.'

'What do you mean you hope they'll be the same?' I demanded. 'Don't you know?'

He shook his head. 'No one knows what will happen tomorrow. No one knows what this Co-Ascendancy means. We don't know if you have the same doubled powers as Lord Ido, or if the double power is split between you. We just don't know.'

I stared at him. 'You don't know how to help me pass this test, do you?'

He gripped my shoulder and shook it. 'Right now we need to concentrate on teaching you how to control your power. First

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things first.' He leaned out of the carriage and yelled, 'Hollin! (Jet over here.'

The lanky apprentice strode up to the side of the carriage. 'Yes, my lord.' He saw me half hidden behind the bulk of his master and bowed. 'Greetings, Lord Eon.'

'Hollin, I've decided you'll ride with us,' Tyron ordered. 'Give your apologies to Lady Dela — tell her that Lord Eon has need of you. Then tell Ridley to take your place in the lady's cart.'

The young man's face brightened: no back-breaking ox-cart journey for him. He hurried away

'Hollin can remember his early apprentice days more clearly than I can,' Tyron said. 'He can quickly take you through the basics. Then we can get on to the task of how to direct the King Monsoon.'

It was a long day of relentless information, roads lined with bowing peasants, and searing heat. The cabin of the carriage reeked with our sweat and the silk fans that we waved made no impression on the mind-numbing temperature. It was almost impossible to concentrate on Hollin's earnest voice as he tried to explain the give and take between dragon and Dragoneye.

'Do you remember the moment of union, Lord Eon?' he asked, then smiled sheepishly. 'Of course you do. Every Dragoneye remembers that moment. Cast your mind back to the feeling of being in two places at once. Of being dragon and man at the same time.'

I nodded, trying to hide my panic. I had not felt a sensation of being in two places at once.

Only the rush of power from the Mirror Dragon. And then, later, from the Rat Dragon. But I could not explain that to the two men in front of me — it would mean admitting I had never made the full union with my beast. I squeezed the Sun-drug pouch in my pocket. Perhaps my chance of connecting with the Mirror Dragon would be stronger if I took more than one pinch per day.

'The key is in the balance,' Hollin continued. 'It takes a long time to recognise when you are giving too much I lua and not

taking enough power.' He wiped the sweat from his top lip and looked at his master. 'I low do we explain the balance?'

It was like that all the way to the first sleep stop: one step forwards towards enlightenment and then (wo steps back as my lack of experience blocked the way.

As was custom, the Dragoneyes and their servants were lodged in houses deferentially vacated by local landowners. I was so tired that I knew nothing from the moment I entered my borrowed bedchamber to when Rilla woke me the following morning with a cup of the ghost-maker's tea. When she left the room to collect my aired clothes, I dumped two large pinches of the Sun drug into the earthenware cup and drank it in one gulp.

The small bedchamber was airless. Rilla had laid out a cotton robe for me and I wrapped it around myself as I clambered off the raised pallet and headed for the shuttered window.

Overnight, Hollin's coaching seemed to have become a jumble of unrelated nonsense; all I could remember was him explaining how to draw power from a ley line and then Lord Tyron urging him to move on to the next subject. And there was another day of hurried instruction to come. I feared that very little of their teaching was going to stay with me.

I pushed open the shutters and looked into the compact inner courtyard of the house. The landowner was rich enough to afford a small pleasure garden along the nearby wall, and Lady Dela was walking its short, winding path. Now that the official mourning period was over, she wore a blue travelling gown with a strip of memorial red pinned to her sleeve. She turned as though my gaze had called her and dropped gracefully to one knee, politely averting her eyes from my lack of propriety. I pulled the robe tighter around me and held my hand up in greeting.

'Lady Dela. I hoped you passed the night comfortably'

'I did, thank you.' She rose from her bow and I saw that her face was once again carefully painted into femininity. 'Would it

be possible to speak to you before we continue our journey, my lord? There are some protocol matters to discuss.'

'Of course.'

'After the breakfast of gratitude?'

I nodded and drew back inside the room. According to tradition, the visiting lord thanked his host by eating with him and his sons at the formal morning meal.

Compared to what I had experienced in the last few weeks, the fare was simple and sparse: a rice porridge with four condiments, raw eggs broken into a hot fragrant soup, fried soy curd and a finely milled wheat bread. As I dripped sweetener over the pale mush of rice, it occurred to me that I would have once considered this a feast. The landowner reminded me of a brown dog that used to skulk around the salt farm — always anxious to belly-up and please.

He was so overwhelmed by sharing his table with a Dragoneye lord that he bowed three or four times to every remark I made, and was only able to manage one complete statement during the whole meal.

'Your sacred pact to protect us and our land brings us all much comfort, my lord.'

His sons — three smaller versions of himself — nodded vigorously their eyes never leaving me as they silently spooned up their soup. I looked down at my own bowl, my hunger suddenly gone. This was not just about my own survival; the whole land now relied on me to manipulate the earth forces and bring the luck of a good harvest. I fingered the pouch in my pocket. Could I risk another pinch of Sun drug? Three in the space of an hour was probably too much — it would be more sensible to leave it until the evening meal and space out the doses.

Lady Dela approached me immediately after the torturous meal, her eyes tracking every movement around us.

'May we now speak privately, my lord?'

I sighed. A lesson in protocol was the last thing I wanted; my head already felt overstuffed with information. 'Can this not

wait?' I asked. 'Surely we can go through the protocols when we are closer to the village.'

She leaned closer until I smelled the frangipani scent of her hair.'It is not about protocols. It is about the test.'

'The garden then,' I said shortly. All ol my limbs felt as though a clockwork spring was coiled inside them, straining to release. Perhaps a walk would work the tension out of my muscles.

Lady Dela waited until we were at the far end of the garden path before she spoke.

'I have heard some rumours, my lord.' She looked around, then led me further from a kitchen maid shaking out bedclothes. 'Lord Ido intends to sabotage your test.'

'The way things are going, he won't need to take the trouble,' I said grimly 'Did your rumours tell you how?' I balled my hands into fists then straightened them. Every joint seemed to be stiff and sore, although the usual sharp pain in my hip had dulled into an ache.

She shook her head.

'Then they are not of much use, are they? Don't come to me with vague servants' gossip. Bring me details.'

I stalked away from her astonishment. What use were rumours? I needed real information.

Real strategies. I swiped past an elegant arch of fronds that hung over the pathway. The branch broke with a satisfying snap.

Back in the carriage with Lord Tyron and Hollin, I could not find any comfortable position — my rump bones felt as though they were pushing through my skin and the back of my neck itched with a rash. Hollin was dull-eyed and yawning from a bad night's sleep and Lord Tyron was stinking with an old man's sweat. I swallowed my nausea and focused on their words.

'As Ascendant, it is your responsibility to clearly give your orders to each Dragoneye so that he can direct his dragon's power and force the monsoon rains away from the crops and into the dam,' Lord Tyron said.

'It is a juggling act,' Hollin added. 'Each dragon has control over a particular direction on the compass, so you must tell his Dragoneye how much power to use at exactly the right time so that the monsoon is shifted in their direction.' He saw the consternation on my face. 'I know it sounds impossible, but the Dragoneyes sit in a circle in their compass positions so it is easy to see who is working with each dragon.'

'And since you can see all of the dragons too, it should be easier for you,' Lord Tyron said encouragingly.

'But how do I know how much power is needed?'

Lord Tyron shot a glance at Hollin.

'Well?' I demanded. 'How do I know?'

Tyron rubbed at the end of his nose. 'It is a matter of practice,' he mumbled. 'You have to learn how to feel the parameters of your dragon's power.'

A matter of practice? I don't have time to practise.' I slammed the heel of my hand into the carved canopy strut. 'This is all useless. Useless!' I jabbed the driver's back. 'Stop!'

The carriage jerked to a halt, the horses plunging in their harness. I flung myself out of the cabin and marched over to the ditch that separated the nobles' road from the peasants' dirt track. Vaguely, through my fury I realised I was hardly limping. Behind the carriage, the rest of the retinue was pulling to a stop, heads craning over cart sides to see what had happened. I stared out over the low rice fields, unable to settle on a coherent thought amongst the tumble of fear and anger that clamoured in my head. At the edge of my vision, I saw Ryko swing down from his saddle and lead his horse towards me.

'My lord.' He made the quick duty bow. 'May I be of assistance?'

'Can you teach me twelve years of Dragoneye knowledge in an afternoon,' I asked bitterly

'No, lord.' His horse blew and bobbed its head over his shoulder.

'Then you cannot be of any assistance. Leave me.'

I turned from him, but bis band closed over my shoulder and pulled me around.

'What is that on your neck?'

'Don't touch me,' I shrieked. 'I'll have you whipped.'

The horse shied, yanking Ryko with it. 1 le tightened his grip on its bridle and soothed it with a reassuring hand and soft croons. I backed away, my fingers finding the pattern of welts on my neck.

Ryko eyed me sternly. 'How much are you taking, lord?'

'I could have you whipped.'

'Yes, my lord. How much Sun drug are you taking?'

I looked away from his implacable face.

'Two pinches.'

He sucked in a breath. 'A grown man can only handle half of that a day. You must stop it, lord. It will kill you.'

'I only need it until tomorrow.'

'Lord…' He stepped closer.

'Go back to your position, Guard Ryko.'

He hesitated, his face a taut war between obedience and concern.

'I said go back to your position.' A sudden fury snapped through me. 'Or I will have you relieved of duty'

The muscles in his jaw tightened, but he bowed and led his horse around. I pressed my palm against my forehead, trying to relieve a spiked band of pain that was digging into my head.

Couldn't Ryko understand that I only needed the drug until I moved the King Monsoon? I watched him remount his horse and rein it in behind my carriage, all of my anger draining away as quickly as it had risen. He was only doing his duty — trying to guard me from harm.

I wanted to call him back and tell him I would stop taking the Sun drug tomorrow, but the curious stares from the retinue held me still.

Lord Tyron leaned out of the carriage. 'Lord Eon, we must continue if we are to make the village by dusk.'

I raised my hand to show him I'd heard, but turned to look at the rice Held again. Surely there was enough Sun drug in me to see the Mirror Dragon. Maybe even enough to finally connect with him. The hope made my head pound. Narrowing my eyes, I reached for my mind-sight, seeking the pathways of my Hua. More pain jabbed into my head as the rice paddies bucked and twisted into the haze of the energy world. But everything was distorted, rushing past in a blur of colour. Green, orange, blue, purple, pink, grey. A hum, more sensation than sound, grated through my bones. I clamped my hands over my ears and pushed further into the roiling energy, trying to find a flash of red in the streaming colours. But it was all too fast.

Too violent. The coursing power circled me — spinning so fast I couldn't focus — until all the colours bled into one swirling angry blue.

Everything stopped. Then the blue roared through me, stripping me of sight and sound.

For a moment I was suspended in silent sapphire panic. I fell onto my knees, my bones jarring against the paved road. There was nothing but blue: in my eyes, in my ears, in my mouth. My palms shredded as I blindly groped the rough flags for sanity The blue was tearing me apart. I tasted vanilla, orange: the Rat Dragon. I forced myself back onto my heels, desperately clawing back some inner-sight. My silver Hua was turning dark, my seven points of power surrendering to the suffocating indigo. There was nowhere to go but deeper. I pushed inward, through thick grey energy that stoked the blue up into a bright flare. The Sun drug? I pushed even deeper, flailing at first, then drawn by a faint gold opalescence lodged in my third point of power. A tiny kernel in my abdomen, glowing against the dark maelstrom. Desperately, I grabbed at it. Flung the pale energy into the blue. It punched through the swirling power and I heard a cry, like an injured eagle, coming from my lips. The roiling mass contracted, split apart, and was gone.

'Lord, what is wrong?'

.

It was Ryko's voice.

'Lord, speak to me.'

I fell onto my side, gasping.

'Get Rilla,' he ordered someone. 'And Lady Dela.'

The darkness brightened into Ryko's face hovering above me. I reached up and grabbed the front of his tunic. 'I just need it until tomorrow,' I croaked. 'Then I'll stop.'

The drug was working. I was sure of it. I shifted my head, cradled in Rilla's soft lap, and stared at the passing sky as the carriage swayed along the road. Lady Dela sat opposite us, half asleep in the oppressive heat. Their undemanding silence was a huge relief. Lord Tyron had finally conceded I was in no condition to continue the lessons and had ordered his own carriage, following at the back of the long procession, to be brought up behind mine. At least that was one good thing that had come out of my roadside collapse.

I closed my eyes and carefully examined my conclusions about the blue power. There was no question that it had been the Rat Dragon. There was still the vanilla taste of him left in my body I was certain that, somehow, the thick grey power of the Sun drug had opened me up to his energy and he had flooded in like water through a sluice, blocking the approach of the Mirror Dragon. Of course, there was the terrifying possibility that Lord Ido was using his beast to attack me, but even in the wild panic I had not sensed any controlling force in the Rat Dragon's onslaught. It had been violent, but not an attack.

How, then, had I stopped it? What was that pale kernel of energy deep within me? I had a bad feeling that it had something to do with my shadow self; some kind of Moon energy that I had not been able to overcome. Whatever it was, it had beaten back a dragon. Could it be pushing away the Mirror Dragon too?

The terrible thought forced my eyes open.

'Do you need water, my lord?'

Rilla's concerned face was bent over me.

'No. I low long are we from the village?'

Lady Dela yawned, covering her mouth with her open fan. 'Lord Tyron said we would be there before dusk, so we should be less than two full bells away'

I nodded and closed my eyes, returning to the problem of the Rat Dragon. The grazes on my palms stung with a sharp reminder of his overwhelming power.

The Sun drug had opened me to him, so it must follow that it would open me to the Mirror Dragon too. Both were ascendant, and both connected to me in some way. The Sun drug was the doorway to my union with them, with the added bonus that it augmented the dragons'

power. And surely, if I took enough, it would stifle that remnant of Moon energy left in me.

All I needed was a way to stave off the Rat Dragon so that I could unite with the Mirror Dragon.

The answer was obvious. I sat bolt upright, my eyes dancing with dots from the sudden movement. I would not need to hold back the Rat Dragon during the test. Lord Ido would be in control of his beast; the blue dragon would not be able to flood me with power and block the way of the Mirror Dragon. All I had to do was to make sure my Sun energy was as high as possible: to open me to my dragon, augment his power and finally get rid of the Moon.

Rilla touched my arm. 'My lord?'

'I will take some water after all,' I said, reaching for the drug pouch.

We entered the village just as the soft dusk shadows were darkening into night. The roadside had been staked with long torches and the villagers kneeled between them, chanting celebration prayers and bowing as we sedately made our way towards the town centre. Red flags hung between houses and shops, and every door had a paper character for good harvest tacked onto it. The smoky fat of roasting pork and yeasty fragrance of bread flavoured the nighl air, underlaid with the throat-catching sweetness of intense. The taste and smell of Monsoon Festival.

My driver pulled the horses up at the edge of the large village square bounded by two-storey house-shops. Every window held a red paper lantern and in their combined light I could make out the central stone compassarium: the circular dais where the Dragoneyes would sit at their compass points and work their dragon magic. Lord Ido and the other Dragoneyes were seated at a long banquet table at the far end of the square. There was a vacant seat beside Ido, no doubt waiting for the Co-Ascendant. I suppressed a shiver and stepped out of the carriage.

Lady Dela smiled encouragingly at me from her seat as the driver urged the horses onwards.

Neither she nor Rilla could accompany me — no women were allowed into the central square until after the Dragoneyes had contained the King Monsoon.

I was met by three elderly men dressed in tan cotton tunics worked with simple embroidery Their ceremonial best. They kneeled and bowed, foreheads hovering just above the ground.

'Mirror Dragoneye,' the man in the centre of the delegation said, raising his chin slightly but not daring to meet my eyes, 'I am Elder Hiron. It is my immeasurable honour to welcome you and your dragon to our humble village. What joy that the twelfth dragon returns to us. What joy that he chooses a young Dragoneye with such great power. We offer our deepest gratitude for your sacred intervention on our behalf.'

I cleared my throat. 'Thank you. When is the King Monsoon due?'

The man on the right raised his head. 'Our weather-watchers predict tomorrow afternoon, lord.'

Good; that gave me time to take at least another two doses of the Sun drug.

'My lord, please, we invite you to the banquet table for the official welcome.'

With Ryko at my shoulder, I was led past the ranks of kneeling village men honouring the arrival of the lords who saved them from starvation every year. A few shadows at the windows shrank away as I approached: women and children snatching a look at the Mirror Dragoneye. One man in the crowd accidentally met my eye, the awe in his face changing into a flicker of fear. I half expected him to make the ward-evil, but he dropped into a low bow. I was, after all, the mighty Mirror Dragoneye, the bringer of good fortune. I brushed my hand over the dwindling weight of the drug pouch in my pocket — let it be so, I prayed. As if in response, the pearls around my forearm stirred sluggishly Their grip seemed to have slackened over the past few days.

The elders bowed me into my seat beside Lord Ido. He sat at his ease, his dark, muscular presence palpable at a table full of prematurely aged men. Dillon stood behind him, still scowling. Now I understood his unpredictable temper and Lord Ido's sudden rages: we all had the same hot spring of Sun drug bubbling beneath the surface of our skin. Did Dillon know he was being dosed? I should have warned him after I'd found the Sun drug in the library, but my concern had got lost in the sorrow of my master's death. And the anger.

Ryko stepped up behind me, filling the space where my apprentice should have stood. A murmur of greeting rose from the other Dragoneyes. I nodded to Lord Dram, halfway up the table, and Lord Garon across from me. Both Emperor's men and my supporters.

'Lord Eon, we were beginning to think your roadside troubles had prevented you from attending,' Lord Ido said.

I reluctantly turned to him, my skin prickling. His handsome face was all smooth politeness, but his eyes held the night shine of the wolf. How did he know about my collapse? From his dragon? Or just servants' gossip?

'I am here now,' I said. 'Are you suggesting I would run away from the test?' I heard the heat in my voice and dug my fingernails into my thigh, trying to quell the surge of belligerence.

Ido's expression shifted into sharp attention. 'Not at all. I can see that you are all fired up to meet the challenge.' I lis gaze raked over me. All fired up, indeed.'

Lord Tyron sat down in the last vacant chair. 'Finally here,' he said. 'Though I must say, I would rather be in my bed than at a provincial banquet. Let us hope that this year's official welcome is brief

It was not. The Monsoon Festival was the villagers' most important celebration and they were determined to honour us with entertainment and food and celebrate the wondrous return of the Mirror Dragon. All through the carefully rehearsed speeches, story dances and platters of local delicacies, I felt Lord Ido's eyes on me. I curled my hand over the rash on my neck and kept my attention on my plate or the performance in front of me; a rabbit pretending the wolf was not pacing beside it.

Finally, the last speech was heard. Lord Tyron sighed with relief as twelve village men, wide-eyed with the honour of their duty, came to lead us to our beds for the night. The men assigned to me and Lord Ido stepped back as Elder Hiron approached us in a running bow.

'Lord Eon. Lord Ido.' He bobbed to each of us. As is custom, the Ascendant Dragoneye is always quartered in our Dragon House, built by our forefathers in gratitude for the Dragoneye service to our village.' He motioned towards a handsome stone building behind us. 'This year, we wish to honour the ascendancy of both the Mirror Dragon and the Rat Dragon, so we have arranged the house into two separate living areas.' He smiled proudly at the solution. 'I hope it pleases you, my lords.'

Share a house with Ido? My horror must have shown on my face because the elder's smile faltered. Behind me, Ryko edged closer.

'It is an admirable answer to the unusual situation, Elder Hiron,' Lord Ido said and I heard the amusement in his voice. 'Do you not agree, Lord Eon?'

Caught in the quagmire of courtesy and the elder's honour, I nodded.

'Then please, come this way' the old man said happily

Our three guides led us the short distance to the Dragon House. The stone frontage was hung with twelve painted banners depicting the heavenly animals, with the Rat and Dragon banners larger and centred above the doorway The village men bowed us inside. I followed Lord Ido through a stone passageway, Ryko close behind.

'You must not stay here, lord,' he whispered into my ear as we entered a small open courtyard.

In the centre was a tiny garden lit by paper lanterns hung in three carefully tended dwarf trees.

Under their sculpted foliage was a curved bench set beside a pond with the silent, gleaming shapes of three carp in its night depths. To our left and right were doorways, their screens pushed back and showing thick bed pallets. Beyond the garden was another room with closed doors, and a second passageway with a rush mat on the stones that suggested the luxury of an adjoining bathhouse. It was gratitude made solid in stone and wood, built for lords by people who bathed from buckets and slept on straw. Although Ryko was right about the danger, I could not refuse to stay here without grievously humiliating our hosts.

The elder hurried into the courtyard, his eyes anxiously searching our faces for approval.

I gathered all the courtesy I could find amongst my misgivings. 'It is a most harmonious house,' I said. 'Thank you.'

He beamed. 'There is a hot-spring bath through there,' he said proudly, waving to the passage with the rush matting. His hand swept across to the closed double doors. 'And that is a dining area. Your belongings, Lord lion, have been placed in the left chamber, and yours, Lord Ido, in the right. If you require anything, we have people wail ing.'

'That is not necessary,' Lord Ido said abruptly. 'We have our own servants.' He smiled, covering the moment of ungraciousness. 'You have done well, Elder Hiron. I thank you for your considerations, but now I must rest. To prepare for the exertions of tomorrow' He nodded towards me. 'I imagine Lord Eon is also weary'

'Of course, of course,' the elder said, bowing and backing away. 'If you need anything…'

He disappeared into the passageway

The three of us stood silently for a moment, suspended in thick tension. Lord Ido moved, as if towards me. Immediately, Ryko lunged forwards, the movement a breath away from attack.

Although Ido's face was unreadable, his body tightened into the coiled expectancy of a warrior. The power in him had nothing to do with dragons and I felt my own blood answer it for a dizzying moment.

'I will be with Lord Eon at all times,' Ryko said through his teeth.

Ido looked past him to me, his eyes narrowing. 'Call off your guard dog, Lord Eon. Or I will have him flogged for insolence.'

The sound of footsteps echoing in the bathhouse corridor made us all turn. Rilla appeared, accompanied by three of Lord Ido's servants.

'Ryko!' My voice cracked on his name.

He stepped back, but his body was still angled for confrontation.

Lord Ido smiled maliciously 'Good dog.' He turned to me. 'Sleep well, Lord Eon. I look forward to an exhibition of your power tomorrow. Let us hope you are more effective than your island mongrel.' He snapped his fingers at his servants, pointing them to the right bedchamber.

'I will stay outside your door, my lord,' Kyko said grimly as we Watched Ido and his entourage enter his room. And I have already placed men at the window and any points of entry'

I nodded.

And Rilla will sleep at the foot of your bed,' he added as she approached. 'Won't you?'

Rilla rose from her bow 'Of course.' She glanced behind her at the closed screen of Lord Ido's bedchamber. 'But he would not be so stupid…'

Kyko shrugged, ushering us to the left chamber. 'We take no chances. Tomorrow's test is the key to everything. We will get you there safely, my lord. Then it is up to you.'

I nodded again. Fear had blocked my throat and there was only one thing that could clear the way I stepped inside the sparsely furnished bedchamber.

'Tea,' I whispered, fumbling for the Sun drug pouch.

Rilla followed me inside and slid the screen shut. 'Yes, my lord.'

The dark security of Ryko's silhouette appeared on the door's waxed parchment panes. I sat on the bed and worked open the pouch drawstrings. Another dose tonight would completely destroy any chance of a restful sleep. I gave a short laugh. With Lord Ido lying less than ten lengths away, sleep was a faint hope anyway.