Trinket (Reverse Harem)

The Missing Part & Peril

*Whoops.*

I had no idea what Korr meant by "peril." How perilous could flying through the mountains of an ancient dragon civilization been dangerous?

Aside from the obvious flying part. And the wind, and the snow, and the storms. But wind, storms, rain, and flying weren't unique to the mountains. And aside from some flurries (that's what Korr called them) there hadn't been a lot of snow. Except for the snow on the ground. Apparently this was because it was just autumn, but also we had been lucky with good weather. Ormiss had used his magic to very carefully nudge some things he called "fronts" around us, but warned that the mountain weather was as dangerous as deep ocean currents around underwater mountains, and he was not inclined to play with forces unfamiliar to him.

"There are mountains underwater?" I asked.

He smiled. "Yes. Immense mountains, deep in the ocean. There are even volcanos."

"Huh." I paused. "I know what those are. They're mountains that explode, yes?"

He nodded.

Why did I know that? Further prodding of the scraps in my skull revealed I knew, vaugely, volcanos existed, and volcanos existed underwater. I hadn't known about mountains, but I knew about underwater volcanos. In fact, the piece of knowledge felt well-worn. Familiar. I could still feel the heat. But in a way I couldn't explain, because I'd never actually been on a volcano. Was sure of that.

...step...step...step...

...[My Name]...

... I have you...

... I have you...

...step...step...step

...water trickling, cold, so cold....

I pulled at my scars through the thick coat they'd made me bring. Ormiss grabbed my hands before I tore it off. Which would have been difficult, as we were both wearing mittens now that we were deep in the mountains.

He yanked me to him and held me close.

"Don't let the others see," I whispered.

He kissed my frosty hair. "Can you ride?"

"Yes." The odd memory/nightmare slid back under my scars, into the gel between the clumps that made up my mind. Even if I couldn't ride, I had to, because we couldn't stay in this third tower, this one manned by a cranky dragon with beautiful scales the color of citrine. When we'd arrived, a small offering of food and essentials had been waiting for us, although Korr had carefully inspected each item while Ethat looked on anxiously, and pronounced only some steamed buns--the nutty centers still warm--safe to partake of.

Then he'd tossed the other items off the tower to roll down into the snow. The citrine dragon had been pissed.

But the buns had been very tasty. Weird, but tasty, and I wasn't picky. Ormiss had devoured his. The others had all given him half of one of theirs to make up for how he'd been going.

Now, Korr and Ethat turned from the main path--a wide gap between mountain peaks--onto a narrow, twisting path that led into higher, deeper peaks. The way was initially lined with lanterns and carved-out structures, then everything gave way to sheer rock and ice faces with only the occasional lantern nailed into the rockface to light the way, while the peaks stretched higher, and the chasm below became so deep there was no bottom except darkness.

I shoved my freezing hands into the vines and ducked low over Ethat's neck.

The wind tore through the chasm, tumbling down off the mountains, rising up, hitting us from all sides. The dragons and Itek dipped and bobbed and flapped against the strong currents, like swimming over rough seas.