Avondale: The Golden Door

Flight

I glared at the retreating back of Nisvārtha. Did he have to ruin everything? One second he was having a decent conversation, and the next he was back to being a stuck up jerk.

"Moody bastard." I muttered under my breath.

Sanna looked at me. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

I rubbed my tired face and sighed. "Yeah, everything was actually going great. He was acting like a normal person, but I guess he remembered that he hated me so whatever that was is over."

Sanna put his arm around me, his happy song calming my irritation slightly. "Nisvārtha does not hate you, Kendra." We started walking back to the fire.

"What makes you so sure?" I grumbled, not totally convinced.

"I have known him for four centuries," he replied with a grin. "The man is very complex. Trust does not come easily to him, but he is trustworthy. Courageous, arrogant, prideful and obnoxiously brilliant, he is the best man I have ever known. I owe him my life, and I can confidently say that he does not hate you."

I  just shook my head as we sat down among the group, enjoying the warmth of the flames.

"So what is the plan, Nisvārtha?" Śarat's spoke up and I let my eyes stray to the stern expression of Nisvārtha as he took a frustrated breath.

"We leave at first light for Grey Rock." He began. "Sanna and Suruli will split in the morning to hunt and we will rendezvous at dusk."

Sanna cleared his throat. "What about Kendra? Do you expect me to take her—"

"I expect you to trust me." He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "You are the best hunter among us, so I need you in charge of that. Kendra will ride with me and Havala will ride with Śarat. Suruli will be in the air keeping status updates flowing between both parties. Any other questions?"

I frowned. "You're carrying me?" I still hadn't seen his dragon form. The closest I had gotten was seeing a dark shape, so I knew that the darkness of his hair matched his other skin.

Nisvārtha looked at me blankly. "That is what I said."

"Why?"

He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his dark violet hair. "Because I need to get you to Benki Clan as soon as possible, Kendra." He caught my gaze with those violet eyes. "Your powers are surfacing, and whatever you went through as a hatchling obviously failed in preparing you. You are going to have your first shift in a few days, a week if you are lucky, and when that happens you will need a wizard with you, to help you."

I could only stare at him, I'd stopped actually seeing him a couple minutes ago. My lids were drooping, my head was heavy, and my breathing was slowing down. My eyes closed and I felt myself tilting. A pair of large hands caught me as Sanna's song played in my head.

"Sleep now Kendra," Sanna said, his hand touching my hair as I laid on the soft earth. "You can annoy Nisvārtha in the morning."

So I slept.

* * * *

"Speed Bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that's born to be king, over the sea to Skye!" I sang softly as I picked flower after flower. Papa said I could be gone for a minute, so I sang to make me go faster.

"Speed Bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that's born to be king, over the sea to Skye!"

"What'cha doin' out here, lass?" A voice called.

I stood up to see a lady walking over from the church.

I ran over, watching the ground so I didn't trip, and help up my flowers for her to see. "I'ma gettin' flowers for my Ma and the baby."