‘Yes, but Naxor said that Corthie is on a ship, headed in that direction.’
‘I see.’
Sable glanced around, then went and crouched by Sanguino’s crossed forelimbs. She leaned against him, and sent her vision out from her body. It sped west to the coast, then turned north-west, cutting out the bulk of the mountains in the way. She passed high cliffs, and things seemed normal. She started to relax. Corthie would be fine; she was worrying over nothing. She rounded the coastline and turned to the north-east, where the cliffs receded, and had her first glimpse of the destruction that had been wrought upon Tordue. Mile after mile of coastline lay flooded and under water, and every building along the shore, to a depth of three miles, was in ruins. It was growing darker, but the moon was out, and the flooded fields were reflecting its light.
She reached the city, and slowed. The coastal strip had been devastated, and over half of Alea Tanton was under the rolling waves of the ocean. On the eastern side, the destruction almost reached the inland edge of the city, and crowds of survivors were clustered on the drier land. Despite the water, fires were raging in some districts, and many buildings had collapsed. Along the shore, the wrecks of dozens of ships were lying twisted and broken. Across the whole city, only one area was untouched by the calamity – Old Alea. Sable’s sadness grew. All those lives, snuffed out, thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, dead; and where was Corthie?
She pulled her vision back and slowly got to her feet.
‘Naxor, tell me again; why was Corthie going to Alea Tanton?’
‘Belinda had pleaded for his help,’ said the demigod. ‘He was reluctant at first, but decided to go along with it. He intends to fight the Ascendants again.’
‘And Belinda? Whose side is she on?’
‘I don’t know. I suspect she might have been trying to trap Corthie, but he wouldn’t listen to me.’
‘And the giant waves? Could the Ascendants have done that? Were they trying to kill my nephew?’
‘What do you mean? How was Alea Tanton? I assume you saw it.’
Sable glanced around at everyone. ‘Alea Tanton has been destroyed. The entire city is in ruins, except for Old Alea; that’s fine, but the rest? It’s gone.’
The others stayed quiet for a moment.
‘The whole city?’ said Millen.
‘That’s what I said; it’s… gone. The waves…’ Sable took a breath, feeling a weight of confused emotions battering her.
‘The Ascendants could have done it,’ said Naxor.
‘But why?’ said Blackrose. ‘It is unfortunate, but might this not have been a natural disaster?’
‘Either way,’ said Sable, ‘my nephew’s in the middle of it.’
‘He should have arrived this morning,’ said Naxor; ‘well, according to the shipping timetable in Cape Armour. If his ship docked on time, he would have been there when the wave struck.’
‘I know he is your nephew, Sable,’ said Blackrose, ‘but he has been in danger before.’
‘Are you implying that I don’t care?’ said Sable, her temper rising. ‘When he appealed for help in Yoneath, who urged you to go to his assistance? Me. I even went myself. I was going to help him, but I had to save Maddie, and then I was injured.’ She put a hand to her face. ‘And Aila’s pregnant; I feel sick.’ She remembered what Kelsey had whispered to her, took a deep breath, then turned back to Blackrose. ‘I have to go; I have to see for myself if he’s dead, and help him if he’s not.’
‘No,’ said Blackrose.
The forecourt fell into a chill silence.
Sable turned to Sanguino. ‘My dragon, will you take me to Alea Tanton?’
‘I forbid it,’ said Blackrose.
‘You are my mother,’ said the dark red dragon, ‘but my love and loyalty belong to my rider before they belong to you. Yes, Sable, I will take you.’
Blackrose bared her teeth, and the claws on her forelimbs shone. ‘No. This will not happen again. If you leave this company, then I swear to you that I shall take the rest of us to Dragon Eyre without you; do you understand?’
‘But…’ said Ashfall.
‘Silence!’ She glared at Sanguino, who stood his ground. ‘Do you understand?’
‘I do,’ he said.
Sable climbed up the harness onto the shoulders of Sanguino and secured the strap round her waist.
‘I’m sorry, everybody,’ she said. ‘I can’t abandon Corthie. Good luck.’
‘Wait,’ cried Maddie, but it was too late. Sanguino extended his wings and bore Sable up into the sky. The moon was in the east, and they soared away. Sable glanced down at the four dragons. Among them, the three humans were staring up at them. She wiped a tear from her eye.
‘Take me to Alea Tanton, Sanguino.’
‘For you, my rider, anything.’
Chapter 25
The Missing Piece
A lea Tanton, Tordue, Western Khatanax – 3rd Kolinch 5252
Belinda’s vision roamed the devastated city. The scenes of destruction and death were filling her with despair, but she couldn’t look away. Aside from a thin strip on the eastern side of Alea Tanton, the rest of the city was in ruins; flooded, collapsed, burning. The waves had ceased in the afternoon, but the earthquakes and tremors had continued beyond sunset, and were getting stronger with every hour that passed.
Old Alea had remained like a rock amid a storm, solid and secure, with only a few vibrations shaking the crystal chandeliers in the Governor’s residence. Edmond had sent Belinda to her quarters when they had returned from the battlements; he was embarrassed by her tears, and had told her that they made her face look unattractive. He had also set a vague departure time, announcing that they would leave for Implacatus in the morning as, by that time, Old Alea itself would become unstable. He hadn’t asked her if she wanted to leave with him, and she hadn’t refused to go, her spirit defeated. Lostwell had been Nathaniel’s creation, and Edmond was taking a certain pleasure from destroying the work of his rival’s hands.
She watched as
