‘How’s your tummy?’ said Maddie.
‘Fine,’ said Sable. ‘A few twinges, that’s all.’
Maddie frowned at her. ‘Yeah, right. I saw your face when you landed; it looked as if it hurt; a lot.’
‘Don’t worry about me,’ she said. ‘It was worth the pain to get airborne today. The other dragons were staring at us in disbelief.’
Millen passed her a mug of wine. ‘You did great. Flying is wonderful, isn’t it?’
She took a sip and smiled. ‘Yes; it was incredible; worth all of the hard work and frustrations.’ She glanced at the mug. ‘Nice wine.’
‘Thanks,’ said Maddie. ‘I was a little more adventurous on my last trip into town. I also got some fancy cheese.’
Sable glanced at her. ‘I hope you were careful, Maddie. Don’t take any risks. If you get caught getting us supplies, then we lose the Quadrant.’
Maddie laughed. ‘I see. You’re not worried about what happens to me, just your precious Quadrant.’
‘It’s the only way we’re going to get to Dragon Eyre. I wish there had been some other way to get food.’
‘Are you regretting showing me how to use it?’
‘I didn’t show you how to use it; I showed you how to get to the nearest town in Tordue and back; and I only did that because we were desperate and had run out of everything. And, I might have been slightly delirious from my wound at the time.’
‘If you showed me how to get to Alea Tanton, then I could get a far wider range of stuff.’
Sable raised an eyebrow. ‘And that’s the only reason you want to go to Alea Tanton? You wouldn’t, say, also try to rescue a certain dragon from captivity?’
Maddie scowled. ‘Well, it’s been long enough. How can you sit here calmly, sipping wine, while Blackrose is chained up in that horrible city? Every day that passes is like a knife in my heart. What if they kill her? They could be torturing her as we speak.’
Millen groaned. ‘Do we have to go over this again?’
‘But I still don’t understand,’ said Maddie. ‘We have a Quadrant, so why don’t we just rescue her now?’
Sable frowned. Using the Quadrant to free Blackrose had become a constant refrain from Maddie, but Sable had been procrastinating. At first, it had been due to her injury; and then she had been determined that Sanguino would fly before any rescue attempt was made. Blackrose would easily be able to take the Quadrant from her by force, and then she might choose to go to Dragon Eyre before they were prepared. Sable had to delay, so that she could remain in control.
‘Millen’s right,’ she said. ‘We’ve discussed this. We’ll rescue Blackrose when we’re ready, and when we actually have a chance of succeeding. With Sanguino’s flight today, we are one step closer. And remember, I’ve seen her – she’s not being tortured; the Deadskins are treating her like a damn princess.’
Maddie nodded, but her expression remained unconvinced. Sable darted into her mind. The black dragon’s rider was harbouring a hope that she would be able to work out how to make the Quadrant take her directly to Alea Tanton, but Sable was confident that she would need much more time and practice with the device before she would be able to do that. Other than that, Maddie’s thoughts were filled with impatience, and a frustration that could reach boiling point at any moment. Her emotions were stretched and pulled by Blackrose’s absence, and a small part of her believed that Sable would not honour her promise to rescue the dragon from captivity. The Holdfast woman was tempted to use her powers to soothe Maddie’s worries, but she had been doing a lot of that in recent days, and Maddie’s mind was starting to become more resistant to her methods of persuasion.
‘I have an idea,’ she said.
The others glanced at her.
‘You know what I can do with Sanguino, yeah? We link minds, and he can see what I can see.’
‘So?’ said Maddie. ‘I mean, it’s impressive, but what’s that got to do with Blackrose?’
‘I hadn’t finished,’ said Sable. ‘What if I link to you, Maddie, and then I use my powers to check on Blackrose? In theory, if I can see her, then you would be able to as well. You might even be able to pass her a message.’
Maddie’s eyes flashed with hope. ‘Really? Would that work?’
Sable considered. ‘Did you manage to procure any keenweed?’
‘Yeah. Not much, but a bit.’
‘Then, let’s give it a try.’
‘Now?’ said Millen. ‘Are you not exhausted by linking with Sanguino during the flight?’
‘I’m a bit tired, but if it makes Maddie feel better, then I’ll do it.’
Maddie rummaged in a bag by her feet, then passed Sable a weedstick, her hands trembling with excitement.
‘Give me a moment, both of you,’ Sable said. ‘I want to smoke this and prepare myself.’
‘Thanks, Sable,’ said Maddie, as she stood. ‘This means a lot to me.’
Sable smiled, and waited as she strode away, Millen limping off behind her. She turned to gaze at the pile of ash in the centre of the hearth and took a slow breath. The pain in her guts was intense, and she could feel exhaustion about to overwhelm her. She wondered why she was so determined to hide how ill and tired she felt from the others, but she knew that their hopes depended upon her, and she wanted them to believe that she was confident and in control. They were relying on her. In Blackrose’s absence, the others, Sanguino included, had looked to her for leadership, and she had been trying her best not to let them down.
She lit the weedstick and inhaled, feeling her tiredness disappear almost immediately. Her aches and pains eased, and her mind was filled with a sharp clarity. She knew she would pay for it in a few hours,
