I will not leave without Gin.
You do not have a choice, Guardian.
Sath felt her withdraw from his mind and then began to sense the inside out feeling of magical transport. He roared in frustration and ran away from the ripple in the air that he assumed was the rift back into the Void. He had seen Gin duck away from transport magic on more than one occasion. As he ran, he looked back over his shoulder toward the beach to see that same blackness come out of the rift and thump about in the sand and surf trying to find him. He tried to focus on the low hum in the back of his mind that was Gin and head toward where she was, but their bond was too weak for him to determine a direction. Suddenly her words came back into his mind, loud and clear: “As recent as the Forest War, my kind either traveled through the bond or across the land for the most part.”
Traveled through the bond. Sath had no idea how that worked—Gin was still teaching him how to use the bond as she learned from the Draoch’s writings. A lot of the abilities made possible by the bond Gin already knew how to do, but she didn’t know how she did it. It just seemed innate for her. Sath ran a heavy hand over his head in frustration. All he knew how to do was focus on her and call out to her in the bond. Maybe she could tell him how to do it!
Gin?
Sath—are you all right? The Mother Dragon told me that you had been sent back home, please tell me that you are there? She sent you home?
Of course I’m not. I will not leave you here.
Sath!
Listen to me—do you know how to travel in the bond?
What?
Do you know how to travel-
Not that. I heard that. What do you mean you are not back at home? Her worry for him was palpable, and he could almost feel her stomach churning over him not being safe at home—typical Gin.
I took a lesson from you. When the portal tried to pull me through it, I ran.
Where are you now?
Gin, please, stop asking me questions and answer mine. Do you know how to travel through the bond? You said that your people traveled that way before they were permitted through the Void with magic.
He could see in her mind that she was trying to recall what was written in the Draoch’s journals, calling up images of the pages, but they were written in Elvish that was influenced by the ancient language of the druids—a language that Sath could not read.
I can see the pages, but what do they say?
I think what you do is concentrate on me, Sath. Concentrate on our minds being together—our souls being together as they are in the bond. Then you just will your body to follow your mind and soul.
I just will my body—Gin, do you know how crazy that sounds?
Sath, I am currently talking directly into your mind. You want to talk about crazy? Seriously?
Good point. Let me try it.
I will send you all my strength to help you.
The low hum grew louder. Sath focused his mind on Gin—he could see her smile in his mind’s eye, the freckles on her nose just under her light blue eyes. He called up a memory of her laugh and then could feel her fingers winding into his fur that was so real he brushed his arm with his hand, expecting to feel her hand there.
Now, Sath. Command your body to join your mind, here with me. I cannot come to you—I don’t know why, but I feel that it is to do with the Mother Dragon’s magic.
On my way. You just sit tight.
If Sath thought that transport magic was uncomfortable and the spell that sent them to the Void was unsettling, this manner of magical travel was indescribable. One moment he was outdoors, salt air in his nose and a light breeze lifting his fur, and the next, he was up against a wall in a small room. He turned around to survey the room and was hit in the chest by Gin’s body, slamming into his as she jumped into his arms. He crushed her to him as though she would fade away if he let go for even a moment, and then held her at arms’ length so that he could see her face.
“Is there ANYTHING you can’t do, Qatu?” Gin’s voice was breathless and pinched as she gazed up at him in wonder.
“I can’t keep you out of trouble, it seems.” Sath chuckled and inhaled deeply. Sunflowers. This was his Gin. The transport had worked. “Now, how do we get out of here?” He surveyed the area now and was surprised to find it an actual room instead of the cell he had expected. “She isn’t keeping you in a dungeon?”
“Apparently, the dragons have higher standards.” Gin wiggled out of his arms and walked over to the wooden door. She tried to open it, but nothing happened. “See? Locked. I haven’t been here that long, so I don’t know if the lock can be picked, but Sath, I have seen her.” Gin paled as she wrapped her arms around her waist. “The Mother Dragon, Sath. She is alive.”
“I know. Kaerinth intruded on our bond when I was on the beach.”
“Is that who that was? Interesting, she intruded -” Her face lit up for a moment. “OH, that must be what the Draoch meant, he said that for the dragons and dragonkind, the bond does not have to be taught, it is innate. It is how they communicate if they are not speaking aloud in Eldyr.” Gin screwed up her face as she thought. “I only know a very little Eldyr
