“Perhaps,” Khollo said. “That was the intent. We never tested it out from horseback though.”
“Pity,” Ezraan murmured. “I would like to know if that worked or not.”
“It’s too short from dragonback,” Khollo said, stretching the weapon as far as it would reach. “Unless the vertaga were right up next to Kanin, which we should try to avoid, I wouldn’t be able to reach them.”
“Then you’ll have to fight on the ground,” Ezraan replied. “Dismount and let’s run through the drill again, with you beside Kanin.”
Khollo dismounted and took up a position on Kanin’s left-hand side. Don’t flame me, all right?
No promises, Kanin said, baring his fangs in the dragon equivalent of a smile.
That’s hardly reassuring, Khollo thought to himself.
“Flame!” Ezraan cried.
Kanin spewed fire from his maw, forcing Khollo to throw an arm up to shield his face. The fire was blindingly hot, and fumes and smoke from charred vegetation were billowing around him. Khollo started to move his Sen-teel and begin the forms when he felt a long hard object poking him in the stomach.
“Dead,” Ezraan said dispassionately.
Khollo blinked and looked down. The older man had scooped up a branch and jabbed it at Khollo while he had been blinded by the flames.
“That’s not hardly fair!” the young warrior protested. “I can’t see!”
“You can try that excuse with the vertaga, but I doubt they’ll listen,” Ezraan said coldly. Then, his expression softened. “Try starting a little further back,” he suggested in a gentler tone. “Even with Kanin’s neck, say.”
But then I cannot see him, Kanin protested. Khollo relayed the problem to Ezraan.
Ezraan nodded. “I know. But you can feel him, yes? You are Keepers after all, bonded, connected. Or have I misinterpreted what I found in the library?”
You have not, Kanin replied, using Khollo as a mouthpiece again. I sense him. But it is faint. What if I get distracted in battle and trample him?
“That would be embarrassing,” Ezraan admitted.
“I’ll be more than embarrassed,” Khollo growled. “I’ll be dead!”
“Let’s just try it once,” Ezraan suggested. “And see how it goes. If Kanin tramples you, Khollo, we’ll put you on his back again and go back to working with the bow until we figure out a solution for that little problem.”
Khollo sighed and took up the ready stance again.
“Flame!” Ezraan shouted.
Fire sprang from Kanin’s mouth, bathing the ground in front of him and creating a billowing wall, through which Khollo could not see. But there was some clear space in front of him and he moved into it, swinging the Sen-teel, thrusting and hacking, ducking and weaving.
“Advance!”
Kanin hesitated, then rumbled forward. Khollo moved at a run to keep pace with the dragon, rolling under an imaginary sword, skewering the aggressor from behind when he got to his feet. Then, he was fighting enemies on two sides. Kanin turned and snapped at the area in front of Khollo, then bit to the other side and let loose another gout of flame, moving his head side to side.
“Back!”
The two Keepers withdrew smoothly behind the cover of the wall of flame. As Kanin retreated, he beat his wings, fanning the flames toward their imaginary enemies. Khollo crouched low to avoid being swept away by the resultant gale force wind. Then, the flames died again and the enemy had returned, forcing Khollo to defend himself.
They sallied forth three times and retreated three times before Ezraan was satisfied and called a halt. Khollo lowered the Sen-teel, panting. He had not fought so hard since the battle at the West Bank.
“Spectacular,” Ezraan announced. “Truly awe-inspiring.”
Khollo looked up, surprised. “Really?”
“Oh yes,” the older man said. “Your blade work was first rate, Khollo. And Kanin, you performed admirably, especially when you added your own touches to the commands. Broadening your flame during the retreats was an excellent idea.”
Khollo sat on the steaming ground, slightly charred from Kanin’s fiery blasts. “We’re nowhere near ready yet though,” he pointed out.
“No,” Ezraan agreed. He looked up at the sky, peering through the overlapping tree branches. “We still have two hours until noon. Let’s do a few more bouts. On your feet, son, come on!”
Khollo groaned. “Five minutes?” he asked.
Ezraan shook his head impatiently. “Of course not! We need to get you two back to the Sthan kingdom as soon as possible. Five minutes! On your feet, ready stance!”
Khollo struggled to his feet and prepared for another bout, still panting from the exertion of the last.
“Charge!” Ezraan shouted. Kanin and Khollo leapt into another imaginary battle, Khollo’s Sen-teel singing its death song as it whistled through the air.
Ezraan kept them at it until after noon, pushing them to the limit. Only when Kanin reported that his formerly injured leg was starting to bother him again did Ezraan relent and agree that they had done enough for the day and should return to the holds. Khollo gratefully mounted up after retrieving his arrows. Two were warped from their impact with the trees and would have to be remade, but the others had survived with little damage.
Back at the hold, Ezraan and Khollo ate a hasty lunch of venison strips and lumpy bread. Ezraan held his share of the bread up for inspection, eying it quizzically.
“Where, exactly, did you learn to bake?” he asked.
“I didn’t,” Khollo replied. “I just took my best guess and hoped it would work out.”
“Ah,” Ezraan said, nodding. “I suppose I should have expected that answer. Tomorrow, we must fly to some of my shelters across the island and retrieve the supplies there. I have a fair amount of grain stored up and can show you how to bake properly.”
“That would be appreciated,” Khollo said fervently as he picked at a
