The Radiant Dragon

'We'll be there promptly, sir,' Trivit vowed. 'Indeed we shall.'

'Three bells it is,' put in Chirp.

Raven caught Teldin's eye, and his sudden quandary brought a glint of humor to her gold and silver eyes. She turned to the dracons and placed a hand on the shoulder of each. 'Thank you for your kind offer, Little Ones, but I've created enough trouble for you. I will talk to the officers alone.'

'As you wish, Celestial One,' the dracons murmured in unison. They bowed deeply to the elven woman, and Teldin's brow furrowed in sudden concern. He had become accustomed to the dracon's formality and their obsession with rank and title, but there was something different in their treatment of Raven Stormwalker, something that disturbed him.

Reverence. That's what it is, he realized suddenly. Chirp and Trivit treated the elf as if she were a demigod. Deeply puzzled, he nodded a farewell and turned to go. Rozloom elected to stay, and for the first time Teldin noticed the bottle of pilfered elven spirits tucked under the aperusa's arm. Somehow, Teldin doubted the offering would do Rozloom much good. The thought gave him a quick stab of satisfaction that he didn't want to examine too closely.

Compelling and beautiful though she might be, the unexpected passenger was deeply disturbing. Why had she virtually hidden away since they had left Evermeet? What about her had the dracons in thrall? And what about the other face he had seen superimposed over her beautiful elven features; what could such a thing mean? Rozloom had said she'd requested passage to Radole, but…

Radole.

The thought took form suddenly, exploding in his brain and immediately settling in his gut in a hard knot. As Teldin hurried down the corridor, he damned himself for a fool for not picking up on that sooner. Certainly the moon elf had boarded before the new destination was chosen, which meant that she probably had expected to be taken to Lionheart. It looked as if Raven Stormwalker was some sort of spy. Vallus would have to know.

Teldin hurriedly made his way to the bridge in search of Vallus. The elf was there, writing in the log required by the Imperial Fleet. All other duties pertaining to the ship's captain had been relegated to Teldin, but Vallus faithfully kept the log and no one else was permitted access to it. When he wasn't writing in it, the elf kept the log in a locked cabinet in his own cabin.

Vallus looked up when the agitated human burst into the bridge, and his pale green eyes widened. 'Is there a problem?' he asked, immediately laying down his quill and rising from his chair.

Teldin raked a hand through his hair. 'Maybe. Do you know anything about someone called Raven Stormwalker?'

'Yes, of course,' Vallus replied with a puzzled smile.

Relief flooded Teldin. If Vallus knew her, she wasn't likely to be a spy. 'Then I suppose you know she's on board?'

The elf stared at him blankly. 'That's impossible.'

'No, I just spoke with her.'

'Describe her,' Vallus demanded. As Teldin did so, horror and denial fought for space on the elf s countenance. He sank back down into his chair. 'Where is she now?' he asked in a dull whisper.

'On her way to the bridge,' Teldin said, deeply puzzled by the elf's reaction. His surprise deepened when Vallus abruptly rose jerking to his feet like a puppet on a tangled string. In the doorway stood Raven Stormwalker, looking somehow mythic with her ancient weapons and quaint garments. The elven wizard backpedaled, rapidly putting as much distance between him and the moon elf as possible.

Teldin had never seen the sedate elven wizard so nonplussed, and for some perverse reason he found it vastly amusing. He covered his mouth with one hand and coughed delicately to keep from laughing aloud at the expression of horrified recognition on Vallus's face. Whatever dealings Vallus had had in the past with Raven Stormwalker had not ended well, apparently. Since Teldin couldn't see Vallus skipping out on a debt, he imagined that the moon elf was a former lover.

'She's already here, Vallus, so you might as well stay,' Teldin observed dryly.

The elf continued to back away until he had reached the far side of the bridge. 'You say your name is Raven Stormwalker,' Vallus said tersely, his words dispelling Teldin's entertaining notion.

'And with good reason,' Raven replied with a smile.

'When did you come aboard?'

'On Evermeet,' she asserted as she came to stand at Teldin's side, 'at the invitation of your dracons.'

'Why?'

She looked long and deeply into Vallus's eyes before replying. 'I have lived for centuries on one world. It occurred to me that I would like to see something of other worlds, to know a little about many places.'

'Sounds a lot like your philosophy, Vallus,' Teldin observed.

The elven wizard turned strangely pale. 'You have never traveled the stars, then?'

'Did I imply that?' Raven asked innocently. 'I did not intend to.'

'I've been told you requested passage to Radole,' Teldin interrupted, coming back to the question that most disturbed him. 'Is that true?'

'Not especially,' she said. 'I wanted an adventure, and I didn't particularly care about the destination. I was happy enough to learn that the swan ship was bound for Radole. There's an elven settlement there that might have use for a hired sword.' She patted the strap of the shoulder harness that held her broadsword.

'Radole is a peaceful place,' Vallus said coldly. 'Do you have any reason to believe it might soon be otherwise?'

The moon elf shrugged. 'Even the most sedate world has an occasional tavern battle.'

'But you are accustomed to much larger conflicts,' Vallus said softly.

Again Raven held the elven wizard's gaze for a long moment, then she cast a roguish glance around the bridge. 'I'm accustomed to larger everything,' she rejoined gaily. 'No offense, but this ship is not as roomy as some.'

'Then you have traveled the stars.'

'Oh, we're singing that tune again, are we?' the moon elf said with acerbic sweetness. She cast Teldin a sidelong glance through half-lidded eyes. 'Persistent fellow, isn't he?' she asked out of one side of her mouth.

Teldin grinned, and felt himself warming to the elven woman despite his lingering reservations. 'You might say that,' he said, folding his arms and preparing to enjoy the sparring match.

'I would appreciate an answer,' Vallus said.

'I'm sure you would,' she said in the manner of one humoring a small and unreasonable child. 'Very well then, I have traveled the stars before.'

The elven wizard looked away, deeply shaken. After a moment's silence he rose abruptly. 'I have duties elsewhere. If you'll excuse me, Captain?' He fled from the bridge without waiting for Teldin's response.

'Hmm. Persistent and jittery,' Raven observed wryly. 'Tell me, is he always like this?'

'Well, no…' Teldin paused, feeling he ought to apologize for the elven wizard.

'Never mind,' Raven said as if she discerned Teldin's intent. She took his arm and flashed him a comrade's grin. 'Is there a spot anywhere on this ship where I can get a mug of ale?'

Suddenly Teldin felt a little dry himself. 'The mess, I think. I'm sure you could charm Rozloom out of a couple of mugs.'

A flicker of distaste crossed the elf s beautiful face. 'Charm the aperusa?' She dropped Teldin's arm and shuddered delicately. 'I'd need more than a couple of mugs before I'd consider that.'

Her sardonic tone sent Teldin into a burst of surprised laughter. The elf s beauty was so delicate that her sharp-edged wit came as all the more unexpected. What appealed most to him was her straightforward manner. In that she reminded him very much of Aelfred Silverhorn.

'Come on,' he said suddenly. 'I've requisitioned a bottle of sagecoarse, if you'd like to come by my cabin for a drink. It's an acquired taste, I'm afraid,' he added somewhat lamely, faltering a little under Raven's steady, amused gaze.

'Sagecoarse! I've already acquired that taste.' A mischievous glint lit the elf's unusual eyes, and she reclaimed Teldin's arm. 'Lead on, Captain.'