‘Amazing!’ said Sandreena, and Amirantha could only nod. He felt pain and looked down and saw she was clutching his arm, squeezing it tight enough to leave a bruise.
Kaspar walked over from a dell to the north of the landing site to join them. To Jommy he said, ‘I never thought I’d see this again.’
‘Me neither, General,’ replied the redheaded young man.
The dragon lowered itself gently to the ground and bowed its massive head. Pug was surprised to note that two figures climbed down from its back. He was expecting Tomas, but the second visitor was a figure completely new to him.
It looked like an elf, but stood seven feet tall, with hair the colour of a red rooster’s comb. It wore robes that appeared to be woven from fine satin, with embroidered edges of purple and gold, and across its back it carried a staff that reeked of arcane energy.
Tomas embraced Pug, who said, ‘Welcome, old friend.’
The Warleader made his greetings to Miranda and the others, then turned and said, ‘Pug, Miranda, may I present my companion, Gulamendis, Demon Master of the Clans of the Seven Stars, the taredhel, or Star Elves in our tongue.’
Amirantha turned to Father-Bishop Creegan and Sandreena and said, ‘Now I am certain that there is nowhere else on this world I’d rather be this moment.’
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Allies
The Dragon leapt into the sky.
Tomas bid it farewell and said he would call it again if needed, though more often than not when he visited Pug, one of the magicians transported him home in a much swifter, if less dramatic, fashion. Everyone watched in silent awe at the spectacle of a great golden dragon winging its way into the blue vault above.
Pug glanced at those standing near him and felt a pang. Here were some of the people he loved most in the world, his wife, his surviving children, and his oldest friend. As it had in the past, the sense of foreboding threatened to overwhelm him. Only Nakor, now dead, had known what Pug knew. Miranda had learned most of it, though he held back one painful and terrifying thing: he was doomed to watch everyone he loved die before him.
He had told Tomas some of the truth behind the manipulations of the god Ban-ath over the years, and even less to Father-Bishop Creegan, that most of his life had been spent as a tool for the Trickster to ensure the survival of this very world. He had no doubt that if it was not the God of Thieves and Liars behind what was occurring now, he was certainly involved somehow. He pushed aside his rising sense of sadness, realizing that part of what triggered this was his need to communicate some of the truth, but again, only a part, to someone. There was no one alive who knew the full burden of what Pug carried every day of his life.
He motioned to Tomas and his companion and said, ‘Come, we have much to discuss.’ He turned to Father-Bishop Creegan and said, ‘Join us, please,’ and then with a nod indicated that Amirantha was to attend as well. To Sandreena he said, ‘I believe you could use new clothing and some arms?’
She nodded, still agape at what she had just witnessed. Pug motioned for one of the students standing nearby and who had observed Tomas’s arrival and instructed him to take Sandreena and find her what she needed.
Pug said, ‘Excuse me for a moment,’ then went to speak privately with Miranda. They conferred quietly, then she nodded and departed, hurrying off to another part of the house.
Pug motioned for his guests to join him, and led them to the quarters set aside for himself and his family. An open garden with several benches served as a casual meeting place, and while this gathering lacked any aspect of social enjoyment, the privacy it afforded was needed. There was no one on the island Pug didn’t trust, but many of his students were young, excitable and prone to gossip.
‘If anyone wishes for refreshments,’ said Pug, ‘I’ll send for some.’
As Amirantha and Father-Bishop Creegan had just enjoyed a repast, it fell to Tomas and Gulamendis to decline.
‘Very well,’ said Pug. He glanced from face to face, then said, ‘Too many times in my life I have assumed coincidence, only to find later that some higher agency was at work. I may say things now that either surprise or alarm you, but it will be not conjecture, only truth. Something has brought us all to this council, something of the gods, or perhaps fate.’ He looked at the strange elf from another world and said, ‘Let us begin with our newest guest. Tell us your tale, Gulamendis.’