Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [269]
“You knew about that?”
“Of course I did. Vision’s skies are my home. You ready to leave?”
“You bet!”
Wataru and his friends had already prepared for their departure. Jozo stuck out his neck, and Kee Keema climbed on first. He then pulled up Meena and Wataru. The entire village had come out to see them off.
“Thank you for all your help, we are in your debt,” Wataru said to the town master.
“Not at all, not at all. Glad to do it.”
“Please look after Mr. Fanlon for us too.”
“You leave that to us. When he’s well again, we’ll take him on a pass we know through the mountains. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he reaches Gasara safely.”
Wataru had given a letter to Toni that detailed the recent events in Lyris. He asked him to take it directly to Kutz in Gasara.
“Just the three of you? Okay, sit tight, and hold onto something!” Jozo said, twisting his neck to make sure everyone was in place. “Well then, we’re off! Things’ll be a bit bumpy at first, so be warned. Off we go!”
Jozo gave a powerful beat of his wings, and Wataru could feel the current sweeping underneath them. The air rushed past Wataru’s cheek, and he felt his spirits rise in anticipation.
“Safe travels to you!” the town master called out to them. Then, light as a feather, Jozo lifted off the ground. Moments later the forest was falling away beneath them. Wataru waved as he heard shouts of farewell and good luck from the villagers far below.
They were in open air. After one last farewell circle above the clearing, they climbed again, heading for Dela Rubesi. Back in the clearing, the villagers of Taclou watched as Jozo once again became a red dot in the sky. Together, they stood there until he disappeared.
The town master smiled. “Makes the last fifty years all worth it, doesn’t it?”
Chapter 38
The Icy Capital
Even for Wataru, who had riden on a karulakin twice, Jozo’s speed was exhilarating. For Meena and Kee Keema, both newcomers to air travel, it was quite a shock. Meena quickly forgot her fears and spent her time looking at the ground far below. She laughed and squealed every time they took a dip. Kee Keema, on the other hand, spent his time hunched over the dragon’s back. His gray, mottled skin seemed even paler than usual as the blood drained from his face.
“Y’know, I don’t think I’m too good at this flying thing,” the waterkin said through clenched teeth. He was clinging to Jozo for dear life.
“So much for the great wanderer of the south,” Meena joked. But not even that could get a rise from Kee Keema.
“I’ll go above the clouds,” Jozo called back to them. “The air is a bit thinner, but you won’t be able to see the ground anymore. That should make things easier for our friend the waterkin.”
After a few moments in the mist they broke through the clouds. As the dragon had promised, the sea of white below them did look fluffy and comfortable (provided you could forget how high up you were) and made the ride slightly less thrilling.
Clinging to Jozo’s back, Wataru and Meena asked a million questions. Do dragons always fly this high? Is it true there is an island in the Stinging Mist that hangs over the sea between the north and south?
“That there is,” the dragon told them. “I was born in the Stinging Mist. The island where we wyrmkin live is shaped just like the scale I gave you.”
In the distant past, the wyrmkin had been much more numerous than they were now, and many lived in both the north and the south, he explained. “But, in the end, it was difficult for us to live with your kind.”
“Why’s that, Jozo?”
“We’re just too darn big. And too strong. Oh, and we breathe fire.”
Meena’s eyes went wide. “What happened? Did we, did the other races—the ankha and the beastkin—drive the dragons off?”
“Well, not exactly,” Jozo said hesitantly. “I’ve heard only what my folks and the wyrmking have said, so I don’t know all the particulars myself.”
For some reason, Wataru was surprised to hear that Jozo had parents. Of course it made sense, it just seemed odd to think about it.
“Well, if they did, I think it’s a shame,” Meena said,