Me and My Shadow - Katie MacAlister [126]
I acknowledged that it was so. “I merely wish to point out that although we have all suffered at the hands of Baltic, there are those who have suffered far more.”
“You did not tell me that the dragon in question could access the beyond,” Dr. Kostich accused, his gaze once again pinning me down.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t think it was pertinent, and to be honest, I’m not sure why you think it is.”
He almost sighed, but caught himself in time. “Dragonkin cannot enter the beyond. It is a well-known fact that only by extraordinary means can one do so, and yet this one appeared to enter it with ease, and without any assistance from one who has routine access. This dragon is clearly something . . . unusual.”
“But you knew that. You knew he had the ability to cast arcane spells, and to use the light sword.”
“Yes, but I did not know he could also enter the beyond. A dragon who understands and harnesses arcane power is extraordinary, but it might possibly be explained. But one who can enter the beyond—that is truly miraculous, and I do not like miracles.” He bit off the last few words as if they left a nasty taste in his mouth.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. He’s sought refuge in the beyond so many times, I didn’t think about just how unusual it was. What difference it could have made to today’s events is, pun aside, beyond me.”
“He has escaped us!” Dr. Kostich said, his voice icy. “Had I know he could use the beyond as a way to avoid capture, I would have put precautions into place to ensure he could not simply vanish just as we were about to take him.”
I wondered how he could arrange for that, but figured mages must have abilities in the shadow world that were far greater than mine. “I’m sorry, but I just didn’t think to tell you. But if you are worried that we have seen the last of Baltic, you can rest your mind. He isn’t the sort of dragon to let a little thing like defeat stop him for long. I have every expectation that he’ll be back raising hell soon. We might have stopped him from getting the dragon heart or shards, but I have no doubt he’ll continue to be a thorn in our side, and sooner or later, the weyr will have to do something about him.”
“What the weyr does is none of my concern,” he said darkly. “I will have that sword. Where did you put the prisoner you took?”
“Thala? Drake has her in a storage room, I believe.”
“I will question her. Perhaps she can be of some use to us,” he said, turning on his heel and striding toward the back of the house.
I followed him a few steps, debating whether I wanted to go with him, let Drake ply me with whisky, or see how the apprentice was doing. A strong, overwhelming need to be with Gabriel won out, sending me to the long sitting room. I found Gabriel kneeling next to the apprentice Tully, who sat hunched over in an armchair in the corner of the room. Savian was flaked out on the couch, covered with a blanket.
I sat on my heels next to Gabriel as he asked Tully to continue.
“I’m . . . it’s difficult,” she said slowly, her voice thick with some strong emotion. Pain? Loss? It was something she felt deeply. “There was something—something indescribable. It filled me with happiness and dread at the same time, as if I was being torn from paradise and flung into Abaddon. A light shone through me, a brilliant golden light, so pure it made me want to weep with joy, but then it was gone, and blackness filled its void.”
“She is describing the re-forming of the heart,” Gabriel said softly, his hands on her knees. “She felt the dragon heart re-form and be shattered.”
“I thought only dragons could feel that?” I asked.
He nodded. “All dragonkin felt the re-forming of the heart. It connects all of us. But this mage . . .” His gaze didn’t waver off her for a second.
Tully, clearly uncomfortable with his regard, covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
“What is wrong with her?” Savian asked from where he lay on the couch.
I looked at Gabriel. “Dragons can’t be mages.”
His gaze