The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [41]
“The blue fluid you consumed last night. You said that it held the essence of Jode’s dragonmark.”
“Yes,” Lei said. “The blood of two dragonmarked lines … he’s right, Daine.” There was still fear in her voice, but now her curiosity was getting the better of it. She moved next to him. “Let me look.”
“Pierce, Xu, watch the forest,” Daine said. “See if you can find any signs of tracks. Sovereigns know what’s out there.” He turned his back to Lei.
“What does it feel like?” she said, searching through her satchel for tools. “You said it feels like a rash?”
“Yeah, sort of … itching, faint burning. I was trying to ignore it. It’s faded, though.”
“When did this begin?”
“Pierce is right,” Daine said. “I don’t remember noticing it until we were in the planar sphere … after I drank the blue liquid.”
“Let’s avoid any speculation right now,” Lei said. She produced a slender wand and chunk of crystal from one of the pockets of her bag. “At a glance, the pattern is reminiscent of a dragonmark. However, the pattern and color are inconsistent with any of the twelve true dragonmarks … which is, of course, the defining element of an aberrant dragonmark.”
Her voice gained strength as she spoke. Clearly describing it helped her feel more in control of the situation. Even Daine found himself feeling slightly better. This was what Lei did. Surely she’d find an explanation.
“What’s especially unusual is the size of the mark,” she continued. “I’ve never heard of an aberrant dragonmark larger than the least true dragonmark. They are invariably small enough to fit on the palm of the bearer’s hand. But this …” She walked around Daine, studying his skin. “I’ve only seen its like once before. In Metrol, one of my cousins was said to be marked by Siberys. He’s a legend in our house; he can create objects from pure thought, bringing imagination into reality.”
Daine twisted around, trying to look at his back, but he could only see a few vivid red stripes along his shoulder blade. Still, he remembered the pattern he had felt only moments ago, traced across his entire back. Lei was right. Daine had seen only one person with such a mark in his own house. And the size of the mark was always an indication of its power. “So what does this thing do?”
“I don’t know,” Lei said. Daine felt slight warmth against his skin as she passed the wand over it. “There’s no aura of magic, but that’s not unusual. Sometimes it’s possible to draw conclusions from the pattern, but I can’t make sense of it. Have you had any sort of unusual visions, emotions, anything like that?”
“I don’t know. Something like talking to a dead halfling in my sleep and having injuries disappear?”
Lei chewed on her lower lip. “Yes … that would qualify.”
“That hardly seems like a terrible thing,” Daine said. “If that’s the worst—”
“What makes you think that’s the worst thing you’ll have to deal with?” Lei said, her voice rising. “It’s an aberrant mark. You know the stories as well as I do! Madness. Sickness. You think talking to our dead friend is a good sign?”
Daine’s frustration grew. “I know the stories. And what if that’s all they are? You’ve never seen anything like this before. So why do you still believe something just because your parents told it to you? After all the lies—”
The world dissolved in a flash of agony, and Daine cried out in pain.
Lei had brushed her hand along the path of the mark. In that moment of contact, the spark that had been burning at the base of his spine flared into fire, burning a twisted path across his skin. Lei jerked back, and the pain subsided. Daine gasped for breath.
“Daine,” Lei said. “I didn’t … I don’t know what that was. The red lines along your skin glowed, and there was a burst of heat. Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so.” The spark had flowed back into his bones, and he slumped against the cool grass. “I guess talking to Jode isn’t the worst thing I’ll have to deal with.”
“Hold still.”
Daine felt a spot of warmth, growing stronger and sharper. “Just bringing my finger close to the mark is enough to cause a