The Unmaking (The Last Days of Tian Di, #2)(51)

And then the ravens fell cawing on the Cra, attacking them with their hard, vicious beaks. The grounds of the Citadel had become a surreal battleground, black feathers flying. Ka’s dragon tore his way out of the enchanted net and blazed fire in all directions, causing the Cra that could still do so to take flight. Eliza scrambled to her feet and pulled Uri Mon Lil into the Inner Sanctum. They huddled in the hallway listening to the sounds of the battle outside, the screams of the Cra beating a retreat, and then quiet. They were both battered from the flying books in the Library and badly cut by the claws and teeth of the Cra.

“Are you all right?” Uri Mon Lil ventured, after they had sat and caught their breath a while.

“I’m fine,” said Eliza, examining herself and concluding this was more or less true, since she was not bleeding heavily. “You?”

“I believe I am...not in mortal danger from these injuries,” said the wizard.

Eliza smiled weakly. “Good. Then we’re both all right.”

“I’m so glad,” said the wizard politely. “Do excuse me for asking, for this may strike you as a bit odd, but...”

“You dinnay know who you are or what’s happening,” Eliza finished for him. The wizard looked stunned by this.

“That is it, precisely. How did you know?”

“Everything is explained right here,” said Eliza, handing him his book. “But we need to get out of here first.”

She was getting slowly to her feet again, allowing herself to feel where it hurt now that she was safe, when a great scream came from Ka’s dragon outside. Eliza ran out of the Inner Sanctum with the wizard close behind her. Both were momentarily paralyzed with horror by what they saw.

The harrowghasters were all over Anargul’s dragon, who had only partially been able to get loose from the net the Cra had dropped. Ka’s dragon was wheeling above them and sending down blades of fire but the harrowghasters did not burn. Anargul’s dragon thrashed weakly for only a moment and then lay still. The harrowghasters began to burrow into the great beast’s chest. A few others were feeding on the Cra left behind because they were too wounded to fly. It was a veritable feast for them. One of them spied Eliza and trudged half-heartedly in her direction.

“What is that?” cried the wizard. “It smells foul.”

“You cannay let them touch you,” said Eliza. “It’s death if they do.”

She did not need to call Ka’s dragon. It swooped down and Eliza and the wizard climbed onto its back, taking to the air well before the slothful harrowghaster reached them. In the shattered Library window she saw the dark-clothed figure of her grandmother raising a triumphant fist.

“Go north,” she commanded the dragon. The dark cloud of ravens followed in their wake.

~~~

They flew north for a few hours before deciding to rest. It was an overcast night and great heavy snowflakes fell from the sky. Unable to see anything but the falling snow in the blackness, Eliza had the dizzying sensation that they were soaring ever upwards, and the ground suddenly firm beneath them gave her a shock when the dragon landed. The wizard built a little shelter out of dead tree branches by a frozen river while Eliza broke the ice and enchanted some fish to leap ashore and become a midnight supper. The mass of ravens settled quietly in the sparse, snow-covered trees.

Uri Mon Lil read his book over by the fire after they had eaten and then said, “According to my last entry, I was in the Library of the Mancers seeking a book that might be useful in my quest. There I met you, the Shang Sorceress.” He gave her a slight bow here, which looked very odd sitting down. “Would you mind telling me what we are doing camping out in the snow now?”

“The Citadel wasnay safe,” said Eliza wearily. Uri Mon Lil scribbled this down. “The books were all empty, anyway.” She stretched and stared at the fire.

“I see.” Uri Mon Lil looked around and said politely, “And this place is...?”

“Lah, just a place to rest,” said Eliza. “Does your book mention harrowghasters?”

Uri Mon Lil flipped to the front and scanned the glossary of beings.

“Yes...here...oh my, they sound terrible. We haven’t had a run-in with them, have we?”

“Aye, we have,” said Eliza. “I wish I could forget all about it, too. Does your book say that they feed on the hearts of living beings?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it says. Let me see...”

“So they wouldnay be interested in a ghost or a spirit, would they?” said Eliza.

Uri Mon Lil gave her an odd look. “What do you mean?”

Eliza shook her head. “It’s nay important now. We need to get some sleep, aye. Let’s take turns keeping the fire going. Here, I have an idea.” She took his book and pencil from him and wrote on an empty page the following instructions, KEEP THE FIRE GOING. Each time you forget everything and have to check your book, put a mark here. Once there are six marks, wake up Eliza. Satisfied, she handed it back. “That way, your watch should be just about three hours, and then I’ll take over for the next three hours.”

“Ingenious!” agreed Uri Mon Lil. “Now, perhaps you could explain to me our plan. Have we got one?”

“Nay yet,” said Eliza. “Stop asking questions – it’s your watch and that means it’s my turn to sleep.”