Ryson turned to follow Callum and Kono. The drums grew louder, and if he didn't keep control, they would drag him back in again. He cursed softly and hurried out to join his companions, including Tsak and Rimal. Six others were on horses, and Callum had Kono with him, which was good and bad. It kept her safely in sight and under some control, but it meant Callum wouldn't be ready for trouble.
Ryson would stay close. Focus on protecting them. Block out the drums.
Why were they back again? Were they working for the dragons still? It had seemed to Ryson that they were wild cards the last few years, perhaps forgetting their oaths to the dragons while the glorious creatures slept in the core.
Could someone have lured them away from that service? They had assumed someone had taken dragon eggs away from the core, and they would awaken now and destroy half the world looking for them.
Ryson mounted his horse, tied his bag on the saddle and rode up to keep pace with Callum and Kono.
"I want my own horse," she demanded.
Ryson ignored her. "Would a broken oath bring the dragons out of the core?" he asked.
"Who has command of the berserkers?" Kono asked.
"Oaths sworn to dragons take on a power of their own," Callum answered. He looked troubled, and Ryson felt a new thread of worry. "Except in the century when the dragons are active, they rarely leave their secret valley. Is that right, Ryson?"
They were already leaving Lord Tsak's camp behind, but the sound of the drums followed them. He snarled in that direction and then pulled his wandering thoughts back.
"A century is a conservative guess," He replied and called on all of his court training to stay focused. "They took to their core -- their nest -- well over a century ago, but humans didn't realize they had retreated for over fifty years. Maybe we shouldn't apply human time to them."
"Which means we can't guess if they are coming out or not," Kono added.
"Best to assume they are," Callum replied. He shifted as though uncomfortable. "I spent some time at the Temple of the Stars and learned a path to magic from the All-High Priest Bryten. He found me on a backwoods trail between two nameless villages in the south. He said there were things I needed to learn, and it wasn't all magic. Bryten also taught me how to communicate with dragons. He knew I would be here."
"And what does that mean for us?" Kono asked.
Callum looked over the group, although Ryson wondered what he actually saw. There was distance in that stare, but no one tried to call him back.
He finally focused on Ryson and gave a nod. "We need to reach the dragons as soon as possible."
No one argued, although none of them thought it would be easy.
Ryson felt an odd sense of dread as he watched Callum leading them up the nearest mountain trail. His cousin had rarely taken a leadership role in the past, and doing so now seemed odd.
Why did he want to protest? Had he expected that position, or did he distrust Callum?
"Stop brooding," Kono said as she reached over to tap his leg.
"I am not brooding. I am arguing with myself."
"There is a conversation that would drive all of us mad," Callum added.
Ryson gave a short laugh of agreement. He stopped listening for the drums -- the others would hear them, too. It was not just his problem this time.
"Lord Bear -- the answer to who leads the Berserkers. He and I do not get along."
"He was the one who captured you," Tsak said. "He wanted access to your queen and your cousin."
Ryson felt a chill go through him as he turned back to their companion, but Tsak lifted a hand in a gesture of peace. Ryson had moved his horse so that he was between the desert man and his friends.
"That was more than a lucky guess," Ryson said, his voice calmer than expected.
"You were not their only prisoner. We freed three others. I doubt you remember that part."
"Others," he whispered. They were gray shapes in a dark scene in his mind. Blood ran down his face. Someone growled --
"Ryson," Kono said, calling him back.
He blinked as he looked at her, pulling Kono's face into focus. Callum remained a blur, as if Kono was his only link to the real world.
"I told you not to trust me."
"You have given me no reason," Kono replied.
"I was in the hands of the berserkers. I don't know how long they had me. I can't be certain I didn't give them what they wanted."
"You never turned on us," Callum replied. "You had time and chances."
"We found you already escaped from them," Tsak added. "Don't you remember? I think you are the only one who ever got free on his own."
"I remember little, and most of that is ... unpleasant. I can see you sometimes. I wanted to die. You would not let me."
"And I will do the same again, if needed. Lord Bear is coming for you because you are the only one who got away."
"But you saved others."
"We got them free, but the drums called them back. We killed them rather than let Bear use them against their own people. They were not as strong as you, Ryson. They couldn't hold out."
"How could you trust me?"
"It was a slow process."
"But they told me. It was my decision to keep working with you," Kono added.
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