Talon (The Astor Chronicles Book 1) Read Free Page B

me.
    ‘Someone is bringing us one of those goats you were talking about,’ the icetiger said. ‘How generous of them.’
    I recoiled from the vision she sent me. ‘No! You mustn’t. This is probably Bessed and his Rada-kin, Uola the ram. You must not harm another Rada-kin.’
    Ranging through the forest slightly ahead of me, she paused to pull me a stinky face. Normally reserved for testing the scent of another wild cat, the expression was remarkably similar to the human expression of distaste. I chuckled at her ingenuity. Perhaps she would pick up other human mannerisms. Perhaps I would pick up animal ones.
    ‘How will I know the difference between Rada-kin goats that cannot be eaten and… Oh!’
    I smiled to myself as I sensed the icetiger meeting Uola in the waves. I couldn’t hear what Uola was saying, but the icetiger’s words were clear enough. It was obvious from the icetiger’s emotions and body language that she was immediately in awe of this much more experienced Rada-kin. I wondered how long it would take for her to start learning to morph once she found out it was possible. Even though being an icetiger was just about the ultimate animal, there would be times when other forms would serve us better.
    It was the way of my people, the followers of the wolf-god Sy-tré, to utilise many different forms. Beasts of burden for travel, small animals for sneaking, predators for hunting and, when extreme circumstances demanded it, fighting. And the ultimate form, useful for any purpose, was wolf form itself.
    A few miles on, I saw Bessed hiking up through a cluster of trees to meet me. He had a gentle, rounded face, with more wrinkle lines in the shape of a smile than a frown.
    The muddy pathway was littered with rocks and fallen logs, orange fungi, green moss and moist brown leaves.
    I paused in front of one enormous tree stump to set down my pack and the sacks of milk bulbs. The deerskin followed.
    ‘Talon!’ Bessed exclaimed as he came up next to me. ‘Your Rada-kin this time—your very own.’ He clasped his hands around my shoulders and beamed at me with his yellowed teeth. ‘Nine Trees! I’m so happy for you.’
    ‘Thank you,’ I replied. ‘She’s magnificent. Just wait till you see her.’
    The icetiger emerged from the foliage downhill from us, staring up at Bessed with wonder in her eyes. Uola, Bessed’s ram, was standing on the track nearby, concentrating on the icetiger. They were still deep in conversation.
    Bessed’s smile remained and his eyes twinkled with delight. His interest in animals was not as strong as mine, but he knew a rare and powerful Rada-kin when he saw one. The blue tiger would be the talk of Jaria for months.
    ‘Do you know what they’re saying to each other?’ he asked me, eyes suddenly focused on my face.
    ‘Only her side of the conversation,’ I replied. ‘Should I be able to hear Uola?’
    ‘Well, no,’ he said. ‘Unless….’
    The way he trailed off made my heart pound. Could it be? Would I even know by now?
    He picked up two of the milk bulb sacks and started off down the path.
    ‘As you know, your mother was Anzaii,’ he started, ‘but what you may not have known is that her gift started to manifest itself after she first found her Rada-kin.’
    ‘She went looking for her Anzaii-kin, didn’t she?’ I asked, reaching up to stroke the pendant that hung around my neck.
    Bessed picked his way carefully over a rotting log and under a series of thick vines. ‘She plucked the leaf from the Great Sapphire Tree of Jaria herself and had a jeweller fashion an alvurium necklace and clasp for it. Roukney awakened gradually and learned the rhythms of your mother’s thoughts long before it ever spoke to her.’
    ‘Don’t get your hopes up about me,’ I replied. ‘Just because I’m Rada now doesn’t mean I’m going to have any of the other gifts. I saw a Great Sapphire Tree a few days ago but it didn’t give up any of its leaves for me.’
    ‘You have