The Melded Child. Rebecca Locksley

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      Three children born of life force,

      A bridge from death to life,

      From imbalance to harmony.

      The warbird flies at their command

      To rein in the people of the dragon.

      A demon fire that burns toward Ermora

      Yields to their quenching.

      A melded child of their making

      Is born to rule the dragon,

      To bring harmony in clasped hands.

      Prologue

      Pels - a small island in the Archipelago

      Alyx

      Alyx Verdey sat in cover on the cliff top watching the Mirayan mercenaries disembarking from the three ships on the beach below.

      “Alyx. What are you doing here?” hissed a voice. “Your mother will kill me. Where’s Didier?”

      Yani Tari, Alyx’s aunt, slid into the bushes beside her. Alyx nodded toward the troops on the beach below.

      “Look at them. Two hundred soldiers and two whole phalanxes of mages. And all to fight a community with less than 50 warriors. Mirayan bullies! What makes them think they have the right to do this? They’re not even Archipelagans.”

      Yani shrugged. “You know it’s all about might. If we Tari weren’t here to keep the peace, all the other tribes in the Archipelago would be acting like this too. Look at the Seagani and the Mori. Or the Dani and the Ishtakis.”

      “At the least the rest of us wouldn’t have the cheek to call it civilisation. And think we’re somehow superior.”

      Yani laughed. “Come on. Most of them aren’t like that anymore. Since the Tari have returned to their guardian role, most of the Mirayans have settled down to live quietly beside us natives.

      Alyx scowled. “This lot haven’t.”

      “Every barrel has bad apples. And the Pels islanders did make a treaty with the Mirayans.”

      “Stupid fools. They should have known this is how the Mirayans operate. First it’s a treaty and then suddenly the Mirayans announce that they’re in control. Why didn’t you kick them all out of the Archipelago ten years ago when you came back?”

      “And where else would they go? It’s not the Tari way to put people in the way of harm. Anyway the Mirayans have been here over forty years, even over a hundred if you count the merchant families. Some of them count themselves as Archipelagan now.”

      “They mess up their own country so now they come here and mess up ours. Great.”

      Yani grinned wryly, shaking her head. “So a few Mirayans are bad. That doesn’t make them all bad. And well you know it, Alyx Verdey-Tari. And well I know that if I sat here and argued with you till the sea froze over, I’d never get you to admit it. So why don’t we just get back to the others? Didier will be fretting and the fun’s about to start. The Mirayans are forming up for the attack.”

      Alyx was aware of a stab of anger, but somehow, by the time her aunt had finished speaking, the anger had flowed away and she was grinning too. Yani was impossible to get into a fight with. Strange that the world’s only Tari warrior should be so peaceable and easy-going.

      “Are Tari allowed to see this kind of thing as fun?” she needled her aunt. “I mean it’s to do with warfare, isn’t it?”

      “My, my, we are in a prickly mood today, aren’t we?” said Yani cheerfully. “You forget. I’m the Raven. My business is warfare. And the quicker it starts, the quicker it’s over. Come on.”

      Crouching low, she crept away through the seagrass tussocks. Alyx took a last look at the view. Beyond the beach the placid sea shone with a smooth, silky sheen and along the horizon a couple of nearby islands showed as dark blue smudges against the lighter blue of the sky. This was a beautiful island and a lovely day.

      Too lovely for warfare.

      Following Yani, Alyx crept through the heath on the cliff top, into the forest beyond. Here the trees, gnarled and stunted by the sea wind, smelt spicy and salty. In the clearing where everyone was gathered, Didier, Alyx’s mentor and bodyguard, was standing, hands on his hips. He scowled at Alyx for giving him the slip, but all he said was, “You are too clever for your own good, Forest Child.”

      His forbearance made Alyx feel guilty. She knew it was irresponsible of her to put herself in danger. She was half-Mori and, as the Forest Child, heir to the Mori chieftainship. If the Mirayans had taken her prisoner, Didier would have sacrificed his life to rescue her. He’d already risked himself often enough for her. To change the subject Alyx asked him if her other aunt, Marigoth, had arrived.

      “Not yet,” he said grimly. He turned to Yani. “Raven, without her we are undermanned. It could be dangerous for the Forest Child.”

      “Undermanned? How?”

      “Two Tari mages against so many Mirayans.”

      “We’ve taken more with less,” shrugged Yani. “Don’t worry Didier. Mari always makes it. She just likes to make a big entrance.”

      Didier grunted. He had little time for frivolous people like Marigoth.

      “We could stay to the back if you’re not happy,” Alyx suggested.

      “True. But if we do that, you will not be able to lead the parley.”

      “I don’t mind,” said Alyx hopefully. She had horrible visions of making a fool of herself in front of the Mirayans. Could it be that she was a little afraid of them? Never!

      “Your mother wishes you to have this experience,” said Didier firmly.

      “I can’t see how I am going to benefit from talking to a pack of stupid Mirayans.”

      Yani grinned at her.

      “You’ll be glad once you’ve done it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll talk some sense into them.”

      “Pigs might fly,” muttered Didier

      They had come to the edge of the forest. Beyond was the place where the end of a ravine widened out to become a field. An excellent place for the meeting of two armies.

      “I hate Mirayans,” protested Alyx.

      She should have held her tongue.

      Two Tari mages, Syndal and Mathaman, were sitting on horseback just in the shadow of the forest, looking very otherworldly with their high-cheek-boned Tari faces and their long fair hair moving slightly in the breeze. They turned and looked reproachfully at Alyx. Oh no! Now she was in for a lecture.

      Sure enough, the male mage, Mathaman said, “Hatred does no honour to the life spirit. Especially if you hate people you don’t know, just because they happen to be of a certain group.”

      Inwardly, Alyx protested that they were only here because this group of Mirayans were acting like thugs, attacking the peaceful island of Pels in order to extract taxes from them. Why shouldn’t you hate such people? The life spirit could be so unreasonable.

      But as she was about to protest, someone came up behind her.

      “How can you hate Mirayans, my darling?” said Aunt Marigoth. She tweaked Alyx’s cheek. “You don’t know any.”

      Marigoth had the same high-cheek-boned beauty and fair hair as the other Tari mages but there was nothing otherworldly about her. She was just too cheerful. Without waiting for Alyx’s answer, she breezed over to the horses and leapt up onto one with an ease that indicated the assistance of magic.

      “Finally!” sighed Yani. “Where have you been, Mari?”

      “Watching the funny men on the beach,” said Marigoth