Chapter Twenty-Seven, Part II

                                    

                                              
Once the dragons and riders decided what to do, everything else began moving quickly. Tesa was relieved when the long discussion and debate were over and they could begin to put the plan into action. Glenna had given them the piece that helped them put it all together, and if it worked, they could complete their missions within days, rather than the weeks or months that Tesa had originally envisioned.
                          
Now she sat in her tent clutching the talking stone that Emric had given them. She'd had to come into the tent to avoid the expectant stares of the others in the camp. It was difficult for her to concentrate and activate the stone with so many watching so intently. Glenna sat beside her. It had been Glenna's idea to ask Emric about the doors, so it was the least Tesa could do to let her listen in.
                          
Tesa focused on the stone and said Emric's name, quietly at first, then louder. She didn't know how the stone worked on the other side, if others could hear her or not, and she didn't want to get him in trouble for helping them.

                          
The stone lay quiet in her hand. Tesa glared at it, while Glenna leaned forward as if expecting to hear his voice any moment. 
                          
"Emric," Tesa hissed again. "Emric, please. Can you hear me? There's something we need your help with. It's urgent." She groaned and sat back on her heels.
                          
"Emric!" Glenna said much more loudly than Tesa had. Tesa shushed her and Glenna looked hurt. "What? We need him to answer."
                          
"We'll have to try again later, and go ahead with our preparations while we wait," Tesa said.
                          
A dragon comes. 
                          
Orrie's voice burst into Tesa's mind, accompanied by the image of a dragon winging over the open ocean toward the island. From the tone of Orrie's words, Tesa also gleaned the fact that the dragon was riderless, and that it wasn't any of the dragons that had been with them on the island already.
                          
Tesa closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, scanning for the dragon. Her mind skimmed across the minds of several other dragons as she searched for the right one. There. It flew fast, driving through the wind straight for the sand beach. Its mind felt determined and panicked, terrified and single-mindedly focused on its goal of reaching the other dragons. Tesa nudged it questioningly. The dragon startled, but continued its flight. It descended through the air and came to a skidding halt on the beach, throwing up sand with its wings as it used them to slow itself.
                          
It answered Tesa's question after it came to a stop.
                          
Willa, the dragon said. The name sounded familiar, but Tesa couldn't quite place it. She opened her eyes and repeated the name to Glenna, who had stopped hissing at Emric's stone and sat frozen, staring at Tesa.
                          
"Willa?" Glenna asked, her eyes lighting up. "And my ma?" She pushed herself up to her feet, bending under the low roof of the tent.
                          
Tesa grabbed her arm to stop her from rushing out the tent door. "Willa came in riderless," Tesa said.
                          
Glenna's eyes widened. "I need to speak with her," she said, but she looked dismayed. "Siora's not better enough yet."
                          
Tesa rose to join her friend. "I'll go with you, too."
                          
They left the tent and were met by stares from those who had been awaiting the outcome of Tesa's talk with Emric.
                          
"There's a dragon coming," Tesa said. "To the beach." Then she took off running after Glenna, who had already begun to weave through the camp toward the path that led to the beach.
                          
Tesa jogged to catch up. Halfway to the beach, a sharp pain jolted Tesa's leg. She cried out and stopped, slapping a hand to her thigh, but the pain was gone as suddenly as it had come. Then the pain jolted through her again. Tesa slapped at the spot where it occurred again and felt the edge of the pouch tied at her waist. She reached inside and gasped when she realized it was Emric's stone causing the pain, for it jolted her hand when she brushed against it.