The Equen Queen by Alyssa Brugman Page A

come too, Fontagu,’ Verris said. ‘It's probably best for the city if you stay within my sight.’
    ‘… And Torby?’ Tab asked.
    Verris and Stelka exchanged a glance. The Chief Navigator sighed again. ‘I suppose it can't do any harm.’
    Amelia and Philmon went with Verris to gather the two equens from the ostler, while Vrod escorted Tab to the Navigators’ Guild to collect Torby. Tab was almost skipping. She felt as though she hadn't talked to Torby for ages!
    Vrod waited outside while Tab entered the room in which Torby had been convalescing. It was a comfortable space with a warm fire. She was pleased to see that there was a table and chairs for drawing and toys on the floor. Tab knew that Stelka would have chosen a magician with strong skills to help Torby contain his gifts, but she was happy to see that the scholar who attended him had a kind face and a soothing voice.
    He was pale, but Torby didn't seem unhappy, or afraid.
    ‘Have you seen ponies before?’ she asked him.
    ‘Only in the street,’ he whispered back, pointing to the window.
    ‘Would you like to see one up close?’ the nurse asked him, smoothing his hair away from his face.
    Torby nodded shyly and held out his hand to Tab.
    The nurse followed them along the corridor and when they got to the front door she placed her hands on Torby's shoulders. ‘Do you remember everything we have practised?’
    Torby nodded again.
    Tab could see the strain on the nurse's face. ‘He will be fine,’ she said, but she seemed to be trying to convince herself more than Tab.
    Verris had already loaded the equens on the scout vessel when they reached the harbour. They seemed to be much more nervous about their proximity to Vrod than about being in the confined space. Tab could feel from them that it was the smell of meat fat that oozed through his pores. It made their muscles twitch and their eyes wide. She did what she could to send calming thoughts, but she was nervous herself about what she might find on the world below.
    Amelia and Philmon didn't seem worried at all. They were quizzing Torby about what he was learning from the magicians, and Tab was pleased to hear Torby answering. They were slow, halting answers, but it was progress.
    When they first boarded Torby rubbed the scars on his hands fretfully with his thumbs, but the more questions his friends asked the more relaxed he became. He sat close to the equens, and one of the drones reached out to gently nuzzle his hand.
    The boy grinned with delight. ‘Tickly whiskers,’ he said.
    Tab caught Fontagu watching the boy with an indulgent smile.
    She sat next to him and dug him in the ribs with her elbow. ‘If you go near him I will set Vrod onto you,’ she whispered from the corner of her mouth.
    Vrod's ears waggled. ‘Simesian actors make good stew,’ he mused, smacking his lips. When Fontagu shuddered, the troll grinned at Tab. Tab smiled back, but inside she shuddered too.
    Verris steered the small craft down below the cloud layer and then began searching for the gouging trail left on the surface by the mighty anchor on their last visit.
    Tab leaned her chin on her elbows. As they passed over a vast desert there was not much to see except undulating dunes. Tab squinted ahead. Beyond the dunes was the shimmering savannah, similar to the place Tattoo had shown her in her vision. She watched as the distant objects on the surface changed from faint blotches of colour to recognisable shapes.
    She spied a dark lump half-buried in the sand.
    ‘What's that?’ she asked Verris.
    He shrugged and handed her the spyglass. She placed it to her eye and swung it this way and that, trying to find the shape again.
    When she found it she wound the focusing ring, and when she had it trained on the dark-coloured mound, she gasped and dropped the spyglass. It clattered as it rolled across the floor. The two equens started at the sound. Tab sat down quickly and tears sprung into her eyes.
    ‘What is it, Tab?’