“No,” Marak quickly responded. “I am not ready for Vand to know about you. There is nothing but water out here. How can we tell where they are heading?”
“Their destination is no secret to me,” replied the dragon. “They are heading due west. Unless they change course drastically, they will end up at Alamar.”
“Can you tell me when?” asked Emperor Marak.
The dragon was silent for a moment and then rose up into the clouds.
“Tomorrow night is a decent estimate,” Myka said. “Whether they will start the attack at night or not, I cannot tell. Certainly by the morning after, though. I can come back tomorrow to check up on them.”
“I think that will be necessary,” replied the Torak. “I would like Lyra’s people as rested and prepared as possible. The more we know about the hour of their attack, the better off we will be.”
“Do you want to search for the skimmers or head for StarCity?” asked the winged warrior.
“StarCity,” Marak replied after some thought. “It is hard for me to judge distances up here, but I don’t think the skimmers could be anywhere close yet. They were hidden far upstream in the Sakova. Just the journey down the river would take a fair bit of time. I hope they reach the sea before the invasion starts.”
“Sounds like you could have used more notice of the attack,” stated Myka. “Surprises are always costly.”
“We have spies on the island,” shrugged Marak, “but even they cannot see in the dark. Any suggestions?”
Myka did not answer, and Torak and the winged warrior flew on in silence. When they reached the coast of the Sakova, Myka dropped below the clouds again, although she kept a high enough altitude to avoid being identified. Marak looked down at what appeared to be a tiny city, but he knew better. He saw something south of the city that he could not identify. He asked the dragon to drop lower.
As the size of Alamar grew, more detail was visible. South of the city, the road was clogged with wagons and pedestrians fleeing the city. Ships of all sizes were leaving the port and following the coastline to the south.