“By the goddess, you truly are heaven’s angel sent down to save us!” Vaila tearfully declared, crying freely, wrapping Jess in a fierce hug.
Malek gave Jess a gentle nod, even as he carefully gathered little Louise in his own arms. "Come, Jess. I think it's time we left this realm, don't you?"
Jess nodded in agreement. “You are right, shieldbrother. Follow me. I think I sense the way home.” Walking side by side, their charges safely in their arms, they left that place of nightmare and darkest shadow, fading away in gentle beams of silvery light as they made their way to the realm above.
3
Bloody hells, Jess. This is one of the buildings we use for our raids!”
Jess gave a nod of recognition even as she gently set the exhausted herbalist on her feet, carefully checking to make sure she was hale and whole. Much to Jess's relief, Lady Vaila looked fit and strong, all traces of the torments she had suffered vanished as if they had never been. Only the haunted look in her eyes remained, a window revealing the torments and terror she had suffered. Jess gave the exhausted woman a gentle squeeze even as she took stock of their surroundings, recognizing at once that they were in the roofless shell of one of the abandoned buildings near the college that Eloquin used in his training sessions.
As one of the general's elite cadre of commanders in training, Jess knew the area well. Her mind flashed upon endless hours spent with her peers learning the intricacies of raids and capture, how best to repel invaders, and how to overcome enemy fortifications under cover of darkness and surprise. The training was rigorous, demanding, and she wouldn't trade it for anything. For the fierce sense of pride she felt whenever one of her mock raids went exactly as she had envisioned, earning her a much-sought nod of approval from her mentor's granite hard features, was as intensely sweet as any victory could be.
As arduous as her training was, the sheer exhilaration of losing herself in the mad frenetic chaos of the battlefield, feeling more alive and aware than she ever had in the classroom or during her mother's impromptu galas, was a priceless wonder to her. For in the heat of mock-battle, so unlike her classroom doze, her senses were fierce and acute, her mind blazing and brilliant. At those times she was ever alert to catching impromptu opportunities to pull success from the jaws of defeat, even when Eloquin had purposely stacked the odds against her unit, earning her a reputation not only as an excellent planner, but as a girl who could readily think on her feet. A trait which Eloquin had coldly informed them on more than one occasion was the hardest skill to teach, and the most important one for any commander to master.
In the madness of battle, things almost never went according to plan.
Malek chuckled softly. “We've spent many a cold night guarding these very buildings, haven't we, Jess?"
Jess nodded, remembering more than one practice raid where she and her cohorts had manned these very walls. How her heart had raced with equal parts exhilaration and terror when her peers would attack en masse, how she delighted in the rueful chuckles of her captured fellows, ever frustrated they could never take the fortifications unawares when Jess and her shieldbrother were united in their efforts. One of them would always have scouts who knew to give discrete signals warning of enemy approach, which was just common sense.
Of course, they had the slight advantage in that somehow Jess always sensed when attack was imminent. There was a weight in the air. She could just feel it. And she knew it frustrated her beloved instructor to no end that she could not quantify it better than that, Eloquin having said more than once that her sixth sense would be a most useful skill to have, if she could but teach it.
Jess took one look at the sigils inscribed in chalk all about the stone tiled floor of the structure and felt her lip curl in a snarl. Sharing a silent glance with her brother-in-arms, she and Malek quickly scuffled the foul twisting sigils with their boots and naked feet, Jess almost imagining herself snapping unseen chords of dark power, sending whatever potency those vile glyphs carried back to the realms from which they had been forged, breaking their connections for good.
She gave a satisfied grunt some moments later, assured at last that the remaining smears of chalk were just that, before flashing an apologetic smile to a disoriented and exhausted looking herbalist holding her child securely in her arms, fighting just to remain conscious, from what Jess could tell.
“Rest easy, Lady Vaila, I know where we are.” Jess pointed in the direction of the college. “We just travel west for a good bit and then we’ll be home before you know it.”
Lady Vaila gave a weary smile. “I am grateful, Lady Jessica. More grateful than words can say. Fear not, I understand why we delay, though I must say I have never looked so forward to returning to the safety of my quarters than I do right now.”
Malek nodded, even as he gently picked up a still trembling Louise close, soothing her with his gentle murmurs. “Fear not, Lady Vaila. We shall get you and little Louise home right away.” He turned to Jess, frowning slightly. “Odd, though. I don’t remember us traveling even a fraction of the distance in Shadow.”
Jess shrugged. “Well, we were in the Shadowrealms after all. No doubt time and space as well as place get twisty in that land.” She gave her shieldbrother a rueful shake of the head. “And it appears that your gifts in that area, at least, are growing. I notice how you managed to pull out of the realm of dream fully kitted out in your lamellar armor and gear, whereas I appear to be utterly naked save for my mithril shirt and hmm... a rather pitted sword blade.”
Malek grinned. "At least your mithril hauberk goes down to your knees. And how nice it would be if you had managed to create a duplicate of your priceless mail shirt, as then you could give me one. But somehow, I don't think it works that way with treasures such as that which you wear. Even now I recall how arduously you worked just to slip it over your head back in your quarters, though those memories will fade soon enough, I fear.”
Jess gave a silent nod, even as she and her shieldbrother shared a look of profound regard for one another, both intensely grateful to have the other at their back. "I am always here for you, shieldbrother, in this world or any other, should you but call for me."
Malek gave a surprised blink before chuckling softly. "That goes as well for me, shieldsister. Come, let's get back home. I think our charges here need rest at least as much as we do."
Jess gave a tired nod, finding it strange that all the fierce insights and combat intuition that had been crackling through her awareness but moments ago were already starting to slip away, leaving her feeling slightly giddy and off balance, as if she hadn't slept a wink the night before. Jess did her best to support an exhausted Lady Vaila who could barely walk for weariness as they made their way back to the college, before at last picking her up with an apologetic smile and carrying her much as her companion carried Vaila’s daughter.
Oddly enough, though her mind was tired, her body felt strong. Vibrant with energy. She had never felt stronger, in fact. Jess found herself hardly bothered by the professor’s weight, even as time went on. It chilled her to think how deeply her body had already been altered by just a few trips into Shadow. As much as the idea of coming back as an enhanced version of herself had thrilled her when it was all but a fantasy, Jess found herself having second thoughts as the reality of what it all really meant hit her. Any number of troubling images flittered through her weary mind until a warmly welcome sight caught her eyes, dispelling all her brooding gloom away.
“Fascinating.”
Jess glanced at her familiar, currently swishing his tail and peering intently at the crimson sigils of what Jess could only assume to be dried blood that had been painted upon Louise and Lady Vaila both. “What is it, Twilight?”
“These sigils. Drawn by masters of the dark art, of this there can be no doubt. But some of them... some of them are not quite right. Particularly in regards to Louise.”
As graceful as smoke, Twilight's fluid form leaped to Louise who hardly seemed even to fee
l the weight, sniffing her markings carefully, then peering back intently at Jess.
“Strange.”
Jess had slowed despite herself. “What is it?”
Twilight frowned. “The demon we faced had been extremely displeased with his summoners, furious that he could not part the wards protecting Louise. He was right, when he declared you as the ultimate source of his failure.”
Jess swallowed, not knowing what to say.
“I know how strong a bond you feel to Louise, and I have no doubt that you share a deeper connection still. But more than that was at play, I think. Come here, Jess.”
Not breaking her stride, Jess walked beside a suddenly curious Malek, smiling at a sleepy looking Louise.
“What's up, Jess?”
“Shush, my brother. Twilight is showing me something.”
Twilight gently caressed a rune even Jess could sense coursing with an energy strangely soothing, wrapped as it was in spider-like sigils pulsating with far fouler magics. “Look at this sigil. It is not a rune of breaking. It is one of warding. And no blood of a stillborn or a harlot's tears were used in its making. No. Ash and bile are used in plenty, other herbs as well. But of blood there is only one source.” Jess shivered under her familiar's gaze. “Yours, Jess.”
Jess swallowed. “What does that even mean?”
Twilight frowned. “I'm not sure. I will have to think upon it.”
Malek gazed curiously at the focus of Jess's attention. “Are you discussing the sigils covering them? Why are we not washing them free of the markings again?”
Jess grinned. “We took an oath, my brother. An oath to hold our tongues and still our hands. But nothing says we have to give anyone a bath, am I right?”
Malek smiled coldly. “I see. Those markings tell their own tale. One whispered not from our lips, nor penned from our quills.”
Jess nodded. “Exactly.”
Lady Vaila gave a small cry of relief as they approached their home, and Jess knew exactly how she felt, never quite so happy to see the imposing buildings of Highrock college than she was at that moment, even as Eloquin himself led the squad of mounted horsemen racing towards them, their small party having no doubt been spotted by several of the college’s guardsmen.
“Report, Calenbry," was all he said as he expertly reigned in his feisty stallion, and Jess kept her answer short and brief, well aware that she was bound to her oath, even as Twilight gently pressed his paw against her cheek as if to caution her.
“I'm not sure how much you remember, sir. In fact, I'm not even sure how much was reality and how much was just a dream, but after Malek and I helped you and our fellow students fight off those shadowy invaders in the realm of dreams, I did my best to wake you all, so that you would be prepared to fight off any intruders that sought to cut all our throats. After that happened, Malek and I followed our intuition, and somehow managed to find Lady Vaila and little Louise, as you can see." Jess took a deep breath, finding the weight of her commander's regard somehow heavier than the herbalist who was doing her best not to fall asleep in her arms even as Jess hurried toward the central keep, Eloquin's stallion expertly kept at a matching pace.
She caught her mentor's gaze. "Forgive me, Master Eloquin, but I must hurry. Lady Vaila and Louise will be in trouble if they collapse before they are put into bed into beds long familiar to them. We were deep in Shadow, after all, and I doubt Lady Vaila ever dared such a feat before. If we don’t take every precaution, their souls might slip back into realms of dream, and be lost to us forever.”
Eloquin nodded his understanding and Jess pretended she didn't see the sudden fierce concern flare over his normally granite features, even as Malek gently nudged a whimpering Louise back to wakefulness. “I am sorry, little one, but you dare not rest till you are safely in your bed, in your mother’s arms.” Malek soothed.
“Then proceed with all haste, Calenbry, as you continue with your report. I note Lady Vaila’s weight does not slow down your stride.” Eloquin's voice, at least, showed no trace of the anxiety Jess sensed radiating from him.
Jess grimaced, staring straight ahead as she made a beeline for the heart of their college, carved right into the heart of Highrock mountain itself, home of most of the student facilities and the Wizards Wing itself, where Rens had his wondrous arcane workshop deep within its bowels, even as Lady Vaila tended to the many delicate herbs and flowers blooming in the rooftop garden etched deep into the very face of Highrock’s mountainside above.
Jess well recalled the location of Lady Vaila’s extensive quarters just beside the stairway leading to the garden, having visited numerous times to share tea and snacks. It was nice to relax and bond with little Louise even as she and the professor discussed all things herbal, a break from Jess's more vigorous martial pursuits. Jess was always more than happy to share whatever insights she had about the plants they tended for the sake of their friendship, and grateful as well to have at least one instructor think so highly of her. A nice change of pace from all the professors who would gaze upon Jess with barely concealed disdain, Eloquin being the one other blatant exception. In point of fact, it was only because of Eloquin's favor that Jess was still allowed to attend Highrock as a student at all, having for all practical purposes failed every other course she had been enrolled in, her status as a Squire of War being the dark grace that had allowed her to squeak through numerous classes with nothing worse than professorial glares to her backside.
Her ineptitude at most things academic was to such a degree that several healers, surprised to find that she could even read, wondered if she was an idiot-savant of some sort, having relegated her skill with plants to an animal-like heightened sense of smell, and her combat prowess to simple wild savagery.
Absurd, as anyone who had ever witnessed her sense of timing or the depth of her martial strategies would know, but the rumor still persisted, no doubt fed by sniping comments from her detractors, Mord and his ilk, as well as students who were bitter about being so readily and consistently beaten by a girl.
Eloquin, however, had never doubted the clarity of her mind, nor the quality of her insights. Which was why it pained her so much to disappoint him now.
“Jess can't tell you anything else, Master Eloquin, for she is oathbound not to. As am I," Malek interjected on her behalf, Jess giving vent to a relieved sigh and nodding her accord, grateful that Malek had spoken.
Lord Eloquin, of course, looked less than pleased. “Oaths are well and good, students, and I commend the fact that negotiations, not your strong suit, Jess, are how you managed to bring Louise and Lady Vaila back to us. But our college was directly attacked. Students lost their lives to the assault, and we have taken other losses as well.” He flashed a silent gesture to the cohort riding beside him, and Jess knew he had signaled for them to race ahead, which they proceeded to do with all haste.
At that Eloquin turned his attention once more to the pair of them, instinctively sensing the weakest link. “I need to know the nature of the threat we face, Jess. The safety of Highrock may well depend upon it, and your oaths to her safety supersede any vows made to our enemies. I promise you that.”
Jess grimaced, squeezed tight in a vise she couldn’t escape. She had to fight the impulse to give into her commander’s glare, so deeply his regard for her meant to her, to share all that she knew and relieve herself of the terrible burden of her secret.
The hot flash of pain as her familiar nipped her ear snapped her back into focus, even as she hissed in discomfort. “Twilight!”
“You can't, Jess." Twilight coldly reproved. "For if you do, you give Mord power over you, and in ways you can't even fathom! It becomes a chink in our defenses that no spell can ward us against, and no sword can parry. Worst of all, it exposes our throats to the wiles of enemies you don't even know you have, the moment they discover your folly.”
Jess wanted to howl with frustration, but could do no more than bow her head, cheeks flushing, before her increasingly displeased
mentor.
“I need your report, Squire of War, and I need it now!”
“She can’t give it, sir!” Malek’s own tone was laden with frustration. “Neither of us can. If we do, we damn ourselves. We can promise you this, though. Should any bastard attempt any further transgressions against Highrock or our friends, our swords will be the first to leave their sheaths and cleave their bodies in twain!”
Eloquin gave a slow shake of his head. “That’s not good enough, I’m afraid. Whatever stains you might feel upon your honor, the needs of the college must come first.”
“Eloquin." Lady Vaila's voice rang with an authority sufficient to give even Jess's mentor pause, for all that the herbalist had been shaking with exhaustion but moments ago. Even as Jess gently carried Vaila to the front entrance of the main building, neither voice nor gaze did waver. "They gave their word, Eloquin. Jess and her shieldbrother saved my life, and my daughter's life. Little Louise would have died, and horribly, surrounded in darkness, with her sworn protector vanished, had your protégés not come to our aid.”
Her voice momentarily cracked as she choked back a sob, and Jess was shocked to see her esteemed arms master, utterly fearless and unshakable, pale at Lady Vaila's words. “If you press Jess or Malek any further, attempt to force them to bare their secrets to you, you put two of our college’s greatest heroes in peril. Do you understand, Eloquin? Even I must respect their oath. I know full well what you think is at risk, and I have the advantage of knowing the disaster they just averted. Should we have enemies, they dare not make a move now.” She flashed Jess and Malek the strangest of smiles. “The best negotiations are made when your foe has already born witness to your strength, after all.”
Shadow Knight Page 7
