“Do all of you understand what has just happened?” she said. Her eyes raked the hall; no one spoke.
“There is no longer any question what we must do,” Iniscara went on. “If the Shadow-born can reach even here, to corrupt a Lord Advisor in Council, we cannot wait to combat them at a time of our own choosing.”
Heads nodded in agreement, but the Queen ignored them. She turned first to Murn and then to Merissallan. “I hope your people will join us, but if not we will not condemn you. For this would be a difficult task, and there are those here who would prevent us, as you have seen.”
“I may not speak for the Wyrds,” Murn said. “Yet I shall tell what I have seen and learned. I do not think the Arkons of the Glens will refuse.”
“The Neira will do what we can,” the sea-man said. “I can speak for all of us, but I do not know how much use we may be; Brenn is a long way from the ocean.”
Iniscara nodded in satisfaction. She turned back to the Shee councilors. “Three thousand horsemen will leave Eveleth at once for Brenn, with Lord Advisor Herre to command them,” the Queen said. “The Talisman of Noron’ri will be destroyed immediately, lest the Shadow-born use it to work more mischief among us. You have seen and heard it.”
The Shee lords and ladies bowed in acknowledgement of the Queen’s commands. There was a rustle of movement; the Queen raised a hand and it checked at once.
“Lest any misunderstand me, I will do one thing more before you leave,” the Queen said. “Nember!”
Imperiously, she stretched out a hand. Slowly, the High Minister rose and handed her the silver staff of his office.
Holding the staff in both hands, Iniscara raised her arms high. “I am Iniscara, Queen of Eveleth, and of Sheleran, and of the Shee! As those before me have done, so will I do! You are witnesses to this.”
The Shee rose and responded with one voice, “We are witness, and will uphold the oath.”
A wind swept through the hall, blowing the Queen’s robes out behind her. It grew stronger and stronger as Iniscara lowered her arms; then, as the end of the staff touched the floor, it died abruptly. “You may go,” she said.
Chapter 14
THE SHEE LORDS AND ladies rose and bowed to the Queen, then turned to file slowly from the Council hall. A few cast curious glances sideways as they passed the little knot of humans, but most of them studiously avoided looking in their direction.
Beside Alethia, Jordet sighed and shook his head. “This is indeed a day of wonders,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Har asked.
“You saw Iniscara take up the staff and you have to ask? It has been long since a monarch of the Shee has claimed the staff and the full power of royalty,” Jordet replied. “But come; if you intend to go with our troops, you must hurry.”
“That many men can’t possibly prepare to leave in only a few hours,” Har objected. “They can’t all be in Eveleth now. It will take time just to collect them.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Jordet said, smiling. “I was up most of the night helping them get ready. Iniscara ordered the guard to alert a week or more ago, when word first arrived of Alethia’s kidnapping; she’s had them preparing to leave ever since news of the siege arrived.”
Har’s face lightened. “Then the Queen intended to send help to Brenn all along!”
“Perhaps,” Jordet said cautiously. “But I cannot say what might have happened if Medilaw had not lost his head. However, the troops will be leaving almost at once. Are you coming?”
“Of course we’re coming!” Har said.
“Then stop arguing, and let’s go,” said Alethia. “At the speed you’re moving, Brenn may fall before we get there.”
Har looked at his sister in alarm. “Allie, there’s going to be a battle when we get to Brenn! You can’t come with us.”
“Why not?” Alethia said. “I’m almost as good an archer as you are, and it’s my home, too. What else should I do?”
“You will stay with us until matters at Brenn are settled,” said a voice from behind Har.
Everyone jumped. Turning, they found Queen Iniscara looking at them with an unreadable expression on her face.
Har gave a relieved sigh. “If you are willing to let Alethia stay safe here, I will be very grateful, and my father also, when he learns of it.”
“Stay here?” said Alethia indignantly. “But…” She stopped short, realizing suddenly that the offer was a shrewd political move as well as a kindness on Iniscara’s part, for the Shee council still did not like or trust humans. If Bracor’s daughter stayed behind as a sort of hostage, Iniscara would have less trouble enacting her plan to aid the human city. Alethia was a child of one of the Noble Houses of Alkyra; she knew better than to risk offending a powerful and touchy ally. Her head turned involuntarily toward Iniscara, and their eyes met.
“You will not be disappointed in your stay here,” Iniscara said softly. “And I think you will have better things to do than fighting Lithmern, for a time at least.”
Alethia shivered a little as the Queen looked toward Har. “You will go with the army to Brenn; Herre will need someone with him who can advise him about the land around the city. Your friend will accompany you. The bard may stay with us if he so chooses—it is long since one of his kind passed this way.”
The rest of the arrangements were quickly made. To no one’s surprise Tamsin decided to remain in Eveleth with Alethia; the opportunity to learn more of the Shee was more than the minstrel could pass by.
Despite Har’s doubts, the departing troops were ready to leave by midday. Worrel and Rarn had already left for Glen Wilding, accompanying Murn, who promised to ask her father to send some of the Wyrd archers to join the Shee on their way to Brenn. Alethia was surprised to find that Jordet would be accompanying them to act as liaison with the Wyrds. She was both pleased and saddened by the news. Jordet was almost the only Shee she had met who would speak to the humans without the mask of haughty indifference, and she was beginning to suspect that her two weeks in Eveleth might be rather lonely.
Maurin was not happy about leaving Alethia behind in Eveleth, but he could hardly object when neither Alethia nor Har seemed to think it inadvisable. Then, too, a battle was no place for a gently bred noblewoman, no matter how great her skill with a bow. Still, it seemed wrong not to take her home when that had been the whole purpose of their setting out. If Maurin had other reasons for disliking the arrangement, he refused to admit them even to himself.
Tamsin and Alethia accompanied Jordet, Har, and Maurin to the city gates, talking as they rode. The conversation was all too short, for the two humans had been positioned toward the head of the column of Shee cavalry, and they had to depart almost immediately. Maurin could not resist looking back as he and Har rode out of the city; he managed to catch one more glimpse of Alethia, framed in the open gateway, and then she vanished behind the rows of black-clad riders.
The Shee troops made good time through the mountains. Maurin was impressed by the horsemanship the Shee exhibited, as well as by their mounts. The riders made camp only when the growing darkness made further travel too dangerous, and they set off again at first light the following morning. The horses the Shee rode were trained for speed, even though the footing was often treacherous. The pace was hard, but by evening of the second day the column was out of the mountains and traveling through the Wyrwood. The going became easier, for though there were trees to wind their way through, there were no steep climbs to tire the horses, nor piles of shattered rock to slide underfoot.
On the third day, they met the Wyrds. Grathwol himself led the archers, and Murn was also among them. Though it was barely midmorning, the two columns halted to enable the commanders to confer. Almost as soon as they dismounted, Maurin and Har were summoned to Commander Herre.
They found him seated in a hastily erected tent with Grathwol, Murn, and several Shee. A large map was spread out in front of them, and they were studying it closely.
“… outnumbe
r us by nearly two to one, even with the Wyrds to join us,” a Shee was saying worriedly. “I don’t care if they’re humans; those aren’t odds that I like.”
Maurin saw Har frown. “Don’t forget about the troops inside Brenn,” he said.
The occupants of the tent looked up, and Herre motioned Har and Maurin to be seated. “More humans,” muttered a Shee wearing a general’s uniform, but he did not speak loudly. Maurin glanced quickly at Har, but he did not seem to have heard the remark, and Maurin relaxed.
“Some of the Lithmern troops must be on the south side of the river,” another Shee said. “If we could keep them trapped there, we would have a better chance.”
“Of the ten thousand Lithmern, my scouts tell me that about a fifth are on the south side of the river,” Grathwol said. “The rest are camped on this bank, just west of Brenn and south of Brandon forest.” He smiled, showing pointed teeth. “It would seem the Lithmern prefer to avoid both the Wyrwood and Brandon forest. Perhaps they do not like trees.”
Herre smiled and turned toward Har. “Are there any fords near Brenn?”
“No,” Har said. “We dredge regularly to keep the river deep; the bridges inside the city are the only ways to cross within half a day’s ride.”
“Then the Lithmern are depending on boats to keep their troops in contact,” Herre said thoughtfully. “Grathwol, could your scouts get close enough to sink them before we attack?”
Grathwol snorted. “The Lithmern sentries would not notice an army at midday, much less a few Wyrds by night. Unless they have filled the river, we can sink them.”
“Then we will not be quite so badly outnumbered,” said the Shee who had spoken first. “Still…”
“How many Wyrds could hide in Brandon forest?” Maurin said, looking up from the map.
Grathwol snorted again. “From those sentries? All Glen Wilding, and Glen Hycroft and Glen Ravensrock besides!”
Herre looked thoughtfully at Maurin. “I think I see what you are getting at,” he said. “If we charge at the camp from the east, it will push the Lithmern back against Brandon forest, and the Wyrds can pick them off with their bows. We won’t get all of them, though; see, here. There will still be nearly a quarter of the Lithmern behind us, even if we succeed in cutting off the men on the other side of the river. I don’t like it.”
“Don’t forget about the troops in Brenn,” Har put in. “They won’t be sitting idle during all this!”
“I don’t know what the humans in the city are likely to do, and I am reluctant to count on their actions,” Herre said, even more thoughtfully than before. “But I shall speak to the Veldatha who accompanied us; perhaps one of them can bespeak the Lady Isme.”
Har looked at Herre blankly.
“The Lady Isme is a Shee,” Herre said, speaking patiently as though to a child. “We shall need wizards as well as warriors to win this battle. She can warn those inside the city to be ready for us.”
“What of the Lithmern sorcerers?” said another of the Shee.
“Rialla assures me that the Veldatha can block any attempts to summon the Shadow-born,” Herre said. “Unfortunately, they will have little energy to spare. We can look for no other help from them.”
“That is unfortunate, but I expected no more,”
Grathwol replied gravely. “I think we are agreed, then?”
The others nodded. The meeting ended, and the combined column of Wyrds and Shee was soon moving toward Brenn once more.
As the last Shee rode out of the city gates, Alethia sighed. She looked at Tamsin, and without speaking they turned their horses and began riding back toward the palace. Alethia still more than half wished she could have accompanied the army, but before her mood could turn to depression, she saw the guard called Ferrin come running toward them. “You’ll have to hurry,” the young guard called between pants as soon as he was close enough to be heard. “The Queen wants to see you right away.”
Alethia nodded, wondering what Iniscara could want of them now. She was even more curious when they reached the palace and found Illeana waiting in the room to which Ferrin lead them. The Shee woman looked disdainfully at Tamsin, but she made no overt objection to his presence. A moment later, the Queen herself appeared, accompanied by another Shee woman, pale and stern, whom Alethia did not recognize.
Iniscara smiled speculatively at Alethia. “I have a proposal to make to you, my dear,” she said as soon as the bowing and curtsying ended. “Would you like to learn magic?”
Tamsin’s jaw dropped. Alethia sat staring for a moment, then blinked. “Why should you wish to teach me?” she asked.
“It is the only way we know to determine the extent of your power,” replied the unfamiliar woman beside the Queen.
“This is the Lady Clasiena. She and Illeana will be your tutors if you accept our offer,” the Queen said into the silence that followed. Everyone began talking at once, except for Alethia, who sat silent. Iniscara looked at her sharply. “Well?”
“I have so many questions I don’t know where to begin!” Alethia said. “I think someone should start at the beginning and explain.”
Illeana raised an eyebrow. “You do not realize what an opportunity you have, girl,” she said. “Else you would not quibble.”
“I am not quibbling,” Alethia said indignantly. “But I’m certainly not going to say yes or no until I understand what is going on a little better.”
“It will be difficult for you to understand, for you do not have the background,” Illeana said condescendingly. “It has to do with Firivar’s prophecy, and the Shadow-born, and the ways of magic.”
“If it is going to be that difficult for me to understand why you wish to teach me, it is going to be impossible for me to learn anything,” Alethia said, trying to control her temper. “And if that is so, wouldn’t it be better to find out now?”
Clasiena gave Illeana a glance that said “I told you.” Illeana shrugged. Clasiena looked at the Queen, and Iniscara nodded.
“It is difficult to know where to begin,” Clasiena said, turning toward Alethia. “But I will try to explain. You have been told what the Shadow-born are?”
“Jordet said they were very powerful and evil spirits,” Alethia said. “I am not quite sure what that means.”
“It means mainly that we know they have no bodies and we know they are evil,” Clasiena replied. “It has been three thousand years since they were bound, and most of the knowledge of them has been lost. One other thing we can add: Over the years they have weakened to a fraction of their former strength, but even that is more than any one of us could face alone.”
“Illeana and Jordet won out over that one on the mountaintop, didn’t they?” Alethia said uneasily. Talk of the Shadow-born was still enough to unsettle her, though she was not sure why she reacted so strongly.
Before Clasiena could reply, Illeana shook her head. “We drove the creature out of Corrim, true,” she said. “But its grip was not strong. It was still weak from its long captivity, and it was in the Kathkari, where the Shadow-born find their magic difficult to work. Even so, it was a near thing.”
“They will gain strength rapidly now,” Clasiena went on. “We have a little time, perhaps, before they become so powerful that we cannot defeat them at all—but only a little time.”
“What does that have to do with teaching me magic?” Alethia asked.
“Do you remember the prophecy that was read at the Council this morning?” Clasiena asked. “‘The child of fire holds the source of power.’ In the Elder Tongue, the language of magic, your name means ‘fire-souled child.’ Somehow you are a key, and we must try to prepare you as best we can.”
“I don’t want to have anything more to do with those things!” Alethia said, suppressing a shiver. “They terrify me. I’m not sure why; I’m not usually bothered by dark creepy things. I am afraid I won’t be much help to you. I am sorry.”
“If need is there, you will find a way,” Iniscara said serenely. “We will
do our best to keep you away from them, since they seem so interested in obtaining possession of your person, but, if only for your own protection, we must try to teach you some magic of your own.”
“I am willing to try to learn,” Alethia said hesitantly. “But I cannot promise anything more, and I will only stay until there is news of Brenn and a way for me to return.”
Illeana frowned, but Clasiena glanced at the Queen again, then replied, “Of course, if that is what you wish.”
“I do wish it,” Alethia said firmly, stifling her own doubts about the wisdom of this project. If the Shee thought it wise for her to learn magic, she could hardly object.
“Then it is settled,” Iniscara said, and rose. “I think you should begin as soon as possible. You may join her, bard, if you like,” the Queen added turning to Tamsin as she spoke.
“What!” A startled, angry exclamation broke from Illeana. “Excuse me, your Majesty, but that’s impossible!”
“There have been human sorcerers before,” Clasiena said, looking warily from Illeana to the Queen. “And he is a minstrel.”
“What does that matter?” Illeana said. “He’s a human! Do you think the Council will allow this?”
“The Lord Advisors and the Council will certainly object,” Clasiena said in a troubled voice.
“Their objections no longer matter,” Iniscara said calmly. “I am Queen; I have ordered this; and it will be done. This is a time of change for all the Shee; there is nothing we can do to delay it. Do you question me?”
Illeana stared at the Queen for a moment, then lowered her head and sank into a deep curtsy. “No, your Majesty.”
The Queen nodded. “See to it, then.”
Chapter 15
IN SPITE OF THE Queen’s parting instructions, the lessons did not begin that afternoon. Instead Tamsin and Alethia spent several hours riding through Eveleth. Alethia, accustomed to the noisy crowds of Brenn, was at first surprised by the quiet of the city. Though it was mid-afternoon, the wide streets were nearly empty. She soon adjusted to the absence of other people; indeed, she forgot it entirely in her admiration of the city.
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