I turned back to Unkai. In Turneth, I said, “I’m sorry for the interruption. My comrade was having some difficulties. Where were we? Oh yes, talking payment for your services. I can make you this promise. I will be your guide as much as the gods will allow me. Since I am pledged to them, I have to do their bidding. I can only make deals to that extent.”
Unkai stared at me with a steady gaze. After a moment, he snickered.
“Do tell. Very well,” he said, shaking his head. “We will guide you to the edge of the forest. I do hope that I’ll have the chance to visit you in your world, however.” With that, he called for his people to break camp, and within less than ten minutes, we were packed and they were leading me to the Well of Tears.
We skirted the lake, and there was no sign of any more aughiskies. The focus of the Autumn Stalkers was so intense that I could feel it all around us. We wore their aura like a shroud, and it surrounded us as we crept through the bushes that lined the edge of Lake Discover. No one talked, and we followed suit, trusting that they knew the area better than we did.
As time passed, I began to notice a change in Serafina. She felt alive in my hands, and I sensed an excitement coming from her. Slowly, not sure exactly what I was doing, I reached out with my thoughts to try and communicate with her.
Can you hear me? I waited for a moment.
There was a shift in the bow’s energy.
After another beat, I thought, My name is Ember. You’re Serafina, and Herne the Hunter made you. Can you hear me? And again, I waited. Just as I thought that I wasn’t going to get any answer, a very soft voice crept around the edge of my thoughts.
I’m here. It’s been a long time since someone picked me up.
I know. But I have you now, and Herne the Hunter has given me permission to use you. You have an incredible aim, and I want to thank you for your help. I wasn’t entirely sure exactly what thanking the bow would do, but it was obvious that it was no inanimate object. There was a sentience in this bow, and an intelligence.
Yes, I understand that you are my new person. Trust me and I will guide you to a true aim.
I paused, mulling over what Serafina had just said. She could increase my aim and ability. I wondered what was in it for her, but then brushed aside the thought. Herne had made her, had brought the wood to life, and it was infused with his energy. I could trust this bow, even though it had belonged to my great-great-grandmother. Morgana had cleansed it, and I had claimed it. Serafina was mine.
Unkai glanced back at me, and then at the bow in my hand. He motioned for me to join him at the head of the group. I picked up my pace, wondering what he wanted.
“It’s a beautiful bow,” he said.
“It should be. Herne the Hunter made it. And he’s given me leave to use it. My great-great-grandmother used it until her death. It was passed down through the family and eventually came to me.” I left him to think about that.
“And your great-great-grandmother was…?” He left the question unfinished, but I knew what he was asking.
“Yes, she was one of the Autumn’s Bane.”
Unkai nodded, as if slowly digesting what I had just told him. After another moment, he asked, “So are any of that side of your family still living?”
I paused, not sure what to say. “A great-uncle, as far as I know. My grandfather killed my father for loving my mother, and he would have killed me, too.” I looked directly at Unkai. “Apparently, my existence stood against everything he believed in.”
“Was he very invested in the court of TirNaNog?”
I nodded. “He was friends with Queen Saílle. I belong to neither Court. Neither will claim me, nor really want anything to do with me.”
Unkai let out a soft laugh. “Their loss. And your grandfather’s loss as well. Does he know you have the bow?”
Here it was. A subject that I couldn’t seem to avoid, no matter how hard I tried.
“I killed my grandfather. He tried to kill me, so I sucked out his life energy. My mother’s blood is strong in me as well. Usually one side takes precedence during the Cruharach, but I came through with powers from both bloodlines.” I stared at him, defying him to say anything against me. But he surprised me.
“There is no shame in defending yourself, even when it’s against one of your elders. And as I said, my people have little to do with the court of TirNaNog here. We have no interest in the politics between the two great courts. We live for ourselves. We are the Autumn’s Bane, the stalkers of the forest. We make our own rules.”
Before I could say anything, he pointed ahead as we rounded the lake.
“There, some half a mile ahead you will find the Well of Tears. We will walk with you for a few more minutes, then wait for you. My people will not approach that space.”
I gave him a nod, grateful that Unkai seemed to be a reasonable person. I knew that my people were ruthless. In fact, they preyed on stray villagers and were known as plunderers, much like the Vikings had been back in our realm. But apparently, they did so without regard for petty politics. That didn’t necessarily make them better people, but I knew where I stood.
I turned back and motioned to Viktor and Yutani. “Come up here. We’re nearing the well.”
As they joined me, I shaded my eyes with my hands and looked ahead. Sure enough, about half a mile in the distance on the shore of the lake, I could see something glistening. It was a structure of some sort, and even from here I could feel the energy of Brighid emanating from it.
I turned to Viktor and Yutani. “You need to wait here. I can’t explain why, but if you try to come with me, you could get hurt.”
“What about the aughiskies?” Yutani asked, looking worried.
I frowned, just now realizing he was wearing a cloak over the jean jacket. “Where did you get that?”
“From Unkai. He didn’t say anything, but he fingered the material on my jacket, gave me a disgusted look, and a few minutes later, one of the hunters brought over a cloak and handed it to me. It’s warm, that much I’ll say for it. Oddly enough, it smells like cinnamon bark.” He held up his arm and sniffed the sleeve. “Yeah, cinnamon, and…smoke. Bonfire smoke.”
“It must have been stored with some of their other things,” I said. “All right. You can come with me to that pair of fallen logs, but you have to wait there.”
The path leading to the well rose in a gentle gradation, only about ten feet, but at the top of the rise, there were two fallen logs, one on either side. They buttressed the path like gates, and while I couldn’t put it into words, I knew that nobody should cross beyond those logs except for me. I panicked for a moment, thinking the marker Brighid had given me for the Lamentation had gotten lost in the water, but then remembered that I had stored it in my pack, not my jacket. I dug through my pack, took a long swig of water, and then found the talisman.
It was a triskelion, formed in brass, about three inches in diameter, and it was engraved with a number of runic symbols that I didn’t recognize. I turned it over in my hand. The symbols were engraved on both sides.
“I’m ready,” I said, hoisting Serafina and making certain my arrows were within easy reach. My dagger was gone, but Viktor had provided me with another, so I took a deep breath and turned away from them, heading up the rise.
Viktor and Yutani followed me as far as I would allow, then stood to the side, flanking the logs as I passed between them.
Immediately, I felt a shift in the energy. Even the aughiskies wouldn’t be able to manage here, I thought, so strong was Brighid’s claim to this place. The well was about ten yards away, and it was low to the ground, only a few feet high. The snow was almost gone. As I turned I saw that, in a circular pattern, the ground was mostly bare. It was as though an invisible dome arched over the area containing the well. I knelt by the stones forming the sides of the well and leaned over the edge, staring in.
The water was near the top, but the well seemed to sink into the ground, far deeper than it looked from the outside. I t
ried to gauge how deep it was, but the ripples kept shifting. I knelt, leaning far over the edge, searching for the sword, but saw nothing but rippling water.
A movement caught my attention and I looked up to find myself facing a magnificent specter. She was hovering off the ground in back of the well, and as translucent as sheer silk, but I could still see every detail.
Tall she was, with long flowing red hair, and eyes as fierce as any tiger’s. She was wearing a long gown that looked to be pale green. Her expression warned me to be very, very careful. This spirit had the ability to kill me if I didn’t watch my step.
I slowly backed away from the well and straightened my shoulders. Without a word, I held up the talisman that Brighid had given me.
The Lamentation stared at me for a moment, then slowly turned her attention to the marker. She leaned her head back and let out a wail that echoed through the forest. It must have reverberated for miles. Then she moved back, held out her hand, and swept it over the top of the well.
As she did so, the entire circle we were in shifted. I blinked as the rippling on the water stilled. A faint light began to glow from within the well, growing stronger with each moment. It started out as pale green, then deepened into a leafy peridot, and finally, it was radiating pure gold. I squinted against the light—it was so bright—and gasped as it came flying out of the well—a round sphere that was as golden as the summer sun. It rose above the well, then cracks formed against the surface as another light inside began to seep out. This light was pure—clear and white, the light of truth and of illumination.
As I watched, the light shattered the last of the sphere and the Lamentation let out a joyous cry. She turned to me, then she vanished into the mists, disappearing from sight.
I looked back at the well. There, in the shallow water, was a sword. I slowly knelt beside the stone exterior, gazing down into the water. I could see the bottom now—it was about five feet down, and covered in moss and algae, with a decidedly brackish scent rising from it.
Just below the surface of the water, a glint of metal caught my eye. I leaned closer, reaching into brush aside the floating moss. About a foot and a half down from the surface was the hilt of his sword. I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether I should just reach in and pull it out. I could see other things down in the water, too. Goblets and necklaces, the shimmer of gold and silver. But I wasn’t here to claim those items, whatever they were. I’d been given one charge, and one charge only. Intuition told me to leave everything else where it lay.
As my fingers slowly approached the hilt of the sword, a flutter in my stomach told me that the Lamentation was back again, watching. I glanced over my shoulder and sure enough, there she was. Only now she didn’t look so terrifying. She was smiling, and she glided to the other side of the well and knelt, watching me.
I looked at her, wondering if she could hear me. “The Lady Brighid sent me. You know, right? From the marker?”
She nodded, and placed her palm over her heart. Her smile widened.
A sudden thought crossed my mind. “You’re the priestess Brighid was talking about?”
She ducked her head, then looked up again. With a gentle nod, she placed her hands on the side of the well, still holding my gaze.
“And this was a holy spot for Brighid, wasn’t it?”
Again came a nod.
“The other things in there, I’m to leave them, aren’t I?”
Again, she indicated agreement.
“Do you have to guard them as well? Do you have to stay here until they’re all gone?”
I felt sorry for her, wishing she was free to move on. But the look she gave me wasn’t one of frustration or impatience. No, as I watched her, a look of forbearance crossed her face, and she sat back, leaning against the tree that was nearest the well. The trees showed through her, but she didn’t seem to notice that. She merely waited for me to continue.
I wrapped my hand around the hilt of the sword, and it was solid in my grasp, the metal cold from the icy water of the well. I slowly withdrew the blade, standing up as I did so.
The sword was dripping with moss, but the cross-piece and hilt were bronze. The sword hummed in my hand, and I held it up, trying to shake the moss off. There was a bright glow to the sword, and it felt as though with any movement, I could conjure fire out of it. I brought it up, sweeping the blade from side to side, feeling the heft and weight of it.
The Lamentation jumped up, shaking her head. She motioned to the trees, and then to the blade, and then shook her head again.
“Oh, Brighid’s Flame can actually conjure flame, can’t it?”
The Lamentation gave me yet another nod, a wary look on her face.
I stopped slashing the sword around, lowering it as I examined the metal. There were fine etchings all over the blade, beautiful scrollwork, and I had the feeling that Brighid had inscribed those runes herself. She had made the blade, she said, and I was the first to touch it in eons. I looked around for a sheath, but saw none, so I fastened the sword to my belt as best as I could. I turned to the Lamentation.
“Thank you for all of your help. Trust me that the sword will be used for good intent.” As I turned away, I felt an icy chill on my shoulder and I looked back. The Lamentation had moved close behind me. I wasn’t sure what she wanted to tell me but she looked at me for a moment, intently, and then smiled again, and let go.
As I headed back down the incline away from the well, I turned back to look for the Lamentation one last time, but there was no sign of her. Just the well on the top of the slope. I wondered about the other items in it, but they were not my quest, and not my story to follow. I turned back and crossed between the logs that formed the portal. Viktor and Yutani were waiting for me, as were the rest of the Autumn Stalkers.
“I’ve got the sword,” I said. “We need to return to Brighid’s Castle now.”
And just like that, Unkai motioned to his people. As one they turned, and began leading us back through the forest. No one asked to see the sword. Not even Viktor and Yutani.
Chapter Twenty-One
Over the next two days, Unkai and his people led us back to the entrance of Y’Bain. During that time, we didn’t learn much more about the Orhanakai, other than that they had lived in Y’Bain for thousands of years, but I developed a growing respect for Unkai. He was tough, but fair, and he treated his band of hunters with respect and the expectation that they would do their best for him. His wife—or rather, woman—I had no idea of their marriage customs or even if they had any—was an integral part of the group, though she kept to herself. Unkai had confided to me that she was one of the best hunters in their band, and that was one of the reasons he had chosen her.
By the time we arrived at the entrance to the forest, it was nearly nightfall, and I was genuinely sorry to see them go. While I still wasn’t sure if they were entirely trustworthy, I did sense a strong element of honor running among them, and they were also a good deterrent to will-o’-the-wisps and the other surprises the forest had thrown at us.
“Remember, you promised to give me a tour of your home when I come to visit,” Unkai said as we stood at the edge of the forest.
I nodded, no longer trying to deflect the subject. If he managed to get himself over to our realm, I’d happily show him around. “I remember. Until then, be safe, and may hunting be abundant.” I kept trying to remind myself that they not only hunted for food, but they enslaved people, but the thought seemed so alien from the hunters we had traveled with that I decided just to shelve the matter.
He saluted me and, before they turned back at the forest’s edge, said, “I hope that what you found was worth the journey, and that it brings you peace.”
I held his gaze for a moment, almost blurting out why I wanted the sword. But something stayed my words. Regardless of whether I felt like I could trust him, the truth was, I didn’t really know him. And not knowing him meant that I didn’t know who he was aligned with or who he was connected to.
And then, as Unkai turned back to Y’Bain, Viktor, Yutani, and I stepped out of the forest, into the open plain.
On the way back to the palace, Herne rode by my side. The storm had socked in, and the snow was blowing like crazy. We were all shrouded in cloaks. The guards had brought extra. As the horses picked their way through the massive flakes, the night took on a surreal silvery tinge and it felt like we were walking through a whiteout, even though we were still on trail.
“You seem quiet,” he said. “How was the trip?”
I hadn’t told them much, not yet. The forest had sent me spiraling inward, and meeting Unkai’s people had made me rethink my feelings about myself, and my father’s blood.
“Dangerous. We had to fend off will-o’-the-wisps. And…” I glanced at him, hoping he wouldn’t go charging off to avenge my honor.
“And what?”
“I was almost captured by a couple of aughiskies. Thanks to Serafina, they’re dead.” He began to sputter but I held up my hand. “Stop. They weren’t able to harm me. I called on a water elemental while they had me in the water, and it didn’t like them, so it came to my aid. Once I was back on land, I was able to get hold of the bow and I put arrows through both of them. That’s when we met Unkai and his people.”
Herne let out a slow breath, it whistled through his teeth like wind through dry leaves. “I wish I could have gone with you. But the forest wouldn’t have been so friendly, and even with what you experienced, it could have been far worse. And it would been, had I been there. Tell me, what did you think of Unkai and his band?”
He sounded almost like he was familiar with who they were. I tilted my head slightly, trying to formulate my answer.
“I found him surprisingly helpful. And surprisingly congenial. Do you know who he is?”
Herne nodded as he chucked to the horse, gently guiding it back to the path when it started to wander off to the side. The stallion responded to him as though he was its mother.
A Sacred Magic: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 9 Page 21
