“Princess?”
~~~~~
Too exhausted even to think, I spent the afternoon in bed, with Arran watching over me. I woke at dusk, refreshed and fully alert. For three heartbeats I was contented, filled with happiness to see Arran’s smiling face, before I remembered and misery washed over me again.
“What news? Is there any news?”
Arran stroked my hair. “Riders have been sent to recall everyone still on the road, and word has been sent to Kingswell. Beyond that… I do not see what can be done.”
I bathed and dressed, and Arran arranged food for us, so that I could have a quiet evening. Tomorrow I would have to confer with the commanders and come up with a plan, but for tonight I could rest.
Sunshine had returned, agitated but unharmed, and the fortress commander had sent a gift to her perch on the roof: a fine haunch of fresh beef. She was contented after that, and slept.
As we nibbled at cold meat and fruit, Cal said, “Tell me how you talk to Ly-haam, Drina.”
“This can wait, surely?” Arran said, with a frown. “She is very tired.”
“It’s all right,” I said. “It’s important, I think. But I don’t know how it works.”
“Tell me about every time it’s happened, then. Maybe we’ll see a pattern.”
“Very well. The first time was when the eagle first came. I could see into her mind, and through her to him. I could see through his eyes, too. And he could talk to me in my mind, as clear as my own thoughts. But I didn’t know how to talk to him, not then. A couple of nights later, he woke me up in the middle of the night. Dragged me up to the roof so that he could see me. It was very annoying, and so I told him.”
Cal laughed. “So you went all the way up to the roof, and then berated him for disturbing your rest? Through the eagle?”
“Something like that, yes. But after that, there was no contact.”
“Not even when you were kidnapped?”
“No, nothing, not until the summoning not long ago. But that was different. Strange. I don’t think it was aimed at me, particularly. He was calling to all his people, I think.”
“A summoning. Yes, I see. Gathering a war party, perhaps? To attack the camp?”
I shrugged. “Perhaps. Who knows. I don’t understand him, and that’s the truth. His ways are different from ours. I can’t predict what he might do. He said he was destined to be a war leader, but not until he reached the age of thirty. The years from fifteen to thirty are for… oh, what was it? Regeneration, I think. And learning. That was it.”
“Regeneration?” Arran said, raising one eyebrow. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
“Lots of babies, yes, that’s what it means. He’s supposed to breed a generation of children with enhanced connections to beasts.”
“And then he leads them to war, I suppose,” Arran said.
“So is that why he’s drawn to you?” Cal said. “You’re part of the regeneration business?”
I frowned, pondering that. But it didn’t seem right. “I don’t think so. It’s more… that I suck magic into me. He has magic swilling about in him, and his magic is pulled towards me, like a stone to the earth. He can’t help responding to it. And when he touches me, I can’t help it, either.”
I glanced at Arran, hating to talk about such things in front of him, but he was paying attention to his bread and honey, not looking at me. It was no comfort that we’d been apart at the time, for it still felt like a betrayal.
For a while we all ate, Arran methodically, as he always did, eating the same foods in the same order every morning, while Cal picked and nibbled and then abandoned half of it. I ate some fruit, before losing interest. I had little appetite at the moment.
Cal pulled a piece of cheese onto his plate, and turned to me with a sigh. “Don’t you have any idea how it works, this mind-talking to Ly-haam?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” I said, throwing down my fruit. “I wish I did! But I think it is a common thing amongst his people. Or perhaps just for him, I don’t know. But when I first met him, at the village that used to be by the lake, I am quite certain his mother was giving him instructions. To his mind, I mean. He would pause, as if he was listening, in the middle of a conversation with me. But as to how it works, or why I hear him sometimes and not others, I have no idea.”
“But the first time, you made contact with him,” Cal said, leaning forward, and stabbing with one finger for emphasis. “You went into the eagle’s mind, and then you were able to get into his mind. You could see through his eyes.”
“Yes. So?”
“Well, if you could do that again, think how useful it would be!” he finished triumphantly.
I wasn’t sure about that. If I could see through his eyes, perhaps he could see through my eyes, and listen in to our planning meetings. Besides, I hated the thought of having him in my head again.
But I nodded, and said I would try.
~~~~~~
The planning meeting was difficult. The commanders were fractious, splitting into clear camps. One group was all for gathering a force and marching off down the Imperial Road to re-establish the forward camp, or at least to rescue any troops still surviving nearby. Another wanted to abandon the war altogether. The largest group contained the ditherers, who preferred to wait for further instructions from Kingswell.
I was not sure of the value of that. Yannassia had less experience in war than even the most junior recruit marching up and down the parade ground. How could she make a sensible decision? How could any of us do so? It all depended on Ly-haam, and what he planned next. Had he spent his anger on the forward camp and would now retreat to his inland sea? Or was he coming for us?
And, most importantly, where exactly was he?
“I should like to go up to the battlements,” I said. “To see the view.”
Wordlessly we all collected cloaks and tramped up the stone stairs, winding back and forth, back and forth. The commanders led the way, and the clump of heavy boots, the creak of leather and jingle of sword clasps, almost masked the softer tread of my shoes, the swish of the mages’ robes and the rattle of the scribes’ writing cases.
At the top, a cluster of juniors on watch startled to attention. The captain saluted smartly and handed over his seeing tube to one of the commanders. She held it out to me, but I waved it away and stepped forward to the parapet, gazing through a gap to the vista beyond.
The remnants of a rainstorm scurried away to the west, darkening the sky and leaving the air damp and chilled. A little way below me, the great ditch and earthen bank, with its palisade of sharpened posts, provided a defence for the fortress. Only a narrow gap with a wooden bridge allowed access.
Beyond that, the land fell away to the supplies camp and the lake, smooth as a mirror. The island hid itself in skirts of mist like a shy maiden. And further away, the dark smear that marked the start of the black-bark forest.
Had the eagles really come from there? And did that mean Ly-haam was in there, somewhere? Hiding, perhaps. Or making his way stealthily towards us. If he was, we would know nothing about it.
“Have any of you been into the black-bark forest?”
Long silence. Then the supplies commander gave a little cough. “I have, Highness. When the collectors first went in.”
“What is it like in there?”
Even longer silence. “It is very strange. I felt as if the trees were watching me, somehow.”
One of the other commanders sniggered, and I clucked at him in annoyance. “This may seem amusing to you, Commander, but if you had read any history at all, you would know the stories of the black-bark forest. Does the name Prince Borthen mean anything to you? He went ten paces into the forest after a deer. Never seen again. And Brind Lorton’s expedition, do you know that one? He entered the forest at its northernmost point, and emerged an hour later at the southern extremity. And those are just the well-documented cases.” They all stared at me, blank faced. “Please continue, Co
mmander.”
His eyes were wide, but with another small cough, he went on, “I went a little way into the forest with the exploration team. They left people on the outside holding a string, and they unwound it as they went in. So they would not get lost. I swear we went no more than a hundred paces, Highness. But when we turned round to go back, the trees… they had changed. Where there had been a clear track, now there was just a tangle of roots as high as a man, almost impossible to climb over. It took us the rest of that sun to get back out again.”
“How do the collection teams manage, then?”
“They collect only from the outermost trees, Highness. But the bark is tougher, less valuable.”
“So that is why the collections have been less productive than expected. I understand.” I chewed my lip. “Would it be possible to travel through the forest, do you think? Using good maps and a navigation stone?”
“It would be very difficult. The tree roots get so tangled. The forest is all but impenetrable.”
Impenetrable to us, perhaps. But to Ly-haam, with his mind-contact and eagles? Would that work?
“Is the sky visible? Or does the canopy hide it?”
“It is pretty dark in there, even in the hours of sun. I think the leaves hide most of the sky. You are thinking perhaps it would be possible to navigate by the stars, Highness?”
“No, I was wondering if an eagle flying overhead could direct a person in the forest below. But if they could not see them, it would be impossible.” I sighed. “I cannot see any way that an army could move purposefully through the forest, not even the Blood Clans.”
But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Ly-haam was there, somewhere in that dark mass of restless trees. That was where the eagles had come from, and where they had returned. And if he was there, and he could, in some unfathomable way, travel through the forest, he could emerge just across the lake. No more than an hour from the fortress, and less from the supplies camp.
We were so terribly vulnerable.
“Very well, here is my decision. The forward camp is gone, and there will be no attempt to rebuild it, not with winter almost upon us. Nor is the supplies camp needed any longer, so it will be closed down.”
The commanders exchanged glances.
“Most Powerful—” one of them began.
“It will be closed down,” I said, with more emphasis. “The supplies may be brought here for safe-keeping, and the buildings shut down for the winter. The black-bark collection will be stopped. Surplus troops may be sent to reinforce other fortresses along the border.”
“Most Powerful, should we not ask the Drashona for direction?”
“I am war leader,” I said, lifting my chin. “You take your instruction from me, in the first instance. You may raise your concerns with the Drashona at the next brightmoon strategy meeting. Is that understood?” A few nods, and one or two saluted. “Very well, then. The ditch and bank are to be inspected and any repairs put in hand. You are to adopt a defensive strategy for the next few moons. In the spring, perhaps, we may reconsider, but for now, the war is over, Commanders.”
~~~~~
I left the commanders scurrying about barking orders to juniors in a frenzy of irritated obedience. They could not countermand my orders, but I was certain that messages would be flying to Kingswell within the hour. I had no idea what Yannassia would do in response. Would she publicly oppose me and rescind my orders? I thought it unlikely, but I wouldn’t mind if she did. This was not a task I was suited for, or had ever wanted. Let Axandor play his war games with the army.
Not that there was much of it left, I realised, with a shaft of pain. The best of it had been at the forward camp. I had been there only a few moons ago, talking to the High Commander. She had not had all the resources she’d wanted, I recalled, and I had made some glib remark about it, that she was sure to prevail or some such. I should have listened. Perhaps if I had taken more notice of her words… but I had only just escaped from Ly-haam, and my only thought was to get back to Kingswell, and safety. Besides, surely no one could have predicted that the camp would be attacked with such devastating effect.
Was it Ly-haam’s doing? I couldn’t be sure, but who else could it be? And was he still out there, planning his next move against us?
Arran and I went back to our modest rooms, eating bread and cheese from trays on our knees and drinking some kind of sour beer, since the wine was all locked away in the cellar until the evening.
“You were quite amazing, my love,” Arran said, with a wide grin, as he stacked the trays on a side table.
I walked across to the window, where the rain was lashing down again. I could hear the gurgling of drainage pipes outside, as loud as a river. “I did what had to be done. The commanders were never going to agree, and someone had to make a decision.”
He came up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist, and kissing my neck. “And you did it magnificently, sweetheart.” Another kiss, nibbling my ear. “Do you see now how perfect you are to be Drashona? How much you have changed since I first met you.” Another, longer, kiss and his arms tightened around me.
“I was never exactly timid, though. I’ve always been more than ready to speak my mind.”
“True, but you are so commanding now. You have so much presence. Almost more than Yannassia, in some ways.”
That made me laugh. “Now you’re just being silly. I have a long way to go before I reach that point, if I ever do.”
“No, no. Look at how all these crusty commanders jump when you tell them what to do. I love to watch you at work. You are so… inspiring.”
One hand slid upwards to cup my breast, while the other was already reaching for the ties on my trousers.
“Oh, that sort of inspiration. Are you trying to distract me from my war planning, my love?”
“Absolutely. Besides, we ought to celebrate. The war is over, you said so yourself.”
I laughed, and spun round to face him. But even as I lifted my face for a proper kiss, I couldn’t shake my fear that the war was very far from over.
33: The Black-Bark Forest
“Do you think we should return to Kingswell?” Jayna said. “Report to Yannassia?”
“What do you think?” I said to her, as Arran poured wine for me, then passed the decanter round the table.
“I cannot decide. In some ways, your work here is done. You have given your orders, after all. But then, perhaps you are needed here, to keep the commanders in order. They would argue themselves to a standstill without your leadership.”
Poor Jayna! I was tempted to smile as she struggled with the problem. As a mage, she was here to advise me, but her fields of expertise were magic and the law, not military strategy.
I had claimed exhaustion to escape the formality of evening board with the senior ranks of the fortress. I couldn’t bear to don finery and talk of trivia, when so many fine men and women lay feeding the vultures. Besides, the commanders were cross with me for calling for a withdrawal, and the thought of their reproachful faces staring at me over the meat platter was too much.
Instead, a table had been squeezed into our sitting room, and Cal, Jayna, Arran and I rubbed knees and banged elbows trying to eat in the tiny space. The kitchen seemed to be cross with me, too, for the food was very plain, nothing more elaborate than roast meat, gravy and some unidentifiable vegetables in water, although whether soup or stew was unclear. Bread, cheese and fruit made up the rest of it. But we were none of us so grand that we looked down on such fare, and the wine was plentiful, and surprisingly good for a border fortress, so we were content.
“Cal, what is your opinion?” I said. “Should we return to Kingswell?”
He shrugged. “Not for me to say. You’re the war leader, Drina. It’s for you to decide.” Then he smiled, his thin face breaking into a thousand tiny creases round his eyes and mouth. “My opinion is that you are perfectly capable of judging the situation without any advice from me.”
“I think
she should stay,” Arran said. “These people need strong leadership, otherwise they will fall apart.”
“There is another reason, too,” I said. “I want to try to contact Ly-haam, and I suspect that will be easier if I am closer to him. When I talked to him from Kingswell previously, the eagle was still connected to his mother as well as to me. Since that bond was broken, I’ve heard nothing from Ly-haam, until the eagle was near the forward camp. Even then it was faint. I plan to send the eagle back that way, to see if I can connect to him again.”
“That’s a good idea,” Cal said. “Can we help at all?”
“Not really. I just need quiet, so I can concentrate. And Arran to watch over me.”
~~~~~
I’d never consciously tried to contact Ly-haam before. The first time – indeed, the only time I’d initiated the connection – I had been exploring the eagle’s awareness, and I’d pushed my mind just a little further. Then I’d noticed another consciousness beyond the eagle.
Now when I tried it, there was nothing. I could leap into the eagle’s mind in a heartbeat, without effort, for I’d had so much practice now. Besides, she was amenable, for she was full of affection for me, responding with immediate pleasure when I reached for her. But when I searched beyond her, I found nothing. I could stretch my mind out as much as I wished, but there was no response, not the faintest hint of another mind.
I sent her aloft, wheeling over the fortress, and then the lake, as I tried and tried to connect, without success. Then I asked her to fly over the black-bark forest, but she screeched angrily and veered away. She would follow the road, though, so I let her do that, while I sat motionless in a chair in my room, all my thoughts turned inwards.
For hour after hour she flew, and I searched with my mind and found nothing. All the way to the desolation of the forward camp, with not a hint of another mind. By then the eagle was tired and hungry, so I let her go off to hunt and make her own way back. I had not had any great hope of success, but it was still dispiriting.
~~~~~
The following sun brought a wonderful surprise – my mother, grumbling at the hardship of riding so far and the state of the roads, but smiling, too.
The Fire Mages' Daughter Page 31
