Gathering Voices

by Kris Humphrey

  Dawn cupped the princess’s head in her hands and felt her neck for a pulse. She reached for Ona with her Whisperer sense, too, but it was just as she had feared.

  The ghost-sleep, she said.

  Dawn cradled the princess in her arms and stared out at the chaos of the fight. She felt like crying.

  At least she’s alive, said Ebony. We can take her back to the palace. When the war is over, she’ll wake.

  Yes, said Dawn bitterly. All we have to do is banish every single Narlaw in the kingdom.

  A thought struck her and she quickly fumbled to check the princess’s neck.

  The necklace was gone. Of course it was. The earthstone would be up ahead with the fastest riders, guarded by Narlaw and on its way to the demon army.

  Dawn bowed her head in disappointment and exhaustion. Then she lay Ona’s head down gently and rose to her feet.

  What can you see? she asked Ebony.

  Ebony flapped higher, over the battleground. Four riders have escaped to the south. Moving fast.

  That’s where the earthstone is, said Dawn. We have to go after it. One of the guards can look after the princess.

  But before she could get Valderin’s attention, the battle was upon her.

  “Fall back!” cried Valderin.

  Dawn watched in horror as one of Valderin’s guards was flung into the air, landing with a sickening thud some twenty paces across the meadow.

  Horses thumped toward her and she recognized Valderin and two of his guards. Were they the only ones left?

  Behind them came the demons – two of them – eyes aglow, moving low to the ground and horribly fast.

  Dawn reached for them both, but she was tired and disorientated. She couldn’t hold on to the earth trance. She let go, her head spinning, then tried again, this time grasping only one of the demons.

  As she felt the earth flow through her, she heard Valderin and his guards renew the fight. She focused all of her anger on the demon in her grip and held on tightly as her body rushed with the banishing power of the earth.

  The demon was torn away and Dawn looked up to see Valderin towering over her on his horse. The final demon leaped at him and Dawn stumbled back as Valderin’s horse swung round manically, almost trampling her. She fell to the ground beside the sleeping princess and cast out desperately at the last remaining demon.

  Its presence clashed against her as she fought to hold on to it.

  But Dawn was also strong. And she was angry. With a wordless cry she channelled the cleansing power of the earth. The demon shrieked and was gone, cast back into the Darklands.

  Dawn sat on the cold grass, dizzy and sick.

  Ebony had arrived beside her and was watching her closely. Can you stand? she asked.

  I think so.

  Can you ride? Ebony asked.

  I’ll have to, said Dawn.

  She looked around. The dead axe-man lay an arm’s reach from her. One of Valderin’s guards lay flat on his back, barely alive. Only Valderin and one other guard had survived the battle unscathed, but they both sat slumped on their horses as if they were about to drop.

  “The earthstone is gone,” said Dawn. “They fled with it as soon as they saw us.”

  Valderin looked down wearily from his mount. He nodded. “Then we’ll go after them,” he said. “Here.” He held out a gauntleted hand and Dawn reached up to take it.

  But as she rose there was a sharp snick and a thud and Valderin’s grip faltered.

  Dawn looked up as the captain doubled over with a groan and slid from his saddle. “No!” she cried, trying to catch him as he fell, but he was far too heavy and he tumbled through Dawn’s arms and on to the ground. Dawn dropped to her knees. “Captain?” she said. “Captain?”

  Valderin’s eyes were open, but only just. He gulped air through his mouth and groaned in pain.

  The other guard dismounted and ran over, glancing back toward the heart of the battlefield. She crouched by her captain and rolled him on to his back. “Crossbow,” she said. Her face was grim with disgust. “Wait here and stay low,” she added, then darted away, zigzagging toward the source of the attack. Seconds later there was a cry.

  The woman returned.“Traitors,” she muttered.

  Dawn placed one of her hands on Valderin’s forehead and the other on his stomach beside the wound. Through the punctured chainmail she could feel the hot moisture of his blood. Valderin, who had believed in her and helped her, even defying King Eneron and the warden in the process. Dawn couldn’t bear to see him like this. “He may still survive,” she said, “but we have to get him back to Meridar. I don’t have what I need to heal him here.”

  And the earthstone? said Ebony. She cocked her head to the side and clacked her beak in frustration.

  I don’t know, said Dawn. I don’t know.

  Valderin would die if she left him. And Princess Ona? With the guard to carry her she might just make it back to Meridar, but only if they didn’t run into any more Narlaw.

  Dawn looked to the south, still pressing her palms on to Valderin’s wound. With every second that passed, the earthstone was slipping further and further from her grasp. And with it, all hope of defeating the Narlaw.

  Horses snorted and stamped nearby, wandering aimlessly without their riders. A wind swept the meadow, flicking the stray hairs around her face. Valderin’s stomach rose and fell under Dawn’s hand. She felt utterly lost. Just as Valderin’s life was slipping away, so was the future of Meridina. The meadows, the towns, the far off mountains. They would all be brought to ruin.

  Ebony, Dawn said. Tell me what to do.

  Ebony cawed and flapped her wings. The bond grew heavy with frustration. The earthstone will be out of our reach soon. If we don’t go after it then all this was for nothing, she said.

  Dawn nodded. She knew what she had to do, but lacked the strength of will to do it. He’ll die if I leave him, she said instead.

  Ebony grew still, the wind ruffling her feathers. She peered thoughtfully at Dawn. He’ll die if we lose the earthstone, she said. Everyone will, or they’ll end up in the ghost-sleep.

  Dawn peered out across the flowing grasslands. You’re right, she said. We have to go south. She looked at Captain Valderin. His eyelids flickered as he fought to stay conscious. Dawn knew that he wouldn’t want to keep her from riding after the earthstone. She had to think for the whole kingdom.

  She turned to the guard who crouched by Valderin’s side. “I’ll do what healing I can tonight,” she said. “Then Ebony and I will go south in the morning. Ride to Meridar as fast as you can.”

  The guard nodded, gazing down at the captain with grim acceptance.

  It’s the right thing to do, said Ebony.

  I know, said Dawn, but as she pressed her hand on to the wound in Valderin’s side, she felt nothing but hollowness in her heart.

  Mika watched the sun rise, one hand on the reins and the other on Star’s soft, sleeping back. After a long night, it seemed as if the shutters had been raised on the world. They had ridden far with barely a rest, but Mika’s horse had carried her slowly and patiently north alongside Zabeh, Jen and Damon.

  It felt to Mika as if the sun brought hope – that today they might find safety at last. They were close to Meridar now. A day’s ride if they were lucky. The towns and villages were growing larger and closer together, and virtually all of the land had been staked out for farming. Mika had seen the scars of the passing Narlaw, too, all leading one way: east to where the demon army must be gathering.

  The hooves of their four horses clopped a loose rhythm on the road. Jen had given Mika her horse, and now rode one of the more flighty animals they had taken from the band of traitors. The horse was a comforting presence beneath Mika. As was Star.

  Mika looked across at Zabeh, who seemed surprisingly alert considering how little rest they’d had.

  “Do you see that?” Zabeh said. She pointed north, to where the sky still hung dark and heavy.

  Mika squinted. A black
shape circled there, a bird, high up as if it was hunting. But it wasn’t a hunting bird.

  “A raven,” Mika said.

  Zabeh nodded.

  Mika thought of the messenger who had flown to her in Rakeen, summoning her to the council of war. In that instant, she knew there was another Whisperer near.

  “We should take a look,” she said, calling to Jen and Damon, who were riding ahead. “This way!” Mika led her horse through a broken gate in a tall, thorny hedgerow.

  As they emerged on to a gently sloping field, Star stirred drowsily on Mika’s lap. Mika was glad her companion had managed to sleep a little. Being separated from each other so violently had taken its toll on both of them. Mika could only imagine how Star must have felt as she’d been swept into the dark by the river.

  Are we at the palace? Star asked.

  Not quite, said Mika. She smiled and stroked Star’s back and tail, scratching her gently between the ears. But I think it’s time to wake up now.

  Mika reached ahead with her senses as she and the others climbed toward the low rise at the top of the field. She felt the skittish, frightened presences of other horses. She felt people, too. And one presence – a Whisperer – so strong that she shone like a beacon in Mika’s mind.

  Mika nudged her horse into a trot. She was no longer afraid.

  But when she crested the rise she gasped at what she saw below.

  Bodies lay in the meadow. Horses stood riderless and scared. The remains of a ruined town rose ominously beyond it all. Mika felt the taint of demons everywhere, though there were none close by. As Zabeh drew up beside her on the ridge, Mika peered down at the small group of people at the far end of the meadow. There were four soldiers, only one of whom was standing. A girl lay utterly still on the grass, a mass of blonde hair spilling over her clothes.

  And there was the Whisperer.

  She looked young beside the soldier-woman, staring directly at Mika, one long, dark braid of hair over her shoulder.

  Mika raised a hand in greeting and the Whisperer did the same.

  Please, said the Whisperer. We need your help.

  Dawn watched the girl – Mika – as she kneeled beside the princess. She was young and still unsure of herself, which made Dawn warm to her instantly. The girl’s arctic fox companion watched Dawn and Ebony curiously with her shiny black eyes and Ebony watched the fox in return.

  When the girl had offered to help, Dawn had been surprised to see her go to Princess Ona first. There was nothing to be done about the princess – not yet. Valderin’s health was much more urgent. If Mika could look after him, it meant Dawn and Ebony could go after the earthstone. Dawn had explained the importance of all this to Mika, who had nodded as if she understood, but she had stayed at Ona’s side regardless.

  Dawn glanced up at the other riders. Their journey from the highlands had obviously been a long and dangerous one. Only Mika had dismounted. The others sat, exhausted but alert, eyeing the battleground around them, no doubt expecting trouble to reappear at any moment.

  Dawn felt a rush of relief. She knew these warriors could be trusted to carry Ona, Valderin and the others back to Meridar. And, hopefully, Mika could keep Valderin alive long enough for him to receive the healing he needed at the palace. But they had to set off soon.

  “Mika,” said Dawn, trying not to let her impatience show. “You should leave the princess. There’s nothing you can do.” But Mika didn’t respond. “I need you to take care of the captain,” Dawn persisted. “The healing rite won’t last long. You have to.”

  Dawn, said Ebony, hunched on the flattened grass beside her. Something’s happening…

  Then Dawn felt it, too. She crouched to watch with an unspoken question on her lips.

  Mika was channelling the earth, clashing with the sickness in the princess’s mind. Her face contorted with furious effort.

  She’s attacking it, Dawn whispered to Ebony. The wind around them seemed to shift and focus in on Mika. But it can’t be done, said Dawn. You can’t reverse the ghost-sleep. Not with the demon still walking.

  Ebony glanced up at her. Well, she’s certainly trying.

  Dawn caught the eye of one of the riders, the younger of them, a girl the same age as Mika.

  The girl smiled at Dawn. “She’s stronger than she looks. I was her first – she raised me from the demon’s sleep.”

  Dawn stared, speechless.

  Then she heard a gasp. She turned and saw Princess Ona, wide-eyed and awake, clutching at the patterned wool of Mika’s coat.

  They sat together in the long grass – Dawn, Mika and Ona. Ebony perched on Dawn’s shoulder, her feathers ruffling in the persistent wind, and Star stayed close beside Mika, eyeing each member of the group with great curiosity. After the princess had recovered a little from the shock of waking, the two Whisperers had helped her away from the battleground. They had a few minutes in which to talk while the warriors prepared for the journey to Meridar.

  “It was you who brought me back,” said Ona, gazing at Mika with confusion and awe. Mika nodded. “Thank you.” Ona clasped Mika’s hand between both of hers. “And thank you for coming for me,” she said to Dawn. “I didn’t think…” She bowed her head. “I thought I was alone.”

  “You’re safe now,” said Dawn. Relief welled up inside her, but it was mixed with the guilt of what she could have done to stop Ona being taken in the first place. The princess looked tired and unwell. Her three days as a prisoner had changed her. But Dawn saw a new strength there, too, a toughness that gave her hope.

  Mika looked slightly embarrassed, Dawn thought. She smiled at her. “It’s quite a discovery you’ve made,” she said. “Even Queen Amina was sure that the only way to wake someone was to banish the demon that attacked them.”

  Mika smiled shyly. “I had to try something,” she said. “My best friend was in the ghost-sleep and so was my mentor.”

  “But how did you do it?” asked Dawn. She leaned closer to Mika.

  “It’s a kind of banishment, I think,” said Mika. “The demon leaves a part of itself behind – a binding that traps the victim. I channel the earth and attack the binding. And when the sleeper is freed, I feel the demon leave the world. Permanently.”

  Dawn stared silently back at Mika.

  On her shoulder, Ebony fidgeted. What does she mean, permanently?

  I don’t know, said Dawn. “You mean back to the Darklands?” she said to Mika.

  Mika shook her head. The sombre look in her eyes told Dawn all she needed to know.

  “The demon is gone for good?” said Dawn. “But how?”

  “I don’t know,” said Mika. “I don’t know.” She looked embarrassed again. “My mentor, Astor,” she said. “She was certain the demons were gone from this world completely. She felt it when I woke her.”

  You know what this means? said Ebony.

  Dawn nodded, staring past Mika into the swaying sea of grass. “We could do what even Queen Amina failed to do,” she said aloud. “We can make sure this invasion never happens again.” She brought her attention back to Mika. “You have to make this work,” she said. “When you reach Meridar I need you to teach the other Whisperers what you know. If I make it back with the earthstone, you can help me send the Narlaw away forever.”

  Mika nodded. “I’ll do my best,” she said.

  Beside her Princess Ona looked worried. “You said if,” she muttered. “If you make it back to Meridar. You have to come back. The city won’t stand without you. Who will take charge? My father isn’t… He’s ill. He can’t do it…”

  Dawn met Ona’s fearful gaze. “This is why I need you to help me, too,” she said. “While I go after the earthstone, you’ll be in charge. You have to convene the council of war, bring the Whisperers and guards together, make sure Meridar doesn’t fall.”

  Even as she spoke, Dawn realized the terrible weight she was setting on Ona’s shoulders. But Ona was a princess. The people loved her and the soldiers of Meridar would do anything for he
r.

  “But I can’t,” said Ona.

  “You must,” said Dawn. “Like you said, the king can’t lead the kingdom in this war. It’s your time now. And you’re stronger than you think.”

  Ona stared silently at the patch of flattened grass between them, and Dawn wondered if she was doing the right thing.

  Before she could say more, a call went up from over by the horses. The warriors were ready.

  Dawn rose to her feet and Ebony flapped gracefully into the air. The wind rushed through the grass making whispers of its own.

  “It’s time,” said Dawn.

  The road to Meridar was quiet. Mika reached out and scanned the roadside fields and woodlands as she went, but felt nothing. The Narlaw were gathering elsewhere and the people of Meridina were already sheltering behind the walls of the capital.

  Star’s tail swept to and fro on the saddle. She was watching the roadside, too, and the other travellers. It was a strange group: palace guards, highland warriors, a princess and a Whisperer. And Star, of course.

  Mika glanced across at the guard captain – Valderin. He was supporting himself in the saddle now, rocking gently as his deep brown horse carried him home. Mika had renewed the healing rite that Dawn had placed to stop the bleeding. In an hour she would have to renew it again. Before they parted, Dawn had instructed her to take Valderin straight to a Whisperer called Moraine when they reached the palace. She had also said that the council of war would have to go ahead without her.

  Dawn, Ebony and the one uninjured palace guard had ridden south after the earthstone. Mika had never heard of such a thing before today, but Dawn’s decision to pursue it said all that needed to be said about the stone’s importance. Mika trusted in Dawn’s knowledge, but she wasn’t sure about her decision to place Princess Ona in charge in her absence.

  What do think of our princess? Mika asked Star. In Rakeen everyone said she was too mollycoddled to rule. They said the king shut her away like a precious jewel.

  I don’t think she’s as helpless as she looks, said Star. But if those rumours are even half true, she won’t find it easy leading a city into war.