‘You can see what people are?’
‘Yes. Lord Dirk already knows this. It’s another reason I’d rather leave here before he calls on me to clear out this den.’ He noticed one of the annoyingly aggressive men Amelie had warned off before was inching forward again. ‘Stop,’ he said, not speaking loudly but infusing magic into the command.
‘What have you done to him?’ The grand-dame demanded anxiously. She’d felt the sudden spike of magic and her guard was standing rigidly, his whole body shaking. Sweat beaded his brow but he could not move.
‘He had a warning,’ Jim said in a bored tone. He dropped his head a moment to concentrate and pulled Amelie closer.
Amelie watched him; he was creating another spell. She hastily turned her attention to the slightly hostile people around her. They were obviously shocked that a guard had been incapacitated so easily. They were now eyeing Jim apprehensively and many backed away.
Jim raised his head again and she abruptly felt a strange distortion around them. Jim smiled at her; he must have succeeded in whatever he’d created.
‘Now we can go in safety,’ he told her.
They walked calmly, arm in arm, towards the alley they’d entered by. People made space for them after one, then two of the aggressive ones, tried to attack and bounced off a bubble like shield surrounding them. Jim glanced back once they’d reached the alley and released the man he’d halted and watched him stagger and fall to his knees.
Back in the main street, they hurried to the cobblers hoping their boots would now be ready to collect. They knew someone was following, keeping an eye on them, so didn’t think it wise to linger. Jim stared at the man long enough for him to know he’d been spotted before stepping into the cobblers. Once they returned to the street Jim would shield them again. But at least the boots were ready and they could return to the relative safety of lord Dirk’s manor.
‘Successful shopping trip?’ Lord Dirk asked. He’d been watching Jim and Amelie strolling arm in arm up the drive, their free hands dragged down by heavy bags. Daniel however, was not with them.
‘Yes, pretty good,’ Jim said blithely and dumping the bags near the door, slumped gratefully into a chair.
‘I thought Daniel went with you?’ Lord Dirk asked.
‘Yes. He got rather sidetracked by a girl as we were on our way back,’ Jim said with a grin. ‘He didn’t look like he needed an audience so we left him to it.’
‘I see,’ Lord Dirk said his curiosity alive at these offhand comments. Daniel was rarely sidetracked from a task. But seeing no further enlightenment would be forthcoming until Daniel returned, he turned his attention to the mundane. ‘Well, dinner will be in about an hour if you’d like to freshen up?’
‘That’s a good idea,’ Amelie said and headed up to her room with her share of the supplies. Reflecting on her trip into the old town, she still wasn’t sure what that old woman had thought to achieve by belittling and provoking Jim whilst trying to be friendly and inviting to her. As if she would want to join such an aggressive and unfriendly bunch of people. She might be a hunted animus but she wasn’t that desperate. She now understood why Daniel had wanted to avoid them. But it seemed they’d been keeping track of him. She recalled the woman’s odd comment that both she and Jim “reeked” of strong magic. Could someone track them because of it? Could they do anything to alter this broadcast? As soon as she could talk it over with Jim privately, she would have to do so.
Daniel appeared just as they were being seated for dinner. He was rather breathless and bright eyed and had clearly been running.
‘There you are,’ Lord Dirk commented. ‘I understand you were side-tracked by a girl?’
Daniel looked at Jim and Amelie, wondering what they’d said. Jim shook his head minutely and he breathed again. ‘Yes. Her name’s Julie. We just got chatting and I didn’t realise where the time went. Sorry sir.’
‘I see,’ Lord Dirk said wryly. ‘Rather special is she?’
‘She’s nice,’ Daniel said simply.
‘Nice? Mm,’ Lord Dirk mused eyeing Daniel. She’d have to be very special indeed he suspected to divert him from his pursuit of Amelie. Or was this in response to Amelie rejecting him? She sought tactile contact with Jim, but him alone, as far as he could ascertain. ‘So you plan to meet her again?’
‘I’d like to yes.’
‘Good. It’s about time you found yourself a wife,’ Lord Dirk said echoing what his elders had said to him, too.
‘Is there any news of Prince Casper’s progress?’ Jim asked aware Daniel was acutely uncomfortable under Lord Dirk’s prying. He did not want the day’s encounter with Julie and her people to slip out carelessly.
‘He’s awake and complaining strenuously enough for the physicians to think him much improved,’ Lord Dirk said with a slightly malicious grin. ‘They wanted me to convey their thanks to you for your help.’
Jim inclined his head; it was always nice to be appreciated and thanked.
While the table was cleared ready for the sweet course, Lord Dirk rose, summoned Daniel and they went into his office.
‘You’ve spent more time with them than anyone, yet you still seem uneasy in their presence. Why?’ Lord Dirk asked.
‘Jim is becoming a reasonably strong wizard. He attempts and attains new skills every day. He is not one it would be safe to keep against his will.’
‘And her?’ Lord Dirk asked surprised by Daniel’s assessment. He’d thought Jim of sufficiently placid a nature not to have to worry he’d use his power without serious provocation. But then how was he to know what Jim would consider serious? Jim might appear to have an easygoing nature but he was already proving he was not to be stepped on and had his limits, particularly where Amelie was concerned.
‘We don’t need her. She certainly won’t stay if he leaves,’ Daniel said candidly.
‘How does Drew feel?’
‘She knows he’s not going to stay. He apparently warned her so before they got involved. I’m sure she wishes he had feelings for her, but I think she accepts it well enough. She hopes he’s given her a baby. It’s what she really wants from him, especially if it turns out to be gifted.’
‘So, you’d prefer they left?’ Lord Dirk clarified in surprise.
‘Yes. Whilst I do like them both, they’ll never voluntarily be a real part of your household. Once you treated them as guests they responded and acted like it. But they still feel slighted by what happened before and during the battle. They were also angry I chased them so hard when they were both in poor shape. We did of course order them both to come here too. If they are prevented from leaving tomorrow, I suspect that goodwill will vanish.’
‘Prince Casper hasn’t granted leave for anyone to cross the pass.’
‘They needn’t leave that way. There is the Woodsman’s trail. It’ll be difficult this time of year, but if anyone can make it they can. Also, Prince Casper did pay Jim as though he was an honoured specialist at the end of a contract. You could always say you were unaware of any reason to keep them here now that it’s winter and we’re not headed back onto the battlefield until spring.’
‘As ever, you miss little,’ Lord Dirk said. He relied on Daniel’s council more often than his official advisers. ‘Come on, sweet should be served and we’re neglecting our guests.’
10
Welcome Suggestions
‘Won’t you join me? I have something I want to show you both,’ Lord Dirk said once they’d finished dinner.
Jim and Amelie exchanged a glance and curiously rose. They followed Lord Dirk down the hall into a small but lavishly appointed study. It had mellow wood panelling and three overflowing bookcases down one wall. A large desk took pride of place in the middle of the room with the window to the right. But to the left of the desk almost the whole wall was taken up with a huge map painted directly onto the wall.
‘This is a map of our town, the castle and the surrounding mountains,’ Lord Dirk began. He noted they looked closely at
the view of the mountain rather than the town.
‘As I mentioned this morning, anyone wishing to travel to Edmoston needs to obtain permission to pass through the gates beside the castle. I took your point about not troubling Prince Casper’s memory of you prematurely, although the physicians may have already done so. But, since no orders have arrived yet, we thought another way may suit you both.’
‘You’re letting us leave?’ Jim asked quickly.
‘Yes. You’ve helped out greatly and whilst I’d be more than happy for you both to stay on over the winter, you’ve said you’d rather be getting home. But winter is well on its way and the trails will soon become impassable. If you’re going, it would be best to do so right away. Where’s the Woodsman’s Pass, Daniel?’
Daniel had been standing close by and now planted a finger on the map.
‘If you go out the city’s north gate here, you’ll find a track heading for the forest,’ Daniel told them, his finger indicating the route. ‘It winds past three little hamlets and seems to come to an end, but if you carry on directly across the meadows and up into the trees on a straight line you’ll find a path. It’s not much more than a game trail and there are many cross-paths but if you carry on up the mountain there is a way across. It won’t be easy, especially for horses, but you have small nimble ones so they should manage. The climb will take all day, especially this time of year with night falling early. There’s a small hunter’s cabin at the top, in the last of the trees. You can then tackle the gully and descent having rested and in daylight.’
‘Perhaps you should go with them part of the way Daniel? That all seems rather complicated and easy to miss,’ Lord Dirk remarked in concern.
‘Thank you for the offer, but I’m sure we’ll be fine,’ Jim said. ‘So what’s at the top we should watch for?’
‘The trail goes through a narrow gully which will save you some climbing, but take care if it’s been raining because it can flood. The other side is rocky and barren with little cover or feed. The trail’s rarely watched but could be. There’s a small town at the foot of the pass. I should also mention that there’s a garrison there that could be troublesome. Bear left coming down and you’ll be able to avoid it. If you head north after that you’ll reach the Rift River and Mekk in about three weeks.’
‘Thank you Daniel,’ Jim said gratefully. Without a map or guide it was often difficult to figure out where places were located.
‘When do you plan to go?’ Lord Dirk asked glancing out the window; it was already dark.
‘Probably just before first light,’ Jim said. ‘The main street is lit well enough and that way it’ll be dawn by the time we get across town to the North gate. Are there any problems with leaving town at that hour?’
‘Not normally. Tradesmen, hunters and couriers will already be about,’ Daniel advised. He was aware Lord Dirk was eyeing him but Daniel loved running as a Wolf in the forested hillsides so invitingly close. He needed to escape and run unfettered and free from time to time. It was the only way to balance the otherwise “tame” existence he led. Night time was the safest time and he didn’t usually need a great deal of sleep.
‘I’ll advise the kitchens to prepare some travel rations,’ Lord Dirk offered.
‘Thank you. That would be most welcome. Especially having to cater for someone still eating like a horse,’ Jim added glancing sidelong at Amelie with a grin.
‘You said you liked me when I had curves and that I should eat more pies,’ Amelie responded innocently.
‘He’s not wrong,’ Daniel said. ‘I know you were disguised at the Baths but, wow,’ he added gleefully, particularly since she flushed with sudden embarrassment.
Amelie glanced at each man, suddenly feeling very nervous. These were single adult men and they were all looking at her with an overtly sexual interest she found unsettling. ‘Well that seems a unanimous preference,’ she laughed glancing at each man until he realised he’d been staring.
‘Can you show us where our horses are Daniel?’ Jim asked.
‘Of course, this way,’ Daniel said immediately turning to leave.
‘Thank you for your hospitality,’ Jim said formally to Lord Dirk and shook hands. ‘I doubt you’ll want to be up when we go in the morning.’
Shortly, they’d been shown where their horses and tack were being kept and collected their saddlebags ready to take inside and pack.
‘So, anything happen we should know about with Julie and her people?’ Jim asked while they had Daniel out in the relative privacy of the warm stable.
‘I think you made it perfectly plain they’d be foolish to try and stop you leaving,’ Daniel said seriously. ‘They know you plan to leave, but not when. I thought you should know they were commenting on how few wizards could put up a shield around two people like you did whilst holding another spell. That, more than anything else, provided them with an indicator of your strength. They were going on about it, and also mentioned such intense magic gives off a strong power signature. You should watch how often you use your magic, particularly where another mage could detect it.’
‘Interesting,’ Jim mused. ‘But none of my tutors ever told me I was particularly strong in my magic.’
‘Maybe that’s because you were at a wizard school where everyone had power,’ Amelie suggested. ‘Amongst them you probably didn’t stand out, whereas here you would of course seem unusual.’
‘Where you come from there are many with such ability?’ Daniel asked quickly.
‘Yes. The strength of ability varies greatly of course, but we train all we can. My job was to find talented children so they could be enrolled. Did you know Lord Dirk has a latent talent?’
‘What kind of talent?’ Daniel asked.
‘I don’t really know, but it’s not a quarter as strong as yours. I don’t think he knows how, or has the strength to do anything serious with it. It’s most likely to manifest itself as him having an instinctive knack for something. But if he’d been a local child I’d have suggested he be brought in for testing. Children often need to be taught how to access their power when it’s not particularly strong. Adults find the learning process more difficult. Adults try to use logic and rationalise what they’ve learned are the physical boundaries of our world. Many of those aspects get in the way of accepting the magical world. Magic does of course have its own boundaries, which can seriously trip up the uninitiated. Like you two. You both have magic. You probably could have been any animal you wanted. But you must have either copied family members or been encouraged to stay with family tradition and be a wolf.’
‘Hang on,’ Daniel said quickly. ‘Do you mean that if Julie and I had children, they might not turn into either a wolf or a hound like her?’
‘Yes. Children do of course tend to go with what they see or hear about, so seeing you as a wolf they’d probably copy that. Or they might see a rabbit first and copy that instead. What I’m saying, is that in the past it was believed that forms were dictated by breeding. Not necessarily so. An adopted baby could take wolf form even if its parents were something else.’ He could see Daniel was fascinated and excited by this news. ‘It’s actually more governed by a person’s strength of ability and their innate character fitting with a particular animal’s nature. Take Amelie, she could physically be a horse, but she does not have the right temperament. When she wanted wings to escape you she naturally chose a strong predator.’
‘Did you really become a dragon?’ Daniel asked her, now perceiving why that grand-dame had wanted to know what animal she most felt in tune with.
‘Yes. I loved being a dragon. I stayed in that form for months. Do you want to see?’ she asked. Glancing about them, she noticed there was a big open area where carriages were stored at the other end of this stable barn.
‘Definitely,’ Daniel said quickly. He watched as she stepped behind the last stall partition to remove her clothes. She dropped fully out of sight and only a moment later a huge shape grew above the partition’s screen.
A glossy blue dragon stepped out into the barn and tilted her head at him awaiting comment. He glanced at Jim and noticed his amusement; was his nervousness that obvious? He steeled himself and went out for a closer look. He’d wondered at how strong she must be to act as a warhorse and carry Lord Dirk into battle. He had seen unusually developed muscles for a woman; this big powerful form was the reason.
‘That’s very impressive. Can you fly?’
‘Yes, it’s wonderful. Tiring though,’ she added.
‘You should change back,’ Jim said glancing about them and she nodded a little reluctantly but immediately went back behind the partition and disappeared from sight.
‘Daniel, you should choose a wife you love rather than be ruled by what form she takes,’ Jim added man to man while they were alone. The clothes left draped over the partition were taken and a moment later she rejoined them.
‘That was amazing,’ Daniel enthused. ‘But if you can fly why not just fly over the mountains?’
‘I can’t for many reasons. Mainly I don’t have the strength to carry Jim so far. Also, the air gets thin at that kind of altitude and that makes flying even harder. I’d land and be exhausted just when we’re in enemy territory again and then we’d be hungry and on foot. I’d rather travel on horseback and be able to carry food and warm clothes with me, especially this time of year.’
‘I see your point. I only travel long distance on my paws when I’ve got food and backup to call on at the end of the day,’ Daniel admitted. ‘But I wish I’d known years ago about the forms people take not being dictated by what family you come from,’ Daniel said sadly. ‘I let my parents separate me from the one I loved. She was an Eagle and it was thought we could not possibly be right for each other.’
Amelie noted his gaze and recalled his shock when she’d turned into an eagle. This was the real reason. ‘What happened to her?’
Amelie: Wizards of White Haven Page 15
