‘Not really.’
‘But you did fly ahead,’ Jim stated and she nodded. ‘It was dangerous to do that love,’ he chided. ‘Remember what happened last time you flew alone? And I thought we’d agreed no more birds in your condition.’
‘You needed backup and this isn’t harming our little one,’ she told him and reached into her bag. She handed him a stick of the concentrated travel ration then immediately turned to give out rations to the others, effectively closing the subject. She noted the way they all immediately began gnawing, they desperately needed more food and judging by the many injuries she could see, they needed rest and care too. But none of that could happen out here in the freezing cold with enemies lurking. While they ate she turned her attention to hitching up the big horse to the wagon. The men immediately helped by finishing readying their horses even while they chewed. Then they followed as she led the horse and wagon down to the crossing, with Rupert still aboard. There, on the other side of the river stood Drako and a bunch of men.
‘How the hell are we going to cross?’ Freddie said anxiously, drawing their attention away from their friends to the river. Ice had formed at the edges making a sharp and slippery entry and exit, but what was most concerning was that the water was still high up the bank and rushed past at a ferocious pace. They couldn’t even see where the causeway was, deeply covered as it was.
‘Is the causeway still intact, I wonder?’ Freddie added peering more closely at the water, but the water was opaque, dark with silt from flooding. He watched a large branch rush past. Setting foot in this icy flood was daunting to say the least, but falling off the edge of the causeway was terrifying.
‘Looks inviting, doesn’t it,’ Jim remarked dourly.
‘Mm,’ Freddie acknowledged. ‘I don’t know how we’re going to get the wagon across. That current looks fierce enough for the horses to struggle and the causeway itself will be slippery as hell. Is that Max?’
Jim glanced up to see an owl flapping towards them across the river, something bulky hanging from his claws. ‘I think so. Ah, rope,’ he added identifying the bundle dropped into his hands. ‘Why?’
‘We can tie it to a tree on this side, and he can carry it back and tie it the other end. We’ll have something to hang on to then,’ Freddie explained, galvanised into action. He chose the nearest stout tree and made certain it was securely tied before giving the owl the end of the rope. As Max didn’t have hands they controlled letting out the slack so he didn’t have to worry about dropping the whole lot in the river or getting tangled. Drako took charge of securing the rope for them on the other side.
‘I’ll go first; check its safe,’ Freddie told them. ‘Keep an eye out for debris being washed down that could take your horse’s legs out.’ None of them liked letting him go out there alone. He was their alpha and injured, but it was his right to lead. Freddie’s horse needed a lot of coaxing to get her into the icy water. She stepped on the ice at the edge which cracked and splintered under her hooves, startling her badly. She leapt backwards and stood still, shaking fearfully. But she was a well trained and game little horse and knew she’d been able to walk through this wet place only a few days previously. She could also see other horses she recognised waiting for her on the other side.
On both sides of the river, everyone watched Freddie’s slow cautious progress. His horse slipped and slid constantly, struggling to stay on the raised surface of the causeway when the force of the current, which reached Freddie’s knees, was pushing her sideways. Freddie clutched at the rope, thereby helping them stay on the safe track, but every time his horse slipped, he was badly jarred. When they finally clambered out on the other side, cheers rose. Freddie had to be helped off his horse, both of them soaked and their limbs numb and frozen. But Drako was there with a change of clothes for Freddie and warm blankets for both man and horse.
Amelie had watched Freddie’s progress from the air where she could get the best possible view of the problems he’d had to face. She now flew back to the wagon and Rupert.
‘Dustin, can you hitch Rupert’s horse to the wagon? It’ll take extra strength to draw the wagon through that depth of water. We need to hurry too, the weather’s drawing in.’ She looked from Jim’s white exhausted face to Rupert’s fever flushed one and bit her lip. ‘Jim, you drive the wagon. I’ll take Rupert across,’ she added eyeing the animus man; he was tall but not as heavily built as Jim. She’d managed to carry Jim, she could manage Rupert.
‘How?’ Jim asked sharply and noticed the eagle was growing larger and larger until it was twice the mass of her human body, although no-where near her dragon self.
‘What’s going on?’ Rupert asked blearily, aware he’d been discussed and that the eagle was now staring at him with unnerving yellow eyes.
‘She’s going to fly you across,’ Jim told him. ‘She’s carried me before in flight,’ he added trying to reassure the understandably frightened man. ‘We’ll need a blanket or sleeping bag around you to support your weight and hold your leg steady,’ he added, not mentioning the need to give her razor sharp claws something to hang on to away from his skin. Rupert didn’t need to be scared further.
Rupert wriggled into his heavy canvas backed sleeping bag and drew the ties tight around his chest leaving his arms out. He lay on his back and the eagle stepped either side of him. Rope was doubled under his backside and tied behind the eagle’s wings. Another rope went around his back under his armpits which looped over her head in front of her wings. She straightened her legs and he swung free off the wagon. She gave him a moment to adjust the positioning of the ropes holding him before warning him to grab hold. She sprang into the air with a powerful lurch that nearly jerked his hands apart, but then they were flying. He knew he weighed more than the woman carrying him, which added to his fear that they would plummet to the ground. He peered sideways, feeling the biting breeze hit them and as he did so they cleared the trees and were out over the river. The brown choppy water looked angry and dangerous; he was very glad Amelie’s ability gave him this alternative route across. He turned his gaze towards their destination and realised they were travelling very fast, which was particularly unnerving when he wasn’t in control. He had to look away from the dizzying view, but amazingly quickly her wing beats changed pace and then angled and they were landing. The eagle stepped out from under the ropes and there were Freddie and Drako standing over him smiling broadly.
‘Thank you Amelie,’ Rupert managed and the eagle paused from eating something to give him a wink, then she gulped the rest of the travel ration and took off again to return to danger.
Once on the other side, Amelie again returned to her human form and quickly dressed in the heavy hooded clothes she’d brought with her. As she’d been flying she’d noticed how the water had divided and swirled around a large boulder in the river and an idea had blossomed.
‘How are we going to do this?’ Dustin asked, glancing between the two young wizards.
‘You go first Dustin,’ Amelie told him. ‘We’ll get the wagon in right behind you so you can guide the horses and give them courage. Johnny, you follow right behind the wagon. I shall ride Nugget; I’ve a spell I want to try. Does anyone know how wide the causeway is? Is there room for me to ride beside the wagon?’
‘That would be dangerous lady,’ Dustin told her. ‘There’s no visibility in the water today and if anyone slipped you could easily fall off the edge and be swept beneath the wheels.’
‘You have a point,’ she conceded. ‘I’ll go at the front beside you then,’ she decided and moved immediately off, leading the way.
As Freddie had found, the horses needed coaxing to step into the frigid murky water. Fortunately, because he’d broken off the ice at the edge, no-one else had to contend with that first.
When they were all in the water up to their horse’s flanks and the going had become very tricky, Amelie tested her spell. Water suddenly stopped pressing on her as strongly, but swirled around her instead. Unfortuna
tely, what hit Dustin on her leeward side was a sudden twin set of vortexes that dragged his horse sideways before he was able to recover and compensate for the sudden pressure.
‘What the hell was that?’ he gasped wide-eyed. ‘I thought I was about to be swept away. Was that your spell?’ he added, noticing her lack of surprise but inward looking frown.
‘Sorry, just testing my theory. Come right beside me so I can put you inside my shield and I’ll try it again.’
‘Careful it doesn’t trip up the wagon,’ he said quickly. She nodded, but was clearly concentrating on her spell. Abruptly the tremendous pressure eased markedly. She’d spoken of a shield and indeed it was as though he was walking behind a physical barrier. The water his horse walked through was knee deep now, which was far more manageable and less debilitating. A thin layer of air now separated his horse from the rest of the river which splashed up under his horse’s nose around the obstacle. He looked back at the wagon and found they were right on his heels, the barrier sweeping around them too.
‘Hurry,’ Jim called to Dustin, ‘she can’t hold this for long.’
Dustin nodded, he could see for himself what a feat Amelie was performing. Johnny had originally fallen back but now seemed to be within the shield as well and was now overtaking the wagon on its leeward side so they were not quite so strung out. None of them had any idea exactly how wide the causeway was, so his position was potentially dangerous and he pressed on to get ahead of the wagon. But, reassured the spell was working well and all of them were finding respite, Dustin urged his horse on to a brisker walk. Johnny safely passed the wagon and came up abreast of them. Jim in turn chivvied the wagon horses on to keep up. Jim’s face was still white and pinched from yesterday; he hoped Amelie wasn’t going to pass out from today’s extraordinary magic use too. Carrying Rupert had been astonishing, enough, but this…
‘We’re nearly there,’ Dustin told Amelie encouragingly and looked around again, checking everyone’s progress.
‘Dustin! Watch out,’ Johnny cried. Low in the water and bearing down on them was a complete tree.
‘Jim halt,’ Dustin cried, whilst grabbing Amelie’s horse’s bridle and dragging the horse to rush forward with his. Amelie must have urged the horse too, for all three horses leapt forward, eyes rolling at the approaching tree bearing down on them. They reached the incline up the bank and began to slip and slide up it. Suddenly they were slammed sideways by Amelie’s horse; or rather it was Amelie herself who had taken the full brunt of the impact on the edge of her shield.
Nugget was knocked off his feet, the slippery footing just too much, even though they were now in shallow water. Amelie was sent flying. She landed in the river with a big splash but fortunately in the shallows near shore. Drako was in the water and carrying her out before she could do more than splutter. She heard swearing and looked past Drako’s shoulder to see Jim standing motionless in the wagon, his eyes a deep golden yellow and fixed intently on her. She felt Drako flinch and hastily put her down as soon as they reached dry ground. Was he scared of Jim?
‘I’m ok love,’ she whispered into Jim’s mind and saw his chest heave in relief although he continued to watch her with an unblinking stare until she stood apart from Drako. She made an effort to appear less wiped than she truly was and only then did his gaze drop to confront the problems he faced. Her shield had dissolved, so the two horses stood with the wagon, braced against the fast current. They were three quarters of the way across and past the deepest section, but the way forward was now blocked. The roots of the tree had caught on the causeway; the trunk had pivoted around until the branches too had become caught. Whilst it wasn’t a large tree, it was plenty big enough to block them completely. If it had been the men singly on horseback then they’d have been able to risk stepping off the causeway. Horses could swim and in any case they were close enough to the bank they’d only be dropping a few feet. But it was not possible with the wagon. The wagon was liable to break up and disintegrate. They’d not only lose their load, but more importantly, Jim could easily be swept away and drown, dragged down tangled in wreckage.
‘What do we do?’ Amelie mentally asked Jim and kept the connection with him so he could answer. ‘Can we use the rope? She added, noticing it still hung near him.
‘Yes,’ Jim agreed gratefully eyeing the rope for a moment. ‘Cast a spell to untie the rope at the far end; we haven’t time for anyone to go there. Sling it around this tree trunk and give the end to Drako. See if he can get his men to tug the tree free.’ He turned to watch and then took over guiding Amelie’s strength into the best spell. He used the least amount of her strength, noticing she was running low on magic too. Drako and his people moved away from the water into the trees where the ground was less slippery and they could tug more effectively. He watched the effects, since the people were mostly out of sight now. The tree twitched and rolled over but then got stuck again and refused to budge further. He swore, aware the two horses were shivering badly, and soon would become too numb to move. Amelie had an affinity for living things and since they were still merged, he guided her senses into the wood to try and find what was caught and perhaps release it. Unfortunately it was a hopeless tangled muddle and he withdrew in frustration.
Suddenly he felt an infusion of strength and looked over at Amelie. Drako had touched Amelie, only intending to attract her attention, but both wizards were running on empty and Drako’s animus strength felt like sweet nectar.
‘Am, can you ask Drako if we can borrow his strength?’ The sudden surge in available power flowing into him was heady, as Drako and then Max too, volunteered. ‘Thank you,’ Jim said to both animus men directly and immediately acted. Aiming only to lift the tree free, he was shocked when it suddenly came loose and lurched completely into the air. With the animus infusion of magic he was able to feel the tree as a living entity. He felt its distress at being uprooted, the heaviness of its waterlogged limbs and its expectation of death. Shocked, he waved his arm to the shore where there was a gap in the trees just farther down from where the people were standing. In moments he set the tree upright and encouraged its roots to wriggle and dive deep into the soil to anchor it in its new home. He immediately released everyone from the spell, turning his attention to coaxing the badly shaking horses out of the water. When he glanced again at the tree he noticed it was standing upright unaided, but still shivered and waved as though a mobile creature settling into its new bed.
Jim didn’t notice the small squad of horsemen standing wide-eyed behind him on the other side. They’d been sent by wizard Tobias to investigate the huge spikes of magical spell-casting he’d felt yesterday afternoon. They’d found the battle ground and evidence that most of the bandits had died from normal weapons; clearly the wizard’s companions were warriors of great skill. But the new cliff path this wizard had created was something else. And this latest feat, of plucking an entire tree out of the river and taking the time to plant it, beggared belief. They had been able to see for themselves just how powerful this young wizard was. Wizard Tobias would want all the details, as would Lord Aubrey. They’d seen plenty of signs of bandits and that too would have to be reported and dealt with. But at least they could report that Lord Aubrey’s guest had managed to cross the icy river; the last major obstacle in his return to White Haven.
Another party had also watched the wizard cross the river, whilst carefully avoiding being noticed by both parties. The bandits hadn’t dared take on the wizard again, especially as one of Lord Aubrey’s armed patrols had been following him closely. They’d had to watch their quarry escape with a wagonload of food, but they’d made note of the insignia of this wizard; he would not be underestimated again.
All Jim was concerned with at that moment was the state he, Amelie and the men were in. He watched with limp exhaustion as the wagon was drawn into the shelter of the trees before the poor horses were allowed to stop. Drako took one look at Jim’s white face and took charge. The men he’d brought quickly unhit
ched the shivering horses, rubbed them down, draped them with blankets and fed them. A fresh pair of horses was hitched up to the wagon and Rupert carried back up on top, but this time under cover. Quickly everyone was ready to go. Reaching proper shelter was an urgent necessity, especially with casualties, dangerously chilled horses and people running the risk of hypothermia.
Then the snow, lurking and threatening for days, began to fall, the lashing wind quickly turning it into a blinding blizzard. Thick curtains of snow billowed, hiding the other side of the river entirely and quickly covering the banks in crisp white. It was not going to be a pleasant journey back, but at least it wasn’t far now. The first real snow of winter fell thickly and would soon close all the roads. But against the odds stacked against them they’d succeeded, and were now prepared for winter. Let it snow; they were all looking forward to the peace it would bring.
The End
Amelie: Wizards of White Haven Page 45
