Eleanor stepped into the near dark with trepidation. There were lanterns hanging from the walls of the tunnel they had entered, but they only seemed to enhance the shadows. She jumped as the wall closed behind them; the noise stopped and a shiver of fear ran up her spine. Several figures came out of the dark and Eleanor pressed herself against Will.
“You can leave your horse here, he will be well cared for,” Remic said.
Freddie handed Rand’s reins over to one of the Dwarves that approached him, after Conlan nodded his permission, and they set off again, following Remic. It seemed the whole mountain was dark and strangely warm. They were in a long tunnel, insufficient light coming from the lanterns on the walls.
“It is very dark, how do you see?” Eleanor asked.
“We are a race of the earth, but we have different eyes to those of humans; while we can function in daylight, we prefer subdued lighting and we are also able to see quite well in minimal or no light,” Remic replied.
They moved through several twisting, turning tunnels and up several flights of stairs, all carved into the rock. Eleanor caught glimpses of rooms and further tunnels off the ones they walked down, and she noticed the occasional whispered voices and puzzled looks of other Dwarves they met, but nobody stopped them.
“Conlan, can we go faster?” Will said in English, his voice tight and worried. “Amelia’s in trouble.”
“What sort of trouble?” Conlan asked.
“No time to explain,” Will snapped. “We need to go faster.”
“Does he require something?” Remic asked.
“Could we get to Amelia faster, please?” Conlan asked. “Freddie, help Eleanor,” he added in English. Freddie slipped his shoulder under Will’s other arm. Remic nodded and set off at such a ground-eating run down the tunnel that Eleanor had to push herself to keep up with him. Will ran with them, his eyes still closed, trusting her and Freddie completely.
“No, Amelia, no, control it,” Will moaned. Freddie cast Eleanor a worried glance and they ran faster.
They heard the sounds of chaos, running and screaming, long before they reached the huge, dome-topped chamber. They stopped in the entranceway, staring at the sight before them. A powerful wind was moving like a tornado around the chamber. It appeared that anything not nailed down, animate or inanimate, had been picked up and was whipping round. Furniture slid along the smooth, polished floor, making harsh scraping noises before the wind lifted it into the air, crashing it into walls, the splinters joining the spinning, churning nightmare. The wind had caught most of the lanterns that had been placed around the chamber, but in the dim light that remained, Eleanor could see frightened faces staring from the chamber’s other entrances. At the centre of the vortex, under the apex of the doomed roof high above, stood Amelia. In front of her, included in the oasis of calm she inhabited, was a raised dais on which sat three clearly terrified Dwarves on ornate stone thrones.
“I need to get to her,” Will yelled over the noise. His eyes were open, but they held the glazed look that indicated he was still in Amelia’s head.
“You can’t go in there,” Conlan yelled back. “Whatever you have to do to talk her down, you have to do it from here.”
Will glared at Conlan. Pushing Eleanor and Freddie away from him he took a step towards the battering, whipping wind. Conlan moved in front of him.
“Dying won’t help her, especially when she finds out she’s responsible!”
“She’s not listening to me.”
“Then try harder!” Conlan insisted.
“Yes, boss,” Will bit out, before closing his eyes again.
Very slowly the wind began to drop, the noise subsided and the air in the chamber cleared as the debris being flung around dropped to the floor. Eleanor saw Amelia sway, then topple to the ground. Silence. Will shoved Conlan out of the way, and moving as fast as he could through the disaster area he headed for Amelia’s inert body.
Eleanor, Freddie, Conlan and Remic followed a little more cautiously. The damage was extensive – wood, metal, stone, paper, candles and bodies were strewn across the floor. As the other Dwarves entered, bringing lanterns with them, moving among the fallen, Eleanor realised that what appeared to be carnage was not as bad as she feared. With assistance, many of the injured were sitting and some were even standing. Will knelt before Amelia, pulling her into his arms. Distracted, Eleanor tripped over something and sprawled on the floor, coming face to face with a pale, unconscious Dwarf. He was pinned under what looked like the marble base of a statue. Eleanor moved to his side, heaving the heavy stone off him. There was a long, deep gash across his shoulder, seeping an alarming amount of blood. Eleanor felt his neck for a pulse and was relieved when she found one. Pulling her jacket off, she made it into a pad, pressing it hard into his wound, the bones beneath her hand moving in an unnatural fashion. Broken shoulder or collar bone… or both? The silence was filling as more Dwarves began pulling themselves up, helping each other. Other Dwarves rushed into the chamber, bringing light and first aid to those unable to move. Eleanor looked around; there did not seem to be too many life threatening injuries, and of the ones she could see, the unconscious Dwarf at her side seemed to be in the worst state. Amazingly the three Dwarves on the central dais were unharmed. The Dwarf in the middle appeared to be a woman, with a man on either side of her. They were all old; the men had beards and they were all dressed in rich, colourful robes. They observed in silence as several Dwarves, swords drawn, anger on their faces, circled where Will knelt, cradling Amelia’s limp body to his chest. Will watched passively as one of the Dwarfs stepped forward to rest the tip of his blade against his throat.
“Stop!”
Conlan’s command carried such authority that everybody froze. The silence seemed to rouse the older Dwarves sat on the dais. The female in the middle stood, moving her attention from Will and Amelia to Conlan as he marched towards them.
“Alum, who presumes to give orders in my council chamber?” she snapped.
The Dwarf holding his sword to Will’s throat turned his head to her. “I believe this is Conlan Baydon, High Lady.”
“Apologies for my presumption,” Conlan said, although the soft snarl he gave to the word ‘apologies’ implied unacceptable behaviour on their part, not his. “But knowing how important the law is to your people, I knew you would want to give your prisoners the chance to defend themselves before you did them injury.”
“Conlan Baydon... Alaric’s heir. Why do you come here?” the High Lady asked. Conlan looked at the female Dwarf in wide-eyed shock. Will caught Eleanor’s eye and she knew the surprise on his face was a mirror image of her own. She felt an energy string and pulled it in.
How do the Dwarves know? Will asked.
Eleanor shrugged and Will turned his attention back to the dais. The High Lady was laughing, a dry bark.
“Just because we do not make our presence felt in the world, Conlan Baydon, it does not mean we are unaware of what happens within it.”
Conlan’s shock rendered him momentarily speechless.
“How do you know, High Lady?” Will asked, speaking for him.
The High Lady glared down at Will.
“Who are you?”
Still holding Amelia, Will got to his feet. Alum allowed him to rise but kept the blade tip at his throat.
“I am Will, Avatar of Water.”
Again, Eleanor was struck by the difference in height, as Will looked like he was being threatened by a well-armed child.
“Another Avatar?” The High Lady looked surprised. “How well do you know Mydren’s history, Avatar of Water?”
“Do you mean the official version or the real one?” Will asked.
A smile spread across the High Lady’s wrinkled face, her dark-brown eyes full of amusement. “We offered galdener to the murdered king’s granddaughter, and we have watched over the bloodline ever since.”
Will, what does galdener mean? Eleanor asked.
Sanctuary.
&n
bsp; They hid Fraya with the Dwarves?
So it would seem.
As Will pulled his energy free, the Dwarf next to Eleanor moaned softly, his eyes flickering open. Eleanor could see the agony in them. He struggled weakly, gasping as it intensified his pain, then lay still, panting.
“You have a nasty injury, try not to move,” Eleanor cautioned.
“I am Cander,” he whispered.
“Eleanor,” she offered back. Cander smiled until another spasm of pain forced his face into a grimace. Pushing her hand harder into his shoulder, Eleanor gently stroked his head in an attempt to offer what comfort she could. Remic came to crouch at Cander’s side. He felt for a pulse as Eleanor had done, his face blank, horror in his eyes.
“He has a wounded shoulder and I think broken bones underneath,” Eleanor said quietly.
Remic nodded, not looking at her. “Why did she do that? We were not hurting her.”
Eleanor glanced at Amelia’s limp body. “I am sure it was an accident. She is a sweet, gentle, loving person,” Eleanor said. Remic did not seem convinced.
The High Lady was looking at Conlan again. “I do not like repeating myself – why do you come here?”
Conlan stared blankly at her for a moment before forcing himself to address the question. “We believe you hold the diamond, the Talisman of Earth, and we have come to claim it.”
“The Avatars of Air and Water, the Talismans… Our reports are true, you are attempting to recreate the power of The Five,” the High Lady said as gasps and whispers echoed round the chamber.
Conlan nodded. “Yes.”
“You must be very sure of yourself, Conlan Baydon, to risk my wrath by allowing your Avatar to destroy my council chamber… with me in it!”
“Our council chamber,” said the Dwarf sat on the High Lady’s right, his tone mild. The High Lady ignored him, glaring at Conlan.
“It was an accident,” Will said. “You asked her to prove she was the Avatar of Air. She tried to do that, but her abilities are new to her and she lost control.” He winced as Alum shoved his sword forward, breaking the skin, a thin trickle of blood running down his neck. The High Lady watched the blood for a moment before she responded.
“I do not recall asking you to speak, Avatar of Water.”
Again, the Dwarf to the High Lady’s right spoke. “The Avatar of Water raises a valid point, High Lady; we did ask the Avatar of Air for proof of her claims. Thankfully, nobody seems to have died. The Avatar of Air looks like such a lovely young lady, I am sure she did not mean any harm.” His comment carried through the entire chamber, and he regarded Will and Amelia with interest. The High Lady’s mouth pinched into a thin line of anger.
“Very well, we will accept the Avatar of Air’s attack on us as an accident. It is irrelevant anyway, as even Alaric’s heir, Conlan Baydon, has no rights over the Talisman of Earth – only the Avatar of Earth can claim it.”
“Then the Avatar of Earth claims the diamond,” Conlan said, a small, smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. A collective gasp ran round the chamber, the hum of voices dropping to surprised silence.
“The Avatar of Earth is here?”
Eleanor heard a strange catch in the High Lady’s voice
“Yes,” Conlan replied. The High Lady scanned the silent crowd around them, her eyes moving unseeing over Eleanor as she knelt on the floor at Cander’s side; she saw Freddie and stared at him, appraising him.
Conlan’s smile grew a little wider. “This is Freddie, Avatar of Fire. The Avatar of Earth is over there,” he said, pointing at Eleanor. Next to her, Cander gasped. Thinking he was in more pain she turned back towards him. The pain in his eyes had been replaced temporarily with awe.
“You are the Avatar of Earth?” he whispered.
“Yes,” she answered, embarrassment heating her cheeks.
“Avatar of Earth, approach us,” the High Lady commanded, staring down at her.
“Cander is hurt, he needs me to keep pressure on his wound,” Eleanor replied. There was another collective gasp from the audience. Oh, what have I done now?
“Eleanor, you must not refuse a request from the council,” Cander whispered.
“I will help him now, Avatar of Earth,” Remic said, applying pressure as she removed her hand.
“Just Eleanor,” she muttered as she reluctantly stood and walked to stand in front of the council. She looked at the three old Dwarves sat in front of her; they all looked back with a mixture of awe and surprise.
“You are the Avatar of Earth?” the High Lady asked.
“Yes, my name is Eleanor,” she replied, pleased that her fear did not show in her voice; it felt strange to admit her true nature in front of so many strangers. There was silence as the council looked at her.
“I had expected you to be... bigger,” the High Lady said seriously.
Eleanor heard Conlan’s quiet chuckling behind her.
“Can you prove who you are?” The High Lady sounded a little uncertain, her glance flashing to Amelia. Eleanor looked at the devastation around her.
“I am not sure that would be a good idea, as I have no wish to cause your people further injury,” she replied. The High Lady glared at her, and the silence in the chamber seemed to deepen.
“Then it seems we must take you at your word, Avatar of Earth,” the High Lady said finally, sounding less than happy about it.
“Eleanor,” Eleanor corrected without thinking. The High Lady’s eyes narrowed. Eleanor smiled apologetically. “My name is Eleanor, High Lady,” she said, putting a soft growl of subservient apology through the sentence and dropping her head.
“Eleanor… You come to claim the Talisman of Earth, but you must prove yourself worthy of this,” the High Lady said, smiling at her slyly. Eleanor did not like the look. “You must pass a maldra scelpa.” There were more gasps from around the chamber, and low-level murmuring broke the silence. Eleanor gave Conlan a questioning look. His concerned frown told her it was not good.
“It’s a way of testing people to see if they are worthy to enter your group or tribe. The Elves have these tests for their young to perform before they can consider themselves fully functioning members of the tribe, and it seems Dwarves do too,” he said in English.
“What do I have to do?” Eleanor asked, fear tearing through her insides.
“I don’t know,” he said. Turning to the High Lady, he switched back to Dwarfish. “What must Eleanor do?”
“She must remain for four days and four nights alone within the Earth. While she is there she must ask the Earth for Her song, and when she emerges she must sing the Earth’s song for us,” the High Lady said solemnly.
“I’ve got to sing?” Eleanor asked, so horrified she momentarily switched back to English. Conlan looked at her, so many emotions moving rapidly across his face that Eleanor had no hope of working out what he was thinking.
“That’s the bit that’s worrying you?” he asked, bemused.
“I can’t sing, Conlan,” Eleanor whispered, feeling the embarrassment turning her cheeks red.
“You don’t have to do this,” Conlan said quietly.
Eleanor sighed; she did have to do it, if they wanted her Talisman this was the cost, but the fact that Conlan had offered her a way out made her smile. She turned to face the council.
“I will do as required,” she said slowly.
The High Lady nodded. “Remic, Alum will care for Cander, so please see that the Avatar… that Eleanor, is prepared for the maldra scelpa.” Remic nodded to the High Lady as Alum removed his sword from Will’s throat and came to take Remic’s place, several other Dwarves crowding around Cander. Remic rose and moved to Eleanor’s side.
“You have no idea what you have just agreed to,” he muttered.
Eleanor felt her fear creeping up a notch as he led her from the chamber, the others following behind.
Remic took them to a large round room, which reminded Eleanor of the main cave at home in size and shape. Benches line
d the walls and two tunnels on the far side of the chamber led off from it into ominous darkness.
“Wait here, I will fetch someone to help you,” Remic said. Eleanor nodded, taking a seat; it was like sitting and waiting for the dentist. Will sat on one of the benches, still holding Amelia’s body to his. Eleanor reached out a hand and gently stroked Amelia’s soft black hair.
“Is she OK?”
Will nodded. “She’ll be fine, she just needs to sleep for a while.”
“Making the air move must be really hard work,” Eleanor said. Will did not respond. Eleanor raised her eyes to his, he looked distressed, guilty. Not understanding, Eleanor held his gaze.
“Moving the air didn’t cause her to collapse, did it?” Freddie said quietly.
Will dropped his head, shaking it. “I stripped her of her energy,” he whispered. Shocked silence filled the room.
“I nearly killed you when I did that,” Eleanor said, horrified that Will could do that to Amelia. Will raised his head, anger flashing through his eyes.
“I was careful, Eleanor, but I had no choice. She was lost in the powerful feeling of the air moving around her – she wasn’t listening to me and she was going to kill somebody.”
“You did the right thing,” Conlan said softly. Will nodded, his head dropping again as he hugged Amelia closer to him.
“Yeah, Will, Amelia will be glad you stopped her,” Freddie said, placing a reassuring hand on Will’s shoulder.
Will lifted his head again, giving Freddie a sad smile. “I hope so.”
Freddie turning to Conlan. “So what’s going on, Eleanor has to pass some sort of test?”
Conlan nodded. “She has to pass a maldra scelpa. She is required to spend four days alone in the Earth, and when she emerges she must sing the ‘Earth’s Song’.”
Freddie raised an eyebrow, turning back to Eleanor. “And you agreed to this?”
She shrugged and nodded.
“Eleanor, have you considered what four days locked up alone is going to do to you?” Freddie asked.
I need your support, Freddie, don’t tell me I can’t do this.
Eleanor Page 22
