by Toni Cox
“Come, Wolf,” she said and Wolf jumped onto the bed and curled up by her feet. She scratched him behind his ears. She would miss him, but she felt better for sending him along with Jasmin – they could keep each other safe.
She closed her eyes and was almost instantly asleep. It had been an emotionally draining day.
She was warm and comfortable, tucked into her furs on her bed. Some candles cast a pleasant glow around the small, cosy room. She sighed. Surely, it was not time to get up yet. She snuggled deeper into her furs. She was just about to doze off again, when she felt him move closer to her under the fur blanket. His warmth against her bare back felt good. She wriggled a bit to conform her body to his and felt him respond to her movement.
Slowly, he stroked his warm hands along her thigh. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, giving her goose bumps. His hand moved up, stroking along her stomach, then cupping her breast. She shivered when her nipple became hard under his touch. He kissed her neck and shoulders and pressed closer to her, hugging her to him. She felt his need for her and her body responded. She moaned softly. She wanted him too.
Slowly, she turned in the circle of his arms. Now facing him, he took his time to kiss her, first slowly, then more urgently, until they were both breathing harder. She could feel his desire pressed close to her thigh. Firmly, he pushed her shoulders down, turning her onto her back, then bent over and kissed along her jawline, then found her mouth again. She shivered with delight at his touch. She was so ready for him. She shifted her body to allow him access. Anticipation made her tingle all over.
She woke with a start. A soft scream escaped her lips. Wolf jumped off the bed, startled. She still felt arousal surge though her body and she fought to control it. There was no doubt in her mind of who the man was she had been with in her dreams. But why was she dreaming of him like this? What was the meaning of it all? She shook her head, angry with herself, then got up and went to the washstand to splash her face with cold water.
The water cleared her head somewhat and she felt the effect of the dream wear off. She would really have to pull herself together. She had to focus now, concentrate on her training. The warriors would start arriving from today. They expected people from Thala Yll, plus their dragons. Alea Yll was sending their entire legion, Braérn and Crook Harbour had promised all foot soldiers as well as their cavalry and Tarron Height would send every man and woman able to lift a weapon. It was the same with Shadow Hall. Everyone wanted to fight and everyone who was able to fight would remain here, while everyone unable to fight would leave this morning to go to Tarron Heights for safety.
Tarron Heights was deep in the mountains. It nestled in a large valley close to where the Oakin River sprang to life. From Shadow Hall, it was a four-day march through rough terrain, but the exceptional scenery made it all worth it. If one were to travel from Greystone to Tarron Height, one had to go through a thick and dark forest that covered the uneven and constantly rising terrain. Bears and wolves abounded in that section of forest, as well as Riven if the stories were to be believed and Elves seldom ventured there. The way was hemmed in on both sides by tall mountain ridges, so the only way to get from the Gate to Tarron Heights was to go the long way around, which could take as long as seven days. Her family would be safe in Tarron Heights.
She was dressed now and made her way down the stairs into the common room. Her father and Jaik were already gone, but her mother and Biandala were still busy in the kitchen. She smiled as she thought back on how amazed Luke and Jasmin had been that they had a Server in the house. They had Servers or Servants as the Humans called them, in England too, but to hire them cost a lot of what they called money or Credits, which was their currency. As Elveron did not deal in coin, they had wondered how they paid Biandala for her services. Malyn had laughed when she had explained it. Most families had a Server. It was a respected position in their society. Sometimes, whole families were employed as Servers and standard payment for employed was food and any other household essential. Good Servers would often be rewarded with other items; usually something of more value that they could either keep or trade with. Biandala was one of their higher-ranking members of their city as she served the royal family. She was very proud of her job.
“Good morning,” Maia greeted them and they replied in kind.
“Here,” Malyn said and handed her a slice of bread with cheese, “you had better go if you want to say farewell. The caravan has gathered already and is almost ready to depart.”
Maia took the bread and thanked her mother. She wondered why she had slept so long. If it had not been for her dream, she would probably still be sleeping. Or maybe it was because of her dream she had slept so late.
Thinking of the dream brought on memories she did not want to relive right now/ She raced down the Royal Steps and onto The Slope to the Gathering Ground, trying not to choke on her bread.
Once on the ground, her bread now finished, she trotted through the trees and then onto the open ground of the Gathering Ground. As her mother had said, the people were already assembled there. Some were on horseback, others on foot. Jagaer had selected ten warriors from the Legion to accompany the people and see them safely to Tarron Heights. They would remain there to protect the people until the threat had passed.
Maia glanced around, trying to spot her brother or Luke and Jasmin. The crowd of people was thick, around four hundred people were going, and it took her a while to find them.
“There you are. I hope you weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye.” She smiled at them.
“We would never,” Jasmin said, grinning back at her.
“One last time…are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
Maia heard the hope in Aaron’s words, but by his voice, she could tell that he knew the answer to that question. She just shook her head.
“Archer has given me a horse, so I don’t have to walk. But Papa and Luke prefer to walk. I am sure that if everyone would ride, we could get there so much faster.”
“We cannot spare the horses, Jasmin. We will need them for the fight. It is a great measure of his affection for you that he has begged a horse for you. I am sure it was not an easy task.”
Jasmin blushed and looked down. She had not realised what it had meant.
“You are very special. You don’t need to be ashamed. And she is a fine animal.” Maia patted the horse’s neck. “What is her name?”
Jasmin giggled. “She has a very strange name. Archer called her Fireweed.”
“Oh,” Maia said. “That is a fine horse indeed. It is a strong name; Fire is her sire if she has the word fire in her name and Fireweed is the only vegetation Soul Dragons eat. It is like a breath mint for them, but the burning sensation when Elves, or Humans, eat it, would be sure to kill you.”
Jasmin grinned and gave her horse a hug. Maia marvelled at how comfortable she was with the animal. Just a few Moons ago she had been under the impression that horses were extinct and had never even seen a live animal before.
They all looked up as someone sounded a bugle. Jagaer was standing on the wooden stage that was a permanent fixture in the Gathering Grounds and waited until the crowed had settled enough to hear him.
A raven squawked as it flew over and Maia felt shivers run down her back. Somehow, it felt like an ill omen that the raven should speak before her father. She tried to shake off the uneasy feeling, but as she listened to her father, the feeling just became stronger. She could not concentrate on her father’s words at all and she was startled when the bugle sounded again and the people picked up their bags from the floor to sling them over their shoulders or across their horses.
“I will miss you so very much,” Jasmin said and hugged her.
“And I you, Jasmin,” Maia managed to say, her voice choked with emotion that had nothing to do with them leaving.
“Bye, Maia,” Luke said simply and also hugged her before he, too, shouldered his pack.
“You know I wil
l miss you too while I am gone.” Aaron took one of her hands in his. “I hope you remain safe and that we will reunite soon.”
Aaron leant in and lightly kissed her on the cheek. He let go of her hand, turned, shouldered his rucksack and strode off towards the front of the column of people without a backward glance.
“He loves you, you know,” Luke said before he grabbed the reins of Jasmin’s horse and led it away, Jasmin sitting happily in its saddle.
Maia stared after the caravan of people and horses for only a moment. Then she turned and ran. She had no destination in mind, she just wanted to get away. Away from her dream, away from the terrible premonition, away from Aaron’s expectations. She vaguely heard Midnight roar in the distance, aware of her emotions, and the corresponding shrieks of the horses behind her. She wondered briefly if Jasmin’s riding skills were already good enough to sit a spooked horse.
She ran out from under the trees and into the open ground to the southeast of the village. Wolf was suddenly by her side, keeping pace with her and Midnight circled overhead, always watching. She ran until her lungs burned and her legs shook from exhaustion. Finally, she sat down on a small knoll dotted with some spindly trees. Wolf sat down beside her, his tongue hanging out, panting. She vaguely noted that Wolf should be with the caravan, but she was glad he was here now. Midnight landed in the field below. His head was now level with hers. She looked into his eyes and saw concern. A tear escaped her left eye. Midnight made a deep rumbling noise in his chest and soothing images flooded her brain. She wondered how he knew to do that.
It was late afternoon when she returned to Shadow Hall. She now worried that her absence had caused her parents concern and she went to the house first to let them know she was all right and to let them know that Wolf had stayed behind. Then she went to see Silas. He was not in his cave, so she went to his home. Becci answered the door and let her in, then busied herself with making tea.
“What ails you, Maia? You look like there is something weighing heavily on your mind.”
Silas led her through to his little study and she took a seat opposite his desk.
“I had another dream. Stranger than all the ones before.” She didn’t want to go into too much detail, but she was almost sure the dream and the omen were connected. “Death featured very prominently in it and I was distraught when I awoke.”
Becci brought in the tea, smiled at Maia and then left the study so they could talk in private. Maia knew that Silas shared almost everything with Becci, but matters of Elemental powers were only discussed between Elementals.
“I went to the Gathering Grounds to wish Luke, Jasmin and Aaron a good journey. Then, just before my father held his speech, a raven flew right over the assembled people and I can still hear the plaintive cry it uttered just before my father spoke. It has haunted me all day.”
Silas nodded, but remained silent.
“It gave me a most horrible premonition. I feel as if we are not sending them to safety, but to their death. I cannot shake the feeling.”
“Omens are a very serious matter. Although a squawking raven could be just that, a squawking raven, I don’t think that that is what you saw and heard. I trust in your instincts and so should you. I will go home with you and speak to Jagaer. We should send some extra people after the caravan, just in case. And I think we should be extra careful with the approach to the Gate. Come, finish your tea, let us not delay this any longer. The sooner Jagaer can dispatch more people, the better.
It had been a long evening again. It was past midnight when she got to bed. Her father had been just as concerned about the omen as Silas and had taken his advice seriously. Riders had been dispatched almost immediately. Jaik had doubled the Night Watch again and pulled the Sentinels in closer to the village.
Exhausted, she crawled under her blanket. Wolf had gone with Jaik, so she had the bed to herself. She closed the shutters on her crystal lantern, the single Lumina on her windowsill the only light in the room. Finally feeling safe, she soon fell into an exhausted sleep.
The sun had just risen when she angrily got out of bed. She had slept well enough through the night, but then she had had another dream. It had woken her just as it had yesterday. She did not bother with cold water from the little basin this morning, but took a cold shower. The mornings were fresh now with autumn approaching and she shivered as she pulled on her clothes. She was mostly angry with herself. She should have more self-control.
She snatched up her bow and quiver and went downstairs. The house was empty. She was glad. She walked briskly along The Axis, then through the warren that was the Workers Lanes and finally up Warriors Walk. She could hear noises coming from the Sparring Grounds. Some of the warriors must have arrived yesterday, so she veered off towards the Archery Field. She hoped it would be empty, but when she got there, she noticed a few people already practicing. Some she did not recognise and assumed them to be warriors from another city.
She circled the large field and took up position on the last row. It was far enough away from the others. She did not feel like talking to anyone. The targets were set at a hundred and fifty paces, which suited her fine. One after another, she let her arrows fly until her quiver was empty. Then she stomped across the range and retrieved her arrows, before starting again. In her mind, she was shooting at the man with the deep blue eyes. She visualised him in the target, drawing her bow to full extension, making every shot count. Halfway through her third round, Jaik suddenly came up behind her and grabbed her arms. She gave a little startled cry.
“What…?”
“Maia, stop, what are you doing?”
She looked into Jaik’s eyes and was astounded to see fear in them. She looked around. A crowd had gathered behind her. Everybody was staring at her, mumbling and pointing. Some were slowly retreating.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in a whisper.
Jaik took her by the shoulders and turned her around so she could look at the forest around her. Her eyes opened wide in astonishment. The trees and the entire area behind her had been covered in vines. Fat, twisting ropes climbing up the trunks. Thousands of leaves sprouted from every shoot. Glowing, blue flowers were still opening their petals even as she looked on.
“What is this?” she breathed, looking back at Jaik.
“It’s you. It started when you were shooting your arrows. The more you shot, the faster they grew. You were scaring the people.”
Maia stumbled, and Jaik helped her sit down on a log.
“It’s all right now, I’m here. Do you want to talk about it?”
Maia shook her head. She couldn’t tell Jaik about her dreams. It was too embarrassing to even admit to herself.
“No,” she said and put her face in her hands.
Jaik asked everyone to give her some space and then asked Riker to bring Silas. He would know how to handle this.
She did not have any further dreams during the nights, and days, that followed. Silas had made her a very strong tea, that had made her dizzy, after the incident at the Archery Field, but had refrained from scolding her about her blatant display of power. Someone could have gotten hurt.
She kept herself busy as the troops started to arrive. Midnight had his hands, or rather claws, full with trying to accommodate so many dragons on The Crags. However, Maia felt that he didn’t mind. He seemed to thrive with the admiration the other dragons bestowed on him; so she left him to sort it out alone. She still had so much to do before they would march towards the Gate.
She trained every day. She trained with her Twin Blades, which were her favourite, but also with the sword, for Jaik’s benefit and she practiced hand-to-hand combat. She still practiced with Midnight every third day, but it was just to familiarise themselves with fighting together. There was nothing about battle anyone could still teach Midnight that he didn’t already know. Still embarrassed, she stayed away from the Archery Field. She knew how to shoot well enough and she was too self-conscious to go back there while there were so many s
trangers around.
She also made extra arrows. Not just for herself, but for stock for the Armoury too. She was quite particular about fletching them and had spent hours selecting the right feathers. She wanted to make sure she had enough. To run out of arrows in the middle of a fight could prove fatal.
Silas took her into the forest every second day, away from people, to practice fighting with her powers. Her display on the Archery Field had given him the idea. He had discussed it with Jagaer and he had agreed.
Elves, in general, did not use their powers to cause damage or inflict pain. It went against their beliefs. However, their situation was dire and they could use any advantage they could find. Word spread, that magic would be allowed during the battle. Most Elves had the power of Earth. It was the most common, and, unfortunately, the least useful in battle. It was the Fire and Water powers that could be the more dangerous and practice sessions were being held every day.
Maia, however, had too much power and Silas was afraid that people could get injured. She had very little training in fighting with her magic and there were a few situations where Silas was glad for his decision to separate her from the others.
They practiced creating, holding and then throwing a fireball. To create one and then hold it proved no problem for Maia, but the first few times she threw it, it disintegrated and the fire extinguished.
She was getting frustrated and then, in her frustration, she threw the ball with such power, it uncoiled from her hand like a leash and it lashed out at the forest around her, incinerating every shrub in the vicinity. Maia screamed and Silas scampered for his life, the edge of his robe trailing smoke.
Another time, they practiced with air. Somas was with them that time to show Maia how to distort the air in such a way as to make herself invisible. Again, she struggled, again and again they tried, but to no avail. Only when Maia became so angry with herself for being unable to do it, did it eventually work. Unfortunately, she then did it too well. The distortion in the air was so complete, she was completely invisible. The transition was so smooth, Silas and Somas could not tell at all where she was. What was worse, was that the distortion was so strong, sound was unable to penetrate. They could not hear her and she could not hear them either. Maia, trapped in her own invisibility, fought against her panic and struggled for almost half a day to free herself. They did not try it again.
