by David Wind
From a far distance, she heard Gaalrie’s cry, but her aoutem stayed in her lap. Then a rush of molten heat spewed through her body, taking her high above the world.
Again, she watched the large fleet of ships separate into three groups and move forward, as she had in the dream. Days and nights flashed in light and dark bands. She counted five and then the third armada disappeared beneath a dark mass of clouds. No matter how hard she tried, she could not find it. Watching the other two, she counted the flashes of days passing until the two armadas went to anchor. One stopped at the high palisades of Fainhall, the second, at the wastelands between Llawnroc and Aldimor. Of the third, there was no sighting. She knew, intuitively, that Fasil Abdul-Mu'eid, the Dark Master they had fought, led the third Armada, and it was he who kept the ships hidden.
Returning from the vision, Areenna eased the pounding of her heart. There was barely twenty days before the Dark Masters reached the shores of Nevaeh and war would begin.
She drew Gaalrie tighter to her chest, holding her until her heart and her breathing were calm. I need to know more, she told herself and again sought a vision of foretelling. Before she could dig down to that place of power, two minds joined hers.
Stop! came Mikaal’s sharp thought.
It is important.
A flood of warmth washed through her mind. More important than our lives? Wait, Mikaal asked.
Areenna opened her eyes and looked at the gently moving waters of the stream. Still holding Gaalrie, she stood and returned to the camp, where, a few minutes later, Mikaal and Neleh returned with several large succulents.
After putting the fruits with their supplies, Mikaal came to her and drew her into his arms. He held her there for several moments, not talking, not sending any thoughts, just holding her and easing her anxiety.
When he released her, he put his hands on her shoulders and gazed into her eyes. “You weren’t thinking,” he said aloud.
Puzzled, she shook her head. “What does that mean?”
“I didn’t know what it was you were doing, but when I felt your powers projecting, I joined you and raised a block. I only hope the Dark Master did not detect it as well.”
Areenna’s heart skipped a beat, and her mind whirled dangerously. She grasped onto his hands and held still. I thought not of it, I… If he did—
—It is done, Mikaal interrupted. We must be careful.
We need to build a better block, quickly. How could I have been so stupid? But she knew exactly how. The dreams made her forget all in an effort to learn more. She frowned, shook her head. “Could he have done this?”
“Done what?” Mikaal asked.
It took only a few seconds to show him the dream that had disturbed her. When he studied it, he shook his head. “I see not how this would be possible, but…”
“We can’t take the chance. We must build the block, together.” She took his hands from her shoulders and held them tightly. “Now.”
They joined, not as two minds, but with their singular ability to become one entity and created a block that spread outward. As they worked, they dug further within themselves, to where the Staff had buried its powers, and drew on what they instinctively knew would strengthen the block. An instant later, with the block complete, Areenna and Mikaal separated.
Looking at him, and overwhelmed by the assimilation of blending, a new understanding of their abilities surfaced. There was no great enlightenment of what they possessed; rather, a sliver of knowledge apprising her that they’d barely touched the surface of their new powers and abilities.
As she looked into Mikaal’s gray eyes, at the gold and green specs floating within them, she knew he was seeing and understanding the same as she. We need to learn more.
Nodding, Mikaal said, Feel the block.
Areenna pushed at the block they created. It took her a moment to find it, and when she did, she was amazed not at just its power, but the distance. A thousand, perhaps more yards, she thought.
“At least that far if not further. Feel it. Areenna, I have never before sensed such a block, not from my mother, not from anyone. This feels solid, like a wall, like a shield.”
Areenna gave him a half smile. “I only hope it was in time.”
<><><>
An hour after they’d created the block, Areenna worked with Neleh, while Mikaal stood to one side. They had spent the hour, not in magic, but in weaponry. They had worked through the sword, the knife, and were practicing with the bow. She had joined with Areenna, as Areenna had shot a half a dozen arrows at various targets, even a dead piece of branch Mikaal tossed into the air. Once they’d used all the targets, they gathered the arrows and Areenna had handed Neleh the bow.
Barely able to pull the gut back using just her muscles, Neleh used a touch of her ability to help. She fired five arrows and struck each target in the same spot as Areenna. “Hit this,” she heard Mikaal call as he threw a thick piece of a branch in the air. Neleh followed the target with her eyes and, an instant before it reached its zenith, fired the arrow.
Like a bird struck by an arrow, the wood tilted sideways and fell to the ground.
“Enough,” Mikaal called. “One day, someone will have to explain how you do this, for it is more than just an ability. I know not what, but more it is.”
Neleh gazed at him, and then smiled. “Is it not a good thing?”
Mikaal return her smile. “It is much more than that, Little One.”
It is unique to her, so let us move on and find a way to use our abilities against them, Areenna said. There was something teasing her mind, an elusive comment Master Jalil had said about Neleh, but she could not remember what it was.
Is that not what we are doing? Is it not Neleh’s special abilities that make her able to wield weapons as if born to them?
Areenna shrugged off her wandering thoughts and turned to him. Yes and no. For what we three must do, you, Neleh, and I, the weapons need come from within us. Our steel will not stop the Dark Ones from taking Nevaeh; the powers and abilities we must learn to harness, are our only chance at defeating them.
“How do we begin?” he asked, closing the distance between himself and the two women.
“Slowly. First we see how it is that Neleh can use our abilities as her own.”
Neleh shook her head. “It is not that, I am sure. If you have an ability that I have, then I can somehow direct it.”
Mikaal gifted you the weapon of fire, did he not? Areenna asked, giving up conversing aloud.
Yes.
Can you use it as a weapon?
Neleh frowned. Yes. Why would you question that?
Because it is a male gift, which women cannot use.
Why?
Because no woman been able to.
You can.
Areenna nodded. Only because Mikaal and I are joined in a way far different from any other.
He did not bestow it upon you?
Areenna shook her head. After their first joining with the Staff at the twin peaked mountain, she knew the ability was the part of Mikaal within her.
Neleh’s face reflected surprise at Areenna’s answer. She thought deeply about it, and worked her way through something. A few seconds later, her head bobbed and she smiled. No man has ever gifted a woman before Mikaal. True?
True, Areenna responded.
He gifted me. Perhaps this is why I can use fire as a weapon.
Neleh’s words caught Areenna off-guard, but before she could think more on it, something caught her senses. She stopped, closed her eyes and looked for whatever it was. At the same time, she sent Gaalrie to search.
What? Mikaal asked.
She shook her head. A moment later, as Gaalrie wove between the trees, her wingtips grazing leaves, she saw a group of people moving toward them. There were at least fifty, perhaps more, and the man in the lead was… Exiles come this way.
Even as his hand went to the sword, Areenna stopped him. Hold. I know the man who leads them. His name is Elyl.
> Neleh moved to Areenna’s side, her hand on the pommel of her sword as well. They are not enemies, Areenna told her when Elyl entered the small grove-like area and walked to Areenna. She recognized his hitching gate, caused by having one large leg and one small leg. His mouth, somewhat distorted, held an uneven smile. His eyes, one set higher than the other, widened in recognition. His smile grew broad.
This exile attacked you. The one controlled by the Black Witch, Mikaal said, remembering the night he had joined with her and had seen what happened before they’d left for the Frozen Mountains.
Yes.
“My Princess,” Elyl said and dropped to his knees, bowing his head before her. “My Lady, we seek you.”
“Stand, Elyl. There is no reason to go to your knees. Why do you seek me?”
“These are my…friends,” he said, half turning to point to the exiles grouped behind him. “This is Inot, my mate. We have all lived together for a long time, but…since I saw you last, strange things are happening in the badlands and wastelands. You told me if ever I—”
“I did,” she cut him off. “You may always go to Freemorn and find safety and a home there. Be warned. Things are changing. There is a war coming. All of Nevaeh’s domains prepare to battle the Dark Forces, who come now to Nevaeh. You may want to stay here.”
“My Lady, we have heard rumors of what comes. We have seen strange creatures going and coming from the badlands through the wastelands… they are… Would we not be welcome to join in the fight?”
Let me, Mikaal stepped forward. “I am Mikaal of Tolemac, Son of Roth. You and your people are welcome, Elyl. We need everyone’s help to stop the coming evil.”
“Even with our—” he cut himself off and then pointed first to his deformed leg, and then to his face. “We are not like you.”
Before Mikaal could respond, Neleh said, formally, “May I speak, Father Guardian?”
Caught off guard, Mikaal raised a single eyebrow and nodded.
Neleh turned to Elyl and to those now pushing closer behind him. She held up her hands, showing that they had six fingers, not five. “Look at me? I have lived fourteen years. I should be as tall as Areenna, yet I am the size of a child. Am I so different from you? No one points to me when I walk through the streets. My Father-Guardian does not shun me; he accepted the guardianship openly.”
She paused for a moment, staring directly into his eyes. “Why think you that you are not good enough to stand next to any other? Does your body prevent you from using a weapon, or from doing what becomes necessary?”
Surprised by her words, Elyl shook his head. He looked at Areenna. “She speaks truth?”
“She does,” Areenna replied.
We must get word to your father. Have him find a place for these people and have them join the others, Mikaal told Areenna.
We will. Then, aloud, she said, “Elyl, take your people to Freemorn. You will be welcome there. Be assured that my father will find a place among his soldiers for any who would fight the darkness.”
Areenna turned to Inot, Elyl’s mate. The woman was taller than Elyl, her long hair was the color of midnight, and her face was gentle. One eye was blue, the other a pale silver. “How feel you about this?”
Inot raised a hand to her mouth, and tapped her lips. Elyl said, “She cannot speak. She was born this way.”
Areenna met the woman’s gaze .There was something about her that pulled at Areenna. She took the woman’s hand, and squeezed it gently. “You have powers?”
When Inot shook her head, Areenna said to Elyl, “How old was Inot when she came to the wastelands?”
Elyl shook his head. “She came not. Her mother came, carrying Inot within. Inot was born four months later.”
Areenna turned back to Inot, whose hand she still held. “When you reach Freemorn, seek my cousin Tissel. She will know what is needed.”
When Inot nodded, Areenna released her hand. “Go now; take your people to Freemorn. My father will be expecting you.”
“You will be there soon?” Elyl asked.
Areenna shook her head. “We must be elsewhere, but we will see each other again. Go, now.”
Elyl and his band of exiles left the small grove and, when the sounds of their passing faded, Areenna turned to Neleh. “That was very wise of you, speaking as you did.”
Neleh favored Areenna with a half smile. “My mother has been teaching me the ways of talking and explaining to others, so they will listen and understand. She says it is the art of leading others and will be my duty when I am Woman of the Village.”
Areenna listened carefully to Neleh, not the words, but the emotions behind them. “You are sad,” she whispered.
“I want not to lose my mother.”
Areenna stepped close to Neleh and drew her into her arms. Eventually, we all lose someone close to us. You have an advantage over most, you know what will happen and can help your mother when the time comes. Some of us never had that opportunity.
Neleh took in the warmth Areenna projected and, a moment later, rose on the tips of her toes and gave Areenna a kiss on her check. Then she stepped back and smiled. Thank you.
Areenna looked up at the sky. “We have lost time, which we cannot afford. We must learn what we can do together, now.”
<><><>
Two and a half hours later, with the sun slightly past the midway point, they stopped working and sat beneath the widespread branches of a gazebow tree, shaded from the strong sun and eating the succulents Mikaal and Neleh had picked earlier.
“The crave should be at Freemorn by now, yes?” Mikaal asked.
Areenna shrugged. Rather than send Gaalrie to Freemorn with the message about the exiles, she had called down a large crave and tied the message to its leg, and then sent it off. “If the bird has not reached Tissel yet, it will be there very soon. Why?”
“I keep thinking about Elyl, and the other exiles. If these people are willing to fight, how many other exiles would do the same?”
Areenna looked at him thoughtfully as she took a bite of the succulent. After chewing the sweet fruit, she said, “The most important task we have is learning about ourselves. We’ve been granted abilities, given powers to use against the darkness, but what powers do we really have, and how do we wield them?”
Areenna looked from Mikaal to Neleh as she spoke. She stopped when her eyes reached Neleh. The girl sat stone still, her legs crossed and the succulent forgotten in her lap as she stared vacantly out. Areenna could not help but notice the haunting glow of her pale yellow eyes.
“What is it, Neleh?” she asked.
It took a few seconds, but Neleh finally blinked. When she spoke, her voice was barely audible. “I don’t know. I dreamed last night; many times did I dream the same dream.”
“We three were there, standing on a mountain top, watching two armies battle. As we watched, a band of the Dark Master’s ghazi moved along a narrow path, hidden behind thick trees. They ambush our fighters….”
“We do nothing?” Mikaal asked Neleh.
“I know not. It is exactly there the dream stops each time.”
Mikaal glanced at Areenna. “A foretelling?”
Areenna shook her head, “I think not.” She closed her eyes in thought. “Perhaps it is a possibility of what might occur… a warning.”
“Or just a dream, brought on by the talk of the coming battles,” Mikaal suggested.
“Perhaps there is more,” Areenna said, turning to Neleh. “Can you show us?”
Nodding slowly, Neleh opened her mind. “Yes…”
Areenna joined her instantly, and then Mikaal joined Neleh. Areenna’s first thought was of the ease with which they had joined. Yet, she sensed a disturbance in Neleh’s mind, which she could not put a name to it.
What is it? What bothers you?
I know not, Neleh said. It started after I awoke from the dream.
Show us the dream, Mikaal urged, his thought gentle.
As Neleh’s breathing slowed, her hea
rtbeat followed. The three became one as they found themselves standing on a ridge of a mountain, looking down into a pass cut within the mountain. I recognize this place. It is Aldimor, outside of Dees, Mikaal said as the vision became solid.
The strangeness Areenna had sensed in Neleh’s mind changed, and the connection between the three was suddenly different from anything either Mikaal or Areenna had ever experienced. Everything about them, their thoughts, and their senses were intensified.
We must explore this further, Areenna said as Neleh’s dream grew full and Areenna lost herself within the powerful scene playing out before her eyes..
She watched the army of Northcrom moving forward, toward them. At the lead rode Ilsraeth, Queen of Northcrom and her husband Timon, Father Guardian of Northcrom. Ahead of the Northcrom army, the ghazi waited with twice their strength in fighters.
Mikaal looked around and recognized several landmarks, but they made no sense. One landmark was a mountain in Northcrom, near the Aldimor border, perhaps a hundred miles north of Dees, but where they stood was not near this landmark. He turned right, and saw another landmark, an ancient stone ruin near the junction of Freemorn, Kashold, and Fainhall—twelve hundred miles west from where they stood. How can this be?
No vision, this, something else. Watch, Areenna instructed.
He turned back as the battle unfolded. The Nevaens held their own against the Dark Army. Arrows and spears were the first line of attack, and then, when the two opposing forces met, it was with the loud crashing of metal upon metal—of sword upon sword, and sword upon armor. In the midst of it all, Timon held his sword high and whirled it over his head as Ilsraeth used the strongest of her abilities, a powerful wash of a reddish force to clear a pathway for the kraal-riding warriors following behind.
As the warriors raced through the opening Ilsraeth cleared, they charged into the ghazi fighters, their kraals doing as much damage as their swords. Slowly, the Nevaens pushed the invading army back. Moments later, the Dark Army began to clump together.
