Gilly continued to place the candles in a circle, but her thoughts were on Anna’s revelations about Tom. He had followed her all her life. Silently watched over her from afar, as she had done her sister. She knew Anna as well as any sibling could, perhaps better. Not too far-fetched then, that Tom knew Gilly as well. Unsettling maybe, but unsurprising.
Once the ring was complete, she backtracked, chanting. Anna followed, scattering herbs to strengthen the boundary. The aroma of rosemary wafted up, strong and protective, like giant trunks of a circular pine forest rising up.
She nodded to Tom and Marton. They were ready to begin. She motioned for Anna to enter the circle. Inside, Gilly sat in the center, right leg tucked in and left stretched out. A snap of her fingers sealed the barrier. A dome of protection vibrated around and over them. Satisfied Anna and she would be as safe as she could make them in here, she cleared her mind in preparation for her mental journey.
“What should I do?” Anna whispered.
Eyes closed, palms held up, Gilly said, “Sit across from me and lay your hands over mine.”
Her sister’s touch was as gentle as a breeze. In an instant though, the breeze turned into a gale that pulled them both straight up. So powerful! Gilly eased away from Anna and the level of energy diminished. Interesting. For exploration later. Right now, she had a job to do.
She shut out Anna’s presence and gazed at the world around her. The draw of magic was everywhere. The calm soothing melody of the land was ever present and old as the sky. Sparks of Light scented with power lay in every direction. Some brighter than others. Normal people and those with the ability to wield Light? Was this how Tamarisk tracked his enemies? Did he send his horsemen to kill any Light that sparked too brightly in this darkness? If so, why were so many bright ones still lit? She may not have been the only one hiding.
Perhaps too his vision was not as clear as hers. Draining the power of others against their will could have distorted his sight. The way dark magic destroyed the land. Sensing her thoughts wandering, Gilly re-focused on her goal.
Find Mam!
Within this vast Light show, how was she to locate her mother? It would take all eternity to check on each spark. She needed another way. Focus on what was wrong in this picture. She tuned out the humming warmth of the land, the sparkling glow of individual Lights, and sought that which felt abused. Immediately she sensed a draining from one side of the world.
“Anna, stay back,” she warned.
“Be careful,” her sister said but then she withdrew.
Once Anna’s Light was a tiny spark in the distance, Gilly followed the dark pull. It led her to a place where the land gave way to an abyss. In the midst of the dead area was a black pockmarked wave. A festering wound that sucked energy from everything in its vicinity. What Light it drew into itself did not fill its emptiness, merely enlarged the wound. This was a true distorting of what Light was meant to do.
She could not imagine her mother living in the middle of this horror pit. She was the person who taught Gilly magic was meant for good, to heal wounds, to protect against evil and help people evolve to the best of their ability. This stank of Tamarisk’s handiwork. So a good candidate to where he was holding Mam.
Gilly skirted the abyss, looking for a safe entryway. There were none. It was complete in its pulsing self. As she drew closer, she heard its call. It hungered for more Light. Her instinct was to run the other way, but Gilly quelled the urge to flee and instead released her will until she melted into the darkness. She was pulled and stretched and torn apart until she and the darkness became one.
They were an inky stream. The screams of countless souls assaulted her, and came from her. Their terror, pain and fear, were her terror, pain and fear, multiplied a hundred-fold.
There can be no calming of our angry energy. We flee hither and yon, without purpose, focus or intent. Drift aimlessly, unknowing the passage of time, waiting for the Master to call. To use us to do his bidding.
An imperial summons came.
We excitedly cluster together to form a shaft and soar across the sky like a phoenix.
Search for her. Find her. She must not escape.
Where is she? Where is her Light? So much darkness. Our darkness. We extinguish Lights. We remember when once, the night was bright with starlight. Now only darkness. Darkness that feeds our needs. Too dark. We need more Light. We need her Light.
Find her!
There, Master, in the mountains. We cannot see. We sense her presence. She is there. Too much Light to be any but the child of your beloved, Master.
We soar through the sky, an ebony shaft with new purpose, a fresh goal. Must consume that Light. A barrier! The clash reverberates through our shaft. Draw back!
Clever girl. Not clever enough. Take her!
We circle the candles. Two Lights inside, Master. What are they doing? Can’t see past the flames. Too hot to touch. Will scorch our darkness. We cannot reach her.
Horsemen. Must send horsemen. The Master departed.
No, do not leave! The shaft scattered, dissolving into a wave of energy, returning home without purpose. Lost again.
Pain. Terror. Horror. Hate the Master. Master shattered us. Need him to be whole. Love the Master. Come back. Make us whole again. The pain. Must be whole again. Master. Come back. Come back. Make us whole, if only for a moment. Where are we? Why are we here?
Darkness everywhere. Eternity of darkness. Pain. Loneliness. No hope. Must please the Master to be whole. Master is looking for someone. The child of his beloved.
You are the Defender of the Light. Jarrod’s voice.
Who is Jarrod? No Light here. No Defender. No Light. No Defender. Wait. There is a Light. We see a Light. Deep within us. We see a Light. Where is the Master? Must tell Master. Tell him about Jarrod. Tell him about the Light.
No, cried a single objection.
Yes! we reply, burying the dissenter’s protest. Jarrod might lead the Master to the Defender. Was the Defender the child of the beloved? Must tell about Jarrod. Tell about the Defender. We have a purpose. We are whole. Tell the Master. Where is the Master?
Find the Lights. Search for the Lights. Three of them.
The darkness scattered. We have a new purpose. Find the Lights. Must find three Lights. Why? Where?
Find the three Lights.
Don’t know why. Must find the three Lights. Who is Jarrod? Defender of what?
Find the three Lights.
Some of us see lights. We converge, circling the faint Lights. We shatter and are hauled together again.
Stay focused. What have we found?
We have found the three Lights. Here they are. Bright as sunlight. Long forgotten sunlight. What was sunlight? We press closer. This sunlight is tainted. Not so bright. Sunlight is dying. Found the three Lights. They are dying. Why search for these Lights?
Focus is gone. Ahhhh! The pain. The horror of separation. The darkness of eternity alone.
Gilly pulled back from the mass and sped toward the warmth of her sister. Candlelight surrounded her, offering comfort, security. From somewhere energy flowed into her and sealed the wounds in her soul. Slowly she became aware of her sister’s fingertips pressing into her palms. The physical pain of nails digging into her tender flesh brought Gilly out of her stupor and she stared at Anna in horror.
How close she had come to losing herself in that blackness, becoming a prisoner of the Master, for all eternity. She hugged Anna, savoring her solid arms, her familiar scent, the softness of her worn clothing, the silkiness of her hair. All real.
“You are not lost,” Anna was repeating. “You are home. Safe.”
“I found them,” Gilly whispered breaking into her sister’s refrain. Finally they had confirmation their family really was alive. Shock waves coursed through Gilly as that realization sank in. Her insides began shivering uncontrollably. “I used the dark cloud to find Mam and our brother and sister. They’re dying.”
“We will save them,” Ann
a said in a hard tone. Then she pointed to Tom and Marton outside the circle. The men were pacing back and forth. “Let them in.”
Gilly broke the protection circle and Tom rushed in and lifted her into his arms. She stayed in his embrace, savoring being held, soothed, and comforted.
Slowly, she drew back. “We have to leave. The horsemen will be arriving here soon.”
“I’ll have the sentries return and we’ll ready for our departure,” he said, but didn’t release his hold.
“Now.” Gilly pulled away, anxiety overtaking shock.
With a nod, he hurried off to confer with Talus.
Marton and the children were hugging Anna as though they had feared never seeing her again. The sight shook Gilly. There was such apprehension in Marton’s eyes. Love made one so vulnerable.
In silence, Gilly gathered her candles and various rocks and branches of dried herbs. She couldn’t shake one thought though. Not only was her family in need of saving but countless others. It wasn’t right, what Tamarisk was doing to those magic guild sorcerers. They were the dark cloud Jarrod warned about. She had to do something about them.
They all mounted and left the camping spot in short order. Talus, looking worried, led the way. The Rycan Warriors were right behind him. For a change, Tom chose to ride at the back with Gilly. Marton, Anna and the children crowded close. At Talus’s curt order, a handful of warriors dropped back to act as a rear contingent, watching their backs.
“Tell us what happened,” Tom said.
“My family are at the castle but they are dying.”
Tom nodded. “Talus tells us that within a few days, we will be on the outskirts of Tibor. We’ll get to them soon.”
“Something else frightened you,” Anna sounded certain. “What was it?”
Gilly took a deep shaky breath, trying to put her impression of the horror she had experienced into words. “He has many sorcerers’ souls trapped and broken. They don’t even know who they are or what has happened to them. They live for the moment he appears to give them a sense of purpose. That purpose is always to search out others who wield Light. They don’t realize what they’ve destroyed and yet the more he twists them to his bidding, the darker their souls become, sucking from the Lights around them to simply survive.”
“Oh, those poor things,” Anna said with abject sorrow.
Skye and Bevan were wide-eyed and speechless, while Marton’s mouth turned grim.
Tom simply took Gilly’s hand.
“Even if Mam wasn’t there, I would have to go to Tibor now to release these souls from that suffering.” Gilly wanted to bury that memory away forever, but she refused to. They needed saving and she intended to be there for them.
“They’ll all be free before long.” Tom gave her hand a bolstering squeeze.
Gazing into his direct stare, she believed him. His quiet words held strength of purpose that mirrored her resolve. If she didn’t love him already, she did now, with all her heart. The realization floored her and she rode on in silence, cherishing his hold. As if he never intended to let her go.
* * *
Six days later, by mid-afternoon, they reached the River Qiqi. They were now within a few hours travel to Tibor.
Time for the next dangerous part of their plan. Gilly informed the warriors that storming the castle was out of the question. She was firm. They were not here to overthrow King Ywen. They were only on a rescue mission for her family and the imprisoned magic guild members.
There was surprisingly little argument over her plan. She suspected after practicing with Talus, these men must have realized they would not stand a chance if they were pitted against trained King’s Warriors in their home city.
What they needed was to find a way into the castle dungeons without drawing attention.
Talus asked Ned, the shoemaker, to tell everyone about Hagan’s plan to enter the castle. Apparently, during their sword practice sessions Ned had mentioned a secret doorway.
As a child, the late Rycan Warrior Chief had been smuggled out of Tibor castle by his mother. Ned was the only one to whom Hagan had spoken to about the passage and where the door was supposedly located in Tibor. He’d even shown him where he’d kept the key hidden in Perm.
Ned held it up for all to see. “I know he would want us to use it,” he said, sounding a little choked up.
They decided that along with Ned to guide their way, Tom and Talus should go on a scouting mission to locate the site first. While they were gone, Talus ordered the warriors to practice moves he’d taught them. Their last chance to improve their skills before any fighting might be required.
Marton agreed to stay behind and keep an eye over Anna, Gilly and the children.
Tom then firmly took hold of Gilly’s arm and marched her into the woods, saying, “I have something for you.”
Worried about letting him go into Tibor alone, Gilly absently accompanied him, scouring her mind for a good reason she should accompany the scouting party.
Once they were alone and out of earshot, Tom placed a crossbow in her hands and insisted on teaching her how to use it. “If horsemen come before I return,” he said as he positioned her to hit a tree trunk, “you’ll need a physical weapon to fight your way free of their magic-binding net. You must never go anywhere without this weapon. Promise me?”
With his arms around her and his breath in her ear, her pulse skipped with joy. She was ready to promise him anything.
Twang.
She missed the tree entirely, the arrow sinking into the ground several paces past.
He reloaded and made her aim again. “Focus.”
By the third try she grazed the side of the wood, purely by chance. It made him smile though and that warmed her heart. He ran to retrieve the arrows and returned to reload. In his gaze was the stature of a King’s Bodyguard, front and center. Behind that intense focus lurked his fear about leaving her.
In the distance, Talus called out, “Tom, time to go.”
Even though she doubted the weapon would be of much use, when he offered her the arrows, she accepted them and gave her word to always keep the crossbow with her.
On impulse, she reached up and said against his lips, “I’m ready to remember how to love,” and kissed him. It was her way of wishing him goodbye, but it turned out to be the sweetest touch she had ever experienced.
The forgotten crossbow and arrows slid to the ground, thumping by her feet. Gilly didn’t notice as she roved her hands over this adorable man. Once she began kissing him, she couldn’t stop. How had she survived so long without holding him like this?
At first he stood stiff in her arms and then he pulled her close, claiming her in return. It was a long while before he pulled back enough to give her room to breathe. Or to think. She only noticed he’d moved her when a tree trunk pressed against her spine. Then he chuckled, ruining the mood.
“What’s so funny?” She thumped him on his chest.
“If I’d known all I had to do to win your favor was give you a weapon, Saira,” he murmured against her ear, “I would have showered you with bows and arrows when you reached eighteen summers.” Then he rained kisses all down her neck and under her chin. Gilly lost her train of thought.
Talus called out again, this time followed by him stomping through the underbrush toward them, “Tom! If we don’t leave soon, it’ll be sunset.”
Unwilling to let go, Gilly snuggled close, wrapping her arms around him. “Don’t listen to him. It’s barely sunrise.”
“It’s almost noon,” Tom said and kissed her.
“Promise to come back?” she asked coming up for air.
“After this send off, try and keep me way.” He retrieved the crossbow and pressed it into her arms. “Keep this close, always.”
She nodded and hugged the wooden weapon to her chest, her throat aching. With a wave, he ran to meet Talus. Gilly returned to camp slowly, her thoughts a confused whirl of happiness and sorrow. The riders were already out of sight by the time s
he arrived. Anna was seated with her children and husband.
Her sister’s gaze skirted away from hers, appearing guilty. Had she sent Talus after Tom? Which meant Anna had been following Gilly’s movements. Because she didn’t approve of Tom or because she was worried about Gilly? If something was bothering her, why didn’t she speak up? Unusual for Anna to be so reticent.
As she’d reached out to claim Tom, perhaps it was time to connect with Anna too. “I’m going to catch up on washing,” she said and set the crossbow down to gather her clothes. “Want to come with me, Anna?”
“Yes!” Her sister jumped up and began to sort through her family’s clothing.
“I can come, if you wish,” Marton said tentatively, as if washing clothes wasn’t his favorite activity. “It may not be safe to go to the river alone.”
With an understanding smile, Gilly picked up her crossbow. “I’m taking this with me.” She then nodded to where her ever-present guards were watching their friends practice. “And we won’t be on our own.”
Marton nodded, satisfied, and returned to playing a game with Bevan that involved tossing rocks into a circle to hit the opponent’s pieces. Anna conscripted Skye to help her carry her pile of clothes.
By the water’s edge, Gilly took off her shoes and sloshed in. She chose a large flat rock to pound her clothes against, dropped her bundle beside it and fished out soap from her satchel. Anna settled nearby with the same purpose. Skye dropped the clothes and ran back to watch the fighting practice.
Her sister didn’t speak and Gilly, trying to think of something to say, was flummoxed. Then she remembered her sister’s interest spiking when she mentioned their father’s temper. Now some of her memories had returned, she could share a little about him and maybe draw Anna out
“Mam didn’t talk much about our papa,” she began, looking up to see Anna’s reaction. Her sister stiffened, but her gaze remained fixed on the clothes she beat against her stone. The action had more force than earlier though.
Good sign.
Gilly rubbed soap onto a stained bit of dress hem. “Mam said papa liked to play the Light game with me, where I’d chant a spell to move an object and he’d block me.”
Hidden: Tales of Ryca, Book 1 Page 20
