Griffin's Shadow

by Leslie Ann Moore

PART II

  Chapter 8

  The Woman In Red

  "Ashi, you’ll squeeze the life out of me!” Jelena gasped. Ashinji loosened his fierce hold and cradled her body more gently against his.

  “I’m sorry, my love…it’s just I still can’t believe I’m not going to lose you,” he whispered into her ear. Jelena caressed his cheek and entwined her fingers in his hair. She lay her head on his chest and felt the steady, slow pulse of his heart beneath his skin. A delicious lassitude weighted down her limbs. She wished never to move from this place.

  It had been a long, emotionally exhausting night, and the two of them had only just crawled into their bed, after closing the shutters against the rosy glow of dawn. The king had provided her with an escort back to the Sakehera family quarters, and after thanking and leaving them at the door, she had entered to find Ashinji and both his parents awaiting her return.

  Sen and Amara exchanged embraces with her, but neither one asked any questions; still, Jelena knew her in-laws would expect a full account after she had gotten some much needed rest. Sen had promised to allow her and Ashinji to sleep undisturbed for as long as they wished.

  Now snug beneath the coverlets, Jelena’s mind drifted for a while in the gray country between the waking world and the realm of dreams. At first, she remained aware of the comforting warmth of Ashinji’s body next to hers, but gradually, she lost all sense of him as her consciousness slipped away and she found herself walking alone on a featureless, unending plain.

  A leaden sky merged with the dull horizon. She felt no breath of wind, nor heard any sound. Off in the distance, she spied a peculiar splash of color and altered her course to move toward it.

  The blot of color gradually came into focus as Jelena drew closer, resolving itself into the figure of a woman. She stood straight and regal as a queen. She wore a long gown of vivid flame-red, form-fitting and low cut, a perfect match to the fiery tresses that cascaded around her shoulders. A mask, porcelain-smooth and white as bone, concealed the woman’s face. Only her eyes were visible, sea-green and glowing with chilly intensity. A round black stone, hung upon a gold chain, nestled in the cleft between her pale breasts.

  Jelena’s eyes were drawn to the stone almost against her will and as she stared into its depths-helpless to look away-she realized that the stone seemed alive somehow. She shuddered in horror as the malignant intelligence coiled within its crystalline structure extended a tendril to caress her mind. Jelena moaned in fear and tried to run, but her feet had merged with the gray dust, trapping her where she stood.

  You cannot run, little one, the woman crooned in a voice as sweet as honey. Nor can you escape your fate. He will have the Key, and his triumph will be assured.

  Without warning, the woman raised her hand and struck Jelena’s face. A blood-red fingernail, sharp as a dagger, scored a burning trail across her cheek.

  Jelena screamed…

  …and awoke, fighting for breath.

  “Jelena! I’m here…you’re safe, love!” Ashinji pinned her flailing arms to her sides and held her tight as she struggled. “You were having a bad dream, that’s all, but you’re safe now!”

  The surreal terror of the dream leaked from her body, leaving her weak and trembling. “I feel sick,” she whispered, and pushing out of Ashinji’s arms, she fumbled for the chamber pot.

  Ashinji rubbed her back as she purged. Afterward, she lay against the pillows, drained and miserable as he stroked her hair and face with gentle fingers. “Can you handle a little wine, or perhaps tea would be better?” he asked.

  “Tea, I think,” Jelena answered.

  “I’ll just get rid of this,” Ashinji said, gingerly picking up the chamber pot as he left the bed. Jelena heard him slip through the bedroom door and pad down the stairs. Her stomach did another roll and it took all of her concentration not to vomit once more. She wondered at the vividness of the strange dream and its unsettling effect on her. She had experienced nightmares before, but never had they resulted in physical illness.

  She opened her eyes at the sound of Ashinji’s return. He carried a tray with a teapot and two cups, along with a small round loaf of bread. He carefully placed the tray on the bed.

  “The family’s up and eating breakfast. Mother thought a little plain bread would help to settle your stomach,” he said.

  “Ugh, I don’t know, Ashi. Maybe just the tea.” Jelena sat up and leaned forward to allow Ashinji to mound the pillows behind her back. He filled both cups with the hot brew and placed one in her hands. Tentatively, she raised the cup to her lips and took a small sip.

  The morning sun glowed through the shutters of their bedroom window. By the strength of the light, Jelena guessed it to be well past dawn. She had only been asleep a couple of hours, at most. Ashinji drank his tea in silence, studying her over the rim of his cup with worried eyes.

  “I suppose we’d better get up and get dressed. I don’t think either of us will sleep any more today.” Jelena sighed and took another, larger sip of her tea.

  “How do you feel?” Ashinji asked.

  “Better. The tea is definitely helping.” Her rebellious stomach did not feel in quite such an uproar any longer.

  “Tell me about your dream.”

  Jelena sorted the images in her mind, trying to make sense of them, then recapped her vision as best she could recall. “I had the same dream once before, or one very much like it, except the woman in the red gown wasn’t there that time,” she added. “She frightened me, Ashi. I felt like I was in the presence of evil, but it didn’t seem to come directly from her, which was odd. It came from the strange stone she wore around her neck. What can all this mean?”

  “Dreams aren’t literal. Their imagery is symbolic,” Ashinji explained. “The woman could represent an actual enemy…or an ally, sent to warn you. One of the most common manifestations of Talent is lucid and prophetic dreaming. My own small Talent manifests that way. I dreamt of you long before I found you on that riverbank. This woman in the red gown…she spoke to you of a key… A key to what, I wonder?”

  “Oh!” Jelena exclaimed. ““With all the worry and excitement about my meeting with the king…I completely forgot to tell you!”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Yesterday evening, right after you and your father and brother went to meet with the king, your mother sat me down and told me she knew all about my blue fire.” After she had repeated to Ashinji what Amara had told her, she shook her head and said, “I still have trouble believing any of it is true, but how can it not be? Your mother has said it is so.”

  Ashinji tugged hard on the rings in his ear, frowning. “Why didn’t my mother tell me any of this?”

  “Perhaps she did not wish to worry you. Ashi, your mother says that the Kirian Society can deal with…this key thing.”

  Ashinji shook his head and a stray lock of hair fell across his eyes. He brushed it away impatiently. He took her face between his hands and looked deep into her eyes. “Whatever this all means, if it bodes danger for you, I will protect you.” He kissed her on the lips then, with visible effort, smiled and said, “A delivery came for you just now.”

  Jelena raised an eyebrow. “Who would want to send me anything?” she asked.

  “I think it’s from the king,” Ashinji replied, pausing for dramatic effect.

  “What? What is it?” Jelena cried, goaded by the look of sly amusement on her husband’s face.

  “I saw a most becoming tunic and trousers in green and blue with a matching pair of slippers. Quite suitable for a high-born lady, or, dare I say, a princess? Shall I go get them, or perhaps you’d rather keep your old clothes?”

  Jelena growled and playfully punched Ashinji’s shoulder. “I’ll take the new things, thank you very much!” she exclaimed, then sighed and looked down at her hands. “I may be the king’s daughter, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the idea of being a princess,” she remarked softly.

  Ashinji did not reply, and when Jel
ena looked at him to gauge his thoughts, she could see the war he waged with his feelings-apprehension and happiness together made of his face a shifting landscape of emotion. She knew Ashinji found it just as hard to process the stunning change in her circumstances as she did, and Jelena believed she understood why.

  All of her life, she had struggled with feelings of inferiority. Because she had believed herself unworthy of it, she had almost let the blessing of true love slip through her fingers. Now, the man who had freely given her this most precious of gifts suffered from the very feelings that had afflicted her for so long.

  “I love you, Ashi,” she murmured. “You’ll never lose me, no matter what.”

  “I’m only a captain in the army, my love,” Ashinji said. “I have nothing but what my father, and when he’s gone, my brother, chooses to give me.” He hung his head as he spoke. “You’ve said to me in the past that you felt you were not worthy of me, but in truth…it is I who is not worthy of you, Jelena.” The pain in his voice tore at Jelena’s heart.

  “Stop talking nonsense, Ashinji Sakehera!” she chided. She grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. “You are stuck with me. Did you not promise to always protect me?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “But nothing! I am proud to be an army captain’s wife… Here, let me show you.”

  She pushed him down and straddled his hips. As their bodies joined in the timeless rite of lovemaking, Jelena strove to drive out all of Ashinji’s doubts with the strength of her passion. Afterward, as they lay in each other’s arms, the steady rise and fall of Ashinji’s chest soon lulled Jelena back to sleep.

  She awoke a short time later to find Ashinji propped on one elbow, watching her. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “About an hour. Mother just knocked. She says it’s time for you to get up and get dressed.”

  Jelena sat up and stretched. “She’s presenting me to the other members of the Kirian Society today,” she said.

  “Oh, yes. My mother’s mysterious society of mages. I had no idea she even still practiced magic until she started tutoring you. The idea that this ‘blue fire’ of yours must be removed from you because it’s too dangerous for it to remain where it is…it scares me, love.” He huffed in annoyance. “I just wish she’d told me about all of this herself.”

  “Please try not to worry, Ashi,” Jelena said, stroking his cheek.

  “Impossible,” he replied. He rolled out of bed and crossed to the window to crack open the shutters. Jelena smiled with admiration. The sight of Ashi’s bare backside made her want to drag him back to bed for another lovemaking session, but she knew Amara waited downstairs.

  “How do you feel?” he asked, pulling a robe over his nakedness. “Nausea all gone?”

  “Yes, thanks,” Jelena replied. “The tea really helped. Truth be told, I haven’t felt myself lately…I just hope I’m not coming down with the flux.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “What? You’ve been ill and you didn’t tell me?” Ashinji came over and sat beside her, frowning. “How long has this been going on?”

  Jelena sighed. “Since Nadaka Castle…”

  “Nadaka Castle!” Ashinji cried. “That was over a week ago!”

  “Yes, I know, but really…Ashi, it’s nothing. I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “You didn’t want to…”

  Jelena laid a finger on his lips to forestall any further outburst. “Hush, Husband. It’s nothing. Truly.”

  “Everyone is keeping secrets from me,” Ashinji muttered crossly.

  Jelena kissed him. “I love you, Husband,” she said, and her words seemed to mollify him. “Now, where are my new clothes?”

  Ashinji stood and went to scoop up a bundle by the door. “Your new raiment, my princess,” he announced in his best imitation of a court herald’s pompous voice. He held out the garments with a flourish. “My mother brought them up.” Jelena took the clothing from him and spent a moment admiring their color and cut.

  “My father is a man with exquisite taste,” she commented.

  Having no time for a proper bath, they had to make do with a ewer and washbasin. Afterward, Jelena put on her new outfit, marveling at the luxurious feel of the fabric. It brought back the bittersweet memory of the gown she had worn on that fateful Sansa night at Amsara Castle, nearly a year ago.

  Ashinji, as usual, donned his plain, soldier’s leathers. When he had finished dressing, he sat down at the end of the bed. Jelena braided his hair in a single queue, a task she had taken to doing for him each morning, just as he had made it his job to comb the snarls from her mane each evening. These small, loving gestures served to strengthen the bond between them.

  When she had secured the braid with a leather tie, she stepped back and he stood and turned to face her. He raised his hands as if to touch her, then lowered them to his sides. “You…you look beautiful,” he whispered. “Your Highness.”

  “No, Ashi, never ‘Highness’ to you,” she insisted, shaking her head. “Only ‘Jelena’ or ‘my love’.”

  He nodded and offered her his arm. “Allow a simple soldier to escort his lady, then,” he replied.

  She smiled and slipped her arm through his.

  Chapter 9

  The Veil Is Lifted

  From atop its lofty perch on the blue tiled roof of the keep’s north tower, the raven watched and waited. Or rather, the intelligence that had enslaved the bird and now used its eyes waited, knowing that soon, the woman would come to walk in the garden below.

  The bird held a shiny black stone within its beak. It knew nothing of the purpose of the stone; in fact, it knew nothing at all. The mind that now controlled the bird’s body had obliterated the tiny part of its brain that had contained its rudimentary self awareness. It served as a tool, nothing more.

  The sun passed zenith, and still, the raven waited.

  At last, the woman came, as she always did, alone except for a small, silky-haired dog capering by her side.

  The raven spread its wings and sprang from the roof. It glided unsteadily downward and came to a rough landing on the gravel path at the woman’s feet. The stone tumbled from its beak.

  The woman let out a startled cry and the little dog jumped back in a frenzy of barking. The raven stretched out its neck and squawked.

  The woman swiftly recovered her composure. She turned and scooped the dog into her arms. “Hush, Jewel!” she scolded, and clutching the struggling animal to her breast, she approached the bird where it crouched upon the path, unmoving. She stopped a few paces away and stood regarding the raven with cool sea-green eyes, her sensuous mouth twisted a little in puzzlement.

  The aura of her Talent outlined her body in a fiery halo.

  He knew she was the right choice.

  From across the vast distance that separated them, through sheer force of will, the Nameless One summoned a wave of energy and sent it spinning through the aether. It tore through the frail body of the raven and blasted the woman between her eyes. She fell backward onto the ground, her brilliant red hair fanning out on the gravel beneath her head. The dog tumbled out of her arms and fled, yapping in terror.

  He spoke to the woman, mind to mind.

  When he finished, he withdrew, leaving behind a link with which he could join with her when needed.

  The ultimate tool was prepared and ready to use. It would bring the Key to him so he could complete the Working.

  Deep within the icy darkness of his prison, the Nameless One writhed in pleasured anticipation of his freedom.

  Back in the garden, the woman awoke from her swoon. She moaned softly and massaged the back of her head, but despite the pain, her eyes sparkled with understanding. She rose to her knees and searched the path until she found the black stone. Clutching it tightly in her hand, she climbed to her feet.

  As she turned to run back toward the keep, the hem of her gown scattered a pile of scorched, black feathers.

  ~~
~

  “Jelena, these two of my colleagues, plus myself, are the only fully active members of the Kirian Society,” Amara stated. She inclined her head toward the two women who sat, side by side, on a silk-upholstered couch. “Princess Taya Onjara, wife of the king’s Heir and Mistress of the Society,” she indicated the older of the two with a nod, then acknowledged the younger, “…and Lady Sonoe Kazama, official Companion of the king.”

  Jelena bowed low, in the elven style.

  “Her manners are good, at least,” Princess Taya commented. “Come here, child, and sit. We have much to discuss.” Jelena quickly obeyed, settling cross-legged on a floor cushion at the feet of the two women. Amara pulled up a chair and sat to the right of the couch.

  No one spoke for a long while, or at least, not out loud. Jelena kept her eyes on her folded hands, but she did not need to see the faces of the three women to know that they conversed in mindspeech. A surge of irritation threatened her composure, but she quickly suppressed it. The Kirians would address her when they had need to.

  At last, Princess Taya spoke. “Jelena, I can only imagine the immense emotional strain you’ve had to endure in so short a time. How do you feel about all of this?” Jelena looked up sharply, surprised by the question.

  “How do I feel?” She studied each of their faces, worried that this was some sort of test, and if she gave the wrong answer, they would deem her unworthy. She ran her tongue over lips gone dry and cleared her throat before answering. “I feel…uncertain. I mean, I am overjoyed to have finally found my father, and relieved that he accepts me, but…but my presence may cause him a lot of trouble, and I don’t want that. As for the other, I have to admit that I am still struggling to understand just what part I am to play in this upcoming battle with…with…”

  “The Nameless One,” Lady Sonoe said, finishing Jelena’s sentence. Her green eyes shimmered hypnotically. Jelena bit her lip.

  There’s something about her…