It wants to be found.
He came to the end of the passage, and his ball of magical light revealed a door. He reached for it, but before his hand touched it, it opened before him. He stepped through excitedly.
The room was largely empty, and a single pedestal stood in the center. A shaft of light from above shone straight down on the top of it, at first obscuring his view with the bright reflection. Nathair squinted in the glare and moved his head to the side to get a better view, and was awed at the sight.
It was the most perfect magestone he had ever seen, the clarity and quality of it was flawless, and it shone a brilliant bright red. It pulsed with power, power that invited him to take it and Nathair reached for it.
As his hand touched the stone, he felt a tingle through his fingers and he held it before him, admiring it. The door clicked shut behind him and he whirled around, clutching his treasure to his chest, but stopped his attack before he started it in amazement of what he saw.
“Mother?” he asked incredulously.
The woman bared her teeth. “Hello, Son,” she greeted him and Nathair felt a sharp stab of pain in his cheek.
CHAPTER 4
Gryffon stirred, and Layna rushed to his side once more as he sat up. “Are you alright?” she asked worriedly.
Gryffon nodded and gave her a wry grin. “I am not having a good year. What the blazes happened? Are you two alright? Did something happen with the border?”
Layna nodded that they were alright and that they had been successful taking the border down. Then she filled him in on the bad news about his life-sucker, ending with the dead end that she had just stumbled across with Aileen. “So it seems that it must be from Jezebel, but since she's already dead...” Layna trailed off, and shrugged her inability to explain.
“Are you sure she was dead?” Gryffon asked after a moment of thought.
Layna cringed at the memory of Jezebel being torn apart and answered, “I don't see how she could have survived injuries like that. Besides, her magic was all burned out.”
Aileen spoke up. “Having her magic burned out wouldn't necessarily stop her. The spell is self-supportive once it's cast, so it could have used Gryffon's life-energy to keep itself active, even if she was badly injured and would continue to do so even if she hasn't regained use of her magic.”
“Is there any other possible person who could have done this to you?” Layna asked desperately, not ready to face the possibility of Jezebel having survived being ripped apart by her own hellhounds.
Gryffon raised his eyebrows as he wracked his brain. “I don't think so, so let's assume for the moment that somehow she did survive and it is from her. In which case, what do we do to get rid of it?”
He and Layna both looked to Aileen who looked back at them regretfully. “I don't know the exact procedure. I know that you have to eventually face the person, but more than that I cannot tell you. Blood-magic is most definitely not my specialty.” She held both hands out before her.
“But you said it shouldn't do - that,” Layna widened her eyes and nodded to the ground, indicating the suffering Gryffon had just endured, “again. Right?”
“It shouldn't. More than likely she doesn't know that she has cast this spell and therefore cannot consciously activate it. Only if she is in dire need would the spell have taken it upon itself to drain you, and even then only if some outside source initiated it with the right conditions. Like the energy surge.”
“Brilliant. Are there any other side-effects of this project that we should know about?” Gryffon asked her blandly.
Aileen shifted rather suspiciously, but didn't answer. She was busy looking off across the landscape. Layna followed her gaze and caught sight of a figure coming towards them.
A beautiful black horse with shining silver mane galloped across the fields, closing the space between them with amazing speed. They all stood transfixed, hypnotized by the pattern of its gait. It reached them far too quickly by Layna's estimation, and it raised a cloud of dust as it dug in its shining hooves to pull to a stop before them. It stood before them for a long moment.
-Hail,- said a flowery voice in Layna's head. She looked wildly around for the source, but both Aileen and Gryffon were staring directly at the beast. The horse is talking to us! She realized incredulously.
Gryffon stepped forward and bowed to the thing, though Layna noted that his motion was rather stiff. He was obviously still recovering. Layna watched him with confused curiosity.
“Greetings,” he welcomed the horse. “I am Gryffon Longshadow, servant to the Ieldran of Endlyfta. We bear tidings that must reach them as swiftly as possible.”
The horse's gaze traveled the length of him, before nodding. -What became of the barrier?-
“We needed to get through so we took it down,” he answered her humbly.
The voice grew harsher in her mind and Layna winced. -You what?-
“It was my fault,” interjected Aileen, stepping forward, “I decided it was time for it to come down.”
-You decided it was time for it to come down?- the voice repeated incredulously, the pitch starting to cause Layna's head to ache. -What gives you the right to decide? - The horse stepped towards Aileen menacingly and gave her the same stare she had done to Gryffon moments ago.
The horse was so close to Aileen that Layna could see the woman's graying hair whoosh out as the beast's breath snorted out at her.
The high pitched whine in Layna's head subsided, and the horse took a step backwards. -Oh, it is you. I should have known.-
Aileen smiled. “That's all the welcome I get?”
-You are lucky you do not get a swift kick from me, Elder.-
Layna gave Gryffon an entreating look. On top of everything else, she now had talking horses to wrap her mind around.
“I assume you two know each other,” he said to Aileen and Echo, then turned to hold a hand out to indicate Layna. “This is Layna Nyx. She is my traveling companion and also has information that is vital for us to carry safely to Endlyfta.”
The horse fixed her appraising stare upon Layna now and she felt a probe. She strengthened her newly erected shields reflexively. Gryffon had trained her in shielding after the episode with the King, and she was glad for it now. She had no desire for this strange being to explore her thoughts uninvited.
She felt the probe gently push against the shields, but they did not budge and it retreated. The horse gave her an odd look. As odd as a talking horse can look anyway.
-She is…- Echo started in their minds but Aileen swiftly cut her off, making Layna wonder what it was about her that Echo was about to comment on. Did the horse already know her terrible secret too?
“She is one of the ones who went up against Gelendan’s new King and he seems to have taken a fancy to her. I also recently learned that the King may actually be the offspring of the Draconi gypsy tribe and a knight from the House of the Phoenix.” Aileen gave the horse-woman a pointed look as though this information was relevant and Layna felt that if the horse could have raised her eyebrows she would have. “It appears that the time is upon us, and as you know, the stone has gone missing. My fear is that it has been moved to Gelendan. We cannot afford further isolation. It would only prolong Treymayne’s demise. If there is any hope of stopping him, it needs to be done now, with all the resources we have.”
Both Aileen and the horse stood there silently staring into one another’s eyes for several long moments and Layna wondered if they were still conversing.
Gryffon finally broke the silence. “Layna, this is Echo. She is an honored guest at our palace and provides wisdom for the Ieldran, our council. She is very secretive, but as far as we can gather, she is actually a mage who found a way to turn herself into a horse and simply preferred to stay that way. Her guidance has been priceless of late.”
The horse - Echo - bowed her head in acknowledgment of this compliment, and then turned to Layna and winked.
“She was quite feisty in her youth. Ag
e seems to have mellowed her,” commented Aileen with a mischievous glint to her eye.
Echo lowered her head towards Aileen and Layna's eyes widened as a clear, sparkling horn sprouted from the blaze of white on her forehead and steadily grew. It lengthened, pointing straight at Aileen, until it just brushed up against her chest. Layna would have feared for the woman's safety was it not for the broad smile pasted upon her face.
“I see she hasn't lost her temper though.”
Layna looked from Aileen to Gryffon. “The two of you really need to work on your information sharing.”
A tinkling musical sound issued forth from the mage-beast, sounding rather like laughter, and the voice sounded in her mind again. -Knowledge is a most powerful weapon. It is prudent to guard it.-
“Yes, yes, yes,” said Aileen, waving a hand in the air, “but perhaps we should have warned you, dear, that a horse would suddenly being talking in your head.”
“It would certainly have been appreciated,” Layna squeaked out. She was beginning to feel like a character from one of her adventure novels.
“Well, now that introductions are out of the way, shouldn't we be getting on our way as well?”
Echo lowered her head and raised it again in agreement. -Indeed. Do you require anything before we begin?-
Aileen answered for them. “Actually yes, us simple folk need to pack a few belongings and gather up the last of our party.” She paused, the glint back in her eye. “And we seem to be one horse short.”
-She looks light,- Echo observed, pointing the sharp horn in Layna's direction.
“Too bad, she has a horse. You're stuck with me, old friend.”
Echo whinnied and stamped her hoof into the ground. Layna was unable to decide what kind of emotion prompted this action, and she stayed silent.
Their group stopped back at Aileen's cottage to pack and meet up with Charles, who despite his wild stories, seemed just as surprised as Layna to encounter a talking horse.
“Well, I never,” he had said when Echo introduced herself into his mind. “I'm not bein' hoodwinked here am I?” His reaction made Layna feel slightly less like the untraveled maid that she really was. “You see?” he announced in Layna and Gryffon’s general direction, “I told you there were strange things brewin’.” He flashed a fearful look at Echo and added, “No offense.”
At Layna's urging, Gryffon took a quick nap while they readied the supplies. The fact that he didn't object to this suggestion was reason enough for Layna to know that he sorely needed this rest. She covertly sent a healing tendril his way, lending him some of her own energy.
In short order they had their provisions ready and they each mounted their respective horses, with Aileen riding Echo as she had threatened. Without further ado, they set out across the field where just this morning an impenetrable barrier had blocked passage for hundreds of years. There was not even a line across the grass to betray the earlier separation. As they crossed the field, Layna half-expected some sort of feeling as they crossed the invisible line, but there was nothing. They simply rode farther and farther out of Gelendan and closer and closer to Endlyfta, the capital of a country Layna had never dreamed to set foot in. A country with talking horses.
Echo shook out her brilliant mane which sparkled in the sunlight, and she looked over her shoulder at Layna. Instantly, Layna refortified her shields, wondering if the horse-woman had overheard this thought. If so, at least it was laughter behind the large deep brown eyes, and not hostility. This is a strange adventure I've gotten myself into, all right. I just hope I live to see the ending.
*
Jezebel blinked her eyes slowly. Her lids felt heavy as she struggled to focus on her surroundings.
Dark blobs eventually started to take form as the images cleared, and her eyes adjusted to the light. She was aware of a tingling sensation throughout her body, as though she had been hit by a lightning bolt that had set fire to every inch of her.
The fire had died down now, however, and she could withstand the dull ache that came from within. Automatically she reached for the power to help her heal and she cried out, a strange sound to her ears as if it was being torn from her throat.
My channels are gone! There was a void where once she drew strength. A terrible feeling of loss and emptiness spread over her, and her head lolled back on the table she was lying on in despair.
Then her eyes narrowed as she took in her surroundings. Where am I? In half consciousness she remembered seeing someone, someone she knew. Who was it? Her mind felt as fuzzy as the rest of her and she moved to raise her hand to rub her eyes.
Except that she couldn't move it.
It caught on something tied firmly around her wrist and apparently attached to the table. So, I am a prisoner here. Just wait until my father finds out! She thought angrily, but another part of her mind corrected her. No, it said, just wait until YOU get out of here and find out who did it to you.
Even as she had these thoughts they confused her. Who was her father? Who am I for that matter? Instinctively she moved all her limbs, flailing against the bonds the best she could. But they didn't budge, each were quite snugly stuck to the table.
She sighed and leaned her head back again, tired from the effort. Obviously she had been hurt, she could feel still healing wounds, and she was certain that normally she would not feel so drained from the momentary struggle. She once more tried to force her mind to focus. Snippets of memory floated before her vision, but they were elusive and she couldn't make any sense of them.
Men in black robes, an older man- perhaps her father-, glowing runes, dogs barking, and time and time again the same face in bright light.
She strained her head to look down at herself. As she had already determined, she was fastened to a large wooden table by shackles on her wrists and ankles. She was naked and she could make out the faded pink of old wounds almost completely covering her body, a huge long scar down the length of her torso. Her eyes widened.
How long have I been here? It was rather disturbing to have lost track of what was going on, especially in light of the implications from the extent of her wounds. Perhaps there had been an accident and she was recovering from it. But then why am I shackled? To keep me from thrashing and further injuring myself?
Unlikely at this stage in the process. She would simply assume that her captor didn't want her to leave. And that made her suspicious of him.
Him. Yes, I just saw a man in here not long ago. And then he had disappeared. She tried to picture his face in her mind and slowly an image formed. She felt an odd tickle in the back of her mind, but it was gone before she could identify it. She had thought she had known him.
A sharp *pop* suddenly filled the small room and the man whose face she had just been imagining appeared out of thin air before her. She would have jumped had she not been so firmly attached to the table.
“I will not,” he was saying to someone out of her range of sight.
She eyed him narrowly. He was an extremely handsome man, a long white scar running down his otherwise statue-worthy features. He was expensively garbed and was wearing a circlet on his head. Is this my King? It wouldn't surprise her, though she had momentarily lost her memory, she knew she was something special. She had no doubt she was a very important person. Perhaps there had been an accident after all, and the King himself is overlooking my recovery. Hmm, and maybe the guards had insisted that I be restrained as in my wounded state I might lash out with my powers and accidentally hurt or kill him.
Except that my powers are gone.
She felt the emptiness creeping back over her, threatening to pull her into a depression.
No! She thought fiercely. Her power couldn't be gone. It was simply hurt, just like her body had been, and she would do anything - anything - to help it heal as well.
The man was pacing now.
“But that's not the plan!” he wailed, sounding awfully whiny coming from such a strong looking man. But that's only to be expected of a m
an. They always think they are better, despite their obvious faults. She must have missed what the other person had said while she was lost in thought, and she strained her head to see who it was that he was talking to.
She wasn't able to turn completely around, and only succeeded in giving her neck a good pinch before she gave up, resorting to watching the man. Jezebel imagined the unknown speaker giving him a look since he sighed and rubbed his temples in reply to some silent comment.
“Fine,” he stated and started to walk past her. He paused next to the table and looked down, as though noticing her for the first time. “It seems I will have a new job for you, my dear. Better rest up,” he said shortly to her and then continued on behind her.
She grew suddenly tired, and her eyelids felt heavy. She struggled to keep them open, but fog closed in around her, and soon she faded back into slumber.
*
Nathair stormed up the stairs, struggling to control his emotions. He could feel himself slipping back into his childhood. She has that effect on me. And now she wants to change all of my plans.
He growled deep in his throat. He reached the top of the stairs, and found his mother lounging behind his desk.
“You've done well,” she purred at him.
Nathair involuntarily shuddered, though he immediately reprimanded himself. I'm not a little boy any more.
“Yes, I have,” he answered shortly, “and I did it without you.”
Those Who Fear the Darkness (BloodRunes: Book 2) Page 7
