by Toni Cox
“He has already left, Maia, and you should not be out at this hour,” her father said after she barged into his rooms.
Maia paced up and down in front of him. Riker and Rothea stood by the door, watching.
“When did he leave? Is there no time to call him back?” Maia asked, worry in her voice.
“Somas left early this morning. And although I trust your instincts, Maia, it is important that Somas sees this mission through. We have not made any headway with gathering information and sending Somas to Naylera again might just get us the information we need to prevent another war.”
“I do not have a good feeling about this, Father. Something will go wrong.”
“How do you even know your premonition is about Somas? Until I told you, you were not even aware that he was going.”
“I did not know it was about Somas until you told me. Now I am certain.”
Maia hated her premonitions; she could not control them. Sometimes, even though something terrible was happening, she was completely unaware of it. At other times, she felt them so strongly that it made her sick to the stomach. Again, she wondered if the Mother had chosen wisely when she had selected Maia to be a Life Prime. She could not interpret her dreams, nor understand her premonitions, so what good were they to her in the end? Suddenly feeling terribly sad, she shook her head.
“Just please let me know when he returns,” she said to her father and then turned to leave.
She felt her father’s eyes follow her as she made her way through the door. She noticed Riker nod to her father and then the three of them were on their way back.
She was utterly exhausted by the time she climbed into bed. She missed Wolf, who was still with her brother. Rothea blew out the candle on her bedside table before climbing into the makeshift bed that had been erected in Maia’s room. Riker was sleeping in the spare room. She stared at the dark ceiling for a long time before sleep eventually took her.
Finally, he had made a breakthrough; a lead he knew would yield some results. He had agonised about the note he had intercepted for days. It seemed that the mysterious stranger had sent not just one note, as the order to kill everyone had been executed nonetheless. He had been furious when he had heard about what happened to the people of Stoneloft and had intensified his search for the one instigating these attacks. But his foe was cunning and his magic strong and no matter how hard he tried, he could not get any closer to the truth. What he needed was a softer target and it looked like he had found it; a group of Vampyres that had come close to Shadow Hall, had stayed for a night and met up with another, before they had moved on towards Braérn. It seemed that this group had met with the one he was hunting and there was a chance he could extract the information from them; he was good at hunting Vampyres and they were easier to persuade to give up their secrets than his unknown enemy.
He hated to leave Shadow Hall, and Maia, but he could not delay. He knew Maia was safe. Although he knew the precautions around Maia had been put in place because of him, he could not fault Lord Longshadow for his decisions. Things had been especially difficult for him ever since Jaik had led the hunting parties for him. Jaik’s ability to track and sense danger was impressive and his men followed him with confidence. Maia’s wolf also seemed to follow her brother almost anywhere and he was almost as difficult to hide from as Midnight. Maia would be safe while he was gone. He hoped.
Quickly he erased any signs of his presence from the site he had slept in last night and then followed the spoor east. This group was made up only of Vampyres, all Generals, but no Werewolves. There were five of them and they were extremely careful. Tracking them took a lot of his skill and if it had not been for the stench of death that followed these creatures everywhere they went, he might have lost them on numerous occasions. But he was good at finding death, and dealing it, and they would not escape him for long.
Maia’s hair stirred in the downdraft from Midnight’s wings as he flew by overhead. She looked up through the trees and caught glimpses of him as he circled the city, casting deep shadows with his passage. The people were used to him by now; Midnight routinely patrolled the skies above the city every day. Maia missed flying with him, but her father had forbidden her to go into the forest or leave the city. She felt ready to rebel, but making the Silva was taking up so much of her time, that she simply did not have the energy for it.
From Midnight, she had learned that Blaid was not close to Shadow Hall anymore. At first, she had been shocked to learn that Midnight had been aware of Blaid’s presence over the past few Quarters and then she had been upset with him for not telling her. Midnight had remained silent then and only when Maia had apologised, had Midnight been forthcoming with this new information. Blaid had left a few days ago, hunting. Midnight assumed it was Vampyres, but he had not wanted to leave the city to confirm this suspicion.
The fact that Blaid had been close all this time confused Maia. She understood why he had not been able to see her again, but why had she not felt him? She had also not dreamed about him lately and, although they could be strange and confusing, she now realised that she missed those dreams.
Thinking of Blaid did not make things easier for her though and she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she watched Midnight make another pass over where they stood.
They were on their way to one of the storage caves to fetch yet another batch of ingredients for the Silva. They had one hundred and twenty vials already; each vial about the size of a small flagon of wine. Each one could sustain up to fifty Elves and give them the extra strength and energy they needed to carry on fighting even when the strongest would falter. Silas had discussed the quantities with her father and the hope was to bring together at least twenty thousand Elves to stand against the Vampyres. They had been hopelessly outnumbered during the last war and, had it not been for Blaid, they might all have died.
Maia shook her head. Why did her thoughts keep coming back to Blaid? She should be concentrating on making the potion taking stock of the ingredients needed. To make at least four hundred vials required large volumes of the rare mytherna crystal powder and Silas was worried that they did not have enough.
“Here we are, My Lady,” Riker said and reached out to help Maia over the last step.
Riker’s hand was warm and he held her hand for a moment longer than necessary. Quickly Maia reached into her pocket to extract the key to the door. This cave was not used for food or any other ordinary items. It was one of the royal storage caves and few people had access. It contained anything from rare materials, to sensitive information of state and items of the royal estate. Maia had not set foot in this cave for many years and she suddenly felt a prickle of excitement. When she was younger she had loved to accompany her father here to look at all their treasures.
She was grinning by the time she led Rothea and Riker down the dark passage, a single crystal lantern lighting their way. The tunnel of this cave was winding and longer than most. It was chilly within the rock and Maia shivered. Then the narrow tunnel opened into a small alcove, where all the torches and lanterns were stored. Quickly Riker busied himself with lighting the lanterns and then they continued on into the large cavern that opened up from the alcove. Hanging the lanterns from evenly spaced hooks around the cave quickly brightened up the space and soon it was light enough for them to see even into the deepest corners of the oblong cavern.
Rectangular niches had been cut out of the rock to act as storage holes, wooden framework had been set against the walls to act as shelves and the centre was strewn with tables and chests and other objects. At first glance, the items visible did not look like anything special; boxes with scrolls, rolled up carpets, some furniture and other odds and ends. But Maia knew that the real treasures were in the sealed chests and within the recesses of the walls. Most of the precious metals that the city owned were stored here. When she was young, she had learned the meaning of each symbol. She knew that the large, wooden chest with the square symbol contained gol
d, the iron-bound chest with the triangle contained silver, the red-painted chest held platinum and the pretty chest with the silver lattice contained diamonds. There were many more, but they were not what they were here for.
“Silas said that the mytherna should be in the niches on the northern wall. He has always had some in his cave, but we have exhausted his supply. He has not been in here for some time, so he is not sure which one it is. The mytherna is stored in blue pottery urns with a red wax seal. They should be easy to identify.”
Quickly the three spread out and started to investigate the holes along the northern wall. There were many and their search was often interrupted by oohs and aahs from Riker and Rothea as they discovered treasures such as they had never seen before.
Maia found a wooden box which contained fireweed and wondered if anyone would mind if she took it. She only thought for a moment before she stashed it in the haversack she had brought. The next niche yielded a large collection of maps of places she did not recognise, then some jars with a variety of gem stones and then rolls and rolls of fine silk in various colours.
“I think I have found them,” Riker shouted.
Quickly Maia made her way across to him.
“Yes, these are the ones. How many do you count?”
Riker took the first three out of the nook and set them on the floor.
“There are two more rows, so we have nine bottles.”
Relief washed over Maia as she realised that there would be more than enough.
“We will only need four to finish the rest of the Silva. Let us pack them carefully.”
Rothea took a blanket out of her own haversack and laid it on the floor. Carefully she rolled two of the bottles in the blanket and then put them in the bag. Riker did the same with the other two bottles.
With Rothea and Riker carrying the precious cargo, Maia took it upon herself to collect and extinguish all the lanterns and return them to the alcove. With their single lantern, they made their way back down the winding tunnel.
Bright sunlight blinded them as they stepped out of the entrance. Maia had not realised how musty it smelled within the cave, but she now took a deep breath of fresh air and closed her eyes for a moment.
I have a present for you, she transmitted the thought to Midnight and she felt his curiosity stir. Meet us by the field next to the Silver Forest by the end of the day.
Having accomplished their task, the three made their way back to Silas’ cave. Maia was glad they had found enough mytherna to make the quantity of Silva her father had ordered, but she was not looking forward to the long hours of preparing it. Even with the help of some others whose magic was Water, most of the work fell to Maia and Silas. She had always loved Silas’ cosy cave, but she was starting to dislike going there; she would much rather be sparring, training, flying or simply being outside.
“We have brought four urns, Silas. There are another five left in the cave,” Maia said as they walked in.
“Let us not waste any time then. I want to have the mixture going before nightfall, so the others can take over the night-shift.”
Riker and Rothea unpacked their precious cargo and then retreated to their customary spot by the entrance. Because they now spent so much time in the cave, Silas had set up a table and chairs for them, as well as refreshments and anything else they might need while they watched over Maia.
Maia busied herself with grinding up some of the ingredients. She forced herself not to rush, as improper preparation could impact the strength of the Silva. Silas joined her and they worked in silence for a long time. The ball of boiling liquid was already hovering over the flames and, one by one, Maia gently added the ingredients. By now, the novelty of the changing colours of the ball had worn off. In the beginning, there had been excited exclamations from everyone as the ball changed colour with every item added; it would sometimes even glow or emit tendrils of coloured smoke. Now Maia hardly noticed it; she just wanted to get it done.
“That should do it,” Silas finally said and Maia sighed with relief. “The others should be here soon to take over. Why don’t you go home? I can take care of this until they get here.”
“Thank you, Silas,” Maia said, trying not to let her relief colour her words.
She took her haversack from where she had dropped it by the entrance and then she left with her companions in tow.
“Do you mind if we make a short stop by the field? I have something that I would like to give to Midnight,” she asked them as they stepped out of the cave’s entrance and into the dusk of evening.
“It is well within the city, so I do not see a problem with it, My Lady,” Riker said, smiling at her. “And most of the people should have left their workshops by now, so Midnight should not cause too much of a panic. But we will have to hurry, as the nightly curfew still applies.”
Quickly Maia signalled Midnight that they were on their way. She felt him acknowledge and soon she sensed him flying overhead. They hurried the half mile to the field and by the time they reached it, Midnight was already waiting for them. Riker and Rothea stopped along the tree line of the Silver Forest, while Maia continued on into the field.
Midnight’s strong dragon smell greeted her as she approached and she closed her eyes for a moment, savouring his familiarity.
I have missed your nearness, she said with her mind and he rumbled in agreement.
Quickly she retrieved the box from her haversack and then stepped up to her dragon.
Lower your head and open your mouth, she commanded him.
She received mixed feelings from Midnight; annoyance at her command and curiosity as to what she had for him. But he sensed only good intentions from her, even if she kept her secret well hidden.
Midnight’s breath washed over her as he brought his head in line with her body. Even with his head resting on the ground she could not look him straight in the eye. She reached out and stroked his face. She knew the places on his skin where he was soft; most of his skin was studded in spikes; and she rubbed them now, eliciting growls of pleasure from him. As she stepped away from him again he opened his great mouth. Even from this distance Maia could hear the sharp intake of breath from Rothea as she beheld the vicious profusion of dagger-like teeth.
Maia stepped onto Midnight’s lower lip and leant in over his bottom teeth, before upending the box and depositing its content onto Midnight’s tongue. Quickly she sprang back as Midnight’s reflex to swallow kicked in. She landed safely back on the ground just as Midnight’s great jaws snapped shut. Maia laughed and she heard a nervous giggle from Rothea. Riker was deathly still.
Soon Midnight was making all sorts of strange noises and steam was coming from his nostrils. Feelings of his pleasure washed over Maia and feeling good that she could do something nice for him, climbed onto his foreleg and snuggled into the crook of his neck. She felt his heat through her cotton shirt, felt his contentment and suddenly she felt completely safe.
What am I to do, Midnight? she thought. Everything seems so futile. War is inevitable; there is nothing I can do to stop it.
Images of comfort flooded her mind; to soothe her; then images of Midnight burning and eating every Vampyre that came through the gate assaulted her. She laughed at his exuberance, but knew that he was spoiling for a fight. He was more of a fighter than even the Battle Dragons of the north. Soul Dragons were built to fight and Midnight had so far lived a very sheltered life; having chosen to bond with Maia and spend much of his time on the company of Elves. She knew that, although he worried about her and the Elves she cared for, he was looking forward to the opportunity to match his might against a foe. And now that they had found a way for him to use his fire without causing Maia harm, they had a greater chance of fighting together. She wished they could practice more, as they had only just discovered how it worked. But she also knew that he fought best without having to worry about her on his back. Her father would not approve of this decision but, when the time came, she knew she would ride Fire into batt
le, so that Midnight was free to do as much damage as he could. This time she would leave nothing to chance.
A wave of nausea overcame her then and Midnight quickly changed his train of thought onto something more pleasant. Immediately Maia felt better and sent him his gratitude.
How was she supposed to fight if she could still not control her weakness? She had tried, before the last war, to get used to killing by slaughtering animals that were to be consumed, but it had been to no avail. Killing made her sick, most often violently so. Only when she and Blaid had fought together as a team, had it not affected her.
The thought of Blaid momentarily erased all other thought and she let herself drift for just a moment. She was sure Midnight would interfere with this line of thinking anyway, so she savoured the short moment. But when Midnight did not interrupt, she reached out to him and was pleased to find that Midnight’s feelings about Blaid had changed for good. No longer was he suspicious or wary of him. No longer did he harbour animosity and view him as a threat. In Midnight’s mind, Blaid stood on the same level as Maia, even if he did not view him with the same love as he did Maia; but the trust and respect were the same. She knew then that Midnight had seen into Blaid’s soul and seen what she knew to be true; he was pure, just like her, a true Prime.
He had been following them for days, but their route was not making any sense to him, nor the purpose of their trip. They were careful; always one step ahead of him, covering their tracks. First, they had headed towards Braérn, keeping off the Trade Route, but never far from it. Then they had turned south, onto the plains and they had travelled swiftly. Tracking them on the plains had been easier and he had closed the distance somewhat but, after a while, he got the feeling that they were aware of him and they changed course yet again, heading back up towards Braérn. In all the days that he had been following them, they had not encountered any Elves and although Blaid had been aware of some small settlements nearby, the Vampyres had avoided them. Now they had crossed the Oakin River and were heading towards Alea Yll. Blaid wondered about the nature of their trip, but they were leaving no clues for him to find.
