by Kim Fedyk
Absalom, however, didn’t know about the Ranin Bud yet and was slightly more than annoyed that the four of them had gotten away.
“If you had just managed to kill the damn girl 7 years ago, and not been fooled by that sorceress, none of this would have happened. Arleth would not now be with Aedan. We would not be at the disadvantage we are now.” Absalom screamed at Rogan, his spit flying onto Rogan’s face.
Rogan casually wiped Absalom’s saliva off of his cheek, as he thought back to that day on Tocarra seven years ago.
He had chased Arleth and a blonde girl into a storage room. He had killed the blonde girl quickly with a light spear and was just about to do the same to Arleth when Neve caught him in a web. He had been flown across the room and had landed in a heap against the far door. Neve and him had battled viciously for a long time before they had both passed out from exhaustion and magical overuse. When he had woken up, Neve was just coming to as well. She was slumped against the wall with Arleth crouched beside her. With his last shred of energy, Rogan had cast two spears of light and had sent them soaring across the room to land spectacularly, one through the heart of Arleth and one cleanly decapitating Neve. He had watched the last of Arleth’s laboured breaths from across the room and then had drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
At least that was what he had thought happened. To be honest, what he still remembered. Even though he now knew it hadn’t happened quite like that at all.
A few weeks ago, after years of working at it, Absalom had managed to figure out how to read the Erum. The original goal was to be able to follow Aedan. It would be impossible for him to ambush and raid Absalom’s troops if he could see what the man was planning as he was doing it. But they had quickly realized the Erum wasn’t just writing the story of one Amara, it was following the life of the still very much alive Arleth.
Apparently Neve hadn’t been as close to exhaustion as Rogan had thought she had been. When he had been unconscious, she had helped Arleth to escape the orphanage and used an illusion spell to trick him into thinking he had killed her.
“You weren’t so upset a couple of weeks ago to learn she was alive. I remember you distinctly saying something about how it was fortunate Neve had tricked me like that. How having Arleth’s powers would bring about the end of Aedan’s miserable little life that much sooner.” Rogan countered.
“Well I didn’t expect you to just let her slip out of your grasp.” Absalom shot back.
Rogan had to smile to himself, how he let her slip out of his grasp? Absalom was always so delusional when he was angry, and he was never quite as angry as when his revenge seemed to be in peril. Normally Rogan would have been a bit annoyed by this offhand comment from Absalom, but right now he was in too good a mood. He let Absalom continue yelling at him for a few more minutes before he said quietly “Well it doesn’t matter anyways. I planted a Ranin Bud on Aedan so it is even better that he got away.”
Absalom paused, the insult he was about to hurl at his sorcerer silenced on his tongue. The corners of his mouth curled up in the hint of a smile. And then into a full out grin, followed by a laugh. “How were you able to plant it on him?”
“I left it in the dungeon cell we placed him in. It was lying in the corner, as visible and as large as a grain of dust. Then as he sat obliviously in the cell, undoubtedly planning his own escape, it would have rolled its way over to him and burrowed under his skin. When we went back to the dungeon a little while ago, I could sense the remnants of its magic still in the air. It has successfully implanted into Aedan.”
“Well isn’t that wonderful,” Absalom replied his anger vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there. He had been pacing through the chamber during his bout of yelling and now he returned back to the window to stand beside Rogan. Through the darkness he could just barely make out the four of them, slightly darker shadows against an almost as dark background. He watched as they ventured deeper into the mountains and then disappeared from sight completely. It wouldn’t be long now before Aedan had returned to his stronghold.
Absalom turned away from the window to look at his sorcerer, the smile still on his lips, “We will have to get planning then. We only have two weeks to coordinate the destruction of our beloved Aedan.”
Chapter 21
“Oomph!” Arleth exclaimed as she stumbled ungracefully into Selene’s back.
Selene had been guiding them through the mountains to the stronghold and in the dark, Arleth hadn’t noticed when Selene had abruptly stopped in front of her.
“Oh sorry,” Selene said distractedly as she put a hand behind her to steady Arleth.
With Selene’s help, Arleth managed to steady herself on the uneven rocks. Curious though, she stretched to her right as far as she safely could on the narrow mountain pass in order to see what had made Selene stop so abruptly in the first place. But for her troubles, all she could see was much of the same; the mountain pass they were on seemed to continue for at least a mile before it disappeared into the darkness. Confused, Arleth began to ask why they had stopped, but was quickly silenced by a hand over her mouth.
“Sshhh,” Aedan whispered gently into Arleth’s ear as he came up closer behind her. Shortly after reaching the mountains, the illusion spell had worn off for both him and Zeeshan. So Aedan, once again looked like himself.
“Look,” he said removing his hand from her mouth.
Doing as she was told, Arleth stopped trying to look past Selene, and instead focused on her. Selene, deep in concentration, had turned slightly to her left and in the darkness, Arleth could just make out the subtle movements of her lips. As she watched, Selene began to speak louder and she raised her arms in front of her.
“What is she doing?” Arleth whispered back to Aedan.
A faint blue light began to pulse from Selene’s outstretched hands.
“She’s opening the front door.”
“Huh?” Arleth was still confused.
“We are right outside the entrance of our mountain home. Selene is re-working her protection spells so that we can get in.”
They were right outside? Arleth thought in surprise. She looked around her again. The four of them were on a narrow, uneven rocky path that spiraled its way through the mountains. Ahead of her, past Selene, there was still nothing but more path and more mountains. To her right, the cliff dropped off hundreds of feet below and to her left there was nothing but a sheer rock face.
But to the left was where Selene was focusing.
Arleth squinted in the darkness trying to find some indent or groove on the solid rock wall; anything at all really that looked even remotely close to a door.
“The fact that you can’t see a door,” Aedan whispered to her, as if reading her mind, “The fact that this spot looks exactly like every other spot in the mountains, means that Selene’s secrecy spells are working. She has woven incredibly powerful magic all around the entrance to our stronghold. It is designed to hide its location from anyone that happens to pass by. You can see for yourself how effective it is.”
Arleth nodded in awe, looking around her for the third time, but this time with a newfound appreciation for her surroundings.
“In all the years we have been here,” Aedan continued with more than a hint of pride in his voice, “Absalom, Rogan, their soldiers, any creatures, nothing they can conjure up, no spells Rogan can create have managed to even come close to finding where our stronghold is, let alone getting inside. Selene’s magic is that strong.”
“Wow!” Zeeshan said behind Aedan as he too took in the unchanging scenery. “That is incredible! If I was here by myself, I would have just kept on walking not even realizing I had passed anything at all.”
Aedan nodded, “Yes, and that is exactly what Absalom and
Rogan’s followers do as well; those that even get this far that is.”
“Okay,” Selene said, interrupting their admiration of her work, “I’m ready. I had altered the spells a bit when Aedan and I left so that i
n case something happened to me, Aedan would still be able to find his way back and so that our camp would still be protected.”
Aedan looked over at her in surprise; he hadn’t seen her doing this when they had left; and he hadn’t suspected how unsure she had been that their plan would work.
Selene carefully avoided looking at him as she continued, “But everything is back to normal now, so let’s go.” She smiled and beckoned Arleth to come over to her. Arleth obeyed, and Aedan followed her with Zeeshan coming up behind him.
“Everyone needs to be touching me in order to get safely through the barrier,” Selene instructed holding out her arms to the three of them. “Please, Arleth, Zeeshan take my hands.”
They did as they were bidden and Aedan wrapped his arm around Selene’s waist. He leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, “You weren’t sure we were going to make it huh?”
“I always like to be prepared, you know that,” Selene responded. “Remember, if Absalom had found the Alondrane I was actually in, I wouldn’t be here now.”
Aedan winced, he didn’t want to be reminded of that, “But you were so confident in reassuring me when I was worried if the plan would work.”
“Of course I was silly, I couldn’t have us both scared out of our minds.” Selene moved her head slightly back from his so that he could see her winking at him.
A few inches from her face, Aedan looked into her eyes, “You are wonderful you know that right?” He leaned over and kissed her on the mouth.
Arleth and Zeeshan, who had been watching their exchange up to this point, although not being able to hear what was said, averted their eyes and smiled at each other.
“Ok is everyone ready?” Selene said, “Zeeshan, Arleth you will feel coldness as you pass through the barrier and a slight tingling. It shouldn’t be very unpleasant and it will only last a few seconds.
She tightened her grip on Arleth and Zeeshan’s hands and felt Aedan’s hands resting on her shoulders. She started to take a step forward and then stopped.
“Aedan, we aren’t telling Val we were anything but 100% certain of our plan.”
“Of course not,” Aedan said seriously. “I do not have a death wish.”
Selene nodded, “Good.”
She paused for a few more seconds and then led them forward through the invisible barrier.
Even though she had been warned, Arleth still wasn’t prepared for the rush of cold that flooded through her. She closed her eyes against the cold and gasped audibly in shock; she could feel the goosebumps form instantly on her exposed skin. It was as though her entire body had been plunged into a pool of ice. Involuntarily, the muscles in Arleth’s legs began to constrict against the cold, and if it wasn’t for Selene’s hand pulling her along, she wasn’t so sure her legs would have carried her forward. Teeth chattering, she allowed herself to be led forward blindly by Selene’s steady hand. After a few seconds though, she braced against the cold and squinted one eye open.
What she saw, took her breath away.
When Arleth was still a young child at the orphanage, Neve had taken her aside one day at recess to show her a massive spider web that had been spun between two oak trees in the centre of the courtyard. Arleth had been fascinated, tracing each strand with her eyes, marvelling at the sheer size of it. When the sun came out from behind the clouds, the strands still wet with morning dew had shone brilliantly in the light; shimmering with a reflected radiance.
Arleth remembered this now as she looked around her. She was quite literally inside what looked like a massive spider web. Brilliant blue fibers were extended in all directions from Selene’s wrists, reaching up to the sky and around to surround the four of them in a massive net-like web that floated with them as they walked. Although it was way past nightfall, the fibers were shimmering as though they were bathed in full sunlight. With her free hand, Arleth cautiously reached out to touch one of the strands that hovered just in front of her face. When the point of her finger touched it, the fiber bounced slightly from the impact and then dissipated, only to be reformed again as soon as she removed her hand.
So this was what it was like to be literally inside magic?
Mesmerized, Arleth followed the web down to her feet. She watched with delight as the strands around her legs continually evaporated and reformed as she walked through them.
Then all of a sudden, the strands all disappeared. Arleth looked up in surprise and found that she was inside a huge cavern. Selene gently let go of Arleth’s hand. Arleth turned around to look behind her and was met with a solid rock wall.
“We are here,” Selene said, shaking out her hands, “Welcome to our home.”
Arleth had turned back around at the sound of Selene’s voice and now walked up a few paces to stand beside Zeeshan. The two of them stood together in silence, taking in their first glimpse of the mountain stronghold.
They were standing at the entrance of a huge natural cavern. It had to have been at least 15 metres high and as far back as Arleth could see; there was no end in sight. Although it should have been pitch dark, Arleth realized that the walls were glowing faintly which bathed the entire cave in a dusk-like light. Rows and rows of neatly ordered tents took up the majority of the space on the ground. Towering trees and gardens (grown through magic Arleth assumed) interspersed these tents, giving the impression of a small permanent city instead of a war-time hideout.
Since it was late at night, only a handful of people were outside of their tents. Some were sitting and talking in small groups; one rather rambunctious group was playing some sort of game with coloured stones; and there were a few couples walking hand in hand through the gardens.
But none as yet, had noticed the entrance of the four newcomers. That is, aside from the two guards that had been talking with Selene and Aedan since they had first arrived. As Arleth watched this exchange, Aedan tilted his head in her direction and smiled. Both guards eyes’ opened in surprise and simultaneously turned to look at her. Their faces lit up into huge smiles and they turned back around to face Aedan and Selene. One of them said something to Aedan and clasped his left shoulder; Aedan smiled and returned the gesture.
This discourse might have continued, but Selene, who had been looking over the shoulder of the shorter guard, let out a loud laugh which she immediately tried to stifle with a hand over her mouth. Aedan looked over at her in surprise and then, following her gaze also broke into laughter, although he didn’t try to hide it.
“Your hap-hazard birdbrained plan actually worked! It actually friggen worked!” Val Odane yelled as he all but flew over to them. The guard Aedan had been talking with had a split second to move out of the way before Val cannonballed into his friend. Aedan laughed and put his arm around him. Selene, who had a front row seat to this action, was almost doubled over in laughter.
“Oh no you don’t,” Val said, reaching out to her with his free arm and pulled her into what was now a group hug.
“So I guess you were worried about us, eh Val?” Aedan said with a smile, pulling away after a few moments.
“Worried?!?” Val spluttered, “How could I not be. How could you not have been....?”
Selene looked over at Aedan and he gave her a knowing wink. They both knew what was coming.
“...Going in there without a solid plan. ‘I’ll just walk right up to Iridian castle,’ Aedan says. ‘Let the grekens take me, Absalom will be expecting me, don’t worry Val it will be fine.’ But what if it wasn’t fine? And then putting Selene into an Alondrane and just hoping, HOPING, that Absalom wouldn’t find the real one. And then assuming this plan all worked magically, banking on the fact that he would put you in the only type of dungeon cell that you would even be able to use the Alondrane in. And don’t even get me started on the likelihood of actually finding Arleth without being recaptured and managing to somehow get back out of the castle.”
Val broke off, looking at his two friends expectantly. Selene and Aedan exchanged a glance, “Nope, we weren’t wor
ried,” Aedan said shaking his head nonchalantly.
“Gah!” Val gave an exasperated sigh, “You guys...just...ahh!”
Selene smiled innocently at Val. He was a hard man, tough and fearless in battle. Rational to a fault. He would take on the craziest, most dangerous missions himself without a second thought, but when it came to her or Aedan he became as overprotective as a mother hen. It always made her and Aedan laugh – it was so at odds with the rest of his personality. Val didn’t see it of course; he just found the pair of them exasperating.
“But anyways,” Aedan said, getting back to business, “We were successful,” he muttered under his breath “As we knew we would be.” Aedan gave his friend a winning smile.
Val just glared back.
“Which means we have Arleth,” Aedan continued, looking over in the direction of his younger sister. “Umm.... Arleth?”
At the first sight of Val, Arleth had almost involuntarily retreated backwards a few steps. Now she was practically hiding behind Zeeshan. At the sound of Aedan calling her name, she poked her head out from behind Zeeshan’s back. Cautiously, she took a step to her right so half of her body was visible along with her head.
Aedan looked at her puzzled for a few moments and then realization dawned in his eyes. He let out a loud laugh, and turned to Val, “What have you done to my little sister?”
“What do you mean, what have I done?” Val protested. He looked over at Arleth who was still half hidden and was staring at him with bright, fearful eyes. “Oh,” he said flatly, “That.”
Aedan laughed even harder.
“I saw her. A greken attacked me. I killed it. She ran. I followed after her,” Val said matter of factly.
“Uh huh...” Aedan said when he paused to draw breath. “Are you sure that is all that happened?”
Selene shook her head at the two of them and came over to stand in front of Arleth.
“Arleth, you have no need to be afraid of Val. I know the first time you saw him was on Tocarra. He was following you and you had no idea who this strange man was. And I’m sure Absalom gave you some kind of explanation that would have made perfect sense and portrayed himself as the hero.”
