Fae Song EPUB

by Williams , Deonne

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  horse, holding the reins. Balaan followed Freesa into the tunnel, and Gryffyn walked forward with him, the horse leading the man. This time, Talon didn’t hesitate either, allowing Shae to lead him in without a single twitch of an ear. When the rock behind them began to close, Darion staggered and rubbed his temples. “Father just sealed the gates. It is well that we hastened.” The golden light began to grow around them, reflecting in his eyes. “As I warned you, I think it is important that we move swiftly through the gates, so our path cannot be tracked. When I brought you to Heralith, we progressed in smaller stages, so it would be easier on you. I am hoping that since you both have spent time among us, it will not be as difficult this time. Are you ready friends?”

  “Let’s begin,” Gwynn answered, steeling herself against the feelings of disorientation she knew were coming.

  Darion extended his hand and darkness enveloped them. Like before, there was the sensation of movement, but it lasted far longer than any time during their entrance to Heralith. Gwynn heard the repetition of the tones she had memorized when Darion opened the first gate, and then they began to change. Following the modulations and memorizing them kept her from suffering the previous dizziness. When the shifting finally stopped and the light began to grow, the partners looked at each other in surprise, shocked at how easy the transition had seemed.

  “Well done,” Darion complimented.

  “There was more order to it this time,” Shae commented.

  Darion grinned at him. “Perhaps, you have absorbed more of an understanding of magic than you would like to think.”

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  “Say that to anyone outside the present company, and you might get seriously injured,” Shae growled.

  “I will heed your advice, noble Southron. Three more times should see us through.” Darion was correct. After three more gates, he warned them, “We are about to step back into the sunlight; shield your eyes.”

  The warm air that flowed into the Pathani gate was laden with sweet fragrances. They led their horses out into a rellar where the lush turf was starred with tiny yellow flowers that filled the air with scent. The enormous trees on either side were leafed in the dark green of late summer, and a bubbling spring in the center formed a shallow brook that flowed away under the trees on the northern side.

  Shae loosened the collar of his jerkin against the heat and whispered to Gwynn. “How long did we decide we were in Heralith? Perhaps more time has passed than we realized.”

  “Or maybe, it’s just because we are much further south than when we went there,” Gwynn whispered back.

  “Let’s hope so,” he grumbled, visibly disturbed at how much time could have slipped away from them while they were in Heralith. “Well, little one, we are in the southern Merton Hills as you asked. Now what do we do?”

  “I know the way my father traveled well enough, as those are the freshest memories in his mind, but they are coming to me from his perspective and from years ago.

  There may be a bit of a hunt before we find the right place.

  I’m sorry,” Gwynn sighed.

  “Do not apologize,” Darion said, “I think we al realized this would not be an easy task.”

  “Our present company is distinctive and unusual,”

  Shae observed, looking pointedly at Darion and the Pathani horses. “I think it might be in our best interest to travel at night and not draw any unwanted attention. But,” he 251

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  continued while he swung a leg over Talon, “I think I’m going to scout around a bit first. We began this venture short on planning and supplies, something guaranteed to drive a Southron nearly mad. There must some villages in this country. I’m going to see if I can find one and remedy at least part of those shortcomings. You are to stay here until I return. Is that understood, Gwynn?”

  She knew that for all its proper phrasing, Shae was not really asking her a question. “I understand, venchar, I will not leave this spot. I think I’m going to spend my time trying to get a better idea of where my father was when the Aeldive took him.”

  “That sounds almost like an organized plan. If you keep this up, I might get worried,” he teased. “Darion, I leave her in your care. See if you can keep one practical mind between you.”

  “A Pathani and a bard? Your hopes are doomed indeed!” he shot back.

  “I feared as much, but hope lives, even in the hardened heart of a Southron.” He urged Talon down between the trees surrounding the rel ar, knowing that despite his raillery, Darion would prove a guardian equal in ferocity to a Lifeguard should the need arise.

  Much like the first rel ar Shae had seen, this one was well hidden within the folds of the hills. There was no trail, so he followed the spring fed brook away from the rel ar, crossing it several times in search of the best footing for Talon. Eventually, it broadened into a true stream, flowing in a narrow valley between steep rocky ridges. Shae rode carefully, allowing Talon to pick his way up the stony slope.

  The view from the top was not particularly impressive. More rolling, rocky hills spread before him, while here and there, a watercourse glittered in the valleys.

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  There was little arable land in the Merton Hills, so the sparse population tended to raise sheep, cattle, and goats instead of field crops, trading wool, and hides to their neighbors in Meran. His keen eyes picked out wisps of rising smoke in the southeast. Hoping that indicated a village or at least a farmstead, he set off toward it, already listing what they would need for the rest of their journey. Knowing that the hills would cause distance to be deceptive, Shae was not surprised when it took him over an hour to find the source of the smoke. While the small cluster of stone and thatch dwellings was not quite his idea of a village, he knew that the residents would probably be glad of any coin he supplied.

  When he rode in, the children playing in the dirt lane that passed for a street drew back, gaping at him and Talon in a mixture of trepidation and awe. He halted the destrier and spoke gently to one of the older girls, who did not appear quite so frightened. “I find myself in need of a few provisions. Is there someone here that could assist me with that?”

  “Tono’s father is the village headman,” the girl said shyly, indicating the boy standing next to her. “I’m Innis; we’ll take you to him.”

  “I would be grateful.” His friendliness had instantly put the children at ease, and they returned hesitant grins, more than one showing a missing tooth. He dismounted and followed Innis and Tono, amused when the other children fell in behind them, causing an impromptu parade.

  Tono’s father, Rollo, while surprised to find a Southron in his village, proved to be quite helpful with the location of needed supplies. He secured grain for their horses and bread from the baker, goat’s milk cheese, jerky, and some tubers and squash for roasting in the fire from others of the village. Regretfully, Shae turned down the offer of fresh mutton, fearing it wouldn’t keep in the heat while 253

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  he returned to the rellar. Rollo seemed a very capable headman, making certain that almost every household in the village was able to supply him with something and drew the benefit of a sale. Shae paid the initial asking price for everything. He could spare it, and it was probably rare that this village got the opportunity to take advantage of hard coin.

  While he paid for the last of his purchases, giggles sounded behind him. He turned to see Talon halfway across the lane from where he had left him, nuzzling at Innis and Tono, searching for treats, just like Rogue did with Gwynn.

  Sighing heavily, Shae went to retrieve him, realizing that for all his precautions, she had managed to spoil his war horse.

  “Talon,” he growled when he took the reins and drew him away from the children, “you know better, you are supposed to stand when I drop your reins.”

  Then he swore under his breath, becoming conscious of the fact that he was carrying on a on
e-sided conversation with his horse the same way Gwynn did. Granted, he did talk to Talon, but those things tended not to be conversations. A pat on the shoulder and saying “Good boy” was quite a bit different, at least in Shae’s mind. Gwynn’s habits seemed to be rubbing off on him. He remembered a long-ago exchange with his friend Shelah, echoing in his head. “What’s wrong with talking to your horse like you talk to me?

  Southronbreds are very intelligent, even the iron-mouthed ones we must breed for you ham-handed children of the Blade. My Lazar understands every word I say, and so does Talon.”

  With another sigh, Shae secured the provisions behind his saddle. Some things are better left alone, he told himself; it probably doesn’t matter if I start carrying on conversations with Talon, so long as I do everything else a Lifeguard is supposed to do. It will be more useful to keep 254

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  my eyes open for a small deer or a couple of rabbits for dinner than to worry about talking to my horse.

  He thanked Rollo for his assistance and headed out of the village. Innis and Tono jogged along beside him, asking him where he was going and if he would be back. “I’m meeting some friends further north,” Shae told them. “I don’t know if I will ever come back through here, but I’l always remember your help.” He felt their eyes on his back while he climbed the ridge and realized his visit was probably one of the most exciting things that had happened within their memories. “Be glad in it, children,” he said out loud,

  “sometimes excitement is not all you think it is.”

  Fortune seemed to be smiling on their venture when Shae took a young buck he had surprised in the brush surrounding the stream leading back to the rel ar. He field dressed it and threw it over Talon’s croup, thinking that fresh venison was a meal he had not enjoyed in a while.

  When he arrived back at the rel ar, Gwynn was regarding her father intently while softly playing the music Shae now recognized as Gryffyn’s life song. Darion, a few paces beyond, lounged on his bedroll and contemplated the sky.

  “Welcome back. We have both been good and have done exactly as you said.” He rose gracefully to his feet and came to Talon’s side, looking at the buck and bags of provisions. “It seems your trip was successful.”

  “Quite successful in view of the slim resources of these hills,” Shae told him. He glanced at Gwynn; she had not seemed to observe his return. “Has she been doing that long?”

  “Since you left.” Darion took the buck from Talon’s back, throwing it over his shoulders with ease. “I’ll get a fire going, so we can start roasting our supper.”

  By mutual consent, neither of them disturbed Gwynn while they set about dividing and stowing the provisions 255

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  Shae had obtained. Darion’s method of starting a fire was like Gwynn’s, but Shae had grown so used to it, he barely noticed. The aroma of roasting venison, tubers, and squash had begun to fill the air, and the shadows were growing long across the rellar when the music faded.

  Gwynn’s gaze seemed disoriented for a few moments while she stared at the fire and her friends then she smiled.

  “When did you get back?”

  “Some time ago,” Shae chuckled. “You were too far away to notice.”

  “I was somewhere on the road from Samhayne through the Merton Hills,” she told her friend wryly. Gwynn put her Harp away and joined them at the fire. “Mmmm, venison. It smells wonderful. I worked up quite an appetite, almost as if I had made that ride myself.”

  “Well?” Shae asked. “Have you decided where we need to go?”

  “We need to go further east. Father took a road that angles northwest across the hills all the way through Meran.

  He thought that would save him quite a bit of time on his way to Inishmore.” She sighed, shaking her head. “A bard in a hurry to get somewhere; can you believe such a thing? The effects true love can have on a person.”

  “Frightening in its power is it not?” Darion’s voice was mocking. “Love even causes bards not to be distracted.”

  “No mean feat indeed,” Shae agreed in the same tone.

  Gwynn stuck her tongue out at them. “Pathani are worse than bards when it comes to getting sidetracked,” she told Darion tartly. “Who do you think we learned it from?”

  She then pointed a finger at Shae. “No comments from you either! I know better than to think a Southron could understand the concept of distraction.”

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  “Oh, I understand the concept. I see it in action all the time,” Shae assured her gravely. “I just don’t give in to it.”

  “How good of you to point out the difference to those of us who lack your staunch discipline,” Gwynn teased her friend.

  “I thought so,” Shae said with a grin. “Now how far east do you think Gryffyn was?”

  “I can’t really tell you how long it will take us to reach the trade road, but I don’t think more than a few nights.”

  They fed their horses and ate while the sun went down, since Shae had insisted they not leave the rel ar until full dark. While the waning crescent moon had yet to rise, Darion and the Pathani horses seemed to provide their own fae glow to illuminate their path.

  The pace of the companions was slow while they allowed the horses to find own their way up and down the rocky hills. At one point, they came across a farmstead and Shae turned north to give it a wide berth. Darion asked, “Do you really think this is necessary? It is the middle of the night and I’m certain they are fast asleep.”

  “They may be, and if it was just Gwynn and I, we would continue to ride as usual. However, you and your horses would cause a lot of attention and excitement, something I think we should avoid. Gwynn has enough to think about. She needs no further distractions.”

  “I have not traveled among ordinary mortals in a long time. The bards still know us, but I had forgotten how quickly things change when lives and memories are shorter.

  I can at least make things more comfortable for us, though.

  I don’t know why I did not think of it before now.” Darion frowned in concentration then the fey glow around him and the horses brightened for a moment and simply faded away.

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  The Pathani riding next to Gwynn suddenly looked as human as Shae did. His long, straight white hair was now pale blond, and his golden eyes were a pale blue. Freesa had become a gray stallion with Talon’s broad build, and Balaan seemed a graceful bay gelding with two white socks. Gwynn and Shae stared at the horses and back at Darion in amazement. Looking at her friends, Gwynn burst out “You could be distant kinsmen!”

  Shae’s eyebrow rose as he swept a critical gaze over Darion. By keeping his height and not altering his slender, wiry physique, he would have blended into the Staff Clan without another Southron looking twice. “True enough,”

  Shae growled, “you could pass as a brother of the Staff.”

  “That was my intent,” Darion said smugly, his speech having Shae’s clipped accent. “I know something of your people. I believe I got Freesa’s color right. Is it not usual for those of the Staff to prefer gray mounts?”

  Shae nodded slowly before asking, “How long can you maintain this shape change for yourself and the horses?”

  “As long as I like. It’s not a shape change; I have simply altered the way we are seen.”

  “It is called glamour. Elisan taught me about it. I have yet to try it myself,” she giggled.

  “Just not now, please,” Shae implored, “I would rather recognize my charge for the tasks we have ahead of us.” “I promise I will tell you beforehand. So, shall we ride past the farmhouse?”

  “Oh, why ever not? Since we are just two Southrons and two bards on normal horses wandering around in the middle of the night,” Shae muttered sarcastically when he turned Talon’s head back to the east. They rode without further incident through the night and began to look for a comfortable camping spot when it grew lighter.

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  “I suppose we could just rest a short while and then push on in the daylight,” Shae said grudgingly when it became apparent Darion’s glamour looked equally convincing by day. “We would probably make better time, and it might be easier for Gwynn to determine the right spot that way.

  That is,” he said, searching her face for signs of fatigue, “if you feel up to it.”

  “With a bit of rest, I’m sure I would be fine. Looking in the daylight will help me.”

  “Just have a nap, and I’ll give us all a drink of uesa beatha before we go on. That should take away any need to sleep,” Darion chuckled.

  They made a dry camp shortly, thereafter, in a shaded sandy spot along an otherwise rocky streambed. Darion volunteered to keep a watch, telling them, “Pathani sleep less than mortals. I will rest this evening.” He quietly directed Gryffyn to a bedroll before leaning back against a fallen tree trunk. “Wake us at midday,” Shae instructed him. “We’ll ride until close to sunset and then get a fresh start in the morning.” Knowing that Darion would prove to be a good watchman, he allowed himself to sleep more deeply than usual while camping. He would get more rest in a short while and be more alert for it. It seemed only a moment later that he heard Darion speak his name, Shae’s eyes snapped open, and he realized the sun was directly overhead.

  “Here.” Darion handed Shae his flask. “That will clear any cobwebs.” He leaned over Gwynn and shook her gently awake while Shae raised the flask to his lips. Unlike before, the uesa beatha seemed cold and fresh like spring water. It raced through Shae’s veins, leaving him miraculously clear headed and alert.

  He gave the flask back to Darion, who passed it to Gwynn when she sat up blinking and grumbling. The drink 259

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  had much the same effect; her eyes had regained their usual sparkle when she put the stopper back. “I don’t know how you make it or what you do to it, but if I had just a sip of that every morning, Shae would never have to wake up to the grumpy me.”

  “I requested Gunnar bring some for you when he meets us,” Darion promised, “but you must not tell anyone, Pathani or mortal, that you have it. You must also use it sparingly, as the effects will dull with overuse.”