The Black Stone of Elu

by Darrin Long

  Chapter 7

  The Reiteach

  The sun was just coming up across the Glen when there was a knock on the door. Neilan walked to the door cautiously with his hand on his knife.

  “Who is there?” he asked through the door.

  “Kaylu,” the voice on the other side replied.

  Neilan opened the door and let Kaylu in.

  “Oh, that smells good,” Kaylu said sniffing the air.

  “I just cooked some rabbit stew, would ye like some?” Neilan asked him.

  “Why yes,” he said, “that would be lovely.”

  Neilan returned to the fire to get Kaylu a bowl as Kaylu sat his things next to the door. Iri was just stirring from her sleep as Kaylu sat down next to the fire.

  “Good morning,” Kaylu said to her.

  Iri smiled at him, “how was your visit with father?” she asked.

  “Well, let’s just say that it was as always, interesting.”

  They exchanged smiles as Neilan handed Kaylu a bowl of stew. He ate several spoonfuls before looking up from his bowl and seeing that Iri was waiting expectantly.

  “Oh, you want to know what happened,” he said.

  “Yes,” she said, “I would like that.”

  “Well, first of all, the three Deamhan that Caudee sent to kill your father, were Tunai. They had been transformed by black magic and when I tried to break the spell, they died a horrible death.”

  “And the bug?” Iri asked, “what about the bug?”

  “Patience,” Kaylu said taking a few more bites of the stew. “The bug made it into your father’s library, where I quickly disposed of it.”

  Neilan could see the relief on Iri’s face.

  “What exactly is a Tunai?” Neilan asked looking at Kaylu.

  “They are a race of small but strong people who live under the mountains in tunnels,” Kaylu said. “Most of them would only come to your chest. Their large foreheads are slanted down towards their noses and their ears are further back on their skulls.”

  “I saw them in my dream,” Neilan said.

  “Yes,” Kaylu replied, “I assume in Caudee’s camp, very sad.” Kaylu said, looking over at Iri, “He asked about you.”

  “What did you tell him?” she replied.

  “That you were fine. He misses you.”

  “Why do I have a hard time believing that?” She said.

  Kaylu shrugged and finished his bowl of stew before handing the bowl back to Neilan.

  “Thank you. That was very good” Kaylu said “so, you decided to help us?”

  Neilan nodded his head but he did not say a word.

  “Why?” Kaylu asked.

  Neilan looked over at Iri then, looked at Kaylu.

  “The girl,” Kaylu said, “you do know that they will not let you two be together?”

  “Then they will have a fight on their hands,” Neilan said, poking at the fire with a stick.

  Kaylu looked over at Iri and then back at Neilan with a smile on his face.

  “Well, let’s get you through this alive first then, we can see what we can do about my brother. I must walk after eating that.” He said, standing up and walking to the door. “I will be ready to start your training as soon as you are.”

  He walked out the door and closed it behind him.

  “So, what happened between ye and yer da?” Neilan asked.

  Iri shrugged and ran her fingers along her leg.

  “Was it bad?” he asked.

  “My whole life, all I ever wanted was a father who would love me,” she said, looking up at him. “My real father was more concerned with his position than his family. When he and my mother died the King graciously took me in, but that’s all he did; he gave me a place to stay.”

  “So ye just left?” he asked.

  “No… well, yes,” she said, “I wanted to see if he would even notice I was gone.”

  “Well, he has,” Neilan said.

  Iri rolled her eyes at him, “I’ve been gone for two years” she said.

  “Oh, I see” he replied, “Sorry.”

  “I get by,” she said with a shrug. “Kaylu has helped me some.”

  “So, what is the trouble between Kaylu and yer da?” Neilan asked.

  Iri leaned back against the wall.

  “My father has been afraid of Kaylu ever since he became King. I think he’s afraid that Kaylu may try to take the throne from him.”

  “Does Kaylu want to be King?” Neilan asked.

  “No” Iri replied “he does not, but my father will not listen. Kaylu has saved his life three times now and I’m sure my father has never said thank you.”

  Iri stood up and walked to the door.

  “Iri,” Neilan said, “do ye think I can beat him?”

  Iri smiled, “yes, I do,” she said and turned and walked out the door.

  Neilan starred at the fire for a moment then, he took a deep breath and went outside to join the others. Kaylu was leaning against the tree out front and Iri was sitting on the bench when Neilan walked out of the cave.

  “So, what do we do first?” he asked.

  “Well, let’s see,” Kaylu said with a smile. “First we need to see how well you can hear and how well you can see.”

  “Ok, I think I can do both pretty well,” Neilan said.

  “Oh? Do you believe everything you hear and see?” he said. “For instance, do you see the Red stag standing in the Glen twenty meters away?”

  Neilan looked out over the Glen and instantly noticed the very large Fighland stag standing and looking at the group.

  “Yes, I see it,” he said.

  “Is it real?” Kaylu asked.

  Neilan looked closely then, he picked up a stone and threw it at the Stag. The stone landed only a few inches in front of it and the stag instantly turned into a swarm of flyers; small moth-like insects that feed on the heather.

  “Wow,” Neilan said turning to Kaylu “did ye do that?”

  Kaylu raised his eyebrows.

  “So, ye can teach me to know the difference?” Neilan asked him.

  “I can,” kaylu replied, “but you will need a lot of practice.”

  Suddenly Neilan heard wings beating loudly. He spun around to see what was happening only to see Iri sitting quietly on the bench and the skies were clear except for a few clouds.

  “Did you hear something?” kaylu asked.

  “It sounded very real,” Neilan said, turning back to Kaylu.

  “But it was not,” Kaylu said “you will need to know the difference if you are to face Caudee. He is a master of illusions and he will use them to confuse you.”

  Neilan nodded; he realized that this was going to take a lot of practice.

  “Wait here,” kaylu said and he went into the cave to grab the items he brought with him.

  Walking out with the glass globe filled with the other items he purchased in Draioch, Kaylu motioned for Neilan to follow him. Neilan gave Iri a questioning look, but she just shrugged and the two of them followed Kaylu into the Glen. They walked about halfway across the Glen before anyone said anything at all.

  “Where are we going?” Neilan asked.

  He didn’t like to go far from the cave without his bow.

  “To the Loch,” Kaylu said, “we need deep water.”

  Neilan had only been to the Loch a couple times since finding the cave. He had caught some fish there to eat but he realized afterwards that he did not like fish very well.

  “Kaylu,” Iri said, as they walked “who is Martha?”

  “What?” Kaylu asked, without turning around.

  “The human woman who lives at the base of Mount Gomore,” Iri said, “it’s strange that a human would live on an island way out there.”

  Kaylu stopped and turned towards her, lips pressed tightly and running his hand through his hair.

  “Martha is an old friend,” he said, “she and her son John needed a place to live and I offered them the cabin.”

  He turned and starte
d walking, without saying another word and both Iri and Neilan could tell that he did not want to talk any more about Martha. As they reached the other side of the Glen, they could see the Loch clearly before them. Kaylu pointed to an area near the southern point where a large stone was sticking out of the water.

  “There is a hole there,” he said, “it should be deep enough.”

  Neilan was getting a little nervous because he didn’t know how to swim. Being raised in the village, there wasn’t any deep water anywhere near there.

  “I don’t like water, it makes me nervous,” Neilan said, “It just seems like something could be hiding just beneath the surface.”

  He half expected something to jump out at any minute and he was not happy about leaving his bow behind.

  “Don’t worry,” Kaylu said, “there is no danger.”

  As they reached the rock Kaylu put down the items he was carrying and sat down on a stone to rest.

  “Whew, I’m not used to walking,” he said, “I’d rather fly.”

  Neilan gave him a nervous smile.

  “Oh, don’t worry my boy, you will be fine. Just as long as you keep your eyes open.”

  “What exactly is it ye want me to do?” Neilan asked. “I can’t swim.”

  Kaylu raised his eyebrows, “don’t you think I know that?” he said, “I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

  “Right, I forgot” Neilan replied.

  “Ok,” Kaylu said slapping his knees and standing up.

  Neilan watched as Kaylu picked up the glass globe and dumped out the contents onto the ground.

  “Come here,” Kaylu said.

  Neilan nervously walked over to where Kaylu stood, but not so close that he could reach him. Kaylu gave him an exasperated look.

  “Here, put this on your head,” he said handing him the glass globe.

  “On my head?” Neilan asked.

  “Yes, on your head. Put it on.”

  Neilan took the globe and turned it around in his hands looking at it.

  “Come on, put it on,” Kaylu said.

  “Ok, don’t rush me” he replied as she slowly raised the globe over his head and down onto his shoulders.

  “There you go,” Kaylu said, “now go and stand in the water over there.”

  Neilan looked into the water and could see that it was only about to his waist. So, he slowly walked down into the water and turned to face Kaylu and Iri.

  “Ok, good” Kaylu said “now take a few more steps back. Ok, stop there.”

  Kaylu looked like he was trying to gauge something.

  “Ok, now take a few more steps back. Just a few though” he said.

  Neilan was so focused on what Kaylu was doing that he did not realize that he was already standing on the edge of a drop-off. He took two steps and instantly found himself falling into the deep water. He panicked and began to struggle, but he quickly realized that he could breathe with the globe on his head. The Loch wasn’t as deep as he initially thought it was and he reached the bottom very quickly and started looking around in every direction.

  “Wow, I’ve never been under water before,” he said.

  He could see many plant and rocks around him then, he started noticing movement. First a few small fish swimming between stalks of weeds then, a crab scurried from under a rock. Neilan tried to concentrate on what was going on around him since he could not hear anything in the glass bulb. Then, suddenly Neilan saw a large object swimming towards him.

  “What is that?” he wondered.

  It was definitely large, but he could not see it clearly. As the object came closer Neilan could see several rows of sharp teeth and two large eyes on top.

  “Ye have to be kidding me,” he said in a panic.

  It was some sort of fish, but Neilan had never seen a fish with teeth like that. He took a few steps towards it and waved his arms and the fish swerved to his right. Then a few seconds later a second fish arrived from his left. Neilan tried to keep his eyes on both fish as they swam towards him and then swam away. He found a stick on the bottom of the Loch and picked it up to use as a weapon.

  A few seconds later there were three then, there were four. The fish started to circle Neilan and they began to swim faster. Neilan struggled to keep his eye on each of them; for it was extremely difficult. One of the fish attempted to strike at him and he scared it off with the stick then, another one attacked. Neilan was successfully able to keep the fish at bay, but how was he going to get out of the Loch without getting bitten? He concentrated hard; he wasn’t going to become fish food today. Then, the fish suddenly swam away and Neilan began to relax.

  “It must be over,” he said, “I think I did quite well.”

  Suddenly Neilan was grabbed from behind by a large vine-like object and dragged towards two rocks. Thinking quickly, he wedged the stick between the rocks in front of him. His body slammed into the stick, but it held. The vine continued to pull at his body trying to squeeze him between the rocks. Fortunately for Neilan, the stick was in the way. Neilan struck the vine with his fists several times. He was starting to feel strange and was having trouble breathing. Realizing that he was almost out of air, he began to kick and punch the vine until it finally let go and disappeared between the rocks.

  Neilan quickly pushed off the bottom and swam to the top as fast as he could. He broke the surface just as his air ran out and he became light-headed. His eyes were blurred and he had no strength to pull himself out of the water. He could feel himself letting go of the rocks and slowly start floating back to the bottom of the loch. That was the last thing he remembered until he awoke, lying on the ground next to the loch with Iri kneeling over to him. He could see the water dripping off from her hair and he knew that she had dove in and saved him.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “You ran out of air,” Kaylu said as he walked over and looked down at Neilan.

  “Something grabbed me,” Neilan said.

  “Yes, and you made it quite easy for it too,” Kaylu replied.

  “Easy?” Neilan said, “I was surrounded by man-eating fish.”

  “And when you started to concentrate only on the fish, the vine almost killed you,” Kaylu said.

  He gave Iri a troubled look and then looked back at Neilan.

  “This will take some time,” Kaylu said to Iri as he walked away. “His mind is keeping him from experiencing the Drag.”

  Neilan sat up slowly, “What is the Drag?” he asked.

  “It’s hard to explain,” Iri said, “it’s sort of a state of mind when you can see, hear, smell and understand everything clearly.”

  “Ye mean like when ye gave me the soup,” Neilan said.

  Iri gave him a troubled look, but Kaylu had already heard what Neilan had said and was walking back to where he sat.

  “What soup?” he asked.

  Neilan had a confused look on his face as he saw the serious look that Kaylu was giving him.

  “Um..” he said.

  “I gave him Daguee,” she said.

  “You did what?” Kaylu yelled, “that could have killed him.”

  Iri’s lip trembled as she looked down at the ground.

  “I diluted the mixture and left out the Dumhlachd powder,” she said.

  Neilan could see by Kaylu’s expression that he was impressed, but he was still angry at Iri for giving him the soup. Kaylu returned to the stone that he had been sitting on.

  “Dumhlachd,” he said quietly shaking his head. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the water of the Loch. “You should get back to the cave,” Kaylu said standing up. “We have done enough for today.”

  With a popping sound, Kaylu vanished and Neilan looked at Iri who was still looking at the ground.

  “Are ye ok?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “He thinks that I do not understand the old magic, but I have been watching and listening to him my whole life.”

  Neilan could see the tears building in her ey
es.

  “He is just afraid that my father will be angry,” she said standing to her feet. She held out her hand to help Neilan to stand up then, she went over and grabbed the other items that Kaylu had dumped on the ground by the stone. “We don’t want to forget these,” she said, “or he will blame me for that too.”

  Neilan could see the frustration on her face and he stopped her as she tried to walk past him towards the cave.

  “Iri,” he said, “Kaylu was impressed with how ye made the soup. I saw it on his face.”

  “Then why did he get angry?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “Maybe he is just protective of ye,” he said, “maybe he just doesn’t want ye to do anything that ye will regret later.”

  Iri shrugged and Neilan gave her a hug then, they walked back towards the cave together.

  “Where do ye think he went anyway?” He asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said, “Kaylu doesn’t like to confide in others, he just does what he does.”

  “Ye admire him don’t ye?” Neilan said.

  “Yes, I do,” she said with a smile, “I admire him a lot. He has taught me more about my people and our ways than anyone else ever has.”

  They walked for a ways without talking then, Iri spoke.

  “I remember finding one of his books when I was younger. I was fascinated by it. It was filled with the old language and the magic in it was very powerful.”

  Iri suddenly stopped talking and looked down as they walked.

  “What? What is the matter?” Neilan asked.

  Iri glanced sideways at him. “I may have written down a few of the spells from the book,” she said.

  “Ye did what?” he asked.

  “Well, they are a part of me as much as they are a part of him,” she said. “I should have the right to them just like he does.”

  “Wow,” Neilan said with a smile “yer as headstrong as I am.”

  Iri gave him a grin and they walked the rest of the way to the cave in silence, holding hands. As they walked Neilan realized that even though there was some pretty bad stuff going on, he had never felt happier in his entire life. Everything about her made him happy and the very thought of losing her was more than he could bear. As they reached the cave, Iri turned to Neilan and motioned him towards the bench.

  “Sit down on the bench,” she said. “I have a surprise for you.”