Edge of Darkness ~ A Darkness & Light Novel Book Three (19 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Ciara settled cross-legged in the tall grass on a gentle rise. Behind her, High House jutted out of the rock-scattered landscape, towering over the low stable and scattered outbuildings in stark, utilitarian contrast. A burbling creek skirted the edge of the small orchard Ciara passed through in her search for someplace private. The creek fed into a larger river that wound its way south toward a mill before cutting through flat patches of pasture dotted with sheep.

Ferris and two of Marcien's sons had left High House near midday in hopes of finding Ciara's horse. According to the nursemaid, Marcien and his eldest son were seeing to the business of the keep and would be gone until after nightfall. The other servants were busy about their duties, which left Ciara free to do as she pleased.

She glanced over her shoulder. To do as she pleased under the watchful, somewhat unnerving eyes of one of Marcien's hounds. The beast had abandoned its companion on the front stoop to follow after Ciara. She thought perhaps closing the gate behind her when she left the orchard would have persuaded it to remain behind, but the hound leapt the wall with all the grace of a cat. Albeit, a very large cat. It kept its distance, not even coming to her when she tried to coax it closer, and sat several paces away, ears perked. Every now and again it would tilt its massive head up and scent the air before continuing its silent vigil.

"How about you let me know if anyone's coming?" Ciara asked.

The hound showed off its brilliant white teeth in a wide yawn and licked its muzzle.

"I'll take that as a yes."

She turned once more to face the general direction of Nisair and drew in a deep breath through her nose. It came scented with warm sunshine on cool grass, and the faintest hint of wood smoke from High House's kitchen, carried up the rise on the light breeze.

Ciara rubbed her palms on her thighs, and chided herself for being so nervous. She wasn't doing anything wrong. Ariadne had never told Ciara not to reach out to Andrakaos. For that matter, the Emperor's sister hadn't said anything at all about Ciara using her power, or attempting to, once outside Nisair.

"And if I only knew what I was doing, things would probably be a lot easier," Ciara mumbled to herself. "Then again, when have I ever let that stand in my way?"

A smile claimed her face. Her Aunt Meriol had been pushed to the edge of her considerable patience more than once, thanks to that character trait, and Ciara knew it had the same effect on Bolin. She wondered if he and the Emperor had reached the Greensward yet. Once again, she found herself wishing she had been able to offer him more comfort. He seemed so lost since Nialyne's death. Some part of him that had always been alive and vibrant was missing, and Ciara had no way of helping him find it again. No words that could soothe him.

She gave a frustrated growl and shook her head, reclaiming her focus. Several deep breaths, and her surroundings faded as she passed through the veil and into the world of the ethereal. A tiny fragment of her awareness remained in her physical body, seated comfortably, the sun warm on her face, the ground cool beneath her, but she needed all she could spare for the task she had set herself.

The slender thread running between her and Andrakaos shimmered like a filament of spider's web caught in the moonlight, and seemed fragile enough to snap. Ciara had never before attempted to trace back along the length of that strand to find Andrakaos. The fact it existed told her he did as well, and that had always been enough. She needed his help, or at least his guidance, so she took another deep breath and stretched her awareness farther than ever before.

The thick fog of the ethereal enveloped Ciara, and she fought against a momentary surge of panic. As a healer, she often ventured into the soft, grey world of the veil. The ethereal existed beyond that. Or perhaps around it. Andrakaos once told her all the magic that existed could be found in the ethereal, and he went there frequently. Ciara rarely ventured that deep. Donovan had been the first to take her there, to show her the place Andrakaos existed. It was the first time she had seen the true form of her power. Back then, it had terrified her. Andrakaos was fond of telling Ciara she could do whatever he could. She hoped he was right.

Ghostly, elusive shapes drifted past Ciara, some no more than a darker shade of grey and some lighter. She kept her concentration on Andrakaos so keenly, that she had to fight back a surge of nausea when Nisair abruptly spread out beneath her. Right behind the nausea, came a dizzying sense of disorientation strong enough to threaten her focus. Ciara squeezed her eyes shut, aware of Andrakaos all around her and, outside of him, the shimmering glow of a strong ward.

Impressive,
Andrakaos said.

"I think I would have liked it better if you had come to me." Ciara peered through barely parted lashes to take another look at the world as Andrakaos saw it from the spire of the north tower.

I would need to go against the Ancient One. He and the lady have bidden me to remain, and so I humor them. For now.

"How is it I could come to you then?"

You are not bound by wards,
he said, as though the answer should have been obvious.

"But you came to me in Barrowdowns."

Yes.

Ciara waited a moment for him to expound but he said nothing further. She glanced down at the guards on the wall again and immediately regretted it as bile rose up in her throat. The sky proved far safer to look at, so she shifted her gaze to the brilliant blue of early fall. "I need you to help me find Donovan."

I cannot do so from within their hold.

"Can you at least tell me
how
to find him, then?"

Andrakaos pondered that a moment.
How did you find me?

This time it was Ciara's turn to sound as though Andrakaos should have known the answer. "We're connected."

As he is to us. Be still. Feel. Listen. Bend your thoughts to him and all he is.

"You make it sound easy."

It will become so.
He yawned and curled tighter around the spire.
You must not linger here. The Ancient One will know of it. The others will try to entrap you.

"Be still, feel, and listen," Ciara repeated. "Sounds easy enough."

I will come when I am free.

"You seem awfully content all of a sudden."

A wicked grin curled Andrakaos's lips back from his teeth.
I bide my time. I will not remain much longer.

"What are you going to do?"

They cannot hold me against my will.

"Don't do anything foolish," Ciara said, worried he might do just that. "We're one, remember? I can't be without you. Besides, it will just get us into more trouble than we already are."

I will bide. Go.

Ciara hesitated, but a subtle increase in the intensity of the ward surrounding Andrakaos convinced her to do as he said. She drew back until nothing but a faint sense of him remained, then turned her thoughts toward Donovan. She pictured not only his physical form, but everything that made up who he was, every feeling she associated with him, every memory, every interaction. She held all of it foremost in her mind, opened herself to the currents swirling about her, and waited.

Time didn't pass in the ethereal as it did in the real world. Ciara could have sat there for a handful of moments, or entire days. She had no way of knowing. Every now and again, something tickled at the edges of her awareness, disappearing as soon as she turned toward it. After the fifth or sixth time, she gave up trying to glimpse it. A steady throb behind her eyes made concentration difficult, and she hadn't gotten even the faintest sense of Donovan.

"What have we here?" The woman's voice came from no place and every place, and Ciara jumped. "How is it you are wandering about unattended, child? Are you held in so little affection as to be tossed recklessly aside?"

A presence wafted closer, wrapping about her like a smudge of black smoke. Ciara shuddered and the tether between her and Andrakaos trembled in response. Curiosity brushed over her, though Ciara couldn't say for certain where it emanated from. Something about the phantom woman seemed familiar, yet when Ciara tried to look closer, she found herself blocked.

"Have we met?" Ciara asked.

Laughter, light and airy, spun around her. "I have met every power that has ever existed, some yet to be, and some that are no longer. Which are you, I wonder."

Coldness and terror seeped through Ciara. She tried to push the presence away and, for a panicked moment, feared she would be lost to it. A rumbled growl flowed down her contact to Andrakaos, bringing a surge of strength. Ciara shoved again at the haze of darkness. It wavered then snugged even closer. She redoubled her efforts, her breath catching in her throat.

"I think we have met," the woman said. Her interest spiked, and the hold on Ciara tightened. "I know you."

Something large and grey darted past Ciara, and tore through the cloud. The woman's focus shifted, giving Ciara a moment in which to give a final thrust, a cry rising from her throat as she catapulted backwards, and the air bursting from her lungs as she landed flat on her back.

Something wet slapped across her cheek. Ciara blinked at the bristly, grey shape hovering so close to her face, her eyes crossed. Hot breath puffed across her skin, and the tongue came out again, dribbling slobber as it washed her chin to forehead.

"Get back, Cana." The hound's head vanished, replaced by Ferris's face, his expression a near match for the sky behind him, which had grown dark in a blend of heavy cloud and nightfall. "Are you all right?"

Ciara nodded and Ferris reached down to link forearms with her and draw her up. Before she could do more than steady herself and wipe the grass from her backside, he demanded more than asked, "What did you think you were doing? Anyone could have come upon you just now, if not for Cana standing guard."

Ciara sucked in a startled breath, opened her mouth, closed it on the first reply that came to mind and tried again, "I--"

"Did you give any thought to your safety whatsoever?"

Ciara gaped at him. When she started to stammer an explanation of sorts, he shook his head and spun away from her. He moved off several paces and stood looking up at the darkening sky with his fists clenched at his sides, his spine rigid, and his shoulders rising and falling in rapid breaths. The hound sidled up to Ciara and wedged his muzzle under her hand, nudging her until she reached absently to rub behind his ears. He gusted out a contented sigh, and settled onto one hip, leaning against Ciara's leg.

When Ferris turned back to her, his face wore a tight, and carefully composed, mask. "Apologies, m'lady. Quite frankly, you terrified me, just now." He wet his lips and glanced away, and the façade suddenly shattered. "No. No apologies. This was carelessly done. Had you told me of your plans, I could have stood guard, perhaps aided you. Better still, we would have stayed safely within the shelter of High House. To come up here" -- he flung an arm out-- "in the open, to allow yourself to become so unaware of your physical surroundings you didn't even hear my call. Were you taught no better?"

"As a matter of fact, no," Ciara said. She gave an apologetic shrug and slanted a gaze toward the hound. "I thought he was protecting me."

"Did I not ask you to tell me if you were going to attempt something?" Ferris pulled in a long breath, nostrils flaring. "We should get back."

"Ferris, I--"

"M'lady." He closed his eyes briefly and brought his hands up in a placating gesture that Ciara couldn't be sure wasn't more to soothe himself than her. "We really do need to get back. You've thrown a bit of power around and we're not so far from Barrowdowns that it will have gone totally unnoticed."

"I'm pretty sure it didn't," Ciara said, glancing about. The woman must have been a nightshade, though she felt different. She recalled Ferris saying other things dwelled in Barrowdowns as well, but she didn't dare ask him in his current mood.

Unfortunately, her muttered comment caught his ears. "Meaning?"

"Did you…do anything when you came up here?"

"In what way?"

"There was something else when I was in the ethereal. It tried to keep me from leaving but something distracted it."

"Not I," Ferris said and dipped his head to indicate the hound. "It may have been Cana."

Ciara gave the Sciath a skeptical look. "I didn't know dogs could do things like that."

"Special ones can. Cana and his kind were bred to guard mages and the Imperial House, though they haven't been used by either of those in centuries. He and his mate are two of only a handful that I know of."

She looked down at the grizzled head beside her with renewed interest, as well as a sneaking suspicion. "Did you tell him to watch me?"

But Ferris shook his head. "Like as not, he made that choice on his own. Now, I really must insist we head back, m'lady. Before full night."

Ciara nodded. She gave one last look over her shoulder as they started down the slope toward the orchard. It seemed, for just a moment, someone stood on the crest of the rise, watching them. She was going to say something, but, when she looked again, the figure was gone.