Enchanter (41 page)

His voice was low and musical, but resonated with power and mystery. Faraday's eyes widened.

The silver pelt stepped back and waved. "It is all free to you, Tree Friend.

Wander as you will. When you wish to return home, just think of this Grove and you will return. From here you can find your way back to your own world." With that he and the other four Horned Ones vanished. For a long time Faraday stood in the Grove. The stars spun overhead, reminding her of Axis. He had regained his heritage. And he still thought of her! She extended her arms, and danced about the Grove, wishing that he were here with her now. Soon, perhaps, he would share her bed in reality rather than dream.

After some time, Faraday wandered among the trees — and halted in wonder. From the Grove the trees looked dense and closely packed, but once beneath their sheltering branches, she saw that the trees were widely spaced, their branches so high that the trunks looked like the smooth pillars of some sacred hall, lifting the eye to a green-vaulted canopy so distant that it almost became a sky in itself. Her reaction to this enchanted forest was much the same as Azhure's when she had first wandered into the Avarinheim - she was overcome with the space and the light and the music around her.

Faraday finally dropped her eyes and gazed about her. Small shrubs of exquisite beauty flowered about the feet of the great trees, and between the trees wandered some of the strangest creatures Faraday could ever have imagined in her most fevered dreams. Hedgehogs with horns? Horses with wings? Bulls of pure gold and diamond-eyed birds? Small multi-coloured dragons gambolled along the lowest of the branches and a family of blue and orange-splotched panthers disported themselves in a nearby stream. Dryads and sprites drifted shyly between trees and silver-finned fish flashed beneath the crystal waters of the stream.

As Faraday wandered the sights shimmered and changed, but never became less wondrous. Glades and mountain ranges, oceans and gardens, caves and rolling dunes, this world contained them all. And at the next step always the forest, holding and loving her.

"What can I do for you?" she eventually whispered. "What is it I must do for you?"

The light shimmered about her and Faraday found herself entering a small glade. In the centre of the glade was an immensely cheerful hut, white-walled, golden-thatched and
red-doored. Completely surrounding the hut was a spreading garden, enclosed by a white picket fence. There was something a little strange about the garden, but before Faraday could turn her mind to the problem the red door of the hut opened and an incredibly ancient woman emerged.

She wore a cloak as red as the door, but had thrown back the hood to reveal her bald cadaverous head, the papery skin was drawn tight over her cheek and skull bones splotched here and there with wisdom and experience. The woman's face was saved from outright ugliness by her eyes. They were immense pools of violet, almost childlike in their expression.

She stretched out a wavering hand. "Welcome, child of the trees. Welcome to my garden. Will you stay awhile?"

Faraday started to say yes, but suddenly the light around her darkened into emerald, and before Faraday could say or do anything she had spiralled out of the enchanted world and back into the painful one of the palace court of Carlon.

"I'm sorry I had to summon you back, Faraday," Yr said brusquely, "but it is gone noon, and the Queen is needed."

As the power faded from Faraday, Raum whimpered and slowly uncurled from the foetal position he had been rolled into for the past five or six hours.

The two Sentinels had been right about Faraday's power touching him, but Raum had never felt it this strongly before. Each step she had taken into the forests beyond the Grove had increased the pain within Raum until the forest about him reverberated with his screams.

He knew what was happening to him. But it should not be this powerful, not this painful.

And he was so young, so young to be transforming now. So much to do here. So much.

"Faraday," he whispered. "Faraday. Where are you? What do you do? Where do you go? Faraday?"

Gundealga FordThey were to meet on the last day of

Frost-month at Gundealga Ford on the Nordra. Once it surged out of the Forbidden Valley the Nordra widened and slowed, and by the time it approached Tailem Bend it was shallow enough to be forded by a man on horseback.

Axis camped his force just inside the southern Urqhart Hills, about half a league from Gundealga Ford. He had some thousand mounted soldiers with him, swordsmen as well as three of Azhure's squads of archers, and two Crest of the Icarii Strike Force. The majority of his command remained behind in Sigholt, although several units currently patrolled the HoldHard Pass and Urqhart Hills.

Axis had brought only enough soldiers to convince Borneheld he would be a formidable opponent without giving away his true strength. The sight of his mounted force plus several hundred Icarii wheeling about the sky should be enough to convince Borneheld to think twice about his own strengths. The parley would be as much a mental game as a verbal one.

Axis glanced up as Belial approached through the gloom. "Borneheld must be close now. How do you feel?" "As though I have an appointment with a toothdrawer," Axis grimaced. " do not look forward to meeting with my brother over the parley table. I don't think I can cope with the social niceties."

Belial laughed. He knew Axis would rather face Borneheld with a sword in his hand, and he knew few polite phrases would be traded tomorrow.

"The Icarii scouts have returned," he said.

Axis' head jerked up. "And?" His voice was tense.

"Borneheld's force has camped about the same distance south of Gundealga Ford as we have camped north. If we both leave at dawn tomorrow we should meet at the Ford mid-morning."

"I do not want the travel details!" Axis snapped. "What force does Borneheld bring with him?"

"About five thousand," Belial replied quickly. "Mounted men, mostly swordsmen, although the scouts could see a few units of archers among them."

"Were the Icarii scouts spotted?"

"No, Axis. They are almost impossible to spot at night, with their black uniforms and wings. Their presence will still come as a surprise."

As if to confirm Belial's words, FarSight CutSpur suddenly dropped down out of the darkened sky and smiled at the surprise on both men's faces. That Axis was as startled as Belial was an indication of just how preoccupied he was about his meeting with Borneheld.

"Strike-Leader." FarSight saluted formally. "Azhure has sent two farflight scouts down with messages from Sigholt. They await at your tent."

Azhure? Axis glanced at Belial. Both men turned and hurried back to Axis'

tent.

Axis, lifted the flap of his tent back and ushered the two scouts inside.

"Well?" he demanded.

"Strike-Leader," Wing-Leader FeatherFlight BrightWing saluted, her face hollow and exhausted. "I bring two pieces of news, neither good. Six days after you left one of the patrols returned from the eastern Urqhart Hills. Strike-Leader, the

mass of Skraelings at the top of the WildDog Plains have begun to drift south. Azhure has sent six Crest of the Strike Force and a large mounted force through the HoldHard Pass to meet them."

Axis' worried eyes met with those of Belial and FarSight. "Azhure has not gone herself?" he asked FeatherFlight.

"No, Strike-Leader. Azhure knows she is too far gone in her pregnancy to go a-fighting. She sent Arne in her place."

Axis sighed, relieved. But the news was grim, and it tied his hands regarding the negotiations. Now he needed the truce as much as Borneheld. Both were going to be facing such threats from Skraelings this winter that neither would want to be fighting on a second front. Well, best he know this now than find out after he had met with Borneheld.

Magariz entered, breathless, and Belial quickly informed him of the news.

"Should one of us go to meet Arne in the HoldHard Pass?" Magariz asked, turning back to face* Axis. "The fighting will be bloody."

Axis hesitated. "Arne has sufficient subcommand to support him — any one of the Crest-Leaders I left in Sigholt will do well. Once we are free of this place I'D lead this force east to meet up with Arne's command, and FarSight can fly his two Crest there within only a day or so." He turned back to FeatherFlight. "And the other news?"

"Another band of peasants from upper Skarabost arrived just before I left, dirty, tired and scared. They had fled north, terrified about rumours sweeping Skarabost that an Earl...Burdel?"

"Yes, yes," Axis said. "Burdel is the Earl of Arcness."

"Well, this Earl Burdel is apparently sweeping through southern Skarabost with a large force. He is putting to the stake or the cross any whom he finds repeating the Prophecy of the Destroyer. He is supposed to have put an entire village and its inhabitants to the torch where he found the Prophecy to be particularly entrenched. Anyone who mentions your
name dies. Anyone who mentions the 'Forbidden'," her face twisted in distaste at the name, "with any sense of goodwill also dies. Any that Burdel finds fleeing northwards to join your cause at Sigholt dies. Fear and death sweep Skarabost, Strike-Leader."

Axis paled. Burdel would not be doing this on his own; it must be on Borneheld's orders and with the encouragement of the Seneschal. "Damn them!"

he whispered.

"What can we do, Axis?" asked Belial.

"Nothing," Axis muttered wretchedly. "Nothing. We are tied to Sigholt, Belial, by the Skraelings moving south through the WildDog Plains. And I fear that Borneheld and Burdel know it. Damn them!"

Axis forced his face to relax, and addressed FeatherFlight again. "And Azhure is well?"

Since he'd left Sigholt, Axis found he missed Azhure so badly that even the melody of the Star Dance seemed tarnished without her.

Borneheld sat his glossy bay stallion and shaded his eyes against the glare.

They had ridden out from their camp before dawn, and now sat their horses some one hundred paces from Gundealga Ford itself. Where was Axis? Was he still alive? Where was this rebel force?

Five horsemen formed a line immediately behind Borneheld, then, in ordered units, sat the five thousand horsemen Borneheld had brought with him.

Of the five leading horsemen, only Ho'Demi and Brother Moryson appeared unperturbed and relaxed. Gilbert sat his horse with ill-disguised bad temper, Gautier was tense and anxious, and Duke Roland of Aldeni shifted uncomfortably, trying to ease the canker in his belly.

A shout from behind caused everyone to jump, and Borneheld wheeled his horse about irritably. "What...?" he began, then looked up to where one of the men in the
first rank of soldiers was pointing frantically. Borneheld cursed the glare in the high layer of light grey clouds, then stilled as he saw what his man had been pointing at.

Far, far above them, circled hundreds of flying creatures, as black as Borneheld's darkest nightmares. He knew what they were - more of those cursed creatures who had parleyed with his traitorous brother Axis on the root of Gorkenfort.

Now everyone craned their heads skyward. Ho'Demi's eyes narrowed. He knew the creatures were Icarii - though he had never met one of them and had only occasionally seen them as they soared above the plains of Ravensbund near the Icescarp Alps. The Icarii soared with this Axis? Ho'Demi dropped his eyes and caught those of Inari and Izanagi, sitting their horses in the first rank of soldiers.

Axis was powerful indeed if he had the backing of the Icarii. Ho'Demi felt a small knot of excitement harden in his belly. Perhaps this man was the StarMan.

Beside Ho'Demi, Gilbert muttered under his breath. The Forbidden flew over Achar once more! May Artor himself condemn Axis to the worm-ridden pits of the After Life, Gilbert prayed, for he deserves eternal torment for his cursed alliance with these filth. And we...we should have moved sooner. Who knew what damage Priam's wretched obsession with the Prophecy had caused?

Moryson was as riveted by the sight of the Icarii as anyone else, but his thoughts were hidden behind a bland mask.

Finally Ho'Demi looked ahead, and his mouth dropped open as his eyes swung across the Nordra. A force of about a thousand men were fanned out across the plains some fifty paces from the opposite bank of the Nordra. From the centre of the line of men rose a magnificent standard, a deep golden field with the blazing blood-red sun in its centre. "Borneheld!" he croaked.

Borneheld followed Ho'Demi's shocked eyes, then barked an order to his troops.

Two men were now almost halfway across the river, the water splashing about their horses' chests.

Borneheld squinted, trying to identify them before they reached him. Both were dressed in black, both rode black horses side by side. As suits such evil men, thought Borneheld grimly, keeping his hand from his sword only with a supreme effort. Behind him he could hear his men drawing their weapons. He pushed his horse forward a little to meet the two horsemen, waving the five behind him to follow.

As the two men rode their horses out of the Nordra, Borneheld finally recognised them, and his lip curled. So, both Axis' lieutenants had survived the battle above Gorkenfort. But where was Axis?