Fire And Ice (Book 1) (21 page)

             
“A connection through blood.  It can be used to enter a person’s mind, to see what they might know about something, or even effect a weaker minded person.”

              “If you know what it is then you can do something.”

             
Gelarus shook his head.  “I could, but anything I tried would most likely kill him.  The only hope he has is to fight it.  He must break the connection himself.”

             
“You do not sound too upset by this,” she accused the wizard.   “Don’t you care?!”

             
That wizened face turned on her.  “Care?  If you knew how much I cared.”  He turned back to Coran and lowered his voice.  She barely made out what he said.  “If the boy dies we are all doomed.”

             
That was when Coran screamed, only Gelarus did not jump at the sound of torment.  It was the kind of scream to wake the dead, and sent shivers through her in waves.  It went on and on and did not stop.  How could he keep screaming without taking a breath?  She could only watch as his back arched up off the litter in pain.  His arms stretched out straight ending in clenched fists.  She wanted to scream as well.

              Coran knew he couldn’t last much longer.  He had to find a way to deal with the pain before it killed him.  He closed his eyes and concentrated on something, anything but the pain. The first thing that popped in his head was Katelyn.  He pictured the way she looked on her birthday, with the blue dress that left her shoulders bare.  He grabbed onto it as a drowning man grabs on to a piece of driftwood.  He clung to the thought of her and wouldn’t let go. 

             
Coran stumbled and almost fell as the pain vanished.  He stared in astonishment at the green grass that surrounded him as far as he could see.  Above was a sky perfectly blue devoid of clouds.  There were no trees in the distance or anything else that he could see.  The day was bright enough for noon but he couldn’t locate the sun.  When he looked at the grass around him he realized that he didn’t cast a shadow either. 

             
The air blurred and the robed figure stood before him once more.  “Did you think you could escape me so easily?”  The voice tried to sound threatening but Coran detected some doubt in it.  The thing didn’t know how he had gotten away.  “Serve me!”

             
The pain came again, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as the first time.  Either the level of pain was less or he tolerated it better.  It gave him hope.  “Never!”

             
The robed thing faltered and the pain disappeared.  “If you will not serve me you will die.  I told you your body was dying and it is.  I was your only chance.” 

             
“Not the only one,” a melodious voice stated.  A woman with long, white hair, not nearly white like Naras’ but truly white, and wearing a flowing material of pure white appeared on the hill.  Despite the hair she appeared young, maybe in her early twenties.  When she looked at him he felt a shock.  Whatever she looked like her eyes were not those of someone young.  Those eyes had seen far too much to belong to someone young.  She was much older than her features said. 

             
The robed one stepped back.  “You cannot be here.”

             
“I can.  He is one of mine, after all,” she replied calmly.  “It is you who must leave.”

             
“I will not,” the robed figure denied her strongly.  “I will let him die.”

             
Her laugh was musical as well.  “You saw he had no power and so you came here without taking precautions.  If you want to challenge me I will sear your mind clean.”

             
The hooded figure hesitated.  “The next time we meet I will give you the lesson my master promised you long ago.”  Then the figure was gone.

             
“Thank you,” Coran said to the woman, relieved.                

“Do not thank me.  In time it will be I who owes you a great debt.”  She looked around at their surroundings.  “This will be a nice place when it is complete.”

              He frowned.  “You know where we are?”

             
She laughed again at his naiveté.  “Of course, this is your dream.  Everyone has their own special place within themselves to which they go.  It reminds them of why they live or why they must die.  It is a place where they build their dreams of a future.”

             
“My dream?  What do you mean it isn’t complete?”

             
“You will add to it until it becomes what you wish it to be, what you most desire.”

             
He didn’t understand, but he was getting that a lot lately.  “Who are you?  If you do not mind me asking?”

             
“You will know when it is time,” she replied mysteriously.  She cocked her head as if listening for something.  “There.  The link is broken.  He will not be able to come here again.”

             
“Who was he?”

             
“That you will know soon, as well.  I do not have much time.  The effort to be here is great.   I must speak with you, but not here.  Will you come with me?” 

             
At first he was wary, but she seemed to be on his side.  “All right.”

             
She beamed at his acceptance.  “Take my hand.”

             
He did and the place that was his dream vanished.

              Coran’s body fell back onto the litter.  The screaming mercifully ended.  Questions were shouted outside and she could here Devon shouting back, telling them that everything was fine.  She prayed that it was.  Coran was still breathing erratically.  Why was Gelarus not saying anything?  Finally Coran sighed and his whole body appeared to relax.  Gelarus checked his forehead and wrist once again.  He lifted the eyelid and stared for a moment before checking the shoulder.  He lifted aside the cloth bandage as carefully as he could and replaced it the same way.              

The wizard exhaled loudly.  “He is well.  I do not know how, but he is out of danger for now.”

              Katelyn wanted to weep for joy.  He was going to live.  “Are you sure?”  Gelarus nodded.  “What do you mean for now?”

             
The Wizard peered at her from beneath bushy white eyebrows.  “Until I know what happened, whatever made him scream, and why he is better now, I cannot even guess.”  He stopped and studied her a moment longer.  “If he wakes he could be...injured inside.”

             
Katelyn’s feeling of relief soured at the wizard’s words.  “Injured how?”  A variety of horrible possibilities filled her head.

             
“It depends, but if there is any permanent damage it will be to his mind.”  He waited for her questions but none came.  He nodded in approval.  “It is possible that he might not wake at all.”

             
She felt fear again for the man lying on the litter.  “He will wake,” she said in a whisper. 

              The room was all in white.  There was no door, or table, or chairs.  The Lady in white gestured for him to come closer and he did.  One of the walls disappeared before his eyes and was replaced by a breathtaking view.  From a clear blue sky the sun shined down on rugged, snow capped peaks.  Those mountains had to be higher than any he had ever seen before, but what he found unnerving was that he was looking slightly down on them.  Coran gulped and tried not to think what was holding the room up.  Then he berated himself for being foolish.  This was a dream and his body was...well he didn’t know where his body was right now.                

“This is my place,” she told him, sounding content.  “You could say this is my dream.”

              He appreciated the view and that she shared it with him, but he needed answers.  “Who was that robed...person?”

             
She smiled at him fondly.  “You have many questions, I know.  This is not the time.  I told you I must leave you soon.  What I wanted to say to you was that very soon you will have to make a choice.  A very important choice, for you and for many others.”

             
Coran thought of the two tunnels he had seen and the choice he had yet to make.  “I thought it was just a dream.”

             
She studied his face.  “In a way it was.”

             
That was what the other one had said.  He also realized that she had just read his mind too.  “What does that mean?”

             
“Did you understand your dream?” she asked, ignoring his question.
              “I am not sure.  Was it a choice between power and...”  He wasn’t sure how to say it. 

             
“Love,” she supplied, and he nodded uncomfortably.  “You have chosen love?”  When he did not answer she continued.   “I see that you have yet to choose.  Then I will give you some advice.  You will face many more choices in the months to come.  With some you will want to follow your heart, with others you will want to follow duty.  You must do what you feel is right.  Do not think of why it is right.  If it feels right that is enough.”  She took his hand and it felt pleasant.  “You will sleep now.  For a few days I think.  When you wake you will feel weakened.  You must recover fully.  You will need your strength before the next choice must be made.”

             
“Next choice?  I have not made a first one.”

             
“Then do so,” she told him pointedly.  “You must choose the path you will follow, and soon.”              

             
“Or else?”  There had to be a reason for the warning.

             
“The path will choose you.”  The way she said it was ominous of what might happen if that should occur.

             
“Will I have time?  To recover before the next choice I mean.”

             
“You will, but you must do what you feel is right.”

             
“And my next choice?  What is it?”

             
She shook her head slightly.  “I cannot reveal that.  You must be free to choose without influence.”

             
She ignored him the first time, but he had to ask again while he had the chance.  “Who are you?”

             
“A friend,” she said with a slight smile. 

             
“I have to be able to call you something,” he asked, trying to pry it out of her, but she disappeared before he finished the question, and so did everything else.

Chapter 13

Waking

              His eyes opened and he had to squeeze them shut against the light.  He tried again, slower to let them become acquainted with the brightness until the pain lessened.  He blinked several times to clear the tears from his vision.  He tried to lift his head and couldn’t.  Slowly he turned it to the side.  Someone was there, sitting in a blue cushioned chair.  He thought it was Katelyn- either her, or he was dead and the stories of angels coming to lead away the dead were true.  He blinked again to be sure she was really there.  She wore a dress to match the color of the chair.  A strand of her midnight hair was hanging loosely down her cheek.  Her head was bowed as she read from the slim book in her slender hands. 

             
He wanted to talk but his throat was so dry.  “Hey,” he was able to utter in a soft raspy voice. 

             
Her head came up and the book fell forgotten to the floor as she rushed to the bed.  She sat beside him and touched his face tenderly.  “How do you feel?”

             
He had to wait for moisture to work its way back into his mouth to answer.  “Thirsty.”

             
A cup appeared in her hands from somewhere and was placed against his lips.  He swallowed what made it into his mouth.  More water ended up on his chin and neck than passed by his lips.  When she removed it he felt a little better.

             
“Thank you,” his voice still sounded raw to his ears. 

             
“Shhh.  Don’t talk.”  Her hand returned to his face.  “You will be all right now.”

             
He felt his eyelids growing heavy.

              When he awoke again, it was to near darkness.  Candles were lit and the light reflected off the walls enough for him to make out the shape of someone sitting in the chair.

             
“Katelyn?” he called a little more strongly than the last time.               

The shape rose up and approached the bed.  “No.  I convinced her to get some sleep in her own bed for a change.”  The voice was soft and comforting to his ears.

              “Margery?”

             
“Yes.  Here.”  Another cup was placed to his mouth and he drank again.  He thought he caught a little bit more of the liquid this time.  “Gelarus says that you have to drink as much as you can.  We did not get very much into you while you were sleeping.”

             
“How long have I been here?”

             
“Three days in this room.  It has been almost five since you were hurt.”  She sounded concerned, but he caught a touch of curiosity.  She must have a great many questions for him.  Maybe they didn’t know what had happened to him.  Of course they didn’t, it had all occurred inside his head.  Or had it?   His memory of the experience was a little fuzzy.                               “Are you all right?” she asked him and put a hand to his forehead.

             
He didn’t know how to answer.  He was suddenly so tired he wasn’t feeling anything right now.  So tired.  He fell back into sleep.

              The next time he awoke it was light again.  He hoped it was only the next morning, and not days later.  Losing so much time like that was discomforting.  He struggled to sit up and made it as far as resting back on his elbows before he had to stop.  He couldn’t understand why he felt so weak.  He remembered being in pain, but if it had happened in his head, then it should not have affected his body.  Unless it had been real. 

             
Coran saw that the room was empty and the door to the outer room was ajar.  He could make out voices and strained to hear.

             
“...wishes to be informed when he is awake,” a man’s voice was saying.              

             
“You can tell my father that I will inform him when I decide,” Katelyn responded with her authoritative tone. 

             
Coran winced.  He could imagine how the messenger felt about taking that back to the King.  Katelyn must not have forgiven Stemis yet for his scheme in Westhaven.  She probably wanted him to suffer for a while.  A bit petty, maybe, but Coran couldn’t fault her for it.  Stemis deserved a little suffering.

             
He tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but his hand slipped and his head fell back onto the pillow.  “Damn!” he cursed his infirmity.

             
“What are you doing?” Katelyn asked.  He had missed her slipping back into the room. 

             
“I just wanted to sit up for a while.  You know, a change of scenery from staring at the ceiling,” he said in half jest and half bitterness.

             
“Wait a moment,” she said and slipped back out of the room again.  When she came back she was carrying two white, puffy pillows in her arms.  She set them beside him and helped him up so she could place the pillows behind him, then helped ease him back.  “Better?”

             
“Much better,” he sighed.  “Now tell me what I missed while I was sleeping.”

             
She told him about their race to reach Summerhall and the arrival of Gelarus.  She then informed him that everyone had stopped by to look in on him at least once.  Apparently he had missed one of his watchers.  Alys had also shared in the duty of staying by his bedside.  He was grateful to them all. 

             
“And my father wants to see you when you are well enough,” she finished.  He thought he caught something in her tone when she mentioned her father.

             
“What aren’t you telling me?”              

Her hesitation told him he had hit the mark.  “I do not know if it is anything, but at dinner last night my father and yours did not mention you at all.  There was definitely some tension in the room.  That and my father constantly pestering Gelarus on how soon until you are on your feet again.”  She bit her lip in concern.  “I hate to admit it, but I think he has plans for you.  More plans I should say.  Plans for which your father does not approve.”

              Coran remembered something from the dream. The Lady in white had told him something about choices.  A choice to come?  Yes, that was part of it.  She said that he had to recover first and that there was time.  She also said he had to do what he felt was right.

             
“What are you thinking?  I can tell by the way your eyes seem to see something that isn’t there.”

             
So he told her about the woman he had seen and what she told him, at least the part he remembered. 

             
“What choice do you think she means?” she asked when he finished.

             
“I don’t know.  Maybe it has something to do with what your father wants with me.”

             
“Maybe.  Can you remember anything else?”

             
“A figure. He was robed.”  He could picture the man, but that was all.

             
“Do you know who he was?”

             
Coran shook his head.  “I think he was the one who wanted me dead for some reason, and the woman helped save me.”

             
“Anything else?”

             
He tried to think, but the rest was still foggy.  There was one thing, but he wasn’t ready to tell her about that.  He remembered the woman explaining about a choice between power and love.  He would have to recall more before revealing that.  “Nothing.”              

“So strange.”  She held up one finger.  “Onatel all but offers his allegiance if things go badly as he thinks it will.”  She held up a second finger.  “That robed figure wants you dead.  Gelarus said someone powerful was attacking you, which means it was not a dream.  That woman saved you so I assume she was real too.”  She raised a third finger.  “She shows up to save you and goes on to tell you about some choice you have to make.”  She let her hand drop.  “Who do they think you are?”

              “I don’t know, but I mean to find out.”  They both sat quietly for a time.

             
Katelyn broke the silence.  “So what will you do if my father asks you to do something?”

             
“I can handle your father.”  He thought for a moment.  “You can tell him that I am unable to meet with him today and tomorrow might be too soon as well.”

             
“I will,” she said happily.  “You should get your rest.” 

             
“I have been resting for too long already.” 

             
Margery stepped into the room and looked at them.  “I hope I am not interrupting?”

             
“Of course not,” Katelyn assured her.

             
“Good,” Margery stated flatly, “I came to take Katelyn outside.  She needs some fresh air.  She has not left the palace since she got here.”

             
“You should go,” he said to Katelyn in agreement.

             
“But you can’t even sit up without help,” Katelyn protested.

             
“Alys will check on him in a little while.  I already asked her,” her sister told her in a voice that said she would tolerate no more objections.

             
There was nothing for Katelyn to do but acquiesce.  “I will come back later,” she promised him and was gone.

             
The news that he was awake spread quickly through the palace.  Margery and Alys visited him again, which gave him a chance to thank them for watching over him.  As soon as they left Devon came.

             
“You don’t look so bad to me.  Not like when we first brought you here.  So why are you still in bed?” Devon asked him as he sat in the empty chair that was still by the bed.

             
“If I could get up I would.”  Then he frowned.  “Did you talk to Loras at all about what happened in the woods?”

             
“Not really, why?”

             
“I wondered if he found the one that shot me.”

             
“He didn’t mention it.”  It was Devon’s turn to frown.  “Why do you think he would?  Didn’t you see who it was?”

             
Coran shook his head.  “It came from behind me.  I managed to turn my horse around, but the person was already gone.”

             
“From behind?” Devon said in confusion.  “One of them must have hid until you passed, then fired at your back.”

             
“That makes sense, but why did he not stay to finish me off?”

             
“The arrow,” Devon exclaimed.  “It was meant for you from the beginning.  The whole attack was aimed at you.”

             
“How do you know that?”

             
“Katelyn questioned one of the prisoners.  The man said they were there after gold.  He also said that they were recruited for the job by another man named Naras.”

             
Coran groaned.  What did the man have against him?  “So the purpose of the attack was to get that arrow in me?”              

“That is what we think.  Of course we assumed you saw who did it,” Devon stated thoughtfully.  “There was something else that bothered me, but there was no time before.  When Katelyn asked Loras where you were he pointed in the direction you went.”

              Coran could finish the thought for him.  “Why did he not send someone after me himself?”

             
“Exactly.”

             
“He could have thought I was chasing after some of the attackers.  He had no reason to believe I was in trouble.”  It made sense, but something about it didn’t feel right.  He could tell by Devon’s face that he didn’t believe it either.

             
His blonde friend stood.  “If I don’t let you get some rest, Katelyn will have me flogged.”  He moved for the door and stopped before going through.  “I will keep an eye on Loras, just to be sure.”  Then he left.

             
The Queen came for a visit next.  She kept it short and when she left, his father appeared.  Oran sat in the chair and was quiet for a while.   Katelyn was right.  He looked worried about something.

             
“Are you well?”

             
“Fine, Father.”

             
“Good.  Then I should say that I am proud of you for what you accomplished in Westhaven,” his father said.  “You did extremely well under the circumstances.”  The words were spoken carefully as if Oran was afraid to let his feelings influence them.

             
“Thank you.”  He waited for more.