Into the Fray: Volume 1 of The Sorcerers of Jhanvia Series (42 page)

Tyral said to Talenyan’s mind, “You don’t need to yell. Just tell me when you need to stop.”

Talenyan smiled as they started off at a trotting pace. With the moons higher in the sky, the forest was not so dark any longer and it was easier for the human to see what was coming.

Talenyan spoke to Suliya and Tyral in her mind, “How bad is Kidreyli hurt?”

Tyral answered to both of them, “She took a sword in the left side of her chest. It went completely through, broke a few ribs and punctured her lung. It doesn’t appear that anything else significant was damaged, but there was a lot of blood loss and she likely has internal infections.”

“Who did this?” Suliya asked.

“There is a large force of Scecians based at Castle Caerlyk. One of them inserted himself into a battle that was not his and stabbed her in the back.”

“Is this the Satreka that Nidreyka spoke of?” Talenyan questioned.

“It was men under his control, yes.”

“Das cacul,” Suliya swore. “I will kill this Satreka myself.”

“Calm down, my love,” Talenyan said. “We must focus on our little girl.”

An hour or so farther along and Talenyan asked to rest. Tyral slowed to a stop in a small open area in the trees and those behind caught up.

“I apologize,” Talenyan said, “I really must rest for a spell.”

Suliya dismounted and helped her lover off her Katrion and onto a fallen log of perfect height for sitting.

Talenyan took a deep breath and said, “So Culain, I understand that my daughter bonded with a human. Do you know her?”

“Aye, m’ lady, I most certainly do,” he said proudly as he took a seat on a stone in front of her. “For the last half o’ my life up t’ now, it has been my charge t’ watch over and protect her. You see, the
Ardreach of Dhoya commanded me t’ ensure his daughter’s security and well-being.”

Suliya noted, “We had been told of her lineage.”

“Tell us about her. What is she like?” Talenyan requested.

His eyes lit up as he spoke, “Well, I think she’s ‘bout twenty years now, a beautiful girl with long black hair and gray eyes. She’s got a lot o’ her father in her…she’s stubborn and obstinate sometimes, and when she decides she wants somethin’, she goes after it with a vengeance. She’s smart and adventurous. She took it upon herself t’ travel across the mountains and south to a temple t’ learn sorcery. Kidreyli says she’s become very adept with her magics…and with a bow as well.”

“What of their relationship,” Talenyan pressed.

“Ah, if ya could see the two o’ them together, you’d know. When they look at each other, their eyes light up the night sky. The fates musta had a role in this bonding. I’ve never seen two people so perfectly matched and so deeply in love.”

Talenyan took a deep breath as a wave of pain tore through her chest, the pain most evident on her face.

“Are ya all right,” Culain asked.

She smiled as she stood, “I’ll be fine. We should continue on.”

Suliya’s mind spoke to her lover, “Are you sure. We could rest here a bit longer.”

“No, my love,” she replied silently, “we need to keep going.”

They traveled on through the night, stopping a few more times. Talenyan’s patience was taxed over her lack of stamina. Between that, the lack of sleep and the incessant pain that welled up from within her, she was becoming more…shall I say…grumpy, as time passed. And Valtyr grumpy was a different level of grumpy. As the moons reached their zenith, they finally reached the natural crossing in the river. Tyral led the way across the slippery rocks, over the last few ridges and down into the village green. Keril came out to greet them as they rode up to Culain’s hut.

“How’s she doin’,” Culain asked.

“She’s still alive, but barely,” he replied sullenly.

The old soldier introduced his companions, “Keril, this is Talenyan, Kidreyli’s mother, and her mate Suliya.”

“You should come straight away,” Keril was obviously worried.

Suliya slid off the side of Jhaytri and helped Talenyan down. As they entered the hut, they saw Kidreyli on the bed being tended to by Liane. The healer stood and backed out of their way as they came over to their daughter, still lying semi-conscious on her back.

Liane explained, “I did what I could, but it wasn’t enough. I don’t know enough about the Valtyr.”

Talenyan looked at her and smiled, “You kept her alive long enough for us to arrive, and for that I will be eternally grateful.”

Suliya held her left hand over Kidreyli’s chest and closed her eyes to get a deeper understanding of the situation. She opened her eyes and spoke to Talenyan softly, “This is very bad. She has a deep-seated infection and broken ribs at both wound points. Her lung could fail at any time.”

“Then we must do this now,” Talenyan commanded.

“You need to hold on to your healing energies,” Suliya pointed out. “I will do this.”

Talenyan smiled at her offer and explained, “You know that your magics alone will not be sufficient. You need my help, and the only way I can do that is to relinquish my energy to the spell.”

Suliya looked down at Kidreyli, knowing she was right, but her eyes showed her sadness, “Tal…no….”

Talenyan said, “Our baby girl is far more important now. I’m going to die anyway, but if I can use what is left of my life to save hers, then I willingly concede my last few days.”

Suliya turned to her with a tear streaking her cheek.

Talenyan reached up and wiped it from her face, “You know that I am right, my anamhra. My death can now have purpose, and what an honorable purpose it is that presents itself to us at this moment.”

Suliya took her hand, “I love you.”

“And I love you with all that I am,” Talenyan responded.

Suliya grabbed her by the back of the head and gave her a most passionate kiss. She took her right hand and asked, “Culain, could you stand next to Talenyan, please. This will be difficult, and she may need some help.”

“Aye, m’ lady,” he said as he took the Valtyr by the arm.

Suliya took a deep breath and spoke to Talenyan, “Right. So you’ll send your energies to me and I will direct our combined energies to Kidreyli.”

Talenyan nodded.

Suliya looked deeply into her lover’s spirit for a few silent moments and then closed her eyes, placing her right hand over Kidreyli’s wounds. She took a deep breath in, drawing up energy from within and from Talenyan and then she exhaled slowly, visualizing their combined energies being directed toward their daughter, focusing on the infections and the wounds to her lungs. The space between her hand and Kidreyli’s chest glowed with a bright golden light for several minutes as the spell was cast forth. Kidreyli lay quietly with no noticeable effects. As the light from the spell diminished, Talenyan started to collapse and was caught by Culain. Suliya fell a step back and was supported by Keril.

“I got ya,” Culain said as he held up the Valtyr and pulled her over to sit on the floor with her back against the wall.

“Thank you,” Talenyan said.

Suliya took a deep breath again to settle her energies. “It’ll be a little while before we know if the spell has taken hold.”

Culain offered, “I’ll get some food for ya.”

Keril piggy-backed on his statement, “And we’ll leave you to your privacy.”

Suliya said, “We are grateful to all of you for what you have done for our family.”

Keril replied as he started for the door, “You are welcome. Stay as long as you need.”

Suliya knelt in front of Talenyan and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Actually, no. I’m pretty drained from the spell. It will take me a little time to come around.”

A severely weakened voice came from the bed, “Grandmother, is that you?”

Suliya pulled Talenyan up and propped her against the bed, “No, dear girl. It’s your mother.”

“Mother,” Kidreyli had difficulty speaking and she was very groggy, “Culain found you.”

“Yes, he did.”

“He’s quite…a character, isn’t he?” Kidreyli forced a smile to her lips.

Talenyan laughed, “That he is. You just rest now and everything will be well.”

“I’m very tired,” the young one said as she slipped out of consciousness.

Suliya predicted, “She’ll be fine, my love. You should rest as well. I’ll tend to the Katrion and help Culain with that food. That should help to perk you up.”

Talenyan watched her love through the door then turned her attention to her daughter, pushing a few stray hairs from her face and tracing her eyebrows with her finger. She picked up Kidreyli’s left arm and saw the three telltale scars on her wrist from her bonding with Kaitra. She smiled and whispered, “My beautiful little girl all grown up…come back to me soon, for I have little time left.” She grabbed her chest as a shooting pain overwhelmed her. She took several short breaths trying to drive the pain into submission, but it took a minute or so before it subsided. She moved Kidreyli’s legs over just a bit and then she lay on the bed, resting her head on her arm toward her daughter’s feet. She fell asleep almost instantly.

It was cool at midday and there was no breeze to speak of, but a few high clouds passed from time to time. When Suliya and Culain
returned earlier with food, they found mother and daughter asleep in the bed together. Both exhausted from all the goings-on, joining them seemed like a good idea. Culain had found a place on the floor in the corner of the hut where he was snoring through his beard at the wall. Suliya had too much pent-up energy leftover from the healing spell, so she was lying on the floor staring at the ceiling.

Out of nowhere, Kidreyli burst out, “Kaitra, no!”

Suddenly they were all awake. Kidreyli’s eyes were wide with emotion.

Talenyan sat up and took her daughter’s hand, “It’s all right, Kidreyli, we’re here now.”

The young one started to sit up but was knocked back by the pain. “What happened to me?”

“You were wounded and you nearly died,” her mother described.

“Kaitra…where is Kaitra?” the look in her eyes was frantic.

Culain replied, “The soldiers, they took her, remember?”

“Oh, no, no, that can’t be, Culain,” she blurted out.

“I’m afraid she’s gone, lass.”

“How long have I been out?” Kidreyli asked.

“’Goin’ on a day, now,” he responded.

She reached out with her right hand and requested of the old man, “Pull me up.”

He hesitated for a moment.

“Help me up,
please
,” she firmly restated her demand.

Talenyan got up and leaned against Suliya as her daughter got her feet on the floor with his help.

Kidreyli looked up to see her parents in front of her, “Mother, Suliya, I am so glad you are here.” Her face showed the deep pain she felt as she stood gingerly, holding onto her wound as she hugged them both. “I hurt everywhere,” she noted with a smile.

“I imagine that you do,” Suliya said from experience. “You’re very fortunate that sword didn’t find your heart.”

“How are you feeling, mother?”

“I’m fine. I need to speak to you privately, if I may?”

Culain realized he was in the way, “Just make yourselves comfortable. I have some things t’ tend to.”

As the door closed behind him, Talenyan reached out and hugged her daughter. “I’m so glad to see you again.” They took a seat on the bed next to each other.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Kidreyli replied.

“Tell me all about your anamhra,” Talenyan requested.

“You know about her?” the young one was surprised.

“You of all people should know that Nidreyka can’t keep a secret,” Talenyan said with a smile.

Kidreyli winced in pain as she tried to laugh. “Her name is Kaitra. She is loving and beautiful and strong of will. From the first moment I saw her, I knew we were fated to be together. She is the daughter of the King of Dhoya, but she doesn’t carry that royal air with her. In fact, she’s much happier away from that life. She is a very powerful sorceress, maybe as powerful as any on the continent. I taught her how to use the bow, and she quickly became a formidable archer. She is funny, though not as funny as me. No one is as funny as I am. She is so much fun to be with. Her spirit is a joy to behold.”

“And you love her?” her mother asked.

“With all that I am,” Kidreyli finished the thought.

“And she makes you happy?” Talenyan pressed.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure what happy was until I met her. Now I understand. Why all the questions?”

Talenyan explained, “I’m dying, my dear. I don’t have much time left and I want to know everything.”

That statement threw a somber blanket over the conversation.

Talenyan continued, “So these soldiers took Kaitra from you?”

“Yes. I must get her back. We have seen visions of the things that they make her do against her will…horrific things, evil things. I cannot leave her to that fate.”

“But that’s not why you must get her back,” Suliya interjected.

Kidreyli paused, realizing her parents were too insightful, “No, it isn’t. The real reason is completely selfish. I simply can’t live without her. Our spirits are bound together and it feels like half of me has been painfully ripped away.”

“And it has, my darling girl,” Talenyan said. “She is literally a part of you now. You feel like you are supposed to feel in this situation, and the only proper resolution is to get her back in your life. And you will. I know you too well. Once you put your mind to something, everyone best get out of the way.”

Kidreyli smiled.

Talenyan continued, “I must tell you that I never expected to see you this happy. I know you were never satisfied with your life growing up, which is why you left at the first opportunity. But now I see that love and happiness are a part of your life, and that fills my heart with joy.”

“Thank you for understanding, mother. I was afraid of what you would say about me bonding with an outsider.”

Talenyan said, “About that, you know you must never return home. The elders will kill you and Kaitra on sight. Promise me that you will never return to Tyrkamani.”

“I promise.”

Talenyan took Suliya’s hand, “I want to take a walk. Are you up to it?” she asked Kidreyli.