Shadows of the Realm (The Circle of Talia) (25 page)

Arcon prepared the camp and they slept for a few hours, with the exception of Fang, who, as well as being excited at finding Blayke, had slept a while in Arcon
’s pocket on the way. He woke them mid-afternoon. The clear sky had clouded over. Arcon prepared food, which Blayke felt well enough to eat. Blayke managed to mount his horse by himself by the time Arcon had cleared the camp. He was slightly dizzy, but that was all. Arcon’s plan was to ride a few hours in the dark, make camp, and continue again in the morning. He would wait until then to ask Blayke the many questions he had.

Arcon knew they had to reach Vellonia as soon as possible, but if Morth was nearby, it would be prudent to delete him before he could cause any more trouble. Arcon scried the Second Realm for Morth
’s symbol. He travelled through the blackness past symbol after symbol. None were his. He travelled back and forth in disbelief. Unless Morth and his mother had died, it was impossible for their symbols to have disappeared. 

Arcon opened his eyes.
“Well, Blayke, I don’t know how, but Morth and his mother appear to have befallen some unfortunate accident.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I can’t find their symbols anywhere. Maybe whoever they were working for took offence at the fact they failed.”

“
I can’t believe we’d be so lucky.”

“
If they were alive anywhere I’d be able to see them, unless they’ve been shielded.” Arcon tapped the end of his nose with his index finger while he pondered the possibility of Morth being around to bother them later.

“I bloody hope they’re not being shielded. I hope they’re dead.
So what do we do now?”

“
Get ourselves to Vellonia.” Arcon nudged his horse forward and they started the last leg of their journey toward the dragon city. Arcon was eager to meet with everyone. Once they all put their experiences and information together, a pattern might emerge.

Arcon had the irritating feeling that, although he couldn’t find Morth’s symbol, it wasn
’t the last time they would be bothered by the pair. If they were still alive, and their symbols being protected, it would indicate that Morth had more power than most realmists. The alternative was worse. Whoever Morth was in league with was more powerful than Arcon cared to imagine. He promised himself he would be more careful than usual. He would not feel safe until they reached Vellonia, and that was at least a week away. 

Arcon dreaded the sleepless nights he knew would be his until
they reached their destination. It was at times like this he regretted his choices in life. It would have been nicer to be a blacksmith, maybe even a farmer. Phantom’s voice cut into his thoughts.
But then you wouldn’t know me
.

“
True, my old friend. Do you ever regret the path you’ve taken?”

Not for all the mice in the world. I would have been bored by a normal life in the forest. I have a suspicion life would have seemed dull to you if your time were spent planting vegetables or shoeing horses
. Arcon thought about it, however in this time of danger, was reluctant to agree.

He scried the Second Realm again; still no Morth. Arcon felt it was time to match wits. He would shield their symbols, which he hadn’t done until now because it took a monumental amount of energy. Most of his consciousness would have to remain in the Second Realm. That meant he could not deal with everyday physical dangers.

“I’m going to shield our symbols.”

Blayke inhaled sharply and explained the grave implications to Fang, then turned to Arcon.

“If you do that it will take you days, even weeks to recover, even if you can hold it until we reach Vellonia.”

“
I’m well aware of that, thank you. Right now we don’t have a choice.” His voice held a strength and determination Blayke could not argue with. “Obviously the rest of you will have to keep an eye out and deal with any situations. I’ll commence shielding tonight. You’ll have to take turns on watch. I’m sorry to say we’ll all be tired by the time we reach Vellonia, but that’s as it has to be.” This was a huge decision for Arcon; he was not comfortable with delegating. He liked to be in control. Leaving Blayke without supervision was almost as hard for him as the task he was about to undertake, especially in light of what had recently befallen the young man.

That night after dinner Arcon left Phantom with last-minute instructions. When he was as satisfied as he could be that things would be taken care of, he put himself into a trance. He had never before shielded for such an extended period of time. The energy it would take might be enough to kill him, a fact he declined to impart to his companions. Blayke would have to feed Arcon, get him on and off his horse, take him to the toilet and put him to bed. This leg of their journey was going to be difficult; there was still no guarantee they would reach the dragon city alive. Arcon would have smiled, however, if he could have heard the great howl of displeasure from the Third Realm when their four symbols disappeared from view. None of them knew it, but maybe things were looking up.

19

Avruellen had finally fallen into a fitful sleep after exhausting her tears, and woke with an immediate feeling of distress. She knew something dreadful had happened and it took a few post-slumber seconds for the memory to stab her again. She quietly recalled the events of the previous night. A still-confused Corrille interrupted her thoughts. 

“Miss Avruellen, are you alright?” Bronwyn’s friend looked genuinely concerned. 

Avruellen remembered her grief and admitted to herself it must have been quite a sight.
“I’m OK, Corrille. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“
Where has Bronwyn gone? Why did you let her leave with that horrible beast?” Corrille’s voice accused her. “He’s probably eaten her by now.” 

Avruellen shook her head and wondered how she would explain this without giving away their secrets. She scried the Second Realm and found Bronwyn
’s symbol. It seemed they had covered a goodly distance since the previous night. Avruellen wondered if they had bonded yet;  probably not. They would have had to stop for a while to do that. She hoped Bronwyn survived the test; it was never easy. More than one young realmist had ended their career, and life, by making an error whilst bonding.

“
I can assure you she is still alive. I know this is confusing for you but I don’t have an explanation right now.”

“
Are we at least going to look for her?”

“
I haven’t thought about it.” Avruellen was telling the truth. Their task was unfinished. She had two choices: immediately continue to The Isle of the Dead Souls via Vellonia, or find Bronwyn first. There was no way for her to know if Bronwyn was definitely required at the Isle. If she was, Avruellen would be wasting her time getting there by herself. On the other hand, if Bronwyn was only to have been a spectator, Avruellen could still do whatever it was Agmunsten required.

“
Corrille, I need time to think. Could you gather some more timber and I’ll start breakfast.” Corrille, thankfully, hastily complied with the request. Avruellen turned to Flux.
What do you think we should do?

The fox looked at her with sympathy.
Which direction are they traveling?

South
.

That
’s only slightly off course. Where do you think they’re headed?

The only important place directly south of here is Vellonia, although we still can
’t be sure that’s where they’ll end up
. 

Once again Drakon
’s booming voice interrupted their conversation.
Do not follow them. They have something to do for me first. You will not go to Vellonia now. If you try to follow them I will make sure you never reach them. Am I understood?

Avruellen suffered an uncontrollable shiver. The Dragon God was now threatening her, not to mention he was contradicting plans previously made by The Circle. As if she didn
’t have enough to contend with already. His presence vanished before she had a chance to answer.

Well
, Av, it looks like the decision’s been made for us
. 

She nodded at Flux with a glum face. Everything seemed out of her control; things were definitely not going as planned.

Corrille returned, placing her armful of timber on the fire, which exuded a renewed heat.  Breakfast consisted of leftovers from Augustine’s kitchen, washed down with strong tea. Avruellen had made peace with her decision by the completion of breakfast, resolving that she would carry out her task as best she could. She could not tell Corrille the truth, as the young woman would likely make life difficult if she knew they were not going to “save” her friend. “Corrille, I have decided we will search for Bronwyn. Flux knows her smell and can follow a trail that is days old. Don’t worry. We’ll find her.” 

Avruellen didn
’t like lying, but saw no other way. Corrille was immediately happy. In her eagerness to find her friend she had her horse saddled and waiting, within minutes, even helping Avruellen to gather her things.

Riding out that morning, Avruellen was in better spirits than she could have hoped to be, considering. It was good to have made a decision, to have a direction, even if the decision had been made for them. In the next few days they would cross from Veresia into Wyrden then quickly into Brenland. They were travelling in a southwesterly direction toward the seaside town of Carpus. From there they would board a boat and travel to The Isle of the Dead Souls. What would happen once they arrived was a mystery to Avruellen, and she contemplated the wisdom of taking Corrille.

If she could come up with a safe way to do it, maybe she would leave Corrille at Carpus and collect her on their return from the island. If they returned. Avruellen was a methodical person and didn’t like all these ifs and maybes. She wondered how the others were doing. Having received no bad news, she assumed things were OK. Avruellen finally decided to search the Second Realm for the others; it would be comforting to know where they were. Agmunsten appeared to be more than midway between Bayerlon and Vellonia. Maybe she could ask him to keep an eye out for Bronwyn, although she didn’t want to alarm him. She decided not to reveal their predicament yet and wait to see his position in a few days as opposed to Bronwyn’s.

She scried for Arcon. It was a shocking thing to be looking and not seeing what she anticipated. It didn
’t matter how much she searched the seemingly starry blackness of the Second Realm: the symbols she expected to see were not there. It was difficult to push down the swell of panic expanding in her. There must be a good reason. Surely if something had happened to them Agmunsten would know and tell her. Should she risk contacting Agmunsten? If the Gormons were paying attention, they would find out the Head Realmist’s symbol. She couldn’t risk it. The out-of-control feeling was back again, and ten times worse. They had barely begun to defend Talia, and already everything was falling apart.

Avruellen took a deep breath and focused her attention on the land sprawled out in front of her. It would do no good to dwell in the negative so she might as well ignore it, hard as it would be.  She thought about Bronwyn, recalling her steadfast optimism. Her beautiful smile was always guaranteed to cheer her up. Bronwyn always considered the most positive option before the negative; a trait she had inherited from her father. For a moment she regretted not telling her niece much about her parents. The problem was, one piece of information always led to another question, and Avruellen couldn’t afford to tell Bronwyn too much about her parentage, it would jeopardise their mission.

The road ahead swam in and out between low-lying hills. It had recently rained, the lush green grass interspersed with spring flowers of red, blue, and gold. Butterflies and birds flitted around the newly blossoming trees seeking nectar and insects. In spite of herself, the realmist smiled at nature’s beauty. The importance of what they were doing was reiterated to her. If the Gormons had their way, all of this would be churned into a burnt and bloody catastrophe. Avruellen drew renewed hope from the spring fragrances which filled her nose.

She turned and looked at Corrille who was riding a few lengths behind, not sure of what state her friend
’s Aunt was in. “It’s OK. I’m feeling better now.” Avruellen smiled. “Come and ride with me. The journey will go faster with some conversation.” 

Corrille hesitated, however found her way to the side of the woman of whom she was still frightened. Not sure what the older woman wanted to talk about, she politely waited for her to start the conversation.

“I’ve been following Bronwyn’s trail and I’m thinking we’ll probably catch up to her in a few days.”

“
How can you know?” Corrille peered sideways at Avruellen.

“
When I was young, my parents taught me hunting and tracking skills. See that hoof print over there?” Avruellen pointed at an old print, left a few days ago by a horse she would never know. Hopefully a few well-placed falsities would quell the younger woman’s suspicions. Her companion nodded almost imperceptibly. “There’s a smaller track next to it.” Corrille was turning her head to watch the spot as they rode past. “That print belongs to the panther, so they have been this way. We’ll find them.” Avruellen was thankful that whoever had ridden past earlier had decided to have a large dog with them, a Great Dane if she knew her paw prints. Corrille was teetering on the brink of belief. Avruellen would not push her any more. A few subtle comments would nudge her over the edge eventually.

“
I can see you’re still not sure. You’ll just have to trust me. I think at this stage you don’t have a choice. It will be safer for all of us if we stay together.” Corrille wanted to object but, unusually, saw the sense in what her friend’s Aunt said. She still didn’t trust her and knew there was something about the whole situation that was definitely not normal. As long as she didn’t know what that was, she would keep her eyes open and feign obedience, let Avruellen underestimate her. If the old woman was lying, she would find out, and then she would see what Corrille was made of. 

Corrille had grown up in a tough environment and was happy lying to others. Sometimes lying was the only way to save herself from her father
’s drunken wrath. She had also done things that no one knew about. In fact, if anyone found out they would be horrified; Corrille smiled in remembrance. She looked over at Avruellen who mistook the smile for friendliness and smiled back.
Foolish woman
, Corrille thought,
one day you’ll regret pushing me around
. Her smile widened into a wolfish grin.

Avruellen kept smiling but shuddered at the look on Corrille
’s face.
That girl is more evil than I thought
. Avruellen spoke silently to the fox trotting beside her horse.
Keep an eye on Corrille. She’s planning something.

Are you sure you
’re not being paranoid?

When have I ever been paranoid and wasn
’t right?

Never. But there
’s always a first time. There’s something about her, but I think she’s harmless.

Avruellen slowly and firmly shook her head.
I’m not asking you to share my opinion; just keep an eye on her
. 

Flux nodded.
I smell a rabbit. I’ll be back soon. 

And I smell a rat.
Avruellen smiled at her own joke.

Very funny
.

Avruellen watched Flux as he dashed off into nearby bushes.

They stopped just long enough to eat lunch because the realmist wanted to get to Carpus as soon as possible. Her plan now definitely included ditching Corrille there. If that girl discovered what she was, she would probably scream it to everyone who would listen. Avruellen didn’t need any trouble from a fearful, god-fearing population. Many preachers told their congregations that realmists were acting against the orders of the gods. This of course was a lie, however, many religious leaders wanted to secure their place in the world and saw any competition as a threat.

Corrille assumed the brief stop was to find Bronwyn sooner. Her best friend had only been gone a short while, but she missed her terribly so was happy to eat quickly and continue. Bronwyn, in her eyes, was the one person she could trust in this world. Bronwyn was always positive and made her feel good about herself. It seemed as if every other person she had the misfortune to be associated with was there to bring her down. All the terrible things she had done in the past had been forced on her. If she had been treated with kindness instead of cruelty, the situations she often found herself in would not have occurred, therefore others were to blame for her actions, or as she thought, reactions.

She still couldn’t get used to the old woman telling her what to do and comforted herself by admitting at least she wasn’t being abused. Nevertheless, as soon as they found Bronwyn, Corrille planned to convince her to leave her Aunt behind.  Whatever her Aunt was hoping to achieve was her own business, as had been made clear several times. Corrille didn’t see why they had to be dragged along just so Avruellen had someone to order around.

Afternoon flowed into night with a spectacular retreat of daylight. Avruellen admired the fiery hues of sunset, which soon cooled into a vast and starry black canopy.
“It’s time to find a camp site.”

“
Why can’t we ride a bit longer? I don’t want to lose any more ground on Bronwyn.”

“
We’ll injure the horses. Bronwyn and that big cat can’t walk all night either. I’m sure they’ve stopped by now.” Before Corrille could argue, Avruellen and Flux veered off the road and were headed into the trees. Not wanting to be left alone in the dark, not to mention without food, Corrille had no choice but to follow them.

They stopped not far from the road, Avruellen choosing a place that wasn’t a clearing but smaller spaces between trees. Avruellen directed where Corrille was to place her bedroll. She felt insulted by the order; she was old enough to find a suitable place by herself. The young woman was tired after riding all day and upset at losing Bronwyn. The tongue she should have stilled was in no mood for silence.
“Stop treating me like a child. I’m so sick of you telling me what to do. If it weren’t for you bringing us here, none of this would have happened.” She walked over to Avruellen and looked with hatred, into her eyes. Her voice pitched lower, “If Bronwyn dies, it is because of you. If Bronwyn dies, I will have no one. If Bronwyn dies, I will make sure you pay for it, you hateful hag.”