Shieldwolf Dawning (26 page)

Samarra froze. She couldn't think. There was nothing she could do except watch in horror as he raced at her with incredible speed. The Hippokampos drove his trident through the bubble and Samarra was instantly submerged in icy water. She dropped her staff and watched in dismay as it sank into murky darkness. She could feel herself running out of breath and swam up to the light as quickly as she could.

But the Hippokampos was too fast. He grabbed hold of her foot and dragged her farther into the depths of the waterhole. Samarra struggled and tried to tap into the energy she had used in the Jade Forest, but nothing happened. With all of her strength, she kicked the Hippokampos in the eye.

It roared in pain, released its grip on her, and dropped the trident. Samarra snatched the weapon and rushed away. She screamed when she was flung out of the lake. Strong hands swept her along the surface and headed for the shore.

"Do not be afraid," Nafiseh said.

"We have you safely," Mitra added.

"Thank you." Samarra gripped the trident tightly for fear she would drop it. She had already lost her staff and she couldn't risk losing the trident for Brin's sake.

"Quickly," Nafiseh urged. "The Hippokampos is gaining on us."

The shore was fast approaching. Samarra heard loud splashes and turned around anxiously. The Hippokampos dived in and out of the water in hot pursuit. His body had turned blood-red with rage. When the undines reached water too shallow for him to follow, he ranted and roared and eventually dove back into the deep in angry resignation. In a matter of moments, the lake was once again calm. The undines turned to bipedal form and floated on the surface of the waterhole.

"Thank you." Samarra was breathless. "You saved my life."

"No, thank
you
," Mitra said. "The undines of Albion Waterhole will no longer suffer at the hands of the Hippokampos."

Samarra blushed.

"The Green Woman may be fierce, but her heart is just. She will see to it that the trident is destroyed and your friend is released," Mitra said.

Samarra thought of her staff and frowned. "My staff. I dropped it in there." She pointed at the lake. "I need it to save my brother."

"Worry not. We will retrieve it," Nafiseh promised, "even though you do not need your staff to save your brother."

"What do you mean?"

"You are strong," Nafiseh told Samarra. "Your heart is good and your spirit is just. The power you seek is in you, not in your staff."

Samarra wasn't sure what to say, so she glanced at the darkening skies and checked her holowatch. She was running out of time to save Brin.

"It's getting late," she said in a rush, "and I should go. I'll have to come back for my staff another time, if you don't mind."

"Of course," the undines said.

"Thank you again for helping me."

"We wish you a safe journey."

Samarra waved at them and watched them disappear underwater. She waited until the ripples had settled before she grabbed her things and sprinted back into the Jade Forest.

To her surprise, the Jade Giants were waiting for her. They motioned for her to follow them as they marched back up the path that led to their queen. The giants walked slowly. Samarra grew impatient and tried to hurry past them, but every time she would make a move to overtake, they would block her way. After a while, she resigned herself to moving at a snail's pace. She checked her holowatch again. It had been hours since she had left Shieldwolf Proper.

When they reached their destination Samarra headed straight for the queen, who was sitting under a thick bamboo stalk. "I have the trident." Samarra held out the weapon.

The queen inspected the trident. "You have done well." There was approval in her voice. "The trident will be destroyed." She gestured for one of the giants guarding Brin to release him.

"Are you okay?" Samarra hugged him.

"Yes, I am." He rubbed his wrists.

The queen stood up. "You may now pass through my forest."

Samarra was eager to go, but before she could step away, the queen put up her hand. "Wait."

Samarra hoped that she would not be asked to complete another task.

"You are heading to the Caverns of Azalor, are you not?"

Samarra nodded. "We're going to find my brother."

The queen handed Samarra a small parcel wrapped in a sheet of moss. "You will encounter obstacles on your journey. Take this trinket as a reward for your help. It might serve as a source of hope in a time of darkness."

Samarra accepted the gift with thanks. She opened the parcel to find a delicate jade bracelet and slipped it on her wrist. "Thank you."

"Now be gone from my forest." The queen waved her sceptre dismissively and disappeared into the midst of her giants. Their eerie chanting resumed and the procession headed back to the step pyramid. Two giants stayed behind to escort Samarra and Brin from the forest.

As they walked, Brin munched on a piece of bread. "I wasn't sure you'd come back," he said between mouthfuls of food.

Samarra pretended to be offended. "How could you say that?"

"You're trying to get to Cassian. Helping me only eats into your time."

"But you're my friend."

Brin smiled his toothiest grin. Samarra smiled back. They walked on in an easy silence.

When they reached the northern edges of the forest, the giants stopped. They pointed to the uneven path leading out of the area before heading back the way they had come. The afternoon had faded into early evening. The sky was growing dark and the air was getting chilly. Samarra and Brin pushed on bravely without slackening their pace. The path led to a canyon, past boulders of various sizes and a mass of red rock.

Unlike the Jade Forest, this area was wide open. Samarra's immediate concern was to avoid being seen by the Shieldwolves. She had been gone long enough from Shieldwolf Proper for someone to have noticed she was missing. Although the sun had set, the full moon illuminated them both. Samarra knew they would be easy to spot. As they walked on, she kept a lookout for flying horses. Brin did the same.

"Do you believe in the Reflection?" Samarra enjoyed silence, but not for too long.

"I do," Brin replied.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"How do you know you should believe in it? How do you know what you believe in exists?"

Brin checked his holowatch. "Isn't it late to be asking these kinds of questions?"

"Come on. Be serious. Something happened to me in the forest. I'm confused."

"Okay, okay." He put up his hands as if to ward off any arguments.

"Well?"

"I don't know. I can't explain it. It's a feeling, kind of like..."

"A feeling? Is it hot or cold?"

"I don't know… it's just a feeling."

"How do I know when I'm feeling it?"

"Samarra, you're giving me a headache. I don't know what to tell you. This is what I've been taught — these are my beliefs, the beliefs of my kin. I can't explain it exactly, but you'll know for yourself when you feel it. Can we talk about something else, please?"

Samarra knew she wouldn't get anything useful out of him that evening, so she occupied herself with other things. She yawned and wished she was in bed, fast asleep under a warm blanket, but some wishes would not come true.

They had traveled for a little over two hours when Brin tugged urgently at Samarra's sleeve. "Look." He pointed at a cliff face looming in the distance. "What's that?"

Keepers of the Lost Dreaming

"It looks like a temple." Samarra took in the magnificent structure. "It's beautiful."

The temple was cut into a limestone mountain face. Even from afar it was enormous. The structure was split into two levels. On the bottom storey, a ledge jutted out and was framed by a single row of large columns that provided a buttress for the porch above.

She heard something.
"Samarra Dawning…"

Samarra turned to Brin. "Yes?"

"Yes what?"

"Did you say something?"

Brin shook his head. "No."

"I thought you said my name."

Brin looked at her blankly.

"Never mind. Let's keep walking."

"Samarra Dawning…"
the voice whispered.

"Did you hear that?" Samarra was growing frantic.

"Hear what?" Brin seemed confused.

"That voice — it's calling my name."

"What are you talking about? You need to sleep," he suggested. "You must be tired."

"Are you saying I'm imagining things? I'm not imagining things. I heard someone say my name!" She strained her ears to hear the voice again.

"Be that way, then. If you won't rest then keep walking."

"Samarra Dawning…"

Samarra froze. "It's coming from up there." She pointed at the temple. "I'm going in."

"We can't go in," Brin warned. "We don't know who lives there."

"Monks live in temples. What would they do to us besides make us pray to the Reflection?"

"I suppose I'm hungry. They might give us some food."

Samarra frowned disapprovingly. "Do you ever stop thinking about food?"

Brin pushed his glasses up his snout. "Be nice, Samarra."

"All right, all right," she promised, but crossed her fingers just in case.

Brin found a narrow track that led them up to the structure. A slick sheet of ice interrupted their ascent. At first they went single file up the slippery trail, walking on the side that offered steadier footing. Samarra lost her balance twice. If it hadn't been for Brin's quick reflexes, she would have fallen off the edge of the cliff.

When they reached the end of the path, they jumped onto a ledge that would allow them entry to the temple. The entryway dwarfed Samarra and Brin and was framed with carvings of moons and suns. A keystone above the entrance housed a brilliant sunstone. The seven stars chiselled into the door lit up at Samarra's approach.

"How do we get inside?" Samarra felt around for a way in.

Brin scanned the area.

A chorus of angelic voices broke into prayerful hymn. Samarra stood transfixed, becoming increasingly lost in the melody as the chorus grew stronger and louder. Soothing tones plunged into her body like a cascade of sound. The music flowed up and down her spine and settled into languid waves — bliss. The door parted. Samarra stepped inside. Brin was frozen in place.

"Samarra." He struggled to reach her as she walked in. "Stop!"

Although Samarra could hear him, his voice was a blur. The door closed to separate her from the world outside. A voice urged her to keep walking, to forget herself. It coaxed her to uncover the secrets hidden deep within the temple.

Samarra paused in the middle of a large, heptagonal room. The floor was of smooth limestone overlaid with gold. Swathes of transparent purple silks draped from the vaulted ceiling and rippled in the light breeze. Hundreds of white candles lined the area, giving off muted light to show the way. Each of the seven walls was covered with a brilliant fresco depicting Kairu myths.

She ran her hands over the first panel. The scene depicted a baby asleep on a bed of glistening leaves. Two creatures stood guard nearby: one was a Watcher, the other was a fire elemental. Samarra moved to the next panel. Shieldwolves were in the middle of battle. They held out their staffs and cast spells of earth, fire, wind, and water at an army of Watchers descending from the skies. The next two panels depicted more scenes of war — one showed a woman in full armour riding on the back of a Watcher. The fifth was of the same woman. This, time, however, she was draped from head to toe in a white sheet and strapped to a bed of carved ice. Four snow golems guarded her sleeping form. The sixth panel was of a child surrounded by seven Watchers. The final and largest panel hung in the centre of the room and was of a child. Arms raised to the sky, the child stood with a disc of light floating above her head that radiated benefit to the creatures and plants around her.

"Samarra Dawning," the voice whispered. "What truths do you seek?"

One by one, seven beings of light appeared before her. They floated inches above the ground. Their bodies were so bright that Samarra was unable to look at them directly. If she squinted, she could make out tiny stars orbiting around the luminous bodies, but that was all.

"Give yourself to us and we will disclose the way," the voice coaxed in soothing tones.

The singing continued. Samarra grew sleepier and sleepier. Although she was still aware of her surroundings, she felt as if she was gradually losing consciousness and entering a dream. The sensations reminded her of her experience in the Jade Forest when her staff had erupted in fire, except this time she did not feel panic or fear; this time she felt at peace.

"Eternal is the Reflection," the chorus chanted.

Samarra's eyes drifted closed and she felt herself slow falling into a void. Old memories rose in her mind. She saw herself and Cassian as toddlers. She saw herself alone. The stench of moldy habits filled the air and Samarra remembered Mr. Sairfang yelling at her for not doing as he asked. Next, visions of Kairuhan appeared in her imagination. She gagged at the sulphuric heat that suffocated the Shieldwolves during battle with Eshgranna at Hokken Sol. Samarra flinched at the sound of painful screams when the Watchers enveloped the Shieldwolves in flux.

"Where I begin, I shall return there again," the voices sang in uniform.