Soul Magic (26 page)

As for herself, though confusion about her feelings for Darrick clouded her mind, Alanna fairly hummed with joy as we neared our destination.  Soon – Goddess willing – she would hold her beloved child close to her bosom.

All that remained would be to find out where Gorsedd had taken him. 

Stifling a yawn, Alanna glanced around her.  Several hours of riding through the peaceful countryside of fertile, rolling hills of green and sparkling, distant lakes had produced a decided calming effect.  The entire party seemed to have been lulled into a kind of complacent numbness. 
              They were all exhausted, true.  But this was more than mere weariness.  False confidence, perhaps?  Alanna wondered.  All knew that Gorsedd was otherwise occupied on the coast, trying to beat back the magical storm.  None thought he would have enough energy to strike at them now.

They should have known better.

The mid-day sun, though pale with the weakness of winter, provided much-needed warmth.  Not a single cloud decorated the azure sky, and the light breeze brought with it elusive fragrances reminiscent of spring.  These refreshing bits of whimsy might be a trick, sent by Gorsedd to lull them into unreadiness, but Alanna did not want to speak her fears out loud.  It’d been winter so long she knew the men’s bones ached, and the welcome respite might shore up their strength.

So she would watch for them.  If she sensed the slightest hint of danger, she would warn them.

She listened as Darrick’s men joked among themselves.  A few of the more ribald comments brought a smile to Darrick’s face.  She watched him closely for signs of pain or fatigue.  No hint of the weak and feverish man showed outwardly, so her heart lightened. 

Darrick.  Would she never grow tired of looking at him?  He appeared fit and vigorous, his chiseled features grim and alert.  He rode his massive war horse with all the confidence of the warrior she knew him to be.

Such a day was meant to banish doubts. 

Lost in her pleasant daydreams, Alanna missed the significance at first as a massive shadow blotted the sun though the sky remained cloudless.

Her mount had other ideas, whickering a warning and bucking with a hiccupping step.  This nearly unseated her.

“What the--?”  Darrick’s mount, normally a steady beast, shied sideways. 

One of the other steeds shrieked in terror.

Alanna looked up – and her heart froze in her chest.  She saw claws and scales and teeth.  A winged monster that didn’t exist, couldn’t exist swooped down from the sky and bellowed at them.

“A dragon!” 

“He’s conjured a dragon!”

They all dove for cover, heading towards the outcropping of rocks and two or three trees. 

All save Geoffrey.

With naught but a few boulders and gnarled branches to protect them, pandemonium resulted as they controlled their  terrified horses and tried to make themselves as unobtrusive as possible.

“Geoffrey, come on.”  Darrick’s urgent command had no effect on his half-brother. 

Geoffrey fought to keep his horse from bolting, concentrating on that.  He refused to look at Darrick, ignoring too the sky and the menacing shadow that loomed ever larger.

“Geoffrey!”  Sarina shouted his name.  “Please!”

With a roar, the beast bellowed fire and smoke.  The acrid odor of singed grass and sulphur made Alanna sneeze.

“Geoffrey!”  Sarina again, the anguish in her cry enough to move even a man made of stone.

He turned his head to look at her.  “Dragons do not exist.” 

While in this he was correct, now was not the time to quibble over specifics.

“`Tis magic, man.”  Darrick fought to urge his horse forward.  The animal reared, balking.  “Come now, before you lose your life.”

Skillfully controlling his own terrified mount, Geoffrey turned his attention to Darrick. Still he ignored the menace in the sky.  His autocratic face radiated serenity.  Serenity and a kind of mad, fatalistic certainty.  He believed enough was enough.  This aberration, this final alteration in the fabric of world he knew was too much. 

He would not believe in the dragon.  Nor fear it. After all, everyone knew they were only creatures of myth. 

Like the Fae.

Alanna sent a quick prayer winging skyward.  “Goddess save him.” 

“Geoffrey!” Sarina shrieked.  “Look out!”

The monster bellowed again.  Again Alanna prayed.  It swooped close, rose and circled.  The wind created by its passing felt hot, burning her skin.

Geoffrey shouted a challenge.  He lifted his hand.  A glint of metal – his sword?  No, instead he raised his silver cross before him, his upturned face certain and unafraid. 

Blind faith. 

“No!”  Sarina leapt from her horse, running to him.

She never made it.

The dragon, on the way to snatch Geoffrey with massive talons, went for the moving target instead.

Sarina’s scream spoke of agonizing pain.  The beast closed its claws around her, cutting off her cry in mid-air.  She went limp.

“Sarina!”  Horror and devastated shock rang in Geoffrey’s voice. 

The dragon began to rise, Sarina’s lifeless figure dangling.  Her dark hair spilled like blood over the crusted talons.

“No.”  Geoffrey stood up in the saddle.  He jumped into the air, catching hold of the beast’s other claw and hanging on for dear life.

In Alanna’s arms, Ellette let out a blood-curdling cry.

Again the dragon screeched, as though responding.  Wheeling into the sky with its prize.  Alanna saw only one chance to stop it.

“Darrick.” 

Instantly, he rode to her side.

Leaning towards him, she held out her hand.  He grasped it, his grip strong and sure.

With a quick prayer, Alanna closed her eyes and went deep inside herself.  She searched for her center, hoping she might find the smallest spark, a tiny remnant of power.

Nothing. 

She tried yet again.  And again, her desperation increasing as the sounds of the dragon’s wings faded into the distance.

“They’re gone.”  Still gripping her hand, Darrick’s anguish came through in his voice. 

Alanna opened her eyes.  The dragon – and Geoffrey and Sarina – were only faint, far-off specks in the pale blue sky.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

In the dragon’s wake came only silence, broken by the snorting of the horses and the jingle of their harnesses as they tossed their heads and pawed the ground.

“What should we do?” one of the men asked, his narrowed eyes and tight-lipped grimace indicative of his mood now that the terror had passed. A quick glance at the other men showed they shared similar sentiments. 

Alanna bit her lip and stared at the spot where, moments earlier, Sarina had stood.  She breathed in short gusts, trying to accept what had just happened. 

Sarina had been wounded.  She and Geoffrey were gone, taken by some mythical creature that had never existed, except in the fertile imagination of her little boy.

And she, a Princess of Rune, had totally, utterly failed in her duty.  A simple task – to keep Sarina safe.  She had not done so, her magic had been derelict, and now Sarina had been injured.  She refused to consider the possibility that Sarina could be dead.  Instead, she could only hope Geoffrey could help her cousin, that he would save the woman he loved.

Ellette had gone limp in her arms.  Mayhap the child slept.  Alanna could only hope so, for there would be little enough rest in the days to come.

“What’s wrong with her?” one of the men asked, pointing at Alanna, still standing frozen in shock, clutching Ellette in her arms.

“If I had magic,” another said, his tone accusing.  “I’d have used it to keep that monster from taking Geoffrey and Sarina.”

If
she had magic… Chest aching, she raised her face to the sky.  Her prayers had gone unanswered.  Had her magic finally, completely deserted her?

The men murmured in agreement.  She felt their rancor like a slap to the face.

When she still didn’t respond, Darrick defended her, traces of anger simmering in his voice.  “Her magic has faded.  If she could have saved her cousin and Geoffrey from the dragon, she would have.”

The dragon
.  Caradoc had long imagined them, describing his imaginary creatures in great and loving detail. 

Stunned, Alanna raised her head.  “Caradoc used to dream of dragons,” she said, knowing she sounded mad. 

Glancing from her to the empty sky, Darrick shook his head.  “This was no small child’s dream.  This beast has Geoffrey and Sarina.  We’ve got to get them back.” 

At the mention of Caradoc’s name, little Ellette had raised her head.  Now she rested again, her cheek against Alanna’s chest, her thumb in her tiny mouth.

“How?”  Another of the men wanted to know.

The others murmured agreement.

“How can we reach to them before the monster eats them?”

“A good question, and one I have no answer for.”  Darrick turned to Alanna, his grim countenance gentling.

“Are you all right?”

Though she nodded, the horrific scene kept replaying in her mind.  All she could think was how much this dragon looked like one of the mythical creatures her son used to describe.  Yellow scales.  Bulging eyes.  Scaly talons. 

“Darrick--” Her horse shifted under her, still restless.  She swayed with it, wondering if this was even possible, if her child could somehow have enough magic to create such a thing when she had not enough magic to vanquish it.

Darrick watched her, waiting for her to finish.  So did the others.  If she spoke her thoughts out loud, would they also blame her son?

She swallowed.  She couldn’t take the chance.  And, more importantly, if Darrick were Caradoc’s father, she couldn’t risk him thinking bad about the boy.  “Nothing.”

Understanding immediately, he waved his men away.  “I would speak with Alanna privately.”

Grumbling, the men did as he asked, riding out into the open and heading slowly down the road.

Heart in her throat, she watched them go.  Dare she tell Darrick her suspicions?  Admittedly fantastical, yet too coincidental to be mere chance.

Dismounting, Darrick went first to Geoffrey’s horse, soothing the still terrified animal.  Sarina’s had already returned, crowding close to Alanna’s palfrey. 

Leading Geoffrey’s war horse to his, Darrick swung into the saddle again, tying the rider-less mount securely.

Unbidden, Alanna’s eyes filled with tears. She clutched Ellette close and rocked her.  The child accepted this with nary a whimper.

“Alanna.”  His deep voice carried a wealth of concern. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Caradoc
. 
What had he done?

Blinking furiously, she forced a smile.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’m fine.”

“You look as if you are about to shatter.”

She took a deep breath, then another, and managed to raise a brow.  “How so?”

His smile seemed oddly gentle.  “Your features have frozen, my lady.  The regal mask of a royal princess of Rune is back in place.”

A mask.  He was right.  Though her heart ached, she kept smiling.  It felt more like gritting her teeth.

How well he knew her. 

“I keep hearing Sarina.  Her scream echoes over and over in my head.”

“`Tis my hope Geoffrey can help her.” 

She nodded, though his words did not ease the horrible ache of her failure.  She sniffed.  Now even the faint scent of sulphur had gone.  A few drops of Sarina’s blood had spilt crimson on the ground.

Unable to bear the sight, she applied her heels to her horse’s side, trotting to rejoin the men. 

Darrick followed suit. 

None of the men were speaking, each lost in his own grim thoughts.  Alanna was glad, for she could take no more accusation, nor could she afford again to so greatly doubt herself.  She had rescues to perform.  While Gorsedd threatened the entire world, for her his actions had always been entirely personal, as he had stolen Caradoc.  Now she had more than her son to rescue, and had begun to realize how many more lives were at stake. 

Though they rode at a steady pace, their party seemed incomplete.  The two rider-less horses were a constant reminder of their loss. Each hoofbeat seemed to sound out their names. 

Again, worried sorrow made her throat close.  But this time, anger tempered despair.  If she had enough magic…  She wanted to lift her fist to the sky and shake it.  Instead, she made a solemn promise.

Gorsedd would pay.   

Held tightly against Alanna’s chest, little Ellette shivered.  She had gone silent, ever since her scream when the dragon had taken Sarina.  Alanna could understand, as she herself had no words to bring the child comfort.  Not now.  Not yet.