Soul Magic (32 page)

Quietly, very quietly, Geoffrey answered.  “Everyone knows there is no such thing as a dragon.”

Caradoc snorted. 

Sarina, however, frowned.  “Since we began this quest, I have seen many manifestations that should not be.  That does not mean I would put myself in danger.”

“Or you.”  His throat aching, Geoffrey touched her arm.  “My foolish actions put you in danger.  For that, I know deep sorrow.”

“But why?  I still don’t understand.”

Restless, Geoffrey stood.  Clenching his fists, he gazed out at the bright sunshine.  “I know you don’t understand.  How can you, when I barely do myself?  But for me, this dragon, this beast, was the final straw.  In a moment of insanity, I truly believed if I did not acknowledge the monster, it would go away.”

Now Caradoc giggled.  “Have you not learned this world holds many wonders?”

“I have now.”  Though he glanced at the boy, Geoffrey let his gaze linger on Sarina.  She stared back, her expression unreadable.  Finally, she nodded. 

“This dragon… it can fly.”

Immediately Geoffrey saw where she headed.  “Caradoc has already told me he cannot leave. Gorsedd knows when he uses his magic and has threatened to harm the lady Rowena if Caradoc attempts escape.”

“Rowena?  Darrick’s mother?”

“And Morfran’s sister.”

She narrowed her gaze on Caradoc.  “So he can sense the use of magic, right?”

Caradoc nodded. 

“And you,” she touched Caradoc’s thin arm, “fairly glow with magic these days.”

With a perplexed look, the boy glanced down at himself.  “I don’t see--”

“Take my word for it.  You do.”  Now she looked at Geoffrey, her blue eyes warming.  “But you are human.  You have no magic.”

Immediately he saw where she was heading.  “You want me to ride the dragon.”

“And rescue Rowena,” she finished.  “Bring her here.  Once she is out of Morfran and Gorsedd’s clutches, there is no reason we can’t all escape.”

“But isn’t using the dragon the same as using magic?”

They both looked at Caradoc.  “I used magic to create Ladde.  But now he is real.  He does not use magic to exist or to fly.”  Caradoc’s eyes went round.  “You’re right,” he breathed.  “You can do this.”

Try as he might, Geoffrey himself could find no flaw in the plan.  Save one.

“What of Darrick and Alanna?  Even as we speak, they approach the Isle of Man.”

Sarina squinted at him.  “Mayhap they will see the dragon flying.  And once you rescue Rowena and come back for us, we will find them too.”

“My dragon is not so large at that.”  Caradoc pointed out. 

She shrugged and grinned.  “Details, details.  Let’s worry about all that later.  Take one step at a time for now.”

Misgiving filled Geoffrey.  Long had he been a loyal follower, obeying Darrick’s orders without hesitation.  But Darrick always knew where to go, what to do, and how to do it.  Knowing and anticipating the details was what made his half-brother such a good leader. 

Sarina on the other hand…

“What choice do we have?”  Sarina asked him.

This more than anything, decided him.  Because she was right.  What choice did they have?  They could stay on the rock and wait like sitting ducks, or take action.

“I will do it,” Geoffrey said.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Moving carefully, Alanna followed Darrick down towards the encampment.  They would skirt the edges, he’d said, and try to learn where they might find Gorsedd or Morfran.  Where the leaders were, or so Darrick believed, they’d find his mother and her son.

This close, she wondered why she could not sense her boy.  She missed him and ached for him and, especially since he was only five, she knew he felt the same.  Not being able to
feel
him worried her.  With his magic and hers both increasing, she would have thought her blood would call out to him, that her very soul would discern his nearness. 

The most frustrating part of this journey was now, when knowing he was so near, yet not being able to find him.

And she couldn’t even use her magic to search for him.  According to Wynne, to do so would be like lighting a flaming arrow to point her out to Gorsedd.  Bad enough that she had to watch out for her own skin.  But she worried even more for Darrick. 

Of all men, he did not blend in.  With his massive build and warrior’s stance, he would never pass for ordinary.  Once seeing him, other men would take note and remark on him later, to their cronies. 

Word of his arrival was sure to reach Gorsedd, which might mean nothing if not for Morfran.  Morfran would realize immediately who such a giant man would be. 

It would only take a tiny hint of magic to render him less noticeable.  If only…  She put the notion away.  Such thinking was not productive.  Instead she watched Darrick rummage through Geoffrey’s saddlebag, pulling out a dark cloak made from coarse wool. 

“This will hide me.”  His smile crossed his face and vanished so quickly she might have imagined it.  “And now I must find garments to conceal you, for you have begun to harbor a faint glow.”

She glanced down at her arms, surprised to see he was correct.  “Mayhap this is a sign of hope,” she said.  “Such a thing once marked a great increase in power.”  She did not tell him the rest of it, that according to legend, when a Fae was at their strongest with the full might of their magic coursing through and in them, they no longer even looked human.  Rather, one might say such a Fae resembled a shower of sparks, like the tail of a comet as it streaked across the evening sky.

Darrick returned, handing her a black cloak similar to the one he wore.  She donned it, taking care to arrange her hair behind the hood, and keeping the too-long sleeves over her hands.

“Ready?”

She nodded, glancing again at the final streaks of the setting sun.  “I am.”

Again, the darkness came swiftly.  One moment the faint golden glow dimly lit the western horizon; the next the valley plunged into darkness.  As they watched, small fires were lit here and there, each surrounded by a group of men ready to eat and drink before resting for the night.

Into this black night Alanna and Darrick went forward.

The further into the crowd they traveled, Darrick’s  confidence appeared to increase.  Shoulders back, he strode forward, not bothering to try to hide his passage. Always they moved towards the center of the milling mass of men. 

Nowhere did she see any children.  Where this Gorsedd might be keeping her son, she had no idea.  But once she found Caradoc, she meant to make sure Gorsedd would pay for his actions.

Darrick’s long-legged stride carried him ahead of her.

“How do you know where to go,” she hissed, stumbling as she had to run to catch him and tugging at his sleeve. 

He glanced down at her, the hood hiding his face.  “The center is where we’ll find the leader.  Hopefully Morfran and Gorsedd will be together.”

“Assuming we aren’t caught.”

“We won’t be.  Gorsedd will never expect the two of us to come alone like this.  No doubt he’s waiting for an army, like the one Wynne has assembled.  As long as you don’t use your magic, we should be fine.”

They kept moving, though Darrick took care to match his pace to hers.

Finally they reached what appeared to be the center of the milling mass of men.  They made a casual sweep of the groups camped there and saw nothing to indicate Morfran or Gorsedd or any man of importance stayed nearby.

“Mayhap I was wrong.  They must be somewhere else.”

“Look.”  Alanna pointed.  In the black night sky, there appeared to be four huge bonfires hovering above the armies. “Tynwald Hill.” 

How she knew this, she could not say. “`Tis four-tiered.  Each tier contains a different walkway and all are a path to the top.  They’ve lit a fire on each level.”

But why?  Darrick and Alanna exchanged a quick glance then, in wordless accord, moved forward.

“Gorsedd camps on the hill itself.”  Even this far from it, Alanna could feel the thrum and buzz of ancient power.  Glad was she to have donned the hooded cloak, for her skin began to glow brighter the closer they drew to the place.  She tucked her hands in her sleeves.

“Your magic returns ten-fold,” Darrick whispered.  “Your light shines from inside the hood.  How can this be?”

Her heartbeat strong and steady, Alanna smiled.  So much energy made her feel drunk, full of confidence. “Tynwald Hill is a place of magic.  And, mayhap we draw closer to my son.  If he truly is the child of legend as Wynne believes, then like Gorsedd, my power increases.”

“But why has it not done so before now?  You have raised the boy since birth, yet your power – and that of your people - continued to wane.”

She thought for a moment.  “In all the Fae there must be a catalyst.  Something that happens in childhood, to bring that Fae’s power to the surface.  Since Caradoc is a halfling, I did not know if such a thing would ever happen.  Evidently it has, and his magic has been awakened.”

“A catalyst,”  Darrick repeated.

Alanna nodded.  She didn’t want to think about what that catalyst might been.  She could only pray that her son was all right.

One niggling worry nagged at her.  If Caradoc had become so powerful, why did he not come to her?

                                          *    *    *    *

About to ask Caradoc instructions for riding the dragon, Geoffrey froze at the boy’s horrified expression.

“What is it?”

“He comes.”  Wide-eyed, Caradoc touched Geoffrey’s arm.  “You must hide.”

Such terror in the boy’s voice. 

“No.”  Geoffrey touched his sword.  “I will stay and slay this evil man.”

“You cannot.”  Dread and certainty played across Caradoc’s face.  “He is too powerful.”

“I can fight.  Gorsedd deserves to die.”

“Listen to the boy, Geoffrey.”  Sarina came forward.  “Gorsedd is no ordinary man.  He is Fae, and has been feeding off both Caradoc’s power and the earth’s to increase his own.  Now is not the time.”

Geoffrey narrowed his gaze.  “I will fight.”

“No.”  Caradoc’s voice trembled.  “Quickly, you must hide.” 

Geoffrey heard the boy’s panic.  “If we do, then you hide with us.”

“No.  He comes for me.”

“I’m not leaving you to face him alone.  Your mother would never forgive me that.”  Not only Alanna.  Geoffrey could not absolve himself were he to do such a cowardly thing.

With a harsh intake of breath, Caradoc came forward, motioning at Geoffrey that he must lower himself until their faces were level.  “Listen to me,” he said, urgency and a much older tone of command in his youthful voice.  “Take Sarina and hide.  Gorsedd will not harm me.  He wishes to use me again.  Once he has taken me to Tynwald Hill, go to Ladde.  You must ride upon his back and find my mother and this Darrick.  Only together with them will you have enough strength to defeat Gorsedd’s evil.”

“How do you know this?”

Caradoc shrugged.  “It just is.  I simply
know
.  I will try to shield you.  I’ve been practicing using small bits of magic without attracting Gorsedd’s attention.”

Still Geoffrey hesitated.  Though the boy spoke with the authority of a man, Caradoc’s age numbered less than a fourth of his own. 

“Come on,” Sarina hissed, tugging at Geoffrey’s sleeve and trying to pull him.  “We must go now, before it is too late.”

A loud buzz filled the air, as though a swarm of a thousand angry bees approached.

“Now!”  Caradoc ordered, and it seemed the earth trembled.

Without conscious movement, Geoffrey found himself under a three-sided rock enclosure with Sarina.

“How the…?”

“Magic,” she whispered.  “Caradoc.  Now listen.”

The droning buzz grew louder, before abruptly cutting off.  The following silence felt so loud it made Geoffrey’s ears ache.

A horrible stench, like rotting meat, filled the air.  Eyes watering, Geoffrey rubbed them furiously, willing himself not to gag.  Beside him, Sarina made small sounds of distress. 

“Gorsedd.  He is more than foul.”  Her voice sounded choked, suffocated. 

In the next instant the setting sun went gray, all the lingering brightness leeched out of it.  The feeble light that remained gave a lifeless cast to everything, so that even Sarina’s vibrant beauty appeared to pale.  Not her skin though.  For the first time Geoffrey noticed she gave off a faint glow.