The Danu (13 page)

"I have seen what
your word is worth to my people."  Was Katrine's answer.  Her rage and her
memories would not allow her to see other possibilities.

For now, he had to get
her calmed down before she said something his father would not let pass.

"Excuse us a
moment," Khalon said standing and dragging his wife from the room and out
into the gardens at the side of the castle.

As soon as they were in
the garden, Katrine tried to push his hands off her.  In a move too fast to
fight, he twirled her more deeply into his arms.  "Katrine," he said
harshly when she continued to struggle with him.  "Katrine listen to
me," he growled louder.

"I have listened, I
heard everything," she spat angrily.  "You had nothing to say when it
actually mattered and I don't trust any of you."

When her eyes started to
glow Danu green Khalon cursed inwardly and shook her, knowing she was reaching
for the garden weave around them.  When he finally had her pinned to him, her
hands trapped by his at her back, his lips at her ear, he spoke quickly.  Any
second expecting to feel the wrap of roots sucking him into the dirt, or tree
branches flinging him about.  "If you fight me here it will be all Ansgar
needs to act," he said.   Something in the words and the tone of his voice
had her freezing just as he felt roots wrapping his boots.  "Nothing is as
black and white as you want it to be," he continued low and fast, barely
loud enough for her to understand his words.  "If you won't trust what was
said, then at least trust me."  That almost had her fighting again.  He
pulled back and caught her eyes.  "Please!"  The unexpected word
caught her, or she saw something in his eyes, but she stilled, and swallowed
hard.

"I cannot stay in
this place," she whispered back.  "Even if what he said in there was
true, it would not change that."  The angry tears falling silently, as he
read the pain behind her eyes.  "Not even for you."  He understood
then, more than he had before.  There was real pain in those glowing Danu eyes
and for the first time since she left the wilds the life was back in her eyes,
and the glow of her skin was coming back, because she was in the garden, he
realized.  Subtle signs he had attributed naively to fatigue at the journey,
but now what she had been telling him he allowed to fully sink in.  The food
she needed, the way she had looked that day in Haven right before she disappeared
into the ground.  This place was killing her.

He had known it on some
level what would need to happen if he wanted to keep her.  After he met with
his father and understood her importance to his plans, he made the decision to
marry her.  Vowing that even if it cost him everything she was his.  This
cemented it.  Katrine would die if he tried to keep her in Dunsen.   And his
father would never allow the Princess of the Danu to leave.

"I know," his
words were full of pain, but also resolve.  "But when we go, we go
together."

Katrine caught her breath
at the barely there words.  Not sure she had heard him right.

"Your father... 
Your family..."

"Will do what they
must, as will I."  He pulled her arm from behind her back and swept a
finger over the claiming cuff that had no release.  He had known what it would
mean when he placed it on her.  The decision had already been made, and he
would not change it if he could.  "You are my family now."

Katrine was still
visually struggling with his words, when one of the guards at the castle called
them back in.  Khalon gave her one more soft look and then like a shutter
coming down he was once again the stoic warrior who confounded her.

"Come," he said
loudly.  His voice carrying through the dark garden.  "I will have Ragnar
escort you back to our chambers.  Clearly you are still too tired to think
straight after the long journey."

As if she were a child to
be sent to bed without her supper, but he could not chance his father hearing
anything that would make him suspicious.  He was tempted to grimace with the
narrowing of her eyes at his tone.  When Ragnar came out and swept his arm
before him with a grunt, she raised her chin and met Khalon's eyes with defiant
promise in hers.  The roots at his feet disappeared and her eyes faded back to
their customary green.  She went with Ragnar and something in him relaxed. 
Despite everything, she trusted him.  He ignored the second call back inside
until she was out of his sight, then he went back to making his own plans.

Katrine awoke in an
unfamiliar room with the feel of a strange weave surrounding her.  Her head
ached, this time not because she was too long from the weave but something
else.  She tried to remember the last thing that had happened.  She remembered losing
her temper with the King, and Khalon in the garden, and then the memory of
following Ragnar quietly, all her inner monologue for her own confused head. 

They had almost made it
back to Khalon's chamber when she smelled a familiar scent long forgotten. 
She'd sniffed deeply trying to identify the sweet green flavor, it bit against
the nerves of her nose.
 

Nightdrake,
Katrine
remembered once again.  The name and purpose of the plant came to her then as
it did now.  There had been a scuffle, and she remembered yelling a warning, or
at least trying to, and then nothing.

She tentatively connected
to the wild weave and felt a whoosh of power and purpose.  She was nowhere near
Dunsen, or any other city.  She still did not know how she came to be there, or
where there was, or even how long she had been out.  She knew one thing.  She
was deeper into the wilds then she had ever been, and she was not the only Danu
here.

She looked up when the
door opened, a woman came in, clear skies, and trailing vines were all Katrine
saw before the door closed behind her.  From the look of it, they were in a
house built in the trees, a Danu settlement.  But, it was the woman that held
her attention, rather than the promise of the wild beyond the door. 

"You are Danu,"
she said.  Not daring to believe it, she took in the Danu green eyes, and the
hair so close to Katrine's garnet in the elaborate braids passed down from
mother to daughter.  The traditional Danu pants, tunic and soft boots adorned
her willowy body, and Katrine thought she was probably of similar height with a
slighter build, but not by much.  She was pretty, a kindness that softened her
face made her prettier than she actually was.

"Yes," the
woman said with a smile.  "I am Elena, and you are Katrine." She said
it not as a question but as if she already had the answer.  The smile changed
her pretty face to beautiful, and her green Danu eyes flickered with power.

Katrine sucked in a
breath.  All she could think was that she was not the last.  "How?"
she asked and then had to swallow with a suddenly bone dry throat.  Elena
offered her water, and some fresh greens and seeds before she answered. 
Katrine sat up and accepted the offering, but did not take her eyes off Elena.

"How did you
survive?  Is it just you?"

"My brother and I
were the oldest," Elena said as she tidied up around the bed. 
"Twelve when the fires started.  My older brother saw what was happening
he sent us deeper into the wilds."  The sadness touching her eyes told its
own story.  Her older brother did not survive.  "We kept moving north east
until we were clear of the fire, and then we did our best to survive in secret. 
As we grew many of the weaves that had been destroyed came back, changed."

Katrine took a drink of
water before her dry throat was wet enough to speak.  "How many
survived?"

Elena sat beside the bed
in a chair she had just cleared of books and clothes.  She sighed, and gave
Katrine sad eyes.

"There were five of
us originally that made the journey.  When we were old enough some of us went
searching for survivors.  Some had been sold as slaves; some had eventually
died in the cities.  Including you there are ten of us that survived."

"Ten," Katrine
said sadly.  Closing her eyes for a moment as she fought tears.  She sucked in
a deep breath.  "That is nine more than I thought survived."

"Yes, but now that
could change." Her smooth voice turned serious.  "Rek Morten has
offered rewards for the capture of Danu.  We are being hunted and we need your
help."

"My help?" 
Katrine blinked, rubbing her tired eyes with the back of her hand.

Just then, a young man
that could only be Elena's twin entered the room and came to stand beside his
sister.  Like his sister he wore the traditional garb of the Danu, his was
complete with knives bristling from numerous sheathes. Unlike his sister his
hair was cropped close to his head, his Danu features were harder, and it was
more than that she was the feminine version and he the masculine.  His face
lacked the kindness that made Elena so pretty.   He looked Katrine over
carefully.  His eyes over bright with some emotion she could not read.

"My brother Quain,”
Elena said dismissively.  Then went on.  “We heard a Danu was taken to the
castle, and sent our spies in to rescue you, then we heard the prince had
married you."  Elena took in a deep breath.  “And that you are the
daughter of Happ Greengold.”

Katrine raised a brow at
this.  Who was their spy, and how could they know what only the king, Khalon,
and Ansgar the Bloody had been present to hear.  Maybe the guards outside the
door?

"We want you to
finish what your father started, and broker a peace between our people and the
King."

Katrine sat back her eyes
wide.  She tilted her head and took in the two Danu.  "Why would you think
he would honor any peace talks when he did not before?"

The two exchanged a look,
and all at once, Katrine had a bad feeling in her gut.

"What do you
know?" she asked her voice abrasively loud.

"You have to
understand," Quain started.

Elena cut him off with a
censoring look and spoke plainly.  "It was our older brother Manin who broke
that peace, not Morten."

"He thought that if
they could understand our power they were more likely to stick to an
agreement."  Quain interjected forcefully.  "And he did not trust
them.  A people with no wild places of their own.  So they showed the soldiers
what they could do."

Elena glared again. 
"And the Southern Army who were suspicious of magic users anyway saw it as
an attack and fought back with the only weapon they had against the wilds. 
Fire."

Katrine closed her eyes,
and fought against the memories of her mother and father, the children who had
not made it out.  So many had died.  "They were telling the truth,"
she said an ache in her voice.  "We attacked when they came under a banner
of truce."

"It was never
supposed to be anything but a power play," Quain started again, stopping
when his sister gave him a look. 

"Yes," she
said.  "In their eyes they were justified in thinking that."

Quain's eyes turned
hard.  "But that did not justify their actions after."

"No," Katrine
said drawing strength from the weave when it felt as if weariness would bury
her.  "But Morten knew we could not be trusted to keep our word when we
attacked under a peace flag.  And we are magic users," she finished
remembering what he said.  "Too powerful to have at his back if we could
not be trusted, so he acted to end the threat, permanently.  As any ruthless
and smart warrior would."

Understanding finally
dawned on Quain's face.  Katrine looked away.

"So now what?"
she asked into the silence her words had wrought.

 "We want the peace
your father would have brought us," Elena said quietly.  "We want you
to finish what he started."

She sighed.  "You
drugged me," she stopped when another thought occurred to her.  "The
man who was escorting me, did you hurt him?"

Quain shook his head. 
"We gave firm orders not to kill.  He was knocked out and left."

Katrine felt the tension
release and went on with her recitation.  "You drugged me, knocked out
Prince Khalon's second in command, going into the heart of Rek Mortens very
castle to do it, I might add, tweaking the tail of the beast, as it were, so
that he has no choice but to act on the affront to his house."  She sat
back down and shook her head at them.  "Not only that but you took the
newly claimed wife of his son and enforcer.  Even if Morten would let it pass,
Prince Khalon will not." She shuddered at the thought of his anger, at the
same time yearning for the safety of his arms.  "All that and what you
want is peace?"

Elena glared an 'I told
you so' at her brother making it clear she had been opposed to the plan to
begin with.  Quain cleared his throat and looked suddenly less sure of himself.

Elena gave her brother
one last hard look when he shrugged his shoulders.  Then she said. 
"Basically."

There was a call just
then from beyond the doors then a younger version of Quain pushed his way into
the room.  His eyes frantic.  "Word has come," he said looking at
Quain.  "The Southern army is marching from Dunsen.  Word is they have
promised to set fire to the wilds again, if the Princess is not returned to her
husband."

Katrine bugged her eyes. 
"How long was I out?"

"You were kept out
for the journey here," Quain said looking uncomfortable again.  "Our
spy was not sure about your loyalties..." he started by way of
explanation.

Elena scoffed,
interrupting him and said flatly "Eight days."

That explained the
weariness and head ache, even now when she was drawing power from the wilds.

"They march for
Haven, along the North Road."  The boy added.  His eyes big and going
wider for a moment when they landed on Katrine.  "They have announced that
they will set the flames at Haven and keep burning until they get what is
theirs back."

That sounded like Khalon,
Katrine thought with a grimace.

"Why start at
Haven," Elena mused.  "Why not start closer to Dunsen where they
would not need to march?"

"Because they are
giving you time to act," Katrine explained, pushing the covers off and
moving to stand.  "They do not want to set fire to the wilds and kill the
last of the Danu, any more than you want them to do it.  The wilds will just
come back more dangerous, and the last of Danu will be lost that could have
helped the King control it."

Katrine stood on wobbly
legs while they digested that information.  "You want your peace?"
she asked, her eyes going to Elena and then Quain.  "Get me to Haven.  Or
we'll be finishing what
your brother
started."  She did not bother
to soften her words.  "The end of the Danu."

***

Khalon stood with his
father and his brother with over a thousand warriors at their back.  The black
walls of Haven were wide open, and the walls lined with archers.  Fire at the
ready beside them to light the arrows that would kill not only the wilds but
also the woman he claimed as his.  He ground his teeth at the sight.  Ansgar
had come up with the plan to burn the wilds a second time, stating that either
it would bring the Danu in hiding out where they could be dealt with or it
would end the threat of them once and for all.  Khalon had argued until they
nearly came to blows but his father had agreed it was a risk worth taking.  If
he could not control the Danu, and thereby the wilds, his only option was to
burn it down regardless.  It was the same logic they had used when they burnt
the green the first time, and it had done more harm than good.  Which he had
pointed out.

"Our people need
room to grow and farming land.  The cities will not be big enough eventually to
support our population, that was the reason we came North to begin with, to
find a better way than eking our existence out of a desert," his father
said.  His growling words and fierce eyes said he was not going to change his
mind.

"So you will burn it
down, and either it will come back even more dangerous, or you will have made
the North the same desert you came here to escape from."  His words were
met by glittering anger.

"Let us hope these
Danu are smart enough to see the same consequences as you."  His voice and
eyes invited no further argument.  Khalon tried anyway.

"And if it is not
Danu that have her?"  His father had no answer to that, but then neither
did Khalon.  Whoever had taken Katrine right out of the Kings castle had not
only taken Ragnar by surprise but also done it in such a way all he had seen
was Katrine start to fall and smoke.  He had fought a shadow that he reported
was so fast he hardly realized they were there before he was knocked out. 
Ragnar was not easy to sneak up on, or knock out, and strange herbs had been
used.  It all had the marks of someone with magic, someone that could be Danu
or something else entirely.

"Then we take out
these magic users and any other we don't yet know about,” Ansgar said with his
hate plain on his face.

"Careful,
brother," Khalon said his rage banked, but sparking in his eyes at his
brothers grimly satisfied suggestion.  "You do not need to try so very
hard to live up to your name."

"You may have been
taken in by your pretty witch, but I have seen what magic can do in
battle," Ansgar the Bloody said his face turning to stone, his eyes
glittering as hot as his brothers with banked rage.  Shadows passed over him as
his mind went somewhere else.  "I will never trust them."

Khalon knew his brother
had lost men in the battle against the Danu, before they set fire to the green
it had been like a living death trap for his soldiers.  Even so, he had lost
men in battle against other foes and, after the battle won, moved on.  This was
different.  Khalon did not know what Ansgar had seen, or whom he had lost to
the Danu, but it was staying with him, long past the cost of other battles had drifted
away.  Whatever had happened, he would not let Katrine pay the price for it.