The Last of the Firedrakes (18 page)

“Why? I thought you trusted her.”

“I do,” said Uncle Gabriel, “but powers like yours can scare even the most loyal of people. The fewer people who know of your special gift, the better.”

“But Rafe knows?” I said.

Granduncle Gabriel nodded. “I explained this before,” he said. “He knows because I trust him, and, as you can see, he helps me out once in a while.”

“Tell me who he is, please?” I asked softly, bending down slightly off my horse, hopeful that he would give me some sort of answer.

Uncle Gabriel smiled mischievously. “Why, he’s the Black Wolf, my dear,” was all he said.

I huffed at his vague answer, but nodded nonetheless. It was obvious he was as close-lipped about Rafe’s true identity as everyone else, and I figured Rafe was right, it didn’t matter who he really was; what really mattered was that he was here, and I was going to spend the next few days with him. Despite my situation, which had me running, hiding and afraid for my life, I grinned. I was happy. I was with Rafe, and that was all that mattered, for the moment at least.

“Take care of yourself, little one,” Uncle Gabriel said, waving me off.

Rafe leaped up onto his black monster of a horse, and I had to struggle with the reins of my mare, who had decided that all she wanted to do was follow the big black stallion. I rolled my eyes and giggled to myself. Like rider, like horse.

I waved a final good-bye to Uncle Gabriel as we rode through the Willow Woods and onward into the world beyond.

14

Journey to Evolon

We rode in silence through the forest, stopping only to rest the horses and fill our leather water flasks from small forest pools. Rafe seemed preoccupied and kept to himself most of the time. Erien and Aunt Serena didn’t seem like they wanted to talk, so I just followed and wondered if I would get a bed to sleep on that night.

It turned out I was not going to get my wish. As the sun set behind the trees, the quiet woods became a menacing maze of dark shadows and hidden dangers. Rafe led us to a small clearing, which was sheltered by an overhanging rock. He and Erien set up camp while I helped Aunt Serena water the horses and tie them to a tree. Aunt Serena unpacked our food of bread and salted meat slices while we sat around a small fire that Rafe had lit. The castle cook had also packed some pigeon pies. I loved those, so I wolfed down a few, along with some sort of smelly cheese.

“Do you think we should put out the fire, Rafe?” said Aunt Serena.

“That will not be necessary. The forest gets cold at night. I will keep watch,” said Rafe, sitting himself down against a sprawling willow with his sword across his knees. “Get some rest. It will be a long ride tomorrow, and we have to make one stop before we reach the town of Greystone.”

“Stop?” I asked. “Where?”

“You shall see,” said Rafe with a half-smile.

I smiled back at him and lay down on the soft forest floor. I was so tired, and my thighs were aching terribly. We had to sleep on woolen blankets that we spread out on the ground. It was cold in the woods at night, and we slept close to the fire.

“Rafe,” I said, turning towards him.

“Yes, Aurora.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” I mumbled. “I really don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t save me from Oblek and the Shadow Guard.”

“You don’t need to keep thanking me, Aurora,” said Rafe. “I’m glad to help. I owe your father a debt for saving my life. I’m just returning the favor. Now get some rest, because we still have a long journey ahead.”

“Okay,” I murmured, as I turned over on my blanket. “Good night.”

“Good night, Aurora.”

So it wasn’t because he liked me that he kept coming back. It was part of some sense of duty he had. My heart sank as I gazed into the darkness of the woods, my eyes shutting. I had to face the fact that Rafe was not interested in me in any romantic sense. He was only doing what he thought was right. Exhaustion took over and I quickly fell into a fitful sleep.

Waking up in the forest, at the first light of dawn, was an amazing experience. Muted sunlight filtered in through the rustling leaves. Birds chirped away to their hearts’ content, and dewdrops nestled like shimmering crystals on the foliage and even on my hair and clothes. I lay in my makeshift bed and stared at the brightening sky.

“Good morning Aurora,” said Rafe. He was already packing things into the saddlebags. “Did you sleep well?”

I blushed and smoothed my hair. I must have looked a complete mess. But Rafe was smiling, and I couldn’t help smiling back.

“Yes, thank you,” I muttered, still sleepy.

“We must be on our way,” he said.

Aunt Serena and Erien were also awake and packing up their belongings.

“Do you need to freshen up, my dear?” said Aunt Serena. “There’s a small stream just behind those bushes.”

I nodded and headed for the stream. I wanted to wash my face and brush my teeth with the mint-infused powder that Aunt Serena had given me. I had to use my fingers, because, apparently, they didn’t have toothbrushes in Avalonia.

I tied my long, unruly hair with a ribbon as I returned to my traveling companions, feeling somewhat brighter but still muggy from wearing the same clothes since the day before.

After we ate our adequate breakfast of bread and cheese, we got onto our horses and followed Rafe through the brightening woods. Along the way we passed travelers and riders, who didn’t give us a second glance. Wagons loaded with goods traveled the forest road, and Rafe stopped to talk to a group of pilgrims who said that they were on their way to the temple of Karneth in eastern Eldoren.

When he got back onto his horse, Rafe looked troubled.

“What has happened?” asked Aunt Serena, riding up next to Rafe.

Rafe shook his head. “It may be nothing,” he said, “but the pilgrims said that they saw what looked like a Shadow Guard not far from here in the woods.”

“Shadow Guards!” exclaimed Aunt Serena. “Here, in Eldoren?”

“So it seems,” said Rafe seriously. “We must keep to the inner paths. Follow me.”

We rode through the Willow Woods for two days, sleeping under the stars and trying to evade the Shadow Guard. After the first night, Rafe refused to light a fire, even though the forest would get chilly. He did not want to take the chance of a Shadow Guard picking up our trail, and we had to wrap ourselves in our cloaks, huddled together most uncomfortably, to keep warm. On the fourth day of our journey, after a few hours of riding at a fast pace through the woods, Rafe stopped his horse and got off. We all followed, and he tied the horses to a nearby tree.

“There is someone we have to meet,” Rafe said. “Your granduncle’s orders.”

Aunt Serena didn’t argue, so Erien and I just followed. We had to push branches and leaves out of the way to get to a thickly shaded grove. In the middle, nestled between two massive trees and countless bushes, was a little wooden hut. It reminded me of the cottages in Pixie Bush, but this was more unkempt and wild, with creepers and branches encircling the hut as if it too was part of the forest.

I wondered who lived there. Who was Rafe taking us to see? And why?

Rafe knocked on the little rickety wooden door and slowly pushed it open. We all followed him inside the cottage.

An old lady was sitting on a chair near the fireplace. Her long, snowy hair fell past her waist, and her ears had the unmistakable point to them that I now recognized immediately.

She was fae.

The hut was warm and inviting, and calming smells of lavender and vanilla wafted towards us as we entered. The old fae lady looked up from her sewing.

“Ah! Rafe, my boy,” said the old fae woman. “I have not seen you for many summers.”

“Magdalene,” said Rafe, bending down on one knee and clasping her wrinkled hands in his. “How have you been?”

“Terrible, I can tell you,” said Magdalene, chuckling. “My back hurts and my legs ache when I walk. It’s not easy being over a thousand years old.”

My eyes widened, a thousand years old? Was she kidding? Mrs. Plumpleberry was three hundred years old, and I thought she was old.

The old lady’s eyes turned to me. They were violet, like Kalen’s, but so full of wisdom that I was momentarily taken aback.

“Is she the one Silverthorne has been waiting for?” she said simply, looking back at Rafe.

Rafe nodded. “Yes, Maggie, it is she. I must say I am surprised you know about her.”

“I know many things,” she said cryptically. “But Silverthorne did send me a raven with the news. I have been expecting her.” The old fae lady chuckled.

Rafe raised his eyebrows, quite obviously surprised.

“Serena, my child, come here,” she said to my aunt.

Aunt Serena went over and hugged the old fae lady. “Maggie, it’s good to see you,” she said.

The old lady smiled. “How is your father?” she asked.

“The same,” said Aunt Serena, smiling. “Grumpy as ever and running about the kingdoms as if he were still a young warrior-mage.”

The old fae lady burst out in a fit of laughter that sounded like a hacking cough. Aunt Serena laughed with her, as if only they were privy to their private joke.

“Well then, all is right with the world for now,” Maggie said finally, her voice scratchy. “If Silverthorne is on top of things, I do not worry much.”

“Come here, my child,” she then said, turning her violet eyes on me and stretching out her hands. She held my hands in her old wrinkled ones and looked at my face. “Aye, it is she,” said Magdalene after a perceptible pause. “Let me see the amulet.”

I looked over at Aunt Serena, who nodded slightly. I pulled out the Amulet of Auraken. The old lady fingered it with her bony wrinkled fingers and mumbled a few words in a language I couldn’t understand. She looked like she was reading the inscription.

Finally she looked up and gave me a toothy grin. “So, young princess, I’m glad that all my work was not in vain.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. How did she know me?

“Come, sit and I will tell you,” she said. “Be a dear and bring over the stool from by the window please, pet.”

I did as I was asked, and soon Aunt Serena and I were seated on small wooden stools. Erien sat on the floor, and Rafe lounged against a wall. It wasn’t every day you met someone who had lived for a thousand years. The amount of knowledge that she had accumulated over the centuries must be immense, so I listened intently to what she had to say.

“When you were born, you were a little menace,” Magdalene said, laughing to herself. “In your first month alone you stunned three of your nurses, and their memories had to be modified because of it. By the time you were a few months old, strange things had started happening all over the palace. Old dogs were turning back into puppies, and cats were turning into birds. Once when you were taken to the gardens for a walk, the stable grooms complained that all the horses in the stables had turned into pigs.”

I burst out laughing at that one. “So it was me?” I asked. “I did all that?”

Magdalene nodded, her expression becoming more serious. “That and much more,” she said. “Even as a baby your magic was stronger than most, and mages don’t come into their powers until they turn sixteen. You were a nuisance in the palace. Your mother was forever being blamed for the mysterious fae magic that was alarming the people of Illiador. Many times she would take the blame for it, and, because everyone loved Elayna, they chalked it up to the mischievous streak of the fae. Your parents finally got so worried that your mother came to me for help. They were afraid that, once people found out that their child was a fae-mage, you would be killed before you could even grow up. It was I who gave them the amulet that you now wear around your neck. I had come across it in my travels through the Old Forest.”

“Maggie,” said Aunt Serena softly, “if you knew all these years that she was a fae-mage and wore the amulet, why didn’t you tell any of us? We would have kept searching for her. We gave up hope because there was no magical trace left of her when she was sent to the other world.”

The old fae woman looked straight into Aunt Serena’s eyes. “It was not her destiny to be found by any of us,” she said, her eyes turning the color of icy pools. “Her destiny was set long, long ago, before she was even born. There are powerful forces at work here, forces you cannot even begin to comprehend, forces that have shaped our world from before the dawn of time. Everything is not always exactly as it seems, and it is ultimately Aurora’s choices and strength of character that will determine her fate and the fate of all of Avalonia.”

“And what is my fate?” I said, too intrigued to remember my manners.

“There is a long road ahead, and soon you will find out where your true path lies. But not today,” she answered, her eyes turning back to a calm shade of violet.

I nodded. As usual, I rarely got a straight answer in this world, but I was thankful that Magdalene shared that much with me. It was a glimpse into a life that I did not remember. And it made me realize that my parents must have loved and cared for me before my aunt cruelly murdered them.

I stared out of the window, thinking about my parents and what they must have been like. I could picture them in my mind now, since I had seen portraits of them at Silverthorne Castle. I did look a lot like my dad: jet-black hair, striking green eyes, with heavy lashes. But my heart-shaped face and wide full mouth was so much more like my mother. It was quite amazing to see the resemblance. It was a good thing I didn’t inherit the fae ears, or I would have never been able to hide myself in plain sight.

Finally Rafe spoke. “Maggie,” he said, “I need a small favor.”

Magdalene chuckled. “Don’t you always, young man?”

Rafe smiled, looking a little embarrassed.

“We need you to change Aurora’s appearance,” said Rafe.

“What?” I spluttered. “I’m not changing the way I look.” I shook my head vigorously to emphasize the fact. “Aunt Serena, say something!”

“I’m sorry, my dear, but it has to be done,” said Aunt Serena.

“But, but, no . . .” I said to no avail.