WinterMaejic (14 page)

Suddenly, I couldn’t stand to be near these people who had all their mysterious plans and even more mysterious powers. Why had I ever thought to seek them out? I would have been better off staying with Grey, who didn’t have grand plans for my life—plans that now could never be fulfilled. But Grey didn’t really want me to be with him, either. He’d wanted to get rid of me.

Escape! That’s what I needed to do. Get far, far away where they’d never find me.

No one was watching me as I moved toward the cave entrance. How far could I go before they’d notice I’d gone? Before I’d be too cold to keep moving? That’s all the time I needed, because then I would die quickly. With any luck, it wouldn’t hurt much. Nothing like the pain I felt right now.

Then I was outside, running. Running as fast as I could to get far away. To find a quiet place to curl up and sleep. Forever.

I have found Donavah, but I cannot say she is safe and sound. Some hideous spell has been laid upon her, one of grave and frightening power. If, that is, her companion is to be believed. She did not contradict him, so it must be true, or at least something that she, too, believes to be the truth. She cannot speak to tell me what has happened.

At least she is now back in my care. If I can care for her. I fear that the healing is beyond my skill.

For what reason was she brought to me in the first place, if only to be damaged so irreparably? No, I cannot allow myself the luxury of raillery.

Oleeda has joined us. Perhaps together we will have enough power to do that which neither of us could hope to do alone. Perhaps.

Ididn’t get far. A loud trumpeting from Xyla pierced the night air, and running footsteps came after me. I couldn’t go any faster with the pain in my leg. Yallick caught up with me and grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop. He didn’t speak a word as he turned me around and marched me back to the cave.

Once inside, he grasped my upper arms tightly and looked into my eyes. I tried to look away, but it was as if he’d laid some kind of compulsion on me. My eyes filled with tears of shame that spilled down my cheeks. And still his blue-green eyes bore into mine. Then he blinked.

He wrapped me in a bear hug, stroking my hair gently. That broke the dam inside me, and I found myself once again weeping as I had that once with Grey—uncontrollable, bone-rattling sobs that yet made no noise.

“The strain,” Yallick said in a soft voice, almost a whisper. “You are terribly confused. More, I think, than you realize.”

“Not exactly a surprise.” I felt Oleeda’s hands gently kneading my shoulders. “We do not yet know all that she has been through. We should try the healing now.”

I pulled away from Yallick.
Try?
What did she mean,
try?

Yallick’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “No. Not yet. All three of us must husband our strength, Donavah most of all.” He placed an arm around my shoulders. “Come. Sleep now,” he said, leading me toward the pallets where Traz lay still sound asleep.

I bent down and scooped up the covers in my arms. Yallick watched, a concerned frown furrowing his brow, as I stalked over to Xyla. She gave a small snort—in amusement, it seemed—as I settled myself between her front legs, as if they were a nest built solely for my comfort.

As if Oleeda understood my need to assert myself, even if only in this small way, she shushed Yallick when he started to object. I watched them move closer to the fire and sit down. Oleeda poured cups of what must be herb tea, and they began to speak softly. I couldn’t distinguish words, and soon the solemn, even tone of their voices lulled me to sleep.

Where I dreamed of being Queen. I had the power of life and death over everyone, from the lowliest serving child to the greatest nobles and magicians in the land. All quaked before my wrath. Men from beyond the waters sought my hand in marriage, and I joyed in spurning them all. I hosted lavish entertainments where knights wrestled, raced, fenced, and sparred for my attention; where the orchestra played until dawn as all danced at my command; where we feasted, and laughed, and drank, and sang. But never hunted.

I awoke to find Traz standing over me, hands on hips and an exaggerated scowl on his face.

“I can’t believe you didn’t wake me up last night,” he said, and despite the pout he wore, there was a giggle in his voice.

I pushed myself up and rubbed my eyes with my fists. I started to smile at him, then broke into a huge yawn. Daylight poured into the cave. I’d slept a long time, but strange dreams had prevented me from getting any real rest.

“It’s been very dull hanging around with ol’ Yallick, so you’d better start telling me everything about your adventures right away.”

“Your impertinence will avail you nothing,” Yallick said from the table, where he was ladling porridge into a bowl.

Traz rolled his eyes, and I grinned. Say what they might to and about each other, I could sense that somehow, they’d grown attached to one another.

“Come, Donavah,” Yallick continued. “You must eat now to build up your strength.”

I climbed out of my makeshift bed. The air in the cavern was cold, despite the roaring fire near the front, and I shivered. Traz and I walked over to the table and sat down.

“So, tell me everything,” Traz demanded again as he poured tea into a cup. “I want to hear every detail.” He sipped at the tea and looked at me expectantly.

I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t tell him what had happened, and Yallick didn’t seem inclined to do so for me. Oleeda would surely have come to the rescue, but she wasn’t here. In the end I just shrugged, looked away, and picked up my bowl between my still-clenched fists.

As the porridge slid down my throat, it had the strange effect of making me feel hungrier. I hadn’t been eating a lot lately, but neither had I been starving myself. I practically drank down the whole lot, and I’d scarcely set the bowl on the table before Yallick spooned more into it.

When I picked up the bowl the second time, I found Traz staring at my hands with a hurt expression on his face. I very much wanted to explain, but, unaccountably, even more I wanted to eat. After a third helping, Yallick muttered, “Worked even better than I expected.”

I set the bowl down heavily and scowled at him.

“Well,” he shrugged and turned away, “I needed to make sure you would eat.”

I would have thrown something at him if I could have been certain it would’ve hit him. Then . . .

“Nobody ever tells me anything!” Traz shouted, jumping to his feet. “I hate you all!” And he went tearing out of the cave without even picking up his cloak. I rose to go after him, but Yallick stopped me.

“You eat some more. I will take care of our young friend.”

I tried to do as he told me, but my stomach was now so full that I couldn’t force down another mouthful, no matter what kind of spell Yallick had mixed into the food.

When they returned about ten minutes later, Yallick had obviously told Traz what had happened. Well, as much of it as he knew, anyway. Or cared to share.

Traz sat back down. “Sorry, Donavah,” he muttered, looking embarrassed. I smiled and reached across the table to tousle his hair with my fist. He gave me a shy smile back.

Oleeda walked in then, carrying several bundles of herbs. “I think I found everything we need,” she said, striding toward the rear of the cave. “Did she eat?”

“She did,” Yallick said. “I made sure of it.”

A flash of anger rose up inside me, but I forced it down.

Traz hastily gulped his breakfast, gathered his cloak and staff, and made ready to leave. “I hope it all goes well. And you, old man,” he said, as he passed Yallick on his way out, “you take care of her.”

“I will, Traz.” Yallick spoke surprisingly gently. “You may trust that I will.”

Their eyes locked for a moment, then Traz nodded once, turned, and left. When he was gone, Yallick sat at the table with me.

“Oleeda and I have much to do to prepare. A powerful spell like this—” he pointed at my hands, “—requires an even more powerful counterspell. We must concentrate on what we do.” He paused, as if he expected some kind of response, so I nodded. “This will be an ordeal for all of us, Donavah. I will be honest with you and say that I do not know what to expect. But we must try. Do you trust us?”

I considered. If he and Oleeda had no idea what to expect, I had even less. Trust didn’t seem to be much of an issue. I couldn’t live the rest of my life like this, could I? I must let them try and hope they would succeed. Things couldn’t get worse. I nodded solemnly.

“That is good. Stay by the fire to keep warm. And be patient. This will take time.”

About that, he wasn’t kidding. I sat with the fire behind me, watching Yallick and Oleeda prepare. Xyla lay stretched out along the side of the cave seemingly intent on the dance that the two mages wove.

Oleeda placed candles in a circle, then examined her work. She moved one slightly to the left, another a bit back, yet another farther in, until she was satisfied that they were perfectly situated. Meanwhile, Yallick scratched a complicated design into the dirt floor. Back and forth, round and round. They moved with a rhythm that seemed unconscious.

Eventually, when I began to wonder what more they could possibly need to do, Yallick came to me. First he pulled a small branch from the fire, then he took my hand and led me to the circle.

Oleeda took the branch and moved around the circle lighting the tapers. There was one of each color of meditation candle. Yallick chanted in a language that I didn’t understand at first but soon recognized as Zahrainian, which I’d studied back at Roylinn. “Power,” “light,” and “life” were several of the words I thought I picked out of the unfamiliar stream.

When Oleeda had completed the circuit and all the candles were burning brightly, she stood next to me and joined Yallick in the chant.

Then he went around the circle in the opposite direction, dropping a pinch of powder onto each flame. The powder ignited with a small pop and released an odor that was an unidentifiable mix of herbs. By the time he returned to my side, the air was thick and fragrant.

Yallick stepped into the circle, reached for my hand, and drew me in. He positioned me in the exact center and stood behind me.

The cave went quiet as he and Oleeda stopped chanting, the only noise an occasional snap from the fire. Oleeda went around the circle dropping more of the powder onto the candles. Yallick took my hands in his and raised them until my arms were straight out to my sides. He began to chant again while Oleeda made yet another round with the powder.

It grew hard to breathe. I took huge gulps of air and choked on the fumes.

Then a searing pain burst through me from the top of my head to my hands and toes. If it were possible, I would have screamed. It felt as if I’d been struck by lightning. I began to lose consciousness as wave upon wave of pain rolled through my body. And yet I stood rooted to the spot, unable even to fall down. My muscles contracted, and I could no longer breathe at all. My hair felt as if it were standing out on end. My heart stopped beating.

And I found myself floating comfortably in the air, looking down on a miasma of swirling colors. Yallick, Oleeda, and my body began to spin, melting into the fog of color. The mages both cried out in pain and collapsed. My body stood stiff, held up by a power I could never hope to understand.