Finally, the road narrowed to a rough track, with the hills and rocks dwarfing the isolated farms that clung to nearby hills. Some homesteads were dilapidated or abandoned altogether.
“How are you doing, Jay?” asked Mako. He had been riding ahead, but turned back to cast a critical eye over the small wicker carriage. “This rocky road may soon become too dangerous for those spindly wheels.”
“It is already,” Jay admitted. He stopped the pony. “Sorry, Princess!”
“Company… halt! Are you holding up, Princess?” Mako said as the riders drew to a jangling, sidling halt. The pony chewed on his bit but stood quietly.
“How much further?” she said doubtfully, looking around. The warm wind swirled through the trees, and clouds drifted overhead against the blue of the mid-morning sky.
Mako pointed ahead where hilly inclines led to distant, heavily forested foothills. “Still a ways, but I suggest you ride. Captain Coltic will lead your horse.” He indicated a brown and white animal being led up from the rear.
Scylla’s spooked glance turned toward it. It was all very well having agreed to ride the last part of the journey, but the thought of climbing into the saddle gave her a sinking feeling.
“Curses!” she said. Jay gave her one of his reproachful glances, and she rephrased. “Good Goddess! Why do I do these things?”
“This is Lady Sorrell’s horse, as you may recall,” said Coltic. “Quite gentle, but I will lead it. It has smooth gaits.”
“What will Jay do?” she asked as a soldier dismounted and caught the pony’s headstall. She prepared to climb out.
“He will stay here and let the pony rest. Two soldiers will stay here with him. We’ll be back in an hour or less, I believe.” Mako jabbed a finger at the soldier heading the pony and another still on horseback. “You men, on guard! There is a stream a little ways away—one of you can ride over and look for it. Over that way, I believe.”
Scylla, her ankle supported by the leather binding, climbed onto the horse from a nearby rock with Coltic’s assistance. He tied her sword stick to the front of the saddle.
“Are you feeling well, Captain?” she asked, giving him a searching stare.
“Well enough, Princess.” He gave her a half-grin. “No, I will not fade away like the high priest Soler… at least, I don’t believe I will.”
“Please do not!”
“In a day or two, I will turn my mind to revisiting my skills… with caution!”
“Dear Goddess…”
“I am looking forward to it! It has been a while… before the shroud, that is.”
They started off along the track. Coltic led the brown and white horse, Scylla clinging to the saddle with a white-knuckled grip. She looked back to see Jay unharnessing the pony.
“Perhaps I should have let him bring those dogs…”
“No!” said Mako over his shoulder, riding a length or two ahead.
“No,” said Coltic.
“I suppose,” she sighed. “They will be fine with Minda and Leon likes to play with them.”
Mako continued to look back at her. “You’re very tense, Princess. Your horse will travel better if you just relax in the saddle.”
“All very well for him to say,” she muttered to Coltic when the chancellor rode on ahead. “He should have done a better job of teaching me to ride that white pony when I was a child!”
They followed the rutted track, winding around the rocks and trees until Jay and the others were out of sight.
After a while, they turned up a stony, rough path and followed it, cresting a hill and riding down into a clearing where a few buildings stood.
“Zara’s village,” said Mako.
Scylla looked around. The soldiers, horses and pack mule crowded the commons and made the settlement appear even smaller.
In front of three dilapidated shacks, a sturdy wagon loaded with wood stood with its tongue dropped to the ground. Tools and off-cuts littered the area and the front doors stood open, showing renovations had begun. A shabby, two-story log house nestled into the nearby hillside. Next to it, a cabin with a porch and dormer windows appeared well kept in comparison. A rivulet of water ran down through the village in a rocky creek bed, and a small herd of goats bounded from a nearby hill to huddle near a shed and stare curiously at the visitors.
“Halloo!” Mako hailed the open door of the nearest shack. “Dismount, men!”
Sergeant Brit came out into the sun, shading his eyes. Other figures crowded to the open door of the shack, peering out.
“Good Goddess! Queen Scylla!” Brit said in shock.
“Queen Scylla is here on a pilgrimage to visit the spring,” Mako informed him, vaulting off his horse.
“Queen Scylla… Chancellor… welcome!” the young sergeant stuttered, his eyes going from Scylla to the porch of the cabin and back. A grin crossed his face. Just as quickly he smothered it. “I will fetch Zara!”
He crossed the clearing and leaped to the cabin porch, yanking open the door and disappearing inside.
“The Lady Zara is his mother,” said Mako, lowering his voice. “They don’t entirely get along.”
Scylla responded dryly. “Yes… I remember you said as much.”
The door creaked open again. Brit returned to the porch.
From inside the cabin, a voice said harshly, “Shut that door before the flies get in!” A sturdy, upright woman appeared, closing the door behind her. Her reddish hair was pulled back in a bun. Over her rough dress was a well-used apron, where she dried her hands. Her eyes widened at the sight of the crowd in her dooryard.
“Here are Queen Scylla and Chancellor Mako come to visit, Zara!” Brit said brightly.
As if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, Scylla noted.
Zara’s brows snapped down, deep lines appearing between them. She stared first at Mako, giving him a sharp nod of recognition… then directly at Scylla. The hard stare drilled into her, and Scylla almost shrank back. Then Zara’s eyes shot to her son. But Brit had turned his back, apparently oblivious.
“Lady Zara, greetings!” Mako spoke up. “I’ve brought more soldiers to carry on with the repairs, and Queen Scylla has come to visit the Goddess’s spring.”
“Queen Scylla… is this truly the Queen of Rellant?” Zara took in Scylla’s slight figure on the placid horse—her tightly braided hair under the wide-brimmed hat, her dusty and unadorned traveling clothes. Her gaze settled on the decorative sword at the front of Scylla’s saddle and widened slightly.
“I am. I have taken a vow of temperance in honor of the death of my father.” Scylla inclined her head coldly.
“I see. Thus the lack of a flag-bearer and so few attendants.”
“Queen Scylla’s attendant and carriage are some miles back, as the track to the village is rough,” Mako explained without reaction to Zara’s cutting tone.
“The wood wagon had no trouble reaching our village,” Zara gestured toward the wagon standing in front of the shacks. “As you see!”
“Her carriage was not built for rough going as the wood wagon is… it is a racing vehicle,” Mako said.
“I hope Queen Scylla does not expect a royal welcome! Our village is very poor, and I am preparing meals for the workmen.”
Mako said, “Do not fret… we have brought provisions with us. Two days past, Queen Scylla worshipped at the Goddess’s ancient spring in the eastern forest, and she has come on a pilgrimage to your spring today. We will not be a burden to you.”
“Well,” Zara said grimly. She hesitated. “Have you found some children to send to me, Chancellor?”
“I am working on it. I expect to have good news soon!” Mako said, disregarding the uncertainty of his plan to tame the feral children. “Queen Scylla, would you prefer to visit the spring first? Then you can rest for a while before we leave.”
Anything to get away from this dire woman, Scylla decided. “How far is the spring?”
“Just over the hill.” Mako pointed upward. A small
path climbed steeply beside the creek bed with its trickle of water descending playfully among the rocks. “Captain Coltic can assist you. I will inspect the repairs and see what Sergeant Brit is planning, so work can resume.”
“I will accompany the queen,” said Zara with a cold stare. Scylla’s heart sank, but she nodded polite acceptance.
She dismounted with help from Coltic. Another soldier led the horse away.
Scylla followed Zara up the steep path, leaning heavily on her sword stick. After the hours spent in travel, she welcomed the chance to set out on foot. But soon she was out of breath and hobbling painfully.
Zara, without looking back, strode briskly up the hill.
Scylla had to stop. Coltic wasn’t far behind. “Here, Princess, take my arm.” More slowly, they followed Zara. At the top, Scylla stopped again to recover.
“Queen Scylla is very pale and thin,” Zara, who was waiting at the crest of the hill, observed. “Is she unwell?”
“The queen has far more stamina than first sight may lead you to believe,” Coltic said. “However, she injured her ankle in her flight through the forest less than two weeks ago.”
“Can it truly be less than two weeks ago?” Scylla said lightly. “I am certain it must be longer.”
“Difficult to believe!”
“I am fortunate the healer provided this ankle binding, or I would be in misery.”
“And the entire kingdom is indebted to Bart Smith for your stick,” Coltic said. “As both cane and sword!”
“Let us not think about that,” Scylla said with a shudder, recalling that her blade had drawn blood three times already.
She looked around her. Tall pines stood on the hill, towering over them. Beneath the pines, lush green growth overhung a ring of mossy stones. Water spilled over the rocks.
“Here is our spring—our life-source,” said Zara, advancing a few steps. She gestured toward the pool. “Usually there is more water. We have only a trickle now… the rainy season is late this year.”
Scylla struggled after Zara. The incline was less steep than the path they had just ascended. The hills rolled on around them, with small open areas among the rocks and trees.
“Are we near to the mountains here?” she asked.
“We are in the foothills. There are hilly pastures and pockets of fields. We keep a handful of goats and sheep.”
“It appears to be a lonely land—life must be difficult,” said Scylla. “Why do you stay?”
“Our home is here and we tend the spring.” The hard words fell like stones, warning Scylla into silence. Zara’s bitter gaze left the spring to sweep over the view, punctuated by tall trees, jutting rock and open pasture.
Scylla drew in a deep breath and turned to admire the spring. At the back, the water welled from a crack in the rock to collect in the pool, where two stone spirals almost met in the center. In front, the shimmering rivulet found its way out over the rocks and to the creek bed.
As Mako had described, the stone-ringed pool seemed ancient—and timeless, as if it had always occupied the high lonely hillside sheltered by the tall pines. Overlooking the spring was the head of the Goddess, with lines of hair and heavy-lidded eyes sculpted in stone. Unlike the cracked carving Jay had pulled out of the forest spring, this one was whole. A few bubbles on the surface of the water moved in gentle ripples. Scylla leaned on her sword stick and looked into the dark depths of the center… and saw her own face surrounded by the greenery, just as she had seen it in the distant forest pool. But there was a sudden intrusion of a distraught face…
“Captain!” she exclaimed.
Beside her, Coltic had fallen to his knees beside the spring with a grunt. She put her hand to his shoulder to steady him, but there he stopped.
“Is your man unwell?” Zara demanded.
Scylla looked down at Coltic’s head bent over his hands, the sunshine highlighting his blonde hair with its new streaks of gray. She wondered nervously how unwell he was.
“The captain was… injured… in his recent defense of our kingdom,” she said, matching Zara’s cold manner and hiding her distress.
“Hmmm,” Zara responded, her discontented stare on his kneeling form. “Is it a spiritual injury? Perhaps he is drawn to the Goddess’s spring today, for better or worse! I leave him to it!” She abruptly turned, leaving the spring and striding down the rocky path with all the confidence of her goats.
“Curse you, Lady Zara!” Scylla muttered as the woman descended from sight.
There was an instant response: Coltic emitted a shaky chuckle. “Princess! And you upon this very pilgrimage to the Goddess’s spring! What would Jay say?”
Scylla admitted, “He would be very disappointed in me—I will ask the Goddess for forgiveness! Dear Lady Zara… I wish her renewed hope and contentment, for she appears to have neither.”
“She is grim,” Coltic agreed. “And yet who else holds this dying village together? I hope she can show some kindness to the feral children who come here, or they will run away.” He bent his head again with a deep sigh.
Scylla watched him, wondering uneasily if he would be able to rise or if he was collapsing again.
He spoke after a moment. “Do not worry, Princess. The Goddess is giving me strength. Do you feel her presence here?”
“Do I feel her presence?” Scylla echoed after a moment. She breathed in the untainted air. The scent of the cool spring water reached her nostrils. Above, the tall trees swayed against the blue purity of the cloudless sky. The only sounds were the wind rustling through the branches and the sound of the trickling water as it passed over the rocks. “I cannot say I do, Captain. But then, I did not feel her at the other spring either… until I called on her when Soler threatened us.”
She had channeled the vision of the Goddess then, praying for more strength than she had on her own.
“I feel the Goddess here,” Coltic murmured. “Your instinct to make this pilgrimage was the right one. It does not matter that you do not feel her presence. When you need her, she will be within you…”
A chill struck down Scylla’s spine and prickled the hair on the back of her head. She shuddered. And yet… what could she do but wait for Coltic to regain his strength? She stood in silence, listening to the wind in the trees and feeling the sunlight on her head and shoulders. In contrast, a cool dampness rose from the pool. Was the Goddess here? She closed her eyes and stood swaying, leaning on the sword stick for balance. Even her ankle, for once, was not throbbing…
“Princess!” said Coltic’s voice into the silence and she started, opening her eyes. Around her, the scene remained the same—with the timeless spring and the trees standing nearby—but Coltic was rising to his feet with a return of vigor.
“You look renewed, Captain!” she said in sudden relief. “I thank the Goddess for that!”
“I, too!” Coltic dropped a coin into the spring and it broke the water’s surface with a small plop.
“I shall make an offering to the Goddess too,” said Scylla, fumbling in the pocket of her traveling cloak. “I can but hope to give with as pure a heart as Jay’s!” She tossed a few coins into the shimmering water, and they settled to the bottom.
They turned away, Coltic offering her his arm in support. They descended the steep path to the village commons.
“Ah, Princess!” Mako greeted them. “Did you find the spring? You were up there for a long time.”
“Were we? It felt like mere moments.”
“Well, I have finished inspecting the shacks and Sergeant Brit and the crew will get back to work after having a bite to eat. If you also take some refreshments, Princess, we can start back shortly.” He gestured toward a table on the porch of Zara’s cabin, where some food and cups were laid out on a clean but faded cloth. “Zara has provided tea.”
“I’d love tea,” said Scylla with relief. “And is that seed cake?”
“We always carry rations of seed cake in our saddlebags when we ride out with the king—sorry
, when we rode out,” Mako corrected himself with a shake of his head. “Seed cake, hard cheese, dried apples, and cured sausage. Food that travels well on a hard ride! Sit in this chair, Princess, and rest before we head back. You too, Captain.”
Scylla was grateful for the chair, even if there would be only a short rest before she had to climb back on the horse. Coltic took a handful of rations and sat down on the edge of the porch.
The door opened. Zara came out, wiping her hands on her apron again. She ignored Scylla and Coltic. “So, Chancellor? What are your plans?”
“Well, as you know, I sent supplies yesterday in the wood wagon—bags of flour, bacon and salt pork, cured sausage and reels of cheese, along with vegetables. You will have to feed the soldiers for the next few days as they work on the shacks. Meanwhile, they will take care of their horses. We have also brought salt and honey along with the horses’ grain on the pack mule. When Sergeant Brit returns to the castle, send a list of further requirements. I am in the process of finding suitable children.”
“And someone to look after them, I hope!” Zara snapped. “I will have my hands full keeping everyone fed, and the animals tended. My husband and his cousin help with the construction, but they are old! And yon Carey is too simple, although he can be helpful.”
“Of course. I will keep you informed. Meanwhile, here is our first payment to you.” He held out a small purse. After a moment, Zara stiffly put out her hand and took it, her cheeks flushing.
“I thank you.” Her head jerked in a nod, and she turned and disappeared through the cabin door.
Mako gave Scylla and Coltic a bland stare. “The village will be far more habitable when the soldiers finish with it. I am leaving five more men here. That will be eight in total, including Sergeant Brit and the two that arrived yesterday. Along with the three village men, they should make short shrift of the work.”
Coltic was nodding. Scylla noted that he was looking better now than he had this morning. Whatever had happened at the spiral pool had helped him. She wished she could say the same for herself. Her ankle throbbed, her back ached, and her leg muscles twitched. She had taken her hat off for a few moments’ relief. The tightly braided hair was irritating, as it often was, and she poked a fingertip gingerly at her scalp.
The Queen and the Mage Page 17