by Maggie Furey
Once down they paused for a moment, looking at one another. ‘Which way now?’ Aelwen said. ‘We can’t be very far from the border, if only we don’t start wandering round in circles.’
‘We won’t,’ Taine said confidently. ‘I had a good look round and got our bearings before we came down. The river is that way.’ He pointed. ‘And there’s the north star. As long as we keep it behind us we can head directly south to the border. I’ve been wandering these forests back and forth for years – I know what I’m doing.’
‘Of course you do.’ The sneering, muttered undertone came from Avithan. Iriana scowled at him and Aelwen glared, but Taine chose to ignore the sniping. ‘Let’s get going,’ he said. ‘We have very little left in the way of supplies. It’ll slow us down considerably when we have to start hunting and foraging along the way.’ With that he drew a long, keen knife out of a sheath on his belt. Leading his horse, he began to force his way through the thick undergrowth that surrounded the clearing, using the blade to hack out a path when necessary. Aelwen followed him and Iriana came behind her, holding tightly to Rosina’s bridle and still using the mare’s eyesight. Avithan brought up the rear, his expression still thunderous.
They trudged on, until Iriana’s legs were almost giving way beneath her. Unfortunately, the going was far too treacherous to allow her to ride, and she was utterly exhausted from her fight to free the Xandim, her monumental battle with Hellorin, and all the emotional shocks of the last few hours. Furthermore, the magic of the Fialan still pulsed through her, and she had to struggle constantly to contain so much power. In her current state she felt as though she must either drop in her tracks and fall asleep before she hit the ground, or fly apart into a million fragments.
She did neither. She set her teeth and struggled on until, just when she was sure she’d reached the end of her endurance, Taine called for a halt. He had found a narrow rill that flowed sparkling and clear over a stony bed, and they all drank gratefully, taking the opportunity to fill their water bottles. They cleared a space and lit a fire, and ate frugally from what remained of their trail rations, chewing resignedly at the leathery jerky and the hard crust that had formed on the last of the cheese. Only Avithan ate with relish, showing every sign of thoroughly enjoying the meal. When he looked up and caught the surprised reactions of the others, he explained. ‘When I was in Athina’s realm we didn’t eat or drink, and there was no such thing as hunger or thirst. Though I didn’t need food, I really missed the pleasure of eating, if you know what I mean.’
‘What was it like in Athina’s world?’ Iriana asked.
‘It was extraordinary: strange and wonderful and oddly beautiful . . .’ He began to describe the forest of stone, the Timeless Lake and the great tree in which Athina made her home, but noticed after a while that they were all, Iriana particularly, struggling to keep their eyes open. ‘Listen,’ he interrupted himself. ‘You three have fought a terrible battle tonight. Since we’re not going anywhere in a hurry, why don’t you get a few hours’ sleep? You desperately need it, and it’ll give the horses a chance to rest and graze too. I’ll keep watch for you.’
‘Thank you,’ Taine said. ‘That makes a lot of sense. Now that Hellorin and the Phaerie are gone, there’s no sense in pushing ourselves into the ground.’
As the others also murmured their gratitude, a great sense of relief washed over Avithan. Suddenly he felt a little less like an outcast and more a part of this group, whose experiences had forged bonds between them that were difficult to penetrate. It felt good to be able to contribute. The other three wasted no time in taking him up on his offer. They were already unrolling the blankets that were strapped behind their saddles, and snuggling down as if the lumpy forest floor was the softest of feather beds. Then just as it seemed as if everyone had fallen asleep, Aelwen opened her eyes. ‘Iriana?’
‘Uh? What?’ the Wizard muttered blearily.
‘If Hellorin’s flying spell is contained within the Fialan – and we know that’s true, because it’s how Corisand got hold of the magic – couldn’t you perform it?’
Iriana sat up quickly. ‘I never thought of that!’ She groped in her pouch for the Stone. ‘I’m too weary to perform it now, but I should be able to find out whether I can access the magic . . .’ As she held the Fialan in both hands her face grew taut and rapt with concentration.
Minutes passed, and everyone waited expectantly – then the Wizard dropped the Stone back into its pouch with a lurid curse that had Avithan blinking in astonishment. ‘It’s no good,’ she said. ‘It’s some kind of tangled bond between Phaerie and Windeye magic, and it’s utterly alien to me. I’m sorry, everyone.’
‘Sorry!’ Taine protested. ‘Iriana, don’t be an idiot. You’ve already worked miracles enough tonight. It might take longer but we’ll get home, you’ll see.’
‘Exactly,’ Avithan agreed. ‘At least we will if you three will all settle down and get some sleep.’
‘Point taken.’ Taine chuckled.
‘I’ll drink to that,’ Aelwen agreed.
Iriana said nothing. She was back in her blanket and asleep already, and the others were not long in following her. So it was that Avithan was the first to hear the calls in mindspeech. Two voices, both female, neither familiar, calling for Iriana and the others. Were they friends or foes? Was this a rescue – or a trap?
He shook Taine awake – and suddenly found himself with a knife at his throat. Taine blinked the sleep from his eyes and lowered the knife. ‘Sorry,’ he said with a grin. ‘Old habits.’ Then he too must have heard the calls, for he leapt to his feet and began bellowing in mindspeech as loudly as he could. ‘Corisand! Corisand, we’re down here.’
By this time Iriana and Aelwen, awakened by the commotion, were on their feet too. There were a few moments of excited babble that went almost too fast for Avithan to follow, though he thought he caught Yinze’s name in there somewhere, then Iriana shouted, ‘Corisand, I’m going to send up a signal.’ She held out her hand and the longest, brightest stream of magelight that Avithan had ever seen leapt from her palm and shot up into the night sky, taking the form of a gigantic white serpent with eyes of dazzling blue.
Corisand let out a cry of delight that was somewhere between a whoop and a laugh. ‘Taku! Trust you – it’s his very image, Iriana. Hold on, we’re coming.’
Almost before the net had landed, the Windeye was fighting her way out of the meshes. She and Iriana threw their arms round one another, laughing and crying, and both talking at once.
‘If hugs are going round . . .’ Grinning, Taine stepped forward and threw his arms around them both. Avithan hovered uncertainly at one side, and Aelwen stayed with him, looking uncomfortable.
When she had disentangled herself, Corisand stepped back and looked around, her expression growing grave. ‘Dael?’ she asked softly. ‘Kaldath?’
Iriana shook her head. ‘Both gone,’ she said sadly. ‘Kaldath died when the Dwelven spirits were freed, but he was happy to go. He was glad that he could finally rest.’ She swiped a hand across her eyes as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. ‘And Dael – when so many Dwelven left our world it created an area of instability between our reality and the others. Athina brought Avithan back to us’ – she gestured at her fellow Wizard – ‘and took Dael back with her to her home beneath the Timeless Lake.’
Now there were tears in Corisand’s eyes. ‘I’ll miss them both,’ she said, ‘especially Dael. Though he was a mortal with no magic, he was just as much a part of our group, and just as valuable, as any of us.’
‘I’ll miss him too,’ Iriana said. ‘And he’ll really miss us, but he was so happy to be reunited with Athina. He’ll be better off with her, too. Because he’d handled the Fialan, twice, and survived, he was special and different from the other mortals, but I would have had a hard time explaining that to Sharalind and all the other Wizards at home.’
‘He could have come with us to the Wyndveil,’ Corisand said – and was suddenly rem
inded that the Xandim might not be safe enough yet to be offering to shelter others. ‘What happened to Hellorin?’ she asked Iriana. ‘I felt his passing, and you’re acting as if there’s no risk of the other Phaerie pursuing us.’
Iriana grinned so fiercely that it made Avithan take a step backwards. ‘You’ll never have to worry about Hellorin and his Phaerie again. When I fought him, Denali put some kind of power into the Fialan that snatched the whole of Eliorand and all the Phaerie with it, including their Lord, back into the Elsewhere.’
‘What?’ The Windeye’s mouth fell open. All at once, she turned very pale and began to tremble. ‘Then we’re truly free?’ she whispered. ‘What about the Wizards? Will they follow Hellorin’s example and try to enslave us again?’
‘They won’t.’ This time it was Avithan who spoke. ‘My mother would never allow such a thing to happen. We thought the Xandim were only a legend, or a race who’d been lost long ago. When they see you, the Wizards will welcome you, I’m certain.’
‘Then, having said that, I think it’s high time we were going,’ Corisand suggested.
‘Just give me a few more minutes, will you?’ Iriana asked. Taking the pouch with the Fialan from around her neck, she gave it back to Corisand, who slipped the thong over her own head. ‘Will you come with me, my friend, and be my eyes? I just need to do one more thing before we go.’
Avithan made as if to follow, but Iriana shook her head, gesturing him back. With the Windeye at her side, she walked out into the open and gave a shrill whistle. Boreas, the great eagle of the north, came sweeping down from the skies to alight on her arm, while his mate perched warily in a tree nearby.
Iriana stroked the sleek white feathered head of the mighty bird. ‘My dear, dear friend and joy of my heart,’ she said softly. ‘Thank you for returning when I was in desperate need. You saved my life, and I can never repay you – except by letting you go once more, to your mate and your wild, free life in the skies above the mountains.’ Her voice broke, but she made a determined effort to steady it. ‘Wherever you fly, a piece of my heart will always roam the skies with you.’
The eagle turned his fierce golden gaze upon her, then dipped his proud head to rub it along her cheek. Then, with a shrill farewell call, he took to the skies, with his mate behind him. He circled once over Iriana, then winged away into the north, heading back to the mountains of his home.
It was as well that Iriana was using Corisand’s vision, for her own eyes were flooded with tears. The Windeye turned to hug her. ‘That was well done, my friend,’ she said softly. ‘One day we will travel back here, you and I, and we will see how he fares, and all the broods that he will father.’
Comforted by her companion’s words, Iriana wiped her eyes and straightened her shoulders. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Let’s head for home – wherever that may be.’
In the Elsewhere, the Evanesar strove to contain a raging Hellorin and his people behind barriers they had hastily erected around the newly emerged city of Eliorand. Having learned a great deal about working together when they had helped Corisand and Iriana create the receptacle to take their magic back to the Fialan, they had enclosed the city beneath a dome formed from a combination of Taku’s Cold magic, Aurora’s powers of Air and an addition of Denali’s spells of Earth that made the barrier harder than diamond.
At present the Forest Lord was coordinating what remained of his demoralised people to strike in concert at the shield, trying to find a weak spot, and Taku and Aurora were keeping a wary watch over them. Though there was little enough danger of Hellorin breaking free, they were taking no chances.
Taku sighed. ‘Remind me – whose idea was it to bring the Phaerie back to the Elsewhere?’
‘Denali’s of course,’ snapped Aurora, ‘though I notice that the Great One is quite happy to leave the dirty work to us, as usual.’
‘And the Moldai,’ the serpent reminded his companion. ‘Aerillia played her part to perfection, keeping Hellorin here until our trap could be laid.’
‘I still can’t believe that it succeeded,’ Aurora said. ‘It was a risky move, to place all our hopes in the hands of two outsiders from the mundane world. Had they failed . . .’
‘But they did not fail,’ Taku replied proudly. ‘I had every confidence in them, and as it turned out, they played their parts to perfection.’ He sighed. ‘I only wish that it had not been necessary to keep the plan from them. That does not sit easily with me, and it never did. I only hope that they will forgive us if they ever find out the truth.’
‘If they ever do. They would need to return to the Elsewhere first.’
‘Oh, I think we may see them again. I hope we do. I became very fond of them in the brief time that we knew them. It was a risk sending the Fialan into the mundane world, but while Corisand and Iriana hold the Stone, it will be safe.’
‘Indeed, Iriana almost made me change my mind about trusting the Magefolk.’
Taku and Aurora looked around in astonishment to see Basileus. Once more he had come among them in his form of a gigantic bear.
‘Basileus! What brings you here?’ Taku asked in astonishment.
‘I came to tell you that the Moldai have decided to return our consciousness to the mundane world, at least for the present.’
‘But why?’ Aurora asked. ‘You are so much more limited there, in your great forms of stone.’
‘We have dwelt here for long ages to avoid the Magefolk and the Phaerie after the betrayal of our Dwelven. But now that they have finally been freed and sent to their rest, thanks to our friends from the mundane world, we have decided to return. Aerillia, in particular, has no wish to stay here to face the wrath of Hellorin, whom she tricked so neatly, and I—’ His eyes twinkled. ‘I would like to be back in my mountain, to help Corisand and her people settle into their new homes.
‘There is another reason, too. Due to the weakening of the barrier between our two realities by the passing of the Dwelven and the capture of the Phaerie, Ghabal is a constant danger. Had he passed through that barrier yet we would have felt it, but we know that he is no longer in his mountain of diamond, and we cannot find him. He is searching desperately to get through and reach the Fialan, and if he succeeds, the Wizard and the Windeye may need our help.’
Behind his barrier, the Lord of the Phaerie threw back his head and laughed, the sound harsh and mocking. ‘What think you of your plan now, my enemies? Your little plot has backfired. In removing me and my people from the mundane world, you have left it open to a far worse threat.’
33
~
PERILOUS HOMECOMING
While Corisand, Iriana and their companions old and new were returning to the vast burned-out area where Corisand had left the Xandim, they decided to take few hours to rest there. Some of them had been in battle and, Iriana especially, needed to recover their strength, while all of them had been travelling hard. They needed some time for reunions, and for those who were strangers to be introduced to one another. There were so many tales to tell, so much news to be caught up on and some of them needed time to grieve for the passing of the Archwizard Cyran, and for those lost companions, Dael and Kaldath.
Corisand was extremely distressed that she had missed the chance to bid these friends farewell, and Iriana was glad that her friend had her Xandim to take care of, and distract her from her grief. As Windeye of the enslaved Xandim, Corisand had been desperately lonely and isolated, but now that they were free to change shape as they chose, hopefully those days would be over. Iriana herself was deliriously happy to be reunited with her foster brother and, once she felt safe to turn her attention to her own concerns, was questioning Yinze about her other close friends, and all the news from Tyrineld.
Kea and the Skyfolk bearers had been stunned when Corisand found her missing companions and, having taken the Fialan back from Iriana and performed the flying spell, turned into a beautiful grey horse. The others had had their work cut out on the journey back to the burn, explaining the h
istory of the Xandim, and how they had been freed. Suddenly, now that the secret of her people was becoming more public, Corisand felt nervous. How would they be received by the other races? How would they adapt to their human forms? Would the Wizards offer them help, or consider them a burden? Who would teach them all the skills they would need to exist in their human forms? At least they would never starve, she thought wryly – not if there was plenty of grazing around, and if times were hard they could always change into their equine aspects. It was just that she wanted them to have a choice – and a chance to build their own culture on the Wyndveil; a society that would be uniquely suited to themselves.
The Windeye felt the joy and relief among her tribe when she returned, and though she was interested in getting to know the handsome Yinze better, having heard so much about him, she could hardly wait to rejoin her own kind. She went over to them. ‘I’ve told the others all about us now,’ she said. ‘These people are all friends, so we have no need to conceal ourselves any longer in equine guise. Those of you who wish to change back into your human forms, and come and meet my friends, are most welcome to do so.’
Though one or two hung back, a great many of the Xandim followed her lead, and transformed into their alternate shapes. The first to do so was Taryn, who came running towards her with a smile on his face. ‘You found your friends, then,’ he said. ‘I’m so glad.’
From the corner of her eye, Corisand noticed Kea staring at him appreciatively, and realised that she was going to have to do something about clothing her people – and soon. Though they were utterly lacking in self-consciousness at being naked, the customs of others should be respected – and besides, the human body, so much more frail and fragile than its equine counterpart, needed a lot of extra protection, both from cold and the forest environment in general. For the present, she turned to her Othersight and spun warmed air and shadow into loose robes for her people. The shadow garments would provide them with warmth and dignity, but it wouldn’t help them much if they sat down on something sharp or prickly! Still, it was the best she could do. Maybe some proper clothing could be found for them in Nexis.