by Terah Edun
“Where were you two all day?” asked Vana.
“Giving birth to kits,” mumbled Ciardis.
At a raised eyebrow from Meres, Terris explained, “The golden griffin gave birth today. We soothed the kits while Healer Helen did the hard work.”
“Griffins have a long birthing process once started,” commented Meres. “Each kit can take up to an hour to pass through the birthing canal.”
“You’re telling me,” said Ciardis with a groan.
“Doesn’t seem so bad,” commented Vana with a wicked grin.
Terris snorted, “Yeah, compared to humans who can take two days, I’ll take it.”
After the girls had their fun poking at Meres, they turned to other more important matters.
“I’ve sent word to the courts and asked for further assistance,” he said.
“What was their response?” said Vana in a serious tone.
“A regiment was deployed days ago alongside Maree Amber and Prince Heir Sebastian,” he replied.
“It seems that the emperor is not taking this lightly.”
“Yes, but it could be a few more days before they arrive,” he replied with a grimace. “As you know, the road is horrible and that many soldiers will not be able move quickly.”
“Undoubtedly.”
Ciardis and Terris tried to look solemn and attentive while also hoping that Meres and Vana wanted them included in their conversation.
Tentatively, Ciardis said, “With Prince Heir Sebastian by your side, perhaps the attacks on the kith can be stopped.”
“The problem remains: Whom do we negotiate with? Why are they doing this?” Meres said while running a frustrated hand through his hair.
“I think it’s time we had a deeper conversation with the old man,” Vana announced. “We need to know as much as there is to know from the Panen people before the Prince Heir arrives.”
He nodded and they stood up to reach for the robes that the attendants had laid out for all of them.
“Terris and Ciardis,” Vana said while eyeing the girls, “I think you’ve both had a long enough day. Retire to the guest quarters, please.”
They nodded, wishing they were going with them to meet with Alexandra’s grandfather but not willing to push their luck.
As they headed back, the sunset wasn’t that perceptible through the dark canopy of trees that housed the homes of the forest people. But the quiet of the forest, the gradual disappearance of daylight, and the general restful atmosphere told the girls that the sun was going down. Bedding down in the guesthouse that had been given to them in their twin cots, which had been heaped with blankets for the cold nights, Ciardis could think of nothing better than a restful night’s sleep.
Curling up in her bed with a “Goodnight,” to Terris, she dropped into a deep sleep.
*****
Hours later she was roused roughly from her slumber by an excited Terris. Ignoring her, Ciardis snatched the covers over her head and did her best to burrow back into the comforting warmth of her bed.
“Ciardis,” snapped Terris while tugging the blanket back. “Flightfeather’s here.”
“Tell him to go away,” came the muffled response from under the covers.
“He needs help,” pleaded Terris.
“Help, needs help,” echoed the large gray owl in both their heads.
Irritated beyond belief, Ciardis sat up and pushed the covers away. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she saw the large gray owl perched on a bird stand above Terris’s bed.
“Help with what?” she muttered sourly as she looked out of the guesthouse through the open window. Seeing the moon still high in the sky, she cursed and fell back into her bed.
“He says Barren needs us,” said Terris, looking at the bird to confirm.
“Do you know what time it is?”
“A quarter to midnight,” Terris said. “But Ciardis, I have a bad feeling about this. The images from Flightfeather aren’t good.”
This time Ciardis sat up, leaning on her elbows as she squinted first at the bird and then at Terris. “Images?” she asked suspiciously.
Terris sighed. “I can hear him in my head.”
“Yeah,” said Ciardis with a yawn. “So can I.”
“I mean I can hear full thoughts from him Ciardis—more than the short phrases he can push into a human’s mind.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh.”
“Is it just owls? Anything else more interesting – can you talk to the nightwolves too?”
“Now is not the time.”
“Right, okay. What’s wrong with Barren again?”
“Flightfeather was startled earlier tonight when Barren got up out of bed on his own. He’s been weak since the healing and usually needs help. This time he got up and walked out without assistance.”
“That’s it?” Ciardis said, her eyes throwing daggers at the bird. “Maybe he had to go pee.”
“No, that’s not it. If you’d shut up and listen, I’d tell you the rest.”
There was silence from Ciardis’s bed, which Terris took as assent.
“He got up and left in nothing but his pants. It’s been raining. Flightfeather says Barren always wears his boots in the rain because he hates mud between his toes.”
“I’d hate that, too,” muttered Ciardis while plucking at her blanket and wishing she could fall back asleep.
“Barren didn’t stop walking when he left the house,” Terris said, ignoring Ciardis’s muttering. “He walked to the forest and he just stood there.”
“Right, okay. So where is he now?” said Ciardis, not up for a midnight hunt for a boy in the forest.
“If he’s in the forest, we need to alert the warriors,” she continued in a hurry, finally worried about the boy. Standing up, she shucked her sleeping clothes and put on a warm shirt and pants and dropped to the floor to look for her socks. She could never keep them in one place.
“I am not going out to that forest,” Ciardis said with her butt sticking in the air and her head under the bed while she rooted around for the missing pair.
Terris cracked a smile and even Flightfeather turned his head sideways, eyeing the girl in that odd way owls do.
“Well, that’s good,” said Terris. “But we don’t need the warriors.”
With a triumphant “Gotcha!” and a startled yelp as she hit her head on the underside of the bed, Ciardis emerged victorious with the dirty socks to ask, “And why is that?”
“Because he’s standing outside.”
Ciardis looked at her already-dressed friend warily. She put on the socks and hurriedly stuffed her feet into boots. She stuck her head out of the house to confirm that Barren was, in fact, still out there and popped back in with a sigh.
“Yes, so he is,” Ciardis said, arms crossed. “What does the bird want us to do?”
“Follow him,” Terris said.
“Follow him?”
“Flightfeather can sense that Barren needs to go somewhere, but he needs us to go with him.”
“The bird told you this?”
“He shared his bond with Barren so I could decipher the feelings.”
“All of this happened while I slept?”
“Something like that.”
Ciardis sighed in irritation. “Why can’t his mother do it?”
“He needs us.”
“Dammit, Terris.”
Chapter 28
As they snuck out of the guesthouse, Ciardis took a closer look at the boy.
“Have you noticed his eyes are closed?” Ciardis asked caustically.
Terris nodded. “He’s sleepwalking. That’s why I think he needs to show us
something. If he’s in a dream sleep, his subconscious could be leading us to a clue about the attacks.”
Ciardis bit her lip in uncertainty. She had a bad feeling about this, but she also could see that Terris felt it was important. Besides, they’d probably be back in their beds within the hour. The owl took flight in front of them as
they followed Barren without a word. A light misty rain began to fall, but Barren didn’t slow down. If anything he picked up his pace.
They jogged behind him as he detoured along the ornate bridges and around the silent homes in the trees. He kept going farther down to the forest floor until finally they were running along the cleared dirt pathways on the ground to the outskirts of the village. Before long they saw the dark forms of trees that marked the natural forest. Barren went straight for the trees and disappeared into the forest. Before Terris could follow him in a headlong rush, Ciardis grabbed her again.
“We can’t go in there,” Ciardis said pointedly. “There are things in that forest with teeth and claws. Things that eat humans. Don’t you remember how you got here?”
Terris wrenched her arm out of Ciardis’s grip. “I’m not leaving him out there. I can’t!”
Ciardis shook her head. “I told you, I don’t like it. This is as far as we go.”
“Wrong,” Terris said. “This is as far as you go.”
Before she could argue with her any further, Terris took off after Barren. Ciardis stood im
open-mouthed shock. Where had that come from? Terris was the sponsor’s pet. She did everything Vana asked and excelled at her training. She never got in trouble and she never talked back.
Lucky me—she gets a streak of independence and it just happens to be now.
Ciardis knew that every second counted here. Hesitating, she turned to look back over her shoulder at the winking lights of the village overhead and considered running for help. But by the time she got back, Terris and Barren would be long gone. Cursing her luck, she followed behind Terris. After a few minutes of slapping large fronds back and stumbling over hidden roots and vegetation, she called in a mage light. She knew she wouldn’t be able to track Terris in the forest, let alone Barren and his damn owl. But she didn’t have to. Ever since she’d helped Terris—followed her, really—into Barren’s mind, she could sense when she was near. Careful of her footing, she followed that sense.
Hopping over what suspiciously looked like a very large snake, Ciardis pushed aside a large number of hanging vines to find herself next to a rather large tree trunk. She could feel Terris now; she was close—very close.
But there was someone else here, she realized suddenly.
Ciardis stooped into a crouched and edged forward around the trunk. Trying to find Terris as well as staying out of sight. Unfortunately she misjudged her footing, and suddenly went tumbling into the clearing. Head over heels. This was one of the few places in the forest were the canopy of the trees had left an opening. Moonlight shone down on the small clearing where Ciardis lay on the ground, cursing.
When she got to her feet and looked around she wished she hadn’t. That was when she saw him. A man in dark clothing hidden in the shadows. He came forward with his hand outstretched, chanting. She had no time to defend herself and soon was falling into a deep sleep. As she slumped over and fell back onto the forest floor, Ciardis noted something unique. The man’s shadow. It was moving. But it was moving independent of him, walking by his side as he moved closer to her.
In the dense shrubbery of the forest, Terris suddenly felt her link with Ciardis twang in
Fear. There was something wrong. Ignoring her search for Barren at the moment, she backtracked in search of her friend. She arrived at the clearing just in time to see Ciardis fall to the forest floor with a tall man standing over her. With a shout of anger Terris surged forward to defend her friend. At least she tried to. From behind her a hand appeared out of nowhere and clamped over her mouth, while a strong arm gripped her waist and hauled her back. Struggling, she tried to get them off of her, but she was at a disadvantage facing away from the perpetrator. Pissed off, Terris half turned and kicked the person in the groin.
As he released her, she looked back at the clearing to see that Ciardis was gone. Vanished into thin air. Terris raced into the clearing, hoping it was an illusion, that her eyes were playing tricks on her. But Ciardis wasn’t there, and there was nothing to show that she had been. Leaves crunched behind her as the person who’d stopped her came forward. With an animalistic growl, Terris whirled around with her hand balled into a fist.
She was ready to get some answers from this person. If they were in on this, not even the gods would be able to help them. For a moment she stared, her jaw dropped, her fists still balled. It was hard to comprehend that the person in front of her was working with the shadow creatures. More than the shock of seeing who it was, she felt hurt. And that hurt didn’t lessen when the large gray owl in the tree above her hooted.
Barren stepped out of the shadow of the tree that he was leaning on. She hadn’t kicked him that hard.
He came into the light of the clearing clutching his head. When Terris got a look into his eyes, she froze. They were black—as black as the shadows around them.
He fell to his knees, clutching his head and panting for breath.
And then Barren stood up and the shadows in his eyes were gone.
Barren stood before her, holding out his hand defensively. “Wait,” he whispered.
“We saved your miserable life,” shouted Terris, “and this is how you repay us?”
The owl hooted again and mind-spoke. Flightfeather is sorry. Flightfeather—
“Shut up, you miserable bird,” said Terris, anger clouding her voice.
She continued forward to Barren and prepared to hit him so hard he would see stars.
“It’s not what you think,” he said, backpedaling fast. “Can’t you trust me for a moment?”
“Hell no. I don’t know you,” she said bitterly.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said. “I didn’t bring you out here for the shadow man.”
“At least, I didn’t mean to,” he continued.
Terris stopped, “The shadow man? That was the shadow man?”
He nodded.
“How dare you,” she whispered in fury. “That man—that creature—is killing your comrades, and you gave Ciardis to him.”
“I didn’t give anybody to him,” he said. “It was like I was in a dream, following the sound of his voice. He told me he chose not to let me die. That I had purpose—to bring the Weathervane to him. I fought him, but as long as his magic lingers in your system, you can live at his will or die. There are no other options.”
“And you chose to live,” Terris said bitterly.
“I chose to find out as much as I could about him,” he countered, “for my people. But when he finally decided I needed to serve my purpose, my will was gone.”
She dropped her fist in disgust.
“And now my friend is gone.”
“I know.” He nodded. “But I know where he’s taking her.”
Terris looked at him, wary disbelief etched on her brown face. Contemplating her options, she decided she didn’t have much of choice. Not if she wanted to get to her friend in time.
“Well, then,” she said, “why didn’t you say so in the first place? Let’s go!”
“We need backup,” he said firmly.
“While that man does gods-know-what to her?” Terris replied angrily. “No, we’re going now.”
With Terris standing firm, Barren sent Flightfeather back to the village for the warriors and to alert their guardians to where they were going. And then they were running in the darkness and the night, hoping with all of their might that Ciardis Weathervane was still alive.
*****
The world folded and time stood still.
When Ciardis awoke, she was no longer in the clearing. She lay in a makeshift bed of vines. She twisted and turned, trying to see more. Her head was the only thing capable of movement, her body from her shoulders to her feet bound by the moving vines. The vines were twisting, never still, and a dark color that shifted like smoke. Stifling a scream, she saw that the vines were made of shadows.
The man must have brought her here, but where was here?
Looking up, she s
aw more trees, but they were different. The trees had huge trunks and red leaves falling to the ground. She looked around but couldn’t see much else. The shadow man walked out of the darkness of the surrounding forest.
“Ciardis Weathervane,” he said softly. “I’ve been waiting to meet you.”
“Who are you?” she said while trying to fight against the vines. But every movement just caused them to tighten, cutting into her blood circulation and making her feel faint.
“And can you call off your creepy vines?” she snapped.
He looked at her with unreadable eyes.
“It’s not like you’re going anywhere.”
She glared at him. “I’ll ask again: Who. Are. You?”
“I go by many names. None of which are important to you. Just know that I work in the service of the empire.”
“By killing kith?” she said sardonically.
“By doing whatever is necessary to right the wrongs against me,” he hissed back.
She watched him impassively. He was very focused on his anger.
“You and the Duchess of Carne?” she questioned more cautiously.
“Who?” he asked in genuine confusion.
Guess that means she had nothing to do with the kith deaths. Guess that means I owe the duchess an apology. She still tried to kill my mother, though.
But Ciardis had more immediate problems to deal with. The Shadow Mage had decided that they had talked enough. He released the shadow vines. Before she could even comprehend that she was free, he’d moved swiftly and grabbed her wrist, twisting it in his grip and smiling as pain flashed through Ciardis’s arm.
She fell to the floor screaming, her wrist still in his hand.
He said, each word distinct, “And I will do anything to accomplish my goals.”
Maybe angering him isn’t such a good idea, she thought when the pain arcing through her body like fire had been subdued enough for her to think.
He released her wrist and smiled down at her.
“And you, my dear, are my key.”
Snatching her wrist back, she fought hard not to let the tears welling up in her eyes fall down her cheeks. He’d think it was because she was weak. Because she was afraid of him. She was anything but. Furious, angry, tired, but never scared.