by L. P. Dover
I could control nothing, but my mind and that just barely. As my eyes closed again, I reached out and found my horse as it lay motionless on the ground, my Steed. He wasn’t dead. I asked him to stand and tried to impress upon him to follow. I hoped it had worked as I faded into blackness.
Chapter Fifteen
Fortress
My mind regained consciousness very slowly. I was hit with blurry images first, then they became dreams. Eventually the dreams were clearer, though they didn’t make much sense. After a time, it occurred to me the problem was the images were mixing with the wrong sounds … real sounds. Panicked sounds.
I thought I recognized Chevelle’s voice and tried to focus on it. It was filled with agony as he spoke. “Frey.” I felt something on my face; a warm, light touch. Lips?
I sucked in a breath, shocked at the idea that someone might have been kissing me. I felt the air as those surrounding me moved in response. Forcing my eyes open, I found Ruby, Steed, and Chevelle. They looked for a moment as if they were suffering my pain … and then I realized the pain was gone, the siren was silenced. I breathed deep, relieved, and their faces relaxed, relief washing over them … though not entirely, I realized. Their postures were stiff, alert. It was almost their training stances.
I started to raise my head, find the source of the danger, but dizziness incapacitated me. They rushed to kneel beside me, and I was sure that was how they had been before my gasp had moved them to standing. I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was too dry.
Chevelle gave me a drink. I would have taken anything but I was glad it was water, not that foul-tasting elixir. “What happened?” I was finally able to choke out.
They were tight-lipped. I waited.
“How do you feel?” Chevelle asked. His tone was off, a little shaky. I couldn’t tell if he was cross or something else. There was something so familiar about him, the way he leaned over me, but my thoughts weren’t working right yet. I tried to clear my head before answering, take stock and see how I did feel.
“I don’t know.” It was the best I could do.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He paused, and finally asked, tentatively, “Do you know who I am?”
Something about that was funny and I laughed, but it came out hoarse.
He looked torn as he posed the next question, slow. “Can you tell me your name?”
I wondered how bad I was messed up that he was approaching me with this line of questioning. “Frey.”
“Your full name?”
Ugh. “Elfreda Georgiana Suzetta Glaforia,” I recited.
They all took a deep breath.
“What?”
Chevelle relaxed a bit as he continued, “You don’t have pain?”
“No.” I clarified, “Not anymore.”
He nodded. “What do you remember?”
“I was–” I stopped. I didn’t know why, but I felt protective of my secret. I didn’t want to tell anyone I was in my horse’s mind. I started again and I could hear the annoyance in my voice. “I don’t know. I was just following you guys and then wham!” That pretty much summed it up. “Just pain and screeching.”
Ruby and Steed bolted upright as someone came in. It was Grey. Chevelle was still kneeling over me as he turned to him. “What is it?”
He hesitated. “A horse is at the door.”
Chevelle glanced at me, I hoped he didn’t see my smile. I knew it was Steed; he’d followed my direction.
Grey was waiting. “Well, should I let him in?”
Chevelle turned back to him and nodded once. He left as quickly as he’d entered.
And then it hit me. The door. I glanced around, confused about where I was. It felt as though I were laying on cold rock, and I could see the sky above. I was careful not to move my head too swiftly as I tested for dizziness. It seemed better.
There were gray stone walls on either side of us. I couldn’t see behind me, but I thought we were in a room. A room with no ceiling? “Where are we?”
“Fort Stone,” Steed answered.
I snickered and Chevelle’s irritated look surfaced. I didn’t know if it was from my stupidity or Steed’s interjection. “Fort Stone?” I asked.
“Named for Lord Stone,” Steed explained. Yes, Chevelle was definitely irritated with Steed.
“A lord?” I tried not to sound too impressed as I took another look around, reassessing the walls with the new information. I wondered how old it was.
Chevelle stood, directing Ruby to stay with me until he returned. Steed followed him out.
Ruby must have known I was curious. Or she just wanted to talk. “It’s been abandoned for centuries.” She made me a bed as she spoke, telling ancient stories about magic and elves.
As she helped me move onto the blankets, I asked, “Why are we here?”
She twisted her mouth, deciding on an answer. “We were in need of shelter after your … episode. It was close enough to work. Are you cold?” she asked, tucking me under a blanket.
“I’ll get it,” I answered, waving my hand to form a fire beside us.
Nothing happened.
The dizziness was almost gone now; I was feeling close to normal, just a bit fuzzy. I tried once more, but it would not light. I pressed down the panic as I concentrated on pulling the burn together.
Nothing.
I sat up and held both of my hands in front of me, palms up, as I focused on lighting a flame, any flame.
Still nothing.
I reached out to move a rock from the floor, but it didn’t budge. I concentrated on a pebble beside me, it didn’t shift in the least.
“Ruby?” She was already watching me. “I … it doesn’t work.” I held my hands uselessly in front of me, helpless.
Panic was taking me when she laid a hand on my shoulder and leaned forward. I expected her to calm me, explain it would come back, it would all be okay. Glitter was in the air before I could stop her.
By the time Chevelle returned, I was full-on goofy with it. He and Ruby sat facing me. She must have filled him in on my problem.
I resisted the urge to touch him. I always wanted to touch him.
“Frey—” Chevelle began, using a slow, even tone.
I cut him off, trying to sound calm. “What happened?”
“It would seem the council has attacked us.” I was too numb to draw in the sharp breath I expected. My cheeks tingled. “Attacked you,” he clarified.
Something came out of my chest that sounded like a moan. I struggled to focus on what he was telling me. “Attacked?”
“They must have tried to strengthen your bonds.” I knew I should have been shocked, but I couldn’t produce the feeling.
“Succeeded,” I complained.
He nodded. “It seems it may have taken your magic completely this time.”
This time. I concentrated on keeping my head straight, to look like I was listening properly. My attempt at concentration must have come across as anxiety.
“You found a way to break them before. You will again,” he promised.
I nodded sloppily.
“Slowly,” he said.
My nose was itchy. I wiggled it.
“Rest now. We have time.”
I started to ask him not to go, but he wasn’t leaving. He settled in, both he and Ruby were staying with me. I was happy … downright blissful. Stupid dust.
I watched Chevelle’s face as my eyes fluttered shut, exhausted. My dreams brought him close, a much too vivid kiss on the cheek that burned like fire. My skin was blistering, I could feel the color. It swirled around me and shocked me awake again. I lay on the floor, eyes wide, body unmoving. I was weak, tired, still under the influence, but I heard voices. I didn’t move as I listened to discern if they were real.
They seemed to be close, but muffled—maybe in the next room or down a corridor—as they echoed off the stones. I thought I’d picked out Anvil’s deep voice. “Trapped here like rats ... cowards ...”
He was outraged.
Someone else, Grey maybe, worry coloring his tone. “We can’t just leave them out there.”
I knew Chevelle’s voice, interlaced between the other comments. “She’s not ready ... we can’t ... too soon.”
And a voice I couldn't place. “… another setback …”
They seemed to be in disagreement, but I couldn’t find the interest to stay with them. I faded back into sleep. These dreams took me farther. My sight was off, not as clear, distorted. But as I lingered there, I knew the cause, I was seeing from a horse. We were outside the stone walls of the fortress, finding sparse greens to eat, which bored me even in a dream. I encouraged the horse to run and he responded immediately, taking flight down the mountainside. The rocks streaked past us as we ran faster and faster, the wind whipped his mane. A great bird perched on the dead limb of a tree and I jumped to it just as it dropped from the branch and flipped its wings out to catch the wind. We flew still further as I watched the mountain pass below us. There was a small patch of trees ahead and I could see movement there, inside. I tried to focus on it ... familiar silver and white.
Commotion brought me back. I sat up, startled, and my head spun. Ruby caught my arm to steady me. Her smile was strained as she handed me a drink of water.
I looked around. Chevelle was near the entrance of the stone room with Anvil and Grey. They appeared to be preparing to leave. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Nothing to worry about,” Ruby assured me. “Just a hunting trip.”
I was still muddled, but I knew it wouldn’t take three of them to hunt. And then I remembered the bits of conversation I’d heard when I woke. “Someone’s missing?” I took stock; I’d seen everyone but Rhys and Rider now. And the wolves. The silver and white wolves. “The wolves are out there.”
Each person in the room turned to me in synchronization, astonishment on their faces as they stared at me, speechless.
Ruby finally spoke. “What do you know about the wolves, Frey?”
“Are they hurt?”
“We don’t know. They did not return.”
“Rhys and Rider?” I asked.
“They are attempting to locate them. They will not rejoin us until they do.”
I started to draw a map for them, and cursed when I realized I was no longer able. Bound from magic. Ruby had been right to drug me; I didn’t think I could have handled it otherwise. They were watching me, unsure what I was doing as I sat helpless and swearing. “I need something to draw with.”
Ruby pulled a piece of charcoal and scrap of paper from her bags. I rushed to sketch the path I remembered from my dream, focusing on the ring of trees with the most detail. “They are there.”
The men stood, motionless and staring, until Anvil crossed the room to retrieve the drawing. He bowed a little as he took the paper from my hands and then hurried out, Grey following. Chevelle stayed.
Ruby turned to him and breathed a deep sigh, but he didn’t respond.
My head throbbed and I groaned as I reached up to rub my temples. He was beside me in a flash, unspeaking. Ruby handed me another drink.
It helped, but I was still irritated about the binding. “Does this mean we’ll have to train again?” I asked.
Ruby snickered.
Chevelle answered slowly, “There has to be a way. You broke them before.”
I tried to remember how. The first magic I could recall was the thistle in the back room at Junnie’s. It seemed so far away now.
Ruby was speaking to him. “Maybe it was just the length of time …”
What did she know about how long I was bound?
“If we can find a way to test without endangering—” He stopped. “Don’t worry about it, Frey.” I wondered if I'd looked frightened. “We will figure it out.”
How reassuring, figure it out. I meant to smile at him, but only succeeded in a nod.
“Rest now. There is plenty of time for tr—” he stopped, thinking better of using the word training and said, “to test the bindings.” He smiled at me, and once again, I thought for just a moment he would reach out to me. But he did not. He simply stood and walked from the room.
Ruby saw me watching after him. “He’s right, Freya. Rest now. Plenty of time to get you straightened back out.” She stood and walked to the front wall. I hadn’t noticed before, probably because it was so small, but there was a narrow window, almost a peephole there. Ruby positioned herself in front of it, watching whatever was outside.
I sighed. Plenty of time. I fiddled with the blankets for a few minutes, tried a couple of times—futilely—to move tiny specks of loose rock on the floor, and gave up, deciding to read the journal again. I rolled away from Ruby and pulled my pack into the curve of my body, settling the book open, but able to be quickly hidden away if needed.
This morning, I extended my spell, giving Rune an extra day of sleep. It was a good thing, too. I found the camp right off and followed the tracks easily. They initially must have ran in panic, but then gathered back together and walked in a line, some two by two, some dragging sleds. They made temporary shelter in a cave, likely for just one night, and continued again. They must have moved slowly, and I could see they stopped often to rest. It didn’t take long before I’d found their new camp. I slipped into a tall tree to watch them. To my absolute shock, I found something I had never seen before. I watched for hours before I was sure, too stunned to believe it possible. I had heard stories, the fairies were always blowing off, but I never actually believed it to be true. Was I really watching humans?
I stopped reading, confused. Humans weren’t real. What kind of book was this? She had mentioned fairies’ stories. I wondered if this was fiction, a fairy ruse, given to Chevelle by Ruby. Or maybe the dust was still playing havoc on me. I glanced over my shoulder at Ruby, still watching anxiously out the front window. I shook my head as I continued …
But I couldn’t deny it. Their size was about that of an elf, but all were different. The men were thicker. Not necessarily with muscle, some more bulbous. The women were varied as well, some thin and wiry, some stout like the males. Their hair was in all shades of the fairies’, light blond like the sun, brown as the trees, one even had rusty red, his plump cheeks peppered with light brown spots. And there were so many children! They were loud and ran round the camp all afternoon. And they just as varied as the adults. I examined their wide noses, rounded ears, and stubby fingers. Those that wore no shoes had short, thick toes like trolls! The men had patches of hair curled on their chests and forearms, and some even grew it around their chins like goats. Their clothes were tattered and ill-fitting rags. They moved about the camp slowly, clearly no magic and definitely the owners of the crude tools we had found. They spoke to each other often, their voices like the protest of an old hound. I watched until nightfall, when they settled into tents and lean-tos. They seemed to assign a watchman, wielding only a torch lit from the central fire. I slipped down from the tree and returned to the castle. I am dying to see what I can find of them in the books of Father’s study.
Laughter broke my concentration. Anvil and Grey were back. I looked to the front wall, but Ruby was gone, moved to the entrance of our room. She seemed to be waiting there excitedly for something. I slid the book into the pack and sat up to watch.
Chevelle came in and Ruby greeted him. “It’s fantastic,” she said. He smiled at her.
Steed was following. “Almost unbelievable,” he added, shooting me a peculiar look.
They turned to me as Rhys and Rider entered, who didn’t approach but stopped just inside the room and dipped into a bow. “Our gratitude, Elfreda.”
I blushed. I had forgotten the wolves; they must have found them. “Were they hurt?”
“No. And our thanks to you for that as well.”
I wasn’t exactly sure how that was due to me, but I smiled, glad they had somehow found them and everyone was safe. They turned to leave and Grey entered with two spits of meat and wine. It almost seemed
like a celebration. Almost. Their high spirits hadn’t quite returned from before.
I wondered how long I had been out.
The wine flowed. Steed took some food to Anvil, Grey and Ruby made their way to the front window, and I found myself sitting alone with Chevelle.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Better. And worse.” Better because the dust was clearing. Worse because I was fuzzy again, bound.
He nodded. I hadn’t noticed him moving, but he was closer now, sitting opposite me. He reached out and took my hand in his, turning it over, palm up. He placed a small pebble there. “Can you do anything with this?”
“No.” Frustration was clear in my voice, I had already tried.
“And no fire?”
“No.”
“So, nothing works?” The implication was there but I didn’t know what it meant right away. And then it occurred to me, the horse. I had thought it had shown up because I impressed upon it to follow us before I blacked out, but I had already been bound again at that point. Should I tell him? I didn’t know why I felt so protective of this secret.
He drew a section of moss to us from one of the stones on the wall and it replaced the pebble. “Try this. They shouldn’t have bothered binding you from growing.”
I concentrated on it. Nothing. But I was never good at that anyway. I shook my head.
He nodded, giving up, but our hands still lay together, connecting us. “Where are they now?” I asked.
He'd been looking at our hands, but his eyes returned to my face at the question. “Council,” I explained.
“They have retreated. They were able to briefly incapacitate the dogs, giving Rhys and Rider less warning of their approach before you were attacked.” He hesitated. “When we heard the alert, I turned … your eyes were closed.” I didn’t comment, so he continued, “I was able to catch you just before your horse dropped. I’ve no idea why they attacked him. It makes no sense; they should have all been focused on you.”