“What was it?” the regent breathed.
“What was what, sire?”
The regent opened and then closed his mouth. Perhaps it was the sun playing tricks on him. He had been staring into the long, pale grass for too long. “There,” he said, pointing as it appeared again.
The man beside him shook his head. “Smoke?” he queried, and the regent turned as he lifted the glass again.
When he turned back, the dark shape had gone. Something was playing, and if the mage wasn’t around, he wasn’t sure how safe he was from what had been unleashed.
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Ende watched Ana as she sat forward, her eyes closed, her head cocked a little to the side. She then glanced at the sword master, who also appeared to watch her too closely. He had stopped her running several times before simply by holding her, and then she had disappeared and returned with Salima. The girl had nearly been discovered in her fear of the woman who had come to see the regent, a maid, Forest had said. Ende looked over the girl. If he could spirit the child far away, he would. For he feared she would put herself in danger to save Ed far too easily.
She had initially looked frightened when they had returned, as though she might have seen something else when Ana had done whatever she did to move so quickly between places. But he hadn’t had the chance to ask her what that might be.
The sword master reached forward, and for a moment Ende wondered why the man put his hands on Ana as he did. Not just to hold her still—there was something else, some fascination with her that Ende felt should be fear rather than wonder. Did this man feel something else for the girl who no longer appeared to be a girl?
“Ana?” he asked hesitantly.
She looked at him, her green eyes almost glowing in the dim light of the room. “Something is coming,” she whispered.
“The creatures you saw before?” the sword master asked, too close to the little mage. Or was she something else? Ende found it difficult to focus on her now. He tried hard to remember her mother, but she had been gone long before he had left the capital. Although he remembered her strength, he didn’t feel the same uncertainty he felt around Ana.
“Ende?”
He looked at her then, taking in her rigid stance as she sat up in the chair, her green eyes only focused on him.
“Did you ask something?” he said.
“You said something,” she said, raising one eyebrow. He waited for her soft smile to follow, but it didn’t. “I didn’t call them.”
Ende tried to focus on her and her alone. Had he spoken, or was she in his head again? Did he think she called the danger to them? “Do they follow the king?” he asked instead.
She shook her head.
“Can we meet him?” Salima asked, focused more on Ed than whatever else might be happening. He wondered at the pull between them. Was a shared mother enough?
Ana sighed, but Ende wasn’t sure if it was the darkness she felt, the confusion at it, or that the child was so focused on Ed. The sword master suddenly grabbed at her, but she was gone by the time he reached the space where she had been, and he turned angry eyes on Ende.
“She does as she will,” Ende said in way of defence.
“Do you always have to push?”
“Where could she go?”
“To see what they want,” the sword master snapped, pushing himself up off the floor and away from the chair she had occupied.
“You don’t want to wait for her?”
“I would rather see if I can determine when our king will return.”
Salima opened her mouth and, as he turned a hard look her way, snapped it shut. “No more sneaking,” he said firmly. She nodded once and stepped closer to Ende. The sword master sighed and left the room. As Salima made to follow, Ende took her arm and shook his head.
“He is right. It is not safe out there for you.”
“Yet is it safe to hide the wit… Ana here. If she is found…”
“She won’t be,” he said, certain that she could be anywhere she wanted to be, and they had no way to stop her unless she wanted to be found.
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The regent was still staring out across the plains when something dark appeared in the field. The man beside him made a strange squeak, and he realised that he wasn’t dreaming it. It stood motionless for a time, the wind pulling at it, and he motioned for the man to hand him the looking glass.
It could have been a soldier from the dark cloak, but then the hood fell away and black hair whipped around in the wind. “The witch,” he murmured, leaning forward. He was looking at her back as she faced the marsh, but he was certain.
She held her hands in the air, the cloak falling away to reveal long, slender arms in a black material. She dressed as he had hoped then. He had imagined so much more for her than this. And yet, wasn’t she what he hoped she would be?
She just didn’t appear to be on his side. The idea rubbed, but then he lowered the glass as the man beside him gasped. He thought he saw something dark appear again in the corner of his eye. It almost materialised before her. A shadow that wasn’t. And then another, and another, and he wondered what he had done by allowing the mage to bring her here. He had seen the danger. And the boy disappearing hadn’t been enough, for the little bastard was causing him just as much trouble.
The shadows closed in around her, suddenly thick. The regent wondered if the mage had managed to find a way to destroy her. But then the shadows were gone, and she was standing in the field with her arms held out to the side. She glanced over her shoulder. He raised the glass as she smirked at him, and then she was gone.
“What was that?” the soldier beside him asked.
“A witch,” he said.
“She got rid of them.”
“What were they that she got rid of?” the regent asked.
The man shook his head vigorously and held out his hand for the glass. The regent handed it back and then turned from the view. She was something that should have been left at the other end of the kingdom.
Chapter 27
The inn looked exactly the same as the last time Ed had seen it, but it felt completely different. The fire was out, the tables pushed to the side of the room, or over in some cases. The girls sat in what had been the dining room, either on chairs or on the floor, talking amongst themselves. Ed made his way up the stairs two at a time, Dray only a step behind him. He pushed his way into the room he had stayed in and stopped. Dray almost bowled him over as he tried to stop his momentum following him through the door.
“What the…”
“I stayed here,” Ed said weakly, but the room he knew was now splattered with blood. It had sprayed across the walls and the window, and a pool had formed in the middle of the room, which someone had hastily, and apparently half-heartedly, tried to clean up.
“Something very nasty happened here,” Dray said.
“I think that creature was hunting me,” Ed said. Dray took him by the arm and dragged him back into the hall. “Before it found me,” he said, looking into the dark features of the soldier.
Dray sighed and looked back to the stairwell.
“I am not in danger now,” Ed murmured.
“You are always in danger,” Dray said, then realised he still had hold of Ed’s arm and released him.
“Let’s find some blankets. If we are to stay here, I suggest we camp in the dining room.”
“Agreed,” Dray said, striding ahead of him and opening the doors to other rooms. They appeared just the same, sans the blood. Ed pulled at the blanket on the bed of the first room he walked into, although it felt damp. He wondered if there wasn’t somewhere else they might have stayed along the way. It had seemed to take so long for him to reach this point. And yet the soldiers assured him it was only a couple of days back to the capital from here.
He sighed. He should have taken a horse. He might have gotten further much quicker.
“Here,” Dray called, and Ed found him in a small room with piles of sheets and blankets. He t
ook an armful and carried them back towards the stairs. The women were helping move the tables out of the way, stacking them neatly atop each other. If he’d had a horse, Ed wouldn’t have met Phillip, and so not Belle. She smiled up at him then, and he started down the stairs. If they hadn’t met, she wouldn’t be in this mess. Or she might very well be, as the forest would have handed her over as part of the ten.
He paused to hand her the blankets.
“I found ham and cheese along with some stale bread,” a young soldier said, appearing from the kitchens. “And a barrel of apples.”
“I would love an apple,” Belle said, turning to the young man and ignoring Ed’s armful of blankets. The young man tossed it to her, and she caught it easily. She held it to her nose as she turned back to Ed, her grin wide, and then she held it out to him. A hint of disappointment.
“I didn’t know you loved apples so,” he said, making no move to take it.
“I’d probably eat the stale bread,” she said softly, holding the apple back to her nose. “I’m tired of dry meat.”
“I could do with a glass of ale,” one of the other women said, and Ed laughed.
“That I’m sure they have,” he said. “Let’s get comfortable and eat, and then we can sleep.”
“There are rooms upstairs, Your Majesty,” Barlow said.
“And I think I would rather be down here,” Ed added quickly.
“Do you know the reason the inn was abandoned?” Dray asked.
The man shook his head. “Some trouble with a tenant, perhaps. You found something?” he said.
“Enough to keep us downstairs.” Dray kept his voice low as he glanced over the women. Belle looked up the stairs and then back to Ed.
“It’s ok,” Ed said. “Let’s see where we can sleep. Any chance of a fire, Captain?”
Barlow grumbled something and headed towards the door.
“Are we safe?” Belle asked, looking around the women.
“Yes,” Ed said, guiding her to a hard chair. “Now eat your apple, and I’ll make up the beds.”
“Your Majesty,” one of the others said, stepping forward. “I can do that.”
“I don’t mind,” he said. “I don’t get to be useful very often.”
“You have been of far more use to us than we could ever repay.”
“I hope you still think so when my uncle finds you some old man for a husband.”
She laughed. “Well, with the king making my bed, I’ll be able to claim the best of them. I’ll find you some ale,” she said, disappearing behind the bar.
“If we take some more supplies from here,” Barlow said, joining him as he directed a young soldier to the fire, his arms laden with wood, “we could ride through the next night and be back in the capital early.”
“The women may appreciate some time to rest and bathe,” Ed said, looking over the group.
“There will be time for that once we are back in the capital. They will be given rooms of their own, new dresses, time and a maid to make them beautiful.” Ed opened his mouth to say something about how beautiful they were already, when the man smiled. “They are to be the best the kingdom has to offer.”
Ed nodded. He understood, but it was something he had never been a part of, something he didn’t remember from his youth. He put the blankets down and then took one out, shook it and laid it on the floor. He then squatted down and folded it over. They weren’t going to be too comfortable here. They would have to be grateful for any bed they could get.
He spread another over the top and hoped they had enough to at least try to make them warm. Belle watched, and when he looked up, she crunched into her apple. He laid out another blanket beside the first.
“Do you think Ana is safe?” she asked.
He hadn’t thought of Ana, but he nodded and continued laying out the beds.
“Are you worried about her?”
“I’m worried about Salima,” he said, looking up at her. “Ana can take care of herself.”
Belle looked down at her lap, the apple in her hand. He reached out and took it from her, bit into it, then shuddered at the bitterness of it and handed it back. “Well that wasn’t as pleasant as I expected.”
She looked at him with open surprise.
“I’m sorry,” he said, moving to stand from his position by the makeshift bed.
“Your Majesty,” a soft voice said, and he turned to find Dahli holding out a cup.
He took it and gulped from it as she continued to stand before him. “Would you join us?” he asked, indicating a chair beside Belle.
“I could help,” she said, reaching for the blankets. But he shook his head, and she sat on the offered chair. “I don’t have to worry about my brother, do I?”
“He may try to use you still, but it would have little impact on my uncle.”
“You are the king,” Belle said, and he looked as she stood beside him. “You keep referring to your uncle.”
“He is still regent. It will take more than my appearing in public to change that.”
“And will that change what I am?” Belle asked.
He looked at her and tried not to sigh. He wasn’t sure what she was. “Tribute,” she whispered.
“I thought you were my companion,” he said. “My friend,” he added, and she smiled up at him. “I won’t let my uncle take you.”
She nodded, and another woman passing handed her a cup. She gulped at it and then coughed. “Not as pleasant as I expected. Any wine?” she asked.
“It’s like vinegar,” the girl said as she kept walking. The fire was blazing, and the room was starting to warm. A soldier appeared from the kitchen with a tray of chunks of ham and cheese.
“I should get on with my tasks,” Ed said, bowing his head. “Ladies…” He indicated the blankets. “Your beds await.”
“Thank you,” Dahli said, bowing her head.
He sat the cup down on the edge of a table, picked up his pile of blankets and continued around the room to meet Dray, who was also laying out beds.
“Do you think we should have continued through the night again?” he asked.
“It could be dangerous to remain out here with so many women.”
“Someone else might try to steal them?” Ed asked. “How many times might they be stolen away?”
Dray sighed. “Where do you want to sleep?”
“I’m not sure I can,” Ed admitted, looking over the group before his eyes fell on the stairs again.
“It is gone,” Dray said.
“I hope so.” Ed sighed. “What do we do when we arrive back in the capital?”
“I’m not sure of that either. Maybe Ana has made some allies who can assist us.”
“Let’s hope it is an army of them.”
Dray nodded, but Ed noticed he was focused on the stairs and thought he was wondering what they could do when they reached the capital.
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Ana sat at the mage’s desk and looked over the books. A candle flickered at the corner of the desk. The room was cold and empty, and she stretched out her senses for the old man. She looked around the room again. Nothing. Where had he gone? And why?
She blew out a slow breath that fogged before her and wondered if he was hiding in the very place she wouldn’t think to search for him. Her hand rested on one of the heavy tomes before her as she rose from the seat, and something pulled at her. She opened it, tugging at the heavy cover, and the pages flipped over of their own accord. They were blank but for the image of the queen tucked inside. She lifted it from the page and held it out.
The edges were burnt a little where she had tried to use it to reach Ed. She could feel him on the page in the ink, in the love of the woman he had drawn there. She had tried so hard before, but now she felt it all. She wondered if she could reach him like she did Dray, but that was something else. She tried to shake the soldier from her mind.
She had tried so hard to find Ed, and now, with this in her hand, it seemed so easy. She placed it back do
wn on the desk, not in the book. Why had the mage kept this, and why here?
Did she need to hunt him out to discover what she was? For he seemed to have a greater understanding of it. Yet she felt it herself now, the strength within her, the control.
Ende came to mind, his young stern face, the protective hold over the child he had discovered. What would the little dragon do when she learnt just what she was? But Salima’s focus was Ed, always Ed. Yet Ende had seen the darkness within Ana’s very being. And it had scared him. He might have been right to be scared.
The regent certainly was. She had felt his fear across the fields. They had come to her for a way here. She sat down again. She had felt the pull of their wanting and had gone to see what they were. They called to her because they knew she could help them. Yet she didn’t know how to help, or if she wanted to. It would take more than just allowing them passage from beyond. She would have to find them an anchor.
She had denied them, told them to return. But she wondered if that would always be the case. If Ende felt the darkness inside her and she knew it was there, could she call them forth? Would they help her? What did she want, other than Ed to be king?
“But he already is,” she whispered.
He comes.
“I know,” she answered, “and it is for me to keep him safe.”
Can you? Can you give him what he wants and keep him from harm?
“It is what I wanted when I first saw the danger to him. I knew I had to help him.”
You must help yourself first.
Ana shook her head. “Ed is my only consideration,”
The voice inside her did not respond. She knew it to be right. She closed her eyes and opened them to the cellar. The hidden door stood like a strange beacon before her, as though she could see the magic glowing from beyond around its edges. But something stopped her moving forward. Something cold touched the edges of her being, and her heart beat too fast. She was afraid. The intense cold of the cells would prevent her from being able to magic herself out again, and it might very well sever the tie to the magic within her. Whether it was the magic or the cold she could remember that made her bones ache, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t move forward. If the mage was strange enough to choose it as a hiding place, he could stay there forever.
The Lost Endeavour Page 19