by Fran Jacobs
Then it began to shift, as if it was being sucked towards this shadowy man, gaining momentum as it went. Even the carved wooden faces on the furniture seemed turned towards it, transfixed by the inky blackness that made up its shadowy body - just as I was beginning to find myself drawn towards it, hypnotised by it. I felt myself sinking, as I stared at this shadowy mass, falling inwards, with everything opening up around me, while the room slowly started to disappear ...
The next thing I knew something hard connected with me and sent me flying, crashing down to the wooden floorboards, knocking all the air out of my lungs and making my stomach hurt with the impact. I gasped in pain and started to turn over, and I found Trellany, sprawled by my feet, blood at her mouth, her eyes glazed, and unconscious.
The shadow creature was gone.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
A VOICE IN THE DARKNESS
The room was painfully quiet. I was aware of the total lack of sound. The build up of energy was gone, the drowning sensation I had felt was gone, too, and that left nothing but the silence and Trellany lying on the floor in a slowly growing puddle of her own blood.
I could only stare at her, trying to gather my thoughts. What had happened? When had she entered the room? Why had she knocked me down like that? And what had hit her? I felt as though I was missing time, that there was a big hole in my memory.
Trellany moaned and her body twitched, a short, sharp sudden jerk that brought me back to my senses.
"Trellany," I whispered. I crawled over to touch her. Her skin was hot, clammy and sticky, wet with sweat. She didn't respond when I whispered her name, didn't moan again, and her green eyes were glazing over, as the blood ran from her lips. "I-I'll get help," I whispered, praying to the gods that she could hear me. "Wait there."
I scrambled into some clothes, pulled on my boots and fled the room. I ran as fast as I could, racing down the long corridors, stumbling over my own feet as I bounded down the stairs. The sound of my heels on the rough wooden floorboards echoed through the darkness, in time with my thundering heart. I soon began to feel sick from running so fast and my chest ached, but I kept on going. The image of shadows that moved and Trellany's green eyes, glazed over, with blood at her mouth, drove me on.
I wasn't really sure where I was going, not until I suddenly found myself outside Dynild's rooms, pounding on his door. My fists were sore and the skin cracked and bleeding, before the door finally opened and Dynild was standing there.
"Candale," he said. "What is it? What's happened?"
"Trellany," I gasped. "S-she's unconscious ... there was a shadow man ... thing in my room and now she isn't moving."
"Fetch Tival," he said, disappearing back into his room. "I'll meet you there."
"He's in class --"
"Then interrupt him, Candale. I may need him. Go on, go!"
I ran on.
I was out of breath, and covered in sweat, when I finally burst into the class Tival was taking, the one that I should have been in. "You're late," Tival told me, dark eyes narrowed at me. "And bursting in like this doesn't help your situation."
"It ... it's Trellany," I managed to gasp out. "In my room ... Dynild sent me ..."
Tival must have seen something in my face, or heard the desperation in my voice, because he nodded. "Catch your breath," he told me. "I'll go up there now."
"No." I shook my head. "I ... I'll ... come."
"I won't wait for you," Tival told me. "Not if Trellany needs me. Meet me back there. Class, sit still and quietly wait for the bell. I hope I can trust you." He left the room in a swirl of his cloak. My peers looked up at me, curious and concerned, as I stood half collapsed against the desk at the front of the room, trying to breathe.
"Dale," I heard Silver say quietly. "What happened?"
"Shadow," I wheezed. "I better go."
"Catch your breath, Dale," Hazel told me, rising to her feet. She came towards me, resting a gentle hand on my back as I gasped and wheezed, bent over Tival's desk. "Then tell us what happened."
I shook my head. "Can't ... Trellany will need me." I glanced at her through my sweaty, tangled hair. Her brown eyes were worried, her face pale and her lips were tight, yet it felt so good to see her again and to have her talk to me freely. I was surprised at how good it did feel. Seeing her in class, but being unable to talk to her, being forced to sit at the back of the classroom so that I was far away from her, had been so damn hard. And now here she was, her hand on my back, leaning in so close to me I could smell her soft perfume, and I didn't have time to talk to her. "I have to go," I gasped finally. I pulled away from Hazel and turned, hurrying out of the room, letting the door slam behind me as I fled.
Back in the suite I found that the healer had placed Trellany on my bed, watched over by those carved wooden faces. He had filled the room with lanterns that created a sickly orange glow on my bodyguard's pale face. Her red hair was fanned around her on the pillow, the colour of blood in the lantern light. Tival was at his side and the two men were staring down at my unconscious bodyguard, blocking her from my view.
I slumped against the door, using the frame to support me and keep me on my feet. "There were shadows ..." I panted, clutching at the stitch in my side in pain. "Shadows like a man."
"Candale, go and sit in the other room," Tival told me, over his shoulder without even turning. "Let us deal with this."
"No," I gasped. "I-I want to stay. She nearly died for me! I have to stay!" Twice Trellany had risked her life for me; twice I had put her in a dangerous situation. It should have been me, lying there on the bed like that, barely breathing. It should have been me!
"There is nothing that you can do except get in the way," Tival told me, still not looking at me. "And I'd rather that you didn't do that. Go into the sitting room and wait there."
"What if she dies?" I gasped. "I-I should be here. Gods, what if she dies?" My feet gave way on me and I slithered down the frame of the door to sit on the floor, half in and half out, of my bedroom. It was a relief to sit down, my legs splayed wide. I had no energy to stay on my feet and it was so much easier to just to sit right there until I could breathe, and stand, again.
Tival turned around at the sound of my body hitting the floor and he came to stand over me. "She won't die," he told me, in a firm voice, and there was something strong and reassuring in his black flint eyes. "I won't let that happen." He reached down and pulled me to my feet with a strong grip. My legs buckled at first, refusing to straighten, and when they did, they felt shaky and unreal beneath me. "Now, go and wait in the sitting room until I come out to you." Before I could say anything, he had pushed me out of the door, and closed it behind me. Not having a choice I went to sit down and wait.
***
A hand on my shoulder shook me awake. Blinking I sat up. My neck was in agony because I had slept at an angle, my face pressed against Tev's head, who was resting against my shoulder. I rubbed at my neck, shifting Teveriel, who came awake slowly, muttering under his breath. The room was dark and cold, the fire just glowing embers now. I could just about make out the shape of Tival standing before me, appearing grey in the fading light. I must have been asleep for a good few hours and it surprised me. I had been so worried about Trellany, I hadn't thought I would be able to sleep at all.
The day had passed slowly. Teveriel had woken up a little after the noon bell, to find me pacing the room, almost in tears. I had told him what had happened, he had tried to console me, but I still felt that it was my fault that Trellany was hurt. After that we had spent the day waiting for news, and it had been a long wait. Neither Tival nor Dynild left Trellany's room, as the afternoon went on, and the only sign we had that they were still in there was the occasional bright flash of light that came from under the door, or a muttered sound or shouted incantation. I had tried to listen to what was going on, but the door was thick and I hadn't been able to hear anything. That had left me with nothing to do but p
ace, and send away the worried visitors who came to the suite. And the rest of the day had passed like that, until my feet had started to ache, and I had sat down, meaning to have just a moment's rest. I must have fallen asleep.
"I think we need to talk," Tival said in a gentle sort of voice.
"Oh, gods," I gasped, a sudden cold chill seizing me, even though my body had broken out into a sweat. My throat felt very tight, raw, but I managed to gasp out, "I-is Trellany all right?"
"She's fine," Tival told me, and I sagged back against the arm of the couch with relief. "But she is unconscious. Teveriel, would you mind striking some lanterns? The light is fading and I would rather see you both than speak out into the darkness."
"What happened to her?" I asked, as Teveriel got to his feet. "You were in there all day!"
"Yes," Tival said, sounding weary. "I'm fully aware of that." The rough scraping sound of flint being struck preceded a small lantern spluttering to life. And as Teveriel lit the other lanterns, I was able to see just how much healing Trellany had taken out of the mage. Tival's hair and clothing were dishevelled, his eyes were ringed with exhaustion and his face was wan and drawn. "It has been a long day, but I think we should talk before I can finally tumble into bed."
"Yes," I said. "Of course."
When the room was lit, and Teveriel was sitting back on the couch beside me, Tival finally told me what had happened to my guard. "It was some sort of leech blade," he said. "A magically enchanted weapon that draws out energy, life-essence, as it were, from the intended victim. Just a small scrape with the blade can be damaging, a deeper cut, fatal. It took a lot of my energy to heal her and I had to draw on Dynild, and use a little of Trellany's own strength as well. She will be unconscious a good few days, perhaps even a week, but she will recover. Now I need to know what happened here. Dynild said you mentioned a shadow ..."
I nodded and slowly told him what had happened. He listened intensely, eyes narrowed with thought. When I'd finished he nodded to himself. "Well, clearly magic was used to create that shadow illusion and to try and hypnotise you, but that's not a surprise considering the leech-blade. What doesn't make any sense is how this person got in here. Did either of you leave the door open?"
"It was open when I got back from the kitchen," I said, glancing at Teveriel, who had gone pale in the fading light, his bruises showing up even more clearly on his skin.
"I didn't close it after Haran barged in, or left again," he said quietly.
"Haran barged in?" Tival's eyes narrowed and he seemed to see Teveriel's bruised face for the first time that day. "What happened to you?"
"Haran and I had a disagreement," Teveriel replied, pressing his fingertips against the bruise sprawled across his cheekbones. "My face and the state of the room was the result."
"I will pay you back for that," I began.
Tival shook his head. "Don't worry about that for now. Half the furniture was already falling apart, that's not important. What is important is that Haran should have known better. Fighting is not allowed amongst the students, he should have set a better example. What was this fight over?"
"Trellany," I said, my voice tight with emotion.
"Oh." Tival scratched his chin uncomfortably. "I see ... Well, that would explain how someone could get in here. All the rooms are protected with a warding spell and, as long as the doors are kept closed, a shield is created which will keep anyone with malicious intent in mind from opening it and entering the room. That's why there are no locks on the outside of the doors; students don't need to fear thieves. But with the door left open for a long period of time, the seal is broken and anyone could walk in, and clearly anyone did." He frowned, scratching his chin. "What worries me," he said slowly, "is the thought that they were either lying in wait for you outside, or using magic to spy on you, so that they would be ready to move at the first opportunity that the shield was broken."
"Using magic to spy on me?" I whispered. I glanced desperately at Teveriel and saw by the look on his face that the same thought had crossed his mind, as it had mine. If the Order had used magic to spy on me, then they would know for a fact that I was the Shadow Seer. They would surely step up their attacks now.
Tival didn't seem to notice how his words had affected me as he continued, "It is a possibility, or perhaps they were just lying in wait outside, although how they entered the building in the first place is a mystery. The same shield is placed on the outer doors as well and we keep those doors shut, especially in winter. Still, you don't need to worry about that, Prince Candale. I will organise a full and thorough search of the building and we will find out exactly how they got in here. And, just in case they were using magic to spy on you, I will ward your rooms before I leave, to protect against eavesdropping and scrying. It might only be a futile gesture, as these enemies of yours already know that you're here, but it will ensure that anything else that is said in these rooms remains private. I will also write a letter to inform your grandfather about all of this, taking full responsibility for my own carelessness. I should have told you to keep the doors closed and I should have shielded these rooms before you arrived."
"It wasn't your fault," I said. "You couldn't have known that this would happen, and I'm sure Grandfather will understand that. Besides, you saved Trellany's life and there have been no other incidents beyond this one and, from the sounds of it, this was just unfortunate, a run of bad luck, rather than any carelessness on your behalf. You have been a very good host to me, Tival. You have taken very good care of me. I ... I have felt at home here. I shall make sure that my grandfather is aware of how well I have been looked after."
"You don't need to do that, Prince Candale," Tival said flatly. "I took the same care of you as I do for all my students, even though you were more difficult than most."
I flinched, a faint rush of heat flooding to my face.
"But I do have to ask that you don't leave this suite alone from now on. I will have Silver accompany you to the bathhouse and down to the hall for meals, but I would prefer that you remain in the suite the rest of the time. Dynild will stay here, in one of the spare rooms, to keep an eye on Trellany and I would feel much happier knowing where you are at all times and that you're safe."
"Yes," I said. "Yes, of course. I wouldn't wish to leave here anyway, not until Trellany awakes. I should be there, at her side. I should be there now ..." I turned to direct a quick glance at my closed bedroom door.
"Dynild is in with her now," Tival said. "And I think that you should leave her to rest tonight. Tomorrow you can sit with her, and you will also need to move your things into one of the spare rooms. We don't want to move Trellany unnecessarily."
"Yes," I said. "All right, but what are we going to tell everyone? There will be questions ..."
"The truth, Prince Candale. Not of who you are, of course, but that there was an attack on your life and Trellany was injured. Lords have enemies, just like princes, no one will question it. And if I'm to keep you safe and find out what happened here, then I will need the students help. For that I will have to tell them something close to the truth. But leave all that with me." Tival rose to his feet. "I will ward the suite for you and then I must go. I'm dead on my feet. Healing Trellany took a lot out of me and I'm not as young as I was." He moved towards the door and, with a slight wave of his hand, his warding seemed to be done. He left the room, closing the door with a firm click, without any further words.
Teveriel put his arm around my shoulder, comfortingly, as soon as Tival had left the room. "You think that the Order know what you are?" he inquired quietly.
"They might. If they were spying on me then they probably overheard us talking about it and ... Oh gods, I just can't believe this, Tev. They found me." I dropped my head into my hands. "I thought I'd be safe, for the winter at least. That they would forget about me, be unable to find me, something! But I was wrong. I don't know what I'm going to do. When my grandfather hears about this he is going to assign more guards, keep me a
prisoner, just to keep me safe. I don't think I could stand that." I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes. "And ... and I don't think I could stand the idea of my guards constantly risking their lives just to save me ..."
"It's their job, Dale," Teveriel said, warmly into my ear. "It's what they chose to do, to give their life to protect you and your family." He gave me a tight squeeze. "This is their choice, not yours. You shouldn't feel guilty about it. And you shouldn't feel guilty for what happened to Trellany either. It's not your fault."
"But I do feel responsible."
"I know, but you shouldn't." He eased away. "I think we should try and get some sleep. Things will be easier to handle in the morning."
"I can't go to bed," I said. "Not in that strange room, knowing Trellany is in my room, unconscious."
"Then we will sleep out here," Teveriel said cheerfully. "Don't look so worried. Everything will work out."
"How can you be so confident?"
"Someone has to be," he said, with a shrug. "It might as well be me."
***
I lay on the floor by the cold fire, wrapped heavily in blankets, with Teveriel sleeping deeply beside me, but I didn't sleep well. I was haunted by dreams of shadow men and a dancing shadow creature with flaming blue eyes and I would wake from those dreams with my heart racing, covered in sweat, even though the room was icy cold.
After a while I gave up on sleep and got up. I lit a lantern and moved quietly towards my bedroom, trying not to wake Teveriel, as I went to see Trellany. The lantern lit up my room, as I crept in, and created shadows on Trellany's now sallow skin. She was asleep, her breathing ragged and slow. Her skin was drenched with sweat, despite the washcloth on her forehead and there were deep circles around her eyes that made them look sunken. Her lips were pale, flaccid and her dark red hair seemed a sharp contrast to her pale white skin. The scar on her cheek stood out clearly, a puckered mark that tore at my heart as I saw it. She had taken that, defending me, and now she was hurt because of me again.