by David Wells
During the terrifying journey, she had looked through Slyder’s eyes to gain as much information as possible about her abductors. The big man who rode the wyvern wore formidable-looking heavy armor and carried an array of weapons on his elaborately constructed saddle. He moved with the beating of his wyvern’s wings with practiced ease and didn’t seem too concerned that his prisoner might be dropped by his mount at any moment.
She was both heartened and afraid when she saw that the wyvern riding just behind and to the left of her had Abigail clutched tightly in its talons with her bow pressed up to her chest. She didn’t look like she was conscious during the flight and Isabel found herself worrying that her new sister was already dead. Unfortunately, Isabel had been brought in first and didn’t have a chance to see Abigail land.
Now that she was back on solid ground and her heartbeat had slowed to a normal rhythm, she started to feel how bruised and battered she was. She carefully lay down and curled up in the blanket while she thought about Alexander, hoping that he’d survived the fight.
In the brief moments before she’d been snatched up, it looked like the wyverns were trying to kill Alexander and all of the other men while they had specifically targeted the two women to be captured. She didn’t know what was coming, but she knew she would need information and all of her strength to meet it. Once she got as comfortable as she could on the little pallet, she relaxed her sore muscles while sending her mind to Slyder.
He was perched in a tree on top of the fortress island. To her surprise, the top of the island was beautiful and well cared for. It was covered with manicured gardens of all varieties. Artfully designed flower gardens, neatly laid-out vegetable gardens, and bountiful orchards covered the plateau. No part of the surface was wasted. There were no buildings except for a few gazebos here and there, and there was a railed deck around the entire outer edge. The gardens were being tended by a number of people wearing simple robes. They were repairing damage caused by the recent storm.
She had Slyder fly in a circle around the outside of the fortress island while she carefully looked at all of the openings cut into the stone. The entire plateau that jutted so abruptly from the sea was riddled with level after level of chambers. Some of the openings looked like big bays where wyverns came and went, while others looked like nothing more than windows for living quarters. There were a few balconies with comfortable chairs and small tables.
She saw a number of wyverns return after a while, looking battered and injured, hopefully from damage done by Alexander and his Rangers. Frequently she saw people within the windows, doorways, and large bays as Slyder floated around the place. Finally, she found a bank of tiny little windows that looked very much like the window to her cell.
Slyder carefully maneuvered in and made a pass by the ten windows, but he floated by too quickly for her to see inside any of them. Next, she had him land on the windowsill of each little window in turn. The first three cells were empty. She was in the fourth and Abigail was in the seventh, standing at the door and looking out into the hall. Isabel breathed a silent sigh of relief that she was alive. She had Slyder squawk gently, and Abigail whirled.
“Isabel, is that you?”
Slyder bobbed his head up and down. Abigail smiled past her bloody lip. It looked like she’d been treated more roughly than Isabel, but then she’d probably tried to get an arrow off the moment she was let loose. Isabel smiled to herself and hoped that her new sister had managed to kill at least one of the brutes who’d taken them before she was subdued.
“I’m so glad you’re alive,” Abigail said to Slyder. “Are you nearby?”
Again Isabel had Slyder bob his head up and down, then turn in her direction and peck the windowsill three times. Abigail frowned for a moment.
“You’re three cells down?” she asked.
Slyder bobbed his head again.
“Are you injured?” Abigail asked.
This time Slyder moved his head from side to side.
“I’m so sorry they took you, Isabel, but I’m also glad for your company,” Abigail said to the bird in the window. “Alexander will find us. I know he will.”
Slyder’s head bobbed up and down.
“Now that I know you’re all right, I’m going to try to get some rest,” Abigail said. “That wyvern just about squeezed the life out of me, and the men in the bay knocked me senseless when I killed one of them.” She smiled with mischief. “It was worth it though. Let me know if you learn anything.”
Slyder bobbed his head up and down and then came back to curl up on Isabel’s windowsill and watch over her while she tried to rest. It was difficult for her to fall asleep—she was too worried about Alexander. The wyvern riders knew he was on the island and they were probably hunting him in force. He was also probably distraught at losing her and Abigail.
She wanted to send him a message letting him know they were alive, but she needed to keep Slyder close. He was her only source of information and that might make all the difference. She was also worried about her abductors’ intent. So far they hadn’t said anything about their reasons for attacking the ships that approached the Reishi Isle or why they’d taken her and Abigail but they were clearly serious, whatever their reasons. Then there was the poison that was trying to kill her. The wizards thought they had a solution, but it wouldn’t do her any good unless she could get to them.
Once she finally drifted off, she slept fitfully despite her fatigue. Late in the day she woke when the bolt to her door was thrown open. A big man wearing a breastplate and armed with a short sword pulled the door open and eyed her intently as if she were the source of evil in the world.
“Stand up,” he commanded.
She got to her feet, feeling greater pain in her bruised body now that her muscles were stiff and cold.
“Put your hands out,” he said, holding a pair of shackles out in front of him.
Isabel pursed her lips and decided that now was not the time. She needed to know more before she made her move, and obedience might cause them to lower their guard in the future. She put her hands out and the big guard roughly slapped the shackles on her wrists and locked them in place. They were heavy and cold. This was the second time in the past month that she’d been locked in irons; she decided she didn’t like it at all.
“Come with me. If you give me any trouble, I’ll knock you out and drag you. Is that clear?”
Isabel nodded mutely. She felt indignation starting to build but she shoved it aside and focused her mind. They didn’t blindfold her this time; she was grateful for that. When she exited her cell, she saw another big man in armor waiting in the hallway. He stood a fair distance from her like she might be able to stop his heart with a touch. It suddenly occurred to her that these men were afraid of her. She almost laughed.
She paid careful attention to the path they took as the big man led her by the shackles through the interior of the fortress. She counted turns and staircases but eventually realized that the place was so enormous that she would probably need a map to find her way around. He took her on a path that led higher through the stone labyrinth and finally to a large double door.
The second man pushed the doors open to a giant chamber, easily a hundred feet on a side and forty feet to the ceiling. Two rows of black stone pillars were spaced evenly a third of the way in from each side and supported giant stone beams that ran the length of the ceiling from front to back. Large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but the majority of the light came from the high arched windows on the far wall stretching from floor to ceiling and made from exquisitely crafted leaded crystal. Each of the five huge windows was nearly twenty feet wide. They stood side by side with sturdy-looking stone pillars between them. The glass was clear in all save for the center window which was stained in a beautiful depiction of a wyvern in flight.
Just in front of the windows, a raised bench that could seat thirty or more people ran the width of the hall. Directly in the center of the finely crafted, well
-polished wooden bench was the glyph of the House of Reishi emblazoned in gold. The rest of the room was filled with row after row of benches, stopping at the last pillar where a small railing divided the room. On the other side of the railing were two tables with four chairs facing the raised bench. A single chair was set in the center of the open floor between the tables.
Sitting behind the raised bench were three women. Each looked middle-aged and each was beautiful in her own unique way. All had the unmistakable air of power and authority. But more than that, they each had a mysterious quality about them that seemed to charge the air in the room with energy. All three had blond hair, each of a little different shade, but the thing that struck Isabel the most was their eyes—they were filled with wisdom, purpose, and intelligence that belied their apparent age.
The men led her into the room and sat her down in the chair facing the three women, then moved a few paces behind her to stand guard. Aside from Isabel, her jailers, and the three women sitting in judgment, the room was empty.
She sat with her chin held high and schooled her expression. She reminded herself that she was the Queen of Ruatha, and as such represented much more than her own personal interests. She was an advocate for her King and for her people.
She didn’t shrink from their scrutiny. Instead she returned it, sitting straight-backed and proud, facing the three women arrayed before her. In each she saw formidable strength and unshakable resolve. These three women believed in their purpose, whatever it was, and they would likely die in service to it. Isabel smiled inwardly—she’d found something they all had in common.
She didn’t speak or protest but waited for them to make the first move while she took a measure of their character and mettle. It was a little like a staring contest between children for a minute or so before the one seated in the middle smiled ever so slightly.
“We have many questions for you,” she said.
Her voice was strong yet beautiful and had the unmistakable quality of one who expected her commands to be obeyed without question. Isabel focused her piercing green eyes on the woman and waited, without so much as acknowledging her statement with a nod.
“I am called Magda. This is Cassandra,” she motioned to her right, “and this is Gabriella,” she said, motioning to her left. “You will address each of us as Mistress.”
Still Isabel didn’t acknowledge them with anything other then her inquisitive gaze.
“What is your name?” Magda asked pleasantly enough.
“I am Isabel Ruatha, Queen of the Island of Ruatha. You will address me as Your Majesty.”
Isabel was angry and she was in a mood to be bold. She thought it might get her beaten, but it might also force them to reveal something of value. She didn’t flinch or blink when she spoke her name, and her voice was strong and clear.
Magda arched her eyebrow and looked to her left and right with a bit of a smile.
“She’s not the one we need to speak with,” Gabriella said. “I say we dispose of her and call for the other.”
“I have questions,” Cassandra said.
“As do I,” Magda said. Gabriella nodded her acquiescence, and Magda continued. “The line of Ruatha is no more. It ended two thousand years ago, so how is it that you claim that name?”
Isabel thought furiously. She didn’t know who these people were or what their agenda was, so she didn’t know how safe it was to reveal the truth to them, but then she didn’t like the idea of being “disposed of” either, so she decided to give them some measure of the truth as she knew it.
“The House of Ruatha was destroyed, yes, but the line was preserved by Mage Cedric. For two millennia it has been hidden and protected. Now it has risen again to claim the throne and protect our people against the threat of Phane Reishi. My husband is Alexander Ruatha.”
“Mage Cedric, you say, yet it was Mage Cedric who ended the Ruathan line and razed the capital city,” Gabriella said. “Why would he preserve a line which he destroyed?”
“Because he knew that Phane would wake one day to threaten the Seven Isles, and he felt responsible for that. He preserved the line in order to provide our people with a champion capable of standing against Phane’s ambitions,” Isabel said, then shifted her focus to Magda. “Why have you abducted my sister and me?”
Again the three shared a look. “Sister? You are not of the same blood as the other,” Magda said.
Isabel had no idea how they could know that. But more importantly, she didn’t understand why it seemed so important to them.
“She is my husband’s sister by blood and my sister by marriage,” Isabel said.
At that the three women whispered back and forth for a few seconds before Magda resumed the questioning. “Why did you and your companions trespass on the Reishi Isle?”
They had finally come to the crux of the matter. Isabel knew she couldn’t betray Alexander’s purpose because doing so would betray his destination and put his life in jeopardy. She decided to stall.
“I’ve answered all of the questions that I intend to answer unless and until you answer mine. Why have we been abducted? Who are you? Do you serve Phane?”
Magda considered her for several moments before speaking again. “I will answer one of your questions. We do not serve Prince Phane Reishi,” Magda said before she leaned forward slightly and fixed Isabel with her penetrating gaze. “Do you?”
Isabel was taken aback. She started to protest angrily but stopped herself short and gave Magda a hard look. “Phane Reishi is my mortal enemy,” she said coolly.
Magda held her eyes for several more moments as if she was trying to discern her truthfulness. Finally she nodded slowly.
“I say we adjourn and verify her answers. Perhaps the other one will be more forthcoming,” Cassandra said.
Magda thought about it for a moment before nodding her agreement and looking to Gabriella, who nodded as well.
“If what you say is true, then your life may be spared,” Magda said calmly. “But,” she held up her finger for emphasis, “if I discover that you are truly in league with Phane Reishi, you will answer all of my questions under torture and then you will die.”
Isabel smiled defiantly. “I’m already dead, Magda. In four weeks’ time, an assassin’s poison will end my life. If I die here in your care, my husband will come for you, and when he does, you will all die.” Isabel spoke in a matter-of-fact tone without anger or bluster as if she was telling them that rain was wet.
Magda was impassive. Cassandra frowned slightly, but Gabriella was indignant at the threat.
“How do you suppose your husband, one man, has the power to destroy the Reishi Coven?” She spat out the question, but her expression changed even as she clipped off the last word.
Isabel’s smile widened. She had gotten one of her questions answered and even though she didn’t understand the answer, she knew it was important from the way Magda and Cassandra were looking at Gabriella.
Her mind worked furiously. She had never heard of the Reishi Coven, but then she had never been away from the Great Forest before she met Alexander, let alone off the Isle of Ruatha. Both words carried great meaning. Witches organized in covens, so the three women peering down at her from the long wooden bench were probably very powerful witches.
The fact that they called themselves Reishi made no sense. The Reishi were dead, except for Phane, and they didn’t seem to be on his side. If they were Reishi, how had they remained hidden from the world for all this time? How had Mage Cedric failed to discover them? And most importantly, what was their purpose? She needed to think.
Magda turned to the guards. “Return her to her cell and bring us the other one.”
Isabel stood and faced them with her chin held high and her posture one of defiance. Without a word and before the guard could seize her shackles, she turned and started toward the door. They returned her to her cell along the same route. She made a point of scuffing the floor at each turn by dragging her toe; the guards didn’t
seem to notice. They removed the shackles once she was back in her cell. After locking the door, they moved off down the hall, and she heard another door being opened. They were taking Abigail to be questioned.
A minute or so later, Abigail was led past Isabel’s door. Their eyes locked and they shared strength and resolve in that brief moment.
“Don’t answer their questions,” Isabel said.
Abigail smiled over her shoulder. “Not a chance.”
Isabel waited for a long time, listening for movement in the hallway. When it finally came, it was a different guard and he had Abigail over his shoulder. She was unconscious.
Isabel called out to the guard, “What have you done to her?” But he didn’t answer. He took Abigail to her cell, locked her in, and left without even acknowledging Isabel.
Chapter 45
Alexander stood with the Thinblade in hand. He had carefully positioned his men in the area where the nether wolves had gone to ground. Jack and Anatoly each had a vial of night-wisp dust and Alexander put them both exactly where he wanted them to stand with the light held high. The sun had set and the gloom of the forest settled into darkness. Alexander scanned the ground and saw the blackness of the nether wolves’ colors, but they didn’t rise and take physical form. His plan was working.
He told Anatoly to move the light a few feet away from him so it was no longer falling on the place where one of the nether wolves had hidden in the ground. For a long moment he waited, poised to strike before the inky black smoke rose up out of the thick brush covering the forest floor and coalesced into a beast of bone and fang.
The moment it became solid, it tried to lash out at Alexander with its enormous, fang-lined jaws, but Alexander was ready. He brought the Thinblade down across the back of the beast’s neck and cleanly cleaved its head from its body. It toppled to the forest floor and the hateful yellow glow faded from its eyes.