Ill Met by Moonlight

by Mercedes Lackey

  They went on down the aisle, asking … and now no one had seen the man carrying Elizabeth or Elizabeth being towed along between two men.

  “Did the Sidhe meet them and spell them invisible?” Harry asked in a shaking voice.

  “That isn’t possible,” Denoriel replied. “Remember, NO SPELLS.” His hands were still shaking, but his eyes were intent. “Wait. They must have turned off. That thing that looked like a walking stick waved to the side when I asked about the Orbis Gate. ‘Not in the aisle’ he said.”

  They turned to retrace their steps, still pausing to ask anyone they saw and entering shops to ask the shopkeepers about Elizabeth and the Orbis Gate. At first they got no useful answers at all. None of the shopkeepers had seen a struggling red-haired child and none knew of the Orbis Gate. Denoriel stopped Harry, who was about to cross the road, and shook his head.

  “We are only wasting time, Harry. Let me go to seek Oberon.”

  “Not yet.” Harry clutched Denoriel’s arm. “See, there are only five shops before we come to the place where that feathered being saw Elizabeth. If we can get no answers when we reach that place … I will give up.”

  Denoriel did not believe the young man for a moment. He was sure Harry would find some new excuse to keep him when they came to the last shop, but he said nothing. He put his arm around Harry’s shoulder and they went into another shop. But this time when they asked for the Orbis Gate, the shopkeeper looked disgusted.

  “It’s right down the alleyway,” he said. “But there’s no sense in your going there. You’ll never find it because it’s closed. Been closed as long as I can remember. Most beings hereabout don’t even know it exists anymore.”

  Elizabeth was running so fast that she had no hope of stopping. She was sure the lane had been clear just a moment before, so the wall was surely the doing of the men behind her. All she could do was throw up her arms. Between one stride and the next she felt a strong pulse of magic. “No Spells?” But the men were still behind her. Gate! It must be a Gate.

  Escape. All the Gates she had been through took her to places of open land where there was no place to hide. Her captors—she had felt a pressure on her shoulder, but if it was one of her abductors, his hand had slipped off her shield—would catch her within steps. No. There was a place to hide. The mists of the Unformed land would hide her. Elizabeth plunged into the black wall, her mind fixed on the swirling mists.

  Blackness. Falling. But she wasn’t falling, she was running.

  “Catch her. Quick.”

  “How?”

  “She’ll get lost in the mist!”

  “Where the hell are we?

  “Not where we’re supposed to be. That’s sure.”

  Elizabeth had stopped as soon as she could no longer see the men. She was not far away from them, she knew, because she could hear their voices clearly, but the mists were hiding her completely. They seemed to be even thicker and more restless than when she and Denno and Da had been there earlier with Elidir and Mechain.

  Free and in a place she knew, Elizabeth’s fear diminished, but she was beginning to feel a little weak and dizzy. Because she had been so afraid, she wondered? And then she remembered the warnings Tangwystl had given her about using the shields for too long. The power had to come from her and it was draining her. She would have to dismiss the shield.

  “Do you think the amulet didn’t work right?”

  The voice was closer. Elizabeth jumped.

  “It opened the Gate, like the damned Sidhe said it would. It must be working. And it’s glowing, see? Maybe this was only a stop on the way and if we get back in the Gate it will take us where we’re supposed to go.”

  “Then we’ve got to find the girl. Do you want to tell that Sidhe we lost her?”

  Elizabeth stepped away cautiously, deeper into the mist. She could feel the Gate behind her and she knew she had to get back to the Fair to find her friends. They would all be frantic, thinking her stolen away. But she didn’t dare try to get past her abductors and get up on the Gate while the men were so close and could grab her. She would have to lead them deeper into the mist.

  If it were only a little thinner they could get a glimpse of her.

  “There she is!” one bellowed and plunged toward her.

  Elizabeth ran away as fast as she could, thinking, Hide me. Hide me. And the mists closed in again. She stopped running and drew a deep breath. That had been very convenient, almost as if the mist obeyed her. Well, it had obeyed Mechain and Elidir. And it had let her make a kitten … The man’s voice broke her thought.

  “Gone again—oh God, where’s the Gate?”

  “It’s okay. I’m still near it. Just come to my voice.”

  Elizabeth bit her lip. That had not worked out well. Now the men knew they could be lost in the mist and one of them would stay near the Gate even if she could draw the other away. She could wait, but not forever. Da and Denno must be half out of their wits. And poor Elidir and Mechain would feel so guilty. They would blame themselves for her being taken when they had only meant well by her, wanting to clear her mind so she would learn the spells right.

  Spells. What a fool she had been. She could have used tanglefoot … no, she could not. Spells were forbidden in the markets although shields weren’t, it seemed. And anyway, while the men held her, having them fall down wouldn’t have helped much.

  Only they weren’t holding her now. And she wasn’t in the market. Could she use gwthio or cilgwthio to push them away from the Gate?

  Elizabeth bit her lip again. She didn’t know how strong a push she could give, and tanglefoot wouldn’t work very well unless they were running. If she thinned the mist so they would run after her … No, that was too dangerous. She needed them to run away from her. If only she could change herself to look like a monster …

  Ah! Perhaps she could make a monster. Elizabeth drew in a deep breath. She was very angry and frightened and there was a hot feeling inside her. She had made a kitten. Why not a … a lion. She knew what a lion looked like; there was one in the Royal Menagerie in the Tower. Yes. If the mist would be so good? She looked around at it, thinking how kind a mist it was and how beautiful. Would it be kind to her, and protect her from these horrible men? It had already hidden her from them. Would it let her make a lion out of it?

  The mist swirled around in shining coils. Elizabeth’s eyes were as bright as the sun as she built an image of a fierce and terrible lion in her mind.

  “It’s thicker ‘n ever out there. What’re we goin’ to do?”

  “Don’t worry. She’s only a mite of a brat. She’ll get scared about being lost pretty soon and start bawling for help. Hey, feels like there’s grass here. We can sit down.”

  Lion, Elizabeth thought, feeling even hotter. She didn’t like being called a brat who would bawl for help. Then shame built even more heat in her. She had been bawling for help from Denno and Da—but that was different, like calling one’s guardsmen. She was supposed to get help from Denno and Da.

  But she was still angry and thought more intensely—lion.

  Somewhere there was a faint roar. Elizabeth’s eyes shone still brighter.

  Thank you, mist.

  Lion.

  The roar came closer. Hastily Elizabeth said the spells for gwthio and cilgwthio and then cast the shield spell. She felt a little weak-kneed again, but wasn’t sure whether it was the draining of her power or just that she was frightened.

  She shrieked and spun around when the next roar sounded almost in her ears. And the mist parted. And it was there! Huge, with the thick mane she had imagined, round yellow eyes and teeth …

  At the same moment, both men yelled, “There she is!” and started forward. Elizabeth leapt sideways, away from the lion and the lion himself leapt forward, ignoring her, his terrible eyes fixed on the men.

  Both men screamed. Both turned to run.

  The lion was on them in a moment, enormous paws swatting at them. One man went down shrieking. Elizabeth did not
wait to see what happened after that.

  She ran blindly toward the feeling of “no mist” that meant Gate to her. The second man was also running toward the Gate.

  “Minnau ymbil gwthio,” Elizabeth screamed.

  Pushed violently, the man fell backward, screeching. The lion sprang from its first victim toward its second. Elizabeth thought, Goblin Fair, but the picture that formed in her mind was Denno and Da. The place where the Gate had been began to darken, but there was no wall of black, no sense of falling. And the lion looked up from what it was crouching on. Elizabeth could see its haunches tighten and rise.

  Maybe the mist was kind to her, but the lion was no longer part of it.

  “Denno!” she cried. “Da!”

  Harry and Denoriel were making their way slowly along the alley. There was no sign of a Gate. They reached the alley’s end and Denoriel shook his head, his mouth in a hard, thin line.

  “I’ll go to Oberon now. That shopkeeper said the Gate was closed and lost. I couldn’t feel a thing.”

  “Denno,” Harry cried, “they went into the alley. They didn’t come out. The Gate must have worked for them.”

  “Pasgen has a way with Gates. He may have done a one-time activation—”

  “If he did it, you can too,” Harry insisted.

  Denoriel shook his head, frantic now. “It would take me too long, not even knowing where the Gate is. Get Elidir and Mechain. Maybe they can find it. I can’t wait any longer, Harry. I don’t know what’s happening to her.” He bent forward and kissed Harry on the forehead. “You’ll be all right. You have Mwynwen and your work. I … I can’t bear it. I had rather be ended …”

  “Denno, wait!” Harry grasped his friend’s arm. “At least let us search backward as far as the aisle.” He put his arms around the Sidhe’s neck as he used to do when he was a little boy. “Please, Denno. I love Mwynwen but … Don’t leave me all alone.”

  Denoriel drew a shaking, agonized breath. He could not. Not even for Harry could he leave Elizabeth in the hands of the Unseleighe. They would try to break her by torture. But not immediately. Not in the next few hours. He had time enough to walk back to the aisle they had come from. Elizabeth, he thought, Elizabeth, imaging her look and even more the bright, indomitable spirit, feeling for her more than for a Gate.

  A black tunnel opened showing silvery mists at the other end, an untidy heap on the ground streaked with bright red … and Elizabeth popped out shrieking, “Close the Gate! Close the Gate! There’s a lion …”

  Harry caught Elizabeth in his arms and dragged her back. Denoriel felt for the power of the Gate. A lion’s head came halfway through. Elizabeth shouted, “Minnau ymbil gwthio.” The lion’s head disappeared and showed tiny, infinitely far away, above the heap that had once been a man.

  “Lileu dyddymu!”

  Elidir’s voice came from beyond the black tunnel and Mechain added, “Difelio! Dyna ben!”

  The Gate collapsed and disappeared.

  Denoriel braced himself on the wall feeling about to collapse himself. “Thank you,” he whispered, voice shaking. “I hadn’t the vaguest idea of how to close it.”

  Mechain laughed shakily. “Oh, we’re experts on closing things and shutting things down.” Then she smiled like a sun rising. “I see you got her back. Are you all right, Elizabeth?”

  “She got herself back,” Denoriel said, blinking back tears. “I couldn’t even find the Orbis Gate. We’d walked all the way up the alley, and there wasn’t a hint of power.” He took Elizabeth from Harry’s arms and hugged her, tears running down his face. “Sweetling, are you all right? Were you hurt in any way?”

  “Not by those stupid men, but the lion almost caught me,” Elizabeth told him in a voice that trembled with the aftermath of fear and exhaustion.

  “What lion? Where did they take you?” Harry asked, staring at her in consternation.

  Elizabeth blinked and sagged a little in Denoriel’s embrace. “Can we go sit down somewhere?” she asked. “I feel as if I had run from Hampton Court to London.”

  Denoriel immediately swept her up into his arms. They all hurried out of the alley and down the aisle. In the open area was an eating place. Mechain went to look inside and came out to gesture them in. Elizabeth lifted her head from Denoriel’s shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. The single large room was very much like any inn in the World Above, even to the smell of spilled ale and wine and the tired bar woman going about and wiping the tables with a none-too-clean rag.

  At least the place was reasonably light. Glowing mage lights hung in cages from the ceiling. That was not all a benefit, Elizabeth thought. The clear light showed a most unusual clientele. As Denoriel wound around occupied tables Elizabeth counted four lizards, all with different-colored scales, one with a Sidhe face and another with long, curling hair. A badger (man-sized), a man with a fox head, and a girl with the boneless arms of a snake and scaled skin sat together talking pleasantly. Elizabeth only pressed closer to Denoriel when she saw a table full of humans. Here Underhill the strangest creatures were not at all terrifying; it was humans who were dangerous.

  A deep growling voice drew her attention, and she winced when she saw the maned head of a lion lifted toward her. Her grip on Denoriel’s neck tightened, and then she saw that the lion’s mane was braided with jewels and it had human hands instead of clawed paws. It called out, “Do you want to be free of that Sidhe, pretty child?”

  “No,” Elizabeth replied, but smiling. “He is my Denno. He cares for me.”

  The lion may have said something more, but they were past him and Harry was standing by a table near the wall. Denoriel set Elizabeth down on the most sheltered bench. Harry knelt down by her side and kissed her hands. Elidir and Mechain also came and kissed her. Denoriel stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder as if he wished to be able to grab her if someone threatened to pull her away.

  In a few moments plates were on the table. A basket of warm bread, a bowl of mixed roasted vegetables, and a huge platter of steaming meat stood ready to slake appetite.

  “My,” Elizabeth said, somewhat indistinctly because of a large mouthful of food, “I wouldn’t have believed I would be so hungry after eating that great big drumstick, but I’m starving.”

  “Been doing a lot of magic, love?” Mechain asked with a smile. “That would account for it.”

  “Can you tell us what happened, dearling?” Denoriel asked as he sat down beside her, then hastened to add, “Not if speaking of it makes you frightened or uncomfortable.”

  “No, why should it?” Elizabeth said, smiling brilliantly. “I know one is not supposed to boast of one’s own deeds or cleverness, but … by the Grace of God, I was both brave and clever.”

  “And you saved yourself while we were running about like ninnies,” Harry said with a broad grin. “Boast all you like, Bessie, you deserve it.”

  “So where did they take you?” Denoriel urged, thinking he would visit that domain and make it clear that the pursuit of little girls by lions was not an acceptable amusement in his opinion.

  But Elizabeth dumbfounded him by saying, “I don’t think they took me. I think I took them. I wanted to go to the Unformed land, and that’s where the Gate took us. And one of the men asked the other where they hell they were, so I must guess they didn’t know.”

  Mechain muttered that Gates did not respond to mortals, and Elidir shrugged and said Elizabeth was Talented and had a deep reserve of power. Perhaps it was that to which the Gate responded.

  Elizabeth paid no attention to them, going on to tell the whole story, beginning with the two men pulling her out of the small riot of fauns, nymphs, and goblins, remembering her shield, and being pushed into the Gate ahead of them, thinking of the roiling mists of the Unformed land and ending with her decision to create something that could frighten them away from the Gate.

  “But I forgot … well, I didn’t forget; I didn’t know how to arrange that the lion shouldn’t attack me. And it did come after me
because I didn’t know how to open the Gate, but Denno and Da must have done it from the other side.” She turned to look at Elidir and Mechain. “And the mist was just wonderful. It was so friendly and helpful. When I needed to be hidden, it got thick as thick, and when I wanted it to show me, I just thought it would be nice if it got a little thinner.”

  “The mist … you felt the mist to be friendly and … er … helpful?” Elidir had lifted a bite of meat on his knife but he just let it sit there.

  “Yes. When I was first running away I needed to hide so badly, and the mist got thicker and coiled around and it glistened. I thought how beautiful it was and how kind, and I thanked it. And then later when I realized I would have to draw the men away from the Gate to use it myself and the best way to do that was for them to catch a glimpse of me … the mist got thinner.”

  “And you thanked it again?” Mechain said.

  “Yes, and I asked it if I could make the lion … and it let me. At least, I soon heard a lion roar and the mist got thinner and the lion popped out.”

  Harry laid his head on her lap and sighed, “Bessie. Bessie. That was very dangerous.”

  “Don’t ever do that again, Elizabeth,” Denno said.

  “I had to do something!” Elizabeth snapped. “I didn’t think it would be a good idea to let those men take me where they intended to take me.”

  Denoriel took a deep, sighing breath, leaned over and kissed her hair. “You are perfectly right, dearling. And you did right, and I was wrong. You did what you had to do, and you did it well. We must simply teach you more than we had thought we must.”

  Elizabeth turned her head to look at him. “You’re going to take me back to Llachar Lle, aren’t you?”

  “You must be exhausted, Bess,” Harry said, finally standing up.

  “Oh, no,” Elizabeth replied, feeling specially cheerful in the wake of hearing Denno actually agreeing that she had been in the right to use magic the way she had. “It is true that I felt dizzy when I got out of the Gate, but now that I’ve eaten I feel fine.”