EXILE'S RETURN

by Kate Jacoby

  Jenn quickly moved to the end of the bed and threw Robert a warning glance. Tell him you fell from your horse. Nothing more.

  “My horse stumbled, Doctor. I must have fallen and hit my head.”

  “I see,” Wishart murmured, probing his shoulder. He straightened up and turned to Jenn. “The herbs you are giving him will do for the moment, and I suggest a poultice for the shoulder, my lady. Other than that, he just needs to stay in bed. I’ll call back in three days, but do let me know if there are any further problems.”

  Jenn nodded and showed him to the door. When she came back, Robert was watching her with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. She had to smile.

  “You’re enjoying this.”

  “How ungenerous!” she laughed and sat beside him. “After everything I’ve done for you.”

  “Look, I can’t stay in bed for two weeks. I feel fine.”

  “I know. Actually, I’m afraid the old doctor was being a little over-cautious. Your injuries aren’t that bad at all. You’ve not broken anything, although riding is going to be painful for a while. Nevertheless, you do need some rest, at least for a couple of days. How do you know Doctor Wishart?”

  Robert flexed his wrist and his expression immediately became shuttered. “He tended my wife once.”

  “Oh.” So that was how Bella had known. By the gods—it couldn’t be true!

  Abruptly she got up and brought back his supper tray. She sat it on the bed in front of him. As he began eating, she continued watching him. He was still very pale and the normal lustre in his eyes was gone. That just made it worse. But he didn’t seem to feel anything. He behaved normally, as though nothing was wrong. Had he forgotten about his uncle, or did Robert really have that much control? If so, why could she see the pain—there, inside him, like a disease?

  Jenn sighed. “Perhaps we’d better concentrate on what happened to you yesterday. Do you remember the forest at all? Do you know why you were there?”

  “I don’t remember any forest,” Robert frowned, “nor a river.”

  “Well, do you know what this is?” She reached under the bed and brought forth the item wrapped in scarlet cloth. “I found this inside your doublet. I couldn’t recognize it so I hid it along with your ayarn. I didn’t want to take any more chances.”

  She unwrapped the silver object and held it up for Robert to see. He frowned again and the wound on his forehead grew dark red. He closed his eyes for a second, then hissed in a breath.

  “Finnlay!” He struggled to sit up but she held him back.

  “What about him? Was he with you?”

  “Yes. We were up on the mountain, investigating the caves. I fell, must have gone down the cliff. He must be looking for me even now. By the gods, he’ll be frantic. I’ve got to . ..”

  “No. I’ll send some people out to look for him. If he saw you fall, he’d be combing the river. Just wait here.” Before she could move however, the door burst open and Fiona stood there, her face white with shock.

  “Jenn, I’ve been looking for you! I’ve just heard the most disturbing news.”

  “What? What’s happened?”

  Fiona darted a glance at Robert, then closed the door quickly, waving her hand to set the warning. “It’s Finnlay. He’s been arrested on charges of sorcery.”

  Now Robert did get out of bed, and Jenn did nothing to stop him. Instead she pressed Fiona for more details. “How did it happen?”

  “He was in the forest. Two woodsmen saw some bright light coming from his hand. Going from the description, it sounds like Finnlay. Was he with you, Robert?”

  “Aye, he was. Jenn, I need the rest of my clothes. I have to get Finn out of there.”

  Her heart racing, Jenn nodded slowly. “Yes, of course.”

  “But you can’t go anywhere like this,” Fiona cried. “You’re not fit even to ride!”

  Robert ignored her protest and reached for the doublet Jenn handed him. “Where are they keeping Finnlay?”

  Fiona hesitated, looking from Robert to Jenn and back.

  “Tell him,” Jenn murmured, “you can’t stop him and you know it.” With that, she turned and pulled open a chest sitting by the opposite wall. Quickly she rummaged through the old clothes, coming up with something in dark colours.

  “Finnlay’s in a village called Kilphedir, in the heart of the forest. You’ll never find it on your own.”

  “Robert’s not going alone,” Jenn added. “I’m going with him. Fiona, you’ll have to help us. I can get horses saddled and waiting outside the garden wall, but I need you to do a mask. The guard will see us leaving otherwise. Robert can’t manage one and I’ve yet to learn.”

  “You have no idea what you’re doing!” Fiona insisted. “You’ve never done anything like this before. What if you’re missed. What will your father say?”

  “We don’t have time for this,” Robert said, pulling on his boots.

  No, they didn’t. Jenn tossed the old clothes over her shoulder and turned to face Fiona. “It will be much worse if you’re missed. You’re the stranger here—they will assume you had something to do with it. If you stay here, you can provide an excuse for me. I’ve gone to bed with a headache. I stayed up too many hours looking after this renegade. My father will believe you. Trust me. Please, Fiona, Finnlay’s in danger. We must help.”

  Slowly the resistance died in Fiona’s eyes. “Very well,” she said.

  The night was clear and a thousand stars glittered above like diamonds in the sky. A cool breathless breeze floated across the lake and up to the ridge where Robert paused long enough to make sure they weren’t being followed. But the valley was empty and he turned his horse for the downward slope. Jenn rode behind him, dressed like a stable boy, her hair bound up beneath a cloth cap. On the surface she looked tiny, young and vulnerable, but the way her eyes shimmered determination, he wasn’t fooled.

  Robert gave the horse its head as it clambered down the rocky incline. The pain in his hip was bad and likely to get worse. How could he help Finnlay like this? If only he hadn’t slipped and fallen down that damned cliff. If only he hadn’t gone on that stupid venture in the first place. If only Oliver hadn’t been such a fool!

  Yes, he remembered now. Everything, right down to the last agonizing, blistering detail. But he couldn’t worry about it now. Now he had to concentrate on rescuing Finnlay and find a way out of this awful mess.

  “Are you all right?” Jenn asked, bringing her horse alongside his.

  “Why do you keep asking me that?” Robert snapped.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “And don’t apologize!” Robert kicked his horse and cantered off. He assumed she followed. For more than an hour they rode in silence, keeping mainly to the trees where they lined the contours of the gentle hills. After that however, Robert had to call a halt, to walk the horses for a bit. He tried shifting in his saddle to ease the pain, but stopped when he realized Jenn was watching him. She said nothing, only rode behind him, the spare horse beside her.

  He gave up trying to stop the pain, instead focusing his mind on the real problem at hand. “How well do you know Kilphedir?”

  “I don’t,” Jenn replied quietly, as though she’d rather not talk at all. “I haven’t been allowed to stray far from Elita—at least, not until we went to Marsay.”

  “Then why did you insist on coming along?” Robert demanded without pausing. “Do you even know where it is?”

  There was no reply at first. Then Jenn drew her horse alongside his, reached out and caught his bridle. She brought both of them to a halt and fixed him with a steady gaze. She paused as though trying to find the right words, but he had no time for this. “We have to keep moving.”

  “Robert,” Jenn began without anger, “If you don’t stop fighting me, I’m going to hit you.”

  “You? Hit me?” It was absurd, and without meaning to, Robert burst out laughing. Jenn watched him gravely, saying nothing. “You don’t need to. Come, let’s move on. You can tell me
about your trip to Marsay.”

  They continued on, but Jenn was unusually silent. Was she still angry with him? “Well? Did you enjoy yourself in our lovely capital?”

  “Not really,” Jenn murmured. “There’s nothing much to tell. I met a lot of people who stared at me like I was some monster. Some people were very kind, others not. I met the Queen.”

  Robert shot a glance at her, half-afraid to ask. “And the King?”

  “Yes. But he was more interested in what you were doing—and in finding me a suitable husband.”

  Of course he would. There’s no way Selar would ignore a potential threat like Jenn. Not when his own son was still a small child. “Did you meet anyone else I know?”

  At this she turned a flinty gaze on him, clearly visible in the starlight. “I met your dear friend Vaughn. He was most insistent that I tell him your future plans.”

  Robert frowned. There was something very brittle in her voice, something she wasn’t telling him. “What did you say?”

  I told him you were determined to stay at Dunlorn. Liar!

  With a chuckle, Robert shook his head. “Well, it’s nice to know some things haven’t changed. Is that all? Nothing else?”

  “No. Nothing. Listen, have you any idea what we’re going to do when we get to Kilphedir? We can’t exactly just walk in and take Finnlay home, can we?”

  “No. However, I can’t make any real plans until I see the place, find out where they’re holding him. What bothers me more is whether Finnlay is trying to escape. Without a horse he won’t get very far. They’ll just pick him up again and assume his guilt—if they haven’t already. Damn, I should have been watching where I was putting my feet. If I hadn’t fallen, none of this would have happened!”

  Robert paused long enough to shoot a grin at Jenn, “But no, you’re right, I don’t have time for self-recrimination. We need to keep to the point. What else can you tell me about this village?”

  Jenn gazed heavenwards in silent appeal. Eventually she replied, “About five hundred inhabitants. Surrounded on all sides by the forest. The road goes through east to west. Actually, you might have seen it from the cliffs.”

  “I think I did,” Robert said. But what was Finnlay doing now? Would he try to escape? “Jenn, tell me, do you think you could try talking to Finn? Warn him to stay where he is?”

  “I don’t know. It’s worth a go.” Jenn stopped her horse and in the dim light he could just make out the pale oval of her face with her eyes nothing more than dark shadows. She frowned. “What should I say? The shorter the message, the better chance I have of getting through to him.”

  “How about: ”idiot“?”

  She smiled. All right, idiot.

  “Not me,” he growled in mock anger, “Finnlay!”

  Sorry, sometimes I get you confused.

  She was silent for a moment, then, on the very edges of his awareness, he heard a whisper. He couldn’t make out the words, but he knew it was her voice. As it melted away she glanced up. “I don’t know if it worked. I just told him to wait because we were on our way. However, unless you’ve told him about my little trick, he’ll probably just think he’s going mad.”

  Robert nodded and turned his horse back to the path. “He won’t be the first one.”

  “Do you think they know who he is?” Jenn asked out of the darkness.

  “He won’t tell them.”

  “But if they find out anyway? What will happen then?”

  Robert had already thought about this, was trying hard not to, in fact. “His name will be anathema. He will be hunted from one end of the country to the other. If he’s ever caught, he’ll be executed immediately. On top of that, there’ll be stories about sorcerers everywhere. Suspicion will be rampant. It’s what we’ve always tried to avoid.”

  “And what about you? Will they assume you’re guilty too?”

  “Probably. I’ll worry about that when I get to it. Now all we have to do is rescue my brother without getting caught ourselves.”

  Woods became hills, which in turn became woods again. After two hours they finally reached the edge of the forest and paused on the bank of the river.

  “This is where I found you—further up, though.”

  The water was black, deep and very fast. “Is there a better place to cross?”

  “Not without going upstream for an hour or so. We can’t afford the time, can we? The moon will be up soon.”

  Without a word, Robert turned his horse down the bank. It stumbled and splashed into the water. His knees were drenched and the cold bit at his wounds. The current was violent, but it only increased his urgency. There was so little of the night left to get Finn out and away before they could be found, before Jenn could get home safely.

  The horse clambered up the opposite bank and Robert turned to watch Jenn. She led the spare horse, but with both animals being pushed together by the current, they stumbled, threatening to throw her into the water. The horses reared and screamed in panic.

  “Let the other horse go!” Robert cried, already heading back into the river. Without pausing, he reached inside for the power to steady the animals, to stop her from being dragged downriver. He tried—but there was nothing. No powers! That blow to his head ...

  “Jenn, hold on!” he bellowed, crashing into the water. Turn your horse into the current. Be careful.

  She let go the reins of the spare horse and turned into the force. Immediately her horse righted itself and gradually she made her way towards Robert. The moment she was up on the bank, he splashed forward and caught the other animal. His wrist screamed agony as he pulled the leather, but he didn’t stop. Seconds later they made it to the bank, the animals panting with the exertion. They were wet, but fortunately the night wasn’t too cold.

  Jenn was squeezing out the water from the edges of her cloak. She glanced up at him with a bemused smile. “You know, Robert, life is never dull when you’re around.”

  “Really?” Robert laughed. “I suppose that’s why you missed me so much. Come on, let’s get moving.”

  Chapter 17

  They picked up the pace again, cantering to get warm. By the time they grew close, Robert was in considerable pain. The forest drew close around them as they stopped in a scrubby clearing where dots of starlight appeared through the branches above. Robert swung his leg over the back of the horse and tried to ease himself down to the ground. As his bad leg hit the forest floor, however, it buckled beneath him and he fell hard. Jenn jumped down and rushed to his side.

  “Robert, you’re a damned fool—and I’m a bigger fool for letting you do this. Come on.” She put her arm under his shoulders and dragged him to the base of the nearest tree, resting his back against the trunk. She darted to her horse and returned with a small pouch.

  “Why is it people like you always think they’re indestructible?” She rummaged around in the pouch and brought out a small flask. “Listen, you know that thing you did? With the old man—the way you stopped his pain? Can you do that on yourself?”

  Robert couldn’t help smiling. She was so brisk, so efficient. She ordered him about like he was a child and didn’t give it a second thought. Unlike almost everybody he’d ever met, she wasn’t afraid of him, hadn’t even shrunk back from him when he’d snapped at her.

  “No,” he replied, “it can’t be directed inwards.”

  “Then can you teach me how to do it?”

  “We don’t have time.”

  “Very well,” Jenn said evenly, “you’ll just have to drink this.”

  She held out the bottle to him. He took it and swallowed a mouthful of the most sickly, bitter, revolting mixture he’d ever tasted.

  “Ah!” he gasped, “what is that?”

  “Punishment,” she replied flatly. “In a couple of minutes the pain will start to go. It should last a few hours, long enough to get Finnlay out. After that, you’ll just have to suffer.”

  She turned away long enough to put the bottle back in the pouch, then sat on
the ground beside him. She stared at the branches above, up at the stars, then across the clearing to where the village lay hidden by the trees.

  “I want to tell you,” she said softly, “how sorry I was to hear about your uncle. It was a terrible thing to happen.”

  And just like that, it all came back. It was amazing how swiftly he could remember, how long it took him to forget. And there was so much he had to forget. It had been easy the last few hours, with something else to do.

  “Robert?” Jenn murmured and waited for him to look up. “You don’t realize it. You can’t see it because you’re so close to it. But I can see that... you’re dying.”

  Robert forced a laugh. “What? But you said my injuries weren’t serious! Have you poisoned me?”

  She didn’t smile in return. She just shook her head and reached forward, placing her hand on his chest, close to his heart. “You’re dying in here. As each day goes by and you continue to struggle with yourself, another part of you dies. Soon there won’t be anything left. You’re dying, Robert, believe me; I can see it. The worst thing is, there’s only one way you can stop it. You must do something.”

  Her eyes locked on to his and he suddenly found it difficult to breathe. How could she see so clearly what others were blind to? How could she know so much about the demon?

  The realization took his breath away—and knocked him hard enough to push everything back down, deep inside. With a grim smile now, he answered her. “I can’t ... do anything, Jenny. It’s not as simple as you think. There’s so much you don’t know. It’s just not possible.”

  Jenn frowned, unmoved by his evasive response. “Does it have anything to do with what the Key told you? Is that what’s holding you back?”

  Robert’s heart stopped. “What makes you say that?”