by Aderyn Wood
“Come.” Balak turned his head. “Let’s trot. The path is flat and safe for a good while now, and I’d like to get to a mountain meadow well before nightfall so the horses can graze.”
They rode for the rest of the day alternating between a slow trot and walking the horses up and down the rocky mountain trails. They stopped only once around noon, so the horses could drink from a running stream. Dale ate a quick meal – a chunk of hard cheese and another pear.
She had to admit she was enjoying the journey. The pressure of the prophecy had left her and a sense of freedom replaced it. Balak mainly rode a few paces ahead, and it gave Dale the privacy to enjoy the surroundings. The Borderlands were a truly beautiful, pristine country. Thousands of diverse plants made up the forests. Many trees were similar to Earth’s, and she loved the large oaks and elms, and the white trunks of the birches. But some trees, like the dragon flame tree, were different. They were huge with a large heart-shaped leaf and a red flower that looked like the breath of a dragon. Agathina had told her that. She said the dragon flame was all over Dryadalis. But Dale was sure she’d never seen one on Earth. The scaly look of its wood would have made it a popular choice in botanical gardens.
Birds flitted everywhere, and she enjoyed the antics of hares and squirrels busy collecting nuts and burying them.
They arrived at the meadow in the late afternoon and Dale attended to the horses while Balak made their camp under an outcrop of rock. Dale unsaddled Stella and Gordor, gave their coats a quick brush before allowing them to graze on the lush pasture of the meadow. She took over from Balak, who was busy hitching Dale’s tent, and Balak went off to find firewood.
By dusk, they’d set their camp and had a fire burning in a ring of stones. The croaking of frogs and the eerie hoot of owls took over from the cheerful tweets of the wrens and thrushes that had filled the day. In the neighbouring mountains and valleys, Dale thought she could hear the mournful howl of wolves, but when she cocked her head to listen more carefully the sound dissolved to nothing.
They dined on bread, goat's cheese and smoked eel. Balak put a pot of water on the fire and made them a mountain tea. A slight chill in the air served to remind them summer was over, and Dale wrapped her hands tight around the warm cup, and edged a little closer to the fire.
She hadn’t done this kind of thing since she was stranded on the island, when the Borderlands tested her, and she’d had to avoid being found by Ricardo. She relied on nature, and her own skills to survive. The skills Gareth and Old Joan had taught her. It had been lonely at times. But she had Cat back then, and Esme, and it was better than living with a family that didn’t like her, and going to a school with no friends. Dale wondered about the testing. For some reason it was necessary for the Borderlands, or the magic that protected them, to test new arrivals. The same magic that prevented the likes of Ricardo and Natalia from entering through a portal. So, maybe it wasn’t such a good thing what Balak’s sorcerer friend had done.
“I’m sorry about dinner, Princess. No doubt, you’re missing Ma’r Warmston’s fine cooking tonight. I wonder what you’re missing out on.”
“Roast duck and honeyed carrots,” Dale said. She spent enough time in the kitchens to know almost all the meals Ma’r Warmston had planned a week in advance.
Balak licked his lips. “Well, as much as I enjoy smoked eel, I would give it up in a heartbeat for some roast duck.” When he smiled, his eyes crinkled and Dale smiled too.
“Yes, but then we’d have to give up this.” She looked up to the sky and marvelled at the brightness of the stars. They never looked this good on Earth.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Princess?” Balak asked her again. “We could easily return to the palace in the morning. You’d have had a nice ride and some time to yourself. I don’t mind admitting I feel more and more uneasy about what we may find ahead.”
Dale drank the last of her tea. “I’m sure.” She heard herself say although sure was the last thing she was. In truth, it was tempting to return to the safety of the palace. But she had to do this. The plan was uncertain and she would face potential danger once she returned to Earth, but she had to at least try to find Ness.
“Well, if you’re certain, I won’t ask again. But you just say the word if you change your mind and we can return.”
Dale nodded.
“I think I’ll turn in now. You need to get some sleep too. We’ll leave at dawn. Good night, Princess.”
“Good night, Balak. Thank you.”
Balak crawled into his small tent and Dale was left alone by the fire. She was very tired herself. Her muscles ached the way she knew they would. She rode Stella almost every day, and sometimes she went for a long ride. But it had been an age since she’d ridden from dawn to dusk and the muscles in her back and thighs were tender. Her eyes were heavy too now. But she stared into the fire and thought of her mother, and in an instant all else faded and her mother’s face came into view. The queen stood in front of the large fire in her chamber.
Dalendra. Her mother’s thoughts came to her and she could detect the mix of concern, relief and pride.
Hello mother. I’m scrying!
You are, and you’re doing a very good job of it.
Dale concentrated to keep her mother from fading. We had a good day.
Good, be careful. And don’t linger too long with your boat.
I won’t.
Dale bid her mother goodnight and went to her own little tent. Scrying always made her drowsy – when it worked. Once inside, she drew the bedroll up and hoped her mission wouldn’t take too long. She wanted to avoid worrying her mother at all costs.
For six days, they travelled through the mountains, making camp just before dusk and rising again at dawn. Dale used the time on horseback to meditate on all the prophecy had told her. She decided three things must be true. She was supposed to return to Earth, her main battle in the future would be with Ricardo himself, and that meeting her hysbryd would have something to do with unlocking her power. But in what order would it all happen? Was she to return to Earth to meet her hysbryd? Or to meet and battle Ricardo? Dale shivered. She was nowhere near ready to meet the dark sorcerer. Not yet. She decided another thing after her meditations – she’d come to accept, reluctantly, that she probably was the saviour after all. Red hair and green eyes? Who else could it be? She had to awaken her power, somehow.
On the morning of their seventh day of travel, Balak estimated they would reach the portal by dusk and he was keen to get going.
Once again, they stopped for a quick noon meal and to rest and water the horses, and then they were off again. Dale noted the countryside had changed significantly. The trees bore more colours on their leaves. Autumn came earlier in the north. A heavy mountain fog made the trail difficult to see for a while.
By mid-afternoon Dale was surprised when she saw Balak stopped on his horse, ear tilted high as though listening.
“What is it?” Dale asked, when she was close enough.
Balak gave her a frown and dismounted. Dale did the same.
“I heard something.” He kept his voice quiet.
Dale squinted and looked ahead, listening. The trail curved around to the left, and when she cocked her head, there was something – in the distance. Vaguely familiar, and wrong somehow.
Branches rustled and the low grumble of something monstrous made her turn with a gasp. Two creatures lurched from the forest, mere metres away. Dale’s hand went to her sword and she screamed at Balak to take the horses. The horse master grabbed their reins and ran down the trail. A second of indecision made her stall as she sized up the Unseelie pair, trying to choose which to strike first. The one on her left limped. She circled the other as it ran to her. Its teeth were long sabres that curled up over thick lips. It stood at least eight feet tall and held the biggest battle-axe Dale had ever seen above its head. But its eyes were oddly human, and hatred shot from its stare.
Dale’s heart thundered in her chest, and she
considered, only briefly, using her magic, before disregarding it as a foolish notion. Her magic was unreliable, whereas her skill with the sword was a known quantity. She shouted a war-cry, spun out of reach, and stabbed the creature’s shoulder. It screamed a chilling cry and swung heavily with the axe, which landed and stuck in the moist soil. Dale acted swiftly and sliced the creature’s throat while it bent to pull at the axe. She jumped back as it fell to the ground. Its blood also looked human. The copper stench of it filled her nostrils.
The second creature was on her in seconds. She circled like a crab, sideways, her sword held before her. This one was shorter and fatter but just as hideous with small eyes and a large disproportionate jaw, like some feral dog. And like a dog, saliva drooled from its jowls. Its limp was bad, Dale glanced down to see an injury on the calf of one hairy leg. Then the creature thrust with its warhammer, Dale jumped just in time and missed the collision by a hair’s breadth. This creature was even slower than the other. She danced and spun behind, and sliced its throat just as she had with the first.
Panting hard she stepped closer to inspect the fallen Unseelie soldiers. Their skin was not unlike her own, but they both wore a heavy pelt of hair on their shoulders and feet. Her eyes wandered over their bodies in fascination. These things were not as hideous as she’d first imagined. Their open eyes were all too human.
Her hands started shaking, and then her whole body and she dropped her sword. Her first kill, and she wanted to retch.
“Princess.” Balak ran toward her, along the the trail, clutching his sword, but let go when he saw Dale and embraced her. “You did well. Come, lass. You saved us. It’s all right.”
Dale allowed Balak’s arms to hold her up and his warmth helped her to come to her senses.
“You did what you had to do. This is war, lass.”
Dale nodded. Yes. It was war. This was what the others were facing every day. “Thank you, I’m all right.” She crouched to her sword and wiped off the blood with a handful of leaves. Then she stood and faced Balak. “Do we leave them?”
He nodded. “We need to be quiet. There's a battle below, in the valley. The Unseelie must have gained more ground.”
Dale frowned. “How have they gained so much so quickly? They must have conquered the Stonwold Mountains.” The reality of their risk was now undeniable, and Dale felt foolish for making Balak risk both their lives for her whim.
The horse master shrugged. “Perhaps they avoided the Stonwolds? They seemed intent on gaining ground as quickly as possible from what I heard."
“Could you see the fighting?” she whispered.
Balak nodded. “The trail goes very close to the edge, a chasm in the mountain’s rock, and just below it, in the valley, a battle is being fought as we speak. We need to be careful. We’ll walk the horses and not make a sound until I give you a signal on the other side. You will want to look and that will be all right, but try not to look for too long. Remember, the Unseelie have their own sorcerers and if they sense you, then our little mission will be lost, and so might your life. We know that now.” He gestured to the two Unseelie corpses. “I will understand if you want to turn back.”
Dale’s heart raced; she’d not been in so much danger since she was sailing all alone in her boat and Ricardo had hunted her. She tried to seek an answer, somewhere deep within her consciousness, but only remnants of her dreams came to her, dreams of Ness – her skin gaunt and sallow. “I have to go on,” she said finally.
Balak nodded, his eyes solemn, and she knew the gravity of her decision.
Their progress was slow. Every step Balak took seemed to be a cautious one. Soon the trees thinned and ahead the trail narrowed. Dale’s feet tingled with the realisation that on one side of the trail the cliff dropped to the valley below. She’d never been good with heights.
Stella snorted and Dale held her reins close. “Follow Gordor, and stay quiet,” Dale whispered in the mare’s ear, and Stella clopped ahead trailing the stallion around the curve of sheer rock.
Dale stepped cautiously, clutching the mountain rock, and trying to avoid looking at the deep drop of the valley. It was so far down, the distance made it hazy and Dale’s stomach swirled with giddiness. A lump of rock came away in her grip and she dropped it. It bounced off the trail and fell into the valley below. She balled her fists and crept to the very edge.
A cold wind whipped her hair and dried her eyes but the battle surged below. From so high up the soldiers resembled large ants panicking before rain. To her left dark storm clouds churned, and the Unseelie, a vast horde of enemy that stretched forever north, fought with a ferocity Dale had never seen. Her hand grasped her sword hilt as she looked to the northern most point in the valley – the horde seemed to go on without end. To her right, the Seelie host were plenty in number themselves. But would it be enough? Dale squinted trying to recognise one of the tiny shapes among the Seelie warriors. But fireball spells exploded among them sending dark columns of smoke upward, and Dale gasped. A crack of thunder and heavy rain fell onto the Seelie, extinguishing the flames – a counter spell. Maybe Jaral, or Rhys, or Agathina had cast that spell. Smoke and steam rose all around the valley. Dale suddenly felt dizzy. “We’re doomed,” she whispered.
Balak hissed at her, “Keep moving, Princess.”
She nodded and took one last look down at the valley, feet tingling. A hawk circled the battle. Dale’s mouth fell open as an ice warning thrummed through her. It’s him! She shivered and forced her stumbling feet to move, one shaking foot in front of the other.
Soon enough the trail returned to the dense forest, the trees hiding them from enemy eyes. Dale took a long shuddering breath and patted Stella on the nose. “You were brave, Stella.”
“Are you all right, Princess?” Balak’s eyes were full of concern.
“Yes.” They couldn’t turn back now. The thought of walking back over that section of the trail sent shivers up her spine. She’d rather face what was ahead than risk exposing herself to the hawk.
Balak nodded. "We need to hurry. The portal opens tonight with the rise of Ishtaria. Hopefully we won't meet any more of those monsters.” He mounted his horse.
Dale looked to the sky. The sun glowed red behind orange clouds of smoke and inched closer to the western horizon. If they could bring Ness back to this point, she may help to defeat them. She mounted Stella and followed Balak at a trot.
13
At dusk, they came to a copse of ash trees that formed an odd pattern impossible to have sprung up naturally. Like a cross with four ‘avenues’.
“Is this the portal?” Dale asked.
“Yes,” Balak replied, dismounting. He walked over to Stella and took her reins. “You had best prepare, Princess. The moon will rise soon, followed by Ishtaria and then the portal will open.”
Dale nodded and dismounted. She took the clothes from her saddlebags and walked into the forest. Twilight made the shadows longer and darker. It was cold now and a soft mist touched her nose. She crept under a cypress to change into her Earthen clothes – jeans, a top and a jacket. She sat on the fallen needles to do the laces on her shoes, and the crushed scent of cypress gave her some comfort. For a time, her hands stopped shaking.
She’d just finished her laces when Esme appeared.
“Esme, what’s wrong?”
The little sprite fell to her knees, with one hand over her heart and the other on her forehead, and then extended her hand out to Dale as though begging.
Dale sighed. “You don’t want me to go through the portal, do you?”
Esme shook her head violently and then put a hand over her forehead as though she was a suffering princess herself.
“I’m sorry, Esme. I have to do it. I have to see if Ness is there.”
Esme pulled at Dale's hand, and pointed back toward the south, toward Arcadia.
“No, Esme, I’m not going back. Not until I at least try to find Ness.”
Tears streaked Esme’s cheeks.
Dale
swallowed. She’d never seen Esme really cry before. But she couldn’t turn back now. She’d already come so far. “Esme, I promise, I’m just going to have a bit of a look then I’ll come straight back. I won’t spend too much time there. Just enough to see if Ness is where I think she is.”
Esme’s shoulders dropped, but she withdrew an arm from behind her back and pressed something in Dale’s hand.
Dale opened her palm to see her crystal shining in the dusk light. It had a glow all of its own.
“Yes, good idea,” she said. Esme had kept the crystal safe all this time; it’d be full of powerful aether from the Borderlands. When sorcerers used the magic from their crystals, rather than the energy on Earth, they could remain somewhat hidden. Using the Earth’s natural energy would alert any other sorcerers to disturbances in the energy fields. She remembered the way Gareth’s crystal glowed when he cast the spells that had protected her from Ricardo. Dale was probably no more apt at magic on Earth than she’d been in the Borderlands, but sometimes her magic worked, and it might help her if she found Ness. She tied the leather thong around her neck.
Esme tucked the crystal under Dale’s shirt with her little hand.
“Thank you…” Dale said, looking down at her shirt, but when she looked up Esme was gone.
It had grown darker. Ishtaria would rise soon. She stood and hurried back to the portal.
Dale packed her old clothes into Stella’s saddlebags and fastened her sword to the saddle. Then she took one last drink of water from her flask and said goodbye to Stella. “If I don’t return, you know your way back, girl. Tell mother I’ll come back soon – if you see her before I do.”
Stella snorted and looked the other way.
She doesn’t approve of this either.
“Are you ready?” Balak asked.
“You’re coming too, aren’t you?” Dale didn’t want to do this alone.
Balak nodded. “I’ll come through and see you there safely, then I’ll come back and wait three days for your return.”