Forging Alliances: Wizards of White Haven

by Frances Howitt

  Jim and Amelie stared into each other’s eyes, linked mind to mind, as they took their vows to honour and protect each other until their dying breath. Jim slipped the dragon shaped ring he had made, onto her finger, to the sounds of loud cheers.

  Now no-one could criticise the headmaster for living with, and having a child with, a woman he hadn’t committed to honestly in marriage. Amelie was finally his wife! That status was music in his ears. She and their daughter were the most important people in his world and everyone would understand his commitment to them was for life.

  ‘Now we can go inside, feast and party!’ Jim announced. He kissed his wife to loud bawdy cheers and just like that, the formally seated guests jumped up and surrounded them. Jim and Amelie were hugged and congratulated in a heady exuberant maelstrom.

  ‘I will say my farewells,’ Stripe said glancing between Amelie and Jim. The press of the crowd made him uneasy. ‘If it is acceptable, Tania has asked to stay tonight to share in your celebrations.’

  ‘Of course,’ Amelie said immediately aware Tania was already surrounded by a small admiring crowd of animus students who seemed fascinated with her.

  ‘Thank you. I will collect her tomorrow,’ Stripe said and then headed off towards where his other children waited. Walking briskly, he led them towards the main field and moved behind a large tree where he was screened from view. There, in relative privacy, he extricated himself from his clothing and expanded, shifting back into his normal form. He heard many gasps of astonishment as the people spotted him. His dragon form dwarfed even this large tree. He was simply far too massive to hide and he didn’t attempt to. Instead, he signalled to his children and they quickly followed him aloft. Glancing back he noticed he’d drawn every eye. Yet his heart also felt heavy. Whilst Amelie had never been his, he’d harboured a sliver of hope. In the weeks following the heartache of Elaye’s death, she had proved an entertaining and considerate companion to him and been a strong mother to his children. They had not only survived because of her, but had prospered, given a sound foundation of love and respect for each other. The last shred of hope in ashes, he knew he no longer had a reason to delay searching for a mate of his own. The love that Amelie and her lion shared was tangible and reminded him forcefully of his loneliness and what he was missing.

  Once the dragons had disappeared, Jim led the crowd inside. The dining hall had been beautifully decorated and he could smell the rich scents of the sumptuous feast awaiting them. Mrs White and the cooks had outdone themselves. As the guests were seated, platters of food were brought out. With Daisy giggling in his arms and Amelie smiling by his side his spirits soared. Sitting amidst laughing happy people, pleased his lion too. He could sense Amelie’s contentment and that put the icing on the cake. If his lion could purr he would be.

  Later there would be barrels of cider on tap and dancing. As a consequence of that treat, his students had been granted tomorrow free of lessons. All Jim cared about however was that Amelie was gazing into his eyes. She was now officially his wife and everyone that mattered was here joining him in celebration.

  18. Féarmathuin Castle

  ‘Where are we going?’ Jack asked, noticing Dustin was making sandwiches and then had gestured to the extra slices he’d carved from the loaf of bread, inviting Jack to make some for himself. On the basis it was just after sunrise and Dustin had woken him for the breakfast they’d just cleared away, rather than letting him sleep on, clearly the wolf had plans for the day. Jack eagerly began making a packed lunch for himself. He’d been in the village over a week now and since his early days of doing little more than eat and sleep, was now feeling a great deal stronger and more able.

  ‘It’s time you saw what we’re doing with your information,’ Dustin told him a little cryptically. ‘You’ll need to keep everything you see today to yourself. Can you do that?’

  ‘Who would I tell?’ Jack asked in confusion. He was a stranger and knew no-one aside from the wolf pack, their leader Drako and the few neighbours in the village he’d been introduced to.

  ‘Most people here know of the place where we’re going today. It’s your specific news and its ramifications with regard to their own loved one’s safety, which you need to keep quiet. I know you’ve already been doing that, but I just need you to be aware that only our leaders know. Those we meet at the other end would start trying to take matters into their own hands if word got out.’

  ‘I understand,’ Jack said seriously, wondering about “the other end”. ‘I have no wish to jeopardise a rescue attempt. Clan Green Bear are renowned for their ability to overcome seemingly impossible odds.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Dustin said simply. ‘The others are on their way,’ he added, glancing out the window as movement caught his eye. He finished wrapping his sandwiches, sliding them into a small canvas backpack. He slid a second pack over to Jack and watched him follow suit. For a leopard Jack was surprisingly amenable to have around. He’d not tried to exert his dominance and Jack was naturally a dominant male. Dustin suspected it all came down to Jack’s determination to find and be re-united with his family. He had the wit to understand he could not do it alone, even though relying on and working with others, were not leopard traits. Dustin knew the man was working hard to overcome his instincts.

  Dustin had asked Freddie if Jack could come along today, even though Freddie had been a little dubious about allowing him into their secrets. Dustin suspected Jack would rest better with the knowledge that they were indeed working flat out to achieve the rescue goal, even though it wasn’t apparent at the village. Jack also had good practical skills, and now he was regaining his strength, he could probably be quite useful. Dustin hoped he would feel better working to speed everything along, assuming they could convince him to do so.

  Jack stepped outside and met the rest of the wolf pack just approaching the door. ‘Good morning Freddie,’ he said meeting his eye before turning to incline his head and smile warmly at Natalya. He nodded greeting to the other two men; so whatever they were doing, the whole pack was going be involved today.

  ‘How are you feeling now Jack?’ Natalya asked looking him over intently. When she and Freddie had first found Jack and rescued him he’d been suffering from deliberate and prolonged starvation by his captors. He’d become greatly weakened. He’d since filled out markedly, proving how diminished he’d previously been. It was remarkable how quickly good food and renewed hope could turn someone around.

  ‘Much better thank you,’ Jack said simply. ‘Can you tell me where we’re going today?’

  ‘We’re going scouting. We’re going to check out your information.’

  Jack grinned, happy to be allowed to come along and then frowned. ‘I thought the location was in North Rosh, the Clan Green Bear homeland. Isn’t that hundreds of miles away?’

  ‘You are correct,’ she acknowledged and began walking briskly down the lane, forcing him to lengthen his stride. She noticed he glanced at the villagers in earshot and bit his lip, keeping his silence. They travelled along the high street a short distance before turning up a side street into a large empty yard. ‘Jim uncovered the reason the Clan and this school have historically had such a close connection.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Jack glanced about him as he walked beside her, the wolves silently following, wondering why they had just turned into the saw-miller’s yard. Huge piles of tree width logs awaited processing on one side. The wide shed they walked up the side of was full of neat stacks of planks in varying sizes. In normal daylight this sawmill was a loud and busy place, but so early in the day it was deserted. Behind the shed was a surprisingly well trodden track, rutted from heavy wagon wheels, which headed away from the mill and the village. The track crossed the empty meadow, running directly towards the forest to the left of the huge school buildings. He supposed that must be one of the mill’s main sources of timber.

  ‘We have a Portal,’ she told him once they were midway across the field and far from any potential eavesdro
ppers. She grinned at his shock and nodded to confirm she wasn’t kidding. ‘Jim found it in ruins, smashed like so many others during the wars. He’s managed to rebuild it.’

  ‘There’s a Portal from these school grounds directly to North Rosh?’

  ‘Yes.’ She found she wasn’t surprised he put it together so fast and knew he was thinking hard.

  ‘Well, I wasn’t expecting that,’ Jack admitted. ‘We’re going to North Rosh, now? Through a Portal?’

  ‘Yes. Think you can keep up?’ Freddie asked.

  ‘Lead on,’ Jack responded, his eyes shining. He wordlessly speeded up into a jog when the others did, eager to see this Portal. He couldn’t believe he was going to be allowed to travel through one. He shook his head; these people constantly astonished him.

  Following the track deep into the forest, they soon arrived at some rustic buildings, consisting of a cabin and lean-to shed set in a small clearing. If he hadn’t known there must be more here than met the eye, he’d have believed the setup. He looked round more closely, but aside from a rather large storage shed full of timber, it looked convincingly like a simple and well used charcoal burners’ operation. There was certainly a large heap of charcoal to one side of a cleared area and remnants of a recent burn, which a man was busy shovelling into sacks.

  Another couple of men were stacking fresh logs into a circle, where they were well clear of any overhanging trees. Noticing the ground was bare charred earth in that whole area, he realised this industry might be a cover, but was definitely also a working business. Eyeing the sealed sacks of charcoal, he remembered seeing some identical sacks stacked against the wall outside the smithy, obviously fuel for the furnace. He shook his head in admiration at their ingenuity and self-sufficiency.

  All three men working here had eyed their arrival alertly, but relaxed on recognising Freddie and the rest of the pack. He suspected they doubled as security.

  He suddenly realised Freddie had paused to let him look around. He nodded to Freddie, eager to see more and followed him to the barn. As he approached the barn he noticed the entrance was paved and that there was a small gentle ramp up to the threshold to allow wagons to enter. Unusually, the barn floor was raised slightly and paved in sturdy flagstones. The barn itself was surprisingly well built and, he realised, designed to disguise heavy traffic. Eyeing the wagon parked inside, which was laden with stone blocks, he realised why it needed to be. If they hadn’t floored the building, such heavily laden wagons would quickly create deep ruts and bog down, sinking axle deep into the soil.

  He didn’t say a word but followed the pack around the wagon. Freddie greeted another man, standing unseen in the shadows at the back of the room, as they approached. The man turned to activate a hidden lever and a well disguised doorway appeared in the back wall. Clad in the same planks as the rest of the wall, the door had been invisible. Jack knew he was being closely scrutinised but he ignored the guard, stepping through the doorway into a dimly lit smaller room. His gaze was immediately captured by the tall and wide, ornately carved stone arch, filling the space. He barely noticed the fact that another guard stood to one side of it. As he moved closer he noticed that there were many engraved symbols on the pillars. The upper edges were smoothly rounded, and in exposed places the symbols were partially worn from the elements, speaking of extreme age. He had no doubt this was an ancient magical artefact.

  Freddie stepped forward onto the plinth. There was a whoosh and where there had been an empty arch, there was now a glinting watery shimmer, contained within the arch. A strange low hum emanated from it, like approaching a hive of bees.

  ‘Takes your breath away, doesn’t it,’ Natalya remarked.

  ‘Wow,’ Jack whispered in awe. He watched as Freddie and Rupert, who had been in the lead, stepped into the shimmery thing and vanished. He gulped nervously but when Natalya stepped forward he kept pace with her. She glanced at him and he steeled himself to step through with her. A strange sensation, like stepping through a spider’s web, brushed against his whole body. Then a moment later, he found he had arrived in an unfamiliar, large and dimly lit room. He turned to look back at the Portal and watched Dustin and Johnny materialise. Automatically stepping back, to give them space to come past him, he joined Freddie. The men stepped off the plinth and just as abruptly as the Portal had come to life, its shimmer flashed and went out.

  Only now that glimmering distraction had ceased dominating his attention, did he turn to look at the new place he found himself. Where was this? He could hardly see the room for the eclectic mix of stuff stacked high everywhere he looked. What were they doing with all these building materials? Clearly people had been busy carting stuff to the portal and then hand carrying them through. Why? What were they up to?

  Alongside the stone blocks, deposited in this chamber, were several untidy piles of planks. Thicker timber, of a size for joists or beams, had also been assembled. Buckets of nails sat beside a whole variety of tools. As they moved deeper into the room, past another towering stack of wood, he glanced at one of the flickering torches inadequately lighting the room and noticed something on the wall. Hidden by the clutter he realised the walls were painted with intriguing frescos. He quickly went closer to look and his brows rose, not only at the artistry of the paintings, but that their subjects were animus.

  He glanced round as a flash alerted them that the Portal had been activated again. Two men came through, each carrying a large heavy stone block. He watched as they staggered across the room and through a jagged hole in the end wall. What were they doing? Animus might be strong but that looked back-breaking and exhausting.

  ‘If you’re going up, you could lend a hand carrying,’ the second man suggested to Freddie as he passed them. He gestured with his chin at the stack of blocks already in the room.

  ‘Come on, let’s lend a hand. Don’t you even think about carrying anything,’ he added to Natalya.

  ‘I’m not stupid,’ she told him. Of course she wasn’t going to potentially crush their baby trying to carry stone in her arms. She went to the hole in the wall instead, aware it hadn’t been here on her last visit. ‘Why is this hole so jagged?’ she asked the man who had just come back through.

  ‘No-one wanted to knock any more of the stone out in case the roof collapsed,’ he explained.

  Natalya sent her senses into the stone and realised the men had a valid concern. There were a lot of collapsed buildings above their heads and this thick wall was one of the major supports. If there was a cave-in, it’d bury the portal as well as risk lives. Located so deep within the cliff, under so much stone, she knew the magical signature of casting a spell would be muffled. It would probably be undetectable if she kept it low-key. She decided it was safer to risk a blip on some monitor, than leave this weakened support in so precarious a state. Quickly she infused the stone above them with a strengthening spell. Next she smoothed away the jagged sections of stone, filling in and carving a symmetrical and taller archway that would be structurally stronger. It was also now sized so a man needn’t duck to get through, which surely made carrying a load that much more difficult.

  She watched her pack and Jack pass through her enlarged and safer hole in satisfaction. She’d been able to work the spells in the time it took the men to pick up and slowly carry the very heavy blocks across the room to her. She followed them through into what looked to be a natural cave and noticed a sliver of daylight coming through the end wall. Judging by the large rusted cages to one side, this cave had once partially been used as a dungeon. Noticing the broken remains of ancient barrels, shelves and troughs alongside, she suspected it had more commonly been used as a store-room. In the middle of the space she noticed a second patch of light coming through from a hole in the stone ceiling. That light was yellowy, indicating a lantern, and illuminated a winch and platform beneath the hole. So whilst the men dropped off their loads beside the winch, she went to investigate the hole in the end wall.

  ‘Looks like a cave-in,’ Jack o
bserved, having quickly put down his load on the winch platform and followed her. He stared through the hole, partly blocked by rubble, into a small second cave that was the source of the daylight. What captured his attention was the sliver of view outside the cave mouth. Wild, thickly forested and mountainous country greeted his eyes; they were definitely not in White Haven any longer. A fresh breeze redolent with the scent of pine and green things filled his nose and he breathed deeply in appreciation. Then as he looked closer, he realised they were looking down at the surrounding country; they must therefore be high up.

  ‘Yes. When you see the damage above us, you’ll understand why this happened. I’ve always been surprised these rooms still remain standing. But, I must say, this hole worries me. I know no-one can climb up the cliff to get in through this hole, but an animus bird would have no problem. With that new hole cut into the wall to the Portal room, anyone could travel through to White Haven.’

  ‘That must be why they have guards posted,’ Jack suggested. He glanced across at Freddie and noticed he was busy helping to winch another load up through the floor. No-one stood idle long here.

  She nodded and they returned to the winch, Jack helping to lift the next load of blocks waiting to go up. Only once that had been achieved, did they climb the dungeon stairs.

  Glancing in through the doors that stood open along the corridor, Natalya noticed a couple of the store rooms had been turned into dormitories, presumably for those taking shifts guarding the portal. In the event of an attack, those on the White Haven side of the Portal would never know about it, to be able to come to anyone’s aid. The guards stationed here would have to come through the Portal to raise an alarm. That was why keeping people close by at the charcoal burner’s hut, where there was accommodation, food and facilities, was handy.