Dawnsinger

by Janalyn Voigt

  He woke with a start. The droning had grown louder. He raised his head. Perhaps a piece of honeycomb dropped during their repast drew bees. But the ledge, half in shadow, showed itself bare of food. Even Shae’s crust of bread had vanished, perhaps snatched by a greedy bird. He peered about but found no bees except those feeding in a patch of anemones.

  Guaron stood in the sunlight brushing his Blue, Raegnen, named for the summer rain. His hands lingered over the simple task. From the look of the others, he had already provided this same service to Flecht and Ruescht. Argalent, Aerlic’s Silver, named for the luster of his coat, and Sharten, Dorann’s Gray, which truly did resemble a deepening shadow, waited their turn. Shae and Dorann slept in the shade cast by the outcropping of rock above the ledge.

  The lengthening shadows caught Kai’s attention, and he pushed to his feet. How long had he slept?

  Guaron nodded at his approach, straw-colored hair lifting.

  “Where’s Aerlic?” Kai asked.

  Guaron gestured with his curry comb toward the outcropping above them.

  Kai’s gaze traveled the sheer face of rock that Aerlic must have climbed to gain a vantage point. On a different day, Kai might have followed him, but not now. The thought alone made his side ache. He left Guaron to his task and returned to Shae, who stirred at his approach. He smiled. “You look better for having slept.”

  She sat up and returned his smile. “What did I look like before?”

  “Always beautiful, but too pale.”

  “Have you my comb?”

  He gave the mother-of-pearl implement to her and lounged against a boulder, watching as she untangled her unruly locks. “Your beauty glows from inside you, Shae. Never waste it on the undeserving.”

  The comb halted in its course down the pale copper river of her tresses. Her brows drew together. “I should not have let you think I considered Freaer. I don’t know why I worried you in that way. I’m sorry.”

  “Did he…harm you?”

  She stared at him, and then drew breath on a laugh. “Not in the way you mean. He took me to a strange place, Kai—an opening in the curtain wall that led to a passage with hewn stairs beyond. He called it a…a sallyport. The secret passageway from the Allerstaed is like to it, and so nudged my memory, but I didn’t connect it fully until now.”

  Kai angled his head. “Perhaps that is how Freaer and the three shraens escaped after the coronation.”

  “Do you think Elcon knows of the sallyport?”

  “Secret passageways riddle Torindan, created against the need for a stealthy escape, so Elcon might already know of this passage. Perhaps Craelin can tell us.”

  Bemused, he watched Shae’s fingers weave her gleaming hair into a plait.

  The rock beneath him vibrated. Understanding dawned in an instant, and a sick feeling soured his stomach. He rolled to his feet and motioned for silence. What a fool he’d been, so focused on Shae he’d failed to notice the scolding of birds or that the droning of bees had strengthened and deepened. It had become something of which no bee was capable, a repetitive thudding that filled the air and shook the ground.

  Shae looked to him, her eyes wide.

  Dorann woke and jumped to his feet with a look of confusion.

  The wingabeasts stirred, but Guaron hissed a command that settled them.

  Above the ledge, Aerlic hung from a rope like a spider, pressing himself flat against the overhanging stone, his attention riveted on something in the canyons beyond.

  The din swelled and grew, unmistakable now. Kai had heard the sound of marching in his early days when the guardians had defended against garn attacks.

  Shae tugged his sleeve. “What is it?”

  He spoke near her ear. “An army.”

  Her face paled. “When will Craelin and Eathnor return?”

  “Don’t worry about them. Craelin is First Guardian of Rivenn. He can take care of himself. And, if I’m not mistaken, so can Eathnor.”

  “But what of the wingabeasts?” She stood, and the pitch of her voice rose. “Why don’t they panic from so much noise?”

  “They are trained to keep Guaron’s commands. He won’t allow them to panic.”

  His words at once found their test. A welke screeched from the sky.

  17

  Canyonlands

  Kai heard Shae’s indrawn breath. He clamped a hand over her mouth to cut off her scream as he pulled her against him. The wingabeasts stirred, but Guaron’s swift signal brought them shuddering into stillness.

  With slow movements Dorann eased his hunting knife from his boot.

  The light in Shae’s eyes told Kai she understood his action. He lowered his hand but kept a protective arm about her.

  The welke glided overhead, its talons curled against its leathery underbelly, and Shae pressed into his side.

  Kai suppressed his own urge to flee and waited as the bird of prey’s ragged shadow fell on them like the curse of death. It was too late to pull his sword. If he moved, the welke’s eyesight, like that of any avian raptor, would activate. If the wind shifted, the welke would catch the scent of wingabeasts. Time hung suspended, like Aerlic on his rope. How the rider could fail to spy the archer, dangling against the overhang, Kai did not know.

  The leather-clad rider flicked the reins and turned the welke. With a flap of wings, the giant bird of prey descended into the next canyon and passed from view.

  Kai let out his breath. The sun, hanging low in the sky, must have blinded the rider.

  He caught Shae, trembling like a small bird, into his arms but shifted her away from his injured side.

  The marching grew until it thrummed through the very air, then silenced.

  Aerlic lowered himself to drop with scant sound onto the ledge before Kai. “Freaer leads armies carrying the banners of Glindenn, Selfred, and Morgorad.”

  “It’s no surprise Freaer would come against Elcon,” Kai said, “or that the Ravens of the three traitorous shraens would rally behind him, but they descend on Torindan with such speed it must have been planned in advance. Elcon will not expect a challenge so soon.”

  Aerlic dusted off his hands. “They break their march for the night in the next canyon. We should speak little and keep our voices down. There is yet danger, for they are sure to keep watch.”

  The glow of campfires tinged the sky to the north and west, confirming Aerlic’s observations. It grew late. Already the westward sky flamed with dying fire and purple shadows lengthened across the canyon walls. The wind had changed direction and now searched the ledge with cold fingers.

  “It will take several days’ march for the armies to reach Torindan, which must be their destination. That they risk lighting fires shows they don’t fear discovery.” Aerlic stretched and flexed his fingers, which must hurt after his long vigil on the rope. Kai nodded to him. “Let Dorann tend you.” An archer needed his hands.

  Two shadows glided to them from across the canyon in the twilight—Craelin and Eathnor returning.

  Craelin dismounted. “I must warn Elcon of Freaer’s army, which camps very near. Be careful. I wish I didn’t have to leave you.”

  Kai clasped arms with Craelin, and then stepped back. “Your duty is clear. Elcon will need time to gather the forces of Faeraven. But take Eathnor with you. Returning to Torindan through Doreinn Ravein holds danger, and you could become lost. Dorann should remain with Shae, for he can act as both guide and healer.”

  Craelin turned to Eathnor, who came to stand near him. “It seems I have need of your services once more. Tell Dorann the way through the canyons, but hurry. Much depends on our speed in reaching Elcon.”

  ****

  Shae twisted her hands together as Craelin and Eathnor, astride their wingabeasts, vanished into the mist. If only she’d summoned the courage, she might have warned Elcon through the shil shael instead. But the soul touch remained a mystery she feared to explore. What if by using it she alerted Freaer to her presence while so near him? A sinking feeling settled over
her, and she fought tears. She would not cry, not now. Nor would she lean on Kai. He already carried burdens enough, for in Craelin’s absence, he led them.

  In the last failing light, they rolled out sleeping mats and packed for an early departure while Guaron settled the wingabeasts. When Dorann gave out rations—a crust of bread and a portion of moist white cheese—Shae took her share from his hand with a smile. He appeared tough, this flame-haired trapper, but his shoulders slumped. He must already miss his brother.

  Darkness closed in around rising mists. Shae pulled the hood of Aeleanor’s cloak over her head, warmed by its fur lining. Her lips curved at memories of Aeleanor of Whellein, who would ever remain a part of her. Some things went beyond blood. Her thoughts turned toward Katera who, warm and safe with her new husband at Graelinn Hold, would never find herself hiding from welke riders. How would Katera receive them if, filthy and bedraggled, they managed to reach her fireside?

  They had no fuel with which to build a fire now, even if wisdom did not deny them such a comfort. Shae huddled with the others in the lea of the overhang and did her best to sleep despite the cold.

  Shae trudged across a forsaken landscape by the meager light of a new moon. Water ran in rivulets down her skin and dripped from her garments. Shivers racked her body.

  She was utterly alone.

  Freaer drew near. She felt his presence. He searched through the night. In time he would find her.

  Darkness glided toward her. A welke’s screech raised her hackles. She called for Kai without hope, for he was dead.

  “Shae?” Kai’s hiss woke her. “Are you all right? You cried out.”

  It was yet night, but close to dawn, just at the time when owls cease calling but graylets have yet to coo. The wind stilled, but cold and damp crept from the ground. The breathing of the others sounded loud.

  “Strange dreams haunt me, Kai. And Freaer searches for me—I know he does. It’s as if he looks upon me, even now.”

  “The shil shael makes you vulnerable. I wish that I could shield you.”

  “I must find a way to shield myself, if I can. But Kai, we should leave soon. Only danger can come from waiting. I know it.”

  He made a shushing sound she remembered from her early days. “Calm yourself. You’re overwrought. Leaving before first light, in darkness and mist, would put us in a different kind of peril. Rest now and I’ll check that all is well.”

  Shae opened her mouth to protest but shut it again. “I’ll trust your guidance.” She lay down again, certain she would never sleep.

  “Wake, Shae.”

  She sat upright, blinking in thin light at Kai, who bent over her. She smiled at him and opened her mouth to speak.

  Wings flapped.

  Aerlic’s warning whistle pierced the air.

  Kai’s head jerked up. “Welkes!”

  Shae came fully awake. She struggled to her feet, and Kai caught her against him. He half-carried her toward the dark shapes of the wingabeasts.

  Ragged breathing and the thud of feet overtook them. Shae’s own feet left the ground as Kai hoisted her onto Ruescht’s back.

  Aerlic leaped onto Argalent and, in what seemed a single movement, drew his bow. An arrow thwanged upward into the mist, followed by the thump of impact.

  A shriek rent the air. A welke dropped to writhe together with its rider on the ledge behind them.

  A wingabeast screamed and, under Shae, a great shudder rippled through Ruescht.

  “Follow Flecht!” Kai, on Flecht, leaned over to slap Ruescht’s flank.

  The small wingabeast shrilled and took to the air.

  The flapping of wings drew nearer. But for the mist, Shae would see the welke riders chasing them.

  Ruescht twisted and dipped, making Shae’s head reel, but she held on. Plunging headlong through the mist while pursued by an unseen foe, she couldn’t escape a strange sense of unreality. The wild ride took on the quality of a nightmare. She longed to wake, safe in her bed at Whellein, to face no more trouble than she made for herself. She saw, then, how she must appear to Kai—heedless and willful. Had she really argued with him for warning her away from Freaer?

  Fighting the uneasy sensation that she and Ruescht careened through the mist, alone and lost, she willed herself to calm. She could not see, but somehow Ruescht could. Although it made their passage more difficult, the mist saved them from the welke’s sharp eyes. She felt better when stray currents tore holes in the shimmering veil to reveal Kai and Flecht just ahead and Dorann behind.

  They slipped into a side canyon and spiraled downward alongside roaring waters that fell into darkness. Icy spray combined with mist to penetrate her cloak, making her shiver. She clutched the reins with hands gone numb, for she’d left her doeskin gloves behind beside her bedroll. Would she ever again find warmth, taste a hot meal, or sleep in a soft bed?

  She chided herself for such unworthy thoughts. She should be grateful to escape the welkes at all. Many comfortless nights remained before them. How would she survive if she dwelt on her privations?

  Ruescht followed Flecht to the canyon floor. She landed with the others in the midst of keirken trees. As the flapping of welke wings grew louder, Ruescht stomped her hooves and snorted. Caught off-guard, Shae jerked the reins, and the small wingabeast reared. Shae clutched the pommel, just managing to keep her seat. As soon as her front hooves hit the ground, Ruescht bolted.

  Forced to duck branches, Shae bounced sideways in the saddle. Ruescht turned onto a deer trail, and Shae tried to rein in her wingabeast. Foam flecked from Ruescht’s mouth and her sides heaved. Hoofbeats told Shae that the others followed. A small creature scurried into the underbrush, and Ruescht skidded sideways. The small wingabeast broke through the trees—and reared. Obscured behind rainbow clouds of spray that stole Shae’s breath, the waterfall plunged beneath them into a churning pool. Ruescht could go no farther.

  The others reached them, and Guaron dismounted. He caught Ruescht’s reins, although the fight had already gone out of the small wingabeast, who bowed her head as if ashamed. Shae slid from her back and stood on shaking legs.

  Kai dismounted and hurried to her. “Are you unharmed?”

  Wrapping her arms about herself, she gave a brief nod. She remembered their pursuers, and her eyes widened. “But the welke riders—“

  “They’re gone, at least for now. The waterfall’s roaring must have covered the sounds we made.”

  Aerlic dismounted and joined them. “We have your wingabeast to thank for one thing, at least.” He nodded toward a cave in the canyon wall. “We should be able to shelter there.”

  Aerlic went first into the cave. At his signal, Shae followed through the gaping hole that smelled of moist stone—and passed into darkness. For in that instant Freaer touched her soul. She shrank from his touch, and it slid away. Crouching in the dark cave with the others, she kept what had happened to herself. Freaer would never give up searching for her.

  The flapping of welke wings echoed through the canyons all that day, so they stayed put. Nightfall made little difference to the cave’s blackness. Kai gave his bedroll to Shae. He, in turn, would borrow the bedroll of whoever stood watch. She slept at once, untroubled by dreams and lulled by the waterfall’s muted roar.

  Shae roused to Dorann’s whisper. “Infectious… Wait it out… Poultice…”

  A tiny light highlighted Dorann’s and Aerlic’s faces. It also showed Kai, who tossed and turned.

  Shae sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  Dorann shifted nearer to her. “His wound has gone septic. Fever wracks his body.”

  As Kai thrashed and cried out, Aerlic restrained him.

  She crawled toward Kai and touched his heated forehead. Water sloshed, and Dorann placed a cloth on Kai’s brow. His thrashing eased, but Shae wanted to weep, he looked so gaunt.

  When Dorann wrang out another cloth, she reached for it. “Let me.”

  Dorann relinquished the damp cloth and brought the bowl of water closer. “Tha
t’s well, then. Aerlic should return to watch, and I need to search for plantains.”

  “Plantains?”

  “They’re often found growing in moist places. I should find all I need for a poultice to draw the infection from Kai’s wound.”

  Dorann bent, and soon another flame flared to life. Shae blinked in the light of the lanthorn he lifted. “Rouse Guaron if you can’t contain Kai’s thrashing, although that’s not likely, he’s so weak.”

  When Kai stirred again, she cooled his brow with a fresh cloth. Her touch soothed him, but before long he called Taelerat’s name and struck out, as if fighting a foe. She restrained him until the fit passed, and then bathed his brow again.

  He fell into a deep sleep, and she cradled him. When his breathing became labored, fear caught her by the throat. Kai couldn’t die!

  Dorann returned just as welke wings flapped overhead. The wingabeasts stirred in their corner of the cave, but Guaron hissed a command and they quieted. Shae recovered enough wit to extinguish the lanthorn. Moonlight limned Aerlic, who watched at the mouth of the cave, bow in hand. But the beating of wings faded into distance.

  They ventured out at midday. Guaron led the wingabeasts to water’s edge, where they drank their fill and spread their wings in the sun. Aerlic and Dorann supported Kai between them, to lay him on a flat rock beside the pool so he could stretch out. Shae sat beside him and touched his brow, now clammy. Shivers wracked him even in the warmth of the sun.

  “The fever has passed,” Dorann said. “Fresh air and sunlight may bring its own cure.”

  “It’s no wonder he became ill in that damp place.” Shae wished they could leave the murky cave behind. Brael Shadd glinted above the trees even now, a reminder that her time was limited.

  Kai watched her with dull eyes. “Leave me and go.”

  She started, for he spoke as if he followed her thoughts. She shook her head. “I’ll not.”

  “Shae, you have no choice.” He sighed. “I meant only to bring you help, but I’ve slowed you down.”