A single tear coursed down her cheek, and brushing it away she turned eastward. She’d cross this night to the crags and boulders at the feet of Maeg Waer, and then enter Caerric Daeft.
Alone.
25
Cavern of Death
The suck and lap of water roused Kai. Rolling onto his back with a slosh, he opened his eyes to darkness. He sat upright, every muscle protesting, and his head hit something solid. As he put up a hand, his fingers grated against cold rock close above him. He pushed into a low crouch, all he could manage in this tight space, and wet sand scraped his palms.
Memory came then. Screeches and dark wings. Rent flesh. Spattered blood. Just keeping his grip on Whyst as he jumped into the stream after Dorann. The shrieking of the welkes as they devoured their wounded member.
Swept down a series of cataracts, he’d found a handhold at waterline while Dorann slid over the next waterfall. With welkes screeching overhead, he’d heaved himself into a small hole in the rock face.
The thought of Shae alone in the night, possibly injured, spurred him now. He crawled toward the blue light at the mouth of the small hole and emerged behind a sparkling ribbon of water falling into a pool of black silk.
He slipped into the pool and, staying away from the main current, struck for the bank. Bumping to the edge, he pulled himself out. Water sheeted from him as he stood upon bare rock. He shook, shedding droplets like a dog.
The cold cut like a knife. He needed his cloak, and if Shae or Dorann lived, perhaps he would find them in the chasm where it lay.
Before he turned aside, Kai peered from the edge into the dark pool below. “Shae! Dorann!”
A night bird exploded from its perch in some rocky crevice below and became a white blur winging across the ebain. Its plaintive whistle carried on the wind. No other reply answered him. He hadn’t really expected one.
Kai’s boots squelched as he walked, but he ignored their discomfort—even welcomed the distraction—for he would not soon erase the image of Shae standing bold and alone against the welke, Whyst raised high. Nor could he forget Dorann’s panicked expression as the current carried him away.
Something caught his eye, a hard-edged object along the shore. Plucking Shae’s sodden boot from the stream, he tasted the salt of tears. He gathered himself to trudge onward, but other images weighted his steps. Maeven lying still in death…Shae flinging early petals over his head…Aeleanor huddled in her daughter’s cloak…Daeven tilting his hat as he rode away, never to return.
He reached the chasm and found his cloak near his pack. He settled its warmth over his shoulders. Dorann’s cloak remained but Shae’s had vanished. Hope stirred. Had she survived? The contents of their packs littered the area—strewn, no doubt, by welkes in search of food. Kai gathered his belongings. Spilled oil pooled on the ground, but he found no lamp. His heart turned over as hope, and then certainty, seized him.
Shae lived.
****
Shae put her lone boot back on. Better to limp than to have two slashed and numbed feet. She tore strips from her tunic and bound her bootless foot with them. Even so, cold soon penetrated the cloth. As the night progressed, her clothing had dried but she still shivered in her cloak. At times the world receded, and she fancied herself a ghost floating across the ebain. Other times, she dragged, all too aware of each painful step.
Light blushed across the eastern sky as Shae fetched against one of the great boulders in the foothills beneath Maeg Waer. She spread herself flat against the rock and eyed the mountain towering overhead. If she didn’t find and enter Caerric Daeft, the welkes would find her when they left their roosts. But she held back for want of courage. How could she face the Cavern of Death alone? Lof Yuel, help me.
A cool touch brushed her mind across time and space. She smiled through her tears. Elcon lived. He would need the DawnKing’s help to free Elderland.
She stood and faced the mountain.
A faint path led to a cleft marking the entrance to Caerric Daeft. At the mouth of the cave, she turned for a last look across Laesh Ebain. Even the gentle morning light could not ease the bleak landscape. Brael Shadd glinted in the distance, not troubling to rise above the horizon. A shaft of light followed her inside the cave, but there deserted her. She paused, shivering in the sudden cold, and ignited the lanthorn as she had seen it done by Dorann and Aerlic. Her fingers fumbled over the unaccustomed task. It took longer than it ought, but she at last held the lighted lamp aloft. She peered about to gain her bearings, and a frisson of fear traveled her spine. This cave resembled the one she’d visited in her dreams.
She set her fears aside and moved into the cave, but halted in wonder. A large chamber, finer than any built by Kindren hands, unfolded before her. The near walls glittered with a thousand tiny lights of gold, white, and pink. The lights seemed so luminous. Would they continue to glow if her lanthorn went out? Stalagtites hung from the ceiling like icicles, while stalagmites of the same smooth material thrust upwards from the cave floor.
This majestic cave would make a fitting tomb. She shivered when she remembered it had become just that for many of the early Kindren. What would it be like to encounter a garn in these passages?
She pushed the question away, for it would only defeat her, and followed an arched passage farther into the cave, moving as one in a dream. Each turn uncovered fresh marvels— luminescent draperies of rock, walls as smooth and white as milk, and a crystal bridge that spanned an abyss. Chamber opened onto chamber, passage gave way to passage. Almost, she forgot time and place in awe. The drip of water echoed throughout, and here and there she skirted pools that shone like glass and fell away to depths unknown. She passed great pillars of stone that rose into darkness and holes that dropped to nowhere.
Just when she lost all sense of direction, Shae didn’t know, but she had no idea which way to turn to find the ancient stone stairway that climbed to Lohen Keil. She pressed on, trying not to panic, but the cave seemed to breathe, as if it lived—or as if something that lived followed her here.
She halted. The chamber before her seemed familiar. Did she travel in circles? She turned back and slammed into something warm and alive. A hand covered her mouth and stifled her scream.
The lanthorn swung in her hand, arcing light across the near walls and creating grotesque shadows before it sputtered and extinguished. A blue light remained. Although she didn’t know its source.
“It’s me, Shae!” A familiar voice spoke near her ear, and the arms released her.
She stepped back.
Kai’s form stood before her. Whyst glowed with blue light in his hand. “Keep your voice low,” he told her. “We don’t know what darksome creatures dwell here.”
She looked askance at the apparition before her. Had she at last gone mad?
He caught her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “What’s happened to you, Shae? Do you fear me?” He touched the silverstone on its chain about her neck. “You wear my pendant.”
She caught her breath. No apparition would recognize a pendant. “I thought you died!”
“You thought I died? What about you? You vanished, swept away in the stream.” He paused, his hands flexing on her shoulders. “When I couldn’t find you, I was certain you’d drowned.”
“And I thought the welkes killed you and Dorann.”
A pained look crossed his face. “They might have, but they went after the welke we bloodied first. Not a pretty sight. Dorann and I just had time to escape. We followed you into the stream. We weren’t far behind, but you disappeared.”
“Oh Kai! I crawled behind a waterfall and didn’t see or hear anything. I thought—I thought…”
He tilted her face upward. “You thought me dead and mourned, did you? So much so that tears fill your eyes even now.”
“Kai—“
His kiss, featherlight, stopped her words. “I love you, Shae.”
She jerked away. “Can’t you see that it’s easier for you, Kai? You’ve k
nown all along what I’ve only just discovered—that we bear no blood in common.”
“I wish I’d never deceived you.” His gaze pierced her. “And what of you, Shae—do you lock away secrets of your own?”
“I can’t deny…” But her voice caught as a tide of sorrow flooded her.
He waited in silence.
She stepped back and willed herself to speak. “I do love you, but it’s hopeless.”
“Don’t say that!” He pulled her into his arms and pressed her lips with his.
She returned his kiss, tasting the salt of her own tears. And then, lost in a labyrinth of emotion, she forgot tears. A sweet yearning seized her, and she wound her arms around his neck.
He responded with quick passion, and she followed him into realms of desire. In the flame that consumed them, every argument she’d raised to separate them blazed and died. Had she really thought to deny the love that drove them together?
He pulled away, his breath ragged, and gave a shaky laugh. “Such words belong in a garden, not in this forsaken place. I promise to speak them again when we are quit of here.”
Bereft with his warmth gone, she wrapped her arms around herself. “At least we’ve spoken them now.” A sudden thought struck her. “You’ve not mentioned Dorann, and to my shame I forgot to ask about him. How came you here alone?”
“The current carried Dorann farther down the cataracts. I’m not sure he lives. I called to him, but he didn’t answer, and his cloak lay undisturbed in the chasm. Time presses or I could have searched for him. I thought you dead, especially when I found your boot. But when I returned for my cloak and saw yours gone, I chose duty and followed you first. We can search for Dorann upon our return.”
“Let us hope for his safety. I hope he turns back. I only wish you hadn’t come after me.”
Kai’s hands closed over hers in a warm embrace. “I could never leave you.” He took the lanthorn she still held.
“It’s empty.”
He examined it and set it aside. “Never mind, Whyst guides the lost. It has already led me to you. We can trust its light.” As he turned, the light from Whyst flared to show them a narrow side passage. “This must be the way.”
They entered the narrow way that broadened into a small chamber where the walls glistened with moisture. A burbling rill cut a channel through the smooth floor. Another, invisible current flowed here. From somewhere hidden, fresh air entered the cave.
Kai stopped her beside the rill. “Wait! You limp, and I have your other boot. Here, sit down and hold Whyst.”
Shae found a ledge to perch upon and angled the blade to cast light over Kai. He stripped off his pack and crouched at her feet. With gentle fingers, he unbound the strips of cloth from her foot. “Your foot’s so cold. Here, let me warm it.”
He rubbed her foot between his hands, and she cried out as sensation returned. Pulling her boot from his pack, he eased it over her foot, and steadied her when she stood. She could walk much better now, although she still limped.
Kai shouldered his pack and they followed the rill across the narrow chamber. It led through a small opening glowing with natural light. Kai straddled the rill and ducked to go through the opening, then turned back to offer Shae his hand.
A thin edge of rock crumbled into the rill beneath her. Kai caught her in time to keep her from going into the water, but the splash of stone echoed through the Caerric in endless cadence.
She blinked in sudden light, which spilled through a natural “window”— a hole in the rock wall. Her vision adjusted, and she stood on tiptoe to look out at Laesh Ebain, stretching away, windswept and desolate.
Turning from the hole in the wall, she fought to keep her eyes open. Her head swam, for she’d gone too long without sleep. Her foot stung as it warmed, but at least the pain from her injured leg had lessened. Still, each step came at a cost.
An opening at the back of the small chamber gave unto hewn steps. She followed Kai up the stairway, but missed her footing and slipped. As she slid, the hard stone of the stair treads smote her over and over. She lay still.
Kai reached her and helped her sit up. Scratches welted her arms, and her cheek throbbed as if bruised. He pulled her into his arms. “We should rest before we climb. A little time remains before the dawn.”
Shae recognized the truth. She had reached the end of her strength. This small chamber offered something of security, and its fresh air and light comforted her.
Kai found a dark corner and propped himself against the smooth cave wall, and Shae settled herself in the warmth of his arms. It occurred to her, before she fell headlong into sleep, that she had always sought Kai’s arms. Nothing and yet everything had changed between them.
A breeze lifted the hair from Shae’s brow. She stirred. Arms came around her. She fought until Kai’s voice cut through her confusion.
“Wake, Shae! We’ve lingered overlong.”
She struggled, lost in the fog of sleep.
Rage coupled with lust pounded her as Freaer’s “touch” smote her mind. He would crush her soul. She tried to cry out but no sound came. She could not find the place where she ended and he began. Curling into a ball, she retreated inward.
The stranglehold loosened its tentacles and slid away. Almost, she would call it back, for her soul shredded. The sensation faded, and she breathed in the dusky scent of water on stone.
“Shae! Are you well?” Kai lifted her into his arms.
“Freaer’s touch strengthens.” She struggled to her feet to peer through the hole in the wall and take in the fresh draughts of air that bathed her face. Outside, storm clouds filled the sky, boiling purple. Lightning jagged and thunder boomed. A shimmer of rain obscured the ebain, slicking the clay soil.
Kai came up behind her, and she turned. “He draws near.”
“Shae, you are safe.”
She shook her head. “He won’t spare himself to stop me. I know it. We must hurry.”
Kai lifted Whyst. The spirit sword cast its light over the ancient stair. A rock wall rose on one side, and the other fell away to dark places unknown. Shae fretted at Kai’s slow pace but he acted in wisdom. They would gain nothing if they tired themselves early in this long climb.
She watched her footing and, when they slowed for safety’s sake, curbed her impatience. It would be all too easy to stumble over broken fragments of stone or trip on fissures.
Freaer’s soul collided with hers again. Caught by surprise, she forgot to shield herself. This time the sight left her eyes, and she put out a hand in darkness. Her mind whimpered. She barely felt arms come around her. “Shae, fight!”
Kai’s call sliced through her paralysis. With an effort, she curled into the Allerstaed within. Freaer’s grasp of her slipped away. She was safe. He might rage without, but Freaer could not reach her here.
A sweet vapor drifted across her mind, pushing away Freaer’s “touch.” Lof Yuel!
Kai’s face swam into view. She put a hand to his cheek. “Thank you.”
He gave a shaky laugh and pressed a kiss into her palm. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“It grows more difficult each time Freaer attacks. He’s very near.”
They climbed now with less caution and more speed. Water dripped all around them, and slid in channels down the walls. Small cave creatures splashed into pools at their approach, and the black waters rippled with silver. The ceiling soared out of sight far above, and a flurry of wings told Shae that creatures roosted there. As they climbed fresh currents blew over her. They passed more breaches in the side of the mountain. She breathed fresh air in these places but did not pause to look out. Would they come across openings where welkes roosted? She pushed away the thought. They faced enough perils without her imagining more.
She puffed as she climbed. As each flight of stairs broadened into a landing, always they found another that curved upwards. Her limp deepened as they climbed, and her legs trembled. The cave swung around her, and she put a hand to the wall until it
righted itself.
Kai cried out and lurched backward. Stones clattered down the stairs. He dove toward the edge, fighting to hold his sword. She caught him, and they swayed together as Whyst spun into the black void.
26
Well of Light
Kai dragged Shae back from the edge, and they fetched against the cave wall. Darkness, more profound than any she had ever known, pressed against her eyes. She hid her face in Kai’s cloak. Terror babbled in her mind like a lost soul. How could they go on without light? But how could they go back?
Kai moaned. “I lost my footing and dropped Whyst. There’s no time to search, even if we could do so in safety.”
“At least you did not fall. We will find a way to go on.”
“But how? We can’t see. Groping upward in darkness requires a slow pace, and the night wears on toward morning. We would risk falling to certain death for a bare chance of reaching Lohen Keil in time.”
“What choice do we have? We can’t stand here forever. A bare chance is still a chance.” Silence followed her outburst, punctuated by the faint rustle of wings.
He drew a ragged breath. “You’re right. We have to try.”
Look to the light…
The whisper came with such clarity Shae thought Kai might have heard it too. Memory stirred. “Wait. I think…I know something.”
Retreating inward to the place only Lof Yuel could touch, she saw in her mind’s eye the light that had flared within her at Elcon’s Coronation. With the ease of thought, the white flame blossomed before her. “I can see.”
Kai’s hands tightened on her arms. “How?”
How indeed? “Lof Yuel’s ‘touch’ lights the way.” She edged past him and skirted past the broken step. “Take my hand.”
Dawnsinger Page 24