Valleron (Book 2)

by Jennifer Redmile

  Belle smiled, patting the head of the wolf standing beside her. “Well, at least we know these two aren’t kitsunes. Dominic, Dub, this is Vulk, our resident kitsune detector. He’s coming with us to Valleron.”

  The Oracle looked at them all and smiled. “So I’m assuming we will only need to come up with a force of forty-eight now?”

  They all turned at the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway. Dewar stepped into the room, his eyes twinkling. “Erm, tha’ be for’y-sev’n now, I be thinkin’. It’s taken th’ whole blasted day, but I fin’lly convinced the bleedin’ Council it be in th’r best interests if a Council member goes along.” He winked as his eyes met Dominic’s. “Besides, what sorta example’d a father be settin’ by lettin’ his only son venture inta a new world afore him? Yer mother’d have me beard!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  -Return to Valleron-

  Unlike the last time they’d set off for the veil, the sun warmed their backs as they rode. Leah deliberately hadn’t mentioned the bad feeling she’d had all morning. What was the point? They all knew what lay ahead would probably be a nightmare, but turning back wasn’t an option.

  She could at least be grateful their horses had insisted on coming through the veil with them this time. Knowing Solange would be with her had lifted her spirits, somehow making the whole thing a little more bearable.

  Raff was grinning from ear to ear as he moved Rogue alongside of them. “How cool is this? I can’t wait to see the look on Aracus’ face when we arrive with the help we promised.”

  Leah couldn’t help grinning back at him. His excitement was so cute it was infectious. “I just hope the amulet is able to take us all through. I’m terrified we’ll wake up on the other side, and there’ll be just us again.”

  She saw the same worry flash in his eyes for a second, but it was gone before he let it take hold. “Hey, of course it’ll work. I mean, it carried Lyricus through with us last time. I’ve been thinking about how the amulet works. Remember when we used it to kill Tyranius? It didn’t work until we concentrated on all the bad things he’d done to the mixed-blood children who came through the portal.”

  “Okay, so what’s that got to do with anything?”

  He scratched his head. “Well, from what I can gather, the amulet will only work if it’s in the best interests of the people of When. When we asked it to open the veil to let the scouts through, it sent us instead. We were meant to be the ones who discovered what was going on in Valleron, and Lyricus needed to be with us so he could shield us. Do you get what I’m saying? Or does this all sound totally nuts?”

  Leah smiled. “When did you get to be so smart? I’d never even thought about all that. To be honest, it’s the first time anything about the amulet has made sense. So, what you’re saying is, if taking this force through with us is what’s best for the people of When, the amulet will do what we ask?”

  “Exactly! Now do you think it’ll work?” He reached for her hand and squeezed it.

  “If we weren’t on horseback, with all these people around, I’d kiss you right now!” Leah whispered.

  “Hold that thought! If we hurry, we’ll be on the ground in about ten minutes.”

  * * *

  Leah knew they were in Valleron before she even opened her eyes. In the ten days since they’d left, she’d managed to convince herself it couldn’t have been as bad as she remembered. What a joke… it was worse!

  She sat up slowly, feeling like a woodpecker had taken up residence inside her head. She needed to find Belle… now. Apparently understanding how the amulet worked didn’t change the fact that it hurt to use the stupid thing. The sight of people sprawled on the ground all around her made her smile. Well, at least the amulet had agreed they needed to come!

  A snort from behind her shoulder reminded her they’d brought the horses through with them. She turned and rubbed Solange’s velvety nose, glad she was there with her. Then she caught sight of Raff, Lyricus and Belle sitting a few feet away, their heads together as they talked quietly. Typical! How come she was always the last one to wake up?

  She crawled over and propped herself up against Raff’s shoulder. Without saying a word, Belle reached out and gently touched the side of her head. She sighed in relief as the pain vanished.

  Belle smiled. “Better?”

  “Better would be the understatement of the century!” Leah looked around at the fifty others she knew needed healing. “How many other healers did we bring with us again?”

  “There are only five of us, but Lyricus has put up a shield, so we can take our time. I’m not sure how much the other healers will be able to help, or what recovery time they’ll need. I suppose I’d best get started.” She stood, and headed towards where Dominic, Dewar and Dub sat, holding their heads and groaning.

  Along with the two dwarves and the coblynau, they’d tried to select the best possible combination for the force they’d brought with them. In the end they’d brought ten mages, twenty elven guards, fifteen dwarves, and four elven healers. Before they’d come through the veil, Raff had warned them all about the aftermath of a crossing, explaining that the healers would be able to help them, but it might take some time. Leah realised for the first time how much harder it was going to be to get anything done in a hurry with this many people to organise.

  Raff was up and pacing already. She knew he’d go nuts if he had to wait the hours it would take to get everyone healed. He’d already waited ten days to get back to the Haven. It really wasn’t fair to make him wait any longer.

  She wandered over to where Belle was treating the other healers in their party. “Ummm, Belle, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Belle stopped what she was doing, and joined her. “Sure… what’s up?”

  “It’s about Raff. I don’t think he’s going to cope with waiting around for everyone to be healed.” She indicated towards where Raff was pacing, and Belle smiled and nodded at the frustration oozing from his every pore. “So, I was thinking. What if Raff and I, and maybe one of the elves to shield us, flew ahead to the Haven and let them know we’re coming. I haven’t said anything to Raff yet. I wanted to see what you thought first.”

  “Sounds like a great idea to me. You’ll need to take Lyricus though… Fleet is the only other flying horse. But I’m sure he’d be happy to help.”

  “I’m sure he would too, but are you sure you can cope without him?” She nudged Belle and chuckled.

  “I think I’ll survive!” Belle laughed, feigning a martyr-like expression. “I’ll leave it up to you to organise it though. I need to get on with this healing.”

  “No worries; I’ll come get you when we’re ready to go. Try not to wear yourself out too much!”

  Leah found Lyricus talking to Dewar, and ran the plan by him. He looked towards where Belle was working, a frown on his face. She looked up and smiled, nodding in encouragement.

  “Ok, so we’ll go speak to Aracus, and then fly back and meet up with the others, is that the plan? Only one problem I can see. How will we be able to find them, if they’re on the move and shielded?”

  Leah scratched her head, then realised what she was doing, and laughed. “Oh great! Obviously I’ve been spending too much time around Raff! So what if we get the others to wait here until we get back then? I figure it’s about a six hour round trip if we’re flying. We could set up camp here for the night, and head off first thing in the morning?”

  “I think that might be the best plan. At least that way we’ll know where to look for them.”

  “Cool. Can you go let Belle know the plan, while I go tell Mr Impatient he’s not going to have to pace all day?” She grinned, and headed off to give Raff the good news.

  * * *

  Leah smiled at the eager look on Raff’s face. They’d been flying for a little over two hours, and he knew they were getting close. She looked down at the monotonously barren landscape below them, grateful they were flying instead of trudging through the red dir
t.

  She stiffened at the smell of smoke in the air. There were no settlements between here and the Haven, so where was the fire? The bad feeling she’d had since they’d left Florisia, flared into terror. Something was terribly wrong!

  Then she saw it! In the distance, a huge blackened area, roughly the size of the Haven. They were too late! The look on Raff’s face had changed to horror. He bent low over Rogue’s neck and began to pull away in front of her. She knew Solange would never be able to keep up with Rogue, but she urged her to go faster anyway.

  Ten minutes later Solange landed next to where Rogue and Fleet stood heaving. Leah slid to the ground and raced to where Raff stood, his face a mask of anger.

  “We took too long,” he said through gritted teeth. “This is all those idiots on the Florisian Council’s fault!”

  Leah grabbed his hand, standing in front of him in an attempt to block the scene from his vision. “Maybe they got out! You said Aracus promised to leave if things looked bad.”

  His eyes came slowly back into focus, filled with pain as they met hers. “Can you honestly see Aracus running from a fight and hiding? I knew when he said it that he’d never keep that promise.”

  She jumped as Lyricus came up behind her. “I’m sorry Raff, there’s no sign of survivors. I’ve searched the entire place… everything is destroyed. I’d say it was a surprise attack by an overwhelming force. The attackers must have had mages with them to be able to bring down the shield.”

  Tears rolled down Leah’s face. “But we don’t know whether or not anyone escaped, right? There’s still hope Raff! Aracus and Melinda could be hiding somewhere, protected by a new shield.”

  “Serbus is going to pay for this… big time!” Raff said, as he turned and headed back towards Rogue.

  Chapter Twenty

  -Sad Tidings-

  By the time they landed back where they’d left the others, Raff’s mind was numb. His emotions had seesawed between anger and misery all the way back. He couldn’t believe he’d actually found his family, only to lose them again, before they’d had a chance to get to know each other.

  He knew Leah and Lyricus were worried about him, but he couldn’t summon the energy to respond to their concern. He slipped off Rogue’s back and slumped to the ground, his face in his hands. He stiffened when he heard Leah approach.

  “Raff, we need to get back inside the shield. It’s too dangerous to stay out here,” she said gently.

  He spoke through his hands, not wanting to lift his face and see the hurt in her eyes. “You guys go in, and take Rogue will you? I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “But…”

  “Please Leah. I just need to be alone for a while.”

  Leah hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. She called to Rogue to come, and finally walked off. He waited until her footsteps had faded into the distance before lifting his head to the silence surrounding him, relieved to finally be alone with his grief.

  * * *

  Raff stepped through the shield half an hour later. He could feel the sympathy of his friends reaching out towards him as he approached them. But the pain was still too raw to share how he felt.

  “Sorry guys… I’m not very good company at the moment. Maybe we can talk about what’s happened, and where we go from here, in the morning. ‘Night.” He looked desperately around for a hole to crawl into, knowing there wouldn’t be one. Instead, he walked to where the horses were, sat down, and curled up into a ball.

  The sky was streaked with pink when he finally roused himself from his stupor. He’d spent the entire night racking his brain for a way to make Serbus pay. Frustrated and emotionally wrung out, he stood and stretched, his muscles aching from sitting hunched for so long.

  He looked around at the horses; even they look depressed by the lack of grass and the searing heat of this inhospitable place. Rogue lifted his head at Raff’s approach, snorting as if sharing his disgust at this place they were in.

  “Yeah, I agree,” Raff said, rubbing the side of his horse’s neck. “Depressing hole isn’t it? Let’s go for a ride, eh?”

  Rogue extended his wing and Raff climbed aboard. No-one in the camp stirred as they walked quietly to the edge of the shield. As soon as they popped out on the other side, Raff gave the horse his head.

  “Okay boy, let’s go.”

  Rogue didn’t hesitate. He took off at a gallop, racing across the barren landscape. Raff felt the wind rushing to meet him, and smiled for the first time since he’d seen the remains of the Haven. This was exactly what he’d needed. Maybe it would clear his mind of the fog that was clouding his thoughts.

  He’d get Serbus, somehow! There had to be a way of luring the monster out of his sanctuary. He just needed to think! Did Serbus know about the amulet being restored? If he knew they were here, and had it with them, that would definitely get his attention!

  Rogue’s sides were heaving by the time he finally pulled him back to a walk. It was time to turn back. Being out in the open like this was a stupid risk to be taking. He sighed, and turned Rogue to head back the way they’d come.

  He kept Rogue at a walk for a while, letting the horse recover from their mad dash, as his mind toyed with the seed of an idea to bring down Serbus. Lost in thought, he lifted his head when he thought he heard his name being called. He shook his head at his own stupidity. Someone calling him, out here in the middle of nowhere? Yeah right, now he was hearing voices.

  Then he heard it again, and this time he noticed Rogue’s ears flick back at the sound. So it wasn’t his imagination! He turned back to scan the red dirt landscape behind him, and his heart leapt into his mouth. Unbelievable! It was Aracus. His grandfather was alive, and limping towards him!

  He slid off Rogue’s back and raced back towards his grandfather. “I thought you were dead!” Raff whispered, as Aracus enclosed him in a familiar bear hug.

  Aracus chuckled. “I should be! The few survivors from the attack dragged me out of there and spent days trying to heal me. I remember thinking how much I wished your friend Belle was around.”

  Raff stepped back out of the bear hug and frowned at his grandfather. “I’m sorry. I tried everything to get back sooner, but the Council took forever to approve anything.”

  Aracus smiled. “I figured as much. Having dealt with the stubborn, pig-headed advisors at the Haven, I knew they’d be opposed to getting involved in another world’s problems.”

  Raff looked into the older man’s eyes. “Melinda…?”

  Aracus shook his head, his red-rimmed eyes filled with unshed tears. “We stepped out of the front door at the sound of yelling. I remember the fireballs coming at us, and Melinda screaming, and that’s it. The people who pulled me out said she was already gone when they found me, and I wouldn’t have lasted much longer either.”

  Raff felt like his heart was breaking. “I should’ve stayed! Or made you come with us!”

  Aracus put his arm around Raff’s shoulder. “This is not your fault. There was nothing you could have done, even if you’d stayed. It was a surprise attack. If you’d been there, you might all be dead too, and we need you alive to put an end to this monster.”

  Raff heard the anger in his voice, and it resonated with his own. “He will definitely pay for what he’s done. The only questions are how and when; and I have a few ideas about that as well. We brought a force of fifty back with us, so we’ll have some help. So where are the other survivors?”

  “They’re not far away, hidden by a shield. We were actually on our way to the school when I saw you ride past. Somehow, I knew if you came back to Valleron, you’d head to the school eventually. I seem to remember Belle being rather upset she had to leave the kids behind last time. Come on, let’s go tell the other survivors the good news.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  -Reunions-

  Belle was beside herself with worry. They’d discovered Raff and Rogue missing two hours ago, and Leah had wanted to send out a search party immediately. They did
n’t even know how long he’d been gone. No one had heard him leave.

  Leah was chewing her lip, her face a mask of misery. “Belle, we have to do something. He’s not thinking straight, and I’m worried he might do something stupid. Not to mention the fact that he’s out there unshielded for the entire world to see!”

  Belle rubbed her shoulder. “I know, I agree. But we don’t even know where he would’ve headed. He could be anywhere. And he’s not exactly helpless you know.”

  “I know, but he could be out there hurt, or dying. I have to go look for him!”

  Belle sighed. “Okay, maybe you and I could go have a look. We’ll fly over the area and see if there’s any sign of him.”

  Leah brightened immediately. “Oh Belle, that’d be awesome. Thank you so much.”

  They were heading towards Lyricus, to tell him their plans, when they heard shouts from the other side of the camp. Raff was walking towards the shield, leading Rogue who carried a man slumped over his back. A bedraggled group of about twenty people accompanied them. Leah and Belle ran towards them, and then stopped as they recognised the man on Rogue’s back.

  “Aracus? Where…? How…?” Leah said.

  Raff grinned. “It’s crazy right? We’ll explain everything. But first we need Belle’s healing hands.”

  Belle was right behind Leah. “Dammit Raff, we’ve been stressing about you ever since we found you gone this morning. We were just about to send out a search party!” She shrugged and then smiled. “Sorry, just needed to vent. Now, let me have a look what I can do for Aracus.”

  Once they were all inside the shield, Raff lowered Aracus to the ground. Belle gently but firmly pushed Raff out of the way so she could get started. “Go have some breakfast or something. I’ll call you when I’m done,” Belle said, as her hands started to glow.