by Linda Jordan
Dylan slept in the saddle in front of her. He’d been fascinated by everything. Pointing, oohing, aahing and talking continuously to the faeries, but never to her. Then suddenly, he’d reached his limit and crashed.
Mira worried how her mom and stepfather felt about Amanda, Dylan and her own disappearance. House and garage left wide open with no one in sight. How would Mom explain this to Elliot when the three of them returned?
Mom married Elliot only three years ago. He didn’t know why Mom had kicked Mira out or that she’d been apprenticed with Aunt Rita to become a Witch. He thought she lived in Seattle to study theatre. Discussions of magic were taboo in the household.
Mira wondered why she still cared about them. None of them cared about her. Mom had ostracized her from most of the family. Even Grandma had been on Mom’s side, not Aunt Rita’s. Except now, they all stood together. Watching Mira fail at her life. She wondered if Dad would have joined them had he lived.
They stopped for the night in a clearing. She unsaddled and brushed all the horses, while Aste took the food out and passed it around. It calmed and centered her to work. It was something she could control and made her forget the evil that had happened to her sister.
Aste said, “I’m not expecting company, but I want to be prepared if we meet anyone who wants to harm us. We will have no fire tonight.” She made a protective circle around all of them, including the horses. Then she whistled quickly three times.
Shortly, the huge, silvery wolf came to the edge of the clearing and easily passed through the border of the circle. The wolf walked up to Aste and she ruffled its ears. The wolf lay down by her blankets, far from the horses.
Aste said, “The circle is for magical threats. She will alert us to any physical threats.”
Mira watched the horses thinking they should be afraid of a wolf. But they simply looked at it curiously and went back to dining on the nearby grass and the small piles of grain they’d been given.
Dylan ran around between the trees and out around the meadow and back again, and again. Weaving in and out of Aste’s circle, he shrieked with pleasure each time he passed the barrier. After resting all day, she knew he needed to play. He had refused to settle down and come eat.
“Mira, play tag.”
“Dylan, I can’t. I’m tired. I need to eat and go to sleep.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t sleep in the saddle all day. I needed to stay awake and drive the horse.” Shadow snorted at the comment. Mira knew the mare laughed at her.
“Mira, come play.”
“Dylan, come eat.”
“No,” he said, running off again.
“He will eat when he’s hungry enough, let him run,” said Aste.
The three of them ate granola bread, dried meat and fresh cheese. She was getting awfully tired of the bread.
Aste slipped Amanda’s infusion into her tea and she drank it all. Dylan continued to run around through the trees, now and then screeching.
“I’m going to bed,” announced Amanda.
“Are you okay?” asked Mira.
“Tired.”
“Do you want me to put Dylan to bed, again?” she asked, glancing at him climbing a nearby rock.
“Dylan?” asked Amanda, her face wrinkled up, shaking her head in confusion.
“Dylan, your son.”
“Oh,” she paused, looking at Dylan like he was a stranger. “Yeah, right. Put him to bed.” Amanda slipped into her bedroll, lay down and closed her eyes.
Mira watched her with sadness. She was beginning to understand how damaged Amanda was. She guessed they were lucky that despite the loss of her soul, Amanda had made it through a hard, long day of riding after an awful night.
Mira slid off her rock and stood. She’d be really sore tomorrow and wasn’t looking forward to getting into the saddle again.
Dylan was having a conversation with the wolf, who patiently allowed him to crawl all over her. He said, “Ride trees, faya, coohl bugs,” and the wolf yelped at him in return.
Aste sat down next to where Mira stood and said, “The pooka you met earlier is one of an ancient race. Most of them can be invisible to humans, it is dependent on how much skill a pooka has. And how sensitive the human is. Amanda saw nothing because she is so weak. Dylan saw the pooka, as did I.”
She continued, “This pooka wanted to be seen. He is looking for allies. I met him at court a few times. Pooka also form the special guard at the Queen’s Court. The ability to be invisible is useful for a spy. They are also great warriors and magicians.” She paused. “This pooka is clearly no longer at court. He was too bedraggled. Pooka do not normally beg. It is possible he may help us.”
“How can he help us, if he’s no longer there?”
“I do not know. The pieces of this puzzle are not all in place yet. But it is forming. And the time is right for a shift in power.”
“I understand when you talk about strategies, but when you get into this ‘time is right for a shift in power,’ stuff, I’m totally lost,” said Mira.
“The Queen of the Black Opal has been in power a long, long time. She has refused to give up her throne to any heir. Her sisters are queens of other worlds. The Queen of the World of the Enigmatic Pearl happily handed power over to her daughter and is spending her remaining days being young again. That land is joyful and vibrant. You carry a branch from that land with you.”
“How did you know that?” asked Mira. She touched the small branch which still hung around her neck on a string, hidden beneath her blouse and shawl. Days later, the leaves on the branch still remained fresh.
“How could I not sense such life and vibrancy?”
“Will it be a problem?”
“I think it is part of your future, but things are not clear, yet.” Aste pulled her shawl tighter and shifted to get more comfortable. Mira could hardly see her face in the dim light of dusk.
Aste continued, “The Queen of the World of the Flaming Ruby passed the throne off to her son and has been very unhappy with the way he rules. She is still fighting him even though it has been many turns. The Flaming Ruby is very unhappy about the divisiveness between the two, and sulks. Our Black Opal is affected by the Ruby’s unhappiness. The three worlds are closely woven together.”
What Aste just said was so complex as to be incomprehensible. How could stones feel? How could they know what each was feeling? She let the statement wash over her and asked “How many heirs does the Queen have?”
“The next in line would be Roderick, whom you met in the forest. He would be a poor choice but he is her younger brother and closest relation in this land. However, he has two sons, either one of whom would make a better ruler. She can appoint anyone as heir. The Queen knows it is long past time to do so,. The Opal has told her as have many others. Some of them no longer living because of their outspokenness. Others have seen the truth of knowing in her eyes. Yet, she refuses and her power weakens. It festers and is corrupted, growing increasingly evil to the point where she would steal another’s soul. Her healer has become a sorcerer, an evil man. He must be removed.”
“I can’t do that! I have no idea how to do any of this,” said Mira.
“No, that is my job,” she sighed. “He used to be my student. It is my work to see that the man unlearns all he knows.” The wrinkles around Aste’s eyes seemed to sag with weariness and sadness.
“How will you do that?”
“There are several ways. I will wait and see which one presents itself.” Aste frowned.
They passed the night uneasily. Noises came from the forest and the wolf snarled periodically throughout the night. Aste got up now and then to check her circle’s integrity. Faeries came and went, comforting Dylan when he woke from the wolf’s growling. Other things bounced off Aste’s circle with shrieking and explosions of static electricity.
“This is not good,” mumbled Aste under her breath.
“Why?”
“There are too many malevolen
t beings trying to enter this circle. The Queen has so many spies. We must be very careful from now on.”
Mira lay in the darkness looking for stars. She saw only an almost full red moon, barely rising over the tops of the trees. Could this be Aine?
In the predawn they ate some fruit left over from the day before as well as more granola bread. They packed up while they ate and were on the horses before daylight.
She still didn’t know why there should be night and day here, there was no sun. When asked, Aste laughed and said, “Why should there not be a separate time for waking and for resting?”
They climbed higher and instead of the day growing warmer, it got cooler. She’d be glad for the wool cape tonight.
They left the dense forest behind. She glimpsed the pooka moving between the trees, but he came no closer. The trees grew farther and farther apart. Tall, mossy conifers were replaced by gnarled, shorter trees which looked as if they’d withstood centuries of wind. The leaves and needles looked green, but colors were deceptive here in the dim, amethyst light. Clouds blew into the clear sky and by midday they formed a continuous canopy.
Great boulders grew out of the ground. They passed by several the size of three school buses piled on top of each other. The cliffs rose even taller. She marveled at the smooth, glossy stone like polished rock marbled with black, reds, dark purples and shot through with silver. She had never seen such beautiful stones.
When they stopped for lunch, she asked Aste, “Could the pooka be a spy for the Queen?”
“I doubt it. He left while I remained at court, turns ago. Disgruntled by the Queen and her politics, most likely. Still, it is a possibility. Next time you speak with him, ask what his current connection with the Queen is. You must be very specific, leave no room for ambiguity with a pooka. Because of your kindness, this one is in your debt and must tell you the truth.”
“What is a turn?” asked Mira.
“It is the way we count the passing of days. I would guess it is close to one of your years.”
Mira heard a loud crash in the bushes behind them. A blur of brown knocked Aste off the boulder. It threw her up into the air again and again, claws tearing. Mira leapt up and yelled. She looked for a weapon, a stick, anything.
A bear. It was a huge bear.
Suddenly another monstrous bear vaulted into the fray. It attacked the first one. Roaring filled her ears. Mira dragged Aste away behind some bushes. Blood poured out of the older woman, spreading over her shirt. Her skin and clothes were ripped from the huge claws. Mira was surprised to see Amanda grab Dylan. They held onto the horses. The roan screamed with fear. She could overhear Shadow speaking in her mind, trying to calm the younger mare.
The smaller bear, who had attacked Aste, shimmered into a dinosaur. No, a dragon! Mira gasped, she watched the second one change into an even larger dragon. The two creatures continued to fight.
The bigger dragon growled in a deep, hoarse voice, “Leave. Run.”
Mira picked up Aste. She didn’t weigh much or perhaps Mira had gained superhuman strength because of the adrenaline rush. The ground shook from the monsters fighting. She heaved Aste onto her horse, then draped her arms around the black’s neck. Aste’s fingers reflexively curled into the mane.
“You must stay beneath her, I don’t have time to tie her on,” she told the black mare. Mira mounted her own horse, while holding Aste’s reins.
Shadow bolted. Dylan and Amanda on the gray flew behind, leading the pack horse.
She glanced back as the smaller dragon dove in to bite the larger one in the belly, who brought a massive fist down on its head. Then they both shimmered and seemed to dissolve again.
Mira forced herself to set aside what she’d seen and focus on finding a safe place quickly. Aste needed to be tended. She hoped some of the potions on the pack horse would help. If she could find the right one.
They raced up the road. A wall of cliffs rose on one side. Turning off the main road, Shadow crashed through the brush and trees. The others followed. Faeries appeared out of nowhere, sweeping their trail away with boughs and leafed out branches.
As they closed in on the cliffs, the soil changed to stone. The horses’ hooves clacked on the slippery rock. The sound echoed throughout the cliffs, causing Mira to cringe from the exposure. They worked their way through the boulders. Behind one, she found a large cave.
Slipping off the mare she called to the others, “Wait here.”
Pulling the small branch out of her blouse, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She walked into the cave. By the branch’s light she saw a space the size of Aunt Rita’s huge house in Seattle. Big enough for four humans and the horses. It had no other openings or occupants. The walls were filled with intricate paintings and carvings. Someone once lived here. Now it felt peaceful, abandoned.
She went back outside and said, “Everyone in the cave, horses as well.” She lifted Dylan down and gave him the reins to Aste’s horse. He led the mare inside and Mira glanced at Aste’s white face as she rummaged through the pack horse’s bags, looking for the torch. Amanda dismounted, leading her horse inside. Mira followed with Shadow and the pack horse.
Inside the cave, she lit the torch, sending her energy into it as Aste had shown her. Outside a deluge opened up, the sound of it was deafening as it echoed throughout the cave. She lay Aste down on a bed of blankets. The old woman was unconscious. She tore the tattered blouse off her and nearly choked at the sight of the wounds. Blood stained nearly all of Aste’s shirt and a great deal of her skirt.
“Build a fire,” she told Amanda.
Amanda stared at her blankly. Dylan pulled at her sleeve. “Wood,” he said. A look of comprehension crossed Amanda’s face. She followed Dylan out of the cave into the storm.
Mira washed the wounds with water from a pouch, then found an infusion that might work as an antiseptic. The worst was a long, deep gash which ran from Aste’s right shoulder across her chest to the other shoulder. Mira could see bone on that one, but the best she could do would be bind it. It probably needed to be sewn up, but she didn’t know how. Other wounds needed stitching as well.
Aste woke once during the cleaning process. “Aah, dragon cave,” she said, and demanded a vial that contained putrid, orange herbs. She pulled some out and chewed on them, until she slipped into unconsciousness again. Mira pulled a thick blanket out of one of the packs and covered her.
Amanda and Dylan returned with armloads of damp firewood. Amanda built a fire while Mira created a magic circle like Aste did, making it especially strong at the door. She noticed the silver wolf, dripping wet, come and lay just outside the doorway under cover of the overhanging rock, intently watching outwards.
Dylan and Amanda huddled near the fire. Mira stood and watched Aste’s quiet breathing. Shadow pawed at the floor of the rock cave and Mira remembered the horses. She began unsaddling and brushing them. Amanda joined in the work, but said nothing. After grooming them, she gave them each some grain.
They ate in silence, sitting around the fire. Mira didn’t feel like eating. Her belly rumbled so she ate anyway, feeling vaguely numb. She snuck the infusion into Amanda’s tea. Amanda ate, then slept. Dylan sat, worriedly watching Aste, Amanda, Mira and the wolf. Then he slept, cuddled by two or three faeries. She couldn’t see exactly where one faerie ended and another began.
Mira sat looking at the paintings on the wall. They reminded her of Celtic knot work. The rock walls were red like the cliffs outside. White, black and yellow ochre paintings of dragons and other creatures were interspersed with carvings. The paintings danced with shadows from the fire. Aste said this was a dragon cave; it certainly contained pictures of dragons as well as many other creatures. So did Aste mean dragons lived here, in this world, in this cave? Or did she mean humans simply painted dragons on the cave walls? The cave opening looked large enough for something huge to enter. She felt glad the opening was hidden from the road.
What would happen now? Aste needed a doct
or, or a healer to sew her up and Mira didn’t know where to take her. How long could the wounds wait before it was too late for stitches? The one good thing she could find in all this was that the wounds only went deep in one area, the shoulder. It could be worse.
She thought about the two creatures, the one who attacked Aste and the other who defended them. Certainly not bears. Or dragons. Unless dragons could change their form at will and talk. She shivered, despite the heat of the fire. Why had the larger one told them to run? Why did it protect them? Mira decided the only thing to do would be to ask Aste when she woke. She turned her mind elsewhere. The idea of shape changers was too frightening to contemplate in the darkness.
Mira fought off sleep by pacing. She needed to stay awake and keep the circle strong. Aste lay wounded because of her. She should have gone on this journey alone.
She fell asleep sitting up, leaning against one of the packs when dreams drew her in. She dreamt of forests, damp and mossy. Standing by a massive tree whose trunk was three times as large as the cedar stump at home. Ronan was with her. As they admired the giant tree a black unicorn came to them. She’d never seen anything so beautiful in her life. She was invited to get on the unicorn’s back. They were about to run away when Ronan cried out to her, “Please don’t leave, I love you.”
Mira woke to find Shadow nuzzling her, the fire still going and Aste stirring, trying to get up.
Aste’s wounds still horrified her. Today, they wept a red, clearish blood. Aste told her which infusion to put on the lacerations, then drank some medicine from another bottle. Afterwards, Mira and Amanda wrapped her wounds and dressed her in clean clothes. The shredded bloody ones went on the fire. Her cape they got out of a saddle bag, still whole, so at least Aste might stay warm. Aste insisted they move on. She would leave them at the pass to find a healer who could sew her up.
“You will be safer without me,” she said.
Amanda and Dylan watched silently as Mira argued with Aste.
“I don’t believe you. You need help until you find a healer.”