by Frewin Jones
“Yes, I know.” She pointed upward. In the high dome of the ceiling the peepholes showed as dark, gaping mouths. “There’s a room up there for people to watch what goes on in here.”
“Oh, nice. . . .” Connor shook his head. “It’s totally medieval here,” he said. “And not civilized medieval like Faerie—it’s like blood-and-guts medieval.”
Rathina ran to the door, leaning into the dark corridor, listening.
“I hear no one,” she said. “But ’tis most strange. Why are there no guards? Why is Master Connor left alone? Are we lured here to our destruction?”
“Let’s worry about that later,” said Tania. “Connor? You okay now?”
“Yes. But I could use a shower.”
“I don’t think they have plumbing here,” Tania said wryly.
“No. Neither do I.”
They raced from the chamber, Tania pausing for a moment outside to close the door and shoot the bolts and lower the bars. Until the door was opened, no one would realize Connor was gone.
They ran along the corridors, Tania leading, Connor next, and Rathina bringing up the rear. At every corner and intersection Tania paused, listening. Several times they had close calls as small bands of men traversed a corridor ahead of them or were heard approaching.
“Do you know the way out of this warren?” Rathina asked in a low voice while they waited at a junction for footsteps to fade.
“From the ground level we went down three sets of stairs to get to the torture chamber,” said Tania. “If I’ve calculated it right, we should be back on ground level now. We just need to find an exit.”
“And then get through the gates before we’re caught,” said Connor, his voice anxious. “Have you seen the size of those gates? There’s no chance we could get them open without someone seeing us. And they have horses stabled here. Even if we get clear, they’ll run us down in no time flat.” He looked hopefully at Tania. “Unless you can get us out of here with your between-the-worlds trick?”
“I’m not doing that unless there’s absolutely no other choice,” Tania told him. “This hill is much higher here than it is in Ireland—I noticed that when we first climbed it. We’d appear in midair. The fall could break our necks.”
“It’s got to be the gates, then,” said Connor.
They had come to a wide vestibule from which several corridors led. Tall arched doors stood on a stone threshold, and there were narrow window slits to either side.
“Hush!” said Rathina, lifting her hand. She tilted up her chin and sniffed the air. “I smell horses!” she said. “ ’Tis a good smell. It reminds me of my own Maddalena. There are stables close or I’m no judge.” She smiled. “Shall we ride? Such speed would aid us.”
“Fine,” said Connor. “But that still leaves the gates!”
“I can deal with the gates,” said Tania. “We just have to get to them in one piece, that’s all.”
“To the stables, then,” said Rathina.
Tania touched the leaf to the arched doors and they swung open. Connor stared at the doorway then looked questioningly at Tania.
“Long story,” she said. “I’ll explain later.”
With Rathina now in the lead they came into a wide cobbled bailey over which mountainous stone walls reared. There were windows, but they were thin and dark. Rathina pointed silently, and they headed for a long range of buildings set up against the wall.
Tania pressed the leaf to a great square door. It swung out, releasing the scent of hay and oiled leather and the musk of horses.
The long stable room was unlit, and it was a few moments before Tania could make out the stalls.
“Can you smell their sweet breath?” murmured Rathina, walking forward over rustling straw. “A crime it is to trammel such creatures in so grim a citadel.”
Tania saw her step up to a dark horse and gently fondle its head. “There, there, my lad,” she crooned. “We’ll do thee no harm. Fear not.” She looked back at Connor and Tania. “I do not have my sister Cordelia’s way with beasts, but I know horses. Master Connor, will you seek saddles and bridles? Tania, remain at the door. See that no one intrudes while we get ready.”
Tania stared nervously out into the bleak night, her sword ready in her hand. She heard soft sounds behind her—the clatter of a hoof on stone, the snort of heavy breath, the slap and creak of leather, and the chink of crystal trappings.
The clack of hooves came up close behind her. Rathina was leading two horses, Connor a third. “Mount up, sister.”
Tania climbed awkwardly into the saddle. She could feel the animal breathing beneath her. She twisted the reins through the fingers of her left hand, her sword steady in the right.
Is this crazy? Are we really going to be able to run the gates like this?
But what was the alternative? Even if they managed to escape Dorcha Tur by using that same postern door, they would be on foot in a land alive with Lord Balor’s hunters. As wild and as reckless as this seemed, if they made it through the gates on horseback, they would at least have some hope of outrunning capture.
Rathina pressed her heels into her horse’s flanks. Tania followed with Connor alongside her.
The din of hooves on stone rang between the high walls. But still no one came.
The night held its breath. The stars trembled in the sky. The walls pressed in on them like the jaws of a trap. Tania could hardly hear the percussion of the hooves above the drumming of the blood in her temples.
They turned a corner and saw the gatehouse ahead of them. All was in darkness. Tania had a sensation between her shoulder blades like a slow fire burning in her spine.
Clack, clack of hooves on stone. Jingle of harness. Groan of leather.
The gatehouse came nearer. Even the guardroom set into the outer wall was in darkness.
Where are the guards? What is this?
A light flared, sudden, harsh in the gloom, red as fresh blood.
A man ran from the guardroom carrying a lantern like those from the ship. Another followed. Then another. A door cracked open behind them and more soldiers came pouring out, lantern-lit, their swords gleaming rosy as they swarmed the three riders.
“Do not kill them!” roared Lord Balor’s voice from high on the walls. “They are useless to me dead!”
Tania’s horse reared, the breath blowing from his nostrils, his eyes rolling. Rathina let out a shout of anger and defiance.
More soldiers appeared on the walls, strings tight on yew bows, arrows aiming into the snare of the courtyard.
“The leaf!” Rathina shouted. “Swiftly, sister!”
A hand grasped for Tania’s reins. She swung her sword, and the man jumped back. But she was surrounded, her horse agitated, turning this way and that, whickering and stamping.
She pulled the leaf from her bodice and impaled it on the tip of the sword. Then she drew back her right arm, and using all the power of her back and shoulders, she hurled the sword toward the closed gates.
It ran like white lightning through the night, striking the door and quivering in the wood, singing shrilly. Voices rose all around Tania and hands reached for her again now that she was unarmed.
But the moment the crystal sword pierced the wood, the heavy beams lifted and the massive bolts withdrew and the great doors heaved themselves open into the courtyard.
“Ride!” Rathina screamed. “Ride!”
The soldiers were in an uproar now, snatching at Tania as she kicked her horse into action, trying to rip her from the saddle. But Rathina was among them, her sword whirling, the iron blade sending the men reeling backward with shouts and screams.
The air became shrill with arrows, glancing off the walls and striking up from the cobbles. Tania kicked out, leaning low over her horse’s neck as she urged it forward. She felt the impact as the horse struck men aside. She felt fingers trying to close on her ankles, hands groping for her on all sides.
“Stop them!” Loud as the tumult was, Lord Balor’s voice was louder st
ill. “Do not kill them! He who takes a life shall pay with his own!”
Tania found herself in the deep darkness under the arched gateway, the noise of hooves ringing in her ears. She saw Rathina just ahead, riding furiously— and Connor was at her side, his head thrust forward between his horse’s ears as he beat his way through the milling soldiers.
And then they were beyond the rear walls. More arrows rained down, skipping on the stones or embedding themselves in the ground.
Down the steep flanks of the hill the three horses went careering. It was all Tania could do to cling on as they galloped out onto the flats, turf kicking up high in their wake, trees all about them, the wind howling.
“Ride on!” Rathina’s voice was an exultant shriek. “We must ride on till the dawn!”
Chapter Fifteen
Far into the night they rode, urging on their tiring horses over open moorland and through woods of hazel and oak and star-burnished holly.
Rathina set the pace, and Tania was content to take her lead. She allowed the animals to slow to a trot for short periods of rest before pushing them into a canter again, the rhythmic triple sets of hoofbeats becoming as much a part of the night for Tania as the jingle of harness and the rasp of her own breath. Connor rode beside her, keeping close, his tired eyes narrowed against the wind.
At first Tania had heard pursuing hoofbeats and the distant voices of shouting men. But as the night wore away and Rathina drove them relentlessly on, those sounds faded and were lost.
For short periods over open ground the three horses were brought to a gallop, and then Tania’s whole body surged with the power of the animal as it sped on under her, and the night wind seemed to fill her brain like a dark cyclone.
It was early the next morning before Rathina called for a pause in their flight. They had come into a vast, rock-walled ravine filled with birch trees, the canopy of leaf-laden branches forming a screen against the fast-rising sun. A stream trickled over stones in the cleft. It seemed to Tania curiously similar to many lovely places she had seen in Faerie.
Rathina insisted they take the saddles and bridles off the horses, using only a running line to stop them from straying as they filled their bellies with grass and stooped their long necks to drink from the stream.
Then at last Rathina allowed them to catch their breath. Tania threw herself to the ground, exhausted by the long ride. Connor dropped into the lush grass, lying on his back, his arms across his face. Rathina sat cross-legged, her sword resting on her knees, a tired smile touching her lips.
Now there was time for Tania and Rathina to tell Connor all that had happened since they had been parted.
“We don’t have a clue who those two musicians were or why they were helping us,” Tania concluded. “But they led us to you, and the leaf that Rose gave us worked every time.”
“They are good folk; that is certain,” added Rathina. “And for now we must be content with that.”
“There’s not a whole lot for me to tell you,” said Connor. “The ship docked, and I was thrown across a horse and taken to the castle. I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew I was tied to that board and being shouted at by Lord Balor.” He looked at them. “I guess you heard me telling him that I’d sell you out,” he added. “It was the only thing I could think of to stop him from throttling me on the spot.”
“Don’t worry,” Tania said. “In your position I’d have done exactly the same. Anything to gain a bit of time. But why did he leave you alone in there, do you think?”
“I don’t know,” said Connor. “I assumed he’d finished interrogating me. I’d told him everything he wanted to know.”
“And more besides,” murmured Rathina, eyeing Connor thoughtfully. “It was a convincing display of cowardice and treachery, Master Connor.”
Connor looked at Rathina, a slight smile on his face. “I’m betting you were worried I was really going to sell you out,” he said.
“I am unsure as to the exact meaning of your words,” Rathina said, “but I did doubt you; that I will admit. Such lies do not trip quite so readily off the tongue among those I usually count as friends. You playact very well, Master Connor—I was all but persuaded of your villainy.” She frowned. “But Lord Balor shares that same illusion as do you,” she continued. “The belief that Faerie Immortality is a thing that can be enticed forth and caught in the hand, like a bird whistled down from the branch.” She shook her head. “Why do Mortals pursue such foolishness? To seek the secret of Immortality? You’d as like pluck stars from the skies to use as lanterns. ’Tis madness. Pure and simple.”
“I agree with you,” said Connor. “I had plenty of time to think while I was tied to that board and waiting to get my throat cut.” His smile became bleak. “I realized something that had been pretty much staring me in the face ever since I came here.” He looked from Tania to Rathina. “This isn’t Earth,” he said. “This probably isn’t even in the same universe as Earth. This is some other place completely. I’ve been so busy trying to get my head around ways to make sense of all the stuff that goes on here that I never stopped to think that it’s a total waste of time.” He laughed breathlessly. “Physics and science and everything else that make our world tick don’t mean a thing here.” His smile widened and he held up his hands as if in surrender. “So, that’s it. I give in. The place is crazy, period. I get it now.”
“I’m glad about that,” said Tania. “But look, this isn’t your world. You came here to help us, and you have helped us. But we’re in Alba for a reason, Connor, and we can’t waste any more time.”
“I know that,” said Connor. “I didn’t get caught on purpose.”
Tania took a breath. “I know,” she said. “I’m sorry. But the thing is, you don’t need to stay here anymore. I can walk you back into Ireland right now.” She looked urgently at him. “You should go, Connor. Seriously. Right now. Before we get you into even more trouble.”
Connor’s smile faded. He sat for a long while looking into her face, saying nothing.
“My sister gives you wise counsel, Connor,” said Rathina. “This quest is for the benefit and succor of Faerie alone. It is none of yours. You should not risk yourself further for us. Go, with the grateful thanks of all good folk. Go home, Connor.”
Connor stood up, his face unreadable. Tania watched him closely as he made his way down to the thread of rushing water. He pushed his hands into his pockets, head bowed, staring down as the clear water bubbled and played over the smooth white pebbles. The fingers of his right hand moved in his pocket as though running over something.
Why is this hard for him? What’s he thinking? It’s a nobrainer, surely?
At last he turned, his face serious and determined. “Sorry,” he said. “Thanks for the offer but no can do. I started this thing and I want to finish it.”
Tania opened her mouth to protest, but he didn’t give her the chance to speak.
“How do you think I’m going to feel if I bail on the two of you?” he asked. “I know I’m not Faerie—I don’t have any special powers like you—but I can help; I know I can. I want to help. And unless you tie me up and drag me back to Earth against my will and just dump me there, I’m going to help.” He looked at Rathina and then at Tania. “I’m coming with you,” he finished. “Discussion closed.”
Rathina stood up, her hand extended. He took it and she gripped the hand tight between the two of hers. “You do us honor,” she said. “I will make it my duty to see that no harm comes to you.”
“Thank you.” He turned to Tania, his eyebrows raised.
She stood up and gave him a quick hug, thinking of Edric and how he had once been the man promising to stand always at her side. “You’re totally loopy!” she said into Connor’s ear.
“So what else is new?” he replied, smiling broadly, his hands curling for a moment around her waist. She stepped quickly away—out from between his hands— but there was nothing in his expression to worry her.
�
�As to our quest,” Rathina broke in briskly. “We are in an alien land, and no doubt pursued by bitter enemies. What next, sister? Do you have any clear idea of the road that lies before us, for upon my oath, I do not.”
“We have to find Caiseal an Fenodree,” said Tania. “Mother said that the people there would help us.”
“Find it how?” asked Connor. “I don’t suppose she gave you directions?”
Tania shook her head. “All I know is that Caiseal an Fenodree is here in Alba,” she said. “To get to Tirnanog we have to travel west through Alba, then through Erin and Hy Brassail. Mother said I should ask the way to the Caiseal, but I’m not sure how good an idea that is now. Lord Balor wasn’t even born when Titania left Alba—she wasn’t to know that this whole area would be under his control.”
“A good point,” mused Rathina. “Dare we make ourselves known to the people of this land?”
“I vote we forget the Queen’s people,” Connor suggested. “We should head west—find Erin on our own. What do you say? Who’s up for it?”
“I’m not sure,” said Tania. “We’d have no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Those two guys we heard talking—they sounded like they were scared of what goes on in Erin.”
“Aye, true enough,” said Rathina. “They spoke of a Witch Queen. I’d know more of her before we venture into the west.”
“I agree,” said Tania. “Sorry, Connor. We don’t know a thing about Erin or Hy Brassail. The Queen’s people could be our only hope.”
Connor’s brows knitted, irritation crossing his face. “If we don’t dare even ask for directions to that castle you’re talking about, how will we ever find it? It could be miles away. It could be at the other end of the country! It might not even exist anymore. A lot of stuff can happen in five hundred years.”
“Connor makes a good argument,” murmured Rathina. “Who can we trust in this unknown land? Whose word will guide us true?”