Darkness & Light

by Murray, Dean

  The hunter wrapped the girl in his large down coat and headed directly away from the stream. Shawn sat motionless for several minutes after the people and dogs had disappeared before finally rolling back onto all four paws and limping over to the stream.

  The swim back upstream wouldn't be any fun. The journey back home on three paws would be even worse. Still, there was a pretty good chance Sarah wouldn't realize anything unusual had happened.

  Author's Note:

  "I'rone" was the short story that started my binge of short stories. Frozen Prospects (currently available) represented my first real foray into epic fantasy, and I was more than a little surprised when a sequel pretty much demanded to be written before I started on anything else. At the time I was trying very hard to get as many different series started as possible, so writing book two in the Guadel Chronicles wasn't part of the plan. After a couple of false starts with other stories over the course of a few days, I gave into the muse and buckled down to continue Va'del's story. The third book hasn't ever let me know it was ready to be written, so I've occasionally toyed with the idea of working on a prequel. I'd always expected that prequel to be a series that dealt more with the story of the Goddess, the Exodus, and just how Va'del's people came to live in such an inhospitable environment. I was very surprised when instead I found myself writing a prequel that dealt with the time just a decade or so before Va'del's story.

  I'm glad I did however, and I'm glad I wrote the stories in the order I did. Even though Va'del doesn't make an appearance in "I'rone", I learned things about him while writing it that will ultimately help me as I sit down to write the third and possibly the fourth books in the Guadel Chronicles.

  I think one of my favorite things about writing has always been the way that pieces I never expected to be related to each other turn out to fit together in compelling ways. My characters always have something of a history, enough I hope to make them feel like real people, but sometimes I don't know particular aspects of how their life developed until I run into a plot problem that makes me flesh their past lives out even further.

  Occasionally I'm fortunate enough to have a story idea occur to me that lets me do a prequel. When that happens, I generally write the story with an eye towards taking the readers back in time so that we can both discover new things about already-beloved characters. After all, that's the real reason we come back to the same stories time and time again-sometimes we just need to spend quality time with people we've come to know and love.

  Writing "I'rone" has been one such journey. It's been immensely rewarding for me, and I hope you'll find it equally so.

  I'rone

  On'li sighed as she looked around the dull-gray stone cavern. It was packed with people, but they were still too few for the task at hand. Every Guadel and guardsman in the city could have been tasked with exploring the underbelly of the Capital and they still wouldn't have had a decent chance of finding the child that'd wandered off into the darkness.

  The adults all seemed to understand the futility of the search. An unprecedented number of glow spheres had been brought down from the main caverns but instead of adding warmth and light to the gathering it just revealed too many faces defeated before they'd even started.

  Some of the searchers were only a few years older than the missing child. It seemed irresponsible to be sending teenagers out in a search that was all too likely to yield a body at best, but every passing second decreased the odds of finding anything and there were simply too many tunnels to search for them not to recruit every able body.

  The only exception to the somber mood was the circle of Daughters gathered in one corner. The entire group of girls was giggling at something, as if this was nothing more than a holiday. One of the teenage girls looked up in time to catch On'li's scrutiny and actually threw off a perky wave.

  Betreec, the girl who'd just waved, giggled again at whatever story her friend was relating, but it was obvious from the way she was craning her neck around that she wasn't really listening. She was doubtlessly looking for On'li's adoptive son, I'rone, which wasn't something designed to calm On'li.

  In all fairness, Betreec was a cut above most of the rest of the girls her age, but she was still far too irresponsible. On'li wasn't sure she ever thought beyond the next bit of gossip or the next male whose attention she was determined to capture.

  Unfortunately Betreec seemed to have I'rone firmly in her sights, and she wasn't the type to abandon the chase short of success, at least not while her prey had proved as elusive as I'rone.

  Javin, On'li's husband of more than a decade, seemed to have finished receiving instructions from the head of their bloodline. He scanned the room as he returned to On'li, but the effort was completely unneeded. I'rone materialized out of the deepest shadow in the room, the one he'd fled to almost as soon as they'd entered the cavern, and walked quickly over to rejoin his sponsors.

  On'li still felt a pang of sorrow each time she thought about how I'rone had been when they found him. He was still shy, and often tentative in asserting his rights, but back then he'd refused to make eye contact with anyone. Even bribery hadn't been enough to induce him to talk. Now his youthful frame was filling out with muscles at an astonishing rate. The amazing mind behind his guarded face still ran constantly, but now one could occasionally convince him to share some of the insightful comments that'd been locked away for so long.

  I'rone crossed the distance to them with perhaps a bit more speed than was socially acceptable. Some of the Guadel looked at him askance, but On'li almost imagined she could hear a sigh from the Daughters off to her left. I'rone didn't move like a boy anymore. More hours of sword training than On'li cared to think about had left him with the sure motions of a master swordsman. I'rone was dutiful in all his studies, especially law, but he positively obsessed over weapons work.

  Her adoptive son was serious, driven, and absolutely committed to following the rules whatever the personal cost might be to him. On'li couldn't imagine a less-likely match for him than Betreec, but from what little she'd managed to tease out of I'rone, he returned Betreec's interest, at least more so than with any of the other girls who mooned after him like a gurra calf deprived of it's mother.

  The other Guadel had already received their instructions and passed them on. People began filtering out of the cavern as I'rone arrived at their side. "We've been assigned the entire bottom tier. It consists of a few long tunnels that then terminate into an irregular warren of caverns. If we're going to search the area in the time frame that's been assigned us, we'll have to split up."

  Javin quietly explained the search method, carefully reminding I'rone of some of the dangers inherent to traversing such a forsaken stretch of caverns. As he finished, On'li allowed her gaze to drift back towards the group of young ladies. The group had unsurprisingly shrunk down to just one. Down to just Betreec.

  "I don't like it, but it's the only way to cover so much ground. We'll have to send Betreec with you. We trust you'll not only keep her safe, but also behave in a manner befitting your status as a candidate and hers as a Daughter."

  I'rone nodded seriously in response to Javin's remonstration and then picked up the travel pack containing the provisions and shelter they weren't likely to actually need. Betreec hurried over and fell into step behind I'rone as he headed towards one of the two long service tunnels that led down to the drainage areas under the Capital. A few steps before they disappeared into the darkness, Javin called out to them.

  "Be extra careful with all of the water down there. Don't bother crossing anything deeper than mid-thigh."

  Betreec looked vaguely confused, but I'rone nodded with a graveness that made it obvious he knew why the command had been given.

  Javin shouldered their travel pack and then gestured for On'li to lead the way.

  On'li gave her husband a sad smile as she passed him. "Do you think he realizes how much of a slap in the face it was for all of us to be pulled off of our normal tasks and sent dow
n here of all places to search?"

  "Probably."

  On'li stifled a chuckle. Now that Javin had discharged his duty, he wasn't going to speak any more than he had to.

  "You mean 'Probably, but there's no way to really know since it wouldn't have been proper to ask him and thereby imply that Council consists of a bunch of idiots?'"

  "Exactly."

  ##

  It felt like they'd been walking for nearly a cycle, but Betreec knew it had probably been less than a quarter cycle. It just felt like forever because she couldn't seem to get the courage up to actually open her mouth and talk to I'rone.

  He seemed completely unaware of her mounting frustration. It was so unlike her not to be able to just talk to a boy. Granted, she usually didn't have to make the effort because boys were so eager to come to her, but it still shouldn't be this hard.

  Then again, I'rone was hardly like the other boys. Everyone but the teachers seemed to know that. The girls had all either decided he was the best thing since the Goddess led the People out on the Exodus, or a complete snob who wasn't worth their time.

  The boys all seemed to have decided he was best given a wide berth. They were unfailingly polite, but none of them ever gave any kind of indication they considered him a friend. It was like he moved at the center of an invisible bubble that kept all of the mundane concerns of the world at arm's length.

  Speaking of movement, Betreec had long since decided she could watch him move for hours. The current debate in the dormitories after hours was whether I'rone moved like poetry, or whether his graceful motions were more deadly in nature. Personally Betreec was among those who thought he was probably the closest she was going to ever get to a snow leopard.

  The thought of the mountains' single most deadly predator sent chills down her neck, and Betreec spared a brief moment to thank the Goddess that the massive animals only rarely came up high enough to become a threat to the supply caravans and traveling Guadel.

  The guard trainees, and even some of the candidates liked to try and impress the daughters by recounting bloody stories from fights against snow wolves and bag'ligs. It was a bit childish since none of them had ever been involved in anything of the sort, but all of the stories seemed to agree that snow leopards were among the most vicious creatures ever created.

  Adult snow leopards had been known to wipe out small packs of snow wolves. Even large packs would often steer clear of their feline rivals unless they were particularly hungry. On the rare occasions when a Guadel family happened upon the scene of such a fight, they generally found the scattered remains of not only the snow leopard, but also two or three members of the pack who'd fallen in the struggle.

  Still, what was terrifying on such a large predator was somehow comforting and highly desirable on I'rone's barely smaller frame. Almost despite herself, Betreec began fantasizing about being married to I'rone. The walking dream quickly expanded beyond just the marriage ceremony and on to what it would be like to walk the circuit with him. They would be unbeatable of course. I'rone was already one of the best swordsmen in the Capital, but once she linked with him, augmenting his speed and strength with the magic she'd spent the last few years learning, he'd be a match for any three normal men.

  Imagining the circuit was nice, but the real anticipation came from the events leading up to the wedding. Betreec was deep in a fantasy where I'rone crept into the girls dormitory to tell her he had to have her for his wife, when the object of her musings stopped and handed her a water skin.

  "Have you been able to sense her yet?"

  Betreec felt herself blushing. She quickly tapped into the fiery power that made her a Daughter, and then cast her senses out in an effort to detect life in their immediate area.

  "No, there isn't anyone else alive around us."

  I'rone grunted as he accepted the water back from her, taking a carefully metered drink of his own. His demeanor wasn't any more welcoming than it'd been before, but the act of having responded to one of his questions emboldened Betreec more than she would have expected.

  "What did Javin mean by telling us not to cross any streams like that?"

  "Flowing water is especially dangerous in the cold. Even gurra wool loses some of its ability to insulate when it's wet. Plus the rock can get very slick. It's likely we'd slip and fall, completely submerging ourselves in the water if we weren't careful."

  I'rone seemed ready to lapse back into his normal silence, but as they came to an area of the tunnel littered with a veritable obstacle course of fallen rock, he reached back and took her hand to help her navigate the hazards.

  "Also, if the child were to somehow get into moving water much deeper than our knees, she'd just be swept away. Javin wanted to be sure we knew not to assume those risks when there was no chance of finding the child alive on the other side of the stream."

  The paired bits of explanation were possibly the most words Betreec had ever heard I'rone speak at one time. Barring extreme emergencies and sponsors who were radically unorthodox, Daughters and candidates didn't normally get to exchange much in the way of idle conversation, but even so, I'rone socialized less than most. Even the lore time, when Daughters and candidates were actually allowed to visit for a few minutes before and after the oral histories, hadn't ever afforded Betreec much chance to talk to him.

  I'rone had taken over one of the prize spots on the border of the male and female areas of the cavern at a fairly young age, but he'd never crowded the invisible line between the sexes like most of them did. He sat down exactly one foot from where the boys area ended, and never initiated a conversation with the half dozen girls who'd vied for a spot within speaking distance of him.

  Of course he always responded with exquisite politeness, but he never took any action to keep the discussions going. Betreec felt a little thrill of excitement as she realized he'd just done exactly that. With her. For the first time ever.

  "Do you think she's down here, that we might be the ones to find her?"

  I'rone released her hand and shifted his walking pole back to his other hand as they cleared the rubble-strewn section of the corridor.

  "It's very unlikely. Not impossible, but she would have to have been moving pretty fast to get this far ahead of the search parties. It's more likely she'd notice how cold it was getting and turn around instead of continuing on."

  Betreec spared an evil thought for I'rone's walking pole. He'd finally been holding her hand.

  "Why did they send us all the way down here then if there isn't much chance of finding her?"

  The words were out of Betreec's mouth before she realized just how shallow they sounded.

  I'rone's gaze was questioning, like he was cataloging some new fighting trick, or analyzing a particularly obscure law.

  "If she were your little girl wouldn't you want every effort made to find her?"

  Betreec wanted to explain she hadn't meant to imply the search was a burden, that the question had been nothing more than idle curiosity, but under the weight of his eyes she couldn't find the words, and they lapsed back into silence.

  The minutes passed by ever so slowly. I'rone was the perfect escort, he helped her over all of the obstructions they encountered, never once complaining at the heavy burden he'd shouldered. He made sure her needs were met at each rest stop, usually even before he'd spared a thought for himself.

  It was all done in near silence, as was typical for him, but Betreec couldn't help but worry she'd just dropped significantly in his estimation.

  Betreec tried to focus her worry on instead being as impressive as possible. She extended her othersense frequently, trying to sense nearby life. Complaints about the growing weariness in her legs were carefully silenced before they made it past her lips, and she made sure to bounce forward with an energy she no longer felt, as soon as I'rone indicated it was time to resume moving.

  It was hard to tell if her efforts were doing anything to redeem her in I'rone's eyes as they steadily pressed forward into the e
ver-retreating shadows cast by the glow sphere she was carrying. The tunnel gave the impression of gradually curving as it descended, but it was so irregular it might have just been her imagination.

  The Capital must have looked much like this when the Goddess first led The People up into the mountains. The newer parts of the city are all man made, carefully bored into the living rock of the mountain, but the oldest parts looked more than a little like this twisting passage.

  Of course this particular tunnel was unusually wet. As the air got colder, Betreec noticed droplets of moisture condensing on every irregularity on the rock's surface. Before long they were joined in their journey downward by a thin rivulet of water that slowly made its way along the leftmost edge of their tunnel.

  The cold was becoming really biting. Betreec was used to the need of dressing warmly. Once you left the immediate area of the hot springs, things tended to cool down in a hurry, but this was unlike anything she'd experienced.

  She was hurrying after I'rone, when she first saw her breath fog the air before her. "Powers, I can see the air leaving my body."

  I'rone slowed down enough to look back at her, and she thought she saw the barest trace of a smile playing about his lips.

  "It's the cold. Once the air drops down enough in temperature you can see the warm air your body breathes out. It's always at least this cold when the Guadel are out on circuit traveling between way caves."

  Betreec felt her mind whirling as she digested this new concept. Her instructors had indicated it was cold outside, but this was something else entirely. "You've been outside then?"

  I'rone definitely smiled this time, and if condescension's good-natured cousin was present in the barest measure on his expression, she couldn't really hold it against him. "I guess that's a silly question. You're obviously not originally from the Capital, so you must have passed through the outside to get here."