by C.S. Fanning
a bow and saw the shaft of an arrow flicker past mere inches from his face.
“Halt where you are!” a familiar voice called out.
Aeden was relieved to have found his friends. “It’s me, Aeden” he replied. As his eyes adjusted to the deeper gloom under the shadow of the rocks he could see the two that blocked his path lower their weapons. He assumed that they must be Faolan and Quinn since Fianna must be on the rocks above with her bow. Looking up he located her with intention of joking that he was glad her aim had not improved, but when he noticed her bow still fully drawn and still aimed at his head he changed his tactic.
“Fianna, it’s me, Aeden. Would you please put that away now?” he asked.
“I don’t know, are you really Aeden of Bretharc or the Morrighan’s lackey?” she responded in a cold voice.
Before he could respond to her Riordan and Teagan appeared from behind the rocks. “Put down the bow Fianna, Aeden is no one’s puppet” Riordan said quietly. To Aeden he said “you gave her quite a scare with that enchanted blade glowing with faerie fire Aeden.”
Fianna lowered the bow slowly, almost reluctantly as Riordan boldly strode forward toward Aeden. When he had ridden past her shouting like some banshee while that gleaming blade flamed with its eerie fire had brought all of her doubts and fears to the forefront of her thoughts. Could he be trusted, or had the Morrighan’s claim upon him changed him too much?
Aeden dismounted, ignoring her and began regaling his friends with the story of how he had dispatched his adversary without striking a blow. Fianna remembered all too well how they had all stood, frozen with shock and fear as Aeden had transformed into a true champion of the Morrighan. Their fear had mirrored her own, but now they laughed and joked as though nothing extraordinary had occurred.
Finally accepting that regardless of her fears Aeden would remain a part of the group she climbed down from her perch and went to gather their horses. At least with four beasts they had a much better chance of making it through the hills to the Shannon. They were far better equipped now to face the enemy; that much was certain.
The night was still young as they mounted up. Aeden kept the big stallion he had used to chase down the soldier and Faolan mounted up on the mare he had brought back with him. Fianna kept her Roan, while Quinn and Riordan both climbed onto the horse that she had caught running wild on the plain. The logical place for Teagan was with Aeden on the big stud horse, but still she found herself irrationally angry when Teagan coyly said “oh, I will ride with Aeden.”
Aeden reached down a hand to help Teagan into the saddle, pulling her up to sit in front of him with such ease that it surprised him. He was beginning to wonder if some of the legends surrounding those touched in some way by the gods were not true after all. Perhaps he was attaining strength just from the choosing.
As Teagan settled into position, pressing her warm body back against him and wrapping his arm about her waist, he forgot all else. He didn’t even notice Fianna’s derisive snort or his friend’s giggles. Teagan’s warmth suffused through him and he found himself thinking of her warm softness in ways he had not before imagined. He only hoped she didn’t notice the outward expression of his thoughts.
They rode slowly through the hills in the inky black night left as the moon set, relying only on the stars to guide and the sure footing of their mounts to keep them safe. They rode in silence for the most part. Each of them was too tired now to keep up the usual banter and each was soon lost in his or her own thoughts.
The Coming Storm
Once they were deep enough into the hills they made camp for a full day at the first spring they came upon. The journey so far had wearied each of them in ways they could not have understood before, and though the rest afforded them a chance to recover their strength the troubles of their rode continued to weigh heavily as they set out on the second morning in the highlands.
Fianna estimated that it would take them a week to cross the highlands if they didn’t encounter more interference, but how likely was that? It seemed as if it had been weeks, since this had all begun, but in truth it had only been four days. That Finnis had suggested that this journey would prepare her for her destiny was disheartening; if this was merely preparation she wasn’t sure she wanted to meet her destiny! At least for the moment they seemed to have evaded pursuit.
Aeden watched the northern sky with growing anxiety. From the look of the mounting thunderstorms, their most recent concerns were about to become trivial. For the past three days they had ridden through the empty highlands; the only signs of life the occasional bird or beast that fled before them. They knew that there had to be water somewhere nearby to support the wildlife that they had seen, but as yet they had not come upon so much as a puddle. The water that they carried had run out the night before. Neither they nor their mounts would make it out of these hills unless they found water soon.
That morning they had divided into two groups. Aeden, with Riordan and Teagan had ridden up the ridge to the north, while Fianna had taken Faolan and Quinn along the southern ridge. The had hoped that from the high ground each group could scan the valleys on either side of the one they traveled for signs of a river or stream that could provide them the life sustaining water they needed. There had to be water somewhere. They would regroup at the southern end of the valley near the high mountain that they had used as a guide for the past several days.
The storm that was building was getting closer by the minute and it would be upon them long before the rendezvous. The choice that Aeden faced now was whether to attempt to outrun the storm to the south ridge in an effort to warn the others or to seek shelter while there was still time. The ridge on which they now rode would be blocking Fianna’s view to the north, such that she would have only minutes of warning as the storm swept down upon them. Of course, they might have no more warning even if he could find them quickly.
The storm was coming fast, and Aeden despaired of the choice he had to make and make quickly, but it was clear that his primary responsibility was Riordan’s safety. Taking them off the southern side of the ridge they galloped down the valley, watchful for anything that might provide even a little cover against the natural fury that pursued them. Though the highlands were open and visibility was great, the broken rocky ground made riding swiftly hazardous at best, so when they passed over a worn trail leading down toward the head of the valley they took it without wondering how it came to be here. As their horses thundered down the trail Aeden scanned for anything that might give them shelter. The barren landscape that had seemed such an advantage against pursuit didn’t seem so advantageous now.
They were perhaps half way to the rendezvous when the fast moving storm broke over the ridge. In moments the gray dismal day turned to inky blackness like the darkest night and they were wreathed in torrential rain wrapped in wildly gusting winds. The visibility was reduced to almost nothing but still they raced ahead. One thing about trails, which Aeden knew well, was that they always led somewhere. A part of him realized that wherever this trail led might not be anywhere that they wanted to go, but he had to take that chance.
Flashes of blinding white light began to rip through the veil of wind and rain, some of the bolts striking so close that their hair danced wildly in the static. Aeden was nearly at his wits end when suddenly lights just in front of him caused him to reign in sharply. The lights appeared to be torches, and they fought back the darkness to light a gaping hole in the mountainside. Holding the torches were two men, and though their recent experiences suggested caution, they had no choice but to take whatever shelter was available.
The cave mouth was plenty high enough for them to walk their horses inside. The two men, whose eyes reflected the torchlight such that it seemed to be born of them rather than reflected by them, turned to face them but made no move toward Aeden. Finally it was Riordan who spoke. “We humbly request to take shelter within your abode.”
“Well how was I to know there would be others out to see the spectacle?” replied the other.
Aeden hopped from behind Teagan, landing between the two horses that were strangely calm considering the circumstances. “My friend has formally asked if you would shelter us within your home, and I would further ask for any assistance that you could provide in helping us find our other friends who are still out there. What is your answer?”
The two men, if indeed they were men, suddenly looked at him as though for the first time realizing anyone had spoken. After staring at him for an extended period without uttering a sound, they began to look once more at one another.
“Will you not answer my plea? It is the duty of all good men to offer hospitality at need” Aeden said growing angrier with each passing moment.
A strange voice behind him spoke, making Aeden start. “These, my sons, are hardly men, nor are they the lords of this home.”
In the time it took to speak these words