Betrayal at Winterlore
“You’re having a nightmare, my Queen,” Guy said. His voice was far above her.
Rhee heard it through the horrible images that pinned her to the damp earth. But she knew this wasn’t a dream. It was a sending. Her child was in danger.Rhee’s eyes opened and she took in the midnight sky. The stars blinded her and she piked to a sitting position. Her fists were clenching clumps of grass, as she forced herself to breathe normally. When her eyes focused, she found herself looking at Guy. He was crouched by her feet, one banded glove on the hilt of his sword. He must’ve been on watch because he was still in his chain mail. His gray eyes regarded her as she sat there stunned. Guy’s eyes were familiar and real and Rhee forced herself to concentrate on them to bring her back into awareness. Guy’s large body blocked out most of the moon’s light. It framed him like a halo and gave his shaggy appearance an ethereal beauty. Guy, who had been with her since childhood, whose face was familiar as her own, brought her the comfort she needed to bring herself together. She touched his sun bronzed cheek and tugged on a lock of his longish brown hair.
“ Irena needs me,” Rhee said and watched him blink at her in surprise.
Then in a flurry of movements, Rhee tossed aside her bedding. Guy quickly averted his eyes as she wrapped her heavy cloak around her nightclothes. Looking around the campfire, she saw the rest of her friends sleeping soundly. She began to rummage through her packs.
“ What are you doing?” Guy said.
“ Wake up Kess. I’m going to build a circle.”
“ Here?” He said. Not receiving an answer, Guy hurried over to the sleeping priestess.
Rhee’s fingers were shaking as she grabbed the bottles and components she would need. She stumbled over her cloak as she made her way deeper into the forest. She knelt by two large pine trees and began to sort through the magical powders. Trying to concentrate, she had to banish the image of her young daughter calling for her. As she prepared to draw her circle, she felt Kess and Guy return.
“ Oh bless this area, sweet Dara and let all evil be repelled who approach this sacred place,” Kess chanted to her Goddess and a hush of peace descended upon them.
Rhee looked up wildly, unsure if she was calm enough to travel the leagues back to Winterlore. She saw Kess, her face uplifted to the night air in silent reverence. Kess’s long blond hair was out of her usual braid and hung almost to her lower back. She looked like a fairy, in the moonlight. Concentration touched Kess’ gentle features and sparkling light danced off her high cheekbones and upturned nose. The aura of serenity transformed Kess into a receptacle of her Goddess’ glory. Swallowing hard, Rhee closed her eyes and allowed the tranquility to calm her breathing.
At her back, Rhee could hear the whoosh of the Guy’s sword as his wrist flipped it in angry directions. Behind Kess, Rhee sensed the shadowy presence of Evan, who no doubt had his bow nocked. Opening her eyes, Rhee was calmed and pleased to find she was correct.
“ I’m sorry to wake you all,” Rhee said. “But my daughter has called me.”
Guy stopped his swordplay and stared.
“ Yes, she has the Talent. I suspected, but I didn’t know until now. Someone is testing the wards I have set up to protect her and I’m afraid she’s in danger.”
“ But Niles is there,” Guy said.
“ I know. But Niles is undercover and he may not be able to reach her in time. Since Kamal banished all Larkspurs, he can’t show himself to be her guardian.”
“ If her life was threatened, Niles wouldn’t care what Kamal decreed.”
“ Are you two talking about King Kamal?” Evan asked. From the sound of it, the thin, athletic man had perched in a nearby tree.
Rhee turned to look up at him. She found him easily with mage sight. “Yes, Kamal’s my former husband.”
She got the impression that if Evan hadn’t been firmly seated in the tree, he would have fallen off.
“ By Dara, you’re Guy de Larkspur!” Kess gasped making the translucent, but dazzling display of sparkles dim.
Evan’s voice was full of laughter. “Well, when you told us you were banished from your homes, I assumed you had powerful enemies. I didn’t realize it was because of your husband’s jealousy.”
“ You are treading on dangerous ground.” Guy warned him.
“ My feet are not touching the ground, Sir Knight. And your feet seem to be made of clay, my noble friend.”
Rhee ignored the friendly banter. She knew Evan better than he thought she did. The small man could have easily passed for a youngster, with his boyish good looks and love of jokes. But he was far older than all of them in experience and hid his truer feelings behind a smirking mask. Slightly elfin with bright, bright eyes and a pointy chin, Evan loved a chance to tease Guy. Even if it was at his own risk.
“ You have to come down sooner or later, Evan,” Guy warned.
“ Stop it, you two.” Kess intervened. “Can’t you see this is going to be hard on Rhee enough without you idiots at each other’s throat? She will be vulnerable to attacks and will need all her concentration.”
“ Nothing will come near her,” Guy said.
“ Not here, you dolt. The evil that is awaiting her in Winterlore.”
“ What do you know of this evil?” Rhee asked.
Kess shrugged helplessly. “Just that Dara has warned me. There is something black and evil reaching for you.”
Rhee swallowed hard and nodded. “And for my daughter.”
“ What can you possibly accomplish by travelling there tonight?” Guy said, nervously. He liked things he could swing a sword at, not shadowy things from the other planes.
“I can see for myself how she is and I can warn Kamal.”
Guy snorted.
“ And I can find Niles and make sure he knows there is trouble.”
Guy sighed, “It’s Maron again. I just know it.”
“ That’s what I’m afraid of,” Rhee said.
“ Who’s Maron?” Kess asked.
“ She’s the High Mage of Winterlore.”
Evan whistled low. “Be careful, Rhee.”
“ I will,” she said and then set her spirit free. Rhee saw her body slumped slightly inside the protective circle. Kess’ blessing shone brightly around them and Rhee left them all, secure that they would be safe. She would’ve known the way back to Winterlore without the ties that attached her spirit to the place. It was where her heart was. She shot towards home like an arrow through a bow. The castle loomed over Winterlore like a benevolent giant. Tears stung her eyes as she flew to her daughter’s window. The protective wardings let her pass through and she strengthened them with a bit of her soul. Nothing would breach them now without her knowing. If something did, she would sense it and be able to confront it.
Her daughter’s room hadn’t changed. It was slightly messy, full of toys and books. Rhee’s throat got tight as she hovered over her daughter’s bed.
“ My baby,” she murmured. Irena lay sleeping, her thumb in her mouth and her arm wrapped around an embroidered pillow. She would turn five this Midsummer. How much she had grown in the past year! The fact she was safe nearly weakened Rhee with relief. Perhaps Irena had a nightmare and because she was untrained, triggered the wards.
Sleeping beside her daughter was her playmate and future guardian Wynne de Larkspur. As far as Kamal knew, she was the only Larkspur inside of Winterlore. Irena had cried and cried until Kamal relented. Her mother must be banished, but Irena could still have her best friend. What Kamal didn’t know was the Larkspurs would not abandon a 1,000-year-old pledge because of the whim of a King. Niles de Larkspur, Guy’s cousin, would watch over the two girls until Wynne was ready to protect Irena herself.
Rhee glanced around the room, but couldn’t see the evil that Kess had spoke of. She glided past her wards through the door of the bedchamber. Guarding the door was Niles. Looking up and down the corridor, it appeared he was the only one around. She materialized in front of him.
After a brief moment of surprise, he knelt before her. “My Queen.”
“ Stand up Niles, I am no one’s Queen anymore.”
Niles stood and put out his arms to hug her, but they passed right through her. He looked sheepish when she laughed lightly at him. “I am just a projection.”
“ I’ve missed you. How fares my cousin?”
“ He is fine. Probably sick of me dragging him all over the world.”
“ I doubt that,” Niles said. “But why haven’t you returned to your parent’s keep.”
Rhee’s laugh turned bitter. “Return in disgrace, you mean. I wouldn’t sully Ferriskeep with my reputation. I couldn’t bear the smirks and whispers and I wouldn’t subject Guy to that either."”
“ A dead man doesn’t smirk,” Niles told her solemnly.
“ You are just like your cousin. You can’t kill everyone you don’t like.”
“ Why not?”
Rhee just looked at him, but he was serious. She sighed. She was too used to Larkspurs to try and talk sense into them. “Have you heard from my parents?”
“ No, just that they are worried for you and Guy. And they do not believe a word of what you have been accused of.”
“ That’s good.”
“ And even if you had . . .” Nile’s ears turned red and he looked away. “It wouldn’t have mattered to them at all. Or to us.”
“ I know. Thank you.” Rhee took a deep breath. “Look, the reason why I’m here is that I have sensed that Irena is in danger.”
All casualness left Niles as he listened.
Rhee briefly explained the sending and Kess’s warning. “I am at a loss of what to do. I feel so helpless and powerless.”
“ I will send for Tamar.”
Rhee’s eyes went wide. “How could you get her into the city?”
“ What makes you think she isn’t here already?” Niles smiled at Rhee.
“ But she is well known. She was at our trial. She will be recognized! I can’t allow her to come here. If Maron senses her presence, Kamal will execute her.”
“ Tamar can disguise herself. And Kamal wouldn’t dare harm her, not unless he is prepared for a war with both Ferriskeep and Larkspur. Which as a soldier in his army, I can tell you he is not.”
“ Thank you, Niles. With Tamar here, I’m sure that my daughter has nothing to fear from a magical attack.”
“ It is done.”
Rhee faded from his sight and passed along the walls to the royal bedchamber. The protective wards were of an impersonal nature. As she was not going to harm the King, she was allowed to pass them without sounding an alarm. She released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding when she found Kamal alone in bed.
He looked like a sleeping God. His black hair fell across the pillow like a fan. She wanted to press her lips to his bearded face, but stopped herself in time. This was the man who hadn’t believed her fidelity. She tried to bring up all the rage and hurt at his betrayal, but watching him toss in his sleep she could only feel tenderness and a gaping sense of loss.
“ Kamal,” she said softly.
He stirred and opened sleepy blue eyes. He gave her a lopsided smile that made her heart skip a beat. “Rhee,” he sighed and rolled over. “Rhee!” He woke up with a start. “Faithless whore! What are you doing here?” He tossed aside the bedcovers and stalked over to her. “Get out of here. I’ll have you thrown into the dungeon!” He went to grab her arm. “Do you have that sewer rat, Larkspur, with you? Him, I’ll kill.” When his arm passed though her, he stopped in mid tirade and blinked stupidly at her. “Rhee, are you dead? Is this your spirit come to haunt me?”
“ I have come here to warn you.”
“ Don’t you threaten me.”
“ Kamal, our child is in danger,” Rhee said.
“ Danger? Danger? She is more guarded than the treasury. This is just some kind of ploy to get me to relent and allow you back into our lives.”
“ I have never been out of my daughter’s life. Even though you have tried your hardest to do so!”
“ You can’t have her!” Kamal said.
“ Why do you think I want to take her away? Her home is here. It is stable and until recently safe. Wait,” Rhee narrowed her eyes at him. “You know! You know she is Talented.”
“ Of course I know!” he roared. “Every time she has a temper tantrum she sends her toys flying around the room!”
“ And you wouldn’t have told me?” Rhee felt her eyes fill with tears. “You would deny your own daughter to be taught by her mother.”
“ She doesn’t need you. I don’t need you. You chose Larkspur over us!”
“ I did not! You banished us.”
“ I was going to hang him.”
“ He was innocent! So was I!”
“ You set your lover free from the gallows, so I told you to join him.”
“ Kamal, there was no proof. I would never have betrayed you. I loved you.” Rhee stood in front of him. “How could you believe that conniving witch, Maron, over your own wife?”
At the High Mage’s name, Kamal seemed to become even more enraged. “Don’t talk about her like that! She is the only one who has stuck by me. When you turned my people against me, she helped me win back their trust!”
“ If the people turned against you, it was because you were wrong!”
“ I will hear no more of this. Get out or I will summon Maron and have her scatter your spirit to the Four Corners of this world.”
“ The world is round, you dolt.”
“ Maron!” Kamal roared. “Guards! Alarm!”
Rhee felt the wardings sound. “No, Kamal, listen. I didn’t want to fight with you. There’s great evil. Our daughter is in danger. See to her safety.”
“ I don’t need you! I can protect my daughter just fine. Now, get out!”
Rhee flickered like a candle and left. She did not want to face Maron tonight. She soared back to the wooded area feeling sorry for herself and missing her daughter even more. Entering in her body, she was hit with a tremendous weariness.
“ What happened?” Guy said.
“ Your mother will look over Irena,” she said and tried to rise. Guy went over to help her, but was propelled backwards as soon as he entered the circle. Rhee waved her hand and the protection dissolved. “Sorry about that.”
“ What of the King?” Kess asked.
“ He’s an ass,” Rhee said and leaned on Guy for support.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. They allowed themselves to sleep later than usual the next morning, so it was midday when they started to break down camp.
“ Are we still off to Leeds?” Evan approached Rhee as she was saddling the horses.
“ That’s where we had planned to spend the summer,” Rhee looked at him.
“ I figured with your daughter in trouble that we would head to Winterlore.”
“ Evan, Guy’s mother is a very capable mage. I feel safe leaving Irena in her care. Besides, we wouldn’t be welcome in Winterlore.”
“ Not if we went through the front gates,” Evan smiled. “So how much do you think the King has in the royal treasury.”
“ A lot of gold, gems and priceless objects of art,” Rhee smiled back.
“ Another time, I suppose,” he sighed.
They rode out of the forest and picked up the road that would take them to Leeds. It was a crisp, spring day and the wind blew musically through the trees. They were in single file, with Guy in the lead when Rhee felt the power slam into her. Her horse shied and she toppled off. But she was racked with so much pain; she didn’t feel the impact of the ground.
“ Rhee!” Kess quickly leapt from her saddle and soothed both horses with several intricate hand motions. Then she bent to where Rhee was curled up in a fetal position.
Guy wheeled his horse to get a look at the attacker. Evan scurried off his and up the nearest tree. “Kess, is it an arrow?” Guy shouted.
Kess tried to pry Rhee’s hands from her body. “I can’t tell, but I don’t think so.”
Evan started to curse loudly about magical attacks and wizards in general.
“ Wynne!” Rhee cried. The anguish in her voice made the trees weep. As the pine needles rained down upon the four warriors, a vision was wrenched from Rhee’s gripping hands and appeared on the road before them.
A handsome man who vaguely resembled Guy stood in a child’s bedroom holding a bloodied sword. Tears rolled unchecked down his expressionless face. “Wynne. . . “ He choked out. The wind rippled through the vision of him.
“ Looks like he lost, to me.” Evan said.
“ Enough!” Kess hissed at him.
“ That’s Niles,” Guy said hoarsely.
The bedroom scene opened up to show a pretty little girl with black curls screaming, “Daddy! Daddy!” She kept her blanket clutched to her chest and she edged towards the headboard.
“ Don’t get off the bed, Irena. Please stay there.” Niles whispered, trying not to look at the tiny little body that was sprawled on the floor soaking the frilly lace blanket with blood.
“Where’s Wynne? I can’t see her anymore.”
A booming voice from behind Niles swore viciously. “What thing violates a child’s room at night?”
“ Your majesty,” Niles inclined his head coldly, his eyes never leaving Irena’s bed.
“ Dara blessed, that’s King Kamal,” Kess gasped in recognition.
“ I’m waiting for an explanation, Sir Knight,” Kamal said.
At the appearance of her father, Irena hurtled off the bed to him. But Niles was faster. He swept her up with his left arm and held her to his chest awkwardly. She kicked her little feet. “I want down!”
“ I suggest you listen to the Princess.”
Niles hesitated long enough for the twitch in his sword arm to almost, but not quite, point at the King. Slowly, he eased Irena to her feet. “Get her out of here. She doesn’t need to see this.”
“ Daddy! A m-monster with red eyes and pointy teeth was under the bed and Wynne said. . . Wynne said that she’d protect us with her dagger. But I told her it wasn’t a dagger it was a hairbrush and she got mad at me.”
Kamal picked up his daughter and held her head against his shoulder. Niles sheathed his sword and pulled the woven blanket from the bed.
“ So, she jumped at it. ‘Cause she’s not scared. She’s a Larkspur and they fight to protect us. And the monster bit her. But she didn’t cry. Not Wynne. She’s a Larkspur and Larkspur’s don’t cry.”
Niles wrapped the body on the floor in the red stained coverlet. Gently, he picked it up and hugged it to him.
“ I think it hurt her. She fell down and didn’t get up. I didn’t see her move.”
“ Where’s the monster now Irena?” Kamal whispered in her ear.
“ The knight stabbed it and then I made it disappear.”
Niles moved reverently through the door and out of the vision’s scope.
“ Monsters don’t just disappear.” Kamal turned his head to follow Niles. “Captain, I want this palace searched.”
“ I did. I pointed my finger like Mommy and it became smoke.”
“ There is a magical aura in here,” a silky feminine voice said from the fringes of the vision. She stepped into the vision and it almost burst from the energy that crackled around her. Maron had flaming red hair and was dressed in a tight fitting black robe. She had the grace of a cobra and the red highlights on her lips looked like blood.
“Hubba Hubba,” Evan whistled.
“Maron, thank the Gods. Can’t you detect the evil behind this?” Kamal asked.
“ No, but the Princess did dispel it. I can smell the banishment. Crude yet effective. She probably destroyed it to atoms if the trace can be interpreted correctly.” Maron reached her hand towards Irena’s head, as if to stroke her hair. Maron’s coated red nails looked like talons, but her hand flinched back as it connected a blue spark inches from Irena. Maron looked sourly at the girl and shook off the stinging electricity that stung her fingers. “Rhee’s protection wards were around Irena and the bed only. As soon as Wynne left the safety of the field, well, she was torn to shreds.”
“ Bitch,” Guy snapped.
Irena started to whimper and cry again. “I want my Mommy,” Irena sobbed into her father’s nightshirt. “I want my Mommy.”
The vision fizzled until only the four words carried on the afternoon breeze. Even Evan was silent. Rhee expelled a loud, long breath and her body sagged against Kess. Kess murmured blessings in an ancient, but soothing tongue and gradually the chill was chased out of the forest glen where they were traveling.
When Rhee felt she had her strength back, she let Kess help her to her feet. “I’m sorry, but I can’t go to Leeds anymore.”
“ Then it’s a good thing we’re going to Winterlore,” Evan said crawling down from his tree perch.
“ Couldn’t pass up the chance at the treasury, huh?” Rhee smiled. “Or is it Maron’s charms that attract you?”
Evan shuddered dramatically.
“ Dara commands me to help the innocent and banish evil where I find it,” Kess said. “So, you know I will also travel with you.”
“ Thank you,” Rhee said. “Once we’ve finished in Winterlore, we can head out to Leeds, if you still wish. I don’t anticipate that we will be in Winterlore for more than a couple of days.”
“ Why is that?” Guy asked.
“ Because, I’m taking my daughter with us.”
Evans spluttered on the wineskin he was drinking. “We’re taking the Princess? The heir, herself?”
“ She’s my daughter, too. I have every right to teach her our family magic.”
“ Yes, Rhee but your husband, the King, you remember him . . .?”
“ Former husband,” Guy said from atop his horse. He had pulled his helm over his face and was in the process of wrapping a black cloak over his armor. “He ritually divorced her.”
“ He promised me Irena would be safe. He broke that promise.”
“ Rhee, to be fair. It wasn’t his fault,” Kess said.
“ I don’t care.”
“ O.k., O.k., say we decide to take the little one with us. What do you plan to do with her when we accept work? Will she be flinging spells alongside her Mommy? Do we have to cater to another fainting, willowy mage?”
Guy purposely let his sword hiss out of the scabbard menacingly. “I can get you before you reach the tree, monkey-boy.”
“ Call off your guard dog, Rhee. I’m just trying to make a point,” Evan said, trying to reach for a dagger without looking like he was in a hurry to get it.
“Do you really think I have any control over him?” Rhee asked.
“Look, it’s bad enough we have to worry about getting you out alive when you push yourself. I can’t worry about a child.”
“ That’s not fair! You have no idea of the control it takes or the amount of power we channel through our bodies. Picture trying to stay in your tree during a tornado,” Kess glared at Evan.
“ No, Kess. Evan is right. I suppose I will have to bring her to Ferriskeep or Larkspur. But still, that should only delay us a fortnight or two,” Rhee said.
“ You’re going to leave her there all alone? What’s to stop the King from just taking her back?” Kess asked. “And won’t she be lonely without either of her parents?”
Rhee bit her lip. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“ Well, you can think on the way. Let’s see how many miles we can travel today,” Guy said.
“ Maybe you could join forces with the King long enough to destroy the common enemy and then Irena could stay there while you are with us?” Kess suggested.
“ A mother’s place is at home with her child,” Evan said in an odd tone of voice.
Kess opened her mouth to snap at him, but sensed that he wasn’t making a joke and instead said kindly, “In a perfect world.”
Evan looked back guiltily and stammered, “Along with cooking and cleaning and taking care of her husband.”
“ You have to go and ruin it, don’t you?” Kess said and gave him a smile that made him blush fiercely.
He looked away, clearing his throat.
Since the weather was mild this time of year, they traveled quickly. Within five days they were on the fringes of Winterlore. Rhee loved the land that she had married into. The people had welcomed her and she adored them as well. It could have been so perfect. Looking at the castle in the distance, it was easily a half day’s travel away. But it was so familiar to her that she wanted to burn some power and fly to the upper battlements, catching the thermals like one of the castle’s hawks.
“ Here’s where we split up,” Evan said. “I’m still not sure how the Queen is going to go in without being recognized and I don’t really want to know.”
“ Be careful, everyone.” Kess said. “We are most vulnerable when we are alone. May Dara’s blessings be upon us.”
Evan looked at her. “Then perhaps we should go in two by two?”
Guy and Rhee exchanged amused glances.
“ You’ve often said you work better alone, Evan. Here’s your chance to prove it,” Kess said.
Evan winked at her. “Playing hard to get are you? That’s fine. I’ll wait.”
“ Patience is a virtue,” Kess deadpanned. “Besides, the Sisters of my order do not open their gates to non-believers.”
“ You’d be surprised at what I believe in,” Evan bowed his head mockingly at them and rode off towards the city.
“ I’ll see you both at the street carnival,” Kess said and cantered in the direction of the Abbey of Dara.
“ Alone at last,” Rhee said.
Guy peered out of the eye slots of his helm. His voice was slightly muffled from the face shield that protected his identity. “Command me, my Queen.”
“ I wish I knew what to tell you.”
“ As do I.”
Rhee frowned at the sad tone in his voice. “What do you think I should do?”
“ I will kill Kamal and we take Winterlore.”
“ Guy, that’s barbaric,” Rhee scolded. She knew how Larkspurs thought too well to be shocked. “Besides, I still love him.”
“ Why?” Guy demanded. He took off both mail gloves, fiddled with his helm and tossed the whole thing to the ground. He was sweating, and the metal of the protective gear left grooves on his nose and cheeks. “Why?” He repeated through clenched teeth.
Rhee stared at him in shock. “He’s my husband.”
“ He doesn’t want you anymore. He doesn’t love you.”
Rhee flinched and said quietly, “I think Maron has bespelled him. That’s why he didn’t believe me.”
“ Did you see evidence of the spell about him?”
“ Well, no I wouldn’t. Being so close to him and all.”
“ No, it’s because there wasn’t a spell. Tamar told you that. Why won’t you face it? If Maron bespelled him, it was with her body and not her will.”
“ I command you to shut up,” Rhee said covering her face with her hands.
Guy made a loud, frustrated noise. “He doesn’t deserve your loyalty. He never did.”
“ Guy, please . . . not again. I can’t go through this again.”
Swearing, Guy got off his horse and went over to help Rhee down from hers. He cradled her as she hugged him fiercely. “I have lost my reputation because of Kamal. He has cast doubts upon your honor. Banished my family from Winterlore. Separated his daughter from her mother. You and I have had to starve and scrape to survive because of him. And most recently, my niece has died because of Kamal. And yet you stay my hand from killing him yet again because you love him.” Guy sneered the word.
“ Yes,” Rhee said against his black cloak.
Guy rested his chin on the top of her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“ I told you that you didn’t have to come with me,” Rhee sniffed.
Guy gripped her upper arms and thrust her back to look at him. “I’m to sacrifice my honor for Kamal, too? Is that what you want?”
“ No, Guy, no. I didn’t mean to bring you down with me.”
“ That is not your fault! You did not create this situation. Kamal did, probably with the help of Maron.”
“ I keep wondering . . . Guy, what if I was a better wife? What if I spent less time with my books and studying and more time with him? Would he have believed me then?”
“I don’t believe I’m hearing this. Are you actually taking the blame for Kamal’s misconception? I swear I’ll kill him without your consent if you don’t stop this line of thought.”
“ No. Yes. I don’t know. I must have done something to make him doubt me. Maybe I deferred to your opinion too often or indulged in one too many of our private jokes.”
“ We have been together since we were Wynne and Irena’s age. Our friendship was something Kamal couldn’t understand. He has never been friends with a woman he hadn’t bedded.”
Rhee thumped her fist against his chest, “Ow!” she said.
“ That’s plate mail, my Queen. Arrows don’t often go through it. Your delicate fist won’t either.”
She stamped on his foot, “Owww!”
“ Also armored. And I wouldn’t try kicking me in the shin either.”
Rhee put her foot back down. “Remind me to zap you the next time there’s a storm warning.”
“ I’ll make a note of it.”
“ He was always so jealous of you. You were a knight and had earned your spurs gloriously. Kamal was never good enough to be knighted.”
“ So he became King. He has my sympathies.”
Rhee lifted a delicate shoulder in a shrug. “Enough about him. Why is Maron trying to harm Irena? And more importantly how do we stop her.”
Mocking feminine laughter drifted to them from above. “An arrow to her lovely throat would do the job.”
“ Tamar!” Rhee shouted and looked around for Guy’s mother.
The air shimmered in front of them and a swan materialized at their feet.
“ Hello, Mother,” Guy said sardonically.
Tamar honked at him. “Well, you two make good targets up upon this hill. Why don’t you just hire a crier to announce your presence.” She waved her white-feathered wing. Rhee felt Tamar’s magic swirl around her and felt herself being transformed into a blond hair, blue eyed shepherdess.
“ How bucolic,” Rhee gave Tamar a pained smile.
“ Oh, no you don’t . . . “ Guy backed away from the swan until it gave ungainly pursuit. Each time Tamar would get close enough to cast the spell, Guy would dodge away. “No, no I don’t want to be a farmer!” He said as Tamar squawked and feathers flew trying to catch up with him. “I look fine just the way I . . . “ Guy sighed as he felt the spell slam into him. He hitched up his overalls. “Am.”
“ Now, your costumes should last for most of the day. I suggest you hurry into the town and set up. I will be waiting for your group in the gypsy quarter. You’ll be safe there until the town goes to sleep. My wagon bears the crest of the charging bull.”
“ Oh that’s appropriate,” Guy muttered under his breath.
Tamar ignored him and continued, “I have a squadron of Larkspurs camped out on the Winterlore/Ferriskeep border. They can be here in a few hours if we need reinforcements,” Tamar said and gently nudged an itch under her wing.
“ Why could we possibly need reinforcements? I have a pitchfork after all!”
“ Guy, darling, only the outside appearances have changed. You are still wearing beastly amounts of armor and that is your sword you are waving about. Please try and control yourself.” Tamar cleared her throat. “Now then, the castle is locked down tight. The only chance to get in is through the front door or fly over the top.”
“ We were going to go down into the ancient city and follow the tunnel to the private royal chambers,” Rhea said.
“That’s almost as good as broad daylight.” Tamar said sourly.
“Well, I didn’t think Kamal would just let us in.” Rhee looked sharply at Guy for a moment. “Do you think Kamal’s under Maron’s influence? Some kind of charm or enchantment?”
The swan faded from view. “Seek the answer in your own heart, Rhee. You already know the truth.”
“ I hate when she does that,” Rhee sighed.
“ Try growing up with that,” Guy countered.
They made their way into the city without attracting any attention. Rhee felt her heart pounding when they crossed the guard station into the walled city. She knew she could walk these roads blindfolded, but she still allowed herself to pause in the City Square and look around. The statue of the ancients stood as proudly as ever in the center of the fountain. The fountain was the water supply for most of the city, maintained by an underground aqueduct. Some said the ancients were gods, some said they were scientists, but whatever they were, they had long since abandoned this plane.
“ Probably grew bored after solving all our mysteries,” Rhee thought. “Maybe when we could solve the mysteries they left behind, we will all be united.”
Rhee glanced over at Guy. He was still plucking at his shirt, reassuring that it was still plate metal and not gingham as it appeared. She touched his sleeve and they moved casually to the merchants.
“ Too bad you can’t use the animal form spell like Tamar,” Guy murmured in her ear. “We could have all flew in like hawks. Or crawled into the underground as rats.”
“ And if I was a battle mage like Maron, I would have teleported Irena out and blasted the castle to its foundations.” Rhee muttered sarcastically. She moved along the stalls pausing to look at a swatch of fabric or a silver chain.
“That would’ve been more effective,” Guy agreed, as usual approving the destructive solution.
Suddenly, Guy’s hand shot out and grabbed the arm that was reaching for Rhee’s purse. “S-Sorry, Mister,” a grubby faced boy said.
“ I should break it,” Guy tugged on the boy’s arm, dragging him closer.
Rhee fumbled for a few coins, “Stop that.” She tapped Guy’s fist until he let go. “Here, young man, these will at least keep you from stealing for a few days.”
The boy took the coins from Rhee but didn’t run away. He stood there rubbing his wrists and looked at them thoughtfully. “I steal for the fun of it, not for the money itself."
Rhee scowled at him, “Then the next time, I should let him break your arm.”
“ There won’t be a next time, Lady. I’m not stupid to try for your purse again with him around. My name is Aaron the Snake. I’m going to be famous one day,” he said. “Besides, the gypsy swan sent me to find you and escort you to her wagon.”
“ Escort,” Guy snorted. “From you?”
Aaron pulled back his sleeve and showed Guy a tattoo. It was the Larkspur shield. He leaned in close and spoke low. “Yes, Cousin, from me. The princess’ new guard.”
Rhee grabbed Aaron by the ear. “We’ll just see about that, young man.”
Aaron led them through the maze of the merchants and into the gypsy quarter. He hailed sentries with intricate hand gestures and they were allowed to pass unsearched. Guy was glad that Tamar had sent Aaron along, even though the boy spent most of the trip trying to persuade Rhee that the street urchin act was just a cover and that he really was a Larkspur.
When they arrived at the gypsy wagon, Aaron faded from sight. Guy went in first and was glad to see Evan and Kess there waiting for them. Guy was relieved to see his mother out of her swan form, even though she was dressed up like a fortuneteller.
“ Come in, my friends and have your fortune told.”
“ Mother, for the love of the gods. . . “ Guy said ducking in just as his farmer guise wisped away into the night air.
Tamar ignored him and passed her hands over a clear glass globe. Rhee sat down next to her friends and the wagon door creaked shut. “I have heard that the sewers are a dangerous place to be,” Tamar intoned.
“ Aside from the obvious delights of it, what dangers are there?” Evan asked.
Images of stone walls and the scurrying of rats entered into the globe. “My friends are fleeing from the evil that you seek to destroy.”
“ The evil is in the sewers underneath the city?” Kess asked.
“ Of course it is. If I were evil, that’s where I would go.” Evan said mockingly.
“ I would’ve thought it would reside in the castle,” Rhee said.
Tamar smiled at them all. “I do not wish to disappoint you, but this time it is not Maron’s witchery that is afoot. This evil has squelched every scrying that I have tried in its vicinity. What I have learned has been from the rats and animals that reside in its lair. It’s quite possible that if you destroy the being, you will make Winterlore safe for your daughter.”
“ And Kamal will never know the difference,” Guy sneered.
“ We’re not doing this for his glory.” Rhee said.
“ Maron will know. My pets at the palace tell me that she is aware of the evil and is trying to capture it to harness its power.” Tamar smoothed her hand over the globe’s surface and three exotic cats lounged in a laboratory regarding Maron with varying ranges of disdain and amusement. “It’s possible that she was using Irena and Wynne as bait. Their innocence would be a lure no true evil could ignore.”
“ Perhaps we should lead her to the sewer and let her try,” Kess said. “She would surely get what she deserved then.”
“ Maron is a force as it is now. I would hate to see what she’s like as a demon’s minion,” Tamar said.
“ So this evil – it’s a demon? Like the one that killed the little girl?” Evan said as he cleaned his nails with the tip of his dagger.
“ I have been unable to ascertain that information. However, it controlled the minor demon that killed Wynne,” Tamar acknowledged.
“Then Rhee can banish it the same way Irena did.” Evan screwed up his face and mimicked Maron’s snooty tone. “Crude yet effective.”
“ I can’t banish things,” Rhee said solemnly.
“ But I might be able to,” Kess said.
“ So, if we can’t banish it – what then?” Evan said nervously.
“ We fight it,” Guy grinned.
***
Under the dark shadows of midnight, Rhee, Evan, Guy and Kess crept to the statue of the ancients in the City Square. Kess prayed to her Goddess to let the night cloak them from observers and they reached the statue without being noticed.
Rhee squinted at the base until she found the hidden door. Evan helped trigger the spring lock and they all leapt back as the passageway opened with a grumble of stone on stone. The foul smell almost gagged them as they crept down muddied stone steps into the waterway below. The lights of the City Square were shut out as the passageway closed behind them.
“ I wouldn’t recommend lighting a torch down here. The fumes could ignite.” Evan said.
“ Maybe we could use that to our advantage,” Guy muttered.
Kess chanted softly under her breath and a dewy light sprang from the stone walls, illuminating the aqueduct.
“ So much for not announcing our presence,” Evan said.
“ Not all of us can see in the dark,” Rhee said and moved forward along the stone walkway.
“ Besides,” Kess said as Evan went to pass by her, “what makes you think it doesn’t already know we are here?”
For awhile the only noise was the dropping of water on the ancient stones and their own footsteps rasping across the passage way. But as they continued on, Rhee held up her hand to have them stop. “We are directly under the palace. I’m trying to find my wards, but something is blocking me.”
“ It’s awful,” Kess whispered, her face pale and shaken in the muted light. “It reaches to me with black fingernails of death and the cold is numbing.”
“ Banish it!” Evan said and tried to shake the priestess out of her trance.
“ It’s laughing,” Kess said and gave him a small smile.
At once they felt it. It wasn’t a demon – nothing so crude. The presence lurked at the corners of their eyes, fading when they turned their heads. It was at once behind them, in front of them, inside them. For Kess, it took the form of the absence of light, cruel and cold. Evan saw too much light. He knew something was stalking him, but the brightness hid the enemy. Rhee kept having glimpses of her dead child and Guy’s peripherals showed him a zombie-like Rhee, bloodied and ravaged.
“ It’s trying to divide us,” Kess said, groping for someone – anyone.
It was Evan’s hand that snagged hers and dragged her into the tight circle they had instinctively formed. Guy shook his head fiercely to try and locate where the attack would come from. The inky presence was content to linger leeching the walls, absorbing the moisture and light until the air in the sewer became arid and it hurt to breathe.
Kess began to chant a morning psalm to Dara and the acrid air became hot with the cleansing burn of sunlight. The presence retreated and flapped a wing of shadows and four demi-humans sprang from the wall. Each was the color of dried blood. They had a bull’s torso and head, but walked bipedal on human legs. Evan let go of Kess’s arm and readied an arrow.
“ Finally,” Guy gritted and broke rank to charge them.
Evan’s arrows were faster, as they whizzed by Guy’s head into the snarling group of monsters.
Rhee bubbled a protective barrier of magic around Guy as he swung his sword with wide vicious arcs. Then she forgot him as the presence fell upon them. She felt Evan dodge away from the impact. Rhee swallowed some of its blackness when it engulfed her. Once inside the blackness she could no longer feel Dara’s blessings from Kess. Even Guy’s satisfied grunts were shut out at the unbearable absence of sensory impulses.
“ Is this what it’s like to die?” Rhee tried to stifle the half-hysterical thought before it caused her to lose her sanity.
“ Hello Rhee,” from the void stepped the figure of Kamal. His face was mournful and he reached his hand to her.
“ Don’t touch me!” Rhee flinched back from his hand and flung a shower of sparks at his head.
They swirled around him, blinding him and he staggered back. “Rhee! Don’t fight. It’s useless. I haven’t been able to leave for a year.”
“ Nonsense, we fought just last week. You threatened to have Maron banish my spirit form.”
Kamal shook his head. “The last time I saw you, my love. You had fallen asleep over a dusty tome of magic. Tamar’s kitten was on the table by your book drinking your mead from the goblet. I carried you to bed and watched you while you slept.”
Rhee narrowed her eyes. “And the next morning you swore you found Guy sleeping next to me in our royal bedchamber. You imprisoned him in the dungeon and slapped me.”
“ My hand could never touch you in anger,” Kamal smiled sadly.
“ I was there.”
“ I wasn’t. And now my hand can never touch you again.” He caressed her cheek.
Rhee drew a breath in sharply. “Oh no.” She only felt a slight cold breeze on her face, that raised gooseflesh on the back of her neck.
“ I couldn’t sleep that night,” Kamal sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Something inside me was restless and I walked the battlements, seeking to burn off my frustrations. It was there that I found Maron in consort with a demon. The sight was hideous, yet I could not look away. I was drawn to them through foul magic and I was unable to break free. They fed on me and as I died, the demon took my form.”
Rhee sank to her knees, tears falling from her eyes. “All while I innocently slept.”
“ Although, I am not completely dead. I am as you see me now, existing inside the shadow, a power that the demon controls to breed creatures to serve him.” Kamal lifted the mace that hung from his belt loop. “I stop what I can from leaving. But he’s getting stronger. The imp that killed Wynne should have never escaped me.”
“ Uncle Kamal. . . “ Wynne toddled over to him and held his hand in a chubby grip.
“ Oh baby. . .” Rhee murmured and crawled closer to hug the little girl. Her hands passed right through the child.
“ It didn’t count on me existing.” Kamal said, grimly. “I know his thoughts. It didn’t count on eventually sharing my strong feelings. That’s why it feels a need to protect Irena and a need to bring you to his side.”
“ All he had to do was ask. I would have never known.” Rhee said, scrubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.
“ How would he explain your reappearance? Or why he banished you in the first place? He would have had to implicate Maron. And what would he do about Guy? Guy would be the first to notice a danger to you. And even if the Larkspurs forgave the banishment, having them in Winterlore would be a risk the demon couldn’t afford. Sharing my memories, he would know that eventually Tamar would sense something. No, it’s simpler to lure you here by threatening Irena.”
“ Are you taking me to him? Or is this where I wait for him to appear to me?”
Rhee got to her feet.
“ Only the dead remain here, trapped until he is defeated. I’m controlling the shadow.”
“ Then you attacked us!”
“ The demon was monitoring the shadow’s attack. I couldn’t let it know I am sentient enough to foul up his plans. He wants me aware only to feel horror and pain at his actions.”
“ But Guy and Evan are fighting these ugly bull creatures.”
“ Larkspur needed to blow off a little steam,” Kamal gave her a tight grin. “I hate him.”
“ Don’t start, Kamal.”
“ No, Rhee. I hate him because he is alive and I am not. I hate him because he can touch your hair. I hate him because he can hug my child. I hate him because he will kill the demon, when I should have been strong enough to do it.”
“I love you,” Rhee said and tried to hug him. Her arms and body past through him. She stumbled and fell flat on the stone ground. The shadow lifted off her and sailed up and through the catacombs.
“Rhee!”
Guy’s voice was a welcome roar in her ears and he pulled her to her feet. She looked around, shaking slightly. Evan and Kess were harried and bedraggled, but unharmed. The red bull beasts were dead in messy heaps. And Guy was barely breathing heavily. He wore a wild look and a crooked grin.
“ The real Kamal is dead. The evil is a demon that has taken on his form. You get to kill Kamal after all, Guy.”
The Larkspur’s battle cry echoed frightfully down the sewer.
“ Follow me, I know the passage into the castle shouldn’t be much further. Beware of Maron and the fake King,” Rhee said in a small voice.
They made their way down the next passage and turned left into the next alcove. Rhee fit her hand into a groove and triggered a hidden stone door to open. Leading them up a spiral staircase, Rhee paused and concentrated hard. She waved her hand and a slim doorway appeared out of solid rock.
“ Hurry through, I can’t hold it open for very long,” Rhee’s eyes were clenched closed. Guy yanked her through last and the stone materialized over the hole.
“Where are we?” Evan whispered.
“In the war room,” Guy answered, looking around to familiarize himself to the castle again.
“ I thought you’d never get here,” Tamar’s voice came from a chair at the head of the large square table. From a seated position a large, fluffy white cat uncoiled and leaped on top of the maps that lined the table. Knocking over figurines of horses and men, she approached the group.
“Tamar, thank gods! Call in the reinforcements. The real King has been murdered and for a year the demon, the evil the rats sensed in the sewers has taken over the kingdom of Winterlore,” Rhee warned.
The cat stretched and yawned. “It will be done.” She jumped down and twined herself around Guy’s ankles.
“ Mother, if you make me trip, I swear I’ll shave you bald.”
The cat huffed daintily and sauntered out the room. She tilted her head inside once again. “No one is in the hall. The only guards you should encounter will be Nigel or men loyal to him. Maron was last seen in her laboratory. I’m going there now. Irena is in her room and the King is drinking his after dinner brandy in his study.”
“ Be careful,” Rhee and Guy said together.
“ Grab Irena and run for the door,” Tamar said. “Leave the demon alone for now.”
Guy shook his head fiercely.
Tamar left the room for good with a twitch of her tail.
“ Your mother speaks wisely,” Kess said. “I can distract the demon long enough for you to get Irena to safely.”
“ He’ll be distracted,” Guy rotated his sword over his wrist.
“ Yes, but I can block us without ever being near him,” Kess said.
Rhee put her hand on Guy’s arm. “Irena first.”
“ At the same time,” Guy said, his eyes filling with blood lust. “There’s a chance the demon will escape if we don’t confront him now. I won’t spend the rest of my life fearing his return.” Guy slipped out of the room, twitching out of Rhee’s hand.
“ Guy!” Rhee hissed, fear creeping into every pore of her body.
“ Dara, block our movements from the evil and bless the poor fool who strides to meet it, for your glory and the safety of innocence,” Kess chanted.
“ I’ll stay here with her. Go get Irena and come back here,” Evan said, nocking an arrow.
Rhee nodded and left the room feeling numb. She ran down the corridor, straining to hear any sound of Guy or fighting. The castle was eerily silent and her heartbeat was loud and furious in her ears. She and Nigel saw each other at the same time. He opened Irena’s bedroom door for her and then closed it behind her.
“ Irena!” Rhee whispered, striving to keep the fear from her voice.
“ Mommy!” The girl screamed and hurtled herself into Rhee’s arms.
“ OK, baby, listen to me.” Rhee cut off her daughter’s babble before it began. “We’re going on an adventure and I need you to be a very good girl.”
“ Is Daddy coming too?”
“ No. He’s not coming along.” Rhee said and started getting her daughter dressed.
“ Can I take my dollies?”
“ Yes, but only one. We have to go on a quick trip, but we’ll be back soon.”
“ Can I take two.”
“ Yes, just please hurry with your clothing.”
“ Mommy, you’re shaking. Are you cold?”
“ Yes, it’s very cold out. Now, can you play a game with me?”
“ Sure, I like games. You smell funny.”
“ Mommy needs a bath. Now, remember how we used to hide and seek on Daddy and Guy?”
“ Is Guy here?” Irena squirmed with delight. “Is that why Daddy’s not coming?”
“ Yes, and Guy is waiting for us so we have to play this game for him. Now close your eyes and hide.”
Irena squinched her eyes closed.
“ That’s it baby. Now, keep your eyes closed and no matter what you see or hear keep them closed and keep hiding, OK?”
Irena nodded her little face tight with concentration. Rhee watched her fade from sight. “Very good, Honey, do a little more. Hide deeper for Mommy.”
When Irena vanished, Rhee scooped her up and tapped on the door.
Nigel opened it up.
“ Find your cousin. He’s in the study.” Rhee looked at him wildly. “Help him and tell him we’re safe.”
Nigel pushed past her and ran down the corridor.
“ Keep concentrating baby, the game’s almost over.”
“ Actually, Rhee the game’s just beginning.”
Rhee whirled to find Maron approaching her from down the stairs.
Casting wildly, out of desperation, Rhee flung her hand and an ice blast filled the stairs. “I hope you slip and break your neck,” Rhee muttered and ran to the war room, closing it behind her.
Evan quickly lowered the bow.
“ Maron’s coming up the stairs. We need to go out through the sewer.”
“ Where’s Irena?” Evan asked.
“ Here I am!” The cheery voice turned into a little girl in Rhee’s arms.
“ We can’t take her through the sewers,” Evan said.
Kess’s face was growing red and strained. Her chanting was hoarse as her voice rose and fell.
“ We don’t have any choices. Let’s go,” Rhee said.
“ What about Guy and Tamar?” Evan said.
“ Let the Larkspurs do what they do best: battle. We can help them by getting to the reinforcements and being clear of the castle.”
“ If you’re sure. I don’t like leaving friends behind.”
“ I know Evan. I don’t either. But you know Guy. His family is exactly like him. We can’t help him in this fight. We’d only be a distraction at best and a pawn against him at the worst.” Rhee concentrated again and the stone door materialized. She held it until she was on the other side of it and then released it.
Kess put her hand where the door was and started chanting another song to Dara. The wall glowed brightly for a moment. “That should hold it just long enough to get us into the town square.”
“ Mommy, it stinks down here.”
“ Irena, close your eyes and do your meditations. The smell will go away and we’ll be out here before you know it.”
Kess started chanting the shield prayer again as they raced down the stairs as quick as they dared. They ran down the stone worked passages, looking wildly for any sign of the shadow. After what seemed an eternity, they reached the top of the stairs to the fountain. Rhee and Evan triggered the door and they escaped into the Town Square and the blissfully sweet night air. Kess’ voice gave out just as the passageway to the sewers closed behind them.
An inhuman roar woke up the town as bright light flashed from the castle on the hill. The town watch mobilized and ran past them to aid the King. Outside the Larkspur battle cry mixed in with Ferriskeep’s as the factions demanded to be let in.
Suddenly, an unholy red light lit up the night. It was if the sky was bleeding and Kamal materialized before them. “You will not go anywhere.”
“ Daddy!” Irena said happily. “You’re coming after all.”
“ Sleep,” Kess said harshly, laying both her hands on Irena’s head.
The girl immediately slumped and snored lightly against Rhee.
“ Never touch my daughter again!” Kamal extended his hand and Kess fell over as a loud crack filled the air with brimstone.
It was at this time that time seemed to move in slow motion. The walled gate of Winterlore crumbled as the Ferriskeep’s battle mages detonated energy into it. Legions of Larkspurs and Ferriskeep warrior flooded the city. Evan launched three daggers at Kamal. They sunk in and stuck there. Kamal sneered and pointed a finger. Evan flew backwards as a force of wind pummeled him into the fountain. He also sank, bleeding from his nose.
“ I banish thee demon! Begone!” Rhee pointed her finger at Kamal, who now stood mocking her.
“ I banished thee, wife and you return to steal my child.” Kamal raised his voice to attract the attention of the townspeople and guards who weren’t fending off the rush of the army.
“ You are not Kamal. You killed him!”
“ No one will believe you. Guards, seize the Queen! And be careful of my daughter.”
A few soldiers moved forward towards Rhee. She snapped her fingers and became invisible. Kamal snapped his and she reappeared.
“ Even her magic is failing her. Grab her before she gets away!”
The guards moved in to rush her, but a shadow rose from the pavement and engulfed them.
“ What! No! It can’t be,” Kamal flinched back as the shadow leapt at him. It washed over him and faded back to the pavement. In Kamal’s place was the demon in its true form. It was a twisted and ugly thing. Rhee was thankful Kess made Irena sleep through this. It picked itself off the ground. It was the color of nightmare green with thick brown armor, like pustules over its head and torso.
Rhee quickly began to cast, using the hand that wasn’t holding Irena to gesture.
“ Save the Queen! Kill the beast!” Aaron shouted from the crowd, throwing a pitchfork at the beast.
It snarled and made a lunge for Rhee, but her spell ignited and she levitated to the top of the statue. It whirled to follow and began to scale the fountain, but by that time the crowd had closed in.
“ Make way for the fighters!” Rhee shouted and the Larkspurs engaged it in battle. Rhee felt the familiar magic of Ferriskeep wash over her as a magical net of energy limited the demon’s movements. It was over quickly after that. The demon’s blood soaked into the cobblestones and stained them black with ichor.
Nigel and Guy appeared not long after, supporting Tamar between them. Guy and Rhee exchanged a long glance and he smiled wolfishly. He drew a finger across his throat and inclined his head back towards the castle.
“ So Maron was dead,” Rhee thought and watched Nigel and Guy bring Tamar over to the Larkspur healers. Rhee was content to watch the chaos, until a niggling of regal duty made her come down from the fountain.
With a few commands to the guards the crowd was pushed back to give her room to come down. She found her mother in the Ferriskeep ranks and handed the still sleeping Irena to her. While she was there, Rhee commandeered a healer and brought him over to Evan and Kess, who had nearly been trampled, in the mob.
“ People of Winterlore!” Rhee turned to face them. “We have triumphed over the evil that had seized our city. The demon has been destroyed. My husband, your King has been avenged. Let everything be as it once was!”
The people seemed comfortable at this and gradually drifted back to their homes. As the red dawn faded into a new day, Rhee saw the shadows of night creep away and disappear. But before one left, it swirled about her briefly and said only: Good bye.
“ Well, I guess we aren’t bound for Leeds after all,” Evan said, grimacing in pain as he walked up to Rhee.
“ There’s plenty of work here,” Rhee smiled. “And since you’re so interested in the treasury, who better to be in charge of guarding it.”
“ Fox and hen house,” Kess muttered as she hobbled on a makeshift crutch to where they were standing. “At least there is a temple of Dara nearby.” Evan helped her to sit gingerly on the fountain.
“ I think I have seen Dara’s light,” he told her, as he slid a supporting arm around her back.
“ I think we all have,” Guy said, coming up from behind them.
As the sun crept over the castle, Rhee slipped her hand into Guy’s. He blinked at her in surprise. She leaned her head against his arm, “Welcome home.”
The End