Born to Magic: Tales of Nevaeh: Volume I Read online

  She breathed in smooth, long inhalations, cleared her mind of random thoughts and concentrated on the center of her powers to allow the place within her to open. And then she touched the very spot where Ilsraeth’s gift lay.

  Bringing it forth, Areenna called up the formula surrounding the power. The gift expanded, filling her with vibrations that pulsed from her toes to the top of her head. Everything turned misty around her. She could see clearly, yet everything appeared as though she was looking through the sheerest of fabrics.

  Without a mirror to show her, she did not know if the gift worked. Standing, she went to Hero and stood before him. The kraal did not seem to notice her, yet she knew he scented her as he looked about. She reached out and touched him. Startled, the kraal jerked its head backward.

  Areenna withdrew the gift and returned it to where it resided. An instant later, Hero gave a short snort and turned its head to look at her. As the kraal recognized her, a wave of exhaustion washed over her.

  She staggered and went as quickly as she could to the lean-to where she collapsed onto her own sleeping silks. So much energy, she thought before another wave of tiredness stole her consciousness.

  CHAPTER 21

  “IT IS FOUR days to Dees, and six to the Island,” Enaid said when they finished their meal.

  “What do you see?” Roth asked, looking from his wife to the fire.

  “Nothing. Something is stopping me from sensing them.”

  “How is this possible? The Dark Ones?”

  Enaid shook her head. “It has no dark feel and it puzzles me greatly.” She closed her eyes and concentrated. No matter how hard she tried, she could not break through. That it was the first time since Mikaal’s birth she was unable to sense her son was not just puzzling, it was alarming.

  <><><>

  Mikaal sat by the low glow of dying embers. He was rested and surprisingly refreshed after yesterday’s enormous drain on his body. Behind him, Areenna slept so deeply she had not stirred when he’d awakened and left the lean-to.

  He picked up several large twigs and tossed them on the embers. When they were burning sufficiently, he added heavier branches atop the kindling. It took only a few minutes for the dried bark to catch fire and lighten the darkness.

  To his left, Charka and Hero grazed, ignoring him and the fire. He sensed Gaalrie’s presence on a high branch above and knew the treygone was fixed solely on Areenna. Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts range outward until he touched Gaalrie. He’d never before attempted to join with the treygone other than through Areenna.

  Rather than push at the treygone, he sent a thought and asked. A moment later he was seeing himself sitting before the fire through Gaalrie’s eyes. It was a strange feeling, yet not uncomfortable. Remembering what Areenna had told him, he gently suggested the treygone go aloft and fly over the area, assuring her that he would watch over Areenna.

  Gaalrie let out a soft call, and released herself from the branch. She swooped low above his head before her wings caught an updraft and she lifted into the dark sky. He breathed deeply as he flew with her; the sensation of freedom was exhilarating.

  For the next quarter hour he watched through Gaalrie’s sharp eyes. The lands were still—there were no travelers moving at this hour. As she ranged outward in ever widening circles, he caught glimpses of animals and other birds, but none of people.

  When Gaalrie returned to the perch she’d occupied earlier, Mikaal broke the connection between them. Thank you. There was a returning push of warmth into his mind.

  The fire had settled into low flames. He unwrapped the remains of last night’s dinner and placed the spitted rabt on the two branches erected for cooking. In the east, bands of pale purple light began to rise.

  They were high in the mountains, two days from Dees and the closer they would get, the more populous it would become. There would be no bodies of water to protect them from the scent-following wraith. Mikaal hoped Areenna was right, and the wraiths would be waiting for them in the east, which meant they had time to work out the best way to avoid the dark creatures and get to the Island.

  He considered waking her so they could get an early start, but decided to give her a little more sleeping time. He was sure that yesterday had been every bit as hard on her as it was on him. He would wake her when the sky lightened completely.

  <><><>

  Strange misshapen shadows flickered on the cave wall as she rocked from side to side, the deformed body bending in ways no true flesh and blood person could. Strange words poured from her mouth as her hands waved in the air calling forth old formulas to add strength to her already powerful emanations.

  She froze when her mind connected with the creatures she had created. She saw as much as sensed that they had reached their destination. They had found a hidden place deep in the rocky walls of the high palisades across from the Island. It was the perfect place to wait until the two came.

  And then, she knew, when they arrived, they would die.

  <><><>

  Enaid was boiling water and herbs for morning tea when the small gray traimore settled onto the branch above her. She raised her eyes and smiled. She called the traimore to her and it landed gently on her raised forearm. With her free hand, she relieved the bird of its message and gave it a gentle push to stay and follow them. She would take no chance of losing a method of communication.

  “Finally,” Roth said as she opened the cloth to read the message.

  “They have not yet reached Dees,” she said. “But Atir received word from Ilsraeth. They have been forced to take a longer route to Aldimor. She writes of placing a blocking spell over Aldimor and that Mikaal and Areenna should arrive tomorrow or the next day.”

  Enaid folded the cloth and slipped it into a pocket while the tension and worry over Areenna and Mikaal eased. “That explains why I could not find them.”

  “I knew she had power, but to block her entire dominion? I didn’t think such was possible.”

  Enaid smiled at Roth. “Many things are possible. Atir is strong. She, Ilsraeth, Layra, and I are among the strongest, which is why I sent Areenna to them before the Island.”

  “For the gifts,” Roth said in agreement. He was one of the few men who knew about this tradition.

  “Yes. For now they are safe. But we will miss them at Dees. They should be there tomorrow.”

  Roth took in her words and nodded. “We should go straight to the Landing then.”

  “Yes,” Enaid agreed. “That cuts a day from the journey as well.” She turned to Irii, and looked at her aoutem. “Do you agree?” she asked with a smile.

  When the gorlon gave a low growl, Enaid laughed and sent Irii off to hunt for her breakfast before taking the tea from the fire and pouring the pale green liquid into the two cups she had ready.

  Roth took a loaf of bread from their bag of supplies and broke it in half. They ate silently and, when they finished the tea, Enaid said, “I’m going to try a seeking.”

  “I’ll break camp,” Roth said, standing.

  Enaid moved to the base of a large tree and sat with her back against it. She crossed her legs, and then placed both hands on the ground and dug her fingers deep into the soft earth. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind of anything other than the picture of the Landing across from the Island.

  Slowly and with great care, Enaid built the seeking, tunneling deep within herself and then pushing outward to the north and east. She sent her senses to float along the currents, always moving toward their destination.

  When she reached it, her stomach roiled and her throat closed; an overwhelming disgust gripped her. She pulled back instantly, fighting at the same time to draw breath. When she finally opened her eyes, she was lightheaded and her heart pounded heavily.

  Forcing herself to take slow, even breaths, she willed her muscles to relax and her heart to slow. When she finally was able to open her eyes, she found Irii staring at her, one paw on her thigh while Roth stood above her, his face carved in c
oncern.

  “I’m fine,” she told them both. The gorlon pressed against her, a low grumbling coming from its throat while Roth dropped to one knee and reached out to cup her cheek.

  “What was it?”

  “They are waiting,” she whispered.

  “They?”

  “The dark sorceress, the wraiths that black…snuck created. They wait for Areenna and Mikaal in the palisades above the Landing.”

  “And there is no way to warn them?”

  She thought about the traimore she had released and shook her head. “No, we must go to Dees. We will not reach them in time, but we will need Atir, and possibly others. We will need great power. I have never felt the likes of this before. It…she has created something far worse than I ever thought possible.”

  “What?”

  Enaid shook her head. “I…I cannot fully describe it, but the wraith we faced in Tolemac was but a…child in comparison to this new thing.”

  “Then to Dees.”

  <><><>

  Areenna woke with a start. The spot on her forehead Enaid had set to warn her of danger burned harshly. She lay still with her eyes closed, trying to sense what was happening. There was nothing. What then? she asked herself.

  She pushed outward to Gaalrie and caught her aoutem’s calmness. The warning was not from the treygone. She pushed toward Hero and Charka, and still there was nothing. If it had been Mikaal, she would have known instantly.

  And then the only possibility of what it could be settled into her consciousness. It was a foreseeing. She settled her breathing as her mother had taught her and began seeking what had disturbed her. It took time to sift through wavering, barely understandable visions, but when it came, it was with the force of a blow.

  Her breath exploded outward. Her hands clenched into fists. Flashes of light were followed by faint impressions of black beings, large winged creatures whose hunger was for her blood. There were three, and one was filled with the vilest emanations of evil she had ever encountered.

  She pulled herself from the vision, threw off the thin silk cover and rose to her feet. When she stepped out of the lean-to, she found a bright, sunny day and saw Mikaal crouched by the fire. She went quickly to him, calling his name as she did.

  Mikaal rose and, turning, saw her face. He met her halfway and caught her by her shoulders. “What?”

  Feeling the strength of his hands, the heat from his palms unblocked by the light fabric brought her back to reality. “They are there, waiting for us.”

  “Who is where?”

  “The wraiths. They wait by the Island.”

  He was puzzled by the panic in her eyes. “We knew they would be. We talked of it.”

  She shook her head hard, her pale hair fanning outward in emphasis. “No, there was one, it was…horrible. It is like nothing I have seen or heard about before. Powerful and evil…”

  “We will find a way,” he promised her.

  “What way? This is not like those things we fought in Tolemac. It is different.”

  Mikaal’s hands tightened on her shoulders. Not since the day she rode into Tolemac had he seen her confidence shaken. Whatever this was had affected her badly and he knew he needed to do something quickly. “Areenna, it can’t stop us. You must believe that. You are powerful and you are helping me to become the same. We will do whatever is necessary, we can do this together!”

  She stared into his gray eyes, and at the silvery green motes floating within them and slowly reached out to touch his face. “The vision…”

  “Talk to me Areenna, tell me.”

  She shook her head thoughtfully. “There is no more to tell. I saw—no, I felt them. The evil awaiting us is overwhelming.”

  “There will be a way.”

  “Will there?” She stepped back from under his hands. She looked at Hero and Charka and thought about last night and an idea birthed.

  She brought this newborn thought upward, tasting it and, realizing its potential, turned back to Mikaal. “There may be a way.”

  “There’s always a way,” he said gently.

  She looked at the rabt, and at the water heating on the fire. “First we eat. Then we ride. While we ride, we will begin working on Ilsraeth’s gift. We must make ourselves able to disappear when we need to.”

  She saw Mikaal’s face fill with comprehension. “Yes,” he said.

  “But we must be careful. We cannot exhaust ourselves. We must be able to stay strong.”

  “That is why you slept so deeply is it not? You tried last night.”

  “Yes.” And then she disappeared.

  He felt her hand on his even though he could not see her. And then felt her lips peck his cheek. An instant later she was back. “Like that,” she announced and grasped his arm for support.

  <><><>

  Aldimor was the most populous dominion in Nevaeh and Dees was its capital. It was late in the afternoon of the second day since her vision when they finally reached the outskirts of the city. An hour before, Areenna had sent Gaalrie with a message to Queen Atir.

  They had spent their traveling time working and practicing the second gift and while they rode and rested in between sessions, their concentration on learning this ability remained unflagging. They had discovered, after using the gift and being drained of strength, that it took only a few minutes of physically touching their aoutems to regain their strength. It was hard work, but with it came the understanding that the gift could only be used sparingly, for if they held it too long, they would be weakened beyond the ability to defend themselves. They had been able to hold for a full ten minutes on their last try without succumbing to exhaustion—and had made the kraals disappear as well.

  Gaalrie comes, she informed Mikaal silently.

  When Gaalrie descended onto Areenna’s saddle, the giant treygone held a rolled message in its beak. Areenna opened it. As she read, the words disappeared. “Laira will meet us at the eastern gate of Dees and take us to the Queen. There will be no subterfuge here. We are to go directly to the main keep.”

  They wore riding cloaks with the hoods pulled forward to hide their faces so that only a person directly in front of them could see them—a difficult task while they were mounted.

  The closer they came to Dees, the busier the road became and, even though it was past midafternoon, there were a lot of people heading into the city. Houses made of wood and stone lined the road. Most were small and modest but closer to the main entrance, the houses were larger.

  A short time later they passed through the Eastern Gate, an ornamental archway of stone a dozen feet thick, twenty feet wide and almost as high. There they dismounted and walked the kraals toward the meeting point.

  Within minutes, Areenna sensed the presence of Queen Atir’s daughter, Laira. Mikaal sensed the young girl as well. Turning into a street sparsely populated by homes, they found the young woman waiting, dressed the same as they, in a hooded cloak.

  “Welcome,” Laira said, giving Mikaal a slight bow. For Areenna she gave a warm smile and a welcoming embrace. “It has been a long time, Areenna.”

  “It has,” Areenna agreed after releasing Laira, with whom she had shared a room at the school, five years before.

  “Come, Mother wants to see you right away,” Laira said.

  “All is well?”

  Laira gazed at Areenna. “It seems so on the surface, but I sense something not right.”

  “In Dees?”

  She shook her head and looked from Areenna to Mikaal and back. “Everywhere. I cannot explain it.”

  Areenna remembered a time when she was fifteen and she and her mother had visited Laira and Atir in Dees. She had learned during the visit that among Laira’s growing powers was a leaning toward foretelling.

  She reached out, took her hand, and felt the warmth of her skin and something else…something undefined, but very bad.

  CHAPTER 22

  THE AFTERNOON SKY was dark and threatening, the sun well hidden behind massing storm clouds.
By the edge of a cliff overlooking the blue-black waves hurtling against the rocks of the high palisades wall stood the black sorceress. Casting her senses toward the east, she moved slowly, taking no chance of missing anything. She used the eyes of animals, birds, even insects to look and scent for them. But when her far reaching senses tried to enter Aldimor, she was stopped by a powerful blocking. She knew they were there. “Damn you, Atir, you will pay dearly for this,” she shouted to the east.

  Angrily, she called a dangelore. The large black carrion eater responded to its mistress and left the upper branches of a tall tree. The bird dropped to a low hanging branch of long dead tree, under which she now stood. The sorceress lifted onto the balls of her feet and stared into the depthless red eyes of the dangelore. Then she reached up and took the bird down as if its 30 pound bulk weighed no more than a twig. She held the dangelore’s head to her mouth and began to whisper into the bird’s ear. When she finished the formula and the instructions, she held the bird away and stared into the dangelore’s eyes once more. “To Aldimor and Dees,” she told the bird and released it with a powerful upward throw. The image of her servant within the keep at Dees was impressed upon the dangelore’s small brain.

  The dangelore rose into the stormy sky, where it circled above her head. Then she cast another formula and with her hand wove a pattern into the air. Only then did she send the dangelore on its way. The bird rose higher than it was ever meant to fly, becoming a mere spec. The dangelore caught the powerful easterly currents, which sped it and its deadly instructions faster than a bird could fly.

  <><><>

  With the sun’s final descent, Areenna and Mikaal entered Dees’ main keep through a side entrance. Laira wasted no time in bringing them directly to the Queen’s private quarters where a meal was set upon a round table. After greeting them formally, Atir warmly embraced Areenna.