Return of the Crown (22 page)

Connor was once again staring at the water
stain. It looked to him like a sunburst. The Light had answered his
prayer, but figuring out the meaning of the vision would take more
time. Looking out the tiny window, he realized it was well into the
night. The moon glowed softly on the trees. Hunger gnawed at him.
He rose, the bed creaking as he pushed against the frame. Time to
search out Joff, more roast, and apple crisp.

The wolves pushed down the mountain, stopping
to neither eat nor drink. Blade sat wincing, holding an overfull
bladder as long as possible, each jarring bump causing urgent
desire for release. A hard bump caused him to poke his head out of
the furs pleading, “Can we please stop?”

Kialgyn slowed, the sled skittered over the
icy ground coming to a bumpy stop. “What is it?” he snarled.

“Nature calls and will not wait any longer,”
Blade grimaced. “And, you and the pack need food and water.”
Looking about, Blade noticed they were down to the tree line.
Taking a deep breath, he relished the oxygen rich air. “Let’s rest
a bit.”

Kialgyn eyed his harness. “It is a good spot
for rest.” Blade caught the hint, releasing the wolves from their
straps. They headed into the trees to hunt, marking territory as
they went.

The sleeping draught had been effective.
Ravyn still slept, snuggled beneath the furs. Blade murmured in her
ear, “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Blue eyes snapped open. “We can’t stop. We
have to keep going. Where are the wolves? Call them back!”

Blade reached out to brush her cheek, “Rav,
the wolves are running themselves to death. They need to eat and
rest. We are into the tree line. What Zelera has done cannot be
undone.”

Tears leaked from the blue eyes. She squeezed
them shut, trying to blot out the images of death and decay. “I
know you’re right,” she stammered, “but, I feel responsible for
those people, my people. I let them down. Every mistake I make on
this trip, every delay, allows her more time to hurt them.”

Anger coursed through him, and he slammed his
hand against the side of the sled, “No, Ravyn. Zelera is
responsible, not you. Don’t you forget that!” His words sounded
harsh to his ears, so more gently he added, “You are the Light in
this Darkness.” He held out his hand. “We take care of ourselves
and the wolves, and then we take care of Zelera. All right?”

Ravyn took his hand and pulled herself out of
the nest of furs. Cold air hit her skin, making her feel alive.
Blade was right; she’d allowed the Darkness of her vision on the
aural plane to smother the Light within her. Opening the shutters
on her soul, she allowed the Light to flood through her. She stood
motionless, enraptured, glorying in the beauty of the Light.

Blade stood mesmerized, watching Ravyn as she
stood in the snow with arms raised to the sky. It almost seemed
like the sun’s beams danced around her. The shadows seemed to melt
away.

Ravyn lowered her arms. Her blue eyes
glimmered with mischief. Bending down she scooped up a handful of
snow. She pressed it together making a ball and tossed it at Blade,
hitting him on the cheek.

Astonishment swept across Blade’s face. “Why
you,” he blurted, scooping up a handful of snow and tossing it
back. Ravyn squealed with laughter as she scooped up more snow.
Soon the snowball fight turned into a wrestling match, and they
were rolling across the icy white ground.

Kialgyn emerged from the woods dragging a
deer. “Bladders emptied then,” he growled, lips curving in a
grin.

Blade jumped up blushing, “Not yet, I
actually forgot about that. Now that you mention it, I really need
to go.” He chuckled, tromping off into the trees.

Sitting up, Ravyn brushed the snow from her
trousers. Her cheeks were rosy, and a smile graced her lips. She
inhaled the fragrance of the evergreens.

“You are filled with the Light again,”
Kialgyn stated. “The Blade is a good mate for you. I thought maybe
we’d lost you after your encounter with the Darkness.”

“Blade isn’t my mate, Kialgyn; he’s my
dearest friend.” Her rosy cheeks turned scarlet.

“What better mate to go through life with
than your best friend? Shera and I have been friends since we were
pups at the tit.” He cocked his gray head to the side, studying
her.

“I may not live to have a mate, Kialgyn, but
Blade will be my friend till my dying breath.” Her eyes softened,
and as she exhaled, she could see her breath in the cold air.

“Is that not a mate?” Kialgyn rumbled.

Some tree branches parted, and Ravyn watched
Blade emerging from the woods. He was tall and strong, full of
confidence. “I suppose it is,” she whispered, rising to her feet.
She walked toward the trees to take care of her necessities. She
smiled at Blade as she passed him. Her blue eyes sparkled with the
Light.

Blade stared at Ravyn’s retreating back, and
then he turned to Kailgyn. “She seems much better, doesn’t she?” he
asked while gathering things for a meal.

“She found the Light again. You are good for
her Blade, a true mate.”

Blade felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny
of those wise canine eyes. He loved Ravyn with every fiber of his
being, but she was his Princess and his friend.

“I would do anything for her, Kialgyn. I
would give my very life for her.”

“Aye, and you may have to,” he growled.

Ravyn was returning from the woods whistling
a merry tune Blade recognized from their childhood. “She is the
Light though, isn’t she?”

The pack returned from hunting, and the
wolves devoured their meal. Ravyn and Blade ate from their
provisions. Blade watched Ravyn consume healthy portions, even
having seconds.

Appetites sated, Kialgyn stood at the straps
waiting for harnessing. Ravyn walked over to the large wolf,
scratching him behind the ears. “No, good friend, you need rest.
You nearly ran yourselves to death earlier. I don’t want you
hurting yourselves. I’m so sorry I drove you to this.”

“Nonsense, we can run all night. There are
three more hours of daylight. We should at least use those, and
then we can rest.”

Blade joined Ravyn at her side, “Kialgyn, if
you don’t mind, I’d like to get more exercise. I know you’re
anxious to get us down so you can return to your clan. But frankly,
I’m tired of sitting on my butt, and my legs still feel a bit
weak.”

Ravyn chimed in, “You’ve brought us here so
fast. Why, if we leave in the early hours of the morning, we may
reach the bottom by nightfall. I could also use a little walk, to
stretch my legs.” She peered down the snowy mountain, evergreens
thickening into a rich forest in the valley below. “It’s so
beautiful and peaceful here,” she inhaled the chilly air, closing
her eyes.

Kialgyn bowed his head. “If that is what you
wish, we will resume our journey before the sun rises tomorrow,
when the sky glows with the arrival of the new day.”

Ravyn smiled at them both, and then walked to
the sled. She began rummaging through the furs.

“Like I said before,” Kialgyn lectured, “You
are a good mate for her. A soul mate.”

“What do you mean?” Blade asked.

“I mean, you came to me asking for time for
you, when we both know you are fully healed. She is the one now who
needs this time.” With that said, he turned his back to Blade and
settled down to rest with the other wolves.

Blade turned around to see Ravyn sitting on
the ground with the scrying bowl in front of her, drifting off into
that other world. Racing to her side, he dropped to his knees,
peering into her face. Fear pulsed through his veins.

Pushing the apprehension away, Ravyn entered
the aural plane. She felt freedom as she pushed her thread down to
the village nestled at the mountain’s base. The sled would take
them a short distance further; the snowline ended about a half
day’s sled ride away. Catching a whiff of pine, she spied Connor’s
green-gold thread dancing before her. He looked like himself again,
and he sat in a small room talking to a man who looked vaguely
familiar.

She tugged at his thread, a little harder
than necessary.

“Joff, a moment please,” Connor said, holding
up his hand. “Ravyn is jangling my aural thread; I’d better answer
her. The girl has very little patience.”

General Joff sat back, watching Connor’s eyes
glaze into another form of seeing. He’d heard practitioners of the
arts could communicate with one another across vast distances, but
he’d never seen it happen. Zelera had annihilated most
practitioners of the Light when she assumed the crown. Those that
escaped had gone into hiding.

‘
Connor, I recognize that man, but I can’t
quite place him. Did you call him Joff?’

‘
Yes, Ravyn, he is General Joff, the
leader of your army. Used to be your sword tutor, I
believe.’

‘
Oh, but he looks so much older. I didn’t
recognize him. The smile has left his eyes.’

‘
Well you look a bit different now too.
When will you arrive?
’

‘
We should reach the snowline midday
tomorrow, and then it will take a day of hiking, maybe more to
reach the village.’

‘
Good, good. I will have Joff send men to
meet you and escort you in.’

‘
Connor, I did something the other day I
shouldn’t have done. I tried cutting through the Darkness. I
created a sword of Light,’
she paused pushing back the fearsome
images trying to find purchase in her mind.
‘It was horrible. I
almost lost the Light; I was petrified. But, I saw Zelera’s
defenses. I saw a wall, fire, water, and a dust devil the likes of
which I’ve never seen before.’

Connor’s bushy brows rose in amazement, a
sword of Light. It was such a simple solution. He sighed; he was
getting old.
‘Ravyn, that was very clever, but you are still too
inexperienced to try anything like that again. What if you’d been
trapped in the Darkness? Zelera would have your soul and all hope
would be lost. Promise me you won’t try anything like that
again,’
he ordered.

‘
I promise,’
she whispered.

‘
Good. Now, enough of that. Joff confirmed
these defenses, and the Light has shown me you will pass these
defenses with ease. The problem for you will be the confrontation
with Zelera. I cannot foresee what she will barrage you with; I
only know you must hold steady to the Light. I fear a grievous
choice will lie before you. Read your mother’s book again; keep it
fresh in your mind.’

‘
But, Connor, that book doesn’t tell me
how to work the Light; it just gives me general guidelines to
follow.’

‘
That is the how the Light works. We
fashion it by following the guidelines. We use the Light for good,
in service of others. By fashioning a sword of Light, you came up
with something new to me, and that’s a hard thing to do with a man
of my years. Read the book again.’

‘
Oh, all right. I’m taking Blade for a
walk; he needs the exercise. I’ll study the book this evening
before I go to sleep.’

‘
I’ll see you tomorrow, Ravyn. Until then
may the Light fill you and guide you.’

Connor’s eyes sparked back to the here and
now, and without skipping a beat, he addressed Joff, “Ravyn and
Blade will reach the snowline mid-day tomorrow. Send a few men with
horses to meet her.”

The General pushed away from the table,
heading out the door, shouting out orders to his men.

Blade hovered near Ravyn watching for signs
of distress. She looked peaceful, eyes lost in some other place.
All of a sudden, she was looking into his eyes, smiling. She held
out her hand. “Ready for a walk?”

She noticed worry lines creasing his brow.
“Blade, don’t start in on me. Connor already made me promise to
keep to the straight and narrow. I just told him we were coming.
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I was doing.”

The lines eased, and he stood, taking her
hands and pulling her to her feet. “I just couldn’t stand the
thought of losing you again, Rav.”

Locking fingers, they walked hand in hand
into the woods, exploring the world around them. They delighted in
the cool breeze, the serenading birdsong, the warm sun kissing
their cheeks, and each other’s company.

Zelera caught her reflection in the mirror.
She was looking haggard. She’d been beautiful once, in an austere
untouchable way. Now her violet eyes were rimmed in red and puffy
from lack of sleep. She ran bony fingers across the fine lines
etched into her porcelain skin. Her greasy hair lay dead against
her face. Her clothes hung on a skeletal frame. Looking past her
reflection in the mirror, she dismissed her loss of beauty as
trivial. Lareina and Bryant flooded her vision, awaiting their
ultimate doom.

Zelera pulled on a rope, summoning her
General. She stalked the floor like a caged panther, frothing at
the mouth. She snagged the tasseled rope, yanking it again in
frustration.

Moments later, Zilge appeared, or what used
to be the General. A monstrous head with sharp fangs and beady
snakelike eyes sat where a human face used to be. His torso was
twice his human size. Club-like hands sprouted from his scaly
limbs, sharp talon fingernails glinted in the candlelight.

“You rang, your highness-s-s-s,” he
hissed.

“That’s why you’re here,” she snapped.
“Ravyn is coming down the mountain; go capture her. I want her
alive understand! I don’t care what you do to the young man with
her. No, on second thought, I want him alive too. He seems to mean
a lot to her. I want her to watch me tear him apart, limb by limb.
Then I want her to watch her parents disappear into the Darkness
forever. I want that little witch to suffer,” she snarled through
gritted teeth.

“Yesssss,” he hissed, “Ssssuffer,
sssssuffer.” Zilge started to turn away, then stopped. "Your
highnessss, her powerssss?"