Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak (20 page)

FEAR!

The word slipped into his mind as clearly as if it had been shouted aloud.

Holly was terrified. Why?

Adam went through his memory of the mindspeak conversation word by word. The wave of fear from Holly wasn't there at the beginning. It came when he mentioned the Lady.

There had been a pause. Holly had said
Not… Not…
accompanied by the wave of fear.

Adam's stomach lurched as his mind completed Holly's fractured mindspeak—
Not the Lady. Not the Lady.

But why was that frightening? Doona had admitted she wasn't the Lady. She was the Lady's sister.

The answer whispered in the back of his mind. He tried to ignore the idea. It would not be ignored.

Fear washed over Adam, and he knew his answer was right. His whole being knew it.

Lady Doona was the Dark Being!

That explained her story, his unease, Holly's fear, everything.

Adam curled into a ball.

He was Adam the idiot, Adam the useless. He'd assumed Doona was good because she was kind and beautiful. But she was the Dark Being. Deep in his subconscious, he'd always known but had not dared admit it. But the clarity of his thoughts would no longer let him believe a lie.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled.

Doona was there. He could sense her. The Dark Being had entered the room again and was staring down at him.

Adam's mind raced. There was only one course of action he could take.

In order to survive, he must act a part. Act as he had never acted before. What he had to do next required an Oscar performance for Best Actor. He must convince the Dark Being that he was on her side.

Adam shuddered, but turned it into a stretch.

He peeped under his lashes.

The Dark Being was turning away, the remains of a smile hovering on her lips.

Adam caught his breath. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. How could she be evil?

He watched as she stretched out one hand and pulled a hole in the grayness surrounding them. She leaned forward and stared down at something far below.

Adam could only see the side of her face, but there was no mistaking the change of expression that crossed it. Her features were contorted into a snarl of hatred.

Adam yawned loudly and sat up.

The Dark Being turned, all smiles again.

“How delightful! You are rested again, Adam, the courageous?” She clapped her hands and a shadow appeared. It drifted toward Adam and placed a fresh tray containing another goblet and some cake-like food beside him, then drifted back into the grayness.

Adam controlled another shudder. “Hi, Doona,” he said, and returned a brilliant smile.

CHAPTER EIGHT

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T
HE
P
AGAN
L
ADY

AARCK, AARCK.

The raven's cry floated through Manannan's cloak of mist.

It startled Owen. He missed his footing on the narrow cliff steps and stumbled forward, sprawling on hands and knees. One leg slipped over the drop. Shaken, Owen drew it back and paused for a moment, huddling against the rock face. He drew his knee up to his chin and rubbed the shin, while trying to regain his nerve. He hated heights. “If we survive this so-called path without killing ourselves it will be a miracle,” he muttered. “Myrddin's got rocks in his head sending us up here.”

Holly saved her breath and concentrated on the uneven steps. She scrambled the last few meters on hands and feet, and stood panting on the cliff top, looking with relief at the narrow fringe of grass that ran between the castle walls and the cliff edge. “We've made it,” she said. “Come on.” She held her hand over the edge to Owen. He stretched and grabbed. She heaved.

Owen emerged and rolled on his back on the grass to recover.

“That was some climb,” he said when he could breath again. He stood and stared down into the mist, venting his feeling by kicking a loose stone over the edge. It seemed ages before it clattered on the hidden beach below. Owen grinned wryly. “At least the fog concealed the drop.”

AARCK, AARCK.

The raven swooped overhead and flew to the top of the gatehouse.

“Follow that bird,” said Holly.

Owen raised a cupped hand to his mouth. “Aarck, Aarck…We're coming. We're coming,” he croaked.

“Shhh,” said Holly. “Don't alert the Shades.”

Quaking in his shoes, Adam stood before the Dark Being. He wished he hadn't taken this route, but it was too late now. He'd convinced Doona that he was her man.

She summoned a Shadow. It appeared obediently and drifted to his side.

The Dark Being smiled down at them both. “You please me, Adam, the courageous. You will be a fine helper, so I send you back to Gaia with a tool. I hear that Gaia possesses only simple magic. My Shades have a skill humans do not. They can send mind messages a great distance.”

Adam's eyes flickered. He dropped them quickly.

“As I need information, and you cannot mindspeak, I attach this Shade to you. To humans it will look like your shadow. It will not interfere with your actions in any way. Its only job is to listen and report back to me.”

“It will tell you everything I say?” asked Adam. His voice wobbled.

“Is that a problem?” The Dark Being's question had a steely edge.

“Not really,” said Adam. “But I might have to play along to get Owen and Holly on my side.” He gave a small grin. “You won't get mad, will you?”

The Dark Being brushed aside his concern. “Of course not. The Shade will not repeat conversations, just content. It knows what information I need.”

“Will it…will it make me do things I don't want to do?”

“No.” The Dark being chuckled. “Don't be fearful, Adam, the courageous. I give you a tool. I have forbidden the Shade to meld with you. It will not control you. You are free to help me in your own way.”

Adam tried not to shudder. “Thank you,” he managed.

“Adam, you understand who I am and how badly I've been treated?”

Adam forced himself to meet her eyes again. “Yes, of course, Doona.”

“Then I have a gift as well as a tool for you. I always reward my helpers. Give me your hand.”

Adam lifted his left hand.

Doona's touch was cool as she slipped onto his finger a thin gold ring with a tiny black stone sunk into the band.

He spread his fingers as if he were admiring it. “Real gold, wow, thank you.” He forced a smile through tight lips.

Doona laughed and touched his cheek. Her other hand touched the grayness of the Shade. Her eyes closed and reopened. “It is done.”

Adam had felt nothing, but the Shade was no longer beside him. He looked down. A darker patch lay in the grayness at his feet. He took a few steps. It followed. Not quite a real shadow, but not strange enough that anyone would notice.

He felt nausea rising, but he swallowed and forced himself to smile again. “You're very clever,” he said.

The Shades on Gaia were on high alert. They circled above the magic web that protected Pheric's Isle, glaring at Manannan's gulls that slipped back and forth at will.

The Shades studied the gulls' movements, hoping to unlock their magic. They had tried to meld with the birds, but the gulls could sense them and were too wily to be caught.

Angrily the Shades stared down through drifts of mist.

“Children, children, children approaching. Nassty human children,” hissed one.

“I ssensse magic, sso much magic,” said another.

“Tell the Dark One, we musst, we musst,” said the third Shade.

Their heads nodding and bobbing in agreement, they gathered together.

“Sslide, sslide, sslide into one.

Thicken the darkness.

Sstrengthen the bondss.”

Their shadows merged into one shadow, and a strong mind message fought its way through the Mists of Time and sped to the Dark Being.

“There's Mr. Cubbon. What's wrong with him?” Owen ran to the bench seat by the castle gatehouse and placed his hand on the shoulder of the slumped fisherman. “Are you all right, sir?”

Mr. Cubbon raised his head from his hands, a surprised look on his face. He smiled up at the boy and nodded.

“Aye, aye. I'm fine now. Thought I had a touch of the flu. Must have walked it off.” He stood up and beamed at Holly and Owen. “Going to explore the castle are yer?”

The children nodded, their eyes serious.

The old man leaned forward. “I'd be careful if I were you. Strange things lurk on Pheric's Isle,” he whispered. “Keep wits about you. Avoid the Moddy Dhoo and listen to the raven.”

“We will,” Holly said. She flashed him a smile and turned to go.

Mr. Cubbon pulled Owen aside. “I've news,” he hissed.

Owen cocked his head as Mr. Cubbon bent to his ear.

“The secret passage…I know where it goes.”

Owen's eyes sparkled. He caught his breath.

Mr. Cubbon's voice dropped even lower. “Under the estuary to a cave on Pheric's Isle. But there's a hidden part. Comes up in the round tower. The raven told me. Watch yer step.”

“Wow! Thanks, Mr. Cubbon,” Owen whispered. He patted the old man's arm and followed Holly up the wide worn sandstone stairs through the gatehouse to the ticket booth.