Return of the Crown (13 page)

Ravyn leaned over and began unlacing the
boot.

“Those are finely crafted; I’ve never seen
boots like that. Where did you get those?”

Ravyn caressed the soft leather. “Rowan made
them. And my clothes too, though they’ve seen much better days.”
With the laces unbound, she pulled her feet free, tossing the boots
aside. The cool air felt good against her sweaty skin.

Blade picked up her injured foot, placing it
gently in his lap. Taking a dollop of salve from the jar, he
massaged the spicy ointment into her foot and ankle. Then producing
a long strip of cloth, he gently wrapped her foot from toes to mid
calf. “That should help with the pain and swelling, and we’ll rest
here till morning. Eat, and tell me all about Rowan, and where
you’ve been, and well everything.” His eyes shone brightly in the
twilight.

They sat under the trees, filling each other
in on all the details of their lives. Too excited to sleep, they
laughed and talked into the wee hours of the morning.

Tilgey gulped; sweat beaded his brow as he
held out the backup mirror. Darkness had closed in on them,
suffocating their chances of finding the girl. Smuggit and Cugh
stood off to the side, scuffing their feet in the dirt.

“So, you incompetent fool. You let her
escape. I told you what would happen if you failed me,” Zelera’s
dark eyes blazed with fury.

Tilgey trembled, “M-m-m-mistress, if you scry
out her location, I will go there and get her back for you. A man
was helping her, but he’d be no match for Cugh, Smuggit, and
meself. P-p-please, lady, we can do this. You can count on us.”

Growling like a panther on the prowl, she
eyed her cowed prey. “No, Tilgey. You had your chance. I cannot
count on you.” She leered out at him, “But you can count on
this.”

Tilgey’s head burst with pain. Shrieking he
collapsed to the ground. Smuggit then fell to the ground squealing
in agony, clutching his skull. He was followed by Cugh who
screeched in horror as he hit the hard ground, a wet mark running
down the leg of his trousers. Then all was dead silent.

Zelera eyed the lifeless bodies through the
scrying bowl. “By the powers the Darkness hath given to me, I
surrender these three souls unto thy domain. May they rot in hell
forever. So be it, I pray,” she cried in earnest.

She glanced past the corpses trying to see
through the surrounding trees. Ravyn was in there somewhere. Her
sharp teeth ground against each other causing the muscle in her jaw
to quiver. “You can only hide for so long, little bird. At some
point you will spread your wings to fly, and I’ll find you,” she
hissed.

She searched the aural field for magical
traces of Ravyn, finding none. With the trees so closely set, she
could not penetrate their leafy boughs to see the forest floor. The
forest was dark and quiet. She started turning away from the bowl,
frustrated. Mid-turn, she caught sight of movement out of the
corner of her eye. Spinning around, she drew her aura down to the
base of the mountains. Female harpies filled the sky, tearing at
each other with sharp talons, feathers flying. The only male of
their clan sat cowering in a nest, waiting for the victor to claim
mating rights. A wicked smile split Zelera’s taut face.

The creatures soiled the air with their
filthy language while clawing and scratching each other. Zelera
drew upon the darkness forcing her aural thread to expand, filling
the sky. Forming an image of her face in the clouds, she thundered
down at the dirty bird women, “Stop your bickering, you nasty
twits! I, Zelera, Empress of all Aigerach, have a task for
you.”

Some harpies settled in their roosts, but the
three most aggressive harpies flew at the face shouting obscenities
and letting loose foul excrement.

Lightning cracked through the sky catching
one of the harpies in the chest, and she plummeted to the ground.
The sickly smell of burnt feathers wafted up from where she lay
crumpled in the grass.

Cringing in his nest, the male harpy folded
his head beneath his wings and sat shivering.

The female harpies shifted on their roosts,
glaring at the face in the sky. Smirking, Zelera sneered, “I’m
taking your male to my castle. Think of it as incentive for you to
do as I say. I will return him unharmed when you kill Princess
Ravyn and the man traveling with her.”

A cacophony of screeches filled the air. One
bold harpy wench shrieked, “Witch, you do not rule the harpies. We
are free creatures, we do as we please!”

Lightning ripped through the sky again. The
harpy fell to the side, evading a direct hit from the bolt. Jumping
to the ground, she rolled in the dirt, damping out singed
feathers.

“I do not tolerate disrespect,” Zelera
boomed. “If you do not cooperate, he will die, and I will kill all
the immature males as they hatch. Your species will cease to
exist.” She paused, glaring down. “You will find Princess Ravyn in
the woods to the northwest. Go! NOW!”

The clouds dissipated along with the only
mature male harpy, Jedro. All was quiet as harpies eyed each other.
Seconds later the squalor began.

“You three stay and watch the hatchlings,” a
dirty harpy cried.

“Who made you boss,” screamed another.

“I’m going by myself. I can’t stand you
hags!”

“You idiot, we have to kill a man and woman.
We all need to go!”

“Piss off, you wench,” cried a rotund harpy
snatching a handful of hair from her neighbor’s head.

Flying feathers and hair filled the air blue
with cursing.

One harpy edged out of the melee, heading
northwest to kill the simpering princess. Zelera would reward her
with Jedro, and she would be the harpy queen.

Predawn light cast a rosy glow over Ravyn’s
face. Blade wanted to reach out and caress her porcelain skin. He
imagined kissing her supple lips, then blushing, shook his head to
clear the image. She was the princess, and his friend. Watching her
breathe softly, he vowed to protect her until his dying breath. His
timid hand brushed a stray lock of jet-black hair off her
cheek.

Ravyn opened her eyes. “Oh, it’s morning. You
never woke me for my watch.”

“It’s been quiet. Don’t worry, I did get some
rest. I’ve gotten used to sleeping with one eye open. Connor taught
me that.”

“Connor! I haven’t talked to him in several
days. Let me get my scrying bowl.” She pulled the bowl from her
pack, placing it in her lap. “Spare a bit of water?”

Cool water splashed into the bowl. “I found a
spring nearby; we can refill before we head out. I’ll lay out some
fruit and cheese for breakfast while you talk with Connor. Send him
my greetings if you would?”

Settling herself, she called upon the aural
field and began traveling the country, searching for the familiar
green-gold thread. She neared Quickling River, over thirty miles
from Connor’s cabin. The pine scented thread danced before her
eyes, and she followed it down to the riverbank. She pulled back in
surprise, eyes wide as saucers. The colors were right, the pine
smell was correct, but the image looking back at her was very
wrong.

Clearing her throat she apologized,
‘Umm,
ma’am, sorry to disturb you. I thought you were someone
else.’

An old washerwoman stopped scrubbing laundry
on a rock beside the river.
‘And who might it be ye are looking
for, sweet little bird?’
Grey eyes sparkled in the soft
wrinkled flesh of the elderly woman, and she started scrubbing a
dirty old sheet.

‘
Connor? Is that you?’

‘
Cornelia, at your service miss.’

Ravyn giggled.
‘What in the name of the
Light?’

‘
Well dearie, Zelera’s scouring the
countryside for that crotchety old wizard Connor. Poor soul
couldn’t get a moment’s rest. So, I decided to help him out, see?
Hard to resist him; he’s devilishly handsome.’
The old woman
chuckled softly.
‘It’s working like a charm. There’ve been no
less than three different regiments of soldiers through here in the
last couple days, General Zilge amongst them once, and not a one of
them so much as raised an eyebrow at me.’
She chuckled to
herself again.
‘What news have you for old Cornelia?’

‘
I’m here with Blade. We escaped Zelera’s
thugs and are now passing through Wanderer’s Forest. We will get to
the Dirfawr in a week or so, as we are on foot. We can’t skirt the
mountains or take Blessing Pass, as Zelera has those areas well
covered with her soldiers. Blade said we need to blaze our own
trail.’

‘
Yes, that is wise. Follow Blade’s
intuition. He’s been surviving off the land for years now. How is
the boy?’

‘
Boy, what boy?’
Blade had grown into
a handsome, strong man. Pink flushed her cheeks.
‘Oh, he’s
wonderful, as he always was, and asked me to send you
greetings.’

Connor noted the blush.
‘Get here as
quickly as possible. Zelera is planning something big on Autumn’s
Equinox. We must get you some training before you need to face her.
I will stay here in this quaint little village as long as this
disguise lasts.’

‘
We’ll get there as soon as we can.
Connor, I mean, Cornelia. Please keep us informed, as you can, and
I’ll contact you again soon.’

‘
The Light’s blessing upon you both,’
he murmured. Then he was gone, and Ravyn returned to her body
resting under the trees.

After eating, they started walking towards
their next goal, the mountains.

“My ankle feels so much better. When this is
over, I’ll have to send a proper thank you to Magda for her
fantastic salve.”

“I’m sure she’d like that. Let’s fill our
waterskins; the spring is right over there.” Blade pointed off into
the trees.

The spring emerged into view, sparkling
merrily beneath a grove of graceful willows. Blade squatted down,
filling the skins.

“Oh, that looks so refreshing. It looks deep
enough to swim in. Would it be safe to stop? I haven’t bathed
since, well, I don’t even remember when I last bathed.” A frown
wrinkled her brow. “But, I don’t suppose it would be safe with
those brutes on our trail. We’ve lingered long enough.”

“It’s safe enough. Those men will not be
hunting anyone ever again.”

Ravyn raised an eyebrow. “Was it as quiet
last night as you said?”

“I did not encounter them, M’lady.” He bowed
gallantly. “From past experiences I have seen that no one
displeases Zelera with incompetence and lives to tell about it. Not
a maid, not a cook, no one. She does not value human life.”

“But why would she kill them? They are close,
they could continue tracking us, and possibly capture or kill us.
What benefit is there in her destroying them?”

“She doesn’t need them. Trust me, she will
continue thwarting our passage at every opportunity. The threat
will not come from behind. Zelera doesn’t like the chase; she
prefers to lay in wait, springing traps on the unwary.”

“Oh, I thought I knew my aunt, but I fear I
never did. She’s an enigma to me.” Sadness clouded Ravyn’s
eyes.

“Well, I’ve studied her for years now, and I
think I have a pretty good idea what she’s about. Tell you what,
I’ll scout ahead. Clean up and relax. I won’t go far. Just yell if
you need me.”

Blade walked past the pool, finding a spot
out of view of the pool to sit and wait. She needed a bath, the
poor thing, having traveled so long without one. He listened for
any sounds that were out of place in the forest, hearing only the
splashing of water as Ravyn entered the spring.

Ravyn waded into the shallows of the pool,
cool water dancing across her skin. Submerging beneath the chilly
water, she pulled her blouse off over her head and stripped off her
trousers. After scrubbing them on the rocks, she tossed them on a
bush to dry. She sank into the emerald water, luxuriating in its
cool caress. Pushing aside the fears and pressure of the future,
she floated blissfully under the canopy of green fronds.

Sometime later, Blade called out from the
trees, “Are you decent, Rav? We need to get moving. Mid-morning is
well on us, and we’ve a long journey ahead.”

“I’m clothed again and ready to proceed. As
for being decent, I am as I ever was. Thank you for sparing that
time for me. I feel alive again, and I probably look a good deal
more alive too.”

Blade emerged from the trees. Ravyn stood on
a rock soaking in the sun. Her black hair shimmered, and her skin
was rosy. She was a vision of the Light. “You look fantastic,” he
sighed. He dropped his eyes, “Now that your clothes are clean, I
see they are truly amazing. Rowan’s skill is superb.” Her green
trousers and blouse blended in with the surrounding trees. Still
damp, they clung to Ravyn’s body accentuating her vibrant
figure.

Ravyn glowed. “Yes, these are the finest
clothes I’ve ever owned. Rowan is wonderful. He’s like a father to
me, as Connor is to you. I miss him.” Her eyes misted, and she
blinked to clear them. She smiled brightly, “Let’s go!”

Blade tore his eyes away from Ravyn. Strange
feelings kept creeping over him, distracting him, every time he
looked at his friend.

Shouldering his pack, he turned, picking out
a route to the mountains. Ravyn began humming as they strolled
along. Sunlight dappled the forest floor. Birds twittered flitting
about the thick foliage.

“Ravyn, tell me more about Ena? What was it
like meeting a dragon?”

Grinning like a fox, Ravyn related her story
of the fiery dragon. Blade listened intently as they tromped
through the forest, forgetting about the perils of the world, if
only for a moment.