Return of the Sorceress (7 page)

“The enclosure’s wood is old and dry,” Ayanti said, her voice trembling. “It’ll be ablaze within moments!” She stepped back and forth restlessly, and her gaze darted around the enclosure as if she were looking for a way to escape. Though Davyn normally thought of Ayanti as human, she wasn’t. It appeared that the
equine half of her nature was reacting to the possibility of fire the way any animal would, with sheer terror.

Bolthor’s “pets” were reacting the same way. Some huddled at the back of their cages while others paced restlessly. Some growled, some whined, and others remained silent and shivering, eyes wide with fear.

The cage doors were all closed with padlocks.

Davyn turned to Ayanti. “Do you have the keys to open the cages?”

“There’s only one key. It’s the same one I used to lock the gate.” Ayanti reached into her vest pocket, and held the key out to him.

Davyn snatched it out of her hand. “Elidor, you stay here with me. Everyone else, go to the back of the enclosure and stay close to the wall!”

Catriona nodded, and she and Sindri each took one of Ayanti’s hands and led her toward the rear of the building. The centaur allowed the warrior and the kender to escort her, though her hooves rose and fell in a nervous, erratic pattern, as if she would bolt if there were only somewhere to go.

Davyn looked at Elidor. “How fast can you pick the gate’s lock?”

Davyn didn’t see Elidor’s hand move, but suddenly the elf was holding one of his metal lockpicks.

“Just about as fast as you can blink. Why?”

“Get ready to open the gate when I tell you.” He held up Ayanti’s key and grinned. “I think it’s time Bolthor’s pets got a little exercise.”

Shiriki watched in satisfaction as orange-red flames began to spread upward along the enclosure’s walls. Tendrils of black
smoke curled into the air, and she could hear the sounds of the animals inside howling in fear and throwing themselves against the bars of their cages.

Bolthor sighed. “It’s a shame that we have to sacrifice my pets in order to deal with Ayanti and Davyn, but I suppose it can’t be helped. And I
have
grown tired of seeing the same animals fight in the Pit time after time,” he said, his voice brightening. “At least now I’ll have an excuse to acquire some new ones.”

Shiriki smiled. “Sometimes things have a way of working out for the best, my lord.”

Kuruk scowled. “I’d rather have had a chance to pay them back personally for the wounds they gave us.”

“You may yet get to, Cousin,” Shiriki said.
“If
the fire drives them out. If they choose to remain inside and perish, their deaths well may be faster and more pleasant than what you would’ve done to them, but in the end, they will be just as dead. So—” Shiriki broke off as she saw a hand reach between the bars of the enclosure’s gate, insert something into the lock, and give it a twist. The lock snicked open and the hand quickly withdrew.

“Prepare yourselves to have a bit of fun,” Bolthor said to his bodyguards. “It looks as if our young friends can no longer stand the heat and are about the abandon the kitchen.”

The gate swung wide, but what emerged wasn’t the companions, but rather a gigantic monstrosity with a thin scaled serpent’s body and six multi-jointed, insectine legs—and it wasn’t alone. Davyn had released Bolthor’s entire nightmarish menagerie.

Shiriki knew there was no way the two of them could hope to stand against all these monsters. She exchanged a quick glance with her cousin, and Kuruk nodded, as if he’d read her mind.

The two elves turned and ran toward the trees, abandoning their master.

“Stop! Come back!” Bolthor bellowed in fury. “I command—” His voice was cut off as the first of his pets fell upon him.

When the last of the animals had been released, Davyn and the others rushed out of the barn, coughing and rubbing at smoke-irritated eyes. Once outside, they saw that most of the animals had fled into the surrounding forest. But several of them crouched over Bolthor.

Davyn turned away. While he thought there was more than a bit of poetic justice to Bolthor’s demise, he took no pleasure in it.

“At least we won’t have to worry about him coming after us anymore,” Elidor said, his voice weak with nausea.

“I’m glad the animals are free,” Ayanti said. “I stayed on as their keeper only to make sure they were treated as well as possible. Now they’ll never have to fight for someone else’s entertainment again.”

Davyn quickly scanned the area. “I don’t see Kuruk or Shiriki.”

“Maybe they’ve gone in search of a new employer,” Elidor suggested.

“Maybe,” Davyn said, “but I doubt it.”

“So,” Ayanti said, “you came to Ravenscar to find me. Why?”

“I thought you might be able to help us sneak into Cairngorn Keep during one of your regularly scheduled deliveries,” Davyn said. “But that’s no longer possible, obviously. Not only is Maddoc aware that we’re here—”

“I won’t be doing business at the keep anymore,” Ayanti said. “Now that my boss is dead.”

“So now what do we do?” Catriona asked.

“Good question,” Davyn admitted. He’d given no thought to anything beyond escaping the burning enclosure.

“How about the Bottomless Lake?” Ayanti suggested.

Davyn smiled. “Perfect.”

“Sounds rather ominous to me,” Elidor said.

“That’s just what we called it when we were children,” Davyn said. “It’s really more of a pond.”

“But it’s not easy to get to, so hardly anyone ever goes there,” Ayanti said.

“As long as we’re not bothered by
them,”
Elidor said, nodding to the creatures crowded around Bolthor, or rather what was left of him.

“Let’s get going,” Davyn said. “Before these creatures finish with Bolthor and begin to look for new playthings. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can start working on a new plan to get into Cairngorn Keep and rescue Nearra.”

Davyn led them away from the burning enclosure, Ayanti walking beside him, the others following close behind.

“Do you think it would be possible to tame one of those things?” Sindri asked of no one in particular. “A wizard such as myself can always use an interesting familiar.”

“Why don’t you give it a try?” Elidor said. “We’ll wait for you here.”

Sindri looked back. The creatures were just about finished with Bolthor and were starting to fight over what was left.

The kender’s face paled. “Never mind.”

    I
t’s time to get up, honey.”

The voice was kind, but insistent. Nearra did her best to ignore it.

She felt a hand take hold of her shoulder and begin to shake her, gently at first and then, when she didn’t respond, more firmly.

“There’s work to be done, Nearra. You can’t lie around in bed all day.”

Nearra moaned and tried to hide her head beneath the covers, but they were snatched away before she could do so.

“I hate to do this, but you leave me no other choice.”

Fingers moved along Nearra’s ribcage, sides, and stomach, tickling her. Nearra’s eyes flew open and she shrieked with laughter. She sat up and pushed the hands away.

“All right, all right!” she said, laughing. “I’m awake!”

“It’s about time.” Standing at the side of Nearra’s bed, looking down at her with amused affection, was a blonde-haired woman in a simple brown dress. Nearra had no memory of ever seeing her before, but nevertheless, a single word came to her lips upon seeing the woman.

“Mother?”

The woman smiled. “And who else would I be? I know you tend to be groggy when you first wake, but you’ve never failed to recognize me before.”

Nearra stared at the woman. Though she still had no memories of her, Nearra was suddenly filled with overwhelming love. It seemed that while Nearra’s mind didn’t recognize her, her heart had no such trouble.

Nearra jumped out of bed and threw her arms around the woman’s—around her
mother’s
—neck and hugged her tight. She had no idea how she had come to be here but for now it didn’t matter. She was home!

“It’s so good to see you again!” Tears started to roll down Nearra’s cheeks, and for a few moments, she couldn’t speak.

Her mother pulled Nearra down to sit on the edge of the straw-filled mattress. She then held Nearra and rubbed her back gently while she cried. After a bit, her mother said, “Nearra? Sweetheart? Are you all right?”

Nearra pulled away from her mother and wiped her eyes as she tried to get control of herself. “I’m fine. I just …”

Images and sensations flooded her mind. Falling toward gray stone … a creature of lashed-together bone with wings of stitched leather flying up toward her …

“I just had the strangest dream.” She frowned. “At least, I think it was a dream. It couldn’t have been anything else.” She looked into her mother’s loving eyes. “Or maybe
this
is the dream?”

Mother took her hand and chuckled. “You really are having a hard time waking up today, aren’t you? Do you feel my touch?” She gave Nearra’s hand a squeeze.

“Yes.”

“Does my hand feel like something from a dream?”

Mother’s grip was warm, firm, and comforting. Nearra smiled. “No, it feels real.”

“All right. At least we have that settled.” She paused. “Tell you what: It’s just you and me here today. If you want to lie back down and sleep a bit longer, it’s all right with me. But don’t tell your father. You know how he feels about slugabeds.”

“Where is Father?” Nearra struggled to remember his face.

“Your father and your sister have already left with a wagonload of wood bound for Ravenscar,” Mother said.

“I have a sister?” Nearra sat up.

Mother furrowed her brow. “Are you feverish, girl?” She bent down and felt Nearra’s forehead. “You feel cool. Maybe you just need some more sleep. Lay down now. Father and Jirah will be home soon.”

With a last smile, Mother left the room and closed the door behind her.

Nearra was sorely tempted to take Mother’s suggestion. It felt as if she hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest in months and months! But there was work to be done. There always was. And if her father and Jirah had already left for Ravenscar, then Mother would expect Nearra to help her with chores around the cottage. Nearra was grateful she’d overslept. She didn’t like going to Ravenscar. She understood that her father was a woodcutter and, as he’d said on numerous occasions, “Outlaw money spends just as good as any other kind.” Still, she never felt comfortable or safe there. She—

Nearra’s thoughts came to a sudden halt as she realized she’d remembered something! She’d remembered that her father was a woodcutter, and she’d remembered how much she disliked going to Ravenscar! She’d also remembered what her father had said about taking outlaw money for his wood … she could almost hear his voice as he spoke the words! For the first time in nearly a year, she’d remembered specific details about her past!

She was so excited that she hopped off the bed and ran toward her door, intending to share this wonderful news with Mother.