Shadow Magic (16 page)

Jordet waved and started forward; the others followed a bit more reluctantly. As they drew nearer, the figure resolved into a tall woman enveloped in a dark wool traveling cloak, whose silver-white hair and slanted green eyes proclaimed her one of the Shee.

“Greetings, Keeper of the South Ward,” she said to Jordet as he halted in front of her. “And greetings, too, to the Wyrds of Glen Wilding.”

“Greetings, lady,” Jordet replied formally. “What brings you alone to seek our company?”

“A story best told in comfort,” she answered. “Though time presses, I ask you to pause here, for the news I bear is difficult to ponder on horseback.”

Jordet nodded and swung himself to the ground. As he went to help Tamsin and Har unload the captive Lithmern, the Shee woman’s eyebrows rose. “What is this?” she demanded.

“We, too, have a story to tell, lady,” Jordet said.

The travelers made themselves comfortable around the fire. Alethia, once seated, looked pointedly from Jordet to the Shee woman and back. Jordet said, “Before we begin, I think introductions are in order. This is the Lady Illeana, wizard of the Veldatha and high in the confidence of the Council of Lord Advisors. Lady Illeana, my companions—” He named them quickly, beginning with the Wyrds and ending with Tamsin.

Illeana nodded coolly in acknowledgment. Jordet leaned forward. “Now, tell us what message is so urgent that it brings you to meet us so close to Eveleth.”

“It is not my choice, but the Lord Medilaw’s that brings me here,” Illeana replied. “Nine nights ago the Lady Isme of Brenn broke the covenant of exile and sent a speaking-spell to Eveleth to ask us to keep watch for her daughter, kidnapped by Lithmern not an hour before. Though Isme broke the dictates of the Council, Queen Iniscara chose to lend what aid we might, so the message was sent on to the Glens of the Wyrds, and there the matter rested.”

“That much I have learned or guessed from the news the Wyrds brought me,” Jordet said. Alethia wondered that he could be so patient. Illeana’s formality annoyed her almost as much as the Shee woman’s attitude.
If one of them had been kidnapped, and they had asked for help, Mother would have done a lot more than just send word to someone else to keep watch
, she thought.

“Then one called Murn arrived three days ago, bringing with her a Talisman of Noron’ri,” Illeana continued with a reproving look at Jordet. “When we heard her story, Iniscara ordered the Veldatha to break the exile once more and send a speaking-spell to Isme in Brenn. Then we learned that the city was under attack, and word was sent to you to escort Alethia of Brenn to Eveleth. I am come to tell you that it is no longer necessary.”

“You mean the siege has been lifted?” Har said eagerly.

“No,” Illeana replied. “But the message was sent in haste, when it seemed wise to have your sister under the best protection we could provide. Now, of course, it is obvious what happened. The Lithmern found one of the Talismans of Noron’ri; in using it, they learned or guessed that Isme was more than she seemed. And so they sent to Brenn to kidnap her, that she might not use her power against them in battle.”

“You think they were afraid of mother?” Alethia said, surprised.

Illeana looked at her contemptuously. “A full-blooded Shee, trained in magic, is more than a match for any human wizard, even with one of the nine Talismans. Unfortunately for the Lithmern, their attempt went astray and they got Isme’s half-blood child instead of Isme. The error was compounded when they lost the Talisman.”

“They wanted me,” Alethia said as firmly as she could. “They knew my name, and—” She broke off, unable to explain to this cool, distant stranger about the Lithmern captain with shadows instead of a face, and the way he had hunted for her in her vision.

“
If
you are correct in thinking that, they must have been seeking a hold over your mother,” Illeana said in a tone that made it clear she thought Alethia was mistaken. “In either case, without the Talisman, the Lithmern can be of little danger to you. Therefore there is no longer any reason for you to continue to Eveleth. Lord Medilaw Robal, High Minister to the Queen, has arranged a place just east of here where you can stay in safety and comfort for a time. It will cause less trouble if no humans come to Eveleth to disturb us.”

Alethia pressed her lips together, trying to keep her temper. She saw Maurin’s eyes narrow, and he glanced toward their captive. Before he could make the obvious comment on Alethia’s presumed “safety,” Har burst into speech. “What of Brenn?” he demanded. “How can we help the city by going further east?”

“What is that to me, or to the Shee?” Illeana said scornfully. “The Council has other things to concern them.”

“Such as?” Jordet asked quietly, with a quelling look at Har, who had opened his mouth to retort angrily.

“Firivar sent a prophecy to the Queen this morning,” Illeana answered. “Whatever it relates to is of far more importance than this little matter.”

“ ‘Whatever it relates to’ may
be
this little matter,” Rarn put in.

Jordet nodded. “A prophecy just now is too timely to be coincidence.” His eyes narrowed suddenly. “Does the Queen know of your message to us, or Lord Medilaw only?”

“I cannot say,” Illeana admitted, looking disturbed. “Lord Medilaw speaks for the Queen, but she was closeted with the foreteller when I left.”

“There may have been other developments in Eveleth since you left as well,” Jordet murmured. “Certainly there have been some here.”

“And while I mean no disrespect to the abilities of the Shee, Alethia may not be as safe as you assume,” Worrel said. “The Lithmern may not have the Talisman of Noron’ri, but the one this morning began a spell of passage without—”

“A spell of passage?” Illeana interrupted. “You must be mistaken!”

“He is not,” Jordet said. Quickly, he told the story of their encounter with the Lithmern in the ravine. Illeana listened carefully, and her lips tightened.

“You were wise to take him prisoner,” she said when he finished. “We will spell-bind him now. Such a magician cannot be permitted near Eveleth otherwise, nor can we set such a magic worker free without precaution.”

“Is it wise to attempt such a thing here?” Jordet replied. “I have little knowledge of his ability, but Alethia says he was one of the party that tried to kidnap her. If so, he may be more skilled than you expect.”

Illeana gestured impatiently. “Two Shee, both prepared and one a Veldatha, can easily best a human wizard. Your fears are groundless; he does not have the Talisman to aid him now.”

“He may not need it. The Talismans were made by a human wizard,” Jordet said softly, but he rose and followed her over to the inert Lithmern. Illeana motioned to Worrel to join them, and began giving instructions in a low voice. When she finished, Jordet looked at Alethia.

“I think you should be back as far as you can,” he said. “I do not think he could attack you successfully from within a Circle, but there is no sense in taking chances.”

“What are you going to do?” Alethia asked in a voice she hoped was steady.

“We are going to cast a spell that will block his use of magic and bind his will. When we finish, he will not be able to work further harm, either by magic or by force. With two of us to make the attempt it should not be difficult.” His eyes were worried despite his words, and Alethia was not very reassured. She moved as far as she could and found another seat behind Tamsin and Maurin.

Illeana and Worrel had completed their preparations. The Lithmern lay, still blindfolded, bound, and gagged, in the center of a circle Illeana had scratched in the hard gray soil of the mountain top. Worrel crouched uneasily beside the prisoner, holding an unsheathed knife in one furred hand.

As Jordet joined her, Illeana threw back the hood of her cloak and loosened her hair to fall in silver waves over her shoulders. From under her cloak she drew a thin circlet of silver twined with gold that supported an intricate figure of silver wire; this she placed about her head, settling it firmly onto her brow. Jordet’s eyebrows rose, and she smiled slightly. “The Crown of the Veldatha is never far from me, Ward-Keeper, nor will it ever be, no matter how you may disapprove,” she said.

“I do not disapprove, merely wonder that you should bring such power out of the safety of Eveleth,” Jordet replied softly.

“This is mine alone; no other can wear it without destroying it,” she answered. “It is safe enough. Now come.”

Jordet looked at Illeana sharply, but said nothing more. The Shee woman turned to the seated humans. “Do not stir or speak until we finish,” she told them.

The two Shee walked to opposite edges of the circle. They stopped just outside it, Illeana at the head of the bound man and Jordet at his feet. Then they began to chant, an eerie keening sound that rose and fell in waves over the barren mountaintop.

The chanting pulled at Alethia like a forgotten memory, and for the first time she wondered what she had missed through her ignorance of her Shee heritage. She sneaked a glance sideways at Har. He, too, seemed drawn by the sound, though not as strongly. Maurin wore a bemused expression, and Tamsin—Alethia looked away from the intense longing on his face.
He’s a minstrel; this must be like seeing one of his songs become real.

The chant ended, and the two Shee turned outward. With their backs to the circle, faces impassive, they raised their arms in a slow gesture that could have been summons or supplication, and as their arms rose the wind rose with them. First it was barely a stirring, then a breeze, then a strong gale that swept across the mountains and whistled around the two immobile figures towering over the circle and its occupants.

Alethia shivered and looked around uneasily. Tamsin’s eyes glittered with unshed tears. Maurin and Har sat as if entranced. Only Rarn seemed unaffected; she watched with interest, but not with the fascination that gripped the others.

The wind died, and Jordet and Illeana turned back toward the circle. Alethia’s uneasiness grew. Nervously, she scooped up a handful of pebbles from the rocky ground and fingered them absently, occasionally dropping one softly at her feet.

Illeana brought her hands together in a swift, sharp gesture. At that sign, Worrel, still crouched uncomfortably beside the Lithmern, slashed through the cords that bound the captive’s hands and feet and leapt clear of the circle in one catlike movement. Breathing hard, he sheathed his dagger and retreated toward the ponies.

The Lithmern stirred and half rose. Illeana and Jordet began to chant once more. This time the sound was slow and heavy, almost somber. The Lithmern did not seem to hear it. He reached to remove his gag and blindfold, and Alethia shivered in spite of herself. As the last cloth fell away from the Lithmern’s eyes, he leapt for Jordet, but he was stopped short at the circle’s edge by an invisible barrier. Alethia let her breath out in a soundless sigh of relief, only then aware that she had been holding it.

The slow chanting continued uninterrupted, and suddenly the Lithmern seemed to notice it for the first time. The man’s eyes grew dark and remote, then he threw back his head and laughed. Peal after peal of ugly laughter rang out as a dark shadow grew around him, and then he cried in a terrible voice, “Fools! Thrice fools, to seek to bind what is bound already!”

The chant faltered and died. The Lithmern turned toward Illeana, and she flinched away from his dark, dead gaze. He spoke one hissing syllable and gestured; the Shee woman fell, stunned. The former captive whirled and repeated the spell just as Jordet raised his hands in a counterspell. He laughed again as Jordet fell, and turned toward the small group of humans.

Alethia froze where she crouched behind the others, wishing desperately and hopelessly that he would not see her. The last of the stones she had been fingering was clenched in her right hand; she would not even move to let it drop lest she draw the creature’s attention.

The Lithmern paced slowly toward the onlookers. At the edge of the circle he paused a moment and gestured; then the slow, steady progress resumed unhindered. Tamsin, Har, and Maurin started to rise, reaching for their swords, but the man gestured again and they froze motionless as statues. As he stepped around them and came toward her, Alethia cried out and threw up her arm to cover her eyes.

From her upraised fist came a golden glow, a soft radiance that flowed out to form a protective sphere around her. Alethia felt a strange sense of power, and with all her might she willed it to stop the Lithmern from reaching her.

As he arrived at the golden barrier, the Lithmern’s face twisted terribly. “So, you have begun to learn!” he hissed. “It will do you little good. See!” He hissed again, and shadows flowed from his outstretched hand, forcing the glow back toward the frightened girl.

Suddenly the air in front of Alethia filled with a choking cloud of white smoke. It swirled around the Lithmern, hiding him almost completely and swallowing the shadow-spell. Alethia scrambled backward, away from her attacker. From the corner of her eye, she saw Worrel holding a small bundle of dried plants toward the campfire. As it caught fire, he tossed it toward the Lithmern, and a second cloud of smoke exploded about him.

The Lithmern snarled in his strange tongue, and the smoke began to clear. Alethia looked around frantically for a hiding place or a weapon, but there was nothing. And then the air around the enchanter exploded in silver-white light, and she heard Jordet’s voice and Illeana’s rising in a new spell.

The black aura around the Lithmern died as the Shee poured power into the battle. The circlet blazed on Illeana’s head. Alethia could feel the waves of power surging between the combatants, and it was soon clear that the two Shee were more than a match for the Lithmern sorcerer now that they were prepared for him. As the chant flowed serenely on, the Lithmern swayed and seemed to have trouble coordinating; it was as if he fought himself as well as the two Shee. He sank to his knees and his voice died.

Illeana reached the end of the chant and threw her arms straight upward. In a loud voice she cried, “
Avoc! Nitrinara helmarc elas!
”