Shadows of the Realm (The Circle of Talia) (21 page)

The guard
’s head disappeared from the window and within a short time he exited the guardhouse with two of his fellows. They quickly opened the large gates, ushering in the trio and the few peasants who had been waiting for the opportunity. No sooner had the tail of Corrille’s horse entered the city than the gates were hastily shut. The now-familiar smells surrounded them. Bronwyn regretted having her feet on the ground. She loved riding her horse, while Corrille relished being back in civilization. “How long are we staying, Miss Avruellen?”

“
I’m not sure. Two, maybe three days. I have a few things to do. It depends.” Avruellen was already concentrating on finding where they were going to be staying. They would be staying with another realmist for a change.

Avruellen hadn’t been to Pollona for over twenty years. She normally had a good memory, but a few things had changed since then. The streets were in the same place, but some of the buildings had been rebuilt and looked different. Thankfully, some of the original landmarks remained and Avruellen soon found the house she sought. Realmist Augustine answered the door and the two women exchanged a robust hug. Avruellen spoke aloud.
“You haven’t changed at all, it’s so good to see you.” 

In her mind voice she warned her friend,
“Don’t allude to the fact we are realmists. The young girl called Corrille shouldn’t be with us, and I don’t want her knowing anything that could compromise us.” Then aloud again, “I would like you to meet my niece Bronwyn and her friend Corrille.” 

Both girls shook Augustine
’s hand.

“
It’s a pleasure to meet two beautiful young ladies. I only get older visitors nowadays, and they can be so boring.” She smiled and moved her portly frame aside to allow them to enter.

“
What about the horses, Auntie?”

Augustine answered,
“That’s already being taken care of. Frederick from next door has a small stable at the back of his house. See, here he comes now.” 

Frederick was a middle-aged man with a multitude of lines crowding his tanned face. His smile was as genuine and friendly as his neighbour
’s. “Good day to you, ladies.” He tipped his hat then unloaded their bags. After he had taken the luggage to their rooms he led the horses away.

“
He must be handy to have around.” Avruellen winked at her friend.

“
Yes, very handy.” Augustine giggled like a young girl. “Come and sit in the kitchen. I’m sure you’d love a cup of tea.”

“
I won’t argue with that.”

“
Auntie?”

“
Yes, darling.”

“
I’m hungry. Would it be OK if I had something to eat?”

Avruellen shook her head.
“You’ve got to watch this one. She’ll eat you out of house and home if you let her.”

“
Oh don’t be silly. It’s my pleasure. In fact, I’ve been baking all morning in the hope that you girls would be hungry. I love having company.” Nearing the kitchen they could, indeed, smell the delicious fruits of Augustine’s morning labour.

Their hostess filled the kettle and placed it on the stove. Laid out on the table, protected from flies by a sheer fabric, were three large plates filled with an assortment of biscuits, fruit tarts, and small custard cakes. Bronwyn
’s mouth watered and they all heard her stomach gurgle loudly.

Augustine addressed her old friend.
“Don’t you feed her?”

“
We had breakfast two and half hours ago.”

“
That’s a long time you know.” Bronwyn was the first to take a seat at the table. “Yum, these look good. You must have been baking for hours.”

Augustine couldn’t stop smiling. It really was nice to be so appreciated. Since her children had grown and left home she found it lonely. It didn
’t help that her children had left forty years ago and had their own lives in Bayerlon. She saw them occasionally—they knew what she was and weren’t surprised that she had aged very little. The grandchildren, however, were a different story, and she knew she would have to stop visiting in the next few years. She was dreading the day she outlived her own children. Before becoming mired in sadness, she changed the direction of her thoughts.

The group sat through the early afternoon eating and chatting within Augustine
’s cosy kitchen. “Well girls. Why don’t we have a look around this afternoon? I’m sure Augustine could use the peace and quiet for a while.” Avruellen stood and patted her full stomach. “Thanks so much for the lovely cakes. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat dinner.”

“
I will.”

“
Yes, Bronny, I’m sure you will.” Avruellen turned to her friend. “We’ll be back at dusk, I’ve got to get a few things.”

Augustine nodded and knew that Avruellen was referring to the fresh herbs they would require for tonight. The quartz had to undergo a blessing before it was handed over. This would be a dangerous time because they knew very little about the stone, even what it would end up being used to do or how. How it would react to what they were going to do was a mystery.

Avruellen took the girls to the markets, which were in the small valley between the hills, close to the few small farms that lay drowsily on the southern side. These farmers, and those from surrounding districts, met to exchange and sell goods on the valley floor. It was convenient and meant large amounts of produce didn’t have to be carted up the hills.

The girls had seen Bayerlon and enough towns now to erode the child-like excitement they initially felt at seeing a new place. Bronwyn was still interested to see everything, however, was a little more mature in her approach.
“Lunch was yummy. I like your friend. She’s really nice. How come she’s never visited us?”

“
She came once, when you were very young, but like all of us, she’s probably been busy. She’s got a family of her own you know, although they’re all grown up and moved out now. I think she misses them.”

“
That’s sad.”

“
Yes, dear, but it happens to all parents. It won’t be long before you leave my side.”

Avruellen tried to hide her sadness at the thought. Bronwyn stopped walking and gave her aunt a big hug.
“I’ll never leave you for long; I’d miss you too much.”

Avruellen smiled at the sentiment, yet knew that life could be intoxicating, and Bronwyn would have many places to go and things to do. Corrille watched the exchange and fleetingly wondered what it would be like to have parents who cared that much. She shrugged off the thought and knew she would never have anyone. She resented her friend at that moment—maybe even hated her.

“Now, girls, I have to get some herbs for tonight’s dinner. I’d like you to get food for the horses, please. If you go down there,” she pointed to the south, “there should be some farmers with hay and grain. Ask for enough for three days. You’ll have to ask them to deliver, which will be an extra charge.” Avruellen gave them details of Frederick’s address and some money. “You’ll have some time to wander around, but I want you to meet me at the foot of the main road before the sun dips to the top of the wall.”

The girls took their time walking to the animal feed tent. As usual, they were checking out all the young men. They had taken to giving them a rating out of ten. Unfortunately they both liked the same boys. If they saw an eight or nine, Corrille would lay claim, insisting she had seen him first. This particularly annoyed Bronwyn because they both knew they would never meet the boys anyway—it just seemed like an excuse for Corrille to let Bronwyn know who was better. She did love her friend, although, the more time they spent together, the more temperamental Corrille became. Sometimes it was as if she disagreed with Bronwyn just for the sake of it. Bronwyn was confused as to why she always had to be difficult, but kept telling herself it was just the way she was, that she really was a nice girl, and had just been through a lot.

As luck had it, there were not many handsome boys around and they managed to reach the feed vendor without having any tense conversations. The farmer proved to be as friendly as everyone else had been so far. He showed them what they were purchasing, claiming it was of the highest quality. Bronwyn supposed it was, but since she didn’t know much about horse feed, she had to assume he was being truthful. She paid half the money. The farmer insisted he receive the other half once the feed was delivered. Bronwyn thought this was an equitable arrangement and was proud of herself for successfully completing the transaction.

The girls spent a surprisingly amiable afternoon together and managed to meet Avruellen on time. The women slowly made their way up the winding streets to Augustine
’s house, which was about a quarter of the way up the hill. Augustine and Frederick waited on the front porch, sipping tea. Augustine rose, hugging Avruellen again. She was so pleased to see her old friend. They had met over sixty years ago and had been close ever since, if not in distance, then in their hearts. Avruellen thought about her circle of friends. She realised that now, most of them consisted of other realmists. She supposed she was unconsciously sick of people dying of old age, whilst she remained. There was a strange comfort in realising that Bronwyn would, unless something tragic occurred, outlive her. It brought a smile to her face knowing there was someone on this world she would leave behind.

Avruellen spent the early evening assisting her friend in the kitchen, whilst the girls took turns having a bath. Augustine had a large, luxurious tub. She filled it up and heated it through the Second Realm; it saved a lot of time and didn
’t require a lot of power. She had created her own corridor, snaking through the Second Realm, and transferred water from a hot spring located on the other side of Talia. If power were taken from the Second Realm it would most likely light up the realmists’ symbol to a blinding brightness, therefore pinpointing to anyone floating around
here was a realmist
. If items already in existence on Talia were transferred via the Second Realm, there was no change to the symbol.

They all enjoyed a tasty, vegetarian dinner, except Corrille. Augustine was a vegetarian, but roasted a small piece of meat for Bronwyn’s friend. Corrille was genuinely pleased and thanked Augustine with a hug, which surprised them all. Dessert was freshly baked apple pie and cream. Shortly after finishing the meal, Corrille was suddenly sleepy, so much so that she fell into a deep sleep at the table and had to be carried up to her room by Frederick.

Bronwyn, who was becoming less naïve, rounded on her aunt. “What did you put in her food? You haven’t hurt her have you? Because if you have I’ll never speak to you again.”

“
Calm down, child. Of course I haven’t done anything to hurt her. She’ll have a good, uninterrupted night’s sleep is all. We have something to do she can’t be aware of.”

“
Why didn’t you at least warn me?”

“
We both know that you’re the last person to keep a secret. Remember the time I bought a present for Sandrine’s birthday? You couldn’t even keep it a secret for one day. As soon as you saw her you were so excited you blurted it out.” Bronwyn remembered the day well, and blushed.

Sandrine was a sweet neighbour, newly married. Her husband took ill quite young and never fully recovered, so life for them was a struggle. Avruellen bought her a beautiful dress to wear to the village spring fair. Even though Bronwyn had let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, Sandrine had still cried in joy when she tried it on.

“It ended up being OK, though.”

“
Yes, but this time the secret could get us all killed. Surely I don’t have to keep explaining the obvious to you.” It was clear Avruellen was cranky. Bronwyn realised she was worried about what they were involved in. Seeing her aunt’s distress displayed a vulnerability Bronwyn had never before considered. For the first time in her life, she wondered if her Aunt was capable of making everything turn out all right.

Frederick returned from putting Corrille to bed. 
“I’ll see you ladies tomorrow. Thanks for a wonderful dinner, Tina. If you need anything just sing out.”

“
Thanks Fred. We should be OK. See you tomorrow.” Augustine saw him to the door and they parted with a small kiss. Avruellen smiled, pleased to see her friend happy again. Her husband had died ten years ago, and with the children gone, Avruellen knew, more than anyone, how lonely she had been.

Bronwyn washed the dishes, whilst Avruellen and Augustine prepared themselves. The rites they were to carry out were dangerous, as none of them knew how the quartz, or rather what was inside, would react. The basement would be the safest place, especially once it had been warded. The earth surrounding the basement walls provided good insulation to contain any seeping power or explosion.

Bronwyn walked down the stairs and found a room illuminated with scores of candles, forcing the shadows into the furthest corners. “Are you sure you’ve got enough candles?”

“
This is no time for joking Bronwyn. How many times do I..?”

Bronwyn cut off her Aunt’s incipient rant.
“I know, sorry. You can trust me. I won’t let you down.” That placated Avruellen to a degree, however she remained tense.