Shieldwolf Dawning (27 page)

A mood of sadness fell over Samarra the instant she saw Eshgranna begging the Elders to return what they had taken from her. There was also the red of rage moments before Eshgranna was put to eternal sleep in a cell of ice. Samarra saw an image of Cassian with a Watcher at his side and she shivered. She also saw herself looking into a pool of water and looking back was a being made of fire. The images faded away and the chorus of voices rose in tribute to the many forms of the Reflection.

"Eternal is the Reflection," they chanted.

When Samarra woke from her dreaming, she was floating on her back in the middle of the room. Her hands were clammy and her throat was parched. Thick beads of sweat dripped down her face and her body was emanating an aura of blue fire. Samarra was wide-eyed when she saw her blazing hands. "What's happening to me?"

"You have the power to control the fire spirit of Kairuhan," a voice said.

Samarra felt herself float to upright position. "But I don't have my staff. How can this be happening?"

"Your staff is a handy magical weapon, but the power to control the spirits of the natural world lies in
you.
" The beings of light dimmed their brightness. Their bodies were without form.

"Who are you?" Samarra looked on in wonder.

"We are the Seven Shining Ones. We are the Keepers of the Lost Dreaming," said the one closest to Samarra. "It is no coincidence that you stand here before us in our sanctuary. The Fates have sent you on a journey far from the beaten path of the Kairu for good reason."

For the first time in her life, Samarra felt no need to ask questions. Instead, she concentrated on the familiar heat and pictured a raging fire in her mind. At once, energy rushed to her fingers and fire shot out of her hands. Samarra tried to stay focused, but the energy was too strong to manage. The fire seared her skin and fizzled in a puff of smoke. "Ouch!" Her fingers were covered in soot.

"Again," the keeper said. "Do not
think
you are fire,
know
yourself as fire. Unlike all others, you need not utter words of summoning."

Samarra ignored her throbbing hands and imagined herself as fire. Her body tensed and she reached into the dreaming-depths of her own spirit. Gradually she felt something inside her come to life and her fingers once again erupted in blue flames. Using her hands and her thoughts, she shaped the fire into a ball. It took all of her willpower to maintain the object's form until something in her mind went
click
and the fireball took on a life of its own — it was no longer dependent on Samarra to keep its shape. "Look," she announced. "I'm doing it." She was even more surprised she could cast magic without the help of her staff.

"Now dispel the spirit."

"How?" She watched anxiously when the fireball started to pulse and grow.

"Pull the energy into yourself. Put out the fire with your thoughts and emotions."

Samarra did as exactly she was told. The flame
wooshed
back into her hands and disappeared. For what seemed like hours she worked on evoking and dispelling the energy. When she grew too tired to continue, she sat down on the cold floor to catch her breath.

"Although the power in you is expansive," a keeper said, "you must remember to venture into danger prudently and always with a clear mind."

"Heed the laws, practice what is just and good," another said. "And judge incorruptibly."

The keepers shifted and shimmered. There was a long silence. Samarra sat quietly and tried to make sense of everything she had just learned.

"Observe what you have heard," a keeper whispered. With that they disappeared one by one.

"Wait!" Samarra was desperate for answers to the questions that tumbled around in her head.

"Have patience, Samarra Dawning. The answers you seek will eventually fall into place." The last keeper vanished from sight and Samarra was once again alone in the temple.

She stayed there for a while to collect her thoughts. As she walked around the temple, she thought about the fiery sensations that had taken her over completely. She thought about those feelings deeply, sinking into them until she touched their beginnings, all the way to where she imagined their first sparks resided. A smile spread over her face and the sensation of waking up from a profound sleep filled her from her head to her toes. She looked around the room and felt as if she were seeing the world for the first time.

Samarra raced back to the entrance and the door parted to reveal Brin pacing up and down the ledge. He hissed in relief when he saw her. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Her cheeks were flushed. "Thank you for waiting. I'm sorry I was gone for so long."

He stepped back in surprise. "So long? You were only in there for a few minutes at the most."

Samarra looked confused. "A few minutes?"

Brin nodded.

"Weird…" She kept her thoughts to herself and tried to figure out what had happened to the movement of time inside the temple, but there were no easy answers at her disposal. She gave up on that line of thinking, looked at her friend, and grinned widely. "Something amazing just happened to me."

"What?"

"The Seven Shining ones were in the temple."

Brin looked astonished. "The Shining Ones? But they never appear to gaians."

Samarra shrugged. "Well, that's who they said they were. I can't imagine why they would lie about it."

"You must be special," Brin said, both jokingly and with a touch of envy.

Samarra burst out laughing. "It gets better."

"How so?"

"They taught me how to work with the spirit of fire."

Brin gasped. "Show me."

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"If I cast magic, Eshgranna will know where to find us. I overheard the Elders talking about it."

"You're right." Brin fell silent and seemed preoccupied with something else. After a while he asked, "Did you get us any food?"

"I just told you I saw the Shining Ones and all you can think about is food?"

"I'm starving."

"No, I didn't get any food, but I think I'm starting to figure out the Reflection."

"Good for you." Brin yawned and bared his sharp teeth. "Maybe you can pray for a meal. Let's keep moving."

****

Samarra's legs ached. Another hour had passed and the night had grown brisk. Her fatigues were not thick enough to keep her warm, but she ignored her discomfort and pressed on. It was well past midnight and she hadn't eaten since early afternoon. Samarra thought longingly about thick slices of freshly baked bread dripping with butter and honey, of crisp apple pastries coated with cinnamon sugar, of steaming mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and coconut drizzle. Her stomach gurgled.

"Are we going the right way?" Brin broke the silence.

"Huh?" She snapped out of her reverie.

"Are we going the right way?" he asked as if she were hard of hearing.

"Yes. We're going north, the direction we're supposed to be going."

"Sorry, I'm tired. I get aggro when I'm tired. Can we have a break?"

"I'm tired too," she said. "We should find shelter."

Reddening rock speckled with boulders of varying sizes and shapes increasingly defined the canyons and gullies of the region. Earlier on Samarra and Brin had passed many areas ideal for shelter, but now that they were actively looking for a safe place to rest, they could find nothing suitable.

Brin pointed out the glow of a campfire in the distance. "Let's take a closer look."

They crept forward and hid behind a small boulder. A Shieldwolf battlegroup had set up camp. There were hundreds of them milling around.

"Oh no," Samarra muttered under her breath. "What are they doing here? Shouldn't they be closer to the caverns by now?"

"I would think so."

Shieldwolf Longmane emerged from a shelter and headed to the campfire. He served himself a bowl of stew. A spicy aroma filled the air. Samarra's mouth watered. She chewed on her nails. "I wonder what they're waiting for."

Brin said nothing.

"We can rest here, can't we? At least we'll have help nearby if something really bad happens."

Samarra unwrapped her makeshift pouch from her waist and laid out its contents for one last meal. The pair ate in silence.

Brin wiped the crumbs off his trousers. "I'm still hungry."

"Me too. A hot meal would be nice."

"We can dream about it. I'll keep first watch. Get some sleep."

"No. I want to stay awake. I can't stop wondering if Cass is okay."

"I can understand that." Brin touched her gently on the arm. "I'd feel the same way."

Samarra shivered. Brin shuffled closer and put his arm around her for warmth. His hands were icy, but she ignored it. She leaned her head back against his arm and looked up at the sky. It was a star-filled night, yet a measure of doom was spreading through the area.

From the corner of her eye, Samarra saw something move. A nearby tree was waving one of its branches. She shook her head to dismiss the thought and figured she was hallucinating because she was tired. "I think I just saw that tree move its branch," she mumbled, half asleep.

"It's windy. The branch is swaying."

"No, I mean move like I'm moving my arm. See?" She waved her arms around to demonstrate what she had just witnessed.

"Oh."

"Quick." Samarra pointed at the tree. "It's moving again."

"I know." Brin didn't even look.

"Aren't you surprised?"

"No. I've seen that kind of thing before."

"Really?" she said with disappointment. She noticed a pained expression on Brin's face. "What's wrong? You seem distracted."

"I'm going to get us some real food." He stood up. "You stay here."

Before Samarra could stop him, he slipped into the darkness. She watched him head for the camp until he disappeared from view when he snuck behind a shelter. Samarra grew more nervous with each passing moment. She was about to leave her hiding spot to find him when Brin appeared beside her. He was empty-handed.

"I couldn't get us food, but I did overhear them talking."

"What did they say?"

"Shieldwolf Longmane said the Pits of Sand have to be crossed in daylight, otherwise it's too dangerous. The battlegroup won't be leaving until sunrise."

"What else?"

"They're waiting for another battlegroup to arrive."

"Really? Why?"

Brin lowered his voice. "Eshgranna's Watchers are close. Late this afternoon they attacked a village in the north. When the Shieldwolves on patrol reached the area, they found one survivor, a gaian woman. She said the Watchers are searching for you."

"What?" Samarra could not believe what she was hearing. "For me?"

"Shieldwolf Longmane didn't say anything else about it." Brin paused. "He knows we've run away. We should wait for them to leave the area before we keep going. If we overtake them during the night, they might catch up to us."

Samarra was anxious to reach her brother, but Brin was right. "I suppose it's a good thing we found them, especially if the Watchers are looking for me, too. We'll follow them from a distance. Did you hear anything else?"

"No. Two Shieldwolves were patrolling the area. They would have seen me if I had stayed there."

"What to do?" Samarra tucked her legs up against her chest and rested her head on her knees. "How do we get Cass out of the caverns?"

"Samarra." Brin leaned against the rock. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I'm sure, but I feel dumb because I don't have a proper plan. I'm sorry for getting you into this mess."

"I asked if I could come, remember?"

Samarra rubbed her temples. "Brin, I'm starting to think I'm in way over my head, but if I turn myself over to them now I'll feel like a coward."

"You're far from a coward," he said. "You're the bravest girl I know."

"Really?"

Brin nodded.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up." Samarra felt her heart lighten a little and couldn't stop herself from blurting out what was bothering her the most. "Do you want to know the worst part?"

"What's that?"

"Ever since we were small, my brother's always told me I'm impulsive… that I make decisions or do things without thinking everything through a thousand times, like he does. Cass knows me really well, but I always thought he was wrong about that."

Brin listened to her attentively.

"He and I are the opposite of each other on the outside, but on the inside we're pretty much the same. We just do things in a different order. At least that's what I thought all this time. After everything that's happened to us since we phased here, I'm starting to wonder if he was right." Samarra hiccupped. "I've made such a huge mistake. One that's so big there's nothing I can do to fix it. I brought Cass here thinking we'd be living a better life, but I was so wrong. Thinking about what I've done makes me sick. I'm a monster for dragging him here. I'll never ever forgive myself." She pounded her fist on the ground in frustration. "This is all my fault."

"Shh," Brin said in a kind and gentle manner. "They might hear you."

Samarra was about to say something else when a familiar voice interrupted the conversation. "Much too late for that." Shieldwolf Longmane stood towering over them. Five veterans stood behind him, all with no-nonsense faces.