The Caller (27 page)

We made camp by Brightwater, in a spot that looked as if it might be frequently used for the purpose, since there was a fireplace among stones, a neat stack of wood beside it, and a stretch of level, sandy shore where the horses could be easily watered. Brenn lifted me down from the horse’s back; I steadied myself against its flank, willing my legs to hold me up. I longed for nothing more than to lie down on my blanket and not move one inch until morning. But in the company of the two Enforcers, with Summerfort only another day’s ride away, I did not want to show weakness.

‘I need to stretch my legs, get rid of a few cramps,’ I said as the men began unsaddling their horses. I made my way with extreme care down to the shore, trying not to walk like an old woman.

‘Stay in sight,’ said Rohan.

The light was fading; further along the water’s edge some geese had come ashore and were settling noisily for the night. I suppressed the longing to sit down on the ground, breathe deeply for a while and think of nothing at all. I made myself do what Tali would do. Bend, stretch. Walk on the spot until the cramps eased. Tali would then have run along the shore and back again, not once but several times, each time a little quicker than the last. But Ellida would not run with three men watching, two of them virtual strangers.

I walked briskly until I was almost out of sight, then walked back again a little more quickly. Brenn gave me a smile as I came up to the camping spot; Rohan glanced at me but said nothing. The other Enforcer, Doman, was busy settling the three horses.

‘Feeling better?’ Brenn asked.

‘Yes. What can I do to help?’

‘You can make a fire,’ said Rohan.

‘I’ll do –’ Brenn began.

‘Of course.’ There was plenty of dry material about, and the stack of wood made the task easy. Brenn came over to break up some of the longer branches for me, but otherwise the men left the job to me.

It was as I moved about the area collecting material to get the blaze started that I felt the tingle of magic again. I did not think any Good Folk were close at hand, for the sensation was faint, but perhaps they had passed this way. I looked about more carefully. Here was a neat pile of tiny white stones, all perfectly egg-shaped. Here were five holly leaves threaded onto a willow stick. And here, half concealed by leaf litter, was a feather that had once been white, and now was grey with dust and spattered with what I guessed was blood. A message. Whisper.

‘You all right, Ellida?’

I started at Brenn’s voice; I had been standing stock still, the feather in my hand.

‘Mm, yes.’ They’d been here recently enough for these traces to be undisturbed. It seemed the uncanny army was being taken to Summerfort, or somewhere close by. That meant the Caller would be there. And so, almost certainly, would Flint.

‘Need help?’ asked Brenn.

‘Oh. No, I’m fine.’ I slipped the feather into my pouch, picked up the pile of tinder and got back to the job of fire lighting. This was no accident, I was sure of it. Whisper had known I was coming; had sensed it. And had managed to escape the other Caller’s control for long enough to leave me a sign. After all, my friend was not quite broken.

Do not cry
, I ordered myself.
Not one tear. Be like Flint. Play your part as he does, as if it were the only truth.

Later, while both Brenn and Doman slept, Rohan kept watch. He did not stand with spear in hand but sat by the fire, staring at the glowing coals with a slight frown on his brow. I could not sleep, so I lay watching, and saw him get up every so often to patrol the camping area – he walked with barely a sound – before returning to his place.

My mind was too full to let me rest. What troubled me most in a whole sea of difficulties was that, if Whisper had sensed I was close by and left me a token, the other Good Folk might also be aware of me. When we reached Summerfort, if indeed they were being held there, I might find I could not keep my gift concealed from them. I had visited three Guardians, had learned something from each of them, and had not once asked for advice on how to mask my ability from uncanny folk. The plan had always been that I would come to Summerfort with the rebels, conceal myself in the crowd with the others, and call in our fey allies when Tali stood up to challenge the king. We had never planned for a second Caller and a second army of Good Folk.

‘Can’t sleep?’ Rohan’s voice was quiet.

So he’d noticed I was awake. Being an Enforcer, perhaps he noticed everything.

‘I’m making a brew,’ he said. ‘Join me if you like.’

He was efficient, like Flint. The little pot on the fire, the handful of herbs from a supply neatly stowed in his pack, even a spare cup.

Rohan noticed me sniffing the brew, trying to work out the ingredients, and said, ‘I am no herbalist. A healer made this up for me. Told me there’s some skill required in getting the proportions just right.’

Was he making polite conversation or testing me? ‘It’s the rosemary,’ I said. ‘When it’s made into a tea, a little is good for you. Too much, taken often, can kill you.’ I wondered why the healer had given him this particular mixture, which was effective in soothing troubled minds. Was Rohan, too, beset by whirling thoughts, dilemmas too difficult to solve? ‘I’d say this brew is mostly chamomile and peppermint, with only a touch of rosemary.’

He smiled, and I remembered the day of the Gathering, when he had helped Flint rescue us. Until then, that day had been all darkness, a sickening show of what Alban and its people had become under Keldec’s rule. Rohan’s kindness toward us had been all the more memorable, coming on such a day.

‘You did well today,’ Rohan said. ‘You hide your weakness like a warrior.’

‘I did promise not to complain.’

‘Someone has taught you to be strong.’

‘May I ask you a question?’

‘Go ahead.’

‘You said something back at Winterfort about the training my husband will be doing; you said the situation would be confronting. What did you mean?’

His guileless blue eyes met mine. ‘That’s rather direct,’ he said.

‘I’m concerned for Morven. He’s a good fighter, and quick-witted enough to get himself out of trouble. But
confronting
sounds serious. I’ll be at Summerfort too. What should we expect?’

‘I don’t answer that kind of question, Ellida. Especially when it’s asked by someone I met less than a day ago. Already I’ve skipped several checks that should have occurred before I let Morven ride with me. Don’t make me regret that.’ His tone was still friendly, his manner unchanged, but the message was quite clear.

‘I’m sorry,’ I murmured. ‘I won’t, I promise.’ Stupid. All of Alban knew the peril of asking too much, or of revealing too much. Rohan’s quick decision to let us come with him had been startling. I was sure people didn’t get invitations to join the Enforcers, or to work in Keldec’s household, without going through rigorous checking. Even at times when Summerfort needed every trained fighter it could find, there’d be hard questioning and the need to wait until the story was verified. Otherwise someone would have assassinated Keldec years ago.

Rohan was the kind of man a person might want as a friend; a man whose openness inspired confidences. But he might be an accomplished dissembler like Flint. The question was where his true loyalties lay.

At dusk the next day, we reached the spot where the river Rush divided into three and flowed into the great loch of Deepwater. There, at the southern end of the Rush Valley, was Summerfort, surrounded by a defensive wall as Winterfort was. Beside the fortress lay a broad open area where men practised the arts of war. This, too, had its wall, substantial but low enough to allow a glimpse within, provided a person had a vantage point such as that forested hill across the river, the place where Flint and Rohan had left Tali and me after the Gathering. Up there, Sage’s clan of Good Folk had various boltholes and pathways.

Working as a healer, I’d need to gather herbs from time to time. If I could get into those woods on my own, I might be able to meet Sage or Silver or whoever was about, and send a message to Tali at Shadowfell. My heart grew a little lighter, though I could not look at Summerfort without remembering the Gathering in all its hideous detail. Nor could I ignore the feeling that magic was once again close, this time far stronger than it had been at Winterfort. In the face of this stronghold, which must be full of iron, I sensed a powerful presence of the uncanny.

At the time of the Gathering there had been tents set up on the level ground between the fortress and the river. That temporary settlement had housed both ordinary travellers like Tali and me, and the household retainers of Alban’s chieftains. Only the guests of highest status were accommodated in the keep itself. When I’d passed this way at other times of year, the level area had held only rough grass dotted with the stumps of the lovely willows that had once grown there. Today the tents were back. Not only that, but campfires burned here and there among them, and I glimpsed folk moving about. Beyond the encampment, Enforcers stood guard.

‘Not far now,’ Rohan said, giving me an assessing look. Before I could say a word, he and Doman moved their horses in on either side of our mount, effectively blocking my view. Had I actually seen Good Folk down there, sitting around a fire eating a meal? Or had that only been a trick of the light? Was Keldec’s uncanny army housed
outside
the fortress walls, within a heartbeat of the forest?

‘As you see,’ Rohan said, ‘Summerfort has some unusual guests at present. Don’t comment, don’t ask questions. Not at any time. Understood?’

‘Of course,’ murmured Brenn.

‘Understood,’ I said. My heart was beating fast. Flint was probably here; I might see him soon. Would I be able to guard my tongue and school my expression well enough?

The gate guards called a challenge; Rohan identified himself and Doman, said we were his guests and told them to hurry up and let us in while there was still some supper left. There was laughter; evidently they knew him well. A gate was opened for us and we rode through into the practice yard, which was empty. The magic was powerful here, for all that.

The men dismounted, and Brenn helped me down.

‘Now some news you may not like much,’ Rohan said with a half-smile. ‘There are no married quarters for Enforcers, at least not until they’re fully trained and allocated to a troop; at that point you can put in a request and it will be looked at.’ He pointed toward an annexe of the keep, located near the inner gates. ‘Stag Troop sleeps and eats there; we work all day. That includes the new recruits, Morven. Ellida, I’ll have a word with the household steward about you; they won’t be expecting either of you, and I think a wife will be something of a surprise. The women’s quarters are in the main part of the keep. When the queen’s in residence there can be a shortage of beds, but there will be plenty of room at present. In the morning someone will introduce you to our healers.’

‘Thank you,’ I said. And halted where I stood, because striding toward us from the direction of the annexe was a familiar figure. Tears sprang to my eyes. He was here, he was well, my troubling dream of him imprisoned and blind had not, after all, been true.