The Queen's Curse (26 page)

‘You are immortal?’ Artride asked incredulously.

He looked at her in a mysterious way when he answered. ‘What always moves is. Every soul is. The way you see us is the shape of our being, because a body would die eventually. Something that doesn’t move by itself, a shell, always does.’ And then he sang, ‘All things are living. All things are dancing in the rhythm of eternal harmony.’ And he smiled sweetly at her. ‘That’s from one of our songs.’

‘You are
a spirit then?’ and Artride had an urge to touch him.

‘I am a Windchild
,’ he answered as if that explained it. ‘You may touch me if you like. I am as solid as you are.’ He sounded light-hearted.

‘Don’t, Artride!’
Tirsa warned her nervously, and Artride as well as Kasching glanced suspiciously at her.

‘Why not, Tirsa? I want to.’

Like a spoilt brat she thinks she can do anything that crosses her mind!
Tirsa suddenly thought bitterly.

‘Because Tirsa distrusts, Artride.’ He looked sadly at her. ‘Life has taught her that. Humans did.’ And he moved his athletic body to her in a gracious motion.

‘We were told to distrust anything here in Dochas to stay safe. We have a lot to risk,’ Tirsa explained, a little annoyed.

‘Just as you distrust us, Kasching.’

‘Yes well, I have to. For all I know you could end up like her. All humans have the potential.’

‘For what? Do evil? We are not malicious, if you look well enough you see we are not
,’ Artride stated.

‘Everyone can turn out like her, even you. Good and bad are not as set in stone as you think.’

They stared blankly at him, speechless and that annoyed him.

‘Alright, what do you want me to do?’ he concluded hotly.
‘Take you to her cave and let her destroy you; like she did with many before you, mortal
and
immortal alike? It’s the same to her, but it’s not to me!’ and he raised the palms of his hands in a gesture of surrender.

‘You can take us to her?’ and she to
ok a quick, hopeful look at Tirsa before waiting for an answer from Kasching.

‘You know I can. I told you I can go anywhere.’

‘Yes, I heard you, but that’s such great news!’

‘Is it?’ he asked cynically.

‘We have undertaken a lot to get here, now please help us further,’ Artride pleaded.

He sighed again.

‘Do you comprehend the importance of our mission?’

‘I try to, but then again that is not part of our task
, fathoming the human mind, but perhaps
you
can understand the Dominator and help her stop, for we cannot. Or you’ll join her and she will be even more powerful.’ He shook his head. ‘You must realize the danger of your quest. It is a mere wonder you even made it this far. The ravine would have cost you another problem, though.’

‘Will you help us, Kasching? And do you think she can help us?’ Artride begged him.

‘I can take you to the entrance of the immense cave she dwells within and I can warn you about her. She has to be very powerful if she can get a hold on us. Furthermore, from the start of her ruling here, we cannot even leave the boundaries of Dochas. Can you believe it? Boundaries for us – Windchildren, one with the wind? And you two need a simple spell for a curse that has a grip on
humans
? Sounds to me like a done deal.’

It was getting moist inside the cloud and their skin was covered with a thin layer
of dew. Artride wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

‘We
have already been warned about the dangers,’ she announced courteously. ‘But we would like to know what you know about this sorceress, please. She is our last hope.’

‘I do admire your courage
,’ and he seemed to ponder at their request, glancing from Tirsa to Artride and back. ‘A queen and a knight; two people with a heroic quest.’ And they suddenly had the same unpleasant feeling as when Shanta was ‘reading’ them, as if he was looking right through them. Artride wasn’t so sure he did not fathom the human mind if he could do this. He circled around them and suddenly jumped up and came to sit beside the two women, gesturing them to sit too, which they did.

‘Alright. The details I have obtained can be trusted; to my ears comes only the truth.
It is best to stay as far away from her as possible; for she is pure evil, ladies. She has no conscience, no compassion; no heart. She changes the very soul of nature; somehow, she goes in against it; how we do not know. We work with Mother Talamh and Father Sky. She came to our Magical Land to find it free with only wild animals and Silent Folk and as you know good magic. The land was protected to ward off humans; for we have seen what you have done to the rest of the planet. We call you the Takers for you give so little in return, or nothing at all.’ And he twisted his mouth in scorn, before he continued, ‘So … we noticed her entry, but somehow she was able to withstand our magic; harmless really, but before her always very effective. People found themselves walking back to where they came from; without any memory of our land. She, however, was different; petite, but full of wrath and mind gifted. Before we could even stop her or interfere she met with one of the gods. He took her into his keep and saw her potential and taught her some of his ancient magic. We tried to warn him, for we sensed her wickedness, but he was blind with passion and love for this woman and protected her. He was seriously misled and she turned against him after many years, using her gained powers for her own selfish reasons and ambitions. Too powerful she became and destructive for us all, and began to claim the land and everything in it. Setting her own boundaries and magical guards was part of that. We knew no real evil, not to this magnitude. Now we do.’

Tirsa swallowed hard and a moment of silence followed.

‘Eolas,’ Artride suddenly said and Kasching raised his eyebrows at that.

‘You have heard of him?’

‘I just remembered Roalda mentioned a vanished god; a god of wisdom and that Semper … er the sorceress, has something to do with that.’

‘Eolas, yes that’s right and furthermore, she asked us to kill her if possible
,’ Tirsa added.

‘Well, Roalda is wise and knows what’s best.’

‘Have you ever seen the sorceress?’ Artride asked.

Kasching stared at her for a split second before answering. ‘Only at night
-time does she come out of her cave; a time we rest. But, to answer your question, only when she got in three centuries ago I myself caught a brief glance of her. Ever since, I try to stay as far away as possible. You know, all our experiences are shared; so what I see, hear or even discuss with you now will come to the ears of my fellow kind. That is why we all know what she looked like, even when it perhaps wasn’t me personally who saw her. That very image is with all of us.’ He turned his face away and dreamily said, ‘That is why we all still dream of her.’

‘But how is
she
able to notice everything? Can she listen to the wind as well?’

Reluctantly he replied, glimpsing at Artride, ‘She must have found a way to do so. Perhaps a device, I do not know.’

‘Abducted or overpowered Windchildren, will they help her, against their will of course, but still?’ Tirsa asked.

‘No, even though she might have our cousins
, Woodchildren, under her spell and they will have to obey, Windchildren cannot be of much help to her. Yes, we share information, but she cannot abduct one and gain information about you
and
recapture one. For she has to release us in order to obtain information, as of course there is no wild wind in a cave. There is no chance a captured Windchild will live long in a cave. We have lost too many already; none have come back, so we can only assume the worst.’

‘We had no idea,’ Tirsa shuddered. ‘If only I had known
…’ I don’t know about Artride but I feel even more driven to take this Dominator’s life after we somehow obtain a counter spell!

He smiled kindly at her concern and noticed the drive and passion in her eyes. He knew it would keep her going until it was stilled. He had heard about Tirsa Lathabris of course
, and only good stories.

‘We would have let you know.’ Looking surprised at Kasching she saw he was joking and she could not help but give a little smile.

‘So, shall I take you ladies for a ride?’

Artride nodded. ‘If there is nothing else to learn, I say yes. We have no time to waste!’

Kasching shook his head. ‘Hold on, it can be a little uncomfortable, I guess for a human.’

‘Will we black out again?’

‘That is possible.’

‘How long were we unconscious
, anyway?’ Artride asked.

‘A couple of hours.’

‘Great!’

‘Don’t you people ever rest?’ he asked.

‘During this mission, not unless we really need to, no.’ she answered.

And the moist
ure got thicker around them, so they could no longer see. They heard his soothing, whispering voice assuring them, ‘Do not be afraid. Trust me.’ But that was hardly comforting for Artride; perhaps it was for Tirsa, but not for her.

CHAPTER
14

I see love, I can see passion

I feel danger, I feel obsession.

Don’t play games with the ones who love you

‘Cause I hear a voice who says:

I love you
… I’ll kill you…

Loneliness, I feel loneliness in my room
…

Enigma

The noise was deafening and the sight a blur, but they certainly were moving and faster th
an Tirsa ever imagined a cloud would, and she thought she knew clouds ...

So much for a ride!
she grimly thought.

When they seem
ed to slow down, she could feel a cold slender hand grasping hers. Without seeing, she knew it was Artride. Reassuringly, she gently squeezed her hand.

Fin
ally they could distinguish shapes. A landscape beneath them; auburn green mountains surrounded by the higher snow-capped ones, but they seemed to be heading for the lower ones.

Kasching had to be near somewhere
; however, they did not see him, only felt his presence. Artride remembered his words,
we are the wind.
So perhaps that meant that they were cloud too. And thinking about wind and clouds, Windchildren, and the unclear substance of which they were made of, she noticed it stopped.
But a cloud that stops, certainly will attract the attention of any sorceress, would it not?

And as if he had
read her mind again, she heard Kasching answering all around her, ‘We did not stop drifting and we did not stop to change shape exactly; however, we did slow down. You have to jump now, to avoid unseeing eyes. Even if
she
knows we protect ourselves inside clouds, we would rather not attract attention. Go now.’

The
two women exchanged a quick glance, now that they could see each other again, and Artride asked the last important question: ‘Where is this cave?’ searching for the Windchild.

He appeared again and pointed, ‘Do you see that pointed rock over there, left of the shadow of this cloud?’ he said in his metallic voice. Peering carefully they both nodded.

‘Underneath is the small entrance to the cave; but be careful in there. No one has ever made it back. Good luck and I hope with all my heart to see you again. You may very well be
our
last hope, as well as your own.’

‘Thank you very much, Kasching. We will do all we can
,’ Artride said a little shakily.

He nodded, looking sadly at her. ‘Katasha amanthi, Kasching.’ Tirsa thanked him in his language. ‘Kamantha Moroonthe, Tirsa, I wished we had met under different circumstances.’

When they were at the lowest point the cloud could get, Artride jumped, and Tirsa followed immediately after her.

‘You know what we forgot to ask him?’ Tirsa said a little ruffled from the ‘ride’. ‘Where we could find some food. I am starved.’

Artride chewed her lip. She peered around. ‘I suppose we won’t find anything here, especially not so near the cave.’ And she sighed, but sounded cheerful, ‘Well, we just have to strap our belts.’ And tapped her flat tummy. She was slender and rounded, but not overfed or fat as most Royalty in other countries, saturating themselves with good food.

I am used to days without proper food, but is she, as a
queen?

‘We have no other choice I suppose
,’ she commented worriedly, and began searching for the cave mouth.

‘Gee, Tirs, you forgot to mention Windchildren appeared so much like humans and so very mature! I mean Shanta was just a girl and I assumed
… well –’

Tirsa glanced back at her, reading her face
, which was transparent and still astonished.

‘Well, they do reach adulthood.’

‘Ah, I see,’ she dryly remarked, noticing the annoyance in her voice. She came over to her, helping her search.

A little while later they found the slab of granite leaning against a rocky hillside, ma
rking an entrance to a tiny cave. It was a very dark vertical opening. Tirsa shoved a hand in, deeper until her whole arm disappeared and she felt the dropped temperature down there. She picked up a stone and let it drop in. They both heard it bouncing back against the rocks and rolling sideways inside, indicating it wouldn’t be vertical for long.

‘How will we be able to see in there?’ Artride asked.

‘I honestly don’t know. I am more concerned right now whether we will be able to squeeze our bodies through this tiny hole at all.’

Artride kneeled down beside her and looked discouraged at the opening
, which was indeed nothing more than a narrow slit in the rocks. But now that they had finally found the home of the sorceress they were both too determined to let themselves be bothered by such a minor detail.

‘We will just have to make our way and follow our nose.’ And Artride crawled on her hands and knees, sticking her head in the dark. ‘Let me go first, Artride. If everything looks alright I will call you and then you can follow.’

‘If you think it’s better that way –’

‘I do.’ Tirsa crawled beside her
, pushing her aside a little to stick her head and shoulders in, which was the hardest part; then trying to shove her hips through she got stuck, and in her effort she felt the stone rubbing painfully through the cloth on her skin. Artride had an urge to push her, but hesitated, for it meant she had to touch her bottom. So she kept the necessary distance, although no Ceartasian, or for that matter, Law Book, would be able to see and judge them right now, and she was unsure how Tirsa would react if she suddenly touched her firm backside. But she seemed to manage on her own; stretching her athletic legs backwards, squeezing her hips and pulling herself up on her arms, she shoved herself inside.

‘It’s very narrow
, but it does go further.’ Her voice sounded muffled. ‘I do hope we are not tricked and are crawling our way right into the den of some hungry beast waiting for us. Let me go ahead for a while.’

She disappeared into the darkness, the vertical start of the cave rounding to the right, so she had to crawl, feeling like a worm. ‘It is pitch dark in here!’ she called moaning and grunting with effort.

‘And still not any wider?’

‘No changes, but it is getting colder!’ Tirsa sounded further away now.

‘Kasching didn’t mention the cave being petite!’ Artride shouted towards her, and to herself she muttered when she got no reaction, ‘I hope this sorceress hasn’t shrunk herself to the size of a mouse or something ridiculous. But why would she? And then again why would she not? ‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ she mumbled to herself.

‘Artride?’
It sounded very far away.

‘Yes?’

‘I have more space now; about a foot either side of me and it still goes further and pretty much horizontal. I will crawl back to guide you.’ And she did, backwards.

‘Hold on to my foot, that way we won’t lose each other in the dark.’ She sounded closer
, and yes, her foot appeared.

‘Tirsa
… I am a little scared.’

‘There is no need, it’s fine.’

‘Can’t we make a torch?’

‘I would love to gran
t your wish and ease your fear, but with all due respect, how and with what are we going to light a fire?’

‘You tell me!’ Artride
sounded upset. ‘This is madness, entering a cave without any form of light!’

‘It was you who said to follow our nose! I agree that it does seem unwise, we are basically blind in here, but right now we have no other choice than to rely on our other senses and trust our instinct.’

Artride nodded and entered the cave mouth holding on to Tirsa’s left foot. She managed to squeeze her way in with some effort and felt the cold enclosing her. ‘It’s like being born all over again!’ Artride joked, trying to calm her fears. Humour had always eased her fears before; even if she had to talk to herself most of the time these days.

The narrow passageway kept going straight on for a while
, unchanged in width, before it made a slight curve to the left.

‘It is getting steeper down here again,’ Tirsa commen
ted, touching the cold passageway walls and floor. So they moved slowly, feeling their way, further into the dark.

‘I feel the ground is curving somewhat down. Hold on to me.’

‘I am right behind you, how in Talamh am I going to lose you?’ she teased, but suddenly she felt a strong pull of Tirsa’s foot and she was stretched forward, losing contact with the ground beneath her. ‘What –’

‘Tirsa!’ but she had gone over a ledge and now together they were falling into the darkness; Artride still holding on to her foot, screaming.

The fall seemed endless before Tirsa landed on her chest and belly; breaking her fall somewhat with her outstretched hands, hitting a hard, wet surface, closely followed by the queen behind her who fell down with a thud, before sliding downwards.

‘You ok, Artride?’ she shouted at her as the screaming had stopped
, and got a confirming sound for reply.

Sliding on th
e slippery surface of mud and wet stone, they tried to make the ride as best as they could, Tirsa head first, Artride on her back; feet first, nearly touching her. They didn’t seem to bump into anything, and Tirsa guessed they were either lucky so far, or this was a man-made passageway to her home and anyone was supposed to enter like this. But that was hardly likely, since Sempervirens supposedly never had human guests. Thinking with fear about this idea, Artride was expecting to bump into a trap of some sort any moment, as this sorceress would surely set for unexpected, uninvited people.

However
, the slide appeared fairly straight, with a small number of light curves so that their speed was enormous and sizzling. Artride began screaming with fear, and before Tirsa could warn her, this sliding path too seemed to come to an abrupt end, and they both fell a second time.

Tirsa managed to somehow turn during this longer fall
, and when they did finally hit the ground she tried to make the best out of it, the way she had been taught during her combat lessons. Artride, of course not able to hold on to Tirsa’s foot this time, landed on top of her moments later. Tirsa had thrust her arms backwards to break the fall on her back a little, when she saw a blue glow beneath, just before she hit the floor with an agonizing thud.

Tirsa blacked out a moment
, from pain, but more so the weight on top of her pushing the air out of her lungs. The queen stared at her sideways with frightened eyes.

She had landed on top of her sideways and together they made a perfect cross.

‘Tirsa, are you alright?’ she asked, lifting herself on her arms, giving her room to breathe.

Tirsa
gulped for air, clutching her ribs, her face looked purple in the blue glow of the chamber they had fallen in. Artride had to act quickly, closing her eyes a moment before she started chanting and laying her open palms on her chest. She was mumbling faster and faster, and jammed open her eyes when she heard Tirsa still breathing heavily, her heartbeat fast under her touch.

‘I
…’

‘Ssh, spare
your breath. I’ll try again.’ And she closed her eyes a second time, chanting.

Taking deep controlled gulps of damp air through her nose
and breathing out through her mouth, she was finally able to tell Artride she didn’t feel any tingling sensation like she had last time when she had healed her. But she was recovering by herself all the same; her back and lungs were still painful –, but she would live.

‘My magic does not work in here!’
she muttered worriedly. ‘I will not be able to heal any wounds, not even our bruises from this damn fall.’ And she rubbed her own hands and legs, staring anxiously up at the dark ceiling. The slide was barely visible.

‘Look at that height!’ and turn
ing her attention to Tirsa, ‘Are you alright?’

‘Better. And what about you?’ Tirsa asked
, checking herself and rubbing her wrists. ‘Are you still in one piece?’ She looked down at herself and smiled. ‘Thanks to you I am. You broke my fall!’

‘So I am good for something then
,’ she retorted cynically. Artride suddenly stared sternly at her and studied her. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘Forget it.’ She brushed it off quickly and tried to scramble up
, when the queen held her arm and squeezed it lightly.

‘Don’t be this way, Tirsa.’ And she tried to guess the fair
-haired woman’s thoughts; exchanging a deep glance, but Tirsa glanced away and started to look around, ignoring the queen, which wasn’t easy.

‘Look at me, Tirsa
,’ she demanded, still holding her arm. Was that an order? That she of course could not resist. Her voice sent a tingle of craving through her entire body.

In the dimmed blue light
,which seemed to come from another chamber in the big cavern they were in, Tirsa saw her eyes shine and her lips slowly parting.