The Rabbit and the Raven: Book Two in the Solas Beir Trilogy (11 page)

“The Kruorumbrae will not expect two groups,” Cael explained, holding the reins of his mount. “If something should happen, the unaffected group can circle around and give aid with a surprise attack from behind.”

“The villagers will, however, expect to see a member of the royal family in the group that travels the trade road,” Eulalia said, settling into her saddle. “I will travel with Fergal and Phelan.”

“I would feel better if you were with me,” Cael said.

“I know,” Eulalia replied. “But if either of us is in danger, the other will sense it—and this way, you can focus on training your students.”

“The queen will come to no harm, sir,” Phelan said. “You have my word.”

Fergal leapt from his perch on Phelan’s horse to the queen’s, brandishing his sword in agreement. “And mine.”

Cael looked from Phelan to Fergal. “I will hold you both to that,” he said. He looked up at Eulalia, then took both of her hands in his own and kissed them. “Safe travels, my love.”

“And for you as well,” she smiled, leaning down to kiss his cheek. She turned her horse’s head toward the road and led her group away.

“She’ll be fine,” David reassured the knight as he watched them go.

“I hope so,” Cael said, swinging up into his saddle. “Come. The village is not far, but there is much to do.”

“Villagers to woo, monsters to slay…” Abby whispered to David.

“Shush, you,” David whispered back. He chuckled as he nudged his horse forward.

Abby heard the rush of wings and was surprised to see Brarn landing on her horse’s neck. The horse did not seem at all disturbed by the arrival of a second passenger. “Good girl,” she said, stroking the mare’s neck. She nodded to Brarn. “Hey, you. Nice of you to join us.”

The raven seemed to be searching for a comfortable perch and finally settled on Abby’s saddle horn. He looked up at her with a kind of beaky smile, if it could be called that. She wasn’t sure if ravens smiled with their beaks or their eyes, but Brarn’s eyes seemed to twinkle as if he were happy to be a part of the expedition.

“You have a friend,” Marisol said, her horse matching pace with Abby’s.

“One from our world,” Abby smiled. “Did you know that Brarn is the one who first led me to Eulalia?”

Marisol looked perplexed. “Huh. How’d he do that?”

“You know the labyrinth at the old mansion?”

Marisol nodded. “Ah, yes. The spooky tangle of overgrown weeds we drove past the night we came here.”

Abby smiled, remembering. The labyrinth
had
looked spooky that night. “Yeah, that. Well, Brarn led me through that tangled mess to the queen,” Abby said.

“Wow,” Marisol
breathed, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Smart bird.”

“He’s pretty amazing.” Abby beamed down at Brarn. “He also helped Fergal deliver the Sign of the Throne to David.”

“Impressive,” Marisol replied. “And I thought it was a bad omen when he showed up—I guess I need to rethink that.”

“I think you might,” Abby agreed.

They had been riding through the woods in silence for a while when, suddenly, Brarn broke from his perch and flew toward a sunny break in the trees.

“We are coming to the edge of the forest,” Cael announced, gesturing to the open field beyond the archway of branches.

Brarn circled the field, then shot upward to the top of one of the trees. Abby followed him with her eyes, and gasped as he landed on a branch next to something that seemed to be dripping red liquid.

“Stop!” Abby cried. “Brarn’s found something!”

“Is that blood?” Marisol asked, horrified.

They heard the swish and snap of feathers as Erela landed on the path in front of them at the edge of the field. She set her feet apart in a fighting stance and looked around, scanning the woods for signs of an impending ambush. She watched Brarn circling above her and then frowned when she saw what he had discovered in the tree. With one great flap of her large wings, she launched herself into the air to retrieve it.

“Whoa—she makes quite an entrance, doesn’t she?” Jon said. “Where’d she come from?”

“She flew over the forest,” David answered, dismounting. “I think being under the canopy makes her feel trapped.”

“Hmph. The claustrophobic angel,” Jon muttered.

Erela carried Brarn’s find to David and Cael. It was a decapitated goat—the head was nowhere to be found.

“Holy headless goats, Batman,” Jon said.

“How’d that get all the way up there?” Abby asked.

“I know what did this,” Marisol said. Everyone turned to look at her.

“What?” David and Abby asked in unison.

Marisol blushed as though she suddenly felt embarrassed to have so many eyes focused on her. “Well, I mean, we’ve got a goat, and it’s been totally drained, right? And whatever attacked it had to be able to jump really high to put it in a tree. So…it had to be a
chupacabra
.”

“Yeah, but the blood drained out because it’s missing its entire head!” Abby pointed out. “Doesn’t that seem, I don’t know, a
tad
overzealous?”

Marisol shrugged. “Maybe the
chupa
was really hungry.”

“Um, I don’t think chupacabras exist, guys. They don’t, do they, Cael?” David asked.

Cael shook his head. “No. Not in this world at least.”

“I was thinking velociraptor,” Jon whispered to Marisol, making little clawing motions with his hands.

Marisol stifled a giggle. “Inappropriate,” she hissed under her breath. But Abby could see that she was smiling.

Cael turned to Erela. “What do you think?”

“It is a message for me. They want me to know they are watching,” Erela said.

“Have they chosen a side?” Cael asked.

“I do not know,” Erela said. She and Cael exchanged a dark look and she walked away, toward the village.

“Cael, she’s not talking about the Kruorumbrae, is she?
Who
sent her a message? Who is watching?” David asked.

“The Daughters of Mercy,” Cael replied. He turned to follow Erela, leading his horse by the reins.

Jon swung down from his saddle. “The Daughters of Mercy? They sound like nuns.”

“I don’t think so,” David contemplated. “They sound a little more dark side to me.”

“You haven’t met many nuns, have you?” Jon asked.

“I’ve met a few. They were nice,” David said, helping Abby dismount.

“Well, I guess you had a different sampling than I did. All the nuns I ever met went
totally
dark side on me,” Jon recalled. He took Marisol’s reins while she swung her leg over her horse’s neck, grasped the saddle horn, and hopped neatly down from her mount.

Abby laughed. “Hmm, I wonder why. Shall I list your offenses against the church?”

“Ah, that won’t be necessary,” Jon scowled, narrowing his eyes. He shot Abby a look of warning. He turned to Marisol. “Nor is it necessary to ask for details. Especially not from my mom.”

Clucking her tongue,
Marisol shook her head and took back her horse’s reins. “You are a
bad
boy, Jonathon Reyes.”

“I’m sorry,” Jon said.

“Don’t apologize,” Marisol smiled. “I like it.”

Jon grinned. “Oh,
really
…”

“Yes. But to get back to the subject at hand,” Marisol
replied. Ignoring Jon’s pout, she turned to David and lowered her voice. “She’s an angel right? Maybe the Daughters of Mercy are angels too—you know, like the Angel of Death? That’s New Testament dark side, isn’t it?”

“Old Testament,” David corrected her. “And I don’t think she’s an angel. I was thinking more like a valkyrie.”

“Aren’t they supposed to hang out on battlefields or something, taking the valiant dead to Valhalla?” Jon asked.

David shrugged. “Maybe…look, I don’t know
what
she is exactly.”

“Betcha five bucks she’s an angel,” Jon offered.

“All right, I’ll take that bet and your money, Reyes,” David said, clapping him on the shoulder. “But I promise you, my friend—she is
not
an angel. Come on, let’s go chat with the villagers.”

Abby saw that Eulalia had already arrived with her troops; she was talking with the two Nuren eldsmen and the eldswoman who served as village leaders, ambassadors, and at times, peacekeepers. Gorman had been teaching Abby and her friends about the politics of the region surrounding Caislucis. She noted that each wore long robes over his or her clothes and a medallion around the neck, signifying their role. David, Cael, and Erela joined the discussion while Abby, Jon, and Marisol stood back and surveyed the village.

“Looks like this place got hit by a tornado,” Abby said. Structures that appeared to have once resembled a barn and some kind of tower had been almost leveled. Some of the villagers were clearing the rubble, while others worked with the castle guards to distribute supplies and care for the new livestock. Abby approached a woman working near the destroyed buildings. “Do you need help here?” she asked. “My friends and I can work on clearing this out.”

“We would be grateful for your help,” said the woman. She had dark skin and wore her hair bound in a colorful scarf. The skirt of her printed, ankle-length dress was smudged with dirt. She smiled wearily and handed Abby a pair of leather gloves. Jon brought over a small cart and Marisol led the horses to graze in the field. Returning, she picked up a spade and joined Abby and Jon.

As Marisol shoveled away debris, Abby and Jon began placing heavy stones into the cart. “We’re emissaries of the Solas Beir,” Abby said to the woman. “I’m Abby, and these are my friends Jon and Marisol.”

“I am called Yola,” the woman said. She looked as though she had not slept at all; her eyes were dark and full of worry.

“Was anyone in these buildings when they fell?” Abby asked.

“There were sheep and goats in the barn, but none of our people, thank the Light,” Yola said. “The other building was the granary—much of our food and the grain for our stock were stored there. It is a great loss to us.”

“I’m sorry. Did you see it happen?” Marisol asked.

“No—I did not see it myself, though I heard it. When the creatures came, it was already dark, and most everyone was inside for the night. There was a terrible sound, like the wind, and hellish screams, the likes of which I have never heard and hope never to hear again. The creatures were attacking our animals, and the screams of those they took echoed throughout our village. Then everything shook as the buildings fell. There was a crash, like thunder—and then all was silent.

“
I was terrified to leave my home, but I thought perhaps people might need my help. I searched, but I could not find anyone wounded. As people emerged from their homes, we were able to identify the missing. Those who were taken were either guarding the village or doing their last chores of the evening. Had this happened during the day, more of us would have been lost,” Yola explained.

Jon hefted a stone into the cart. “Have they found any of them yet?”

“No. They vanished, as did the creatures that took them,” Yola said.

“And everyone else is okay? I mean, no one else was wounded?” Abby asked.

“We are all relatively unscathed, yes.” Again, Yola smiled wearily. “I fear, though, that I shall never see my brother again.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” Abby said. In her surprise, she had almost dropped the stone she was holding, but Jon helped her ease it into the cart. “Thanks,” Abby said to Jon, then turned back to the woman. “Your brother was one of the taken? Oh, Yola, I am so very, very sorry.”

“He should not have been among them. He volunteered for the night watch when someone took ill,” Yola said. She cast her eyes downward. “I should not have said that.”

“Why?” Abby asked, putting her hand gently on Yola’s shoulder.

Yola looked up into Abby’s eyes, fighting back tears. “He would not want me to think that way. Daudi is very brave. If he is still alive, he will do his best to return to us. And if he met his end, he would be honored to do it in someone else’s place. To speak otherwise is to dishonor him.”

“I see. I pray he is still alive,” Abby said. “Yola, will you come with me to speak to the Solas Beir? I know he will do all he can to find out what happened to your brother and the others.”

“Do you really think he can help me find my brother?” Yola asked.

“I hope so.” Taking Yola’s hand, Abby led her to David, who was still deep in conversation with the
village leaders.

Out of the corner of his eye, David saw Abby and a woman walking toward him. He gestured for them to join the discussion. “Abby,” he said, “it sounds like, besides the six who are missing, no one was injured in the attack or when the buildings collapsed.”

Abby nodded. “Yes—we were just talking about the same thing. David, this is Yola. Her brother is one of the missing.”