The Rabbit and the Raven: Book Two in the Solas Beir Trilogy (12 page)

David took Yola’s hands in his. “Yola, I am so sorry about your brother. I promise I will find out who did this.”

“Was it the Kruorumbrae?” Abby asked.

“I’m starting to have my doubts, based on what we’ve heard about the attack. Yola, please forgive me for speaking frankly, but I don’t want to keep information from you, and I hope what I share will not bring you more sorrow,” David said.

“I understand,” Yola nodded. “Please—I am grateful for anything you can tell me. If my brother is alive, I will do whatever I can to help bring him home.”

“All right,” David said. “What we know so far is that this attack was different than past Kruorumbrae raids. While the Blood Shadows do prefer to attack at night, they do not usually destroy buildings. They also would not just take the people who were outside; they would have entered people’s homes and taken everyone they could find. They have raided several villages north of Caislucis, and the Kruorumbrae were not deterred by closed doors.

“
It’s strange there is no sign of the people who were taken. Our guards have been searching the areas surrounding the village for evidence of the missing, and there is nothing there. The Kruorumbrae are, if anything, consistent. If they had come to feed, they would not have taken people and left the bodies of your livestock. Forgive me, but they would consider that a waste of food.

“
The other thing is that goat we found in the tree—that is the strangest part to me. There is simply no precedent for it. Yola, what I’m saying is that, while I don’t want to give you false hope…” David paused, suddenly unsure if he should finish his sentence. The woman took a deep breath and urged him to continue, patting his hands. “I think your brother was taken by something other than the Kruorumbrae,” David continued. “There is a chance he may still be alive.”

“Oh, please, let it be so!” Yola cried.

Abby put her arms around the woman. Then she turned to David. “If this wasn’t the Blood Shadows, then who was it? And why would they take Yola’s brother and the others?”

“We’re still working on that part. We don’t have any answers yet, but we might have some ideas. I think it is more important than ever that we talk with the oracles,” David said. “Yola, I promise you and your people—I will send you news as soon as I can.”

“Thank you, Solas Beir,” Yola said.

“You are welcome. I truly hope we can find him and the other five.” David surveyed the village. “It looks as though the supplies have been distributed to everyone, but we could really use a place to store them, couldn’t we? Let me see if I can help with that. Abby, can you join me for a moment?”

Abby nodded. “Of course.”

David put his arm around Abby and guided her toward the field where the horses were grazing. He kept his voice low. “I need your help.”

“What can I do?” she asked.

“I’m going to use my power to rebuild the buildings that were lost, but I have no idea what the impact will be on me,” David whispered.

“Do you think using power will make you sick like when you healed Nysa?” Abby whispered back.

“No—I don’t think it will be that, exactly, but I’m worried I might pass out or something. Not a real confidence booster for them to see me like that.”

“No, I suppose not,” she agreed.

“Let’s bring our horses over, and could you just stay close to me? I have a feeling I’m going to be pretty exhausted. I’m going to need some help staying on my feet,” David explained.

“Just lean on me if you feel faint, and I’ll keep you propped up until we can get you on the horse. I won’t let you fall,” Abby promised.

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” He took the horses’ reins and led them back to where Yola and the
elders were standing, then passed the reins to Abby. “Okay—here goes nothing...”

“Good luck,” Abby whispered.

David looked around. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. Although the adults all looked relatively young, they were diverse in appearance and dress. Like Yola, some of the women wore long, colorfully printed dresses, while others were dressed more like Abby in leather leggings and billowing shirts. Most of the men wore colorful tunics with loosely fitted pants, but a few were dressed in long robes. All of them were staring at him.
No pressure, folks,
he thought.

Holding out his hands and closing his eyes, David focused on what the buildings should look like. He imagined them coming together, stone by stone, beam by beam. He felt warmth radiate from his hands and heard the sound of stone grinding as it moved. He kept his eyes closed, letting go, trusting that everything was happening as he saw it in his mind’s eye. He felt an intense pressure building inside his head, which began to ache. Then, as if he had released a breath, the pressure left him. He heard applause and cheering and opened his eyes.

The buildings were standing as if the damage from the night before had only been a bad dream.
That wasn’t so bad,
David thought.
I wonder if I could do something similar to find the missing villagers. If I could just see them in my mind…
And then he teetered back a step, overwhelmed by exhaustion.

He slumped against Abby. She put her arms around him to keep him steady, and Cael reached out to help. Cael had been watching David intently and had moved closer when David started to look faint. Together, Abby and Cael helped David into his saddle, bracing his legs in case he should slump over again.

The only other person who seemed to notice that something was amiss was Eulalia. Judging by the concerned look on her face, she too had noted the toll using his powers was taking on him.

Everyone else was still looking stunned that the pile of rubble was gone as if it had never existed. By the time their attention turned back to David, he had managed to sit up straight in the saddle and put on a winning smile to mask how drained he was.

“You are the true Solas Beir,” Yola exclaimed, walking over to David and taking his hand in both of hers. David smiled and squeezed her hands, and Yola pressed his hand against her cheek in a gesture of gratitude. At that, the villagers began cheering again.

David was too exhausted to speak, so he kept smiling. Yola let go of his hand, bowing slightly before she rejoined the other villagers. David gave them a diplomatic wave, and the queen stepped in to say a few last words before they return
ed to the castle.

They headed back up the forest road, with Abby and Cael flanking David in case he needed them. Eulalia joined them this time, leaving Phelan and Fergal to lead the other group back across the Plains. As the trees closed in around them, Eulalia nudged her horse to pull alongside of Cael’s.

“Well, how did I do?” David asked her.

“You were perfect,” his mother smiled.

“Thanks.”

“How do you feel?”
she asked.

“Terrible,” David
sighed, “but I’ll be okay, once I get some sleep.” He was weary, but they still had a long ride home. “I’m glad we were able to help.”

“I think what you did today went a long way toward earning the trust of the Plainspeople. I imagine the story of how you rebuilt their village will spread far and wide,” Eulalia noted.

“I didn’t rebuild their village,” David yawned. His eyes felt heavy with fatigue, but he managed to keep them open and focused on the forest path. “I just raised their barn.”

“Nevertheless,” Eulalia smiled, “it was spectacular.”

When they arrived back at the castle, Abby and Cael helped David off his horse and up to his room. He was leaning on them so heavily that they were bearing most of his weight, nearly carrying him. He looked exhausted, his eyes half closed.

“I need to make security rounds with Phelan,” Cael said, helping David sit down on his bed, “but do you need anything before I go?”

“I have him, Cael,” Abby reassured him. “Thanks for your help.”

Cael nodded and closed the chamber door behind him.

David lay on his bed, too tired to change his clothes. Abby pulled off his boots and then sat beside him, stroking his hair. “Why don’t we get you under the covers?”

“Okay,” David yawned. He rolled to his side so Abby could pull the covers down and then rolled back the other way, so she could pull them up over him.

Leaning in, Abby kissed his forehead, caressing his cheek. “I should let you rest. Sweet dreams.” She turned to go.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, his grip surprisingly strong, considering he was so tired. “Stay with me. Please?”

Abby looked at the chamber door for a moment, considering. “Okay,” she agreed, and lay down beside David. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer.

She lay awake, watching him, listening as his breathing deepened when he drifted off. She was worried about him. He was new to using his power, and he was getting stronger, but it seemed like he had paid a heavy price for using it in the village. What kind of price would David have to pay when they finally went to battle? What toll would facing Tierney take?

Abby closed her eyes, but when she opened them, she was no longer lying next to David. She was no longer in the castle. She was sitting on the steps at the beach below the Newcastle Beach Inn, wearing the gown she had donned the night of the Autumn Ball. The crests of the waves were glowing bright white in the light of a full moon.

“Is that seat taken?”

Abby looked up to see David coming down the steps as he had that night, dressed in his suit. “All yours,” she said, smiling.

“For how long?” David asked.

“For always,” Abby said.

David took her hands and helped her to her feet, pulling her close to him, like he had done that night. Then he grinned. “Fancy meeting you here, stranger. I like this dream.”

She laughed. “Me too. Let’s stay a while.”

“Only if you dance with me again,” David bantered.

“I think I can manage that.”

There was no music this time, but it didn’t matter. Abby settled into his arms happily and they shuffled around, her head nestled against his shoulder and her eyes closed.

A moment later, a shriek pierced the air—it sounded like a woman’s scream, and yet somehow also like the screech of a bird of prey, honing in on dinner. It made Abby’s skin crawl.

“What was that?” she whispered.

The night sky seemed to darken. “Look,” David said, pointing at the moon above the ocean. A dark, winged figure was silhouetted against the circle of white.

There was a rustle behind them, and Abby looked over David’s shoulder to see thick, black smoke rolling down the steps like a low fog. “No,” she said. “Not again.”

David whirled around, saw the smoke, then looked up at the sky again. The winged thing was diving toward them. He turned Abby to face north, pointing her in the direction of the old mansion. “Get to the portal. Run, Abby. Run!”

Abby started to run, but turned back. David had vanished, and in his place was the white lion. The lion growled a warning to her as the smoke gathered in drifts around their ankles. Then she turned and ran.

At that moment, David startled awake as Abby sat bolt upright in bed, letting out a gasp as if she had been held underwater and was desperately trying to breathe.

He sat up beside her and wrapped his arms around her, and she crumpled into his embrace. He lay back down, pulling her with him so that her head lay on his chest. Her skin felt cold, so he pressed her closer, trying to warm her up.

“Shhh,” he said as he stroked her hair, breathing in the clean scent of her soft skin. “It was just a dream. It wasn’t real.”

“No,” she said, trembling against him, “but it will be. Something very bad is coming. I saw...”

“No, don’t,” David interrupted, placing his hand on her cheek. “Don’t tell me your dream, Abby—remember, we’re supposed to tell Eulalia first. Then we’ll know for sure if we made a connection. Even though we both know we did.”

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Then you saw it too?”

“Yes. But don’t talk about it now. Close your eyes, okay? I’ll help you fall back asleep.”

Abby looked doubtful.
“I don’t think I can sleep anymore.”

“Just close your eyes. I’ll distract you.”

Abby reluctantly closed her eyes.

David focused on enveloping her within his warmth as he returned to stroking her hair. Before long, her breathing deepened, and he kissed the top of her head before drifting off again himself.

Hours later, he awoke to a soft kiss on his cheek. “Good morning,” Abby said.

David smiled. “Hmm, good morning. I like having you here with me when I wake up.”

“Me too. How do you feel? I was really worried about you last night. Yesterday was exhausting for you.”

“It was, but I’m good now. I think having you close helped.” He felt strong and refreshed, with none of the dizzy fatigue that had
overtaken him after he used his power.

“It helped me too—especially after that nightmare,” Abby admitted.