The Twelve Kingdoms (31 page)

All of this I noted in the clear, cool, and infinitely slow moments of pitched battle. My stallion and Harlan's, both war trained, wheeled and stomped on the lizards. As if we'd planned it, we faced away from each other, sword arms out, creating a circle of destruction between us, the black blood of shape-shifters flying.

A mistake that the enemy chose such an extreme animal form. Shocking at first, yes, but so different from our companions that we easily discerned which was which.

Over nearly as fast as it began, the battle ended with the lizards dead around us, returning in death to the ratlike creatures Andi had said they called staymachs, sinking into the bog that had seemed to be solid ground before we rode over it.

Harlan wheeled his horse around, confirmed I'd taken no injury, and we both looked to our companions, all a milling pack of predators now. The giant black wolf that must have been Rayfe patrolled the perimeter, the wolfhounds falling in with him. The cat bounded toward Fiona, who remarkably held her ground, not flinching when Andi flowed up and out of the animal form and leapt on her back—looking exactly as she had before.

She rode up to us and raised her eyebrows, nodding at Harlan to lead us onward.

We hit two more traps like that. Each as sudden, by creatures meant to surprise and unsettle us. By Andi and Rayfe's demeanor, I gathered that they did not consider these major obstacles. We took some hits, though the injuries the Tala incurred were quickly dispensed with via shape-shifting. Harlan and I remained unscathed, though his steed had taken a nasty bite from a nest of large snakes, forcing us to stop and purge the wound of venom.

Andi held the horse calm, a knack she'd had even before, but now so honed she held the great stallion so steady it didn't move even when I opened the wound with my blade and Harlan sluiced a stinging antivenin into it.

“These are no more than preset defenses,” Harlan said quietly to me. “And poorly thought out in that they only confirm our direction.”

“Or cleverly herd us in the wrong one.”

“The signs are there, however.”

“Which signs do you follow? What did you see in the copse that sent us this way?”

He raised one eyebrow at me. “Trade secret. I look forward to you attempting to extract it from me.”

“You wish.”

“Oh, yes. Yes, I do.”

By early evening, we'd left the marshlands behind and entered the heavily forested, rising foothills that led the way to the jagged range beyond. Very likely the range that separated us from Branli, which I'd wasted so much time and effort attempting to pass through. If we ended up pursuing into those mountains, we'd be in a fix. Snow had definitely arrived there, and Harlan and I, at least, did not have enough cold-weather gear—nor could we conveniently grow fur coats.

Abruptly, Andi reined up, frowning. Rayfe, still in wolf form, circled back, ears pricked. “Something has changed,” she told us. “They're moving. A different scenario is forming.”

“Can we plan ahead—be where they will be?” Harlan asked.

“Possibly.”

“What changed?” I asked, feeling a curl of dread.

Andi returned the look with somber concern. “I'm not certain entirely, but they're all together and must be looping back. All the near-future scenarios now take place in the cliff city. Or near it.”

Rayfe popped into human form, fully armed and dressed, which bemused me still. “Repeat that,” he ordered. Andi recapitulated our conversation, confirming my suspicion that they didn't entirely understand human speech while in animal form.

“How can what the future holds have changed so decidedly?” Rayfe frowned over it.

“They're playing you,” I told Andi, shaking my head at her consternation. “This Terin, our uncle, he knew Salena well, we can figure. Brother-in-law to her for how long?”

“Salena and Tosin were married nearly fifteen years,” Rayfe supplied.

“And Terin likely served as a close adviser to the royal couple, I'm guessing.”

“I was but a boy then, but that's how I understand it. Terin became my adviser partly because of that. For continuity.” Rayfe's jaw clenched as he followed my reasoning.

“Who held the reins of government after Salena left and before you took the crown?”

“Terin.” Rayfe confirmed it with a grim face.

“If he wanted to rule,” Andi argued, mostly with Rayfe, “he could have competed in the trials.”

“He did. I won. He lost.” Rayfe lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “He said he'd only done it for his brother's memory and I believed him. He served me faithfully many years. I had no reason to doubt his loyalty in all that time.”

“Until I came along.” Andi chewed her lip. “I don't understand how I got the visions so wrong.”

“You didn't,” I told her. “You saw correctly. He made sure of it. See—your gift is the same as our mother's, and he knew her well. They no doubt spent time sorting through what she predicted and planned policy accordingly. I've only been around you with this gift for a few days and already I have a sense of how our decisions play into affecting what you see. For example, once we left the cliff city with this particular group, that eliminated some possible outcomes, right?”

With dawning realization and chagrin, Andi nodded. “I don't know why I didn't think of this.”

“Because you haven't spent as much time as I have sorting through long-term strategy.” All those days and nights our father had forced me to walk through battle scenarios with him. Rehashing sieges from the Great War. Planning potential reactions to various uprisings. He'd trained me well, indeed. “King Rayfe has only had the benefit of your prognostications for a relatively short time, so less practice there also. But this Terin—he knows exactly how to set up his intentions so that you'll see one set of futures. Then he abruptly altered the plan so you would see too late.”

I glanced at Harlan, who nodded thoughtfully. “It's a simple strategy in the end—lure your enemy out of their stronghold so you may take possession of it.”

“Though the cliff city is hardly indefensible,” I answered him. “Impossible to lay siege to it.”

“But as the seat of power and government, it would hold symbolic value to the Tala. Take the council hostage, intercept communications. Likely the only sort of takeover that could be effective under those physical circumstances,” Harlan argued his point.

“You two terrify me,” Andi interrupted us. “I know Terin's aim now.”

“I'm not sure you can rely on—”

“Not from the visions, Ursula.” She turned to Rayfe, fear and worry written over her countenance. “They're going for the Heart of Annfwn.”

He paled. “Moranu save us all.”

A
ndi and Rayfe wanted to head for the cliff city immediately, but I talked them into a short break. None of us had eaten all day, and the mossbacks, at least, I pointed out, including our non-staymach horses in the designation, needed to rest. Mostly I wanted a full explanation. Enough of this riding blind and silent. The four of us sat away from the others, to plan our next steps, though our Tala contingent visibly chafed at the delay.

“Send one of your men in bird form to provide warning to the council,” I suggested.

Rayfe shook his head. “None of the ones with me can take that form.”

Interesting. “The staymachs can.”

“Yes,” Andi put in, “but they're not that intelligent.”

Right, right. “
You
can take the form of a rather large black hawk, as I recall,” I pointed out to Rayfe. One that had caused considerable chaos by shattering the window in the throne room.

He laid a possessive hand on Andi's thigh. “So can Andromeda. She can take any form, as your mother could.”

“As some others of our family can,” Andi added.

“Can you shift back and forth, as much as you like?”

“No,” Rayfe said, giving Andi a stern look, as if he spoke to an old argument. “It's as tiring as putting in hard, physical labor. Being distracted or exhausted can lead to fatal errors.”

“That's not an issue at the moment,” Andi inserted.

“So the pair of you could go defend this Heart, whatever it is. Get there ahead of them and we can come up from behind, trap Terin and his confederates between us.”

“It's not that simple.” Andi's brow knitted. “Even with Stella, I'm not sure how they think they'll get to it.”

“Explain,” I told her.

“Don't order me about, Ursula,” she snapped. “It's a secret I can't reveal.”

“You're going to have to reveal something if we're to rescue Ami and the babies. While I'm sorry for your internal politics, my aim is to rescue my sister, niece, and nephew. What happens to this Heart is immaterial to me.”

“She's my sister, too.” Andi glared at me.

“Losing control of the Heart would have dire consequences for the Twelve, as well,” Rayfe spoke over her, running a hand down her hair, adding his glare to hers.

I hated secrets. Especially ones with dire implications.

Andi scrubbed her hands over her scalp. “I don't know why I didn't see them going for the Heart. That's big. It should be a major point in time, with many possible outcomes.”

“Dire ones,” I added, and Harlan flicked me an amused look.

“Okay, look.” Andi leaned forward. “I want you to swear to Danu that you won't use this information against Annfwn.”

Rayfe's face darkened. “Andromeda—”

“No. If she swears, she won't go back on it.”

I held her gaze for a long moment, sorting the possibilities. The long-term implications of such a promise.

“Look at her,” Rayfe growled, sounding remarkably wolflike. “She can't do it. There is your answer.”

I didn't rise to the bait, but turned it over in my mind. All the conflicting loyalties. Salena had set all this in motion to protect Annfwn—that much seemed clear—and had expected me to be part of her plan. But there was more to it than that. She had to have known that I'd grow up wanting to protect the Twelve also. I wished I knew what she had wanted from me.

Until then, I'd have to grope my way through.

“I swear to Danu,” I said slowly, “that anything you tell me about the Heart of Annfwn will be information I hold secret and will use only for the greatest good.”

“As
you
see it,” Rayfe snarled.

“Yes. I have no other measure to offer.”

“That's good enough for me,” Andi decided.

“Andromeda—she is her father's puppet.”

“No.” Andi seemed to be speaking to me. “She's not. She never was. I trust her.”

“I'm sitting right here,” I commented drily.

She ignored the tone. “The Heart of Annfwn is more a—”

“Shouldn't I step away?” Harlan interrupted.

“Why bother?” Andi gave him a distracted look. “Your pledge to Ursula will hold you to whatever she vows.”

“Danu take it—you knew!” I accused her, and she gave me a bland look. “You might have warned me.”

“I did warn you. Now—the Heart is not a thing so much as a place. I'm not going to tell you where it is, except that it's situated in such a way that only a shape-shifter—one with the ability to take multiple forms—can reach it. It's not exactly the source of Annfwn's magic, but it acts like a heart in truth, circulating and refreshing the magic. The right person can control the magic from there.”

“Control the magic in what way?”

She sighed a little. “Among other things, the barrier.”

Aha. Very interesting implications there. “The right person—one with the mark?”

“Yes.”

“And Stella has the mark, but she's a babe in arms. She wouldn't be able to shape-shift to take herself to the place, would she? You didn't.”

Andi's mouth twisted in a wry smile. “Not until I got to Annfwn, no. Which was a problem for me. Tala babies with strong blood can and do shape-shift in the cradle. That's part of why I wanted Stella here. It can make for some interesting moments.”

Harlan glanced at me, amused, and I recalled his comment about having shape-shifter children making for interesting parenting. Not something I could get my head around.

“Okay, so Stella shifts, but she still has an infant's mind, right? She wouldn't have the ability to intelligently manipulate the Heart for years.”

“Which is why this makes no sense,” Andi agreed.

“What about Amelia?”

“What about her?”

“You heard Dafne—Ami has this idea that Glorianna wants her to open all of Annfwn's magic to the Twelve. She might be thinking of taking down the barrier, to restore balance or some such. Perhaps Ash and Terin have convinced her to join forces with them to do just that.”

“Ash wouldn't go along,” Rayfe said. “He has no love for Terin.”

“You have no love for me and yet we've found common cause,” I pointed out ruthlessly. “Ash is committed to freeing the Tala from the prisons of the Twelve and returning them and other by-blows with Tala blood to Annfwn. Which means bringing your barrier down.”

“No, it doesn't. We were working on that already,” Andi protested. “We were making great strides on my ability to consciously alter the permeability of the barrier when Ash left to—”

“To go to Ami,” I filled in. “At which point Stella was abducted and made to seem as if she died. A plot like that would discourage pursuit, so it could not have been intended to lure Ami here. She and Ash coming after Terin would have been an unintended consequence. Not predictable.”

“But not entirely unwelcome.”

The new voice startled me. By the time I became aware that a fox had darted in from the trees, shifted into a man, and spoken, Harlan, Rayfe, and I were all on our feet, swords drawn. The man shook his head slowly and made a tsking sound. “If I don't return very soon, unharmed, the princess and young prince will die.”

“Terin, I presume.”

He gave me a slight bow, full of mockery. “Your Highness. I'm surprised you don't remember me. I was a guest of Ordnung for some time while you were in residence.”

I had not placed him as one of the Tala prisoners. Odd. “What happened to your perimeter guard, King Rayfe?”

“Something I would also like to know. You've laid out the stakes, Terin,” Rayfe growled, looking supremely pissed. “Do you truly expect us to believe you have the Princess Amelia in your custody with no proof?”

Terin smiled, not nicely, and signaled. A wolf parted the shadows between the trees and deposited a length of bright, red-gold hair in Andi's lap. Darker rust smears marred it in places. Edging over, I crouched beside her, which also put me between her and Terin. We exchanged grave looks. Ami's hair was unmistakable. Andi touched a fingertip to the dried blood and gave a slight nod.

Danu take them all for hurting her. I let the anger flow, using it as Kaedrin had taught me so long ago. “You've signed your death warrant, Terin of the Tala.”

His saucy smile faded into a grim line. “No. Salena did that. I'm just doing what she forced us into, for self-preservation. To save Annfwn. Once you believed in that,” he accused Rayfe.

To his credit, Rayfe stayed calm, though his eyes glittered an unnatural blue in the shadows. He'd moved subtly to cover Andi from the other side. Harlan, though he'd remained where he was and kept his attention ostensibly on Terin, showed me in the lines of his body that he scanned the forest for signs of our guard or more of Terin's people.

“Queen Andromeda has saved Annfwn.” Rayfe had an implacable expression. “The barrier is within our control again.”

“While you sit cozily with Uorsin's heir,” Terin sneered. “It need not be this way. The babe shall be ours entirely, free of Uorsin's taint. And you, Andromeda—you shall come with me and show me how to reach the Heart, so the babe can be taught. If you behave, you, your sisters, and the boy child can go free. You all will be allowed to leave Annfwn forever. Decide. Time is running out.”

“She's not going—” Rayfe boiled with constrained violence but stopped when Andi stood and laid a hand on his arm.

“Yes, I am.”

“I forbid it.”

She nearly rolled her eyes. Stopped herself. “I see more now. I have to go.” They exchanged a long, wordless communication, and he lowered his sword.

Andi looked to me. “Keep your blade sharp, my sister.”

“Always.” I turned my attention to Terin. “And the hostage exchange? When shall my sisters and nephew be returned?”

“All in good time, Uorsin's heir. Horse form, if you please, bastard niece of mine.”

Without hesitation—perhaps so Rayfe couldn't stop her as he so clearly strained to do—Andi shifted into a horse, storm gray with a black mane and tail. Terin leapt onto her back and dug his heels viciously into her sides, spurring her to gallop off into the night.

Rayfe cursed low and long in his native language, then called out to the guard. None answered. Harlan gave me a small shake of his head, conveying that he'd detected nothing either while we negotiated. Rayfe picked up the skein of Ami's hair, looking grim.

“I'm following. I apologize for leaving you here, but I have no choice. I can't let them hurt her.”

“Go,” I told him. “We'll be on your trail.”

Without another word, he shifted into hawk form, launching into the sky, black on black.

“So much I don't like about this,” I commented to Harlan. “But I see no other path than to saddle up and bring Fiona with us. If we ride all night and tomorrow, perhaps finding a diagonal back to—”

The night forest exploded. We'd never sheathed our swords, but the creatures were on us with such devastating speed we nearly failed to keep them off. I palmed a dagger, nailing a wolf in the eye with it, but three more leapt at me. At my back, Harlan bellowed and swung his great sword, cleaving a clearing around us. I stepped into the space he created, which at least put one of the monster trees at our backs. Only marginally helpful, as razor-taloned birds fell on us from the branches.

After that, I became the fight. Nothing but clicking from one target to the next.

One corner of my mind sent prayers to Danu that we would live to retreat and regroup.

Another part of me took a fierce, almost sexual joy in fighting beside Harlan. We passed targets off to each other as if we'd practiced it for years.

My speed.

His strength.

He dug in, an immovable, unassailable bulwark that sent one creature after another off bleeding into the shadows.

I spun, danced, maneuvered, guarding his flank, creating a double-bladed whirlwind that nothing penetrated.

Nothing much. I became aware of a few nasty bites singing with blood and pain when there were, at last, no more comers. I weighted back in one leg, ready to spring, surveying the twitching bodies, scanning the rustling leaves. No movement in my arc. In the corner of my eye, Harlan cut the head from a large black wolf, grunting with the effort, then performed a similar scan.

“Clear?” I asked.

“For the moment, it seems.” He was out of breath. Understandable.

“We should move. Hopefully they didn't kill the horses. If we can't ride out, we'll have to find a more defensible location.”

“A sound plan.”

I moved forward, exercising caution, lest any of the fallen were thinking to ambush us. Harlan's tread seemed louder than usual behind me, uneven. I glanced back. “You okay?”

He nodded, grim. “Get to the horses.”

The three were hobbled out where we'd left them to graze in a grassy meadow at the edge of the trees. Terrified, but unhurt.
The Tala love animals.
A foolish miss to my mind. But a stroke of luck I'd take. No doubt Terin had thought us easier to kill than that.

Harlan grunted and once again I turned back. Just in time to see him sink to his knees.

“Danu—you're injured!” In two strides, I had him under the shoulder, easing him to the ground. His arm wrapped protectively around his gut told me all I needed to know. “Stubborn man. Let me see.”