The Swans' War 3 - The Shadow Roads (34 page)

"Eber… ?" she said softly, caressing the man's cheek. "I will get him back, if I can.""And how will you do that, Lady Elise?" Eber asked. "He has passed through the gate into Death's kingdom, from where none return.""Perhaps, but I will try all the same. He gave voice to a river— much should be sacrificed for such a child." She hesitated a second then rose, turning quickly away and striding purposefully toward Tam, and the way down to the river.

Alaan steered from the stern, and Elise and Baore drove them on, setting a pace that soon had the others gasping. Even so, they did not relent, but kept it up, passing through a river of stars scat-tered across the waters. Tarn had a feeling that all was in vain, but his respect for Alaan and his feelings for Elise kept him plunging his paddle into the river, thinking each time, Just one more. Just one more.

But after two hours even Baore began to falter, and Elise bid the three Valemen to take a rest, and she and Alaan continued to push the boat on. Tarn was nearest Alaan in the stern and, as he slumped down trying to catch his breath, fighting the cramps in his arms and shoulders, he asked the traveler, "Is this not futile, Alaan? The soul eater has taken Wyrr. Is there any hope that we can catch them?""None if we chased after them, but I will take a quicker way, though it won't be much to your liking, I fear. It doesn't matter. If Wyrr is lost, then who is left to repair the spell that walls Mea'chi into his kingdom?" Alaan looked down at Tam, collapsed on the ^floorboards. His face was only barely visible, but Tarn imagined his look was kindly. "It was always you,Tam, who buoyed the spirits of your companions, no matter what befell you. You must bear up a little longer.""I will try…" Tarn searched for something more to say, feeling very low that he had disappointed Alaan.

"Don't worry, Tarn," Alaan went on, "the soul eater has not the gift that Wyrr gave to Sainth. He can't travel the hidden paths. There is a chance we will reach the gate before him."Tarn sat up again, and Alaan and Elise slowed their rhythm a lit-tle, realizing that they were better to have the Valemen and the Fael with them then to paddle alone, for even their stamina would di-minish eventually. Tam didn't try to measure the time that passed, but it seemed like hours. Surely dawn would soon break on the eastern shore?

They passed into a mist, stirred by their paddles and their pass-ing. The shores disappeared, and then the tops of the trees, so that only a few bright stars could be seen overhead—then these too drowned. A coolness settled around them, and the sounds of their paddles rippling the water sounded loud and strange.

"Can you find your way through this fog, Alaan?" Cynddl asked.

"Yes. Don't fear. But keep a lookout ahead. I can set our course but not see the dangers that lie along our path."Fynnol glanced back at Tam, who could see that his cousin didn't much like the sound of this. The Valeman loosed his sword in its scabbard and readied his few arrows. Fynnol did the same. Moonlight touched the mist, and it appeared to glow faintly around them, swirling slowly and reaching out thin tentacles toward them.

Something large loomed out of the fog and darkness, causing Fynnol to start.

"A tree," whispered Elise, who was in the bow.

The apparition came abreast, grey-barked and massive.

"A stone tree," Tam whispered. "We have passed through such a place before, but far up the river.""There is only one such place in all the world that I know," Alaan said. "The Stone Forest, and it is near the gate to Death's kingdom. If you found such a place before, then you were nearer death then than at any other time. Something must have saved you, perhaps unknown to you, or greater luck was with you, for most who see the stone trees never again lay their eyes upon the world of men.""You say the most comforting things, Alaan," Fynnol said. "How much farther?""The quay will appear soon.""Certainly you haven't been there before!" Fynnol whispered.

"Twice, and both times I found reprieve. I don't know if I can count on such luck again."Fynnol might have answered, but Alaan bid them be quiet, and they paddled on in silence, gray-cloaked trees looming out of the night, water lapping eerily about their bases.

They had slowed their pace, perhaps afraid of running into one of the stone trees, though Tarn suspected they were all unsettled by the place—even Elise and Alaan. Baore had shrunk down in the boat, and though he paddled with the rest, he was barely stirring the waters. Fynnol looked quickly this way and that and back again, as though afraid something lurked behind him. Tarn thought of the monster they'd seen in the chamber—Hafydd's soul eater—and he felt his own breath start to come short.

Calm yourself, Tamlyn, he told himself. That monster is not after the likes of you. But he could not escape the feeling that the soul eater would smash up through the bottom of the boat at any mo-ment.

He heard Elise catch her breath, and he looked up quickly, to see some greater darkness ahead, and in a few strokes a line ap-peared like a distant horizon.

"We are here," Alaan whispered.

A horrible grinding noise began then, and Baore stopped pad-dling altogether, staring straight ahead. "It is opening," he said, so softly Tarn barely heard.

Tam realized that only Alaan continued to paddle, pressing them forward. The terrible grinding went on and on, so that the Valemen all covered their ears. And then it stopped. A hollow wind moaned, and a ruin of a voice echoed out of the darkness. "Why are you at my gate? Will you give up this life at last?"Tam could not catch his breath and looked around in panic, as though there might be somewhere to hide.

"I have come with an offer," a woman's voice answered, "that even you will not refuse."Tam could not have been more surprised if he'd heard his own mother's voice, there in that desolate place. The line before them began to take on depth, and Tam realized the quay was only a few yards off. Then, in the slow-whirling mists, figures appeared. One wore a hooded black cloak. Another lay upon the quay: the soul eater, writhing and swaying by the body of a dark-haired man.

The boat struck the step and Elise and Alaan leapt out onto the dark stones, but Tam was too frightened to follow. He and his companions knelt in the boat while it knocked gently against the quay. He felt a tear slip down his cheek and it was all he could do not to sob openly, so exhausted was he. All their efforts had come to failure.

A darkness fell on the stones before the gate, a shadow so black that it seemed to draw all light toward it. Tam closed his eyes a moment, then opened them again as the soul eater made a terrible moaning sound. The Valemen flinched back, and Tam snatched up his blade. The monster, dragging the body ofWyrr, began crawling toward the darkness, unable to lift its belly from the ground—a wounded beast creeping toward its hole.

The ruined voice echoed out of the shadow. "And where is the son ofWyrr? Where is Caibre?""He went back to make his kingdom among the living," the woman said.

Tam knew that voice… Meer.

"But I am here, with a treasure above value, though my price will not be small."^83"What is it you do, Grandmother?" Alaan said, stepping for-ward, but a gesture from Meer stopped him.

She held up her hand, and as her sleeve fell away, a gleaming gem appeared in her hand dangling on a chain. "The Stone of Re-morse, it was once called, but each sorcerer who possessed the stone laid his own spell upon it. This is the smeagh of Aillyn, and in it he wove the designs of the great enchantments: the spell that split the One Kingdom, and the spell that sealed you behind these walls. It was to be given to a child of Wyrr, when it was needed. Long I tried to possess it, but I could not. Aillyn knew what use I would make of it."There was a stirring in the darkness inside the gate and Meer held out the stone before her. With the other hand she pulled back her hood and shook free her hair.

"There is no one alive who understands the spell that keeps you within these walls, Mea'chi. But the designs are here, within this stone—and I will give it to you… for a price.""What is this price?" came the voice, so broken and ancient that it seemed a dry wind among stones.

"You will return the daughter you stole from me," she said, let-ting these words hang in the air a few seconds, "or I will give the stone to Sainth, and he will remake the spell that holds you, and there you will dwell in the darkness for another age."A ripple and splash behind caused Tarn to jump, and he turned in time to see a small figure climbing out of the waters.

"Llya!" Elise said, almost jumping in surprise. But then her face fell. "Go no farther," she said, crouching down. "I will pass through in your stead if Mea'chi will allow it.""I will allow it," the ancient voice said quickly.

"But I will not," Llya answered quietly.

"River save us…!" muttered Fynnol, his eyes wide in surprise.

"I am unharmed," the child said, his voice clear and youthful and surprisingly mature. He faced Meer with a confidence beyond his years. "And that stone, Mother, is not yours to give. It is mine, and even without it I will remake the spell.""Oh Llya, no!" Elise said, her eyes closing as though a knife pierced her heart.

But the child appeared not to hear. "You have failed, Mea'chi," he called into the darkness. He turned to Meer, "And so have you, Mother, though you would give me up to my father's enemy to have what you wanted.""I knew the soul eater bore only a sack of skin," Meer said, backing away from the child. "But Wyrr…you should not have done this. He was only a child…""You should never have wakened Caibre and set all that fol-lowed in motion." Llya's look softened, and he shook his head sadly. "Give me the stone, now," he chided gently. He took a step toward Meer, who shrank from him. "You know I can take it if I must," Llya said, the threat quiet but sure.

Meer looked at the gem, still dangling from her white fingers, and a tear trembled on her eyelashes. "It is the one thing he wants most in the world…" she whispered.

"No," the child answered. "You are the thing he wants most."For a few seconds she didn't move or even blink, a look of utter sadness passing over her face.

"You have given in to our enemy twice, now, Mother," Llya said.

She closed her eyes, tears glistening on her dark lashes. "Out of love," she whispered.

"And weakness. Mortal we were, who should never have been. And now you would unleash Mea'chi and his hunger upon the lands of the living." Almost tenderly, Llya untangled the chain from her fingers,placing it over his head so that the stone hung, glitter-ing, upon his breast.

They faced each other, the child undaunted. A tear slipped down Meer's cheek, and then another. She reached out a hand as though she would caress the boy, but stopped, her gaze unreadable. She nodded once, as though agreeing with something only she had heard. Ever so slowly, she turned and walked toward the shadow; a picture of grace and dignity and sorrow. As she passed through, a raven-haired girl emerged from the darkness, blinking as though she had just wakened. A sob did escape Meer then, and she reached out, but something seemed to have hold of her and drew her into the shadow, where her sobs were suddenly distant, then gone.

"You have what you want," Llya said. "Close the gate. No more of us will pass through this day."Nothing happened for too long, then the gate began to grind closed again, and just as it stopped, Tam thought he heard a sob from within, or perhaps it was a name called out in despair. Before the gate, where the impenetrable shadow had been, lay the black-haired man and the already-shriveling carcass of the soul eater. Tam gazed at the body of the dead sorcerer, so perfectly preserved that he looked as though he might wake. It was a handsome face, youthful and strong. Even in apparent sleep the beauty of Wyrr struck him. He could not imagine what presence the man must have had in life.

A movement drew Tarn's attention. Elise Wills wrapped her cloak about the girl-child and knelt down to draw her close.

"She is cold as snow," Elise gasped.

"Colder," Llya said. "But you will warm her."The girl buried her face in Elise's shoulder, and Tam thought she wept, though he could not be sure.

Alaan came and crouched before Llya. "What you do is wrong. He's only a child.""You never had faith in me, did you Sainth?" Llya said softly.

"I had utter faith in you," Alaan answered, "to do whatever served you best."Tam thought Llya looked hurt by this, his eyes glistening. "I will go back into the river and, in time, the child who bears me might forget the memories I leave behind. Let us hope." Llya took the stone from around his neck and, with his small hands, placed the chain over Alaan's head, then leaned forward and kissed him on both cheeks. "All the silent years we shared this world… How I regret them now." Llya placed his hands on Alaan's shoulders. "You must remake the spell. Mea'chi can never be unleashed upon the land of the living." He smiled sadly, too knowing by half, then turned to the others. "Leave this place, and may you not come here again for many years."He went to Elise then and kissed her, then embraced his sister, though she seemed confused, unaware of who he might be. Re-leasing her, he waved a hand at the body of Wyrr. "My body must go back into the waters," he said so softly Tarn barely heard.

Llya stood a moment on the quay, gazing at Elise and Alaan, as though reluctant to let them go. Then he turned away and waded into the waters, sinking quickly from sight. Tarn stirred himself then and helped Alaan slip the body of Wyrr back into the water. The face of the ancient sorcerer appeared so serene, as though he slept, and dreamed only the fairest of dreams.

Cynddl looked on, distressed. "But I thought he said he would release the child.""Wait a moment," Alaan said. "One thing you could say about Wyrr, he always kept his word."And in a moment Llya emerged, spitting up water and splash-ing wildly. Baore waded quickly in and fished him out, setting him beside Elise in the boat. Another cloak was offered, and she wrapped it around the boy. He went to make a word with his hand, but then stopped.

"Thank you," he said haltingly, and a tiny smile flitted across his face.

The others climbed eagerly aboard, and Tarn took up his pad-dle. They set off into the mist, Alaan guiding them. Elise sat upon the center thwart, an arm around a child to either side. The chil-dren leaned their heads against her, as though weary beyond mea-sure. And then their small hands found each other in the near darkness, and the fingers entwined, clinging tightly—two children who had seen too much.

"We have no time for rest," Alaan said. "And I am sorry for it. But Hafydd can still bring ruin to the land of the living."