Edge of Darkness ~ A Darkness & Light Novel Book Three (12 page)

"A few," Berk said.

"Don't lean on me, lad." Garek lifted the folded, sealed parchment from his desk and held it out to Berk with two fingers. "Get your gear, and get on your way. This is for the Emperor's eyes only."

Berk reluctantly took the message.

"There's something else?"

Sully caught his eye and gave a slight shake of his head, and Berk swallowed what would have, most likely, been an unwise comment. "No, sir."

"Good. Then get out."

When Berk didn't turn quick enough, Sully took him by the arm and spun him toward the door, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Do me a favor," Garek said as they left the office. "Stay out of trouble. I want both of you back in one piece."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

By the time the sun began to crawl over the horizon behind a thin layer of clouds, Ciara was well and totally lost. If Ferris followed any trail, she certainly couldn't see it, and finally gave up even trying. She hunched her shoulders against the frigid wind that rattled through the trees in moaning gusts, thankful the rain had stayed away. Her horse shied, dancing sideways as a sudden whirlwind of leaves swept up in a frenzy around its legs, and Ferris turned back as Ciara settled her mount. 

"There used to be a wayfarer's hut up the ways a bit, if you're good for it," Ferris said, leaning forward in the saddle so Ciara could hear. "We can have a fire and something to eat before taking some rest."

Ciara nodded and smothered a yawn behind her hand. She would have been more than happy to stop where they were. The warmth of her horse radiated only so far. A stark contrast to the chill claiming the rest of her. Even a tiny fire would help chase the dampness from her bones.

Ferris frowned. "There's really no good shelter here. But if you need to stop--"

"I'm fine." Her teeth chattered around the words and the Sciath's frown deepened. "Truly. I'm just cold and tired. I'll survive a bit longer, but not if we sit here debating the fact."

The words sounded harsher than Ciara meant them to be, but Ferris gave a short nod and spun his horse around before she could form an apology.

They arrived at the shelter sooner than Ciara anticipated, though 'hut' seemed far too grand a name for the sagging lean-to. A tattered hide blocked the open side. Laced together saplings, the gaps between them stuffed with moss and mud, made up the other three walls. It may not have been much, but at least it appeared dry and would offer relief from the wind.

"Why don't you take our packs inside," Ferris said, having dismounted and come to stand beside Ciara's horse. "There should be enough wood stored to get a fire going. I'll see to the horses."

Ciara nodded dumbly but made no move to comply. Her limbs had gone heavy, her eyes blurry, and her mind about as numb as her backside.

"M'lady?"

She gave her head a shake then nodded again and swung her leg stiffly over her horse's rump. Ferris caught her by the waist and guided her down, and it took a moment before her legs felt sturdy enough to risk walking.

Something scurried away as Ciara drew back the hide flap covering the doorway of the hut, but she was too exhausted to be startled. Shafts of filtered light slanted through the thatched roof and showed a bulky mattress against the far wall, a central fire pit ringed in blackened stones, a small chest and, as Ferris had predicted, a stack of dry wood in the corner. Ciara made for that first, gathered up an armful, and dumped it into the fire pit.

She had no tinder or flint, so once she arranged the wood, she held out a hand and called the fire. It was one of the earliest skills Ciara had mastered under her aunt's tutelage and, in her mind, one of the most practical uses of earth magic, besides healing. The logs caught with an eager burst, the flames shooting up with such vehemence Ciara feared they'd light up the angled roof as well. They subsided just as quickly and Ciara settled next to the stone ring with her arms wrapped around drawn up knees, watching the fire until her eyes grew too heavy to hold open any longer.

***

Ciara jerked awake with a startled cry. She blinked the sleep from her eyes, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The vague fragments of a dream brushed against her memory, just out of reach. She'd been somewhere dark and indistinct. Bolin had been there, and Donovan. Other figures moved in and out, but none clearly. Then Bolin had--

Ciara's breath caught. The feeling of utter terror that had held her pinned in her dream as Bolin turned against her, against them all, threatened to overwhelm her again.

"M'lady?"

Ciara flinched away from Ferris's light touch on her arm. She didn't recall moving to the musty, grass-stuffed mattress. For that matter, she didn't remember anything after starting the fire.

"You were sound asleep when I came in," Ferris said from where he hunkered down beside her. "I took the liberty of moving you where I thought you'd be more comfortable."

"How long was I asleep?" Ciara asked. It felt like days. She sat up, rested an elbow on her upraised knee and pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead in an attempt to ease the steady throb behind her eyes.

"Most of the morning. It's not quite midday."

Her tongue stuck in her mouth and she looked about for the water skin, immediately regretting the decision to move her head.

"Are you unwell?"

"No. I just need a moment to wake up." Fragments of the dream continued to bob to the surface like bits of flotsam in a river. Others vanished as soon as Ciara turned their way.

Ferris tipped his head to catch her eye. "You've been pressed with worry not your own, and many things have changed for you. I've no doubt more will. It's only natural your thoughts should trouble your rest. But they're phantoms of disquiet, nothing more."

Ciara sucked in a deep breath. The conviction in Ferris's words helped dispel the last shreds of terror the dream had wrought. She swung her legs to the edge of the low mattress and started to her feet, and Ferris immediately reached to help her.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm not a delicate flower, Ferris."

He quirked a smile at her. "It's my opinion all women are delicate flowers, m'lady."

"You really don't need to keep calling me that, you know. I'm not actually a lady."

"It's my understanding you are. By virtue of your birth, as well as your position as
chieene
to Lord Bolin."

"Keen? What's that?"

"Key-en," he corrected, giving the end of the word a breathy upswing. "It's a hard word to translate. Cearnease is more a language of feeling and emotion than literal interpretation. The closest I can come is 'beloved of the soul', but that hardly does it justice. It's a far deeper thing."

Ciara's cheeks warmed. "Well, it sounds better than consort, at any rate."

Ferris laughed. "You've yet to find the title comfortable?"

"I've yet to find the whole Lady of the Empire thing comfortable," Ciara said. "It's a lot to get used to."

"It'll come with time."

"Provided I'm not beheaded first."

"Lord Bolin would never allow such a thing," Ferris said. "Nor would Her Ladyship."

Ciara rolled her lips against one another to keep back her response. Before Ariadne's comment about doing what was best for the empire, Ciara would never have questioned the intentions of the Emperor's sister. Now, she wasn't so sure.

A 'V' formed in the middle of Ferris's forehead. "You doubt that?"

"I don't know. I haven't known Ariadne very long. She's never been anything but nice, but I think her loyalties lay with the empire, not with me."

Ferris nodded. He kept silent so long Ciara feared he'd taken offense.

"I suppose you'd be right," he said at last. "She'll do what she must to ensure the well-being of the empire. She can do nothing less. She's bound by blood to the land and its people. Still, unless you proved to be a great threat, she would never allow your head on the block. And, although there's a bit of a chaotic nature about you and your
gy'lafrei
, I just can't see that ever being the case."

"A chaotic nature?"

The twisted smile returned, lighting up his eyes as well. "Aye." He held the hide flap to the side and bowed Ciara out of the shelter, into the relative warmth of a sunlight day. "It's a trait I likely appreciate more than some."

"Like Bolin?"

That got her a throaty chuckle. "I'll wager you've greatly tested His Lordship's patience in that regard."

"To be honest, I'm surprised he puts up with me at all."

"There are likely many more amazed that you put up with him."

***

After a quick meal they were back in the saddle. They rode the rest of that day in silence. Partly due to the insistent pounding in Ciara's skull, which had started up again about the same time they'd finished eating. Mostly, however, due to the fact the Sciath continued to lead them cross country on narrow trails that twined through the trees, forcing them to ride nose to tail. On those occasions when the trail widened, Ferris set the pace at a canter, breaking into a gallop when conditions permitted. It made any attempt at conversation a futile one.

Ciara believed herself to be a good rider, but as she watched Ferris she began to feel a bit like a bungling oaf. He rode with a casual grace, as though he and his horse were of one mind. The loose manner in which he held the reins gathered in one hand, gave the impression he had no real need of them. He kept his attention on their surroundings, with frequent glances back. Each time he caught Ciara's eye, he flashed her a reassuring smile. Every now and again it was accompanied by the lift a brow in an unspoken query as to how she faired. Ciara answered with a nod or a smile of her own.

The sky remained overcast, threatening of rain but not delivering, and though the wind lessened, it still held a bite. They stopped once, just long enough to eat a bit of cheese and dried meat while the horses slurped noisily from a narrow creek, and then Ferris had them back on the road. Dusk came and went, and still the Sciath pressed on. He rose up in the stirrups every now and again, looking around as though trying to get his bearings. After one such time he shook his head and muttered something under his breath before turning them sharply to the left. Ciara hoped he wasn't lost, because what she could see of the landscape around them was a blur of sameness, and with the sun set, and no stars above the interlaced boughs, she had lost all sense of direction.

As the trees grew thicker, they were forced to a slow walk. Not long after, Ciara's eyes grew heavy and she found herself fighting to stay awake. She caught herself, more than once, making a desperate grab at the saddle to keep from sliding off her horse's back as she dozed.

She yawned and arched her back to stretch her spine, wondering how much farther Ferris intended on traveling, and trying to decide if she should ask him if they could stop. A few moments later he reined in, swung his leg over his horse's neck, and dropped lightly to the ground. Ciara followed suit with far less grace and a stifled groan.

She ducked under a low branch as she led her horse after Ferris, emerging into a ring of huge standing stones overgrown with moss and creeping vines. A large tree, its wide branches arcing over the ring to form a rustling roof, jutted up between two of the stones, thrusting them away from it at awkward angles. Opposite the tree, a flat slab, split in two and toppled on its edge, rested against one of the rocks. A sense of tranquility washed over Ciara as soon as she entered the ring.

A bit of reverence crept into her voice as she asked, "What is this place?"

"It was once a temple of sorts," Ferris replied. "The people who used to live 'round here believed nature had its own deities. They built such places as this to honor those spirits."

"Hedge witches?"

"More than that. Though history often paints them as something less."

He stripped the packs from the horses and set them down against the trunk of the tree before taking the reins from Ciara and leading both mounts to the edge of the circle. They split the chores again, Ferris tending to the horses, Ciara building the fire. She found plenty of sticks and small downed branches without needing to venture outside the ring of stone, and soon had a cheery blaze crackling away.

By the time Ferris rejoined her, Ciara had prepared a modest meal of cheese and re-warmed meat pies she found in one of the packs. They ate in silence, exhaustion pushing at Ciara. The branches swayed lazily overhead, dancing above the fire in appreciation of its warmth. Ciara let her mind drift, leaning against one of the stones, eyes closed. When she opened them again she found Ferris staring fixedly at her, a smile on his face. It took her a moment to realize she could see him quite clearly in the glow that filled their campsite. Another moment still, to realize her earth magic was the cause.

"I --" Ciara jerked upright, and pulled the magic back in until only the flickering fire lit their little campsite once again. "I didn't mean to do that."

"It's this place," Ferris said. He looked around, tipping his head back and inhaling deeply. "There's old magic lingering here. Strong and natural. Enough like your earth magic that it heard the call of it."

"But I didn't do anything."

"You didn't need to." His eyes glittered as he studied her across the flames. "Magic always calls to its own. Can you not feel the power of this place, then? The pulsing of its heart through the ground? The warmth of it in the heat of the stones?"

"I feel… something," Ciara said, shrugging. "But it's very vague."

"I sometimes forget how it is for others. For me, this ring is alive. It's like drinking honey wine. You can feel it, smooth and cool in your mouth. Can taste the sweetness on your tongue, the heat of it flowing through your veins. The scent of the spice fills your nose. If you close your eyes, you can see the amber glow of it…" He blew out a sigh, lifting his hands in a shrug-like gesture. "That hardly does it justice. I've never been good at putting it into words. It's a bit like trying to describe colors to a blind man."