Born of Courage, page 9
Lillanya walked cautiously down the corridor, bracing a hand against the cool block wall while Merrick trailed two steps behind. She paused at the top of the steps and watched as Samuel and Rourke raged at each other. Everett guarded the lower steps with his meat cleaver in hand and Marcum stood with a crossbow beside the main hearth, determining who to shoot. Rouke’s men however were strangely absent and presumably barricaded outside the main hall.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lil demanded sternly, surprising them out of their quarrel. She pulled her hand from the wall and descended the stairs, her head held high, willing herself to make it without falling to the landing.
“You are scaring the children,” she snapped. “Follow me,” she directed as she carefully paced her way to a door next to Marcum. Thanking the graces he had the courtesy to open it before she got there, as she wasn’t sure she could muster the willpower.
Lil swept to the far head of the table and draped her arms nonchalantly across a high back chair, one of the few things keeping her standing at present. She took stock of the room. Lillanya had barely been in here, but the elegantly painted tapestry of the entire region sure implied someone had at one point.
Rourke stormed in, followed by Samuel hot on his heels. Everett noiselessly appeared, taking a defensive position in the corner behind her, while Marcum and Merrick drew in last at their leisure.
“We received your signal,” Rourke said gruffly, “and came as fast as we could. Your men wouldn’t tell us anything,” he slid a dark look at Samuel, “so we assumed you had been hurt in the battle.”
“Thank you for your concern,” she replied, not actually answering his statement. “What of the raiders?,” she inquired airily, hoping he didn’t notice how much it hurt her to breathe.
“We followed them north-east, but lost their trail at the base of the mountains. Let the Zimerians deal with them for a while.”
Lillanya eyed Rourke critically at his report, something telling in his tone.
“Do they know the raiders are coming?” she asked quietly, already knowing the answer with the way Rourke’s jaw set itself to stone.
“Let me rephrase the question,” her hushed voice continued, “are you going to warn them or am I?” She pinned Rourke with her stare, piercing his soul with her eyes, judging him for his actions.
“They are Zimerians. StormChasers. We – do not help – them,” he ground out between clenched teeth, his long fingers digging into the chair he gripped.
“Do you see other Amerian houses lining up to help you?,” she commented fluidly. “No – you don’t. Because they are bashing down your door trying to kill you.” She finished, her irritation getting the better of her. Lillanya closed her eyes and counted to three, opening them to view a room of men too stuck in their own way to save themselves.
“I’ll go,” Marcum volunteered quietly from the back of the room, surprising even Lillanya with his offer. Her gratitude bringing a small smile to her face.
“Is there anyone else that needs warning?,” Lil breathed, looking to the map for inspiration.
“The dragons are too far north, it’s unlikely they would be a target. Not even these men are crazy enough to go looking for that kind of trouble,” Samuel offered.
She nodded regally, what little strength she had waning. “We should prepare for when the raiders return,” she offered to Rourke. “This is not over,” she stated evenly. “A storm is coming,” she let out on a whisper.
They all stared at her a moment, unsure what to make of her statement. Rourke recovered first.
“We’ll be ready. I’ve heard of a small group of men camped south east from here, we’ll see what we can do to rally them.” Realizing that he wasn’t going to get a private word with her, he nodded crisply and departed the room, Samuel and Everett following him out. She slid exhausted into the chair she had been braced against and looked at Marcum.
“They will likely kill me within a hundred feet of their gates,” he stated unperturbed, almost relishing the challenge of getting in there.
She smiled at his honesty. “You could always just surrender and then tell them you have important information.” She leaned back in the chair, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “And if that doesn’t work…do some really impressive magic and run.” Her face turned serious, reaching out to touch his arm lightly.
“If you get into trouble, call for help. I’ll hear you.”
Marcum looked at her astonished and nodded. Like every child, he had grown up with the stories of the ancient households being able to summon each other through their family magic in times of great need, but he had never in his life actually witnessed such a thing, much less done so himself. The honor and ability was tightly guarded within select inner circles. That she would even offer —
He bowed resolutely before her and left.
Merrick watched as Lillanya leaned back in her chair, her chest rising and falling gently as her fatigued eyes shuttering closed of their own accord. In a previous life, it would have been so easy just to lean forward and silence her forever with a single touch, one less FireStarter to tarnish the world. It seemed strange to him that his path had crossed with this spitfire of a woman. The epitome of everything his clan would have despised, and here he was, mere feet from her, watching her sleep. Fate had a funny sense of humor it seemed.
It was late afternoon when Lillanya finally woke, her neck stiff from sleeping upright in a hard chair, even one ornately carved as this. Merrick was gone, replaced with a bustling old woman who carried a tray in her wizened hands, teetering a pot of what smelled like mint tea. Her gray wiry hair was piled high on her head in a large bun, and she was sporting an apron over her rough linen brown dress. An apron that seemed to be coated with flour and smudges of what smelled like cinnamon.
Meesa placed her burden in front of Lil and sympathetically patted her forearm, encouraging her with a smile that reached her eyes before bustling back out. A sheepish blush spread across Lil’s face since she had completely neglected her responsibilities, falling asleep before checking to make sure everyone was alright after last night’s excitement. She poured herself a small cup and stood unsteadily, taking it with her to inspect what was left of the keep.
Lillanya wandered out into the hall to find a handful of children playing some kind of game with smooth pebbles. She smiled at them warmly but was met with startled looks from the few women that were gathered around watching. Their bodies subtly shifted to shield the children as she passed, trying to do so cautiously in a way Lillanya wouldn’t notice. Lil turned towards the hall doors, watching the women circumspectly and almost ran into a latecomer to the game. His sandy mop down as he focused on the pebbles clenched in his little fist. His surprised gasp drew an audible choking sound behind her from one of the mothers. The child’s eyes grew wide, his mouth bobbed open and he stared at her with a mixture of awe and terror, frozen by a child’s fear of the unknown.
“Excuse me,” she mumbled, disconcerted, and walked quickly from the hall, her tea all but forgotten in her hand.
In the yard, men stopped their movements and watched her as she walked. Men of Sorum, it seemed, had stayed behind to help with repairs and defenses. She settled on a mask born of years of practice and hid her reactions from the whispering that had started as she walked around to the side yard. Her feet steadily advancing to the tiny door that was hidden beside her beloved wayward wall, instead of bolting there like she wanted.
A small slender ornately carved wood door, that bore the insignia of a rose and built to only allow a single small person passage, or a large person turned sideways. A smart defense, she thought, if needing a back door out. It opened noiselessly, for which she murmured a quick prayer. She didn’t really want to draw any more attention and slipped through unnoticed, or so she thought.
Lillanya set the teacup aside and shucked the vest she wore over a branch, the weight of it bearing her already burdened shoulders down. The episode with the children disconcerted her greatly, distracting her from her original task. There was an ominous feel to it all. The whispers. The fear.
Lil had never been the target of such trepidation before and she didn’t like it one bit. She had always gone out of her way to help people as she had the night before, but somehow in the midst of it all, she had turned into the villain. She frowned at that thought. Her powers were considered unusual back home, but she would have thought in a place where so many were supposedly gifted, that hers would be almost run of the mill. A hand rose unbidden to rub her chest roughly, her mind once again wandering back to the young boy. Apparently not.
Lillanya wandered aimlessly in and out of the sweet smelling trees, unbuttoning her cuffs and rolling up her sleeves. The simple act beginning to free her soul as the mountain winds played with hair that refused to be tamed. She strolled the depth and width of the orchard, meeting the base of the rugged cliffs several times. Passing an old cottage and an odd indention in the rock that kept vaguely catching her attention on the several rounds around the glen. Her fifth time past the same crevice, she drew to an abrupt halt and really looked at the wall standing solidly before her, trying to puzzle out what was drawing her gaze.
It appeared like a crack from one angle, dark gray and shadowed, almost imperceptible against the other stone. When viewed from the right side of it though, there was a small gap a little more than a foot, but no more than two, between the front face and the rear. The right side of the gap cleverly discouraging discovery with a few well positioned old growth trees, long past their prime to bear fruit and gnarled beyond belief.
She wedged her body past them and laid her head along the crags, watching the walls form into a passage that disappeared into the dark void of the mountain. Her eyes furtively glanced around and seeing no others that would object to her unseemly behavior, slipped inside. Never one to resist a good adventure, especially when she needed an escape.
The stone shimmered with flecks of red and silver in the slivered light from the outside world. The moisture trapped by cool walls, damp and rough on her hand as her fingertips skimmed it lightly. Her footsteps were muffled by the thick moss that cushioned the narrow path, encouraging the imagination of prehistoric worlds and long lost civilizations. It smelled of moist earth after a warm rain, the dewy rocks pungent. Enticed, Lil followed the passage further into the dim, her curiosity of the unknown driving her forward.
The crevice narrowed as a lichen covered ledge closed in from overhead, giving the faint impression of being squeezed by the heart of the mountain. She wasn’t sure if she should head back, but she swore she could hear the faint sounds of birds. Odd, her head tilting up to stare into the gloom.
Lillanya edged forward a few more feet until she could just see a pale glow ahead. It was hard to tell in the darkness how far along the face of the mountain she had roamed, well beyond the walls of the keep she would have assumed. She crouched down to touch the dancing light, trying to determine its origins, when the sound of gurgling water reached her ears. She looked around and noticed the narrow passage doubled back on itself, effectively hiding the light that shone from the tunnel’s exit. Her eyes lit with awareness. The glow she had been following was a mere reflection from water trickling down the walls.
A minute later she stumbled into a glade of searing bright light, the world opening up around her. Lillanya held up a hand to block the sun, laughter bubbling up out of her lungs uncontrollably. Her astonishment at the extraordinary paradise she found herself in, overwhelming her gloomy mood.
The little meadow, hidden in the middle of the mighty mountain, was enticingly green and lush, fed by an arching waterfall cascading off the far peaks into a small lake. The water rushed off somewhere unseen, over and around thick lichen covered boulders while birds twittered from high cliffs overlooking a haven of serene beauty. Lillanya’s jaw stood open taking in the sight of it all, never having seen any place quite like it.
Gravel slid from the wall and crushed softly under his boots, the little sounds hardly penetrating the squishy moss he tread on carefully, but she turned abruptly anyway, a smile still bright on her lips from the breathtaking beauty that silhouetted her. He could see her amber eyes flash from startled to surprised, her grin growing at his presence. Merrick was not yet far enough out of the passage to understand her awe, but he could see her exuberance at what she had discovered.
She stepped forward as he emerged, her fingers reaching for him instinctively to pull him into the meadow. Her joy at getting to share this moment with someone familiar, overwhelming her usual reservations.
Merrick, though, tucked his hand smartly behind his back, out of her grasp and quickly sidestepped her advance, looking around as if it was a natural response. He did not want to take the chance of a repeat from the previous night. Out of the corner of this eye he watched her come up short, her eyes widening a little bit at his dismissal of her. Merrick’s heart beat dumbly in his chest as he noticed her smile, as radiant as the sun she stood in, be destroyed by his rejection. He stood stoically as she drew in on herself and turned smartly to walk away from him without looking back.
Why should she care what he did?, he puzzled silently as he watched her go, her tender heart bewildering him. He was no one, or worse yet, he was Ranjor, and a hunter to boot. Secrets about his life he would take to his grave before letting them spill out. The burden he had to bear for being what he was, was something he had accepted a long time ago. Better her safe and think him an unfeeling ass, than dead, he told himself resolutely.
Lil trudged to the edge of the deep pool, her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed. She saw how fast he moved his hand out of her reach, avoiding her. Was she so different that she needed to be feared and avoided? Those women looked at her earlier like she would eat their children. She stared at her hands blearily, the orange marks faded against her skin, forever a symbol of the destruction she could rein. The faces of her friends and family swam in front of her face. I did this all for them, she reminded herself, her chest heaving with duress.
And now was stuck here, centuries from home, with people who thought she would steal their souls with her magic. Lil struggled to grasp the logic. Freaking everyone here had some kind of unusual ability. Heck, I met Dagmores for the grace’s sake, didn’t even know that was a thing! She squeezed her eyes with the palms of her hands. Why did I have to get stuck here? she thought dejectedly, staring at the sparkling clear lake, its brilliance mocking her with the unhappy truth of being stranded here the rest of her life.
Everett briskly cleared his throat, announcing his presence when she didn’t turn at his approach. She had been rooted in the same spot for a long time, staring at her hands and the lake beyond. He had watched her pace the orchards from his hiding spot high on the wall, listless in her endeavors, until he lost sight of her behind some gnarled trees. When she didn’t reemerge, he came to investigate, only to find Merrick slinking into the crevice instead of his self appointed charge. So naturally, Everett followed, but when he emerged on the other side, Merrick was on the opposite edge of the glen from Lillanya, investigating a group of abandoned thatched huts, tucked neighborly into the cliff side. Their windowed faces veiled by thick green flowering vines, almost indistinguishable from the surroundings at first glance. Lillanya stood alone and apparently unharmed, but her lack of vibrant action unnerved him. He cleared his throat again.
Lil placed her hands in her pockets and turned slowly, letting her hair fall around her face to disguise flaming red cheeks. The slightly tropical heat, trapped by the ravine and enjoyed by bursting pink flowers and flashy long tailed red birds, gave her an acceptable excuse as she surveyed for any more visitors. Lil glanced up to meet his eyes briefly, comforted that there were not others she hadn’t noticed and tried to hide the wounded look behind the arrogance of being bothered.
“Yes?” she managed curtly, surprising Everett with her tone. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“You may want to see this,” he replied evenly, encouraging her to follow him across the meadow to where Merrick stood assessing a heavy wood trap door that was open before him.
Everett and Merrick seemed equally intrigued in another way out, but Lil’s disheartened mood had returned and her enjoyment in the adventure vanished. She peered around at the cottages lined up in a little row against the cliff, tucked neatly into nooks, carefully camouflaged by wild foliage with tiny windows that peeked out behind reed masks. This place would be cute, she thought, if anyone actually lived here. She could almost imagine a little garden in front of the huts growing across what was an otherwise blank slate of paradise.
Everett cleared his throat pointedly before igniting a ball of flame to life in his hand, tightly controlling it in a swirl of heat and brilliant light. He held it aloft like a torch to guide his path, leading them down into the pit Merrick had found. The opening was narrow and Lil skirted past Merrick, keeping her distance as she made her way sandwiched between them in a passage that seemed to extend forever into the gloom.
The walls were narrow and straight, made first of granite etched from the belly of the mountain and then a rougher hewn slate mixture, marking their direction back towards the keep. As they walked in silence, aged timbers started to appear at regular intervals, reinforcing the main tunnel. The might of the great mountain giving away to the softer soils that likely underpinned the orchard. The walls were rough cut by hand, the chisel marks still grooved in the hard stone.
Lil brushed away the dried spider webs that hung down wishfully from the corners, snagging her hair. Her nose wrinkled from the musty air, the dust only falling due the disturbance their bodies made. From the looks of things, no one had been down here in a really long time. The hard stone laid underfoot refusing to allow even the most ardent of bugs to dig their way through. Lifeless and stale, the passage continued, only deviating once when a slightly smaller tunnel forked off from the main, dead-ending strangely after fifty feet.
