[Lyra 03] - Shadow Magic Read online

  By noon they were out of the ravine. They were just beginning another climb when a pinpoint of light darted out of nowhere and circled Jordet’s head. It stopped and hovered a few feet ahead of him, and the travelers had a chance to see it clearly. It looked very like a spark rising from a fire, but it burned with a bright, silvery light that showed no sign of extinction.

  Jordet smiled as the light darted off and disappeared ahead of them. “Evidently someone is looking for us.”

  “What was it?” Har asked.

  “It is a type of spell used as a guide, a seeker. They are not hard to make, but they are difficult to maintain for any length of time. It will not be long before we meet the sender, I think.”

  “Are you sure it guides a friend?” Alethia asked a little nervously. She was riding at the back of the party, keeping as much distance between herself and the captive as possible, though she seemed to be recovered from the encounter.

  The Shee looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned. “My wits are gone a-begging today. No enemy would choose a spell that revealed his presence so obviously when there are easier, more secret ways. I’ll wager someone from Eveleth has ridden to meet us; it’s only a few hours travel now.” He spoke confidently, but the others were not completely convinced.

  They proceeded warily despite Jordet’s assurances, but there were no further signs. Half an hour later, they reached the top of the mountain and paused to let the horses rest a moment.

  Halfway across the relatively flat mountain top, a figure on horseback stood motionless beside a small fire. Jordet waved and started toward it; the others followed a bit more reluctantly. As they drew nearer, the figure resolved into a woman enveloped in a dark wool traveling cloak, whose silver-white hair and slanted green eyes proclaimed her one of the Shee.

  “Greetings, Keeper of the South Ward,” she said to Jordet as he halted in front of her.

  “Greetings, Lady,” Jordet replied formally. “What brings you alone to seek our company?”

  “A story is best told in comfort,” she answered. “Though time presses, it seems best to pause here, for the news I bear is difficult to ponder on horseback.”

  Jordet nodded and swung himself to the ground, and the others followed his example. Tamsin alone remained mounted to hand the captive Lithmern down to Har and Jordet. As she saw what they were doing, the Shee woman gave an exclamation. “What is this?”

  “We, too, have a story to tell, Lady.”

  The travelers made themselves comfortable around the fire. Alethia, once seated, looked pointedly from Jordet to the Shee woman and back. Jordet said, “Before we begin, I think introductions are in order. This is the Lady Illeana, wizard of the Veldatha and high in the confidence of the Council of Lord Advisors.”

  The others nodded, and the rest of the introductions were performed rapidly. Illeana acknowledged them coolly; then Jordet turned to her and said, “Now, tell us what message is so urgent as to bring you to meet us so close to Eveleth.”

  “It is not my choice, but the Lord Medilaw’s that brings me here,” Illeana replied. “We have learned much that you must know.”

  “Then speak,” Jordet said.

  “Nine nights ago the Lady Isme of Brenn broke the covenant of exile and sent a speaking-spell to Eveleth to ask us to keep watch for her daughter, kidnapped by Lithmern not an hour before. Though Isme broke the dictates of the Council, Queen Iniscara chose to lend what aid we might, so the message was sent on to the Glens of the Wyrds, and there the matter rested.

  “Then one called Murn arrived three days ago, bringing with her a Talisman of Noron’ri. When we heard her story, Iniscara ordered the Veldatha to break the exile once more and send a speaking-spell to Isme in Brenn. Then we learned that the city was under attack, and word was sent to you to escort Alethia of Brenn to Eveleth.

  “Since then the Veldatha have been working to learn more. At first it seemed simple enough; it was easy to guess what occurred at Brenn. The Lithmern found one of the Talismans of Noron’ri; how or where we do not know. Suspecting that Isme was more than she seemed, they sent to Brenn to kidnap her that she might not use her power against them in battle.”

  “But why would they fear mother?” Alethia asked.

  Illeana looked at her contemptuously. “A full-blooded Shee, trained in magic, is more than a match for any human wizard, even with one of the Nine Talismans. Unfortunately for the Lithmern, their attempt went astray and they got Isme’s child instead of Isme. The error was compounded when they lost the Talisman.”

  “Then Alethia is safe now that the Talisman is in your hands!” Har interrupted. “The Lithmern were never interested in her at all!”

  “So we think. Therefore there is no reason for you to continue to Eveleth,” Illeana said. “Lord Medilaw Robal, High Minister to the Queen, came to that conclusion this morning and sent me to you. There is a place just east of here-where you can stay in safety and comfort, and it will cause less trouble if no humans come to Eveleth to disturb us.”

  “What of Brenn?” Har burst out. “How can we help the city by going further east?”

  “What is that to me, or to the Shee?” Illeana said scornfully. “The Council has other things to concern them.”

  “Such as?” Jordet asked quietly, with a quelling look at Har, who had opened his mouth to retort angrily.

  “Firivar sent a prophecy to the Queen this morning,” Illeana answered. “Whatever it relates to is of far more importance than this little matter.”

  “But you do not know that Firivar has not spoken of Brenn,” Jordet pointed out. “A prophecy just now seems to me to be a little too timely to be coincidence.” His eyes narrowed suddenly. “Does the Queen know of your message to us?”

  “I cannot say,” Illeana admitted, looking disturbed. “Lord Medilaw must speak for the Queen.

  But she was closeted with the foreteller when I left.”

  “There may have been other developments in Eveleth since you left as well,” Jordet murmured. “Certainly there have been some here.”

  “Yes, you must tell me,” Illeana said quickly. “Who, or what, is that which lies bound?”

  Jordet’s eyes followed hers to the Lithmern. Ignoring Har’s frown, he explained the capture of the man in the ravine and his interrupted attempt at a spell of passage. Illeana listened carefully, and her lips tightened.

  “We must attempt to spell-bind him,” she said. “Such a magician cannot be permitted to go near Eveleth otherwise, nor can we set such a magic worker free without precaution.”

  “I do not know if that is wise,” Jordet replied. “I have little knowledge of his ability, but it seems likely that he was one of the party that tried to kidnap Alethia using the Talisman. If so, he may be somewhat more skilled than you expect.”

  Illeana gestured impatiently. “Two Shee, both prepared and one a Veldatha, can easily best a human wizard. Your fears are groundless; he does not have the Talisman to aid him now.”

  “He may not need it. The Talismans were made by a human wizard,” Jordet said softly, but he made no further objection and the two Shee walked over to the inert Lithmern. Illeana motioned to Worrel, and gave him instructions in a low voice. A moment later the Ward-Keeper straightened and motioned to Alethia.

  “I think you should be back as far as you can,” he said. “If Illeana is right and he has been trying to recover the Talisman, you should be in no danger, but he has attacked you once before. I doubt that he could do so successfully from within a Circle, but there is no reason to take chances.”

  “What are you going to do?” Alethia asked nervously as she moved away.

  “We are going to try to cast a spell that will block his use of magic and bind his will. It will render him harmless, and with two of us to make the attempt it should not be difficult.” His eyes were worried despite his words, and Alethia was not very reassured. She moved as far as she could and found another seat behind Tamsin and Maurin.

  Illeana and Worrel com
pleted their preparations. The Lithmern lay, still blindfolded, bound, and gagged, in the center of a circle Illeana had scratched in the hard grey soil that thinly covered the brown rocks of the mountain. Worrel crouched uneasily beside him, holding an unsheathed knife in one furred hand.

  As Jordet turned back, Illeana threw back the hood of her cloak and loosened her hair to fall in silver waves over her shoulders. From under her cloak she drew a thin circlet of silver twined with gold that supported an intricate figure of silver wire; this she placed about her head, settling it firmly onto her brow.

  Noticing Jordet’s raised eyebrows, she smiled. “The Crown of the Veldatha is never far from me, Ward-Keeper, nor will it ever be, no matter how you may disapprove.”

  “I do not disapprove, merely wonder that you should bring such power out of the safety of Eveleth,” Jordet replied softly.

  “This is mine alone; no other can wear it without destroying it,” she answered. “It is safe enough. Now come.”

  Jordet looked at Illeana sharply, but said nothing more. The Shee woman turned to the seated humans. “Do not stir or speak until we finish,” she warned them. The two Shee walked to the edge of the circle. They stopped just outside it, Illeana at the head of the bound man and Jordet at his feet. Then they began to chant, an eerie keening sound that rose and fell in waves over the barren mountaintop.

  The others watched, silent. This was the first they had seen of true magic, except during the fight with the voll, and there had hardly been time to watch carefully then. Har and Alethia felt the tug of their birthright, the magic of the Shee, and knew for the first time what they might have missed. Alethia, despite the Shee’s warning, crept closer as the chant went on. Maurin sat bemused as the legends of his boyhood walked the earth in flesh before him. But Tamsin watched hungrily, with an intense longing, as the Shee wove their spell, for magic was his heart’s desire.

  The chant ended, and the two Shee turned outward. With their backs to the circle, faces impassive, they slowly raised their arms in a gesture that could have been summons or supplication, and as their arms rose the wind rose with them. First it was barely a stirring, then a breeze, then a strong gale that swept across the mountains and whistled around the two immobile figures towering over the circle and its occupants.

  Alethia shivered and looked around uneasily. Tamsin’s eyes glittered with unshed tears, and Alethia looked away quickly from the naked emotion on his face. Maurin and Har sat as if entranced.

  The wind died and Jordet and Illeana turned back toward the Lithmern and Worrel. Alethia’s uneasiness grew. Nervously, she scooped up a handful of pebbles from the rocky ground and fingered them absently, occasionally dropping one softly at her feet.

  Illeana gestured sharply. At that sign, Worrel, still crouched uncomfortably beside the Lithmern, slashed through the cords that bound the captive’s hands and feet and leapt clear of the circle in one catlike movement. Breathing hard, he sheathed his dagger and retreated toward the ponies.

  The Lithmern stirred and half rose. Only then did he pause to remove the blindfold and gag he still wore. At his first movements, Illeana and Jordet began to chant once more. This time the sound was slow and heavy, almost somber, the final chant of binding. They had barely begun when the last cloth fell away from the Lithmern^s eyes and he stood free in the middle of the circle. Without warning, the man leapt for Jordet, but he was stopped short at the circle’s edge by an invisible barrier. Alethia let her breath out in a soundless sigh of relief, only then aware that she had been holding it.

  The slow chanting continued uninterrupted, and suddenly the Lithmern seemed to notice it for the first time. The man’s eyes grew dark and remote, then he threw back his head and laughed. Peal after peal of ugly laughter rang out as a dark shadow grew around him, and then he cried in a terrible voice, “Fools! Thrice fools, to seek to bind what is bound already!”

  The chant faltered and died. The Lithmern turned toward Illeana, and she flinched away from his dark, dead gaze. He spoke one hissing syllable and gestured; the Shee woman fell, stunned. The former captive whirled and repeated the spell just in time to stop Jordet, who had raised his arms for a counterattack. He laughed again as Jordet fell, and turned toward the small group of humans.

  Alethia froze where she crouched behind the “r others, wishing desperately and hopelessly that he would not see her. The last of the stones she had been fingering was clenched in her right hand; she would not even move to let it drop lest she draw the creature’s attention.

  The Lithmern began to pace slowly toward the onlookers. At the edge of the circle he paused a moment and gestured; then the slow, steady progress resumed unhindered. Har and Maurin tried to rise and draw their swords, but found themselves frozen motionless. The man drew nearer, and Alethia cried out and threw up her arm to cover her eyes.

  From the upraised fist came a golden glow, a soft radiance that flowed out to form a protective sphere around the kneeling girl. Alethia felt a strange sense of power, and with all her might she willed it to stop the Lithmern from reaching her.

  As he arrived at the golden barrier, the Lithmern’s face twisted terribly. “So, you have begun to learn!” he hissed. “So much the worse for you! You will be more useful, and you cannot escape this time. See!” He stretched out a hand and hissed again, and the shadow flowed from it, forcing the glow backward, drawing closer to the frightened girl.

  Suddenly the air filled with a choking cloud of white smoke that swirled around the Lithmern, hiding him almost completely. Worrel, once more unnoticed by the man, had pulled a small bundle of herbs from his pouch, lit them, and tossed them almost at the Lithmern’s feet. The cloud of smoke did not last long, but even as it cleared the air around the enchanter exploded in silver-white light. The two Shee had recovered and were attacking once more.

  The black aura died as the Shee poured power into the battle. The circlet blazed on Illeana’s head, and she began the spell of unbinding. The Lithmern strove with all his might to stop the ritual, but he could not outface the two Shee now that they were prepared for him. Jordet’s attack occupied him almost completely, and he could not spare the effort to oppose Illeana, though he knew her for the greater danger. As the chant flowed serenely on, a change took place in him. He swayed; and seemed to have trouble coordinating; it was as if he fought himself as well as the two Shee. He sank to his knees and his voice died.

  Illeana reached the end of the chant and threw her arms straight upward. In a loud voice she cried, “Avoc! Nitranara helmarc elas!” The Lithmern collapsed. A darkness hovered for a moment over him, then darted toward Alethia, but she was still protected by the golden light and it could not reach her. With a faint wailing sound, hardly more than a sigh, the darkness faded and was gone.

  There was complete silence on the mountaintop. Illeana and Jordet sank wearily to the ground beside the unconscious Lithmern. Alethia looked at them in wonder. She fingered the stone she still held, then slipped it into the pocket of her cloak. The Others slowly began to move, as if they had been entranced; the last to stir was Tamsin. Worrel, who seemed the most himself, vanished for a moment and returned with a waterbag. This he silently offered to the two spent Shee. Illeana drank without even looking up, but Jordet nodded his thanks. “Well done,” the Wyrd said softly.

  At that Illeana raised her head and her eyes were haunted. “Not so,” she cried. “I sought to bind what I should have sought to free, and almost were we all undone, he was so strong.”

  “Do not waste time in reproaches,” Jordet said sharply. “Would you have the evil we seek to defeat take hold in our midst?”

  Illeana shuddered convulsively, then with an effort grew calm. “You held him off barely, but I loosed the cords of binding and I know their strength and their kind. Never did I think to see such among the living. O my friend, it is far worse than we suspected. Far worse than anyone could have suspected.

  “The Lithmern have waked the Kaldarmaaren.”

  CHAPTER
ELEVEN

  This announcement had varying effects on the seven listeners. Maurin simply looked puzzled. Har frowned, as if he were trying to remember something. Tamsin’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully; Alethia went white and her lips pressed tightly together. Jordet froze, eyes fixed on Illeana. Only the Wyrds seemed unaffected. Worrel nodded and resumed his seat calmly; Rarn merely pursed her lips and shook her head.

  The small movement seemed to break a spell. Jordet lowered his head and said tiredly, “You are sure.”

  “You fought him with me! How can you doubt it? But if you seek further proof, then question him in truthtrance,” Illeana said, pointing at the collapsed figure of the Lithmern.

  “I know you speak the truth,” Jordet replied heavily, “but I never expected to see such evil wake in my lifetime.”

  Har shifted uncomfortably. “What are Kaldarmaaren?”

  “Do not speak the name lightly!” Illeana answered sharply. “They have powers beyond your imagining, and the sound may draw their attention, though they themselves may not cross the Kathkari without help.”

  “But what are they?” Alethia asked.

  “They are spirits of a sort, whose origin lies in times before legend,” Jordet said. “They have no bodies, but they use those of living men, for a time, if the will is weak or if someone has prepared the way for them by other means. Even then, the body gradually fades into the darkness of its possessor, hence their name, which means Shadow-born. If you would name them, call them that, or Dark Men, as the Wyrds do.”

  “The “man with no face” was a Shadow-born, then?” Maurin asked.

  “Perhaps,” Jordet said thoughtfully. “But one of the Dark Men would not need the Talisman of Noron’ri to assist his magic. Their age gives them knowledge of secrets and powers now forgotten, and better they remained so.”

  “But if he was not one of the Shadow-born, why couldn’t I see his face?” Alethia asked. “And where did the Lithmern find them? I’ve never heard of Shadow-born before, not even in the old tales.”