Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak (19 page)

Chantel leaned forward eagerly as her craft cut through the gray waves, bobbing and tilting this way and that. The water hissed and slapped beneath her, but she trusted the magic, laughing as the wind whipped her hair. She tasted salt spray on her lips. She didn't try to paddle. She held the sides and watched for white horses.

At first she saw only glimpses. From the corner of her eye she'd spot a flowing mane, the flick of a white tail. Each time she turned, they vanished.

Just once, a beautiful white head with silver eyes rose beside her and stared deep into her eyes, before dissolving back into the foam crest of a passing wave.

Chantel sang to Cabbyl Ushtey in mindspeak, the way she sang to the ponies she rode.
Oh you beauties, don't be
scared, I'll never hurt you. I'm a friend of Equus. Please
can I meet with you
?
We need your help.

She checked each passing wave for another glimpse of the magical beasts.

With a shower of white spray, the coracle was surrounded. Six Cabbyl Ushtey closed in, three on each side.

The white horses pressed closer and closer, crowding the tiny boat with their shoulders. As the frame began to bend, they dove.

Down went the coracle and Chantel, slicing through the water like a turtle. Chantel's red curls streamed behind her. Bubbles streamed past her, and magically, she could breathe! Smiling, she stretched out her arms and clutched handfuls of the nearest flowing manes.

The Cabbyl Ushtey tossed their heads and guided her coracle deep into the watery depths of their realm.

Mr. Cubbon came to a sudden stop at the top of the boat ramp that dropped down to Fenella Beach. He couldn't move forward. An invisible barrier blocked his way.

A hot wave of anger consumed him. This was his beach. How could something stop him going down? It must be those kids. He knew they were up to something. How dare they magic him out! Somehow he must discover what they were up to.

He tried to force his body forward again, but a wave of nausea and dizziness shook him. He swayed and shivered. Dratted flu. Better sit. He tottered over the causeway to a bench by the castle and sank down, lowering his head to his hands in an attempt to stop it spinning.

Repulsed by the scattering of stardust at the entrance to Fenella's Beach, the Shade that had melded with Mr. Cubbon oozed from his body, and the Shade that shadowed him detached.

Both took to the sky, circling high overhead.

Though they could sense the human children below, they could see nothing through the fog.

Earth Magic and Old Magic tingled, not only from the cove, but also from the castle rising on top of the cliffs.

One Shade called out, a soundless cry that only other Shades heard. “Come, come, come. Here iss magic, much, much magic. Come ssee, ssee, ssee.”

The Shades circling Gaia flowed back to join them. Like black shadows, they gathered around Pheric's Isle, but Manannan's magical web repulsed them. They hovered like vultures above it.

Watching. Waiting.

The first two Shades also watched the old man slumped below. His body might be needed again.

Adam slid into wakefulness again. This time it felt different. His mind was clear and focused, his memory complete. The feeling of exhaustion was gone. Though he lay surrounded with grayness he felt filled with light.

Adam stretched and yawned, then considered his situation.He had no way of knowing where he was. That was bad.

He was safe and comfortable and had Ava's feather. That was good.

The Lady had rescued him. That was wonderful.

But she had disappeared. Hmm, a little worrying.

He cleared his throat and called out, “Lady? Lady? Is anyone here?”

She appeared instantly, clapping her hands and laughing in delight. “You are awake at last, courageous child. Can you stand?” She drew Adam to his feet. “Come. Refresh yourself at my table. I am the Lady Doona, but please don't stand on ceremony. You may call me Doona.” She tossed her head, running one hand through the shining black curls. “Obviously it means ‘dark maiden.' ” She chuckled.

Adam answered her with a grin. “I get called ‘Red' sometimes.”

“Ahh, you and I have much to discuss. Come come.”

They entered a dimly lit room where Doona showed Adam to a bench piled high with silk cushions. At least twenty dishes of delicious-looking finger foods and sweetmeats were set on the low table before it.

“I feel like a character in
The Arabian Knights
,” Adam said awkwardly.

Doona's chuckle bubbled around him. She pressed a fragrant goblet of some strange juice into his hand.

Adam drained it, hunger and thirst overcoming him for a moment.

“Sit and eat,” said Doona, patting the cushions. “Tell me all about yourself and how I came to find you falling through the mist.”

Adam opened his mouth to speak, but something about the opulence of the room put him off. It made him feel uncomfortable as though he was in the middle of a stage set. He played for time by eating a chocolate from the nearest dish. His mind buzzed. “I don't know where to start,” he mumbled.

“First, who are you?”

“I'm Adam Maxwell, from Canada.” The floodgates opened. Adam told about himself and Chantel and their troubled parents. “They sent us away, to England, to stay with our cousins,” Adam said with a catch in his throat. “And that was when the magic started,” he finished.

A beringed hand patted his knee. “Aah, yes. Tell me about the magic and meeting the Wise Ones,” Doona said gently. “Aeons have passed since I last saw them.”

Adam nodded. He ate another chocolate and drank from a fresh goblet. “The Wise Ones have missed you. They always call you the Lady. We have been waiting for ages, hoping you would come to help us. See, there are just the four of us. Four Magic Children to help you four Wise Ones find your Tools. Holly's dying to meet you.” He grinned. “She'll be mad I met you first, because it's her turn to help.

“Chantel helped Equus regain his talisman. Owen uncovered Ava's circlet. Then Ava and Equus went off to fix the Land Beyond Morning while I helped Myrddin.” He stopped, distressed. “And I did it! I found Myrddin's staff. But Zorianna, the Dark Being's emissary, snatched it away. I…I grabbed her cloak…and it was awful.” Adam managed to control his voice, but his body trembled. “I was swept into the Mists and…and…I fell…and was nearly sucked into the Dark Being's realm.” He looked up and met the beautiful eyes that stared down at him. “Thank goodness you rescued me,” he finished simply.

Doona stood up and paced. “Things have become more complicated than I imagined,” she said.

Adam nodded. “Everyone's hoping you'll wake up and come to help.” A look of puzzlement crossed his face. “They thought you were sleeping.”

“Ahh,” Doona came and sat beside Adam. She took both his hands in hers and looked deep into his eyes.

“I have to tell you something that's been kept from you. Something that will change everything. You must listen very carefully.”

“Okay,” said Adam. He shifted on the cushions.

“There are five Wise Ones, not four. I am not the sleeping Lady…”

Adam pulled his hands away and jumped to his feet.

“Adam, panic not. I am the Lady Doona, the fifth Wise One. The Lady's sister.”

Adam's face cleared. “You are?”

Doona nodded and patted the cushions once more. “Come back, child. Let me tell you about my family.

“Equus and Ava were too embarrassed, too loyal, to tell you the whole story. For despite our magical powers, my family, like yours, had a terrible fight that split us apart.”

Doona's eyes pooled with tears. “I was the young one sent away. I was abandoned. I nearly died.”

She dashed at the tears with one hand and held out the other to Adam.

He squeezed it tightly. “Why? What was the fight about?”

“My necklace.”

Adam gasped. “It's yours?”

Doona nodded sadly. “It was taken from me by force, and I was cast out. But the necklace will help no one unless I wear it. That is why the Lady ignores your calls.”

“Bu–but what about the other Wise Ones? They must know.”

“They know, but were embarrassed to tell you the whole story—Wise Ones fighting like humans. What would you think? Maybe you would refuse to help them.

“Equus, Ava and Myrddin are trying to retrieve the necklace peacefully. Once all three of them have their Tools, the Lady will have to surrender. Then they will return the necklace quietly to me, and the Dark Being will be no more.”

Confused, Adam sagged back into the cushions. A massive headache began to pound. The combination of rich food, heady drink and so much startling information was overloading him.

Doona placed a gentle hand on his forehead.

The pain eased, but her touch made his eyelids droop.

“I am sorry,” Doona murmured. “This burden is heavy. Rest again, child. We will talk later. Will you help me?”

Adam nodded as his heavy eyelids shut. He curled gratefully among the silken pillows as Doona drifted away.

He knew he needed time. Time to think this through, to examine everything he'd heard.

Something wasn't right.

He thrust his hand in his pocket to touch Ava's feather. If only there was light!

Adam's doze was brief but refreshing, but he didn't sit up immediately. He lay still. His mind buzzed, sifted around, struggled to piece together unconnected bits of information.

He liked Doona, but he sensed she hadn't told him everything.

The Wise Ones obviously hadn't either.

And something had stopped him telling Doona everything. He hadn't told her about hearing Holly's mindspeak. Why? Was it because Holly's words contained a missing piece of information he needed?

Adam thought back to Holly's mindspeak, and the feeling of anger, shock and another emotion that had come with it.

What was the other emotion that had pervaded Holly's words?