Dawnsinger (16 page)

Eathnor gave a nod. “’T’will. Father has in mind to tell them we’ve gone into service to the hold.”

“It will suffice.” Elcon hesitated. “Craelin tells me your grandmother
,
Jaenell, possessed skill in herbal healing. Had she apprenticed either of you in this skill before she died?”

Eathnor nodded. “Dorann has the proper knack for such, but I know a little also. Enough to get by on my own, if need be.”

Elcon sent Kai a sideways glance. Kai took his meaning, for he knew Elcon looked ahead to Shae’s visit to Lohen Keil, which lay within Caerric Daeft, the Cavern of Death. These two, who possessed skill to track, hunt and heal, might make the difference between success and failure for her journey.

A pounding came from Elcon’s outer chamber door, a summons that demanded entry.

Craelin found his feet first. His hand grasped the hilt of his dagger.

Kai moved more swiftly. He yanked open the meeting room door and rushed into the outer chamber. Elcon’s servant, Anders came through the door from Elcon’s inner chamber, and Kai held up a hand to halt him. “Who knocks?” he called through the door.

“In the name of Lof Yuel, let me in at once!”

“Daelic?” Kai fumbled with the latch and threw open the door.

Daelic rushed into the room with Shae motionless in his arms.

Kai’s chest constricted. He quelled the onslaught of panic only with the skill of long training, although he’d never found a task so difficult. As it was, he could not seem to move. He forced out words. “What’s happened to her? Does she live?”

Daelic puffed from exertion, but managed to speak. “I think she ingested poison, but she lives.”

“Attarnine.” Dorann spoke with certainty.

Daelic pierced Dorann with a glance. “How do you know the name of the poison?”

“It’s used to kill rodents. It has a certain odor…”

Daelic’s face whitened. “I pray you are not right.” He swung back to Elcon. “She needs to lie in a place of safety.”

“Put her in my bed.” Elcon nodded to Anders, who followed Daelic into the inner chamber.

Dorann, his expression alive with sympathy, stared at the shut door to the inner chamber. “Use Kaba bark for attarnine poisoning.”

Kai drew air into his lungs. “The Praectal will know best, but I’ll mention it.”

Craelin turned to the two trackers. “You may go, but say nothing of what you have seen or heard.”

Dorann followed his brother from the room.

Kai secured the door behind them and leaned against its support for a span measured in heartbeats.

Daelic rejoined them. At first he didn’t speak, but ran a hand through his hair with a gusty sigh. Lines of strain etched his face. “She’s comfortable. Anders watches over her.”

Elcon halted his pacing before the fire. “Now tell me what happened?”

“Such a scene of devastation! And to think that a mere servant—I could scarce credit what I saw.”

“You speak in riddles!” Elcon snapped. “Explain yourself.”

“If only I need not bring sorrowful news.” Daelic took a breath before going on. “Lof Raelein Maeven has passed from this world, and with her, the servant Eufemia.”

Elcon went white.

Kai’s stomach churned, and he thought he might vomit.

Craelin stepped forward. “How came this to be?”

Daelic’s face crumpled, and tears traced a pattern down his cheeks. “Poison. Given, no doubt, by the servant Chaeldra, whom I met as she fled the Lof Raelein’s chambers. Shae emptied her stomach, and so lives. Had I not come to check the Lof Raelein
when I did, Shae might have died in the same manner as Eufemia—not of poison but of strangulation.”

A second wave of nausea surged over Kai. How could he have been so careless as to leave the Lof Raelein unguarded and vulnerable? And he had done so, to his shame, while discussing matters of security.

“And the servant, Chaeldra. Has none detained her?” Craelin spoke in a voice terrible for its softness.

Daelic shook his head. “I could not, with Shae living. I chose healing over vengeance. You are the first to learn what happened.”

Elcon’s eyes widened. “Have you any question that my mother and Eufemia lie dead?”

“None.” The single word fell away to silence.

Elcon pressed his lips together and clenched his fists at his sides.

Kai hesitated. “We should tend them.”

Elcon stirred. “Yes. I must have my mother and her maid tended.” He turned to Daelic. “Remain with Shae until you are certain she’s out of danger.”

Kai remembered the young tracker’s advice. “Dorann suggests the use of kaba bark to ease attarnine poisoning.”

Daelic frowned, but then his face cleared. “I’ve heard of this home remedy. It’s worth a try, for I don’t know how else she’ll recover.”

“She must recover.” Kai heard the panic edging his voice and willed himself to calm.

Elcon touched his shoulder. “Go to her. She’ll want you if she wakes. I will return”—He squared his shoulders—“I’ll return after I see my mother’s body laid upon its bier.”

“Lof Frael!” Craelin’s voice halted Elcon on his way to the door. “Let me accompany you. You must not venture forth alone.”

Elcon stared at Craelin. “Change has indeed come to Torindan.”

****

The stone stair climbed into darkness. Flailing at cobwebs in her hair, Shae swayed and fought to keep her balance. At the edge of hearing, someone screamed. A pair of flaemlings escaped a gilded cage to fly past her. She wept, although she didn’t know why she found sorrow in their freedom. Darkness searched her soul, seeking entry.

As she climbed, a strange keening grew in pitch and volume. On a landing partway up, Eufemia, an expression of infinite sadness on her face, waited with lanthorn in hand. Shae started toward her.

“No!” Kai’s cry echoed through the cavern. “Live!”

As Shae looked for him her steps slowed, and then halted. She turned from Eufemia, only to trip and fall into blackness. She fell for a long time, faster and faster, until she landed in a feather tick, and sank into its suffocating softness. She fought to free herself, to breathe, to see.

Arms caught her. She woke, clammy and shivering. Cool air bathed her lungs. A blurred face hovered above hers. “Who are you?”

“Rest, Shae.”

“Kai?”

“Daelic and I will keep you in safety.”

Safety.
The word settled over her. As hands lowered her into a feather tick, she yielded to sleep.

She opened her eyes to daylight falling through tall arched windows in paths of light across a floor covered in lush mats. She did not know this room or how she came to wake here. This seemed her whole difficulty until memory intruded with images of Maeven, Chaeldra, and Eufemia. She closed her eyes, but could not shut out the pain of the memories. Did Maeven now lie dead? Would Eufemia never take up her embroidery again?

“She wakes.”

Shae turned her head toward Elcon’s voice. He sat nearby, beside Kai. Both wore expressions of weariness and concern.

Kai leaned forward. “How do you feel?”

She considered his question. “Weak and strange—and my stomach pains me.” She didn’t speak of the other sort of pain that throbbed within her soul. “Chaeldra—”

“Yes,” Elcon said, “we know. Daelic saw her leave Mother’s chambers. Craelin searches for her now. Eufemia—did not live.”

An image of Chaeldra’s hands on Eufemia’s throat rose before Shae. “And Maeven?”

The tears sliding down Elcon’s face gave answer enough. “Our mother will lie beside Timraen by morning.”

Shae’s own tears welled. “And so I have lost her again.”

Elcon sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. “We have lost our mother, but let us hold fast to one another.” She turned into his arms and wept with him.

When Shae withdrew at last from Elcon’s embrace, she noticed the glint of tears in Kai’s eyes. She longed to comfort him, but held back, for she didn’t know her welcome. She touched Elcon’s arm. “Where does our mother lie? Let me go to her.”

Kai and Elcon exchanged glances, and Elcon shook his head. “You are not well enough to walk.”

“Whether or not I can walk, I must go to her.” Determination gave her voice a hardened edge despite her weakness. “I have promised to sing her death song, and I shall do so.”

“Well spoken,” Elcon approved. “You shall sing for her tomorrow as she wished. I’ll allow you to see her before then, but you must take care, my sister. You almost joined her in death.” He stood and looked down at her. “Praectal Daelic watched over you most of the night. I’ll have my servant wake him. He’ll want to check you. Let Daelic tend you, and spend this day gathering your strength.” Without waiting for her response, Elcon left the room.

Kai touched her forehead. “I am sorry for what you have endured. If I could, I would take your grief on myself instead.”

His words brought a fresh onslaught of tears. “I know your heart, Kai. But we must each bear our own burdens. You have shouldered mine too long.”

He sat in the place Elcon had vacated on the edge of the bed and took her hand. “Things have changed, I know, but I still love you, Shae. That remains true.”

She couldn’t meet his eyes. “I love you too, Kai.”

He cradled her hand. “Can you remember—did Chaeldra say anything? It could be important.”

Shae cast back in memory, frowning when she recalled things she would rather not remember. “Yes. She said something about becoming Lof Raelein. Kai, could the Contender be female? What do the legends tell?”

“I don’t think it’s likely.”

Elcon spoke from the doorway. “It makes no sense! How can Chaeldra, a mere servant, make such a claim—”

Kai spread his hands. “Perhaps madness afflicts her.”

Chaeldra had laughed after Eufemia accused her of succumbing to just this malady. A suspicion crept over Shae. “What if she doesn’t act alone? Could someone have promised to make her Lof Raelein?” Had the Contender, whoever he might be, orchestrated Chaeldra’s actions?

Kai went to the window. “That does make sense. We can hope Craelin finds her and that she’ll provide answers.”

A servant with faded red hair appeared in the doorway. “Lof Frael, I pray you will forgive the intrusion, but Steward Benisch waits to conclude last night’s business.”

“Send him away again, Anders. I can’t think of such things now. Tell him I will summon him when I can. Meanwhile, I’ll trust his judgment on household matters.”

Daelic entered as Anders withdrew. The Praectal looked fresh, despite the fact that he had spent a foreshortened night in a strange bed. “Greetings, Shae.” He laid a hand on her forehead and peered at her.

Shae murmured a reply and submitted to Daelic’s examination. At length, he straightened. “You will improve little by little, with rest and a gentle diet. Already you’ve made gains.” He glanced at Kai. “I must thank Dorann for his suggestion to use kaba bark as an anecdote. I might not have come upon a remedy otherwise.”

At the sympathy in the faces around her, Shae blinked away tears. “Dorann? Who is Dorann?”

“A tracker present when I brought you to Elcon’s chambers. His advice may have saved your life.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Then I must thank him.”

Shae looked about the lavish room and guessed that she rested in the shraen’s inner chamber. It could be no other, for no other bedchamber would match this opulence. Marble gleamed at mantle and hearth, and gilt-painted carvings adorned all wooden surfaces save the strongwood floor. Tapestries wrought in jewel tones and depicting feats from history hung on the walls. The white and blue ceiling arched overhead with a carved and gilded rose of Rivenn at its center.

She returned her attention to Daelic. “You have my thanks as well.”

Daelic’s cheeks went pink.

Elcon joined them beside the bed and gave Shae a gentle smile. “You will meet Dorann and his brother Eathnor soon. Meanwhile, you must take Daelic’s advice and rest.”

But she resisted the tug of sleepiness. “What of Eufemia’s wake? May I not attend it? Without her intervention, I might not now live.”

Elcon glanced at Kai, who shook his head. “She lies already beneath the sod. They put her to rest early this morning. What little family she claimed dwells far to the south in Morgorad. The messenger we dispatched will not soon reach them. We could not delay.”

The idea of the quiet, willowy maiden lying in a grave brought tears to choke Shae. Her mind crowded—not with scenes of death but with images of life. She saw again Eufemia’s youthful grace and the beauty of Maeven’s smile. Her tears spilled over, flooding her with a new resolve. She would fulfill Prophecy and defeat the Contender, or die in the attempt.

Part Two: Journey

14

Decision

Maeven of Braeth lay upon a draetenn bier in a bed of early flowers, bathed in the light of many candles. She looked as beautiful in death as she had in life. Arrayed in white-and-gold splendor, her burnished hair woven with flowers, she might have been a bride awaiting her bridegroom’s kiss. Shae smiled through tears at the notion. Maeven journeyed to
Shaenn Raven,
the Land Beyond, to join Timraen, the bridegroom she’d lost in youth.

Shae stood beside Kai in the Allerstaed. In times past, she would have leaned into his support without thought. Now she held back, for much remained unspoken, and she no longer knew the timbre of their love.

She climbed the steps to stand beside her mother’s bier on the dais before the altar. As she approached, a trick of light made Maeven’s eyelids seem to quiver, but the pale cheek felt cold against Shae’s lips.
One last kiss, Mother, to release you in forgiveness.

Kai waited in the shadows, affording her privacy, but she knew he wouldn’t leave her alone for safety’s sake. Chaeldra had eluded capture and might still mean Shae harm, or others could attack.

Shae knelt and rested her forehead on the edge of the bier as the cloying scent of early flowers closed about her. Their scent would ever bring her to her dead mother’s side. Sketchy prayers came to her lips and spilled over in soft murmurings.
Lof Yuel, let her pass to You with ease… Bring justice to lend peace… Thank You that I could know her love… Help me live as a true daughter
...