Dragonclaw (10 page)

‘This stone was found with ye,' Meghan said. ‘It is yours now, ye've earned it today.'

Isabeau stared at it in amazement. A sorceress ring! It had her name inscribed on the inside. She wondered if it held a clue to her mysterious heritage.

‘I did no' name ye,' Meghan explained. ‘Ye came with the ring. I have kept it all these years for ye. I knew it was a sorceress ring, though where it came from or what the device means, I do no' ken. The jewel is called “dragoneye” and is very rare. Come, let us go.'

Leading the blind seer by the hand, they hurried down the secret passage, Isabeau's heart thumping so loud she was afraid the soldiers would hear it. The passage came out under a giant thorny bush, so they were badly scratched struggling out. They were out of sight of the tree, but nonetheless went carefully through the thick undergrowth, wary of sentries. Jorge went with them, his blind head turning anxiously from side to side.

‘Do no' use your magic,' Meghan warned. ‘They have a seeker with them.' In single file, walking softly and looking about them, they made their way through the forest. Both Isabeau and Meghan knew every track in this valley, and they encountered no trouble. The storm was already passing, so that between the thinning clouds they saw the red comet rising into the sky. It seemed a bad omen.

There was only one way in and out of the valley, and that was through a system of caves that riddled the mountain wall to the west. Some were only shallow, and others gave the promise of a way through, only to lead to a dead end. There was even a loch, far below the surface, an eerie place where stalagmites and stalactites touched fingers and the ceiling rose into an intricate cathedral of stone. The caves were a maze, and a natural defence; Isabeau could still hardly believe the Red Guards had been able to find their way through. They must have employed magic. Isabeau, remembering the Mesmerd, shuddered.

Without doubt the seanalair of the Red Guards would have left a guard, and so they regrouped in the shelter of the trees, and had a conference. ‘It'll be best if they do no' ken we have gone,' Meghan said. ‘When they canna break in they will try fire, and eventually the tree shall burn. It'll be best if they think we burn with her.'

‘They may find one o' the openings to the secret passage.'

‘They may. It will still be best if they do no' ken how or when we left. I think I ken a way …' Meghan lead them to a cave even Isabeau did not know, a hole under an overhang of brambles. They were badly scratched getting in, but felt safe they were unobserved. ‘Jorge, we will need light, unless ye can lead us?'

‘I can see many things, but no' my way through this riddle,' the seer answered, crouching by Isabeau's side in the darkness. ‘Meghan, dare we risk a sighting?'

Meghan shook her head. ‘I too would give much to use your Talent, my friend,' she said. ‘But it is too dangerous. When we are free of the caves, happen we can risk it, though I'd rather no' use magic if we can help it. It's far too dangerous.'

‘Danger comes. We must get out o' here fast, Meghan!'

‘Give us a trickle o' light, then, and I will have us away safely. Only a trickle. We must no' draw attention to ourselves.'

Jorge complied, and by the faint flicker Meghan examined the tiny cave. She laid her hands on the stone and Isabeau could feel her concentrating. ‘Very well,' she murmured and began to lead them upwards, through a narrow chimney that at times had to be climbed with the help of knees and elbows. It was exhausting work, but soon they were in a larger cave and able to move more quickly. At intervals Meghan laid her hands upon one wall or another. Isabeau followed suit, trying to see what her guardian was doing.

Meghan smiled at her. ‘Listen,' she said, and Isabeau concentrated. Soon she discerned a faint difference in the quality of the stone—one seemed colder, darker. ‘No' that way,' Meghan said.

They wandered the stone maze for over an hour, until Isabeau was stumbling with tiredness and beginning to wonder whether Meghan knew where she was going. Once or twice they heard voices, and once they passed through the cave that looked out onto the other side of the mountain. Its rough floor was littered with the small, black bodies of the elven cats who normally guarded the entrance. A Red Guard stood uneasily in the entrance, peering out into the darkness. They flitted silently through and into an antechamber without him suspecting a thing. A few minutes later they were free of the mountain, Meghan leading them out through a crack in its flank. Outside the ground was thick with snow. Isabeau pulled her tam-o'-shanter down over her stinging ears, and huddled her mittened hands under her plaid. ‘Havers, it's cold!' she cried.

‘Quietly, now. Try no' to leave a trail. Remember the Mesmerd,' and Meghan lead them through the night, Jesyah the raven flying ahead on midnight wings.

By the time they finally stopped to rest, Isabeau was virtually sleepwalking. She huddled into her plaid and was asleep in a moment, but she slept badly, becoming more and more restless. She woke with a jerk and the conviction that something had happened. It was pitch-black, though overhead the comet slowly passed, huge and red, a long trail blooming behind it. Both Jorge and Meghan were on their feet, staring at the comet. Birds screeched everywhere in the forest, and somewhere a snow lion was roaring.

Dark shapes flew around the jagged peak of Dragonclaw, and the resonating bugle of their call made Isabeau's blood run cold. Dragons!

‘What's happened?' she asked.

‘I do no' ken,' Meghan replied.

‘A great act o' magic,' Jorge said. ‘Something strange and magnificent. Someone has mastered the comet magic. Comets are no' lightly bridled.' He shivered. ‘I am frightened, Meghan.'

‘So am I.' They stood and watched the comet for a long while, until the flowing tail at last faded and the comet sank. ‘Today was the eighth day,' Meghan said. ‘Come, Isabeau, we must speak.'

She wrapped her ward back up in her blanket and sat beside her, clutching her own plaid tightly around her. ‘Today is your birthday, Isabeau. Ye were a few weeks auld when I found ye, wrapped in a torn cloth and placed in the roots o' my tree, where I could no' help but fall over ye. Ye had the dragoneye ring in your fist, and around your neck, a tablet o' ivory with your astrological details. This tablet I will keep, for such precise knowledge o' your place and hour o' birth can be dangerous.' She paused for a moment. ‘Isabeau, this is your birth-hour and this is your birth-place now.'

At Isabeau's expression she chuckled a little, and said, ‘Really, I do mean it that way as well, for ye are now reborn a witch, no longer Isabeau the Foundling, but Isabeau the Apprentice Witch. But I mean that this hour—midnight on the eighth day o' the comet—is when ye were born, sixteen years ago. Ye were born here too, if no' quite on this precise spot. Your astrological tablet says quite clearly ye were born at Dragonclaw.'

‘So I wasna brought here, I was actually born here?' That demolished Isabeau's theory of a wicked uncle.

‘According to the tablet,' Meghan replied. She paused, her face bent. ‘Ye were given to me partly because o' who I am, but mainly, I would say, because I was the closest person. No-one bides in these mountains, they're considered too dangerous. I have no doubt that our valley was discovered today by mischance. The Guards were here to hunt dragons, and were lead to us by that pretty trick Seychella showed ye the other day, and by the other various demonstrations o' power that we've been throwing around. You see, Isabeau, you must no' play with weather until ye understand a wee more about it. Although that storm ye conjured up yesterday may well have saved all our lives, it was certainly luck rather than good management.'

Isabeau gaped. Meghan smiled at her expression but nodded. ‘Aye, ye certainly brought that one up, lassie. Ye are the only one with enough power who'd be silly enough to do it.' Isabeau still gaped. Meghan explained a little gruffly. ‘Yesterday was your sixteenth birthday. Ye ken what a key day that is for a witch, particularly ye who was born at the time o' the comet. Which is what I'm trying to explain to ye. The comet is brimful o' magic; to be born at the zenith o' its power is a very strong sign. That was why I kent ye could manage the Sorceress Test o' Fire, for I had always suspected fire would be your element. The thing is, your power is a sign I canna ignore. There is a battle going on here, Beau, and I suspect ye are going to be one o' our hidden weapons. Ye have to take on a charge for me.' She paused and looked at her ward, but Isabeau was still gaping. ‘Listen, please. I want ye to take something to a friend o' mine. This is very important. Matters are coming to a head in Eileanan, and the whole future o' the country and the Coven may depend on ye seeing this charge safely through.'

‘A quest?' Isabeau breathed.

‘Aye, a quest, if ye like. Listen to me carefully, we havena much time and I have a lot to say. Ye must go to the Rìgh's palace—the new palace, by the sea. Ye must give this to my friend, Latifa. She will ken what to do.' Meghan pulled a soft black pouch out of her pocket and opened it slightly to show a magic talisman nestled inside. Fitting easily inside Isabeau's hand, it was shaped like a tilted triangle, each of the three sides about half an inch wide and inscribed with magical symbols.

‘Where do I have to go? I do no' even ken where the palace is!'

‘Ye'll find it. First ye must get out o' the highlands, and believe me that's enough to worry about at this stage,' Meghan said. ‘The land is wild, Beau, and this time I will no' be there to watch over ye. Ye must be careful. Remember the news Seychella brought—some o' the magical creatures are growing restless and hatred o' humans runs high ever since the Faery Decree. Then the forests themselves can be dangerous; there are rivers and waterfalls and cliffs, wolves, snow lions and woolly bears too, Isabeau. Do no' rely on talking your way out o' problems either. Woolly bears are no' the brightest o' creatures and will no' wait for ye to say hello.'

‘I've lived in the forests all my life,' Isabeau said indignantly. ‘I ken about wolves and woolly bears.'

‘Aye, but ye do no' understand. I've lived here for many years. The creatures o' these hills ken me, and ye are under my protection. When ye leave me ye leave my protection.'

Isabeau was a little sobered, both by the unknown before her and by the knowledge the valley was magically protected and she had never known. Those scary nights stumbling home after playing truant, imagining snow lions lurking behind bushes, sabre-leopards behind rocks, the shadows of dragons passing over the moons! She need not have worried.

‘More dangerous, though, are the people ye will meet,' Meghan continued, leaning forward. Her eyes were black and piercing in her wrinkled face. ‘Isabeau, ye must learn to listen, no' speak; to watch, no' seek the centre o' attention. Ye have received the moonstone and the dragoneye. Hide them with the talisman in this black pouch, do no' wear them. They will reveal ye as a witch to those who ken and, Isabeau, ye do no' want to be discovered. Maya's servants are strong, ye could no' fight them. Ye are only a fledgling witch, ye ken nothing! Do no' let your arrogant youth mislead ye. The ways o' the One Power are very strange and very difficult. Do no' force your learning and do no' overestimate it. Hide yourself in mediocrity.'

‘But—'

‘Ye are no' close to being ready to wear your sorceress ring, Isabeau,' Meghan said gently. ‘Ye understand the magic instinctively; ye need to understand it with your mind as well. Ye need to study much harder. One does no' win a sorceress ring so easily. Ye have much to learn and many more trials to undergo.'

‘But I whizzed through most o' the Trials. It was only the spirit …' She fell silent.

‘Ye were crackling with the power o' the comet, Isabeau. It was your sixteenth birthday, a very significant date. And it was only my training that got ye through the earth Trials.'

‘But they were easy …'

‘Only because I taught ye. Earth is my medium, I would ken if ye were strong in it. Ye ken nothing o' the deeper secrets o' the earth and how to harness them, and I wish I had time to teach ye. Already we have started, though ye would no' listen to the silence as I bade ye. Ye canna ken the earth until ye hear her song and her daily grumbles, but ye would always chatter, despite what I said.'

‘I did no' ken!' Isabeau protested, startled. ‘Ye never said it was a lesson.'

‘I always said “listen”, but ye were never good at listening,' Meghan sighed, half mocking, half serious. ‘I hope ye have been listening tonight, Isabeau, for it may be a while afore I see ye again. The Spinners are spinning their wheel and weaving the cloth o' our lives, and who kens when our threads will next cross.'

‘Why? Where are ye going? Why canna ye come with me?'

‘In normal times I would,' Meghan replied seriously. ‘No matter how much I'd rather stay here in the peace o' Dragonclaw's shadow or go travelling with ye down to the sea. But I canna. I too must venture out. It is too hard to see the pattern tucked away in this wee valley. I must go and gather news and meet auld friends—the future o' all that we ken and care about may be in the balance.'

‘So how do I find the palace? What do I do when I get there?'

‘Ye must head down through the southern pass, and travel roughly south and east through the forests and valleys till ye leave the highlands. Try and avoid the villages there, the people are surly and suspicious and may remember ye visiting with me. If all portents are true, now is no' the time to be remembered as the companion to a witch.'

‘But no-one ever kent ye were a witch,' Isabeau protested, remembering the disguises they had adopted.

‘Och, some kent. With some it does no' matter; there are still witch-friends in Rionnagan. But it is better no-one kens. No-one must suspect ye.'