Shadow Magic (28 page)

             
He found himself grinning.  "Your small pet has been a blessing, though I know not why or how she changed her shape this time."

             
She nodded, swaying on her feet.  When she turned her mahogany gaze on him he saw that she was troubled.

             
"What of the others?" she asked.  "Never have I met more of my own kind.  Seeing so many gathered below the earth, following this Hearne so blindly worries me.  It pains me to think that this Hearne may cause them danger or death."

             
"Each has chosen their own path," Egann said.  "Though if there is a way to save them, I will do it."

             
Yet another promise, another oath.  Another burden for a man who once had been unwilling to commit to anything.  Egann passed his hand over his eyes, considering this.  The crippling fear of failure that had so haunted him since Banan's death seemed curiously absent now, with Deirdre gazing up at him with such unshakable confidence. 

             
"Wait."  Realizing that he still held her hand, he released it and pointed to a large boulder she could use as a seat.  "Let me go up first and determine if the sun rules the sky or the moon."

             
"Nay," she protested, grabbing for his hand again.  "I do not wish to be parted from you again."

             
He placed a quick kiss on the top of her head.  "I will not be long.  `Tis only that I do not wish to endanger you.  When I entered this hell-hole it was day."

             
She lifted her chin with that stubborn resolve that he had begun to recognize.  "I will go with you."

             
"Deirdre—"

             
"I will not remain here without you."

             
Shaking his head, Egann gave in.  "I see I have no choice.  Very well, we will go together.  But if sunshine lights the interior of the cave, we shall find you a place in these passages to rest."

             
A look of surprise crossed her delicate features.  "I have not rested since I came here."

             
Reaching out, he brushed back her hair from her cheek.  "Then you must be exceedingly weary."

             
She pursed her lips, making him want to kiss her. "Weary?  Nay, I cannot say that I am even tired," she lied.  "Time does not pass so quickly down there."

             
"This I can believe," he said, keeping his face expressionless with difficulty.  She was brave, this woman, and he would not dishonor her by forcing her to rest.

             
"Tell me," she moved closer.  "Does the moon wax now or wane?" 

             
Reluctantly he told her.  "The last time I looked at the sky, the moon was half full and on her way to ripeness."

             
She nodded, her set face revealing nothing.

             
They began to walk again, she at his side, while he tried to match his much-longer stride to hers.  With each turn they rounded, he expected to see sunshine, but still it seemed dark, as though the sun had set long ago.

             
At last they stood in the big rock cavern where Egann had first gained entrance to the underground world.

             
"I do not feel the painful sting in my eyes that tells me the day has dawned," she said, her voice breathless with exertion. 

             
"It was sunrise when I arrived here," he repeated, wondering how it could be that he had remained underneath the earth one entire day.  "But this is good, for if you are not too weary, let us go to the top of the cliff.  I must summon Fiallan.  There is much I need to discuss with him."

             
Together they climbed the cliff, Egann keeping below her so that if she lost her grip and fell, he might catch her.  When they reached the top, Deirdre stood a few paces apart from him, her face to the sea, breathing deeply of the salt-tinged air, the moonlight streaking silver on her hair.

             
Egann too breathed deeply, seeking to clear his mind of thoughts of her lush body, silhouetted by moonlight.  He felt his magic, returned in full strength, surging through his blood and did not wish to cloud it with his desire for her.

The amulet – he focused on this – emptying his mind of all but the image of it.

              Still, there were questions he must ask, answers he needed to know.  Now he must summon Fiallan, and as he spoke the first words of the spell to do so, he felt the ripple and swirl of the magic begin.

             
With a shimmer of lights, Fiallan appeared.  White robes seeming to glow, he stood between Deirdre and Egann.  He did not speak, unusual for him, but rather folded his arms across his chest and watched Egann with all the ferocity of a hawk about to swoop down on an unsuspecting hare.

             
Before Egann could speak, they heard the pounding of hooves, and Weylyn appeared at the top of the bluff, moving gracefully towards them.  Still in the form of a small kitten, Cinnie rode upon the larger beast's shoulder, yowling a greeting.  Neither he nor Deirdre had noticed that Cinnie had left them.

             
Weylyn slid to a stop in a cloud of dust and nickered.

             
"Thank you, my friend," Deirdre said, "for taking care of this small creature."  After softly stroking Weylyn's head, Deirdre reached up and took Cinnie, gathering her close to her chest.

"You have called for me?"  No surprise sounded in Fiallan's voice, but rather a kind of watchfulness.

              "I have need of your wisdom."  Egann swallowed, conscious of the enormity of the question he wanted to ask.  "`Tis time for you to tell me the truth.  What fate would befall our people were I to fail to retrieve the Amulet of Gwymyrr?"

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

             
Deirdre stood frozen, in shock, hardly daring to believe her ears.  "Not retrieve the amulet?" she echoed.  "But we—"

             
Egann scowled, his expression fierce as he met her gaze.  "We are no closer than we were when this began.  Hearne could lead us on an eternal chase, for it looks as if he has learned to channel some of the amulet's magic."

             
Slowly, she raised her gaze to meet his.  "Truly, would you leave the Maccus in control of such a powerful magical talisman?"

             
"Of course not."  He glared at Fiallan over Deirdre's head.  "I am well aware that this task must be completed.  The Wise One has agreed to seek another to become King of Rune.  I ask now, has this new King been found?"

              Fiallan said nothing, only stood with the proud, stiff posture of the very old, the expression in his faded eyes unreadable. 

             
"I would have an answer, my old friend."  Folding his massive arms in front of him, Egann faced the wise man.

             
"I too would hear this answer," Deirdre said, coming forward so that she stood at Egann's side.  If her instincts were correct, then Egann would not find the Wise Man of Rune's reply palatable. 

             
"I think you already know what I will say."  A weight of sorrow lay in Fiallan's quiet voice.  "While you traveled under the earth, you lost your greatest ally, then your greatest strength.  Because you are strong you managed to regain both of them. You are our chosen champion, and our rightful king.  `Tis difficult for me to believe that you would seek a means to run away yet again."

             
Egann recoiled, taking a step back as if the old man had slapped him.  "This is not the same," he said, passion making his ardent tone ferocious.  "If another has been found, I ask that he step forward to take up the quest.  Hearne and his kind threaten Deirdre.  I have given her my oath to protect her. If I continue on this quest, she could be hurt, or killed.  I will not allow another life to be lost because of my actions."

             
An awful ache bloomed in Deirdre's chest.  "This is because of me?" she whispered.  "You would abandon your search for this reason?" 

             
Egann ignored her, continuing to watch the older man, who remained stubbornly silent.

             
Fiallan looked at Egann when he spoke.  "Your Shadow Dancer has a role to play in this.  She must accompany you in all your travels."

             
Surprised, Deirdre closed her mouth and bowed her head.  It was as she'd suspected.  And, truth be told, secretly she was glad, for she was not yet ready to let her prince go.

             
"Tell me the truth – exactly how strong is the amulet?"  Egann demanded, frustration plain upon his chiseled features.  "It seems to me that if this Hearne
has
learned to use its powers, he would have been able to wreck more havoc.  It may be that the amulet is not as powerful as you think. If Hearne and his kind have mastered its magic, what would become of Rune?"

             
"What do you think?"  Fiallan finally roared, his slight frame shaking with emotion.  "We would have another war on our hands, Maccus against Fae.  Even the humans would be dragged into it again.  Is this what you want?"

             
Egann narrowed his eyes.  Deirdre could almost feel the irritation rolling off him. 

             
"All I know of the amulet is from legends and stories you have told me?"  His mouth curved in a bitter smile.  "Never have I asked for much, other than the right to live my life as I choose.  Yet you insist on placing the weight of the world upon my shoulders.  Have a care, old one.  I will only allow myself to be led about by the nose for so long."

             
At this statement, Deirdre looked from one to the other, not in confusion, but with dawning awareness.  "Is this all a game to you?" she asked the older man, allowing her gaze to rake over the Egann as well, including both in her fierce question.  "I begin to think we are both but pawns in some master plan of yours, moving about at your whim?"

             
To her surprise, Fiallan gave her a slow smile.  "Do you realize exactly what is at stake?"

The knowledge did not come to her in a bright flash of blinding revelation, the way she might expected, had she any expectations at all.  The realization came slowly, as she saw the pain-tinged pride in Fiallan's golden eyes, as he waited for Egann, the man he plainly regarded as a son, to accept his destiny. 

Judging from the quiet fury in his clenched-jawed expression, Egann had no immediate plans to accept any such thing.  So stepping forward, she placed a hand on Fiallan's pristine white sleeve.  "If this task truly is so important, can you not aid us somehow in finding the amulet?"

             
The Wise One started shaking his head before she even finished speaking.  "A king is forged by his choices," he said, giving her a long look, then a wink.  "And I never was one to interfere.  However, I will tell you this," he fixed Egann with a piercing stare, "you have less than a fortnight to find the amulet.  Before the full moon disappears from  the sky, you must bring the Amulet of Gwymyrr home."

             
"But-" Before she could ask anything further, Fiallan disappeared, leaving her clutching at empty air.

             
"By the balls of Ronan," Egann swore, his eyes icy with rage.  She wanted to go to him, to somehow comfort him, but before she could move he cursed again and strode away, leaving her with the sound of the sea and the wind, and the familiar night sky, empty except for the stars winking like winter ice overhead.

* * *

              He had spoken truth to Fiallan - never had he asked for this.  Indeed by leaving Rune he'd sought to avoid the crushing responsibility that came with being King.  And now… now… he clenched his fists, wishing he could laugh but knowing if he did so he just might go mad. 

             
According to Fiallan, the fate of his entire race rested on whether or not he retrieved the amulet.  Not to mention Deirdre's precious life, and the ever-present threat of death at the hands of the Maccus to all Shadow Dancers.  Then he had their misguided curse, that of forbidden sunlight, to deal with as well. 

             
Yet even as the weight of such duty threatened to devastate him, he knew that despite Fiallan or Deirdre, he still had a choice.  He could still walk away, let them find some other powerful mage, to become their defender.