The Caravan Road (51 page)

“Alec?” she focused on him, and her hands came up to her face.

“I can’t believe I shot that arrow at you!  I am so sorry.  Thank the hills you’re alive,” she told him.  “That was intoxicating.  I had so much power!  It made so much possible.”

“You’re back here now,” Alec answered.  “And you know how dangerous it is.  I want you to go right back there right now and take control of it this time.  As soon as you feel the power, turn your body, and beat the energy – show it you’re in control – then bring it out here with you.  Show it your strength!” he told her.

“I know you have the determination; I’ve seen it in you.  It’s one of the things I love about you,” he told her fiercely.  “Now go right back there and do this.”

She held his eyes in a steady stare, then gave a crooked smile.  “You better make this worth my while,” she said, then her eyes were empty again, and her spirit was on its way to the energy realm.

Alec nodded his head in approval; he doubted that he would have had the courage to dive back into the energy realm so quickly if he had suffered the entrapment Andi had fallen into.

He looked back at Pierre and Reena.  “We’ve been training to learn some new powers,” he explained lamely.  “Andi’s very good to be able to do our lessons while riding a horse.”

He heard a grunt, and turned quickly to look at Andi.  Her eyes were sparkling.

“I’ve got it,” she said through gritted teeth.  “I’ve got the power with me!”

“Hold on to it,” Alec told her.  “Hold on; get a feel for being the master this time.”

“It’s slipping,” she whispered.  “I can’t hold it much longer.”

“Just hold for as long as you can,” Alec urged.  “You have to grow used to the strain.”

She closed her eyes and contorted her face, then suddenly relaxed.   “It’s gone,” she said as she let out a breath.

“You did well,” Alec told her proudly.  “Are you ready to do it again?”  he asked.

And so they continued for two more hours, until sweat was beading on Andi’s forehead as she concentrated on the control of the energy, and bringing it forth.

“That’s enough,” Alec told her finally, worried that he might push her too far too fast.  “Let’s enjoy the rest of the ride into the city of gardens.”

The countryside around them remained a landscape of farms, but the crops looked lusher and more fruitful that Alec remembered the land around Yangchou had looked at the start of the day.

“There’s the city
, up ahead,” Pierre noted a growing profile
on the horizon.

“We’re going to see my daddy today!” Reena spoke up.

“He is going to be the happiest man in the world when he sees what a beautiful daughter he has,” Alec told her, making the little girl’s smile widen even more.

“How will we know where to go once we’re in the city?” Andi asked.  “Will we just get directions at the gate?”

“I expect that Spencer will be waiting for us at the gate himself.  I sent a note from Yangchoo, after you were injured, telling him where we were, and that we would be delayed for a day or two waiting for you to heal,” Pierre told them.

“He’ll be able to take us on a walking tour of the city as we enter,” Pierre added in a satisfied voice.

As they rode nearer to the city, it rose higher and higher from the flat horizon, and the profile of the city took on a greenish hue.  When they arrived at the gate, they found Spencer waiting to meet them.  All four in the party dismounted, Alec and Andi watching the tears of joy and murmurs of appreciation the small family enjoyed as they reunited with one another.

After several affectionate minutes, Pierre remembered his manners.  “These are the travelers I wrote to you about.  This is the Lady Andi,” he introduced first, as Spencer bowed over her hand gracefully and kissed it, bringing a smile to Andi’s face.

“You’ve never done anything so elegant for me,” she told Alec.

“And this is the great lord I mentioned, the man who has the powers of many old ones, all combined in him as if he were a walking legend, the Lord Alec,” Pierre embarrassed Alec with his introduction.  As he did, another man stepped out of the crowd to join Spencer.

“My lord, thank you for your kindness to my father and daughter,” Spencer told Alec.  “I hope our hospitality can repay your generosity.

“Here is one of our Old Ones, the Lord Amane, who was astonished by the descriptions my father provided.  He wanted to meet you in person when you arrived,” Spencer said.

Alec studied the man carefully.  His face appeared honest and open.  It was a handsome face, with eyes that were appropriately bright green, and dark hair that was almost shoulder length.

“We are honored by the visit of such a legend from the past,” Amane told Alec, holding out his hand to shake.

Alec took the hand and clasped it firmly.  As soon as he released the grip, Amane turned to Andi.

“I did not expect that such a jewel would come walking into our city along with you,” he said with a smile, staring at Andi’s face.  He too took Andi’s hand and bowed low over it, offering a lingering kiss that made Andi offer a roll of her eyes to Alec, though he felt the thrill that went through her body.

“Would you like to show us to our lodgings?” Pierre asked Spencer.

“Yes, by all means,” he replied.  “Let’s head onto the city to the guests’ palace.”

“Oh Spencer, let’s bring them to the family lodgings,” Amane interrupted.  “Such a great lord deserves a higher level of luxury.  It will give us the opportunity to converse and learn from him.”

They entered the city, and the travelers turned and looked in all directions in wonder as they traveled along the main road.  Every building was draped or hidden in greenery.  Vines hung over balconies, trees provided living pillars, bushes screened the sight of stone walls, and above them they saw buildings built among the upper limbs of massive trees.  Flowers bloomed in the median of the roadway.  It was as absolutely stunning a scene as Yangchoo had been in the evening, and Alec missed much of the travelogue Amane and Spencer provided as he looked about.

Several minutes later they arrived at the home of Amane’s family, a building that was tall trees and large slabs of stone, with flowers below ever
y
window and above every door.  A thick, impervious hedge grew as protectively as any wall around the property.

“Welcome to our home,”
Amane told them as they allowed grooms to lead their horses away.  “Let me make arrangements for your lodging,” he excused himself and returned with the house steward. 

“We’ll provide a room for Pierre in the west wing, and one there for Lord Alec as well,” the steward spoke, calling upon porters to lead them to their rooms.  “Lady Reena, you may have a room next to your grandfather for this night.  I’m told you’ll move into your father’s home in a day or two.  Is that alright?” the steward consulted Reena with a serious face.

“Yes, that’s lovely,” Reena said after thoughtful consideration.

“And Lady Andi, Lord Amane thought you might enjoy the view from the east wing, where the sunrise is always so lovely,” the steward said.

“I’ll bed with Alec,” Andi said simply.

The porter who had her small saddle bag of clothes and supplies stopped in midstep, and Amane’s face drained of color.

“Of course, my lady,” the steward said smoothly.

Aahh
, Alec said to Andi with a tone of appreciation. 
So much communicated in so few words
.

You weren’t going to claim me, it seemed, so I thought I better speak up for myself
, Andi said.

It would hardly seem appropriate for me to demand you as my sleeping companion, Andi,
Alec told her, as the two looked at each other. 
I may desire you, but I’ll never force you to come to me.

I know,
Andi said in a gentler voice.

“They’re talking to each other, mind to mind,” Pierre observed aloud.  “I don’t think I mentioned that in the letter I sent you.”

“We heard legends that long ago there was an ancient race such as that, but when our race of plant growers left the mountains and came down to the plains, the mind-speakers stayed behind and perished,” Amane said, trying to regain his footing after two unexpected comments.

“The lokasennii did not perish.  They live today, and they contributed to the battle when Hellmann rose again to seek dominion,” Alec answered, dissatisfied with the smug complacency the lords of the Five Cities seem to hold, or that at least Amane as an indiv
idual
seemed to hold.

“They have legends of the races that left the mountains as a matter of fact.  Is your race the Sylphs or the huldra?” he asked, “or are those legends even less reliable that yours?”

“You must not name the secret names!” Amane hissed.  He composed himself after several seconds of nervous silence in the hallway.

“Forgive my manners.  I should not keep you standing around like this after your long day’s journey.  Please go to your rooms and refresh.  We will serve dinner an hour after the sun goes down.  Ask any servant for directions to the dining room,” he nodded his head, and the steward and the porters recommenced their journeys through the house.

Alec offered his hand to Andi, and the two climbed the stairs together.

You might have been a little harsh on the pretty boy,
Andi said delicately.

He’s pompous and full of himself
, Alec responded.

And?
Andi prodded.

Alright, of course you already know, and I was jealous of the attention he was showering on you.  I’m sure that if we ask we’ll discover that his room happens to be in the east wing, conveniently close to the guest room he hoped you would spend the night in
, Alec projected his thoughts.

There now, that wasn’t so hard was it?
Andi asked. 
It makes your fling with Grenda almost tolerable!
She laughed aloud as they reached the top of the stairs, and Alec laughed with her, sharing genuine humor.

Would my lord like to join me in the shower to help scrub my back after our long day of travels?
Andi asked Alec as they entered their room and saw the bathing facilities that awaited them.

I think I should wait until the servants leave to start!
Alec replied with a smile, and minutes later they were busy scrubbing one another clean.

Sometime later, as the sun started to set, a knock at the door caused Alec to pull a shirt on hastily and discover a servant with a message.  “Lord Amane has heard that you are an accomplished swordsman, and he wondered if you would enjoy a bit of practice in the family armory before dinner?” the man reported as he carefully averted his eyes from Alec’s bare legs.

“Give me just a second,” Alec replied and shut the door. A minute later he opened the door again and then shut it behind him as he stepped into the hallway.  “Please lead on,” he ordered, and five minutes later they were at the armory.  Ale
c and Amane were the only ones i
n the room.

“Please forgive me for my manners this afternoon,” Amane said when Alec had pads in place and was in position on the mat.  “I was so captivated by the beauty of your companion that I really lost my head.  I should have known that a beauty like that would be attached to a great man like yourself,” he began fencing, carefully testing Alec’s abilities as
he
tried going both high and low.

“I also apologize for slighting the people of the mountains,” he added, as Alec parried every effort he made.  “I must have sounded very provincial, which is most embarrassing.”

As they fenced, Alec sensed genuine contriteness in the man.  “The Lady Andi is an astonishment to me, and your enchantment is understandable,” Alec said carefully, “and I am not worthy of her affections, but hope to never lose them.”

He probed Amane’s defenses carefully, holding back so that he would not embarrass his host any further.  “We have been through some extraordinary experiences together.

And if you ever want a challenge to your swordsmanship, you might offer her some practice time on your mats here.  She is a warrior as well as a beauty, and no man will find her defenses easy to breach,” he said.

“Now,” he stepped back from the contest.  “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go finish cleaning up before dinner.”

Amane dropped the point of his practice blade, and offered his hand.  “Thank you,” the Old One said.  “I will see you at dinner.”

Andi raised her eyebrows when Alec returned.  “That didn’t last long; is our host still alive?” she asked.

“He apologized most sincerely and contritely,” Alec told her.  “He claimed he had been ‘captivated’ by your beauty and lost his head.”

“Oh no, another one.  This happens all the time,” Andi said with mock mournfulness.  “Why weren’t you ever captivated by my beauty?” she asked holding her arms open.

“Who’s to say I’m not?” Alec asked as he came to her.

They were the last to arrive at dinner, where they met Amane’s family: a sister, a brother, his parents and his grandmother.