The Dreaming Hunt (72 page)

“Grab their buckets,” Rosana suggested.

After Tarryn's return, the bathing of the unicorn went quickly. They rinsed out a half dozen of the boglins' buckets, and with Tarryn glaring watchfully into the swamp, the others finished cleaning the great creature.

Will stood back with the others to admire their work. “So. That's what a unicorn looks like, does it?”

The creature bobbed its head, but in rather more friendly a fashion, he thought, than before. Then it surprised him by stepping up to Raina and laying its nose on her shoulder as if using her for a headrest.

She tilted her head, listening. “He's grateful for his release and wishes to thank us. Is there anything he can do for us?”

Rosana spoke wistfully. “If only the legends were true that unicorns can fly people to the spirit realm. I would go there and bring back the spirits of the alligator speaker's children.”

Raina frowned. “He says he can do that. Is that what you wish?”

Rosana's jaw fell open. “Will you come with me, Raina?”

The White Heart healer listened again. “He said it is not my destiny. But it is yours.”

“How do I do this?” Rosana asked eagerly.

“Hold on just a minute,” Will interrupted. “You're not going anywhere. Not without me. And going to the spirit realm is far too dangerous for any of us to attempt.”

“How come?” the gypsy retorted. “You and Raina walked into the dream realm.”

“As did Cicero and Sha'Li, and they both died,” Will declared. “Sha'Li and Cicero are both accomplished warriors.” He left it unsaid that she was anything but.

Rosana looked deflated. Thank the heavens he'd talked her out of her suicidal idea.

“I don't know about the rest of you,” Raina declared, “but I'm hungry.”

Will was famished. He hadn't thrown that much magic in a long time. Raina held a short consultation with the unicorn, who declared it safe for them to eat and rest. Apparently, now that he was free of the magical mud, his full powers were restored. He assured them that no boglin could throw mud on him again, nor that any threat would bother them this night.

Raina looked around at the trees and shadows looming menacingly around them. “Shouldn't Sha'Li have joined us by now?”

“She's fine,” Eben snapped.

Will frowned. Usually those two were the best of chums. What was up with Eben's shortness? “Everything okay, Eben?”

The jann scowled. “Leave it alone. I don't want to talk about it.”

They pitched camp right there in the middle of the swamp, crowded onto the only semidry piece of land in sight. Maybe it was pure exhaustion, or maybe it was the gleaming white stallion standing protectively nearby, but Will fell quickly into a deep and restful slumber.

*   *   *

Rosana pretended to sleep along with the others until she was sure she was the only one left awake. As quietly as she could, she crept around the sluggish embers of the fire and approached the unicorn. Stars, he was beautiful.

She whispered to him, “I hope you can understand me and know what I want. If there is a way, any way, to rescue those children, I must try. Can you help me?”

She could swear the unicorn nodded. “What do I do?” she asked.

The creature stepped lightly around the clearing to where Will and Raina slumbered. It reached down with its nose and touched the ground between the two.

“You want me to sit there?” she whispered, confused.

The unicorn put its nose on her shoulder and pushed down on it. Hard. All right, then. She sank down to the ground. Cerebus put his great face down close to hers and very deliberately closed his eyes. In a moment he opened them again expectantly. Did he want her merely to close her eyes or actually go to sleep? She would start with the first and see what happened.

She closed her eyes and immediately felt an odd sensation of falling. Screwing her eyes tightly shut, she put her hands on the ground to catch herself, except there was no ground. She looked around, and the swamp was gone. Everyone and everything was gone. She was … nowhere.

A voice entered her mind, startling her. “Do you hear me?” It did not sound human, that voice, and yet it was comfortable to her ears. Or maybe it bypassed her ears entirely. She could not tell.

“Cerebus?” she asked.

“Aye. Find the boy with the tree spirit and hang on to him tightly. He is your anchor to the mortal plane. His roots grow deep into the earth, and he will not tear free if you pull at him, even very hard. Find the white healer, as well. Her spirit magics are great, and you will have need of them where you go.”

She reached out with her mind and took hold of Will's and Raina's hands. Whether she did it in physical fact or merely as a spiritual representation of the connection, she could not tell.

Without warning, another place took shape around her. It was not so different from the swamp in that it was dark and shadowed, with a feeling of eyes watching her. What was this place?

“You wished to go to the spirit realm to find lost children, did you not?” Cerebus said.

“Where is this?”

“Where lost souls go.”

“Is it the Void?” She vividly recalled the brief glimpse she'd had of it when last spring's ritual to repair her spirit had gone awry in the Heart. It had been darker and bleaker even than this place.

“Nay. This is … in between. The spirit guide will be along soon to collect them and take them into the Void.”

She looked around and realized with a start that five children of varying ages were huddled together not far from her. Even as she looked on, a man dressed all in white and carrying a lantern came into sight over a gentle rise ahead of her.

The high matriarch said in each Heartstone initiation ceremony that a spirit guide appeared as a man with a lantern and led away spirits that had passed on permanently. “No!” she shouted, rushing forward to join the children and stand between them and the guide.

“You have no business here,” the guide said gently. “Move aside that I may take them to their rest.”

“No!” Rosana declared stoutly. She was, without question, the least skilled combatant in their adventuring party, save Raina. But she would die fighting before she let this man take away children who'd barely had a chance to live and died through no fault of their own.

“If you try to stop me, I will have to call spirit warriors.”

Oh, dear. She glanced around and spied a reasonably large boulder not far away in this strange landscape. She spoke to the eldest child, a girl of maybe ten summers. “Take your brothers and sisters and hide over there. And be prepared to run if I tell you to.”

“That's what Papa said,” the little girl replied.

“I'm here to take you back to your papa. He's alive and misses you very much.”

“And Mama?” the girl asked eagerly.

“I do not know. Go. Hurry.”

Rosana turned and was dismayed to see that the guide had been joined by two large men dressed all in white, but wielding long swords in each hand. She probably ought to be scared out of her mind, but she had no time for it. Those children were depending on her. Quickly she reviewed the lessons Will had given her over the months about using her magic to fight. Wait until her foes were close enough to hit with reasonable certainty. Throw one low- to medium-level spell to test whether her foe had up some sort of magical shield. Throw subsequent spells in pairs in quick succession.

She did not know if her magics would even affect these spirit warriors. Either way, she had to try. The pair approached, not even bothering to split wide and flank her. They must have realized that she stood no chance against them.

The spirit guide and his warriors drew near enough for her to hit. She led with a sleep spell, which hit the right-hand swordsman.
Nothing
. Not even a flash to indicate that he'd had a shield up. She tried another curse spell, this time bigger.
Still nothing
. They were completely immune to her curse magic, which was her only effective combat magic. What help had it been to reach for Raina's spirit, then, if this flavor of magic had no effect at all in this place?

Her desperation grew into panic. She
had
to focus.
Had
to find a way to save the children cowering behind her. Every cell in her body screamed at her to stop these beings advancing upon her.

Onward they came, inexorably walking closer, swords at the ready. Frantically, she tried spirit magic on them. But if it did anything at all, it strengthened the warriors. They were almost on her now.

Panic made her wild, and she fired several spells in quick succession at the trio until she had to pause and catch her breath. They reached her. She braced for one of those gleaming swords to cut her in half, but instead, the warrior before her merely took her by the shoulders and set her aside. They continued walking calmly toward the children.

“No!” she screamed. “You shall not have them!” Too furious and panicked to think, she reached deep within her spirit, gathered magic, and threw it at the spirit warriors' backs without even incanting a spell.

A great, black gout of smoke went up, and the warrior pitched forward, falling onto his face. Rosana stared, stunned. What had she just done? And how? She tried again, throwing more of the black, writhing magic at the guide this time. Down he went.

The third warrior rushed her, sword raised. He took a running swing that she barely managed to duck in time to avoid being decapitated. She whirled around, dismayed to see that he was already almost upon her again. He reached out to gather her against his armored chest, to pin her arms and prevent her from casting. And then to crush the life out of her …

His plan was all there in his eyes for her to read, blank and staring as they were.

Desperate, she cast yet another blast of the strange magic that had come to her, and the warrior staggered. Fell a step back. She cast again. And again. Her spirit felt empty, drained, and that was when she called upon the link to Raina. It hadn't been to fuel her magic that the unicorn had intended. The link was meant to heal her.

The warrior staggered, and she threw one last blast of magic at him. He toppled over, sprawled on his back.

Frowning, she looked at her hand. What manner of magic was this? She'd never seen or felt the like. Its vibrations were unlike any magic she'd experienced before. And as part of her Heart testing to determine her talents, she'd been exposed to just about every flavor of magic known.

She released the energy without casting it, and it drifted away from her fingertips harmlessly. She rushed over to the children, cowering behind the rock. “Are you all right?” she asked.

They stared up at her with big, wide eyes, frightened.
Of her?
“I won't hurt you. I promise. I'm here to take you home—” she started.

“Impressive,” a voice intoned behind her. She whirled around, and this time the dark magic came to her hand instantly. Yet another being stood a little way away, staring down at the smoking bodies of the warriors and the guide.

Rosana could not tell if this person was male or female, humanoid or entirely alien. His/her features shifted and changed continuously. This person's garments were also immaculately white, but he/she wore in addition a long cloak lined in silver so shining bright it was hard to look at. “Who are you?” she demanded. “What are you?”

“I am an exemplar. These spirits work for me. At least they did until you destroyed them with your death magics.”

“My … what?”

“Death magic.”

“That does not exist. It is a myth told of times long ago when strange magics existed.”

“And yet, you summoned it to your hand, and it came.”

Rosana stared at her glowing fist. There was no denying that this was unlike any magic she'd ever felt.

“I have heard of you, healer. That you exist once more. You are … unique.” A thoughtful pause. “I shall let you live.”

“I don't care about my life. But I want these children sent back to the material plane,” Rosana demanded. “They deserve a chance at a full and long life.” She raised her hand menacingly. “Or mayhap we should find out what these strange magics of mine do to one such as you.”

“Do not threaten me, child,” the exemplar said mildly. Mildly enough that she was inclined to believe that he/she did not bluff. Rosana could not hurt this creature. But then the being intoned in a long-suffering voice, “Very well.”

“Very well what?” she challenged.

“You may take them back if you will leave this place and stop attacking us. Find a light and lead them to it. But do not try to pass through it yourself, caster of death.”

And with that, the exemplar vanished.

What did he mean by that? Do not try to pass through it herself?
Why not?
She collected the children and set out walking. Just over the next rise, she spotted a bright light shining in the valley below. She led the children to it and, starting with the youngest, showed them how to touch the light and let it take them back home to new bodies.

The eldest daughter went last. She paused before touching the light to mouth the words, “Thank you,” before she was swept into the light and disappeared into a new life.

The wave of aggressive, motherly protectiveness passed, and suddenly Rosana felt utterly drained. Alone. Exhausted. And with no idea how to get back home.
Now what? Was she stuck here forever? Had she traded her eternal life for those of the children? While she would have loved to have a future with Will, she was all right with having sacrificed herself to save five young souls.

As peace descended over her, Cerebus's voice asked inside her head, “Are you finished here?”

“Thank the Lady, you came for me!” she cried.

“Rather, thank the Lady's son,” the unicorn replied.