The Shadow Roads

Fourteen

Elise and A’brgail supported each other as they foughtthrough the final yards of bramble and into the failing sunlight. A’brgailglanced quickly behind. The day was all but gone, the western sky awash inmolten cloud.

“He’s no longer near,” Elise said calmly. Her gaze appearedto rest upon some distant place, far out of his view.

A’brgail was humbled by her strength. He leaned an arm onher thin girlish shoulders, but she did not falter or even seem to notice. Herslight frame was stronger than his-stronger than any man’s, he expected. If notfor Elise he would never have survived the flooded cavern. But surviving thattook all his strength, and he couldn’t have walked another furlong without her.He shook his head. Elise stood erect still, though her golden hair was tangled,her clothing so torn to ruins that it was barely decent. Where she had beenbattered against the stone walls in the maze of tunnels, her skin was darklybruised and scraped raw. She lowered A’brgail to a fallen trunk and sat down ona little hillock opposite.

“Are we in the hidden lands, yet?” the knight asked. “I’veseen no landmark I recognize. No village or road. Not even a dirt track thatmight lead us … somewhere. We must not yet have found our way back into theland between the mountains.”

“We’re back to our own lands,” Elise said, her voice faraway. “Though where we are I cannot say. Lost …” She said this last wordwistfully. Then to herself, Lost.

A’brgail regarded her with what he realized was pity-thisthing he had once vowed to destroy. This abomination, who appeared to be atroubled young woman, sad beyond measure. “Are you well, my lady?” he askedsoftly.

“No, Sir Gilbert,” she said, shaking her head, her gazefixed on the open fields. “I have not been well since I sold my soul to amonster.”

“You don’t seem much like a monster,” he answered, to hissurprise.

“No? I fear it will show in time.” She looked down at herhands, turning them over as though not sure they were hers. “I have hermemories, her sensibility and feelings, struggling against my own, against mynature. Sianon was without remorse, without affection. Her lovers were toonumerous to name, and she loved none of them. Her own children went into battleto gain her love, and when they died she did not mourn. It was the price of hergift-all loved her, but she cared for no one. That is not true; she loved oneman-her own brother, Sainth, who has made a bargain with Alaan.”

“My brother,” A’brgail said softly.

Elise did look up at him then, a crease appearing betweenher eyebrows, as though she tried to look inside him.

“It is a tangle of relations,” she said, running her handabsent-mindedly over her torn breeches.

“But you are not Sianon,” A’brgail insisted. “Alaan swearsthat he is not controlled by Sainth, and in truth, he does not seem greatlychanged, though I have been loath to admit it until now.”

“But Alaan and Sainth are not so different. Sianon … sheis my opposite in almost every way. And I have already given in, once, to her… appetites.” She played with a frayed edge on her torn breeches. “A part ofme did it only for pleasure, as a man might go to a brothel”-she closed her eyes,cheeks burning-“but the part of me that is … me-I was not so callous. Myheart was … touched. It will sound naive, but I swear I felt it open-like ablossom.” She closed her eyes, as though to staunch the tears.

A’brgail found himself wanting to comfort her, though hefeared it was the spell that surrounded Sianon that made everyone want toplease her, to win her favor, but he couldn’t help himself. “Don’t be ashamedof having womanly feelings,” he said. “Better to have a broken heart than noheart at all.”

“Easily said,” Elise answered, opening her eyes and blinkingrapidly. She wiped a dirty sleeve across her cheeks. “But thank you all thesame.” She stood. “We must go on. I need to know where we are and how far it isback to Westbrook.”

“Not far,” said a voice.

Elise spun around to find a Fael standing a few yards off, asword in hand.

“Archers have their arrows trained on your hearts,” the mansaid. “You would be wise not to move.”

“And who are you?” Elise asked, trying to keep the pride ofSianon in check.

“I am Brendl,” the Fael answered. “And you would appear tobe beggars, by your dress, but I suspect that is far from the truth.”

A’brgail realized that other men lurked in the shadows ofthe trees as the dusk settled around them.

“I’m Elise Wills, and this is Gilbert A’brgail, a knightwhose deeds, if they were known, would win him great renown.”

“Elise Wills drowned in the Westbrook,” Brendl said, “or soit is said.”

“I did go into the Westbrook, to escape a man who calls himselfSir Eremon, but I did not drown, as you can see.”

The Fael nodded, a little bow of acknowledgment. “You arevery much alive, but whether or not you are Elise Wills … that is for othersto judge. Come with me.”

“And where will you take us?”

“Not far,” he said. Other Fael appeared out of the woodthen, all uncharacteristically well armed.

Elise glanced at A’brgail and nodded, to his relief. Hecould not have put up any resistance. He barely managed to gain his feetwithout help. A Fael came to his aid, and he made his way through the shadowsbeneath the trees, with Elise supporting him on one side and a black wandereron the other.

In a few moments they broke out of the trees into thequickly failing light.

Brendl raised a hand and pointed. “There. The tower citiesof my people.”

A’brgail pulled himself upright and gazed down the hillsideinto the dark shadow of the undulating blue hills. There was water there-asmall lake, perhaps-dark as steel in the spreading twilight. And then he sawthem; the three worn stone towers-raised by the hand of nature-extending likemisshapen fingers from the smooth water. Upon their crests the cities of theFael-Aland-or, Fylan-or, and Naismoran.

“How in the world have we come here? It is far from where webegan.”

“Leagues,” Elise said.

They made their way down the hillside. A rubble wall protecteda sloping pasture, and they clambered noisily over loose stone and down intothe soft grass. Sheep appeared to float in the twilight: small, dim clouds uponthe heath.

It was a long walk down the hill, darkness growing aboutthem. The final furlong passed beneath the stars. A cool breeze sprang up fromthe north, and in his exhausted state, A’brgail began to feel chill. A flintroad appeared before them, a pale gray ribbon winding down toward the darkenedlake.

Atop the towers, lights appeared, much closer now, and theknight could see that the buildings stretched for some distance down the tower’ssides, the structures clinging there by what means he could not guess. At theroad’s end they came to a ferry dock, a broad, flat barge rising and fallingalmost imperceptibly between stone pillars. Two tall Fael stepped out of theshadow of a small blockhouse. One came forward, a hand laid lightly on the hiltof his sword. The other stood back, an arrow knocked, the curving yaka wood bowgleaming in the starlight. Brendl went forward and spoke to them quietly in thelanguage of their people.

A moment later he returned to the outsiders. “Come, we willcross to Aland-or. The elders will decide what to do with you.”

“Is it against some Fael law to walk abroad by night?” Eliseasked stubbornly.

A’brgail thought that Brendl looked a bit embarrassed. “Wehave received disturbing news from our people who travel the land between themountains. There are rumors that the Renne and the Wills are about to go towar, if they have not done so already.” He waved a hand to a good-sized boat.

A’brgail needed help to climb aboard, but they were sooncrossing the flat water, six men at the oars, another half dozen guarding thestrangers, though A’brgail thought they were going out of their way to offer nothreat. The oars disturbed the stars, wavering all around them, and sent themspinning away in their wake. A’brgail pulled his tattered robe close againstthe cool breeze and dampness of the lake, but Elise seemed unaffected. Just tosit was a relief. A’brgail felt the weakness of his limbs as he slumped on thethwart, unable to sit upright.

Each stroke of the oars sent the boat surging forward, thebow rising a little, black water rippling by. Like most of the inhabitants ofthe land between the mountains, A’brgail had spent some time in boats. TheWynnd and its tributaries were the main roads of the land, after all. He mightnot know a good boat to look at it, but to ride in one was a different thing.This boat rode the waters lightly, tracked straight and true, and did not bobor roll about. He ran his fingers along the gunwale, the planking; all wassmooth and fair, the scantlings surprisingly fine.

Overhead, nighthawks cried. A fish shot into the air,splashing immediately back into its element. Was the surface invisible bynight, he wondered? Did fish fly out into the air unwittingly?

As I am doing myself, he thought. For he seemed to bein a world not his own, confused, gasping for breath.

The woman beside him was an abomination. A grand master ofhis order had been burned alive for doing what she had done. Bargains withnagar always went awry. But even so, he could not help but feel pity for her.He had seen the agony she was in, clearly, but an hour before. She was payingthe price for what she’d done. He hoped that she would be the only one to pay.He also hoped that Lady Elise would never give rein to the thing within her,for Sianon was a heartless monster. A woman who lived for war and felt no remorsefor the lives it cost. Yet, Sianon was also their only hope-she and Alaan.Hafydd could not be defeated without them.

The tower of Aland-or loomed out of the darkness, and asmall stone wharf appeared at its base. They clambered out onto the steps.Brendl went quickly up to the guards and spoke low. A’brgail found himselfstaring at them, wondering if any small movement or look would betray what wasbeing said or indicate their intentions. The guards only turned to regard themsolemnly.

“This man does not speak your language,” Brendl said, “buthe will take you up into the city. I will send you on without guards if yougive your word to cause no trouble.”

“What choice have we?” Elise asked, bristling a little. “Butyes, we will give our word.”

Brendl bowed to them once, then climbed nimbly back into theboat. In a moment he was lost in the dark, only the quick rhythmic splash ofthe oars marking his progress.

At an unseen signal from the guards, ropes began singingthrough blocks somewhere high above. A large woven basket appeared out of thedark, landing with a gentle thump on the stone. Their guide opened a small gatein the basket’s side and motioned for Elise and A’brgail to step inside. In amoment the three of them were rising smoothly through the air, the dark,star-speckled lake spreading out below.

A soft breeze found them as they rose, and A’brgail had thefeeling that they had taken their leave of the world and were in flight, floatingup like a hawk on a rising breeze. He glanced over at Elise, barely discerniblein the faint light. She stood with a hand on the narrow rail, gazing out overthe still waters. How careworn she looked. Her youthful face overcome by theconcerns of someone much older.

But how old would Sianon be, he wondered?

A’brgail also wondered what thoughts were preying on hermind, for she was an enigma to him-he who had not much experience of women,let alone a woman who had made a bargain with a nagar.

The basket slowed, then settled into a wooden structure, asmall plank floor opening up around them, dark wooden beams, carved with birdsin flight, curving overhead. Lanterns cast their inconstant golden lightthere, and A’brgail saw that the structure was elegant and lightly built,which no doubt it would need to be, for it was cantilevered out over the edgeof a cliff.

Their guide spoke with the Fael who served there, and one ofthem turned to the strangers, and said haltingly, “I will take you to a placewhere you will wait. Please follow me.”

He led them out of the door, not bothering with a lantern.They passed along a narrow walkway, smoothly paved with stone. The city of theFael opened up before them, lit here and there by lanterns hanging overdoorways. The walkways were not broad; three men might lie head to toe and spanthe one they were in. Upon each side stood buildings, some shops, othersapparently residences. They did not exceed three floors, there at least, theirdoors brightly painted, deep stone walls topped by plastered and half-timberedgables, all crowned by steeply pitched slate roofs. Everywhere he looked thefamed craftsmanship of Fael could be seen: a bench carved with flowers, windowsintricately leaded and some of stained glass.

The city had a certain organization and harmony; at the sametime as it appeared to have developed in some random manner. Down a set offinely made stairs their guide led them. Around a bend, a small park opened upbefore them, a pond in its center.

There couples walked, and elders took their leisure onbenches. A troupe of musicians played on a small pram that drifted aimlesslyover the waters.

A’brgail saw Elise hesitate. He could almost feel her desireto linger in this place, to listen to the music-some part of her was thedaughter of Lord Carral Wills, after all. The Fael admired him greatly, andthat could be said of few men.

Their guide stooped, and a hushed conversation ensued with awhite-haired man, who then hurried off. The guide motioned them on. Anotherflight of stairs led them down, but this was on the edge of the tower, for itlooked out over the world. A few clouds, smooth and still, hung in the brightlystarred sky. The waning moon would rise in an hour or two. A’brgail wondered ifhe would be able to stay awake that long. He had never known such exhaustion.

They were led through a pair of large doors made of yakawood, the planks wider than any A’brgail had ever seen, or even heard of.Inside was a long chamber with windows opening out to the world beyond.

“You are in the Chamber of the Rising Moon,” their guidesaid. His look was suddenly solicitous. “Is it true you are the daughter ofLord Carral Wills?”

“It is true, yes.”

“But we had heard you died in an accident.”

“It was no accident, and I did not die,” Elise said, a greatweariness coming into her voice.

The man made a small bow and backed away quickly. “I willsend you water for washing, and food and drink. The elders will come shortly.You have arrived unexpectedly, and they must be found and decisions made aboutwho will attend you.”

They were left alone in the room, which was both elegant andspare, the decorations understated and strange to A’brgail’s eye, for theartistic sensibilities of the Fael were different from the other peoples of theland between the mountains. Columns were narrow at their base and spread asthey rose, seeming to whirl up to the curving beams overhead. Opposite the longbank of windows that looked out toward the east, tapestries hung over the stonewalls, their colors rich and deep.

“They must curtain these windows to protect the tapestriesfrom the morning sun,” he said, thinking aloud, but Elise barely acknowledgedthat he had spoken.

Even the scenes in the tapestries seemed strange to him,filled with disturbing images, completely unlike the tapestries he knew thatdepicted legends of courtly love or famous battles.

Elise, it seemed, sensed his bewilderment.

“Vision weavers!” she said, as though it were an answer to aquestion. She glanced over at A’brgail, and his face must have registered hisconfusion. “These are the work of vision weavers. That is why they look likedreams or nightmares.”

For a moment more she gazed at the strange images, thenslumped into a chair and stared out listlessly toward the eastern horizon. A’brgailfollowed her example, finding the chair soft and welcoming.

A few moments later he was wakened by the sound of doorsopening. Two young men and a young woman hurried in, bearing trays: water forthem to wash themselves and platters of steaming food. A’brgail didn’t knowwhich he needed more, but decided that it would only be polite to first washhimself as best he could.

Elise did not wait to be asked, but plunged her face into abasin like an old campaigner. If the Fael were surprised by this, they did notshow it. Their dark faces remained masks of politeness. A’brgail was impressedby how far the goodwill toward Car-ral Wills would stretch.

A’brgail retched terribly, bile welling up and burning histhroat. Hands seemed to be supporting him while another struck him gently onthe back.

“I think he’s done,” a voice said.

The knight tried to open his eyes, but the world wasreeling, and he closed them again. He was lowered to the floor, where he laystill a moment, his position awkward. His hands seemed to be restrained, asdid his feet.

“Be wary. If she does the same, we’ll have to cut the gagoff.”

A’brgail was not sure how long he lay still, or even if hewas conscious the whole time; but when he opened his eyes again the worldseemed to have stopped spinning, though his vision was blurred.

“What’s happened to me?” he asked.

No one answered a moment, then a woman’s voice was heard. “You’veeaten something that didn’t agree with you.”

“Why are my hands bound?”

“Because of the company you keep.”

A’brgail twisted around, trying to see the source of thevoice, but his eyes came to rest upon Elise, who appeared to be chained to astake, a gag tied over her mouth, and a pyre at her feet. Fael men stood bywith flickering torches. Even with his vision blurred, A’brgail could see thatthey were frightened. No, they were terrified.

“You’re making a mistake,” he said, trying to muster his energy.

“It was not our people who made this mistake,” the womansaid. She came and crouched down before him.

“She wakes!” a man said quickly.

The woman reached out and touched A’brgail’s brow, as thoughshe tested him for fever. “We will deal with you by and by,” she said gently.

Elise was given some time to recover, and when she had doneso, A’brgail watched her struggle against the chains, veins standing out on herneck.

“I don’t think even you will break such chains,” thewoman said. “I am Adalla. This is Idath,” she said, indicating an older man. “AndTannis.”

A young woman nodded. Adalla regarded Elise a moment, hermanner determined, but there was kindness in her face. A’brgail would not havewanted her judging him-she had an air of disinterest about her that suggestedleniency was not something she indulged.

“I will remove your gag,” she said, “but be warned-if you beginto mutter or speak words we don’t recognize, these men will set the pyre aflameand you, and the thing you bear, will be turned to ash. Do you understand?”

Elise nodded.

Adalla signaled, and the young woman named Tannis removedher gag.

“This is not the usual Fael hospitality,” Elise said darkly.

“For which we will make no apology,” Adalla said, pacingback and forth before Elise. “We know who you are and what you’ve done.” Shenodded to the young woman. “Tannis is an accomplished vision weaver. Sheforesaw a woman making a bargain with Sianon, just as she and her sister sawthe return of Sainth and Caibre.” She turned and retraced her steps, handsbehind her back, head bent as though she watched every step she took. “Butthen, as often happens, her visions became unclear. Tannis saw Elise Willsbecoming the defender of the peoples in the land between the mountains. Shealso had a vision of Elise Wills falling, her shadow taking up the swordagainst us, carving out a kingdom of her own, and making war-perpetual, brutalwar.” She stopped pacing and stood gazing at Elise. “Two visions. One will betrue. One will not. If we set you free, will Elise Wills fight to defend us, orwill the shadow inside you triumph and plunge the land between the mountainsinto a century of war?”

Elise closed her eyes. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Lady Elise,” the woman said with feeling. “That answer willnot gain you your life.”

“Lady Elise will never give in to Sianon,” A’brgail calledout. “I am sure of it.”

Adalla answered without looking at him. “Men would givetheir lives to gain Sianon’s favor. We can’t trust your word, man-at-arms.”

“But I have traveled with her, watched her risk her life forothers-a thing Sianon would never do.”

“I will gag you if I must,” Adella threatened, and the Knightfell silent, frustration and anger boiling up inside him.

“Perhaps you should burn me,” Elise said, meeting Adalla’seye. “I didn’t know when I made this bargain what it would mean. What it wouldmean to have her memories … Sianon traded her heart for the love and utterdevotion of those around her-”

“But have you done the same, traded away your heart?”

Elise’s eyes closed again, and tears appeared, tremblingamong her lashes like a drop of rain in a spider’s web. “All I know is that Ifeel as though I did these things, sacrificed my loved ones without remorse,sent legions to their deaths. She once had a meal interrupted by the news thatone of her armies had been destroyed-to the last man. She finished her supper,then spent the night with a lover, as though nothing had happened. I am sinkingbeneath the weight of these memories, of my own remorse and self-loathing. I amliving a nightmare. Death might release me. I might welcome his cold embrace.”Elise broke down then and began to sob, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“Set her free,” Tannis said gently.

Adalla turned to the young vision weaver. “Have you not beenlistening?”

“To every word. She will never give in to the monster shebears. She would die first. Set her free. That is my judgment.”

Adalla turned to the silent man who accompanied them, Idath.

“Tannis is right, I think. Sianon would never have urged usto take her life. Lady Elise will win this battle against the creature inside.She is clearly the daughter of Carral Wills, giving no quarter to the darkness.”

Adalla nodded to one of the guards who stood nearby, and hebegan releasing Elise’s chains. Another guard cut A’brgail’s bonds, but hecould not rise for loss of feeling in his legs and was forced to lie a fewmoments more.

Elise stepped free of the chains and down from the pyre,chaffing her wrists. “Would you have burned me?” she asked, confrontingAdalla.

Adalla did not blanch. “Yes, though I would have regrettedit all the rest of my days.”

Elise and the Fael elder stood gazing at each other amoment, then Elise stepped forward and embraced her, as though she were a lostloved one. “I hope you have done the right thing,” she whispered. “I pray youhave.”