The Siege of Macindaw

8

Alyss was studying the small, black stellatite pebble once again.

When Will's arrow had soared through her window the night before, she had been surprised to find it contained what appeared to be a pebble. Then she read Malcolm's brief explanation of its purpose, and she felt a surge of hope.

She was more ready to believe that the stone could help her re-focus her mind than Will had been. After all, she had experienced the effects of the blue gem that Keren used on her. She had seen how quickly her mind could be enslaved by it. Now she was grateful that she might have a way to resist his efforts. Alyss was a strong-willed and intelligent girl, and the thought that her mind had been captured so easily by Keren made her feel vulnerable and exposed.

She examined the little pebble, turning it over in her fingers. It was definitely pleasant to the touch – smooth, glossy and comforting.

And was that a hint of warmth she felt radiating from it? Or was she just imagining it? She wasn't sure. She read through the last few lines of Malcolm's instructions, carefully transcribed by Will onto the thin message sheet.

Touch the stellatite pebble when Keren attempts to use the gemstone. Focus on a positive, pleasant image. When he Questions you, speak normally. Do not pretend to be in a daze or he wiii know you are trying to trick him.

There were a few final lines written in code. She had decoded them to find they outlined a signaling schedule. Will wanted to avoid regular signaling, knowing that Keren would eventually become aware of it. The colored lights in the trees would appear at irregular intervals, not at the same time and place each night. And sometimes, there would be no message and the white light's movements would alter from the strict pattern needed for the code.

"Clever, Will," she said softly. She knew Keren was no fool. Will also told her that he would keep someone watching the tower each night in case she had anything urgent to communicate.

She burned the thin paper in the flame of the lamp. When it was reduced to ashes, she crumpled them to dust and scattered them out the window.

She already knew what positive image she would use when Keren next tried to mesmerize her.

Less than an hour later, she heard Keren's voice in the anteroom outside and the startled clatter as the sentries came to attention.

Alyss was willing to bet that he'd heard about the lights in the forest – maybe he'd even watched them himself. Now, she figured, he was here to make sure there was no significance to them. As the key turned in the door lock, she slipped the pebble under the tight cuff of her left sleeve, where it was concealed yet accessible.

Keren nodded briskly to her as he entered the room. He jerked his head toward the table.

"Sit down, Alyss," he said. "I have a few questions for you."

Today, he was all business. Obviously, he didn't have time to waste and there would be none of the previous mock-friendly formalities. She was grateful for that. His good humor and self-satisfied air had begun to grate on her. They were enemies, after all, and she would prefer it if he treated her accordingly, without the pretense at airs and graces and knightly charm.

He reached into the leather wallet at his belt and produced the blue stone, letting it roll onto the table between his fingers. There was no need for preamble now. The stone had become the trigger for his posthypnotic suggestion. All he had to do was order her to look at it and, within a few seconds, she would be mesmerized again.

He leaned forward. "Look at the stone, Alyss," he said softly.

Her eyes fell to the beautiful orb as he rolled it gently back and forth on the tabletop. As ever, she could feel it drawing her in, filling her consciousness.

Beneath the table, she slid the forefinger of her right hand under the cuff of her left sleeve, to touch the smoothness of the little pebble. Instantly, she saw a glossy black sheen overlay the blue depths of the gem and her mind stepped back from the abyss of Keren's control.

Think of a pleasant, positive image, Malcolm had instructed. Will's face, deep brown eyes smiling, came to life before her.

And her mind was free.

"Keep looking at the blue," Keren said softly. "Are you ready to answer my questions?" She continued to stare at the gem. But now the depth had gone from it, and it was a dim background to her image of Will's face. She'd always loved that cheeky grin of his, she realized.

" Yes," she replied simply. She was glad that Malcolm had instructed her not to try to appear as if she were in a trance. She had no way of knowing how she had behaved on the previous occasions when Keren had controlled her mind, but she had assumed she must have been in some kind of trancelike state. Apparently not.

"Good. There were lights in the forest last night," he said. She had been right. He knew about them.

" There were," she repeated, neither questioning the fact nor confirming it. So far, there had been no direct question, so there was no specific answer required.

"Did you see them?" he asked.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to answer truthfully. To say,"Yes. I saw them. They were signals." She stroked the stellatite, felt the compulsion recede as her resolve strengthened.

"No," she said, and her heart leapt. She had broken his hold over her. She could tell him anything, answer anything, as long as she kept her wits about her. Inside, she was exultant and she felt her heart pounding. But her diplomatic training helped her keep a totally neutral expression on her face.

Keren frowned. He was sure the lights had been some form of signal being sent to her. But he knew she couldn't lie to a direct question. He tried again.

"You're sure?" he said. "There were red, blue, yellow and white lights moving in the trees. Did you see them?"

Alyss, on the point of saying, "It was late. I was asleep," stopped herself just in time. If she hadn't seen the lights, she would have no way of knowing when they had appeared. She realized that her hold on control was a tenuous one. The effort of countering Keren's insistent assault on her mind was very distracting, and she must not let her guard slip.

"I didn't see them," she replied. Then she added, in a conversational tone, "I've seen them before."

Her eyes on the gem, she felt rather than saw Keren's head snap up at that revelation.

"When?" he asked her instantly. "When did you see them?"

" Ten days ago. Will and I went into the forest. There were lights."

She knew he had a pretty good idea that she had been into Grimsdell Wood with Will. His men had shadowed her on that occasion. At the time, of course, she and Will had assumed it was Orman having them followed. And while they hadn't actually seen her enter or leave the forest, Keren must suspect that was where they had gone. It would do no harm now to admit it. It might even divert him from the line of questions he was following.

He drummed the fingers of one hand on the table. As he became more distracted, Alyss noticed that it became easier for her to control her words and her thoughts.

He tried one more time. But she could feel his conviction was waning. "What do the lights mean?"

She shrugged. "I think Malkallam uses them," she said. " They frighten people away from the forest."

The fingers drummed again. "Yes. They do that all right. My men won't go near the place."

That was definitely worth knowing. Since Will had escaped into the forest with Orman, she had thought that Keren might have seen through Malkallam's ploy and convinced his men to follow them in and hunt for them.

Keren let go a long, pent-up breath. He was on edge. She sensed he was expecting something, some event to take place. His next words confirmed her suspicions.

"Well, I can't waste any more time with this. General MacHaddish is due in the next day or two." He was speaking to himself, secure in the knowledge that his words wouldn't register with her in her mesmerized state. He rolled the blue stone back toward him and removed it from the table.

"All right, Alyss. Until next time. You can wake up now."

She assumed that she should not make any pretense of coming out of a trance but simply continue with normal conversation. But her mind was racing. MacHaddish was a Scotti name. There was a Scotti general due here in the next few days. Will would have to be told.

"So," she said evenly, "what did you wish to talk about?" Keren smiled at her. "We've already talked," he said. "But of course, you don't remember it."

That's what you think, Alyss thought.