Dark Lightning (22 page)

He shrugged. ‘I enjoyed it, even though I’m your hero no longer. I feel a great deal of affection for you, Jynx and I hoped there would be a future for us together.’

She felt her heart break apart. ‘Don’t say any more, My Lord. I’m older now, and so are you. We were good companions for a while and I’m grateful to both you and Grandfather Orish for looking after myself and my brother.’

‘I was hoping ...’

‘It cannot be, Lord Falcon. I was born to run free with the wind and I know now we’re not meant to be together.’

‘Is there another you love?’

She nodded. ‘There is a man who has made his presence known to me without quite disclosing who he is. He’s convinced me that our lives are entwined. I don’t know his name yet and that troubles me, even though I know I must follow my heart.’

‘Not Laek then.’

‘No ... though Laek is my true friend and I will think of him with fondness, as I will you.’

A sudden, and unwelcomed insight came into her head. Falcon had been trained to rule Karshal from before his birth, but by diplomacy. The strong-minded Laek had been raised as the Prince of Arles, Cynan’s successor. He also carried the genes of the warrior Lord, the mighty Kavan, and would be a formidable foe if he took up arms against his uncle.

In time the different courts would cease to trust the other and uncle and nephew might take up arms against one another. But what of the woman who’d manipulated Lord Cynan’s downfall. Azarine would suffer the most in this triangle of power, for she’d never seen the flaw in her scheme and would be torn between the two.

Jynx felt afraid for Falcon ... and her heart went out to Laek, who had been her friend since childhood.

‘Good luck then, Jynx. No doubt this man will reveal himself when the time is right.’ He took her in his arms and held her close. ‘I don’t want to let you go, and if you ever need me you’ll know where I am. I’ll leave word that you may have access to me at any time.’

She touched a finger against his cheek. ‘Be careful of Thornwall, Hal. Wulf doesn’t trust him, and I dreamed I saw him with my brother Emrys, who is a tracker and hunter. How did you get into the tower, Lord Falcon?’

‘We were brought here by a brother. It’s odd, but I can’t remember how. One moment we were walking in the palace garden, and the next we were in the tower. There is much magic in Karshal. You can come and stay at the palace if you wish.’

Jynx was relieved he hadn’t been able to remember the way in. It meant she was safe from Emrys. ‘I’d prefer to stay here. The sisters are teaching me much and it’s less work for Wulf, who thinks his job is to guard me.’

‘Wulf is a pack animal and that’s his instinct coming out. I can’t charge a man with treachery on the strength of a dream and Wulf’s likes and dislikes. Thornwall is highly trained. I need him, for I still have enemies. As for Emrys, he’s on the list of petitioners to be heard today. Your family are camped outside the city

‘You should not trust them either. They sent Emrys to track Remy and me, knowing we were to be euthanized, as though we were sewer rats instead of their own flesh and blood. As for Helise, she betrayed Azarine with Cynan.’

‘I’m aware of what has gone before, and the circumstances that brought it about. I’m also aware of what could happen in the future. Your own father was Lord Cynan’s advisor. Should I condemn you for that, my dear? You’re no longer in danger from Emrys and he has told me everything.’

‘Be careful, Falcon. You’re too trusting.’

‘They have the right to justice ... to have their case heard, and I’ll be in need of an advisor.’ He kissed her on the forehead and murmured, ‘Goodbye, my sweet Jynx.’

She gave him the hug she’d refused him in her chimera and tears pricked at her eyelids as she thought, Goodbye my dearest Hal  ... and said, ‘Fair you well, Falcon Darkwater. May you rule in peace.’

Something she very much doubted.

Sybilla took Jynx to the healing stalls in the market place. There had been frequent skirmishes between the two sides, so there were plenty of casualties to heal.

In the afternoon trumpets blared loudly and the news raced through the crowd in whispers and shouts. ‘Lady Azarine is coming.’

Flares were lit and the palace gates opened. The troopers came running to form a line either side down to the harbour. Falcon came out and strode towards the dock, Thornwall at his side.

Sybilla and Jynx gazed at each other and then packed their bags with salves, tonics and medicines. They pulled down the awning on the stall before joining the excited throng at the harbour. Jynx had covered the glowing sheen of her hair with the drab brown cowl.

Azarine looked like a queen in a white gown trimmed with silver.
‘Azarine ... Azarine ... Azarine,’
the crowd began to chant as she stepped ashore, helped by her brother’s steady hand. Esbel arranged her cloak.

Azarine certainly didn’t look like a woman who’d just killed her husband by spitting venom into his body. The kiss of death was known to those who’d studied the black arts, and who could call on Bane to help administer it, Jynx had heard.

She shuddered when Azarine’s glance alighted on her, and then moved on without recognition. There was a roughness to her face that Jynx hadn’t noticed before – as if the slaughter of her husband had leached away some of her beauty and left an indelible mark on it – one that had turned her from victim into an aggressor.

The parade was quite a spectacle. After her came Laek, muscular and tanned, and magnificent with his dark hair drawn into silver rings.’ Jon was behind him with Danea on his arm. There was a soft glow to her face as she gazed at Jon. Iago brought up the rear at the head of a column of troopers. A lump formed in Jynx’s throat at the sight of them all. She drew in a breath and whispered, ‘Laek.’ The wind carried it across the space between them and he turned towards her and smiled and beckoned.

She was about to run to him when Wulf tugged at her cloak and began to drag her away.

‘Yes, you’re right, my Wulf. I’m no longer one of them, and although they wouldn’t turn me away eventually I’d become a servant to them, like Esbel. If I stay with the followers, at least I’ll be of use to somebody, sometimes. And love would know where to find her, she thought, attacked by an imp of mischief.

She turned and melted into the crowd before Sybilla could stop her, heading for the city gates. Beyond them she’d find those who were not welcome in the city, the beggars and those accused of crimes ... the sick and the maimed, and those waiting to petition Falcon Darkwater. Usually, only the older and more experienced healers ventured there.

She found a vacant stall and seated herself. Soon she’d attracted a queue and was busy treating boils and scabs. Someone came, a woman in a stained gown, and with a dark veil over her face.

Jynx drew it aside and gasped. Her face was criss-crossed with barely healed scars and her eyes were swollen and crusted. Yet Jynx knew her. ‘How did you get these injuries?’

‘Someone used a whip on me, and rubbed sand in my eyes. They have taken my sight, I think. My family has disowned me.’

‘They?’

‘Esbel ... the elvish maid, though it was carried out on Lady Azarine’s orders. She said no man would ever look at me again and it would serve as a lesson to others who challenged her will.’

Jynx was surprised to learn that Azarine had been so cruel. ‘Hush, someone might overhear and accuse you of treason.’ She closed the flap so they had some privacy, noting that two sisters had appeared and set up the stall next to them. The queue shifted to them.

Still shocked at such a revelation Jynx set to work with soothing salve. There had been something familiar in the girl’s voice. ‘What did you do to deserve such treatment?’

‘I was familiar with Lord Cynan, but it wasn’t my fault. I seemed to be under a spell and found him too attractive to resist.’

Jynx knew that feeling and her face warmed. 

‘Lord Cynan forced himself on me and treated me brutally. My family tell me I’m unclean. They know Lady Azarine will not allow me into the city so my family has cast me out, hoping to give themselves a better chance at serving Falcon Darkwater.’

Tears trickled from Jynx’s eyes as her fingers soothed across the scars. Taking a flask of water from her hip she filled a small dish and added some soothing oil. ‘I’ll clean you up and see what I can do, Helise.’

Helise’s hand covered hers. ‘You know my name and your voice is familiar. Who are you?’

‘Your sister ... I’m one of the followers now.’

‘Jynx?’ Helise gave a small cry and her hands covered her face. ‘I’m ashamed for you to see me like this.’

‘Don’t be. I’ve seen worse.’

Sybilla scuttled through the crowd to join her, her face as cross as a spider crab. ‘Must you keep running off, girl?’

‘Wulf told me I was needed. I think he sensed that my sister needed help.’

‘This is your sister?’ Sybilla placed her hand against Helise’s forehead. ‘You will need help with this one, Jynx. Helise has a fever and her eyes are all but ruined.’

‘You should go back to the city, Sybilla. This damage was ...
political
.’ Lowering her voice she quickly explained why.

Her mentor shrugged and seated herself in the meditation position. ‘Nobody will challenge the followers; they’re scared of our combined force. If you need me, touch my hand.’

Helise barely made a whimper as Jynx bathed the crust from her eyes. Apart from being inflamed, both of them were cloudy and scratched.

‘Can you see anything?’

‘Light and shadow.’ Helise began to tremble. ‘I’m cold.’

‘Your infection has given rise to a fever. I’m going to put some drops in your eyes, and they might sting. After that I’ll see to your face.’

‘I have wounds on my body too ... and I think ... I think I might be with child. A fortune teller told me I will produce a son.’

It seemed a waste of time asking who’d fathered it, and Jynx’s blood ran cold. What if Azarine found out? If anyone discovered that Cynan had fathered a son on Helise this infant wouldn’t live to celebrate its natal day. ‘You must keep the circumstances of this infant quiet, else it will be in danger.’

‘I don’t want it anyway ... it was forced on me.’

‘Someone will kill it before it sees daylight, and you along with it.’

 Sybilla said, ‘The sky is darkening. We must head back to the protection the city walls afford.

Jynx touched Sybilla’s wrist. ‘Leave me here, Sybilla. I’m going to stay with Helise.’

‘You can’t Jynx. It’s too dangerous. Your healing powers are not yet totally developed and the needy will drain you of them as they seek shelter from the bats in the stalls. Here, allow me to help.’

Sybilla placed her cupped hands over Helise’s eyes. After a few moments she sighed and removed them. Taking Jynx to one side she lowered her voice. ‘The elvish maid has strong magic of the harmful kind. She’s used wasp venom and by now it will have entered your sister’s blood stream. I don’t know if we can save her Jynx.’

‘I’m not leaving her here alone, and I have Wulf to protect me.’

Sybilla sighed. ‘We might be able to ease her suffering.’

‘But they won’t let her in.’

‘I’ll find a way.’

Sybilla turned to Helise. ‘Can you walk if we support you?’

‘I think so.’

‘Good.’ Sybilla took a faded brown robe out from under the bench and dressed Helise into it, pulling the cowl down over her forehead. They headed for the city gates, gathering followers all the way, so they were surrounded. Jynx wasn’t sure where they were all coming from. By the time they reached the gates there was a sizable crowd of them.

The trooper scratched his head as he looked over the crowd of chattering, brown-robed women milling about the gate. ‘By the time I’ve finished processing you all it will be morning.’

Sybilla smiled. ‘There are only thirty-six of us.’

‘Hands out.’ He began to use the true-blood pressure test. Helise was swaying between two sisters.

‘What’s the matter with her.’

Sybilla exposed a portion of Helise’s ruined face. ‘She has a fever ... but I don’t think she’s infectious, that’s if you’ve been immunised against the effects of wasp venom. We’re going to place her in isolation.’

Somebody at the back of the queue shouted out, ‘She shouldn’t be allowed out in public, especially amongst children.’

‘The followers are surrounding her. You’ll be all right if you don’t come into contact with her.’

There was a panicky scream from a woman and the queue began to push and shove. Helise had the wit to cough, and at the same time held out a trembling hand. The trooper withdrew his in a hurry and beckoned them through, all but shovelling them inside. ‘Go on, all of you, otherwise I’ll be here all night.’

* * * *

Emry’s had managed to petition Falcon successfully and Cynan’s former advisor and his wife had sworn allegiance to Falcon. They moved into Emrys lodgings, a small, sparsely furnished cottage in the middle of town.

Greer was unhappy with her accommodations. ‘We would have been better off staying in Arles.’

Emrys shrugged. ‘Not if Cynan decided to have you killed. Be thankful for a roof over your head when you could still be outside the protection of the city gates.’

Yegan nodded. ‘Helise will not last long on her own.’

To which suggestion, Greer shrugged. ‘If Azarine sets eyes on her she will not last at all.’

‘You said that about Remy and Jynx.’ Emrys gave his father a faint smile, well aware that parental love towards the Colban offspring was shallow by nature. They would not give Helise another thought unless she could be of some use to them. ‘The pair managed to elude and outwit me. I have since learned that Remy’s powers are such that he’s been taken into the brotherhood of ancients as an apprentice. We will never get to him there. As for Jynx, I’ve seen her with my own eyes and I know she has great healing powers. The wolf still guards her; the animal will not let anyone near her.’

‘Then we’ll have to wait for the opportunity to arise when it can be disposed of.’

‘It never strays far from Jynx and I’ve been unable to learn where it originates from. She has friends amongst the hierarchy of both Arles and Karshal, though she chooses to live with the followers. If she learns that her sister is alone and in need she’ll being her in ... if she hasn’t already.’