Dark Realm: Book 5 Circles of Light series (11 page)

In fact, Seola’s group
had already arrived, fortunately at a short distance from the great
House. Cyrek, long time friend of Jemin and full blooded Dark Lord,
had opened the gateway to Gaharn thus sparing Seola some of the
stresses involved. Now he and Jemin sat by a tiny fire, Seola and
Nenat asleep close by. Gateways caused neither Jemin nor Cyrek
physical discomfort but Seola and Nenat still suffered headaches.
They had made camp in a small hollow. From the top of the northern
side they could see the great House, with smaller buildings close
by. Some were ablaze with lights, others mainly dark.

Cyrek laughed softly at
his friend. ‘We will go there tomorrow. You’ll see soon
enough.’

Jemin had studied the
maps in the First Daughter’s chamber and was amazed that a gateway
could take them halfway round the world. He’d travelled with Seola
to the sanctuary of the Dark Realm nearly fifteen years ago but
that was a mere three hundred leagues at most. This journey had
brought them thousands of leagues. And tomorrow they might see
Dragons. Oh, Jemin had seen Dragons of course, but not this sort of
Dragon.

He looked across the
fire and met Cyrek’s golden eyes. Cyrek’s smile became a grin and
Jemin laughed back. Cyrek could read his thoughts if he chose but
he never did – he’d just known Jemin so long he knew exactly what
course Jemin’s thoughts were taking.

‘Hag is close by,’
Cyrek remarked, staring to the north. ‘There is far more magic in
this land itself than I expected. Hag loves magic.’

‘Yes, I wondered about
that. Not that I’ve seen Hag that often.’

‘Hag is made of magical
power. It is in her blood and her bone. She feeds on it, breathes
it in. She thinks we don’t know, but we have always
known.’

Jemin frowned. ‘If she
is so full of power as you say, can she not cast great
spells?’

Cyrek grunted. ‘We fear
she can do terrible things but so far, the idea doesn’t seem to
have occurred to her.’

‘Darkness have mercy,’
Jemin whispered in horror.

Cyrek sat awake
although Jemin curled asleep near Seola and Nenat long before the
moon rose.

The three were woken by
Hag’s noisy arrival. ‘You come sooner than I’d thought.’ She eyed a
loaf Cyrek had got from his pack. He moved it out of her
reach.

‘You have approached
these people?’ he asked.

‘They have the hurt one
in a building set apart from that big house. I told them First
Daughter was sending them help.’ Hag gaped in silent mirth. ‘They’d
never heard of First Daughter. And they have no understanding of
the Dark, poor fools.’

‘Well you can go and
tell them we shall reach them by mid morning.’

Hag screamed in sudden
temper. ‘I’m not just a messenger for your convenience. I am
Anfled, Raven of Dark.’

‘And who better to
convey such important information in service to the First
Daughter?’ Cyrek’s tone was mild but his eyes burned
hot.

Hag turned away and
rose into the air. Cyrek turned at Seola’s chuckle.

‘Did you notice? That
bird actually flounced.’

Nenat giggled. ‘I
thought just the same.’

Cyrek shook his head.
‘There’s tea made and bread but hopefully the people will feed us
when we arrive there.’

They walked through
lightly wooded slopes until they reached the beginning of
cultivated grounds. Trees, shrubs and clusters of flowers were
pleasingly laid out amidst stretches of a short, springy turf. They
came to a long oval pool with a raised edge and saw golden fish
lazily finning beneath flat green leaves. A few steps further and a
group of people came towards them. They halted, each party studying
the other closely.

Seola stepped forward
and touched her left thumb to brow, lips and chest, extending her
hand palm up in a graceful sweep towards the Lady before
them.

‘I am Seola, sent by
the First Daughter of the Dark Realm.’

She introduced Nenat,
Cyrek and Jemin. Emla was fascinated by the brilliantly golden eyes
of Seola and Cyrek but Seola was as intrigued by the strangely
silvered eyes of the young man at Emla’s side. Emla introduced the
tall man next to her as Kemti, Shan, the young woman, armed and
watchful, who stood at her shoulder.

‘Soran is Captain of my
Guards,’ she told them, ‘and this is Ren, from the land of
Drogoya.’

Seola looked startled
at this information. ‘Forgive me if I seem impertinent, but do all
citizens of Drogoya have eyes such as yours, Master
Ren?’

Ren smiled. ‘I am mage
trained Lady. Our eyes gradually silver around the coloured part,
as our prowess increases. It is not known why this happens. May I
ask a question in return?’

Seola gave a slight
shrug. ‘It seems fair to me. Ask.’

‘I for my part have
never seen eyes such as yours and – Cyrek, I believe? Only Kija’s
eyes are of such a gold.’

‘We who are born of the
Dark have eyes this colour, but we can conceal it.’ As Emla and her
friends watched, Seola’s eyes darkened, changing to a deep brown.
She blinked and they were gold once more. ‘There are some who find
us – unsettling.’

Ren nodded
sympathetically. ‘I have found the same,’ he agreed.

‘Who is Kija?’ Cyrek
spoke for the first time.

‘I am Kija.’ The voice
rang in their minds and a large gold scaled Dragon paced down the
path towards them. ‘And I would know of this Dark
Realm.’

Neither her voice nor
her stance suggested friendliness and hands went to weapons, except
for Cyrek. His eyes blazed and he stepped away from the gathered
people. He began to walk towards the golden Dragon but on his
second step his shape shimmered, blurred, expanded. There was a
strong smell of burnt cinnamon and an enormous Dragon faced Kija,
making her seem small by comparison.

‘Stars forfend,’ Kemti
croaked.

‘Oh please be at
peace.’ Lady Emla advanced with determination to stand between Kija
and Cyrek. ‘Please,’ she appealed to them both. ‘Kija, they have
offered help, I believe for both your son and your
daughter.’

Kija, who had reared
erect, slowly lowered herself, focusing entirely on
Emla.

‘What did you
say?’

‘Oh my dear one.’ Emla
hurried closer to Kija, reaching to hold her face. ‘You have not
heard of the Raven who came, telling us these people were coming to
help Farn. Others are trying to rescue Tika and Sket – it seems
they know where they are.’

Unnoticed, the great
creature behind Emla shivered again and, in another gust of
cinnamon air, transformed to the young man Cyrek. Kija lifted her
head, her eyes whirring in kaleidoscopic colours as she stared at
Cyrek. She lowered herself further, stretching her neck along the
ground towards him. To everyone’s horror, great tears rolled down
her face.

‘Forgive me Lord. Take
my life if you will, but if you can help my children, I give it
gladly.’

Cyrek regarded the
prostrate figure impassively then walked slowly to Kija’s head. He
squatted beside her, resting his left hand between her closed eyes.
Those watching couldn’t hear what words he murmured but Kija raised
her head until it was level with the now upright Cyrek. Cyrek
nodded and moved back onto the path beside Jemin.

Emla realised she was
trembling and drew several deep breaths as she rejoined Kemti.
Shan’s face was white and Kemti looked nearly as shaken. Emla
mustered a smile for her four guests.

‘Please come into my
House. Food has been prepared for you.’ She led the way towards the
broad flight of steps rising to the main doors which stood wide
open. ‘Perhaps you can tell us how you travelled here – and from
whence you came. I had to admit to Anfled that the Dark Realm is
unknown here.’

‘Hag.’ Seola snorted.
‘I should warn you Lady Emla, Hag is not entirely trustworthy. She
has been known to rephrase information and be economical with the
truth. We believe she is more mischievous than wicked.
Oh.’

Seola stopped and gazed
round Emla’s hall. She had seen far bigger chambers in the Karmazen
Palace, bigger even in Kelshan’s Citadel, but Emla’s hall, large
though it was, had a comfortable air to it. Couches, armchairs,
with small tables within reach, vibrant tapestries flowing down the
walls and many tall narrow windows set high above head height. The
floor was mostly bare wood of a pale brown but a few brilliant
woven rugs were scattered around a great hearth. A long table was
set to the side of a staircase, laden with many kinds of food and
dishes and plates were stacked ready for use.

‘Please help yourselves
to food and make yourselves comfortable.’ Emla motioned to two
maids who stood behind the table. ‘There is tea, ale, wine or
water,’ she added.

Nenat took only a bowl
of tea before choosing an armchair for herself. Emla sat
opposite.

‘From Seola’s words,
you are not from the Dark Realm?’

Nenat rubbed her
forehead where the headache lingered. ‘I am from a land distant
from the Realm,’ she agreed. ‘I was born with certain powers though
and have spent my life travelling through many lands, offering my
healing to any who ask it of me.’

‘A healer! Shan, find
Nesh and ask if he could join us please.’ Emla turned back to
Nenat. ‘Nesh is a Discipline Senior, the head of our school of
medicine in the Asataria in Gaharn.’

Seola and Cyrek had
loaded their plates and now sat together on a long couch near Emla.
Jemin was still standing by the table, in conversation with Captain
Soran. Emla noticed Soran seemed more animated than for days, and
she hoped the young man from the Dark Realm would keep talking to
him. She glanced at Seola.

‘There are many others
here who I hope you will meet. We have been working in shifts to
keep the Pavilion warded. We’ve tried to keep Farn asleep, but his
mind has broken too far.’

Cyrek was distracted
momentarily by the sight of the golden Dragon, Kija, pacing through
the main doors. She moved delicately for her bulk, to recline
against a wall close behind Lady Emla’s chair, her gaze fixed on
Cyrek. Two men came down the stairs behind the girl Shan and strode
across to Emla.

‘Ah, this is Nesh, our
strongest healer.’

The tall thin man bowed
slightly, studying Seola and Cyrek with the briefest of glances. He
turned and smiled at Nenat, bending over her chair.

‘You are the one with
the bad headache.’ He laid his hand lightly across her eyes and she
sighed with relief.

‘I have never
understood why we cannot banish even minor ailments from ourselves
Master Nesh.’

He laughed, drawing a
low stool close to her chair. ‘I’ve never worked that out either,
and I am Nesh – not Master to anyone.’

Emla smiled at the
other man still standing before her. ‘And this is Navan. He was
with Ren and Jakri when the disaster occurred.’

Before she could say
more, a crimson head and neck poked in the door. ‘Brin, come and
meet our guests.’

The Dragon advanced
cautiously, he’d had one or two mishaps with furniture on previous
occasions, and reclined along the wall opposite Kija.

‘If you are able to
help poor Farn, take whatever you wish to know from my mind.’
Brin’s voice was clear in the heads of all present but his gaze was
on Seola and Cyrek.

Cyrek nodded and closed
his eyes. Images tumbled through his mind. A bleak hilltop, a
silver blue Dragon, frighteningly young. A girl and a man astride
the Dragon’s back. Spears of ice hurtling from the sky, striking
down a tall man and a woman with wild red hair. The silver blue
Dragon leaped forward – and stumbled. His riders vanished and he
lay and began to scream. Cyrek paled and opened his eyes. He looked
at Emla.

‘What, in the name of
the Dark, were they seeking?’ he whispered.

Everyone in the room
had seen the memories from Brin’s mind but Emla’s people had seen
them before. Seola answered Cyrek’s question.

‘Evil that was bound
millennia ago,’ she said flatly. ‘How did that creature get
loose?’

Emla drew a deep breath
and let it out slowly. ‘A foolish woman, a mage of Malesh, far
south of here, believed she could release one of them. That she
could then control it and take its power for her own. The other,’
Emla shrugged and frowned. ‘People came from beyond the stars. I
don’t know what they did, but somehow they loosened the bonds on
the second creature.’

Seola put her half
eaten food on the small table beside her. ‘And that child thought
she and a single guard could defeat such a being?’ She spoke
softly, her tone incredulous. Shaking her head she asked ‘Do you
know of one called Namolos?’

‘Yes.’ Navan and Ren
spoke together. ‘We were told we had to reach him but then he
seemed to disappear.’ Ren spread his hands helplessly.

‘How did he speak with
you?’

Ren looked thoughtful.
‘Through Khosa or Grek?’

‘And they
are?’

‘Grek is an unbodied
spirit. He hasn’t contacted any of us since. .’