The Farthest Gate (The White Rose Book 1) (19 page)

I yawned hugely, knowing that sleep would come soon, but I wanted a few more answers first.  I prompted Amberyn, “Death could not have taken that very well.”

“Oh, not at all.  His dark servants came to tear the souls out of the forest and take them to the World of the Dead.  But my ancestors defended the great forests, weaving a communal spell that forever shut out the eternal bridge from landing upon Avalon, barring even the reavers from coming here.  That is why, when I go to the Gamesman’s city, I must travel by way of another world such as Earth.”

I shunted my thoughts from such dazzling admissions, and brought the conversation back to the ghost.  “I would think Ellyssia’s spirit would have been claimed by the forest.  Does
she linger here only to guard ancient armor and her star-forged sword?”

“She was one of the Celestials that refused to fight, but before the battle ended, she repented and returned to duty, lending her sword to heaven’s cause.  Though forgiven for wavering, she chose to accompany the exiles here. 
Ellyssia refused the covenant of the third birth, claiming she would serve the sentence imposed by Providence.  She, alone of our people, waits for Heaven to reclaim her.”

“I wish I had known her in life.”  I yawned again, but shook it off.  “To give me anything when I only quivered at her feet, trembling i
n fear…”

“You do yourself an injustice, White Rose.  It takes great courage to remain in
the savage vise of a dark glamour.  Most would have fled, and that rather swiftly.  You did not.”

I knew he was trying to comfort me, but I had embarrassed myself, acting like a child alone in the night.  “Had I done better, Ellyssia would have given me the sword with the dagger.”

“My advice is to be grateful for what you have.  Never have I heard of human or elf being offered celestial gifts before.  As for still needing a blade of power, this is Avalon.  We have enchanted swords all over the place.  I will obtain one for you somewhere.  Meanwhile…” I heard something being unwrapped, “…eat this.  You must be famished.”

I felt Amberyn’s hand against my arm, offering me something.  I reached over and my fingers closed upon a chunk of bread.  I wondered if the elf ever ate anything else.  I broke off a piece and chewed it, savoring a special blend of seeds, nuts, and dried fruit.

My hands grew too tired to move after I had consumed but a few morsels.  My thoughts became lethargic.  The uneaten portion of bread was pulled gently out of my hand, and the blanket was tucked around me.  Sleep came and I dreamed…

My feet silently track across an infinity of white.  I leave black footprints as proof of my passing.  I call out, but the terrible silence overwhelms my words, swallowing them.  I see a black star that longs for a place in my soul.  It craves me, drawing with unseen cords.

Soon, the star lengthens and widens to become a door shaped like my face.  This mask looms over me as I stop in front of it.  Closed eyes open, and it stares with pits of hardest shadow.  Lips move.  I cannot hear the words, but I know what the mask wants, what all closed things want—to open.

My hand reaches out, though I beg it not to.  I grasp the razor edge of the black mask.  Pain comes, sharp and immediate.  I jerk my hand back and bleed darkness that falls and streaks the bottomless white.  I reach out with both hands, and pull the face, turning it to reveal a horizontal well of darkness.

Living Black pours in, spilling across my feet, filling the only infinity I have ever known.  I scream as the White begins to die, for it has no voice, but mine.  My throat becomes raw.  My voice is silent after a while.  I float on a sea of ink, carried swiftly up to the ivory arch of heaven.  I hit the sky and it cracks.  Pressed painfully against the barrier, I am held in place by a relentless current.

Soon, either the sky will let me through, or I will shatter.

I scream, and then I am through; born into a new world, the world of my mother’s rose garden.  I start small, the size of a grub, and tumble from the petals of a rose.  I grow larger, until I attain proper size.

White roses blaze all around me in joyous celebration at my return.  But the water in the fountain is black.  It fills the basin and overflows, staining the ground.  The flagstones turn onyx.  Stems and leaves darken.  The soft petals grow sable.  The world becomes obsidian.

I weep black tears, having destroyed the world.  All this is my fault for opening a forbidden door
… for releasing a hunger without end.

Covered in cold sweat, I came awake in a rush.  My chest heaved.  I gasped for breath, sitting up, staring.  My nightmare was real.  There was no light anywhere.  I had slain it.  No!

Belatedly, memory surfaced,
informed me I was in a cave where heavy darkness was normal.  Relieved, I looked toward the mouth of the chamber.  It was dark as well because morning had not yet arrived.  I hoped that my distress had not caused me to utter betraying sounds.  We had enemies in the night that might be very close.

Next to me, Amberyn breathed deep and slow. 
Undisturbed by what I had endured.  I felt annoyed with him that he had not awakened to comfort me, breaking me from the fist of nightmare, yet I wished him better dreams than mine.

M
any more nightmares, and I would foreswear sleep altogether. 

I heard something beyond the cave’s mouth.  The small hairs at the back of my neck bristled a warning I could not ignore.  Still, if it were something inconsequential like a passing animal, I did not want to disturb the others.  I decided to creep to the mouth of the cave and peer out through the screen of bushes that concealed the opening.  The truth was I would rather do anything in that moment than return to sleep.

Amberyn’s forearm hung laxly over my thigh.  I gently slid away from him, gathered my feet under me, and stood.  With one hand on the cave’s side wall, I stepped over the elf and made my way carefully, feeling ahead with each foot before I shifted weight to it.  It took forever, being so careful.

Close to the entrance, I sensed a great mass.  I reached out and stroked Ty’hrall’s side.  Asleep on his feet, deep in his dreams, he gave no sign he knew I passed.

The darkness did not seem as absolute as at the back of the cave.  I could make out my son, stretched out on the ground like a corpse awaiting burial.  I shivered at the thought, and crept on to the mouth of the cave.  My eyes and ears strained for information.  I caught a breeze thickened with the scent of honeysuckle.

Then came a bestial snarl followed by hushed words.  “Why are we wasting our time?  We have been over this same stretch of ground three times now.”

There followed the sound of a blow, as though the questioner had been cuffed smartly across his head.  Another voice spoke.  “I smell magic.  Someone tidied up their trail through here with a spell.  I want to know who and where he has gone.”

“He will scream on my blade,” another voice promised gleefully.

I knew fear again, but not as before—this time it did not cripple me.  Deliberately, carefully, I withdrew the way I came, taking exceptional care to make no more sound than the faintest whisper of cloth.

These searchers had to be the
Dar’kyn that Amberyn had mentioned.  I knew it would be very bad if they found our hiding place.  I was unarmed, and while Amberyn and Ty’hrall were formidable, there was no telling how large this hunting party was.  I’d heard three voices, but there could be a dozen or more waiting out there, not the kind of odds to be faced needlessly.

I caught Ty’hrall’s head and stroked his fuzzy cheeks, whispering into his ear.  “Wake up, my friend … quietly.  There is trouble!”

He dipped his head to show understanding.

“
Dar’kyn,” I explained.

I felt his body shiver, but knew this for suppressed rage, not trepidation.  Ty’hrall feared nothing—but creatures of water.

“Keep watch,” I said.

I slipped away to Amberyn, and eased down beside him.  In his sleep, he had discovered my abandoned blanket and appropriated it for his comfort.  I lay down and slipped a hand over his mouth, holding his shoulder with my other hand.  “Amberyn, Amberyn! 
Dar’kyn … outside.”

He held himself very still.

I withdrew my hands.

He rolled toward me and sat up.  His hand found me, making me jump slightly in the darkness.  The elf drew me close and whispered.  “We must wait.  Make no sound.  It is safest to let the morning drive them away.”

I knew he was right, but waiting was worse than battle.  Doubtless, I would soon be straining for sounds until I started imagining them.  It was too bad that Ellyssia’s hunting horn could not summon a host to stand beside us.  Unfortunately, I had not yet found allies to swoop in to save the day.  Had that been the case, I would already be assailing the World of the Dead to recover my son’s soul.

I wasn’t dressed for quick movements should trouble find us. 

Doubtless, Amberyn had spare garments I can borrow that were more fitting to travel.  I would have to get them in the morning and change from my present attire.  I dare not try to change now—just removing my corset with its stays promised to be a noisy affair.  All I could do was wait in stillness for our stalkers to leave.

I felt for Amberyn.  He was gone.  I thought he’d probably gone forward to watch the mouth of the cave.  Left alone, my thoughts explored sensitive avenues.  Azrael had betrayed me with silence about my son, and then professed his love to me when it could only be a burden.  I did not know if I could forgive him for either act, nor if I could stop loving him.  That I did love him was no longer something I could hide from myself.  When I thought I was dying on Ellyssia’s sword, his name was last on my lips.  I knew what that meant.

The thought of facing him stirred me beyond reason; I wanted to batter his face in with my fists, and then mend each wound with a kiss and loving caress.  I wanted to carve chunks out of his shadowed heart, and then wrap myself forever in the cold comfort of his arms.  Sadly, I shook my head at my conflicting impulses—my heart was a mess.

I had to admit, I could use Azrael at my side.  I knew the
Dar’kyn would be no threat if he were here.  I yearned to call his name, but it would do no good.  He could not come through Avalon’s warding—my dark angel would never even hear me, not unless his heart’s strength surpassed his reaver power.

I almost whispered his name anyway, but shook off the fancy with a sigh.

Still feeling the effects of the ghost queen’s sword, my eyes grew heavy.  My thoughts went to Phillippe.  Once I found his body a safe haven, I could get about raising a force to storm the Courts of Death.  My son’s spirit would be reunited with his flesh, and he would have his life back.  I promised him this.

Dreamless sleep delivered me for a time from my burdens. 

When I awoke, it was morning.  A gray morning light filtering past the bushes and framed the unicorn and Amberyn.  Having been moved close to me, I could make out my son’s vacant face.  He awaited direction, lying still.

I climbed to my feet.  Stiff muscles protested.  I approached Amberyn.  He turned and offered me a bundle of clothing as I arrived.  “Here.”

“The Dar’kyn?”

“They moved on some time ago.  Get changed so we can ride.”

Keep your back turned and do not peek.”

“I am a master of the glamour.  How will you know if I do or not?”  He smiled with wicked delight, teasing me.

“I trust your honor.”

Another long pause—I wondered what it signified.

“As you wish,” he said.

I moved back to a corner, undressed, and slipped into leather pants and a tunic that was large on me.  There was a belt and pair of boots.  I was now dressed as befits royalty for some formal event.  The thought amused me as I searched out the gifts left for me by the wall.  The horn had a strap that I slipped my head and an arm through.  I picked up the sheathed dagger.  This was the real prize I valued; I felt better with even a small blade in hand.

I returned to the Elf lord.  “The day is overcast enough so the Dar’kyn might still be active.”

“But they would have been up all night.  Surely, they require sleep as much as we do.”

“Yes, but they could have slept in shifts, reading the sky, knowing that this type of day was coming.  When you heard them last night, did they seem as if they were passing through, or were they suspicious of our presence in the area?”

I dipped into my memory for the discussion I had overhead.  “They knew magic had been used near here, and were searching it out.”

“Hmmm, the warriors must have a sorcerer with them.  He must have sensed the magic I used to cleanse the earth of tracks.”

“What do we do?” I asked.  “We cannot remain here indefinitely.”

“I will survey the area covertly, and make sure we can continue without incident.  Wait here with Phillippe and Ty’hrall.”

I nodded agreement, supporting any plan that kept my son out of risk.  Ellyssia would have to put up with both of us a little while longer.

Light on his feet, Amberyn slipped away, barely disturbing the outer brush.  I took the opportunity to refresh myself with some of the elf’s blessed water.  It brought a flush of vigor through my system.  Restored, I cast Ty’hrall’s blanket across his back and fetched the saddle which went up next with a great deal of effort.  I would never make a quality groomsman, but I managed to get the job done without overly taxing the unicorn’s patience.  I added my bundled clothing to a saddle bag and fastened them to the saddle.