Faerling

Book 1, Crystal Mirrors

Part VII

Genna stretched luxuriously as she slowly returned to wakefulness. First she'd had a warm bath for her aching muscles, then a nice nap on a comfortable bed. Her eyes flickered open, and she spied a dress draped over the back of the chair, with a note pinned to it. She picked up the dress, dropping the note back on the chair since she couldn't read it anyway. A quick inspection of the dress found it to have a high back, low front, long sleeves and full skirt - all together very uncomfortable. Genna dropped it back over the chair, preferring her tunic. The back had been cut off (more neatly than when Alec had first sliced it) to ease the itching of her back, and the sleeves removed so she could easily move to practice the staff. After splashing some water on her face, Genna decided to head down for supper. She wasn't certain, but she thought she remembered the way.

The hall was well lit, and Genna headed confidently towards the stairs. She had been placed in one of the tower rooms, as the tower was reserved for guests, according to the butler who had brought her here. She ran lightly up to the door at the head of the stairs and tugged it open. And stopped in surprise when the door remained shut. She grabbed the knob with both hands and tried again, to no avail. Turning slightly red, she turned the knob again and tried to push. Then she stared at the door, puzzled. If the door wouldn't push, and it wouldn't pull, then how was she supposed to open it to get down to the dining room?

"It's locked."

Genna whirled at the sound of an unfamiliar voice behind her. "Who...?" She stopped at the sight of an elf, lounging against the side of the doorway across from her own room, arms crossed across his chest, watching her. He looked strangely familiar.

He straightened up and walked towards her, one hand out. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Donal, and you are the faerling from whom I... shall we say... appropriated?... a brooch which has landed me in the same precarious situation as yourself."

"What?" Genna was genuinely perplexed. She wasn't even certain if the elf was truly speaking a language she understood. Then one part of what he said penetrated her brain. "Wait, *you* stole my mother's brooch!"

He shrugged. "It was my misfortune. Believe me, next time I find an article someone tells me to stay away from, I'll stay away from it."

"But what are you doing *here*?" Genna glanced at the door. "And why can't I go downstairs? And where is my mother's jewelry??"

He laughed. "You can't go downstairs because the door is *locked*." His expression clearly indicated what he thought of her intelligence.

"But, why?" Genna sat down on the floor, drew her knees up, and propped her chin on her hands. "When we arrived, Jason greeted Alec like and old friend. And then he said I could rest while they had a drink before dinner."

"My guess is," Donal began, sitting down next to her, "is that now that he has a symbol of Mirya, he wants one of Her children to go with it."

"But I'm not!" Genna protested. She had no idea why she had once again told this to a complete stranger, but now that she had she just had to hope no damage had been done.

Donal shrugged. "Whether you are or you aren't doesn't matter to him. If you aren't what he wants, he'll likely kill you." He watched Genna's face pale. "He's probably already done so to your friend."

Genna was quiet, thinking hard. She refused to believe Alec could possibly have been so easily killed. "Are there any windows?" she asked suddenly.

"One, at the end of the hall." Donal pointed, and Genna could see the one window, high above either of their heads. "Perhaps we could see out, if you stood on my shoulders, but then what good would it do anyway? We're very high up."

Genna jumped up and lightly ran to the window. "Help me up." Donal walked over, and braced himself as Genna climbed onto his shoulders. He wondered about the sanity of the girl, trusting an admitted thief, then decided not to wonder. If it got him out of this place, he didn't care how it worked.

Genna peered out over the courtyard far below. She could see Jason walking slowly, carrying something heavy over his shoulder. She climbed up onto the sill of the window, so she could see better, tucking her feet under her so they wouldn't hang out into the open air. The height of the window, so far from the ground below, didn't bother her, but it was better to be safe. As she watched, the object over Jason's shoulder moved, and she saw the familiar color of Alec's clothing, and was relieved he was alive. "He's alive!"

"Who's alive?" Donal asked, looking up at her. Just watching her on the ledge gave him the shivers up his spine. If she lost her balance, *splat* all over the courtyard.

"Alec. Jason is taking him somewhere. He is alive, for I did see him move. I would suspect he is injured, thought, to allow Jason to carry him as he does." Genna smiled down at Donal. "Would you get me my pack?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to refuse, but something stopped him, and he went to bring the pack. By standing on tiptoe he could hand it up to her, and she dug into it, pulling out a deep green stone. She closed her hand tightly around it, watching the stable across the way where Jason had brought Alec.

-Alec,- she thought as hard as she could, concentrating on his face until she could almost see him standing before her. -Alec, 'tis Genna. Answer me, please!-

Alec felt as if his head were filled with cotton. His eyes hurt as if someone had pushed sand under the lids and then sewn them shut. He didn't even try to open them. He could tell he was sitting on something very hard, scratchy, and cold, but no more than that, since his arms wouldn't obey the simple command of reaching out and touching the nearest surroundings.

As he sat, he thought he heard Genna's voice calling him, but it sounded strange, almost as if she were somehow inside his head. He let his mind go blank, not a difficult task considering how he currently felt, and saw an image of her, eyes shut tight, hands clenched around and object, obviously concentrating very hard. -Alec,- he heard. -Alec, 'tis Genna. Answer me, please!-

What the hell, he figured. He assumed he was dreaming, but if Genna was so insistent about talking to him, the least he could do was answer. -What is it, Faerling?- His thoughts seemed sluggish, as though he couldn't quite remember what he wanted to say long enough to say it.

-Alec, 'tis awful! Jason has locked me up in the tower and has put you in the stables and 'tis also a thief up here with me, and we don't know what to do.-

Alec chuckled mentally. Even in his dreams Genna was confusing. -Faerling, why would Jason lock you in the tower? And with a thief? And I'm not in the stables, I'm in my room, resting until dinner...- Even as he thought this, he felt it sounded strange. He dimly remembered sitting down with Jason for a drink, but nothing further. And the surface beneath him was rather cold, and scratchy for a bed in Jason's manor. And as for locking Genna in a tower...

He heard Genna sigh. -Alec, 'tis no dream! 'Tis the magic stone you gave me to call you!-

Alec's memory was jarred by her words. He had given her the stone because he didn't trust Jason, and now Jason had locked her in a tower... he struggled to open his eyes. -Hang on, Faerling. Jason has drugged me, and I find my responses somewhat dulled at the moment.-

-When you get out, look up. I'm sitting in the window.-

Alec tried to respond, but found the link broken. -In the window?- he thought to himself. -The girl's brains must be addled. What if she *fell*?- He slowly tried to sit up, opening his eyes.

The room was slightly blurry, and his vision cleared with agonizing slowness. His muscles felt leaden, but he found he could stand, and with each minute he grew stronger. Strangely, Jason had taken his weapons as Alec had expected. Jason likely thought that with or without weapons, Alec was as dangerous a foe. A pity that wasn't true, for Alec knew he wasn't what the Lord of Ellesmere thought. Frustrated with his dulled reflexes, Alec moved slowly from the stables and out into the courtyard. He glanced up and saw Genna sitting in the window, feet tucked up under her. She waved when she saw him.

-Don't move, Genna,- Alec thought, wishing she were still using the stone. As he watched, she turned to say something to someone behind her, he assumed the thief she had mentioned. Then as she turned back to watch the courtyard, she seemed to slip somehow, and as Alec watched, fell forward, her hands missing the edge of the window as she went.

"He's fine!" Genna turned to Donal, a wide smile on her face. "He just came out of the stables, so now we can try to find a way out of here." She turned back to see if Alec was going to *do* anything now that he was awake again, and felt herself slip off the edge. She grabbed for the edge of the window, feeling her fingertips scrape against the rough stone sill. Time seemed to slow down as she fell. She could see Donal leaning over the sill above her, reaching out towards her. She could see Alec watching from below.

A terrible pain fired across her shoulder blades. Her back arched and she screamed, a horrible cry wrenched from her, as her shoulders seemed to rip apart. She reflexively closed her eyes, praying for the welcome blackness of oblivion, as, with an incredible wrenching feeling, she stopped moving.

It took her a few moments to realize that she hadn't hit the ground. The first indication was the lack of pain, except for a slight throbbing in her shoulders. She opened an eye, cautiously, and saw Alec standing on the ground, staring up at her, and incredulous expression on his face. She wondered what had happened - had time stopped? She craned her head around to look back up towards the tower window. Her whole body pivoted unexpectedly, and she caught sight of Donal as she spun around, dropping a few feet. There was a pulling sensation in her shoulders as she stopped falling again, and it occurred to her to find out why.

She reached behind her, her fingers stretching to reach her shoulder blades, from which she could feel something extending out from her back. She followed it with her fingertips, feeling a lacy membrane beneath her touch. She instinctively jerked away from her own touch, and spun around again, falling slightly. This time she concentrated on not falling, and the pulling sensation in her shoulders grew stronger and she move upwards a slight amount. Grinning at this wonderful new thing she had discovered, she turned to look at Alec again.

Alec watched helplessly as Genna fall. He heard her scream, and knew that they would likely soon have company in the courtyard. He moved forward, attempting to position himself to break her fall. As he watched, waiting, arms outstretched, she seemed to twist in midair, and then, from the area around her shoulders, lacy, membranous wings appeared, and quickly began moving to stop her descent. He stood, dumfounded, as she hung there in midair, suspended by the rapid beat of her wings.

A sound behind him alerted him to the presence of another, and he turned rapidly, drawing his sword. Before him stood a great brute of a man, his hands made into huge fists, his face drawn into a snarl. With a growl, the man moved forward menacingly.

Alec had no desire to kill Jason's henchmen, and sheathed his sword, hoping to rely instead on his agility and strength. He doubted his strength came close to matching that of the brute, but he hoped his own agility would even out the contest. He moved forward, lightly on the balls of his feet, ready to dodge and strike.

The brute made a grab for Alec's head, and Alec easily ducked the heavy hands, moving around behind his opponent. He clasped his hands together and lowered them at the base of the brute's head, the most vulnerable spot on the neck. It was as effective as hitting the side of the castle, pain jarring into Alec's shoulder as the force of his strike didn't penetrate the brute's skin. The brute only growled and turned to face Alec again.

As he dodged, hoping the brute would soon tire, Alec spared time for a glance up at Genna, sighting her still far above him, apparently fascinated by her new wings. Whenever he glanced up, she was still hanging in midair, slowly spiraling up a little ways, and then down again, but not progressing far in either direction.

Donal let himself slide back down from the windowsill into the hallway. When he'd seen Genna go over the edge, he'd jumped up, landing on his stomach, arm outreached to try to grab her, but she fell too quickly. When she had suddenly sprouted wings, however, he knew she should be fine on her own, and decided to try to use the disturbance to his advantage and escape. He shrugged. For that matter, why not appropriate the girl's belongings? He picked up the backpack, which still lay at his feet, and slung it over his shoulder.

A soft sound by the door caught his attention, and he backed into a shadow against the wall. As he watched, the door opened, and a slender figure entered the room and went to the room in which Donal had awakened earlier. He crept up behind the figure and grasped it around the neck and waist, pinning it to him. "What do you want?" he growled.

"I came to let you out..." The thin, high voice trailed off as its owner gasped for breath. Donal let the woman go, and she turned towards him, her hand held out, a glint of gold in her palm. Donal, recognizing the faerling's brooch, reached for it, but the girl snatched her hand back before he could grasp it. She raised her eyes to his, and he recognized her as the young wench who had met him at the door.

She held her hands behind her back as she spoke. "I know you could easily kill me and be done with it, or steal the piece and escape, since I opened the door." She paused, a hand snaking forward to brush an ebony lock of hair from her eyes. "But could you kill a girl in cold blood or leave her to be tortured when your disappearance was known?"

Donal stared at her coldly. "You want to go with me." It was a statement, not a question. He knew that if she really wanted to follow him out, there was not much he could do about it, but he didn't intend to make the decision easy for her.

She bit her lip, her free hand toying with a lock of hair, snaking it around her finger. "Yes," she said softly. In truth, she simply wanted to leave this place, and this seemed to be the easiest manner in which to accomplish her desires. She untied a rope from about her waist, releasing a pack she had had tied under her cloak, which she handed to Donal. "I found these below, and think they may belong to you."

He took the bag and glanced inside to find a case containing his bow, his quiver of arrows, his sword and sheath, and 3 daggers. He glanced sharply at the girl, but her expression was carefully innocent. He'd *had* a fourth dagger, but he wasn't about to inquire where it had gone at the moment.

The girl started moving down the hallway. "Follow me," she whispered, drawing her cloak close around her, stepping down the stairs, remaining close to the side of the hallway and the shadows.

Alec ducked a blow, the fist grazing his skull. His reactions had been growing slower and slower, and he knew the effects of the drug Jason had given him were still upon him. As he thought of Jason, he wondered just why the Lord of Ellesmere hadn't yet shown his face in the courtyard. Alec considered the slim possibility that Blackthorne was afraid of him, and dismissed it. Blackthorne obviously considered Genna important enough, for whatever reason, to try to kidnap her, and therefore would probably make an attempt to keep her. Then again, he *was* making an attempt, as was obvious since this brute was out here battling with him. Alec felt his head begin to spin, and reflexively ducked left as he saw the brute's hand come up. A sharp pain burst in the side of his head, and he stumbled, falling to one knee. He struggled to free his mind from the cobwebs, dropping to the ground and rolling out of the brute's reach.

Genna heard a shout from below her, and glanced down to see Donal running out the door, followed by a figure cloaked in black. Alec was on the ground, rolling sideways while a huge man attempted to grab him. She started spiraling downwards, wanting to help, even if she wasn't certain how.

Donal ran from the manor, the girl close behind, and saw the brute who had clobbered him when he had first arrived. Drawing his sword, he shouted to the man, and ran up into range. The brute turned and growled a challenge. Donal jumped at him, sword out, attempting to strike through the shoulder. He intended to injure, but not kill, for the girl had been right. Despite everything, Donal could not kill in cold blood. Why *she* had chosen to stake her life on that fact, he didn't know, but then, it didn't matter at the moment either.

His strike landed on target, the impact jarring Donal as the sword slid off the tough skin of the brute's arm. He ducked and rolled by the brute, standing and spinning to face his opponent's back. The brute moved slowly, and Donal took the chance to jump at his back. Realizing that this was *not* a defenseless opponent, Donal didn't hold back on his attack, and drove his sword deep into the back of the brute. The brute stumbled forward and fell, Donal's sword coming clean of the body. He hastily wiped the sword and resheathed it.

"Is he dead?"

Donal turned to see an unfamiliar, brawny, and slightly groggy man towering over him. He glanced back at the brute on the ground, nudging him slightly with his toe. "I don't believe so," he said slowly. "He has tough skin, and I felt my sword slip off target as it entered."

"Good." The stranger turned, and Donal saw Genna floating slowly to the ground some feet away. "Faerling, I think this might be our cue to leave."

Genna hurried over to Donal, and reached up to take her pack from his shoulder. He considered resisting, but didn't, instead keeping a careful eye on the large stranger he assumed to be her protector. He shook his head at the thought of her naivete. If *anyone* needed a protector, the faerling did!

"We have to share horses, and I hope you can ride well." The cloaked girl led the horses which Genna and Alec had brought up to the group. She glanced toward the house. "And I'd say we should leave soon, before m'Lord figures out what has happened."

Alec vaulted onto the horse, reaching down and easily lifting Genna up in front of him. "Follow me," he commanded. "I know these woods as well as Blackthorne himself." Wheeling the horse around, he raced off.

Donal shrugged at the girl and climbed up onto the horse, reaching a hand down to help her. "I hope you can ride," she muttered as he took the reins and kicked the horse to a gallop.

Faerling is copyrighted by Deb Atwood.

Copies may be kept for personal use but may not be redistributed without the expression permission of the author.

Tryslora Eloran (deb_atwood@fac.com)