Faerling

Book 1, _Crystal_Mirrors_

Part X

Genna flew up the stairs of the inn, a piece of paper clutched tightly in her hand. The flutter of her wings in the tight area created a draft felt by all in the common room of the inn, but after the past week, all were used to the faerling.

"Alec, Gil, Donal!" She landed at the top of the stairs and raced lightly down the hall, bursting into the room the men shared at top speed. "Look!" She held out the letter, as proud as if she had written it herself.

"So what's it say, Faerling?" Alec asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. He was leaning back in his chair, his long legs stretched out across the floor. Donal sat on the edge of the table, looking down at the cards in his hand, only glancing at Genna after her arrival.

Genna's face fell. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I can't read."

Alec reached out to gently take the crumpled paper from Genna's hand. Unfolding it, he read silently.

"So you can't read, eh, little one?" Donal chuckled. Genna watched interestedly as he calmly slipped a card from his sleeve and into his hand, sliding a card from his hand back up into his sleeve. She had never seen a game played like that, but then, she had learned that Donal had some strange quirks. She thought to later ask how to play, perhaps when the men weren't actually playing at the time.

"Where did you get this?" Alec asked, still reading.

"I was down in the common room, listening to the bard sing," Genna explained, she flew up into the air a little ways, coming to rest on the top bunk in the room. Perched on the edge, her feet dangling over, she leaned forward to continue talking. "Then a girl - younger than Gil or myself even - came into the inn, looking for a group that traveled such as ours. The innkeeper pointed her to me, and she gave me the letter. She told me that we should send our answer to the house of..." Genna wrinkled her nose, trying to remember the name she had been told. "Oh! The house of DiLian. They are the nobles who watch this area."

Alec didn't try to correct Genna's view of nobles "watching". He knew she would likely forget the lesson as soon as he told her.

"What's up?" Gil strode into the room, her lanky gait easily taking her to the chair Alec had vacated in a few steps. She turned the chair around and sat on it backwards, leaning over the back of the chair.

Alec waved the letter at her. "We've been asked by the Lady Athanasia DiLian to aid in finding her brother in the north."

Gil paled. For the first time in the week the group had been together she seemed to lose her composure, and her voice trembled when she spoke. "Damien?" She took a deep breath, looking as if she would say more, but remaining quiet.

Alec looked at her curiously. "Yes, as a matter of fact. And her other brother, Gerard, as well." He glanced again at the letter. "It appears that they have adventured to the north and have not returned in some time, and the Lady DiLian is becoming worried. She states here that she sent her sister to the inn with a notice for any adventuring groups in the area." He glanced at his companions. "Like us."

"I'm not sure," Gil said slowly. "She doesn't say anything about us specifically, does she?" When Alec shook his head, she continued, "I'm still not sure I would trust her. Tansy is a crafty woman - worse than some of the ones I knew back home."

Donal shrugged. "Does she say how much she'll pay?"

Alec checked the note again. "No. She asks us to meet her at her house to speak of terms." He glanced at Gil. "*Why* do you not trust this woman?"

Gil wouldn't meet his eyes, saying quietly. "I knew her a few months ago, and she usually has an ulterior motive. I'm not sure I could work for her for any amount of cash."

Donal grinned, sliding off the table and walking around until he stood behind Gil. He leaned over her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "So, mage, can you make me invisible? If you were to do that, I could... perhaps... scout around this lady's manor and find out just what she has planned for us..."

A slight smile showed on Gil's face. "I think I might be able to. But I've never actually tried before. I'd have to study first."

Donal held out hand to help her stand. "Then go study, my dear, and I'll spend the evening scouting."

Alec looked unsure of this plan. "I'm not so sure it's a good idea to trespass on the lady's property..."

"Why not?" Genna piped up. She floated to the ground, landing in front of Alec, hands on her hips, head back so she could look up at him. "If Gil doesn't trust her then if Donal finds out what she wants then we'll know if we can trust her so we can take the job. And we *do* need money," she pointed out.

"I think I liked it better when she was too shy to talk," Donal whispered to Gil, his head spinning from the faerling's chatter.

"Do you really think you can make me invisible?"

Donal sat on the edge of the table in the room Gil and Genna shared, leaning back as Gil paced the room, staring fixedly at the book in her hands. "Gil? Are you even listening to me?"

Gil stopped pacing and turned to look at him. "Look, I *need* to finish reading this, and *then* I'll explain it all to you, okay? Unless, of course, you want me to do some major mistake and blow your brains into itsy bits instead of turning you invisible..."

Donal blanched slightly, and he decided against further comment. In a few minutes, Gil stopped pacing and gently closed the book and set it on the table behind Donal. Curious, he turned to glance at it, but at a sharp "No!" he turned to look at Gil instead. "Well?" he asked.

"Stand up." Gil's voice was curt and no nonsense, and when Donal continued to lean against the table, she reached out and yanked him to a standing position, pulling him into a clearer area, away from obstruction. "I need to be able to see all around you, or else I might miss an area," she said shortly. "Now, stand still and be quiet."

Stepping back from him, she reached up and positioned his head so that their eyes locked. She stared at him, her eyes glazing to black orbs, seemingly infinitely deep. Donal found himself trapped by her gaze, staring into the darkness. He felt his body relax and felt as if only stood through the help of some unseen outside source, his legs grew so limp.

Gil's mind reached out to touch the colors swirling about Donal. She reached a hand out to him, and saw that her hand glowed with the yellow aura of alteration magic, tinged with a small amount of illusion. With a single finger of her raised hand, she began to trace yellow lines about Donal's body. She slowly walked around Donal, her finger tracing circles of light about his body, as she whispered words of magic.

A voice came to Donal's ears from far away. His eyes were still glued to the spot where Gil had stood, and he could see as she passed in and out of his sight as she moved around him. His arms felt leaden, and it felt as if ropes dropped about his body, growing tighter and tighter. His ears strained to hear the words being spoken, but they didn't make sense to him.

Gil stood back and checked her work before setting the spell off. She hadn't missed any spots, and if all went as she expected, it should work. She closed her eyes and reached her hands out, touching the strings of magic. Opening her eyes again, she tugged hard on the strings. Donal felt as if all the pressure on his arms were suddenly released, and he stumbled forward, not even realizing he had been straining against the feeling of being bound. He looked up and realized that Gil was watching him, and unusual expression on her face.

He straightened up and looked down at his hands, wiggling his fingers before his eyes, wondering why he could still see them. Then he stepped in front of the mirror, and made faces at his reflections. Turning to Gil, he saw the same curious expression on her face. "Why didn't it work?" he asked.

Gil shrugged. "The magic is there, and it should have worked. I don't have a clue why it didn't. Maybe next time."

Donal laughed. "Well, I'll just have to depend upon my own abilities then to sneak into the lady's place." As he started to leave, Gil caught his arm.

"Donal, I realize that you are good at what you do, but you *don't* know what Tansy's like! She'd skin you alive if she caught you, and she's... well... she's likely to catch you unless you have help." Gil's eyes were deadly serious.

The door burst open, startling both, as Genna breezed into the room. "Hello, Gil! 'Tis dinner and Alec and I are going to the common room; would you like to join us?" Genna landed, her wings softly fluttering to a halt. "Gil, is there a reason why you are holding your hand out like that?"

Gil caught Donal's eyes and they both grinned.

"Gil?" The faerling walked over to her, and stopped in surprise as she felt someone blocking her way. Then comprehension dawned and she began to smile as well. "Oh, 'tis Donal. He is truly invisible, then, Gil?"

Gil nodded at Genna, still grinning. Then slowly her grin faded as her expression grew serious once more. She turned back to Donal. "I don't have any idea how long the spell will last, Donal, so you should probably get going and hurry up. And remember what I said about Tansy. She can be one mean bitch. Just watch yourself, okay?"

Donal nodded, and Genna felt a brush of air move by her, and Gil turned to watch as he left the room. Gil turned back to Genna, a slight smile for the success of her spell still on her face, and said, "Now, did you mention dinner?"

Donal crept up to the side of the mansion. This one was older than Ellesmere Manor had been, but was also more opulent. It seemed as if the nobility within in preferred luxury to living quietly. He moved to a vine which entwined the side of the house, climbing around the windows, all the way to the roof, where it traveled along the edge until it disappeared into the limbs of a nearby tree. Donal reached out and tested the strength of the vine. He had seen such vines before -- had even climbed such vines before -- but with Gil's warnings still in mind, he worried what kind of traps he could find for thieves within this mansion.

The vine seemed sturdy, and well-attached to the wall, and he gingerly climbed a few feet up it. From there he bounced lightly, again testing the strength of the vine before continuing upwards. If he were to fall, he preferred to do it from as low a height as possible. Most importantly, of course, he preferred not to fall at all. The vine seemed safe, so he continued upwards until he reached the window at the top of the mansion. Glancing around to check that no one on the grounds could see his activity, he gently raised the window the slightest amount possible and then wriggled through. Once in, he brushed the dust from his body and then carefully lowered the window once more. He glanced at the cloudy glass one time before he left, again noting the opulence of the mansion. To have glass covered windows in what appeared to be simply an attic storage space was extravagance. Even if this area had once been servants' housing, glass windows would still be unusual.

Now that he was inside, his next step was to find the Lady DiLian's quarters and see if he could find out anything interesting regarding this assignment she wished them to take. He moved to the door, carefully avoiding stepping on any of the seeming junk and making noise, and cautiously opened it. A set of stairs led down into darkness, and Donal stepped carefully onto the stairs, hoping that they didn't squeak. He moved slowly down, hesitating each time a slight squeak alerted him to a rotten board. When he arrived on the next floor, he could see a dim glow off to his right from under a doorway, and he moved silently down the hallway until he stood outside the closed door, listening carefully to the sounds within.

A commanding, feminine voice was speaking in clear tones. "You delivered the message to the inn."

"Yes, m'lady," a timid voice answered. "I delivered it to a faerling girl whom the bartender told me was part of an adventuring group that waited at the inn until work could be found."

"Hm," the first woman mused. "A group with a faerling is unusual. Are you certain it wasn't a full faerie?"

"No full faerie exists grown to more than my own height, m'lady." The girl sounded more sure of herself. "No, 'twas definitely a faerling, which means that the group may be unusual enough to aid you."

Donal heard movement in the room, and the clink of glass against wood. There was a rustle of fabric and then the first voice began to speak again. "That will be all for now. Return with my nightclothes in one half hour."

"Yes, m'lady."

Footsteps approached the door, and Donal poised himself to slip in as the girl stepped out. The door opened, and a slight girl, not yet into her early adult years, stepped through, balancing a large pitcher on each hip. While she turned slowly and struggled to close the door behind her without dropping the pitchers, Donal slipped through, into the hazy light of the room.

It appeared to be a boudoir, with a large canopied bed in the center of the room, enclosed by hanging diaphanous curtains. A heavy oaken wardrobe stood to one side, one door hanging open displaying a large press of gowns within. On the other side was a standing screen, from behind which Donal could here slight sounds of movement and an occasional splash. Directly across from the bed, next to the door, stood an ornate desk, covered with papers and inkwells and pens. Donal moved closer to it and glanced at the papers. He saw several copies of the note which Genna had brought upstairs, all penned in the same hand. He also found financial records of the area, notes about upkeep of the mansion, and other uninteresting items. Nothing on the desk appeared to have any bearing on the task the lady had in mind for their group.

He turned to look at the rest of the room, his gaze sweeping over the table and basin near the screen in the corner, the oaken table by the bed, the lamp's flickering flame hazily lighting the room. He moved closer to the table by the bed, his gaze caught be a slim book lying atop the table. Glancing at the screen to make sure the lady was still busy, he gently picked up the volume and opened it.

As he lifted the cover of the book, a bright flash went off, accompanied by a loud *crack* in his ears, temporarily blinding and deafening him. As he shook his head to clear his eyes and ears, he slowly heard a voice through the pounding pulse in his ears.

"Who is there? Who *dares* to..."

Donal heard a splash, and then wet footsteps padding across the room closer to him. The book had fallen from his hands to the floor, and he remained as still as possible, praying to Tam that she wouldn't somehow walk into him. His vision slowly cleared, and now that he could see he started to back up slowly, moving further from her so she couldn't bump into him and therefore find him.

Kneeling down to pick up the book was a statuesque woman, still damp from the bath. Her blond hair hung over her shoulders, dripping water onto the floor. As Donal backed into a darker corner next to the wardrobe, the woman stood, remaining in the center of the room, looking around.

As Donal watched, her gaze swept by him. He remained frozen, hardly daring to breathe. He watched as she then walked over to the table and replaced the book. The door burst open as the young girl ran into the room, leaving the door standing open. Donal slowly edged his way around the room toward the door while the two women talked.

"M'lady, what has happened?" The younger woman looked frightened as she hurried to the other woman's side.

The other woman shook her head, her long blond hair spraying tiny droplets of water about the room. Her gaze swept the room one more time, her eyes narrow. "It would appear that my book fell of the table, opening on impact and releasing the protective runes I set upon it." Her expression was hard as she spoke, and Donal knew she realized that someone besides herself had been in the room. "It was nothing."

The younger girl looked relieved. "In that case, m'lady, would you like to finish your bath or shall I lay out your nightclothes?"

The lady walked slowly to the bed and sat down. "I believe I would prefer to sleep now." Glancing at the door, next to which Donal now stood, she added, "And please close the door first. I find the draft from the hallway disturbing."

Holding his breath, Donal quickly sidestepped through the open door, watching as it closed behind him. Leaning against the wall outside, he let his breath out slowly, finally relaxing, as his back slid against the wall until he sat, leaning heavily, and rested for a while.

To be continued...

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)