Exodus of the Xandim (GOLLANCZ S.F.) (59 page)

Yinze frowned. ‘I don’t suppose it’s out of the question, but why a horse? I hope and pray it is Iriana – but what if it’s some sort of Phaerie glamourie, to lure
us into a trap? The ferals said that the Forest Lord was badly wounded, but supposing he’s recovered? Supposing it was Hellorin who killed the Archwizard? What if we go over there and find
ourselves facing the Wild Hunt?’

‘They will find that it’s a mistake to attack the Skyfolk,’ Crombec said grimly. ‘You remember the whirlwind Incondor produced from your harp, and how he almost killed
himself?’

‘I’ll never forget it.’

‘Well,
I
don’t need a harp.’

With that, the old harp maker picked up the pace, heading directly for the mysterious image that glowed amongst the stars.

The Windeye was awakened from a deep sleep by Taryn’s hand gently shaking her shoulder. She could hear a disturbance amongst the herd, and suddenly she was wide awake.
‘What is it?’

‘Something strange is approaching,’ Taryn answered. ‘Look – over there in the sky.’

When she saw what was heading towards her, Corisand’s jaw dropped. She had heard of the Winged Folk from Iriana – surely this could be no one else? But what were they doing here, so
far away from the mountain, far to the south, that was their home? And what were they carrying in that dangling net? Could it possibly be a person?

She remembered Iriana saying that the Skyfolk were friendly with the Wizards – and inspiration came to her in a blinding flash. ‘Turn back into a horse – quick, before they get
any closer,’ she told Taryn. ‘I don’t want to explain the Xandim to them yet.’

‘But—’

‘Do it!’ she hissed. ‘I’m sorry, Taryn, but trust me. I’ll explain later.’ Muttering darkly, he did as she said.

‘It’ll be all right, I promise,’ she assured him. ‘Just take care of the herd.’ She left the edge of the forest and ran out into the open, waving her arms wildly
and yelling at the top of her voice until the airborne figures noticed her, and began to descend.

As the strangers landed, she felt very nervous. With the exception of the herd, the Evanesar and her own, familiar little group of companions, she had never spoken to anyone as a human. In the
end, she decided, she could only be herself. She walked forward, hands held out open and empty in token of peace, and said, ‘Thank you for stopping. I’m so glad to see you.’ Then
she got a closer look at the tall man who was stepping out of the net. She had seen his image in Iriana’s mind many times before. ‘Yinze? Aren’t you the Wizard Yinze?’

He looked at her, completely dumbfounded, then found his voice. ‘I am – but who in perdition are you? I don’t know you. How do you know my name?’

‘I’m Corisand, Iriana’s friend. She—’

Before she could get another word out, he had grabbed her by the shoulders; not to hurt her, she sensed, but in excitement. ‘Iriana?’ he shouted. ‘You know Iriana? Where is
she? Is she all right?’

‘Somewhere near Eliorand. I hope she’s all right – I was forced to leave her. Oh, there’s no time to explain. Please, I’m going to ask you to trust me. Let me use
your net, and if your Skyfolk friends will take me, I can go back to find her. If everything went well she—’

‘Hold on. You can’t just rush off like that. I felt Cyran’s passing a while ago, and—’

‘You did?’ His words filled Corisand with dread. ‘But not Iriana?’

‘No, but—’

‘I promise I’ll explain everything as soon as I can, or Iriana will when I bring her back,’ she told him, ‘but there’s no
time
now. She must be stranded
somewhere between here and Eliorand, and she might not be dead, but some of our other companions may be. Please, there’s no time to lose. I need the Skyfolk to take me to her. Once I’ve
found her, I have a spell to bring her back to you in no time.’

‘A spell?’ Yinze scowled. ‘What sort of spell? You’re no Wizard, nor are you a Phaerie or any other sort of Mage. So what exactly are you, and what are you doing with all
these horses?’

Corisand ground her teeth in frustration. Why couldn’t she make them
understand
? ‘I told you – there’s no time for this now. What if Iriana was hurt in the
battle—’

‘Battle?’ Yinze roared. ‘You left her in a
battle
? What kind of friend does that? What battle? Where was it?’

‘For goodness’ sake, Yinze, let her go,’ Crombec forestalled him. ‘If matters are as urgent as she says then both she and Iriana need our help.’ He gestured to the
net. ‘Quickly now, get in, my dear,’ he told Corisand. ‘Just tell the bearers where to go and they will take you.’

The Windeye lost no time in doing exactly what he said, wrapping herself in the nest of furs. The net took off with a lurch and suddenly she was in the air, swinging back and forth in the most
stomach-churning way. ‘Look after the herd,’ she mind-called back to Taryn. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t change in front of them, or let anybody else do so
either. I want Iriana here to back me up before they find out about us. I think we can trust them, but I won’t risk them making use of us as the Phaerie did.’

‘You be careful up there,’ Taryn replied. ‘I’m sure it can’t be safe. I’ll do my best to keep things under control here, but please hurry back.’

‘I’ll be back before you know it,’ Corisand promised rashly. Then she pointed out to her bearers the direction in which she hoped to find the others, and snuggled into her nest
at the bottom of the net to keep warm, keeping a constant lookout over the side as she went.

All at once her concentration was broken by the drumming sound of wingbeats and the Skyfolk girl came speeding up to them, her extraordinary green hair flying like a banner in the wind. She
slowed down to a steady pace at the side of Corisand’s net. ‘Yinze wanted me to come with you, because he doesn’t really trust you,’ she said candidly. ‘After all, we
don’t really know who you are or what you were doing with Iriana. I’m Kea, a Skyfolk Mage from the mountain city of Aerillia.’

She looked expectantly at Corisand, clearly hoping that she would respond in kind.

‘I’m sorry, Kea,’ the Windeye said firmly. ‘I have my reasons for wanting to keep my origins a secret, and you’ll understand why when I finally can tell you about
my people. But I am Iriana’s friend – she’s been my staunch ally and companion ever since we met. All I want to do is find her and make sure she’s safe. Please, will you
help me call out to my companions in mindspeech? It might go further if both of us are trying together.’

‘Of course I will,’ Kea replied. ‘And for what it’s worth I trust you. If you’ll give me the names and images of your companions – I know what Iriana looks
like of course, because she’s always in Yinze’s mind – I’ll help you call. Hopefully, we’ll find them soon.’

‘I hope we do. It tore me apart to have to leave them, but I had no choice. I had to—’ she caught herself up sharply, having almost revealed more than she intended to this
friendly girl. Instead she passed on the images of her other companions: Aelwen, Taine, Kaldath and Dael, to Kea. ‘Now, are you ready?’ she said. ‘I’ll count to three and
we’ll start.’

As Corisand was worrying about Iriana, the Wizard was doing the same thing about her friend. When she and her companions sensed that their mounts were beginning to sink beneath
them and realised that the flying magic was wearing off, they began, just as the Windeye had done, to look around for a safe place to ease their mounts gently to the ground. The glimmer of the
spell had faded almost to nothing, and they were dodging the tops of the tallest trees, before they finally found a small gap in the thick woodland in which they could land.

Once down they paused for a moment, looking at one another. ‘Which way now?’ Aelwen said. ‘We can’t be very far from the border, if only we don’t start wandering
round in circles.’

‘We won’t,’ Taine said confidently. ‘I had a good look round and got our bearings before we came down. The river is that way.’ He pointed. ‘And there’s
the north star. As long as we keep it behind us we can head directly south to the border. I’ve been wandering these forests back and forth for years – I know what I’m
doing.’

‘Of course you do.’ The sneering, muttered undertone came from Avithan. Iriana scowled at him and Aelwen glared, but Taine chose to ignore the sniping. ‘Let’s get
going,’ he said. ‘We have very little left in the way of supplies. It’ll slow us down considerably when we have to start hunting and foraging along the way.’ With that he
drew a long, keen knife out of a sheath on his belt. Leading his horse, he began to force his way through the thick undergrowth that surrounded the clearing, using the blade to hack out a path when
necessary. Aelwen followed him and Iriana came behind her, holding tightly to Rosina’s bridle and still using the mare’s eyesight. Avithan brought up the rear, his expression still
thunderous.

They trudged on, until Iriana’s legs were almost giving way beneath her. Unfortunately, the going was far too treacherous to allow her to ride, and she was utterly exhausted from her fight
to free the Xandim, her monumental battle with Hellorin, and all the emotional shocks of the last few hours. Furthermore, the magic of the Fialan still pulsed through her, and she had to struggle
constantly to contain so much power. In her current state she felt as though she must either drop in her tracks and fall asleep before she hit the ground, or fly apart into a million fragments.

She did neither. She set her teeth and struggled on until, just when she was sure she’d reached the end of her endurance, Taine called for a halt. He had found a narrow rill that flowed
sparkling and clear over a stony bed, and they all drank gratefully, taking the opportunity to fill their water bottles. They cleared a space and lit a fire, and ate frugally from what remained of
their trail rations, chewing resignedly at the leathery jerky and the hard crust that had formed on the last of the cheese. Only Avithan ate with relish, showing every sign of thoroughly enjoying
the meal. When he looked up and caught the surprised reactions of the others, he explained. ‘When I was in Athina’s realm we didn’t eat or drink, and there was no such thing as
hunger or thirst. Though I didn’t need food, I really missed the pleasure of eating, if you know what I mean.’

‘What was it like in Athina’s world?’ Iriana asked.

‘It was extraordinary: strange and wonderful and oddly beautiful . . .’ He began to describe the forest of stone, the Timeless Lake and the great tree in which Athina made her home,
but noticed after a while that they were all, Iriana particularly, struggling to keep their eyes open. ‘Listen,’ he interrupted himself. ‘You three have fought a terrible battle
tonight. Since we’re not going anywhere in a hurry, why don’t you get a few hours’ sleep? You desperately need it, and it’ll give the horses a chance to rest and graze too.
I’ll keep watch for you.’

‘Thank you,’ Taine said. ‘That makes a lot of sense. Now that Hellorin and the Phaerie are gone, there’s no sense in pushing ourselves into the ground.’

As the others also murmured their gratitude, a great sense of relief washed over Avithan. Suddenly he felt a little less like an outcast and more a part of this group, whose experiences had
forged bonds between them that were difficult to penetrate. It felt good to be able to contribute. The other three wasted no time in taking him up on his offer. They were already unrolling the
blankets that were strapped behind their saddles, and snuggling down as if the lumpy forest floor was the softest of feather beds. Then just as it seemed as if everyone had fallen asleep, Aelwen
opened her eyes. ‘Iriana?’

‘Uh? What?’ the Wizard muttered blearily.

‘If Hellorin’s flying spell is contained within the Fialan – and we know that’s true, because it’s how Corisand got hold of the magic – couldn’t you
perform it?’

Iriana sat up quickly. ‘I never thought of that!’ She groped in her pouch for the Stone. ‘I’m too weary to perform it now, but I should be able to find out whether I can
access the magic . . .’ As she held the Fialan in both hands her face grew taut and rapt with concentration.

Minutes passed, and everyone waited expectantly – then the Wizard dropped the Stone back into its pouch with a lurid curse that had Avithan blinking in astonishment. ‘It’s no
good,’ she said. ‘It’s some kind of tangled bond between Phaerie and Windeye magic, and it’s utterly alien to me. I’m sorry, everyone.’

‘Sorry!’ Taine protested. ‘Iriana, don’t be an idiot. You’ve already worked miracles enough tonight. It might take longer but we’ll get home, you’ll
see.’

‘Exactly,’ Avithan agreed. ‘At least we will if you three will all settle down and get some sleep.’

‘Point taken.’ Taine chuckled.

‘I’ll drink to that,’ Aelwen agreed.

Iriana said nothing. She was back in her blanket and asleep already, and the others were not long in following her. So it was that Avithan was the first to hear the calls in mindspeech. Two
voices, both female, neither familiar, calling for Iriana and the others. Were they friends or foes? Was this a rescue – or a trap?

He shook Taine awake – and suddenly found himself with a knife at his throat. Taine blinked the sleep from his eyes and lowered the knife. ‘Sorry,’ he said with a grin.
‘Old habits.’ Then he too must have heard the calls, for he leapt to his feet and began bellowing in mindspeech as loudly as he could. ‘Corisand! Corisand, we’re down
here.’

By this time Iriana and Aelwen, awakened by the commotion, were on their feet too. There were a few moments of excited babble that went almost too fast for Avithan to follow, though he thought
he caught Yinze’s name in there somewhere, then Iriana shouted, ‘Corisand, I’m going to send up a signal.’ She held out her hand and the longest, brightest stream of
magelight that Avithan had ever seen leapt from her palm and shot up into the night sky, taking the form of a gigantic white serpent with eyes of dazzling blue.

Corisand let out a cry of delight that was somewhere between a whoop and a laugh. ‘Taku! Trust you – it’s his very image, Iriana. Hold on, we’re coming.’

Almost before the net had landed, the Windeye was fighting her way out of the meshes. She and Iriana threw their arms round one another, laughing and crying, and both talking at once.