Jayne Castle [Jayne Ann Krentz] (37 page)

wouldn't be surprised if they amused themselves playing a few more of the kind of games that shocked

you so much that day by the stream."

"You really think they'll be all right?"

Ridge smiled grimly. "I think they'll be fine. Nice to know some members of this troupe of gallant

adventurers are having a good time on the trip, isn't it?"

Griss and another cloaked man came for Kalena after she had slept uneasily for what she estimated was

an hour. After giving her a small amount of food, her ankles were silently untied and she was led to the

threshold of the dark corridor.

Helplessly, Ridge watched her being taken away from him. "Kalena!"

She glanced back at him over her shoulder, aware that her captors weren't going to let her have any

lingering farewells. "Yes, Ridge?"

"Remember what I said."

She smiled mistily, thinking of his impossible orders to hide in the valley with the Healers. "I will

remember that I am your wife, Ridge, and not your whore."

He had no chance to respond. Kalena was yanked through the opening and pushed down the bleak

underground passage.

Itwas a long walk up the mountain trail without a creet. Kalena had been led back to the surface through

an endless series of twisting corridors. She had been blindfolded, but even without the covering over her

eyes she was certain she would never have been able to remember the way through the convoluted

passages. Eventually, the blindfold had been ripped from her eyes and she had been thrust into the bright

sunlight that gleamed on the snowy peaks of the Heights of Variance.

Without a creet.

Parts of the trail looked familiar, and Kalena assumed she had been left within a day's walk of the valley.

At least she hoped it was a day's walk. She had been given her cloak and nothing else, not even a small

tube of firegel. If she was forced to spend the night on the trail she would be lucky not to freeze to death.

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She consoled herself with the thought that her captors did not want her to die just yet. Therefore, she

must be close enough to the valley to reach it by sundown.

Thoughts of Ridge waiting in darkness and the insanity shehad seen in Griss' eyes kept her moving

steadily throughout the day. The sound of water caught her attention at one point. Surely she had noticed

that small waterfall on the first two trips along the trail. If she remembered correctly, it had been fairly

close to the section of the pass that had been blocked by the shimmering veil.

But the veil did not come conveniently into sight around the next bend. Kalena kept going. Her feet were

tired and her legs ached from the endless climb. She didn't bother to stop for lunch. No one had thought

to give her any food to take with her. Presumably, that was another indication that she was reasonably

near her destination. She could have used the food, she thought dismally. Her energy sources were failing

rapidly. Probably as a result of all the emotional trauma she had been through as much as the actual

physical exertion. She was getting very cold. The exercise and the cloak had kept her reasonably warm

earlier in the day, but they were both becoming less efficient as she tired.

She had her head down and was leaning into the climb, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the

other, when she rounded one last bend shortly before sundown and found herself confronting the

shimmering veil of white.

Kalena halted abruptly, swaying a little with exhaustion as she examined the barrier. It looked the same

as it had yesterday. Was it only yesterday she and Ridge had left the valley? For the first time she realized

she was uncertain of just how much time had passed in the caves of the Cult of the Eclipse.

Frowning a little, she stepped through the gleaming veil, experiencing the now familiar brief, pleasant

sensation, and then she was on the other side. The valley stretched below, as green and beautiful as she

remembered it. Kalena drew a deep sigh of relief and started down the trail.

Her return to the valley was noticed as soon as she began to walk along one of the paths between the

extensive gardens. Women who had been working in the fields dropped their tools and came toward her,

converging from all directions. Arona was

one of the first to meet her. Her eyes were wide and anxious as she examined Kalena's weary face.

"Valica was right. The time is at hand, isn't it?" the Healer asked worriedly. "You have come for the

Key."

"I'll bet Valica is right a great deal of the time, isn't she?" Kalena smiled bleakly. "I should have known."

Valica was already making her way through the throng of women, her aristocratic features set in lines of

deep concern. "Are you all right, Kalena?"

"I think so. Just a little tired. I've been walking since dawn. Tell me, how long ago did Ridge and I

leave?"

Valica looked startled. "Three days."

"One whole day," Kalena said bemusedly. "We lost one whole day in that cave before we awoke."

"What cave?" Valica took her arm, signaling for the others to step aside. "Where is your husband?

Kalena, what has happened?"

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"What you said would happen, Valica. I have a need for the Light Key. Ridge will die if I don't take it

back with me to the caves."

"What are these caves you keep talking about?" Arona demanded, hurrying alongside as Kalena was

guided to a nearby cottage.

"I'm not sure where they are, although one of the entrances to them is within a day's walk of here. They

are inhabited by a really nasty crowd of males. Ever heard of a group called the Cult of the Eclipse?"

Valica's breath hissed sharply between her teeth. "They are only a legend!"

"I guess they're as much a legend as the Keys. They seemed very real to me. Too real."

"It is all as bad as we here in the valley had feared. Come," Valica said with authority, "you must eat and

rest. We can talk later."

"I haven't got a lot of time, Valica. I must return with the Key as soon as possible."

"We will discuss this after you have eaten."

There was no disagreeing with Valica's tone of voice, and in truth Kalena didn't feel much like arguing,

anyway. She was tired and hungry and knew she couldn't walk back down the trail at night. When she

was urged into a small cottage and told to sit down she did so with a great deal of gratitude.

Hot, comforting food was brought at once, and for the first time since she was a young child, Kalena

found herself being served by someone other than a paid servant. It made her feel a little awkward, but

nothing got in the way of her need to fill her empty stomach.

Valica, Arona and a handful of others sat around her, watching anxiously as she consumed the meal.

Between bites of food, Kalena told them everything that had happened since she and Ridge had left the

valley. When she finished, Valica was silent. Arona spoke first. She was clearly agitated, her expression

haunted with concern.

"You would go back to the caves with the Light Key for the sake of this man, Ridge? That's foolish,

Kalena. He is a man and he has been captured by men. Let him work out his own destiny. You are safe

here in the valley. You must stay here."

Kalena just looked at her, helpless to explain. "He is my husband," she finally said. "His destiny is my

destiny. Valica once said there are always choices. I have made mine. I will share my future with Ridge."

She knew that probably wasn't sufficient justification in Arona's eyes for what she intended to do. But

Kalena was too exhausted to try and explain the often uneasy bonds the marriage had established

between her and Ridge, let alone the demands of honor and duty involved. In that moment Kalena wasn't

sure she could have explained them to herself, much less anyone else. She only knew she could not hide

in the warmth of the valley while Ridge lay awaiting his fate in the cold caverns of the cult. "He is the other

half of myself. My opposite on the Spectrum. Together we form a whole, Arona. Do you understand?"

"No," Arona snapped, "I don't understand. He is a male. You don't need him."

Valica raised her hand, quietly demanding attention. "There is no point in argument. Kalena must go

back with the Key. She has no choice. We have known this time was coming and now it is upon us.

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There is no way to avoid the confrontation of the Keys. These events were set in motion eons ago and

cannot be halted."

"But all the legends state that the Keys must not be brought together!" one of the other women

protested.

Valica shook her head. "No, the legends state that it is very dangerous to bring them together, not that

such an event must not happen at all. The ancient manuscripts claim that certain people may control the

Keys. Bestina was convinced and I am equally sure that Kalena is a woman who can handle the Light

Key. Perhaps this man Ridge is the one meant to handle the Dark Key"

"What will happen if we don't allow Kalena to return to the caves with the Light Key?" Arona

challenged.

Valica looked at her sadly. "Then the Darkness that has been growing gradually around us will continue

to grow until it begins to reach beyond the mountains. Soon it will touch the small villages and towns of

our land. Ultimately, it will have to be stopped. Better to do it now, before it has gained too much

strength. Balance must be reestablished or there will be worse to come in the future."

All the women were silent then. Further argument was out of the question and they all knew it. Kalena

ran a hand through her thick, windblown curls, sweeping back some of the hair that had fallen forward.

She felt obliged to be honest about the whole business that lay before her.

"I think I should tell you, Valica, that I didn't come here to save your mountains, the land beyond or even

a village or two. Surely I would know if I had been fated for that kind of destiny. I'm quite sure I'm not

the one you've been waiting for all these years. I hate to say it, but I'm afraid there's been some sort of

mistake. But if I can handle the Key, I will take it back with me to the caves because that seems to be the

only way I can free Ridge."

Valica's expression was wise and gentle. "Your reasons are not important, Kalena. The fact that you are

here is all that matters."

She got to her feet. "But right now you need rest. We will leave you for a few hours. Use the time to

renew your strength. You will need it."

The other women rose to follow Valica out of the cottage. Kalena watched them go, wanting to argue

that she should do whatever had to be done as soon as possible. But she kept quiet, knowing Valica was

right. Kalena could feel the exhaustion deep in her bones. Trying to make her way back to the caves in

the dark would be too dangerous. She might as well rest until dawn.

It seemed that the cottage door had no sooner closed on the last of the women than Kalena found

herself too drowsy even to think about what lay ahead of her. She stretched out on the pallet without

bothering to undress. Closing her eyes, she wondered vaguely if there might have been some Healer's

sleeping potion in the food. Sleep came quickly, bringing no dreams.

Kalena awoke shortly before dawn, deeply refreshed. She lay still for a moment, gazing at the darkened

sky outside the window. For some reason, one of Olara's teachings drifted through her mind.

All darkness, whether that of night or that of the black mist used by the Cult of the Eclipse, belonged to

the shadowed end of the Spectrum. Darkness in and of itself was neither good nor bad; it was simply at

the opposite end of the Spectrum from that which was light. But extremes at either end of the Spectrum

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became dangerous. They needed to be balanced. It was the function of light to balance dark, just as it

was the role of the feminine to balance the masculine.

Kalena understood that actions, elements or people which originated at the farthest ends of the

Spectrum were potentially more dangerous than those that came from some point in the middle because it

took more power to balance them. It would take a great deal to counter the black mist, for example. The

energy released in doing so could be very dangerous.

Kalena didn't want to contemplate how much energy might be discharged in any attempt to force the

Dark Key and the Light Key together.

She sat up on the edge of the pallet just as a knock sounded on the cottage door.

"You are welcome," she called softly.

The door opened to reveal Arona standing on the threshold. She carried a lamp in her right hand. "I wish

you good morning, my friend."

Kalena smiled. "Thank you. You didn't by any chance bring some food, did you? I seem to be ravenous

this morning."

Arona's beautiful dark eyes were full of regret. She came forward, set down the lamp and seated herself

on the pallet beside Kalena. "I'm sorry, Kalena. Valica says you are not to eat until later. There are things