Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue (25 page)

No one dared to say a word. Once again Carliss knew the risk was great and the responsibility of deciding was hers and hers alone to bear. She took a deep breath, then held her arm up high in the sky as she looked to Spirit.

The hawk left its perch and swooped down to land softly on Carliss’s arm. Takara, Kei, and Mariko stepped back as the bird flapped its great wings and then folded them in.

“I need a flame,” Carliss said as she walked to a nearby log.

By now others were gathering to see what the commotion was about. Akiyma ran to the remnants of the campfire and returned with a glowing stick. Carliss dumped most of the black powder on the ground, but poured a little onto the log. She lifted the empty pouch to Spirit, and the bird grabbed it with its beak.

“Light the powder on the log,” she said to Si Kon.

He touched the stick to the powder and it flashed, causing a small cloud of black smoke to rise up. Spirit flapped his wings in response to the noise but then settled back down. Carliss slowly brought Spirit
closer to see and smell the smoke. She then took the empty pouch from Spirit.

“Put the lily in the pouch, and tie it to Spirit’s leg.”

Si Kon carefully did what she instructed. He double-checked the knot to make sure it was secure, then looked at Carliss and nodded. Carliss reached up and stroked Spirit’s feathers.

“Can you find Petolemew, Spirit?” she asked gently.

The hawk seemed to ignore her as he looked somewhere into the distance. Carliss could hardly make herself command the bird to leave. Was she throwing Dalton’s last chance to the wind?

Carliss pointed south. “Go, Spirit. Find Petolemew!” She lifted her arm up, and Spirit took flight. He flew in a circle twice to gain altitude as dozens of people looked upward, hoping for the impossible. Then Spirit set off toward the southwest, and a murmur of concern rose up from the people.

“He is flying the wrong direction,” Akiyma said sadly. “I’m sorry, Lady Carliss. It was a bad idea.”

Carliss looked down at her brave young friend. “No, Akiyma, it is a wonderful idea. The road from Moorue goes south because of the mountains, but Spirit is flying southwest, over the mountains—straight for Mister Petolemew’s hut.”

“Dalton will be saved?”

She shook her head. “I just don’t know, Akiyma.”

They stood watching until the hawk had disappeared from view. Carliss knew the chances of this plan working were extremely slim, but at least she had hope, and that hope gave her the strength to carry on. She mounted Rindy once again and could hardly wait to be on her way.

With a final farewell, Carliss journeyed south to the road that led around the mountains, hoping to make it halfway to Brimwick Downs by nightfall.

The next day, Carliss could think of nothing other than Dalton’s fate. Would Spirit make it in time? Would he make it at all? She grew weary of the concern but could not cast it away.

Carliss pushed Rindy as hard as she dared. That evening, Carliss reached Brimwick Downs, and her faithful steed was spent. Sir Norsington, the leader of the Brimwick Downs haven, welcomed her with an enthusiastic hug. He said he was greatly relieved to see her, for news of her disappearance had reached their fellowship. Sir Norsington offered every resource of the haven to help her and the people traveling from Moorue. He also insisted on providing her with a fresh, strong horse and sending two knights to accompany her the rest of the way home.

With a good night’s rest, food, water, and an early start, Carliss and the two knights set off for Pembrook. Carliss pushed this steed even harder, for she could not bear to wait until morning to finish this final leg of the journey. They pressed on into the night and arrived at Petolemew’s hut when the moon was full and high in the black sky.

Carliss could see no sign of Spirit. She jumped from the horse before it had even stopped and ran to the door. It was locked, so she knocked fervently until she heard the latch being worked.

“Who is knocking on my door this late at night?” Petolemew sounded annoyed.

“It’s me, Mister Petolemew, Lady Carliss.” She tried to push through, but he pushed back on the door.

“I don’t know anyone by that name,” he said, quite perturbed. “Please go away and come back tomorrow, young lady.”

“But Sir Dalton—”

“Petolemew, let her in!” Carliss heard Eunice say behind the partly closed door.

Petolemew sighed, then opened the door. Carliss quickly pushed past him and ran to the cot where Dalton was lying. Eunice was bent over him, and Carliss knelt down beside her. For a moment she dared not think or hope or even speak. She was too afraid. She looked for some sign of life but could not see it. Dalton’s face was white, his cheeks sunken. His body was perfectly still.

Eunice looked over at Carliss with grave concern on her face.

“I’m sorry, child,” she said sadly. “We did not get the flower until yesterday. He could not swallow it.”

Carliss felt the tears rushing to her eyes.

“I don’t think he’s going to make it,” Eunice said sadly.

Carliss looked at Eunice, stunned by her last comment. “He’s still alive?” she asked and knelt closer to Dalton, putting a hand on his chest.

“Only barely. I mixed some of the root with water and was able to get a bit of it down him, but I’m afraid it was too little too late.”

Carliss put her ear to Dalton’s mouth and could just barely feel the warmth of his breath and hear the subtle sound of his lungs moving the air in and out. She reached down and grabbed his hand.

“Don’t you leave, Dalton!” she whispered passionately in his ear as tears fell from her eyes. “Stay with me,” she pleaded.

“Do you have more of the mixture?” she asked.

“Yes, most of it.” Eunice crossed the room to retrieve it.

Eunice returned with a bowl of brownish liquid and gave it to Carliss. Carliss poured just a few drops in his mouth and waited. She turned to look at Eunice and saw great weariness on her face.

“Thank you, Madam Eunice,” Carliss said. “You have done everything possible. Rest now… I will watch over him.”

Eunice smiled and stood to greet the other two knights who had entered the cabin. She showed them a place to sleep, then lay down for the night. Soon the little hut was filled with soft snores.

While the household slept, Carliss talked quietly to Dalton, telling him all of the things that had happened in the past twelve days. Every few minutes she poured a few more drops of the swamp-lily mixture into his mouth, then continued speaking and holding his hand. When she ran out of story to tell, she began to talk about when she was a little girl. She told of the snowflakes she used to catch and the games she played with her family on the farm and the hunting adventures she and Koen had enjoyed.

At one point Dalton stirred slightly and swallowed. It was a small victory, but Carliss rejoiced at it and continued ministering to him through the night.

By morning, the swamp-lily mixture was gone. Dalton was still breathing, but he had yet to open his eyes.

“Koen!”

Carliss ran to her brother as he ducked through the low doorway.

For two days now she had cared for Dalton moment by moment, refusing to leave his side. While she kept vigil, she had asked the knights from Brimwick Downs to travel to Salisburg and tell her family where she was and what had happened. They had brought Koen back with them.

“Thank the King you are all right!” he said now, wrapping her in a tight hug. “We have been sick with worry for you these past two weeks.” He stepped back, still holding onto her arms. “And now … Dalton …

Koen loosed his grip on his sister and went to kneel beside Dalton’s cot.

“How is he?” he asked, not taking his eyes from his best friend.

Carliss shook her head. “He’s not well, Koen. His breathing is shallow, and he won’t wake up. We have given him the antidote for the lizard’s poison, but I’m afraid—” She felt a lump rise in her throat and stopped. She was exhausted and knew that her emotions were on edge because of it, at least that’s what she told herself. She drew in a deep breath. “All we can do is tend him and wait.”

Koen stared down at his friend, then threw an arm around his sister’s shoulder. “Then we will tend him and wait… together.”

With Eunice’s help, Carliss and Koen cared for Dalton over the next two days. Slowly they pulled him back from the brink of death, though it always seemed to be lingering nearby. Dalton remained unconscious and silent except for an occasional moan.

During those long hours by Dalton’s side, Koen shared news of home with his sister. She was concerned to learn that her father had been very ill, but relieved that he was now recovering. His illness had kept Koen at home, distraught at being unable to search for Carliss. The entire haven, however, had done everything they could think of to find her, but it was as though she had vanished from the kingdom. When the knights from Brimwick Downs arrived with news that she was near
Pembrook, everyone had rejoiced, but they’d been dismayed to hear of Dalton’s condition.

“We need to get him home as soon as possible,” Carliss said after listening to her brother. “I can only imagine how sick with worry they must be.”

He nodded. “Just as soon as he can travel.”

A few days later, they stood outside the hut to say good-bye to Eunice and Petolemew. Dalton lay on a pallet of blankets in the back of a cart Koen had borrowed in Pembrook. He was still unconscious, but Carliss and Koen had decided he had improved enough to survive the trip.

“Thank you for everything.” Carliss was not one to cry, but she found herself blinking back tears as she returned the old woman’s hug. “And thank you, Petolemew.” She leaned over and gently kissed the alchemist’s wrinkled face. “We owe you so much.”

“You’re welcome, young lady.” The old man beamed as Carliss and Koen climbed into the cart. “And come back anytime,” he added. “We love visitors!”

THE FREEDOM OF PEACE

They took Dalton straight to his parents’ home near the center of town and helped settle him onto a cot in the kitchen. Carliss accepted his parents’ fervent hugs and grateful words, then set about explaining his condition and showing how to care for him. After an hour or two, however, she began to feel awkward. As Dalton’s home filled with people eager to give him attention and care, she slowly drifted to the back and stood near the wall. Time seemed to warp back on itself, and she was once more the quiet, peculiar little girl that no one seemed to notice.