Lara (33 page)

“Thank you, my lord,” Lara said softly. “Do all the Shadow Princes have such kind hearts?”

“It is our weakness, which is why we live as we do, isolated from the rest of Hetar,” he replied. “You will keep our secret, Lara?”

“Always!” she responded with a small smile.

“Lara, come quick!” Noss called.

Putting the broadsword back in its scabbard, Lara laid it aside and, with Lothair, went out on the terrace. Noss was pointing upwards. Looking up they saw a Desert hawk, but the bird was flying erratically. Without even a single word between them both Lothair and Lara shifted their shapes before Noss’s startled eyes. The two eagles, one slightly smaller than the other, rose up from the terrace, flying directly to the obviously injured hawk. Settling themselves on either side of the hawk, one wing each supporting the injured creature, their other wings catching the air currents in order to glide, they descended toward the terrace while Noss watched openmouthed. Touching down upon the warm tiles, the three birds immediately resumed their human shape. Prince Kaliq was bleeding from a wound to his left arm.

“What happened?” Lothair said.

“Damned Foresters!” Kaliq swore. “One of them could not resist shooting at me. They enter the Desert without our permission, and then they hunt when they know none but the Shadow Princes is allowed to hunt here. For men who adhere to their own customs so religiously, they have no difficulty in ignoring the customs of others.”

“Noss, get a basin, and some rags,” Lara said. Then she carefully examined Kaliq’s wound, and pronounced, “It is not serious, my lord. Nor is it deep. You were but grazed as the arrow passed by you.”

Noss came quickly with the water-filled basin, rags and the herbs needed to poultice the wound. She held the ewer as Lara quickly cleaned Kaliq’s injured arm. The arrow had, as she had suspected, pierced the skin but slightly as it passed its target. The hawk had obviously swerved, avoiding serious damage or death. The wound was neither deep nor dangerous, but it would be painful for a few days. She bandaged him, enclosing a packet of herbs within the cloth, and then announced, “You will live.”

“Small comfort,” he grumbled. “I saw who did it, and when he stands before me he will suffer my wrath. Now do you understand why I did not allow you to accompany me, Lara? I have much practice as the Desert hawk. You do not.”

“As I agreed with you this morning, my lord,” Lara told him gently, and then took his other arm. “Come. You must rest. The day alone has surely been tiring. You will tell us about it when you have slept and allowed the healing to begin.” She led him away.

“You and Lara turned into birds,” Noss said to Prince Lothair.

He nodded, smiling faintly.

“I did not realize she possessed faerie magic. I would expect it of you princes, but not of Lara,” Noss said.

“Did it frighten you?” he asked.

Noss thought a moment, and then she said, “Nay, but I was surprised.”

He nodded. “Will you still accompany her knowing this?” he asked.

“Of course!” Noss never hesitated in her reply. “She is my friend.”

Lothair nodded again, and then he said, “You should know that both the staff left for her by her mother and the sword I have had made for her possess spirits of great strength. The staff is Verica. The broadsword, Andraste. Will you be afraid?”

Noss thought again a long moment. “No,” she told him. “But tell me, my lord, does my bow or my dagger have a spirit?”

Lothair laughed. “Nay, little one. They are but a bow and a dagger.”

“Thank the Celestial Actuary!” Noss breathed. “Lara is used to such things, for she is partly faerie, but I am just an ordinary girl.”

Lothair laughed again, and then he said. “Not really so ordinary any longer, Noss. Now run along, and see if Lara needs your help putting my brother to bed so he may heal. He will be very difficult, for he does not like to be sick.”

“I will go at once, my lord,” Noss replied, and she set her bow and quiver aside before hurrying off.

Kaliq was surprised to find himself in a weakened condition, but Lara and Noss remained with him for two days as he healed. He was both furious and vengeful by turns. Much of his anger stemmed from the treatment Lara had received at the hands of the Forest Lords, she knew. But the insolence exhibited by the Foresters in entering the Desert realm without permission, and then attacking a Desert creature knowing it was forbidden, burned deep within the Shadow Prince. But on the third day he seemed stronger, and more himself again.

“Did you speak with Og?” he asked her.

“There was no time,” she answered him.

“Nor time to be a rock?” he said with a small smile.

“Only time to be an eagle,” she told him.

“Thank you, Lara,” he said. “Your instincts were perfect in the situation.”

She shook her head. “Looking back I am astounded at what I did, my lord. As Lothair and I rose up to help you, I thought only of one thing—bringing you safe home. He did not speak a word to me. We just acted in concert. You were in danger, and needed our help. We gave it as best we could.”

“You did well, my love,” he praised her.

“My mother left me a staff. It is called Verica. And Lothair had a broadsword made for me with a strong spirit called Andraste,” she told him. “Did you know he was making the weapon for me, Kaliq?”

“Aye, he asked my permission first, for you are my lover, Lara, and he would never offend either of us. I thought you would be pleased, and you are, I can see.”

“Do the Forest Lords know how to enter Shunnar?” Lara asked him.

“No. They must wait below in the village until we acknowledge them and have them brought to us.” And Prince Kaliq smiled a wicked smile. “How short are their tempers?”

“Very,” Lara said smiling back.

“Two days?” he inquired of her.

“Three,” she responded with a grin. “They will suffer with the heat as they wait. And if they are rude to the villagers they will suffer more. Zaki will allow no disrespect of his people, as you well know. How long before they are here?”

“Two days if they continue at the pace they were traveling. They were riding lemaxes, not horses, however. Lemaxes are used to the Desert, and travel it well, but they are not swift. Still, horses would not have survived,” he said.

“Too bad they did not travel by horse, then,” Lara muttered darkly.

“Go and find Og,” Kaliq said. “You must settle your travel arrangements soon, Lara. You will leave when this matter with the Forest Lords is settled between you.”

“So soon?” she said surprised.

He nodded. “Go, my love, and speak with the giant now.”

She left him, and finding her way through the corridors and down the staircases of the palace, arrived at Kaliq’s stables, which were located at the bottom of the cliffs opening out onto the green valley. She found Og, whom she had not seen but in passing since she had come to Shunnar over a year ago. There had never been any time, and now she felt guilty. He was brushing a small golden colt in a wide stall.

“Lara!” He smiled warmly at her. “You will be going soon, then. Come and sit with me here on the hay and we will visit for a while.” He pushed the colt away.

“Does everyone know this but me?” she asked him, hugging him as he bent down to greet her. “Will you come with me?”

“No,” Og said. “I am happy here at Shunnar. The prince has put me in charge of his stables now, and when I desire it, a wife will be found for me among the Desert peoples. Zaki has promised it. I am a small giant, and there are some large girls among Zaki’s people. I am respected, and earn my own living now. He says I am quite a good catch,” Og chuckled.

“I am so glad for you!” Lara told him honestly. “You go to the village then?”

“As often as I can,” Og told her. “I enjoy the company of Zaki’s people. The prince has promised when I take a wife I will have my own quarters within the palace, where I may bring a wife and raise children. For now I have been content to sleep in the loft above,” he explained. “Where will you go?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Where the wind takes me, I suppose.”

“Alone?”

“Nay, Noss is coming with me. She has become quite a good archer. I seem to have my father’s talents, and I have become fairly proficient with the staff. My mother gave me one called Verica. Prince Lothair has given me a sword, Andraste. I am not afraid as I was when we escaped the Forest, though Durga and Enda come this way even as I speak. They think to reclaim me, but we are free now, dear Og. A year and a day have passed. The law of Hetar is on our side now, not theirs,” Lara said triumphantly.

“When they learn your bloodline they will want you even more, granddaughter of Maeve,” Og answered her.

“Did you know?” Lara asked him.

“I suspected it when I learned your mother’s name,” he said, “but what good was the knowledge to either of us then? It could only have made your life worse. I learned long ago how to keep secrets, Lara. I will stand by your side when the Foresters arrive. They are dense men, but they have surely realized when I went missing, too, that we had effected our escape together. They will not want me back, for even if I do not tell them I know their secret, I know enough to shame them should I speak. They must say aloud before witnesses that I am now free, that I may live the rest of my life without fear for myself, my wife, or my children.”

“I met Maeve,” Lara told him.

“Did you?” He was impressed.

“She was fading, and has since disappeared entirely. Ilona is now queen of the Forest Faeries. Maeve told me she would never lift the curse, and no one else could. The Foresters are doomed. Whether they admit it or not, the purity of their blood is almost extinct,” Lara said quietly.

“Durga will never accept it,” Og said.

“H
E
HAS
NO
CHOICE
,”
Lara replied. “I will send for you when the Foresters arrive, Og. Be ready.” Then taking up his big hand she kissed it, and wrapping her arms about his thick neck she kissed his rough cheek. “Be happy, dear Og. You deserve it.” She stood up. “I must return now. Kaliq was slightly injured, and I am nursing him.”

“What happened?” the giant asked, and Lara quickly explained.

“He taught you to shape-shift?”

“My mother taught me. She was here a few weeks, and passed on certain faerie magic to me so I will be safe in my travels,” Lara explained. “I must go now.” And with a wave of her hand she hurried from the stables, leaving the giant behind.

“W
ILL
O
G
COME
?” Kaliq asked her when she returned to him.

Lara shook her head. “You knew as much, didn’t you?” she said.

“Yes, but it was not for me to tell you,” he replied. “It is better this way, for wherever you go, Lara, you want to travel discreetly, and even a small giant six cubits high could attract unwanted attention to you. There are going to be times when you don’t want attention.”

“I feel the pull of something, Kaliq,” she told him. “What is it?”

“Your destiny,” he said.

“But I cannot go until you are healed,” she said. “Nor until Durga and Enda understand I will not be returning to them. I cannot imagine how I am going to be able to convince them.” She sighed. “And it is my problem, isn’t it?”

“The law of Hetar is on your side, Lara. A slave who remains free for a year and a day is no longer a slave,” he reminded her. “And any slave seeking refuge in the Desert cannot be taken back. They have no rights to you, my love.”

“I suspect they will not see it that way,” Lara remarked.

She was right, of course. Two days later, Durga, Enda and a party of six other Foresters arrived at the cliffs hiding the valley of the Shadow Princes. They were informed by Zaki that they would have to wait until Prince Kaliq and his brothers were willing to see them. Zaki had been warned that these men of the Forests had short tempers, and so were to be fed, watered and avoided until it was time to admit them to the presence of the princes. And at the end of three days, Durga and his companions were growing restless and angry. Not until the fourth morning did Zaki greet them.

“The princes have agreed to see you this afternoon, my lords,” he said. “When it is time I will bring you to them.” He bowed.

“You’ve known the way to them all along?” Durga exploded.

“Of course I know the way to my lord’s palace,” Zaki responded.

“And you have allowed us to remain here roasting in your wicked weather for three days?” Durga snarled. His face was burned with the sun, and he had grown angrier with each minute they had been forced to wait. “Do you know who I am?”

“You are the lord Durga, the Head Forester,” Zaki said in irritated tones, “but it would not have mattered who you were. If my lord was not ready to see you then he was not ready to see you. Nor were the others. I will return at the appointed hour.”

“Calm yourself, brother,” Enda said softly. “This is not the Forest, nor are we the masters here. Remember why we are here. We are here for Lara, and we will regain her. Tonight each man of us here will mount and seed her. She will give us a faerie child, Durga. We will make her, and we will keep using her until she does. We are close to our goal now. Do not despair, brother.”