Magic Astray (The Llandra Saga) (7 page)

“But things have changed since the first Crossing!” Rhys protested. “The humans breed like rats,” he complained, vaguely gesturing toward Randall. “Even now, they push us to the edges of their lands, and soon there will be no place for us to go at all.”

“And so, we will push back,” the donnan declared with a hint of steel in his voice. “With the Passage Device, there will be nothing to stop great armies from crossing the barrier. Your kind has lived in this paradise for so long that your grandfather’s grandfather has forgotten what life on Llandra is like. You have grown soft. But I have not forgotten. Those that cross over will be true warriors—and we will finally take our rightful place in this land.”

Nia gasped at the donnan’s latest revelation, and stared wide-eyed at the pair of scheming fae. “It is to be war,” she whispered to Randall, horrified, unaware that he had been able to follow the entire exchange.

“Not if I can help it,” Randall promised, more to himself than to the girl. If he was the only human on Tallia to know of the elves’ plan, then it was up to him to do something about it. But to do that, he had to figure out a way out of the predicament he currently found himself in.

Nia started to say something else, but Randall shushed her and held up his hand. He had to think, and it was hard enough to do with the two fae on the far side of the room plotting his peoples’ demise. He certainly didn’t need her interruptions to add to the distraction. There had to be a way out, if only he could figure it out. He didn’t think that there would be any way he could fight both the elf and Berry at the same time once his shield dropped. And who knew how long that would be?

Randall knew he could maintain the shield by feeding it power, but eventually he would overtax himself—then once the shield fell, he’d be in no position to fight. But if he could add magic to the shield, could he also take it away? A plan was starting to form in his mind, and he closed his eyes and cleared his thoughts, attempting to focus on that bright connection to Llandra that he had seen in his mind’s eye only moments ago.

There it was! There was a thin filament of magic between him, the shield, and his connection to Llandra. If he pushed magic along that connection it would strengthen the shield. Before, he had done so instinctively, but seeing it in his mind’s eye made the process so much more obvious. But if he pulled magic from the shield...

The translucent bubble vanished with an audible pop, interrupting Rhys mid-sentence. Before either he or the donnan had a chance to react, Randall threw his hand out toward the two fae and shouted “yaosheen,” feeding the spell every bit of magic he had just absorbed. A new barrier suddenly appeared, but surrounding both the donnan and the elf!

Berry immediately flew into a fury, attacking the bubble with tooth and claw, to no avail. Rhys pressed his forehead against the nearly-invisible barrier and growled at the back of his throat.

“Nia! Kill the Mage, and free us!” he ground out through gritted teeth.

Nia had jumped to her feet the instant the barrier vanished, and she looked over Randall for a long moment, as if weighing her chances. Randall didn’t think he could fight her and maintain the shield, but he reached down and gripped the handle of his dagger in readiness nonetheless. Finally, she came to a decision and strode toward the shield, pressing her own forehead against it, inches from the elf chief’s face. Her expression was wild and defiant.

“Rhys, son of Enfys, you have tied my fate to this boy’s as in the old custom. I will cause him no harm.” Her own words had that same ring of formality that he had heard when Rhys had pronounced his judgment earlier.

The elf chief growled and screamed nearly incomprehensibly, causing the girl to flinch and retreat a step before regaining her composure. “You have set me against you by your own decree. Where he leads, I will follow. His fate is my own. Perhaps it is my destiny.”

The last bit of bravado seemed to leave her then, and she turned to flee the chamber. She grabbed Randall’s hand as she made her escape, roughly pulling him along behind her. “We need to get out of here, and quickly,” she urged, panic making her voice shake.

They had traveled a half a block before Randall sunk in his heels and pulled them both to a halt. “We have to go back for Eamon,” he declared.

“Impossible,” Nia quickly countered. “The only reason we’re still alive is because Rhys has not been able to raise the alarm. How long do you think that shield of yours will last, anyway?”

Randall closed his eyes for a moment, attempting to feel his connection to the spell. The further they traveled from it, the more tenuous the connection became, and at this range he couldn’t be certain he felt anything at all. He opened his eyes and shrugged weakly.

“Then we have to keep moving. If you want to have any hope at all of rescuing your friend, you have to first stay alive. And I do not think I can stand against the Old One and live. Do you?”

“Maybe...” Randall said thoughtfully. He wasn’t sure what Berry’s limits were, but he did know from past experience that he could wield power as great as any he had seen the donnan bring to bear. It would probably be an even fight, if it came down to it. But even though he felt deeply betrayed and used by the imp, he wasn’t sure he could face him in battle. A part of him still wanted to believe that he and Berry were still friends, and that they had somehow been caught up in a misunderstanding. If only he’d had a chance to talk to him alone…

Nia raised her eyebrows at Randall’s assessment. “Maybe? You are a young, bombastic fool. Mamaeth would easily kill us both. The magic he commands is ancient and powerful. Come on, we have to move. If we make it to the forest, we will hopefully have a chance.”

Chapter 6

They traveled through the city quickly, without speaking, and Randall felt himself tense up every time an elf looked his way. He was certain that they all knew he was a fugitive, and that they would descend upon him and Nia at any moment. Nia, on the other hand, walked calmly and with purpose toward the edge of town. After travelling in this way for a few blocks, she pulled him aside on a quiet side street.

“You have to calm down,” she whispered intensely. “Word travels fast in town, so almost everyone we run into will already know that there are humans in Dyffryn. But they won’t know that you’re not under glamour. You keep acting like you’re going to jump out of your skin every time one of us looks at you, and people are noticing. Try to act cheerful and happy to be here.”

Randall nodded nervously. “I’ll try,” he promised.

“All right, let’s go,” she sighed, shaking her head.

Randall tried to follow her advice as they continued on, but it was no use. He just couldn’t act nonchalant; all he could think about was Berry and the elf chief hot on their trail with a mass of elven warriors at their back.
It would help if I really was under glamour
, he thought to himself with a frown.

But then again, why couldn’t he be? He had felt the constant pressure on his mind ever since he first met the elves, and twice it had been so strong he’d had to steel himself against it. What if he relaxed and let it take him, just a little bit? It was worth a try.

He felt safe with Nia; she could have fought him earlier if she intended to do him harm. Erliand had once said that elves were creatures of complex rules and customs, and he felt that something significant had happened back at the chief’s house. Focusing on that idea, he did his best to relax and focus on her, rather than on their predicament.

Watching her walk in front of him, he couldn’t help but notice that she really was rather striking, in her own way. Though he had initially thought of her as looking childish, he saw that she moved with a purpose and confidence that belied years of experience. A child couldn’t have stood up to Rhys the way she had—she had some fire in her. And from behind, she didn’t really look that young at all—she had nicely rounded hips, well proportioned with her waist and shoulders. Randall found himself mesmerized by the way they swayed back and forth, accented by the tight-fitting leather breeches that she wore. A slow grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he admired her features.

“You really are beautiful, you know,” he said, struck with the sudden realization.

Nia looked back over her shoulder, confused at the sudden statement, before breaking out into a grin of her own and giggling. Randall’s heart skipped a beat as the smile lit up her features. He didn’t understand how he could have ever seen her as a child. She was obviously a beautiful young woman, close to his own age. He found himself wondering if she had a boyfriend.

“I guess you can be glamoured after all,” she said with another giggle. “Come on, we’re almost out of town.”

Randall barely noticed the passage out of town. All he could think about was the girl in front of him. He was content to watch her walk as she led him down one street after another. Before he realized it, he found himself alone with Nia, deep in the forest.

“We can’t stop here,” she warned, tension straining her voice. “They’ll send hunters after us, for sure.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Randall replied wistfully. “I never noticed those freckles on your nose before.”

“You need to snap out of it,” Nia barked as her right hand lashed out, rocking Randall’s head sideways.

Randall looked at Nia in shock as a slow anger lit a fire in his belly. As his rage grew, a growl escaped his lips and he reached for the ever-present connection to Llandra in his mind.

How dare she
, he thought as he drew upon that connection to fill himself with magic.
Doesn’t she know what I am? I am a Mage! I can call lightning from the sky and fire from my fingertips. I am the one who destroyed Aiden and broke the reign of terror that the Rooks held over all Tallia. I have changed the face of the world. And what is she? She is nothing! She’s just an insignificant little...

“You’re just a little girl,” Randall whispered hoarsely as the realization struck him. He clamped down on his connection with Llandra, and let the magic ebb. As always, he was filled with a deep melancholy as the power drained away, unused. The power euphoria had never taken him so strongly before, and his hand was shaking as he rubbed the side of his cheek where her blow had landed.

“I’m sorry about that,” Nia said, her voice cracking. “I wasn’t even sure it would work.”

“It’s all right,” Randall replied, his voice equally shaky. “It was...necessary.”

“We have to keep moving,” she pleaded. “I have no idea how long your shield held. They could be right behind us.”

“Right,” Randall said, checking himself over. He still had his elven dagger at his hip, and was comforted to feel the familiar weight of the healing talisman under his tunic. “You know this forest better than I do. Lead the way.”

Nia nodded and set off through a thick tangle of underbrush. It wasn’t the route that Randall would have chosen, as there was no path to follow at all, and the forest was so thick with vegetation that at times their movement was slowed to a crawl. But Randall had to trust that the elf girl knew what she was doing. She had lived in this forest all her life, and he was virtually a stranger to these woods.

After several hours of travel, Randall and Nia pushed into a small clearing. A small lean-to shelter was propped up near one edge, in front of the remains of a campfire that had clearly been cold for a very long time.

“This is my secret place,” Nia explained. “Nobody knows about it. I used to come here as a little girl when I wanted to get away and listen to the forest. We can take a bit of a rest and figure out what we’re going to do next. We’ll probably be safe here for a little while.”

Randall nodded and stepped over to the lean-to, resting on the patch of bare earth beneath the tiny shelter. His mind was racing; things had happened so fast, and he hadn’t had time to try to figure things out.

“Why are you helping me, anyway?” he asked, looking up at the young elf girl.

“Chief Rhys tied my fate to yours,” she said, as if that explained the matter. Seeing Randall’s look of confusion, she continued. “We elves have many customs, and many traditions. I broke one of them when I brought you to his house, not knowing you were a Mage. Rhys invoked an old law that was once used to join tribes together in alliance. Our fates our joined: were you to die, then I would have been duty bound to follow you in death. It is an old law, but it was his right as chief to invoke it. But I’m not ready to die just yet, and as long as you live, so shall I.”

“But what if I had killed Berry...uh, Mamaeth?” Randall asked.

“Then the chief’s life would be mine to take or spare, as I chose,” she explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “Even were I to spare him, he would lose his position of leadership, and I would take his place. If I were a more worthy opponent, it would have been a dangerous gamble on his part. But Rhys is a powerful Mage in his own right, and I am just a hunter. But you, you surprised us all.”

“You mean you’re not a Mage?” Randall asked incredulously. “I thought all elves could work magic.”

Nia tossed her head back and laughed, and Randall found himself grinning with her. “Of course not, silly boy,” she said. “Sure, our kind has the glamour, and we can influence the minds of those around us if we concentrate hard enough. But true magic, that is as rare for my kind as it is for yours.”

“Maybe he’ll just let us go,” Randall said, hopefully. “We’re out of Dyffryn now, and on the run. Surely he won’t waste a lot of time looking for us.”

“Were you not listening?” Nia asked in frustration. “As long as we live, I am a threat to Rhys, and his rule. And your escape threatens to expose their plans to your own kind. It would be foolish of him to let us leave the forest alive, lest we return with allies at our back. He will not sleep easy until he knows that we are dead. With the Old One at his side, I fear that he may yet succeed.”

“The Old One,” Randall repeated, shaking his head sadly. “Why would Berry attack me like that anyway? I thought we were friends.”