The Queen (10 page)

“It’s too dangerous,” Ferric said. “Baylin
would never allow it.”

“This is my family, Ferric,” she cried.

He looked down at her with a sympathetic
gaze, as a brother would look at his little sister when he wanted
to protect her. “Let me send a group of men. You don’t even know if
they did, in fact, decide to stay. If they did, my men will bring
them back.”

His plan made sense.
While his men are
out, I can check here in the castle to be sure they aren’t here
already.
She looked up at Ferric. “How soon could you get
there?”

“It is late. We could make it to Black
Hallows before sundown, but it would not be safe to ride back at
night,” Ferric said, looking up at a window. “We will go at first
light.”

Luana sighed. “What if Mirstone attacks in
the morning, or even tonight? My family—”

“Will be fine,” Ferric interrupted. “We have
time, Luana, I promise.”

She nodded to him.

“Why don’t you go to your chamber and rest,”
Ferric suggested. “I’m sure your son would be happy for his
mother’s company.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she agreed.

She walked toward the stairwell to the royal
chambers, not looking back until she reached the foot of the
stairs. Ferric was gone.
I will not wait to see if my family can
make it through the night. I am going to get them out of Black
Hallows—tonight.

Luana’s dress billowed behind her as the
stead galloped down the dusty road. Strands of silvery hair fell
loose from her braid and whipped at her face.

Commandeering a horse had been much simpler
than she hoped. With so many people being moved into the castle,
the stables were overflowing. The stable boys were a little
confused as to which horse belonged to whom. She managed to snatch
a big beautiful mare tied to a fencepost beside the stables,
without anyone noticing.

The horse’s black coat glistened with sweat
in the late afternoon sunlight as they pounded toward Black
Hallows. Luana swallowed hard, trying to choke back the dust
floating through the air.

She took the fastest road, through
Hillsford. Most days, one could plan to meet many travelers along
the road, however, it was eerily quiet.

The sun had gone down enough that the
towering trees cast dark, ominous shadows over Luana as she rode.
When she approached Black Hallows, she slowed the horse to a trot.
The only sounds on the air were of the wind and her horse’s
clomping hooves. Houses were left abandoned; not a sign of life
around but for a few stray cats chasing mice.

She stopped the mare in front of the
blacksmith’s abandoned shop, dismounted and tied up the horse. The
shop, which usually resounded with the clamor of hammers and
blowing bellows, was silent as the grave.
It’s abandoned.
She looked at the surrounding shops. They appeared to be abandoned
too. Many had boarded up their windows in an attempt to stop
potential vandals. She slowly walked down the quiet road, looking
for the shop Awen had described to her.

Luana located a building matching the
description. However, instead of great bins of fruit and vegetables
out front, there were birds scavenging rotting produce left behind
and stepped on.
They’ve gone. They must have gone to the castle
after all.

Her curiosity sparked.
I wonder what the
shop looks like
. There was a small window at the top of the
door that she thought she could get a peek through. She stepped up
onto the rickety step, cringing at the squeak the loose boards
made. She looked over her shoulder at her horse down the road, it
happily grazed on a small patch of grass at its feet.

She took another step and jumped when she
heard the sound of movement coming from inside the shop. “Hello? Is
anyone there?” Her heart seized in her chest.
It could be scouts
from Mirstone. What have I done?

Luana turned on her heel as the door flew
open behind her. She had already broken into a run when she heard
heavy boots hit the steps.
I can make it.
She urged her
muscles to keep moving, even as they screamed at her to stop.
Even if I make it to the horse, I won’t have time to untie
it.
Her eyes searched the area. She spotted a hammer leaned up
against the side of the blacksmith’s shop. She headed straight for
it.

Luana was a few quick paces from the hammer
when rough hands grabbed her arm and spun her around. All she could
make out was that it was a man wearing a tattered hooded cloak. Her
terrified scream echoed through the air. She brought her knee up
into the man’s stomach, pulling him toward her so she could use the
momentum to knock him to the ground. He let out a groan as his body
hit the dirt.

She turned, running toward the horse when
she heard her name. “Luana!”

She skidded to a stop and turned. The man in
a heap was still struggling to get up, and her mother and sister
were running down the road toward her.

“Mother? Lesta?” Luana called. She looked
back at the man and saw he was to his feet. He pulled back the
hood. “Father?”

Fersa ran to Hal-john, but Lesta ran
straight into Luana’s arms, nearly knocking her to the ground. “Oh
Luana! I thought I would never see you again.”

Luana held her sister tightly as tears
fought to escape her eyes. “Oh Lesta! I’ve missed you so much.” She
pulled away. “But why are you here? Why did you stay?”

“Father didn’t want to lose the shop,” Lesta
said. Her tear-stained face looked worn, tired and much too
troubled for someone so young.

Luana looked up as her mother walked over
and embraced her. “Oh my Luana. How beautiful you are.”

“I see you’re still strong as a mule,”
Hal-john said, brushing dust off his cloak. “Why are you here? Did
you escape?”

“Why am I here? Why are you here?” Luana
snapped, pulling her little sister back into her arms. “Don’t you
even care enough about the safety of Lesta to send her to the
castle?”

“Oh, there’s nothing to be worried about,”
Hal-john said. “Grasmere troops are just up the way at Fagin
Forest. They’ll keep us sa—”

“Nothing to worry about?” Luana spat. “Is
that why you were all holed up in your shop with boards over your
windows? Lesta, you’re coming with me.”

Fersa reached out. “Luana, no, you ca—”

The sound of several horses’ whinnies cut
through the air. It was followed by the sound of metal against
metal. Luana turned her gaze up the road toward the sound. “I
believe those are your Grasmere soldiers! Quick, inside!”

Luana grabbed her sister’s hand and ran for
the shop. The sound of a man’s painful scream tore through the air.
“Hurry, they’re getting closer!”

Her sister tripped and fell in the dirt. “My
ankle!”

Luana knelt next to her. “You must get up,
Lesta, there is no time.” She pulled her sister to her feet and let
her lean against her as they hobbled up the steps of the shop.

“Hurry!” Fersa said, ushering them inside as
Hal-John pulled the door shut behind them, placing a beam across
the back of the door to seal it.

With the door closed, the shop was near
black. There was no fire in the hearth, no candles or lanterns to
light their way. The only light was the dim paleness that seeped
from the window at the top of the door.

Luana slowly led Lesta toward the back
stairs of the shop and lowered her down into a worn chair. She
pulled a little table up to her and placed her sister’s foot on it.
“Rest now.” She petted her sister’s head before walking over to the
door.

The sounds of fighting that had been so far
away now sounded as though they were right outside the door.
Shadows danced around the room from the torchlight moving outside
with the Grasmere guards.

“Don’t you worry now,” Hal-john whispered.
“They’ll move on.”

Luana glared at her father through the dark.
There would be nothing to worry about had he cared enough to get
his family out of here when he should have.
She opened her
mouth to retort the thought when a roar shook the walls of the
little shop.

Everyone, including Luana, took in a gasping
breath.

“Trolls,” Lesta whispered.

Luana felt around in the dark for a chair.
She picked it up and quietly placed it next to the door. She
climbed on top of it and peered out the little window. She was
thankful the glass was dirty so she could avoid being seen.

As her eye adjusted to the darkness and the
dank condition of the window, Luana could see that the road was
overrun with Grasmere soldiers and trolls. There were already
bodies littering the street, though it appeared they were all that
of trolls. However, the troll numbers were at least double that of
the soldiers.

“They’re outnumbered,” Luana whispered.

“Please come down!” pleaded Fersa. “What if
they see you?”

“Shh,” Luana scolded. She watched as several
more trolls came running from up the road.
Oh no! They’re trying
to surround them!

Outside, the horses whinnied and nervously
stamped their hooves as the troll horde formed around them.

“They’ll be slaughtered,” Luana said,
forgetting to whisper.

Lesta whimpered. “Momma, I’m scared!”

“Shh, child,” Fersa soothed, smoothing her
daughter’s hair back from her face. “Luana, come away from the
door!”

Luana brought her attention back
outside.

One of the men was shouting commands, though
she couldn’t make out the words over the clamor of armor movement
and the horses’ whinnies. The soldiers were tightening their
formation. What few horses had not already fled fought their
masters urgings, biting at their bits for control.

The trolls remained nearly shoulder to
shoulder around the group of soldiers. Though the ugly creatures
paced in place and shifted their weight from one fat leg or the
other, they remained unmoving.
It’s as though they are waiting
for something. But what?

It seemed, too, that the general in charge
of the group of men was wondering the same thing. The inactivity of
the trolls made the men all the more nervous.

Suddenly, both man and beast went still.
Their attention turned west toward Fagin Forest. Luana, caught up
in the moment, rubbed her hands against the dingy window pane,
trying to clean a spot to see.

A figure cloaked in a black hood that
dragged on the ground emerged from the darkness. The torchlight
flickered, as though a cold breeze blew through the village.

Though she could not tell if any words were
said, Luana felt the pull of darkness in the air. Even from inside
the shop, she could tell the being outside possessed dark magic.
“We must do something to help them.”

“What can we do other than get ourselves
killed?” whispered Hal-john. “These are Grasmere men. If they
cannot defeat the troll scum, there is little we can do to
help.”

“Perhaps you can’t,” Luana said. “But I
can.” She jumped down from the chair and knelt on the floor a few
steps from the door. “When I tell you, open the door.”

“No!” squealed Lesta.

“Have you lost your wits?” Hal-john asked,
trying to grab Luana by the arm.

She slapped his hand away. “Listen, we can
discuss why you didn’t feel it was necessary to tell me my lineage
another day, but you both know what I am. I can help them!”

“What you are?” murmured Lesta. “What do you
mean?”

“Hush, child,” Fersa said. “Hal-john, open
the door when she is ready.”

“But,” Hal-john protested.

“Do it!” Fersa commanded.

Luana settled herself down on one knee on
the floor. She pressed her hands to her heart, then to her temples,
then hovered one above the other in front of her stomach.
“
Máthair na hoíche dorcha, líon mé le do solas bheannaigh. Mo
shúile ar oscailt do radharc, líon mé le draíocht íon agus bán.
[Mother of the dark night, fill me with your blessed light. Open my
eyes to your sight, fill me with magic pure and white.] She chanted
the incantation again and again as she pulled on the power of the
moon.

Luana felt the cool tingling of white magic
flowing through her nerves; it surged over her body and came to
rest in her hands. Her fingertips hummed with power; the room began
to grow bright as the magic enveloped her.

She slowly rose to her feet, not daring to
move her hands. She was still new to this venture and feared the
slightest loss of concentration could cause her to lose control.
“Open it now.”

Hal-john removed the heavy board that kept
the door tightly sealed, pushing it to the side. He took a deep
breath, then yanked hard on the door.

Luana slowly walked out into the darkness,
drawing the attention of all who were there. The trolls began to
shy away as she took steps toward them, the light causing them to
recoil. However, the hooded figure turned toward Luana and hissed.
It raised its hands toward the sky and murmured something
indiscernible. A purple hue began to envelop it.

“Leave this place!” called out Luana. Her
light grew brighter, pushing the trolls away from the men.

The mysterious figure took several steps
toward her. Hands raised, Luana could feel the weight of the magic
bearing down on her. Instead of the soothing cool white magic the
moon provided her, she felt the burning of something foul and
dark.

She called on the power of the moon again.
“
Máthair na hoíche dorcha, líon mé le do solas bheannaigh. Mo
shúile ar oscailt do radharc, líon mé le draíocht íon agus
bán!
” The white power pushed back against the darkness.

The dark sorceress cackled, her voice like
breaking glass. “Daughter of the moon, you think you and your
goddess can defeat me? I have known the power of magic since before
your mother drew her first breath!”

“My mother?” Luana began to lose her
concentration.
Which mother?
Her light began to wane.