"Are these their woods, where you have led us?"
"They are ours, and we are now nearer Azeroth than I would have liked to come, following this one. Your enemies have roused something that we may all regret. KhemeisVanye, I do not think they will let you go until they have what they want, but I do not think they will harm you."
"Liyo?"
"Let us go with this a little way and see."
Lellin translated an affirmative sign. The hariltugged gently at Vanye's arm, and he went, while the others were allowed to go ahorse: he heard them following. The haril'shand slid to his wrist, a gentle grip, dry as old leaves and unpleasantly cold. The creature turned and chittered at him now and again as they came to rough ground, helped him up slopes, and when a time had passed in their journey, it let him go seeming to judge that he would stay with it. Then his fear diminished despite the strangeness of the face which occasionally turned to him in the dark. They were being urged to haste, but not threatened.
He looked back more than once, to be sure that they had not lost the others; but the riders stayed with them, more slowly and by a course the horses could follow. Sezar brought Mai along, which he was glad to see. But when his looking back delayed him, a touch came on his shoulder: shuddering, he faced the haril,which seized him a time and hurried him on.
He tried signs of his own, making what among Andurin signed for –where!-a pass of the open palm back and forth supine. The harilseemed not to comprehend. It touched his face with clinging, spidery fingers, replied with a sign he did not understand, and hurried him on, through the thicket and up slopes and on and on until he was panting.
They came briefly into the open between trees. The harilseized his arm again to be sure of him, for suddenly there was a dead man at their feet, and another, as they crossed that area, bodies almost hidden in the dark and the leaves. He saw the leather and cloth in the starlight and knew them for the enemy. One carried arrows, white-feathered. He resisted the harilenough to bend and gather one up, showing the creature the nature of the feather. The harilseemd to understand, and took the arrow from him and threw it down. Come, come,it beckoned him.
He glanced over his shoulder and for a moment panicked, for he no longer saw the others. Then they came into view, and he yielded to the haril'spulling at him. It began to go very quickly, so that he was rapidly exhausted by the pace, for he was in armor and the creature strode wide with its stalking gait.
Then they were at a complete break in the forest: trees ceased, and starlight fell clearly across a wide plain. Something else glowed there, the glare of fires spangled across the open. Where they stood there was wood hewn, trees felled, their wounds stark in the faint light. The harilpointed to those, to the camp, and signed at him, at him,accusingly.
No,he signed back. Whatever it wanted or suspected that had to do with himself and that camp, the answer was no. Morgaine and the others overtook them now, and harilimwere all about them. He looked up at her, and she gazed at the campfires of the enemy.
"This is not their main strength," she whispered for Lellin's benefit; and that was true, for the camp was not nearly large enough-nor would Roh or Hetharu likely give up possession of the Gate of Azeroth's center.
"This is what the harilimbrought us to see," Lellin said. "They, are angry… for the trees, for the killing. They blame us that this has been allowed."
"Vanye," Morgaine said softly. 'Try; mount up quickly."
He moved, without prelude or hesitation, flung himself for Mai's side and scrambled into the saddle. There was a stir among the harilim,but none moved to stop him. He remembered the poisoned weapons and sat the nervous horse with his heart pounding against his ribs.
Morgaine turned Siptah slowly, to regain the shelter of the woods. Harilimstood gathered in the way, stick-like arms uplifted, refusing them passage.
"We are not wanted here," Lellin said. "They will not harm us, but they do not want us in the area."
"Will they cast us out onto the plains?"
"That seems their intent."
"Liyo,"Vanye said for of a sudden he read her mind and liked not what he read. "Please. If we strike at them, then we will not ride far in the forest before there are others. These creatures are too apt to ambushes."
"Lellin," she said, "why have not your people been hereabouts? Where are the arrhendimwho should have warned us of this intrusion of enemies?"
"The harilimprobably forced them out… as they mean to do with us. We do not dispute passage with the dark folk. Lady, I fear for Mirrind and Carrhend. I fear greatly. That is surely where the other arrhendimhave retreated, to protect and warn those places with all haste; they would not have come this far when they knew the dark folk were here. Lady, forgive me. I have failed miserably in my charge. I led you into this and I do not see a way out. None of the arrhendimhereabouts had reason to suspect there were those who would ride past their warning-signals. They gave them, but we rode through. I thought only of sirrindim,that we could resist. I did not reckon that the harilimhad taken possession here. Lady, it may be that the keepers of Nehmin have stirred them up."
"The arrha?"
"There is rumor that the keepers of Nehmin can call them. It is possible that they are part of Nehmin's defense, summoned against that.If that is so, then I myself would be surprised; they are as difficult to reason with as the trees themselves; and they hate both Men and qhal."
"But if it is true, then it is possible that Nehmin itself is under attack."
"It is possible, lady, that this is so."
She said nothing for a moment. Vanye felt it too, the sense that beneath the peace of Shathan, which had wrapped them securely thus far, things had been going dangerously, utterly amiss.
"Beware, all of you," she said, and slipped Changelingfrom her shoulder to her hip. Holding one palm aloft, in a gesture which somewhat stilled the harilim'schittering apprehension, she unhooked the sheath.
Then, two-handed, she drew it slowly, and the opal light of the blade swirled softly in the dark. The light glittered in the dark eyes of the harilim,and grew as she drew it forth. Suddenly it blazed full, and the well of darkness at the tip burst into being. The harilimdrew back, their large eyes reflecting it, red mirrors of that cold light. The wind of otherwhere stirred the trees and whipped at their hair. The harilimcovered their faces with spidery hands and backed and bowed at that howling sound.
She sheathed it then. Lellin and Sezar slid from their horses and came and bowed at Siptah's hooves. The harilimkept their distance, chittering softly in fear.
"Now do you understand me?" she asked.
Lellin looked up, his pale face stark with dread. "Lady, do not-do not loose that thing. I understand you. I am your servant. I was given to be, and I must be. But has my lord Merir knowledge of that thing?"
"Perhaps he suspects. He gave you for my guide, Lellin Erin-hen, and he did not forbid my seeking Nehmin. Tell the harilimwe will go through their forest and see what their mind is now."
Lellin rose and did so, signing quickly; the harilimmelted backward into the trees.
"They will not stay us," he said.
"Get to horse."
The arrhendimremounted, and slowly Morgaine urged Siptah forward. The gray horse threw his head and snorted his displeasure at the harilim,but they passed freely back into the forest, while the harilimstayed with them like shadows.
"Now I know the grief that is on you," Sezar whispered as they came near in the dark. Vanye looked at him, and at Lellin, and a weight sat at his heart, for it was true that the arrhendimbegan to understand them, who carried Changeling ,.. recognized the evil of it, and the danger.
But they served it, as he did.
Chapter Seven
The harilimmoved about them still, shadows in the first fading of the stars. They rode as quickly as they could in the tangled wood, and the harilimdid not hinder, but neither did they help; while Lellin and Sezar, beyond the woods that they knew, could only guess at the quickest way.