Then, just as he felt panic beginning to overtake him, he had a clear memory of the woman standing before him in her dark robes, emphasising what she was saying by counting the points off on her fingers. He remembered her words:
‘One: you’re safe. Two: you’re quite well now. You only need to rest for a day or two to complete the healing. Three: you’re not a prisoner.’
Suddenly, Dael felt better. For the first time in his life, someone was taking care of him and treating him with kindness. Never before had he been given his own room with a fireplace - a fireplace - a soft, comfortable bed and plentiful food. And no one had ever smiled at him the way this mysterious Lady had done.
Even if she turns me into a frog or a monster later on, even if I have to work from dawn till dusk, it’ll have been worth it, just for this, he thought. Even if she kills me, it will have been worthwhile. But I don’t think she will. She said I’m safe, and that I’m not a prisoner.
He felt his eyelids beginning to close but, just as he was on the edge of sleep, he heard a small, warning voice in the back of his mind:
You’d better hope she was telling you the truth.
Dael ignored it, turned over, and went back to sleep.
7
THE EVANESAR
The grinding, creaking, rumbling voice of Taku was the sound of the glacier. ‘Who comes here, where no stranger has dared to tread for many a long age?’
Corisand staggered and almost fell, her mind blank with shock. All her equine instincts were screaming at her to flee, while the reasoning, human side of her was determined to stand its ground. This awesome being might look terrifying, but so far it had made no move to hurt her. How could she ever hope to save her people if she ran away from every challenge?
She took a deep breath and tried to control the knocking of her knees. ‘My name is Corisand,’ she said in a loud, clear voice, ‘and I am the Windeye, Shaman of the lost race of the Xandim, and Seeker of the Truth.’
Though the serpent’s expression did not alter, its voice took on a more kindly note. ‘I judge that you are also a speaker of the truth, O Corisand. I already knew you were the Windeye of the Xandim, for it was I who sensed your presence in the mundane world, and brought you here. It came as a great revelation, not to mention something of a shock, to discover that the Xandim race, despite all my fears, was still in existence. What is this truth that you seek, Shaman? The accursed Phaerie Lord--’ His voice sank to a menacing growl. ‘Has he finally loosed his tyrant’s grasp upon your kind?’
Now it was Corisand’s turn to be astounded. ‘You know about that?’ she gasped. ‘But how?’
The glittering blue stare of the serpent fixed upon her greedily. ‘There was a time when I was known to each Windeye, through all the generations. They were welcomed among myself and my fellow Elementals, granted access to this world through our powers, and honoured by us for their wisdom and their skills. Then Hellorin subjugated the Xandim, and without their magic, we were unable to connect with your Shamans.’
‘You say “we”,’ Corisand interrupted. ‘So there are more of you?’
‘Indeed there are.’ Light flooded the sky from horizon to horizon. Rippling veils and bands of colour drifted, a jewel-box of hues all pulsing, streaming and mingling in wild and spectacular abandon; green bleeding into pink, spun with blue and lavender and gold. The air hummed and crackled with energy, a roaring whisper right on the edge of hearing. And in that sound was a voice. As the Windeye watched, open-mouthed, the form of an eagle emerged within the drifts of liquid light, its vast, glimmering wings of drifting colour spreading across the sky. Fierce golden eyes transfixed her with their piercing gaze.
‘What in the name of all Creation do you think you’re doing, Taku, bringing her here? She has no business in this world.’
The great serpent reared up to face the eagle’s glare. ‘She is the first Windeye in many generations who has been able to venture here, and I brought her because she does have business in this world. The Lord of the Phaerie is here, Aurora. Did you not know?’
‘What?’ Corisand gasped. ‘But that can’t be. His Wild Hunt was ambushed in the forest by a pack of feral mortals. He was wounded, almost dead, and to preserve his life, his daughter took him out of time.’
‘And left his spirit in oblivion, lost and disembodied. The Moldan Aerillia, an ancient ally of the Forest Lord, sensed his presence and succeeded in bringing him here. He still holds Corisand’s people in slavery. This world is the only place she can fight him.’
‘That has nothing to do with the Evanesar.’
‘How can you say that? The Windeyes of the Xandim have been our friends and allies down all the long ages, just as Hellorin has been our foe.’
‘Your friends and allies, you mean.’ There was an edge of mockery in her voice. ‘Most of us outgrew the need for pets long ago. What use could she possibly be against a being with the powers of the Forest Lord? What use were any of them? They couldn’t even protect their own people.’
‘This one may surprise you.’
Corisand, who had been listening with mounting annoyance to the argument going back and forth over her head, decided she’d had enough. Gathering a double handful of glimmering air, she moulded it into a missile and hurled it down with all her force. As it struck the magic that held up her bridge, it exploded with a resounding bang, and a fountain of light shot up into the sky, spreading out in a canopy far above and raining down again in sizzling spatters of silver.
Taku and Aurora shut up abruptly. Two pairs of fearsome eyes, one blue and one gold, pinned her, but the Windeye was too angry to be cowed. ‘I’ll thank you to talk to me, not over the top of my head,’ she snapped. ‘You may be ancient and powerful, but that’s no excuse for rank discourtesy. And as for protecting my people, I’ll cherish and defend them to my last dying breath. Why do you think I’m here? And Taku: you may have brought me here for your own reasons, but if I can use this place to free my race, I won’t let anything get in my way.’
There was a protracted moment of silence - then, just as Corisand was having serious doubts about the wisdom of her outburst, Aurora began to laugh, sending waves of rose-coloured light flickering across the sky. ‘You may be right,’ she said to Taku. ‘She has already surprised me. And she does not lack for courage.’ She turned to fix the Windeye with her glittering gaze. ‘Very well, little sister. Let us talk.’
‘Thank you,’ said Corisand. ‘When you came, Taku was just telling me about the Elementals.’
‘As you should already know,’ said Aurora severely, ‘there are four Elementals of the Old Magic dwelling in this world. Taku, Elemental of Water and Master of the Cold Magic; myself, Aurora, Elemental of Air and Mistress of the Wild Magic; Katmai, Elemental of Fire and Master of the Death Magic; Denali, the Mother, the Great One, Elemental of Earth and Mistress of the Old Magic. In the Elsewhere, we are known as the Evanesar.’
‘But I didn’t know any of that,’ Corisand replied. ‘That’s why I need answers. Where am I? What is this Elsewhere that you mentioned?’
‘It is, if you like, a sister world to your own,’ Taku replied. ‘An alternative realm in which the Old Magic reigns supreme.’
‘But how did I get here?’
‘I brought you,’ he answered brusquely. ‘And now it is time for you to answer some of my questions. I will repeat what I asked you before. Has Hellorin released your people from their bondage?’