'So, will you help?'
'You don't even have to ask,' said Arrin. 'We are the Guild Of Drech. We are pledged to the cause of the One.' He turned to take in the surviving Guild. 'You've heard what needs doing. Finish your drinks, then two of you attend to Aviana. Two more to check Ephy, Myra and Clerry. Another two to begin a meal for thirty – see what
you can find, and bake bread if it's all we have. I will go with Ilkar to view the house.'
Murmurs of assent ran around the table. Ilkar nodded and smiled.
'Thank you,' he said.
'No, thank you,' said Arrin. 'Your coming has saved us all.'
Ilkar raised his eyebrows. 'Not yet, my friends, not yet.'
Erienne let Lyanna lead her away from the house, away from the stench of death and into the fresh, wind-blown air of Herendeneth. The light misty rain swirled in the sky but it was warm, though not humid, and the sun was trying to break through rapidly thinning cloud.
Lyanna was content and she skipped occasionally as she urged her mother along the path that led to the hidden landing point.
'Daddy won't know which way to go,' she'd said and Erienne realised with a jolt that she was absolutely right; there was no obvious entrance to the small landing beach.
Most of the trees along the gently sloping and stepped pathway had blown down, some having been dragged or cut from where they had obstructed the path. Most though, had been pushed into the arms of those around them, and every gust sounded with the ominous creaking of trunks gradually slipping their grip.
Just before the path made a right turn to lead down to the beach, Lyanna led Erienne towards a steepish rock scramble of about twenty feet. She could hear waves below and the wind picking at the exposed shore.
'I'll show you, Mummy,' said Lyanna, slipping her hand from Erienne's and trotting to the rocks, which she climbed with considerable agility and surprising confidence.
'Who showed you this?' asked Erienne, standing anxiously below her and ready to catch her if she fell.
'No one,' said Lyanna, slightly breathless as she clambered, her little body straining to reach hand and footholds.
Erienne went cold. Who had been looking out for her child? She felt a twist of anger. She'd left Lyanna in the care of people who'd claimed she was too precious to leave anywhere else in the world. But they hadn't stopped her climbing rocks apparently unsupervised. One slip. Just one.
'Didn't anyone watch you?' asked Erienne.
'I wouldn't let them,' said Lyanna. She reached safe ground and stood. 'See, Mummy, it's easy. Now you try.'
Erienne had no choice. She shrugged and started to scramble, finding it a good deal simpler than she had anticipated, her reach and strength making light of the climb. Lyanna watched her, the smile broadening on her face.
'You're clever, Mummy,' she said when they stood together.
'Not like you, my sweet,' said Erienne. 'It's difficult for little girls.'
Lyanna preened briefly. 'Come on,' she said.
They walked a few steps across an uneven, pock-marked surface and found themselves staring out at the sea. To their right, the rock outcrop fell away to the landing beach, and to their left on to the unforgiving stone shores. Directly ahead, they looked over the reefs and into the channel that led ultimately to the Southern Ocean.
The rain had ceased for a while and the sun finally broke through the clouds. Away in the middle distance, the blue-grey sea, backed by stark black rock, had a splash of colour. A sail.
'Do you see the boat, Lyanna?' Erienne pointed.
Lyanna nodded. 'Will Daddy be here soon?'
'Yes, he will,' said Erienne, an arm around Lyanna's shoulders as she crouched. 'And all our friends who will help us.'
'Like the elf man inside?'
'That's right.' Ilkar's words echoed in Erienne's ears and the memory of the dining room returned to send a shiver through her body.
She sat down on the damp rock, her legs stretched out, her feet hanging just over the edge.
'Now, Lyanna, I need to explain something to you. Sit down, darling, there's a good girl.'
Lyanna sat on Erienne's lap and looked up at her. Her eyes held a depth that Erienne found disquieting. They removed the innocence from her otherwise perfect face.
'There are bad people coming here,' said Erienne. 'And they would hurt us if they could. Take us away from here.'
'I know,' said Lyanna simply. 'We would all die. Me and you and the old ladies.'
Erienne was quiet for a moment, digesting what she'd heard. Lyanna was only five years old, for god's sake. Too young to understand the concept of death, let alone accept it so readily.
'But we can stop them,' said Erienne. 'And you can help.'
Lyanna brightened. 'Can I?'
'Yes, it's easy. Your light that helped me find you. You should take it away or the bad people will find you as well.'
Lyanna thought about it a moment, her bottom teeth chewing at her top lip.
'And Daddy can find his way, even if you take the light away now,' urged Erienne.
'When I can see him. Then I'll let them go,' said Lyanna.
'Who?'
'The old ladies. They are helping me.'
And so Erienne understood the Al-Drechar's stillness. She prayed Denser got that boat here quickly. Lyanna understood on so many levels but they were uneven and unconnected. It made talking to her a challenge and understanding what she knew about her own capabilities impossible.
'Perhaps you should let them rest now. We're all here with you. We won't let you go.'
She hugged the little girl to her body, opening herself to the joy of the feeling and knowing it couldn't go on for much longer. Lyanna looked away to where Denser's sail grew slowly larger.
'He'll be here soon,' she said.
'Yes, he will,' said Erienne.:
She relaxed with her child in her arms and tried to forget how litde time they had left together.
By the time The Raven arrived, Ilkar had seen the Guild elves remove the body of Aviana, wrap her in light cotton and place her in the otherwise empty cold store. There had been no talk of burial. That was a ceremony which would have to wait and Ilkar feared that many more would be joining her below the ground when this was all over.
His tour around the house had left him depressed at its ruin and at the prospects of defending it. He hoped that The Raven's warriors would have more idea how to plug the gaps than he had.
He was seated in the kitchen, nursing another mug of tea when the Al-Drechar awoke. A wave of excitement and relief swept over the Guild elves and he was soon ushered into the dining room where the Al-Drechar had been made comfortable.
Walking in, Ilkar was faced by one of the old elven women sitting propped up in her bed, a long pipe in her mouth. It was an incongruous sight but he recognised the smell of the smoke immediately and understood.
'Lemiir,' he said as he approached. It was rare that Ilkar felt overawed but, walking towards the Al-Drechar, that was exactly how he did feel. He was in the presence of history, of great power and of living myth. It increased his pulse and made his throat go dry.
'It is a wonderful infusion but also has great restorative powers when taken in the bowl of a pipe,' said the Al-Drechar, her voice rough and deep.
Ilkar was ushered into a chair near the bed of the Al-Drechar. He looked into the taut, fleshless face framed by her long white hair and was captivated by her glittering, piercing eyes. In beds flanking her, the other two were watching him, both tended by Guild elves but not sitting up, their faces drained and sallow.
'I am Ephemere,' she said. 'To my left is Cleress and to my right, Myriell. It is a great regret that you did not arrive soon enough to meet our dear sister, Aviana. For her we will grieve but not just now, I fear.'
'No,' said Ilkar. 'I'm sorry for your loss. I am Ilkar, mage of The Raven and Julatsa. I take it since you're awake that Erienne has persuaded Lyanna to disperse her beacon.'