Erini looked up sharply. “I don’t know if I should. I don’t know if I can.”
“Your powers are very formidable, gentle lady. I think you could undo the spell the elderly human wrought. The key is in the symbols on the floor. Look closely at them.”
She started to, but then shook her head. “I can’t! If I do, Melicard will never forgive me! If I betray him, he’ll find out about these!”
“Your hands? They seem lovely, though I’m no judge of human standards…”
“You know what I mean. These powers. I do not want them. They are a curse. If I thought that cutting off my hands would rid me of them, I’d be tempted to do it.”
“It will not, so do not think about it again.” Madness! Am I to be tormented by the key to my freedom?
If Erini caught that thought, she did not respond to it. Instead, the princess said, “Drayfitt told me the same thing. I know that.”
“Is that why you came to me? To tell me you don’t like your gifts and you won’t use them to release me? Are you a greater sadist than the ‘lovely’ Counselor Quorin, then? He has only assaulted my physical form; you’ve torn at my hopes!”
“No! I-”
“Princess!” Drayfitt stood at the doorway. He had become even more worn and pale since the shadow steed had seen him hours before. Caught up in their own thoughts, neither Erini nor the eternal had noticed his nearby presence. He, on the other hand, had felt them all the way in the main hall, where he had just left the king after an unsuccessful attempt to, if not call off the march, postpone it until events became clearer. The intensity of the two had been enough to pierce the cloud of worry smothering his mind-and probably would have been enough had he been outside the walls of Talak itself.
The elderly mage inspected the damaged door and grew even more dismayed. “This will never do!” He touched the torn handle and lock. Before the eyes of Darkhorse and the princess, the metal reshaped itself, returned to what it had been like before Erini’s impetuous entrance. Drayfitt glanced up again. “Your majesty! What do you hope to gain by coming here? I warned you to stay away!”
“I could not help it, Master Drayfitt!” She stepped back from both of them. “I saw the three of you come down here hours ago, then leave a few minutes later. When I saw the guards depart as well, I knew something had happened. I–I was not thinking properly. It took me this long to build up my determination, but eventually I had to come down here-I do not know why. Perhaps to see… to understand…” Erini trailed off, at a loss.
“She came to see a curiosity, sorcerer!” Darkhorse bellowed arrogantly. “She came to see the demon her love had chained to this world! Rest assured, she would not want to hurt his feelings by granting me my rightful freedom, oh no! I pleaded with her long enough to know that!”
Erini looked as if the shadow steed had kicked her violently-which was just what Darkhorse wanted. It was a terrible thing, he knew, that he was forced to resort to shaming her, but if the stallion had read her correctly, the princess would turn that shame around and come back to him-this time to free him.
I will make amends to her after Shade has been dealt with Darkhorse swore, shielding the thought from her already impressive abilities. He tried not think that by forcing her to look at her own conscience and free him, that she might lose the man she loved.
There were times when he did not envy humans the ability to love. It seemed to have more to do with pain than any other emotion.
Ignoring his outburst, Drayfitt confronted his queen-to-be. “Your majesty, tomorrow, thanks to the slippery words of the loyal Master Quorin, I will be enroute with the army. I must ask that you watch yourself while I’m gone, stay with the king at all times. The more Quorin has him alone, the more he can poison his mind-and diminish your hopes of a true relationship. I shall return when I can.”
“If you can, spellcaster. Your kind has a limited lifespan in war. What happens to the city, then?”
“I will see to it that nothing happens. I’ve a stake in my life, Darkhorse.” The elderly man took hold of one of Erini’s arms in a gentle but determined manner. “Come, milady. Judging by your mishap with the door, there are things I need to show you before I leave come the morn.”
“Wait, Drayfitt!” The shadow steed shifted as close to the door as the barrier would let him. “What about Shade? I’ve felt him here! You cannot deny his existence, I think.”
The two humans looked at one another in a manner that answered one part of Darkhorse’s question. The warlock had returned to Talak at least once and both of them knew about it. It was Erini who finally responded, much to the evident consternation of the sorcerer.
“He’s been here at least twice, Lord Darkhorse. Once, for a brief moment, in my chambers; the second time, to release some foul creatures to spy on the palace.”
“He wanted the book, apparently,” her companion interrupted. “It was his, you know, but thanks to you, demon, I destroyed it.”
“Then, you are in danger, human!”
“He’s your foe. You were the one truly responsible. He has no further argument with me.” The tone of Drayfitt’s voice suggested he had worked hard to convince himself of that.
“Don’t be a fool, mortal!”
Drayfitt turned from him. “Come, your majesty.”
She accompanied him, but slowed long enough to study Darkhorse in detail. Darkhorse returned her frank stare. This was a female who did not give in easily. There was hope after all.
As the door closed, the shadow steed laughed quietly. Now, if only it was not too late.
The climb up was long and especially slow, despite Drayfitt’s continual urging. Erini only partially heard him, her mind on the confrontation below.
Living darkness. An abyss that threatened to swallow all that stood too near it. More than a shadow, yet also less.
All these were apt descriptions of the astonishing being she had met. All were apt but greatly insufficient descriptions of the jet-black stallion calling itself Darkhorse. Majestic and terrible at the same time, he was far more than the legends had even hinted at. Small wonder he was held in both awe and fear by those who knew of him. There was a sense of time beyond eternity in his very presence. His chilling blue eyes, crystalline and lacking pupils, seemed capable of capturing her very soul.
His words came back to Erini and the shame burned brightly within her once more. For the sake of her relationship with Melicard, she had been willing to leave him a prisoner. It went against everything she believed in, and the fact that she had not done anything about it cut her deeply. She had once dreamed of a marriage based on love and trust; could she be satisfied with one that was also built on the sufferings of others?
Erini realized that Drayfitt had asked her something. “I’m sorry; what was it you asked, Master Drayfitt?”
The elderly man sighed. Somehow, he seemed even more drawn than when he had first discovered Erini. “I asked your majesty if she trusts her personal guard and her ladies-in-waiting.”
“Completely. Why?”
Drayfitt’s face revealed nothing. “No reason, milady. Only pleased to hear that there are those who can be trusted.”
Neither spoke again, more to save breath than because of any other reason. The journey downward had seemed so much easier. At last, though, the door finally came into view.
I cannot leave him! the princess suddenly thought in a swelling panic, the sight of the door resurrecting her shame concerning her ill treatment of Darkhorse. I have to do something for him even if-even if-
“I’ve been wondering,” Drayfitt began, “wondering why Quorin removed the guards from in here. They weren’t necessary, but he seemed to think them so important before. If they’d been here, you wouldn’t have gotten this far.”
Erini neither knew nor cared what reason the counselor might have had to send the sentries away. Only one thing concerned her. The princess was not even certain it would work, but, based on what little she had learned from the sorcerer, it should at least be possible.
On the next step, she fell forward.
“Princess!” Drayfitt reached for her, almost losing his own balance in the process. He was unable to stop Erini, who turned so that her back was facing her would-be rescuer.
