Now he concentrated on running; as hard and as fast as he could, keeping his attention fixed on the ground ahead and leaving his safety in Vree's capable talons.
Where would Starblade be at this moment? He was an early riser, as a rule. By the time the sun was but a sliver above the horizon, he was generally in conference with one or more of the Adepts. There was a kind of informal ceremony there, as the memorial fire at the foot of the Heartstone was fed with fragrant hardwoods and resinous cedar. Those Adepts remaining-even the most reclusive-generally attended at least one of of these meetings; they remembered those who had been lost, and monitored the Heartstone very carefully, looking for changes in it morning and night.
With Father carefully making sure they accomplish nothing, he thought with nausea. Now I know why he never misses a meeting.
Now he was on safer ground; he passed his own ekele, and that of his brother; passed night-scouts coming in and day-scouts going out, both of whom stared at him in equal surprise. He ignored the ache of his lungs and his legs; dredged up extra reserves of energy and ran on, long hair streaming out behind him. He caught sight of other bondbirds flying beside him, peering down at him curiously, and guessed that their bondmates were somewhere behind. He ignored them; he would take no chances that a carelessly shielded thought would warn Starblade-or more importantly, the thing that controlled him in the guise of a blackbird.
Up hills, and down again; he took the easiest way, not the scouts' way-using game trails when he could find them. Finally he came out onto a real path, one that led to the border with the Dhorisha Plains, and had, in better days, been used by visitors from both peoples. It terminated at the entrance to the Vale, and Darkwind took deeper breaths, forcing air into his sobbing lungs. It would not be long now ...The shimmer marking the shields that guarded the entrance flickered between the hills. This was where Vree usually left him.
A cry from above alerted him, and Vree swept in from behind in a stoop that ended with the forestgyre hitting him hard enough to stagger him, and sinking his talons into the padded shoulder of Darkwind's jerkin. A fraction of a heartbeat later, he was through the shields, a tingle of pure power passing through him as the shields recognized him and let him by.
He was inside the Vale, but this was no time to slow down. He flung himself down a side path, bursting through the overgrown vegetation, and leaving broken branches and a flurry of torn leaves in his wake.
He was nearing the Heartstone; he heard voices ahead, and he felt its broken rhythms and discordant song shrilling nauseatingly along his nerves. Vree tightened his talons in protest but voiced no other complaint.
He staggered, winded, into the clearing holding the Heartstone, taking the occupants by complete surprise.
Vree did not wait for orders; he had an agenda of his own. Before Darkwind could say a word, the forestgyre launched himself from Darkwind's shoulder, straight at the crow that sat like an evil black shadow on his father's shoulder, as if it was whispering into Starblade's ear.
The crow squawked in panic and surprise, and leapt into the air-heading for the shelter of the undergrowth, no doubt counting on the fact that falcons never followed their prey into cover. But the evil creature did not know Vree; his speed, or his spirit. The gyre hit the crow just as he penetrated the cover of the lower branches; hit him with an impact audible all over the clearing. Rather than taking a chance that his stunned victim might escape instead of letting it fall, Vree bound on with both sets of talons, and screamed his victory as he brought his prey to the ground. And Starblade collapsed.
The action of Darkwind's bird stunned the Adepts, all but Stormcloud, who shouted something unintelligible, and flung out his hand in Darkwind's direction. The scout found himself unable to move or speak, and fell hard on his side-Vree bent and bit through the thrashing crow's spine, ending its struggles.
Darkwind fought against his invisible bonds as the outraged Adepts converged on him-but as they started to move, an entirely unexpected sound made them freeze where they stood.
'Free-' Starblade moaned, the relief so plain in his voice that it cut to the heart. 'oh, gods, at last, at last-' The Adepts turned to stare at their leader, and Darkwind took the momentary distraction to snap his invisible bonds.
He stumbled to his father's side and reached for his hands. Starblade took them; his mouth trembled, but he was unable to say anything. It seemed as if he was struggling himself, fighting against a horrible control that even now held him in thrall.
'He's been under compulsion! Put a damn shield on him!' Darkwind shouted, throwing his own around his father, and startling the others so much they followed suit. And just in time; Darkwind felt a furious blow shuddering against his protections as the others added their strength to his. Another followed-then another. A half dozen, in all, before the enemy outside gave up, at least for the time being.
And now I know your name and face, Darkwind thought with grim satisfaction. I know who you are. Now it's just a matter of hunting you down.
Starblade groaned, still fighting the binding that kept him silent. 'I know, Father,' Darkwind said, urgently, as the other Adepts gathered around them. 'I know at least some of it. That's why Vree killed that damn crow. We'll help you, Father. I swear it, we'll help you.' Starblade nodded slightly, and closed his eyes, silent, painful tears forming slowly at the corner of his eyes and trickling down his ghost-pale cheeks as Darkwind explained what he had learned from Nyara as succinctly as possible. The others wasted no time in argument; Starblade's own reactions told the truth of Darkwind's words.
