'Fear. He fears that he is a coward.'
'Amazing!' Tyro's eyes widened. 'Nefysto said he never faltered, not once. He saved them from the Utland raiders when they ventured into the Skirling Stones.'
All this was news to Piro, so she just nodded. The last time she had faced the Power-worker with Tyro it had almost crushed her. She dreaded what they must do now but… 'Tell me what to do to save Fyn.'
'He knows you, he trusts you. I will lead you into his mind. You must convince him to face his fear. Only then can he escape.'
Piro gave a relieved laugh. 'To escape he must face his fear? Is that all?'
Tyro nodded. 'Face it and die, or face it and live. Only by facing it will we know.'
'Oh Fyn…' Piro smoothed her brother's hair from his forehead. At seventeen, his cheeks were still as smooth as a boy's. It hurt her to think he wouldn't live long enough to need to shave. As she watched, his eyes moved under his lids as if he dreamed.
'Piro?'
She looked across Fyn's vulnerable form to Tyro.
'I must be honest,' the half-trained mage whispered. 'If he confronts his fear and fails, I may not be able to bring you out. You don't have to do this. I can go in on my own and — '
'No. You're right. Fyn trusts me. I must do it.'
'You are very brave, Piro. I knew it from the first moment I saw you.'
She shook her head. 'Once I thought I was brave. But not now. Now that I've known true fear, I…' She shivered and summoned a smile. 'Let's do this.'
Tyro nodded and reached across Fyn's chest to her free hand. Their fingers entwined. 'Close your eyes and imagine you are walking down a path with me.'
Piro dropped her guard and found herself on a forest path. It was very grey and overcast and the big pine trees loomed above them. Tyro held her hand, leading her to a granite outcropping. He pointed into a narrow cave mouth.
Piro did not want to go in there. 'I don't have a lamp.'
He cupped his hands and a small ball of light appeared. 'In this place you make your own light, Piro.'
She held up one hand and the ball of light came to her, settling on her wrist like her foenix used to do, before he grew too big.
Tyro cupped her cheek with his hand. 'Be brave, little Piro.'
She brushed his hand away. Why did he have to be kind all of a sudden? It was easier if he was abrupt with her.
Ducking her head, she entered the cave.
Fyn felt tired, so tired. His body ached with every step and his night-blind eyes burned, the gritty lids scraping his eyes each time he blinked. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept. All he wanted to do was rest, but if he sat down, he would fall asleep and to sleep was fatal. The wyverns would get him. He could still hear them snuffling behind him, tracking him through the dark.
He must keep going.
Something sparkled.
Stars?
No, it was a golden light.
He squinted, his tired eyes producing tears so that the light fractured into prisms.
'Fyn?' Piro called.
He blinked the tears away to see Piro walking down the tunnel towards him, with a light in one hand. No, the light hovered over one hand. How strange.
'Oh, Fyn!' She ran the last few steps, throwing her arms around him. It felt so good to hug her.
She pulled away to look at him. 'You poor thing.'
'Shhhhh!' He pressed his fingers to her mouth, glancing behind him. 'They'll hear you.'
'What?'
'The wyverns. They're after me. I don't know how many.'
'Wyverns? Oh, Fyn, you're not being chased by wyverns. You're running away from your fears!'
He stared at her. 'Can't you smell them, hear their footsteps, the scrape of their claws on the stone?' Grabbing her arm, he pulled her with him, heading up the tunnel. 'We've got to keep moving.'
She planted her feet. 'No. You can't run for ever. You have to face them. That's the only way to overcome — '
'I can't fight a full-grown wyvern and there's more than one.' He wanted to shake her. 'Piro, you must keep moving. You'll get us killed!'
'Where are we?'
He dragged her another step. 'In the caverns under the abbey. Come.'
'No, we are trapped in your mind.'
Fyn stopped pulling at her and stared into her sweet but determined face.
'The Power-worker trapped you. Don't you remember?'
He probed his memory and felt pain as if from a deep bruise. But, as much as it hurt, Piro made sense. Hadn't he wondered how he got here?
'He used your own Affinity to trap you. The wyverns are your fears given form. The only way to defeat them is to face them.'
Snuffling came from behind them. The wyverns were nearly on them. 'But it seems so real.'
'Look.' Piro held up her lamp. Only it wasn't a lamp. It was a ball of golden light, hovering over her skin. 'We are both in your mind. That's why I can make light.'
Fyn stared at the glowing ball.
'Face your fears, Fyn. Defeat them and we can escape.'
She turned him to face the wyvern. The golden glow picked up every chip in the stone floor, every vein of coloured rock in the walls. Beyond there was only darkness, and in that darkness the wyverns waited to tear him apart.
Fyn could imagine wyverns crouching just out of the light, eyes glinting, muzzles pulling back from their teeth.
'Face your fears.' Piro took a step forwards, her circle of light moving with her.
No wyverns were revealed. Fyn peered into the shadows. He imagined the beasts leaping to attack, pouncing on them…
Piro took his hand, lifting it. The ball of light jumped from her hand to his. 'Face them and free yourself.'
'What happens if I fail to face them down?'
'You die and I die with you.'
Heart hammering, Fyn lifted his arm higher. The light revealed only bare walls and floor. He took a step. Still no wyverns.
'What wyverns live underground?' Piro said.
She was right. They loved the fresh air, nesting on cliffs over the water. Why hadn't he remembered that? Because he'd been too frightened to think.
Sucking in a breath, Fyn forced himself to stride forwards. No wyverns.
At his heels, Piro laughed.
He felt lighter.
Piro tugged on his hand. 'Come on.'
And he was running with Piro next to him, running with his light. Running into the light.
Piro woke with a gasp. She'd fallen asleep with her head on Fyn's shoulder, his hand in hers. Tyro leant over her.
'Are you all right?'
Piro sat up. 'Fyn?'
Her brother's eyelids flickered open.
'Piro?' His voice creaked from lack of use.
'Here.' Tyro offered him a sip of something.
