“Ethne? Do I choose well?”
The flame within the crystal flickered, and she heard Ethne say but a single word to her.
Lara looked at Noss. “You can stay if you are afraid. I would understand.”
“No,” Noss said. “We have been bound together since we traveled in the caravan of Rolf Fairplay. I sense it. Aye, I am afraid, but where you go, Lara, I will follow. That, it would seem, is
And so it was that they found themselves the following morning bidding the prince and Og a final farewell. Kaliq had not touched Lara as a lover that last night.
“I must learn to live without you,” he said quietly, and she realized she understood.
In the morning he brought her a pair of soft medium-brown leather trousers lined in silk, a natural-colored silk shirt with wide sleeves and a V neckline as well as a pair of fine brown leather boots with a matching vest. He brushed her hair himself, braiding it into a single plait and covering her shining head with a dark green kerchief. Last, he strapped her sword and scabbard across her chest and back.
“Do not,” he advised her seriously, “allow your beauty to detract from your journey. Dress plainly. Keep your hair hidden from strangers as much as you can, lest they realize you have faerie blood and be afraid unnecessarily. You are capable of defending yourself, and you must do so. If you are threatened, act immediately, as you did with Durga. You are not afraid, are you?”
“I am not,” she said, “and yet I am. You have taught me the difference between passion and lust. You have taught me to enjoy and revel in my pleasure as well as that of my lover. Lothair has taught me weaponry. Master Bashkar has taught me about Hetar, so that I am no longer woefully ignorant of our land. Knowing that my mother did not leave me willingly, and that she loves me, has both strengthened and gladdened my heart, although I am saddened by my father’s portion in the deception that kept us apart. Still, he did what he believed best. I thought I was ready before yesterday when Durga came. Yet at the moment I slew him, I realized that I had not really been free to move forward. I want no one protecting me, thinking for me. I want to live my own life, on my own terms.” She put her arms about the prince’s neck. “My time with you, Kaliq, has given me all of this, and for that I thank you.” She kissed his cheek, and then drew away smiling at him. “Now I must go.”
He nodded. “There is one thing I was not permitted to give you, Lara. That privilege belongs to another. I was not allowed to give you my love. But one day you will meet the man who will. I hope you are able to love him back.” And having said those words, the Shadow Prince led Lara and Noss down to the stables. He had quietly secreted her pearwood brush in the pocket of his robes, but within her pack she would find a delicately made gold one to replace it.
In the stables, Og awaited them, holding two horses. Lara was mounted upon a small golden stallion with a creamy mane and tail, Noss upon a white mare with a black mane and tail. Each of the animals had full saddle and water bags. Then to Lara’s surprise, Og took the reins of the two horses. She looked to the prince for an explanation.
“Your decision necessitates you depart a different way from that which you came,” he said. “Og will set you on the right path. The horses are my gift to you and Noss. May the Celestial Actuary guide you well, and keep you both safe,” Prince Kaliq said. Then he bowed to them, and Og led them from the stables.
Lara looked quickly back, but Kaliq had disappeared into the shadows, as was his custom. She turned to look ahead, and was surprised to see Og leading them out into the valley. The horses increased their speed, but he easily kept up. She looked up and was amazed by the height of the great gray stone cliffs surrounding the valley. From the balustrade of the palace they had not seemed so very tall. Before them the herds of mares, many now with their foals, scattered as Og shooed them out of the way. The valley was far wider than she had thought, Lara decided. Finally they reached the other side, and Og began to lead the horses parallel to the steep face of the rock. Then he stopped.
“We are here,” he said.
“Where?” Lara asked, searching the cliff for an opening.
Og grinned. “Here!” he repeated, and with a wave of his hand an opening appeared in the dark rock.
“How on earth did you do that?” she demanded of him.
“The prince taught me. Not only am I in charge of his stables, I am his gatekeeper as well. Each of the Shadow Princes has a gatekeeper whose duty it is to offer admittance to the valley. It is a magic skill rarely used, however. Now listen to me, Lara. You will enter a tunnel through this opening. It is well-lit, and safe. Each torch you pass will dim itself as you and Noss go by, for the only way open to you is forward. When you exit the tunnel it will close behind you. You will be in the Outlands then. Your packs contain clothing, food and water. There are no valuables to be stolen. Your sword is on your back, and you know how to use it. Verica rides in his own leather holder by your right hand. Noss, you carry your bow and quiver on your person. Your dagger is at your waist. You, too, know how to use your weapons. Be always watchful, and trust no one but yourselves. The Outlands are not the provinces.” He handed each of them a small leather bag that jingled. “Not enough to draw attention, but it will get you by. Lara, you will find a gold piece sewn into each of your vest pockets. May the Celestial Actuary keep you safe, my dear friend.”
Lara leaned forward, and standing in her stirrups stood to kiss his cheek. “Be happy, dear Og. I owe you my life, and one day I hope to repay the debt,” she said.
“Do not make me weep like a child,” he groused at her. “You owe me naught. We saved each other. I am proud to have played a part in your life, Lara. Go now.” And he slapped the rump of the golden horse who moved forward into the tunnel, the white horse behind him.
When Lara turned to look back, the cliff wall had already closed behind them. For a brief moment she felt the stirrings of panic. Then taking a deep breath, she turned her face forward. They rode for a time in silence, the only sound in their ears that of the horses’ hooves on the smooth rock pathway they traveled. Behind them each torch they passed hissed out with a snap, as Og had said they would. It was eerie, and yet they both felt safe.
Finally Noss spoke. “How much farther do you think it is?” she wondered.
“I don’t know,” Lara replied. “But at least here I know we’re safe. Who knows what will happen when we exit into the Outlands? Are you afraid, Noss?”
“A little,” the girl admitted, “but I suppose I’d be a fool if I weren’t,” she concluded with a small chuckle. “I wonder what we’ll find. And if we want to get back to the provinces, how will we ever find our way?”
Lara shrugged. “I don’t know,” she admitted, and they both grew silent again.
The passage went on and on for what seemed a very long time, but the horses plodded on, sure-footed and steady in their pace. Finally they saw the tiniest pinpoint of daylight up ahead. It grew larger and brighter as they moved toward it, revealing itself at last as an opening at the end of the tunnel. They stopped and stared as one, and then Lara drew a deep noisy breath and they forged forward into the daylight. Behind them the last torch dimmed, and the opening in the rock wall closed with a soft rumble. Lara didn’t dare to turn about for she was afraid that she would cry if she did, and she suspected that Noss would, too. This was no time for histrionics.
They stared ahead. Before them a green plain stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance they saw a range of hazy purple mountains lying on the horizon. But there was no sign of civilization. The land was more beautiful than anything else she had ever seen, Lara thought. Pristine. Untouched.
“Which way do we go?” Noss whispered, stunned by what her eyes beheld.
“Straight ahead,” Lara answered, and her laughter echoed in the clear air. “There has to be someone, or something to be found eventually.” She spurred the golden stallion into a gallop. They had been penned up in that tunnel forever, it seemed. She heard Noss’s white mare coming behind her, and laughed again as the wind hit her face, and the tiny tendrils of hair escaping from her bandana blew about her face. It was wonderful! She had never felt so free in all of her days. Or more at home, she was startled to realize. At last, the horses slowed to a stop. Looking back Lara saw the cliffs had vanished, and realized the magic that had been involved in bringing her into the Outlands.
Noss was openmouthed. “The cliffs, Lara. Where did they go?” she managed to stammer. “We have not ridden that far, for the mountains are still a forever ways away.”
“Prince Kaliq has performed a great magical feat for us,” Lara said. “I do not know how, but we are obviously just where we are meant to be, Noss.” She laughed again. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“It’s big,” Noss observed. “Very big. Where are the farms? A village or two? Where are the people and the herds? I can see naught but this plain all around us.”
