“She said that she heard me callingher, that she would protect us,” said Moira calmly.
Rose interrupted then, “I never heardher speak. How did she talk to you, Moira?”
Pointing to her temple, Moiraanswered, “In here, I could hear her voice in my head. I asked herto protect Daddy too, but she said she wasn’t strong enoughanymore; that Daddy told her to save us instead.”
Tears started in Penny’s eyes. Sheturned her head to look away, her throat too constricted tospeak.
“What else did she say?” asked Rose,continuing the conversation while Penny struggled to regain hercomposure.
Moira paused for a moment, hesitating.She could sense her mother’s sadness easily enough, and hermagesight made it easy to see the tears Penny was hiding when sheturned away. She thought for a second before answering carefully,“She said she loved me, and that she was glad I had such a goodmommy to take care of me. She told me to be brave for Momma,especially if—something happened to Daddy.”
“How did you know she was yourmother?” said Penny, no longer trying to hide her tears. She andMordecai had told Moira of her special past and how she had beengiven to them, but to her knowledge Moira had never seen theremnant of her actual mother before.
“I just did. She used to watch mesometimes, when I was little, but I couldn’t hear her talk backthen. You told me about her before, so I knew it was her,” repliedMoira, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Penny hugged her daughter tightly,unable to contain her emotions.
Moira returned the embrace, pattingher mother’s back with small hands. “I miss Daddy too,Momma.”
Chapter 2
Grey light filtered through theopening to the cave as I slowly became aware of my surroundings. Iwas lying on stony ground, within a shallow niche in a hillside. Itbarely merited being called a cave, since it was more of a deepundercut.
How long I had lain there was amystery to me. I seemed to be covered in a thick layer of leavesand assorted detritus. Sitting up, I brushed the loose debris frommy shoulders and hair, and then I realized it wasn’t leaves at all.The desiccated bodies of hundreds, no—thousands, of insects, hadpiled up around and over me.
“What the hell?” I said aloud, beforereaching up to touch my jaw in surprise. When I had given myselfover to fatigue and weariness, my mouth had been a ruin, utterlyincapable of speech. Now it seemed to be perfectly fine. Risingfrom the mound of dead insects, I began hastily brushing myselfoff, while simultaneously checking to see if my other wounds hadhealed. They had.
I struggled to rememberhow I had come to be there. After my ill-fated battle withThillmarius, Gareth Gaelyn, the dragon, had flown me to safety, formy family and friends wanted me dead. Or perhaps I was alreadydead? I shook my head in confusion. Icertainly don’t feel dead, I thought tomyself.
The dragon had taken me to thesoutheastern foothills, at the edge of the Elentir Mountains, adistance many miles and at least five days travel (by mundanemeans) from Albamarl. The journey had taken Gareth less than a halfday’s flight, even burdened with my extra weight. After landing, hehad sought to engage me in conversation, an odd behavior for thenormally antisocial dragon, and I had been less thanreceptive.
The emotions I held after my lastparting from my family were dark and soul-crushing. Logically Iunderstood their fear and the excellent reasoning behind Dorian andPenny’s decision to destroy me. If the circumstances were reversedI most certainly would have done the same. Still, logic and reasondid nothing to ease the pain. My heart still held the image ofPenny’s face engraved within it, the look of revulsion in her eyesafter my hand had touched her cheek. It had been etched, as if byacid, upon my soul.
Depression had overtaken me during theflight to the mountains, and once there I had rebuffed Gareth’sattempts at communication. My body had still been broken andbattered, resisting my attempts to heal it. In fact, I had beenunable to use any power at all. The source of my aythar, thewellspring of my soul, had dried up, to be replaced by aninfinitely dark void, an aching emptiness.
Filled with sorrow andweary beyond belief, I had sent the dragon away. In part I had doneso out of a desire for solitude, and also for fear that, in myweakness he might take his aystrylin from me by force. I had stolenthe small figurine from his ancestral home and if I were to lose itI would also lose my last and most powerful ally. Perhapsally wasn’t the bestword choice though, for I had coerced Gareth Gaelyn into servitudewith the threat of using his aystrylin to forcibly return hishumanity. Servant—that was a better term for our relationship.
Tired, and growing weaker with eachpassing minute, I had wandered into the rocky hills, seeking aquiet place to rest. The cave, if it could be called that, had beenthe best place I could find, and I had crawled into it without hopeof recovery. In reality, I had hoped to die. I didn’t know thelimits of the curse I had taken upon myself, but it seemedreasonable that if I grew weak enough, eventually I might expirefrom simple lack of energy.
Apparently, that thought had beennaïve.
“I’m still here,” I said, speakingaloud again. Interestingly, my depression seemed to have vanishedalong with my injuries. A strange feeling of calm had descendedover my inner world, as if a veil had shadowed my painful feelings.Curious, I turned my thoughts deliberately to Penny and thechildren. I probed my last memories of them, searching for the acheof their rejection, in much the same manner that someone mightprobe the painful socket of a lost tooth with their tongue, eventhough they know it will be painful
