Dark Moon Defender by Sharon Shinn
There was no answer, but a slow prickle of danger spider-walked down Ellynor’s spine. Slowly, carefully, she turned to scan the road behind her. For a moment, even her night vision could make out nothing on the path or under the trees, but then she saw it, pacing forward with a slow, menacing step.
A raelynx. The goddess’s own creature, seldom found anywhere outside the borders of the Lireth Mountains. Even in the darkness, Ellynor could make out its red fur, its tufted ears, its grace and power and utter ferocity.
It stalked right by her and settled next to Justin in the mud, lending its own body heat to the fallen man. Guarding Justin from anyone who might happen upon him in the night.
It took an effort of will for Ellynor to swallow. “Thank you, Mother,” she whispered. “I will be back by morning.”
She bent to strip a cloak from one of the fallen soldiers and wrap it around her shoulders. She was suddenly cold, she who never noticed the chill, and she felt herself shaking from the combined effects of fear and rage and magic. She randomly chose one of the soldiers’ horses, a young bay mare that looked both sturdy and swift, and led the rest of them deeper into the forest, looping their reins over low-hanging branches. No need to ask again; she was sure the Dark Watcher would make sure no passersby happened to catch a glimpse of these animals. She did not have the strength to pull the bodies from the road, but somehow she trusted the goddess to handle this detail as well. She would send her buzzards and vultures to pick the bodies clean by daybreak, or she would disguise them with an opaque sorcery. Ellynor would trust her to take care of it all.
“Keep him safe,” she whispered one last time, then threw herself into the saddle and kicked the horse forward into a headlong canter. “Mother, I beg you, keep him alive.”
She heard, or maybe she only thought she heard, a whispered promise in return. Daughter, I will.
CHAPTER 29
ELLYNOR raced through the night as if outrunning the end of the world, as if a great chasm was opening behind her, splitting the earth the instant her horse’s hooves lifted from the ground. She had picked her mount well, or else the goddess had given her this one last gift and lent the bay mare speed and strength to outdistance the dawn. They flew through the forest, stumbling over no fallen logs, tripping in no muddy sinkholes. When there were hazards, Ellynor could see clearly enough to guide the horse past them, but mostly their way was smooth.
Finally—out of the dark, tangled overgrowth of woodland and onto the flatter, easier open road. Ellynor crouched low over the horse’s neck, urging her on to greater speed, murmuring encouragement, offering praise. The horse never faltered and never broke stride. The miles passed, blurred by tears and motion. The stars, usually so quick to dance through their rotations, crept slowly across the night sky, as if dragging their sparkling feet, holding back the march of dawn.
The waning moon watched her from its half-closed eye as if afraid of what it might see below.
She had been running for more than two hours when Ellynor finally saw Neft taking shape on the horizon. A few dark buildings bulked up against the night sky; torches and lamplight offered a fitful, wavering illumination. Every shape grew clearer as she pounded closer. She could start to identify the few places she knew on the outskirts of town—a tavern, two ramshackle houses, a freighting office, a shop. It might not have been as late as she had thought—certainly not midnight yet. A number of pedestrians were still abroad, as well as a few other travelers on horseback. Up ahead of her a man was slowly guiding a wagon and team toward the stables on the edge of town.
She clattered past all of them, slowing the horse only slightly and earning a couple of surprised glances. Where would the magistrate Faeber be at this hour? Justin had told her he frequented the taprooms, but she had no idea how many of those could be found in Neft. Still, she would go to the first one she could find, and start asking for him. Eventually someone would be able to tell her where he was.
There was no one else she could trust. There was no one else in Neft she knew, except Paulina Nocklyn, who lived in the Gisseltess house with the woman who was kin to the Lestra. No hope there.
It must be Faeber. She must be able to find him.
She envisioned a long, panicked night of running from tavern to tavern, begging strangers for aid, rousing all kinds of suspicion that might harm Justin in the long run. But the Black Mother was still watching out for her—or maybe, just maybe, the Silver Lady felt twinges of remorse and sympathy. Someone’s divine hand tugged on Ellynor’s shoulder just as she turned the mare down a short street lined with a collection of unkempt buildings. Someone convinced her to fling herself from the saddle in front of the second building and push her way through the swinging door into a warm, well-lit, spicy-smelling room.
It was such a contrast to the cold and dark of her journey that, for a moment, Ellynor stood frozen at the threshold, unsure of what to do next. Whom to approach, what to say. More than a few people had looked up at her entrance and now surveyed her with interest. She realized she must look a fantastic sight—her hair wild, her hands bloody, her muddy white robes only partially covered by a large, dirty cloak that she had clearly borrowed or stolen. If she had ever hoped to accomplish this part of the mission unobserved, she had just lost her last chance.
A medium-sized, somewhat rumpled man was crossing the room on his way from the bar to a table in the back. He glanced at Ellynor, set down a pitcher of beer, and came up to her with a quizzical smile.
“You look like someone who’s run into a whole bunch of different kinds of trouble,” he said, and his voice was rumbling and kind. “You trying to find someone? Or something?”
“I need the magistrate,” Ellynor said, trying to sound calm.
He didn’t look entirely surprised. “I’m Faeber,” he said.
Oh, surely that was the work of the Pale Mother! She delighted in unexpected gifts. “I have to talk to you. It’s urgent,” Ellynor said. “Can we step outside?”
Not hesitating, he nodded and escorted her out the door. Ellynor knew everyone in the tavern was watching by now, but at least no one would be able to overhear their conversation. As soon as the door swung shut, she said baldly, “Justin’s been hurt. I need someone to help me bring him to safety. In secret,” she added.
Faeber’s face showed instant concern. “Hurt! How? Where is he?”
She watched his face for any faint change in expression, hoping he could be trusted as much as Justin believed. “He’s on the road leading out of the forest that surrounds the Lumanen Convent,” she said slowly. “Five guards attacked him this afternoon and almost killed him. But he’s still alive.”
Now Faeber looked astonished. “Five guards? And he’s the one who’s not dead?”
She brushed that aside as of no importance. “There was another man with him, a freighter from town. He may have accounted for one or two.”
“No,” said Faeber positively. “I know Jenkins, and he’s never held a sword in his life. Justin fought off five men? Killed them all? Who is that boy?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice growing a little ragged. “But he’ll be a dead one soon if we don’t go after him now.”
Faeber’s lined face softened as he looked at her. “Young lady, if he was close to death when you left him, there’s no chance he’s still alive now.”
“Yes, he is,” she said fiercely. “I swear to you—I know for certain—he will survive till dawn. But after that—if you don’t help me—he will die. Or more soldiers from the convent will find him. Surely they’ll come looking by daybreak. Please, please, help me bring him to safety.”
He nodded. “I’ve got a cart small enough to fit down that forest road behind a tandem team. But we’ll need guards of our own in case we run into trouble.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t want—if anyone knows where Justin is, more soldiers will come for him. He won’t be safe.”
“We can trust these guards,” Faeber said. “They’re my sons.
He turned from the tavern and began striding purposefully down the street. Ellynor snatched up the reins of her horse and followed. She was flooded with relief—she had secured aid, she was no longer alone in this desperate misadventure—but at the same time her body was strung with tension. They were still so far away from Justin, and the minutes were skipping by so rapidly. They had to leave now, they should have been on the road ten minutes ago, how could they spare time to harness horses and gather up reinforcements?
It was as if Faeber could read her thoughts. “It won’t take long,” he said in a soothing voice. “Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty, you’ll see. We’ll be back on the road. Now, when we get to my house, I want you to go in while I’m fetching the cart. I want you to eat something. My wife will still be awake, she’ll feed you. I want you to clean up your face, maybe change your clothes. Marney will find you something to wear. You’ve had a long night and it’s going to get longer. Don’t be stupid. Take care of yourself if you’re going to take care of that young man.”
Finally they arrived at Faeber’s house, a rambling two-story building that radiated the same comfort and strength that Faeber himself did. More quickly than Ellynor really expected, he had called for his sons, sent them out to hitch the wagon, given Marney a brief synopsis of the night’s challenge, and gone off to get his own overcoat. Marney, a large, clear-eyed, capable-looking woman, handed Ellynor a plate of food and disappeared to rummage through her closets. In just about the time Faeber had predicted, Ellynor had been fed and cleaned up, the wagon was ready, and his two sons waited outside the door, mounted on horseback.
“I figure you can ride in the wagon with me on the way out, since you’ll probably be riding with Justin on the way back,” Faeber said, helping Ellynor onto the bench beside the driver’s place. The wagon was so narrow that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. “We put your horse in the barn. Don’t imagine anyone will find it unless they go looking pretty hard. Ready, boys? Let’s be on our way.”
This half of the journey seemed to take forever; there was no way a cart, even pulled by a team, could make the same kind of time as a single rider. Ellynor felt her muscles cramp with apprehension. Her lip bled because she bit it so hard to keep from crying out for greater speed.
She must trust the goddess. The Black Mother would not abandon Justin, not now. Look, it was still dark, only a short time past midnight. The goddess had promised to stay till dawn.
Their pace slowed as they entered the forest, for even this small cart was a little too wide to navigate the twists and turns of the woodland trail. Ellynor thought she would scream from impatience as Faeber carefully guided the team through a sharp angle in the road. She wanted to beg him to stop the cart, let her take one of the horses and ride on ahead. She would meet them at the place in the road where the bodies lay in a pile.
But she knew they would never find that place if she was not with them. The goddess would conceal it from everyone except Ellynor herself.
At last, at last, a dip in the road, a turn into shadows, and they came upon the site of the battle. Six corpses still lay in the road, clear to Ellynor’s eyes, although Faeber’s sons practically rode right over them.
“Stop! Stop! Here we are,” Ellynor exclaimed, scrambling from the cart while it was still in motion. She could sense the confusion from Faeber’s sons, hear one of them say, “What? Here?” as he pulled back hard on the reins. She didn’t pay attention. She lit out at a flat run for the patch of ground a few yards away where a fair-haired man lay motionless on the bloody soil. She practically collapsed at his side, her hands outstretched to touch him before she had even fully come to rest.
Heart beating. Breath warm at the corners of his mouth. Alive, alive.
She heard the commotion around her as Faeber drew his team to a halt and the three men tossed each other questions. “Where’d she go? I don’t see her, do you? If that isn’t the strangest thing!”
“I can’t see a damn thing on this road—it’s like there’s a mist, or something—but that’s not it. It’s just purely impossible to see.”
They probably would be glad they couldn’t see if they knew what was hiding under the Black Mother’s cloak of darkness. The raelynx, lying against Justin’s body across from where Ellynor knelt, now pushed himself to a seated position. He yawned, showing his splendid sharp teeth, and gazed about him as if wondering what other interesting sights this territory might hold. Then, so quickly that Ellynor did not see him move, he bunched his muscles and sprang away into the forest. She didn’t even hear the slightest sounds from his passage.
One night visitor remained behind. Ellynor could sense the presence of the Black Mother still crouched near Justin’s head. She was nothing more than a coil of darkness, a suggestion of weight in the formless air.
“Thank you,” Ellynor whispered. “Thank you. All I ask now is that you give me the strength to do the rest. To heal him. To make him whole. And lift your magic from this place now, for these others are here to help me. I cannot tell you what is in my heart. All I know is that I will love you forever.”
The shadow grew denser for a moment, and Ellynor felt the distinct shape of a kiss pressed against her forehead. A pulse of fire surged through her; she felt her blood run with heat. Momentarily, she was blinded, even her preternatural vision failing. And then suddenly the darkness lifted as if a sullen fog had evaporated in an instant. She heard one of Faeber’s sons gasp and one of them curse.
“There she is,” Faeber said. “And great holy goddess, there are the bodies. I didn’t think it could be true.”
“There’re six dead men here!” one of his sons exclaimed. “And you’re saying this fellow killed five of them?”
“Doesn’t seem possible,” Faeber said, “but I think it’s so. Let’s get him in the wagon, boys. Daybreak can’t be more than a few hours away, and we need to be on the road quick as we can.”
“I see horses back through the trees,” one of the sons called as Faeber came to his knees beside Ellynor. “Do we leave them behind?”
“No. Rope them together and we’ll lead them into town,” Faeber said over his shoulder. Then he turned his head and gazed down at Justin’s face. “And he’s really still alive?” he asked, quietly enough that only Ellynor could hear. “You must possess a powerful bond with that Silver Lady of yours. I can’t imagine anything but a goddess’s touch keeping a man breathing when he’s in a state like this.”
No time to go into it all right now! “The goddess has been good to me,” was all Ellynor said. “Let’s get him in the wagon and go.”
THAT was a nightmare journey, out of the forest, down the endless road, back to the streets of Neft. Ellynor was aware of every slow, agonizing mile they traveled. She only vaguely paid attention to her companions as Faeber’s sons ranged before and behind the wagon, keeping an eye out for trouble in any form. Now and then Faeber spoke to her from the front bench, but her answers were muffled and incomplete. All her attention was on Justin. All her energy was poured into him. She lay beside him in that cramped, jarring, rocking cart, one hand on his heart and her lips against his cheek, and willed him to stay alive.
Dawn was uncurling over the horizon as they pulled wearily into Neft. The sky was actually light as Faeber and his sons carried Justin into the house and up a wide set of stairs. Marney had prepared a room for him—a soft bed, a roaring fire, a selection of clean bandages, and three basins full of water. As soon as the men had settled Justin into his bed, Marney shooed them all out the door.
“Ellynor and I will clean him up now. You three go rest.”
“Ellynor needs some rest herself, I’m thinking,” Faeber said.
Marney cast Ellynor one quick, appraising look. “I expect Ellynor will want to spend a little more time getting our patient settled,” she said. “Now you go on to your rooms.” She paused long enough to kiss her husband, and then shut the door.
“Let’s get this young man taken care of,??
They worked together nearly an hour, cleaning and rebinding Justin’s wounds, washing his face and hands, wiping away as much of the blood as they could. Marney matter-of-factly stripped him naked and redressed him in loose clothes that probably belonged to one of her sons, handling him so gently he barely grunted with the pain. Ellynor couldn’t help but notice all the old scars that crisscrossed Justin’s chest and arms and legs. Some of them were from clean wounds that had probably been made by a sword and had obviously been well tended. Some were still red, ragged marks across his flesh that looked as if they had been acquired in a street fight and left to fester.