Authors: Deborah Chester
He
waved back, but the gates were already closed and Raul didn’t see.
Caelan’s
eyes stung a moment; then he steeled himself and hurried back to hand the
rucksack containing the medicines to Lea. In exchange he picked up the food
basket, flinging his cloak back over his left shoulder to free his arm.
At
the designated tree, he took the rucksack from her and stuck it in the fork of
the trunk for the Neika. Then he pulled up the hood of Lea’s cloak and tied the
strings for her. She had on fur-lined boots and gloves and looked like a tiny
imp as she skipped and clapped her hands in excitement.
He
wished he could take her with him, but that was not possible.
She
tugged at his hand. “Come on, Caelan. Come on!”
The
edge of the forest curved away from them in a dark green line, a hundred yards
away from the walls. Snow lay white and pure, dazzling in the sunshine.
“I’ll
race you to the larch tree,” he said, pointing.
With
a squeal, she broke free of his grip and ran with all her might, floundering
quickly in the deep snow. Caelan gave her a head start, then followed. His pack
and heavy clothing slowed him down, but he was able to catch up with her
easily. He stayed on her heels, threatening to pass her every time she slowed
down. She kept churning, short legs pumping hard, and he let her beat him to
the larch.
Dashing
into the undergrowth, he caught her by the tail of her cloak and flung her
bodily into the soft fronds of a nearby spruce. Snow flew in all directions,
and she bounced on the branches gleefully, her laughter ringing around them.
“I
beat you! I beat you!” she boasted.
His
breath steamed about his face. “Sure. I’m carrying everything like a pack mule.”
She
laughed. “I don’t know why you wanted to bring so much. We won’t starve before
we—”
“Show
me the cave quickly,” he said, switching the subject. “We don’t have all day.”
She
took him a different direction than he’d expected, to a part of the woods where
he’d never found any ice caves in his own explorations.
Lea
walked across a stream, her boots making the ice crack ominously. Caelan jumped
it rather than trust his weight on its surface.
She
ducked under a fallen log that lay across the shallow gorge and pointed. “Up
there. See?”
Straightening
beside her and combing twigs from his hair, Caelan saw the mouth of the cave
ahead. The entrance was tucked into a tall bank along the frozen stream, where
mossy rocks jutted from the earth in a ridge swathed with dead vines and
undergrowth. Unlike most ice caves, which had rock entrances and tunnels
leading to the ice hidden deep within, this one was frozen to its very mouth.
Concealed in the shadows of the bank, it looked murky and cold.
Caelan’s
heart pumped faster. “Stay here,” he whispered.
Lea
elbowed ahead of him. “It’s my cave. I’ll show you—”
“No!
I
’ll check it first. You wait
until I say it’s safe.”
She
glared at him. “It’s safe—”
“Lurkers,”
he said in warning, and she subsided.
Cautiously
he pushed ahead, his feet silent in the snow. He sniffed the air but smelled no
den. Pausing, he collected a stout stick and brandished it. When he reached the
cave, he saw where ice had flowed in half-melted slush from the mouth, then
refrozen like a tongue. His senses alert, Caelan focused a moment to see if any
animal or demon waited inside. He even dared use
sevaisin,
the joining.
Nothing.
He
crept up to the mouth and peered in. The air inside the cave felt clammy cold.
It smelled only of ice and damp, nothing else. He poked the stick inside and
banged it on the ice-covered walls.
Nothing
stirred, fled, or jumped out at him.
Relaxing,
Caelan beckoned to Lea, who came hopping without the food basket.
“I
told you it was safe,” she said and ducked inside.
Annoyed
by her lack of caution, Caelan shed his cloak and pack and followed her. “Lea,
I should go first—”
“Hush.”
She gestured at him with equal annoyance. “You’ll scare them.”
“Who?”
“The
earth spirits. Be quiet so they can know I’m here.”
He
crouched just inside the entrance, tucking his hands under his arms for extra
warmth. Maybe he shouldn’t have removed his cloak.
The
cave was silent, gloomy, and cold. The inside was completely encased in ice.
Even the floor offered a slippery surface.
Lea
crept farther in, taking one careful step at a time to avoid slipping and
falling.
“It’s
good,” she said at last. “We’re welcome here. Come on.”
He
scrambled up, almost slipping, and followed her with his hand on the wall for
support. The farther in, the taller the cave became until Lea could stand
upright. He hunched along, his hair brushing the icy ceiling.
“Not
too far,” he warned her. “I didn’t bring a lamp.”
“Silly,”
she said impatiently. “I’ve been here lots of times.”
He
sighed and abandoned the attempt to be responsible. She didn’t want him
cautioning her constantly.
“How
far to the emeralds?” he asked.
“Hush.
They’re a gift. You can’t demand them.”
Hard
not to do so when his need for them was so great. He glanced around him and
wondered how he was supposed to appeal to the earth spirits.
“Well,
do we look for them or do we—”
She
stopped and glanced back at him. “Stop asking questions. We have to stay in the
cave long enough for them to decide whether they will give us gifts or not. You’re
making everything harder.”
Accepting
her chastisement, he rolled his eyes. “I’ll be quiet.”
“Good.”
Finally
they emerged in a small chamber about the size of Lea’s sleeping room. It was
still too low for Caelan to stand upright, and icicles hung down from the
ceiling, some flowing all the way to the floor in frozen forms and shapes that
made him smile in wonder. Natural light filled the chamber, but although he
looked around he never saw the opening.
“Isn’t
it pretty?” Lea asked, her face glowing. “The cave itself is a treasure. The
earth and ice spirits made this one special.”
He
nodded, enjoying her pleasure. No wonder the earth spirits had given her
precious jewels. Who else could appreciate the natural beauty of this place
except a child like Lea?
“This
is my palace,” she told him, shifting into her own land of pretend. She
launched into a whole story then, telling him of all the imaginary rooms that
lay beyond, and where her guards slept, and where her servants worked, and
where her stables stood, and how many beautiful steeds she owned. She described
fabulous white horses that could fly and carry her to any corner of the earth.
She
had earlier gathered stones, twigs, and pieces of bark twisted into play cups
and platters. These she brought out from behind the ice formations and served
him a pretend feast as a welcome guest.
“Wait,”
Caelan said. “We brought food. Why not eat some of it now? We don’t have to
pretend.”
The
light momentarily faded from her face. “That food is for you to take when you
leave us,” she said sadly.
His
heart turned over, and he realized he shouldn’t have assumed he could keep such
an important secret from her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and pulled her into his
arms, hugging her tight. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“Take
me with you.”
He
groaned a little and pushed her away. “I can’t.”
“Why
not? Don’t you love me?”
He
struggled to master himself. “Of course,” he said, and saw disbelief hot in her
eyes. Dismay rose in him. How could he explain? “Lea, it has nothing to do with
how much I love you. If I took you, Father would have to come after us. You
belong to him by law until you are married.”
She
tossed her bright head. “I’m not going to be married.”
“Well,
even so. I’m going far away. It will be a hard, dangerous trip.”
“You’re
going to join the army,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “That’s why you
bartered for the dagger that has killed men. You want to kill too.”
Angrily
he turned away from her. “Now you sound like Father.”
“It
is a bad thing, Caelan. You know it. We have been taught to respect all life,
to honor it.”
“I
know,” he said, staring at the floor. He sighed. “I know.”
Silence
fell between them, and he was grateful for it. He had no words to explain this
to her. It was as though the world called him forth, drawing him through a
gateway toward exploration and adventure. Overmastered by it, he could do
nothing except obey.
“I
will pray for you,” Lea said at last, sounding far older than her age. She
pulled a little pouch out from beneath her clothing and slipped its thong over
her head. “You will need money, and since you did not rob Father’s earnings box
like you wanted to, I will give you my emeralds.”
“No!”
he said immediately, then saw her face and softened his tone. “Thank you, but
they are yours. I cannot take them.”
“But
I want you to have them.”
“No,”
he said gently, putting the loop back over her head and patting the small cloth
pouch. “You will need them someday.”
“But—”
“Not
a man in a thousand comes across such a treasure in a lifetime. Your stones are
a precious gift. You must honor that by keeping them for yourself. They are not
for me. And how do you know I wanted to steal from the earnings box?”
She
grinned, distracted by the question as he had intended. “You have no secrets
from me!”
He
caught her hands firmly in his and squeezed them. “But you must keep mine,
promise? You will tell no one where I have gone, even if you guess it.”
Grief
darkened her blue eyes. Slowly she nodded. “I don’t want you to go. You said
you would never leave me.”
“I
have to.” Her pain entered his own heart, and he kissed her hands.
Her
tears fell onto their gripped hands, hot on their cold flesh.
“I’m
sorry, little one,” he said. “I cannot keep that promise.”
She
shivered and he straightened.
“Are
you cold?”
She
nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “We’ve been here long
enough. If they’re going to give you any emeralds, they’ve had plenty of time.
Look close as we go out.”
His
excitement rose again in spite of his own doubts. He was hardly worthy of any
gifts from the spirits, but maybe worth had nothing to do with it. He followed
her out, staring at the ground carefully.
He
found nothing by the time he reached the mouth of the cave. Ruefully, he shook
his head and crouched down. “Well, we tried,” he said, swallowing his
disappointment. It had been too much to hope for anyway. “I’m sorry we couldn’t
come back sooner while the earth spirits were in the giving mood.”
“They
have to be kind to you too,” she said fretfully, disappointment sharp in her
voice. She stamped her foot. “You’re my brother. They have to like you just as
much as me.”
“Lea,
we need to go. I have to get you home, and then I must start on my journey.”
“Not
yet.” Bending over, she circled around him and headed back into the cave. “Don’t
give up so easily.”
He
waited, knowing this was just her tactic to keep him there as long as possible.
She
searched, but found nothing. Finally she bumped against his side and sighed,
looking tired. “Maybe it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought my stones. The
spirits probably think I’m greedy.”
“No,
they know why you came back,” he said gently, putting his hand on her curls.