The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds (24 page)

Arathin

The wind wove through naked tree branches; making them clack together like stages in rut. Stray drops of thawed snow fell onto those below. Namely the girl and her wolf companion. The wet irritants sent the russet wolf to shake. Moments later the girl shook out her own copper hair. The wolf watched her.

“
What
?”
Terana asked
.“
Because
I’
m not a wolf I ca
n’
t shake
?
”

The wolf barked.

“
Too bad,
I’
m shaking. See
?”
Terana shook her head again.

Russy groaned. He crouched playfully, tail flying. She took a step toward him. He surged toward her, but before she could catch him, he bounded out of her reach. He tore a circle around her. Then he raced in front of her. She raced after him. Russy looked back at her and changed his course to run circles around her.

“
Are you trying to say something
?”
She asked while still running.

Russy barked and nipped once at her heels. Then he surged back into the lead.

“
Twit
.”
she muttered under her breath.

The russet wolf bounded on ahead. He padded through one of the last remaining snow drifts this far down the mountain. The chill that let it remain was the reason why she had to wear scratchy wool.

Russy had stopped ahead of her. They had come to a steep incline. Beyond it the forest continued on a much gentler slope. From the bottom of the slope to Plarn was a five minute walk. A five minute walk mostly through fields just beginning to sprout. After that, mothe
r’
s wonderful cooking. But first she had to climb down this; she thought with a sigh.

“
Well, we wo
n’
t get anywhere just standing here
.”
She told Russy. The wolf started down the slope. He bounded down in a zigzag pattern. At the bottom he shook out his russet coat and glanced back at her
.“
Show off
.
”

“
Are we there yet
?”
Zeeve piped up.

“
No
.”
She replied
.“
Not yet. Just stay in there
.”
Terana sat down on the edge and began the journey down the twenty foot slope. She crawled down like a spider down a wall.  A clump of wet leaves gave way and she slid. She dug her heels in to slow her rapid descent. She slowed, but there was really no stopping now. She shrugged and let herself slide down. At the bottom she stopped.

Russy had just sat there and watched.

“I’
ll admit, it was
n’
t classy, but it was classic. Except for a wet, muddy butt I got down just fine
.”
Russ
y’
s eyes glinted
.“
Do
n’
t say anything
.”
She said raising a finger
.“
Unless if you want to find yourself in trouble
.”
The wolf gave her a toothy grin.  Terana brushed her butt off as well as she could before she approached the thicket she always used to change. It was as close to a room as one could hope for in a forest. One had to crawl through a small opening to enter. Even in winter its branches shielded one from peering eyes. It had
n’
t always been like this. Before it was just something that was better than nothing, but over time it grew into the perfect hideout it now was. She and Jeremy, her brother, had spent a considerable amount of their childhood inside its shielding embrace. They would pretend that she was a princess and he was a prince come to save her from the clutches of a fire breathing dragon. She always loved watching him fight invisible enemies with a twig; The invincible twig. Besides playing the princess role; she would be the every man. She would give voice to the enemy forces and roar and grunt like a dragon.

But Jeremy grew up. She grew older. He attended his older son chores. She ran wild in the forests with Russy. 

Terana slipped her knapsack off from around her shoulder and neck. She flipped it open and reached her hand in for her woman clothes. Terana pulled them out and shook them. 

“
Oof
.
”

Terana hissed in surprise. Zeeve had fallen out of the sky blue dress.

“
Zeeve! What were you doing in my dress
?”
Terana asked with her hands on her hips. The wool dress was pinned between hand and hip. 

Russy approached Zeeve, a deep growl climbing up his throat.

Zeeve moaned and rolled onto his back so he could glare at Russy properly
.“
Oh be quite fluffy dog
.”
Zeeve looked up at her
.“
Zeeve did
n’
t know it was dress. Zeeve just know it was soft. It protected Zeeve from being sorely bruised and being screwed by black sticks. Nice dress did
n’
t protect Zeeve from nasty book, though
.
”

Somewhat amused at Zeev
e’
s trials Terana said
.“
Sorry Zeeve. Now, you two
.”
She said addressing both Russy and Zeeve
.“
Stay out here.
I’
m going to change
.”
Terana rolled her dress into a ball and threw it into the thicket. She then got to her hands and knees. The hole doorway to the thicket room was a tight passage with no room to turn around or really move. As Terana struggled she noticed the passage walls widened a little. She probably imagined the widening bit, but the going was easier. Soon she found herself in the thicket room. Tiny shards of light filtered through the branches. Terana turned back toward the tunnel and shouted
.“
And do
n’
t you two dare start fighting
!”
She heard a quic
k‘
yes m
a’m’
and a yip.

A short time later Terana reemerged from the thicket dressed as a woman should dress. There was a reason why she disliked dresses. They did nothing, but get snagged on a twig. She brushed what she could of the dirt out of her skirts.  There was only one redeeming factor of a dress and that was its ability to swirl about her legs.

Russy left them at the fringe between forest and field. Terana watched him disappear into the trees like red smoke. She then turned her own way. Zeeve was back in her bag to keep him from sight. He did
n’
t like being in the bag, but she had convinced him with her fears of what the towns people would do. She worried that they would see him as an animal, or worst, a monster and kill him. Or at the very least, drive him away.

Terana strode carefully over this yea
r’
s sproutlings Her eyes flicked watchfully around. It never hurt to be too careful when crossing farmer Trelli
s’
s fields. He was overly protective of his plants. He had once caught Terana and her brother, Jeremy, coming home using his field. He had given them such a tongue lashing that their ears nearly bled. She still cringed when she remembered his speech about the delicate needs of his crops.  Obviously it had
n’
t scared her back to the right path, but it had taught her to keep her eyes open.

With a sigh of relief she stepped onto the small path between the fields. The sun was slipping below the mountains. An eagle
s’
shriek echoed about the valley. Terana looked up. A great bird shape hovered high above. Something that she had never seen such a bird do.  All the other birds made a b-line for the thick canopy of the forest. Their shrieks of fear were small things compared to the echoes of his call. The whole valley seemed to lose its voice. The world seemed to watch that distant predator with awed terror.

Terana, herself, could not take her eyes from him.  He was a great creature, a king of the skies. His movements were economical and graceful. His power and strength could not be questioned, even from way down here. She wished she could join him up there. It was odd, but she felt a sort of kinship with him. He was feared and hated because of what he was. Like her, he could not help what he was.
              Or at least, that was how she rationalized the feeling she had.

The dark folds of night ate at the sky. It occurred to Terana that he stood in between the worlds of night and day. Nigh
t’
s darkness reached him and he shot, like an arrow from a bow, north. His shadow was blacker then the night.

The eagle was gone now. The world was dimmer. Terana looked to were the sun had been cradled between two mountains. The sun had closed his eye and his candle was the only thing lighting the sky. Which meant only one thing:  She was late for dinner.  Terana swore softly as she raced down the path toward the town and home.

***

The sun was just getting ready for bed when Tsoya Palmsa reached her favorite perch. It was a small, clear outcrop of mountain that jutted slightly over the pass into Plarn. It was low enough on the mountain that winter had no hold upon it. The surrounding trees were thick with buds. Tsoya sighed. Spring was her favorite time of year. She settled her rump on a fallen log and looked out past the pass.  The path continued into the valley, following the foot of the mountains. Eventually it met with the town of Plarn.

Tsoya could not see the town from here. She had
n’
t come to watch the town, she had come to watch the road that led to it. She was also here to keep an eye on the shield around the valley. It was not seen by the physical eye, but by the pressure of magic. Tsoya was an observer of this shield. Within its arms rested the hope of her people and this land. Nineteen years ago the shield had first appeared. With its appearance her people had celebrated. Now it was thin. Excitement was a torrent through her veins. The time they had all been waiting for would be here soon.

Calling her
marana
  to her hand, Tsoya san
g“
Milisda? Hear me
.
”

The flames pooled like water in the cup of her hands. It turned clear to show the face of an older woman with tresses of midnight falling possessively over her shoulders. Shards of gold silk glinted among the folds of night. They accented the woma
n’
s eyes, which had gold flecks. The rest of her eyes were blue with silver veins. Her face was confident in its prime years.

“
Speak, Tsoya
.
”

“
The shield weakens. It wo
n’
t be long until Seit
h’
s Heir leaves their nest
.
”

The silver in Milisd
a’
s eyes glowed bright with the same excitement that burned in Tsoy
a’
s own blood
.“
After all this tim
e
…
”
Milisda murmured
.“
Be ready, Tsoya. We cannot let the Heir leave without our knowing. I must make sure that everything is set. After all these years of waiting we can finally set things in motion
.”
The last was added quietly as if Milisda was talking to herself.

With that the pool became flames again. Tsoya let them fade. She pushed a stray wisp of auburn behind her ear as she stared toward the valley. She could
n’
t help the smile that came to her lips.

A shriek split the evening. Tsoya looked up. High above a black eagle hovered. She choked.
Ho
w…
?
Tsoya used her magical senses to peer at the bird closer.
NO!
It was no innocent hunter that prowled the skies. It was something foul that came from the north. She had never seen its kind, but she knew of it. Even without her magical senses, she would have known that something was wrong with this bird of prey. Birds of prey circled, not hovered.  Tsoy
a’
s blood sang with anger and fear. She wanted to strike out at the eagle with all her power and strength, to bring it smoldering down. But she refrained from striking him, because to do so would bring attention to Seit
h’
s child. That would be folly. Besides, she could
n’
t fight that creature alone.

Instead, Tsoya watched the predator fly north as fast as he could. She cast her senses around, he was gone. Tsoya called Milisda again.

“
Milisd
a”
The flames did not pool
.“
Milisda
?”
Tsoya was starting to panic. There were only two ways to stop a spell like this; Milisda was either dead or someone was preventing Milisda from hearing. That someone had to be strong in magic, very strong, to do such a thing. Tsoya knew of no one who could.