“Griandor wants me to unite our people, and Arland and Perth believe the best way to start is to play by the rules,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Public speaking is not my thing. Everyone quietly stares at me. My knees buckle, but Arland squeezes my hand, reminding me this is one of the easy tests.
“Did you say Griandor wants you to unite our people?” Ogilvie asks, crossing his well-defined arms over his chest.
“She did,” Arland says. “The sun god has been in close connection with her since she arrived in Encardia a few weeks ago. In order for us to succeed, we need to ask everyone here to keep mine and Katriona’s relationship a secret. If Leader Dufaigh discovers our connection, his desire for power will likely overrule the forced peace between our kinds, and all will be lost. Can we count on your silence?”
Silence is what Arland asked for, and silence is what we receive now. Even the children appear lost in thoughts. No one moves or looks away from me and Arland. My hand is so sweaty it may slip out of his. My heart flips in my chest. What if no one will do this? What if they do and get in trouble for it?
Everyone should save themselves and forget about mine and Arland’s problems—
Cadman takes a knee, places his fist over his heart—like Arland did when he swore his life for mine. “You have my confidence, Arland and Katriona. If we are discovered, punishment in the name of Light will be worth it.”
Arland tightens his hold on my hand and casts a sideways glance at me. My face flushes, and chills run along my skin—I’m responsible for so many lives, so many debts I can never repay.
Perth kneels next. “My father would kill me if he were aware of this conversation. I know I am on the correct path and he is not—and I know you two are, as well. I will not only vow silence, I will fight in the army Katriona needs to follow her.”
“I will also fight and swear my allegiance,” Ogilvie says.
Over and over again, soldiers, family, and friends take a knee, cross their fist over their chest, then swear their lives to the path of Light. When the last and smallest of the children takes her knee, my body numbs. All these people—willing to sacrifice their lives, sacrifice their freedom—have just pledged everything to me and Arland. If things do not go well, their blood will be on my hands. I should thank everyone, but I can’t find the right words. What’s appropriate when people put everything on the line?
“Thank you,” he says, squeezing my fingers between his. “Katriona and Perth will begin courtship as soon as we arrive at Willow Falls. Please, do your best not to mention myself or Katriona in the same conversation. Hide any knowledge we even know one another.”
A tear slides down my cheek. We’re diving head first into a dangerous, shallow end, and everyone is following right behind us. I sniffle, but the air smells … different. Rot and decay have been replaced. The scent reminds me of camping, of some of my last days in the forests in Virginia with Brad and Brit, before life spiraled in a whole new direction. I inhale a deep breath and look up.
Smoke
.
Something is burning, something big.
“Arland,” I say, pointing above our heads.
A shrill scream resonates from the middle of the crowd. Keely, the five-year old little girl who makes beds and collects linens, is standing by a coscartha in our protected area. Mom rushes to Keely’s side, scoops her up, then covers her mouth.
“Shh, little one. The daemon does not know you are here.” Mom looks at Arland with wide, panicked eyes then rushes to our side.
Plumes of smoke rise around us; bright orange flames shoot fifteen feet or so into the air from the trees. My skin warms from the sudden burst of fire.
“They know we are here like you said?” I ask Arland.
He nods. “They are trying to smoke us out.”
Stop, drop, and roll does not sound like an appropriate plan for getting us out of this. “What are we going to do?”
Arland takes me by the hand and pulls me close. “We have to fight, Kate. We have to fight.”
Determination to protect the children drives me. No matter how well trained some are, they’re not ready for a fight, not ready for another introduction to daemons or the harsh reality of Encardia. I’ve positioned the smallest and youngest Draíochtans in the middle of all the soldiers; Arland and I remain at the back. Everyone moves as fast as possible toward the horses, sprinting toward the path which will take us north to Willow Falls.
I glance to my right. Sweat beads on Arland’s temples and drips down his face.
“What are we going to do when we get out?” I ask, heat and smoke making my lungs strain harder for air.
“Do we send the others ahead of us and fight the daemons ourselves? Or do we all stay together?”
Covering her face with her hands, Keely nuzzles her head into his shoulder and whimpers.
“You and I will step out first and see what we encounter. If we are attacked, the others must remain here until it is safe. If we are not attacked, we will all have to move fast,” Arland says, sureness filling his every word.
“But the smoke. How will they—?”
Kegan coughs, deep and hoarse, confirming my concern for how everyone will breathe.
Smoke blankets over our heads like a thick, gray cloud. I fight the urge to rub my burning eyes, cover my mouth, or show any sign of weakness. I’m a Leader; if Flanna won’t cry over losing Lann in front of everyone, then I won’t allow the smoke to faze me.
Keely sobs and shakes with each ragged gasp for breath.
Arland rubs the back of her head. “We will have no other choice but to fight fast, Kate.”
“
Kate
?” How I have the courage to joke in a time like this is beyond me.
“Katriona,” he corrects without any hint of amusement.
We reach the edge of the protected perimeter, and everyone in front of us comes to an abrupt stop.
Arland and I run into the backs of Tristan and Dunn, knocking them forward and into Saidear and Kegan.
“Sorry,” I say, but other than Keely’s high-pitched cries, no one responds.
Cadman raises his hand, holding us here even longer, then turns around. “Sir, I believe you should see this.”
Arland leans away from Keely, looking at her with the compassion of a father for his sick child.
“Keely, I have to put you down now. Will you promise to be good for Dunn?” His question is soft, gentle, caring.
“I do not want to get down. The scary … .” She draws in a ragged breath through her stuffy nose.
Brit makes her way through the crowd, eyes wide with fear, skin pale. “Kate—”
Keely interrupts with an ear-piercing wail. Squeezing him tighter and locking her legs around him, she fights Arland as he tries to peel her from his chest.
Brit glances at Keely clinging to Arland for dear life, then opens her arms. “Here, I will take her.”
I don’t know what Brit was going to say, but I’m sure offering to take a child off Arland was not her intention.
Keely peeks at my sister, face red and glistening with tears, then lunges in her direction.
“You’re name is Keely?” she asks.
“Mmhmm.”
Brit flashes a half smile at me, then turns and walks away with Keely latched on tight.
Arland stares after them.
“That was unexpected.” I shake my head. Brit has never been as fond of children as me.
He takes my hand in his and leads me between the soldiers and the rocks along the edge of the cave. Everyone’s eyes are upon us. I feel their fear in the weight of the air, their despair. A knot forms in my gut, but I keep my head held high.
“Somehow I do not believe your sister came to help, Katriona. She wears her concern on her face. Brit may be good at hiding secrets, but I am not positive she hides her feelings as well as she believes she does,” Arland whispers, helping me climb over a large gray boulder.
Glancing up at him, I check his facial expression; his eyes are slightly narrowed. “You look worried, Arland. Do you think she will not be able to help us?”
He scans the crowd as we walk side by side. “We do not have much of a choice but to try, do we?”
“I guess not.”
We stop next to Cadman.
Watching someone so much older look to us for leadership is strange. Growing up, if I saw someone with gray in their hair or wrinkles around their eyes, I’d think they were wiser, full of knowledge I didn’t have. In Encardia age means nothing.
“The horses are gone, sir,” Cadman says.
Mirain
! Dropping Arland’s hand, I make a break for the spot I last saw her.
He grabs the back of my shirt, stretching it taut against my skin. “Stop.”
Cadman clamps his hand on my right forearm. “Did you wish to run into a trap, ma’am?”
I squint toward the tree where the horses were tied, but the light is not bright enough to shine through the low-lying cloud of smoke. “You don’t think … ?”
Arland tugs my tunic, pulling me away from the perimeter. “No, Katriona, I
don’t
think the daemons did anything to Mirain or Bowen or any of the horses. They are smart enough to run away.”
“But they were tied up.” I strain my eyes again, trying to look for signs of blood or anything else that would tell me if the horses are hurt.
“There is no time to worry. Wherever the animals are, they are,” he says.
“What do you propose we do, sir?” Cadman asks.
Both men turn to look at me; I get a sinking feeling I’m the only one who can get us out.
I run my hands along my arms. “How far is it to Willow Falls again?”
“Fifty miles,” Cadman responds.
“Do you think the daemons know where we are going, or do they only know we are here because they were the ones to bring you here in the first place?”
Arland rubs his chin then takes a deep breath. “I cannot answer that, Katriona. Daemons have never cornered me this way. When one discovered Watchers Hall, we were aware and killed it before more could be brought back for an attack—or so we thought.”
He tips his head in the direction of the graves. The trees burn, bright orange flames lashing up toward the dark sky. “There could be hundreds or even thousands out there waiting for us.”
The night we brought Mom and Brit through the portal, we were attacked by hundreds of hounds and coscarthas in the forest. During that battle, my sister was almost eaten by a hound and Arland was nearly overrun by coscarthas and then by a hound. I have more control over my powers now, but the thought of battling
thousands
of daemons with little help worries me. There has to be another way. We need to hide, or go underground, or in the water, but not through an army of thousands of daemons … not with the children. “I am not sure we can fight that many daemons with the children, Arland.”
The air grows warmer. My skin tingles as the chill works its way out of me. If we don’t move soon, we will be surrounded by fire. Soldiers and children alike clear their throats, gasp for air, or cough. Unfriendly reminders of how dire my need to make a decision is.
“Sir, the flames are getting closer, and the smoke is almost too dense to see anything. What are
we
going to do?” Cadman asks, raising his voice to a level impending on insubordination.
Arland holds my gaze; his green eyes possess as much power over me as the burning forests around us. “Katriona, this is your army, these are your people—Griandor wanted
you
to lead us. What are we going to do?”
Hide
—it’s the only thing I can think of while the children are here, but Arland said we have to fight, and the smoke will kill us before the daemons do if we stay here. Leaving is our only option. My magic is our only protection—or is it? The last time I had to leave a hideout because of daemons, my room had disappeared. In fact, we’re all invisible to the daemons now. “How does the hiding spell work?”
Arland shakes his head. “There is no way we could manage to keep up the spell while moving. It takes a lot of effort to cast it in the first place. That is why so many of us work together.”
“There is no way everyone else can keep it up, but if you tell me what to do, maybe I can—or
we
can?”
Gray and black ash falls from the sky, landing on everyone’s hair and shoulders like drifting snowflakes. I bring the crook of my arm to my mouth then breathe through my shirt.
Arland wipes the burnt remnants of nature from his nose. “It is too great a risk. The spell must be cast over every inch of land around us.”
I prop my hands on my hips. “How many people did it take to hide me at Watchers Hall?”
He scowls. “One.”
“Who?”
“Me, but—”
“But nothing, Arland. Tell me what to do. We can do this together, remember? We just have to think of those we love, remain connected. Everyone can help.”
He takes my hands from my hips. “Repeat after me: cheilt an maireachtáil leis an dúlra.” Arland pronounces each word slowly.
I listen closely, soaking in the spell. “Cheit a maireachlateis an d-d—”
He tenses. “No. Listen carefully. If you wish to hide us all the way to Willow Falls, you will have to repeat this over and over. We will help you, but we have only ever been able to hide ourselves while in a permanent location. This will not be easy.”
Cadman paces between the edge of the perimeter and me. Fingers rubbing his forehead, he stops and looks up, then holds my gaze. “Katriona, I have fought with you and been witness to the strength you and Arland have when you fight together. I do not believe we need to hide. With your powers, we are capable of handling the daemons, and we need to go.”
His confidence in my fighting skills is encouraging, but I cannot get over my instinct to hide—to preserve the children. Thinking of everything I stand to lose and of everything I stand to gain, I concentrate my thoughts over my heart then release the fire inside me. Power flows through my soul, fanning out to my extremities, and encases my body in blue flames.
Arland and Cadman stand close to me, hold their heads high and smile, but the others move away and give me a wide berth—as though my fire could harm them.
“Cheilt an maireachtáil leis an dúlra,” I shout as loud as I can.