See Part One for Disclaimers
Part Two
Atylanta kept an eye on the situation through the scrying mists of the waterfall by her house, but she was forbidden by her own rules from interfering unless no other solution was available. Until the last moment, Dar and Tao were more than capable of handling things -- even if they themselves might not have been aware of that. So Atylanta watched . . . until Dar released the captive children, sending them into the forest with Ruh as a guide, and Atylanta saw Zad approaching their former prison with pure bloodlust in his eyes.
Zad's reaction to finding the children gone was comparatively mild. He angrily ordered the men with him to wake the guards Dar had left unconscious, and ordered that they be brought to him after they revealed what had happened. And when that was done. . . "I'll kill them myself," the cheated king growled. He began to storm off, only to have one of the soldiers shout, "King Zad! Look here!"
Zad stopped and turned, frowning, and Atylanta's heart froze. Zad advanced on the soldier's position and saw the same thing as the younger man had. "A beast. Tiger, perhaps," the soldier told him.
Zad nodded, his expression fierce. "The BeastMaster. I should have guessed." He smiled. "Where there are tracks . . . there is my message to send." He turned to his men and ordered, "Gather our trackers. The BeastMaster thinks he can steal my prize and my fun?! He will soon find how wrong he is!"
Atylanta swore heartily. Why on earth had Dar left those children with only Ruh as protection!?! Desperately, she sent herself to the forest trail where the children were. Zad would be following that path soon and no tiger -- with or without a BeastMaster alongside -- would be able to protect that many children from the bloodthirsty bunch Zad was assembling.
The dark-haired sorceress stepped out from between onto the forest path with a shimmer of air. The line of children stopped in amazement, as did the tiger that was leading them. Ruh had seen Dar's encounters with the woman through the eyes of the BeastMaster's memory, but he had never even scented her before -- he wasn't about to trust her.
The tiger growled a warning and Atylanta looked at him, extending her hand slightly. "Peace," she told him. "I mean them no harm. But Zad does, and it will not be long before his trackers find them." She sighed as the tiger stared at her. "I wish you could understand me . . ."
A sharp avian cry drew her attention to a tree-branch where a great black eagle was landing. She smiled slightly. "But you do, to some degree, don't you?" The eagle cocked its head. "Can you explain to him that I wish only to help? We must get each of these children to their homes. Quickly."
The eagle stared at her. The tiger stared at her. Atylanta frowned. "Please, you must trust me. For the children's sake. Zad is coming."
There was a long moment, then the tiger slowly, almost reluctantly, backed away and lay down. Atylanta smiled, the expression dazzling. "Thank you," she said with a grateful nod. Sharak gave her a little peep of acknowledgement. Just to be certain, however, the eagle also opened his mind to Dar, though the BeastMaster was too far away to do any good.
Atylanta turned to the assembled children and smiled softly. "Now then. Everyone gather around me, all right?"
The children obeyed, taking their cue from the tiger. The beautiful dark-haired woman smiled gently at them and lowered herself onto her knees to be able to look each of them in the eyes. One little girl asked timidly, "Are you a spirit?"
The sorceress smiled. "No, dearheart. But I am many other things, all of which perhaps you will discover some day. For now, I need each of you to think of your homes so we can take you there."
"I don't know which way it is," one slightly pudgy boy said. "The Terrons just took us. . ."
Atylanta nodded and touched his cheek gently. "I know, sweeting. But I have other ways. Now. Which of you are from the same village?"
~*~*~*~
From nearly a mile in the distance, Dar stopped in his tracks and frowned, his eyes glazing slightly as he saw through Sharak's acute vision. "What is it?" Tao asked. They were nearly to Samoria now, where they would meet with Mara and her husband, to see them off with their strange child.
Dar shook his head. "Eskerr," he said. "She's with the children. Sharak says she brings warning of Zad's approach and will send the little ones safely home."
"Do you believe her?"
Tao didn't mistrust the sorceress, but he had to ask. Dar understood perfectly and answered, "We're too far to do anything about it. . ." His voice faded as he gave the images his full attention.
"Now. Which of you are from the same village?" A number of hands lifted, but not many -- these past seasons had been harsh, and each village had but three or four children of varying ages. The group numbered nearly twenty in total. "All right. I need you to get into groups for each village. Can you do that for me?" The children nodded and complied. Eskerr smiled encouragingly. "Very good. Now, think of your village, of the central gathering space, all right?"
Again the children nodded. The sorceress closed her eyes, seeming to concentrate. Sharak, Ruh and, through the link, Dar were almost prepared for the shimmer of air that preceded the children shifting out of place. First one pair, then another little group, then another and another until finally only one small girl was left. She looked to be only four years old, blue eyes wide with fear and trust. Eskerr opened her eyes and looked at her.
"I can't remember," the little girl whispered.
Eskerr frowned. From Sharak's vantage point, she looked a little shaky. Perhaps such specific magick cost more energy than she had to spare? The sorceress smiled gently at the girl and touched her cheek lightly. "Just think of your room at home. Do you have a favorite toy, or . . .?"
The child shook her head. "I don't remember," she repeated, and started to cry.
The poor thing's fear combined with her young age had wiped her ability to form the image, no matter how badly she wanted to. Eskerr made a soft sound and pulled the girl into a hug, stroking her blonde hair gently and laying a light kiss on the child's forehead. "Hush, sweeting. Shhh. Don't worry. Just listen to me, all right?"
She pulled away and looked into the child's eyes. Even from Sharak's high vantage point the gentleness in her face was clear. Her voice was soft and soothing as she continued. "Do you ever have bad dreams, and when you wake up you go to your mama and papa's room?" The little girl nodded. "All right. Now, close your eyes. That's good. Think of their room, of your mama and papa, and how they make you feel better. . ."
Eskerr paused for a long moment, waiting until the child brightened and said, "I remember!"
She laughed at the enthusiasm in the statement. "Good, sweeting. Now hold that image in your mind. . ." The little girl nodded and closed her eyes again. Eskerr concentrated and then made a small motion. The child shimmered out of place. Eskerr opened her eyes and smiled.
Then the expression faded and she lowered herself into a half-sitting position, one hand braced on the ground. She shook her head and sighed . . .
~*~*~*~
"I am getting too old for this," Atylanta murmured. The transport of living matter was no simple thing, and she had layered protection over protection on the spell to assure the children's safety as they traveled. To put it mildly, she was exhausted. But the day was not yet over: she could sense the approach of Zad and his troupe.
The young sorceress looked over at the tiger Ruh and the eagle Sharak. "You'd best be off -- Zad will not be in a good mood when he realizes the children are gone, and some of his men are archers."
Ruh blinked at her, then stood and stretched. Atylanta watched him with a smile. "Yes, I know. This is all your idea, not mine."
Ruh spared her a glance and snorted. Atylanta laughed, then got to her feet carefully. She could feel her power already returning, but she still felt a bit shaky. This, she reminded herself, was why she didn't do sorcery nearly as often as she did witchery: the complexity of the spells required more power than 1200 years had granted her. Still, and now she smiled slowly, I have more than enough to deal with our dear King Zad.
It was little more than a few minutes when Zad and his men approached where the children had been. The Terron king was in the lead, his expression determined and furious. "What do you mean, the tracks end here?!" he demanded of one unlucky soldier.
"Just that, my lord. The tiger tracks go on, but the smaller -- the children's -- simply vanish."
Zad growled and grabbed the man by the throat. "Impossible! They have to be here somewhere!"
A woman's voice came from the air around them, stopping Zad in his homicidal tracks as it asked almost conversationally, "Looking for something, King Zad?"
The Terrons turned as one as a slender figure stepped out from behind a tree. The dark-haired woman, beautiful and somehow familiar, leaned against the trunk and smiled pleasantly at them. Zad snarled at her, too angry for politeness or even caution. "Where are they!?"
"At home, with their families," Eskerr replied. She pushed away from the trunk and approached almost idly. "Which is where I strongly recommend they remain."
Zad gave an ugly laugh and sneered, "You think I'm just going to let them go?"
Eskerr tilted her head and smiled pleasantly at him. Her eyes, however, were hard and cold. "I know you are," she told him, her tone almost as pleasant. Her voice lowered with carefully controlled anger, but Zad's men heard every word -- and so did Sharak, who had settled unnoticed on a branch nearby. He opened the link to Dar and showed the BeastMaster the scene unfolding before him.
"Because you know," Eskerr told the Terron king, "that if you make me angry -- and hurting those children would make me very angry --" She took another step forward until they were mere inches apart. Zad could smell the soft floral tones of her perfume, but his attention was fixed on the cold stones that her eyes had become as their gazes met. "Not only can I burn you to cinders, but I will greatly enjoy doing it."
Zad swallowed hard, fighting a sudden surge of fear. It made him all the angrier. "No one is going to cheat me of what I want, Eskerr! Not even you."
He glared down at her, his eyes reflecting the murder that was in his heart. Eskerr looked completely unimpressed. She merely took a step forward and kept their gazes locked. "You got what you wanted from my mother, the Sorceress. Now hear me well, Zad, and do not think to cross me on this matter. Pursue these small ones now, or at any time in the future, and you will not have to worry about children that Fate has chosen to destroy you . . . for I will do it myself."
Power flared abruptly between them, its source the hand she had lifted. Zad stumbled back, surprised and furious. Where the power had touched, his chest felt like it had been kicked by a very powerful and very angry horse. Eskerr smiled at him. "That is a promise I make you, King Zad. And be assured that I always keep my promises." She tilted her head slightly and said, again almost pleasantly, "In that, my mother and I are very much alike."
She made a motion and Zad just as abruptly found himself back in his tent. The king stared in astonishment for a moment, then took his fury out on every inanimate object in the room. Until the children's failed guards appeared.
In the forest, Atylanta released a long sigh and shook her head. "Definitely getting too old for this," she murmured, and sent herself back to the sanctuary of her grove.
She had about a full minute of peace before the Ancient One disturbed her. "Quite impressive," the spirit said as he materialized in her living-room. "Such different approaches you and your mother have to the king."
Atylanta sighed and looked at him wearily. "That is because my mother cares what Zad thinks."
The Ancient One chuckled. "Very true. Still. You should be careful, my dear. Someday, what Zad thinks may be of grave importance to you."
Atylanta was too tired to be polite. "I will take my chances."
The Ancient One smiled, but Atylanta couldn't tell whether it was genuine amusement or his sense irony -- nor whether or not she should worry about the source of either one. "Yes, you will," the spirit observed before vanishing. "In that, also, you and your mother are very alike."
Atylanta felt his presence disappear completely and let out another sigh. "Well, there's a downside to everything."
Then she headed for her bedroom to take a long hot bath.
--Finis--
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