Gareth closed his eyes. Touching the mind of anyone he knew went against his personal ethics and it felt distasteful, even if he’d been invited. He found it instantly. Ann had formed a mental link filled with the desire to mate, and all that was needed was to gather items and fly to the source of the link, which was Ann.
Her link was weak. It traveled only a hundred paces or less. Gareth calmed himself and took control. He didn’t want every bird from the mountains to the sea flocking here. There would be so many they would block the sunlight and the incident a cause for all to remember for a hundred years.
Her mental link soothed and encouraged the birds. Taking the essence and expanding the distance was easy. He doubled, then tripled the power of her images. Looking up, he found a few birds, but not enough. He doubled the power again, adding to the suggestion that the birds fly higher and circle without dropping anything.
Birds appeared by the hundreds, then thousands. They circled, wheeling in great flocks comprised of dozens of varieties, but the phenomenon went almost unnoticed by the soldiers on the road. The birds were too high for them to see they carried items, and the great circles and height managed to keep their numbers hidden.
“Let’s do it,” Ann said.
Gareth scooped the boy into his arms. He concentrated on the birds as he said, “I’m telling them to fly lower, below the tops of the trees and drop whatever they’re carrying on the road. Also, tell them to chirp, screech, and sing.”
Birds swooped lower, and a rain of small items started falling. The birds that released their twigs, acorns, and seeds, began their squawking and singing while flying in loops and circles to attract mates. There were so many that a few collided in midair and fell, causing, even more, confusion.
The number of birds increased with every breath and the amount of falling debris rained down. One glance at the soldiers guarding the road told Gareth all he needed to know. He cradled the boy as he sprang from the cover of the tangled briars and ran. He heard Ann at his heels. The road was only ten steps across, and then they were safely in the undergrowth on the other side.
They hid behind the trunks of two oaks. Gareth released his hold on the birds, telling them to fly to their nests. In the time it took to repeat the message and look out at the road, the sky cleared of all birds as if they had never existed. Soldiers stood in the road still looking up, but some were already recovering and resuming their duties while others talked about the incident.
Gareth broadcast a soothing image, telling them they had all seen birds act similarly in past years. Just another flock gathering and nothing to worry about, let alone remember. He issued feelings that told them they needed to keep a sharp watch on the road for Gareth. Superiors who found them bird-watching would not be happy.
“You did it, Ann hissed in his ear.
“We did it. Let’s move away from the road and get deeper into the forest.”
Ann took the lead again, finding animal paths and trails as if she knew where each existed. The land gently rose. Ahead, Gareth watched the white peaks getting closer all day until he thought he saw a separation between two. They arrived at a small meadow at the top of a hill that provided a view of ahead, as well as the forest behind, although the road could not be seen.
They had traveled far enough that they could use normal voices. The grass was lush, wildflowers dotted the green carpet, and they sat. After the excitement of the road, the forest seemed to have calmed, and the soft breeze struck cords of soft melodies in the leaves.
Looking ahead, Gareth asked, “Is that where the pass is?”
“Yes. A road they call it, but really more of a wide track that goes over the mountains. Near the top, there is snow all year around. They say that only one in three who goes over it ever returns, but maybe that’s just a story.”
“The travel is that difficult?”
She looked at him with that same look mothers give to children who as silly questions. “The road is steep and hard, the air freezing, but it’s what they find on the other side that prevents them from returning.”
“What is that?”
Ann had been carrying Tad. She had placed him on the ground and now took his hand. “Nobody ever says. The few who return are changed, and none ever goes back over there.”
“What does that mean?”
“There is something awful on the other side of those mountains, I think. Too terrible for most to talk about. Now, I fear whatever it is has crossed over to this side.”
Gareth considered her answer and found another question that needed to be asked. “Is that your viewpoint or the one of the Sisterhood?”
Ann hesitated, “Both.”
The fact that she didn’t elaborate told him she was not supposed to speak of it, and that she had probably just violated a promise or oath. He wouldn’t insult her or ask her for further revelations. Something on the other side. That is all he needed to know. He searched his memory for stories or rumors. Nothing came to mind, but he had never heard of anyone crossing the mountain pass. That struck him as odd.
He glanced into the air and saw only a few birds. For safety, Gareth touched the minds of those people nearest, mostly soldiers, and then others farther away. In all, he set the idea that there had been far few birds than they remembered, and again that they had all watched birds flock together in other times so this was not unusual. He dismissed the objects they dropped as coincidence.
The rising chatter of a thousand tongues wagging to the same tune had already decreased, then halted as if it never had been. Gareth sat in the grass and let his mind seek further. He found the Brotherhood and sensed their interest in the birds. His ruse hadn’t fooled them. They didn’t know what happened but shared the common belief that Gareth was the cause.
He also sensed their fear. Not fear of him, but of another. Strangely, he found most of the thoughts of him were kindly and benevolent. Well, perhaps benevolent was too generous. He found the Brotherhood held little animosity directed at him, although they did share a common distrust and disappointment that he had not conformed to their way of thinking while they educated him.
But he searched them for one individual mind, the Brother, who had been his longest mentor in Dun Mare. Of the hundreds of minds in the encampment he searched, the mind he wished was not there. He knew of at least two more farms where Brothers were held by the King’s men but didn’t feel he had the time to spend searching each of them.
Standing, he quickly reached out and found Blackie. The dragon responded to his touch like the family dog did when one of the family returned to the house. It got excited then quickly calmed as he provided a mental pat on the neck and told them they’d be together soon.
Ann also stood, still holding Tad’s hand. She looked at the boy lying at Gareth’s feet. “I can’t hear his mind, so he does not need my herbs for now, but listen to him closely. I do not trust him, or the other one.”
Her tone held dislike and more, but Gareth thought back to the last medication he’d taken. It had been early in the day. Tad had needed another dose back near the road. He bent to lift the boy into his arms.
A sharp pain struck his mind. An arrow of intense red light pierced his consciousness dropping Gareth to his knees.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The sudden stab of pain was unexpected, but Ann’s warning had him on guard. He flinched, deflecting the mental blow as it struck. Before his knees landed on the ground, he reacted instinctively and returned the attack, much like returning a slap in the face. It happened without thought and before he could prevent it.