The air was sweet with the smells of spring and green things growing. Despite my early morning crankiness I had to admit that the idyllic scenery around me worked a subtle magic. The wind ruffled my hair as the powerful horse beneath me walked easily along. Dorian and I spread apart as well, and soon even he was lost to sight. Closing my eyes I could feel the forest around me, tasting it with my mind in a way that was almost spiritual.
I relaxed and soon forgot the hunt. If I heard the hounds I decided I would ignore them, the day was too beautiful to spoil with blood. Or maybe I was just lazy. I continued to expand my awareness, startled at how much life there was around me. Things unnoticed by the eye, the badger in his lair beneath an oak thirty yards away, the finches fluttering in their nests high above, mice and small creatures filtering through the grass, searching for seeds. These were things I had never known before, not in such an intimate way. Reaching further I felt Dorian more than a hundred yards to my left, fighting to get through a thick patch of brambles. I couldn’t ‘see’ him, but somehow I knew it was Dorian, it felt like him.
I laughed thinking of his predicament, for I knew he was in no serious trouble. Then I felt it behind me, a tight knot of hatred, a man and horse, emanating that sickening purple aura. Devon Tremont was following me cautiously. He was still at a distance, but he was closing steadily, so I picked up speed. I would rather not encounter that unpleasant man on such a fine day.
Within a minute I knew he had sped up as well, he must be at a full gallop in fact, since he was closing quickly. Lets see how he handles this then, I thought to myself, and I switched directions, heading to my left. That would put me across Dorian’s path eventually. Assuming that Devon wasn’t able to track me he would wind up quite some distance from me very quickly. As a precaution I made sure I had myself completely shielded, I had forgotten to do so that morning.
Sure enough Devon turned to follow… he must be able to sense me, in much the same way I could sense him. Does that mean he’s a mage also? I had been wondering that since seeing his purplish aura the first time, this seemed to make it even more likely. I kicked my horse, breaking into a full gallop now, if he wanted to catch me I would lead him a merry chase through the woods. I smiled to myself as the trees raced by… the wind was in my face and I could not help but laugh.
Glancing over my shoulder I saw Devon come into sight through the trees, he was bent low over his mount and pressing it for all the speed his horse could muster. He looked serious, which only made me laugh harder, so I gave him a cavalier wave. “Ho Devon, it seems you want to race!” I shouted back, although I have no clue whether he could make out my words as the wind and trees whipped by me.
Then I felt something. Something against my shield, pressing, trying to reach my mind. After a moment it was gone and I laughed even harder knowing that he had failed at whatever he planned. Have I mentioned that I sometimes lack all common sense? Finding his target unreachable, Devon did something I should have expected, if I had been thinking rather than laughing at him.
My courser, the beautiful horse that was galloping beneath me, froze. I don’t have a better way to describe it. One moment we were racing the wind, the next every muscle in the poor beast’s body locked up. It went down immediately, legs snapping as it struck the earth like thunder, twisting and rolling. I might have felt sorry for it, but my own problems were nearly as great. Still laughing I suddenly felt as if a giant hand had plucked me from my seat. As the horse went down I sailed forward, like some great misshapen bird flying headlong into the trees. I probably would have flown a great distance but for a large oak tree that stopped my forward progress.
I woke on the ground. Something wet was running down my face, making it hard to see, so I reached up to wipe it off and my hand came away covered in blood. I could hardly breathe; each shuddering breath came with stabbing pains in my side. Some of my ribs must have been cracked. Miraculously both arms and legs seemed functional, but I could not help but think that if it hadn’t been for my shield I would be dead already. He tried to kill me! That thought ran through my mind and it seemed extremely important, although I was having trouble remembering why.
A shadow fell over me and I looked up, Devon stood over me with a smile so evil I knew he had not tried to kill me. He was there to finish the job. “Grethak!” he spoke and my body went rigid. I was beginning to understand what my poor horse had gone through and perhaps Penny as well, but I didn’t have time to worry about that. “Poor Mordecai, you really shouldn’t have been riding so fast!” he said.
In his hands he held a large leather pouch, “And here I was just trying to catch up with you, to give you the money I owe!” I was struggling internally now, my lungs were locked and I could not breathe. Imagine drowning, tied and unable to move and you’ll be close to the sensation I was experiencing. Nothing worked and my heart was beating faster and faster, pounding in my ears as my body starved for air. Within my mind I could feel his magic, wrapped like a snake about my brain, paralyzing my movement centers. I tried to pull it loose, but it was difficult, more so because I had no way to speak. Even so, I could eventually have gotten free, with or without words, but I didn’t have that much time.
Devon was standing over me, gloating, but I could no longer hear his words over the pounding of my heart in my ears. I felt a fool as I stared up at him with my eyes bulging. My vision grew dim and then I could not see at all. Trapped in darkness I wondered if the next life would be better, this one had been nothing but trouble. At last the darkness left me and I sank into oblivion.
Chapter 14
Frequently misunderstood are the gifts of those who are sometimes called prophets, or seers. They are thought to be similar in nature to channelers in that they do not possess a large amount of native aythar, in many cases they also show little emmittance as well. The visions that frequently haunt them seem to be largely unintentional in nature. Possibly they possess some sort of subconscious sensitivity similar to magesight, but below the threshold of awareness.
Penelope’s shoulders moved steadily, the muscles tensing and relaxing as her arms swept the floors. She was young and healthy, long practice had given her ample stamina for the task so that she hardly broke a sweat as she worked her way down the long corridor. It was one of those jobs that never seemed to end. By the time you had finished sweeping the entire labyrinth of Lancaster Castle the floors were dirty again back where you had started. Consequently the maids had someone sweeping almost constantly as Genevieve Lancaster would not tolerate dirty floors.
Penny didn’t mind though, the work was steady and unlike most of her other tasks she was able to think or daydream without interruption while she swept. Today she was thinking about Mordecai. She had watched him that morning as he had ridden out with the hunting party. Tall and slim, the riding leathers had looked uncommonly good on him, accented by his dark hair and bright eyes. To be so good looking and so stupid at the same time, she thought to herself. Their conversation the night before had upset her, and she was still angry with him. She kept telling herself that, but she just didn’t feel it. In all honesty as she thought back, she was more ashamed and embarrassed than anything else.
When he said he knew what had happened… I just couldn’t bear it, she realized. Obviously Devon had been bragging, and so bold that he had even told Mort. And he was upset that Devon had called him a blacksmith! She knew Mordecai wasn’t so insensitive as that, he hadn’t meant it that way. Yet to tell her he knew what had been done to her, and then say something else was more important? “What the hell could he have wanted to tell me then?” she said aloud to herself. Now that she had slept and her mind was clear she could see that something had been bothering him, something important.