Days of Air and Darkness - Katharine Kerr [155]
“Stand in the name of the Light!”
With one last cry, the woman twirled round and dropped, sliding down her silver cord, absorbing it as she fled, until suddenly she disappeared. She’d returned to her body and escaped.
Dallandra spun round and rushed back to the dun, but by the time she reached it, there was no sign of Rhodry, the dragon, or Alshandra. For some minutes, she hovered on the etheric, looking round, keeping a watch. The fighting had ended some time before. Out on the battle plain a mist, pale gold to the etheric sight, drifted in long tendrils and streamers; many men had died or lay wounded and bleeding. She could see two lines of silvery-blue mist as well, the water veils that hung over the streams near the dun. They, too, were exhalations of force, but unlike the ghastly mists of blood-energy, these were pure and natural, mere elemental water on its own plane. Not, of course, that the water veils weren’t dangerous to dweomerworkers—their raw force could tear a body of light or etheric double to shreds.
Glancing down, Dallandra realized that Jill was standing on the roof, renewing the seals. Dallandra returned to her own body, following the silver cord until she hovered in her familiar chamber and over the body lying corpse-still on the bed. She slipped back in, heard a rushy sort of click, and opened her eyes. Sunset light filled the room and glowed golden. She let out her breath in a long sigh and sat up, exhausted, her hands trembling as she pushed her hair back from her sweaty face.
When she rose, she nearly fell. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the sunlight falling in long shafts through the room while she gathered strength. All at once, she knew that Evandar had entered her chamber by the touch of his mind upon hers. She got to her feet just as he materialized, standing in the curve of her chamber’s wall.
“Oh, thank every god!”
She rushed to him and threw herself into his arms, while he laughed and ran his fingers through her tangled hair. Although he felt solid, still he seemed cool against her and less than tangible, as he always did in the material world. When he kissed her, though, his mouth felt warm and real.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she stammered. “Just so much.”
“I know, my love, I know. I would have come to you sooner, but, ye gods, with all the iron outside the walls and a fair bit within, I can’t bear it for long.”
“Ah.” For a moment she nearly wept. “I thought you’d deserted me.”
“Never! Never, my love, never that. Did you truly think I would?”
“Well, I tried to call to you, but I never felt I’d reached you. I forgot about the iron.”
“I never can forget how the pain burns.”
“How can you come at all, then? The town and dun must stink of the stuff.”
“They do. For a while I can put the pain aside, but only for a while before it wears me down.”
“By sheer will, you mean? Not some dweomer spell?”
“By will alone and by love for you.” He kissed her again. “I can’t stay with you long, but I had to see how you fared.”
“Well, none of us fare well, truly.” She managed a wry grin. “But with the relieving army here, I’ve got hope again.”
“As well you should. If I could stay and fight alongside them, I would, but I can’t. All my will would have to go into fighting the iron instead, and I’d have no more dweomer than some stinking servant. I learned that at Rinbaladelan, you see. In the midst of the last battle, with iron all round me, I couldn’t do much more than draw a bow like an ordinary archer.”
“I understand, and truly, I don’t suppose that one more archer would mean anything. The real war’s with Alshandra. She’s the key to everything. Can’t you make her stop this?” Dallandra felt her voice shake. “Can’t you imprison her?”
“I’ve been trying, up in my own country, searching and hunting, but always she flees from me. If I can’t catch her, there’s naught I can do. She’s a fair bit stronger than I thought, alas.”
Dallandra reached up and laid her hands on either side of his face.
“Will you be safe? Oh, ye gods, if I lost you—”
Evandar smiled, caught her wrists