The Shattered Land_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [48]
He woke with a cold shiver. The room was dark, and he could still feel the chill touch of the eyes against his skin.
“I am sorry.”
Lakashtai was sitting on the floor next to his bed. She was still wearing her cloak, and even as Daine’s eyes adjusted to the dim light her face was hidden in the shadows of her hood. A sleek black cat was draped across her lap, and it peered up at him with yellow eyes that seemed all too familiar.
“I was arrogant, and I did not anticipate the actions of our enemies,” Lakashtai said.
Daine could not see her mouth, and her voice was a whisper in the darkness. For a moment he wondered if he was still asleep, and he stared at the cat with new suspicion. It ignored him, armored in feline pride.
“The crystal shard Gerrion shattered was a weapon designed to fight my people,” Lakashtai continued. “The pain you felt was but a taste of its true power. Kashtai … the attack has weakened my bond to her spirit, and without her strength my powers are diminished. I thought that I would be protecting you, but now I fear that I shall be the one that requires protection.”
“The eyes …” Daine said, struggling with his thoughts.
“They are the least servants of il-Lashtavar. The Dreaming Dark can capture the spirits of those who die while sleeping and bind them in mindless servitude. Tonight, they are the hounds of Tashana, and they seek your dreams on behalf of their mistress. I have wrapped you in mystery, and I believe that you escaped unseen.”
“I’m safe?”
“For the rest of this night, I hope. I cannot shield you completely, but I can hold them at bay … for the moment, at least, but I cannot promise dreamless sleep in the nights to come.”
She stood, and in her dark cloak she seemed little more than a shadow. The cat seemed to have vanished. “Return to your rest. Hard times lie before us, and you must marshal what strength you can. We will need you in the times to come.”
Lakashtai walked over to the door, and her passage made no sound, but even as she left, Daine heard another whisper at the back of his mind.
Beware the gifts of the Traveler, my friend. Remember the words of the wind.
“Jode?” he muttered.
For a moment he struggled to rise, to look around the room, but sleep weighed on his thoughts like an anchor, and he found himself falling down against the blankets. His last memory was of a pair of yellow eyes shining in the darkness.
If Daine had other dreams that night, he could not remember them in the light of the morning. He was the last of the companions to rise, and when he made his way downstairs the others were waiting for him. Gerrion and Lei were engaged in an animated conversation about the history of local ruins. Lakashtai sipped at a cup of tal, lost in her own thoughts. Pierce watched from a corner. Daine considered asking about his nocturnal patrol, but he knew Pierce would tell him if there was anything he needed to know. While he had come to think of Pierce as a friend and not simply a soldier, they rarely talked; they understood each other, and speech was unnecessary.
“These will strengthen you for the tasks ahead. Eat quickly,” Lakashtai said, pushing a bowl toward him.
It was filled with berries drenched in a watery white liquid, and Daine studied the unfamiliar fruit dubiously. Each berry had a thin yellow shell with a vertical black slash, and at a glance it looked disturbingly like a mass of eyes glaring up at him.
Lei glanced over from her conversation and smiled. “If the local fare is too rich for your delicate palate, I can see about getting you a bowl of gruel, Master Daine.”
Daine scowled and began to eat. He tried not to think about his dream and the eyes crawling into his mouth.
“Now that you have rested, there is no time to waste,” Lakashtai said. “We must conclude our business in Stormreach as swiftly as possible. The Riedrans may have other concerns than hunting you, Daine, but I think it best