Llewellyn’s Song Read Free Page B

saved, for each séance would drain him beyond measure. With a deep
sigh, he pulled away, leaving his chi in her body to keep her alive until he
returned. Rocking back on his heels, he looked at her once again, and suddenly
realized she was a d’ark t’uath.
    Not that he knew a great deal about them. They considered
themselves children of the earth and of the night. Ruled by a queen, they had
nothing to do with the other fae. Shunning the day, they roamed at night.
Little was known about the d’ark t’uath except that they lived in a matriarchal
society, had no contact with others and practiced stone magic. Magic of the
earth, magic of the night. He touched her hand and whispered, “Find the
strength to call upon the earth mother. I will return soon.”
    First he draped his cloak over her still form. Then he used
a spell to light a fire near her, to keep her warm and to offer reassurance if
she awoke before he came back. He needed to gather many things and it would
take a while in this strange country, where he didn’t know the lay of the land
or even where to find a spring. He didn’t pause to worry though. Laying his bow
and arrows at her side, he jogged lightly out of the cave and headed downhill.
Water, fire, earth and air. All these things he had to gather before nightfall,
and already the sun had turned orange and dipped toward the hills.
    * * * * *
    Tamara dreamt of spring. Warmth touched her face and hands,
and the clean scent of balsam soothed her despite the pain that still nearly
overwhelmed her. She sensed that she was no longer alone. Something protected
her. A golden light, almost like that of a glosseer , lay on her chest.
Even without opening her eyes she felt its presence. Her chi had gotten
stronger too, and now she opened her eyes, unsure what she would see.
    Her last vision had nearly driven her mindless with fear. A
behemoth had loomed over her, its fangs dripping, its claws outspread, about to
plunge into her body. Then all had gone dark again. Quiet surrounded her. The
behemoth no longer loomed over her. Instead, the last red rays of sunset cast a
warm glow into the cave, showing a bow and quiver of arrows on the floor beside
her. She glanced down and saw a cloak lying over her, covering her from neck to
foot. The warmth she’d felt came from a small fire, nothing but embers now.
    The bow and arrows did not look familiar, neither did the
cloak. The cloak smelled of the open air, of long journeys and pine forests. It
belonged to a forest elf then. She’d never met one, but she didn’t fear them,
even if it was a male. Her clan sometimes traded with the forest elves from the
northeast. Perhaps she’d gotten lucky and a group of traders had found her. The
thought relaxed her and she found herself drifting off to sleep. No, stay
awake. You have to stay awake! It might be traders, it could be men, or enemies.
If a man found her sleeping, according to her clan mothers, their brutishness
would assert itself and they would violate her…or worse.
    Her eyes snapped open and she let her breath out with a
hiss. Better stay alert. Using her chi, she examined her wounds. Jaw, shoulder,
ribs, kidney, back… That gave her pause. Healing backs took a long time and a
great deal of chi. She hoped that whoever had saved her had a troop of healers.
Her leg also had shattered. Pain came and ebbed in waves, and she spent some time
and precious energy trying to control it. But her wounds were too severe.
    The best thing to do would be to rest and gather her
strength. She called forth the powers of the earth, thankful that whoever had
found her had not moved her from the ground. Slowly she drew energy from the
stones, sucking it to her like water from a sponge. The earth magic would help,
but she needed more. Her life still hung from a spider’s thread. Closing her
eyes, she sent a prayer to the Earth Mother asking for strength. She had to get
back to her clan and warn them of the danger in the mountains. A