“Numair?” George asked. The sorcerer was leaning on the wall, his eyes closed. A transparent black cloud surrounded him; bits of light flickered in it like fireflies.
He shook his head. “It’s opaque. I can’t even feel the weather-working spells that are holding it in place, and there have to be spells. Fog is defined by natural law like any atmospheric creation. In the absence of those laws, we have to assume magic, which I should be able to detect. Since I can’t detect it, that argues the presence of dampening spells in the fog.”
“Dampenin’ spells.” George’s face was tight. “We’re boxed in, then—like rats in a trap. Whatever’s in that fog will hit us in the mornin’, sure as the Crooked God cheats. Why’d we have no idea this was comin’?”
The mage looked at his friend. “George, there are more illusion spells and diffusion spells than there are stars. Scrying is an inexact magic: I have to know what to look for. All right, I’m good, but even I can be overwhelmed or outflanked. Alanna and Jon would tell you the same thing.”
George put a hand on Numair’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you failed at your job. It’s just been a long time since I’ve been sucker-punched. I don’t like it.” His face had taken on harsh new lines. “They’ll crush us, between what’s out there and those six hundred at our backs.”
“And the army won’t come before we’re bruised at least,” Numair said.
“Aye.”
“How many warriors here?”
“Eighty—not countin’ the Riders.” George drew a deep breath and looked at Daine. “What can your friends do to help?”
She swallowed. “Don’t ask me to make them fight,” she pleaded. “They’re not—this isn’t about them. I can’t ask them to fight and die for humans.” Shivering, the girl remembered the marsh and the slaughtered birds. “Please say you understand.”
George’s silence drew out for a long moment and it was impossible to read what was in his face. At last he smiled and patted her arm. “I don’t, entirely, but then I’m all too human. Will you ask them to watch, then? To let us know if more soldiers come, or if the ones out there start to move?”
She nodded, and whispered, “Thanks.” Sending out her request, Daine settled to wait for her friends’ reports from the woods. As she listened, guards and Riders began to return with the villagers. Never before had an evacuation gone so well. The livestock had been waiting for their owners to come out. There were no problems with catching animals, not even chickens. The trainees, at least, had a good idea of why this was so. The villagers did not, and fled to the castle as if their own animals had turned to ghosts.
Dawn. The first raiders came into sight, to find the village empty and the castle gates closed. The battlements were lined with warriors who did not look surprised in the least to see raiders outside their walls.
When the sun rose above the horizon, fog rolled over Pirate’s Swoop.
A gentle hand was shaking her, and a wet tongue was bathing her face. Daine looked up and saw Onua, Kalasin, and Tahoi. “I’m sorry, I must’ve gone to sleep.” She turned scarlet with embarrassment and tried to get up. Her knees buckled. “Goddess! How long have I been here?”
Onua caught her on one side, Kally on the other. “Since the middle of the night. The baron says we owe the warning to you and your friends.”
“Thank my friends. I just passed the word on.” She massaged the cramps from her legs. Kally gave her a roll stuffed with fruit and held a jug full of juice to go with it. Daine was still hungry when she finished. “What’s going on now?” she asked, accepting a sausage roll from her young friend.
“We’re in trouble. This”—Onua’s wave took in the fog surrounding them—“isn’t just fog. It carries dampening spells for the Gift—plenty of ’em. We’re not sure how many sorcerers are out there holding it, but there have to be a lot of them. Whoever engineered this planned for everything.”
Daine looked at the two humans. “That hurts you both, right? You’re both Gifted.”
Onua nodded. “Lucky for us, there’s no need for magic just yet. Numair got word out to the palace and to the king before the fog came in.”
Daine looked at the woman, wondering if the mage had found anyone nearby who could help. Reading her, Onua shook her head.
“I’d best put on clean clothes, then, and get my bow.” She caught an angry call from below. “And let Cloud know I’m alive. She’s upset with me.”
“Can I go with her?” asked Kally.
Onua smiled. “Of course. Just make sure you stay with Daine. If you run into your brother, have him report to me.”
Daine glanced around to see who was there, and saw the queen, Numair, and the baron, with trainees and guardsmen armed and keeping watch. “Where should I report to?”
“Here. Take your time. Nothing can happen as long as this mess hangs over us.”
She nodded. “Let’s go, Kally. I need to clean up.”
Roald and Thom were waiting for Daine in her loft. She shooed them downstairs while she changed, combed her hair, got her weapons, and comforted the frightened bats. In the stable below she soothed the ponies, all of whom knew something bad was going on. She was uneasy, herself. She’d been fogged in before at the Swoop, but it wasn’t the same. The mist felt dirty, and the hackles were up on the back of her neck. The two boys, both Gifted, were in worse condition than Onua and Kally, and clung to Daine’s hands as she walked them back to the inner court.
On her trip down she hadn’t looked at the new arrangements: now she did. Long tents were set up
for healers. Water barrels were stacked everywhere. Temporary corrals held the village animals. Seeing them, Daine went to thank them, assure them they were safe, and reinforce the need for their good behavior. It was the first time anyone had explained that raider attacks were the reason why they were so often dragged up to the castle without warning. Understanding that, they were more than eager to help.
“Honestly, you’d think people would have told them before now and saved everyone trouble,” Daine growled. “Speaking of people, where’s their masters?”
“Some are on the wall,” Thom said. Looking up, Daine saw villagers armed with bows, shields, and metal caps among the guards and Riders. “The rest are in the lower levels. We’re dug into the rock. There’s plenty of room down below.”
She was startled. She’d never dreamed there might be more to the castle than what she saw. “How many more surprises does your da have up his sleeve?”
Thom grinned. “A lot.”
Sarge waved to her from the wall. She waved back, hoping her face didn’t reveal her thoughts. She had human friends here too—friends who might be hurt, or die. With Ma and Grandda gone, she’d thought she was free of that kind of pain, but she was less free than ever. She’d never love anyone as she had her family, but others had come to be important to her: Evin and Miri, who gave her acceptance; Onua, an elder sister; the Rider officers, respect for her judgment. Each of those people now was a potential wound.
Thinking grim thoughts, she climbed the outside stair to the deck, the children following her. I should’ve stayed wild, she told herself. I never should’ve got back up on my hind legs.
Never? another part of her asked. Never means not meeting sea lions and griffins. Never means not hearing whales sing. Never means not learning how to heal. She sighed.
On deck once more, she saw two guards and two trainees, Elnore and Padrach, on duty with bows strung and ready. The queen and Onua were armed as well. Buri, like Sarge, was elsewhere on the walls, keeping an eye on the other trainees. Baron George was talking quietly to one of the guards.