Kriki's Gift, Chapter XXIX, Reading 11

When the Valkea’s scouts had brought word of Carra’s presence on the road to her, she had known a surge of heady exhilaration for taking the woman and her servant would give her a supreme chance for vengeance.  What fools these idiots were to think it was safe to ride forth today.  Did they really think that they had closed the only entrance she had to her world?  Did they really believe that all her fighters had died defending the altar?  She snorted in contempt.  Today she would relieve the soldiers of such foolish arrogance!  When the woman and her escort came into range she knew her people would slaughter the soldiers and the two women would soon be within her hands.  Then she would celebrate her victory with a sacrificial offering to the Kwetwer.  She didn’t need an altar to carry out her sacrifice and again she snorted - the Rangers were fools to think they had neutralized her.  Today she would show them!  She licked her thin lips in anticipation of the gory revels that would follow the sacrifice.  The Kwetwer would be pleased.

The Valkea stood just inside a cave entrance high on the slope above the road.  This cave was one of her many sentry outposts and from here she had a commanding view of the area below.  Her eyes were not accustomed to the sunlight of the surface world so she wore a gray, gauzy veil over her face.  Some of her best fighters were standing next to her, awaiting her command to rush down to the road to join the battle.  She had already ordered her most skilled archers into position on the slope below the cave.  It was littered with talus and provided good cover for her people so they were unlikely to be spotted even without her shielding illusions.  With her powers protecting them, they were effectively invisible.  She always enjoyed casting forth her shields to hide things for it gave her a sense of superiority knowing the fools didn’t have a clue how to do this.  Woe to the soldiers and the witless women they were bringing within range of her grasp!

When she was satisfied with the state of her planned ambush, the Valkea turned her thoughts in the direction of the road and the Pass Gate.  Today the fools were going to learn that she was capable of doing far more than just shielding her fighters.  Projecting her dark thoughts into the minds of her enemies would distract them away from their duties and eventually drive them to the brink of madness.  She intended to weaken the men protecting the girl by destroying their ability to act.  They would ride helplessly into her ambush like so many cattle herded to the butcher’s axe.  They would be easy prey for her archers.

Projecting her thoughts westward, her mind eventually touched the presence of Carra and her people.  She couldn’t see them, but she felt them and started to slowly channel the power of the Kwetwer towards them.  It was important to be subtle for her control worked best when she kept her efforts below people’s perceptions.  Then, they wouldn’t realize what was happening and thus couldn’t defend against the lies poisoning their very thoughts.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 10

His command spurred men into activity, but fear certainly added to the speed with which the men jumped to their tasks.  Minds and souls had been singed by the Valkea’s attack and no one wanted to linger here and chance a repeat of the experience.  Soon all those who had collapsed were loaded on to the wagons alongside the wounded.  The bodies of dead horses were pulled out of the way of the wagons and left on the side of the road.  There were several horses that had been wounded too severely to continue on – they would have to be left behind for others to care for once the battle was over.  Their riders joined the soldiers on the wagons.

As the men worked, Carra looked up the line to see if she could spot Darrine.  Since tall men surrounded her, it took her some effort to see around them to spot the watcher.  It was with a sense of relief that she finally saw Darrine mounted on Moonbeam.  Both appeared to have survived the attack unharmed.

Carra then glanced upward to the light on the ledge above.  The glow was steadily growing in intensity and was now painfully bright to gaze at.  Even so, she couldn’t keep her eyes from glancing at the light for just looking at it seemed to touch her soul in some mysterious fashion.  The dark and writhing horrors that had manifested in her thoughts were fading as if they were mere spots on the fabric of her soul and were being bleached by the intensity of the summer sun.  It was incredibly comforting to know that her beloved King and Queen were doing battle and apparently succeeding.

“My Lady, are you well?” Haxton asked again for he noted her expression was unfocused and distant.

“I am, Lieutenant,” she replied as she turned her eyes to him and gave him a small smile.

“We’ll be riding again shortly.  Are you ready?"

“I am,” she remarked and took a deep breath as she pulled her mind back into clear focus for she knew the danger of their position.  “It is well that we will be leaving as soon as possible for the Valkea’s fighters may be distracted at the moment, but that’s not going to last.  When the Valkea is destroyed they’re going to go insane with a thirst for revenge.  It would not do at all to be here when that happens.”

Haxton smiled and bowed his head to her.  “Well stated, my Lady.  You’ve summarized our position very clearly.”

She gave him a quick smile.

“Keep your wits about you, gentlemen for there are more fighters out there,” the captain shouted.

Although Carra and Haxton couldn’t really hear what Rodal was saying, it interrupted their low conversation.  They turned their attention to the front of the column.

“Move out – hand gallop,” the captain ordered.  The command was repeated several times as it was passed through the ranks so all heard it.

Carra was relieved they were leaving this horrid place at a gallop, even though part of her was curious to know what was going to happen.  Her common sense overrode her curiosity, however.  The ruse had worked and they’d successfully drawn out the Valkea so the King and Queen could destroy her.  She was proud that her suggestion had worked.  However, the Valkea’s soul searing assault had left her feeling shaken and a bit vulnerable and she wouldn’t feel safe until they were on the far side of Karlaz.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 9

Just when she felt she couldn’t take any more of the punishing assault on her senses, the madness abruptly ended and she was suddenly freed of the nightmare.  It was like a door had slammed shut in her mind to keep the darkness out.  She gasped for air almost as if she’d been saved from drowning by being pulled from a dark and muddy quagmire.  She breathed heavily and tried her best not to even think about what had just happened to her.

“My Lady?” Haxton finally queried and he grasped her arm gently.  “Are you well?”  His voice was concerned, but strained as well for he was still battling the effects of the Valkea’s attack on his own sanity.

She pushed up and was glad for his supportive hold for she felt dizzy and disoriented.  When she turned to look at him, her attention was instead drawn to a blazing light far up on the slope.

“Look up there,” she called in astonished wonder.  “That has to be the Valkea.  I think the King and Queen must be attacking.  That’s why the horrible madness stopped.”

Haxton turned to look, as did the men around them.  High above the road was a rock ledge and perched on the ledge was an intensely bright circle of light.  It shimmered with such intensity that no one could look at it for long.  The lieutenant’s eyes drifted down and he suddenly saw what the Valkea had been shielding from them before with her dark deceptions.

The rocky slope below the ledge was filled with fighters.  Many were dead - having been killed by the storm of arrows the Rangers had sent their way.  The survivors stared up in stunned shock at the ledge above them for the Valkea had disappeared from sight behind the curtain of blazing light.  After a moment’s pause, they charged upward forgetting their attack on the Guardsmen below.  They had to go to the aid of their matriarch for she was the meaning behind their existence and must be saved at all cost.  As soon as they moved into the open, the Rangers shot them down with deadly accuracy for they now had a clear view of their foes.  Heedless of the fact that they were being massacred, the horde struggled upward with singular focus.  They had to save the Valkea.

The captain could see that the Valkea’s fighters were no longer concerned with his people and knew that this was their chance to get away.  They had done their job of drawing out the Valkea.  Now he needed to get Carra to safety.  “Let’s get out of here, fast,” he bellowed.  “Load up the wounded.  Push the dead horses out of the way so the wagons can pass.”

Rodal looked down the ranks to assess the damage done to his people.  Far down the line, he spotted Lieutenant Haxton for he was nearly a head taller than the men around him.  In the crush of riders, he glimpsed Carra and was pleased she was still astride the chestnut gelding.  She was safe for the moment, but that could change in an instant.  They needed to get away.  To remain in the vicinity of the Valkea and her horde was insanity.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 6

Darrine had unconsciously sunk into a state of gray depression.  Her mind was filled with doubts, feelings that she was too old to have any use or purpose remaining in life.  It didn’t matter that she’d been placed in a position where she was likely to meet her doom.  She was expendable and everyone knew it - that was everybody except for herself.  She was an old and foolish woman who had deceived herself into believing that she still had value.

Darrine heard the voices at the rear of the column rising in a shouted repetition of the Queen’s chant and felt the strange sense of apathy lift from her mind.  In an instant, her thoughts cleared and she understood that the unfamiliar lethargy was not of her own making.  Anger replaced the doubt for she was outraged that she’d succumbed so easily to the Valkea’s illusions.  The bitch wasn’t going to be able to do that again!

Turning, she looked at Trooper Kulm and finally realized that he’d long ago stopped singing his romantic ballads to the decoy Lady Carra in the wagon.  She watched him shake himself like a wet dog.  “What in the name of the Spirit was I thinking?” he muttered in disgust.

Darrine started to speak to him to let him know that he wasn’t alone in being victimized by the Valkea’s deception, but her horse staggered as three arrows pierced deeply into the mare’s flesh, one severing an artery in her neck.  Darrine barely got her feet free of the stirrups before the bay collapsed to the ground.

“We’re under attack!” Captain Rodal bellowed.  “Defensive positions!”  He spurred his horse forward to protect the decoy wagon. 

The captain knew that the safest thing to do would be to charge onward and simply move out of range of the attacking archers.  However, the entire purpose of this expedition was to draw out the Valkea so they had to remain in place until the monster appeared.  The best they could do was to take a defensive position.  All his officers knew what was expected of them so with discipline the men quickly moved into defensive postures.

To add realism to the charade they were playing, Sergeant Garbarek quickly pushed the fake Carra into the back of the wagon for this protective move would surely be expected.  Then he put a horn to his lips and blew a far-reaching blast to draw in the soldiers who were hiding in the surrounding areas.

Darrine found herself on the ground in the midst of a hailstorm of arrows, although none of the bolts were being aimed directly at her now that her horse was downed.  As expected, the Valkea’s fighters were trying to keep her alive so they could capture her.  She noticed that Sergeant Garbarek had been shot at and was now bristling with arrows stuck in his cloak and surcoat, but he appeared to be safe inside his armor.  The archers avoided firing directly at the wagon so they could take Carra alive, too.  Trooper Kulm’s horse was down and he leaped off the dying animal to jump next to Darrine with his sword drawn to protect her as she struggled up from the ground.  He had two arrows sticking from his cloak, but they had penetrated no deeper than the cloth because of his breastplate.

Chapter X, Reading 4

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Flindra was vaguely aware of a sensation of floating as if she were suspended in a fluid, drifting randomly through space and time. She must not be breathing for she had no sensation of drowning in the fluid. For that matter, she had little sensation of anything. Incoherent images passed through her mind with no thought strong enough to concentrate on. Her consciousness was aimlessly adrift with no memory of what brought her here. It was as if she were slowly becoming nothing in a stagnant and unyielding fluid.

She couldn't even focus her thoughts enough to pray for help from the Spirit. She was incapable of doing anything to change her situation.

Time passed and Flindra drifted deeper into the realm of nothingness. Her consciousness was slowly yielding and the random thoughts were ceasing. Soon there would only be the void.

Through the formless fluid came the vibrations of a disturbance. A vague awareness penetrated her mind and an image slowly took shape and took root in her mind. The picture cleared and became focused.

It was her forest in winter; she recognized it instantly. Flindra rejoiced in the beauty of the familiar scene and forced her awareness on the vision. Her thoughts were becoming increasingly directed for she wanted to see more.

Flindra could see that there was snow on the branches and that a playful breeze was blowing it from the trees. The blowing snow made the forest look as if it was on fire - the snow being the smoke. She could feel the icy stabs of the blowing snow against her face. She breathed deeply. The pungent smell of pine assailed her nostrils. The smell brought an immediate feeling of longing - longing for her home and the simple life of a woodsman's daughter.

In the dream image of her home forest, Flindra started to walk towards the clearing in the forest and the cozy cottage, which was her home. She laughed at the surprise she knew would be on her Momma's face when she threw open the door and walked inside. She could almost smell the fine aroma of freshly baked bread and her mother's wonderful, meaty stew. Laughing felt good. The hopeless, helpless feeling was becoming a vague memory of the past. She would soon be home again.