Remnant of Power

Chapter Thirty-five

"No! Stay still, or I'll shoot," she commanded, instantly focussed again "and believe me, I won't miss."

The two holding the bows dropped them to the ground. The first man put his hands up.

"Sister," he spoke calmly. "We mean you no harm. We will not hurt you." There was an almost imperceptible rustle and a fourth figure stepped out of the trees. It was a woman. Her silver hair ended sharply at her jaw, and she wore a short grey tunic, with silver embroidery sparkling in the twilight.

"Tell us your name, Sister, and who you are running from. We mean no harm to you, or any other citizen of Arvad that travels in peace. We are Thirdkind, the hidden race of Ithrim people, we are forbidden to dwell in any cities or towns in Arvad, and we live in the shadows."

Yavenna allowed herself to breathe. Ithrim people? Should she trust them? She didn't know there was another race of people in Aeldenarth. But something about them reminded her slightly of Gildron.

"Then why do you look similar to the sorcerer?"

"Who do you mean? What sorcerer?"

"The King's mage. King Ulric. His pet mage. The evil creature who was meant to make sure I didn't escape, the one who's pursuing me."

As one, their expressions changed in an instant from friendly openness to a guarded concern.

"Then we must move, and quickly. For he's no friend of ours. Rather the King is our mortal enemy. Quickly! If you are fleeing from the King, you must trust us. He is chasing us too, and we've killed many of his soldiers." The woman walked towards her, and took her arm.

"What is your name, Sister? Come with us – we can run together."

Yavenna thought quickly. Could she try to slip away and run from them? Was there any reason not to tell them her name?

"My name is Yavenna," she blurted out, before she could persuade herself to be more cautious. "I've run away from the King because I was brought here to marry him, but he's a vile murderer and I will not be his Queen. I'm on the way back to my country, Tarhasta. I left the castle a few hours ago, but I think the mage is on my trail." She bent down and grasped the pendant. The lump of silver wasn't damaged but two links of the chain had separated, so she thrust the necklace deep into her pack; she'd mend it when she stopped to rest.

The woman looked at her in amazement. "You're the Crown Princess Yavenna, and you've run from Gelenburg this afternoon? How is this possible?"

The first man looked at the woman. "You can see why, Channa, surely?" Yavenna stared from one to the other, bemused.

"Why are we standing here? We should run. If you're not going to run, then I am. Let me pass." As she spoke there was another rustle. A young man emerged from the trees. He was dirty and looked as though he'd worn the same clothes all his life, but he was arrestingly handsome. She wanted to stand and stare at him. From behind him padded four enormous wolves. Like a flash, Yavenna snatched her bow back up again.

The woman raised her hand, "No, put your bow away, these are friends not foes. I'm Channa, this is Giryan and Falzal. The wolves are Talahund; Ragnar, Kelten, Yxmet and Torun. And this man is Gared."

To Yavenna's astonishment one of the wolves spoke.

"Greetings, Princess Yavenna. We are friends of Mal, rightful King of Arvad. Gared is his friend from childhood. Ulric killed Mal's parents and now Mal has come of age, our mission is to kill Ulric and restore the throne to Mal. But Mal disappeared two nights ago, and we don't know if he is alive or dead. We Talahund searched the city for an entire day after he disappeared but couldn't find any trace of him. So now we are on our way to ask the Dryads for their help in seeking him and to form an army with us if he still lives."

"Yes, he's alive!" burst out Yavenna. "He's a prisoner in the castle! I broke into his room last night and I spoke to him. He said his friends are raising an army to fight Ulric. When I told him of my plans to escape, he asked me to help him escape too, but when I went back today they'd filled the corridor with guards. There was no way I could've got him out. I felt so awful, but I had to escape today or it would have been too late for me. The wedding is meant to be tomorrow."

All of them stared at her. "You are certain he is alive?" The first man stepped closer to her, his eyes narrowed.

Yavenna nodded. "I spoke to him last night." She blushed, thinking of their kiss.

The gray wolf shook himself and blew his whiskers. "So we can go back to our original plan then, we can just ask the Dryads to help us build an army."

The first man nodded.

"Where's he being held?" asked the handsome man, fiddling with a dirty scarf that he wore rolled around his neck.

"In a room in the castle." Yavenna glanced at him quickly, then looked away.

"This is good news, but we can't afford to waste time," interrupted another wolf, "and all this is slowing us down now. We can't look after every waif and stray we find along the path."

Yavenna drew herself up sharply. "Waif and stray! I've asked you for nothing. I can take care of myself. Goodbye." She picked up her pack. But Channa put her hand on her arm.

"Kelten, aren't your eyes working today! She won't slow anyone down. Didn't you see her running before we stopped her?" The Ithrim woman turned to face her. "Princess Yavenna, we invite you to travel with us. We can't go with you back to Tarhasta now, but if you come with us, and if there is any way we can defeat Ulric, I will guarantee you an escort back to Tarhasta." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "But if you refuse our offer, there is a serious risk of running into soldiers, as well as this mage you spoke about."

Yavenna nodded. It seemed there was some kindness in this land after all. But she had to know who they were. "I've never heard of Ithrim people, who are you, and what are Thirdkind?"

Channa smiled at her. "The first Kind Esa created were the Dryads who are immortal, then the race of men was Secondkind. Then he created Ithrim, who have some special powers and live longer than men, and Talahund, talking wolves who can change into dogs at will. They have a similar lifespan to Ithrim. There may be other kinds of beings, but we haven't seen them in Arvad."

Special powers, and wolves who could change into dogs? Yavenna pressed her lips together. Was Channa talking about magic? But her father had always told her magic didn't exist - it had been enough of a shock to discover the mage's worrying powers. If that was magic, she'd had enough to last her a lifetime. She took her water skin out of her pack to give herself some time to think. Unscrewing the top of it, she glanced at the three Ithrim under her lashes. They didn't make her feel uneasy like the mage did. Also, it might be a better idea to travel with other people. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw Gared climbing onto the back of one of the wolves. She really didn't like the idea of travelling with them, in fact, she would have to watch them and probably the Ithrim at all times, just in case any of them tried to use magic on her. And she would ignore him. By her own skill and wonderful chance, she'd escaped from marrying King Ulric of Arvad. There was just the faintest possibility that she might be able to marry King Mal of Arvad, and build up enough plague supplies for her people, make a new trade agreement, and redeem herself in the eyes of her father. She certainly wasn't going to complicate matters by even looking at anyone else.