The iron gate, p.7
The Iron Gate, page 7
part #2 of The Iron Soul Series
The weight of the little girl meant that Morgana caught up with her brother as the sun finally rose above the horizon, sending warm rays of light over the dales and casting long shadows into the valleys. “Sorry,” Morgana muttered softly, glancing at the little girl who had fallen into an exhausted sleep in her brother’s arms.
“You hate being near the tunnels; I know that,” her brother assured Morgana giving her a small smile. “I don’t take what you say personally when you’re near them.”
Giving him a weak smile, Morgana nodded to express her gratitude and released a soft sigh of relief. In the distance, she could see the small village that had called for their help a month ago and where they’d arrived less than a week ago after traveling from the southern end of the island. Already there were signs of movement in the village as people began to go about their days, running the life stock out of their evening pens and carrying their tools out towards the surrounding fields. Gently, Arto shook the small girl in his arms awake.
“Ceana,” Arto called with a smile. “We’re safe now.”
The little girl blinked her large brown eyes at Arto and turned to look over her shoulder and into the village. Ahead of them, an older brown-haired woman in a blue dress ran towards them along with several other people.
“Did you kill any Riders?” one man demanded.
“Yes,” Morgana answered shortly, looking around for Merlin. “Where is Merlin?”
“We rescued this girl from a Rider,” Arto interjected, ignoring questions being asked of him. “Can someone please look after her and find her family?”
One of the women stepped forward and collected Ceana from Arto’s arms. The little girl struggled against the strange grip, reaching for Arto, but quickly relaxed. Reaching over, Morgana gripped her brother’s shoulder and steered them out of the crowd. When another man kept trying to ask her questions, Morgana fixed her angry and tired green eyes on him. A smile tugged at her lips as he scampered away and her brother laughed. They reached the roundhouse that the village had offered them for the duration of their visit. One of the villagers was inside starting up a fire with a basket of food waiting beside the hearth.
“Thank you,” Arto told her gratefully with a wide smile.
“You did us a great service.” The woman gave them both a small bow. “Merlin destroyed two Riders who tried to enter the village in the night and if you killed more than perhaps…”
“You will be safe for a few months,” Arto promised gently. “The Sídhe’s tunnel has been destroyed. If they wish to return to this area, they will have to rebuild it.”
The woman’s brown eyes lit up, and she bowed once again, stumbling over herself as she insisted that they eat and rest. Sighing, Morgana sank onto the stool by the fire and picked up the waterskin that the women had left them. After gulping down several mouthfuls, she handed it to Arto and began to sort through the basket. The animal skin that served as the cover of the entrance was shoved back with a flap as Merlin entered the roundhouse. From his seat by the fire, Arto looked up at the older mage with a warm smile as they both checked the other over for signs of injury.
“We found the tunnel,” Arto announced with a grin.
“You severed the connection between the Iron Realm and the Sídhean Realm?” Merlin asked calmly, glancing between the siblings.
“Yes, Merlin,” Arto replied with a tired smile. “We were able to track the Riders back to the entrance, and we even saved one of the children that they managed to grab tonight.”
“I heard that already,” Merlin told them with a smile. “The little girl is resting right now. She’s not from this village, but a messenger has already been sent to tell her family that she is safe.”
“Good,” Arto sighed, rolling his shoulders. “And with the entrance closed they should be safe, at least for a little while.
“Indeed.” Merlin sat down with them at the side of the roaring hearth, leaning forward on his staff as he fixed his eyes on Arto. “We received a request from the Northlands: they are facing almost nightly raids by the Sídhe in large numbers.”
Arto’s cheerful expression vanished in a moment, melting into a stern look on anger and determination that Morgana still found startling on her younger brother face. “We all need rest, so we’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning,” Arto announced, not waiting for any agreements from Merlin or Morgana, but judging from Merlin’s smile and Morgana’s sign of acceptance he needn’t have been concerned.
“The Northlands…” Morgana said thoughtfully. “I’ve never been that far north, how will we get there?”
“I’ve sent a messenger ahead to request a boat for us,” Merlin assured Morgana. “It will take a few days to follow the shore, but it will get us there faster than over land.”
Morgana nodded her acceptance of the plan and looked back over at Arto who still looked angry, but was beginning to calm. “You’ve been to the Northlands before?” Morgana questioned, hoping to distract her brother.
“Years ago,” Arto said with a nod, turning to look over at her. His anger faded a little more, and he managed a small smile. “We went to the furthest northern islands; the wind is so terrible there that everything is built out of stone.”
Nodding, Morgana allowed her brother to tell her about his other memories of the northlands even though she had heard his stories before. The tension finally eased out of his shoulders and Morgana could see the exhaustion from their battles finally taking hold. Yawning, Morgana stretched and rolled her shoulders to loosen them up. In the corner of her eyes, she saw a yawn escape Arto and caught a pleased smile from Merlin.
“We should all get to bed,” Merlin proposed gently. “It will be important that we leave first thing. I’m afraid that our days will be spent in the boat from dawn to dusk and we won’t have the luxury of a roundhouse each night.”
Morgana flinched at the notion of sleeping under the night sky again after several days of proper accommodation. They’d done it plenty before, but it was always one of the rare times where she truly missed the Sídhean Realm and the comfortable beds she’d grown up with. It was the only thing she missed about being raised by the creatures now threatening her world, but a rock in the back would do that to anyone. Rising from her spot near Arto, Morgana moved over to one side of the room and curled up on the bed their host had provided. She didn’t close her eyes and instead waited until Arto was settled on a bed, with Cathanáil in reach of his hand. Merlin gave a nod of approval and walked to the doorway.
Raising her head slightly, Morgana watched Merlin draw a few symbols in the trodden dirt floor right in front of the door with the end of his staff. The older mage waved his hand, and a soft blue light covered the doorway. Knowing they were safe, Morgana exhaled slowly and set her head down, closing her eyes. The fire dimmed, and she heard Merlin move to his bed. A few moments later the roundhouse was silent, and Morgana fell asleep listening to the deep breathing of her young brother and Merlin.
Sídhe Hill
Breathing in the fresh air, Alex did her best to ignore the slight chill hanging in the air as she followed the line of mages up the game trail. She was still tired from the past week, but that hadn’t stopped Morgana from insisting that they hike up to the tunnel early Saturday morning. She needed a lot more sleep to recover from dodging Jenny and Lance while acting like nothing was wrong than a lousy six hours. Her stomach turned sharply at the direction of her thoughts, and Alex focused on a nearby bare tree where a robin was perched to distract herself.
“I’m not much of a hiker,” Nicki protested. She was in front of Alex and grumbling. “Did the Riders seriously use this trail?”
“The Sídhe have limited control over where their tunnels appear,” Merlin explained from the back of the five-person line. “They make do with what they get, and I suspect that the animal trails throughout the forest made it easier than you think to navigate.”
Alex heard the slow thump of Bran’s cane behind her, teamed with the taller walking stick that Merlin had given him when they started. So far he was keeping pace with them, but Alex slowed down a little as they began to climb over a rockier section. Above their heads, the rising sun was shining down through the tops of the evergreens, casting shadows around them. While the trail they were on was mostly clear of snow, the shadowed slopes of the hill were still covered in a layer of snow-streaked with dirt and showing small animal tracks.
Mid-February wasn’t the right time to go on a hike in Alex’s mind and judging from how the others had reacted to the news, they didn’t think much of the idea either. Still, Alex had to admit that it was a nice day. She didn’t feel cold at all because of the hiking and birds were chirping around them. Small sounds from the underbrush every so often assured her that they weren’t alone in the woods.
“Hey,” Aiden called from up ahead. “You can see over the trees from up here.”
Aiden was standing on a small rocky twist in the trail up ahead and pointing south towards the lake and town. After a moment he kept following Morgana up the hill, letting Nicki take his place while Alex waited behind her. Pulling out her phone, Nicki snapped a quick picture and grinned at Alex before moving on. Alex climbed up the slope of the trail to take Nicki’s place and turned to look towards town.
They were above the lake on the first hill that led up into the Middle Santiam Wilderness. From the outcropping of rock, Alex could see across the shimmering surface of the lake. A few houses followed the curve of the lake nearby, but on the far side she could make out several familiar buildings. Hatfield Hall was just visible above the bare trees of the arboretum on the western side of the lake with the buildings of the city proper dominating most of the shore until they faded into a few scattered houses here and there on the eastern shore.
“It’s a nice view,” Alex agreed with a small smile before she turned to follow Nicki. She glanced over her shoulder to see Bran and Merlin pause to take in the view.
Focusing on the trail, Alex tried to relax and enjoy the fresh air away from the university. There wasn’t much talking from the group as Morgana led them up an old game trail, probably made by deer towards the site of the tunnel entrance.
“How are things with Jenny?” Nicki asked ahead of her in a gentle voice. “Any better?”
“Well, I haven’t thrown up again from being around them.” Alex nearly tripped on a rock. “It’s still weird, and I’m just not sure of the state of things.”
“Do you think the affair has started?” Bran asked from behind her.
“I don’t know,” Alex admitted with a shrug. “I thought that maybe it had, but I’ve been watching all week with no new reasons to worry.”
“You know it’s possible that they had a one-time thing after drinking too much,” Aiden offered from ahead of them. “If they decided to put it behind them then maybe they’ve figured out how to act normal.”
“Maybe…” Alex said slowly.
“If it was a one-time thing then that would be a change,” Merlin informed them, finally speaking up. “Something you need to understand about Jenny and Lance’s previous lives is that they are always drawn to each other. I like to think that they truly love each other, but are always meeting in the wrong circumstances.”
“Can we not talk about them today,” Alex interrupted without turning to look at Merlin. “I’ve finally got a day where I’m not watching my friends like a hawk for signs of betrayal.” The words came out more bitter than she intended and the others fell silent. Sighing, Alex looked down at the ground and kicked at a rock.
“Remind me to give you the spare key to my dorm room,” Nicki said gently from in front of Alex. “In case you need someplace else to crash sometimes. I’ll get some blankets and another pillow.”
Alex relaxed slightly at the words, nodded despite Nicki not being able to see her. “Thanks.”
“Course,” Nicki replied, sounding a little more cheerful. “It’ll be fun to have even a temporary roommate. Singles are nice, but they get a bit boring.”
“Nothing about you is boring,” Aiden interjected from ahead of them.
“It’s true,” Nicki answered with a laugh. “I had the strangest dream last night.” Nicki stepped around a root growing over the game trail they were following.
“Oh, strange by your standards?” Aiden asked from ahead of Nicki. “This should be interesting.”
“Earth had been attacked by aliens,” Nicki continued, ignoring Aiden’s remark. “Then another race of aliens came. They looked like flamingos, and the pink ones were ninjas.”
Alex blinked at Nicki’s back and heard Bran and Merlin chuckle behind her while Aiden started laughing.
“Were the purple flamingos pirates?” Bran asked with a chuckle as he navigated around the large tree root.
“No, there weren’t any pirate flamingos,” Nicki told him, glancing over her shoulder with a cheerful smile. “At least I don’t remember them.”
“That’s almost as good as your space ship dream where you bluffed the aliens into leaving despite having no working engines,” Aiden observed with another laugh.
“The ship wasn’t finished yet,” Nicki protested, tossing her long red braid over her shoulder. “We had to think of something.”
“Do you keep a dream journal?” Alex asked, looking through the trees towards the lake.
“No, the interesting ones I usually remember without too much trouble. Most I forget as soon as I climb out of bed.”
“We’re here,” Morgana announced as they moved over the small crest of the slope.
They stepped onto a small flat area free of trees with a drop to the east that seemed artificially flat and empty. Where the ground sloped up with the hill was a strange pile of rocks that made Alex come to a fast stop. She stared, unmoving, at the pile of rocks and shaped stones that spilled out of the side of the hill. Anyone else may have suspected a mine, but Alex knew better, remembering the feel of those stones as she struggled to leave the tunnel. She’d been exhausted, drained from using magic and weapons soaked in her own blood against the Sídhe guards and Riders. A shiver rushed through her body that she couldn’t contain as the memories rushed back and the urge to flee rose up in her chest.
Bran stepped up next to Alex, placing a hand on her shoulder even as she heard him struggling to catch his breath. Merlin patted Alex’s other shoulder as he stepped around her to join Morgana. Everyone had fallen silent, and Alex found herself searching for the spot she’d first stepped out and seen the sunrise. Taking a few steps forward, Alex moved past Nicki and Aiden towards the pile of collapsed stone. She stopped near the rocks and turned towards the east, looking over the trees below the sudden drop. In the distance was the horizon where she’d glimpsed the first rays of daylight before dropping unconscious to the ground.
Swallowing, Alex struggled to inhale and calm down. The injury she’d taken to her head while fighting a Sid guard meant that so much of her battle out of the tunnels was a blur, but there were brief moments that she remembered vividly. As she’d stepped out of the tunnel with the children she’d rescued from a future of slavery under the Sídhe, she’d seen the rising sun and heard Morgana’s voice.
“It’s alright, Alex.” Morgana stepped up next to her, placing a hand on Alex’s shoulder.
“How did you get me out from here?” Alex asked Morgana when she found her voice.
“Magic,” Morgana answered simply, looking out towards the horizon beside her. “We put the children to sleep and floated all of you down the hill to avoid injuries after we destroyed the tunnel.”
“That must have been exhausting,” Alex replied after swallowing. “I don’t remember if I even thanked you for coming when you did. Thank you,” Alex added softly.
“You’re welcome,” Morgana answered, squeezing Alex’s shoulder gently before turning back to the others. She pointed to the rocks that spilled out of the hillside in a rough sloping pile. “This is the remains of the original entrance to Ravenslake.”
“As you can see, the area is rather bare.” Merlin gestured around at the flat patch they were standing in. “This can vary: sometimes the Sídhe are able to blend their tunnels into the surroundings, but if they are rushing to create a tunnel then their magic often alters the terrain around it. Trees often wither and dissolve.” Merlin paused and held a hand up to his ear. “If you listen you won’t hear birds or animals nearby. They sense that something is not quite right about this place.”
“Are we safe here?” Bran asked, looking at the remains of the tunnel carefully even as he lowered himself to the ground.
