Book 3, Chapter 2                                                                                  

The shoreline grew from a dark line to a rocky shore with small hills. As the Traveler, the emperor’s personal ship, sailed southward, the city of Christentown came into view around a bend. Large warehouses sat at the edge of piers jutting out into the harbour. Numerous streets led away from the wharf. Tiny buildings dotted the streets: pubs, shops and houses. The buildings grew larger as they rose up a hill toward a huge building that glistened even in the fading rays of the setting sun.

The palace had been built on top of the tallest hill so anyone looking out any of its windows could see the city below and the harbour beyond. Strategically sound, the palace now stood sentinel over a city emptied of its citizens. No ships stood at the piers waiting to be unloaded. No workers ran along the wharves carrying cargo to and from the warehouses. No sailors, laden down with purses full of coins, hurried up the streets to the pubs.

The sailors on the Traveler spoke in hushed voices as they approached the pier. A superstitious lot, they did not like coming into a port that resembled a ghost town. Alaysa shared their uneasiness. Where had all the people gone? Had the plague made it this far already?

Tay had woken and sat with his head balanced on the railing. He scanned the city. He looked at Alaysa. “Ladyfire?” he spoke in her mind.

“Would you fly over the city?” she asked, “See if it is safe?”

“Yes, Ladyfire,”. He jumped up onto the railing. Having grown a little larger than a horse, he frightened two nearby sailors who tripped over ropes to get out of the way of the dragon’s outstretched wings. Tay hopped off the ship, glided along the surface of the water until he found an updraft that lifted him above the city. She watched until he disappeared over the top of the palace walls.

“Let’s hope he’s back before we’ve unloaded,” Janek said. He stood beside her, two packs in his hand. She reached down for her bag.

“Do you think he’ll find anything?  I mean, anything that might want to attack us?” she asked. She slung her bag over her shoulder holding the straps securely, her fist resting against her chest.

“I don’t know,” he said, then glanced over his shoulder. She followed his gaze. Her guards had begun to strap on their armour. “They’re not taking any chances, I see.”

“We have a long walk,” Andrew said from her other side.

“I am looking forward to a hot bath and a soft bed,” Laurel said, behind her then her voice softened, “I hope the Emperor is safe.”

They all hoped they would find the Emperor well. The Traveler drifted up beside the pier. Sailors jumped out and ran to the moorings, large rings hooked to the top of the dock. Other sailors threw heavy ropes from the bow and the stern of the ship near their feet. The sailors grabbed the ropes and fed them through the rings. The sails had been loosened and flapped in the wind. The ship floated against the dock and the sailors tied the ropes to the rings.

Two more sailors, guided by Captain Narron, pulled out a gangplank and dropped it onto the dock. Eric and half the guards jogged down onto the dock. They hurried past the warehouse, stopping only long enough to tug at the secure padlocks on the doors, then disappeared up the city streets in small groups. The rest followed at a slower pace. Alaysa came up last. She stopped to thank Captain Narron, again, for all his help. They had officially thanked him the night before, but she still felt so grateful that she had to thank him, again.

“No problem, little lady,” he said, “Anytime you need a ship and a good crew, just ask for me. At any port. We’ll come to you.”  He cleared his voice and rubbed at his eyes. “You take care of yourself, right?”

“Yes, right,” she said. She had noticed the tears in his eyes and realized he did not believe he would see her alive, again. She wanted to reassure him she did not plan to die just yet. She planned to live a long life. She would return to her mountain home where her family waited. But she wasn’t so sure anymore. The Lightfire weighed heavily. She would be happy just to get rid of it and feel like a normal person, again. She smiled the best smile she could and walked away from the captain, his crew and the ship. She fought an urge to look back.

Alaysa caught up to Janek and the others where the wharf met the streets. Lexon decided they should stay together and take the most direct route to the palace. Her guards spread out on either side of their group. They walked in pairs. Andrew refused to budge from her side. Kir walked beside Janek. Lexon and Laurel led the group. Luindad followed last.

As they walked past boarded up windows and locked doors, Alaysa felt a slight flow of life. Nothing flew in the city. Birds, bugs, all seemed to have left with the people. But something lived in the shadows. She wanted to bend down and touch the cobblestones. Even to feel the worms beneath the soil would make her feel better but she didn’t want to stop the group.

They moved into the second block of businesses. Inns and clothing shops began to appear. Small food markets and near the end restaurants a gentleman would take a lady to dine, began to appear. Unfortunately, a fetid smell of rotting garbage also appeared. Alaysa held up her sleeve to cover her nose. She wondered if the others could smell what she thought she smelled. Death hung on the air.

            Looking down the alley, she saw garbage pails spilled on their sides, their contents strewn over the street. She thought she saw a tail poking out of one of the pails. Could this be the life she had felt on the air?  She stopped suddenly. Janek nearly bumped into her.

            “What is it?” he asked, staring down into the dark alley.

            “I thought I felt something,” she said.

            “I don’t see anything,” Janek said.

            “We should keep going,” Lexon called out, almost half a block away, “It’ll be dark soon.”

            She agreed. She didn’t want to be on the streets in the dark. Not alone. Not like this. As she turned away from the alley, a dark form stepped out of the shadows. She stopped, abruptly. A huge dog, starving, his coat matted and mud-soaked, stepped out into the light. It pointed its large snout at the air in front of her and sniffed. It stood nearly as high as a pony. Three other dogs moved out of the shadow to stand behind it. Slightly shorter, they still looked as menacing as the first dog. Alaysa heard the guards behind her draw their swords.

            The dogs neither growled nor moved any closer. She crouched down bending her left knee, bowed her head and held out her left hand. Closing her eyes, she felt the air between the dog and her hand. Hunger. Barred teeth. Torn skin. Shrieks of pain. Fear. Death. The two-legs of the pack running. Shouting. Smell of fear. Sweat. The wood that floats being pushed by the wind. Away. Away from the land. Quiet. Emptiness. The pack gone. New alliances. Chase away. Kill the weak. The strong will survive. You are strong. Join us.

            “Too much,” she gasped, the images racing through her mind. “Stop.”  She felt herself dragged to her feet. She opened her eyes. Through a fog, she saw Andrew looking at her, his brow knotted. “The…the animals have reclaimed…they’ve gone instinctive.”

            “Gone instinctive?” Luindad’s voice spoke from a long way off. “What an interesting phrase.”

            “The dogs have adapted as hunters, again,” she said, wanting to explain, needing to explain. She had to go, with them. She leaned toward the dogs. The lead dog stared at her. She couldn’t look away. Only Andrew’s tight grasp on her arms kept her from running down the alley.

            “It’s only been a couple weeks,” Kir sounded as if he spoke from inside a tunnel.

            “The Land is reclaiming itself,” Alaysa rubbed at the vines around her neck. She couldn’t take her eyes from the dog. “The people are not welcome here. I should go with them.”

            “Alaysa, look at me,” she heard a different voice, a familiar, warm voice. She tried to focus on it. A shadow flew overhead. Janek’s face came out of the fog toward her. She could just make out the outline of his tired eyes. “We’ve got to get her away from them,” she heard him say.

Someone, Andrew, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the alley. She had to walk or fall to the cobblestones. The forward motion broke her gaze with the dog, but she could still feel its pull. She looked over her shoulder. Tay dropped to the street, landing heavily on his feet. He stood between the alley and Alaysa blocking her sight. He hissed at the four pairs of glowing red eyes and they vanished. Tay followed Luindad, keeping his head low to the street listening should they follow.

            The fog vanished. Her head cleared. She pulled her arm from Andrew’s grasp. “I’m okay. Stop treating me like a child.”

            “What happened to you back there?” her brother asked, walking beside her. The others followed silently.

            “I…I…” how could she explain it when she didn’t understand it herself. “Do you remember the skunk story you told Darsen?  And the other stories you didn’t tell him?”

            “Yeh, about the animals that would wander into the house and scare Mam out of her wits?” Andrew replied.

            “Well, they actually speak to me now,” she said, “I can understand them.”

            “Can you talk back to them?”

            “No, the only one seems to be Tay that I can talk to,” she said, “It’s like they either don’t understand me or maybe, don’t want to understand me. They share their thoughts and then they go.”

            “So back there the dogs told you they had taken over the city?”

            “It’s more than that,” she said, trying to sort the jumble of images, “It’s their way of trying to warn me.”

            “Warn you about what?” Andrew asked, his voice low, cautious.

            “I don’t know,” she replied. She really didn’t know.

            Eric and two of the guards appeared in front of them from around a corner.

            “The way is clear from here,” Eric said, “The palace is quiet. There aren’t many servants or guards left.”  He glanced at Alaysa. “What’s happened?”

            “I’ll tell you later,” Kir said, “Is the city really as empty as it seems?”

            Eric nodded. “None of us have seen a living soul outside of the palace. Lots of stray dogs and cats, but no people.”  Alaysa shivered.

            Two palace guards stood at the gate to the palace entrance. They bowed as Alaysa and her party entered. Their uniforms, dirty but still intact, hinted at the hard times they had suffered recently. Alaysa knew Eric would find out what had happened and report later. Lexon could barely contain his anxiety and took the stairs two at a time. He disappeared into the foyer before they had stepped onto the top stair. They met him returning a few moments later in the foyer, Segarus accompanying him.

            “Dinner has been put out for us in the dining hall,” Lexon said.

            “Your father?” Laurel asked.

            “His butler says he hasn’t been well since we left,” Lexon said, “He retires early. I’ll be able to see him for a few minutes tonight but everyone else will have to wait until the morning.”

            Alaysa glanced at Janek. She thought the Emperor would at least like to see both his sons. She noticed Janek staring sullenly at the floor.

            “Let’s eat,” she said, a little louder than she wanted, “I’m famished. Is anyone else?”

            Dinner turned out to be a meager fare.  A broth for soup with traces of meat, bread, cheese, wine, preserved fruit. No fresh vegetables could be seen. Even so, they ate with gusto. Her stomach full, Alaysa leaned back in her chair and yawned. The half of a glass of wine Andrew had allowed her to drink made her very sleepy. She wanted to put her head down on the table and close her eyes while she waited for Janek to finish. She didn’t know why she had to wait for him, but she felt it only polite.

            “Come on, Alaysa,” Laurel said, “I’m tired too. Let’s leave these men and go see if there is any hot water in the taps.”

            Alaysa nodded her agreement. A hot bath and a comfortable bed seemed very appealing. They walked together down the hallway they had walked many times before in happier times.

            “It’s so quiet without everyone,” Alaysa sighed. Even though the noise and confusion of the constant parties had made her sick, she still missed the people.

            “I know,” Laurel agreed, “I guess they all returned to their estates.”

            They stopped outside Alaysa’s door. Laurel stepped forward to go in. Alaysa stopped her.

            “Laurel, you no longer have to help me,” she said, “You no longer should. You are the future empress.”

            “I can still help you find the hot water tap,” Laurel said, trying to get past her.

            “I’ll be fine,” Alaysa said, “I promise not to run away anymore.”

            “It’s not that,” Laurel said, glancing up and down the hall. “I know you won’t run away. Besides could we stop you?”

            Alaysa smirked. “Then why don’t you want to go to your room?”

            Laurel looked down at her feet, blushing. Alaysa put her hand up to her mouth, the truth dawning on her. “You and Lex?  It’ll be your first time alone?”

            Laurel nodded her head. “I’m not ready. I mean this isn’t what I expected it to be. This isn’t what it should be like.”

            Alaysa pulled her into her room and they sat down on the edge of her bed. How could she help Laurel?  She had never been with a man before. She didn’t know what to tell her. Then she remembered what her Mam had said to her when she had started her monthly bleeding. She had said this was part of being a woman and when she found a man she loved she would become pregnant. But until that time, any man who wanted to touch her had to have her permission. If he still wanted to become friendly with her in a way she wasn’t comfortable then she was to scream very loudly and run away. If she couldn’t run away then she was to kick him between the legs. That would cause him such pain that he wouldn’t be able to chase her. Alaysa thought she shouldn’t tell Laurel all of what her Mam had said.

            “My Mam once said to me that if I didn’t want to get friendly with a man then I was to tell him and if he respected me then he would leave me alone,” Alaysa said.

            “Are you saying that if I’m not ready, I should tell Lexon?  You think he would understand?”

            “He loves you very much. I cannot see him not understanding.”

            Laurel looked thoughtful. “Yes, yes, of course. I should talk to him.”  She stood up. “Let’s see about your bath.”

            Alaysa sighed. She guessed Laurel would always want to help her, no matter what. She heard the water running in her bathroom. “Laurel, go. I can turn off my own taps.”

            Laurel stepped out of the bathroom. “Are you sure?”

            “Yes, I’ll see you in the morning.”  She watched Laurel leave and then closed her door.

            She marched to the bathroom, closed the door, stripped and stepped into her bath tub. The water rose nearly to the edge so she turned off the pouring water. She dunked her head beneath the water to get the past few days’ dust out of it, then resurfaced to soap her hair. After rinsing, she soaped her body and scrubbed at any mark that seemed to be dirt. Finally, with her skin red, almost raw, she lay back and closed her eyes. The heat of the water seeped into her bones. She let the steam tickle her face. When the water became too cold, she pulled the stopper, stepped out of the tub and reached for a towel.

            She caught her reflection in the mirror over the sink. Pink and blurry. She wiped the mirror to remove the condensation and looked at herself. The vines stood out bright beneath her skin. Scars stood out on her hands, neck and ankles where Zaren had tortured her. Cuts and scrapes, slow to heal, marked almost every part of her skin. Her arms and legs had become heavily muscled with the constant riding, walking and swimming she had suffered the past few weeks. Her skin had become mottled with blemishes. She wondered if any man would ever find her beautiful. Probably not, she thought and brushed a tear away from the corner of her eye.

            “Alaysa?” she heard Janek call out, “Alaysa, do you need anything before bed?”

            Panicked, she leaned against the door thinking he might burst in. “No, nothing, Janek. Uh, did you find a place for Andrew?”  She hastily dried herself with her towel.

            “Yeh, he wanted to drag a cot in here with you, but we talked him out of it.”

            “Where’s he staying then?” she called out, pulling on the nightgown she had brought in with her.

            “Across the hall,” he said, “We’ve all spread out. They don’t feel they have to protect me anymore so we’ve taken our own rooms. So many of them are empty. Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

            “Yes,” she said, “Good night.”

            “Good night.”

            She heard him close the door between their two rooms. Sighing, she looked at her face in the mirror. She thought he had maybe felt her thoughts. She would have been a little more than embarrassed if he had mentioned it.

            Blowing out all the candles in the bathroom, she moved around her room to blow out the rest of the candles. One remained by her bed. As she crawled beneath the covers, she decided to let it burn itself out. Even before her head hit her pillow, she fell asleep.