In Sync

Part 7

I was tied up in knots, all of my senses on high alert while I remained hidden, crouched behind one of the big stones that formed the sacred circle surrounding us. Dusk was creeping closer every moment. When the sun sank entirely behind the horizon, it would allow the sidhe draoi to enter the circle and do what they had come for - kill us. Our plan would hopefully prevent our deaths, but it wasn't without risk as it would separate me from Eileen. It was the only plan we were able to create within the short period of time at hand, taking into account our limited weaponry of just one sword and one dagger.

Eileen was going to stay behind and surprise the sidhe draoi with an attack of her own, drawing attention to herself so that I would be able to escape unnoticed. Not to make my way to the manor, though; my job would be to get Cinnia, her horse, and come back to the clearing to pick up Eileen without making the sidhe draoi or Madeleine aware of our deception until it was too late for them to interfere. Surprise should be on our side. We reckoned Madeleine and whoever was with her probably wouldn't count on Eileen being able to fight, thinking her disabled by a spelled arrow.

Perhaps the element of surprise would even work with the sidhe draoi.

Once again I cast a glance at Eileen, wondering what she was waiting for. She was concealed behind another boulder, her sword in her hand, ready to jump. Without warning, she suddenly exploded into movement and her battle cry pierced the air like a well-honed knife. That was my signal, so I started to crawl towards the edge of the clearing, hoping that all our enemies' attention would remain riveted on Eileen.

Screams reached my ears while I crawled over the ground. I could easily imagine the unpleasantly surprised sidhe draoi, who had just found out that this time, it was a real fire they were facing instead of the illusion spell Eileen had used earlier. The real thing definitely had the potential to harm them, linked to the trees as they were

I tried to produce as little noise as possible, though there was a lot of commotion behind me that covered any sounds I made. It was unfortunate that being utterly quiet wasn't among my new talents. My progress sounded to me as if a herd of elephants was stampeding over the clearing! Never before had I come across so many twigs lying in my path as if waiting for me to snap them, accompanied by a vast amount of fallen leaves that seemed eager to be crushed beneath my body. I cursed under my breath when yet another twig snapped. My only hope was that Madeleine was still too stunned about Eileen's recovery to care about my immediate whereabouts. The crazy bitch would be too happy to put her hands on me and use me as a hostage against Eileen as long as I was alive. Killing me instantly would be absolutely too sane an action for someone like her.

It seemed like a lifetime before I reached the edge of the clearing. Relieved to have mastered this first part of my journey without getting caught, I crouched behind a small bush, breathing heavily from the unaccustomed exercise. It was much darker now that I had reached the forest and I was pleased to find that night vision was one of my newfound abilities. I was able to see equally well now as in broad daylight - a rather weird but helpful experience.

I stayed behind the bush until I was satisfied that no surprises awaited me, and then I got up from my position and stepped slowly behind the next tree. There wasn't a hint of Cinnia, which was to be expected. Eileen had been quite sure that her horse would be hiding deeper in the forest. As a good warhorse, Cinnia was trained to obey signals and would have come if called, but giving a whistle now would have been unwise. That meant that I had to find her instead of allowing her to come to me.

I took some steps away from the tree, wondering which direction to choose, when suddenly the rustle of leaves to my right caught my attention. I whirled around, facing the bush where the suspicious sound had originated. Hadn't I been careful enough? I put my trembling hand on the dagger's hilt while a rush of adrenalin flooded my system. I was ready to either run or fight when a small version of a fox appeared from behind a bush, its muzzle covered in earth. My heart was pounding like a wild horse inside my chest, and I felt sick with relief when the fox simply turned around and trotted away. Only the usual forest sounds remained, almost drowned out by the hammering of my heartbeat that echoed in my ears. I felt weak and leant my back against a tree to support my still shaking legs. This little episode had left me unbalanced, not the least because I had learned today that one could never be sure if an animal was really only an animal or some form-changing lunatic. What if it hadn't been a fox but Madeleine waiting for me?

I knew that I needed to calm down before I would be able to search for Cinnia. Eileen had taught me a relative simple mental exercise that would help me get an idea in which direction to search. I closed my eyes, tried to empty my mind and let my senses linger, trying to get a feel for Cinnia. I didn't know exactly what I was doing, but I had become much more used to the sensation since traveling with Eileen.

Just when I thought I felt something and wanted to explore it further, the wind brought the sounds of fighting to my hiding place. Immediately, my concentration went down the drain. The clash of swords and frenzied shouting could only mean that the trick with the fire hadn't worked long enough. The sidhe draoi must have found a way to avoid the fire or they had gotten reinforcements.

I took a deep breath and tried desperately to focus my thoughts anew, knowing that the time pressure had increased drastically. I tried to calm myself with the thought that as long as the sound of fighting could be heard, it meant that Eileen was still alive. Starting another attempt to empty my mind, I reached out for whatever I had felt before. There was a mysterious prickle again when I stretched my senses in a particular direction. I had no idea if the sensation was based on more than wishful thinking, but since it was everything I had, I carefully crept in the direction that called to me.

I had to repeat the exercise over and over, constantly afraid of going in the wrong direction, and simultaneously angry at myself for wasting so much time. After covering quite a bit of ground and snapping several more twigs, I was rewarded with the sweetest sound on earth, a soft whicker. My mouth dry, I kept on and there was Cinnia, peacefully pulling out mouthfuls of grass in a little spot under a tree, undisturbed by anything that had happened since we parted. The joy of being a clueless animal at such times… how I envied her.

But there wasn't time to rest. Now that I found her, there were other things I had to worry about, such as: would she allow me to catch her and ride her? There was only one way to find out, so I walked over to where she was grazing. When I was only steps away, Cinnia lifted her head, watching me cautiously.

I swallowed hard, trying to forget about her sheer bulk and those platter-sized hooves, and said in a low voice, "Come on, good girl! I am so happy to have found you," while I held out my hand, advancing slowly without ever letting the dangling reins out of my sight.

I was startled when she neither turned around and fled nor attacked me, but simply remained where she was, her mouth working as she chewed grass. I crossed the remaining distance between us until I finally stood before her. As Eileen had instructed me, I carefully began to stroke her neck with slow and deliberate movements, whispering soothing nonsense.

Everything seemed to be going better than I had expected, causing me to believe that the tide of my luck had turned, when suddenly Cinnia begun to nervously prance around. First I wondered what I had done wrong when suddenly, someone cleared a throat behind me. I nearly swallowed my tongue. Shit! I hadn't heard anyone approaching since my attention was solely focused on the horse, and it was my own damn fault that someone had been able to creep up on me. I knew that there was no way I would be able to escape and so, once again, I put a trembling hand on the dagger hilt, promising myself that I would not go down without a fight. I could have kicked my own ass, furious because a moment of abstraction on my part had smashed our whole plan to pieces.

"Well, well," the voice behind me said, "a good thing that you found your horse. And luck is still on your side as it is only me finding you both, and not the ugly warrior that I ran into behind those trees, isn't it?"

I slowly turned around and looked into the brown eyes of sean coille. He wasn't at all whom I had expected to see. Not that I was sure that him finding me was much better than Madeleine or one of hers finding me first. I couldn't be certain what his agenda was. Judging sean coille's mood was difficult, but he didn't look upset or angry. Shouldn't he be out to avenge our violation of their sanctuary? I was confused and decided to wait for his next move.

He sounded friendly when he went on, "No need to be afraid of me! I am not here to do you harm, even though you promised not to set foot on the clearing."

"You don't?" I was still far from relaxed and kept hold of my dagger.

He chuckled dryly. "No, I don't. But the young ones are eager to destroy and do harm to you both. They have the law on their side. Only I wish that they would be more eager to balance reasons before stumbling into regrettable action, but their hearts have been poisoned." He lifted one of his arms. I saw he was holding a long piece of wood.

"That is my present for you," he said and tossed me the staff, which I caught in mid-air due to my improved reflexes.

For a moment I wasn't sure if he wanted to press an attack, but nothing happened. He stood there watching me while I sceptically observed the smooth wooden staff in my hand. Sean coille came closer, and without further explanation touched me and the wood simultaneously with his long, knobbly fingers before I was able to react. I was briefly immobilized by the surge of energy that flew from him into the wood and through that, into my body.

Closing my eyes in reflex, for the second time that day I observed there were strange energy waves running through my inner vision. This time, they were different shades of brown and gold. Although I was unable to think clearly, I somehow knew that this was the raw energy of the forest. Sean coille begun to hum a tune; the intensity grew constantly and vibrated deep within me. Just when I thought I couldn't take it any more, the humming stopped and all the waves flashed into stunning white light. Whatever he had done, it was finished.

I opened my eyes, unsure about what just happened, while sean coille kept his gentle hold on me. His voice was serious when he said, "Listen carefully: This is no ordinary wood; it is what we call LiveWood. Wood that is able to direct itself. No human has touched something like this for a very long time, but it is easy to use after establishing the link, as I've already done. All you need to do is make clear in your thoughts who your enemy is and the staff will move in your hands, mainly to defend but also to attack if necessary. With practice, you will become a master of this staff." He let go of me. Taking a single step back, he continued, "This wood is part of you now, like an extension of your body, and that's how you should think of it. To everyone else it will just be an ordinary piece of wood, but to you it will be an ally, a strong and trustworthy weapon. Treasure it well!"

I stared wonderingly at the ordinary looking staff and said, "I would be stupid to not treasure a present like this. But won't the others know that I got that staff from you?"

He nodded slowly, an unhappy expression on his face. "Yes, they most probably will. But there is no law against giving someone a betrothal present, now, is there?"

It was a clever move on his side, proving his kindness and wisdom. He couldn't stand openly at our side but had found a different way to help. I was painfully grateful for any help today. Nodding, I said, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your kindness."

He nodded as well. "I am really sorry about what is happening, but this is all I can do for you." His eyes suddenly twinkled mischievously. "Well, this and sending a lurking warrior into the lands of never-ending dreams, and I did sent out a message to let your people know that you are in danger. With a bit of luck they will be here in time. And now you'd better hurry back!" He turned around, walking deeper into the forest and vanishing from my view.

I was alone again, left behind with an unexpected weapon. Although I was curious about what an untrained person like me would be able to do with the staff, I would be quite happy not to have to use it today in my defense or Eileen's.

I had returned to Cinnia and taken hold of the reins again when an unearthly high-pitched cry echoed into the forest; the sound twisted my gut into knots and caused me to crumple to the ground, dropping the reins. The pain in my ears was immense and even covering them with my hands didn't help. My brain felt as if someone was crushing it in an iron fist. A sense of absolute panic crashed over me. I knew that something awful had happened in the clearing, I just knew it. My mind was racing with possibilities, each of them more horrible than the other, while my head was nearly bursting from the ongoing sound.

As suddenly as the sound had occurred, it vanished again and the forest was silent.

I uncovered my ears hesitantly, relieved when the hideous cry didn't torture me any longer. After sitting up, I took several deep breaths to centre myself. Looking around, I saw that Cinnia was gone, leaving no trace behind. No surprise there; I could only imagine how terrifying the warhorse would find such a sound.

I had to know what was happening with Eileen and tried to reach her through our bond, deeply relieved when I felt her response. She was still alive. For a moment, I hoped that whatever had caused the sound hadn't been too bad for Eileen, but then I heard her voice shouting in my head as if she stood next to me.

Leave! Take Cinnia and leave. It is too late.

A burst of searing pain ripped through my heart. A disaster had happened, something that caused Eileen to believe she was going to be defeated. For a split-second I hesitated, allowing my fear to dominate me. Honestly, what chance did I have to fight against anyone who could harm so fierce and skilled a warrior as Eileen?

Tears sprung to my eyes and for a moment I was ready to give up, but then a picture formed in my head: me and Eileen on our wedding day, she dressed in noble red and brown and me in a green gown, Lena and Monika at our side. A lot of happily celebrating sidhe around us. Another flash, another picture: in the manor's garden, a child with blond hair and blue eyes holding Eileen's hand and I… I was pregnant. The little girl tuned to me and I knew that she was our firstborn. Another flash and the mental images were gone.

What had that been? A vision of the future or a wistful dream? I had no idea, but I didn't care. I had been shown me enough. As long as there was a hint of hope, I would cling to it with all my strength, doing everything I could to transform that hope into reality. Even if I wasn't able to defend myself against anyone who wanted to fight me, maybe I would be able to buy us time. Maybe help would come before it was too late. Didn't sean coille say that he sent a message to our people about us needing support? And above all these considerations was this: would I be able to live the rest of my life with the knowledge that I had left Eileen behind to die? The answer to that was easy. No, I couldn't.

Eileen's cry for me to leave still vibrated beneath my skin as I gathered the few remaining pieces of my courage and tried to reach out to her, wanting to let her know that I wouldn't leave her alone, that I would come and stand by her, but there was only silence from her end of the bond. No response, no answer, nothing. Either she knew how to block me or… I didn't want to follow that train of thought to its conclusion.

I got up and stumbled to the tree nearest to me, touching my cheek to the rough bark. While my biggest wish was still to curl up into a tight ball and wait until everything was over for good or ill, I knew that I wasn't living in a fairytale. Today was harsh reality and I needed to be my own hero, not wait around to be rescued. So I took the staff and leaned it against a nearby tree, hoping to be able to pick it up again once I mounted Cinnia. Eileen had tried to teach me the most important commands for a warhorse and I desperately hoped that I had memorized them correctly, thankful that all of them were rather simple.

Pursing my lips, I tried to whistle the first command but was unsuccessful since my mouth was as dry as the desert. My nervousness grew but I tried again, working up some spit and wetting my lips with my tongue. Though the tune was still not as loud as I would have wished, it worked. I was almost giddy with relief when I saw Cinnia trotting towards me. Another whistle and she knelt down on her front legs without hesitation. Walking to her, I grasped the reins and put my foot into the stirrup while trying to still my frantically beating heart. Thankfully, she didn't seem so dauntingly big in this position, and I was able to drag myself awkwardly into the saddle. Cinnia was a sweetheart through all my fumbling movements, and remained stoic even when I grasped her mane rather tightly at one point..

Finally, I was in the saddle. Cinnia remained kneeling, trained to wait for the next command. I whistled another tune and watched the ground disappearing as Cinnia got up. Vertigo struck me and I reeled in the saddle. This time, there was no Eileen to hold onto. For a moment, in my mind's eye I saw myself doing a head-over-heels descent, then I grasped the pommel to steady myself. I pushed down the wave of dizziness that threatened to overwhelm me and said out loud to Cinnia and to myself, "Come on, we have to go get your mistress." Another whistle sent her into a slow trot that allowed me to lean over and pick up the staff as we passed. Once I had the staff in hand, I spurred Cinnia on with my heels drumming her sides, only a single goal in my mind: get to Eileen as quickly as possible

The ride was an adventure that I hope never to repeat. One or two times it was a close call when Cinnia's flanks came within a hair's breadth of a tree trunk. I had to pay constant attention in order to avoid overhanging branches, and to make matters worse, I was hardly able to reach the stirrups, which were adjusted for Eileen's longer legs. It was a miracle that I didn't fall off or get scraped off the horse's back as she veered around obstacles.

Due to the warhorse's faster speed, it only took us a few minutes to reach the edge of the clearing. I saw Eileen standing at the opposite side. The sidhe draoi had been joined by three brawny looking warriors that I guessed had to be Madeleine's men. Watching them fight, I saw one of the warriors, an ugly guy, cut Eileen's upper arm with his sword, leaving a bleeding wound. He stepped back once he had been successful. Another member of the group came forward to continue the fight. These bastards were taking turns, trying to wear her out. It was obvious that they were having fun while Eileen tried to fight for her life and to give me enough time to escape. She was already bleeding from several wounds on her upper body. Those rats! They were playing with her.

I hadn't really decided what I would do once I reached the clearing but Cinnia took the choice away from me when she broke into a gallop, never hesitating as she ran over the group of sidhe draoi, scattering them and bowling some over. Without thinking, I threw the staff to the ground and slid off the horse, ready to turn those hot-headed sidhe into firewood. At the same moment Eileen, distracted by my arrival, didn't pay enough attention to her opponent. He didn't think twice about taking advantage and knocking her on the ground. She lay there motionless. Time seemed to stand still, and the breath caught in my throat. I wasn't sure if I had been too late or had even caused her death with my action.

It took a heartbeat or two before I got over the shock. As soon as I was capable of movement, I picked up my staff and ran over to where she Eileen lay so still on the leaf-litter. Suddenly, a hand covered my mouth from behind and a voice purred close to my ear, "Got you," followed by a hysterical cackle. Madeleine!

I struggled against her hold and was able to break free. Instinctively, I swung around, my elbow extended as I had learned in my self-defence course a long time ago. I didn't really expect that this move would have any effect against my superior opponent, but forgot something that Madeleine didn't know at all - I wasn't human any more. With my increased strength and reflexes, I was able to hit her squarely in the face, giving her a nosebleed. Blood flowed down her chin while she staggered backwards, looking utterly stunned.. For a second's worth of bravado, I felt like polishing my nails on my shirt and affecting a nonchalant air.

Madeleine stared at me with surprise-widened eyes, obviously still not believing what had just happened. She touched her face with a hand and glanced at the blood on her fingertips before gazing at me again. "You hit me… you bitch!" she spat. "How did you…" She paused, her eyes narrowing, then asked, "You are transformed?"

Seeing her confused like that was deeply satisfying. I dared to cast a short glance at the place where Eileen still lay half-conscious on the ground. Cinnia was guarding her against the warriors, the brave warhorse striking out with her hooves, and I was satisfied that Eileen was still alive before turning back to Madeleine, who began to stalk towards me.

She growled, "You will pay for that, and don't expect to die fast, either. I will have my fun with you for a good long while after letting you watch this poor excuse of a dearg-du die. I will make you scream and beg and no one will hear you. No one will come to your help and I will enjoy this immensely."

I knew these were no boastful threats; Madeleine would make good on her promises. Although a small part of my brain told me to beg or even better to run, the bigger part thought, "fight." I remembered the staff that was on the ground where I had thrown it down; it was too far away from me to make a dive for it. Sean coille's words, it is an extension of your body sprung into my head. Desperate and out of other options, I decided to give magic a try. I knew that even with my enhanced strength and my preternaturally sharp senses, it had been luck to hit Madeleine and draw blood like that. I would never be able to win a fight against her without assistance; she was too skilled. My successful blow had only been possible because she never expected me to be something other than worthless, helpless human prey.

Clutching at any straw, I concentrated on the staff, wishing it to be in my hands. I guess nobody was more surprised than me when it suddenly flew across the space, smacking right into my palms. I heard gasps from the sidhe draoi, who understood right away what just happened. Yes, this is LiveWood! I thought at them, gripping the staff tightly.

The staff in my hands made me feel a bit better about my chances, but I was still not sure how much harm I would be able to cause Madeleine. She was a trained warrior, whereas my experience was limited to a nearly forgotten self-defence course and, of course, being a punching bag for my former girlfriend. Regardless of my doubts, I knew I needed to buy us more time to allow help to arrive.

Madeleine looked at me, a small smile on her face, and said, "You know, slut, you are full of surprises today, but that won't help you at all." For a moment I thought I caught a tiny bit of admiration in her eyes, but that emotion was soon replaced by her usual insanity.

She waved towards her warriors and shouted, "I don't have time for this now. One of you get her and don't bother to be too gentle; just keep her alive. I will have to pay some attention to my ex-wife, and then we are heading off with both of them. No point in wasting more time here. Play time is over." She walked over to where Eileen was struggling to get up, still protected by Cinnia, while I saw Madeleine's three warriors crossing to where I stood, all of them leering unpleasantly at me.

One of the warriors took the initiative and came straight at me. LiveWood or not, the truth was that I had no idea what to do with my weapon. Now it was time to see if what sean coille had said was true. Remembering what I once learned about being attacked, I steadied my stance and held the staff horizontally in front of me. As a reward, I received a cocky grin from my opponent, who obviously didn't take me seriously; I couldn't blame him for that. He was even so confident in his own abilities that he didn't bother to unsheathe his sword, just lunged at me with his bare hands as if it hadn't been me that caused Madeleine's bloody nose. Of course, he probably thought it was just a lucky hit.

I felt the staff move like a live thing, lashing out to connect with my opponent's face in a quick blow, causing a scream and a bloody lip on his side. The motion was so sudden and unexpected, I had been barely able to hold onto the staff without losing it, and fumbled it back to a ready position . My attacker was as surprised as Madeleine had been earlier, and his two fellow warriors were mocking him about being struck by a greenhorn.

Having learned his lesson, the seething warrior now unsheathed his sword and attacked me again. The staff raised itself into the air even as I cringed in anticipation. Metal hit wood, and I felt the vibration of the blow twanging through my body. Nevertheless, I was able to block his first attack as well as the second, doing nothing more than holding onto the staff while it moved into position of its own accord. It was becoming obvious to me that even though the wood was moving on its own, it was my muscle and bone that had to absorb the force. Countering attacks put a strain on me that I wasn't used to. My lack of ability was the limit of the effectiveness of the staff, and I was painfully aware that it wouldn't be too long before I wouldn't be able to defend against my angry opponent's attacks anymore.

Bang. Another blow that nearly sent me to the ground as he put his strength behind it. I wondered if there was anything that could be done to stop his attacks except retreat; my arms were already trembling from the power behind his blows. Suddenly, I felt the staff move again, but this time not to block. With astonishing speed, I was able to knock the man so accurately behind his kneecaps that he went down, leaving me gaping like an idiot.

For a long moment, only the harsh breathing of my defeated opponent could be heard. The remaining two warriors took a few cautious steps into my direction, obviously taking me more seriously now. My arms were trembling more than ever, my whole body ached and it was a miracle that I had been able to survive so far. LiveWood or not, I had no chance against the two of them. The only thing I could do was go down with honor. Once again, I took a defensive stance, ready to counter them as best as I could. After setting into position, I didn't have time to think any more but only time to react, blocking two blows before one of them knocked me down with his sword; kicking my head as I fell. Pain exploded through my skull, and everything went dark around me as I lost consciousness.

Continued in chapter 8