I shook my head. “My boots are faster.”
“Might I wear one of them?”
He did, and we held hands so as not to be separated. Rhys skimmed along a few inches above the ground, while I bumped and bounced as usual.
The boots took us within five miles of the castle, and Rhys flew me the rest of the way. As we flew, he shouted over the wind, “I was right. Orne never married. He said your specter must have been a beginner to make up such a thing.”
I couldn’t think about that now. I was going home, Meryl was still alive, and I was going to save her.
I asked Rhys if he’d been the spirit that had helped me through my adventures.
“No,” he shouted back. “I don’t know how to be a spirit. I don’t think sorcerers can be.”
Then who or what had helped me? I offered the spirit a silent thanks. The wind whooshed by without answer or acknowledgment, and we rushed on to Meryl.
She opened her arms, and I ran into them. “I found the cure,” I said into her shoulder.
She hugged me with a fevered strength, so hard that my chest hurt again. “Addie, Addie, I’m glad you’re back.” She sounded hoarse. Her lips were chalky, and her cheeks were dry and flaking. “Look!” She let go of me and stood. “Sir Gray Death has returned my strength to me, for a short while anyway.” She shivered and sat in the red chair again, drawing Rhys’s cloud blanket around her.
That was good. If she was strong, the trip to the Aisnan Valley would be easier on her.
“I found the cure,” I repeated. I hugged Bella and Milton. “The dragon Vollys told me.” I explained quickly.
“I wish I could have seen you stab a dragon.” Meryl paused. “I wish I could have stabbed her.”
Bella said, “The two of you can’t go into the Eskerns in the middle of a thousand monsters.”
Meryl coughed for a full minute while we waited. “I’ll go alone,” she said finally. “Addie, give me the boots.”
“The trip is too rough,” I said. “I’ll take you. I’m used to it.”
“I’ll carry Princess Meryl to the waterfall,” Rhys said. “No one else is needed.”
“I’m going,” I said, hugging my bundle with the boots inside.
“Then I’ll wear just one boot,” Rhys said.
“Addie will carry me, and I’ll carry Blood-biter!” Meryl pointed at it, protruding from my bundle. “I’m strong enough to fight.” She coughed so hard, my own throat felt raw.
We all argued for five minutes. Rhys kept bowing and repeating all the ways he could help us—by commanding the clouds, by fighting gryphons or dragons in the sky, and by moving quickly even without the magic boots. Bella and Milton said they wanted to come too, and Bella kept saying Meryl was too sick to fight. And Meryl kept arguing and coughing while her life ticked away.
I had to do something. I interrupted, “That’s enough!”
They all turned to me, looking startled.
“Rhys and Meryl and I will go.” I didn’t want to endanger him, but he could do things I couldn’t. Bella and Milton weren’t warriors, and they would slow us down. “Rhys and I will need swords. Meryl will wield Blood-biter.” I handed it to her. I wouldn’t stop her ever again.
“Hooray!” She buckled on the sword. “Addie’s taking charge!”
I kissed her cheek, which felt very hot. “Milton, please ask a servant to fetch swords for Rhys and me.”
I went to my bundle to get the spyglass. “I want to see how close we can come to the Aisnan Valley.” I remembered the map well enough to work it out.
Everyone was quiet while I looked in the spyglass and calculated.
Finally I said, “The closest we can get is Surmic village, three miles away. We’ll stop there and ask the villagers to tell us the best route.”
“Surmic!” Bella said. “They won’t help you, those treacherous cowards.”
“It’s only for directions,” Rhys said. “Surely—”
“I’m the king’s daughter,” I said. “I’ll command them to tell us.” If they refused, I’d rip the words out of their throats.
Milton returned with a manservant, who was carrying two clanking swords. Rhys and I buckled them on.
I asked Milton when the fever had struck Meryl.
“Three days ago.”
Meryl grinned. “Sir Gray Death will be surprised when he finds me cured. He intends to carry me off tomorrow at dawn.”
Dawn! I was hoping for more time, until midmorning at least. Outside, the day was fading. She had only one night left.
I went to my bundle. “Here’s a magic cloak, Meryl. Put it on when we reach the valley.” No matter how strong she felt, she had to be weaker than Rhys and I were. “The gryphons and ogres won’t see you, and they won’t attack while you run to the falls.”
“If they attack, I’ll fight.” But she took the cloak.
The door opened again, and Father came in.
“Daughter . . . Addie. You’ve returned to bid your sister farewell.”
I turned to keep him from seeing my sword. “Greetings, Father.”
Meryl pulled the cloud blanket to hide hers. Rhys bowed and concealed his under his cloak.
But Father had noticed. “A tournament in a bedchamber?”
Rhys and I both began to answer. He said, “Sorcerers use swords—” I said, “We were comparing—”
“What is this about?”
Meryl went to her bedside table, the cloud blanket moving with her. She picked up her copy of Homely Truths. “Addie has found the cure for the Gray Death.” She coughed. “It’s a waterfall in the Eskerns. We’re going there—we have a way to travel quickly, and the swords are for slaying monsters.”
Father turned to me. “How did you discover the cure?”
“A dragon told me.” I related what Vollys had said, hating the waste of time. My chest began to hurt again.
When I finished, Father said, “How do I know the dragon spoke the truth?” He sounded indignant.
It hadn’t occurred to me that Vollys might have lied.
“It’s my only chance.” Meryl said, carrying Homely Truths back to her chair.
“I know that, Daughter. Nevertheless, I must deliberate. A king must not act precipitously.”
“Listen . . .” Meryl held up Homely Truths. “‘A skirmish avoided is a battle in the making.’ We’ll—”
“You can follow us with an army,” I said.
Meryl turned to a new page. “‘The wily serpent strikes twice.’ That”—she broke off to cough—“would be you, Father.”
“I don’t recall that adage.”
Rhys said, “Sire, we can strike first and nip the monsters. You can strike next and vanquish them.”
Father nodded slowly. “I can follow with an army. Just so. We’ll be ready in a week. . . .”
A week! And another three weeks for travel at Father’s slow pace.
He patted Meryl’s shoulder. “I must go. Never tarry—”
“Farewell, Father.” She took his hand and then released it.
He stared at his hand for a moment before lowering it. “Farewell.” He smiled awkwardly and left.
The castle bell tolled nine o’clock. We said good-bye to Bella and Milton and left Meryl’s chamber. She strode next to me, walking easily, not even stopping when she coughed.
My bundle was tied in a makeshift sling so my hands were free. As well as my boots, the bundle still held the magic tablecloth and my spyglass.
A full moon presided over a starry sky that was dotted here and there with clouds, still pink from the sunset. In the castle garden Rhys and I put on the boots, one apiece. I consulted the spyglass while he lifted Meryl. Then he took my hand, and we stepped.
Chapter Twenty-seven
* * *
THE CHILL NIGHT AIR and the rushing wind made Meryl’s fever worse. By the time we reached Surmic village, her teeth were chattering, and I suspected she was shivering under the cloud blanket.
Surmic stood midway up a steep slope
. We arrived a few yards from the village wall and exchanged our magic boots for ordinary ones.
Rhys banged on the gate and bellowed, “Halloo there! Let us in.”
I shouted, “We come from the king.”
Nothing happened.
Rhys said, “I’ll fly up and open the gate.”
But before he could, a hand holding a lantern appeared at the top of the wall. Someone peered down at us, and a moment or two later the gate creaked open.
“Come in. Hurry! Hurry!”
We rushed in, and he shut the gate. A jumble of cottages rose on the slope above us. The villager who’d admitted us, a man of middle age, blew twice on a horn, gaped at us, and said nothing.
Rhys performed one of his elaborate bows, and the man’s jaw sank even lower.
“A sorcerer!” he said.
Meryl coughed.
He gaped at Meryl. “A maiden in a cloud!”
We didn’t have time for his astonishment. “I am Princess Adelina,” I said. “We need—”
“A princess!”
Villagers began to gather, and I addressed them. “We need directions to the Aisnan Valley. Who can tell us?”
No one spoke.
Meryl coughed.
“My sister is sick. Won’t you help us?”
A man stepped forward. He wore a fur-trimmed cape and carried a wooden staff. “I am Dunstan, mayor here. What is this about?”
I repeated my name, and he had the grace to bow. A few others in the crowd curtsied or bowed, but not many.
“My sister is ill with the Gray Death, and she’s closer to dying with every second you all waste.”
A few in the crowd caught their breath.
I added, “She’ll be cured if she drinks from the waterfall in the Aisnan Valley.”
Everyone began talking at once.
Dunstan clapped for silence. “We’ve heard of this Gray Death, but none of us has ever been afflicted.”
Because of the waterfall? Vollys told the truth!
The mayor continued, “If you arouse the monsters in the valley, we will suffer.”
I said, “If there are monsters in our path, we’ll fight them.”
Meryl added, “No wonder Drualt left Bamarre after he came to Surmic village.”
The mayor’s face reddened. “We opened our gate to strangers. That’s cour—”
Rhys raised his baton.
The mayor drew back. “Cast no spells! These are the directions: The Aisnan Valley is due north. Follow the stars and you’ll find it.”
“Dunstan!” A younger man threaded his way through the crowd. “They’ll lose their way.” He turned to us. “The path isn’t marked. You have to know which turns to take. It’s a long, twisting way.” He stared at Meryl. “You will fight, my lady, sick as you are?”
“I will fight.” She coughed.
He spoke to the crowd. “I’ll lead them to the valley, and when the monsters strike, I’ll fight too.” He bowed to Meryl and me. “I am Gavin. Some in Surmic have courage.”
We waited while he ran to his cottage for his sword and his bow and arrows. Several others left the crowd when he did.
An old man said, “In the mountains, smart folk do not stray at night. My sister . . .” He began a tale.
How long could it take for Gavin to get his weapons?
I gave Meryl a moily herb flower to suck. Perhaps it would ease her cough.
“. . . search party went after my sister. Not one came back. My uncle . . .”
Gavin ran down the hill toward us, buckling on his sword as he came. Two men and a young woman followed him, also buckling on swords.
“We’ll come too,” the woman said.
Another woman and another man left the crowd to join us. They already wore their swords. The woman recited from the ending of Drualt.
“Be brave, Bamarre!
Go forth, Bamarre,
The timid with the strong.
Let not your heroes
Fight alone.”
Someone in the crowd began to weep. A man cried out, “Stay, Eliza!”
Dunstan told the six who had joined us, “You go at your peril.”
Gavin answered, “You stay at your peril.”
The gatekeeper opened the gate, and we filed out. The night was advancing. Gavin walked between me and Meryl. Rhys was on my other side. The others followed behind. Gavin set the pace, quick, but not so fast that we’d have to stop to rest.
“How long until we reach the valley?” I asked him.
“Three hours at least, if we aren’t slain along the way.”
Three hours! And Meryl was to die at dawn.
“You’ll be a hero, Gavin,” she said, “and we’ll all have an adventure.” Her coughing had subsided. Perhaps the moily herb had helped.
Eliza said, “There are no ogres the way we’re going, but gryphons may attack. They have fine night eyes.”
I looked up but saw only stars. We walked on. I asked Gavin and Eliza to describe the waterfall.
“It’s very high, Your Highness,” said Gavin, “and the heights from which the water descends are lost in mist.”
Eliza added, “No streams flow from it. The water vanishes as soon as it touches the valley.”
Again Vollys had spoken true.
She continued, “The grass under the falls, where the water lands and vanishes, is the greenest in the Eskerns. We pasture our sheep there when we are well armed. You can almost see them grow fat as they graze.”
“Have you ever drunk from the falls?” Rhys asked.
Gavin answered, “When I bring the sheep, I drink the water. We all do.”
They drank the water, and none of them caught the Gray Death.
Meryl began to question Gavin about his encounters with monsters. He answered, and the other villagers chimed in. Rhys touched my arm, and we fell to the back of the group.
“There is something I must say. . . .” He hesitated. “Although you may not like to hear it.” He fell silent. “It concerns us. You”—he paused—“and me.”
He knew I loved him. He felt he had to discourage me. “You needn’t say it,” I murmured.
“No, I must.” His voice sounded odd, as though he had a cold, although sorcerers didn’t get colds. “Orne is a fine teacher, as I’ve told you.”
Orne had told him what to say.
“And very convincing.” He stopped again, and then resumed. “But I don’t always agree with him. On the subject of marriage, to humans anyway . . .”
Marriage?
“. . . I think he’s mistaken, especially about me. Oh, Addie, we may both die tonight. . . .”
The Eskerns must be enchanted, I thought. They were making me imagine things. But I was smiling.
He stopped and took my hand. “If we die, or if I die . . .”
He was speaking of dying, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
In the dark he must not have noticed, because he said in a rush, “I must tell you that I love you, and if I live I will ask for your hand, but you needn’t say anything now if it distresses you, and I might rather die without knowing that you don’t love me if that’s how you feel.”
I tried to speak, but nothing came. I had gained courage during my adventures, but not for this.
“Addie?”
Too soft to hear, I whispered, “I do love you.”
But he heard. He cupped his hand under my chin and tilted my face up so I had to meet his eyes. He was smiling too, with a smile as happy as mine. “Oh, Addie!” He leaned down to kiss me.
But Meryl called, “Addie! Where are you? Rhys?” She sounded frightened.
“We’re coming.”
He picked me up and flew me to her. “We were just talking about what’s to come,” he said slyly.
“I thought a monster had taken you.” She coughed.
I gave her another moily herb flower. We resumed walking, only now Rhys held my hand. I reached forward into the cloud blanket and caught Meryl’s hand, and so I held m
y two loves. But Meryl’s hand was as hot as a dragon.
We fell silent, all of us, and marched on. Meryl strode along and didn’t seem to be tiring. I heard wings and looked up, but it was just an owl. In a moment I heard its hoot.
I wondered how far we’d gone, how far we had yet to go. I didn’t ask. I didn’t want the trek or the night to end. For the moment I had everything I wanted.
We walked along a ridge and then started upward, arranging ourselves in single file as the way narrowed, Meryl ahead of me, Rhys behind. I released Rhys’s hand but held on to Meryl’s. The path twisted and then turned back on itself and turned again. We clambered from rock to rock.
I heard wings again. Two creatures crossed the moon, gryphons or eagles. Whatever they were, they flew over and were gone.
The climb became steeper. Soon my breathing was ragged, and Meryl began to cough again, and another moily herb flower did no good.
I wasn’t sure if the moon had dimmed and the sky had lightened, or if it was just my imagination. At last we reached the crest and began to walk along it. Gavin said, “The Aisnan Valley is there below us.” He gestured to the left, but it was too dark to make out any details.
“We can’t descend here,” Eliza said. “We have to go around. Even so, it isn’t far. We’ll come to a ledge. A few feet beyond it is the rock we call the Sentry. When we round the Sentry, we’ll be in the valley.”
I asked, “How far is the waterfall from there?”
“Half a mile,” said Gavin, “more or less.”
Rhys could fly Meryl there. Her recovery could be minutes away!
We walked a little distance and then began to descend. I listened for the waterfall but heard nothing. I squeezed Meryl’s hand and she squeezed back, but I thought her grip had weakened.
The descent was gradual, easier than the climb.
“Nine heroes of Bamarre descended into the Aisnan Valley,” Meryl said, and coughed. “We should be in a poem. Addie, would you recite something from Drualt?”
I began to recite from an early battle scene. At first my voice was soft, but it gained strength as I went on.
“King Bruce, armor shining,
Led the right flank, shouting,
‘Hide, monsters, hide