LC02 Crystal Flame

  “I will seek another way of freeing you, Ridge, but if there is none, then I will have to try the Key.”

  Ridge opened his eyes. “Why?”

  “You’re my husband. I can’t abandon you,” she said gently. “Would you leave me to my fate if you were the one who had been told to fetch the Key?”

  His face was stark. “You know the answer to that.”

  She nodded, smiling thinly. “Of course. You would return for me.”

  “You belong to me, Kalena”

  “It works both ways.”

  He leaned his head back against the rock. “You must realize that neither of us is meant to survive the confrontation of the Keys. If the legends are right, they’ll destroy us. There is no point in your returning with the Light Key, Kalena. Either way, you can’t hope to get me out of here. Leave me to my own devices. I’ve been in messy situations before this. I’ve learned a few tricks.”

  “This is different, Ridge. I know it deep inside. The only way out of this is with the Keys.”

  “If they exist and if we try to bring them together, we’ll only succeed in killing each other.”

  “I’m not so sure of that, Ridge. It might be true that two people selected at random would have no chance, but I’m beginning to understand there was no real element of chance involved in our marriage. If our coming together has been fated, then perhaps that is because we are the ones who can control the Keys.”

  “Kalena, no one can control the Keys. That’s the whole point of the legends!”

  “The Healers believe I can control the Light Key.”

  He looked at her sharply. “They told you that?”

  She nodded. “Right after you were dismissed from dinner.”

  He sucked in his breath. “You didn’t tell me.”

  “I didn’t want to talk about it. They told me I had a duty, you see. An obligation to take the Light Key from its hiding place. But I’d had enough of having everyone lecture me on the subject of my responsibilities. First there was my aunt…”

  “And then there was your husband,” Ridge added wryly.

  “Umm, yes.” She realized she was slightly amused by the way he had said that. “And then a bunch of strangers in an even stranger valley tell me my obligations. One of these days, Ridge, I’m going to make my own decisions and determine exactly what will bind me. But in the meantime, I don’t seem to be able to escape certain responsibilities.”

  “If you value your duty to obey your husband, you will do as I say and not come back out of the valley until Quintel has cleaned out this cult,” Ridge told her roughly.

  Kalena wrinkled her nose at him. “The problem is that I value my husband more than I value my obligation to obey him. I will be back, Ridge.”

  “Stubborn, illogical, irrational female.” He swore softly and let his head rest against the stone behind him.

  “Look at the positive side, Ridge. Maybe with all those faults you’ll be less likely to grow bored with me during the course of our short marriage.”

  His eyes flared briefly. “This is no joke, Kalena. If you don’t realize how dangerous this situation is, then you are more foolish than that man in the cloak said you were.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry, Ridge. I assure you I’m taking this all quite seriously. The truth is, I’m scared to death. Maybe that’s why I tried such a poor joke.”

  Ridge was silent for a while, then finally said, “The last thing you could ever do is bore me, Kalena, regardless of how long the marriage lasts.”

  Something in her unknotted a little at the warmth in his words. “Thank you, trade husband. I can say without any reservation that I return the compliment in full measure. Life has not been dull with you.”

  He groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

  Kalena fell silent again for a few minutes, then asked the question that had been hovering in the back of her mind. “Ridge?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you think of me as a whore because I signed that trade marriage contract with you?”

  The gold in his eyes was molten with the controlled fire of his fury. If Ridge had been holding his sintar, Kalena knew the steel would have glowed. But his voice was unnaturally even as he spoke.

  “You are my wife, Kalena. I will slit the throat of any man who calls you whore. Before this is over, the one named Griss will learn his lesson in manners the hard way. I will see to it if it’s the last thing I do in this world. Unlike you, I’m quite capable of walking the vengeance trail.”

  Kalena couldn’t think of anything to say to that. She swallowed and lapsed back into silence. Perhaps she should try to get some rest. The journey back to the valley would be a long one.

  “Kalena?”

  “What is it, Ridge?”

  “This marriage of ours…” he began deliberately.

  “What about it?”

  “It’s going to last as long as we both can draw breath.”

  Kalena felt warmed by the determination in his words. “I wouldn’t dream of arguing with you, husband. A good wife always defers to her husband’s superior judgment.”

  Ridge choked back a rare laugh. “Why is it that you wait until we are in a situation such as this to show me how obedient you can be?”

  “I told you, I don’t want you to grow bored.” Kalena paused. “I’ve been thinking about the creets, Ridge.”

  “What a thing to worry about now!” he said brusquely. “I’m sure they’re fine. They probably got left behind in the shelter. They’ll have plenty of food. And when they get tired of gorging themselves, I wouldn’t be surprised if they amused themselves playing a few more of the kind of games that shocked you so much that day by the stream.”

  “You really think they’ll be all right?”

  Ridge smiled grimly. “I think they’ll be fine. Nice to know some members of this troupe of gallant adventurers are having a good time on the trip, isn’t it?”

  Griss and another cloaked man came for Kalena after she had slept uneasily for what she estimated was an hour. After giving her a small amount of food, her ankles were silently untied and she was led to the threshold of the dark corridor.

  Helplessly, Ridge watched her being taken away from him. “Kalena!”

  She glanced back at him over her shoulder, aware that her captors weren’t going to let her have any lingering farewells. “Yes, Ridge?”

  “Remember what I said.”

  She smiled mistily, thinking of his impossible orders to hide in the valley with the Healers. “I will remember that I am your wife, Ridge, and not your whore.”

  He had no chance to respond. Kalena was yanked through the opening and pushed down the bleak underground passage.

  Fourteen

  It was a long walk up the mountain trail without a creet. Kalena had been led back to the surface through an endless series of twisting corridors. She had been blindfolded, but even without the covering over her eyes she was certain she would never have been able to remember the way through the convoluted passages. Eventually, the blindfold had been ripped from her eyes and she had been thrust into the bright sunlight that gleamed on the snowy peaks of the Heights of Variance.

  Without a creet.

  Parts of the trail looked familiar, and Kalena assumed she had been left within a day’s walk of the valley. At least she hoped it was a day’s walk. She had been given her cloak and nothing else, not even a small tube of firegel. If she was forced to spend the night on the trail she would be lucky not to freeze to death.

  She consoled herself with the thought that her captors did not want her to die just yet. Therefore, she must be close enough to the valley to reach it by sundown.

  Thoughts of Ridge waiting in darkness and the insanity she had seen in Griss’ eyes kept her moving steadily throughout the day. The sound of water caught her attention at one point. Surely she had noticed that small waterfall on the first two trips along the trail. If she remembered correctly, it had been fairly close to the section of the pass that
had been blocked by the shimmering veil.

  But the veil did not come conveniently into sight around the next bend. Kalena kept going. Her feet were tired and her legs ached from the endless climb. She didn’t bother to stop for lunch. No one had thought to give her any food to take with her. Presumably, that was another indication that she was reasonably near her destination. She could have used the food, she thought dismally. Her energy sources were failing rapidly. Probably as a result of all the emotional trauma she had been through as much as the actual physical exertion. She was getting very cold. The exercise and the cloak had kept her reasonably warm earlier in the day, but they were both becoming less efficient as she tired.

  She had her head down and was leaning into the climb, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, when she rounded one last bend shortly before sundown and found herself confronting the shimmering veil of white.

  Kalena halted abruptly swaying a little with exhaustion as she examined the barrier. It looked the same as it had yesterday. Was it only yesterday she and Ridge had left the valley? For the first time she realized she was uncertain of just how much time had passed in the caves of the Cult of the Eclipse.

  Frowning a little, she stepped through the gleaming veil, experiencing the now familiar brief, pleasant sensation, and then she was on the other side. The valley stretched below, as green and beautiful as she remembered it. Kalena drew a deep sigh of relief and started down the trail.

  Her return to the valley was noticed as soon as she began to walk along one of the paths between the extensive gardens. Women who had been working in the fields dropped their tools and came toward her, converging from all directions. Arona was one of the first to meet her. Her eyes were wide and anxious as she examined Kalena’s weary face.

  “Valica was right. The time is at hand, isn’t it?” the Healer asked worriedly. “You have come for the Key.”

  “I’ll bet Valica is right a great deal of the time, isn’t she?” Kalena smiled bleakly. “I should have known.”

  Valica was already making her way through the throng of women, her aristocratic features set in lines of deep concern. “Are you all right, Kalena?”

  “I think so. Just a little tired. I’ve been walking since dawn. Tell me, how long ago did Ridge and I leave?”

  Valica looked startled. “Three days.”

  “One whole day,” Kalena said bemusedly. “We lost one whole day in that cave before we awoke.”

  “What cave?” Valica took her arm, signaling for the others to step aside. “Where is your husband? Kalena, what has happened?”

  “What you said would happen, Valica. I have a need for the Light Key. Ridge will die if I don’t take it back with me to the caves.”

  “What are these caves you keep talking about?” Arona demanded, hurrying alongside as Kalena was guided to a nearby cottage.

  “I’m not sure where they are, although one of the entrances to them is within a day’s walk of here. They are inhabited by a really nasty crowd of males. Ever heard of a group called the Cult of the Eclipse?”

  Valica’s breath hissed sharply between her teeth. “They are only a legend!”

  “I guess they’re as much a legend as the Keys. They seemed very real to me. Too real.”

  “It is all as bad as we here in the valley had feared. Come,” Valica said with authority, “you must eat and rest. We can talk later.”

  “I haven’t got a lot of time, Valica. I must return with the Key as soon as possible.”

  “We will discuss this after you have eaten.”

  There was no disagreeing with Valica’s tone of voice, and in truth Kalena didn’t feel much like arguing, anyway. She was tired and hungry and knew she couldn’t walk back down the trail at night. When she was urged into a small cottage and told to sit down she did so with a great deal of gratitude.

  Hot, comforting food was brought at once, and for the first time since she was a young child, Kalena found herself being served by someone other than a paid servant. It made her feel a little awkward, but nothing got in the way of her need to fill her empty stomach.

  Valica, Arona and a handful of others sat around her, watching anxiously as she consumed the meal. Between bites of food, Kalena told them everything that had happened since she and Ridge had left the valley. When she finished, Valica was silent. Arona spoke first. She was clearly agitated, her expression haunted with concern.

  “You would go back to the caves with the Light Key for the sake of this man, Ridge? That’s foolish, Kalena. He is a man and he has been captured by men. Let him work out his own destiny. You are safe here in the valley. You must stay here.”

  Kalena just looked at her, helpless to explain. “He is my husband,” she finally said. “His destiny is my destiny. Valica once said there are always choices. I have made mine. I will share my future with Ridge.” She knew that probably wasn’t sufficient justification in Arona’s eyes for what she intended to do. But Kalena was too exhausted to try and explain the often uneasy bonds the marriage had established between her and Ridge, let alone the demands of honor and duty involved. In that moment Kalena wasn’t sure she could have explained them to herself, much less anyone else. She only knew she could not hide in the warmth of the valley while Ridge lay awaiting his fate in the cold caverns of the cult. “He is the other half of myself. My opposite on the Spectrum. Together we form a whole, Arona. Do you understand?”

  “No,” Arona snapped, “I don’t understand. He is a male. You don’t need him.”

  Valica raised her hand, quickly demanding attention. “There is no point in argument. Kalena must go back with the Key. She has no choice. We have known this time was coming and now it is upon us. There is no way to avoid the confrontation of the Keys. These events were set in motion eons ago and cannot be halted.”

  “But all the legends state that the Keys must not be brought together!” one of the other women protested.

  Valica shook her head. “No, the legends state that it is very dangerous to bring them together, not that such an event must not happen at all. The ancient manuscripts claim that certain people may control the Keys. Bestina was convinced and I am equally sure that Kalena is a woman who can handle the Light Key. Perhaps this man Ridge is the one meant to handle the Dark Key.”

  “What will happen if we don’t allow Kalena to return to the caves with the Light Key?” Arona challenged.

  Valica looked at her sadly. “Then the Darkness that has been growing gradually around us will continue to grow until it begins to reach beyond the mountains. Soon it will touch the small villages and towns of our land. Ultimately, it will have to be stopped. Better to do it now, before it has gained too much strength. Balance must be reestablished or there will be worse to come in the future.”

  All the women were silent then. Further argument was out of the question and they all knew it. Kalena ran a hand through her thick, windblown curls, sweeping back some of the hair that had fallen forward. She felt obliged to be honest about the whole business that lay before her.

  “I think I should tell you, Valica, that I didn’t come here to save your mountains, the land beyond or even a village or two. Surely I would know if I had been fated for that kind of destiny. I’m quite sure I’m not the one you’ve been waiting for all these years. I hate to say it, but I’m afraid there’s been some sort of mistake. But if I can handle the Key, I will take it back with me to the caves because that seems to be the only way I can free Ridge.”

  Valica’s expression was wise and gentle. “Your reasons are not important, Kalena. The fact that you are here is all that matters.” She got to her feet. “But right now you need rest. We will leave you for a few hours. Use the time to renew your strength. You will need it.”

  The other women rose to follow Valica out of the cottage. Kalena watched them go, wanting to argue that she should do whatever had to be done as soon as possible. But she kept quiet, knowing Valica was right. Kalena could feel the exhaustion deep in her bones. T
rying to make her way back to the caves in the dark would be too dangerous. She might as well rest until dawn.

  It seemed that the cottage door had no sooner closed on the last of the women than Kalena found herself too drowsy even to think about what lay ahead of her. She stretched out on the pallet without bothering to undress. Closing her eyes, she wondered vaguely if there might have been some Healer’s sleeping potion in the food. Sleep came quickly, bringing no dreams.

  Kalena awoke shortly before dawn, deeply refreshed. She lay still for a moment, gazing at the darkened sky outside the window. For some reason, one of Olara’s teachings drifted through her mind.

  All darkness, whether that of night or that of the black mist used by the Cult of the Eclipse, belonged to the shadowed end of the Spectrum. Darkness in and of itself was neither good nor bad; it was simply at the opposite end of the Spectrum from that which was light. But extremes at either end of the Spectrum became dangerous. They needed to be balanced. It was the function of light to balance dark, just as it was the role of the feminine to balance the masculine.

  Kalena understood that actions, elements or people which originated at the farthest ends of the Spectrum were potentially more dangerous than those that came from some point in the middle because it took more power to balance them. It would take a great deal to counter the black mist, for example. The energy released in doing so could be very dangerous.

  Kalena didn’t want to contemplate how much energy might be discharged in any attempt to force the Dark Key and the Light Key together.

  She sat up on the edge of the pallet just as a knock sounded on the cottage door.

  “You are welcome,” she called softly.

  The door opened to reveal Arona standing on the threshold. She carried a lamp in her right hand. “I wish you good morning, my friend.”

  Kalena smiled. “Thank you. You didn’t by any chance bring some food, did you? I seem to be ravenous this morning.”

  Arona’s beautiful dark eyes were full of regret. She came forward, set down the lamp and seated herself on the pallet beside Kalena. “I’m sorry, Kalena. Valica says you are not to eat until later. There are things that must be done first.”