The Scourge of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood #3)

A fresh breeze brought the telltale musk of seawater. Lia looked up, inhaling the smell. She withdrew the orb again and summoned its power, asking it to find her shelter where she might sleep safely until dawn. She needed a cave, a warren, fallen tree – something that would hide her from sight and allow her a chance to rest before searching for a ship at Doviur. The orb responded to her need, the spindles pointing clearly towards the seashore.

Lia followed the trail it offered, weaving through the last vestiges of forest until it opened into a sweeping range of lush hills. In the distance, she could hear the foam and churning of the surf as the ocean collided with it. The sky was ablaze with myriads of stars and a moon as bright as a torch. The air was cooler and she tugged her cloak around her throat to fend off the chill. She descended the hill, seeing the flat slate of sea in the distance, the moonlight rippling off the crests. The land pitched down lower and she slowed her walk, glancing at the orb to guide her to a safe path. The hill ended abruptly, revealing a jagged cliff down to the thrashing surf below. The orb guided her to a small, steep path down the edge of the rocks. There was enough light to see, but her heart spasmed with worry and she moved stealthily down the edge. The cliffs were made of chalk and flint and crushed easily against her hand and boots. Noises from the ocean echoed off the slabs of stone, filling her with the apprehension of falling. Partway down the hillside, she noticed the giant maw of a cave – black against the silvery cliff. She stumbled slightly in the wet grass and went down but skidded to a halt, her heart thudding in her throat. Carefully she scooted down the hillside towards the exposed cave. The Cruciger orb affirmed it was her destination. The ocean reached the mouth of it on one side, rushing in, swirling, slinking back. A large moss-covered boulder was mired in the thick grassy growth higher up. It was singular seeing the massive boulder there, apart from the cave, apart from the rock. As she approached, she felt the Medium emanating from it and realized, with fascination, that there was a Leering carved into the rock, hidden by the moss.

The ground leveled out in front of her and she approached the hidden glen quickly. The boulder was taller than her, rounded on one side and flat on the other. Cautiously, she lifted her hand and touched it. To her relief, it was pure – untainted by the Blight. In her mind, through her Gift of Seering, she could see other mastons who had used the cave for shelter. The Leering had been there for hundreds of years, protecting the entrance to the cave which water had hollowed out. Using her thoughts and will, she activated the Leering’s protection and set it to guard the entrance by frightening away anyone who wandered nearby. In her blood, she felt the Medium churn awake and the cave emptied of seawater. The Leering repelled the salty water as it did intruders and she noticed the entrance dry out. The waves crashed further away, against the cliffside instead of at the breach. She was grateful to the Leering and thanked it in her mind before stepping off the grassy hill and into the sand and pebbles of the wash.

Using the orb for light, she entered the cave and found a spot of dry sand where she stretched out after removing her rucksack and bow and settled down with her cloak as a blanket. She set the orb in the sand and summoned fire into it, using its glowing surface to warm her hands and body. Weariness engulfed her and she lay her head down, banishing the light from the orb with a thought and felt the darkness shroud her. She could not see, not even her hands before her face, but she could hear the murmur of the sea foam. In the darkness, she thought of Colvin.

Her memories flitted this way and that, like little butterflies scattering over a well-known patch of sunny grass. The first journey was through the mist to the cave where Maderos lived, a spot where the boulders floated in the air, suspended by the Medium’s power, where she had helped him find shelter from the sheriff of Mendenhall. She remembered next crouching over his body as Almaguer’s men had kicked him and abused him. In her mind, she saw Colvin as she walked away from the fire consuming a stand of oak trees after summoning it to destroy the evil men. He had caught her and carried her to a safe place where she slept. She remembered the promise of meeting again at Whitsunday, a whispered promise that he had not fulfilled because of his duty to find and protect Ellowyn Demont. She sighed deeply, jealous of the year the two had spent together, and jealous now of the time they were together in Dahomey.