“Yes.”
Arling took the water and drank it down, suddenly desperate to cool her throat. She hated what was happening, what this woman was doing to her, but she couldn’t make herself stop responding.
Edinja sat down again on the side of the bed. “Now tell me what was in your pack that you don’t have with you anymore.”
Arling fought to keep from giving the answer. “I don’t have a pack.”
“Yes, I know. You lost it or left it behind or whatever. What was in it?”
“Nothing.”
Edinja was momentarily confused, but only momentarily. “Never mind the pack. What were you carrying that matters so much to you?”
Now Arling had no choice. The words came unbidden. “A seed from the Ellcrys tree.”
Edinja stared. “How did you come by such a seed? Why would you have something like that in your possession?”
“The seed was given to me by the tree.”
“For what purpose?” Suspicion reflected in Edinja’s eyes now. “Why would the tree give you its seed?”
Arling hiccuped when she tried to change the answer she was compelled to give. She was suddenly having trouble completing her sentences, the result, she assumed, of her efforts not to say anything. “The Forbidding is failing and the demons imprisoned … are breaking free. The Ellcrys … must be renewed by the magic of the Bloodfire. I have been chosen … to make this happen.”
A long silence followed. Edinja looked away and then back again. “How did this happen?”
Arling didn’t know what to say, the words catching in her throat. Edina reached out and slapped her hard across the face. Arling jerked away. “The tree is dying! She must … renew.”
The sorceress rose and stalked about the room for a time, stopping once to pull back the curtains and peer out the window. “What happens if the seed does not reach this Bloodfire you speak about? What happens if the tree dies?”
Arling had lowered her head in shock from the slap, her eyes filled with tears. “Then the creatures of Faerie … imprisoned there … come back out into the Four Lands.”
“They would kill us all if that happened, wouldn’t they?” Edinja murmured, mostly to herself. “Can the Druids stop this from happening?”
“No.”
“Only this seed you carry can stop it?
“Yes.”
“Except you’re not carrying the seed anymore, are you? Where is it?”
Arling shook her head. “I don’t know. I had it … before the crash. Now it’s gone. I thought … you took it.”
Edinja turned away. “Someone took it. That much is true.” She walked away again, then turned around slowly. “Let’s consider your sister’s situation. If she’s alive, what will she do once she finds you missing?”
Arling squeezed her eyes shut as she gave her answer. “She will come looking … for me.”
“Exactly what I thought. She will come looking for you. A smart young woman with Druid skills and magic. She will figure out where you are and come to Arishaig to rescue you. From me.” She laughed. “Won’t that be convenient?”
Arling lurched up on one elbow, fighting to hold on to the words she wanted to speak. “Don’t hurt … her. Don’t.”
Edinja walked over and pushed her back down again. “You should be worried about yourself instead of your sister. You should be worried about what might happen to you.”
“If anything happens … to me, the Ellcrys … dies.”
Edinja made a dismissive gesture but said nothing. Arling swallowed hard. “Doesn’t the captain … or any of those … who brought me here know what happened … to the seed? Or to my sister?”
“Perhaps.” The sorceress pursed her lips as if considering. “They said nothing of it to me, but they might be hiding something. Frightened men often do that. Should we go and find out? At least you could be doing something useful while we wait for your sister to appear. I think you can handle doing this much to help move things along, don’t you?”
She hauled Arling out of bed by sheer force, bundled her into a robe, and put slippers on her feet. She was strong for someone so slight and managed the task easily. With her arms locked about the girl, she guided her from the room and down the hallway to where a panel in the wall concealed a massive iron door that opened into the interior of the building. A stone stairway spiraled downward into darkness and disappeared into a pool of impenetrable gloom.
Edinja gave Arling a friendly squeeze, as if they were close friends off on an adventure. “I don’t think you’re ready to attempt such a dangerous descent without help, let alone make the long climb up again after we’re done. I’ll have you carried.”
She reached into a niche beside the doorway and produced a small bell. Holding it out over the stairwell, she rang it three times. Then she returned the bell to the niche. Together the sorceress and the girl stood waiting.