Chapter 7 :: A Look in the Past
It had been several days since Sabriel and Ellimere had set off for Clayr's Glacier. It normally didn't take very long for the Paperwing to get to the Glacier; perhaps a day at most. But nearly a week had passed, and no word from them.
King Touchstone I told himself not to be worried. His wife and daughter could take care of themselves. After all, Sabriel was the Abhorsen, one of the most powerful Charter Mages in the Old Kingdom, and Ellimere was no helpless maiden herself. Nevertheless, it had been many days, and nothing. No message-hawk or anything.
Touchstone forced himself to remain calm. Two days ago he had sent out a message-hawk to Clayr's Glacier, inquiring Sabriel how things were going over there. Surely he would get a reply soon, and he would know that everything was all right.
Suddenly, a servant requested his attention. Touchstone turned, not daring to hope, and quietly said, "What is it?"
"Message-hawk for you, Your Majesty." Another servant came in, bearing the bird on his arm, and gave it to Touchstone. The two then bowed and departed, leaving the King alone with the message.
The message-hawk, once it was assured that this was who it had been sent to, revealed the reply.
"Your Majesty, King Touchstone,
We have received your message-hawk, as we had Seen we would. But there is trouble: Queen Sabriel and Princess Ellimere never arrived at the Glacier. We do not know what fate befell them, but we have a suggestion. Lirael, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, is also a Remembrancer. She has the power to look back in the past and see what happened to cause them such a delay. We apologize for being the bearers of bad news, and wish you well."
That was all there was. Touchstone stared at the hawk in disbelief, then in worriment. Sabriel and Ellimere never reached the Glacier. No doubt they were stopped along the way…but what happened? Who could have done such a thing?
Touchstone rose, and went to find Lirael, the only one who could find out.
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Lirael opened her eyes and found herself standing in the impossibly cold river in Death. The roar of the First Gate could be heard off in the distance. Lirael had come here many times before, but only twice to use the Dark Mirror and look back in the past. Luckily, she didn't need to go all the way to the Ninth Precinct to see what happened to Sabriel and Ellimere. The First Precinct would do.
Lirael got out her Dark Mirror, and stared into it, concentrating, forming the request. Show me what happened to the Abhorsen and her daughter a few days ago, on the Paperwing, headed to Clayr's Glacier.
Soon, an image formed. Lirael watched closely, but with one eye in Death in case an intrusion came, and the other focusing on the scene played out in the Mirror. She viewed how Sabriel was forced to land because of the Gore Crows, how she valiantly tried to defend Ellimere from the vast amounts of Dead, the capture of Ellimere, and Sabriel's defeated surrender. Lirael was able to get a good look at the antagonists who committed such a terrible crime. One was a woman who Lirael could tell was a necromancer, from the bell-bandolier she wore. And the other was a face, a bronze mask she knew so well…a face she thought she had seen the last of a few years ago, when Chlorr of the Mask fled Ancelstierre. Immediately her blood ran cold: Chlorr was back, and now she had the Abhorsen in her power. Who knew what horrific crimes she could perform now?
Lirael tore her gaze away from the Dark Mirror, having seen enough. She turned against the current of the river, forcing her way back into the warmth of Life. Now she knew who she was up against.
Of all the criminals of the world, it had to be Chlorr, she thought, dismayed. It had to be her. It couldn't just be the work of a single necromancer…Chlorr had to have some part in it as well. Curse the luck.
She vividly remembered her first battle against the Greater Dead creature. How Sam had nearly died at the hands of Chlorr…how only the Disreputable Dog had saved him…how Chlorr and her Dead had murdered an entire village of innocent people. Lirael had been too late then. Would she be too late now? Could she save Sabriel and Ellimere?
She came back to her frost-encrusted body, and found apprehensive faces watching her. She sighed, shook off the rest of the frost, and sat down, her head in her hands. As if things couldn't get any worse…
"Lirael?" asked Sam, his voice full of concern and nervousness. "Lirael, what's wrong?"
She didn't look up when she answered flatly. "It's her, Sam. Chlorr of the Mask. She kidnapped Sabriel and Ellimere."
She heard a sharp intake of breath, and looked up finally. Sam looked stricken, Nick confused, and Touchstone was livid. Lirael, looking at the King, suddenly felt a pang of fear; Touchstone looked practically murderous. But the moment passed, and he was calm again, though Lirael knew he was still enraged.
"Who is this, ah…Chlorr of the Mask?" asked Nick.
It was Sam who replied. "She worked for Hedge, Nick. A Greater Dead creature. I thought we were rid of her for good…"
"No, Sam," said Touchstone, his voice shockingly placid. Lirael knew he was restraining the almost uncontrollable anger inside him, and shivered. Only a fool would mess with the King. "One thing I've learned about the Greater Dead is that unless they're sent beyond the Ninth Gate, they're not gone. They always find a way to come back." He was thinking of his half-brother Kerrigor, and the events that took place over twenty years ago. It was true that Kerrigor was not dead, merely bound, and that made Touchstone uneasy whenever he thought about it. But Kerrigor was as good as dead, forever sleeping under the influence of the smallest bell, Ranna.
"Now what?" Nick asked quietly, speaking the question on everyone's mind.
Lirael knew what she had to do. "I have to go after them." She stood.
Sam stood with her. "Not without me!"
"No, Sam." Lirael had never heard Touchstone's tone so final, so harsh. He was looking at his son with a hard gaze. "Sameth, you will stay. I'll not lose my only other relative to that witch."
Sam looked defiant for a moment, like he was ready to go no matter what his father said. But he deflated, and said morosely, "Yes, Dad. I'll stay. But Dad—what about Lirael? She can't go alone."
"I will not endanger any one else's life," Lirael said automatically, although she felt unsure. She didn't like the idea of going out alone to save Sabriel and Ellimere from a formidable Greater Dead creature—but, she knew, the nature of being an Abhorsen is to be alone.
"I'll go with her," declared Nick so suddenly that everyone in the room stared at him.
Lirael had mixed emotions. "Nick, are you sure? I don't want to put your life at risk. I'll be facing the Dead, and many of them."
"It's no walk in the park," put in Sam.
Nick nodded. "I know. But, according to you, Sam, I've gotten really good at controlling fire. And Lirael can't fight off all the Dead by herself."
"But…" Lirael protested weakly. "If you—if something happens to you, Nick…"
"It'll be my responsibility," he said cheerfully. "I volunteered, after all."
"Nick, ol' buddy…" Sam said, forcing a smile.
Nick clapped his friend on the shoulder. "I'll be all right, Sam. I know more about the Old Kingdom than I used to."
"Yeah," agreed Sam feebly.
Touchstone, meanwhile, was watching Nick with a new kind of respect. A young man from Ancelstierre, plunged involuntarily into the world of the Charter, the Dead, and Free Magic, had grown much in the past few years. Touchstone saw a little bit of himself in Nick, and approved. "Then you shall both set off tomorrow," he said softly. "I'll give you all the supplies you need. I don't like it, sending two more off into the unknown, but…Charter be with you," he finished quietly, but forcefully.
Sam echoed his father, and added to Nick, "Flame a Dead Hand for me."
Nick smiled. "Will do, ol' chap," he said brightly, with unfailing optimism.
Lirael also nodded distractedly, her mind elsewhere. She would have to face Chlorr of the Mask again…but this time, she felt certain, this time…she wouldn't let Chlorr fly away. This time, she would send Chlorr to see the stars on the Ninth Gate, and then make her walk beyond it.