A/N Between the last chapter and this one, six years have passed. Now, on with the story!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lirael flexed her golden hand as she studied the carnage. There had been an attempt on the king's life the previous night, one that had nearly succeeded. Touchstone still lived, but with a gash in his side and the palace in shambles. Ancient tapestries had been torn, priceless artifacts shattered in the ensuing chaos.
Worse yet, the Queen was away. She'd flown to Gardil the previous day to quell an invasion of Dead. As of now, she did not even know of the attack. A message hawk was at that very moment being sent on its flight. But in the floors below the mews, there was still much to be done.
Lirael cast a small light, the soft yellow glow illuminating the room that had been left in darkness. The attackers had been Free Magic sorcerers, but none were powerful enough with their magic to do anything more than breaking a few wards and extinguishing the charter lights. After that, they had blundered around in the void of the throne room. Some tried using physical force to accomplish their goal, but only one had come close to hitting the mark. Still, the room was devastated, as she was soon reminded of.
"Mama," a small voice came from the figure tugging at her surcoat. "This is worse than my room! does the King always live like this?"
The tiniest of grins came to her lips. Nick and she had married shortly after the incident in the Library, and now had a son, Katrel. At four years old, he was already showing signs of becoming a great charter mage. He also spoke up more than either of his parents. Before long, Lirael knew, Katrel would be walking into Death by her side. But that would be at least a year away yet,and for the present there was a throne room to restore.
Preparing a spell to begin the cleaning, Lirael looked down to an expectant face. She had thought the question rhetorical, but it looked as if the child truly wanted an answer. She broke into a true smile at the look on his face and informed him that, no, the king did not usually live in quite such a state of chaos. Her son satisfied, she continued her cleaning spree.
Halfway through the job, Nicholas joined her. Over the years, he had read his way through several volumes of Charter marks and their uses. He was now easily as good a mage as Lirael, possibly better, though she had yet to test his full abilities. Together, they finished the job in less than half the time Lirael had expected. When they looked back to find Katrel, they discovered that, as usual, he had run off somewhere on his own.
"I'll check this floor if you'll get the next," Nick offered.
†††
Katrel,on the other hand, had absolutely no intention of being found. Determined to hide from his parents for at least an hour at least an hour he had persevered the long climb to the top of one of the palace's towers, this was far from the first time Katrel had hidden him self from the rest of the world. He had found that he could imagine great places, and if he tried hard enough, actually go there. But to do this he needed complete silence. The slightest human sound could call him back to where his actual body was just right for such a purpose.
Today's adventure would be based in a place his parents were always talking about. His mom had described it as just a big, gray, dangerous place, but he was sure he could find something fun to do there. With all his mind, Katrel imagined being surrounded in gray light. he pushed forward, trying to enter what looked so clear before his eyes. A chill air hit his neck, and he flinched back instinctively. He tried again, this time taking the cold in stride, he shivered, but emerged into Death. No sooner had he taken a step away from the border than the river caught him in its trick-some current, and washed the boy downstream.
Katrel did the only thing he could think of. He screamed. Near the first gate, someone heard that cry. At first she though it was the scream of an unsuspecting woman murdered by someone she had known. But as the source of the clamor grew nearer, she recognized the voice of a young boy. Very young, she thought. Likely to have died falling out of his first climbing tree. Just when the small spirit was tipping over the edge of the waterfall, she swooped an am down and caught it by the shoulder. The child, for so it was, tried to stand, faltered, then gained his balance.
"Thank you... um, Who are you?" Katrel questioned innocently. He figured she must be a friend of his mother's, for she wore the same sort of bells.
"You may call me Millane," she replied. "If you like, I shall take you to were you belong, so long as you do me a favor in return."
By now, Katrel was terrified of the place he had forced himself into, and was willing to do just about anything to get back. He slowly nodded his assent.
"Good. I shall take you to the border, then tell you the job." Millane walked upstream, or at least what appeared to be upstream, tightly gripping the boy's arm. This was no ordinary boy. She had felt the yet undiscovered power within him the moment her spirit had first touched his. That power would not remain so for long, at least if she were to have a word in it.
As they reached the border Millane shot the boy an appraising glance. He was so young. Surely my plans can wait just a little longer, long enough for him to gain some slight experience in the world. Yes, the final parts of my plan can wait but the seeds must be sown now. I will not have such an opportunity again. She bent down, careful not to lose her footing. "Now then, for the favor.…"
In the palace, Sam entered his old tower workshop. The door creaked, and in Death Saraneth rang. Katrel's spirit sprang back into its physical form. He stood up, shaking himself to throw off the ice on his clothing. He realized with a start that someone else was in the room. He just couldn't let his parents find him! At least not before he was properly thawed out, anyways. Katrel spun around, searching for a place to hide himself. The wall behind him was covered in drawers, and there was a cabinet before him. The footsteps came ever closer.… Katrel picked a large drawer at the bottom of the wall and jumped in, shutting it as best he could. That still left a thin strip of light to see by, but it was not enough to make out the other items stored in the drawer.
Try as he might, Katrel was still freezing, and could not control his shaking. The drawer, and, it seemed, the whole wall rattled along with his bones. Still closer came the intruder. Katrel knew he had only seconds before discovery.… The drawer opened, and he peered up at his much older cousin.
Sam straightened and gave a hearty laugh. "You know your parents are looking for you, right?"
Katrel replied with one of his infamous smiles. They could get him out of any trouble his other features could get him into. His parents were probably worried he had gotten into something he shouldn't have...again. "Suppose I'd better go let them find me then!" he called, skipping down the stairs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N Finally! Katrel gets to show up! Now the story truly begins.… In any case, I have one quick question for you: What is Ellimere's pet peeve? Whatever answer I can get to fit into the situation best will be used in the next chapter. It would seem that the ever-feared writer's block chose me as its next victim, and I couldn't decide what would bug her most if my life depended on it. So, reply away, and if you can slip a review in with it, all the better. Next update should be posted 2-3 days after I get an idea, whether by review or otherwise...