By noon of the following day the mage and the sorceress returned to the spot where they had met yesterday. The path was still there, hardly visible even near the road. Farther into the woods it got lost completely among webby ferns and high grass.
With Cregennan in the lead of their procession, Lara followed him step by step while gazing at his back. One would think she was under a spell - so mesmerized and content she looked.
- You know what, - he said as he grinned, - now we are not just sentinels of some strange alliance but makers of a new world order as well.
Lara smiled.
- You make it sound like it's something illegal. It's exciting and all but makes me shudder somewhere deep inside.
- You're a pessimist? Ah, come on, we live in an interesting time. Just think about it. Would you now want to while away the hours in your - what's its name? - Tar Na...
- Tir Na Lia.
- Exactly! I mean, what was your life like without me?
Lara was about to correct him, to say that her life had not been boring, that she had seen a lot of worlds, had had the honour of travelling with Azkarat himself. It was a full life. Besides she was not alone. She had a family. And she had Crevan.
However, at that point she realized that in actual fact Cregennan was right. The truth was that all the Spheres she had visited, all the weird creatures she had encountered did not seem to matter a thing now. She could remember the past but dimly, as if through a semitransparent curtain or a reflection in a false mirror. It was like a gigantic canvas, all faded and dull. With every step she made the past was literally letting Lara go.
- I've never spent a single night in the village, - Cregennan went on. - There was no one to keep me company. I'm hoping that tonight you'll relieve the monotony of my life.
The path widened, giving space for two. Lara snatched at a chance to appreciate the mage's chiseled side-face.
- I need to let my father know that I'm not planning to return, - she touched upon a sensitive subject.
Cregennan pursed his lips.
- I wouldn't want you to let him know in person.
- What's your proposition?
- Write him a letter, - he tried to turn it into a joke.
Lara slightly winced.
- Who will be the messenger?
- Oh, you could ask someone of your own kind. Let them have a short vacation in Tir Na Lia. Or you could have a unicorn do the job. Tie a note to the horn.
Lara giggled and smiled sadly.
- Not such bad ideas. It's what a coward would do. We are not criminals to hide or send messengers. I myself will tell Auberon. There's a slight chance that he will understand.
- Let us hope. But besides your father, there's still someone else who would not let you go easily.
There was someone else indeed who, surprisingly, had already stuck in her craw. Someone the very memory of whom aroused a bitter sense of guilt in Lara's heart. Someone of whom she had been so fond of a short while ago. Someone whom she hated now, not because he could hurt her but because she was going to hurt him. Now she could not understand where in his face she had used to see so much charm. She could only visualize his unforgiving and cold cerulean eyes that would execute her for her betrayal.
Cregennan snapped her out of her trance.
- Does he love you?
- I believe so. Very eager to serve his people in various ways...
- You think, he's going to be very broken-hearted?
- Undoubtedly.
- He's the rancorous type?
- Unlikely.
- What makes you think so? - asked the mage lifting his brows.
- Hm. He's much younger than myself. Even younger than you, I guess. An aspiring Aen Saevherne. So far he lacks tools for revenge.
- Nothing to worry about then, - he said with a sigh of relief.
- That's not the point.
- And what is?
- I just don't rejoice in breaking anyone's heart.
All of a sudden the mage seemed to have lost all his patience.
- If so, you are welcome to rejoin him. Let's pretend that nothing happened between us and you two can have your super elven baby.
Lara stretched her hand and touched his chin to make him face her, shut his mouth with a kiss.
After about an hour the woods gave way to a vast clearing with a few dozen newly built houses. Amidst the village Lara saw a spot for a bonfire fenced by a circle of large boulders. Nearby she noticed two young she-elves talking to a dh'oine man. They were standing so close to one another, the females taller than the males. Such an uncommon sight, such unbelievable proximity. They too noticed the sorceress and it was impossible to tell who was astonished more.
- Lara Dorren aep Shiadal, - pausing upon each word said one of the she-elves once she regained the ability to speak.
Lara couldn't tell which of the two feelings expressed on her face was dominant - worry or hope.
- I know you. I've seen a picture of you in Loc'atal'. You're Cersa.
- I am, - the she-elf nodded.
The rest of the she-elves and dh'oine peeped outside and left their houses, curious what was going on. Cregennan stepped forward to reassure the villagers.
- No need to worry, - he said. - We've gained support of a strong ally.
No vacant house was available, so Cersa and her man squeezed up a little to make room for the mages.
Lara was sitting on a bed, wondering how it could have happened that in her entire life, including that period that she had been coupled with Crevan, she had taken so little interest in the attention from the opposite sex. And the last two days that new interest of hers had grown immensely, distracting Lara from everything else.
"Where is he?" - she thought, biting her lip impatiently. "I couldn't wait much longer."
At last the mage returned and interrupted her musings.
In the next room behind a thin wall was the she-elf Cersa. She was now certain that Lara Dorren aep Shiadal was their ally indeed.