Shadows of Wychering

Chapter Twelve - Back into Wychering

Glancing up and over her left shoulder, the tip of the Sword of the Dragon Slayer brightened the night sky. The guiding star.

Her mother told her stories of the Dragon Slayer when she was a little girl needing to go to sleep. Owain the hero of old, slew the dragon, Garmoth the Red with his mighty sword, Lannar and his shield Tionac. Lannar, it was said was forged in the flames of the last dragon Owain killed for he knew nothing but a dragon-forged blade could pierce the hide of old Garmoth. Tionac had been made from the scales of the that same dragon once the sword had been forged. Owain flew up to the sky on the wings of a great blue bird none the likes have ever been seen and fought Garmoth in the heavens. His wounds great and his life ebbing he gave one final thrust with his sword, slaying the beast. He stood upon a star and raised Lannar high and died, his form ever visible from the night sky.

Ameline smiled at the old tale, hoping one day to tell it to her own children. A wildcat growled in the distance, spooking Pellar. She calmed him and rode on. The night wore on and she grew tired but it was too late to stop now. Wychering lay some miles ahead and with it Jame.

At last, as the moon rose high over the land, Wychering Wood came into view. Ameline took a deep breath and veered Pellar into the forest.

"Lochran." The forest seemed darker than she remembered and light would help. If nothing more than to keep her calm.

A tingle in her palm gave her pause. Ameline scratched at it as if it itched. The amulet at her chest warmed as well. Perhaps being closer to Jame had something to do with it. Riding onward the amulet at once cooled. Retracing her steps she went back and found it warming again. Perhaps the amulet would lead her to Jame. Could she find what Jonas Drake could not? Putting her doubt out of her mind, she must try. Try until all of her strength was gone if she must, but redeeming that night's deeds bore down upon her.

Time and time again the amulet went cold and Ameline would pick back up the trail. Her palm itched more and more. Time stood still for her in the old forest, a never-ending darkness. Led by her palm and the amulet, Ameline at last faced the Old Bull, where it all happened. As before, the knot in her throat, and panic deep in her bones, returned.

Willing her legs to move she took a step closer to the tree. Nothing happened. Another step and now she was among the weather-beaten roots close to the base. It angered her that Margrave did not believe her. That Jonas Drake and the King's Guard that came out to investigate had found no trace. Ameline let that emotion have her. Anger. Anger that she and Jame could not be together. Anger at herself for not doing more that night. It proved to be good fuel.

Ameline stepped again and was now close enough to reach out and touch the tree. She placed both hands upon the trunk of the tree. Nothing but the soft wind and the rustling of leaves disturbed the forest.

There was, as Margrave put it, no credibility to her story and as punishment, he had suspended her. Now she was breaking the rules and using magic while under suspension, but she did not care. Jame and the others needed her.

Jame, the one person she cared about more than any other in the great wide world, and he was gone. She could not give up on him just yet. Not when he invaded her dreams so. Nothing mattered now except getting to him and the others.

The pendant around her neck grew warm. She was close. She had seen the lizards appear, but out of where? Where had they come from? She walked around the tree investigating. As she walked to the south-side of the tree her pendant became hot. Closer but she did not see anything that might lead her to Jame. She turned and faced the tree. Roots above ground gnarled, and snake-like, made their way into the soil.

She felt around at the base of the tree, feeling for anything that might help. The further around the tree she went the cooler the pendant became. Making her way around the trunk to where the warmth drew her, she again looked with studious eyes, holding her light close to the old tree. Peering and feeling the bark, she found a small indentation that gave way to her forefinger. A slight movement, it could be a weak spot in the bark, but she decided to explore it. Using her thumb she pushed, it moved aside like a small doorway opening to the inside.