Maleficent

Chapter Seven

"Fera ventis, audi nos causa, arguere caeli et agitabit in ligno." A dark cloud forms above us. "Omnia nostra ingrediatur laus cantici saevos fata mali." We chant this savage song over and over again, each time slightly louder. Lightning strikes the ground in the middle of our circle but we do not release each other's hands, nor do our voices falter. Once the storm becomes large enough to survive on its own, most of the spellcasters leave, and the priestess ties the knot of our magic so we may rest. All over the valley, others will be doing the same, Wynn included.

"Come on, Maeve," Lillian tells me, and beacons for me to join the throng of retreating spellcasters. I shake my head and she sighs, but does not push -she expected my response- and heads back into the mountain, once again brightly lit.

Once everyone is gone, I lift my arms and smile as the wind rushes past me and lightning crackles at my fingertips. When it is just me, at the top of the mountain in a storm of my own making, I am free from the pressure of my world and the expectations of my family. Anyone with any sense in their head is inside right now, and I am the only one here. Suddenly, I pick up a faint noise that sounds like a horse in distress. I thought that they were all inside! Sighing, I call to Cassia and she comes diving out of the storm clouds. I climb onto her as she spreads her wings and leaps off the cliff. The rain makes it hard to see so I follow my ears, guiding her with the gentlest of touches. The horse gets louder, and we plummet to the forest floor to find a terrifying scene. A horse has become spooked and become entangled in a tree, the rider -a young male- lying motionless on the ground. Sliding off Cassia's wet back, I run over to the horse and murmur to it softly, trying to calm it down. Everything I try doesn't work, so I reach out with my power and send it into an almost trance-like state.

"Good," I say out loud to myself. "Now for the rider." Struggling, I turn him over to see a large gash on his temple. The blood has already soaked the ground around him, and my leathers are soon stained red as I lift him onto his horse and slowly lead it back to the mountain, towards the help I know they will give. Cassia follows me, a silent presence by my side, lending me strength.

I don't know how long we are walking, but I am cold to my very bones and my hair no longer floats around my head, weighted down by the rain when he stirs. "You're going to be fine," I tell him. "We're nearly there." I don't even know if he can hear me. The blood continues to flow -slower than before but still flowing- and suddenly, my ears pick up his fading heartbeat. I need to hurry up. The ba-dum,-ba-dum of his heart echoes through my head and all other sounds fade to nothing. Right now, the only thought in my head is that I need to get this male to safety.

The rain starts to let up when Cassia and I reach the mountain, and the warm glow and sounds of laughter beckon to me, calling me in. Motioning to Cassia to leave, I bang on the iron gates on the ground level and shout out to the guard on duty. "Let me in!" I cry. "Someone has been injured!" At that, the gates swing open and the north winds, eager to sweep in, struggle against the wards. A silent female wrapped in a cloak hurries out to meet me as the other guard leaves to find a healer. Together, we carry the male inside towards the infirmary. As we lay him upon the cotton sheets, the healer -Daenna, my frozen mind tells me- walks in with a bowl filled with warm water and linen strips to clean the blood from his wound. We work in silence, dabbing at his head, and a couple of minutes later Lillian hurries in.

"Maeve! Where are you hurt?" I tilt my head and stare at her until I realize that I am covered in blood. Suddenly exhausted, I am unable to do anything but shake my head heavily.

"It's not mine." I collapse into the armchair beside the bed and sigh. "The blood isn't mine." Somewhere in the tunnels, a slow, sad song begins playing, perfectly conveying my mood. Just as I start to drift off a gasp from Daenna has me whipping my head around.

"In Samla's grace!" She turns towards us, her eyes wide. "Lady, there is something you need to see." Daenna extends a shaking hand towards his hair and gently pulls it away from his head, revealing eyes -now open- that have a speck of black in the middle of crushing blue. I look up at Lillian, the question already forming on my lips, but she has gone deathly pale.

"Human." Her own eyes are as cold as death when she fixes her gaze upon me. "Maeve, you found a human."

"What?" I cry, unable to stop myself. She must be messing with me -humans cannot cross the rivers- and it is not funny! "Lillian, how can you tell?" I turn to her, and she is still very pale. Maybe it is not a joke.

"Humans have a small black dot in the middle of their eye that dulls their vision," Daenna answers for her and glares at me. "I cannot heal this trespasser! It goes against the laws that have been made to protect us all."

"Please Daenna!" I am begging her now. "You need to help him. We have an obligation as beings of this earth to assist those in need! If you do not, he will most certainly not survive the night." But my pleas fall on deaf ears, and she turns away.

"Because you have done so much for us," Lillian begins, "I will watch him until dawn while you find another healer and a place to hide him. If you are not back by then, I will not shed any tears when I pick up a knife and slit his throat." Her cool voice betrays no emotion, as expected of a tribal leader, even as I let out a breath that I did not realize I was holding. Although the threat of death still hangs over our heads, that dark cloud has been pushed upwards just long enough. Without any ceremony, I leap out of the fortress window onto my waiting horse and we head through the trees for my little cottage in a hollow.

I burst through the door, rain spraying off of me, to see my sisters talking by the fire. "Mab, Morrigan, I need your help." I pant.