Into the Land of Valentia

Chapter the Twenty-Sixth

XXVI

Just when Vivica felt as though she couldn't bear the darkness any longer, Narick froze. She hear the sound of his hands scrapping against the ceiling of the passageway before he propped open a trapdoor above their heads. Light filtered down through the narrow gap. She had to blink against the sudden brightness. 

As her eyes adjusted, she recognized the arched beams crossing the ceiling of the castle's stable. Something brushed against her cheek and fell onto her shoulder. She picked the golden piece of straw off her clothing and let it drop to the floor.

"Where did you say the ingredients were?" Narick was already on the floor of the stable. He scanned the corridor before returning his attention to her.

"Tansy's saddlebags. I didn't see where the guards put her before they brought me to the physician." Vivica searched for a way to reach the trapdoor. She could barely brush the wooden edges with her fingertips when standing on tiptoe. 

Noticing her distress, Narick made a gesture towards her back. "There is a step you can boost yourself up from. Search it out along the wall with the toe of your boot."

Following his instructions, Vivica pushed herself up and grasped the edge. Crouching down, Narick grabbed her wrists and heaved her onto the stable floor. 

"Now." He returned his attention to the stalls. "Surely Tansy is in one of these." 

Vivica gave her skirts an annoyed tug as she got to her feet. "Garrett? Are you here?"

It took her a moment to notice the stallion's head hanging over one of the stall doors. The stallion weaved his head to and fro, tipping his muzzle up and away from himself. Confused by his motions, Vivica approached cautiously. She scanned the inside of the stall before speaking. The boxed frame was empty apart from her mount. Hay was strewn on the floor, and a metal bucket was half-filled with water. 

"Where's Tansy?" she asked. All of the stalls she had passed had been empty. 

Garrett snorted loudly. "The guards untacked her, then took her back out. They left her saddlebags here." 

Vivica realized that Garrett had been pointing his muzzle towards a hook on the other side of the corridor. The saddlebags were there, half-hidden behind a wooden beam. Before she could move, Narick began rooting through the bags. 

"Is this the fairy blood?" Narick held up the strip of shirt Cayden had used to soak up Rull's blood. Once red, the blood had faded to an unusual violet hue. Vivica hoped that would not affect the blood's potency, or the cure.

"Yes." 

"My canteen still has water from the River Silver. I assume this has some as well?" Narick held up Cayden's canteen. 

Vivica nodded. 

"Then we will have ample. My canteen is with the magus, as is the faesian flower. We'll need only to bring the fairy blood and a strand of Garrett's mane." Extracting a silvery hair from the bottom of the saddlebag, Narick said, "Let's not waste anymore time." He headed back towards the passageway.

Vivica took a moment, resting her hand on Garrett's muzzle. "Almost there," she said, hardly daring to believe the words even as she spoke them. With so much still hovering in the balance, it seemed impossible that she was at the final stop of the quest. 

Garrett pressed his nose up into her palm. His soft brown eyes spoke reassurances that his next words did not. "What of Cayden? Did you see how he fared?" 

Withdrawing her hand, Vivica said, "He's alive. It's all I know now." She couldn't bear Garrett's comfort any longer. "I'll . . . see you soon." 

Garrett nodded and Vivica took off after Narick. Retracing their steps through the passageway started out quickly. They had the ingredients. Now it was a simply a matter of assembling them.