“The queen was so cruel and nervous before she rode out, worse than ever, pacing, shouting orders. She was still here when the dying prince recovered. When he ran away she had the whole palace upside down.”
“He recovered? Tell me.”
“He began to eat. I took his food up sometimes; he was actually hungry. His color came back almost overnight. Though he didn’t talk much. But then soon he was out of bed riding beside the queen. He was weak of course, clumsy in the saddle, but far from dying. Siddonie took him everywhere; soon all Affandar knew he’d recovered.
“But two weeks ago he disappeared. The queen was in a rage. She called the seneschals into her chambers, questioned everyone in the palace. She sent every seneschal and half the guard to search for him.”
“He just disappeared? What happened?”
Terlis’ eyes widened with delight. “A cat, Melissa. I saw a cat hiding in the gardens. The queen would have caged it if she knew. A fine big cat, all golden, and I know it was more than cat, too.” Terlis grinned. “After the prince vanished I didn’t see the cat anymore.” She looked at Melissa strangely, and touched her cheek.
“Then soon afterward the Harpy came. She’d been a long time gathering folk to join the rebels. There are none that can fly except her. Except the lizards, but they belong to the queen.”
“The Griffon can fly.”
“The Harpy was afraid to release him; she is afraid of him. She said he might do anything. You can hear him roaring in his cage. All the Hell Beasts are nervous and screaming.”
“The Griffon is not a Hell Beast.”
Terlis only looked at her. “Rumor is that the selkies have all disappeared from the rivers, that an elven man saw dozens of selkies fleeing toward the eastern mountains.”
Melissa gripped Terlis’ shoulders. “Tell me exactly where the fighting is. Tell me everything you know.”
“The Harpy left a long message. I helped her strip the beds, and she talked all the while. She made me repeat it to be sure I remembered.”
“She stripped the beds? In the palace? Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know. She took all the bed sheets, every sheet in the palace, clean or soiled.
“The queen has told her armies the rebels mean to enslave the Netherworld. She tells them the rebels plan to take all the land. She has made her troops afraid of being enslaved by the rebels so they will fight more fiercely. The Harpy says that at the front lines the rebel troops are caught by the queen’s spells, that they sicken with fever and are torn by thirst. Even where the streams run cold, they often cannot touch water. Her magic drives them back as if by a wall.”
Terlis shook her head. “Canteens containing water go dry, and the Harpy says Siddonie has laid rotting-spells to tear the rebels’ clothes from them. Naked, they are the more vulnerable to every blade, and they are cold and demoralized.”
“Has Siddonie spell-cast all our forces?”
“She puts her spells only on the ones that draw near the front lines of battle. The Harpy thinks she hasn’t enough power to hold spells upon all the attacking troops.”
“Is there anyone left in the villages?”
“Only a few old men and women, and the smallest children. The villages have little to eat—Siddonie has destroyed everything.”
“Where is the fighting?”
“In Ferrathil now, but moving toward Cressteane. Siddonie means to cause the Catswold troops from Zzadarray to fight beside her. The Harpy said to tell you that.”
“How did the Harpy know I would come? Of course, her mirror. But—”
“The Harpy said to tell you this: You are Timorell’s daughter. You have found what you needed to find. Now use it.” Terlis looked at her, shivering.
Melissa said, “You must go back to the gardens and keep Briccha occupied. The horse will still be here when I’m gone. You can put him in the pasture.”
At Terlis’ puzzled look she turned and headed for the dungeons.
Chapter 63
Braden tore at the wall with his hands, smashed his shoulder against it, threw all his weight against it. It refused to move. She had opened it; her words had opened it. He had seen the wall swing inward, had seen her go through. The solid stone wall had slammed in his face, had hit him in the face, scraping his jaw and arm, bruising his hands. For an instant he had seen into the tunnel, had smelled the damp, raw earth. In the light that Melissa had made he had seen the walls of the tunnel leading down deeper into the earth. Then the wall had shut her away.
He fought the wall, battering at it and swearing, then he grabbed the ladder and ran at it, rammed the ladder’s end against the stone with such force that he broke the heavy side bar and the first two rungs. He flung it down, knowing coldly that only by magic could the wall be moved though he did not believe in magic.
Hadn’t believed in it.
