Page 38 of Awariye

Then as Wren sang to Earth, my breath shuddered again as I realized I had asked the lanterns for help directly before this. A chill ran over my whole body, shivering from head to toe and setting the hairs on my arms standing up as the lantern flames flickered between my fellow monk and me while we rotated around and around.

At the monastery, we studied the function of magic and its apparent behavior. Magic, we learned, tended to flow like water and seek the path of least resistance. That was why it was so important to meditate and deliberate on any magical act, because you could ask for something, but you did not get to choose how you might get it. That could put you in a world of misery if you did not foresee possible ways the world might move and shift around you.

I had asked the gods to guide me in how they would like me to sing to them and lead their power into the world. That very moment, their mage had woken from his delirium to instruct me. If that wasn't the path of least resistance, I didn't know what else could be.

Never had I received an answer to a prayer so quickly, and the almost immediate response spoke of these immense powers directly listening. Although I'd gotten what I'd asked for, it still terrified me.

Wren suggested the Orphic hymns, then that we work through the ancient Celtic ones I knew for Nature's forests and springs. I smiled and took a quick sip of tea, my throat soothed and ready to oblige. He did not have all the hymns memorized that I did, but Wren was the mage for these gods, and I would sing them to him so he could echo them back, line by line.

And we did so, through the night.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

AWARIYE

My aching back, hips, and head finally woke me. I gasped with a start as I took in the ceiling rafters. Blinking my eyes clear, I looked around, fearing I'd fainted and passed out on the floor, only to find myself somewhat pinned, and what I saw froze me solid.

Wren lay tucked against me, his wild hair in my face and snoring and drooling on my chest. We lay on a blanket...onthe table, sandwiched between the lanterns. Two columns of three, at my head, elbows, and knees, then a seventh one at a single point below my feet, representing power cascading down the planes and into the human world.

They were so close to us I dared not move. I did not remember climbing up there, spreading a blanket and lying down. Indeed, I had no recollection of last night except for rotating around the table with Wren for hours as we used our magical training to guide the power down.

Our location struck me as eerie. With a gasp, I feared for the dog, only to hold stock still listening and realize I heard two sets of snoring, so Bello must still be over on the bench sawing logs.

Poor Wren whimpered against me and twitched, sleeping fitfully. I wrapped an arm around his back, hugging him to me and smoothing his hair down with my other hand. He calmed and dropped off again, but I wanted to ask him about the fight, whether it was over. Eager to not wake him, I forced my breath out slowly so I wouldn't sob. Tears burned my eyes and my throat ached.

I was in the hands of my gods, always, but such words were much easier to say than to live their truth. And to also now be in the hands of seven unknown gods represented by these lanterns, for heaven's sake, even lying upon their altar table, frightened me and left me raw. I wanted to know that Igor was okay, that he was still alive and that he wasn't hurt. I wanted my kindhearted lover to come home so I could hold him again.

Silently I prayed for all of Ulbrecht's warriors, and for the precious Danubian king who defended our home.

Though the flames remained in their bowls, the ether of the air seemed to stretch over us, faint yellows and whites covering us as we slept, like a dancing fog. As it swept over me, I felt my tears dry and my tension ease as I dropped off.

* * *

A harsh gasp woke me, and I jumpstarted to find Sigrid shaking me awake. "Young man, what are you both doing up here? Good heavens, what if your clothing had caught fire!"

Wren groaned awake as I apologized to the old woman who ran the castle, then explained that we had tended the lanterns through the night and didn't know how we wound up on the table. Poor old Sigrid seemed genuinely alarmed, and I couldn't blame her. My skin still tingled from the etheric flow that had skittered over the both of us when I'd woken earlier in the night.

Sigrid lifted each of the bowls and placed them toward the edge of the table so we had room enough to get up without risking our clothes. "Ingeborg left in the night soon after Ulbrecht and the men did. We haven't heard from either of them, but the preparations for the welcome-home feast are ready to go as soon as we have an idea. We're all going to take a rest until then. Why don't you two get in a proper bed."

"Yes, madam," I answered.

Wren scrubbed at his eyes and murmured that he would try to get in touch with Uli through the magical phantasm he'd sent as a bird to sit on his shoulder. He massaged his temples, and I was grateful my own headache had dissipated earlier.

Bello woke and bombarded Sigrid, surely smelling the scents of cooking and baking on her clothes. Sigrid shooed him away, and the gesture was so normal after such a surreal night that I giggled despite myself.

Sigrid smiled at me, her joy contagious despite the dark circles under her eyes. Then she cocked her chin at Wren. "Is that a headache? I'll whip up some medicine and leave it in the kitchen before I go for a rest."

Wren nodded and I spoke for him. "Danke, Sigrid."

She left with the dog in tow and the room fell silent except for the occasional fizzing of one of the candles. I sat with Wren in the circle of my arms and bent legs, unable to hold back. "Can you hear Ulbrecht?"

Wren nodded and whispered, "I think so."

I grabbed the last of the tea that had gone cold. Wren drank and focused, whimpering a bit more. I held him, massaging his neck and back, keeping quiet while Wren tried to contact Ulbrecht using his gift of clairaudience, the ability to hear through the subtle planes across great distances.

"Uli's fine," Wren said in relief. "Igor too, though his shoulder needs ice and another look from the doctor. All the men are okay, but there are some injuries. They stayed longer in the town to record the damage and arrange for repairs. They'll be heading back soon."

My breath whooshed out of me, and I sighed in pure relief. "They're okay."

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