The flames were devouring the mystery that would remain after the fairies were gone. She imagined those bones, adorned with velvet and jewels, but stripped of their flesh, and thought of the talk it might provoke. The superstitious villagers were ready to gossip about anything, and here was such an accident. It turns out sometimes a fire is even good for you. Once you light a house, the flames will cleanse it of the coming of evil, and then no one will know of the drama that has unfolded in it. Rhianon was only glad it wasnt her own house or the estate of someone she knew. Such an outburst of rage would have been inappropriate there, and from here she was fleeing for good.
By the same tree Orpheus was waiting for her. He leaned carelessly against the trunk, crossed his arms across his chest, and watched apathetically as flames burst from the windows.
«Best fireworks Ive ever seen in my life,» he commented as he spotted the Mistress running down the stairs.
«You mean all eternity,» she frowned. «Oh, dont be so modest, Im sure youve seen better fireworks. There were at least the dragon raids. Dont tell me youve never seen one in your whole life.»
«Are we expecting something like that here?»
«I wont stay long here,» she was reluctant to give him the details, and she was sure he knew all too well.
«How are we leaving already?» Orpheus pretended to be amazed. «And I thought my beautiful lady would be celebrating all night. It is the death of other peoples enemies, not yours, but who cares if you can feast at other peoples expense. Besides, the enemies of friends are our enemies. You liked being friends with the fairies, by the way.»
«Dont waste your breath,» she snapped at him. «Would you steal a carriage or horses for us?»
«What is it for?» Now he really didnt understand her.
«I cant go on the muddy roads dressed like this,» Rhianon wondered how he didnt understand her at once. She could barely hold the train of her dress with her hand so it wouldnt end up in the dust.
«Ah,» Orpheus snapped his fingers at her as if he hadnt noticed just now. «Well, all right. I think Ive seen a suitable carriage here.»
IN UNEARTHLY COMPANY
The carriage did not shake at all on the desert road, and the wheels did not rattle. Orpheus turned out to be a skilled coachman as well. Rhianon already thought that all he knew how to do was steal. Though the carriage he most likely stole from the master of the house, it is unlikely he would dare touch the carriages of any of his supernatural brethren. After all, the dead lord didnt care that he was left without a carriage, and the extraordinary and overly exuberant horses in fairy cabriolets could have carried on, after all. She had to hand it to Orpheus for his ingenuity. He had chosen ordinary and unsightly, but obedient horses. Now he could steer them easily. And Rhianon could fall asleep. Inside the carriage it was dark and comfortable. Only occasional glimmers of light penetrated the window. Only it was impossible to determine their source. Where in the wilderness, where there was nothing but heath and forest thickets, could lights come from? She was beginning to fall asleep when someone gently touched her shoulder.
«Is this right? Are we going east?»
A familiar voice sounded right above her ear and brought her to her senses. Rhianon stared at Orpheus in amazement. He was here, beside her, then who was sitting on the horses. The carriage had not stopped; the horses were galloping forward, which meant that someone was directing them.
«They obey me anyway,» Orpheus said, understanding what she was thinking, «they dont need me to hold the reins.»
«And youre sure they wont have to at the turn, too?» She feared a catastrophe that would naturally have no effect on the disembodied spirit, but would have a very tangible effect on her.
«Surely,» Orpheus snapped his fingers as if to prove it, and the carriage horses took a sharp turn, dragging the carriage after them.
«Wait, we must keep to one direction,» she was not surprised by his skill and was already worried about the course.
«That is to the east,» Orpheus finished for her. «Or where is your star pointing now? Dont you want to take it out and check?»
Rhianon frowned. After the way the fairies had so deftly transformed her outfit, she was no longer sure she would find the star at all. The pendant would have been in her pocket. But the pocket itself was now gone. She felt only the folds of her ball gown.
«Look in its folds,» her spirit suggested.
Rhiannon slid her fingers through the fabric. A star seemed to slip from her sleeve.
«It is a focus,» Orpheus perked his ears happily. «How I love these little tricks. Not magic, and a little more inventive than pulling a rabbit out of a hat.»
«Shut up,» Rhianon interrupted him, not quite politely. «You are disturbing my thinking.»
«As you say, maam,» he bowed playfully, and surprisingly, even in the narrow space of the carriage, he did not bump into anything.
Rhianon regarded the star. One of its tips still remained elongated. It was pointing the same way.
«Straight ahead,» she concluded.
«And lets hope the road at least leads somewhere,» he whistled expressively.
«Dont be ironic,» she glanced at him thoughtfully. «Its better than hanging around with other peoples company again, isnt it? In the end its better than hanging around another mans company again, dont you think?»
She was well aware of his weaknesses. Orpheus immediately fell silent.
«But isnt there another strangers company youre going to seek out at the School of Witchcraft?» He asked after a pause. «Why do you need other people if you have me?»
«What do you have to do with me?» She burst into anger. «Im interested in the place. What is it like? What do they teach there? Is it really a path only for the chosen ones?»
«Yes, but it is not for people like you.»
«Are you saying Im worse than them?»
«No, youre chosen too, but not like them. Youre better than them.»
«Oh, come on. I just get burned if Im touched by people I dont like.
«What if I do?» He arched his eyebrows defiantly. «Why else would I love you so much?»
«Because no one else was stupid enough to put up with a companion as chatty as you,» she wasnt even surprised that he was suddenly confessing his love, she took it for granted that, after all, he was never serious, which meant he shouldnt be taken too seriously. «Besides, you had nothing to do in those caves, so you picked on me. Its boring to be stuck in the same place for centuries without anyone to talk to.»
«Yes, of course,» he wasnt trying to lie, «but if you werent special, I couldnt relate to you like that. Theres something inside you. It fascinates us all. I mean all magical people.»
«It is the flame,» she prompted him. It was the only thing inside her.
«I dont know,» he looked at her seriously for the first time.
Rhianon looked away. She tried to comprehend what had just happened to her.
Theyd tried to keep her in someone elses house for a masquerade party, and shed ignited everything there. And who was there? Masks, just masks, and she thought they were real demons. They flew out of the fire to talk her into staying with them. She wanted to forget it. Rhianon began to watch the glitter of the gold star in her palm. It calmed her. Even though she had seen this very pendant around the condemned mans neck, it did not make her fearful. The gold warmed her hand pleasantly, and sometimes it was cold. The pendant seemed to have a way of cooling or warming itself, regardless of the ambient temperature or someone elses touch.
«Shut up,» Rhianon interrupted him, not quite politely. «You are disturbing my thinking.»
«As you say, maam,» he bowed playfully, and surprisingly, even in the narrow space of the carriage, he did not bump into anything.
Rhianon regarded the star. One of its tips still remained elongated. It was pointing the same way.
«Straight ahead,» she concluded.
«And lets hope the road at least leads somewhere,» he whistled expressively.
«Dont be ironic,» she glanced at him thoughtfully. «Its better than hanging around with other peoples company again, isnt it? In the end its better than hanging around another mans company again, dont you think?»
She was well aware of his weaknesses. Orpheus immediately fell silent.
«But isnt there another strangers company youre going to seek out at the School of Witchcraft?» He asked after a pause. «Why do you need other people if you have me?»
«What do you have to do with me?» She burst into anger. «Im interested in the place. What is it like? What do they teach there? Is it really a path only for the chosen ones?»
«Yes, but it is not for people like you.»
«Are you saying Im worse than them?»
«No, youre chosen too, but not like them. Youre better than them.»
«Oh, come on. I just get burned if Im touched by people I dont like.
«What if I do?» He arched his eyebrows defiantly. «Why else would I love you so much?»
«Because no one else was stupid enough to put up with a companion as chatty as you,» she wasnt even surprised that he was suddenly confessing his love, she took it for granted that, after all, he was never serious, which meant he shouldnt be taken too seriously. «Besides, you had nothing to do in those caves, so you picked on me. Its boring to be stuck in the same place for centuries without anyone to talk to.»
«Yes, of course,» he wasnt trying to lie, «but if you werent special, I couldnt relate to you like that. Theres something inside you. It fascinates us all. I mean all magical people.»
«It is the flame,» she prompted him. It was the only thing inside her.
«I dont know,» he looked at her seriously for the first time.
Rhianon looked away. She tried to comprehend what had just happened to her.
Theyd tried to keep her in someone elses house for a masquerade party, and shed ignited everything there. And who was there? Masks, just masks, and she thought they were real demons. They flew out of the fire to talk her into staying with them. She wanted to forget it. Rhianon began to watch the glitter of the gold star in her palm. It calmed her. Even though she had seen this very pendant around the condemned mans neck, it did not make her fearful. The gold warmed her hand pleasantly, and sometimes it was cold. The pendant seemed to have a way of cooling or warming itself, regardless of the ambient temperature or someone elses touch.
She held the chain in her weight and watched the star rotate quietly. Strangely, no matter where she turned, the elongated end remained pointing in the same direction.
«So were going in the right direction,» she concluded to herself, but Orpheus immediately responded to her statement.
«Youre drawn to that place, where snobs gather, or a threatening emptiness reigns. Its bad there, believe me. They try to tame the magic there. They want to keep your talent within limits, and there are no limits.»
Rhiannon looked at him with interest. «Were any of them at the masquerade?»
«There were only students, not teachers.»
«But there cant be any teachers, because magic is an element that can only be controlled by a higher power. Ive heard that teachers always remain invisible, because they are not living beings they themselves are a force from the darkness that, without calling themselves, teaches evil to others.»
«Youre being a bit dramatic, but in many ways its true. The only pity is that unnamed forces sometimes retreat into the shadows for fun, and charlatans begin to claim their places.»
«If thats the case, Ill know right away and wont be there long. I can tell when someone is trying to trick me.»
«Rhianon,» he called her by her name for the first time, and his voice sounded pitiful. «You wouldnt leave me at the gate, would you?»
She felt pity for him for a moment. Orpheus handsome face expressed such longing. The freckles that had recently scattered across his cheeks were now almost invisible on his white skin. Somehow it seemed to her that if he were human he would be red to the roots of his hair now. He clearly felt out of place because he was forced to ask for something. Perhaps he even needed sympathy. Rhianon didnt even think about the fact that he was hardly pleased to be stomping under the windows of the manor while she herself was inside. But she decided that tenderness would not do him any good. Orpheus had to be handled more strictly, so that he wouldnt get all riled up. That was his nature.
«Youll have to learn to behave, then Ill treat you better, but not before,» she warned him and decided to calculate, almost by the hour, how long it would take to get him to settle down.
The star-shaped pendant was still twirling smoothly on the chain. Rhianon was mesmerized by its brilliance. She never even once compared it to the luster of the axe blade that had sliced the young mans neck. How terrible it must be to die so young. But she did not see fear in that young mans eyes. Maybe Orpheus was right and the blade of the axe only unleashes an unspeakably strong spirit from the human body. Then she wanted to believe that the young man was not dead, that somewhere is still his soul guarding the witch secrets entrusted to him in life.
Rhianon suddenly felt that they had crossed a bridge of some kind and was involuntarily astonished. Why would there be a bridge in such a wilderness? She did not even hear the sound of flowing water. And if there was a bridge, there had to be a river. Rhianon wanted to look out the window, but there was nothing but darkness behind the ajar curtain. A star, dangling on a chain, seemed to be the only source of light in the darkness around her. Rhianon peered at it, and caught sight of something in its rays of light. It was a speck of debris. The object grew to the size of a walnut shell, and now it was a tiny man, taking off his head a hat made just from the shell of a walnut or acorn.
«Madam,» he bowed to her exquisitely. Though all of him could fit in a thimble, Rhianon was flattered by his gesture. She smiled back. Shed heard of leprechauns before. Shed heard of leprechauns, and had been told that if you caught one and then held it in check, it would grant you every wish. Only somehow it seemed to her that there was no need to catch him. He is already caught, attracted and enchanted by the light of the star she holds in her hands.
«Who are you looking at?»
Rhianon could hardly drop the spell and look back at Orpheus.
«What do you mean? Cant you see for yourself?»
But the tiny creature was gone. It had disappeared, as if it hadnt appeared at all. But after its departure the moonlight shone just outside the window.
«Here we are,» Orpheus commented. «This is where you wanted to be.»
«Theres nothing beyond this window,» she commented, not seeing anything but the clearing and the bridge that had sprung up over it. It led nowhere, and there was no river, not even a ditch to span it. But the bridge itself was beautiful. Rhianon couldnt help but notice how exquisitely the railings were gilded and how finely the ornate carvings had been chiseled on them.