Alasdair strode up to him and clasped his shoulder. “I see you for who you are now.”
Edan nodded to Ailith’s father, catching her small smile behind him.
“Go. All of you,” Edan said. “Find my daughter.”
“Godspeed, my good friends.” Erena vanished.
Her father instructed, “John, lead the way; I’ll follow directly behind you. Magni, you’ll bring up the rear, behind Ailith and Dyna. The others, position yourselves between me and Ailith.”
Edan leaned in and gave Ailith a quick kiss on her cheek. “Godspeed, Ailith. Find my lassie.”
Ailith noticed the tears that began to fall from Edan’s eyes as John stepped onto the staircase. Her mother ran over to give her a swift hug, and then they were off.
Dyna chattered as they descended. “Was it this dark before?”
“Aye, John’s sword illuminated the area. And once we’re near the cages, they reflect its light, making them glow.”
As soon as John’s foot stepped from the staircase to the ground, the first warrior cage opened, then the next. Two warriors immediately stepped out and began to attack, but Ailith tugged Dyna past them, heading for the bairn cages. “Follow me. They’re over here.”
Dyna said, “You start with the first one. See how fast you can unlock each one, and I’ll search for Heilyn.”
Ailith moved to the first cage, which held a lass of around four summers. She had golden hair and bright blue eyes, but she was frozen in fear. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically, a stark contrast to her terrified stillness. Ailith placed her hand near the girl’s heart, closing her eyes to focus and still her own body.
“Come to me, lass. Tell me your favorite memory. Tell me of your mother and father.”
Ailith closed her eyes and stilled, allowing a moment to gather the forces around her, to focus on the beautiful child in front of her. A scene unfolded in her mind: a mother holding a new bairn in her arms, with a golden-haired lass next to her, crying. “I have a sister?” the lass in the cage whispered. Ailith opened her eyes just before the cage dissolved away, and the lass fell into her arms.
She looked around her, but finally locked onto Ailith, her hands gripping her forearms. “Can I go now? Take me home, please. I want my mama.”
Ailith held her close and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to free the others, then I’ll take you home. Stay with me.” The girl gripped her tunic so tightly, Ailith knew she’d never lose her.
Ailith moved to the next cage. She performed the same ritual, connecting with a lad whose mind revealed a memory of riding a horse to the beach with his father. The cage dissolved, and she gathered him up, repeating her comforting words beforesetting him next to the first girl. “What’s your name?” she asked him.
“Hector. Can we leave? I want to go home.”
“In a few moments, hold her hand.”
“My name is Lizzie.”
Dyna raced over. “You’ve got two out already? I think Heilyn might be the last one. Do the next one here. Two more warriors are being freed from the cages, but our men are handling them.”
A flying creature came at them, trying to peck at Ailith’s head. The bairns screamed, but she remembered what Erena had said: “They are not real. Ignore this image.”
Dyna grabbed it and tried to choke it, but it disappeared. “Go, Ailith. Free the next one while I observe the others. There are at least four more, and then Heilyn.”
She freed two more, and Dyna gathered them a step away just before a flock of seagulls attacked, the bairns squealing.
“Have you found Heilyn?” John yelled.
“She’s here at the end.”
“Get her. I don’t know how much longer we can hold them off. Three more are dissolving. Every time you release one, another warrior pops out.”
Ailith settled and freed two more, leaving Heilyn next and three more beyond her.
When she was finally there, she peered up at the beautiful child with the red curls, whispering, “You look like your da, Heilyn.” The bairn carried the innocence of the young, one who shouldn’t be subjected to the evil forces of the world. Ailith vowed to get her out, no matter what it took, and that vow had naught to do with her sire.
It was deep in Ailith’s heart. She stepped over to the lassie’s cage, leaned in, and repeated the process, but she couldn’t pick up anything.
