Felek did not so much wake, as stop trying to sleep.
Movement had started throughout the camp, some unknown signal starting the morning process despite the darkness. Trying not to let out a groan, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Ruta rose beside him, arm falling away from his chest without protest. Someday, he thought, he'd actually get to be with her in bed again, not just have her cuddle his clothed form. She blinked, hand going to her eyes.
"They're crusty," she said. Felek just grunted. Anelie was nearby, rolling her blankets. Inspired to not look lazy, he forced himself to his feet.
"Come on," he said, reaching down to help Ruta up. "You can not sleep on the wagon."
"True." He pulled Ruta to her feet. She fell against him, Felek sensing her sleep had been as restless as his own. He held her for a moment. The temptation to lay back down with her was great. But, if they were to meet a Goddess, resisting temptation would probably be a good way to start the day. Giving her forehead a quick kiss, he disengaged from her. Wisely, he decided not to mention her skin tasted of dirt.
The glowing coals from the night before flared up, metal pots positioned over the renewed flames. He looked to the north. An answering flare seemed to come from the Elven camp. There would be no sneaking away from the pointy eared creatures. Klocia came over, four steaming cups held in her two hands. She held two out.
"Here. Careful."
"I'm never careful this early," Felek said, yawning. He reached out to take them, tightening his grip as Klocia freed her fingers from the mug handles. Anelie came to stand beside him, accepting her cup from the soldier. Felek took a sip. "Thank you, Klocia."
The girl nodded, face serious. Anelie tipped her cup back, seeming to gulp the hot drink down. Swallowing with a content sigh, she motioned with the cup towards the Elves.
"I would have bet they'd come over to talk again."
Felek nodded, his own opinion seconded.
"You may have scared them off." Anelie scoffed as Ruta gave a soft giggle beside him. "Or, more likely, they've decided forgiveness is easier to get than permission and they're just going to follow us."
"Yeah, that's what I figured." Anelie took another gulp. "I don't think it's worth stopping them. I just want to get going, see if we can get there. We'll worry about the Elves when there's something to worry about."
"Well," Felek said, downing the rest of his drink, "let's get going then."
****
The sky was just lightening as Anelie ordered the wagons to start moving.
The Elves followed.
The pointy eared barbarians matched the horse's speed, without much apparent discomfort. The children, five in all from what Anelie could tell, were in the three wagons, small heads looking with awe at the tail of the Polish column. Or, she assumed it was awe. She could not actually tell at this distance, nor in this light. Maybe they were laughing at the strange horse riding strangers.
It did not take long for the valley to close in on the river. The wide meadow where they had camped gave way to a thin strip of shore barely twenty yards wide. As light from the rising sun broke above the valley rim, she could see the ground become rockier the farther she looked upstream. Where was their magical road now?
"You would almost," Felek said, eyeing the path ahead, "think we were being deliberately kept to a slower pace. I really don't want to have to replace another wagon wheel, or listen to Ruta bitch about the bouncing."
"She doesn't like bouncing?" Anelie could not help the comment. She glanced at him, wondering how he'd take it. Felek just grinned at her.
"Not sure yet. We'll have to try it tonight. You can be the judge."
"Um, no." She hoped her face was not turning red. Felek's turned serious.
"I don't know why, but I don't really like this. How about sending a pair of scouts ahead? Get an idea of what's around each turn."
"Don't think it does us any good." She looked around, considering the valley. "It's not like we can go anywhere BUT forward, no matter what they find. Plus," her eyes flicked to him, "I really want us at full strength around the Elves."
"I'm going to go talk to them," Felek said abruptly. He moved his shoulders and neck, as if working out a kink. Care to join me?"
"I think I'll stay up here." She paused. "Take Klocia with you."
He nodded.
"I'll be back soon."
****
Felek contemplated dismounting beside Qui, talking to the walking Elf on more even footing. He decided against it. On foot he could be overwhelmed, even with his armed escort. Trust was not a given yet. Instead, he simply matched Qui's pace, keeping enough distance between them that Qui would not feel like he was being looked down upon. Felek could feel the eyes of the others on him.
"I have to ask," Felek said, keeping his voice light and hopefully inoffensive, "if this lake tower is so evil, why were you camped so close?" Qui glanced up at him, expression neutral. Felek shrugged. "I mean, if nothing else I'd rather be upstream from Evil than downstream."
The Elf cocked his head, the humor obviously losing something in his internal translation. Qui shrugged.
"We were here when Tribe Mother Ves sent people on quest to contact Queen Catty. If we moved, they would never be able to find us again. Thus, we settled."
Felek nodded. That made sense. He glanced again at the rising sun, now to his right.
"You are far from the Elven lands. What drove you here?"
Qui was silent. Felek chuckled. That would remain a mystery for a bit longer, it seemed.
"Well," he said, regarding the Elf, "it's not like us Poles didn't go on our own exodus."
"We are sorry." Qui bowed his head. Felek smiled.
"It was not you who attacked. Nor was it Queen Catty. No, it is the rest of your kind who we have... disagreement with."
Felek could not help but look at the marching Elves. All he had known of their people were the Queen and her four men. His Grace had impressed on the boy that one should never assume all of their people were like those five, that preconceptions must be put aside when meeting new groups of a race. Yet, he thought these Elves WERE like Queen Catty, her mate Far. Felek had come to understand Elves as no different than Poles, no better, no worse. The Elves before him were so similar to people he had seen on the exodus from Nowy Kiev, refugees far from home, he was at a loss for words. He looked at the kids. One, a purple haired girl with amazing black eyes, was peeking at him over the side of the wagon. He smiled to her, her head immediately ducking down. As he kept watching, it slowly rose. He smiled again as her eyes cleared the wagon, her head vanishing again instantly.
Looking at the Polish wagon before them, he saw both James and Zuza peeking out at the Elves, just their eyes and hair visible. They suddenly ducked down, as if someone had noticed them.
Kids.
****
The tower.
It was a sliver of white, shining against a background of green and blue. Anelie pulled back on the reins, hand unconsciously going up. Whether the others stopped or not was the farthest thought from her mind.
The tower.
The lake was still in the distance, trees and the form of the land still hiding most of it. A flat expanse of blue. They would be there by noon.
"Anelie?" Felek's voice seemed to wake her. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
"I see it. Let's go!"
****
Felek slid off his horse onto the rocky shore.
They had made it.
The lake looked to be a mile wide, the far shore perhaps not quite that far away. Thick woodlands covered the shore, interrupted now and then by what looked like small streams feeding its waters.
In the middle, lay an island.
It was small. Tree covered. In its center, a gleaming white tower rose. It looked round, no windows visible. Maybe they all faced north, towards the sun. Felek let out a breath he felt he had been holding since the day they had left Fort Buffalo.
Ruta had not been crazy.
Despite all that had happened, there still had been that doubt in his head. That small voice telling him there was no way any of this could be true. That the woman he loved was crazy, that he and all the others were just humoring her. Felek now felt ashamed for those thoughts. Forcing his eyes away from the lake, he looked back. Ruta was staggering forward, eyes wide, body trembling. He moved to her, taking her in his arms.
"You did it," he whispered, cheek pressed against hers. "You did it."
"We did it," she corrected, rubbing her cheek against his. Pulling back, he gently kissed her.
"Whatever happens now," he said, "at least we made it."
A greenish brown hand touched Ruta's shoulder. Releasing her, Felek watched as Adanya grabbed the girl in a fierce hug. Bogdi stood behind her, eyes wet with tears.
"Thank you, thank you!" Adanya's voice was sobbing. Felek moved over to Bogdi. Female tears were... upsetting.
"Sir." Bogdi held out his large hand. Felek took it. They shook, silently.
"Now what?" Issa asked. He came up beside them, one of the few not really showing much emotion. He felt them, though. Felek could see it in his eyes. He was just not going to be all wimpy about it.
"Now," Anelie said, standing on the shore, "we find some way over there."
Felek looked around. There was no boat dock. No craft pulled up on the shore. There could be boats elsewhere around the lake. On the other side, for example, if as he suspected it was, in fact, northward it faced. The shoreline did not look easy to traverse.
"We could build rafts," Lewy suggested. He stood with Jaromira and Ofure, the Kikker girl just looking at the island in awe. Felek looked at her.
"Is it like what was in your dream?"
"I think so," she said. "Close. I... I mean, it was a dream..."
The Elves had gathered behind the wagons, just watching the Poles standing by the shore. Felek had no idea what they had planned. Nor did he want to find out. He went over to Anelie.
"Rafts, you think?"
She shook her head, as if to clear it.
"I... I don't know. We could try it." She looked around. "I'll send scouts around the shore, though. See if there are some kind of boats. There must be a way to get to the tower."
"Zuza! Get back here!"
The girl ran up beside Felek and Anelie, her mother ignored. James was a step behind, his skin looking a bit pale. They stopped at the water's edge, looking down.
"Wow!" Zuza moved her bare foot forward, as if testing the water.
Her foot stopped as it touched the water's surface.
"James! Look!" She slid her foot forward, keeping it on the surface. Felek chuckled. Trust kids to make a game out of this.
Zuza lifted her other leg, the foot on the water holding her up. She shifted forward, placing her second foot in front of the first.
She stood on top of the water.
"Oh, Mother Mary," Anelie whispered beside him. Felek just shook his head as the girl took another step forward. And another. Behind her, James took a tentative step onto the surface. Felek could see the water moving, breeze sending ripples though the lake, yet the boy placed his full weight on the surface as if it was a sheet of glass. His face breaking into a grin, James ran forward, passing his sister. He spun around, facing the shore, arms outstretched.
"Dad! I'm like Jesus!"
Bogdi and Adanya ran to the shore, stopping at the water's edge. Felek went to them, Anelie at his side.
"Is it just them?" Adanya asked, voice full of both wonder and terror. Felek looked at the lake.
"Only one way to find out." Taking a deep breath, he stepped out onto the water.
There was a disorientation as his foot came down onto the solid surface of the water, as if one forgot there were no more steps on the stairs and instead came down on solid ground. It was not slippery, like ice or glass. He could slide his boot covered foot, but there was traction. He brought his other foot forward. His weight still held. He turned.
"Bring the horses and wagons. Let's go."
****
They walked their mounts across Lake Bled, moving as quickly as they dared. Anelie was not sure if this was a permanent bridge, or if it would vanish when its creator willed it so. Felek had tossed a rock off to the side, its splash proving the entire lake was not magically solid. It was another mystic trail, like the one through the forest.
Anelie was becoming too used to such things.
"The Elves seem to be following," Felek said. Anelie looked behind them. The green creatures had stepped out onto the lake, bringing their wagons. Either the magic did not discriminate, or their benefactor wanted the Elves to come with them. Neither answer comforted her. She shrugged.
"Nothing we can do about it. At least we can probably be sure they won't try anything with their women and children right there on the island with us. They'll have no way to shield them."
"And they probably think us Poles are the type to attack civilians." His voice was light, but she heard the mild reproach in it. Shanna had stripped all rank from the officer who had ordered that raid, and most of the Watu had managed to flee. Still, some things lingered in the mind long after they should have been forgotten.
The island grew before them. It was small, perhaps not even three hundred feet wide, the tip they were approaching closer to half that. The ground rose quickly, forming a hill easily a hundred feet tall, the tower rising from its apex. She saw no windows, no entrance. She did hear birds. Saw them flittering from the trees. One flew out towards them. It was light blue, with orange wings, similar to their former guide. It closed to within a few feet of her, then banked away, heading off across the lake.
She wasn't sure if that was good, or bad.
****
Felek's first step onto solid ground came with an audible sigh of relief. He heard Anelie do the same, relieving him of any self-consciousness. They both moved further inland quickly, giving the others room. Leading his mount a third of the way up the hillside, he turned to look at his fellow travelers. All were accounted for. The Elves were moving quicker now, as if they were afraid the path would vanish the moment the last Pole stepped off it. Perhaps it would. Magic was strange. The leading Elves were but a step behind the last Hussar, spreading out along the shoreline even as the Poles led their mounts and wagons up the hill. Anelie motioned to Felek, pointing up. Nodding, he followed her to the top.
The island, he now saw, was about twice as long as it was wide, almost tear shaped. The top of the hill was flat, trees sparsely ringing the summit. The tower rose from the center, blocks of white stone fitted with great skill and care. The curved walls rose at least six stories, its top either flat or a shallow dome to let water flow off.
There was no door.
"It has to be on the other side," he said. Anelie shook her head, chuckling.
"You are very optimistic." She turned to the others. They stood in a half circle, awaiting orders. Bogdi and his family stood in the center, Ruta and Ofure beside them. "I think we should go slow, Bogdi. No sense doing anything stupid when we're so close."
"Agreed, Little Sis." He pulled Adanya closer to him, her body molding to his. The kids were looking around curiously.
Felek returned his attention to the tower. There probably was an entrance on the other side. No reason there wouldn't be. Yet... He stepped forward, hand reaching out. Felek touched the stone. It was cold, the day's sun not hitting it directly. It was also smooth. This had been built by craftsmen of great skill. He ran his hand over it.
His hand vanished into the stone.
He pulled his arm back, shocked.
"Anelie!" She was at his side in an instant. "Look." He placed his fingers back where he had first touched the tower, running them along the stone. Again, they vanished. "A magic door."
"Incredible." She put her hand beside his. Felek slid his fingers to the right, buried in the stone up to his knuckles. Anelie moved her hand to replace his.
Her fingers stayed on the surface of the wall.
"What the fuck?" She pressed her entire palm against the wall. The stone reacted as stone tended to. Felek frowned. Removing his hand, he placed it above hers.
It slid inside, up to his wrist.
Anelie stepped back, anger on her face. Felek moved before her, hands on her shoulders. He held tight as she tried to shake him off.
"Let go! Am I not good enough? Is that it?"
"You're good enough! More than good enough! To me, anyway." Her eyes widened a bit. He shook her. "Zywie just wants only a few of us to enter. That's all."
"I'm their AUNT! You're just..." She stopped, grimacing. Felek smiled.
"I don't disagree with you, Anelie. But..."
"But," she said, shoulders sagging. Anelie took a deep breath. Slowly, she nodded. "OK. We'll do it this way. Bogdi!" She turned to her brother, straightening. The four of them were already approaching. "Go inside. I... I'll wait here with the others."
Felek turned back to the tower, somehow not feeling right watching her family comfort her. It wasn't right that she be denied entrance. The soldiers, yes. Felek would have insisted they stay outside regardless, especially with the Elves down below. But, Anelie? She was the reason they were here! If anyone was disposable, it was him.
That thought led to another. This could be dangerous. The children should not be the first to go through. Without warning the others, he stepped through the wall.
****
Shafts of colored light lit the circular room. High stained glass windows were set into the walls, invisible from the outside. Felek looked up. There did not seem to be any upper floors. Instead, he saw a distant circle of blue, whether the sky or a painted ceiling he could not say. Given the door and windows, it could be both.
Ruta appeared beside him, her momentum taking her a few steps further into the room. She had to have been running as she hit the doorway. She whirled as soon as she managed to stop.
"Felek!" She threw herself at him, head burying itself in his chest. "Don't do that!"
Bogdi appeared. Taking a quick look around, he reached back through the door. He pulled Adanya through, both children holding onto her skirt. The awe in their young eyes mirrored how Felek felt. Gently, he moved himself and Ruta farther into the room. Ofure appeared. So, too, did Issa. Felek looked at his friend in surprise. Issa shrugged.
"I know. I didn't think it would work."
"Welcome"
Felek spun, his grip on Ruta now protective. She turned in his arms, facing the center of the tower. She gasped.
The statue of a woman now dominated the center of the room. It was simple, abstract, light brown wood carved into feminine curves. The head was a smooth oval, with no hair or features, yet suggesting incredible beauty. Her body had the suggestion of bare breasts, some sort of skirt seeming to fall from her waist. Her hands were cupped before her, a light blue bird standing in the wooden nest, calmly watching.
"Welcome," the feminine voice repeated. "I am Zywie.”