The Hornet's Nest: Part 12

There were lights in the darkness. There were voices, too, coaxing her out of her slumber, but it was the lights that really drew her forwards. They guided her, a line of them stretching from the depths of dreaming to something else–

Caolinn blinked, then again, the real light of a lantern forcing her eyes to adjust quickly. She was lying on her back, surrounded only by fern fronds, the night sky above her. The lantern sat on a rock to one side; a little further away, she could hear soft voices.

Asura voices. Caolinn sat up too quickly, her head spinning. Something inside her felt… different. Clearer. As though a mist that had been plaguing her had finally blown away.

“It’s about time you woke up.” The distant voices had stopped, and now Darr stood by her feet, the ferns almost up to his shoulders. “Though I should have guessed you’d need your rest after being stuck under an illusion for so long.”

An illusion? Was that why her thoughts had felt so muddied? “What happened?”

Darr was silent a moment, until Caolinn tried to roll to her feet. He moved far more quickly than she could, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her back down. “I wouldn’t try that yet. You’re going to be off-balance for a while.”

“I don’t feel off-balance.” Indeed, Caolinn couldn’t remember ever feeling better, or more alive. Her head was clear, her limbs almost twitching with the desire to be used. “Are you going to make me guess?”

Darr crouched at her side. “How much do you remember?”

Caolinn stared at him quizzically. “Everything. Why would you think otherwise?”

“Are you sure?”

The hesitancy in Darr’s voice made Caolinn pause. What did he think was wrong with her memories? She remembered arriving in Mount Maelstrom, the fight at the Old Sledge camp, the Nightmare Court and Torwen carrying off Nairne. She remembered heading south, getting her bearings again, and then turning towards Venomblight. That had been her destination when Darr and Amber had caught up to her–

For the first time, Caolinn realised why Darr was watching her so closely. She’d attacked him, hadn’t she? She could remember the fight perfectly, everything the two asura had said to her, and then the feeling of overwhelming pressure in her head. Exactly why she’d acted as she had, though… That was more complicated.

In fact, the more she thought on it, the more confused she became. These last few weeks were no mystery to her, but quite what she’d been thinking when she’d communicated with Torwen, and why she’d been so reluctant to trust Nairne… She’d put the word of a Nightmare Courtier above that of an Order of Whispers Lightbringer, and even above the word of her friends. What could possibly have possessed her?

Whatever he could see in her face, Darr now looked relieved. “You see it now, don’t you? All this time, something has been wrong. If Torwen wasn’t such a skilled mesmer, you’d have noticed it from the start.”

Caolinn nodded slowly, Darr’s earlier words coming back to her, along with a creeping sense of dread. An illusion. “Torwen’s had me under a spell.”

“Yes, and an exceedingly sophisticated one.” Darr sat back on his heels. “It probably attached itself to you the first time you met, inside the volcano. It was subtle, though, such a slight adjustment of your emotions that none of us ever noticed. He’s been playing your strings ever since.”

“And making me do what, exactly?”

Darr made a vague gesture with one hand. “Would you have come all this way without him? You worked to bring Lightbringer Nairne to Mount Maelstrom without ever realising you were playing right into Torwen’s hands.”

Caolinn closed her eyes, finally seeing the truth of it. Nairne had come here voluntarily, it was true, but Caolinn’s distrust of the Lightbringer had coloured everything she’d done. “If I’d worked more closely with Nairne – if I’d trusted her – Torwen never would have been able to take her. That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. I only saw it when we all arrived at the Old Sledge camp.” Darr shook his head. “Torwen’s magic was clever, but he was starting to get desperate. There were too many outside influences attempting to sway you by that point. He started trying to manipulate you more forcefully, and that’s when I detected his hand.”

But still, Darr hadn’t acted immediately. If she’d been talking to anyone else, Caolinn would have been angry, but instead she felt the first flicker of shame. Darr had done what he always had: given her the space to work her problems out for herself. Torwen’s manipulation was a trial she should have been able to overcome, sophisticated or not…

Except it was a trial she’d overwhelmingly failed.

She swallowed and gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I don’t deserve to call myself a spy.”

Darr’s ears twitched. “We’ve both made mistakes, Caolinn. You might have trusted Torwen too easily, but only because he offered you something more powerful than I ever could.”

“Revenge against the Inquest?” Caolinn asked, shaking her head. “Or revenge against all asura for the failings of a misguided few? I was a fool to let myself be sucked in.”

Darr didn’t reply. Silence fell, broken only by the distant chirp of crickets, and somewhere the eerie call of a nighttime bird. Caolinn felt the pressure in her head start to build again, not mesmer magic this time, but something more profound. There were words she desperately needed to say to Darr, but somehow they wouldn’t come.

“Darr, I… After all the chances you’ve given me, all the opportunities, I should never have allowed myself to be swayed by Torwen. I should have known better. I’m…”

Sorry. Somehow, the word got stuck in her mouth, and Caolinn almost laughed. Apologies, it seemed, didn’t come any easier to her than they did to Darr.

“And I should have prepared you better.” Darr got to his feet, a silhouette against the night sky. Dawn could barely be an hour away; already the horizon was paling into grey. “Or perhaps my people should make ourselves harder to hate. I can hardly blame Torwen for making us a target – we did that to ourselves. All of this mess, though… There’s one thing we can do about it.”

Slowly, Caolinn stood, giving her head time to clear. She could still feel Torwen’s touch in her mind, like the faintest echoes of a ringing bell. Perhaps she’d clear them quicker by taking matters into her own hands.

“Like rescuing Nairne?” she suggested.

Darr grinned. “I’m quite sure the good Lightbringer would despise knowing we ever thought she needed rescuing… But yes, that would be a good place to start.”

Caolinn glanced to the south, where Venomblight was emerging from the gloom like a crown of twisted thorns. She didn’t know what the Nightmare Court would choose to do with Nairne, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

“I’m at your disposal,” she said, hands instinctively checking the daggers at her waist. Whatever end this came to, she was ready.

Darr’s smile hadn’t faded. “Actually, Caolinn, I think it’s your turn to take the lead. Whatever happens to Torwen should be yours to decide.”

For a moment, Caolinn felt frozen, torn by indecision. She didn’t want Torwen’s life in her hands – did she? She shook her head. Until she saw him again, she wasn’t sure she had any way of knowing. It was time to face the Nightmare Court, to set Nairne free, and this time to do it with her thoughts her own. What became of Torwen after that… Only time would tell.