Aura Vere: The Kaerling, #6

By Freya Pickard

Five disparate paths converge in the mountain city of Aura Vere.

 

"I enjoyed reading Aura Vera immensely and look forward to the next installment!" J Poulter

 

Otta and Erl must face the kaerling, Jas, before they can ascend the long road to Aura Vere and find the child Derri once more.

 

Lored, the taku-kevir, must seek out the sister he's never met in the Temple in Aura Vere, before the kaerlings find her.

 

And Undine and Tari must find a way to leave the Temple in order to rescue Lally, who has been abducted by the kaerlings.

 

Aura Vere brings together the characters in previous volumes in a climatic dénouement that sets the scene for the continuation of the epic saga that is The Kaerling.

 

The Kaerling is a series of linked novellas that can be read individually as well as in chronological order.

 

Warning: contains scenes of a sexual nature and some violence which some readers may find upsetting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Freya Pickard
• Release date: Jan 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393981947

Freya Pickard

Pushcart Prize nominee, Freya Pickard, is the quirky, unusual author of The Kaerling series, an epic fantasy set in the strange and wonderful world of Nirunen. A cancer survivor, she writes mainly dark fantasy tales and creates expressive poetry in order to leach the darkness from her soul. Her aim in life is to enchant, entertain and engage with readers through her writing. She finds her inspiration in the ocean, the moors, beautifully written books and vinyl music (particularly heavy metal and rock). She enjoys Hatha Yoga, Bhangra and Yogalates and in her spare time creates water colours and pastel drawings of the worlds in her head.

Book preview

for Jeff

Year of the Unicorn Ascending

Summer Fire

Chapter One

Darkness descended like a hot, black cloud and she tried to move away, fear flooding her soul. The darkness increased in intensity and, somewhere, black flames burned, filling the air with heat and invisible smoke. Her throat tightened as she heard the murmur of voices below her. She gritted her teeth in frustration.

A single torch burst into flame behind her, casting ruddy light on a multitude of faces. She was standing upon a raised plinth in the centre of a large room. Shadows lingered at the edges, shrouding the crowd from her keen sight. The room was full of fear and uncertainty and yet, someone stared at her with intent. She let her eyes travel over the people before her and fear sprang through her veins as the torchlight caught a gleam of silver.

It was useless to cry for help. There was no one around to save her. The sharp weapon was aimed directly at the point between her breasts. In vain, she tried to raise her arms to defend herself, as the gleaming dagger fell through the air.

It happened unbearably slowly. The point of the dagger pierced through fabric and skin and entered her sternum. She inhaled, unable to exhale; she felt as though she was screaming, but no sound issued from her lips. Darkness swam across her vision and her knees gave way. The blade pierced something vital and warm. Her throat filled with metallic heat as sticky blood gushed from her chest, taking her life with it...

COVERED IN SWEAT, OTTA woke, her heart pounding wildly. Immediately, she clamped down on her emotions, channelling her feelings into a private thought.

I thought I was over those dreams, she said to Nagaru.

The god seemed unconcerned. Did I say you would never dream that dream again?

Well, no but...

What? He indicated he was interested in what she wanted to say.

I thought that the dream was something to do with my guilt about the Chandar’s death.

Nagaru seemed to smile. The dream was not a result of your guilt, though your failure to admit it hung on your conscience and caused you to dream the dream many times.

But I’ve not dreamt it for weeks now!

The dream is a warning, Nagaru told her. I used it to make you talk to me about the Chandar, but the real meaning of the dream will become clear.

Is it anything to do with Derri?

Not really.

Otta felt annoyed with the god, even as his presence washed through her, dissipating fear.

Be careful, Otta. He is near. And with that, Nagaru left.

Otta sighed and rolled over. The sky was still dark and the stars were faint. Dawn would not be long now; the constellations had travelled far since the twins had eaten supper. The dream was too fresh in her mind for her to sleep again, so she brooded.

An overwhelming longing for the Homestead, and her cat, Mishva, consumed her. She wanted to hear her father's baritone voice singing, as he groomed the pony before riding to the village. She longed for the soft feel of her cat's coat over fragile bones. She wanted to smell the comforting scent of lemon balm that always accompanied her mother. She even missed her annoying siblings, with their high-pitched voices and continuous squabbles.

But all that was behind her. Even though the men from the village of Atwood, who had pursued them, were dead, she and Erl could not go back, not yet. Her twin brother slumbered peacefully, his memory still impaired. He could only remember events and people if she put them into his head. Otta didn't like touching him; it reminded them both of his dark side.

She shook her head, trying to concentrate. Nagaru had bidden her to find the Unicorn and now the riddle of the Unicorn's identity had been solved; she needed to find Derri, before the kaerlings found him.

Self-recrimination welled up inside. How could she have been so blind? Nagaru had been pointing her towards the Unicorn all the time, even allowing her to be side-tracked in order to solve the riddle. He'd kept directing her to the volume in the Library at Aura Vere which held the secret of the ancient name of the Unicorn; Daeri, pronounced Derri. And all this time she had been travelling south, finding sporadic sections of the Unicorn's trail, whilst Derri was in danger in Aura Vere.

To make matters worse, her ability to tap into the kaerlings' minds, had lured her into contacting Jas, who had been instructed to kill her. Despite having never met Jas, Otta found him powerfully attractive. Part of her wanted to give herself up to him, but common sense told her to keep running.

He knew where she was and was closing in on her. Otta and Erl had pushed their horses hard for two weeks, heading north towards Aura Vere. They'd left the town of Marten behind a week ago, and today they should arrive at Mariel. From there, they would reach Aura Vere by the end of the month, if the horses did not injure themselves.

Her headache was almost constant now and pictures of Jas popped into her mind when she least expected it. She could feel him drawing nearer with each day that passed. The black stallion he had been riding a month ago, had been replaced several times by other swift steeds.

Jas stirred in her mind and he rose to his feet, harnessing his horse by feel in the dark. So close now, so close! Hurriedly, Otta pulled her thoughts from him and stood up. The sky was pearl grey in the east.

What’s up? Erl sounded half-asleep still. It’s still night.

The kaerling is not far behind us and he’s travelling already.

Her brother groaned. We’d better start now, then, hadn’t we?

Otta lit the fire and fetched water for the horses’ mash. While the feed cooled, Otta stretched herself, using the Huntress exercises to undo knotted muscles. She spent a while in Goddess of Hunt pose, breathing deeply, allowing her muscles to stretch. Then she passed through the first three Huntress-Fighter positions, summoning energy for the gruelling day ahead.

As soon as the horses' mash was ready, she fed them. Erl had groomed and saddled their steeds whilst the mash was preparing. Now the twins snatched a little breakfast themselves; travel bread and strips of dried beef. Then they set to hiding the camp and the sun was clear of the horizon by the time they set out.

The main road had milestone markers rising above the green verges. They kept to their steady pace of walking one mile, trotting one mile and then walking again. So far, neither of the horses had gone lame on this leg of the journey, and neither of them had cast a shoe.

Otta wanted to ride flat out, just to get away from Jas. But she knew the mares would run out of energy and cripple themselves. Then they would be at Jas’ mercy. In this intense heat, anything faster than a brisk trot, would kill the horses over a long distance.

Stopping only to water their steeds, the twins ate luncheon in the saddle, wanting to reach Mariel by dusk. The milestones gradually counted down the miles and haywains lumbered their way towards the town, as did ox-drawn carts bearing the early fruits of harvest.

As they trotted briskly, Otta could feel Jas slowly gaining on them. He was pushing his horse to its limits and did not seem to care if it died from exhaustion. He smiled at her and her heart contracted with a mixture of fear and desire. Irritably, she pulled her thoughts away from him, but he was there again, sweat dripping from his face as he lay along the horse’s neck.  Stoically, she thought of Nagaru and his warm presence, and the image of Jas disappeared.

The sun was just above the horizon when the milestones told them that they had yet two miles to cover before reaching the town.

How far behind us is he, do you think? Erl asked as they allowed the horses to drink from the river that ran near the road.

A few hours. Otta grimaced. I can check, if you like.

Only if it doesn’t upset you.

She was touched by his concern. Most of the time he annoyed her, but sometimes he was the brother she had once known and loved. Carefully, she thought of Jas. He was watering his horse  and pouring river water over his face.

"He’s by that lightening-struck oak, the one we passed four hours ago.

Erl chewed his lip as Otta felt Jas tugging at her mind, encouraging her to ride back to him. Immediately, she thought of Nagaru.

What do you think to cantering the last couple of miles? Her brother asked.

All right. But when we reach Mariel, let’s not give our real names. That might delay him a bit. Otta adjusted the veil that covered the lower part of her face, hating the heat of it, but thankful that it kept the dust out of her mouth and her kaerling features hidden.

WE’RE TRAVELLING TO Aura Vere. Alvar and Lady Luella. Where’s the best place to stay? We need an early start tomorrow morning. Erl smiled easily at the guards.

Cross the town to North Gate, he was told. "Right by the gate is The Dark Stranger. They’re reasonably priced and are used to calling people early."

Erl thanked the man and set off down the main thoroughfare, Otta trailing behind him. Twilight merged into night and clouds spread across the sky from the east. The heat of the day was replaced by a suffocating stillness that promised thunder.

Otta felt drained and tired. She was fed up of being pursued by Jas and just wanted to be magically transported to Aura Vere so she could find Derri. But things like that only happened in stories.

The road cleared as darkness fell and at length they reached the North Gate. There stood The Dark Stranger with its crudely painted sign of a black-cloaked, faceless man. Torches smoked in the still air and cast an eerie light on the painting. Otta shivered, seeing the man in the picture as one of the kaerlings. Erl organised the stabling and Otta went inside to order supper and a room.