Andre Norton - The Key of the Keplian

Great dark masses against the half-lit sky and stars, the mountains loomed. The girl lay looking up at them and wondering what had happened to her over the last year. She glanced down at her watch. It ran on a long-life battery and still worked. She peered closer and smothered a sudden laugh. Today had been her birthday. She was seventeen today.

She drifted off to sleep, still smiling. It had been some birthday, running from werewolves in the company of a couple of talking horses. This last year had been a lulu. She couldn’t wait to find out what the next might hold. It wouldn’t be boring. . . . She giggled drowsily and sleep came down like a cloak.

The dawn was fine again and the second river fork appeared lower. They crossed with care, trotting up the farther bank.

*Into the mountains?*

Eleeri still felt the drawing from the bulk that now loomed higher before them. Somewhere within that maze of upthrust crags they would find what she sought.

“Yes, but I see no need to make too great a haste.”

They strolled, enjoying the bright sun, the berry bushes, the birds that were different from those of the plains but sang as sweetly. Hylan skipped, bucking and capering from one to the other. He was growing swiftly; soon he could be weaned and independent. Tharna feared that. In her own foalhood she had seen the colts change then. They became duller, more savage, more apt to accept the Dark, to be its tools.

She adored her son, her firstborn, but she had never been quite as the other mares herself. She had questioned, where they accepted. It was strange, traveling with Eleeri; it was as if some of the girl’s intelligence was communicated to Hylan. He was more intelligent, more questioning than other colts of his age. He thought more.

They ambled on past tall trees housing squawking red and blue birds. Tharna paused to graze on a succulent patch of grass, her mind still busy. Ahead of her, Eleeri strung her bow and shot quickly. A rabbit dropped. A fat buck. Humans ate meat, Keplians ate grass, Tharna mused. Although those who accepted evil might well be fed on other, less savory foods.

Yet this was her sister-kin; she felt closer to the human than she ever had to her own kind. Hylan loved Eleeri. Keplians were like Gray Ones, Flannan, Thas, Krogran—all races made by adepts. Her mind made a sudden wild leap. Could it be—was it possible—could her kind have been made to accompany humans? Perhaps a human who loved horses greatly, one who wished for an intelligent one to walk beside him as a friend, not as a servant? She grazed absently, mind busy with this concept. In trusting the human who saved Hylan, in becoming her friend, had she unknowingly fulfilled a long-ago destiny? She decided she liked the idea, but she would not share it, not yet.

Into the foothills they moved, wandering along likely trails, investigating dead-ended canyons, and drinking from tiny streams. But always their main course was deeper into the mountains. Now and again they returned to the river, although it was greatly depleted by now, almost a stream itself. Eleeri was restless. It was as if something called her to act, but what she was to do, she did not know.

One morning before dawn, she shuffled off her bedding and rose to walk. Her feet took her higher, out of the gully and on up the slope above it.

From the north and a little west there came a sudden wrenching pull. At her throat an answering warmth awoke. With a stifled gasp, she leaned forward, opening her shirt. The jet horse pendant swung free, eyes afire in the miniature head. But even as she watched, they changed, no longer points of fire but now the deep blue of sapphires. She blinked. The color remained. Over her settled a conviction that this was a sign. She cupped the pendant in her hand and turned away. The eyes glowed red. Back to the direction that tugged at her—blue eyes again, and now light seemed to emanate from them also.

The girl looked down. Cynan had given her this as a leave-taking. Had he had any idea of what it was he gifted? She thought not. Slowly she allowed the pendant to swing free. Then she spoke in a whisper.

“In that direction must we go to seek the Light?” The pendant flamed, a brightness that made her squeeze her eyelids shut. She opened them cautiously. This was medicine of some kind. From what Tharna had been able to tell her of this land, it was unlikely anything of the Dark could counterfeit that of the Light. Thus the pendant was probably truthful.

She touched the tiny horse with a forefinger, stroked the proud head. “As you say, so shall we do. We travel to the north and west to seek the Light. Guard our journey, bring us safe to the Light.” She did not know to whom she spoke, only that she felt them to be half friend at least, or even whole friend. That there was work for her here—that she was sure of. Did not the gods always seek human aid? It was ill to meddle with matters of the gods, but worse still to refuse an asked-for help. She paced slowly back to her bedroll. From the upper slope she had seen a single peak to the northwest. In that direction they would travel at daybreak. She hoped Tharna would not mind.

The mare was suspicious. *How do you know that you were not tricked?*

Eleeri held out the pendant silently. The eyes still shone a rich blue in the sunlight. The color of the light, of life. The mare was silenced. Her son bounced happily. To him it was an adventure. He was more than eager to be on their way, and already he was trotting down the faint trail in the direction Eleeri had pointed out. Girl and mare sent amusement to each other, swinging onto the trail behind him. Before them the peak loomed, but they would not hurry. Thus far they had seen neither Gray Ones nor other creatures of the dark in the hills, but it was as well to be wary. There could yet be dangers not altogether of the Dark.

In these higher hills feeding was thin. The mare must graze longer to find sufficient food. Eleeri found enough small game to feed herself with far less difficulty. She used the time to explore, allowing her mount to graze with the Keplians. On foot she scrambled up and down crags, investigated caves, and thoroughly enjoyed the stretching of muscles grown stiff from riding. Slowly they neared the peak. By now the imperative was strong enough to be felt by all but the pony.

*Why does it call to us also?* Tharna looked about her. *We wear no pendant; we are of the shadow. This is a thing of the Light.*

Eleeri, who was standing close, put up her arms about the sleek neck, then patted the colt as he pushed her for attention. “The pendant was changed,” she said slowly, feeling the rightness of her words as she said them. “Maybe we are being led to a place where you also will be offered a change.”

The mare reared back. *And if we do not wish to be other than what we are?*

“Then you shall not be,” Eleeri said positively. “It is to my mind that you are offered a gift. It is for you to take it or refuse. I will not allow you to be forced into that which you do not wish. This I swear, sister-kin.”

Tharna’s agitation subsided. *We travel with you, but if I fear this thing we seek will change us against our wishes or even yours, our roads part. Until then they lie together.* She resumed grazing. Eleeri refrained from pointing out that by that time it might be too late. If it was, it would be too late for her, too, since she would set herself against anything that menaced her friend’s wishes. She flung the thought from her with a twist of her shoulders. This seeking was of the light; she knew it. As soon as her friends had finished grazing, they would find the source of the compulsion. It could not be far away now.

After a long weary day of search, she was forced to admit her defeat.