Hade wondered if it wasn’t the relief of having someone else in command.
“What are you up to?”
Hade nodded at the inn, “Finishing up. And waiting.”
“Waiting?” Vadim asked, arching an eyebrow.
Hade turned away from the inn, towards the trees. Vadim followed Hade’s eyes to the tree-line, then to the figure standing in the field before the Wood.
Aleksei.
“He’s a surprising man.” Vadim said after a long moment.
Hade glanced at his Knight, searching for any trace of animosity in his Bonded’s voice. He could find none.
“Indeed. I would not have expected it of a farmer.”
Vadim chuckled harshly, “Nor I, Hade, nor I. What is he doing out there at this time of day?”
Hade shook his head, “I can’t tell. At first, I thought he might be going out for sword practice, but he has yet to draw a weapon. He’s stood there for nearly an hour now.”
Vadim frowned. It was curious to say the least, but then again many of the things Aleksei did made little sense to him. He had made the mistake of taking such actions as expressions of ignorance.
The price had been his pride.
“You’ve heard of Jonas' arrival?” Hade asked after a pregnant pause.
Vadim nodded, “Though I must admit I am amazed that they could arrive so swiftly. We traveled at a good pace and it took us weeks. They would have had to leave only days behind us, and Jonas claims to have been in Kalinor as recently as the night before last, Aleksei only slightly longer ago than that.”
“Do you doubt them?” Hade asked.
The Knight shook his head, “They would have nothing to gain from lying, would they? But I do find it peculiar.”
Peculiar. It seemed a most fitting word for the Prince and his Knight.
A shadow passed over them, and Hade glanced up. It was a sparrow, flying towards the Wood. He frowned. Why did that strike him as odd? Surely there was nothing remarkable about seeing a bird. And yet, it tugged at his memory.
“Did you see that, Hade?” Vadim asked quietly.
“The bird?”
“That’s the first bird I’ve seen since we arrived. I’d never realized it before, but that’s what makes this place so deathly silent. No birds, no deer rushing through the Wood. Just silence.”
Hade nodded. Whatever it was in the Relvyn Wood that was controlling the revenants, as Jonas had called them, it had frightened all the fauna from the area. So why would a bird be flying into the Wood?
“Perhaps whatever it is that’s been sending those things at us has left.” Hade said optimistically.
Vadim regarded him with skepticism, “Doubtful.”
Hade sighed. He returned his attention to the field and Aleksei. The Knight was just as he had been, standing straight, his focus on the Wood before him. One hand rested on the hilt of his sword, the other hung loosely at his side. Peculiar indeed.
Aleksei suddenly turned and began to walk directly towards them. As he drew closer, Hade jumped at the look in the man’s eyes. They seemed to take command of him, to clutch at his heart. Before the Lord Captain had even opened his mouth, Hade knew that he would obey without question.
Aleksei reached them and nodded his greeting. His usual smile was absent, leaving grim determination in its place.
“They’re coming.” he said calmly. “They will be here in an hour, two at the most. Do not engage them. Don’t go near them, even armed. Get everyone in the town inside. Board up the doors; barricade them, whatever you have to do. Arm the townsmen, but under no circumstances is anyone to go outside as long as the revenants are in the open. Those who are willing are to be evacuated to Mornj. All others must agree to remain indoors.”
Vadim frowned, “Wait, where are you going?”
“I have something I must see to in the Wood. I am leaving you in command. The nature of this attack is different from the previous ones. I’m not exactly sure how yet, but I know that you cannot take them on. This village must look as though it is deserted. Do you understand?”
Aleksei’s golden eyes were so commanding that Vadim didn’t dare say anything besides, “Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Now get to work, you don’t have much time.”
Vadim searched for words, but finally only managed a weak, “As you command, Lord Captain.”
Aleksei nodded to them once more, then turned and ran towards the Wood. He was swallowed by the shadows in moments.
Jonas shot over the trees. He could feel Aleksei behind him, not yet in the Relvyn Wood. Good.
He had begged Aleksei to remain in Drava with the others, though not because he didn’t trust his Knight's prowess in battle. In his sparrow form, Jonas was much faster than Aleksei, even given Aleksei’s ability to move rapidly through the forest.
He wanted to get to the back of the mountain pass as swiftly and safely as possible, and one small animal was a much harder target to strike than two grown men.
As he flew over the deeper sections of the Wood, Jonas began to feel a twinge of anxiety. Perhaps it was simply because of his size at the moment.
Perhaps it was because he was flying into an unknown danger and, unlike Aleksei, he’d never really been tested in a fight. Whoever was creating and controlling the revenants was clearly a powerful Magus, and one steeped in the Nagavor. Could he stand up to such a destructive creature? Would he even have a chance?
The mountains rose up around him, their jagged peaks capped with snow. He shivered at the sight of them. The ruins of the Drakleyn would be nestled somewhere in the back of the range, half-buried in rubble. He did not relish seeking them out.
Jonas was now well into the Wood, where the great ring of mountains broke to allow a thin river of trees into the wide bowl created by the walls of the peaks standing opposite. As he flew over the valley, his sense of foreboding grew.
Is that a remnant of Kholodym magic? He wondered, Or is that me jumping at phantoms?
When he was a league or so out from the edge of the mountains he descended to the forest floor. Whoever controlled the revenants would feel Jonas coming. Jonas didn’t want to present such an easy target.
He fluttered down into the underbrush and shifted once again, this time into an animal he had never seen in the flesh. The coyote was small and golden, similar to a wolf but not quite so broad in construction. They were native to south-western Ilyar and various sections of Fanj, yet well suited for travel through the forest. Small enough to escape notice, but large enough that nothing short of a bear would bother him. Aleksei had given him the idea, knowing the animal intimately.
It took the better part of an hour to work his way through the rough country, steadily progressing upwards. He noticed that the soil was becoming rockier, the vegetation sparser. By late afternoon he spotted the edge of the Wood and dropped into a lope.
The mountains towered above the trees, casting the entire valley into deep shadow. Jonas trotted out past the tree-line and began his search for a path. While he was not as adept as Aleksei at reading the land, certainly not proficient enough to cut a path of his own, he had learned much in the last year. Aleksei had taken him into the Seil Wood on several occasions to teach him what he could about tracking and traveling cross-country.
Now he put those skills to use, searching the rocks the way he had been taught until, at last, his efforts were rewarded. Jonas trotted to where the pattern of the rock shifted and found a winding trail that vanished up into the mountains.
“Well, you’re a long way from home, aren’t you boy?”
Jonas started, turning to find an old man standing behind him. How had he not felt the man’s presence?
“Oh, didn’t mean to spook you there, boy.” the man said kindly. His white hair waved wildly in the wind, his eyes such pale blue they were almost colorless. There was something disturbingly familiar about him. “My, my. I’ve not seen one like you in twenty years, no sir.”<
br />
Jonas stared into the man’s eyes. Despite his wavy white hair and the wear of unkind years, there were some indelible traits that were unchanged.
With a horrifying recognition, Jonas realized who was addressing him.
It was Emelian Krasik. The Old Crow.
“Don’t see much of anything up here, really. Not since Bael showed up, anyhow.”
Jonas frowned. Bael? Was that the Magus responsible for the murders of Lord Bazin and the former Lord Captain? And if so, what would he be doing around the likes of Emelian Krasik?
“I always told my Zarina, coyotes were the smartest dogs in the woods. She never much cared for them, but I did. So loyal. Noble, too.”
Hearing the old man mention his wife sent chills through Jonas. He had met Zarina Krasik only once, and even then he’d been too young to really remember her very well. But that had been before the war. They said she’d gone mad eventually, after the death of her son, Seryn. They said she’d died of a broken heart.
Looking at this man, standing amidst the broken bones of a dead mountain, Jonas suddenly understood how that might be possible. Before him stood the man who’d started a civil war that had raged for much of Jonas' early life. A man who had commanded the death of his own sons. That he was still alive was shocking.
A presence suddenly materialized behind Jonas, and the Prince had to fight to keep himself from darting for the tree-line.
“Ah, here you are, Krasik.”
The old man looked up and smiled blankly, “Hello, Bael. I was just chatting with my friend here.”
The man called Bael stepped into view and Jonas felt his heart clutch in his chest. The man was short, his blond hair hanging lankly about his squared face. His deep green eyes glittered.
Jonas could feel the strength of the man’s connection to the Archanium, the dark corruption that pumped thickly through his veins. It matched the echoes he’d felt in Kalinor.
Here was the Magus he sought.
“Where did you come from?” Bael asked, squinting at Jonas. He looked back at Krasik, “Odd that he’s just standing there, don’t you think? I’ve never seen a wolf do that before.”
Krasik smiled at Bael as though patronizing a slow child, “He’s not a wolf, Bael. He’s a coyote. They’re from the west, around Fanj. I don’t know what he’s doing here, but in any event he’s not likely to be intimidated by us.”
Bael grinned at Jonas. It was not a nice smile, “Perhaps I should give him a reason to be.”
“No.” Emelian said mildly, and Bael dropped to his knees with a cry, clutching his head. “You will leave this creature be. Do you understand?”
“Yes!” Bael screamed. Krasik nodded and the Magus gasped for breath, rubbing his temples and slowly regaining his footing, “Begging your pardon, Zra-Uul. I spoke out of ignorance.”
Jonas made note of the word. Where had he heard it before? Had he seen it in a book? Gods, what was it?
Krasik took a step towards him, and he took an involuntary step back.
“Look, you’ve frightened him.” Emelian admonished. It was as though the exchange of a moment ago had never happened. What had he done to the Magus? And why wasn’t Bael retaliating?
From what Jonas could sense, Bael should have the power to destroy Krasik with a thought. Yet he acted the supplicant. Something very strange was happening. “It’s alright, boy. Don’t be alarmed.”
“I don’t like this.” Bael grumbled.
Emelian regarded the Magus in confusion, “What?”
“You said these…dogs are from the west. What would one be doing in the Relvyn Mountains? And alone?”
Krasik shrugged, “Some men in the east use them as hunting dogs. It could be that this one was used in such a fashion, and simply broke free. With all the chaos you’ve been causing in the wooding villages, it would hardly be surprising.”
“Perhaps.” Bael growled.
Why isn’t he touching the Archanium? Jonas thought.
A simple touch would be all he needed to know that Jonas was not what he seemed. He glanced up at Krasik. Perhaps that was one of the things that would anger the old man.
“Zra-Uul, we really must be getting back. It will be dark soon, and you wouldn’t want to be caught out here in the dark.”
Krasik laughed harshly, “These woods are hardly a danger to me.”
“If you slip off the trail you will fall like any other man. You are too important to risk so casually.”
Emelian sighed, “Very well, Master Bael. Let us go. I must say, your friends had better be right about this whole mess, or I will be most put out.”
“Have no fear,” Bael said with a smile, “everything has been planned with the utmost care.”
“Oh, undoubtedly. But that was what your father told me the last time. I assume you’re aware of how that little charade played out?”
Bael nodded, “Many unforeseen things occurred, Zra-Uul. This time will be different.”
“Oh, of course. It always is, isn’t it?” Emelian muttered as he disappeared up the path. “Coming Bael?”
“In a moment.” the Magus responded. “I want to make sure no one is following us.”
“Yes, yes, very well. But do not tarry too long.” There was a pause, and then, “And Bael, if I think you’ve done anything to that beast I will not be pleased with you.”
“Of course, your Grace.” Bael said through gritted teeth.
There was a long silence, and then the Magus turned back to Jonas. He glared at the dog he saw, squinting again as though trying to see through him. “What manner of creature are you?” he muttered to himself. “Count yourself lucky, dog. If you stay around here the old man might not be able to protect you next time. And then we’ll have a good time, you and I.”
Jonas growled at the man, curling his lips back to reveal his sharp white teeth.
Bael glared at him a bit longer with those cruel green eyes, eyes that were startlingly familiar, and then turned back up the path.
Jonas waited several heartbeats after the man had vanished to dart back into the Wood. His heart raced as he ran through the forest, leaping over fallen tree trunks and ignoring the scattering of the smaller animals in his path.
The depth of Bael’s power, the sheer magnitude of it was terrifying. Jonas wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but that wasn’t it. There was also the bizarre chance of finding Emelian bloody Krasik.
Zra-Uul. That name kept nagging at his memory, but he couldn’t recall the context. Gods, what was that? Whatever it was, it seemed to grant Krasik a certain level of power. The way he had struck out at Bael, and that Bael had not responded in kind, told Jonas that it was more than a simple honorary.
He judged that he was far enough away from Bael to shift again and transformed into a falcon. He needed to get back to Drava as soon as possible.
As he flapped his great wings and ascended above the canopy, Jonas wracked his brain for some solution to their most pressing problem. He had hoped to confront the Magus, to perhaps either incapacitate or, if necessary, kill him.
But from what he had felt of Bael’s power, it was doubtful that striking the man down was feasible. And if he was the same Magus who sought the Demonic Presence…. Jonas shivered at such a possibility.
As much as he might think of his own talents, Jonas had never put them to such a test. He did not relish the idea of taking on such a powerful opponent on his first attempt.
He was flying over the pass, deep in thought. His wings were stretched wide, carrying him effortlessly through the air one moment, and the next he was spiraling down at an incredible speed. Pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced blazed through his left wing, but he couldn’t turn his head to inspect it. He could hardly watch the ground as it spun closer and closer towards him.
Jonas struck the trees hard, his wings catching and tearing on the sharp branches as he tumbled through the canopy to the forest floor below.
/> Striking the ground, he thought he might lose consciousness from the pain. Any mortal man would have in an instant, but he could feel Aleksei’s strength pour into him. His Knight, his Hunter, his love had incredible reserves Jonas had never anticipated. Gods, was his Bonded a bloody god?
“Well, it seems I was right after all.” Bael said coldly, walking towards him. “You didn’t really think you fooled me, did you? I’ve seen Shifters before, you know. It is an uncommon gift, I’ll grant you, but it is by no means difficult to detect. Krasik might have been taken in by your disguise, but you couldn’t possibly believe you would fool another Magus with that, now could you, Jonas?”
Jonas touched the Archanium only lightly enough to shift back into his human form. There was no point in retaining his shape. He might as well face this Magus as a man.
He tried to push himself into a sitting position, only to find that his left arm wouldn’t respond. He looked down at the barbed shaft protruding from his bicep. A hot wave of nausea washed over him, and for a moment he thought he might be sick.
“Pity, though. I’d hoped the fall might kill you and I could be done with it. Still, I think I may find pleasure in taking your life myself, Highness.” The term was spat at him.
“I must say, your Knight made a mess of my earlier plans. It’s such a pity that he’ll die with you. I really could have used a man with his…intriguing qualities.”
Even though the haze of pain and nausea, a realization dawned on Jonas. “It was you.” he snarled. “You were the other player, the other Magus trying to bond Aleksei.”
Bael shrugged, “I’ll admit I was…disappointed by his decision. He would have been a useful asset.”
“He would sooner cut your heart out." Jonas growled, pushing away the pain. The agony of his arm was secondary to the knowledge that he was about to die. That with his death, Aleksei would die as well. As that understanding tore through him, all other concerns became practically negligible.
A man stepped out from behind a tree, a crossbow in one hand. “You want me to finish it, Master?”
The Hunter's Gambit Page 35
