“It’s going to take time for me to absorb all this,” she said. “I’ve heard bits and pieces from both you and the captain, but I had no idea of the extent of the situation. Some of our Riders haven’t been themselves lately, and I guess I now know why.”
She then glanced at Karigan and smiled. “The First Rider, eh? I guess there could be worse ghosts to meet.”
“I wear her brooch.” The smooth gold was cool beneath her fingers. “The very same one she once wore.”
Mara nodded, seeming to be in less disbelief than Karigan. “All our brooches once belonged to a member of the original Green Riders. It only makes sense that the First Rider’s would be one of them.” Mara plucked a tall daisy and twirled it between her fingers. “I think your idea of a meeting is a good one. Maybe by sharing any problems we’ve experienced, instead of hiding them as personal failures, we might have a better chance of figuring out what to do.”
A MEETING OF RIDERS
The meeting was called for the following afternoon to take place in the common room of Rider barracks. With the king’s approval, Mara withheld any new message errands from going out. Osric had arrived during the night, and Tegan that morning, bringing their numbers up to a whopping twenty-six Riders in residence. Fifteen others remained out in the field. They would be talked to individually as they returned from their errands.
Captain Mapstone did not appear despite Mara’s coaxing. She refused even to open the door to speak with her face to face. In fact, she said nothing to Mara, except for a terse, “Go away.” Karigan and Mara worried about her, but it made their meeting all the more urgent.
Karigan had never seen so much green jammed into one room before. The lucky few Riders who arrived first claimed all the comfy armchairs and rocking chairs. Most carried in chairs from their rooms.
The inscrutable Lynx chose to stand off by himself in a far corner, sucking on a long-stemmed pipe, his arms folded across his chest.
Karigan went around the room opening all the windows to let in fresh air, then took her place at the head of the table next to Mara. She grew uneasy with all the expectant faces looking their way.
Mara began with a smile. “I’m glad to see you all here. It’s not often we get together in such numbers, but Karigan and I felt it was necessary.
“Before Captain Mapstone’s collapse, she told me she felt there was something amiss with the nature of magic, a concern she shared also with Karigan. She heard of too many strange occurrences happening throughout the provinces. Too many to be accounted an accident. Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors of a stone deer in Wayman, or about the rainbows over the village of Derry.”
There was considerable nodding and murmured affirmatives from the assembled Riders.
“They’re not rumors.” Mara’s pronouncement wasn’t met with a great deal of surprise. After all, more than anyone else, the Riders had been out in the world and saw and heard much. “More reports of such things continue to trickle in during the king’s public audiences.
“At the moment, I’m a little more concerned about what might be happening among us, though Karigan will have more to say about the larger scope of the problem. It is known only to Karigan and me, and to the king and his advisors, that Captain Mapstone’s ability failed her during a very critical moment, while she evaluated Lord-Governor D’Ivary. If her ability hadn’t failed, if she’d been able to detect D’Ivary’s lies and true intent, tragedy in D’Ivary Province might have been averted.”
Some Riders looked stricken, while others watched Mara raptly, waiting for more. Tegan stared at her hands folded on the tabletop, and Lynx stood calm as could be in his corner, blowing smoke rings toward the rafters.
“The outcome of the captain’s ability failing is not what we’re here to discuss,” Mara continued, her voice rising above the general chatter. “The fact it failed is what brings us together today. The captain never shared with me whether her ability recovered after the incident, or if it continued to fail. From outward signs, I’d guess it’s what led to her collapse.” She gazed around the group, putting on a stern expression. “I want to know if anyone else here has experienced a lapse in their ability.”
They had planned ahead that Karigan would come forward first if no one else did. Karigan’s experiences, however, revolved around so many issues that Mara wanted to leave her last. As it turned out, Karigan didn’t have to jump in. Tegan raised a trembling hand.
“Yes, Tegan?” Mara said.
“My ability,” she said tentatively. “I’ve not been able to make an accurate foretelling of the weather for weeks.”
Karigan, who wasn’t surprised by her admission, watched Garth pale. He hung his head in abject guilt. “I’m sorry, Tegan. I had no idea. I thought you were playing a joke on me that day when I got caught in the rain. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
“How could you know?” she asked. “I was too ashamed to admit my failing to anyone.”
Others chimed in. Osric M’Grew admitted he could no longer walk through solid objects, and had acquired several bruises attempting to do so. Though he made light of it, Karigan could see the fear in his eyes. Trace Burns said her ability, too, had failed, and this was why they had no idea of how Connly fared. Trace and Connly each possessed the ability to communicate with one another using thoughts, even over long distances.
“How do we know something hasn’t happened to Connly?” Justin asked.
Trace shrugged. “We don’t. But usually I can feel my ability in my mind, but that doesn’t happen anymore when I try. I believe the problem is on my end, not his.”
Other Riders said they had experienced no changes in their abilities, or hadn’t needed to use them in months and were not aware of problems.
Ephram Neddick said, “I wouldn’t call what’s happened to my ability a problem. It works better than ever.” He screwed up his face. “Maybe too well, when I’m overnighting in an inn, if you know what I mean.” His ability, when he chose to use it, was an extraordinary sense of hearing.
“I believe it’s the same with my ability,” Mara said. “Here is one more item for our list: some weeks ago, Reita’s brooch abandoned her, prematurely it would seem.”
Everyone began talking at once. Now that the problem had been aired, some were nervous, while others looked relieved they weren’t the only ones afflicted.
“So,” Lynx said, his gravelly voice quieting everyone, “some Riders’ abilities have failed, at least two of you sense an enhancement, and the rest are not aware of any problems. What does this add up to?”
Everyone turned their gazes back to Mara.
“I have no answers for you,” she said, “but we now know there’s a definite problem afflicting us, and the only way to begin addressing it is to acknowledge there is a problem, to hear everything as a group. Why is Ephram’s ability enhanced? Why can’t Tegan properly sense the weather? What happened—is happening—to Captain Mapstone?
“Karigan has quite a tale to tell, which includes difficulty with her ability, and the broader problems. Karigan?”
She squirmed in her chair as everyone’s attention shifted from Mara to her. Panic beat in her chest at the idea of having to reveal so much to so many others.
Mara nudged her foot under the table.
She licked her lips. It had to be done; she had to stop hiding things, but deep down, she feared they’d only confirm her madness.
As she told her tale, just as she had told Mara the day before, the common room quieted. The sounds from outdoors—birdsong, soldiers riding by in formation, the ringing of three hour—all seemed to be happening in some other realm.
The Riders listened to her with wonder and incredulity registering on their faces. When she finished speaking of Lil Ambrioth, she was met with utter silence.
And then the babble erupted all at once, everyone demanding to have questions answered. Mara tried to answer, but she was drowned put by the commotion.
“Quiet!” Garth thundered.
&nbs
p; Everyone did, and Mara passed him a smile of appreciation. “One question at a time, please,” she said.
“What about the First Rider?” Ephram asked. “I find that far-fetched.”
Karigan couldn’t answer him. His words were like a pronouncement of her insanity.
“As I recall, Ephram,” Dale said, “you were not yet with us two years ago during Prince Amilton’s coup attempt. I was. I fought at the Battle of the Lost Lake. Karigan was there, too, struggling against the Eletian, with ghosts battling all around them. I think I even saw Lil Ambrioth there among them, though it could have been wishful thinking. I at least heard her horn.” Others who had been there voiced their agreement.
“During Karigan’s journey here that spring, she was aided by ghosts, including the spirit of F’ryan Coblebay, who in life had been a good friend of mine. If Karigan says she’s been talking with the First Rider, then I believe her.” Several Riders backed her with words of affirmation.
“Sorry if I’m a bit skeptical,” Ephram said.
Karigan, grateful for Dale’s words of confidence, said, “I hardly believe it myself, but the point of the matter is that something is going on with magic, and it’s not just us. It’s those other things, too; the stone deer and the rainbows.
“The words of the First Rider only confirm what the Eletian, Telagioth, told me. Powers are stirring, and there is trouble arising in Blackveil. No doubt this is the source of our problems, but exactly how or why it’s affecting us on this side of the wall, I don’t know. Magic has been kept hidden for so many years, who would know?”
The bright sunshine and birdsong flowing through the windows were counterpoint to her words.
“Has any message come from Alton?” Ty asked.
“No,” Mara said. “None at all.”
Karigan turned her thoughts to Alton, wondering how he fared, what he was doing . . . Had he made any progress with the wall? Just because they hadn’t heard any news didn’t mean anything bad. It just meant there was nothing to report. Still, it didn’t sit well with her that he was there at the breach if Blackveil was, in truth, arising. He would be directly in the path of danger.
She missed several comments and questions being tossed about among the Riders as she considered Alton’s well-being, until Yates spoke.
“What is King Zachary doing about this?”
“At present,” Mara said, “nothing.”
Some of the Riders cried out in dismay.
“Nothing?” Yates said.
When it appeared Mara was at a loss as to how to respond, Karigan said, “How can he do anything against magic? It’s not something like—like a land dispute that can be easily solved. This is something completely new and unknown. He did send Alton to the wall, and Alton is trying to fix the breach, and that’s something. The king, he—he is—” She stumbled to an ungainly stop when she realized how ardent her defense of him sounded.
She cleared her throat. “I guess it’s, um, up to us to find the answers the king needs so he can do something about it.” The room felt entirely too warm despite all the open windows. She clamped her mouth shut, hoping to keep it that way for the remainder of the meeting.
Mara flashed her a smile that was laden with a little too much smugness for Karigan’s comfort.
“So, we are back at the beginning,” Mara said, “with out answers, but at least we’re aware. I want everyone to be more careful than ever, especially when it comes to using your abilities. If they work, that is. Report back to me and the king anything strange—anything at all—you encounter while out on your errands.”
An uneasy silence followed. It had been a meeting with no conclusions made, no problems solved. There was a threat that remained largely undefined; a threat on a personal level, and one that also encompassed the kingdom. It was a threat none of them could quantify. It had taken down their captain. Who was next? What would the arising of Blackveil portend?
Hold them together, Lil Ambrioth had told Karigan. The First Rider said she had the ability to bring the Riders together if only she would accept the responsibility. Karigan recognized that something more needed to be said, to give the Riders something to latch onto, to give them hope. She wasn’t sure if she had the words, but she knew it was time to accept the responsibility and try to say what was needed.
“Um . . .” It wasn’t an auspicious start, but it got their attention. She tried again. “Our job is filled with uncertainty every day. This is one more challenge, and who better to face it? We’ve got the use of magic, or at least had it, which means we’re the best ones to figure out how to overcome the problem. That’s our legacy. The Green Riders have preserved the use of magic since their creation, while it died out and disappeared among others.
“It may seem impossible, but we will figure this out. We have one another to rely on. We may not see each other often, but we are one in spirit. We will overcome this.”
She finished, slightly breathless, and in wonderment she had gotten the words out. The mood in the common room was palpably lighter, and the Riders chatted together in encouraging tones. She watched Tegan and Garth hug.
Mara leaned toward Karigan. “Thank you!”
Karigan was much relieved herself, and grinned when Tegan announced that with so many Riders assembled at once, it was only proper that they have a party. Her pronouncement was met with cheers of approval—if anything would relieve their tension over the dire situation placed on their shoulders, this was it.
Lynx angled his way through the other Riders to reach Karigan and Mara, the bowl of his pipe cupped in his hand.
“Well done,” he told them, and without waiting for a response, he turned about and wended his way out of the common room, the aromatic scent of tobacco trailing behind him.
“Well!” Mara said. “I get the feeling that’s about as huge a compliment we could ever expect from him.”
Karigan shrugged. The important thing was that the Riders had come together.
CROSSROADS
In the center of the crossroads stood a signpost of silvery weathered cedar. It gleamed against the backdrop of the night-dark forest. Hanging from each of its four arms, oriented north, south, east, and west, were shingles carved with the names of towns that would be found in the direction indicated.
The forest suffused the crossroads with its usual night clamor—a barred owl hooting, the grunts and clicks of frogs, the chirruping of crickets, but a wave of silence crept toward the crossroads and swept over it. One by one the forest voices faded and died until all that remained was the sound of the signpost’s shingles creaking in the wind.
A horseman emerged from the shadows of the forest and reined a pale horse to a halt beside the signpost. A second horse was led on a tether. The two horses did not show signs of panic or attempt to flee. Their small minds had been mastered to bear who they were commanded.
An unmounted figure emerged from the forest to the west, an ancient sword girded at its side and the chain of a manacle dangling from its wrist. In the silence, the two did not speak. They did not gesture to one another or communicate. The unmounted figure simply took the second horse and climbed spiderlike into the saddle.
The two reined their horses onto the road that headed east, where the creaking shingle on the signpost indicated Sacor City lay.
Journal of Hadriax el Fex
Alessandros’ grief and rage over the Empire’s abandonment of us has caused him to declare the New Lands his Empire. The Empire of Morhavonia. Though we who are loyal to Arcosia find this blasphemous and even interpretable as treason, we have no option but to accept it. We are trapped here, and Alessandros leads us. Besides, he was to succeed Arcos V. Who better to be our new Emperor?
Slaves from Kmaern and Deyer Clan have nearly completed his new palace in the old Elt stronghold. Always fed by his grief and anger at Arcos’ abandonment, he works on his experiments. I have recently witnessed the fruits of his labor. He used his transformative powers to change the laws of nature. He has
transformed ordinary creatures into abominations. To a rat he gave snake skin, and he changed a gentle deer into a snarling, aggressive beast with fangs.
I told Alessandros that I feared this went against God, but he only chuckled and reassured me that, as Emperor, he was the earthly son of God, and therefore it was perfectly acceptable for him to use his God-given abilities thus. The priests who have spoken in outrage against these acts have been made examples of.
I try to spend time away from Alessandros and this madness when I can, but it is too treacherous to ride into the countryside, and he always wants me by his side. He tells me I am his only true friend. He fears others conspire against him, and regularly these “traitors” are rounded up by his personal guards and put to the stake.
I must be careful.
BLACKVEIL
Alton rolled the rotting log over, exposing all manner of beetles, worms, and grubs writhing in the moist soil. At the same time his stomach gurgled with hunger and heaved over in revulsion.
He had supped on these lowly creatures already, only to retch them up. He normally wouldn’t even consider it, but his weakening condition, coupled with his desire to find his way out of the forest, drove him to do what he detested. He needed his strength to win his way out.
He grabbed the end of a worm before it had a chance to dart all the way into the earth. It wriggled in his palm, and he swallowed back bile.
Don’t think about it. Just do it.
He dangled the worm above his mouth, closed his eyes, and dropped it in, swallowing before it could linger on his tongue, and fighting the impulse to hack it back up. He spat out the residue of dirt. On his very first try, he had learned to swallow whole after chewing left him with a mouthful of grit.
It was almost as if he could feel the worm crawling down his throat and winding through his innards. He gagged again, but miraculously the worm didn’t come up this time.
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