Kingdomturn

by Matthew Williams

  Aemetta spun Keltin away from the pond and lowered her veil for an instant. “Run!” she mouthed to him, then she sprinted into the valley with Silax and Keltin less than a stride behind her. The haugaeldr were following—Keltin could hear them slithering across the sand just a few steps from his back. After several dozen strides, Aemetta suddenly darted left and scrambled up one of the smaller hills. Keltin followed up the hillside, then he glanced back and felt his heart sink. Silax wasn’t as fast over long distances as Aemetta or Keltin, and as such a large gap had formed between their position and his. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the haugaeldr.

  “Aemetta!” Keltin screamed. She turned, then immediately started back down the hill with an isen in each hand. Keltin joined her as Silax continued sprinting for his life. When he realized it was time to fight instead of flee, a look of relief and muted excitement washed over Silax’ face. He had his isen drawn in an instant and spun to face the surging mass of haugaeldr. Keltin and Aemetta reached him, and together they prepared to fight.

  “We kill the first ones that attack, then back away together,” Aemetta shouted as the haugaeldr charged across the sand. When they were within a few strides, the first line of beasts leapt into the air, their tops fanning open as they soared towards their intended targets. Six isen flashed in the morning sun, sending heaps of glowing flesh tumbling to the valley floor. As hoped, the surviving creatures fixated on the meal they had just been given and momentarily lost interest in the three friends. “Now!” Aemetta whispered, and together they sprinted back to the hillside to begin climbing.

  With Silax in front of him and Aemetta in the lead, Keltin had no reason to look back this time. He fixated on the hilltop ahead and shifted his hands mindlessly from one rock to the next until finally reaching a point where he could walk upright again. Aemetta immediately dropped to her stomach, motioning for Silax and Keltin to do the same as they crested the hill. Without a word, they watched anxiously as the mass of haugaeldr finished consuming those that had died.

  “Did it work?” Silax whispered. Aemetta stared at him, her eyes wide with frustration until he looked away with an embarrassed nod. The haugaeldr spread out across the valley, meandering in all directions, but none attempted to climb the steep hill. After several tense minutes, the beasts seemed to lose interest completely before at last scuttling out of sight in the direction of the small pond. Keltin exhaled slowly in relief as he watched the last of their nauseating glow disappear.

  “What were you thinking?” Aemetta demanded, rising from her stomach and shoving Silax’ shoulder. “You know if you kill one it attracts all of the others.”

  “I thought maybe there would only be one,” Silax said defensively.

  “When is there ever just one?” Aemetta shouted. “Did your ‘vision’ not show you the haugaeldr waiting for us in that lake?”

  “It didn’t,” Silax admitted, “but we did find water, just like I said we would.” Aemetta looked away, clearly infuriated by Silax’ unwillingness to admit that he’d made even one mistake.

  “So, what do we do now?” Keltin asked hesitantly.

  “We continue east,” Silax declared, standing and walking to the edge of the hilltop. Aemetta seized his arm and turned him back to face her.

  “You follow my route from here on, and we move at my pace,” she said quietly, anger still burning in her eyes. Silax opened his mouth to protest, then reconsidered when Aemetta tightened her grip. He at last nodded in acceptance of her command.

  As they descended into the valley again, a cold wind from the east brought with it the smell of distant rain. Keltin looked to the horizon and found the towering bank of clouds still looming along the edges of the mountains that Silax swore harbored Cynmere. Even if it’s there, that’s a long way from here, Keltin realized; he took out his water pouch to prepare for the journey, but stopped before lowering the veil to take his first sip. “Is the water from that pool safe to drink?” he asked, peering into the pouch for signs of contamination.

  “It’s safe,” Aemetta reassured him. “Getting it was the dangerous part.” She glared over her veil at Silax, who pretended not to notice. Keltin drank slowly as they pressed on in silence, winding carefully from the shadow of one hill to the next. Aemetta told Keltin and Silax to wait numerous times while she scouted ahead; it made progress time-consuming, but Keltin knew it was necessary after their risky encounter at the pond. She returned after one trip at a faster pace than usual. “You need to see this,” Aemetta said, motioning for Keltin and Silax to follow.

  Keltin expected to see another pond or perhaps even a small stream, but he wasn’t prepared for the astonishing mass of foliage that covered the next section of the valley. Clusters of spineleaf clung to the cliffs and a dense tangle of vines and brush filled the spaces between tree trunks. It was such a sudden burst of life that Keltin stood motionless for an instant, awestruck by the complexity of what lay before him. The trees and plants continued up into the hills to the east as far as he could see, tracing the shadowed contours of each peak.

  “There has to be water in there somewhere,” Keltin said eagerly as he smiled at Aemetta; she did not share his enthusiasm.

  “There could be a lot of things in there,” she replied worriedly, “but terrain like that will mask our movements better than the open desert, so that’s where we’re going. Stay close to me and keep quiet.” Aemetta proceeded cautiously to the edge of the brush before pausing to examine the path forward. Satisfied with her chosen route, she exhaled once nervously and then nodded over her shoulder to Keltin and Silax. Together, they stepped into the shadows.

  Though the vines and brush were thick on all sides, a narrow strip of smooth boulders and sand created a natural trail through the forest. Aemetta kept to the extreme edges of this path and glanced back constantly to make certain Keltin and Silax were doing the same. Sheer cliffs towered above the trees, shading the narrow passage and adding a chill to the air. The canyon sloped upward sharply at times, revealing new peaks above the treetops after each sudden change in elevation. High on the face of one of the overhanging cliffs, Keltin spotted the dried remains of an old spineleaf protruding from an unseen gap in the rocks. The tree was long dead, its pale, twisted branches conjuring an image in Keltin’s mind of a skeletal hand pointing back towards the desert, urging those who traveled on this path to turn away. He watched the tree warily as he walked beneath its unsettling outcrop, but the trek east continued undeterred.

  After hours spent traversing the twisting canyon, Aemetta paused suddenly and gripped the side of her head. Before Keltin could ask her what was wrong, she lost her balance and toppled towards the ground. Keltin’s hands shot under her head just in time to prevent it from striking against the rocks below. Supporting Aemetta’s head with his forearm, Keltin rolled her into a reclined position on her back. “Aemetta?” he asked gently. Her eyes darted behind closed eyelids, but she didn’t respond. “Aemetta?” Her breathing was fast and shallow, then suddenly it stopped entirely. Fear surged through Keltin’s body in the silence until Aemetta gasped sharply and opened her eyes.

  “What’s going on?” she demanded, her eyes wide with terror as they darted from the strange forest to Keltin and then Silax. Aemetta shifted uncomfortably after feeling Keltin’s arm under her neck, then she started flailing in an effort to free herself.

  “Easy,” Keltin said gently as he lowered his arm. “You just fainted.” Still in a seated position, Aemetta moved back awkwardly on her hands until she was several strides away. She frowned for an instant as though struggling to remember something, then her face returned to its usual calm.

  “Water,” Aemetta requested, and Keltin quickly offered her his pouch. She sipped slowly, still staring blankly at the ground.

  “What’s wrong?” Keltin asked.

  “Nothing, I just got dizzy,” Aemetta explained hurriedly before passing Keltin his water pouch. “We can rest for a while, but let’s find an area away from this clear
ed section of forest. We’re too exposed here.” As she tried to stand, Keltin offered her his hand. “No!” Aemetta shouted, and Keltin recoiled. “…thank you, Keltin, but I’ll be fine on my own,” she added softly a moment later. The outburst made no sense, but Keltin decided to leave Aemetta whatever space she desired. He glanced at Silax, but the Feller just shrugged and shook his head.

  After returning to her feet, Aemetta stopped at a large boulder near the left wall of the canyon. “This will work,” she said. The stone was wedged between two old spineleaf trees and offered several surprisingly comfortable spots to sit. No one spoke; a thick layer of awkwardness lingered between the three friends as none of them could find words to address Aemetta’s strange fainting episode. Keltin shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the bark of the spineleaf, exhaustion and confusion muddying his thoughts.

  “What is that?” Silax asked a moment later, forcing Keltin to open his eyes again. The Feller stared towards the trail they had been walking and had his head tilted as he tried to listen for something. Keltin couldn’t help but listen too, and he saw that Aemetta was doing the same. Beyond the wind drifting through the canyon and stirring the spineleaf branches there was nothing at first, then Keltin heard the faint sound of brush moving at uneven intervals. More concerning than the noise itself, though, was the fact that it was growing louder.

  “Get behind the boulder and stay still!” Aemetta commanded in a whisper, and Keltin and Silax were quick to comply. The three of them hunched low to the ground and pressed their backs against the boulder, straining to listen yet terrified of what they might hear. The trees rustled less than twenty strides away, then Keltin heard a chattering noise that instantly took his thoughts back to the night of the attack in Dism Slyde.

  Scrid. The word paralyzed him—Keltin didn’t even dare breathe with one of those monstrosities so close by. Another section of trees moved on the opposite side of the path and a quick burst of clicks replied to the first, then two more joined in from farther up the canyon. That’s at least four, Keltin realized in a panic as he stared helplessly at the canopy overhead. For the first time since the night it happened, Keltin remembered the sensation of the scrid’s spike when it was still stuck in his side. The pain was an illusion, but the memory of it was staggering; each time he heard one of the creatures, he felt the spike return.

  The chattering slowly faded into the distance as the group of scrid moved along the path Keltin had walked just a few minutes earlier. With his heart still racing, Keltin panted silently as he waited to see if any more scrid were following the first set. Aemetta slowly raised herself up to a crouch and peered over the top of the boulder that had likely just saved their lives. She nodded at last and motioned for Keltin and Silax to stand with her.

  “No going back now,” Silax murmured. Aemetta and Keltin said nothing, though they both knew Silax was right. With Aemetta in the lead, they walked slowly back to the path, taking special care to avoid stepping on any dead brush along the way. Thin wisps of cloud drifted forward from the dark storms to the east, dimming the sun until it was nothing more than a faint disc of white behind the thickening veil of grey. Sharp gusts of wind swirled through the trees as the first hints of distant thunder drifted into the canyon.

  The path narrowed suddenly, reduced to less than three strides across by the sheer walls of stone on both sides. A pile of boulders blocked the way ahead, but Aemetta’s pace didn’t falter. With impressive agility, she leapt up from one stone to the next until she reached the top and turned to wait for Silax and Keltin to do the same. They followed, but their ascent was not nearly as graceful as hers had been. After conquering the mound of stones, Keltin paused to catch his breath. Then he noticed something peculiar.

  “There aren’t any trees,” Keltin observed, frowning at the bare tops of the canyon walls. A few moss-covered stones offered the only remaining spots of green visible on the path ahead.

  Silax’ eyes grew large with excitement. “You’re right!” he exclaimed before running a few strides in front of Aemetta. He slowed grudgingly and stared back at her when he realized his mistake. “We’re nearly there,” he said impatiently.

  “You’re still following me,” Aemetta said flatly, rubbing the side of her head again as she resumed the lead. The sound of small stones shifting from each footfall echoed in the winding crevice as the group pressed forward, creating a subconscious rhythm to their steps. Just as Keltin’s thoughts began to drift, the monotony of the path came to an abrupt end.

  The floor and walls of the canyon merged into a bare patch of exposed granite that marked the top of the hill and the end of the trail. As the path widened, Keltin and Silax walked beside Aemetta until she motioned for them to drop to the ground again. They crept the last few strides to the summit, then stopped to take in the landscape that sprawled before them. Dense forests blanketed the sides of every hill, their layer of green broken only by the jagged faces of grey stone that soared above even the highest treetops. Looking farther east, Keltin realized the group of mountains supposedly marking Cynmere stood just beyond the next hill. Clouds churned over and among the peaks, obscuring their heights from view.

  “You were right about being near the top,” Keltin said breathlessly.

  “Of course I was, but there should be a river….” Silax muttered, searching the hills to the south carefully before pointing to one of the valleys. “And there it is!” The Feller’s eyes seemed to glow with excitement as Keltin followed his gaze to a small clearing—just as described, a dark river flowed through the base of the valley. “We can make it there before the storm hits if we hurry,” Silax announced, preparing to stand.

  “There’s no point,” Aemetta said glumly as she watched the river.

  “What? Why not?” Silax demanded.

  “Look again. Just like before, your vision has failed to reveal one very important detail,” Aemetta replied. “See those lights in the water? All along the bank? That river is infested with haugaeldr.”

  “There’s no—” Silax stopped himself as he too spotted the unmistakable glow of the haugaeldr. “Cast me twice! There has to be water somewhere without those things in it,” he fumed.

  “There is, up there,” she said, pointing to the storm.

  “Do you mean the rain or Cynmere?” Keltin asked.

  “Probably both,” Aemetta answered with a shrug. “Either way, I think we’ve spent enough time searching for water in this area. We need to push a little farther, then pray that the water comes to us.” Silax didn’t protest—her decision meant they would keep moving closer to Cynmere—but Keltin could tell the Feller had been disappointed by his visions from the way he frowned at the river. Ignoring Silax, Aemetta selected a path that led around the next hill and they continued their push to the east.

  The wind diminished as Keltin plunged into the next valley with Aemetta and Silax, but the thunder grew louder and more frequent the farther they walked. Bizarre frond plants that Keltin hesitated to call “trees” dotted the spineleaf forest in clusters joined together by massive, gnarled roots. Keltin crouched beneath one such root just before an arc of lightning flashed suddenly from the wall of storms to the east. He looked up through the canopy and was alarmed to discover the dark, shifting clouds now swirled directly overhead. “We should find somewhere to stop for the night,” Keltin suggested as another roll of thunder rumbled angrily in the distance. “Now,” he added urgently.

  “Agreed,” Aemetta replied. “I’ve actually been searching for a good spot since we left the hilltop. Looks like we need to search faster.” A gust of wind carrying the first drops of rain emphasized her point as soon as she finished speaking. Keltin and Silax joined Aemetta in the hunt for shelter—a hunt that grew more frantic with each flicker of lightning. As they neared the southern side of the hill, a sheet of cold rain surged through the forest, accompanied by a barrage of lightning and thunder. Keltin struggled to see through the downpour as he stumbled along the slick path.

/>   “This way!” Aemetta called over the deafening sounds of the storm. In a flash of lightning, Keltin saw her standing beside half of a fallen spineleaf that rested against an enormous root from one of the frond trees. The root was nearly two strides across and formed an arch above the ground; the darkened confines beneath it looked large enough to comfortably house Keltin, Silax, and Aemetta. Keltin hurried into the space and wiped the water from his brow. As he looked around, he was surprised by how dry and quiet this shelter was. The spineleaf branches on either side of the arch created natural walls that offered some protection from the intense rain and wind, though Keltin still shivered with every gust because of his soaked clothing.

  “At least we have plenty of water now,” Silax muttered, lowering his hood and wringing out rainwater near the edge of the shelter.

  “I’m cold,” Keltin complained through chattering teeth a moment later.

  “There’s enough dry kindling in here to start a fire. Do you still have your flint striker?” Aemetta asked. Keltin nodded. “Good. We have to keep the flames low, though—I fear those scrid that passed earlier may not be the only things wandering these hills.” Keltin shivered again as he hurriedly began collecting small twigs and spineleaf needles. Soon, a small but delightfully warm fire glowed beneath one end of the root archway. Keltin basked in its heat and was quickly joined by Silax; Aemetta, however, remained near the edge of their refuge, staring out into the storm.

  “Don’t you want to dry off?” Silax called to her.

  “I’m fine,” she replied over her shoulder.

  Silax shook his head. “Come on, I know you’re cold. We’ve been given the gift of water, and shelter, and warmth—you should enjoy those gifts too and be thankful we were guided to safety. I told you the Venerates would show us the way.”

  Aemetta spun then and marched to the fire, her lips tight with frustration. “You think your visions are what got us here?’ she demanded. Keltin was shocked to hear such anger coming from someone who was normally so calm and reserved.