by A J Park
Hannal looked at Kalleck, his face even more serious than usual. “I don’t feel good about this, Kalleck. I think it’s too dangerous. You don’t know how many men they will bring, and you don’t know what they’re going to do.”
“There is no way to know what will happen,” Kalleck said. “But if we don’t go, they will attack us anyway. Going is our only chance to stop them. We have to go.”
“I agree that we have to go,” Hannal said. “But I think you should stay here. I will go in your place and take the captives back to them. You are First Guardian. Our people all look to you and, if something happens to you…” he paused, as if unwilling to think about that possibility. “When you were appointed, there was no one else the clans could agree on. I fear it would cause the same discord again if you don’t come back. Our people need you to lead them. You must not put yourself in such danger.”
Hannal was steady, loyal and more cautious than Kalleck. “I know it’s dangerous, Hannal,” Kalleck said, getting to his feet. “And I know you would go in my place, but I can’t ask you to, not this time. I am the one who can speak to them and, if something happens and we need to communicate, I need to be there. We have to think about everyone, what’s best for them. The safety of all our people is more important than our lives.” He turned to Kallia, feeling her eyes on him. Her face was serious too. “I’m sorry, Kallia,” he said, shaking his head. “I know you’re angry about the whole situation, and I don’t blame you. I should never have asked Hannal to help me. I should never have brought your family into this. Now the people look to Hannal as a leader. They count on him at least as much as they count on me. We can’t abandon them now, but I’m sorry I ever asked for your help.”
“Oh, Kalleck,” she said, her face softening. She hugged him quickly. “None of this was your fault. Who could have known, when your father was killed, what danger our people would be in? The danger you, Hannal and Sinnar would be in? Maybe we would have all run instead of taking the oath if we had known what was coming.”
“But we did take the oath,” Kalleck said heavily. “We swore that we would protect the people—that we would do our best to lead them well and to take care of them.”
“And we will keep our promise,” Hannal said. “Whatever the cost.”
“I know you will,” Kallia said. “I know you feel responsible now, for all the people. It’s a heavy weight to carry. We are all in danger. We wouldn’t have escaped it by hiding in the mountains. Even if someone else had been appointed First Guardian, he would still have needed your help. And you would have gone. Don’t blame yourself, Kalleck.”
“Thank you, Kallia,” he said. “Thank you for your support, both of you,” he looked at Hannal. “I will go in the morning, and we will hope for the best.”
Lady Shalyrie Almorin
The girl in the black veil came to wake them in the dark before dawn. Shalyrie was already awake when the girl came in with a lantern. Someone followed her in, left a tray of breakfast on the table and went out again. The girl had Shalyrie’s dress draped over her arm. It had been cleaned, but it was still stained and ruined. That didn’t matter. She only needed to look like herself. The Almorians needed to see her.
She ate as much breakfast as she could fit past the butterflies in her stomach. She looked at Olthorin. Was he scared? Maybe she looked nervous, because he reached across the table to squeeze her hand and say, “It’s going to be fine, Ree. We’ll be home soon.”
The Yalkur girl helped Shalyrie slide her arm carefully into her sleeve and fasten her dress up the back. Shalyrie looked at her shoulder and saw the bandage showing through where Kalleck had cut the fabric away.
Olthorin had put his own clothes back on. They had no other belongings to gather.
Shalyrie looked around the room. Kalleck’s people had been very kind to her while she was here, but it was time to go. She would never see this place again. The veiled girl took her hands and said something. Without understanding the words, Shalyrie felt that she was wishing her luck.
“I wish you well too,” Shalyrie answered. “Thank you for all you have done for me.”
The girl opened the door and there were several men waiting outside. They were all tall, masked and dressed in black, and they were armed. Was Kalleck one of them? She looked at their armbands, trying to find one with a familiar pattern. Had it been red with blue stripes? All of them were red, but each with a unique design. She didn’t think she recognized any of them. None of them spoke.
Shalyrie just had time to see Olthorin being blindfolded before they covered her eyes too. Someone took her arm to guide her, and they went down the stairs, across the hall and outside. The pre-dawn air felt icy.
The person holding her arm was trying to pull her along much too quickly. She was still only barely able to walk, and they were trying to go too fast. She went on as well as she could until someone swiftly picked her up and carried her in his arms without even saying a word. No warning or asking for permission.
She wanted to order him to put her down, whoever he was. She was Lady Shalyrie Almorin, and she was used to being treated with the deepest respect, not carried around like a piece of luggage. But she didn’t say it. Better to stay silent now. Better to cooperate.
They came to the stable, and she could hear and smell the horses. The silent man carrying her handed her up to someone who was already mounted. She felt a man’s arms steadying her in the saddle. The animal soon moved, and it sounded like they were outside now. She could hear the pounding of many hooves around her. The horse she was on stopped for a few moments, and others gathered around. Men were shouting. When she recognized the voice of the angry man from the bridge she shuddered.
They began to move, slowly at first, then faster. All the other horses were running with them. A shock of pain came from the wound with every stride and she clenched her teeth.
“It hurts you,” Kalleck’s voice said from above her. So it was him on the horse with her after all. She couldn’t see anything.
She nodded wordlessly.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know why we’re doing this. We have to do it,” she said past gritted teeth.
“Yes,” he agreed, “but I’m sorry it hurts you.”
After a time, she could feel the horse begin to climb. They went a little slower then and the pain lessened. Still blind, Shalyrie felt them reach the top and begin to descend.
“You may see now,” Kalleck said.
She reached up with her good hand and pulled down the cloth covering her eyes. The view made her gasp. They were high on a ridge beside a tall spire of rock, the land spread out below them. The morning sun shone on the trees. Some of them were brilliantly colored—yellow, red and orange. She could see a wide expanse of hills and canyons, and somewhere far below, she thought she saw a little of the great river.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. The mountain air was cold around her, and she shivered.
“Are you cold?” he sounded surprised.
“Yes!”
“Even though the sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day?”
“But it’s so cold here,” she protested. It never really got cold on Almoria. Kalleck reached back, took a black cloak out of his saddlebag, and covered her with it. She pulled it around herself gratefully. “Thank you.”
They were far down in the hills by the time the sun was overhead. Shalyrie was desperate for relief. The pain was still intense. At last, Kalleck shouted something and all the horses halted, spreading out into a grassy meadow surrounded by trees. A small stream ran there and the horses began to drink.
Kalleck lifted her down and set her on the grass with her back resting against a tree trunk. She closed her eyes, still breathing fast. Finally, they had stopped moving. She breathed in and out and, very slowly, the throbbing in her shoulder eased. Better. It was better now.
Olthorin
’s voice made her open her eyes. “You can’t sleep now, Ree. It’s time to eat.”
“Not hungry,” she murmured.
“Just eat a little,” he urged. She saw Kalleck handing him food from his saddlebag. He brought her bread and cheese, and offered her a piece of dried meat.
“Too tired to chew,” she said. Yet despite her weariness, she accepted the food Olthorin offered and tried to eat it.
“Thank you,” she said.
She intended to stay awake, but she felt so exhausted and, now that the pain had eased, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She only woke when Kalleck lifted her. She opened her eyes to see all the other riders mounted again. Kalleck put her in his saddle and got onto the horse behind her. “We have to go.”
“I know we have to, and I’m all right,” she said resignedly. “You won’t let me fall off?”
“I won’t let you fall.”
The sun was low in the sky when they finally stopped again, and Shalyrie was worn out. She slumped in the saddle and, if Kalleck hadn’t been holding her up, she would have fallen long ago. She realized only dimly that the horse had actually stopped and Kalleck was no longer behind her. He placed her foot in the stirrup so she could dismount, but she was too exhausted to do anything but slide off. He caught her and set her on the ground.
Solid ground. Firm. Unmoving. She could have kissed it. She was vaguely aware of people moving around her. Someone lifted her and placed her on a blanket, where she fell asleep without another conscious thought.
She woke with a gasp in the middle of the night. The air was crisp and cold, and white stars shone brightly above her. The trees were black against the sky, and the night felt huge and black around her.
“What’s wrong?” Kalleck whispered out of the dark. “Are you cold? Are you in pain?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I woke you. I’m all right.”
She was a little cold and a little hungry, and she didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow. She watched the stars turn for a long time before she slept again.
The next time she opened her eyes, the sun was coming up over the hills. The night’s rest had done her good, and she felt a little better. Slowly, she stood up and realized that her legs were dreadfully sore from riding. It helped a little to walk around.
Kalleck noticed she was up and brought her some food. This time, she ate gratefully.
All too soon, they were ready to go again.
“Kalleck,” she said as he lifted her onto the horse. “When this is over, I probably won’t see you again. I wanted to say that I’m grateful for everything you’ve done. You didn’t have to help me at all, and you didn’t have to be kind to me. Thank you.”
He looked back at her wordlessly, then nodded gravely in response.
It was afternoon when they came to the edge of a wide-open area. The ground was smooth, except for some clumps of stones and a few boulders. The burned and trampled remnants of crops surrounded what was left of the village of Thell.
Seeing this place brought images of the violence painfully to Shalyrie’s mind. She avoided looking too closely around, for fear that any of the dead were still lying there.
They rode forward very slowly. Kalleck had not drawn a weapon, but she could feel he was as tense as iron. Kalleck’s men were all around them, silent and featureless behind their masks. Shalyrie’s gown of pale Almorian silk stood out dramatically among their black clothes. She could see Olthorin nearby. His white shirt was the only other break in the line of black.
The Almorians were there, standing in grim, silent rows, waiting. Kalleck rode forward very slowly until his men faced the Almorians, just far enough way to be out of bow shot. Galenor was at their head, and Captain Calreth stood beside him. Many of Galenor’s men had their hands on their weapons. It was unnaturally silent.
Kalleck turned to look at Olthorin. “I’ll go first,” Olthorin suggested. “And if all is well, send Shalyrie to follow me. I can tell them that she is injured but recovering. So they will know that she’ll be walking slowly.”
Kalleck nodded. Olthorin got off the horse and walked into the open. Everyone on both sides could see him as he slowly and steadily walked forward, crossing the empty space. Shalyrie saw him reach Galenor and speak with him.
“It’s time,” Kalleck said. “Be well.”
“And you,” she said. He lifted her to the ground. She looked up at him, but she couldn’t read the expression in his dark eyes.
She took a deep breath, willing herself not to stumble. She had to make it the whole way. There was no one there to support her. Her mind flashed back to that first day, when she had fallen and not been able to get up without help. No. She could do this.
She walked very slowly over the uneven ground, and no one on either side seemed to breathe. There was Olthorin, standing next to Galenor. Almost there. Soon, she could go home.
Her foot caught on a stone and she stumbled a little, but caught herself.
Almost there.
She met Galenor’s eyes.
Without warning, a man in black clothes appeared from among some rocks and blocked her path. His face was masked and in his hand was a curved knife.
There wasn’t even time to scream.
CHAPTER 7
Lady Shalyrie Almorin
The man with the knife leapt at Shalyrie. Out of pure instinct, she seized his wrist with both hands, trying to hold the blade back. He bore her to the ground and the knife point pierced the skin of her chest. Frantically, she tried to push him back, but he was bigger and stronger, and he was on top of her. He drove the knife deeper, and she felt a hot, sickening pain. No. No! She had to stop him.
There was a blur of motion above them. She saw Kalleck’s horse jump right over them, knocking the man slightly to one side. Abruptly, the man’s arm went slack and he collapsed. The knife fell harmless from his hand. It was only then that she noticed Kalleck held his sword.
“How badly are you hurt?” he yelled.
She shook her head. It wasn’t too bad. Nothing compared to what the man would have done if Kalleck hadn’t stopped him. Everything around her was chaos. She heard the Almorians yelling and the clash of weapons. More horses jumped over her. A group of Almorians attacked Kalleck, and then she couldn’t see him anymore.
They were fighting. No! They were supposed to see the horsemen peacefully returning her and then slowly go back. They were not supposed to fight. Olthorin must have told them not to attack. Where was he? What had happened?
She felt blood running down from the would-be assassin onto her. Shoving his body to one side with her good arm, she wormed her way out from beneath him. He was dressed in black clothes. Had Kalleck sent him to kill her? Was he one of Kalleck’s men? His clothes and mask didn’t look the same, except for the color. She pulled his hood and mask off. He had blond hair and his features were Almorian.
He was an Almorian and he had tried to kill her. Why?
Where was Olthorin? He had to order them all to stop. They had to stop fighting.
But even if they did, what was she going to do? One of the Almorians must have sent the assassin. If she went back with them, she wasn’t safe. Someone wanted her dead. She needed to get away from the Almorians.
And the horsemen? Kalleck must think that she and Olthorin had lured him into a trap. He would not give her asylum after that. The horsemen would be justified in killing her.
Shalyrie didn’t want to die. She had to get away.
The line of battle had passed her by and, for the moment, there was no one very near. She unfastened the assassin’s black cloak, took it and his curved knife, and slipped away, sticking close to the rocks. She pressed her hand against the cut on her chest, trying to stop the bleeding. There was no time to do anything else now.
She had to get away.
That was her only thought for a wh
ile. She made it safely to the edge of the open area and into the trees. She paused to rest, breathing hard. Her shoulder was throbbing mercilessly again. She had to find someplace to hide and rest.
She stayed in the trees and came to a little draw between the hills. She followed it upward, moving very slowly. It was rocky, and she stepped carefully to avoid making the rocks clatter together. She came to a field of boulders and searched through them, looking for a place to hide.
There was a small crevice at the bottom of one of them. It was a tight fit, but she wrapped the cloak around herself and sat down, sliding deeper into the crack. She covered her shoes and the hem of her dress with the black fabric, and pulled the hood down over her face.
Would they still be able to see her?
She slid further in, as far as she could.
For a long time, all she did was catch her breath and try to calm herself. The surge of adrenaline that had rushed through her when the man attacked faded slowly away and shock began to set in. For a while, she was shaking violently. Slowly, the shock passed and she felt drained. Her shoulder hurt and her chest hurt and she was alone.
What to do next? Where was Olthorin? Was he safe? Had they tried to kill him too? They couldn’t! Surely they wouldn’t?
But someone had dressed an Almorian to look like one of the horsemen and placed him there to attack her as she tried to return to her own people. Why? The whole thing made no sense. Who would want her dead? What did anyone have to gain from killing her?
The light began to fade. The sun was nearly down, the sky had grown cloudy and it was growing colder. Silence had settled on the hills. Shalyrie couldn’t hear any sounds of battle, or anything at all. Even the twittering of birds in the trees had stilled. She stayed in her hiding place and reviewed her options.
