Recognition immediately dawned on Feraal as he stared up at the deliberately blank features of Raelynne. She kept her hand firmly in place whilst he squirmed for a moment under her. Ydari stood up and placed his booted foot across his arm, preventing the man from being able to resist and escape his current predicament. Feraal’s eyes flicked from the face of Ydari to Raelynne and back again before he fell still. Raelynne slowly raised her hand from his mouth as if she expected him to cry out at any moment but he remained motionless and silent. The mage hesitated a moment as to what to do next, spitting in contempt as Feraal’s facial features twisted into a self-satisfied grin.
“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon,” said Feraal conversationally. “What brings you to the foothills of the spine of the world?”
“Oh, you know, the usual. We decided to have a pleasant stroll through the wilderness and see if we could make some new friends,” Ydari responded sarcastically in a hoarse whisper.
“Please Ydari, now is not the time for your brand of humour,” the mage interrupted. “What are you doing here Feraal? We have been friends for years and all the time you were working with these dogs?”
“Please, I never took you for being so naïve,” Feraal replied haughtily. “You and I have never been friends. My loyalty was always to the Draconis Legium. I was just one of dozens of operatives sent out into the world to infiltrate Kingdoms and groups such as yours to discover anything that we could use to help us in our cause. Actually, I think it’s rather sweet that you thought of me as a friend. It makes betraying you all the more fun.”
“Don’t you dare mock me!” Raelynne snarled as she plucked a dagger from Ydari’s hip. She dropped to her knees and held the blade close to her former friend’s throat, letting the point graze his skin lightly. “Why did you do it, and just what are you doing here exactly?”
“I believe I already told you the answer to the first question,” said Feraal contemptuously. “I was recruited by the Legium long before I joined your order as a spy. It was so I could learn all your juicy secrets and report them back to the only group in all of Efealtor that wished to do something more than merely watch the world pass them by. As for the second question, you will have to wait and find out for yourself,” the cultist taunted with mocking laughter
“You must be here for something important. Otherwise there wouldn’t be so many of you. Now talk!”
“Don’t play dumb with me Raelynne. You have the champion of the blue shard standing right beside you. You both know very well what brought us to this place. It’s the reason why you’re here right now.”
As if in response to Feraal’s words Ydari screamed out as pain shot through his skull. He dropped to his knees and cradled his head in the vain hope that doing so might alleviate the agony that now threatened to overcome him. Inside his mind fresh images raced thick and fast of the mountain range that soared above where they now stood. Ydari saw himself being whisked to the top of the mountains and into a cave near its northern edge. The cavern was shrouded in darkness until a bright yellow light illuminated its depths whilst in the background a huge formidable shadow lingered behind it, still obscured despite the incandescence that cut through the gloom.
Ydari opened his eyes as the pain subsided as quickly as it came. Feraal nodded as he watched the Captain recover, understanding instantly dawning on him. Ydari’s chest was aflame and he raised a hand to it as a constricting sensation passed through him. As quickly as it had come on, it faded. As he pulled himself together, Ydari turned to look back towards the arch to check whether his agonised screams had drawn any unwanted attention. Despite these worries however they were still hidden and had yet not aroused the suspicions of any other Draconis Legium members in the immediate vicinity. Feraal remained as confident as ever, the same cocky grin plastered on his features that seemed to be a hallmark amongst their group.
“He’s right,” Ydari admitted grudgingly at last as he got back to his feet. “I know why the Legium came here. There’s another fragment of the Heartstone up in the mountains.”
“Very good,” Feraal drawled condescendingly. “For a policeman you’re surprisingly adept in the brains department.”
“And if you open your traitorous trap once more, you’ll be dead,” threatened Raelynne curtly.
“No, we bring him with us. If we leave him here, he’ll raise the alarm and he may have more secrets but we’re leaving, right now. We need to get to the shard before they finish whatever they are doing and something tells me we don’t have long.”
“Let’s think about this for a moment,” pleaded Kael.
“No, we're leaving now. I’ll check to see if the coast is clear. If so, we go on my signal. Make sure Lothram and Teobrin are aware of what’s happening.”
Ydari turned his back on the supine form of Feraal and looked out intently at the clearing beyond. The archway remained still and all signs of activity had ceased. Dozens of cultists were gathered around it and they spoke to one another in animated conversation. As the Watch Captain looked around, he found his gaze drifting upwards at the summit of the mountains and some hidden instinct awoke inside of him, drawing him to where he needed to go. As if in response to this a glimmering trail revealed itself to Ydari. He traced its path past a small group of trees where it took a sharp turn to the right and ascended up the mountainous slope. With one final look, Ydari nodded to his compatriots.
Behind the Captain, Lothram and Kael hauled Feraal to his feet and placed him between the two men, both Ythelians glaring daggers at their prisoner. Feraal merely smirked in response to their non-verbal warning. The rest of the company quickly fell in behind Ydari as he strode through the clearing at a brisk pace until the trees obscured him from sight. Raelynne followed next with Idrahil and Teobrin while Lothram and Kael brought up the rear having been slowed down with the extra effort of bringing their prisoner along. Soon all of them made it to the sloping trail and were lost from view to the Draconis Legium members below.
The path quickly steepened and soon it became an arduous hike, as step after step became more laboured. The going was made considerably more unpleasant the higher Ydari and his friends climbed. A northerly wind brought a biting chill with it and soon the sound of chattering teeth and heavy breathing became a permanent fixture for the next few minutes. At Raelynne’s signal, Ydari called for a halt and the mage went to work quickly. She cast her arms about in slow circular motions and whispered incantations under her breath when suddenly a strange purple glow shimmered around her and the Ythelians. In an instant, there was no longer a biting chill and they felt warmer, as if a small fire was burning directly next to their skin. The Mage finished casting the spell and, with one final nod, they set off for the summit.
The trek up the mountain quickly became a hard slog and time seemed to almost stand still as the air thinned. Their journey quickly became a cheerless affair and huge lengths of time passed by with barely a word uttered. The only one among the group who seemed to be enjoying themselves was Feraal. The discomfort of his captors brought him much amusement and his vile laughter caused him to be slapped irritably into silence on more than one occasion.
Minutes turned into countless hours as the group wound their way up what remained of the path they followed. Jagged rocks and clumps of frost-covered grass were the only things that could be seen as they continued their ascent until at last the foliage ceased to be a feature of this barren mountainside. Ydari paused as he looked out from his perch. To his surprise, he guessed that they were well over halfway up the mountain. The landscape rolled out beneath him and the foothills where they had started the morning now looked impossibly distant.
The voice that had been tugging at his consciousness reared up once more and the Watch Captain turned away from the sloped trail that they had been hiking along to a thin track that skirted along the edge of a rocky ridge. Ydari found himself staring fixedly at the new trail. Something came over him as he took a step onto it and set off down
the precarious walkway. Ydari became oblivious to the world around him as he continued walking. The path was strangely illuminated and the language of the Dragons resounded in his head, increasing in strength with each step while the haunting image of the yellow gem flickered at the forefront of his mind. The words which had been alien to Ydari at first now were strangely comforting and it was as if he could understand what he was being told.
“Ydari,” Kael hollered after his brother. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t think he can hear you,” Idrahil added helpfully.
“Really? What gave it away?”
“There’s no need for sarcasm,” Idrahil chided. “If you keep on like that you might end up with a knife in the ribs.”
“Really?” Kael asked as he pulled a face. “Promises, promises.”
“You really are disturbed,” Raelynne interrupted. “I think Ydari has found what we’ve been looking for. We should follow him.”
The mage set off instantly, knowing full well that a sarcastic retort was hovering on the lips of the vagabond and she did not want to give him the opportunity to utter it. Idrahil looked at him briefly before shaking her head as if she had expressed the same thought. The young woman followed the mage next with Teobrin only a step behind her, leaving Kael and Lothram to bring up the rear. The path they had ascended had long since narrowed and, as such, they had resorted to keeping Feraal between them. The Sergeant had been more than happy to have stationed himself behind their captive. He had found a perverse pleasure in roughly shoving the miscreant along the track and had bowled him over on a couple of occasions, much to his amusement. The three men briefly exchanged a glance before Feraal rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, falling in behind Kael as his escort resumed the routine.
Raelynne and Idrahil quickly caught up with the slow, methodical steps of Ydari who continued walking as if he were in a dream state. The mage felt a strange power emanating from him and the medallion at her neck vibrated wildly. She raised a cursory hand to his shoulder and shook him in the hope of rousing him from his walking slumber. At Raelynne’s touch a jolt of electricity passed between them and Ydari blinked his eyes a few times before surveying the area around him with a perplexed expression. He mouthed a question at the mage who answered him briefly. This gave Lothram and Kael time to catch up with the rest of the group, Feraal still placed between them.
Ydari finished listening to Raelynne’s hasty explanation as he looked about. He could feel the lingering side effects of whatever had taken hold. A short distance ahead of them something caught Ydari’s attention and he headed towards it. The rest of the party followed in his wake as he edged along the rocky path over to a worn cave mouth. The Watch Captain ignored the gloomy entrance for a moment as he saw faint words carved into the rock face. He ran a hand along these with interest and scanned the few words that were still legible. Raelynne joined Ydari at looking at the etchings with curiosity.
“I think these are words written in the language of the Dragons. I recognise some of the symbols,” Raelynne stated.
“Can you decipher it?” Idrahil asked as she looked over Ydari’s shoulder.
“No, I never learnt how to speak it, let alone translate. There are few on Efealtor who do and the Dragons have become a lot more reclusive since the Heartstone was destroyed.”
“I think I can read it,” said Ydari uncertainly. He continued to gaze intently at the carvings and a strange sense of calm settled over him. He ran his hands along the ancient words and slowly they began to make sense. “The shard of knowledge lies beyond but beware Champion for foresight and absolute wisdom come with their own burdens,” Ydari read, tracing the faded letters as he did so.
“You can read that?” Kael asked incredulously. “You’ve been holding out on me, brother.”
“It’s clearly a side effect of the fragment of the Heartstone. You’re connected to the power of Dragon-kind in more ways than I anticipated,” Raelynne surmised.
“How does it help us right now?” barked Lothram irritably.
“Well, it means we’re in the right place for one thing,” Ydari retorted testily. “It also means we have the advantage because we arrived first.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Feraal interjected. “You will never win this fight because you’re outmatched. You were outmatched before you fools even realised what you stumbled into and we’ve been ahead of you every step of the way so far. You couldn’t stop us in Tirgaal and the same will be true here. After all, you’re not the only one who has learned how to use the power of the Heartstone.” The cultist cackled maniacally after he had finished his tirade.
“Kael, would you shut him up please,” said Idrahil.
“You can silence me all you want but you can never silence the truth,” Feraal crowed defiantly. “Even now our order moves in ways you cannot comprehend. The one who made you look like the fools you are in Tirgaal is making her next move,” he blurted out as he continued his impassioned diatribe.
“What are you talking about?” Ydari’s voice thundered. He turned his back on the ancient script and rounded on their captive who, in spite of his confidence, squirmed somewhat under the Captain’s glare. “Start talking you worm!”
“Never,” countered Feraal.
“Very well. We shall do this another way,” Ydari replied.
The blue shard came to life in Ydari’s chest as if he had uttered an unspoken command. A warm feeling spread through his torso and images flooded his mind, a feeling of serenity washing over him. The Captain approached the now wriggling figure of their captive with his arms raised as if he were reaching out to embrace Feraal while his fingertips lit up with a blue hue. The cultist squirmed madly while Ydari placed his hands on either side of his head. Feraal’s movements slowly calmed down as his eyes glowed with the same shade of blue that was emanating from the Watch Captain and he beamed a smile of pure contentment. A few seconds passed before Ydari let him go and took a step back, Feraal now entirely enthralled by whatever had been done to him.
“You will answer any and all questions put to you,” Ydari instructed. “Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Feraal replied in a dull monotone.
“Who were you referring to? Who is making their next move?”
“Arlydd. She has become the God-King’s favourite and has been chosen to lead us. She has gone with the Regent Adaryn to Ythelia to aid with the invasion and if any problems occur, she is to sew dissent,” Feraal said obediently.
“By the Gods,” Kael swore loudly. “Elhara is in danger! We have to warn her.”
“Agreed,” Ydari said with a nod. “You have the Fenilax Raelynne. Send the message now and all we can do is hope the Queen receives it in time.”
Raelynne nodded her assent and quickly withdrew the Fenilax that she had acquired from the Ythelian embassy. She fiddled with the contraption for a few moments before she quickly scrawled a note and placed it inside the device. There was a faint creak as she closed the door. The message quickly burned away and Ydari stared at it moodily, Feraal’s boasts still ringing through his mind as he became lost in thought for a moment. The cultist continued to stand by tamely, the effects of the Heartstone fragment still visible on him when suddenly the blue glow that surrounded his head dissipated. He blinked a few times before he came back to his senses, his gaze passing from each person that stood around him and silently, something dawned on him.
“What the hell did you do to me?”
“I just loosened your tongue a bit,” Ydari replied with a chuckle. “You were most accommodating.”
“You snake!” Feraal spat indignantly. “You knew full well that I would never talk so you had to resort to using cheap tricks. Well, if you want to know the secrets that I’ve been keeping so badly then there is something you really should know, Policeman,” taunted the cultist, casting a meaningful glance towards Raelynne as he did so.
“Don’t you dare,” the mage shrilled, her eyes widening with fury.
“I’ll rip your throat out if you spread your slander!” she vociferated. Raelynne hurled herself at her former colleague and her face had turned into a scowl of pure hatred.
“Let him speak,” Lothram almost screamed as he stepped forwards, interposing his body between the two mages suddenly. “I want to hear what he has to say.”
“Don’t you dare get involved in this Sergeant. We have no need of his poison and we should just end his wretched existence now.”
“No,” Ydari finally chimed in, planting himself between Raelynne and the source of all her ire. The two Ythelians stood beside one another and the Sergeant nodded almost gratefully at the Captain. “I want to hear this too,” he finished,
“Finally, you have come to your senses. The Order of Magi know more about the Heartstone fragments than they would have you believe. They found a gem shard and tried to unlock its power at Avalor but their efforts ended disastrously, costing the lives of many students. Raelynne here played a crucial role in this.”
“How was she involved?” Ydari simply asked, his voice as cold as ice.
“She was the one who cast the spell. She is the reason your sister died.”
***
The noise of battle died away as bedlam and confusion took hold amongst the combatants. The shrill voices of the various commanders around the battlefield screamed orders but the momentum had been lost and all but a few of the most fervent warriors had ceased their melee and now watched, enthralled as the brightly decorated Tirgaalian forces streamed into view. At their head the figure of the Regent was visible in his shining plate mail while either side of him mounted knights carried brightly coloured banners bearing the crest of Tirgaal. Now, even those men who had fallen victim to the effects of bloodlust ceased their assault and turned to watch Adaryn and his knights in awe.
The Fractured Heartstone Page 30
