“We’re almost there,” Allegria warned a short while later and urged her mule into a trot to move up to tell Deo. Hallow followed, one hand automatically drawing arcany to him. “Deo! Hold up a minute. If the Askia are present, we need to wait for Lord Israel’s company.”
“—have asked you three times what else you think my boon should be used for if not sending Nezu from this world—what?” Deo paused when Allegria and Hallow joined him as the road widened into a black, lifeless track. Hallow couldn’t help but rub the back of his neck, trying to dispel the odd feeling that they were being watched.
“The altar is just over that crest,” Allegria said, pointing to the path ahead. She, too, glanced around with quick little movements of her head.
“This is a place of nightmares,” Israel said, his expression showing that he felt the same sense of foreboding Hallow felt in his bones. “It’s as if all life has been leached from the land, and it cries out in sorrow and contrition.”
“Yes,” Allegria said, rubbing her arms. She edged Buttercup a bit closer to Penn. “It’s not a good place, although it feels so…” Her words trailed away as she continued to scan the track before them.
“Feels what?” Hallow asked, dismounting and leading Penn and Buttercup over to a relatively clear spot. A few blades of black grass grew in clumps. Hallow had no idea if the grass was savory or not, but assuming it wasn’t, he readied feed bags and got them on the animals while Allegria dismounted and moved over to talk to Deo.
Lord Israel’s company, being on foot, moved more slowly than those who were mounted, and since Deo saw the wisdom of not outpacing the men guarding their backs, he and his companions busied themselves hobbling their mounts and taking what refreshment they could find in such a blighted land.
“The Askia are sure to be around,” Allegria was saying when Hallow returned from relieving himself. “In fact, I’m surprised they haven’t met us by now. Mayam and I saw them a short while after we arrived at the altar.”
“Your men are just around the bend, Lord Israel,” Hallow announced. He stopped next to where Allegria sat on a tree stump, one hand tangling itself in her wild curls. He loved those curls—their refusal to be tamed reminded him of her spirit. “Perhaps the Askia have gone off in search of more interlopers?”
She shook her head, leaning into him, her face tight with worry. “I don’t think so. I can…I can almost feel them. I don’t know how it is, but I feel that they are around. Hidden. Unseen by us, but aware that we are here.”
Hallow didn’t dispute that statement since he, too, had a feeling they were not alone. The very air prickled with static, making him feel itchy with the need to be doing something.
“They’re here?” Deo looked up from listening to Idril. She had been speaking quietly, but with many short, abrupt gestures of her hands, mostly consisting of her poking Deo in the chest, Hallow noted with a little amusement. Deo bore the expression of a man being called upon to exercise patience, never one of his strong points. He turned now with a grateful look, and strode over to where Israel was consulting a small map he’d drawn from his pocket. “Excellent. Now we can proceed.”
“Deo!” Idril said with a little stamp of her foot. “I am not done telling you to be careful! If you get captured again, leaving me alone for another year, I swear to you that I will marry every unmarried man I see!”
Deo paused to give her a pointed look, then turned to give orders to one of his father’s newly arrived men about tending the animals.
“Kiriah will be fading in an hour or less,” Allegria warned, casting a glance behind her, where the sky was already starting to turn peach above the line of broken and burned trees. Beyond the trees, a low range of rocky mountains curved to the south, as if confining the desolation that all but oozed up from the land to just this area. “Mayhap we should set up a camp here for the night, so that we can face Nezu with Kiriah’s full blessing.”
Deo, Idril, and Hallow all turned to look at her. The golden glow that emanated from her cast the light of approximately ten torches. Bright torches. “I think, my heart, we can take it for granted that you have Kiriah’s full support,” he said with only a minor twitch of his lips.
“You’re lit up like a moonbug that’s been dipped in arcany and rolled in crystal dust,” Deo said at the same time, obviously dismissing her suggestion. “Come. I would have this over so that Idril has no further opportunities to lecture me on the proper way to fight a god.”
He strode off. Lord Israel, ending a short consultation with two of the company leaders, nodded to Hallow.
“Are you ready?” Hallow said to his wife, hesitant to ask her to do something she was clearly uncomfortable doing.
“Aye,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “But if we all end up dead and roaming around the spirit world, wringing our hands and wailing that we had made so many bad choices, do not come running to me for comfort! I’ll be too busy writing up large signs that read, ‘I told you not to do this!’”
Hallow laughed, and with an arm around her, followed Idril and Lord Israel.
“Do you think you can release me from my servitude after this?” Quinn asked. He, Ella, and Dexia fell into step behind the others, with Lord Israel’s small army on their heels. “Not that I haven’t enjoyed myself running all over Genora, being shot by Lyl’s army, and blown to smithereens when Deo showed up at Deeptide—not to mention gutted by one of those Askia when I tried to protect Nether Dangles—but I think, I really think I’d like to go a few weeks without being killed in some horrible manner or other.”
“You should be happy to die in the service of Lady Allegria,” Ella told him in a sibilant whisper that was quite audible. “Look at all she’s done for us!”
Quinn shot her a startled look.
“For the Shadowborn,” she corrected herself quickly. “The family who took me in now has a life beyond that of slavery and pain. All of Eris does. And you complain about a little discomfort that comes when you die. Tch.”
“It hurts!” Quinn protested. “Just because I don’t remain dead doesn’t mean I enjoy the process of dying. Besides, I picked up a device from Red Eva that she promises will bring many hours of enjoyment. It’s a swing of some sort. You sit in it with your feet in little loops, and I—”
A call from Deo ended that conversation.
“You did get one of those swings, didn’t you?”Allegria asked, running with Hallow over the crest of the hill after Israel and Idril. “Because it really sounds like something we’d—oh, blessed Kiriah, no! They’re here.”
The land sloped downward to a bowl-shaped dip in the landscape, in the center of which stood a large black slab of the strange glass-like rock Hallow had absently noted. Surrounding it were twelve women, the Askia he’d glimpsed fighting the dirgesingers. Just as one of the women brought a horn to her lips, Deo lifted his sword and started forward.
“No!” Hallow called, bolting after Deo and causing the latter to hesitate. To his surprise, the woman with the horn paused, as if she was waiting to see what they would do. Hallow took that as a sign from Bellias. “We have a big enough battle to come with Nezu. I’d rather we not drain ourselves fighting everyone else beforehand. Let us see if we can’t reason with the Askia first.”
“Reason with them?” Deo shook his head. “Allegria said they decimated half of Lyl’s army. They clearly aren’t willing to be reasonable.”
“Not half, just a few dozen. Let us first try diplomacy,” Hallow argued.
“About this, the arcanist is right,” Lord Israel said. “Let us see if they will treat with us before we risk depleting what limited resources we have.”
Deo grimaced, but gestured to Hallow. “You may try, but if they kill you, don’t come crying to me.”
Hallow couldn’t help but smile. “Oddly enough, Allegria just told me the same thing.”
“That’s because you insis
t on not heeding me,” the love of his life told him, watching the Askia warily.
“May the blessings of Bellias fall upon you, Askia of the All-Father.” Hallow moved forward to the lip of the concave dip in the ground, his hands spread wide to show he held no weapon. He made his courtliest bow. “I am Hallow of Penhallow, once Master of Kelos, and now seeker of knowledge. My companions and I mean no harm to you or the one whom you serve.”
The Askia stood still and silent for a minute. Then, with a quick glance to those nearest her, one of them stepped forward, a sword held in one hand, a small shield in the other. “I am Mist, banner maiden and weaver of fates. What business do you have at the Altar of Day and Night, mortal?”
“We are here to banish Nezu from this world,” Deo said, moving up to stand next to Hallow.
The Ask examined him, her face placid, but her eyes glittered despite the fading of the sun. “You bear the stain of his sins. Why would you banish that which you must honor, Savior of the Fourth Age?”
For a moment, Deo appeared to be taken aback, but then his runes sparked, and he all but snarled, “I honor him not. He has destroyed Starborn and Fireborn alike. He wiped Eris clear of all but a small fraction of the Shadowborn native there. He has tortured, killed, and promised retribution to those I hold dear. He threatens all of Alba, and must be sent elsewhere. That is why we three are here.”
“Three?” Mist raised one eyebrow, her gaze flickering behind Hallow. “I see many more than three.”
“The others are here to aid us, but it is Hallow, Allegria, and I who have the responsibility of banishing Nezu,” Deo answered.
Mist moved forward, her sword still held in her hand, but her expression was almost amused when she circled around, finally returning to take up her stand in front of them. “A lightweaver, an arcanist who reeks of both Eris and its master, and a servant of Nezu. What a very odd group you are.”
“I am no man’s servant,” Deo growled. “Certainly not Nezu’s. Did you not just hear me state that it falls to us to banish him?”
“I heard,” she said with a little waggle of the sword. “I also heard what you did not say.”
Deo frowned.
“Guilt,” she said, leaning forward, touching his chest lightly with the tip of her sword. “It lies heavily upon you. While you…” She moved to the side, her head tipped a little as she examined Hallow.
He found himself suddenly nervous, as if his old master had caught him misusing the magic he’d been taught.
“You are filled with compassion, and the fear that it will leave you weak when you need to be strong.” A little smile touched her lips. “You fear for naught, arcanist.”
Her gaze shifted to Allegria, whom Hallow felt stiffen in response. He twined his fingers through hers, hoping to give her the comfort he suspected she needed. “What is your name, fleet-of-foot lightweaver?”
“Allegria.” She gave Hallow a quick look, adding, “I am called Hopebringer, and what Hallow and Deo say is the truth. We mean no harm to you or the All-Father. When you chased me earlier, I didn’t have time to explain that.”
“You think to blame us for protecting the altar from you?” Mist gave a little shake of her head, her expression not giving away any emotion. “We saw you with the betrayer. We are the Askia, defenders of the All-Father, and we tolerate no trespassers.”
“We would not be here if it was not necessary,” Allegria said just as Deo muttered something rude under his breath. “But Nezu will come here again. He has an agreement with the Eidolon, and it is here he will come. Thus, we must also be here.”
“The Eidolon?” Mist’s nose wrinkled, as if she smelled something foul. “They have long been asleep, too cowed to show their faces after their defeat at the hands of the All-Father. Why do you believe Nezu will come here—”
A ripple in the air caught their attention, interrupting the Ask. Instinctively, Hallow gathered arcany while clamping down hard on the chaos that wanted to burst into immediate action. Allegria whipped her swords from her back, spinning to look. Behind them, Hallow heard Lord Israel take up what was no doubt a protective stance, probably similar to the one Deo had adopted.
But rather than the massive, terrible figure of Nezu emerging from the spirit world, a frail old man with spiky white hair and a small fat dog emerged. He glanced around him, blinking at all the people. “Eh?” he said, just as if someone had asked a question of him.
“Exodius?” Hallow released the arcany, grateful to feel the chaos ebb. He made a short bow in deference to the former Master of Kelos. “I am surprised to see you in the mortal world. You told me you had no intention of ever returning here.”
“Eh?” the old man said again, then focused his eyes on Hallow, shambling over to him, the fat dog in tow. “Ah, it’s the boy. Still have the large one and the priest with you, do you? Well, that’s your own business, although I don’t know what you’re thinking, consorting with them. The woman’ll just lead you astray, and the other will spell your doom.”
“Hey!” Allegria said, tucking her hand into the crook of Hallow’s arm. “I will not lead him astray! And besides, we’re married. If he goes astray, I go with him.”
“It’s neither here nor there to me,” Exodius told her.
“I must insist that you leave,” Mist said loudly, giving Exodius a quick glare. “There is nothing here for you.”
“Not yet, but there will be just as soon as we draw him from the spirit realm,” Deo told the woman. “We have no fight with you, nor, as we have all assured you, are we interested in the All-Father. Your determination to keep us from this area is misplaced. Stay and help us fight, or leave and let us do our job.”
“Deo, that is not how you talk to Askia,” Allegria said with obvious exasperation.
“Boy, come here. That pesky Thorn told me what you are up to. You must not do this.” Exodius took Hallow by the arm and tugged him forward a few yards, speaking as he did so. “Thorn is most distressed, and I agree with him that what you intend to do is folly, sheer folly. I did not leave you in charge of Kelos just so you could gallivant off picking fights with gods.”
“I assure you, Master Exodius, we are not picking a fight with Nezu. I don’t know why Thorn has abandoned us, but with or without him, we must do this.”
“Thorn can’t help you,” Exodius mumbled, dropping his sharp gaze.
Hallow had a good sense of when someone was being untruthful, and he had a very strong feeling that Exodius had just done so.
“Why not?”Allegria asked, and Hallow allowed himself to be momentarily sidetracked by Exodius’ odd behavior.
“He can’t,” Exodius repeated, still not meeting Hallow’s eyes. “It’s the way of things, you understand.”
“We don’t understand,” Hallow said with patience that was fast running thin. He glanced over to Deo, but he—along with Lord Israel—was now arguing with Mist, trying to get her to back down so that they could use the area to confront Nezu. “Explain it to us, please.”
“I have no time for this. I must return to my home. Eagle and I have many things underway, many important experiments with the inhabitants of our town. We have almost perfected a spell that will keep the wraiths from moving through walls to disturb one’s rest. That alone will be invaluable.”
“Did Thorn say something to you about Nezu?” Allegria asked, a little frown between her brows. “Did he say something about what he—Nezu—intends?”
“It’s folly, all folly,” Exodius answered her. “I told the boy that, but would he listen to me? He would not. Never was one to heed my advice. Took over as Master just as bold as you please, and left Eagle and me to rot. Or was that someone else?” Exodius frowned, then squinted at Hallow. “You still here? I thought I told you about the folly you were undertaking?”
Hallow took a deep, deep breath, holding firmly onto his temper. His short time with Exo
dius had taught him well the value of patience when dealing with the old man. “Yes, I’m still here. We all are. And we can’t leave, not just yet. We must stop Nezu.”
“Oh, you don’t want anything to do with him. He lies, you know. Lied to everyone about the All-Father. Lied to the twin goddesses. Lied to their people, trying to turn the mortals against them.” Exodius waved away the subject of Nezu. “If you try to get any sense out of him, he’ll just lie to you, too.”
“What did Nezu lie about?” Allegria asked, looking just as curious as Hallow felt.
Deo snapped a rude word at the Ask, who pulled the sword she had sheathed. Lord Israel looked put-upon. Quinn, Idril, and the others were huddled together, talking softly, but keeping their eyes on Deo and Israel. Hallow turned back to Exodius.
“The All-Father, don’t you see?” Exodius grasped the front of Hallow’s jerkin and shook it. “That’s why Thorn is worried. He fears you will summon the All-Father.”
“Why would we do that?” Hallow asked, trying to puzzle out the mystery that he sensed behind Exodius’ words. “The All-Father tried to destroy Alba—it’s why the twin goddesses imprisoned him in the Altar of Day and Night. He is more destructive than Nezu, hard as that is to believe, so we do not wish to summon him.”
“No, no, those are the lies, boy, the lies! That’s what he wants you to believe so that the All-Father will not return and punish him for what he’s done.”
“Are you saying that Kiriah and Bellias didn’t banish the All-Father to the altar?” Allegria asked, clearly just as confused as Hallow.
There was a shout from the Askia when Deo pushed aside Mist, marched over to the massive stone that made up the altar, and leaped upon it, declaring, “I am not leaving here until I have banished Nezu, and nothing you can say will stop me!”
“Bellias’ nipples,” Hallow swore to himself. “He’s determined to get us into a fight with them. My apologies, Exodius. What did you say about the All-Father and the altar?”
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