“Don’t ask me to leave you,” Silver whispered, grabbing Truyna as she, too, tried to scramble to Ruyne, screaming for him.
“I’m not asking. It is my command as your Leader. Go,” Ruyne ordered, then he let go of Thorn’s reins and slapped the mare’s rump to startle the mare into galloping away.
Silver couldn’t hear anything over Truyna’s screaming and the clash of metal behind them. Thorn tore through underbrush and wove between trees, driven by Ruyne’s Song magic. Silver only corrected the mare if she got confused and headed back toward the camp. It broke his heart to leave Ruyne. The fact that Valentra had almost certainly come to kill Ruyne and take Truyna made leaving even worse. If they had handed the little girl over, would the attack have been avoided? Silver felt guilty even considering that. Truyna was as much his daughter as Ruyne’s. Yet, what good would he do their daughter if Ruyne died and Silver lost his Song-Binding? He had seen what it did to people. Shadow had been the strongest of them and barely survived it, then he’d gone crazy and left the Band. Silver didn’t have high hopes for his own sanity if he lost Ruyne. He felt he was losing it just leaving Ruyne behind. He was the weakest of the four, it had been the others that made him strong.
Thorn came to such a quick stiff-legged halt that Silver nearly tumbled out of his saddle and over her head. He managed to right himself just in time to avoid falling or hurting Truyna. Thorn let out the whinny of one Band horse recognizing another. Panic filled Silver’s mind so thoroughly that it took him a moment to register that a man sat before them on a familiar horse. His Song told him the impossible. His eyes confirmed it. The auburn horse bore a specialty brand made for the Band. For one specific member of the band, Derry.
The man on the horse wore non-descript black clothing and a dark, hooded cloak that obscured his face. Silver’s heart started to pound at the memory of the last time he had seen Derry. Was that why his Song was so out of sorts? Had Derry come to destroy them? “Derry?” he asked, barely daring to voice the name.
The voice that answered was much deeper, but even more recognizable. “Not Derry,” Shadow responded as he dropped his hood. “What is going on, Silver?”
“Shadow?” Silver felt relief flood through him. Why couldn’t he sense Shadow’s Song? It was as though Shadow were not even there. A hallucination. Then he noticed the myriad of weapons that Shadow carried. Strange, but helpful. He glanced behind him, then looked back at Shadow and managed to say breathlessly, “The camp is under attack, Shadow. Valentra brought an army! They’ll be slaughtered.”
“Hide, Silver. Protect her. I will protect Ruyne,” Shadow promised as he urged his horse past Silver. Daggers sang as they slid from oiled sheaths and into Shadow’s hands.
Silver closed his eyes as Shadow raced through the forest behind them. He knew Shadow was right, but so many questions plagued him. They would have to wait. In the nick of time, the Song had brought Shadow back to them, armed and dangerous. Silver prayed hard that the Song would guide Shadow so he could save the Band. He tried to comfort and quiet Truyna, but she was inconsolable. Truyna was the direct blood-descendent of the Leader. As such, she inherited Ruyne's sensitivity to the Song magic. Even at her young age, she knew danger had found them.
Silver had scouted this area most of his life. He drove Thorn through a waterfall into a hidden cave where they would be safe. He tied Thorn to an outcropping on the wall, slid off the mare's back, then took Truyna down into his arms. He sat behind the mare, letting the horse become a shield for them, and held his sobbing daughter close. He tried to hide his own tears from her, but he couldn't hide his Song's distress from her bond to the magic.
Chapter 19
Ruyne
The men with Valentra didn’t even give the Dusksingers a chance to talk before they attacked. The Song Magic’s protective barrier around the camp made them bounce away when they hit the invisible wall. Music broke out throughout the camp. The Dusksingers did not fight with weapons made of wood or steel; they fought with sound and magic. Louder than the others, Ruyne's baritone voice sang to call ancient magic as he walked up to the barrier. The barrier shimmered and strengthened as the melody rang through the camp. A song known only to Leaders, its magic boosted the effects of the others’ Songs.
The barrier and their Songs kept the soldiers at bay. However, Valentra was part of the Band now. She had the Song magic. As a result, she stormed through the barrier and over to Ruyne’s wagon. The fiddle she had learned to play in the five years she had been with them hung there, along with the other instruments. She yanked it from the wagon and started playing an angry tune. Her voice was crystal clear as she jumped up onto the wagon next to Ruyne and sang bitter words about failed promises and lies. Her Song poisoned the harmony of the Song magic around them, twisting the magic into something dangerous and ugly. The protection of the Song required the Band to be in harmony; even one person twisting the magic caused a ripple effect that weakened everyone else. Ruyne lost his voice, caught off guard. Her Song hit him like a brick to the forehead. He fell to the ground from the force of it. Her anger was genuine, she believed every word she spat about him lying and using her. Others in the Band stopped to stare at her, shocked.
Fire rose from the ground around Valentra as she leapt down to stalk toward him. Her bow flew across the strings and brought screaming wails from her instrument. Ruyne scrambled backwards in a crabwalk as angry flames shot out of the ground in front of him. The barrier around the camp faltered from the disruption. The townspeople charged through it as it fell. Dusksingers scattered under the attack, fleeing and dodging weapons. The power of the Band broke. They had to have harmony to have strength. Ruyne scrambled to his feet, backing away from Valentra, trying to shout over her angry song. “I didn’t lie to you! I swear it. I love you. I didn’t know the Song would trap you. You have to stop.”
Valentra screeched her bow to a halt, glaring daggers at him. “You’re a filthy liar. You won’t let me leave. You’re the Leader; the magic responds to you. Because you love me and want me to stay, it won’t let me leave. Well, you can’t control it if you’re dead!”
“You’re talking madness, Valentra!” Ruyne stared at her, numb to the core, cold. His Song felt frozen by her words. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry. I’ve treated you as though you were my wife. I’ve shown you as much love as I have Silver.”
Valentra stormed over to him and struck him across the cheek with her bow string. “I don’t love you, Ruyne! I gave you a child. I was not to be your wife. I have a life and a lover here!”
Ruyne raised a hand to his stinging cheek, blood covering his fingers when he pulled it away. He narrowed his eyes. “What? You have a lover here? Is that where you go when we’re here?”
“Yes, it is,” a male voice laughed behind him.
Ruyne ducked just as the heavy sword swung at his head. He dropped to a roll and had to scramble under one of the canopies on the wagons to avoid another swing. He tripped and fell, and cringed, waiting for the blow. Metal screeched on metal. A glance up revealed Bronze locked in a power struggle with the man on the horse. The massive smithing hammer in Bronze's hands blocked the man's blade.
“Get up and find your voice, Leader, before we all fall,” Bronze grunted as he shoved Ruyne out of the way of another blow from the rider’s sword. Ruyne rose to his feet and got out of the way. Bronze sang a bold song of strength, beating his hammer into the ground between blows keeping rhythm. A few other Dusksingers rushed forward to help him, adding their voices and instruments.
Boldness and strength flowed once again through Ruyne as the Song magic recovered. Ruyne climbed onto a wagon at the edge of the camp. The words of a unifying song flowed out of him. Voices around the camp joined in the familiar melody. With each voice that heard him and started to sing with him, the Song magic grew stronger and more harmonious.
Valentra growled and started to play her fiddle again in an attempt to disrupt the harmony of the Song magic, so the townspeople
could finish the attack.
A shadow in the form of a man fell on the camp. The strength and rage emanating from it made Ruyne’s voice falter and he could only stare at the black blur that fell upon their attackers. Daggers flashed, blood flowed. Enemies fell with deadly precision to the assassin in their midst. The townspeople did not take long to realize they now faced a trained warrior.
Valentra’s lover turned his horse and raced toward her. He leaned to grab her around the waist and swung her up onto his mount, as they raced out of the camp. Her fiddle fell to the ground and was smashed to pieces under the hooves of the horse. The man called the retreat, and the few attackers left standing turned and fled with them, ending the attack.
The man cloaked in black stayed crouched in the middle of the camp until he was certain the enemy was gone. Complete silence had fallen over the camp. Ruyne dropped to the ground from the top of the wagon and approached, his Song magic telling him what his mind could not believe was true. “Shadow?” His voice cracked and broke as he came to a hesitant stop.
Shadow whirled his daggers back into the scabbards at his belt then stood up and dropped his hood. The Band let out a collective gasp at the tattoos that covered his face. Face tattoos were unheard of in the Bands. And so were the scars that Ruyne could see on his brother’s skin underneath them. Yet there was no denying it was Shadow. Ruyne crossed the short distance to his brother and pulled him into a tight embrace.
Shadow stood there a moment then shoved Ruyne away. “Leader, you need to move your camp. They’ll be back with larger numbers.”
Shadow’s harsh tone brought Ruyne back to reality, and he took a deep breath and turned to the camp. “He’s right. Pack up, we have to get out of here. Now!” Ruyne paused then looked to the forest in a panic as the Band raced around him. “Silver and Truyna.”
“I’ll go and get them,” Shadow growled as he leaped onto his horse. Ruyne could only stare as his brother rode away at a gallop on Derry’s horse.
Chapter 20
Shadow
Shadow pulled his mount to a stop, the horse stomping and chomping at the bit after the desperate gallop through the thick forest. He had retraced his steps to where he’d seen Silver before, but now there was no sign of his friend. Shadow dropped down off the horse’s back and held the reins behind him as he studied the forest around him. He had gotten better at tracking over the years during his hunt for Derry. Silver was a hunter, a tracker. Under normal circumstances he was untraceable. The fact that Shadow found signs of their path spoke volumes about Silver’s state of mind. What had Ruyne been thinking? Silver of all of them was not the one strong enough to stand alone.
He tracked them to the end of a shallow pool at the bottom of a waterfall. When he couldn’t find signs of their path beyond it, he stopped and stared at the water in confusion. It was crystal clear, and he could see all the way to the stones and fish darting around the bottom. There was no hiding two people and a horse in its depths. “Silver?” Shadow called as loud as he dared. “Silver, come out. We must leave. Now.”
For what seemed an eternity, Shadow stood frozen on the edge of the pool. Nothing stirred but the sound of the waterfall and the chirps of birds and insects. Then suddenly the waterfall exploded, and a displeased horse darted out, snorting and shaking the water from its hair. Clinging to its back were Silver and the tiny girl, both soaked to the bone from the waterfall.
Shadow swung back onto his mount. “We have to go,” he said gruffly as he turned his mount. Silver didn’t say a word in reply, simply sent Thorn after Shadow through the brush and trees at the same hectic pace. Shadow’s magic had stirred inside him, somewhere deep down. The Song he thought was broken had already begun to mend by being back with the Band even for such a short time. Ruyne’s bond had been so close and Ruyne’s magic so strong. But Shadow couldn’t use the Song to trace the Band’s location yet. “Where?” He asked as they reached the dirt road.
Silver did not hesitate. He sent Thorn to the South, pounding down the packed earth at a full break-neck gallop. Shadow swallowed a curse and sent his horse after. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to keep the pace for long, his mount was already exhausted from the trip to find the Band.
It didn’t take them long to find the caravan, going as fast as they dared with the wagons. Silver flew past them until he reached Ruyne’s wagon, then he pulled his mare up to match the pace of the stallion pulling the wagon.
“Daddy!” the little girl squealed as she saw Ruyne. Ruyne reached down to pull her carefully from the horse up onto the wagon seat with him, then held her close. “Silver, Tru. Praise the Song. You’re all right.”
“I was more worried about you,” Silver admitted, as he secured Thorn to the wagon the climbed up onto the seat to hug Ruyne.
“We’re not out of danger yet,” Shadow warned, as he rode up beside them. He kept glancing back. The problem with the caravan was that they couldn’t outrun their pursuers, especially keeping to roads. “I killed a lot of their men. They won’t just let us go.”
Ruyne glanced back again. They could already see a group of riders beginning to close in on them. Ruyne frowned and handed Truyna back to Silver then handed him the reins. He turned and hopped onto the top of the wagon, walking along its length to the end of it, watching the group behind them.
Shadow had slowed to watch Ruyne and raised a brow as his brother eyed the trees surrounding the path. “Ruyne?”
Ruyne did not respond, and his face was a hardened mask of fury and disappointment. He whirled to call to one of the other wagons. “Bristle! Seal the road. We won’t be coming back.”
The woman named Bristle was an aged crone, one of the older members of the Band. She slowly climbed down from her wagon as it stopped briefly to let her off. She walked to the middle of the road and held out her arms to each side. Her voice rang out clear as a bell, the Song magic unaffected by the time that had shriveled her body. As she sang, the trees around the path started to shift and rock. Their branches whipped across the road behind the last wagon and covered the path in thick foliage. A wall of greenery now stood across the road, blocking access.
Once that was done, Ruyne nodded his thanks to Bristle and returned to sit next to Silver, taking the reins once more. “We’ll keep traveling through the night. We can make Starfall by next evening if we just keep going.”
Shadow tied his mount to the back of Ruyne’s wagon and hopped off the horse to try to ease its travel and give it a break. He didn’t want Derry’s horse to break down from the strain. “Leader, I would talk with you.”
Ruyne looked back at Shadow, then at Silver. “You and Truyna should rest a while, Silver.”
“Yes, Leader,” Silver murmured. He gathered Truyna in one arm, ignoring the little girl’s tired protests. Ruyne pulled the wagon to a halt just long enough for Silver take Truyna inside.
When the door closed behind them, Shadow walked up to take Silver’s seat beside his brother. “I want you to turn us South. Take the ancient path of Autumn’s Embrace.”
Ruyne gave him a side glance, his voice low so others wouldn’t hear them over the beat of the hooves on the road. “We haven’t traveled that circuit for over a hundred years, Shadow. Why now?”
“I know where Derry is. I promised we would come for him. He said only you have the knowledge to save him. It took me five years to find him. I came back here as soon as I did.” Shadow rubbed at the tattoos around his eyes. The healing skin itched more when he was irritated or stressed.
“Derry is alive?” Ruyne asked, shocked. “I am equally surprised that you are alive, Shadow. You knew the rules.”
“I survived. It broke my Song. I think being here will mend it, though. We can’t leave Derry, Ruyne. He is trapped inside a body possessed by a monster. He said it is a curse from an ancient being that is the enemy of the Dusksingers. It craves Song magic. It has possessed him. He is only himself once each year, on the night that his parents died,” Shadow said with a scowl, glaring at the
road ahead of them. “Please, Ruyne. He said only a Leader would have the knowledge to break the curse. I can’t save him by myself, or I would.”
“After Starfall. Give me time to sort things out, Shadow. Then we will save Derry. Autumn’s Embrace can be followed from there,” Ruyne said, suddenly sounding weary. “We saved your wagon for you. Go and rest, Brother.”
“Yes, Leader. Thank you,” Shadow mumbled, finally noticing his wagon traveling empty in the caravan. It surprised him that Ruyne had kept it this long. He got up and easily jumped from wagon top to wagon top until he reached it. The unfamiliar horse nickered a greeting. He reached down to pet the coal-black horse then swung into the wagon. All his and Derry’s things were there like they had never left. Costumes covered in dust hanging in the closet, their instruments hanging in place as though they were waiting for their owners to return. Five years felt like a lifetime. He barely remembered the person he had been when he had left here. Had he ever been that carefree boy? It felt like someone else’s life. His heart and soul ached at the familiar setting, though. It was missing the most important thing. Derry.
He walked over to the bed, and collapsed onto it. His emotions lost the battle with exhaustion, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 21
Silver
Silver kept his peace until the Band was out of danger. Here in the calm meadows of Autumn’s Embrace, the fall flowers waved gently in the afternoon breeze and everything that had happened over the last month seemed so far away. They had stayed away from towns for the last week, afraid that word might have gotten out about what had happened. But they couldn’t stay away from towns forever. Part of the Song magic was that they had to perform for others.
Cursed Song Page 10
