by Sandell Wall
Holmgrim cleared his throat.
“Forgive me,” Aventine said, chagrined that she had forgotten about her companion. “Father, this is Holmgrim. Holmgrim, this is my father, Varis. House Morn’s only praetor.”
“Well met,” Varis said, clasping arms with Holmgrim. Varis was a big man, but Holmgrim’s bulk made him look average. “How does a Volgoth come to travel with my Rune Guard daughter?”
“She shot me in the arm with an arrow,” Holmgrim said. “So I followed her.”
Varis gave Aventine a dumbfounded look.
Aventine’s face reddened. “It’s a long story that we don’t have time to get into. Right now, what matters is why we’re here. Why did you betray the emperor?”
Varis deflated, his good humor vanishing. He did not respond immediately, and when he did, his voice was strained. “Lord Vispanius convinced Lord Mornthal to join his march on the palace. I don’t know what leverage Vispanius has over House Morn, but Lord Mornthal assembled our troops and joined the rest of House Lome’s allies as they went to seek counsel with the emperor. We were told that it was to be a peaceful negotiation. Vispanius was supposed to make the case for Lome to become a great house as well as argue for more power and responsibility for the noble families.
“And then without warning, Sir Lorent ordered an attack on the palace.” Varis smashed a fist into the wall. The force of the blow cracked the stone. “What Vispanius said was half true: we stood by and watched as the token resistance was put to the sword and the palace sacked. Emperor Pontius was gone, apparently already aware of House Lome’s treachery, and so Lord Mornthal is trapped. He marched on the imperial capital in league with traitors. We cannot approach Amalt for an audience with Emperor Pontius to plead our ignorance, and Lord Vispanius now insists that we commit our forces in an assault on the emperor’s ancestral fortress.
“Vispanius grows increasingly erratic, and he keeps strange company. After the palace fell, a foreign delegation arrived in the night. When we woke in the morning, silent silver soldiers stood guard outside a tent of the like we’ve never seen. They speak to no one, but Lord Vispanius disappears into that white cocoon for hours at a time. Every time he emerges, he has new orders and plans. Lord Mornthal insists he has no idea who these people are, but it’s clear many of the other lords fear the foreigners.”
“Listen carefully,” Aventine said. “We don’t have much time. House Lome is the pawn of some greater enemy, some force from outside the empire. Before we were separated, Brax and I witnessed Dranzen meeting this enemy in secret. We believe he received orders to start the revolution. This…thing that he met challenged us before vanishing into thin air. It wasn’t human. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen or heard of. We encountered this enemy again on the road to Umgragon. Raiding parties land up and down the coast and range inland. They pillage and burn, leaving none alive. Those silver soldiers that I saw guarding the white tent outside are those same raiders.”
“I suspected that House Lome was being manipulated,” Varis said. “But I had no idea by who or what.”
“We have to get out of the palace. If Sir Lorent returns, he’ll recognize us if one of his men doesn’t first. I’m still a member of the Rune Guard. I have to find and report to Emperor Pontius. You can’t get close, but if we can find him, I can tell him that he has allies amongst the traitors.”
Varis winced. “It hurts to be called a traitor. It could work, but the fighting between here and Amalt is fierce. You won’t be in any less danger out there than you are in here.”
“We have to try.”
“I expected nothing less,” Varis said with a grim smile. “Come, I can get you out of the palace.”
Aventine and Holmgrim did not budge. “We’re not leaving without Saffrin,” Aventine said.
“That complicates things,” Varis said. “I can move both of you through the palace with ease. You’re just two grunts, but she’s the Lady of Umgragon. I doubt Sir Ignatius will let her out of his sight.”
“I have an idea. Are there any Lome soldiers still in the palace?”
“Aye. Lord Vispanius’s bodyguards number in the hundreds.”
“And you know them?”
“Well enough. What’s in your mind?”
“Find the captain of his bodyguard and tell him that you spoke with us. Tell him that we saw Sir Ignatius brutally murder the soldier sent from Lome, and that Sir Ignatius promised to kill Sir Lorent and take control of the revolution. Tell him that at this very moment, Sir Ignatius plots Lord Vispanius’s downfall with the other lords.”
Varis looked sick. “That would end in bloodshed.”
Aventine did not flinch. “We have to get away, and that’s the only way I can think to separate Saffrin from Sir Ignatius. When they rush to confront Sir Ignatius, Holmgrim and I can whisk Saffrin to safety.”
“You’ve grown hard,” Varis said.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
Varis considered her words for a long time. He stared at Aventine as if seeing her for the first time in his life. She thought he was going to refuse, but then he nodded and said, “I will do as you say. Be ready. They will show no mercy or hesitation.”
Varis turned and moved to exit the room. He paused at the door and looked back. “You remind me of your mother,” he said. And then he was gone.
Tears sprang unbidden to Aventine’s eyes. Embarrassed, she swiped at her face with the back of her hand.
“Are you sure about this?” Holmgrim asked quietly.
“No,” Aventine said. “I’m not sure about anything. But I have to reach the emperor, and I see no other way.”
Chapter 14
SUPPORTED BY TETHANA, REMUS staggered out of the hut. Ahead of him, the black-armored forms of Ethari soldiers sprinted into the city. Promost Lister and Pikon ran to rally their troops. Remus needed to find Goregash. He had to convince the Volgoth chieftain to act. Remus’s squad and the Ethari would not be enough to stop the runebound army racing at them. Before he could take a step toward the city, Pricker blocked his path.
The thin Drathani was acting odd. Pricker was never insistent about anything, but from the look in his eye, Remus could tell he wanted something. This was the worst possible time for Pricker to become unhinged.
“Step aside,” Remus said in a cautious voice. “The city is in danger. The runebound army is only miles away and coming fast.”
Pricker did not respond or show any inclination to move out of the way. Remus motioned for Tethana to get behind him. Pricker started to twitch, much like he did right before attacking the Volgoth in the fort.
“Pricker…needs…binding…” Pricker said, struggling to articulate each word.
“Binding?” Remus asked. “What are you saying?”
Pricker’s hand lashed out, grabbing Remus’s gauntlet and jerking it up in front of him.
“Bind me,” Pricker said.
Remus yanked his arm from Pricker’s grasp. “You want me to put a rune circlet on you?”
“Bind me!” Pricker shouted, his voice desperate.
From behind him, Tethana slipped a circlet into Remus’s hand. “I brought more than one,” she said.
When Pricker saw the circlet, his eyes went wide. “Yes, yes. Do it.”
Against his better judgment, Remus raised the rune circlet and slid it onto Pricker’s head. The metal band scraped over the scar tissue on Pricker’s forehead and slotted perfectly into the wound the previous circlet had left. Runes flared a vibrant red as Pricker succumbed to the power of the binding.
At the same time, a new presence appeared in Remus’s mind. This presence was smaller than Savaroth’s mighty shadow, but no less strange and intimidating. Where Savaroth had exuded sinister intelligence and awesome power, this new entity screamed with insanity and rage. Remus winced and watched as the being cast about, trying to orient itself in the unfamiliar realm.
When the presence noticed Remus for the first time, it rushed forward to make contact. Remus
braced himself, and for the first time came face-to-face with Pricker’s true self. Before they even spoke, Pricker started probing Remus’s defenses. He was everywhere at once, a whirlwind of frantic activity. Pricker tried to overwhelm Remus with sheer force of will. Had Remus not already resisted Savaroth, he suspected Pricker would have overpowered him and taken control of the gauntlet. Pricker seemed surprised that Remus could withstand him.
“We meet in truth,” Pricker said through their connection, letting up on the pressure he was exerting on Remus’s mind. “If the runebound are coming as you say, we have no time. You lead, I will follow.”
“Don’t try to take control from me again,” Remus said in his mind. “You might be physically stronger than me, but I think I can figure out how to cause you a great deal of pain with this stone.”
“It will be as you say.”
“We can communicate through the circlets,” Remus said to Tethana. “He’s going to help us. Now come on, we’ve got to find Goregash.”
The three of them hurried into the city. Ethari soldiers headed in the opposite direction, running toward the outskirts. Volgoth villagers and warriors watched the dark soldiers with a mix of curiosity and worry. When the Ethari were alarmed, bloodshed usually followed soon after.
Tethana led Remus and Pricker to Delgrath’s biggest inn. It was a solid, plain wooden structure overlooking the dusty road that ran through the middle of the town. In better times Remus had enjoyed the rare meal here with Holmgrim and Axid. Abandoned now, Goregash had taken it over for himself. Outside the door, Volgoth guards watched them approach. They ignored Tethana and watched Remus and Pricker with open disgust. When it was clear that the three of them intended to enter the building, the guards moved to block their path.
“The small ones cannot enter,” one of the guards said in the Volgoth tongue, talking to Tethana, but looking at Remus and Pricker.
“They saved the chieftain's life, and now they’ve come to warn him,” Tethana said. “A runebound army is coming that will destroy us all if we don’t stand with our allies.”
“The Volgoth have no allies,” the guard said. “Only servants and slaves.”
“It doesn’t matter what you call them. They’re here to help us. Please move, we need to speak to the chieftain.”
“You spend more time with the imperials than you do with your own people. We’ve seen you talk with them; you learned their corrupt tongue. Your conduct is not becoming for a niece of the chieftain.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Remus said to Tethana in the imperial language.
“I can kill them quickly and quietly,” Pricker said in his mind.
“No. Be silent,” Remus shot back.
Tethana snatched her vessel stone from beneath her shirt and held it up for the guards to see. The sunlight hit the stone in her hand—every eye was drawn to its astonishing emerald beauty. The guards went still.
“This is Jorkindel,” Tethana said. “Vessel stone of the great shaman Hintermarta, daughter of the first warchief, Loregash the Mighty. The blood of Goregash’s lineage flows in my veins. And by this stone, I speak with an authority greater than that of any chieftain. You will step aside. Now.”
The guards looked at each other and then stepped aside. “Tread carefully,” one said. “Invoking the ancient laws for the cause of our enemies will not end well for you.”
“Fortunately for us all,” Tethana said as she stepped between the two warriors, “interpreting the ancient laws and the will of the gods is not up to fools and cowards.” Remus saw the guards’ faces cloud with confusion as they tried to understand what she meant.
Inside, the inn was almost exactly as he remembered it. Stout wooden tables filled the common area, and a crude bar and kitchen were crowded into the back of the building. An open stair climbed to the second floor where six rooms hid uncomfortable straw beds. The only thing that differed from his memory were the giants lounging around the big room. The Volgoth looked up as they entered, and upon seeing Pricker most of them lunged to their feet.
“He’s with me,” Tethana said, her voice leaving no room for argument. “If you’ve a problem with it, take it up with Goregash later. Where is he?”
One of the Volgoth pointed up the stairs. “Second room on the left,” he said.
With nervous steps, Remus followed Tethana through the crowded room. The Volgoth warriors watched Remus and Pricker with unconcealed contempt. Through the gauntlet, Remus could sense Pricker’s frustrated rage. In a past life, the Drathani had been accustomed to being feared. Now he was looked at with pity and scorn, perceived only as a pathetic, deranged creature.
They climbed the creaking stairs and made their way to Goregash’s room. Inside, two beds had been pushed together to support Goregash’s massive body. Aside from an older, graying shaman perched at the chieftain's bedside, the room was empty.
The old woman looked up when they entered. She hissed when she saw Remus and Pricker. “You bring those slaves of metal and fire here? You forget your place.”
“My place is the same as yours,” Tethana said. “Don’t speak to me as if I’m a child.”
“But a child is what you are. You may be niece of the chieftain, but you have many long seasons ahead of you before you take my on my role.”
From the bed, Goregash’s avalanche of a voice rumbled. “Leave us, Ursteth.”
Ursteth’s eyes went wide. She looked at Goregash with exaggerated shock and concern. “My chief, you’re weak. I must tend to your recovery.”
“Begone,” Goregash commanded.
Ursteth flinched. She shot Tethana a withering glance and then swept out of the room. The flimsy wooden door banged loudly behind her.
From where he was lying on the bed, Goregash regarded the three of them before speaking. Finally, he said, “Why do you bring the enemy to my bedside?”
The chieftain spoke in the Volgoth tongue, but Remus could detect the hurt and confusion behind the question. Goregash seemed to think that Tethana was betraying him by bringing Remus and Pricker to see him.
“They’re not the enemy,” Tethana said. “Without the efforts of Remus and his men, we would never have escaped the forest. And I detest the Drathani as much as you do, but he killed the overseer of the runebound and stole their sacred artifact.” She looked at Remus. “Show him.”
Remus lifted his left arm to display the gauntlet. At the same time, the runes on Pricker’s circlet flared. The connection was obvious.
Goregash focused on Remus. Fury burned in his eyes. “My niece speaks as if I should be pleased, but I see through your deception. This was your aim from the beginning. From the start, I saw in you the lust for power. I know the greed of mankind. The empire consumes all that it touches, and every single one of its black-hearted children carry the seed of destruction. I know not where you found this creature,” his eyes flicked to Pricker, “but his kind are only evil. He may have killed his own, and delivered great power into your hands, but you will end up his slave.”
“I don’t expect you to believe me, but I’ve no control over Pricker,” Remus said. “I found him in Delgrath, and he followed me back to the fort. He offered to fight for us, so I used his strength to strike a grievous blow against the enemy. Not even the Ethari could manage to do what Pricker did. I may have started out seeking power and authority, but now my only goal is to keep all of us alive. This gauntlet gives me an edge that we desperately need. The runebound are the vanguard of an invasion. I’ve seen a vision of what’s coming. The legions of the Drathani will cover the plains like the shadow of a storm. We cannot stand against them alone.”
“My people have held the Wilds since before your empire existed. We fear no invasion. Let them come. The Volgoth will answer their challenge.”
“And yet here you are, chased from your precious forest, injured and lying in bed in an abandoned imperial town.”
Goregash rolled out of bed and stood on shaky legs. “You filthy imperial dog,” he said, hi
s voice weak but still full of menace. “I may be injured, but I can still tear the head from your shoulders with my bare hands.”
“Uncle, no!” Tethana snapped. “Listen to what he has to say.”
“The runebound army has gathered all of its forces and is heading toward us as fast as it can move,” Remus said. “There’s at least ten thousand thralls coming to raze Delgrath to the ground. My squad and the Ethari cannot fight that many on our own. We need help. We need the Volgoth to stand with us.”
“I will hear no more of your lies,” Goregash said. “Leave this room or I will cover the walls with your blood.”
“I can make him eat those words,” Pricker said through the circlet.
“No,” Remus responded. “Fighting him will only make things worse.”
Remus turned toward the door. “Come. If he won’t help us, maybe others will.”
Tethana looked furious, but she said nothing. Before they could reach the door, it flew open from the other side. Breathing hard and covered in sweat, a Volgoth warrior stepped into the room.
“Thousands of runebound,” the warrior said through deep breaths, “Less than a mile away and coming fast. The Ethari have gone out to meet them, but can only slow them down. If we don’t fight or flee, the enemy will surrounded the city and we’ll be trapped. Warchief, we must fight.”
Remus and Tethana turned to look at Goregash. The Volgoth chieftain stood frozen. His eyes sought out Remus, then Tethana.
“Summon the other chieftains,” Goregash said slowly. “We will hold counsel.”
“Forgive me warchief,” the warrior said. “There’s no time. We must rally now or be swept away.”
“By all the gods of thunder and tree,” Goregash snarled. “Am I powerless against the fates? So be it. Sound the horns of war.”
Remus, Tethana, and Pricker followed the warrior back down the stairs. Goregash struggled to keep pace behind them, still weak from his injury.
When he reached the ground floor, the warrior shouted out Goregash’s orders. “The warchief calls the tribes to war! The enemy comes seeking our ruin, and if we do not rise up to defend our people, they will be our doom!”
