“Never alone,” Aidan repeated. And he found that it brought peace to his troubled heart. They spurred their unicorns lightly and began their crossing of the Grimwalk.
As the party of twelve continued, the temperature fell lower still. They were all bundled as tightly as they could make themselves, but the frigid wind found every open spot and bit at any exposed skin. In a day, they had gone from a comfortable spring in Alleble into the dead of winter, and the low, puffy clouds threatened to make it more wintry.
Aidan looked ahead at Captain Valithor who was talking quietly with Eleazar. “You have any idea what they’re talking about?” Aidan asked Gwenne, who was riding beside him.
“They often speak of deep things,” she said. “But my guess is they are becoming more concerned about the weather.”
“Why? Is it going to storm?”
“Yes,” she replied, pointing skyward. “Look at the clouds. Do you see how dark they are? And notice the slight purplish color. I am certain that a snowstorm’s coming.”
“Snow?”
Gwenne pointed to the dark castle at the foot of the Prince’s Crown. “The Prince has many dark powers, Sir Aidan, and his heart is cold and violent. Some of the most terrible storms occur in this land, and it snows here often.”
Just then, one of the pack unicorns began to tug at its reins.
“Easy, easy!” yelled Eleazar. Farix rode up to help try to calm the steed.
“Something has her spooked,” Farix said.
“Is it any wonder, in such a place?” asked Eleazar.
They were able to restrain the unicorn, but only to a point. She still seemed uneasy. In fact, all of the steeds became restless, as if they might buck at any moment. Aidan had no idea what he would do if his unicorn started to buck.
No words were spoken as their party of twelve rode on.
It was utterly silent. The chill breeze had stopped completely. Even the clop of hooves seemed muffled. And it seemed to Aidan that their pace had slowed down considerably. He rubbed his eyes.
How long have we been riding? he wondered. It felt like an eternity, and Aidan was exhausted. He shrugged his shoulders. He wanted to rest. Maybe they would all take a break soon. He felt so sleepy. And there was a strange smell.
A hand grabbed Aidan’s arm. “Aidan!” a voice said.
“Aidan, wake up!” It was Gwenne. “Aidan, wake up! You’ve got to move! Captain Valithor, come quickly! Aidan, please move!”
“Look alert, thou fog-pated slowcoach! Get your arms moving, RIGHT NOW!!” Aidan felt a roar of heat surge through him, and there were Captain Valithor and Gwenne. Their eyes were wide, and then they broke into relieved smiles.
“The stilling, Aidan. It is happening,” Gwenne cried. “It almost took you!”
“Hear me, Knights of Alleble!” Captain Valithor’s voice rang out. “We must push forward as fast as we can! Watch the ground for ruts, but get the unicorns moving! The stilling has come-”
Several of the unicorns reared. Mallik fought to stay in the saddle. Eleazar shouted, “Farix, get her up! Get her up now!”
Farix wheeled his steed around to the pack unicorn that had been so restless earlier. It was beginning to slowly kneel several yards back.
Farix grabbed her reins. “Get up, Girl! Stand!” he called to her. But it was too late.
Aidan watched in horror as the unicorn went to her knees. She swayed drowsily and lay down. The unicorn became unnaturally still. Her eyes were wide, lids rimmed with blue. But she was no longer breathing.
Aidan realized that he, too, had almost died. He spurred his unicorn and hugged himself to keep warm. Immediately, the wind kicked up, and snowflakes began swirling down from the angry sky.
In a matter of minutes the ground was dusted in white.
“Faster, Aidan!” Gwenne called, and she was riding beside him.
“I’m trying, Gwenne!” Aidan spurred his steed again, and it responded with a burst of speed. Rigid icy flakes cut into Aidan’s eyes and stung so fiercely he had to turn his head to the side as he rode. Through waves of howling white, Aidan discovered that there were some living things on the Grimwalk after all. A pair of moon-rascals peeked over the edge of an opening in the ground. While the first moonrascals Aidan had seen were as black as the rock of the Prince’s Crown, these were downy white and blended in with the snow that poured all around them. In a moment, they disappeared, apparently into their tunnels beneath the surface.
“Gwenne,” Aidan called out. “I just saw a couple of moonrascals!”
“What?” she called back. “I can barely hear you!”
“Never mind!” he yelled, his voice quick-frozen and stolen away by the wind.
Captain Valithor was just a gray shadow in the swirling white landscape ahead. At last, he halted the group and motioned for the others to circle around him. The Captain’s bushy, snow-flecked eyebrows furrowed in deep concern as he began to speak.
“We dare not stop for long, my good Knights of Alleble!” he yelled hoarsely over the wind. “The stilling, I fear, is just the first assault of a fierce storm that could wreak havoc on our mission, and I-”
Kaliam interrupted. “You don’t think that a Tem-”
The Captain raised his hand to silence Kaliam. “Do not say it! But we must be ready if it comes! We must decide now!” roared the Captain. “Either press on or turn back, for there is no shelter on the Grimwalk!”
No one spoke. Aidan looked into the eyes of every Glimpse in the circle-though Acsriot had drawn his hood down to shield his face from the wind.
There was steely determination in their eyes, and Aidan knew they would not turn back.
“Then valiant knights,” bellowed the Captain, “we ri-”
A brilliant, blinding flash of purple lit up the Grimwalk, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.
The blast startled the unicorns, and most of them reared back on their hind legs. Aidan wasn’t a very skilled rider, and he fell right off and landed hard on the frozen ground. It was difficult for him to stand back up, for his armor was heavy and he was disoriented from the fall. Many of the other knights were struggling to settle their unicorns, and Aidan hoped he would not be trampled. Mad with fear, they stamped and thudded closer. Captain Valithor, who alone had managed to quiet his steed, rode in front of the terrified beasts. He seemed to have some way with the unicorns, and they became calm again. For the moment, Aidan was safe. He yelled out to thank his commander, but Captain Valithor had already ridden a few paces ahead.
There the Captain seemed to be staring through the strengthening storm in the direction of the mountains. Lightning flashed again, bathing the Captain in eerie purple light. The thunder followed, crashing and echoing terribly off the mountains.
Aidan finally made it to his feet. The wind wailed, but there was another sound. It was a peculiar deep humming sort of noise- growing louder each moment.
The sound became louder still, and Aidan thought it was like the roar of an enormous freight train barreling their way. The Captain turned abruptly and rode back to the other knights.
“It’s a Tempest!” he bellowed. “Fly back! Fly back to the Cold River! Ride reckless and do not stop! A Tempest is upon us!”
Aidan’s thoughts raced. A Tempest!! He looked around for someone to help him.
Before anyone could act, however, the roar of a dragon pierced the commotion of the storm. Acsriot rode quickly away from the others, stopped, and turned toward them. Aidan was shocked. Acsriot was laughing.
“Enjoy the weather, you fools!” he shrieked, and a white dragon materialized from the clouds and swooped down. The winged beast fought the wind to hover above Acsriot before finally grasping his outstretched arms and lifting him from his saddle. Aidan watched in horror as the blue flicker in Acsriot’s eyes burned away and kindled to bright red, and the dragon whisked him away into the sky.
Captain Valithor drew Fury from its sheath and slashed the air as he roared. “Mark my words, Acsriot!” he y
elled. “You will fall by my sword for this treachery!”
Aidan realized then that Acsriot had betrayed them all along. Betrayed them before they even left Alleble when he suggested they travel the Grimwalk. Betrayed them when he left camp late the night before, no doubt to meet a spy of the enemy. Betrayed them so that the dark Prince could conjure some perilous storm to waylay their team where there was no shelter.
Aidan turned and looked through the blowing snow at the horizon. It was dark, but there was something there, something enormous. Lightning flashed, and Aidan saw a menacing shadow growing in the distance.
Again, Captain Valithor’s voice rang out. “Ride for your lives! The Tempest is upon us! Ride!”
Lightning struck again-jagged, violent streaks in the sky. In the fierce but momentary flash of light, Aidan saw the unmistakable form of a tornado-only it wasn’t like the ones he’d seen on TV. This one reached down from the sky but then went sideways like an immense steamroller of wind and snow. With each streak of lightning, Aidan watched as the Tempest churned closer, devouring both the sky and the ground as it came.
The deep, continuous roar of the Tempest shook the ground and rattled Aidan’s armor. The swirling winds pelted him on all sides with snow, ice, and frozen debris. The unicorns bucked and galloped in terrified circles, and the knights fought for control. The wind blew so fiercely that no one could hear anything but the storm. The only Glimpse Aidan could see was Gwenne. Her unicorn was going berserk with fear. Aidan knew he had to help, so he ran toward Gwenne, dodging the poor unicorn’s frantic kicks. He reached up for Gwenne’s belt and pulled her off the unicorn. She fell heavily on top of him.
As they struggled to their feet, another flash of lightning showed them that the Tempest was closing in, ripping up the Grimwalk and everything else in its path. They were doomed. They were in the middle of a vast wasteland with no shelter. But then Aidan had it! The moonrascals! Without a word, Aidan grabbed Gwenne by the arm and dragged her in the direction he thought the moonrascals had been. He was right! There were two small openings in the ground where the moonrascals had burrowed. One looked like it might be barely large enough for a person to fit through. They had no choice. The Tempest was there. Hoping it would protect them from the deadly storm, they each dropped down into the tunnel.
20
SHORTCUT
I n the tunnel, Aidan and Gwenne could hear the howling winds of the Tempest churning up the Grimwalk above the opening.
They found themselves sliding on their rear ends and picking up speed. Gwenne was ahead of Aidan, and she was the first to exit the tunnel. She landed with a clumsy crash and looked up just as Aidan slammed into her.
They stood up awkwardly and looked around. They found they were in an underground chamber of some kind, lit dimly by several glowing streaks gouged into the ceiling. The chamber was circular and had other openings to tunnels all around.
Aidan was the first to notice they were not alone.
“Look!” he pointed. “Look, Gwenne, moonrascals!”
Gwenne did look, and huddled in several of the tunnel openings were little groups of white moonrascals. They stared at Aidan and Gwenne with their peculiar glowing eyes as if trying to decide if their uninvited guests were friends or foes. Then, one by one, the moonrascals scurried away up or down the various tunnels.
Aidan and Gwenne stood for a moment in awkward silence. The reality of what had just happened came crashing down on them. Aidan was the first to speak.
“Gwenne, the other knights, is there any chance? I mean… are they?”
“If anyone was caught in the Tempest, yes… they are gone,” Gwenne confirmed grimly.
Memories flashed through Aidan’s mind. During the time he’d spent with the knights, many had become his friends. Aidan felt as if his insides were being crushed.
“But if there is anyone besides the King of Alleble who could somehow lead the knights to safety, it would be the noble Captain Valithor.”
Aidan nodded. Valithor, Mallik, the twins-all gone in an instant. How could this happen? Aidan searched his heart for answers. There were none.
“What now?” Aidan asked. “Do we try to climb back up that tunnel?”
“I don’t think that will work,” Gwenne replied. “Those tunnels are slippery, and even if we could somehow climb, the Tempest has probably filled in the top of the tunnel with snow and debris.”
“What about these other tunnels? Are they blocked too? Are we trapped underground then?” Aidan asked, pointing frantically at the openings all around the chamber.
“Aidan, I know it’s hard,” Gwenne said. “But with King Eliam’s help, we will find a way. Most of the tunnels come out somewhere on the Grimwalk. It may be that they are not all blocked.”
“So, what if we do get back out on the Grimwalk? What’ll we do then?” Aidan asked pathetically. “Eleazar was supposed to meet with the King of Mithegard, but he’s gone. Captain Valithor too. I mean, it’s just the two of us. Are we just supposed to go back out there and plod our way to Mithegard without any help?”
“Thanks to that double-crossing, foul Glimpse Acsriot, the Grimwalk will probably be crawling with Paragor Knights,” Gwenne raged. “I know we are sworn to complete our mission, but I don’t see how-”
“Shhhh… I hear something,” Aidan whispered. There came a scratching sound from one of the tunnels. Aidan looked from opening to opening, and then he saw it! There was a glowing arrow on the inside of one of the tunnels.
Aidan had been on the verge of despair, but now there was something he could grab hold of, a thin strand of hope. “Look, Gwenne!” Aidan exclaimed excitedly. “The moonrascals are trying to help us! I bet that tunnel will lead us somewhere safe. Maybe even to Alleble!”
“Alleble is leagues away,” Gwenne argued. “And so close to Paragory, how do you know that those snowy moonrascals are not under a spell of the Prince? That tunnel could lead us right to the enemy’s front door!”
“Yeah, but what choice do we have?” Aidan said. “We can’t just stay here!”
Reluctantly, Gwenne agreed. She paused for a moment, looked thoughtful, and then said, “You have made quite a knight, after all, you know. With the Tempest bearing down on us, you could have made other decisions, and the disaster would be complete. When you pulled me off my unicorn and threw me into the tunnel, you… you saved my life.”
“C’mon,” Aidan said. “You’re acting like I did something brave. I was scared out of my wits when the Tempest came tearing through!”
“That is the very essence of bravery,” she said. “We all become frightened in the face of danger, but it is those few, like you, who act in spite of their fear-who are the heroes.”
Me? A hero? Aidan thought. If Mom and Dad… if Robby could see me now.
While Aidan was imagining sharing his adventures with Robby, Gwenne came close to him and kissed him on the cheek. All the thoughts in Aidan’s mind quickly turned to mush! He felt dizzy and short of breath, and the place on his cheek Gwenne had kissed felt warm and tingly.
“Sir Aidan,” Gwenne called, snapping Aidan out of the trance. “Shall we travel this tunnel?”
“Verily, we shall,” Aidan replied, trying to sound herolike.
The tunnels had been created by moonrascals for moonrascals-not humans. It was always night in those narrow passages, and the air was thin and foul-smelling. Aidan led the way, but he didn’t feel much like a leader. His heart raced the whole time, and he felt like he could barely breathe as he inched along the passage. It seemed like forever passed between each glowing arrow, but they always appeared.
Every once in a while the tunnel would split, and a glowing arrow would direct them left or right. The moonrascals were obviously leading them somewhere.
The tunnel had been level for several hours, but it gradually began to rise.
“We’re going up,” Aidan whispered back to Gwenne. “Maybe we’ll come out soon.”
“I hope so,” Gwenne replied. “My
knees are aching rather fiercely!”
But they did not come out soon.
The tunnel curled, swerved, and banked. Occasionally, it would level out for a time, but it always began to rise again. Though their straining muscles suggested that they had been crawling for an eternity, Aidan and Gwenne had lost any real sense of time.
“How many arrows have there been?” Gwenne asked.
“I stopped counting,” Aidan admitted. “I think there were thirty-three when I stopped, but that was hours ago.”
More time passed, and Aidan simply fell over on his side.
“How can it keep going up like this?” Aidan asked, weariness in his voice.
“I do not understand it either,” Gwenne agreed. She fell to the side of the tunnel. “By my reckoning we should have come out by now. Though where we might come out, I have no idea. There have been so many turns, I have completely lost any sense of direction.”
After another couple of hours of climbing, Aidan felt a warm breath of wind sail through his hair. It was startling in the dark.
“Did you feel that?” he asked.
“Yes, we could be nearing the surface!” she replied excitedly.
They increased the speed of their climb, hoping to find an exit soon, but what they found was a large hole in the floor of the tunnel. It had glowing arrows all around it.
“Uh-oh,” Aidan muttered.
“What?” Gwenne asked, straining to see.
“There’s a hole with arrows around it. I think it’s a slide!”
“A slide? You mean… like the one in the hole when the Tempest was coming?” she asked.
“Yes, exactly. I think this is another one. And unless you want to crawl all the way back the way we came, it looks like this is the only way. The tunnel ends here.”
“There is no way we are going back,” Gwenne argued.
“I know, but I feel like we’re so high up…” Aidan was unsure. The warm breeze wafted up through the hole. What if the slide leads to some fiery dungeon in the pits of Paragory? he thought.
“Look, Sir Aidan,” Gwenne said as if reading his mind, “we need to go. We will die anyway if we stay in these dreaded tunnels any longer.” With that, Gwenne gave Aidan a surprisingly strong push, and he tumbled into the hole. Gwenne quickly eased herself over the edge, and just like that, they were gone.
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