It was not long before the meager fire began to dwindle. Kane did not move to rekindle it, and Kazen, in his growing misery, took no notice of the bitter chill. As darkness enveloped them, Kazen could hear Kane shuffling closer, and though he could not see him through the blackness, he could feel his presence. The two men sat in silent watch of each other throughout the night, until the first traces of morning light touched the scarred hillside.
“Get yourself up,” Kane barked, biting a chunk off a brick of smoked meat and tossing the remaining bit on the ground in front of Kazen’s face.
“I’m tired,” Kazen answered bitterly. “I’m too weak from the poison you attacked me with. I cannot walk.”
“You can walk, or I can drag you by your neck.”
Kazen rolled onto his knees. “What is there to prevent me from calling out as loud as I can and bringing every dark creature within twenty leagues down upon our heads to kill us both?”
“You won’t do that,” Kane scoffed with a grin. “To do that would mean you’ve given up hope. And I’ve known a thousand fools like you. Fools who cling to hope even in their dying breath. No. You haven’t given up yet. Even now, part of you still thinks you can win.”
Kazen rose to his feet, his eyes never wavering as he lifted his chin to meet Kane’s mocking gaze. “By honor and virtue I have already won.”
Kane sneered down at him. “Your legs seem to be working well enough now.” Not bothering to even cover up evidence of their camp, he hastily pulled out a short length of rope and tied it around Kazen’s bound hands, pulling him along like a dog on a leash.
Tarnished and diminished by shadow and filth, daylight seemed little more than a muddy twilight. Barren terrain of rocky hills rolled lifelessly to each direction, disappearing into smoky fogs, which settled heavy across the land. No roads or ruined villages marked this territory, no hint of what once was remained. So low and watchful was the shadow here that it brought a foul taste to the tongue.
Kazen trudged along with heavy feet, slowing their trek as much as he dared without risking Kane’s wrath. The heavy amulet around his neck hunched him forward, thumping hard against his chest with every step. Stained red from his own blood, the coarse rope around his swollen wrists dug painfully into his tender skin. Famished and parched, exhausted and miserable, he finally stumbled to ground, unwilling to take another step.
“Get up!” Kane snarled, tugging at the rope around Kazen’s wrist.
Staring up into the swirling mist of shadow, Kazen remained listless. “You don’t have to do this. It’s not too late to make things right.”
Kane sank to the ground next to Kazen, resting his arms on his knees. “The line between right and wrong is not as clear as it once was. Is it right that we sit in shadow while the rest of the world turns a blind eye to the east? Is it right that a king should command his people to stand and fight against an unbeatable force?” Kane’s head dropped between his shoulders. “Is it right for a father to leave his only son on the walls of a doomed city because his allegiance demands it of him?”
“Your son was at Delmora when it fell?”
“And my wife.” Kane swallowed back a mournful tear. “A beautiful woman, kind and gentle, but stubborn as a mule. She wouldn’t leave the city without her son.” He ran a twitching hand through his sweat-drenched hair. “Which is more than I can say for myself. I let them die there, alone. The dread and terror they must have felt as they drew their last breaths . . . I see it in my waking dreams every moment of every day. I should have been with them. I should have stayed and protected them.”
“You were only doing what your king ordered you to do.” Kazen choked on the words, barely able to even feign sympathy for this man he had come to loathe.
“A king!” scoffed Kane. “Rathford was a fool who would watch his own people be slaughtered rather than have himself regarded as a coward. No. I will not sustain his name in good grace. It is because of him I lost everything.”
“Not everything. There is something you still hold dear, or you would not need me.”
Kane chuckled weakly. “Clever boy. Yes. I have a daughter. Barely six years old, she is a tender image of her mother, and the only light left in my heart that keeps it from crumbling. She fled with my sister over the mountains. They were traveling to a small village far to the west. We have distant family there who would have welcomed them.”
“And you think you can stop Gregore’s advance to the west by trading me?” Kazen asked incredulously.
“I am no fool!” growled Kane. “I know I cannot stop this war anymore than one small boy can. The enemy will not concede, no matter the prize they get in return. They may, however, be willing to overlook one small village in exchange for the legendary wizard, Kazen.”
“You mean for the head of Kazen, do you not? They will kill me and use my death to destroy the spirits of those who believe in me. You know this.”
Kane turned away from Kazen’s gaze. “What they do with you after I hand you over is not in my control.”
“You cannot wash the blood from your hands so easily! It is murder whether you swing the axe with your own hands or not. Whatever bargain you think you have struck with the enemy, they will not hold to it. And, even if by some miracle your daughter is spared, how will you look upon her with your treacherous eyes?”
“You know nothing!” Kane hopped to his feet. “Your life means nothing! If I thought I could save my daughter by strangling you myself, I would do it in an instant! There is no guilt left in me! There is no pain, no remorse, only this one task that needs doing before I die. This world is doomed. Why should I care for the life of one foolhardy boy?”
Kazen shook his head resentfully. “You are not the only one to have lost. What gives you the right to hold your justice above all others?”
“If I have learned anything from this war, it is that might makes right. I have the strength in me to save what is left of my family, and so I shall, whatever the cost.” Heaving abruptly on the slack rope, he pulled Kazen painfully to his knees. “Now, get on your feet! We will reach our destination before darkness falls.”
Dragged in tow behind Kane’s feverish pace, Kazen realized he could no longer afford passive resistance. Though he knew he had neither the position nor the strength to escape, he was determined not to surrender without a fight. Ignoring the pain that gnawed at his hands and wrists, he wrestled with the taught rope that bound him to his captor. Finally, in desperation, he fell to the ground once more, refusing to walk any farther. Kane responded with a quick thrash of the back of his hand to Kazen’s face. Tossing the rope over his shoulder, the burly man tirelessly dragged Kazen across the rocky desert until finally Kazen could bear his flesh being torn by the jagged rocks no longer. Defeated, he wobbled to his feet and staggered back into line behind Kane.
Through failing hope and swelling eyes, Kazen barely took notice of the waning daylight. Like slithering vipers, long shadows slinked furtively over hills and valleys. A familiar dark chill fell upon the land, but with no living thing left alive to tremble in its presence, its ominous semblance was lost. Both near and in the distance, hungry hounds, aroused by the coming shadow, bayed at the blackened skies.
For the first time since they had passed into the shadowlands, Kazen felt a slight breeze brush his skin. Squinting into the thickening darkness, he nearly lost his breath as a sudden swell of icy wind gusted over him. Clenching his jaw, he thought he could detect a faint scent of brine in the newly brought air. Stopping to try to get another whiff of the strange new scent, he was quickly tugged along by his restraints.
With his stomach empty, and his body nearly numb, Kazen had nothing left to wish for but darkness. Knowing they would be unable to walk in the pitch black of night-shadow, he eagerly awaited the coming dusk. But the darkness did not come, at least not the absolute blackness he had come to know.
As shadow closed in from all around, swaddling the land in its cold embrace, a strange orange glow fluttered ju
st over the horizon. Though he had lost all memory of sunsets and untainted rays, Kazen found himself contentedly hypnotized by the mysterious shimmers of light. The nearer they walked, the brighter the light became, battling back the darkness with its determined radiance. Making their way up a steep incline, Kazen nearly passed Kane in his eagerness to find the source of the welcoming light. Finally, the summit yielded, giving way to a sharp and sudden descent. Standing atop the peak, Kazen looked out across a new land. With wide eyes and mouth agape, he fell to his knees, choking back a flood of fear and disbelief.
Below him, a vast and unending strand of rock and sand stretched from north to south. The beach rolled into the west, its white sand and smooth stones settled into easy swells of dunes and valleys. From the shoreline sprouted tall mountains of scarred rock, ravaged and blackened by brutal storms and an angry sea. Great pillars of stone, broken away from these main bluffs, listed forward over the ocean, their jagged peaks hunching over like decrepit talons clawing at the crashing waves below. And, like the swirling shadow above it, the sea too seemed to reel with a life of its own. As an animal might roll on its back to rid itself of biting insects, so did the ocean crash and roll upon the beach, struggling to wash itself of the black slime that clung to its surface.
Set into the weathered cliff side, defiant of the vengeful waves that pounded its foundation, was a great stronghold. Black and terrible as the jagged rocks it lay nestled within, it was a tribute to the dark powers that had wrought it. Gouged from the very rock on which it was set, it was impossible to tell where the stronghold ended and the cliff began. There were four levels from the base to its tallest rise, each one a narrower version of the one beneath it. Walls, though wide and stout, were unfortified, brazenly designed with little mind for defense. Spiraling towers with pointed peaks jutted upward from behind the walls, irregularly branching this way and that, melding with the surrounding rock face. Torches burned from behind each one of the countless alcoves, like glowing eyes keeping watch over the withered land.
Gathered upon the stretch of beach, like loyal hounds waiting at their master’s heel, was an army of men and monsters. Thousands of creatures, both human and aberrant, swarmed under the cold shadow of the black keep. Tall torches and great smoking bonfires lit up the black night, casting the territory into a frightful frenzy of dancing shadows. All around, mingling with the sordid pirates and mercenaries, beasts of shadow wandered the beaches, cautious but not fearful of the glowing firelight. Wisps of living shadow, bodiless creatures, circled above the encampment, floating through the air and weaving, almost playfully, through the plumes of rising smoke. The smell of rotting flesh and roasting meat joined together to create a stomach-turning stench, which was carried on the breeze.
“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” Kane whispered, his eyes wide in awe.
“I’m not afraid,” Kazen replied numbly.
“You should be.”
Taking Kazen by the arm, Kane walked him quickly back down the hill and under the eve of a massive, crescent-shaped boulder. With a stern shove, he sat Kazen down with his back against the rock and crouched down himself. Gazing out into the darkness, he scratched nervously at the rocky soil with his finger, all the while his lips moving as he chattered fitfully to himself.
“So what are you waiting for?” Kazen demanded. “Why not just toss me down that hill and get it over with already?”
Jumping at the sound of Kazen’s voice, Kane stared at him in puzzlement for a long while, almost as though he was surprised at his presence. “Waiting . . .” he finally muttered with a twitch of his eye, “yes . . . this is the time for waiting.”
Sinking against the cold rock, Kazen worked feverishly at loosening the bonds around his wrists. Stopping only to assure himself that Kane was still preoccupied with his increasingly mad rantings, he wriggled and pulled for his life. Blood flowed down his arms and into his lap as the stiff rope ripped into his skin. The pain only drove him harder. However, as he twisted and yanked, the rope grew hopelessly tighter and tighter. If only his hands weren’t quite so swollen. And then a sudden thought occurred to him. It was only flesh and bone that kept him captive. Perhaps, if the bones in his hands or wrists were shattered it might give him enough slack to slip out of his bonds. The very thought made Kazen sick to his stomach. Nevertheless, he slowly took a deep breath and prepared to twist his wrists against each other with every last bit of strength he had left. And then came that terrible sound from above.
A roar, like a sound of thunder, cracked the darkness. As a dark and immense figure circled down from shadows above, Kazen could hear the hollow whistle of its swift wings as they sliced through the crisp air. Dragonfire lit up the night as the black beast descended upon them, flames spewing out from behind its cruel fangs. Setting down on heavy talons, its black scales glimmered with a rainbow of colors as the light of the many campfires on the beach below flooded over the hill. Tucking its massive wings behind its back, the dragon sprawled itself out lazily in front of Kane, who eyed the creature with disdain. Glaring through cold, yellow eyes, the dragon turned its attention to Kazen, who shrank against the wall of rock behind him.
Leaning in close and sniffing Kazen with its terrible snout, the dragon scoffed. “You’re not really going to try to pass this scrawny dog off as Lord Kazen, are you?”
“That’s him.” Kane crossed his arms and nodded.
“This?” The dragon grinned with hideous delight. “This is the great wizard chosen by the Fates to end the siege of shadow? Well, I suppose even the Fates are entitled to a mistake now and then.” Glowering down at Kazen, the black dragon chuckled and snorted as it mockingly bowed its head. “In that case, welcome, Lord Kazen, to Rassadoth.”
Chapter 24
Darkness hung heavily over the camp as E’enna added an armful of brittle branches to the sputtering fire. Though she and the others had managed to escape the besieged hideaway, exhausted and shaken, fleeing into the night until the raging dragon fires disappeared into the blackness behind them, they could not travel far during the night sky of the shadowlands. Stumbling blindly through the darkness, even Avin’s most able trackers were unable find their way without a ray of light to guide them.
E’enna sat down between Shanks and Ilagon, watching over the men of Halifex as they huddled near the fire. It had not been an easy decision to light a campfire so close to danger, but in the bitter night, without blankets or cloaks, and with the threat of demons so near, it seemed to be a necessary risk. Many of the men cradled wounded limbs, while others had burns on their hands and faces. E’enna had discreetly tended to those with the most serious injuries, but the others were going to have to simply heal on their own. Already she had overextended herself. Healing so many in such short a time had left her drained. Hiding her trembling hands under her arms, she rested her head on Shanks’ shoulder.
“We’re wasting time here,” Shanks grumbled impatiently. “Every moment we delay puts Kazen that much farther ahead of us.”
“There is no sense in us bumbling around in the dark,” Ilagon said. “We can be on our way at first light.”
“Well, we’ll have to lose this lot if we hope to gain any ground,” Shanks scoffed sourly, motioning to the bewildered group of Halifexians. “Most of these men are injured, or too shaken to be of any use. Half of them lost their weapons in the battle! We have little water, and even less food. These men will do nothing but slow us down.”
“We cannot just abandon them,” E’enna said. “They have nowhere to go. Death awaits them in every direction. No one wants to find Kazen more than I do, but we can’t just leave these men to wither away. At least if we travel together they have a purpose. Kazen is more than just our friend, he is their last hope.”
“These men are not just traveling companions,” Ilagon added. “If we have not found Kazen by the time we reach the beaches of Rassadoth, they will be all that stands between Gregore and his passing over the Pale Mountains.”
E’enna sw
ept a thoughtful gaze over the huddled mass of anxious men. “They have survived here longer than most could have, they are shaken but strong still.”
Patting Shanks on the chin, E’enna rose to her feet and made her way back to the campfire. Looking for a bare spot of ground near the fire that she might sit and warm her icy hands, a way was instantly cleared for her as men parted, gallantly giving up their places to her. Smiling shyly, she sat down and curled her arms around her bent knees, several times refusing offers of cloaks from the backs of men who shivered in the cold themselves. She was certainly not accustomed to that kind of attention. The men, even those weakened by fear and exhaustion, suddenly sat up tall and proper, bowing their heads respectfully each time she glanced in their direction. Feeling increasingly self-conscious, she wished they would just ignore her presence all together.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you all more,” she said, finally breaking the silence. “If any one of you are in a great deal of pain perhaps I might be able to . . .” Her offer was unanimously rejected by the lot of men.
“No, m’lady,” answered the slightest of the men. “You been right kind to us louts, what wiff takin’ such good care of us an’ all. But ain’t none of us is so bad off we’d care ta see such a beautiful lady suff’ring on our behalf, not even for a moment.”
“You’re very sweet.” E’enna smiled at him.
“Rabbit.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The name’s Rabbit.” The tiny man grinned proudly. “They calls me that on accounta—”
The crowd of men hushed him with a swell of groans and boos.
“I think it’s a fine name.” E’enna chuckled.
Smiling warmly back at her, Rabbit scooted closer, pulling the worn hat from his head. “I know we look like a mangy lot,” he whispered softly. “But you don’t have to worry, m’lady. Me’n the boys, well, we’s come to know Lord Kazen pretty well over the last day or so, me especially, I s’pose. I like to even think me and him is friends. Well, if there’s one thing you can count on ’bout us Watchers, it’s that we’re a tight lot, and we don’t nevah leave our friends behind. There ain’t no shadow black enough to keep us from tracking ’im down. We’ll find ’im, you don’t haveta worry ’bout that.”
The Flame Weaver Page 31
