by Ashley Capes
“Nearly lost my toes.”
“Again. We have to save him – he stopped that thing,” Never said.
They rolled the man once more, then a third time, eventually breaking into a sweat when they hit the steps. “What now?” Luis gasped.
The pool of silvery liquid was slowing, spreading where the man had lain, but did not seem as though it would move much further. “Find Tsolde. We’ll figure out the next step as soon as this guy wakes.”
“Will he?”
“He’s breathing, that’s something.”
When Tsolde returned she shook her head as she glanced at the strange man. “Do you think this is the one the hermit told us about?”
“Could be,” Never said. “Let’s hope he’s not in a bad mood when he wakes.”
“We’ll soon find out,” Luis said.
The man of stone’s eyes fluttered and he flinched, but upon seeing the apparent absence of the silver-creature, sighed, closing them again. “You are fools to come here but I am glad you survived,” he said. His voice was surprisingly normal – Never had expected a deep, gravelly growl.
“Thank you for saving us,” Never said.
The man sat up with a smile that was half wince. “I imagine you have many questions – let me answer but one for now. I am Darom.”
Never made the introductions. He wanted to ask ‘what are you?’ but resisted, instead going for the next most pressing question. “Darom, what was that creature?”
He stood. “Let us find a safer place, follow me and I will tell you what I know.” He started up the stairs, moving slowly at first, and Never followed at an even slower pace, hands reaching for the walls in the darkness. By the slight fumbling, Luis and Tsolde were having the same trouble.
Darom paused. “Ah. I apologise.” Never waited. Soft creaks followed and pinpoints of light appeared high above, popping into existence and leading up. They cast enough light that he could see the steps again.
Their strange saviour removed his hands from the wall, took a breath and resumed his climb. Never kept pace after checking on Tsolde and Luis, both of whom followed not quite close enough to trample his heels, but near enough.
“The creature that attacked you is a... mistake, perhaps. It came about long ago, when the mountain kings dug too deep with their mines. I do not know much more, other than that they rarely climb so high.”
“I did not think we were so close to the mines,” Never said.
“You are right. They are still a few days travel north east, which is what concerns me about the Black Ember’s appearance here.”
The stairs ended at a landing with a single door. “The Mountain Kings’ Palace, the ruins of Kathuer, such as remain, lie beyond this door, only a little way further now. However, I would request something of you each, if you would consider it I would be pleased.”
“Please,” Never said.
“Would you permit me to accompany you there and beyond a little ways? I am travelling near to where you doubtless travel and would be happy to offer my protection in exchange for the company.” His expression suggested sincerity.
Never glanced at Luis and Tsolde. If another Black Ember appeared, Darom would no doubt earn his keep, even as he had done so already. “No objections from me, Never,” Luis said.
“Nor I,” Tsolde added.
“Welcome aboard,” Never said with a grin.
***
A warm wind cut across the ruins of Kathuer, stirring dark clouds and dried leaves alike as Darom gestured to the nearest building. “There is a well in the courtyard beyond.”
Never blinked when his eyes adjusted to the new light. Their guide’s skin was no longer a dark earth, but more the paler wash of exposed stone – its shade not unlike the surrounding walls.
But Never did not mention it, instead, heading for the well. The rope and bucket were well-maintained. He lowered the rope as Luis and Tsolde waited. “I wonder if Darom is the one who takes care of this place?”
“Who else might?” Luis said.
There was no evidence of recent visitors in the ruin. The walls were chipped and scarred from weapons and fire when, at one point in the history of Elina’s ancestors, Hanik settlers had come and began, then ended a war with the mountain kings. A stripe of purple stone ran along the base of the wall and even that of the well.
“Do you know what the purple is for?” Never asked Tsolde.
“No. I’ve never travelled here, only heard of it.” She turned back to the clearing and the other, smaller structures, none of which amounted to a full room. “To be honest, there isn’t much left. Less than I thought.”
Never hauled the bucket up and drank, then passed it around. Darom approached as they filled their single flask. “There is a road out of the palace grounds that will lead down to what is now known as the King’s Road but it is busy of late. I doubt you will want to cross paths with the Vadiya.”
“Not truly.”
“There is another way, should you wish it.” He paused. “There is danger enough there too and I cannot guide you through it.”
“What danger?” Never asked. “Another Black Ember?”
“Not the Yimash, no,” he said. “It was once called the Narrow Way. It is a gorge that will take you to the Giant’s Bridge.”
“I know the bridge,” Never said. “It will bring us very close to the mines. At the bridge, most travellers will turn toward the Silver Pass but there we can continue higher to the Iron Pass,” he said.
Darom drew in a breath. “The Iron Pass? You plan to take it?”
“Yes. I know the pass well.”
“Find another way, Never.”
“I cannot. We’re racing time – I must reach Marlosi before the new moon.”
Darom frowned. “Is the risk worth it?”
“Yes,” Never said. “No doubt in my mind.”
“Then my advice would be to steer clear of Night Lake,” he said.
“We will.”
“What of the gorge, Darom?” Luis asked. “You mentioned danger.”
“So I did. The Narrow Way is a thin path of stone that will take you to the bridge but it is a deathly drop and the winds are strong. If you weigh yourself down with rock, you will pass safely.”
Tsolde didn’t appear too pleased at his words.
“And you, Darom?” Never asked.
“I will take you to the gorge but then I must leave. I am... needed elsewhere and it is a natural point for our paths to diverge.” The stone-like man started from the ruins and Never kept pace, the others following.
“Forgive my curiosity,” Never began. “But you can imagine that we might be curious about how you came to be so... strong.”
Darom chuckled. “Tactfully put, Never. I am descended of the Mountain People and it seems the old blood no longer hides. I have always been... strong, as you put it.”
Old blood. A familiar problem. Or gift, perhaps, in Darom’s case. “And it allows you to pass into the mountain?”
“Yes. But at a cost. I believe my ancestors were more adept than I. I will rest long tonight.”
“And have you always protected unwary travellers?”
“No. In truth, I see few and reveal myself to fewer.”
“But you saved us?”
Darom nodded.
“Through luck?”
He glanced at Never. “Your blood. I could feel your blood. It was old, even to me.”
“I’ve been told I have Amouni heritage.”
“I suspected as much,” he said. There was no surprise in his bearing – did Darom know something?
The man gestured up ahead, to where the path split into two stairs. One led up and the other stepped down the mountain, doubtless toward the King’s Road. “There is your path. Gather what stone you may before crossing.”
“Thank you, Darom,” he said, Luis and Tsolde echoing his words. “Before we go, I’d like to ask one more question,” Never said after a moment.
“Yes?”
“You weren’t surprised to hear the name Amouni.”
“Not truly, no.”
“Why is that? I am searching for whatever truths about them I might find. Have you met more of my kind during your time?”
“None. But my guess was true – few seem old to me, you understand.”
“Ah.” Another quiver of false hope. To be expected perhaps.
“And the Yimash?” Luis asked.
“Yes,” Tsolde added. “Is there anything we can do if another appears?”
He smiled sadly. “No, young lady. You are best to flee or at the least, place stone between you and the creature. They are few in number now, but should you travel the Iron Pass as you plan, you may come across one. Sometimes, I have seen them roam that far.” He glanced to the stairs leading downward. “And now I must leave; for I must do my part for my master.” He started down the steps.
“Your master?” Never called after.
Darom gestured to the stone around him. “I am but a cog in this great mountain.”
“Ah.” Never started up the steps, skipping a few to catch Luis and Tsolde. And then he stopped.
Cog.
That word. Darom had used the word ‘cog’ to describe himself – was it a coincidence? Or something more – the man of smoke in the inn had called himself ‘Cog’. Gods, had Snow interfered here too?
Never spun.
The path to the King’s Road lay empty.
Chapter 11.
Never was still shaking his head by the top of the stair, where Tsolde had stopped to drink from the flask while Luis scouted the shadowy gorge. Had Darom’s use of the word ‘cog’ been innocent or was it something else? The man seemed honest, could he really be another of Snow’s pawns?
When he ran his theory by Tsolde she shrugged. “It doesn’t seem likely, does it? I mean, why would your brother even want to control a man like Darom?”
“That’s what concerns me; I have no idea.”
“Snow might have gone crazy, from what you’ve told me about the Bleak Man, but it doesn’t seem like he’d do something for no reason. And there’s no reason to use Darom, is there?”
“I would have thought not.” He sighed. “I’m probably just seeing his hand in everything now, warranted or not.”
“Could be.”
“Come and see this,” Luis called.
Never and Tsolde joined him by the edge of the gorge. A narrow walkway of grey and purple stone extended across the dark chasm. Sheer sides led down to certain death, the floor of the gorge lost in darkness. The walkway was wide enough for one traveller at a time only – save for a central area which spread into a circle, visible at the very limits of his vision.
Wind rushed up the sides, whistling between stone and tugging at Never’s hair when he caught the edge of his cloak.
“What is the circular place in the middle for, I wonder?” Never asked.
“Human sacrifice,” Tsolde said, her lips pressed together as she stared. “No-one does so anymore, but my ancestors put a stop to it when we conquered these mountains.”
“Then we’d have a lot of company down there if we fall in,” Never said.
“That’s not funny.”
Luis chuckled. “Well, here are the rocks Darom mentioned. Doesn’t seem like anyone has used them for some time.”
Twin piles of stones, from fist-sized pieces to slabs the length of his arm, sat piled near the path, pale and worn from wind and rain. “Load up your pockets and the bottom of your pant legs,” Never said. “I don’t know how much we’ll need, but make sure you can actually walk. Keep the weight toward the bottom, I don’t want either of you tipping over because you’re top heavy.”
“We’re not stupid, Never,” Tsolde said.
“My mistake,” he said with a grin.
Once he finished loading himself up he lifted a leg, testing the weight. Tough, but he could move his limbs at least. The others were ready. Good. Time to find out just how strong the wind was.
“Tsolde, you’re lightest so you’re in the middle,” he said.
“Fine with me,” she replied.
Never clomped onto the path. His first few steps were easy enough, despite the gaping emptiness to either side. The wind ruffled his clothing but it didn’t buffet him until much farther along, where it forced him into a crouch. He glanced over his shoulder. Tsolde had crouched too, and Luis was on one knee, his eyes wide.
The wind continued to whistle, rising to a shriek before easing.
Never rose to press on.
The stones did help; they gave a little confidence but by the time he reached the circular space in the centre of the narrow way, he wasn’t convinced they were making all that much of a difference. Although the added sense of security was welcome.
An altar sat squat in the centre of the space, dark with centuries of bloodstains.
He moved on.
The rest of the narrow path was easy enough to traverse – until a point two dozen feet from safety, when a gust of wind slammed into him, hard enough to tip his torso. He straightened himself and fell to the stone with a shout. “Down.”
Wind continued to howl. It dragged at him, as if trying to pluck him from the walkway and cast him into the gaping maw. Never gripped the earth; arms aching. A shrill screech joined the howling and he shuddered. It was as though the screams of the dead echoed up from the pit of inky shadow.
His hands grew chill.
Would it ever ease? Still he clung to the path, fingers growing numb, not even daring to turn his head back to check on Tsolde and Luis. Any change could give the wind something additional to tear at. Instead, he closed his eyes to the stinging dust and waited.
When the gale finally fell away he climbed to his knees, twisting his neck.
Tsolde, her face drained of colour, was crawling forward – eyes unseeing. Luis signalled from behind her and Never nodded, crawling the rest of the way himself. On the other side, he rolled away from the edge of the chasm and lay back a moment, breathing deeply.
“Keep going,” Tsolde said.
He lifted his head. Tsolde was striding for a winding trail that led up to the top of the ridge – something which ought to have done a better job at sheltering them. He groaned, dragging himself up to join Luis, who walked after her.
“Wasn’t that fun?” Never said.
“I’m not convinced you know what the word ‘fun’ means, Never.”
He laughed. “You’re probably right.”
Thin, yellowing weeds lined the trail and at the top of the ridge waited another steep descent, the path tumbling down to something steel that caught the afternoon light. Beyond, the Folhan Mountains stretched on, purple beneath the black clouds spreading across the sky.
Farther below, a haze of smoke and even the hints of darker stone from a man-made structure. A few steps down the trail and he’d see what was, hopefully, the Giant’s Bridge.
“Bad weather out there,” Luis said. “Though it might not reach us.”
“It’s welcome to come,” Never said.
“Why?” Tsolde asked. She’d regained some composure and a little colour to go with it.
“It will shield us, keep idle Vadiya within their tents.”
She straightened. “Vadiya?”
“Look again,” Never said. Luis was already nodding and Tsolde’s eyes soon narrowed. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
Never climbed cautiously down, sliding a little. “Careful,” he warned the others. Thankfully, the few stones trickled down to a natural curve in the slope. The steel he’d seen from above was revealed to be huge bolts driven into the stone – a pair of chains, each link descending down toward exactly what he’d predicted.
Below, too distant to hear voices, the Vadiya camp spread across the stony ground before the closest side of the Giant’s Bridge. A dozen rows of tents, possibly more, were broken by evenly-spaced campfires with huge cauldrons. Other fires pumped warmth and smoke into the air. A soundless whoosh o
f smoke and flame flared when an armoured man dumped pine branches atop one of them.
But above it lay the Giant’s Bridge – it still gave him pause.
Stone pillars guarded entry to the bridge; the smaller pieces of stone larger than the wagons that should have been passing over it. Each pillar had been carved with rigid symbols unlike any he’d seen before – not those he was now coming to think of as Amouni, but more harsh. The bridge spanned a chasm, broad and solid, entryway to the nearby silver mines.
How had it been built? And by whom... he’d shaken his head in awe upon first seeing it, years ago now. The arches beneath were magnificent in their own right – such knowledge seemed lost now.
“Where is the garrison? We should have troops swarming over these snakes,” Tsolde said.
“More traitors?” Luis suggested.
She nodded, her expression dark. “They want the silver, don’t they?”
Never exhaled. “Most likely. They have a lot of soldiers to pay.”
“Cocky, aren’t they?” Luis pointed. “Not much in the way of defence on the permitter of the camp. Still, it looks like we need to sneak past about two... maybe three hundred men.”
“I don’t like our chances,” Tsolde said. “Giant’s Bridge is the only path to the mines, save turning back and detouring for weeks to approach from nearer the side of the Marlosi border.”
Never sat, untying his knapsack. No food, just his blanket. “Time I cannot afford, if I am to meet the deadline.”
“Any ideas?” Luis asked.
“Subterfuge. And boldness,” he said. “I have an idea but we need three things first. One is food – we hunt before we try this. Two, we need to be sure these chains are safe. And three, we need a volunteer from the Vadiya.”
Chapter 12.
“He’s broken his neck,” Luis said, face surprised in the growing dark.
“Saves us doing it,” Never replied. “Hurry, help me.”
Together they dragged the sentry off the trail and into a stand of pine where Never started on the buckles of the man’s breastplate. Luis stopped to massage his ankle, having twisted it on the way down – the iron chain had not reached the King’s Road, forcing them to drop the remaining feet.
