by Kim Stokely
“Ah.” The blond man tilts his head. “But you see, my brother is Lord Braedon.” He pauses as the room fills with tense murmuring. “And it would mean a great deal to him if I explained how you were a part of this man’s capture. I am sure he would want to reward you.”
“Caradoc!” One of the soldiers calls. “I was not told to expect you here.”
“Of course not, General. I came up with this plan on my own.”
I can barely contain the anger boiling inside me toward Caradoc. If I only had the Chrysaline I would use it to focus my rage and burn this building down.
He is pretending, Alystrine. It is the only way to get me out of here.
This is all too convenient. How can you be so sure?
Kyran is forced to shuffle along as Caradoc moves toward the soldiers. Because of our history. When you see your opportunity, find a passage back to the castle.
I move along the walls, staying in the shadows. I’m not leaving you here with them.
You must! Kyran’s voice screams in my brain. Take a passage, soon as you can.
Not without you.
Kyran struggles against Caradoc’s grasp, but one of the younger soldiers punches him in the stomach. I stifle a cry as he doubles over in pain. Caradoc jerks his brother upright. “He killed the two men I brought with me. Fast as Teutates with a sword, he is.” He gestures with his head. “Clean up the bodies while I get this half-breed back to Siddu Morrigan.”
The three subordinate soldiers hurry to the back of the tavern while the General stands still, blocking the doorway. “This is the bastard?”
Kyran growls, but Caradoc holds him tight. “This is him.”
“Who is the woman?” calls the innkeeper.
Caradoc can’t suppress a momentary flash of aggravation from crossing his face.
The General frowns as he steps toward the bar. “What woman?”
Kyran’s voice reverberates in my head, Go! Now!
I’m torn between wanting to flee and needing to rescue Kyran, who has saved my life so many times.
“Her.” The innkeeper points a gnarled finger in my direction. “She came in with the dark one.”
“She’s with me.” Caradoc’s confidence is back. “Part of the ruse to lure the bastard in.”
The General doesn’t look convinced. “Woman, come here.”
A plan is forming in my head. It isn’t a good one, but it’s all I’ve got for now. I weave through the tables as if I’m obeying the his command.
Kyran stiffens in Caradoc’s arms. His eyes are fixed on mine. Don’t be a fool.
I keep walking toward them. I can do this. He shakes his head but I don’t stop.
“Stupid girl.” Kyran’s voice is strangled with emotion.
The General flinches. “Halt.”
I stop where I am.
He studies me. “Take off the cloak. Let’s see what weapons you carry.”
Caradoc and Kyran are still at least ten feet away from me. The General stands only five feet behind them. I have to narrow the gap. I take a long stride forward as I reach for the clasp at my neck.
“Hold there, I say.” The General draws his sword.
I remain motionless until he commands me again to remove my cloak. I inch forward as I sweep it off then drop it to the floor.
Fortunately, no one in the tavern was at my coronation and I haven’t exactly been parading around Ayden on state visits. I lift my arms up to prove to the general that I’m unarmed. The move allows me to take one more step closer to Kyran and Caradoc.
The General seems satisfied that I’m harmless and lowers the tip of his blade. His gaze travels down to my feet and back up.
By Ruahk, Alystrine. Kyran’s voice is desperate. Pleading. Go now.
Just as I see the General’s face register who I am, one of the soldiers calls from the back, “This man was not killed with a sword, sir.”
The officer is momentarily distracted. I seize the opportunity to leap the last few feet separating me from Kyran. His eyes are wide with fear. “You’ll kill us all.”
“Have a little faith.” I circle both men in my arms. I know I won’t be able to carry them far. I envision the tavern across the green, find the current to take us there, and push.
Instead of flying effortlessly through the passage, it’s as if I’m trying to travel headlong into a hurricane. We are stuck in darkness. Wind howls around us. I keep the picture of the other tavern firmly in my mind, refusing to let my terror, or the wind, rip it from my thoughts.
We appear across the way, much to the amazement of the drunk man heaving his guts out by the doorway. I let go of Caradoc and Kyran to join him. Caradoc falls to his knees to do the same. Kyran is the only one who seems unaffected by the passage. He whistles. Braga whinnies in reply.
By the time the horse gallops across the green to his master’s side, the General and his men spill out of the tavern. I pray they won’t see us as I stumble toward the shadows for cover.
Kyran lifts his brother up toward Braga. “Get on.”
Caradoc is too weak to mount without Kyran’s help.
One of the soldiers’ voices carries on the wind. “Over there! I see them!”
Cursing loudly, I use the building to pull myself upright. Kyran is at my side, dragging me to Braga. Caradoc lets out a groan before slumping forward on the horse. An arrow sticks out from his back.
I rip myself from Kyran’s grasp. “You go. If you still think Caradoc’s trustworthy, bring him to Kennis. If you’re not sure, bring him to the healer, Malina. In Uz.”
The soldiers run toward us. Before Kyran can grab me again, I stagger around the side of the tavern. I only need a moment. I can take a passage.
Kyran jumps onto Braga. I will wait here until you go.
I know carrying two people through a passage has drained me. I don’t have the energy to take me back to the palace yet, but I also know Kyran won’t leave until I do.
The soldiers are halfway across the green.
I wish I’d paid more attention on our ride here so I could visualize someplace in the forest. Instead, the only thing I can see clearly are the haystacks I’d spotted in one of the fields just outside town. I focus my swirling brain and find the passage, collapsing to the ground when I arrive. My muscles quiver as if I’d run a marathon. I throw up in the hay and spend the next minute spitting the acidic taste from my mouth.
Hoof beats thunder up the road. In the moonlight I make out the figures of Kyran and Caradoc as Braga carries them away to safety. I burrow into the haystack, peering out when I hear the rumble of many hooves. The General and his men have saddled their horses and are in pursuit. I doubt they’ll be able to catch Braga since Kyran had such a large head start. I know I should try and find a passage back to Uz, but my body hasn’t stopped trembling. I can’t tell if I’m shivering from exertion or cold.
The hay pokes through the cheap linen of my blouse, itching my skin, but at least it provides some warmth from the bitter air. I lie inside the pile of straw and try to come up with a plan that doesn’t involve me waiting until I have the strength to find a passage back to the castle, mentally kicking myself again for not paying more attention to the surroundings along the way and promising not to let that happen again.
I crouch into a fetal position to conserve my body heat. My shivering soon stops, but not the spinning sensation from the passage. I need a little more time to recuperate and the haystack provides as good a hiding place as any.
A voice wakes me from the pleasant unconsciousness into which I’ve slipped. Where are you?
I try to clear the fog from my brain. Kyran?
It takes a moment for him to answer. Yes. Tell me where you are.
I visualize a picture of my refuge as I spit a piece of straw from my mouth. Someone else speaks in my head. But the voice is distant, like a bad connection on a cell phone.
Alystrine?
Pins and needles break out over my skin. My mind instantly alert, I know wi
thout a doubt the voice that spoke my name is Kyran’s. If he’s far away, who have I given my position to? I become aware of the string of curses I utter only after I inhale a piece of hay. I still my breathing, as if that will keep anyone from finding me. If my stalker can read my thoughts, will he be able to sense any I try to send to Kyran?
I tunnel through the straw until I can see outside. The gray-pink sky of dawn hovers overhead. Three figures on horseback turn off the road and into the field. I can’t see the face of the small one in the lead, but the two hulking figures behind him are definitely Black Guards.
Alystrine? Kyran’s remote voice searches for me. Are you safe?
I’m not safe. But I can’t answer Kyran without potentially alerting my stalkers. The frost-covered field crunches loudly as they approach. From the heaviness of my limbs, I know I still don’t have the energy to get back to Uz.
“Come out, my lady.”
Maybe, if I don’t answer, they’ll think I’m in a different haystack.
A roaring sound fills my mind as a blue streak of light leaves the hand of the small man. The straw ignites in flames. A cloud of thick, black smoke billows out from where I hide, burning my eyes and lungs.
I swear again as I dig out the back of the pile. Another of Braedon’s Portals?
“Yes, my lady.” I can’t see the small man’s face, but his voice is reedy and high. “I serve Lord Braedon.”
One of the Black Guards nudges his horse closer to me. I take a furtive look at my surroundings. The haystack burns to my right. My enemies stand in front. An open field lays behind me. The forest starts about two hundred yards to my left.
“Do you really think you could outrun the Black Guards?” The Portal chuckles. “Weylin, use this to subdue her.”
I take note of the Elderstone still glowing blue in his hand as he tosses it to the creature nearest me. Before I can try and summon its energy, my muscles go rigid. It is as if my body has suddenly frozen solid. My throat closes and my lungs refuse to expand to take in air. I panic at my paralysis, but can’t make a noise to express it.
“Not so hard, Weylin,” the Portal orders. The guard flexes his fingers and frees my lungs.
I gasp loudly as soon as I can breathe again.
“That’s better.” The Portal’s gaze darts to something behind me. I can hear shouting. A bell rings repeatedly, as if in warning. “Make her pliable enough to ride, then take her to the Ovates. Lann, light the rest of the field to keep the rabble busy.”
A powerful burst of heat rushes past me. Screams rise over the loud crackling of flames. Weylin rides to my side. His huge gloved hand flexes again before he reaches down and grabs me by the neck. He yanks me up then lays me on my stomach so I am folded over the horse. As he spurs the animal to gallop, excruciating pain radiates through my body with every stride, but I’m helpless to change my position.
But your mind still works.
I don’t know if the thought is mine or Kyran’s or Ruahk’s and I don’t really care. Between the semi-paralysis and my body’s exhaustion, I know I still can’t make the distance to Uz. My haystack and its field are engulfed in flames. I focus on the forest, remembering the lesson I learned back in the Other World, to picture myself beside the trees, not so close that I wind up hitting my head on a branch.
Weylin growls as he senses me gathering my power. He grabs onto me as I push myself into the passage. The force of his will and the power of the Elderstone combined, stop me from traveling as far as I’d hoped. We reappear in the field, the fire only a few feet away.
Weylin roars as he holds the Elderstone at arm’s length. The air sizzles with electricity, but before he can shock me, I focus my thoughts on the stone and thrust my desire to see this creature dead into it.
It’s as if we’ve been struck by lightning. A thunderous crack echoes through my brain. I swear I’ve been split in two. I’m simultaneously blinded by white light and thrown through the air by some kind of explosion. I hit the ground. Hard.
It takes me a moment to find which way is up, but the approaching fire makes it imperative I do something. Fast. I take a quick inventory and, although every inch of my body hurts, I force myself to move, lurching to my feet as a spike of pain shoots up my right leg. I put most of my weight on the left. Something drips into my eyes. I use my sleeve to wipe my face, appalled to see it covered with black slime. All around me are chunks of charred, dark, hairy flesh, oozing with inky blood. The Elderstone sizzles in Weylin’s dismembered hand, about to be consumed by the inferno still raging across the field.
The earth vibrates as two horses race toward me. I hop between parts of Weylin’s body, desperate to reach the Elderstone before the Portal or the flames. I beat the Portal, but not the fire. I have no choice but to stick my arm into the blaze. I seize the Elderstone as my sleeve ignites. Instinct takes over and I stop, drop and roll to extinguish the flames before they can scorch my flesh.
The Black Guard is close enough now to try and Break me. He drives a vision of Kennis being seared by the fire into my brain. Before I lose myself in despair, I hold the Elderstone out and think one thought.
Die.
The sight of Kennis’ burning body fades as the Black Guard slides off his mount. He lands with a sickening thud. His horse rears up. Before the beast’s legs crush me, I roll again across the field. It gallops past me, into the forest.
The Portal halts his steed some distance away. The animal is clearly nervous of the nearby blaze. It dances sideways, shaking its head. The Portal struggles to calm it as he seems to weigh his next move. His gaze flickers between the two dead guards, the fire, and the Elderstone in my hand.
I sense him gathering his energy to leap into a passage. I’m surprised to hear myself yell, “Die.” By the astonished look on his face before he disappears, I think my command worked. I vaguely wonder if he’ll arrive dead at the other end, or whether he’ll float in the void forever. His horse races toward the forest.
I clutch the Elderstone to my chest and hobble from the flames. The energy from the orb seeps into my body. By the time I reach the forest, I focus my renewed strength and find the passage to take me back home. I push myself into the void and am carried through the darkness until, without warning, my body slams against an invisible wall. I have no idea how fast I’ve been traveling, but it feels as though I’ve been thrown from a ten-story building onto a concrete sidewalk. I try to catch my breath as the wind around me stops howling.
Voices whisper in the darkness, ancient and raspy, as if whatever speaks hasn’t uttered a sound in centuries. With each strange syllable, the temperature around me grows colder and colder and my fear grows greater and greater. I resist the temptation to fall into panic and instead, force myself to seek a way out of the passage. I picture the edge of the forest and thrust myself back toward it. The voice, the evil, follows me.
I drop unceremoniously to the ground, relieved to find the Elderstone still firmly in my hand. The inferno rages in the field. A bitter winter breeze carries angry embers toward me. I run into the woods. The sun tries to burn its way through the low clouds but, for now, only a weak gray light shows that morning has broken. The smoke from the fire follows me into the trees until everything blends into a colorless mass. My lungs sting from the acrid haze. Bolts of agony race up my leg with every step.
The evil from the tunnel is inside my head. Its gravelly voice whispering. Tripping over the hem of my skirt, I end up sprawled on the frozen ground eating dirt and dead leaves. The Elderstone flies out of my hand.
A figure grows up from the shadows ahead, slowly assuming a physical form.
It is tall. At least seven-feet high. I count four horns protruding from its head. Two are curved, like a ram’s. Two are straight and pointed, like a goat. Its face has a muzzle with what looks like two rows of sharp, jagged teeth. Six arms grow from its torso, each with a clawed hand on its end. The bottom half of the creature looks like an oversized goat on two legs.
I crab c
rawl backwards, wanting to pull my gaze away, but unable to separate myself from the massive thing. The voice cackles inside my head.
Too easily have you come to me. Too easily will you die.
I spy the Elderstone on the ground, about ten feet ahead and to my left. The demon’s red eyes follow my gaze. Its grating laugh echoes in my mind as it stomps toward the glowing orb. Before the sphere is crushed, I command its power to flow to me. The creature’s giant hoof decimates the Elderstone into powder, but not until it releases its energy to me. I know, instinctively, that the beast will follow me into the passages and kill me there if I try to escape. I also know that although it came from nothing, its form is solid now. This is not an apparition thrust into my mind that I can evade by thinking happier thoughts. What do I do? Oh God, what do I do?
The Elderstone’s blue electricity glows between my palms. The monster hesitates, as if waiting to see what I will do with the power I wield. If I throw it, will it be enough to kill it?
A soft, but commanding voice speaks to my thoughts. This demon is too strong.
The creature lets out a screeching howl. The sound is like daggers to my mind. It lurches toward me.
Use the power as a shield, Alystrine!
I lift up my hands and pray for help as the beast reaches for me. Its bear-like claws rake near my head but can’t penetrate the blue light encasing me like a bubble.
The demon howls again.
I crouch low to the ground to lessen the surface area my shield has to cover. The beast’s paws pound against the light, each hit reverberates through my brain like a gong, but my defense holds strong. Again and again it rails against the sheltering energy. Again and again, it fails to break through.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Not Like This
I can’t feel my legs. Kneeling on them for so long, they’ve gone numb. My knees, however, burn with pain.
The demon’s howls are muted by the Elderstone’s energy, but its thoughts roil in my head. Cowering on the ground like a worm? This is how you think you can defeat me? You only delay the inevitable. Let go of this folly. This is not your fight. Let your father, your grandmother, wage their war against us. Your death can be painless. Freeing.
