by JA Andrews
Hal’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the two dwarves. Will shifted for a better view.
They came down the slope with heavy steps, thick leather boots crunching against the ground. Their long beards covered their chests and tucked behind their belts. Their leather armor was darkened with age and use, and scarred blades of their battle axes sat behind their shoulders looking ruthless. Only glittering eyes were visible in their faces.
“I don’t see any treasure, cousin.” The darker of the two studied the group from under black, wild eyebrows.
Hal stood, pulling Rass up with him.
“Patlon,” said the other dwarf, stroking his own copper beard. “We’ve found nothing but a bunch of humans in the midst of a disagreement.”
Hal stood unmoving, his hand wrapped around Rass’s thin arm, his expression caught between stunned and thrilled.
“If the giant man says they’re treasure,” Patlon said, “we should take them, just to be sure.”
Hal’s face darkened. “You’re not taking anyone.”
The two dwarves glanced at each other and Patlon pulled his axe over his shoulder. The shaft was a dark, glimmering purple. Sora watched the two with narrowed eyes.
“We didn’t introduce ourselves,” the copper bearded dwarf said. “I’m Douglon, this is my cousin Patlon.” He gestured to Will, Sora, and Rass. “I’ve recently started collecting needy humans, and I’d be happy to take these off your hands.”
“No.” Hal stepped forward, holding out the small hunting knife. “You won’t.”
Will heaved himself onto his back. Sharp pain shot across his shoulders and his head fell back, heavy. “I’m a Keeper from Queensland. I’ve been to Duncave before, visited King Horgoth’s court. Even spoken to the High Dwarf himself.”
The dwarves gave him their attention.
Will opened up toward them and curiosity and amusement poured into his chest. “He has a brilliant mind for strategy and is a keen negotiator.” The amusement soured.
“If you keep talking about Horgoth like that,” Douglon said, “I’m going to leave you with the giant.”
Will glanced between the two. “I promise you, I’m a friend of the dwarves.”
“Don’t trust his promises of friendship,” Hal said.
“Cousin,” Patlon warned as Hal took a step forward.
Douglon sized up the huge man and and slid his own axe out of its sheath with a glint of fiery red. “I suppose, being a Keeper,” he said to Will, keeping his eyes fixed on Hal, “you are useless when it comes to using a weapon and have moral qualms about fighting with magic.”
Will opened his mouth to protest, but Sora spoke first.
“It’s like you already know him.”
“I feel like I do.” A grin flashed out from his beard. “You, on the other hand, look as though you could take care of yourself.”
“Against Hal? Just cut my feet loose. I won’t need my arms.”
“I like her.” Patlon stepped closer to Sora and pulling a small knife out of his belt.
“Stop.” Hal’s voice echoed off the rocks.
Patlon paused and raised an eyebrow at the enormous man.
Hal stepped forward again and Rass took the chance to wrench her arm out of his grasp and skitter out of reach. Hal grabbed for her, but she was too quick.
“Hal,” Sora said, “this isn’t a fight you’re going to win. You couldn’t take one of these dwarves, never mind both. And despite the fact their axes are”—she glanced at the two axes, the shafts shimmering with purple and red—“colorful for dwarven warriors, they seem well used.”
Hal clenched his jaw.
“She likes my axe.” Patlon twisted the purple shaft, catching the evening light in a deep violet glitter.
“She likes my axe,” Douglon corrected him. “She thinks yours is stupid.”
Patlon’s teeth flashed from behind his beard in a grin. Rass scurried over behind Sora and Patlon tossed the knife near her. Rass grabbed it and ducked down behind Sora.
“Hal,” Will said. “You don’t want to be killed by dwarves. Not after you’ve waited so long to meet some.”
“You were overpowered by a superior force.” Sora rubbed her wrists. “Killien can’t hold that against you.” With a flick of the knife she cut the rope around her feet and came over to Will.
Hal’s expression sagged and he dropped his knife by his side.
“He loves dwarves,” Will explained to Douglon and Patlon. “Under most circumstances this would be the best day of his life.”
“What’s not to love?” Patlon asked.
Will felt the cool side of the blade against his arm, then with a quick yank, the ropes loosened and he pushed himself up with a groan. Bone-deep aches filled his shoulders, as he took the chain with the blue stone off his neck and threw it at the ground near Hal. The exhaustion that had been plaguing him blew away like smoke on a breeze.
Sora handed him the knife for his feet, and grabbing some rope, went over to Hal. She barely came up to his shoulder, but when she held out her hand, he only hesitated a moment, glancing at the dwarves before handing her the knife.
“You won’t have too long to wait,” Patlon told Hal. “Your ranger friends should be here before dark.”
When Hal was tied up, Douglon turned uphill and gave a long whistle. Will cast out up the mountain and found the two other people.
“I met a dwarf at court once.” Will watched up the hill for the others. “His name was Menwoth. He was…funny.”
“Stop talking,” Patlon advised.
Douglon glowered at him. “Menwoth? Slimy, fawning toad.”
Despite the look on the dwarf’s face, Will laughed. “He was fawning.”
Douglon’s face mollified a bit.
A wave rushed over Will and he snapped his gaze back up the slope.
It hadn’t been a wave of anything in particular. Almost a wave of nothing, if nothing could surge like an ocean swell, and pass through you.
But it was a nothing he recognized in the foundational way he recognized home.
“Alaric!” he called.
A man stepped around one of the huge rocks.
At the sight of the black-haired man wearing the black Keeper’s robe, the isolation and weight of the last year loosened.
“You were easier to find than I thought you’d be.” Alaric looked pleased.
“Easy?” Patlon fixed Alaric with an incredulous look, “You’ve mobilized half of the dwarven outposts for the last four days!”
The sheer familiarity of Alaric was fortifying. His black hair had been cropped short, but his eyes were scanning the group exactly the way he studied every new situation. Will could almost see the questions stacking up in his mind. Seeing a face as familiar as his own broke away the last of the crust the solitary last year had built around Will.
“I have never”—Will strode up to Alaric and wrapped his arms around him, crushing Alaric to his chest—“been so happy to see anyone in my life.”
Alaric laughed and patted Will on the back. “It’s good to see you too.”
A woman came out from behind the rock as well, walking up to Alaric.
Will stepped back, but kept his hands on Alaric’s shoulders. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Alaric raised an eyebrow. “You mentioned that.”
Will let go of Alaric’s shoulders, rubbing his hands over his face and letting out a breath. “It’s been a long year.”
“Long enough to grow a beard,” Alaric said.
Will scratched at it. “They’re popular on this side of the mountains.”
“And under them,” Douglon said.
“I like it,” the woman said.
She smiled at Will with a hopeful sort of smile, but her green eyes watched him nervously. Blond hair hung around her face, working its way out of a braid. In contrast to the dwarves, she didn’t look particularly fierce. She wore traveling clothes, simple pants and a light brown shirt, and carried no weapon besides a
small knife at her belt. She stepped up to Alaric, so close that their arms almost touched. Will glanced at Alaric, waiting for an introduction.
Alaric gave him a nervous look. “Will, I’d like you to meet Evangeline—”
Will gave her a small bow as Alaric leaned against her shoulder.
“—my wife.”
Will’s bow stuttered to a stop. “Wife?”
Alaric’s smile turned self-conscious and he nodded. He stayed pressed against Evangeline’s shoulder, his expression somewhere between worry and entreaty.
Will shoved aside his surprise at the news. “Congratulations!”
Alaric’s smile widened and Evangeline’s shoulders relaxed.
“I’m Will. Obviously. And you married a great man. He’s been like a brother to me since I was ten.”
Sora stepped up next to Will. Before he could introduce her, Alaric grinned. “Did you find a wife too?”
“No!” Sora pulled away from Will her face shocked.
“Um,” Will started. “It’s not…”
Alaric laughed. “That’s too bad. You should find one.”
Sora crossed her arms and she fixed Alaric with a scowl.
“This is Sora,” Will introduced her. It was nice to see her irritation focused on someone besides himself. “And despite that expression, which she wears a lot, I owe her my life. Several times over.”
Sora’s crossed her arms, still scowling.
Will glanced up the hill. “Why were you hiding behind the rocks?”
“Because,” Evangeline answered, “he is ridiculously overprotective of me.”
Alaric shrugged. “With good reason.”
“We need to move somewhere less exposed,” Patlon said.
A glint of blue from the ground caught Will’s eye, and he picked up the necklace, careful not to touch the stone. He considered putting it on Hal before deciding it would be more interesting to study it. He shoved it into his pack.
He looked up to the top of the pine where Talen still perched. He pulled a bit of rabbit from his pack and held a slice up toward the bird. Talen dove off the branch and sped down, flaring his wings at the last moment to land on Will’s outstretched arm.
“We have less than an hour until the other Roven come back.” Patlon pointed out.
Will nodded. “I didn’t leave the Morrow on the best of terms. We should be gone by then.”
“Kollman Pass is being watched,” Sora said.
Alaric nodded. “We don’t need the pass. There’s an entrance to Duncave up the slope.”
Sora’s eyebrows rose and she nodded. Then she glanced at Talen. “This is a perfect example of you taking Talen somewhere inappropriate, Will.” She stepped up behind him and reached into his pack. “But he’ll lose track of you if we go underground.” She pulled out the little hood. “Keep him calm.”
Will opened up toward the hawk and pushed the idea of peace toward the creature.
Talen stilled and Sora slipped the hood over his head on one smooth motion and tied a thin strap of leather to his foot. Talen tensed, but stayed on Will’s arm. With some shifting Will got the glove on and Talen settled on it while Will held the end of the strap, keeping the idea of calmness pressed into the bird.
Will felt Rass behind him, peeking around him at the new people.
“This is Rass,” Will introduced her. “She’s a pratorii, a grass elf.”
“Really?” Alaric leaned to get a better view of her.
Douglon moved toward Rass and Will tensed. The dwarf, although his head only reached Will’s chest, looked like a towering giant next to the tiny girl.
Sora took a step closer to the dwarf, loosening the knife in her belt.
Alaric raised his hand toward her. “It’s alright.”
Douglon looked at Rass like she was some sort of rare sparkling rock. He dropped down on one knee so their faces were even. “Hello.”
She reached forward tentatively and touched a braid hanging from the bottom of his copper beard. “I’ve never met a dwarf before.”
“I’ve never met such a tiny elf.”
“Have you met tree elves?”
The dwarf stilled before nodding. “One.”
Will looked up at Alaric in surprise. The other Keeper gave a small, sober nod.
“I hope I get to meet one,” Rass sighed.
A heavy silence fell over the others. Something raw and broken flashed across Douglon’s eyes before he closed them.
“There aren’t any more,” he answered.
Will’s gaze snapped to Alaric’s face, but he was watching the dwarf with a grave expression.
“We should go.” Alaric turned up the slope.
Will and the others started after him, but Rass hung back.
“I don’t want to go into the tunnels. They’re too dark and quiet.”
Douglon paused. “They’re not quiet. The rocks talk.”
Rass fixed him with a dubious look. “No they don’t.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t used to think trees talked, but they do.” He glanced over at the pine trees closest to them. “They talk so much, I wish they’d shut up.”
Rass giggled. “I thought dwarves only liked rocks.”
“I did, until I met that elf.”
Rass looked up at him with wide eyes. “What was she like?”
Douglon’s gaze traveled back to the edge of the forest. “Crazy as a bat.” He turned back to Rass. “Maybe I can teach you to hear the rocks.”
Rass looked doubtful.
Douglon stopped and held out his hand, “I know the tunnels are different from out here, but they have their own beauty. I’d be happy to show you. I never had the chance to show Ayda.”
“Ayda?” Will asked quickly. “The elf?”
Douglon nodded, still facing Rass.
Rass studied his face for a minute, taking in his coppery beard, and his dwarfish face. His eyes were a rich, earthy color, and there was something broken in them. Whether Rass saw it or not, she set her tentative hand into his thick one.
“The rocks don’t chatter like the trees. They have slow, ponderous thoughts. But there’s great truth there to be heard.” Douglon leaned closer to her. “It turns out, there’s great truth in many different places, if you just know how to listen.”
He started uphill, Rass stepping along beside him.
Will glanced at Alaric. “That’s an unusual dwarf.”
“Crazy as a bat.” Patlon stumped up the hill after Douglon.
Will turned to Hal where he sat against a boulder, and the man fixed him with a glare. Unlike Sora’s glares, which had lost much of their power from overuse, the expression on Hal’s face felt like a knife in Will’s gut.
“I’m glad I met you, Hal. You were the first Roven I ever thought that, if things were different, we could have been genuine friends.”
Hal let out a short, humorless laugh and turned his face away, looking out over the Sweep. The setting sun cast the Sweep into a golden haze. It was past time to go. Will shifted his pack on his shoulder.
“Goodbye, Hal.” He paused a moment. When Hal didn’t respond, Will turned away to follow the others.
He’d only take a step when a surge rolled over him. This time it wasn’t a surge of nothing. This was a ripple, a taste of a power so vast that Will was merely a candle flame before it, about to be snuffed out.
Sora flinched and snapped her attention to the hills, her gaze raking over the slopes around them, her face pale.
Alaric spun around and the wave of his casting out ripped past Will just as he cast his own. He searched through the trees and over the rocky slope, searching for any movement.
The casting out returned nothing for a moment.
Then, high above the Sweep, a blazing inferno of vitalle burst out.
Cold, sharp fear clenched around Will’s chest as he spun.
Glinting blood red in the setting sun, tearing straight toward them, hurtled a dragon.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Still far out over the grassland, the shape was etched against the clear sky. Wide, jagged wings growing larger by the moment.
Around him, everyone spun to face the grass.
“What is it with Keepers and dragons?” Douglon shouted down to them.
“Will!” Hal’s voice was taut. He yanked against the ropes tying his hands and feet.
Will ran to Hal, calling for Sora and her knife, yanking on the ropes around his ankles.
She was at his shoulder in a breath, slicing Hal’s feet free.
“You’d better run, Hal.” She grabbed one arm of the huge man and Will grabbed the other, hauling him to his feet.
Alaric, Evangeline, Douglon, and Patlon ran up the hill. Rass waited, her eyes flickering between Will and the dragon. Sora reached her and grabbed her hand, pulling her up after the others.
The dragon streaked toward them, growing larger and faster than Will’s mind could grasp.
“Looks like you get to see Duncave, Hal. Come on.”
Will ran, Talen gripping his arm. Hal’s heavy steps thundered after him as they chased the others up the hill. Will caught a glimpse of the dragon and the cold fear clamped tighter in his chest.
Ridged, thin wings, spread wide across the sky, striated with tendons snaking like veins in a leaf. The sunlight shone off its scales, glinting a deep, biting red.
Voices called out and Will pushed himself faster, stumbling over loose stones. The two dwarves shouted at him, waving him up to a thin crack in the side of a huge rock.
Will’s legs burned from the climb, his ankles aching from being tied up, and fear coursed through him, making his limbs clumsy.
The others reached the dwarves and Patlon slipped inside with Rass. Sora paused at the door, shouting down toward Will to hurry. Her face was terrified and a detached part of Will’s brain realized he had never seen her scared before.
Without stopping or turning, Will cast out.
The massive surge of vitalle soaring toward them almost knocked him off his feet. The creature blocked out a huge section of the sky. With a roar that shook the earth, the dragon shot out a long spray of fire, setting trees alight and covering the ground with a churning sea of flames.
