Destiny's Rift bw-2

by Sam Bowring

  It galled him no end that he could not stand and fight. What was the point of being a great warrior if the only option was to flee? Anyone could do that! He wondered if he was being a coward, if he’d become too reliant on the path, the pattern, the dance, whatever the blazes it was. Before Drel Forest he had not even been aware of the phenomenon, yet he had still won fights, hadn’t he? Yes – mock battles and archery contests, bar-room brawls in which he had never truly been afraid. Perhaps he had to reach a certain threshold to initiate the right reaction? That was worrying in itself – maybe one day he would be killed by something he did not fear until it was too late, something that did not fire his blood until that blood was leaking out of him. He thought of his old Troop Leader Munpo, who had defeated him simply because Bel had underestimated him.

  ‘Thinking in circles,’ he muttered, ‘accomplishes nothing but making you dizzy.’

  He was answered only by soft snores – it seemed that despite herself Jaya had managed to drift back to sleep. He was glad of that, at least. They all needed rest.

  Carefully he freed himself from her and moved some distance away, taking his pack with him. He was not surprised that, upon retrieving the magic sundart, it gave him a chirp, for he’d ignored it the past few days. Fahren had said it only held one message at a time, and he wondered when this one had arrived. Last time he had ‘spoken’ to Fahren, they had been on their way to Shebazaruka’s lair.

  When he was sure he wouldn’t wake anyone by activating the bird, he did so.

  ‘Bel,’ came Fahren’s disembodied voice. ‘I am most anxious to hear you are safe. Have you seen the dragons? Please reply with all possible haste lest I imagine you burnt to a crisp somewhere, and all our hopes dashed to pieces.’

  That was all. Bel felt a moment of blankness, then and set about replying. He gave a full report of everything that had happened, from discovery of the murdered Shebazaruka to their flight from Olakanzar. He was as brief and factual as he could be, for going over it all did nothing but tire him.

  Finally he set the bird down in front of him and waited. He didn’t quite know what he was waiting for …for Fahren to reply, for his companions to wake, for the roar of the dragon somewhere? He watched a dewdrop rolling down a nearby frond for what seemed an eternity, trying to appreciate it as Losara would have. His other had spoken of beauty worth fighting for, but Bel grew frustrated as he tried to see it. It was only dew on a leaf, an everyday occurrence, common and unremarkable.

  The bird chirped with a reply, and he touched the scroll, glad for the distraction.

  ‘Well,’ said Fahren, ‘I scarcely know where to begin. The most important thing is that you’re all alive and have the Stone. Well done, though I appreciate that the way you came to it must be troubling. I grieve for Gellan, and I worry that you now travel the wilderness without a mage.

  ‘As for your lack of sensing the path, as you call it, maybe there is presently no way to beat the dragon, or perhaps the path led you away for a reason. Maybe it is a long path, and you will find your way again as circumstances change. This is not advice to try anything rash, mind. I suggest you carry on as you are, for evasion of this Olakanzar may be the best course. I know you’ll recall from your lessons the strength of dragon eyesight, but by habit they are not nocturnal. Without knowing for sure, I suggest it may be wiser, should you have to venture into the open, to do it by night.

  ‘And now for some distressing news. I’ve received word that Holdwith has fallen. I admit my own failing in this – I have reinforced virtually every other border settlement except that one, thinking that not even Losara would be bold enough to attack a stronghold of mages. He is more powerful than I dared believe, for the conflict was not even long-lived. I have mobilised our army from Kahlay, but I do not know if Losara will continue north from Holdwith or move along the border. At any rate, we must be ready to reinforce or intercept. I do not intend to attack him in Holdwith, for there he has an advantage, but he will have to move sooner or later to another of our fortifications. The bulk of his soldiers are currently south of the Mines, but who knows if that is merely another feint? I will join the army shortly myself, and now that you have the Stone, you must try to do the same as swiftly as you can.

  ‘As to its use, I see no other option but to enlist Battu. I do not wish it, but alternatives have not come knocking. Any hope of utilising Fazel was slight in the first place, now impossible.

  ‘However, I remain optimistic. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear that Losara did not manage to take the Stone. The fall of Holdwith is a blow to be sure, but only the first blow in a long series of exchanges. If we can deplete the shadow army during its attacks against us, we may be in a position to trap Losara as we have planned, and put you back together as it should be …or, at worst, weaken him to the point where it is we who can march on Fenvarrow. As you know, I was hoping things would not escalate so quickly, but it seems that, for better or worse, events are in motion. Arkus bless you, Bel, and watch over you. Good luck.’

  Bel’s mind raced. He could almost feel great forces cascading, far, far away. The thought of combat going on while he sat impotently in the wilderness got right under his skin.

  Bel heard a sound nearby, and M’Meska slumped down beside him.

  ‘How much did you hear?’ he said.

  ‘Much,’ rasped M’Meska. ‘Though many of words not being my understanding.’

  ‘I expect you understood enough. War is beginning.’

  ‘War been going a long time,’ she replied. ‘ Battles is beginning.’

  ‘And here we’re stuck,’ said Bel. ‘Hiding, getting nowhere. Damn Olakanzar! He doesn’t know what his misconceptions have cost us. I need to be with the army – no, they need me! Would that I had the convenience of zooming around like my damned other. ’

  ‘One skip at a time,’ said M’Meska. ‘We have problem, yes, and no reason worrying other problems until solving. Yes?’

  ‘I suppose,’ said Bel.

  ‘Yes,’ confirmed M’Meska. ‘One claw in front of other claw. Need escape from too-big lizard. Also need to be going in direction for army. Not going there this way.’ She waved at the forest ahead. ‘Going back to Ismore this way, we came already once.’

  ‘I know that,’ said Bel.

  ‘Maybe need to change about. Throne Fahren say, too-big lizard not see so good at night? Maybe a break we need to make?’

  Bel smiled, despite his melancholy. ‘Make a break?’ he said.

  ‘Yes. I scout ahead this morning, hunting for rabbits. No rabbits, almost relief, so sick of fur in my teeth …but something else I see. Here we almost north of Crystalweb. Not so far across plains to go, maybe makes a stepping stone. Get away from these stretched-out trees?’

  ‘This stretch of trees?’ said Bel.

  ‘Yes, yes. Make a jump, throw lizard off. At night. Maybe he thinking we still go west, off he flies chasing nothing but the rabbits I not catch.’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Bel. ‘At least we’ll be heading in roughly the right direction.’ The Saurian’s idea was closer to a plan than anything he’d come up with, he thought grimly. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘Today we’ll find the point of the forest closest to Crystalweb. Then tonight, we make a dash.’

  ‘Good, good,’ said M’Meska. ‘Then go for army, put arrows in some heads, then no more shadow and no more war.’

  ‘One skip at a time,’ Bel told her, and M’Meska rasped a chortle.

  The dragon’s baying sounded somewhere close, and both of them jumped to their feet. Quickly they made their way back to camp, where the others were awake, keeping low to the ground. Bel dropped down next to Jaya.

  ‘Where is he?’ he asked.

  ‘There,’ she whispered, pointing.

  They were some hundred paces back from the tree line, and out upon the grassy plains, pacing back and forth, was Olakanzar. He did not seem to know exactly where they were, but instead addressed the wood in general.

  ‘I smell y
ou!’ he howled. ‘I know you’re there, like many things …I know what taste the cloud tops are, know not to chase a falling star, and I know you’re there, I know you’re there! Many things I do not know, like how to count rain, or live without pain, but I know that you are there , this I know. You hide like the truth behind a mirror, like sparrows from me when I was small, before the itchy, when I was small, and I would chase them, and they would hide. What a fun game!’ Discordant laughter, thick and almost metallic. ‘I played it then, play it again, but no sparrow ever murdered my kin before, so I’ll not tire of this game! I shall play it forever, little sparrows!’

  He swept his tail mightily and for a moment Bel wondered how he had ever dared to think he could defeat such a creature – but then Olakanzar staggered sideways with the force of his own weight, until it almost looked as if he would fall. Maybe fate sent me a crippled one to practise on , Bel thought.

  As the dragon took off there was a collective sigh of relief.

  He did not think they would be so relieved when he explained the plan he and M’Meska had made for that evening.

  •

  Night fell, and they stared apprehensively from the tree line. About half a league to the south stood Crystalweb, an island in the plains. Above, the sky was cloudy, and a few drops of rain were beginning to fall.

  ‘Maybe the rain will help?’ said Hiza. ‘It will be even harder for him to see us through it.’

  ‘Or maybe,’ said Jaya, ‘he will get distracted by trying to count it.’

  ‘Let us wait,’ said Bel, ‘and see if it gets any heavier.’

  Soon the rain was falling hard and fast, while the air grew ever more humid. Bel worried that the grass would be slippery under their pounding feet. On the other hand, perhaps it would wash away their trail, and Olakanzar would not be able to smell his way after them.

  ‘All right,’ he said. ‘It’s now or never.’

  ‘Or later,’ said M’Meska matter-of-factly.

  ‘Now,’ clarified Bel. ‘Is everyone ready?’

  Tense stares met his own, but there were dripping nods.

  ‘Everyone together then. One …two …three!’

  They burst from the trees, moving as fast as they could. Their packs were light, for they had dumped everything but the bare necessities, but as the rain soaked through them they seemed to drag. Under their feet the grass squeaked treacherously – to Bel each squeak sounded as loud as an alarm bell, pinpointing their trajectory across the plain. More than once his foot sank into mud and threatened to send him sprawling, but each time he managed to use his momentum to carry him forward and keep going. Crystalweb loomed, spreading out across their field of vision.

  ‘We’re going to make it,’ said Hiza between breaths.

  As if in answer to his optimism, an all-too-familiar roar came from behind.

  ‘Pick up your heels!’ shouted Bel, though the others needed little encouragement. He chanced a glance behind.

  Olakanzar flew with flames building in his open maw, shining off broken raindrops that bounced from his back, waves of water shimmering away with each beat of his wings. He was catching up fast but not flying levelly …he was going to crash into them all.

  ‘Spread out!’ shouted Bel, and his companions raced off at diagonals around him. As his blood tingled with adrenaline, he felt his senses heightening: now he felt every raindrop that fell upon him, the air sucking through his nostrils. When circumstances change …but the path urged him forward, and he dared not turn and take a stand.

  This is no special talent, hero , came a treacherous voice from within, to know that one should flee from an insane dragon bent on revenge.

  There was a hiss of boiling rain as heat licked Bel’s thighs, and he knew he was just barely cresting the flames that sought to end him. The path veered off and he followed it, as the enormous bulk of the dragon rushed past and landed with a crunch that shook the ground. As Olakanzar thrashed to right himself, Bel dove under the heavy tail that went sweeping overhead.

  Just keeping me safe , he thought. Not telling me to kill.

  His companions were disappearing into Crystalweb, scant paces ahead of the dragon. Only Jaya stopped and turned, waiting for Bel just inside the trees.

  ‘Don’t stop!’ he bellowed, driving mud under his fingernails as he pushed to his feet. The sword at his side banged repeatedly against his legs, making him feel out of sync with the universe. He pounded straight past the dragon with feet barely touching the ground and Olakanzar snapped, but the pale trees rushed up to meet him. He blundered in, his speed almost sending him headfirst into the deadly carpet of broken crystal shards. He reached for a branch to slow himself down, and instead ripped it right off the tree. Leaves spun free as he dropped it, and he felt razor-thin shards cut him. To his left and right, his companions were now treading as carefully as they could, trying to balance on the white roots above the sharp detritus. He felt shards sink into his boots, prickling the soles of his feet and soaking the leather with warm blood. He scrambled onto a raised root, driving some of the shards further in, breaking away others. He did not yet feel the pain.

  Behind them Olakanzar tried to smash into the trees, but found the thick white trunks sturdier than those of a regular wood. He wedged his body between two of them, trying to ram his way through, and an avalanche of leaves fell upon him. Bel realised that the dragon was, for the moment, stopped in his tracks.

  He gathered his companions together. All were bleeding from multiple cuts.

  ‘Slow,’ he told them. ‘We made it. Catch your breath before we move on.’

  At the tree line Olakanzar thrashed as shards spun at him, and his roars turned to a pained wailing. He froze for a moment, and saw them watching him. His rolling red eye shot a look of malice such as Bel had never seen. The dragon breathed a cone of fire at them but they were too far away. They felt the heat of it, though, and liquid glass ran down the trees. Olakanzar swept his fire back and forth at the leaves that came towards him, spattering his body with molten glass. Then, with an almighty push of his front legs, he wrenched himself backwards out of the wood.

  ‘We should find the path as quickly as we can,’ said Hiza.

  The reason was obvious. In the storm, leaves all around were breaking free, a multitude of flashing blades spinning through the air.

  They started to move, shaking, bleeding, trying to stay close together so that less of their collective skin was exposed. It was difficult, for while the roots they traversed were wide, they weren’t flat. On either side, rivers ran brimming with protruding shards, and a tumble into those might be as good as death. Threads of blood washed down their legs, staining the bark and diluting in the swirling streams.

  ‘Hold of me!’ said M’Meska. ‘I dig claws in!’

  They were able to take a firm grip on the Saurian as she shuffled along, sinking her claws into the wood with every step, functioning as a kind of anchor for the group. However, since they walked as a clump, any who fell threatened to take them all down.

  ‘Oh, Arkus,’ moaned Hiza, from the front.

  ‘What?’ said Bel, from the rear.

  ‘The magic of the path,’ Hiza said. ‘I think it protects from more than just the leaves.’

  In front of them a crystal spider lowered itself, working its mandibles and glinting in the lightning. Hiza swung his sword at it, almost uprooting them all with his follow-through, to send it clattering away. It sprang up from the ground, apparently unharmed, and skittered back towards them over streams and roots. Others began to descend from branches, wavering in the wind on the end of crystal threads. As Bel drew his sword one landed upon his arm, sinking in its fangs. In horrified fascination he watched his own blood travelling up into its belly. Then he yanked it loose, almost losing his balance as he flung it away as far as he could. It curled into a ball and bounced off a tree, flipped back on its feet and headed back towards them, along with others.

  ‘Of course,’ said Hiza hysterically. ‘Because this
wasn’t bad enough in the first place.’

  ‘Jaya!’ said Bel. Facing so many enemies, he was beginning to feel himself being taken over by the spirit of battle – but he clenched his jaw and tried to ignore the tantalising promise of joy. He needed to get the others to safety, and whatever footsteps would keep him alive if he left the branch to whirl into the wood, he was sure would not do the same for his companions. Instead, as he mentally rooted himself to the group, patterns realigned, and at last it seemed that a balance could be struck.

  ‘Jaya?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You’re a spry and nimble thief. You can run. So run! M’Meska!’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You can leap, and your scales are thick – so leap! No questions, just do it! Try to keep your eyes covered!’

  Those two broke away, Jaya moving faster along the branch than when they’d been grouped, and M’Meska springing from root to root.

  ‘What about us?’ said Hiza frantically.

  ‘We have our blades,’ said Bel. ‘Back to back, you lead!’

  Together they shuffled along the root, fending off attacks as best they could. Bel leaned slightly on Hiza, depending on his friend to find their footing. He kicked a spider out of midair, then swiped at another that dangled from a branch. Hiza edged forward, eyes darting to follow the gleam of tiny assailants. Bel spotted one above them, gave Hiza a little shove to get them out from directly under, then reached up with his hand to catch the spider as it fell. It sank its fangs into his palm, but he hurled it off into the stream. All around them leaves continued to fall, slicing their skin as they fell.

  ‘What are you laughing about?’ shouted Hiza.

  Bel did not realise he had been laughing.

  ‘I see it,’ said Hiza. ‘Ahead, the path!’

  ‘Feel free to pick up your pace,’ grunted Bel, smashing away a spider with a resounding clang. Arkus, how satisfying. More, bring me more before it ends.

  ‘The others have reached it.’

  Arrows began to whistle by, knocking spiders off branches, even smashing leaves from the air. Bel felt giddy – and his blood sung, but the notes were spurting out of him. He shook his head to clear the rain from his eyes, and managed to bat one spider at another, sending them both sprawling, a bundle of legs grasping at nothing. For a dizzying moment, Hiza was gone …but then hands caught him and eased him backward. Hiza’s grip was slippery on his bloody skin, half-dropping and half-lowering him to the ground. Around him his tattered companions bled freely from their wounds onto the path through Crystalweb.