Somehow Fang ran faster, and they reached relative safety amongst the large roots of a tree. They huddled in a small space under an overhanging part of the root. The shadow swooped past the tree. The rats were breathing hard. Blayke was surprised to feel fear-induced adrenalin pump through his body. In human form a hawk would have scared him no more than a flower.
That was bloody close. We could’ve been killed.
Fang nodded. Everyday things you don’t think twice about are great obstacles to us. A bird you might have admired as a human is a serious danger. That wasn’t a game. If he had grabbed you, it would have been the end. Fang’s beady eyes bored into Blayke’s.
Blayke nodded. You don’t have to convince me. So what do we do now? Do they usually hang around and wait for a second chance, or will he go and look for some other poor animal?
He’ll soar around and keep an eye on our hiding spot. Eventually he’ll go away.
They waited amongst the roots. Fang jumped from root to root to the edge of the canopy. He dashed out and looked around.
Look out! Blayke screamed into Fangs mind as the bird dove toward his friend. Fang sprinted to their overhanging root. Just before he reached it, he felt the wind from the bird’s attempt.
It must be slim pickings around here. I wish he would go away.
Blayke could only nod in agreement. Nose twitching, he nervously cleaned his face. He had felt real terror at seeing his friend nearly snatched to his death.
I think we should just wait here for a while.
OK Blayke.
No sooner had they regained their breath than they heard a rasping noise. It sounded like something being dragged over the grass and dirt. Blayke was puzzled, but Fang recognised the noise. Get ready to run again; we have a snake coming.
Oh no, not again. Why do we have to be so low on the bloody food chain?
Fang was desperately looking for a place to run that would not be in the path of the snake or the hawk, but he couldn’t see one. His next instinct was to crawl in the smallest hole he could find, but again, there were none.
Blayke, however, was thinking like a human. I have an idea. Let the snake see us and then follow me.
Are you crazy? We’re not humans; we’re rats and we’ll be eaten.
Just trust me.
No.
This is no time for an argument. You just have to trust me. If we don’t do anything we’re dead anyway.
Fang thought for a moment and gave in. Whatever. Well, it was nice knowing you.
Blayke ignored the comment and started squeaking to attract the snake’s attention. The scaly head was nearing from their left. The snake’s body see-sawed gracefully over the ground. When it was within striking distance, Blayke ran for open ground, away from the protection of the tree. The snake was amused that the two rodents, who were soon going to be lunch, bothered to run. It was inevitable that they would be eaten and the chase just whetted the snake’s appetite.
Blayke felt the sun on his back but did not look up. His senses told him the hawk was still circling and had seen them. He risked a look behind to see he was closely followed by his friend, and the snake. The hawk dived, hurtling toward the ground. The snake was within biting distance.
Fang regretted listening to Blayke. What a typically arrogant human to think he knew how to survive as a rat. Oh well, one of them would feed the bird, the other the snake. The snake let out a hiss to terrify its prey; Fang could almost feel its acidic breath.
The hawk loomed directly above. Blayke veered off to the left, Fang followed. The snake was slower to change direction. The hawk had no trouble changing direction and was seconds from grabbing one of them. In an instant, the snake had come to the hawk’s hungry attention. The reptile realised all too late what was about to happen. He felt talons poke into his underbelly as he was lifted off the ground. He could see the rats had stopped running and were watching his ascent into oblivion. He hissed at their rapidly fading, upturned heads.
Fang diverted his eyes from the rising duo and thanked his friend. Are you kidding? Did you see that? Your human idea actually saved us. I didn’t think we’d make it. In fact I hated you for a minute there.
Well, you’ll just have to learn to trust me.
It’s almost unheard of for a rat to trust a human. You lot are always setting traps for us, putting out poison, or even trying to squash us with one of your gardening implements. I never thought it possible to trust one of you.
Yes, but now, I’m one of you.
Fang deliberated. I suppose you are. Welcome, brother. I am honoured to call you friend.
I am also honoured, brother. Say, do you know where a rat could get a nice piece of cheese around here? They laughed.
Their merriment was short-lived. A booming rush of sound was galloping towards them. They hugged the ground trying to get as low as possible. The gods only knew what was happening now. Blayke didn’t have the energy to watch, so squeezed his eyes shut and prayed.
The tumultuous passage of light reverberated around Blayke as it swept past, carrying their new world with it. Sound ceased. Blayke felt his awareness being sucked away from his recently acquired body. His consciousness was without anchor, and he could see again. He felt like a single leaf on a raging river, carried helplessly through a narrow gorge as he was pushed through the dark tunnel. Any sense he had of Fang vanished. He slowed, then stopped. A great weight bore down on him. He opened eyes, which were again a part of his human body. His searching gaze met a familiar face peering out of the dark.
“Welcome home. Glad to see you survived.” Arcon patted Blayke’s shoulder as if to reassure himself his nephew was ok.
Blayke sat up, feeling slightly dizzy. He grinned to see Fang sitting alive and well on his leg. A familiar voice spoke in his head. It’s good to be back. Hey, how come I don’t get a safer, bigger body? Life can be so unfair.
I can hear you! It took a moment for Blayke to process the new information. Are you OK?
Despite the fact you tried your best to get us eaten, yes, I’m fine. Fang turned to Arcon. I assume our issue was trust.
Arcon nodded. “Trust and empathy. You need to be able to trust Blayke implicitly and he needs to be able to understand life from your point of view. I don’t know what happened to the two of you, but the fact you’ve survived the bonding means you were successful. Congratulations, to both of you.”
Blayke couldn’t help but feel proud. He finally felt like a real realmist. Arcon slid into his bedroll. “It’s just after midnight. We’ll all have a snooze and get going at dawn.” The young man nodded. He was exhausted. He felt as if his human body had run all those steps. Reaching down to find his tail was no longer there made him feel sad—he had enjoyed being a rat. With one hand on Fang, who was in his pocket, and the other under his head, he faded into a dreamless slumber.
Arcon was true to his word and had them up and ready before the sun had separated from the horizon. He had received a mind message from Agmunsten cautioning them to hurry. He changed his previous plan and asked Arcon to skip Ellesmere and go directly to Vellonia, the valley of the dragons. Arcon worried at the added urgency and change of plan.
A day earlier he had felt … something. He couldn’t have said what, but it was oppressive. Shortly after, Agmunsten had come through with orders, but no information. He figured he should be used to it by now. Although there was no one Arcon trusted more, he knew the Head Realmist derived a certain amount of pleasure being the only one who knew something important. Childish certainly, and one of his few faults; the others tended to allow him the small satisfaction.
By mid morning Blayke was bored. Fang had fallen asleep and Arcon was unusually quiet. “How long until we get there?”
“Actually we crossed the border early this morning. Welcome to Wyrden.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve never been to Wyrden. This is a momentous occasion.”
“Gee, it doesn’t take much for you to have a momentous occasion. By the end of this expeditio
n you’ll have a plethora of momentous occasions to remember, not all of them good.”
“If we’ve just crossed the border we’ll be in Ellesmere soon, won’t we?”
“Change of plan. After Wyrden we’re headed straight for Vellonia.”
“Oh. Any reason you can tell me?”
“Believe me when I say that this time I’ve been left out of the loop too.”
“Well, it’s about time.” Blayke was happy Arcon was getting a bit of his own medicine.
“Enjoy tonight, because after that we’ll have to hurry.”
Blayke sighed; he was tired from their constant travelling. “At least tonight we’ll sleep in real beds and have a real dinner.” Blayke couldn’t help but have a jibe at Arcon’s basic cooking ability. The times they had eaten at inns were some of the best food he had ever had. Arcon tended to boil everything until there was no flavour, just a grey blob of vegetable matter, with the exception of freshly killed meat, which he barbecued over an open fire. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had time to hunt so their diet had consisted of dried meat rations and that grey stuff.
“If you don’t watch your tongue I might send you to bed without dinner.” The edges of Arcon’s blue eyes crinkled as he grinned.
“Promise?” Blayke smiled.
Phantom swooped out of the sky and alighted on Arcon’s shoulder. The trees up ahead are hiding four men. Can’t tell if they’re common thieves or specifically looking for us.
“Fly in and have a look.” Phantom flew off. Arcon sat on the road and stretched out his leg in pretense of curing a cramp. Blayke bent down to assist. “Are you OK? Is it a cramp?”
“Men hiding up ahead. Phantom’s going to have a look. Pretend to help me. A massage would be nice.”
“Can’t be bothered. I think I’ll just look concerned.” Blayke sat next to his uncle and waited for the supposed cramp to improve.
Arcon received a picture from his creatura. Phantom had a vantage point from a tree between the bandits and the realmist. He had a side-on view. The men were standing in anticipation, gazing in Arcon’s direction. They were a ragged-looking lot, but their swords were clean and sharp. Phantom sent Arcon a question. Is that enough, or do you want me to wait until they say something?
Wait.
The one with the greasiest hair spoke first, although he had the good sense to whisper. Unfortunately for him, owls had exceptional hearing. “What are they doing, why have they stopped?”
The leader of the small band answered. “How the hell should I know, you stupid louse. I can’t read minds can I? Looks like the old man has a cramp or something.”
“How long will we have to wait? That man only paid us enough for the afternoon. Buggered if I’m going to stay here all night.”
The leader took an openhanded swipe, whacking his accomplice upside the head. “Bloody well shut your trap. We’ll wait as long as we bloody well have to. The wait won’t seem so long if we don’t have to listen to your drivel, so keep it shut.” The others nodded.
Arcon had heard enough. Wait there, Phantom. I don’t want you attracting their attention. Join us when it’s over. The realmist took a few moments formulating a plan.
Arcon rose, speaking to Blayke. “They’re waiting for us because they were paid to. I’m assuming they want to kill us.”
The look on the younger man’s face was a mix of wanting to be brave but being scared instead.
“Don’t worry, lad. I have a plan. Since they know where we are, it won’t hurt to use the Second Realm.” Arcon shut his eyes and mumbled under his breath.
“OK, follow me.” He stepped off the road and into the long grass. They were headed for the bandits in the trees.
“What are you doing? We can’t fight them in there.” Blayke kept his voice even.
“We’re not going to fight them.”
“What, are we committing suicide?”
“Don’t be stupid, lad. I don’t want anyone seeing what it is I’m going to do to them.”
When they entered the trees they were twenty metres from the enemy. The leader had seen them coming and stood waiting. “It’s our lucky day, boys. They’re coming to us.”
“Lucky coincidence, or do they know we’re here?” Doubt coloured one bandit’s voice. The leader shrugged. Arcon halted two body lengths from the group. There were some limits to what they could do through the Second Realm. Not everything was known about the other universe. If one wasn’t directly targeting a single entity, the spell was not likely to work, unless the whole area designated for the spell had been physically stepped out by the realmist. By stepping out the area, they were imparting their own aura’s energy, thus containing the spell. Without limiting what he was about to do, he could not be certain how far the affliction would spread. A handful of realmists had been killed, caught up in their own spells, before the rest had learned this rule.
Arcon spoke to the leader. “Good day to you.”
“Good day to you, old man. How’s the cramp. I noticed you were having some trouble over there.” The leader was happy to have a chat; he would kill them soon enough. Arcon slowly circled the group, causing the leader to turn his head to keep an eye on him. “What are you doing?”
“I’m just admiring what a strapping group of men you have. I wouldn’t want to come up against you in a physical contest.”
“Well, I’m not sure this is a very good day for you then. My boys and I have been rather bored and were looking for some way to exercise our sword arms. Boys, I think I’ve had enough of the chat, let’s finish this so we can go home.”
By the time they had all drawn swords, Arcon had stepped out his circle and returned to Blayke. “Now watch, boy, and learn.”
Arcon stated a single word. “Commence.”
The leader took the instruction personally and stepped toward them. Blayke involuntarily stepped back, however the bandit’s second step sunk into the ground to his knee.
The bandit toppled forward to the ground, and when he placed his hands on the grass, they too started to sink. His companions had not moved and so were sinking at a slower rate. The ground around them had turned to quicksand.
“What the hell is happening?” The leader’s commanding voice had disappeared, in its place was a shrill squawk. “Morth didn’t warn me about this! Help us, old man. For the god’s sakes, HELP US!”
He was thrashing about, trying to free himself, his screams scratching his throat. It had not occurred to him that Arcon had created the quagmire.
Blayke gritted his teeth and watched, feeling some pity, despite the fact that these men would have killed them, no questions asked. He wondered if he would ever get used to the recently acquired knowledge that man could be an evil, supremely selfish creature at heart. What had he ever done to these people that they would kill him for what he assumed was probably not a huge amount of money. What gave them the right to decide he deserved to die?
The quicksand muffled the leader’s screams. His companions filled in the silence with their own pleas as they sank further into the quagmire.
“OK, Blayke, let’s go. The conclusion is inevitable.” Blayke’s eyes were cold, something Arcon had never seen before. Fang, who was perched on Blayke’s shoulder, gave Arcon a sympathetic look.
“I want to see this through.”
Arcon didn’t argue. He placed his hand on Blayke’s shoulder and waited. The bandits eventually gurgled their last breaths as the quicksand closed over their heads. “What happens now? Does the ground stay soft?”
“The effect only lasts for an hour. I could have made it last longer but I don’t want innocent people or animals getting trapped.”
“I’d like to wait and make sure.”
“OK.” They sat for a while. Arcon was saddened by the look in the boy’s eyes. He had almost accomplished the task of ferreting out all the innocence and naivety from Blayke’s kind spirit. He felt tortured by what he was doing. No one should have to learn the lessons he was teaching. Unfortunately
their world needed them to be this way.
The hour passed and Arcon led his small group into the town of Springdale, shadowed above by Phantom. Wyrdon was a wealthy and peaceful country. The road leading into Springdale was cobbled and well-maintained. Farmers driving horse-drawn carts laden with produce, travellers clothed in the dust of their journey, and the occasional carriage that coiffured women peeped out of, shared the road in and out of Wyrdon. Trade was safe and prosperous, especially here, near the border with Veresia. They were not challenged at the city gates, even though four guards stood alert. Arcon had no doubt the men were trained to remember each and every unfamiliar face that passed through.
Arcon didn’t want to waste time, however he wanted to track down the man whom the leader of the bandits had referred to as Morth. He wanted to know who wanted them dead. It would be easy to believe the great threat they were trying to stop was behind it, but he wanted to be sure. If someone completely different were sabotaging them, they were in for more trouble than they had foreseen. The Gormons could only be defeated if the whole of Talia were united. As it was, there were two countries that were constantly, and quietly, plotting against Veresia and its allies, Brenland and Wyrden.
Inkra was situated to the north of Veresia, bordering both it and Brenland. Communications between nations were strained at best, due to the different religions and styles of government. Sometimes five years would pass with no communication at all. Occasionally skirmishes broke out at the border, but it was never too serious.
Zamahl was a small continent situated to the west of the great continent that contained Veresia. Zamahl was as large as Veresia and Brenland put together. Because of its location across the ocean, even less was known about it. Arcon assumed the new threat, if not the Gormons, would be from Zamahl or Inkra. Only time would tell, and that was something they had little of.
Arcon was travelling toward the middle of town to the Goat’s Head Inn. He had stayed there in the past and had always found the place satisfactory. It was a regular haunt of merchants, farmers from surrounding districts, and local shop owners. After the business of the day had been completed, people celebrated the deals they had made over an ale, or in some cases, continued an argument.
Shadows of the Realm (The Circle of Talia) Page 13
