Chapter 20
“Erik, stop,” she called out. “There’s an ambush a mile ahead. Looks like about twenty men and that wizard.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as she looked through Slyder’s eyes. Alexander still marveled at the simple power of such a thing.
“They’re lined up on Flat Top Rock with crossbows. Their horses are picketed in the meadow just the other side of the cliff.”
To Alexander the description meant nothing but he could see that Erik and the other Rangers knew exactly where she was talking about.
Erik shook his head. “They’re in a perfect position. If we try to get through on the road, it’ll be a blood bath.”
“Is there another way?” Alexander asked.
“Not on horseback,” Erik replied. “We could go on foot but it’ll take three days from here. Still, that might be our best option.”
“What about at night? We could slip by in the dark. They wouldn’t be able to see us well enough to hit anything,” Chase offered.
Now it was Alexander’s turn to shake his head. “That fire wizard can light up the sky like it was daylight. I’ve seen him do it.”
“Is there a vantage point we can attack them from?” Anatoly asked with a look of coiled menace.
Erik shook his head again. “They’ve definitely picked a good spot for their ambush. Flat Top Rock is the highest ground in the area and the road wraps around it with a drop-off on the other side. If they catch us there, we’re as good as dead. Plus, the only way to get up on top of it is from the far side.”
“What about through the forest?” Alexander asked. “Is there a way to go around Flat Top Rock through the forest on the side opposite the road?”
Erik nodded. “We could make it on foot but there’s no way we could get our horses through there. Once we’re on the other side, then what?”
Alexander smiled and looked at Anatoly. “Isabel, can they see their horses from where they are?”
“No,” she said shaking her head, “too many trees in the way.”
“How many men are guarding their horses?” Alexander asked innocently.
“I only saw two,” Isabel answered. “What are you thinking?”
Anatoly regarded Alexander with a hard look. “You wound up with a crossbow bolt in your shoulder the last time you tried this. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Alexander shrugged. “The sooner we get to Glen Morillian, the better. Who knows what Phane is busy conjuring for us tonight? It’s either this or we go the long way.”
“What exactly are you talking about?” Isabel asked in a tone that said she meant to have an answer.
Alexander smiled, “We’re going to sneak through the woods and steal their horses. We’ll be on our way before they know what happened.”
Isabel’s mouth opened for a moment before she started laughing. “I like it,” she said at the same time Chase said, “Are you crazy?”
Erik started laughing as well. “All right, but there’s no sense in losing our horses and I don’t want the Reishi to find them wandering along the road. Chase, Kevin, and Duane will take our horses back to the meadow we had lunch at and wait for reinforcements. The rest of us will steal the enemy’s horses and ride for Glen Morillian.”
Jack added, “We have a friend, probably with a wagon, traveling alone and following a few days behind us. If you see him, please give him safe passage. His name is Owen.”
Kevin nodded, “We’ll keep an eye out for him.”
Chase frowned, “Are you sure this is a good idea, Erik? If you get into a fight, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
Erik nodded to his Second. “Chase, we’ll be fine. The whole point is to avoid a fight in the first place. When we reach the fortress gate, we’ll send a strike force to clear the woods of the enemy and escort you home. Just keep your guard up and don’t engage the Reishi unless you have to.”
They dismounted and repacked the things they needed from their saddlebags into their packs, strung the horses together for the three Rangers to lead back to the meadow, and headed off into the woods with Erik in the lead. He moved through the forest with silence and ease. Alexander watched how he placed his feet when he walked and tried to imitate him. He didn’t understand why Erik stepped the way he did until he tried it, then he discovered that his footing was quieter and left less evidence of passage. They moved slowly to stay as quiet as possible. The distance that would have taken them less than an hour to cover on horseback took the better part of the afternoon, but they made it to the edge of the meadow on the far side of Flat Top Rock without being noticed.
Isabel reported that the Reishi were still on Flat Top Rock, waiting to spring their ambush, and there were still only two men with the picketed horses. Alexander and Erik unslung their bows. Erik pointed to a place where they could get a good angle on the two bored-looking guards who were sitting at a small cook fire.
They moved quietly into place and took aim side by side. On the count of three, each released an arrow. Both had flawless aim from countless hours of practice reinforced with real world experience. Both of the guards slumped over dead with an arrow through the heart. Alexander relaxed his vision and scanned the meadow. They were alone with the horses. For a moment he thought that it had been too easy, but then he reconsidered. Forewarned is forearmed. Isabel had told them about the enemy. Without her warning, they would have walked into a hail of crossbow bolts and liquid fire. He remembered another of his father’s lessons: “Knowing more than your enemy knows usually leads to victory.”
Erik whistled like a bird and Alexander heard the birdcall answered from the place in the wood line where the rest of the party was waiting. They emerged and made for the horses.
Quietly and carefully they traveled up the road in the growing darkness. After a mile or so they lit a few torches so they could keep moving in the early night, hoping to put as much distance between themselves and the Reishi as possible. They pressed on until they were confident that they couldn’t possibly be followed before stopping for the night.
They had a cold dinner and made camp. Isabel picked a spot near Alexander to lay out her bedroll. She laughed quietly in the darkness as she worked.
“You should have seen the look on that wizard’s face when he discovered his horses were gone.”
Alexander stopped. “You were watching?” It still amazed him that a person could see through a bird’s eyes.
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss that for the world. I kept checking back to see when they’d notice. That wizard with the bandage on his arm was furious. He actually lit a tree on fire.” She giggled again, delight and mischief all wrapped up together.
Alexander chuckled, “Without your warning, today would have turned out much differently. I still have a hard time imagining how it must feel to see through the eyes of another creature. What’s it like?” Alexander asked as he lowered himself down onto his bedroll and lay back to look up at the stars.
“Well, I can see a lot better through Slyder’s eyes than I can through my own. He can see farther and clearer than I can even explain. And sometimes it makes me a little dizzy when he’s flying and I’m standing still.” She lay down on her bedroll and got comfortable.
“Your forest is so beautiful and so filled with life,” Alexander said. “Glen Morillian must be a truly magical place.”
Isabel paused. When she spoke she lowered her voice to be sure only Alexander would hear her. “It has dangers all its own, Alexander. There is often intrigue, deception and betrayal at court. I fear your arrival will only magnify the webs of lies the courtiers spin. Be careful who you choose to trust.”
He rolled on his side but couldn’t see her in the dark, so he relaxed his vision and let her colors become visible. He hadn’t looked at her with his second sight for more than a moment. Now that he did, he saw her true beauty. Her colors were clear and strong and revealed a quality of character, strength of spirit, and basic goodness that he’d seen in precious few others. And the
re was absolutely no fear.
He smiled gently into the dark and said, “I choose to trust you.” He couldn’t see her face but he could see that her aura swelled.
“Good night, Isabel.”
“Good night, Alexander.”
Morning came quickly. Alexander felt like he’d just gone to sleep when he woke to the first light of day. Isabel was curled up in her bedroll a few feet from him. He opened his eyes and lay quietly watching her sleep. He realized in that moment that he was falling in love with her. Maybe he already had.
Her eyes fluttered open. She saw him looking at her and gave him a smile that was as clear and beautiful as the dawn.
They rode hard all day. The horses they’d stolen were in worse shape than their horses but they still made good time. They had two horses each plus a few extra, so they were able to switch mounts throughout the day. They ate while they rode up mountain switchbacks that wound ever higher toward the fortress gate of Glen Morillian. The air grew thin and cold and they began to see snow packed heavily on the sides of the well-cleared roads. There were no trees growing out of the steep mountainsides. Still the road took them higher, until late in the day, just after dusk, they came to a stone fortress built right into the side of the mountain.
The road opened onto a wide flat platform that was part natural and part cut into the face of the mountain itself. About a hundred feet from the face of the imposing stone fortress was a half ring of stone laid into the ground. It was about seven feet across and encircled the entire fortress from the cliff wall on one side around to the other and there were ancient-looking symbols carved into it. Other than the stone ring, the entire platform looked like an assembly area. It had been cleared of snow and there was evidence of large numbers of horses moving about, mostly along the road.
The fortress was really just a stone wall fifty feet wide and fifty feet tall that protruded four or five feet from the face of the mountain. There were no openings until about twenty feet up where there were three rows of arrow slits placed close together one on top of another. It looked as if they could be manned from three corridors running the width of the fortress wall, one above the next.
Seventy-five archers could fire on the field at once from nearly complete protection. In the center of the fortress wall was a single door that stood fifteen feet tall by twenty feet wide. It was made of stone and was solid and seamless. Otherwise, the fortress wall was simple stone without adornments, banners, or ornaments of any kind.
Erik called out as they approached, “Open the gate.” He halted the horses twenty feet from the large stone wall.
Alexander could more feel the vibration of it than hear the huge stone block begin to lower. It was set two feet farther into the mountain than the outer fortress wall and slowly started to sink into the ground. Once it stopped, he saw that the top of the huge stone block now served as the floor of the entryway into the fortress. The gate stone was a good twenty feet thick. No battering ram ever built could have cracked this gate. He began to wonder what had prompted the construction of such an impregnable fortress.
They traveled down a hundred-foot hallway lined with arrow slits on each side and riddled with murder holes in the ceiling. It was a death trap for the uninvited. Alexander had read about fortresses and siege warfare but he’d never seen such a clearly military construction in his whole life. The walls surrounding Southport were a joke compared to this. Even the fortifications of Highlands Reach paled next to the overt military nature of this structure.
The long hallway spilled out into a well-lit courtyard that was built into an enormous cavern inside the mountain. The ceiling reached more than a hundred feet overhead and barracks and stable buildings lined the walls. Suspended from the ceiling by a network of chains were giant oil reservoirs that fed dozens of wicks surrounded by hundreds of carefully placed mirrors each angled to direct the light into the cavern.
He stopped and simply looked around in wonder. Isabel smiled at him and he felt suddenly foolish. His life had been so simple compared to hers. She had grown up surrounded by a kind of splendor that he could only imagine. This place was the stuff of stories. At that thought, he glanced over at Jack who was looking all around in wonder himself, no doubt cataloging everything he saw for later use in a song.
“The fortress gates were constructed during the Reishi War,” Isabel offered.
“Gates? You mean there’s more than one?” Alexander asked.
“There are five,” Isabel answered. “Each one guards an entrance to Glen Morillian. All five were built during the war to protect the valley within from attack by the Reishi. This is probably the most well-defended place in the entire Seven Isles. When we get to the palace, I’ll show you my father’s map. It’s a little model of the whole valley, complete with mountains, rivers, lakes, roads, and buildings. It’s really something. I used to sit and stare at it for hours when I was a girl. Come on, the stables are this way.”
Alexander followed while trying to take in the austere magnificence of the place. Everything was in order and good repair. There was no ornamentation whatsoever, but that only served to magnify the dimensions of the accomplishment. All along the walls were stairs and walkways and smaller tunnel openings. The place didn’t just encompass the cavern and the face of the fortress but stretched out into the mountain itself in a number of different directions.
They were met at the stable by a middle-aged man in a Ranger’s uniform.
Erik dismounted and saluted. “Master Gatekeeper, it’s good to see you.” Erik took his hand. It was clear that they were friends. “May I present Lord Alexander Valentine, the bearer of the Mark of Cedric.”
The gatekeeper looked sharply at Erik for confirmation, which he seemed to get from the Ranger’s eyes, before he turned to Alexander and bowed formally. “My Lord, we are at your service. You have only to command it and your wish will be done.”
Alexander nodded to the man even as a chill raced up his spine.
Erik waited a moment to see if Alexander had any requests before speaking. “My Second and my brothers are at the spring meadow on the old trail to Falls Cave. Between here and there are twenty enemy soldiers accompanied by a wizard.”
The gatekeeper nodded. “I will send an adequate force to rout the enemy and collect your brothers and your Second. May I ask how you got past them?”
“Lord Valentine devised a plan to make our way around the enemy unseen and unnoticed and steal their horses. In one stroke we avoided their ambush and left them on foot.”
The gatekeeper chuckled, “Well played, My Lord. Now if you’ll excuse me I have enemy to attend to. My administrator, Hodge, will see to your needs.”
“Thank you, Master Gatekeeper,” Alexander said. “One other thing. We have a friend, probably traveling by wagon, headed our way. Please inform your men that he should be given safe passage. His name is Owen.”
“It will be done, My Lord.” The gatekeeper nodded and left to attend to his duties.
They turned their horses over to the stable hands and followed Hodge to a nearby building that looked more like an inn than anything else. Alexander soon discovered it was temporary lodging for those traveling to and from Glen Morillian. They were each given a room while a small army of servants leapt into action. Hot water was brought to each of their chambers. The servants offered to clean their traveling clothes and provided comfortable robes for the evening if they wished. Once everyone had a chance to clean up and rest for a bit, they were informed that dinner was ready.
They gathered at the large table in the main room of the lodging house. Alexander was glad to see everyone had chosen to take advantage of the comfortable robes that were offered.
When he saw Isabel, his heart skipped a beat. She wore a forest-green robe that clung to her well-toned figure just enough to be alluring without being too revealing. She had loosely tied back her chestnut-brown hair with a golden ribbon that seemed to bring out the sparkle in her eyes. All traces of the tomboy were
gone. She was all woman now. Alexander couldn’t help but smile.
The food was simple but hot and plentiful. They served a well-seasoned beef roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions along with a heaping tray of freshly baked biscuits. For dessert they served a fruit salad glazed in honey sauce. After days of travel rations, Alexander took the time to savor the meal.
With every course, Lucky stopped the serving girls and asked a whole series of questions about the preparation of the meal until they finally told him they didn’t know and went and got the chef. Lucky insisted that he sit down and they talked about food and cooking for an hour while everyone ate.
Conversation stayed light and frivolous. No one wanted to spoil the simple pleasure of a good meal with talk of the dangers ahead. There would be time for that all too soon. Jack regaled them with stories of scandal at the court of New Ruatha that he’d witnessed as a child. Alexander couldn’t quite tell where the facts ended and the embellishments began, but he marveled at Jack’s seemingly effortless ability to hold everyone in thrall. He clearly reveled in the telling of a good story and was masterful in his delivery. Alexander started to understand the young bard a little better. More importantly, he noticed how Abigail was looking at him. He’d never seen her look at a man like that before. It made him happy to see the unabashed joy that Jack brought her.
Before he wanted it to end, dinner was over and the servants were clearing away the dishes. On cue, both Alexander and Erik yawned, followed only a moment later by everyone else at the table. It had been a long couple of days, so they all retired early to get a good night’s sleep.
Thinblade (Sovereign of the Seven Isles: Book One) Page 21
