by Matt Heppe
You did this to me, his voice said in her mind. You helped him turn me into a monster. He will destroy us all.
Chapter Twenty-four
Hadde sat on a sun-warmed rock in the middle of a stream. Water gurgled as it flowed around her. She let her gaze wander over the lush grass and patches of fragrant Everbloom that made their way down the bank to the edge of the water. Great trees, filled with life and covered in green leaves, bordered the stream as far as she could see.
Landomere lived again.
“Hadde?”
She turned, expecting to see Belor emerge from the water beside her. But that wasn’t right. He was dead.
“Hadde?”
She knew that voice. Where had she heard it before? “Morin, is that you?” she asked, her heart beating a little faster. Had he come to visit her in Landomere? “Where are you?”
He appeared beside her on the rock, garbed in his usual black, but with the silver skin of an eternal.
“Is this what you dream of?” he asked as his eyes took in their surroundings.
“Dream?” She glanced around. “I’m dreaming?”
“It’s the power of the Orb. I’m in your room. I’m touching you in your sleep.”
“I can't wake up. I want to wake up.”
“It’s better this way. No one can hear us. We don’t have much time, so you must listen carefully.”
“Morin, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to help Akinos. I didn’t mean—”
“What’s done is done and cannot be taken back.”
“I couldn’t help it.”
“I know. Your mortal mind is too weak to resist the power of the Orb.” He paused and stared at her for a moment. “I need something of you—a task to be done. But I don’t know if I can trust you.”
“You can trust me, Morin. I was under the control of that eternal. I tried to fight—”
“You’re the only one who can save us. I’ve no choice but to trust you.”
“You aren’t listening to me!” Hadde couldn’t keep the anger from her voice. “I couldn’t warn you.”
He stared past her into the dream forest. “You loved me once.”
“And I still do.”
“Then in the name of our love do this. Return to Sal-Oras and see my brother. Warn him.”
“Of what?”
“Akinos is the Wasting, Hadde. The eternals are the Wasting.”
Hadde shook her head. “I don’t understand. How can they be the Wasting?”
“Akinos is no Magus Elementar. He has no magic himself. He has power only because of the Orb, but has no sense of it. He can use the Orb, but he does not feel it.”
“What do you mean?”
He paused a moment. “It’s the difference between knowing how to wield a bow and knowing how to make one. Most people can figure out how to shoot an arrow, but only a few truly understand the crafting of the bow and the forces at work when one is drawn.”
“Your magic is like this?”
“Yes. It’s part of me. I feel it as it passes through me. I feel the power, but I also know the energy it takes. When Akinos uses the Orb of Creation to maintain his own life, he must steal life from others in order to do so. But he does not understand what he’s doing. He does not feel the energy he’s draining from others. Akinos should be five hundred years dead. He draws life force from all around him just to sustain himself.”
“And that’s why there is a Wasting? Because Akinos is keeping himself alive?”
Morin stared into the forest. “If it was only him we would hardly notice. But he created the eternals. We eternals are all dead, and there are over a hundred of us. The Orb—“
“What do you mean? You’re dead?”
“Dead in that the Orb sustains us and gives us life. We no longer eat or even breathe. Magic courses through our veins, not blood. The Orb gives us strength and health and regenerates us if we come to harm. But it is the very act of creating and sustaining eternals that creates the Wasting. ”
“Morin, will you ever live again? Will you ever be flesh and blood?”
He shook his head. “Only if Akinos is slain and the Orb of Creation is taken from him. That’s why I’m here, Hadde. I need your help.
“Did you tell him about the eternals and the Wasting?”
“I told him tonight. I told him everything I just told you. He wouldn’t believe me. He flew into a rage and accused me of wanting to take the Orb. He called me blind and ignorant.”
“He seemed... well... rational to me.”
“Hadde, he’s mad. The eternals are the realization of a dream five hundred years in the making. He’s convinced, to the very depths of his soul, that the eternals are the world’s salvation. Accuse him of causing the Wasting and you’ll see his anger.”
Hadde watched the water as it swirled around her boulder. “Now that you’re eternal, could you take it from him?”
Morin laughed. “The Orb sustains me and he controls the Orb. He can slay me with a thought. Worse yet, he could weaken me. Make me as helpless as an infant crawling on the floor.
“Only my brother can save us. He’s a strong elementar. And he bears Forsvar. He must defeat Akinos and take the Orb from him. That’s why I need you to tell my brother everything that has happened since you left Sal-Oras. Tell him that the longer Akinos remains unchallenged the more powerful he will become.”
“Even if Boradin is warned is he powerful enough?” Hadde asked. “Akinos has an army, and he has the eternals, varcolac, and capcaun.”
“The might of Salador is not to be taken lightly. But time is Akinos’s ally. Tomorrow he marches for King’s Crossing, not far from Sal-Oras. An army of Namiri and Teborans will join him there. If those armies join, it will be nearly impossible to stop him. The world will perish under the weight of the eternals.”
“Maybe your brother is already on the way.”
“My brother doesn’t even know of the threat. Ost-Oras is five days fallen and Boradin is unaware that Salador has been invaded.”
“How is that possible?”
"The varcolac and Tyskmen have done their job well. Their raids have cut off all communications.” He laughed a bitter laugh. “This is a secret invasion. We didn’t even know Rigaria was inhabited. And now an army has marched out of it.” He touched her arm. “That’s why your task is so important. You must warn Boradin.”
“And you, Morin? What will happen to you?”
He looked into Hadde’s dream forest. “When Akinos dies I’ll live again. But my brother won’t forgive me this time, I fear. I knew the location of the Orb and tried to take it for myself. And the Namiri and Teborans are my allies; he will blame me for their joining Akinos’s cause. I’ll have to flee Boradin’s wrath.” He turned his gaze on her and smiled. “Perhaps I’ll exile in Landomere.”
“I would like that,” Hadde said. She forced a smile, barely able to meet his argent visage. His grin reassured her, but she couldn’t read the truth in his silver eyes. She wished they would give her some sign. She wanted his eyes to tell her all he said was true.
“We have no time to waste,” he said. “It’s very late and the army will soon awaken. I’ll get you out of the camp. But all else depends on you. Ride cross-country until you reach the town we stayed in the night before we encountered the Tyskmen. From there, take the ancient highway to Sal-Oras. Be wary of patrols of Tyskmen and varcolac.”
“How will I escape the camp? What about guards?”
“I’ll take care of them.”
Hadde frowned. “You’ll kill them?”
“No. I have… new gifts.” He paused and held his silver hand out in front of him. “My touch can give life, but it can also take it away. I can restore stamina or cause fatigue. I’ll exhaust the pickets with my touch. They will think only that they fell asleep while on guard. We cannot delay any longer.”
She grabbed his sleeve. “Come with me, Morin.”
“If I disappear, Akinos will slay me. I must remain with him and
play my part.” He paused. “Hadde, remember the prophecy Orlos told you?”
“The archer’s offspring shall slay the sun?”
“I know what it means. Akinos is the sun and you are the archer. Your offspring is the message that you bear for my brother. Landomere must have sensed this when she gave you a Spiridus Token bearing the sign of the Orb. Landomere must have known that it would come to this.”
Hadde touched her Token. “I was sent as a messenger? How are you so certain?”
“You must trust me, Hadde. There is no time to explain. We must go now. I’m going to awaken you.”
Hadde woke in her dark room in Akinos’s tent. Morin bent over her, his black cloak pulled over him. He withdrew his hand from her brow. She reached out and took his hand. “I want to go back into that dream. I want to see the living Landomere again.” She paused. Morin’s hand felt cold and smooth. “Why do I not feel anything in your touch?”
“I control the magic that flows into and out of me. I can touch you and you would feel nothing at all.” He put both of his hands around hers. “Or I can let you tap Helna’s Grace.” For a fleeting moment warmth and life coursed through Hadde. And then it stopped and Morin pulled her to her feet. “And just as easily I can sap the energy from your veins. Come now.”
The tent was eerily quiet, and she realized he was using his magic to shroud them in silence. She pulled on her boots and grabbed her bow and case. She still wore the white Rigarian dress.
Morin wrapped a heavy cloak around her shoulders before creeping to the tapestry door to peer out. He waved Hadde after him as he passed through.
As they entered the hallway, Hadde was surprised to see Nadas snoring blissfully by the entrance. Hadde wondered if it was Morin’s magic, or if the girl truly slept so deeply. They came to a curtained exit to the tent. Torchlight flickered just beyond. Morin motioned Hadde to halt. “Be ready,” he whispered.
With a wave of his hand the light extinguished in a gust of wind. He reached through the curtain and a guard slumped into the tent. Hadde saw another guard, his back to them, staring at the smoldering torch beside him. Morin grabbed the second guard’s neck with one hand and touched his face with the other. The guard fell to the ground. Morin ignored him and scanned the darkness beyond.
As Morin looked away, Hadde quickly knelt and put her hand to the guard’s throat. His pulse beat strongly. She stood before Morin could turn back. Smiling, she followed his gaze outside the tent and into the camp beyond. She could trust him. He hadn't killed them even when he had the chance.
A village of tents surrounded Akinos’s great pavilion. Three nearby torches cast circles of light. Two guards stood near them. A torch fell to the ground as Morin flicked his hand in its direction. He glanced right and a gust knocked another torch against a tent. Guards sprang toward it.
Morin tugged Hadde forward. Crouching, they dashed from shadow to shadow. Twice more, Morin used his magic to darken their path. A hundred strides from Akinos’s tent, the camp was night-shrouded and silent. “Stand now, and walk as if nothing is wrong,” Morin ordered.
Hadde followed him as he strode confidently forward. Ahead lay the ancient highway to Ost-Oras. A horse stood picketed near it. A smile came to her lips. Even in the dark she recognized Lightfoot.
“In here.” Morin led her into a small tent near her horse. They knelt in the shadow of its entrance. “I’ll be back soon. I must clear the way for you. When I return, take your horse to the stream as if you’re watering him.”
“Where is Windwalker?”
“I couldn’t get to him.”
“But—”
“I tried, Hadde. But it would have aroused too much suspicion. Lightfoot will have to do.”
“I could steal him.”
“There’s no time, and I’ll not risk it. Our survival depends on this journey. You must escape. We won’t have time to speak again, so leave as soon as I return. Act as if nothing is unusual. Water your horse, cross the stream, and ride for the gap between the hills. From there ride west to Egoras and then to Sal-Oras. Keep well south of the highway.”
“What if something goes wrong? What if something happens to you and you don’t return? How will I escape the camp?”
“Nothing will happen to me. But if it does, you’ll hear it. I’ll use my magic to cut a path to freedom for you. Then you must ride as hard as you can. I must go. Take this.” He slipped a golden ring onto her finger. “Show it to my brother. Tell him everything.”
“I miss your touch, Morin. Your hands are so cold now.”
He smiled and took her hand between his. Warmth flowed into them.
She grinned at him, but before she could speak, he was gone. The warmth fled with him, and it crossed her mind that it hadn’t been Morin’s heat that touched her, but the Orb’s. Hadde watched until he cleared the embankment and the road and then settled in to wait. Looking to the eastern sky, she saw a ruddy glow.
Morin startled her with his return. “It’s clear?” she asked.
“Clear.” He helped her to her feet and thrust her bow and case into her hands. “Good luck, Hadde. I love you.” He touched her face and strode away.
“I love you, too,” she said to his back, but she didn’t think he heard. She drew a deep breath. Would he still be an eternal when she saw him again? If she ever saw him. His last words brought her some comfort. His transformation hadn’t taken away his ability to love.
Steeling herself to the task ahead, she crept out from the tent. She wouldn’t fail. She wouldn’t betray Morin’s trust in her. And when all was done, the Wasting ended and Morin restored, they would…
She shook the thought from her mind. Later.
Hadde untied Lightfoot from her picket and, taking a deep breath, led the horse across the road. She glanced left and right as she started down the bank. A few people moved in the pre-dawn light, but none paid her any attention. If their night vision were as poor as that of the Saladorans she had met, she would be no more than a shadow to them.
She paused at the stream’s edge and then mounted. Peering up the hill before her, she looked for any sign of the guards Morin had subdued. A small campfire burned to her right, but other than that she saw nothing.
She and Lightfoot splashed across the stream and trotted up the opposite slope. Hadde tensed, ready to push her horse to a gallop at the first cry of alarm.
Chapter Twenty-five
The open gates of Sal-Oras beckoned Hadde. A fever chill passed over her as she urged Lightfoot forward. For five days she had dodged Tyskmen and varcolac as she had made her way cross country. Morin had ensured she was well-provisioned, but fatigue and bad weather had taken their toll on both her and Lightfoot.
It didn’t matter. She had made it, and Boradin would get his message. Hadde stroked Lightfoot’s neck. She had ridden the horse mercilessly. “I’m sorry. We’re done now. We can both rest.”
“Pull back that hood and let me see your eyes,” a gate guard ordered.
“What? My eyes?” Hadde asked. She shook her head to clear her fog-shrouded mind.
“Do it! Or are you varcolac?” He tightened his grip on his spear.
“I’m no varcolac.”
His eyes opened wide as she pulled her hood back. “I’m Hadde of Landomere,” she continued. “Ambassador to the King. Please take me to him.” It was an effort just to say the words. Her head nodded with fatigue.
“The Landomeri! The one we were warned about!” he shouted as he seized Lightfoot's bridle. Hadde jerked upright and tried to yank Lightfoot free, but the guard held the horse fast.
“Take her, idiot! Don’t let her flee!” he shouted. Before the words could register, strong hands seized Hadde and pulled her from the saddle. She cried out as her head struck the paved road. Two men pinned her to the ground.
“I must see the king,” she shouted. Her voice seemed distant.
“You’ll see him soon enough.” Two guards hauled her to her feet. She tried to twist away, but they held
her firmly between them. A wave of dizziness passed over her. Fever and fatigue had robbed her of all her strength. “My horse," was all she could manage.
A knight stepped in front of her and pulled her hunting knife from its sheath. “See to the horse,” he commanded. “And take the prisoner to the king.”
***
Two Knights of the House dragged Hadde down the Great Hall toward Boradin’s throne. She barely managed to lift her head. The hall was nearly empty. Six nobles stood at the base of the king’s dais. She recognized Sir Fenre, the Steward, amongst them.
“Why are you—” Hadde started.
“Silence,” a knight ordered.
They dropped her to her knees before the king. Hadde sagged onto her hands, too tired to raise herself. “Why are you doing this to me? What have I done?” she asked.
“Where is Morin?” Boradin demanded.
Hadde caught her breath. “Morin is in Ost-Oras, Your Majesty. Please, why are you treating me this way?”
“Because you conspire with him. Now tell me why he’s there.”
“Akinos is there. With the Orb of Creation,” she said. The gathered nobles murmured at her words. “Morin sent me back to warn you,” she continued. “He sent this.” She held out her hand with Morin’s ring upon it.
“Bring it to me.”
A knight forced the ring from Hadde’s finger and took it to the king.
“What is his warning?” Boradin asked.
“Akinos is the Wasting. He’s using the Orb of Creation to sustain his own life and to create beings called Eternal Knights.” She paused and caught her breath. “One of them was the Messenger the Returnist prisoner spoke of. But the eternals require so much life-force from the Orb that none is left for the rest of us. Morin says that you must defeat Akinos or he will continue making eternals until all life is destroyed.” Hadde sagged to the floor as pain, confusion, and sickness overwhelmed her. The knight pulled her up so that she sat facing the king.
“And my brother? What is he doing?”
