by David Wind
It matters not if this conveyance fails, and you go the rest of the way on foot. You must get there before Nevaeh runs out of time. Sleep now. When you waken, find the ladder!
A rumbling sound began and grew steadily louder. In the space of three heartbeats, the sound grew to a deafening pitch and the container shot forward, leaving a twisting groan of metal behind, while pressing them against the back wall. Then there was only darkness.
Hours later, a jarring ear-splitting shriek of metal upon metal shocked them back into the world. The screeching grew louder, and outside the container, sparks showered the walls. The conveyance leaned forward, with the right front lower than the rest. Then, it came to a sudden halt, throwing Mikaal and Areenna forward.
Mikaal pushed himself up. Next to him, Areenna groaned, turned, and sat. What happened?
He shook his head. “We need to get out.” He reached up, pressed his palms against the top of the container, and pushed… nothing. Taking a deep breath, he poured every bit of strength into moving the top. It did not budge.
He sat back and drew several breaths.
Areenna pressed a hand to his chest. “How?”
“Join with me.” The instant they joined, the heat of his power flared. We have our abilities again. With that thought, Mikaal turned his hands palm upward and as he did, Areenna did the same.
Together, they used the ability to move objects. The clear top of the container began to vibrate. The vibrations increased until the top shattered, the pieces blowing outward into the tunnel.
When Areenna stood, her head was a bare inch from the top of the tunnel. For as far ahead as she could see, nightmoss glowed. She turned as Mikaal gained his feet. She started to speak, but froze. Like the legs of a hundred legged craget, a dark sensation touched her. She grabbed Mikaal’s arm, squeezed tightly and before she pushed her thoughts to him, erected both a block and a shield, sealing their presence.
Did you feel it?
Mikaal nodded. Before you built the block, yes. Not now. It was dark—
It was he. He searches for us.
Were you in time?
Areenna spoke aloud. “I have to be.”
“We need to get out of the tunnel. This… thing failed. I see no ladder.” Mikaal spoke aloud as well, understanding the need to mask their abilities.
Nightmoss coated the tunnel; the walls were eight or nine inches from the side of the container.
Mikaal looked around the transport and saw their weapons were near the front. “Let’s get out of this thing.”
He steadied her as she climbed over of the side of the conveyance, and waited until she slithered and scraped her way to the front.
After looking around, she leaned toward Mikaal and took the weapons he was holding. She arranged them on herself, and studied the container and the distance from the walls. “It will be better if you climb over the front; it’s too narrow on the side.”
He extended his sword to Areenna, who took it quickly and stepped back. Mikaal levered himself up, and then crawled the three feet over the front of the conveyance, and, with Areenna grasping his arms, slid forward.
“I won’t mind not using that… thing again.”
Areenna eyed the elongated box. “Nor I. Look. The wheel came off.”
Mikaal glanced at the front, and saw a round metal wheel, which had a deep groove in the center, laying on the ground. “Strange, these things the Old Ones created.”
“She was like your father, an Old One, was she not?”
Mikaal met Areenna’s gaze and shook his head. “I think only her memories are that of an Old One. She is something else, not… not alive, not dead.”
“Her mind… I could only sense her mind. There was no sensing of anything physical.”
Mikaal looked around. “We must move.”
“Yes.” She looked ahead, into the darkness ahead of the fading illumination. “I will drop our block. We need our senses free.”
She closed off the block, but maintained the shield, and tested what lay ahead. No warnings touched her; nothing from The Master, nor did she sense any danger ahead. Nothing. Yet, there was something else. Closing her eyes, she pushed out carefully. She stopped.
Mikaal joined within her and stiffened. What was that?
She withdrew her seeking. Dees. We stand under Dees. I sense Atir. I—
No! The Masters… We must get to the mountain. We have to warn Tolemac of what is coming.
Areenna exhaled a shuddering breath before nodding. I know.
She could not hide the sadness within her thoughts. Mikaal pulled her to him and held her for several moments. Then, with a gentle thought, he turned her forward, and they walked between the two metal lines set in the floor of the tunnel, heading toward the unknown.
She wasn’t sure how long they had been walking when they became aware that the tunnel was gradually tilting upward. At least five hours. An hour and a half later, the metal lines ended, buried beneath mounds of rubble within a strange cavernous area. There was debris everywhere, but unlike the Island or the wastelands, it seemed a more natural type of disintegration, as if age, not weapons had taken its toll.
“There!” Areenna pointed to a ladder set in the ground, which rose upwards into a hole cut within the ceiling of the cavern. She took a step toward it, and stopped. Mikaal, it is…
Leaning forward, Mikaal reached for the rung of the ladder that was at chest level. The instant his finger touched it, the rung disintegrated. He stepped back as the entire ladder turned to dust.
<><><>
Shortly before midnight, and just after a traimore from Tolemac brought her a message, Sirod notified Nosaj that Elyl was returning. The king went to the courtyard of the castle keep to greet the exile and the warriors he brought with him. Both Sirod and Tissel accompanied him.
“My Lord,” Elyl said as he went to one knee.
Nosaj motioned him to his feet. “What news, Elyl?”
“My Lord, they bring an army so large we cannot stand against it.”
The white hair framing Nosaj’s deep skin whipped outward as he shook his head. “Elyl, you will go to Tolemac and add the warriors you bring with you to their defense. You will tell the high king what you found. Freemorn will stand and delay them as long as possible so Tolemac can gain time.”
“My Lord, Nosaj, I cannot. My debt to Areenna will not allow this.”
“It is an ord—”
“My Lord,” Sirod whispered in his ear. “Do not order him to go. He will sit outside the gate to await the coming army, so strong his loyalty to Areenna. Let me talk with him.”
Nosaj exhaled his frustration before giving in. Sirod stepped in front of Elyl. “Have you a woman with powers among the exiles?”
Elyl nodded. “Tona.” He turned and looked at the woman who had acted as the scout on their journey from the wastelands of Kashold and waved her to him.
When she stood next to Elyl, Sirod placed a small hand on her shoulder. “May I join with you?”
“Most cannot,” Tona whispered. “I know not why, only a few have ever been able to.”
“May I try?”
The warrior woman nodded and Sirod closed her eyes and pushed to the edge of the woman’s mind. Her touch was light and she was able to slip within the block she realized was a natural part of her mutation. A moment later, they joined. Show me what you have seen.
I will try. Tona closed her eyes and brought up the memory of her sighting of Lessig’s army.
When she had it firmly fixed, she opened her eyes. It is so huge… Thank you, Tona. Sirod gave her a gentle withdrawing caress.
She stood there for several very long seconds before turning to Nosaj. “My Lord, I received a message from Queen Enaid, not a quarter hour before Elyl arrived, meant for both of us. She says Roth asks you to send everyone you can to Tolemac, leave behind only enough guard and number of The People, to hold the ghazi for as long as possible.”
He gazed at her for a moment, before saying, “
Roth asks me to leave us defenseless?”
“Not defenseless. Defended enough to hold them for a time.”
He looked from Sirod to Tona. “What news did Tona give?”
When she told him the size of the oncoming army, he paled. “My Lord, my people will be able to delay this… horde for a day, perhaps two at the most, before they overrun us. You cannot stay. Roth needs you in Tolemac, take the warriors Elyl has brought along with your own warriors as King Roth asks. You must add our strength to theirs. It may be the only way.
“Abandon Caymir to their destruction? Give them Freemorn? I have that not within me.”
Sirod, half the height of Nosaj, took the king’s hands into her smaller six fingered hands. “My Lord, Nosaj… Your death will not prevent the loss of Freemorn; instead, it would assure a needless sacrifice and terrible grief for Areenna. Live to fight with Tolemac; regain Freemorn when the time is right. Do not leave Areenna to face them alone.”
“How can I leave The People behind? What kind of king does that make me?”
“A wise one, My Lord. The People know their responsibility. They have been waiting for this for… too long. Accept your own responsibility to live so you can defeat our enemy, and avenge those who stay behind.”
Nosaj stared into Sirod’s pale eyes and nodded. In the space of Nosaj’s nod, Sirod, Tissel, and the exile Tona cried out and fell to the floor, all three writhing in agony. Their screams and groans lasted for a half minute before dying out. Then, straining hard, Sirod gained her feet and grasped onto Nosaj.
“They… they have split Nevaeh in half. The Dark Masters have blocked the upper domains.”
Nosaj looked at Tissel and then at Tona, who still lay on the ground. “Help them, Sirod. We will leave at daybreak for Tolemac.”
<><><>
Lessig knelt between the two Dark Masters. Each placed a hand on her shoulder and projected their powers into her. A sudden flash of light blinded her and an excruciating lance of pain tore a howling scream from her mouth. The scream died the instant she opened her eyes and she found herself kneeling before her Master, Fasil.
We cannot find the two. What know you of this?
My lord… I know nothing.
Your spies have no word?
No, My Lord.
His face darkened. He put a hand on her head and closed his eyes. Agony combined with a dark pleasure rippled through her as he pushed into her mind. A moment later, he released her. “Your spy in Northcrom. What word?”
Lessig’s brows furrowed. “Nothing new. Northcrom’s army rides to Tolemac. They believe such is our goal.”
“The trap is prepared?”
“It is, Lord Fasil.”
“Good. How many spies are left in Tolemac?”
Lessig bowed her head. “One remains.”
Fasil smiled. His small circle of a mouth opened enough to see the stubby remnants of brown teeth. “One is all that is necessary. Have this one get word to… the wife of Roth, that Dees is under attack and warriors must be sent to prevent its fall. She is to tell them that there are too many ghazi guarding the open routes to Dees. They need to take the mountain pass and attack from the north of Dees.”
“You will join the warriors in the mountains. When the warriors of Roth go through the pass, you will lead the attack.”
Lessig smiled. “Thank you My Lord.”
“After Roth and his army are done, find the man and woman… kill them!”
There was another flash of light, another tearing pain and an agonizing second later, she found herself in the mountains near Dees, ghazi warriors stretched as far as she could see.
CHAPTER 31
UNDER THE MOUNTAINS, in the far outskirts of Dees, Areenna and Mikaal searched for a way out. While Areenna stared up into the hole where the ladder had been, Mikaal stood at the wall, using his knife to dig deeper in the places where the ladder had been anchored. With each stroke of his knife, rust and dirt fell.
“We can go up, using these as footholds.”
Areenna looked at what he’d done. “It is a long way—” A new thought hit her hard enough to stop her in mid-word.
Mikaal whirled when she stopped speaking, afraid something had happened. When he saw her staring directly at him, he frowned. “What is it?”
It took a moment, and then Areenna smiled. How did Sophia get us here? How did The Eight, the first time we went to the Island, move us onto Timon’s boat?
What are you saying?
Do you trust me?
With everything I am, do I trust you.
Answer my question. How did they move us?
I don’t know.
Are you less than a rock? Are you less than a kraagen stuck in a pool of mud?
Mikaal’s eyes widened. Me? You would move me?
Areenna smiled again. Like this. Opening her hands, she pushed her ability outward, surrounding Mikaal, encasing him within the ability, she lifted him upward, held him there for a few seconds, and then put him down.
You can’t see above. You might release me before I reach the top.
Areenna smiled. Perhaps, one day, I might, depending on you… but I think today is not that day. Joined, I can see through your eyes, can I not?
Mikaal nodded and drew in a deep breath. Do it.
Join with me, completely.
The joining was effortless. Mikaal settled himself within her as if he had always been a part of her.
Somehow, you have been. Then she lifted him and moved him upward.
His first reaction was to reach out to gain his balance, but he held back. He eased his breathing and closed his eyes as Areenna raised him higher.
I can’t see! Areenna warned him, laughing as she did so.
Not funny!
Yes, My Prince. She forced herself to stop laughing. But I still can’t see.
Mikaal opened his eyes, and Areenna saw the wall before him. Look up. When he did, she saw only darkness above. Night?
Mikaal squinted, but it was of no use. It must be.
Areenna stopped thinking, stopped everything other than to concentrate on Mikaal and lift him. She had never done anything like this before, and her muscles trembled as if she were physically lifting him.
Faster, Mikaal urged. Joined as they were, he could sense everything about her, and knew what was happening. He looked up.
She reached deep into herself, somehow drawing up even more power, and pushed Mikaal faster.
I see the stars.
Areenna saw them as well, and, ten seconds later, lifted Mikaal out of the hole, and dropped him on the ground, collapsing as she did. Her breath came in spurts, her muscles screaming as if his weight had been in her arms rather than in her abilities. Still, he was there, and she had done it!
Through the fog that was her mind, she heard Mikaal calling to her. Areenna, work with me.
I cannot, yet. You have to do what I just did. Give us both a few minutes to regain strength.
I can move a few rocks, but to lift you… Mikaal’s thoughts cut off as a familiar warmth rushed through him with such intensity he almost fell back into the opening. Charka!
Above, a cry echoed out into the night, and twenty pounds of black and cinnamon feathers dove straight into the opening. Behind him, the sound of hoof beats grew loud. He turned as Charka burst into view. Behind Charka came Hero and another kraal. Taken by surprise, Mikaal belatedly realized Neleh was on Charka’s back. He had not sensed her at all.
Below, in the depths of the mountain, Gaalrie dropped gently into Areenna’s arms and buried her head in the crook of Areenna’s neck. It took only seconds for the treygone’s warmth to fill her and return the energy she had used in lifting Mikaal to the surface.
She smiled, her arms wrapped around her aoutem. Mikaal!
Wait! Neleh is here. He opened his eyes just as Neleh launched herself from Charka’s back. He caught her, drew her close, and then set her on the ground even as Charka pushed his snout into Mikaal’s chest. He put his arms arou
nd the kraal’s huge head and took in the warmth he had been missing since he’d left Tolemac. A few moments later, he reluctantly stepped back.
Areenna is below. We need to bring her up.
Neleh closed her eyes and joined with them as naturally as Areenna and Mikaal joined each other. Without a word, Neleh settled into both their minds and, as she had done before, took them both within herself.
<><><>
Areenna, her arms around her aoutem, breathed deeply of the scent surrounding Gaalrie’s feathers. At the same moment, Neleh joined with her. The joining set off an unexpected reaction in Areenna’s mind, a sensation of rightness, of becoming more than a part of something… of becoming whole.
The unexpected feeling blossomed into a new understanding and, as she explored this undiscovered terrain, her comprehension grew until she recognized all the signs given to her over this long past year.
The knowledge rushed through her mind with the force of a whirlwind, taking with it, not just she, but Mikaal and Neleh as it swept through her mind and body.
Opening the channel to where her power and abilities lay, she waited for Neleh, strengthened by Mikaal, to find what she needed. With her eyes closed, and her senses vibrating within Neleh’s increasing control, she relinquished the last remnants of her own self-control. The instant she did, she turned as weightless as the very air itself, and floated skyward.
The feeling of floating became a sensation of freedom she had never before experienced. A lightness, not just of body, but of mind as well. The higher she rose, the more secure she became in her feelings. Opening her eyes, she stared at the pinpoints of light so crowded in the sky above there could be a single band of nightmoss, aglow in the darkness, and giving forth the light of life.
The cool mountain air whisked across her face, bringing with it the scents of life from everywhere. Her weight returned when her feet touched the ground with Gaalrie still secured within her arms.
Firmly on the ground, she released the giant treygone and looked at Mikaal, who stood with a hand resting on Neleh’s shoulder. A haze of starlight outlined Mikaal; a sight she stored within her memories, to be looked at and cherished at some distant time. Neleh too, stood as a figure of strength. Mikaal’s old short sword at her side, the top of her small black bow peeking up from behind her shoulder. The woman-child’s pale hair was pulled back, her yellow amber eyes aglow in the night.
