by Jane Shoup
“Ammey claims he’s one of the Five,” Garid said.
“Aren’t their identities supposed to be a secret?” Samuel asked.
“Yes,” Fin replied emphatically.
“Well, I believe her,” Samuel stated.
“I do, too,” Peter John seconded. “I have from the first day on.” He paused. “Maybe the second.”
“I’m not saying I don’t,” Garid stated. “But we have to be cautious in speaking for her. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I can’t believe Corin had her marked,” Peter John said. “I saw it with my own eyes and I still cannot believe it.”
“How will her father handle that?” Lott asked.
Peter John shook his head. “Think of it. Your little girl hurt like that. Marked with the sign of your enemy, no less.”
“If what we’ve heard is true,” Garid said, “I don’t envy her the telling of it to her family.”
The others murmured agreement with the exception of Fin. He turned onto his side, a morose expression on his face. “Do you mind? I want to sleep.”
~~~
“This time, we leave a force behind sufficient to protect the city,” Marko Corin railed at his top advisors, some fifteen men. The palace had sustained considerable damage while they had languished in Rhuga. It had been poor planning, which made him furious.
“How many men?” Voreskae asked.
“A thousand,” he replied coldly. “Then we divide into three divisions. One will march to Shilbridge and force them to join us. If they refuse, we attack.”
“They’ll join us,” Zino said smugly.
“After it’s secure,” Marko continued, ignoring Zino, “we will destroy the enemy where they are camped. All three divisions will converge on them at once.”
“And wipe out the army of the free people of Azulland,” Voreskae said enthusiastically.
The words needled Marko, but he was entrenched. “Prepare the men,” he ordered as he left the room.
“Yes, sire.”
Marko went to his rooms to rest, but he couldn’t quiet his body or mind. He walked over to one of Jade’s wardrobes, opened it and ran his hand over the fabrics. He caught a whiff of her scent and agony ripped through him. She’d been everything to him and she was gone. So was he. He was soulless. He turned with a heavy heart and noticed a letter propped on the settee. He walked over and grabbed it up, immediately looking for the signature. Mehr. He nearly ripped the page up, but he didn’t.
Marko,
I know what you have been told. It is a lie. Just as you were tricked into signing Jade’s death warrant, so I have been the object of trickery and deceit. I know who is responsible, but have little hope of convincing you. No matter what so-called evidence they produce, you must know in your heart of hearts that I never betrayed you. I never would and I never shall.
-Mehr
Marko hung his head and sighed. Then he crumpled the parchment because it no longer mattered what or whom he believed. Jade was gone. The damage was done. All that was left for him was war. Not even victory or defeat mattered. Not death, not pain, only the act of warring and destruction appealed.
A strange roaring filled his ears and it took a moment to understand it was not his own rage, but a force outside of him. The floor underneath him shook. The walls shook. The window began cracking in an intricate looking design before it exploded, shattering glass in all directions. He brought his hands up on instinct, but felt the burning impact of slivers of glass as they embedded themselves in his face and hands. Screams of terror were heard over the nerve-shattering rumble. Then it stopped and, in the calm, he heard himself breathing.
The mule brayed and pulled away from Lott’s grasp. He reached for it, but it continued to back up, moving its head from side to side. Ammey grabbed hold of the animal’s mane as it began kicking its hind legs. All the men started toward the agitated animal, wondering what had gotten into it, but then a low rumbling began and the ground began to shake. Fin pulled Ammey off and away from the fear-crazed animal as the noise became deafening. Ammey saw Jansen yelling, but his voice was utterly lost.
Fin felt his balance slipping and set Ammey down. They looked around trying to understand what was happening and saw a crack appear in the dry ground. It was quickly spreading and widening. Some great force was splitting the earth open. Fin wrapped an arm around Ammey to support her and they ran awkwardly. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the crevice coming at them at an astonishing rate. She was slowing Fin too greatly and the earth was trying to swallow them. “Go,” she cried, attempting to pull away from him. “Go on without me!”
“No!”
He stopped and hoisted her over his shoulder and began running, and she was reminded of Vincent in Wydenyl. The world had gone mad these last months and now it was ending. The crack was only marginally behind each of Fin’s last step. It was after her, she thought. She was not supposed to have survived this long. She was not supposed to have survived the desert of Uerad.
The others, having covered more distance, turned back and watched in horror as the gap grew deeper and wider. Fin was barely ahead of it and he was slowing. Peter John and Garid started back to them to help. Samuel also started forward but tripped and fell. He looked up, grabbed a breath and held it, certain he was about to see his friends lost in a chasm.
Garid’s hand was extended. He was about to reach Fin and Ammey, but then it was too late. Fin lurched backwards as the earth beneath his feet disappeared. He pulled Ammey into his arms and held tightly as the earth came up around them.
For Fin, hitting the ground was somehow a surprise. The impact knocked the wind from him. The next thing he knew, Peter John and Garid looked down at them over the side and reached for them.
Just as suddenly as the quaking had begun, it stopped. Peter John jumped into the divide, picked up Ammey and lifted her up to Garid. Fin couldn’t move, so Peter John pulled and then hoisted him over his massive shoulder. He moved to the edge and allowed the others to pull Fin free of the gulch before he clamored out from the divide, fearful of it closing again.
The group fell together, each clasping for one another, badly shaken, but thankful to be alive.
“Will you look at that?” Samuel said, gawking at the destruction. Fully grown trees had been uprooted and there was a wide gash in the earth for as far as they could see.
“So which of you idiots went and pissed off the gods?” Peter John asked. “Cause it wasn’t me this time.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ammey was woken in the morning by Lott talking excitedly. Fin, curled next to her, quickly pulled away. He had not been next to her when she’d gone to sleep.
“It was like a dream, but it wasn’t,” Lott was saying. It was early, the pale gray sky awash with a soft orange cast.
“Slow down, man,” Peter John said irritably. “I didn’t catch five words in all of that. You went to sleep and had a dream and what?”
“That’s just it! It wasn’t a dream. It was a … a message. An invitation.” He looked at Ammey. “Of a shortcut to Stonewater Forge. It’s really important that we get there quick.”
She sat, experiencing chillbumps at the warning. She reached for her walking stick and started to her feet, but Fin moved more quickly, wrapping his arms around her and assisting. It was everything she could do not to sharply pull away from him. He meant well, but he had to stop pressing himself on her. “What was the dream?” she asked.
“It was that golden circle we saw yesterday,” he began.
She nodded. The previous afternoon, they’d reached Vilhae Forest and turned eastward to skirt it. She’d remained silent while Garid explained that one did not enter Vilhae without the consent of the white witches. Not unless you had days or even weeks to become hopelessly lost, which, obviously, they did not. As she rode, she peered into the dark green recesses between giant trees, wondering if the Seidh could feel her. Did they realize she was so close? Did they care?
Rugged cave
s dotted the landscape for more than a mile. The day was gloomy and they were all feeling the toll of the journey when an improbable sight made them stop short and gawk in wonderment. A circle of gold some twelve to fourteen feet in diameter had been welded into the rock surface of a great mound.
“It’s a doorway, you see,” Lott explained.
“A doorway,” Garid repeated in a flat voice. “To where?”
Lott shrugged. “To …closer to where we need to be. I was shown it by the white witches,” he added significantly, nodding for emphasis.
Garid frowned and turned to Ammey. “Do you know anything about a supposed shortcut?”
“No,” she replied quietly. “But I believe him.”
Lott gave her a grateful nod.
“He’s telling the truth,” she stated. She felt it as a certainty.
Garid eyes narrowed. “What are you not saying?”
She hesitated only a moment. “I’ve been in Vilhae Forest. I’ve been in the presence of the Seidh, whom you call the white witches.”
“Why didn’t you say so yesterday?” Fin asked.
“I went with the Five who have a strong connection with the Seidh. They were granted entrance.” She shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t know that I would be.”
“Go on then,” Garid said impatiently “Tell us of the white witches.”
“They possess knowledge and magic. Sometimes, they come to you in dreams with messages.”
“Has it happened to you?” Samuel spoke up.
She nodded. “It has.”
“Besides,” Lott interjected, “when have you ever known me to make up wild tales? Why would I?”
“No one thinks that,” Fin replied snappishly.
“We’re only thinking it was a dream,” Jansen added. “They don’t have to mean something.”
“How is it a doorway?” Peter John asked with a befuddled frown, scratching the side of his whiskered chin.
“I don’t know,” Lott admitted. “But I was shown it!”
“In a dream,” Jansen rejoined.
Lott stood his ground. “They said the strongest force in the world could not move it, but that it was a portal for those with good intentions. Or something like that.”
“It’s at least an hour behind us,” Jansen stated.
“But it will save days,” Lott declared.
“If it’s true,” Garid reasoned. “And even if it’s true, we don’t know how to work it.”
“We have to try,” Ammey implored. “He was shown it for a reason.”
“And if he’s wrong?” Jansen challenged.
It was silent.
“Then we’ve wasted a few hours,” Garid supplied. “Nothing more.”
Jansen let out a huff of protest, but he offered no more argument.
When they reached the circle again, Ammey slid off the mule carefully and went closer with the others. It looked to be a foot thick with no indication of moving parts. For a quarter of an hour they took turns pulling and pushing at it, but nothing budged.
“Your dream,” Ammey said, turning to Lott. “Exactly what happened in it?”
“I was brought here by these beautiful ladies,” he said. “Are they really that beautiful?”
“The point, man,” Peter John bellowed.
“Alright! I was led here and they told me we were to use it. Said it was a doorway, a shortcut. I can’t remember their exact words, but that was the meaning.” He looked at the circle with a fierce frown, trying to recall it exactly. “No one, no matter how strong, can move it, but those with good intentions can …get through,” he murmured.
“Good intentions, huh?” Samuel murmured. “What’s Jansen supposed to do?”
“That’s not funny,” Jansen retorted.
Ammey stepped closer to study the raised symbols on the surface. Leaning onto the disk and peering sideways for a different view point, she gasped from the startling sensation of falling forward. A split second, she found herself in the darkness of a high ceilinged cavern, the smell of dankness sharp in her nostrils. Her ankle throbbed from the impact of the few hard steps she’d taken. The only illumination came from the palms of her hands, which were glowing from where she’d touched the surface of the orb. The only sounds she heard were water running and dripping. The air was cool and heavy with humidity.
In a flash of light, Garid stumbled toward her. The illumination from both of his palms, which framed his face, showed the astonished expression on his face. “Are you alright?” His voice echoed.
“Yes!” Although she’d dropped her walking stick, she realized. Using their hands for a glow of light, they looked around. A fast-running stream flowed through the cavern, and a boat was propped on the rocky bank. This was yet another gift from the Seidh.
Lott and Samuel came through next, one right after the other. “I told you,” Lott rejoiced. “Didn’t I tell you?”
Samuel’s left shoulder and right palm were illuminated. His eyes looked wide and frightened. Jansen came next, his forearms and the sides of his hands lit up. Darius followed him and Peter John came through last, stepping through backwards, his wide back providing the most light so far. He turned and looked around and, for a few moments, they all just looked at one another, too overwhelmed to move.
“I cannot believe that just happened,” Jansen remarked.
“No one will ever believe it,” Peter John said. “Now, we know how Ammey feels.”
“I hope the mule will be alright,” Lott said. “You don’t think he’ll try and follow?”
It was silent for a few seconds before Samuel burst into laughter and the rest of them got caught up in it. When the nervous laughter subsided, there were only the sounds of water and the hiss of a steady wind.
“That’s our ride, I guess,” Darius said, looking over at the boat. “I mean, we just managed the impossible part, right? Lott was right. His dream had to have been right.”
“Yeah, he was right,” Peter John replied.
“Here’s your stick,” Jansen said, handing it to Ammey.
She took it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The group stepped toward the boat. Darius reached it first and finagled it into the water. Peter John helped him hold it in place as Jansen stepped in first and Ammey second. She was assisted, but still ended up getting both her feet wet. Darius and Peter John climbed in after the others. Darius had not yet sat when the boat moved from the force of the flow. Only Peter John grabbing hold kept him from toppling backwards.
“Aren’t we in trouble if it’s not all downhill?” Samuel asked a moment later.
“We just stepped through a foot of solid gold,” Fin reminded him.
“Yeah, there is that,” Samuel conceded.
Movement caught Ammey’s eye, but it was too dark to see anything and the boat was picking up speed. The others were seeing things, too, judging by the occasional gasps, half asked questions and cryptic answers.
“Did you see—”
“Yes!”
“Was that—”
“Something’s there!”
Starflits flew by, but with the speed of the boat, they seemed mere lines of color. The boat went faster still and Ammey leaned forward clutching the seat beside her and the side of the wooden vessel. The chilly wind stung her eyes. She thought she caught a glimpse of a childlike creature with glowing eyes, but it happened so quickly, she couldn’t be certain.
The boat took a sharp enough turn that it tipped to one side, making them all cry out. Ammey’s grip was so tight, her fingers ached. In the darkness, there was no warning, but they felt it when they were plummeted into the air. Their stomachs lurched, and Darius screamed in an improbably high pitch. They landed and were whirled about in the spraying rush of a cross stream. When the stream leveled out and they slowed, they were breathless, soaked to the skin and felt lucky to be alive.
Ammey recoiled as something brushed by her. She realized they’d passed through thick strands of so
mething like hanging seaweed before entering into a different cavern. Holes in the ceiling provided light enough to see thousands of crystalline formations and shimmering blue gems like those Vhahas caves were known for. It was breathtakingly beautiful, but they were headed toward a jagged, triangular break in the wall. All their gazes were fixed on it.
They ducked as they passed through the opening and into another cavern, steadily moving toward more darkness. Ammey felt her breathing become shallow as the darkness grew blacker and blacker still. It was unnerving to be so blind. She reached out a hand in search of Jansen, seated next to her. She touched his arm and he grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
Everyone still there?” Samuel asked at the same moment. The sound of his voice was a relief. They were all experiencing the same nerves.
“I’m here,” Fin called. “And I know Darius is here, because he’s got his hand on my leg.”
“I’ve never been so fond of another man’s leg,” Darius admitted.
Despite her frayed nerves, Ammey laughed. So did the others.
“Look up,” Garid said from directly behind her.
High above them was what appeared to be stars, but were actually tiny holes in a ceiling that seemed a vast distance away.
“We must be miles under the earth,” Peter John marveled.
The boat went around a bend and a perfect oval of light loomed in front of them. Half the oval was merely the sun’s reflection, the other half was a low arched opening to the world beyond. They passed through and were cast into daylight again, although they were temporarily blinded by the light. They were still cringing when the boat came to a scratchy stop on a sandy floor.
“It’s over,” Samuel breathed.
When they could see well enough, they stood on weakened knees, climbed from the boat and looked around to get their bearings. Ammey felt her heart begin to pump harder with the realization that they were close to home. She stood and, with a start of surprise, she realized her ankle felt better. She lifted her skirt and looked down at it.
