Ruin Mist Chronicles Bundle

by Robert Stanek

  Bryan stepped forward, his young blue eyes betraying naked anger, Running is pointless. It would only show cowardice. We should strike the enemy head on with our eyes wide open.

  Galan turned to Seth. I agree.

  Sailmaster Cagan tugged at his beard, his open thoughts streaming to Seth as his mind worked through the dilemma. Cagan said, "We will strike head on, we just won't stop, and if surviving means running, we must run."

  Bryan cut in. You are wrong.

  Seth raised a hand commandingly. All dispute ended. Sailmaster Cagan, go ahead with your plan. I trust your judgment.

  Cagan passed instructions to the ship's broadcaster, who in turn relayed messages to the escort ships. A maneuver was dealt out to the small fleet. The escort ships turned sail from their positions, heading directly for the right side of the blockade. Following Cagan's orders, the sailors readied torches and grapples.

  As the first of four ships rammed the blockade, the sound of wood and metal twisting and breaking filled the air. Sailors from both sides were washed over the decks. As the cries of battle rose, Cagan passed out orders to the crew of the Lady L. The Lady L, her sails trim, turned with the wind and raced for open seas through the mass of tangled ships.

  Including Bryan, Galan and himself, Seth had selected eleven of the Red to undertake the journey. Seth looked down to the lower deck of the Lady L where the chosen were assembled. He knew they were preparing for a fight that must come and they must win. Behind them, pillars of smoke and flames rising into the heavens dwarfed those battling upon the ships, reduced to tiny specks leaping from tiny ships and cast against a backdrop of hungry white sails. The chase was on.

  Chapter Six

  Unsure what had awoken her, Adrina stirred. The battle in the hills outside Imtal raged on for days without reprieve. In that time, few returned to the city though many left to defend its gates. Emel was still out there, though Adrina did not know where.

  The light of the moon, filtering in through an open window, cast long shadows about the room. She brushed a hand across the pillow still wet from her tears.

  "Winter is surely coming," she told the attendant who was stoking the coals in the fireplace.

  "Sorry, Your Highness," the girl whispered. "I shouldn't have let the fire go out, but I wished not to disturb you. But now it looks to be a cold night and I was concerned."

  Adrina nodded absently, her thoughts miles away.

  When the attendant finished, she bid Adrina a good night as she left. Adrina slid to the edge of the bed and stared at the fire building in the hearth, waiting for its warmth to chase the chill away and wanting to run to the open window so she could stare out into the darkness of the night.

  A knock on the private entry door followed by whispers caused her momentary alarm. She called out, "Lady Isador, is that you?"

  "Do I sound like Lady Isador?" came the reply.

  Adrina's heart skipped, tears of joy came to her eyes. "Emel?" she called out.

  "Of course," the voice said, "Are you going to let me in?"

  "Just a minute." Adrina slipped a robe around her and then opened the door. She almost ran into his arms, but caught herself on the first step. "Must remember your station, dear," she whispered to herself. They were Lady Isador's words, not her own.

  Emel moved closer to her and then with swiftness Adrina had never before witnessed, he grabbed her and clasped a hand to her mouth. Eyes round and wild, Adrina struggled against the hand raised to her mouth.

  "Do not scream," came the ominous whisper in her ear, "I will lower the hand, but do not scream."

  The voice was feminine now and Adrina recognized it as if from a dream, and then she recalled a thing forgotten. In that moment she looked up and the face and body were no longer Emel's. She stared then into the dark eyes, seeing the long black hair and knowing without doubt who the attacker was. Her eyes grew wider and her despair edged toward panic.

  As the hand was removed from her mouth and the restraining grip was released from about her shoulders, Adrina considered screaming. She could have easily and aid probably would have arrived within moments afterward, but she did not scream. Instead, she regarded the one that stood over her. "Calyin?" she asked.

  The other shook her head. "I am not my older sibling though at times I wish for such a simple life."

  Though Adrina had only vague pictures in her mind, she knew without a doubt who stood before her. "What are you doing in Imtal?" Adrina demanded, "How did you get into the palace? If you're caught, you'll be ejected from the city or worse, held for treason. Father will—"

  The woman touched a finger to Adrina's lips and said, "Father is the one I wish to see."

  Adrina regarded her sister. "Are you mad? After what you did to him and to the Kingdom. You were betrothed to Jarom of Vostok. Valam was put to a contest of steel and he nearly died."

  "Silence", the other commanded, using the voice as simply as she had used the illusion. "Listen to yourself. I am not chattel. I would not wed to Jarom of Vostok for I loved another, and now he is lost and I have sworn my love and my life to yet another." She passed warding hands about the air and added, "You must know what it is to love one that your station does not allow. Do you not, sister?"

  Adrina fought the urge to go to her then and ease the pain in her sister's eyes. Then finding strength, she said, "Midori, you must leave. Leave or I'll call the guards myself."

  Midori procured a small parcel from beneath her dark robes. "Father must read this. I must know the truth of it. If he is enthralled then there can be no hope."

  Adrina reached for the parcel. "Give it to me and then be gone! I'll give it to him for you."

  Midori said, "We were sisters once, you and I. Can you not remember?"

  "I remember." Adrina spoke the words bitterly and truthfully. "But there was so much pain, and then you made it so the pain swallowed me for three long years while you lived a life beyond these walls, a life without remembrance."

  Midori replied, her voice edged with pain, "I remembered it all, just not the way that you do. I lived with the pain and paid for the pain. I am still paying a debt that I never owed. Can you not see that? I had to leave. I had no other choice. Can you not find it in your heart to forgive me?"

  Adrina spat at her then. She didn't know why, she just did. "It is not something that I can forgive and father will not see you. To him you are dead; you died the day you left Imtal. He buried you in this thoughts beside mother."

  "I am flesh and blood," cried out Midori, "your blood, your kin. Touch my hand. Can you not feel it? The blood coursing through my veins is your blood. Our family. Our blood."

  "I understand," whispered Adrina. She did not take her sister's hand.

  "Can't you see, Adrina," implored Midori, "I've paid and I will pay always. The man I loved is no more and now I can never love another. Is that not payment enough?"

  "He will not see you," replied Adrina.

  "Adrina!" shouted Midori, as she fought to embrace her sister, "I would throw myself from this window if you wished it, but it would not resolve anything. I am asking you, imploring you, to take me to see father. Take him on a walk through the garden to the gazebo. I'll be there waiting and make sure you are alone."

  Adrina replied quickly, coldly, "Haven't you been listening to what I've said, I will not help you. You are on your own."

  Midori replied, "Sister, it is you who has not been listening. Do you think I would return for petty reasons? I have been running from this place ever since I left it. This is the last place I would ever return to by choice. Don't you see? This is something much greater than you or I, much greater! I must give him this and then the truth of it will be revealed to me."

  Adrina could resist her older sister no more. She collapsed into the others waiting arms, the weight of years passed around her shoulders. "This doesn't mean I've forgiven you," she whispered.

  "Not at all," the other replied.

  Vilmos bolted upright, unsure what had awoke
n him. Thoughts from the previous day came flooding into his mind. The Shaman. Midori. The drums. He heard the drums again and voices, and then for an instant all his thoughts stopped.

  No dreams, Vilmos realized. He had slept peacefully and nothing had awoken him until just now. The drums, he heard them again. Vilmos was about to speak when Xith clamped a hand to his mouth.

  "Not a sound," Xith whispered. "Take my hand."

  Vilmos nodded. His knees were trembling. He sat as Xith indicated he should.

  Quietly the two waited. The voices and drums grew steadily clearer and closer. Soon it became apparent whoever was out there was in the hills just beyond the edge of the clearing. Vilmos was ready to run but Xith sat very still, his eyes closed, his face pale and drawn, his hand clasped tightly to Vilmos'.

  From high overhead came the call of a hunter. Staring long, Vilmos caught sight of the grandest eagle he had ever seen. It was circling lazily over the hills and as Vilmos peered up at it, it turned a glistening black eye in his direction.

  Suspicious, Vilmos eyed Xith.

  The eagle called out again, a long piercing call, and then it folded its powerful wings and dove from the heavens. Vilmos held his breath as he watched the eagle plummet downward. It soared over the cliff's edge, down into the depths of the valley.

  Afterward the color returned to Xith's face and he released Vilmos' hand. "Hunters and trackers," Xith whispered, patting Vilmos on the back reassuringly. "They are from your village and the neighboring two."

  Vilmos turned a watchful eye to the hills. "Are they looking for me?"

  Xith shook his head. "As far as I can tell, they hunt an animal of some sort."

  "The bear, the black bear," Vilmos said, wide eyed. "It is dead, I killed it and then a girl appeared."

  Xith asked Vilmos to explain. Vilmos told him of the recent bear attacks and his own encounter with the bear. He didn't say anything about the girl that appeared after the bear died, however.

  Xith said, "Animals of the forest have a keen sense about them. We will have to keep our eyes open as we move north. To be sure, it would not be wise to travel north through Vangar Forest, and a descent into the valley from here shouldn't be too bad."

  A puzzled frown crossed Xith's face, his eyes darting toward the hills.

  Vilmos said, "You weren't expecting hunters and trackers. Who were you expecting, shaman?"

  "No need to trouble over the could-have-beens," Xith replied. "Are you hungry?"

  Vilmos agreed he was. Xith removed a thick slab of smoked beef and a loaf of black bread from his saddlebags.

  "Eat all you care to," Xith said. "It will be a long day."

  Vilmos quickly reached for the bread. "I am going home then? My parents will miss me if I am not home soon."

  Xith, busily cutting thin strips of beef, paused and then laid the knife aside. "Many, many years ago, I made a promise to a young couple who were very much in love. Five years they had been wed and still they had no children. They so wanted a child. I told them of a girl heavy with child in need of caring hands."

  Xith's eyes lost their gleam and there was evident sadness in his voice. "The girl, your mother, needed a secluded place to stay, a place where none knew her or that her child was without a father. I told the couple they must harbor the child's mother and see the child into the world without harm. Afterward the child would be theirs to keep and raise as their own. I also told them there was a price, for one day I would return for the child, but until that day—"

  "I want to talk to my mother," Vilmos cut in. "I'll tell her I am fine and that I am with you. She will understand, though I am sure she will tell you to make sure I am back before the next Seventhday."

  "You will not be home before the next Seventhday, Vilmos, or any other day." Xith paused to ensure Vilmos understood. "Your father was among those from the three villages. I could sense his anguish. He knew the day I spoke of those twelve years ago had come. Your feelings for him are wrong, you know. He loves you more than the air he breathes…

  "I stayed with them for three days when I escaped from the North with your mother. I told them the signs to watch for, the signs that would tell them I would return." Xith walked to the rim of the valley and gazed across the great span. "Your magic is what brought me to you, Vilmos. It was the reason your father was so exacting. He knew your use of magic would only hasten me to your door. It was his love that protected you from the cleansing that has taken so many other would-be magicians."

  Tears in his eyes, Vilmos turned away.

  "Do not be sad, young Vilmos. To be sure, Great Father and Mother-Earth will not let their sacrifice go unrewarded. Look now to the future and the days ahead. You have always known you would leave your home."

  Vilmos nodded. Closing his eyes, he pictured long brown hair touched with gray and tired eyes of blue.

  Xith turned Vilmos to face him and stared directly into his eyes. "It is time to start our journey. There is much to do, so very much to do. I would ask you now to come into my service. You could think of it as an apprenticeship of sorts. I can teach you of the powers within you and would have you enter my service of your own free will, yet there are things I must first tell you."

  Vilmos nodded.

  Xith began, clearly and slowly, "Know that you can stay if that is your intent. Know also, the fourth comes. It brings the dark priests and they will not be as kind as I. They will bring a sentence of death upon you and upon those you love, as that is the law."

  Vilmos shuddered at the mention of the dark priests. Their task was to purge the land of magic, a task they had carried out across the centuries.

  "Or you can come with me now. I will do my best to teach you control over your powers. And though I am not human, I can teach you the way of the Human Magus." Xith's tone became firm. "A very difficult trial awaits in the coming days, and in this I need your help. Will you help me, Vilmos?"

  "Lillath will be lonely," Vilmos said, wiping tears from wet cheeks. "Will they ever have another child?"

  Xith's eyes became distant and it was as if he was searching an unknown place. Time passed and then the long silence came to an end with Xith saying, "In time, Lillath will have a child. They will find peace."

  Vilmos could sense the truth of the words and questioned no further on the matter. "What of the dreams, are they gone?"

  Vilmos watched odd expressions cross Xith's face. Something told him that until that moment Xith had been sure the dreams were gone, but now as he looked into Vilmos' eyes he wasn't sure anymore. Then finally, Xith said, "Have you made your choice, Vilmos?"

  Without hesitation Vilmos said, "I wish to go with you."

  Xith's face betrayed no emotion, pleased or otherwise. He waved his hand, beckoning Vilmos to follow him.

  King Andrew regarded the hooded messenger that knelt before him as he returned the bit of parchment to waiting hands. "You are more than a day late with this news messenger. What say you?"

  The hooded figure rose, but did not speak.

  "What say you?" repeated the king. Adrina raised a hand to her father's shoulder. "How do we know that we can trust such news? What proof have you to anything written in this letter?"

  "She is mute father," whispered Adrina in the king's ear.

  "She?" inquired Andrew. "As I have said messenger, you are more than a day late with this news. I'm sure King Jarom's spies are already aware of that fact, so you needn't prod for anything more. If you seek proof to give to your master, I will tell you that it is so. Begone from my site...Guards, guards!"

  Four armed figures launched out of the shadows toward the gazebo, two with swords drawn, two with readied crossbows.

  "Father, you promised no guardsmen!" protested Adrina, "You promised safe passage."

  "Withdraw the hood or one of the guardsmen will do it for you," King Andrew commanded, "and if you raise that blade from beneath your robes messenger—yes, the one you are fingering even now—they will kill you before you take a single step."
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br />   "Withdraw the hand slowly," ordered one of the guardsmen stepping up behind the hooded figure, while another stepped between the figure and the king.

  Heedless of the warning, Midori continued to draw her hand up from beneath her robes. A shiny handle could be seen protruding from her robes now and one of the crossbowmen moved to get a clearer shot, his finger resting on the releasing mechanism.

  "Withdraw the hand slowly," repeated the head guardsman.

  Midori took an ominous step towards King Andrew, attempting to get around the guard in front of her.

  "No!" Adrina screamed as she launched from her seat at the crossbowman, striking him in the flank and deflecting his shot harmlessly into the courtyard. "You want them to kill you don't you? Are you mad?" shouted Adrina.

  One of the guardsmen grabbed the concealed hand, while the other latched onto the hood that concealed the messenger's face. "It is a scroll your majesty, a scroll."

  "Yes, that is clear," retorted Andrew, his face turning ashen. "Hand me the scroll guardsman and have your men withdraw."

  "But sire," the head guardsman protested.

  King Andrew waved his hand; only he had recognized the revealed face that was still partially obscured in a tangle of dark hair and thick hood. Andrew said nothing as Midori returned the hood about her head, though the color did begin to return to his face a short time afterward.

  "You should have let them kill me," hissed Midori, pursing her lips and directing her words at Adrina.

  King Andrew turned his attention to the scroll. He uncoiled it and slowly began to read. When he finished, he turned back to Midori in a stately manner. He was taken aback by the message contained in the scroll, though you couldn't tell this by his face or by his words, only by his posture. "As already stated, the group departed for the South a few days ago. You are too late."

  "I am not a foolish child any more, I know the ways of your thoughts. The decoys are still caught in battle in the foothills around Imtal," returned Midori. "I know you plan another and that this one aims to move the royal household to the safety of Alderan. You must go with them; I have seen the parting paths. As the scroll states, the son will fall before the father and then the kingdom will be lost."