The roar of pain and fury was terrible to hear, and it was so loud that Olyva had to cover her ears with her hands. Blood was pouring into the ground from the wound. The heavy spear was wagging as the animal tried to find an escape. Olyva could see the red fibers of severed muscles and the bloody bulge of intestines being pushed out by the animal’s efforts.
She approached the creature slowly, glancing up the hill at Desyra, who had stopped when she heard the beast’s death cries. She looked pale and terrified, but also relieved. Olyva took hold of the end of the spear and jerked hard to free it from the animal’s body. The creature roared in pain again, but this time the sound was much weaker. Its jaws snapped at Olyva, but she was too far away to be in danger. She raised the spear and drove it down into the animal’s chest. The head dropped onto the ground like a stone, and the long tongue flopped out between the animal’s massive teeth.
Olyva stood frozen for a moment, her hands still on the shaft of the spear, then her emotions took over, and she cried. All the fear that had fled when the creature attacked now seemed to fall on her like a torrential rain. Her hands shook, and her knees felt weak.
“Is it safe?” Desyra asked. “Is it dead?”
Olyva nodded her head, trying to hold back tears that wouldn’t obey.
“Can I come back?” Desyra asked in a shaky voice.
“Yes,” Olyva said, picking up the pack that lay on the ground near her feet. She pulled out a sharp knife and looked back at the creature she had just killed. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Chapter 14
Rafe
His nerves were getting the best of him. It was mid-day, and he paced along the mighty stone wall that surrounded Avondale. His soldiers sensed his mood and gave him a wide berth. Over the last several days, Rafe had made sweeping changes to the city’s defenses. First had been a systematic distribution of the city’s armory. Weapons and armor, most not used in decades, were taken out of the large storehouse and divided among several caches throughout the city. Every squad was on high alert, with some even sleeping at their posts to ensure the war band wasn’t caught off guard.
Then came the changes to the city’s legendary ballistas. The huge weapons were capable of firing bolts that were taller than a man, nearly a thousand feet from their positions on the city walls. The weapons were used to drive back the massive creatures that sometimes wandered too near the city, but Rafe had repositioned the ballistas to fire up into the air. There were several catapults under construction on the city gates, as well, and more on the roof of the earl’s palace.
Another full unit, over 150 men, had been given secret orders. They were gathering weapons and supplies to escort Olyva and the citizens of Avondale if they were forced to flee the city. But Olyva hadn’t returned. She had taken supplies for four days—not that she needed food the way normal people did, but Desyra certainly did. Those rations would have run out the day before, but Olyva and her sister were still missing. He felt both fear and guilt. Rafe wavered between blaming himself for not going with her and blaming himself for not letting her leave with Tiberius the way she’d planned.
He’d sent men to the southern gate, with instructions to report to him as soon as possible if Olyva returned to that side of the city. It was possible that Olyva was already back and the soldiers just hadn’t had time to make the long journey around the city walls to inform him. At a run, a soldier with weapons could cross from one side of the city to the other in just over an hour. Still, even if Olyva was back now, that meant that her mission had run into trouble. Perhaps a pack of graypees had wounded her and even now she was suffering somewhere, hoping he would find her. But he wouldn’t leave the city, even if Olyva never returned. He was where he was needed most, and even though Olyva was now his wife, he couldn’t abandon his post to go in search of her.
“Commander,” said a calm looking member of the earl’s guard. “The earl would like to speak with you.”
“Of course,” Rafe said, holding down the furious tirade of profanity that he wanted to shout at the guard. He didn't want to speak to the earl or see anyone but Olyva. And he wouldn't be satisfied until he knew she was safe.
He followed the man back down off the wall and into the palace. The earl’s residence and the city’s political center was very active. Earl Ageus was not just healthy again; he seemed robust and full of energy. He had met with every single minister, grilling them on the changes that Leonosis had enacted as acting earl in his father’s place. The taxes the city paid to the king were kept mostly on the palace grounds, but those goods—crops, timber, wool, and hylum—had been loaded into wagons and made ready for the city’s evacuation. The citizens of Avondale knew nothing of the earl’s plans, but rumors were buzzing throughout the town. Everyone knew that something was afoot, and the buildup of the earl’s war band meant that whatever was in the works wasn’t good news.
The city’s entire corps of paladins, normally in charge of policing the city, had been conscripted by the earl’s war band. Crops were being harvested early, and servants were busy butchering animals, which were then loaded with salt and packed into barrels. Some of the city’s priests were spreading prophecies about Addoni’s wrath and pointing to the earthquakes, which were now a daily occurrence. Many people saw the frenzied activity at the earl’s palace and guessed that the city’s wealth was being preserved in case something happened to the mountain, but others argued that it didn’t make sense for the war band to be on high alert if the mountain was the earl’s only concern.
The wisest citizens were able to piece together enough facts to understand that Leonosis, the new King of Valana, and his father were not getting along. A feud in the royal family could easily mean war. What no one had considered, at least to Rafe’s knowledge, was that the city might be forced to evacuate to the blighted lands.
Rafe was led to the earl’s audience hall where Ageus was pacing as he listened to the report by one of his many counselors. Rafe waited patiently while the man explained that they were running dangerously low on salt.
“Smoke the meat,” the earl said. “We don’t have time to cure it.”
“But my lord,” the man complained. “We won’t have enough stock to replenish our herds at this rate.”
“Did I ask you about replenishing our herds?” Earl Ageus asked angrily. “I want them slaughtered and preserved! I want your people working day and night. Do you understand? Day and night!”
“Yes, your greatness,” the servant said, bowing. “I will see to it immediately.”
“Excellent,” the earl said. “Rafe, come with me.”
Several of the other ministers looked frustrated, but the earl ignored them. Only Rafe understood the stress that Ageus was under. The attack by Leonosis’ war ships couldn’t be far off, and if Olyva was right about the mountain, even if they survived a war, they would still have to abandon the city.
“My lord, you wanted to see me,” Rafe said once the earl closed the door to his audience hall.
They were in a small anteroom, but a posh one. Rafe guessed it was set up to allow the earl a comfortable place to escape to when the demands on his time grew too stressful. Earl Ageus dropped into a thickly cushioned chair and waved for Rafe to sit in another.
“How are things on the wall?” the earl asked.
“We’re almost ready,” Rafe explained. “The catapults are still being constructed, and stone gathered to serve as ammunition. Timber bolts for the ballistas are coming in regularly, but I still wish we had more. The pitch has been mixed, the men briefed. There’s not much more that can be done at this point.”
“And the unit that will accompany the citizens?”
“It’s half soldiers, half paladins. They don’t know they’ll be leading people down the mountain. I didn’t see the need to tell them that. The rumors are already running rampant.”
“Yes,” the earl said wearily. “I know it. I sincerely hope that people will follow your wife out of the city when the time co
mes. Has she returned?”
“No,” Rafe said, his voice dropping. “She should be back by now.”
“Have a little faith. Our future is bleak enough without adding undue worry to it.”
“We can beat Leonosis,” Rafe said.
“To what end?” the earl asked. “Even the mountain has turned against us. We need only hold off my son’s attack until the city can be evacuated.”
“And if Olyva doesn’t return?” Rafe asked.
“She will,” the earl said. “She must. The transition will be hard enough, but Olyva can make things easier. I see a bright future for the two of you.”
“I hope you’re right, my lord.”
“I’m the earl,” Ageus said. “I’m always right.”
They laughed, and then the earl turned serious again.
“Rafe, when the fighting begins in earnest, I have no doubt our men will show their quality. I want you to consider leaving the city with your wife. Wait,” he said, holding up a hand to forestall Rafe’s objection. “Hear me out. I can lead the fighting here. This is my city and my duty, but you have a greater destiny. Tiberius will return, and when he does, you should be at his side.”
“I will be,” Rafe said. “But I won’t leave you alone. My father’s duty has fallen to me, and I won’t leave you here. I can’t.”
“You should,” the earl said. “I will be more at ease knowing you are safe.”
“I am honored that you would think of me, but I cannot shirk my duty. Nor would I leave our city’s defenses to anyone else.”
“You don’t think an old man like me can do the job as well as you?”
There was a twinkle in the earl’s eye, and Rafe realized he was joking. He had never heard the earl make a joke. In fact, he’d never seen Tiberius’ father be anything but gruff and demanding.
“There was a time, Rafe, when your father and I were young. We were the best of friends. My father was still earl, and your father was just a soldier. He hadn’t won his reputation yet. We had such dreams, then, such ambitions. Yet somewhere in the middle of life, I managed to lose sight of what was really important. Your father never did that.”
“He was a hard man and a demanding father.”
“He saw greatness in you,” the earl said, wagging a finger at Rafe. “And he was right. I see it, too, now that the blinders of greed and spite have been lifted from me. I would give everything to go back and raise my own children the right way.”
“Tiberius is a good man,” Rafe said.
“He’s a good man in spite of me. And in spite of his mother, I dare say. Your own father was more of a parent to Tiberius than I was. Yet somehow he has managed to have more honor and goodness than the rest of us put together. I was on my deathbed begging to die. I was never religious, Rafe, despite all the years I went to the temple. It was all for show, but in the end I realized how foolish all my pursuits were. Power, wealth, jealousy—did you know I was jealous of your father? His fame with the sword surpassed my renown, as it should have, but all I could see was anger and resentment. I didn’t want to be the nameless earl, the one with the sword master. I let my pettiness destroy our friendship, and yet your father still gave his life for me. How can I ever repay that debt, Rafe? It’s impossible and it weighs on me. I don’t want you to waste your life defending a wretched old man who treated your father so poorly.”
“I don’t know how my father felt about you,” Rafe said. “To be honest, I didn’t know how he felt about me until just before he died. But I do know this—Tiberius loves you. He is fighting to save Avondale and all Valana. I can’t help him on his quest, but I can protect what he loves most. So I will stay. I will do everything in my power to protect you and to give Tiberius the time he needs to destroy the evil that has taken root in Sparlan Citadel. That is how I will honor my friendship and my father.”
The earl nodded.
“So be it.”
Chapter 15
Tiberius
Waking up was difficult. It was still completely dark, and it took Tiberius several moments to remember where he was. His back was aching. The climb through the twisted forest had been incredibly hard, forcing him to contort his body and use muscles he’d been babying since having the Balestone removed from his body.
He rubbed his face and took several deep breaths. He wanted to stand and stretch his stiff muscles, but Lexi was asleep on his shoulder. He stroked her face until she woke up. He felt her body stiffen but he quickly reassured her that everything was all right.
“It’s okay,” he said. “We’re safe. Just time to get moving again.”
“I just fell asleep,” she complained. “It’s so dark—how can you know what time it is?”
“I’m certain—come on.”
He rubbed her shoulders and scratched her back until she stopped complaining. He was tired, too, but he was also anxious. They were close to their goal, and he couldn’t help but feel the excitement of approaching the heart of old magic in the world before the cataclysm had destroyed it all. In his mind he could see the wizards and their apprentices walking through the town’s wide streets. There was a time when the ruins they were in was a bustling place full of ideas and optimism. He hoped there might be some books on magic that he could find along their way. He was desperate for more magical knowledge, and missing the opportunity to collect the books the old wizard in Devonyr had collected was still difficult for Tiberius to accept.
They ate a little, but neither had much appetite. Once they had crawled back out of the building they were sheltering in, they tried to see any sign of sunlight overhead, but there were too many twisted branches and trunks, so Tiberius summoned his magical light.
“Fulsi,” he said softly, immediately smothering the bright light that wanted to shine out in all directions.
Instead, he forced the light to shine down at their feet, so they could see where they were going, but everything else was merely shadow.
“How are we going to find anything like this?” Lexi said.
“I don’t know,” Tiberius said. “But I don’t want to attract unwanted attention.”
“You think there are more of those creatures that chased us?”
“Maybe,” Tiberius said, not saying what he really thought.
The creature they had run from the day before wasn’t really a predator. It didn’t want to kill them, but rather just force them out of its territory. If they ran into something that wanted to eat them, they might have a much more difficult time escaping.
They wandered through the ruins and between the thick trunks of the huge trees. Tiberius hoped they would find something that would mark the difference between the town and the old commune where the Order of Wizards had hidden the Emerystone. But everything seemed the same, and the forest was so crowded with trees and debris that they were forced to change directions often. Soon, Tiberius was afraid they were wandering in circles.
“Are you sure you’re headed the right way?” Lexi asked after a while.
“I think so. Something is driving me forward.”
“Could it be just your desire to succeed?”
“It could be,” he admitted. “It could also be a sense of something magical.”
“I’m totally lost,” Lexi said. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to find our way back.”
“I can use my Find North spell,” Tiberius said. “If we keep moving south, we’ll find the commune. And then we’ll be able to get back to the tunnel, I’m sure of it.”
“I wish I could be as certain as you are. All this darkness makes me feel hopeless.”
Tiberius tried to remain positive. He didn’t like the darkness either. The air was humid and rank with the smell of earth and decay. There was no wind, and the trees seemed to hold the heat in so that they were both sweating as they walked along. The straps on Ti’s pack dug into his shoulders, and his feet hurt from walking on the uneven terrain, but despite it all, he kept moving forward.
“Repperi Arctoa,” he said,
occasionally checking to ensure they were moving south. The Find North spell forced him to turn, almost as if some invisible force were twisting his shoulders. Once he was facing north, the force vanished, and he relaxed. He was then able to turn around and lead them south.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. They hadn’t eaten much that morning, so Tiberius guessed it was still early when he felt hunger stirring in his stomach. They stopped and ate lunch, which was more of the same bland rations as the night before. They sipped their water, which was warm and tasted like the wooden barrel it had been stored in on the war ship. They were so hot and tired, they were tempted to guzzle it all down, so they forced themselves to drink just enough to keep them going.
The thought of being lost in the darkness was terrifying. The gloom at the forest floor and the shadowy trunks of the trees all around them made Tiberius feel as if the darkness were alive. The weight of the huge trees seemed to press in on him, and his mind fought against a sense of panic that kept flaring up. They heard animals but saw nothing. They had no idea if what they heard were small forest creatures or horrific beasts, but Tiberius’ imagination attributed every sound to a horrific monster that was just waiting to pounce on them.
Hour after hour passed; eventually the ruins stopped appearing in the darkness, and Tiberius guessed they had passed through the town. Now there was nothing around them except for the dark trees, and Tiberius had to fight his own doubts. Maybe they weren’t in the right place. Maybe they had passed through the wizards’ commune without even knowing it.
Lexi walked beside Tiberius almost as silently as his shadow. She let him lead the way and didn’t question him. This was his mission, and she was there to support him. It made him feel good to know she was there, but it also terrified him that he might be leading her to some horrible fate. She could have waited on the ship in safety and been at least comfortable, but he was glad she was there. He felt selfish for wanting to keep her so near him, but her presence gave him a confidence that he sorely needed in the gloom of the forest.
Avondale V Page 9
