As the distance between the groups closed, Aldric noted the woman, riding ahead of her companion, was slight of build, with dark hair cropped short. The man was obviously a warrior, tall and broad-shouldered. He rode with the hilt of his sword close to his right hand and wore mail underneath his clothes. To Aldric’s sorcerer-trained eyes they appeared normal, but to scry them to find out more about them would mean using dusk-tide power.
“Is either of them a sorcerer?” he asked Soki. “At this distance I can’t tell.”
She shook her head. “No. Unless they’re extremely skilled at hiding it.”
“Well, that’s something.” Aldric rolled his shoulders, which were stiff and sore. His head was fuzzy from not enough restful sleep. Not just the stress of the mission, but his use of the relic. And he really needed more time to recover from the exertions of his healing.
The woman rode awkwardly, seeming unused to horseback, and looked haggard and her short hair stuck up in spikes. In contrast, the man rode smoothly, at ease and relaxed. As they neared, he urged his horse ahead of the woman’s and halted it when still twenty yards away. He was clad in worn traveler’s gear—thick pants and shirt, and a sturdy brown coat—though they were of surprising quality.
Aldric heard Bryn shift and glanced back to see him gripping the hilt of his sword, knuckles white, and staring at the big man. Stray Dog had also noticed and had a frown on his face.
“You know him, Bryn?” Aldric asked.
Bryn hesitated, then shook his head. “No. But I know a dangerous man when I see one.”
Stray Dog grunted at Bryn’s assessment.
Niklaus chuckled. “There’s dangerous, and then there’s dangerous.”
“Greetings!” called the newcomer. “What town is this?”
His voice was strong and syrupy, and Aldric could see his bright blue eyes and chiseled features. He heard Soki mutter her approval, and Niklaus laughed again.
Aldric swallowed his annoyance and stepped forward. “This settlement is named Cherish,” he said. “You’re welcome here, both of you. The settlers are … not the friendliest, but I’m sure they’ll provide food and lodging for a few royals.”
The man smiled and nodded. “Good. My name is Gannon. And this is Kurio. We need some rest. Especially my companion. She’s had a rough time of it lately.” His gaze traveled across the group, lingering for an instant on each of them. “This is a warm welcome.”
Aldric heard the unspoken question in his words. Seven turned out to greet two travelers, if that was what they were.
“The settlers aren’t as dour as Aldric here makes out,” Soki called. “I’m Sokhelle.”
“We have some tea brewing,” added Valeria. “Not that it’s very good. And we also have some questions for you.”
Gannon dismounted smoothly and gestured for Kurio to do the same. She obeyed inelegantly and moved to join him, leading her horse. As they walked toward the group, Aldric found himself noting Gannon’s similarities to Niklaus. Both had a fluid way of moving and a confidence that bordered on arrogance. He glanced at the man’s sword hanging from his hip and saw it was plain and serviceable. Nothing unusual there.
The travelers stopped, and Gannon placed a hand on Kurio’s shoulder. She frowned and glanced up at him, but didn’t move away. Aldric saw that she wore a knife at her belt and a crossbow slung over her shoulder.
“Questions?” Gannon said. “About what? We’re tired and hungry. Perhaps they can wait?”
“I’m afraid not,” Aldric said. “We perceived sorcery last night from your location. And someone died.”
“He was a pig,” Kurio said. She ran a hand through her hair, and Aldric noticed red marks circling her wrist. Her hand dropped to touch a metal collar around her throat. “He tortured me. And if any of you get too close, I’ll kill you.”
“Now, now, that’s no way to greet people, Kurio.” Gannon turned to Aldric. “She’s been through much over the last few days. Really, we just want to recuperate, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Recuperate?” scoffed Niklaus. “Then you’ve come to the wrong place. There’s a horde of Dead-eyes about to descend upon us.”
“I shouldn’t think you’d have any trouble disposing of such pests,” Gannon said. “Your little group looks more than capable of looking after itself and this quaint village.”
“There was something else,” Soki said. “I sensed a … presence. An ancient being … I’m not sure what exactly.”
“Kurio,” Gannon said, “perhaps you should tell them what happened to you and what you saw.”
Kurio swallowed and nodded. “I was … kidnapped,” she began haltingly. “In Caronath. Some freak who … I don’t know what he planned for me, but … it wasn’t pleasant. He manacled my hands together. Kept me chained.” She brandished her forearms at them. Her wrists were abraded raw. “Last night, in the dark, I … freed myself.”
There was more to this story, Aldric decided. She’d been kidnapped, yet she carried a crossbow and knife. Still, she might have stolen them from the man who was killed.
“He fell,” Soki said. “Down a cliff.”
Kurio’s head jerked in a nod. “There was another who saw it. I think it was a wraithe. My … captor called it one.”
Another wraithe, and in so short a space of time, when Aldric had never before seen one? He’d put his encounter in the wilderness down to chance. But now he had the niggling thought that the meeting had been by design.
“What did it look like?” he asked.
“Frightening,” Kurio said. “It kept its face obscured with a hood. It had powerful sorcery.”
“So that’s what we felt,” muttered Soki.
“It spoke a language I didn’t recognize. At least, it did at first. Then it switched to Nan-Rhouric. I’d thought the wraithes were myths. But …” Kurio shrugged.
Aldric knew better, from his education, as would Soki. But to see a myth come to life must have been terrifying for this woman.
“Well, this ‘old presence’ you sensed is gone now,” Gannon said. “Who knows what its purpose was? As for me, when I realized Kurio had been kidnapped, I trailed her and her tormentor from Caronath.” He gave a wry smile. “Though it seems she didn’t need my assistance. Such a talented woman. If I don’t miss my guess, you have your own reasons for being here. Whatever they are, we won’t stand in your way. Chance brought us here, and we’ll leave as soon as we can.”
“We could use an extra sword when the Dead-eyes come,” Niklaus said.
“You’re welcome to my help,” Gannon said. “Fewer Dead-eyes will make for a brighter world. And that’s what we all hope for, isn’t it?”
“We’ll be gone as soon as we can,” echoed Kurio. “Maybe tomorrow. This fresh mountain air is already doing me good.”
To Aldric, she looked pale and distraught.
“Then it’s settled,” Soki said brightly. “You’re welcome here.”
“As I said, there’s tea brewing,” said Valeria. “It’s terrible, but you’re welcome to it. Come, I want to hear more about this wraithe.”
On the way to the meeting hall, Gannon traded small talk and banter with Soki, Bryn, and Aldric, and even managed to coax a slight smile from Priska. Niklaus was quiet, and as usual Stray Dog said nothing either. Inside, the newcomers settled by the fire, and Stray Dog added a few more logs to the coals. Valeria and Soki bustled around, and soon everyone had mugs of steaming tea to warm their hands.
“So you’re the leader here?” Gannon said, his eyes meeting Aldric’s, piercingly sharp. “You’re a motley band, if you’ll forgive my familiarity.”
“My Church, and Niklaus’s, sent a team to deal with the Dead-eyes plaguing the settlement,” Aldric explained. “There’s also a ruin close by, which I’d suggest you steer clear of.”
“Of course,” Gannon said. “I’ve heard terrible tales of the creatures that inhabit them, from the times before. And of what happens to foolish adventurers that attempt to loot them
.”
“I’ve heard some of the ruins are traps,” Kurio added, surprising Aldric.
Gannon gave her a sharp look.
“Where did you hear that?” Soki asked curiously.
Kurio shrugged and took a sip of tea. “A scholar at the university in Caronath. He said some of the ruins caused the cataclysms. It sounded unbelievable to me.”
“You were right to be skeptical,” Gannon said. “Valeria, my dear, could I please have more of that delicious tea?”
“I’d hardly call it delicious,” said Valeria, jumping up to pour more for him. “But I did my best.” She smiled at him, and he raised his mug to her.
“During my days in the wilderness chasing after Kurio,” he said, “all I drank was pine needles steeped in water.”
Valeria gave a mock shudder.
“Surely your situation wasn’t that dire?” said Soki.
“A little poetic license,” Gannon said, and the two women laughed.
Aldric didn’t join in their merriment. The attitude of the two travelers to each other made him wary. Gannon acted as if they were old friends, yet Kurio looked at him all doe-eyed, and she sat so close as to be almost touching him. She looked fairly uneasy with everyone else though. Perhaps her behavior was a result of all she’d been through since her abduction.
~ ~ ~
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, with Aldric, Niklaus, Bryn, Stray Dog, and now Gannon going over maneuvers with the settlers to ensure they were clear about what they needed to do. Last night’s incursion had happened when they were disorganized, and they didn’t want a repeat of the confusion.
They ran through the spear drills again and showed the settlers how to wield pitchforks against the fast-moving Dead-eyes. But with any luck, Aldric thought, the settlers would only have to clean up the Dead-eyes the experienced warriors missed, or those that breached the defenses. Soki’s and Priska’s sorcery would help on that account, by shielding the barricades to further deter the creatures.
By the end of the afternoon, most of the settlers were in a foul mood after being sworn at by Niklaus and Bryn.
“Enough!” called Aldric. “We all need to rest. Everyone, go home, and catch a couple of hours sleep if you can; then we’ll meet just before sunset. It’ll be a long night, but gods willing, you’ll all make it through. Then the threat of the Dead-eyes will be gone.”
There was worried muttering among the settlers.
“Did you think this would be easy?” Niklaus shouted at them. “One night! That’s all you have to get through. Do you have the balls to last one night?”
The settlers left scowling, clutching their simple weapons as if they were talismans.
“A surly bunch,” remarked Gannon. “I would have thought that with the Dead-eyes coming, they’d welcome having you around. Although a few like that Drusst fellow seem to have taken a shine to you.”
“Bloody farmers,” said Bryn. “Sheep who fear the wolf, then when they find another wolf to protect them, they fear it too. Dirt grubbers. No thought to the future.” His eyes flicked to Gannon, then away.
“It is best to consider your future,” said Gannon. “At least I find it so. Age creeps up on you, doesn’t it?” He laughed softly. “As warriors, our strength is fleeting.”
“None of us are old men yet,” snapped Bryn.
“But we will be,” Gannon said. “That’s my point. Time wearies every man.”
Niklaus shrugged. “Most warriors don’t get to take their last breath lying in bed.”
“This talk is too maudlin for me,” Aldric said, turning away. “I still need to see what sorcery Soki and Priska have come up with for the barricades before I can rest.”
He was tired, and the reality was, he still didn’t know who he could trust. If he was honest, everyone was an unknown foisted on him by his Church.
On the way back to the meeting hall, Gannon clasped Aldric’s arm. “I need a quiet word,” he said. “Away from the others.”
“What is troubling you?” Aldric asked.
To his surprise, he found himself with a cant at the ready. Was it coincidence that Gannon and Kurio had arrived in Cherish just before full-dark? Or something more sinister?
Gannon remained silent until the others were out of earshot. When he turned to Aldric, his expression was one of pure misery. A flock of birds erupted from trees to swarm the sky, their shadows flickering over the fields.
“How much danger are we in?” he asked. “I have to know.”
Aldric shrugged. “Not much, I hope. We’ve prepared as best we can, and we have a few skilled warriors and sorcerers to fight the Dead-eyes.”
Gannon nodded and clasped his hands together as if nervous. “It’s Kurio I’m worried about. When she was taken, I was beside myself. I felt physically sick. But I didn’t let my fear control me. Instead, I asked around and was lucky. Coin loosens tongues.”
Aldric waited, not sure why Gannon was confiding in him.
“I discovered that she’d been taken north from Caronath, and again I was lucky—I caught up to them a few days later. But by then, it was all over. Kurio had rescued herself.”
“You care for her,” Aldric said softly. It made the stranger less of an enigma. His distress at Kurio’s fate showed he was as vulnerable as anyone. For it was clear to Aldric that he loved Kurio.
Gannon nodded, still not meeting Aldric’s gaze. “I’ll fight alongside you,” he said. “I’ve killed a few Dead-eyes in my time, and another blade might make all the difference. I want to protect Kurio, and the settlers of course. I just … I wanted you to know why I’m here, my motivation. You can count on me.”
He looked up then, his bright blue eyes piercing Aldric’s.
“Good,” Aldric said. “I understand how it feels to care for someone, to want to protect them.”
And once the Dead-eyes had been dealt with, Gannon and Kurio would travel back to Caronath and leave the rest of them to finish up the mission.
“Is there someone back in Caronath waiting for you?” Gannon asked. “Family?”
Aldric shook his head. “I have no wife. My role with my Church keeps me busy, and I travel often. My family is far away, in a village just outside Nagorn City.”
“You’re a long way from home. It sounds like you lead a hard life. When you’re back in Caronath, you should come to my home for dinner. I’m a decent cook, and a taste of family life will do you good.”
“I’d like that. Thank you.”
“So, no siblings?”
“I have a sister, Kittara. She’s growing up too fast—she’s headstrong.”
Gannon chuckled. “As we all were at that age.”
“I guess. She chafes at the fact she has to help on the farm.”
“Well, I’m sure she’ll settle down, like all adolescents. She’s … not a sorcerer like you?”
Aldric frowned. “How did you know?”
“Your talisman. It’s a giveaway.”
“So it is. No, my sister isn’t a sorcerer. And at her age, I don’t think she’ll manifest any power.”
“Such things can happen though. At least so I was taught,” Gannon said.
Aldric was surprised by the reply. Gannon must have had a good education to know this fact. Then again, his costly clothes and erudition showed he’d grown up wealthy, so perhaps it wasn’t so astonishing.
“It’s rare,” he admitted. “A long time ago, it was less so.”
When Nysrog’s demons had somehow pushed people with latent sorcerous ability into fully functioning sorcerers. It was one reason they’d gained so many followers. The lure of arcane power was great among the weak-willed and a reward few had thought possible.
“I’d better get back,” he said to Gannon. “Thank you for confiding in me. I appreciate it.”
“It’s the least I could do. It seems we’re all in this together.”
~ ~ ~
The sun descended inexorably, and the dusk-tide washed over Aldric. Usually he pre
ferred privacy, but didn’t want to wander outside alone as full-dark approached. He gave a violent shudder as he reluctantly availed himself of its resonance, replenishing his repository. He might need all the power he could muster for the fighting ahead.
“Are you all right?” Kurio asked him.
He’d not even noticed she was in the room. His gaze seemed to slide right over her unless he concentrated. Perhaps it was because she was so still and covered by blankets.
Aldric gave her a reassuring smile to cover his surprise. “I’m fine. Just a chill. So tell me, what do you do in Caronath?”
She gave him a sidelong look. “I find things for people. It doesn’t pay much, but it keeps me in food and shelter.”
“I guess what I’m trying to ask is, can you look after yourself when the Dead-eyes come? That crossbow: did you take it off the man who kidnapped you?”
He noticed her hand stray to touch a strange turtle figurine attached to her belt. “Yes. It looks well made,” she said. “I thought perhaps I could sell it.”
“If you don’t mind,” Aldric said, “I could heal your wrists. It won’t take long and only a little power.”
“I … I’d like that.”
“And your collar … Did he put that on you? There’s a blacksmith here. Perhaps he could remove it?”
“Perhaps.” One of her fingers tugged at the metal band. “Do your healing, then. But don’t expect any favors.”
Blood suffused Aldric’s face. “I wouldn’t … I won’t ask anything of you.”
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit prickly at the moment.”
Taking Kurio’s hand in his, he found it firm and hard, as if she wasn’t used to a sedentary life. Her palms were abraded and red.
“Breathe,” he said. “Stay calm, and let Menselas flow through you.”
“What?”
“My god. My power to heal comes from him. Just as other gods and goddesses gift power to their priests and priestesses.”
“And demons? Where do they get their power?”
Aldric involuntarily squeezed her hand before he caught himself. “What do you know of demons? You mean the man who …”
Revenant Winds Page 39
