His Final Secret

by M. R. Forbes

  It too was deserted, though there were half-eaten meals still on the table, showing that the residents had been evacuated in a hurry. They knew he was coming, and they expected him to find his way inside the Academy. They hadn't been given much time to prepare for it.

  It didn't matter either way. Whether they were surprised by his arrival or prepared, he had eight juggernauts at his back, each of them immune to the magic of however many Mediators and Acolytes there were, each of them more than powerful enough to tear through an army of soldiers. And he was the First of Nine, the Champion of Ares'Nor.

  "Find them," he told the juggernauts. "Find the wizards."

  The Carriers moved together as one. They crossed the dining hall towards the far wall, opposite the stained glass window. Another door rested there, large and heavy. They pushed it open, feeding out into the next space with Talon trailing right behind.

  Light streamed down from the massive dome that sat atop the center of the Academy, thousands of points of magical light arranged in formation to resemble the night sky and at the same time provide more illumination. Spirals of balconies ran along the dome from the peak nearly a hundred feet up, lined with soldier after soldier, each with a bow notched with an arrow, each pointed towards the Liar.

  The ground level was rich in marble flooring and columns, an open expanse that could be utilized for all types of events and gatherings. Now it was being used to stage an army, with hundreds of soldiers surrounding edges of the room, while two dozen Mediators and Acolytes spread across the middle.

  Overlord Olmas waited in the thick of it all. His staff was in his hand, his rings were on his fingers. Delia was being held by an Overguard on his left. Wilem by an Overguard on his right.

  "Welcome back to the Academy, General Talon Rast," Olmas said. "I heard you might be stopping by."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Eryn

  "Thank you, Worm," Eryn said, taking the handful of berries the painted man offered her. She dumped half in one hand and reached back with the other.

  Worm waved his hand, refusing them.

  "You must be starving."

  He shrugged, but Eryn knew he had to be hungry. Food had been scarce enough once they had started their trek through the Killorn Pass. The increasing cold made berry bushes like the one Worm had raided harder to find.

  "Is that really your name? Worm?"

  He looked at her thoughtfully before shrugging again. She guessed that General Spyne had started calling him that, and it had stuck.

  "Do you have a name?"

  Another stare. Another shrug.

  They had left the reactor two weeks earlier, circling back down the mountain and across to the road that had been partially carved into the mountains that separated Elling province from the provinces in the east. Eryn had tried to engage the strange painted man in conversation on many occasions since then, but for the longest while he didn't respond to her at all, keeping his head straight and his eyes focused on the path ahead of them regardless of if she were speaking to him or not.

  Only when they had to stop for her to relieve herself, have something to eat, or sleep did he seem to break out of the trance and almost become a person again.

  A mysterious person with the sigil of Genesia on his back.

  Not that he had been rough with her or forced her into a pace she couldn't manage. In fact, he had been almost too gentle at first, stopping every hour or so to allow her to rest. She was made of stronger stuff than that and had insisted on continuing unless she told him she needed a break. Even on foot, they had covered a good amount of distance.

  Eryn put one of the berries in her mouth and chewed. It was sweet and tart, of a variety she hadn't tasted before.

  "Do you need to eat? Or pee? Or sleep?" she asked. "I don't think you've done any of those things."

  He smiled at that. She knew he had to relieve himself because he had vanished a few times each day for a minute or two. Was he eating then, too? She was certain he hadn't slept.

  He pointed to himself and made an eating motion. Yes, I eat. He closed his eyes, opened them, and then shook his head. No, I don't sleep.

  "How is that possible?" Eryn asked even though she knew the answer.

  Magic, of course. The same magic that made him immune to hers. After what he had done to the dragon, she had guessed that the power came from his tattoos, and she wondered if the ink used to make them contained ircidium. She had tried to get close enough to them to see if she could work it out, but she hadn't been able to get closer than the first time.

  She finished eating the berries, and he motioned at the path ahead.

  The Killorn Pass was a well-defined route through the mountains that she now knew had been carved out by wizards over a thousand years ago. It was gently sloped and very wide, wider than even the Baden river that flowed out of the mountain and down into Elling to the north of the Pass. There were trees and brush that grew on either side of the main road, thick enough to provide cover and food to the many merchants and travelers that crossed it every year, while a stream on the south side also provided fresh water. The mountains rose just beyond the trees on both sides, a three-hundred-foot sheer face of stone that looked as if it had been cut open by a giant with a massive sword. The ridges and spires and crags at the top of the mountainsides were sharp and rough and unclimbable, keeping the Pass safe from ambush or attack, and making it the only land route from one side to the other.

  Of course, there were no merchants traveling into or out of Elling now. He had sent his armies to the province and from what Eryn had heard, he had ordered all of it destroyed, burned to nothing because of the rebellion she and Talon had helped sow, and the Cursed they had tried to protect.

  All of it. Gone. Was there anyone left in Elling to cross back to the rest of the Empire?

  They had been in the Pass for a week and hadn't seen another soul.

  It was both a good thing and a bad thing. Winter was over, the mountains were warming, and his armies should have been on their way back through the Pass, returning west to put down the uprising that was brewing there as it had in Elling.

  There was no sign of them. Other than the corpses of soldiers that had apparently been attacked by the dragon, there was no sign of anyone at all.

  Worm didn't seem bothered by it, but Eryn couldn't ignore the feeling that there was more to the story than she knew. She couldn't help but feel a kindling of hope in her chest that the rumors that had made it over the Pass were exaggerated, and that the fight for Elling was still underway. Perhaps the city was still standing. With an army surrounding it, but still standing. With her magic, she could make all of the difference in the outcome.

  If she could use her magic. There wasn't much of the cure remaining, and to destroy an army? That would likely destroy her as well. Still, maybe there were small things she could do that would have a much larger ripple effect.

  It was all wishful thinking, at least until she had proof that Elling City was still in one piece, and that his armies were absent from the Pass because they were still fighting. It was a dream that she prayed to Amman would turn out to be the reality.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Eryn

  They were on the eastern side of the Pass, descending into Elling, when Worm disappeared from her view ahead of her, as he did a few times each day. She assumed he had hurried forward to relieve himself before she arrived, and so she slowed her pace, staring up at the sky, watching the clouds dance across the sun.

  He returned as she expected him to, but there was something wrong. He had a concerned look on his face. Not for himself, but for her.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  He seemed surprised that she recognized what he was feeling. He shrugged.

  "Don't lie to me. I can tell something is bothering you."

  He pointed to the trees he had just come out of. Follow me.

  She ran behind him when he darted off into the trees, following him to the sheer face of th
e mountain on the southern side. He stopped there, looking at her, and then at the wall. Then it was his turn to surprise her, as he planted his hands on the smooth stone and starting pulling himself up.

  "How-" she started to say, marveling at how nimbly he scaled what she thought was unclimbable rock.

  He looked down at her and then removed one of his hands from the stone, motioning upward. Follow me.

  Eryn put her hand to the stone. "I can't climb this."

  He shook his head and made the same motion. Follow me.

  She knew what he wanted. She felt the tingle in her ears as she summoned her Curse. She couldn't use the magic directly on herself, but she could use it on her clothes.

  "Levitat," she said, feeling the power flow out around her. She felt her garum being pulled from the ground, and her body along with it. The magic carried her up until she was bypassing the painted man.

  She looked down, watching the Pass shrink beneath her as she rose. She wasn't afraid of the height. She was certain she wouldn't fall. Her magic clung to the garum as though it had been designed to attract it, and perhaps it had. It allowed her to flow easily up the side of the wall faster than even Worm could climb it.

  She lifted herself over the lip and then released her hold on her power, dropping gently to a small, flat space between two sharp edges of stone. She felt the wetness of a bloody tear in the corner of her eye, and she reached up and wiped it away with a sleeve. The blood seemed to dissipate against the garum.

  Worm joined her there a moment later, and motioned for her to crouch. She did, at the same time she looked out from their perch. She could see for hundreds of miles. She looked out at Elling to the farms and forests, to the villages and towns that dotted the Empire Road. She wanted to be able to soak up the view and appreciate the beauty of her home.

  Instead, she was dismayed to find dark stains dotting the landscape, too many stains taking the place of settlements she and Talon had traveled through during their search for the Dark. The earth was black, and some of the forests had been burned away. And there, at the base of the mountains a days' walk distant, was the army.

  Eryn's heart had begun to drop at the sight of the scorched earth. Her hope died with it when she saw the size of the force that was preparing to enter the Pass. Tents and campfires stretched around the bottom of the mountain for what seemed to be miles from her perspective, with hundreds of black flags bearing the red eye sigil shivering gently at its edges. Thousands of soldiers moved all around the tents, preparing, serving, or eating their morning meal, while thousands more were working to break the camp down and get them all moving again.

  "How many are there?" she asked, forgetting she wasn't alone. "Ten thousand, at least."

  Worm tapped her shoulder and put up two fingers. Twenty-thousand.

  "They're dead, aren't they? All of the Cursed in Elling. All of the rebels. I thought they were before, but when we didn't see any soldiers... I was hoping they were still alive. I was hoping they were still fighting."

  Her eyes felt wet. Her tears weren't bloody this time.

  Worm's face changed again. He looked distraught that she was crying.

  "Where are we going, Worm? What is across the Sea in the Unknown Lands? Will it bring me to him? Will it help me kill him?"

  Worm stared at her. Then he nodded.

  "Is that where he's hiding?" Her dismay was changing course again, her heart thumping with a suddenly renewed sense of purpose.

  Worm nodded.

  She felt every inch of her body tickle with a sudden cold.

  "You're bringing me to him, aren't you?"

  He nodded a third time.

  "To kill him?"

  Worm shrugged.

  "Whose side are you on? You let Spyne destroy Oz, but then you killed him to save me. You know I want to kill him. Why else would you help me?"

  He looked at her blankly. Then his face softened a little. He reached out towards her, slowly extending his finger. She refused to shy away, keeping her eyes on his while he touched her face every so gently and wiped away one of her tears.

  Eryn kept staring at him. Her heart was racing, her emotions torn into a thousand directions. None of this made any sense.

  She had a feeling that it would soon enough.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Eryn

  "We need to get around them," Eryn said, watching the activity in the distant camp.

  Worm shook his head, tapping the flat rock where they were standing.

  "No. I'm not waiting here while they pass by. If you're taking me to him, then maybe I can stop all of this before the army reaches the other side of the Pass. If he is dead, maybe I can keep what happened in Elling from happening to the rest of the Empire."

  Worm shook his head again, pointing more forcefully at the ground.

  "Worm," Eryn said, trying to think of something that would convince him. She paused when she noticed a small commotion near the tent at the middle of the camp, a large black tent that she had assumed belonged to the army's General. "What's going on there?"

  She could see the soldiers were lined up in a long row that stretched back to a second tent behind the black one. The tent was equally large and made of a lower-quality burlap. There was a soldier at the front of it, helping pull people from inside.

  They were far away, and at the same time close enough she was certain the people weren't part of the army. She squinted, able to make out pale shapes against the dark armor of the soldiers. It looked like women, two dozen or more, all of them naked and being guided back towards the black tent. They tried to fight the soldiers, who passed them along the line, one after the other, grabbing them before they could escape.

  She shifted her attention back to the tent. A wagon had been brought up, and now she could see they were pulling prisoners from it as well. These prisoners were clothed in the bright colors of minstrels, though they seemed to have chains hanging from their necks.

  "What is that?" she asked, afraid of the answer. She looked back at Worm. His expression was grim. "What are they doing with the women?"

  He made a motion with his hands that confirmed her fears.

  "No," she said, her fear turning into sudden anger. "Worm, we have to stop them."

  He shook his head.

  "Is this how armies are run?" she shouted at him. "Is this how he cares for his people?"

  He didn't reply.

  "We have to stop them."

  He shook his head again.

  "Fine. You stay here. I'm going."

  She stood straight, calling on her magic so she could descend the wall of stone. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight and preventing her from moving.

  "Let me go," she said.

  He didn't respond. She struggled against his grip, but he was incredibly strong.

  "Worm, we can't let that happen to those people. Don't you understand? We have to power to stop it. I have the power to stop it."

  He held fast.

  "Worm." She was crying again. She turned her head so she could see his face. He looked more sad than angry. Why wouldn't he let her go? She struggled for a moment longer, and then paused. "I don't understand."

  He loosened his grip. As soon as he did, she threw herself from the cliff.

  He was still holding her tight enough to be dragged over the side with her. She summoned her magic as they tumbled towards the trees, having only seconds to take control of her power and use it to slow their fall.

  "Levitat," she whispered breathlessly.

  She felt the garum pull and stretch and threaten to tear and leave her a naked stain impaled on a tree. Worm must have felt it too, because he chose that moment to let her go, falling ahead of her and vanishing into the trees.

  She came down slowly behind him, navigating through the branches. She landed on her feet. He was already standing, a cut on his shoulder but otherwise unharmed. He stared at her, still showing no signs of anger.

  Then he shrugged and pointed toward
s the camp. Let's go.

  He stayed ahead of her while they traveled the remaining distance down the Pass, keeping them in the trees and staying alert for scouts. Of course there were none. The army was massive, and Elling was already destroyed. Who would be coming to harm them?

  They stopped a short distance from the outermost perimeter, where camp followers outnumbered the soldiers. Eryn scanned the throng until her eyes landed on a small girl washing a black cloak.

  "Wait here," she said to Worm.

  She darted out into the camp before he could stop her, rushing over to where the girl was scrubbing the cloak against a washboard.

  "My Lord sent me to retrieve his cloak, girl," she said, trying to sound older and meaner than she was.

  The girl was startled by her sudden appearance. She flinched back in fear before staring at Eryn's clothes. The garum stood out amongst the patched burlap and grime of the people surrounding the army. Eryn hoped it stood out enough to make her appear as one of his, but not too much to cause murmurs in the crowds.

  "It's not clean yet," the girl said once she had overcome her shock. "Mamma says it has to have all the stains out."

  Eryn looked at the cloak again. There were a few small spots of splattered blood near the collar. She was sure it wasn't the wearers blood. "No time for that." She held out her hand. "Give it to me."

  The girl lifted it away from the washboard. "Two coppers was promised."

  "It will be delivered."

  She yanked it away from the girl, feeling guilty for being rough. Then she glanced back to find Worm. Her eyes landed on their hiding spot in the trees. He was gone.

  Not far, I'm sure.

  She summoned her magic as she moved further into the camp, using it to dry the cloak in an instant. Then she wrapped it around herself and raised the hood, using it as a disguise. If there were any Mediators in the camp, they would know someone had used the Curse nearby. She didn't care if they knew. She just needed to get close enough that it would be too late to stop her.