by Heath Pfaff
"Everyone get some rest. I'll keep watch for the night. I'm not tired." There were protests, but in the end I convinced the others to sleep. Even Ethaniel laid down, though whether or not he actually slept I didn't know, and didn't care. I stayed by Laouna, and kept my eyes on the world around us. We were in Hungering country. It was time for us to be more cautious. I hadn't lied to the others, either. I was not tired. In fact, I felt as energized as ever. I couldn't have slept if I'd tried to. I didn't know it then, but I would never need to sleep again.
Snow rose from sleep four hours after the others had lain down. She looked tired, and still had bruises and cuts, but otherwise she seemed well. When she woke up, she stealthily extricated herself from Tower, who slept closely at her side and made her way across the camp to me. She froze in her tracks when her eyes fell over the new limb stretching from my left shoulder. She crept forward, as though she thought I might be a monster taken the form of a friend.
Her voice was pitched so low that my sensitive hearing was only just able to pick it up.
"How did this happen?" She asked, gesturing towards my arm. I motioned off to the side of the camp, indicating we should create some distance between us and the others so as not to disturb them. I stood up and walked across the beach towards the rolling ocean. When I stood at the very cusp of the water, so that every surging wave licked at my feet, and the sound of the water was all that filled my ears, I knew I had come far enough. I told Snow of everything that had happened the day before, not leaving out any of the details for my own sake. I was not proud of what had transpired, but I would not hide the truth either.
Snow was silent for a time after I'd retold my story. She opened her mouth, as though she were on the verge of saying something, and then closed it again. The silence was heavy, a burden that seemed to rest squarely upon my shoulders. It was a weight I'd brought upon myself, so I bore it stoically. I spoke just to add something to the void left by my confession.
"Tower was worried about you. He stayed by your side the entire time you were out." I spoke as casually as possible. Snow seemed as eager as I to let the subject change.
She smiled wanly. "He's a sweet kid. He has always looked out for me, like a younger brother sticking up for his older sister."
That wasn't how he saw it, I knew. I didn't think young Tower would be happy to hear Snow refer to him as a brother, but it was not my place to interfere between the two of them. Tower would need to make himself clear to Snow, or be forever trapped in the image of the kind little brother.
"He's a good man." I said, emphasizing the world "man" as I spoke it, though not so much that it would seem strange. I could not speak on his behalf, but I would speak the truth as I saw it. Tower was indeed a good man. He was strong, intelligent, and dependable. I was glad to have him fighting beside me. If Snow would allow a place in her heart to open, she might find that he was willing and able to fill it.
Snow stepped closer to me, so that our shoulders were almost touching. "It's a really lovely night." She said, looking up at the sky. The stars shone clearly overhead, a great mat of absolute darkness, broken only by points of vivid sparkling light, spread atop the world.
I suddenly found myself uncomfortable, standing at the beach's edge next to Snow. I sensed that she was looking for something from me that I was in no position to give her. What she needed from me could never be hers. I had given it once to Kye, once again to Malice, and there was nothing left for Snow. Since her betrayal, that truth was set all the firmer. I still felt that stab of a trust broken when I looked at her.
"You should get some rest. You were injured quite badly on your way into shore, and we'll be moving out early, possibly before the dawn." I said, trying to turn aside Snow's attention.
She took a step closer, and then her right hand reached out and took my left hand. She smiled as she squeezed it softly in her own grasp.
"We match now." She said, and indeed our fur did have the same pure white color. I drew my hand away from her.
"Go, get some rest." I pointed back towards the camp where the others still lay. Snow drew her outstretched hand back as though it had been burnt, clutching it to her chest. Her smile was gone. She nodded her head, and turned to return to camp.
I watched her walk way. We had always agreed that what lay between us was nothing more than friendship. I wondered when it had become more to her. I felt the sting of guilt. I had let it come to that point. I should never have gone to her on those lonely nights. If she suffered, it was because of me. That was yet another burden to add to the many others I would need to carry. Which of us, I wondered, had most deeply betrayed the other?
"Give your sword to Tower." I told Ethaniel, as we all prepared to move out. I had not taken the weapon away from him the day before, but I had decided to do so during the long night. The others had slept for nearly eight hours, an unusually long time for the group of Knights. I had not interfered. They'd needed the rest. It was our first night back on dry land in nearly two years, and everyone was beat from a combination of healing serious injuries, and paddling for days without end to make it to shore.
Ethaniel, to my surprise, did not immediately complain. He unfastened the weapon and handed it to Tower, who quickly put the sword about his waist. It was only after the transfer was complete that the four-eyed Knight decided to speak.
"I am just as dangerous without the sword, King Noble." He said. "I give you the weapon, though, as a show of good faith. I am still loyal to this cause." His voice was calm and even.
"Then I see we don't have a problem." I replied curtly, ignoring the old Knight's attempt to rile me. Only Ethaniel and I did not have weapons. Ethaniel, I felt, was safer without a sword. With the terrifying power coursing through my body, I did not feel that I needed to carry a weapon. Still, I missed my long sword, and not just because it had been a good weapon. I had carried it as a reminder of the people I fought to protect, for it had originally been given to me by Uin Delmor, a man who'd fought and died to avenge his family. Snow had the weapon rebuilt, retaining the core of the original blade, and had given it to me as a present when we left home. That gave it sentimental value. I would never have it back. The ocean had taken it as its own, and there was no recovering what the ocean claimed for itself.
"That peak," Telistera explained as we began to walk. She was pointing to a particularly jagged mountain in the distance, one that stood slightly above the others around it. It was difficult to judge actual travel distance, since I couldn't be certain how tall the mountain we were seeing really was. "there is a cave at the base that leads down into the Hungering tunnels. There are entrances all along the mountain range, but that is the one which I am most familiar with. If you keep walking in that direction, keeping the very point of the mountain in front of you, you should be able to find the cave opening on your own."
I tried to shrug off the feeling of sadness that was attempting to take hold as Telistera gave directions as though she would not be there to finish the journey.
"Thank you, Telistera. Do you know how long it will take us to get there from here?" I asked, eager to know how much time remained before I might rejoin my daughter. It was difficult to believe that I was so close to being with Kay again. Of course, I was assuming that nothing had befallen her on her trip across the sea with the Hungering, or since. If the Hungering had hurt her. . . That thought trailed away. What would I do if they had hurt Kaylien? I didn't know. I held firm to the belief that I would find her well, because they had given their word. What if that proved not to be true? I wasn't sure what I would do then. Vengeance, certainly, but it would be a hollow and hopeless battle.
"Three weeks if we keep a strong pace. We don't want to completely deplete our energy. We still do not know what lies ahead of us." Telistera said, and I could sense that she was attempting to give me advice.
I nodded. "Three weeks. We'll maintain a good pace, but I'll try not to run us into the ground." I reiterated, letting her know I acknowledged her concern. It was far to
o tempting to just begin running and not stop. I didn't know my limits anymore. I felt as though none remained, as if I could run forever without resting. Somehow, the immense feeling of power inside of me did little but make me feel estranged from the others. Were they growing distant, or was I pulling away from them?
Telistera left me, taking the lead, though it wasn't strictly necessary. As she left, Malice came up beside me, falling into pace at my side. Her presence was always comforting.
"You're worried." She said, after a time.
"I am. The closer we get to Kay, the more I feel that something terrible is waiting for us. I. . ." I let the words trail off because a realization was forming in my mind. It wasn't an epiphany born from thin air, but a slow realization pieced together from everything that had occurred over the past few years.
"What, Lowin?" Malice pressed.
"I think the Hungering are waiting for me. I'm beginning to believe that they took Kaylien just so that I would come here." As I spoke the revelation aloud, I understood just how absurd it sounded. How self-centered of me to believe that an entire race of creatures had orchestrated events just to draw me in. I expected Malice to laugh, but she did not.
"What do you think they want with you?" She asked, and from her tone of voice, I could tell that she was taking my suspicion seriously. Knowing that Malice was willing to listen, and hear me out, even when what I suggested seemed strange, filled me with warmth. I didn't deserve someone like her in my life.
"I don't know what they want, and I could be entirely wrong. Maybe there is something about Kay that they want. Maybe I wasn't part of their considerations at all." I said, doubting myself. It was the ship with the strange woman and the Hungering that had first sent my mind spiraling in these new directions. Why hadn't they done more to keep us aboard? Why had they let us aboard at all, and why had they been taking us into shore?
"They never attacked us. They were taking us exactly where we wanted to go." Malice voice echoed my thoughts, as though she were able to see inside my mind. "That's what has you upset, right?"
I smiled half-heartedly. Her guess was uncanny, but it did little to comfort me that she saw the connection as well. If they had taken Kay just to attract my notice, didn't that make it my fault that Kay was gone? I shook my head to dislodge that thought. It couldn't be me. I didn't have anything that the Hungering would want. Besides, they had already come to me, why would they need me to cross the ocean? If they wanted something, they could have taken it while they were invading. They'd had plenty of chances.
"It doesn't matter what they want. We're going to get Kay, and we're going to put an end to the Hungering." Malice attempted to comfort me, her voice brimming with confidence.
I looked at her, surprised by her assertion. My goal had always been to find my daughter and bring her to safety, but I had never considered what that would mean for the Hungering. Certainly I was in no position to destroy them all on my own. Could they be reasoned with? They spoke our language, so certainly that implied that it was possible. The question was what motivated them? What could I offer them that would end the threat they posed? Stopping the Hungering was a daunting prospect. Did I have a responsibility to do more than save my daughter?
I did. So many lives had been spent to cross the sea that it would be a terrible slight to those who had fought for me to simply take Kay and leave. That is all I wanted to do, but I knew at that moment that I could not get away so easily. I owed it to everyone to do more than serve my own selfish purposes. How could I ever look my daughter in the eyes if I let thousands of men die, and did nothing to honor those lost lives?
I had come so far, but it was only at that moment that I accepted that my fate involved more than saving my daughter. I would have to save everyone, or die in the attempt. The Hungering must be stopped.
"Lowin?" Malice's voice swept across my thoughts. "Are you alright?"
I shrugged. "Yes, I just realized that we still have a long way to go."
Malice leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "We've come this far. There is no stopping us now."
I hoped she was right.
A great blue stone circle stood before me. Its opening was large enough to pass a meager house through. It stood amidst a clearing in the woods, with no other sign of man's presence around it. I thought of it as a circle, but it appeared as little more than an arch, because the bottom edge of the circle was buried in a rock footer, made of the same blue stone. I wasn't sure why I believed it to be a circle, and not merely a rock arch, but I had a vague sense that the structure was somehow vaster than what was immediately apparent. The stone was blue, and smooth, so smooth I almost did not believe it was stone at all. As I gazed upon it, I felt as though I were being drawn in its direction.
Why would such a structure be standing all alone in the center the woods? It looked like it should be the portal to a city, or an important piece of statuary, yet there was nothing else around it. I noted that no plants had grown over it, and the smooth blue stone was unmarred by the passing of time. Was it a fresh structure, perhaps something built by the Hungering as they routed Telistera's people? Were those creatures even capable of such an artistic endeavor?
"You mustn't go near it." Telistera voice cut through my thoughts. "Those rings are cursed."
"Cursed?" I asked, stopping in my tracks. I had been moving towards the ring, though I didn't exactly remember when I had begun to do so. I studied it more intensely, without moving any nearer. I could make out no discernible sign of threat. The rock was smooth, and the ring seemed solid. I had heard of curses, and I believed in magic, but I did not think that word applied to the structure that stood before us.
"My village wasn't near a ruin like this, but I've heard that some villages used them as a form of punishment. Criminals, those who'd been caught committing truly terrible deeds, would be forced to walk beneath the arch. I'm not sure what happened to them, but I know it was not pleasant. We call them ghost rings. They say you can hear the voices of the dead if you stand too close." I could see that Telistera was honestly troubled by the strange artifact. Still, it was difficult to pull my attention away. I took another step in the direction of the blue circle.
"She's right. Don't get any closer to the ring, Noble. It would be dangerous." Ethaniel spoke up, and I stopped again, turning to face the old Knight. How would he know anything about the artifacts of the Telistera's land?
"What do you know of this ring?" I asked him, my curiosity overwhelming my common sense. I'd received two warnings. Under other circumstances, I might have heeded the advice of Telistera without hesitation. The ring, though, called to me.
"Do you remember when Lucidil attacked Fell Rock?" Ethaniel asked, and I sensed, for once, that I was actually going to get an answer to one of my questions. With the first Knight, answers were rare indeed.
I nodded for I had not forgotten that horror. Lucidil had used an ancient and dangerous magic to transport his entire army across a great distance instantly, so that they could arrive by surprise at the fortress of the Knights of Ethan. His attack had been incredibly effective. He decimated half the remaining Knights in one move, and left the kingdom in a state of complete confusion. He'd also broken one of the great magic prohibitions, and incidentally drawn a creature of darkness from the place between worlds. That demon had killed Lucidil's army as well as the Knights, and had finally been stopped at a great expense of life.
"He used a traveler's gate to transport his men to the battlefield. His gate was a temporary structure; it crumpled after his men retreated back through it. Men have long lost the ability to master the energies and techniques necessary to use such power efficiently. This ring though," Ethaniel explained, pointing at the strange stone structure. "is from a time when man had mastered magic, and brought the greatest forces of the world under their own control. This is an original traveler's gate. It has stood here for thousands of years, unscathed by time. They are nearly indestructible."
I looked at t
he stone ring with a new respect. "So it is dangerous because we might draw another creature like the lantern eye out if we were to pass through it?" I asked.
"That is the least of it. No, it's really dangerous because almost none of these go anywhere, anymore. The other side of this one is likely gone. If you were to step through that ring, you would get stuck between places, forever. That which goes into a broken traveler's gate, does not come out." The old Knight was looking at the gate, his eyes distant.
"It doesn't look like it goes anywhere at all." I said, my own eyes scanning the circle. The far side of the gate looked just like the other side of the clearing. There wasn't so much as a ripple of distortion across the opening to indicate that what I was seeing was anything other than a circle of strange rock. "Maybe it's just dead?"
"No." Ethaniel shook his head. "They never die. So long as the gate stands, it keeps functioning."
"If they're so dangerous, why were they not completely destroyed?" I pressed, still not sure I bought the old Knight's story. I maintained little trust in his words. Besides, where was he getting his information from? I had read many books in my times, but I knew nothing of what he was speaking. I could tell by the confused expression worn by Telistera that she was equally at a loss. If any of us should have known more about the artifact, it should have been her, a native of the land.
"They can't be destroyed. At least, not by any means that we could muster." Ethaniel replied.
"Then what happened to the other end? Why are the traveler's gates broken?" I thought I had found a flaw in his logic. Certainly if we couldn't break the gates, no other could.
"The ancients were far more powerful than are we." Was Ethaniel's answer, and something about it sent a chill up my spine. "Look," Ethaniel walked in the direction of the gate, but off to the side. He stopped when he was standing a few feet away from it on the left side, but level with the edge of the stone. "look here." He pointed at the gate. I came forward hesitantly.
