Fire and Frost (Seven Realms Book 1)

by Goodner, Allen

  That thought, revenge, had been his constant companion ever since his brother died. If he were being honest with himself, it had been his companion since that first ambush, when Morgan, Ettiene, and Troye had all be slaughtered. Nothing stirred his emotions like the notion of revenge.

  Yet, something fundamental to his being resisted. It screamed at him that something was wrong. Give in, this part of him seemed to say, and you will never again be yourself. He might gain his revenge only to lose everything he loved. In avenging his friends’ deaths, he might lose the very thing that had made them his friends.

  Both voices grew louder and louder. As they did so, he felt like his very soul was being torn in two. That dark part of him he did not like to admit existed was drawn to those promises of power. That darkness within him positively drooled at the idea of revenge. Meanwhile, his conscience screamed at him that surrender would be wrong. All of the morals he held dear went in direct opposition to whatever this voice, this power, stood for.

  He seemed suspended between the two worlds for eternity. He was pulled in both directions, and able to move in neither. Surrender would be both balm and doom. Continued resistance seemed like it would kill him, yet it was the only way he would remain whole.

  Unable to move either direction, deeper into darkness or back into the light, Alaric began to despair. Then he did something he had not done since Martin had offered his own sacrificial atonement. He prayed.

  “Our Father which art in Heaven…”

  He had barely so much as thought the words when his dream world exploded. Searing agony roared through his head. The swirling nothingness was bathed in heat and light. It seemed to begin tearing itself to shreds, and he was caught in the middle.

  “Hallowed be thy name…”

  That mocking, seductive voice began to scream in pain. It promised him power and riches if he would only stop, and a painful doom if he continued. The hollow tones of the voice became ever more shrill.

  “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven…”

  With a silent blast that swirling vortex exploded, ejecting him from his dream. He woke with his heart beating too quickly, and his breath too shallow, but he continued, “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Alaric took a moment to quiet his breathing, and then went in search of Kahji. He found the giant Igni serving a turn on sentry duty. As he approached, he noticed that Kahji and all of the other Igni who were awake seemed more than usually restless. Though he did not need it, that was the final confirmation about what they were seeking.

  “Kahji, I know what is in that building. It’s another tablet.”

  Kahji turned on him, his eyes wild. With visible effort, he restrained himself. As he came back to his senses, he seemed bewildered. “What? Another tablet? How do you know?”

  “Well, if I hadn’t already your demeanor would have told me. But I had another one of those dreams. I don’t know why, but this time it was much more vivid. It promised me power and revenge in return for my servitude. Eventually I was able to tear myself away, but it was touch-and-go there for a while. I am almost certain, now, that those Fueren are all people who have surrendered for some reason. I would imagine that if we dug into their pasts, we would find out they held some kind of grudge for some wrong, real or imagined, in their lives. Certainly that’s what I was feeling.”

  Kahji considered for a moment, finally he asked, “Then what do you want to do? You should be fine around it, if you are correct about it only reaching out sometimes, but my warriors are severely affected by it. I hadn’t noticed, but you are correct that we are all more on edge.”

  “I think we continue with the plan,” Alaric said. “If anything will draw the Frost Fiends here, it is the tablet. It is what they sought, and if we can get inside on the morrow, then we can lead them around for a while, giving us more time to prepare. You know perhaps better than anyone what more time for us to prepare means for an assaulting army.”

  Kahji grinned at that. The Igni had learned many things from the humans; one of them was not to let the human artificers have too much time to prepare. Human magicians could not work magic with the speed or raw power that the other races could, but when given time to work they could craft items that rivaled the Ancient’s abilities. A human castle with time to prepare could become nigh impenetrable.

  “Very well,” he agreed. “Since we’re not sleeping anyway, why don’t we see what we can see about opening the door?”

  The two of them went to the massive portal and began examining it again. The cool light of the moon and stars provided enough illumination; it bathed the landscape in a soft white glow. In this light, the portal looked softer and almost luminescent.

  Alaric put his hands on those giant doors again, but this time he did not push. As he ran his hands over the stone, he marveled at how smooth it was to his fingers. Only in a very few places was it rough at all. Some of that would have been decoration, he felt almost certain. He put his face right next to the door and laid his cheek on it to look at it along its length. Sure enough, most of the door was quite smooth, with only a few roughened indentations, and just two barely perceptible protrusions.

  “Wait…” he said mostly to himself. As he examined those two very slight bumps, he realized they had to have been handles of some kind. Perhaps they had even been intended to break off; Alaric knew that if he had created a mystic ward to hold an undying being of immense power, he would make it as difficult to enter as possible. But that would mean the doors should open out, and even the Ancients had never made a door that swung without hinges.

  He stepped back again and viewed the doors. Then he saw it. He almost wondered why he hadn’t before.

  The doors appeared to be set into the wall. Just barely perceptible was a crack running on the edges of the doors. It became more clear when he again placed his cheek against one of them. The doors neither pushed nor pulled; they slid.

  “Kahji, get some of your men. The doors slide open.”

  He showed the massive Igni what he’d found, then they quickly brought several Igni over. It was a struggle of many long minutes, but eventually they forced the door open. They were only able to force it about two feet before it refused to open further. No doubt the ages and the elements had taken their toll, preventing the door from fully opening. It would do: even an Igni could squeeze in if necessary.

  “I think we’ll have to wait for morning,” Alaric said as he peered into the darkness, “We’ll need light to see anything. But now that the door is open, we should have some hours to search for the artifact. Now that we have some guess as to what it is, I do not think it will take that long to find it. For now, let’s try to get back to sleep. At least, let’s try to get some more rest.”

  The rest of the night passed quickly. Though he did not think he would be able to, Alaric fell asleep almost as soon as he lay back down. The rest of his sleep was unspoiled by dreams of any kind. He awoke only when one of the Igni shook him. The sun was barely up.

  Alaric moved back to the Ancient building. He gazed in with what light was available, and still could not see much. Nevertheless, he squeezed through the narrow gap between the massive stone doors, and into the building.

  His first impressions were of a great, empty space, and darkness. The darkness was easy enough to explain; his eyes were not yet accustomed to the gloom of the building. The sense of vastness led him to believe the entire building was one open room.

  What dim light was available was blocked briefly several times. Several Igni moved into the room as well. Their eyesight was better in the dim light, but only Alaric and Kahji really knew what they were looking for, and Kahji was simply too massive even to squeeze through the opening.

  Alaric’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and he
was able to make out some general shapes. His initial perception seemed to be correct. He could just barely see the walls stretching out away from him, and he saw no other means of exit from the cavernous room. At regular intervals were columns some four feet around. The roof seemed to stretch into infinity. Unfortunately, he also did not see anything that looked like it could be the tablet.

  As his eyes became more accustomed to the dim light, he began to make out designs on the floor. He could not see specifics, but he could tell they were there. He examined the walls and columns and determined that they, too, were covered with designs.

  “Could they have simply embedded it in the floor or a wall?” he asked himself. Then he turned back to the door and called for a torch. One was passed to him and lit by a helpful Igni.

  In the flickering light, Alaric was able to make out designs. Every surface seemed to be covered with the Ancients’ script. He could not even begin to guess at what the words said, but he began examining the walls first. Finding nothing, he began examining the floor.

  Finally, in a corner as far from the door as could have been arranged, he found what he was looking for. Inside a circle inlaid with gold was the tablet. It was set into the floor with such skill that Alaric could not find a seam. He looked at it for quite some time before he thought to call the Igni over.

  “We could break the floor around it,” one of them said to him as they all considered the problem, “but with how hard this rock seems to be, we can’t be sure we wouldn’t accidentally also break the tablet. And I get the idea that would not be good.”

  “No,” Alaric answered, “That would not be good. But if Manitoc found the first tablet at a site similar to this one, it stands to reason that tablet was arranged similarly. How did he remove it?”

  Kahji called in from the door, “Perhaps he didn’t. We still haven’t found anyone who can tell us what he found, or how he found it. It was a tablet like the one we found, we think. That information is second-hand. I do not mistrust the men who gave it to us, but they could have been mistaken. Or they could have been deceived. It is quite possible that your monsignor has not been himself since he found the original artifact.”

  “Then what do we do? Simply opening the door might lead the Frost Fiends here, but we can hardly allow them unfettered access to this building. I’m fairly certain they wouldn’t hesitate at all to destroy the marker.”

  “Perhaps we do nothing. We know that the Frost Fiends were heading first to your castle. We are hoping that this will distract them and bring them here instead. What if we fought them here, and while they were on their way here, instead of at your castle? Certainly you would have less time to prepare, but striking when you are not expected is always preferable to acting predictably.”

  “So keep to the harassment tactics we had settled on, just do it while they’re on their way here?”

  “Precisely. With luck, you’ll be able to bottle them up somewhere and attack them from two sides. Frost Fiends tend not to pay too much attention to terrain; orderly battle and strategy are not in their nature. You might well be able to lead them into a trap, or, better, into a series of traps.”

  “Very well. We’ll hope we’ve accomplished our task and return. Let’s just hope it’s enough soon enough.”

  CHAPTER 37

  “Are you sure the Frost Fiends will divert toward this Ancient ruin?” Boores asked.

  Alaric and the Igni had returned earlier that day. After a meal and a brief rest, Alaric and Kahji had rejoined the baron and Sergeant Jehan for more planning. Once again they stood around the map table; this time it was marked with approximate troop positions. The Frost Fiends had been spotted first thing that morning.

  “No, father, I’m not sure,” Alaric admitted. “However, I do believe there is a good chance they will. We know, now, what they were looking for. If they really can sense it, then they likely now believe we have just opened the front door for them. I also think Kahji is right; they do not think strategically. I do not think they even really think tactically. If we can get a small force in front of them here” -Alaric indicated a portion of desert which was largely rock “we can probably get them to chase that group. They could then be led to this canyon. We still wouldn’t want to face them in an open battle, but that would be a fantastic place to set arquebus and fusil tempête. With enough pike support, they could blast away mostly unmolested for quite some time.

  “We are definitely fighting a battle of attrition, here. Every time we can bleed them, we need to. Eventually we’ll force the Silverbacks to do something rash. That will be our best chance to actually fight them. Remember, the Silverbacks are the key. We can kill Frost Fiends by the hundreds and it won’t matter if the Silverbacks don’t give up. On the other hand, we’ve seen that the Silverbacks will retreat when they are directly endangered. I think we can use that.”

  “You’ve seen how they climb the walls of the castle,” Jehan objected. “Why could they not climb the walls of the canyon just as easily?”

  Alaric knew that Jehan was mostly asking just to make sure the eventuality had been thought through; the sergeant knew the answer already. Still, Alaric paused to consider the possibility again, just in case he had missed something.

  “The canyon walls are much taller than the castle walls,” he replied. “They very well may try to climb the walls, but we should be able to keep them down fairly well. And, if they seem to be making better headway than we expect, we can fall back and look for another chance to hit them.”

  The sergeant nodded. Everyone at the table knew the tactic was a gamble in the first place, but they saw few others available, and none of those were any better. Frontal assault of the attacking force would be suicide; so would merely holing up in the castle, no matter what preparations they were able to make. They had to find some way to overcome the disparity in numbers. Any tactic for doing that would pit a small force against a large one. That was never a general’s first choice.

  After pondering for moment, the baron asked, “What then?”

  “Well, we have a couple of options. We obviously don’t want them actually to get to the ruin, who knows what they would do if that happened, but I do know it wouldn’t be good. However, the one called Rajack definitely suffers the sin of Pride. I think we could provoke him with similar harassment tactics to decide to finish us off at the castle before going on to the ruin. If we have made the most of our opportunities, we could then use the original plan of heavy horse plus the Igni in God’s Palm. With a reduced force, acting out of anger and frustration instead of toward some goal, we stand a much better chance of success.”

  “Then where else would you employ these harassment tactics?” Kahji asked, peering at the map.

  “I would arrange small skirmishes here and here.” Alaric pointed to two other parts of the map. “You can’t see it on the map, but we often get swarms of Fire Flies that rest in the first location, and the second is a Fire Swamp. Remember how close we are to the Border. Those same hazards we face can now be used against the Frost Fiends. I don’t think it would be enough to stop them, but it should be enough to make them very, very angry.”

  The baron and sergeant both smiled wicked smiles. They were very familiar with the hazards along the border. Everyone who lived in the barony was. Using those same deathly hazards as weapons appealed to them immensely.

  “Very well,” Boores said. “Then back to this small force you’ve mentioned. Who do you recommend?”

  “It would have to be a group of light horse. We can’t spare the Igni, and no one else has any chance to keep ahead of the Frost Fiends. Sir Rodick could lead them; he still has most of his scouts here at the castle. If anyone could keep distance between themselves and the Frost Fiends, it is Sir Rodick.”

  “I agree, my lord,” Jehan stated. “And I would like to lead the infantry force at the canyon.”

  The baron smiled. “Exactly who I thought, on both counts. Then unless we have something else to discuss, let us give th
e appropriate orders so that these brave warriors can leave as soon as possible.”

  The next morning, Alaric stood on top of the gates, viewing the gathered soldiers. He smiled at what he saw; every one of them was going about his preparations quickly and efficiently. The infantry were already forming up to leave; they would have to march quickly to get into position. Sir Rodick’s light cavalry were making their final preparations.

  After all he’d been through, Alaric wanted to go with them. The light cavalry would likely be the first ones to get any chance against the Silverbacks, especially if they were bold and decisive. Alaric wanted his revenge; he wanted to rid all five realms of these beasts once and for all. But his duties kept him in the castle. He was next in the line of succession for his father’s barony. Beyond the fact that required him to be more careful, it also made him his father’s second-in-command.

  So he reluctantly watched them leave. His eyes never left the column of infantry until they were out of sight. The same when the light horse set out. Now he would be forced to wait for perhaps as much as a week. He could already feel the tension beginning to build. He reminded himself that they wanted no news. The likelihood was that at least one soldier would escape any disaster, so they would receive word of that fairly quickly. If things went as planned, though, there would be no communication until the infantry returned. The cavalry would likely return on the same day.

  “It is the general’s burden,” Kahji said quietly at his elbow. “They take the risks, but we own the blame if anything fails. They may know fear, but they do not know worry.”

  Alaric gave a half smile and replied, “We may know worry, but the worry is made worse by the waiting.”

  “There is that, too. But trust in your plans and the leaders you have selected. We’ll now see if you are as able a strategist as you are a tactician.”

  “Nothing like a succeed-or-die scenario to test that.”

  “Nothing short of that would truly be a test.”