The Harrowing Path

by Cleave Bourbon

  AS HE LEFT THE CASTLE, Drakkius motioned for Kimala to follow him out. She could not help but stare at him. Something in his eyes made her realize he was a far more profound and darker soul than she had imagined. He led her to the garden among strange, purple hewn trees. The moon hung full in the sky, gently illuminating the hedges and low bushes. The smell of sweet flowers intermingled with the pungent smell of decay made her dizzy with delight. Drakkius took hold of her arm and spun her around to face him. He held her in a death-like grip only an inch from his lips, staring into her eyes.

  “So it is power you crave. I can give you what you want if you can give me what I want.”

  Kimala was suddenly coy. “What is it you desire, my lord?”

  “Ah, that is the question. What I want may carry a price too heavy for you to pay.”

  “I will judge the cost for myself, my lord. You don’t know the depths of my needs or what I seek.”

  “Indeed.” He lessened the grip a bit. “If you will serve my needs, I will have a place for you by my side. Naneden appears to care not for you or your wellbeing. I will ensure it. Do as I ask, and I will deliver to you your power and wealth. But fail me and I will destroy you.”

  “All you need to do is ask this task of me, my lord, and I will not fail you.”

  Drakkius smiled and let Kimala go. “Know that I do not trust you, wench.” In an exalted moment of passion, Kimala embraced him in a deep kiss, biting his lower lip as she parted, drawing a drop of blood. Drakkius curled his lip under and tasted it, cocked an eyebrow and turned to leave, his red cloak and cape whirling around him. “You have misunderstood me. I do not crave your carnal dalliances. Such behavior is base mentality.”

  “My lord, what task shall I perform for you then?” she called after him.

  Drakkius stopped and without turning, he replied, “I will contact you. Do not speak of this to anyone, especially that pawn, Naneden, and remember—”

  She interrupted him. “I know. You will kill me if I talk to anyone about this,” she said mockingly. He nodded and then resumed exiting the garden. Kimala reentered the castle and returned to her room where she sank into her plush red velvet chair, breathing the sigh of a woman who got exactly what she had been after.

  She secured her chambers and made sure there were no prying ears before she spoke. “You were right, Kyrie. Naneden is merely a pawn and Drakkius did indeed approach me. Drakkius, not Naneden, is behind all of this.”

  The demure elf appeared from behind one of the sets of long red curtains. “Are you prepared to follow through with our plans?” He asked, “Even though you may be seen forever as a traitor?”

  Kimala took a deep breath. “Aye, I will do my best. Go and report and tell her what I have told you.”

  Kyrie nodded, bounded out the nearest open window, and was gone into the night.

  DEVYN TEEMED WITH ANTICIPATION of seeing an actual dragon knight. He remembered childhood stories of fierce dragon worshipers with fighting skills unparalleled in all the known kingdoms. Tradition suggested they were mostly benevolent, but any sensible person knew to fear them. The double doors opened, and Mavis walked in. “Bren Hallah, first dragon knight of the dragon called Amadace the Red, to see you, Master Ianthill.

  “Bid him entrance, Mavis,” Ianthill said, rising from his chair.

  Mavis curtsied and showed the broodlord in with a wave of her hand. Devyn’s eyes widened as the man entered. He was even more impressive than Devyn had imagined. His red dragon scale armor covered almost all of his body, and he held a great dragonhead helm under his arm. Sheathed on his left side was his dragon fang, a long slightly curved blade forged from tempered steel and an actual dragon fang hilt. Various pouches hung from his side, and a great red bow and quiver sprawled his back. A smaller parrying sword called a dragon’s claw hung to his right. Devyn tried to see into the red quiver. It was rumored in stories that dragon knights carried bone-shafted arrows, but he could not see any. The dragon knight had a short cut, thin beard from ear to ear and a thin, neat mustache to match. On the left of his face, just below his eye, was an old scar about a quarter of an inch long. His steel blue eyes focused on Ianthill, but Devyn could feel the man’s attention on him as he entered the room. Jet-black hair, cut short on top with a small braided lock at the side, adorned his head.

  “Welcome, broodlord of Amadace the Red. My lair is open to you, and its treasures are your treasures,” Ianthill said, bowing with his hands turned outward and upward.

  Bren cocked an eyebrow and then reciprocated the gesture. “You honor me with your knowledge of my culture, friend elf, and I will not forget your attention to detail.” Bren saluted Ianthill in the manner of the Arillian elves by putting his hand over heart and extending it out open toward Ianthill. “I give my heart to you so you may feel welcome.”

  Gondrial rolled his eyes.

  “You honor me, now how may I assist you?”

  Bren looked around the room. “May we speak privately?”

  “As you wish, friend knight, but I have no reservations to speak openly.”

  “Very well; your word is known to be true.” He paused. “I have been sent out on a quest by my master. Amadace speaks of prophecy that I must protect and that my quest begins with contacting you here in Adracoria. I have traveled from the red city of Draegodor nine months to reach you.”

  “I see. And to what prophecy does your master refer?”

  “The prophecy of the Lora Dren Na.”

  Devyn saw recognition in Ianthill’s face, but for whatever reason, he paused. “I am afraid I have never heard of that particular prophecy.” Devyn caught a brief finger gesture with Ianthill’s left hand.

  “Ah, well,” the dragon knight stammered unconvincingly, “I will join your quest until my quest reveals itself, master Elf, since my master commands me to begin with you.”

  “Very well, broodlord, I bid you welcome. We leave for the Great Forest in the morning. Be prepared to join us then.”

  “As you wish, Lord Elf.” The dragon knight turned to leave the room but stopped and focused on Devyn for a long moment. Devyn was beginning to get uncomfortable, and finally, the broodlord broke his stare and exited the room.

  “What was that all about?” Gondrial asked.

  “Our chances have just improved greatly. The broodlord will be a great ally.”

  Mavis entered the study. “I have turned back the beds, and the cook has stayed in the kitchen if anyone is hungry.”

  “Thank you, Mavis,” Ianthill said. He raised his arms in welcome. “I leave you to yourselves. My home is open to you all.”

  DEVYN TOSSED AND TURNED on his feather bed. He dreamt of a beautiful woman with black hair and a pleasant smile. She kept repeating that she was there to save him, and Devyn knew he felt love for her. His heart reached out for her. No, I love Kelle, and I plan to marry her, he thought to himself. He awoke in a cold sweat. Shaken, he rose from bed and put on an overshirt. Cautiously, he left his room, walked down the hall three doors to where Kelle was sleeping, and gently tapped on her door. There was no reply; again he tapped, and the door began to open. Kelle saw who it was and opened the door with a smart yank. “Devyn, what are you doing?”

  “I am not sure. I had to see you. My dreams are troubling tonight.”

  “Well, come inside before someone sees you,” she said, pulling him inside her room. After Devyn was safely inside, she put her arms around him in a hug. “You had become so distant lately. I thought you no longer cared for me.”

  “Nothing could be further from the truth, Kell; I am just worried about our fate. All of this traveling about has happened so fast. It unnerves me to think we’ve come into the presence of men such as Ianthill, Morgoran, and their apprentices.” He held her close. “I had hoped to ask you to marry me this coming Summerwills day.”

  “Oh, Devyn, that doesn’t have to change.”

  “Just hear me out,” he interrupted. He collected his thoughts. “I had hoped to settle down with y
ou and eventually take over running Father’s inn. If Ianthill has his way, we will be far from Brookhaven on Summerwills day.”

  “Maybe we should leave,” Kelle suggested.

  “What?”

  “We should leave. You, Rennon, Vesperin, and I. Let us flee this place and go back to Brookhaven.”

  “I thought of that already, but I don’t believe it would work, Kell. Remember the first time we decided to go home. The Enforcers arrested us. If not for Gondrial and Lady Shey we might not have gotten this far. I wouldn’t want to run into Dramyds without them, would you?”

  “No, what do we do then?”

  Devyn smiled, pushed her back and got on one knee.

  “Devyn, what are you doing?”

  “Kelle, I can think of no better time than now to ask you for your hand in marriage. I know it is traditional to ask for your hand from your father, and I promise I will as soon as we get back to Brookhaven. What do you say?”

  “Oh Devyn, I...I think this is a bad time to-”

  “fire!” someone shouted from the hallway. “Everyone get out while you can!”

  “Come on, Kelle,” Devyn said, grabbing hold of Kelle’s hand.

  As the two exited the room, they could see the flames for the first time coming up the stairway, blocking them in. Vesperin and Rennon joined them in the hallway. “Get your things,” Devyn shouted, “and come to the far end of the hall.”

  At the end of the hall, Devyn opened the small window, and one by one, he threw their belongings out onto the lawn. “I saw a trellis here when we arrived. We should be able to climb down it.” The four friends climbed out of the window and made the short leap to the trellis as the flames inched closer to them.

  The first to reach the bottom of the trellis, Devyn turned to run for help and came face to face with a Dramyd. The foul beast bared its teeth and claws. Devyn reached for his sword, but he had not buckled it on. Panic began to well up inside him.

  “Run, Devyn!” Kelle shouted from the trellis. Devyn prepared for the coming claw and teeth attack, but to his surprise, the Dramyd stayed its ground and screeched to alert the other Dramyds lurking in the darkness. Devyn heard the singing of a sword, and he watched in shock as the Dramyd’s head sailed over him. Standing behind the fallen body of the decapitated Dramyd was Bren, his two swords drawn and gleaming in the moonlight. The firelight especially illuminated his eyes, which now appeared with slits as pupils, like that of a dragon. “Run to the docks, run!”

  Vesperin and Rennon took off running as soon as their feet touched ground.

  Bren helped Kelle down from the trellis. “Ianthill and Lady Shey are near the road.” He pointed to the general direction. “Either find them or run to the docks.”

  Devyn took a hold Kelle’s hand and ran in the direction the broodlord had pointed.

  Devyn noticed several dead Dramyds lying about. He spotted Ianthill and ran to him. “What happened here?”

  “We sensed the Dramyds attacking, and we engaged them. We didn’t know about or see the fire in time to warn you fast enough. Gondrial is searching the area, and the townspeople will arrive soon to help put out the flames. May I assume Rennon and Vesperin made it too?” Ianthill asked.

  “Aye, they made it out of the building at least. I think Bren is going after them down to the docks,” Devyn replied.

  Devyn observed Ianthill holding the tome Lady Shey had brought with her from Symbor. “We have to get to the docks and leave as soon as we can. This fire and these dead Dramyds will raise concerns and questions from the townsfolk that I dare not answer. Here, Devyn, take Kelle and Lady Shey and head for the dock. Moored to the seventh peer is a ship called The Sea Goddess. Go aboard and rouse the captain. His name is Felladan; tell him to make ready. I will round up the others and meet you there shortly. Tell him I want the ship to pull away from the docks as soon as I arrive.”

  Devyn nodded and then grabbed some of the equipment he had tossed out of the window. He searched for his sword, Dranmalin, but it was nowhere in the things he had tossed out the window. Kelle and Lady Shey gathered up the rest of the equipment. Just as the weight of the packs began to slow them down, Rennon and Vesperin joined them and helped ease the burden. Devyn looked at the flames and wished for his sword. A moment later the blade came sailing through the fire and pierced the ground before him, smoldering and hot. Wispy strands of white smoke rolled off it.

  “Come on, Devyn!” Kelle called back.

  Devyn tested the hilt of Dranmalin and found it cool to the touch. “hmm,” he said to himself. He grabbed the hilt and followed after Kelle and the others.

  At the docks, Devyn scanned the ships in berth. “Keep an eye out for a ship called The Sea Goddess,” he told Rennon. “It is moored to the seventh peer, wherever that is.”

  “The Sea Goddess it is,” Rennon replied.

  As they reached the docks, Vesperin spotted the ship, and the small party made their way toward it.

  “Ahoy, Captain Felladan,” Devyn shouted as they ran aboard ship. “Rouse the ship. Ianthill says make ready for sail.”

  “Who goes there?” a deep, raspy voice answered.

  “Friends of Ianthill. Prepare the ship for sail.”

  The captain came out of his cabin still in his underclothes and started ringing a bell. Soon the ship was alive with activity.

  “Keep the lights low, men; we travel out of the harbor in silence,” the captain shouted.

  Devyn wondered why the captain was making so much noise if he wanted to leave silently. He decided the man was either still sleepy or just not that intelligent, to begin with.

  Soon Ianthill, Bren, and Gondrial arrived, and the captain gave the order for the ship to leave the docks. Surprisingly, the ship did move rather silently once released from its moorings.

  Devyn could see the fire burning in the distance until the ship finally drifted out to sea. He wondered if the other buildings around Ianthill’s house had caught fire too.

  NANEDEN STEPPED OVER the charred body of Dredor as he left his study.

  “Clean that up,” he said to a maid as he passed her in the hall, “and make sure someone buries it, not just toss it away like the last one.” The maid hid her horror and managed to curtsy in acknowledgment.

  As he entered his private gardens, Naneden sniffed the air. Rain clouds were gathering above. A storm is brewing, he thought. He plucked a red flower with large petals from a bush nearby and inhaled its fragrance. A slight rustling in the adjoining bushes made Naneden’s eyes narrow as he realized he was not alone. He inhaled the flower once more before he finally spoke. “The attack has failed, has it not?”

  A voice that sounded as if someone were trying to speak while swallowing a stone issued from the bushes. “I fear what you ask is so, my lord.”

  “What good are Dramyds if simple boys from a desolate mountain village can defeat them so handily?”

  “They have some powerful help, my lord,” the voice said.

  The flower in Naneden’s hand began to die and decay rapidly, turning to dust and falling between his fingers. “So do I, Drasmyd Duil, and I was under the impression that your underlings could defeat the help these boys have acquired. Will you force me to get involved? Do I have to illustrate to you what dark magic can do?”

  The Drasmyd Duil cackled, which made even Naneden take a step back. “You need me, and I will deliver. Already our trap waits.”

  Naneden felt a shiver as the creature gurgled and began flapping its leathery wings as it took flight. A sudden flash of lightning silhouetted the creature briefly in the stormy skies. “Fool thing. Toborne the Destroyer may have created them, but so far I am not impressed with the mighty, fearsome Drasmyd Duil or their underlings.” His nose twitched as he rounded back toward the castle. “I will have to create my own minions. Aye, I believe it is time.” Naneden clasped his hands together and snickered to himself as he entered the castle. He rushed through the corridors quickly before the paintings hanging in the hall had time t
o stare at him.

  Chapter 17: Seeds of Prophecy

  The early autumn sun beat down relentlessly on the decks of the sail ship The Sea Goddess, reflecting light and sparse heat onto Devyn and Kelle as they stood looking at the Adracorian coast. The foliage along the coast was still lush and green; the tree line stood like an impenetrable wall between land and sea. Due to unusually strong currents, the captain had decided to hug the Trigothian coastline on route to the Sythian forest. Reports of raging storms farther out to sea also insured him that he was making the right decision.

  Both Sythia and Adracoria were once part of a vast empire, but now each kingdom stood as individual monarchies with only the traditional Trigothian cultures in common. Ianthill had told Devyn about the Trigothian civil wars and the splitting up of the empire after they had set sail the night before. Although Devyn found the subject interesting, Ianthill did not seem to require sleep, and Devyn was exhausted so much of the history went unheard.

  This morning, Devyn loitered on the deck near the bow of the ship. At his left, Rennon fished over the side. Rennon had traded one of the crewmembers a bag of tabac for a fishing pole. He had caught several good-sized fish in the two days since they had fled from Adrontear; he cleaned them and served them for evening meals. Devyn found the change in menu refreshing. Vesperin was stowed away down below, performing sincere meditative prayer in his cabin. Devyn was glad that the cleric had finally gotten his sea legs. On the first day, Devyn felt Vesperin might not make it to the Great Sythian Forest. His bout of seasickness had taken on legendary status among the sailors. Kelle strolled the deck at Devyn’s right, her sandy golden hair gently blowing in the salt sea air. She had not yet answered his question, and he was becoming increasingly concerned. He thought back to the night of the fire a hundred times over, analyzing the moment. Did he see excitement in her face that night, or was she about to turn him down? He also thought that maybe she would have revisited the subject by now if she had intended to answer yes.