Path of the Specialist

by Pedro Urvi

  His eyes opened wide as saucers in terror.

  “No...” he mumbled when he realized that the wound was deadly. He stumbled backwards and looked at Lasgol for one last time. Then, with an expression of rage and horror on his face, he fell to the ground, dead.

  Camu, are you all right?

  Yes, me well.

  You were incredible!

  I not let release.

  I saw it! It was impressive!

  I help Lasgol.

  You saved my life!

  I happy. And he began to flex his four legs and wag his tail.

  Lasgol fell on his knees.

  Hurt, Camu transmitted with deep concern.

  Yes, hurt. I’m losing blood.

  I bring help.

  Can you?

  Yes. I find Astrid, Viggo or Ingrid.

  They’re at the Lair.

  I bring.

  Go.

  Camu left in a series of great bounces across the snow, while Lasgol stared at the arrow buried in his chest,

  Let’s see if I can get out of this one.

  Chapter 52

  Three days later Lasgol woke up. When he opened his eyes, everything was blurred. His side and chest hurt, and there was a horrible taste in his throat.

  “How do you feel?” a friendly voice asked him.

  Lasgol recognized Annika. She was at his side, looking at him with a worried expression. Lasgol realized that he was in the quadrant of Nature in the Cave of Autumn. In the same bed that Astrid had rested in.

  “Fine... I think... I’m still alive... aren’t I?”

  Annika smiled. “You’re still alive, yes.”

  “Only just,” came another voice, and he saw Sigrid coming in, together with Gisli.

  “Mother Specialist...” Lasgol tried to prop himself up on the bed, but was unable to.

  “Don’t exert yourself,” said Annika. “You have two fractured ribs, and I’ve put on a tight bandage to secure them,”

  “You’re a lucky young man,” said Sigrid.

  “Lucky?”

  “The arrow should have killed you.”

  Lasgol looked down at his torso, saw the bandage and remembered the arrow. “How come I’m alive?”

  “The Ice Gods must have some special plan for you,” Sigrid said, “and they didn’t want you to die yet.”

  “More because of this,” Annika said. She showed him his Ranger medallions and his mother’s pendant.

  Lasgol looked closely. His Specialist Whisperer medallion had a hole on one side, and the silver chain of his mother’s pendant was broken.

  Gisli explained: “The arrow pierced the medallion and hit the chain, broke it and then pierced your flesh, but it was enough to soften the impact. It didn’t go in as deeply as it was supposed to. It went through flesh and muscle, but it didn’t reach any vital organ.”

  Lasgol gasped. “I really have been lucky, then.”

  “You can say that again,” Sigrid assured him.

  “How long...? How did I get...?”

  “Three days. The creature came and warned your friends. It was so distressed that we had no doubt something very bad had happened to you.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Outside, waiting with your friends.”

  “Can I see them?”

  “Yes, but first we need to clear up this ugly business.” Sigrid’s voice was very serious. “Two Rangers are dead, and in the Shelter... This is something deeply serious.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Call Ivar and Engla too. I want us all to be present.”

  Gisli nodded and went to fetch them. It was not long before he was back with both of them.

  “The five of us will be witness to your testimony. What happened? Take your time and tell us. Everything... don’t leave out the slightest detail. This is terribly serious, and we need to know absolutely everything.”

  Lasgol sighed. His head hurt, and recalling the incident and the two deaths would cause him more pain, but he knew he had to do it. The eyes of Sigrid, Annika, Engla, Ivar and Gisli were fixed on him.

  “All right then... this is what happened...” He told them everything, in detail, but saying nothing about how he had called Camu with his Gift.

  Sigrid was shaking her head, deep in thought. “It’s devastating... two of our pupils...”

  “We’d already guessed something like that had happened,” said Annika. “I was hoping that perhaps Erika had defended you from Isgord.”

  “The traces of the fight don’t indicate that,” said Engla.

  “They corroborate what the boy has said,” Ivar added, and Engla nodded.

  “I’m not lying,” Lasgol hastened to say, in case the Elders had any doubt.

  “We know,” Gisli reassured him. “We’ve analyzed the traces and the bodies. What I find hard to believe is that Erika tried to kill you on commission.” He was shaking his head and showing great annoyance, as if he simply could not understand it.

  “She admitted it to me herself.”

  “I find it very difficult to take in,” Gisli said. “She had me completely fooled.”

  “And me too. I never suspected anything. Not in the least. She was my friend.”

  “She deceived us all,” Sigrid said, looking very troubled.

  “It’s hard to believe that anyone would do a thing like that,” Annika said.

  “She’d been trained to be an agent,” said Engla.

  “How do you know?” Ivar asked.

  “She was with us a whole year. She deceived us all, and she almost killed Lasgol... and Astrid too, by accident. And I believe she’d have gotten away with it if Isgord hadn’t stepped in.”

  “That boy came to an end that was both timely and ill-fated,” said Ivar. “He was very good. He had a real talent for combat.”

  “He killed Erika quite deliberately,” Lasgol said. “He didn’t give her the slightest chance.”

  “That’s what we teach in my Specialty,” said Ivar.

  “He had a future in front of him, but a rotten soul,” Sigrid commented. “He chose the wrong way. I warned him, I told him to choose well, or else he’d come to a bad end sooner or later.”

  “It was sooner,” Engla said without the slightest trace of sympathy. “He got what was coming to him.”

  “I didn’t have any choice,” Lasgol said. He still had not come to terms with the fact that he had killed Isgord.

  “You needn’t feel bad about it,” Sigrid assured him. “You did the right thing.”

  Lasgol bowed his head. He knew he had had no choice in the matter, but even so, he felt as though he had done something awful, as though he were guilty of a crime. He sighed. He would have to live with that feeling forever.

  “A murder attempt on commission, and another one because of hatred... here... what a terrible thing,” Annika mused. She was shaking her head in distaste.

  “I haven’t the slightest doubt that Isgord wanted you dead,” Sigrid said to Lasgol. “He looked for an opportunity, and found it.”

  “Erika mentioned that she belonged to a group,” Lasgol said. “The Dark Rangers?” He looked at the four Elders for an answer.

  Sigrid, Engla and Ivar exchanged strange looks. Gisli and Annika bowed their heads. Nobody said a word for a while. Lasgol was puzzled, because they did not look so much surprised as worried. This was not the first time they had heard of them.

  “There are rumors of this secret group,” said Sigrid at last. “But we have no evidence or proof of their existence.”

  “I have evidence and proof,” said Lasgol. “Erika admitted it to me before she tried to kill me.”

  “It’s something we’ll pass on to Gondabar. It’s worrying that there should be a secret society of Rangers with their own aims, not the defense of the realm.”

  “What else is known about them?” Lasgol asked.

  “Only rumors so far. They date from three years ago, but they’ve never been corroborated.”

  “But Erika...
”

  “Erika’s dead and can’t tell us anything now,” Engla said.

  “But this society exists,” said Lasgol.

  “That’s something Gondabar will investigate,” Sigrid said.

  “Do you have any idea why they should want to kill you?” Gisli asked him, sounding worried.

  Lasgol shook his head. “No idea.”

  “You’ll have to watch your back,” Engla said.

  “I have friends who’ll do that for me.”

  “That’s very good,” said Annika. “It’s important to be able to count on good friends in this life.”

  “I have the best ones anyone could wish for,” Lasgol assured them. The best,” he repeated.

  Sigrid nodded. “Look after those friendships, and keep them. Don’t lose them.”

  “I will, always. I’ll never lose them, not for anything.”

  “Keep your eyes wide open,” Ivar advised him. “Shoot first and ask questions afterwards.

  “I’ll bear that in mind.”

  “Now rest for a while longer,” Sigrid said. “Annika will give you a restoring potion.”

  “And my friends? And Camu and Ona?”

  “They’ve waited till now, they can wait a little longer.”

  Annika gave him the potion, and at once he began to feel drowsy. He slept a restoring sleep, pleasant and free from nightmares. The problems vanished from his mind, and the horrible experience that was lowering his spirits disappeared as if it had been no more than a bad dream, blown away by a warm wind.

  He woke up the next day fully recovered, although his wounds hurt when he tried to move. Annika came over when she saw him stir.

  “Better?”

  “Much better. My chest aches less, and so do my ribs”

  “In a little while I’ll check your bandages.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am.”

  “I suppose you’ll be dying to see your friends by now.”

  “I am...”

  “I’ll go and fetch them.”

  A moment later Astrid burst in at a run and threw herself into his arms.

  “You’re alive! I was starting to fear the worst!” she cried as she hugged him and kissed him all over his face.

  “I’m... fine...” he managed to mutter, although he was hurting from the force of her embrace. But he could not stop smiling from ear to ear in delight.

  “Don’t squeeze his ribs,” Annika warned her.

  “Oh yes, of course, I’m sorry.” She relaxed her embrace.

  Annika meanwhile had seen the others arriving. “I’ll leave you alone,” she said.

  Astrid clasped his face and kissed him passionately. “I’ve been so worried!”

  “I’m... fine...” Lasgol managed to say, before he lost himself in the kiss.

  “Ahem...” came Ingrid’s voice.

  “Let the lovebirds enjoy themselves a little,” Viggo said beside her.

  “We shouldn’t be here for this,” Ingrid snapped at him.

  Viggo smiled broadly. “Don’t see why not. Love is universal. It’s there to be enjoyed.”

  “Privacy needs to be respected too.”

  “I haven’t seen you wanting to leave.”

  Astrid stopped kissing Lasgol, and he turned to his two friends. “You’ve no idea how happy I am to see you!”

  “Shall we leave you two alone for a while?” Ingrid asked.

  Lasgol looked at Astrid, who shook her head. “No, please stay.”

  “I’ve already told her,” Viggo said. “And besides, I have someone with me who wants to see you.”

  All of a sudden Camu became visible on Viggo’s back. He gave a great leap and landed on Lasgol.

  “Ouch... Camu... my ribs... ha, ha, ha…”

  Astrid rushed to support him as he began to slip sideways from the impetus of Camu’s jump. He was licking his face with his blue tongue.

  Very happy! his little friend transmitted to him.

  You saved me! I owe you my life!

  You no die. I happy.

  Thank you for saving me... twice.

  Friends.

  Yes, friends forever.

  Together?

  Yes, together, forever.

  Very happy, the little creature transmitted, and licked his entire face all over again.

  “Camu, Lasgol is hurt, you’d better get down on the floor,” Astrid pointed out.

  The little creature looked at her for a moment, then jumped down on to the floor and began his dance of happiness, flexing all four legs and wagging his tail. Lasgol laughed.

  Viggo shook his head. “There he goes, dancing again. All he knows is that, and licking.”

  “He’s a charmer,” Astrid said.

  “He certainly is” Ingrid agreed. “He wins you over, not like some others.”

  “I’m more complicated than this creature.”

  “And a lot uglier.”

  “It’s so good to hear you arguing,” Lasgol said with a smile.

  “And we feel the same about seeing you alive,” said Ingrid.

  “In trouble again, eh, weirdo?” Viggo asked mockingly.

  “You know me, I can’t let a day go by without getting into a fix.”

  “You almost didn’t live to tell the tale this time,” Astrid said. She sounded deeply worried.

  “Am I interrupting anything?” came a familiar voice.

  They turned and saw Elder Gisli.

  “I thought you’d like to see her,” he said, and Ona appeared at his side.

  “Ona!” Lasgol cried.

  The snow panther looked at him and very shyly, came closer.

  “Ona, I’m so happy to see you!”

  The panther rubbed herself against his arm.

  “Here, Ona,” Lasgol said, and tapped his thigh with two fingers. Ona put her head on his thigh, and he stroked her head and back.

  “I’ll leave you now,” Gisli said, and slipped out.

  “It wasn’t enough for you to have one animal, so now you have two of them?” Viggo said reproachfully.

  Ona turned. She had not liked the tone of voice, and she showed him her fangs.

  Viggo raised his hands slowly. “Uh...uh...”

  “Easy, Ona. It’s Viggo, you’ll get used to him. He’s a friend.”

  “Yes, that’s right, very much a friend,” Viggo said, looking horrified. “Don’t even think of attacking me. Lasgol and I are like brothers. Tell her, Lasgol.”

  “A couple of bites wouldn’t do you any harm either,” Ingrid commented. She was smiling from ear to ear.

  Viggo glared at her.

  Lasgol went on petting Ona, and the panther purred happily. A moment later Camu went across to Ona, and to Lasgol’s delight they started playing.

  “The others?”

  “They’ve gone already,” Ingrid said.

  “We’ve been granted special permission to be with you... because of what happened,” Astrid added.

  “It looks as though you’re going to need a bodyguard for the return journey,” Viggo commented.

  “D’you know what happened?”

  “Gisli told us, I think out of deference to you.”

  “Erika,” said Ingrid, shaking her head. “Who would have thought it?”

  “She fooled us all,” Astrid said angrily.

  “We must admit she played things well,” Viggo admitted. “She was good.”

  “We can’t trust anybody,” Astrid pointed out. “We mustn’t let anybody get close to us.”

  “I agree, we can only trust ourselves,” said Ingrid.

  “That excludes that Captain Fantastic of yours,” Viggo pointed out.

  “Molak is one of us, and you know it.”

  “Molak is with you, which is different.”

  “It’s the same thing.”

  “Don’t argue,” Lasgol told them. “I trust Molak and Luca. But yes, it’s true that after what’s happened, we need to be very careful about new friendships.”

  “We will be,” Astrid
assured him, and her eyes glinted icily.

  “We don’t know who these Dark Rangers are, right?” Lasgol asked.

  All three shook their heads.

  “We’d never heard anything about them till now,” said Ingrid.

  “We must tell Egil about all this,” Lasgol said.

  “Yup, and Nilsa and Gerd too,” Ingrid added.

  “I’m afraid that if it’s a secret group, they won’t know much about them,” Viggo said.

  “Whoever they are, we’ll deal with them. Nobody tries to kill one of us and lives to tell the tale,” Ingrid said fiercely.

  “Of course, we’ll deal with them.” Astrid agreed angrily.

  “Anyone who tries anything on us...” Viggo passed his thumb across his throat.

  Lasgol, seeing the ferocity in the two girls’ eyes and Viggo’s lethal calm, felt much more at ease, completely protected by his friends. With them by his side he could face anything.

  “Thanks, friends. From the bottom of my heart.”

  Chapter 53

  A week later the four of them left the Shelter, crossing the great cavern of the frozen dragon. Viggo kept saying that one day the dragon would wake up and reclaim his Lair, and that somehow they would have to play a part in it all because of Lasgol the weirdo. The others assured him that this would never happen, but he clung to his idea, as usual. They gave him up as impossible and went down the mountain on their way back to the known lands of Norghana.

  Loke gave them back their mounts at the foot of the mountain and said farewell to them, wishing them lots of luck in their new lives. It was snowing lightly, but the sun could be glimpsed through the dark clouds, which was always considered a promising sign in any harsh Norghanian winter.

  Camu had gone to investigate the nearby woods, presumably to chase after squirrels or albino hares. Lasgol was introducing Ona to Trotter. The poor pony, who already had enough on his plate with Camu, neighed in terror when he first saw the snow panther. The other horses were equally frightened and tried to get away from the great cat, so that the group had to calm them down as best they could.

  “It might be better if Ona traveled some distance away from the ponies,” Astrid suggested.

  “Yeah, that’ll be best.” He led her to a prudent distance so that he could explain to her that she would be traveling behind them.