Shadow Soul

by R. Michael Card

  He sighed. “Give me your pack.”

  “No.”

  “Don’t be stubborn. I can carry it at least for a while.”

  “Perhaps I’ll take you up on that later, but I’m not letting my own people see me walk out of here unable to carry my own gear.”

  He could understand that and shrugged. “Ready?”

  She nodded, and they were off.

  Soon enough they were out of the village and back down the hill where he’d left Gosse.

  “Who’s this?” the man asked as Jais returned to the spot he’d told the other man to wait, hiding just inside the forest on the slope of the hill.

  Elria nearly jumped out of her skin with a clipped scream.

  “Elria, this is Gosse.” Jais hoped she wouldn’t react too badly.

  “Where did he come from? Who be he?” she asked a little breathless.

  Jais was expecting other questions like, ‘Is he going to attack us?’ or ‘Can we trust him?’ Then it occurred to him that she hadn’t seen the attackers during the fight. She’d run off almost immediately to tend to the wounded.

  “Ah, Gosse is… a friend?” He probably should have tried to sound more convincing, but even he was a little uncertain of the man’s status. What Jais knew was, “He needs our help. We need to get him to the others before they’re too far gone… to… where they’re going.”

  Elria seemed to catch Jais’ hesitation and vagueness. She was a bit more direct. “He doesn’t know?”

  “I don’t believe so. I didn’t tell him.”

  “Tell me what?” Gosse asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Gosse sighed with a shrug.

  Jais just kept glancing back and forth between Elria and Gosse. He couldn’t quite believe she didn’t recognize him.

  After a moment of this, at nearly the same time they both said, “What?”

  He shook it off. “Nothing. We should be going,” he said and nodded to Elria. “Lead the way.”

  Elria moved quickly through the forest. She seemed to be skirting the bottom of the hill on which the village sat.

  “We need to hurry,” she said picking up her pace.

  “Why?” Jais asked.

  She stopped only for a moment to take off her pack and hand it to him, which he took.

  “Because of that.” She pointed behind them.

  Jais and Gosse looked to see dark clouds rolling in from the south. A storm was coming.

  “There’s another reason we should move faster,” Gosse said slowly after a moment.

  Jais turned to Gosse with a questioning glance. What was the man talking about?

  There was a grim look on his face. “The more I accept what I am the more I can… feel things. And I can sense your friends north of us… but I can also sense my old companions. I don’t know what that wizard is after, but he mentioned feeling something strong and primal up north. I don’t know if he’s going after your friends or whatever else is up there, but he’s close behind the others. Your friends will need help.”

  Elria pulled Jais aside and whispered to him. “What be he talking about?”

  Jais sighed. “That’s a long story. I can tell you as we walk. But we need to move.”

  They all agreed to that.

  24

  A chill shuddered through Volf as he watched the fast-moving waters plunge over the cliff to fall several hundred feet below them. Mist sprayed out from the high waterfall, casting the lands below in a shimmering haze.

  Over the course of the morning, they had crossed hilly country, climbing higher. Eventually they had moved away from the river as it ran through a narrow gorge. They had climbed a steep hill to the base of one of the mountains itself. It loomed over them, stark and gray. The top of the mountain was now lost in clouds which had moved in over the course of the morning. They stood on a ledge which stretched perhaps fifteen feet out from the side of the mountain. They had followed this ledge up from the base of the mountain below, but now their path was at and end. They could go no farther because of the river. The ledge didn’t even continue on the other side of the fast-moving waters.

  The river rushed through a narrow cut between mountains, then over the edge to a pool in the gorge, far below. It would eventually become the creek they had followed earlier that day. Unless they were going to try to somehow go upriver, there was nowhere to go from here. Since they had brought no boat — and he was certain the water was too swift to paddle upstream anyway — he had to assume they were at their destination. But that didn’t seem right. Volf could see no cave or other indication of any place for a dragon to live. There was nothing here but the ledge, the water, and the mountain.

  “This next bit be a bit tricky,” Hildr said removing her pack.

  “Tricky?” Volf sounded a little incredulous to his own ears. “Are we going up the side of the mountain or something?”

  Gods, he hadn’t considered that option. He was an exceptional climber, but that was in a city, where houses and buildings had lots of places to grab and hold. This sheer mountain face next to them did not look like it would be fun to climb.

  Hildr shook her head with a bit of a wild grin. “No, we walk on water.”

  That didn’t sound much better.

  Hildr laughed. “Don’t worry. It be easy enough for the nimble, but we must be quick. There be a storm coming, and we’ll want to be through before it hits. Rain might swell this river enough to make this passing much more difficult.”

  “What passing?” Caerwyn apparently shared his skepticism on how they might proceed from here.

  “It’s hard to see, so let me explain. There be several ropes here.” Hildr was standing at the point where the ledge met the river, right up against the mountain. She reached around into the crevice carved by the river and seemed to be indicating the rock wall around the corner. “There be also holes cut into the rock here.” With her one hand already around the corner, she kicked a foot around the corner as well and was only half visible. Then she slipped around the corner entirely.

  Barami gasped and reached out for her as the three of them hurried over to peer up the river course.

  Volf got there last and had to kneel to see around the other two.

  “Gods,” Caerwyn breathed.

  He had to agree with that sentiment.

  Hildr looked to be standing on… nothing. She was holding a rope which was tied between several iron loops somehow hammered into the rock wall. In truth, she wasn’t standing on nothing. There were little holes with flat bottoms, into which she’d stuck her feet. But they weren’t that deep. Only the first third of her boots, her toes really, were in the holes. She grinned at them then released one hand to wave them back away from the edge as she moved toward them.

  Hildr swung herself back onto the ledge with a wild grin. “Your packs will weigh you down. They will be passed across separately. There be ropes to pull and hooks to hold the packs. I’ll go across first, then you send the packs across. After that, you can follow. Always keep three points of contact: either both hands on the rope, or both feet in the holes. Understood?”

  Volf let out a whistle. He understood well enough; he just didn’t much like it.

  “Barami, come here and I’ll show you how to hook the packs.” Hildr and Barami moved off.

  Those two had been huddled close all morning, talking. Volf hadn’t minded, it meant he’d had time to talk to Caerwyn. Though in truth, she hadn’t been that chatty.

  Even now, she was looking out over the hills to the south, a great vista with everything laid before them. A distant look was in her eyes.

  He guessed what was bothering her. “You’re worried about Jais?”

  She nodded wordless.

  He sighed. Perhaps he’d have to accept that there was another man on her mind.

  “About that… that kiss yesterday,” he began slowly.

  She turned, those dark brown eyes focusing on him. “It was nice,” she said smiling. She looked away again and sighed
heavily. “I think it’s time I told you something.”

  “Oh?” Was this where she told him there was only one man for her and it wasn’t him? He’d never experienced it personally, but as someone who crawled through the nights of a city, he’d heard it happen to others, men and women both. He’d wondered what it might feel like and now he knew. His heart constricted, tight. It became just a little hard to breathe.

  “Jais is just a friend.”

  That was not what he’d been expecting.

  “I am worried about him, but he is just a friend. In truth I am not looking for any man in my life.”

  Was that better or worse?

  “I’ve never needed anyone but me. But now I want more. I want a child, Volf, a drahksan child. To be clear, I am not looking for a husband. I’ve never needed anyone to make me whole, well not a man anyway. I just want a child, and until I met you, Jais was the only one who could give me that.”

  Oh.

  But she didn’t want him to help raise it? Why had she brought him along then?

  “So why am I here?” he asked softly. “Why did you find me and bring me here?”

  She shrugged. “We drahksan need to stick together. We need to help each other. I thought…” Another shrug.

  He nodded. “So, you don’t need me at all except to possibly help you have a child?”

  “You’re a very useful man to have around. To say we don’t need you—”

  “Not we,” he said being precise. “You. You don’t need me.”

  She grimaced and shook her head. “No, sorry.”

  But she didn’t need Jais either.

  Could Volf live with that?

  He wasn’t sure.

  She was still the most fascinating woman he’d ever met. To make a child with her would be an honor.

  And if he stuck around, perhaps she might change her mind. There was a lot he couldn’t predict, but if he was certain she was the woman for him then staying close to her was the only way to find out if she ever might change her mind.

  He forced a grin. He wasn’t feeling particularly happy, but the prospects for the future weren’t all together dim either. “I can appreciate that. And if you wished to have a child with me, I would be willing to help in that way.”

  “Truly?” She seemed surprised.

  He was surprised she was surprised.

  “Of course. It would be an honor to help you have a child.”

  She gave a short laugh. “Jais was a lot more reserved about that. He seemed to think a lot of feelings would get in the way if we just went ahead and did it.”

  Jais’ loss.

  “I don’t see it that way at all.” He shrugged. “You are an amazing woman and if I can help you in any way, I will. You’ve already done so much for me.”

  A soft and genuine smile spread onto her face. “Thank you.” She stepped over to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. “When this is all over we’ll talk about that.”

  He hoped he hadn’t flushed too much at her attention. He cleared his throat and nodded. “I look forward to it.” What wasn’t there to look forward to?

  “You two ready for this?” Barami called over. “Take off your packs. Hildr is across, and I’m sending them over now.”

  They both removed the packs they carried and handed them over to Barami, who hung them on heavy hooks attached to a rope. This was a separate rope than the one used to move across the rock face. This rope was a couple feet above the other and seemed to be strung around a metal wheel rotating around a spike in the rock wall. Each pack was carefully put on a hook — not wanting to drop it into the water — then the rope was pushed along, turning around the wheel and moving smoothly along the rock face to the far side where Hildr waited.

  Even leaning as far out as he dared, Volf couldn’t see the other landing on which Hildr must have been. The wall curved just a little and the path of rope and footholds went on for some time before disappearing around the bend.

  Perhaps in answer to his unspoken question Barami said, “I don’t think Hildr is far around the bend. It didn’t take her long to get across. Once the packs are all over, we’ll give it a go ourselves. I can go last if you both wish.”

  “No, I’ll go last,” Caerwyn said softly, still staring out over the great valley below them.

  “Don’t wait too long.” Even as Barami said this, fat rain drops started to fall. “Remember what Hildr said about rain. We’ll want to do this quickly.” He turned to Volf. “You first? Or shall I?”

  Volf didn’t really want to go across at all, but the temptation of the dragon was too much. This close he could feel the call resonating in his soul.

  He could be brave if he needed to be. “I’ll go first.”

  That way if I fall in, someone might be able to grab me before I go over that waterfall.

  So he wasn’t thinking brave thoughts. No one was perfect.

  Once Barami gave him the signal, he went to the edge. The rain was still only falling sporadically, but looking back, he could see much darker, thicker clouds quite a bit closer than he’d like.

  He reached around the corner and found the rope after groping around for a moment. Making sure he had a solid hold on that he dared to lean out a bit to check where the first foothold was. He saw it and tentatively pushed a foot out until it slid into the hole.

  The water rushed by about two feet beneath him, frothing and white.

  He leaned out to put his other hand on the rope… and immediately saw a problem.

  He’d put his foot in the first foothold, which meant he had no place to put his other foot.

  He looked down searching and saw the solution quickly. There were actually two footholds quite near each other. He moved his first foot out to the second hold then could easily move his other foot into the first.

  He called back to the others. “Careful. Make sure to put your leading foot into the second spot when you first go out!”

  There were shouts back of acknowledgement, but in truth, they probably had no idea what that meant… or wouldn’t until they tried it.

  He moved slowly.

  The rain picked up.

  The footholds were placed close together, so he could play it safe and shuffle along one at a time or stretch a little and try two or three if he’d had longer legs. He had no wish to fall into those cold waters and moved slowly, keeping steady and safe. Earlier that day, when they’d stopped for a quick break, down where the stream was just bouncing along the rocks, he’d drunk from its waters. It was frigid. It had been refreshing then, but now he shivered at the thought of falling into those waters, especially as fast as they were here. He’d be over the waterfall before he knew it, still shocked from the cold.

  So Barami caught up to him quickly.

  Barami yelled to him over the noise of the rushing water. “I hate to tell you to go faster, but this rain is starting to come down.”

  Indeed, the rain was making the footholds slippery, and the rope slick, but since he’d found it easier to slide his hands along it, that worked for him.

  He tried to move faster. Barami remained close behind him.

  “Almost there,” a voice to his left said, surprising him and making him miss a foothold. Luckily, he had a death grip on the rope and saved himself from falling for the half-a-heartbeat it took him to regain purchase. His pulse raced, thumping in his throat, but he drew in a long breath to regain himself.

  Hildr chuckled. “Sorry.”

  He looked over to find her not ten feet away on a landing. The rock wall curved around onto the landing with the rope and footholds continuing over the landing to make it easier to dismount or get on again.

  Seeing the end so near, he found he could move a little faster now.

  He was soon hopping off the wall with a heavy sigh of relief. Barami was right after him.

  “Where is Caerwyn?” Hildr asked peering down along the wall.

  Volf looked back as well and couldn’t see her.

  Barami grimaced a
nd grumbled. “I think she was waiting for Jais.” He shook his head. “I told her not to wait.”

  The rain was coming in sheets now and Volf could see the water starting to rise. Where it had been a couple feet below the footholds before the storm, now it was eighteen inches, perhaps. It hadn’t taken him that long the come across the wall — despite feeling like an eternity — which meant the water was rising fast.

  And still Caerwyn was nowhere to be seen.

  They were all getting drenched just standing here and his heart began to pound a little harder as his mind ran through scenarios of her slipping from the wall.

  Then he blew out a heavy breath as she finally came into view.

  She, too, was soaked, her dark hair matted against her head. She seemed to be struggling a little, or perhaps she was just trying to move quickly in the storm. She wasn’t following Hildr’s instructions to keep three points of contact, going hand over hand as she shuffled her feet along.

  Then she slipped.

  Her foot slid out from the wall, but her other foot hadn’t yet found purchase and one hand was off the rope. She yelped a cry as she fell, one hand clutching the rope, pulling it low. She was in the middle between two anchor points, her feet dipped into the waters. It was a testament to the swift current that her feet were thrown out again, tossed to one side.

  She pulled up with her one hand until the other could grab the rope, then hauled herself up the rest of the way to ensure her feet were placed in holds once again.

  There she clung for a long moment, breathing hard.

  Volf had nearly leapt into the waters, ready to save her. He didn’t know if he would have, but the way his heart had lurched at the sight of her falling made him wonder just how brave, or how stupid he might have been.

  Then Caerwyn was moving again and not long later, she was on the landing with them.

  “That was fun,” she said a little breathless. It was clear she was trying to make light of the accident, but none of them laughed.

  “We should move on. It still be some distance to the cave,” Hildr said sternly. “The storm makes rockslides much more likely. We should be quick.”