The Call of Ancient Light

by Ben Wolf

  As much as she hated to admit it, her life as a slave had settled into a miserable routine. The caravan drew nearer and nearer to Trader’s Pass, carrying her farther and farther away from her home.

  The night after she’d saved Sharion, she and Colm huddled close together, as always, to stay warm. Sharion had snuck closer to them as well, ever-willing to steal warmth yet never willing to ask for it or accept it when offered.

  Then a chorus of loud whoops and hollers sounded from the forest around them, wresting Lilly from the relative safety and tranquility of the moment.

  “What is that?” Lilly whispered, shuddering.

  “None of your concern, child,” Colm replied. “Try to rest. Tomorrow is another long day of travel. We should make Trader’s Pass by midday.”

  The shouts eventually stopped, but about a half hour later, Roderick and several of his men appeared from the moonlit woods. They dragged a net behind them.

  Inside, a black form thrashed and snapped at their hands, snarling and growling.

  At first they headed toward Lilly’s wagon with the thing, but instead of putting the creature into the wagon with Colm, Sharion, and Lilly, they tossed the thrashing pile of net and beast into a separate wagon far behind hers. Lilly caught sight of a pair of angry blue eyes before the beast disappeared out of sight.

  She nudged Colm, who remained fixed on the procession. “What is that?”

  “A Wolf, I suppose.”

  “They caught a Wolf?” Lilly gawked. “How? I’ve heard they can move like shadows through the darkness.”

  “Apparently you’ve never met one, then. Surely, there are many who can do as you say, but some are as incapable as the average human or Windgale.” Colm coughed into the crook of his elbow. “Catching a Wolf for this bunch isn’t that impressive. Not long before they seized you, they managed to capture a Saurian. Now that’s a feat not easily accomplished.”

  Colm had seemingly only ever told Lilly the truth, but she had serious doubts about his claim. “These idiots managed to subdue a Saurian?”

  “That they did,” Colm replied plainly. “Now would you bless me with a few hours of sleep before the night ends? I don’t sleep as well once the sun comes up.”

  “Sure. Sorry.”

  “No trouble. Just shift a bit closer, will you, child? This batch of night air chills me more than usual.”

  Lilly wrapped her arm around Colm’s back and pulled closer. She leaned her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed and drifted off to sleep once more.

  Colm had been right. They reached Trader’s Pass by midday, but before they headed into the pass, Roderick and Luggs let Lilly and Sharion relieve themselves in the ever-sparse woods.

  “Enjoy the scenery while it lasts.” Luggs chuckled. “From here on out, it’s flat and gray.”

  Lilly ducked behind a bush so her lower half wouldn’t be visible to the men. Sharion did the same right beside her. By now Lilly had adjusted to having to share space, but she still didn’t like it.

  Sharion remained an enigma. She seemed lucid about half the time, and the other half she scratched her scalp and mumbled nonsense. She’d made no mention of Lilly saving her from enduring Adgar, Gammel, and Luggs’s abuse. Perhaps she didn’t comprehend what Lilly had done or why she’d done it.

  As they walked back toward Roderick and Luggs, Lilly said, “Sharion, I—”

  “Don’t speak to me. Don’t you dare speak to me.” Sharion hissed her words.

  Lilly clamped her mouth shut. Alright, then.

  While on her way back to the wagon, Lilly saw Gammel and Adgar escorting a lithe black animal toward the woods as well. The Wolf. She wore a muzzle over her snout, and each of the men guided her with ropes looped around her neck attached to the long poles they held. Her blue eyes locked on Lilly as they passed each other, and she issued a low growl.

  Not a day for making friends, apparently.

  Luggs escorted Lilly and Sharion back to the wagon while Roderick stayed in the woods to keep watch. As Luggs opened the door to the wagon, a howl and a series of snarls sounded from the woods.

  “Look out! She’s loose!” Gammel shouted.

  As Luggs turned toward the commotion, Lilly seized her chance. She grabbed the cage door and yanked it open. Luggs turned back in time for the metal bars to smash into his forehead, and he dropped, stunned and bleeding from a nasty gash above his eyebrows.

  Lilly wrenched the keys from the lock and fingered through them until she found one that she thought matched her shackles. Within seconds, she was free. Lucky guess.

  “Here.” She tossed the key ring to Colm and then bolted up the road, past the other wagons and away from Trader’s Pass. By now she’d gotten good at this running thing, and she’d even begun to enjoy it. Arrows thudded into the dirt around her as she ran, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.

  She’d run forever if she had to.

  The men shouted behind her, but she didn’t dare turn back. It would only slow her down.

  A patch of trees beckoned her forward. Not much, but it beat heading into the barren gray surrounding Trader’s Pass where they could easily see her.

  She ran deep into the trees. They ended some fifty yards ahead and opened into a clearing of some sort. Based on what she’d seen while running to the trees, it didn’t look like it was a drop-off like she’d encountered before. She hoped to find more trees and more woods farther beyond.

  Lilly cleared the woods and stumbled into a small field of tall grass. The footsteps of the men behind her still thundered, but she’d put more distance between them. Without the cover of the trees to hide, though, they’d soon find her.

  She breathed quick shallow breaths, and her heart drummed. She had to keep running, or she had to hide. The grass was tall, but not tall enough that she could hide. They’d see her if they came within ten feet of her position—maybe as little as five if she were lucky. But if she could make the tree line across the field, perhaps she could lose them.

  Her legs burned and her stomach growled for food, but her resolve pushed her forward nonetheless. She bolted into the grass.

  “There she is!” a voice shouted, followed by a chorus of rallying cries from even farther behind her.

  Lilly kept running.

  Halfway into the field, she tripped over something. A boulder. She skidded through the grass and it bit into her knees and her palms.

  She chanced a look back. She couldn’t see the men following her, but she could hear them. So much for her growing lead.

  Lilly leaped up to her feet and kept running. The tree line drew ever nearer. She was going to make it. The wind whipped her face and cooled her perspiring forehead as she practically flew forward—even though running could never compare to the sheer exhilaration of flying.

  Thirty yards from the trees, she heard the first metallic thunk, then the second soon after. Heavy, armored footsteps clanked behind her, growing closer, louder with each stride she took. She clenched her teeth and pushed forward even harder, but the sound persisted.

  With fifteen yards to go, Roderick’s massive form appeared in her peripheral vision as he ran alongside her. He even gave her a wave and a toothy smile. How was he so fast? It should’ve been impossible.

  Lilly cursed and tried to dart to her right, away from him, but he clamped down on her wrist with his gloved hand and slowed them to a halt. She swung her fist at his face. He easily blocked the punch with his forearm and shoved her down onto her back in the grass.

  “Why won’t you let me go?” she screamed. Tears burned her eyes, and she kicked and punched at him, all to no avail. “I just want to go home!”

  “Three escape attempts in what, three days’ time?” Roderick whistled. “It all runs together out here in the wilds. I’m tempted just to cut you loose.”

  Roderick snatched her up, his arms wrapped around hers, restraining her while she thrashed and twisted and tried to break free until she couldn’t anymore. Her fight gave way to miserabl
e sobs as he started walking back toward the wagons with her in his restraining embrace.

  “Then do it!” Her voice no louder than a pained whisper, she repeated, “I just want to go home.”

  “You already know that’s not how this works, Angel.” Roderick shook his spike-haired head. “I’m selling you to an old friend of mine, a longtime client. You’re gonna belong to him; but until then, you belong to me. Get used to it.”

  Lilly bowed her head and whimpered.

  Colm held Lilly close, stroking her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder. “There, there, child. Breathe deeply. All will be well.”

  Lilly jerked upright, filled with rage. She glared at him.

  “No, it won’t all be well, Colm.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Roderick means to sell me to some pig friend of his, and every time I try to escape, somehow they catch me. Roderick is faster, stronger, and probably smarter than me, and he knows this area better than I do. I’m doomed to be a slave forever.”

  She buried her face in his shoulder again and heaved. The wagon jerked forward onto Trader’s Pass.

  “I’m afraid this new life is one to which you may need to adjust, child.”

  That was the last thing Lilly wanted to hear. A shudder racked her body, and the sickening twist of hopelessness infected her stomach once again. She released her grasp on Colm, sat up, and wiped the last of the tears from her eyes.

  “While I greatly admire your tenacity, there does not seem to be any escape without them noticing or without them catching you again. Were I a younger man, I would fight for your honor and try to buy you time to escape, but these days I’m old, tired, and slow. I’d be a leaf attempting to dam a mighty river.”

  “If I had my armor and my cape, I could fly out of here. I would fly until they were out of sight, and I’d never look back.” Lilly ground her teeth, focusing on calming her breathing next. “If I had my bow, I’d take a few of them down first, before I left. Luggs, Adgar, Gammel. Roderick too, if I had the shot.”

  “Easy, child. Vengeance is a path from which there is no return.”

  “It wouldn’t be vengeance. It’d be justice. I’m not the only one they’ve hurt.”

  “The line between the two is often very thin and easy to cross.” He smiled at her. “Forgive me for arguing, but I would hate to see such a beautiful soul blackened by thoughts of revenge.”

  “If I don’t act, my soul will be blackened by something else.” Lilly narrowed her eyes at him. “And why don’t you want revenge for how they’ve treated you? You’re locked in here, the same as me. You never get angry about anything.”

  Colm sighed. “Make no mistake, I do not want to be here. Nor do I know the reason why I’m here. But I know the Overlord watches me, and He has sustained me thus far, even in my current circumstance. I believe I am here, now, for a purpose. Perhaps to fulfill some greater good.”

  Lilly stared at him. The Overlord wanted Colm here? Unlikely. “You’re locked in a cage. Wouldn’t the Overlord rather see you set free to do more good?”

  “I don’t deny that a part of me wishes that were the case, but when freed I tend to make my way through Kanarah with little reservation about whom I harm in the process. I am a thief, child. Not the most honorable profession, nor the most charitable.” He smiled. “But here, I have no choice but to behave and to do good things for my fellow slaves. And if I do steal, it’s from people who deserve to be stolen from, and never solely for my benefit.”

  She frowned. “You have to be locked up to become a good person?”

  “Isn’t that the idea behind locking people up? To encourage them to become better people?” Colm winked at her.

  Back at her home, criminals found within the Sky Realm were tried, convicted, stripped of their capes, and locked in cells under the Aeropolis. To her knowledge, once released, those same criminals almost always returned to their illicit behaviors, with or without their capes. She had no idea how they behaved while imprisoned, though.

  “Either way, there’s a good chance they still have your armor and your cape stashed somewhere. Probably in one of the smaller wagons without bars, the ones with two wheels and pulled by donkeys instead of horses.

  “I’ve seen them loading and unloading other merchandise to sell, and your armor was quite nice. I imagine Roderick would keep it for its resale value, especially if your cape is aerosilk like you said it was. Plenty of Windgales in Eastern Kanarah would buy an extra cape if they could.”

  That gave Lilly hope. If she could get out, then perhaps she could get ahold of her cape, at least, if not her armor and her bow as well, and then get out of there. Now that she knew where she needed to look, maybe she could find a way.

  She set her face once more and tightened her jaw. She would find a way.

  “Luggs is pretty sour.” Colm chuckled. “Big gash on his forehead. Not a pretty sight. ’Course, he wasn’t particularly handsome to begin with.”

  Lilly smirked.

  “Here.” Colm glanced around, then under the draping of his cloak, he handed her a roasted drumstick from a chicken’s leg.

  “Your coin?” Lilly smiled at him.

  Colm nodded. “I already ate the thigh. I hope you don’t mind. I’m an old man and don’t get such delicacies often.”

  Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him. “Thank you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Eastern Kanarah

  Axel rubbed the bridge of his nose and clenched his eyes shut. He was still processing everything that Calum had shared and Magnus had explained, and he wasn’t sure he believed or agreed with any of it.

  “So your plan for us is to head toward the Valley of the Tri-Lakes, cross it, and find a secret cave at the base of the Blood Mountains so we can release a legendary warrior who’s going to defeat the King and free us from his tyrannical reign once and for all?” Axel opened his eyes and folded his arms. “And you’re getting all of this from a couple of dreams?”

  Magnus glanced at them both and nodded. “Yes. That is precisely what I am saying.”

  “Right.” Axel rolled his eyes. What had he gotten himself into? “I knew I should have turned you two in when I had the chance.”

  “Do you have something better in mind?” Magnus asked. “Or do you prefer to wander the wilderness aimlessly for the rest of our lives?”

  “Well, I wasn’t planning on wasting my life searching for something that isn’t there.” Axel nodded at Magnus. “And besides, what’s in this for you? You got your armor and your sword back. Why do you even care?”

  “Saurians view the return of Lumen not as a myth but as truth, a prophecy to be fulfilled. We have suffered at the hands of the King’s soldiers as well, albeit not for several centuries now. Still, the King has done my people great harm over the years.

  “We believe that Lumen’s return and subsequent rise to the throne of Kanarah will bring about a time of peace and prosperity our land has never before seen, so we have been waiting, watching, and counting the years until his return. It appears our count was off by a few years, but his return is nonetheless imminent.” Magnus clicked his claws against his breastplate. “Besides, my home is in the Blood Mountains. I wish to see it again.”

  “So what happens when we get there? Are you just gonna leave us in the mountains on our own?” Axel folded his arms again.

  “I do not intend to.”

  “So you’ll just walk us up to the gates of Reptile City and introduce us to all your scaly friends?”

  “Reptilius.” Magnus corrected him with a huff. “You need only concern yourself with finding Lumen.”

  “If he’s even there.”

  “He’s there.” Calum leaned forward. “These dreams felt so real, Axel.”

  “I’ve had dreams that felt real, too, but that doesn’t mean I went out and acted on them the next morning.” Axel smirked and rubbed his hands together. “Although, if we’re thinking about pursuing what happens in our dreams, the other night I
dreamed about this gorgeous brunette I met in a town I visited with my father last year…”

  “I see no other explanation for his dreams than the one I have provided,” Magnus said. “It makes sense. Lumen’s return is near, and with it, the salvation of Kanarah.”

  “Except you said no one was supposed to know how Lumen comes back or where he is.”

  “I have awaited Lumen’s return for decades, and my people have awaited his return since the war itself. Many Saurians believe he will bring true freedom to Kanarah.” Magnus pointed southwest. “The answers lie within that cave. Within the Arcanum.”

  Axel rolled his eyes. “Just two nights ago you said going into caves was a bad idea.”

  Magnus glared at him. “You know what I mean. All we have to do is visit it, and then we will know.”

  “Yeah, we’ll know that there’s nothing there worth finding.” Axel scoffed. “And that’s if we even make it there in the first place. We can’t just waltz along the roads and stop at local towns and villages with Scales here out in the open. Won’t be long before someone catches up with us, especially the farther south we go, toward more populated cities.”

  “We will stick to the mountains, to the woods. We can try to descend into the valley from the range if we can find a safe path down, though that may prove impossible.” Magnus scanned the forest and scraped his talons across his breastplate. “Once I have trained you to properly use your weapons, the entire journey will get easier.”

  Calum nodded. “When do we start?”

  Magnus refocused on him. “The training? Or the trip?”

  “Both.”

  “Whoa, hold on.” Axel held up his hands. This was moving pretty fast for a crazy idea. Then again, most crazy ideas he’d ever heard or come up with tended to move pretty fast as well—it’s just that they usually died out fast, too. This one seemed to be gaining momentum. “I never agreed to go along with this. I don’t think it’s a good use of our time.”

  “I don’t have anywhere else to be. Nothing else to do.” Calum looked at him. “Axel, how long have you wanted to get out and see the world? If we free Lumen—if he’s real—then you’ll get your chance to do exactly that. Plus, we’ll be on the move frequently, which means we’ll be that much harder to catch.”