Seeing movement in her peripheral vision, she glanced across at Griff, who was holding a hand to his nose, pinching closed his nostrils.
* * *
Vyder yearned for the sunlight and warmth.
It’s so damn close! Yet so far.
A cold wind blustered through his ice-encrusted clothes to assault his frozen skin. He squeezed shut his eyes and clenched his teeth together to stop them from chattering.
“Vyder! Come to me, my love!”
His eyes snapped open, and there, standing on the far band of the Frost River, stood Verone, his beautiful wife.
She smiled, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “I’ve waited so long for you, Vyder!”
He tried to say her name, but his lips wouldn’t move and he grunted instead. He reached for her, lost his balance, and fell face first to the frozen river. Pain lanced through his nose, but it helped him focus.
So close!
He pushed himself onto his knees and stood with a clumsy lack of efficiency, his boots slipping on the ice-covered river. He almost tumbled backwards but managed to maintain his balance.
“Vyder, a few more steps my love! A few more steps.”
Verone was standing on the very edge of the river, her arms outstretched towards him, their fingers mere inches apart.
So very close!
* * *
Miriam swivelled in her seat to look at the motionless Vyder lying supine in the wagon. We need to hurry,” said Griff. “He’ll cross to the other side soon.”
Her smile vanished.
Oh, Vyder, hold on! We’re bringing you to help, just hold on for Gulgon’s sake!
She frowned and was tempted to overtake, but with the flow of traffic in the opposite direction, it would be impossible.
One of the coach’s doors was flung open and a man in pristine clothes stepped down, turned, and held out his hand. A woman wearing a flamboyant dress took his hand and stepped down beside him with care.
Griff jumped back onto the bench seat beside Miriam. He sat down and cursed. “I say! You two!”
The pair looked back at them.
“Move off the road!”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who might you be young man?”
“I’m a doctor and I’m in the care of a dying patient, now get the bloody hell out of my way!”
The woman smirked and made as if to speak.
“Now!” roared Griff, standing.
They closed the door of the coach and waved the driver on before turning away to walk off the road.
Miriam flicked the reins, and they began to trundle forward again, but not before she cast the pompous pair a death glare as they passed.
They swept along the road and within what seemed mere moments, were presented with the western gates. Mighty wooden doors some twenty feet high and five feet thick were swung wide open, allowing traffic to leave and arrive. It seemed a constant stream in both directions. Families arriving in small, over-packed wagons, groups of scouts trotting out to relieve soldiers, who’d more than likely been posted out in the field for the past several weeks. Lovers walking hand in hand towards the nearby forests, merchants arriving in dual and, sometimes, triple axel wagons, stocked full of wares from every corner of the world. And the Watch; always the Watch, moving in both directions, keeping a close eye on the traffic. If any kind of disturbance were to erupt, they’d be upon it faster than an enormously oversized man on a cake.
Miriam watched a group of Watchmen canter past their wagon, heading towards the approaching western gate. A chill spike of fear lodged in her belly. What if they don’t let us pass? Or worse?
“Good boy, you’re doing well.” Miriam brushed the whip against the flank of Vyder’s horse. They passed beneath the great western gate. Miriam looked up at the huge doors. Built above the gates stood the western wall, upon which she could see the tiny figures of soldiers, looking out towards the horizon.
“Archers,” said Griff, following her gaze.
She felt overwhelmed by the she enormity of the city’s power. And this is but one of four gates!
“The place is impenetrable! I had no idea Lisfort was so heavily defended.”
“She is a mighty city, that is for certain.”
Before she knew it, the wagon was clear of the massive gates, and she saw groups of soldiers standing idly beside both the exit and entrance to Lisfort. They look bored. Can you blame them, though? What else is there to do, but stand around talking or sit playing cards?
Griff tapped her shoulder. “Okay, we follow the same road for a little time, at which point the road splits into five directions. We call it Five Ways.” He chuckled. “For obvious reasons, of course.” His smile vanished. “You want to take the middle road, which goes straight ahead. I can almost guarantee we’ll be by ourselves once we hit Five Ways.” He looked out at the forest in the near distance. “No one travels the third road.”
Miriam frowned. “Why? Is it dangerous?”
Griff remained silent.
“Griff, is it dangerous?”
“Huh?” He swung to her. “No, of course not, Miriam. No, not dangerous at all. “The safest road of them all.” He cleared his throat again, nodded, and swallowed. “Yes, a very safe road indeed.” He breathed out through pursed lips.
She shifted in her seat. “Not a very good liar are you?”
“No, not really.”
Miriam flicked the whip against the horse’s flank and the wagon lurched, picking up speed. She overtook slower coaches, wagons, and riders. When traffic approached in the opposite direction, she ducked back into the endless convoy winding its way out of Lisfort.
They remained silent for some time, Miriam occasionally looking back at Vyder, but she couldn’t see any signs of life. The constant movement of the wagon made it impossible.
“Keep your eyes on the road.” Griff pointed forward. “I’ll check on him.”
Miriam nodded, waiting for a particularly slow coach to pass before she steered onto the opposite side of the road and overtaking the few wagons in front of them.
“What’s the rush?” one driver yelled as they trotted past.
“He’s still breathing, Miriam.”
Relief washed over her. Hold on, Vyder.
“But very slowly. He’s not long for this life, I’m afraid.”
She felt a jolt and dull thud as Griff sat down beside her again. “He has but minutes, Miriam.”
* * *
Their fingers touched. Verone grasped Vyder’s hand. “Come to me, my love.”
She pulled him forward, and he lost his balance, boots slipping on the thick ice. He fell onto the frozen river, the tips of his fingers thawing as warm sunlight soaked into his skin. Just a little further. Soon, his entire body could soak in the sun’s rays. Verone reached for him.
“Give me your hands, Vyder, and I’ll pull you to me. I’ve waited so long for you.”
“I, too, my love,” he mumbled through his ice-caked beard.
The warm skin of her hands encircled his wrists, and he was dragged across the ice towards the waiting sunlight and his beautiful wife.
* * *
Miriam cursed as the traffic slowed to a slow walk.
“We’re approaching Five Ways.”
She nodded. “Good. I hope we can pick up speed then.”
“Oh, trust me, we’ll be the only wagon heading down that road.”
She turned to him. “How can you be so sure?”
He chuckled, his eyebrows disappearing into his fringe. “Trust me.”
Miriam watched the traffic in front of them, some diverting to the left, others to the two roads parting towards the right. But Griff pointed to the road directly before them. “Down here.”
The road was covered in thick leaf litter and it was obvious nothing and no one had passed down the road in some months.
Perhaps even years.
“You’re sure this i
s the way?”
Griff smiled tightly and nodded. “I’m sure.” His voice was almost a whisper.
“Are you alright?”
He looks pale. Sickly.
“Who, me?” he looked at her. “I’m fine! Just fine, Miriam. No need to worry about me.”
The forest closed in around the road, mighty trees crowding in. The canopy of the forest became thicker as they trundled along the abandoned road, mighty boughs intertwining high above them, blocking out the sun. The fresh, mid-morning sky was soon gone, to be replaced by a light Miriam had only seen at late dusk. The horse threw its head and snorted, the wagon slowing to a stop. The animal was nervous.
Rightly so! I’m not so comfortable myself.
“It’s alright, boy,” she cooed, gently sliding the whip along the horse’s flanks. She struggled to keep her voice low and calm. “On we go. Everything’s fine. You hear me?” She brushed the whip over the animal’s rump. “It’s okay, we’re safe. Now walk on.” She clicked her tongue and slowly tapped the whip to the horse’s side. “Walk on.”
The wagon lurched, and they were once again underway.
“I say, I wasn’t sure we were going any further. Well done, Miriam.” Griff’s voice sounded a little disappointed. He turned in the seat and looked back the way they had travelled.
“There’s nothing back there for us, Griff.” She clicked the horse on. “There is only one direction now.”
And that’s down this damn road!
“How far do we have to travel?”
He looked at the thickening forest around them. “I can’t quite see the sun,” he said with boisterous attitude, although Miriam was not oblivious to the quiver in his voice. “But I’d say another half an hour.”
“What do they call these parts?” She glanced at the doctor.
Small talk should help calm the atmosphere and keep the fear at bay.
She clenched her hands around the reins and felt how clammy her skin had become.
“It’s still part of the King’s Forest,” Griff replied. “Although this section of forest has an unofficial name. They call it, The Waning Wood.”
The Waning Wood? Great, Miriam. So much for small talk!
She wanted to ask why it had been dubbed with such a depressing name but refrained. As the wagon rolled onward, it was obvious. The ambient light dimmed further, and if she didn’t know it was daylight yonder the forest’s canopy, she could be forgiven for thinking it was evening. A clicking noise came from their left, and Miriam flinched. She swung on the bench seat and saw a spider scuttling up a tree trunk away from them. The arachnid’s abdomen was the size of a grown man’s head. She screamed, her eyes glued to the spider’s ascending journey before it finally disappeared.
Terror swelled in her as she returned her attention to the road before them. “Onwards, boy, onwards.” She tapped the horse’s flank and encouraged it into a trot.
Griff’s breath was coming in shallow gasps and sweat glistened upon his forehead, Miriam noticed. “We’re okay,” he whispered, more to himself it seemed than anyone else. “We’re okay.”
“Have you been into this forest before?”
Griff remained silent, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide, staring straight down the road before him.
He flinched and glanced at her, terror glazing his eyes.
“I’ve been into the Waning Wood once as a younger man, yes. It’s just as frightening now as it was then.”
“Apart from giant spiders, are there any other creatures I should know about?”
The horse snorted and threw its head again. Miriam brushed its flank with the whip and whispered soothing words.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve heard stories of a giant spider named Barbaron, but that’s just stories to scare kids.”
She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “We just passed a massive spider. I’ve never seen one that big before.”
Griff chuckled. “Barbaron is said to the size of a house, if what I’ve heard is true, and I doubt it is. That spider we saw was a baby.”
A baby? Where the bloody hell are you taking us, Griff?
Fear bathed her being, almost forcing her body into shutdown, but she threw a glance over her shoulder and saw Vyder lying there, motionless, pale, and for all the world, looking as if he’d crossed the Frost River.
No! He’s still alive. He’s stronger than that.
The road ascended, forcing the poor animal to slow as it worked to pull the heavy wagon up the incline.
“Like I said, Barbaron is just a folk’s tale to scare unruly children.” Griff grinned, trying to look confident but failing.
A loud crash echoed through the forest, and one of the trees nearby swayed as whatever had caused the ruckus barged past the trunk. Griff screamed, sounding for all the world like a ten year old girl.
Miriam reached across and patted the doctor’s leg. “It’s okay, Griff. We’re okay.”
Griff flinched at her touch and screamed again.
The mighty creature moved away from them through the forest at a great rate of knots. Miriam looked in the direction of the fading noise.
It’s more scared of us than we are of it. She looked at Griff. Well, me anyway.
“I think we’re almost there,” blurted Griff.
Thank the gods!
The incline lessened and, before long, they were travelling on flat ground again. Miriam held her breath as a flutter of wings exploded in the treetops above them, followed by the caw of ravens. A chill passed along the skin of her spine, and she had the distinct feeling they were being watched. She heard the scuttle of some small animal scurrying through the leaf litter away from them.
We’re being watched. She looked around at the dark, silent forest around her. I’m sure of it.
As the wagon rounded a corner, they were presented with a mighty boulder sitting in the middle of the path, blocking their way. Miriam pulled the horse to a halt, and she looked at the doctor.
“Well?”
He returned her stare. “Well, what?”
“How far from here? Can we carry him?”
“I don’t think so, no. From what I know of this Wiccan, she lives at the top of a hill, which we’ve just ascended. It can’t be too much further. Can we go around perhaps?”
She clenched her jaw and looked around. There didn’t appear to be any way around the mighty stone.
“Well? What are you idiots waiting for?”
Miriam jumped at the sudden voice from above them. An old woman was standing on top of the boulder, a staff clenched in one hand, the other holding a pipe to her mouth, upon which she puffed. She looked at them through narrowed eyes.
“It’s the Wiccan!” Griff hissed at Miriam.
“Does Vyder live?” she asked, leaping down from the boulder with far more agility than she looked capable.
Miriam glared at the elderly newcomer. “How do you know his name?”
She pulled the pipe from her lips and exhaled a plume of smoke. She shrugged. “I know Vyder.”
“How did you know we were approaching?”
Another shrug. Another plume of smoke drifting towards the canopy high above them. “I’ve been watching you.” She chuckled and muttered something to herself before bursting into laughter.
“Can you help us?” Griff interjected.
“Depends.”
The woman limped past the pair and stepped into the rear of the wagon. She snarled, hissed, and muttered something before leaping onto the tray beside the supine assassin.
“It depends,” she muttered, touching Vyder’s cheek before pressing a finger against his throat. “It all depends.”
“He’s dying!” Miriam shrieked. “Can you help?”
The Wiccan paused and looked up at Miriam. She smiled, showing crooked teeth. “He’s not dying, child.”
Relief washed over her. Oh thank you, Gulgon! Thank you.
“He’s not?”
Miriam flashed a grin.
“No,” the old woman looked back at Vyder and held the back of her hand a few inches from his mouth and nose. “No.” She chuckled and looked back up at Miriam. “He’s already dead.”
III
“He can’t be dead. Surely?” Miriam stepped down from the wagon.
Griff leapt onto the rear tray and squatted beside the Wiccan. He checked for signs of life. A moment later, his shoulders slumped.
It’s true!
Miriam held a hand to her mouth and began to weep. She fell to her knees, defeat enveloping her. A dull thud beside her and Griff’s arm swept around her shoulder. He pulled her to him.
A great man has died and now all we can look forward to is war and death.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more, Miriam.”
She wiped tears from her cheeks. “There’s nothing more you could have done, Griff. Thank you for your help. We did as good a job as anyone could given his…” she gestured towards the wagon and burst into tears again, “given his wounds,” she managed between sobs.
* * *
Vyder scrambled to his feet, maintained his balance, and clutched hold of Verone’s hand. She clenched a firm grip and dragged him to her. Sunlight and warmth beat down upon him, thawing his frozen clothes and bathing his cold skin.
He pulled Verone into his embrace. “Oh, my love, how I’ve missed you.”
“I too, Vyder.” She cupped his frozen face in her hands and kissed him. “I too.”
They held each other in silence, Vyder enjoying her warmth. He smiled and began to relax in the safety of her arms.
I’m home. Finally, after all these years, I’m home. This is where I belong.
Water began to pool at his feet as the ice upon his clothes melted under the sun’s power. Feeling returned to the skin of his face, and he relaxed in the arms of his love.
“Finally, we are together again,” she said.
“Finally,” he agreed, kissing her hair. “I’ve missed you every single day, Verone.”
Fallen Empire Page 4