Evil Within

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "What are these foul things?" he said, wiping his mouth. "I have never tasted a nut so bitter."

  Without waiting for an answer, the soldier hurled the nuts away from the road. One of the nuts struck Jared's horse, and the horse screamed and pranced away, pushing against King Caedmon's horse. The movement jostled the king, and he took a few seconds to stabilize his mount. The soldier looked at the commotion and his mouth fell open. He drew his sword and raced at King Caedmon.

  "We found him!" shouted the soldier as he charged the Arin king.

  King Caedmon drew his sword and slapped his horse to charge at the soldier. As the second soldier moved past Kerzi, the merchant pulled a knife and shoved it into the man's back. The king rode down the other soldier and sliced into his neck.

  Everyone heard the cry of recognition, and the scene in front of the wagon turned to instant chaos. The four warriors drew their weapons and charged the eight soldiers blocking the road. Horst held a scimitar in each hand, and alongside him, Talot held his double-bladed axe. They tore into the leftmost soldiers with an unexpected fury that brought a quick death to four soldiers.

  Most of the attention had been on the wagon, and Gunnar and Sandar sat right in front of it. They did not have the advantage of being on the periphery as Horst and Talot had. They charged the right most soldiers, but the soldiers were ready for them. Both of the Arin warriors wielded two-handed swords and their reach exceeded the weapons of the Borundans. Two of the soldiers quickly fell from their mounts with gaping wounds, but the battle was far from over. Distant bowstrings snapped, and an arrowed soared into Sandar's leg. Another arrow pierced his shoulder. The Arin soldier screamed in pain, and his sword fell from his hands.

  Sandar slumped in his saddle, and Gunnar found himself facing two foes. The soldiers moved to flank the Arin prince, but the one on his right faltered, a thrown knife sticking out of his neck. Gunnar brought his sword hard to the left and sliced into the last soldier. Even as his opponent was falling from his saddle, Gunnar's eyes rose towards the enemy archers. He saw the two archers face down on the road with arrows in their backs. The officer had turned towards Monte, but he soon thought twice about making a charge towards the archer. The Borundan turned and raced into the woods. Horst and Talot raced after the officer.

  "Help me with Sandar," ordered King Caedmon as he dismounted and held the Arin soldier's body on his horse.

  Gunnar dismounted and ran to his father's side. Together they eased Sandar off his horse and placed him gently on the road. The king knelt next to Sandar and examined his wounds.

  "This is not good," the king said. "Either of these wounds could be fatal without a healer, but both…"

  "Let me see him," Jared said softly.

  The king looked up in confusion, but Gunnar nodded vigorously, and the king moved out of the way. Gunnar walked to his father and led him away from Sandar.

  "Kerzi almost died from a beating in Capri," Gunnar told his father. "Somehow Jared healed him. I have never even seen a wisper work in such a way before. If anyone can save Sandar, Jared can."

  "Then I will leave him in Jared's hands," the king said as he bent down and retrieved his knife from the neck of the body before him. "We need to clean up this battlefield before someone comes along. Give me a hand."

  The king and prince of Arin started dragging bodies off the road. Within minutes, Monte rode back and began helping.

  "What happened?" asked Monte.

  "They recognized me," answered King Caedmon. "Perhaps you should ride forward and get Kenra. The campsite he is looking for will be too far away by the time we finish up here, and Sandar caught two arrows, so we will not be going very far anyway. Have him find the closest site to us that offers us security."

  Monte nodded and mounted his horse. Within minutes he was out of sight.

  "What do we do with the horses?" asked Gunnar. "We cannot take them with us. We already stand out too much."

  "The Odessian will never stand for killing them," commented the king, "and I don't blame him. He will have to take them deep into the woods when we camp tonight. We cannot leave a single trace of this patrol, or they will narrow down our location. It is bad enough that they will soon know that they lost a patrol on the Tarent-Dulga Road. Tomorrow the patrols will be doubled."

  "I am sorry, Father," sighed Gunnar. "This plan is not working out as well as I thought it would."

  "The plan was a fine one," smiled the king. "We would not have gotten very far on the Tarent-Koar Road, and traveling without the wagon would have got us caught days ago. I do think we need to make some alterations, though. We will talk about it over the evening meal."

  Horst and Talot returned from the forest. Horst led the officer's horse, and Talot had a Borundan officer's uniform draped over his saddle. The Odessian handed the reins to Talot and immediately began rounding up the other horses.

  "Are you collecting uniforms?" Gunnar called to Talot.

  "It is an officer's uniform," smiled Talot. "They are hard to come by.'

  King Caedmon looked at the Lomite and smiled. "Get all of the uniforms," he instructed. "We will also bury the bodies. The longer we keep them from finding the site of the battle, the better our chances of leaving Borunda alive."

  Kerzi joined in, and soon Horst had secured all of the horses in the forest, and he also began digging graves.

  "Riders coming," shouted Jared.

  "Kerzi, get the wagon moving slowly," ordered the king. "Talot, help me get Sandar into the wagon and then you ride as Kerzi's warrior. The rest of us will hide in the forest."

  Talot and King Caedmon raced to pick up Sandar while Kerzi climbed onto the seat. They carried Sandar to the back of the wagon and placed him inside. Jared climbed up and sat next to Sandar. King Caedmon faded into the woods as Kerzi released the brake and started the wagon rolling.

  A group of four riders passed the wagon on their way towards Tarent. They gave the wagon only a passing glance and continued on their way. A few minutes after the men had passed out of sight, Monte and Kenra appeared, and the whole group moved onto the road and headed towards Dulga. Kenra took the lead and led the way up a side trail to a spot he had chosen for the campsite.

  While the camp was being set up, Horst and Gunnar took the captured horses deeper into the forest. Eventually they encountered a large meadow, and the horses were set free. The two princes returned to the campsite just in time for the evening meal.

  The campsite was quiet as everyone ate in silence. Kenra was dying to know what had transpired, but his efforts to talk about it were not responded to. Everyone ate with their eyes glued to the plate they were eating off of, except for glances towards Jared who still kneeled over Sandar.

  "Where am I?" Sandar said unexpectedly.

  Everyone rose and rushed over to Jared and the wounded Arin soldier.

  "We are camped for the night," Jared answered. "How do you feel?"

  "I am sore in my leg and shoulder," Sandar replied. "I took an arrow right here."

  His hand went to his shoulder and his fingers probed for the wound, but they could not find it. His eyes clouded with confusion and he tried to twist his neck to look with his eyes.

  "The wounds are healed," Jared said softly, "but I do not know if that makes you well."

  "What do you mean, Jared?" asked King Caedmon. "You healed him. You should know if he is well."

  "But I don't," frowned Jared. "I do not even know what I did to heal the wounds. When Kerzi was hurt, I bathed his wounds, and he got better, but I could not do that for Sandar in the wagon, so I just held my hands over his wounds. They closed up and then disappeared, but I don't know about inside him."

  "You don't know if he is bleeding inside?" asked Kerzi, his face paling with the realization that Jared must not have known that when he healed the merchant either.

  "No," Jared shook his head. "I don't know anything about this power. Healing you was an accident when it happened, so I thought I would try with Sandar. That is a
ll that I know."

  "Your power is no accident," Gunnar smiled sympathetically. "You have healed his wounds. We will keep watch on him and find a wisper in Dulga tomorrow. When we get to Vineland, you will be taught about your powers so that you can heal others and understand what is going on."

  King Caedmon turned and walked away. He sat down by the fire and stared into the flames. Gunnar knew his father well enough to know that his mind was focused on some great conflict. He walked over and sat down next to his father as the rest of the group returned to the campfire.

  "What is troubling you, Father?" Gunnar asked.

  King Caedmon looked over his shoulder at Jared and Sandar and then looked into his son's eyes.

  "We cannot take Sandar to Dulga tomorrow," he stated.

  "He may die if we don't get a wisper to look at him," replied the Arin prince.

  "I understand that," nodded the king, "but he will surely die if we take him to Dulga. By tomorrow the Borundans will know their patrol was destroyed. They will not know where or when, but the first thing they will do is tighten security at their city gates. Anyone seeking the help of a wisper will be investigated closely. In fact, Jared and I do not dare enter the city, either."

  "You could wait outside the city while we enter," suggested Gunnar.

  "The road goes through the city," interjected Kerzi. "There is no easy way around it. On one side of the city is the sea, and on the other side is a long ridge."

  "That is precisely why Dulga was built where it is," explained King Caedmon. "It was a fortress to halt an invasion from either Odessia or Vineland."

  "You can't stay here," Gunnar said emphatically.

  "Absolutely not," agreed the king. "The Borundans will be efficient in tracking down their lost patrol. They will question every traveler on the road until they narrow down the area where the patrol was last seen. From that point they will spread out in all directions looking for tracks."

  "If you can't go to Dulga," questioned Monte, "and you can't stay here, where do you intend to go?"

  "Overland to Odessia," answered the king.

  "Northern Borunda is not a land to travel through easily," commented Horst. "Once you get away from the coast, the land is no longer flat. There are dry canyons too steep to enter in the midst of dense forests, and detouring around the canyons will take up many days. As you get closer to Odessia, it becomes a wasteland without trees or water, yet the canyons become more plentiful. Odessians call it the badlands, and that is from a people who travel through seas of parched sand and call it home."

  "I have talked to men who have traveled the badlands," nodded the king, "and I have heard their stories of men who never made it out, but I see no other choice available to us. Even if Sandar miraculously recovered tonight, my face and Jared's face would be enough to get everyone killed. We simply cannot go through Dulga now."

  "The wagon could never cross such lands as Horst described," frowned Talot.

  "Nor should it try to," agreed King Caedmon. "Jared and I will take Sandar with us across the badlands while the rest of you leave Borunda through Dulga. We can meet up in Odessia."

  "I am not leaving you," Gunnar said adamantly. "My face is also sought by the Borundans, but the real reason is that I refuse to let you out of my sight while you are still in Borunda. I did not come down here to abandon you."

  "You will need me along as well," declared Horst. "Once you reach the border of Odessia, you will still be in a wasteland, but it will be one of pure sand without markings to guide you. Anyone not familiar with the desert could easily get lost and die."

  "No offense to you, Kerzi," Kenra said, "but I must go with my friends. They are the reason that I have left Kyland, and I intend to see to their safety."

  "No offense is taken, Kenra," smiled the merchant. "You should all go and see the king to safety. I can make my way to Dulga on my own."

  "No," King Caedmon shook his head. "A wagon without warriors would be very suspect. Besides, too many people and our tracks will be like a beacon for the Borundans. Talot and Monte will accompany the wagon."

  "I had planned to burn the Borundan uniforms tonight," announced Talot. "Instead, I will deposit them in the woods tomorrow at various intervals. I will create a trail of them leading towards Dulga. That should keep their trackers busy for a while to give you time to get away from the road."

  "A good idea," nodded the king.

  "Where will we meet up again?" asked Monte.

  "King Caedmon and Sandar will not be returning," answered Horst, "but the rest of us will try to find you on the Dulga-Laborg Road. I have a fair idea of your rate of travel, so finding you should not be difficult. If we run into trouble and are late, wait in Laborg for us."

  With their plans set, the group settled in for the night. In the morning the meal was brief and solemn. The warriors extracted their belongings from the wagon and attached them to their saddles. Jared conveniently forgot to take his sword from under the seat of the wagon. He still wanted no part of carrying a weapon. As the wagon and its warriors returned along the trail to the Tarent-Dulga Road, the rest of the warriors headed in the opposite direction.

  Kenra took the lead with King Caedmon right behind him. Sandar and Jared came next, and Horst and Gunnar were last. The Salacian prince started the ride by avoiding the trails. For the first hour, he chose the ground carefully, always searching with a tracker's eye. He avoided tall grasses that would leave a visible path, and sought out rocky gullies that would leave little evidence of their passing.

  After the first hour, speed took priority over stealth, and the Salacian sought out the widest paths and picked up the tempo of the ride. By high sun the group was into a range of low hills, and the forest began to thicken. The trails narrowed until the only paths left were game trails.

  The forest grew dark well before the setting of the sun, and Kenra was forced to slow the group down. The trees started getting larger and the undergrowth thicker. Monstrous fallen trees caused Kenra to change his direction frequently until he was unsure what direction he was heading.

  "Find a spot to camp for the night," King Caedmon said. "Without the sun we may end up heading back towards Dulga."

  "We will need a cold camp," commented Horst. "We cannot take the chance of having a fire."

  "Agreed," nodded the king, "however, a stream or a pond would be nice, but we should not waste time looking for one. I want to leave as soon as it is light enough to tell the direction of the sun."

  "That will do," Kenra announced, as he pointed to a squared off area that was created by three fallen giants. "We could defend it well with bows if the enemy catches up to us."

  "I don't expect them tonight," replied the king as they rode into the open square, "but they will cover ground quicker than we do once they get our track. They will not have to feel their way through the forest. They can just follow us."

  "That may work to our advantage if we know they are close," Horst smiled thinly.

  "Perhaps," replied King Caedmon. "That will depend upon many things, especially how many men they have chasing us. I suspect there will be multiple search parties sent out. If we get into a prolonged battle with one group, other groups will move in when they hear the sounds. When it comes time to fight, we must strike quickly and move on."

  "When?" frowned Gunnar. "You do not think if might be more appropriate?"

  "When," repeated King Caedmon. "King Garrick gambled when he took me prisoner. I am sure he planned to lure you to Tarent and kill us both, but things did not work out as he planned. If we manage to escape, he will have lost a great deal by showing his intentions. At a minimum, Salacia and Odessia will join forces with Arin to oppose Borunda."

  "Will that even be enough?" asked Prince Antion. "There were Borundan soldiers swarming all over the Koar-Tarent Road when we came to get you. Their recruiting is raising a very large army, and King Hector said they were buying loads of armor from Caroom and Vineland. Even our alliance may not be enough to halt the
Borundans."

  "Maybe not," agreed King Caedmon, "but they can no longer fool me about their intentions. They have showed their hand, and their advances will be met with steel."

  Chapter 37 - Scorpions

  Scorpions

  The sun was high over the dense forest as Kenra weaved through the tangled growth and around the fallen trees. The pace was far too slow to please the Salacian prince, but there was little he could do about it. When he finally came to an open meadow, his first impulse was to gallop across it in an expression of freedom from the confining forest, but his training refused to yield to such emotional outbursts. A large open field spread far to the right of his path, but Kenra hugged the leftmost edge of the clearing. The sudden breeze flowing across the meadow was refreshing, but it also carried a sound that was not native to the forest. Kenra held up his hand in caution as he continued to ride slowly across the meadow.

  The Salacian prince listened intently and thought he heard the noise again. He signaled for a halt. The six men immediately obeyed, and the party sat motionless along the leftmost edge of the meadow. The distant sound of riders moving too quickly through the forest was unmistakable to all. King Caedmon snapped his fingers to get the attention of his partners. When everyone was looking towards him, his fingers flew with a question for the three princes. Each of them responded by pointing across the open field to the rightmost edge of the meadow. King Caedmon nodded in agreement, and his fingers flashed precise instructions for the three princes.

  Kenra quietly began moving across the meadow on the track he had been taking, hugging the leftmost edge of the clearing. Horst and Gunnar turned around and backtracked out of the meadow. Sandar and Jared sat quietly and watched with puzzled expressions. Sandar had never learned the horse language, and Jared's lessons had not gone far enough for him to understand what was going on. The king waved for them to follow him and then turned left from their original path and entered the forest along the leftmost edge of the clearing. The underbrush was thick with thorny brambles, and the king moved at a painstakingly slow pace to avoid the thorns that would shred the skin of both man and beast. He led Jared and Sandar completely through the deep patch of brambles until they reached a small clearing and then he dismounted. King Caedmon signaled for the others to dismount and they did so.