Evil Within

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "We must stop," shouted Prince Antion. "We cannot see where we are going."

  "If we can just make it a bit further," Prince Derri shouted, "we can get out of this wind. We won't last the night in such conditions."

  "Then we will dismount and walk," ordered the Arin prince. "I will not risk losing one of us because we cannot see."

  Prince Derri nodded and halted the group. He dismounted and started leading his horse forward. Behind him he heard Prince Umal quip about crawling the rest of the way so that they could feel the trail before them. The Salacian prince laughed loudly, and his spirits were suddenly lifted. He hadn't realized how tense he had become leading the group through unfamiliar territory on a trail with an unknown destination.

  The pace was agonizingly slow, but Prince Derri was no longer agitated by it. It was as if the laughter had lifted a great burden from his shoulders. He also found that walking in front of the horse kept him warmer as the wind was now coming from behind them, and the beast blocked the worst of it. The Salacian prince suddenly began singing a song that the Odessians sang around the campfire at the horse camps. Prince Umal immediately joined in, and soon Prince Antion and Sandar did as well. It was a lively tune with a marching rhythm, and Prince Derri found that he was marching to its beat. He also felt warmer, which he was sure was entirely in his mind, but it felt good nonetheless.

  After a few minutes, the wind ebbed and then died completely as the group moved behind the mountain. The snow still fell heavily, but it was no longer blowing about them and obliterating what small amount of vision they had in the darkness. Prince Derri smiled as he sang. He knew that Prince Antion would call a halt for the night now that they were out of the wind, but he could hardly do so without halting the song. When they reached the end of the refrain, Prince Derri started right in on another song. He wanted to find the spot he had seen from the first mountain. Even if it were bushes and not trees, the bushes would allow for a short fire, and a hot meal would go down easily on a cold night. Six songs later, Prince Derri saw the dark mass before him. He stopped singing and grinned broadly.

  "I told you there were trees," he said triumphantly.

  "I would still prefer a yurt," chuckled the Odessian prince. "Let's get a fire going. I do not care much for these northern climes."

  "It will get worse," commented Monte as the group dismounted. "This is still autumn."

  "If you weren't such a good shot with that bow," Prince Umal retorted humorously, "I would stake you out in the Odessian sands next summer so that you can truly appreciate heat."

  "Monte," Prince Antion spoke seriously, "see if you can find some fresh meat. Do not stray far from the camp, and do not perch on the side of the mountain. If there is nothing available, we will eat our trail rations, but see what you can find."

  The Caroomite archer nodded and moved quickly through the trees. Prince Umal and Sandar gathered the horses while Talot and Prince Antion searched for wood. Prince Derri and Jared gathered rocks and built a fire ring.

  "How are you faring in this cold?" the Salacian prince asked Jared.

  "It is beautiful," Jared replied. "I can't wait to see it in the morning when the sun shines upon it."

  "You haven't seen snow before?" asked Prince Derri.

  "It never snows in Capri," answered Jared. "I did see snow in Vineland last year, but it will be different up here. The mountains will make it different."

  "It is beautiful," smiled Prince Derri, "but you must take care to keep bundled up."

  After a moment of silence, Jared stopped placing rocks and looked at the Salacian prince. "Do you think I am wrong for refusing to fight the Borundans?" he asked.

  Prince Derri gazed at Jared and hesitated. "A man has to do what he believes in," the prince finally said. "In our world, it is often kill or be killed. I choose not to be a victim of those who wish me ill. I do not enjoy killing, nor do I go looking for people to kill, but I will not hesitate to kill when the lives of good people depend upon my actions."

  "So you do think I am wrong like Prince Antion does," sighed Jared.

  "I didn't say that," replied Prince Derri. "I explained how I view the answer to your question in regards to my actions. I am the prince of Salacia. As such, I have been brought up to serve my people, and I will fight to the death for them. I will do the same for my friends, which includes you and Prince Antion. That is not to say that you must feel as I do. Each man has to make those decisions for himself, and neither Prince Antion nor I would normally try to get someone to go against their beliefs, but you are a special person, Jared. When you choose not to fight against Captain Xero and his men, we understand your reasoning and we accept it. It is not right according to our beliefs, but we understand that your beliefs are different, and we can live with that. I think what troubles Prince Antion is what you will do when you finally meet your brother. Do you know what you will do?"

  "No," Jared shook his head. "I understand that I am supposed to kill him, but he is my brother. If I cannot bring myself to kill a stranger who is threatening my life, how can I possibly kill my own flesh and blood?"

  "I don't know," admitted the Salacian prince. "I truly wish that I could do that for you, but from what I understand, you are the only one who can kill him."

  "You would kill Zinan if you had the chance?" asked Jared.

  "Without a doubt," nodded Prince Derri. "I would be sorry for your loss, Jared, but the peace of the world is threatened by your brother. Perish the thought, but I would kill my own brother in such a situation. Neither his life nor mine is worth the death and misery of thousands of others."

  "Would you kill Prince Antion if he were Zinan?" asked Jared.

  Prince Derri hesitated, and he suddenly knew what inner turmoil Jared was going through. Prince Antion was the closest person in the world to Prince Derri, and Jared knew it. Still, he slowly nodded.

  '"I would," answered the Salacian prince. "I would prefer to lose my own life rather than Antion's, but that is not the question you asked. If Prince Antion were the one threatening the world, I would kill him. I would have to, Jared, just like you will have to. This is not about one man, whoever it is. It is about one man versus the world. It is about good versus evil, and I will not let evil win, no matter what the personal cost to me."

  "I believe you," frowned Jared, "but you are a finer man than I am. Even if I managed to force myself to kill Zinan, I would not want to live afterwards."

  "I understand completely," Prince Derri smiled thinly. "I would not want to live after killing Prince Antion, but killing myself afterwards would solve nothing at all, would it?"

  "It would make it so I didn't have to live with what I had done," shrugged Jared.

  "We have much in common," Prince Derri said, "yet we are different. Let me share with you the reason why you need to live after killing Zinan. You are a prince of Borunda, the same as he was. In fact, you were the first-born and the rightful heir to the Borundan throne. Right now, Zinan is destroying your country and its people. He has already moved on to destroying other countries. Someone has to put that all back together if the Great Peace is to be restored. You are that person, Jared. You will become the King of Borunda when Zinan dies. You will have the power to right the wrongs that your brother has committed."

  "But I don't want that power," balked Jared.

  "You will also have the responsibility to fix what he has broken," countered Prince Derri. "You cannot leave Borunda without a ruler. This is not about your personal power; it is about your personal responsibility. As a prince you are a servant of your people. You have a duty to do things in their stead. You may not like what you must do, but you must do them just the same. This is where we are alike, Jared. We are both princes and we both are servants of our people. We have obligations to fulfill that supersede our personal beliefs. You can refuse to kill the Borundans because you don't want to, and someone else can do it for you, but you must kill Zinan. No one can do that for you, and it is your obligation to your pe
ople. What you believe in no longer matters when it comes time to destroy your brother. That is what being a prince means."

  "But I never asked to be a prince," frowned Jared.

  "Nor did I," retorted Prince Derri. "Your mother was Princess Orenda. Her royal blood flows through your veins. You didn't ask to be her son, but you are. From her actions comes your duty and the responsibility to commit your life to the people of Borunda. To renege on your obligations is to besmirch her memory."

  "That isn't fair," protested Jared.

  "No, it isn't fair," agreed the Salacian prince, "but life can be unfair. I know that you are not a selfish person, Jared. That is why you will become the King of Borunda and restore the Great Peace that Zinan is destroying. All I can say is that Salacia will stand with you when that time comes. We will defend you against other nations that seek revenge for Zinan's dastardly deeds."

  "As will Arin," Prince Antion declared as he placed a pile of logs near the fire ring. "I do not envy your position, Jared, but Borunda will be well served by your stewardship. I am not sure exactly what you two are talking about, but I want to apologize for my attitude earlier today. I snapped at you in a most harsh manner, and it was uncalled for. Please accept my apologies."

  "You were angry with me for not doing my part in defending the camp," Jared said softly. "I understand why you were angry, and you had a right to be. I know that you think of me as a coward, but I just cannot kill. I just can't do it."

  "I do not think you are a coward at all," Prince Antion smiled warmly as he knelt next to Jared. "I understand your aversion to killing probably better than you do, but at times I forget myself, like this morning."

  "What do you mean?" frowned Jared. "How can you know me better than myself?"

  "You cannot do anything destructive," smiled Prince Antion. "That is not because of fear or cowardice; it is because of the Talent within you."

  "The Talent?" asked Jared.

  "You exist for one purpose, Jared," explained the Arin prince. "That purpose is to kill Zinan and take his place on the throne of Borunda. To succeed against Zinan, you must be pure in the Talent. Even if you wanted to kill someone, you would be unable to. The Talent would prohibit it."

  "But the evil affects me only if I use the Talent with evil intent," argued Jared. "That has nothing to do with using a bow. Audric said so."

  "And Audric was right, as far as he knew," replied Prince Antion, "but I have dwelled upon this subject for a long time. Audric has never met a person like you, because I don't think anyone like you has ever existed before. I am convinced that the Talent is forcing you to be pure in all matters of your life, not just in the use of the Talent."

  "That makes sense," nodded Prince Derri. "That also means that he will be able to kill Zinan when the time comes. The Talent wants Zinan's reign ended."

  "So," smiled Prince Antion, "will you forgive me for this morning?"

  Jared smiled and wrapped his arms around the Arin prince. The prince embraced Jared and said nothing further. The noise of the others returning to the camp caused everyone to turn and look. Monte strode into the camp with a large mountain goat over his shoulders.

  "We will have a hot meal tonight," grinned the archer, "and there are more where this one came from."

  "Excellent," Prince Antion said as he rose. "I think we may just spend a few days here. The weather is not good for traveling, and Captain Xero will be watching for us to leave the mountains. Let him search for a few days while we rest here and let this snow melt."

  * * *

  It was several days later when the group finally found a way to exit the mountains and return to the forests of Hyrem. Captain Xero and the Borundans were nowhere in sight, and the group continued their trek, turning northwestward as the landscape allowed. The skies had turned sunny, and the snow was only a memory. The discussion at the mountain campsite had cheered everyone up. Jared no longer felt like a coward, and no one expected him to do anything in terms of defense. The horses were well rested, as were the warriors.

  "We could use some more arrows when we get to a city," commented Sandar.

  "You will find no cities in Hyrem," replied Talot. "In fact, there are no towns either. If we are real lucky, we might come across a village or two, but most of the Hyremites are nomads."

  The group was traveling through a mature forest with decent trails, although the paths were narrow at times. Prince Derri was leading and he suddenly halted the group and dismounted at the intersection of another trail.

  "What is it?" asked Prince Antion.

  "A large group of riders came through here recently," answered Prince Derri.

  "Some of those nomads?" asked Sandar.

  "No," the Salacian prince shook his head as he examined the tracks. "The nomads are mostly herders. These riders had no animals with them other than their horses, besides, the herders don't use the forest trails much. Hunters do, but they don't travel in large groups."

  "You think it is the Borundans?" asked Prince Antion.

  "I do," nodded Prince Derri. "They came from the northeast and left to the northwest. That puts them in front of us."

  "Sounds like they are trying to hug the mountains," commented Prince Umal. "They are still searching for some sign that we have returned to the forests."

  "Unfortunately," frowned Prince Antion, "we need to hug the mountains ourselves. We certainly are not going to find some lost and forgotten mountain pass by riding across the plains. How far ahead of us are they, Derri?"

  "An hour or two," answered the tracker. "I was kind of hoping that they would return to Borunda and say that they lost us."

  "I don't think they can do that," replied the Arin prince. "I suspect that King Zinan would not welcome Captain Xero and his report of failure. No, the Borundans will continue to track us until one group or the other is annihilated. I would prefer it to be his group that dies."

  "What do you want to do?" asked Prince Derri.

  Prince Antion glanced up at the sun and thought for a moment. "Follow them," ordered the Arin the prince. "Keep a close eye on the tracks. I don't want to suddenly come up behind them, but I would not mind getting closer to them when they camp for the night."

  "What do you have in mind?" Price Umal asked suspiciously.

  "Captain Xero is a fine hunter," smiled Prince Antion. "I wonder how he would react to being the prey?"

  "You can't be serious?" gasped Monte. "By my count, there are still eighteen of those elite warriors."

  "I like the idea," replied the Odessian prince. "A quick attack on them tonight will make them more cautious and will slow them down."

  "Everyone keep your bows handy," commanded Prince Antion. "There is always a chance that we will catch up to them without warning. If that happens, fire one arrow and ride like the wind."

  Prince Derri mounted and started the group forward at a fast pace. He kept a close eye on the tracks and stopped occasionally to check the freshness of the imprints. As the sun sank low in the sky, the Salacian prince dismounted and quietly announced that they were only half an hour behind the Borundans.

  "We ride slowly and quietly now," advised Prince Antion. "They could be a half hour ahead of us, or they could be only five minutes away if they have already left the trail and set up camp."

  An hour later, Prince Derri held up his hand to halt the group. He quietly dismounted and carefully inspected the tracks. He returned to his saddle and started slowly riding forward while giving the signal for the rest of the group to stay where they were. He disappeared into the darkness, and the rest of the group sat anxiously waiting for his return.

  "They are a mile up the road," Prince Derri reported when he returned. "They have a fire burning and there are no sentries. They are making enough noise that we could probably ride by them if we were quiet."

  "No," Prince Antion shook his head. "Monte, find a place around here to camp for the night. No fire. Derri, find us a path around them that we can take in the morning."

&n
bsp; "In the morning?" questioned the Salacian prince. "You aren't going to attack them tonight?"

  "Much later in the night," smiled the Arin prince. "We are going to have a restful night and a very early start in the morning. Once we are past them, Umal, you, and I will pay them a visit."

  "Why not get past them tonight?" asked Sandar.

  "They just might get an earlier start than we do," explained the Arin prince, "and I don't want to be surprised by their stumbling across us."

  "I will be a while," nodded Prince Derri, "so don't count on me for sentry duty tonight."

  "Monte, Talot, and Jared will have sentry duty tonight," replied Prince Antion. "Don't stay out long, Derri. I want you well rested. Tomorrow may be a long day for us."

  The tracker nodded and rode off. Monte signaled the group that he had found a suitable campsite, and the rest of the group began to set up camp for the night. Once they were settled in, Talot began snapping arrowheads off of arrows. The others watched him curiously and finally Prince Antion could stand the suspense no longer.

  "What are you doing, Talot?" he asked. "We do not have a great supply of arrows as it is."

  "Try to pick up some more when you visit their camp," replied the giant.

  Prince Umal laughed, and Prince Antion shook his head in disbelief. Finally, Talot looked up and grinned.

  "It is something that is taught in Lom," he explained. "Tomorrow the Borundans will want to chase us. I figure that they will race after us with abandon. While you three princes are out doing your sneak attack, I will be setting traps along the trail. You wanted the Borundans to be more cautious, well Captain Xero will learn not to race after us ever again."

  Chapter 51 - Setting Traps