by Tony Roberts
Faer checked the blade, then, satisfied, she slid it home. “As I said, it’s my blade. It’s part of me, and nobody else had a right to it. I killed the last man who thought differently.” She turned to Lace. “Captain, clearly Jerethal – or his advisors – want you dead. They’ll try again. There’s an army unit by the bridge over the river on the border of the forest waiting for me to return with the ’heir’.” She thought for a moment. “Who exactly is the heir, by the way?”
“A boy, aged twelve. Not Jerethal’s son, by the way.”
“So – where is he?”
Lace shrugged. He looked at the body of Via. “I don’t know what their plan was other than to dupe you into coming here to kill me, hoping you think the heir was here. You say there was no sign of him in the city?”
Faer shook her head. “So how do you read the political situation in Gorradan City?”
Lace waved for two men to take Via out and dispose of her. Faer held her hand up, searched her pouch and retrieved her ring and coins. The body was then taken out and Lace and Faer sat down. Heller stood close by, still glowering at the girl. Two other men stood by the door. “Jerethal is king but in name only. He never was much of a man; it surprised us when he led the rebellion, but then it became clear there were others behind him who were manipulating events. I suspect they’ll dispose of Jerethal once he ceases to be useful to them. He had no issue and the boy is clearly being held somewhere securely.”
Faer frowned. “Is there any other rival to the throne?”
Lace smiled and shook his head. “Just the two – if they are recognised as being royalty. Trouble is when they took power all the line of the late king were slaughtered. So there’s nobody to challenge them.”
“Capel is the power behind the throne then,” Faer said, “and Theruddas.”
“Oh, that one! Slimy backstabber of a sage. Powerful man.”
“He’s on the edge of the forest with the army unit. Him and a Captain Sherea.”
Lace scratched his head. “Sherea? Via’s commanding officer – ruthless and without honour, that one.” He looked at Faer. “So how was my wife? Was she holding up well? I hope I can get her out of there soon or we somehow take over once more. I don’t want this situation to continue for long.”
Shouting came to them. They all stood and the guards went out of the room. One came back almost immediately. “Army! Scores of ‘em! They’ve breached the outer defences! Flooding down the tunnel.”
Lace swore. “The escape route – get to it now!”
Heller growled, pointing at Faer. “She betrayed us! Led them here!”
“Shut up you idiot!” Faer snapped. “I’m with the Captain here. I certainly am not with them. Let’s get out of here.”
They piled out of the room and ran to the cavern. Men could be seen running with torches, many of them, all wearing the uniform of the army of Gorradan. Faer shook her head. How did these people get here? Lace tugged her arm, pointing to the right. “That tunnel there – leads out of here. Get going!”
Heller and the two men went to it, squeezing through and vanishing, two of them carrying torches. Lace turned to her. “I said get going! They’ll be here in moments.”
Faer shook her head. “They’re after you. Go. I’ll hold them off long enough to gain you time. Where does the tunnel come out?”
“Behind the ridge. There’s a stream at the bottom. Make for it – there’s a fallen tree you can use to cross the stream. We’ll be on the other side. You sure you can hold them off?”
Faer looked at the line of men now running across the cavern floor. It looked like there were twenty or more of them and more were coming down all the time. “Get moving Captain, I won’t be able to keep them off for long.”
Lace nodded and made his way to the tunnel.
Faer took a deep breath and gripped her sword two-handed. The soldiers came nearer, closing in on her. They halted, ten paces from her, spreading into an arc. Faer looked from one to another, gauging which of them would attack first. Taking on twenty would test even her enhanced abilities. The attack didn’t come, and she both thanked the gods and cursed them; thanked them because every heartbeat that passed the men behind her under Captain Lace were getting further away, and cursed them because it meant they were waiting for orders, and that could only mean either Captain Sherea or Theruddas.
Then she saw it was both of them, striding across the cavern floor. The soldiers relaxed and stepped back, peeling aside to allow the two to pass through to face Faer, and she lowered her sword and awaited what either – or both – would have to say for themselves.
“So, you betrayed us after all,” Theruddas said, coming to a halt alongside the hard-faced warriors. “As I thought you would. Too friendly with Captain Lace. I presume Via is no more?”
“Indeed – the failure is hers.”
Sherea glared at the half-elf. “You killed her?”
“I did.”
“Then for that I will kill you myself.”
“Your fellow officer, Captain?” Faer queried her. “She was good, but not good enough.”
“Damn you, dark bitch!” Sherea spat. “I loved her!”
“I suppose you know she intended to sleep with me?”
Sherea growled and said nothing. Theruddas waved an impatient hand, the one not gripping his staff. “This is irrelevant. Where’s Lace?”
“You thought Via could turn me by sleeping with me, isn’t that right? Did you know she was playing with fire? That I could so easily have seduced her and made her my slave?”
“Dark elf sorceress,” Sherea snarled. “I will cut your head in two.”
“Captain – stop!” Theruddas barked. “She would slaughter you on your own. Against twenty of your hand-picked men, however, she would have a problem.”
Faer raised her sword and faced the two officers, her legs apart but slightly bent, her body half-turned and taut. She remembered her lessons under Seltonas. Her eyes began to narrow. From within there came that now familiar upwelling of darkness, and her inner voice began to whisper encouragement to her.
“Ah, observe,” Theruddas saw the change begin. “So now we are facing the dark elf rather than the human.” He raised his staff and light began to emanate from the top. “She will not break this with her dark magic. Attack!”
The light from the staff threw everything into sharp relief. The soldiers moved in, the two ends moving round towards her back. She swung her left hand out in an arc and sent a sheet of flame into the faces of three men there, blinding them. They staggered away, beating at the flames that danced across their shoulders.
Instantly she whirled to her right. Two men came at her, blades slicing through the air. She thrust her left hand forward, her mind working like lightning. A wall of force picked the two men up and flung them back off their feet, both falling in a heap on the rocky floor. More men came at her, murderous intent on their faces.
Faer swung her sword one-handed. It knocked the nearest man’s sword away and she concentrated hard on the man next to him. Her fingers sent a narrow burst of flame into his face and he screamed, clutching his ruined eyes.
Two more reached Faer, their swords slashing at her. Without even thinking, Faer heard a voice urge her from within to spin. She turned hard on one heel, her physique allowing her to turn fast, her blade a blur. She went so fast it knocked two weapons aside and took one of the men through the upper arm. He was left staring stupidly at his severed stump for a few heartbeats before falling to his knees, weakness washing over him.
Faer’s spin halted and she crouched, allowing another blow to pass over her head. She struck up hard, her sword sinking deep into her opponent’s guts. He shivered and dropped his weapon, falling to the floor helplessly.
She backed away, twelve men converging on her. Behind her yawned the opening of the tunnel. Theruddas made an exasperated sound. “Idiots! Cut her escape route off!”
Two men stepped back and then ran to the tunnel entrance behind
her. Faer half-turned and saw her way out now blocked. She snarled and sent another flame strike at the men before her, engulfing two. The men screamed and flailed madly at the burning that coated them. Theruddas raised his hand and a white light shone forth, dampening the flames.
Faer sprang forward to her left, sword blurring. She avoided the first man’s clumsy block and her blade cut up underneath it into his ribs. It ripped through him like a knife through butter. He gasped and fell to his hands and knees, unable to stand anymore. Her blow carried on, rising again inside the second man’s strike, her own body twisting to avoid the edge of the sword. Her blade sank into his chest, sinking in deep.
She pulled the weapon free and sprang to her left. Another soldier’s downward sweep smashed into the ground just where she had been. Faer sucked in air deeply. She was sweating. Her limbs were getting heavy. It was the combination of swordplay and her elfin abilities that was draining her so quickly. She knew Theruddas was waiting for her to become too weak to withstand him.
Calling up a black cloud from within, she vanished from sight. Theruddas’ light couldn’t penetrate it. “Attack! She’s trying to flee!” the sage snapped.
Six men hacked at the inky cloud but it pulled away to one side and they struck thin air. The two men on guard at the tunnel entrance saw it approach and snapped into an alert posture, but without seeing her they didn’t know what was to defend against.
Two rapid blows cut them down and the cloud dissipated. Faer stood in the tunnel entrance, the two men dying at her feet. “Don’t follow me,” she panted heavily, her face bathed in sweat. “Or you’ll die.”
Theruddas bared his teeth. “Evil woman!” and sent a shaft of bright light at her. It bathed her, causing her to cringe away, but it did no harm to her. The sage waved the surviving soldiers after her, including those who had been temporarily burned. Seven lay on the ground, either dead or too badly wounded to take any further part in the fight.
Faer turned and stumbled into the tunnel, her eyes adjusting to the darkness almost at once. The walls appeared like slabs of dull grey, pinpoints of light appearing every so often denoting some crystalline substance present in the rock. She idly wondered at what they were, but had no time to think on it. Behind her came the remaining soldiers, shouting, lighting hand held torches.
The tunnel wound its way ahead, turning left or right slightly but always going in the same general direction, and always upwards. Her calves ached, her lungs burned. The sound of pursuit was coming closer and so she turned.
The warm orange glow of the torches showed how close they were, so she knelt, pointed both hands forward, closed her eyes and sucked deeply, holding her diaphragm for a moment, forcing up her last remnant of strength. A burst of flame shot from her fingertips and smashed into the walls of the tunnel, rebounding and filling the narrow space the soldiers were moving through. They screamed as the ball of fire roared at them, unable to get out of the way.
Almost spent, Faer forced herself to her feet and lurched on up, away from the screams and smell of burning flesh. She hadn’t wished to do it but she had no choice. Ahead the first faint wisps of fresh air touched her sweat-bathed face and she groaned with relief. A few moments later she stumbled out and fell to her knees.
As she waited for the night air to stop spinning, she gradually became aware of swords pointing at her, all round. She looked up. A pair of legs stood before her and she raised her head to see the stern visage of Heller. “Got away did you?” he said, clearly disbelief in his voice.
She groaned and rolled over onto her back. She felt as weak as a new born. Added to her weakness was a feeling of nausea. This must be linked to her state of being totally drained, or at least that’s how she reasoned.
“Blade, what happened?” Captain Lace’s voice came to her.
“Burned them in the tunnel,” she panted. “Theruddas and Captain Sherea in the cave.”
“We’d best get going before the rest of them come for us,” Heller said. “I still think she led them here.”
Faer looked left and right. Lace was to one side, looking at Heller. The rest of the men were waiting for one or the other to give orders.
“The rest of the men?” Lace asked.
“Dead – or captive.” Heller’s voice was grim. “Via and she scouted for them, clearly.”
Lace held out his hand to Faer. “Come on, lady, up.”
Faer took it and rolled over, forcing herself up. “I feel awful,” she said.
“You’d best find strength to move, or you’ll have to be left behind,” Heller said, sliding his sword home with an angry movement.
Lace waved two men to scout, and two others to bring up the rear. The rest went in the main party. Fear ordered her legs to move, and concentrated on putting one foot before the other. The captain studied her. “Used up all your powers?”
Faer nodded. “Drained. Need sleep.”
Heller snorted. “Or you could drain one of us, like you did up at the bridge.”
Faer smiled briefly. “I could – but it’d leave the victim helpless. No – will carry on until rest.”
Heller snorted and stepped away from her. Lace kept on looking over to her with increasing concern. Faer found the going hard and fell, stumbling over a root. She remained there on all fours, shaking her head, fighting to stay conscious, but her body was demanding she rest and all strength had left her. Lace picked her up and cradled her. She regarded him with half-open eyes. “You should let me stay. Be best if you made your way without carrying me.”
Lace shook his head. “You hardly weigh anything. Come on, let’s go,” he nodded to his men who resumed, toiling up a rock-strewn slope in between thick growths of bracken that reached shoulder-height. Heller scowled at the captain. He saw Faer had fallen asleep and her head was lolling. “You’re too soft with her, Captain. She’s bad luck – or one of them.”
“She’s no traitor,” Lace stated with conviction. “A little naïve perhaps, but her heart is good, I know it is. If she’s bad luck,” he shrugged, “we’ll have to deal with that if it becomes clear that is so. She was fooled by a scheming enemy, that’s all.”
Heller grunted. “Mark my words, she’ll bring us all down.”
Lace held the man’s look until Heller turned away.
EIGHT
The sun was bathing the eastern horizon with a watery colourful glow when Faer woke. She stretched and sat up, rubbing her eyes. They felt gritty but at least she had the strength to move. She became aware of figures moving about and looked up. She was in a camp with Lace and his men. A couple of small fires flickered close by, and she caught sight of two figures standing guard at the edge of the small glade they were in.
Tall trees rose all round, concealing the glade from the rest of the forest. She got to her feet, wiping some dirt from her clothing.
“Ah, you’re up,” Lace’s voice came from behind.
She turned, nodding. “How long was I asleep?”
“All night. We made enough distance to avoid any chance of them catching us.”
“But they’re trained scouts – they’ll follow your trail.”
Lace shook his head. “We left a few surprises for anyone following us. Besides, at night not even one of the famous scouts of Via could accurately follow us. They’ll pick our trail up now but we’re moving north and then west.”
Faer looked at the expressions on the faces of the others, and guessed this wasn’t good news. “What’s bad about that?”
Heller spat. “The ruins of Caldok.”
“Excuse me?”
Lace waved to his men to pack. Time they were gone. “I’ll explain on the way. Bet you’re hungry.”
“Mmm. And thirsty.” She reached for her water bottle and uncorked it, taking a welcome pull from the cool liquid. Lace offered her some half stale bread which she accepted eagerly and chewed on it as she fell in alongside the captain, leading the middle group. She noted that three more men had joined them during the night, esca
pees from the raid.
Lace pointed ahead where the forest seemed to grow thicker. “The only way to throw them off the scent,” he said, “is to go via the ruins of Caldok. Do you know anything of the history of Gorradan?”
“No – they knew nothing outside their own little village in Selanic.”
“So. Before Gorradan this land here was ruled by an ancient empire called Caldok. The people – or beasts – that made up the Caldok were the forerunners of those we now call Scalers.”
“Scalers?”
“Mmm. Lizard-men. Humanoids in the form of lizards. Some still survive here but in small groups and well away from men. So, the empire of Caldok lasted for many centuries, from what the legends say, until some cataclysmic event ended it. Nobody knows what that was for sure, whether it was pestilence, war or some natural disaster. Anyway, the old capital remains deep in this forest, ahead of us. It’s said to be haunted by the old Caldok people, and certainly there are beasts and creatures all round it that we must be wary of. It’s the worst part of the forest and has swallowed up many a patrol or even in one case, an army!”
“And our small group is sufficient?” Faerowyn asked, concerned.
“We hope so,” Lace grimaced. “A big force following us definitely won’t go undetected.”
They carried on through an ever thickening undergrowth, the trees growing taller and more twisted. The sunlight was blocked out except in a few places, and a dank smell of rotting vegetation filled their senses. They passed through a couple of high rocks, almost cliffs, and then entered a wide space running ahead in a straight line. It was far too regular to be a natural phenomenon.
“The entry road to Caldok,” Heller said tightly. “It is said this was an avenue of woe, where captives were brought to be sacrificed on top of their temples, and this was their first sight of the city.”
They looked ahead. Thick vegetation grew everywhere, but the path was clearly delineated, running straight as a sword ahead.
Faer looked around. Birds flew up from the trees, brightly coloured ones, calling out noisily. “I feel we’re being watched,” she said.