Night Queen (Elven-Trinity Book 6)

by Mark Albany

  Aside from staying away from those that we could avoid, there were still a handful that we needed to take care of, like this one now, as they were trying to attack one of the last groups of refugees that had managed to survive despite being on the wrong side of the armies that were converging.

  At least there was a reason for why they had managed to survive. The group looked like it consisted mostly of women and children, but the men that were accompanying them were soldiers, armed and armored, ready and prepared for a fight. There had been talk about soldiers staying back in the cities to hold off the advance, and these appeared to be escorting those few civilians that were still alive and trying to find a way out.

  They had been on the brink of escape when cornered by a group that consisted mostly of undead, with a couple of golems guiding them through the paces of killing anything that they found.

  The group had been pushed into a ravine and cornered, allowing the troops to form up around the civilians, but giving them no route of escape if they couldn’t win.

  And from the casualties that could be seen on the ground, it didn’t look like they would have.

  “Greetings,” one of the soldiers said, brushing some of the blood from his shield before planting it on the ground. “We’ve been on the run from this group for days now. I don’t think we would have been able to continue. The people... well, they’re tired.”

  “But alive,” Braire said, placing a hand on the man’s armored shoulder. “Thanks to you.”

  “We’ve done what we could with what we have,” the man replied, smiling and trying not to stare at the five of us. “It wasn’t much. The magic-absorbing armor did its job and we were able to slip through mostly unnoticed. But our luck ran out.”

  I took in a deep breath, nodding. “How were you able to slip through unnoticed?”

  “Mostly sticking close to the mountains, staying out of the open,” the soldier replied.

  “Smart,” I said. “How long have you all been running away from them? How long without rest?”

  “The last week, we’ve been travelling,” the apparent commander of the group said. “Moving as quickly as possible, and the past few days without pause or rest. The undead do not sleep, apparently.”

  “No, they don’t,” Lyth said. “Did the emperor have a way to deal with that?”

  “I think he’ll be working the troops in shifts,” Faye said. “It won’t last forever, but it is a temporary solution.”

  “How do you think we should continue?” the commander asked, looking around to the group. “There will be too much fighting to bring civilians towards the armies that are being gathered.”

  “Agreed,” Norel said. “If you could reach the imperial army before the fighting starts, you would be allowed to pass through.”

  “How?” the man asked again.

  “It would take another night of travelling instead of resting,” Norel replied. “It is unfortunate, but necessary under these circumstances. Besides, you can take the horses that we brought with us. It should allow for smoother and quicker travels.”

  “Are you sure?” the man wondered, looking around to the rest of the people around them. “We wouldn’t want to interfere with the war effort.”

  “Trust me,” Norel said with a small smile. “The horses won’t be able to travel the way that we’re going. I suggest you take what supplies you can carry, what you can’t stand to be parted from, and then go. I wish there was more time for you to all gather what you needed, but in this case... well, there is no time for that now. You need to keep moving. We cleared the path behind us as well as we could, but I wouldn’t rely on it.”

  “Appreciated,” the man said. “Where are you all going?”

  “Trying to find a way to win the war,” I replied, speaking the truth but without giving the man too many details. “In the meantime, trying to support the war effort as best we can.”

  The commander nodded, not fully understanding, but realizing that he had little to add to the topic of conversation. Besides, his focus was on helping his people escape with their lives, and not on what we were doing.

  Yes, we had helped them in time of dire need, and while he might feel some gratitude for that, this man’s duty remained with the people that he was escorting back to safety.

  Safety was, of course, a relative term at this point in time.

  “We will do as you say,” the man finally replied, bowing his head. “Once again, we will not forget what you’ve done for us.”

  “Just give us a moment to take what we need from the saddles, and you can take the horses,” Norel said.

  “They’re not taking my wolf,” Braire grumbled.

  “Of course, they aren’t,” Norel replied as we headed back to where the horses were standing. “We still need him for the fight. Besides, I don’t think they would be able to guide him far enough away from you. And since there’s no saddle for him to use, you can help me.”

  I moved to the horse that I had been riding, starting to take those supplies that we needed and that I would be able to carry on my back and placing them on the ground before patting the horse gently on the neck.

  The gelding turned and nudged me with its nose.

  “You’ll be helping people who need you more,” I whispered, smiling and scratching at its forehead. “But don’t think that we’ll not miss you, or that we don’t appreciate your efforts.”

  “Are you talking with the horse?” Lyth asked, approaching me and tilting her head with a playful smile dancing across her lips.

  “No, I am talking to the horse,” I replied, trying not to give her the rise that she had been hoping for. “Meaning I speak, and do not expect the horse to speak back. Of course, stranger things have happened than a talking horse, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to reply.”

  I paused, eyeing the beast for a moment, but the only response I got was him dipping his head to chew on a clump of grass.

  “Well, I just wanted you to know that I have noted some changes in you,” Lyth said softly, brushing her fingers over my back. “Positive changes, of course. In your fighting style. As Norel said, you have been working on your defenses. I did note that before you were... well, a little suicidal in your attacks. Charging in without any thought for your own safety could be seen as dashing by some, but stupid to those who know the kind of danger that you’re putting yourself in.”

  I sighed, turning to look at her. “It was never done with the intention of putting myself in harm’s way. Well, no more than getting involved in the fighting, anyways.”

  She chuckled. “I know.”

  “It’s just... as I said, Aliana put herself in mortal danger to save me,” I said, keeping my voice down. “I would be damned before letting any of the rest of you do the same, and in the end, I suppose that I would have put myself in the same danger to avoid anyone else dying, I guess. I don’t think that I could stand to lose anyone else at this point. I’m afraid that it would literally kill me. And if I’m going to die, it might as well be doing something to protect one of you...”

  “Don’t you think that they feel the same?” Lyth asked.

  I nodded. “I know, it is selfish of me. But I couldn’t help it before. It was never a conscious decision.”

  “You know that we can take care of ourselves, yes?” Lyth wondered.

  “Yes, of course,” I said with a soft chuckle. “I never said that it was an intelligent decision.”

  “And now?”

  I sighed. “Maybe knowing that Aliana might actually still be alive, out there somewhere, has given me something to live for other than keeping the rest of you alive. That, and the whole... killing Abarat thing is fairly important as well. For the fate of the empire and the world as we know it.”

  “Well, maybe we need to you to keep yourself alive too,” Lyth said. “Try to remember that.”

  “I will,” I replied. “Thank you.”

  She winked and squeezed my shoulder before turning to the rest, who wer
e already starting to guide their horses towards the refugees that were getting ready for their last push towards relative safety. A part of me wanted to help them head back, help them arrive without too much hassle, but they were going to have to rely on the force that had protected them thus far.

  “So, I think we should have talked about this before,” Faye said as we were seeing the others on their way. “Why don’t we need the help of the horses again? I don’t want to say that you were wrong, Norel, but walking will significantly reduce our travelling speed.”

  “Have you ever tried climbing up the side of a mountain with a horse before?” Norel asked, picking her pack up and hefting it without too much effort. “I have. Believe me, we will be moving faster on foot.”

  We had to take her word for it, and from the way that Braire nodded, we could trust that both were telling the truth, or at least speaking from experience. We gathered up our supplies and started heading deeper into the ravine, with Norel taking up the lead, pulling us forward into the ravine that the refugee group had just left behind. Norel did appear to know where she was leading us, and at the back of the ravine, a very narrow path could be seen leading up into the mountains.

  “Why didn’t they escape into this pathway?” I wondered aloud.

  “Being trapped on a narrow pathway like this would be a less preferable death than somewhere that you can fight,” Braire said. “At least to my mind.”

  “Besides, it would be leading them away from where they want to go,” Norel pointed out. “And, if they know anything about this area, and the time of year, they would know that they would have a much, much longer way to go and through a great deal more peril while travelling slower than they would have on open ground. It would have been a death trap for them when they had the undead nipping at their heels.”

  It was a fair point, and as we moved steadily up the mountain, it became clear why the horses needed to be left behind. It was a sharp climb out of the ravine, up into the cliffs that stood above them, and the path narrowed out to where we needed to travel in a single file. The horses would have been wedged into the rocks, possibly forever, and if there was any blockage ahead, there would have been no way for them to turn and head back if they needed to.

  But on foot, we were able to push further up, climbing out of the ravine as the daylight was starting to fade, and up into the steadily steeper slope of the mountains proper. A path had been carved out, but even then, it was difficult to follow as we moved up higher, feeling the icy chill of the mountain air, like the whole place was preparing itself for the oncoming winter.

  I couldn’t shake the feeling that all that was happening right now was changing the world around us. The animals that normally live on the mountain were not in evidence, and perhaps they sensed the dangers that they were facing. Even the trees and weather appeared to be changing in light of the army that was coming south.

  That feeling was only further reinforced as night fell and we found a small outcropping of rock that protected us from most of the wind and started preparing camp for the night.

  Looking out into the land below us, I could see the flood of campfires covering the ground below. The emperor’s army appeared to be fully stationed and ready for the incoming horde. The battle didn’t appear to have started yet, but the blackness that was spreading from the northern regions could be seen inching across the land, coming closer and closer with each passing moment.

  I couldn’t help a gentle shiver that had nothing to do with the cold as we huddled close to the fire and tried to get some rest. It was going to be a long few days, and we likely weren’t going to have the luxury of uninterrupted rest for a while to come.

  11

  It was a long, cold night. We needed to keep a watch on the surrounding areas to make sure that there were none of the monsters climbing up the pass, trying to sneak up on us. If we were caught unawares, the fighting would be dark, dangerous, and impossible to avoid due to the lack of avenues of escape that were to be found up in the mountains.

  We needed to know if we had to move quickly to avoid being caught out on a ledge, and due to that, none of the four of us managed to sleep well. The thoughts of what was happening down in the valleys below, and what was going to happen, weighed on our minds, leading to a restless night, feeling strangely on edge and ready for a fight.

  One that never came. The night passed without so much as an incident, and all we were left with was an unpleasant night’s sleep to remember it by so we were happy to quickly start moving as soon as the sun was rising and we had enough light to navigate the treacherous mountains paths by.

  As we moved higher up into the mountains, more and more silence came over us. Either we were all occupied with whatever was plaguing our minds at the time, which happened to be a great deal, or it was the cold, making it difficult to find any topic of conversation that wasn’t suggesting that we head back to the valley and engage the horde on our own just to get away from the icy bite.

  I couldn’t tell what exactly was on the minds of the other four, but considering the tension that I could feel from them, it had to be something that was plaguing their minds, Norel seemed more tense than the others, and as she tried to hide it, I could tell that she was not looking forward to meeting with the monsters once more.

  I could understand the kind of fear and dread that she was feeling. It was the same kind of terror that haunted me every time I thought of the fact that another showdown against Abarat was bound to happen, needed to happen, and while there was nothing that I could do to stop it, it still felt like the world was pushing me towards the very thing that I feared the most.

  Memories of the elf crushing me, pushing me down and toying with me had only been made worse by the suddenly shock of pain that I had associated with it. Losing Aliana’s connection had felt like losing a limb, and I could still feel the throb of pain every time that I thought about it, making it impossible to forget, or even try to move on.

  Just thinking about it had me aching in a way that made it difficult to breathe sometimes.

  Braire could feel the pain on my end, and she approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

  “Was it that obvious?” I asked, placing my hand over hers.

  “I’m afraid so,” Braire said with a small smile and a gentle squeeze before turning her eyes up to where Norel was guiding us. “So, how was it that when you and Aliana were coming up here during the war effort, I wasn’t with you? I seem to recall precious few missions that didn’t involve the three of us working in tandem.”

  “Yes, I was wondering the same thing,” Lyth said, looking up the path from where she was taking up the back of our group. “The Sisters Three were famed for... well, being three sisters, not of blood, that fought together during the war. Even I knew of you, and the tendency to send you out into the field since you all worked so well together.”

  “Well, it was during the time that you headed off to parts unknown,” Norel explained. “You remember the time that you disappeared for months and returned with the ability to summon beasts and creatures with the use of runes on pebbles, which... well, you never did explain that to us either.”

  “Oh, yes,” Braire said, shaking her head. “I’d forgotten. Well, not forgotten, but failed to realize that was when it had happened.”

  “Well, it was,” Norel said. “I’d say that we could have ended it differently than us just barely escaping with our lives if we had you at our side that day, but I fear that... well, there wouldn’t be much in the world that would have been able to drive those beasts back into the darkness that they seemed to love.”

  “I don’t know,” Braire said with a shrug. “I’m sure that someone of my particular talents might have been able to find a way to communicate with the beasts, maybe even have them with me for the fight if we needed them.”

  Norel didn’t answer, but I did note a shudder that had little to do with the cold that was still enveloping us as we climbed higher up on the mountainside. There
was something about the creatures that she didn’t like, and it went beyond how powerful they were.

  “Well, they would have had to be a little more intelligent than most creatures,” Lyth said. “If they were able to open portals like Aliana and you can, that would mean that they are capable of something that... well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before the two of you were able to. I don’t think even the ancients were able to consider a power like that before you came about with it. Something that can do that has to be beyond powerful and, I hate to say it, ancient. Older than those humans and elves that first started practicing magic. Those are not creatures to be trifled with, much less summoned in your time of need. Like Norel’s dragon.”

  “Agreed,” Norel said softly. “They seemed intelligent, although limited. And malicious, somehow. Like they were toying with us, cutting off our escapes, waiting for us to tire ourselves out before moving in for the kill.”

  “I’ve seen cats do something similar with rats,” I recalled, from my time as a familiar to Vis.

  “Well, they weren’t cats,” Norel said softly. “Not even remotely.”

  “It does beg the question,” Faye said. “Where was Braire while you and Aliana were fighting these beasts? Or... just barely surviving them, I suppose is the way to describe it.”

  “I was elsewhere,” Braire said, looking away. “I never wanted to be a part of the war, and when it started, I needed some time away to gather myself and find out why I was fighting. I headed off into parts unknown, into the isles of the south and out west, where the people had few interactions with elves outside of our forest-dwelling kin. It was with them that I was able to learn a few handy abilities that had mostly been lost from our people on this continent. One of them was being able to summon beasts that certain connections were made with. Among them, the wolf, the serpent, and the bear.”

  “The bear,” I said, pensively. “I’d forgotten about that big bastard. Is he all right?”

  She nodded. “I love him, but he likes to remain in isolation.”