Spark of Truth (The Hidden Wizard Book 3)

by Vaughan W. Smith

  “Would you like to coat the bolts with something?” Beatrix said.

  “No, it’s probably better not to. Just in case there’s friendly fire.”

  “Friendly fire? I thought you said you knew how to use that,” Alrion said. He had taken a step back.

  “Anything can happen in a fight, never forget that. Don’t worry I’ll be careful.”

  “Maybe I can defend a different room,” Alrion said with a chuckle. Lara shook her head. At least he was cracking jokes. He seemed a bit more like his old self. But the more she watched him; she could see something under the surface. He was definitely dealing with a lot. Alyx seemed to be handling the infection better, although she was not as far along.

  “Time to finish our preparations, eat, and wait for dark,” Vincent said. There were no arguments and Vincent walked them through the initial plan.

  All was quiet. Lara peered out the window again. The moon was high in the sky, and lit the surroundings well.

  Maybe they won’t come.

  She had taken up a position in the spare room that they thought the first Tracker had come through. When she wasn’t peering out the window, she was hidden from view. Nobody entering would spot her.

  With any luck I can take one down for free, she thought. But her nerves were starting to fray. She had been waiting for what seemed like hours. On edge. As her mind started wandering again she heard a light patter on the ground. She looked around and saw nothing. She had purposefully left the door ajar and almost closed. It started to open slowly by itself.

  No way. It’s invisible?

  There was no time to second-guess. She threw a dagger at what she thought was where the back of the Tracker had to be. It embedded into nothing, and she heard a cry of pain. The dagger was quickly dislodged, but not without some blood spilling.

  Got you!

  But she needed to alert the others.

  “They’re here. At least one is invisible!” Lara shouted. There was no more benefit to be gained by pretending they were caught unaware. If all four were invisible it would be hard to contend with them. Lara dashed out of the room trying to track the one she had injured.

  Lara saw a few drops of blood in the corridor near the other spare room. She crept over and fully opened the door. The moonlight spilled into the middle of the room, illuminating one of the few places to stand in the mess. She could see the outline of the figure.

  It’s not perfect. Light still shows it.

  The Tracker didn’t seem to be fully aware of her presence, or it was preoccupied with the wound.

  No time for games. Just end it and move on.

  Lara placed one foot in front of the other. Desperately looking for any signs that the Tracker was aware. She imagined that it was trying to patch up the wound. Once she had closed the gap Lara dropped all pretence at stealth. She loudly crossed the remaining distance. The silhouette of the Tracker changed shape, suddenly readying itself. But Lara was upon it too quickly. Before it could do much, she had her Runesteel dagger plunged into what she thought was its chest. They both fell, Lara looking for signs of life.

  Whatever effect had been hiding the Tracker was slowly reverting. It looked like a normal man. She had indeed pierced its chest, but it wasn’t dead. Lara debated what to do next, but her thoughts were interrupted. She heard a scream from the other room. Lara retrieved her dagger and ran to investigate.

  18

  FURTHER NORTH

  Alrion noticed the shape too late. As he drew his sword he felt strong hands around his throat.

  I don’t believe it, was his only thought. He was too surprised to think properly, and his air was steadily running out. The strength started to drain from him.

  “Turn around!” Alyx shouted. Alrion understood what she meant. He dropped his sword and threw his weight around in a desperate attempt to turn. He wasn’t sure it was enough but heard the crossbow bolt fire with a distinctive sound and thud into whoever was holding him. The grip relaxed and Alrion shoved it off. As he peered into the darkness to determine what it was he felt a stabbing pain in his leg.

  “Argh!” Alrion screamed, the pain taking him by surprise. He scrambled around for his sword and plunged it into the shape. It stopped moving and he stumbled back trying to see how he had been wounded. He heard Lara shouting out.

  “Too late for that warning,” he muttered to himself. If she had found one, that meant there were two more lurking somewhere.

  “Lights!” Alyx shouted. Vincent handed her his single torch.

  “I’ll get more,” he said, and ran upstairs.

  “Stay close to me, we’ve got a chance if we can spot them,” Alyx said. Alrion shuffled closer. He could still feel something in this leg but didn’t want to lose focus investigating it too much.

  “Here take this,” Alyx said, handing Alrion the torch. “I need my hands free. You can still swing with your other arm.”

  “Sure,” Alrion said. He felt comforted by the heat of the torch, and swung it slowly back and forth to illuminate the room. The small hearth in the corner had long since burnt out, and only some smouldering coals remained.

  We weren’t prepared for this.

  There had been ample light available to deal with normal attackers. They had even hoped the dimness would work in their favour, since they were ready and waiting. But it had done the opposite. Alrion spotted a blur of something out of the corner of his eye and lashed out with the sword. Nothing connected. He slowly approached the area, swinging the torch rhythmically.

  I just need something to work with.

  The pain ran up his leg but he ignored it. He was more concerned about not getting choked again.

  “Behind you!” Alyx shouted. Alrion whirled as quickly as he could, leading with his sword and following up with the torch. He hit nothing, but did notice some movement as a shape tried to slip past him. He frantically lashed out with the torch, hoping to catch something. The flames showed the figure briefly, but weren’t enough to set it alight.

  Alrion tried to reorient himself so he could attack it properly, but it was too fast. A sudden noise startled him and he heard a crossbow bolt impacting the Tracker. It fell to the ground and Alrion rushed in with his torch. He watched carefully, using his torch to see better.

  “It’s cloaked in shadow,” Alrion said. He couldn’t believe it. The Tracker struggled, and looked to be reaching for something. Alrion was about to finish it with his sword but hesitated.

  Maybe we can learn something.

  He watched the Tracker to make sure it couldn’t move significantly, then turned his attention to the stairs. His father was running down with two torches.

  “There!” Alrion shouted, pointing with his torch. There was another shape creeping by the stairs, looking to pounce on Vincent. As Vincent whirled to face the threat, Lara was already there. She stabbed the Tracker with her dagger then quickly knelt to finish the job. Alrion rushed over, as fast as his leg would allow.

  “Is it over?” he said.

  “Lara?” Vincent said.

  “That should be all four. Let’s check,” she said. They returned to Alyx. The one that had stabbed Alrion was still motionless on the ground.

  “And one more over here,” Alrion said. But as he approached something looked wrong.

  “Hang on, I’m sure it was here,” Alrion said. He waved the torch over, inspecting the ground. There was a crossbow bolt on the ground, it’s end soaked in blood. Alrion picked up the bolt and turned it around in his hand.

  “It still lives,” Lara said. Alyx cursed.

  “You should have finished it,” Alyx said.

  “I thought we could get information. It was originally a person, right?” Alrion said. He thought his instincts were right, but was starting to doubt himself.

  “It was worth a try. And yes, nothing we have learned suggests that they still aren’t infecting people to create these new variants of Tainted. Don’t worry about it,” Vincent said.

  “You’re injured!
” Lara said, looking at Alrion.

  “Yes, one of them stabbed me in the leg.” Alrion sat down on a chair and properly examined his leg. The dagger was halfway up his calf muscle, and was well embedded.

  “You were walking around with this?” Lara said.

  “I didn’t see any other choice,” Alrion said.

  “Oh no, I’m just impressed.”

  “If we’re sure it’s safe, I’ll go fetch Beatrix. We need to treat that wound immediately. Anything else she needs to know about?” Vincent said.

  “Not me,” Lara said.

  “Nothing here, well nothing new,” Alyx said. Vincent nodded and disappeared up the stairs again.

  “That crossbow sure came in handy,” Alrion said.

  “I knew it would. I wish we had known about their strange invisibility beforehand. I never noticed on the original attacker,” Alyx said.

  “Maybe because you were asleep he never activated it. It’s quite unusual, it was like they were cloaked in shadows,” Alrion said.

  “That sounds appropriate when you think about it. But I’m amazed that it’s even possible,” Lara said. She brought over another chair and sat next to Alrion. When Vincent and Beatrix arrived, she moved the chair back to make space.

  “Good, you’re seated. This is going to hurt,” Beatrix said. She had a bag of supplies, which she placed, on the floor near Alrion. She knelt and inspected the wound.

  “Drink this,” Beatrix said. She handed Alrion a small flask and he took a swig. It burned his throat and he started coughing.

  “What is that?”

  “My own concoction. It’ll take the edge off.”

  “The edge off what?” Alrion said. He received an answer immediately. A wrenching pain went through his leg, and for an instant he couldn’t handle it. The pain subsided and he opened his eyes, not realising he had closed them. Beatrix had removed the dagger and placed a cloth over the wound. She handed the dagger to Vincent who looked it over.

  “Look at this,” he said to Lara. She peered over his shoulder and examined it.

  “Is there something on the tip? Is it poisoned?” she said.

  “I don’t think so. I’ve seen something like it before.”

  “What is it?”

  “If I’m right, it’s a liquid form of the Blight,” Vincent said. That got Alrion’s attention.

  “What? You can get infected from a dagger?” Alrion couldn’t believe it.

  “I believe so. I’ve only seen it once. That was how they infected me. I think only the generals can do it. This doesn’t bode well,” Vincent said. He looked worried. Alrion could understand why. Wraith was bad enough, but to have one of those generals of the Blight involved too was terrible news.

  “Seems to go with the whole idea that they’re making these Trackers, right?” Alrion said. Vincent nodded.

  “But why would they try and infect me again?”

  “It could be that they wish to speed up the process. I wonder if it’s working?” Vincent said. He looked over the dagger more.

  “Is there any way of telling how much was on it?” Lara said.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I’m just about done here,” Beatrix said. She set aside her ointments and wrapped the bandage around Alrion’s leg a little tighter.

  “How’s that feel now?”

  “Much better,” Alrion said. It was more of a dull pain now. He didn’t want to test walking on it again just yet though.

  “They’ve really worked you two over. Injured and infected,” Lara said.

  “It must be because we’re the biggest threat,” Alrion said, trying to keep things light. He got a small smile out of Lara and his father. Alyx didn’t seem impressed.

  “We need to rotate a sentry overnight in case they attack again,” she said.

  “I’ll do it. You can all rest,” Vincent said.

  “No, its fine. Let me take a turn,” Lara said. Vincent thought for a moment then responded.

  “I’ll wake you then. Thanks again for your help, Beatrix. And apologies for what we’ve done to your home.”

  “I wish I could say it’s not your fault. But at least you’re polite about it. Just make sure you deal with those bodies. This is my house!” Beatrix said.

  “I’ll take care of it. See you in the morning,” Vincent said. Beatrix nodded and walked back upstairs.

  “Everyone else get some sleep. You’re fine with the spare room with the bed?” Vincent said to Lara.

  “Not a problem.”

  “Good. Let’s hope we can make a move sometime tomorrow,” Vincent said. Alrion used some cushions to make himself comfortable on the floor. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or not, but he was sure he could feel something new happening in his leg.

  It’s probably nothing, just sleep, he thought. Thankfully, sleep was not far away.

  Alrion awoke to a ray of sunlight warming his face. He sat up quickly, unsure of the time. Looking around, he noticed that Alyx was still sleeping. The morning sun made the events of the previous night seem like a dream.

  It really is a new day, he thought with relief. He stretched out and tested his leg. It felt a bit better but was definitely still sore. He didn’t think walking would be a problem, but it might become an issue if they had a long trek ahead. Which he assumed they would.

  “Maybe there are horses in town,” he wondered. He rose slowly, and tested his weight on his injured leg. It stung, but wasn’t too bad. He just had to take care. With measured steps he crossed the room and over to the spare room where Lara would be sleeping.

  He opened the door slowly and looked inside. Lara was still asleep. He crept back without waking her.

  I thought she was on watch?

  Maybe something else had happened. He wandered into the spare room and peered inside. There were some signs of the night’s activities, but nothing else new. He didn’t want to venture upstairs, especially if Beatrix was still asleep, so he slowly returned to the living room and sat in a chair near Alyx.

  She looked peaceful. Her strength was not so obvious when she slept. She almost looked normal.

  What’s normal these days?

  It seemed like she’d had a hard life. He’d always thought of the stories of heroes, and their adventures and what their lives must have been like. He was sure that if he had heard a story like Alyx’s it would have been glorified. And yes, she was an amazing fighter and incredibly skilled. She was a true survivor. But it didn’t seem like that life had given her joy. And she’d had a hard time since joining them as well. He didn’t like the thought of that.

  We’ve just made her life worse, at the time that she had finally earned some rest.

  There had to be a way to make that right again. He heard the front door open, so Alrion eased himself up and walked over to investigate. It was his father coming in.

  “Good morning. How’s the leg going?” he said.

  “Could be worse. Not going to do well on a long hike though. Although I think Alyx is in the same situation. Any chance of horses here?”

  “I’ve been looking into that this morning. There are some in town, but they won’t part with them easily. I’m hoping that Beatrix can convince them.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Healers seem to have some authority, or at least they seem to be a voice that is listened to. I suppose it’s because they provide a lot of safety and assistance. These are dangerous parts. If there was no Healer in town, where would the people turn?” Vincent pointed back at the living room and they walked back there. They saw Beatrix hovering over Alyx.

  “Everything alright?” Alrion said.

  “She seems stable. I do wish we didn’t have the adventures from last night, but at least she avoided additional injuries.”

  “Do you think there’s any chance we can leave today?” Vincent said. He pulled up another chair and sat down. He looked weary. Alrion wondered if he had slept at all. He was starting to think that his father had never woken La
ra.

  “It all depends on Alyx. But you may have to. I hate to say this, but I think you’re risking everyone’s lives by staying here.”

  “That’s completely fair. I think we need to risk it today. But to do that, we’ll need horses,” Vincent said to Beatrix.

  “And they’re not something anybody will part with lightly.”

  “Exactly. Do you think you could have a word?” Vincent said. Beatrix stopped to think.

  “Yes. I know exactly who you are talking about. And he owes me a favour. But I won’t badger him too much, I’ll let him know it’s for everyone’s benefit.”

  “That would be a big help to us. And we’d also be out of your hair. No more late-night visitors,” Vincent said with a smile.

  “Yes, I’m afraid I’m not interested in any more of those. I’ll need some time to prepare, and then I’ll go see what I can organise for you. Some gold will help smooth things over.”

  “Take this,” Vincent said. He withdrew a small sack and handed it to Beatrix. She didn’t even bother opening it.

  “That will do. I’ll return soon with good news.”

  “I hope so. We really need it,” Vincent said.

  “Thank you, Beatrix,” Alrion said. Beatrix acknowledged him and hurried upstairs.

  “Do you really think she will succeed?” Alrion said.

  “Absolutely. They’re all better off with us gone. She can’t get us out without horses. One way or another we will be off later today.”

  “Good. I don’t want to put anyone else in danger,” Alrion said. He had already endangered too many people, and been responsible for too much pain and suffering. He had to lead Wraith away from innocent people. He just needed enough time to find a cure so he could settle things once and for all. He was sick of being sick. Wraith was going to pay.

  19

  THE DIVISIVE MESSAGE

  Vincent paced around the room. He didn’t like waiting around when he could be preparing something. Alrion and Alyx were resting, and Lara looked as restless as he felt. But his hands were tied until Beatrix returned with news. He couldn’t start until he knew what she had managed to bargain for.