Shadow of the Knight (The Orb Book 3)

by Matt Heppe

  Orlos stood and propped his shovel against the wall. It wouldn’t do him any good at the moment. He reached out and took one of the stones blocking the passage and pulled it free. Hoisting it to his shoulder, he carried it back up the passage and dropped it.

  Then he went back and did it again. And again. The stones were heavy and sharp, cutting into his already raw hands. A smith’s hammer pounded a drumbeat of pain through his skull, but he wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t.

  After a dozen stones or so, his stomach revolted at all the effort he was putting out, and he threw up all the water he had drunk at the trough. He coughed and spat. He paused for several deep breaths. His stomach ached, but for the first time he felt some pangs of hunger.

  “What are you doing?” a young voice called from behind him.

  Orlos whirled on the voice. “Melas, what are you doing here?” His younger brother’s head peered out from the crevasse above the tunnel blockage.

  “I came looking for you. I want to help.”

  “No. It’s dangerous. Get Kael. I need him.”

  “I can help you.” Melas crawled forward, as if to join Orlos.

  “Go back and get Kael. Mother will have your hide if you come in here.”

  “It’s no fair. I never get to do anything exciting.”

  “Go! Now!”

  “You don’t have to yell,” Melas said as he crawled backwards and disappeared.

  Orlos went back to work. He’d cleared a few more stones when light spilled into the tunnel. A lantern appeared, pushed by someone coming behind. Orlos took the lantern, and Kael appeared behind it.

  Kael grunted as he exited the hole and dropped into the cave with Orlos. “What in Forsvar’s name are you up to?” he asked.

  “I’m clearing the passage,” Orlos said, giving the lantern back to Kael. As a Saladoran, Kael didn’t have the same dark vision as the Landomeri. In fact, even other Landomeri couldn’t see in the dark as well as Orlos could.

  “Do you realize how dangerous this is? There’s a reason the passage is blocked.” Kael’s eyes swept the ceiling. “This tunnel collapsed years ago.”

  Orlos looked up at the ceiling. “It’s lasted this long.”

  “That’s just brilliant. Let’s get out—”

  “No. I have to finish.”

  “No, let me finish. Maret told me what you’re doing. But let’s do it the right way. We’ll shore up the tunnel with posts and beams. We’ll make it safe and excavate the way down to… wherever we’re going.”

  “I can’t stop, Kael. I have to keep going. It’ll drive me mad to stop.”

  “You are the last spiridus, Orlos. You can’t die in a foolish collapse.”

  “Bring down others if you must, Kael. Shore up the tunnel. I won’t stop.”

  “I should drag you out of here.”

  “You can’t. You can’t get me back through that hole.”

  “By Forsvar, I could give it a try.” Kael took a deep breath. “I’ll bring others back. Don’t pull anything out that is supporting the ceiling. Don’t cause too much commotion.”

  Orlos smiled and nodded. “I won’t. And Kael, could you send some tools down? And some water? And food?”

  “Or maybe I should just starve you out. When you’re hungry enough—”

  “I won’t. I won’t leave. I have to do this.”

  “Should I leave the lamp? Or do you see well enough?”

  “It would help. When it’s this dark, I can’t see very well.”

  Kael put the lamp on the floor and disappeared through the hole. Orlos took the lamp to the blockage. It was a mix of large and small stones with some soil as well. He couldn’t move the largest of the stones, but there were still smaller ones he could remove.

  Maybe he could remove enough to crawl through. But to what? What would he see at the other side?

  Orlos had to do it. He put the lamp down and went back to work. He made some progress moving stones and then dug for a while with his shovel. Despite his exhaustion he kept working. Time meant nothing.

  He heard movement behind him, and Kael appeared through the gap. The older man had a lamp in his hand and a rope tied to his belt. The rope passed back into the passage beyond.

  “Come here, Orlos,” Kael said. “I have some food and water for you.” He pulled the rope and dragged two water skins and a small satchel into the corridor.

  Orlos didn’t want to leave his work but knew he’d accomplish more if he ate and drank. He walked up the tunnel and sat down on a clear patch of floor.

  “Bread, cheese, and apples,” Kael said.

  Orlos opened the sack and pulled out a hunk of bread. He was hungry now, his bad stomach having passed, although his head still pounded. He ate a bite of bread and washed it down with water.

  “Maret says I can’t stay in here,” Kael said. “She says if we both die in a collapse, she’ll kill me.”

  Orlos shook his head at the bad joke. He heard sound from behind the blockage. Someone was hammering. He felt the vibrations through the biggest stone.

  “If we want to get any real work done down here, we have to clear this first,” Kael said, slapping the stone. “A few men said they’d come through and help you in here while we clear the big stone.”

  “We’ll need chisels, hammers, and an iron bar.”

  “All on the way. We also need to get this roof shored up. I don’t want to wait.”

  Orlos stuffed more food in his mouth. He felt much better now. Stronger. He took a long drink. “I have to get back to work.”

  “Eat a little more. Someone will join you soon.” Orlos ate a few more bites as Kael crawled out of the tunnel. Then he stuffed his food back in the sack and went back to work.

  It was not long before two young Landomeri masons joined him. Despite his objections, they quickly demonstrated that they knew a lot more about stone than he did. Orlos wanted to be the one at the front, working at removing the rubble but instead found himself relegated to hauling the broken stone back up the tunnel.

  All three lost track of how much time they had worked, but both masons showed as much enthusiasm for the job as Orlos did. Orlos was driven by his nightmares, a compulsion he couldn’t resist. When he asked the masons why they worked so hard, one simply said, “Because you are the spiridus.”

  “I just want to see what’s on the other side,” said the other, causing all three to laugh.

  Kael joined them and told them that night was drawing near. “I’m not leaving,” Orlos said, although his arms and back were so tired he could barely move.

  “You’re leaving. It’s going to take some time to clear the first blockage, but we can get some wood through. Some carpenters are coming in to shore up the ceiling and you three need to get out of the way.”

  “I’m not—”

  “If you don’t haul your ass out of here, your mother is going to be the next person through that hole. Helna protect you from her wrath.”

  “Come, Orlos,” one of the masons said. “We’ve done a lot, but Kael’s right. This roof isn’t stable.”

  He didn’t want to do it, but Orlos let himself be led from the hall. Behind the blockage, more Landomeri were gathered, some working at clearing stones, while others stood by with lumber, ready to move into the lower passage.

  As Orlos made his way up the passage, they clapped his back and called encouraging words. Orlos smiled and nodded, too weary to reply. He trudged up the stairs and suddenly emerged into cool, fresh air. There was a bright nighttime sky above him.

  All around him there were Landomeri. Some brought tools, while others stacked lumber. But many just gathered, watching as workers entered and left the passage. A pile of rubble was growing nearby as, one after another, workers brought up pieces from below.

  Mother was suddenly there, hugging him. “Are you well, Orlos? You look a mess. You’re covered in dust and dirt. Come home and we’ll clean you up and get you fed.”

  Orlos shook his head. “I have to stay here.”
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  “You’re exhausted.”

  Orlos glanced around at the gathered Landomeri. “Why are they all here?”

  “You think there’s something more exciting going on in Belavil? The last spiridus wakes up from a trance in the bottom of a hidden tunnel and says we must dig? What do you think the Landomeri will do?”

  “I don’t think they’ll like what we are going to find,” he said in a low voice.

  “Do you think if we tell them that they’ll go home?”

  Orlos shook his head. “I have to go first.”

  “If you must.” She took him by the hand and led him to a nearby stone engraved with vines and flowers. “Sit, Orlos. I’ll bring food from home.”

  “Thank you, Mother.”

  As soon as she left, Kael sat down beside him. “You truly should go home.” He raised his hand before Orlos could speak. “I know. You won’t.”

  A young woman approached with a linen towel and a clay ewer. “Would you like to wash?” she asked.

  “Thank you,” Orlos said. She poured water onto the cloth and gave it to him. It was soon brown with dirt. “Sorry,” Orlos apologized.

  She smiled and produced another towel. “To dry off.”

  More people arrived, giving him food; nuts and sliced apples, bread and cheese, smoked sausage. Some wanted to talk, asking him what they would find below. They were ushered away.

  “I don’t like the way they treat me,” Orlos said to Kael, his voice low. “I don’t deserve it.”

  “Like it or not, you are the spiridus. When you were little, there were many who doubted your nature. That stopped the first time you turned invisible.”

  “But I don’t do anything.”

  “You find the spiridus glades for them. You speak to them of the Lady of the Forest. And you are a symbol to them. A symbol of the spiridus and their heritage.”

  Orlos drank some water and pulled his blanket closer around his shoulders. When had he gotten a blanket? Mother arrived with a basket of food and saw that he had already eaten. He shrugged an apology, and she moved on to feed the workers.

  She returned and sat next to him, opposite of Kael.

  “How late is it?” Orlos asked. “When will they go home to sleep?” He yawned and put his head on her shoulder.

  Mother laughed. “You need to go to your bed.”

  “No,” he said and fell asleep.

  The veden came for him. They grasped him by both arms and threw him down on a great block of stone. He tried to fight, but they were too strong. One veden, like a huge shadow with wings, stood over him with a gleaming blade. He raised it high—

  Orlos woke with a jerk. He lay on the ground, covered by a wool blanket. His mother was at his side in a moment. There were still people around, but less than before.

  “You yelled,” Mother said.

  “How long? How long was I asleep?”

  “Not long. Less than a quarternight.”

  Orlos threw the blanket off of him and stood. “I have to go back.”

  “You need more sleep.”

  “I won’t sleep until this is done.” He gave her hand a squeeze and entered the underworld again. The first blockage was much reduced, but still a hindrance. Four workers greeted him as he passed. The hall didn’t need to be cleared entirely, but Orlos still had to crawl past the rubble.

  The lower passage looked much different than before. Heavy posts supported roof beams crossing the ceiling. And further down, the workers had cleared at least five strides of corridor.

  “We’re making good progress,” one of the men said.

  Orlos nodded. “I want to help. If anyone wants to go back, I’ll take your place.”

  The two men and two women glanced at one another. “We just got down here a little while ago. Why don’t you get more rest? You did a lot of work earlier today.”

  “I can’t leave. I have to get through this, or I’ll go mad.”

  “We can all stay,” one of the women said. “There’s plenty of rubble to take outside.” The others nodded.

  They attacked the blockage with picks and pry bars, pulling the stones back so that others could haul them away. Although his rest hadn’t been long, Orlos attacked his work with renewed passion. If he couldn’t sleep, he would work.

  Time meant nothing in the narrow, dark confines of the tunnel. Orlos didn’t know how long he’d been back at work when he struck a stone with his pick, and it fell forward instead of back.

  His heart thudded in his chest. He’d broken through. He dropped the pick and scrambled forward, pulling the rocks clear, desperately trying to clear a space to crawl through.

  “What have you found?”

  “A way through!” Orlos looked through the hole. Open passage.

  He shoved a large stone out of his way and squeezed through. Someone called for him to wait, but he’d have none of it. He stood on the far side. There were more stairs downward.

  “Well?”

  “Clear,” Orlos said. “Pass one of the lamps.”

  A small, tin oil lamp was pushed through. One of the female Landomeri followed it. “Come on,” Orlos said. Holding the lamp out, he started down the steep stairs. They turned to the right and descended even further. It was all clear.

  “The air is awful,” the young woman said.

  “It is,” Orlos said, just realizing it for the first time. He pressed on, down the stairs. It was all clear, and the stonework seemed solid. What would he find?

  They reached a landing and his heart fell. The light of the lamp shone upon another cave in. “Dromost take it! Back to work,” he said. It was a brave front. How many days could he take? How long could he go without sleep?

  “Would you take the lamp, and go back and tell the others?” He glanced up at the ceiling. It seemed stable to him, but he knew what they would say. “We’ll need the masons and the carpenters.”

  “Of course, spiridus,” she said, taking the lamp he offered.

  “Orlos,” he said. “Just Orlos. What’s your name?”

  “Hadde.” She grinned and gave an apologetic shrug. “A lot of girls are named that now. My parents aren’t very original.”

  “It’s a good name.”

  “Thank you.” She retreated up the passage, and he turned to the fallen stones. Grimacing, he attacked the pile.

  For two days Orlos barely left the passage. He collapsed in exhaustion twice, only to be pushed back into consciousness by dreams of blood and sacrifice and death. Each time he would return to the tunnels to take the lead in digging through the rubble.

  The first two blockages were gone now. It meant that only two diggers could work at a time. Others cleared the rubble, taking it to the surface in a long relay. They worked hard as there was a constant stream of fresh workers available, and they knew they would soon be relieved.

  Orlos, however, wouldn’t let anyone take his place. He would work until he collapsed. He didn’t want it to happen again, but still he drove himself, digging as hard as the next man. The line between sleep and wakefulness disappeared, and now his nightmares came to him as he worked. It would only end when he broke through.

  He swung his pick and a rock broke free. As he bent to clear it away, something struck the back of his head and he fell. The rock he had just broken seemed to rush up at him and strike him in the cheek. Light flashed and the world spun and went dark.

  For a time all was dark, and he didn’t dream. And then a bright light shone in front of him, and he was in the forest. It was cool under the canopy of great oaks, even though a summer sun was bright in the sky above. He heard the tinkling of water softly flowing over rocks, and the gentle voice of a woman speaking.

  A cloud blocked the sun and darkness spread across the forest. Thunder rumbled in the distance and shadows darted overhead on huge bat wings. They were calling him. They wanted him deep under the earth. Their knives were waiting for him waiting to plunge—

  He woke with a gasp, his head in his mother’s lap. Moss cushioned
him and a silver brook sparkled nearby. All around everbloom flowers glowed luminescent white even in the bright sunlight.

  Next to his mother sat the Lady of the Forest, clothed in light. “Do you see her?” Orlos asked.

  Mother shook her head. “I feel that she’s close.”

  Orlos smiled, the shadows of his dream receding. “She’s right next to you. You’re looking right at her.”

  His mother smiled and looked back at him. “You slept peacefully for a while, but then you grew troubled.”

  Orlos sat up. His face hurt, and when he lifted his hand to touch it his mother stopped him. “Don’t touch it. It’s swollen. You hit it hard when you fell.”

  “You brought me here?”

  “We tended your wound at home. I thought, maybe, a glade might give you peace. I didn’t know if we would find one, but the Great Spirit was kind to us.”

  “It wasn’t the Great Spirit. I think it was Hadde who brought you here,” Orlos said, looking at the shimmering image of Mother’s friend. “The Great Spirit is sending me the bad dreams.”

  Find them, Hadde said. They wait for you.

  “Why? Why would the Great Spirit torture you like this?” Mother asked.

  “There’s something I must find.”

  “Do you know what it is?”

  Orlos nodded. “I think so.”

  “Will you tell me?”

  “I can’t. I fear it.”

  “Is it dangerous?”

  Orlos looked away from her. “No, I don’t think so. I think it might be terrible though. Terrible to behold.”

  He turned to face the Lady of the Forest. She smiled at him. Find them. They need you.

  Chapter Twelve

  “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my eyes?” Ayja asked. She looked down at her hands. This silver sheen faded, but still she quivered with unspent energy. The ghul she’d slain rested at her feet, its skull cracked open and oozing blood that looked like tar into the straw on the barn floor.

  All around them animals bleated their agitation and banged against stall doors. The violence and the scent of death had made them frantic.