“Well, time’s on our side, not theirs right?”
Jerico saw the desperate hope in the lieutenant’s eyes, wanting reassurance more than anything.
“Of course,” said the paladin. “One of the other towers is bound to notice our absence, if not the traders.”
“Right.” Daniel looked at the townspeople, and a smile touched his lips. “They’re good workers here. If they have any sons to spare, I’ll probably try to bring them back with me to Blood Tower. This is the fine stuff true fighters are made of, not those sniveling brats nobles send off in hopes of winning their family honor.”
They walked between the three areas, Jerico pointing out gaps in the defenses, plotting locations of more trenches, and correcting angles of the spikes.
“They like to leap,” he said. “Remember that. They aren’t charging men on foot. Push the tips higher. Make every one of them suffer for jumping too much, or too little.”
When he was back at Jeremy’s, Jessie came out to greet them. She looked about as bad as Jerico felt, and he felt guilty for not being there to protect her against Yellowscar’s attack. He knew it was irrational, but he felt it all the same. After Yellowscar’s burial, he’d gone inside to help with the others. The image of that room had haunted his dreams, robbing it of rest. He thought of Darius’s anger at giving the creature any form of honorable death. Viewing that carnage, he finally understood.
“Jerico?” she asked, and the paladin bowed politely.
“Yes, Jessie?”
“We, well, some of the others were getting together, and we were hoping you could, you know…”
He smiled even as the selfish part of him wished for anything else in the world.
“Of course,” he said. “Where?”
“In the square. The men are about to take a break to eat.”
She tried to smile, but it didn’t quite take. When she left, Jerico sighed and shook his head.
“She should be worried about which boy to take to the hay-dance, not prayer for friends and family soon to die.”
“World ain’t fair, nor just,” Daniel said.
A vision of the Citadel flashed before his eyes, and then it fell.
“No,” said Jerico. “It is not.”
“I need a bite to eat myself. Join me when you’re done.”
Jerico waved him off, then trudged to the square. He took his shield off his back and glanced at its light on the way, feeling childish for needing to do so. He wanted some visual proof of Ashhur’s presence, for he felt so exhausted, so trapped. Waiting for him was nearly half the village, men sitting with their wives, their children beside them, the younger ones cuddling on their laps. Some ate, and some drank. When Jerico stepped among them, he felt their presence, their need for reassurance. They were tired, ragged eyed, fighting terror and exhaustion.
“I’m here,” Jerico said, for he knew not what else to say. He felt woefully unprepared. His training at the Citadel meant nothing for this. Where were his teachers? Where was their faith that had seemed unshakeable? Before the crowd he felt his neck flush, his hands tremble, and his back go slick with cold sweat. So many of them would die, if not all. What fate awaited them? Would it be Ashhur’s graceful hands? Karak’s fire in the Abyss? Or only emptiness, a nothing that belied what he knew and believed?
“Thank you for coming,” Jessie said, sitting in the front row. Several others echoed similar thoughts.
Jerico bowed his head and closed his eyes. He drowned them out, all of them. Denying his doubt, denying his fear, he spoke to Ashhur as if he were alone. His voice quivered at first, then grew firm. He asked for strength. He asked for forgiveness. He revealed his fear, his uncertainty, and his desperate trust that it would be conquered. Through it all, the people listened.
* * * * *
“Do you see them?” Pheus said, watching from afar. His arms crossed, he leaned against a partly disassembled home and frowned at the sight. “Do you see what I warned you of?”
Darius stood beside him, and he keenly felt the shame burn in his chest.
“They are only afraid,” he argued. “It will not mean anything beyond today, perhaps tomorrow…”
“The now means everything,” Pheus said, willing to hear none of it. “It should be you they come to for guidance. It should be you who shows them what it means to be strong. When afraid, when facing death, men and women flee to the gods for succor. There will be no lulls to win them back over to you now. No quiet moments of doubt to speak your word. The wolves will come, and fight, and many will die. How many there once sat in your congregation, Darius?”
Taking his greatsword off his back, the dark paladin stared into the black fire that enveloped it.
“Many,” he said at last.
“Many?” Pheus sighed. “Even one is too many, and we both know there are far more than one in that gathering. This is your failure. Their lost souls are upon your shoulders for not doing what needed to be done. How tall will you stand before Karak when he asks of this? What will you tell our great lord? I fear what I myself must say. I trusted you, I suppose. Will he accept it? Doubtful. Perhaps we can still acquire some measure of mercy, but only when Jerico dies at our feet. Only when his blood wets your sword and burns in its dark flame…”
Darius sheathed his weapon.
“Enough,” he said. “You have made your point. But whoever out there would abandon Karak now in their moments of weakness, they were never true servants of our god. Perhaps we only separate the wheat from the chaff.”
Pheus waved a dismissive hand.
“Use platitudes to excuse your weakness if you must, paladin. Those with knowledge will know the truth. I pray you are one of knowledge.”
He left. Darius remained, and he listened to Jerico’s prayer. It was heartfelt, he knew that for sure. Whether he served a false god or not, he believed it fully. The crowd sang, and cried, and ached for the dead and the soon to be dying. It did not last long, and soon Jerico fell quiet. Some came to talk to him, but most returned to their tasks, shovels and hammers in hand. Jealousy burned in his heart. He had always been the greater speaker, always commanded the greater presence. But it seemed the village almost reveled in Jerico’s revealed weakness. It made no sense. How could a trembling of faith affect them more than his iron certainty?
They were only frightened, he told himself. Only tired, scared, and expecting to die. They didn’t want laws to live by. They didn’t want truths to mold their lives around. They wanted weak grace, a childish promise of safety in the hereafter. Darius frowned, his heart bitter. No Golden Eternity awaited them, only the belly of wolves. He shook his head, knowing he was being cruel. Had he not admitted Jerico his friend a few nights prior? It was only under Pheus’s watch that he felt such a failure. What did that mean? Had he fallen from his god’s wisdom? For surely the elder priest was closer to Karak than he was…
Doing his best to shove the thoughts from his mind, he approached Jerico and stood before him, feeling strangely awkward.
“A fine job,” he said.
“Don’t feel like it.”
“Trust me on it. Has Daniel informed you of our plan?”
Jerico nodded. “I looked them over. So much of it depends upon the two of us. I don’t know if I can do it, Darius.”
“You don’t have much choice,” Darius said, a grim smile on his face. “It’ll be just you and me between the wolves and their meal. Neither of us can fail, and we won’t, either.”
Jerico smacked his shoulder, and for the first time that day, he really smiled.
“Maybe you’re right,” he said.
“Glad to hear you admit it. Maybe you’ll start listening to other things I have to say as well.”
* * * * *
It would be the last peaceful night before the wolf-men attacked, and Darius knew he must use it. His muscles ached, for he’d worked side by side with the rest of the village. They’d said little to him, though they showed no animosity or uncomfortable reactions,
either. He knew he should be guarding the tavern, but he’d convinced Daniel to send a few of his men over instead under the excuse that he needed to pray, which was no lie.
Darius kept his hand on the hilt of his sword as he approached the thin forest that lay between them and the river. He knew the wolf-men surrounded them, watching for any escape attempts, but he strayed north, not quite reaching the river. He listened for the occasional howls, and he kept his body crouched low. With how bright the moon was, he needed no torch for light. Should he reach the forest, he figured he would be safe for a while. The wolves would expect men to try to flee upon the river, not hide beside it.
Once surrounded by trees, he cleared a space of leaves, and with his hands, tore away the grass until he exposed bare earth. Using his sword, he carved a circle. His throat tightened, and he felt his pulse race. What he was about to do was beyond dangerous. Here he was, a potential disappointment to Karak, ready to enact one of Karak’s most sacred rituals. Every motion must be perfect. Every word spoken must be true. Karak was a god of Order, and he would not suffer the presence of one with so much chaos in his heart.
The circle complete, he carved seven runes around it, double-checking each and every one. Satisfied, he thrust his blade into the center, both hands clutching the hilt. Dark fire surrounded it, and he cried out to Karak despite the danger of the wolf-men. The fire burst, and it filled the circle of dirt, though it had nothing to burn. It burned on his faith, he’d been told at the Stronghold, and for it to burn strong, so must he be strong. He repeated prayers to Karak, strengthening the fire. At last he dared make his request known.
“Reveal the fate awaiting me,” he whispered. “What will happen if I deny Jerico a death at my hand?”
He stared, not daring to blink, not daring to breathe. In the center of the fire he saw what looked like a dark pebble. It grew, and it seemed like a window to another world, its edges washing over his blade as if it were not there. Within its center he saw the answer to his question. His heart recoiled, and only his strong will kept his hands closed, his jaw clenched shut.
Jerico stood over him, mace in hand. Blood, Darius’s blood, stained its edges. At his feet, Darius saw himself lying there, wounded, beaten, and asking for death.
“No!” he cried, yanking free his blade. Above him thunder rolled, though not a cloud covered the sky. The dark fire continued to burn, traveling up his blade to the hilt. It touched his bare hand, and though it had never harmed him before, today he felt its heat with startling clarity. His skin blackened. His nerves flared with pain. Tears rolled down his face and, unable to withstand the punishment, he dropped his weapon. At the loss of contact, the fire vanished, plain steel landing atop the carpet of leaves. Clutching his blackened hand to his chest, he wept for his weakness.
“Must it be so?” he asked, unable to believe it.
He glanced down at his hand. He expected blistered skin, but instead he saw only the dark hue his flesh had become. He flexed it, and it wasn’t tight, nor did it cause him pain. He’d been marked, he knew, permanently branded with his weakness and doubt. A burnt, blackened hand wielding a sword of dark flame. Faith burned both ways, he realized. He was naïve to think otherwise.
“My god asks for your death,” Darius said, sheathing his blade. He rolled his hand up in a scrap of cloth, having no desire to look upon it. “And I will obey. You are no friend, Jerico, for what friend would strike me down? I am a paladin, damn it, a paladin of Karak.”
Hollow, frightened words, born of pain. He knew it, and he tried to pretend he didn’t. Hardening his heart, he returned to the inn and slept. But Karak was not done with him. Throughout the night, Darius had one dream, and it was of himself lying on the ground, Jerico towering over him. They had fought, though he never remembered the beginning, only the end. Every time, it was Jerico who was the mightier paladin, taller, better, and with Darius’s blood on his mace.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The day passed quiet and uneventful, with most of them sleeping. All but Redclaw. He tossed and turned so much his two pups shifted away, curling their bodies against others of his pack. He didn’t blame them, but he was also envious. They didn’t understand the momentous occasion before them. They only knew that many were nervous, that their father was quick to anger, and that numerous strangers had come to stay, feasting the night before on orc, goblin, and hyena. Bellies full, they slept while Redclaw watched the steady rise of their chests.
He tilted his head, hiding it from the glare of the sun. Often he wished there were caves about, but knew of none, and the few trees that grew in the Wedge were thin, offering little shade. Shielding his eyes with an arm, he wished for the cool grace of the moon. In it, he felt hidden. In it, he felt like the Wolf King. Under the sun, he was just another wolf-man, doing his best to sleep.
A hand touched his shoulder, and he rolled, growling. An elderly wolf stood over him, and she frowned at the noise he made.
“What is it you want, female?” he asked her.
“Come, and be quiet about it,” she said, her voice low. Without an explanation, she turned and began walking toward the river. Grumbling, he glanced at his pups, then followed. Her name was Silver-Ear, though that silver had long since faded to a dull gray. While most elderly fell in battle before reaching Silver’s edge, she had been given a special place at the back of every fight, often partaking of fresh blood only after the rest of the pack had obtained victory. She was the shaman of their pack, though rarely did she wield her influence.
The wind howled, and Redclaw wondered if a storm would come. He hoped one would not. The clouds were still a calm white, nearly blotting out the sun. Heavy rains might make the Gihon dangerous, and he didn’t want to lose anyone to something as simple as water.
“Where do you take me?” he asked Silver-Ear, having easily caught up with her. Behind them, the pack slowly vanished into the distance.
“You ask what you will soon know,” she said. “Is that the patience of a Wolf King?”
“And is it the place of a shaman to command a king?”
Her yellow eyes, dulled and filled with veins, showed a hint of their former youth as she laughed.
“King, pup, or warrior, we of the moon fear none, and speak truth to all. Let us hurry, though, if you so desire. We are almost there.”
The ground grew more uneven, and the grass healthier as they neared the river. The clouds deepened, and he felt glad for those on the other side of the Gihon, forced to patrol in the miserable daylight to ensure no one villager escaped, nor any outsiders stumbled upon the situation. At least with the shade they might find rest for their eyes. Silver-Ear led him to the north, stopping twice to track the ground. Sensing they were near their destination, she slowed and began talking, her voice still low.
“I watched your father raise you from a pup,” she said. “I know you are a wolf like all others, but you are to be Wolf King. In others’ eyes, you must be greater. Your pack listens to me when they must, but I know what I am to them. I am an old gray-fur to help their mates birth their pups, and to crush herbs when sickness makes their noses run and their teeth bleed. But other packs are not like ours. The shamans of the moon hold great sway over their leaders, and there are some who are ruled by their whims. You must convince them as well, and they will not bow to sheer strength.”
“Then what will convince them?” he asked.
She led him into a thick copse of trees, and in its center, he saw a cave.
“You pass the rite of the moonless dark.”
The cave at first seemed little more than a hole in the ground, but as he looked down he saw it was very deep, the rock twisted and worn. At the bottom it curled inward, and he could see no further.
“What is this rite?” he asked, apprehension swelling in him. He knew he’d wished for a cave, but something about this one seemed dangerous.
“Sit, and I will explain.”
She had tied little pouches about her arms with string, the only human f
orm of clothing any of them wore. Opening one, she crushed its leaves and scattered them into a small ring. Chanting ancient words that held no meaning for him, she cast her hands across them. The leaves burst into flame, then quickly petered out, leaving only a heavy trail of smoke rising to the sky.
“Breathe in deep,” she ordered. “Goldmoon is foul to eat, but its smoke has purpose.”
Its scent was bitter, and he could not focus on its color, for it seemed to change. He felt his head go light and his stomach cramp.
“It will pass,” Silver-Ear said. “While the moon sleeps, you will enter a darkness never touched by her light. All shamans must pass a cave like this somewhere in the Wedge, and we guard them carefully. The goldmoon you have breathed in will open your mind to this darkness. You must conquer it, for it will be filled with your fears. Do not turn back, Wolf King. There is but one way, and you must pass through. I will be waiting at the other side.”
“What if I do not return?”
She grinned at him, her mouth missing many teeth.
“Then you were never truly our Wolf King. Go into the cave, Redclaw. Go face your fear.”
He descended, using the jagged edges of rock as hand and footholds on his way down. The scent of the cave was strong, wet stone, undisturbed earth, and the distant odor of a strange animal’s shit. He glanced back at Silver-Ear, but she was gone. His stomach lurched, for it seemed the trees above shivered, and their color grew more and more vivid until at last he did not want to look anymore. Mustering his courage, he crawled into the cave.
Redclaw’s eyes were no stranger to darkness, but once he passed the second turn, he found himself in its truest form. No touch of light came here. This was a place the moon never saw. Normally he might use his nose to guide himself, but everywhere was the smell of musty stone. Only the animal shit could guide him, though he still had to inhale deeply. Trying to know where it was strongest was like staring at two blades of grass and trying to determine which was the thicker.
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