Fulcrum of Light (Catalyst Book 2)

by C. J. Aaron

  Kaep regarded him and the sleeping form of Ryl for a long moment before responding.

  “It looks like you already have,” she said with a small smile.

  Chapter 21

  The sun was brightening the sky to the east as the group prepared to leave the clearing. The phrenics had finished constructing their makeshift litter, and now carefully lifted Ryl. Andr stood at Ryl’s side as they made ready to depart.

  The unconscious phrenic they'd carried in with the second group had risen, although his steps flagged noticeably. Their remaining member had returned as they began their slow march. From his position nearest to the end of the line, Andr heard only fragments of the conversation between the phrenics.

  The Horde had scattered; dwindling in numbers, yet an overwhelming contingent remained.

  The uneasiness among the cloaked figures was obvious.

  From inside the forest, Andr couldn’t tell whether the sun had cleared the horizon before the procession commenced its march. His legs were stiff, and his muscles were sore from the strenuous events of the past several days. He'd taken advantage of the calm after the confrontation with Kaep to rest. It was only moments after closing his eyes that slumber found him; his head balanced on his arms wrapped around his knees.

  Even the brief rest was a salve to the extreme exhaustion that weighed on his body. The company, while not the most outgoing or openly pleasant, had lifted a monumental burden from his shoulders.

  In the clearing, in the face of the overwhelming numbers of the Horde, he’d given up. If only for a moment.

  He had failed.

  Yet somehow through it all, Ryl had saved him again. Until recently, he had viewed the boy as one possessed with inconceivable luck. Having witnessed the remarkable skills hidden within him first-hand, he now doubted that luck was the only factor. What other secrets had Ryl kept hidden away?

  Their movement through the forest was sluggish, slowed by Ryl and their recovering companion. To his credit, Andr kept the pace without complaint as they weaved their way through the woods. They traveled on what appeared to be narrow game trails that zigzagged across the forest floor. Even without a direct view of the sun to judge their direction, Andr had the distinct impression that the path they followed to their destination was not direct.

  A careful deception for his benefit.

  Kaep and Paelec had raised their hoods back over their heads before leaving the clearing. None of the others had shown their faces since he’d met them and not a soul spoke a word to him as they made their way deeper into the forest.

  One of the phrenics had separated from the group, disappearing into the woods soon after they’d started their trek. Andr caught glimpses of the stealthy form as the cloaked figure reappeared from time to time, speaking in brief, hushed tones to one who he thought was Paelec. There was never a sound as the scout melted back into the forest.

  Ryl’s condition, while it had shown a glimmer of improvement upon entering the forest, had deteriorated with the coming of the day; he cried out in pain and ranted in delirium; his body racked with chills and burned with an uncontrollable fever; the rash spread across his body, and his hands were lashed to the litter to prevent him from scratching himself raw.

  Andr wiped the sweat from his brow as the party stopped briefly in another small clearing. The sky above them was cloudless; the sun beat down on them from its position directly above their heads. Nestled against the jagged wall of the mountains, a small waterfall rolled down from above, splashing into a small pool at its base.

  The narrow stream that poured out hugged the outer edge of the clearing before snaking its way into the forest. He watched the others refill their skins from a tiny offshoot of the falls, no bigger than a trickle, before quenching his own thirst. The water was bitterly cold, almost freezing, likely the product of the melting snowcaps high above. The chill shocked his system, providing a much-needed boost of energy. As the day had stretched on his thoughts had often wandered to dreams of a warm meal and a soft bed.

  Andr knelt down, pouring drops of the refreshing liquid carefully down Ryl’s throat. Afterward, he sat next to his charge, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest; his mind lost in thought. The sound of soft footfall from behind broke his daze, and he turned his head to greet the approaching figure.

  “How is he today?” Kaep's soft voice no longer brimmed with the fire it had the night before.

  Even in the daylight, the hood cast a dark shadow over the majority of her face. Her lips were frozen in an emotionless expression. A small lock of brown hair escaped from the side of her hood, standing out against the drab grey of her cloak.

  “He suffers more and more with every passing moment,” Andr said with a hint of scorn. “Is there nothing you can do to help him?”

  “Sadly, there is not,” she admitted. “Each of us have our own set of skills. I’m afraid the skills of a mender are not among them.”

  Andr inhaled a deep breath, stretching out his upper back, rolling his head from side to side with an audible pop.

  “How long until we reach our destination?” he inquired. “Wherever or whatever that may be.”

  The last statement was added with another touch of scorn.

  “We will make our destination before nightfall,” Kaep acknowledged.

  “How much sooner would we arrive if we stopped traveling in circles?” Andr chanced a guess given the winding paths they’d taken. “I know we travel to the west, yet without knowing where we made landfall or where we are in relation to the palisades, I'd never hope to retrace the steps.”

  He thought he caught the minuscule hint of a smile flash across the exposed section of her face.

  “Here. Eat,” she said, tossing a small parcel of food wrapped in cloth his direction. His hand reached out, catching the food without taking his eyes off the phrenic.

  “We leave shortly,” she said with an abrupt turn, before stalking back to the group gathered at the other side of the clearing.

  “Thanks,” Andr grumbled as he unwrapped the rations.

  He consumed the modest portion of bread and dried meat within moments; the food rapidly filled his shrunken stomach.

  Breaking their short respite in the clearing, the group moved back into the trees. He recognized the massive figure, and warhammer, of Ramm. He had relieved one of the two carrying Ryl's litter. The mountain of a man passed him without a word or any sign of acknowledgement. Andr volunteered to carry the other side of the makeshift stretcher but the gargantuan phrenic waved him off with a gesture.

  Andr resented the cold attitude he’d received since encountering the warriors, though in a sense he understood it. He was being led to a nameless society that had somehow survived the ages in isolation. Careful skepticism toward an outsider was understandable.

  While he knew nothing of them, they seemed curiously well versed on the occurrences inside the Kingdom of Damaris. They knew of The Stocks. They knew of the tributes. They knew of the behavior and attitudes of the guards within its confines. Andr was at a loss; they knew so much about Damaris, yet the kingdom was oblivious to their existence.

  The thoughts and possibilities kept his tired mind active during the trek onward throughout the afternoon. His eyes scanned the forest routinely for signs of movement. He’d neither seen nor heard any sign of the dark, disfigured shapes of the Horde since they’d entered the forest. As lethally talented as they were, his unwitting companions had appeared justifiably nervous at the abnormal behavior of the demons.

  What had drawn the Horde out in numbers that defied the recollection of his capable saviors? He feared that the answer was laying unmoving on the litter next to him.

  From the glimpses of the sky above, Andr knew that the day was nearing its end. They’d marched on throughout the afternoon without pause. Their pace had increased with substitution of the fresh legs carrying Ryl’s litter. The other individual who’d started off the morning stumbling as a result of the previous night’s strain ha
d recovered. The warrior now strode easily along, seemingly unfazed as they made their way through the forest.

  The early morning’s trek had led them through narrow, winding trails that carved their way through the forest’s interior. After their pause at the waterfall, they moved steadily on larger, more heavily traveled paths. Whereas the routes they’d followed earlier had the appearance of game trails, the ones they now joined had the look of a well-traveled and maintained pathway. The forest on either side grew thicker as they progressed; the branches and undergrowth blocking out the view of more than a few paces into its midst.

  Andr chuckled to himself as the group no longer zigzagged from path to path, but instead following the single trail as it leisurely weaved its way through the forest. The procession paused at the corner of a bend in the trail. From Andr’s position alongside Ryl at the rear, the first several members of their party had disappeared around the curve ahead. A long, high-pitched whistle sounded through the woods, followed by a pattern of two short bursts.

  The party had walked in relative silence throughout the day. The only sounds accompanying them were the crackle of dried leaves and the occasional snapping of a twig underfoot. This forest, like the Erlyn, was eerily quiet and seemingly devoid of life.

  The uncomfortable calm stretched on as the group remained motionless.

  Waiting. Listening.

  The distant echo of their call broke the silence.

  Kaep, who had been out of view around the bend, now walked purposefully back to where Andr waited by Ryl’s side.

  “You now need to make a decision, whether you stay or leave,” she warned. “Once you round this corner, there is no turning back. Understand that you might never again leave.”

  Andr fixed his steadfast gaze on Kaep. While there was a piece of him that cried out—pleaded for him to turn and run—his decision had already been made. His commitment to his promise, to Ryl, remained firm.

  He had willingly agreed to follow Ryl into the void. He would not abandon him now.

  “I will voice my commitment again, for the last time,” Andr’s voice rang with steely determination. “Where Ryl goes, I will follow.”

  Kaep remained silent, her gaze locked onto his for an extended moment. Although he could not see them, he could feel her eyes as they bored through him. The feeling was disorienting.

  A foreign wave of doubt rolled over him, and his mind was suddenly and perilously conflicted. A battle raged within his head as his ardent determination clashed with the invading reluctance. Maybe he should turn and flee? He could make it back to Damaris. He could silently melt back into society, and live out his days in quiet anonymity.

  No.

  He shook his head and the extrinsic feeling faded. He would not forsake his duty. He would not abandon his promise.

  “I stay,” he spoke, forcing as much confidence into his words as he could muster. A subconscious retaliation to the attacking uncertainty. “Lead on.”

  Kaep nodded her head subtly.

  “Very well,” she said.

  Without another word, she wheeled about, walking briskly back toward the head of the column, stopping just inside his vision at the bend. She exchanged a hushed word with the cloaked figure next to her and the line spurred forward.

  Andr felt the excitement growing in him with every step toward the corner. Although ahead of him lay the curious unknown, the hopes of succor for Ryl, shelter and rest drove him onward.

  Kaep nodded again as he stepped past her position at the bend.

  He rounded the corner with eager anticipation. The orange light of the fading sun, partially cloaked behind the tops of the trees, streamed through the opening. He shielded his eyes from the glare as they turned to the west. Andr squinted as his view of the area before him came into focus.

  A large clearing stretched out before his eyes; its tall green grasses swayed gently in the mild breeze. On three sides, the opening was walled by the forest. The remaining side was created by the rocky, near vertical ledge of the Haven Mountains.

  He stopped, taking in the scene before him in wonder. Oblivious to his pause, the column continued slowly across the open pasture making its way toward the unbroken face of the mountain. The area was serene, yet something was amiss.

  He heard the muffled footsteps of Kaep approaching from behind. She stopped alongside him, following his gaze to the mountain.

  “Welcome to your new home,” Kaep commented with a sweep of her hand. “The last bastion of solitude in this blighted land.”

  She paused. Andr averted his gaze from the opening ahead to look upon her face. The fading light of the sun illuminated the lower half of her visage, though above her cheeks it was still cloaked in shadow. She was smiling.

  “Welcome to Vim.”

  Chapter 22

  Andr’s gaze swept across the undulating grass of the clearing to the face of the mountain. He studied the natural rock wall for any sign of a cave or a passageway, yet found none. His confusion was evident, written across his face for all to see. Kaep giggled to herself at his side.

  “Come,” she said. “You’ll see.”

  She strode forward, making up the ground between where they stood at the forest's edge and the wall of stone. Shaking his head and cursing under his breath, Andr followed a few paces behind. The rest of their small group had stopped along the sheer face of the wall, waiting for their arrival.

  Ryl screamed aloud and thrashed in pain. If not for the firm hold of the phrenics, he’d have tossed himself from the litter. Andr ran the last few steps to his side. His body was on fire. His skin had turned a sickly pale that bordered on grey. Beads of sweat poured from his head. Andr wrapped his hand around his arms, bracing him against the litter as his convulsions continued.

  “Can we please hurry?” he shouted to those gathered around. “He needs help.”

  Kaep stopped at his side, placing her hand on Ryl's forehead.

  “He's burning, yet his skin feels rough, almost like the bark of a tree,” she said in confusion. “Vox, let us in. Hurry.”

  Vox nodded, separating himself from the group, moving to stand an arm’s length from the face of the cliff. From behind, Andr couldn’t make out the rapid motion of his hands or hear the words he whispered. He saw the phrenic bring his hand forward, touching the wall with the tip of a single, extended finger. The massive slab of stone in front of Vox rippled like water, dissolving before his eyes; revealing a well-lit tunnel that ended in a staircase in the distance.

  Andr stared at the translucent stone in utter amazement and disbelief. What powers had they used to create the hidden door? Without pausing for the ripples to settle, Vox stepped forward passing through the opaque stone into the pathway beyond. Ripples spread out from the outline of his body as it moved through the barrier.

  One by one the group streamed through, entering the tunnel. They moved forward without waiting, making for the stairs beyond. Only Andr and Kaep remained outside.

  He hesitantly took a step forward. Andr reached out with his left hand placing it on the stone of the cliff just to the left of the wavering doorway. The rock was rough and cool to the touch.

  He extended his other hand to the translucent door watching as the ripples that spread across its surface settled. He reached out his hand tentatively, dipping it into the shifting image of the door. The ripples spread out from his hand, yet he felt nothing.

  Kaep moved up to his side, stopping before stepping through the entrance.

  “It's disorienting, but completely harmless, I assure you,” Kaep admitted. “Don't delay, you must cross before it settles.”

  She looked at him briefly, the corners of her lips turned up into a coy smile.

  Andr inhaled a deep breath and stepped forward.

  Taking the first step was the hardest. Convincing his mind he could move freely through a surface that was solid rock only moments earlier required a considerable amount more willpower than he expected. There was no sensation as his body pass
ed through the rippling wall.

  The air inside held a slight hint of smoke from the torches that lined the narrow hallway. A mild breeze blew into his face, jostling his hair and clothes. The walls and ceiling appeared cut into the mountain itself. The ceiling was angled at the peak; he could see the chisel marks that scored the natural stone. The walls however, were polished to a shine.

  Once inside, he turned around to watch Kaep step through the doorway. She passed through the veil without hesitation and the wall rippled with her passing. Andr’s gaze remained on the door as it settled; the wall became less transparent as the ripples stilled.

  As the last vibration ceased, the wall reverted to its natural form. He couldn't resist the urge to feel the stone; his mind struggled to accept that the sight it had just witnessed was real. He cautiously rested his hand on the stone—similar to the exterior of the mountain, it was cold and rough.

  “How?” Andr breathed. The solitary word was all he could muster.

  “In time, you will come to learn the wonders of Vim,” Kaep admitted. “We need to catch up to the others.”

  Andr’s eyes remained locked onto the wall as he backed slowly away, following Kaep. Shaking his head, he broke his gaze, hastening after the quickly retreating phrenic.

  The path they followed ran for a short distance until it connected with a staircase leading upward. The sound of their footsteps mingled with the echoes from the group in front of them creating a disorganized, uneven cadence.

  Like the pathway, the stone steps were carved directly into the rock; the discolored patches at their center told of ages of frequent, repetitive use. The stairway led upward into the belly of the mountain for a short distance before making a hard left, running parallel to the side of the mountain’s face.