by Martin Ash
A sixth sense brought her up sharp. With a cry she threw herself back. Something hummed past her head - and again, and again, thudding into the earthen wall opposite. She slammed the door shut. More arrows beat an abrupt, deadly tattoo on the other side.
'Karai!' she spat. 'Ten or more.'
Shenwolf leapt back to the other door and listened again, but heard no sound.
'They will be in the passage too,' said Issul. 'Waiting. They have us trapped.'
The Karai gave no indication of entering the antechamber. There was silence beyond the two doors. Issul and Shenwolf turned to Triune. Issul said, 'Must we go back?'
The three children considered a moment then the tallest declared, 'It is now, perhaps, the time to send forth a dream.'
Triune moved towards the door leading to the brooding pens. 'This is the way you wish to go?'
Issul nodded.
'Then go, at Triune's signal. Be swift, for we are limited in effect and duration. Once beyond the chamber you will be alone, for we will be depleted. Time and energy in the realized realm diminish us rapidly and we must return to the true world, where the energies are our own and the dream can’t sunder us. Are you ready?'
Issul glanced quickly at Shenwolf, then said, 'Aye, we are.'
'Then go,' said Triune, and raised six delicate white hands to point beyond the door into the brooding chamber.
Gingerly Issul drew back the door. The chamber beyond was aglow with a pale greenish light in which formless forms moved, distracting, half-seen and strangely maddening to the eye. The Karai warriors there seemed transfixed or dazed. They stared agog into Enchantment's weird lucence. Some had thrown up an arm as if to ward something off. Some wore looks of horror or bewilderment on their seamed, usually inscrutable faces.
'Be swift!'
With Shenwolf behind her Issul moved with long strides down the central aisle between the stalls, swivelling her shoulders and gaze from side to side as she went. The Karai warriors took no heed, were engrossed in their visions and oblivious to the two fugitives in their midst.
They ascended the ramp into the outside world. The light of mid-morning lay hazily upon the forest. Close to the entrance to the ramp a pair of Karai warriors stood, one to each side. One turned, saw Issul, opened his mouth to cry out. She was upon him before a sound could issue from his throat.
Coming from below she slashed two-handed at the warrior's legs, catching him above the knee as he moved to defend himself. She was aware of the other warrior leaping towards her, and of Shenwolf slinking unseen up the wall of the ramp, then darting out to intercept him. Her opponent, badly wounded, struck at her wildly. She dodged the blow, drew back, fended another strike, and plunged her weapon into his gut.
She relieved the dying Karai of his sword as he fell. It was shorter and somewhat lighter than the one she wielded, though still clumsy in comparison to her own shortsword which had been stripped from her by Commander Gordallith's men. Shenwolf had finished off his foe with two swift blows, and was kneeling in the bushes, surveying the slooths' feeding-area and the blackened rear palisades and guard-towers of the Karai camp.
'I see no others,' he whispered as she joined him.
They made off quickly into the cover of the woods.
It took the best part of half-an-hour to work their way around the camp to the point at which they had arrived days earlier. They kept to the fringes of the forest, out of sight of Karai observers. Their progress was slowed by the need to search painstakingly for traps. They found none, though that did not mean that none were present. At one point they crossed the stream where, further along, Issul had been forced to wash and scrub Karai clothing. She shivered and felt her anger rise as they waded knee-deep through the icy water.
At length they reached the point where they had first lain in the undergrowth and watched the then-deserted Karai camp. It was somewhere in this area that, all being well, Leth and the children should arrive. And very soon.
Issul felt her stomach knotting in nervous anticipation. How she had longed for the moment that could now be not more than an hour away.
She and Shenwolf made off deeper into the woods, still alert for concealed traps. At length, well clear of the camp, they arrived at a low swell which commanded a reasonably open view across the southern and eastern approach for up to one hundred yards. Here they separated, moving fifty paces apart so that they might observe the widest possible approach. Taking care not to lose sight of one another, they each climbed a tree to further extend their view. Then they settled down to wait.
It seemed interminable. Through Issul's mind a thousand horrors passed. Why were they taking so long? Had she somehow missed them? Had they fallen foul of the Karai, or of Venger and the Child and their grullags? Or of some other menace of the forest?
The sky was heavy and low above the trees. Pale, cold grey cloud passing above her, herded by a strong breeze. From time to time she turned and glanced edgily back the way they had come, fearing a Karai search party. At other times she looked across at Shenwolf. He was perched in the crook of a huge oak bough, his neck craning forward, scanning the ground ahead.
She noted his posture. Stiff, no longer at ease with the world. The smiling, devil-may-care youth that she had known such a short time ago was not present now. He had changed, in just days. As had she. As, no doubt, had Leth and Galry and Jace. In so short a space of time they had each, individually and together, experienced so much. And the revelations and new understandings their experiences had brought them left them still, all of them, with so much to be reckoned with.
She felt unease for Shenwolf. What had happened, between him and herself? She had known - she could hardly deny it now - the first powerful stirrings, feelings she had not known she was capable of having for any man other than Leth. It had been only a beginning, but it had been there, and it had shocked her. Why? Had it been simply her anguish, her loneliness, her need, drawing her to him because he was there, or was there something deeper?
And now, having learned so much about him, and knowing how much remained undiscovered, were those feelings altered? Were they shattered, or lost, or had they deepened further? What did she feel?
She no longer knew. She had never known, not clearly. And now she was in turmoil, her heart too full. Such considerations had to be lain aside. But she wondered, not for the first time, when all this was over, what would become of Shenwolf?
Issul sighed, and turned her attention back to the woods.
Minutes passed. An age. Why were they taking so long? She fought the impulse to climb from the tree and head southwards towards Ghismile Tarn, in the hope of meeting them, or of learning what had become of them. Or could they be in Karai clutches even now, back in the ruined camp?
The waiting was unbearable. Every minute that passed increased the risk of discovery or catastrophe.
She heard a low, brief whistle, and glanced across to where Shenwolf was hidden. He had half-risen, leaning forward, looking to her. And his arm was raised, forefinger pointing away into the forest.
Issul's heart kicked. She pushed herself forward, straining to see. But there was nothing there. Nothing.
And then, at last, a movement. Through the trees. A flicker of colour, the faintest chink of harness. A figure appeared. A warrior upon a proud black horse. He was clad in armour of magnificent sapphire blue. Behind him came two more mounts, a child riding on each.
Issul fought down the urge to shout. She choked back a sob, and a surge of wild joy. Her emotions welled with sudden force in her breast. For a brief moment she closed her eyes and silently recited a swift litany of gratitude. Then, the tears flooding down her cheeks, she scrambled out of the tree and sprinted across the leaf-strewn forest floor to meet them.
iv
When the embraces and kisses and the expressions of relief and love, the tears of joy and celebration were done, the little party quickly prepared to return to the Karai camp, from where, if they could foil their enemy, they would all pa
ss through the Farplace Opening to Triune's tower. First Issul signalled into the trees at Leth's back, summoning down Triune's seeking eye. The little orb came forth to rest before her.
'Triune, Orbelon, we are reunited!' she declared, her voice trembling. Her cheeks were flushed with highpoints of hectic colour, as though she was succumbing to a fever. 'Now we are coming back. Please be ready for us. Do anything you can to aid us, for I’m fearful that, just as we could not have escaped without your help, we will also be unable to return without it.' Inside herself she harboured the fear that Triune might, upon a whim or through sheer caprice, lose interest in her and simply abandon them all to whatever fate might await them. 'Now, to show that you still see us, and to give us further protection, let the seeking eye travel ahead of us and give us warning should the Karai be seeking us.'
Obediently the eye floated away, moving in the direction of the Karai camp. Issul turned; she smiled at Leth and hugged Galry and Jace to her. She could hardly believe, after all they had gone through, that they were together again at last. It felt like an age since she had set eyes on them, yet in truth barely a month had passed.
Leth did not return her gaze. He was focused into the dimness between the trees, and his hand was upon his sword-hilt. She noted the tension in his haggard, unshaven features, and followed the direction of his gaze. The lean figure of Shenwolf, still in the colours of Orbia, stepped forth.
'Who is this?'
'His name is Shenwolf, my love,' said Issul. 'A cavalryman who has aided us greatly, and without whom I would not be here.'
Shenwolf came forward and bowed. 'Sire, permit me to express my great pleasure at seeing you, the four of you, together again.'
Leth nodded. 'Your face, and name too, are not entirely unfamiliar to me. Yet I can’t quite place you.'
'If I may remind you, Sire, I was a member of the cavalry platoon of the 1st Light Battalion, which you dispatched to join Queen Issul after she left for the village of Lastmeadow.'
'Ah, I remember. And you distinguished yourself in battle, I recall, when the demon slooths attacked Enchantment's Reach.'
'He also saved me from the Karai, Leth,' added Issul. 'I was their prisoner in the camp that lies yonder. Had Shenwolf not intervened, I would certainly be dead now.'
As she spoke she felt her cheeks grow warm, and glanced away.
'Then I am in your debt, more deeply than I can say, Shenwolf.' Leth said. 'I told you when we spoke outside Orbia's gates, with the slooth lying dead before us, that you might expect to go far, and it will be so, rest assured of that. When I reclaim the throne you will be amply rewarded.'
'The only reward I seek is to be allowed to continue to serve you and the Queen, Sire,' Shenwolf said softly.
Issul lowered her eyes. Leth continued to study Shenwolf. There was something else about him that seemed familiar. The way he held himself, the angle of his body, the glint in his resolute pale blue eyes, the firm, somewhat prominent chin and slightly diffident manner. All of these things combined to give Leth the feeling that he and Shenwolf had met before, and not only on the occasion when the young cavalryman had so distinguished himself against the slooths.
Something else caught Leth's attention. Frowning, he reached out and took between finger and thumb the small ivory carving which hung at Shenwolf's breast. 'Where did you get this?'
Issul interrupted, intrigued by the intensity of Leth's gaze and the sharpness of his tone. 'It’s a long story, and we have no time. But why do you ask, Leth?'
'I have seen its like before.'
'You have? Where?'
'In Orbelon's world. It was carried by a servant of Urch-Malmain. A killer named Harg who was lately sent to this world to find me and bring me back.'
'A tall man? Pale, with dark hair and moustache?' enquired Issul.
'You have seen him? Aye, that’s Harg.'
'We observed the tail of the Portal constructed by Urch-Malmain, though which you came. He came through after you. He had five fighters with him. Non-humans.'
Leth nodded grimly. He glanced back into the forest, wondering whether Harg was alive, and if so, whether he still sought him. Issul's eyes went to Shenwolf, whose gaze wavered slightly. He shifted his stance uncomfortably, but said nothing. Leth turned back to him. 'How do you come to carry it?'
'There is much to be told,' Issul said. 'On both sides. But it must wait. We have to return to Triune now.'
'Very well.'
They made their way back through the forest to the fringes of the Karai camp. No warriors were encountered on the way. It struck Issul that, for all they knew, the Karai might not actually be aware that she and Shenwolf had escaped them - walking clean through their ranks as they tussled with the sudden visions that had bedevilled them in the brooding chamber. The only warriors that she had tangled with were dead, and hence had told no tales.
'I think they may be quite perplexed,' Issul whispered as she, Leth, Shenwolf and the children crouched in the bushes, observing the head of the ramp which led down into the bunker. 'Six more of their number killed, with possibly no explanation. I'll wager they are intensely wary of the Farplace Opening.'
The Karai troops' orders from their Prince, Anzejarl, had obviously been to secure the camp after its former garrison had lost it. Issul believed it likely that Anzejarl had no explanation for what had occurred here. Faced now with so many strange and inexplicable phenomena, she wondered whether the present force might be close to abandoning it.
'Perhaps we can help to augment their confusion even further,' she whispered.
Four Karai guarded the ramp-entrance to the bunker. Their stiff postures, nervous movements and quick, darting glances showed them to be ill-at-ease. Three more waited a short distance away, close to the passage leading from the camp. They too looked far from relaxed.
More warriors were visible in those sections of the camp that could be discerned, but it was impossible to determine how many, if any, remained underground.
Triune's seeking eye appeared before Issul - to her relief, for its presence reassured her that she had not been abandoned by Triune. She made a guess that it had been down into the bunker, and had probably scanned the camp itself. Hence Triune and Orbelon were aware of what awaited them in the bunker, even if she was not. Was the seeking-eye their signal to her that it was safe to enter?
It was impossible to get within ten paces of the guards without being seen. To charge them from that distance would be certain to draw shouts that would summon others. Only Leth was armed with a bow, and by the same token could not hope to shoot more than one before reinforcements were called. With the children present, slowing them down, they could afford to take few risks.
Shenwolf leaned across and whispered a few words to Issul and Leth. They both nodded, and he slipped away into the trees to where the horses and donkey were tethered. Silently he removed their baggage and saddles, then led them to the edge of the clearing, close to where Leth, Issul and the children waited. He removed the bridles, hesitated, then, at a signal from Leth, slapped the four beasts briskly upon their rumps, and drove them out into the clearing and straight towards the guards at the ramp.
The guards turned in astonishment as the beasts burst from cover. Leth let his first arrow fly. He took a Karai in the cheek, killing him instantly. Shenwolf propelled the horses hard towards the guards, keeping close and, as yet, unnoticed behind them. The guards scattered to avoid them, still unaware of Leth and Issul.
The four mounts ran wildly among them. Leth loosed a second arrow, downing another Karai. From among the horses Shenwolf sprang, sword flashing, striking a third warrior to the ground. Only one now remained at the ramp. The other three were running forward from the passage, issuing sharp shouts of warning.
Discarding his bow, Leth leapt out to confront the lone guard. With Shenwolf coming at him from the other side the Karai was undecided which way to turn, and was dead before he had made up his mind.
Issul grasped the children's hands a
nd ran for the ramp entrance. A guard she had not spotted before stepped from the undergrowth into her path. He dodged her, and as she tried to swing past him he reached out and seized Jace, wrenching her from her mother's grasp. With a scream of fury Issul leapt at him, drawing her sword and swinging it hard as he turned away. The blade bit clean through his arm, which dropped heavily to the dirt. The warrior staggered, slumping to his knees, disbelief on his white face. Issul reached for Jace and pulled her away, grabbed Galry's hand again and ran on.
Leth had forged on ahead of her, and Shenwolf brought up the rear, driving one of the horses into the three Karai who charged at him from the passage.
Leth ran into darkness, and was momentarily blinded. Issul careered down and arrived at his side. A blueish light shone from the end of the long chamber. To Leth's astonishment, as he blinked, three small children appeared, bathed in the glow. They stood before the door at the far end of the chamber, and beckoned.
'It’s all right!' panted Issul. 'This is Triune!'
She glanced around the chamber; it appeared to harbour no Karai. Shenwolf bounded down and stopped beside her. She glanced back up and saw that the three Karai pursuing him had halted halfway down the ramp. They appeared reluctant to advance further, but were unslinging bows to notch arrows to strings. Others came at a run behind them.
'Be swift!' urged Triune.
They needed no further prompting. They raced up the central aisle. The tallest Triune child was holding out her hands. She held four small white ivory or bone pods, similar in size and form to Urch-Malmain's talisman worn by Shenwolf. 'Take these. They will protect you.'
Issul grabbed them and gave one each to Leth, Galry and Jace.
'It is good,' said Triune, smiling three identical smiles, her eyes aglow. 'Let us go now.'
Unhindered, they passed through the antechamber and into the earthen chamber of the Farplace Opening. Leth and the children gasped as one when they saw the fabulous oval pulsing there.
'This is where we go now, my love,' said Issul, smiling. 'To Enchantment.'