by Lisa Cassidy
“Alyx?” Finn sounded concerned, but she barely heard him.
Her head was filled with static and hissing, interchanged with faint murmuring voices. She vomited again, not much coming up as her stomach emptied and sweat broke out over her body. The noise in her head cleared and she thought she heard Howell. His words were incoherent, but his mental tone was worried and upset.
“Alyx!” Finn’s hand touched her shoulder and waves of warmth emanated from the spot. Soon after that she began to feel less nauseous, even though the sight of the body still made her tremble uncontrollably.
“He wants us to go after them,” Dawn said suddenly, opening her eyes.
“What?” Finn looked as if he hadn’t heard right.
“Master Romas ordered us to go after them. Howell disagreed, but Romas overruled him. Howell is really upset, I think, but Romas says he’s sending Master Rothai after us. He doesn’t want the trail lost in the rain.”
Alyx frowned. Had she been hearing Dawn’s communication with Romas?
“We’d best hurry then.” Tarrick moved for the horses.
“What about Brynn?” Alyx demanded. “Galien has him.”
“I don’t think he and Fengel were here to harm us.” Dawn frowned. “I admit their thoughts weren’t completely clear, but I think they were trying to get us away from the fight.”
“The truth is, we have no idea which way Galien went,” Finn said. “We’d be wandering around in the dark and rain if we went after Brynn.”
“Come on!” Tarrick urged.
Alyx hesitated and she and Dawn looked at each other, shocked that they were expected to follow their attackers after what had just happened. They were in no condition to fight.
“Come on.” Finn gently took his sister’s arm. “We can’t disobey a direct order. Besides, you heard Romas, Rothai is just behind us. We only have to follow their trail until he catches up.”
Alyx was wrung out and exhausted. Her muscles were still trembling, and her head ached with a dull thumping. Still, one thing she was accustomed to at DarkSkull was being forced to go on while almost dead with tiredness, and so she kept going.
The storm hadn’t dissipated—winds gusted across the open ground and rain drove into their faces.
“I think she might be suffering from shock,” Alyx heard Finn murmur.
“She’ll be fine,” Tarrick said.
“Tarrick, she’s not fine.” Dawn’s voice. “You saw what she did.”
“I’m okay,” Alyx summoned the strength to say.
“We have to hurry,” Tarrick urged them. “I saw which way they went, but we’re losing ground already.”
Almost in a daze, they untethered the horses and rode off after Tarrick.
Within an hour, all of them were wretched. Alyx swayed slightly on Tingo’s back; though she’d grown better at riding the big stallion, she’d never spent more than an hour at a time in the saddle before. Now her ankles and knees ached, and her calves chafed painfully against the stirrup straps. Her shoulders and back burned from holding the horse in and her ankles wouldn’t hold her if Tingo sped up and she were forced to rise to the trot or hold on for a gallop.
“Dawn, maybe you should try Master Romas again?” Finn spoke into the silence. “Surely he can’t expect us to keep going much longer? Rothai should have caught up by now.”
“Romas was resolute,” Dawn said quietly. “Even Howell couldn’t change his mind. I could sense he was upset, but Romas wouldn’t listen to a word Howell was saying.”
Alyx shivered. “Then let’s keep going and get this over with.”
“Wait!” Dawn pulled her horse in, and the others drew up beside her. Alyx sighed in relief and pulled her feet out of the stirrups, letting them dangle loosely. The feeling was akin to heaven. She glanced at Dawn. The girl’s face was drawn and pale, her eyes closed.
“What is it?” Finn asked wearily.
“I can hear them… just brief snatches, but I think we’re catching up. Alyx?”
“Nothing,” Alyx said.
“You were able to hear Dawn’s thoughts back at the tower, surely you can hear something now?” Tarrick urged.
“No, I can’t,” Alyx snapped.
“Okay, take a breath,” Finn intervened as Tarrick looked set to make an angry retort. “We’re all exhausted. Let’s not fight.”
“Sorry,” Tarrick rubbed a hand over his eyes. “We should just keep following the tracks.”
They urged the tired horses on again. Tarrick pulled up ahead, motioning to the tracks in the mud before him. Even Alyx could tell that it looked like people had diverged off the path on foot, heading down a small incline. Horse tracks milled around on the still muddy surface, then continued along the path.
“We should take a look, make sure they haven’t got a camp down here,” Tarrick said, dismounting.
The twins shared a dubious look, but both slid down from the saddle.
“Come on, Alyx,” Tarrick said impatiently.
Concurring mainly because it would give her a chance to get out of the saddle and stretch her legs, Alyx dismounted, following behind the others as they moved quietly down the incline.
Thick trees and bushes lined the bottom, beyond which seemed to be a pile of rocks in a small clearing.
Alyx reached out and grabbed Tarrick’s shoulder as he moved forward. “You’re being stupid,” she hissed. “If there is a camp down here, you’ll walk right into it.”
“I’ll be careful,” he promised. “Stay behind me.”
She almost refused to follow, but didn’t want to be left alone in the dark and rain. They’d only gone forward a few steps when Dawn stiffened and cried out a warning.
It was too late.
At the same time as Dawn spoke, a magical explosion went off. Blinding blue light flashed and shards of rock blasted outwards. Dawn was shoved backwards by the force of the explosion, hitting Alyx so hard that they both went flying. Alyx slammed into the ground hard, her body rolling out of control before crashing up against a tree trunk.
For a moment there was only blackness and a faint ringing sound in her ears. Awareness slowly seeped back in. Pain stabbed in her chest, and she gasped for air; the fall had knocked it all out of her. It took a couple of minutes for her to realise what had happened, and another full minute for her to regain control of her breathing. She then staggered to her feet, seeing Dawn stirring beside her, looking muddled but relatively uninjured.
Once her vision had cleared, Alyx searched desperately through the brush, trying to see in the dark. She found Finn first. He was stirring feebly with a bleeding gash on his forehead. He was also cradling his right arm gingerly.
“Finn?” She kneeled beside him.
“I’m okay.” He sat up slowly, putting his hand to his head. “I think.”
Taking his word for it, Alyx stood and looked for Tarrick. Debris littered the clearing. Her vision was still blurry and the ringing in her ears distracted her, making it hard to get her balance.
“I’ll see to Finn.” Dawn appeared at her shoulder, white-faced. “Find Tarrick.”
Alyx nodded and continued her searching. Eventually she found him. He’d been closest to the explosion and lay some distance off. He was unconscious, bleeding from small cuts on his face and hands, and a heavy tree branch lay across his middle. She dropped beside him, seeing in a lightning flash that his skin was clammy and he was barely breathing. Dread clutched at her.
“Finn!” Panic she couldn’t hold back gave her voice an edge. “I found him. Hurry!”
Leaves rustled, and moments later Finn was beside her. The cut on his head had stopped bleeding, but he looked pale. His face tightened when he saw Tarrick, and he knelt to lay his hands on Tarrick’s forehead. Alyx didn’t miss Finn’s wince as he tried to move his right arm and couldn’t.
“We need to get the branch off him. Can you help me? I think my arm might be broken.”
Alyx moved forward to grab the wood, feeling its rough bark bite
into the skin on her fingers.
“Dawn, he’s in a bad way,” Finn shouted back through the trees. “Where is Master Rothai? Can you get in contact with DarkSkull!”
Together, Finn and Alyx heaved at the unwieldy branch, dragging it off Tarrick’s body. Alyx had to respect the effort Finn put in despite what must have been agonizing pain from his broken arm.
“Strip one of those branches to make a splint for my arm,” Finn instructed, returning his attention to Tarrick.
Alyx was feverishly stripping leaves from a narrow but sturdy branch when Dawn appeared. She blanched at the sight of both Finn and Tarrick.
“I couldn’t get through. I’m sorry, I’m too tired to focus properly.”
“We need help.” Finn looked up, sounding panicked. “Tarrick won’t survive without it. He’s in a bad way, and I don’t know enough to help him properly. My arm needs proper splinting and I’m concerned about concussion from the gash in my head.”
“Master Rothai can’t be far,” she said. “Can you help Tarrick until then?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed and rubbed his head. “I’m not really thinking clearly right now. I’ll do my best.”
Alyx looked between Finn and Tarrick, then up at Dawn, seeing her fear for her twin alight in her eyes. She felt as helpless as they looked. But that wasn’t going to help anyone. Her eyes returned to Tarrick’s prone form, and just like it had happened yesterday, she felt the ghostly imprint of Galien’s fingers around her throat. She still had nightmares about that morning. But Tarrick had saved her from it.
“No!” Alyx jumped to her feet. “Rothai should have been here by now, something must have happened to hold him up. I won’t leave Tarrick here to die. We’ll get him back to DarkSkull ourselves.”
“You think we can manage that?” Dawn asked.
“Of course I do,” she said hotly. “Tarrick is our friend. What would he do if the situations were reversed? He’d carry us on his back the whole way.”
Dawn stared at her for a long moment, looking lost and scared, before her expression firmed and she nodded. “You’re right. Let’s get Tarrick to the healers. Finn too.”
It was almost impossible to summon the strength she would need for this, but Alyx didn’t let on. Someone needed to be strong, and right now Tarrick was unconscious and Finn was hurt and groggy. She knew Dawn was terrified for her twin and barely keeping herself under control. Alyx firmly put all thoughts of Brynn out of her mind.
“What’s the best way to move him?” she asked Finn.
“I think he has internal injuries from that branch falling on him so we’ll have to be careful,” Finn said. “Tingo’s the strongest horse—you’ll have to take Tarrick, and Dawn can lead him with a rope so you don’t have to worry about directing the horse. I’ll ride alone. We’ll have to go slow so we don’t exacerbate Tarrick’s injuries, but it’s the best I can think of.”
It took them a lot of effort to get going. Poor Finn cried out in agony as Dawn applied the splint to his arm while Alyx climbed back up to fetch the horses.
Alyx coaxed Tingo down to his knees so the three of them could lift Tarrick as gently as possible into the saddle. She then had to sit behind him, holding his dead weight and preventing him from slipping off. She almost lost her hold on him entirely when Tingo swayed as he regained his feet and her arms burned from the strain of holding him on. There was no hope she could hold the reins, so Dawn attached a lead rope to Tingo’s halter before tying the other end to her mare’s saddle.
Finn told them that he thought he might have some broken ribs; his breathing was becoming laboured and a sharp pain pierced his chest when he moved. Getting Finn up onto his horse caused more pain, with Dawn and Alyx murmuring words of encouragement the whole time.
By the time they were done, Dawn looked absolutely petrified for her brother, who was beginning to look as bad as Tarrick. Alyx felt as anxious as Dawn about both boys, but panic wasn’t going to help them so she forced it away, instead urging Tingo closer to Dawn so she could reach down and touch the girl’s shoulder.
“We can do this, Dawn. We’ve survived almost a year at DarkSkull together. We can do this.”
Dawn swallowed, and her breathing steadied. “All right.”
They eventually set off at a walk. Anything more caused Finn agonizing pain, and Tarrick to slip from Alyx’s hold. Dawn led the way on Silver with Finn and Alyx riding beside each other.
Alyx could barely hear Tarrick’s shallow breathing as he slumped against her, and she was terrified it would stop altogether. His dark skin had paled to a yellowish colour and Finn had not been able to stop the sluggish bleeding of the numerous cuts on his body.
Step by step, the horses slowly wound their way back up the valley wall. Alyx’s arms went from burning strain to rubbery numbness, until she was forced to try and hold Tarrick with her body, because her arms just refused. Finn whimpered in pain almost constantly with every move his horse made.
Wracking her memory, Alyx dredged up every dirty, naughty joke that Dashan had ever told her and Cayr and began reciting them all in an attempt to distract them. Even Finn coughed out a laugh at one point.
They’d almost regained the summit, Alyx still croaking out one of Dashan’s jokes, when thundering hooves sounded ahead. Alyx and Finn both started in fear until Dawn shook her head at them.
“It’s Rothai.”
The master himself rode out of the darkness shortly after, reining in his charger the instant he spotted them. Behind him a group of apprentices milled about. Rothai’s gaze swept to Alyx, who returned it tiredly. His mouth tightened as he looked at her.
“They retreated this way?”
“Yes, sir.”
He nodded. “Jrui, Adahn, make sure they get to the healers quickly. The rest of you, come with me.”
With that, he and the other mages were gone in a clatter of hooves. Looking reluctant, Jrui gestured for them to follow her. Adahn brought his horse skilfully alongside Alyx and reached out, using his telekinetic magic, to take Tarrick and keep him still. As he settled Tarrick’s heavy weight in the saddle before him, Adahn’s face tightened.
“He’s barely breathing.”
“I know,” she said. “Can you get him to the healers? Please?”
“I’ll do my best.” Adahn set his heels to his horse. “Ha! Ha!”
The charger launched into a gallop, mud spraying from his hooves, and within moments Adahn was out of sight.
“We’ll get there,” Dawn said. “Stay with me, Finn.”
“Yes, listen to her. It’s not far.” Alyx, relieved of Tarrick’s weight, took control of Tingo and moved up behind the twins. Anxiousness roiled in her stomach and she cast frequent glances at Finn’s deathly pale face.
Jrui led them all the way up to the entrance of the healer’s hall, where she dismounted to run in and get the healers.
She reappeared with Adahn and two healing mages carrying a stretcher. The mages went straight to Finn, gently helping him down from the horse onto the stretcher. Adahn crossed to Dawn and Alyx.
“Tarrick is being looked at now. He’s stable for the moment,” Adahn promised. “They’ll take care of Finn too. Master Romas wants to speak with both of you.”
“What about Brynn?” Alyx asked.
“I don’t know, I’m sorry.”
“I’m going with my brother.” Dawn flatly refused. “And Alyx is exhausted, she needs rest.”
Adahn raised his hands in the air. “I’m just the messenger. How about you go with Finn and I’ll make sure Alyx gets to Romas safely, and straight back to your dorm afterwards.”
“It’s all right, Dawn,” Alyx said as the girl hesitated. “Make sure they’re taking good care of Finn and Tarrick.”
“I will.”
Alyx followed Adahn in silence, too tired to speak or to be anything other than groggily awake. They entered the main hall, climbing the steps to the first floor where Romas’ quarters were.
Halfway up, Aly
x heard shouting, but it took her a moment to realise the sound was inside her head. She swayed, reaching out to lean on the wall for support, eyes sliding closed.
“I realise things went awry, but that wasn’t my intention,” Romas’ voice, Alyx was sure. “The whole point of this was to—
“You almost ended up with four dead mages tonight. How is that achieving your aim?” Howell this time. Alyx wasn’t sure what was happening. The conversation had a grainy quality to it, like she was viewing it through a filter.
“You’re out of line. Both of us are subject to higher authority, as you well know. The council put this in motion, Howell, and for good reason.”
“What good is there in what happened tonight? Your hope for the future almost dead, not to mention how thin your control of Galien has become. You know he wants her dead.”
“He won’t harm her, not truly.”
“You’ve lost all reason.” Howell sounded disgusted.
“And I won’t tolerate any more of that tone from you. You’ll do as ordered, Master Howell. Am I clear?”
“Alyx!”
Her eyes blinked open and she found herself being shaken hard. Adahn’s blue eyes peered into hers, deep with concern. “Alyx, are you all right?”
“Did you hear that?” she asked dreamily, not sure if she was awake or sleeping. “Arguing...”
“I didn’t hear anything.” His concern deepened. “Alyx?”
She felt herself falling as blackness slid across her vision, and then she knew nothing.
Chapter 25
The first thing Alyx became aware of was the singing of birds outside her window. Then she felt the warmth of sunlight on her face, and the slightly roughened fabric of the blankets under her palms. She was pleasantly comfortable and content, and it took her a few good minutes before she bothered to open her eyes.
“She wakes.”
Alyx moved her gaze, focusing on Howell where he sat on a chair beside the bed she was lying in. He looked no different than usual, with his trimmed, greying brown beard and hair, and black robe. The look in his eyes as he watched her was different though, but she couldn’t quite grasp what it meant. Alyx frowned; the sight of him triggered something in her still-groggy mind... a memory? But no, nothing was there.