The Lone Apprentice

by I K Spencer

  Chapter 31

  Though exhausted, the two warriors rode hard through the night, using the moon and stars to gauge their direction. They generally tried to travel to the northwest, though followed roads wherever possible to gain speed, since the fugitives agreed that riders and trackers would be on their trail at first light. At daybreak, the pair abandoned the road for good and found a spot by a small stream to rest, eat and water the horses. The jungle was thick but the small grassy stretch provided a small amount of feed for the weary mounts.

  After seeing to the animals, Anthen removed his blood-soaked tunic and took a look at the wound in his upper right arm. The bleeding had stopped but the wound was filthy and Anthen did not want to risk infection so he knelt by the stream and cleaned the injury thoroughly, reopening the inch-long stab wound. His face was etched with pain has he scoured the area clean with soap and water.

  As he rinsed the tunic he glanced at the amulet and held the green stone up for a closer look. It might just be wishful thinking, but he gauged that the emerald light glowing in the center of the gem seemed just a little brighter than before. It was the first discernible change since his awakening, though it might easily be just his imagination.

  "Oh. You are wounded," Teya said in surprise as she looked up and saw him kneeling by the stream.

  Anthen was ready for her to make a fuss but the woman only nodded and returned to her task at hand. The guardsman reminded himself again that Teya was an experienced soldier and had no doubt seen worse than a simple flesh wound.

  After finishing her chore, Teya came over to him and peered closely at the wound. "You didn't get all the dirt out," she said matter-of-factly and took the cloth he had been using. She frowned and handed the cloth back to him. "Let's do a proper job. I'll heat some water. We cannot afford to have you sick with fever."

  "Good idea. Just tie off the wound so I can do something besides sit here and bleed."

  She smiled and took the cloth back again and used it as a temporary bandage, tying it snugly about his arm over the bleeding wound.

  "Where did it happen?" she asked as they gathered kindling and wood, plentiful in the thick forest.

  "At the barricade before the descent. There was a pikeman by the fire."

  She nodded. "It is good then that we see to the wound properly. Dolonarians are not much for cleaning their weapons."

  Soon they had a small blaze going and water heating. To his delight, Anthen looked through his saddlebags and found his supply of coffee intact. The strong coffee made up for the pain Anthen went through as Teya skillfully cleansed and bandaged his wound.

  He thought about the woman as she adeptly, though painfully, treated his wound. Teya was certainly unlike any woman from the realm. He smiled at the image of her charging across the courtyard on the black mare, controlling the unfamiliar mount with just her legs as she flawlessly wielded her longbow. He naturally tried to picture Urvena in the same situation and his smile quickly disappeared as the maiden's beautiful face led to other, more painful thoughts that he quickly forced from his mind.

  After she finished tending the wound he put on a clean tunic and set to fixing them something to eat while she went farther upstream to bathe. All the fresh food was gone so he mixed some ground corn into a batter and fried cakes over the dying coals. He had a pile of the cornmeal cakes by the time Teya returned and the famished pair ate the bland cakes, their first hot breakfast in a long time. The two soldiers then discussed plans while they finished the coffee.

  "Do you believe Cidrl will personally give chase?" Teya asked, dipping the last of the cakes in her coffee.

  "I do not believe so," Anthen answered after a moment’s consideration. "I think he will leave as planned, though I do not doubt we are already being pursued by many soldiers."

  She nodded, considering his words before speaking. "He needs but to slow us down. As long as we cannot interfere with his terrible plan, we are little concern to him. Forewarning will mean nothing if Cidrl's quest is successful."

  "Agreed. We must come up with a plan. Two plans actually."

  "Two?" Teya queried. She combed the tangles from her wet hair as they talked and the mundane feminine activity made a sharp contrast to their grave council.

  "A second plan for if Garrick should find us."

  "You believe your comrade is still alive?"

  "I do not know," he answered and pulled the amulet from beneath his tunic for another look. He sighed, still not seeing any difference in the intensity of the tiny green glow at the heart of the stone. "We will know soon though, I think."

  "You have considered that the sister amulet might be in the wrong hands? Is it not too great a risk to carry this one with us, nearly as good as a beacon in the night?"

  Anthen shook his head. "It would be different if Dolkes had killed Garrick or discovered his body. They are just guessing that he did not survive the swamps. Garrick is very resourceful and not so easily killed." He paid the older guardsman the compliment without hesitation, all his feelings of bitterness and suspicion now gone.

  "Well, what is the plan if your Garrick does not find us?"

  "We ride as fast as we can to beat Cidrl to Baenkeep, enlisting what aid as we can along the way. At the first outpost inside the realm we reach, we dispatch runners to warn the king and Dolonhold. Depending on our numbers when we travel beyond the realm, you may wish to ride to Arnedon for reinforcements, since it lies closest to Baenkeep."

  "How do you expect to convince anyone to join us?" she asked doubtfully.

  "I have a captain's commission," he said with a smile. "I will order their assistance."

  "And what if your friend does locate us?"

  "Someone needs to coordinate the defenses at Dolonhold as well as start the evacuation of the border region." Anthen looked at her solemnly. "From your description of the force amassed by Dolonar, they may not need Cidrl's help to take the garrison."

  Teya looked as though she might argue against sparing any warrior, especially a guardsman, from their main goal. She only nodded, though, and he guessed she had imagined how she would feel if that colossal force were mobilizing near the Arnedon border.

  "Where do you propose to cross back into Isaencarl?" she asked.

  "I do not know. Gates is too far to the south."

  "We could cross south of the bay or the bay itself."

  The border marshlands gave way farther north to a wide bay, filled with the same foul water that had nearly cost the guardsman his life during the crossing, while still many leagues from the sea. The width of the poisonous bay spanned several miles and the crossing was dangerous, but illegal traders ran goods in both directions under the cover of darkness.

  Anthen nodded in agreement. "And make for Portal." Portal was the only sizable settlement between Gates and the sea, the last sign of life before the uninhabitable Misean Desert wastelands that separated the realm from the Barren Sea to the north.

  "Agreed." Teya returned the nod.

  The parley over, the exhausted pair decided to get a couple of hours rest before pushing on. They felt secure that any pursuers were at least a half-day behind and probably more. It would take time to outfit a party for giving chase to two experienced warriors through the wilds. They each lay down, trying to rest despite the rising temperature and humidity as the sun rose in the sky, warming the moist jungle air.

  Anthen felt good about having a plan, though would admit odds were still probably in Cidrl's favor. Several days of rugged terrain still separated them from Portal and they had little food and no idea how to secure passage across the bay. Even though the ground was damp and his arm ached, the spent guardsman drifted off to sleep quickly, glad to be away from the Dolonarian fortress and more importantly, no longer forced to act the part of Cidrl's soulless henchman.

  ********

  Cidrl paced back and forth in his chamber, seething with fury. The young apprentice had fooled him! The traitor's face, which normally wore a relaxed grin, was conto
rted with rage. His dark eyes bulged and his lips were stretched taut over clenched teeth.

  "How?" was the question that kept echoing in his mind. How had Anthen broken his spell? He felt certain that the younger guardsman's soul had been taken successfully during the border crossing. That meant that somehow, by someone, the spell had been reversed. Could the old guardsman, Garrick, somehow be involved or was it the work of the Arnedonian? Perhaps she was a witch as well as a spy.

  Cidrl's large hands were balled tightly into fists and his unfocused eyes blazed as he stalked about the room, lost in thought. The treasonous murderer had no doubt that he would recapture the two fugitives; so far they had just been lucky. Their initial escape succeeded through dumb luck, aided by Dolonarian incompetence. Had the pair not been forced to kill the guard searching Anthen’s chamber, they probably would have been caught there when the gold piece was discovered.

  What really bothered him was his own failure to notice the young man's deception. How long had the apprentice followed him about the palace, acting the part? Perhaps the sorcery had been broken just within the last few days? That must be it. The green apprentice could not have possibly fooled him for any length of time, and only then because his mind had been focused on immensely more important issues.

  Cidrl pushed his rage away, consoling himself with the thought that Anthen's small victory would be short-lived; the apprentice's luck was soon to run out. He needed to think clearly and emotion did not aid that process. The matter at hand was to make sure that the duo, or trio if Garrick somehow still played a part, did not interfere with his plans. He didn’t know if the apprentice had even learned his plan but he could not take that risk. A party had left at first light to give chase but he didn't believe the Dolonarians could be counted upon for this task; they had already established they were no match for the young guardsman and the Arnedonian spy.

  A smile slowly spread across Cidrl's broad face, a knowing smile and one of pure malice; a smile that sprang from knowing he would soon savor sweet revenge. It was not the thought of Anthen's death that brought the smile but rather an image of the young guardsman thoroughly humiliated and kneeling before him, that delighted the traitor. He had the power to easily dispose of the apprentice but that wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as what he had in mind. Instead, he would keep the pests occupied while he pursued the magic, then deal with them. His revenge upon them would be something else to look forward to.

  Still sneering, Cidrl pulled a small, thin box from a special pocket inside his tunic and placed the box carefully on the table in front of him. He opened the box and pulled out two thin rectangles of folded cloth. He moved the box to the side and with shaking hands, unfolded the first cloth. It contained a flat, rectangular piece of gleaming gold metal, about the size of his hand. He gently placed it on the table and repeated the procedure with the second cloth bundle, revealing a seemingly identical plate. This he placed beside the first.

  He marveled at the plates each time he saw them. The metal was unknown to him. From a distance they looked to be gold, but were too hard and lustrous. The brilliant plates seemed to both reflect and amplify the light from the nearby lamp, focusing a golden beam light up into Cidrl's face, which bore a look of rapt pleasure. His eyes stared into the light as though bearing witness to a heavenly vision.

  He slowly moved his hands forward and covered a plate with each, palms down. The light, however, was not blocked but seemed to swallow his hands, illuminating his face just as brightly.

  In his mind, Cidrl felt his body rising and saw the palace fall away beneath him. He felt the wind in his face as he saw the ground hurtle past below him. He saw the jungles, then an instant later the marshlands that marked the border. A second later, he was past Gates and hovering above a shimmering figure he could not really see but knew with certainty was there. Unspoken commands were passed from man to beast, then the ancient winged creature took flight, heading toward the northeast and the jungles of Dolonar.

  Chapter 32

  Anthen awoke, squinting at the sun high overhead. Though the thick cover above blocked most of the light, it also trapped the heat. The hot, moist air was stifling and his clothes felt damp and uncomfortable. He winced at the pain in his arm as he rolled over and climbed wearily to his feet. Hopefully the pain was just from the thorough cleaning and not a sign of infection.

  He looked around and spied Teya on the bank of the small stream. She appeared to have bathed and now sat brushing her hair. He tried not to stare but was fascinated by this strange warrior-woman. At one moment she was riding like the wind and battling the enemy and the next she sat here fussing with her hair like any maiden. She looked up and smiled when she caught him staring.

  "How is your arm?" she asked, her eyes taking in the fact that he was rubbing the wounded area.

  "Tender but that is to be expected," he answered and joined her by the stream.

  He pulled his tunic over his head using his good arm and knelt at the edge of the small creek. He drank from the water, then bathed the sweat from his upper body.

  "The air is so heavy and damp here," she commented. "It seems to sap one's energy."

  "Aye. I can see why the Dolonaries choose to live in the highlands."

  The pair packed up their gear and mounted up once more. They kept to the forest throughout the afternoon, riding on a parallel course with a northerly road. Their progress was slow and tiring work, cutting through the thick undergrowth that forever blocked their path. Both warriors were soon drenched with sweat but the frequent, fast-moving showers provided some relief. After sunset they gratefully moved to the road, when chances of being seen lowered greatly. They made much better time during the night, though regularly were forced back to the thicket to skirt groups of soldiers or other travelers.

  Well past midnight, Anthen grew uneasy and drew them away from the road. They rode through the middle of a stream for some distance, then backtracked through the jungle toward the road again. By the time they had returned to the road, he felt certain they were being followed. On a hunch, he pulled the amulet from beneath his tunic and the emerald glow it emitted was bright enough to serve as a torch. He quickly dropped the stone back beneath his clothes.

  "What does it mean?" Teya whispered in alarm. "How close is the other amulet?"

  "I am not sure. Not more than a mile I would guess."

  "What do you want to do?"

  "We must determine who possesses the other half," he replied.

  "It is near dawn. I will fall back and see who is following us."

  Anthen stifled his instinctive urge to argue that he should stay back because she was a woman. He reminded himself that she was no less capable and it made sense for her to wait here since he wore the amulet. She selected a large rock just inside the brush and tied her mount a few yards beyond. She nodded to Anthen and he slowly continued down the road, looking back often until he disappeared around a bend in the road.

  Once alone, the Arnedonian warrior chuckled. She was used to seeing the same unsure look on the faces of other men whenever she took on a dangerous task. She didn't mind men doubting her as long as they did not stand in her way and once given the chance to prove herself, the uncertainty in her male comrades swiftly departed.

  She leaned on the rock and slowly moved a telescope back and forth, scanning the road on which they had earlier passed. Their pursuer might have left the road but that seemed unlikely since progress through the thick forest was so slow, especially at night. She did, however, periodically drop the glass and listen for movement in the brush ahead. She looked to the east and saw the subtle change in color that signaled the fast approaching dawn. Anthen had told her he would stop at first light and wait for her.

  Teya thought about the guardsman for a moment. His must be a tremendous weight, facing that one of his own could be responsible for such terrible treachery. Even as a girl growing up in Arnedon, she had been comforted with stories of the beloved guardsmen of the realm, a powerful f
orce always on the side of good. The shock had been considerable for her; she could only imagine the pain Anthen felt.

  She suspected something more than just betrayal, though, between Cidrl and Anthen. The agony in his eyes seemed more personal than treason. Teya had not heard all of their exchange as she and Anthen fought their way out of the palace courtyard but she thought the traitor had made reference to a woman. Had a maiden simply come between them as well or even worse, had the fallen master employed a temptress against his naive apprentice somehow?

  Anthen lived up to her childhood image of a guardsman in every way, though not at first. As Cidrl's soulless minion, his cold, empty stare had disgusted her and made him unsightly. After the escape though, he seemed to look completely different. His now-expressive eyes changed his whole face, conveying inner strength and wisdom well beyond his years in addition to the immense sadness he bore. There had been something else in those eyes too; something that stirred womanly desires deep within her. The man's unfaltering gaze, along with the gentle touch of his skilled hands when he had tended the dagger wounds on her legs, had nearly brought her to a maidenly blush, a feeling she hadn’t known in years. Finally, during the escape, Anthen's skill with bow and lightning quickness had proven him a match for any warrior she had seen or heard tales about. The accuracy and speed with which he fired the unusual bow, his hands a blur of movement, had astonished her.

  Teya peered through the telescope once more but saw no movement. The skies to the east were now markedly lighter. She would give it a few more minutes, then catch up with the guardsman. A noise from behind caught her attention and Teya froze when she turned and saw the source of the sounds. A Dolonarian patrol of well over a score of men was moving down the road toward her from the rear. The squad of foot soldiers could not help but see her soon enough anyway so she slipped around the rock as slowly as she dared, better that than be noticed when they were right on top of her. A moment later several cries of alarm told her that she had indeed been detected.