“So you can sense power,” Daniel said, ignoring the compliment. “Do you sense power from anyone else in the town? Power of any kind?”
She chuckled. “Still testing me then? Yes. The guards. Our beloved Bronze Order. Every one of them is tied to darkness. The senior officers are the worst, but all of them make my skin crawl. Then there are the others.”
“Others?”
“Yes. The night walkers. An apt name as they only appear at night. This is a big town. The fear of darkness doesn’t hold within its walls. The guards and the defences keep us safe. Nothing can get within the walls. Or so we are told, yet every time darkness falls night walkers stroll our streets without fear. They wear smoked glasses to hide their eyes. Many guards do the same though, even at night. So do many of wealthier people in town. It’s become fashionable.”
“Do the night walkers attack people?”
“No. Or not often anyway. Occasionally there’s a rumour, but never enough to stop people venturing out at night. Truth be told you’re in more danger of getting your throat cut for your money late at night than being attacked by a night walker. They’re careful to keep a low profile.”
“And your friends here? Can they also sense magic?”
She shook her head. “No. But you don’t need my talent to know something is rotten in this town. Many suspect it but close their eyes, refuse to see the truth. Some have the courage to see what is really there. Fewer are brave enough to stand against it. Some of those are here.”
“How many of you are there?” Daniel asked.
She chuckled at his question. “Just as you don’t fully trust me yet, I don’t fully trust you. Questions like that are dangerous, and the answers far more so.”
Daniel inclined his head. “Very well. What do you propose?”
“We need to go somewhere safer. Not many people travel these alleys, but if any did stumble across us they might gossip. We don’t want to draw attention from the guards. First, though, I need to know your names. Mine is Clara.”
“I am Daniel. This is Sarah.”
“Pleased to meet you both. Now, we need to move. Follow me.”
She set off down an alley. One of the men fell in beside her, having handed his crossbow to another. The rest of the men set off in a different direction. Clara moved quickly, leading them through several alleys before they rejoined a quiet street. Soon they were back on a busy main street. Clara still led, with the unnamed man beside her. Daniel and Sarah followed close behind.
“Are you sure we can trust her?” Sarah whispered to him at one point.
“I believe so. She has as much to lose as we do. We need help to find Mary. This may be our best chance.”
“All right. Don’t trust her too far though.”
“Do not worry about that. I am as suspicious as you are.”
Daniel noticed a slight tension in Clara at his words. He’d thought her too far away to hear, but apparently her hearing was particularly acute. He raised a finger to his lips for a moment, turning it into scratching under his eye almost immediately. Sarah nodded her understanding. They followed Clara in silence after that.
Several minutes, and a number of turns, later they were walking down a quiet street. The houses on each side were modest but clean and well kept. Clara approached one and knocked on the door. An elderly woman opened the door, then beckoned them in. Clara entered, followed by the man. Sarah went next and then Daniel. As he passed the open door he caught motion behind it out the corner of his eye, but not in time to stop the heavy cudgel crashing down on the back of his head.
Josef stretched in the saddle as the column came to a halt for lunch. He’d found riding much easier with his hands free and legs not tied to the saddle. He watched the Major’s men, still wary. He suspected they were waiting for a chance to overpower him and the others. So far they hadn’t tried anything though. He swung down from his horse and walked over to Nathan. The other prisoners formed a watchful ring around them, giving them privacy to talk.
“Worked out a way to get free yet?” asked Nathan.
“Several,” Josef replied. “But that’s the easy part. The problem is staying free, and alive, in territory we don’t know without supplies or weapons. Even if we somehow manage to evade our captors there are worse dangers out there. Night Walkers for sure. Maybe other creatures. We’d have to somehow avoid them and travel for at least a couple of weeks to be back in our own lands. It’s not possible.”
“So we give up?”
“No! Of course not. Escaping alone isn’t enough though. We need weapons and supplies. Blankets too — we won’t be able to light a fire at night if we’re being chased.”
“Damn. You’re right, though I wish you weren’t. I was still wrestling with ways to get away. I couldn’t think of anything after that. What did you come up with to escape?”
“They are all variations on a theme to be honest. We distract the guards at night, then run into the forest. Use the darkness to get far enough away to lose them. Then keep moving as long as possible. If they have trackers they won’t be much use till daylight. That gives us a good lead.”
“What sort of distraction?”
“Ah…” Josef said. “That’s the kicker. I’m the distraction. I make a run for the Major, or someone else senior, and try to attack them. Yelling and screaming as I go. The moment the guards are distracted you and the others charge for the closest bit of forest you can. If there are guards in the way there won’t be many. Just plough straight through them.”
“That’s the best you could manage? What happened to getting everyone out?”
“This is the only way everyone else can get out. I just need to adapt it so you can all grab supplies and weapons on the way out.”
“No,” said Nathan firmly.
“No?”
“No. The plan might work, but you aren’t going to be the distraction. I will.”
“What? No!”
“Stop being noble Josef. Stop and think. Which of us came up with this plan? You. You worked out what was happening at night too, the fact it was the Major butchering our men and not night walkers. Then there are your… skills. The men need you. They have more chance of getting away and surviving with you leading them than if I do. Not just that, the distraction will be more believable if it’s me. I’ve already lost my temper with that darkness cursed major several times. You’re too calm. They might suspect something if you suddenly fly off the handle.”
Josef studied Nathan for a long moment before answering. Nathan’s words made sense, but asking someone else to make the sacrifice was hard.
“Are you sure?” he asked softly.
“Very. Besides, this way I get to see the Major’s face when he realises the rest of you have got away.”
“He might kill you. You saw how angry he got earlier.”
“I’m kind of counting on it. If not I might have to find a way to force the guards to kill me. I’d really rather not be left alone with them. But if I am, then knowing the rest of you got away will keep me going.”
“This is quite a change Nathan. What happened to believing I was drowning in darkness?”
“Maybe you still are. I don’t know. If you escape and return to the Order they will know. Compared to the Major and his men you look decidedly the better option. And whatever else has happened to you, I now believe you want to see our men safe. Maybe the darkness hasn’t taken you fully yet, maybe you are right and it never will — though I still find that harder to believe than you can imagine.”
“Oh I can imagine,” said Josef softly. “I have the same doubts and fears, only it’s my own soul I worry about.”
Nathan stared into Josef’s eyes, moved by the confusion he saw. He placed his hand on Josef’s shoulder, surprised at himself.
“Josef… have faith in your desire to save our men. Cling to that. Whatever happens later, make sure they get free.”
Josef smiled. “I will my friend. And your name will be written into the r
olls of honour.”
“That would be nice. All right, so we need to work out a way you can escape and get the supplies you need. What if we can’t find a way?”
“Then we go without them and hope we can survive. Tonight is too soon anyway. They will be watching us closely.”
“Tomorrow night then. One way or another.”
“Yes my friend. One way or another.”
“Sers, beware…” Samuel said quietly, stepping close. “They approach.”
Nathan and Josef stepped apart as the guards brought over lunch. Josef ate it mechanically, studying the guards and the camp. Searching for any detail that might aid the escape, no matter how small.
The heavy cudgel struck Daniel before he could move, but not before he could summon a shield to protect his head. The cudgel bounced off and Daniel twisted with all his supernatural speed. A large man stood there, starting to register surprise that Daniel hadn’t folded to the floor. Daniel grabbed him by the throat, forcing him back against the wall, raising his other hand to deliver a powerful blow.
“No!” shouted Clara. “Stop! Please!”
Daniel paused for a moment. The man had dropped the cudgel and was scrabbling at Daniel’s hand, half choking at the pressure on his neck. Daniel was maintaining it carefully — he could as easily have crushed the man’s throat, or snapped his neck. He turned to look at Clara.
“Why?” he asked coldly. “Why should I spare him?”
He was aware of Sarah looking intently at him, but he could tell from her posture that she understood the situation. She knew Daniel well enough now to know the man was in no immediate danger — unless he had darkness in his soul.
“Please… we had to be sure. The others needed proof that you were what I said you were. With that proof they will risk their lives for you.”
“You wanted to prove it by crushing my skull?”
“No. He wouldn’t have hit that hard. They wanted you unconscious, then they would have secured you. If you broke free it would prove that you were the one.”
“I trust this will serve as proof?”
“Yes… yes it will. Just please let him down.”
Daniel stood for several seconds more, letting the moment draw out. The only sound was the choked breathing of the large man where Daniel had him pinned against the wall. Finally Daniel relented and released the pressure. The freed man slid down the wall until he was sitting, holding his throat and drawing ragged breaths.
“Just so there are no misunderstandings,” Daniel said. “No more tests. Either you accept that I am who you think I am, or we walk out and you leave us in peace.”
“No more tests,” Clara said shakily. “I promise. You have proven what you are.”
“And what is that?”
“One who can stand against the darkness in this town. One who can free us. One who can defeat the source of all the evil here. One who can defeat Rafael.”
“Rafael,” breathed Daniel. “He is here? Now?”
“Yes. And you couldn’t have come at a better time. In two nights time he will complete a ritual to bind a huge pool of dark magic to his will. In two nights time he will sacrifice an innocent child of great power.”
“Mary!” Sarah shouted. “He still has Mary. Where is she? Please, tell me where she is!”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daniel stared at Clara, waiting for the answer.
“We don’t know,” Clara said quietly. “But we know where she will be, where the ritual will take place.”
“Where?” demanded Sarah, stepping close to Clara. Daniel stepped forward and placed a hand on Sarah’s shoulder, as much to steady her as to hold her back.
“Underground. Beneath the town there’s a temple of some kind. Deep beneath, forty or fifty feet down at least to its ceiling. Much more than that to its floor.”
“How do you know this?” asked Daniel suspiciously.
“From the guards. Their souls may be lost to the darkness but they are still guards. They still go drinking. They still go whoring. And during both types of fun they get loose tongued. We’ve known about the temple for years, but there was never any reason to try to reach it. Then, recently, the officers started to talk about Rafael’s return, and about the girl he brought with him. About his plans for her. About the huge increase in dark power he stood to gain.
Don’t get me wrong, the details weren’t easy to find out. The girl who gave us most of the information disappeared the next day. We think the officer who told her sobered up and realised how much he’d said while drunk and taking his pleasure. Luckily she had already passed the information on.”
“Luckily for her?” asked Daniel pointedly.
“No, of course not. But she’d have been killed either way. At least she got the information to us so she didn’t die for nothing.”
“All right. So you do not know where Mary is now?”
“No. Even if we did, there’s no way you’d get close. She would be far too heavily guarded.”
“And the temple will not be guarded?”
“Of course it will. But we can get past most of the guards. Get you close to Rafael and the girl. After that it’s up to you, though we’ll help keep the guards off you.”
“How will you get us past the guards?”
“Sorry, I can’t tell you that yet. Only a handful of us know. The fewer that know the lower the risk of being caught.”
“All right. And you are sure it happens in two nights time? How?”
“Because then it will be dark moon, the opposite end of the cycle from full moon. On nights when the moon has vanished darkness is at it’s strongest. That is when the ritual must take place.”
Daniel nodded. It made sense, and Clara was right — that would be the night of dark moon.
“So what do we do till then?” he asked.
“You wait. We keep you safe and hidden, and we prepare. We will only get one chance at this.”
“I can’t just sit and wait!” Sarah said urgently. “My daughter is out there! We have to try to find her. I don’t care how difficult it is.”
Clara turned pale. “Your daughter? Oh hell… I didn’t know… I thought… that is, I didn’t think… I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Sarah said fiercely. “Help me. Help me find Mary.”
“I’m sorry Sarah, we can’t. Rafael will have her with him, and we’ve never been able to find out where he spends his days. Some things even the guards don’t talk of. I doubt if any but the most senior even know. Even if we did find out, there’s no way you could reach her. You’d just end up dead and Mary would still be sacrificed. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you, but you must wait. For Mary’s sake.”
Sarah stepped forward, arms raised. Clara stepped back and Daniel pulled Sarah towards him, locking eyes with her.
“Sarah, listen to me! She is right. What if we did find where Rafael stays but he was not there when we arrived? He would know we are here, and that we were trying to stop him. He would take even stronger measures to protect himself. We have to trust Clara.”
“But what if she is lying? What if she is trying to keep us from saving Mary?”
Daniel turned to face Clara.
“Then all the evil in the world would be as nothing when compared to what I would do to her.”
Clara stared at the expression on his face, a shiver running down her spine at what she saw.
Sarah paced restlessly around the room, occasionally darting glances at Daniel where he sat by the fire. Finally she stomped over and sat opposite him.
“I can’t just sit here Daniel. I can’t. I have to be doing something.”
Daniel nodded. “I understand but there is nothing we can do for now. We have to wait.”
“But there must be something I can do! I can’t spend two days sat in this room. I’ll go crazy.”
She threw her hands in the air. Why couldn’t he see how much she was struggling. With no distractions her thoughts kept returning to Mar
y and to Jon. Two days of sitting in the room brooding would render her useless to anyone. Daniel thought for a moment before speaking.
“I understand. All right, there is something we can do. Whatever happens I am certain we will need to fight when we rescue Mary — if not to reach her then definitely to get away. We cannot spar with swords, the noise would attract attention and the room is too small. I can teach you to fight with your body though, with your hands, your feet and your body as a whole. It may mean the difference between saving Mary and losing her.”
“You aren’t just humouring me? You really think it could make a difference?”
“Definitely. And you are not the only one finding the waiting difficult.” He smiled slightly.
They started the lessons immediately. Sarah showed herself to be a fast learner once more. She found patterns within the moves Daniel taught her that mirrored what she had already learnt with a sword. Daniel’s incredible speed helped greatly, allowing Sarah to fight at full speed and strength without worrying about hurting him.
As the afternoon wore on the bruises on Sarah’s arms and legs mounted up, but so did her speed and skill. As with the sword, she focused far more on attack than defence. Daniel took note of it but made no comment.
The Major set a fast pace again that afternoon. Josef felt there was more to it than the fact he and the other prisoners were now able to ride properly. There was a new urgency, as if the Major wanted to reach Echtberg in time for something. Josef had an unpleasant suspicion that whatever it was involved Mary. He just hoped that Daniel and Sarah were still free, and that they had reached the town. For his part he knew there was nothing more he could do to help Mary.
Josef still hadn’t improved on his escape plan. There would be a tiny window during Nathan’s distraction during which Josef and the others could make it into the dark forest and escape. Any delay to grab supplies or weapons would give the guards time to recover and prevent the escape or be so close they could run the prisoners down even in the dark. It looked as though their only hope would be to flee without weapons or supplies. The only bright note was that they would have their blankets with them. It was a small advantage but could prove critical during the cold nights.
Dark Soul Silenced - Part Two Page 18