The Traitor and the Chalice

by Jane Fletcher

  The fight was brief. Three times, Levannue sent balls of white lightning hurtling towards Jemeryl. A desperate effort was needed to dissipate the bolts before they struck, and Jemeryl was forced backwards. Then she made her own assault, opening a drain under Levannue and attempting to suck all heat into the rock below. The older sorcerer dammed the outflow, responding far more quickly than Jemeryl expected. The speed of the riposte loosened Jemeryl’s hold on the lines of power. Immediately, Levannue caught the rippling forces, ready to subvert the flow for her own use. However, she had committed herself to a path of attack and shifted her guard.

  Jemeryl seized the chance. From a mesh with Klara, she sent a hail of ion darts towards her enemy’s back. Levannue raised a shield, reacting frantically, yet she was only just in time, and her defence was unwieldy. Her aura was off-balance, and her grip on power weakened. Before she could recover, Jemeryl struck out, aiming at the ether rather than her shielded opponent. The shock waves shattered Levannue’s persona in the sixth dimension. Again, Jemeryl ripped open the drain, and this time, there was no countering the freezing onslaught. Ice washed over Levannue’s feet, flowing up her legs in a surging tide.

  Levannue’s expression changed to horror. “No!”

  A pleading hand shot out towards Jemeryl. Levannue’s scream faded. She flung back her head and raised both arms. Thunderbolts shot from her fingertips. As the encircling ribbons of ice reached Levannue’s heart, the roof came crashing down about their heads.

  *

  The sound of Jemeryl scrabbling down the shaft faded, and the last beams from her light globe disappeared. Tevi shuffled back against the opposite wall with her eyes locked, unwavering, on the black shadow in the rock face.

  Long minutes dragged by. Staring into the darkness made Tevi’s eyes sting, but the sense of helplessness was far worse. There was nothing she could do—no activity in which to lose either the tension shaking her hands or the dead weight of fear in her stomach. Her attention was caught momentarily by the dwarves standing several yards away, muttering among themselves in their guttural language. However, they provided only the flimsiest of distractions.

  The first explosion had Tevi leaping to her feet, but after two indecisive steps, she halted. The last echoes rumbled away, and silence again claimed the dark underworld. Even the dwarves stopped talking.

  For a time, nothing was heard. Tevi began to wonder if the battle was over already. Then three ear-splitting roars boomed from the inner cavern. For half a minute, the sounds of raging chaos rose and fell until the caves were rocked by the most violent explosion of all. The ground shook. A billowing jet of dust erupted from the fissure; while in the background, the pounding of falling rock went on and on. And then all was quiet.

  It took a moment for Tevi to register the meaning of what she had just heard. She sprinted across the cave and vaulted onto a ledge running below the fissure. A slab of limestone a yard in length was wedged across the entrance. Farther beyond, other dams of rubble blocked the way, barely visible in the clouds of dust that eddied in the lamplight. Tevi rammed the lantern into a niche in the rock and wrapped her fingers around the first obstruction. She threw all her potion-enhanced strength into the struggle to pull it free, heedless of the abrasions torn into her hands.

  The dwarf captain stood below her. “All am dead. We go now.”

  His shout was ignored.

  “We go now.”

  Tevi had one knee braced against the wall. Every muscle strained in her effort to shift the block. Slowly, she worked it forward, leaving lines gouged in the sides of the fissure. When it finally shot free, the rock nearly took Tevi with it, crashing to the cave floor. The captain yelped, diving clear of the avalanche. The dwarves’ muttering ceased abruptly. Tevi slid into the shaft until she met the next blockage. This consisted of smaller debris that she plucked free and tossed away.

  The captain’s head appeared cautiously in the opening, dodging the flying stones. “We helping. You go after,” he suggested.

  Tevi stopped and looked back. “You’ll help me get through to her?”

  “We think rock. We good. No more rock fall. We good.”

  Tevi nodded and edged out of the shaft. Within seconds, the captain’s barked commands oversaw a relay of dwarves passing back broken stone. The stream of excavated rubble built in a mound in the outer cave while Tevi paced impatiently.

  Twice, the dwarves met with stubborn obstacles, so that Tevi, with her greater strength, was called on. Once, a fresh fall of loose chippings caused a momentary panic, but in less than an hour, the shaft had been cleared. Tevi was the third to slip through. She turned up the wick on her lantern and looked around.

  Huge fractured slabs reduced the cavern to half its original size. Piles of smaller rubble littered what was left of the space. Deep cracks radiated from the rockslide. Of the stalactites, only a few broken stubs still hung from the ceiling. Just to the left of the entrance, a mound of boulders hid Tevi’s view of part of the chamber. When she stepped forward, she saw that the area behind had sustained less damage. Lying unconscious in a clear patch was Jemeryl.

  Nothing else mattered as Tevi rushed to her lover’s side, scrambling over smashed boulders and skidding on fragments of stalactite. Her panic eased only when she had her ear pressed to Jemeryl’s chest and heard the heartbeat. Jemeryl’s face was pale, and her pulse was erratic, but she was definitely alive. The surge of relief left Tevi light-headed. When she was again able to think clearly, she looked at the devastation around her. Obviously either Jemeryl had been very lucky or she had partially protected herself from the collapsing roof.

  The sorcerer lay sprawled on her back, covered in dust and chips of rock. An arm was trapped between two stones. It bent sharply just below the elbow and was undoubtedly broken. Blood trickled from cuts on Jemeryl’s face; more flowed from a gashed knee. Dark bruises marked her skin. Nothing appeared life-threatening, although Jemeryl lay deeply unconscious. A gentle shake got no response, and only the whites of her eyes showed when the lids were pulled back. Tevi sat on her heels and felt the niggling onset of returning fear.

  By now, the whole band of dwarves was inside the cavern. What seemed to be an argument on the fracture forms of limestone had broken out. Tevi ignored the babble until a more excited outburst caught her attention. The dwarves had gathered around something hidden behind two large slabs in the centre of the chamber. The captain was posing arrogantly atop a nearby boulder. Tevi went to see, even as she guessed the probable cause.

  Levannue lay on the ground. A large block had fallen across her left side, crushing her ribcage and arm. The white ends of broken bone poked through torn flesh, and the force of the impact had sent blood spurting from her ears, mouth and nose. Other stones had cracked her skull. From mid-thigh down, Levannue’s legs were buried under rubble. Blood formed a red carpet on the stone beneath her.

  There was no need to test her pulse to be sure she was dead. Tevi’s brief doubt that this might be illusion was also rejected. Jemeryl had said the dwarves were immune to that sort of magic, and if Levannue were still able to cast spells, she would have no need of deception.

  Tevi looked down at her lifeless enemy, aware of an array of emotions that she was too drained to distinguish. The Guardian’s assignment was complete, yet Tevi felt no sense of victory. She started to turn away when she spotted a saddlebag half buried in the rubble. It came free after a few sharp tugs. Tevi slung it over her shoulder and returned to Jemeryl. Meanwhile, the dwarves had decided to complete the work of the rock fall by erecting a cairn over Levannue. Tevi left them to it.

  A temporary splint soon had Jemeryl’s broken arm strapped securely to her side. Tevi lifted the unconscious woman and carefully made her way across the rubble-strewn floor. The dwarves were occupied in moving rocks onto Levannue’s body. They scurried about in preoccupied silence, but just as Tevi reached the exit, one gave a startled cry.

  Tevi looked over. The dwarf had levered up a limestone slab. At
first, in the wavering lamplight, it was hard to see what had caused the excitement. Then Tevi spotted the black and white feathers crushed on the ground—all that was left of something that had once been a magpie.

  *

  The need to protect Jemeryl’s broken arm made manoeuvring her inert body through the fissure all the more difficult. The final drop from the shaft entrance was particularly awkward. By the time Tevi reached the spot were their packs lay in the outer cavern, the dwarves had finished Levannue’s cairn and were also returning. Tevi hoped that everyone would soon be ready to depart. There had to be some sort of healer in the dwarf city, and Jemeryl needed skilled medical attention as soon as possible.

  It took a torturous amount of time for all the dwarves to reappear and collect their gear. Tevi cursed their indifference as they argued and fussed over nothing, although once they were ready to go, two of them helped by carrying the saddlebags. Another took the lamp, leaving Tevi free to concentrate on Jemeryl. Even so, the journey was a painful battle over the rough limestone. Tevi’s main concern was to guard Jemeryl from further injury, so she let her own body absorb the knocks as she slid on glasslike floors and crawled over jagged stone.

  After ten minutes, Tevi’s knees, knuckles, and shoulders were bruised and cut. Her whole world was focused on searching for safe footholds, so she did not notice the blackness in the distance give way to grey. Only when the faint natural daylight fell across her path did she look up, surprised. It had been her unquestioned assumption that they were returning to the city. However, after another five minutes the whole group stood, blinking, in the open air.

  Dusk was near. Low clouds shrouded the peaks, and an ice-cold wind snatched at Tevi’s face. The scent of wet earth told of recent rain. They had emerged at the bottom of a cliff face. A broken slope of scree cascaded into the woods fifty yards below. Beyond that, mountains to the west, east and south ringed a small lake. To the north, a silver river flowed away through a marsh. This was not the spot were they had entered the mines or anywhere else Tevi recognised.

  “Why are we here? Where—”

  The captain pointed down the hill. “You go now.”

  Tevi was stunned. “You can’t mean that. You said you’d help.”

  “We help. We go with you to the bad woman. We go with you here now.”

  “Jemeryl needs help, and we can’t travel without our horses.”

  “No. All done. You go.”

  “At least give us our horses.”

  “Horses go. We eat. You go now.”

  “We can’t.”

  The captain had been growing steadily more hostile. At a sign, two dwarves pulled their bows into sight, although not yet drawn. Others loosened axes from the straps across their backs. The threat was unmistakable. Torn between outrage and bewilderment, Tevi backed away. The captain picked up the saddlebags and hurled them down the slope, then stood scowling belligerently.

  “Go.”

  Tevi held the captain’s eyes for the space of a dozen heartbeats, but even if she were not carrying Jemeryl, the odds would be hopeless. She had no option except to turn her back on the dwarves and walk away, showing what disdain she could by refusing to hurry on the loose footing.

  The bags had rolled down the slope and finished up entangled in undergrowth beneath the trees. With Jemeryl in her arms, getting them free and over her shoulder was not easy. Tevi looked back. The squat figures of the dwarves were concealed in the cave entrance. Watery daylight touched on the outlines of helmets and axe blades. Tevi’s face twisted as she bit back the childish urge to shout threats. After a last bitter glare, she turned and plunged into the forest.

  It was dark under the trees but sheltered from the cutting wind. Tevi forced her way through small branches, using her shoulders to shield Jemeryl, until she met a winding deer track heading downhill. The trail allowed her to make better progress through the woods, although with no idea where she was headed. Wind swept across the branches overhead, shaking dead leaves loose. Twigs cracked underfoot. The route twisted between lichen-covered trunks and tussocks of moss.

  After half a mile, the track crossed a shallow river. The forest canopy was broken above the water, but the light falling through the gap in the branches was sullen and dim. Leaden, low-hanging clouds were darkening to black. White plumes of foam shone with a luminous quality in the gloom. Soon, it would be too dark to travel. Tevi halted and looked around.

  Slightly upstream, a jutting limestone platform overhung a dry recess. The ground was further sheltered by a dense clump of thicket on the windward side. A drift of leaves was piled high. The site was as good for a camp as anywhere she was likely to find. Tevi spread a blanket and lay Jemeryl down gently. Plenty of dead wood was at hand, quick to burn. Soon, Tevi had flames racing over logs in a blazing campfire. The red glow washed over the rough rock wall and chased shadows through the matted bushes.

  Tevi made a thorough examination of Jemeryl and tended her to the limits of their medical resources. Apart from the broken arm, Jemeryl’s injuries were superficial. A careful search found no sign of a head wound. Tevi’s shoulders slumped. It was the result she had feared. Jemeryl’s coma was due to magic—either Levannue’s attack or the loss of Klara. The condition was beyond her ability to understand or help. Tevi did not know what to do, how long the coma might last, or how dangerous it was.

  Despair overwhelmed her. For a while she sat staring blankly into the darkness beyond the fire. The cries of animals in the forest depths rose and fell on the wind. Small things nearby burrowed through the leaf litter. Dangerous predators might come to drink at the river, but Tevi could not keep guard alone, and Klara was not there to watch over them.

  Tears of pain and guilt rolled down Tevi’s face. She had been forced to leave Klara’s remains as the dwarves had found them. Jemeryl had come first. Yet the magpie had deserved the cairn and the remembrance far more than Levannue the traitor. Tevi could not go back to rectify the omission. All she could do was pray that she would not have cause to build another cairn—for Jemeryl.

  Tevi busied herself with tasks about the camp. Anything to occupy her thoughts and put off trying to sleep. But at last, she banked the fire to keep it safe until morning and slipped under the blanket next to Jemeryl’s unmoving form. For once, there was no reassurance in the shared body warmth. After a long, long time, Tevi drifted into an uneasy sleep.

  *

  Tevi awoke in the dreary half-light of the next dawn with Jemeryl’s arm pressed into her back. A wet mist rolled through the forest, condensing on every surface and dripping from branches. The damp air deadened the splashing of the river. It felt as if the cold had welled up from the ground and seeped into Tevi’s bones.

  No sound came from Jemeryl. Tevi shuffled around. The sorcerer had not stirred all night. Her lips were bloodless white; her features, flaccid. Tevi reached out in dread to touch Jemeryl’s throat. The skin was cold, but the muscle still held firm and a butterfly-like pulse beat there. Faint breath from Jemeryl’s lips misted on the air. Tevi felt her own face crumple in relief.

  When she had recovered her composure, Tevi crawled from the blankets and removed the turf from the campfire. Embers still glowed deep inside the ash. Soon, they were fanned back to life. Tevi moved Jemeryl closer to the fire and tried to chafe warmth back into her. In Jemeryl’s weakened state, the cold might be the finishing blow.

  Food and drink were also an issue. Despite the sickness in her stomach, Tevi forced herself to take care of her own needs, but she could do nothing for Jemeryl. She poured a little water into Jemeryl’s mouth but could not prompt her to swallow, and the liquid dribbled out from between slack lips.

  Meanwhile, the light had grown into an overcast morning, and the mist had blown away. Tevi buried her head in her hands and wondered what to do with the day. Not that she had many options. It was dangerous to return to the mines and pointless to stay where they were. Even if Jemeryl recovered, a long trek lay ahead, and winter would be fast upon the
m. The only sensible thing was to make a start on the journey and pray that Jemeryl would survive to complete it.

  Carrying Jemeryl meant that the baggage needed rationalising. Tevi pulled everything from the three saddlebags to see what could be discarded. In the bag she had found beside Levannue’s body was a small bundle wrapped in a woollen cloth. Even before she removed the covering, Tevi knew that she held Lorimal’s chalice. She cupped it in her hands and stared at it angrily.

  The scratched metal surface mirrored the grey sky. It seemed such a small, ordinary thing to cause so much trouble. In a moment of anguish, Tevi pulled back her arm, ready to hurl the chalice into the forest, but stopped. She could not leave it for someone else to find and misuse. Then everything she and Jemeryl had done would be wasted. Instead, she contented herself with ramming the chalice as hard as she could into that bottom of the largest bag.

  There were a few difficult decisions before everything was complete. Tevi swung the pack onto her back and flexed her shoulders to settle the weight. The forest was cheerless as she set off between the dank trees with Jemeryl in her arms. Her path switched between animal trails branching down the hillside. A spongy layer of moss muffled her footsteps. She intended following the river she had seen from the cave mouth. With luck it would cut through the mountains. If they could keep heading north, eventually, they must cross the Old West Road.

  At first, the earth was firm, but after an hour, it softened, and moisture oozed into the depressions left by her feet. The trees were thinning out ahead. Between the knotted trunks were bands of reeds and the glint of open water.

  Tevi began forcing her way around the edge of the lake. It was not easy. Animal tracks snaked to and from the water, but the beasts were interested in drinking from the lake, not circumnavigating it. Under the trees was knotted undergrowth. In the open, the long grass concealed a quaking bog that sucked at Tevi’s boots.