by Dean Cadman
They heard the trickle of the water, long before they actually saw the stream. The stream’s water level was very low, due to the long dry summer they’d just experienced, but Lusam could clearly see that much more water flowed there during the wetter months of the year. Right now though, it was little more than two dried-out banks of mud, with a shallow trickle of water running between them. Thankfully the mud was rock-hard underfoot, and it took very little effort for them to stride over to the other side.
Lusam had been scanning the area with his mage-sight ever since he’d first heard the water, but he still hadn’t detected any signs of Renn or Durlan. The first thing he knew of them actually being there, was when he heard a slight rustling noise off to their left. Neala must have heard it too, because before Lusam could even warn her, she had a knife in each hand ready to defend herself against any potential attack. Lusam could clearly see it was Renn and Durlan when they emerged from behind a large rock, but he knew Neala wouldn’t be able to in the darkness. The last thing he wanted was for Neala to use one of her throwing knives in the darkness, thinking they were suddenly under attack. So he increased the strength of his light orb to include the approaching men, then extinguished it again once they were near.
“You’re much earlier than I expected, lad. I didn’t think you’d be here for at least another couple of hours yet,” Renn said quietly as he approached. “And sorry for sneaking up on you like that, but I wasn’t sure if it was you or not. I could only see one aura approaching us, so I decided to play it safe and hide away from the road.”
“Ah, yes, sorry about that. Rather than use the northern road, we decided to take a shortcut instead. We levitated up the eastern cliffs, and I hid my aura just in case anyone saw us, and I forgot to unshutter it again,” Lusam explained quietly.
“That was good thinking lad. On both counts,” Renn replied from the darkness.
“Yes. It was a good idea, wasn’t it?” Neala teased from behind Lusam.
“Yes, it was. And you can stop grinning like that, or someone is bound to spot those pearly whites of yours,” Lusam mocked her.
“And how do you know I’m grinning?” she played along.
“Because I know you so well.” They both laughed at their private joke, leaving Renn and Durlan slightly confused by their outburst.
“Did I miss something?” Renn asked.
“No, it’s nothing. Just something that happened earlier tonight, that’s all,” Neala assured him. Renn nodded in the darkness, but asked no more about it. He introduced Durlan to them both, and explained their travel plans for the coming night. They had hidden four horses behind the old miller’s cottage, and intended to ride hard through the night. Renn explained that the greater the distance they could put between themselves and Lamuria before morning, the better. As soon as the King’s spies were discovered—or they awoke by themselves—their pursuit would begin in earnest. The King would spare nothing in chasing them down once he realised what Lusam had planned. So every mile they could gain now, meant a greater chance of success for them.
As soon as they collected their horses from behind the old miller’s cottage, they were underway. Lusam created a much brighter light orb, sacrificing their stealth for speed and safety. There seemed little point in staying hidden, if one of their horses became injured due to not being able to see where they were going. He sent the light orb well out in front of them, but kept it close to ground level. At first it spooked the horses a little, but they seemed to get used to it fairly quickly, and were soon happy to gallop into the night.
Chapter Sixteen
Zedd stood at the ship’s rail watching the land grow ever closer. They had been at sea for almost a week now, and boredom had long since set in. The weather had been good to them during the crossing from Thule, with only a single summer storm spoiling the perfect sailing conditions.
The Captain had kept his ship well out of sight of the Afaraon coastline, as they travelled north parallel to its shores. He’d also had a minimum of two men on constant lookout duty for any signs of enemy vessels which may report their position to the Afaraon authorities.
They had already sunk one fishing vessel off the eastern coast of Afaraon, and given chase to a second. The second, however, had been a swift moving vessel, and had managed to outrun them before they could get within striking distance of it.
Now they were about to make landfall on an uninhabited stretch of Afaraon’s coastline, where Zedd and Cole would disembark the ship alone, and then start making their way towards the dragon remains in The Dark Forest.
The Captain had chosen a small hidden bay to drop Zedd and Cole off. One which could not easily be seen from the sea, and one that had no visible route down to its small beach from the high cliffs above. The water in the bay was more than deep enough for the hull of the ship, and by the casual way the crew had sailed into it, Zedd suspected they had used the bay before, and possibly on more than one occasion.
Zedd was itching to get his feet back on dry land again. He had never enjoyed being at sea, and judging by the number of times Cole had visited the ship’s rail, he guessed that he didn’t care for it much either. They had both refrained from discussing their mission whilst being aboard the ship, either verbally or mentally. Zedd was certain that there would be at least one crew member on board sent to spy on them, and all he wanted to do now was finish their mission, and return to his family.
Zedd and Cole had no intention of ever returning to the Empire after completing their mission in Afaraon. They both knew that if they did, even if they were successful in reopening The Great Rift, Lord Zelroth would still have them tortured, then executed. He wouldn’t allow them to live because of Baliaeter Chaol’s death. And he couldn’t allow them to live with the knowledge of Coldmont’s location.
If they did manage to open The Great Rift and release Aamon from his Netherworld prison, Lord Zelroth probably would no longer care if he and Cole failed to return to the Empire. Hopefully he would believe that they’d been killed by one of the Netherworld creatures, but with what Zedd had planned, it made little difference what Lord Zelroth believed or not.
Once Zedd had completed his mission in Afaraon, he planned to travel south to The Badlands and meet up with his family there. The Badlands was a harsh and lawless place, squeezed between two lands, Thule to the north, and Edrana to the south. It was where the majority of the warlords who had refused to serve Lord Zelroth had retreated to after his ascension to power. And it had been in a constant state of turmoil ever since.
Although neither Thule nor Edrana recognised The Badlands as a nation in its own right, neither country ever attempted to take the land for itself. It was beneficial for both Thule and Edrana to have The Badlands acting as a buffer between their two nations. If either country wished to invade the other, they would first have to do battle with the warlords and clans of The Badlands, and that would exact a heavy toll on any army.
Zedd’s wife had a cousin who lived in The Badlands, and that was where he would find her. It would be a harsh life there compared with his life in the Empire, but at least he would be alive. And with his magical ability, he would soon gain a respectable position within the local militia. What Cole would do there, he didn’t know—or care.
A crew member’s shout startled Zedd out of his reverie, as he relayed orders to turn the ship about. None of the crew had attempted any kind of conversion with either Zedd or Cole during their long sea crossing, and on the rare occasion when they had asked a question of their own, the crew member’s answer had been short and succinct. It seemed obvious to Zedd that the crew had been given strict orders not to converse with them, and that had suited Zedd just fine.
Zedd watched as a scrawny looking crew member approached him and Cole on the rear deck of the ship. He didn’t even have the courtesy to speak face to face with them, instead he shouted from halfway across the deck, “The Captain said you’re to get off his ship. Now.” Smirking, he turned on his heels and left b
efore either Zedd or Cole could reply to him. He hadn’t even asked if Zedd or Cole could levitate—or swim.
Zedd almost killed the man as he walked away from him, but he somehow managed to resit his overwhelming urge to do so. He outranked everyone aboard ship, including the Captain. In fact, the only other Baliaeter on board was Cole. All it would have taken was a single thought, and he could drain the arrogant man of all his magic. And the same went for the rest of the pitiful crew. But Zedd knew that if he did kill them, Lord Zelroth would be certain to hunt them down.
Zedd had no idea how he did it, but he knew that Lord Zelroth could appear in Coldmont with his Darkseed Elite and Inquisitors by his side. And Coldmont was a lot closer to The Great Rift, than where they were right now. Lord Zelroth could easily reach The Dark Forest before they could, and wait in ambush for them to arrive.
No. He wouldn’t kill them. Not this time.
“Stay close. I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing you can’t levitate,” Zedd hissed at Cole. Cole nodded, and casually moved closer to Zedd. A moment later they had left the deck of the ship, and were on their way towards the closest cliff top. The Captain didn’t even wait for them to touch down before he issued his orders to leave the bay.
Suddenly a loud shout went up behind them, quickly followed by a sickening crunching sound. Zedd pivoted in mid-air to see what was happening, and saw that the ship had partially run aground on a large rock at the entrance to the bay. The men scrambled to push the ship free of the rock using their magic, as well as several long wooden poles. The ship looked like it had begun taking on water, but not to an extent which would sink it any time soon. The men on board were desperately trying to turn the ship again, but this time towards the small sandy beach. They would have to beach the ship and carry out the repairs, before they could even attempt to sail back out of the small bay.
Zedd couldn’t understand how anyone could have steered a ship directly into a rock like that. The opening to the bay was at least ten times the width of the ship, and the rock was clearly visible above the waterline. Not only that, when they had entered the bay, they had do so at speed, and with precision. Then he suddenly realised what had happened. He turned to face Cole, and saw the satisfied grin on his face.
“Was that your doing?” Zedd asked, as Cole’s grin widened further.
“No, I was up here with you the whole time. It was the helmsmen who hit the rock,” Cole replied innocently. “Although, I might have suggested that he needed to steer a little more to the starboard side.” Zedd burst out laughing, and Cole joined in as they continued their airborne journey towards the clifftops. Zedd hadn’t even realised that Cole possessed such a dark sense of humour, but he certainly liked him all the more for it.
It was about an hour before nightfall when they stumbled across a small isolated village. There were no more than twenty dwellings there, but at least half of them had already been fully, or at least partially, destroyed. No doubt fairly recently by their fellow countrymen on their way to Lamuria. Zedd could feel Cole staring at him, as he in turn studied the small village from a distance.
“What do you intend to do?” Cole asked, as they both knelt in the long grass looking towards the village.
“We, are going to finish what someone else started,” Zedd replied coolly.
“We don’t have to kill them. I could make them give us what we need instead,” Cole suggested. Zedd turned to face him. He couldn’t believe how weak Cole could be sometimes. Here they were, in a hostile foreign country, with no supplies, no horses, and no hope of ever going home again, and all Cole could think about, was the pitiful lives of a few enemy peasants. Peasants who would not think twice about gutting either of them if they could.
“Yes, we do have to kill them, you fool. How else are we going to carry all the tools and supplies we’ll need to complete our mission? Plus, if we don’t have any undead-minions, who’s actually going to dig up the dragon heart in the first place? Not to mention move it after we do. We were told that we can’t use our magic to move it, or it will kill us. I have no idea how big or heavy it is, but I’m guessing it’s far too heavy for just the two of us to move. Not that I even want to try.
“Then there’s The Dark Forest itself. Not the most hospitable place if my memory serves me well. I don’t know about you, but I’d feel a whole lot happier having a handful of undead-minions to protect our backs, especially while we’re asleep,” Zedd said, as if he was speaking to a small child.
Cole knew it wouldn’t matter what he said now, if Zedd had decided to kill the villagers, then their fates were already sealed. But he would have no part in killing innocent people, even if they were classed as enemies of the Empire. An Empire that had tortured, threatened to kill, and now disowned both him and Zedd. An Empire he no longer owed any allegiance to.
“I’ll check that big barn for any horses or tools we can use,” Cole said, as they entered the outskirts of the small village. Zedd glared at him. He knew Cole was only trying to avoid having to kill his share of the villagers, and he detested that weakness in him. Well, if Cole didn’t have the stomach for it, at least he did.
The few villagers that were in the streets stopped what they were doing and watched Zedd and Cole’s approach. One woman grabbed her small child and ran indoors, while two of the men grabbed whatever weapons they could find. The largest of the two men shouted something in his own language, but Zedd couldn’t understand his words. Judging by the man’s posture, Zedd guessed that it was some kind of warning or threat. He knew Cole spoke a little of their crude tongue, but he really wasn’t interested enough to ask him what the man had said. Instead he chanted a few words of power, raised his hand towards the two men, and let his magic flow.
The two men were blasted across the street and hit the stone wall of house with a sickening crunch. Their bright red blood was splattered across the wall where their heads had struck, and now it pooled around their broken lifeless bodies on the ground. A woman screamed, and shouts of fear filled the air as Zedd continued picking off the fleeing villagers one by one.
Cole looked down at the ground, averting his eyes from the unnecessary carnage unfolding in front of him. He had raised a magical shield around himself, but doubted that he would even need it. He wasn’t powerful enough to create a strong shield capable of stopping a heavy magical attack, but against weapons such as the pitiful pitchforks these villagers possessed, it was more than strong enough.
He veered off towards the large barn, hoping that the villagers would flee from Zedd, rather than futilely attempt to fight him. But he knew deep down that they wouldn’t. They would die defending their homes and families, just like any other person would. And for what? So they could carry supplies and dig for them in some far off forest, then be discarded there to rot. ‘It just isn’t right,’ he thought, as he stepped inside the large barn.
The light outside was fading fast, and the shadows within the barn were deep and foreboding. When his eyes finally adjusted to the gloom, Cole could see there were four horses housed in separate stalls. But they were heavy field horses, not riding stock. ‘No doubt they’re used to plough the fields surrounding the village,’ he thought to himself. He doubted they would ever have been ridden before, nor would they likely allow anyone to ride them now. Even if they did, they would be hugely uncomfortable with their massive shoulders and wide backs. Not to mention the fact that no saddle would fit such a bulky animal, and that was if these poor people even possessed any saddles.
Another scream of anguish came from somewhere outside in the street. No doubt at the sight of a family member or friend meeting their end at the hands of Zedd. Cole was startled by a sudden squeal and intake of breath to his right. He spun to face the sound, and at the exact same instant, a young blonde girl spotted him too. She had been peering through one of the cracks between the wooden boards of the barn at what was happening outside, and whatever she had seen, had really terrified her.
Her eyes w
ere wide with fear as she back up against the wall of the barn. Cole held up both of his hands to show her he meant her no harm, but it seemed to have the exact opposite effect. She screamed and bolted for the door. Cole realised a moment too late what he had just done. She had obviously seen Zedd raise his hands outside, and also what the end results of that had been.
Cole knew that he couldn’t let her run out into the street, or Zedd would kill her for sure. He dived towards her, taking her feet out from under her. She hit the floor of the barn with a thud, sending plumes of dust into the air all around her. She screamed and kicked at him with every fibre of her being. Cole couldn’t believe how strong a small child of her size could be. She couldn’t be more than six or seven years old, but she fought him like a wild animal.
He eventually managed to clasp a hand over her mouth and pull her back into the deeper shadows on the barn, away from the view of Zedd outside. She frantically struggled in his grasp, kicking out at him wildly, and trying to wriggle free.
“Shh, I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered in a thick Thulian accent. The girl continued to struggle and fight him with everything she had. He needed her to calm down, or he would never be able to save her from Zedd. So he did what he did best. He delved into her mind.
In her current state of fear, her thoughts were a jumbled mess. He tried to reassure her mentally, but she rebuffed all of his attempts to do so. One image occurred over and over in her mind, and Cole latched onto that thought. It was an image of a man. He pushed deeper into her mind, following the threads of thought to their origins, not caring if she knew he was there or not. He simply didn’t have the time to be subtle, not if he wanted to save the girl. Constantly he reassured her that all he wanted to do was save her from the man outside, but it seemed to have little effect. Her concerns were less for herself, and more for the man in her thoughts: her father.