"All anyone sees is the façade. The Lecterns, collectors of wisdom and servants of Kiro, the Master. Like they're some kind of holy men." He swallowed, and a shudder ran down his spine. "Ain’t nobody knows what the priests do inside the temple. The things they make us do…"
Acid rose to the Hunter's throat. He knew. He'd seen the Master's priests visiting the pleasure houses that catered to the most twisted appetites. Boys and girls, none close to adulthood, providing services that made even his death-hardened stomach clench. Yet he'd never imagined that they did those things within the confines of their own temple. As Evren had said, few ever saw beyond the priestly façade.
"You killed someone who laid hands on you." The Hunter spoke in a quiet voice.
"I had enough." Angry tears glimmered in Evren's eyes, and his fists clenched tight. "For years, they…" His voice cracked. He swallowed, and it took him a moment to speak again. "I’d rather starve as a thief on the streets than do that shit."
Fury blazed hot within the Hunter. Marin, an old man in Sirkar Jeroen's caravan, had tried to do those things to Hailen. The Hunter had barely arrived in time to stop it. He'd left Marin a bloody, shredded corpse. Men who preyed upon innocent, vulnerable children like Hailen—or Evren, once upon a time—filled him with rage.
"Never doubt you did the right thing," the Hunter said in a harsh voice.
Evren's eyes went wide in shock, as if this was the last response he'd expected.
The Hunter held up a clenched fist. "No man who does that deserves to live."
He left a stunned Evren and hurried toward the tent he shared with Hailen. The commotion of breaking camp had awoken the boy, but he hadn't arisen. He lay fully-clothed on his roll, his gaze as blank as ever, fixed on the empty darkness above his head.
"Hailen?" The Hunter spoke in a quiet voice. "Can you hear me?"
The boy gave no sign of recognition, didn't even move.
The Hunter swallowed the lump in his throat. He'll get better, he told himself. He has to.
He helped Hailen to stand, tugged on the boy's shoes, and pulled his heavy cloak over his shoulders. Hailen made no protest as the Hunter carried him out to where the horses stood waiting. He sat in listless silence while the Hunter saddled Ash and Elivasti, and slouched in his seat atop the horse's back.
The Hunter glanced at the sky. The first hints of light appeared over the eastern horizon. The sun would soon be rising.
"We have to hurry!" He rushed to help Rassek tear down his tent. Anxiety nagged at the back of his mind as they tore down the camp, kicked dirt over the fire, and prepared the horses. With every heartbeat, the sky overhead grew lighter.
Finally, the last of the gear had been stowed and secured, the horses saddled and ready to ride. Rassek glanced at him with an eager curiosity, and a hint of excitement replaced even Darillon's usual stoic expression.
The Hunter pulled out the Taivoro and read over the passage one more time.
“Bright, radiant kiss of morn
Sparkling like sapphire lilies
In her eyes
The way to pleasure
A path to the muse’s heart
Unveiled disguise.”
He pondered it, going over the strange wording over and over.
It couldn't simply be the light of the rising sun that activated whatever power those runes held. If so, the way would open every day at the same time. Some fortunate mountaineer would have stumbled on it at some point in the last five thousand years. So what was it?
The words “sparkling like sapphire lilies” stuck in his brain. Realization dawned slowly on him.
He reached into his pack and drew out three of the glowing plants.
"Here!" He handed each to Rassek, Darillon, and Evren. "Do exactly as I say, quickly."
Rassek was the first to leap into action, dismounting and seizing the glowing plant.
"Shine the light on the one that looks like the weird-shaped breasts." He tugged the mountaineer toward the place where he remembered seeing the rune. "There!"
The glowing symbol flared to life as Rassek held the sapphire lily up to it.
"Evren, find the second rune, the one that looks like sun-streaked mountains."
The young thief searched the cliff face until the odd-looking symbol shone bright.
The Hunter had Darillon hold the last of the glowing flowers up to the highest rune, the one that looked like two inverted “Vs”. The three symbols glowed in the blue light.
The Hunter gritted his teeth. This has to work.
At that moment, the first rays of sunlight peered over the eastern horizon and streamed through the opening in the cliffs. The light hit the uppermost rune first, the one Taivoro had described as “triangular mounds of slouching flesh”. The golden brilliance drowned out the soft glow of the sapphire lily.
The rune flared from azure to a red so bright it hurt his eyes to look at it. An audible hum filled the air, low at first, but growing louder with every passing second. Seconds later, the sunlight reached the second rune, and it too flared a brilliant crimson. The humming grew strong enough that the Hunter could feel the very stones beneath his feet vibrating.
Rassek gasped. "Yes!"
"It's workin’!" Evren cried.
The moment the light hit the lowest of the runes, the hum turned into a deep-throated rumble. The earth trembled violently beneath their feet, setting the rocks strewn across the ground clattering.
With the enormous grinding of stone on stone, the entire cliff before them rumbled to one side. The way to Enarium was open.
Chapter Twenty-Five
For long seconds, no one moved. All stared at the landscape now visible through the opening. A broad path carved through the cliffs, rising in a single unbroken trail that threaded through the jagged peaks. Yet somehow, the mountains beyond looked different from the grey stone of the cliffs beside them. Almost a pristine beauty, untouched and unseen for thousands of years.
Even the Hunter found himself at a loss for words at the sight before him. He'd dared to hope his desperate gamble would pay off, and this was the reward for his hope. Elation bubbled within his chest. He let out a triumphant laugh and pumped his fist in the air.
The Hunter glanced at the other four members of his small party. Evren's jaw hung open, and even stoic Darillon seemed shocked.
"By the Master!" Rassek breathed. "The path to the Lost City."
Only Hailen's expression hadn't changed; he stared into empty space with the same vacant expression.
Rassek turned to Darillon, triumph shining in his eyes. "What did I tell ye?"
Darillon scowled. "If the next words out of your mouth are 'I told you so', I'm leaving you here and now."
Rassek grinned. "I told ye so, ye grumpy, disbelievin’ bastard!" He burst out into laughter, a hearty sound full of relief and exhilaration. "I told ye we'd find the way, I did."
Darillon rolled his eyes, but the Hunter caught the twitching of the man's lips. Finally, the smile broke free, and he chuckled. "So you did, Rassek. So you did." He reached over and gripped the younger man's hand. Rassek returned the gesture, and there was a fond look in his eyes.
The Hunter reached for Ash's reins. "Who wants to do the honor of leading the way?"
"Me!" Rassek cried. He released Darillon's hand as he spurred his horse into motion through the opening. Darillon fell into line behind him, followed by Evren, with the Hunter and Hailen in the rear. The humming grew louder as they rode between the thick stone cliffs. It sounded like a thousand bees buzzing within the rocky walls, and the vibrations ran up the horse's legs and rumbled through the Hunter's bones.
He glanced at the walls to his right and left, as if expecting them to snap shut on him like the jaws of some enormous leviathan. Yet they seemed as solid and unmoving as they had been moments earlier—only, in a different place, with a gap three paces wide between them.
The moment Elivast passed beyond the far side of the cliffs, the Hunter felt an almost tangible
snap deep within his mind. The mental wall he'd erected seemed to crumble away, and the demon's presence filled his head with shrieking as it burst free of its confinement.
The pain was excruciating, like a thousand red-hot daggers driven into his eyes and molten lead coursing through his skull. He clenched his jaw to bite back a cry of agony as the intensity of the demon's cries set his head pounding. It felt as if his head would explode with the force building within him.
He tried in vain to rebuild the mental wall. The demon was too strong, its fury too overwhelming for him to withstand. Waves of desire, hatred, anger, and bloodlust washed through him. All of his willpower went into remaining upright when he wanted nothing more than to collapse to the ground and curl into a ball. Anything to make the agony stop.
"Hardwell?"
A single word, faint, as if it came from a thousand leagues away, yet close beside him. Warm flesh pressed against his palm, and he felt a small hand grip his. The shrieking quietened and the pain receded enough that he could open his eyes.
Hailen held his hand, his brow furrowed as he studied the Hunter with concern written in his purple eyes. "Hardwell, are you hurt?"
Tears streamed down the Hunter's cheeks, brought on by the agony in his head, yet now mingled with his relief at seeing Hailen normal again. He gripped the boy's hand tighter and shook his head. "No," he said through gritted teeth, "I'm…fine."
For all these months, Hailen's presence had been the only thing to keep the demon at bay. Something had changed the moment he passed through the cliffs. Ice flooded his veins as he realized what it was.
The curse of the Empty Mountains.
Queen Asalah, the demon in Al Hani, had said the curse twisted the minds of the Abiarazi. That meant his Abiarazi half would also be twisted by the curse. He could feel the change in his inner demon. When first he'd heard its voice in Voramis, it spoke quietly, a faint presence in the back of his mind. Over time, it had grown stronger, more insistent. With every kill, it had claimed more of his thoughts and gained power.
This was different…wrong. The curse amplified the demon's strength a hundredfold. It screamed incoherent nonsense in his mind, its voice at once pleading, demanding, and insisting. Every shred of his willpower went into maintaining his grip on his sanity. If he relaxed or lost control for even an instant, it would claim him and turn him into that same rage-filled creature of death he'd been in the House of Need in Malandria. People would die—Rassek, Darillon, Evren, maybe even Hailen. His head throbbed with such intensity it felt his skull would split.
Yet the curse had changed Hailen as well. The boy, who had been lost in his own mind, had emerged from the madness inherited from his Serenii forefathers. The emptiness in his eyes had gone, replaced by the bright, cheerful look the Hunter knew so well.
The Hunter would bear the pain many times over, for Hailen's sake.
He gritted his teeth and spurred Elivast forward. To his relief, neither Evren nor the mountaineers had noticed. They were too busy gawking at their surroundings, at the mountains none in their lifetime or that of their fathers’ or fathers’ fathers’ fathers had seen.
"Demonspawn!" A shout rang out behind him. "You cannot escape me!"
The Hunter's heart stopped. Dread sank like a stone in his gut as he glanced behind him.
Sir Danna stood at the far entrance to the rocky hollow in the cliffs. Her plate mail glimmered in the early morning, bright steel reflecting the colors of dawn, shining with a brilliance the gods themselves would envy. Even from this distance, he could see the hatred blazing in her eyes, hear the fury in her voice.
He whirled toward the others. "Ride, now!"
Without hesitation, he kicked his heels into Elivast's ribs. The chestnut gelding darted forward, Ash a step behind. Hailen cried out in surprise but managed to cling to his desert horse’s mane. The two of them thundered past the stunned Darillon, Rassek, and Evren, charging up the trail without slowing.
"Bring him down!" Sir Danna's furious cry echoed after him.
The Hunter risked a single glance over his shoulders as he galloped up the trail. Rassek and Darillon had recovered enough to ride after him, with Evren a few horse-lengths behind. Through the gap in the cliffs, he caught sight of Sir Danna and the white-cloaked Warrior Priests clambering onto their mounts and spurring after him.
His heart sank. The Cambionari and her company rode horses bred specifically for the mountains, but far larger and stronger than Rassek and Darillon's pack horses or Evren's nag. On flat ground, he knew Ash could outrun any of their pursuers, and Elivast would give his best effort. But here, on a rocky trail with nowhere else to go but up, their chance of evading their pursuers was slim.
His only hope lay in finding a suitable place to make a stand.
The demon's shrieking in his head echoed its delight and lust for blood. The curse had corrupted it, reducing it to little more than chaotic cries filled with its desires. The pounding of Elivast's hooves only intensified the throbbing behind his eyes.
But he didn't slow. He couldn't. He had to get Hailen someplace safe, or at least someplace he could protect the boy from Sir Danna. The Cambionari would want his head, and he couldn't risk the boy being injured or killed in the melee.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Darillon shouted.
The Hunter ignored it. He was too busy trying to maintain his seat in his saddle as Elivast took the twisting, turning trail at breakneck speed. He scanned the path ahead in search of anything he could use to gain an advantage against the Cambionari and her companions. Somewhere he had a chance of surviving the inevitable confrontation.
The trail ran along the base of a steep cliff, with solid stone on one side and a two-hundred pace drop on the other. But a short distance away, the path led toward a vast chasm that cut a ragged tear in the ground from north to south. Easily twenty paces across, it stretched for as far as the Hunter could see. The only way across was a stone bridge three paces wide. A sliver of hope arose within him.
It's as good a place as any.
He galloped across the stone bridge, reined Elivast and Ash in, and leapt from the saddle.
"Hardwell?" Confusion twisted Hailen's forehead. "What's happening? Who are those people?" Fear filled his eyes. "Are they going to hurt me again?"
"No." The Hunter gripped Hailen's hand, ignoring the trickle of blood from his fingernails. "I'm not going to let them get close to you."
Darillon and Rassek pounded up behind them, and Evren appeared around the bend in the trail a few moments later.
"What the hell is going on, Hardwell?" Darillon demanded, his expression a mixture of suspicion, fury, and fear.
"There's no time to explain." The Hunter drew his sword and slid Soulhunger from its sheath on Hailen's belt. "I need you to take Hailen and ride up the trail as fast as you can. I will follow as soon as I can."
"Not before you—" Darillon began.
"Really, Darillon?" Rassek cut him off. "I may not understand what's goin’ on, but I know that bein’ chased by armed men is low on the list of things I thought I'd be doin’ today, see. Maybe we grill him fer answers after we survive this, eh?"
Darillon scowled, but he nodded. "Fine." He glared at the Hunter. "But there will be a reckoning, Hardwell."
The Hunter shrugged. "I'll tell you everything. Just get the boy away from here, now!"
Rassek collected Ash's reins and tugged on them. He shot the Hunter a nod. "Mistress' luck smile on ye."
"And you." The Hunter returned the nod. His eyes went to Hailen. "Keep him safe. Please."
His gut tightened as he watched the four of riders continue up the trail. His eyes never left Hailen until they disappeared around a bend in the path.
The Hunter closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. He'd hoped to avoid this confrontation, but there was no way to outrun it now. Sir Danna had caught up with him and she would have her reckoning.
He turned to face the knight charging up the trail. She slowed her h
uge black warhorse, Pathfinder, to a walk as she caught sight of the Hunter standing alone on the far side of the stone bridge. The rest of the mounted figures on the path behind her slowed to a halt as well. The Hunter counted thirty—most with the splinted mail and white cloaks of the Warrior Priests, with tattooed faces and shaven heads to match. Five, however, wore either chain mail or plain leather armor. Two wore round-topped metal helms, while two rode bare-headed. The fifth, a slim figure in dull leather lamellar armor, wore a scarf over his face in the style of the raiders of the Advanat Desert. These had to be the Cambionari sent by Father Reverentus. The odds were now firmly stacked against him.
Sir Danna drew Pathfinder to a halt ten paces away from him and climbed from the saddle. Her plate mail clanked as her boots thumped onto the stone bridge. She turned toward the Hunter and removed her helmet, revealing her strong, beautiful face, now twisted in a grimace filled with vitriol. Hatred blazed in her eyes as she spoke.
"We meet again, Demonspawn."
Chapter Twenty-Six
"Sir Danna," the Hunter replied in a flat, emotionless tone. He gritted his teeth against his demon's shrieks of fury pounding in his mind as his nostrils picked up her unique scent: steel, sweat, leather, and wisteria. "What's a woman like you doing in a place like this?"
"Hunting you, you vile creature." The knight’s olive-green eyes were hooded in shadow, with heavy, dark bags and deep crow's feet. Lines of anger and loathing hardened her features, a match to the scar running down her square jaw. She seemed to have aged a decade in the space of a few months. Even her long red hair had lost its luster and now hung in tangled braids.
The Hunter's lip curled into a snarl. "Haven't you tried to kill me enough for one lifetime? Or weren't you satisfied with poisoning me and throwing me into the Chasm of the Lost?"
"I'll kill you a thousand times over for what you've done!" Sir Danna gripped her sword hilt so tight her knuckles turned white.
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